JAMMU, FEb 04:(UNI) To promote sport-ing culture and harnessthe energy of youth, theJammu and KashmirAdministrative Councilheaded by the LieutenantGovernor, Manoj Sinhaon Friday approved therollout of the J&K SportsPolicy 2022.Farooq Khan and RajeevRai Bhatnagar, Advisorsto the LieutenantGovernor, Dr Arun KumarMehta, Chief Secretary,J&K, and NitishwarKumar, PrincipalSecretary to theLieutenant Governorattended the meeting.The new sports policy isaimed at promotingsports in the Union terri-tory by developing sportsinfrastructure and incen-tivizing sportspersons toexcel in their respectivegames/sport.The policy strives toachieve excellence by

involving all the stake-holders and establishinginter-departmental syner-gies for composite devel-opment of sports.

The basic cannons of thesports policy are to'Scout'- identify talent andcatch them young;

'Engage'- ensure grassrootinclusive engagement insports and games (Sportsfor All & Fitness for All);' F a c i l i t a t e ' - p r o v i d e s

sports infrastructure,facilities, know-how, andtraining; and 'Recognize'-acknowledge the achieve-

ments and contributionsthrough awards and fur-ther employment.The policy incorporatesvarious annual awards

like Award for Excellencein Sports for 10 sportsper-son, J&K Khel ProtsahanaAward for Sports

Association, and two vet-erans/ experiencedsportspersons/ organizersor referees, ParshuramAward for 5 best Coachesin different disciplines.To further motivate theUT's sporting talent, thesports policy announcesspecial cash awards to thewinners in Olympics,Asian Games,Commonwealth Games,Asian Championship(Seniors/ Juniors), WorldCup/ Championships,Youth Olympic Games,South Asian Games, andWorld University Games/Championships; in therange of Rs One lakh to RsOne crore.Further, the winners in allrecognized national com-petitions and NationalSchool Games in varioussports disciplines will begranted specified scholar-ships from the Directorateof Youth Service & Sports.Moreover, cont on p-2

C M

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arrest in BudgambUDGAM, FEb 04:A central reserve policeforce (CRPF) trooperdied of cardiac arrestat Srinagar airport onFriday morning.Sources told that atrooper identified asDeepak Dass who wasposted at E/35Batallion CRPF,Budgam died on Fridaymorning after he col-lapsed all of a suddenwhile performing hisduty at Drop gate ofSrinagar Airport."Trooper posted out-side drop gate Srinagarairport fell uncon-scious and was shiftedto BSF hospital RTCcamp , cont on p-2

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Daftar Ka Ek Din'

Truth PrevailFirst ever J&K Sports Policy approved

J&K Govt's audit detects

2274 illegal appointees in

Health department

JAMMU, FEb 04 :Jammu and Kashmirgovernments auditCommittee has detected2,274 illegal appoint-ments made in the healthdepartment in the year2020. The officials in thehealth department, how-ever, said that it was anold issue which is subju-dice already.Deputy director healthKashmir cont on p-2

JAMMU, FEb 04: CentralGovernment’s unstinting supportin accelerating the pace of devel-opment in Jammu and Kashmirhas resulted in the transforma-tion of Union Territory on allfronts.The transformation in every sec-tor has brought economicenabling the UT to marchtowards a golden future as thegovernment is making everyeffort to ensure that benefits ofdevelopment reach all sections ofthe society.With an aim to improve the phys-ical infrastructure in Jammu andKashmir, the government hasaccelerated the pace of execution

of Prime Minister’s DevelopmentPackage (PMDP) projects.Official data suggests that theexpenditure has reached uptoRs.34,653 crore ending October2021 resulting in fast movingimprovement of physical infra-structure here. As per the data, 21major projects have been com-pleted/substantially completedand nine projects are likely to becompleted by this financial year.In an another significant achieve-ment, J&K has achieved 100%household electrification underSaubhagya scheme before the tar-get date and 3,57,405 beneficiar-ies have been covered. The gov-ernment has also embarked on

path of smart metering andaround 20 Lakh consumers shallbe covered under Smart MeteringProgramme. As of now, theInstallation of two Lakh meters isalready under way and installa-tion of another six lakh is beingfinalized under RevampedDistribution Sector Scheme.Further to improve the powerinfrastructure as well as distribu-tion in Jammu and Kashmir,Government is committed toincrease power generation of J&Kas the UT is vast potential forHydroelectricity. Power projectswith 3500 MW capacity are goingto solve most of the power woes inJammu and Kashmir.

Moreover, in Jammu & Kashmir,all the rural Anganwari centres,Schools and Health institutionshave been provided with func-tional tap water connections. It isworthwhile to note that two dis-tricts, Srinagar and Ganderbalhave provided 100% functionaltap water connection to all house-holds. UT is targeting provision of100% functional tap water con-nection to all households by 15thAugust 2022.To provide good all-weather roadconnectivity to unconnectedHabitations, all habitations over1000 population (as per 2011 cen-sus) have been provided roadconnectivity and cont on p-2

Lt Governor reviews Covid-19

situation in J&K UTOur aim is to provide best treatmentto people from village to the city; wewill continue to strengthen criticalhealthcare network: LG

JAMMU, FEb 04: Lieutenant Governor, ManojSinha today reviewed the Covid-19 situation in J&KUT in a series of meetings with members of Covid TaskForce, DCs and SSsP.During the meeting, the to-date situation of the Covid-19 was discussed, where ACS Health presented Covidanalysis based on various parameters.The chair also took district-wise assessment of vacci-nation coverage of 15-18 age group, besides the statusof distribution of Sehat Golden health cards across theUT.The Lt Governor observed that though the number ofnew positive cases have declined, there is no room forcomplacency. “We must continue awareness cam-paigns across the UT with the active support of repre-sentatives of PRIs”, he said.The Lt Governor directed the Health & ImmunizationDepartment to focus on booster doses to senior citi-zens, frontline workers and vaccination among the 15-18 age group, adding that, continued adherence toCovid Appropriate Behaviour is paramount.Underlining that J&K is a front runner in SDG's 'GoodHealth and Well-Being' goal, the Lt Governor directedthe Health Department to ensure 100% coverage ofSehat Golden Card.“Our aim is to provide the best treatment to peoplefrom village to city. We will continue to strengthencritical healthcare network”, he added.While interacting with DCs and SSsP, the Lt Governorcomplimented their tireless efforts for effective man-agement of the third wave of Covid-19.Emphasizing on the significance of Covid AppropriateBehaviour, the Lt Governor said that we need to con-tinue following CAB until the pre-Covid normalcy isrestored. He directed the SSsP for proper enforcementof CAB.The Lt Governor also passed specific directions to theDCs to monitor and ensure proper functioning of allonline services in their respective districts providingbest and hassle-free public services.Earlier, Sh Vivek Bhardwaj, Additional ChiefSecretary, Health and Medical Education Departmentgave a detailed briefing on the analysis of Covid-19 sit-uation, active positive cases, testing, contact tracingand vaccination across the UT, CAB enforcements, andpercentage achieved in weekly and overall BISRegistrations, progress under AB PM-JAY & AB PM-JAY SEHAT.Sh Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, Advisor to theLt Governor; Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, cont on p-2

NEW DELHI, FEb 04 :The government plans tomake fitness testing ofvehicles throughAutomated TestingStations mandatory in aphased manner startingfrom April next year.The Road Transport andHighways Ministry onFriday said a draft notifi-cation has been issued forpublic comments regard-ing mandatory fitnesstesting of vehicles throughan ATS. An AutomatedTesting Station (ATS) usesmechanical equipment toautomate the various tests

required to check the fit-ness of a vehicle.The requirement will be

put in place in a phasedmanner. Fitness testingfor heavy goods vehiclesand heavy passengermotor vehicles through anATS will be mandatoryfrom April 1, 2023. as perthe draft notification. Inthe case of medium goodsvehicles and medium pas-senger motor vehicles andlight motor vehicles(transport), the require-ment will be made com-pulsory from June 1,2024. cont on p-2

JAMMU, FEb 04: TheAdministrative Council(AC), which met hereunder the chairmanshipof Lieutenant Governor,Manoj Sinha, approvedthe action plans ofJammu PowerDistribution CorporationLimited (JPDCL) andKashmir PowerDistribution CorporationLimited (KPDCL) underthe RevampedDistribution SectorScheme (RDSS) for 2021-22 to 2024-25.Farooq Khan and RajeevRai Bhatnagar, Advisorsto the LieutenantGovernor, Dr. Arun

Kumar Mehta, ChiefSecretary, J&K, andNitishwar Kumar,Principal Secretary to theLieutenant Governorattended the meeting.The approved actionplans aim at achieving100% prepaid consumermetering and 100% sys-tem metering (DTR), andinclude distribution infra-structure work for lossreduction and moderniza-tion, and training/ capaci-ty building of the work-force.The Power DevelopmentDepartment is workingtowards improving thequality, reliability and

affordability of powersupply to consumers;reducing AT&C losses;and improving opera-tional efficiencies andfinancial sustainability ofDISCOMs.The action plans ofDISCOMs focus on reduc-tion of ACS-ARR gap andAT&C losses through100% smart prepaidmetering includingSystem metering withcommunication features,AB Cabling/ HVDS inhigh loss areas amongother components as perscheme guidelines. Thiswill provide quality andreliable cont on p-2

AC approves action plans

of JPDCL and KPDCL

Major push to infrastructure, development in J&K21 major projects under PMDP completed, 100% electrification under Saubhagya achieved

Govt plans to make fitness testing of

vehicles through ATSs mandatory

from 2023 onwards

SRINAGAR, FEb 04 :The authorities atSrinagar InternationalAirport on Friday saidthat flights scheduled onFridays, Saturdays andSundays during themonth of February andMarch will not operateafter 5 pm due to plannedrepair activities on therunway on these days.According to spokesper-son said that they arecommencing the PolymerModified Emulsion work

on the entire runway dur-ing the months ofFebruary and March. “This is necessary tostrengthen the runway forthe operation of flight andalso to control the wearand tear. This work isplanned on all Fridays,Saturdays, and Sundays.We will ensure that theflight disruption isreduced to minimum byworking only from 5 PMto 6 AM during the nighttime,” cont on p-2

Flights not to operate after 5 pm on Fridays,

Weekends in Feb, March at Srinagar Airport

JAMMU, FEb 04:Divisional CommissionerJammu, Dr RaghavLanger on Friday con-ducted an extensive tourof the Bishnah area andtook stock of variousissues related to revenueand land record.During the tour the DivCom visitedMehmoodpur, PirthipurNogran, Kotli Mia Fateh,Deoli, Dabar, Sarore and

other adjoining villageswhere new colonies havebeen demarcated.The Div Com took astrong note of ongoingconstructions of privatehousing colonies, realestate projects withoutpermission of JDA anddirected the concernedofficers to immediatelyseek requisite documentsand submit a report to hisoffice. cont on p-2

Div Com conducts surprise visit to Bishnah;

takes stock of revenue, land related issues

Ensure return and dignityfor Kashmiri Pandits:Priyanka Chaturvedi

NEW DELHI, FEb 04:(UNI) Raising the issue ofrehabilitation of KashmiriPandits in Rajya Sabha onFriday, Shiv Sena MPPriyanka Chaturvedidemanded that the gov-ernment ensure their safereturn and a dignified lifefor them."It is a matter of concern

that the rehabilitationprocess of KashmiriPandits has beenpainstakingly slow. In2015, the Governmenthad announced the con-struction of 6,000 transitaccommodations forKashmiri Pandit migrantsfor their return to the val-ley. However, only 15% ofthe work has been com-pleted to date, accordingto the report of thedepartment related par-liamentary standing com-mittee on cont on p-2

NEW DELHI, FEb 04 : In view of the consistentdecline in the number of COVID-19 cases, the DelhiDisaster Management Authority (DDMA) has decidedto reopen schools, colleges and gyms and also exempt-ed single drivers exempted from wearing masks in cars,sources said on Friday.As per sources, the DDMA in its meeting today, alsodecided that the night curfew would now begin at 11 pminstead of 10 pm. Institutions of Higher Education andcoaching institutes have been allowed to reopen subjectto Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) and strictadherence to COVID Appropriate Behaviour, sourcessaid.According to sources, schools will also be open in aphased manner and they would reopen from February4 for classes 9 and 12. Teachers who aren't vaccinatedwill not be permitted in schools. Sources also added thatoffices will function with 100 per cent attendance inDelhi. They added that single cont on p-2

Schools, colleges, gyms to reopen in

Delhi, single drivers exempted from

wearing masks in cars: Sources

FILE PHOTO

CONtINUtION TRUTH PREVAIL

JAMMU, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 05, 20222FROM PAGE ONE

FIRSt EVER J&K SPORtS ...

special emphasis has been laid to meet the sportingneeds of the specially-abled sportspersons through suf-ficient infrastructure and training facilities to ensuretheir full participation in various events.The Department will also organize several para-gamesat District and UT levels.Furthermore, the policy provides for the annual recruit-ment of outstanding sportspersons achieving podiumfinish/ participation in recognized international andnational competitions.The expertise of outstanding players will also be utilizedto impart specialized training/ coaching to buddingplayers and athletes across the UT.Through inter-departmental convergences, new vistasof employment will be opened for youth in the fields ofTourism, Education, and Adventure/Winter Sports.

DIV COM CONDUCtS SURPRISE...

The Div Com, while inspecting colonies, also inquiredabout the status of land, whether Private or other andKhasra wise details.The Div Com directed independent revenue teams toensure that there was no encroachment on Kahcharailand, State land, common lands etc. He also directedthem to conduct the ETS survey of all the newly notifiedcolonies in these revenue villages and reconcile it withthe revenue record.Meanwhile, the Divisional Commissioner conductedinspection of Revenue records in the Bishnah Tehsiloffice. He checked Girdawari registers and bastas ofPatwaris, besides Roznamcha waqiati, Fard Partal regis-ter, Lal kitab etc.Assistant Commissioner Central, Sh. Pritam Lal; SubDivisional Magistrate Jammu South, Abhishek Abrol;Tehsildar Bishnah and Officials of enforcement wing ofJDA accompanied the Div Com.

J&K GOVt'S AUDItDEtECtS 2274 ILLEGAL ...

division has directed all chief medical officer's ofKashmir division and Medical Superintendent JLNMhospital to send all details to Directorate immediately."Regarding the subject and reference cited above, it isimpressed upon you to ensure that the requisite infor-mation, complete in all respects in respect of 2274 ille-gal appointees as reported by the Audit and InspectionDepartment along with all other illegal appointmentsespecially reported from Block Beerwah, DistrictBudgam, and Districts Bandipora and Ganderbal as perthe devised format is rnished to this Directorate by04.02.2022 at 2.00 PM positively through the con-cerned dealing assistants both in hard as well as softcopy," reads an order issued by deputy director health toall chief medical officers and medical superintendent

JLNM hospital, a copy of which is available with thenews agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO).The details which have been sought include name of theillegal appointee, designation, name of the appointingauthority along with designation, year of appointment,whether person working presently or not, cause of ille-gality and remarks."The Administrative Department has taken serious noteregarding non submission of requisite informationdespite lapse of more than 02 years and accordinglyvide communication No.HD-Legal/59/2021-02 Dated:-02.02.2022, this office has been instructed to submitthe information immediately." Order adds."Non compliance of instructions shall be viewed seri-ously and disciplinary action as warranted under rulesshall be initiated against the defaulters/officers on theirown risk and responsibility." Order adds further.Talking to KNO, deputy director Health Dr BashirAhmed Chalko said that it is actually an older issuewhich is being misquoted by some sections of the media.“This is a 12-year-old issue and the matter is subjudice.We will fire our report before the court,” he said, addingthat “no new fake appointment has come to fore in thedepartment.”

ENSURE REtURN AND DIGNItyFOR KASHMIRI PANDItS...

Home Affairs," she said.The Shiv Sena MP further saidthat the pace of construction of the accommodations hasbeen slow. "This comes at a time when their struggle hasbeen ongoing for 32 years and they have been livingtheir lives in exile for more than three decades," shesaid.The Shiv Sena MP further said that "it is unfortunatethat despite the government's big promises to bring theexiled community back to their homes in Jammu andKashmir, no concrete and effective actions have beenfollowed for their return, rehabilitation, and empower-ment".They have been fighting a battle to go back home for thepast 32 years, the government must ensure their safereturn and a dignified life for them, she said.

MAJOR PUSH tOINFRAStRUCtURE,...

the habitations with 500 population will be providedroads by ending 2022. In respect of the Pradhan MantriGram Sadak Yojana(PMGSY), J&K has moved in over-all ranking in the country from 9th place in 2016-17 to3rd position in 2020-21. Dedicated policy for mainte-nance of road infrastructure has been approved by UTgovernment during 2021-22. Defect Liability Period(DLP) of 3 years has been made mandatory wherein thecontractor associated with the project has to maintainthe road during the DLP and the contractor has beenmade liable for the same.

Significant improvement has been achieved in the sta-tus of National Highway-44 thereby reducing the timefrom 10 hours to 6 hours, owing to opening of NavyugTunnel and completion of different stretches under thefour laning of NH-44 project.To provide livelihood opportunities to weaker sectionsof society, 21000 Certificates of Vending (CoV) havebeen issues by government to street vendors underStreet Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulationof Street Vending) Act, 2014, giving them assured rightof vending at specified places without any hindrance.For the cleaning and restoration of Dal Lake, massivecleaning operation of Dal Lake has been started and asa result, more than 10 sq. Kms. of area has been clearedof weed both manually well as mechanical means. TheCommittee of Experts constituted by Hon’ble HighCourt of J&K recommended that LAWDA will engageDMRC (Delhi Metro Rail Corporation) for design,development, manufacture, transport and commission-ing of Lake Cleaning Machines in Dal Lake.In short it can be said that the government with the helpof central government has boosted the infrastructure aswell as other developmental aspects in the UnionTerritory of Jammu and Kashmir. In coming years theUnion Territory will be transformed both in terms ofdevelopment as well as economic means as large num-ber of projects and schemes are under way here whichwill change the entire economic landscape of Jammuand Kashmir.

GOVt PLANS tO MAKE FItNESS ...

According to the draft notification, renewal of certificateof fitness will be for two years for commercial vehicles(transport) that are up to eight years old and one yearfor commercial vehicles (transport) that are older thaneight years. Last year, the ministry said that entities likespecial purpose vehicles, state governments, companies,associations and body of individuals may be allowed toopen ATS for testing fitness of both personal and trans-port vehicles. Fitness testing for personal vehicle (non-transport) is done at the time of renewal of registration(after 15 years).

AC APPROVES ACtION ...

power to consumers and assist in the progress towardsa 24x7 power supply in all districts.The action plans also include policy and structuralreforms, increasing recruitment of manpower, creatinga separate cadre of IT employees, developing a trainingPolicy of employees with targeted annual training onmodern lines.The DISCOMs were directed to reduce the AT&C lossesto Pan India levels of 15% and ACS-ARR gap to zero by2024-25, while the state-wise targets for each year willdepend on their current levels of AT&C losses and ACS-

ARR gap.

SCHOOLS, COLLEGES,GyMS tO REOPEN...

drivers in cars to be exempted from mask mandate.Earlier, the Delhi High Court, on April 7, 2021, ruledthat wearing a mask or face cover in a vehicle occupiedby either a single person or multiple persons is compul-sory in view of the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic. OnThursday, Delhi reported 2,668 new COVID-19 casesduring the last 24 hours with the positivity rate declin-ing to 4.3 per cent. Recently, Lieutenant Governor AnilBaijal had decided to lift the weekend curfew and theodd-even system for shops. In markets, market com-plexes, malls, all shops and establishments dealing withnon-essential goods and services shall be allowed toopen between 10 AM to 8 PM without the restriction ofodd-even.

FLIGHtS NOt tOOPERAtE AFtER 5 PM...

reads the statement. It reads that the runway will beavailable and the flights will be operated from 6 AM to 5PM. “The flights which were scheduled to operate dur-ing this closure time have been rescheduled to operatebefore 5 PM everyday. The information has alreadybeen given to all affected passengers by the respectiveairlines.”It reads that passengers of the affected flightsare requested to confirm the revised departure times ifthey have booked their flights during the month ofFebruary and March on Fridays, Saturdays or Sundaysafter 5 PM.Authorities at the Srinagar airport on Fridaysaid they are carrying out Polymer Modified Emulsionwork on the runway to "strengthen the runway for theoperation of flight and also to control the wear and tear".Director Srinagar airport, Kuldeep Singh said that thework will be carried out during the months of Februaryand March planned on all Fridays, Saturdays, andSundays. Singh said they will ensure that the flight dis-ruption owing to the runway repair "is reduced to mini-mum by working only from 5 PM to 6 AM during thenight time" adding the runway will be available and theflights will be operated from 6 AM to 5 PM. As for theflights scheduled to operate during the closure time,they have been rescheduled to operate before 5 PMeveryday, the Director said.

Lt GOVERNOR ...Chief Secretary; Sh Dilbag Singh, DGP; Sh Atal Dulloo,Additional Chief Secretary, Finance Department; ShShailendra Kumar, Principal Secretary to theGovernment, Public Works (R&B) Department; ShNitishwar Kumar, Principal Secretary to the LtGovernor; Dr Raghav Langer, Divisional CommissionerJammu; Sh Vijay Kumar, IGP Kashmir; DeputyCommissioners and SSsP, attended the meetings, inperson and through virtual mode.

JAMMU, Feb 4- A felicita-tion Program was organ-ized by the Department ofSanskrit, University ofJammu, in honour of Prof.Vishwa Murti Shastri forbeing conferred with thePadma Shri award inrecognition of his distin-guished contribution inthe field of Sanskrit litera-ture and education, for theyear 2021 by theGovernment of India.Speaking on the occasion,Prof Manoj K Dhar, Vice-Chancellor, University ofJammu in his address con-gratulated Prof VishwaMurti Shastri for his glori-ous and outstandingachievement. Prof Dharsaid Prof Shastri’s life is ateaching in itself that aperson who starts his lifefrom a small village inRamban and was recog-nized by the nation for hisoutstanding contributionin the field of Sanskrit lit-erature and education.The Vice-Chancellor fur-

ther stated that under theNew Education Policy bythe Government of India,the Indian knowledge tra-dition and value-based

education system has beenstrongly supported and

approved and in this con-text, the youth of ournation will be taughtIndian knowledge, tradi-tion and value-basedteachings.Accordingly, the youngergeneration should take fulladvantage of this and inparticular, the youth of theUTJ&K must take thisopportunity to benefitfrom Shastri's teachings.Prof Dhar also directed theHead, Department ofSanskrit to organize lec-tures of Prof Shastri for thestudents of JammuUniversity from time totime.Speaking on the occasion,Prof Shastri offered grati-tude to the Government of

India, for conferring himwith Padma Shri. Prof

Shastri further said thatthe young generation is abackbone of our countryand society, without theirconstruction, the best andideal India cannot be builtand in that directionyouth of our country mustinvolve them in construc-tive activities. He appealedto the teachers of thenation to make somearrangements to free theyouth from any kind ofaddiction and train theyouth with value addededucation system.Prof Arvind Jasrotia,Registrar, University ofJammu also congratulat-ed Prof Shastri on theoccasion. Earlier, Prof.Sushma Devi Gupta,

Head, Department ofSanskrit presented a wel-come address. Dean,Faculty of Arts, ProfShivdev Singh Manhasalso offered best wishesto Prof. Shastri on behalfof Faculty of Arts. Prof.Ramnika Jalali read thecitation and made theaugust gathering aware ofProf Shastri’s education,struggle, effort and vari-ous achievements of hislife in detail. Dr. Pratibha rememberedthe touching account ofmany aspects of ProfShastri greeted him withSanskrit shlokas. ProfLaxmi Dutt Shastri, afamous Sanskrit scholarfrom Jammu province,while presenting a con-gratulatory message,recalled many memoriesrelated to Prof Shastriand the incidents of hisstruggle and hard work.

Dr. Satyapriya Arya con-

ducted the proceedings of

the programme and the

vote of thanks was pre-

sented by Dr. Vidyadhar

Singh.

JU felicitates its Alumnus Padma

Shri Prof. Vishwa Murti Shastri

J&K witnessed massive development

under Modi regime: Sham LangarTerms Budget 2022-23 awell calculated ‘PeopleFriendly’JAMMU, Feb 4: Sham LalLangar, Convener Tradeand Industries Cell,Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) Jammu and

Kashmir has welcomed thefirst digital budget of thecountry presented byUnion Finance Ministerbefore the Parliament inNew Delhi the other day.Addressing media personshere today, the senior BJPleader termed the Budget2022-23 as a well calculat-ed budget. Appreciating

the most significant fiscaldocument of the nation forthe upcoming financialyear he said, “The budget isfocused on making IndiaAtmanirbhar and 5 TrillionEconomy in coming yearswith the Finance Minister

covering all the sectors ofthe economy thus integrat-ing purposely the Macro aswell as Micro compo-nents.” This budget canundoubtedly be called apeople friendly budget.”Sham Langar stated thatBudget 2022-23 is a land-mark budget with a far-reaching positive impact

on the revival of the econo-my that would usher in thedawn of a new era. He saidthat logistics is an essentialpart of the economy in anycountry, enabling themovement of resourcesalong supply chains to con-sumption centres and theannouncement of newnational highways andlogistic parks at four loca-tions will make the supplychain more robust and alsoreduce the cost of trans-portation thus benefitingboth the business class aswell as the consumers.Sham Lal Langar also laud-ed the Prime MinisterNarendra Modi for accom-plishing the record vacci-nation of 156.76 crore injust one year. He criticizedthe opposition leader fornot playing their vital roleand opposing the pro-poli-cies of the BJP governmentat the Centre. He said whynot the AIIMS, IIM, IIT,ring roads, flyovers, tun-nels to provide all weatherroads, etc were given in thesuccessive regimes. He saidBJP Government underthe leadership of Prime

Minister Narendra Modi iscommitted to the develop-ment of Jammu andKashmir and such massivedevelopment is possibleonly in the regime of ModiGovernment.Sham Langar said thaturban infrastructure devel-opment and completion of80 Lakh affordable housesunder PM Awas Yojana in22-23 will help entry-levelappliances over the next 2– 3 years. An increase incapital expenditure shouldalso aid growth by drivingup investments. Moreover,continued focus on PLI willhelp generate employmentand boost the indigenousmanufacturing ecosystem,he added. He said that theUnion Budget has alsofocused on sports with anaim to make youth stayaway from social evils.“In the nutshell it is a wellcalculated budget focusedon achieving the goal of‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ withextra emphasis to startups,MSMEs, Health andEducation sector,” headded.

JAMMU, Feb 4: Coming in sup-port of uprooted Gujjar commu-nity in Roop Nagar locality, DDCMember Suchetgarh TaranjitSingh Tony on Friday challengedthe Jammu DevelopmentAuthority (JDA) action againstthe nomadic community asunauthorized claiming that theaforesaid land chunk doesn’tbelonged to the aforesaid civicbody (JDA).Tony today visited the Dharnasite of affected families andextended full support to them.In a blistering attack against thehelmsmen of the JDA, the DDCMember said that the JDA hasmade a big mistake by evictingthe nomadic population fromtheir rightful dwellings as the

land in question doesn’t belongto JDA rather as per the revenuerecord it is still the Forest Land.Under the Tribal Forest Act, theyare entitled to stay on the forestland. He said that those evictedby the JDA were living in thevicinity pre 1947, years beforethe inception of this civic body.He said that if the JDA has takenmoney from 170 families for theland which doesn’t come underits title, it should rectify the lacu-nae and allot some other landchunks to the aforesaid familiesbecause the uprooted Gujjars arethe real owners of the aforesaidland and JDA has no right toevict them. The DDC member said that the2300 Kanals of land under the

Khasra No 1193 comes underForest Department and only1800 Kanals was transferred toJDA and over 250 Kanals is witharmy, the rest of the land is stillunder Forest Department andthe place which is under ques-tion falls in the land under thetitle of Forest department withno stake of JDA whatsoever. Hesaid that JDA should apologizefor the callous action and helpthe poor community to rebuildtheir homes and hearths at thesame place as soon as possible.Tony said that this action by theJDA is uncalled for and exposesthe callousness of governmentdepartments’ functioning pattern.“If the government institutionswill act unlawfully than what one

can expect from others”, he saidadding that the episode is a clearcut example of sufferings of poorunder the BJP government where-as rich and mighty rule the roostgiving two hoots to law of the land.The DDC member vociferouslydemanded that the displaced com-munity should be settled in thesame place as it is their right. He also appealed to LG ManojSinha to intervene and deliver jus-tice as soon as possible and estab-lish a mechanism so that no onecan misled him like in the case ofGharana Wetland.

He demanded that the JDAshould act on High Court’s orderfor eviction on all rich and mightynot on the basis of community.

JDA action against Gujjars unwarranted: tonyCivic body should reinstate nomadic community henceforth

Ajaz Jan seeks rollback of order on drinking water charges

JAMMU, Feb 4: Former MLA Poonch and Provincial President Youth NationalConference Jammu Ajaz Ahmed Jan today assailed the decision to levy charges onaccount of drinking water to poor people in the rural areas, saying such segments ofthe society are already suffering due to inflation and price hike in all the essentialcommodities and services.Referring to a recent order of the government, he said the poor and marginalized sec-tions of the society are required to seek No Objection Certificate from the PHEDepartment to draw rations, which is utter injustice.Criticizing the wrong policies of the BJP, Ajaz Jan said that 80% of the people in therural areas fall under the BPL category and it is surprising that they are being askedto pay the water charges. He advised the government to refrain from such measuresand if the government fails to provide basic necessities to the people first and thenissues such orders will be counter-productive. He said the administration is forcingthe people to take to the streets. He said that the same problem is with the powerdepartment. Poonch district in particular and the entire state in general is facingerratic power supply and there is no schedule for curtailment at all. The PDD is cur-tailing the supply for longer durations and there seems to be no accountability at all.He urged the Lieutenant Governor to issue the instructions for roll back of the orderwith regard to water supply charges

TRUTH PREVAIL

JAMMU, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 05, 20223 NEWS

JAMMU AND KASHMIR PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION RESHAM GHAR COLONy, BAKSHI NAGAR JAMMU-180001

website: http://jkpsc.nic.in Jammu: 0191-2566533

email: coejkpac2017@gmail.com

SubJEcT: Declaration of result of Shri Dalbir Singh Sudan S/o Gurucharan Singh Sudan, Roll No. 3100505 for the post of

Veterinary Assuistan Surgeon in Animal & Sheep Hustandry Department.

Notification No: PSc/Exam/04/2022

Dated: 01-02-2022

DIP No:DIP/J-12545/21

Date: Feb 4 2022

Jammu: The word cancer itself plays havocon the lives of those suffering from thedeadly ailment and their loved ones. Beinga complex disease, it requires appropriateand excellent care in order to sustain andimprove the quality of life of the patients.In such a situation, choosing the right can-cer care centre or hospital becomes one ofthe vital situations one has to take withoutwasting any time. This decision becomesof utmost importance when you or yourfamily member has cancer, since youwould want to receive the best possiblemedical care and treatment.Since early diagnosis of cancer has manyfavorable outcomes, it is equally importantto choose the right, complete cancer carecentre with prompt treatment modalities.

In lieu of the importance of comprehensivecancer care, many exclusive & comprehen-sive cancer care centers have gainedimportance globally to tackle the deadliestbattle- Cancer.Dr. Ankur Bahl, who is the Senior Directorand HOD of the oncology department atGurugram based Fortis Hospital says "Acomprehensive cancer care center not onlybrings together integrated advanced tech-nology but also experts of the field, whohave dedicated their lives to save othersbattling cancer. Further it is not only aboutthe infrastructure of the hospital/cancercentre or only the available technology, butin real sense, a comprehensive cancer carecenter provides with various experts andtheir collective specialties, who focus on

the same problems but from differentpoint of views through their vast experi-ences.The Oncology Department at FortisHospital, Gurugram has a comprehensiveand multidisciplinary cancer care facilitywith experts from various medical disci-plines/ field available as a team to plan,evaluate and provide the best possibletreatment modalities for cancer patientsunder one roof.Various studies have shown that the treat-ment outcomes of a cancer patient beingtreated at a comprehensive cancer carecenter has resulted in better survival ratesand improved quality of life, than thosebeing treated at the other hospitals/ cancercenters.

Emphasizing the importance of the same,Dr Bahl advises those patients' seekingcancer treatment and says" First of all it isvery important for the patients and theircaregivers to understand the type of cancerone has been diagnosed and if the chosencancer centre has the experience in treat-ing those types of cancer.This becomes more important, pertaining

to the fact that certain rare type of cancersor critically challenging cases requireapprehensive and apt treatment regime.Treating cancer is a very difficult processand seemingly invades and affects every-one physically, emotionally and psycho-logically. Having access to the latest evi-dence based advance testing modalities,experts' team at Fortis Hospital,

Gurugram not only provides necessarysupport to the patients but also choosesthe most effective treatment option for thepatients.With recent advancements made in thefield of oncology, targeted therapy hasgained much importance due to its effec-tiveness and precise targeting. Such options help to determine whetherthe therapy matches the genetic mutationof the patient's tumor, so that the treat-ment can be customized as per every singlepatient.

With the availability of genetic testing,those with a family history cancer can alsodetermine if they are at high risk and canalso guide in selecting the best treatmentoptions early.

Choosing the right cancer treatment center is important

DDC Doda reviews performance of PWD Deptt

under Area Development Plan, other sectors

KUPWARA, FEBRUARY4: The DivisionalCommissioner (DivCom) Kashmir,Pandurang K Pole todayvisited border and snowbound areas of Karnahand Machill of districtKupwara. He wasaccompanied by DeputyCommissioner Kupwara,

Imam Din.The Div Com took adetailed review of thedevelopmental scenarioof these border areas andtook stock of essentialcommodities, power sup-ply and mitigationefforts of Covid-19 pan-demic.At Tangdar, the Div Comconvened separate meet-ings with PRIs, civiladministration and armyofficers.The DDC Member,Najma Hamid, BDCChairpersons and PRIsput forth their localdemands before the Div

Com with regard to con-struction of SadhnaTunnel, posting ofGynecologist and staff atKadhama Jabdi, estab-lishment of bank branchat Gabra, Fire tenders,release of pendingNREGA payment, con-struction of protectionbunds of Nallah Batmoji,

besides, augmentation ofpower supply, roadwidening, potable drink-ing water, healthcarefacilities and other localdemands.The Div Com heard thempatiently and discussedthe issues raised in themeeting, with the DeputyCommissioner and thelocal administration.The Div Com gave onspot directions to theofficers for time-boundresolution of thedemands, so that thepeople living in theseareas get benefited.He said that the objective

of his visit to these bor-der areas was to person-ally assess the require-ments of the border peo-ple and to guide theadministration for fur-ther improvement of thefacilities especially dur-ing these winter months.Addressing the officers,the Div Com stressed the

need for remaining avail-able for the public intheir respective offices sothat the people do notface any difficulty.Referring to the demandfor construction ofSadhna tunnel, the DivCom said that the tunnelwill be constructed as perthe central governmentproposal but before thatthe widening of the roadfrom Kupwara toTangdhar is the first pri-ority of the government,which has been approvedand the land acquisitionis in progress. He saidaugmentation of road

connectivity for all theborder areas of the dis-trict including Karnah,Keran and Machill is thepriority of the UTGovernment.Reviewing the stock andsupply position, the DivCom was informed thatsufficient stock of riceand other essential com-modities has alreadybeen dumped which issufficient and will caterthe requirement of bor-der people till June thisyear.The DeputyCommissioner Kupwaraand the SDM Karnahbriefed the Div Comabout the developmentalprofile of the Karnah subdivision. It was informedthat the Oxygen generat-ing plant established byDistrict Administrationhas been made opera-tional in the Sub DistrictHospital (SDH) Tangdarto meet any eventualityamid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. The planthas a capacity of generat-ing 500 litre Oxygen perminute.The Div Com also had aseparate meeting withsenior Army officerswhich was also attendedby Deputy Commissionerand SDM and got thefeedback regarding theoverall situation anddevelopmental scenario.It was informed that thepower supply needs to beaugmented in the area.Later the Div Comaccompanied by DCKupwara visited snowbound and border areaMachill. He reviewed thedevelopmental scenarioof the border area withPRIs and local adminis-tration.

Div Com Kashmir visits border area Karnah, Machill

Sets ending February as deadline forcompletion of all ADP worksDODA, FEBRUARY 04: DistrictDevelopment Commissioner Doda,Vikas Sharma on Friday chaired ameeting of the PWD departmenthere at the DC office complex andreviewed the performance of thedepartment under AreaDevelopment Plan and other sectors.During the meeting, the DDCenquired about the status of worksapproved under ADP, elementaryeducation i and untied sector interms of physical and financial sta-tus, besides sought reasons for theworks which are not yet takenup/held up at different levels for exe-cution.The DDC directed the concernedexecuting divisions to complete allthe allotted ADP works by or beforeending February. The departmentalauthorities directed to ask the con-cerned AEEs to chase down all thepending bills submitted at theirrespective treasuries for time boundpayment.With regard to the internal ceilingwork at SDH Bhaderwah, the DDCdirected the concerned AEE to com-plete the work by the end of thismonth. The planning section wasasked to coordinate with the con-cerned stakeholders and write to theFinance department with regard tothe insufficient availability of fundsfor the works of P.S Zadan and M SRukali.Regarding M S Hudd, Assar, theDDC directed the Ex En to get theNOC for the execution of work in

place of the existing unsafe buildingfrom the CEO and to start the workimmediately. The Ex En PWD Dodawas asked to re-tender the beautifi-cation work of town under the untiedsector. With regard to Monshan linkroad, the DDC was apprised by theAEE concerned that the work will becompleted within a week’s time.

Regarding the construction ofTondwah to Nai Basti road, the DDCdirected the ADC Doda to conductspot inspection to resolve the issue incoordination with GMC authorities.The meeting was attended by CPODoda, SE PWD Circle Doda, and ExEn Doda. Besides, AEEs were alsopresent.

DLCM approves 5 DG set casesunder U.T incentive Package

SRINAGAR, FEBRUARY 4: Director Industries & Commerce, Kashmirtoday chaired the 1st Divisional Level Committee Meeting (DLCM) of DGsets for the year 2022 here. The meeting was attended by General ManagerDIC Pulwama, General Manager DIC Budgam and other officers of thedepartment. During the course of meeting, the Committee approved 5 DGSet Cases for 100% subsidy amounting to Rs.47,20,746/- under the U.TIncentive Package 2016 and 2021.

TRUTH PREVAIL

JAMMU, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 05, 2022EDITORIAL/ARTIcLE

REOPEN

SCHOOLSAlready two precious years have been lost in

the mayhem due to COVID-19 pandemic

incurring colossal loss to students as schools

remained closed and studies became depend-

ent on internet. As the third wave has shown

signs of dip in J&K with fresh COVID cases

going down sharply, it is high time that the

concerned department give shape to plan to

reopen schools as soon as possible. In this

context, the concerned Union Ministry has

also issued guidelines after consultation with

states about the reopening of schools. The

school reopening guidelines comprised of

precautions, timetable, assessment, emotion-

al, and mental health. Though the guidelines

issued are advisory in nature but these can be

used to frame the same with regard to neces-

sity in J&K to ensure that sooner than later

the students of the UT return to educational

institutions. As the guidelines issued by the

centre contain all the SoPs for attending class-

es therefore UT Administration will not have

to do much in this regard to bring back chil-

dren to schools which has become imperative

looking into loss of studies of the pupils and

also the interest of students towards educa-

tion as in most of the cases the cell phones

have played a spoil sport by swaying the

young children to games, social media and so

many other distractive activities. The guide-

lines by the centre batted for ensuring and

monitoring proper cleaning and sanitation

facilities in the schools, maintaining at least 6

feet distance between students in the seating

plan, social distancing has to be maintained in

the staff rooms, office area, assembly hall, and

other common areas, flexible, staggered, and

reduced timings for different classes, wearing

of a face cover/mask should be made manda-

tory and flexibility in attendance making it

possible to avoid rush in classrooms and other

areas inside school premises. It is for sure that

under such conditions the schools will be able

to keep the COVID and its various variants

including Delta and Omicron at bay making a

safe environment for the children as well as

the staff. The J&K administration should fol-

low the pursuit and take a cue from Delhi

Government which has ordered reopening of

schools from Monday.

EDITORIAL

4

In these times of hyper-nationalism, RahulGandhi has invoked

another vision of India. AnIndia where states have prima-cy and independent identities,but are joined together within

the unity of a single nation.This idea is not new; it is thefounding principal of ourConstitution. On the face of it,all Rahul Gandhi did was toquote from the Constitutionwhich calls India a 'Union ofStates'.

In a sense, Rahul Gandhi wasclaiming that this idea of a fed-eral India runs through hisveins. His great-grandfatherspent 15 years in jail to fight forit, his grandmother took bul-lets in her chest to uphold it,and his father was blown tobits to protect this idea ofIndia, he told parliament yes-terday. And thus, who better toresurrect this vision of India asa negotiated partnership ofstates than Rahul Gandhi him-self?

This was Rahul Gandhi'sovert positioning, appealing tostate parties to see him as theirnatural ally and representativeat the centre. It is an attempt togather regional parties aroundthe Congress, two years aheadof the next general election.Underlying the rhetoric of fed-eralism, however, was a covert

binary of a new 'Us vs Them' - adivision between the Hindi-speaking belt (includingGujarat) and the rest. It wasnever explicitly stated, but itwas thrown up in the air,through certain assertions.

The first of these was whenRahul Gandhi told theTreasury benches, "You willnever ever, in your entire life,rule over the people of TamilNadu; it cannot be done." In asense, he was making a socio-logical statement of the cultur-al dissimilarity between TamilNadu and Delhi which makes itimpossible for Hindi-belt par-ties to ever win elections inthat state ("it cannot be done").Of course, this assertion wasimmediately diluted by makingpseudo-historical claims aboutthe nature of various empiresin India that ruled over thepast "3,000 years". But RahulGandhi returned to his originaltheme almost immediately byaccusing the ruling party ofmistakenly thinking that theycan "suppress" all the different"languages, cultures and histo-ries" of the states.

It is at this point that RahulGandhi made a significantstatement on the hierarchy ofidentities in states that are farfrom the 'Centre', again withthe example of Tamil Nadu. Hesaid "The people of Tamil Nadu

have inside their hearts theidea of Tamil Nadu, the idea ofthe Tamil language, and thenalso the idea of India." Therewas a pregnant pause before,and a stress on, the word 'then',almost as if, Rahul Gandhi was

giving us the order of theimportance of collective identi-ties, where being Tamil pre-cedes the idea of being Indian.

He moved on to the exampleof Kerala, again at a distancefrom the seat of power in Delhi."The people of Kerala have aculture - I am a now a Memberof Parliament of Kerala, Iunderstand it slightly better -they have a culture, they have adignity, they have a history."Rahul Gandhi was careful toleave himself an out, by notmaking the Hindi-belt-versus-the-rest theme too obvious. Hedid this by immediately follow-ing up the Kerala example witha reference to the culture andlanguage of Rajasthan. Yet,anyone who listened to thespeech closely and noted thenuances, the intonations andthe body language would sensethat Rahul Gandhi was speak-ing of a distinct cultural dividebetween the Hindi-speakingbelt and non-Hindi-speakingstates.

Of course, the speech wasalso about the contendingideas of federalism and an

authoritarian centre. RahulGandhi likened such cen-tralised power as the authorityof the 'king', and claimed thatthe Congress party had alwaysbeen ideologically opposed tothe hegemony of the centre.This, as the Congress party'shistory tells us, is a ludicrousclaim. It is well-documentedhow successive Congress gov-ernments, beginning withNehru's, increasingly strength-ened the Centre and under-mined federalism. If Nehruhad to compromise withregional satraps of theCongress, Indira Gandhi dis-mantled the entire system bydisenfranchising state leadersand nominating cyphers asstate party chiefs. If RahulGandhi represents Keralatoday as an MP, his grand-mother as Congress presidentand his great-grandfather asPrime Minister were to use thenotorious Article 356 to dis-miss the majority governmentof EMS Namboodiripad.

At that time, the Congressparty represented the 'central-ising' tendency which suitedbig business - it wanted unifiedlaws that would facilitate com-merce across India. It also wasa natural corollary of'Nehruvian socialism' whichwas a top-down vision of state-led industrialisation to be over-seen by bureaucrats and tech-nocrats. During the Nehru era,the demands of regional eliteswere balanced as far as possi-ble through allocations tostates, within the process ofcentralised planning. Indira'sattack on the 'Syndicate' closedthat avenue altogether as shereplaced Congress leaders whorepresented regional eliteswith her own nominees. Thisprocess, ironically, pushed theregional elites away from theCongress and played a signifi-cant role in the rise of regionalparties.

If Rahul Gandhi had readcontemporary commentary ofthat time, he would have foundan echo, in governments led byhis own family, of what heaccused the Modi regime of.Here is what the political scien-tist Partha Chatterjee wrote in

1991, right after Rajiv Gandhiwas assassinated: "The succes-sive tragedies that have befall-en the Nehru-Gandhi familyare not unrelated to the factthat the Congress system sincethe era of India Gandhi hasconsistently emulated the formof monarchical rule...It is acorollary of the monarchicalform of power that the violenceof the Indian state...shouldhave been perceived as the vio-lence carried out personally byIndira or Rajiv Gandhi. Theirassassinations were also per-sonalised acts of violent retri-bution."

By 2004, when Rahul Gandhibecame an MP, the balance ofpower had shifted to a certainextent. If the Congressemerged as the single-largestparty, the role played by theregional elites of AndhraPradesh and Maharashtra wasnot insignificant. This wouldlater show up in the rise ofregional capital from AndhraPradesh and its country-widespread during the UPA years -GMR, GVK, Lanco, to name afew. Yet the centralising ten-dencies of the Congress 'HighCommand' meant that it triedto disempower regional lead-ers, weakening local units ofthe party, in the process.

Today, Rahul Gandhi recog-

nises there may be a space to

unite the interests of regional

elites from outside the Hindi-

speaking belt who have seen a

loss of importance as a handful

of business houses have taken

control of almost all sectors.

He is betting on the potential

for disquiet amongst regional

capital in the face of the rise of

Zaibatsu-Chaebol-type mega-

conglomerates. Regional elites

understand that they need a

voice at the centre to reverse

this process. They may back

regional parties in the state but

they need a national-alliance to

unite as an interest group at

the centre. Rahul Gandhi is

hoping that by promoting the

idea of India as a 'union of

states', he can position the

Congress as the central repre-

sentative of regional elites.

Reading Between The Lines

Of Rahul Gandhi's Speech

Reading Between The Lines Of Rahul Gandhi's SpeechI

n these times of hyper-nationalism, Rahul Gandhihas invoked another vision

of India. An India where stateshave primacy and independentidentities, but are joined togetherwithin the unity of a single nation.This idea is not new; it is thefounding principle of ourConstitution. On the face of it, allRahul Gandhi did was to quotefrom the Constitution which callsIndia a 'Union of States'.

In a sense, Rahul Gandhi wasclaiming that this idea of a federalIndia runs through his veins. Hisgreat-grandfather spent 15 yearsin jail to fight for it, his grand-mother took bullets in her chestto uphold it, and his father wasblown to bits to protect this ideaof India, he told parliament yes-terday. And thus, who better toresurrect this vision of India as anegotiated partnership of statesthan Rahul Gandhi himself?

This was Rahul Gandhi's overtpositioning, appealing to stateparties to see him as their naturalally and representative at the cen-tre. It is an attempt to gatherregional parties around theCongress, two years ahead of thenext general election. Underlyingthe rhetoric of federalism, howev-er, was a covert binary of a new'Us vs Them' - a division betweenthe Hindi-speaking belt (includ-

ing Gujarat) and the rest. It wasnever explicitly stated, but it wasthrown up in the air, through cer-tain assertions.

The first of these was whenRahul Gandhi told the Treasurybenches, "You will never ever, inyour entire life, rule over the peo-ple of Tamil Nadu; it cannot bedone." In a sense, he was makinga sociological statement of thecultural dissimilarity betweenTamil Nadu and Delhi whichmakes it impossible for Hindi-belt parties to ever win electionsin that state ("it cannot be done").Of course, this assertion wasimmediately diluted by makingpseudo-historical claims aboutthe nature of various empires inIndia that ruled over the past"3,000 years". But Rahul Gandhireturned to his original themealmost immediately by accusingthe ruling party of mistakenlythinking that they can "suppress"all the different "languages, cul-tures and histories" of the states.

It is at this point that RahulGandhi made a significant state-ment on the hierarchy of identi-ties in states that are far from the'Centre', again with the exampleof Tamil Nadu. He said "The peo-ple of Tamil Nadu have insidetheir hearts the idea of TamilNadu, the idea of the Tamil lan-guage, and then also the idea of

India." There was a pregnantpause before, and a stress on, theword 'then', almost as if, RahulGandhi was giving us the order ofthe importance of collective iden-tities, where being Tamil precedesthe idea of being Indian.

He moved on to the example ofKerala, again at a distance fromthe seat of power in Delhi. "Thepeople of Kerala have a culture - Iam a now a Member ofParliament of Kerala, I under-stand it slightly better - they havea culture, they have a dignity, theyhave a history." Rahul Gandhiwas careful to leave himself anout, by not making the Hindi-belt-versus-the-rest theme tooobvious. He did this by immedi-ately following up the Keralaexample with a reference to theculture and language ofRajasthan. Yet, anyone who lis-tened to the speech closely andnoted the nuances, the intona-tions and the body languagewould sense that Rahul Gandhiwas speaking of a distinct culturaldivide between the Hindi-speak-ing belt and non-Hindi-speakingstates.

Of course, the speech was alsoabout the contending ideas of fed-eralism and an authoritarian cen-tre. Rahul Gandhi likened suchcentralised power as the authorityof the 'king', and claimed that the

Congress party had always beenideologically opposed to the hege-mony of the centre. This, as theCongress party's history tells us,is a ludicrous claim. It is well-doc-umented how successiveCongress governments, beginningwith Nehru's, increasinglystrengthened the Centre andundermined federalism. If Nehruhad to compromise with regionalsatraps of the Congress, IndiraGandhi dismantled the entire sys-tem by disenfranchising stateleaders and nominating cyphersas state party chiefs. If RahulGandhi represents Kerala todayas an MP, his grandmother asCongress president and his great-grandfather as Prime Ministerwere to use the notorious Article356 to dismiss the majority gov-ernment of EMS Namboodiripad.

At that time, the Congress partyrepresented the 'centralising' ten-dency which suited big business -it wanted unified laws that wouldfacilitate commerce across India.It also was a natural corollary of'Nehruvian socialism' which was atop-down vision of state-ledindustrialisation to be overseenby bureaucrats and technocrats.During the Nehru era, thedemands of regional elites werebalanced as far as possiblethrough allocations to states,within the process of centralised

planning. Indira's attack on the'Syndicate' closed that avenuealtogether as she replacedCongress leaders who representedregional elites with her own nom-inees. This process, ironically,pushed the regional elites awayfrom the Congress and played asignificant role in the rise ofregional parties.

If Rahul Gandhi had read con-temporary commentary of thattime, he would have found anecho, in governments led by hisown family, of what he accusedthe Modi regime of. Here is whatthe political scientist ParthaChatterjee wrote in 1991, rightafter Rajiv Gandhi was assassi-nated: "The successive tragediesthat have befallen the Nehru-Gandhi family are not unrelatedto the fact that the Congress sys-tem since the era of India Gandhihas consistently emulated theform of monarchical rule...It is acorollary of the monarchical formof power that the violence of theIndian state...should have beenperceived as the violence carriedout personally by Indira or RajivGandhi. Their assassinationswere also personalised acts of vio-lent retribution."

By 2004, when Rahul Gandhibecame an MP, the balance ofpower had shifted to a certainextent. If the Congress emergedas the single-largest party, the

role played by the regional elitesof Andhra Pradesh andMaharashtra was not insignifi-cant. This would later show upin the rise of regional capitalfrom Andhra Pradesh and itscountry-wide spread during theUPA years - GMR, GVK, Lanco,to name a few. Yet the centralis-ing tendencies of the Congress'High Command' meant that ittried to disempower regionalleaders, weakening local units ofthe party, in the process.

Today, Rahul Gandhi recog-nises there may be a space tounite the interests of regionalelites from outside the Hindi-speaking belt who have seen aloss of importance as a handfulof business houses have takencontrol of almost all sectors. Heis betting on the potential fordisquiet amongst regional capi-tal in the face of the rise ofZaibatsu-Chaebol-type mega-conglomerates. Regional elitesunderstand that they need avoice at the centre to reverse thisprocess. They may back regionalparties in the state but they needa national-alliance to unite as aninterest group at the centre.Rahul Gandhi is hoping that bypromoting the idea of India as a'union of states', he can positionthe Congress as the central rep-resentative of regional elites.

TRUTH PREVAIL

JAMMU, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 05, 20225 NEWS

TP CORRESPONDENTJAMMU, FEB. 04:

Natrang presented 'SarkariDaftar Ka Ek Din', a play inHindi at its Studio Theatrehere today in KachiChawni, Jammu. The playhas been written byLaxmikant Vaishnav andwas directed by NeerajKant. The play portrayed areal life situation of a'Sarkari Daftar'(Government Office) andhighlighted the vices in avery intelligent manner.

The play opens in aGovernment Office where

all the employees are shownto working in their ownstyles. As they have jobsecurity, no one bothers toexercise punctuality; on thecontrary, they have theirown reasons to modify therules and regulations as pertheir personal conven-ience.The common viceslike red-tapeism, nepotism,favouritism, corruption,absenteeism and syco-phancy which are generallyassociated with such officesare prominently shown inthe play in a very genuinemanner. The office has a

peon who listens to none asno one can remove himfrom his permanent job andmoreover no one, even theboss has courage to sayanything to him as he haslot of secrets of theirs andthus exploits them at appro-priate times. Everyone inthe office has his/her weak-ness and each one is busyexploiting that just toimplement personal agenda.The only person whomusters respect from thisstubborn peon is an officialwho is relative of a ministerwho works fearlessly as

being a relative of aMinister, as no one couldharm him in any manner.On the top of it, the Head ofthe Department, who wassupposed to maintainintegrity and punctuality ofthe office himself, shirksfrom his duties and remainsabsconding from the officeto cater to his personalmerry making engage-ments.

But to the dismay of all, avigilance officer conducts asurprise raid and finds noone in the office withoutany information and thusorders suspension of all theabsconders. But by the timethis new situation couldestablish the faith of goodgovernance, the raid by avigilance officer turns outto be dream and the fate ofworking of a Governmentoffice continues to be thesame.

Natrang artists who per-formed in the play includedKuldeep Angral, BhawaniSingh Bali, KananpreetKaur, Kushal Bhat, BrijeshAvtar Sharma and SushantSingh Charak.

The music of the playwas operated by SagarGupta whereas the lightswere operated by NeerajKant.The show was coordi-nated by Mohd. Yaseen.

Natrang presents 'Sarkari

Daftar Ka Ek Din'

GDC Kalakote

organized World

Cancer DayTP CORRESPONDENT

JAMMU, FEB. 04: NSSunit of Government DegreeCollege, Kalakote, in col-laboration with Red crossUnit to commemorate"Azadi ka AmritMahotsav" organisedonline slogan writing com-petition to celebrateWorld's Cancer Day underthe insightful guidance ofthe Principal (GDCKalakote) Dr. RomeshKumar Gupta.

World Cancer Day is cel-ebrated every year onFebruary 4. It is a globaluniting initiative led by theUnion for InternationalCancer Control (UICC).Cancer is the second lead-ing cause of death globally.World Cancer Day aims toprevent millions of deathseach year by raising aware-ness and education aboutcancer and pressing gov-ernments and individualsacross the world to takeaction against the disease.Echoing to the WorldCancer Day 2022 theme'Close the Care Gap' num-ber of students participatedonline.

Dr Romesh Kr. Gupta,Principal GDC Kalakote,online said that treatmentof cancer works best whenit is detected early. He alsolaid emphasis on variouspreventive measuresincluding lifestyle modifi-cations, healthy dietaryhabits etc.

BLSKS observe “the

world cancer day” TP CORRESPONDENT

JAMMU, FEB. 04: Toobserve the World CancerDay & to promote the tradi-tional culture of J&K,Bhartiya Lok Sangeet KalaSansthan presented 97thFriday Musical SeriesConcert "Cancer KolaBacho " on the theme thisyear 2022 "CLOSE THECARE GAP" in close coor-dination with Sangam TruArt Production duringQuarantine Time at Openair theater, Durga BhawanJanipur, Jammu. TheProgram was inauguratedby the Chief GuestV.K.Magotra, formerRegional Director,Directorate of FieldPublicity, Ministry ofInformation andBroadcasting, Governmentof India. Among the Guestof Honors present wereJ.K.Prihar , Former MusicInstructor, Song and DramaDivision, Dr. NareshSharma, Health DepartmentJ&K Government.Specially prepared on thetheme, "Bacho BachoCancer Kola Bacho","Nasha Nai Kario MundeKureio", "Nai PeeSharaban", "Bari KharabChutki", "Wajan Mata naiBadyaoo Loko", "NahinPiyan Tobacco Balma",Nukkad, Skits, Songs andDances were presented to

aware the masses and songswritten produced anddirected by Dr.M.L.Dogra& music was assisted byMr.Raju Bajgal , MusicInstructor. The Chief Guestlauded the efforts of theorganizers in making suchawareness programmes col-orful and also said worldcancer day is celebrated tomake aware the normalpeople about the risk fac-tors and preventive meas-ures of the cancer to getprevented or its early detec-tion. This year is a reminderof the enduring power ofcooperation and collectiveaction. It is observed toraise awareness and reducethe stigma surrounding thedisease that is the secondleading cause of death glob-ally. Take precautions toprevent & spread of virusother infections The pri-mary goal of World CancerDay is to significantlyreduce illness and deathcaused by cancer and is anopportunity to rally theinternational community toend the injustice of prevent-able suffering from cancer.

Welcome speech wasgiven by Dr. M.L. Dogra,Chairman, BLSKS whosaid World Cancer Day iscelebrated every year on4th of February all over theworld to commemorate allthe efforts done by theWHO, United Nations,governmental and non-governmental health organ-izations towards making thestrategy to fight againstcancer as well as distribut-ing the real message aboutthis epidemic disease andits treatments including itsprecautionary measures,"Don't Smoke, Don't useTabaco" by uniting all thepeople a day on globalbasis. <

It represents an empow-ering call-to-action urgingpersonal commitment, andalso represents the power ofaction taken now to have apositive impact on the

future. It focuses on togeth-er, all our actions matter.Dr. Naresh Sharma in hisaddress stressed for extract-ing the maximum attentionof the masses especiallyaddicted population whosuffered from the use oftobacco & tobacco prod-ucts, alcohol and Liquorand other such habit form-ing agents i.e. Cocaine,Morphine, Heroin, etc. andwas also highlighted theMasks can help prevent thespread of the virus from theperson wearing the mask toothers. Masks alone do notprotect against COVID-19,and should be combinedwith physical distancingand hand hygiene. Followthe advice provided by yourlocal health authority. IfCOVID-19 is spreading inyour community, stay safeby taking some simple pre-cautions, such as physicaldistancing, wearing a mask,keeping rooms well venti-lated, avoiding crowds,cleaning your hands, andcoughing into a bent elbowor tissue & World CancerDay aims to prevent mil-lions of deaths each year byraising awareness and edu-cation about cancer, andpressing governments andindividuals across the worldto take action against thedisease.

The singers, musician,actors and students ofmusic and computer insti-tute who participated in themusical concert were M.C.Kotwal, Raju Bajgal, RajniGupta, Bindia Okheda,Chahat Chadha, Jiya Barua,Rakshanda Bhat, DhruvPandit, Rahul Kumar,Ankush Kumar, RanjeetSingh, Rakshit Sharma,Sudesh Manhas, VijayVerma and many otherspresented enthralled per-formances.

At last of the programeMaster Deepak Kumar pre-sented vote of thanks forsuccessful conduct of theprogram.

TP CORRESPONDENTJAMMU, FEB. 04:During

the weekly routine sittingsof Former Minister and ExMLA Jammu West SatSharma (CA) at DistrictBJP headquarters, KachiChawni numerous deputa-tions called upon him andsought his immediate inter-vention in solving theirgrievances. <

District PresidentMunish Khajuria, DistrictGeneral Secretaries KaranSharma & Rajesh Gupta,Mandal President RaveeshMengi , CorporatorsHardeep Singh Mankotia &Suneet Raina, District VicePresident Annu Behnal &

Ajay Manhas, OfficeSecretary Jai Singh Chib &others also accompaniedthe BJP leader.

Deputations hailing fromvarious wards of Janipurand Talab Tillo and fromother areas highlightedtheir problems in front ofthe Former MLA.Deputations hailing fromWards 9, 12, 16, 17, 18, 24,25, 26, 28, 31, 33, 35, 37,38, 40 and 41 met theFormer Minister andapprised him of their prob-lems. Speaking on theoccasion, Sat Sharma saidthat a fruitful discussionwas held with the peoplewho have brought some

issues into his notice thatrequire immediate atten-tion. He stated that somepeople have also demandedfor taking up developmen-tal works in their areasincluding construction oflanes and roads for whichconcerned officials havebeen notified. Several otherdeputations of youth andwomen also met the BJPleader. Sharma also statedthat BJP under the leader-ship of PM Narendra Modiis the only party in Jammuand Kashmir who is reach-ing out to masses and is notlike Congress and its allieswho are working on hollowslogans, he added.

Munish Khajuria saidthat on directions of partyleadership every Friday,our elected representativewill sit in District head-quarters and will listen topublic grievances and con-tinuing this event this willcontinue and if anyonefrom anywhere has any sortof grievance can come toDistrict headquarters,Kachi Chawni for solvingtheir problems.

Congress and its allies working

on hollow slogans : Sat

"BJP Government Playing With the

Future of Our Youth": SawhneyTP CORRESPONDENT

JAMMU, FEB. 04:Former Minister J&K andsenior Congress leaderYogesh Sawhney in a state-ment made on Fridaystrongly opposed the UTGovernment's decision towithdraw withdrawn all theposts referred to the PublicService Commission (PSC)and Services SelectionBoard (SSB) beforeOctober 31, 2019, forwhich selections have notbeen finalized till date.Slamming the government,Sawhney stated the gov-ernment is playing with thefuture of the youth ofJammu & Kashmir. Theunemployment rate amongyoung people is very highacross the nation and inJammu and Kashmir espe-cially. While the govern-ment should try to remedythat, it is doing exactly theopposite of what is needed,said Sawhney.

The former Ministertermed the decision foolishand shameful saying thatstudents and youth mem-bers are suffering at thebehest of an ignorant gov-ernment. Government jobswhich used to offer asecure and safe livelihoodto the people of J&K hasnow been proved. All postsbefore 31st Oct, 2019 havebeen withdrawn withoutany consideration whetherexams for those posts wereheld later. Even posts forwhich exams were held as

late as 2020 will be with-drawn. While it isn't thefault of the people, thenwhy is it that they will suf-fer? What about studentswho worked hard to earnthose jobs and now justbecause the administrationdid not finalize the results,they'll lose them with nofault of their own.Employment opportunitiesdecline in India due to theeconomic devastationcaused by the actions of theBJP Government. If thegovernment continues towalk this path, the numberof salaried jobs - one of themost secure forms ofemployment - are expectedto decline further. Despiteworrying numbers ofunemployment, theAdministration goes aheadwith this kind of decision.

Lambasting PrimeMinister Narendra Modi-led government for takingactions triggering unem-ployment, he said thatwidespread unemploymentis prevalent in the country.The Youth is in distressbecause big factories areshutting down, investmentis not coming, and thenumber of governmentjobs is shrinking. Under theBJP Government at thecenter, the condition ofyouth in J&K is only wors-ened with every year.Despite being qualified andskilled, many youngstersare unable to find unem-ployment. According to the

Centre for MonitoringIndian Economy (CMIE)figures, J&K touched a22.2 percent unemploy-ment rate, which is evenhigher than the nationallevel unemployment rate of7.1 percent recorded acrossIndia. The higher unem-ployment rate in J&K is acause of concern as thereseems to be no improve-ment in the job scenario inthe Union Territory and thegovernment is sitting com-fortably. The rising unem-ployment rate in J&K con-tinues to be a lingeringproblem for the youth whothen choose to run aftergovernment jobs inabsence of a strong privatesector in J&K. But noweven that is being snatchedaway from them by the UTAdministration. This deci-sion, he said, is a graveinjustice to the youth of J&K who depend on the sys-tem and want to get goodjobs on merit. This is a dis-respect to their hard work,and their merit. Jammuitesare getting absolutely noth-ing, every resource is beingtaken away. Firstly jobsand resources cannot begiven away to outsiderswithout any real benefits topeople of Jammu and sec-ondly the limited hope thatpeople do have should notbe taken away like this.The grueling unemploy-ment rates did not warrantthis decision to withdrawthese posts.

DAK welcomes expert panel report to ban

private practice in medical collegesTP CORRESPONDENT

SRINAGAR, FEB. 04:Doctors Association Kashmir(DAK) on Friday welcomedthe expert panel report to banprivate practice of doctors inmedical colleges.

A committee of medicalexperts constituted on thedirections of Jammu andKashmir High Court in itsreport has recommended ablanket ban on private prac-tice of doctors in medical col-leges. The committee com-prised of Prof Y.K. Chawla -Former Director PGI,Chandigarh, Prof Showkat AliZargar - Former DirectorSKIMS, Srinagar, Prof KaisarAhmad - Former PrincipalGovt Medical College,

Srinagar and Prof Ravi Gupta-ex- Medical SuperintendentGMCH, Chandigarh. UrgingJK government to implementthe recommendations of thecommittee, DAK President DrNisar ul Hassan said privatepractice has eaten away ourpremier health institutionswhich not only are cruciallife-saving assets, but also fulltime centers for medical edu-cation and research.

Dr Hassan said the academ-ic character of the health insti-tutions has got damaged andprofession of healthcare hasgot affected by private prac-tice. "There is no provision ofprivate practice of doctorsworking in teaching hospitalsas they have a huge responsi-

bility of patient care, teachingand research," he said. TheDAK President said govern-ment doctor is a governmentservant all the 24 hours of theday, round the clock and doesnot cease to be one during thespare hours when he/she isaway from duty.

'Capitalist Budget', nothing for

common man, said KundalTP CORRESPONDENT

JAMMU, FEB. 04: UnionFinance Minister NirmalaSitharaman presentedBudget 2022 in Parliament.In the long budget speech, hetalked about giving some-thing to every section. Butthe opposition did not likethis budget. The oppositionsays that there is nothing likegiving relief to the commonman in this. The PaintherParty Leader and formerminister Yashpal Kundal hasdirectly rejected the UnionBudget 2022 presented inthe Parliament. Kundal saysthat there is nothing in thisbudget for the common man,

nor for the farmers. Peoplehave not even got a jinglefrom this budget. There isnothing in the general budg-et for the common man.Kundal Said that the govern-ment has delivered a "capi-talist Budget". No roadmapfor job creation and plan toaddress challenges likewidening inequality, fallingincomes and rising unem-ployment. The Budget haszero for common people,who are getting crushed byunemployment and inflation."Govt is lost in big wordssignifying nothing - a pega-sus spin budget." KundalSaid.

Braham Jyot , Raj Kumar Flags off

Taekwondo Team for International Event

TP CORRESPONDENTJAMMU, FEB. 04:

Braham Jyot Satti(President BJP OBCMorcha JK-UT) andRajKumar Tarkhan (JMCChairman and GeneralSecretary BJP OBCMorcha JK-UT ) flags offTaekwondo Team for 9thFujirah international eventwhich will be held at UAE.Atul Pangotra (TaekwondoCoach J and K SportsCouncil) and his TwoTrainees Achutam DevSingh and KushagraSharma leave for partici-pate in this event as Officialand participants respective-ly.

In the program BrahamJyot and RajKumarTarkhan felicitated AtulPangotra and by presentinghim Mata ki Chunni. Theyalso felicitated eliteChandeep Singh, Achutam

and Kushagra by same andwished them best of luckfor this event. Function wasorganised at AITA, Channiwhere trainees are learningTaekwondo skills under thesupervision of AtulPangotra. Atul also felici-tated dignitaries by present-ed them Momentos asToken of Love.

Yesterday same team wasalso felicitated by NuzhatGul (Secretary J K SportsCouncil)

Speaking on the occasionBraham Jyot appreciatedAtul and his trainees forthis achievement and saidthat this proud moment forall jammuties that our chil-dren are representing atIndia levels.

He said this not easy toget selected for these kindsof international champi-onships , It is result of hard-work of Coach, Students

and their parents. Hewished them good luck andsaid with the blessings ofMata Bawe wali team willget success.

He also appreciated parataekwondo internationalplayer Chandeep Singh andsaid he is a motivation forwhole society.

He said sports personsare proud and BJP OBCMorcha always stands withevery segment of society,Will continue to work soci-ety.

RajKumar Tarkhanappreciated Atul Pangotraand his all trainees and saidthis is not the first timewhen trainees of this acade-my are going atInternational level champi-onships. Atul and histrainees have representedIndia in many events so farand counting is still goingon.

He said our sports per-sons are our proud and BJPOBC Morcha stands withall of them .He wishedgood luck to whole teamand said with the blessingsof God , Coach and parentsteam will shine in thisevent.

He said BJP OBCMorcha always tries to dobest work for humanity andtrying to provide helpinghands to everyone.

"Vacant posts of Teachers & Lecturers in Education

Department spoiling the future of students." AAP-J&K TP CORRESPONDENT

JAMMU, FEB. 04: Alltime high un-employmentrate at National level, J&Khas also touched an alarming24% rate here to the cause ofgreat irritation, dissatisfac-tion and frustration amongthe highly educated & trainedun-employed youths whorelentlessly look to the hol-low & fake promises of rul-ing dispensation. As per offi-cial press release issued here,the promise of providing 2crore jobs annually to theyouths of the country in 2014and 50,000 jobs to the youthsof J&K after abrogation ofArt. 370 still haunts theminds of young highly edu-cated youths here, whichnever saw the light of the day.Adding fuel to the fire, sever-al thousands of youthsengaged on contractual basis,ad-hoc basis, daily wagers orneed based arrangements inall departments be it Homeguard, Education, PDD,PHE, Health, Food & civilsupplies & so on so forth hascompounded the miseries offrustrated youths with everypassing day as scores of themare crossing age limit ornearing the same without anyhope of ACHHE DIN, therelease maintained and saidthat previous leaders of suc-cessive state governments aresquarely responsible for the

present mess who, withoutany planning & application ofmind, adjusted the youthssimply to create vote banks &appease their kith & kins, hasput thousands of youths ingreat dilemma & worst con-fusion, the release claimed &maintained that EducationalInstitutions were opened withpolitical considerations with-out proper infrastructure inplace, Health Institutionssanctioned without availabili-ty of staff & Buildings. Therelease appealed the Lt.Governor, Sh. Manoj Sinhato immediately create, adver-tise and fill up all vacantposts of general lineTeachers, lecturers of allstreams in Higher SecondarySchools & colleges in ruralarea of J&K UT without anyfurther delay & fill all thevacant posts in allEducational Institutions inrural area of J&K UT, for jus-tice to the poor students ofrural areas & also to theignored poor highly educated& trained unemployed youthsof J&K UT, so that whole lotof highly educated trainedand frustrated lot, is adjustedand a sense of confidencebuilding is created in theirminds purely on merit basiswithout caste, creed andcolour & this will certainlysignal out that abrogation ofArticle 370 should have been

done much earlier.The release appealed the

Lt. Governor Sh. ManojSinha to take cognizance ofthe deteriorating plight of stu-dent community acrossUnion Territory of Jammuand Kashmir due to non-availability of teaching staffand to take immediate neces-sary steps so that filling up ofvacant posts of Teachers inSchools & all the vacantposts in Govt. Degree col-leges and Govt. Hr. Sec.Schools is taken up on fasttract basis, and future of stu-dents is saved to some extent& also to look deep into thematter on compassionategrounds and find out theways & means to mitigate thesufferings of thousands ofworking class of highly edu-cated youths on priority basis& demanded their regulariza-tion as a special case withspecial package from theCentral Government. Therelease further pointed outthat be it SPOs or any othersuch contractual employeesin colleges or daily ratedincumbent are put to B-gradetreatment at the hands of per-manent employees andstrangely, how in human itthat said unfortunate so calledemployee is sent back tohome without getting regu-larized & without any remu-neration.

Photo by Vivek

Photo by Vivek

Photo by Vivek

TRUTH PREVAIL

JAMMU, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 05, 20226

Relief For Actor Sherlyn Chopra From

Supreme Court In Porn Films Case

NEW DELHI: TheSupreme Court Fridaygranted protection fromarrest to actress SherlynChopra in porn films racketcase.

A bench of JusticesVineet Saran andAniruddha Bose issuednotice to the Maharashtragovernment on the appealfiled by Ms Chopra againsta Bombay High Court orderrejecting her anticipatorybail.

"Issue notice... In themeanwhile, no coerciveaction shall be takenagainst the petitioner," thebench said.

Advocate SunilFernandes, appearing forMs Chopra, submitted thatprotection has already beengiven to other accused in

the case.Ms Chopra has been

arrayed as an accused in theFIR along with actorPoonam Pandey. MsPandey was given protec-tion from arrest by the topcourt on January 18. Thehigh court had rejected heranticipatory bail applica-tion on November 25,2021.

In December, the topcourt had granted protec-tion from arrest to RajKundra in connection withan FIR registered againsthim for allegedly distribut-ing pornographic videos.

Mr Kundra had beenbooked under certainSections of the Indian PenalCode, IndecentRepresentation of Women(Prevention) Act andInformation TechnologyAct, for allegedly distribut-ing/ transmitting sexuallyexplicit videos.

Fearing arrest, MrKundra first sought antici-patory bail from the ses-sions court, but it wasrefused. He then moved thehigh court, claiming that hehad been framed.

The US has asserted thatit stands with India againstChinese intimidation afterBeijing deputed a PLA offi-cer, who was part of the mil-itary command that attackedIndian soldiers in theGalwan Valley in 2020, as atorchbearer for the BeijingWinter Olympics.

China on Wednesdayfielded a regiment com-mander of the People'sLiberation Army (PLA)involved in the June 2020clash with the Indian sol-diers in eastern Ladakh'sGalwan Valley to carry theWinter Olympics torch inBeijing, prompting India toannounce a diplomatic boy-cott of the opening and clos-ing ceremonies of the megasporting event staring on

Friday.Responding to a question

on China's provocativemove, State Departmentspokesperson Ned Price toldreporters at his daily newsconference on Thursday thatthe US has previouslyvoiced its concern overBeijing's pattern of ongoingattempts to intimidate itsneighbours.

"When it comes to thebroader issue of India-Chinaborder situation, we contin-ue to support direct dialogueand a peaceful resolution ofthe border disputes," Pricesaid. “We have previouslyvoiced our concerns onBeijing's pattern of ongoingattempts to intimidate itsneighbours. As we alwaysdo, we stand with friends.

We stand with partners andallies to advance our sharedprosperity, security and val-ues in the Indo-Pacific,” hesaid. The US, India and sev-eral other world powershave been talking about theneed to ensure a free, openand thriving Indo-Pacific inthe backdrop of China'saggressive military manoeu-vring in the resource-richregion which is also crucialfor global trade and ship-ping. China claims nearly allof the disputed South ChinaSea, though Taiwan, thePhilippines, Brunei,Malaysia and Vietnam allclaim parts of it. Beijing hasbuilt artificial islands andmilitary installations in theSouth China Sea. China alsohas territorial disputes with

Japan in the East China Sea.Meanwhile, two top

American senators haveslammed China for its deci-sion to field the regimentalcommander of the PLA asthe torchbearer for theGames Torch Relay.

“Another outrageousexample of the #CCP's fla-grant politicization ofBeijing2022. Their decisionto choose a soldier who par-ticipated in a 2020 ambushagainst Indian troops astorchbearer is appalling anddeliberately provocative,”Senator Marco Rubio said.

The senator from Floridasaid he stands with India.<

In another tweet, SenatorJim Risch, a RankingMember of the powerful USSenate Foreign Relations

Committee, also said the USwill continue to support thesovereignty of India.

"It's shameful that Beijingchose a torchbearer for theOlympics 2022 who's partof the military commandthat attacked India in 2020and is implementing geno-cide against the Uyghurs.The US will continue tosupport Uyghur freedomsand the sovereignty ofIndia," Risch tweeted.House of RepresentativesSpeaker Nancy Pelosialleged that it is an attemptof the Chinese governmentand Chinese CommunistParty to use the glitz andglamour of the Olympics toshowcase a facade that dis-tracts global attention fromegregious human rights

abuses in China. “Theseefforts generate many ques-tions that the Congressional-Executive Commission onChina (CECC) exploredthroughout 2021 regardingthe policies of theInternational OlympicCommittee, the nexusbetween major sportingevents and human rights,and the responsibilities ofgovernments, sporting bod-ies, corporate sponsors,broadcasters, and othersaffiliated with theseOlympic Games,” she said.Meanwhile, Rubio was onThursday joined by severalother senators, includingRick Scott, Josh Hawley,Mike Braun, Ted Cruz andBill Hagerty, in introducingthe ‘No PLA Loopholes'.

America Stands With India Against

Chinese Intimidation, Says US

JAIPUR: Jagan Gurjar, adacoit, is facing over 120cases of murder, abduction,looting, and extortion. Thistime, he is being hunted byRajasthan police for threaten-ing the Dholpur MLA in avideo.

Rajasthan Police launcheda special operation in theDang area of Dholpur for hisarrest after a video of himthreatening Bari MLA GirirajSingh Malinga went viral onsocial media.

The dispute reportedlybegan in January whenGurjar had an altercationwith some shopkeepers inDholpur. Locals say thatGurjar even fired in the air to

scare off the shopkeepers.The traders complained tothe police and GirirajMalinga.

Gurjar, angry that thepolice were tracking himonce again, released a videothreatening the MLA.

In another video, Gurjar isseen abusing the Congressleader and claims that MrMalinga had asked him tokill a person. Referring tothis person as 'Jasvant vid-hayak' (Jasvant MLA),Gurjar says that he did notkill him.

The Bari legislator deniesthe allegations.

The dacoit also challengesMr Malinga to face him with-

out his security in a thirdvideo.

The Congress MLA alsoreleased a retaliatory video,in which he is heard saying "Ihaven't taken any police pro-tection, I am just waiting forhim. He should come to myhouse and face me if he is amard ka bachha (man's son)."

Speaking to reporters, MrMalinga said, "These peopleare local goons and they reg-ularly threaten and browbeatpeople here, which I will notallow. If Gurjar is threateningme that he will shoot a bulletat me, then my gun is not awater pistol either."

Rajasthan police haveoffered a reward of ? 50,000for the arrest of Jagan Gurjar.

"We are looking for him inChambal and Morena. Weare talking to local people toget information about him.We will arrest him soon" saidDholpur Superintendent ofPolice Shivraj Meena.

This is not the first timethe dacoit has made the head-lines. In 2008, Gurjar hadthreatened to blow up the res-idence of the then ChiefMinister Vasundhara Raje.He had surrendered in 2009,at a rally being addressed byCongress leader Sachin Pilot.

"My Gun Ain't Water Pistol": Rajasthan

Congress MLA vs Wanted DacoitNEW DELHI: Two peo-

ple have been arrested forfiring at the convoy ofAsaduddin Owaisi, MP andchief of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen(AIMIM), while he wasreturning to Delhi yesterdayafter campaigning in UttarPradesh's Meerut.

According to police, theyhave said during question-ing that they were hurt byMr Owaisi's alleged"remarks against one partic-ular religion".

Mr Owaisi last nighttweeted visuals showingtwo bullet holes on hiswhite SUV. The third bulletallegedly hit a tyre. The MPsaid he was unharmed andleft the area in another car.

One of the accused isSachin, a resident of Noidawho has an earlier attemptto murder case against him.While he has claimed thathe holds a law degree,police are verifying it. In hisFacebook profile, Sachinsays he is a member of aHindu right-wing organisa-tion, police said, adding thatthey are investigating theclaim.

The other accused is

Shubham, a farmer fromSaharanpur who does nothave a criminal record.

According to police, thetwo have told them duringquestioning that they wereupset with remarks made byMr Owaisi and his brotherand MLA AkbaruddinOwaisi. "The accused saidthey were hurt by his(Asaduddin Owaisi)remarks against a particularreligion. They will be pro-duced before the court,"Additional Director Generalof Police, Law And Order,Prashant Kumar said,according to news agency

ANI.Police have recovered

countrymade pistols fromthem which they had recent-ly purchased. Police arenow looking for the peoplethey bought the firearmsfrom.

The accused will now bepresented in court andpolice would seek their cus-tody. Mr Owaisi was todayprovided Z category securi-ty cover by the CentralReserve Police Force(CRPF) after the govern-ment reviewed the threatlevel in the light of lastnight's attack.

"Hurt By Asaduddin Owaisi Remark

Against 1 Religion": Firing Case AccusedIf Congress Had Worked, No Need For

Me To Join Politics: Arvind KejriwalPANAJI: Aam Aadmi

Party convener ArvindKejriwal today hit out atthe Congress, saying thathad it worked for people,there was no need for aperson like him to comeinto politics.

His statement comes aday after Congress generalsecretary Randeep SinghSurjewala described MrKejriwal as "ChhotaModi" and said he hascome to Goa to give "cov-ering fire" to the rulingBJP, which is "losing"ground in the coastal statethat is going to polls onFebruary 14.

Referring to MrSurjewala's statement,Arvind Kejriwal toldreporters, "Let him saywhatever he wants. Whatdifference does it make?"

"Actually, even in his(Randeep Surjewala's)dream, he finds me like aghost. All the time, 24hours, I am there in hismind. They (Congressleaders) keep badmouthingme," he said.

The Delhi Chief

Minister said that insteadof speaking ill about him,the Congress should haveworked for the people."Had they worked for thepeople, there was no needof Kejriwal in politics," hesaid.

The AAP leader saidthat people vote for hisparty because of its "goodwork".

Asked about Congresscandidates in Goa signingaffidavits and takingpledge of party loyalty inthe presence of RahulGandhi the way AAP can-didates had done, MrKejriwal said the Congressleader is welcome to copyall good things of the AAP.

"Let him (RahulGandhi) copy our goodthings. We want thatCongress should alsoimplement our schemes instates like Rajasthan andChhattisgarh, where theyare in power," he said.

Let Congress do allgood things, then there isno need for me to run apolitical party, MrKejriwal added.

India turned down ademand of Elon Musk'sTesla Inc. for tax breaks toimport electric cars, sayingrules already allow bring-ing in partially-built vehi-cles and assembling themlocally at a lower levy.

"We looked at whetherthe duties need to be re-jigged, but some domesticproduction is happeningand some investments havecome in with the currenttariff structure," VivekJohri, chairman of theCentral Board of IndirectTaxes and Customs, said inan interview Thursday. "So,it is clear that this is not ahindrance."

Prime Minister NarendraModi's administration hasencouraged Tesla to pro-duce locally, while Musk

wants India to lower taxes -- as high as 100% onimported EVs -- to enablethe company to first sellvehicles built elsewhere atcompetitive prices.However, it levies importduties of between 15-30%on parts shipped for assem-

bly in the nation.Tesla has yet to present a

plan for local manufactur-ing and procurement fromIndia, even after the gov-ernment asked for it, Johrisaid. The federal budgetearlier this week didn'tmention any tax breaks for

cleaner but imported vehi-cles, even though the west-ern state of Maharashtra --home to financial capitalMumbai -- publicly backedTesla's demands.

Politicians from at leastfive Indian states haveinvited Tesla to set up shopin their provinces afterMusk said last month theU.S. electric-vehicle pio-neer was still facing a lot ofchallenges with the federalgovernment. India hasasked Tesla to considerimporting so-calledknocked-down units or par-tially built vehicles, whichattract a lower import levy,instead of fully-built units.

Tesla should follow thelead of domestic companieslike Mahindra & MahindraLtd. and Tata Motors Ltd.,

which are investing inbuilding local capacity forelectric vehicles, Johri said."There are others importingcompletely built units. Thatroute is open," he said.

Tesla is also up againstthe likes of Mercedes-Benz, which will roll out alocally assembled EQS --the electric version of itsflagship S-Class sedan -- inIndia by the fourth quarterof this year. Indian roadsare still dominated bycheap, petrol- and diesel-powered cars made by thelocal units of HyundaiMotor Co. and SuzukiMotor Corp, with electricvehicles accounting for lessthan 1% of total sales,underscoring a huge oppor-tunity for EV-makers in theworld's second-most popu-

lous nation.Tesla first disclosed defi-

nite intent of entering Indiaas early as 2019, but Musksaid local rules prohibit himfrom testing the waters firstwith imports, as high dutiesmake Tesla cars "unafford-able." In October, an Indianminister said he had askedTesla to avoid sellingChina-made cars in thecountry, and urged theautomaker to manufacture,sell and export vehiclesfrom a local factory.

"Some investment hasalready come in with thecurrent tariff structure. Sowhy can't others also comein?" Johri said. "There areother foreign brands alsowhich are being sold in thecountry with the currenttariff structure."

India Rejects Elon Musk's CallsFor Tax Breaks In Fresh Blow

Supreme Court Asks States To Give Compensation

Within 10 Days To Families Of Covid VictimsNEW DELHI: The

Supreme Court Fridaydirected all states govern-ments and Union Territoriesto appoint dedicated nodalofficer to coordinate with themember secretary of thestate legal service authority(SLSA) to facilitate paymentof compensation to familymembers of COVID-19 vic-tims. A bench comprisingJustices M R Shah and B VNagarathna also directed thestate governments to givefull particulars like name,address and death certificateto the concerned SLSA, asalso complete details withrespect to orphans, withinone week from today(Friday) failing which thematter shall be viewed veryseriously. The top court reit-erated that applications seek-ing compensation should notbe rejected on technicalgrounds and if any technicalglitch is found, the statesconcerned should give themopportunity to cure defectsas the ultimate goal of thewelfare state is to provide

some solace and compensa-tion to victims.

States should make allendeavours to pay the com-pensation to the victimswithin a maximum period of10 days from the receipt ofthe claim, it said.

"Despite our earlier orderdirecting all the state gov-ernments to give full particu-lars of the deaths due toCovid-19 registered withtheir portal and the numberof persons to whom the exgratia payment is made, itappears that most of thestates have given only statis-tics and no full particularsare given. "The object andpurpose of our earlier orderto give full particulars was tosee that at least with respectto those cases which are reg-istered with the state govern-ments if they have notapproached the appropriateauthorities for compensa-tion," the bench said.

"The legal servicesauthority will reach themand see that they make anapplication and they act as

facilitator as a bridge.Similarly the particularswith respect to orphans arenot given. We direct all thestate governments to givefull particulars includingtheir name, address, deathcertificate etc. to the con-cerned state legal serviceauthority including full par-ticulars with respect toorphans within one weekfrom today failing which thematter shall be viewed veryseriously," it said.

The Supreme Court saidthat the endeavour of legalservices authority would beto reach to thosesufferers/victims who haveyet not approached for what-ever reasons. "We also directthe concerned state govern-ments to appoint a dedicatedofficer, not below the rank ofdeputy secretary in ChiefMinister Secretariat, whoshall be in constant touchwith the member secretaryof the state legal serviceauthority so that he maycoordinate with him and seeto it that the applications are

received from eligible per-sons.

"As and when the particu-lars are given on verifica-tion, the member secretaryfinds that out of the case reg-istered , some of familymembers are yet not givencompensation, the membersecretary to reach to themthrough the secretary DLSA/secretary Taluka and paralegal volunteers. Their func-tion would be to facilitatethose who could notapproach to make an appli-cation for compensation andsee that they get compensa-tion. Their role shall be ofombudsman as a bridgebetween the victims and thegovernment. If there is anydifficulty found by the mem-ber secretary he may imme-diately approach the con-cerned person herein aboveand all are directed to coop-erate," the bench said.

The court also rapped theMaharashtra government forrejecting applications sub-mitted offline seeking com-pensation.

NEW DELHI: Just twopersons affected by thePegasus spyware have sofar pledged to give theirphones to the SC-appoint-ed technical committeelooking into the Pegasusissue, forcing the panel toextend the timeline foraffected persons to turn upbefore it.

The technical committeeappointed by the SupremeCourt has now given moretime, till February 8, forpeople to come forwardand contact the panel ifthey suspected that theirdevices were infected bythe Pegasus malware.

The development comesamid the fresh allegationsin the Pegasus spywareissue. A recent New YorkTimes report claiming thatIndia bought Pegasus spy-ware as part of a USD 2billion defence deal withIsrael in 2017, triggered amajor controversy lastSaturday, with theOpposition alleging that

the government indulgedin illegal snooping thatamounted to "treason".

In a public notice issuedon Thursday in leadingdailies, the SC appointedpanel said that in responseto its initial appeal to thepublic in January, only twopersons have producedtheir mobile instrumentsfor taking digital images.

"Therefore, the technicalcommittee once againrequests those who havereasonable causes tobelieve their mobile instru-ment is infected withPegasus spyware to comeforward and contact thetechnical committee withreasons as to why theybelieve that their mobileinstrument may have beeninfected with Pegasus mal-ware on or beforeFebruary 8, 2022, by anemail...," it said.

The previous notice lastmonth had mentioned atimeline of January 7,2022.

Centre "Committed" On MSP Panel, To

Form Committee After Assembly PollsNEW DELHI: The gov-

ernment is committed toforming a panel onMinimum Support Price(MSP) and the ElectionCommission has said it canbe done after the polls areover, Agriculture MinisterNarendra Singh Tomar saidin the Rajya Sabha today.

While announcing therepeal of three farm laws inNovember last year, PrimeMinister Narendra Modihad promised to set up acommittee to discuss thefarmers' demand for a legalguarantee on MSP.

Replying to a supplemen-tary question during theQuestion Hour, Mr Tomarsaid the government hadwritten to the ElectionCommission in view ofassembly elections in fivestates.

The minister said thematter of forming theCommittee on MSP is underconsideration of the min-istry and "will be formedafter the elections are over".

"The entire countryknows that the PrimeMinister has announced theformation of a committee tomake crop diversification,natural farming and MSP

effective and transparent.The government is commit-ted to the announcementmade by the PM. The matteris under consideration of theministry," Mr Tomar said.

He said since the elec-tions are on, the govern-ment had written to the ECfor guidance.

"The EC's reply hascome. It has said that thecommittee should beformed after the electionsconclude," the ministersaid.

Elections are scheduledin five states of UttarPradesh, Uttarakhand,Manipur, Goa and Punjab.

Replying to anotherquery by Prasanna Acharya(BJD) who asked if the gov-ernment is consideringbringing a bill in this Houseto give a legal guarantee toMSP, Mr Tomar said priorto 2018, there was no mech-anism to define MSP andmake farming profitable.

In fact, fixing MSP at 50per cent higher than the costof production was one ofthe 14 recommendations ofthe SwaminathanCommittee that were reject-ed by the inter-ministrypanel then, he said.

Charanjit Channi Cares Only About

"Channi, Honey, Money": Bikram MajithiaA M R I T S A R

(PUNJAB): ShiromaniAkali Dal leader BikramSingh Majithia on Fridaytook a dig at Punjab ChiefMinister after the arrest ofhis nephew BhupinderSingh Honey in an illegalsand mining case and saidthat all Charanjit SinghChanni cares about is"Channi (himself), Honey(nephew), and money".

"Channi has only caredabout Channi, Honey andmoney. Initially, moneywas seized, then Honeywas arrested and now is theturn of Channi becauseHoney's only identity isthat of Chief Minister'snephew," he said.

The EnforcementDirectorate (ED) on lateThursday evening arrestedBhupinder Singh Honey inan illegal sand mining casefrom Jalandhar after day-long questioning, saidsources.

Honey was being ques-tioned at ED's office atJalandhar. ED arrestedHoney under the provi-sions of the Prevention ofMoney Laundering Act(PMLA). He is likely to be

produced later in the daybefore a Special Court atMohali. ED's action camearound 20 days after itseized more than ? 10crore, gold worth above 21lakh and a Rolex watchworth ? 12 lakh from theresidential premises ofBhupinder Singh Honey,and others in connectionwith an alleged illegal sandmining case.

The ED had declared therecoveries after it conclud-ed its two-day raid con-ducted at the business andresidential premises of theaccused persons and theirassociates in over a dozenplaces in Mohali,Ludhiana, Rupnagar,Fatehgarh Sahib andPathankot.

The federal agency hadalso raided the premises ofthe accused persons andtheir associates includingKudratdeep Singh, theowner of Pinjore RoyaltyCompany, and his partnersand shareholdersKanwarmahip Singh,Manpreet Singh, SunilKumar Joshi, Jagveer InderSingh on January 18 and19.

Pegasus Spyware: Only 2 Devices Given

For Probe Yet, Says Supreme Court Panel

NATIoNAL/STATe

TRUTH PREVAIL

JAMMU, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 05, 20227 HeALTH

The number of COVID-19hospitalizations decreasedslightly again this past weekin the United States as newcases fell significantly.

Hospitalizations nation-wide are now sitting at slight-ly under 120,000, about 8,000fewer than last week.

California has the mostCOVID-19 hospitalizations,with more than 13,000 peo-ple, about 2,000 fewer than aweek ago. Texas is next withmore than 12,000 hospitaliza-tions, about 1,000 fewer thana week ago. New York fol-lows it with more than 7,000hospitalizations, about 2,000fewer than a week ago.

A chartTrusted Sourcecompiled by the Centers forDisease Control andPrevention (CDC) projects adecrease in hospitalizationsover the next few weeks.

Information compiled byBecker’s Hospital Reviewshows 14 states with COVID-19 hospitalizations with morethan 50 per 100,000 residents.There were 16 a week ago. Atotal of 5 states have morethan 60 or more hospitaliza-tions per capita.

West Virginia tops the listwith 69 hospitalizations per100,000 residents. Alabamafollows it with 65 hospitaliza-tions per 100,000 residents.

Nevada is next with 63 hos-

pitalizations per 100,000 resi-dents. Kentucky follows with61 hospitalizations per100,000 residents, whileMissouri has 60 hospitaliza-tions per 100,000 residents.

Vermont has the lowest percapita rate, with 16 COVID-19 hospitalizations per100,000 residents. Alaska isthe next lowest with 25 hospi-talizations per 100,000 resi-dents. Utah has 26 hospital-izations per 100,000 resi-dents.

Despite the decline inCOVID-19 cases and hospi-talizations, experts say weshould remain on guard andvigilant as the Omicron wavesubsides.

“My cautious optimismhopes that we are past thepeak of the Omicron surge,but I am not yet ready to hoistthe ‘Mission Accomplished’

banner,” Dr. WilliamSchaffner, an infectious dis-ease specialist fromVanderbilt University inTennessee, told Healthline.“Better to keep wearingmasks for a month too longrather than take them off amonth too soon.

“Cases and hospitalizationsneed to drop more and for amore sustained time beforewe can start to relax,” headded. “I anticipate that thisstill will take a while in ourlarge and diverse country. Thedeclines in COVID cases andhospitalizations will occur atdifferent speeds in differentparts of the country.”

Dr. Jamila Taylor, directorof healthcare reform and asenior fellow at The CenturyFoundation, said we shouldkeep an eye on all the num-bers until we better under-

stand what’s happening.This is particularly true,

she added, when looking athospitalizations.

Schaffner agreed that hos-pitalizations are a crucialbarometer of where we are inthe pandemic.

“All metrics are of interestbut have their limitations. Thepercent of tests that are posi-tive remains a crude measureof how intensely the virus isbeing transmitted. It is imper-fect because it does notaccount for at-home tests orrepeat tests,” he explained.

“Hospitalizations are amore stringent measure, butwith widespread testing,many patients who are admit-ted for other reasons can havea positive test, so thatobscures COVID-specificadmissions.

“As an aside, hospitalsremain concerned about thosewho have an ‘incidental’ pos-itive COVID test becausesuch patients must be isolatedand require more elaboratecare and resources,”Schaffner said.

Cases and deathsOverall, the United States

has reported 74 millionCOVID-19 cases since thepandemic began. Deathsrelated to COVID-19 in theUnited States have now sur-passed 886,000.

Here’s Where COVID-19 Hospitalizations,

Cases Are Rising and Falling

With the 2022 WinterOlympics just days awayand the world still in thethroes of the COVID-19pandemic, Olympic ath-letes might miss out oncompeting if they devel-op the disease.

It’s already become aproblem for the U.S.team, after U.S. bobsled-der, Josh Williamson,tested positive forCOVID-19 just 4 daysbefore his scheduleddeparture for Beijing.The bobsled competi-tions are scheduled forthe final week of theOlympics, leaving hopefor Williamson that hewill be able to compete.

But to do so, he willhave to follow strict pro-tocols put forth from theInternational OlympicCommittee. And whatabout other athletes withmore imminent competi-tions who may test posi-tive?

“As I understand it,the Olympic Committeehas a thick rule book thatcovers just about all cir-cumstances,” said Dr.William Schaffner, pro-fessor of preventivemedicine, department ofhealth policy, and pro-fessor of medicine, divi-sion of infectious dis-eases at VanderbiltUniversity. “The athletesand their coaches havelittle choice.”

The rule book haspolicies laid out forevery scenario, andshould a competitor testpositive, it may be verytricky for them to gothrough with a competi-tion.

The U.S. OlympicBobsled team poses

before flying to China.Joe Scarnici/GettyImages for USOPC

What are the COVID-19 testing protocols forthe 2022 WinterOlympics?

The chief medical offi-cer of the U.S. Olympicteam told TheAssociated Press that allof the 200-plus athletesheading to Beijing arefully vaccinated. Still,breakthrough infectionsare possible.

The InternationalOlympic Committee hasa clear plan for layers oftesting, to detect poten-tial infections at everystage.

“While participantsneed to have at least twonegative pre-departuretests within 96 and 72hours prior to theirdeparture, they willimmediately be testedupon arrival. Games par-ticipants are asked totake a PCR test at theairport. Trained customsstaff will take an oropha-ryngeal (throat) and anasopharyngeal (nose)swab sample, which willbe combined for analy-sis.”

In addition, Olympicparticipants will bePCR-tested daily forCOVID-19, which willminimize the chance ofundetected positivecases.

We know the impactsclimate change can haveon our planet, but whateffects can it have on ourhealth? Healthline’sTRANSFORM: Futureof Health series exploreswhat’s next in health andwellness.

What if an athlete tests

positive?If an athlete tests posi-

tive for COVID-19 andis asymptomatic, he orshe will be dischargedfrom isolation once theyhave two consecutivePCR test results that aretaken 24 hours apart.

Dr. Brian Mcloskey,chair of the Beijing 2022Medical Expert Panel,said in a press confer-ence, “We have alwayssaid the target is not zerocases; the target is zerospread… The challengeis to make sure we pickthose up very quicklyand that they do notcause a spreadingevent.”

For athletes, likeWilliamson, who testpositive and are less than30 days from recovery,they must submit to a“four test” rule. Thatrule states that athletesmust test negative fourtimes before departing— twice within 96hours, with the testscoming at least 24 hoursapart and one of themwithin 72 hours ofdeparture, and twice intests that are taken atleast 24 hours apart afterrecovery.

Researchers in the U.K.used a newly adapted test tofind that some people whocontract SARS-CoV-2, thevirus that causes COVID-19, could still transmit thevirus to others — even aftera 10-day quarantine.

The test detects levels oflive virus and was used forpeople confirmed to haveCOVID-19 using a conven-tional PCR test.

Out of the 176 partici-pants, findings found that 13percent still showed “clini-cally relevant” levels of livevirus after 10 days, withsome showing significantlevels for up to 68 days.

“The test works by detect-ing a piece of the COVID-19 virus that is only presentwhen the virus is dividingand therefore potentiallyactive,” Professor LornaHarries, PhD, of the

University of ExeterMedical School, who over-saw the study, toldHealthline.

The study was publishedtoday in the InternationalJournal of InfectiousDiseases.

PCR is the ‘gold standard’of testing

“The PCR test amplifiesand then replicates the RNAfrom the virus — in otherwords, it detects if geneticmaterial from the COVIDvirus is present in your sam-ple,” said Dr. Robert G.Lahita, director of theInstitute for Autoimmuneand Rheumatic Disease atSaint Joseph Health, andauthor of “ImmunityStrong.”

He emphasized that thePCR test is the “gold stan-dard” of tests for figuringout whether someone is pos-

itive for COVID-19, and isthe most accurate.

Harries explained the testused for this study worksunder exactly the same con-ditions as conventional PCRtests, and “can be used onthe same clinical sample asis being taken routinely.”

She confirmed that thedetails of the test are nowpublished, for use by any-one.

High levels of infectioneven after following strictisolation

“Our local hospital hadnoticed that they were stillseeing high levels of infec-tion in staff and patients dur-ing the first wave of COVIDdespite following strict iso-lation rules,” said Harries.

“So the question waswhether there were peoplewho were still infectiousafter 10 days,” she contin-

ued.According to Harries, the

findings weren’t entirelysurprising. She pointed outthat “everyone is different,”and it’s expected that indi-viduals will vary in theirability to clear the virus.

“But we were surprised,and a little worried, by howmany people still had highlevels of potentially infec-tious virus after 10 days,”she admitted. “At 7 days, itis about 1 in 5, and at 5 days1 in 3 according to ourdata.”

Lead study author MerlinDavies, a PhD student at theUniversity of ExeterMedical School, said in astatement that in some worksettings it may make senseto require people to test foractive virus before returningto work.

He also said they want to

conduct larger trials.We know the impacts cli-

mate change can have onour planet, but what effectscan it have on our health?Healthline’s TRANSFORM:Future of Health seriesexplores what’s next inhealth and wellness.

Data may contradict newCDC guidelines

According to Lahita,detecting clinically relevantlevels of virus after quaran-tine is a significant findingin light of current Centersfor Disease Control andPrevention (CDC)guidelinesTrusted Source.

“Right now, the CDC issaying people can stop iso-lating after 5 days if theywear a mask for the follow-ing 5 days, and after 10 theyare good to go,” he pointedout.

“Because of the findingsof this study, the data essen-tially fly in the face of thecurrent CDC guidelines —for some individuals,”Lahita continued.

He also said that we needto keep in mind that thestudy only indicated 1 in 10,and not 100 percent of peo-ple, were found to carry livevirus.

Nearly 1 in 10 People with COVID Are Still Infectious 10 Days Later

What Happens to Olympic Athletes If

They Test Positive for COVID-19

The Cost of HIV

TreatmentForty years ago, HIV and

AIDS were unheard of in theUnited States. The first casesof what was then a mysteri-ous illness were diagnosed inthe 1980s, but effective treat-ments took several moredecades to develop.

A cure for HIV doesn’t yetexist, but treatments areavailable to extend the livesof those with HIV and helpstop transmission of thevirus. Many of the highlyactive antiretroviral therapiesavailable today work effec-tively to slow the progressionof disease caused by HIV.

But all treatments comewith a cost — some morethan others. Let’s take a lookat the average costs of HIVtreatment and potential waysto save money.

Current prescription drugcosts

Below is a table that con-tains an average of estimatedcosts for both brand-nameand generic medications.This isn’t a comprehensivelist of HIV medications. Talkto a pharmacist to find outthe cost of any medicationthat isn’t included.

These numbers are a snap-shot of costs from one day intime, so they’re just a roughestimate. They can provide ageneral idea about drugcosts, but keep in mind thatthere are many factors thatcan make these medicationsless expensive.

The first doses of an experimentalHIV vaccine that uses Moderna’smRNA technology have been given toparticipants in a phase 1 clinical trial,the company announced last week.

The trial is being conducted in part-nership with the nonprofit InternationalAIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI).Researchers are testing whether anmRNA-based vaccine that delivers theinstructions for HIV-specific antigenscan induce certain immune responses.

These antigens, also known as

immunogens, were developed by scien-tific teams at IAVI and ScrippsResearch. A “proof-of-concept” triallast year found that one of theseimmunogens generated the desiredimmune response — priming the rightkinds of B cells — in 97 percent of par-ticipants.

That trial delivered the primingimmunogen itself to the cells. The cur-rent trial will use Moderna’s mRNAtechnology to deliver the geneticinstructions for the immunogen, which

the cells will then use to make that pro-tein.

In addition, researchers are testing aseparate boosting immunogen — alsodelivered via the mRNA platform — tosee if it can help the B cells mature fur-ther in the right direction.

“We are tremendously excited to beadvancing this new direction in HIVvaccine design with Moderna’s mRNAplatform,” Dr. Mark Feinberg, presi-dent and CEO of IAVI, said in a state-ment. “The search for an HIV vaccinehas been long and challenging, andhaving new tools, in terms of immuno-gens and platforms, could be the key tomaking rapid progress toward anurgently needed, effective HIV vac-cine.” The new trial, funded in part bythe Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,is the first step in the process of guidingthe maturation of certain types of Bcells. The ultimate goal is stimulatingthe development of B cells that can pro-duce broadly neutralizing antibodiesthat can target a broad range of HIVvariants.

An eventual vaccine using thismethod will likely involve multipledoses given over weeks to years.

Researchers will enroll 56 healthy,HIV-negative adult volunteers in thecurrent clinical trial. Of these, 48 willreceive 1 or 2 doses of the primingimmunogen vaccine, with 32 alsoreceiving the boosting immunogen vac-cine. Eight people will receive only thevaccine for the boosting immunogen.

In addition, researchers will followparticipants for 6 months after their lastdose to examine their immune respons-es and monitor for potential safety con-cerns.

HIV shows remarkable geneticdiversity

It has been almost 40 yearsTrustedSource since scientists identified thehuman immunodeficiency virus (HIV)as the cause of AIDS.

Since then, researchers have tried todevelop an effective vaccine to protectagainst HIV — with several large-scalephase 3 clinical trials but no real suc-cess.

An independent advisorycommittee for the Food andDrug Administration votedThursday torecommendTrusted Sourceemergency approval of aCOVID-19 vaccine developedby Pfizer and BioNTech.

The FDA isn’t required tofollow the advice of theVaccines and RelatedBiological Products AdvisoryCommittee, although it usuallydoes.

The panel voted to recom-mend approval with 17 votesfor approval, four against andone abstaining.

The committee’s recom-mendation is for emergencyuse of the vaccine in people 16years or older.

However, there was dis-agreement among the commit-tee on whether 16- and 17-year-olds should be included,due to a lack of clinical trialdata on this group.

It’s possible that the FDAcould exclude this group if itmoves forward with the emer-gency use authorization(EUA).

The agency could make afinal decision on the EUA bynext week, reported the

Associated Press.Last week, U.K. regulators

approved the Pfizer/BioNTechvaccine for emergency use,with the first vaccinationsoccurring on Tuesday.

Canada’s regulatory agencyapproved the vaccine for emer-gency use on Wednesday.

High efficacy amongyounger and older adults

Earlier in the week, the FDAreleased a briefingdocumentTrusted Source forthe advisory committee meet-ing. It includes detailed clini-cal trial data about the safetyand efficacy of the vaccine.

The data confirmed that thevaccine protects people againstsymptomatic infection of thenew coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, with an average efficacy of95 percent when measured atleast 7 days after the seconddose.

Dr. Reynold Panettieri Jr.,vice chancellor for translation-al medicine and science direc-tor at Rutgers Institute forTranslational Medicine andScience, said the efficacyresults are “stunning and spec-tacular.”

“By and large, it was veryimpressive data that exceeded

most expectations,” he said.He pointed out that the vac-

cine also showed high efficacyin both older and younger peo-ple. The average efficacy inpeople over 55 years was 93.7percent; for younger people itwas 95.6 percent.

“That’s important becauseolder adults are especially vul-nerable to COVID-19,” hesaid.

Efficacy is a measure ofhow well a vaccine works dur-ing a clinical trial. Real-worldeffectiveness for a vaccine isoften lower due to a number offactors.

The efficacy of the vaccinewas also similarly high acrossother subgroups, except forparticipants who identified asmultiracial and people whohad a SARS-CoV-2 infectionbefore the study.

There were too few peoplein these groups to interpret thedata, the FDA scientists wrotein the briefing document.

The results presented by theFDA are based on data fromabout 38,000 people 16 yearsand older who took part in thePfizer/BioNTech phase 3 clini-cal trial.

Participants were randomly

assigned to receive either twodoses of the vaccine about 3weeks apart, or two doses of aninactive placebo on the sameschedule.

Some protection after 1 doseThe data also suggests that

the vaccine may benefit peoplea little over 1 week after thefirst dose.

In the group that receivedthe vaccine, COVID-19 casesstarted to plateau at about 10days after the first dose, whilecases in the placebo groupcontinued to rise over the fol-lowing weeks.

However, this doesn’t meanthat a single dose would besufficient.

Vaccine efficacy betweenthe first and second dose was52.4 percent on average, whichis much lower than what wasachieved after two doses.

In addition, most peoplereceived the second dose

around 21 days after the first,which shortened the one-dosefollow-up period.

So the results “cannot sup-port a conclusion on the effica-cy of a single dose of the vac-cine,” cautioned the FDA inthe briefing document.

One of the outstandingquestions about COVID-19vaccines is whether they canprevent severe illness ratherthan just symptomatic infec-tion.

There are signs that thePfizer/BioNTech vaccine maydo just that. Of the 10 cases ofsevere illness in the trial, nineoccurred in the placebo group,with one in the vaccine group.

The small number of severecases, though, “limits the over-all conclusions that can bedrawn,” the FDA scientistswrote. “However, the case splitdoes suggest protection fromsevere COVID-19 disease.”

Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Gets

Approval from Key FDA Panel

A COVID-19 vaccine maysoon be available to childrenunder 5 years old in theUnited States, according to areport from The WashingtonPost.

The Pfizer pharmaceuticalcompany and its partnerBioNTech are reportedlyexpected to ask the Food andDrug Administration (FDA)to grant an emergency useauthorization for theirCOVID-19 vaccine to beused in children ages 6months to 5 years.

We know the impacts cli-mate change can have on ourplanet, but what effects can ithave on our health?Healthline’s TRANSFORM:Future of Health seriesexplores what’s next inhealth and wellness.

Currently, children under5 are the only age groupwithout access to a COVID-19 vaccine in the UnitedStates.

In a statement, theAmerican Academy ofPediatrics said they wereencouraged by the news, butthat they would like the datato be released.

“Pediatricians have seenfirsthand the fear, stress andhardship that so many fami-lies of young children haveendured as they await a vac-cine,” the AAP said in astatement. “We urge a trans-parent and data-drivenprocess to evaluate this vac-cine for this age group andlook forward to offering itsprotection to our youngestchildren.” In December,Pfizer and BioNTechannounced they were chang-ing the clinical trials for chil-dren under age 5 to add athird vaccine dose.

The reason for the changewas that a two-dose reg-

imen did not stimulate a pro-tective immune response foryoung children againstCOVID-19, according to apress release.

There were no safety con-cerns identified, according tothe press release.

Written by GillianMohney on February 1, 2022

Omicron’s high transmis-sibility is affecting the safetyof kids, many of whom aredeveloping COVID-19.Drazen Zigic/Getty Images

The high transmissibilityof the Omicron variantincreases the risk for chil-dren who attend in-personschool.

However, vaccination canhelp prevent hospitalizationfrom the coronavirus.

Several factors, such aslocal transmission rates andyour child’s vaccination sta-tus, can affect their degree ofrisk.

Your pediatrician can helpyou evaluate whether youshould keep your child athome during the surge.

According to a Jan. 7statementTrusted Source byCenters for Disease Controland Prevention (CDC)Director Dr. RochelleWalensky, the number ofcases of children being hos-pitalized for COVID-19 isnow at an all-time high.

COVID-NET data for theweek ending Jan. 1 indicatesthere were 5.3 hospitaliza-tions per 100,000 childrenfrom ages 0 to 4 years in theUnited States.

For that same period, 1.4per 100,000 childrenbetween the ages of 5 and 17were hospitalized.

Adults were still morelikely to be hospitalized,however. People ages 18 andolder experienced hospital-

izations at the rate of 8.6 per100,000 people.

Among this group, adults65 and older had the highestrate, with 18.3 hospitaliza-tions per 100,000 people.

According to earlier CDCdata, an average of 378 chil-dren were admitted to hospi-tals each day during theweek ending Dec. 28.

This represents anincrease of more than 66 per-cent from the week beforethat.

This number also breaksthe previous record averageof 342 daily hospital admis-sions from the end of Augustand early September.

In response to these highnumbers, many school dis-tricts around the UnitedStates have opted to return toremote learning to keep theirchildren safe.

But just how great is therisk for children attendingin-person school? And howcan parents best protect theirchildren until the number ofcases declines?

How severe is Omicron?We are still learning about

the severity of Omicron inchildren, Walensky said.

However, CDC data col-lected from the beginning ofthe pandemic to Oct. 31 oflast year indicates thatCOVID-19 generally affectsadults worse than children.

Among hospitalized chil-dren ages 0 to 4 years, 6.1percent were placed onmechanical ventilation, 25.1percent spent time in inten-sive care units (ICUs), and0.8 percent died.

Children ages 5 to 17fared similarly, with 6.5 per-cent being placed onmechanical ventilation, 28.7percent spending time inICUs, and 0.7 percent dying.

In contrast, the overall rateof mechanical ventilationwas 12.5 percent, with olderadults being ventilated themost frequently (14.2 and14.1 percent for the agegroups 50 to 64 and 65-plus,respectively). The rate ofICU stays was not all thatdifferent among the variousage groups. Overall, 24.9percent of all people hospi-talized for COVID-19 wereadmitted to the ICU.

Pfizer Vaccine Could Be Available for Kids

Under 5 by End of Feb.: What to Know

Moderna Launches Clinical Trial

of Its mRNA-based HIV Vaccine

TRUTH PREVAIL

JAMMU, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 05, 2022INTerNATIoNAL8

Facebook's Giant Crash Explained In 10 PointsSan Francisco:

Facebook's parent firm Metaon Thursday plunged over$200 billion in stock value -comparable to the size ofNew Zealand's economy -after results that raiseddoubts about the troubledsocial media giant's future.A few reasons why it hap-pened:

Here's your 10-pointcheatsheet to this big story:

Facebook growth that hadbeen on a seemingly perpet-ual upward trend slipped atthe end of last year, with thenumber of people using thesocial network daily declin-ing. Meta executives warnedof increased competition,particularly from video star

TikTok as well as messagingservices such as Telegramand Slack.

The firm is making a pri-ority of investing in its Reelsshort-form video feature aswell as apps such asWhatsApp and Instagram tostay in tune with users. Thatmeans spending big on serv-ices that are harder to makemoney from than theFacebook social networkwith its digital ad machine.

Meta executives told ana-lysts that Facebook's ad-tar-geting efficiency is beingundermined by a changeApple implemented to thesoftware running iPhones.In the update of iOS, Applerequired application pub-

lishers to ask permissionbefore collecting data, muchto the regret of companieslike Meta that rely on it forad targeting.

As iPhone users opt out ofsharing data for targetingads in Facebook apps, mar-keting messages becomeless precisely targeted andthus less profitable. "Webelieve the impact of iOS,overall, as a headwind onour business in 2022 is onthe order of $10 billion,"Meta chief financial officerDavid Wehner said on anearnings call. "So, that is apretty significant headwindfor our business."

Advertising at Meta alsosuffered with the broader

market, as businesses cur-tailed budgets in the face ofsupply troubles, labourturnover, and pandemicwoes. Meta is facing a "per-fect storm" counteringgrowth, according to BairdEquity Research analystColin Sebastian. "Our con-cerns about the near-termgrowth outlook for Metawere not only realized, butworse than we thought,"Sebastian said in a note toinvestors. Meta chief execu-tive Mark Zuckerberg por-trays the metaverse as thefuture of life on the internet.In that spirit, the tech com-pany changed its name to"Meta." Making the immer-sive online world of the

metaverse is expected totake many years and costmany billions.

A "Reality Labs" unit atMeta devoted to technologyfor intermixing actual andvirtual worlds reported aloss of $10 billion last year,according to an earningsrelease. Major investors inthe stock market are notori-ously averse to waiting along time for big returns,tending to trade shares basedon potential for quick gains.

As Meta looks to make a"transformation" to bettercompete with the likes ofTikTok, a hit with youngerusers, regulators in the USand elsewhere have vowedto curb its power.

BEIJING: RussianPresident Vladimir Putin onFriday hailed his country'sclose ties with China, in ameeting with Chinese coun-terpart Xi Jinping ahead ofthe opening of the WinterOlympic Games in Beijing.

The two leaders met in theChinese capital as theircountries seek to deepenrelations in the face ofmounting criticism from theWest.

Moscow's ties withBeijing are "developing pro-gressively along the path offriendship and strategic part-nership", Putin said in tele-vised remarks at the start oftheir meeting.

"They are of a trulyunprecedented nature," theRussian leader said, describ-ing relations as an "exampleof a dignified relationship".

He said ahead of themeeting that Moscow hadprepared a new contract forthe supply of 10 billioncubic metres of natural gasto China from Russia's Far

East.In the days leading up to

the trip, a Kremlin aide saidthe two leaders also wouldsign a document that reflect-ed their "common views" onsecurity and other issues.

Later in the day, Putin willtake part in the opening cer-emony of the OlympicGames.

While Russian officialsare banned from attendinginternational sporting com-petitions over a doping scan-dal, they may attend if invit-ed by the head of state of thehost country.

Russian athletes areallowed to compete as neu-trals -- without the Russianflag or anthem -- if they canprove their doping record isclean.

Beijing and Moscow havedenounced a diplomaticboycott of the WinterOlympics by several coun-tries over what Western gov-ernments argue are wide-spread rights abuses inChina.

Vladimir Putin Hails Russia's

"Unprecedented" Close Ties With ChinaWASHINGTON: U.S.

forces rehearsed the helicop-ter raid over and over, hopingto capture Islamic State'sleader on the third floor of aresidential building in aSyrian town on the Turkishborder, where he was holedup with his family.

But before they could reachhim, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashemial-Quraishi detonated a sui-cide bomb, triggering a largeexplosion that blew mangledbodies -- including his own --out of the building into thestreets outside. President JoeBiden, who monitored theraid from the White House'sSituation Room, calledQuraishi's suicide a "final actof desperate cowardice." Itechoed of the self-detonationof a bomb by his predecessor,Islamic State founder AbuBakr al-Baghdadi, during aU.S. raid in 2019 in Syria.

For residents in the town ofAtmeh, the events were terri-fying, as U.S. forces swept inaboard helicopters before try-ing to evacuate civilians fromthe cinder-block building,

using loudspeakers to tellthem to leave.

"Men, women, and chil-dren raise your hands. You arein safety of the Americancoalition that is surroundingthe area. You will die if youdon't get out," said onewoman recounting the U.S.warnings.

Marine General FrankMcKenzie, who overseesU.S. forces in the region andwas providing updates toBiden, said U.S. troops gotsix civilians, including fourchildren, to leave the firstfloor of the building beforethe blast ripped apart the topfloor. "The explosion, whichwas more massive than wouldbe expected from a suicidevest, killed everyone on thethird floor and in fact ejectedmultiple people from thebuilding," McKenzie said,adding that Quraishi, his wifeand two children died. AsU.S. troops advanced to thesecond floor, one ofQuraishi's lieutenants and hiswife started firing on theAmericans and were killed.

Inside US Raid On ISIS Chief: Months

of Preparation, Then A Deadly Blast

US Police Release Footage Showing

Officer Shoot Armed Black ManXi Jinping, Vladimir Putin To Meet

Today In Beijing Amid Ukraine Standoff

Beijing: China's PresidentXi Jinping is poised for hisfirst face-to-face meetingwith a world leader in near-ly two years on Friday whenhe hosts Russia's VladimirPutin, with the pair drawingcloser as tensions grow withthe West.

Xi has not left China sinceJanuary 2020, when thecountry was grappling withits initial Covid-19 outbreakand locked down the centralcity of Wuhan where thevirus was first detected.

He is now readying tomeet more than 20 leadersas Beijing kicks off a WinterOlympics it hopes will be asoft-power triumph and shiftfocus away from a build-upblighted by a diplomaticboycott and Covid fears.

Xi and Putin will meet inthe Chinese capital beforetheir nations release a jointstatement reflecting their"common views" on securi-ty and other issues, a topKremlin adviser said at a

Wednesday press briefing.The two strongmen will

then attend the Olympicopening ceremony onFriday evening.

Spiralling tensions withthe West have bolstered tiesbetween the world's largestnation and its most popu-lous, and Putin was the firstforeign leader to confirm hispresence at Friday's openingceremony.

He hailed Russia's"model" relations withBeijing in a Decemberphone call with Xi, callinghis Chinese counterpart a"dear friend".

For its part, China hascalled on the United Statesto respect Russia's "reason-able security concerns" overUkraine. Moscow is lookingfor support after its deploy-ment of 100,000 troops nearits border with Ukraineprompted Western nations towarn of an invasion andthreaten "severe conse-quences" in response to any

Russian attack.China enjoyed plentiful

support from the SovietUnion -- the precursor to themodern Russian state -- afterthe establishment ofCommunist rule in 1949, butthe two socialist powerslater fell out over ideologi-cal differences.

Relations got back ontrack as the Cold War endedin the 1990s, and the pairhave pursued a strategicpartnership in recent yearsthat has seen them workclosely on trade, militaryand geopolitical issues.

Those bonds havestrengthened further in therun-up to the Games withMoscow denouncing adiplomatic boycott by agroup of Western nationsand attempts to "politicisesport".

The boycott by countriesincluding the United Statesand Britain is over whatWestern governments argueare widespread rights abusesin China.

Other leaders set to enjoyXi's hospitality during theGames include Egypt'sAbdel Fattah al-Sisi, SaudiArabia's Mohammed binSalman, Kazakhstan'sKassym-Jomart Tokayevand Poland's Andrzej Duda.

In total around 21 worldleaders are expected toattend the Games.

WA S H I N G T O N A :Authorities in the US cityof Minneapolis, whereGeorge Floyd was mur-dered in 2020, publishedbody-cam video Thursdayshowing the police shootingof a 22-year-old AfricanAmerican man.

According to the police,Amir Locke was shot onWednesday by officers whowere executing a searchwarrant on the apartment hewas in, after Locke pulled agun from beneath a blanket.

The total time betweenthe officers' entrance andthe shots fired was less thanten seconds.

Locke was pronounceddead at hospital.

The local Star Tribunenewspaper reported thatLocke was not named in thesearch warrant, but said hewas related to a suspect inthe investigation of a homi-cide. The family's attorneyssaid in a statementThursday that he "legallypossessed a firearm," andhad no past criminal record.

His mother told the StarTribune: "We want justicefor our son."

In the video, an officeruses a key to unlock thedoor and then a group ofofficers enter while shout-ing "Police, search war-rant!"<Locke, who was ona couch, starts to rise frombeneath a blanket, with agun in his hand, when

police fire.The family has retained

lawyer Ben Crump, whohas represented multipleBlack victims of police vio-lence, including GeorgeFloyd and Breonna Taylor,whose killings in 2020sparked nationwideprotests.

Crump will hold a virtualpress conference Fridaymorning with the family,they said in a statement.

In May 2020, GeorgeFloyd was murdered byMinneapolis police officerDerek Chauvin.

Two months earlier,Breonna Taylor was killedafter police entered herhome after midnight andher boyfriend, thinking theywere intruders, fired onthem.

Conversations on thepolice radio prior to theMinneapolis eventsWednesday suggest that thepolice had planned a "no-knock" entrance, the Star-Tribune reported.

"Like the case ofBreonna Taylor, the tragickilling of Amir Lockeshows a pattern of no-knock warrants havingdeadly consequences forBlack Americans," saidCrump in a statement.

"We will continue push-ing for answers in this caseso that Amir's grieving fam-ily can get the closure theydeserve," he added.

ATME: When US forcesflew over the Syrian townof Atme, where the leaderof the ISIS group was hid-ing, resident MahmoudShehadeh mistook thesound of helicopters for astorm.

What he saw as hestepped outside to check onthe weather shocked him.Just half an hour intoThursday, several helicop-ters had surrounded aneighbouring house, theirloudspeakers blaring mes-sages to residents.

"We saw aircraft flyingover our heads and after tenminutes we heard themshouting (to a woman):'turn yourself in, the houseis surrounded'," Mahmoudtold AFP, shortly after theUS-led operation duringwhich ISIS chief AbuIbrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi blew himself up.

"I don't know whethershe surrendered or not."

Residents of Atme, aSyrian town in the north-western Idlib region bor-dering Turkey, heard shoot-

ing and fire from the gun-ships.

This went on for abouttwo hours before the eliteUS-led forces stormedQurashi's house.

The Syrian Observatoryfor Human Rights warmonitor had said civilianswere among at least 13 peo-ple killed in the operation.

When the landing began,residents thought US forceswere targeting an Al-Qaedaleader.

US special forces havecarried out several opera-tions against high-valuejihadist targets in the Idlibarea in recent months.

The area, the last enclaveto actively oppose the gov-

ernment of Syrian PresidentBashar al-Assad, is home tomore than three millionpeople and is dominated byjihadists.

Abu Ali, a displacedSyrian who lives nearbywho declined to give hisfull name for security rea-sons, said the US blastedmessages to reassure resi-dents. He heard Americanforces say "'don't worry.We're just coming to thishouse... to rid you of theterrorists'".

Atme residents wereshocked to hear that theirneighbour in the modesttwo-storey house surround-ed by olive trees was in factthe leader of ISIS.

Syrian Townfolk Shocked That ISIS

Chief, Killed By US, Was A NeighbourSYDNEY: Beijing

Winter Olympics reveal avery different face of Chinaas during the SummerOlympics in 2008, authori-ties had not imposed severerestrictions on locals anddid not warn visiting ath-letes over speaking againstBeijing. However, this timea lot has changed andChinese officials havewarned athletes not to speakagainst the country's lawand also made house arrestsof local activists whom thecommunist regime believesmight stage protests duringthe Winter Olympics thatmight taint the reputation ofChina, according to a mediareport. In 2008, duringSummer Olympics inBeijing, the Chinese gov-ernment announced that ithad designated three parksin the capital for anyonewanting to protest duringthe Games. It seems quaintto recall this gesture thesedays, as empty as it was. Inthe end, no protest permitswere issued by the localpolice. The demonstratorswho did take the risk duringthe Games were rounded upand taken away, reportedNikkei Asia. But the

moment is worth remember-ing if only to contrast it withthe lead-up to the BeijingWinter Olympics, scheduledto open tomorrow, as organ-izers warned athletes thattheir accreditations could becancelled if they spoke outof turn, said the publicationfurther.

In January, the Beijingorganizing committee'sYang Shu had said that anybehaviour or speech that isagainst the Olympic spirit,especially against theChinese laws and regula-tions, is also subject to cer-tain punishment.

The journey from protestparks for locals, albeitPotemkin ones, to "certainpunishment" for outspokenforeigners is instructive, andnot just because it tells youhow Beijing no longerthinks it has to pander tocritics of its human rightsrecord, according to NikkeiAsia. Further, the publica-tion stated that the shortdecade-and-a-half from theSummer Games to theWinter Games traces the arcof a much bigger story --China's rising power and itswillingness to display it forall to see.

China's Warnings To Athletes Over Free

Speech During Olympics: Report

Afghan Situation Precarious Nearly 6

Months After Taliban Takeover: UNUNITED NATIONS: The

situation in Afghanistanremains precarious and uncer-tain nearly six months afterthe Taliban takeover, as themultiple political, socio-eco-nomic and humanitarianshocks reverberate across thewar-ravaged country, the UNSecretary-General said in areport.

UN Secretary-GeneralAntonio Guterres, in hisreport Thursday on ‘The situ-ation in Afghanistan and itsimplications for internationalpeace and security' said thatthe “best way” to promotestability and future interna-tional support is for theTaliban to avoid the isolationthat characterised its previousexperience in power.

“The Taliban is showingefforts to present itself as acaretaker government. Themovement, however, has yetto form governing structuresthat reflect the country's eth-nic, political and geographicdiversity and include women.Efforts are constrained by thelack of resources and capaci-ty, as well as an ideology thatclashes in many ways withinternational norms of gover-nance. “The movement is alsoseeking to manage its owninternal coherence. With theTaliban not having estab-lished the trust of many of theAfghan people or convincedAfghans of its capacity to

govern, many continue toseek to leave their country.Moving forward, it is essen-tial that every effort be madeto reach out to all segments ofAfghan society in order toestablish a process that canlead to inclusive governancestructures, fully reflecting thewishes and interests of thediverse Afghan society,” itsaid. Guterres in his reportsaid that the situation inAfghanistan remains precari-ous and uncertain nearly sixmonths after the Talibantakeover, as the multiplepolitical, socio-economic andhumanitarian shocks rever-berate across the country. TheTaliban seized power inAfghanistan on August 15,two weeks before the US'complete troop withdrawal onAugust 31 after a costly two-decade war. This forcedAfghan President AshrafGhani, who was backed bythe US-led West, to flee thecountry to the UAE. The

Taliban soldiers stormedacross Afghanistan and cap-tured all major cities in a mat-ter of days, as Afghan securi-ty forces trained and equippedby the US and its allies melt-ed away. The report addedthat Afghanistan is experienc-ing a massive economic con-traction. An entire complexsocial and economic system isshutting down, in partbecause of the deficiencies ingovernance, the suspension ofnon-humanitarian aid flowsand sanctions. “The best wayto promote stability andfuture international support isfor the Taliban to avoid theisolation that characterised itsprevious experience in power.Developing a constructivedialogue between the de factoauthorities, other Afghanstakeholders, the region andthe international communitythat is focused on the well-being and rights of theAfghan people is thereforeessential.

Mark Zuckerberg Lost $29

Billion - In Just One DayMark Zuckerberg lost

$29 billion in net worth onThursday as MetaPlatforms Inc's stockmarked a record one-dayplunge, while fellow bil-lionaire Jeff Bezos was setto add $20 billion to hispersonal valuation afterAmazon's blockbusterearnings.

Meta's stock fell 26%,erasing more than $200billion in the biggest eversingle-day market valuewipeout for a U.S. compa-ny. That pulled downfounder and ChiefExecutive OfficerZuckerberg's net worth to$85 billion, according toForbes.

Zuckerberg owns about12.8% of the tech behe-moth formerly known asFacebook.

Bezos, the founder andchairman of e-commerceretailer Amazon, ownsabout 9.9% of the compa-ny, according to Refinitiv

data. He is also the world'sthird richest man, accord-ing to Forbes.

Amazon's holiday-quar-ter profit surged, thanks toits investments in electricvehicle company Rivian;and the company said itwould hike annual pricesof Prime subscriptions inthe United States, sendingits shares up 15% inextended trading andreadying it for its biggestpercentage gain sinceOctober 2009 on Friday.

Bezos' net worth rose57% to $177 billion in

2021 from a year earlier,according to Forbes, large-ly from Amazon's boomduring the pandemic whenpeople were highlydependent on online shop-ping.

Zuckerberg's one-daywealth decline is amongthe biggest ever and comesafter Tesla Inc top bossElon Musk's $35 billionsingle-day paper loss inNovember. Musk, theworld's richest person, hadthen polled Twitter users ifhe should sell 10% of hisstake in the electric car-

maker. Tesla shares haveyet to recover from theresulting selloff.

Following the $29 bil-lion wipeout, Zuckerbergis in the twelfth spot onForbes' list of real-time bil-lionaires, below Indianbusiness moguls MukeshAmbani and GautamAdani.

To be sure, trading intechnology stocks remainsvolatile as investors strug-gle to price in the impact ofhigh inflation and anexpected rise in interestrates. Meta shares couldvery well recover soonerrather than later, with thehit to Zuckerberg's wealthstaying on paper.

Zuckerberg sold $4.47billion worth of Metashares last year, before2021's tech rout. The stocksales were carried out aspart of a pre-set 10b5-1trading plan, which execu-tives use to allay concernsabout insider trading.

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Behind Facebook's Slip, New Rivals,

Tighter Rules And An Apple Tweak

SAN FRANCISCO:Facebook parent Meta sawinvestors flee on Thursdayrather than buckle up forwhat could be a long ridetowards the firm's metaversevision for the internet'sfuture.

While the tech titan haspreviously seen shares climbdespite fines, regulatorythreats, misinformation woesand harassment troubles --this time they plummeted inwhat one analyst called "aperfect storm".

Here are key factors shak-ing confidence in the socialmedia giant:

TikTok to TelegramFacebook growth that had

been on a seemingly perpet-ual upward trend slipped atthe end of last year, with the

number of people using thesocial network daily declin-ing.

Meta executives warnedof increased competition,particularly from video starTikTok as well as messagingservices such as Telegramand Slack.

The firm is making a pri-ority of investing in its Reelsshort-form video feature aswell as apps such asWhatsApp and Instagram tostay in tune with users.

That means spending bigon services that are harder tomake money from than theFacebook social networkwith its digital ad machine.

Meta executives told ana-lysts that Facebook's ad-tar-geting efficiency is beingundermined by a change

Apple implemented to thesoftware running iPhones.

In the update of iOS,Apple required applicationpublishers to ask permissionbefore collecting data, muchto the regret of companieslike Meta that rely on it forad targeting.

As iPhone users opt out ofsharing data for targeting adsin Facebook apps, marketingmessages become less pre-cisely targeted and thus lessprofitable.

"We believe the impact ofiOS, overall, as a headwindon our business in 2022 is onthe order of $10 billion,"Meta chief financial officerDavid Wehner said on anearnings call.

"So, that is a pretty signif-icant headwind for our busi-ness." Advertising at Metaalso suffered with the broad-er market, as businesses cur-tailed budgets in the face ofsupply troubles, laborturnover, and pandemicwoes.

Meta is facing a "perfectstorm" countering growth,according to Baird EquityResearch analyst ColinSebastian.

Anew cosy picture ofJacqueline Fernandez andconman SukeshChandrashekhar wentviral a couple of weeksago. In the photo,Sukhesh was seen kissingJacqueline on her nose.The photo was widelyshared on social media.After that, the actress hadissued a statement. Now,Sukesh, in an alleged let-ter to the media throughhis lawyer, expressed hisdispleasure over privatephotos of him andJacqueline being circulat-ed.

CONMAN SUKESHUNHAPPY WITH PICSOF HIM AND JACQUE-LINE BEING CIRCULAT-ED

Several photographs ofSukesh and Jacquelinehave been doing therounds on social mediaever since the actress'sname came up in the Rs200 crore extortion case.This hasn't gone downwell with both the actressand the conman. In analleged letter written tohis own lawyer and themedia by SukeshChandrashekhar, he hasexpressed his displeasureover Jacqueline and hisphotographs being circu-lated. He claims that thecirculation of these pri-vate and personal photo-graphs is a breach of pri-vacy. Sukesh also said inthe letter that he was in a

relationship withJacqueline and gifts to herwere out of love.

In his letter to themedia, conman Sukeshwrote, "It's really sad anddisturbing to see privatepictures being circulated,which I have got to knowthrough news the whole oflast week. It's a completeviolation of one's privacyand personal space. As Ihave mentioned before Iand Jacqueline were in arelationship. Seeing eachother and the relationshipwas not based on any kindof monetary benefits likethe way its projected,commented and trolled ina bad light. The relation-ship has lots of love andrespect for each otherwithout any expectations.Kindly requesting every-one to stop projecting herin a bad way, as it's noteasy on her, who has onlyloved without expectinganything. I have men-tioned before that she hasno involvement in theongoing money-launder-ing case."

"I have gifted her thingsand done things for herfamily, are normal thingsone would do for his lovedone in a relationship. Itspersonal I don't under-stand why its being badesuch a big deal. At thesame time, I would like toagain certain that none ofthis was "proceedings ofso called crime". It's all

from legitimate earningsand the same would beproved in the court of lawvery soon."

"I kindly request every-one to stop looking at thisa wrong way and insistplease show her lots oflove and support as she isnot wrong in any wayexcept loving without anyexpectations," he conclud-ed.

The actor and conmanspent a couple of days in ahotel in Chennai whenSukesh was released froma Delhi jail. WhileJacqueline has deniedbeing in a relationshipwith Sukesh and claimedto have been a victim, inthe letter, Sukesh hasonce again alleged that hewas in a relationship withher. Sukesh has alsorequested everyone toshower Jacqueline withlove and support "as she is

not wrong in any wayexcept loving without anyexpectations." Sourceshave told India Today thatJacqueline received giftsworth more than Rs 10crore from January-June2021. She has been ques-tioned on at least threeoccasions by theEnforcement Directorate(ED) and has beenbanned from travellingabroad.

JACQUELINE ISSUESSTATEMENT IN CON-MAN SUKESH CASE

On January 8, an inti-mate photo of Jacquelineand Sukesh went viral.Hours after that, theBhoot Police actress tookto her Instagram accountto issue a statement, forthe first time since hername was dragged in theRs 200 crore extortioncase. She took toInstagram to issue a state-

ment. The actress did notcaption the post and alsorestricted comments onthe post. The text photo-graph read, "This countryand its people have givenme tremendous love andrespect.

This includes myfriends from the media,from whom I have learneda lot. I'm currently goingthrough a rough patch butI'm sure that my friendsand my fans will see methrough. It is with thistrust that I would requestmy media friends to notcirculate images of anature that intrude myprivacy and personalspace. You would not dothis to your own lovedones, am sure you wouldnot do this to me either.Hoping that justice andgood sense prevails.Thank you (sic). Shesigned off with a folded-hand emoji.

Don't portray Jacqueline in bad light, gifts were outof love, no big deal, says conman Sukesh in letter

TRUTH PREVAIL

JAMMU, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 05, 20229 ENTERTAINmENT

The 2004 film Catwoman markedone of the most memorable roles inHalle Berry's career. The film did notwork at the box office and the critics

weren't kind to it either. However, itdid allow Halle to enter a selectgroup of actors who have played theiconic DC character on screen.The role will once again be taken upby a new actor as Zoe Kravitz donsthe costume and mask in TheBatman. In a recent interview, Hallehad a few words of advice for her lat-est successor.Speaking to PopCulture, the Oscar

winner said she would just tell Zoe to"just be courageous and bring herown interpretation to the role." Theactor also said she is looking forward

to seeing Zoe's take on the role. "Ithink she's going to be an amazingCatwoman. And I can't wait to seewhat her interpretation of that is,"she said.Catwoman aka Selina Kyle has beenan anti-hero character associatedwith Batman the comics for severaldecades. Before Halle Berry, the rolehad been played on screen by LeeMerriweather in the 1966 film

Batman, while Michelle Pfeiffer gaveher own iconic portrayal of the rolein Batman Returns (1992). AnneHathaway was the last actor to playthe role on the big screen in the the2012 release The Dark Knight Rises.The character has also appeared invarious Batman TV shows, having been played by Julie Newmarand Eartha Kittin the 1960s Batmanseries, and most recently CameronBicondova and Lili Simmons inGotham.In a recent interview with TotalFilm, Zoe said that The Batman willexplore the origins of the character,something that hasn't been doneoften in Batman stories."To see a person like Selina really

get in touch with her power andbecome Catwoman? That’s a journeythat I’m really interested in explor-ing. We haven’t quite seen that yet.We usually meet Catwoman, and it’seither a very quick transformation –an overnight thing – or she’s alreadythere," she said.The Batman stars Robert Pattinsonin the title role and is directed byMatt Reeves. The film, which releas-es on March 4, is a dark look at ayoung Batman trying to use hisdetective skills to outdo a serialkiller.

The trailer of AmazonPrime’s upcoming Tamilfilm Mahaan, starringVikram in the lead, wasunveiled on Wednesday.

The trailer tracks the storyof Vikram’s character - ateacher with Gandhianprinciples, who turns intoa bootlegger.The film fea-tures Vikram as a strictcommerce teacher whogrew up with strong prin-

ciples. However, when lifedoesn’t treat him fairly, hedecides to break bad andturn into a liquor baron.Along the journey, Vikram

distances himself from hiswife and son. As per thetrailer, the film will also bea hard-hitting father-sondrama. Vikram's characterin the movie is also the sonof a liquor-ban activist.Mahaan features father-

son duo Vikram andDhruv Vikram for the firsttime. The last shot of theteaser gives a glimpse ofDhruv. It is believed that

the movie is the story ofhow a son reforms hisfather.The film, directedby Karthik Subbaraj andproduced by LalitKumar, revolves arounda series of events thattransform the whole life

of an ordinary man aswell as of those aroundhim.Mahaan also stars BobbySimha and Simran inpivotal roles. The moviewill premiere worldwideon Amazon Prime Videoon February 10. Apartfrom Tamil, Mahaan willalso be available inMalayalam, Telugu andKannada. In Kannada,the film will be titledMaha Purusha.Besides Mahaan, Vikramis also part of ManiRatnam’s upcomingmagnum opus, PonniyinSelvan. The projectmarks Vikram’s reunionwith the filmmaker aftera decade, and he will beseen playing one of thelead characters in themovie. He also hasaction-thriller Cobra inthe pipeline. The proj-ect, which marks thethird collaboration ofVikram and AR Rahmanafter Raavanan and I,stars former Indianpacer Irfan Pathan asthe antagonist - thisproject marks his actingdebut.

Mahaan trailer shows Vikram's

transformation from a principled

teacher to a bootlegger

Catwoman star Halle Berry offers

advice to Zoe Kravitz on taking up the

role, says 'she's going to be amazing'

Shilpa Shetty’s husband RajKundra has reportedly trans-ferred all his Mumbai apart-ments and Juhu Bungalow in theownership of Shilpa Shettyrecently.

According to reports byETimes, Raj Kundra has report-edly transferred ownership of hisapartments and Juhu house tohis wife Shilpa Shetty. As perZapkey.com, Raj has transmittedthe properties worth Rs 38.5crore to his actress wife.

The reports further stated thatKundra had transferred the entirefirst floor of his building with fiveflats and their Juhu sea-facingbungalow to his wife’s name ShilpaShetty. It is also said that a paidstamp duty of Rs 1.9 crore on thetransfer deed of the 5,995 sq ft

house. The documents werereportedly registered on January21, 2022. The report further addsthat the transfer was valued at thecurrent market rate which is anestimated Rs 65,000 per sq ft.

Well, a couple of months ago RajKundra was arrested in a pornog-raphy case. FIR was registered

against him for allegedly dis-tributing pornographic videos.The businessman was sen-tenced to two months inprison. Currently, he is out onbail.

Talking about the plea, TheMumbai Police’s cyber divisionhas filed a complaint againstKundra for allegedly distribut-ing/ transmitting sexuallyexplicit movies under Sectionsof the Indian Penal Code, the

Indecent Representation ofWomen (Prevention) Act, and theInformation Technology Act. RajKundra applied for anticipatorybail at the Sessions Court but wasdenied, so he moved to the HighCourt. He claims that he wasframed in the case in his applica-tion.

raj Kundra transferred all his Mumbai properties

worth 38.5 cr to Shilpa Shetty

Legendary actorAmitabh Bachchan hasreportedly sold hisSouth Delhi bungalow'Sopan' which oncehoused his parentsHarivansh RaiBachchan and TejiBachchan for a whop-ping Rs 23 crore. Thelavish property situatedin Gulmohar Park inthe capital, was regis-tered in Teji's name.

As per a report inEconomics Times, thebungalow has been pur-chased by Avni Bader,CEO of Nezone group ofcompanies who hasknown the Bachchanfamily for more than 35years. The propertyspread across 418.05square metres will bedemolished by the newowners.

"It's an old construc-tion, so we will demol-ish the structure andconstruct as per ourrequirements. We havebeen living in the areafor many years and

were looking for anadditional property.When this offer came,we immediately saidyes and acquired theasset," Bader toldEconomic Times.

The report furtherstates that this two-sto-ried house was theBachchan family's firsthouse. According to thelocals, Amitabh's fatherand poet Harivansh RaiBachchan used to hostpoetry sessions theretill 1980.

Pradeep Prajapatiwho deals in luxury realestate in South Delhiand Lutyens' Delhi told

the tabloid, "TejiBachchan, who was afreelance journalist,became a member ofthe Gulmohar ParkHousing Society.Amitabh lived herebefore moving toMumbai, and later hisparents also moved. Noone has lived in thehouse for years. Thetransaction is in linewith the market rates."

Amitabh Bachchanand his family includ-ing his wife JayaBachchan, sonAbhishek, daughter-in-law Aishwarya RaiBachchan and grand-

daughter Aaradhyareside at their Jalsa res-idence in Mumbai.

Workwise, themegastar has someinteresting projects inthe pipeline. Beginningwith Nagraj Manjule'sJhund which is slatedto release in theatres onMarch 4, Big B will alsobe seen in RanbirKapoor-Alia Bhatt'sBrahmastra, NagAshwin's Project Kalongside DeepikaPadukone and Prabhas,Ajay Devgn's Runway34 and The Internremake co-starringDeepika Padukone.

Amitabh Bachchan Sells His Parents'South Delhi House For Rs 23 Crore

Actor-comedian Sunil Grover was recently admitted to Mumbai's Asian HeartInstitute after he suffered a heart attack. On Thursday, Sunil was dischargedfrom the hospital.The hospital had informed the news agency that Sunil had suffered a minorheart attack and was also found Covid-19 positive when he was admitted onJanuary 8. After a week, an angiography was done, which showed that all ofhis three arteries had blockage, following which the bypass surgeries weredone. Sunil underwent four bypass surgeries using both internal mammaryarteries from inside his chest."Since he has received all arterial grafts using internal mammary arteries hislong term results should be good and will be able to lead a normal life in thelong term with proper care which should include proper diet, exercise, yogaand medicine. He is a positive person with a bright outlook to life," Dr Panda,who treated the actor-comedian, said.On Wednesday, Simi Garewal shared a tweet of concern over Sunil Grover'shealth and extended her well wishes to the actor. Adding she's a ‘huge fan’,Simi wrote, "Am shocked that @WhoSunilGrover has had heart surgery.Filling our hearts with laughter and joy..at the cost of his own. I pray he recov-ers fast. He has a formidable talent.. and I'm a huge fan!!"Am shocked that @WhoSunilGrover has had heart surgery. Filling our heartswith laughter & joy..at the cost of his own.??.. I pray he recovers fast..?? Hehas a formidable talent..& I'm a huge fan!!The actor-comedian is a well-known name in the television industry, havingappeared on shows such as Comedy Nights With Kapil and The Kapil SharmaShow. He has also featured in Kanpur Wale Khuranas and Gangs OfFilmistaan. Apart from his stint in television, his resume includes projects such as Bharat,Pataakha, Tandav and Sunflower, among others. He has previously alsoappeared in a few films such as Aamir Khan's 2008 hit movie Ghajini, AkshayKumar's Gabbar Is Back and The Legend of Bhagat Singh.

Sunil Grover, who suffered heart attack,

discharged from hospital after 4 bypass surgeries

TRUTH PREVAIL

JAMMU, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 05, 2022buSINESS10

NEW DELHI/MOSCOW:India is in its first government-to-government negotiationswith Russia for the long-termsupply of fertilizers, govern-ment and industry sourcessaid, hedging against geopoliti-cal instability and highglobal prices.India is a top importer ofurea and other soil nutri-ents needed to feed itshuge agriculture sector,which employs about 60%of the country's workforceand accounts for 15% of$2.7 trillion economy.Fertilisers ministerMansukh Mandaviyaalong with officials fromfertilisers companies willvisit Moscow later thismonth or early March todiscuss the deals withRussian trade ministerDenis Manturov, the gov-ernment sources said.This is the first time in 30years that the governmentwill be involved in multi-yearimport negotiations for fertiliz-ers. In 1992, India came outwith a policy announcing

deregulation of soil nutrientsexcept urea.The sources said India is aim-ing to lock in 1 million tonnes ayear each of di-ammoniumphosphate (DAP) and potash;and about 800,000 tonnes a

year of a mix of nitrogen, phos-phorus, potassium (NPK)."Pricing and firm quantities areyet to be fixed ... Our focus is to

have secure supplies at reason-able prices. Since the (Indian)minister is involved so we hopeto get some discount," said oneof the sources.Rashtriya Chemicals andFertilizers, National Fertilizers,

Madras Fertilizers, FertilisersAnd Chemicals Travancore andIndia Potash Ltd are expectedto sign a 3-year deal for DAP,

potash and complex fertiliserswith Russian companiesincluding Phosagro andUralkali, the sources said.Companies already have animport deal for 400,000tonnes of DAP with Phosagroand they are expected to lift theentire contracted volumes byJune, coinciding with end ofthe current export quota set byMoscow."We are currently in negotia-tions with our Indian col-leagues to extend and developour existing agreements for thesupply of Phosagro's mineralfertilisers," Phosagro toldReuters. Uralkali declined tocomment.In 2021 some states in Indiafaced shortages of fertilisersafter export restrictions byChina and a record surge inglobal prices, triggered by fac-tors including high energycosts and Western sanctionsagainst Belaruskali, the world'ssecond-largest potash produc-er.India allows companies to fixthe retail price of fertilisers. Butto ensure that farmers are not

hit by a rally in global prices,New Delhi provides a subsidyto fertiliser companies to keepan indirect check on retailprices.Indian companies and fertiliserministry, and Russian tradeministry did not respond to

Reuters request for com-ments.A fertilisers company officialwho negotiates overseasdeals, said his firm is planningto sign an initial deal for long-term supplies from Russia."Fertiliser prices are rallying

in global market. India is oneof the biggest importers in theworld and Russia is our keysupplier. Our attempt is to insulatefarmers from price volatilitythrough long term supplycontracts," he said.

NEW DELHI: Householdsin India saved a massiveRs 7.1 lakh crore duringthe pandemic strickenfinancial year 2020-21, areport by State Bank ofIndia (SBI) economistsshowed.There was a tendency onthe part of households toincrease precautionary orforced savings as peoplewere forced to remain

indoors for most part ofthe year due to nationwidelockdowns imposed tocurb the spread of Covid-19 .Uncertainty regardingfuture income, risk of

unemployment caused bysudden outbreak of thepandemic withheld peoplefrom spending a largeshare of their normalexpenditure basket.In the previous fiscal year2019-20, household sav-ings rose by a mere Rs 1.35lakh crore. However,financial liabilities hadjumped by Rs 15,374crore.

For the year 2020-21, totalfinancial liabilitiesincreased by only Rs18,669 crore to Rs 8.05lakh crore.In the last 2 financialyears, the cumulative

gross financial savingsincreased by Rs 8.5 lakhcrore, while financial lia-bilities increased by onlyRs 34,000 crore.Data analysed by the SBIreport clearly shows thatgold and silver ornamentsas a saving instrumenthave become less popularamong people. Moneyparked in these assetsdeclined from Rs 46,469crore in 2015-16 to Rs38,444 crore in FY21.Physical assets havebecome less popularavenues of saving andinvesting money. Thisindicates a behaviouralchange among those whogo for savings.Financial assets havebeen the preferred andtrusted choice for peopleto invest their money.The Economic Survey2021, released by the gov-ernment on January 31,also showed that peoplehave been putting more

money in capital markets.As the stock markets con-tinue with buoyant trend,participation by individualinvestors in equity cashsegment has increased.Share of individual

investors in total turnoverat NSE increased from38.8 per cent in 2019-20to 44.7 per cent in April-October 2021.

The substantial increase inshare of individualinvestors in 2020-21 and2021-22 can partly beascribed to the increase innew investor registrationswitnessed since February2020, the survey said.In April-November 2021,nearly 221 lakh individualdemat accounts wereadded.Markets also witnessed aboom in fundraisingthrough initial publicoffering (IPO) as manynew age companies gotlisted. Majority of theseIPOs witnessed stellarresponse from investors.In April-November 2021,Rs 89,066 crore wereraised via 75 IPO issues,much higher than in anyyear in the last decade.Both sensex and Niftyhave witnessed stellargains ever since its pan-demic induced fall inMarch 2020. Marketshave outperformed globalpeers.

Household savings at record high in

FY21: Where people are putting their money

India in talks on multi-year fertiliser import deal with Russia: Report

NEW DELHI: This year'sbudget has a sizable capexon infra and constructionto provide an impetus toIndia's migrant labourforce that is largelyinvolved in the labour-intensive construction sec-tor.In the aftermath of thepandemic, more than 7lakh labourers returnedfrom six Gulf countriesunder the Vande Bharatmission, of which manyhave now managed toreturn as Covid-19 caseshave declined, said exter-nal affairs minister Dr SJaishankar in Parliamenton 3 February.Of the 7,16,662 workersthat returned as a result of

the pandemic, over 3 lakhcame from the UAE, while1.37 lakh returned fromSaudi Arabia.During the pandemic,Indian missions in theGulf region extended sup-port to Indians by usingthe Indian CommunityWelfare Fund and by coor-dinating with communityassociations. This supportincluded expenses relatedto lodging, air fares andemergency medical care,said Jaishankar.As the pandemic hasreceded in recent months,several have managed toreturn back to these Gulfcountries thanks to the airbubbles between India andthe six Gulf nations.

"To that end, all Gulfnations were pressed toestablish air bubbles andease visa, travel and healthrestrictions. All countriesin the Gulf have respondedfavourably to these effortsby the Government as aresult of which, there hasbeen a steady flow ofreturnees back to the Gulfcountries," replied theexternal affairs ministry inresponse to a question onwhether the governmenthas any proposal to pro-vide rehabilitation or anyfinancial assistance for theGulf returnees who havelost their jobs."Indian Missions/Postsare continuing to pursuewith the Governments in

the Gulf countries thereturn of Indian workers,the realization of pay-ments due to them, newrecruitment in the light ofeconomic recovery, andother welfare measures asappropriate,' Jaishankaradded.In January 2021, the gov-ernment also launched aprogramme to upskillIndian blue collar workersin the UAE to enhancetheir employability andwages.He said he has visited theGulf countries 13 timesand Minister of State forExternal Affairs VMuraleedharan fourtimes."Our objective is to get asmany workers back thereas possible, as many ofthem back to their oldjobs," Jaishankar said."...Retaining employment,ensuring that wages arepaid, ensuring welfare ofworkers, these have beenvery much the priority ofour missions in the Gulf.From the highest level wehave been engaged on thismatter and we have beenregularly talking to thegovernments of the Gulf atmy level and at the ambas-sadors' level," Jaishankaradded.

Over 7 lakh Indian workers

returned from six Gulf countries

during pandemic: Govt data

Budget 2022: Despite impetus to new

energies, budget allocation insufficientThe budget has made aseminal move in the ener-gy space towards environ-mental sustainability andclimate change mitigation,by proposing capitalexpenditure and incentivi-sation plans for energy

transition.To promote clean energy,domestic module manu-facturers have been incen-tivised under theProduction LinkedIncentive scheme.The scheme also incorpo-

rates greater value capturefor domestic companiesoffering incentivesthrough the value chain —from polysilicon to solarmodules. Moreover, afavourable duty structurehas been introduced to

encourage domestic man-ufacturing of smartmeters.The government hasturned to green energy toensure round-the-clockpower availability. It hasgranted infrastructure sta-

tus to charging infrastruc-ture and battery storagesystems, improving theirattractiveness and viabili-ty.Further, regulatory sup-port and standards fordeveloping a battery swap-ping ecosystem willencourage use of cleanenergy in automotiveapplications.The government hassharpened focus on reduc-ing carbon footprint,reflected in the push forethanol blending a fewyear back. It has mandatedthe use of 5-7% biomasspellets in thermal powerplants, but maintainingadequate biomass feed-stock, setting a competi-tive price, and passing itthrough to distributioncompanies pose opera-tional challenges.The thrust on a circulareconomy, sustainability-linked initiatives, energyefficiency and manage-ment (through regularaudits), and sustainability-as-a-service will spawn

opportunities for linkedbusinesses and start-upsin the energy conservationspace. Further, withBusiness Responsibilityand Sustainability report-ing on the anvil, corpo-rates will prioritise sus-tainability.The issuance of sovereigngreen bonds for public sec-tor undertakings, in linewith government initia-tives to encourage a greeninfrastructure build-out,could prove to be a keyfunding mode.Access to low-cost fundingwill be key to drive fasteradoption of clean energyand low-carbon initiativesto meet climate changecommitments and targets.Despite the impetus tonew energies and sustain-ability, budget allocationto the distribution sector isinsufficient — finances ofstate distribution compa-nies continue to bestressed, and privatisationinitiatives have met withlimited success in the sec-tor.

NEW DELHI: Moody's InvestorsService on Friday said India's con-servative budget assumptions leaveroom for the government torespond to prevailing macroeco-nomic and pandemic risks over thenext year.The government assumes that infla-tion-adjusted real GDP growth for

fiscal 2021 will come in at 9.2 percent in the current fiscal endingMarch 2022, following growth of13.6 per cent in the first half of thefiscal till September.Mirroring the government's conser-vative growth assumptions, therevised budget estimates for fiscal2021 show revenue receipts grow-ing only 27.2 per cent, which leavessome scope for further gains oncethe fiscal accounts are tallied at theend of March 2022, Moody's said.

In its report Moody's said the focuson capital expenditure in 2022-23Budget supports near-term growth,but poses challenges to longer-termfiscal consolidation.India's budget projects a narrowingin the central government deficit to6.4 per cent of GDP in fiscal 2022,from an estimated 6.9 per cent in

fiscal 2021."The budget is characterized by acontinued emphasis on rising capi-tal expenditure to sustain growthmomentum near term, as the econ-omy continues to rebound from itspandemic trough."While conservative budgetassumptions leave room for the gov-ernment to respond to prevailingmacroeconomic and pandemic risksover the next year, the path towardthe government's medium-term

deficit target of 4.5 per cent of GDPby fiscal 2025 remains undefined,"it said.The central government recorded a67.2 per cent rise in revenuereceipts over the first eight monthsof the fiscal year.The strong revenue outcome offsetsunderperformance on disinvest-ment. The government now expectsdisinvestment receipts of only Rs78,000 crore (around 0.3 per centof GDP) in fiscal 2021, comparedwith the target of Rs 1.75 lakh crore(0.8 per cent of GDP) announced inlast year's budget."Relative to the government'sassumption of 11.1 per cent nominalGDP growth for fiscal 2022, its pro-jection of a 6 per cent rise in revenuereceipts appears achievable, balanc-ing buoyant corporate tax, incometax, and goods and sales tax (GST)receipts against declines in divi-dends and other non-tax revenue,"Moody's said.It said prominent risks to the deficittarget of 6.4 per cent of GDP for fis-cal 2022 include the pandemic andinflation. Both of these factors couldspur additional spending to supportthe economy, although executionrisks related to capital expenditurecould dampen overall spending."The announced budget is consis-tent with our view of gradual fiscalconsolidation and a continuingincrease in government debtthrough the next year to around 91per cent of GDP," Moody's said.

Conservative budget estimates leave room for

pandemic response, macroeconomic risks: Moody's

Oberoi Hotels report a

profit in pre-Omicron Q3NEW DELHI: Oberoi Hotel’s holding company, East India Hotels (EIH), has reported a profit ofRs 32.2 crore crore in the October-December 2021 period against a loss of Rs 40.8 crore in sameperiod of previous fiscal.The hospitality industry was stag-ing a smart recovery on pent updemand post the deadly deltawave but soon thereafterOmicron struck and its impactwill be know when Q4 results areannounced.On a standalone basis, EIH rev-enue this Q3 was Rs 324.3 crore— up 94% from Rs 167.5 crore insame period last fiscal. EIH con-solidated revenue was Rs 378.9crore — up 95% from Rs 194.8crore in same period last fiscal.

TRUTH PREVAIL

JAMMU, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 05, 2022SPORTS11

Quite a few eyebrows were raisedwhen India’s under-19 captain YashDhull opted to bat first againstAustralia at Coolidge in the U-19World Cup semifinal on Wednesday.The surface at the venue had earneda reputation of being capricious inthe two preceding matches. The big-ger challenge, though, awaited Dhullwhen he strode out to the pitch withthe scoreboard reading 37/2in the 13th over.What followed was 33 oversof a precisely-paced ODIinnings which yielded a run-a-ball 110 for Dhull. Theknock set the foundation fora mam-moth victory and aplace in Saturday’s finalagainst England.Dhull’s cricket journey start-ed with a curve ball thrownat him at the age of 11. Hewent to Bal Bhawan school, where hehas been honed for the last eightyears, for admission since the acade-my there could give him enoughopportunities. He was turned awayby the principal.“Yash pleaded for an opportunity toprove his potential. Then we decidedto give him one match and told himthat was his only opportunity. Hewas playing against 14-year-old boys

and scored an unbeaten 125,” hischildhood coach Rajesh Nagar fond-ly remembers.According to Nagar, his mostendearing quality came throughafter that innings. “The principalgave him Rs 500 as a reward andasked him what he wanted to do withthat money. Yash said he will give histeammates a treat since success in

cricket depends on the teammates,”Nagar told TOI.Embed-GFX-0402Dhull’s family was completely in-vested in his cricket career. Yet theynever interfered in the way he wascoached. “His grandfather is an ex-Army man and that discipline is inhim. He speaks less and knows whatneeds to be done,” the coach claims.As he cruised through the U-16 level,

the next challenge came when thefirst Covid lockdown happened in2020. Gyanendra Pandey, the juniornational selector, had told him hewould be in India’s U-19 scheme ofthings that year. But everythingcame to a standstill.“We set up nets on our terrace andstarted working on certain shotsusing tennis balls. His coaches would

give him routines and he woulddo his fitness on the terrace. Hemastered the inside-out shotthrough and over covers duringthat period,” Yash’s father Vijaysaid.Embed-GFX2-0402“He didn’t get many matches toplay in 2020 and it took sometime to gain momentum. Hecould have pushed his case forDelhi’s senior team. But heacknowledged the situation and

kept looking forward,” Vijay added.Dhull, unlike his contemporaries,has not overtly relied on power-hit-ting. He has worked on touch play.Late cuts, deft nudges, clever chipshots were his weapons to drag theopposition to a corner. “From a veryyoung age, he believed in hittinggaps and keeping the singles flowing.He knows he can accelerate when hetakes the innings deep.

China and Korea Republicwill battle it out for tophonours at AFC Women’s

Asian Cup after winningtheir respective semifinalsat Shree Shiv ChhatrapatiSports Complex in Pune onThursday. While Chinarode an extra-time equalis-er and successful last

penalty from captain WangShanshan to win 4-3 in adramatic shoot-out after

the regulation time ended2-2, the South Koreanscruised past Philippines 2-0 in the other last-fourclash.Defending champions Ja-pan, aiming for a hat-trick

of titles, controlled pro-ceedings from kick off.Riko Ueki began where she

had left off in the quartersand came close to scoringa couple of times. Shefinally got her fourth goalof the tournament from ateam effort in the 26thminute when HiyataMiyazawa’s cross foundan unmarked Ueki in thebox whose glancingheader was unstoppable.But the decks changed inthe second half withChina making three sub-stitutions. The Japanese defencewas caught napping just

a minute after the changeof ends as China got anequaliser when a crossfrom second-half substi-tute Xiao Yuyi waspoached in by ChengsuWu.

With Japan failing to fin-ish off the game, Chinagained more control andmade sure the matchwent into extra-time.After hitting the crossbarearly after regulationtime, it was Ueki againwho beat the Chinese off-side track to guide a longfree-kick into the net in103rd minute.

However, in the 119thminute, Shanshanreclaimed parity by con-verting with a flick of theback heel. With bothteams missing their firstshot in the shootout andYu Zhu saving Japan’slast penalty, it was left to Shanshan tosend in their last effortand keep her team oncourse for a ninth conti-nental title.

NORTH SOUND: Two-time cham-pions Pakistan and South Africaboth signed off their U-19 World Cupcampaigns with contrasting victo-ries.Pakistan eased past Sri Lanka in thefifth place playoff after the two sides'

chances of lifting the tro-phy ended at the quarter-final stage last week.While elsewhere inAntigua, South Africafinish in seventh placeafter a closely foughttwo-wicket victory overBangladesh.Skipper Qasim Akramshines for PakistanPakistan were in com-mand from the off at the

Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground,with openers Muhammad Shehzadand Haseebullah Khan (136) domi-nating the Sri Lanka attack.The pair led Pakistan to 100 withoutloss, Shehzad eventually made 73before he was dismissed by Raveen

de Silva.But Khan was joined at the crease bythe impressive skipper Qasim Akram(135 off 80) and the two took thegame away from Sri Lanka, puttingon a superb stand. Both made cen-turies and took Pakistan beyond350, Khan was finally trapped byMatheesha Pathirana.Akram remained unbeaten as hisside closed on 365-3.The Sri Lankan response was in tat-ters after just two overs with Akramwreaking havoc with the new ball.The talented all-rounder removedopeners Chamindu Wickramasingheand Pawan Pathiraja for a combinedtotal of just one, with Shevon Danielalso falling between the two.

NEW DELHI: India's new white-ball skipper Rohit Sharma startshis full-time ODI tenure on Sunday

as his team play the West Indies intheir 1,000th one-day internation-al, the first side ever to reach themilestone.The encounter at the world'sbiggest cricket stadium inAhmedabad is the first of a three-match series but will be playedbehind closed doors due to thecoronavirus pandemic.India passed 500,000 deaths fromthe virus on Friday, although infec-tion rates in the current Omicronoutbreak have slowed in recentdays."I was the captain of India in the500th ODI," India's cricket chiefSourav Ganguly told Indian maga-zine Sportstar -- a 2002 gameagainst England in Chester-le-Street."It is a big moment for Indiancricket, but unfortunately, the

match will be played without acrowd."The hosts have been hit by the virus

themselves with four playersincluding Shikhar Dhawan,Shreyas Iyer and Ruturaj Gaikwadbeing isolated after testing positive.Mayank Agarwal has been added tothe squad and will be a candidate toopen the batting alongside Rohit,although vice-captain K.L. Rahulremains a possibility.The 34-year-old Rohit, who tookover the Twenty20 and then ODIcaptaincy from Virat Kohli, wasruled out of India's tour of SouthAfrica by a hamstring injury, whenthe visitors lost the Test series 2-1and were whitewashed 3-0 inODIs.He is leading the one-day side in ayear that will see the T20 WorldCup in Australia, and is favourite tobe named Test captain as well.Indian broadcasters have been pro-moting the West Indies series with

a song on Rohit's comeback likelyto boost the hosts, and the starbatsman acknowledged the compli-ment."Humbled by the lovely rap@StarSportsIndia Looking forwardto be back on the field and takeinspiration from the fans' contin-ued support as India takes on WestIndies," Rohit wrote on Twitter.India have home advantage but willface a tough challenge against theWest Indies who are fresh from a 3-2 T20 triumph against England athome.The once mighty West Indies, two-time ODI World Cup winners, cele-brated the series win after their dis-astrous T20 World Cup defenceand a shock 50-overs series loss toIreland.Pace bowler Kemar Roach has beenrecalled to Kieron Pollard's sideand the spotlight will be on pacebowler Jason Holder, who claimeda hat-trick and took four wickets infour balls in the series-clinchingT20 win over England."For me, this is the closest that I'vefelt a group be in a very, very longtime," Holder was quoted as sayingby website ESPNcricinfo."Honest to God, the energy I feltfrom the meetings... most contribu-tions I've ever seen in a West Indiesdressing room. Even though youmight not understand a certaindecision, everybody's still buying inwith it." But he added: "I don'tthink it's a finished product andwe've got to strive to be consistent."The ODIs will be followed by threeT20 matches at Kolkata's EdenGardens.

NEW DELHI: West Indies playedtheir maiden ODI series in India in1983 and their last ODI series inIndia was in 2019. Between this peri-od, both the teams have played 58ODIs in India with the home teamemerging victorious on 29 occasions,losing 28 matches with 1 ODI endingin a tie.Here we look at the top fivemost memorable ODIsbetween India and West Indiesplayed in India:1993 – Kolkata, Hero Cupfinal: India won by 102 runsThe stage was the Hero Cupfinal in front of a boisterousEden Gardens crowd onNovember 27, 1993. VinodKambli’s 68 and captainMohammad Azharuddin’s 38took India to 225/7.Chasing 226, the top fourWindies batsmen were removed byManoj Prabhakar (took PhilSimmons' wicket), Sachin Tendulkar(dismissed Brian Lara) and KapilDev (removed Richie Richardsonand Keith Arthurton) respectively.From then on, it was Anil Kumble allthe way, who ran through theWindies line-up, picking up as manyas six wickets giving away just 12

runs off 6.1 overs as India won thematch by 102 runs.Kumble's 6/12 remained the bestODI bowling figures by an Indian for21 years.1987 – Nagpur, 1st ODI: West Indieswon by 10 runsThe sight of Patrick Patterson run-

ning in to bowl was enough to instillfear in the hearts of batsmen. Thehigh lift of the left leg and smashingit down on the pitch with brute force,only added to his fearsome aura.Patterson's burly physique andbroad shoulders were enough tosend the red cherry screamingthrough on the surface and it wasone of those days on December 8,

1987 at Nagpur when he really let itrip.Patterson sent the Indian batsmenscurrying for cover as the hosts failedto chase down a 204-run target andwere bundled out for 193 runs in44.4 overs, despite Kapil Dev’s 87-run knock off 64 balls.

Patterson's 6/29 in 9.4 overshelped the West Indies win thematch by 10 runs.1983 – Jamshedpur, 4th ODI:West Indies won by 104 runsThis match was part of a seriestagged the "Revenge Series" thatthe Windies came to play in Indiaafter losing the 1983 The brutestrike force of Vivian Richards onDecember 7, 1983 at Jamshedpurwas enough to set the stands onfire. Opener Gordon Greenidgescored 115, but Richards sent theIndian bowlers on a leather hunt

by smacking three sixes and as manyas 20 fours in his 149-run knock thatcame off just 99 deliveries.Richards' knock powered theWindies to 333/8. Sunil Gavaskar's83 wasn't enough to take India any-where near victory as the hosts lostby 104 runs and the Windies took a4-0 lead in the five-match series.

India vs West Indies: Rohit Sharma

to lead India in 1000th ODIThe IPL player auction isalways an exciting event.Players and fans fromIndia and across the worldtune in to see which teambuys which players and forhow much. The mostsought after players whohave registered theirnames for the auctionwatch with bated breath asteams enter into biddingwars for them. Many getthe news of them havingbeen bought at the auctionfrom teammates, friendsand family.The next edition of the IPLplayer auction will be amega auction and whatthat means is that barring ahandful of retained playersand six players signed bythe two new teams -Lucknow and Ahmedabad- everyone else will go back

into the auction pool. It willbe a two day affair spreadover February 12 and 13.According to some reportsthis could well be the lastIPL mega player auction.

The 2022 season will be the15th season of the IndianPremier League.Here we take a look at allthe details of the 2022 edi-tion of the IPL auction and

how an IPL auction works:IPL PLAYER AUCTION2022 - RULES AND HOWIT WILL WORKWhen will the 2022 IPLplayer auction be held?

The player auction thistime will be held over twodays, since it is a mega auc-tion, on February 12 and13, 2022.Where will the 2022 IPL

player auction be held?The player auction will beheld in Bengaluru.Where can I follow the IPLplayer auction 2022?You can track all the devel-opments minute by minuteo nhttps://timesofindia.india-times.comon both days ofthe auction on our liveblog, along with the latestreactions from players andteam owners, what thecomposition of the teams islooking like, how muchmoney is being spent by theteams and much more.How many players regis-tered themselves for theIPL player auction 2022?A total of 1214 playerssigned up for the auction.Out of this 896 were Indianplayers and 318 overseas.

IPL Player Auction 2022 - Everything you need to know

India vs West Indies: Top 5 most

memorable ODIs played in India

Pakistan and South Africa finish

ICC U-19 World Cup on a high

AFC Women's Asian Cup: China

pip Japan, to meet Korea in final

ICC Under-19 World Cup: Captain yash Dhull learned to

grab opportunities and embrace challenges at an early ageNEW DELHI: Virat Kohliknows exactly how it feelsto be on top of the worldwhen you have barelyattained the age to have adriving licence.Virat Kohli also knows howit feels when criticism fliesthick and fast when onedoesn't perform as perpotential after a global tro-phy.And no one knows morethan Virat Kohli how itfeels to be a world beater ata level where it matters themost.So it wasn't just "good but agreat morning" for thelikes of RajvardhanHagargekars, KaushalTambes, Yash Dhulls con-nected on a zoom call fromtheir respective hotelrooms in Antigua, they hadone of their role modelswaiting to "congratulatethem" and also speak tothem about what it meansto play an U-19 World Cupfinal.READ ALSODefinitely the World Cupwill come to India, says u-19 skipper Yash Dhull's

fatherYash Dhull has led theIndian Under-19 team tothe ICC Under-19 WorldCup final leading by exam-ple, scoring a century

against Australia in thesemifinal. India's unbeatenrun now makes them thetournament favourite.India's Under-19 team willnow face England in thefinal and the entire nationisDefinitely the World Cupwill come to India, says u-19 skipper Yash Dhull'sfatherIndia U-19 led by YashDhull will take on England

in what will be the fourthsuccessive final at this levelsince 2016.And Kohli knows a thing ortwo about winning a highpressure final at the junior

level when his team beatSouth Africa on a balmyevening in Kuala Lumpurin 2008.Fourteen summers havepassed by and Kohli hasbecome captain and is nowa former leader of the sen-ior team with more than20k international runs tohis credit.Whether it was BCCI sec-retary Jay Shah or NCAchief VVS Laxman, whoev-

er requested Kohli to sparesome time for the 'BabyBlues' did a remarkable jobas there could be few whocan tell what it takes tomake the grade.U-19 is just a first stop andeven if they win, there arecertainly no guaranteesthat life will be a bed ofroses from here on."It was really good to inter-act with you Virat Kohlibhaiyya. Learnt someimportant things about lifeand cricket from you whichwill help us in getting bet-ter in upcoming times,"wrote team's premier pace-bowling all-rounderRajvardhan Hangargekaron his instagram stories.FKr5B5gVcAMINHY"Some valuable tips fromthe GOAT before the final,"wrote spinner KaushalTambe.Untitled-5Their head coachHrishikesh Kanitkar wasalso present listeningintently to what one ofworld's greatest battershad to say.

From Ahmedabad to Antigua: U-19 World Cup winning

captain Virat Kohli holds session with 2022 batch

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JAMMU, FEb 04: LieutenantGovernor, Manoj Sinha todayreviewed various aspects relatedto Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM)project at Civil Secretariat.During the meeting, the LtGovernor sought a detailedreport on the progress madeunder Jal Jeevan Mission across

the UT, including FunctionalHousehold Tap Connections; TapWater Connections to Rural-Public Institutions; present sta-tus of Water Supply System andwater treatment under JJM.The Lt Governor directed theconcerned officials to speed upimplementation of the project to

achieve the desired results onground.We are determined to provide tapwater connection to every house-hold and capacity building ofWater Quality Management-test-ing, monitoring & surveillance,observed the Lt Governor.Improved SDG ranking of J&K inNITI Aayog's report is testimonyof our commitment to ensuresafe water supply and sanitation,the Lt Governor said.Ensure sustainability of thesource water supply system,along with maintaining inter-departmental coordination forthe effective implementation ofthe project. Every single com-plaint from the citizens regardingwater supply should beaddressed on priority, the LtGovernor told the officials.Sh. M Raju,Commissioner/Secretary to theGovernment, Jal ShaktiDepartment gave a detailed pres-entation on the status of JalJeevan Mission in the UT includ-

ing Functional Household TapConnections; District wiseSchemes proposed under JJM;Support Activities (ISA, IEC &HRD activities); Filtration PlantCapacity & Augmentation; exist-ing & the proposed infrastructurefor water treatment under JJMand hydrogeomorphology Maps(HGM Maps) for Ground WaterExploration.The chair was also briefed aboutthe Village Action Plans &Detailed Project Reports (DPRs)of Jal Jeevan Mission submittedto J&KWRRA for technical evalu-ation.Sh. Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar,Advisor to the Lt Governor; DrArun Kumar Mehta, ChiefSecretary; Sh. Nitishwar Kumar,Principal Secretary to the LtGovernor; Dr. Syed AbidRasheed Shah, Mission Director,Jal Jeevan Mission, J&K; ChiefEngineers and senior officersattended the meeting.

Lt Governor reviews progressunder Jal Jeevan Mission Project

NEW DELHI, FEb 04 :The rapid spread of theOmicron variant of coron-avirus in India infected acomparatively youngerpopulation with an aver-age age of 44 years,reflects hospital data col-lated by the government'stop medical body.to the Indian Council of

Medical Research (ICMR),the average age of the sec-tion of the populationinfected was 55 years inthe previous waves of theCovid-19 pandemic. Thisaverage age of hospitalisa-tion dropped to 44 duringthe third wave."There were two time peri-ods which we studied. Onewas November 15 toDecember 15, which waspresumed to be dominat-ed by the strain of Delta,and the other wasDecember 16 to January17, when the presumeddominant strain wasOmicron," ICMR DG DrBalram Bhargava said. Asmany as 1,520 hospitalisedindividuals were analysed,and their mean age duringthis third surge was about44 years, a slightlyyounger population, Dr

Bhargava said. High Co-Morbidities Surprisingly,these individuals werecomparatively young buthad "pretty high" co-mor-bidities."About 46 per cent had co-morbidities, these are thepeople who areyounger...but nearly halfof them had some co-mor-bidities and their symp-toms were much less," DrBhargava added. COVIDFATALITIES The thirdwave, which is believed tobe waning in India now,has been markedly differ-ent from the second waveof the pandemic whichwitnessed a huge numberof deaths. This timearound, the death rate was10 per cent in vaccinatedpeople and 22 per cent inthose not vaccinated. DrBhargava also pointed outthat in case of fatalitiesamong the vaccinated,nine out of 10 had co-mor-bidities; of the unvaccinat-ed, 83 per cent had co-morbidities."So not being vaccinatedand having co-morbiditiesreally are the driverswhich decide the course ofthe patient," he said.

younger population infected in Omicronfueled third Covid wave: Govt data

MANGALURU, FEb04: The denial of entry togirls wearing hijab at a col-lege in Karnataka's Udupidistrict gained nationalattention on Friday withformer J&K Chief Minister

and PDP chief MehboobaMufti and former Unionminister and Congress MPShashi Throor slammingthe government over theissue.Both the leaders tweeted avideo in which a staff mem-ber of a Government PUCollege in Kundapur in

Udupi district is seen slam-ming the door on the faceof girls who are trying toenter the college campus.Mehbooba, who also sportsa hijab, said, “Beti bachaobeti parhoa is yet another

hollow slogan. Muslims arebeing denied the right toeducation simply becauseof their attire. Legitimisingthe marginalisation ofMuslims is one more steptowards convertingGandhi's India intoGodse's India.”Tharoor tweeted, “It's been

a strength of India thatev-eryone is free to wear whatthey want. If the hijab isdisallowed, what about theSikh turban? The Hindu'sforehead mark? TheChristian's Crucifix? Thiscollege is going down aslippery slopa. Let the girlsin. Let them study. Letthem decide.”Meanwhile, state homeminister Araga Jnanendratold reporters in Bengaluruthat students should wearthe attire decided by edu-cational institutions andnot wear hijab or saffronshawls. Educational insti-tutions should overcomethe barriers of religion andcaste and have the feelingthat all are one. Religiouspractices should be fol-lowed in places of worship,he said.He added that he hasdirected the police to keepan eye on fundamentalorganisations and takestern action against thosewho disturb unity.

Mehbooba, Tharoor slam denial of entry to girls wearing hijab at Karnataka college

JAMMU, FEBRUARY 04:Member ParliamentJammu-Poonch JugalKishore Sharma, who isalso the Chairman DistrictD e v e l o p m e n tCoordination andMonitoring Committee(DDCMC) ‘DISHA’, todayreviewed status andprogress under centralgovernment schemes at ameeting of members ofthe Committee and dis-trict officers of linedepartments, held here inPWD Guest House.Chairman, DDC, JammuBharat Bhushan, DeputyCommissioner AnshulGarg, besides DISHACommittee MembersTara Chand and HaroonChowdhury were alsopresent in the meeting.At the outset, the DeputyCommissioner gave apowerpoint presentationon the achievements andprogress registered under

different schemes and thestatus of the developmen-tal projects being execut-ed in the district by differ-ent agencies.The MP took a compre-hensive review of physicaland financial achieve-ments of centrally spon-sored schemes PMGSY,14th FC, RURBAN,DDUGJY, B2V3,Languishing Projects,Ayushman Bharat,NRLM, PMAY, IWMP,MGNREGA, PM-KISAN,KCC Swachh BharatMission, etc. The MP alsoreviewed the achieve-ments under the schemesbeing implemented by thePWD, PDD, Jal ShaktiDepartment, Agriculture,Horticulture, Education,Social Welfare, LaborDepartment, UrbanDevelopment Departmentand others.The MP instructed theconcerned functionaries

to make sure that the ben-efits under the CentralSponsored Schemes per-colate to the targeted sec-tions. He also stressed oncreating mass awareness

for the effective imple-mentation of CentralSponsored Schemes at thegrassroots level.The MP emphasized onoptimum utilization ofavailable resources andinstructed the concerned

officers for regular moni-toring and follow- up of allongoing developmentworks to achieve qualityparameters.It was informed that Rs

73486.59 Lakhs weresanctioned under theLanguishing projectscheme for 252 projectsincluding roads, bridges,school buildings, out ofwhich 145 projects havebeen completed till date

and work on the rest 106is at different stages ofexecution.The DeputyCommissioner furtherinformed the Chair that a

total 4023 works havebeen completed underMGNREGA, while 5023candidates were enrolledunder Himayat, 3170 havecompleted the training indifferent trades, 1205 areundergoing training and

1545 have been placed indifferent jobs.Regarding AyushmanBharat scheme, theDeputy Commissionerinformed the MP thatagainst 1441400 benefici-aries in Jammu district,739651 have been regis-tered and 727756 provid-ed Golden Cards so far.The chair also reviewedthe progress on CRF proj-ects being executed in thedistrict and directed theofficers to closely monitorthe execution work.Regarding PMAY, the MPwas apprised that againstthe target of constructing5272 houses, 4640 havebeen completed.Similarly, under IWMP,210 works have beenapproved out of which 50have been completed sofar.Regarding MPLAD, theChair was informed thatfor 16th Lok Sabha, out of

704 works 608 have beencompleted and for 17thLok Sabha, out ofapproved 101 works 35have been completed sofar.Regarding Jammu-Akhnoor Highway andRing road projects, theMP was apprised thatmaximum works on thetwin projects have beencompleted and rest wouldbe completed within a fewmonths.Under 14th FC, out oftotal 6255 works 3631have been completed,while under PMGSY outof total 765 road length,667 has been constructed.Appreciating the efforts ofdistrict administrationJammu, the MPexpressed satisfactionover the overall progressof the district in the imple-mentation of the centrallysponsored schemes. Healso advised the members

of PRIs and MCs to effec-tively monitor and helpadministration in success-ful implementation of theschemes. The MP directedthe officers concerned toresolve the bottlenecks, ifany.He further directed theconcerned agencies tocomplete all the pendingdevelopment works with-in the given timeline. Theofficers and field func-tionaries were asked towork as a team for achiev-ing better results andensuring effective publicservice delivery.While congratulating theDC Jammu for beingadjudged as number 1 dis-trict in composite rankingamong the 20 districts ofUT of J&K, the MP alsoappreciated the districtofficers who are leavingno stone unturned in thedevelopment of the dis-trict.

SRINAGAR: Using aninnovative and noveltechnique for cancertreatment, onco-surgeonsat BLK-Max SuperSpeciality Hospital,excised a stage 2 oral can-cer tumour from the faceof a 46-year-old man in ascarless surgery, recently.The surgery, performed inDecember, by DrSurender Kumar Dabas,Senior Director & HOD,Surgical Oncology &Robotic Surgery, BLK-Max Hospital & MaxHospital, Shalimar Bagh,approached the oral cavi-ty by making four smallholes, measuring 8 mmeach under the patient'scollar bone. His cancerpresented as an ulcer onthe right lower cheeks andtongue.One of the biggest con-cerns of most oral cancerpatients is the post-sur-gery aesthetic appearance

and disfigurement of theirface. It may also leavepatients compromisedwith their quality of lifesuch as change in speech(with an operated/disfig-ured tongue), drooling ofsaliva and/or difficulty inswallowing.Oral cancers, as typicallyoperated, leave massivescarring on the survivor'sface and neck area, attimes requiring elaborateand multiple plastic-reconstructive surgeries.Sujinder Singh, a patientfrom Sonipat, presentedto BLK-Max SuperSpeciality Hospital, withcarcinoma of right cheekand tongue (BuccalMucosa). This is the mostcommon kind of oral cav-ity cancer.In this latest and innova-tive technique, doctorsplanned a scarless roboticsurgery after thoroughlyevaluating the placement

of his cancer. The surgeryensured that no cuts wereexternally made on theface and neck of thepatient.Dr Dabas said, "Patientwas very conscious aboutaesthetics post-surgery.We ensured there was noincision over theface/neck for good cos-metic results. Postremoval of the canceroustumour robotically, a free(skin) flap measuring 6cms by 6 cms was har-vested from the thighand used to fill the gap inthe cheek.""This is the first everattempted technique ofcarrying out successfulscarless surgery of thehead and neck region.During the entire sur-gery, no incision wasmade on the face/neck,hence a very good cos-metic outcome could beachieved despite a radi-

cal oral cancer surgery.We have since then, car-ried out several moresuch surgeries onpatients of oral cancer.This approach avoidedsurgery related to shoul-der weakness, neck tight-ness & facial scar," DrDabas added.This kind of scarless sur-gery is beneficial for oralcancers that are of thecheeks, tongue, tonsillarcancers and alveolar can-cers.However, all procedurescannot be done roboti-cally, one needs to con-sult the doctor to under-stand which patient canbe fit for this kind ofscarless robotic surgery,explained Dr Dabas.Type of surgery:1. intra-oral excision of primarytumour 2. robotic neckdissection 3. free flapreconstruction

Onco Surgeons at BLK-Max Hospital perform scarless removal

of a face tumour from a 46-year old patient, robotically

GCOE hosts online talk

by Dr. Ashutosh to mark

World Cancer DayJAMMU, FEBRUARY 04: NSS Unit of GovernmentCollege of Education, Jammu on Friday organised aninformative webinar session ‘Cancer Talks’ to markWorld Cancer Day.The program was organized to spread awareness aboutthe deadly disease and inform the students about thepossible preventive measures that can be taken.The event was successfully organised by Dr. ShubhraJamwal, NSS Programme Officer of GCOE along withProf. Shapia Shameem Bhatti, Prof. Seema Kumari, andProf. Sarita Dogra.The program consisted of a guest lecture by the speakerof the day Dr. Ashutosh Gupta, Professor, and HeadRegional Cancer Center, GMC, Jammu. He emphasisedon periodic screening and diagnosis of the diseases fortimely treatment and observed that an effective aware-ness campaign needs to be launched.Dr. Ashutosh Gupta elaborated upon the various facetsof this disease in detail and answered the queries of thestudents.Addressing the webinar, Principal Dr. Kulvinder Kour,said that there has been a consistent increase in thenumber of deaths due to cancer and it is necessary tohold such discussions to aware the youth.Dr. Sushma Bala, Prof. Satish Sharma, Prof Anuradhachodhary and Prof Vinay Lata also present at the webi-nar.

CSSs playing vital role in development of J&K: MP Jugal Kishore

DDC reviews pace of progress

20 schools being equipped with E-class, smart rooms in Rajouri under TSP

RAJOURI, FEBRUARY 04:District DevelopmentCommissioner Rajouri, VikasKundal today chaired a meeting ofthe concerned officers to reviewthe progress made in the construc-tion of E classrooms in differentschools of the district under tribalsub-plan.Officers who attended the meetingincluded CPO, MohammadKhurshid and ExEn PWD Rajouri,Maqbool Hussain.The meeting was informed that asmany as twenty schools of the dis-trict have been selected where E-class rooms are being developedunder the tribal sub-plan. The

administrative approval for thir-teen has been received while thecivil work has been allotted for sixE-class rooms, the meeting wastold.The E classroom technology willenable students to grasp conceptsmore quickly and fully, to connecttheory and applications more easi-ly and to engage in learning morereadily.Speaking at the meeting, the DDCsaid that the E-class rooms willalso improve instructional tech-niques, and facilitate the wide-spread and easy sharing ofknowledge and help in impart-ing concepts. The DDC asked the

concerned officers to ensurethat the work on all the E class-rooms is completed at the earli-est to provide desired benefit tothe tribal students.The concerned officer from theSchool Education Departmentwas directed to submit thereport regarding the enrollmentof the tribal students in theseschools.The DDC also stressed on judi-cious use of funds under thetribal plan besides asking foradhering to guidelines of theTribal Department while execut-ing the work on the E class-rooms.