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CMYK
A ND-NDE
thursday, june 10, 2021 Delhi
City Edition
16 pages O ₹��10.00
Printed at . Chennai . Coimbatore . Bengaluru . Hyderabad . Madurai . Noida . Visakhapatnam . Thiruvananthapuram . Kochi . Vijayawada . Mangaluru . Tiruchirapalli . Kolkata . Hubballi . Mohali . Malappuram . Mumbai . Tirupati . lucknow . cuttack . patna
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The relatives of patients whodied at a hospital in Agrahave demanded a highlevelprobe and the arrest of theowner after a video surfacedin which he is allegedly heard talking of conducting a“mockdrill” to check whichpatient would survive if oxygen support was cut off��.
Among the victims waspolice head constable AshokKumar Singh’s wife who diedon April 26 at Shri Paras Hospital. She was admitted onApril 25. Mr. Singh demanded a highlevel probe. “Thiswas a deliberate act. Thedoctor of the hospital shouldbe arrested. We want justice,” he said.
Mr. Singh said he receiveda call from the hospitalaround 5 a.m. on April 26.“The doctor said there wasscarcity of oxygen, andasked to shift the patient elsewhere. But when I reachedthe hospital, they said theycould manage for an hour orso. They also asked me to arrange our own cylinders,”Mr. Singh said. He said hewas not allowed to see hiswife on the day of her death.
The matter came to lighton Tuesday after the ownerof Shri Paras Hospital, Arinjay Jain, was heard in a videoallegedly claiming how thehospital shut off�� oxygen supply for fi��ve minutes on April27 as part of a “mock drill” tosee which patients would survive and which would not.
Hospital sealedTwentytwo patients startedturning blue while 74 otherssurvived, he is heard sayingin the video. Following a preliminary probe, Agra DistrictMagistrate N. Prabhu ordered an FIR against Mr. Jainunder the epidemics Act,while the hospital was sealedand the doctor’s licence sus
pended. Mr. Prabhu, however, said
there were no deaths due tolack of oxygen in the hospitalon the said days, April 26and 27. On April 26 and 27,seven patients had died atthe hospital, the administration said.
Vishal Sharma, a journalist with a Hindi daily, lost hismother to COVID19 at thehospital.
While there was an oxygen crisis at the hospital andin the district on April 26 and27, he says he never doubtedthe integrity of the doctors.However, Mr. Jain’s admission has ignited doubt in hismind and he thinks therehad been some “misdoing”.“The doctor is saying it allhimself,” he said.
Mr. Sharma claimed thaton the day of his mother’sdeath, they were not allowedto view the patients throughthe CCTV, as was the usualpractice since they were notpermitted inside the COVID19 ward.
Mr. Sharma said the FIRlodged against the hospitalwas “an eyewash”. “Theyshould take such action thatthese things don’t repeat.”
The kin of patients alsoclaimed that the number ofpeople who died on the twodays was much higher thanthe offi��cial fi��gure of seven.
‘Owner talked of mock drill in video’
Omar Rashid
Lucknow
Police personnel deployedoutside Shri Paras Hospitalin Agra on Tuesday. * PTI
Relatives of patientswho died in Agrahospital seek probe
IMD announces onset
of southwest monsoon
in Maharashtra
page 8
Hybrid hearings will
continue, Supreme
Court tells High Courts
page 10
U.S. Senate passes
innovation Bill in a bid
to counter China
page 13
Sakkari dethrones
Swiatek, meets Krejcikova;
Nadal in last four
page 15
The Central government hashiked the minimum supportprice (MSP) for commonpaddy to ₹��1,940 a quintal forthe coming kharif season,less than 4% higher than lastyear’s price of ₹��1,868.
The decision was taken bythe Cabinet Committee onEconomic Aff��airs onWednesday.
In a bid to encourage cropdiversifi��cation, there wereslightly higher increases inthe MSP for pulses, oilseedsand coarse cereals. Both turand urad dal saw the MSPrise by ₹��300, a 5% increaseto ₹��6,300 a quintal, whilethe highest absolute increasewas for sesamum, whoseMSP rose 6.6% to ₹��7,307.Groundnut and nigerseedsaw an increase of ₹��275 and₹��235 respectively. However,maize saw a minimal hike ofjust ₹��20 to ₹��1,870 a quintal.
The MSP is the rate atwhich the government purchases crops from farmers,and is based on a calculationof at least oneandahalftimes the cost of productionincurred by the farmers.This year, the MSP for bajrawas set at 85% above the costof production, while theMSP for urad and tur will ensure 60% returns. The MSPsfor the remaining crops weremostly set around the stipu
lated 50% above the cost ofproduction.
The announcementcomes at a time when farmunions have been protestingfor more than six months onDelhi’s outskirts, demandinglegislation to guarantee MSPfor all farmers for all crops,and a repeal of three contentious farm reform laws.
Terming the announcement a jumla (false promise)as it did not account for thefull cost of production, farmers’ groups under the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) noted that some increases,especially for maize, did noteven keep pace with infl��a
tion. “There is no mechanism that guarantees that every farmer can get at leastthe MSP as the fl��oor price inthe market. Therefore, this isa meaningless concept as faras farmers are concerned,and that is why this movement has been asking for astatutory entitlement for allfarmers so that a remunerative MSP can be ensured forall farmers,” said the SKM.
Briefi��ng the press after themeeting, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomarreiterated that the MSPswere here to stay.
Centre announces hike in MSPfor paddy, pulses, oilseedsFarmer groups unhappy with the increase in paddy price
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI
CONTINUED ON A PAGE 8
Vaccine nationalism woulddestroy countries’ eff��orts toeradicate the pandemic andmust be avoided “at allcosts”, United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) presidentelect and Maldivian Foreign Minister AbdullaShahid said on Tuesday.
Terming the disparity invaccination coverage in developed countries and therest of the world “unacceptable”, he said, “No one is
safe until everyone is safe.” He was speaking to The
Hindu from New York, a dayafter his historic election asPGA (President of the Gener
al Assembly), with a decisivemajority of 143 of 191 votescast by membercountries.
Human rights would be a“central theme” at the UNGA, Mr. Shahid said, whilehe, as President, would refrain from “taking sides oncontentious issues” such asJammu and Kashmir and remain “impartial”. “India wasone of the fi��rst countrieswho came out supportingme,” he said, thanking theIndian leadership.
Shun vaccine nationalism,says UNGA presidentelect It will destroy eff��orts to eradicate pandemic: Abdulla Shahid
Suhasini Haidar
Meera Srinivasan
NEW DELHI/COLOMBO
Abdulla Shahid
INTERVIEW A PAGE 9
Former Union Minister JitinPrasada joined the BJP onWednesday, leaving the Congress, where “he felt he wasunable to serve the interestsof his people and society”.
His induction took placeat the BJP’s national headquarters here in the presence of Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and BJP media
cell incharge Anil Baluni.Mr. Prasada said he joined
the BJP as he felt it was currently the only party thatwas an “institutionally national party” and all otherswere either personality
oriented or regional in nature. “I have been associatedwith the Congress for threegenerations and thoughtlong and hard before leaving. I left because I felt that ifone is unable to serve one’speople or protect their interests being in a certain party,it’s better to leave. Under theBJP and and the leadershipof Prime Minister NarendraModi, I feel that I will be better able to serve my people,”he said at a press meet.
‘Couldn’t servepeople’s interestsin Congress’Nistula Hebbar
NEW DELHI
Former Minister Jitin Prasadaleaves Congress, joins BJP
CONTINUED ON A PAGE 8
Jitin Prasada
West Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee onWednesday met leaders ofthe Samyukt KisanMorcha, including RakeshTikait, at the StateSecretariat in Kolkata andextended support to thefarmers protesting againstthe three agriculture Billspassed by the Centre. Shesaid she would write toChief Ministers of theOppositionruled States,seeking their support forthe farmers. A page 9
Mamata toseek supportof other CMs
Former Punjab DeputyChief Minister andShiromani Akali Dalpresident Sukhbir SinghBadal on Wednesday askedAgriculture MinisterNarendra Tomar to holdfresh talks with theprotesting farmers tounderstand why they wereseeking repeal of the threelaws. He urged the NDAgovernment to be sensitiveto the pain and anguish ofthe farmers. A page 9
Hold freshtalks, Akali Dalurges Centre
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CONG. REACTION A PAGE 9
Two alleged gangsters fromPunjab were killed in an encounter with the SpecialTask Force of the West Bengal police in the New Townarea of Kolkata on Wednesday afternoon.
Offi��cials of the STF said apolicemen suff��ered bullet injuries in the operation andwas hospitalised.
“Jaypal (Bhullar) and Jaspreet (Singh) had killed twoASIs [Assistant SubInspectors] in Ludhiana, Punjab,on May 15. There was a cash
reward on them,” AdditionalDirector General of Police,STF, Vineet Kumar Goyaltold presspersons.
The police said the twogangsters had been hiding inthe city for the past few days.
Special Correspondent
KOLKATA
Punjab gangsters killed in Kolkata encounter
DETAILS ON A PAGE 8
Inoculation for 1844age group restarts in cityNEW DELHI
The Capital has received 1.25
lakh doses of Covishield and
20,000 doses of Covaxin
vaccines for benefi��ciaries in
the 1844 age group, and the
youth can now get vaccinated
for free at government
centres, AAP leader Atishi
said on Wednesday.
CITY A PAGE 3
DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
NEARBY
11 held for duping 5 lakhinvestors of ₹��150 crore NEW DELHI
The Cyber Cell of Delhi Police
has arrested 11 men, including
two chartered accountants,
for allegedly cheating more
than 5 lakh people of over
₹��150 crore in two months on
the pretext of lucrative
returns via apps. A total of
₹��11 crore of the cheated
money has been blocked in
various bank accounts.
CITY A PAGE 3
DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
Ration out of stock,noncardholders return NEW DELHI
Several government centres
distributing ration to non
cardholders kept their gates
shut due to unavailability of
foodgrains. People waiting
outside some government
schools said it had been four
days since they were return
ing home emptyhanded as
the stocks had run out.
CITY A PAGE 2
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With the States not nominating enough offi��cers for Central deputation, the Department of Personnel andTraining (DoPT) has shot off��a letter to the State governments, cautioning them thatnot sending enough offi��cersmay aff��ect future cadre review proposals.
For instance, Uttar Pradesh has over 500 IndianAdministrative Service offi��c
ers but data show that only32 IAS offi��cers are presentlyon Central deputation.
West Bengal has around280 IAS offi��cers but only 11are posted with the CentralMinistries.
Bihar fares better with 32IAS offi��cers on Central deputation out of 208, whereas28 out of the 167 IAS offi��cersof the AssamMeghalayacadre are serving the Centre.
Out of the 241 Gujaratcadre offi��cers, 27 are posted
with the Union government.Rajasthan has deputed 13out of its 247 IAS offi��cers tothe Centre.
An offi��cial of Uttar Pradesh cadre, however, said itwas not that offi��cers werenot willing to go on Centraldeputation but the noobjection clearance was hard tocome by.
The fi��nal clearance is given by the Chief Minister.
Central deputation of offi��cersvery low, DoPT tells States‘Not sending offi��cers may aff��ect future cadre review proposals’
Vijaita Singh
New Delhi
CONTINUED ON A PAGE 8
CMYK
A ND-NDE
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DELHI THE HINDU
THURSDAY, JUNE 10, 20212EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
CITY
The plight of city’s poor continued as several government centres distributing ration to noncardholders kepttheir gates shut due to unavailability of ration.
People who had queuedup outside some of the government schools said it hadalready been four days thatthey were returning homeunsuccessfully as foodgrainshad run out of stock at thecentres.
Many said they were subjected to COVID19 tests andgiven tokens and asked to return the next day, only tofi��nd the ration distributioncentres closed.
Desperate attemptsBabli, a resident of Dakhshinpuri, who has been visiting a government school inHauz Rani for the last fourdays said: “After hours ofstanding in a queue, I managed to enter the school onthe second day but was toldthat I will not get the ration ifI don’t undergo a COVID19test. So I got tested afterwhich I was given a tokenand asked to come the following day by which timethe stock had run out.”
“I am the sole earner inthe family and have been outof work for all these months.Will the governments never
think about the poor? Theywin elections because of usand once elected, they forgetabout the poor,” said Babli.
Zulekha Khatun, a resident of Jagdamba Camp insouth Delhi, said: “First theysaid that we have to get testsdone, which we did. Buteven after that all we haveright now is a piece of paperwhich is supposed to act as atoken. We did whatever theyasked us to do but nowwhat? How am I supposed tokeep my children? My youngest child is fi��ve years oldnow.”
“I have been borrowinggrains from others and feeding the family currently. But
how long can this arrangement continue? I can’t evenreturn to my village in Samastipur as we do not haveenough money to buy tickets. There is not evenenough to take an auto to thedistribution centre. I walkfor half an hour each side inthis heat,” said Khatun.
Multiple trips With not enough money forbasic sustenance, for many,making multiple trips to thedistribution centres eachday was equally challenging.
Fifty eightyearold Abrana Khatun said: “If the government does not want togive us ration they can clear
ly state that. We are spending money each day and visiting the centre just to returnempty handed. Last yearduring the lockdown, I atleast got ration for a monthbut this time there has beennothing.”
Priyanka Devi, a domestichelper who has been out ofwork since the lockdown began said: “We are desperateat this point. I have beencoming to the centre sinceSunday. Most days we spendhours in the heat with emptystomach as we feel thatreaching early might improve our chances. But lookslike there are no foodgrainsavailable at this point.”
Noncardholders return withempty hands as ration runs outDespite several trips to distribution centres, many were unable to get foodgrains
Shinjini Ghosh
NEW DELHI
People ignoring social distancing norms while waiting to collect free ration at a governmentschool in north-east Delhi’s Vishwas Nagar. * R.V. MOORTHY
Heat and dust: A mirage appears on Raisina Hill in the Capital on a hot Wednesday afternoon.* SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
Seeing is believing
The Capital recorded thehighest minimum temperature of the year on Wednesday at 31.4 degrees Celsius,which is four degrees below normal and a maximum temperature of 42.2degrees Celsius, which isthree degrees above normal. The maximum temperature was equal to thehighest recorded this season on April 28.
The meteorological department has forecastmainly clear sky withstrong surface winds onJune 10. The maximum andminimum temperaturesare likely to hover around4131 degrees Celsius respectively. However, relieffrom the heat is expectedover the weekend withlight rain and strong windsbeing forecast. The city hasnot recorded any heatwave so far this summer.
At 31.4oC, cityrecords highestminimumtemperature
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI
The Delhi police on Wednesday opposed aplea by student activist Gulfi��sha Fatima,who claimed that her detention in judicialcustody was illegal and invalid. She is anaccused in a case related to the northeastDelhi riots last year
“A bare perusal of the averments madein the petition would reveal the presentpetitioner [Ms. Fatima] has styled a bailpetition into habeas corpus petition,” theDelhi police said in an affi��davit before theHigh Court.
The court was hearing a plea by Ms. Fatima seeking a direction to release her inan Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Actcase relating to alleged larger conspiracythat led to the northeast Delhi riots.
The police said: “The present petitionhas been so drafted as to show the detention of the petitioner is illegal in the eyesof the law. However, a bare perusal of theprayer sought would reveal that the intentbehind the present petition is to circumvent the well settled principles of law andsecure bail of the petitioner.”
A Vacation Bench of Justice Rekha Palliand Justice Amit Bansal asked Ms. Fatima’scounsel to fi��le rejoinder to the police’s response and listed the case for hearing onJune 18.
Police oppose Gulfi��shaFatima’s plea claiming‘illegal’ detention
Staff Reporter
New Delhi
A Delhi court on Wednesday rejected the plea oftwotime Olympic medalist wrestler Sushil Kumar,arrested in connectionwith the murder of 23yearold wrestler SagarDhankhar at ChhatrasalStadium here, seekingspecial food and supplements while in custody.
Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Satvir Singh Lamba said, “All the basicneeds and necessities ofthe accused/applicant[Mr. Sushil] are being taken care of as per the provisions of Delhi PrisonsRule, 2018.”
“The alleged specialfoods and supplementsappears to be only the desires and wishes of the accused/applicant and arenot in any manner the essential need or necessityfor the accused/applicant,” the judge said whilerejecting the plea.
The Jail Superintendentstrongly opposed the application. It said the desireof Mr. Sushil for specialfoods, supplements or extra protein “tantamountto discrimination amongthe prisoners.” It is further contended that allowing such kind of application may invite fl��ood ofapplications from manymore prisoners, who canaff��ord such type of diets attheir own expenses,” thejail authorities said.
Court rejectsSushil’s plea forspecial food Staff Reporter
New Delhi
A dedicated Green Development Area (GDA) for incentivising largescale implementation of green economies,transitoriented development aligned with mass transit, multimodal integrationand facilitation of fi��rst andlast mile connectivity aresome of the key aspects ofthe draft Master Plan for Delhi (MPD) 2041, which wasplaced in the public domainwhile inviting suggestionsand objections fromstakeholders.
Addressing pollution andclimate change by promotingclean economic activitiesand minimised vehicularpollution by creating multimodal hubs and encouraginggreen mobility are some ofthe aspects the MPD2041concentrates on. The draftstates that polluting industries will not be permitted tooperate within Delhi and thelist of such industries will beperiodically updated by theDelhi government and DDA.
The draft also highlightsthe enhancement of a“GreenBlue Infrastructure”by taking into account theAravali ridge, the Yamuna,forests, wetlands, parks andother assets.
“The GDA policy has beenproposed for green belt villages and it permits restricted development and pre
scribes substantialproportion of land to bemaintained as wooded areaand green cover,” accordingto the draft MPD – 2041.
Aff��ordable housing and insitu rehabilitation of thoseliving in slums and JJ clusterswere other key aspects outlined by the MPD2041 andthe draft document said thatin unauthorised colonies“settlement level improvements” are required to makeall parts of the settlement accessible for emergency vehicles like ambulances and fi��retenders.
Forms of workspacesApart from creation of strategic hubs of high investment, the draft MPD2041 also lays out a plan forfacilitating new forms ofworkspaces. “A fi��ner network of decentralised workspaces in the form of smallwarehousing for ecommerce, coworking spaces
for startup economy shallbe facilitated. The plan provides adequate space normsand facilities for supportinginformal economies,” thedocument read.
According to the draftMPD2041, an areabased improvement approach will beadopted for revitalising thecommercial and sociocultural hubs of the city, includingareas like Connaught Place,Mandi House, Pragati Maidan and Shahjahanabad(Walled City).
Improved connectivityand transport infrastructure,shift from private to sharedmobility and making theCapital “walkable and cyclable” are other key aspectsmentioned in the MPD2041.
“A Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP) shall be prepared for Delhi to achievesystematic integration acrossall levels and modes of urbantransport,” the draftMPD2041 stated.
It also focuses on aff��ordable housing, insitu rehabilitation
Staff Reporter
NEW DELHI
An area-based improvement approach will be adopted forrevitalising commercial and socio-cultural hubs. * FILE PHOTO
Green economy and mobility keyaspects of draft 2041 master plan
A Delhi court on Wednesday dismissed the bail plea of a man arrestedin connection with the death ofhead constable Rattan Lal duringthe northeast Delhi riots last year.
Additional Sessions Judge VinodYadav noted that the nature of allegations against accused Irshad Aliare “very serious”. The judge remarked that the public witnesses inthe case are residents of the samelocality as Ali and the possibility ofhim threatening or intimidatingthem, if released on bail at this stagecannot be ruled out.
Prima facie opinion The court also said it was “prima facie evident that at or around thecommission of crime, i.e the murder of Rattan Lal, there was nobodypresent at the roof of Mohan Nursing Home”. “The footage of NDTVdoes not appear to be contemporaneous to the commission of crimein this case. It is, however, a primafacie opinion which shall be ascertained during the course of trial,” itsaid.
Ali’s counsel had relied on a viralvideo of news channel NDTV to argue that persons from the riotousmob, who were found stationed onthe rooftop of Mohan Nursing
Home, were fi��ring upon the policepersonnel and persons of othercommunity. “Mohan Nursing Homebeing not far away from the scene ofcrime (SOC), it is quite possible thatdeceased HC Rattan Lal might havesuff��ered bullet injury from any suchrifl��e and consequently died,” Ali’scounsel had argued.
However, the Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) played two video clipsin the court. In the fi��rst clip, whichis part of a news bulletin of NDTV,narrated by Mr. Ravish Kumar,showed a number of persons at theroof of Mohan Nursing Home fi��ringthrough rifl��e. The second video,which is claimed to be contemporaneous to the attack upon the policeparty by the rioters, clearly showedthat at that time there was nobodyat the roof of Mohan Nursing Home.
The SPP argued that the footageof NDTV did not show the correctpicture as far as the time of commission of crime in this case is concerned; whereas, the other footagewhich is part of the record of thiscase, clearly establishes that nobody was there on the roof of MohanNursing Home at the time ofincident.
The court while dismissing Ali’sbail plea said the bail applications ofseveral coaccused has already beendismissed.
Head constable murder: courtdismisses bail plea of accusedJudge cites possibility of intimidating witnesses
Staff Reporter
New Delhi
A study on breastfeedingknowledge and practices ofworking mothers in the informal economy in New Delhi has shown that sixmonths of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) was diffi��cult as38% of mothers returned towork under three months ofdelivery and 60% within sixmonths of delivery, leadingto early weaning.
The study conducted byresearchers from the IndianInstitute for Human Settlements interviewed 150mothers, including domestic workers, vendors, homebased and “barter” workingmothers, out of which 79%were breastfeeding.
Four sites coveredOf the 21 women, who had achild under six months, 14reported exclusive breastfeeding. The study was conducted in four sites in Delhiwhere the predominant employment is in the informaleconomy.
The study found thatwhile deciding to take one’schild to work, there was an
overall hesitation to carry achild under 12 months towork, fearing infection,need for mother’s attention,and disruption at work.
Work and duty“Only 37% of the sampledpopulation reported takingtheir child to work regularlyor often, of which 59% wereworking from their home,”the study said.
It also found that localcreches, run by the government, were not equipped toadmit children under 12months, and mostly pre
ferred children over twoyears.
The pathways for intervention suggested by the study include delayed return towork, increased spatial andtemporal proximity of amother with her child, eff��ective knowledge and deeperunderstanding of the reasoning and implications behind the sixmonth exclusivebreastfeeding recommendation and enabling the physical environment at homeand workplace to the needsof a mother for managingchild care.
60% of mothers return to work withinsix months of delivery, reveals study ‘Govt. creches unequipped to admit children under 1 year’
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI
The study interviewed 150 mothers who are predominantlyemployed in the informal economy. * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
CMYK
A ND-NDE
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THE HINDU DELHI
THURSDAY, JUNE 10, 2021 3EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
CITY
Published by N. Ravi at Kasturi Buildings, 859 & 860, Anna Salai, Chennai-600002 and Printed by S. Ramanujam at HT Media Ltd. Plot No. 8, Udyog Vihar, Greater Noida Distt. Gautam Budh Nagar, U.P. 201306, on behalf of THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD., Chennai-600002. Group Editorial Officer: Krishna Prasad. Editor: Suresh Nambath (Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act).
Regd. DL(ND)-11/6110/2006-07-08 ● RNI No. UPENG/2012/49940 ● ISSN 0971 - 751X ● Vol. 11 ● No. 137
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Timings
DELHI
THURSDAY, JUN. 10
RISE 05:23 SET 19:19
RISE 05:06 SET 19:23
FRIDAY, JUN. 11
RISE 05:23 SET 19:20
RISE 05:50 SET 20:16
SATURDAY, JUN. 12
RISE 05:23 SET 19:20
RISE 06:39 SET 21:08
Delhi Police Cyber Cell hasarrested 11 men, includingtwo chartered accountants,for allegedly cheating morethan 5 lakh people of over₹��150 crore in two months onthe pretext of lucrative returns via apps, the policesaid on Wednesday.
A total of ₹��11 crore of thecheated money has beenblocked in various bank accounts and payment gateways, the police said.
The police took notice ofvarious posts on social media by people across thecountry about two mobileapplications — Power Bankand EZPlan. These apps offered lucrative returns on investment, a senior police offi��cer said.
The Power Bank App projected itself as a Bengalurubased startup, but its serverwas found based in China.
The apps, in order to entice large number of peopleto invest more and more mo
ney, initially gave a smallpayout amounting to 5% to10% of the invested money,the police said.
People, believing thescheme to be genuine, started investing more money aswell as circulating and sharing the app among theirfriends and relatives.
Shell companies “The police invested a tokenamount in the app and themoney trail was followed. Itwas found that the accusedpersons had created a web ofaround 25 shell companiesfor routing the fraud money.
These companies were located in diff��erent parts of thecountry and money was being moved from one accountto the other to hide the trail,”Deputy Commissioner ofPolice (Cyber Cell) AnyeshRoy said.
The police analysed themobile numbers connectedwith the bank accounts andfound that one of accusedSheikh Robin was in Uluberia, West Bengal.
On June 2, raids were conducted at multiple locations.Robin was arrested. At thesame time, nine others werearrested from DelhiNCR, in
cluding two CAs — Avik Kediaand Ronak Bansal, the DCPsaid.
The CAs created over 110shell companies and soldthese companies to Chinesenationals for ₹��2₹��3 lakh each,the police said.
Robin, who was contactedby the Chinese nationalthrough Telegram, initiallyopened a bank account forthese fraudsters, but laterstarted acting as an operative, Mr. Roy said, addingthat at the time of the arrest,he was operating around 29bank accounts.
The main Chinese handlers behind this massivescam, used to randomly contact people over variousapps such as WhatsApp andTelegram and hired those interested as partners.
Names of several Chinesenationals have been revealedso far. Investigation abouttheir whereabouts, specifi��croles and their large fraudnetwork is under way, thepolice said.
11 held for duping 5L investorsof ₹��150 crore via mobile appsThey promised big returns on investments; Chinese nationals involved: police
STAFF REPORTER
NEW DELHI <> The police invested
a token amount in
the app and the
money trail was
followed. It was
found that the
accused had created
a web of shell fi��rms
to route the money
Anyesh Roy
DCP (Cyber Cell)
The Capital has received 1.25lakh doses of Covishield and20,000 doses of Covaxinvaccines for 1844 age group,and the youth can now getvaccinated for free at government centres, AAP leader Atishi said on Wednesday.
“Many people between 1844 years had been administered the fi��rst dose but wereunable to get the seconddose. Now, Covaxin is available and people can get thesecond dose,” the AAP leader said.
Ms. Atishi said that privatehospitals were administeringthe vaccines at “exorbitantcosts” and now vaccines areavailable at governmentcentres free of cost.
The Delhi governmentspokesperson said that afterthe arrival of the Covishieldvaccine doses, booking forthe fi��rst dose of 1844 agegroup will restart from Wednesday. “From today [Wednesday], booking for the fi��rstdose of Covishield for 1844
will restart on the CoWINplatform,” the spokespersonsaid.
There was no stock of Covishield for 1844 years in government facilities for thepast many days and Covaxinwas being given only for second dose. So, there was nofree fi��rst dose for the agegroup.
Ms. Atishi said that the total tally of vaccines administered in Delhi has reachedover 57 lakh, and 13 lakh people have been administeredboth the doses.
She also said that the government has received Covaxin for people of 45 yearsof age and above.
“On Tuesday, we had saidthat the stock of Covaxin isover in Delhi and it was unavailable for the 45+ agegroup people at manycentres. Yesterday, late in theevening, Delhi received30,000 doses of Covaxin andthey are being distributed todiff��erent centres. So, fromThursday, doses of Covaxinwill be available for thoseabove the age of 45 years,”Ms. Atishi said.
Over 300 new casesThe Capital reported 337new COVID19 cases in thepast 24 hours, taking the total cases to 14,30,128, according to a health bulletin released by the Delhigovernment on Wednesday.
Also, 36 deaths were reported and the total numberof deaths stood at 24,704. Atotal of 73,241 tests weredone in a day, the bulletinsaid. Of the total cases,14,00,913 people have recovered and there are 4,511 active cases. The test positivityrate was 0.46%.
Booking resumes as city receives fresh stock of vaccines
Staff Reporter
New Delhi
A benefi��ciary gets a vaccineshot in Delhi on Wednesday.
* SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA
Inoculation drive for 1844 agegroup restarts at govt. centres
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said theentire population of Indiacould be vaccinated withintwo to three months if thecountry’s electoral structurewas utilised to reach out toresidents for the purpose,just like the Delhi government was doing through the‘Jahan Vote, Wahan Vaccination’ programme.
The Chief Minister madethe observation during hisvisit to a vaccination centreat Rajkiya Sarvodaya Vidya
laya on Lancer Road whichis part of the Delhi government initiative which, hesaid, had received a“thunderous response”.
“We were observing thatnot many people were turning up to the vaccinationcentres across Delhi. Wethought that we had to invitepeople from their homesand spread awareness. So,this is a new initiative thatyou get vaccinated whereyou vote. In every VidhanSabha, the electoral machinery is very elaborate,” hesaid.
Boothlevel offi��cers“Just the way, boothlevel offi��cers go to houses to giveelection chits before the
weeks and, if the Delhi government had adequatedoses for the 1844 agegroup, residents in this category too could be vaccinated the same way.
‘Can cover entire nation’“We have an extraordinaryadministrative structureand electoral framework, ifwe are to use that then wecan vaccinate the entirecountry in 23 months,” hesaid.
“It is a very good thingthat starting June 21, theCentral government is goingto provide us with the vaccines. So, if we get the vaccines, then we will start vaccinating everyone under thisscheme,” he said.
he said. Mr. Kejriwal saidthat a few benefi��ciaries whohad come to the centre forvaccination, under the programme, told him that theywere “very happy” with thearrangement.
The BLOs, while visitingthe homes of residents,were also removing any apprehensions that they mayhave regarding the vaccination. If, despite this, benefi��ciaries did not turn up, theBLOs would visit them oncemore to counsel them again.
45+ age groupUnder the initiative, he said,the Delhi governmentaimed to ensure that all residents above 45 years werevaccinated within four
polls and inform peopleabout the date and other details of the election, BLOsare going to the house ofeach and every person andgiving slots for vaccination,”
Replicate electoral machinery for vaccination: CMResidents happy with Delhi govt.initiative, he says
Special Correspondent
New Delhi
Arvind Kejriwal during the‘Jahan Vote, WahanVaccination’ drive in Delhi.
* SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA
Sir Ganga Ram Hospital onWednesday said that monoclonal antibody therapy wassuccessfully used in two patients and one of the patient’s parameters improvedwithin 12 hours and wasdischarged.
Pooja Khosla, senior consultant, Department of Medicine of the hospital said,“Monoclonal antibodycould prove to be a gamechanger in times to come ifused at an appropriate time.It can avoid hospitalisationin highrisk groups and pro
gression to severe disease. Itcan help escaping or reducing the usage of steroids andimmunomodulation whichwould further reduce therisk of fatal infections likemucormycosis, secondarybacterial and viralinfections.”
Dr. Khosla said that a 36yearold healthcare workerwith highgrade fever,cough, and severe weaknesswas administered the therapy on the sixth day of thedisease and the patient’s parameter improved within 12hours and he was discharged.
Antibody therapy evokesgood response: hospital‘Could prove to be a game changer’
Staff Reporter
New Delhi
Delhi Police tracemissing rapper in M.P. NEW DELHI
A 23yearold citybased
rapper who had gone missing
a week ago, after posting a
note on social media
suggesting that he was going
to end his life, was traced by
a Delhi Police team on
Wednesday. The police said
they received information
that the rapper, Aditya
Tiwari, was at his friend’s
house in Jabalpur, Madhya
Pradesh.
IN BRIEF
The Delhi High Court onWednesday said it willhear a plea by RJD RajyaSabha MP AmarendraDhari Singh, arrested in amoney laundering case related to an alleged fertiliser scam, challenging trialcourt’s order granting his10day custody to the Enforcement Directorate(ED) on June 11.
The High Court notedthat since Mr. Singh’scounsel circulated certainjudgments to challengethe trial court order, theED’s counsel also wishedto place some judgmentsin support of hisarguments.
Money laundering caseMr. Singh was arrested byEnforcement Directorateon June 2 under provisionsof the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
His plea said the specialjudge’s order suff��ers fromcomplete nonapplicationof mind and has beenpassed mechanically without proper appreciation ofpeculiar facts of the caseand material on record.
The case pertains to analleged fertiliser scamlinked to the IFFCO and India Potash Limited (IPL),in which the CBI had registered a corruption caselast month.
HC to heararrested RJDMP’s plea
Staff Reporter
New Delhi
To help teachers reconnectwith their students beforeschools reopen for academiclearning, the Delhi government will organise a trainingprogramme to help themdeal with the fallout of thepandemic.
Deputy Chief MinisterManish Sisodia on Wednesday said that the pandemichas given us the opportunityto reimagine schooling andadapt to the new emergingrealities.
He was speaking at the in
augural workshop being organised by the GuerrandHermès Foundation forPeace (GHFP) for Delhi government teachers.
Creating a space“Our teachers and studentshave gone through a lot ofpain during the time of pandemic; we want to supportthem in overcoming thegrief. We want to create aspace for our teachers andtheir students for sharing,listening and a meaningfuldialogue before resumptionof teachinglearning activi
team of experts will conductthree days’ session with asmall group of mentorteachers of the Delhi government.
Mentor teachersThereafter, the mentorteachers will conduct similar sessions with two teachers of each school.
These two teachers willthen help the fellow teachers in their own schools toinitiate dialogue with theirstudents and parents, ifneeded, the Delhi government said.
ties,” Mr. Sisodia said. He added that school reo
pening is not just aboutopening books; it’s aboutopening the heart and mindto reconnect with each other.
He stressed on the importance of teachers preparingthemselves to counsel theirstudents, support them ifthey are facing any challenges and help them to a stagewhere they are ready to resume teachinglearningactivities.
As a fi��rst step of the collaboration with the GHFP, a
‘Training for teachers to reconnect with students’Team to conduct threeday session to help them deal with fallout of pandemic
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI
The BJP on Wednesday alleged that the Delhi government had “wrongly advised”selfisolation to residents suffering from COVID19 to hideshortcomings in the government health infrastructure.
Delhi BJP president AdeshGupta said 70% of the houses in Delhi measured lessthan 100 square yards withmany occupants. “If they
had been admitted to hospitals in the initial stages of infection, the COVID deathrate could have been muchless,” he said.
“It is a crime by the Delhigovernment to force peopleto go for home isolation…thedeath rate per 10 lakh is maximum in Delhi and couldhave been much less,” Mr.Gupta alleged.
Leader of the Oppositionin the Delhi Assembly Ram
vir Singh Bidhuri said duringthe fi��rst wave, temporaryCOVID care centres were setup and later disbanded asthe AAP government had noforesight to see anotherwave.
Oxygen plants“Testing and vaccinationscentres could have beenstarted at mohalla clinics orthese could have served asisolation centres if they were
in proper shape,” he alleged. BJP Rohini MLA Vijender
Gupta said, in April, ChiefMinister Arvind Kejriwal hadannounced setting up of 44oxygen plants before May 31,but only nine plants hadbeen operationalised tillthen. “We cannot aff��ord tolose more lives because wewere caught unprepared.The Delhi government mustramp up healthcare infrastructure,” he said.
Delhi govt.’s home isolation model fl��awed: BJPSpecial Correspondent
New Delhi
An alleged ISIS member, arrested for planning suicideattacks and serial blastsacross the country, approached a Delhi court onWednesday claiming that hewas beaten up by other inmates in Tihar jail andforced to chant ‘Jai ShriRam’.
The accused, Rashid Zafar, was arrested in 2018 onthe allegations of beingmember of an ISISinspiredgroup who were planningsuicide attacks and serialblasts, targeting politiciansas also government installations in Delhi and otherparts of north India.
Advocate M.S. Khanclaimed in the application,which is likely to come upfor hearing on Thursday,that the incident was disclosed by the accused to hisfather telephonically fromTihar jail.
“The accused was beatenup and forced to chant religious slogans like ‘Jai ShriRam’ by his inmates,” theapplication said.
The plea, moved by advocate Qausar Khan, requested that “appropriate directions may be passed to thejail superintendent to lookinto the matter”.
Raids conductedThe accused were arrestedalong with nine others inDecember 2018 after theNIA carried out searches, incoordination with Specialcell of Delhi Police and AntiTerrorism Squad of UttarPradesh Police, at six placesin Jafrabad, Seelampur inDelhi, and 11 places in UttarPradesh — six in Amroha,two in Lucknow, two in Hapur and two in Meerut.
The searches and the arrests came a month beforethe Republic Day celebrations on January 26.
‘Beaten up and forced tochant Jai Shri Ram in jail’Alleged ISIS member fi��les plea in court
Press Trust of India
New Delhi
The Aam Aadmi Party onWednesday alleged thatSouth Delhi MunicipalCorporation’s BJP councillors and Mayor are involved in corruption.
AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that the BJPledmunicipal corporation isappointing members whohave been involved in corruption as Mayor andLeader of the House.
“Within just two years,Indrajit Sehrawat (Leaderof the House of SDMC) hasdoubled the cash and tripled the property. MukeshSuryan [Mayor of SDMC]had tendered an unconditional apology in the Supreme Court for misbehaving and threateningthe offi��cials,” Mr. Bhardwaj claimed, adding thatthe BJP is working persistently to loot as much asDelhi can be looted beforethe next elections.
AAP accusesBJP leaders of corruptionStaff Reporter
New Delhi
A 20yearold ‘pregnant’ woman was strangled to deathallegedly by her husband inOuter Delhi’s Narela after hesuspected her of having anillicit relationship, the policesaid on Wednesday.
After killing his wife, theaccused Dilshad lied next toher body. He was later arrested by the police.
The police said the couplewere married for aroundnine months and lived in arented house at Narela.
The woman was twomonth pregnant as allegedby locals and family members but the police are verifying claims and awaitingpostmortem report to ascertain the facts.
The couple often foughtas Dilshad suspected her of
having an illicit relationshipwith someone else, the police said.
The incident took placeon early Tuesday morning.The couple engaged in afi��ght during which he allegedly strangled her to death.
One of the relatives whovisited them on Tuesdaymorning got to know aboutthe murder and soon informed the police.
Man strangulates ‘pregnant’ wife
STAFF REPORTER
NEW DELHI
Accused suspected her of having an illicit relationship
Amid sultry weather andeasing of lockdown curbs,Delhi’s peak power demand soared to 6,185 MWon Wednesday — the highest so far this summer.
The peak demand stoodat 5,559 MW on Monday,the fi��rst day of unlocking inthe city. It was the fi��rst timethat the power demandcrossed the 5,000 MWmark this season, said discom offi��cials. It soared to5,906 MW on Tuesday.
Peak powerdemand soarsto 6,185 MW
Press Trust of India
New delhi
CMYK
A ND-NDE
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DELHI THE HINDU
THURSDAY, JUNE 10, 20214EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
NORTH & EAST
Former Rajya Sabha MP andCommunist Party of India(Marxist) Politburo memberBrinda Karat on Wednesdaystrongly condemned the alleged attempts by certainforces to give communal spinto Asif murder case in Nuhand interfere with the courseof law.
Ms. Karat, along with CPIleader Amarjeet Kaur, led adelegation to Nuh to meetthe family of the deceasedand also called upon the Deputy Commissioner demanding that communal harmonybe upheld in the region.
Expressing condolence over the death of Asif, who waskidnapped and murdered onMay 16, Ms. Karat said attempts were being made bycertain forces to give communal spin to the incident andprotect the accused and vitiate the atmosphere of thevillage and the area.
Ms. Karat said Asif was not
murdered for his religiousbeliefs, but for opposing thecriminal elements in the village. She said her partywould raise the issue at allpossible platforms.
Meeting with DCThe delegation also met theDeputy Commissioner demanding the arrest of all theaccused in the case andupholding the communalharmony in the region. Itsaid that provocative videoswere being uploaded on so
cial media platforms andcaste panchayats held tocreate communal rift andprotect the accused.
CPI State secretary D.S.Kashyap and CPI(M) zonal secretary Major S.L. Prajapatiwere part of the delegation.
Asif, a resident of Nuh’sKhera Khalilpur, was returning home from a medicalstore on May 16 in a car whenhe was waylaid and kidnapped. He was later founddead at Nangli village inSohna.
She leads a delegation to Nuh to meet the victim’s kin
Special Correspondent
GURUGRAM
CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat meeting the family members ofAsif in Nuh on Wednesday. * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Asif murder case: Karat condemnsattempts to give communal twist
The “last remaining stretches” of the Assam Valley tropical wet evergreen forestshave become Assam’s seventh National Park. TheState government on Wednesday notifi��ed Dihing Patkai as a National Park, fourdays after creating the 422sq. km Raimona NationalPark in western Assam’sKokrajhar district.
The fi��ve older NationalParks in the State are Kaziranga, Manas, Nameri,Orang and DibruSaikhowa.Kaziranga and Manas areUNESCO World HeritageSites. They are also tiger reserves along with Nameri
and Orang. The 234.26sq. km Dihing
Patkai straddling eastern Assam’s Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts is a major elephant habitat and 310species of butterfl��ies havebeen recorded there. Thepark has 47 species each ofreptiles and mammals, including the tiger and clouded leopard.
Illegal coal miningDihing Patkai, in focus a yearago for illegal coal mining inthe vicinity, encompassesthe erstwhile Dehing PatkaiWildlife Sanctuary, the Jeypore Reserve Forest and thewestern block of the UpperDihing Reserve Forest.
“The forest village area diverted under Forest Conservation Act has been excluded. Short stretches of theDirak and Buri Dihing rivershave been included in thepark,” State Environmentand Forest Minister ParimalSuklabaidya said.
The newly notifi��ed National Park will be administered by the SoraipungRange of Digboi Forest Division and Jeypore Range ofDibrugarh Forest Division.Additional antipoachingcamps and manpower arebeing provided, the Ministersaid. Raimona, on the otherhand, will be administeredby the Kachugaon Forest Division of the BTC.
It has 47 species each of reptiles and mammals, including tiger
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
GUWAHATI
Dihing Patkai is Assam’s 7th National Park
Health activists attached toJan Swasthya Abhiyan ( JSA)here on Wednesday calledfor providing incentives tocounter COVID19 vaccinehesitancy in the rural areas,while affi��rming that it wouldhelp accelerate the pace ofvaccination among the villagers who were reluctant toget the jab because of lack ofknowledge or out ofsuspicion.
The JSA, which functionsas the Rajasthan chapter ofthe People’s Health Movement, said the incentivescould be in the form of additional ration from the publicdistribution system, extradays of MGNREGA work,such as 150 days of guaranteed wage employment instead of 100 days in a fi��nancial year and hot cookedmeals or additional ration topregnant and lactating women from Anganwadis.
Chhaya Pachauli, directorof the voluntary groupPrayas, said the reports hadbeen received from somedistricts about the rural population being coerced by the
administration to get vaccinated with the threat thatthey would not be given ration or MGNREGA wages ifthey did not get inoculated.
Violation of right to food“This is not only exploitativebut also amounts to sheerviolation of people’s right tofood and employment,” shesaid. The JSA felt that the government should instead focus on the measures whichaimed at educating the people about vaccines and dispelling their myths andfears.
The provision for incentivising the people could motivate those who were reluctant to reconsider the optionof getting vaccinated andpush them to make up theirminds quickly, said Ms. Pachauli, adding that such anapproach could help increase the vaccination rateand reduce the waste ofvials. The JSA has shot off�� letters with these suggestionsto Prime Minister NarendraModi, Chief Minister AshokGehlot and Medical andHealth Minister Raghu Sharma.
‘Give incentives tocounter jab hesitancy’ It could be extra ration or work: activists
special correspondent
Jaipur
The Haryana State LegalServices Authority onWednesday launched aproject to create awareness about the rights andbenefi��ts for children whohave lost their parents dueto Covid pandemic.
Kicking off�� the project,“Hope: Sangharsh Se Utkarsh Tak Hum AapkeSaath Hain”, through virtual mode, Justice RajanGupta, Judge, Punjab & Haryana High Court and Executive Chairman ofHSLSA said such childrenwere in need of special attention of the society andtheir protection and rehabilitation was one of themajor issues right now.
Action planAs per the action plan under the project, the District Legal Services Authorities will identify thesechildren and try to unitethem with their close surviving relatives. If that isnot possible, the child willbe rehabilitated in thechild care institutions andadoption facilitated as perguidelines.
Project to helpchildren wholost parents
Special Correspondent
GURUGRAM
The Haryana government’snew policy for allotment ofnew tubewell connectionsfor irrigating fi��elds in thenorthern and southern partsof the State has come undersevere criticism from the Opposition Congress.
Hitting out at the BharatiyaJanata PartyJannayak JantaParty (BJPJJP) government,Congress’ national general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala said that on May 1, 2021,a new policy for providingtubewell connections was issued by power companies inHaryana. “As per this policyaimed at snatching the livelihood of the son of the soil, ifthe farmer’s land comes under the canal command area,then no tubewell connectionwill be allotted to him,” he alleged.
“In the face of this grosslyantifarmer policy, tubewell
connections will no longer besanctioned in Ambala, Yamuna Nagar, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Panipat, Kaithal, Jind, Hisar, Fatehabad, Bhiwani,Dadri, Narnaul, Mahendragarh, Mewat, Gurgaon etc.because in these districts, 8090% of the area comes underthe fl��ow or lift command areaof canal irrigation,” said Mr.Surjewala, adding that thefarmers of northern andsouthern Haryana would bemost aff��ected by the order.
Also, a condition included
in the policy says tubewellmotors of over 30 BHP (brakehorse power) would not besanctioned in future. Theyare completely banned. Inthe whole of southern Haryana and in the whole of Ahirwal, especially in Bhiwani,Dadri, Mahendragarh, Rewari, Mewat and Gurgaon, thegroundwater table is so lowthat most motors are of 4050BHP. “This order means thatnow onwards no farmer willbe sanctioned a tubewellconnection in southern Haryana,” he added.
‘Govt. should apologise’Mr. Surjewala said the Stategovernment should immediately withdraw the policyand apologise to the farmersof the State for their antifarmer stance.
Former Chief Minister andLeader of the Opposition inthe State Assembly Bhupinder Singh Hooda said that the
government should plan toprovide relief to farmers instead of experimenting withpolicies during the COVID19pandemic.
‘Farmers left clueless’“It is being reported that connections will be given only tothose farmers who get a ‘noobjection certifi��cate’ from theIrrigation Department. Insuch a situation, farmers whodeposited the security[amount] many years ago areleft clueless and wonderingwhat to do next,” he said.
“The government is changing the rules and standardstime and again to thwartthem [the farmers]. Sometimes the standards of electric motors are changed whileat other times, rules onground water level arechanged. Farmers do noteven have the freedom to takethe motor of their choice,”Mr. Hooda said.
Cong. hits out at Haryana govt.over new rules for tube-wellsPolicy aimed at snatching the livelihood of the son of the soil, says Surjewala
special correspondent
Chandigarh
Cong. leader R.S. Surjewala
A drive against drugtraffi��cking and hike in the dailywage of tea plantation workers were among a slew ofmeasures that marked amonth of the Himanta Biswa Sarma Ministry in Assam, a government spokesperson said on Wednesday.
Dr. Sarma was sworn inas the 15th Chief Minister ofthe State on May 10, replacing Sarbananda Sonowal inthe second successive BJPled government.
‘Best performance’“Assam’s performance onthe COVID19 front has beenone of the best in India withmore than 40 lakh peoplevaccinated, hospitalsramped up and oxygen supply assured. We have alsoinitiated the process of providing ₹��3,500 a month tochildren orphaned by thecoronavirus,” Water Resources Minister and government spokesperson Pijush Hazarika said.
Tea wage hikemarks a monthof Assam govt.
special correspondent
Guwahati
A day after a powerful explosion in a madrasa in Bihar’sBanka district, ruling NDAalliance partners in theState, the BJP and the JD(U),on Wednesday came face toface on the incident. Policesuspect an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) mighthave caused the blast.
Demanding that sucheducational institutions bebanned across the State, BJPMLA from Bisfi�� in Madhubani district, Hari BhushanThakur, said, “In madrasasand mosques in Bihar, education of terrorism is beinggiven. Training to makebombs and to incite violenceis given in madrasas. Children should be taken outfrom madrasas and givencommon education.”
Probe demandedMr. Thakur, in a video post,added, “The minority community in Bihar has been harassing Dalits. Incidents ofJamui, Gopalganj and Purniaare examples. I want a thorough investigation into theincident to ascertain underwhat circumstances the explosion took place.”
JD(U) leader and party
MLC Gulam Rasool Balyawicriticised the BJP MLA’s comment. He said, “Those making such comments shouldbe sent to mental asylum.”
“During the election, theBJP men do not see mosquesand madrasas but soon afterwinning they come to theirreal agenda,” Mr. Balyawisaid.
On Tuesday, a powerfulexplosion took place in amadrasa near a mosque inChamreli Navtolia village under the Banka town policestation limits. The madrasabuilding collapsed and theImam, Abdul Sattar Mobin,was killed in the explosion.The adjacent mosque was
badly damaged. Due to thelockdown, the madrasa wasnonfunctional and it is believed that the Imam was thesole resident.
However, after the explosion, residents of the villageleft the place, leaving behindwomen and the elderly.
The district police, probing the blast, suspected useof IED.
“We are collecting detailsand a FSL team too hasreached the spot,” Bhagalpur zone DIG Sujeet Kumarsaid.
District Superintendentof Police Arvind Kumar Gupta said, “It was a powerfulblast.”
Police suspect an IED might have caused the explosion
Amarnath Tewary
Patna
A police offi��cer at the collapsed madrasa in Banka district ofBihar. * PTI
BJP, JD(U) spar over blast at madrasa
PUBLIC NOTICE PUBLIC NOTICE
OBITUARY &
REMEMBRANCE
REMEMBRANCE
I, NIRMALA dependents of Amit Ku-mar Gupta resident of village &P.O.− Kaitha, Distt. Kanpur NagarUttar Pradesh−209206 have changedby name from Nirmala to MithleshKumari vide affidavit dated08062021 before District courtDwarka, Delhi.
PERSONAL
CHANGE OF NAME
LEGAL NOTICE
PUBLIC NOTICE
TENDERS
LEGAL NOTICE
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Weather WatchRainfall, temperature & air quality in select metros yesterday
Temperature Data: IMD, Pollution Data: CPCB, Map: INSAT/IMD (Taken at 18.00 Hrs)
Forecast for Thursday: Heavy/very heavy rainfall likely at isolated places over Assam, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh,Vidarbha, Telangana, coastal Karnataka, Kerala and Andaman &Nicobar Islands. Thunderstorm with lightning likely at isolatedplaces over Nagaland, Manipur, Marathwada, coastal AndhraPradesh, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Karaikal and Lakshadweep
city rain max min city rain max min
Agartala.............. 14....34.1....25.8 Kozhikode.................... 1....33.6....25.2
Ahmedabad...........—....39.0....28.4 Kurnool .......................—....35.2....26.1
Aizawl...................—....29.0....17.8 Lucknow...................... 3....35.6....29.7
Allahabad..............—....34.7....29.0 Madurai .......................—....37.7....25.1
Bengaluru .............—....29.5....20.5 Mangaluru ................ 3.6....30.0....22.2
Bhopal ............. 36.2....36.0....21.5 Mumbai ..................... 60....26.4....25.4
Bhubaneswar.........—....32.8....24.8 Mysuru ........................—....33.0....20.2
Chandigarh ...........—....42.5....30.7 New Delhi ...................—....42.2....31.4
Chennai ................—....38.6....27.7 Patna ..................... 40.4....32.4....21.4
Coimbatore ...........—....33.7....23.4 Port Blair................... 89....27.9....23.2
Dehradun ..............—....36.7....25.2 Puducherry .................. 4....37.9....25.2
Gangtok............ 114....21.1....16.4 Pune......................... 0.1....25.8....23.2
Goa..................... 34....27.5....23.4 Raipur ...................... 2.6....41.0....25.2
Guwahati ..............—....33.5....25.9 Ranchi .........................—....32.6....22.6
Hubballi ................—....27.0....22.0 Shillong.......................—....25.0....18.1
Hyderabad ............—....31.0....25.5 Shimla.........................—....31.0....24.5
Imphal ..................—....32.2....20.7 Srinagar.......................—....34.7....19.8
Jaipur ...................—....41.6....30.4 Thiruvananthapuram......... 1....32.5....24.6
Kochi .................. 11....31.0....24.4 Tiruchi......................... 1....38.3....26.6
Kohima .................—....27.5....18.2 Vijayawada ..................—....38.2....28.6
Kolkata .............. 0.6....33.8....26.4 Visakhapatnam .............—....39.2....29.2
(Rainfall data in mm; temperature in Celsius)
Pollutants in the air you are breathing Yesterday
CITIES SO2 NO2 CO PM2.5 PM10 CODE
In observation made at4.00 p.m., Fatehabad,Haryana recorded an overallair quality index (AQI) scoreof 461 indicating anunhealthy level of pollution.In contrast, Gadag,Karnataka recorded ahealthy AQI score of 12
Ahmedabad..... ..3 .47 134 ....47 ...65 ....*
Bengaluru ....... ..3 .33 .39 ....28 ...65 ....*
Chennai .......... ..7 ...5 .46 ....45 ...69 ....*
Delhi .............. ..9 .24 .30 ..330 .358 ....*
Hyderabad ...... ..1 .67 ...5 ....23 ...38 ....*
Kolkata........... 10 .16 .30 ....61 ...58 ....*
Lucknow ......... 10 .43 .68 ..184 .161 ....*
Mumbai .......... 48 .15 .20 ....20 ...30 ....*
Pune............... ..5 ...1 .70 ..148 ...97 ....*
Visakhapatnam 16 .48 .25 ....52 ...98 ....*
Air Quality Code: * Poor * Moderate * Good (Readings indicate average AQI)
SO2: Sulphur Dioxide. Short-term exposure can harm the respiratory system,
making breathing difficult. It can affect visibility by reacting with other air
particles to form haze and stain culturally important objects such as statues
and monuments.
NO2: Nitrogen Dioxide. Aggravates respiratory illness, causes haze to form by
reacting with other air particles, causes acid rain, pollutes coastal waters.
CO: Carbon monoxide. High concentration in air reduces oxygen supply to
critical organs like the heart and brain. At very high levels, it can cause
dizziness, confusion, unconsciousness and even death.
PM2.5 & PM10: Particulate matter pollution can cause irritation of the eyes,
nose and throat, coughing, chest tightness and shortness of breath, reduced
lung function, irregular heartbeat, asthma attacks, heart attacks and premature
death in people with heart or lung disease
Vigilance to investigateKSRTC money caseTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi
Vijayan has ordered a
Vigilance probe into the
alleged misappropriation of
₹��100.75 crore from the
accounts of Kerala State Road
Transport Corporation
(KSRTC) during the 201013
period. The clearance for
probe was given on
Wednesday.
IN BRIEF
Tree felling: HC declinesto stay proceedings KOCHI
The Kerala High Court on
Wednesday refused to stay
the proceedings pending
before the Judicial First Class
Magistrate Court, Sulthan
Bathery, in the cases
registered in connection with
the felling of centuriesold
rosewood trees from private
plantations at Muttil South
village in Wayanad.
Naidu flays demolition of school in Vizag VIJAYAWADA
Telugu Desam Party national
president N. Chandrababu
Naidu has urged Chief
Secretary Adityanath Das to
come to the rescue of the
differentlyabled students of
Hidden Sprouts School in
Visakhapatnam, Andhra
Pradesh. In a letter to the
Chief Secretary, Mr. Naidu
said the government targeted
the noprofit school for
differentlyabled students.
New plant speciesspotted in Wagamon THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
A new plant species
belonging to the coffee
family spotted in the scenic
Wagamon hills in Kerala has
been named Argostemma
quarantena to commemorate
the millions who have died in
the pandemic. A herbaceous
species from the family
Rubiaceae, Argostemma
quarantena was found along
the IdukkiKottayam border.
The BJP on Wednesday appeared to spring to the defence of K. Surendran, theparty’s embattled Keralapresident.
A delegation of BJP leaders led by Kummanam Rajasekharan and O. Rajagopalmet Governor Arif Mohammad Khan to spotlight “grossabuse of police machineryby the Left Democratic Front[LDF] government to tarnishthe BJP and to harass its leaders”.
A senior leader said thehighprofi��le visit to Raj Bhavan was a clear signal thatthe BJP had rallied behindMr. Surendran. The partywould politically and legallybattle out the attempts to
hobble the organisation byfoisting false cases against itsapparatchiks.
In a petition to Mr. Khan,the BJP said the CPI(M) hadsubverted the investigationinto the Kodakara highwayrobbery case and weaponised it to target the party’sState leadership. The BJP alleged political vendetta. Theleaders said the police specifi��cally targeted Mr. Suren
dran and his family to punish him for campaigningagainst the LDF on varioussensitive issues, includingthe Sabarimala and the goldsmuggling case.
The police had slapped acase against Mr. Surendranin Majeswaram, falsely accusing him of bribing a political rival to withdraw hiscandidacy for the Assemblyconstituency.
The leaders alleged thatthe police had prevented theBJP from holding its corecommittee meeting in Kochion June 6 citing COVID19protocol.
The BJP leaders requestedMr. Khan to “take note of theoppressive, antidemocraticand illegal actions of theState government and totake appropriate remedialmeasures”.
BJP leaders call on Kerala Governor Party appears torally behind Statechief Surendran
A leader said the meet was aclear signal that the BJP hadrallied behind Mr. Surendran.
Special Correspondent
Thiruvananthapuram
In the face of criticism, theDirector of Port, Shippingand Navigation in the Lakshadweep administration hasquietly withdrawn the orderfor the deployment of government staff�� on fi��shingboats.
Director Sachin Sharmaalso reversed the May 28 order by which the securityaround ports, jetties, shipsand other vessels was raisedto level2 “on the basis of recent intelligence inputs”.
In an email message tothe Deputy Director (S&T),Kochi; Assistant Directors;port assistants on the island;the CSO of the LakshadweepDevelopment CorporationLimited (LDCL); and the Assistant Commandant of theCentral Industrial Security
Force (CISF) in Kochi on June7, Mr. Sharma cited the orders of May 28 and June 2“regarding strengthening ofsecurity in ports/ships andjetties” and said “as perfurther inputs, all concerned
may revert back to standardprotocol and SOPs [standardoperating procedures]”.
The Lakshadweep Government Employees’ Unionhad recently taken exceptionto the order asking for go
vernment employees to goon board fi��shing vessels forintelligence collection.
The order was also criticised by fi��shers’ forums.Sources said maritime security agencies were also
peeved with the order,which was interpreted as interfering with their jurisdictional powers.
The June 2 communication was about a security review meeting chaired by anAdvisor to the Union Territory Administrator. It said decisions had been taken to deploy government staff�� onfi��shing craft, strengthen security measures to monitorlocal fi��shing boats, and intensify checking of motorised and passenger vessels.
It had also ordered measures for the installation ofCCTV cameras at berthingports and the helibase, andthe baggage and passengerchecking facility at the Mangalore and Beypore ports.
The LDCL had been askedto “inform ship masters toremain vigilant and alert”.
Directive withdrawn in Lakshadweep Controversial order required the deployment of government staff�� on fi��shing boats
Special Correspondent
KOCHI
No takers: The Lakshadweep Government Employees’ Union took exception to the order.
BJP Kerala president K.Surendran’s presence inNew Delhi on Wednesdaytriggered speculation aboutan impending leadershipchange in the party’s
“embattled” State unit. The national leadership
had summoned Mr.Surendran and some in theparty said his position wasprecarious. But another BJPleader said his visit to NewDelhi was planned.
Surendran’s visit to NewDelhi sparks rumoursspecial correspondent
Thiruvananthapuram
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The dearth of treatment facilities and the supply ofmedicines in many cases isforcing mucormycosis patients across districts inKarnataka to seek medicalhelp in Bengaluru.
However, when they arrive at the State’s capital,most are unable to fi��nd abed as they are unawarethat District Health Offi��cers(DHOs) have to be alertedso that beds can be organised. Moreover, the procedure where the DHO writesto his counterpart in Bengaluru is proving to be ahurdle. DHOs are hesitantto write referral letters asthey will be held accountable for not being able totreat patients in their districts, sources said.
Mucormycosispatients lackhospital beds
special correspondent
Bengaluru
WEST
Maharashtra continued toreport low case surges, recording 10,989 new COVID19 cases on Wednesdayas opposed to 16,379 recoveries. The State’s active casetally dipped further to1,61,864.
However, the State’s totaldeath toll has crossed theone lakh mark, climbing to1,01,833, with the State’scase fatality rate rising to1.74%.
A total of 661 deaths wereadded to the State’s progressive death toll, of which 170occurred in the last 48 hoursand a further 91 were fromthe past week. As many as400 fatalities have been ad
ded in the ongoing ‘reconciliation’ process, as per theState Health Department.
The State’s total caseshave reached 58,31,781 whileits cumulative recoverieshave climbed to 55,97,304with the recovery rate goingup to 95.45%.
“Of a total 3,71,28,093 laboratory samples tested thusfar, 58,63,880 (with the average case positivity falling incrementally to 15.79%) havereturned positive with over2.21 lakh samples being tested in the last 24 hours,” StateSurveillance Offi��cer Dr. Pradeep Awate said.
Pune witnessed a heightened spike, reporting morethan 1,300 new cases takingits total case tally to
10,30,325. As per the StateHealth Department fi��gures,27 deaths were recorded asthe toll rose to 13,638. According to district authorities, the active cases havedeclined below 20,000while the death count hastouched 17,700.
Mumbai recorded 785new cases to take its total tally to 7,12,840 while the active count has increasedslightly to 17,939. As many as27 fatalities took the city’stoll to 15,033. In westernMaharashtra, Kolhapur continued to see big surges, withmore than 1,400 new casestaking its total cases to1,27,113 of whom 17,822 areactive. Forty deaths saw thetoll go up to 3,923.
State reports 10,989 fresh cases; death toll reaches 1,01,833
Special Correspondent
Pune
Maharashtra’s active cases dip to 1.61 lakh
Chemical factory ownersmust stringently adhere tosafety norms, said Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray onWednesday. He directed thePune district administrationto ensure that the compensation announced by the Stategovernment reached the kinof the 17 labourers who werecharred to death at a chemical manufacturing companyin the district’s Mulshi area.
“Industrial safety standards must be seriously reviewed in the aftermath ofthe explosion at a chemicalcompany at Urware whichresulted in the tragicdeaths,” he said.
The incident occurred
late afternoon on Mondaywhen two explosions causeda powerful blaze inside SVSAqua Technologies, a chemical manufacturing company.Most of those killed were women while fi��ve other labourers were seriously injured.The government had announced an exgratia of ₹��5lakh for the kin of each of the
deceased. The Chief Ministerwarned of stern actionagainst errant industries thatneglected safety norms andregulations.
He said the committeecomprising offi��cials of thePune district administration,which had been constitutedto probe the accident,should submit its report immediately after a comprehensive inquiry.
“The administrationshould also take action toprovide assistance to thefamilies of the deceasedand provide fi��nancial assistance to their relatives assoon as possible. Thechemical industrial safetystandards should be reviewed frequently in in
dustrial estates.”
Owner in police custodyA local court remanded Nikunj Shah, one of the ownersof the company, in policecustody till June 13. Mr. Shahwas arrested on Tuesday following questioning under relevant Sections of the IPC for‘culpable homicide notamounting to murder’.
The preliminary probe revealed gross negligence onthe company’s part in adhering to basic fi��re safety normsand building permissionrules. Authorities said thepremises had no emergencyexit doors, which had led tothe workers being tragicallycharred to death when thefi��re began to spread.
Uddhav warns of stern action againstindustries not following safety normsEnsure compensation reaches kin of 17 labourers killed in Pune factory fi��re: CM
Shoumojit Banerjee
Pune
Uddhav Thackeray
The Bombay High Court onWednesday asked the Stateand Union governmentswhat steps they had takento inform citizens aboutthe Centre’s standard operating procedure (SOP) forvaccinating people withoutthe seven prescribed identity cards.
A Bench of Chief JusticeDipankar Datta and G.S.Kulkarni was hearing abunch of public interest litigation petitions (PILs) onimproving access to the CoWIN web portal for booking vaccination slots.
It asked the Union government to inform thecourt what steps were taken to cover the mentallyill and those who could notgive a consent without a legal guardian, under its vaccination drive.
The court was informedthat seven identity cards,including Aadhaar andPAN, could be used to register for vaccination onthe CoWIN portal.
HC questionsCentre, State onvaccination SOP
Special Correspondent
MUMBAI
The Bombay High Court onWednesday asked the Maharashtra government if it hadapplied for permission togive doortodoor vaccination, and told the Centralgovernment, “COVID19 isthe common enemy, andyou must consider the battle as a surgical strike!”
A Division Bench of ChiefJustice Dipankar Datta andJustice G.S. Kulkarni washearing a public interest litigation petition fi��led by twocitybased lawyers thatsought vaccination at homefor those above 75 years, bedridden orwheelchairbound.
Advocate Dhruti Kapadia, representing the petitions, told the court that
Kerala had been conductingvaccination for bedriddenpeople and the Vasai VirarMunicipal Corporation hadstarted doortodoorvaccination.
The court asked the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) how a senior political member gotvaccinated at the beginningof the drive.
BMC’s counsel Anil Sakhare said he would informtomorrow.
The court said, “We wantto know today. We are hearing the matter today. We aretalking about your model tothe entire country and areappreciating your eff��orts.Did Kerala wait for the nodfrom the Central government? Either the defencecan be that you have given
him [politician] a diff��erentvaccine, or you have nothing to do with it then we willask the State”.
The Bench told Additional Solicitor General of IndiaAnil Singh, “You have takena decision for near to doorvaccination. You haveagreed that COVID19 is thecommon enemy. You mustconsider the battle as a surgical strike! We know theareas and the people whomay be carrying the virus.We should go to the bordersand fi��ght! We see that decisions are being taken by theCentre, but they are delayed. So many States aredoing this. Then why notmake it uniform for allStates?”.
The State would reply onJune 11.
Fight COVID like a surgical strike: HC Court asks Maharashtra govt. about doortodoor vaccinationSPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Mumbai
Hitting out at the MVA government for lifting the sixyearold liquor ban inChandrapur district, Punebased Right To Informationactivist and Aam AadmiParty leader Vijay Kumbhar said that the State,which had been deferringtaking decisions on important issues for somemonths now, had takenswift action to lift the alcohol ban.
Mr. Kumbhar said the government had also directedthe State excise commissioner to issue necessaryguidelines separately tomake the process of licenceexecution transparent.
Lifting ofliquor ban irksAAP leader
Special Correspondent
Pune
For the fi��rst time in Raigaddistrict, a man has beendetained under the Maharashtra Prevention ofDangerous Activities Actfor his involvement in criminal activities.
The move was proposedby the Raigad police whichwas approved by CollectorNidhi Choudhari and sanctioned by the Stategovernment.
Man detainedunder MPDAAct in Raigad
Raina Assainar
Navi Mumbai
CMYK
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THE HINDU DELHI
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DELHI THE HINDU
THURSDAY, JUNE 10, 20216EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
EDITORIAL
Speed up vaccinationThe Prime Minister’sdecision to revert tocentralised procurement ofvaccines is a step in theright direction (“Anecessary reversion”, June9). With experts warning usof a third COVID19 wave, itis of paramount importancethat we are more preparedand learn from the mistakesthat led to the devastationcaused by the second wave.More studies and researchneed to be done tounderstand the effi��cacy ofvarious vaccines against thediff��erent variants. Therapid surge inmucormycosis cases andthe acute shortage of theantifungal drug, LiposomalAmphotericin B, needs to
be dealt with on a warfooting. To err on the sideof caution should be themantra to win overCOVID19.Biju C. Mathew,
Thiruvananthapuram
The government’s decisionto cap the price of vaccinesin private hospitals iswelcome, but should betaken with a pinch of salt.Despite the governmentcapping the prices ofmedicines to treat COVID19earlier, private hospitalsindulged in profi��teering tothe extent that severalfamilies have gone broke.When demand formedicines outstrips supply,people are ready to shellout any price demanded by
hospitals to save their lovedones. The key to asuccessful inoculation drivelies not only in letter but inspirit. The governmentmust roll out punitivemeasures against those whoviolate the rules.Deepak Singhal,
Noida
Former U.S. PresidentDonald Trump may nothave taken COVID19seriously but by securingenough vaccines for theU.S. in time, he showed thathe was an astutebusinessman. He knew thatvaccine supplies wouldnever be able to keep upwith the rapidly risingdemand. In India, the longdelay in ordering vaccines
was most unfortunate,especially since we prideourselves on being thepharmacy of the world. Atleast now the vaccinationpace should pick up acrossthe country. Only byvaccinating the entirepopulation can we beat thevirus (“Centre places freshorders for 44 cr. COVID19vaccine doses”, June 9). R. Narayanan,
Navi Mumbai
Saying ‘no’ to CoronilIn stopping the distributionof Coronil kits, Nepalreferred to the statementson Coronil made by theIndian Medical Association(“Nepal stops distributionof Patanjali’s Coronil kits”,June 9). In February, the
deserves praise fordirecting the States and UTsto ensure that there is nobreak in the education ofchildren orphaned byCOVID19 (“‘Ensure nobreak in studies of childrenhit by pandemic’”, June 9).It is a painful reality thatthese children might beforced to discontinue theirstudies due to poverty, lackof familial care, depression,etc. The government musttake all possible measuresto ensure that thesechildren don’t drop out ofschool. P.K. Varadarajan,
Chennai
IMA had questioned theUnion Health Minister forbeing present at Coronil’slaunch. It has repeatedlycriticised Ramdev andposed questions to thegovernment. Yet, thegovernment has notdenounced Patanjali. Onthe contrary, Coronilreceived the AYUSHMinistry’s certifi��cation as‘supporting measure’ forCOVID19 treatment. Ourleaders must take a cuefrom our neighbours andput a stop to the menace ofcompanies marketing suchuntested concoctions. M.P. Muralidharan,
Bengaluru
Orphaned by COVID-19The Supreme Court
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters emailed to [email protected] must carry the full postal address and the full name or the name with initials.
To read more lettersonline, scan the QR code
In popular perception, Indiancourts are not associated fi��rstwith the delivery of justice, but
with long delays and diffi��cultiesfor ordinary litigants. According todata released by the SupremeCourt in the June 2020 newsletterof the eCommittee, 3.27 crore cases are pending before Indiancourts, of which 85,000 have beenpending for over 30 years. Cantechnology be used to revolutionise India’s courts? Yes, but onlywhen it operates within the constitutional framework of the fundamental rights of citizens. If not,technology will only further exclusion, inequity and surveillance.
The e-Courts projectThe eCommittee of the SupremeCourt of India recently released itsdraft vision document for Phase IIIof the eCourts project. Phases Iand II had dealt with digitisation ofthe judiciary, i.e., efi��ling, trackingcases online, uploading judgmentsonline, etc. Even though the job isnot complete, particularly at thelower levels of the judiciary, theproject can so far be termed a success. This has been particularly soduring the COVID19 pandemic,when physical courts were forced
to shut down. Despite some hiccups, the Supreme Court and HighCourts have been able to functiononline. This was made possible bythe eCourts project, monitored bythe eCommittee.
Phase III of the eCourts project, however, has reached thestage in a trilogy where the franchise starts trying to do too muchand goes off�� the tram line. On thesurface, the objectives remain noble. There is commitment to thedigitisation of court processes,and plans to upgrade the electronic infrastructure of the judiciaryand enable access to lawyers andlitigants.
However, the document goes onto propose an “ecosystem approach” to justice delivery. It suggests a “seamless exchange of information” between variousbranches of the State, such as between the judiciary, the police andthe prison systems through the Interoperable Criminal Justice System (ICJS). It has been pointed outby organisations such as the Criminal Justice and Police Accountability Project that the ICJS will likelyexacerbate existing class and casteinequalities that characterise thepolice and prison system. This isbecause the exercise of data creation happens at local police stations, which have historically contributed to the criminalisation ofentire communities through colonialera laws such as the CriminalTribes Act of 1871, by labellingsuch communities as “habitual offenders”. This is of particular concern since the data collected,
shared and collated through the eCourts project will be housedwithin the Home Ministry underthe ICJS.
A cause for concernSeveral individuals and organisations have warned against the zealof the data collection exercisescontemplated by the draft proposal. The “seamless exchange of information” relies on largescalegathering and sharing of data. Data collection is by itself not an evilprocess. In fact, data can be a useful tool for solving complex problems. For example, to addressthe problem of cases pendingsimply for service of summons,Phase II of the eCourts projectsaw the development of the National Service and Tracking ofElectronic Processes, a softwarethat enabled eservice of summons. It is only when data collection is combined with extensivedata sharing and data storage thatit becomes a cause for concern.The Supreme Court must take carenot to violate the privacy standards that it set in Puttaswamy v.Union of India (2017), especiallysince India does not yet have a data protection regime.
Data can be useful when it provides anonymous, aggregated,and statistical information aboutissues without identifying the individuals. This could be made possible in Phase III by encouraging uniformity and standardisation ofentry fi��elds. Unfortunately, therehas been a dangerous trend towards creating a 360degree profi��le of each person by integratingall of their interactions with government agencies into a unifi��eddatabase. This approach has beenperfected by social media platforms and technology companies,and the government is now tryingto do the same. The diff��erence isthat when technology companiesdo this, we get targeted advertising, but if the government does it,we get targeted surveillance.
This 360degree approach is themain objective of Phase III. Onceany government departmentmoves online, their penandpaper registers will become excelsheets, shareable with a singleclick. Localised data will becomecentralised. Holdovers from theanalog age ought not to have an issue with this process, since it canlead to great advancements in problemsolving. However, it is thenext stage which is a cause for concern even for the most vocal proponents of the digital age, which isintegration with other agencies.
When integrating data from allthe lower courts, the intersectionlies at the higher judiciary, because those are the appellate authorities connecting all the lowercourts. When integrating data of
the courts and police stations, theintersection lies with the individual citizen, since it is the citizen’sinteraction with these branches ofthe state that is being monitored.While it is understandable why thecourts could reasonably benefi��tfrom access to police and prisonrecords, courts deal with a varietyof matters, some of which may bepurely civil, commercial or personal in nature. No clear explanationhas been off��ered for why theHome Ministry needs access tocourt data that may have absolutely no relation to criminal law. Thisprocess serves no purpose otherthan profi��ling and surveillance.
Role of technology Since the Phase III vision document is a draft, there is still an opportunity to abandon the ecosystem approach. The objectiveswere to streamline judicial processes, reduce pendency, andhelp the litigants. To continue todo that within the framework ofour fundamental rights, the eCourts must move towards localisation of data, instead of centralisation. The eCommittee must prevent the “seamless exchange” ofdata between the branches of thestate that ought to remain separate. Technology plays an important role in the project, but it cannot be an end in itself.
Tanmay Singh is an Associate Litigation
Counsel and Krishnesh Bapat is a Centre
for Communication Governance Digital
Rights Fellow hosted at the Internet
Freedom Foundation
The promise and perils of digital justice delivery Phase 3 of the e-Courts project can harness technology for service delivery without increasing surveillance risks
Tanmay Singh
& Krishnesh Bapat
IST
OC
K P
HO
TO
more letters online:
www.hindu.com/opinion/letters/
The results of the bitterly contested West Bengal electionswere declared in early May.
It has been more than a monthsince the Trinamool Congress wonwith a massive mandate, but theBharatiya Janata Party (BJP) andthe Central government still seemunable to get over the BJP’s loss inthe State. The BJP has tried everytactic in the book to put the Mamata Banerjee government underpressure, including resurrectingcorruption charges against fourleaders (three from the Trinamooland one who was formerly withthe party), and serving a showcause notice to the nowretiredChief Secretary of West Bengal.The State Governor has played apartisan role both before and afterthe election. The Centre’s actionscould be seen at one level as cynical politicking at a time when all itsenergy should be focused on mitigating the impact of COVID19. Atanother level, these designs serveto undermine the structure of federalism and democracy.
Let’s look at the events — of therecent arrests and the showcausenotice, and the Governor’s role.The latter is an issue with historical antecedents and is not uniqueto West Bengal or the current BJPgovernment.
Arrests of Trinamool leadersOn May 17, the Central Bureau ofInvestigation (CBI) arrested threeTrinamool leaders, including twoState Ministers, in connection with
the Narada sting operation, carried out in 2014, showing top Trinamool leaders allegedly takingbribes. The footage had surfacedbefore the 2016 West Bengal Assembly elections. In 2017, the CBIand the Enforcement Directoratelaunched investigations into thescam. It is the timing of the arrestsnow that has raised suspicion, asdid the sanction for prosecutiongiven by West Bengal GovernorJagdeep Dhankhar to the CBI justdays after the election result. Moreover, the CBI’s failure to proceedagainst former Trinamool leadersSuvendu Adhikari and Mukul Roy,both of whom are accused in thecase but have defected to the BJP,has justifi��ably provoked allegations of political vendetta and biason the CBI’s part.
A bureaucrat in controversyThe second event that has causedfriction between the Trinamoolgovernment and the Centre is thecontroversy over the former ChiefSecretary of West Bengal, AlapanBandyopadhyay. Mr. Bandyopadhyay was scheduled to retire onMay 31 but had been given a threemonth extension by the Centre onthe State government’s request.However, days before his originalretirement date, he was unexpectedly asked to report to the Department of Personnel and Training inNew Delhi on May 31. This ordercame hours after Ms. Banerjeeskipped a review meeting on Cyclone Yaas with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Kalaikunda airbase in West Bengal. While therules allow the recall of IAS offi��cers from States, the Centre usuallydoes so with the concurrence ofthe State government. That wasnot the case here. The Trinamoolgovernment predictably refused torelease him and asked for the or
der to be rescinded. When that didnot happen, Mr. Bandyopadhyayresigned from his post. He was immediately appointed Chief Adviserto Ms. Banerjee.
While Mr. Bandyopadhyay’s resignation may have temporarilystymied the Centre, it promptlyresponded by serving him a showcause notice for violation of Section 51(b) of the Disaster Management Act, 2005. According to Section 51(b), anyone refusing tocomply with the directions of theCentral or State government or theNational Executive Committee orState Executive Committee or District Authority can be jailed orfi��ned or both. The showcause notice was issued because Mr. Bandyopadhyay did not stay back forthe meeting on Cyclone Yaas withMr. Modi and left with Ms. Banerjee to oversee relief work. Mr. Bandyopadhyay responded to the notice saying he was merely followingthe orders given to him by theWest Bengal Chief Minister. Whileseveral lawyers and bureaucratsbelieve that the Centre’s positionis untenable in a court of law, itsactions once again highlight its intention to target an Opposition government at all costs.
Governor’s roleWhile the recent controversies donot bode well for federalism or indeed democracy, it is the West
Bengal Governor’s actions thathave had the most corrosive impact. Ever since his appointment,Mr. Dhankhar has needled theState government in every possible manner. However, since theelection result, he has, in thewords of a political analyst, takenthe place of the “political Opposition” in the State. While there is nodenying that there has been postpoll violence in parts of Bengal,Mr. Dhankhar went overboard indescribing the situation as “totallawlessness and anarchy”. In abreach of protocol, he even visitedviolenceaff��ected areas along withthe BJP’s elected representatives.
Though Mr. Dhankhar’s actionsmight be in keeping — in intentthough not in degree — with manycontemporary and past governors, they once again raise questions about the role of a governor.During the long period of Congress dominance, the governor’sposition had largely been reducedto furthering the Centre’s interestin the States. While the Congressdid occasionally appoint eminentpersonalities and technocrats asgovernors, such as GopalkrishnaGandhi in West Bengal, the position by and large was reserved forsuperannuated politicians andparty loyalists. The latter practicehas continued under the Modigovernment.
There was a heated debate inthe Constituent Assembly in 1949on the role of the governor. Members such as H.V. Kamath, K.T.Shah, Rohini Kumar Chaudhuriand Bishwanath Das were criticalof the powers of the governor.They viewed the position as a relicof the colonial era, one that was“capable of creating mischief”.Das, a Prime Minister of OrissaProvince in colonial India and later Governor of Uttar Pradesh, was
one of the most vocal critics of theposition. He had presciently notedthat since the governor was appointed by the Centre, it was quitelikely that he or she might not beacceptable in an OppositionruledState, especially if the “power togive administrative pinpricks isvested in the governor”.
B.R. Ambedkar attempted to address these misgivings by making adistinction between the “functions” and “duties” of a governor.He concluded that the governorwas not a representative of a “party” but of the “people” of theState. There was arguably enoughambiguity in this formulation for agovernor to be an activist and partisan, if he or she so desired. Ambedkar’s faith in the Centre andgovernors seems misplaced sincemost governors, especially in recent times, have proved to be representatives of the party that appointed them and not impartialconstitutional authorities. The very fact that governors are expectedto resign when there is change ofgovernment at the Centre is proofof that. Indeed, the West BengalGovernor’s actions illustrate thefears of the critics in the Constituent Assembly.
If the Centre continues with itsmethods of using Central agenciesand the Governor to keep up thepressure on the West Bengal government, it might score politicalpoints in the short term. However,in the long run, this will weakenIndia’s federalism and democracy.It also paradoxically hurts theBJP’s prospects in a State where itneeds to politically mobiliseagainst a party with a big mandateand not resort to strongarmtactics.
Ronojoy Sen is Senior Research Fellow,
ISAS, National University of Singapore
Strong-arm tactics weaken democracyThe Central government’s designs in West Bengal serve to undermine the structure of federalism
Ronojoy Sen
PT
I
The Finance Ministers of the G7 nations appear to
have heeded the advice to ‘never let a good crisis
go to waste’ when they agreed last week to set a
global minimum tax of at least 15%. With the COVID19
pandemic having caused the world economy to shrink
by an estimated 3.5% in 2020 and forced most countries
to dip into their coff��ers to mitigate the fallout, the seven
richest nations opted to use the opportune moment to
plug a key loophole in the international tax regime. In a
communique, the G7 Ministers stressed that as part of
eff��orts to secure a ‘Safe and Prosperous Future for All’
they would strongly back the broader eff��orts under way
through the G20/OECD to address tax challenges aris
ing from globalisation and digitalisation of the econo
my. The rapid and relentless march of technological ad
vancement, especially in the domain of global
communications and connectivity, has resulted in a
world economy where the digital sphere, estimated in
2016 at $11.5 trillion or over onesixth of global GDP, is
exponentially outpacing overall economic growth. The
increasing digitalisation has, however, exacerbated the
challenges to taxing multinational corporations, which
have sought to minimise their total tax outgo by recog
nising a bulk of their revenue in lowtax jurisdictions.
The OECD, which is with the G20 spearheading the
‘Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profi��t Shift
ing’ initiative aimed at ending tax avoidance, estimates
that countries are collectively deprived of as much as
$240 billion in tax revenue annually due to avoidance
by MNCs. As the OECD’s SecretaryGeneral noted in a
statement welcoming the G7 deal, such distortions “can
only be eff��ectively addressed through a multilaterally
agreed solution”. The G7 also agreed on “an equitable
allocation of taxing rights, with market countries
awarded taxing rights on at least 20% of profi��t exceed
ing a 10% margin for the largest and most profi��table
multinational enterprises”. For India, estimated to be
losing more than $10 billion in revenue each year to
“global tax abuse” by MNCs according to the Tax Justice
Network and one of the more than 90 countries that
have joined the BEPS framework, a wider agreement at
next month’s meeting of G20 Finance Ministers and
central bank Governors could have farreaching impli
cations. India could benefi��t from the levy of taxes on
MNCs including technology and Internet economy
giants, which have taken advantage of the loopholes in
the global tax system. While there are still wrinkles to
be ironed out, including the issue of local levies on dig
ital transactions, the political will to ensure greater fair
ness and equity in revenue sharing is a positive augury.
Encouraging accordThe political will shown by G7 to ensure
fairness in revenue sharing is a good augury
Disasters may bring out the innate generosity of
people, but sometimes even wellintentioned
initiatives may go wrong. Many believe that chil
dren orphaned by calamities are free for adoption and
that growing with welloff�� adoptive parents will give
them a shot at a better life than they can get from impo
verished surviving relatives. However, adoption can be
an option only when the children’s safety and welfare
can be ensured. By ordering that no adoption of chil
dren orphaned since last year should be permitted con
trary to the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, the Supreme
Court has made one more benign intervention to miti
gate the fallout of the COVID19 pandemic. It had earlier
passed various orders on the economic and health as
pects of the pandemic, including those aimed at the
protection of migrant workers, prisoners and jail staff��
and the people at large. When its attention was drawn
to advertisements and messages inviting people to
adopt children who have lost one or both parents to CO
VID19, the court warned that no such adoption could
be permitted without the involvement of the Central
Adoption Resource Authority (CARA). It is important
that the order is adhered to, as past experience shows
that the danger of children falling victim to traffi��ckers
under the guise of adoption is everpresent. Even when
they reach the hands of genuine adoptive parents, there
is a possibility that they will be uprooted out of their so
cial and cultural milieu through intercountry adop
tions without the option of growing up with a relative or
adoptive parents closer home being explored.
Many may recall that following the December 2004
tsunami, there were illadvised campaigns calling upon
the people to adopt children rendered orphans in sev
eral Asian countries. It took a while for some aff��ected
countries to wake up to the reality that lax enforcement
of adoption rules may have led to child traffi��cking in
some cases. In the present situation, it appears that the
Union government and the National Commission for
Protection of Child Rights are quite alive to the pro
blem. The NCPCR is collecting details of children aff��ect
ed by the pandemic from all State governments and the
administration of Union Territories. It has drawn the
Supreme Court’s attention to public announcements by
some unscrupulous agencies inviting interested people
to adopt the children and also disclosing the children’s
identities. The court’s order asking all authorities to
prevent illegal adoptions and fundcollection in the
names of the aff��ected children came in response to this.
The court has also passed orders for the continuance of
the children’s education and other steps to coordinate
the implementation of schemes in their favour. These
orders are a necessary reminder to the authorities that
they have a special responsibility to protect the inter
ests and welfare of children in times like this.
At homeGovernments must protect the interests of
children orphaned by COVID-19
CMYK
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THE HINDU DELHI
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OPED
[Bombay, June 9] Referring to H.E. the Viceroy’s speech at the Chelmsford Club, Mr.Gandhi writing in “Young India” says:— HisExcellency’s speech has an air of unrealityabout it without intending to clothe it withany such air; on the contrary, there are in itevident traces, of his having laboured to deliver a true message to an expectant India,but the speech has failed in my humble opinion in doing so, because of many limitations that the offi��ce of the Viceroy carrieswith it. He could not for instance overridethe tradition of claiming infallibility for British rule. He laid it down as a propositionbeyond the possibility of doubt, that here inIndia there can be no trace and must be notrace of racial inequality. There is no moreunreal proposition to the ear of an Indianthan this, because his experience belies it.Superiority of race as a passion has becomealmost a religion with the average Englishman, nor does he strive to conceal it fromview. It obtrudes upon you in India as it doesin the colonies.
-Associated Press of India
A HUNDRED YEARS AGO JUNE 10, 1921
Gandhi’s response to Viceroy
Clubhouse, a new social networkingapp based around audio rooms, surpassed 2 million Android downloadsacross the world last month. The keyfeature of the app is the unique medium — audio — through which its usersinteract. This distinguishes it fromwellestablished social media andmessaging platforms like Facebook,Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp, andYouTube, which employ text, images, video, or a combination of three.In Clubhouse, the concept of oldschool text chat rooms is replacedwith the immediacy of the humanvoice. The app neither has any separate texting features, nor the optionto create elaborate online profi��les,thus keeping the focus purely on audiobased interaction.
Besides choosing their interests,users can also join various ‘clubs’,which are groups of members thatshare a common interest. After joining, users may get alerts for roomshosted by such clubs. Clubs can alsobe used to interact with other peoplewith whom they might share similarinterests. A person can even start aclub of their own, or ‘dropin’ intoany room mentioned on the Home orExplore page, as a listener or a speaker during a discussion.
Regulation challengesThe very nature of the app raises anumber of questions on privacy andsecurity. Audio rooms are likely tothrow up new challenges for dataregulators, who are yet to fi��nd eff��ective ways to regulate traditional social media platforms. Audiobasedinteractions are faster and in realtime, mirroring reallife far closelythan textbased interactions. Hence,traditional methods of content moderation may not work here. Further,on an app like Clubhouse, cyberbullying and trolling, driven by sexism,racism and communalism, can beeven more damaging.
The app allows a person to joinany room that their friends are a partof, which may allow anyone to ‘stalk’a person as they move from room to
room; the app even sends notifi��cations to their followers. The experience on Clubhouse, therefore, involves constant hyperawarenessabout how every action is beingbroadcast to followers. This is in contrast to popular platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and others, which, for all their fl��aws, allowbrowsing in relative invisibility. Thisawareness, along with a fear of beingjudged, might limit people from exploring the app’s content.
Concerns have been raised overhow Clubhouse temporarily recordsthe audio in a room while the room islive, “for purposes of investigatingthe incident”, and deletes it whenthe room ends. However, with thelack of endtoend encryption, thedata is still potentially accessible.Furthermore, this recording is donewithout the consent of the user.
According to privacy expert Alexander Hanff��, the platform’s practicesare violative of numerous provisionsof Europe’s General Data ProtectionRegulation (GDPR), including ruleson security, proportionality and necessity principles and confi��dentialityof communications (Article 5), rulesrelated to consent for processing ofpersonal data (Article 6), and provisions on data protection by designand by default (Article 25).
According to a report by the Stanford Internet Observatory, the backend infrastructure of Clubhouse issupplied by a Chinese startup calledAgora. The report also mentions apossibility of the Chinese government accessing raw audio, as well asother security fl��aws.
It is important to note that Indiastill lacks a stringent data protectionlaw, and thus, its users are far moresusceptible to data breaches and privacy violations. Currently, the Cen
tral government and WhatsApp arelocked in a legal battle over the Information Technology (IntermediaryGuidelines and Digital Media EthicsCode) Rules, 2021, which requirebreaching encrypted channels totrace the originator of messages. Thelack of endtoend encryption inClubhouse could thus make it an easy tool for government surveillance.
Clubhouse also seeks permissionto access users’ contacts, which is asignifi��cant privacy concern, as itgives the app information about people who might never even join it inthe fi��rst place. If a user chooses notto share their contact list, they arenot allowed to send invites to others.In turn, the contact list is shared notonly with app developers but alsowith people in a user’s contact list.There is no mechanism to controlwho can follow whom, which furtheraff��ects privacy and contributes to the‘harassment’ culture.
App permissions on smartphoneshave always raised questions of privacy. Even apps that are meant for limited purposes, such as sharing ormanaging fi��les, or playing music orvideos, often require permissions toaccess the phone’s camera, contacts,or call history.
The big pictureThe rise of Clubhouse cannot be studied in isolation. It is one of the several apps that have grown popularduring the COVID19 pandemic, asmillions of people stuck in theirhomes look for new methods to communicate with each other. But itsfl��aws aside, Clubhouse, with its promise of revolutionising social mediaand communication through audiorooms, represents an attempt to innovate and provide an alternative totraditional platforms.
In competition law terms, one waythrough which powerful fi��rms likeFacebook and Twitter can be challenged is by exploiting opportunitiesin spaces that are adjacent to themarket where these fi��rms reign supreme. This is what upstarts likeClubhouse are trying to do, as ‘socialaudio’ is one such adjacent marketthat has opened up only recently.
However, as has been observed over time, the Big Tech will strive toprotect their dominant positions inone of two ways — either by simplyacquiring the potential competitor,known as a ‘killer acquisition’, or bycopying the unique features of theircompetitor apps and adding them totheir own platforms.
The Big Tech giants already enjoy,thanks to their massive user base, access to more data and network effects (a phenomenon whereby a product or a service gains additionalvalue as more people use it). Thus,they have often made clones or added features of newly popular appsto their already bloated platforms.When Snapchat introduced stories,mainstream platforms also came upwith the feature a few years later. Similar trends were noticed whenZoom shot to fame and Google introduced Google Meet, or when TikTokbecame popular and Instagramlaunched ‘reels’. With Clubhouse’sgrowing popularity now, Twitter hasintroduced ‘Spaces’, and Facebook isworking on a similar feature as well.But this time, LinkedIn, Discord,Reddit and Spotify have also joinedthe bandwagon. One wonders whatthis means for innovation in theworld of tech. However, it remains tobe seen whether such moves will affect Clubhouse, which was valued at$4 billion as of April 2021.
For the average user, Clubhousemight seem like a great, lightweightapp with an innovative premise. Butit does not off��er much in terms of privacy and data protection, and in thatsense, it is not very diff��erent fromtraditional platforms. Apps like Signal are an exception in this regard.While the market of ‘social audio’ islikely to soon become a battleground, the medium won’t truly progress until innovation is balancedwith respect for privacy, security anddata rights.
The authors are law students at the Faculty of
Law, Aligarh Muslim University
While apps like Clubhouse give a push to innovation, privacy and data rights remain out of focus
The murky space of ‘social audio’
Kaif Siddiqui & Shifa Qureshi
*F
ILE
PH
OT
O
On May 18 this year, India recorded 4,529deaths from COVID19, the highest dailydeath toll recorded in the world after the United States in January saw 4,468 deaths. AsIndia combats the pandemic, its neighboursare experiencing spillover from the menacing second wave. The virus has sweptthrough Nepal, while Sri Lanka added as many as 78,218 cases in May. Pakistan crossedover 200 daily deaths in April, its highestsince the pandemic started. The situation inBangladesh is precarious, given the recentdetection of the highly contagious Delta variant. Bhutan is the only exception, with onlyone death and 1,724 cases so far. The country’s success stems from a wellfunded andprepared public health system with stringent measures, responsible citizenship, andan accountable government.
As bodies piled up at overcrowded crematoriums in India in the last few months, several things were to blame — “super spreader”events, a fragile health infrastructure neglected for decades, citizens not followinghealth protocols, and logistical mismanagement. What has exacerbated the situation isa subpar public healthcare system runningon a meagre contribution of a little over 1% ofIndia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Whilethe private medical sector is booming, thepublic healthcare sector has been operatingat a pitiful 0.08 doctors per 1,000 people,falling miserably below the World Health Organization’s (WHO) prescribed standard of1:1000. India has only half a bed available forevery 1,000 people, which is a defi��cient fi��gure even for normal days.
Bangladesh and Pakistan fare no better,with a bed to patient ratio of 0.8 and 0.6, respectively, and a doctor availability of lessthan one for every 1,000 people. Whileideally, outofpocket expenditure shouldnot surpass 15% to 20% of the total health expenditure, for India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, this fi��gure stands at an appalling 62.67%,73.87% and 56.24%, respectively.
The situation in rural India, where peoplelargely rely on threadbare healthcare facilities, is disconcerting. Numerous distressingreports have emerged in the media, from patients being treated on the hospital fl��oor forlack of beds, to some walking hundreds ofmiles just to get to a hospital, let alone onewith oxygen or drug supplies, and many be
ing left to resort to homemade concoctionsand local quacks. Further, the fact that hundreds of healthcare workers have succumbed to COVID19, unable to seek a bed inthe very hospitals they serve, is telling.
While India has the world’s thirdlargestmilitary expenditure, its health budget is thefourthlowest. In Pakistan, even amidst thepandemic, the defence budget was increased by 12% in the fi��scal year 202021, to$7.85 billion, while the spending on healthremained around $151 million. Not too far behind is Bangladesh, with decades of underfunding culminating in a crumbling publichealthcare system, pushing people to opt forprivate medical care even if it means exorbitant health payments. Major public sector investments by the ‘big three’ of South Asia,i.e., India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, are towards infrastructure and defence, withhealth taking a backseat. A quick look at prepandemic sectoral allocations explains thechronically low status of human development indicators in the three countries.
Learning from Southeast AsiaSouth Asia can take lessons in pragmatichealthcare policy from Southeast Asia,which has prioritised investments in healthcare systems while broadening equitable access through universal health coverageschemes. From Vietnam’s preventive measures focused on investments in disease surveillance and emergency response mechanisms, to even countries like Laos andCambodia making a constant eff��ort towardsimproving the healthcare ecosystem, allhave done much better than their SouthAsian peers.
It took a debilitating global pandemic topush South Asian policymakers to direct special attention and resources towards strengthening the health systems. But is it too late?Though the Indian government in this year’sbudget highlighted an increase of 137% in“health and wellbeing” expenditure, a closer look reveals a mismatch between factsand fi��gures. Learning from the devastationunleashed by the pandemic, South Asiancountries must step up investment in theirpublic healthcare sectors to make them sustainable, up to date and propoor; most importantly, the system should not turn itsback on citizens. Given the high chances ofanother wave or even the impending crisis ofclimate change, stopgap measures ought tobe replaced by a wellthoughtout vision andpolitical commitment for longterm healing.
The author is Chairman of The Institute for Policy,
Advocacy, and Governance (IPAG), an international
think tank with presence in Dhaka, Delhi, Melbourne,
Vienna and Dubai. Email: [email protected]
South Asia’s healthcare burdenDespite the debilitating pandemic, state investment in the health sector remains deeply inadequate
Syed Munir Khasru
A noted botanist of Indian originworking in the United States, Kamaljit Bawa, had expressed an importantidea — that our identity is also determined by our geography. He hadgone on to suggest that given therange of life forms found in India dueto a variety of climatic zones, weshould see biodiversity as part of ouridentity. As is only reasonable to expect, the botanist might have beenmotivated by the need to preserve histurf at any cost, but, at any rate, hehas opened up scope for imagination. That we should think of the biodiversity of India as an aspect of ouridentity is not just perceptive but alsoa constructivesuggestion, at atime when the ruling dispensationin India is hellbent on beatingthe country into ahomogenousmass professingHindutva.
Before Hindutva was sprung upon us, there was alinguistic majoritarianism projecthighlighted by the concerted eff��ort toimpose the Hindi language on all ofIndia. And it would be naive to believe that the duo of Narendra Modiand Amit Shah, who are prone to addressing this linguistically diversecountry in Hindi alone, are the solechampions of this project. The teamof Arvind Kejriwal and his Cabinetcolleagues, which runs the Delhi government, has now constituted itselfinto a suitable Bteam.
Intolerant attitudeIn a curious case, the GB Pant Hospital, which comes under the Delhi government, issued a notice on June 5:“A complaint has been received regarding Malayalam language beingused for communication in workingplaces in GIPMER. Whereas maximum patient and colleagues do notknow this language and feel helplesscausing a lot of inconvenience … it isdirected to all Nursing Personnel touse only Hindi and English for communication otherwise serious actionwill be taken.” The notice was soon
revoked after it received a nationwide backlash.
It is mindboggling that languageshould be the Delhi government’sfi��rst concern during a raging pandemic. The entire country watched,with sympathy, how Delhi struggledwithout the most basic health infrastructure during the violent secondwave of infections. It could neitherprovide adequate oxygen suppliesnor prevent the blackmarketing ofessential drugs. Instead of supporting frontline workers, which includesdoctors, nurses and support staff��, itchose to shower a section of themwith cultural intolerance.
There is a saying in Malayalam thattranslates to: “Turning on your moth
er after losing in thebazaar.” Its relevancein this context is direct. On March 31, Kerala, the home of thenurses of GB Pant Hospital, had a COVID19case fatality rate thatwas only a little morethan a third of Delhi’s,and a death rate that
was less than one fourth by comparison (deaths per population). Perhapsthe political leadership of the capitalhas something to learn.
Far from being noncompulsory,bedside manner is a necessary qualifi��cation for medical workers. It is notnegotiable that they should treattheir patients with empathy, and language is a part of this human exchange. But it is odd that Malayalispeaking nurses are somehow founddefi��cient in this area in Delhi alonewhen they have been prized members of the health system in WestAsia, Europe and North America fordecades now.
Ultimately, it is a failure that Delhifi��nds itself at odds with a section of itshealth workers. It can surely learnfrom the treatment of migrant workers in Kerala. A publicly built housingcomplex for them in Palakkad iscalled “Apna Ghar” (our home).There is something hypocritical inaccepting a person’s labour but hating their language.
Pulapre Balakrishnan teaches economics at
Ashoka University, Sonipat, Haryana
A hospital’s misplaced priorities The notice by GB Pant Hospital to its staff�� againstthe use of Malayalam was in poor taste
Pulapre Balakrishnan
While nine ViceChancellors of universitiesin the four southern States, meeting at Dharwar, have agreed that higher educationshould be given through the media of the regional languages and English, a group ofmembers of Parliament are carrying on acampaign for the use of Hindi in all publications of the Government of India. The parliamentarians have suggested that the CentralInformation Bureau should supply information in Hindi about defence, science andtechnology, agriculture, education and industry.
The Central Government is, of course, anxious to introduce Hindi wherever possibleand the new Defence Production Board,which is to control the ordnance factories,has been called the “Raksha UtpadanBoard” … The article we published yesterday on “Why the World learns English”shows that even in Europe, where local languages are highly advanced, English is the favoured foreign language. But the Government of India wants English to be treated asa “library language” for higher educationdespite the fact historical circumstance hasmade it familiar in the world of business andindustry as well as in schools and colleges.
FIFTY YEARS AGO JUNE 10, 1971
A global, not a library, language(From an editorial)
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DATA POINT
CMYK
A ND-NDE
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DELHI THE HINDU
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NEWS
FROM PAGE ONE
cy move. “The diff��erentialremuneration is aimed atencouraging crop diversifi��cation,” an offi��cial statement said.
“Concerted eff��orts weremade over the last few yearsto realign the MSPs in favour of oilseeds, pulses andcoarse cereals to encouragefarmers shift to larger areaunder these crops andadopt best technologies andfarm practices, to correctdemand supply imbalance. The added focus onnutririch nutricereals is toincentivise its production inthe areas where ricewheatcannot be grown withoutlong term adverse implications for groundwater table,” it added.
The hike in rates was proofof the Centre’s commitment, the Agriculture Minister said.
On the protests, he saidthe Centre was always readyto hold talks, but the unionshad not accepted the options presented to them forsuspending the three laws.
“If they want to talkabout any other option other than a repeal of theselaws, we are ready to discuss and arrive at a solution,” he told journalistsearlier.
‘Deliberate policy move’The Centre said the higherrate of returns being promised for urad, tur and oilseeds was a deliberate poli
Paddy MSP hiked lessthan 4% from last year
least 12% of the vote in theState. “The community alsopunches above its weight interms of societal infl��uence,”said a source in the BJP.
Mr. Prasada, who hadformed a Brahmin ChetanaManch, with a patchy record of infl��uence, is beingseen as a part of the BJP national leadership’s move topress the reset button onthe BrahminRajput equations, and settle the consolidation of upper caste votesin favour of the party.
It is also signifi��cant thatthe induction comes at atime when BJP and RSS leaders have been engaged instocktaking exercises inLucknow and the reportsubmitted to party president J.P. Nadda on that exercise mentioned the resentment of Brahmin leaders inthe party against Mr. Adityanath.
Mr. Prasada’s entry intothe party may unsettle someequations in the BJP, not justin the Adityanath camp butalso those Brahmin leadersin the party who were jockeying for position as purveyors of the interests of thecommunity.
Mr. Goyal specially mentioned Mr. Prasada’s father,the late senior Congressleader Jitendra Prasada, asone who had rendered greatservice to the people of Uttar Pradesh. “I have beenwatching Jitin Prasada formany years, he lost his father when he was quite young,but he took on the mantle,and decided to serve UttarPradesh, winning two LokSabha elections in 2004 and2009. He has been diligentin his push for developmentof his constituency, lobbying hard with the government since 2014 for a railway project in the area,” hesaid.
Mr. Goyal, sources said,was instrumental in negotiations between Mr. Prasadaand the BJP’s top leadershipbefore the induction.
Brahmin factorSources said Mr. Prasada’sinduction was a response toheavy feedback from the Uttar Pradesh unit of the BJPthat Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s reported closeidentifi��cation with the Rajput community was alienating Brahmins, who form at
Jitin Prasada leavesCongress to join BJP
be received in future. Thecadres that have not beenforwarding adequate nominations for the CSS at various levels may have to settle for less number ofadditional senior duty postsin future by way of corresponding reduction,” the letter stated.
Age limitThe DoPT has stated that offi��cers nominated for Centralgovernment posts shouldnot be more than 54 years.“It is also requested to ensure that the offi��cers whoare on the verge of promotion, as may be relevant,during the year are notnominated, often necessitating their early repatriation to avail of promotion inthe cadre. It may be ensuredthat the names of only thoseoffi��cers are forwarded whoare likely to remain availableunder the Central Staffi��ngScheme for full tenure,” itsaid.
Last year, to tide over thecrisis, the DoPT changednorms and made it mandatory for IAS offi��cers from2007 batch onward to mandatorily serve for two yearsin Central deputation withinfi��rst 16 years of their serviceif they wanted to be empanelled for a joint secretaryrank in the future.
Before any offi��cer of theAIS is called for deputationto the Centre, his or her concurrence is required. TheEstablishment Offi��cer in theDoPT invites nominationsfrom the State governments.Once the nomination is received, their eligibility isscrutinised by a panel andthen an off��er list is prepared, traditionally donewith the State governmenton board.
“Many offi��cers from UttarPradesh have applied butthey are not getting a clearance,” said the offi��cial.
As per norms, States haveto depute All India Services(AIS)offi��cers, including Indian Police Service (IPS) offi��cers, to Central government offi��ces and at anypoint it cannot be morethan 40% of the total cadrestrength.
In a letter to States onJune 4, the DoPT has said“the number of nominations received so far hasbeen very minimal and assuch the representation ofoffi��cers from variouscadres/ services, especiallyat the deputy secretary/director level, is extremelylow.”
The DoPT had sent a similar communication in December 2020 but in the pasttwo years it has not beenable to fi��ll vacancies at thedirector and joint secretarylevel in various Central ministries. Around 40% or 390CSS posts are at the joint secretary level (more than 19years experience) and 60%or 540 such posts are at therank of deputy secretary(nine years) or director rank(14 years of service).
“…. every cadre is allowed a deputation reserveto ensure that offi��cers havethe opportunity to work ondeputation including thatunder the Central Staffi��ngScheme [CSS], which addsto their experience. The utilisation of this reserve is lowand this underutilisation,particularly at the deputysecretary/director level,causes serious gaps in cadremanagement. This aspectwill also be kept in view bythe DoPT while consideringcadre review proposals, to
Central deputation ofoffi��cers very low: DoPT
Several government offi��ces,including Defence Ministryoffi��cials, were on Wednesday targeted by a maliciousweb link sent on WhatsAppand SMS, asking them to update their vaccinationstatus.
The message asked offi��cials to click on www.covid19india.in to generate adigital certifi��cate of COVID19 inoculation.
The SMS, signed with anabbreviation “MoHFW”,that expands to the Ministryof Health and Family Welfare said, “as per directivesof MoHFW, Confi��rm yourCOVID status on https://covid19india.in and generateyour vaccinationcertifi��cate”.
An offi��cial said that whenhe clicked on the link, it directed to a page “@gov.in”that resembled the government website mygov.in, andasked to key in the offi��cial email and password
An email received by aDefence Ministry offi��cialsaid that as part of an aware
ness drive regarding “postvaccination measures to befollowed by armed forces” aquestionnaire was requiredto be fi��lled and a Googledrive link was shared. Someoffi��cials even receivedphone calls where the callersaid he was calling from anArmy Hospital and the offi��cial need to update the vaccination status on a link being sent on WhatsApp.
The offi��cials were sensitised to not click on the linkas it appeared to be a phishing attempt to access theiroffi��cial emails and correspondence. A considerablepart of government offi��cesare still working from homeowing to COVID19restrictions.
Govt. offi��cials targeted in phishing attemptThey received malicious web links
Special Correspondent
New Delhi
The messages asked offi��cialsto update their vaccinationstatus. * GETTY IMAGES
Two alleged gangsters fromPunjab were killed in an encounter with the SpecialTask Force (STF) of the WestBengal police in the NewTown area of Kolkata onWednesday afternoon.
Offi��cials of the STF said apoliceman suff��ered bullet injuries in the operation andhad been hospitalised.
“Jaypal (Bhullar) and Jaspreet (Singh) had killed twoASIs [Assistant SubInspectors] in Ludhiana, Punjab,on May 15. There was a cashreward on them,” AdditionalDirectorGeneral of Police,STF, Vineet Kumar Goyal,told presspersons.
The police said the twogangsters had been hiding inthe city for the past fewdays.
The encounter took placein a posh housing complexin New Town in the north
eastern fringes of the cityaround 3.30 pm, creatingpanic among the residents.Several rounds were fi��redduring the encounter.
Police offi��cers said thatwhen they knocked thedoors of fl��at no. 201 on thesecond fl��oor of Tower B ofthe residential complex,
they were fi��red at from inside.
Five sophisticated pistols,89 rounds of live ammunitions and ₹��7 lakh in cashwere recovered from thefl��at, Mr. Goyal said.
Mr. Goyal said a team ofthe Punjab Police hadreached Kolkata.
Punjab gangsters killedin encounter in KolkataA policeman suff��ered bullet injuries in the operation
Special Correspondent
KOLKATA
The housing complex in New Town of Kolkata, where anencounter took place on Wednesday. * SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Retired IAS offi��cer AnupChandra Pandey on Wednesday took charge as Election Commissioner, theElection Commission of India (ECI) said in a statement.
Mr. Pandey, a 1984 batchIAS offi��cer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre, joins Chief Election Commissioner (CEC)Sushil Chandra and ElectionCommissioner Rajiv Kumarto complete the threemember commission. He retiredas Chief Secretary of UttarPradesh in 2019.
“Under his administrative leadership as Chief Secretary, the State successfully organised the KumbhMela at Prayagraj and Paravasi Bhartiya at Varnasi Diwas in 2019,” the statementread.
Interest in writingMr. Pandey had served inthe Defence and Labour andEmployment Ministries.“Mr. Pandey has a keen in
terest in writing and hasauthored a book titled Go-
vernance in Ancient India,which explores the evolution, nature, scope, functions and all related aspectsof ancient Indian Civil Service from the Rig Veda period to 650 AD,” the ECIsaid.
Mr. Pandey was appointed by the President on Tuesday, fi��lling the vacancy thatwas created after Mr. Chandra was elevated to the postof CEC upon the completionof then CEC Sunil Arora’sterm in April.
Anup Chandra Pandeytakes charge as EC He has served as U.P. Chief SecretarySpecial Correspondent
NEW DELHI
Anup Chandra Pandey
The Dominica High Courthas adjourned the hearingon Mehul Choksi’s bail application to June 11, localmedia has reported.
The fugitive businessman’s bail plea was earlierrejected by the magistrateconcerned, followingwhich he approached theHigh Court there.
Choksi’s pleaadjournedSpecial Correspondent
NEW DELHI
The CBI has booked Avantha Realty Limited, its promoter Gautam Thapar, andothers for allegedly cheatingYes Bank of ₹��466.51 crore in201719. “Searches were conducted at 14 locations in andaround Delhi, Lucknow, Secunderabad and Kolkata,”said a CBI offi��cial.
Last year, the agency hadregistered a case against thebank’s former managing director, Rana Kapoor, and hisfamily members for allegedly receiving ₹��307 crore inbribe to extend favours toAvantha Group entities.
Those named as accusedin the latest case are Avantha Realty, Mr. Thapar, Oyster Buildwell Private Limit
ed, Raghubir KumarSharma, Rajendra KumarMangal and Tapsi Mahajan.
It is alleged that one ofthe companies had takenterm loan facilities of about₹��515 crore from the bank inDecember 2017. Theamount was declared NPAin October 2019.
Realty fi��rm, promoterbooked for cheatingThey cheated Yes Bank of ₹��466.51 cr.
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI
Gautam Thapar
A webinar on the ‘Impact ofthe Pandemic on MedicalEducation’ will be held onJune 12 at 11 a.m. as part ofthe SRM Virtual Conclave forCareer Guidance 2021 webinar series.
The series, organised by
the SRM Institute of Scienceand Technology (SRMIST),in association with The Hin-
du Group, spotlightsscience, engineering, technology, law, humanities,medical health sciences and
agriculture courses and theirrelevance to the 2020s workplace.
Dr. Ravikumar Arunachalam, Pro ViceChancellor,Medical and Health Sciences, SRM Institute of Scienceand Technology (SRMIST);Dr. Bhuvaneswaran, Director, PSG Superspeciality Hospitals, Coimbatore, and Dr.S. Rajasekaran, Chairman,Department of Orthopaedicsand Spine Surgery, GangaHospital, Coimbatore, are
the panellists speaking at thewebinar.
The discussion will bemoderated by Ramya Kannan, Chief of Bureau, TamilNadu, The Hindu. It will conclude with a Q&A sessionwith the speakers.
Registerfor the freewebinar athttp://bit.ly/SRMTHE14or scan theQR Code.
Webinar to explore medical education trendsIt will include a Q&A session with speakers
Staff Reporter
CHENNAI
Rains lashed Mumbai onWednesday leading to waterlogging and disruptions insuburban local train services, as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) announced the onset of thesouthwest monsoon in Maharashtra.
As predicted by the IMDlast week, heavy to very heavy rainfall began in all partsof Mumbai. The RegionalMeteorological centre haspredicted similar weatherfor the next fi��ve days in thecoastal part of Maharashtra.
According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Mumbai received 181.01 mm rainfall in12 hours from 5 a.m. to 5p.m. on Wednesday. According to the data, the city area
received 137.82 mm rainfallwhile western and easternsuburbs received 190.78 mmand 214.44 mm rainfall respectively. A total of six instances of wall collapse wererecorded but no injurieswere reported.
Central Railway suspended its suburban local train
traffi��c on the main line ofCSTM to Thane at 9.55 a.m.on Wednesday due to inundation in Kurla and otherareas. Similarly, train traffi��cwas suspended on theCSTMMankhurd harbourline after the water level roseabove four inches due tohigh rainfall and high tide.
The Railway said that itwas working in coordinationwith BMC to control the situation. “High tide at 11.43a.m. combined with highrainfall had led to fl��ooding inthe city and on railwaytracks. All railway pumps atChunabhatti, Sion and Kurlaare working to pump out thewater from tracks,” said thestatement from Central Railway. It also had to reschedule several long journeytrains due to fl��ooding oftracks.
The rainfall intensity reduced after 6 p.m., but theIMD has said that heavy tovery heavy rainfall is predicted in the next fi��ve days.
Chief Minister UddhavThackeray visited the disaster control room of the BMCon Wednesday, to check onthe fl��ood mitigation eff��orts.
Heavy rain aff��ects life in MumbaiMet Department announces onset of southwest monsoon in Maharashtra
Monsoon woes: People wading through a fl��ooded road inSion, Mumbai, on Wednesday. * EMMANUAL YOGINI
Staff Reporter
Mumbai
CPI(M) leader M.Y. Tarigamion Wednesday describedthe Ladakh administration’smove to reserve all jobs forlocals as ‘another halfhearted and unclear attempt bythe BJP government’.
“The government didn’teven bother to consult twofunctional hill developmentcouncils in the region beforetaking the decision. There is
no clarity in the latest orderwhether those applying forjobs will have to submit permanent residence certifi��cates or domicile certifi��cate,” Mr. Tarigami said.
He said unlike Ladakh,the recruitment rulesframed for J&K last year allowed all domiciles, eventhose living in J&K for morethan seven years or studyingin the UT up to class 12, aseligible to apply for jobs.
Ladakh jobs reservationdecision unclear: CPI(M)special correspondent
Srinagar
The Telangana High Courtwill see one of the biggesthikes in judicial strengthacross the country in a longtime after Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana took upwith the Prime Minister andthe Union Law Minister theHigh Court’s twoyearlongpending request for morejudges to tackle an alarmingincrease in its casependency.
The High Court will witness a 75% increase in itssanctioned Bench strengthwith immediate eff��ect. Thiswould take the number ofjudges in the High Courtfrom 24 to 42. The HighCourt’s request for morejudges had been lying withthe Centre since February2019 even as its case backlogclimbed to 2.37 lakh.
The proposal for a hike inthe sanctioned Benchstrength was fi��rst sent to theUnion Law Minister by thethen Chief Justice of the High
Court in 2019. Though therequest was endorsed by theChief Minister and the Governor, the Centre chose tokeep it “in abeyance”.
Assurance givenThe issue had remained dormant until CJI Ramana,along with other concerns ofthe judiciary, took it up withthe Prime Minister and theLaw Minister soon after assuming offi��ce as top judge inApril. They had both, inturn, agreed to “get the matters examinedexpeditiously”.
However, this assurance
did not stop the CJI fromwriting to the Law Ministeron May 27 about the HighCourt’s still unresolved request. Chief Justice Ramanaobserved that the HighCourt’s request was reasonable and fully endorsed bythe Telangana Chief Minister.
The High Court desperately needed more judgesfor faster delivery of justice.The request has been pending for over two years. TheCJI also affi��rmed that the necessary infrastructure wasalready in place to accommodate 42 judges.
The Law Ministry responded this time by swinging into action, concurringwith the CJI to enhance thesanctioned Bench strengthin the High Court.
The Ministry conveyed itsdecision to the CJI on June 7.The CJI has given his requisite fi��nal approval to the proposed hike on June 8. Thepath is clear for the Ministryto notify the hike.
Telangana High Courtto get 18 more judgesCJI has taken up with PM, Law Minister the pending request
Krishnadas Rajagopal
NEW DELHI
The Rajasthan governmenthas objected to a bail pleain the Supreme Court fi��ledby selfstyled godman andconvict Asaram Bapu, saying he is trying to changethe venue of his custodyunder the guise of medicaltreatment.
Asaram is serving lifesentence in a sexual assaultcase.
He has approached theSupreme Court for bail onhealth grounds.
“The accused, with ulterior motive, has been attempting to change the venue of his custody underthe guise of medical treatment. Such change is anabuse of the process oflaw,” Rajasthan argued inits counteraffi��davit.
Asaram was deliberatelytrying to delay a pendingtrial for rape in Gandhi Nagar and that “he is stableand fi��t”, it stated.
In fact, the doctor’s certifi��cate, in one instance,was found to be even false,the Rajasthan governmentstated.
Rajasthanobjects toAsaram’s plea
Legal Correspondent
New Delhi
Trinamool Congress MPNushrat Jahan on Wednesday issued a statement describing her marriage withKolkatabased businessman Nikhil Jain as “invalid”while Mr Jain said was itwas a “subjudice matter”.She said the wedding wasconducted in Turkey andhad not been validated under the Special MarriageAct in India.
My marriageis invalid: MPSpecial Correspondent
Kolkata
CMYK
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THE HINDU DELHI
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NEWS
Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid was elected president of the 76th United Nations General Assembly for 202122 with a striking majority of votes cast by members (143 outof 191). Mr. Shahid spoke from New York in a virtual interview, a day after his historic win that marked the Maldives’fi��rst time at the helm of the world body, putting the IndianOcean archipelago at the global centre stage.
What are your plans for
what you called a
“Presidency of Hope” at the
General Assembly, and
ensuring vaccine equity in
particular?
■ On vaccine equity, it is thefi��rst ray of hope that I want tobuild my presidency of hopeon. It is clear that no one issafe until everyone is safe.We should avoid vaccine nationalism at all costs, because that is going to be sodestructive to our eff��orts ofmaking sure that we do awaywith this pandemic that has
devastated our countries,both socially and economically. When we look at thedeveloped countries, one inevery fi��ve persons has beenvaccinated, and when welook at the rest of the world,it is one in every 500 people.This is unacceptable.
India has had to stop all
vaccine export since April.
Do you still hope that it will
be able to give more
vaccines in the future?
■ The situation in India, I understand, is very diffi��cult
now. But it is our hope thatas soon as things get better,that we will be able to benefi��tfrom Indian vaccine. I amconstantly in touch with theIndian leadership on this,our conversations areongoing.
How much was India a part
of your victory at the UNGA?
■ India was one of the fi��rstcountries that came out supporting me. I thank PrimeMinister Modi and ExternalAff��airs Minister Dr. Jaishankar for their outstandingsupport for the Maldives’scandidature. India has always been one of our closestfriends, the best friend, thathas always come to the assistance of the Maldives. In addition to India, many othercountries also came out.
The previous General
Assembly President focused
quite a lot on human rights
and in particular had made
comments on the situation
in Jammu and Kashmir and
Palestine. Will human rights
issues be a big part of your
agenda?
■ Human rights issuesshould be the central themewhen it comes to people,and the United Nations isabout people. So we should,and we must have, humanrights issues at the centre ofour debate.
In particular, will an issue
like J&K, which caused
tensions between the
outgoing President and
India, be on your agenda?
■ It will be not in line withthe code of conduct of thePresident of the General Assembly to take sides on contentious issues, because thepost, like Parliament Speaker, has to be impartial.
Where are investigations
into the recent attack on
Speaker Mohamed Nasheed,
and the renewed focus
within the Maldives on
tackling Islamist radicalism?
■ The attack is being investigated by the police, it is anongoing investigation. Wehave received assistancefrom international partners,including Australia, the United Kingdom, the U.S., andthey are all involved in it. Extremism in whatever form isan issue that the governmentwill address very seriously.
You spoke about religious
extremism, but globally
there is also the rise of
Islamophobia. In your new
role, how do you plan to
tackle both?
■ Any form of intolerance isnot to be tolerated. And Ithink the United Nations andthe world community should
come together against suchintolerance. Extremism, inwhatever form, should notbe condoned. And I thinkthat is the clear message thatthe United Nations continuesto send.
You plan to wear both hats,
as Maldivian Foreign
Minister and as the UNGA
President. Is this
unprecedented?
■ There have been manyprecedents, the most recentbeing, three years ago, theSlovenian Foreign Ministerwas elected. When we lookat the 75 years of the UnitedNations, a large number ofPGAs have been sitting Foreign Ministers.
Were you surprised by
Afghanistan’s candidature
and disappointed that it did
not allow this to be a
unanimous win for the
Maldives, even in South
Asia?
■ Afghanistan had been thePresident of the General Assembly in 1966. And this isthe fi��rst time that the Maldives has contested this election. When you look at thehistory of the United Nationsin the last 75 years, there is agenerally accepted principleof rotation, when it comes tothe PGA, with only three exceptions. When I spoke tomy brother [Afghanistan Foreign Minister] MohammedAtmar, I tried to convey tohim the Maldives’ desire tohave a clean slate. But onhindsight, I must thank Dr.[Zalmai] Rassoul, for beingthere, and having conducteda very dignifi��ed, disciplinedcampaign. Having a contender gave me an opportunityto put in a lot more eff��ort.
INTERVIEW | ABDULLA SHAHID
‘Human rights should be the central theme when it comes to people’ The newly elected president of the UN General Assembly says the world body and community should come together against any form of intolerance
Suhasini Haidar
Meera Srinivasan
<> India has always
been one of our
closest friends, the
best friend, that has
always come to the
assistance of the
Maldives
The Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) received ₹��785.77crore in donations fromcompanies and individualsin 201920, over fi��ve timesas much as the contributions to the Congress, according to the party’s annual contribution reportsubmitted to the ElectionCommission of India (ECI).
The party’s contributionreport for 201920, thoughfi��led on February 12, waspublished by the ECI onTuesday night. The reportincludes all contributionsof ₹��20,000 or more madevia cheque and banktransfer.
Out of the total ₹��785.77crore in contributions declared by the party, ₹��217.75crore came from the Prudent Electoral Trust, whichin turn received funds fromDLF Ltd., Bharti Airtel Ltd.,GMR Airport Developers,and other major corporatehouses.
The BJP also received₹��45.95 crore from the Jankalyan Electoral Trust,which received funds fromcompanies of the JSWGroup, including JSW Cement, JSW Energy and JSWEnergy. Samaj ElectoralTrust and AB General Electoral Trust, which wasfunded by Hindalco Industries Ltd., gave the party₹��3.75 crore and ₹��9 crorerespectively.
BJP received₹��786 crore in donations
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI
Reacting sharply to the exitof Jitin Prasada from the party, the Congress accusedhim of playing “politics ofconvenience” and concentrating on shortterm gains.
At a virtual press conference, party spokespersonSupriya Shrinate, “Youdon’t need power to servepeople, you need the will.”She also pointed out thatMr. Prasada had not shiftedto a likeminded party, instead he had made a 360degree switch. She questioned, “How is hecomfortable being in thecompany of people who areresponsible for the death ofthousands of people because of their mismanagement of the pandemic?Where is his moralcompass?”
After joining the BJP, Mr.Prasada claimed that it wasno longer relevant to stay ina party where one could notprotect the interests of people or work for them.
Ms. Shrinate said that hisexit had to be placed in context. He had served as a Minister of State during theUPA government’s tenure.“His father, Jitendra Prasa
da, fought and lost againstCongress president SoniaGandhi for the president’spost. And despite that, hewas appointed vicepresident of the party and was given key posts till his untimely demise,” Ms. Shrinatesaid.
Jitin Prasada was givenCongress ticket to fi��ght fromthe Shahjahanpur Lok Sabha constituency in UttarPradesh at a very young age,Ms. Shrinate recalled. Hewas a permanent invitee tothe Congress Working Committee (CWC), which is thehighest decisionmaking body of the party.
Ahead of the West Bengalelection, Mr. Prasada wasappointed State incharge.The Congress drew a blankin the election.
‘Politicians need the will to serve people’
Special Correspondent
New Delhi
Supriya Shrinate
Jitin playing politicsof convenience: Cong.
For the fi��rst time in the Army Aviation Corps, twowomen offi��cers have beenselected to undergo helicopter pilot training, theArmy said on Wednesday.
They would be trainedat the Army aviation training school, Nashik.
“Selected women onsuccessful completion oftraining at Nashik will joinfl��ying duties by July 2022,”it stated.
Till now, women offi��cerswere assigned only groundduties in the Army AviationCorps.
Fifteen women offi��cersvolunteered to join the Army aviation, but only thetwo qualifi��ed through astringent selection processthat included the Pilot Aptitude Battery Test (PABT)and medicals, the Armystated.
At the January last annual press conference, Army Chief Gen. Manoj Naravane said a proposal toinduct women as helicopter pilots had been cleared.
In May, the Army inducted the fi��rst batch of 83 women soldiers in the Corpsof Military Police, the fi��rstinduction of women innonoffi��cer cadre.
Pilot trainingfor 2 womenArmy offi��cers
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI
The Congress demanded resignation of Union Agriculture Minister NarendraSingh Tomar for his comments that the governmentis ready to discuss any options other than the repeal ofthe three farm laws.
Speaking to presspersons,Mr. Tomar said, “These lawsare for the benefi��t of thefarmers, we have spoken tothem and even today we areready for talks. If they wantto talk about any other options other than repeal ofthese laws, we are ready todeliberate and arrive at a solution.”
Congress spokespersonSupriya Shrinate, at a virtualpress conference, said that ifnot the repeal of the threefarm laws, should the farmers discuss the weather withthe government. She saidthat this was an illogical andinsensitive statement. Sheaccused the Narendra Modigovernment of being obdurate and arrogant. “A personwho is insensitive and oblivious to the plight of thefarmers, has no business being the Union Agriculture Minister,” she said.
Ms. Shrinate said that thefarmers are sitting in thesearing heat of Delhi continuing with their protest even
though 600 persons havelost their lives in this agitation.
The farmers, she said, arenot sitting on protest on awhim, they are forced toprotest because of the antifarmer laws. “The NarendraModi government is not willing to give up their love forthe industrialists and want tohand them over ₹��25 lakhcrore worth agri industry,”she said.
She reminded the BJP thatPrime Minister NarendraModi had claimed that he isjust a phone call away andnow his Minister is sayingthat they are not ready totalk about repeal of the laws.
Tomar must resign for hiscomments, says Congress Minister said govt. is ready for talks on demands other than repeal of farm laws
Special Correspondent
New Delhi
Agitation continues: Farmers during their protest against the farm laws at the Ghazipur borderin New Delhi on Wednesday. * PTI
Former Punjab DeputyChief Minister and Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Wednesday asked Union AgricultureMinister Narendra Tomar tohold fresh talks with farmers agitating against thethree new farm laws.
He said the governmentshould speak to farmers tounderstand why they areseeking repeal of the laws.
Urging the government tobe sensitive to the pain andanguish of farmers, Mr. Badal said, “It is shocking thatthe NDA government is effectively telling farmers thatthere is no space for discussion in a democracy.” Hesaid it was more shockingthat besides ruling out anytalks on taking back thethree black laws, Mr. Tomarhad asserted that the agricultural laws were in the interest of farmers.
Hold fresh talks withfarmers, says Akali DalSPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
CHANDIGARH
West Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee on Wednesday said her next political move would be to remove Prime MinisterNarendra Modi from power.
“I have only one thing tosay: Modi has to be removedfrom power,” the TrinamoolCongress chairperson saidwhen asked by presspersons what role she wants toplay in national politics.
Ever since the West Bengal Assembly polls, wherethe Trinamool Congress defeated the BJP and retainedpower, questions on whatrole she will play in nationalpolitics have been posed toMs. Banerjee.
Meets farm leaders
During the day, she metleaders of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), including Rakesh Tikait, at theState Secretariat and extended support to the farmers’ union protesting againstthe three Central farm Bills.She would write to the ChiefMinisters of the Oppositionruled States to support thecause of farmers, she stated.
SKM leaders said thathaving defeated the BJP, Ms.Banerjee should strive tomake West Bengal a modelState for farmers.
Ms. Banerjee said, “Wehave been supporting the
protesting farmers from thestart. We also passed a resolution in the Assemblyagainst the Bills”.
Farm leaders requestedher to visit Delhi after theCOVID19 situation improves.
The Chief Minister saidshe would take the initiativeso that she could have ameeting with the Chief Ministers of the nonBJPruledStates on the issue. Why theCentre was not holding talkswith the protesting farmersfor the past seven months,she asked.
The Chief Minister alsotook on the Centre on GSTon COVID19 vaccines. “Imposing GST on vaccines islike playing with the life anddeath of people,” she said.Why vaccines were not routed through States, sheasked.
It was a “dirty driveagainst the State government”, she alleged.
W.B. Chief Minister meets farm leaders
Special correspondent
Kolkata
Mamata Banerjee
Modi has to be removedfrom power: Mamata
Following the government’s “one last notice” tocomply with the new ITRules, Twitter Inc has saidit is making every eff��ort tocomply with the new guidelines and will providethe details of its Chief Compliance Offi��cer within aweek.
“We understand the importance of these regulations and have endeavoured in good faith tocomply with the guidelines, including with respect to hiring personnel inIndia,” the U.S.headquartered fi��rm has said in itsreply.
While most signifi��cantsocial media intermediaries, platforms with morethan 50 lakh users, havesubmitted details of theirChief Compliance Offi��cer —a key requirement underthe new law — Twitter is yetto do so.
Last week, the Indiangovernment had warnedthe platform of losing exemption from liability under the IT Act.
“...we are in advancedstages of fi��nalising the appointment to the role ofChief Compliance Offi��cerand we plan to provide additional details to you inthe next several days, andat the latest within a week,”the microblogging platform has said in the letter.
Twitter: eff��ortson to complywith new rules
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI
More than 200 contingencyworkers of the Pakke TigerReserve in Arunachal Pradesh went on an indefi��nitestrike from Wednesday over nonpayment of wagessince December 2020.
Reserve unguardedThe 862 sq.km. tiger reserve in PakkeKessang district has been left unguarded as all the 202 workers,along with their eight elephants, converged at thetiger reserve’s administrative offi��ce to demand wagespending for the last sixmonths.
“Our strike was scheduled from May 2 but waswithdrawn after the Environment and Forest Minis
ter [Mama Natung] promised that wages would bereleased. We can managesomehow, but all of us havefamilies to maintain withour meagre wages,” PakkeTiger Reserve Workers’ Union general secretary Nikum Nabam said.
Other than payment ofwages of the staff�� underProject Tiger, the union hasdemanded regularisation ofthe Special Tiger ProtectionForce (STPF), an increase ofwage last revised in 2018 to₹��11,000 per month andmonthly payout instead of
periodic disbursement. The Pakke contingency
workers were given theirwages from AprilNovember 2020 after the NationalTiger Conservation Authority sanctioned ₹��6.05 crorefor 20202021 fi��scal and released a part of it.
Second instalment“The second instalment of₹��1.32 crore was released inJanuary but the money is lying in the State exchequerinstead of being transferredto the Divisional Forest Offi��cer of our tiger reserve fordisbursement of wages,”Mr. Nabam said, addingthat the workers have beenborrowing or surviving onmeagre donations.
Mr. Natung said the workers should have waited two
three days. “There were no offi��cers
to handle their wages dueto the COVID19inducedemergency situation. Butthe process has been started and they should get theirwages in a few days,” theMinister told The Hindu
from State capital Itanagar. Green activists recalled a
similar situation two yearsago that led to the discontinuation of services of 53frontline staff�� in the 1,895sq. km Namdapha Tiger Reserve in Arunachal Pradesh.
“We know protecting thetiger habitats is crucial forthe conservation of thestriped cat in India, but it isdiffi��cult to focus on emptystomachs,” a member of thePakke workers’ union said.
Pakke Tiger Reserve’s contingency workers go on strike ‘There were no offi��cers to handle their wages due to the COVID19induced emergency situation’
Fight for rights: Workers at Pakke Tiger Reserve in Assam onstrike over nonpayment of wages. * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
RAHUL KARMAKAR
GUWAHATI
CMYK
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DELHI THE HINDU
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NEWS
SUDOKU
Solution to puzzle 13269 Solution to yesterday’s Sudoku
DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
The Vishnu Sahasranama is Bhishma’s response to the verypertinent questions that Yudhishtira poses. Who is the oneSupreme Deity? Who is the sole and supreme goal for all? Bychanting whose names, by praising and by worshippingwhich person can mankind attain good? Which is the dharma that is considered best by you? By reciting what hymn ismankind freed of all troubles and from the cycle of birth?
Yudhishtira exemplifi��es the troubled soul caught in samsara struggling to follow the path of dharma against the powerful forces of evil and adharma, pointed out Sri Sriramana Sarma in a discourse. Bhishma draws attention to theSupreme Brahman to whom the entire universe with all itsbeings owes its existence. He alone is to be propitiated. Howcan His nature be described? The Supreme Lord is the essence of all eff��ulgence, of the highest penance, of the highest Brahman, and He is also the ultimate destination for allbeings in this creation. He is the abode of all auspiciousnessand His power is unlimited. He is the embodiment of all penance and His word is the law which He enforces by thesheer power of His yoga.
The Upanishads state that the sun, moon, stars and theother planets in the galaxy dare not transgress the law Hehas put in force. Moreover, they owe their eff��ulgence, heatand light to His grace alone. Bhishma asserts that every troubled soul is sure to fi��nd solace by praising the Lord with Hisdivine names. This hymn, which is venerated by all, carriesthe promise to fulfi��ll desires, ward off�� evil infl��uences, freeone from diseases, fear, disasters, etc, and above all fromthe bondage of samsara. No matter whatever be our state oflife and existence on earth, we all have to seek, search andtry to reach Him who is the ultimate destination for all.
FAITH
The ultimate destination + 13270(set by Arden)
Never go off�� the grid.
We are digital now. Come solve online.
@ https://qrgo.page.link/jjpTn
■ ACROSS
1 Make it wet, study current passing through (6)
4 In the tunnel cats bounce, going over the barrier (8)
10 Tries out, not good to squeeze bottom (9)
11 Trust us Sir, it all evens out for some of them in Africa (5)
12 Tile set wrongly second time (7)
13 Drums tied on top, I’m carrying water in Rajasthan (7)
14 Tax overruns on the plant (5)
15 Lead in, lead out, insert paper and leave only sides (8)
18 Ask, was it correct symbol? (8)
20 Villager loves to carry fodder on the way back (5)
23 Boost for a month, America replaced soldiers (7)
25 Ring out, ring in, I will get you the runs... (7)
26 ... empty bag and a piece of cloth on the neck (5)
27 Side wheels — not hard to make a bloomer (9)
28 Way ahead in Railway — is it so so? (8)
29 Movie called “Country” (6)
■ DOWN
1 A level fi��nder drops credit (8)
2 Wine in the making, bishopric worth watching (43)
3 A number of regular steps after meal (9)
5 Butchery that he set in motion, should we forget and forgive? (4,3,7)
6 From Rome to Turin, going towards North Pole (5)
7 Nab everyone, not hard to say boo (7)
8 Rant about Chinese leader growing, maybe it’s the drink (6)
9 Regret troll post (14)
16 Ship carrying exPM over Thames, perhaps (9)
17 Business lease revised to include carbon in mix (8)
19 Bet one’s embarrassed to support conduct (7)
21 Englishwomen tailored gowns? It will surely be below the knee (7)
22 Resin adds mass to timber (6)
24 Keen to see the Queen over time (5)
SCAN TO PLAY
India recorded 91,720 newCOVID19 cases and 6,113deaths till 9.30 p.m. on Wednesday. The country has sofar reported a total of2,91,79,962 cases and3,59,670 deaths.
Tamil Nadu reported17,321 infections, followed byKerala (16,204) and Maharashtra (10,989). Bihar recorded 3,971 deaths followedby Maharashtra (661) and Tamil Nadu (405).
As many as 3,951 backlogfatalities were added to Bihar’s tally on Wednesday.Maharashtra’s fatalities alsoinclude backlog deathswhich were missed in theprevious reports.
The fi��gures do not includecases and deaths fromChhattisgarh, Jharkhand,Tripura, Arunachal Pradeshand Ladakh. The data are
sourced from the respectiveStates’ health bulletins.
Around 19.85 lakh samples were tested in the country on Tuesday (the resultsfor which were made available on Wednesday).
About 27.76 lakh vaccinedoses were administered inthe country in the 24 hours
ending 7 a.m. on Wednesday, which is nearly 5.88lakh doses less than whatwas recorded in the previous24 hours. It is also 3.78 lakhmore doses than what wasrecorded during the sameperiod a week ago. The sevenday rolling average ofdaily vaccinations in the
country continues to increase. It stood at 28.33 lakhon June 8, which is morethan the 24.42 lakh recordeda week before ( June 1).
3.4% fully vaccinatedAbout 20.6% of adults in India, 41.1% of those agedabove 45 and 45.1% of peopleaged above 60, have beenadministered with at leastone dose of a COVID19 vaccine till 8.30 p.m. on Wednesday. While 14.2% of thecountry’s population has received at least one dose, only3.4% are fully vaccinated.The fi��gures are based on theestimated population in2021.
Among countries withcomparable economies tothat of India, the share of people who are fully vaccinated in Brazil, Russia andSouth Africa is 11.05%, 9.26%and 0.81% respectively.
Tamil Nadu now leads in cases,followed by Kerala, Maharashtra India recorded 91,720 new COVID19 infections and 6,113 deaths on Wednesday
Special Correspondent
CHENNAI The Centre must operationalise the Supreme Court’s recent orders to ensure migrant workers’ welfare byreviving and expanding lastyear’s Atma Nirbhar schemeto provide free rations tosuch workers and other needy people who do not haveration cards, according tothree activists who are intervenors in the case in the topcourt.
They have written toPrime Minister NarendraModi and all Chief Ministersto push for urgent implementation of the SupremeCourt orders on May 13 and24, directing that all migrantand stranded workers beprovided dry rations andcooked food.
“During this time of crisis,it is unconscionable to notprovide basic food and social security to the economi
cally vulnerable workers ofthe country,” said the letterto the Prime Minister, written by Anjali Bhardwaj,Harsh Mander and JagdeepChhokar.
“At a time when the government has record highstock of foodgrains — 100million tonnes as per the FCIwebsite — and there is acutedistress among the workingpoor, this stock must be
used to provide rations to allthose in need. Food securitynet must not only be restricted to ration cardholders,”they said.
The activists also urgedthe PM to ensure that the Supreme Court’s directions regarding the registration ofmigrants, unorganised sector and construction workers were also followed. “Many of the actions by theStates entail fi��rst actions bythe Union government,”they said.
In the letter to Chief Ministers of all States, the activists called for cooked foodto be provided to migrantsthrough community kitchens as the court had directed, apart from the distribution of dry rations. They alsourged that cash transfers begiven as compensation forthe loss of livelihoods due tolockdowns imposed byStates.
Revive free ration scheme formigrants, activists urge CentreThey call for SC order to be implemented at the earliest
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI
Last year, migrant andstranded workers were givendry rations by the Centre.
Supreme Court eCommittee Chairperson Justice D.Y.Chandrachud has written tothe Chief Justices (CJs) of theHigh Courts that hybridhearings will have to continue considering the pandemic situation, dispellingnotions that courts may revert to the physical hearingmode soon.
The onset of the pandemic in March 2020 witnesseda quick transition within thejudiciary from physicalhearings tovideoconferencing.
Justice Chandrachud noted that 96,74,257 cases wereexamined through videoconferencing across thecountry during thepandemic.
“Considering the presentsituation of the pandemic,consistent with the need toprotect the safety of lawyers, litigants, court staff��,judges and other stakeholders, it may not be possibleto conduct only physicalhearings of court proceedings and we may have to relyupon a hybrid model ofhearing for some time. Weneed to plan eff��ectively tobe able to deal with all exigencies,” he wrote to theCJs.
Uniform mechanism Justice Chandrachud, whohas spearheaded the transition of the courts from physical to virtual mode, said thecommittee was working ona uniform videoconferencing mechanism for courts
across the country.However, until then, the
letter requested the CJs to“opt for a suitable videoconferencing solution from anyof the available options”.
Robust solution“Until the eCommittee caneventually provide one video conferencing solutionfor all High Courts, certainsteps can be taken to facilitate judicial work, on the reopening of courts after thesummer recess... We mustensure that a robust, effi��cient and userfriendly videoconferencing solution isavailable to users for eff��ective hearing of court proceedings,” Justice Chandrachud wrote.
He urged the CJs to takecorrective measures, intervene personally and keep aneye to help improve the virtual court system, especiallyif advocates and litigantshave grievances about itsquality and connectivitythat impede their right to access to justice.
Chandrachud writes to High Court CJs
Legal Correspondent
NEW DELHI
The Supreme Court said itmay not be possible toconduct only physicalhearings for some time.
Hybrid hearings tocontinue in courts
All Central governmentemployees will be able toget 15 days of special casualleave in case their parentsor any dependent familymembers test COVID19positive, said an order bythe Personnel Ministry.
“In case of active hospitalisation of any of the family members/parentseven after 15 days of the expiry of SCL, the government servants may begranted leave of any kinddue and admissiblebeyond 15 days of SCL tilltheir discharge from hospital,” it said. The Ministryhas issued a detailed orderon treatment, regularisation of hospitalisation orquarantine for the staff��.
15 days’ specialleave forCentral staff��
Press Trust of India
New Delhi
From vaccinating 80% stakeholders to elaborate guidelines for hotels, the TourismDepartment in Kashmir haschalked out a meticulousplan to receive touristsagain, as the second wave ofthe coronavirus pandemicdips signifi��cantly.
“We are working on twofronts for safe and securemeans of reviving tourism,as the pandemic level is likely to dip further. First, spe
cial vaccination drives for allstakeholders involved withthe tourism industry. Two,capacity building on protocols to handle tourists andensure their safety duringthe stay in Kashmir,” AhsanulHaq Chisthi, Deputy Director in the Tourism Department, told The Hindu.
According to the department, around 75% tourismstakeholders, including shikarawalas, houseboat ownersand hotel staff�� around theDal lake, have been vaccinated.
Similar vaccination driveswere also conducted in tourist hotspots of Pahalgamand Gulmarg.
“We are speeding up thevaccination drive to ensurethat all get double doses intime,” Mr. Chisthi said.
The Tourism Department,along with the Health De
partment and expert academics from Kashmir, isworking on capacity building among the hotel staff�� totrain them on how to dealwith tourist fl��ow.
“We are working on newStandard Operating Procedures [SOPs] for hotels, likeensuring well ventilated andairy spaces, and new guidelines for the staff�� and restaurants,” Mr. Chisthi said.
The Gondola in Gulmarg,Asia’s highest cable car project, has also been directedto reduce the number of tourists ferried in a cabin.
‘Make RT-PCR must’ Meanwhile, Kashmirbasedtour operators have demanded that RTPCR testshould be made mandatoryfor all tourists heading forKashmir now.
“Rapid Antigen Tests at
the Srinagar airport have notbeen eff��ective during the second wave. RTPCR shouldbe made must and the number of tourists travelling toKashmir need to be regulated,” said Nasir Shah, chairman of the Indian Association of Tour Operators,Jammu and KashmirChapter.
He said only vaccinatedtourists should book theirtickets. “All vehicles associated with the tourism industryshould not fi��ll more than40% of seats,” he added. Mr.Shah said contactless checkins and barcode access tomenus need to beintroduced.
With jabs and SOPs, Kashmir gears up to welcome touristsTourism Dept.proposes specialvaccination drives
Summer shine: Houseboat owners and hotel staff�� livingaround Dal lake have been vaccinated. * NISSAR AHMAD
Peerzada Ashiq
Srinagar
The nursing superintendent of the Delhi governmentrun Govind BallabhPant Institute of Postgraduate Medical Educationand Research (GIPMER), ina letter to the medical superintendent of the hospital, apologised for an orderhe had issued, banning thenursing staff�� from talkingin Malayalam.
The offi��cial said he had“no intention to disrespectany Indian language, region, or religion”.
“I have issued said circular in a positive sense purely for the comfort of the patients and attendants.There was no malafi��de intentions to it... Even then,if any staff��’s feelings werehurt, I regret/apology forthe same and assure you Iwill be more careful and vigilant in future,” the letterread.
The government spokesperson did not comment.
Delhi hospitaloffi��cial tendersapology
Staff Reporter
New Delhi
CMYK
A ND-NDE
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THE HINDU DELHI
THURSDAY, JUNE 10, 2021 11EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
SHOWCASE
Despite the thunder,lightning and patchyphone connection,Sparsh Agarwal is undeterred. He bouncesaround his home at theSelim Hill tea estate inDarjeeling, recently renamed ‘Second Chance’by his mother, in searchof a better phone signaleach time this interviewis stalled by the storm.
It is this cheery resilience that could give Darjeeling’s celebrated, butnow struggling, tea estates a second chance toshine. But fi��rst, an experiment, which begins withan annual subscriptionplan that launches tomorrow, needs to go according to plan.
“When Darjeeling teais the pride of India, whyare most of the 87 estatesbarely breaking even,some on the brink of collapse?” asks Sparsh, adding that the romance ofthis “champagne of teas”has drawn buyers fromacross the world, for twocenturies.
Over the past decade,however, a declining export market, climatechange and now the pandemic are threatening thesurvival of many of theestates, which in turnthreatens all that is special about Darjeeling.
“The Selim Hill tea garden has been under myfamily’s stewardship forfour generations, since1871. Half of it is underforest cover, home to everything from hornbills toelephants,” says Sparsh.“We do not want to sellbecause we need to protect this ecology. But weneeded to fi��nd a way tosupport the estate.”
After a year of fi��eld re
search, Sparsh, who wasworking with the Centrefor Policy Research, andhis business partner Ishaan Kanoria, an investment banker, decided toquit their jobs and launchDorje Tea, an innovativeand sustainable modelthat reintroduces Darjeeling tea, embracing allits quirks, to an Indian audience, instead of exporting it piecemeal.
Their mentor is the legendary Rajah Banerjee,whose family ran Makaibari tea estate for fourgenerations before he recently moved on. A trailblazer, he created an organic oasis at Makaibari,inspiring other estates tofollow suit, Rajah is a powerful infl��uence in Darjeeling, and an ambassador for its tea.
Seasonal moods Grown with a Chinesecultivar, Darjeeling teacaptivated internationalbuyers with its potent
aroma and unique muscatel fl��avour, a pleasingsweetness with musky,spiced undertones.
“However it never focussed on the domesticmarket and is seen as unaff��ordable,” says Sparsh,explaining why: “Thereare four seasonal fl��ushes.While the fi��rst and second, which are springand summer, are sold atpremium, there isn’t amarket for monsoon andautumn fl��ush teas —though each has a uniquetaste, aroma and liquoring, which is additionallyinfl��uenced by terroir.”
Popular in Europe,America and Britain particularly, the spring andsummer fl��ush get exported at heady prices, whilethe monsoon and autumn fl��ush are undervalued.
Since the best tea is exported, and profi��ts rideon sales of just the springand summer fl��ushes, often estates barely break
even, says Sparsh. “Thefl��ush system is unique toDarjeeling and adds tothe romance of our teas.Customers should be having all four. The biggestmistake is thinking thereis a hierarchy.”
There is another catch.“International clientswant the whole leafgrade, so the tea is machine sorted. For one kiloof tea, only 30% is wholeleaf, which means thatthe rest sells at a loss,”says Sparsh. “But, in theinconsistencies lie thecharm of the product.”
Stating that he is fundamentally against theexport market, whichbuys relatively smallquantities, and “destroysthe harvest for rest of theyear,” Sparsh says Dorjewill be reaching out to Indian buyers with a subscription plan.
“For an annual subscription of ₹��2,100 perkg, we will send tea fromeach fl��ush to customersthrough the year.”
Since all fl��ushes will beequally celebrated, without being wastefully broken up and graded, pricing is competitive,enabling customers todrink this champagne ofteas everyday.
Sparsh and his familyare launching the SelimHill Collective, helmed byRajah Banerjee, to focuson the noncommercialrejuvenation of the teagarden, starting with a reforestation campaign.
“Even as we work ongetting the commercialpart right, we want to focus on community welfare and wild life conservation,” says Sparsh,adding, “Within this crisis, there is opportunity.”
To order log on todorjeteas.com
Dorje spillsAn ambitious new projectattempts to deliver Darjeeling’stea, celebrating all its quirksand fl��avours, to your doorstepthrough the year
From the hills (Above) Sparsh Agarwal and IshaanKanoria at work * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT, GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCK
the teaShonali Muthalaly
“My name is Hangmila Jamang and I am 70... I am 79years old,” narrates Hangmila Jamang with the cadenceof a kindergartener, as shelooks up from drawing waterpots on her sketchpad. It isArt class today at Oasis Academy in Chatric Khullen inKamjong district of Manipur.
Even as children across India spend their time on online classes, for the elders ofthis village of 100house
holds, lockdown has meant areturn to physical schools after decades.
Leading this project is Sorinthan Haorei, founder ofGemson Haorei, an organisation named after his father.In February this year, the 28yearold founded Oasis Academy for children up to ClassVII, and in May, opened it upto 15 adult learners as well.
His grandmother, Shoknaola Hungyo (70), is one ofhis students. They are learning numericals from one to
1,000, alphabets, and how towrite their own names. Formany of the elders, the upcoming exam will be the fi��rstone of their lives.
“Most of the elders heredid not receive basic education when they were young.The highest one of them hadstudied up to was Class IV,”says Sorinthan. But education was not the only reasonthis school was set up: “They(the elders) are involved inagricultural activities andmost live away from their families. So another reason wetook this up was to provide aplatform for socialisation, tokeep their mental health upin times like these,” he adds.
In October 2020 that Sorinthan shifted base to hisnative village from Delhiwhere he got his Masters inPublic Administration at IGNOU. “We returned due tothe pandemic. On speaking
to other people here, werealised that so many otherchildren too had returnedand were unable to go backto towns and cities to study.Which is why my motherand I came up with the ideaof starting a school in the vil
lage itself,” he says. He turned his parents’ an
cestral home into a schoolfor children, and set theircurriculum according to theBoard of Secondary Education, Manipur. In 2019, he organised the fi��rst districtlevelliterary meet in Kanjong,
hosting a quiz, debate andspelling bee. The teachers athis school are not ‘trained’,he confesses — it is just himand his mother. But the organisation is looking forsponsors to employ teachers, or teachers from neighbouring towns to volunteer.
For the elders, he and theother villagers together constructed bamboo sheds outside the main building. “Weteach them to read thehymns at church. In duecourse, they will also be ableto write letters to their sonsand daughters.”
Sorinthan moved out ofhis hometown in Ukhrul,when he was 16, in pursuit ofhigher education. However,every Christmas and NewYear, it was a family traditionto visit his grandmother inChatric Khullen.
“We had to take a day busfrom Ukhrul which droppedus off�� 40 kilometres fromChatric. So the next day, wewould travel by foot, andreach the village around 45pm,” he says. He recallscrossing a shabby bridgemade of rope and choppedbamboo. “When I wasyoung, elders would carryme on their backs, becausethe path was slippery.”
He is now back at thesame village, teaching hisgrandmother English. “Mygrandson is a good teacher,”says Shoknaola. “Once I amable to sign my name, collecting my late husband’spension at the bank will become easier,” she adds.
Back to school at
In Manipur’sChatric villagethat overlooks
the IndiaMyanamar
border, a newschool sees
many elderslearning the
alphabet for thefi��rst time
70My grandson, my teacher Sorinthan Haorei in class with thevillage elders; (left) at a children’s camp * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
......................................................................................
Sorinthan Haorei
founded Oasis
Academy for
children and later
opened it up to
adults
Sweta Akundi
Vinay Menon had never reallywatched a football match —live or on television — till hefound himself at the StamfordBridge stadium in 2009,watching Chelsea play.
He did not need tickets: Because this 46yearold fromIndia is the football team’swellness consultant. Now,during season, he spendshis days training with theteam, and watching theirmultiple matches.
“Cherai to Chelsea” ishow he likes to describehis story.
Incidentally,that is also thename of thebiography hiswife, FlomnyMenon,wrote,which waspublishedlast year.“Cherai is asmall villagenear Kochi in Kerala. Whenever Igo back, I sit bythe door, drinkchai and look atthe backwaters.That feeling ofbeing home iswonderful,” saysVinay over a callfrom London.
Seated on his balcony, overlooking the Thames, he narrates his story. “The only footballer I knew of was DiegoMaradona,” he laughs. So, 12years ago, when he was introduced to the team playing forChelsea, he was not starstruck despite big names likeDidier Drogba being in thelocker room.
Vinay was working inDubai with the Jumei
rah Group, when he receivedan off��er to join Roman Abrahamovich, owner of the theChelsea football team, as hispersonal coach in London.Eventually, Vinay took on hisnew role with the team, alsoknown as The Blues.
The journey to Chelsea Though Vinay wanted to be apolice offi��cer, when he completed his Bachelor’s, he didnot fi��nd an opening in the police force. So, he went on topursue a Master’s in Philosophy in Physical Education atthe Pondicherry University. “Ialso began training street children in physical education for
free,” he adds.Following that he did a
course in Yoga Sciencefrom Kaivalydhan Yo
ga Institute in Pune,before working as asenior wellnesspractitioner atAnanda in the Himalayas. There,
not only did he discover the world of luxurywellness, he also met themost important personin his life: his wife.
They moved to Dubainext. “I started something called full moon yo
ga. I often felt like Madonna. Iwould be dressed in a whitekurta, standing on a stage atthe fi��ve star resort and instructing my clients,” helaughs.
His current lifestyle in London is not something Vinayhad ever planned or imagined. “My cousins worked inMumbai or abroad and whenthey visited Cherai they spokein English. I only spoke in Malayalam,” he says. But he always wanted to do somethingthat brought recognition tohis village, his State. “I alwaystried to walk a diff��erent path.”
In his current role, Vinay isoften a sounding board forChelsea players. As he is “nota fan”, he can detach and critically evaluate the footballers,no matter how big a star theyare. But back in Kerala, he isplain old Vinu (as he is fondlycalled), who walks around inchappals. “It is important todetach, especially for mentalwellbeing,” says Vinay. This ishis advice for the team. “Ifyou want to perform at thepeak, you have to haveequilibrium.”
It would then be fair to credit him for playing his part inChelsea’s recent win at UEFAChampions League, where headmits he was overwhelmed.“I created ARFA. It stands forAwareness. Recovery. Focus.Achievement. I use this process to train players,” he says.
He adds that fun is important to achieve best results. “Ifyou are not enjoying something, you cannot be an eliteperformer.”
Cup of joy Captain ofthe Chelsea teamCesar Azpilicueta withVinay Menon * CHELSEA
FC VIA GETTY IMAGES
Among Chelsea’s UEFA ChampionsLeague-winning squad is VinayMenon, the team’s wellness coachfrom Cherai in Kerala
To his count DJ Martin Garrix* UEFA VIA GETTY IMAGES
‘We Are The People’, the offi��cial song ofUEFA EURO 2020 is set to kick off�� on June11 in Rome. When the football anthemwas launched on DJ Martin Garrix’ 25thbirthday on May 4, 2021, by Sony MusicNetherlands, the collaboration with U2greats, Bono and The Edge, was one ofthe big surprises for fans.
In an email interview, Garrix revealsthat as the tournament was pushed backdue to the pandemic, they had to keepthe secret for nearly two years. “Just being in the studio with them has been asurreal experience. Bono has such aniconic voice; I had goosebumps duringthe whole session. I love that they wereso openminded and involved in the creative process of the song,” he says.
The EDM virtuoso rose to fame withthe electronic theme titled ‘Animals’ in2013, at the age of 17. Garrix has collaborated with Usher, Dua Lipa, Bebe Rexha,Troye Sivan and Khaled. Still, composingfor an event like the EURO Championship
is a special honour, he says. “My fi��rst response when UEFA reached out was disbelief, then when things were confi��rmed,it turned into being very nervous, but also excited and grateful that they puttheir trust in me.”
The past year has been creatively challenging. “It wasweird for me to make festival music without live shows.Normally this is the music Itest at festivals, get theresponse, go straightback to the studio withthe adrenaline and excitement from the show,polish it, and test it again.”
“When we get back, the fi��rst showswill be absolutely insane. I thinkthey’re going to be such an explosionof adrenaline, excitement, love, euphoria. It’s going to be really, reallybeautiful.”
■ Across
5 Unsympathetic
treatment (5,6)
7 Kick on the
shins (4)
8 In shreds (8)
9 Arrogant and
presumptuous
person (7)
11 Flinch with
pain (5)
13 Young horse
(5)
14 Patient’s
resting place (7)
16 Headlong
rush (8)
17 Bad-
mannered
person (4)
18 Today’s name
for the
Hellespont (11)
■ Down
1 Irish county —
stopper (4)
2 High level of
respect (7)
3 Loincloth
worn by Indians
(5)
4 Type of
humorous verse
(8)
5 Showing keen
intelligence
(5-6)
6 Disloyal (11)
10 Meet Karl
(anag) — skiing
turn (8)
12 Drunk (3-4)
15 Exclude —
bread (anag) (5)
17 Great size
(4)
THE GUARDIAN QUICK CROSSWORD-13416
6
The solution willappear on
June 17, 2021.
Solution No. 13415
To play The Guardian QuickCrossword, The Hindu Cryptic crossword,Sudoku & other puzzles online,scan the QR code.
DJ Martin Garrix shares the euphoria that surrounds the EURO 2020 anthem
At the top of
his game
SB Vijaya Mary
The Indian in
the army of
Stamford BridgePRIYADARSHINI PAITANDY
Changing tracks Singer Chinmayi * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
CMYK
A ND-NDE
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DELHI THE HINDU
THURSDAY, JUNE 10, 202112EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
SHOWCASE
An isolated elderly patient with theMinamata disease lying on a hospital bed with ventilator support, isthe opening scene of MinamataMandala (2020). A sprawling sixhourlong documentary by acclaimed Japanese fi��lmmaker KazuoHara, it is both a humane story anda deeply political fi��lm, that exposesthe Japanese government’s incompetence in handling the epidemicand painstakingly captures the decadeslong legal and medical battleof the residents of Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture in Japan.
Having fi��lmed the documentaryacross a span of 15 years, Hara saysthe idea originated in his mind sometime during the early ‘90s whenthe momentum around Minamatadied down.
The epidemic had forced an exodus among residents of Minamatato other cities in search of jobs. Hecame across one such: a fi��sherman,who moved to Osaka where theywere discussing the impact the disease had on his life. There was an
ger among people and agitationsled by Civil Action Groups, one ofthe representatives being a university professor, also an acquaintance of Hara.
He suggested that the fi��lmmakermake a documentary on Minamata; Hara says he postponed agreeing to it for a year, for he felt thesubject was not his territory.
Connecting over a video callfrom his residence at Shinjuku, Japan, Hara, joined by a translator,says, “Noriaki Tsuchimoto’s documentary had a profound impact on
me and he was already followingup on the case. I even tried meetinghim, but they wouldn’t let me because he was in a hospital. I neverhad a chance to ask him, but in away, I inherited what he started.”
The fi��lming for the documentarybegan in 2001 and roughly endedin 201516. Split into three partswith two intervals, Hara takes amatteroffact approach to the 372minute documentary, bringing outa series of fi��rstperson interviewswith patients, medical researchersand academics who were involvedin the study, and the plaintiff��s.
Though its runtime may seem laboriously endless, the larger pointof the documentary was to give theaudience a taste of the long road ittakes for justice and hence, thefi��lm’s runtime, though justifi��able,seemed like it was intended to honour the memories of the peoplefeatured. Hara has not just investeda stupendous amount of time, buthas also sacrifi��ced 15 years of hislife to realise this documentary.
While admitting that he haschanged as a person over the years,Hara says it has been a journey ofselfdiscovery going as far back asthe time he made The Emperor’sNaked Army Marches On (1987),one of his most famous works, todraw a parallel to his older self. Theprotagonist of that fi��lm was a determined individual who took on thegovernment singlehandedly.
“I realise now it is not about anindividual but about the fi��ghtingspirit of the everyday people.”
Minamata Mandala was screenedat the recently-concluded Interna-tional Film Festival Rotterdam2021.
Fighting the
good fi��ghtJapanese fi��lmmaker Kazuo Hara discusses his 15
year project, Minamata Mandala, and how it isrefl��ective of the times we live in
Long road to justice A still fromMinamata Mandala; (inset) KazuoHara * IFFR PRESS
Srivatsan S
“People who have not met me thinkthat I am an angry woman,” says Chinmayi, in a telephonic interview, “Twitter Spaces changed that perceptionand it was therapeutic for me personally; it reset what I felt about myself.Spaces also helped put some focus onmy art because I thought: Have peopleforgotten that I am a singer? ”
If you drop by Chinmayi’s residencein Chennai, you will probably see herplaying with her dogs and humming atune. It might be a raga or alaap, or atune from one of her superhits.
It is this side of the singer that fanshave lately been introduced to in herrecent packed, Twitter Spaces outings,one of which spilled over to the weehours of the following day. However,the ones that won the most heartswere her concert with composer Govind Vasantha and her rendition of‘80s hits, a tribute to Ilaiyaraaja whoturned 78 recently.
In some of her Spaces, Chinmayishowcased her vocal prowess, thusleading to comments among Twitterati, many of whom said the music“healed them in tough times”. She alsotakes on impromptu requests, to thedelight of her fans. “I had a great timeperforming,” she says.
Also trending on social media in recent times was the hashtag #WeWantChinmayiBack, indicating that listeners wanted to hear more of her infi��lms.
“That was absolutely touching, buthow much of this will have a change inground reality is to be seen,” says thesinger, who mentions that Govind Vasantha and Nivas Prasanna are amongher closest friends in the musicindustry.
Chinmayi, however, isnot much of a music listener herself. “I don’tlisten to music for relaxation or fun. Forme, music is an allconsuming exercise; I cannot relax when it plays inthe background. That’swhy when I drive, I do nothave music playing,” says themusician, whose playback singing career kickstarted with the hit ‘Oru Deivam’ song in Mani Ratnam’s Kannathil
Muthamittal (2002). Since then,she has sung over 1,000 songs
in various languages. She states that her fi��lm
off��ers have dried upsince her involvementwith the #MeToomovement, which began in 2018, but thereare still a few tracks on
the cards.“I sang a solo Malaya
lam song for AR Rahmanfor the Prithviraj project (Aa-
dujeevitham) four years ago. I am notsure of its status now. I have sung afew upcoming tracks in Telugu, Kan
nada and Malayalam but nothing inTamil.”
So, what’s next? At the moment,Chinmayi is making sure she is heardon social media. She has been a part oftwo Clubhouse events discussing cinema. Also on the cards is a Twitter Spaces dedicated exclusively to ghazals,which she is planning to schedule inthe next few days.
“I speak about issues that need to befl��agged, but people think I am into fulltime activism,” she says, discussing thesurge of support from listeners onTwitter Spaces. She adds. “These recent conversations helped changedthat notion.”
Getting real with ChinmayiThe singer talks about her recent, impromptu concerts on Twitter Spacesand how that has altered people’s perception of her as a fulltime activist
<> For me, music
is an all-
consuming
exercise. I
cannot relax
when it plays
Srinivasa Ramanujam
“Where a consumer has a presence, arestaurant can follow. Facebook, Instagram, Google listings, WhatsApp... any ofthem can be worked into an orderingplatform, and we are teaching restaurants how to do just that,” says tech entrepreneur Anurag Gupta. His nonaggregator platform DotPe, cofounded withShailaz Nag and Gyanesh Sharma, hastied up with over 15,000 restaurants in300 cities, in two years.
This business is miniscule comparedto giants like Swiggy and Zomato — Zomato boasted of 1.4 million active restaurants back in 2019, the year DotPe hadjust started out. But even as the giantscontinue to innovate, creating employment and providing essential deliveryduring lockdown, alternative food delivery platforms have been seeing a steadyrise over the past two years.
The commission conundrumInterestingly enough, they arrived on thescene to fi��ll an urgent need, not of consumers, but of restaurants. Restaurateurs(as well as organisations like NationalRestaurants Authority of India, NRAI)have for years been seeking alternativesto mainstream aggregator apps. Statements galore have been made about howthe deep discounts off��ered by deliveryapps, combined with heavy commissionsthey charge, cut deep into profi��ts of restaurants, bars and cafes, to the point ofmaking business nearly unsustainable.
While NRAI announced plans tolaunch its own delivery platform back in2020, it was in May 2021 that Kerala Hoteland Restaurant Association (KHRA)launched a food delivery app, Rezoy, as aresponse against the commissioncharged by larger food aggregators.
“It is around 20% plus GST, whichcomes up to 21.5% or 22% of the billamount. When you factor in the overheads, which include raw material costand salaries, a restaurant owner is notleft with much to run the business. Sometimes the bill amount [on a particular order] may not justify the commission. Weneeded to do something about it in orderto continue in the business,” says AseesMoosa, Ernakulam district president ofKHRA.
Platforms like DotPe and Thrive, incontrast, charge anywhere between 1%
to 3% commission per order, and havecapped it at that. Thrive has been another popular option for individual restaurants in metro cities. Launched in October 2020 with one restaurant partner inMumbai, Thrive built its base to 1,500restaurants by February 2021.
“That is when we launched our 2.0version, which has helped double ourcount in the last two months alone. Wenow have over 3,000 restaurants onboard,” says cofounder Dhruv Dewan.
Dhruv does not see Thrive as an alternative to Swiggy or Zomato. “I think in
the near future, directtocustomer platforms and aggregators will coexist,” hesays, “But for anyone building a businessfrom scratch, a directtocustomer option makes more sense than anaggregator.”
A key reason why certain restaurantschoose Thrive over Zomato or Swiggy, isaccess to consumer data. As Gauri Devidayal of The Table, Mumbai puts it, “It isvery diffi��cult to run a business online ifyou don’t know who your consumer is,which dish they prefer andwhy, what problemsthey had with a particular order.”
Thrive gives its restaurant partner ownership over such data.“The data is hosted onour servers, because itisn’t feasible to havea separate server
for each restaurant.But the data rests contractually with eachrestaurant, and theyhave full access to it.According to the termsand conditions, we[Thrive] can’t give arestaurant’s consumption data to anyoneelse. We can only use itto improve our opera
tions, like keepingtrack of pay
ment hiccups,” says Dhruv.
Asees explains how hotelsare encouraged by aggregators to have diff��erent prices— for online and offl��ine orders. “Prices [on the onlinemenu] and portion sizes
are ‘adjusted’ in a way that justifi��es the commission they pay to theaggregators, some make extra too.So who gets the raw deal in the end?
Our aim [with Rezoy]is that all stakeholdersbenefi��t, not just us,” he
adds. The menuuploaded by the
restaurant on Rezoy has to be theone displayed atthe hotel. If there
is malpracticethen action is ta
ken against thehotel — they areremoved if they
refuse to comply. “This is a reason why afew hotels are not keen on being on theapp as they are used to the extra profi��t,”says Asees.
Lastmile delivery is another factorwhere today’s giants appear to have anadvantage; a restaurant needs a dependable delivery fl��eet, one that knows its city’s lanes and bylanes, shortcuts anddetours.
DotPe and Thrive address this with ahybrid model. As Anurag points out,“The lastmile delivery problem has already been solved by others — by Shadowfax, Rapido and Dunzo. We have tiedup with them; restaurants have the option of using their own staff�� for delivery,these thirdparty teams, or a mix of thetwo.” Thrive’s model is similar.
Riyaaz Amlani’s Impressario Handmade restaurants — the fi��rm behind Social — recently snagged a headlinegrabbing tieup: Mumbai’s dabbawalas nowdeliver his restaurants orders to homesacross the metropolis.
Learning curveInnovating is one thing, getting smaller
and newer restaurants tounderstand the nittygritties of online operations in the midst of apandemic is another.
NRAI has been conducting bootcamps to familiarise restaurantswith DotPe’s system inmultiple cities.
In Mumbai, the gastropub London Taxi cofounded by DhavalUdeshi and NRAI member Pawan Shahri, hasdoubled up as an incuba
tor programme. Dhaval says, “This is the fi��rst time that
a restaurant is opening up its kitchen tobecome an incubator for home delivery.There is no doubt about the adverse effect of the pandemic on India’s F&B segment, especially small business owners.Newer companies who want to start theirown brand in the food business needSEO (search engine optimisation) to acquire direct customers. To make a business survive on its own it takes a goodcouple of months.”
Dhaval says that partnering withknown brands is one defi��nite way forward, keeping in mind the importance ofSEO in reaching endcustomers online.“We have redone our entire marketingstrategy towards online delivery, andhave partnered with DotPe for the same,”he says.
It appears to be a case of multiple Davids banding against a few Goliaths, in atussle that promises to be fascinating,and ultimately rewarding for customers.
(delivery)road not
takenThe food delivery space is India’s latest
battleground. As new options like Thrive andDotPe go head to head with giants, customers
get more spoilt for choice
The
Much ado about your lunch(Clockwise from below) DotPe on
phone screens; a Mumbaidabbawala at an Impressario
restaurant; pizza to go; adabbawala on the road * SPECIAL
ARRANGEMENT AND GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCK
Meghna Majumdar, Shilpa Nair Anand and Prabalika M Borah
CMYK
A ND-NDE
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THE HINDU DELHI
THURSDAY, JUNE 10, 2021 13EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
The Maldives has made nodecision on opening an Indian consulate in its southern Addu Atoll, PresidentIbrahim Mohamed Solih saidon Tuesday, a fortnight afterthe Indian Cabinet cleared aproposal for it.
The President remarkedon the proposed Indian consulate, during a press conference on the COVID19 situation in the country,spokesman Mabrook Azeeztold The Hindu from capitalMale. “He [Mr. Solih] pointed out that having multiplesites off��ering consular services in one country is quitecommon,” Mr. Azeez said.
President Solih’s comments appeared to keep theoption open, amid an ongoing “#SaveAddu” social media campaign by a section ofMaldivians sceptical ofanother Indian mission presence, in addition to the Embassy in Male.
Legislators from Adduand local body representatives — from the ruling coalition widely perceived as Indiafriendly — have pledgedsupport to the initiative.Speaker Mohamed Nasheed,who is currently in Berlin,recovering from injuries sustained in an assassination attempt last month, said in arecent tweet that Addu’sthinking has always beenone that is open to theworld. “Both Addu and Maldives will benefi��t from thecreation of an Indian consulate in Addu,” he said in aDhivehi language tweet onJune 5. Opposition voices,which earlier led an ‘#Indiaout’ campaign against enhanced military cooperation
between the neighbours,have opposed the proposedconsulate.
Apart from its strategic location in the Indian Ocean,Addu is the second largestcity in the archipelago,home to over 30,000 people. Indian governmentsources familiar with theproposal said the rationalefor the consulate was to helpAddu residents with speedyvisa services.
All the same, the frequentvisa requirements of locals isyet to convince Maldivianswho see a new consulatewith suspicion, especially onthe heels of a $33millionMaldivian police training facility that India is helpingbuild in Addu. On June 3, local publication Times of Ad-du ran an editorial titled ‘Indian consulate in Addu City;A possible ‘safe house’ forIndian spies?’
Local sensitivities Further, the fact that the announcement appeared inthe Indian media lastmonth, before either government made an announcement, has prompted criticism of Indian “heavyhandedness”. According tothe Maldives’s former Ambassador to India AhmedMohamed, who served
former President AbdullaYameen’s administration,New Delhi must be moreaware of the “sensitivities”within the Maldives.
“We saw similar apprehensions among our peoplewhen India [in 2018] was reluctant to take back the helicopters sent here, even afterour [former President Yameen] government requested them. It was seen as bootson the ground, a challengeon our independence and aviolation of our sovereignty,”he told The Hindu. The decision to open a consulate inAddu invokes similar suspicion, in his view. “The factthat the decision was fi��rst reported in the Indian mediaalso shows that sort of heavyhandedness.”
U.K.based Maldivian academic Hassan Ugail, whohails from Addu, underscored the need for a datadriven approach to establisha consulate. “In principle, Iam supportive of consulatesof countries, including India, to be established in Addu. However, I am not supportive of the present setupbeing proposed,” he said.Pointing to the “economicgrowth prospects” argument made by some in favour of opening a consulate,he said there are no signs yetof “such economic growth,investments or mass tourismfrom India to Addu city”.
“We must fi��rst demonstrate the case with facts, fi��gures and numbers, and demonstrate signs that suchactivities are actually takingplace. The argument of ‘letus establish a consulate andlet us wait for economicgrowth to take place’ makeslittle sense,” Prof. Ugail said.
No decision yet on Indianconsulate in Addu Atoll: Solih Sections in Maldives oppose Indian ‘heavy-handedness’
Meera Srinivasan
COLOMBO
Ibrahim Mohamed Solih
The U.S. Senate passed asweeping industrial policyBill on Tuesday aimed atcountering the surging economic threat from rival China, overcoming partisan divisions to support pumpingmore than $170 billion intoresearch and development.
With both American political parties increasingly worried about competition fromAsia’s largest power, themeasure cleared the chamber on a 6832 vote, one ofthe most signifi��cant bipartisan achievements in Congress since Joe Biden’s presidency began in January.
It also represents the largest investment in scientifi��cresearch and technologicalinnovation “in generations”,according to Senate MajorityLeader Chuck Schumer.
The Bill now heads to theHouse of Representatives,which earlier passed a diff��erent version. The two will
have to be reconciled into asingle Bill before it is sent tothe White House for the President’s signature.
Biden encouragedMr. Biden said he was “encouraged” by the Senate’spassage of the United StatesInnovation and CompetitionAct. “We are in a competition to win the 21st century,
and the starting gun hasgone off��,” Mr. Biden said.
“As other countries continue to invest in their own research and development, wecannot risk falling behind.America must maintain itsposition as the most innovative and productive nationon Earth.”
The package, a key provision of which addresses a
shortage of semiconductorsthat has slowed U.S. autoproduction this year, willhelp U.S. industry bolster itscapacity and improve technology. It is seen as crucialfor U.S. eff��orts to avoid beingoutmanoeuvred by Beijingas the adversaries competein the race to technologicalinnovation.
“Today, the Senate took acritical bipartisan step forward to make the investments we need to continueAmerica’s legacy as a globalleader in innovation,” U.S.Commerce Secretary GinaRaimondo said in a statement praising the passage ofthe Bill. “This funding isn’tjust about addressing thecurrent semiconductor chipshortage, it is about longterm investments,” she said.
Mr. Schumer called themeasure “one of the mostimportant things this chamber has done in a very longtime, a statement of faith inAmerica’s ability to seize the
opportunities of the 21stcentury”.
Key areasThe proposal aims to address a number of technological areas in which the U.S.has fallen behind China. TheBill allocates $52 billion infunding for a previously approved plan to increasedomestic manufacturing ofsemiconductors. It also authorises $120 billion over fi��veyears for activities at the National Science Foundation toadvance priorities, includingresearch and developmentin key areas such as artifi��cialintelligence and quantumscience. And it facilitates tieups between private fi��rmsand research universities.
“This is an opportunityfor the United States to strikea blow on behalf of answering the unfair competitionthat we are seeing from communist China,” said Republican Senator Roger Wicker,one of the main cosponsors.
U.S. Senate passes huge innovation BillIt seeks to pump more than $170 bn into tech research to counter growing economic threat from China
Agence France-Presse
Washington
Tough competition: An employee making microchips at afactory in Nantong, China. * AFP
A top Biden administrationoffi��cial has said the Quadgroup of countries — India,Australia, the U.S. and Japan— are on track to meet theirgoal of producing at least 1billion vaccines for the Asiaregion by the end of 2022,despite the massive COVID19 wave that has hit India in recent weeks. TheQuad vaccine partnershipwas announced at a summitlevel meeting in March, before the pandemic situationin India deterioratedsignifi��cantly.
“Our discussions withboth our partners in theprivate sector and also in government suggest that weare, knockonwood, still ontrack for 2022, but... themost intense eff��orts rightnow really are in the shortterm,” Kurt Campbell, theBiden administration’s topoffi��cial for IndoPacifi��c policy, said on Tuesday. He wasspeaking at an event organised by the Center for NewAmerican Security, a thinktank in Washington DC.
Mr. Campbell said the U.S.had been in close consultations with its partners andwith India. He acknowledged that this has been an“extremely diffi��cult period”for India and that the U.S.has tried to “stand with Delhi” and has tried to bringprivate and public sectorsupport for India.
“I think we’re feeling rela
tively confi��dent as we headinto 2022, but we recognisethat what we are facing rightnow across Asia, in fact,across the world, are newstrains that spread more rapidly. So even countries thatdid extremely well throughsocial distancing and masking... are now facing outbreaks,” he said, adding theonly way to counter this situation was through “vaccinediplomacy” and that the U.S.was trying to step that up.
The second wave of thepandemic in India revealedthe country’s COVID109vaccine shortages. The U.S.has initiated a programme togive 80 million of its excessvaccines to countries inneed of them, by the end ofJune.
In-person meeting Mr. Campbell said the U.S.intends to hold a “very ambitious” Quad leaders meeting in Washington.
“But our goal is to hold aninperson Quad meeting…very ambitious meeting herein Washington in the fall
with all leaders in attendance. We will ensure thatwe've taken the necessarysteps on the vaccine deliverable — we intend to build onthat,” he said.
He also suggested therewould be some infrastructure related outcomes fromthis Quad meeting. Mr.Campbell had suggested thisat the end of May as well, atan event in Stanford.
A White House offi��cial declined to confi��rm that Washington would be the locationof the autumn Quad meeting, when approached byThe Hindu on Tuesday following Mr. Campbell’s comments. “We want to do something constructive withrespect to infrastructure andI think we’re going to takesome other steps to buildout the Quad to ensure thatas an unoffi��cial gathering, itstill is the defi��ning feature ofmodern diplomacy linkingthese key maritime democracies in a way that is deeplyconsequential for the 21stcentury,” Mr. Campbell saidon Tuesday.
In response to a questionon whether the Quad wouldexpand at some point or focus on deepening cooperation between the existingfour members, Mr. Campbell suggested the currentfocus was for now to “deepen” and “broaden” familiarity within existing partners but did not rule out othercountries eventually participating in Quad initiatives.
Quad vaccine partnershipgoal still on track: U.S. offi��cial U.S. intends to hold a ‘very ambitious’ Quad meeting
Sriram Lakshman
Washington DC
Kurt Campbell
The UN’s special rapporteuron human rights in Myanmar has warned of “massdeaths” from starvation anddisease in the wake of fi��ghting between rebel groupsand junta forces in the eastof the country.
Myanmar has been inchaos and its economy paralysed since a Februaryputsch and a brutal militarycrackdown on dissent thathas killed over 800, according to a local monitoring
group. Fighting has fl��ared inseveral communities — especially in townships that haveseen a high death toll at thehands of the police — andsome locals have formed“defence forces”. Clasheshave escalated in KayahState near the Thai border inrecent weeks. The UN estimates around 1,00,000 people have been displaced.
“The junta’s brutal, indiscriminate attacks are threatening the lives of manythousands of men, womenand children in Kayah,” Tom
Andrews said in a statementon Twitter on Tuesday.
“Let me be blunt. Massdeaths from starvation, disease, and exposure, on ascale we have not yet seen...could occur in Kayah Stateabsent immediate action.”
Diplomatic eff��orts to haltthe bloodshed have been ledby the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)— of which Myanmar is amember — but the bloc is riven with infi��ghting and hasmanaged to put little pressure on the junta.
UN rights rapporteur warns ofstarvation deaths in MyanmarAgence France-Presse
Washington Turkish President RecepTayyip Erdogan said onWednesday he will visitAzerbaijan to celebrate itsvictory over Armenia in abrief war last year, touring aregion recaptured in disputed NagornoKarabakh.
Azerbaijan seized backswathes of territory in theseparatist ethnic Armeniaregion with the help of Turkish combat drones and other weaponry from Ankara.The confl��ict claimed 6,000lives and ended with a Rus
sianbrokered truce in November that saw ethnic Armenians pushed out of largeparts of the land they hadwon during a brutal postSoviet war in the 1990s.
Mr. Erdogan said he willfl��y to Azerbaijan from nextweek’s NATO summit inBrussels and watch Turkeyplay Wales in Baku in theEuro 2020 football championship on Wednesday. Hesaid he and his “brother”,Azerbaijani President IlhamAliyev, will then visit Shusha, which fell to Azerbaijani forces during the war.
Erdogan to visit Karabakhregion won by AzerbaijanAgence France-Presse
Ankara
El Salvador approvesbitcoin as legal tenderSAN SALVADOR
Bitcoin is to become legal
tender in El Salvador, the
country’s President said,
making it the first nation to
adopt a cryptocurrency for
everyday use. Lawmakers in
the Central American nation’s
Congress passed a Bill late on
Tuesday that will eventually
allow the famously volatile
digital currency to be used
for many aspects of daily life,
from property purchases to
tax contributions. “The
#BitcoinLaw has just been
approved by a qualified
majority” in the legislative
assembly, President Nayib
Bukele tweeted after the
vote. “History!” he added. AFP
ELSEWHERE
Pak. TV host apologisesfor Army commentISLAMABAD
Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir
who was banned and taken
off air by his TV station after
he criticised the military at a
rally against attacks on journ-
alists has offered an apology,
saying he had no intention to
defame the Army. Mr. Mir
tweeted, saying he apolo-
gised over his remarks before
a journalists’ union that
defended him since Geo News
TV removed him in May as the
host of his talk show “Capital
Talk”. He said he tendered no
such apology to Geo News as
he did not use the platform
when he made a fiery speech
at a rally. AP
Macron shrugs off assault,to continue to meet publicPARIS
French President Emmanuel
Macron will continue to greet
crowds during his travels
despite a security scare that
saw him slapped by a man, a
government spokesman said
on Wednesday. Mr. Macron
shrugged off his assault on
Tuesday in the village of Tain
l’Hermitage, calling it an
“isolated event” and
“stupidity”, and he went to
chat with onlookers later in
the day in the town of
Valence. “His trips are going
to continue: the President
will remain in contact with
the French public,” spokes-
man Gabriel Attal said. AFP
President Joe Biden on Wednesday revoked executiveorders from his predecessorDonald Trump seeking toban Chineseowned mobileapps TikTok and WeChat over national security concerns, the White House said.
A White House statementsaid that instead of banningthe apps, the administration
would carry out a “criteriabased decision frameworkand rigorous, evidencebased analysis to address therisks” from Internet applications controlled by foreignentities.
Mr. Biden’s order seeks toidentify any “connectedsoftware applications thatmay pose an unacceptablerisk to U.S. national securityand the American people”,
including “applications thatare owned, controlled, ormanaged by persons thatsupport foreign adversarymilitary or intelligence activities, or are involved in malicious cyber activities, or involve applications thatcollect sensitive personal data”. It calls for federal agencies to develop guidelines"to protect sensitive personal data”.
Biden drops plan to ban TikTokAgence France-Presse
Washington
CMYK
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DELHI THE HINDU
THURSDAY, JUNE 10, 202114EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
NIFTY 50
PRICE CHANGE
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HCL Tech. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 971.30. . . . . . . . . 4.10
HDFC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 2544.75. . . . . . . . -9.75
HDFC Bank. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1480.30. . . . . . . . -2.75
HDFC Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 684.90. . . . . . . . -4.80
Hero MotoCorp . . . . . .. . . . 3023.50. . . . . . -32.45
Hindalco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 383.15. . . . . . . . -4.60
Hind Unilever . . . . . . . . .. . . . 2356.00. . . . . . . . -3.00
ICICI Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 636.10. . . . . . . . -6.30
IndusInd Bank . . . . . . . .. . . . 1003.55. . . . . . -16.60
Infosys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1415.30. . . . . . . . . 2.35
Indian OilCorp . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 114.95. . . . . . . . -1.75
ITC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 212.50. . . . . . . . -1.15
JSW Steel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 697.85. . . . . . . . -9.65
Kotak Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1782.90. . . . . . -10.65
L&T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1519.30. . . . . . -29.85
M&M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 804.45. . . . . . . . -3.40
Maruti Suzuki . . . . . . . . .. . . . 7239.00. . . . . . -97.75
Nestle India Ltd. . . . .. 17557.15. . . . . . . 74.55
NTPC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 118.10. . . . . . . . . 1.90
ONGC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 124.05. . . . . . . . -0.75
PowerGrid Corp . . . . .. . . . . . 242.10. . . . . . . . . 8.05
Reliance Ind . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 2175.00. . . . . . -39.60
SBI Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 998.60. . . . . . . 18.75
State Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 421.45. . . . . . . . -5.75
Shree Cement . . . . . . . .. 28407.35. . . -548.00
Sun Pharma . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 672.85. . . . . . . . -5.90
Tata Consumer
Products Ltd. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 702.85. . . . . . . . -7.60
Tata Motors . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 343.35. . . . . . . . -9.40
Tata Steel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1101.00. . . . . . -10.10
TCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 3200.25. . . . . . . . . 0.10
Tech Mahindra . . . . . . .. . . . 1052.25. . . . . . . . -5.50
Titan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1730.75. . . . . . . 18.25
UltraTech Cement. .. . . . 6724.75. . . . . . -69.65
UPL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 845.55. . . . . . . . -8.00
Wipro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 544.20. . . . . . . . -6.40
EXCHANGE RATES
Indicative direct rates in rupees a unitexcept yen at 4 p.m. on June 09
CURRENCY TT BUY TT SELL
US Dollar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 72.78. . . . . . . 73.10
Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 88.72. . . . . . . 89.11
British Pound. . . . . . . . . . . . .103.14. . . . 103.63
Japanese Yen (100) . .. . 66.49. . . . . . . 66.78
Chinese Yuan . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 11.39. . . . . . . 11.45
Swiss Franc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 81.23. . . . . . . 81.59
Singapore Dollar . . . . . . .. . 54.98. . . . . . . 55.22
Canadian Dollar. . . . . . . . .. . 60.23. . . . . . . 60.50
Malaysian Ringitt . . . . . .. . 17.67. . . . . . . 17.75
Source:Indian Bank
market watch
09-06-2021 % CHANGE
Sensex dddddddddddddddddddddd 51,942 ddddddddddddd-0.64
US Dollardddddddddddddddddddd 72.97 ddddddddddddd-0.11
Gold ddddddddddddddddddddddddddd 48,424 ddddddddddddd-1.45
Brent oil ddddddddddddddddddddd 72.48 ddddddddddddddd1.27
IN BRIEF
Uber to hire almost 250engineers in India BENGALURU
Uber on Wednesday said it
would hire almost 250
engineers to expand its
technology and product
teams based in Bengaluru
and Hyderabad. With this,
the ridehailing fi��rm would
have 1,000 employees in
India by end of this year.
The new hiring is expected to
strengthen rider and driver
growth, delivery, eats, digital
payments, risk and
compliance, the fi��rm said.
‘PC emerges as mostpreferred gaming device’BENGALURU
Personal Computer (PC)
gaming is now a mainstream
activity in India – especially
during the pandemic – with
women, school students,
‘GenZ’ youth from Tier 2
seriously considering it as a
career option, as per Gaming
Landscape Report 2021
released by HP India. Some
1,500 respondents took part
in the survey conducted in 25
metros and Tier1 and Tier2
cities across India.
DGTR task force to cutcompliance burdenNEW DELHI
A task force for reducing the
compliance burden for
citizens and business has
been constituted by the
Commerce Department, as
per the Directorate General
of Trade Remedies (DGTR).
The terms of reference
include reviewing all existing
rules; processes and
procedures; ensuring that
these are kept simple and
ensuring that all processes
are fully online. PTI
China’s factorygate pricesrose at their fastest annualpace in over 12 years in May,driven by surging commodity prices, highlighting global infl��ation pressures at atime when policymakers aretrying to revitalise COVID19hit growth.
Investors are increasinglyworried that pandemicdriven stimulus measurescould supercharge global infl��ation and force centralbanks to tighten policy,curbing the recovery.
China’s producer priceindex (PPI) increased 9%,the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said, as pricesbounced back from lastyear’s pandemic lows. The
PPI rise was driven by significant price increases incrude oil, iron ore and nonferrous metals, it said.
“The worry is PPI mayhover at an elevated levelfor an extended period oftime, creating economicheadaches if mid or downstream fi��rms fail to absorbhigher costs,” said Nie Wen,chief economist at the Hwabao Trust.
China factory price surgesignals global pressuresProducer price index rises 9%
Reuters
BEIJING
Shares of Videocon Industries Ltd. (VIL) jumped bythe maximum permissible4.9% to ₹��6.43 on the BSE onWednesday, a day after theMumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved the₹��2,962 crore bid by VedantaGroup company Twin StarTechnologies Ltd. to acquirebankrupt VIL and 12 othergroup entities.
Vedanta’s Volcan Investments told the LSE thegroup’s interest in the Ravvaoilfi��eld would rise to 47.5%post acquisition.
“The bid for the Videoconasset consists of an upfront
payment of almost $40 million,” Volcan said in the fi��ling. “The remaining deferred payments shall beginpost completion of 2 yearsfrom the acquisition date.”
According to previoussubmissions made beforethe NCLT, all the fi��nancialcreditors of VIL and 12 groupcompanies had lodgedclaims of ₹��34,370.75 crore.Besides lenders for thegroup’s oil and gas businesshad made claims of₹��23,120.90 crore with theResolution Professional.
With the oil and gas vendors’ claim amounting toabout 40.2% of the totalclaims of the fi��nancial creditors of VIL, banks had a col
lective exposure of₹��43,743.35 crore.
Sizeable haircutGiven the Vedanta groupcompany’s ₹��2,962 crore off��er banks have agreed to takea haircut well in excess of₹��40,000 crore.
Declining to comment onthe VIL deal, J.N. Gupta, MDat Stakeholders Empowerment Services stressed therewas a need for greater transparency in the resolutionprocess. “They should declare the received bids without disclosing the names.Today, the Resolution Professional has the power totwist the deal in anyone’s favour,” he remarked.
Videocon rises 4.9% on NCLTnod for Vedanta fi��rm’s off��erMining group’s stake in Ravva oilfi��eld to rise to 47.5%
Special Correspondent
Mumbai
Equity mutual funds witnessed a net infl��ow of morethan ₹��10,000 crore in May,making it the third consecutive monthly infusion.
This was way higher than₹��3,437 crore net infl��ow seenin April and ₹��9,115 crore inMarch, data from the Association of Mutual Funds inIndia showed.
Prior to this, equityschemes had consistentlywitnessed outfl��ows for eightstraight months from July2020 to February 2021.
On the other hand, investors pulled out ₹��44,512 crorefrom debt mutual funds lastmonth after infusing over ₹��1lakh crore in April.
Overall, the mutual fundindustry witnessed an outfl��ow of ₹��38,602 crore acrossall segments during the period under review, com
pared with an infl��ow of₹��92,906 crore in April. Asper the data, infl��ow fromequity and equitylinkedopenended schemes stoodat ₹��10,083 crore in May.
Barring equity linked saving schemes (ELSS), whichsaw a withdrawal of ₹��290crore, all equity schemeshave seen infl��ow last month.
Further, gold exchangetraded funds (ETFs) witnessed a net infl��ow of ₹��288crore last month, comparedwith ₹��680 crore in April.
The assets under management of the industryrose to an alltime high of₹��33 lakh crore in May from₹��32.38 lakh crore in April.
Equity mutual funds saw₹��10,000cr. infl��ow in MayDebt MFs’ outfl��ow stood at ₹��44,512 cr.
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
NEW DELHI <> Mutual fund
industry witnessed
an outfl��ow of
₹��38,602 crore
across all segments
Nonlife insurers have registered a 11.35% rise ingross direct premium underwritten for May, agrowth boosted by the continued demand for healthproducts.
Flash fi��gures issued byinsurance regulator IRDAIshow the nonlife segmentcomprising general, standalone health as well astwo specialised PSU insurers’ gross direct premiumunderwritten at ₹��12,316.50crore. In May 2020, it was₹��11,061 crore.
Of this, general insurers,who also deal in health,posted a 7.2% rise to₹��10,8233 crore. Standaloneprivate health insurersstood out posting a 66.6%rise to ₹��1,407 crore.
Nonlifeinsurers gethealth boost
Special Correspondent
HYDERABAD
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the allotment of 5 Mhz spectrum inthe premium 700 MHz bandto the Railways for captiveuse in areas of public safetyand security services.
With this spectrum, theRailways will introduceLongTerm Evolution (LTE)based Mobile Train RadioCommunication (MTRC) onits routes. This will help prevent train accidents and reduce delays by enablingrealtime interaction between the Loco Pilot, StationMaster and the ControlCentre. The project, targeted to be completed in fi��veyears, is estimated to costover ₹�� 25,000 crore.
“LTE... will be used for
modern signalling and trainprotection systems and ensure seamless communication between loco pilots andguards,” an offi��cial statement said. This will also enable the Railways to take upInternet of Things (IoT)based remote monitoring,particularly of coaches, wagons and locos, and monitorlive feeds of CCTV camerasin the coaches.
Cabinet approves 5 MHzspectrum for Railways Tech to help avoid accidents, delays
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI
The Finance Ministry hasmade a strong pitch to vaccinate 70 crore people with atleast the fi��rst dose by September to achieve herd immunity against COVID19and regain the momentumof economic recovery.
As this would require 93lakh doses to be deliveredevery day from now, the ministry has suggested makingvaccination a 24/7 activity,particularly in August andSeptember when vaccinesupplies may improve.
“As on date, 19.2 crorehave got the fi��rst dose while4.7 crore have been fullyvaccinated. If 70 crore mustbe vaccinated by September, it is estimated about 113crore doses are needed.”
The ministry suggestedaligning supplies with theSeptember target and a system whereby ‘people already having antibodies (are)vaccinated later while people who have not been exposed (are) given priority.’
“Use of technology toease the administration ofthe vaccine, increased shiftsat vaccination centres andintegration of mass vaccination sites like shoppingareas, driveins, withschools and primary healthcare centres will enhancefaster coverage under vaccination,” suggested the ministry in its monthly economic report for May issuedby the Department of Economic Aff��airs (DEA).
“The peak daily vaccination rate attained till date is42.65 lakh. This peak wasachieved using one shift of89 hours of vaccination,” itpointed out, suggesting an
enhancement of this to twoshifts or even 24 hourvaccination sites.
“Challenges pertaining tovaccine supply, vaccine hesitancy, operational aspectsto achieve high dailythroughput and widespreadreach must be anticipatedand planned for in advance,” said the ministry.
“As we cautiously recuperate from the second wave,rapid vaccination and frontloading of the fi��scal measures planned in the UnionBudget hold key to invigorating the investment, andthereby, consumption cyclein the coming quarters.”
Monsoon hopes A healthy monsoon bodeswell for agriculture and softer lockdowns by States areexpected to translate into a‘softer economic shock’ forsectors such as manufacturing and construction. Theministry stressed that‘quickening the pace andcoverage of vaccination’ wascritical to help India healand regain the momentumof economic recovery.
The second wave’sspread to rural India hadbeen rapid, but the share ofrural districts in new caseswas still lower than the levels seen at the fi��rst wave’speak, it said.
‘Herd immunity to boost recovery’
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI
Aim to vaccinate70 cr. by Sept., runsites 24/7: FinMin
LIC Chairman Kumar getsnine-month extensionNEW DELHI
The government has given a
ninemonth extension to LIC
Chairman M.R. Kumar in view
of the insurer's proposed
initial public off��er towards
the end of the current fi��scal.
The government has
approved the proposal of the
Department of Financial
Services for extending the
term of Mr. Kumar from June
30 till March 13, 2022, when
he completes three years,
sources said. PTI
Private equity fi��rm AdventInternational Corp. onWednesday divested its entire 5.36% stake in Crompton Greaves ConsumerElectricals for a little over₹��1,348 crore through several open market transactions. The shares werelapped up by more than adozen entities, includingforeign investors, domesticmutual funds and insurance companies.
According to block dealdata available with theBSE, Advent InternationalCorp’s Amalfi��aco Ltd. solda 3,36,67,802 shares,amounting to a 5.36% stakeof Crompton. The shareswere offl�oaded on an average price of ₹��400.4 apiece.Prior to this, Amalfi��aco haddivested 3.8 crore shares ofCrompton for over ₹��1,492crore in February 2021.
Advent exitsCrompton,sells 5.4% stake
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
NEW DELHI
The BJPruled Uttar Pradeshgovernment is in favour ofreducing the Goods and Services Tax (GST) levied on COVID19 essentials to minimise costs borne by peopleto cope with the pandemic,State Finance Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna said.
The GST Council, that meton May 28, had formed a Ministerial group to review demands for slashing the taxrates or exempting COVID19supplies from GST. Mr.Khanna was part of theGroup of Ministers (GoM)that submitted its report toFinance Minister NirmalaSitharaman this week.
“The U.P. Government is
in favour of reducing taxes inorder to reduce the COVID19 treatment costs forpatients,” he said.
He was responding to aquery on the possibility of levying a 0.1% GST on COVID19 material ranging from
vaccines (currently taxed at5%) and drugs, oxygen concentrators and cylinders thatare taxed at 12% or 18%.
Ms. Sitharaman had giventhe GoM just ten days to fi��rmup its views ‘so that if thereare any further reductions
that need to be done, (they)will be done’. However, nodate has been set for theCouncil to study the report.
Mr. Khanna also assertedthe State had not raised taxes on petroleum productsdespite the fi��scal diffi��cultiesposed by the pandemic. OnStates’ GST compensationdues, he said U.P. had nopending dues since last year.
While the Centre has announced a ₹��1.58lakh croreborrowing plan to meetStates’ GST compensationdues this year, rating agencyICRA has estimated that₹��97,700 crore of States’ duesremain pending since lastyear and have to be paid thisyear, for which the fundingoptions are unclear.
U.P. favours GST reduction onessentials for COVID19 careGovt. wants to minimise burden of the people coping with pandemic: Khanna
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI
First step: A group of Ministers has submitted a report to Ms.Sitharaman on exempting COVID supplies from GST. * REUTERS
The Reserve Bank on Wednesday said the government has extended the tenure of Deputy GovernorMahesh Kumar Jain for twoyears.
“The Central Government has reappointed ShriMahesh Kumar Jain as Deputy Governor, ReserveBank of India for a periodof two years with eff��ectfrom June 22, 2021, or untilfurther orders, whicheveris earlier, upon completionof his existing term on June21, 2021,” the central banksaid in a statement.
Mr. Jain was appointedas deputy governor forthree years in June 2018.
Before joining the Reserve Bank of India, he wasmanaging director of IDBIBank.
Govt. extendsJain’s term atRBI by 2 years
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
MUMBAI
CMYK
A ND-NDE
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THE HINDU DELHI
THURSDAY, JUNE 10, 2021 15EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Maria Sakkari ended defending champion Iga Swiatek's11match and 22set winningstreaks at RolandGarros onWednesday and reached thesemifi��nals of a Major tournament for the fi��rst time.
The 17thseeded Sakkariused strong and steady baseline play to eliminate Swiatek64, 64 at Court PhilippeChatrier in the quarterfi��nalsand ensure that the claycourt tournament will endwith a new Grand Slamchampion.
All four women remainingin the fi��eld are making theirSlam semifi��nal debuts. Thisis only the second time in theprofessional era that's beenthe case at any major tournament, according to the WTA;there also was a quartet offi��rsttime semifi��nalists at the1978 Australian Open.
On Thursday, Sakkariplays unseeded BarboraKrejcikova, and No. 31 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova facesunseeded Tamara Zidansek.Krejcikova advanced earlieron Wednesday by beating 17yearold Coco Gauff�� 76(6),63.
Sakkari, who is fromGreece, and Krejcikova, who
is from the Czech Republic,are both 25. Each has wononly one Tourlevel title.Neither had been past thefourth round at a Major untilnow.
In the day's fi��rst quarterfi��nal, Gauff�� led 30 at the outset, then 53, and held a totalof fi��ve set points in the open
er, but failed to convert any.Krejcikova grabbed that setby taking the last four pointsof the tiebreaker and reeledoff�� 15 consecutive points during one stretch en route to a50 edge in the second set.
Closing out the most important victory of her singlescareer was not easy, though.
Krejcikova needed six matchpoints to do it, raising herarms overhead when she fi��nally won when Gauff�� sent aforehand wide.
Krejcikova has won twoGrand Slam doubles titleswith Katerina Siniakova —and they're into the semifi��nals in Paris — but is playing
in only her fi��fth Major tournament in singles.
"Everybody, they just puta label on me like, ‘Yeah, youplay doubles. You are a doubles specialist.' But I neverthought I just want to be adoubles specialist," Krejcikova said.
“So I was just workinghard all the time. I just wanted to play singles,” she said.
In the men’s section, Rafael Nadal dropped a set forthe fi��rst time this year at RolandGarros but ultimatelyadvanced to the semifi��nalsfor a recordextending 14thtime. The 13time championfaced a stiff�� challenge fromgritty 10thseeded DiegoSchwartzman before prevailing 63, 46, 64, 60 on CourtPhilippe Chatrier.
Sakkari stops 2020 champ Swiatek’s streakKrejcikova ends Gauff�� ’s campaign; Nadal stumbles before powering into the semifi��nals
Associated Press
Paris
ROLAND-GARROS
Daniil Medvedev’s campaignat RolandGarros came to anend on Tuesday with an illjudged underarm serve onmatch point followed by animpassioned outburst overhis eagerlyawaited showdown with Stefanos Tsitsipas being played inside anempty stadium.
The colourful World No. 2was beaten 63, 76(3), 75 bythe Greek fi��fth seed.
It was only Tsitsipas’s second win over Medvedev ineight meetings and it endedin bizarre fashion.
The mercurial Russian decided to serve underarm onmatch point down.
But as he approached thenet, hoping to fi��nish thepoint with a volley, Tsitsipasmerely fi��red a backhandwinner beyond him.
“I was thinking about thisduring the whole match, likethat maybe in the importantpoint I could do it becausemy opinion was that he wasquite far back in the court,so that can always work,” explained the 25yearold.
“I didn’t see the opportunity before but I thoughtit’s going to be a good choiceto bring him surprise. I sometimes do it on practice.
“Usually guys are a bit sur
prised. But it didn’t work outat all. I won’t say it was a mistake. It was something that Idared to do and maybe nexttime I won’t do it knowingthat he’s ready.”
Tsitsipas had his own description for the ploy whichbackfi��red so badly for hisopponent.
“A very millennial shot,”said the Greek.
“I saw he kind of stopped.I felt like there was something coming up, so at thatpoint I think I got preparedfor it.”
Medvedev had never wona match at RolandGarros infour attempts before thisyear.
So winning four matchesin one visit was progresseven if he was dismayed thathis match was selected forthe penultimate eveningsession.
It was played inside anempty Court Philippe Chatrier as spectators werebanned under a 9 p.m. COVID19 curfew.
This year’s French Openis staging evening sessionsfor the fi��rst time under abroadcast agreement withstreaming giant Amazon.
“It was without a doubtthe match of the day but RolandGarros preferred Amazon to people,” saidMedvedev.
Agence France-Presse
Paris
Frustrating night: Medvedev found the going tough duringhis quarterfi��nal against Tsitsipas. * REUTERS
Medvedev exits with underarmserve and a dig at scheduling
New Zealand skipper KaneWilliamson has been ruledout of the second and fi��nalTest against England at Edgbaston with a left elbow problem on Wednesday. TomLatham will captain the side.
However, the Blackcapsare confi��dent he will be fi��t tolead the team in the inaugural World Test Championship fi��nal against India starting on June 18.
To rest key bowlersMeanwhile, New Zealand isset to rest a few of its keybowlers for the Test to ensure that the team is freshand raring to go when itclashes with India in theWorld Test Championship fi��nal from June 18.
With pacer Trent Boultnow available for selectionfor the fi��nal match of the series, New Zealand can easilyrest one of its other key bowlers — Tim Southee, NeilWagner and Kyle Jamieson.
Williamson, who captained New Zealand in lastweek’s drawn fi��rst Testagainst England at Lord’s,
has been managing the injury since fi��rst missing matches in March.
“It’s not an easy decisionfor Kane to have to miss aTest, but we think it’s theright one,” New Zealandcoach Gary Stead said.The teams: England (likely XI): RoryBurns, Dom Sibley, Zak Crawley, Joe Root (Capt.), OlliePope, Dan Lawrence, JamesBracey (wk), Craig Overton,Jack Leach, Stuart Broad, andJames Anderson.New Zealand (from): TomLatham (Capt.), Devon Conway, Will Young, Ross Taylor,Henry Nicholls, BJ. Watling(wk), Colin de Grandhomme,Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson,Ajaz Patel, Rachin Ravindraand Trent Boult.
Williamson out withelbow problem
Agence France-Presse
Birmingham
Kane Williamson. * AFP
NZ IN ENG
Former India batsman Virender Sehwag, on Wednesday, revealed how tips fromformer India captains Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, SunilGavaskar and K. Srikkanthenabled him to overcome alack of footwork as an opener.
Sehwag, who scoredmore than 8,000 runs in 104Tests, revealed that nearidentical suggestions by thetrio early on in his international career were instrumental in him modifying hisguard in Test cricket.
Lack of footwork “When I came into international cricket, lack of footwork was lamented by manycommentators and expertsbut no one advised a solution. Everyone would justsay that you need to improveyour feetmovement,” Sehwag said while launchingCricuru, a cricket learningapp that he has cofoundedalong with former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar.
“The only exceptionswere Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, Sunil Gavaskar and K.Srikkanth. They told memoving the feet wasn’t paramount in cricket, what’s important is you play the ballclose to your body and below your eyes.
“Especially Pataudi andGavaskar told me that if you
are away from the ball, thenit matters whether you moveyour feet or not. They offered the best advice I received so far: to take guardon middle and off��stumprather than legstump sothat you can be closer to theball even if you don’t moveyour feet too much.”
Mastering the skillsSehwag said along with Bangar and the 33 cricketers —men and women across theglobe — that they have got onboard for paid coaching modules and interactions withbudding cricketers, the appmay help players and coaches master the skills and mental aspects of succeeding onthe fi��eld.
Little late“Had I got this advice earlierin life, I may have playedmuch better cricket andscored more runs.
“Through Cricuru, you’llget many more such criticaltips by veteran cricketersabout how to make these minor adjustments.”
How Gavaskar, Pataudi andSrikkanth helped Sehwag ‘Take guard on middle and off��stump’ was their advice
Amol Karhadkar
MUMBAI
Defying copybook: VirenderSehwag simply relied on hisremarkable handeyecoordination. * FILE PHOTO
Robinson should get asecond chance: HoldingLONDON
West Indies great Michael
Holding said he supported
the suspension of Ollie
Robinson for racist tweets,
but also felt that the pacer
should get a second chance if
investigation proved that he
did not repeat his actions
beyond that time. PTI
QUICK SINGLES
Morgan and Buttlerunder investigation for alleged racist remarksLONDON
England’s whiteball skipper
Eoin Morgan and
wicketkeeperbatsman Jos
Buttler are under
investigation by the ECB after
their alleged racist tweets,
mocking Indians, surfaced on
the social media. The posts, in
which Buttler and Morgan
used the word ‘sir’ to mock
the Indians, started doing the
rounds on social media after
the ECB suspended pacer
Ollie Robinson for some of his
offensive tweets dating back
to 201213. PTI
In good spirits: Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill and CheteshwarPujara enjoy the sunshine in Southampton. * TWITTER@IMVKOHLI
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Soaking it in
West Indies believes it hasits best chance in 30 years todefeat an unsettled SouthAfrica as the twoTest seriesbegins at the Daren SammyCricket Ground on Thursday. Kraigg Brathwaite’smen are unbeaten in theirlast four Tests — a 20 triumph in Bangladesh anddrawn matches at homeagainst Sri Lanka.
West Indies goes into thecampaign ranked just abovea Proteas team reeling fromsuccessive heavy defeats intwo Tests in Pakistan.
South Africa also has senior opening batsman DeanElgar installed as Test cap
tain following the retirement of Faf du Plessis fromthe traditional format.
West Indies suff��ered a setback leading up to the opening Test when fast bowlerShannon Gabriel was ruledout through injury.
Though it opens up theprospect of 19yearold pacer Jayden Seales making hisTest debut, his lack of experience — he has played justone First Class match —could see the selectors optfor Alzarri Joseph.
Brathwaite, Joseph andsenior seamer Kemar Roachhave all benefi��ted fromstints on the English countycircuit following the end ofthe Sri Lanka series.The likely teams: West Indies:Kraigg Brathwaite (Capt.), ShaiHope, Nkrumah Bonner, KyleMayers, Roston Chase, Jermaine Blackwood, Jason Holder, Joshua da Silva (wk), Rahkeem Cornwall, Alzarri Joseph,and Kemar Roach.
South Africa: Dean Elgar(Capt.), Aiden Markram, Rassievan der Dussen, Keegan Petersen, Temba Bavuma, Quintonde Kock (wk), Wiaan Mulder,Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, and LungiNgidi.
Windies ready to pounceon unsettled South AfricaThe visitors lost heavily in Pakistan
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Gros Islet (ST. LUCIA)
Brathwaite. * FILE PHOTO
Pacer Emily Arlott, whotook a hattrick in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy,earned a maiden callup tothe England women’s squadfor the oneoff�� Test againstIndia starting here on June16.
England has announced a
17member squad. The squad:
Heather Knight (Capt.),Emily Arlott, Tammy Beaumont, Katherine Brunt, KateCross, Freya Davies, SophiaDunkley, Sophie Ecclestone,Georgia Elwiss, Tash Farrant,Sarah Glenn, Amy Jones, NatSciver, Anya Shrubsole, MadyVilliers, Fran Wilson, and Lauren Winfi��eldHill.
Emily Arlott receivesmaiden call-upPress Trust of India
BRISTOL
The backswing was straight,the head still, the footworkprecise, and the timing exquisite.
Confi��dence, not nerves,was on view on his Test debut as technique — he was sosure about his off��stump —tangoed with temperament.
The astonishing debut ofthe Johannesburgborn lefthanded opener Devon Conway was a reminder of theSouth African presence inNew Zealand cricket.
His fi��rst innings 200 on afresh Lord’s pitch showed itwas never too late, even at29, to make a beginning; hemoved to New Zealand in2017.
Prolifi��cIn New Zealand, Conwayhad been prolifi��c across formats in the season gone by.The rest is history.
If Conway is serene, thevery physical Neil Wagner isa hustler, with his shortpitched bowling. And theleftarmer can get the ball tostraighten from overthewicket.
The Pretoriaborn Wagner impressed in South Africaat the junior level but he too,
forced by circumstances,shifted to New Zealand.
And how this neversaydie paceman has risen in stature! He has a whopping 222wickets in 52 Tests, mixinghis shortpitched stuff�� withmovement and reverseswing.
At 35, he endures painand injuries, gives it his all.
As feisty as Wagner, theDurbanborn BJ. Watlingleft South Africa as a schoolboy for New Zealand. A tenacious toporder batsman, hedeveloped into a competentwicketkeeper.
The combative Watlingcemented his place as awicketkeeper and a middleorder batsman who relishescrisis situations.
As many as 3,789 runs at
37.89 in 74 Tests and 262catches plus eight stumpingsshowcase this 35yearoldbattler’s contribution.
No chokersAnd the South Africans whoturn out for New Zealand donot choke. Take the case ofJohannesburgborn Grant Elliott whose sensational 84not out took the Kiwis to acomefrombehind last gaspvictory in the ICC ODI WorldCup semifi��nal against SouthAfrica in Auckland, 2015.
Heavy hitter Colin Munro,a South African by birth, hasmet with some success forNew Zealand in whiteballcricket.
These South Africanshave been busy in New Zealand.
Conway the latest sensation after Wagner and Watling
S. Dinakar
Chennai
Two of a kind: Success is another common thread in Conwayand Wagner’s careers. * REUTERS
South Africans in Kiwi colours
Quarterfi��nals: Men: 3RafaelNadal (Esp) bt 10DiegoSchwartzman (Arg) 63, 46,64, 60.Women: Barbora Krejcikova(Cze) bt 24Coco Gauff�� (USA) 76(6), 63; 17Maria Sakkari(Gre) bt 8Iga Swiatek (Pol)64, 64.On Tuesday:Men: 6Alexander Zverev (Ger)bt Alejandro Davidovich Fokina(Esp) 64, 61, 61; 5StefanosTsitsipas (Gre) bt 2Daniil Medvedev (Rus) 63, 76(3), 75.
THE RESULTS
CMYK
A ND-NDE
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DELHI THE HINDU
THURSDAY, JUNE 10, 202116EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
SPORT
RolandGarros: SS Select 1(SD & HD), 3.30 p.m.
England vs New Zealand:2nd Test: Sony Ten 1 (SD &HD), 3.30 p.m.
TV PICKS
Bengal cricketer RabiBanerjee passes awayKOLKATA
Former Bengal cricketer Rabi
Banerjee passed away on
Wednesday following
protracted illness, said a
Cricket Association of Bengal
statement. He was 70 and is
survived by his wife and two
sons. A medium pacer,
Banerjee played 10 first class
matches for Bengal between
196970 and 197475 and
captured 11 wickets.
Japan is leaning towards allowing domestic spectatorsat the Tokyo Olympics despite the COVID19 pandemic, media reported on Wednesday, with organisersplanning to monitor themovements of foreign mediato prevent spread of thevirus.
More Japanese government offi��cials and 2020 Tokyo Olympics organisers arein favour of holding theGames with domestic spectators as COVID19 vaccinesare rolled out and cases decline, the Asahi newspaperreported, without citing
sources.This is in contrast with
their position about a monthago when there was an at
mosphere among Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s administration that the Games,starting on July 23, needed
to be held without spectators, the report said.
The Summer Games hasseen strong opposition fromthe public and medical experts over concerns theevent could lead to more infections and overload medical facilities, despite assurances from Suga’sadministration that theGames can be held safely.
Tokyo 2020 president Seiko Hashimoto on Tuesdaysaid that overseas media willbe closely monitored to ensure they do not leave preregistered areas in an eff��ortto ease public concerns.
GPS monitoringForeign media will be monitored via GPS and will not be
allowed to visit the houses oflocal friends or other unregistered areas, Hashimotoadded, according to the Asa-hi and other local media.
Month end decisionOrganisers will fi��nalise plansfor spectators before theend of this month after consulting with the Japanese government, as well as the Tokyo administration, mediaquoted Hashimoto as saying.
Athletes are also cautiousabout the pandemic outlook. Australia on Wednesday joined Taiwan in pullingout of the fi��nal baseball qualifying tournament for theGames due to “insurmountable” challenges amid thepandemic.
Japan may allow domestic spectatorsSince COVID-19 vaccines have been rolled out and cases are coming down
TOKYO OLYMPICS
Reuters
Tokyo
Hoping for the best: Organising Committee president SeikoHashimoto, right, and CEO Toshiro Muto, will fi��nalise plansfor spectators soon. * AP
Sunil Chhetri might beamong the upper echelon inglobal football, but he remains grounded to reality.The Indian football teamcaptain has gone past LionelMessi to become the secondhighest international goalscorer among active footballers, but he is quick to dismiss any comparison between him and the Argentineicon.
“Here’s my take: there isabsolutely no comparisonbetween me and Messi.There is no comparison between me and anyone on thatlist. There are 1,000 footballers and all 1,000 of them, including myself, are fans ofMessi,” Chhetri said in a virtual interaction on Wednesday.
“That’s the reality and pe
ople who understand football know there is no comparison. What I am proud of isthe fact that I have played over 100 games for thecountry”
Chhetri struck a brace inthe Blue Tigers’ 20 win over
Bangladesh on Monday totake his tally to 74 international goals.
He now trails only Cristiano Ronaldo, who has 103goals. Chhetri, 36, hasscored a whopping 52% —nine of 17 goals — of the national team's goals in the lasttwo years. The recurringtalks of “who after Chhetri?”do not bog him down.
“I don’t take it as a sourceof pressure. I think we willget strikers who will scoremore than me. It is a processand takes time. We will haveonly four foreigners in the(starting XI) from the nextISL season and that will givetime to more young strikers.
Two mantras“There are only two mantrasfor strikers — more gamesand hard work. In the next1020 years there will be many players who will be scoring goals better than me. If
you keep getting players likeme we will be where we are.We will get better playersand we will be better,” hesaid.
He stressed the need toplay more passes. “I wantthe team to be a little bitbrave with the ball. I thinkwe understand defence, dietand how to take care of ourselves. But many people donot like that we do not keepthe ball and I feel the sameway.
“I also want to see myteam pass more. I like passing and moving more thanany other system. It meansyou run less and get more 1v1opportunities and morechances.”
No comparison with Messi, says ChhetriDismisses any talk of putting him in the same space as the Argentine
Shyam Vasudevan
CHENNAI
Sunil Chhetri.* TWITTER/INDIANFOOTBALL
<> There are 1,000
footballers and all
1,000 of them,
including myself, are
fans of Messi
FOOTBALL
Former Indian captain I.M.Vijayan believes the new ISLregulation — increasing thenumber of Indians in theplaying XI to seven from six— is a move in the right direction. From next season, ateam can only fi��eld four foreigners in an ISL match.
“The ISL administratorshave done the right thing,”Vijayan told The Hindu onWednesday. “That is the wayforward for Indian football.”
Right ratioBino George, former coachof Gokulam Kerala who is intalks with an ISL team, alsothinks the new ratio is theright one for India’s premierfootball league.
“But I hope there will beno further reduction in thenumber of foreigners,” he
said. “The ISL has becomewhat it is because of thequality players from abroad.Now that there will be sevenIndians in the XI, it is a boostto local talent.”
Vijayan said the change inrules was bound to benefi��tthe Indian players. “At themoment there is nothingthat will help an Indian footballer more than the expe
rience of playing in the ISL,”said the former striker whois among the fastest goalscorers in internationalfootball.
“If our national team isperforming better thesedays, the ISL is the main reason for that.”
Talking of the nationalteam, he said he was impressed with the way it has
fared so far at the World Cupqualifi��ers in Doha. After losing by a solitary goal to Qatarin the fi��rst match, India defeated Bangladesh 20 onMonday.
Pat for Chhetri“I thought the Indians foughthard against Qatar and weresuperb against Bangladeshin that mustwin encounter,”said Vijayan. “Sunil Chhetriwas brilliant. I loved both thegoals he scored againstBangladesh.”
He said Chhetri had beendoing a great service to Indian football for so long. “Ihave always admired hiscommitment and dedication,” Vijayan said.
“However, he is now 36and may be available foranother two years. Indianeeds to think of newplayers, though it will be diffi��cult to fi��nd another strikerlike Chhetri.”
A move in the right direction, say veteransDecision to have more Indians in playing XI lauded by football fraternity
Big boost: With reduction in foreign players in the playing XI,more Indians can now prove their worthiness. * FILE PHOTO
ISL
P.K. Ajith Kumar
KOZHIKODE
Having snapped sponsorship ties with Chinese company Li Ning, the IndianOlympic Association (IOA) isprepared to go with unbranded sports kits at theupcoming Tokyo Olympics.
The IOA, however, hasnot given up hope on fi��ndinga replacement sponsor inthe short time available butadmits it won’t be easy.
Time running out“The IOA, the athletes,sports everyone exists because of the public and if public sentiment is against something then there is noquestion of going ahead withit. We took a decision to
withdraw from the contractafter criticism and we are inthe process of initiating talks(for a replacement sponsor).But we have only till the endof June to fi��nalise things andhonestly, it isn’t enoughtime,” IOA president Narinder Batra told The Hindu.
Batra and secretarygeneral Rajeev Mehta had, onTuesday night, issued a jointstatement, withdrawing thecontract without naming LiNing.
“We are aware of the emotions of our fans and we inthe IOA have decided thatwe will withdraw from ourexisting contract with an apparel sponsor. Our athletes,coaches and support staff��,will wear unbranded appa
rel...we would like our athletes to be able to train andcompete without having toanswer questions about theapparel brand. As it is, theyhave all been challenged bythe pandemic over the pastyear and a quarter and wewant them to not be distracted,” they had announced.
ReactionReacting to the announcement, China’s Foreign Ministry in Beijing said on Wednesday it “hoped that theIndian side will be objectiveand fair in viewing the normal cooperation betweenthe two countries, ratherthan politicising the issue.”
The IOA, along with theSports Ministry, had un
veiled the Indian kits for theTokyo Olympics only lastweek at a virtual event.
“Getting the kits ready isnot an issue, they are beingreadied even now for thoseconfi��rmed qualifi��ed and wehave the measurements ofall those who are on the longlist.
“If we manage somethingin time, great. Otherwisethey will remain unbranded.But there can’t be a compromise with the standards,”Batra added.
“Olympics is a huge stageand there can be no compromise with the prestige of representing the nation there.Anyone can spend hugeamounts to get their nameon the kit but we will have to
look at the credentials also,”he insisted.
Domestic brand best betIOA treasurer AnandeshwarPandey admitted that a wellknown domestic brand wasIndia’s best bet at the moment.
“Given the conditions andthe circumstances, I believegetting an Indian brand onboard will be the best thing.Without compromising onquality, it will also be aproud thing on the globalstage.”
Shiv Naresh remains thefrontrunner for the same asthe most experienced Indianmanufacturer.
(with inputs from Ananth Krishnan)
IOA prepared to go with unbranded sports kits at TokyoContract with Chinese apparel sponsor snapped following criticism: Narinder Batra
Uthra Ganesan
NEW DELHI
R. Praggnanandhaa willlook to stave off�� strong challenges from top seed Nodirbek Abdusattorov, secondseed Nihal Sarin and D. Gukesh when the Gelfand Challenge online rapid chesstournament begins onThursday.
Winner of the PolgarChallenge — the fi��rst leg ofthe Julius Bar ChallengeTour — third seed Praggnanandhaa gained an oppor
tunity to play in the eliteNew in Chess Classic andperformed creditably.
In the 20player roundrobin event, which featuresworld’s 10 talented youngsters each from Team Kramnik and Team Polgar, Abdusattorov will once again bethe rating favourite.
To meet the eventualityof a player withdrawing during the event, like DinaraSauakassova did in the previous event, the organisershave named four reserves —a boy and a girl for eachteam.
Pragg, Nihal, and Gukeshin the hunt
CHESS
RAKESH RAO
NEW DELHI
Grandmaster Prithu Guptaand Savitha Shri enjoy thetop seeding in the open andgirls’ sections in the National (under18) online rapidchess championship thatbegins on Thursday.
Aronyak Ghosh and Mrudul Dehankar are the second seeds in the two
categories.In all, around 235 players
from 29 affi��liates of the AllIndia Chess Federation haveentered the open section.Among the girls, around 130participants from 27 affi��liates form the fi��eld.
In this 11round event,three rounds are scheduledon Friday and four each onthe following two days.
Prithu, Savitha favouritesSpecial Correspondent
New Delhi
When Olympics organisersshifted the marathon eventfrom Tokyo to the northerncity of Sapporo, they did sobecause of concerns aboutthe intense summer heat inthe Japanese capital.
Two years down thetrack, critics say organisershave eff��ectively leapt fromthe frying pan into the fi��re.
Sapporo is currently under a COVID19 state ofemergency amid a resurgence in coronavirusinfections.
Offi��cials in the city saythey still don’t have key information, including thenumber of athletes to expect and details on healthfacilities, while opposition
from residents to hostingpart of the world’s biggestmultisporting event hasgrown.
“There’s no action yet,”said Takashi Okugi, a Sapporo city offi��cial in charge ofOlympic preparations. “Wedon’t have enough time.”
City offi��cials and residents are nervous about theinfl��ux of athletes and support staff�� at a time when thecity’s medical system is already stretched.
Okugi said offi��cials havemade repeated requests tothe Tokyo 2020 OrganisingCommittee seeking essential details.
“So far a lot of answersthat we are hearing are likeno decision yet or still underconsideration,” Okugi said.
Sapporo not readyamid virus resurgenceReuters
Tokyo
In a turn of events broughtabout by the refusal of Manika Batra to attend the National table tennis camp forOlympicbound players inSonepat (Haryana) fromJune 20, India’s top paddlerSharath Kamal has beenforced to make changes inhis travel schedule. Sharathand Manika will compete inthe mixed doubles event atthe Tokyo Olympics.
His hands tied, the nine
time National champion willtravel to Pune and train withManika twice. “I will trainwith Manika in Pune for aweek from June 15, and thengo to the National camp. After around 15 days at thecamp where I will focus onsingles, I will return to Puneto practice with Manika forabout 10 days. And thenmaybe return to Chennai.Let’s see. Of course, it is tiring and a minor risk [to travel back and forth] in thepandemic, but do I have achoice,” said Sharath to TheHindu here on Wednesday.
Sharath to train withManika in Pune
TABLE TENNIS
Special Correspondent
CHENNAI
Olympic bound freestylewrestler Ravi Kumar Dahiyagave a series of fi��ne performances before winning thesilver medal in the 61kg category in the Poland OpenRanking Series event hereon Wednesday.
World championshipsbronze medallist Dahiya,who has qualifi��ed for theTokyo Olympics in 57kg,decided to compete here in
61kg as he did not want togo through the rigours ofreducing his weight twicein about two months.
Dahiya defeated Worldjunior champion GulomjonAbdullaev of Uzbekistan101, World under23 silvermedallist Adlan Askarov ofKazakhstan 138, AmericanNathan Tomasello 95 before rallying to beat Iranianstar Reza Ahmedali Atrinagharchi 74 in the semifi��nals.
Dahiya lost to Abdullaev53 in the fi��nal.
Dahiya falters in fi��nalWRESTLING
Sports Bureau
WARSAW
Letesenbet Gidey loweredthe women’s 10,000mworld record just two daysafter Sifan Hassan set themark on the same track.
Gidey clocked 29 minutes, 1.03 seconds at theEthiopian Olympic trials,which is being held in theNetherlands. Tsigie Gebreselama was second in30:06.01. Gidey took 5.79seconds off�� Hassan’s record.
“I expected to run a
world record,” said the 23yearold Gidey. “I’d like totry to break the world record again and break 29 minutes.”
Gidey breaks Hassan’stwo-day old record
ATHLETICS
Gidey. * FILE PHOTO
Associated Press
Hengelo (Netherlands)
Ankita Raina and Julia Wachaczyk of Germany beatthe British pair of NaikthaBains and Samantha Murray Sharan 64, 26, [104]to reach the doubles quarterfi��nals of the $235,238WTA tennis tournamenthere on Wednesday.
Other results: €88,520 Challenger, Lyon:Singles (fi��rst round): Fernando Verdasco (Esp) bt SumitNagal 67(5), 76(3), 75. €66,640 Challenger, Bratislava: Doubles (prequarterfi��nals): Luca Margaroli (Sui) &Sriram Balaji bt Mathias Bachinger & Tobias Kamke (Ger)63, 67(5), [103].$52,080 Challenger, Orlando, USA: Singles (fi��rstround): Nicolas Mejia (Col) btSasikumar Mukund 64, 61.Doubles (prequarterfi��nals):Jack Vance & Tennyson Whiting (USA) bt Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan & Purav Raja 63,36, [107].$25,000 ITF women, Madrid:Singles (fi��rst round): KarmanKaur Thandi bt Ekaterina Kazionova (Rus) 61, 64.
Ankita indoublesquarterfi��nals
Sports Bureau
NOTTINGHAM
The Athletics Federation ofIndia has scheduled the 4thIndian Grand Prix for June21 at NSNIS Patiala.
There had been uncertainty over the event withthe federation hoping to arrange competitions abroadfor Indian athletes ahead ofthe Tokyo Olympics, but thetravel restrictions and quarantine rules in most countries forced it to explore other options.
A 40member nationalteam was expected to travelto Kyrgyzstan (T. KolpakovaInternational Competitionin Bishkek) and Kazakhstan(Qosanov Memorial in Almaty) later this month. However, the AFI was informed ofa mandatory 14day isolation for those arriving fromIndia, regardless of a negative PCR test or vaccinationcertifi��cate, forcing the AFIto drop the idea.
"We do not want to impact the training schedule ofour athletes by makingthem go through a long quarantine process with sixweeks left for the OlympicGames. We will focus onproviding them with goodcompetition in the IndianGrand Prix and National interstate Championshipsfrom 2529th June in Patiala," AFI president Adille Sumariwalla said.
The worst aff��ected athletes of the severe restrictions and cancellations havebeen shotputter TajinderPal Singh Toor and javelinthrower Annu Rani, besidesthe 4x100m women's relayteam, all on the fringe ofqualifying.
List of events: Men: 400m,1500m, Long Jump, TripleJump, Shot Put, Javelin Throw,400m Hurdles; Women:100m, 200m, 400m, 1500m,5000m, Discus Throw, JavelinThrow, 4x100m relay.
Indian Grand Prixscheduled for June 21 Athletes not to take part in Kyrgyzstanand Kazakhstan events
UTHRA GANESAN
New Delhi
Argentina blows leadagainst ColombiaSAO PAULO
Argentina drew 22 at
Colombia after squandering a
twogoal advantage in South
American World Cup
qualifying.The results: Ecuador 1 (Plata90+2) lost to Peru 2 (Cueva62, Advincula 88); Venezuela0 drew with Uruguay 0;Colombia 2 (Muriel 51pen,Borja 90+4) drew withArgentina 2 (Romero 3,Paredes 8); Paraguay 0 lostto Brazil 2 (Neymar 4,Paqueta 90+3); Chile 1(Pulgar 69) drew with Bolivia1 (Martins 82pen). AP
IN BRIEF
Mitchell dazzles as Jazzedge ClippersSALT LAKE CITY
Donovan Mitchell scored 45
points as host Utah Jazz
rallied to beat Los Angeles
Clippers 112109 in the
opening game of their NBA
playoff series on Tuesday.
Joel Embiid scored a playoff
careerhigh 40 points as
Philadelphia 76ers toppled
Atlanta Hawks 118102 to
level their Eastern
Conference series at one
game each.The results: EC: Philadelphia76ers 118 bt Atlanta Hawks102. Series tied 1-1; WC: UtahJazz 112 bt LA Clippers 109.Jazz lead 1-0.
Nuggets star Nikola Jokicnamed NBA MVPDENVER
Denver Nuggets center Nikola
Jokic won the 202021 NBA
Most Valuable Player award,
becoming the first player in
franchise history and the first
secondround draft pick in
league history to earn the
honour. REUTERS
UEFA suspends legalaction against SuperLeague rebelsPARIS
European football’s governing
body UEFA has suspended
legal action against Real
Madrid, Juventus and
Barcelona over their role in
attempting to launch a
breakaway European Super
League.AFP