16
P rime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday invited heads of all parties to a meet- ing on June 19 to discuss the “one nation, one election” issue and other important matters. Noting that there are many new faces in this Lok Sabha, Modi who chaired an all-party meet- ing on the eve of the first ses- sion of the new Lok Sabha, said the first session of the Lower House of Parliament should begin with “fresh zeal and new thinking.” In the meeting, the Opposition, meanwhile, demanded discussion on issues such as farmers distress, unem- ployment and drought should be debated upon in Parliament. Addressing the media after the meeting, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi said the Prime Minister urged leaders of all parties to “intro- spect whether Members of Parliament are able to fulfil people’s aspirations as their representatives and the manner in which last two years of the 16th Lok Sabha were wasted”. An all-party meeting is a customary procedure before the beginning of every session of Parliament to ensure its smooth functioning. Joshi said the Government has requested all parties, especially the Opposition, for their coopera- tion for the smooth function- ing of both Houses of Parliament. Modi has invited presi- dents of all those parties, who have an MP either in the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha, for a meeting on June 19. The meeting has been called to discuss “one nation, one elec- tion” issue, celebrations of 75 years of India’s Independence in 2022 and 150 years of Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary this year. It will be followed by a din- ner meeting with all members of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on June 20 to freely interact and exchange views with the Government, Joshi said, adding that these two novel initiatives would go a long way in building team spirit among all parliamentarians. After the all-party meeting, Modi tweeted, “We had a fruit- ful all-party meeting today, the first one after the election results and before the start of the Monsoon Session. Thankful to the leaders for their valuable suggestions. We all agreed on the smooth running of Parliament so that we can fulfil people’s aspirations.” C hasing a stiff 337-run tar- get, Pakistan were 166 for six in 35 overs against India when rain halted play in their World Cup clash, here Sunday. Imad Wasim (22) and Shadab Khan (1) were at the crease when the skies opened up as Pakistan need 171 more runs from 15 overs. Rain had briefly held play when India batted. In India's innings, opener Rohit Sharma hit a majestic 140-run knock while skipper Virat Kohli scored 77 after Pakistan elect- ed to field in the marquee match. India have a 6-0 record against Pakistan in World Cup matches. Rohit pulverised a pedestrian Pakistan attack. Despite heavy rains and over- cast conditions during past few days, the pitch had very lit- tle moisture and turned out to be a batting beauty which Rohit and the other Indian batsmen exploited to the fullest. The Indian vice-captain scored his 24th ODI hundred — 140 off 113 balls while KL Rahul (57) played the perfect second fiddle in an opening partnership of 137 runs. Skipper Virat Kohli switched gears effortlessly dur- ing his 77 off 65 balls and also became the quickest to 11,000 ODI runs, eclipsing a 17-year record held by iconic Sachin Tendulkar. Mohammed Amir (3/47) pitched the ball up and maintained discipline despite a couple of official 'warnings' for running onto the pitch while Wahab Riaz (1/71) and Hasan Ali (1/84) bowled short consistently. A t least 61 people have died in a blistering heatwave that hit three Bihar districts on Saturday, officials said on Sunday. The officials at the Disaster Management Control Room said 22 people died in Aurangabad, 20 in Gaya and two in Nawada districts due to the heatwave. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has expressed grief over the deaths due to the “loo” winds and the heatstroke in the three districts and has announced a payment of Rs four lakh as ex-gratia to the next of kin of those killed, an official release said. Stating that the Government stood firmly with the affected families, Kumar ordered payment of 4 lakh as ex-gratia from the State disas- ter relief fund to the next of kin of those killed due to the heat- wave in the three districts. He also directed the offi- cials concerned to take neces- sary steps and measures in dealing with the blistering heat and loo. The Chief Minister also asked the offi- cials to provide all medical help to those affected by the heatstroke. Major cities such as Patna, Gaya and Bhagalpur witnessed the heatwave on Saturday. According to the Patna Meteorological Centre, the State Capital registered a max- imum temperature of 45.8 degrees Celsius on Saturday, the highest in June in the last 10 years, while Gaya and Bhagalpur recorded a high of 45.2 and 41.5 degrees Celsius respectively. D elhi Customs Department has suspended two of its officials for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman from Uzbekistan, who was visiting India for medical treatment of a relative, at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport. Giving details of the case, the official said one of the accused official stopped the Uzbek upon her arrival from Tashkent on May 3, for check- ing of her baggage for any sus- pected smuggled goods. He then took her to a room, which has no CCTV camera and spent about half an hour there without being accompanied by any women officer, they said. Patna/Muzaffarpur: With one more child dying of suspected AES in Muzaffarpur on Sunday morning, the death toll of children in the district rose to 83 this month, even as Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced an ex-gra- tia of 4 lakh each. Kumar expressed grief over the children’s death in Muzaffarpur and ordered pay- ment of 4 lakh as ex-gratia to the next of kin of the deceased, an official release said. He also directed the officials of the Health department and the district administration as well as doctors to take all possible measures to tackle the disease. Detailed report on P9 T he ongoing junior doctors’ strike across West Bengal entered its seventh day on Sunday with the agitating medicos responding to Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s talks offer with a tac- tical move saying they were game for talks but not inside closed doors but at a public platform. Mamata had on Saturday asked the doctors to send in their representatives to Nabanna to thrash out a solu- tion to the ongoing imbroglio. “I have already met the doctors’ demands and am ready to talk to them. I have forgiven them for their misdemeanor towards me and have not invoked the stringent Essential Services Maintenance Act considering their career. But they should accept the talks offer and send their representatives to Nabanna from where the Government of the State is run,” Mamata had said. However the doctors, “hav- ing considered carefully the Chief Minister’s statements” decided to respond to her offer for talks, with a mild adjust- ment saying, “We too want to talk to her but not inside the closed doors but in a public place and in front of the cam- era so that people can see it for themselves.” In a statement given after a general body meeting, the doctors said, “We are keen to end this impasse. We are ready to hold talks with the Chief Minister at a venue of her choice, provided it is held in the open, in the presence of medi- apersons, and not behind closed doors,” adding “the venue for the talks should be spacious enough to accom- modate representatives of all the medical colleges.” P atients and their relatives across the country may have to go through harrowing times for want of medical ser- vices on Monday as the Indian Medical Association (IMA), an apex body of thousands of medical practitioners, has decided to go ahead with its nationwide strike in the wake of the recent assault on doctors in West Bengal. C hief Minister Raghubar Das, on Sunday, requested Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, to move the construction of roads from Dhanbad to Raipur and Sambalpur to Ranchi from medium priority to high pri- ority projects. The stretch of 707 kilo- metres from Dhanbad in Jharkhand to Raipur in Chhattisgarh and 323 kilome- tres from Sambalpur in Odisha to Ranchi are a part of the Bharatmala Pariyojana. The Bharatmala project focuses on bridging critical infrastruc- tural gaps through innova- tions like development of eco- nomic corridors, inter corri- dors, boarder and interna- tional connectivity roads, green-field expressways and others. He also requested Gadkari to include the 790 kilometres stretch from Sahibgunj to Dhamra Port in Odisha, a four lane road, in the Bharatmala project, to develop it as an economic corridor. Das said, "This is an important route to link north eastern States with Jharkhand and Odisha from and economic point of view." During the meeting, the CM also informed Gadkari about the progress of various ongoing road and highway projects of Jharkhand. Das was in Delhi on Sunday, meeting various union ministers. Apart from Gadkari, he also met Thawar Chand Gehlot, Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment and congratu- lated him. Das said to Gehlot, "Jharkhand is playing an important role in the forma- tion of New India under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. With your support we would move at a faster pace towards achieving the aim." Das also met Union Minister of Railways and Commerce, Piyush Goyal, on Sunday.

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Page 1: ’ˆ( ˘ ˘ˇˇ C€¦ · room, which has no CCTV camera and spent about half an ... Maintenance Act considering their career. ... to Ranchi are a part of the

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Prime Minister NarendraModi on Sunday invited

heads of all parties to a meet-ing on June 19 to discuss the“one nation, one election” issueand other important matters.Noting that there are many newfaces in this Lok Sabha, Modiwho chaired an all-party meet-ing on the eve of the first ses-sion of the new Lok Sabha, saidthe first session of the LowerHouse of Parliament shouldbegin with “fresh zeal and newthinking.” In the meeting, theOpposition, meanwhile,demanded discussion on issuessuch as farmers distress, unem-ployment and drought should be debated upon inParliament.

Addressing the media afterthe meeting, ParliamentaryAffairs Minister Prahlad Joshisaid the Prime Minister urgedleaders of all parties to “intro-spect whether Members ofParliament are able to fulfilpeople’s aspirations as theirrepresentatives and the mannerin which last two years of the16th Lok Sabha were wasted”.

An all-party meeting is acustomary procedure beforethe beginning of every sessionof Parliament to ensure itssmooth functioning. Joshi saidthe Government has requestedall parties, especially theOpposition, for their coopera-tion for the smooth function-ing of both Houses ofParliament.

Modi has invited presi-dents of all those parties, whohave an MP either in the LokSabha or the Rajya Sabha, fora meeting on June 19. Themeeting has been called todiscuss “one nation, one elec-tion” issue, celebrations of 75years of India’s Independencein 2022 and 150 years ofMahatma Gandhi’s birthanniversary this year.

It will be followed by a din-ner meeting with all membersof both Lok Sabha and RajyaSabha on June 20 to freelyinteract and exchange viewswith the Government, Joshisaid, adding that these twonovel initiatives would go along way in building teamspirit among all parliamentarians.

After the all-party meeting,Modi tweeted, “We had a fruit-ful all-party meeting today,the first one after the electionresults and before the start ofthe Monsoon Session.Thankful to the leaders fortheir valuable suggestions.

We all agreed on thesmooth running of Parliamentso that we can fulfil people’saspirations.”

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Chasing a stiff 337-run tar-get, Pakistan were 166 for

six in 35 overs against Indiawhen rain halted play in theirWorld Cup clash, here Sunday.

Imad Wasim (22) andShadab Khan (1) were at thecrease when the skies openedup as Pakistan need 171 moreruns from 15 overs.

Rain had briefly held playwhen India batted. In India'sinnings, opener Rohit Sharmahit a majestic 140-run knockwhile skipper Virat Kohliscored 77 after Pakistan elect-ed to field in the marqueematch. India have a 6-0 recordagainst Pakistan in World Cupmatches. Rohit pulverised apedestrian Pakistan attack.Despite heavy rains and over-cast conditions during pastfew days, the pitch had very lit-tle moisture and turned out tobe a batting beauty whichRohit and the other Indianbatsmen exploited to the fullest.

The Indian vice-captainscored his 24th ODI hundred— 140 off 113 balls while KLRahul (57) played the perfectsecond fiddle in an openingpartnership of 137 runs.

Skipper Virat Kohliswitched gears effortlessly dur-ing his 77 off 65 balls and alsobecame the quickest to 11,000ODI runs, eclipsing a 17-yearrecord held by iconic SachinTendulkar. Mohammed Amir(3/47) pitched the ball up andmaintained discipline despite acouple of official 'warnings'for running onto the pitchwhile Wahab Riaz (1/71) andHasan Ali (1/84) bowled shortconsistently.

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At least 61 people have diedin a blistering heatwave

that hit three Bihar districts onSaturday, officials said onSunday.

The officials at the DisasterManagement Control Roomsaid 22 people died inAurangabad, 20 in Gaya andtwo in Nawada districts due tothe heatwave.

Chief Minister NitishKumar has expressed grief overthe deaths due to the “loo”winds and the heatstroke in thethree districts and hasannounced a payment of Rsfour lakh as ex-gratia to thenext of kin of those killed, anofficial release said.

Stating that theGovernment stood firmly withthe affected families, Kumar

ordered payment of �4 lakh asex-gratia from the State disas-ter relief fund to the next of kinof those killed due to the heat-wave in the three districts.

He also directed the offi-cials concerned to take neces-sary steps and measures in

dealing with the blisteringheat and loo. The ChiefMinister also asked the offi-cials to provide all medicalhelp to those affected by theheatstroke.

Major cities such as Patna,Gaya and Bhagalpur witnessedthe heatwave on Saturday.

According to the PatnaMeteorological Centre, theState Capital registered a max-imum temperature of 45.8degrees Celsius on Saturday,the highest in June in the last10 years, while Gaya andBhagalpur recorded a high of45.2 and 41.5 degrees Celsiusrespectively.

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Delhi Customs Departmenthas suspended two of its

officials for allegedly sexuallyassaulting a woman fromUzbekistan, who was visitingIndia for medical treatment ofa relative, at Indira GandhiInternational (IGI) airport.

Giving details of the case,the official said one of theaccused official stopped theUzbek upon her arrival fromTashkent on May 3, for check-ing of her baggage for any sus-pected smuggled goods.

He then took her to aroom, which has no CCTVcamera and spent about half anhour there without beingaccompanied by any womenofficer, they said.

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Patna/Muzaffarpur: With onemore child dying of suspectedAES in Muzaffarpur onSunday morning, the death tollof children in the district roseto 83 this month, even asBihar Chief Minister NitishKumar announced an ex-gra-tia of �4 lakh each.

Kumar expressed griefover the children’s death in

Muzaffarpur and ordered pay-ment of �4 lakh as ex-gratia tothe next of kin of the deceased,an official release said. Healso directed the officials of theHealth department and thedistrict administration as wellas doctors to take all possible measures to tacklethe disease.

Detailed report on P9

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The ongoing junior doctors’strike across West Bengal

entered its seventh day onSunday with the agitatingmedicos responding to BengalChief Minister MamataBanerjee’s talks offer with a tac-tical move saying they weregame for talks but not insideclosed doors but at a publicplatform.

Mamata had on Saturdayasked the doctors to send intheir representatives toNabanna to thrash out a solu-tion to the ongoing imbroglio.“I have already met the doctors’demands and am ready to talkto them. I have forgiven themfor their misdemeanor towardsme and have not invoked thestringent Essential ServicesMaintenance Act consideringtheir career. But they shouldaccept the talks offer and sendtheir representatives toNabanna from where theGovernment of the State isrun,” Mamata had said.

However the doctors, “hav-

ing considered carefully theChief Minister’s statements”decided to respond to her offerfor talks, with a mild adjust-ment saying, “We too want totalk to her but not inside theclosed doors but in a public

place and in front of the cam-era so that people can see it forthemselves.”

In a statement given aftera general body meeting, thedoctors said, “We are keen toend this impasse. We are readyto hold talks with the ChiefMinister at a venue of herchoice, provided it is held in theopen, in the presence of medi-apersons, and not behindclosed doors,” adding “thevenue for the talks should bespacious enough to accom-modate representatives of allthe medical colleges.”

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Patients and their relativesacross the country may

have to go through harrowingtimes for want of medical ser-vices on Monday as the Indian

Medical Association (IMA),an apex body of thousands ofmedical practitioners, hasdecided to go ahead with its nationwide strike in thewake of the recent assault on doctors in WestBengal.

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Chief Minister RaghubarDas, on Sunday, requested

Minister of Road Transport andHighways, Nitin Gadkari, tomove the construction of roadsfrom Dhanbad to Raipur andSambalpur to Ranchi frommedium priority to high pri-ority projects.

The stretch of 707 kilo-metres from Dhanbad inJharkhand to Raipur inChhattisgarh and 323 kilome-tres from Sambalpur in Odishato Ranchi are a part of theBharatmala Pariyojana. TheBharatmala project focuses onbridging critical infrastruc-tural gaps through innova-tions like development of eco-nomic corridors, inter corri-dors, boarder and interna-tional connectivity roads,green-field expressways andothers.

He also requested Gadkarito include the 790 kilometres

stretch from Sahibgunj toDhamra Port in Odisha, afour lane road, in theBharatmala project, to developit as an economic corridor. Dassaid, "This is an importantroute to link north easternStates with Jharkhand andOdisha from and economicpoint of view."

During the meeting, theCM also informed Gadkariabout the progress of variousongoing road and highwayprojects of Jharkhand.

Das was in Delhi onSunday, meeting various unionministers.

Apart from Gadkari, healso met Thawar ChandGehlot, Union Minister ofSocial Justice andEmpowerment and congratu-lated him. Das said to Gehlot,"Jharkhand is playing animportant role in the forma-tion of New India under theguidance of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi. With yoursupport we would move at afaster pace towards achievingthe aim."

Das also met UnionMinister of Railways andCommerce, Piyush Goyal, onSunday.

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Following the killings of fivepolicemen by CPI-Maoist

rebels at Khukru weekly mar-ket on Friday evening, policeand security forces on Sundaybegan special operation inChandil sub-division'sTiruldih-Ichagarh-Khukru-Nimdih areas in Seraikela-Kharsawan district.

Sources informed that alarge number of State andparamilitary forces have beenengaged and a security campwas set up at the Chowk policestation which is located strate-gically between Tiruldih andKharsawan.

S eraike la-K hars awansuperintendent of police,Chandan Kumar Sinha, saidthat they have also launchedspecial operation against therebels in Chandil sub-divisionarea from today.

"We are taking hard stepsto flush out Maoists. Earlier, wehad concentrated our anti-insurgency operation atKharsawan in Seraikela sub-division where a series of

maoist violence had takenplace. But after the rebelsattacked a police party, result-ing in the death of five police-men, we have also startedfocusing the Tiruldih, Ichagarh,Khukru and Nimdih thanaareas in Chandil sub-division,"said Sinha.

The SP did not reveal thekind of forces and their num-ber engaged in the anti-insur-gency operation in view ofsecurity reason, but confirmedabout setting up a camp for thesecurity personnel at Chowka.

"Chowka police station is astrategic location. Being in themiddle of Tiruldih andKharsawan, we have set up thesecurity camp there so thatmovement of forces can bemade on either Tiruldih orKharsawan in comparativelyless time during a period ofemergency," said the seniorpolice officer.

Sinha, however, could notconfirm whether it was theMaharaj Pramanik's squadbehind the killing of five policemen at Khukrudih weekly haat.

According to a source inpolice, the special operation at

both Khukru-Tiruldih-Ichagarh axis and Kharsawan-Kuchai will be closely moni-tored by DGP continuouslyunless the rebels are flushedout.

Meanwhile, the adminis-tration has increased policepatrolling on the borderingareas connecting West Bengaland has also deployed adequatenumber of paramilitary per-sonnel on areas potential torebels attack.

“Every effort will be madeto maintain law and order andto ensure security of the peo-ple. This time, all securityforces have also been alerted toremain vigilant, particularlyagainst IEDs and landmines,"said another official.

Sources informed that themobility of the police has pre-vented the extremists fromcarrying out any violent activ-ity in past few days in the entireKolhan. All the police stationsin the three districts of the divi-sion, including East and WestSinghbhum and SeraikelaKharswan, have been asked tobeef up the security and keepa vigil at the bordering areas.

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The city police on Sundaybusted a gang of bike lifters

and arrested five persons. TheBanshidhar Nagar Police alsorecovered five bikes from thepossession of the accused.

The accused have beenidentified as Ainul Ansari,Shankar Chaudhary, SantoshPrajapati, Jitendra Bhuyanyaand Dipak Vishwakarma.

Sub-Divisional PoliceOfficer (SDPO) of BanshidharNagar, Niraj Kumar informedthat on Sunday a vehicle checkwas organised by the police atDhurki-Banshidhar Nagarroad when a person on amotorcycle coming fromBanshidhar Nagar tried fleeingon seeing policemen on theroad.

“This led to suspicion andthe officers chased the bike,thus nabbing one Ainul Ansari.On verification, the motorcy-cle was found stolen to be,” saidthe SDPO.

“During interrogation, theaccused revealed the names ofall the gang members andshared information about thestolen motorcycles,” he added.

Informing about themodus operandi of the bikelifter gang SDPO said that theaccused persons used to bringthese stolen bikes from Bihar to

Dipak Vishwakarma, a nativeof Sasaram, Bihar, who lives inGarhwa and is the prime mem-ber of the gang. Dipak was sentthe stolen motorcycles fromBihar to sell locally in Garhwa.

When police raidedDipak’s house with the help ofBihar police they recoveredsix motorcycles and a car.“Bihar police is verifying thevehicles," SDPO said.

"The arrested personsalready have criminal history.Cases of theft, robbery andArms Act are registered againstAinul while Shakar has beenjailed in the past due forinvolvement in extremism vio-lence," SDPO informed.

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Road construction depart-ment (RCD) of Jharkhand

is planning to construct a fly-over on the old bridge ofBarodaghat-Tatanagar stationroad in Bagbera to address traf-fic woes, after the railway'sobjection in constructing anew bridge on the stretch.

RCD authority is planningconstruction of a flyover at thespot on two kms-longBarodaghat-Tatanagar stationroad. RCD's executive engineer(Advance Planning) WQ Faridirecently visited the project siteat Bagbera for survey.

Talking about the devel-opment of the project, Faridisaid that with railway’s objec-tion on moving of the threewater pipelines that passesalong the existing bridge, theonly option remaining is con-struction of the flyover.

"As per our understanding,constructing a flyover is a needof the hour. Despite it needingextra expenses, we are planning

a flyover to meet the traffic jamproblems. We have alreadydesigned it, but a final decisionis yet to be taken by the engi-neer-in-chief Rash BihariSingh," said Faridi.

The two-kms longBarodaghat-Tatanagar StationRoad which connects densely-populated Barodaghat areawith Jugsalai, Railway stationand other localities is hit bytraffic chaos as the recon-struction of a small bridge inthe middle of the road hasremained incomplete due toobjection by the railway.

According to information,the RCD wanted to recon-struct the existing bridge byraising its height by 15 metres,bringing its level to the newly-constructed road. However,the railway authorities raised anobjection against the bridgeconstruction work as theyapprehend that the threepipelines which passes throughthe existing bridge which drawwater from Kharkai river to arailway filtration plant for watersupply in Tatanagar station

might be affected with thenew construction. This mightlead to water crisis for about4,000 railway residential quar-ters in the area.

An official of Tatanagarrailway said that RCD wantedto get the old bridge buriedunder 15 meters soil and if it isdone, then the railway pipelinesthat pass just beside the bridgewill also get buried in the soil.As a result, if there is any prob-lem in the pipeline in futurethen its repairing will becomeimpossible.

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Over 35,000 students of var-ious middle and high

schools and Kasturba GandhiBalika Vidyalayas (KGBV) willbe benefitted by the two inno-vative smart class projectslaunched by the Simdega dis-trict administration.

Pehal and Smartshala, thetwo projects offer smart learn-ing facilities to the students ofseven KGBVs and 86 govern-ment middle schools and highschools functioning in the dis-trict.

Deputy commissioner VipraBhal on Saturday inauguratedthe smart classes of KGBVunder project Pehal. "Simdega isone of the aspirational districtsunder Niti Ayog. The projectshave been launched as a part ofinnovative measures under theaspirational district programme.The projects will help improvethe quality of education based ondifferent standards set by the NitiAyog,” she said.

While project Pehal is amore expensive project forKGBVs, project Smartshala isbeing implemented in the othergovernment schools. Underboth projects, a special class-room has been allotted for smartclasses in each of the schoolswherein the students will betaught through audio-visualmethod. To ensure that childrenfrom all the classes get a chanceto study through this method, a

special timetable has been cre-ated in every school.

“Both the projects havebeen prepared in a way thatfunctioning of these classes isnot dependent on either inter-net or electricity. The con-sumption of electricity for play-ing smart courses on LEDscreens is very less and it canfunction with only AA batteriesor a power bank charger. Also,all the courses are fed into a soft-ware which can function with-out internet,” Bhal said. There isalso a plan of installing solarpower plates for the functioningof these smart classes, she added.

The Smartshala also pro-vides an option of realtimemonitoring of the learning levelof students. Under this project,every student sitting in theclassroom will be given a remote

and during the sessions randomquestions related to the topicwould pop up on screen, theanswer for which will be givenby students using the remotesprovided to them.

"This will help the teachersknow whether the students arelearning through the software ornot. Also, this will help create adatabase which we can use tomonitor the improvement inlearning level and also know thesubjects where students needmore attention.

This will help us makingfurther policies for education inthe district," DC said.

As the smart classes do notrequire presence of a teacher inthe classroom, it will also helpsolve the problems raised byshortage of teachers inGovernment schools.

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Concerned over the heatwave conditions prevailing

in the city, various Englishmedium schools have declaredextension of summer vacation.Schools decided to extend hol-idays for classes from nurseryto 2 till June 22. The schoolswhich were supposed to reopenfrom June 17 will now reopenon June 23 for primary sectionstudents. Meanwhile, for thestudents of standard three andabove classes will run from 6:25am to 11:30 am, starting June17.

The school authorities saidthat they have no choice but toextend holidays. The classes inthe primary section of allschools, both English andHindi medium, will resume onrevised dates. However, for thehigher classes the schools willresume according to originalschedule on June 17.

A senior functionary ofJharkhand Unaided PrivateEnglish Medium Schools

Association, said that theschools have agreed to extendthe summer vacations. “I thinkthe decision will be of greatrelief for the parents and stu-dents,” he said. There is a fore-cast of further rise in the tem-perature in coming days. Themaximum temperature onMonday is likely to hoveraround 42 degrees Celsius.While adults found it difficultto cope with the heat wave, theworst hit was the school goingchildren. There were number ofcomplaints about studentsfainting or falling sick due toheat-stroke.

"It is left to the schools towork out the mechanism tocover the loss of study hours. Afew of the schools will proba-bly hold special classes in theweekends," said a functionaryof the Jamshedpur chapter ofthe Jharkhand Private UnaidedEnglish Medium SchoolsAssociation. The parents,meanwhile, have expresseddelight on the extension of thesummer vacations.

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The monthly crime state-ments issued by Jharkhand

Police shows that theft, bur-glary, and kidnapping contin-ue to dominate the crime sta-tistics in the city, followed bymurder and rape. The Statecapital also seems to be thecrime capital, with the highestnumber of crimes being report-ed in Ranchi during these fourmonths, as compared to theother 23 districts.

The monthly statements,uploaded on the official web-site of Jharkhand police showsthat 808 cases of theft werereported between January toApril this year, with 267 casesbeing reported in Februaryalone.

The second most reportedcrime is house burglary, with113 cases reported during thesame time. Apart from thesetwo, 78 kidnapping cases, 55cases of murder, and 47 casesof rape were also reported.

The district also has the high-est number of reported crimesin the State, with an average of670 crimes reported everymonth this year.

Theft also seems to be theprimary concern of people ofthe city. Arpita Singh, a stu-dent pursuing her Masters’degree in Ranchi, said that thedata is not shocking at all.“One keeps hearing cases oftheft and chain-snatching inbroad daylight every secondday,” she remarked.

The administrationadmitted the alarming num-bers and talked about pre-ventive measures being taken.“We have allotted differentteams to deal with different

crimes,” said SP City, SujataKumariVeenapani. “We haveincreased patrolling, PCRs,bikes, for night crimes likeburglary. Awareness anddetection are crucial when itcomes to dealing with rapecases, since a lot of cases gounreported,” she told ThePioneer.

When asked about moreintensive measures to curbcrime in the city, the SP saidthat the data is analysed on aregular basis and crimehotspots are detected in thecity based on it. “Once thehotspots are determined, weincrease patrolling and otherpreventive measures in thoseareas,” she said.

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Hundreds of people includ-ing students, district

administration officials, BokaroSteel Plant (BSL) executives,CISF, JAP, army cops, membersof various stakeholders, intel-lectuals and local residents par-ticipated in an age no bar firstever ‘Run for Yoga’ at BokaroSteel City on Sunday.

The event was organised bydistrict administration before

the International Yoga Day on21 June, aiming to create aware-ness about the health benefits ofYoga among the mass.

Commencing from CircuitHouse, the participants wentthrough Ram Mandir, Sector1C, Patharkatta Chowak andfinally rushed to LibraryGround Sector 5 where a grandevent is scheduled on the occa-sion of International Yoga Day.

The event was led by KNJha, Deputy Commissioner,

Bokaro. “Our aim is to motivatethe people to do yoga every day,”he said.

Bokaro is all set to join thegrand celebration onInternational Yoga Day.

People from all walks of lifeare expected to join the cele-bration on the day. Around 5000people are expected to partici-pate in the grand celebration atLibrary Ground, said Jha afterinspecting and reviewing thecelebration preparedness.

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Buoyed with splendid per-formance in the Lok Sabha

elections in Jharkhand,Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) hasnow set its eye on the year-endAssembly polls in the State. Theparty has planned to maintainwinning streak, setting a targetto win 60 to 65 seats in theAssembly election.

Last week, Chief MinisterRaghubar Das asked the partyleaders and cadres not to defusetheir energy, but to startpreparing for year-endAssembly elections. The ChiefMinister asked the BJP cadresto prepare for Assembly elec-tions starting with preparationof a road map for elections.Booth-level core committeemeetings are to be held for thesame. The BJP cadres have alsobeen asked to work so thatpeople gets benefits of ModiGovernment.

M e a n w h i l e ,Mahagathbandhan—con-stituents of four parties — isstill to recover from shockingdefeat, is in a quandary, intro-specting whether to go inalliance or ‘Ekla Chalo’ (walkalone) in Assembly elections.

At the two-day JMM cen-tral committee meet held onSaturday and Sunday, differ-ences cropped up betweenparty leaders and MLAs overfighting the elections alone orgoing with alliance. Sourcessaid that at JMM central com-mittee meet, some of the lead-ers pointed out that in LokSabha elections, Congress, JVM(P) and RJD fail to transfertheir traditional votes for JMMcandidates. Sources said thatsome of the JMM leaders evenraised the issue that by remain-ing with Congress alliance,JMM was not benefitted buteven lost its core voters.

However, JMM general

secretary, Supriyo Bhattacharyasaid, “The party is yet to decidewhether to go in alliance orcontest independently. Thedecision will be taken after con-sultation with senior leadersand party members. At presentthe party is focused onstrengthening its base.”

The advantage with JMMis that through the party is todecide on alliance, but theparty has started preparationsfor Assembly elections. TheJMM senior leaders, in pastfortnight, have met twice dur-ing the legislature party meetand central party meet washeld. The JMM has also stat-ed that if the party goes for

alliance then they will play therole of big brother this time.

The Congress which hadplayed the role of big brotherin Lok Sabha elections is stillto recover from parliamentaryelections debacle. Last week,the infighting between twoCongress fractions came tofore at State party office atShardanand Road. One groupallegedly supported by formerRanchi MP and senior StateCongress leader, Subodh KantSahay demanded the removalof Congress State presidentAjoy Kumar while other groupwas in favour of retainingAjoy Kumar as State Congresschief.

A senior Congress leaderrequesting anonymity said,“The present State Congresslacks coordination amongparty leaders. State Congresshead is supposed to have inter-action with even ground levelworkers, but Ajoy Kumar lacksthe skill.”

The leader further said,“Ajoy Kumar is dummy StateCongress chief as the party isbeing looked by StateCongress in-charge, RPNSingh. We are seriously wor-ried about party’s future in

State.” The party is still in dol-drums whether to go inalliance or follow lone path.

However, State Congressspokesperson, Lal KishoreNath Shahdeo said, “TheCongress State in-charge RPNSingh has sought feedbackfrom all district presidentswhether to have an alliance orcontest independently. Oncethe party gets feedback theparty will decide on futurecourse of action.”

The situation of two otherconstituents-JVM (P) and RJDis worse. The RJD after rout inJharkhand dissolved its Stateunit appointing Abhay Singhas new state RJD president butthe old committee is yet toaccept new leadership. TheRJD new committee onSunday held a meeting butonly handful of senior leadersattended the meet.

In JVM (P) differenceshas cropped up betweenJVM(P) president BabulalMarandi and party generalsecretary Pradeep Yadav afterLS debacle. Both Marandi andYadav contested the electionfrom Koderma and Goddaseat respectively but both thecandidates lost to BJP.

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Jharkhand Mukti Morcha’s(JMM) senior leadership on

Sunday pondered over its strat-egy for the upcoming Assemblyelections. During the conclud-ing day of the party’s CentralCommittee meeting, the lead-ers opined that JMM’s CentralCommittee should take a finalcall on whether the party willcontest the elections alone or asa part of an alliance prior todrawing a blueprint of theirgame plan.

This was the second meet-ing of the party’s CentralCommittee since its humiliat-ing defeat in the 17th GeneralElections in Jharkhand. Theleaders said that either JMMwill play the role of a bigbrother in the alliance or con-test the elections all on itsown.

The party was a part of theMahagathbandhan during therecently concluded Lok Sabhapolls. It lost three of the fourseats that it contested, includingDumka which was once con-sidered a stronghold of partypatriarch Shibu Soren.

JMM has 19 legislators inthe 81-member State Assembly,and is still the second largestparty here.

Addressing a press meetafter conclusion of the meeting,JMM’s Executive president and

former Chief Minister HemantSoren said that the party dis-cussed its future strategy andprominent issues that it willfocus on during the assemblypolls. “It is too early to saywhether the party will contestthe election alone or with part-ner,” said Soren.

“The results of Lok Sabhaelection disappointed us, but thetables will change in the assem-bly elections,” he added.

The party on Sunday askedthe Election Commission ofIndia (ECI) to conduct electionson ballot paper instead ofElectronic Voting Machine(EVM).

JMM is the first party fromthe Mahagathbandhan to havealready started working on its

strategy for the assembly pollsin Jharkhand. Other partners ofthe alliance are faced againstinternal rifts and infighting.

During the meeting onSunday, JMM decided that itwill campaign for three days ineach village on a weekly basis ina bid to strengthen the roots ofthe organization.

The party also decided todraw the attention of voterstowards burning issues likeerratic power supply, scarcity ofwater, hunger death and increas-ing unemployment amongyouths. “Raghubar Das led StateGovernment has failed to pro-vide basic amenities to the peo-ple of the State. Their failure willmake for strong political agen-das during the polls,” Soren said.

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After tasting a humiliatingdefeat in the Lok Sabha

polls, former Chief MinisterBabulal Marandi-ledJharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik (JVM-P) is busychalking out plans for theupcoming Assembly elections.On Sunday, the who’s who ofthe party met for a brain-storming session to spot thelacunas that led to their defeat.

JVM-P was a part of theGrand Alliance during the LokSabha polls. The party lost inboth the seats it contested inthe general elections. Marandialso suffered a humiliatingdefeat in Koderma.

JVM-P Spokesperson,Sunita Singh, said that the lackof coordination between work-ers of Grand Alliance memberswas one of the major reasonsfor the defeat. “The StateAssembly election is roundthe corner and we still don’tknow if we will go to pollsalone or as a part of an alliance.We need a well coordinatedteam to fight the BJP,” sheadded.

Singh said that the partyhad only focused on men and

ignored women during thegeneral elections but if partywants to win election, then itwill have to give equal impor-tance to women. “The partyneeds to understand that thevotes of women are equallyimportant,” she said.

The Mahanagar Unit of theparty decided during the meet-ing that it has good hold inHatia State Assembly seat, so itwill field a candidate for theseat during the assembly polls.

“We know that BabulalMarandi is most acceptedleader in Jharkhand and peo-ple like him. But we need to

strengthen our base at thebooth level in order to win elec-tions,” said Singh.

Addressing the gathering,JVM (P) Ranchi MahanagarUnit President Sunil Guptasaid that the party has beenraising common people’s issuessince its inception. “The partywill submit a memorandum tosenior officials regarding awfulcondition of water and elec-tricity supply in the city. If thecondition does not improve,then the party will gherao elec-tricity office to streamlinedrinking water and electricitysupply,” he added.

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All is not well in State unitof Rashtriya Janata Dal

(RJD). Visible rifts haveappeared in RJD State unit withthe party being divided intotwo groups, one headed byRJD’s newly appointed Statepresident Abhay Singh whileother group which opposedSingh’s appointment.

On Sunday, Singh, thenewly appointed State presi-dent called a party leaders’meet at party office, but noneof senior leaders from dis-solved committee were presentat the meet. Abhay Singh said,“At the meet party leaders fromall districts were invited. Theparty discussed on the strate-gy for year-end Assembly elec-tions with the appointment ofnew committee within a week.”

“Assembly wise in-chargewill be appointed for Assemblysegments. At the same timedivisional wise conferences willbe held,” said Singh. The partyalso decided to celebrate foun-dation day in big way on July5 at the same time reposingfaith on State and Central lead-ership.

Sources said that though

Singh is claiming that party isunited, differences has croppedup between Singh and formerRJD president Gautam SagarRana. Sources said that Ranaand some of party old membersare upset with present style offunctioning.

Former state party gener-al secretary and partyspokesperson, Kailash Yadavsaid, “We are opposed withappointment of Singh as newparty state president. We havegiven the ultimatum of June 21to party central leadership toreconsider its decision onappointment of Abhay Singh asnew state party boss. If theparty fails to take any actionRJD’s survival in State will bein stake.”

Yadav further said, “RJDcore principle and polices issocial justice to poor, back-wards, minorities and downtrodden. But the present RJDis in the grip of capitalist forces.The party has started movingaway from its core principle. Itis high time that party shouldreconsider it polices.”

According to Yadav, onlythree district presidents fromout of 24 district units werepresent at the meet. Out of five

Mahanagar units none of themwere present at the meetclaimed Yadav.

Sources said that the dif-ferences within RJD hadcropped up before the LokSabha elections when partyunit decided to field SubhashYadav as party candidate fromChatra. Internal bickeringwithin the party intensifiedafter then RJD state presidentAnnapurna Devi quit the party.The RJD which was still torecover from the shock after itsState president leave the party,another RJD stalwart from itsfoundation day, Giriraj Singh

too quit the party joining BJP.Former RJD MP from PalamuManoj Bhuiyan too resignedfrom party.

Sources said that all theseleaders who leave the partyalong with Rana and some oldcommittee members are upsetwith growing influence ofSubhash Yadav in party fold.

Subhash Yadav who ownsbusiness in Bihar in Lok Sabhaelection contested on partyticket from Chatra. Sourcessaid that it was Chatra seat dueto which fissures withinMahagathbandhan intensified.Yadav despite opposition from

Grand Alliance constituentscontested the election fromChatra but lost to BJP’s SunilSingh remaining in third posi-tion.

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In protest of the attack onjunior doctors in West

Bengal, the Jharkhand chapterof Indian Medical Association(IMA) has decided to ensure ano-work-Monday for doctorsacross the State. Not only willthe Government and privatehospitals be affected due to theprotest, but also diagnosticcentres and private clinics willremain closed on Monday, offi-cials from IMA said.

“The DeputyCommissioners and CivilSurgeons of all the 24 districtshave already been informed.Even diagnostic centres andprivate clinics have agreed toremain closed for a day as amark of protest against attackson medical professionals acrossthe country,” said Dr. PradeepKumar Singh, GeneralSecretary of IMA’s Jharkhandchapter.

Junior doctors in West

Bengal are on strike since lastTuesday in protest of an attackon two of their colleagues atNRS Medical College andHospital Kolkata. The protesthas snowballed into a nation-wide movement of doctorsaffecting work at hospitals inNew Delhi, Hyderabad,Ahmedabad, Patna and sever-al other cities. In Jharkhand,junior doctors from all thegovernment hospitals went ona daylong strike on Friday,which affected the functioningof the Outdoor PatientDepartment (OPD).

While doctors will remainoff duty on Monday, emergencyservices will run across theState in order to address anyexigency. Jharkhand, doctorssaid, has witnessed several inci-dents of attacks by attendantson medicos in the recent past.The Medical Protection Act(MPA) is yet to be implement-ed here and doctors have beenpressing for its implementationsince years.

In February last year, adoctor was heckled by atten-dants of a patient at RajendraInstitute of Medical Sciences

(RIMS) prompting medicos atthe hospital to go on an indef-inite strike. A couple of monthslater, in June, a nurse wasthrashed by attendants of apatient who died in the hospi-tal.

This incident too causeduproar by RIMS staff. Similarincidents were also reported inPatliputra Medical CollegeHospital (PMCH) in Dhanbadand Mahatma Gandhi MedicalCollege Hospital (MGMCH) in

Jamshedpur.Implementation of MPA

has been a long pendingdemand of the Jharkhand chap-ter of the Indian MedicalAssociation (IMA). The Act hasalready been implemented in 18states in India and IMA wantsJharkhand to be the 19th stateto implement the MPA. “TheCabinet had approved the MPAin Jharkhand in 2017. Later, aselect committee too gave areport on it.

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Ranchi-ites are likely to getrespite from the sweltering

heat by the end of this week.Monsoon is set to hitJharkhand shores by June 20and cause a subsequent dip inthe temperature here, weatherscientists at the MeteorologicalCentre in Ranchi said onSunday.

“Monsoon has already cov-ered parts of Assam and WestBengal. We are expecting it toenter Jharkhand by June 20,”said SD Kotal, director,Meteorological Centre, Ranchi.

Kotal added that theincrease in the humidity indi-cates that monsoon is aroundthe corner. Wind blowing fromthe Bay of Bengal is responsi-ble for the sudden rise in themoisture level in the city, hesaid. Earlier, during peak sum-mer, wind blowing fromRajasthan and Pakistan causedheat wave in Ranchi, thusincreasing the temperature.

“Some pockets ofJharkhand may witness pre-monsoon rains before mon-

soon enters the State,” Kotalsaid.

Moderate rains and thun-derstorms hit parts of Garhwa,Latehar, Daltonganj and Ranchiwith a wind speed of 30Kilometers per hour. However,the rains only brought tempo-rary relief from the heat andfurther increased the humidi-ty. The maximum temperaturein Ranchi on Sunday was 39.7degrees Celsius, whileJamshedpur and Daltonganjsimmered at 42 degrees Celsius

and 43.8 degrees Celsiusrespectively.

The rise in humidity is like-ly to bring good news forfarmers too as it indicates thepossibility of heavy rainfallduring monsoon.

The State has received suf-ficient pre-monsoon showerssince June 2 this year, therebymaking the weather conducivefor sowing.

In 2018, the state declared18 of 24 districts drought-affected. As many as 93 blocks

were declared severely affected,while 36 were told to be mod-erately affected. As per weath-er experts, seven districts–Koderma, Bokaro, Chatra,Deoghar, Garhwa, Khunti,Pakur—recorded rain deficit of40 per cent and above duringmonsoon in 2018. Kodermaand Pakur districts received 55per cent less rains than its nor-mal monsoon quota. Thedelayed onset of monsooncaused a rain deficit of at least33 per cent last year in June,which disturbed the sowingprocess.

“MET department’s pre-diction says that Jharkhandwill receive 96 per cent of itsideal quota of monsoon rainsthis year.

This means that farmers willget sufficient rains,” said AWadood, agro-meteorologicalscientist at Birsa AgricultureUniversity in Ranchi.

The soil in Jharkhand istough and requires sufficient pre-monsoon rains for softening, hesaid, adding that the increasedhumidity and moisture in the soilis beneficial for farmers at thistime of the year.

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Anuj Lugun, a young novel-ist and poet from Simdega

has been awarded this year’sYuva Sahitya Akademi Award.His poem, ‘Bagh aur SugnaMunda ki Beti’ (‘The Tiger andthe Daughter of Sugna Munda’)is selected for the Hindi cate-gory of the national awardthat is given each year tonotable works in 24 languagesof the country.

Lugun was born in Jaldegablock, Simdega, and studied atRanchi College and BanarasHindu University. He wasawarded the MuktibodhRashtriya Kavya Sammaan in2009 and Bharat BhushanAgrawal Sammaan in 2011.Heis currently an assistant profes-sor at the Central University of

South Bihar, Gaya.Lugun’s poetry carries the

themes of naturalism, loss oftribal life and identity, the com-moditisation of naturalresources, loss of habitat of ani-mals, the politics of hegemonyand oppression, among others.In his own words, his poetry car-ries forward the ‘philosophy of

resistance’.His award winning poem

talks about the effects of defor-estation on tigers and otheranimals, and how the man ver-sus animal conflict plays out asmore tigers attack villages. Inanother poem, titled ‘Sheher keDost ke Naam Patra’ (‘A Letterto My Friend in the City’), he

talks about the loss of valleys andrivers due to mining and dams,and urges his city friend to takecare of the displaced tribal peo-ple who will have to migrate tothe cities. In his poem ‘Adivasi’,he attacks the opportunistic andappropriated uses of the word‘Adivasi’, often misused by var-ious sects of the country.

Talking to The Pioneer overphone, Lugun said that he ishappy that his poetry is gettingrecognised, and admitted thatthis recognition only increaseshis responsibility as a poet of hispeople. “It is both pleasing anddiscomforting that my work isgetting recognised on a nation-al level.

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Punjab Congress is all set towitness a crucial Monday.

With two of its major players— Cabinet Ministers NavjotSingh Sidhu and OP Soni —out of the pavilion, the “cap-tain” Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh may even-tually take a decision onMonday. The day is also sig-nificant as party’s senior leaderAhmed Patel is scheduled tovisit the state capital onMonday to resolve the pre-vailing power struggle betweenthe state’s top leadership.

After the recent Cabinetreshuffle exercise on June 6,Sidhu and Soni — unhappywith the allocation of newportfolios — are yet to assumethe charge of their new depart-ments even after 10 days of thedecision.

While Sidhu was divested

of Local Government andTourism departments andhanded over Power and Newand Renewable Energy, Soniwas given Medical Educationand Research, Freedom Fighterand Food ProcessingDepartments after taking awayEducation from him.

Capt Amarinder had setMonday as the deadline for hisMinisters to take charge oftheir new Ministries. Nowwith Sidhu and Soni virtuallyrevolting to take over the newdepartments, Chief Ministermay take a decision on them.It has been learnt that the ChiefMinister is considering to takethe working of these depart-ments under him “till the timethese Ministers do not takecharge”.

Reports are that the ChiefMinister, if not Monday, wouldtake a tough stand on the twoMinisters in case they contin-

ue to maintain the rebellingattitude.

Sidhu, making the re-allo-cation of portfolios as an issueof prestige, has taken the issueright up to the party highcommand, which has report-edly asked the former cricketer

to continue working for theparty. Despite that, Sidhu hasnot take over his Department.In fact, no effort was beingmade to appease Sidhu by thestate leadership with no leaderor even the Chief Minister con-tacting him.

Having difference of opin-ion on various issues, thewrangling between the ChiefMinister and Sidhu escalated inthe run up to the 2019 LokSabha elections when the for-mer cricketer’s wife hadaccused Capt Amarinder ofplaying a role in denying herthe party ticket fromChandigarh Lok Sabha seat.While Capt Amarinder rub-bished the charges, Sidhumaintained that his wife would“never lie”.

The slugfest reachedanother high with Sidhu talk-ing about “friendly match”between the Congress andAkali leaders a day beforeelections, besides attacking hisown government for not pun-ishing the Badals for sacrilegeincidents — a developmentthat divided the Congress partyvertically with Sidhu on oneside and remaining on the

other.On the day of election

results, the Chief Minister hadminced no words to blameSidhu for the party’s defeat inBathinda and other urbanpockets, for more than one rea-son.

Dubbing Sidhu as the“non-performing” Minister,Capt Amarinder had pointedthat the former cricketer’s“friendly match” remarks inBathinda had cost the partydear, besides his “yaari andjhappi” (friendship and hugs)with the Pakistani Army Chiefthat failed to go down well withthe people of the border state,while at the same time main-taining that he intended tochange his portfolio.

On the other hand, Sidhuhad all along defended hisperformance as the LocalBodies Minister claiming thathis Department had done

exceedingly well during histwo-year tenure.

In fact, Sidhu skipped thecrucial Cabinet meeting —first after the 2019 generalelections — following whichthe decision on reshuffle wastaken. Sidhu had addressed asimultaneous press conferenceclaiming that the Congresshas fared well in the urbanareas winning 63 percent of thetotal urban and semi-urbanareas, winning 34 out of 54seats.

With both sides refusing tobow down, the party chiefRahul Gandhi has assigned thetask to resolve the internalstrife between the two topleaders to party veteranAhmed Patel who is scheduledto visit Chandigarh onMonday.

Earlier, Capt Amarinderwas expected to meet Patel inthe national capital this week-

end. But being unwell, theChief Minister could not visitNew Delhi to attend NitiAayog meeting and also tomeet the high command.

Available information sug-gests that Sidhu is eyeing a big-ger role in the party, especial-ly when he enjoys proximitywith Rahul Gandhi andPriyanka Gandhi.

Besides Sidhu, Soni wasalso not keen to take over hisnew departments, and is silent-ly protesting the ChiefMinister’s decision. He hadargued that during his tenureas Education Minister, theDepartment witnessed signif-icant improvement with gov-ernment schools recordingpass percentage of 88.21 per-cent outshining the privateschools which registered 86pass percentage which hashappened for the first time in30 years.

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Meghalaya Chief MinisterConrad Sangma on

Sunday assured a delegationof the Shiromani GurdwaraParbandhak Committee(SGPC) and the Delhi SikhGurdwara ManagementCommittee (DSGMC) thatthe State Government wouldtake all necessary steps toensure the safety and securi-ty of Sikhs living in Punjabilane locality in Shillong.

The delegation, whichwas headed by the Union

Food Processing IndustriesMinister and SAD MPHarsimrat Kaur Badal andmet the Meghalaya ChiefMinister, was also assuredthat the Government wouldcome out with an amicablesolution to the crisis beingfaced by the Sikh communi-ty in Shillong after locals andrecently even the radicalHNLC group threatenedthem with their lives in casethey do not vacate the area inwhich they have been livingfor the last 200 years.

During a detailed discus-

sion with the Union Minister,the Meghalaya Chief Ministersaid that he had established acommittee headed by theDeputy Chief Minister whichwould look into claims andcounter claims of both theSikhs as well as local Khasisand come out with an amica-ble solution which would beacceptable to both parties.

Chief Minister Sangmasaid that, in the meantime, hehad issued strict directions toensure the safety and securi-ty of Sikhs living in PunjabiLane.

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Rain lashed parts of Haryanaand Punjab on Sunday, pro-

viding relief to people fromscorching heat.

According to the MetDepartment, the maximumtemperatures at most places inHaryana and Punjab and theircapital Chandigarh had hoveredin the range of 42-45 degreesCelsius for several days.

Chandigarh, whichreceived trace amount of rains,recorded a maximum temper-ature of 37.2 degrees Celsius,one degree below the normallimits.

Narnaul in Haryana, whichhad recorded the season'shottest day at 48.3 degreesCelsius last week, registered ahigh of 31.2 deg Celsius, elevennotches below the normal, afterreceiving 12 mm of rain.

Hisar was lashed by heavyrains (37.6 mm) and the max-imum temperature settled at33.2 degrees Celsius, eightnotches below the normal.

Ambala, which received1.3 mm of rain, recorded a high

of 37.2 degrees Celsius, onedegree below the normal.Bhiwani and Karnal, too, reg-istered below the normal max-imums of 36.1 degrees Celsiusand 33.2 degrees Celsius,respectively.

Among the other places inHaryana which received rainswere Sirsa, Fatehabad andMahendergarh.

neighboring Punjab,Amritsar received 8.9 mm ofrains and the maximum tem-perature settled at 37.5 degreesCelsius, one degree below thenormal.

Patiala and Ludhianareceived light shower andrecorded below normal maxi-mums of 37.1 degrees Celsiusand 37.6 degrees Celsius,respectively.

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About 14 lakh childrenunder five years of age

were administered polio dropsin Haryana on Sunday.

“The sub national immu-nization round of Pulse Polio2019-20 was held in 13 districtsof Haryana namely Ambala,Faridabad, Gurgaon, Jhajjar,Karnal, Kurukshetra, Mewat,Palwal, Panchkula, Panipat,Rohtak, Sonipat andYamunanagar, in which boothactivity was undertaken on thefirst day to maintain the poliofree status of the state,” said anofficial spokesman.

He said that on the first dayduring the booth activity,approximately 14 lakh, whichis about 52 per cent childrenunder 5 years of age, havebeen administered polio drops.

Approximately 26 lakh

children are to be covered dur-ing this campaign in the state,he added.

The spokesman said thatthis campaign will continue foranother two days by way ofhouse-to-house activity to traceand administer polio drops tothe left out children on boothday.

In order to smoothly carryout this campaign, around13,000 booths were setup in thestate and these were manned byaround 50,000 health officials,volunteers, Anganwari andASHA Workers. About 2,100officers and officials super-vised the activity apart fromIndependent Monitors ofNPSP-WHO, he said.

The spokesman furthersaid that the left out childrenduring the booth activity onfirst day, will be administeredpolio vaccine drops on June 17

and 18 through house-to-houseteams.

During this first round,special attention has been paidto high risk areas like slums,isolated hutments, brick kilns,floating and migrating popu-lation and construction sites sothat no child is left uncoveredin these areas. Around 1,240mobile teams are also workingduring the activity to cover allchildren in under-served andpoorly approachable areas, hesaid.

The spokesman said that itis important to know thatwherever, pockets of childrenremain un-immunized, thePoliovirus sustains survivaland circulation.

The next sub nationalimmunization day for polio isscheduled to be held onSeptember 15 in 13 districts ofthe state, he added.

%���� 32/%1,!/42

Haryana Chief MinisterManohar Lal on Sunday

announced to establish 11 newGovernment hostels across thestate to provide more oppor-tunities for education to thepeople of the oppressed anddeprived sections of society.

The Chief Minister alsoannounced to grant in princi-ple approval for implementingthe Scheduled Caste A and Bcategorization in educationalinstitutions from the upcomingacademic session. Apart fromthis, he announced that about25,000 government jobs wouldsoon be advertised and everyyear the backlog of ScheduledCastes will be filled and noposts will be allowed to remainvacant.

Manohar Lal was speakingas a chief guest in the state levelfunction organised on theoccasion of 621st birth anniver-sary of Sant Kabir Das at Jind.

The Chief Minister saidthat he has been carrying outequitable development in thestate by following the coupletof Sant Kabir Das 'Na Kaahu SeDosti-Na Kaahu Se Bair'.

“In the last four-and-halfyears, the present StateGovernment has worked tochange the system in Haryana.We do not evaluate on the basisof class, gender, caste or region.We have changed the system sothat people would not have tovisit government offices andmore than 450 schemes andservices have been made avail-

able online under one roofthrough Antyodaya SewaKendra, Saral Kendra or AtalSeva Kendra,” he said.

He said that about 32 lakhpeople have availed benefits ofthese schemes in last two years.

Manohar Lal alsoannounced that from July 1, theState Government wouldorganise tours for the peoplebelonging to Scheduled Castesto visit the birth place of SantKabir Das and Sant Ravidas atVaranasi and pilgrimage ofMaharshi Valmiki at Amritsar.For this, interested persons

can get their registration donein the Deputy Commissioner'soffice and they would be pro-vided with second classreserved tickets for Railway freeof cost.

For this, initially, 100-100devotees each from everyassembly constituency will begiven opportunity every year.This way, 9,000 pilgrims willvisit these places in a year. Itwill be on first come, firstserve basis and a family will begiven this benefit only once, hesaid.

Describing the 2.5 crore

population of the state as hisfamily, the Chief Minister saidthat those, who are laggingbehind in society, should bebrought forward.

He said that the govern-ment is preparing such datathat the needs of people rightfrom birth to death are knownto the government and gov-ernment official will visit theperson and provide the servicerequired at his doorstep.

He said that on March 31every year, the budget ofCentral and State Governmentschemes is lapsed due to igno-

rance of officials and peoplehaving no knowledge about it,which has stopped now.

Prime Minister NarendraModi has the vision to providehouse to every family by 2022and the State Government isheading in the same direction,he said.

The Chief Minister furthersaid that in the first week ofJuly, the cards of 1.25 lakh BPLcard holders will be given tothem at their doorsteps. Thephrase like “Sabka Sath SabkaVikas” has been derived fromthe couplets of Sant Kabir Das.Sant Kabirs, at that time, gavea message of staying away fromsuperstition and brotherhood,when the society was strainedin chains of conservatism, headded.

He said that the presentState Government have startedcelebrating the birth anniver-saries of all the great men at thegovernment level, be it SantKabir Das Jayanti, Sant RavidasJayanti or Maharishi ValmikiJayanti or Baba Saheb BhimRao Ambedkar Jayanti.

Manohar Lal announcedthe grant of Rs 35 lakh out ofhis discretionary funds for SantKabir Das Hostel, Jind.

He also announced a grantof Rs 5 lakh each to BhurchiSamaj Sewa Samiti and otherthree institutions out of his dis-cretionary funds. He said thatthe government has no short-age of funds. The governmentis serious about the develop-ment of every section of thesociety. For the last nearly five

years, we have carried outdevelopment work in all 90assembly assemblies, he added.

Speaking on the occasion,Finance Minister, CaptAbhimanyu said that theHaryana Government has donethe task of reaching to the lastperson of the society. But, ear-lier this section was deprived ofdevelopment and the formergovernments had been dis-criminating with this section.

Since the government wasformed under the leadership ofChief Minister Manohar Lal,the government assured tosupport the poor andoppressed. Now the poor havecome to believe that there issomeone in the country and inthe state to listen to them, headded.

He also congratulated thepeople present on the occasionof birth anniversary of SantKabir Das.

Minister of State for SocialJustice and Empowerment,Krishan Kumar Bedi said thatthe Chief Minister hasenhanced the pride of peoplebelonging to poor society bycelebrating the birth anniver-saries of the saints and thegurus at government level.

Transport MinisterKrishan Lal Panwar, SirsaMember of Parliament (MP)Sunita Duggal and SonepatMP Ramesh Kaushik, StatePresident of BJP ScheduledCaste Morcha Ram AvtarBalmiki, OSD to ChiefMinister, Amarjeet Singh alsospoke on this occasion.

%���� 32/%1,!/42

Haryana Chief MinisterManohar Lal on Sunday

said that the StateGovernment has started atransparent and corruptionfree new culture.

“Now, jobs are not givenby any particular person,but jobs are taken by theyouth on the strength oftheir hard work and ability.It i s the government ' se n d e a v o rthat every youth of Haryanawould get employmentopportunities in some area.The youth, who will not beable to get jobs, will be madeskilled so that they can starttheir own ventures. Withthis, every hand in the statewill get work,” the ChiefMinister said while speakingat BJP’s “Kar yakar taAbhinandan Samaroh”organised at Anaj Mandi inPalwal.

He said that BJP has cre-ated history by winning all10 Lok Sabha seats in thestate for the first time.

“The BJP governmenthas set up a new system inthe state. Earlier govern-ments had discriminationand corrupt practices onevery step, which the presentgovernment has eliminated. In the transparent manner,67000 youths have so farbeen given jobs in variousdepartments.

Women police stationshave been opened for theprotection of women andB et i B achao, B et i Padhao campaign broughtsignificant improvements insex ratio,” he said while high-lighting his government’sachievements.

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Conventional flowers, cards,cakes and cups are a passé.

This Father’s Day, youngRanchi-ites readily opted forutility gifts that would stay withtheir father for a lifetime.

Customized belts, walletswith names embedded in themand juke boxes with personal-ized covers are among thefresh entries to the shelves ofgift stores in Ranchi thisFather’s Day.

“We came up with a newgift idea on this Father’s Day.We used bamboo sticks towrite down quotes and mes-sages this year. Customers real-ly loved this idea and we havereceived around 150 ordersboth online and offline,” saidone of the workers at Ferns andPetals.

However, it was not onlyabout gifts this season. Ranchi-ites walked the extra mile tomake their fathers feel specialby planning parties and funevents.

“I threw a party for myfather and also invited otherrelatives like my maternal andpaternal uncles who are alsovery important to me. I gavethem all personalised pens asa token of love,” said RiteshKumar, a class 8 student ofDelhi Public School, Ranchi.

Today, children have easi-ly cut the ice when it comes tointeracting with their fathers.

The youth here feels that afather today plays a parallel roleof a friend too. “I am extreme-ly vocal about things going onin my life and I seek my father’swise counsel whenever I am ina tough situation,” said VijetaKumari, 22, a student ofCentral University ofJharkhand.

Father’s Day also came asan opportunity for shopkeep-ers to earn big bucks. Shopswere showering attractive dis-counts and offers on Father’sDay gifts.

Snighdha, 30, a teacher inRanchi said, “Every year onFather’s Day I go to an old agehome in the memory of my latefather. I treat the elderly therewith lots of love and goodfood.”

Thus, whatever theapproach maybe, the essence ofcelebrating this day is the same.Versatility in gifting options hascome as a unique way ofexpressing this very essence.

Cakes are an all-timefavourite of people when itcomes to celebrating an event.But cake shops in the city aregoing a step ahead by assigninga particular theme to that veryday. Rishi Hora, the owner ofThe Cake Shop Bakery said,“This Father’s Day, we decidedto highlight the bond betweendaughters and their fathers bybaking innovative cakes. Wesold more than 300 such cakestoday.”

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Congress is yet to take a deci-sion on who it will appoint

as its leader in the Lok Sabhawith the issue still pending withthe top leadership. With theBudget Session scheduled tostart from Monday, theOpposition also seems to be ina disarray as far as floor coor-dination is concerned with nomeeting held to discuss thestrategy to corner theGovernment on key issues.

A Congress leader saidmost Opposition parties are yetto decide upon their leader inthe Lok Sabha and once thoseprocesses are completed ameeting can be held. TheCongress itself has not taken adecision on who it will appointas its leader in the Lok Sabha.

While the party is yet toresolve the crisis arisen due toresignation by Rahul Gandhi asCongress President, he hasreportedly gone abroad and is

not planning to return till June19 when the swearing in of thenew MPs takes and also themeeting convened by Centrefor the all heads of the politi-cal parties.

In between Rahul has alsoleft behind sordid state of affairsin the State units of the partywhere factionalism is growingday by day. While talks of for-mer Prime Minister ManmohanSingh as interim President isgaining grounds after AKAntony declined, partyspokesperson RandeepSurjewala last week insisted that

Rahul will continue as president. A section of leaders led by

Madhya Pradesh ChiefMinister Kamal Nath alsodeliberated over dinner hostedby Nath in national Capitalwhich, according to sources hasnot gone well with theCongress first family and theiradvisor Ahmed Patel who werenot taken into confidence.

In the 16th Lok Sabha,senior party leader MallikarjunKharge led the Congress in theHouse, but he lost the LokSabha polls from Karnatakathis time.

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The BJP on Sunday held its Parliamentary party meet withPrime Minister Narendra Modi assuring Indians that his

Government will be at the forefront of facilitating legisla-tion that manifests the spirit of "Sabka Saath, Sabka vikas,Sabka Vishwas". A day before the first session of the newly-constituted 17th Lok Sabha, a meeting of the NDA was alsoheld in the national Capital.

"BJP is grateful for people's blessings. We assure our fel-low Indians that we will be at the forefront of pro-people gov-ernance and facilitating legislation that manifests the spiritof 'sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas'," Modi tweetedafter the meeting.

After securing a massive mandate in the general elec-tions, the prime minister had said in a speech, "Our mantrashould be 'sabka saath, sabka vikas and sabka vishwas' (withall, for everybody's development and having everyone's trust)."

After the ruling coalition's meet on Sunday, Modi said the"NDA family" looks forward to fulfilling the dreams of 130crore Indians, who have reposed "unparalleled faith" in thealliance. "We shall fulfil regional aspirations and work untir-ingly for national progress," Modi said and posted pictures ofboth the meetings.

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The NIA has alleged that itsprobe into terror financing

from Pakistan in Jammu &Kashmir has revealed that hard-line separatist leaders, includingHurriyat chairman Syed AliShah Geelani, received fundsfrom abroad and utilised themfor personal gains — fromamassing properties to payingfor foreign education of theirkin.

The revelations came to thefore after the agency interrogat-ed several top leaders of HurriyatConference and other separatistoutfits and claimed that they hadconfessed to receiving fundsfrom Pakistan to fuel separatistsentiments among the people ofKashmir Valley.

The National InvestigationAgency (NIA) said the fire-brand leader of Duktaran-e-Milat, Asiya Andrabi, was grilled

by it about the educationalexpenses of her son in Malaysiaincurred by Zahoor Watali, whowas arrested in a terror fundingcase, said in a statement issuedhere on Sunday.

"During interrogation,Andrabi admitted that she hadbeen collecting funds and dona-tions from foreign sources andDuktaran-e-Milat had beenorganising protests by Muslimwomen in the valley," the agencysaid.

The NIA has alreadyapproached the relevant author-ities for providing evidencerelating to certain bank accountsused by Andrabi's son

Mohammad bin Qasim while hewas studying in the Malaysianuniversity, it said.

Another hardline sepa-ratist leader, Shabbir Shah, hadto face some tough time whenhe was confronted about hisbusinesses, including a hotel inPahalgam which is allegedlyfunded through foreign fundsreceived by him from Pakistan,the statement said.

"During the custodial inter-rogation, Shabir Shah was con-fronted with evidence relating totransfer of money by Pakistan-based agents and representativesof APHC (All Parties HurriyatConference) factions to partiesaffiliated to Hurriyat in J&K. Hewas also confronted about hisinvestments in various hotelsand businesses in Pahalgam,properties in Jammu, Srinagarand Anantnag," the NIA said.

The NIA had registered acase in May, 2017 against ter-rorists belonging to Jamat udDawah, Duktaran-e-Millat,Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen and other sepa-ratist leaders in the state for rais-

ing, receiving and collectingfunds to fuel separatist and ter-rorist activities and enteringinto a larger conspiracy forcausing disruption in KashmirValley and for waging waragainst India.

The NIA has so far charge-sheeted 13 accused, includingleader of Jamat-ud Dawah HafizMohammad Sayeed, head ofproscribed terror outfit Hizb-ul-Mujahideen Syed Salahuddin,seven separatist leaders, twohawala conduits and somestone-pelters.

Watali is one of the mainhawala conduits who used togenerate and receive funds fromPakistan, ISI, UAE and hadfloated various shell companiesto disguise foreign remittancesfor further transfer to separatistleaders and stone pelters in thevalley, it said.

The agency said these fundswere used to fuel unrest in theKashmir valley and organise vio-lent agitations and anti-Indiaactivities which resulted in largescale violence leading to numer-ous injuries and deaths of civil-

ians and security forces.Evidence relating to fund-

ing of these separatist elementsthrough Pakistan and UAE-based businessman, ISI, HighCommission of Pakistan inDelhi has been collected andpresented to the NIA SpecialCourt in the charge sheets, itsaid.

The agency has arrestedYasin Malik, leader of pro-scribed terror outfit JKLF, AsiyaAndrabi leader of proscribedorganisation Duktaran-e-Milat,separatist leader Shabir Shah ofJKDFP and Masarat Alam ofMuslim League.

Malik told the agency thathe was instrumental in bringingtogether the factions of HurriyatConference and formed theJoint Resistance Leadership(JRL) which spear headed theviolent agitations in 2016 inKashmir Valley by issuing"Protest Calendars" leading toeconomic shut down for overfour months and also causeddeath and injuries to civiliansand security forces during theviolent protests.

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Union Health MinisterHarsh Vardhan has written

to Rajya Sabha Chairman MVenkaiah Naidu to expedite thereconstitution of a parliamen-tary panel for early considera-tion of a bill aimed at regulat-ing and standardising the edu-cation and services provided byallied and healthcare profes-sionals. The Allied andHealthcare Professions Bill,2018, was introduced in theUpper House on December 31,2018, by former health minis-ter J P Nadda. It was thenreferred to the parliamentarystanding committee on healthand family welfare for its rec-ommendation.

It is estimated that theproposed legislation will direct-ly benefit around 8-9 lakhexisting allied and healthcareprofessionals in the countryand several other graduatingprofessionals joining the work-force annually.

"Health Minister HarshVardhan has written to RajyaSabha Chairman M VenkaiahNaidu to expedite the recon-stitution of the parliamentarystanding committee on healthand family welfare for earlyconsideration of the Allied andHealthcare Professions Bill,"official sources said.

The bill provides for settingup of an Allied and HealthcareCouncil of India and corre-sponding state allied andhealthcare councils, which willplay the role of a standard-set-ter and facilitator for such pro-fessions.

As per the bill, there will be15 major professional cate-gories, including 53 profes-sions in allied and healthcarestreams. The offences andpenalties clauses have beenincluded in the bill to checkmalpractice.

The bill also provides forstructure, constitution, com-position and functions of thecentral council and state coun-

cils like framing policies andstandards, regulation of pro-fessional conduct, creation andmaintenance of live registers,provisions for common entryand exit examinations amongothers.

The central council willcomprise 47 members, ofwhom 14 members shall be ex-officio representing diverseand related roles and functions,and remaining 33 shall be non-ex-officio members who main-ly represent the 15 profession-al categories, an official state-ment had said.

Professional advisory bod-ies under the central and statecouncils will examine issuesindependently and provide rec-ommendations relating to spe-cific recognised categories.Besides, the bill will also havean overriding effect on anyother existing law for any of thecovered professions. The billalso empowers the central andstate governments to makerules in this regard.

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The Ministry of Housing and UrbanAffairs has decided to demolish 400

old flats and construct new ones intheir place in Lutyens' Delhi forMembers of Parliament using con-struction waste. The flats which will becoming up in North Avenue andSouth Avenue, located on either sidesof the Rashtrapati Bhavan, will replacethe old ones built nearly 60 years ago,officials of the Central Public WorksDepartment (CPWD) said.

"All old MP flats, which werebuilt in North and South Avenues afterIndependence, will be demolished,"CPWD's Director General PrabhakarSingh told PTI. "We will use con-struction & demolition (C&D) wastein building the new flats for MPs inNorth and South Avenues, an areawhich has many old flats," he added.

The wastes from the demolitionsite of the old flats are likely to be usedfor the construction of the new ones

after being processed at a facility.CPWD, the prime construction

agency of the central government,recently constructed 36 duplex flats, ata cost of �80 crore, which are ready tobe allotted for the newly-elected par-liamentarians. "The new MP flats willbe constructed in a phased manner inNorth Avenue and South Avenue sothat there is no chaos after demolitionof the old ones," he said.

The swanky low-rise buildingswill have solar power panels and des-ignated car parking spots, among a hostof other facilities, the official said. Thenew Lok Sabha has around 300 first-time members and Government hasmade temporary arrangements toaccommodate 350 MPs till the timethey are allotted full-time official res-idences.

In the past, newly-elected MPsused to stay in five-star hotels, but thepractice has been dropped followingthe Lok Sabha Secretariat's cost-cuttingmeasures.

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The armies of India andMyanmar carried out a

three-week-long coordinated"Operation Sunshine 2" fromMay 16 in their respective bor-der areas, targeting a numberof insurgent groups operatingin Manipur, Nagaland andAssam.

During "Operation Sunrise2", the two armies coordinatedwith each other to bust campsof militant outfits, including theKamtapur LiberationOrganisation (KLO), theNSCN (Khaplang), the UnitedLiberation Front of Assam (I)and the National DemocraticFront of Bodoland (NDFB),sources said.

At least six dozen militantsbelonging to these groups werenabbed and several of theircamps destroyed during theoperation, the sources said,adding, the two sides mightlaunch the third phase of theoperation, depending on intel-ligence inputs and the groundsituation.

Besides the Indian Army,troops from the Assam Rifleswere also part of the operation.

In June 2015, the IndianArmy had carried out an oper-ation against NSCN(K) mili-tants in areas near the Indo-Myanmar border, days aftermilitants killed 18 armymen inManipur.

The first phase of

"Operation Sunrise" was con-ducted in 2017 along the Indo-Myanmar border, during whicha number of camps of North-East-based militant groupswere busted.

In the first phase of"Operation Sunrise", the IndianArmy targeted members of theArakan Army, an insurgentgroup in Myanmar, who were

opposed to the Kaladan multi-modal transit transport project.

The Kaladan multi-modaltransit transport project isviewed as India's gateway toSoutheast Asia.

India entered into a frame-work agreement withMyanmar in April, 2008 tofacilitate the implementation ofthe project. On completion, the

project will help connect thenorth-eastern state of Mizoramwith the Sittwe Port inMyanmar's Rakhine state.

On the Indian side, work ison to extend the Aizawl-SaihaNational Highway by 90 km tothe international border atZorinpui.

According to securityagencies, there were over 50camps of insurgent groupsfrom the north-east inMyanmar till last year. Many ofthe insurgents of Northeastoften flee to Myanmar afterattacking the security forcesand a coordinated actions bythe two forces will help in con-taining their menace, sourcessaid.

Myanmar is one of thestrategic neighbours of Indiaand shares a 1,640-km borderwith a number of north-easternstates, including the militancy-hit Nagaland and Manipur.

India has been pushingfor a deeper coordinationbetween the armies of the twocountries while guarding theborder.

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Encouraged by the positive results,delivered by its recently con-

cluded three-year-long study where-in around 2,50,000 patients ailingwith lifestyle diseases such as diabeteswere treated with integratedmedicare, the Government is mullingto provide similar services at around12,000-15,000 Wellness and Health(W&H) Centres which will be exclu-sive AYUSH centres.

In other words, at least 10 percent of the total 150,000 W&H cen-tres (also called as the PrimaryHealth Centres) in the country willexclusively focus on providing inte-grated holistic medicare. TheMinistry plans to roll out 4,000 cen-tres this year.

In this regard, Union AYUSHMinister Shripad Naik last weeksaid, "All Primary Health Centres orW&H Centres in the country will

now have AYUSH doctors besidesallopathy practitioners. The peoplewould be introduced to alternativemedicine through such measures."

At the AYUSH centres, scientif-ically developed ayurvedic medi-cines, dietary regimen and yogaclasses will be offered to patients suf-fering with the non communicablediseases which are increasing at a dis-turbing rate. In fact, India has alreadybecome diabetic capital of the worldand Ayush centres aims to focus onpreventive health strategies includingyoga, providing cost-effective herbaldrugs and diet modifications to cutdown the NCDs.

A senior Ayush Ministry officialtalked about the anti-diabetic herbaldrugs like BGR-34 which has beenjointly developed after standardisa-tion and pre-clinical studies by thetwo labs --Central Institute ofMedicinal and Aromatic Plants(CIMAP) and National Botanical

Research Institute (NBRI).A few years ago, in a written reply

in the Rajya Sabha, Naik had saidBGR-34 is meant to be used bypatients of newly diagnosed diabetesonly as a measure of management ofthe disease. The herbal composition,BGR-34 is being sold by the AIMILPharmaceuticals from Delhi.

BGR-34 is a natural DPP-4(dipeptidyl peptidase 4) inhibitorwith no side effects, added SanchitSharma from AIMIL. He explainedthat DPP-4 inhibitors are a class ofdrugs used to lower blood sugar inadults with Type-2 diabetes.

In three year-long study, theMinistry introduced yoga, diet mod-ification and added some simplemedicine, and followed the patientsfor as many duration. In these peri-ods, we found that their quality of lifehad improved and doctors reducedthe dosage. The patients had fewercomplications, said an official.

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With eyes on 2022Assembly elections,

Congress General SecretaryPriyanka Gandhi is all set totake tours of Uttar Pradesh atvery short intervals and hasdecided to interact partyworkers twice a week to boosttheir morale.

Priyanka, who wasappointed as the party gener-al secretary just ahead of theLok Sabha polls to reap ben-efits for the grand old party,had campaigned vigorouslyfor Congress candidates inUttar Pradesh particularly ineastern UP.

AICC sources said thatPriyanka is ready to hit theground in the state followingthe Congress's debacle in therecent Lok Sabha election inorder to strengthen the partyorganisation in time for the

2022 Assembly polls. "In a bidto ensure a direct communi-cation with the party workers,she will meet them twice aweek without prior appoint-ments," sources said.

"It emerged from thereview meetings held afterthe Lok Sabha polls that thereshould be a greater coordina-tion and communicationbetween the leaders and theworkers. For this, it has beendecided that Priyanka Gandhiwill meet the party workers atleast twice a week," said aCongress leader.

The plan to step up herUttar Pradesh tours and estab-lish a direct communicationwith the party workers comesdays after Priyanka Gandhi,during a visit to Rae bareli,told the workers that they hadlet down the grand old partyin the Lok Sabha polls.Accompanied by her mother

and United ProgressiveAlliance (UPA) chairpersonSonia Gandhi, who visitedher parliamentary con-stituency last Wednesday,Priyanka Gandhi pulled upthe party workers for failing towork for the Congress duringthe polls.

"I will find out the namesof the workers who did notwork for the party in theelection," she had said, addingthat those who had toiledhonestly and sincerely for theparty knew that from the coreof their hearts. "But thosewho did not, I will find outtheir names," she had said.

But of the 80 Lok Sabhaseats in the state, the Congresscould manage to win only Raebareli. Even party presidentRahul Gandhi lost to Unionminister Smriti Irani fromhis family stronghold ofAmethi.

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Inspector Arshad Khan,Station House Officer of

Sadar Police station, Anantnag,succumbed to his fatal injuriesshortly after he was airlifted inan air ambulance to All IndiaInstitute of Medical Sciences(AIIMS) on Sunday.

The brave officer of theState police had received griev-ous injuries in the terroristattack on KP road on June 12.

He along with his securitypersonnel had immediatelyrushed towards KP road areaafter learning about the terrorstrike on CRPF post nearOxford school.

Paying rich tributes to theircolleague, official twitter han-dle of Anantnag district policeposted a tweet, "Our brave

heart inspector Arshad Khanwho got injured as SHOAnantnag couldn’t make it.May the departed soul rest inpeace."

Officers of Kashmir ZonePolice also wrote," We pay ourrich tributes to InspectorArshad Khan who attainedmartyrdom today after sus-taining injuries in a terrorattack in Anantnag. Ourthoughts & prayers are with hisfamily & we stand by eachother at this critical juncture".

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Page 6: ’ˆ( ˘ ˘ˇˇ C€¦ · room, which has no CCTV camera and spent about half an ... Maintenance Act considering their career. ... to Ranchi are a part of the

Afghanistan has experimented withdifferent forms of Governmentsince its emergence as a modernnation-state. From absolute andConstitutional monarchies to the

first republic and communist/Marxistregimes, never has Afghanistan experiencedas much democratic rule as over the past 18years since the fall of the Taliban. Even thoughdemocracy has gradually evolved with mostof the Afghan State institutions still develop-ing to deliver on the promise of democracyin a system of checks and balances, the processof institutionalisation of democracy contin-ues unhindered with the strong support of theAfghan people and commitment of thecountry’s leadership, including PresidentMohammad Ashraf Ghani and ChiefExecutive Abdullah Abdullah.

Free press, which is one of the key fea-tures of any rising and functioning democ-racy, has played a seminal role in strength-ening democratic governance and rule of lawin Afghanistan. More notably, free media hasdirectly contributed to the rapid developmentof a still-growing civil society and as its essen-tial member, has empowered vulnerablegroups of women, youth and the poor — aclear majority in Afghanistan — to increas-ingly exercise their rights under the country’sprogressive Constitution.

In other words, where women andyouth are often relegated to the bottom of soci-ety, given traditional practices of genderinequity and other cultural double standards,the free Press — through the media of TV,radio, and print — has awakened them toshow how they can play their rightful, equalrole in helping to stabilise, rebuild anddevelop Afghanistan on a sustainable basis.Moreover, the Afghan media has lost noopportunity to tap into the social media plat-forms —Facebook, Twitter, Instagram andothers — to serve its role as a check on theGovernment, helping expand transparencyand highlighting efforts or lack of them to fightcorruption.

Since the judicial institutions ofAfghanistan, including law enforcementagencies, lack adequate investigative capaci-ty and are still developing, the free Press hasfilled some of the gaps, investigating andreporting on major crimes and cases of cor-ruption. This interim contribution from thePress has helped the Government take puni-tive measures against the perpetrators, whocould possibly escape justice.

Even when the exposure by the Pressabout corruption and crimes has deliveredgradual results, the public has at least beeninformed of the principal criminals and thoseengaged in corruption — undermining therule of law. This naming and shaming bymedia have helped expose the corrupt, whowould otherwise evade public knowledge andeventually justice. This critical role of mediaas a check has extended to the AfghanParliament and the functioning of this key leg-islative institution. Media reporting from par-

liamentary sessions and meetingshas informed the public of thelaws proposed or adopted forimplementation and enforce-ment, as well as follow-up reportswhether the passed laws haveactually been applied and madea difference in the lives of Afghancitizens.

Moreover, the Afghan mediahas helped shape and direct elec-toral processes, reforms and cam-paigns, including presidential,parliamentary, provincial andnow district elections across thecountry. As relevant State institu-tions remain weak, the media hasinformed the public of its electoralrights, how to exercise them, aswell as explained the logistical andsecurity preparations in place forconducting elections at thenational, provincial and locallevels. Ensuring transparencyand fairness in all electoralprocesses has been one of the keyachievements of the media as acontribution to institutionalisa-tion of democracy inAfghanistan.

Despite its constructive rolein ongoing gains over the past 18years, however, war and vio-lence have limited the reach of themedia to do more to helpstrengthen democracy inAfghanistan. Since 2001, over 60Afghan journalists have beenkilled and many wounded,according to Reporters WithoutBorders, which recently record-

ed that 2018 in Afghanistan wasthe deadliest year when “a total of15 journalists and media work-ers were killed in a series ofbombings that began early in theyear, nine of them in a single day.”Even though the AfghanJournalists Safety Committee(AJSC) — which is led by a ded-icated journalist and advocate forfree press, Najib Sharifi — hasconducted many safety trainingworkshops for journalists acrossthe country, they remain vulner-able to complex terrorist attacks,as well as to threats and intimi-dation by criminals, whosewrong-doings journalists ofteninvestigate to uncover and report.

In spite of these challenges,which have intensified since theend of 2014, when most of inter-national forces withdrew fromAfghanistan, the 2019 WorldPress Freedom Index rankedAfghanistan 121 out of 180countries. In this light,Afghanistan has the freest mediaamong all countries of South Asiaand Central Asia. There was atime when there were only oneradio and a newspaper solely forpropaganda purposes of pre-2001 regimes. Today Afghanistanboasts over 1,000 print andbroadcast media outlets. And thisunprecedented progress is con-tinuing unabated, despite ongo-ing terrorist threats and targettedattacks on Afghan journalists.

Moreover, in 2018,

Afghanistan was ranked at the topon the Global Right to InformationRating with an impressive score of139 points out of a possible 150,or 93 per cent. Indeed, this is ashared achievement of the AfghanGovernment and its internation-al partners, who remain firmlycommitted to ensuring and pro-tecting the freedoms of the Pressand expression in Afghanistan.

All told, however, like the restof Afghanistan’s state-buildingenterprise, media developmentand the contributions it hasmade to institutionalisation ofdemocracy remain a work-in-progress. In the years to come, theinternational community —especially the United States,Europe, India, and other majordemocracies — has a clearopportunity to help Afghanistanfurther build on its hard-earneddemocratic gains of the past 18years. This should underpin thecurrent peace efforts, in supportof the Afghan Government,whose key pre-condition fornegotiating a sustainable politi-cal settlement is the preservationof the Afghan Constitution andits core provisions for institution-alisation and protection ofhuman rights, including the free-doms of expression and Press.

(The writer is theAmbassador of Afghanistan to SriLanka and a Senior InternationalSecurity Fellow at the NewAmerica in Washington, DC)

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Sir — This refers to the editor-ial, “Pak back to old games”(June 16). There’s no denying thefact that there is huge interna-tional pressure on Pakistan to actagainst terrorist camps andorganisations based on its soil.Islamabad knows it well, too,that economic assistance fromorganisations l ike theInternational Monetary Fundand the World Bank will comeonly when it mends its ways intaking action against such terrororganisations.

Having said that, Pakistanbeing Pakistan, which is knownfor its notorious activities andhostility, cannot change its truecolour overnight. After all,whether it is the Jaish-e-Mohammed or Al-UmarMujahideen — they are all nur-tured by the Pakistani Army.

At the ShanghaiCooperation Organisation sum-mit, Prime Minister NarendraModi sent a strong signal by call-ing upon member countries topromote cooperation in combat-ing the menace.

Bal GovindNoida

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Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Pak back to old games” (June16). In the first place, Pakistan isa failed state which has always

backtracked on its promises. Thedismantling of terror infrastruc-ture on its soil and ban of dread-ed terror outfits are only an eye-wash. Despite the ban, many ter-rorists continue with their treach-

erous ways. It is a known that the de facto

Government headed by ImranKhan is only namesake. It is theArmy and the Inter-ServicesIntelligence, which call the shots.

The latest attack on a CRPFpatrol party on route to theAmarnath cave is the latest exam-ple. While Al-Umar Mujahideen,a defunct terror group, claimedresponsibility, it is being sus-pected that it was a handiwork ofJaish-e-Mohammad. The ImranKhan Government has been reit-erating that global terrorist out-fits have been banned and theirbank accounts have been frozenbut such assurances are nothingbut lies. As long as the Army withhelp from terrorists wants tobleed India, Khan calling Indiafor peace talks has no relevance.

KR Srinivasan Secunderabad

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Sir — Congress chief RahulGandhi has shown some courageby owning up to the party’s deba-cle. But leaders do not have thegumption to accept his resigna-tion. The Congress must prove tobe a party of substance than oneof sycophants.

ShubhamVia email

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2019 is a watershed year — a definitive inflec-tion point in reshaping the country’s politi-cal history. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s

popular mandate signifies two dominant trendstransforming the political landscape here on. First,there is a fading appeal of political parties who builttheir capital on pseudo-secularism. Asymmetricappeasement of the 20 per cent minorities in pref-erence to the majority community, which compris-es 80 per cent within their own country, will nolonger hold. Second, it signals the decimation ofself-serving, venal and nepotistic dynasties whoheld a monopoly on Central as also regional powerand governance for far too long.

Modi’s successive win stems from agroundswell of Hindu consolidation as theBharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) vote-share rose from31.3 per cent in 2014 to 37.4 per cent in 2019. Thisbrand of “muscular nationalism” finds its echo inglobal trends prevalent in the UK and the US. Justas Brexit signalled the voice of Britain that soughtto revive its grand narrative, or a Trump’s “AmericaFirst”, Modi’s return signals the resurgence ofmajoritarianism that seeks to dismantle and de-colonise the elitist mindset of previous regimes.

The Western media tried hard to sabotage pre-election opinions, peddling fears that the returnof India’s “divider-in-chief” augured a regressive,illiberal and totalitarian regime. What Western lob-byists and Lutyens’ intelligentsia missed wasgauging the zeitgeist right, the popular mood ofthe moment. And that mood perceived Modi asa unifier, whose social uplift schemes had perme-ated across strata, even if it meant taking a toughstance on the regressive practice of triple talaq.Secularism, defined the Modi 2.0 way, veers at mov-ing away from the parivar’s ideological mooringsto turn more mainstream and inclusive. This meanssubsuming the networks of vote-bank politics andreplacing it with antarodya, delivering economicuplift to the last man in the line.

While it’s easy to praise the victor, existentialchallenges lie ahead for the Modi-Shah duo at thehelm of governance to win the economic battle withthe same fervour as the BJP won the political bat-tle. Winners don’t need free advice. As championsof political wizcraft, Modi and Shah know betterthat the speed with which the Government of Indiahandles economic headwinds will be crucial to howhistory will judge Modi’s ultimate legacy.

Politically, the dominant takeaway is howModi’s overwhelming mandate impacts theCongress, regionals parties as also vests the BJPwith greater power to ignore tantrums of mer-curial allies like the Shiv Sena and the Janata Dal(United) here on. First, the electoral outcome hasslayed every dynastic fief: Lalu and company,gone with the wind. Pawar and company, stungby the debacle. Mahagathbandhan experimentsdone and dusted. Most importantly, the capitu-lation of the Congress after successive Lok Sabhadebacles demolishes an entire eco-system of theLutyens’ club of fixer-cronies and lobbyists for5+5 more years. Which means meritocracy ishere to stay — whether it is in politics or busi-ness deals.

Five more years of exile from power for theCongress could mean “five boring, long years ofwhining, lying and buck-passing” if the party doesnot reinvent itself and continues to function as a

negative Opposition. With the grand oldparty at its nadir, the Congress could wellsplinter into further factions as it did withthe exit of the Nationalist Congress Party(NCP), Trinamool Congress (TMC)and YSR Congress Party when strongregional leaders rejected the high-com-mand culture even as the contagion ofdisarray within the party continues tospread to every State unit — fromTelangana to Punjab. In hindsight, hadthe NCP+TMC+YSR not broken awayfrom the Congress years back, notion-ally, the combined tally in the currentParliament of all four constituents standsat 52+22+22+5 = 99 seats. Which meansthe break-away factions over 20 yearshave chipped away nearly 50 per centseats from the grand old party.

The expected State-wise aftermathof the ‘TsuNaMo’? There are multiplepossibilities near-term and over the nextone year. Imminent ramifications arethat it could lead to the collapse of tworecently formed Congress Governmentsin Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh andthe coalition in Karnataka as all threeare on fragile ground with CongressChief Ministers struggling with faction-alism. In Karnataka, it’s a wait andwatch game for the BJP as to how andwhen it makes a bid for power to top-ple the minority Government. The BJPretains the Modi momentum, havingwon 25 out of 28 seats in the State witha large chunk of OBCs and Vokkaligasmaking a big saffron shift.

Second, if the Modi wave retains itsvelocity, it could have a cascading

effect on Maharashtra elections slatedlater in the year and yield a big win forthe party in Delhi elections next year.

Third, the exponential growth ofthe BJP’s vote-share in Bengal — from21 per cent in 2014 to 40.5 per cent in2019 — reflects the untapped potentialfor Hindu consolidation in a State thathas an above-national average Muslimpopulation.

Tapping into economic discontentwill be a major poll plank as the TMCfailed to attract investment in the State,nor did it support Tata Motors for the set-ting up of a plant in Singur, which hashuge employment generation potential.Mounting MLA defections signal omi-nous trends for the 2021 Bengal electionswith the BJP targetting 250 seats. This hasleft a nervous TMC to go back to itsdrawing board to plan ahead by signingup political strategist Prashant Kishor,who recently helped YSR Congresssweep Andhra Pradesh.

In the politically crucial State of UttarPradesh, the TsuNaMo has convincing-ly decimated regional parties —Samajwadi Party (SP) and BahujanSamaj Party (BSP) — for the second timein Lok Sabha elections, bringing an endto the divisive politics of the Mandal era.The voter has shown that it has littlepatience with the revolving door regimesof feudal cult-based organisations like SPand BSP. Because both parties are per-ceived as nepotistic, corrupt, they nowhave a diminishing appeal among Yadavsand aspirational Dalits. This was reflect-ed in the BJP’s vote-share rising to 50 per

cent in 2019, while the SP-BSP’s sharelanguished at 20 per cent.

That the BJP now has on board par-ties like the Telangana Rashtra Samithi(TRS), YSR Congress Party, Biju JanataDal (BJD), which have been offeringunconditional support, augurs well forCentre-State relations turning morecooperative than combative. As the vic-tor, Modi’s stance is expected to be moreaccommodative towards these neutralparties in order to gain political good-will from States not governed by theBJP. Strategically, YSR’s 22 MPs in theLok Sabha could act as a buffer tocounter future pressures from the ShivSena and JDU.

NDA 3.0 is now in an uncharteredterritory to dramatically alter the courseof Indian politics as also the economy.One reckons that the pragmatic Modi-Shah duo will accord greater primacyto issues of governance over politics,having raised the benchmarks of voterexpectations. Consequently, voter cri-teria by the next elections will no longerbe determined by caste but would besubsumed by the quantum of deliver-ables on housing, health and education.As the Government gears up forIndia@75 by 2022, Modi 2.0 would tar-get to showcase its achievements atmid-point of his tenure. Personally, I amoptimistic to expect that premature sur-prise from the present regime.

(The writer is an author, columnistand Chairperson for the NationalCommittee of Financial Inclusion at NitiAayog)

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In a major ruling that will have a pro-found impact on the way companiesare taxed, the Income Tax Appellate

Tribunal (ITAT) has upheld the valid-ity of the Discounted Cash Flow(DCF) method for arriving at the fairmarket value of a company’s share. Theorder says “the DCF method is recog-nised; though it is not an exact scienceand can never be done with arithmeticprecision.”

The order needs to be viewed in thebackdrop of tax demands raised onhundreds of companies by the IncomeTax (IT) department for the paymentof tax on the extra capital raisedthrough the issue of shares over andabove their Fair Market Value (FMV).These included notices for the so-called

“angel tax” to start-ups — a euphemismfor unlisted firms which turn ‘innov-ative ideas’ into attractive business ven-tures. Demands were raised underSection 56 of the Income-tax Act, 1961,treating excess capital so raised (excessof the purchase price over FMV) as“income from other sources.” Themost crucial determinant of the tax lia-bility is FMV. If it is high, the tax leviedwill be less. On the other hand if it islow, tax will be high.

The department questioned thehigh valuations that were based onfuture projections about the likely per-formance of the company. It averredthat by inflating the FMV and there-by deflating excess capital, firms wereintending to minimise the tax outgo.The taxman had reason to suspect ashow come an entity suffering lossesin the present could command highvaluations?

On a closer look, it turns out thatthe real culprit is the DCF method,which provides room for maneuver-ing. Accordingly, the IT departmentdecided not to look at it and instead,opted for a more realistic basis fordetermining the FMV. But the

Tribunal does not agree. It has ruled“the fact that future projections of var-ious factors made by applying hind-sight view cannot be matched withactual performance does not meanthat the DCF method is not correct.”

The Tribunal recognises that actu-al numbers do not match with project-ed values and yet, it upholds the DCFmethod, which acts as a springboardto inflated FMV. This is anomalous andwill be a big setback to the taxman.Companies will continue to get awaywith high valuations and resultant highpremium (in many cases despite incur-ring losses year after year), therebydenying the revenue department its

legitimate dues. Already, the Government has

given huge relief to start-ups by (i)increasing the funding limit by unlist-ed firms and individuals in a start-upto be exempted from the angel tax fromthe current �10 crore to �25 crore; (ii)setting no such limit for investments bylisted firms with net worth above�100 crore or turnover of �250 croreand (iii) relaxing the criteria for start-up from current seven years to 10 yearsand turnover limit from existing �25crore to �100 crore.

Henceforth, a start-up fulfilling theabove criteria needs to submit a “mem-orandum of information” to the

Department for Promotion of Industryand Internal Trade ([DPIIT) in theMinistry of Commerce and Industry,who after confirming eligibility, will tellthe Central Board of Direct Taxes(CBDT) to notify exemption of theconcerned entity from the angel tax.

The liberalisation of norms hasensured that an overwhelming num-ber of start-ups goes out of the tax net.With the ITAT order, even firms otherthan start-ups (besides a few unfortu-nate ones on whom the bureaucrat inthe Commerce Ministry may notshower his/her benevolence) will beable to escape payment of tax as theDCF method cannot be rejected by thetaxman routinely.

This brings us to the genesis of thetax on excess capital raised by the start-up or any other entity. When aninvestor pays an amount in excess of itsFMV (or premium), this is as good asprofit/income in the hands of thereceiving firm. In case, however, thepremium is exceptionally high, havingno relationship whatsoever to the fairmarket value, it raises eyebrows. Itpoints towards unaccounted cash orblack money being funnelled into the

corporate entities. This fundamental point can’t be

brushed aside simply because therecipient of the laundered money hap-pens to be a start-up — firms whichoffer huge potential and are crucial toa rising India. Apart from revenue con-sideration, taxation of the premiumamount should also be viewed as aninstrument of reining in black money.

While there can be no two opin-ions on the overarching need to ensurean increase in funding for start-ups, theGovernment must not do anythingwhich compromises its fight againstblack money. This will also be in syncwith Prime Minister Narendra Modi’sphilosophy of “zero tolerance” for cor-ruption and black money.

Viewed in this much-broader per-spective, the IT department shouldchallenge the order of the ITAT at high-er levels in the judicial forum.Concurrently, the Government shouldtake a re-look at the package offered byDPIIT. It must refrain from giving thestart-ups blanket exemption from levyof angel tax.

(The writer is a New Delhi-basedpolicy analyst)

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The GST Council is likely toextend till November 30,

2020 the tenure of the NationalAnti-profiteering Authority(NAA), which deals with cus-tomer complaints regardingnot receiving tax cut benefits,at its next meeting on June 21,an official said.

The Council at its 35thmeeting, the first under newFinance Minister NirmalaSitharaman, is also likely toconsider a proposal to set upone appellate tribunal fornorth-eastern states, andanother one for all UnionTerritories.

Besides, the Council woulddiscuss a proposal to levyGoods and Services Tax (GST)on extra-neutral alcohol(ENA), which is used for man-ufacturing alcoholic liquor forhuman consumption, the offi-cial added.

ENA a is derivative of sug-arcane molasses (95 per centhigh-purity ethyl alcohol) andis not an alcoholic liquor forhuman consumption but canbe used as raw material orinput, after processing andsubstantial dilution, in the pro-duction of whisky, gin, countryliquor etc.

The Finance Ministry is ofthe view that NAA should begiven an extension of one yeartill November 30, 2020 as theauthority continues to receivecomplaints of profiteering bycompanies, the official told PTI.

The NAA is keen for a two-year extension, the official said,

adding thefinal call willbe taken bythe GSTCouncil in itsmeeting onJune 21.

Earlier, themeeting wasscheduled forJune 20, buthas now been postponed toJune 21.

Soon after the GST wasrolled out from July 1, 2017, thegovernment had approved set-ting up of the NAA for twoyears to deal with complaintsby consumers against compa-nies for not passing on GSTrate cut benefits.

The NAA came into exis-tence on November 30, 2017,after its Chairman B N Sharmaassumed charge. So far, theNAA has passed 67 orders invarious cases.

The GST law provides forsetting up of benches of appel-late tribunal in all states.Although 18 states have got theapproval to set up appellatebenches, none of these stateshave operationalised them.

The GST Council in itsJune 21 meeting is likely toapprove the proposals of Delhi,Odisha and Telangana to set upappellate tribunal benches.

The Council will also takea call on setting up a combinedbench for all north-easternstates as well as one bench todeal with appeal cases in sixUnion Territories --Chandigarh, Puducherry,Lakshadweep, Daman and Diu,

Dadra and Nagar Haveli, andAndaman and Nicobar Islands,the official said.

With regard to bringingENA under GST, states havedivergent views on levying GST.Larger states like West Bengal,Rajasthan, Haryana, TamilNadu, Karnataka, AndhraPradesh and Maharashtra havebeen of the view that ENAshould be out of GST.

States levy Value AddedTax (VAT) and Central SalesTax (CST) on ENA and stateswill have to forgo the right totax the product if it is broughtunder GST.

The GST Council had ear-lier sought the opinion of theAttorney General on legality ofimposing GST on ENA. The AGhad then opined that since ENAis not consumed directly by peo-ple, GST can be imposed on it.

Currently, potable alcoholis out of the ambit of GST andstates are free to levy taxes onthem.

Among other things, theGST Council will also consid-er issuance of e-invoice byentities with turnover of over�50 crore for business-to-busi-ness (B2B) sales in a bid to curbGST evasion.

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Alarge number of individu-als and entities, including

independent directors, topmanagement personnel, ratingagencies and auditors former-ly associated with crisis-hitIL&FS may soon face action bycapital market regulator Sebifor their role in the allegedfraud at the group.

Sebi has been conductingan in-depth investigation intothe role of several entitiesand individuals, including forsuspected violation of disclo-sure and corporate gover-nance norms, and many ofthem would soon face strin-gent penal action for hurtingthe interest of minority share-holders and the overall capi-tal markets with their fraud-ulent actions, senior officialssaid.

Officials said the regulatoris also looking into the role ofsome listed borrowers, whowere allegedly given multiplefresh loans despite their earli-er defaults.

The Sebi probe had begunsoon after the crisis came tolight at IL&FS group last year,following huge defaults by var-ious entities which togetherhad a debt burden of over�90,000 crore.

The government had tosupersede its board andappoint a new one, which isnow working to clear the messand also recover the lossescaused by fraudulent acts of theprevious management. Thematter is being probed bymultiple agencies, includingthe Serious Fraud InvestigationOffice (SFIO), which has alsofound connivance of the pre-

vious top management withauditors and independentdirectors.

Several entities of IL&FS(Infrastructure Leasing andFinancial Services) group havebeen found to have indulged inmultiple circuitous transac-tions involving several illegal-ities, including fast disbursalsto some borrowers despitetheir bad track record in ser-vicing existing loans and alsodelayed recoveries.

Investigations have alsofound that several entitiesfrom the IL&FS group con-tinued to enjoy high ratingsfrom various rating agencies,including due to window-dressing of the books of thecompanies and ever-greeningof their loans.

As per the probe, a num-ber of borrowers, includinglisted firms, were not servicingtheir debt obligation timely.

While the top manage-ment at IL&FS was aware ofthe potential problem accountswhich were getting stressed,they continued to providethem with fresh loans to servetheir principal and interest ofthe defaulters, rather than clas-sifying them as NPAs.

This process was repeatedmultiple times with the earli-er loan facility getting closedand a new facility being creat-ed which was again funded, ontheir default, through anothercycle of funding through thesame or another group com-pany.

Such manner of debt ser-vicing led to ballooning up ofthe outstanding liabilitiesagainst a group, which werefunded from the borrowingsfrom the market.

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Housingfinance growth isset to slow down to 13-15

percent this fiscal, lower thanthe average of the past threeyears, due to the lingering liq-uidity issues faced by non-banking lenders, warns areport.

There can also be anadverse impact on the out-standing housing credit, whichstood at Rs 19.1 lakh crore asof March 2019, ratings agencyIcra said in a weekend report.

It can be noted that thegovernment is betting on hous-ing sector as one of the majorvehicles to push the saggingeconomic growth.

Given the tough operatingenvironment, we expect hous-ing credit growth in FY20 to bein the range of 13-15 percent-which is lower than the lastthree years when it clipped past17 percent, it said in anote.

The overallindustryloangrowth for housing financecompanies had slowed down to15 percent for FY18.

It said the issues with thenon-banking lenders since lastSeptember that has seen a slewof companies like DHFL andReliance Capital suffering,slowed down credit growth ofdedicated housing finance com-panies to 10 percent in FY19.

Banks grew faster at 19percent as against 13 percent,taking their overall marketshare to 64 percent from 62in the year-ago period, itsaid, adding banks will leadthe growth curve in FY20 aswell.

However, given the under-penetration of mortgages, theagency expects growth torecover soon.

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The Finance Ministry isevaluating capital needs

of state-owned banks, andlikely to provide about�30,000 crore in the upcom-ing Budget to help them meetminimum regulatory capitalrequirement in the currentfiscal, sources said.

The first budget of Modi2.0 Government is sched-uled to be presented on July5 by Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman on thebackdrop of India’s economyhitting 5-year low growth of6.8 per cent in 2018-19.

In addition, the publicsector banks would alsorequire capital for the creditgrowth, which has just start-ed picking up. Five weakbanks under the PromptCorrective Action (PCA)framework of the RBI tooneed capital to maintain min-imum regulatory capitalratios as per the Basel IIInorms.

B esides , i f theGovernment goes for anoth-er consolidation like Bank ofBaroda, the three-way merg-er would also require addi-tional capital, the sourcessaid.

It is to be noted that theGovernment infused �5,042crore in BoB to enhance itscapital base to meet addi-tional expense due to amal-gamation of Dena Bank andVijaya Bank.

In all the the Governmentmade record capital infusionof �1,06,000 crore in the pub-lic sector banks last fiscal. Itwas enhanced from earlierprovision of �65,000 crore inDecember 2018.

As a result of capital infu-sion, five banks - Bank ofIndia, Oriental Bank ofCommerce, Bank ofMaharashtra, Allahabad Bankand Corporation Bank —came out of PCA. Followingmerger of Dena Bank withBoB, it also came out of weakbank category. Out of 11,only five are left under weakbank category of the ReserveBank of India.

As far as their ownresource mobilisation areconcerned, sources said, theyare unable to tap capital mar-ket because of their low shareprices.

They are banking of saleof non-core assets which arenot enough, the sources said,adding that PSBs wouldrequire capital infusion from

the government this fiscal aswell.

How much will comewould depend on theGovernment fiscal math thatthe Budget division of theFinance Ministry will take afinal call near Budget prepa-ration, the sources noted.

Initial estimate indicatescapita l requirement of�20,000-30,000 crore, pro-vided banks are also able toraise funds on their ownfrom the market boththrough asset and share sale,they added.

Many banks, includingState Bank of India and Bankof Baroda (BoB), have alreadygot the board approval forcapital raising as and whenrequired.

For example, BoB plansto raise �11,900 crore duringthe current fiscal throughshare sa le , includingEmployee Share PurchaseScheme to shore up capitalfor meeting business expan-sion requirement.

The bank expects to gar-ner �1,500 crore from Bankof Baroda Employee SharePurchase Scheme (BoB-ESPS). ESPS will be withinoverall limit of capital plan2019-20 of �11,900 crore.

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Saudi Arabia remains com-mitted to selling shares in

national oil conglomerateAramco through an initial pub-lic offering but only at the righttime, Crown Prince Mohammedbin Salman has said.

“We are committed to theIPO of Saudi Aramco based onappropriate conditions and atthe right time,” PrinceMohammed told the pan-Arabdaily Asharq al-Awsat in aninterview published on Sunday.

He reiterated his earlierexpectations that the IPO ofSaudi Aramco “will take placein (late) 2020 or the start of2021,” almost two years laterthan expected.

Saudi Arabia plans to sell upto five per cent of the world’slargest energy firm and hopes toraise up to $100 billion.

Prince Mohammed said itwas still premature toannounce where the IPO willbe held, adding that manyrequirements for the sale to gothrough had been successfullycompleted.

Riyadh has taken a number

of key procedures in prepara-tion for the IPO includingissuing a law for hydrocarbonstax, appointing a new board forAramco and allowing an inde-pendent auditing of the king-dom’s oil reserves, the crownprince said.

Aramco has also opened itsaccounts books for the firsttime to international ratingsagencies, declared the size of itsprofits and transformed into apublic shareholding company,he said.

The IPO — expected to bethe world’s largest stock sale —forms the cornerstone of areform programme envisagedby Prince Mohammed to weanthe Saudi economy off itsreliance on oil.

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Indian equities this week willbe guided by factors like

geopolitical developments, US-China trade negotiations andFed interest rate decision amidlack of major domestic triggers,say analysts.

Investors will also keep atrack on the domestic trade sit-uation following reports thatIndia has decided to imposeretaliatory tariffs on 29 USproducts with effect from June16.

The Government had onJune 21, 2018 decided toimpose these duties in retalia-

tion to the US decision of sig-nificantly hiking customsduties on certain steel and alu-minium products. India hadextended the deadline forimposition of duties multipletimes in the hope that somesolution would emerge.

“Markets are currentlydancing to the global tunes andwe do not see this changing anytime soon, in absence of anymajor local trigger,” said JayantManglik, President - RetailDistribution, Religare Broking.

Vinod Nair, Head ofResearch, Geojit FinancialServices, said: “Ripple effectfrom a weak global marketwhile premium valuation andslow economy is hurting themarket. Continuous exchangeof words between US andTehran regarding the oil tankerattack, progress of US-Chinatrade war, Fed policy outcomeon 19th June and progress ofmonsoon will be closelywatched by the investors.”

Global markets werespooked last week after two oiltankers were attacked in the

Gulf of Oman, leading to ratch-eting up of tensions in theMiddle East.

Crude oil prices, move-ment of rupee against the dol-lar and foreign fund investmenttrend would be crucial for themarkets, experts added.

“Negative news flow fromthe finance sector on loanrepayment is dampening theinvestors sentiment which canbe a trigger for a bigger cor-rection before the budget ses-sion,” said Romesh Tiwari,Head of Research, CapitalAim.

The BSE Sensex stayed onthe back foot for the thirdstraight session Friday asinvestors dialled down equityexposure amid high valuationsand a fresh spell of uncertain-ty in the global markets.

The markets suffered asudden sell-off towards thefag-end following reports ofIndia deciding to impose retal-iatory tariffs on 29 US prod-ucts.

During the last week, theSensex fell 163.83 points or 0.41per cent, to close at 39,452.07.

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The ongoing trade warbetween the US and China

offers an opportunity to Indiafor boosting exports of as many350 products such as chemicalsand granite to these countries,a study by the CommerceMinistry has said.

The identification of theseproducts is part of a study car-ried out by the ministry whichstates that the ongoing tariff orcustoms duties war between theUS and China proves a big win-dow of opportunity for enhanc-ing India’s exports to thesetwo nations.

Both the US and China areimposing heavy import dutieson each other’s products, whichhas triggered a trade war kindof situation.

According to the study, asmuch 151 domestic productsincluding diesel, X-ray tubesand certain chemicals have anoutright advantage to displacethe US exports to China.

Similarly, 203 Indian goodslike rubber and graphite elec-trodes have the advantage todisplace Chinese exports tothe US.

It said that the specificproducts in which India canpotentially expand exports toChina immediately based on itsstrengths and available marketaccess in the neighbouringcountry and also those inwhich concerted efforts need tobe made to acquire marketaccess are being shared with theline ministries.

The ongoing trade warmay bring about a shift in theglobal trading patterns due tospillover effects and displace-ment of the bilaterally tradedcommunities to other coun-tries, it said.

The Indian products whichcan tap the Chinese marketinclude copper ores, rubber,paper/paperboard, equipmentfor transmission voice/data ina wired network, tunes andpipes.

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Honda Cars India is con-sidering to increase vehi-

cle prices by up to 1.2 per centfrom next month to offset risein cost of raw materials andintroduction of new safety fea-tures, as per a senior companyofficial.

The company currentlysells a range of models frompremium hatchback Brio topremium sedan AccordHybrid, priced between Rs4.73 lakh and Rs 43.21 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

“We are working on priceincrease on our models fromJuly,” HCIL Senior VicePresident and Director Salesand Marketing Rajesh Goeltold PTI.

He said the cost of rawmaterial has gone up in the lastfew months, but the same iscurrently being absorbed by thecompany.

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India’s coal import increasedby 14.5 per cent to 24.01 mil-

lion tonnes (MT) in May thisyear.

The country’s coal importwas at 20.96 MT in May 2019,according to a mjunction ser-vices report, which is based onmonitoring of vessels’ posi-tions and data received fromshipping companies.

The report comes at a timewhen the government is look-ing at relaxing the timeline forthe one billion tonne coal pro-duction target it had set earli-er for Coal India (CIL), whichaccounts for over 80 per cent ofthe domestic coal output.

Imports during May thisyear stood at 24.01 MT (pro-visional) as compared to 26.3MT (revised) in April, 2019.

The provisional figure forApril 2019 stood at 20.72 MT.

Of the total import duringMay, non-coking coal was at17.74 MT, while coking coalimport stood at 3.8 MT.

Metallurgical coke importduring the month was at 0.31MT.

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Ahead of the Budget, domes-tic iron and steel players

have sought abolition of 2.5 percent basic customs duty onimport of coking coal - a key rawmaterial used in steel making.

Removal of duty on cokingcoal is a long standing demandof the industry.

At present India’s 85 percent of demand of coking coalis met through imports, indus-try bodies Ficci and CII haveapprised the Ministry of Steelin a pre-Budget proposal.

“As there is no substitutionfor coking coal in steel making,import duty of 2.5 per cent oncoking coal is redundant asimport protection,” the indus-try demanded in the proposal.

Due to the increasing andvolatile coking coal prices,domestic merchant pig ironindustry is suffering from hugelosses, which forced many play-ers to stop operations, it said.

The industry has forecastthat financial year 2030 — theyear by which India aims totake it capacity to 300 milliontonnes — the demand for cok-

ing coal would be at 178.7 mil-lion tonnes and 140.2 MT willbe met through imports.

However, it also noted thatas per the National Steel Policy,the dependence on importedcoking coal is supposed to bebrought down to 65 per cent by2030.

Scrap is another elementwhich is posing a threat for thedomestic steel manufacturers,the proposal said, requestingthe duty on import of scrapshould be raised to 10 per centfrom the current level 2.5 percent.

It also sought for BIS stan-dard for scrap besides reviewMIP of scrap.

“Cheap quality scrapimports have increased by 9 percent in FY19 from FY17 whichhas resulted in net forex outgoincrease by 58 per cent to$1.77 billion till February 2019.

“No BIS certification orstandards are in place for scrapwhich leads to lack of authen-ticity on material import. Thereis also risk of scrap being haz-ardous and radioactive sincethere is no norms or check,” theproposal note said.

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Patna/Muzaffarpur: With onemore child dying of suspectedAES in Muzaffarpur on Sundaymorning, the death toll of chil-dren in the district rose to 83this month, even as Bihar ChiefMinister Nitish Kumarannounced an ex-gratia of Rsfour lakh each.

Kumar expressed grief overthe children's death inMuzaffarpur and ordered pay-ment of Rs four lakh as ex-gra-tia to the next of kin of thedeceased, an official releasesaid.

He also directed the offi-cials of the Health departmentand the district administrationas well as doctors to take allpossible measures to tacklethe disease. The chief ministerprayed for a speedy recovery ofthe children suffering fromsuspected Acute EncephalitisSyndrome (AES).

A press release issued bythe Muzaffarpur districtadministration said till Sunday9 am, 83 children had died atthe state-run Sri Krishna

Medical College and Hospital(SKMCH) and the KejriwalHospital, which was run by atrust.

According to the release, 69children had died at theSKMCH, while 14 died at theKejriwal Hospital due to sus-pected cases of AES.

Officials, however, main-tained that a majority of thevictims, most of whom werebelow 10 years of age, had fall-en prey to hypoglycemia, acondition caused by a very lowlevel of blood sugar and elec-trolyte imbalance.

Since June 1, 197 childrenwere admitted to the SKMCHwhile 91 were taken to KejriwalHospital with suspected AES,but most of them were foundto be victims of hypoglycemia.

Union Health MinisterHarsh Vardhan is scheduled tovisit Muzaffarpur on Sunday totake stock of the situation. Hewill hold meetings with doctorsand officials of both the centraland state governments.

Vardhan is also scheduled

to hold a review meeting withthe officials of the Health andother departments concernedof the state government inPatna later in the day.

He will be accompanied bystate Health Minister MangalPandey during his visit toMuzaffarpur.

Union Minister of State forHome Nityanand Rai, who isalso the Bihar unit chief of theruling Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP), visited the SKMCH onSaturday.

He expressed grief overthe deaths and cancelled all thefunctions for welcoming him inview of the brain fever that hastaken a heavy toll on children'slives.

Principal Secretary(Health) Sanjay Kumar hadsaid a few days ago that the dis-ease had affected 222 blocks in12 districts, especially inMuzaffarpur, Vaishali, Sheoharand East Champaran.

A team of experts from theCentre visited Muzaffarpur onWednesday. PTI

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In the last reshuffle of hisMinistry undertaken ahead

of the Maharashtra Assemblypolls to be held in October thisyear, Chief Minister DevendraFadnavis on Sunday inducted13 new Ministers — eightCabinet ranked ones and fiveMinisters of State — into theState Cabinet, after droppingsix existing Ministers from hisCabinet.

As part of the Cabinetreshuffle, Fadnavis brought inten Ministers from the BJP, twofrom the Shiv Sena and onefrom the RPI (Athavale).This isfor the first time that an RPI(Athavale) nominee has beengiven a berth in the StateCabinet.

As anticipated, the ChiefMinister inducted into hisMinistry erstwhile seniorCongress leader and leader ofthe Opposition RadhkrishnaVikhe-Patil, erstwhile NCPleader and now a Shiv Senaleader Jaydutta Kshirsagar andBJP’s Mumbai unit presidentAshish Shelar, as Cabinet min-isters.

Apart from Vikhe-Patil,Kshirsagar and Shelar, the fiveothers whom Fadnavis accom-modated in his Ministry asCabinet Ministers were: SanjayKute, Dr Suresh Khade, Dr Anil

Bonde, Ashok Uike and DrTanaji Sawant.

Similarly, Yogesh Sagar,Avinash Mahatekar, Sanjayalias Bala Bhegade, Dr ParinayPhuke and Atul Save wereinducted as Ministers of Statein the State Cabinet.

Maharashtra’s HousingMinister Prakash Mehta of theBJP, who is among the six BJPMinisters dropped from theState Cabinet, paid the price forhis indictment for his involve-ment in the alleged irregulari-ties in the permissions given bya slum rehabilitation authori-ty (SRA) project at MP Millscompound at Tardeo in southMumbai. Lokayukta M LTahaliyani.

Maharashtra Governor CHVidyasagar Rao administeredthe oath of office and secrecyto eight new Cabinet Ministersand five Ministers of State at aswearing-in-ceremony held onthe lawns of Raj Bhavan insouth Mumbai.

Fadanvis, Union Ministerof State Ramdas Athawale,Assembly Speaker HaribhauBagade, senior Shiv Senaleader Manohar Joshi, severalministers, Mumbai MayorVishwanath Mahadeshwar, leg-islators and bureaucrats wereamong those present at theswearing-in ceremony.

The State Cabinet re-jig

comes ahead of the monsoonsession of the MaharashtraLegislature, beginning onMonday.

Vikhe-Patil, whose sonSujay quit the Congress inMarch this year and won theLok Sabha polls by a margin of2.81 lakh votes fromAhmednagar constituency ona BJP ticket, has been reward-ed with a ministerial berth bythe ruling BJP even before heformally joined the BJP.

Vikhe Patil, who hadstepped down Leader ofOpposition in March after

Sujay had joined the BJP, hadresigned as a Congress MLA onJune 4.

Kshirsagar, who quit theNCP and joined the ruling ShivSena on May 22, also found aplace in the State Cabinet.

Shelar, under whose lead-ership the BJP bagged all thethree seats it contested inMumbai in the recent LokSabha polls, made it to theFadnavis Cabinet.

In his Cabinet reshuffle,Fadnavis has tried to accom-modate MLAs from threemajor regions and Mumbai —

Vikhe-Patil ( Ahmednagar),Suresh Khade (Miraj), Sanjayalias Bala Bhegade (Maval), allfrom western Maharashtra,Shelar, Yogesh Sagar, AvinashMahatekar (all from Mumbai),Anil Bonde ( Amravati) TanajiSawant, Ashok Uike, bothYavatmal), Sanjay Kute (Buldhana), Dr Parinay. Phuke,all from Vidarbha, Kshirsagar(Beed) and Atul Save(Aurgangabad), both fromMarathwada. However,Konkan region and northMaharashtra have gone unrep-resented.

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Mumbai: Maharashtra ChiefMinister Devendra Fadnavissaid the Cabinet expansioncarried out on Sunday was forregional balance and to createan opportunity for other partyworkers to serve, and no onewas dropped for "poor perfor-mance".

Thirteen ministers wereinducted into the state gov-ernment Sunday, and six serv-ing ministers tendered theirresignations to the CM, all of

which were accepted.Speaking on the eve of the

monsoon session of theMaharashtra legislature,Fadnavis said, "We wanted topresent new faces as well ascreate a regional balance. Noone in the cabinet wasremoved because of poor per-formance. The new team willperform better."

Commenting on aLokayukta report related tooutgoing Housing Minister

Prakash Mehta's alleged landdeal, Fadnavis said, "The reportis going to be presented in theHouse. I cannot comment onit now." Speaking on formerCongressman RadhakrishnaVikhe Patil's induction into thecabinet, the Maharashtra CMclaimed, "I have been doingdevelopmental work and that iswhy new people are joining theBJP." With Sunday's expan-sion, the Fandavis Governmentnow has 41 Ministers. PTI

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Ahead of the start of themonsoon session of the

Maharashtra Legislature onMonday, all the Oppositionparties on Sunday decided tonominate Vijay NamdevraoWadettiwar as the new Leaderof Opposition in the StateAssembly.

Wadettiwar will replaceerstwhile Congress leaderRadhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, whoresigned from the Congressearly this month and wasinducted into the MaharashtraCabinet on Sunday.

“Leaders of all the

Opposition parties met StateAssembly Speaker HaribhauBagade and submitted a letter,nominating Wadettiwar astheir joint choice for the postas the new Leader ofOpposition,” Congress’ newlyappointed deputy leader in theAssembly Naseem Khan said.

With a strength of 41 mem-bers, the Congress is the singlelargest Opposition party in the288-member State Assembly.The NCP is the second largestOpposition party with a strengthof 39 MLAs in the Assembly.

An MLA fromBrahmapuri, Wadettiwar hasbeen rewarded with the LoP’s

post for saving the Congressfrom a total wipe-out in theMay 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Meanwhile, MaharashtraChief Minister DevendraFadnavis said that the StateGovernment would table 28bills —including 15 pendingbills — in the monsoon sessionof the State Legislature.

The monsoon session,being held on the heels of aspectacular performance putup the ruling BJP-Shiv Senaalliance in the Lok Sabha polls,is the last session of the StateLegislature before Maharashtragoes in for the Assembly pollsin October 2019.

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Machilipatnam (AP): Gutkhaworth above �1 lakh wasseized in Krishna district ofAndhra Pradesh and 53 peoplewere arrested in this connec-tion on Sunday, police said.

SP, Krishna, MRavindranath Babu said raidswere conducted inMachilipatnam, Pedana townsand Kanchekacherla,Gudllavalleru mandals duringwhich huge quantity ofGutkha and 'khainee' (chew-ing tobacco) packets wereseized.

He said 53 people werearrested and 35 cases registeredin connection with the seizureof the banned items. PTI

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Gangtok: The first batch of 31pilgrims was flagged off forKailash Mansarovar Yatra viaNathula Pass in Sikkim onSunday.

K Jayakumar, theAdditional Chief Secretary ofTourism and Civil AviationDepartment, flagged off twobuses carrying the pilgrimsfor the first climate acclimati-zation camp located at 15thMile and 17th Mile enroute toNathula.

Earlier in the day, the pil-grims, including 11 women,and two liaison officers, attend-ed a briefing session at a hotelhere, which was organized bythe Sikkim Government'sTourism and Civil AviationDepartment.

Addressing the session,

Jayakumar informed the pil-grims about the significance ofthe journey to the holy place.

"The Central Governmentand the Sikkim Governmenthave put in great effort forsmooth conduct of the journeyand there is nothing to be

worried about," Jayakumar toldthe pilgrims.

The Commandant of the48th Indo-Tibetan BorderPolice (ITBP), T S Mangang,briefed the pilgrims about theroute chart to KailashMansarovar and the acclimati-

zation schedules.Mangang also urged the

pilgrims to follow the directionsof the liaison officers andadhere to the given timings.

He apprised them aboutthe rules and regulations to befollowed during their onwardjourney and advised everyoneto remain mentally strong.

The pilgrims will stay at15th Mile and 17th Mile for thefirst two days and at Sherathangfor another two days for accli-matisation before undergoingthe final round of medicalcheck up by the ITBP atSherathang on June 19, a daybefore crossing the Indian territory at Nathula for onward journey towardsKailash Mansarovar on the fol-lowing day. PTI

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Bengaluru: Karnataka ChiefMinister HD Kumaraswamy onSunday offered to hold talks withOpposition BJP on issues raisedby it even as the saffron partyworkers courted arrest whileattempting to proceed towardshis official residence despitepolice barricades.

As the State BJP, led by itschief B S Yeddyurappa, intensi-fied its two-day sit-in over issues,including sale of land in Ballarito JSW Steel at a "throw away"price, drought and farm loanwaiver, Kumaraswamy, in a let-ter to the opposition leader,said he was prepared to discussall matters. "I am always readyto discuss with you. Steps will betaken to seek your time as peryour convenience," the ChiefMinister said in the letter toYeddyurappa, a copy of whichwas released to the media.

However, the BJP wentahead with its plan as the lead-ers and workers, who were on around-the-clock sit-in at AnandRao circle here since Friday,attempted to proceeded towardthe chief minister's residencedespite heavy police presenceand barricades in the area.

The protesters were stoppedby police and huddled intobuses as they tried to breakthrough the barricades. In theensuing melee, a few BJP lead-ers including, former deputyChief Minister R Ashok, sufferedsome bruises. The protesterswere taken to a nearby policeground and let off later, policesaid. In his letter, Kumaraswamyinformed Yeddyurappa aboutthe measures taken to tackle thedrought situation and added theloan waiver scheme for farmersin progress. PTI

1<� / �'����������������� �/ ����2���������� ����$�!�� ������!����8����<������� Ayodhya (UP): Government

should bring an ordinance toconstruct Ram temple, ShivSena chief Uddhav Thackeraysaid on Sunday in Ayodhya,asserting that Prime MinisterNarendra Modi has thecourage to do so and therewould be no one to stop it.

Thackeray offered prayersat the makeshift Ram Lallatemple along with his sonAditya and 18 newly-electedlawmakers of his party. TheShiv Sena has said the visit wasto fulfil the promise Thackeraymade last November to cometo Ayodhya again after theelections.

"The case is in the courtfor many years. PrimeMinister Narendra Modi hasthe courage. If governmenttakes the decision, there is noone to stop it. Not only ShivSena, Hindus of the wholeworld are with this," Uddhav

said, while addressing a pressconference after his visit to theRam Lalla (or infant Ram)temple.

"The government shouldbring an ordinance for con-struction of Ram temple. Theissue concerns all Hindus andthe temple has to be con-structed at the earliest," hesaid, raising the slogan of"kanoon banao, mandir banao(formulate law and constructtemple)".

Maharashtra will be goingto polls later this year and thevisit is being seen as anattempt by the Shiv Sena to putpressure on ally BJP on theRam temple issue. But Senahas maintained thatThackeray's visit should not beseen through the electorallens.

"For us Ram temple is amatter of faith and not poli-tics," Thackeray said. PTI

Patna: The over 100-year-oldGole Market, a unique heritagebuilding constructed as Patna'sfirst planned municipal market,has been demolished by localauthorities as part of a SmartCity project.

The demolition workbegan on Friday and by Sundaythe historic landmark, locatedin the heart of Bihar's capitaland endowed with beautifulred-tiled roof, was reduced toa skeletal shell.

"The Gole Market wasdemolished as part of a majorredevelopment project of therailway station area under theSmart City initiative. Othermarkets lining the streets arealso being knocked down aspart of the mega project," PatnaMunicipal CommissionerAnupam Kumar Suman toldPTI.

As part of this Smart Cityproject, the now-dismantledGole Market, located nearPatna Junction, will make wayfor a seven-storeyed commer-cial complex and a modernmunicipal market along with a

vending zone will come up inthe area adjoining the StationRoad, he said.

Popularly known as GoleMarket, among the local peo-ple, it was Patna's first plannedmunicipal market designed byarchitect Joseph Fearis

Munnings while he was plan-ning the layout of the 'NewCapital' city of colonial Patnaafter the creation of the newprovince of Bihar and Orissa in1912.

Despite the historical valueof the building, the demolition

has drawn feeble protest fromcitizens of the city, but manypeople in Patna are angered bythis "shocking move" of thePatna Municipal Corporation(PMC).

"This is just madness. Itwas a historical building and

should have been preserved.But, instead of restoring andreusing it as a cafe or some-thing, the corporation razed it,"said city-based researcher andauthor Arun Singh.

"One by one the local gov-ernment is knocking downheritage buildings in the city.This is an attempt to erase thecolonial history of Patna in thename of development," healleged.

In December last year, the133-year-old Anjuman IslamiaHall, perhaps the first publichall of Patna, was demolishedto make way for a moderncomplex.

The heritage market hadfaced decades of neglect and itsoccupant shopkeepers hadbeen feeling the shadow of thewrecking ball for years as localauthorities had planned a rede-velopment project much earli-er too, which kept on gettingstalled, a local shopkeeper,who did not wish to be named,said.

"My grandfather had ameat shop in it during the

British time, and elite of the citywould come in their cars to buymeat, fish, chicken, eggs, gro-cery and milk. It should havebeen preserved," he said.

City-based 84-year-oldarchitect and INTACH PatnaChapter Convener J K Lallalso expressed shock and angerover the demolition of GoleMarket.

"It was a unique single-storeyed building with a raisedcentral hexagonal core toppedwith elegant red-tiled roof andtwo flanks came out of it andagain it was topped with redtiles of the colonial-era Burn &Co. It was a perfect buildingand a perfect setting for a her-itage cafe," he told PTI.

"Smart City also meanspreserving our architecturallegacy and not just buildingnew ones," he said.

PMC CommissionerSuman, when asked why thebuilding was demolished,said, the Gole Market was"coming in the middle" of thelayout of the Smart City pro-ject plan. PTI

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Hundreds of thousands ofprotesters choked Hong

Kong’s streets for a secondstraight Sunday in a defiantrebuke of a reviled extraditionlaw, piling pressure on thecity’s embattled pro-Beijingleader who apologised for caus-ing “conflict” but refused tostep down.

The show of force sawhuge crowds marching forhours in tropical heat, callingfor the resignation of chiefexecutive Carrie Lam, whowas forced to suspend the billas public anger mounted.

Throngs of black-clad pro-testers snaked their way formiles through the streets to thecity’s parliament -- a repeat ofa record-breaking demonstra-tion last Sunday that organis-ers said more than a millionpeople attended.

As night fell the hugecrowds had once more takenover multiple major thorough-fares, including outside thelegislature, with the policeseemingly ceding the streets tothe jubilant masses.

Critics fear the Beijing-backed law will entangle peo-ple in China’s notoriouslyopaque and politicised courtsand damage the city’s reputa-tion as a safe business hub.

Lam’s office put out a state-ment late Sunday admittingthat shortcomings in how heradministration handled thelaw had “led to a lot of conflictand disputes” and “disappoint-ed and distressed many citi-zens”.

“The chief executive apol-ogises to the citizens andpromises to accept criticismwith the most sincere andhumble attitude,” it said.

It came a day after sheannounced she would post-pone the law indefinitely.

Still, Sunday’s statementfell well short of demands thatshe resign, shelve the bill per-manently and apologise forpolice using tear gas and rub-ber bullets earlier in the week.

“Hong Kong people feelthat she’s not sincere and con-

tinues to be extremely arro-gant,” political analyst DixonSing told AFP. “I don’t think theanger will subside.”

The international financehub was rocked Wednesday bythe worst political violence indecades as protesters were dis-persed by baton-wielding riotpolice. Many accused the policeof using excessive force andanger was further fanned byauthorities calling the largelyyoung protesters “rioters”.Nearly 80 people were injuredin the unrest -- including 22police officers -- with bothsides showing a willingness toescalate action and reaction tolevels unseen in the usually sta-ble business hub.

One man died lateSaturday when he fell from abuilding where he had beenholding an hours-long anti-extradition protest. He hadunfurled a banner on scaffold-ing attached to an upscalemall, but fell when rescuerstried to haul him in. Police saidthey suspected the 35-year-old was suicidal.

Throughout the day,demonstrators queued for hoursto leave flowers and tributeswhere he fell. The extraditionfurore is just the latest chapterin what many see as a battle forthe soul of Hong Kong.

For the last decade the

city has been convulsed bypolitical turbulence betweenpro-Beijing authorities andopponents who fear an increas-ingly assertive China is stamp-ing on the city’s unique free-doms and culture enjoyed sincethe handover in 1997.

Opposition to the extradi-tion bill has united an unusu-ally wide cross-section of HongKong, from influential legaland business bodies to religiousleaders.

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Chinese state mediaremained largely silent

Sunday as hundreds of thou-sands of Hong Kong peopletook to the streets to protestagainst a controversial extra-dition bill, with social plat-forms scrubbed clean of anypictures or mentions of therally.

Hong Kong’s governmenthas been rocked in recentdays by massive demonstra-tions -- and some violence --which forced the city’s embat-tled leader to indefinitely sus-pend passage of the bill.

Critics fear the Beijing-backed law will entangle peo-ple in China’s notoriouslyopaque and politicised courtsand damage the city’s reputa-tion as a safe place for busi-ness.

Except for a short opinionpiece in the Communist Partymouthpiece People’s Daily,

Chinese state media -- whichhas drummed up support forthe bill in recent weeks --remained mum Sunday afterthe climbdown by ChiefExecutive Carrie Lam.

China’s state broadcaster,CCTV, avoided the subject inits main news bulletinsthroughout the day.

The proposed law thatwould allow extraditions to themainland was “supported bymainstream public opinion inHong Kong”, the People’s Dailyarticle said.

“The general public islooking forward to blockinglegal loopholes to preventHong Kong becoming a havenfor sinners,” it added.

China has blamed theprotests on what it says is asmall group of organisers whoare colluding with Westerngovernments.

The People’s Daily echoedthe oft-repeated governmentline that “it resolutely oppos-

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US President Donald Trumpwill discuss the mass

protests in Hong Kong with hisChinese counterpart Xi Jinpingat the upcoming G20 summitin Japan, Secretary of StateMike Pompeo said on Sunday.

“I think we’ll get the oppor-tunity to see President Xi in justa couple weeks now at the G20summit. I’m sure this will beamong the issues that theydiscuss,” Pompeo said in aninterview with Fox News.

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Two damaged tankersarrived safely on Sunday to

locations off the Emirati coastafter they were rocked byexplosions in Gulf waters, in anincident Saudi Arabia blamedon its regional arch-rival Iran.

The Japanese-ownedKokuka Courageous was car-rying highly f lammablemethanol through the Gulf ofOman on Thursday when itcame under attack along withthe Norwegian-operated FrontAltair -- the second assault ina month in the strategic ship-ping lane.

US President DonaldTrump has said the operationhad Iran “written all over it” -- rejecting Tehran’s vehementdenial -- and its key Gulf allySaudi Arabia has also lashedout against Tehran.

In his first public com-ments since the attacks, SaudiCrown Prince Mohammed binSalman said in remarks pub-lished Sunday that he wouldnot hesitate to tackle anythreats to the oil-rich kingdom.

“We do not want a war inthe region... But we won’t hes-itate to deal with any threat toour people, our sovereignty, ourterritorial integrity and ourvital interests,” he told pan-

Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat.He said Iran had respond-

ed to a visit to Tehran byJapan’s Prime Minister ShinzoAbe “by attacking two tankers,one of which was Japanese”.

Abe had been on anunprecedented visit to theIranian capital in a bid todefuse tensions betweenWashington and the IslamicRepublic when the attacks tookplace.

The US military on Fridayreleased grainy footage it saidshowed an Iranian patrol boatremoving an “unexplodedlimpet mine” from the Japanesevessel.

The crew of the KokukaCourageous saw a “flying

object” before a second blast onboard, the operator’s head saidFriday.

The vessel’s Singapore-based BSM Ship Managementsaid in a statement Sunday thatit had “arrived safely at the designated anchorage”and that its crew were “safe andwell”.

A damage assessment andpreparations for transferringthe ship’s cargo would startonce authorities had complet-ed “security checks and for-malities”, it added.

The other ship, the FrontAltair, was under safe tow bytug boats towards an area offthe coast of the eastern Emiratiport of Fujairah.

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US President Donald Trumphas further stirred up his

ongoing feud with LondonMayor Sadiq Khan by blamingthe Pakistani-origin Labourleader a “disaster”, blaminghim for a recent spate of stab-bings and street violence in theUK capital.

Trump and Khan haverepeatedly clashed ever sincethe mayor questioned the redcarpet being rolled out for theUS President by Britain, mostrecently for a state visit hostedby Queen Elizabeth II earlierthis month.

Khan has also likenedTrump to “20th century fas-cists” for his divisive views onimmigration, with Trump hit-ting back with social mediamessages about his “terriblejob” as Mayor of London.

The US President’s latestintervention on Twitter followsin the same vein, demandingthat Khan should be replaced.

“London needs a newmayor ASAP. Khan is a disas-ter - will only get worse,” hesaid, while retweeting a mes-sage that highlighted two stab-bings and a shooting in Londonin the last few days.

“He is a national disgracewho is destroying the city ofLondon,” a follow-up message

read.Khan’s spokesperson said

the London Mayor’s thoughtswere with the victims’ familiesand he “is not going to wastehis time responding to this sortof tweet”.

“Violent crime has no placein our city, and there’s no high-er priority for me thanLondoners’ safety,” Khan saidon Twitter.

His online feud withTrump dates back to just afterTrump took office in 2016,when the Mayor called thePresident’s proposed Muslimimmigration ban “divisive andoutrageous”.

After the Islamic State(ISIS) claimed the 2017London Bridge terrorist attack,Trump said Khan was guilty of“pathetic” behaviour and inJuly last year he claimed theMayor had “done a very badjob on terrorism”.

Opposition Labour Partyleader Jeremy Corbyn attackedthe US President’s latest out-burst, saying it was “absolute-ly awful to see Donald Trump

using the tragedy of peoplebeing murdered to attack theMayor”.

He tweeted: “Sadiq Khan isrightly supporting the police todo their job while KatieHopkins spreads hateful anddivisive rhetoric. They seek todivide at a time we need tocome together.”

The Metropolitan Policesaid 14 people — including sev-eral boys and a girl — havebeen arrested in connectionwith the incidents of stabbingand shooting in Wandsworth,Plumstead and Clapham areasof London.

An 18-year-old man wasstabbed to death on Fridayafternoon in Wandsworth,south London, then minuteslater a 19-year-old man wasshot dead in Plumstead, south-east London.

A man in his 30s then diedafter he was stabbed in TowerHamlets, east London, onSaturday afternoon. In the earlyhours of Saturday, two menwere stabbed in Clapham andanother was stabbed in Brixton.

“Sadiq is focusing on sup-porting London’s communi-ties and over-stretched emer-gency services. He has been inregular touch with senior Metpolice officers last night andthroughout the day,” said aspokesperson for the London

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The Group of 20 majoreconomies said they agreed

a deal to reduce plastic wastethat is choking the seas at ameeting in Japan on Sunday.

Under the agreement, G20member countries committedto reducing plastic waste butgave little detail on how thatwould be done. They addedthat the steps would be volun-tary and progress would bereported once a year, accordingto local media.

The Japanese governmenthopes to hold the first meetingin November, said newspaperYomiuri Shimbun.

“It is great that we wereable to make rules for all,including emerging and devel-oping countries,” Japanese envi-ronment minister YoshiakiHarada said after the two-daymeeting of the G20 environ-ment and energy ministers’meeting.

Plastic pollution hasbecome a global concern, par-ticularly after bans imposed byChina and other countries onthe import of plastic wastefrom overseas.

Many countries, includingJapan, have seen their wastepile up as a consequence.Microplastics -- tiny pieces of

degraded waste -- have attract-ed particular attention.

They absorb harmfulchemicals, accumulating insidefish, birds and other animals,and are difficult to collect oncein the water.

The framework agreed atthe meeting in the centralmountain resort of Karuizawawould be the first to reduceplastic pollution in the oceaninvolving not only rich nationsbut emerging economies aswell. The deal would be “thefirst step” to tackling plasticwaste, Hiroaki Odachi ofGreenpeace Japan said in astatement.

“However, it is insufficientto rely on countries’ voluntaryactions” to resolve the crisis, hesaid. Only an estimated ninepercent of plastics ever pro-duced are recycled and cam-paigners say the only long-termsolution to the plastic waste cri-sis is for companies to makeless and consumers to use less.

“G20 countries shouldclearly announce that they willprioritise reducing generationof single-use plastics” alongwith recycling and reusingmaterials, Odachi said.

“Legally binding interna-tional rules with clear timelinesand goals” are needed, similarto those in the Paris Agreement

Jerusalem: An Israeli courtSunday convicted the wife ofPrime Minister BenjaminNetanyahu of fraudulentlyusing state funds for meals,under a plea bargain which sawher admit to lesser charges.

Sara Netanyahu was foundguilty of exploiting the mistakeof another person and orderedto pay a fine and compensation,in a deal approved by Jerusalemmagistrates’ court justice AvitalChen. Netanyahu was also fined10,000 shekels ($2,800) andordered to reimburse the statea further 45,000 shekels, the lat-ter of which she will pay in nineinstallments, at her request.

“The deal reached betweenthe sides is worthy and appro-priately reflects the deeds andtheir severity on the criminallevel,” Chen said in his ruling.

The 60-year-old, a high-profile presence at her hus-band’s side throughout his longtenure in office, was initiallycharged in June 2018 withfraud and breach of trust forbuying catered meals despite the presence of a cookat the minister’s official resi-dence.

The amended indictment,approved Sunday, dropped thegraft charges. AFP

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Saudi Arabia’s Crown PrinceMohammed bin Salman

said in remarks publishedSunday that the kingdom is notseeking war in the region, butwarned it will not hesitate toconfront threats to its security.

His comments came justdays after the US blamed Iranfor suspected attacks on two oiltankers near the strategic Straitof Hormuz, denouncing whatit called a campaign of “esca-lating tensions” in a region cru-cial to global energy supplies.

The US alleges Iran usedlimpet mines to target thetankers, pointing to black-and-white footage it captured thatAmerican officials describe asIranian Revolutionary Guardtroops removing an unexplod-ed mine from the KokukaCourageous.

Iran has rejected the USclaim that it was responsible forThursday’s attacks, saying itstands ready to play an activeand constructive role in ensur-ing the security of strategicmaritime passages.

Iran has also been accusedof being behind the May 12attacks on four oil tankers offthe coast of the United ArabEmirates. Two of those vesselsbelonged to Saudi Arabia.

In his first public com-ments since the start of theseincidents, the powerful Saudiprince, who is also defence

minister and oversees all majorlevers of power in the country,said the attacks “confirm theimportance of our demands ofthe international community totake a decisive stance” againstIran’s behaviour.

“The kingdom does notseek war in the region, but wewill not hesitate to deal withany threat to our people, sov-ereignty and vital interests,” hesaid in an interview with theArabic newspaper, Asharq al-Awsat.

He accused rival Iran ofusing militias to destabilisethe region.

He also touted US-Saudirelations as “essential to achiev-ing regional security and sta-bility.”

“The problem is in Tehranand not anywhere else,” hesaid.

“Iran is always the partythat’s escalating in the region,carrying out terrorist attacksand criminal attacks eitherdirectly or through its militias.”

In recent days, Yemenirebels known as Houthisclaimed responsibility for amissile strike on a Saudi airportin the city of Abha that thekingdom said wounded 26 pas-sengers.

The Houthis also carriedout a drone strike last monthon a key Saudi oil pipeline.

Saudi Arabia accuses Iranof arming and training therebels, which the kingdom hasbeen at war against in Yemensince early 2015.

“The choice before Iran isclear. Do you want to be a nor-mal state with a constructiverole in the international com-munity or do you want to be arogue state?” the crown princewas quoted as saying.

His comments mirroredthose made by his father, KingSalman, at emergency summitsheld in Mecca last month thatdrew heads of state from Araband Muslim countries toaddress the sharp rise in ten-sions with Iran.

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Bangladesh authorities haveupgraded a 200-year-old

colonial-era breakfast menuin all its prisons, an official saidSunday, as part of a reform ofthe country’s penal system.

Bazlur Rashid, deputy headof the Prison Directorate, saidthe nation’s more than 81,000convicts would from Sundayreceive an improved breakfast,replacing the bread andmolasses that has been on themenu since being introducedby British colonial rulers in the18th century.

The new diet will containbread, vegetables, sweets andkhichdi — a spiced rice cookedwith lentils — Rashid said.

Previously prisoners weregiven just 116 grams (fourounces) of bread and 14.5grams (half an ounce) ofmolasses, he said.

Bangladesh’s 60 prisons,built to house 35,000 inmates,are notoriously overcrowdedand frequently draw criticismfrom rights organisations.

Inmates also often com-plain about the quality andquantity of food served in thejails.

Rashid said the diet changeis part of a series of reforms to“help prisoners get motivatedand rehabilitated”.

“We are gradually trying toadapt... So the convicts canreform themselves during theirstay in the facilities,” he said.

Guatemala City: Corruption-weary Guatemalans are set toelect a new president Sundayafter a tumultuous campaignthat saw two leading candidatesbarred from taking part and thetop electoral crimes prosecutorforced to flee the country, fear-ing for his life.

Gang violence, poverty andstreams of US-bound migrantshave dominated campaigningin Central America’s most pop-ulous country, where a crowd-ed field of 19 candidates isvying to succeed outgoing pres-ident Jimmy Morales.

The country’s top anti-cor-ruption campaigner, formerattorney general ThelmaAldana, is not among them.

She was expected to pollstrongly, but was barred fromrunning last month over alle-gations of irregularities datingfrom when she was a barn-storming public prosecutor.

Sandra Torres, a 63-year-old businesswoman and formerFirst Lady, heads into the elec-tion as favourite, having builta clear opinion poll lead oversecond placed AlejandroGiammattei, also 63.

Torres — candidate for thecenter-left Unity of Hope(UNE) — has over 22 per centof voter preferences in the lat-est polls, while Giammettei, adoctor running for the con-servative Vamos party, trailswith just over 11 per cent.AFP

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Russian President VladimirPutin presented his

Chinese counterpart Xi Jinpingwith a giant box of ice creamfor his 66th birthday before asummit in Tajikistan onSaturday, the Kremlin said, in a sign of the pair’s warmties.

“Happy birthday, my bestwishes... I am delighted to havea friend like you,” Putin told Xi,according to the Kremlin web-site.

The two leaders met in theTajik capital Dushanbe for thefifth summit of the Conference

on Interaction and ConfidenceBuilding Measures in Asia(CICA), which brought togeth-er delegations from 27 coun-tries including Iran and Qatar.

Xi last week made a three-day visit to Russia to visitPutin, whom he described ashis “best friend”, as the twocountries seek to bolster tiesamid shared tensions with theUS.

“We came with good gifts,”Putin said on Saturday beforepresenting a huge box full ofRussian ice cream as tempera-tures in Dushanbe swelteredabove 30C degrees (86Fahrenheit).

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Starring Gabriel Iglesias, Sherri Shepherd and JacobVargas, the series revolves around a high school

teacher (Gabriel Iglesias), who tries to make a differ-ence in the lives of some smart but under-perform-ing students at his alma mater.

The show will release on June 21 on Netflix.

Frenetic comic Adam Devine talks teen awkward-ness, celebrity encounters, his “pitch perfect” audi-

tion and more in a special from his hometown ofOmaha. The stand-up comedy show will release onJune 18 on Netflix.

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Acautionary tale for these times of democracyin crisis — the personal and political fuse to

explore one of the most dramatic periods inBrazilian history. With unprecedented access toPresidents Dilma Rousseff and Lula da Silva, wewitness their rise and fall and the tragically polar-ized nation that remains.

The show releases on June 19 on Netflix.

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He has no second thoughts whileanswering any of our questions.

Nor does he hesitate or fumble. He isquick and smart while at the sametime has an air of of detachmentaround him despite the recognitionthat he has been getting for his workof late. Actor Sumeet Vyas, who hasbeen seen across different platforms— films, TV and web series — isdevoid of any regret or guilt about hislife or the kind of work that he hasdone.

It is the actor’s confidence andself-conviction that has got him so far.Vyas is set to play an intense role inEkta Kapoor’s forthcoming web series,The Verdict: State Vs Nanavati, whichis a switch from the goofy roles thathe has been portraying recently. Hetook it up as it was a long time sincehe found a story which offered some-thing different as he had been gettingroles that were similar to TVF’sPermanent Roommates. So when theshow’s director approached him toplay lawyer Ram Jethmalani, he wassurprised and overwhelmed at thesame time.

Based on the famous case whereKM Nanavati, a much-decoratednaval officer shot his wife’s paramour,it has had cinematic outings in thepast too, including Yeh Raastey HainPyar Ke (1963), then Achanak (1973)and the most recent one beingRustom, starring Akshay Kumar. Thecase in 1959 put the spotlight onJethmalani, who was the prosecutionlawyer while the public sympathy laywith Nanavati who was supported tothe hilt by fellow Parsi Russi Karanjia’stabloid, Blitz. Nanavati was eventual-ly declared not guilty by a clearly par-tisan jury vote of eight to one. Thelarger outcome of the case was that thejury system in India was scrapped for-ever.

The actor says that there is amethod to choosing any role. “Iagreed to take up this character as Iwas bored of doing those ‘nice guy’roles. I wanted to play someone withcharacteristics that do not define mein real life. Also, the story at its coreis so powerful that any actor wouldwant to take up the opportunity.”

It is the first time that Vyas isbeing seen portraying a layered roleunlike the linear characters that he hasbeen seen in, be it in Tripling orOfficial CEOgiri. When it comes topreparing for any role, the actordoesn’t believe in getting into its depthas this would affect his personal life.“I don’t believe in living the charac-ter. Once the shot is done, I immersemyself in my life. It’s very importantfor me and for my process of prepa-ration to disconnect from the charac-

ter once I have wrapped up the role,”he elaborates.

The Veere Di Wedding actoraccepts that playing a real-life char-acter, especially someone as dynam-ic as Jethmalani, was a huge respon-sibility. He read his biography andwatched video tapes as a part of hishomework for the role. He adds, “It’svery important to me to know exact-ly where the character is coming from.I don’t apply my personal logic intothe character’s behaviour or the

motives behind his action. I prefer tobe natural without stressing toomuch.”

Talking in-depth about the char-acter, the Parched actor says, “For anyactor, the complexities of each char-acter are an interesting aspect toscrutinise. No one can completelyunderstand someone as multi-dimen-sional as Jethmalani. Neither I nor any-one can term him unfair or even rea-sonable. Thus, it’s an intriguing expe-rience to play him on screen.”

The actor is one of the reasonswe’re glued to YouTube. Back in 2016,he made us notice him with his sub-stantial role in the film Parched, butit was his portrayal of the characterMikesh/Micky in TVF’s PermanentRoommates that garnered eyeballs.

Meanwhile, Vyas does not believein comparing the digital platform withthe silver screen. “As an actor, I per-sonally, don’t find any difference. I willinvest the same amount of efforts inthe film which I would put in anyother medium. The only difference isthe platform through which the storyis conveyed,” shares the actor.

According to the TVF star, webshows can never replace cinema. Heagrees that it has emerged with newopportunities and its market isexpanding. But cinema has its ownessence. “Cinema has a vast reachwhereas web series are quite person-al. One can enjoy the film with fam-ily but series offers one the freedomto experience it alone,” he adds. Vyashas also written Yashraj’s web seriesBang Baja Baarat, which was again ahuge success among youth.

Besides acting and writing, Vyashas directed plays. He joined theatreat 17 which helped him grow up as anactor. “The content and the peoplewith whom I work with satisfy mewhile choosing any project. For me,the medium is inappropriate. Whetherit’s for stage, web or silver screen, Imake sure that it has to improve meas a person. So, what I enjoy and whatI don’t is the process which makes medecide on taking up any project,” Vyassays.

The show is expected to release bythe end of this month.

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Her hair is a smoky grey, the face,a little wrinkled and the eyes,blood-flecked. At 73, Sharda

Gambhir, a resident of Malviya Nagar,needed care, love and attention from herloved ones but life had something else instore for her. “Can you even imagine yourdaughter harassing you because shewants maximum rights in your proper-ty? Or making false allegations and call-ing the police?” she asks. She adds thatit was only after several rounds at thecourts spread over the months that shemanaged to get a judgement in her favour.

Gambhir is one of the elderly peoplewho featured in a report that was releasedby HelpAge India, a charity working withand for disadvantaged elderly for nearlyfour decades. The nationwide reportcalled ‘Elder Abuse in India: Role ofFamily in Caregiving: Challenges &Responses’ was released on the eve of theUnited Nations’ World Abuse AwarenessDay over the weekend. The organisationalso launched a helpline as an outreach forseniors. The report not only has surveysbut also contains an in-depth analysis withthe objective of studying the responsibil-ity of care of older persons in the familyon the sandwich generation. It also laysstress on the coping mechanism adoptedby caregivers.

The report, where 4,000 people spreadacross 20 cities were surveyed, has somestartling revelations which run quitecontrary to our belief that India has a valuesystem that is family-centric. AnupamaDatta, head, Policy, Research andAdvocacy, of the organisation has givenan analytical insight into the report. Shemakes a notable point showing India asa hypocritical country, where on one sidewe inculcate the philosophy of VasudevKutumbakam, while on the other, eldersare considered a burden to be treatedshoddily. She focus on the three perspec-tives, which held centrestage in theresearch — physical, financial and emo-tional aspects.

�����&�������������A look at the figures reveals that we

are certainly moving in a direction wherefamily as a primary care-giving unit isgradually phasing out with 25.7 per centof the care-givers feeling fatigue and frus-tration, which in turn results in aggres-sive behaviour towards their elderly rel-atives. It is an ossified belief that familyis the care-giver, which often compels theelders tolerate aggressive behaviour. Thereis also a sizeable number, 35 per cent tobe precise, of care-givers, who ‘never’ felthappy looking after the elderly. Twenty-nine per cent of family members feel the“burden of caregiving an elder” is mod-erate to severe and 15 per cent considercare-giving a serious burden. It is alsoimportant to note that 82 per cent adoptcertain strategies to cope with the burdenwhile 53 per cent express anger and frus-tration by accepting their feelings.

��'��������� ��%����������While the responsibility of care-giv-

ing primarily lies with women, especiallydaughters-in-law (68 per cent), that of thefinancial is attributed to sons (57 per cent).However, there’s another figure which isstark where 70 per cent women are happycaring for the elderly while 30 per cent wantto send them to old age homes.

Since material pursuits rule, the chang-ing attitudes might have to do with the factthat only 11 per cent of the elderly depen-dents contribute to the family resourcepool. The fact that 42.5 per cent of care-givers always have to pay for the medicinebills, which keep on rising as sick seniorcitizens grow older, also complicates theirmutual equations.

�& % ��� ����������However, considering that the aged

become more dependent, 32 per cent of thecare-givers say they extend physical care toelderly for Activities of Daily Living (ADL)such as assistance in changing clothes,walking, eating and more. Interestingly, itis not the blood relatives but 68 per centdaughters-in-law who are providing phys-ical care to Instrumental Activities of DailyLiving (IADL) such as helping in using atelephone, shopping, preparing meals asagainst the sons (51 per cent). Moreover,the youngsters, too, chip in as grandchil-dren are sharing the burden of taking careof the elderly (higher in case of grandsons(41 per cent) as against granddaughters (38per cent) in daily activities.

�����������&%%� �Loneliness on account of a loss of

spouse and also shrinking of the social cir-cles mean that the elderly are in need ofemotional support. Almost 70 per cent ofthem seek this prop from care-givers at atime of crisis. About 29 per cent alwaysneed emotional support when they sufferfrom lack of self confidence and experi-ence same amount of stress. Despitedependence gradually becoming a part oflife as a person ages, 30 per cent need emo-tional support when have fear of depen-dence.

������&������ �&%%� �India does not have a long-term

rehabilitation policy for its dispossessedsenior citizens. The report highlights thatfor lack of an institutional or hospiceoption, 65 per cent of care-givers in the

family have to leave the elderly personsalone. For instance, while 15 per centacknowledge that there are institutions thattake care of the elderly for money, 85 percent feel that the steep prices are a deter-rent to quality of service. The governmentneeds to build hospitals, where elders cango alone and also make a provision for ade-quate transport facilities.

�� �%������&%%� �Another area which demands change

is the role of the employers of care-giverswhere the 78.1 per cent of the latter feelthat there is no leeway. Sushila Arora, amember of the senior citizen council,points out that the importance of eldersis getting decimated in households as thereare round-the-clock maids on hire.“Children get more attached to them, sonaturally they do not imbibe love, affec-tion and traditions from us. Won’t this cre-ate a behavioural havoc going forward?”

Neelam, a resident of Green Park,complains that the senior citizen issuescannot be isolated but would have to belinked to the generation after it. It wouldalso have to be rights-based. Her friendSunita Kashyap says, “Children think wehave some complaints and that is the rea-son we are asking them to come. They for-get that we are just calling them over toenjoy each other’s company and familialbonds.”

A balance and rethink is essential asno sight could be more dreadful than ofthose droopy, dull eyes shedding tears.These hands are weak but their will is not.These legs are shaky but their steps are not.Old age is nothing but wisdom curved intoa smile.

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Globalisation is seen as a planetaryphenomenon, which has several dif-

ferent aspects including informational,cultural, economic or political. Althoughconsidered by some as beneficial, it hasbeen called into question by other ana-lysts for its disastrous effects on develop-ing nations.

The last two decades have seen theworld moving towards globalisation oftrade, commerce and free-market econ-omy. The academic economists believethat these steps would give a spurt toforces of competitiveness, efficiencywhich in turn would lead to better jobopportunities and generation of wealthand prosperity.

However, one has to take into accountnot just these benefits but also the over-all consequences of globalisation and freeplay of market forces. One thing that noone can deny is that every human actionemanates from a person’s awareness of aset of values and globalisation, too, is basedon a set of values. Competitiveness, effi-ciency, and more form just one set of val-ues and one has to see what kind of forcesthese values further set in motion andwhat is the overall effect or result of theseforces on the society as a whole and notjust on the businessmen and industrial-ists and their employees who constituteonly a fraction of the society.

As everyone knows, globalisation isonly a small part of the economic philos-ophy or policy and one must know the all-inclusive world-view or philosophy ofwhich it forms a part. Without viewing itin context, one may develop an erroneousview. Globalisation of business and tradewithout viewing the society as a globalfamily would lead to social tensions andeconomic strife and this is what we areexperiencing today. Also, globalisation ineconomics is an outward-looking view andif it has no corresponding inward-look-ing view, it would unleash bitter compe-tition. In the absence of the inward-look-ing balancing forces, it would lead to starkmaterialism and commercialism, dimin-ishing or setting at naught the values ofsympathy, kindness, compassion, world-brotherhood, cooperation and so on.Thus, it would not only destabilise thefinancial markets but create disharmonyin human relations too. It would thenbecome a potent antithesis of the moraland spiritual view. Hence it should beclearly understood that globalisation inbusiness and trade, without its spiritualcounterpart, would be a distorted value.Moreover, it’s a known fact that capital hasa tendency to flow from countries whichhave free market economy to countrieswhere it has better chance of profit byemploying cheap labour, availableresources, and so on. On the other hand,it is not easy for labour to go to placeswhere it has better prospects because it hasemotional ties with family and is affect-ed by family circumstances. Thus, due tobetter mobility and flexibility of capital incontrast to that of labour, it is the inter-national portfolio of investors that bene-fit rather than the labour. Thus, globali-sation would result in disproportionateprofit for those who can invest capital anduneven distribution of benefits as well as

social and economic deprivation.Further, in a free market economy,

every player in the manufacturing sectorwould drive others out of the market andthus competition would would accentu-ate instability in financial markets. Thusthe whole economy would never returnto equilibrium. In this state of instability,the business and industrial class wouldadopt unfair means to prevent any dwin-dling of its profit and thus, the wholeatmosphere would be vitiated for the port-folio investors would try to take the politi-cians and the bureaucrats with them inorder to survive or thrive. This would fur-ther give rise to corruption, black moneyand other evils. Thus, it is strange that ourleaders talk of moral values on the onehand and of globalisation on the otherhand without making any efforts to pop-ularise a global spiritual view of society asa global family.

Further, the more powerful a coun-try, the greater is its ability to manoeuvrethe world-economy to suit its own inter-ests. One can see that the major econom-ic powers today dominate the multilater-al trading system. They define and rede-fine globalisation to suit their own nation-al interests or the vested interests of theirbillionaires. This leads to clash of interestand instability. In order to assess meritsor demerits of a system, one should alsoexamine its ideological base and take noteof its consequences. We should questionwhy we want a free market economy or astate-controlled one. We should be clearabout our goal and see whether a partic-ular form of economy takes us towardsthat goal. If our goal is to remove pover-ty and great economic disparity and tohave a society based on economic justiceand fairplay, then we should sort outwhether globalisation or state-controlledeconomy can do it better. This should bejudged by those who are neutral and haveno vested interests in either form of econ-omy. So, if in the present context, we musthave globalisation, then we should havea global open society that has some sortof State control in certain sectors and con-stantly strives to correct and improve. Inany case, a happy blend of economics andspirituality — both based on values — isnecessary and in the process of decision-making, involvement of neutral institu-tions would be beneficial.

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We live in a world torn by strife, violence,confusion, drug abuse and a medical

system, which is too commercial andexploitative. And one of the best answers tothe problems and ills of the modern worldis yoga, believes filmmaker and historianBenoy Krishen Behl.

Today, the ancient science of yoga hasperhaps become more relevant than it wasever before. The first step towards worldpeace is the creation of peace within eachperson. It is through the transformation ofindividuals that the world would be changed.Each person should grow in the understand-ing of his true self and develop compassion.This would lead to more harmony withinfamilies and groups, in society and finallyin the community of nations. The worldwould become more joyous and peaceful.

Through a 52-minute documentaryfilm, shot in 26 cities and regions across 11countries over five years, he is set to show-case a voyage of discovery, capturing thepoetry and grace of yoga and of the worldof nature. The film has interviews with lead-ing medical practitioners, who speak inobjective and scientific terms about the pos-itive benefits of yoga, and with leading expo-nents as well as with academicians and stu-dents of the field.

Talking about how he chose the loca-tions across the globe, he says, “These weredecided to cover a broad range of the prac-tice of yoga. It began with India, its birth-place. And then shot across East and WestCoast USA, as these are some of the placeswhere yoga is extremely popular. To showspectacular seascapes and beautiful back-grounds, we also shot in Bahamas and CostaRica. We also wanted to show how yoga isproving to be extremely beneficial in areasravaged with strife and conflict and hence,we shot in Brazil. There, the practice hasproved to be useful even in jails and juve-nile rehabilitation homes. We shot in densejungles in Colombia. Other shooting loca-tions were China, Japan and Vietnam toshow the spread of yoga in Asia.”

Behl calls these five years of shooting asa “long labour of love,” which has also been

a wonderful experience for him “to shootwith and capture the finest yoga asana prac-titioners and the beauty of nature.”

The filmmaker has been through someunforgettable experiences of meeting someof the “gentlest, kindest and the most gen-erous people in the world.” From hearing thechants of Sanskrit bhajans across the globeat various ashrams every day, he and histeam also went to some of the most danger-ous and violent cities in the world likeMedellin and Cali in Colombia, where yogais being used to heal the scars of violence.He shares that often the camera had to bekept hidden while in taxis and on the streets.“However, local escorts accompanied us forsafety at all times,” he says.

Behl says that making and conceptual-ising the documentary came very easily and“naturally” to him, as it has been 43 yearsin practising and researching about the

ancient art of India that led him to make afilm on the subject. “All Indian philosophyis yoga. It is all about achieving the finalknowledge of our oneness with all that isaround us, through meditation. Throughyoga, we calm ourselves and see that we areless affected by the noise and distractionsof the world around us. That is the purposeof yoga, it takes us to a state where the ever-changing perceptions around the world donot assail our consciousness. It representsa state when the constant fluctuations of themind have been stilled, in which we may beable to direct our consciousness in a searchfor what is true and lasting,” explains he.

For someone who has been travellingaround and researching about yoga since somany years, how has he witnessed the worldaround him change in terms of its under-standing and recognition of yoga? He saysthat over the years, yoga has become

extremely popular around the world andtoday “even modern hospitals in countrieslike India, Germany and USA have startedtaking the benefits of yoga seriously. The ini-tiative of the Prime Minister of India in hav-ing an international day of yoga declared bythe UN has gone a long way to give the prac-tice its true place in modern internationalsociety.”

Yoga has a vision which symbolises one-ness in all that there is around us, believesBehl, who says that there is a dire need ofintroducing and promoting yoga at morebranches of education, medicine and evenworkplace to create an atmosphere of har-mony around.

He says, “It is a vision of a great harmo-ny and works towards integrating andjoining us with the eternal reality.” However,one obstacle on this way of unity, he adds,is our ego. “Our ego makes us look at our-selves as separated individuals, with limit-less desires. This leads to an endless chasetowards them. We are never able to attainsatisfaction and are constantly restless. Weremain trapped in the noise and clamour ofthe materialistic world.”

He feels that such a vision of lifeshould be introduced at all levels of educa-tion and at the workplace and it goes farbeyond just the medical system. “It not onlyprevents disease, but as well covers all aspectsof life.”

He believes that yoga not only enablesus to understand ourselves better but alsoputs us on the driving seat for our ownhealth. It is the study of consciousness,understanding one’s body, emotions, mindand beyond that, the true self.

After venturing out on hisown, Red, the lion, findshimself fending off over 20

hyenas. Surrounded and tiring,Red has to fight to stay alive whencornered despite being the king ofthe forest. How does he strategisewith his mind when physicallyoverpowered in a hostile situa-tion?

Sir David Attenborough,through Dynasties, follows thestruggles of survival of five endan-gered species — penguins, chim-panzees, lions, painted wolves andtigers — presenting their heroicstruggles against their rivals and theforces of nature. One of theepisodes, which had been shot inBandhavgarh Forest Reserve,Madhya Pradesh, documents thestory of India’s tiger.

�What is the series about?Each episode of Dynasties is a

single story. This is a very differentseries to the normal landmarkwildlife shows which may contain10 or 12 separate shorter stories perepisode. Dynasties is about familiesand their leaders; families that candominate the landscape. The lead-ers are trying to survive and ensurethat their dynasty can continuethrough their offspring. For mostanimals, success in life is about pro-ducing a few offspring and leavingthem to take their chances, but alion or a painted wolf family cancompletely control their landscape

and their bloodline will rule thatlandscape for generations.

We committed to spending ahuge amount of time with each ani-mal. It’s a documentary in its tra-ditional sense; a team went out tofilm, not aware of what was goingto happen. They just followedthose animals for hundreds ofdays, and whatever happenedwould be the story, whether it wasan exciting event or a bit of a dis-appointment.

�The last two landmark serieswere big state-of-the-world events.What reception are you anticipat-ing for something as character-driven as this?

I hope that people will see thesegreat charismatic animals in waysthey’ve never seen them before. Byspending vast amounts of time witheach, our teams have been able torecord what their whole lives areactually like as opposed to just a sin-gle moment. They have watchedthese animals facing immensechallenges and great changes with

extraordinary resilience. What real-ly comes through in the films is thatfor these animals, life is really, real-ly hard. There’s a nobility in howthey act, whatever is thrown atthem. I think because often they’restruggling against universal chal-lenges so you can’t help but connectwith their struggle. You feel forthem; sadness at moments oftragedy and joy when they triumph.

�What moments are you mostexcited for people to see?

What’s interesting about theseries is that the moments with thegreatest emotional impact are oftennot the moments of great action orspectacle. While the smaller inci-dents are critical points in the big-ger story. For example, in theEmperor penguins film, there is alull period after the thousands ofpenguins in the colony have allpaired off, and where each coupleis now waiting and waiting for thefemale to lay her single egg. Thiscan take weeks. Yet somehow onecouple appears to be far ahead of

schedule. The female has a bulgeunder a fold of her belly, which isthe outward sign that she has gother egg safely on her feet in orderto keep it off the ice, so as to keepit warm.

But then she lifts up her bellyand we see (as does her mate, at thesame moment) that she actually hasan egg-shaped snowball there.Presumably she has found it anddecided to get in a bit of practicebefore the brutal winter hits! It’s alovely moment, quite low-key butvery telling in the context of thestory — about how the penguinswill have to keep their egg alivethrough the most brutal winter onearth. Across the series, we do havegreat moments of action which arereally exciting.There are a numberof moments like these which I hopewill really draw the viewer in.

�Does spending so much timewith the animals make it harderfor the viewer to delineatebetween hero and villain?

That’s a really good point. In

the tiger film, we focus on a moth-er trying to rear her four cubs. Thebig issue for tigers nowadays is thatthey live in small reserves, sothere’s a huge premium on space.The mother tiger needs a certainamount of territory where she canhunt in order to fetch enough foodfor her cubs. Our mother tiger isunder pressure from her daughter,from a previous litter, who wantsmore space. The daughter is tryingto take the mother’s space, whichputs huge pressure on the mother.

If you told this story as a shortsequence, it would be hard to notsee it as a good mother and a baddaughter. But, of course, it’s not that;the daughter is in the same positionas the mother because she hasn’t gotenough space either. By being ableto get into this story in such depthyou see more shades of grey, and Ithink it’s much more interesting.

�Blue Planet II had a strong eco-logical message that spilled overinto the real-life news agenda.Does Dynasties have a similarunderlying ethos?

It does. What comes out ofthese films is that the animals arerunning out of space. They needlarge areas in order to live outtheir natural lives and that spaceis being chipped away by ourgrowing human populationwhich leads to the conflict. Theanimals’ natural stories are beingchanged and kicked off in newdirections by interactions withhumanity. This is something wesee several times in this series.The end result is that the lives ofthese animals are becoming evenmore difficult than they alreadywere. We are seeing this issue ofdecreasing space through thelens of the animals we feature inthe series, but it is becoming auniversal problem for animalsacross the planet.

(The series will premiere onJune 17 at 9 pm on Sony BBCEarth.)

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The Indian Tricolour far out-numbered the green crescent

in the stands (50 to 2) at the OldTrafford where decibel levelswent zooming past the city lim-its, breaching the largely insulat-ed Press Box too. The fans start-ed streaming in from 7 amonwards, most of them lookingskywards and praying in unisonthat the rain be kept at bay andit seemed to have been heard asplay started on time with Pakistanskipper Sarfarz Ahmed winningthe toss and electing to put theIndians to bat under overcastconditions.

As expected, though notcondoned, the chirp betweenthe Indians and Pakistani fansoutside the stadium flew fast andhigh crossing boundaries andlimits with impunity, before mov-ing on to the game. There wascamaraderie yes, but only on thesurface with everything fromthis match to the 2017Champions Trophy Final to, ofcourse, Kashmir, becoming men-tions that drew cheers and boosin equal measure.

“Pakistan is a wannabe withnot too many moments to cele-brate against India. All they cantalk of is the Champions Trophy.So they raise non-cricket issueslike Kashmir to aspire for victo-ry where there is none,” said anall-Tricolour painted Indian fancalling himself Jiggery India.

Imran Ahmad, flying thePakistani flag high, wanted tomove on and enjoy a good gameof cricket “under the sun and forthe full 50 overs each.”

The total capacity of this sta-dium is 23000 for the World Cupand it was packed to capacity, fill-ing up in a few minutes after

news of India coming in to batbroke. The sun too came out afteran hour’s play, perhaps to com-plement the show put up by theIndian openers.

The excitement and the fren-zy around an India-Pakistancricket encounter is unprece-dented and goes way above what

England is used to. Their noisi-est is The Ashes series againstAustralia which draws in thecrowds but never ever has tran-scended the noise and the chat-ter that the Indian and Pakistanifans rev up in the stands and outof it. This match is reportedly themost expensive televised match

in recent history of any sport, gar-nering more than � 100 crore inspot advertisements. It wouldhave been a huge loss for the offi-cial broadcaster Star TV had itbeen rained out, like India’s ear-lier tie against New Zealand. Fanshave converged on Manchesterfrom far and wide, including

non-cricket regions like SouthAmerica where the Indian pop-ulation is steadily growing. Therewas a group from Venezuelahere.

The high-octane tone forthe match was set by none otherthan Pakistan Premier and for-mer Pakistan skipper ImranKhan who shot off a series oftweets exhorting his team tobanish all fear of losing. Hisadvice to Sarfaraz Ahmed was tobat if he wins the toss, a sugges-tion not heeded by him, perhapsbecause he got lured in by thejuice in the skies and in the pitchconsequently. As it turned out,with no success till India reacheda handsome 136 run count.

That had the Indian fans inthe stands, outnumbering thePakistanis 80 to 20 per cent, inconstant celebration even as themotely people from across India’sborder sat quietly waiting forAamir, Wahab or Ali to strike.Sharing a beer in the back stands,there was also a lot of talk aboutthe Pakistani wish to celebrateIndian wickets differently. “Theonly way the Pakistanis have cel-ebrated till now is by silence asthey’ve been unable to breach thegreat Indian defence,” said onefan, tongue-in-cheek loudenough for a group of Pakistanifans queuing up for some fish andchips could overhear. “Wait myfriend, wait,” was their goodwillanswer.

Indeed, the day is yet to panout.

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With classic lazy elegance,Rohit Sharma scored hissecond century of the

tournament, putting India on asure footing in their campaign inthis World Cup. The Men in Bluescored 336-5 after rain stoppedplay in the 45th over, Shankar wona referral and Mohammed Amirgot the wind back into his bowl-ing, taking three strong Indianwickets in his death over spell,returning with applaudable figureof 3/46.

In the end, India got restrict-ed to an under 350 score, givingJasprit Bumrah and BhuvneshwarSingh, not to mention Chahaland Kuldeep who was retainedover talk of Shami joining the play-ing 11, a job to do when Pakistanopen their defence after a rain-cut15-minute break.

But it was Rohit’s day morethan anyone’s, despite Amir recov-ering from opening spell inactionand a near silent 77 from skipperKohli. India’s front loaders faredwell with a century, 77 runs and ahalf century by KL Rahul promot-ed to open on account of ShikharDhawan’s injury.

Decked with 14 fours andthree sixes, Sharma’s 140 runsbespoke of his signature pull shots,hooks, cuts and glides to nullify themuch-feared Pakistan pace batteryrelying on which their skipperSarfaraz Ahmed chose to bowl ona wicket that was quite obviouslycalling for the bat, that despitetheir Prime Minister’s advisory tobat.

Though India was on a soundscore by the time he left the mid-dle, Sharma was furious withhimself for his pre-meditated bagelshot caught at short fine leg byWahab just when he was lookingto overreach Finch’s 153 in thistournament. His 140 runs came in113 balls with 14 fours and 3 sixes.It was nonchalant class, steeringclear of the bad balls, avoidingrisks, rotating the strike and punc-tuating it with speed and correct-ness that came into play afterAhmed elected to bowl, lured inby the expected juice in the pitchaided and abetted by the overcastconditions.

Nothing, meanwhile, workedas planned for Pakistan in the ini-tial phase with Amir returningwicketless from his first two spellsand both Hasan Ali and WahabRiaz pretty much doing the same.Alarmingly for Pakistan, both itslead bowlers Amir and Wahab gottwo official warnings from theumpire for running dangerouslyonto the pitch. Three warningsamount to a suspension from thegame.

Ironically, however, it was the

warning that came to a harriedPakistan’s defence when Wahabdecided to come round the wick-et in his post warning delivery toupset KL Rahul’s concentrationand luring him to err. Rahul,wanting to guide it through thecovers, spooned it up to Babar

Azam instead for a convenientcatch when India was steadyingup to a 300 plus score and Rahulwas making a mark at 57 in 78balls with three fours and twosixes.

Hardik Pandya’s cameo of 26runs in 18 balls, with him wield-

ing his bat more like Bhim’s leg-endary gadaa than the blade ofthe game, cut into expectationsas he decided to hit Amir out ofthe field falling short by a fewinches as Shoaib Malik jumpedinto the air to catch him at thelong on boundary, giving Aamir

his first breakthrough in his thirdspell.

Pandya’s departure brought inthe vintage and golden pair of MSDhoni and Virat Kohli to the mid-dle to loud cheers but did not liveup to the billing as Dhoni, wanti-ng to speed up the pace in the lastfive overs of the game. Amir got hissecond man in Dhoni who made ahuge swipe outside the off-stumpgoing straight into the gloves ofAhmed at a measly score of one,denting his finisher tag on thebiggest stage of the tournament.

Meanwhile, Kohli silentlyscampered to his half century, sec-ond consecutive one in this tourna-ment, when India was 278 and inthe 44th over.

But just when both sides hadgathered steam for extreme roundof action in the ultimate five overs,the rain came down to hold up pro-ceedings and excitement for a bitbut not before a referral by Indiashowed up that Shankar not beingout as declared.

The rain break had Amir onfire again, as he took out man of themoment Kohli in the most crucialof death overs when he could haveled the Indian score line over the350 mark. But that was not to beand as he nicked Amir’s shortbouncer to Ahmed on an overheadshot and walked before the umpirecould raise his finger, inviting patson the back for fair play, by thePakistani players.

Kedar and Shankar (15 off 15with one boundary) failed to up theante managing to score just nineruns off the last over.

Over to the arm departmentnow.

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Page 14: ’ˆ( ˘ ˘ˇˇ C€¦ · room, which has no CCTV camera and spent about half an ... Maintenance Act considering their career. ... to Ranchi are a part of the

It was important for South Africanot only to win but to do soemphatically and they did just

that against Afghanistan.There will be a lot of happiness

and above all relief from that nine-wicket victory and hopefully it cankickstart their ICC Men’s CricketWorld Cup.

There is still a chance they canmake the semi-finals if they win alltheir remaining games, so the campshould be a little more upbeat.

It was a good bowling perfor-mance, and a lot of players will havetaken confidence from getting somewickets. It was good to see the guystake the opportunity they had andnot just go through the motionsagainst a team that was slightlyweaker than them.

I was also really pleased to seeHashim Amla get some runs. It was-n’t a case of scoring quickly, butinstead getting some time out in themiddle. The run-rate did not real-ly matter, it was about getting someform and Hashim did just that.

I still think he will be reallyimportant for South Africa over thecourse of this tournament given hisexperience. That will be especiallytrue in the next game against NewZealand at Edgbaston. The Kiwisalways play well in these tourna-ments and they are always con-tenders. They also find ways to dosomething different and be unpre-dictable.

It will be a big test for SouthAfrica who will have to be at theirvery best if they are going to win.

For me, the key is to get off toa good start, with bat or ball. Thatis where Hashim’s runs will help.We’ve seen throughout this WorldCup that if you keep wickets inhand, you can really post some bigtotals. If you lose wickets early, thenit can be tough for the playerscoming in to get in.

South Africa will have to beaggressive with the ball as well. Theyhave to be the ones to throw the firstpunch in the game. They cannot letNew Zealand dictate, they have to

try to smother them from the off.That will not be easy though.

Edgbaston is a good wicket so itshould make for a competitivegame. South Africa will need acomplete performance and thatmeans getting their discipline rightwith the ball and bowling in theright areas.

We have seen at this World Cupthat it is harder to bowl slightly fullerand usually you get more reward ifyou bang it in back of a length.

So it will be important to sum-marise the conditions and adjustaccordingly. The other thing thatwill be crucial is that if South Africado get the upper hand early on, thenthey cannot take their foot off thepedal and give New Zealand a wayback into it.

Overall though, it was great tosee South Africa up and runningand hopefully we can see them real-ly carry that momentum into therest of the competition and partic-ularly the next game on Wednesday.L�#''��!���'����� ����)M�66'�+,-.

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In pole position at top of thetable to make the World

Cup semi-finals, Australiamust be tempted to give theirkey pacer Mitchell Starc abreak this week, but the fastbowler said he has no intentionof resting.

Starc, who is now jointnumber two on the all-time listof Australian World Cup wick-et takers alongside Brett Lee,said he would not like to takea break considering that he iscurrently leading the chartwith 13 wickets.

"If I'm fit I'd like to play allthe games. It's not up to me butit's the World Cup. I definite-ly won't be putting my hand upto rest," Starc was quoted assaying by ICC website.

Australia have won fourout of their five matches at theWorld Cup, losing just one sofar.

Strac, who starred withfigures of 4/55 duringAustralia's 87-run win over SriLanka here on Saturday, said:"I'm just glad we won."

Asked about how he hasmanaged to rise to the occasionthroughout the tournamentwith similar breakthroughspells against West Indies andPakistan, and now Sri Lanka,Starc said: "I do enjoy thechallenge.

The pacer admitted havinga higher economy rate thanother bowlers but insisted thathis aim was to provide break-throughs for the team.

"It's the challenge at thedeath, that challenge of tryingto win a game for your team ortrying to defend a title, I real-ly enjoy that. It's something Iwork really hard at and it'sbeen a role I've done for a longtime.

"My economy rate mightbe higher than others, but I'mthere to make breakthroughsfor the team," explained Starc.

"Test cricket is still thepinnacle for me but the fact I'vekept it pretty simple in termsof my gameplay for white ballcricket has held me in goodstead through World Cups," headded.

The Australian team's bal-ance has got affected by therecent loss of Marcus Stoinis toinjury, but Starc said the all-rounder was doing all he canjust by being with team.

"Stoin's in great spirits,he's always got a smile on hisface, I think that's why JustinLanger calls him the spirit ofthe team. He's a great teamman who just wants to do wellfor his mates and be around sohe's doing all he can."

%���� 3/41,77�

South Africa all-rounder ChrisMorris has credited head coach

Ottis Gibson for making him a bet-ter bowler.

The Proteas finally banked theirfirst victory of the Cricket World Cupwith a nine wicket win overAfghanistan here on Saturday. AndMorris played his role, with 3/13 hisbest figures of the tournament.

The 32-year old all-rounder wasa late addition to Faf du Plessis' team,replacing Anrich Nortje, who wasruled out with a hand injury.

And Gibson, a former pacerhimself, has worked hard to establishhis place in a squad that have been hitwith injuries to their frontline bowl-ing attack, Dale Steyn flying homewith a shoulder injury and LungiNgidi still on the sidelines with ahamstring problem.

"There are a lot less worms in myhead on the cricket field these days.The job I was given by Ottis was quitea clear-cut one. If I stick to that, it'sa job I think I can do," said Morris.

"I have worked quite nicely withOttis in the last two weeks. We havefound something in the run-up thatwe've changed. That's given me a lotmore rhythm and more balance at thecrease. It's coming on nicely for now.

"I try not to bowl as fast as I canbecause that's when I tend to break.It's just about finding rhythm, hittingthe wicket and not trying to do toomany things."

Though Morris opened the bowl-ing against India, he usually comes inat first or second change where hasthe dual task of containing the oppo-sition's run-rate and taking wickets.

In the past, Morris focussedmore on bowling fast but now he isworking on subtle skills to ensure hestays injury-free.

Morris' new approach hasbrought him consistency, somethingthat South Africa's attack as a wholehave been striving for and may havefound in their win over Afghanistan.After Afghanistan scored 33 runs inthe first 5.5 overs before the first raindelay in Cardiff, Gibson scolded hisbowlers for being a little too wayward.They returned with more focus.

"At the first rain break, thebowlers got a bit of a slap on the wrist.We were told we need to be moreconsistent in what we are doing andthat we don't need to try too much,"

added Morris."After that rain break, we came

on and we were a lot more consistent,a lot more at the batters and every-thing in the field just clicked for us.We needed a little bit of a pep talkfrom the coach and that was quitegood."

South Africa then took twoAfghan wickets before another raindelay, after which they forced a col-lapse of five wickets for eight runs in29 balls, taking advantage ofAfghanistan's penchant for playingtheir shots.

%���� 3/41,77

Afghanistan captain GulbadinNaib has urged his his batsmen

to remain calm in the middle andplay full 50 overs after yet anothercollapse saw them go down toSouth Africa by nine wickets in aWorld Cup match.

Put into bat under cloudyskies, Afghanistan negotiated thenew ball brilliantly, survivingKagiso Rabada's natural seam andprobing length but after a secondrain delay, they lost five wickets foreight runs to eventually get all outfor 125.

A sudden collapse is becominga worrying trend for Afghanistan,who fell from 66 for no loss to 70for 4 against New Zealand lastweek, and Naib asked his batsmento control their nerves.

"Every time I'm saying to thebatsman, control your nerves. Weneed calm cricket in the middle.Everyone is trying to put a score onthe board so we have an opportu-nity to defend it," said Naib.

"We did not play a 50-overgame because we did not last. Wehave played a lot of cricket in thelast few years but there is pressureon the team. We lost the toss so wedid not take responsibility enoughand that was the difference," he said.

While Imran Tahir's (4/29)spin did the damage on a green sur-face, Afghanistan's leg-spin maestroin Rashid Khan, no.1 ranked T20bowler in the world, failed toextract same advantage from thepitch.

"He (Tahir) is a world-classspinner but we are used to leg-spinin the camp, so we are playing itevery day in the nets," said Naib.

The skipper said his team hada realistic chance against a lowlySouth African side but his playersmissed to grab the opportunity.

"South Africa is a good side butif you look for the last three games,they didn't play well. We had a goodopportunity to play against thembut we missed it.

"So credit goes again to theirbowlers and also the conditions, it'sbad luck we missed the toss. SouthAfrica were just the better team,"said Naib.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan bats-man Hashmatullah Shahidi felthis team has enough quality to

upset hosts England next week butthe onus would be on the batsmento score crucial runs.

"I can say if we play good crick-et, we can beat any team but itdepends on our batting," saidShahidi.

The 24-year-old agreed with hiscaptain that the batsmen need to

capitalise on a good starts."We are struggling. We have

lost four in a row so we are disap-pointed. We tried to come back butthings have not gone our way. Westill have five games to go.

"We collapsed against Sri Lankaand New Zealand, losing wickets ina short space of time. We lost four

wickets in two overs here. Westarted well but we lost wicketsquickly, that was the main reasonfor the defeat," he admitted.

Shahidi said Afghanistan mustquickly learn from their mistakes.

"We have played four gamesand they have all been on difficulttracks, on green tracks. But weknow that runs can be scored, lookat what Australia did against SriLanka.

"I hope the next games will begood for the batting. We are mak-ing small mistakes, we have to learnfrom them. We just had a plan tobe calm. The first 30 or 35 overs isimportant and we wanted to takeour time and play slowly but in themiddle overs we collapsed," saidShahidi.

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Aaron Finch says it was a slight change inmindset and technique that helped him

overcome a dismal Australian summer thateven raised questions over his place in the ODIside, both as player and captain.

The Australian skipper is now back to hisbest and bludgeoned 153 from only 132 ballsat the Oval on Saturday to lead the defendingchampions to an 87-run win over Sri Lanka.

He is now the top run scorer in the WorldCup, has equalled Jason Roy for the highestindividual score of the tournament so far andalso overtaken Ricky Ponting for highestindividual score by an Australian captain at aWorld Cup.

All of that comes after a miserable sum-mer back in Australia that saw him droppedfrom the Test side and fear for his ODI cap-taincy. But a change in mindset has yieldedrewards when it counts most.

"My technique has tightened up slightly,there are a few technical things I have workedone. Sometimes you change some things butyou don't get rewarded straight away for thework you put in behind the scenes. So it's niceto get that reward," said Finch.

"I changed my mindset a bit more thananything. I stated to doubt my game in theAustralian summer, there were a lot of timeswhen I was questioning every decision I wasmaking, technical, physical, mental, looking for

an answer and you don't know what the answeris. It was a really great learning for me.

"It would have been nice to have that at 22not 32, but what I learned is you can strip itback as much as you want but it doesn't changethe basics of the game. Defend the good balland then score runs."

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�Any updates on Russell?We're keeping it cuttled. I saw him on

Saturday. Saw him on Sunday morning aswell, and he's progressing quite nicely yes,you know. We'll have a final answer withhim tomorrow morning.�Also Evin Lewis get struck in the nets.Is he okay?

Yeah, quite a few people got struck inthe nets, including myself, but he's fine. Justa little bruise, should be fine.�The matches between these two teamsare dominated by Bangladesh. Do youfeel Bangladesh will be more confident?

If you want to put us in the underdogcategory, fair enough. We've played themquite a bit in the recent past and they've got-ten the better of us in recent past. Like Isaid, different stage, lots at stake for thisgame. We're all up for it.�You've had a bit of a tough run at thestart of the tournament compared to ateam like NZ. But do you see a good runhere?

I don't feel any of the teams are easy,but we may — at this present time with fivegames left, I think the ball's in our court,we've just got to be consistent. We've gotto play some consistent cricket going intothe back half of this tournament. It's quitea good stage to pick up momentum as well.And we're full confidence that we can doit. We've just got to take it game by game.Tomorrow is a challenge againstBangladesh, and we just want to get overBangladesh and move forward.�Bangladesh rely heavily on the spinners.Do you expect them to come with thesame attack even in this small ground?

Yeah, probably. I don't want to sit hereand try to perceive what they would comewith, but we're open to anything.Traditionally they rely heavily on their spin-ners. We don't expect them to move too faraway from it. It's a smallish ground. I sawthe wicket today as well. There's quite a bitof grass on it. We'll see how it plays tomor-row. But we know what we're expecting ina sense from Bangladesh. And I can't seethem being much different from that.�Only recent times, Bangladesh wonseven games out of nine. Do you thinktoday is going to play this game withfavourite attack?

I guess if you win seven over the lastnine, as you said, probably, yes. Yeah, it'sthe game of cricket. We all saw — we've allbeen seeing how this World Cup haspanned out. There are quite a few closegames. And there's one or two upsets aswell, too. So cricket is played on a day, andwe're looking to play some good crickettomorrow.�Concerned with the form of the bats-men top of the order, Evin Lewis andDarren Bravo?

Everybody is hungry for runs. I guessa few guys haven't gone on and capitalisedon a few starts that they have got on. Someguys haven't really got on any starts. It'sanother opportunity for them to come tothe priority, to get some confidence goinginto the back half of this tournament. And,yeah, starting today against Bangladesh.�How good a start for Pooran so far?

Pooran has been really good. I'mreally pleased with his progress so far. He'sshown a lot of maturity, which is reallygood for a young player. And he's got quitea few shots in his locker. And it's reallygood to see from a young talent. So I justwant him to continue in the way he's beengoing at this, I guess, for him, making amark for himself extremely hard. Hewould like a hundred. So let's hope tomor-row he steps up tomorrow and carries itdeeper.

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Bangladesh will have the psychologi-cal advantage when they face WestIndies though both teams are sailing

in the same boat as far as their World Cupcampaign is concerned.

Bangladesh beat West Indies as manyas three times in tri-series that Ireland host-ed ahead of the World Cup.

Even though West Indies stars such asChris Gayle and Andre Russell were notpart of that series, Jason Holder's team stillmust be smarting from those three con-secutive losses last month.

Both teams are on three points fromfour games, having lost two games with onegame each being a washout.

Bangladesh, who last played on June8 when they lost to England, will be itch-ing to take the field after a forced break ofone week with the game against Sri Lankacalled off due to rain. They had the oppor-tunity to score two points against a strug-gling Sri Lanka before the weather sealedtheir fate.

The Mashrafe Mortaza-led side hasbatted pretty well so far but needs to stepup in the bowling department. The bowlersconceded as many as 386 runs against

England in Cardiff and it was too much ofan ask for the batsmen who ended at 280.

West Indies, on the other hand, needto change their approach in batting. Mostof their batsmen seem to be in T20 modewhile playing 50-over cricket.

"Our batters needed to take more own-ership and form a few more partnerships.We needed to dig in deep and need to cor-rect it. It has happened twice in two gamesnow. We misread the wicket in terms ofpace and didn't get the short balls highenough. Were a bit erratic as well," Holderhad said after the loss to England on Friday.

�C&���West Indies: Jason Holder,Fabian Allen,Carlos Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, SheldonCottrell, Shannon Gabriel, ChrisGayle,Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, EvinLewis, Ashley Nurse, Nicholas Pooran,Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, OshaneThomas.Bangladesh: Mashrafe Mortaza (c), AbuJayed, Liton Das, Mahmudullah, MehidyHasan, Mohammad Mithun, MohammadSaifuddin, Mosaddek Hossain, MushfiqurRahim, Mustafizur Rahman, RubelHossain, Sabbir Rahman, Shakib Al Hasan,Soumya Sarkar, Tamim Iqbal.

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Nicholas Pooran is keen to shedhis T20 specialist tag, insisting

his mature knock against Englandproves he can become West Indies’man for all formats.

The 23-year-old has played in102 T20 matches in his career, com-pared with just three first-classgames with Trinidad and Tobago —the last of which came in December2014.

He only made his internation-al ODI debut in February againstEngland and was picked for the ICCMen's Cricket World Cup 2019 aftera single 50-over appearance for hiscountry.

But on a tricky Southamptonpitch, he made a composed 63against the hosts, putting on 89 forthe fourth wicket with ShimronHetmyer to help steer West Indiesaway from a perilous 55-3.

Both eventually fell cheaply andWest Indies subsequently collapsedto 212 all out en route to an eight-wicket defeat.

But Pooran's innings wasnonetheless impressive and theTrinidad left-hander believes he canthrive at ODI and, ultimately, Testlevel.

"My job is to play cricket, itdoes not matter which format. I'mnot rushing anything, I'm just try-ing to get better and better each day.I back myself to do that," he said.

"My dream was always to play

cricket professionally and representthe West Indies at a World Cupsomeday. It feels wonderful.

"I just learned a lot from T20cricket and now my chance is toplay ODI cricket. It's different, youhave to bat longer and so it is up tome now to adjust.

"I want to get better and betterand not make the same mistakesover and over again. You can't judgeT20 cricket and every game bringsa different situation."

West Indies need Pooran todeliver more runs if they are tostand a chance of reaching the semi-finals.

Their defeat to England leavesthem with just one win from fourmatches and sixth in the groupstandings ahead of Monday's gamewith an equally under pressureBangladesh.

"We will come out hard and weneed a victory," he added.

"We made simple mistakes[against England] but we need tostick to our game plan. We lostsome wickets cheaply but I don'tthink we have given our hand awayyet.

"They were soft dismissals. Inevery game, we have dominatedperiods but we now just need todominate for a lot longer.

"We need to improve in themiddle and dominate the big peri-ods for us."'�!�����N�L�#''��!���'����� ���

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West Indies’ explosive battingline-up may be feared

around the world, but MashrafeMortaza believes Bangladesh’sTigers can tame them again atTaunton.

Needing victory in Monday’sclash to keep pace with the lead-ing pack, Bangladesh boast anenviable record against JasonHolder’s side over the past fewyears, triumphing in ODI serieshome and away as well as therecent Tri-Nation series.

Key to that successful match-up has been the potent use of spin,and with Mehedy Hasan andShakib Al Hasan both in wicket-taking form so far this World Cup,skipper Mashrafe is confident hisside have a viable plan of attack -even on the notoriously shortboundaries of the CountyGround.

“It’s a very important matchfor us, especially losing few pointsin the last three matches,” he said.

“We've been quite successfulagainst them with some off-spin-ners. And if you look at recently,Mehedy bowled really well againstthem. And also he's bowling sowell in this World Cup as well,even the right-handed.

“Obviously the top five WestIndies batsmen are left handers,and Mehedy bowled against themreally well too.

“So it's a positive sign. Andthe same thing I'll say that it's asmall ground, too, so we have tothink about it as well. West Indieshave so much power to do it.”

With T20 specialist ChrisGayle at the top of the order andAndre Russell providing an x-fac-tor in the middle, West Indies willhope to take advantage of the spe-cific conditions they are likely toface at the County Ground on

Monday. And while facing play-ers of their quality is a dauntingtask for any team, Mashrafe, 35,feels the Men in Maroon’s repu-tation as big-hitters remainssomething of a double-edgedsword.

He added: “They come hard.And the kind of cricket theyplay, they’re always positive andplay shots in the middle, which isgood, which can be bad, both

ways. “So we take it positively that,

as we said, the matchup, I thinkour bowling has been fantasticagainst them last two, three serieswe played against them.

“We've got to back ourselves.But as we've been succeedingagainst them, I think we have torethink about it. And whatever theground, whatever the wicket, wehave to back our own strength.That's what I feel."

Approaching the midwaypoint in the competition, theTigers have been left to rue sev-eral near-misses, including thenarrow defeat to New Zealand atthe Oval.

Further ground was lost in therained-off clash with Sri Lanka lastweek, but Mashrafe, a World Cupstalwart, insists belief remainshigh in the camp regarding qual-ification for the semi-finals.

“We lost against New Zealand,that might cost a little bit,” he con-cluded. “But we have still fivematches left, as I said, that if wecan take one by one at a time, andif we really perform well, you haveto do it.

“It's been ups and downs. Butwe can make the difference.

“We have to believe in it,which I believe that my team isbelieving."'�!�����N�L�#''��!���'����� ���

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Roger Federer says stayingwide awake will be the key

to his grass court season with hisfocus on claiming a record tenthHalle title this week. The 37-year-old Swiss was given the runaround by Rafael Nadal last timeout on the Roland Garros clay,but says he’ll be back in his ele-ment on his preferred lawns atthe freshly renamed NoventiOpen. “It was good to reach thesemi-final of a Grand Slamtournament again, and in myfirst appearance in Paris for fouryears,” said Federer, who lastwon the title in Paris in 2009.

“I feel fresh, rested andready for the grass season now,”said Federer, who will target aninth Wimbledon win in July.

“The surface suits me: I likethe intuitive, aggressive game,”Federer told a press conferenceahead of Halle.

“The matches on grass are

often decided in a few rallies.You have to stay awake and con-centrated.” Federer added:“Winning the tournamentalways has to be my goal in

Halle. “I love to play at thisvenue, so I am going into thetournament with a very goodfeeling,” said Federer, who firstappeared in Halle in 2000 andhas gone on to play the tourna-ment 15 times.

“It would be just amazing towin for a 10th time,” saidFederer, who was beaten byCroatia's Borna Coric in thefinal last year.

Federer gets his campaignunder way against a tricky oppo-nent in John Millman, whobeat him at Flushing Meadowslast season.

“John is always a toughopponent who doesn’t give any-thing away. He always gives100 percent on court and it willbe a real test, but that is perhapsexactly what I need.”

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Roger Martinez and DuvanZapata put a dent in Lionel

Messi’s hopes of finally landinga major international title asColombia began their CopaAmerica campaign with a 2-0win over Argentina on Saturday.

Martinez struck a stunningopener on 72 minutes and fel-low substitute Zapata sealed thewin three minutes from the endafter Argentina had dominatedthe second half of this Group Bencounter in Salvador.

On paper at least, thispromised a thrilling attackingspectacle between two star-studded forward lines.

For Argentina, five-timeBallon d’Or winner Messi wasjoined by Sergio Aguero andAngel Di Maria, whileColombia could count on JamesRodriguez, Radamel Falcao andJuan Cuadrado.

But it was two players whobegan the game on the benchthat took the chance to steal theheadlines.

It was a fast and furiousopening that proved too helterskelter to produce any genuinechances.

Colombia, playing in a flu-orescent blue and orange kit,were the first to really threatenon 16 minutes when Falcao laidoff a Cuadrado cross forMartinez, whose shot wasdeflected behind.

Argentina gifted Colombiaan opening with time runningdown in the first period as goal-keeper Franco Armani and cen-ter-back Nicolas Otamendiplayed themselves into trouble

deep inside the area.Falcao robbed

Otamendi and tried totee up James but GuidoRodriguez got back tonick the ball off the talentedplaymaker's toes.

Moments later, Martinezwriggled free down the rightand picked out Falcao but hisshot was blocked.

Colombia had been muchthe better side, dominatingpossession and chances, with asubdued Messi, as so often forhis country, a peripheral figurein a goalless first half.

������'���&�����&���Argentina created their best

chance so far in the openingminute of the second period asLeandro Paredes let fly from 30yards, sending the ball whistling

past the post with goal-keeper David Ospinascrambling to his right.Messi briefly came tolife, nutmegging

Davinson Sanchez to burst intothe area, but the tireless WilmarBarrios got back to crowd outthe Barcelona superstar.

Argentina had their tails upand Paredes thrashed in a shotfrom an angle that Ospina didwell to punch clear.

What had been a petulantaffair threatened to boil overwhen Cuadrado was booked fora foul on Messi that sparked abrief melee of pushing andshoving.

Colombia were in danger oflosing their heads andCuadrado was quickly with-drawn by Portuguese coachCarlos Queiroz.

Argentina were by nowwell on top and Ospina madea smart low save to denyOtamendi's header, beforeMessi headed the reboundwide.

But against the run of play,Colombia struck a hammerblow to Argentina and Messi'sCopa hopes.

James spread a delightfulcrossfield ball out to Martinez,who cut in from the left wingand thumped a stunning rightfooted shot into the far corner.

And four minutes fromtime, Martinez found overlap-ping full-back Jefferson Lerma,another substitute, and his left-wing cross was stab home fromclose in by Zapata.

Argentina created severalchances but most fell harmless-ly into Ospina's arms.

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Gurjit scored a brace to lead the Indianwomen's hockey team to a dominant 5-

0 victory over Poland at the FIH Women'sSeries Finals Hiroshima 2019 here onSunday.

Right from the outset, India were on theattack, their left side causing problems forPoland’s defence with regularity. Polandenjoyed the lion’s share of possession, butIndia were causing more problems with theirspeed in attack. The best chance to open thescoring fell for India in the final seconds ofthe quarter.

India’s high pressing strategy putPoland’s defenders constantly under stressas they looked to play the ball out quickly,often inaccurately and turned over posses-sion in crucial areas with regularity.

Put under pressure by Sunita Lakra,Poland faltered in playing out from the back,and the ball fell to Navjot Kaur on the left.Her cross was inch perfect, directed towardsthe far post, where Jyoti deflected it in, giv-ing India a deserved lead.

India won a flurry of PCs in the finalfive minutes of the quarter. From one ofthem, Vandana Katariya pounced on a looseball — after Gurjit’s dragflick had been savedby Gabara — to score India's second. Fromanother, Gurjit slotted the ball into the bot-tom left corner, to give India a three goal leadas they went into halftime. India won astroke in the 35th minute, and Gurjit dulydispatched it to score her second andIndia's fourth of the game. It was with thatlead the team went into the final break.

The final quarter was an ill-temperedaffair, both teams reduced to ten at times,

by players being carded. India held firm con-trol over the game though, their regular cir-cle penetrations enough to keep Poland indefensive mode.

India’s fifth came via brilliant stick workfrom Navneet Kaur in the 56th minute.Navneet picked up the ball with her back

to goal at the top of the Poland circle, turnedaway from her marker with ease andunleashed a shot into the bottom corner.Gabara got a hand to it, but the power ofthe shot was too much for her to save. It wasthe final bit of action as India got home com-fortable 5-0 victors.

It’s going to be an uphill struggle forSri Lanka to reach the semi-finalsfollowing the 87-run defeat to

Australia but it is still possible.It was a disappointing defeat

because they had a great opportunity toget two points but let it slip away.

The opening batsmen, DimuthKarunaratne and Kusal Perera, set upthe chase of 335 really well with a bril-liant century partnership at 6.5 runs perover.

We just needed two good partner-ships to get through the two later spellsfrom Mitchell Starc because there was-n’t much momentum for the otherAustralian bowlers.

But then there was a complete col-lapse in the middle order, which isexactly what happened in the warm-upgame against South Africa, then theNew Zealand loss and even the winagainst Afghanistan.

It’s a bit of a concern and whenGlenn Maxwell bowled, our left-han-ders got stuck in the situation where he’stheir fifth bowler but they were unableto put him under pressure.

If they could have got after Maxwell,then Australia didn’t really have manyother options to turn to but it’s a wor-rying pattern where the middle orderare consistently unable to control thetough situations.

They’re experienced players as well,so it’s disappointing. They’re trying dif-ferent ways to get out of it but for me,the only way is the old-fashioned way— grind it out.

Sri Lanka had opportunity to dothat because of the brilliant start by theopeners — two good 50-run partner-ships would’ve put Australia undertremendous pressure and enabled us tocontrol the chase quite easily.

The fast bowlers bowled really wellbut both teams tactically probably did-n’t get right by not playing a main spin-ner - which you need to control themiddle overs.

Our quicks bowled really well withcontrol but couldn’t pick up wickets.The only way to limit good batting

teams is by picking up wickets in mid-dle overs, so you can keep them to 270or 280.

If Sri Lanka had a genuine spinnerin the side it could’ve made a differenceand I thought they should’ve gone withJeevan Mendis because he can bat aswell.

Now they need at least two more

wins to be in consideration for the topfour and it’s four tough teams left —England, South Africa, West Indies andIndia.

It’s England next and for thatmatch, you have to take a leaf out ofPakistan’s book — they played their nat-ural game against England anddeservedly won.

They attacked the England spin-ners, especially in the middle overs, andI thought Mohammad Hafeez battedbrilliantly in that period.

Sri Lanka have to take thosechances, put those England bowlersunder pressure and kick on when theycan.

What you’ve seen to win games atthis World Cup is that either postinga score above 300 or restricting theopposition to less than 270.

It’s all about how Sri Lanka canachieve that. Pakistan had the bowlingattack, had the variation and pace tochallenge the England batting line-up.

I don’t think Sri Lanka have thepace but the variety is there and I thinkthey have to use a spinner in theirline-up to create those opportunitiesin the middle overs.

Without the middle order firing,it will be tough to post that total abovethe 300-mark but they are definitelycapable of beating England, although itwon’t be easy.'�!����%�L�#''��!���'����� ����)M�66'

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Jos Buttler says he is ready to step up and captain Englandin the World Cup if injured skipper Eoin Morgan fails

to recover in time to face Afghanistan on Tuesday.Morgan had to leave the field with a back spasm dur-

ing the West Indies innings in Southampton on Friday, withopening batsman Jason Roy also forced off the field dueto a tight hamstring. Vice-captain Buttler himself wasunable to keep wicket in the team's previous match againstBangladesh but said he was fully fit as he contemplates lead-ing the side.

“I’d rather Eoin plays,” said Buttler. “He'll have a scanand Jason the same and see how their injuries are but obvi-ously we hope for the best.” But he said England’s approachwould not change much if Morgan did not make it in time.

“We’ve played under Eoin for a long time,” he said.“I think he's a fantastic captain. He's someone I've triedto learn from, being vice-captain. I've talked to him a lotabout the game. We've got some quite similar views so Ithink it would be very similar."

The injuries to Roy and Morgan in Southamptonforced England to rejig, with Test captain Joe Root mov-ing up the order and scoring a century as an opener asthe host nation cruised to victory by eight wickets.

It is that flexibility and the quality of the players notcurrently in the starting 11 including Tom Curran, MoeenAli and James Vince that gives Buttler confidence.

"Yes they are absolutely (ready to step in). We've talkedabout how hard the 15 was to pick and getting in the 11is a really competitive squad so those guys on the side-

lines are fantastic players who areall ready to play."

Buttler, 28, said multi-task-ing by performing wicketkeep-ing duties and captaining theside would not be a problem.

"If it comes to it and I haveto captain it's obviously ahuge honour every timeyou have to do it. Frombehind the stumps youhave a fantastic view ofwhat's going on but it'sjust down to yourself tomanage those two jobsand separate them asmuch as you can," hesaid.

"One of thestrengths of the groupis that there are lots ofguys in the team will-ing to offer opinions

and advice so there areplenty of guys to talk to

but Joe Root would be theobvious one."

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Paul Pogba has given a strongindication that he wants to

leave Manchester United thissummer to seek a “new chal-lenge”.

The French World Cupwinner rejoined United fromJuventus for a then world record£89 million ($112 million) feethree years ago, but has largelyfailed to live up to expectations.

Pogba has been stronglylinked with a move to Real

Madrid or even a return toJuventus with United havingfailed to qualify for theChampions League next season.

“For me I have been forthree years in Manchester andhave been doing great; somegood moments and some badmoments, like everybody. Likeeverywhere else,” Pogba wasquoted as telling reporters inTokyo by The Guardian onSunday.

“I think for me it could bea good time to have a new chal-

lenge somewhere else. I amthinking of this: to have a newchallenge somewhere else.”

Despite scoring 16 goalsthis season, half of which camefrom the penalty spot, Pogbawas often criticised for his con-tribution under both JoseMourinho and Solskjaer asUnited limped to a sixth-placedfinish in the Premier League.

Should Pogba move on,United are likely to seek a high-er fee than they spent on the 26-year-old in 2016.

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