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CMYK
A ND-NDE
friday, october 23, 2020 Delhi
City Edition
16 pages O ₹��10.00
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Middlemen behind
agitation against farm
laws, says J.P. Nadda
Page 10
The fi��ght in Bihar
is between RJD and
BJP, says Manoj Jha
Page 9
Back on campaign
trail for Biden, Obama
rips into Trump
Page 11
Pandey and Vijay
Shankar power
Sunrisers past Royals
Page 13
The Ministry of Home Aff��airs(MHA) on Thursday furtherrelaxed visa restrictions enabling foreigners to come toIndia for various purposes,such as business, conference, employment, education, research and medicalreasons. Except electronictourist visa on arrival, whichincludes a shortterm medical visa, all visa restrictionshave been lifted.
The MHA, however, clarifi��ed that fresh applicationswill be required for medicalvisa. “The government has
now decided to make a graded relaxation in visa and travel restrictions for more categories of foreign nationalsand Indian nationals whowish to enter or leave India.Therefore, it has been decid
ed to permit all Overseas Citizens of India and Personsof Indian Origin card holdersand all other foreign nationals intending to visit India forany purpose, except on atourist visa to enter by air or
water routes through authorised airports and seaport immigration checkposts,” theMHA said in a statement.
“This includes fl��ights operated under Vande BharatMission, air transport bubble arrangements or by anynonscheduled commercialfl��ights as allowed by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.”
The MHA said, “Underthis graded relaxation, thegovernment has decided torestore with immediate effect all existing visas (exceptelectronic visa, tourist visaand medical visa).” It added,“If the validity of such visashas expired, fresh visas ofappropriate categories canbe obtained from Indian missions and posts concerned.”
Govt. relaxes visa restrictionsFresh applicationswill be requiredfor medical visa
Special Correspondent
New Delhi
CONTINUED ON A PAGE 8
The BJP on Thursday released its manifesto for theBihar Assembly poll, withthe fi��rst promise being freedistribution of a COVID19vaccine once it is approved.
Union Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman, releasing the manifesto in Patna,said, “As soon as a COVID19vaccine is available for production on a mass scale, every person in Bihar will getfree vaccination.”
She did not take questions, such as whether thefree vaccine could be anelectoral promise for oneState and not for the rest ofthe country reeling underthe pandemic.
The announcement led toa storm of criticism on socialmedia by Opposition leaderswho felt promising free vaccines during a pandemic wasmorally questionable.
Senior BJP leader Bhupendra Yadav clarifi��ed on this onTwitter by responding toCongress leader Shashi Tharoor’s comments on the matter. “Your attempt to twistSmt Nirmala Sitharaman’sstatement reeks of desperation. All parties issue manifestos. Vaccines will be madeavailable to all Indians at nominal cost. States can makeit free. In Bihar, we will.”
BJP manifesto promisesfree vaccine for Bihar Nirmala Sitharaman announces poll pledge in Patna
Nistula Hebbar
NEW DELHI
CONTINUED ON A PAGE 8
Opposition leaders acrossthe political spectrum onThursday took on the BJPfor its promise to providefree COVID19 vaccine to thepeople of Bihar, and accused the party of trying to‘politicise’ a public healthissue that aff��ects everyState.
Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi took adig at the Modi government,saying people should nowlook at the State electionschedules to fi��nd out whenthey will get the vaccine.
“GOI just announced In
dia’s COVID access strategy.Kindly refer to the Statewise election schedule toknow when will you get it,along with a hoard of falsepromises,” Mr. Gandhi saidin a tweet.
‘Selling fear of death’The main Opposition in Bihar, the Rashtriya Janata Dal(RJD), accused the BJP ofselling “the fear of deathand disease” .
Several leaders alsoasked the Election Commission to take suo motu cognisance of the issue.
Will COVID care dependon elections, asks RahulSPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI
CONTINUED ON A PAGE 8
CPCB fl��ags unsafedisposal of carcasses NEW DELHI
About 30% of India’s dead
cattle and 40% of goats
weren’t fl��ayed and nearly
nine million bovine hides
were “lost annually due to
nonrecovery”, according to a
note by the Central Pollution
Control Board proposing
guidelines on proper disposal
of deceased livestock.
NEWS A PAGE 10
DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
NEARBY
Delhi riots: suspendedcouncillor denied bailNEW DELHI
A city court on Thursday
denied bail to suspended AAP
councillor Tahir Hussain in
three diff��erent FIRs related to
the northeast Delhi riots,
noting that he used “muscle
power and political clout to
act as a kingpin” in planning
and instigating communal
violence. The court also
rejected Hussain’s contention
that he be treated at parity
with other coaccused who
have been released on bail.
CITY A PAGE 2
DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
The U.S. State Departmenthas proposed not to issuetemporary business visasfor H1B speciality occupations, which allowed severalcompanies to send techprofessionals for a shortstay to complete jobs onsite. The move could aff��ecthundreds of Indians.
The proposal, if fi��nalised,will eliminate any misconception that the “B1 in lieuof H policy” provides an alternative avenue for foreign
professionals to enter theU.S. to perform skilled labour that allows and evenencourages them and theiremployers to circumventthe restrictions and requirements relating to the H nonimmigrant classifi��cation established by the Congress toprotect U.S. workers, theState Department said.
The move, made publicon Wednesday, comes lessthan two weeks ahead ofthe presidential election.
U.S. to nix business visasfor H1B speciality jobsPress Trust of India
Washington
CONTINUED ON A PAGE 8
India’s leading pharmaceutical company Dr. Reddy’sLaboratories said it has isolated all data centre servicesand temporarily shut someproduction facilities to takepreventive action in thewake of a cyberattack in theearly hours of Thursday.
In an intimation to thestock exchange, the company said, “In the wake of a detected cyberattack, we haveisolated all data centre services to take required pre
ventive actions.”While a statement from
the drugmaker said it hadisolated all data centre services, sources said as a precautionary measure someproduction facilities had also been temporarily shut.
Chief Information Offi��cerMukesh Rathi said, “We areanticipating all services tobe up within 24 hours andwe do not foresee any majorimpact on our operationsdue to this incident.”
Dr. Reddy’s shuts unitsdue to cyberattack Special Correspondent
HYDERABAD
CONTINUED ON A PAGE 8
Chadha meets Puri todiscuss ₹��216crore duesNEW DELHI
DJB Vice Chairman Raghav
Chadha on Thursday met
Union Minister of Housing
and Urban Affairs, Hardeep
Singh Puri, on the
“exorbitant” arrears the
Central Public Works
Department and the Delhi
Development Authority have
to pay to the DJB, said the
Delhi government. He
requested the Minister’s
intervention in recovering the
dues of about ₹��216 crore so
that the DJB’s paucity of
funds can be cleared, an
official statement read.
IN BRIEF
CMYK
A ND-NDE
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DELHI THE HINDU
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 20202EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
CITY
A Delhi court on Thursdaydenied bail to former AamAadmi Party councillor Tahir Hussain in three diff��erentFIRs related to the northeast Delhi riots, noting thathe used his muscle powerand political clout to act as akingpin in planning, instigating and fanning the fl��ames ofcommunal confl��agration.
Additional Sessions JudgeVinod Yadav said that the public witnesses against Mr.Hussain were residents ofthe same locality and if released on bail at this stage,the possibility of him threatening or intimidating themcould not be ruled out.
The court also rejectedMr. Hussain’s contentionthat he be treated at paritywith other coaccused persons in the cases who hadbeen enlarged on bail.
It said that the role assigned to Mr. Hussain in thecases was totally diff��erentand distinct from the rest ofthe coaccused, as he wasthe “main kingpin/conspirator in the case”.
The judge noted that atthe time of the eruption ofthe communal riots, Mr.Hussain had been in a powerful position (sitting AAPCouncillor of the area).
Mr. Hussain, who hadbeen in judicial custody
since March 16, argued thatthere was no cogent and legal evidence which was admissible in the eyes of law toconnect him with the incident alleged in the cases.
“There is no evidence byway of even a single videofootage or CCTV footage toprove that the applicant[Hussain] had participatedin the riots or caused damage to any property,” heargued.
‘Victim of circumstances’Mr. Hussain said he belonged to ‘Aam Aadmi Party’and was a ‘victim of circumstances’, as he had beencaught up in a political crossfi��re, and the allegations levelled against him werenothing but a political blamegame to malign his image.
He also contended that
the primary witness had initially not named him in hiscomplaint but inculpatedhim only while recording ofhis statement by the investigating agency. This, he said,was nothing but merely an“improvement” done at theinstance of the investigatingagency.
“Even if there were no direct acts of violence attributable to the applicant, he cannot shy away from hisliability under the provisionsof the Sections invokedagainst him , particularly onaccount of the fact that hishouse/building became thehub/centre point for the rioters and rabblerousers tounleash the worst communal riots since Partition inDelhi,” the court said.
The judge stated that hefound “ocular evidence” of
independent witnesses to becategorical, which gave theclear details qua the activerole played by him in the incidents in question.
The Call Detail Recordanalysis of Mr. Hussain’s mobile number confi��rmed hispresence at or around thescene of crimes on the datesof incidents, the court said.It also rejected his contention on the delay in the recording of statements of witnesses by the investigatingagency.
Court denies bail to suspendedcouncillor in Delhi riots case‘Tahir Hussain used muscle power in instigating fl��ames of communal confl��agration’
Soibam Rocky Singh
New Delhi
‘Kejriwal did not say aword about Hussain’NEW DELHI
The Opposition BJP, reacting
to the denial of bail to
suspended AAP councilor
Tahir Hussain by a city court
here on Thursday, accused its
leadership of being “fully
aware of the planned riots.”
Delhi BJP spokesperson
Naveen Kumar said on the
one hand, even after 8
months, the horrific scene of
the riots was fresh in the
minds of the people of Delhi
and on the other Chief
Minister Arvind Kejriwal “did
not say a word about
Hussain”. “Kejriwal's silence
over Tahir Hussain for so
many months also points to
the patronage and support
for him. He should answer
how long he will be silent,”
Mr. Kumar said.
Former JNU student UmarKhalid, who was arrestedunder the antiterror lawUnlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in connection tothe northeast Delhi riotscase, on Thursday told acourt here that he was notallowed to step out of hiscell similar to “solitaryconfi��nement”.
Mr. Khalid made the allegation while he was beingproduced before AdditionalSessions Judge Amitabh Rawat through videoconferencing on expiry of his judicial custody in the case.
Mr. Khalid said that whilethere is a recent direction ofthe court to provide him security cover inside the jail,he was not allowed to talk toanyone. He said that whenthe jail superintendent visited him recently, he complained about the issue. Mr.Khalid said he was allowedto step out of his cell for 10minutes, but was put backinside his cell once the offi��cial left. Mr. Khalid said hehas not been allowed to stepout since then.
Offi��cial summonedTaking note of the issue,Judge Rawat directed Tiharjail superintendent to bepresent before the court onFriday to hear the matter.The judge also pulled up thejail staff�� for muting the microphone of Mr. Khalidwhen the case was goingon.
Mr. Khalid said that theoffi��cial told him his microphone will be unmuted ifthe judge gave the permission for it.
The judge said if an undertrial wants to say something, then unmute andlet him speak or the jail staff��should tell us that he wantsto say something. The judgealso said that Mr. Khalidshould not be punished forputting forward hisgrievances.
During the hearing, special public prosecutormoved an application forextending Mr. Khalid’s judicial custody by 30 days.
Earlier this week, a localcourt had ordered the Delhipolice to supply to Mr. Khalid a copy of the FIR, remand application and remand order of the caserelated to the communalviolence in which he was arrested. The court noted thatit was a settled propositionof law that no person shallbe detained in custodywithout being informed ofthe grounds for such arrest.
Not being allowed to stepout of cell: Umar Khalid Offi��cial pulled up for muting microphone
Staff Reporter
New Delhi
Former JNU student UmarKhalid. * FILE PHOTO
The Delhi High Court onThursday declined to hear aplea to deal with stubbleburning in neighbouringStates of Punjab and Haryana, noting that the SupremeCourt is already seized ofthe matter.
An HC Bench said the topcourt on October 16 hadconstituted a committeeheaded to monitor the stepstaken by these States to prevent stubble burning. Thecourt disposed of the application, which was moved byadvocate Sudhir Mishra, inhis main petition fi��led in2015 — seeking directions tothe Centre to take immediate steps to control increasing air pollution in theCapital. The application hadcontended that stubbleburning would increase theair pollution drastically inthe Capital and could further aggravate the health problems in the city in view ofthe pandemic.
Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma said thesun was not visible onThursday and it was anemergencylike situation inthe Capital due to the“poor” air quality. The ASGreferred to a news report,which said people who haverecovered from the viruswere facing respiratory issues as air quality worsened.
HC declinespetition onstubbleburning
Staff Reporter
New Delhi
After Ramlilas, Dussehra celebrations have contracted into local affairs due to the ongoing COVID19pandemic. While the biggest amongsuch events has been cancelled dueto caps on gatherings limiting attendance to 200, according to organisers, local functions featuring smalleffi��gies scheduled to be ‘burnt symbolically’ with the aid of lights or audio visual eff��ects are being plannedover the weekend.
Restrictions on religious gatherings, up to a maximum of 200 attendees, related to the festive seasonwere lifted till October 31 by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority(DDMA) in view of the pandemic.The directive, however, prescribedstrict restrictions on activities ranging from setting up food stalls tostanding or squatting when attending such events.
“Due to the restrictions on thenumber of attendees being allowedby the administration as well as theproblem of air pollution, only smallceremonies with many improvisations are being organised this year,”said Ashok Goel Devraha, generalsecretary of the Delhi DharmikSangh which is an umbrella bodythat facilitates the organisers ofRamlilas. Over 700 Ramlilas are organised across the city every year.
Many events cancelledAshok Agarwal of Luv Kush RamlilaCommittee, one of the oldest Ramlila organisers in the city, said it haddecided to cancel Dussehra celebrations and the Raavan dahan this
year would be a televised repeat oflast year’s festivities.
Rajesh Gehlot, chief patron ofDwarka Sri Ram Leela Society, a traditional crowdpuller in Sector 10where Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in attendance last year, saidthe pandemic had aff��ected the preparation of effi��gies as usual. “We havedecided to cancel this year,” he said.
Among the smaller events, will bea narrationbased staging of the traditional 10day Ramlila crunched into four days leading up to the Raa-
van dahan aided by lighting in southDelhi, and another being planned asa threehour gala in east Delhi.
Anil Sharma of the R.K. PuramRamlila Religious Committee saidthe event would unfold between October 22 and October 25. “There willbe no traditional burning of the effi��gies; we will use lights and sound effects to stage a symbolic effi��gy burning,” Mr. Sharma said.
Satish Aggarwal of East Delhi’sShri Balaji Ramlila Committee saidthey would stage the epic, followedby a dahan within three hours onSunday.
Small, improvised ceremoniesto mark Dussehra celebrationsSpecial eff��ects to stage symbolic effi��gy burning
Jatin Anand
New Delhi
Artistes perform Ramlila at a Rohinisociety in New Delhi.
* SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA
Paramilitary forces march in northeast Delhi after the riotsin February. * FILE PHOTO
Delhi govt. asked to givephones to DTC workersNEW DELHI
The Delhi Parivahan Mazdoor
Sangh has asked the Delhi
government to provide
mobile phones with data
connections to contractual
Delhi Transport Corporation
employees following the
public transporter’s decision
to restrict deployment aboard
its buses only to conductors
with the ‘Chartr’ app on their
phones.
BJP plans to increasehouse tax by 34%: AAPNEW DELHI
AAP on Thursday alleged that
the BJPruled North Delhi
Municipal Corporation is
planning to increase house
tax by 34%. The party also
said that the North body
under pressure from parking
and advertising contractors,
who are allegedly close to
BJP Ministers, is also planning
to waive off tax on parking
and advertisements. The
party said it has opposed both
the developments.
Amid allegations of slow procurement of Kharif crop anddelayed payments, the Haryana government on Thursdaysaid the number of farmersbeing allowed to mandis hadbeen increased and the process would be completed byNovember 10.
Speaking to The Hindu,Additional Chief Secretary,Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Aff��airs Department,Pranab Kishore Das, said thatinitially the department haddecided on conservativescheduling in view of the social distancing norms, but ithad been increased thisweek. “We are now allowing
250300 farmers in big man-
dis and 100150 for smallerones per day. The total number of farmers and the likelynumber of purchase dayshave been mapped mandi-
wise and the number of gatepasses per day increased accordingly. We hope to fi��nishthe procurement process byNovember 10,” said Mr. Das.
He claimed that paymentsto farmers were cleared tillOctober 5. “We make payment within three days of theproduce reaching the godown and online approval received. It takes a few extradays for off��line purchase,”said Mr. Das. He said around9095% farmers reachedmandis as per their schedule,
when informed through SMS,denying there were any issuewith the mechanism to inform them.
Swaraj India chief Yogendra Yadav demanded that thegovernment came clean onthe allegations of slow procurement by making publicthe number of farmers registered under the ‘Meri FasalMera Byora’ in the State foreach mandi and those pending. The report by Swaraj India recently pointed out thatonly 511% of total registeredfarmers in the four districts –Bhiwani, Mahendragarh,Charkhi Dadri and Rewari –managed to sell their crops inthe fi��rst two weeks of the sixweek procurement session.
More farmers now allowed insidemandis, says Haryana government‘Kharif crop procurement to be completed by November 10’
Ashok Kumar
GURUGRAMA man has been arrestedfor allegedly killing hisbrother and sisterinlaw inouter Delhi’s Mundka, thepolice said on Thursday.
On October 19, the police received informationregarding missing of oneRajesh alias Raju and hiswife Ruchi, both residentsof Friends Enclave inMundka.
During investigation,one Sushila Devi told thepolice that her brother —Bhagwan alias Kala — toldher that her another brother, Raju, and his wife weremissing.
She reached Mundkaand came to know that her
brothers had fought oversomething on October 16.She noticed that Bhagwanwas not cooperating insearch of Raju and Ruchi.
“A team was constitutedto search the missing couple. During enquiry, Baghwan said he murdered thecouple on October 16 anddumped their bodies in Haryana’s Rohtak,” an offi��cersaid.
On his disclosure, thebodies were recoveredfrom Rohtak.
Baghwan also said Rajuwas unemployed and usedto quarrel with everyone.Baghwan told the policethat he committed thecrimes due to Raju’s “irresponsible behaviour”.
Man arrested for killingbrother and sisterinlaw Accused dumped bodies in Haryana
Staff Reporter
New Delhi
CMYK
A ND-NDE
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THE HINDU DELHI
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2020 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. 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. 10 ● No. 254
Timings
DELHI
FRIDAY, OCT. 23
RISE 06:27 SET 17:44
RISE 13:10 SET 23:43
SATURDAY, OCT. 24
RISE 06:28 SET 17:43
RISE 13:56 SET 00:00
SUNDAY, OCT. 25
RISE 06:28 SET 17:42
RISE 14:36 SET 00:42
0DISCLAIMER: Readers are requested toverify and make appropriate enquiries tosatisfy themselves about the veracity ofan advertisement before responding toany published in this newspaper. THGPUBLISHING PVT LTD., the Publisher &Owner of this newspaper, does not vouchfor the authenticity of any advertisementor advertiser or for any of the advertiser’sproducts and/or services. In no event canthe Owner, Publisher, Printer, Editor, Director/s, Employees of this newspaper/company be held responsible/liable inany manner whatsoever for any claimsand/or damages for advertisements inthis newspaper.
Special festival packagefor Delhi govt. employeesNEW DELHI
Deputy CM Manish Sisodia on
Thursday said that the Delhi
government will provide an
advance special festival
package and every Delhi
government employee will
get ₹��10,000 in advance.
“Keeping in mind the
hardship of employees due to
the COVID19 and the
lockdown, the government
took the decision,” he said.
IN BRIEF
The air quality of Delhi inched closer to the ‘very poor’category on Thursday whileNoida’s slipped to the ‘verypoor’ category, according tothe Central Pollution ControlBoard (CPCB) data. The airwas slightly better in Gurugram, but remained in the‘poor’ category.
Delhi’s air quality is expected to remain in the ‘poor’to ‘very poor’ category for thenext two days owing to slowsurface winds, as per governmentrun monitoring agencySAFAR (System of Air Qualityand Weather Forecasting andResearch).
“The overall Air Quality Index [AQI] of Delhi was in the‘poor’ category as of today[Thursday] morning. Calmsurface wind conditions started over the Delhi regionwhich will lead to low ventilation, and hence deteriorationof AQI is predicted. It is forecast that the air quality will bein the ‘poor’ to marginally‘very poor’ category on October 23 and 24,” SAFAR saidin a statement.
The AQI of Delhi was 296and the values for Gurugramand Noida were 215 and 308
respectively, as per CPCB’s 4p.m. bulletin on Thursday,which is an average of thepast 24 hours.
Reading at 10 p.m. By 10 p.m., the air quality ofDelhi was 321 and that of Noida was 339.
The stubble burning fi��recounts around Haryana, Punjab, and border regions of
Delhi increased to 1,428 onWednesday from 849 onTuesday, as per SAFAR. Thecontribution of stubble burning in neighbouring States toPM2.5 in Delhi is estimated tobe around 9% on Thursday.
The local wind speed is“highly” unfavourable andthe wind direction in neighbouring States is favourablefor a “moderate” transport ofpollutants to Delhi due tostubble burning.
Campaign picks upIn a related development, Environment Minister Gopal Raiand AAP MLAs took part inthe “red light on, gaadi off��”campaign at Tilak Marg intersection to reduce air pollutionin the city.
Delhi’s AQI inches closeto ‘very poor’ categoryAir was slightly better in Gurugram, but very poor in Noida
Staff Reporter
New Delhi
Delhi’s air quality is expected to remain in the ‘poor’ to ‘verypoor’ category for the next two days. * SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA
Delhi reported more than3,000 new COVID19 casesfor the third consecutive dayon Thursday, with 3,882 cases being reported in the past24 hours, according to ahealth bulletin released bythe Delhi government.
Also, 35 more deaths havebeen reported, taking the total number of deaths to 6,163.
Of the total 3,44,318 cases,3,12,918 people have recovered and there are 25,237active cases.
A total of 58,770 COVID19tests were done in the past 24hours. Of the total tests,16,795 RTPCR tests weredone, which is highest so farin a single day in the city. TheDelhi government has beenconducting more number of
RTPCR tests after the HighCourt last month directed thegovernment to do so.
Also, the number of activecases went above the 25,000mark after 18 days on Thursday. It has been increasingsteadily for the past threedays and the active cases are
the highest in the past 20days.
The number of people inhospitals also increasedslightly and the number ofpeople under home isolationhad risen for the second day.
Out of the total 15,704 bedsavailable for COVID19 treat
ment in the city, 67.5% werevacant, as per governmentdata. However, 58.2% of ICUbeds with ventilators are occupied and 53.4% such bedswithout ventilators are full.
The positivity rate was6.6% – the second highest inOctober. The overall positivity rate till now is 8.2%. Thenumber of containmentzones in the city on Thursdaywas 2,766.
Over 3,000 new cases in Delhi for third day in a rowThere are 25,237 active cases and 2,766 containment zones in national capital
Civil defence workers making an appeal to motorists toundergo rapid antigen tests in New Delhi on Thursday.
* SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA
Staff Reporter
New Delhi
The Delhi police have registered a case against thefamily members of freelance journalist RajeevSharma, who was arrestedin an espionage case under the Offi��cial SecretsAct, for allegedly threatening and intimidating a witness in the case, said a senior police offi��cer onThursday.
The offi��cer said thatwhen Mr. Sharma’s fl��at inPitampura was raided, aman from the locality wascalled as a witness.
“The witness fi��led acomplaint at Rani Baghpolice station. An FIR wasregistered and the casewas transferred to SpecialCell for further investigation,” added the offi��cer.
Adish Aggarwala, whowas representing Mr. Sharma, said that they provided the entire transcript ofthe conversation betweenthe witness and familymembers and there wasnothing threatening. Thetranscript and the clip ofcall recording have beensubmitted in the court.
A Delhi court on Tuesday had rejected the bailplea of Mr. Sharma.
Case againstfamily ofjournalist
SAURABH TRIVEDI
NEW DELHI
A Delhi court on Thursdaysent back former Union Minister M.J. Akbar’s defamation case against journalistPriya Ramani for her tweetsaccusing him of sexual harassment to the judge whowas hearing it for the pasttwo years.
Judge Vishal Pahuja, whowas trying the defamationcase, had earlier this monthsent the matter to the Principal District and SessionsJudge seeking its transfer toanother court on the groundthat his court was now desig
nated to hear cases fi��ledagainst lawmakers pursuantto a recent verdict of the Supreme Court.
On September 16, the apexcourt had asked the Chief Justices of all High Courts to listbefore an appropriate Benchall pending criminal cases involving sitting and formerlawmakers where stay wasgranted.
In terms of this order, certain cases that did not pertain to sitting and former lawmakers, but were alreadybeing heard by Mr. Pahujawere transferred to othercourts. Principal District and
Sessions Judge Kohli onThursday, however, sent thecase back to the court ofJudge Pahuja.
At the height of the ‘MeToo movement’ in 2018, Ms.Ramani accused Mr. Akbar ofsexual harassment during hisrole as newspaper editor. Following this, about dozen offormer colleagues of Mr. Akbar also came out with diff��erent allegations against him.
Days before he resignedfrom his post of Minister ofState for External Aff��airs inOctober 2018, Mr. Akbar fi��leda criminal defamation caseagainst Ms. Ramani.
Akbar-Ramani case sent backby Delhi court to previous judge
Judge trying the defamation case had sought its transfer
Staff Reporter
New Delhi
A number of activists onThursday spoke about theimportance of protests in ademocracy and said that “weshall take back our streets”.
The speakers includedauthor and activist Arundhati Roy, advocates PrashantBhushan and Sanjay Hegde,United Against Hate cofounder Nadeem Khan, theoristNivedita Menon, activist Bezwada Wilson and Swaraj In
dia president Yogendra Yadav.
The panel said that “thestate and the police” havebegun to criminalise protests. “Democracy and dissent go hand in hand, butthen the demonstrationsexpressing dissent have tobe in designated placesalone, said the SupremeCourt. Was the DandiMarch taken along designated routes?” ConcernedCitizens’ Collective said.
We shall take back ourstreets, say activistsThey highlight importance of protests
Staff Reporter
NEW DELHI
The power tussle betweenDelhi University ViceChancellor Yogesh K. Tyagi andPro ViceChancellor P.C. Joshion Wednesday over the appointment of the Registrarended with the latter beingreplaced a day later.
On directions of the VC,Dr. Geeta Bhatt, who is alsothe Director of the NonCollegiate Women’s EducationBoard (NCWEB), was appointed as the Pro VC onThursday. The move camehours after Mr. Joshi notifi��edVikas Gupta as the varsity’sRegistrar following the Executive Council meeting thattook place on Wednesdaychaired by the former.
Earlier on Wednesday,professor P.C. Jha had beenappointed as the Registrarand Director of South Campus following which he issued a notifi��cation to postpone the EC meeting for arevision of agenda items. However, Mr. Joshi went aheadwith the EC meeting andeven wrote a letter to Mr. Jhaasking him to “vacate the Registrar’s offi��ce.” This was followed by a communicationfrom the university termingthe EC meeting as illegal.
“P.C. Joshi, Pro VC, decided to go ahead and conductthe Executive Council meeting in which professor Suman Kundu participated asDirector of South Campusand Incharge Registrar. This
is in complete violation of the[earlier] notifi��cation. Thismeeting, therefore is illegaland void,” it had read.
EC member Rajesh Jhasaid that the meeting held onWednesday was in accordance with the statutes of thevarsity.
Mr. Joshi had been appointed Pro VC on June 28 bythe VC. According to the varsity statute, the Pro VC looksafter the daily functioning inthe absence of the VC.
The Education Ministrywrote a letter supporting Mr.Joshi. In a letter addressed toMr. Gupta, he stated that Mr.Tyagi’s order should be considered invalid, as he was onmedical leave.
“...the order issued by the
Vice Chancellor during hisperiod of absence on medicalground without joining theoffi��ce properly and offi��ciallyis not valid and should not beacted upon by the universityfunctionary. In future, if theVC wants to join the offi��ce,proper medical fi��tness certifi��cate issued by the competentauthority, who treated him,may be obtained,” said theletter sent on Thursday byEducation Ministry DeputySecretary Birendra KumarSingh. It reiterates that Mr.Joshi will act as the VC.
The Ministry’s letter alsonotes that the Pro VC hadwritten to the Education Ministry on Wednesday to inform it that Mr. Tyagi was notdischarging his duty.
DU power tussle over appointment escalatesEducation Ministry backs Pro V-C as Vice-Chancellor attempts to replace him
Staff Reporter
NEW DELHI
The Allahabad High Courthas restrained the Ghaziabad Development Authority(GDA) from carrying out demolition in a slum area inGhaziabad, noting that theState should have off��ered aplace to rehabilitate the residents before their evictionand demolition of theirhouses.
“It would also be appropriate to state that when theentire globe is facing a pandemic, it is the responsibility of the State to protecteveryone, more specifi��callythe population of weakersections from any hardshipthat may aggravate their
plight adversely,” the courtsaid.
It was hearing a petitionseeking directions to theGDA to not undertake anyfurther demolition and oreviction of residents of Bhovapur Basti behind Radisson Blue Hotel, Kaushambi,Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.
In an order dated October 21, a Bench of Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice Siddhartha Varma,while granting time to theGDA to fi��le a counter affi��davit, directed it not to proceed with the demolition tillfurther orders.
The court also issued directions to provide temporary shelter to the residents
of Bhovapur Basti whosehouses have already beendemolished and see to theviability of providing houses under the Pradhan Mantri Avas Yojna.
All necessary arrangements should also be madeas a temporary measure bythe GDA to provide essentialamenities, including lightand water, to the residents.
Medical facilitiesThe residents should be extended all necessary medical facilities, the court said,and listed the next date forNovember 18 when the GDAwould have to propose acomplete plan for rehabilitation of the residents.
Allahabad HC restrains Ghaziabadauthority from demolition of slum
Bench says it is the responsibility of State to protect the weak
Omar Rashid
LUCKNOW
MY WIFE’S name Rathna has beenchanged to T.K.Rathna as per herAadhaar card and Pan card byK.Thirumalai Kumarasami, HouseNo.1, Plot No.51, Annai Indrastreet,Vasantham Nagar, Avadi,Chennai −600071, Tamil Nadu
FACULTY REQUIRED for Optional: Ge-ography, Sociology, Pol science,Pub Ad, History & Agriculture. Gen-eral Studies & Ethics. Mail yourCV at [email protected]
JC−330510P SUB Rajesh Kumar, Of-fice at GE (I) R & D Delhi−54. Cor-rect DOB of my wife Smt. Seema Sai-ni is 25/11/1975 as per AadharCard no 545866236267. Wrongly men-tioned as 22/11/1975 in my officerecord.If anybody any issue maykindly inform the concerned office.
I, ATUL Kumar Joshi Alias Atul Kr-ishan Joshi S/O Sh Kishan ChandSharma R/O of D−25, IARI, Colony,Pusa Campus, New Delhi 110012 andpermanent address KC Niwas, VPO−Ku-marhatti, District−Solan, HimachalPradesh−173229 want to change myname to Atul Krishan Joshi for allfuture purposes
NOTICE INVITING TENDER SupplyDepot ASC, Delhi Cantt invites bids forprocurement of Condiments for oneyear. Tender forms available at SupplyDepot ASC Delhi Cantt from 23-29 Oct20. Fee-Rs 100/-. Bids will be openedat 1155h on 31 0ct 20 Contact7503122605
PERSONAL
CHANGE OF NAME
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EDUCATIONAL
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OTHERS
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CMYK
A ND-NDE
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DELHI THE HINDU
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 20204EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
REGION
Uttar Pradesh Chief MinisterYogi Adityanath invoked theKandhla and Kairana Hinduexodus controversy of 2016and the killings that allegedlytriggered the 2013 Muzaff��arnagar riots at an election rallyin Bulandshahr on Thursday.
Scheduled for November3, the bypoll to the Bulandshahr Sadar seat has been necessitated because of the demise of sitting BJP MLAVirendra Sirohi in March. Theparty has fi��elded his spouseUsha Sirohi in what seemslike a triangular contest between the BJP, the Bahujan Samaj Party, and the SamajwadiPartyRashtriya Lok Dalcombine.
Mr. Adityanath talkedabout his government’s commitment to providing protection to “bahu, beti aur kisan(wife, daughter, farmer)” butdidn’t mention the Hathrascase where a Dalit girl was allegedly gangraped and killedby four uppercaste men. Hedidn’t defend the three Central farm laws either.
Instead, he focussed on“bulldozing the property ofthe mafi��a” and fi��lling the criminals with fear. In the same
vein, he criticised the Congress and SP for allegedlyshowing sympathy towardsthe members of PopularFront of India.
The audience went intoraptures when the Chief Minister mentioned that the PMhad fi��nally put a date to theconstruction of Ram Temple.“Khush ho (Are you happy),”he asked twice.
After that, he reminded ofthe PM’s “sabka saath, sabkavikas” goal and said unlikeprevious governments, hisgovernment’s recruitmentpolicy was fair and inclusive.
For Bulandshahr, he offered a medical college andreminded how the upcominginternational airport in theneighbouring Jewar and FilmCity in Noida would provide
opportunities to the youth ofthe district.
Norms fl��outed
The CM kept reminding theaudience of the importanceof wearing masks and following “do gaz ki doori (socialdistancing)” but the modestexhibition ground was bursting at the seams with audience fl��outing norms.
In fact, the party workerscould be heard directing thepolice not to stop peoplefrom entering the venue.
Santosh Kumar Singh, theBulandshahr SSP, said it wasimpractical to stop supporters once they turned up atthe venue. “We could onlyensure that police offi��cialswore masks and off��ered sanitisers to people.”
For U.P. CM, trademarktough talk in BulandshahrSocial distancing gets the go-by at Adityanath’s bypoll rally
Anuj Kumar
Bulandshahr
COVID protocol goes for a toss at the BJP's Bulandshahr rally.* ANUJ KUMAR
Congress Dalit MLAs havesaid that BJP’s Baroda bypollcandidate Yogeshwar Duttwould face a complete boycott by Dalits and backwardcommunities for making astatement against theirrights and for his politics ofcreating social division topolarise the electorate.
Former Ministers andCongress Dalit legislatorsGeeta Bhukkal, ShakuntalaKhatak, Balbir Valmiki, Jayveer Valmiki and Varun Mulana addressed a press conference in Gohana onThursday and strongly objected to a tweet by Mr. Dutttwo years ago and the antireservation statement maderecently.
Former Minister GeetaBhukkal said it was unfortunate that Mr. Dutt, who benefi��ted from the sports category for the DSP post andavailed of fi��nancial support,pointed a fi��nger at the reservation provided to Dalitsand backwards. “YogeshwarDutt has expressed his antireservation mindset manytimes. In a tweet two yearsago and his statement in aninterview two days ago, hespoke about ending the reservation of Dalits and back
wards. The entire Dalit society and backward classescondemn and oppose it,”she said.
Jaiveer Valmiki, MLAfrom Kharkhauda, said theRSS often talks of ending reservations and Mr. Duttwants to pursue the samecampaign. “If people ofsuch mindset and viewsreach the Assembly by mistake, then their mission willnot be to serve the peoplebut to advance their agenda,” he said.
Economic criteria
Geeta Bhukkal said Mr. Dutttalks about reservation oneconomic basis, but he doesnot know that Haryana, under the leadership of Bhupinder Singh Hooda, wasthe fi��rst State in the countryto give reservation on economic ground.
“The aim of Yogeshwar,BJP or RSS is not to give reservation on economicgrounds, but to end the reservation of all classes. Therefore, now every section ofsociety has to decide whether such people should bevoted or boycotted,” sheadded.
Mr. Dutt could not bereached for his commentsdespite repeated attempts.
‘Dalits will boycott BJP’sBaroda bypoll candidate’He is against quota, allege Cong. MLAs
Special Correspondent
GURUGRAM
OBITUARY &
REMEMBRANCE
DEATH
A day after the Maharashtragovernment withdrew its‘general consent’ to the Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI) to probe cases in theState, Home Minister AnilDeshmukh on Thursday saidthe decision was taken toprevent possible political interference in the MumbaiPolice’s ongoing investigation into the alleged role ofthree television channels inthe Television Rating Points(TRP) scam.
“Henceforth, the CBI willneed the Maharashtra government’s permission toprobe any case. The agencycannot hold any investigation until sanctioned by theState government,” he said.
The government’s movecomes a day after the CBItook over a case registeredby the Uttar Pradesh Policeagainst “unknown channelsand persons” in the TRPscam. The development ledto suspicion that the CBI
might also take over theMumbai Police’s investigation into a similar case.
Mr. Deshmukh recalledthe manner in which theprobe into the death of actorSushant Singh Rajput was taken over by the CBI despiteopposition from the MumbaiPolice. He said, “Earlier, theCBI had taken up the investigation in some cases. We areconcerned about the CBI being used to intervene in theongoing TRP scam.”
The minister also recalledthat a Supreme Court judgehad described the Centralagency as a “caged parrot” a
few years ago.Mr. Deshmukh, however,
said the government believes the CBI is a premier investigation agency of thecountry. “The CBI was givena free pass by the earlier government. We have withdrawn it. We thought aboutpolitical scores being settledthrough CBI,” he said.
The State Home Department’s order issued on Wednesday said, “In exercise ofthe powers conferred bySection 6 of the Delhi Special Police EstablishmentAct, 1946, the government ofMaharashtra hereby withdraws the consent accordedto the Members of the DelhiSpecial Police Establishmentvide Government Order dated February 22, 1989.”
The Mumbai Police hadregistered an FIR on October6 against three channels, including Republic TV, for allegedly manipulating TRPs.Republic TV has claimed innocence in the case and approached the courts.
‘Want to avoid politicalinterference in probes’Concern over CBI intervening in TRP case: Home Minister
Staff Reporter
Mumbai
Anil Deshmukh
The Serum Institute of India (SII), along with the International AIDS VaccineInitiative (IAVI), a nonprofi��t scientifi��c research organisation, on Thursdayannounced an agreementwith pharmaceutical major Merck to develop SARSCoV2 neutralising monoclonal antibodies.
Monoclonal antibodiesare coinvented by IAVIand Scripps Research as‘innovative interventions’to address the COVID19pandemic. If the antibodycandidates being advanced through this partnership are shown to be effi��cacious in clinical trial,then SII will lead globalmanufacturing.
Pact inked todevelop virusantibodies
Special Correspondent
Pune
Former Punjab Deputy ChiefMinister and Shiromani Akali Dal president SukhbirSingh Badal said after forming government in the State,his party will block the implementation of the Centre’sagriculture laws.
He said the Akali Dalwould declare the entireState a ‘Principal MarketArea’ and repeal the amendments to Agricultural Produce Market Committee(APMC) 2017, enacted by theCongress government.
“It was the duty of the government to ensure that theproduce of the farmers isprocured at Minimum Support Price for all the 22 cropsfor which the Centre annually declares MSP. When theAkali Dal forms a government in the State, we will ensure that this demand is converted into an achievement,”he said here.
Mr. Badal alleged that several farmer organisationshave dismissed Punjab’sagriculture amendment Billsterming them meaningless.“Chief Minister AmarinderSingh should respond to thedismissive description of hisBills by these organisations,”said Mr. Badal.
Referring to the State farmBills, Mr. Badal said underthe garb of these legislationsthe Congress, in consonancewith the BJP, wants to wea
ken the intensity of thismovement by uprooting itfrom its base in the country’smost agrarian State.
“The CaptainBJP teammisused the sacred precinctsof the Punjab Vidhan Sabhato implement the Centre’santifarmer plans. It is shocking and painful that Punjab’stemple of democracy wasmisused yesterday [Tuesday] to endorse all the antifarmer Acts of the Modi government,” said Mr. Badal.
Dushyant attacks CMSeparately, Haryana DeputyChief Minister DushyantChautala accused Capt.Amarinder of deceiving farmersin the guise of Punjab farmBills. “If Punjab CM trulycares about the farmers thenhe should pass a Bill to purchase crops like cotton, millets, sunfl��ower instead of justwheat and paddy on MSP,”he said. “Why Congressgoverned States do not passBills to buy crops at MSP intheir States,” he asked.
‘Akalis will block farmlaws after forming govt.’ Sukhbir rejects Punjab’s farm Bills
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
CHANDIGARH
Sukhbir Singh Badal
The Odisha Lokayukta has issued notices to six persons,including a Member of theLegislative Assembly, in connection with alleged deliberate destruction of an irrigation embankment in order tocover up corruption and substandard work.
An RTI activist, SarbeswarBeura, had fi��led a petitionwith the Lokayukta allegingthat some people, who wereinvolved in substandard construction of an irrigation embankment in Jajpur district,had deliberately blown awaythe embankment using dynamites in order to give an impression that fl��oodwatershad caused the breach.
According to Mr. Beura,the incident had taken placeon the night of August 28
when there was fl��oodwaterin the Keura river underDharmasala block of Jajpurdistrict. The embankmentbetween Gokarneswar andBudhalinga Majhipada Roadwas damaged, causing theloss of paddy in 4,000 hectares.
People noticed that thebreach in the embankmentwas not natural, but manmade. “It is alleged that Pranab Balabantaray, local BJDMLA, and Naren Jena, juniorengineer of offi��ce of the executive engineer, PanikoiliRoad and Building Divisionwere behind the conspiracy.They had engaged miscreants to damage this embankment with explosives inorder to suppress irregularities and misappropriation ofmoney in the constructionwork,” activist submitted.
Lokayukta notices toOdisha MLA, fi��ve others
‘Embankment deliberately destroyed’Satyasundar Barik
Bhubaneswar
Aligarh Muslim Universityhas agreed to extend the tenure of two Jawaharlal NehruMedical College doctors,whose services were allegedly “terminated” for their remarks in connection with thecase of alleged gangrape anddeath of a Dalit woman inHathras.
“On the request of theChief Medical Offi��cer of thehospital, received on Wednesday, the university has given its nod to the proposal toextend the tenure of the twodoctors,” AMU spokespersonOmar Saleem Peerzada saidover phone from Aligarh onThursday.
The order ending the contract of the two doctors — Dr.Mohamnad Azeemudin andDr. Obaid Imtiaz — was issuedby Chief Medical Offi��cer S. A.
Zaidi on Tuesday, a day afterthe CBI team probing thegangrape and death case visited the hospital.
The AMU authorities havedenied the allegations of termination as “highly speculative” and said the two doctorswere engaged “on a temporary onemonth vacancy fromSeptember 9”. The ResidentDoctors Association (RDA)had written a letter to theAMU ViceChancellor onWednesday and urged him totake immediate steps to withdraw the termination order.
The letter signed by RDApresident Mohammad Hamza Malik and general secretary Mohammad Kaashif stated that the action against thetwo doctors smacked of “vendetta politics” and was aimedat muzzling the right to freedom of expression.
The two doctors told re
porters on Tuesday that“they were quite taken abackby this step because they hadnot been given a chance topresent their view to theauthorities”.
In response to a query bymedia persons, the two doctors had hinted that theymight have paid the price forgiving their opinion to somejournalists who had visitedthe hospital in connectionwith the Hathras case.
The 19yearold woman,who was assaulted and allegedly raped by four men, wasunder treatment at the hospital before being referred toDelhi. She died at a Delhi hospital later. Reported comments of one of the doctorscontradicted the Uttar Pradesh police’s stand that theFSL report in the case foundno traces of sperm, indicatingthat there was no rape.
Hathras case: AMU to extendtenure of ‘terminated’ doctorsThe RDA had written to AMU VC to withdraw the order
Press Trust of India
Aligarh
The Allahabad High Courthas granted interim relieffrom arrest to the two sonsof jailed MLA Mukhtar Ansari in a case of alleged illegal occupation of government land.
An FIR was lodgedagainst the MLA and histwo sons Abbas Ansari andUmar Ansari in Hazratganjpolice station of Lucknowin August on charges of illegal occupation.
The charges includedcriminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery and Section 3of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act,1984. Mr. Abbas Ansari is anationallevel shooter andhad also contested the 2017Assembly elections only tolose by a thin margin.
Relief forMukhtarAnsari’s sons
special correspondent
Lucknow
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THE HINDU DELHI
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2020 5EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
REGION
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 Friday: Heavy/very heavy rainfall likely at isolatedplaces over Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, West Bengal,Odisha, coastal Karnataka, Kerala and Mahe. Thunderstorm withlightning likely at isolated places over Arunachal Pradesh,Jharkhand, Rayalaseema, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal
city rain max min city rain max min
Agartala................—....28.4....25.2 Kozhikode................. 5.7....31.4....24.0
Ahmedabad...........—....36.8....25.9 Kurnool .................... 7.2....32.3....23.9
Aizawl................... 3....26.2....17.1 Lucknow......................—....33.9....21.2
Allahabad..............—....33.8....23.0 Madurai .......................—....35.2....24.4
Bengaluru .......... 5.4....27.5....20.8 Mangaluru ................. 34....29.1....23.0
Bhopal ..................—....33.7....19.0 Mumbai .................... 3.5....32.7....25.7
Bhubaneswar...... 3.2....26.6....24.6 Mysuru ..................... 1.5....29.7....21.3
Chandigarh ...........—....33.5....19.0 New Delhi ...................—....33.4....17.2
Chennai ............. 0.5....34.5....26.0 Patna ..........................—....33.0....24.6
Coimbatore ...........—....32.0....22.4 Port Blair.....................—....30.5....25.4
Dehradun ..............—....31.0....14.6 Puducherry ............... 4.1....33.3....23.2
Gangtok................—....21.6....14.3 Pune....................... 11.2....32.7....21.9
Goa.................... 3.8....30.0....23.8 Raipur .........................—....33.7....23.2
Guwahati ..............—....32.2....24.1 Ranchi .........................—....31.9....21.0
Hubballi ................—....28.0....21.0 Shillong.......................—....21.2....16.0
Hyderabad ............—....32.0....21.0 Shimla.........................—....24.0....15.9
Imphal ............... 6.7....26.8....19.6 Srinagar.......................—....24.9......3.2
Jaipur ................ 0.5....34.9....22.0 Thiruvananthapuram...... 5.3....30.3....24.2
Kochi ............... 19.6....30.2....24.0 Tiruchi.........................—....34.0....25.0
Kohima .............. 7.8....23.6....17.0 Vijayawada ..................—....33.8....26.5
Kolkata .................—....28.0....25.8 Visakhapatnam .......... 1.3....30.8....27.0
(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., Baghpat, UttarPradesh recorded anoverall air quality index(AQI) score of 331indicating an unhealthylevel of pollution. Incontrast, Shillong,Meghalaya recorded ahealthy AQI score of 28
Ahmedabad..... 23 .32 .38 ....78 .117 ....*
Bengaluru ....... ..8 .13 .25 ..134 .....— ....*
Chennai .......... 11 .15 .71 ..115 .....— ....*
Delhi .............. 19 158 .66 ..364 .406 ....*
Hyderabad ...... ..8 .65 .42 ..151 .140 ....*
Kolkata........... 10 .10 .12 ....25 ...34 ....*
Lucknow ......... 12 .82 136 ..344 .258 ....*
Mumbai .......... ..1 .36 158 ..102 .109 ....*
Pune............... ..9 .13 .52 ....32 ...26 ....*
Visakhapatnam ..5 .52 .25 ..143 .129 ....*
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
Professor G.N. Saibabacalled off�� his hunger strikeafter the DIG (Prisons) visited him in Nagpur Central Jailand accepted his demands.
On October 16, 90% physically disabled and wheelchairbound Saibaba announced he will be going onhunger strike from October21 as he has not been provided with clothes, medicinesand books for a month.
On Thursday, he calledhis wife Vasantha Kumariand said the DIG (Prisons)had visited him on October20 and accepted all his demands. Prof. Saibaba told
her that the DIG had instructed the prison offi��cersto resolve all the demandsimmediately and handoverall the confi��scated and withheld letters written to himby his wife, family membersand advocates.
The Committee for theDefense and Release of Dr.Saibaba released a pressstatement quoting the DIGPrisons as saying, “The jailauthorities shall not stop themedicines given by his family members and advocatesand the medicines will be given to him immediately. Thecomplaint letter documenting his harassment and lackof basic rights in the prisonsince the last few months addressed to the DIG (Prisons)Pune shall be delivered immediately. Previously the jailauthorities were not sending
this letter and illegally holding it. All the paper clippingssent to him by his familymembers through post shallbe given to him immediatelyand such paper cuttingsshall not be confi��scated infuture. He shall be providedwith books sent by the family members.”
However, DIG RameshKamble told The Hindu, “Ivisited Saibaba in his cell. Hedid not have any complaintsnor did he mention anythingabout going on hungerstrike. There has been somemisunderstanding.”
Ms. Kumari told The Hin-
du, “Saibaba informed meabout the visit by the DIGPrisons on October 20 because of which Sai did not goon hunger strike but none ofthe demands have been metyet and we wait in hope.”
He sought clothes,medicines andbooks for a monthSpecial Correspondent
Mumbai
Prof. Saibaba calls off�� hunger strikeafter DIG Prisons accepts demands
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DELHI THE HINDU
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 20206EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
EDITORIAL
It is inhumaneIt is shocking that postindependent India stillentertains the abhorredoccupation of manualscavenging when bettermethods of waste removalare available (OpEd page,“The manacles of caste insanitation work”, October22). How long will theexploitation of helplessoppressed citizenscontinue? States should joinhands with the Union andcome forward to abolishmanual scavenging andallied activities that aresynonymous with neoslavery. The rehabilitationand skill development ofscavengers are two areaswhich should be focusedupon. Sectarian diff��erencesshould be stopped and the
right to life should bepropagated with gusto. Aravind Santhosh,
Thiruvananthapuram
■ The accompanying picturewas disheartening — to see amanual scavenger nearly lostin a manhole fi��lled withhuman waste and othersolids. The Constitution,ironically, speaks of socialjustice requiring an abolitionof inequities. Alas, it is juston paper as there is no massmovement to end thebarbarous practice. The lackof social safety and securityfor manual scavengersshould be a wakeup call torevamp policy. Else, it ismeaningless to call ours acivilised society.E.S. Chandrasekaran,
Chennai
■ It is tragic that even intoday’s technologicallyadvanced world, there ishardly any mechanisation insanitation work in India.There must be an awakeningamong the general public toend the practice. Till suchtime, such workers need aunion, medical insuranceand a supervisor.Rithi Andal Pooja V.,
Madurai
■ Deplorably, the castesyndrome and sanitationhave become inextricablyintertwined. This hasresulted in the exploitationof manual scavengers, whichhas led to the perpetuationof the abominable practice.It is a pity that despite aplethora of laws banning thisdehumanising practice, it
has only become moreentrenched in the system.P.K. Varadarajan,
Chennai
■ Like it or not, sanitationrelies heavily on the servicesof the most oppressed castes.Not only is the work itselfdegrading, it is alsoperformed under extremelyhazardous conditions. It isonly when tragic incidentsoccur involving scavengers,that their social background,the indignities they face insociety, and the risks theytake come to light. There is anearinstitutionalisation ofsuch work. Ending thepractice is a challenge Indiafaces, which calls for asustained approach.R. Sivakumar,
Chennai
eff��ectively (Editorial, “Acrucial season”, October 22).P. Mangalachandran,
West Ponniam, Kannur, Kerala
IPL woesAll great teams in sport havea sell by date. There comes atime when things begin tofall apart and M.S. Dhoni’sChennai Super Kings is noexception. The roaring lionin the game of cricket hasbecome a kitten this IPLseason. The team ‘thinktank’ appears to be reluctantto give talented youngsters achance. It is time thefranchise owners brainstormand invest in youngsters tobuild the future team. N. Mahadevan,
Chennai
Health messagingI have been a keen observerof people’s conduct duringthe novel coronaviruspandemic and fi��nd that amajority of Indians are stillvery negligent when it comesto proper mask wearing,their use of a sanitiser orfollowing handwashing, andavoiding contamination ofthe nose and eyes. I do notthink that even theexhortations of the PrimeMinister will have much of animpact. People on the street heedonly direct and harshinstructions from the policeand other local offi��cials.There is no dearth ofguidelines on the novelcoronavirus safety protocol,but they do not seem to bereaching the public
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters emailed to [email protected] must carry the full postal address and the full name or the name with initials.
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Andrew Fidel Fernando
Occasionally, Muttiah Muralitharan has spoken of theantiTamil pogrom in 1977
when Sinhalese mobs ran a blade12 inches across his father’s back,then burned down the family’s biscuit factory on the outskirts of thehill capital of Kandy, Sri Lanka.
In recent years, this harrowingstory has been recounted at political events in support of Sri Lanka’sPresident Gotabaya Rajapaksa,and his Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP or People’s Front).The suggestion from Murali is thatif he can forgive this heinous act ofracial violence and go on to become one of Sri Lanka’s most celebrated fi��gures, forgiveness shouldbe beyond no one. This is glib, ofcourse. For many Sri Lankan Tamils who suff��ered the appallingprivations of war for decades, andwere not insulated by the kind ofwealth and status Murali enjoyedfrom his youth, forgiveness couldnot — and perhaps should not —come so easy.
But is Murali any more guilty ofsimplistic reasoning than thosewho have spearheaded the backlash against his biopic, 800?Across social media, Murali has
been fl��amed as a traitor to the “Tamil cause”; accused of sidling upto the Sinhalese to perform therole of the Tamil mascot throughwhom southerners lived out delusions of their own benevolence.That Murali’s forays into politicalconversation have ranged fromnaive to calamitous is plain. (It is aview held even by some of his closest confi��dants.) But the suggestionthat he should uncritically attachhimself to the “Tamil cause” requires investigation.
Many layers to historyThere is layered history here.Thanks largely to its position alongone of the planet’s busiest maritime routes, the island is a place ofnearunfathomable ethnic, religious and historical complexity.Waves of migrants have arrived over several millennia, some fromNorth and East India, from the Malabar coast, the Arabian gulf, andfrom Java, each group forming aunique relationship with the state.Tamils, likewise, had come inwaves, for over 2,500 years, andMalayaha (hill country) Tamils,from among whom Murali hails,were among the last to make landfall, lured over by the British to liveand labour in hillcountry plantations in almost uniformly abysmalconditions, for little pay. Morethan 150 years into life on the island, Malayaha Tamils remainamong the nation’s most impoverished ethnic groups, with most estate workers earning less than 800
rupees (about ₹��320 Indian) a day.The community’s health care andeducation outcomes continue todesperately trail national averages.
The ‘Tamil cause’More to the point, there has beenno substantial political movementfrom Malayaha Tamils to join theseparatist struggle that was produced in the north and east. ForTamils in the hills, economic concerns have long outstripped appetites for selfdetermination, andstill do. Many also feel condescended to by northern Tamils, fortheir lower caste status, the recency of their arrival, and their use ofa more common Tamil than theclassical iteration of the languageheard in Jaff��na. If Murali is betraying the “Tamil cause”, which Tamil cause, exactly? Higher wagesfor plantation workers was notamong the LTTE’s primary demands. Minorities are not alwayspolitical monoliths.
Although Murali himself grew
up in relative wealth, his fatherand uncle having sold biscuits outof the back of a car to build the business up in the 1960s, it can be nosurprise that it is poverty that Murali has concerned himself with inhis considerable charitable works.Though at the peak of his cricketing career at the time, Murali hadbeen a key fi��gure in securing theresources to build more than1,000 homes for tsunami victimsafter the 2004 disaster. In theyears since he has supported signifi��cant humanitarian operationsacross the island. Perhaps this istangential, but it is certainly not irrelevant. Murali has helped transform more lives through his goodwill than arguably any livingcricketer. Many of those who havehad his support are Tamils, particularly in the aftermath of the tsunami, when he personally organised and delivered a convoy oflorries fi��lled with supplies to thenorth.
Perhaps we should not be surprised that in casting Murali as ageneric Sri Lankan Tamil, with nomention of his particular community, his harshest critics havestumbled into the same mire of illogic that infl��amed the Sinhalesewho attacked central hillcountryTamils over separatist agitations inthe north and east. Nationalism, ofany stripe, makes no concession tocomplexity. It smelts nuancedown to a razor tip, for it has useonly for weapons. Only a posterannouncing the fi��lm was seen, but
Indian actor Vijay Sethupathi hasbeen forced to withdraw from theproject. Somehow, Murali had notbeen so toxic when he played forChennai Super Kings between2008 and 2010 — years in whichthe war whipped up to its furiousconclusion.
Gripping scriptIf the fi��lm is canned followingSethupathi’s exit, one of sport’smost compelling stories will go untold on screen. Beyond his monumental cricketing exploits, Muralihad also been strung up in a careerlong tussle over his bowlingaction, which served as a fl��ashpoint between the sport’s grudging western powers and SouthAsia’s burgeoning administrativeheft. His politics have long beenviewed as problematic, but who isto say 800 would not have enriched itself with such contentions? The latest novel from thefi��lm’s cowriter, Shehan Karunatilaka, is a searing critique of wartime Sri Lanka. Sethupathi’s trackrecord suggests he possessed thedepth and range to honestly andsensitively draw out the confl��ictsin Murali’s story. Lost on detractors was the notion there can bemore than one kind of biopic. Justas there can be more than onekind of Sri Lankan Tamil.
Andrew Fidel Fernando is a writer for
ESPNcricinfo, and the author of ‘Upon a
Sleepless Isle’, an award-winning book on
Sri Lanka
A compelling life story, lost in the fog of illogic Critics have cast Murali as a ‘generic’ Sri Lankan Tamil to infl��ame their biases, but his story is more deeply layered
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In August 2016, just months before the United States presidential elections, then U.S. Secre
tary of State John Kerry and India’sExternal Aff��airs Minister SushmaSwaraj had detailed discussionsabout the Paris Climate ChangeAgreement, with the U.S. urgingIndia to sign it at the earliest. Partof the statement they issued included the U.S.’s [developed countries] commitment to mobilise$100 billion per year by 2020 aspart of a Green Climate Fund(GCF) to help developing countries such as India with climateadaptation methods and renewable technologies.
Then, the Paris Accord pushThe ratifi��cation of the Paris Agreement was then U.S. President Barack Obama’s legacy project, andWashington was pushing for Indiato join before election day, November 8, in a bid to help Democratnominee Hillary Clinton with hercampaign against Republican nominee Donald Trump, who wasagainst the Paris deal.
While New Delhi could havechosen to wait for the results ofthe U.S. elections, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi did not, and announced a few weeks after Mr. Kerry’s visit that India would ratify theUN climate protocol on October 2,to mark Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday.
Months later, on June 1, 2017,the new U.S. President, DonaldTrump, announced that the U.S.would exit the Paris agreement,and also revoked U.S. promises towards the GCF, calling it “very unfair” (https://bit.ly/3oqjw9s). “India makes its participationcontingent on receiving billions
and billions and billions of dollarsin foreign aid from developedcountries,” Mr. Trump added, conveniently ignoring the fact that itwas based on his predecessor’spromises that India had made itscalculations.
This time, the IndoPacifi��cAs the U.S. Secretary of State, MikePompeo, makes his way to Indianext week, history may just be repeating itself. This time, Mr. Pompeo is coming exactly a week before the election, and his brief isclear: to ensure that New Delhi (also Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Indonesia that are on his itinerary,from October 25 to October 30),makes a strong, public, strategiccommitment to the U.S. on itsplans in the IndoPacifi��c. Mr. Pompeo has made no bones about hismission. In Washington on Wednesday, he said he was sure thathis meetings “would include discussions about how free nationscan work together to thwartthreats posed by the Chinese Communist Party”.
Just a few weeks ago, at theQuad Foreign Ministers meeting inTokyo, Mr. Pompeo had said thatas partners in this Quad (AustraliaIndiaJapanU.S.), “it is more critical now than ever that we collaborate to protect our people andpartners from the Chinese Communist Party’s exploitation, corruption, and coercion.” In contrast, India has maintained that itsmembership of the Quad isaligned to its IndoPacifi��c policy,and as Prime Minister NarendraModi stated at the ShangriLa dialogue, in June 2018 (https://bit.ly/37vdHRZ), “by no means...directed against any country”.While there is no doubt that Beijing’s relentless aggression againstIndia at the Line of Actual Controlthis year and its refusal to disengage or withdraw from land China’s People’s Liberation Army hasoccupied for more than sixmonths is changing India’s priorities, the Narendra Modi govern
ment has maintained that it will resolve issues with China bilaterally.Any shift in that position at theU.S.’s prompting must also accruebenefi��ts for India.
Electoral calculations Mr. Pompeo’s tenuous positionmust also be considered closely.For one, it is by no means clearthat Mr. Trump will win the presidential elections or that Mr. Pompeo will remain in that spot. Infact, all presidential polls, as wellas predictions for the U.S. electoral college point to a probable winfor Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
Even if Mr. Trump does win theelection, it remains to be seen howfar he will take ties with China tothe brink once he dusts off�� hiscampaign rhetoric. The weight ofcommitments made by Mr. Pompeo during his India visit couldthus be assessed better in a similarvisit made even a week later, oncethe election results are more clearly known.
In the event Mr. Biden wins theelection, India will hardly have endeared itself to the incoming administration by making strong statements of solidarity with Trumppolicy, strategic or otherwise. Thetwo rallies Mr. Modi has held withMr. Trump in Houston (2019) andin Ahmedabad (2020), as well ashis use of the Trump campaignslogan, “Ab ki baar Trump Sar-kar”, have already been notedwithin the Democratic campaign,and it may be recalled that mostsupporters of India in the Demo
cratic leadership skipped theHouston rally.
China and India’s three frontsAs a result, South Block must consider carefully just what it discusses and projects from the meetingwith Mr. Pompeo and U.S. DefenceSecretary Mark Esper as they arrive for the Third IndiaU.S. 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue with ExternalAff��airs Minister S. Jaishankar andDefence Minister Rajnath Singh.China has gone from being the“Elephant in the Room” (as U.S.Deputy Secretary of State StephenBiegun described it earlier thismonth) to becoming an agendaitem on the table. Therefore, it iscritical to study just how Indiahopes to collaborate with the U.S.on the challenge that Beijing poseson each of India’s three fronts: atthe LAC, in the maritime sphere,and in the South Asian Associationfor Regional Cooperation (SAARC)region surrounding India.
On the maritime sphere, discussions will no doubt include strengthening ties in the IndoPacifi��c, enhancing joint military exerciseslike the ‘Malabar’, where the entire Quad including Australia willparticipate next month in the Bayof Bengal and the Arabian Sea, andcompleting the last of the “foundational agreements” with the BasicExchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geospatial Cooperation(BECA). On the SAARC region, Mr.Pompeo is speaking with his feet,given that his travels will take himto Male and Colombo as well. InMale, the U.S. has already announced a defence agreement thatwill pave the way for a strategicdialogue, and unlike in the past,New Delhi has not objected to ceding space in its area of infl��uence inthe Indian Ocean Region, as it willallow the U.S. to counter Chineseinfl��uence there. With Sri Lankatoo, the U.S. has a pending defence agreement, but more importantly, discussions on infrastructure projects, and progress on its“Millenium Challenge Corpora
tion” (MCC) off��er of a fi��veyear aidgrant of about $480 million, that ismeant to off��er alternatives to theRajapaksa government, will bekey. At a time when India is delaying Sri Lanka’s requests for debtrelief, given its own economic constraints, the U.S. aid off��er will beseen as one way of staving off�� China’s inroads into Sri Lanka.
Finally, and of most interest,will be how the U.S. and India cancollaborate, if they can, on dealingwith India’s most immediate, continental challenge from China: atthe LAC. While the Indian Armywill defend its borders with Chinaon its own, there is much that Mr.Pompeo could promise, apartfrom enhancing and expeditingU.S. defence sales to India. Mr.Pompeo must, for example, commit to keeping the pressure on Pakistan on terrorism, despite theU.S. need for Pakistan’s assistancein AfghanTaliban talks. A fi��rm U.S.statement in this regard may alsodisperse the pressure the Indianmilitary faces in planning for a“twofront” confl��ict with China.
Other key areasMr. Pompeo should be pushed onresolving trade issues with India,an area the Trump administrationhas been particularly tough, andperhaps commit to restoring India’s Generalised System of Preferences status for exporters. Thegovernment could press for morecooperation on 5G technologysharing, or an assurance that itsS400 missile system purchasefrom Russia will receive an exemption from the U.S.’s CounteringAmerica's Adversaries ThroughSanctions Act (CAATSA) sanctions.
By inviting Mr. Pompeo thisclose to the U.S. elections, NewDelhi has taken a calculated andbold gamble. Unlike the experience of 2016, however, our leaders must drive a harder bargain toconsolidate the payoff��s from thevisit.
Drive a harder bargain at the Delhi meetAt the 2+2 Ministerial forum, India must ensure that its gamble with Trump’s regime so close to the U.S. election pays off��
Suhasini Haidar
GE
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Thanks to the pandemic, scientifi��c institutions in
India have been able to demonstrate their ability
to rise to the occasion and show why the country
should increase funding for science research and deve
lopment. The ICMR’s approval, recently, of two indige
nously developed tests that are rapid, lowcost and have
high sensitivity and specifi��city provides the muchneed
ed boost to scale up daily testing without diluting accu
racy. After carrying out about one million tests each day
for the last few weeks, India, for the fi��rst time, tested
nearly 1.5 million samples on October 21. While most
tests done each day were the low sensitivity rapid anti
gen tests, the ones developed by the Delhibased Insti
tute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, a CSIR insti
tute, and IIT Kharagpur will now enable the shift to
more accurate tests. The low sensitivity of rapid antigen
tests has meant that even people with symptoms were
being handed out a negative result nearly half the time,
leading to undetected cases. With unrestricted move
ment, businesses opening up, the festival season begin
ning and winter around the corner, the requirement for
a rapid, lowcost test with high accuracy is crucial in
checking the virus spread through early detection and
repeated testing of even asymptomatic cases. Having lo
cally developed tests with higher accuracy will now
help States to off��er tests on demand — as required in a
September 4 ICMR advisory — while keeping costs low.
While the low sensitivity of rapid antigen tests arises
from not isolating the viral RNA from the swab samples
and amplifi��cation of the DNA before detection, the two
indigenously developed tests follow these two vital
steps, the reason why the sensitivity and specifi��city are
far superior to that of the rapid antigen tests. But, at the
same time, both the tests developed locally do require
minimum laboratory infrastructure to isolate the viral
RNA from the samples. For that reason, India has to still
rely on rapid antigen tests in rural areas that have no
laboratory infrastructure. But the tests developed by
the Indian institutions, once commercially available,
can readily replace the rapid antigen tests in places
where such laboratory infrastructure is in place. Rapid
antigen tests will become less important even in rural
areas once research institutions succeed in developing
protocols and tests for using saliva rather than swabs,
and do not require isolation of viral RNA from patient
samples before amplifi��cation and detection. Field test
ing and validation of such protocols is now pending. Re
lying on saliva samples would mean noninvasive sam
ple collection, and probably even selfcollection. Thus,
the reliance on trained personnel would reduce and al
so minimise the risk of health workers getting infected.
Sooner, better Indigenously developed tests will allow
scaling up of eff��orts to detect infections
Events in Pakistan’s Sindh province in the last few
days indicate that the Imran Khan government is
dealing with a serious political crisis, perhaps its
biggest, since taking offi��ce in 2018. Eleven Opposition
parties, which have now formed the Pakistan Demo
cratic Movement (PDM), have held two mammoth ral
lies, part of a plan for nationwide agitations, calling for
the resignation of the PTI government over law and or
der, food shortages, infl��ation and gas cuts. They have
called the Prime Minister both a failure at governance
and the military’s “puppet”. But what has surprised
many is their solidarity as well as the sharpness of their
attack: at the rally in Gujranwala, former PM and Pakis
tan Muslim League (N) chief Nawaz Sharif, speaking
from London, named Army Chief Gen. Qamar Bajwa
and ISI chief Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed for “rigging elec
tions”, restrictions on the media, harassment of jour
nalists, putting pressure on the judiciary and subvert
ing other democratic institutions. While most Pakistani
politicians, Mr. Khan included, have attacked Pakistan’s
omnipotent military establishment when in opposition,
and drop the rhetoric when they come to power, Mr.
Sharif ’s comments indicate a popular sentiment that is
chafi��ng at the curbs by the Pakistani establishment. The
PTI government’s response is a wellworn script. For
the past few months, government prosecutors, on Mr.
Khan’s orders, have focused on preparing cases to send
as many members of the Opposition to prison. The co
chairperson of the Pakistan’s People’s Party and former
Pakistan President, Asif Ali Zardari, is already in custo
dy on money laundering charges, while the govern
ment has requested the U.K. many times to extradite
Mr. Sharif so that he can be charged and tried again.
With the next generation of Bilawal Bhutto and Ma
ryam Nawaz taking the stage at PDM rallies, the govern
ment swung into its next act: arresting Ms. Nawaz’s hus
band, Captain Safdar, after a midnight raid on their
hotel in Karachi, charging him with disrespecting Jin
nah’s mausoleum by raising antigovernment slogans
there. What made matters erupt was the arrest that had
reportedly been carried out after Army rangers sur
rounded the Sindh Inspector General’s home and
forced him to sign the FIR against Mr. Safdar. Top eche
lons of Sindh’s police force, backed by the Provincial
PPP government, rose in outrage, applying en masse for
leave after expressing their distress over the humilia
tion meted out to their chief. This was an unprecedent
ed response which could have seen a more serious
standoff�� between the police and the Army. Matters are
under control for the moment after Gen. Bajwa has pro
mised an inquiry report on the controversial arrest
within the next 10 days. However, with politics on the
boil again and the PDM planning at least four more ral
lies this year, it is clear that Pakistan’s ruling party will
fi��nd its feet held to the fi��re more frequently.
Unrest in Pakistan Popular sentiment is building against
the Army and the government
CMYK
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THE HINDU DELHI
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2020 7EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
OPED
We published yesterday the full text of counsel’s opinion on the Punjab criminals. It is adocument that will repay careful study as itdoes from some of the ablest of British jurists. The local champion of the Dyerhardswent into mild hysterics over it and pretended to see in it nothing but the latest development in the “hounding” of that muchmaligned hero, General Dyer. It also attemptedto discount the value attaching to the opinions of so eminent a lawyer as Mr. Upjohnby assuming that the conclusions werebased upon onesided and perverted promises. A study of the full text will show thatcounsel have not gone a hair’s breadthbeyond the facts conclusively established.Their opinion is founded fi��rstly upon the admissions of General Dyer as to the actualhappenings and as to his motives and second upon the report of the Hunter Committee which cannot be held to be unduly prejudiced against General Dyer.
A HUNDRED YEARS AGO OCTOBER 23, 1920
Wilful murder(From an editorial)
in India to control thespread of the novel coronavirus, life as we knew it waschanging forever. With people falling sick, othersforced indoors and the economy in a tailspin, it was inevitable that publishing,like every other cog in thewheel, would have to bracefor hard times.
Uncertainty ruled thenext three months. Asschedules began to go awryfor publishers, with printing presses shut, a shortageof hands and commissioning issues, the worry wasthat there would not be easy access to books for reading and review. With booksnot listed in the “essential”category, distribution washit hard. Big wine andcheese launches became athing of the past and werereplaced by livestreamsand webinars. The digitalconnect ensured the fl��owof material as PDFs, that included several books onthe dreaded virus, but reviewers complained of we
One of the most awaitedmoments for those handling book review pages innewspapers and magazinesis the annual catalogues ofvarious publishers. Theyare elegantly designed,with special attention tofonts, and announce the titles that will highlight theupcoming year. For 2020,on off��er were books byThomas Piketty, PankajMishra, Shashi Tharoor, Perumal Murugan, RomilaThapar, Ira Mukhoty, theprolifi��c Ruskin Bond, and ahost of volumes on the U.S.in an election year. Therewere biographies of an oldemperor (Akbar), a shrewdpolitician (Muhammad AliJinnah), India’s fi��rst womandoctor (Anandibai Joshi)and a river (Brahmaputra).
But with China reportinga cluster of pneumonia cases late in 2019, the newyear began ominously. ByMarch, when a stringentlockdown was announced
ary eyes and said they missed the rustle of pages.
For the publishingworld, however, there areother more pressing anxieties. The fi��nancial impactfor an industry alreadystruggling for various reasons will be terrible. Theindependent bookstoreround the corner is facingclosure, even as the mightof Amazon becomes stronger. Struggling bookstoresare already off��ering discounts way beyond theirmeans, and home delivery.
Then there are otherchallenges, from the overriding trend of a gradualdecline in reading for pleasure, and the shift to digital. India may be a population of 1.6 billion, but howmany have access to thedigital world for reading?COVID19 laid bare the glaring inequities. The sale of ebooks may have risen during the lockdown but itcomprises a small portionof the publishing world inIndia and won’t make up
for losses. Ask anyone in the pu
blishing industry what Indians prefer reading, andthere’s no clear answer. Atthe moment, books onhealth, economy, politics,religion, sport, romanceand thrillers are “doingwell”, though no one likesto defi��ne what it means interms of sales. But thegenres provide a clue to areader’s mind. Why elsewould there be a renewedwish to read George Orwell’s dystopian novel1984? Or all the scifi�� novelson contagion? Writersaround the world are already keeping journals of the2020 virus. In a recent literary anthology, Mario Vargas Llosa said when wecannot understand what ishappening around us, as asociety we turn to books tosee if they off��er any answers. Will this lead to novelslike Daniel Defoe’s A Journal of the Plague Year?Time will tell and readerswill keep an eye.
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NOTEBOOK
Reading in the time of a contagion COVID-19 only added to the publishing world’s other pressing anxieties
Sudipta Datta
October 24 marks the diamond jubilee of the United Nations. But farfrom joyous celebration, it is an occasion to sombrely refl��ect on why theUN is stagnating at 75 and how it canregain its lost lustre.
Although much has changed in theinternational system since 1945, theworld body continues to see a tusslebetween ‘principle’ and ‘power’. Onthe one hand, the UN representshopes of a peaceful and just world order through multilateral cooperation, abidance by international law,and uplift of the downtrodden. Onthe other, the institution has beendesigned to privilege the most powerful states of the postWorld War IIdispensation by granting them commanding heights over internationalpolitics via the undemocratic instruments of veto power and permanentseats in the Security Council (UNSC).
Arguably, if the great powers ofthat period were not accommodatedwith VIP status, we may have seen arepeat of the illfated League of Nations. Keeping all the major powersinside the tent and reasonably happythrough joint control over the UNSCwas intended to be a pragmatic stepto avoid another world war. Presumably, the collective command modelof big powers built into the UNSC isone of the reasons why there hasbeen no third world war.
A model that didn’t workBut this model has also caused havoc.Almost immediately after the UN’screation, it was pushed to the vergeof irrelevance by the Cold War, whichleft the UN little room to implementnoble visions of peace, developmentand human rights. It was only in theuncontested postCold War politicalmilieu, when the liberal sole superpower, the U.S., strode like a colossus, that the UN could spring back tolife and embark on a plethora of peacekeeping missions, nationbuildinginterventions and promotion of universal human rights. In the U.S.led‘new world order’ of the 1990s, it appeared as if the problem of ‘power’cutting out ‘principle’ had been resolved under the benign hegemonyof a Washington that would be the
fl��agbearer of UN values.However, that golden age of the
UN was too deceptive to last. We arenow past the unipolar moment andthe ghosts of the Cold War are returning in complex multisided avatars.UN SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres has labelled the present peaking of geopolitical tensions as a “greatfracture”. The phrase ‘new Cold War’is in vogue to depict the clash between China and the U.S. Tensions involving other players like Russia, Turkey, Iran and Israel in West Asia, aswell as between China and its neighbours in Asia, are at an alltime high.
The recrudescence of the worsthabits of competitive vetoing by P5countries has prevented the UNSCfrom fulfi��lling its collective securitymandate. So dangerous are the divisions and their spillover eff��ects thatMr. Guterres has lamented that “wehave essentially failed” to cooperateagainst the immediate global threatof the pandemic. He has also rekindled the old maxim, “The UN is onlyas strong as its members’ commitment to its ideals.”
Obstacles to reformsBut apart from rivalries of memberstates, there is a larger underlyingproblem. At the core of the paralysisof the UN is the phenomenon of P5countries (China, France, Russia, theU.K., and the U.S.) blocking reforms.Outmoded procedures based on thediscriminatory original sin of superior prerogatives to P5 countrieshave to be discarded. Why should expansion of the UNSC require consensus of the P5? In the 21st century,why should there be veto power inanyone’s hands? If a simple majorityvoting method could replace the P5consensus method, the obstacles toUNSC reforms would reduce.
On the 75th anniversary of the UN,there must be a global push againstossifying ‘rules’ which have privileged ‘rule’ of the few over the many.That is the only way to restore somebalance between ‘power’ and ‘principle’ and ensure a renaissance of theUN.
Sreeram Chaulia is Dean, Jindal School of
International Aff��airs
At 75, the UN needs a rebirthThere must be a global push against the rules thathave privileged rule of the few over the many
Sreeram Chaulia
IndoAmerican relations are once againpassing through a periodic phase of mutualrecrimination and unnecessary suspicion,when the real issues of the day get completely overshadowed by minor irritations, andavoidable distortions are allowed to developeven in the exchange of routine diplomaticcourtesies between the two Governments.From India’s point of view, the most immediate provocation for this new wave of disenchantment is the latest U.S. move to resumemilitary aid to Pakistan which can only addto the prevailing tension in the subcontinent without achieving anything tangible forthe furtherance of the American interests inthe region. Acting with characteristic maladroitness, the U.S. has decided to ignore India’s sensitivity and introduce this new element of bitterness in IndoAmericanrelations in the hope of scoring compensating gains in Pakistan’s domestic politics bystrengthening the hands of the proAmerican lobby in the forthcoming general election. The timing of the American arms aidresumption is evidently intended to buttressthe prestige of President Yahya Khan who isbeing severely assailed by hardliners like Mr.Z.A. Bhutto and Air Marshal Nur Khan for hisattempts to reduce Pakistan’s dependenceon China by seeking a balancing relationshipwith both the Soviet Union and the U.S.
FIFTY YEARS AGO OCTOBER 23, 1970
Indo-US relations under cloud
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Since midSeptember, the numberof daily new COVID19 cases recorded has been reducing from the peakof 90,000odd cases. A few daysago, the COVID19 India NationalSupermodel Committee, constitutedby the Department of Science andTechnology, based on mathematicalmodelling studies, concluded thatIndia had passed the COVID19 peakin September. It also found thatthere will be fewer than 50,000 active cases from December and ifproper safety protocols continue tobe followed, the pandemic can be“controlled by early next year” with“minimal” active symptomatic infections by endFebruary. In a conversation moderated by R. Prasad,Gautam Menon and Giridhara R.Babu discuss whether India hasgone past the peak. Edited excerpts:
The number of daily new casesrecorded has been reducingfrom the peak of about 90,000cases since midSeptembereven as the number of testsdone each day remain at about10,00,000. Does this suggestthat the pandemic has peakedin India?
Gautam Menon: I think what itsuggests is that in the major cities,and in some districts adjacent tothose cities that already have suffi��cient numbers of people infected,the number of new infections is going down, which is to be expected. Idon’t think one can say that a biggeror an equivalent peak is not in storefor us, because my feeling is that thevirus has not been spreading uniformly in India. There are manydistricts where the number of casesremains small. So, it’s these casesthat we will have to watch out for,especially after the festival season.
Giridhara R. Babu: The mostdense areas might have alreadybeen aff��ected, whether it’s the metros or the tier2 and tier3 cities.While the infection is spreadingtemporarily from one area to another, we cannot certainly say that theworst is over yet. Until we touch thebaseline, which is rock bottom, wewill not be able to know whetheranother peak is visible. In my experience with measles and polio, evena slight deviation from the cohort of
susceptible people versus how theinfection is spreading will ensurethat a bigger peak comes much faster, especially when people havebeen hiding away from the virus. So,we will have to see how it plays outduring the winter and afterwards,especially when people start mixingwith young people who can spreadthe infection to the elderly and tothose who have comorbidities. It isnot a single wave at the national level which we should be looking at;instead, we should be looking at theState level. We should also be looking at the data from serological surveys, verbal autopsies and misseddeaths from the States that are notreporting well, to understand thereal nature of the peak.
Except Telangana, the othersouthern States have beenreporting a high number ofdaily new cases, while largepopulous States such as U.P.,M.P., and Bihar have reportedfar fewer cases. How do youexplain this enigma?
GRB: Absence of evidence is notevidence of absence. Just becausethe southern States or some otherStates, including some in the north,are reporting more cases does notmean that only these States have circulation going on and other Stateshave controlled it. Saying that only afew States have higher transmissioncompared to others is a statisticalfallacy. This is the biggest trap wehave seen in many infectious diseases. Due to integrity of reporting cases, many States get classifi��ed ashighrisk States. The same thinghappened, for instance, in the HIVprogramme. We should not repeatthat mistake. We should buildstrong and resilient systems of datacollection and reporting.
There are many ways of assessingwhether a State has already gonepast the surge in cases or whether itis yet to surge. One of the key thingsI would like to see is Statelevel serological surveys throughout theState, and also pick some infectionsin the acute phase. Testing randomly throughout the State will help usknow the casetoinfection ratio,and comparisons between reportedcases versus those who have alreadydeveloped antibodies. Knowing
what proportion of people in thegeneral population have positivityby doing random antigen tests andRTPCR and verbal autopsies ofdeaths will tell us whether the Statehas gone past the surge in cases or isyet to surge.
GM: Data are vital. What we need ismuch more granular data that willgive us a better idea of whether it isjust lack of reporting or insuffi��cienttesting that is governing these numbers or whether there is a genuinereason to be happy.
But some of these States, likeU.P., have been doing a highnumber of daily tests, yet thecases are low. Is it because ofoverreliance on rapid antigentests or underreporting?
GM: The ratio of RAT to PCR test isfairly high in both Bihar and U.P.The method of who you test andwhat level you test is certainly an issue. Also, whether the testing isdone broadly enough in the generalpopulation to pick up certain numbers is a question. As a fraction ofthe absolute population of the State,those test numbers are not good ontheir own.
GRB: Also important is when thetesting is done. If testing is increased at a time when the surge incases has not happened already, orthe surge in cases has already happened, the number of people whoare actually infected might be low.So, if the tests are increased whenprevalence is low, you will obviouslypick up fewer numbers. And wedon’t know which districts are inwhich stage of transmission in several States.
The Indian Council of MedicalResearch’s second sero surveysays over 7% of the adultpopulation has been infected
and the virus has spread to therural districts. Is testing reallygood in rural areas or will theseareas see a surge later?
GRB: I feel that there is disparity inthe way we test in metros and urbanareas and in rural areas, which is afunction of this trend of the healthsystem as such. The ICMR surveygave a clear approximation that theinfection has spread to rural areas,at least in the surveyed areas. Therural areas should not be ignored;we will have to do more testing inrural areas to corroborate that. Wealso need to understand whetherthe rural dynamics of transmissionare similar to urban areas. And thatcan only be known by doing moresero surveys there. We still don’tknow what proportion of people areacutely infected and yet not detected. So it’s a sum total of all thesethings that will give a clearer picture. Without that kind of granulardata, we will not be able to saywhether rural areas have missingtransmission or not.
GM: From informal reports it doesseem like many more people in rural areas are ill than are actually going in to be tested. Also, the delaysin getting tested after falling ill, andin getting tested and getting a result,are signifi��cant in the progression ofthe disease from person to person.
The expert committee hasprojected a minimal number of
fresh cases by endFebruary. Isit correct based onmathematical modelling toproject for a period of fourmonths during the pandemic?
GM: Well, I would not do that and Iwould not recommend that anyonedoes it either with any degree ofconfi��dence. I think all one can say isthat this particular model withthese particular numbers show thatcases will come down for three orfour months down the line. But wehave no reason to believe that thosenumbers will remain the same, theparameters in that model will remain the same. A much better indexis what is the fraction of the population of the country that you think iscurrently infected. And that will tellyou how many more people arethere to be infected.
Currently there are about 7.5lakh active cases but thecommittee says it will drop to50,000 in December. Do youthink it’s feasible?
GM: It could be unusual for that tohappen. They believe that 300400million people in India are alreadyinfected, which seems a little toohigh to me. I think 200million plusis probably a reasonable ballpark fi��gure. There are lots of people yet tobe infected, a lot of them are inareas that have not been exposedyet. So, at what rate they will get infected is the important question. Isuspect that there will be a background of infection as we go towards the next couple of months. Itwill not dip very signifi��cantly at leastfor the next two or three months.
GRB: These predictions are good aslong as they serve the purpose ofplanning, ensuring that we are stepping up our resources. But then ifthey give some kind of robust confi��dence that all is well and we mightbe free from this disease beyond December, I don’t think any of us havethat kind of optimism yet. I wouldwant to look at seven days average,at the minimum, to understandwhat is going to happen in the nextseven days.
GM: Yes, I agree. I don’t see whatthe point is of saying that something’s going to happen four monthslater when we don’t have enoughknowledge. A week, two weeks inadvance is the best that one can do.
I worry that putting such a long horizon serves a political purposerather than a public health purpose.
The committee has not beenable to provide any validexplanation for why Indiaseems to have peaked. Whatcould be the reasonsconsidering that India has gonethrough various stages ofunlock and movement ofpeople has increased?
GRB: The data suggest that areasthat were prone to increased population movement and where peoplewere working even when the lockdown was there and who did not follow the public health regulationswere the ones who got the earlierwaves of circulation. With the mostdense areas having been aff��ected already, it’s only the lesser populationdensity areas which are the next focus. Therefore, the speed at which itwill spread is going to be diff��erentfrom what it was earlier. The testpositivity is also going down as testing numbers have not majorly decreased. Defi��nitely there seems tobe some decrease in cases but sincewe have not touched the baseline,we can’t be sure that this is over.
What will the combined eff��ectof the festival season, winter,unrestricted movement ofpeople, opening up of businessestablishments and nonadherence to nonpharmaceutical interventionsbe on the virus spread?
GRB: We don’t know what has happened before to actually know whatis happening now and to predictwhat’s going to happen in the future. Let’s assume region A has already had a surge in cases and nearly 40%50% of the people have beeninfected. So, even if festivals are celebrated and people congregate,one may not see that kind of a spikein cases in that region. Whereas, inregion B, if the earlier surge was notthere, the same kind of behaviourmight result in big hotspots and many deaths. We don’t know what’shappening at the district level. Sowe need to make a beginning of trying to understand what is happening in each district to be able topredict which districts require morecare. We are not using the data inthe wisest manner. That’s my worry.
Has India passed the COVID-19 peak?We cannot emphatically say that it has, as thevirus has not spread uniformly across the country
Giridhara R.Babu is Professor of
Epidemiology at the
Public Health
Foundation of
India, Bengaluru,
and a member of
the Karnataka
COVID19 Technical
Advisory Committee
Gautam Menon is Professor of
Physics and
Biology at Ashoka
University and
coauthor of
COVID19
modelling studies
Scan the QR code towatch the fullinterview online
PARLEY
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IL K
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VE
RM
A
<> We should be looking at
the data from serological
surveys, verbal autopsies
and missed deaths from
the States that are not
reporting well, to
understand the real nature
of the peak.
Giridhara Babu
CMYK
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DELHI THE HINDU
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 20208EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
NEWS
FROM PAGE ONE
sued on March 23, a day before the fi��rst phase of the21daycountrywide COVID19 lockdown.
The visa restrictions havebeen gradually relaxed, andon August 18, the MHA allowed foreign journalistsand their dependants to enter India.
On August 7, it allowed foreign nationals from theU.S., the U.K., Germany andFrance to travel to India on“business, medical and employment” visas under theair bubble scheme.
“Foreign nationals intending to visit India for medicaltreatment can apply for aMedical Visa including fortheir medical attendants,”the MHA said.
All such travellers should,however, strictly adhere tothe guidelines of the Ministry of Health and FamilyWelfare on quarantine andother health/COVID19 matters, the statement said.
The travel restriction,prohibiting internationaltravel to and from 107 immigration checkposts was is
Government relaxesvisa restrictions
jobs. A promise to construct30 lakh pucca houses forthe poor was also made.Special emphasis would begiven to the informationtechnology sector, as well asthe establishment of 13 foodprocessing parks, the manifesto said.
Under the New EducationPolicy, engineering and other technical education willbe made available in Hindiin the State. A minimumsupport price regime will beput in place for pulses too.
“Bihar is one State whereall citizens are politicallysensitive and wellinformed.They know and understandthe promises a party makes.If anyone raises questionson our manifesto, we cananswer them with confi��dence as we fulfi��l what wepromised,” Ms. Sitharamansaid.
BJP information technologycell chief Amit Malviya said,“Like all programmes, theCentre will provide vaccinesto the States at a nominalrate. It is for State governments to decide if they wantto give it free or otherwise.Health being a State subject,Bihar BJP has decided togive it free.”
The manifesto also promised 19 lakh jobs in thenext fi��ve years, includingthe appointment of threelakh teachers within thenext year in schools andhigher education institutions and one lakh jobs inthe health sector.
Jobs have become a majorissue in the election, withRashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)leader Tejashwi Yadav promising that his fi��rst act, onbeing elected to power,would be to create 10 lakh
BJP manifesto promisesfree vaccine for Bihar
ment. “Your attempt to twistSmt Nirmala Sitharaman’sstatement reeks of desperation. All parties issue manifestos. Vaccines will be madeavailable to all Indians at nominal costs. States can makeit free. In #Bihar, we will,”Mr. Yadav said.
The Congress’s offi��cialTwitter handle pointed outthat every major vaccinationprogramme has been free inIndia, and asked if the BJPgovernment intends to reverse the policy.
Tagging a video clip of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s comment, Congress leader Shashi Tharoorsaid, “You vote for me and Iwill give vaccine.... what appalling cynicism! Will theElection Commission rapher & her shameless Govt onthe knuckles?”
As the issue snowballedinto a major controversy, senior BJP leader BhupenderYadav stepped in and accused Mr. Tharoor of twisting Ms. Sitharaman’s state
Will COVID care dependon elections, asks Rahul
Investment Fund (RDIF)had announced receipt ofthe DCGI approval for a multicentre and randomisedcontrolled study, for Sputnik V which would includesafety and immunogenicitystudy.
As per the plan, the RDIFintends to supply 100 million doses of the vaccine toDr. Reddy’s.
Subject to completion ofsuccessful trials and registration of the vaccine by regulatory authorities in India,deliveries could potentiallybegin in late 2020, the RDIFhad said in September.
The cyber attack comesdays after the pharma giantreceived the Drugs Controller General of India’s approval to conduct Phase 2/3 human clinical trial for SputnikV vaccine, developed byRussia, in the country.
This followed Russia’s sovereign wealth fund RDIF,which is piloting the COVID19 vaccine candidate,announcing last month acollaboration with Dr. Reddy’s for clinical trials anddistribution of the vaccinein India.
On Saturday, the drugmaker and Russian Direct
Dr. Reddy’s shuts unitsdue to cyberattack
Kerala’s fresh COVID19 caseson Thursday stood at a lower7,482.
The test positivity rate onThursday was 13.3%.
Also on Thursday, 23deaths which occurred between Oct 721 were added tothe State’s offi��cial COVID19list.
Andhra Pradesh added3,620 infections on Thursday. The State saw 16 deaths,
one of the lowest daily deathfi��gures in months.
As many as 76,726 samples were tested in the pastday with a test positivity rateof 4.72%.
In Telangana, GreaterHyderabad and its surroundings – Rangareddy and MedchalMalkajgiri districts – reported a majority of cases,nearly onethird of the 1,456
fresh cases on Wednesday. The Health department
said on Thursday that fi��vemore deaths were reported.
Another 38,565 sampleswere tested on Wednesday.
There were 254 cases fromGreater Hyderabad Munici
pal Corporation area. Karnataka on Thursday re
ported 5,778 new cases and74 deaths. The positivity ratefor the day reduced to 5.38%,and Case Fatality Rate (CFR)touched 1.28%. BengaluruUrban reported 2,807 cases
and 36 deaths. Active casesin Bengaluru reduced to58,431. Over the day, 1,07,354tests were conducted, including 20,853 rapid antigentests.
Tamil Nadu’s overall tallyof COVID19 cases breachedthe seven lakhmark onThursday as another 3,077persons tested positive forthe infection on Thursday.
The State has added onelakh cases in the last 21 days.It was on October 1 that theoverall case tally surpassedsix lakh. With the fresh cases, the State now accountsfor a total of 7,00,193 cases.As many as 4,314 persons, including 1,077 in Chennai,were discharged. This tookthe total number of personsdischarged so far to 6,55,170.
Another 45 persons succumbed to the infection inthe State, taking the toll to10,825.
(With inputs from Vijaya-wada, Hyderabad, Bengalu-ru and Chennai bureaus)
States cautiously watch fl��atter case curveKerala’s test positivity still at 13.3%; Karnataka, A.P. look at stabilising incidence
Special Correspondent
Thiruvananthapuram
The Telangana governmenthas informed the fi��vemember interministerial Centralteam, deputed to the State toassess the damaged causedby rains and fl��oods, that theloss suff��ered by diff��erent sectors was over ₹��9,420 crorewith the agriculture sectorbearing the brunt.
Chief Secretary SomeshKumar told the Centralteam, led by Joint Secretaryin Home Ministry PraveenVashista, on Thursday thatthe State government had taken all measures to minimise loss of life and propertyin the recent rains andfl��oods. He explained the extent of damage with the helpof a photo exhibition.
Mr. Kumar said damage topublic infrastructure wasenormous and the State hadalready made a preliminaryassessment. While the lossto crops was estimated at₹��8,633 crore, the loss to roadnetwork was around ₹��222crore. Besides, loss in theGHMC area was estimated tobe around ₹��567 crore.
The State governmenthad released ₹��550 crore for
immediate fl��ood relief andfood packets were suppliedto over 2 lakh people. Besides, each family in the affected/inundated areas wasgiven one kg of bleachingpowder and over 3 lakh
chlorine tables were also distributed among the aff��ectedpeople. All the 15 electricalsubstations which were inundated were brought backinto service within 48 hours,Mr. Kumar told the team.
Telangana pegs raindamage at ₹��9,420 crore Chief Secretary briefs Central team on the losses
Special Correspondent
HYDERABAD
Flood impact: Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar explaining thedamage caused by fl��oods to the Central team on Thursday.
INS Kavaratti, the last of thefour indigenously built AntiSubmarine Warfare (ASW)stealth corvettes built underProject 28 (Kamorta class),by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE),Kolkata, was formally inducted into the Navy at theNaval Dockyard in EasternNaval Command here onThursday.
It was commissioned by
General Manoj Mukund Naravane, Chief of the ArmyStaff��, in the presence of ViceAdmiral Atul Kumar Jain,Flag Offi��cer CommandinginChief, Eastern Naval Command (ENC).
India-made steel usedThe ship, named after thecapital of the Lakshadweepgroup of islands, has beenconstructed using highgrade DMR 249A steel produced in India.
The ship spans 109metres in length, 14 metresin breadth with a displacement of 3,300 tonnes and isregarded as one of the mostpotent AntiSubmarine Warships to have been constructed in India.
Experts say the inductionof the ASW corvettes will bea game changer in the eastern seaboard, especiallywith the Chinese submarines trying to make sortiesin the Indian Ocean.
Army chief commissions INS
Kavaratti at Visakhapatnam It is the last of four indigenously built ASW stealth corvettesSumit Bhattacharjee
VISAKHAPATNAM
Adding fi��re power: INS Kavaratti in Visakhapatnam on Thursday. * PTI
The kidnap for ransom of anineyearold boy, DeekshitReddy, son of a journalist inMahbubabad town, 220 kmfrom here, ended intragedy after the police found him murdered on Thursday.The boy’s father, Ranjith Reddy, is a reporter for Telugu TVchannel T News.
The parents had arranged₹��45 lakh to be paid to the abductor for the safe return ofthe boy. The Mahbubabad
district police, whichlaunched 10 special teams tocrack the abduction, reported four days ago, received arude jolt as the boy’s bodywas found just 5 km from his
home. A person known to
the boy’s parentsemerged the abductorand killer. Presentingthe accused Manda Sagar before the media at
Mahbubabad, Superintendent of Police Koti Reddysaid greed to make a fastbuck drove the accused tokidnap and kill the boy.
“Sagar, who is in his early20s, carried out the kidnapand killing. Possible complicity of others is still beingprobed,” the SP told The Hin-du over phone. Deekshit was
playing near his house onThursday around 6 p.m.when Sagar came there onhis bike. “The unsuspectingboy, who knew Sagar, sat onthe bike when he off��eredhim a ride,” the SP said.
Two hours later, the boy’sparents received a call ontheir mobile phone from aprivate number demanding₹��45 lakh ransom to set himfree. The worried parentsrushed to police who swunginto action, forming dedicated teams with specifi��c tasksto trace the boy.
Normally, police wouldhave tracked the abductorsby tracing the phone calls. Inthis case, they hit a dead endas the incoming number did
showed up on parents’ mobile phone as “private number”. Realising that abductorwas using VoIP to make calls,investigators sent emails to10 companies providing VoIPcall services. Investigation inthis angle provided someclues. But even before policechalked out a plan to rescuethe boy, Sagar murderedhim.
Meanwhile, police received an input locally whichpointed the needle of suspicion towards Sagar who admitted to the killing whenpicked up and interrogated.He led the police to the boy’sdecomposed body on a hillock in Thallapoosalapallyforest area.
Telangana scribe’s minor son kidnapped, killed Abductor was known to boy’s parents,demand for ransom ends in tragedy
Deekshit Reddy
MARRI RAMU
HYDERABAD
The ruling Left DemocraticFront (LDF) on Thursday inducted the Jose. K. Mani faction of the Kerala Congress(M) into the ruling coalition.
Mr. Mani’s inclusioncomes barely fourmonths after the UnitedDemocratic Front (UDF)announced that the faction had lost the right tocontinue in the front.
Bickering over thechairpersonship of the Kottayam district panchayatwith the KC(M) group headed by P.J. Joseph had pavedthe way for Mr. Mani’s acri
monious exit from the UDFand subsequent entry intothe LDF.
The Communist Party ofIndia (CPI) and NationalistCongress Party (NCP) wereinitially unsympathetic tothe proposal. The CPI(M) lea
dership smoothedout the process bypersuading the twoto shed their frostiness towards Mr. Mani.
It also managed toovercome the CPI suggestionto test Mr. Mani’s electoralsway in Central Travancorein the upcoming local bodyelections before admitting
him into the coalition. TheElection Commission of India’s decision to award the‘Two Leaf’ symbol to Mr. Mani also hastened his admittance.
The Congress maintained
that the arrangement was patently incongruous. The CPI(M) and the KC(M) had differed on every political issuefor the last 39 years. Bothparties did not see eyetoeyeat the grassroots level. KC(M)workers would reject thepact Mr. Mani has struckwith the CPI(M), Congresssources said. The BharathiyaJanata Party (BJP) said political expediency and not principle had prompted the LDFto embrace Mr. Mani.
LDF convener A. Vijayaraghavan said KC(M) joinedthe LDF unconditionally toadvance the secular and profarmer policies of the front.
LDF inducts Jose K. Mani faction of KC(M)G. Anand
Thiruvananthapuram
Jose. K. Mani
One of the oldest mosquesin Hyderabad lost itsshorter minarets during therecent rain spell.
“I heard a loud soundand then we lost electricity.We rushed out to see a heapof rubble. Luckily nobodywas injured,” says Renuka,
a resident of Shaikpetwhere the disused mosqueexists surrounded byhouses, shops and a buff��aloshed.
The rubble has beencleaned and dumped at therear of the mosque where itcan be identifi��ed by thelarge round stones that gaveshape to the minaret.
Mosque loses its minarets Special Correspondent
Hyderabad
The High Court of Karnataka has suggested that a lawbe framed at the national level prescribing death penalty for the gang rape ofwomen.
The court made the observation while upholdingthe life imprisonment imposed by the trial court onseven convicted persons,who had gangraped a 21yearold law student near
Jnana Bharathi campus inthe city on October 13, 2012.
“She [the victim] hadboldly lodged a complaint at1.30 a.m. in order to ‘protect Dharma’. Her ‘tolerance’ and ‘courage’ to proceed against the accused inaccordance with the law ...and for fi��ghting the legalbattle against the accused toget justice in an unfortunateincident in her life has to beappreciated,” the court observed.
HC suggests law imposingdeath penalty for gang rapeSpecial Correspondent
Bengaluru
Anticipatory bail pleaby Sivasankar closed KOCHI
The anticipatory bail plea
of M. Sivasankar, former
Principal Secretary to Kerala
Chief Minister Pinarayi
Vijayan, before the special
court of the National
Investigation Agency was
closed by the court on
Thursday as the agency
submitted it did not have any
plans to arrest him presently.
IN BRIEF
Forest teams drive tuskerback into T.N. forestsCHITTOOR
A oneeyed lone tusker, which
had reportedly killed a forest
jeep driver last week, was
driven into the Tamil Nadu
forests on Wednesday night,
following a fiveday
operation by the forest
officials of Chittoor and
Gudiyattam range. Sources
said the animal had turned
aggressive after it got
separated from its herd.
Kerala govt. examiningSprinklr inquiry report THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
The Kerala government is
examining a report submitted
by a twomember committee
constituted to look into the
pact with the U.S.based data
analytics firm, Sprinklr. The
panel is headed by M.
Madhavan Nambiar, former
Civil Aviation Secretary. Cyber
expert Gulshan Roy is the
other member.
It is likely to impact severalIndian fi��rms which sendtheir professionals on B1visas for a short stay tocomplete jobs on site.
The State Department estimates that this proposalwill aff��ect not more than6,000 to 8,000 foreignworkers per year.
$800,000 settlement On December 17, 2019, theAttorney General of California announced a $800,000settlement against InfosysLimited to resolve allegations that approximately500 Infosys employeesworked in the state on Infosyssponsored B1 visas
rather than H1B visas, theState Department said.
“The proposed changesand the resulting transparency would reduce the impact of foreign labour onthe U.S. workforce of aliensperforming activities in aspeciality occupation without the procedural protections attendant to the H1Bclassifi��cation,” it said.
The State Departmentsaid the application processfor a B1 visa does not include similar procedural requirements to protect theU.S. workers like that ofH1B visas. Also, the fees forthe B1 visas are far lowerthan that of H1B visas.
U.S. to nix business visasfor H1B speciality jobs
BJP leader and former Mizoram Governor Kummanam Rajasekharan haslanded in a controversy after the Aranmula policebooked a case against himand eight others for allegedly defrauding a person ofseveral lakhs of rupees.
Praveen V. Pillai, formerprivate secretary of Mr. Rajasekharan, is the prime accused and Mr. Rajasekharan is the fourth accused inthe case.
Fraud charge:Kummanam, 8others booked
STAFF REPORTER
PATHANAMTHITTA
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THE HINDU DELHI
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2020 9EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
NEWS
Senior RJD leader and partyspokesperson Manoj K. Jhaspeaks on the prospects ofthe party, Tejashwi Yadav’srallies and the burden of the15-year Lalu-Rabri regimethat the party carries:
The opinion polls have
suggested that the RJD
CongressLeft combine lags
behind the NDA in the
Assembly election in Bihar.
Your comments.
■ I would just say theyshould check their opinionpolls of 2015 also. I knowtheir compulsions and Iknow the pressures underwhich they work. I know themandate given to them bytheir top bosses — opinionpolls are often opinionatedpolls.
Tejashwi Yadav’s rallies have
become a talking point,
drawing a huge crowd. Don’t
you fear that such huge
participation could be seen
as Yadav assertion and could
have a counter
consolidation?
■ Across Bihar, Tejashwiji isdrawing an interactivecrowd. These are not just limited to Muslims and Yadavs. Look at the areaswhere the rallies were held —Aurangabad, Goh, Taimur,Magadh, Aliganj… it is amixed crowd. I have notseen such an enthusiasticand interactive crowd in recent times.
Bihar CM and JD(U) leader
Nitish Kumar in almost every
rally of his is invoking the
“jungle raj” during the
15year LaluRabri rule. Is
that why the RJD has
removed Laluji’s and
Rabriji’s pictures from its
posters?
■ I give you a task — compareNCRB data 1990 to 2005 andsubsequently 20052020.The data for the two periodswhether it is kidnapping ordacoity is not diff��erent. Storylies in the data, not onlywhat one says. I have seen anunprecedented degeneration in the language employed by Mr. Nitish Kumar,our honourable Chief Minister. He addresses Tejashwi
“karta hai, bolta hai”. This isnot the language of Bihar. People in Bihar may diff��er witheach other fundamentally,but they will never employsuch derogatory language.
If there were 15 years ofJungle Raj under Lalu andRabriji then in 2015, why didyou [Nitish Kumar] have analliance with the RJD?
This election, by all
accounts, looks like a close
contest. Do you at this stage
regret letting go of Upendra
Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok
Samata Dal, Jitan Ram
Manjhi’s Hindustan Awam
Morcha and Mukesh Sahni’s
Vikassheel Insaan Party?
■ No, no way. It is the otherway round. They chose theirown trajectory, I wish themwell. I would say, very frankly, the fi��ght is between theRJD alliance and the BJP andon certain seats with the LJP.There is virtually no fi��ghtwith the JD(U).
So you are saying it’s going to
be a cakewalk for you?
■ No, election is an election.It cannot be described bywords like ‘cakewalk’.
What are your political
observations about the LJP’s
solo fi��ght in this election?
Who will stand to benefi��t?
■ I tell you, the BJP is actually part of four alliances withdiff��erent parameters — direct, indirect and invisible.
The BJP is in direct alliance with the JD(U), indirectly with the LJP and invisibly with Asaduddin Owaisi.This has never happened.
INTERVIEW | MANOJ K. JHA
‘The fi��ght is between RJD and BJP’RJD spokesperson discounts chances of the JD(U), says there is no fi��ght with it
Sobhana K. Nair
<> The BJP is in direct
alliance with the
JD(U), indirectly
with the LJP and
invisibly with
Asaddudin Owaisi
The Union government wasworking relentlessly to empower women and was vigilant on the issue of their safety, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi said onThursday.
Inaugurating a Durga Puja function organised by theWest Bengal unit of the BJP,over video conferencing,the Prime Minister said thatlaws against rape had beenstrengthened and a provision for death penaltyagainst the guilty had alsobeen introduced.
“A campaign for empowering women in the country is going on at a fastpace... whether it is openingbank accounts for 22 crorewomen through Jan DhanYojana, giving loans tocrores of women throughthe Mudra scheme, Beti Bachao and Beti Padhao andthe law against triple talaq,”Mr. Modi said.
The Prime Minister alsoadded that women had animportant role to play inmaking the country selfreliant.
Mr. Modi said that devotees had shown exemplaryrestraint while celebratingDurga Puja during the COVID19 pandemic. “Thenumber of people might beless but the grandeur anddevotion are the same. Thehappiness and joy are stillboundless. This is the realBengal,” he said, urging people to wear masks andmaintain physical distancing.
He said that Durga Pujawas a festival that refl��ectedthe unity and strength of India. The Prime Minister,who began and ended hisspeech in Bengali, spokeabout the contribution ofthe State in diff��erent fi��eldssuch as art, culture, scienceand spirituality.
The State unit of the party had made arrangementsto telecast the speech allacross the State by installingprojectors and screens.
Development schemesMr. Modi said that work wason for the rapid development of West Bengal and improving the lives of peoplein the State.
“We are continuouslyworking for the rapid development of West Bengal. Under Pradhan Mantri AwasYojana, houses have beenconstructed for around 30lakh poor people. Over 90lakh free gas connections given under Pradhan MantriUjjwala Yojana. Under thePrime Minister Jan Dhanscheme, accounts of fourcrore people have beenopened,” he said.
Centre vigilant onwomen’s safety: PMModi inaugurates Durga Puja pandal
Special correspondent
Kolkata
Narendra Modi
Amid portraits of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJPpresident J.P. Nadda andChief Minister Shivraj SinghChouhan on the hoardings atthe party’s Bhopal offi��ce, theabsence of a popular face,whose 19 supporters are inthe fray in the byelection to28 Assembly seats in MadhyaPradesh, is glaring.
“Members of the party,even if a ‘Maharaj’, have tostick to its discipline andconvention,” explained aworker, referring to RajyaSabha member Jyotiraditya
Scinda who does not fi��gureon the hoardings.
Mr. Scindia, who led theCongress to victory in the Assembly election in 2018, isnow a BJP member but hisstature as a new entrant hasmeant that he is eclipsed bythe party’s older leaders.
The byelection will decidethe fate of the sevenmonthold Shivraj Singh Chouhangovernment. Twentyfi��veseats fell vacant after the defection of 22 Congress MLAs— 19 of whom backed Mr.Scindia — and three others later. Three other seats have
fallen vacant after the deathsof legislators.
However, the polls aremore a prestige battle between Mr. Scindia, who leftthe Congress and is eyeing aministerial berth at theCentre, and former CongressChief Minister Kamal Nath.
The BJP has given ticket toall the defectors.
The Congress, which won27 of the 28 seats in 2018,needs to win all to pull up itstally of 88 MLAs and assumepower again. However, afterthe political drama of the defections and change of government, it can no longerrely on the support of thefour Independent, two Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) andthe lone Samajwadi legislators, which had helped itcross the 115 simple majority
mark previously. The BSP MLAs seemingly
backed the BJP during thepolitical turmoil, while Independents are eager to secureministerial berths, irrespective of the party in government.
The BJP needs to extendits tally of 107 by at least nineseats in the 230member Assembly to retain power.
Area of dominanceWith 16 seats up for grabs inthe GwaliorChambal region,the Scindia stronghold, theBJP is drawing strength fromthe former Congress leader’scadre.
Both the parties are intenton winning the Dalit vote asnine seats are reserved forScheduled Caste candidates.But the BSP’s considerable
popularity among Jatavs inpockets adjacent to UttarPradesh such as Chambaland Vindhya Pradesh is likely to throw up a triangularcontest in a few seats. In2018, the party secured thesecond spot in Gohad, Dabraand Pohri. Two of its contestants this time are formerCongressmen.
The Congress vote sharejumped by nearly four pointsto 40.85% in the 2018 election, marginally behind the40.91% of the BJP, which hasruled the State for 15 years.On the 34 seats of Chambal,the Congress had won 26with Mr. Scindia’s supportand the BJP just seven.
The Congress is asking voters to reject ‘traitors’ and‘sold out’ leaders to win inBhind and Morena districts.
Crucial M.P. bypolls turn Scindia-Nath battleExCongressleader’s sway isa crucial factor
Sidharth Yadav
Bhopal
Political drama: Jyotiraditya Scindia, left, and Kamal Nath,who were once on the same side, now stand apart. * PTI
India and the U.S. will discuss “salient regional” issues when U.S. Secretary ofState Mike Pompeo and U.S.Defence Secretary MarkEsper travel to India nextweek for the “2+2 Ministerialdialogue”, the governmentsaid on Thursday, in an indication that ties with Chinawill be on the agenda fortalks on October 27.
“The Third IndiaU.S. 2+2Ministerial Dialogue will entail a comprehensive discussion on crosscutting bilateral issues of mutual interest.In addition, both sides willalso exchange views on salient regional and global issues,” said MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastavaduring a weekly briefi��ngwith journalists.
On Wednesday, Mr. Pompeo had said talks during hisvisit will include “discussions on how free nationscan work together to thwartthreats posed by the Chinese Communist Party”.
However, the MEA didnot respond to a specifi��cquestion about whetherborder tensions, and the ongoing talks with Chinawould feature during the2+2 meeting, nor would Mr.Srivastava comment onwhich agreements, including the geospatial agreement BECA would besigned, adding that hewould rather not “prejudgethe outcomes” of the visit.
“India and U.S. have acomprehensive global strategic partnership which includes political, securityand defence, economic,commercial, technology
and peopletopeople contacts. We have regular dialogue for various levels todiscuss ongoing bilateralcooperation and to exchange views on developments in the region,” theMEA statement said.
The MEA denied that thetiming of the visit of seniorU.S. offi��cials exactly oneweek before U.S. electionson November 3, was unusual, and said it followedthe pattern of “2+2” meetings in previous years.
“As regards the timing ofthe meeting, you know thatdiplomatic calendars havetheir logic, and you will notice that the earlier twomeetings have been held towards the end of the year,”Mr. Srivastava said in response to a question fromThe Hindu.
In a separate response onprogress in border negotiations with China, the MEAsaid, “India and China continue to have discussionsthrough both diplomaticand military channels topeacefully resolve the issuesalong the LAC in India ChinaBorder areas.. []The immediate task is to ensure a comprehensive disengagementof troops in all the frictionareas.”
Timing not unusual, says MEA
Special correspondent
NEW DELHI
Mark Esper, left, and MikePompeo. * AFP
2+2 talks will focuson regional issues
The Editors Guild of Indiaon Thursday said the sealing of the Srinagar offi��cesof Kashmir Times was “reprehensible” and had disturbing implications forthe media in Jammu andKashmir and Ladakh.
On Monday, the J&K Union Territory administration had sealed the newspaper’s Srinagar offi��ces.
In a statement, the Guildsaid that newspapers andmagazines in J&K were “already ravaged by confl��ict”and loss of advertising dueto communication shutdowns and the lockdownin view of the COVID19pandemic.
The Guild termed the action vindictive and calledon the government to restore status quo.
The Press Club of Indiaalso issued a statementseeking the restoration ofstatus quo.
“We demand that theauthorities end their showof smallmindedness immediately, and restore theearlier status of the Srinagar offi��ce of KashmirTimes”, the statement said.
‘Action againstKashmir Times
is vindictive’
Special Correspondent
New Delhi
CMYK
A ND-NDE
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DELHI THE HINDU
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 202010EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
NEWS
India reported 55,839 newcoronavirus (COVID19) cases, with 78% recorded from10 States and Union Territories (UTs). Kerala reportedthe most number of cases,followed by Maharashtra(which continues to registerthe most number of fatalities) and Karnataka, according to data given on Thursday by the Union HealthMinistry for Wednesday.
Both Kerala and Maharashtra were reporting a veryhigh number of new cases,with more than 8,000 caseseach, followed by Karnataka,with more than 5,000 cases,a Ministry release said.
Active cases at 10%India also reported 702 casefatalities, as per the data. Ofthis, nearly 82% was concentrated in 10 States/Union Territoris and more than 25% ofthe new fatalities were fromMaharashtra (180), the Ministry said.
The active cases havebeen sustained below 10% of
the total cases for the lastthree days, and presently,they comprised 9.29% of thetotal positive cases of thecountry standing at 7,15,812,the release stated.
“The positivity rate has also been maintained to less
than 5% over the past threedays, indicating that thespread of infection is beingeff��ectively containedthrough focussed strategiesand actions of the Centreand the States/UTs. Today,the daily positivity Rate is re
ported to be 3.8%,’’ said therelease.
India also reported a totalrecovered cases close to 69lakh (68,74,518). As per thedata, 79,415 patients have recovered and discharged,with 81% of the new reco
vered cases concentrated in10 States/UTs. Maharashtracontributed more than23,000 to the single dayrecovery.
Not the last: WHOWHO DirectorGeneral Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus,in a release issued on Thursday, said that with the ongoing pandemic, it had neverbeen clearer that health wasa political and economicchoice.
“In the past 20 years,countries have invested heavily in preparing for terroristattacks, but relatively little inpreparing for the attack of avirus — which, as the COVID19 pandemic has proven, can be far more deadly,disruptive and costly,’’ hesaid. This would not be thelast pandemic, he noted.
“But when the next onecomes, the world must beready. Part of every country’s commitment... musttherefore be to invest in public health, as an investmentin a healthier and safer future,” he said.
Kerala reports most cases, says MinistryMore than 8,000 test positive in State; Maharashtra continues to register most number of deaths
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI
The Labour and Employment Ministry on Thursdayrevised the base year of theConsumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPIIW)from 2001 to 2016 to refl��ectthe changing consumptionpattern, giving more weightage to spending on health,education, recreation andother miscellaneous expenses, while reducing theweight of food and beverages.
Apart from measuring infl��ation in retail prices, theCPIIW is used to regulatethe dearness allowance (DA)of government staff�� and industrial workers, as well asto revise minimum wages inscheduled employments, aMinistry statement said.
Labour Bureau DirectorGeneral D.P.S. Negi said thenew series would not have
an impact on the DA given togovernment employees fornow. The linking factor ofthe new series to the old series was 2.88, somethingwhich employer federationshad raised in consultations.
At the launch of the newseries, Labour and Employment Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar said the Bureau was expected to bringout the new series of the CPI
for agriculture workers,which currently has the baseyear of 198687, by Augustnext.
Labour and EmploymentSecretary Apurva Chandrasaid that in the future, theBureau would work towardsrevising the index every fi��veyears. The reduction inweight to spending on foodand beverages indicated anincrease in disposable in
come. Mr. Gangwar said thenew series, representing thelatest consumption pattern,would be in the interest ofworkers. The number ofcentres, markets and thesample size for working classfamily income and expenditure survey were all increased.
The Minister also releasedthe fi��rst index, with 2016 asthe base year. The index forSeptember, calculated for 88centres as opposed to theprevious 78 centres, was 118.
The sample size was increased from 41,040 familiesto 48,384, and the numberof selected markets for collecting retail price data from289 to 317. The weight tofood and beverage was reduced from 46.2% to 39%,while spending on housingincreased from 15.2% to 17%.
The index for October willbe released on November 27.
CPIIW base year revised to 2016New series not to aff��ect dearness allowance given to government staff�� for now
Labour and Employment Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwarreleasing CPI(IW) series in New Delhi on Thursday. * TWITTER
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI
BJP president J.P. Nadda onThursday defended the farmlaws cleared by Parliamentin the monsoon session andsaid the opposition to themwas led by middlemen, andnot farmers. He was addressing a group of farmers fromDelhi and nearby villages atthe BJP headquarters here.
Mr. Nadda also took aswipe at West Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjeefor not implementing theCentre’s scheme to deposit₹��6,000 into every farmer’saccount under the ‘KisanSamman Nidhi Yojana. “Shehas been creating hurdles tofarmers’ development, butthis will not go on for long,”he said. The BJP would becoming to power in West
Bengal after next year’s Assembly polls and it wouldimplement the scheme.
Lauding the Modi government for its profarmersmeasures, he said the Congress had only spoken ofwaiving farmers’ loan and
that did not amount to morethan ₹��54,000₹��55,000 crorein the 10 years of UPA rule.“But the BJPled NDA government has so far deposited over ₹��92,000 crore directly into the bankaccounts of over 10 crorefarmers,” Mr. Nadda said. Byenacting the three farm reform laws, the governmenthad unshackled farmerswho could now sell theirproduce anywhere.
The three laws are the Essential Commodities(Amendment) Act, 2020,The Farmers’ Produce Tradeand Commerce (Promotionand Facilitation) Act, 2020and The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assuranceand Farm Services Act,2020.
‘Farmers are now free to sell their produce anywhere’
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI
J.P. Nadda meeting farmers in New Delhi onThursday. * KAMAL NARANG
It is the middlemen who areopposing farm laws: Nadda
Govt. warns Twitter overmap misrepresentationNEW DELHI
India has warned Twitter
over its location setting that
showed Leh in China,
saying any disrespect of the
country’s sovereignty and
integrity is totally
unacceptable. Ajay Sawhney,
secretary in the Ministry of
Electronics and Information
Technology, asked Twitter
CEO Jack Dorsey to respect
the sensitivities, sources said.
IN BRIEF
CBI books four Railwayofficials for corruption NEW DELHI
The CBI has booked four
Railway officials and two top
functionaries of a private
company for allegedly causing
a loss of crores to the
exchequer by tampering with
bills raised against execution
of work contracts. The accused
are the then deputy chief
engineer S.P. Deshmukh,
assistant executive engineer
(construction) Pradip Kumar
Sharma, assistant finance
adviser Tapeswar Rabha
and one Bimal Dey.
About 30% of India’s deadcattle and 40% of goats weren’t fl��ayed and nearly ninemillion bovine hides were“lost annually due to nonrecovery,” according to a noteby the Central Pollution Control Board proposing guidelines on proper disposal ofdeceased livestock.
The draft guidelines require carcasses of livestockto be disposed of in incinerators and municipal authorities must ensure that such facilities are set up and madeavailable. However, theBoard has not specifi��ed anydeadline for the implementation of the guidelines.
Environmental hazardCarcasses, especially thosethat result from the animalslaughter, are an ‘environ
mental hazard’ and are partly to blame for ‘birdhit’ hazards at airports, accordingto an introductory note inthe draft. There were nearly25 million head of cattle including buff��alo that died ofnatural causes. “Howeverthere wasn’t any organisedsystem of disposal and it hadbecome a major environ
mental hazard,” the notesaid.
While the hide was mostlyremoved for leather, the carcasses were frequently left to“putrefy in the open” and attracted “vultures and dogspolluting the environmentand creating environmentalhazards. This open dumpingattracted birds which can
cause air accidents,” thenote said.
Flaying of cattle couldyield more commercial opportunities, for instance,‘meatmeal, bonemeat andtechnical fat’. The process,however, would require setting up more ‘carcass utilisation plants’ where the partsof the animal could be usedto make tallow, nutritionalsupplements and fertilizer.
The other methods of disposal were incineration and‘deep burial’. The guidelines, which are open for public comment until midNovember, said these lattertechniques, which are nowthe dominant method of disposal, must be put to use only in case utilisation plantscouldn’t be set up. StatePCBs should ensure that carcasses were being disposedof properly, the Board said.
CPCB fl��ags unsafe disposal of carcasses It issues guidelines for incineration, calls for better use of remains for fertilizers
Safe practice: An incinerator installed at the Delhi Zoo.
Jacob Koshy
NEW DELHI
TriService synergy andcoordination has “peaked”with the establishment of theDepartment of Military Affairs (DMA) as was visibly demonstrated in the joint response of the three Servicesto recent events, Navy ChiefAdmiral Karambir Singh saidon Thursday.
The Navy had been onhigh operational alert andwas keeping a close watch onmovements in the Indian
Ocean since the standoff�� began with China in May alongthe disputed boundary ineastern Ladakh.
“Giving an overview of theprevailing security situation,he stated that the Navywould continue maintaininga high tempo of operationsin coming months,” the Navyquoted Adm. Singh as sayingwhile reviewing the operational preparedness andcombatreadiness of the Navy’s principal combatants.
Visits Karwar baseAdm. Singh visited the Karwar naval base and embarked on the Carrier BattleGroup, comprising INS Vik
ramaditya, destroyers, frigates, corvettes, fl��eet support ships and integralswingrole fi��ghters and helicopters.
Operational readinessHe was given an operationalreadiness briefi��ng. He alsowitnessed weapon fi��rings,airtoair combat operations,antisubmarine drills andfl��eet manoeuvres. The Navymaintained a high tempo ofoperations and combatreadiness despite the COVID19pandemic by adhering tostringent protocols on warships, submarines and aircraft squadrons and bases,the statementsaid.
‘TriService synergy visible amid recent events’ Navy on high alertsince standoff��with China: chief
Chief of the Naval Staff�� Admiral Karambir Singh, second left,during a review on Thursday. * PTI
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI The Defence Research andDevelopment Organisation(DRDO) on Thursday carried out the fi��nal user trial ofthe third generation antitank guided missile (ATGM),Nag, at the Pokhran fi��ringrange.
“The missile was integrated with the actual warheadand a tank target was kept ata designated range. This waslaunched from NAG MissileCarrier, NAMICA. The missile hit the target accurately
defeating the armour,” theDRDO said in a statement.The test was carried out at6.45 a.m. “With this fi��nal user trial, NAG will enter intoproduction phase,” DRDOstated. Nag had been developed to engage highly fortifi��ed enemy tanks in day andnight conditions. The missile has “fi��re and forget” and“top attack” capabilitieswith passive homing guidance to defeat all Main Battle Tanks (MBT) equippedwith composite and reactivearmour, the DRDO said.
Nag antitank missilecompletes fi��nal user trialIt will now enter production phase
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI
Pakistan has carried out3,800 unprovoked ceasefi��reviolations so far in 2020,said an offi��cial of the Ministry of External Aff��airs. Theoffi��cial spokesperson of theMinistry, Anurag Srivastava,said in the weekly virtualpress briefi��ng on ThursdayIndia had regularly taken upthese violations with Pakistan through diplomaticchannels.
“Pakistan forces havecontinued to engage in unprovoked ceasefi��re violations, often from civilianareas, to support infi��ltrationof terrorists across the LoC.This is a clear violation ofthe 2003 Ceasefi��re Understanding between the twosides. This year, till date, Pakistani forces have carriedout more than 3,800 unprovoked ceasefi��re violations.There have also been attempts to drop arms andammunition close to theLoC in the garb of civilian
activities,” Mr. Srivastavasaid.
He also accused Pakistanof using drones and quadcopters for smuggling ofarms and narcotic substances across the InternationalBorder (IB). “Such violations are regularly highlighted to Pakistan through diplomatic channels and atthe regular DGMO leveltalks,” Mr. Srivastava said.
The accusations aretimed with the ongoingFATF Plenary meeting (October 2123) which is lookingat Pakistan’s compliancewith the 27point FATF Action Plan. The offi��cial alsosaid that Pakistan had notfulfi��lled several of the actionitems. “Pakistan continuesto provide safe havens toterrorist entities and individuals and has almost not yettaken any action against entities and individuals including those proscribed by theUNSC such as Masood Azhar, Dawood Ibrahim, ZakiurRahman Lakhvi.”
India’s charge timed with FATF Plenary
special correspondent
NEW DELHI
‘Pak. made 3,800ceasefi��re violations’
The Railways on Thursdaysaid about 11.58 lakh of itsnongazetted employeeswould be paid productivitylinked bonus equivalentto 78 days’ wages for 201920. The Union Cabinet, atits meeting on Wednesdayaccepted a Railway Ministry’ proposal to this eff��ect.
The wage calculationceiling prescribed for bonus payment is ₹��7,000 amonth. The maximumamount payable per headis ₹��17,951 for 78 days.
11.58 lakhRailway staff��to get bonus
Press Trust of India
New Delhi
The sole and trustworthyevidence of a woman, who isa victim of a sexual off��ence,is enough to fi��nd her assailant guilty, the SupremeCourt has held.
“A woman, who is the victim of sexual assault, is notan accomplice to the crimebut is a victim of anotherperson’s lust and, therefore,her evidence need not betested with the sameamount of suspicion as thatof an accomplice,” a threejudge Bench led by JusticeAshok Bhushan observed.
The court was confi��rmingthe punishment awarded toa man found guilty underthe Protection of Childrenfrom Sexual Off��ences Act of
sexually assaulting a 13yearold child in Tamil Nadu. TheMadras High Court hadupheld the trial verdict ofguilt. The verdict was basedon the evidence of the victimthough her mother hadturned hostile.
Justice M.R. Shah drew attention to the long train of
judicial precedents from theapex court which have allheld that “evidence of thevictim of sexual assault isenough for conviction” in asexual off��ence case unlessthere are serious contradictions. Cases of violenceagainst women should betreated with “utmost sensitivity”. Minor contradictionsin her testimony should notderail an otherwise watertight case.
“To hold an accused guilty for commission of an offence of rape, the solitaryevidence of the prosecutrixis suffi��cient, provided thesame inspires confi��denceand appears to be absolutelytrustworthy, unblemishedand should be of sterlingquality,” the judgment said .
‘Testimony of sexual assaultvictim enough for conviction’ Supreme Court upholds sentence for assault on 13yearold
Legal Correspondent
NEW DELHI
Treat crimes againstwomen with utmostsensitivity, says SC Bench.
The Rajasthan High Courton Thursday stayed theproceedings in a trial courtagainst former Union Minister Arun Shourie andfour others in a case registered over the disinvestment of an India TourismDevelopment Corporationowned hotel in Udaipur in2002.
The special CBI court inJodhpur had last month ordered reopening of the CBIinvestigation into thematter.
While passing the interim direction, Justice VijayBishnoi at the High Court’sprincipal seat in Jodhpursummoned the records ofthe case from the specialcourt and asked it not toproceed against the fi��ve petitioners till further orders.
Court staysproceedingsagainst Shourie
Special Correspondent
Jaipur
Hundreds of miniaturepaintings from the NationalMuseum’s collections cannow be seen through theGoogle Arts & Culture appafter Union Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patellaunched the “Life in Miniature” project on Thursday. Mr. Patel virtuallylaunched the project, a collaboration between the National Museum, Delhi, andGoogle Arts & Culture, aMinistry statement said.
“The project uses technologies such as machinelearning, augmented reality and digitisation withhighdefi��nition roboticcameras, to showcasethese special works of artin a magical new way,” thestatement said. The app allows users to magnify thepaintings to see the details.
New app for NationalMuseum
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI
CMYK
A ND-NDE
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THE HINDU DELHI
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2020 11EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
SHOWCASE
Meet my green, leafy
collectibles“The market for rare plants used to belike the art market: discreet, rich and apassion nursed by the wealthy. But social media, especially Instagram andPinterest, changed all that,” says Chennaibased plant collector and nurseryowner Maanas Vibhu of Thirteen Degrees North. He adds, “Millennials arenow fuelling the demand, especially forfoliage and succulents.”
Plants are being sourced from all overthe country and also from South Korea,China, Thailand, Myanmar and the Philipines, for Indian buyers. Auctions onsocial media are where the action takes
place with certain plants, like monsteravariegated, whose tiny cuttings with fewleaves fetch thousands of rupees.
Green with splashes of white, thetropical monstera variegated plant hasbecome the neighbour’s envy and owner’s pride. Lockdown has made this variety of monstera, some kinds ofhoya, bonsai of a few fi��cusand certain other foliage,cacti and succulents morepopular than before,says Maanas.
Bulupriya Sharma, a28yearold collector andgrower in Imphal, saysplants that were selling for
around ₹��2,000 before lockdown, nowcost ₹��4,000 to ₹��5,000. A mature monstera variegated can now sell for morethan ₹��20,000, she points out, recallinghow a friend got her a single node —with one leaf — from Kolkata. “I nurtured it like a baby and now it's three
feet tall. I plan to propagate itfor auctions and sales,” saysBulupriya, a popular name
among plant parents on Instagram. The star in her extensive collection is the
Musa Ae Ae, a bananaplant with variegatedleaves and fruits thatshe got from Thailand
for approximately ₹��7,000.Meziwang Zeliang, a 32yearold col
lector from Kohima, is thrilled abouthow she managed to buy a kind of hoyain September, at a fl��ash sale by a collector in Bengaluru. News of an auction isposted a couple of days before it takesplace. Usually, it is a oneday auctionwithin a specifi��c period of time.
Sri Harsha Koppaka from Visakhapatnam also bought a variegated monsteraat an auction. “Buyers from all over India participate and there are multiplebids for the same plant,” Harsha says,adding that he, too, conducted a saleand made about ₹��15,000 in a day.
Nangluhomseng Chiring Daosongfrom Guwahati laughs at how she hasbeen besieged with requests after sheposted a photo of her extensive collec
tion on Instagram. Since she lives in Guwahati, she says the climate is ideal forplants from diff��erent places in India,Thailand, Myanmar and the Philippines. “However, imported plants canbe expensive,” adds Meizi. “So I frequent Dimapur in Nagaland where a local market on Wednesdays has sales offoliage plants; it is much cheaper.”
Adds Maanas, “Olives from Europeand the bonsai versions of certain fi��cusvarieties, can go up to ₹��35 lakh to ₹��50lakh. The plants are bought by peoplewho want to make a statement. Theydon’t sell or propagate them.”
Nurturing their investmentsCollectors are willing to create the climate needed by the plants they investin. “So if those in dry areas go in for humidifi��ers, garden enthusiasts in placesin Chennai invest in air conditionersand the like” says Nangluhomseng.Owners also install cameras and othermeasures as precautions against theft.
The green collectors aver that theyare not plant fl��ippers — people importing plants only with the intention of selling parts to collectors for money. SaysMeizi “We grow plants for the love ofthem.”
Planting a perspective (Clockwise from far left) The collections ofBulupriya Sharma, Nangluhomseng Chiring Daosong, Sri HarshaKoppaka and Meziwang Zeliang * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Money does grow on trees after all, fi��nd collectors and sellers of rare plants,which are seeing a bloom in popularity — and price — during lockdown
The rarity factorAccording to Vinayaka Garg of
Lazy Gardener, a Delhibased onlinesupplier of garden accessories,
“Variegation is caused by a geneticmutation. But it is not easy to grow
one from a cutting, as it may notalways create the splashes of colour
on green leaves. In case there is acompletely green leaf, one has tokeep plucking it out till the plant
only has variegated leaves. Tissueculture is a better way to ensure
best results.”
Notes of cautionRekha Jesudas, former Deputy
Director of Agriculture, Kerala, andan ardent gardener herself, pointsout, “Ideally, importers aresupposed to have a quarantineperiod to ensure that pests or newplant diseases are not introducedinto the country. But these rules arenot always followed orimplemented. Leading importersinform nurseries about newvarieties, and most are booked inadvance and sold within days oftheir arrival in the country.
She says buyers must keep inmind that many of these plantsmight have been grown in idealconditions and treated withhormones and chemicals. Sonewcomers might be disappointedwhen an expensive plant theybought does not thrive in their care.She advises beginners to start withhardy plants, before going in fortrendy varieties.
“In countries like Thailand,nurseries are market savvy andhave sophisticated greenhousesand growing methods for plantsthat are in demand. We in Indiahave a long way to catch up withthem,” she adds.
Saraswathy Nagarajan
Even on a Zoom call, thecamaraderie is unmissable:Shakti and Mukti Mohan, thedanceractorsister duo, isactively looking for chances topoke fun at each other.
It is this eff��ortless dynamic,sans fi��lters, that they wish tobring to Zee TV’s new realityshow Dance With Me, as cohosts. An interactive show,Dance With Me will inviteentries from viewers (in theform of videos) which will bereviewed by the Mohansisters, who will also take theaudience through a ‘hookstep’ every week. FormerDance India Dance episodeswill also be featured. And, inbetween all the teaching,there will be a whole lot of
“sisterly banter”. The idea is to create a
community of and fordancers. The relaxed formatworks for these times, too. “Asa result of the pandemic,dancers have the chance tointrospect on why theystarted dancing in the fi��rstplace. When you sit back andthink, you end up creatingmore,” says Shakti.
Dance With Me will be airedSundays from October 25, at 10pm on Zee Cafe and 10 am onZee TV.
Shakti and MuktiMohan talk aboutcelebrating danceahead of theirreality show
Dance, with a side of banter
The ‘we’ factor Shakti (left) and Mukti * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Gowri S
A remake that is original
They are cut from the same cloth, driven bytheir own ideologies. One comes from a position of privilege and is with the State, while theother is a messiah to the oppressed. But whatsets them apart is, one is bound by the conventions of law and order, the other is not.
Kamal Haasan’s DCP Adhi Narayanan andNassar’s Badri, leader of a militant outfi��t, gavean edge to the PC Sreeramdirected Kuruthipu-nal, making its proceedings contemplativerather than it being a regular case of a catandmouse game.
There is a general anger against the systemat fault that creeps into the narrative. Sreeramagrees that the anger and resultant feeling ofbeing dwarfed by the system were what attracted him towards remaking Kuruthipunal. “Inthat sense, it is a very personal fi��lm to me. Ifyou look at the photographs we had used inthe fi��rst scene, we were angry with what had
happened in the country then,” says Sreeramover phone, “The anger in me was a refl��ectionin my shots; the camera was always in closeproximity with the subject. I don’t have a theory behind it, but this was the way I wanted totell the story.”
Tight budget, tighter scheduleKamal and Sreeram were in Bombay when veteran fi��lmmaker Govind Nihalani invited themfor the screening of Drohkaal, starring the legendary duo Om Puri and NaseeruddinShah.The fi��lm evoked a feeling inside of Sreeram, which he could not express then andeven now. Kamal’s immediate response was toremake Drohkaal in Tamil and asked Sreeramwhat he thought. “That’s the best thing to do,”he said on a whim.
Commercial viability was still a question ofconcern, given the absence of songs and thenature of the fi��lm (it was rated ‘A’). But Sreeramsays they pulled it off�� in under 30 days with atight budget and a tighter schedule — “Theshooting was akin to a war footing. You cannotshoot three or four scenes a day, if not for agreat star cast.”
He credits Kamal Haasan for treading a fi��neline between displaying desperation and betrayal, which were the fi��lm’s underlyingthemes. “Kamal sir conveys the feeling of helplessness quite remarkably when he discoversthat his boss [played by K Vishwanath], the onehe looks up to, was a sellout. ,” says Sreeram, of
an association that dates back a fewdecades preceding Kuruthipunal.
When the fi��lm released a year after its Hindi counterpart in 1995,the response it got was overwhelm
ing. It was ultimately chosen asIndia’s entry for the Oscars thatyear, but was not nominated.
“We all know the process onemust go through to make it into the fi��nal list. For me, it [Os
cars] was not a big deal. Although you could say that
Kuruthipunal had the intensity ofa Hollywood fi��lm,” he adds.
The bigger deal, for Sreeram, waswhen Govind Nihalani came for the
première and called it “a remake thatis original”.
Adrenaline rush PC Sreeramwith Kamal Haasan on the set
* SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Srivatsan S
On Kuruthipunal’s 25thanniversary, cinematographer
fi��lmmaker PC Sreeramdiscusses the events that led to
its making and why itsemotion is relevant even today
It is hard to categorise or guess what AchchamMadam Naanam Payirppu (AMNP) is about.If you have watched the fi��lm’s trailer, it is clearthat debutant director Raja Ramamurthy doesnot want you to get even a hint of the plot.Starring Akshara Haasan, Usha Uthup andMalgudi Shubha among others, AMNP followsthe story of a 19yearold girl, Pavithra (playedby Akshara), who hails from a conservative family. In a Zoom chat, Akshara and Raja discuss the upcoming fi��lm, scheduled to be released on a digital streaming platform soon.Excerpts:
Can you tell us what AMNP isabout?Raja: Growing up in our society,girls are brought up by parents withthese four values: achcham (fear),madam (innocence), naanam(shy), payirppu (chaste). This iswhat she is told she requires to be a‘good woman’. These valuesystems become the central argument in my storyline.
The cast seems unconventional. Whatmade you choose these actors?Raja: I wanted to cast against type. Like Akshara, whose character is completely the opposite to what she is in real life. With Ushama’am, she plays a veteran Carnatic singer,but she is a rockstar in real life. Malgudi Shubha ma’am plays a character with evil shadesbut she is one of the sweetest human beingsyou will come across.
Was it tough playing Pavithra?Akshara: It is a very contrasting role but Rajahad written it so well, and he was clear about
what was required of me. Life becomes easier for an actor when that is the case.
You are releasing the fi��lm on OTTplatform. What are your two
cents on the OTT vs theatredebate?
Raja: Until we fi��nd a vaccine, peoplewill be comfortable watching fi��lms
from the comfort of their homes.Theatres and OTT will have tocoexist. If a movie like Tenetdidn’t do well because peopledid not want to take a chance
with their lives, it speaks volumes. But this isalso the time to start making movies for thebig screen. I am not talking about the massfi��lms we do with huge market heroes, butfi��lms that warrant a big screen watch.
Akshara: We have no choice due to COVID19 but not everyone watches a lot of content online or subscribe to OTT platforms. However, it has defi��nitely grown, and it isexposing people to newer fi��lmmaking stylesbecause of the wide range of content that isavailable.
What are your upcoming projects?Akshara: There are a couple of stories underdiscussion but nothing much I can reveal now.I spent most of lockdown reading, writing andwatching a lot of fi��lms on OTT platforms. I alsokept myself active because it is easy to feel likekids when we have no work, and just sit athome and eat pizza. But as we grow older, weneed to be more active. I have also recentlystarted making preserves and jams, and thatis keeping me busy.
What maketh
a woman?Akshara Haasan and fi��lmmakerRaja Ramamurthy discuss their
upcoming fi��lm Achcham MadamNaanam Payirppu
Values based approach Akshara Haasanwith Raja Ramamurthy while fi��lming AMNP
* SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Pradeep Kumar
The world of Vikram Seth’s A Suitable Boy is a familiar one for MiraNair. The auteur’s latest projecthas been the beautiful BBC showbased on the 1,349page tome.
“It was 1951,” Mira says over a video call from the US. The fi��lmmaker, who turned 63 on October 15,continues, “It was the year my parents got married. My father was acivil servant; he moved from Punjab to Orissa. I have lived in thattime in a very real way. It is an era Ihave known, smelt, enjoyed andloved.”
From Kama Sutra: A Tale ofLove (1996) and Vanity Fair (2004)to Amelia (2009), Mira has workedon period dramas. “I do not set outto make a period drama. For me, itis quite the reverse. It is how tomake a period drama, not feel period at all. How to make it breathewith life and with the unpredictability of life and yet be true in every single detail, to the time it was.Making A Suitable Boy was abouthow to sift through the modernmayhem of current Indian life,away from the frame.”
Making A Suitable Boy was ahuge, monumental and joyful task,says Mira. “I always saw it as cinema, so the horizons were vast andthere was great depth of fi��eld. Inthe scenes with the Ganga, withthe boats and the ghats, we areseeing three or four levels into thehorizon. We had to change everything — from the house, shipsand the sails to what fi��shermenand pilgrims wore. I hope peoplefeel the pulsation of life of the era.In Maheshwar, this lovely villageby the Narmada where we shotBarsaat Mahal, there were thesebeautiful old streets. The peoplewho lived there looked like theybelonged to the landscape. In thehomes that we fi��lmed in Lucknow, I cast the retainers,who had worked in thosehomes for 20, 30, 40years because theylooked like a part andparcel of that place.All this adds tothe authenticityand to thesense of itbrimmingwith life.”
Tanya
written by Britisher Andrew Davies. Would not a South Asianscript writer have been a more aptchoice? “To be honest, yes, but Icame to the party a little laterwhen Andrew had already beenpicked and eight hours of scriptwritten. I loved his distillation. Andrew gave it the television pacethat we needed. I wanted to shiftthe emphasis to being a marriageof the politics of the time and thepersonal journey of Lata and Maanand not have just a Pride and Prejudice kind of vibe of who will shemarry. Lata and Maan were theembodiment of modern India — ofthat India of 1951.”
Does that mean upper caste,middle class, educated familieswere representative of the largerIndian experience of the time?“Oh, no,” Mira clarifi��es. “India isbased in the hinterland. But Vikram Seth’s story is resolutely set inthe anglicised, privileged class.Even though several classes aredepicted, the major characters are
‘Englishsoaked’. I wanted to bringout the truth of these characters.The characters are who they are asVikram wrote them.”
Interwoven culturesWhile Mira has joked about A Suitable Boy being Crown in brown,one wonders what part nostalgiaplays in the appeal of the show.
“It was important for me to holda mirror to what India used to be atthat time—politically and emotionally. Despite the wounds of Partition, there was still a deeply syncretic and interwoven culturebetween Hindu and Muslim, fromthe poetry and music, to thefriendships and the great loves.That absolutely inextricable tapestry is being threatened today. Theyoung of today will not have anyidea of how it could have been. Mymother used to say ‘savere hum Idmanate the or shaam mein Diwali…’ [we would celebrate Id in themorning and Diwali in the evening]. That is not going to be remembered if we are not careful.Our past in A Suitable Boy wasreal, truthful and prickly. It wasnot nostalgia for its own sake, butabout holding a mirror so that theyoung of today can remember atime from whence we came.”
A Suitable Boy will stream onNetfl��ix from October 23
Sifting through time Stills from ASuitable Boy; (below) Mira Nair
* SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT, TAHA AHMAD
Maniktala plays Lata, whose mother wants to fi��nd her a suitable boyand Ishaan Khatter plays Maan,who is in love with the completelyunsuitable Saeeda (Tabu). Both arepractically newcomers. “I am unafraid of casting fi��rst timers. I haveto see the spirit of the character inthe person, that they have whatfeels to me like the essence of thecharacter.”
A dewdrop in action“For instance, I could see the mercurial and charming Maan in Ishaan. It was not fake it was comingfrom within. It was the same withcasting Tanya. A Suitable Boy restson her shoulders. I call Lata a dewdrop in action. She is on the brinkof life, she hasn’t seen everythingyet. But she is also intelligent andvery selfpossessed. Lata has a certain innocence, of observing without fully knowing what life has to
off��er.” Mira is grateful to hercasting directors, Dilip
Shankar, Nandini Shrikentand Karan Mally. “Theycast all my fi��lms. Thiswas a oneyear castingprocess. This is the fi��rstinternational show
that is entirely castand made in In
dia, because I insisted on it.”
The script,however, was
TRUTHFUL AND PRICKLY’
‘OUR PASTWAS REAL,
Mira Nair
describes the
making of A
Suitable Boy as a
huge, monumental
and joyful task
Mini Anthikad Chhibber
CMYK
A ND-NDE
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DELHI THE HINDU
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 202012EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
SHOWCASE
There is something meditative aboutsitting with people who matter andwatching food slowly sizzle; especiallyin these times, when our social liveshave shrunk suddenly and painfully.
With social distancing in place, cities under successive lockdowns sinceMarch, WFH and cooler weather, COVID19 has inadvertently revived oldfashioned family bonding over barbecues in the garden or on small balconies.
“What started as a trial has evolvedinto a weekend ritual,” says Dhruv Ramachandran, a Law student in Delhi,who has been home in Chennai sincethe virus outbreak. With time onhand, Dhruv decided to experimentwith the barbecue set his father ordered online. He cooks with his dad—a barbecue enthusiast — and the duohas tried out Iranian kebabs and Peshawari grills among a host of other recipes using chicken, beef, mutton andseafood. For Dhruv, the process ismore about spending quality timewith family on the verandah in hisbackyard. Delicious food is a bonus.
A lot of Indians have been setting upgrills at home over the past few years.The equipment, charcoal, accessories,
meat and marinade can be bought online. “You learn how to marinate themeat, ignite the coal, and cook themeat… all through trial and error,”says Sayan Majumdar, a managerworking with an MNC in Kolkata, whotook to grilling during the lockdown,experimenting with what he haslearnt from watching American barbecue shows. “For humid Kolkata weather, evenings are the only good time todo this though,” says Sayan, who hashis grill on the balcony.
Ever since the lockdown, Shaun George Joseph says his Kochibasedbrand Pepe Bbq, has seen a spike insales. “I’ve been getting a lot of queries about smaller barbecue grills,” hesays, adding that this period has been
more productive than he expected. Heasked a vendor to make stainless steelequipment and now has a range thatstarts at ₹��800 and goes up to ₹��5,000.
For lockdown grillers, it is a DIYfood adventure. But barbecuing extracts a certain amount of commitment, says Sampurna Gupta Chatterjee, a Delhibased lawyer whosebarbecues are a yearly calendar eventfor her friends. Every New Year’s eve,
she hosts a barbecue on her apartment terrace. “It requires a lot of patience as you need to watch over themeat as it cooks slowly,” she says.
Purists point out that barbecuing isoften confused with grilling. While theformer is smoking the meat in indirecthot air, the latter is cooking the meaton direct heat, says BengalurubasedRoy Abraham Varghese, a marketingcommunications professional, who
has been barbecuing for the past15 years. Pitmaster Roy says helearnt the fi��ne art throughsheer practice.
“It is a vast area. One needsto understand the meats andthe cuts. The wood added to thecoal embers brings out the entirefl��avour profi��le of the meat,” he says.While Roy picks pork butt as his favourite, fi��llet mignon and tomahawk are
his pieces de resistance. While sourcing good meat is a pro
blem in India, pitmasters have foundtheir way around the challenge. JoelRebbi from Kochi showed his butcherYouTube videos of the specifi��c cuts hewanted. Days of trial and error later,he got the butcher to deliver the rightcut. The quality of the meat may notmatch up to international standards,but to make a brisket in spite of theconstraints is rewarding, says Joel,who devoted four years just to masterthe brisket. “Initially, it felt like chewing on bark, but now it melts in themouth,” he says.
“It isn’t only about mulling overmeat; why not some beet?” asks BijalHindocha, a homemaker from Chennai, who says vegetables such as zucchini, broccoli, carrots and beetrootwork very well in a barbecue. “Let’sthink beyond potato and paneer. Achargrilled zucchini tastes just aswonderful,” says Bijal,who tried grilled beetroot recently. Indianspices work very welltoo, she adds. Eggplant, onions, bellpeppers and mushrooms are othervegetarianoptions.
Over hot
Gardens and balconies have become the centre of activity, as the weather gets cooler.With more time at their disposal, families are now discovering the joys of barbecuing
Bond over barbecue Good company and smoked food go well together. (Bottom right) Roy Abraham Varghese with apork rib rack; Grilled tapioca with bird’s eye chilli chutney (centre) * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT AND GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCK
coalsWOOD WORKS
The type of wood added to the coalembers in a barbecue enhances thefl��avour of the meat. Apple, cherry,maple and mesquite wood are the
most soughtafter. Since trees suchas maple and mesquite are not
available in India, barbecueenthusiasts source it through friends.
Some get creative, using wood ofnative fruit trees and even chicory,
for their distinctive fl��avours.AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Anasuya Menon
The Tamil classic song ‘Kalyana Samayal Saadham’ fi��lls theair in the golu room at R Suresh’s Mandavellipakkamresidence.
Inside, more than 50 toydolls have been transformedinto various characters, including Krishna and Ghatotkacha. There are recreationsof seven vital scenes from the1957 fantasy TamilTelugu fi��lmMayabazaar, starring NT Rama Rao, SV Ranga Rao, Savitriand Gemini Ganesan.
Suresh and his son Sakethhave used the last few weeksto recreate Mayabazaar intheir golu this Navratri. Keeping COVID19 social distancingprecautions in mind, the family does not even step into theroom when there are visitors:they give instructions to theGoogle Assistant placed between two dolls in the golu, toplay the relevant scene andmusic.
“I remember watching thisstory as a street play in Vijayawada 40 years ago,” reminisces 60yearold Suresh, a former IT professional with apassion for the arts, “When itwas made into a fi��lm, I wasawestruck by its plot, songsand grandeur.”
Suresh has watched Mayabazaar in Tamil and Telugumultiple times, and introduced it to his 29yearold sonrecently. “It has so many elements — of fantasy, magic and
romance — all packed neatly,”says Saketh. The duo’s love forthe fi��lm shows in its themebased golu, which not onlynarrates the storyline but alsoadds extra elements such asmusic and lighting.
Suresh is known among hisfamily as the one most interested in dolls and miniatures;travelling relatives would always pick up something to gifthim. Over the years, this collection, along with the oneshe bought himself, grew: thelofts of all his rooms are fi��lledwith them.
They take a trip downstairsduring Navratri, metamorphosing into the various characters Suresh plans for themevery year.
The year 2020 saw them
turning into Krishna, Abhimanyu, Sasirekha/Vatsala andGhatotkacha, with Sureshpainstakingly designing special clothes for them to fi��t intothe characters that feature inMayabazaar.
With the lockdown in fulleff��ect over the last fewmonths, Suresh has had tomake do with householditems and a bit of online shopping. “I used a 3D pen to drawa creative jalebi, and some unused CDs became the wheelsof a chariot,” he laughs. He also put his knowledge of engineering and digital arts togood use: there’s a ‘fl��ying’Ghatotkacha attached to arope, and dolls that revolve ina circular fashion using asmall motor fi��tted beneath.
All this is for his family andfriends to witness from acrossthe globe. Due to the pandemic, Suresh and Saketh have ‘eenabled the golu’. Chips in Saketh, “We have timed the entire Mayabazaar story toseven minutes, using GoogleRoutines.”
When they have visitors,Saketh sits in the hall and instructs his eassistant, whichdutifully narrates the tale ofMayabazaar, complete withsound and light. For relativesand friends abroad, the familyplans to have Zoom sessionsevery evening. Says Suresh,“We have celebrated Navratrievery year with a unique golu,but 2020 will remain the mostmemorable.”
How a Chennai fatherson duo recreated South Indianclassic fi��lm Mayabazaar, complete with movingcharacters, for this year’s golu
All decked up R Suresh and Saketh’s ‘eenabled’ display features Krishna, Abhimanyu andGhatotkacha * R RAGU
The superhit golu
Srinivasa Ramanujam
CMYK
A ND-NDE
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THE HINDU DELHI
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With less than two weeks togo before the election day,former U.S. President BarackObama campaigned in Pennsylvania for his former VicePresident and Democraticnominee Joe Biden.
At a rally in Philadelphia,Mr. Obama delivered an impassioned speech, in whichhe painted a picture of a“highly dysfunctional” President, Donald Trump, and hisfailing administration, whilehe made a character andpolicybased case for a BidenHarris administration.
Mr. Obama said Mr.Trump was not interested inthe job and was using thepresidency as a reality showto get attention. He criticisedMr. Trump’s handling of theCOVID19 pandemic, sayingat least 2,22,000 Americanshad died, millions of jobswere gone and 1,00,000small businesses wereclosed. He compared SouthKorea and Canada’s handling of the pandemic to theU.S.’s, which has been farworse in terms of mortalityand infections than the othertwo countries in question.
“Donald Trump wants totake full credit for the economy he inherited and no responsibility for the pandemic
he ignored,” Mr. Obamaadded.
Mr. Obama took a shot atMr. Trump having a bank account in China. The New
York Times had reportedearlier this week that TrumpInternational Hotels operated an account in the country.
“We know that he continues to do business with China because he has got a secret Chinese bank account.How is that possible? How isthat possible?” Mr. Obamasaid. However, the bank account is not technically “secret” as the New York Times
reported it had got the information from an analysis ofMr. Trump’s tax records.
“Listen, can you imagineif I had had a secret Chinesebank account when I wasrunning for reelection? Youthink Fox News might have
been a little concernedabout that? They would’vecalled me ‘Beijing Barry’,”Mr. Obama told theaudience.
Mr. Obama vouched forMr. Biden’s character, sayinghe had empathy and decency. He criticised the Republicans for repealing and notreplacing the Aff��ordableCare Act (Obamacare), andsaid Mr. Biden and his running mate Kamala Harriswould expand Medicare (public health insurance) andcreate green jobs as part ofMr. Biden’s $2 trillion climate plan.
‘Trump’s conduct’Mr. Obama kept returning tothe theme of the President’sconduct. “With Joe and Kamala at the helm, you’re notgoing to have to think about
the crazy things they said every day... You’re not going tohave to argue about them every day... You’ll be able to goabout your lives, knowingthat the President is not going to retweet conspiracytheories about secret cabalsrunning the world or thatNavy Seals didn’t actually killBin Laden. Think about that,the President of the UnitedStates retweeted that,” hesaid, referring to a conspiracy theory that Mr. Trumphad shared, according towhich Mr. Obama and Mr. Biden had U.S. soldiers killedto cover up a plot related toOsama bin Laden.
Mr. Obama said that witha BidenHarris administration, the country would nothave to deal with a Presidentwho threatened people whodisagreed with him.
“We wouldn’t tolerate itfrom a high school principal.We wouldn’t tolerate it froma coach. We wouldn’t tolerate it from a coworker. Wewouldn’t tolerate it in ourown family, except formaybe crazy uncle somewhere, you know?” he said, asking why people were makingexcuses for Mr. Trump’sconduct.
Mr. Trump spent the Wednesday evening campaigningin Gastonia, North Carolina.
Obama rips into Trump at rallyFormer President campaigns for Joe Biden, criticises govt.’s pandemic response
Sriram Lakshman
Washington
Poll pitch: Barack Obama participating in a discussion withlocal offi��cials in Philadelphia on Wednesday. * GETTY IMAGES
Thailand’s premier onThursday revoked an emergency decree that had beenintended to quell prodemocracy rallies, despite itfailing to stamp out dailyprotests demanding his resignation and reforms of theunassailable monarchy.
The studentled prodemocracy movement hasbeen gaining momentumsince midJuly, with mostlyyoung demonstrators callingfor Premier Prayut ChanOCha's removal and a rewriteof a 2017 militaryscriptedconstitution. Some protestleaders have also issued controversial demands to reform the ultrapowerful andwealthy monarchy, whoseinfl��uence permeates everyaspect of the Thai society.
The “severe” emergencymeasures were imposed lastweek after antigovernmentprotesters fl��ashed a threefi��nger salute to a royal motorcade. But the ban on gatherings of more than four people failed to discouragetens of thousands of demonstrators, who amassed dailyaround major Bangkok
intersections.The former military chief
— who masterminded the2014 coup — had indicatedlate Wednesday that he waspreparing to lift the state ofsevere emergency to defusetensions. Mr. Prayut said in atelevised address on Wednesday that the countrymust “step back from theedge of the slippery slopethat can easily slide tochaos”. He had earlier alsocalled for an extraordinarysession of Parliament to discuss the crisis. That sessionwill be held on Monday.
However, a governmentstatement announcing thewithdrawal of the emergency measures on Thursdaysaid the decision was be
cause the political situationhad improved. “The severestate of emergency has decreased and ended into a situation in which governmentoffi��cials and state agenciescan enforce the regularlaws,” it said.
However, revoking theemergency decree was “justa game” for the authoritiesto buy time and reduce tensions, says political analystTitipol Phakdeewanich.“This action has no signifi��cant meaning,” he said, adding that the severe measures should not have beenimposed to begin with. “People have the right to protest,” he said, adding that thiswas enshrined in the Thaiconstitution.
Political situation has improved, says government
Agence France-Presse
Bangkok
Speaking out: Prodemocracy protesters attending a rally inBangkok on Wednesday. * GETTY IMAGES
Amid calls for resignation,Thai PM lifts emergency
The University of Oxford’sBrazilian trial of its vaccinecandidate will continue after the death of a volunteer, the university said onWednesday, adding that anindependent review hadrevealed no safety concerns.
“Following careful assessment of this case inBrazil, there have been noconcerns about safety ofthe clinical trial and the independent review in addition to the Brazilian regulator have recommendedthat the trial should continue,” a spokesman for theuniversity said in a statement.
The vaccine has been licenced to AstraZeneca.
A source familiar withthe matter said the trialwould have been suspended if the volunteer whodied had received the COVID19 vaccine, suggestingthe person was part of thecontrol group that was given a meningitis jab. TheFederal University of SaoPaulo, which is helpingcoordinate phase 3 clinicaltrials in Brazil, said an independent review committee had also recommendedthat the trial continue.
Oxford’s Brazilvaccine trial to continue
Reuters
LONDON
The controversial 20thAmendment to Sri Lanka’sConstitution that envisagesexpansive powers and greater immunity for the Executive President was passed inParliament with a twothirdsmajority, following a twoday debate.
The 20th Amendmentwas the Rajapaksa administration’s fi��rst big test in thelegislature, since it triggeredconcern and resistance fromnot just the political opposition, but also the infl��uentialBuddhist clergy that Sri Lanka’s southern polity venerates.
As many as 156 MPs in the225member House votedfor it, while 65 legislatorsvoted against the Bill.
Signifi��cantly, eight opposition MPs voted in favour ofthe legislation that their parties and leaders not onlyvehemently opposed, but also challenged at the Supreme Court. Following asmany as 39 petitions fi��led byopposition parties and civilsociety groups, the SupremeCourt determined that thepassage of the legislation re
quired only a twothirds majority, except for four clauses that needed additionalpublic approval through areferendum, unless theywere amended in line withthe determination.
Ceremonial roleThe 20th Amendment rollsback Sri Lanka’s 19thAmendment, a 2015 legislation passed with wide support from the Rajapaksacamp — then in Opposition —that sought to clip presidential powers, while strengthening Parliament. Thenew legislation in turn reduces the Prime Minister’srole to a ceremonial one.
In the twoday debate,opposition MPs broadly argued that the Amendmentthreatened to take the country on a path of authoritarianism, giving the Presidentunbridled powers, while government MPs emphasisedthe need for centralisedpower for better governance.
The 20th Amendment’spassage comes at a timewhen the country is facing anew wave of COVID19, withthe number of cases rapidlyincreasing — after Sri Lankacontained the pandemic inthe early months — to 6,028cases and 14 deaths as ofThursday evening.
Sri Lankan Parliament
passes 20th AmendmentIt gives wide powers and immunity to the President
Activists protesting outside Parliament against thecontroversial Amendment in Colombo on Wednesday. * AP
Meera Srinivasan
COLOMBO
China’s 12millionstrongCatholic community. Washington had put pressure onthe Vatican to scrap theagreement, saying it hasfailed to shield Chinese Catholics from persecution.
Both sides agreed to theextension “for two years”,foreign ministry spokesmanZhao Lijian said on Thursday. “The two sides willmaintain close communication and consultation, andcontinue to push forward
A 2018 agreement betweenBeijing and the Vatican wasrenewed on Thursday, despite strident U.S. condemnation and warnings from underground Chinese priestsloyal to Rome that they haveonly become more marginalised since it was signed.
The deal allows both Beijing and the Holy See a say inappointing bishops in an attempt to close a schism in
the process of improving relations.”
China severed ties withthe Holy See in 1951, forcingCatholics to choose betweenmembership of the StaterunChinese Catholic PatrioticAssociation or nonsanctioned churches loyal to thePope. However, while somehave hailed the deal, othersfear that China’s underground churches will become even more marginalised.
Agreement allows both China and the Holy See a say in it
Agence France-Presse
Beijing
Vatican, Beijing renew deal on appointment of bishops
Threetime Lebanese Prime Minister SaadHariri was renamed to the post on Thursdayto create a cabinet that can lift the countryout of its worst economic crisis in decades.
Mr. Hariri, 50, made his comeback almost
a year after stepping down under pressurefrom a protest movement demanding anoverhaul of Lebanon's political system. Thecountry is under international pressure toform a crisis cabinet to address a plummeting economy made worse by COVID19 andthe blast at the Beirut port on August 4.
Agence France-presse
Beirut
Saad Hariri renamed Lebanon PM
A Greek court on Thursdayruled to imprison the leadership of the extremerightwing Golden Dawnparty, following their convictions for running theparty like a criminal organisation, but granted suspended sentences to fi��ve ofthe party’s 18 former lawmakers, who were convicted of lesser charges.
The ruling came aftertwo weeks of summationsby defense lawyers following the prosecutor’s recommendation that allformer Golden Dawn lawmakers be allowed to remain free pending appeal.
The party was foundedas a neoNazi group in the1980s and rose to prominence during Greece’s fi��nancial crisis. It wasblamed for planning multiple hate crimes, includingbrutal street attacks on immigrants and leftwing activists. Eleven former partyleaders convicted of simpleparticipation received sentences of between fi��ve andseven years.
The decision ends a fi��veyearlong trial involving 68defendants, dozens of lawyers, and encompassingfour cases, including the2013 fatal stabbing of leftwing Greek rap singer Pavlos Fyssas and physical attacks on Egyptian fi��shermen and leftwing activists.Fyssa’s killer, Giorgos Roupakias, was also ordered tobegin serving his life sentence. Lawyers representing the victims expressedsatisfaction with the decision.
Golden Dawnleaders sent to prison
Associated Press
ATHENS
Egypt executed 49 prisoners in just 10days in October, Human Rights Watchsaid on Thursday, calling for authorities to“immediately halt” carrying out deathsentences.
“Egypt’s mass executions of scores ofpeople in a matter of days is outrageous,”said HRW’s Joe Stork. The systematic absence of fair trials in Egypt, especially inpolitical cases, makes every death sentence a violation of the right to life,” Mr.Stork said in a statement. Of the 49 killed,15 were men convicted for alleged involvement in political violence.
‘Egypt executed 49prisoners in 10 days’
Agence France-Presse
Beirut
International observers declared Bolivia’s presidential election transparentand Luis Arce’s incominggovernment legitimate, asan offi��cial but incompletetally showed a huge victoryfor the expresident EvoMorales’ protege.
“People voted freely andthe result was clear andoverwhelming...” said Manuel Gonzalez, head of theobserver mission for theOrganization of AmericanStates (OAS).
Arce’s victoryis legitimate,says OAS
Agence France-Presse
Bolivia
CMYK
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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 202014EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
NIFTY 50
PRICE CHANGE
Adani Ports. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 358.35. . . . . . . . . 3.00
Asian Paints. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 2099.90. . . . . . -14.40
Axis Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 510.30. . . . . . . . . 8.85
Bajaj Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 3006.20. . . . . . -11.80
Bajaj Finserv. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 5873.40. . . . . . -30.75
Bajaj Finance . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 3314.45. . . . . . . 81.60
Bharti Airtel . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 430.65. . . . . . . 11.65
BPCL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 349.35. . . . . . . . -0.20
Britannia Ind . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 3458.35. . . . . . . 61.10
Cipla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 757.50. . . . . . . . -9.60
Coal India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 115.80. . . . . . . . . 0.70
Divis Lab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 3093.50. . . . . . . 14.55
Dr Reddys Lab . . . . . . . .. . . . 5022.00. . . . . . -24.75
Eicher Motors. . . . . . . . .. . . . 2159.45. . . . . . -21.90
GAIL (India). . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . 88.65. . . . . . . . . 1.00
Grasim Ind . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 791.65. . . . . . . . -0.10
HCL Tech. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 866.25. . . . . . . . -4.80
HDFC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 2042.55. . . . . . . . -6.20
HDFC Bank. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1233.30. . . . . . -13.40
HDFC Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 561.10. . . . . . . . -1.60
Hero MotoCorp . . . . . .. . . . 3081.50. . . . . . -96.85
Hindalco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 184.45. . . . . . . . -1.50
Hind Unilever . . . . . . . . .. . . . 2179.35. . . . . . . 16.20
ICICI Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 412.90. . . . . . . . -7.40
IndusInd Bank . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 608.75. . . . . . -19.35
Infosys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1129.05. . . . . . -19.30
Indian OilCorp . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . 77.70. . . . . . . . . 1.70
ITC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 168.55. . . . . . . . . 0.90
JSW Steel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 325.50. . . . . . . . . 2.55
Kotak Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1393.05. . . . . . . . -0.25
L&T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 936.30. . . . . . . 11.85
M&M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 604.35. . . . . . . . . 3.50
Maruti Suzuki . . . . . . . . .. . . . 6811.55. . . . . . -50.30
Nestle India Ltd. . . . .. 15909.45. . . -121.40
NTPC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . 84.65. . . . . . . . . 2.35
ONGC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . 68.85. . . . . . . . . 1.05
PowerGrid Corp . . . . .. . . . . . 165.10. . . . . . . . . 1.35
Reliance Ind . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 2106.95. . . . . . -17.65
SBI Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 780.80. . . . . . . . -4.55
State Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 203.30. . . . . . . . -0.45
Shree Cement . . . . . . . .. 20991.70. . . -155.80
Sun Pharma . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 485.55. . . . . . . . -4.65
Tata Motors . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 133.50. . . . . . . . . 3.25
Tata Steel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 409.65. . . . . . . . . 5.60
TCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 2671.15. . . . . . . . -4.25
Tech Mahindra . . . . . . .. . . . . . 837.45. . . . . . . . -8.45
Titan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1229.45. . . . . . -15.25
UltraTech Cement. .. . . . 4614.55. . . . . . -14.55
UPL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 454.50. . . . . . . . . 0.30
Wipro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 344.45. . . . . . . . . 1.00
EXCHANGE RATES
Indicative direct rates in rupees a unitexcept yen at 4 p.m. on October 22
CURRENCY TT BUY TT SELL
US Dollar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 73.33. . . . . . . 73.65
Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 86.83. . . . . . . 87.23
British Pound. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 96.06. . . . . . . 96.49
Japanese Yen (100) . .. . 70.02. . . . . . . 70.33
Chinese Yuan . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 10.98. . . . . . . 11.03
Swiss Franc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 80.87. . . . . . . 81.22
Singapore Dollar . . . . . . .. . 54.03. . . . . . . 54.28
Canadian Dollar. . . . . . . . .. . 55.78. . . . . . . 56.03
Malaysian Ringitt . . . . . .. . 17.69. . . . . . . 17.77
Australian Dollar . . . . . . .. . 52.04. . . . . . . 52.28
Source:Indian Bank
market watch
22-10-2020 % CHANGE
Sensex dddddddddddddddddddddd 40,558 ddddddddddddd-0.37
US Dollardddddddddddddddddddd 73.54 ddddddddddddddd0.05
Gold ddddddddddddddddddddddddddd 51,405 ddddddddddddd-0.02
Brent oil ddddddddddddddddddddd 42.71 ddddddddddddddd0.28
In a fresh signal that the government could unveilanother stimulus packagesoon, the Principal Economic Advisor in the Finance Ministry on Thursday said thatthe time was right for a generic push to spur demandin the economy.
The offi��cial’s remarkscome on the back of FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharaman’s statement on Tuesdaythat she had not shut thedoor on another relief andstimulus package to revivethe economy, which hadshrunk an estimated 23.9%in the AprilJune quarter.
“The general problem isthat there has been a shockto the system and we need torebuild demand,” Mr. Sanyalsaid at the CII Financial Markets summit. “Some of it is
coming back naturally, butnot in every sector such ashospitality.” Mr. Sanyalstressed that the governmenthad been ‘reticent to providea large demand stimulus atthe time of the lockdown asthere was no point in pushing the accelerator with onefoot on the brake.’
“We took a call that if weuse up all our resources during April, May, June, July orAugust, then we won’t haveresources to push later on.Now, as we are getting off�� thebrake, we do want to pressthe accelerator,” stressed Mr.Sanyal. “The time has comefor a generic push for rein
fl��ating demand in a fullersort of way; not just providesafety nets as we had beendoing so far,” he added.
‘Think big’ With Prime Minister Narendra Modi expected to meetindustry captains and largeglobal investors soon, Mr. Sanyal urged domestic businesses to refrain from seeking sectoral sops such asinterest subventions.
“Many of you will be interacting with the PM soon. Dotalk to him, this is a momentin history that we do want todo big things. So, please donot go with the kind of ideasoften seen in these meetings,seeking some subvention…Please do not waste our timewith this. Think big. Ask forbig things and if it can bedone, we will do it,” he said.Mr. Sanyal pointed out how
‘diffi��cult’ changes like labourlaws and agricultural marketliberalisation had beenpushed through.
Terming reforms in the legal system and the policecritical, Mr. Sanyal said a national debate was needed topush them through. “Thesingle biggest constraint toIndia’s growth is the poorquality of contract enforcement and legal resolution,”he added.
The nittygritties for including Indian bonds in global bond indices were alsobeing ironed out, Mr Sanyalsaid. “Those who make thebond indices – JP Morgan,Bloomberg, Barclays… theyhave looked at [the changeswe have made on ownershiplimits that restricted India’sinclusion], are happy with itand holding consultationswith their investors.”
Time is ripe for a demand push: Sanyal‘Govt. had been reticent about a large stimulus earlier so as to conserve resources for the future’
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI
Wide canvas: Mr. Sanyal urged fi��rms to ask for big things andnot seek sops such as interest subventions. * RANJEET KUMAR
Foreign institutional investors’ holdings in Reliance Industries (RIL) rose to a record high of 27.2% in thequarter ended September30, according to a regulatory fi��ling by RIL.
The statement showed foreign portfolio investorsholding 165.8 crore shares,or 25.2% of the total shareholding. In the previousquarter, foreign investorsheld 24.72%. Besides, qualifi��ed institutional buyersheld another 2.05% stake atthe end of September, taking the total to 27.2%.
In an investor note, JPMorgan said, “As has beenthe case now for two years,FIIs’ stakes in RIL hit newhighs and increased by 60bps quarteronquarter. Sur
prisingly, mutual funds’(MFs) stake declined by 25basis points (bps) and wasthe second straight quarterof stake decline,” it added.
The last time domesticMFs reduced their holdingin RIL over two straightquarters was in 2016, it said,adding domestic MFs held5.12% of RIL as of September30, down from 5.37% in theprevious quarter.
Foreign funds raise stakein Reliance to record 27.2%MFs’ stake falls for 2nd straight quarter
Press Trust of India
New Delhi
Bajaj Auto Ltd. reported a19% decline in net profi��t to₹��1,138 crore for the quarterended September 30, from ayear earlier. The companyattributed this to lower treasury income and government restrictions on exportbenefi��ts.
The company’s turnoverduring the period fell 8% to₹��7,442 crore. Revenue fromoperations declined 7% to₹��7,156 crore. The companysaid optimisation of fi��xedcosts had helped in improving the margin profi��le.
Total unit sales during thequarter was 10% lower at1.053,337 from a year earlier.
“Domestic twowheelersregistered a strong turna
round in the fi��rst half of thequarter driven by pentupdemand,” the company saidin a regulatory fi��ling.
“While the exact festivespike is awaited, early signsshow indications of arecovery.”
It added that domesticcommercial vehicle (CV) volumes continued to remainmuted and was dependant
on adequate demand forshortdistance mobilityreturning.
‘Cargo fares better’“Within CV, cargo has faredbetter than passenger andour share has increased to37% which is the highest ever. Overall, our market sharewas 53.3%,” it said.
September recorded thehighestever sales in exportsat 2,12,000 units.
“Strong revival of demandwas witnessed in LatinAmerica and Africa whileASEAN continues to beweak; Sri Lanka has stoppedall vehicle imports. Thegrowth in Latam is driven bythe sports segment, namelyPulsar and Dominar,” thecompany said.
Unit sales fall 10% yearonyear; cost control helps margins
Special Correspondent
MUMBAI
Bajaj Auto Q2 net drops 19%
Telecom infrastructurefi��rm Bharti Infratel onThursday posted a 24% decline in consolidated netprofi��t to ₹��733 crore for thesecond quarter ended September 30, from a yearearlier.
Revenue inched up 2%to ₹��3,695 crore.
Chairman Akhil Guptasaid that the National Company Law Tribunal had accorded approval to themerger of Indus and BhartiInfratel.
“The fi��ling with the Registrar of Companies afterthe fi��nal closing based onagreed closing adjustmentsis likely to be done within30 days,” Mr. Gupta added.
Bharti InfratelQ2 net profi��tdeclines 24%
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI
The smartphone segment inIndia rebounded after thelockdown to touch an alltime high of 50 million unitsin the September quarter,with Chinese companiescollectively holding 76%market share, according toresearch fi��rm Canalys.
“Smartphone shipmentsin India recovered in Q32020, posting 8% growth to50 million units [from 46.2million units in the year earlier period]. This is an alltime record for smartphoneshipments in a single quarter in India,” Canalys said.
Xiaomi remained themarket leader with 26.1%share, shipping 13.1 million
units. Samsung reclaimedthe second place from Vivowith 10.2 million units(20.4% share).
Vivo had 17.6% share (8.8million units), while Realmehad 17.4% share (8.7 millionunits) and Oppo had 12.1%share (6.1 million units).
Apple regained momentum in India in Q3 with doubledigit growth to about 8lakh units.
‘Smartphone market hitsrecord 50 mn units in Q3’China fi��rms garner 76% share: Canalys
Press Trust of India
New Delhi Aurobindo Pharma sharestanked almost 7% intradayon Thursday on the back ofthe U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) issuing a warning letter to theoral solid manufacturingfacility of subsidiary AuroLife Pharma in New Jersey,U.S. The shares ended theday 2.84% lower at ₹��782.45.
Stating that the subsidiary had received a warningletter from the USFDA, thefi��rm said that in June theregulator had issued an Offi��cial Action Indicated status for the facility. “The existing business from thisfacility will not be impacted,” Aurobindo Pharmasaid in an exchange fi��ling.
Aurobindotanks on FDAwarning to unit
Special Correspondent
HYDERABAD
IN BRIEF
Cognizant to acquire IIoTcompany Bright Wolf BENGALURU
Cognizant said it would
acquire U.S.based Bright
Wolf, a privatelyheld
technology services provider
specialising in custom
Industrial Internet of Things
(IIoT) solutions for Fortune
1000 clients, for an
undisclosed sum. This is
Cognizant’s eighth
acquisition in 2020 aimed at
accelerating growth in IoT,
cloud, AI and analytics and
digital engineering, it said.
Burger King fi��les IPOpapers to raise ₹��542 cr. NEW DELHI
Burger King India Ltd., a
quickservice restaurant
chain, has fi��led draft papers
with markets regulator SEBI
to raise ₹��542 crore through
fresh issuance of shares in an
IPO. As per the draft red
herring prospectus,the IPO
comprises fresh issue of
equity shares aggregating up
to ₹��542 crore and an off��er for
sale of up to 6 crore equity
shares by QSR Asia, the
promoter. PTI
QThree Techpark, ABAJto set up TV, AC plant AHMEDABAD
Bengalurubased QThree
Techpark has partnered ABAJ
Group to set up a television
and airconditioner
manufacturing facility near
Mehsana in Gujarat. The unit
would be outfi��tted with
robotic technology and
machinery to meet a demand
for 25 lakh LED TVs and six
lakh airconditioners a year.
The companies said they
would invest ₹��1,000 crore to
set up the unit.
Public sector lender IndianBank has posted a standalone net profi��t of ₹��412 crorefor the second quarter ended September, against a netloss of ₹��1,755 crore, mainlyon account of a 29% rise innoninterest income.
“This has been a quarterof strong growth in all keyparameters,” PadmajaChunduru, MD & CEO, Indian Bank told the media.
“The bank has recorded a40% growth in operatingprofi��t and earned a net profi��t of ₹��412 crore during thequarter,” she said.
“The performance of Q2is better than Q1. Going forward, we expect 810% uptake in credit growth duringthe current fi��scal.”
Allahabad Bank had
merged with the IndianBank as on April 1. At thattime, Allahabad Bank carried accumulated lossesworth ₹��19,000 crore. Net interest income rose 32% to₹��4,144 crore.
Gross nonperforming assets (NPAs) declined to9.89% of gross advances,from 12.64%, while net NPAsdropped to 2.96%, from4.59%, of net advances.
Indian Bank posts profi��ton noninterest income Operating profi��t rose 40% in Q2: CMDSpecial Correspondent
Chennai
Padmaja Chunduru
Tube Investments of IndiaLtd. (TII), a Murugappagroup fi��rm, has reported a6.67% increase in standalone net profi��t for the second quarter ended September 2020 to ₹��96 crore.
During the period underreview, revenue dipped to₹��1,087 crore from ₹��1,113crore in the correspondingyearearlier period, thecompany said in a regulatory fi��ling.
TII’s engineering division’s revenue grew to ₹��565crore from ₹��554 crore,while the revenue of its cycles and accessories unitdeclined to ₹��212 crore from₹��217 crore.
The revenue of metalformed products contracted to ₹��353 crore from ₹��379crore, the company said.
TII net rises6.7%, sales dipat cycles unit
Special Correspondent
Chennai
Pharmaceutical manufacturer Granules India has received marketing approvalfrom the U.S. Food andDrug Administration (USFDA) for Potassium ChlorideExtended Release TabletsUSP, 10 mEq (750 mg) and20 mEq (1,500 mg).
The product is bioequivalent to the reference listeddrug (RLD) KDur and indicated in the treatment ofpatients with hypokalemia.Potassium Chloride Extended Release TabletsUSP, 10 mEq and 20 mEqhad U.S. generic sales ofaround $204 million forthe twelve months endedAugust 2020, a releasefrom the company said, citing IQVIA Health numbers.
The drug will be manufactured at the Granules’manufacturing facility inGagillapur, Hyderabad.
Granules’potassium pillgets FDA nod
Special Correspondent
HYDERABAD
Commercial vehicle manufacturer Ashok Leyand Ltd.(ALL) is planning to increaseits market share in the intermediate commercial vehicle(ICV) segment from the current over 20% to 30%, according to a top offi��cial.
“We have been steadilygaining market share in theICV segment for the pasteight years and our brand,Boss, has been leading thatgrowth,” said Anuj Kathuria,COO, Ashok Leyland.
“From a 6% market sharein FY12, we are now sellingover 20% of the ICVs in theIndian market,” he said.“The plan now is to take themarket share to 30%.”
The company on Thursday rolled out the Boss LEand LX trucks with iGen6BS VI technology. These twovehicles will address the 11.1
tonne to 14.05 tonne grossvehicle weight market.
“ICV is the fastestgrowing segment. It has alsobeen recovering from theCOVID19 impact due to demand from construction,mining and ecommercesegments,” he said.
“With the launch of thesetwo trucks, we now have acomplete portfolio. Thesenew vehicles address a fastgrowing segment that demands high uptime for longdistances. The volumes areexpected to pick up fromOctober,” he added.
The vehicles are pricedfrom ₹��18 lakh (exshowroomMumbai, New Delhi andChennai).
Ashok Leyland aims toboost ICV share to 30%Unveils ‘Boss’ trucks costing ₹��18 lakh
Special Correspondent
Chennai <> The intermediate
CV segment is the
fastest-growing
Anuj Kathuria
COO, Ashok Leyland
RBI to buy ₹��20,000 cr.of GSecs on October 29MUMBAI
The Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) on Thursday announced
that following a review of
the current liquidity and
fi��nancial conditions, it had
decided to purchase
Government securities for an
aggregate amount of
₹��20,000 crore under Open
Market Operations (OMO) on
October 29. The multi
security auction will use the
multiple price method.
CMYK
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THE HINDU DELHI
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2020 15EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
SUDOKU
Solution to puzzle 13073 Solution to yesterday’s Sudoku
DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
In Srimad Bhagavatam, Lord Krishna tells Uddhava the storyof a rich, but stingy merchant of Avanti, said P.T. Seshadri, ina discourse. When the merchant lost all his wealth, he realised the impermanence of wealth, turned over a new leafand became a sanyasi. But people did not believe he was atrue sanyasi, for they remembered how wicked he hadbeen. They grabbed his danda, polluted his food, tore hisgarments and beat him up. Yet, he ignored all this and continued with his meditation.
When asked how he could be indiff��erent to such cruelty,he said, “For my sorrow or joy, my body is not the reason.God is not the reason either. My atma is not the reason. It ismy mind that is the cause for joy or sorrow. The manas,trapped in the three gunas, makes us do karmas, So, we become attached to the world.”
The man who questioned the sanyasi then asked him howto control the mind. The sanyasi replied: “Do your svadharma. Daana is important. So, give generously to others. Listen to the recitation of the Vedas, Puranas and Itihasas. Singthe names of the Lord. Nama sankeerthana is important. Allthese actions will calm the mind. The senses are under thecontrol of the mind. So, if you do not control the mind, youcannot control the indriyas. If you bite your tongue, whichof your indriyas can be blamed for the pain you experience— the tongue or the teeth? Neither of them is at fault. Likewise, if you do not control your mind, can you blame othersfor your plight? Sorrows that result because of your actionscannot be blamed on others. If you do not control mind, youwill treat others with discrimination. You will see some asfriends and some as enemies. Only one who has controlledhis mind will take to the right path, and seek moksha.”
FAITH
Mind control + 13074(set by Gridman)
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■ ACROSS
1 Such a story remains secret (6)
4 Troublesome maths — a problem that leaves one breathless (6)
9 Account given by setter reaches pinnacle (4)
10 Tryout VII’s turning out to show artistry (10)
11 Communicate one man’s role (6)
12 Total loss — author doesn’t fi��nish, gentleman doesn’t begin (53)
13 It’s the sign of a celebrity (9)
15 Put down cellist’s fi��rst record (4)
17 Among a small number there’s an engineer, one leading a high life
(4)
18 Sacking for girl’s prayer book (9)
20 Conrad is terribly caustic (8)
21 Nothing good in remote haunt (6)
23 Involving two sides of broken aspirin tab (10)
24 Shell out about fi��fty for game (4)
25 Dispatched refi��ned heads off to solicit (6)
26 Worry about the queen’s hunt (6)
■ DOWN
1 You can’t get a word out of such a person (15)
2 A word of thanks with article and letter (5)
3 Burning issue with news leaving small rest room (8)
5 Senseless boss entertains swine no end (6)
6 Cry “Thesis produces wild laughter” (9)
7 Yet its ticks will be real and effective (10,5)
8 Peak costs stifl��e new and primarily stingy person likely to succeed
(5,8)
14 Bank facility that’s to one’s discredit? (9)
16 Rise attributable to cardinal (8)
19 Can tie be established so it’s maternally related? (6)
22 The hand that gives one the edge (5)
SCAN TO PLAY
On his day, Manish Pandey can be devastating
with a bat in his hands. Rajasthan Royals was at the receiving end of his beautiful onslaught at the DubaiInternational Stadium onThursday.
Chasing what looked likean underpar target of 155,his unbeaten 83 (47b, 4x4,8x6) helped Sunrisers Hyderabad post an eightwicketwin after three straight defeats. His 140run stand forthe unbroken third wicketwith Vijay Shankar (52 notout, 51b, 6x4) ensured RRhad little chance after JofraArcher had made earlyinroads.
David Warner's men, witheight points, have nowcaught up with RR and KXIP,as the battle for a place in theplayoff��s hots up in the lowerhalf of the table.
Warner, Archer’s bunnyThe chase had begun disastrously, though, as Archer extended his stranglehold overWarner, removing him withthe fourth ball of the innings.
The delivery moved awayto take the outside edge andBen Stokes justifi��ed SteveSmith's decision to have a second slip with a diving catch.It was the sixth time in thelast seven innings that Archer had dismissed theAustralian.
Archer dealt another severe blow in his next over, thistime with a ball that cameback in sharply, at 149kmph.
It was too good for JonnyBairstow, who was bowledthrough the gate.
This meant SRH’s twomost successful batsmen,both with over 300 runs inthe tournament, were backin the dugout inside the thirdover, with the score on 16. Italso meant that Pandey hadan opportunity to showcasehis talent. He stroked the ballwell from the beginning, hit
ting two boundaries off�� Kartik Tyagi.
In the following over, hesmashed two sixes off�� BenStokes, including one with astunning fl��ick over squareleg. Pandey timed his shotswell and paced his inningswonderfully. At the otherend, Vijay Shankar was growing in confi��dence too. By thetime Archer was broughtback after his twoover
burst, it was too late. He waseven hit for three successivefours by Vijay Shankar.
Earlier, RR struggled afterbeing put in. None of the batsmen were able to converttheir starts against tight bowling, especially by RashidKhan. Stokes (30, 32b, 2x4)and Sanju Samson (36, 26b,3x4, 1x6) put on 56 for the second wicket before it wasbroken by Jason Holder, who
made his fi��rst IPL match infour years count by takingthree wickets.
Pandey’s masterclass helps Sunrisers fl��atten RoyalsHis sensational 83 n.o. is complemented by Vijay Shankar and Holder’s eff��orts; Rajasthan batsmen manage belowpar 154
Sports Bureau
The dazzlers: Manish Pandey and Vijay Shankar became the fi��rst Indian pair to forge a century partnership for Sunrisers. * BCCI/IPL
IPL 2020 Its campaign turning frombad to worse, Chennai SuperKings is expected to try out afew younger players when ittakes on Mumbai Indianshere on Friday.
CSK can still get to 14points if it wins its remainingfour games, giving it an outside chance of making theplayoff��s.
Things have gone awryfor CSK since the victory over MI in the tournamentopener.
The team has lost the services of the injured DwayneBravo. Captain M.S. Dhonihas not been at his best and,barring Faf du Plessis, norhave his teammates. Theteam’s persistence with astruggling Kedar Jadhav hascome in for a lot of fl��ak and itremains to be seen if hemakes way for either N. Jagadeesan or Ruturaj Gaikwad.
MI won fi��ve games in arow before KXIP halted thejuggernaut in a double Super Over on Sunday.
However, a wellroundedand consistent MI couldprove too much for CSK.
Super Kings have to hang on for dear life
N. Jagadeesan... will he get an opportunity to prove his case? * BCCI/IPL
Press Trust of India
Sharjah
Having obtained the requisite government clearances,Cricket Australia (CA) hasshared the provisional itinerary of India’s forthcomingtour with the BCCI.
Unless the “teething issues” raised by the BCCI result in a standoff��, the tour isset to begin with the fi��rstODI in Sydney on November27 and culminate with thefourth Test in Brisbane fromJanuary 15 next year.
While the BCCI is yet toconfi��rm the itinerary, TheHindu understands that ithas no problems with theschedule.
Impending issuesThe impending issues, asconfi��rmed by a BCCI insider,have more to do with thesize of the touring entourageand whether the players’ families will be allowed to travel with them.
“CA has advised familiesof players to be barred from
travelling, considering thesensitivity and sanctity ofthe biobubble. But given theprolonged duration of thebubble the players will remain in, it would be in theirinterest if the families can bewith them in Australia, atleast for some time. Hopefully, the issue will be sortedout soon,” revealed the BCCIinsider.
Despite the itinerary notformally being made public,the Test specialists, alongwith the coaching and support staff��, are set to arrive inDubai by Sunday.
Once they complete theirquarantine, they can traintogether before the touringparty departs for Sydneyfrom Dubai after the IPL fi��nal on November 10.
It is also learnt that the Indian team management hasrequested the BCCI for a psychologist and motivationaltrainer in Australia to betterhandle the challenges of living in the biobubble.
India’s Australia tour greenlit,set to begin with Sydney ODIBCCI wants CA to allow players’ families to travel
Amol Karhadkar
MUMBAI
A lot of credit for Delhi Capitals’ stay at the top of thepoints table is being attributed to Purple Cap holder Kagiso Rabada. But he wasquick to point out severalother performers responsible for the team’s impressiveshowing.
Rabada, during Thursday’s press conference,backed his response withfacts. “We’ve seven playerswho’ve won (eight) ManoftheMatch awards… thereare matchwinners galore. Itshows all of us are hungry towin. Every bowler has bowled well. It is just that I happen to have the purple cap.That’s it!”
The team’s award winnersso far are Shikhar Dhawan(twice), Anrich Nortje, R.Ashwin, Axar Patel, ShreyasIyer, Prithvi Shaw and Marcus Stoinis.
Open mindHe praised Nortje for his impressive eff��orts. “He’s bowling really well. He has a lotof pace. He’s always willingto learn and open to newideas, and I think that’s a
great trait to have. Anrichand I are always giving ourbest for our team.”
About the conditions inthe UAE, Rabada said: “I feelthere is seam movement sometimes. But all the pitcheshave defi��nitely sloweddown, so it’s pretty similarto India, but it’s a diff��erentkind of slow. I feel the conditions in the UAE have something for everyone.”
He was lavish in his praiseof skipper Shreyas. “Shreyashas been really unbelieva
ble. Leading overseasplayers on a big stage is ahuge task. Shreyas is a just anormal guy who is chilledout. When we get on to thefi��eld, he is a captain who hasto make decisions. I am sureRicky (Ponting) is helpinghim. Shreyas has many toolsaround him, and he hasused them well so far.
“It’s a very liberal environment in our team — not adictatorship — which is oneof the reasons we’ve beenreally successful.”
Capitals are hungry to win: Rabada
Bonding well: Delhi Capitals has gelled as a unit and this hasrefl��ected in its performance. * BCCI/IPL
RAKESH RAO
NEW DELHI
The top 30 womencricketers from Indiaarrived here onThursday for theWomen’s T20 Challengescheduled to be held inSharjah from November4 to 9. They willundergo a sixdayisolation, with tests onthe fi��rst, third and fi��fthdays, before enteringthe ‘biobubble.’
“Let’s hear it for ourgirls! Hello UAE! TheSupernovas,Trailblazers, Velocityhave arrived. CANNOTWAIT forWomensT20Challenge,”IPL tweeted.
The teams will be ledby Mithali Raj, SmritiMandhana andHarmanpreet Kaur andthe tournament willmark the beginning ofthe Indian women’scricket season.
Indianwomen inUAE for T20Challenge Press Trust of India
DUBAI
RAJASTHAN ROYALSRobin Uthappa run out 19 (13b,2x4, 1x6), Ben Stokes b Rashid30 (32b, 2x4), Sanju Samson bHolder 36 (26b, 3x4, 1x6), JosButtler c Nadeem b Vijay Shankar 9 (12b), Steve Smith c Manish b Holder 19 (15b, 2x4), RiyanParag c Warner b Holder 20(12b, 2x4, 1x6), Rahul Tewatia(not out) 2 (3b), Jofra Archer(not out) 16 (7b, 1x4, 1x6); Extras (w3): 3; Total (for six wktsin 20 overs): 154.
FALL OF WICKETS130 (Uthappa, 3.3 overs), 286(Samson, 11.4), 386 (Stokes,12.1), 4110 (Buttler, 15.3), 5134 (Smith, 18.1), 6135 (Parag,18.2).
SUNRISERS BOWLINGSandeep 40310, Holder 40333, Vijay Shankar 30151,Natarajan 40460, Rashid 40201, Nadeem 1090.
SUNRISERS HYDERABADDavid Warner c Stokes b Archer4 (4b, 1x4), Jonny Bairstow bArcher 10 (7b, 1x4, 1x6), ManishPandey (not out) 83 (47b, 4x4,8x6), Vijay Shankar (not out) 52(51b, 6x4); Extras (lb1, w6): 7;Total (for two wkts in 18.1 overs): 156.
FALL OF WICKETS14 (Warner, 0.4), 216 (Bairstow, 2.4).
ROYALS BOWLINGArcher 40212, Rajpoot 10110, Tyagi 3.10420, Stokes20240, Shreyas Gopal 40320, Tewatia 40250. Toss: SRH.Man-of-the-Match: Pandey.
SRH won by eight wicketswith 11 balls to spare.
SCOREBOARD
Mohammed Siraj was elated to have fi��nally come upwith the “magical performance” he had alwayshoped to produce forRoyal Challengers Bangalore. The speedster’s threefor eight was instrumentalin RCB’s thumping eightwicket win over KolkataKnight Riders onWednesday.
“I get a lot of supportfrom RCB fans, staff�� andothers,” said Siraj. “I hadalways hoped for such amagical performance. Every season I wanted to dosomething diff��erent... something good for RCB.And fi��nally the magicalperformance happened.”
“At fi��rst, it didn't feel likethe ball would swingmuch. When we enteredthe fi��eld, Virat [Kohli]asked me to get ready forthe new ball. Bowling withthe new ball gives you a different kind of confi��denceand I backed myself to deliver,” Siraj added.
‘My magicalperformancecame true’
Sports Reporter
BENGALURU
CMYK
A ND-NDE
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DELHI THE HINDU
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 202016EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
SPORT
Portuguese Grand Prix:Practice, SS Select 2 (SD &HD), 2.25 p.m. & 7.25 p.m. Premier League: SS Select 2(SD & HD), 12.15 a.m.(Saturday)Serie A: Sony Ten 2 (SD &HD), 12.10 a.m. (Saturday)PGA Tour: Eurosport (SD &HD), 2.30 a.m. (Saturday)
TV PICKS
Julia Goerges callsit a dayBERLIN
Germany's Julia Goerges, a
Wimbledon semifinalist in
2018, announced her
retirement from tennis on
Wednesday. The 31yearold,
World No. 45 won seven
singles and five doubles titles
on the WTA Tour. AFP
IN BRIEF
Altamash to play Jaisonfor top honours NEW DELHI
Altamash Saifi scored a 5212,
541, 428, 1938, 6412,
3219 victory over Sunil
Kumar in the semifinals of
the Delhi State Suresh
Sharma memorial 6Red
snooker championship. In the
final, Altamash will face
Jaison Malhotra.
World junior badmintonchampionship cancelledNEW DELHI
The 2020 World junior
badminton championship, to
be held in New Zealand in
January, was on Thursday
cancelled due to the
uncertainty resulting from
the COVID19 pandemic. PTI
Bayern Munich began its defence of the ChampionsLeague title in ominous fashion by crushing Atletico Madrid 40 on Wednesday,while Liverpool and Manchester City also won butReal Madrid suff��ered a shockdefeat.
Madrid, the record 13timeEuropean champion, wentdown to a 32 home lossagainst Shakhtar Donetsk,showing how far Zinedine Zidane’s side is just now fromthe standards being set byBayern.
Kingsley Coman putBayern ahead against Atletico in Group A and laterscored a stunning individualeff��ort to wrap up the victoryat an empty Allianz Arena.
Long rangerIn between Leon Goretzkaand Corentin Tolisso were also on target for the Germanchampion, with the latter’sstrike a stunner fromlongrange.
It was Bayern’s 12th consecutive Champions Leaguewin while the result for Atletico equalled its worst defeat
under Diego Simeone.Bayern next goes to Russia
to play Lokomotiv Moscow,which battled back to draw22 at Red Bull Salzburg.
Depleted ShakhtarReal was 30 down at halftime against a depleted Shakhtar and fell short with a secondhalf fi��ghtback.
Strikes from Tete and Manor Solomon, either side of aRaphael Varane owngoal,gave the Ukrainian champion a threegoal halftimelead.
Luka Modric and ViniciusJunior pulled goals back andFede Valverde thought hehad grabbed an injurytimeequaliser but his defl��ected
shot was ruled out for anoff��side.
Liverpool shook off�� theabsence of Virgil van Dijk toedge Ajax 10 behind closeddoors in Amsterdam inGroup D.
Jurgen Klopp’s side kept aclean sheet and took all threepoints after Nicolas Tagliafi��co turned a wayward Sadio
Mane shot into his own neton 35 minutes.
Pep Guardiola’s City madeit three wins for Englishclubs this midweek as itcame from behind at hometo beat Porto 31.
Luis Diaz gave Porto thelead with a superb individualgoal but Sergio Aguero’s penalty soon brought City leveland Ilkay Gundogan’s freekick put it ahead on 65 minutes. Substitute FerranTorres then scored a superbgoal to make sure of the win.The results: Group A: Salzburg 2 (Szoboszlai45, Junuzovic 50) drew withLokomotiv Moscow 2 (Eder 19,Lisakovich 75); Bayern Munich 4(Coman 28, 72, Goretzka 41, Tolisso 66) bt Atletico Madrid 0.
Group B: Real Madrid 2 (Modric54, Vinicius Junior 59) lost toShakhtar Donetsk 3 (Tete 29,Varane 33og, Solomon 42); Inter Milan 2 (Lukaku 49, 90)drew with Borussia M’gladbach2 (Bensebaini 63pen, Hofmann84).
Group C: Manchester City 3(Aguero 20pen, Gundogan 65,Torres 73) bt FC Porto 1 (Diaz14); Olympiakos 1 (Hassan90+1) bt Marseille 0.
Group D: Ajax 0 lost to Liverpool 1 (Tagliafi��co 35og); Midtjylland 0 lost to Atalanta 4 (Zapata 26, Gomez 36, Muriel 42,Miranchuk 88).
Bayern Munich off�� to a cracking startCrushes Atletico in opener; City, Liverpool post wins; Real suff��ers stunning reverse against Shakthar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Agence France-Presse
Paris
Big scalp: Shakhtar Donetsk’s players are joy unbound after Tete’s opening goal against 13timechamp Real Madrid. * REUTERS
WADA investigating‘doppelganger’ samplesMONTREAL
Eighteen weightlifters from
six countries are suspected of
supplying false urine samples
after a World AntiDoping
Agency investigation found
evidence of “doppelgangers”
being used to impersonate
athletes, it said on Thursday.
WADA said the 18 cases will
be forwarded to the
International Testing Agency
for review. AFP
The National camp for theOlympic core group shooters started at the Dr. KarniSingh Range, Tughlakabad,on Thursday, after stringentadherence to safetyprotocols.
The shooters, coachesand other support staff�� hadbeen tested for COVID19when they reported for thecamp, and quarantined in ahotel for a week, before a second test cleared them fortraining at the range.
“We did zoom sessionsfor fi��tness training duringthe quarantine period,” saidDeepali Deshpande, thehigh performance coach forrifl��e.
Meanwhile, the high performance coach for pistol,Delhibased Samaresh Jungsaid that he had fi��nished theformalities of home isolation and testing, and wouldbe joining training on Friday. Most of the shooters reported for the camp.
There were rare exceptions like Asian skeet champion Angad Vir Singh Bajwawho continues to train at hishome range in Chandigarh,as he has to take care of hisgrandparents.
GuidanceIn the absence of national
coach Ennio Falco, whotrains the skeet shooters,Angad said that he was following the guidance of hiscoach Tore Brovold fortraining routine at home.
For the other Olympic quota holder in skeet, MairajAhmad Khan, nothing muchhas changed as he has beentraining at the range, eversince it opened for training,long before the camp.
“I hope Falco joins soon,”said Mairaj, who also gottested so as to follow theprotocol.
“For me, nothing muchhas changed, as I have beenregularly training at therange,” said Mairaj.
Saurabh Chaudhary andManu Bhaker also had theirhome quarantine beforejoining the camp, as therewas an option for those living in Delhi NCR to be in“home isolation”.
Deepavali breakThere will be a break for aweek for Deepavali, beforethe shooters assemble onceagain for training and continue till December 17.
National camp starts afterquarantine period endsShooters, coaches and staff�� were
tested twice for COVID19
Back to school: Most shooters reported for the Nationalcamp for the Olympic core group at the Dr. Karni SinghRange. * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
KAMESH SRINIVASAN
NEW DELHI <> We did zoom
sessions for fi��tness
training during the
quarantine period.
— Deepali Deshpande,
high performance coach for rifl��e
Prajnesh Gunneswaran beatLukas Lacko of Sovakia 64,57, 64 to move into thequarterfi��nals of the €44,820Challenger tennis tournament here.
However, Ramkumar Ramanathan lost his singles second round and the doublesprequarterfi��nals with PuravRaja. Sriram Balaji also lostthe doubles fi��rst round whilepartnering Luca Margaroli.
In the ATP event in Cologne, Divij Sharan and Tennys Sandgren of USA foundthe second seeds Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic a hardnut to crack in theprequarterfi��nals.The results:€271,345 ATP, Cologne: Doubles (prequarterfi��nals): OliverMarach (Aut) & Mate Pavic(Cro) bt Tennys Sandgren (US)& Divij Sharan 64, 62.
€44,820 Challenger, Ismaning, Germany: Singles (prequarterfi��nals): Prajnesh Gunneswaran bt Lukas Lacko (Svk)64, 57, 64; Botic Van deZandschulp (Ned) bt Ramku
mar Ramanathan 62, 62.
Doubles (prequarterfi��nals):Sebastian Korda & Brandon Nakashima (USA) bt Luca Margaroli (Sui) & Sriram Balaji 64,75.
Lloyd Glasspool (GBR) &Alex Lawson (US) bt Purav Raja& Ramkumar Ramanathan 57,63, [104].
$15,000 ITF men, Sharm ElSheikh, Egypt: Singles (prequarterfi��nals): Martins Podzus(Lat) bt Arjun Kadhe 62, 61.
Doubles (quarterfi��nals): Vladyslav Manafov (Ukr) & ArjunKadhe bt Flavio Coboli (Ita) &Alexander Donski (Bul) 61,64.
Prajnesh enters quarterfi��nals INDIANS ABROAD
Sports Bureau
Ismaning (Germany)
NEW DELHI: Dhruvpal Godaraand Vishal Chauhan scoredall goals between them inhelping SphiroCavalryASC(SCA) to a 109 victory overArmy Polo and Riding Club(APRC) in a league match ofthe Cavalry Gold Cup 10goal polo tournament hereon Thursday. It was seconddefeat for APRC which hadbeen beaten 113 by JindalPanther on Wednesday.
Sona Polo infl��icted a second defeat on Velocity48,racing to a 105 victory.
All the four winningteams will compete in the
last league match on Fridayto decide the fi��nal berths.
The results (league): Sona Polo 10 (Siddhant Sharma 6, Angad Kalaan 2, Tommy Severn 2)bt Velocity48 5 (Samir Suhag2, Shamsheer Ali 2, GauravSahgal); SphiroCavalryASC10 (Dhruvpal Godara 6, VishalChauhan 4) bt APRC 9 (ArjunPatil 5, Basheer Ali 4).
Rajnigandha Achievers 8(Daniel Otamendi 5, Padmanabh Singh 3) bt Velocity48 6(Samir Suhag 5, Shamsheer Ali)
Jindal Panther 11 (SimranShergill 6, Dhananjay Singh 2,Phil Seller 2, Venkatesh Jindal)bt APRC 3 (Arjun Patil 2).
Dhruvpal, Vishal shine