VIJAYAWADA, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2021; PAGES 12 `3

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RESERVE BANK RAISES IMPS LIMITFROM RS 2 LAKH TO RS 5 LAKH

In a bid to promote digital transactions, the RBI on Fridayproposed to increase the per transaction limit from Rs 2lakh to Rs 5 lakh through Immediate Payment Service.

IMPS managed by the National Payments Corporation ofIndia is an important payment system providing 24x7instant domestic funds transfer facility and is accessiblethrough various channels like internet banking, mobile ban-king apps, ATMs, etc. With RTGS now operational 24x7, th-ere has been a corresponding increase in settlement cyclesof IMPS, thereby reducing the credit and settlement risks.

JOURNALISTS WHO TOOK ON PUTIN ANDDUTERTE WIN 2021 NOBEL PEACE PRIZE

Two journalists whose work has angered the authoritiesin Russia and the Philippines were awarded the NobelPeace Prize on Friday, honouring the right to free

speech which the prize-giving committee described asunder threat around the globe. Maria Ressa and DmitryMuratov were given the award "for their courageous fightfor freedom of expression in the Philippines and Russia,"Chairwoman Berit Reiss-Andersen of the Norwegian NobelCommittee said. "At the same time, they are representativesof all journalists who stand up for this ideal,” she said.

RBI REVEALS IT IS REVIEWING SCHEMETO PENALISE BANKS FOR DRY ATMS

The Reserve Bank of India is reviewing its scheme ofpenalising banks for non-replenishment of ATMs aftergetting feedback from lenders, its Deputy Governor T

Rabi Sankar said on Friday. In August this year, RBI hadannounced that it will penalise banks for failure to timelyreplenish currency notes in ATMs. The scheme, which isaimed at ensuring availability of sufficient cash for thepublic through ATMs, has come into effect from October 1,2021. “We have received various feedback-- some positiveand some raising concerns,” Sankar said.

TALIBAN OFFICIAL SAYS AT LEAST 100DEAD, WOUNDED IN AFGHAN BLAST

Ablast went off Friday at a mosque packed with ShiiteMuslim worshippers in northern Afghanistan, killing orwounding at least 100 people, a Taliban police official

said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility forthe blast, which took place in Kunduz, the capital ofKunduz province, but militants from the Islamic Stategroup have a long history of attacking Afghanistan's Shiiteminority. Dost Mohammad Obaida, the deputy police chieffor Kunduz province, said that the majority of them havebeen killed, in reference to the victims.

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Good Time : (to start any important work)

Amritakalam : 8:47 am - 10:14 am

Abhijit Muhurtham : 11:39 am - 12:26 pm

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Enforcement Directorate (ED)is set to begin a probe into the Rs64.5 crore Telugu Akademi FixedDeposit fraud in Hyderabad.

The central agency is likely toregister a case under the Preventionof Money Laundering Act (PMLA)and take up investigations.

As the case involves moneylaundering and the proceeds wereused by the accused to purchaseassets and make investments, theHyderabad Police made a requestto the ED to initiate the probe.

The Central Crime Station(CCS), Detective Department hasalready 10 accused in the case.

Six accused, including master-mind Chunduri Venkata Koti SaiKumar, were arrested onWednesday while four were earli-er taken into custody.

The arrests were made duringthe investigation into three casesregistered on the complaint ofTelugu Akademi, Union Bank ofIndia and Canara Bank. The case

relates to fraudulent withdrawal offixed deposits from two public sec-tor banks with the total amountinvolved being Rs 64.5 crore.

The fraud was committed by agroup of bank agents in con-nivance with some bank officialsand an employee of TeluguAkademi. Those arrested includeSagoori Ramesh, administrativeofficer and in-charge accountsofficer at Telugu Akademi, M.

Sadhana, Canara Bank'sChandanagar branch manager,Sheikh Mastan Vali, chief manag-er, Union Bank of India's Karwanbranch, BVVN Satyanarayana Rao,chairman and MD, AP MercantileCooperative Credit Society Ltdand Vedula Padmavathi, manager(operations), AP MercantileCooperative Credit Society, who issister of Satyanarayana.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Re-ddy on Friday wrote to PrimeMinister Narendra Modi, requestingurgent help from the Union go-vernment to address the energy cri-sis that Andhra Pradesh is staring at.

In his letter to Modi, the ChiefMinister brought to the notice ofthe Prime Minister that the powerdemand had increased by 15 per-cent in the last six months and by20 percent in the last month. Hesaid that this, coupled with coalshortage, is pushing the country'senergy sector into turmoil.

“The energy crisis has resulted ina three-fold increase in electricityprices across Europe and China,and AP has been meeting a griddemand of about 185 ~190 MUdaily. Power generation stationsoperated by APGENCO, whichsupply about 45 percent of theState's energy needs, hardly havecoal stocks for one to two days andgeneration from these could beimpacted further,” Jagan said in hisletter.

He said that APGENCO coalplants were operating at less than 50percent of their 90 MU /day capac-ity because of the coal shortage.

“The central generating stationshave also not been able to supplymore than 75 percent of their 40MU /day capacity. In order toabsorb energy from the 8000 MWof renewable energy capacity,Andhra Pradesh has not been exe-cuting contracts with coal-based

plants and consequently, it dependsheavily on market purchases forsourcing its shortfall energy,” theChief Minister wrote.

He said that the daily averagemarket price of about 40 MU/dayenergy that the purchase by theState has increased around thricefrom daily average of Rs 4.6 perkWh on September 15, 2021 to adaily average of Rs 15 per kWh onOctober 8, 2021.

“The rates in Day-Ahead and

Real Time power markets aresoaring day by day and havereached the peak of Rs 20 per unitat most times of the day irrespec-tive of peak or off-peak hours.Power is also not available at cer-tain hours in the market due to lessavailability of generation in thecountry. It is quite an alarming sit-uation and the finances of distri-bution companies would deterio-rate further if the situation per-sists,” Jagan wrote.

He said that more water isrequired in the last stage of harvest-ing and if it is denied, fields woulddry up and farmers stand to lose.“Unplanned power cuts once resort-ed to, will lead to chaotic conditionsas witnessed in 2012. It has becomeincreasingly difficult for us to meetthe grid demand and the circum-stances are pushing us towards loadshedding. We require your urgentintervention in this hour of crisis,”the Chief Minister’s letter said.

He requested the urgent person-al attention of the Prime Ministerto monitor the scenario on a dailybasis and initiate appropriate reme-dial measures to tide over the cri-sis to avert chaotic conditionsthat are likely to arise out of loadshedding.

“Coal ministry and Railwaysmay be directed to allot 20 coalrakes to AP thermal stations. Thestranded / non-working pit-headcoal plants in India without PPAsor coal linkage may be revived onan emergency basis. Some of theseprojects are under the CIRPprocess by NCLT. Such plantsmust also commence operationsimmediately, regardless of thestage of the proceedings at NCLT.This will save the coal transporttime and quantity limitations incoal transportation to non-pithead coal plants,” the letter said.

Jagan further said that deepwater well gas available withONGC and Reliance may besupplied on an emergency basisto the 2300 MW stranded/ non-working gas plants in AP. “Thedeficit of nearly 500 MW fromCentral Generating stations dueto plant maintenance can bebridged by reviving the plants atthe earliest or the maintenance bepostponed. Banks/ lending insti-tutions may be instructed toprovide working capital loans lib-erally to Discoms till the crisis istided over in order to make coalpayments and undertake marketpurchases,” he wrote.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Chief Minister YS JaganmohanReddy on Friday reviewed theprogress of works on agricultureinfrastructure projects anddirected officials to ensure remu-nerative prices to farmers.

During a review meeting heldat the camp office here on Friday,the Chief Minister said healthycompetition should be created inpurchase of agricultural productsso that farmers get remunerativeprices.

He said the government shouldintervene if the prices fall for

agricultural products and sup-port farmers through a price sta-bilisation fund.

The Chief Minister said theperformance of RBKs has beenlauded across the country andthat fertilisers, pesticides andseeds of good quality are availableat better prices in RBKs.

Jagan instructed officials toensure farmers receive the ordersonce placed in RBKs.

He said some vested interestswere propagating falsehoodsabout RBKs.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

With the nomination process end-ing on Friday, as many as 31 setsof nominations were filed for theOctober 30 by-election to theBadvel (SC) Assembly constituen-cy in Kadapa district of Andhra

Pradesh.The ruling YSR Congress Party,

the BJP and the Congress fieldedtheir candidates for the by-electioncaused by the death of sitting leg-islator G Venkata Subbaiah inMarch this year.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Aerospace major Dassault Aviationis expected to deliver all 36 Rafalejets well before the schedule despitea lockdown for a few days to con-tain the spread of Covid-19 inFrance, French Ambassador toIndia Emmanuel Lenain said onFriday.

Speaking on the sidelines of thefourth edition of Indo-FrenchInvestment Conclave here, organ-ised by the Indo-French Chamberof Commerce & Industry (IFCCI),Lenain said firms belonging to theEuropean country have investedover 10 Billion Euros in India pro-viding employment to 2.50 lakhIndians. "It ( delivery of aircraft) willbe ahead of schedule. We are veryproud of that. In spite of Covid it

has not been disturbed at all on thecontrary," the envoy told PTI.

India had signed an inter-gov-ernmental agreement with Francein September 2016 for the procure-

ment of 36 Rafale fighter jets at acost of around Rs 58,000 crore.

The first batch of five Rafale jetsarrived in India on July 29 last year

“The factory producing Rafale

was closed (during lockdown). Wehad a commitment to India. Afterthe lockdown teams worked extrashifts working nights and weekendsto make sure that these planes weredelivered on time. And so right nowDassault has delivered 29 and 26have already been ferried to India,"he said.

Describing the recent develop-ments in Afghanistan as "worrying", the Ambassador said some of thecountries including France haveasked the Taliban regime to allowfree flow of humanitarian assistanceto the beleaguered country besidesnot to provide shelter for terrorists.

"Today they have not fulfilled anyand that is deeply worrying. Theycan't ask us for any form of recog-nition until they fulfill some ofthese commitments," he further

said.On the Indo-French trade, the

Ambassador said the trade volumesare not big as most of the compa-nies from his country prefer invest-ing in India rather than exporting.

"We are doing local investmenta lot. So far French companies haveinvested more than 10 BillionEuros in India and it is going veryfast and they are employing 250,000Indians," he explained.

In 2020, the India-France bilat-eral trade stood at 9.04 billion Euros(-21.99 per cent) as compared to theprevious year. India's exports toFrance were valued at 4.80 billionEuros, down by 22.9 per cent dur-ing this period. Indian importsfrom France also decreased by20.95 per cent to 4.23 billion Euros,according to Indian official figures.

COAL SHORTAGE

As State stares at energy crisis, Jagandashes off letter to Modi seeking help

Rafale deliveries ahead of schedule, says French envoy

Triangular contestfor bypoll in Andhra

Ensure farmers don'tlose income, hope: CM

Tata Sons wins bidto acquire Air IndiaPNS n NEW DELHI

Salt-to-software conglomerateTatas have won the bid to acquiredebt-laden state-run Air Indiaoffering Rs 18,000 crore foracquiring 100 per cent sharehold-ing, a senior government officialsaid on Friday.

An SPV of Tata Sons - theholding company of conglomer-ate - has emerged as successfulbidder, Tuhin Kanta Pandey,secretary to the Department ofInvestment and Public AssetManagement (DIPAM) -- thegovernment department respon-sible for privatisation - said.

Tata Sons beat SpiceJet pro-moter to bag Air India.

The DIPAM secretary saidTatas' bid of Rs 18,000 crorecomprises taking over of 15,300crore of debt and paying the restin cash. Both bidders had quot-ed above the reserve price, hesaid adding the transaction isplanned to be closed byDecember.

$5tn economy by 2025impossible: RangarajanPNS n HYDERABAD

India becoming a USD five trillioneconomy by 2025 is impossibleunder the current circumstanceand the country needs to grow atnine per cent per annum for thenext five years in order to achievethat, former Reserve BankGovernor C Rangarajan said onFriday.

Delivering his address at 11thConvocation of ICFAI Foundationfor Higher Education, Rangarajansaid attempts should be made tocurb the adverse impact of a thirdwave of COVID-19, if it happensand both the coverage of vaccina-

tion and the pace of investment inhealth infrastructure should beaccelerated within the strategy ofexpanding the overall infrastruc-ture investment.

"A few years ago, there was thehope that India would become aUSD five trillion strong economyby 2025. That has become impos-sible. India's economy was USD 2.7trillion strong in 2019. At the endof March 22, we will still be at thesame level. To go from USD 2.7trillion to USD 5 trillion, theeconomy has to grow at 9 per centfor five consecutive years,"Rangarajan said.

B Gopal bagsSatyajit RayAwardPNS n THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

Well-known Telugu filmmaker BGopal, alias Bejawada Gopal, hasbeen chosen for the fourth SatyajitRay Award for his overall contri-bution to the Indian cinema.

Instituted by the Satyajit RayFilm Society Kerala, a state-basedorganisation, the award compris-es Rs 10,000 cash prize, a memen-to and plaque.

He was selected by a panelcomprising Malayalam filmmak-er Balu Kiriyath, music directorPerumbavoor G Raveendranathand others.

SC says ‘not satisfied’at UP govt actions inLakhimpur Kheri casePNS n NEW DELHI

The Supreme Court on Fridaysaid it was "not satisfied" with thesteps taken by the Uttar Pradeshgovernment in the brutal killingof eight people in the LakhimpurKheri violence, and pulled up thestate police asking whether send-ing summons and telling "pleasecome" was the way the accusedare treated in other murder cases.

"The proof of the pudding is inthe eating,” a bench headed byChief Justice NV Ramana said,sharply questioning why UnionMinister of State Ajay Mishra'sson Ashish Mishra, an accused inthe case, has not been arrested yet.

ED to probe Telugu Akademi FD fraud

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Continued from Page 1

In order to achieve the USDfive trillion economy, growthwhich is the answer to many ofsocioeconomic problems,should therefore become theundivided concern of the gov-ernment and equity which isequally important will be a dis-tant dream unless it is support-ed by high growth spurred byreforms.

As revenues improve, expen-ditures can be increased evenas there is no need to reducethe fiscal deficit below thebudgeted level of 6.8 per centof GDP and fiscal consolida-tion may start from the nextfinancial year, he opined.

India indeed needs a fasterrate of growth to make up forthe loss of output in the previ-ous two years from the trendrate and must lay the founda-

tion for a faster growth in thisyear itself, the economist said.

Stating that the economicactivity had come to a grind-ing halt due to the lockdownimposed to prevent the spreadof COCID-19, he said in 2021,India's GDP fell by 7.3 per cent,USA by 3.5 per cent, France by8.1 per cent and the UK by 9.8per cent.

It is only with the relaxationof lockdown restrictions, the

economy has started lookingup, the former Chairman ofEconomic Advisory Council tothe Prime Minister said.

"While the economic impactof the first wave was severe, thehealth impact of the secondwave was serious. The contrac-tion of the economy has hithard the daily wage earnersand migrant labour. Life VersusLivelihood has emerged as aserious issue," he said.

Continued from Page 1

As the court mulled transfer-ring the probe into the violenceon October 3 in which fourfarmers were among the killedto another agency, it also saidany investigations by the CBI"may not be the solution"because of the persons whohave been named in the FIRlodged by the UP police, in aveiled reference to the factthat Ashish Mishra is the sonof a union minister.

The top court questioned thesoft approach of the policetowards the accused (AshishMishra) named in the FIRafter Harish Salve, appearingfor the UP government, said anotice seeking his presencehas been sent and that he hassought some time. The UPpolice issued a fresh notice toAshish Mishra asking him toappear before it by 11 am onSaturday after he skipped thesummons for Friday.

He was to come today andhe has asked for time. Wehave asked him to show up at11 am tomorrow. If he does notappear tomorrow the rigour ofthe law will be brought intoplay against him, Salve said.

Salve at the same time con-

ceded that not enough hasbeen done by the authorities.

Mr Salve, these are veryserious charges. We are not onmerits of whatever it is... If yousee the FIR which is filed by thecounsel (of UP), this is anoffence under Section 302(murder) of the IPC apartfrom other sections.

"Is it the same way we treatother accused in other casesalso? We send notice and sayplease come, please stay.., thebench quipped.

Salve said he asked the samething to them and they said thepost mortem report did notshow any bullet wound that iswhy, they gave him a notice forappearance under the CrPCand if the bullet wound havebeen there, then the coursewould have been different.

The CJI said: This is theopinion of the bench. Weexpect that there is a responsi-ble government and responsi-ble police officers and the sys-tem and when there is seriousallegation of death (IPC section302), gunshot injuries, then thequestion is can the otheraccused in the country betreated the same way. Pleasecome. Please tell us...

Salve urged the bench to take

up the case again on October18 and assured that by thattime, the actions would betaken and as per his instruc-tions, needful will be donelatest by tomorrow morning.

It appears that is only inwords and not in action, thebench said, adding, Mr Salvethere is a saying that the proofof the pudding is in the eating.

What is the message we aresending, the bench asked,adding that an accused isapprehended immediately afterregistration of a murder case.

I agree and I couldn't agreemore, said Salve, adding, "Whathas happened, happened. I amnot saying no. I have beenassured at the highest level thatbetween today and tomorrowwhatever is the shortfall will befilled up because the messagehas gone. Without mincingwords, the court said, the lawmust take its course against allaccused and the governmenthas to take all remedial steps inthis regard to inspire confi-dence in the investigation ofbrutal murder of eight persons.Responding to the court's "theproof of the pudding is in theeating remark, Salve said theUP government will have tomake another pudding and

make it palatable , adding thatwhatever is done so far is notsatisfactory.

In its order, the bench notedthat the counsel for the UPgovernment explained varioussteps which have been taken bythe state government and thestatus report has also beenfiled to that effect. "But we arenot satisfied with the actions ofthe state."

...counsel assures us that hewill take all necessary steps tosatisfy this court on the nextdate of hearing and he will alsoconsider alternatives of con-ducting the investigation byany other agency. In view ofthat we are not inclined to gointo details of this aspect. Listthis matter immediately afterthe vacation.

"Meanwhile, the learnedcounsel assured us that he willcommunicate to the concernedhighest police officer in thestate to take all necessary stepsto protect the evidence andother materials related to theincident . The bench, alsocomprising Justices Surya Kantand Hima Kohli, hoped thatthe state government will takenecessary steps because of thesensitivity of the issue .

We are not making any com-

ments. Secondly, CBI is alsonot a solution for the reasons,you know the reasons...we arealso not interested in CBIbecause of the persons whoare...so it's better you find outsome other mode. We willtake up immediately after thevacation. But that does notmean that they should keeptheir hand off. They have to do.They must act.., it said.

Salve said if allegations andevidence are true and the man-ner in which the car was dri-ven leaves no manner of doubtthat possibly it is a murder case.

See there is a straight state-ment made by the eyewitness,the person who has seen theincident, the bench said,adding, Postmortem reportdoes not show the gun shotinjury, is that a ground for nottaking the custody of theaccused .

Police have found two car-tridges and it might be a casethat the accused had a bad aimand he missed it and this isextremely serious, Salve said.

The bench retorted: If it isextremely serious then the wayit's proceeding it seems it is notserious. The bench then dealtwith the SIT set up by the statepolice to probe the sensational

killings and said, We have seenyour details of the SIT, whichyou have constituted... Whoare the people in the SIT, youhave your DIG, Superintendentof police, circle officers, alllocal people and this is whathappens when all the local peo-ple are there.

The bench then inquiredwhether any request had beenmade by the state governmentto hand over the case to the CBI.

Salve said no such request hasbeen made and this aspect canbe dealt by the court. "Pleasehave this on reopening. If youare not satisfied with progress,hand it over to CBI .

The bench, however, againsaid a CBI probe was not thesolution. It also raised objec-tions to the continuance of thepresent lot of officers with theprobe and said that because oftheir conduct we do not see thatgood investigation will takeplace .

Second thing is that theyshould not completely destroythe evidence available, thebench orally observed, addingthat by the time some investiga-tive agency takes the case, pleasetell the DGP to take care of allnecessary steps to protect theevidence".

Continued from Page 1

Eminent filmmaker and Dada Saheb Phalke awardee, AdoorGopalakrishnan, actress Madhabi Mukherjee and producerMohan G were the earlier recipients of the honour. Gopal hasdirected 30 films Telugu films and two Hindi moves in hisdecades-long tinsel town career, the organisers said in a state-ment. The award would be presented to him in a function tobe held in Hyderabad on October 13, they said.

Continued from Page 1

Investigations revealed that atotal of 43 FDs were with-drawn fraudulently betweenDecember 2020 andSeptember 2021 and trans-ferred to the account of APMercantile CooperativeCredit Society in AgrasenBank.

While seeking the policecustody of the accused for fur-ther questioning, the policeinformed the court onThursday that out of thesiphoned off money, SaiKumar took Rs 20 crore whileSatyanarayana pocketed Rs 10crore.

A CCS official said in theremand report that one of theaccused Nanui VenkataRaman, a realtor, received Rs7 crore. Mastan Vali andSadhana, the two bank offi-cials, received Rs 2.5 crore andRs 1.99 crore respectively.Absconding accused KrishnaReddy and Ramana Reddygot Rs 6 crore each. Bhoopathireceived Rs 2.5 crore.

There was no mention ofthe money received by TeluguAkademi administrative offi-

cer Ramesh, who was themain link between the crim-inal gang and bank officialsinvolved.

The police could not recov-er most of the siphoned offmoney as the accused pur-chased properties and madeother investments. The ED islikely to identify those prop-erties and seize them.

Mastermind Sai Kumarreportedly purchased 35 acresof land on the outskirts ofHyderabad. He also toldinvestigators that he paid Rs5 crore to a dealer whopromised to supply diesel atlow price.

Sai Kumar was involved inthree similar cases in thepast. In 2012, he withdrew thefixed deposits of AP MinorityWelfare Society in 2012 andthe case is being investigatedby the Crime InvestigationDepartment (CID).

Sai Kumar was also accusedin the AP Housing BoardScam of nearly Rs 6 crore andRs 25 crore fixed depositfraud of the Northern CoalFields in Chennai. Both casesare being investigated by theCBI.

Continued from Page 1

The main opposition TeluguDesam Party opted out ofthe contest "honouring tra-dition" as the YSRCP hasfielded the widow of thedeceased legislator for theby-poll. The YSRCP choseDasari Sudha as its candidatewhile the Congress fieldedformer MLA PMKalamamma, who repre-sented the constituency from2009-14.

The BJP fielded youthleader Panathala Suresh forthe contest. Suresh unsuc-cessfully contested the 2019election from RailwayKoduru constituency inKadapa district.

BJP's ally Jana Sena Partysaid it was not interested inthe by-poll as the widow ofthe MLA was in the fray.Thus, the BJP would be onits own in the fight.

Scrutiny of nominationswould take place on October11 and the last date forwithdrawal is October 13.Results of the by-poll wouldbe declared on November 2.

Continued from Page 1

The officials said RBKs willact as sub-dealers from nextRabi season and this movewould be more beneficial tofarmers. The Chief Ministerinstructed officials to set upcommunity hiring centres atlocations where paddy isbeing cultivated. He alsoinstructed officials toencourage farmers to culti-vate alternative crops likemillets instead of paddyunder bore wells and to pro-vide incentives to thosefarmers who cultivate alter-native crops. Officials werealso asked to set up process-ing plants at these locations.

The officials said theywere setting up seed cummillet processing units at 33places and 20 units will beready by this December.The officials said that theyhave set a target of complet-ing 33 units by March 2022and make them available fornext kharif.

The officials informedthe Chief Minister that

BMCs identified in theorder of priority will becompleted by December.They said milk collectionwas increasing in the dis-tricts where the JaganannaPaala Velluva programme isbeing implemented.

The Chief Minister saidfalse information is beingpropagated on JaganannaPaala Velluva programmeand pointed out that Amulis not a private company,but a cooperative dairywhich is being operated byfarmers to whom the prof-its are being passed on. Headded that conditions werecreated to hike milk pro-curement prices after Amulentered the market.

The officials explained tothe Chief Minister theprogress of works related tosetting up food processingunits, to which he directedthem to expedite the works.

The officials informedthe Chief Minister thatworks related to fishing har-bours in Juvvaladinne,N i z a m p a t n a m ,

Machilipatnam and Uppadawere in progress and wouldbe almost completed byJuly. The Chief Ministerinstructed the officials tofocus on works related tothe remaining five fishingharbours.

Agriculture MinisterKurasala Kannababu,Agriculture Special ChiefSecretary PoonamMalakondaiah, AgricultureMarketing PrincipalSecretary Y MadhusudanReddy, Food Processing,Industries and CommerceSecretary Mukesh KumarMeena, Finance Secretary NGulzar, APDDCF Ltd MDA Babu, AgricultureCommissioner H ArunKumar, AgricultureMarketing CommissionerP S Pradhyumna, FisheriesCommissioner KKannababu, HorticultureCommissioner Dr S SSridhar, Seeds CorporationVC and MD G Shekar Babu,Maritime Board CEO KMuralidharan and otherofficials were present.

Continued from Page 1

He said a group of ministerscomprising Home MinisterAmit Shah, Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman,Commerce Minister PiyushGoyal and Civil AviationMinister Jyotiraditya Scindiahas cleared the winning bidfor Air India on October 4.

This marks the return ofAir India to the Tatas. JehangirRatanji Dadabhoy (JRD) Tatafounded the airline in 1932. Itwas called Tata Airlines then.In 1946, the aviation divisionof Tata Sons was listed as AirIndia and in 1948, Air IndiaInternational was launchedwith flights to Europe.

The international servicewas among the first public-private partnerships in India,with the government holding49 per cent, the Tatas keep-ing 25 per cent and the pub-lic owning the rest.

In 1953, Air India wasnationalised. The govern-ment is selling 100 per centof its stake in the state-owned national airline,including Air India's 100per cent shareholding in AIExpress Ltd and 50 per centin Air India SATS AirportServices Private Ltd.

ED to probe TeluguAkademi FD fraud

ML MELLY MAITREYI

n HYDERABAD

The Telangana government ishopeful that the Centre wouldpostpone the implementationof the July 15th gazette noti-fication for bringing all theirrigation projects in theKrishna and Godavari basinsin both the States under thecontrol of the Krishna andGodavari River ManagementBoards.

Chief Minister K Chandras-ekhar Ro said in the Assemblyon Friday that during hisrecent visit to Delhi, he hadraised the gazette notificationissue with Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, HomeMinister Amit Shah, and JalShakti Minister GajendraSingh Shekhawat, and suggest-ed that it better be postponed.

"I spoke to PM and HomeMinister. Let us see what hap-pens," he observed. If thenotification, scheduled to be

implemented from October14, was not postponed, thenan all-party delegation wouldgo to the Centre, he added.

KCR was responding to asuggestion of MIM memberAkbaruddin Owaisi that anall-party delegation should goto Delhi to make a represen-tation. Otherwise, the man-agement of State's projectsand water would go into thehands of the Centre.

Agreeing that the matter

was linked to the self-respectof people, KCR pointed outthat the suggestion had comefrom the neighbouring State ofAndhra Pradesh, which wasitching for a confrontationwith TS unfortunately, he said.KCR also expressed his disap-pointment with the decision ofthe Centre to cut down paddyprocurement from the State.

The Constitution had giventhe Centre the responsibility tokeep buffer stocks under its

control so that if there was anydrought or floods affectingfood grains yield in any Stateor states, the Centre couldrelease stocks to the affectedState and provide food secu-rity to people.

The Food Corporation ofIndia was entrusted with the taskof procurement of paddy for thispurpose. But recently the Centrethrew up its hands and said italready had huge stocks.

"Then where will States goas States do not have themechanism or huge infra-structure to store the foodgrains. The role of the Statesis to ensure farmers would getthe MSP. I stayed in Delhi fortwo days and said that theCentre should give a target ofhow much they would procurein advance and not after thefarmers had sown the crop.We are awaiting their decision.Instead of indulging in blamegame, let us find a solution,"he said.

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PNS n HYDERABAD

GMR Group is investing Rs6,300 crore on Rajiv GandhiInternational Airport here toexpand the aerodrome capac-ity to 34 million passengers perannum by 2024, a senior exec-utive of the company said onFriday.

Antoine Crombez, DeputyCEO, GMR Airports Ltd, saidthe majority of funds for theexpansion are raised throughissuance of bonds.

"This is as part of Hyderabad(airport) expansion on bothdomestic and internationalsides of the airport. We areinvesting Rs 6,300 crore. It isan investment to expandcapacity to reach 34 millionpassenger capacity by 2024,"Crombez said on the sidelines

of an Investment Conclavehere organised by the IFCCI.

Funds for the expansionhave been secured, he furthersaid, adding most part of thefinance is through bondsissuance. Hyderabad airportoperator GHIAL would raiseUSD 300 million by issuingbonds in the overseas marketto fund its expansion plans, theGMR group had said inJanuary this year. The proceedswill be used towards the cap-ital expenditure with respect tothe master plan (expansion) ofthe airport, to increase thecapacity to 34 million passen-gers per annum, the inframajor had said.

Passenger traffic at RGIAwas eight million in FY 2020-21, witnessing de-growth of 63percent over previous year

due to lockdown and otherCOVID-19 restrictions. Theairport handled over 21.50million passengers duringFY2020 though it is designedto handle 12 million passen-gers per annum.

Crombez said the demerg-er of Airports vertical fromGMR Infrastructure Limited ison the way and it is expectedto be over by the end of the cal-endar year.

The conclave, organised tostrengthen investment oppor-tunities in Telangana, saw alarge delegation of 100+French company CEOs, CXOsand diplomats.

The conclave showcased theadvantages of the State to theIndo-French business com-munity via B2B and B2G meet-ings.

RGIA capacity to be expanded to 34 mlpassengers with Rs 6.3K cr investment

PNS n HYDERABAD

The SR Nagar Police onFriday have apprehendedthree habitual offenders forcheating jewellers of Rs 40lakhs by diverting their atten-tion and mortgaging goldplated rings.

The accused identified as EBhaskar, 51, Venkat Reddy,59, Vardhan, 32, and Rajen-dra have targeted about fivejewellers at various placesusing rings coated in gold.

On receiving a complaintfrom Ganesh, 29, a pan bro-ker that the accused has vis-ited his shop on October 20,2019 and mortgaged gold-plated ring and took Rs16,000. Later, he again visit-ed the shop and pledged twomore rings, but did not returnto collect them. Growing sus-picious over it, Ganesh veri-fied the purity of gold fingerrings only to find that therings are gold plated. He fileda complaint with the police,who registered a case andarrested the accused persons.

3 arrested for cheating five pawn brokers

Woman found murdered at ShamshabadPNS n HYDERABAD

A 35-year-old woman wasfound dead in the city out-skirts at Shamshabad onFriday morning.

Cyberabad Police, who ini-tially suspected a sexual assault,had ruled out the possibilityafter a preliminary medicalexamination and booked amurder case. The deceased,

identified as Yadamna, wasfound stabbed to death inShamshabad. "We noticed thestab wounds on her torso andare working on clues to identi-fy the person behind the attack.Once we have a suspect, themotive will be revealed," saidthe officials probing the case. Acase was booked under section302 of the IPC and the bodywas shifted for atopsy.

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Cyber Crime Police ofHyderabad on Friday arresteda person for opening fakebank accounts of NRIs andclaiming IT returns for hispersonal gains

The accused identified asSasidhar Reddy, 29, a residentof Visakhapatnam and nativeof Kadapa district in AndhraPradesh cheated an NRI of Rs21.89 lakh by using hisAadhaar and Pan cards.

The modus operandi of theaccused is to open fake bankaccounts using their cardsand update it on the Income

Tax portal and claims theTDS amount with the fakeaccount and withdraw it.

On September 4, policeofficials received a complaintfrom Hanumantha Rao, achartered accountant statingthat the accused had filed ITreturns for the FY 2019-20 ofhis client Raghavendra, anNRI. They have verified thesame using Aadhaar based e-verification filed with a refundof Rs 21,89,680, for which thebank has credited the amount.

The CA lodged a complaintwith the police, who registereda case and arrested theaccused.

TDS fraud: 29-yr-old man booked for cheating NRIs

Two killed, one injured as carhits motorcycle PNS n HYDERABAD

Two persons were killedwhen a rashly driven car hada head on collision with theirtwo-wheeler after jumpingthe divider at Medipally onFriday.

The deceased persons wereidentified as Somaiah, 70and Krishna, 27, residents ofKPHB. According to thepolice, Somaiah along withhis sons, Krishna andDevaraya Vinesh, 16, wastravelling on a two-wheeler totheir native village atRaagapuram in Palakurthy.

vijayawada 03VIJAYAWADA | SATURDAY | OCTOBER 9, 2021

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

CK Ranganathan, Chairman,CII Southern Region &Chairman made a detailed pre-sentation on CII initiatives inSouthern Region in general andparticularly in Andhra Pradesh.Addressing the press through vir-tual mode on FridayRanganathan said that the CIISouthern Region is focusing onthe theme Building South Indiafor a New WorldCompetitiveness, Growth,Sustainability, and Technology.The implementation of thetheme is broadly under the focusareas of Policy & Regulatory

Excellence, Enhancing CoreCompetitiveness, ProtectingLives and Livelihood andMembership engagement.Covid-19 interventions are focus-ing at the region and states levelin areas such as vaccination, aug-menting medical supplies includ-ing Oxygen, ICU Beds,Ventilators and other relief mea-sures. As a part of Policy engage-ment CII is actively engaged withstates on structural reforms inareas such as labour, infrastruc-ture & agriculture.

Datla Tirupati Raju,Chairman, CII Andhra Pradesh& Executive Chairman, said thatCII Andhra Pradesh members

actively involved in supportinglocal communities by providingrequired medical equipmentduring the first and secondwaves of Covid-19 pandemic. CIIAndhra Pradesh continues topromote Andhra Pradesh as thebest investment destination, he

said in his address. He appreci-ated the Government of AndhraPradesh for releasing of pendingincentives to industry despite rev-enue shortage to theGovernment due to Covid-19.The recent release of INR 684Crores to textile and spinning

mills would improve the cashflow for companies operating inthe textile sector, he felt. Referringto the State GovernmentReSTART package he said that ithelped the industry to restarttheir operations.

Neeraj Sarda, Vice Chairman,CII Andhra Pradesh said thatreforms in labour laws woulddrive growth and would be ben-eficial to all stakeholders. In thepost covid-19 scenario, thereforms towards privatizationin various sectors have providedmuch needed impetus to themanufacturing sector, he felt. Hedelivered a vote of thanks at thevirtual Press conference.

Naidu inaugurates NeeruChettu complaints cellPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Leader of the Opposition NChandrababu Naidu on Fridayinaugurated a grievances cell atthe TDP central office forreceiving the Neeru Chettubills that the YSRCPGovernment was not payingfor the past two and half years.

There were nearly Rs 1,277Cr worth pending bills allover the State. All these billshave been given tokens andkept pending in theGovernment's CFMS paymentsystem. There was another Rs500 Cr worth of bills for whichtokens were not generated tillnow.

Speaking after inaugurat-ing the grievances cell,Chandrababu Naidu said thateverybody who carried out theworks under Neeru Chettuwould eventually get their billpayments without fail. Therewould be no need to fear any-thing. The TDP grievancescell would make relentlessefforts till the StateGovernment would comedown and make the payments.A legal struggle would belaunched just along the lines ofthe one for NREGS bills.

The TDP chief said that forthe first time in the country,the previous Government inAP took up works under theNeeru Pragati to desilt tanksand canals, and also to devel-op farm ponds, check damsand chains of tanks. Over Rs.18,265 Cr was spent for thisunder the minor irrigation,rural development and forestdepartments.

By taking up such develop-ment works, the TDP regimeremoved 98 crore sq meters ofsilt and helped in saving 90TMC of groundwater. Thishad helped in stabilising over6.795 lakh acres of ayacut allover the State. Over 9 awardswere given to the then StateGovernment. Later, the YSRCPGovernment adopted a policyof vendetta. As a result, thesmall and marginal farmersand representatives of water

users associations got stuck indeep debts.

All those, who were notreceiving their Neeru Chettubills, may contact the griev-ances cell in the TDP office.Every effort would be made tomake sure that even the lastperson would receive his pay-ment.

Foundation stone laid forTribal FreedomFighters MuseumPNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Deputy Chief Minister andMinister for Tribal Welfare PPushpa Srivani laid founda-tion stone for the TribalFreedom Fighters Museum atLambasingi in Chintapallemandal in the agency area onFriday.

The state government hassanctioned this project toensure the sacrifices of thetribal freedom fighters inspirethe future generations.

The Minister of TribalWelfare has sanctioned Rs 35crore for the project. Themuseum, which showcasesthe tribal culture, traditions,lifestyle of freedom fightersand their fight with Britishers,would be constructed in 22acres of land.

An amphitheater, botanicalgardens and a shopping com-plex would also be set up inthe premises of the museum.The project is expected to becompleted in 18 months.

693 freshcases and six Coviddeaths in APPNS n AMARAVATI

The gross number ofCOVID-19 positives inAndhra Pradesh went up to20,55,999 as 693 fresh caseswere added in 24 hours end-ing 9 am on Friday.

The total recoveriesincreased to 20,33,447 after927 more people recoveredfrom the infection, a healthdepartment bulletin said.

The state reported six freshfatalities, taking the overalltoll so far to 14,242, it said.

The state now has 8,310active cases.

In 24 hours, East Godavaridistrict reported the highest178 fresh cases, Chittoor 93,Guntur 91, Krishna 76, SPSNellore 72 and Prakasam 59.

The remaining seven dis-tricts added less than 50 newcases each.

Krishna district reportedtwo more COVID-19 deathsand Anantapuramu, Chittoor,Guntur and West Godavari,one each in a day.

Fishermen alertedabout Bangladeshfishing banVISAKHAPATNAM: The fisheriesdepartment has alerted all thefishermen who fish to venture intothe deep sea fishing not crossBangladesh waters. TheBangladesh government hasbanned the Mother Hilsa fishingfrom October 14 to November 11,as a part of conserving the breed.If the fishermen crossed the Indianwaters for fishing, the BangladeshNavy and Coast Guard forceswould arrest the fishermen, thedepartment warned.

ISB ties up with AP State SkillDevelopment CorporationPNS n VIJAYAWADA

The Indian School of Businessis joining hands with two gov-ernment bodies of AndhraPradesh who are extensivelyworking on Skill Developmentin the state. ISB signed an MoUwith Andhra Pradesh State SkillDevelopment Corporation(APSSDC) and Andhra PradeshInformation TechnologyAcademy (APITA) to offerskilling programmes for citizens.

As part of this initiative, ISBis offering two joint certifica-tion courses in BusinessLiteracy and Behavioural Skillsthrough APSSDC and DigitalLiteracy and EntrepreneurialLiteracy through APITA,through which students ofAndhra Pradesh could becomemore employable and industry

ready. ISB is offering these pro-grammes as foundational elec-tive courses in an asynchro-nous format, keeping in mindthe changes coming upthrough the NationalEducation Policy.

The MoU for APSSDC-ISBwas inked by N Bangara Raju,MD, APSSDC and the APITA-ISB MoU was inked by T AnilKumar, CEO, APITA.Professor Deepa Mani, DeputyDean – Executive Educationand Digital Learning at ISB,signed on behalf of the ISB.The MoUs were exchanged inthe presence of K Ajay Reddy,Chairman, APSSDC andProfessor Madan Pillutla, Deanof Indian School of Business.

On this occasion, APSSDCMD N Bangaraju said that.. inthe current scenario,

Behavioral Skills and BusinessLiteracy Skills are required forevery student for his career andhence training will be impart-ed in collaboration with ISB toempower the youth. He saidthat the Hon’ble Chief MinisterY S Jagan Mohan Reddy wasdetermined to provide softskills along with education tomake them employable.

Professor Madan Pillutla,Dean ISB - “To drive theexpected pace of developmentin the state, its citizens need tobe smarter communicators,effective workers, good nego-tiators, savvy decision-makersas well as be digitally empow-ered. We are pleased that theprogrammes designed anddelivered by our world-classfaculty will contribute towardsthis”.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Demanding that the state gov-ernment release bills of theworks that have been alreadydone, contractors from acrossthe state took out a novelprotest at dharna chowk hereon Friday. The contractorsbegged on the road withouttheir shirts on to register theirprotest against the non-pay-ment of pending bills.

MVA Surya Prakash, vice-president, State of AndhraPradesh Building ContractorsAssociation (SABCA), said classI and II contractors, who havecompleted government works ata cost ranging from Rs 20 lakhto Rs 3 crore, are the victims ofthe non-payment of bills. Thebills have been pending for thepast three years -- even beforethe general elections. The con-

dition of the contractors ispathetic and most of them arebankrupt. Around 2,000 con-tractors have already uploadedtheir bills on the CFMS site. Asof now, Rs 1,000 crore is duefrom the state government.

Siva Kumar, SABCA mem-ber, said that they needed anappointment with the ChiefMinister to explain their griev-ances and the difficulties theyhave been facing. He demand-ed that the state governmentrelease the amount within amonth. He further said thatthere are many contractorswaiting for the CFMS site tobe open to upload their bills.A few contractors have soldtheir properties. If the pay-ments are pending, at leastreturn the deposit amount. Donot call for tenders if the pro-ject is not funded, he said.

Contractors ‘beg’ torelease pending bills

‘Post-Covid reforms offer ample opportunities’

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The ruling YSRCP governmentled by YS Jaganmohan Reddyruled out the connections withYS Anil Reddy and YS SunilReddy, cousins of the chiefminister with the recent seizureof heroin at Mundra Port inGujarat, as alleged by TeluguDesam Party leaders.

In a clarification to the mediaon Friday, a governmentspokesman said Anil Reddyand Sunil Reddy had startedReddy Global Industries in1999, which had grown into aconglomeration of enterprisesspread across Africa, with aforay into the beverages, phar-maceutical and mining sector.

The spokesman said that“Since the commencement oftheir operations in 1999, theyhave been conducting theirbusinesses in a legitimate man-ner and have maintained anunblemished record of ethicalperformance, while complyingwith all domestic laws, rules andregulations”.

Refuting the baseless allega-tions leveled by the TDP lead-ers through media that Anil andSunil were somehow connect-ed to the recent seizure of drugsat Mundra Port, the spokesmansaid neither any relevant infor-mation was supplied to substan-tiate these allegations nor wasany prior notice issued to them.

He said , “It is clear that these

unfounded defamatory attacksare being created with an intentto indulge in mud-slinging andmuck-racking, which cannot bepermitted to continue in anycivilized society. Reputation isan inviolable part of dignity andmust be respected by all”. Herequested all news channels torefrain from spreading suchverifiably false information.

The spokesman said, “If anyperson and/or organisationcontinues to spread these falseand unsubstantiated allega-tions or seeks to impinge upontheir reputation, Anil and Sunilwill be constrained to takeaction against such personsand/or organisation in accor-dance with law”.

Jagan’s cousins have no links withheroin seizure at Mundra Port

Roads will be repaired soon: Dy CMVISAKHAPATNAM: Deputy Chief Minister Dharmana Krishna Das saidthat the government will repair and re-lay all the damaged roads in thestate shortly. The Chief Minister has already directed the officials toprepare an action plan to take up road repair works soon after the rainyseason.The government has already allocated funds to repair all the badroads and re-lay the roads wherever necessary, Krishna Das said. Allthe opposition parties have been complaining about the bad conditionof the roads, but the government did not respond on the issue. Theroad works have been stopped due to heavy rain. All the dilapidatedroads would be repaired shortly, the Deputy Chief Minister added.

JSP asks Govtto pay salariesand pensionsin timePNS n VIJAYAWADA

Janasena Party chief PawanKalyan has blamed the rulingYSRCP government for non-payment of salaries in time togovernment employees andpensions to retired employeesin Andhra Pradesh. In astatement here, the JSP chiefalleged that the ruling partylacks the financial disciplineof paying the salaries to thegovernment employees onthe first day of the month.

He said that no one knowswhen they receive salariesand pensions due to utter fail-ure of financial managementof the state government. Ifthe government fails to paypensions in time, they mayface psychological agony. Hesaid, “I know the difficultiesof employees and retiredemployees as they lead a lifewith self-respect with thesalaries and pensions. Myfather retired from govern-ment service and I have seenhow he led a self-respectfullife.”

He asked the governmentfor how many days theemployees and the pension-ers will survive on hand loansif the salaries are not paid ona particular date? The policepersonnel have not been paidTA for the past 11 monthsand the dues of surrenderleaves have not been dis-bursed. The government hasto pay seven DAs to the gov-ernment employees. ThePRC also has not been imple-mented.

Goddess Durga adorned asBala Tripura Sundari DeviPNS n VIJAYAWADA

On the second day of DasaraNavaratri celebrations, the pre-siding goddess Kanaka Durgawas decorated and appeared asBala Tripura Sundari Devi tothe devotees atopIndrakeeladri on Friday. Onthis day, small kids between 2-10 years will be given newclothes and also some gifts.Payasam is offered asprasadam. Balatripura is thefirst goddess in the Tripuratraya and she is the main god-dess of all in the sriyantra.Without having got the mantraof bala, one is not eligible toperform the Sri Yantra Pooja.In the first amnaya of srichakrabala resides, so without wor-shiping bala one cannot per-form pooja to Sridevi. KanakaDurga is decorated as Bala asSri Adi Shankara establishedsrichakra here and so to get theblessings of bala she is deco-rated as bala and one has todefinitely see her beauty in thisalankaram. Worshiping her isthe vital part in the shaktipooja. Even listening to hername is considered to be ben-eficial to the sadhaka.

On the second day ofNavaratri celebrations,Ministers Velampalli SrinivasRao, Muttamshetty SrinivasRao, Gummunuri Jayaram,MP Kanakamedala RavindarKumar, MLAs KolusuParthasarathy, NChinnarajappa, APSRTC MPCh Dwaraka Tirumala Rao,Finance Principal Secretary SSRavat, Survey & SettlementCommissioner Siddharth Jain,Endowments CommissionerHara Jawaharlal, City PoliceCommissioner BattinaSrinivasulu, Krishna DistrictJoint Collector (development)L Siva Sankar and film actorSriya Saran visited the temple.

Speaking on the occasion,Minister MuttamshettySrinivas Rao said that everyyear he takes Bhavani Deekshaand also visits goddess Kanaka

Durga Temple during Dasaracelebrations and particularlyon the second day of the festi-val when the deity is decorat-ed as Bala Tripura SundariDevi. He said wherever thereis God’s blessings the peoplewill be happy. He prayed thatthere shall not be Covid thirdwave and the state stands tallin the highest number of vac-

cinations and also in the num-ber of Covid tests being con-ducted. The goddess shouldshower blessings on CM YSJagan Mohan Reddy to lead thestate into prosperity.

Minister Jayaram said that itis a blessing to visit the templeon the second day of Navaratricelebrations. He prayed to thegoddess that the 5 crore pop-

ulation of the state shall behappy and prosperous. He saidthat CM Jagan shall provide allfacilities to the workers in thestate.

APSRTC MD DwarakaTirumala Rao said that RTCbus service facility was madeavailable to the people duringthe Dasara festival. They havemade elaborate arrangementsfor passengers coming fromother states and arranged 4,000buses and ensured that busfares would be less comparedto other states.

Police CommissionerSrinivasulu said that third shiftpolice are discharging theirduties and are ensuring thatthere is no incontinence causedto the devotees. Without men-tioning that Krishna districtJoint Collector L Siva Sankarwas stopped by the police onthe way to the temple, the com-missioner said that such inci-dents will be repeated.

Demand to withdraw show-cause notices served on panchayat secretariesPNS n VIJAYAWADA

TDP MLC Paruchuri AshokBabu on Friday slammed theJagan Mohan ReddyGovernment for 'suppressingand harassing' governmentemployees and their associ-ations by forcing them to sur-render to its hidden andunlawful agenda.

Ashok Babu demandedthat the government imme-diately withdraw theshow-cause noticesserved on severalpanchayat secre-taries in connec-tion with themilk procure-ment by AmulDairy. The gov-ernment issuednotices to the pan-chayat secretaries becausedairy farmers were not sell-ing their milk to Amul dairycentres.

In a statement here, theTDP MLC said that the rul-ing YSRCP should do somesoul-searching as to why thefarmers were unwilling topatronise Amul. How can thepanchayat secretaries beblamed when Amul centreswere not getting expectedquantities of milk? The gov-ernment employees cannotbe held responsible for the

failure of Amul Dairy tomeet its procurement targets.

Ashok Babu pointed outthat there were lots of com-plaints about non-payment ofbills towards the procuredmilk for months together.The Jagan Reddy regimeshould realise at least nowthat it would not be able touse force against the dairyfarmers. The people haveseen through the ulterior

motives of the rulingparty. The govern-

ment employeesshould not beharassed for thesake of gettingcommissionsfrom Amul.

The TDPMLC asked

whether the govern-ment had any idea about

the duties and service condi-tions of the panchayat secre-taries. “It would be better ifshow-cause notices are issuedto the Chief Minister and hisministers for not coming tothe Secretariat to performtheir duties properly. Thegovernment employees arebeing held responsible for thethoughtless policies of thepresent rulers. It is shamefulto blame the employees forthe inefficiency of the govern-ment,” he said.

The recent release of Rs. 684crore to textile and spinningmills would improve the cashflow for companies operating inthe textile sector, he felt.

04VIJAYAWADA | SATURDAY | OCTOBER 9, 2021

Minister for Home Mekathoti Sucharita participated in the foundation stone laying ceremony for the construction of AELChurch at Prathipadu in Guntur on Friday.

FOR AA HHOUSE OOF GGOD

PNS n GUNTUR

Telugu Desam party seniorleader and former MLADhulipalla Narendra Kumarwas served a notice by theKakinada police over his allega-tions on the drugs scandal.

The Kakinada police went tothe house of Narendra, locatedat Chintalapudi village inPonnur mandal, and servedhim the notice over his remarkslinking the burning of a boat inKakinada port to the drugsscandal. The former MLA wasasked by the police to provide if

he has any evidence on his alle-gations.

Talking to the media,Narendra said that according toreports which appeared in themedia, the smell of burningdrugs emanated when the boatwas burning in the flames. Theeye witness told the media inKakinada that the colour offlames was different and thesmell emanating from the burn-ing boat was also different whichraised suspicion. Based on themedia reports he suspected thatthe boat might have belonged todrug mafia, he clarified.

“Chief Minister Y S JaganMohan Reddy asked the officialsto ensure that the drugs wouldnot reach educational institu-tions. The Chief Minister's direc-tions to officials raised suspicionsince there is no instance of con-suming drugs in educationalinstitutions in AP”, he said.

"When we speak about theproblems of people, the govern-ment is muzzling out voiceusing the police", he lashed out.He alleged that AP had becomehub for drug mafia. Ganja isbeing transported in a big wayfrom AP", he said

Minister asks panchayatsto keep villages hygienic PNS n ONGOLE

Minister for Energy andEnvironment BalineniSrinivasa Reddy called uponthe village panchayat to takesteps to keep villages garbage-free and hygienic.

The Jagananna SwechhaSankalpam programme washeld in the ZP conference hallhere on Friday. The ministerdistributed 468 incinerators,826 high pressure toilet clean-ers, 85 Godrej tipper auto rick-shaws, 40 litres HDPE and9,852 dust bins to the sanitarystaff of village panchayats inthe programme. The ministeralso released pamphlets andCDs made on the JaganannaSwechha Sankalpam pro-gramme and later administeredan oath that all would strive toprotect the environment andkeep the surrounding hygien-ic.

Speaking on the occasion,the minister appealed to peo-ple to keep the surroundingclean and hygienic to ensurethat the Dengue and Malariafevers should not outbreak. Heasked the panchayat officialsand sarpanchats to createawareness among people not todump garbage in the drainage

canals. “Chief Minister Y S Jagan

Mohan Reddy has taken up theJagananna SwechhaSankalpam programme withan objective of creating aware-ness and educating people onhygienic environment. Allsarpanches, MPTC, ZPTCs,Corporators, Chairman andMayor should take part in theprogramme”, the minister said.Balineni Srinivasa Reddy saidthat the Chief Ministerresponded to the drinkingwater scarcity and sanctionedRs.400 crore to resolve theproblem permanently.

ZP chairperson BuchepalliVenkayamma called upon allwomen to come forward tomake Jagananna Swechha

Sankalpam a big success.Collector Pravin Kumar askedthe officials concerned to takesteps to collect garbage fromevery household. Mayor GSujata regretted that the plas-tic discards are leading to thepollution of the environment.Joint Collectors T S Chetan,Divisional panchayat officerBhaskar Reddy, ZPTCs andsarpanches were among thosewho attended the programme.

Meanwhile, the ministerparticipated in a programmeorganised in the NTRKelakhetram to distributeidentity cards to artists here onFriday. Speaking on the occa-sion he said that an auditoriumwould be constructed forartists to perform their pro-

grammes in the city. The landwas also identified for the pur-pose.

He said that apart from thegovernment funds, he wouldspend his own money for theconstruction of the auditorium.The auditoriums would beconstructed in the name of hisfather, the minister said. Hedirected Collector PravinKumar to send proposals forthe same to the government.

Srinivasa Reddy said that404 identify cards were issuedto artists and assured of issu-ing identity cards to other eli-gible artists. The ministeralso promised the artists tohelp financial assistance topurchase instruments.

ZP Chairperson BuchepalliVenkayamma said that JaganMohan Reddy headed gov-ernment is committed for thewelfare of artists, as part of it,identity cards were issued tothem. She asked them not tomisuse the identity cards. Thechairperson appealed theartists to take part in taking thewelfare schemes to the people.I&PR AD T Mohan Raju saidthat there were about 2,000artists in the district and allwould be issued identify cards.G Sujata also spoke.

PNS n KAKINADA

The policeunear thed‘booby traps’which wasset up by theo u t l a w e dMaoists atMallampetvillage at theA P -Chhattisgarhstate border

area. Police said that an anti-Maoists team led by ChintoorASP G Krishnakanth, founda ‘booby traps’ set up by theMaoists for the security forces.

The anti-Maoists teamincluding the CRPF person-nel unearthed the 10 boobytraps at the area.

The Maoists dug up 10 feetpits and planted sharpenedbamboo sticks in the pit.

The pit was covered withdry leaves. “If any personsteps on the booby trap, hewill fall into the pit and thesharp edge of bamboo stickswill pierce through his body”,police said. The Maoists hadset up the booby traps as partof their war strategy todemoralise the security forces,the police said. The policedestroyed the booby traps.

Police unearthMaoists’ booby traps on border

IGP denies allegations linkingboat burning to drug scandalPNS n KAKINADA

Eluru range Deputy InspectorGeneral (DIG) of police K VMohan Rao made it clear thatthere was no linkage betweenburning of boat in the sea porthere and drug scandal andwarned of registering cases formaking false allegations.

The DIG, along withSuperintendent of police MRavindranath Babu, visited theKakinada sea port here on Fridayon the directions of DGPGautham Sawang.

Later talking to the media,DIG Mohan Rao said that a boatwas accidently caught fire atUpputera area and gutted in theport here on September 16.“There were no drugs in the ill-fated boat. The boat caught fireaccidentally and gutted” the DIGsaid.

The DIG said that the falseallegations demoralize the policeofficials and warned of registeredcases against those who makebaseless allegations implicatingthe police in the drug scandal.

The DIG said that onSeptember 16, around 6 pm, aboat which was anchored atBuckingham canal at the port.The boat caught fire accidental-ly and was destroyed. The boatbelonged to Palepu Jayaprakash.The boat caught fire when fillingup the diesel tank due to a short

circuit. DSP Bhima Rao and thefire brigade rushed there andextinguished the flames. Oneperson-Malladi Vijay-sustainedminor injuries in the mishap, theDIG said.

However, on October 5,Telugu Desam party formerMLA, addressing a press confer-ence, alleged that one person diedin the boat mishap and drugswere stored in the boat. The DGPsaid that the TDP leader also saidthat when the boat was burningthe flames looked different andthe different kind of smellemanated from the burning boatwhich indicated drugs werestored in the ill-fated boat.

Moreover, TDP leaders includ-ing former Home MinisterNimmakayala Chinarajappa, for-mer MLA Kondababu, formerZP chairman Jyothula Navin,and spokesperson Pattabhiramalso made similar baseless allega-

tions linking burning of the boatto the drug scandal.

The TDP leaders without priorpermission entered the Kakinadasea port and inspected the area,where the boat mishap tookplace. Manager Satyaraj gave acomplaint against the TDP lead-ers for entering into the portwithout permission and caseswere registered against the lead-ers, the DIG said.

”The Kakinada police serveda notice today to TDP formerMLA Dhulipalla Narendra formaking baseless allegations link-ing the burning of boat to thedrug scandal and suspecting theinvolvement of ruling party lead-ers. Stringent action will be ini-tiated if any leaders make base-less allegations and provocativestatements in any manner”, DIGMohan Rao warned. SP MRavindranath Babu and DSP KBhima Rao were also present.

Kakinada police issue notice to Dhulipalla Narendra

PNS n KADAPA

The YSRCP, BJP and Congresscandidates filed their nomina-tions for the Badvel Assemblyconstituency bye-election inBadvel on Friday.

BJP candidate PanatalaSuresh filed his nomination atTahsildar office in Badvel. Hesubmitted his nominationpapers to returning officerand Rajampet sub-collectorKetan Garg. BJP state presi-dent Somu Veerraju, nationalgeneral secretary and BJP APstate affairs in-charge Sunildeodhar, national general sec-retary Y Satya Kumar andnational executive member

Kanna Lakshminarayana andformer minister CAdinarayana Reddy and stategeneral secretaryVishnuvardhan Reddy accom-panied the BJP leader.

Meanwhile, the rulingYSRCP candidate DasariSudha also filed her nomina-tion papers in Badvel onFriday. Minister for EducationAdimulapu Suresh and formerMLC Dr. D C Govinda Redyaccompanied her.

Congress candidate P MKamalamma also filed hernomination papers today.APCC president S Sailajanathand other leaders accompa-nied her.

YSRCP, BJP, Cong candidates file nominations in Badvel

PNS n ELURU

The police seized 728 liquorbottles at different places inWG district.

Jangareddygudem DSPDr.Ravi Kiran told the mediathat the police seized 270liquor bottles when they werebeing brought fromTelangana state illegally atVegavaram village inJangareddygudem mandal.

The SEB officials seized456 liquor bottles at ReddyGanapavaram inButtayagudem mandal whenthey were bringing in twomotorcycles.

The officials also seized272 liquor bottles when beingbrought on motorcycle.

728 liquorbottles seized

PNS n ONGOLE

The 156.5 squaremeter painting ofMahatma Gandhi,painted using coffeepowder in 33 hoursentered the GuinnessWorld Record. SrustiArt Academy presidentTimmiri Ravindra saidin a statement thatOngole girl Adipudi

Sridevi made the Gandhi painting using coffee powder in 156.5 square metersin 33 hours which entered the Guinness World Record. Minister for EnergyBalineni Srinivasa Reddy presented her Guinness World Record certificate anda gold medal. Red cross chairman Prakash Babu congratulated the girl forentering the world famous Guinness world record.

Coffee powder painting entersGuinness World Record

PNS n GUNTUR

A tenant farmer allegedlycommitted suicide by con-suming pesticide at Paladuguvillage in Medikonduru man-dal on Friday.

Police said tht Ananda Rao(43) eked out a livelihood bycultivating his leased land.He consumed pesticide in hisfield and died.

However, the wife of thedeceased alleged that her hus-band was being harassed bythe police in the Paladugugang rape case.

She held the police respon-sible for her husband’s death.

It may be mentioned here

that a couple was waylaid andthe woman was gang raped byundefined miscreants onSeptember 8 and the police arestill unable to resolve the case.

The family members of thedeceased Ananda Rao allegedthat the police had beenharassing him for the last fewdays. Unable to bear theharassment he took theextreme step, the slammed.

Meanwhile, Urban SP ArifHafeez dismissed the allega-tions of police harassment.The SP made it clear that thepolice only questioned somepeople in connection with thegang rape case but did notharass any one.

Tenant farmer endslife due to police‘harassment’

State tops in India’s aqua products export: MopideviPNS n GUNTUR

MP Mopidevi Venkataramanasaid the EMPEDA adoptedNirmala Nagar near Repallefor encouraging aquaculture byproviding modern infrastruc-ture.

The MP unveiled a plaque forthe development infrastructureto encourage aquaculture inthe region at Nirmal Nagar inTummala village in Repallemandal on Friday. The EMPDAand district administration have

taken up the development ofinfrastructure at Nirmal Nagarat a cost of Rs 219. 46 lakh.

Speaking on the occasionthe MP said that out of total Rs40,000 crore aquaculture prod-ucts exported, about Rs 20,000crore worth sea products wereexported from AP itself.

The MP said that about 100families belonging to the STs arein the aquaculture in NirmalNagar. They are not yieldingexpected profits due to lack ofrequired infrastructure like

water and electricity. MPEDAA S Srinivas visited the villagelast March and took steps toprovide the needed infrastruc-ture for the aquaculture cultiva-tion.

Out of the total expenditureof Rs 219.46 lakh, the EMPDAwould spend Rs 164.60 lakh anddistrict administration wouldbear the Rs 54.86 lakh (25%),the MP said. EMPEDA A SSrinivas said that 100 familiesare cultivating aquaculture inNirmal Nagar. The EMPEDA

had adopted the village and pro-vided the modern infrastructureto encourage aquaculture inthe area.

Initially estimations were pre-pared to provide bio securityand water testing at a cost of Rs1 crore but the cost escalated toRs 2 crore as an electric trans-former was to be set up at thearea. He said that at presentaquaculture is being cultivatedin 1.50 lakh hectares in the state.Collector Vivek Yadav alsospoke.

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

As per the pre-election assur-ances of Chief Minister Y.S.Jagan Mohan Reddy, the stategovernment has directed all therice mills to upgrade theirmachinery to produce fortifiedrice. In order to ensure the pres-ence of micronutrients in thefood to improve its nutritionalquality, the government hasdecided to supply fortified riceto rice card beneficiaries andalso for the mid-day-meal pro-gramme in the schools.

Except for a very few ricemills in the state, majority ofthem have not upgraded themachinery to produce fortifiedrice. The government has direct-ed the district administrations totake necessary steps for this.

The Food Safety andStandards Authority of India(FSSAI) has said that increasingthe presence of essentialmicronutrients in food wouldimprove the nutritional quality,which in turn will ensure pub-lic health with minimal risk ofhealth factors.

While refining the paddyinto rice at the mills with thehelp of the machinery, somemicronutrients would be added

with the standard dietaryrequirements. The FoodCorporation of India has alsodecided to procure fortified ricein the coming future.

The state government hasdirected the district administra-tions to ensure that all ricemills upgrade the machinery byNovember 15. The governmenthas also decided to give permis-sion for procurement of paddyto those rice mills only.

There are about 750 ricemills in the state and at present,25 per cent of them have themachinery to produce fortifiedrice. The government has alsoassured the rice mill manage-ments that it would influencethe bankers to get financialassistance to augment themachinery. According to infor-mation from the FSSAI, iron,folic acid and vitamin B-12would be added while refiningthe rice in the mills. "It is not avery expensive exercise. It wouldcost just 50 p to 65 p per kg toadd the micronutrients in therice and there will not be anyother issues while using the for-tified rice. In fact, immunity willget boosted in the long run byusing fortified rice," one of theofficials at FSSAI said.

Rice mills askedto upgrademachinery

FORTIFIED RICE

nation 05VIJAYAWADA | SATURDAY | OCTOBER 9, 2021

USAID launches new forest monitoring tool in Bihar

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Bihar's Departmentof Environment, Forest and Climate Change on Friday jointly launched a new forest moni-

toring tool, which will use satellite images and geo-analytics to improve forest monitoring,planning, and management in the state. While speaking on the occasion, USAID's IndiaDeputy Mission Director, Karen Klimowski, said “in India, USAID invests in forest conserva-tion, management, and restoration to build a sustainable and climate-resilient future ... (weare) hopeful that this new tool will increase the accuracy and consistency of forest land-

scape monitoring in the state of Bihar”. The launchwas organized at ‘Aranya Bhawan' here on Friday.Dipak Kumar Singh, Principal Secretary (Forest) inthe Bihar Government, thanked USAID and said thegovernment would "scale up the use of the moni-toring tool--which was tested in Gaya--to otherparts of Bihar.” The USAID, in partnership with theGovernment of India, is improving rehabilitationand management of more than one million hectaresof India's forests.

IT dept detects Rs 250-cr black incomeafter raids on groups in NE, WB

The Income Tax Department has detected undisclosed income of Rs 250 crore after itraided two groups engaged in cement manufacturing and railway contracts execution in

the north eastern region and West Bengal, the CBDT claimed on Friday. The searches wereconducted on October 5 and 15 premises in Kolkata, Guwahati, Rangia, Shillong and Patnawere covered. "These search and seizure actions resulted in detection of undisclosedincome in excess of Rs 250 crore.Unaccounted cash of more than Rs 51 lakh has beenseized," the CBDT said in a statement. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) framespolicy for the tax department. Nine bank lockers have been put under prohibitory orders

and are yet to be operated, it said. Describing theoperation against the cement manufacturing group, itsaid the group "generated unaccounted income byindulging in out-of-books sales and booking bogusexpenses." "This unaccounted income is laundered backinto the business through shell companies," it said. Manypaper companies are run by the group to provideaccommodation entries (bogus business account entries)to its flagship concern, the statement said.

Centre must to ensure safetyof J&K residents: Punjab CM

Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Friday condemned the recent killingof civilians by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir and urged the Centre to take effective

measures to ensure the safety of the Union Territory's residents. Jammu and Kashmirhas witnessed a number of killings of civilians in the last few days, with the latest onThursday, when principal Supinder Kaur and teacher Deepak Chand were shot dead atpoint blank range inside a government school in Srinagar. On Tuesday, Makhan Lal

Bindroo, a prominent Kashmiri Pandit, and a vendor, VirendraPaswan from Bihar, were killed by terrorists in Srinagar, andcivilian, Mohammad Shafi Lone, in Bandipora. Terrorists shotdead Majid Ahmad Gojri in Srinagar and Mohammad Shafi Darat Batamaloo on Saturday. Channi expressed deep anguishover the gruesome killings of the principal and the teacher.The chief minister has urged the Centre to take effectivemeasures to ensure protection and security of people there(Jammu and Kashmir) who are living under the atmosphere ofuncertainty due to constant threat and fear from variousterrorist outfits, according to an official statement.

INDIA

CORNER

PNS n LAKHIMPUR

The Uttar Pradesh Policeissued a fresh notice to Unionminister Ajay Mishra's sonAshish Mishra asking him toappear before it by 11 am onSaturday in connection withthe violence that killed eightpeople, including four farmers,after he missed his 10 amdeadline on Friday.

The latest notice, pasted onthe wall of Ajay Mishra's houseFriday afternoon, warned thatlegal action will be initiatedagainst him if he fails to appearbefore the investigators onSaturday.

Deputy Inspector General(Headquarters) UpendraAgarwal who is heading theteam probing Sunday's inci-dent waited for him at thepolice lines but he didn't showup, after which the fresh noticewas issued.

As Ashish Mishra did notshow up, reports emerged thathe may have fled to Nepal.

Asked about it, SamajwadiParty president AkhileshYadav on Friday said, "If thisis true, the Centre shouldintervene and get the accusedarrested from Nepal."

In a statement issued here,the Samyukt Kisan Morchasaid, "...there is no trace of him(Ashish Mishra). News reportsindicate that he is changinglocations and is absconding,with several Uttar PradeshPolice teams searching forhim."

The morcha expressed its"serious concern and shock" atMishra not yet being arrested.

After two men were arrest-

ed on Thursday, the policepasted a notice outside AjayMishra's house asking him toappear before it at 10 am onFriday.

The arrested men wereidentified as Luvkush ofBanbirpur village and AshishPandey of Nighasan tehsil,two of the seven people men-tioned in an FIR lodged by thepolice in connection with theviolence.

A nine-member team head-ed by DIG Upendra Agarwalhas been formed to investigatethe FIR lodged against theminister's son and others.

Four of the eight peoplewho died on Sunday werefarmers, allegedly knockeddown by vehicles carryingBJP workers. Angry farmersthen allegedly lynched somepeople in the vehicles.

The other dead includedtwo BJP workers and their dri-ver. Farmers claimed thatAshish Mishra was in one ofthe vehicles, an allegationdenied by him and his fatherwho say they can produce evi-dence to prove he was at anevent at that time.

Minister's son does not show upbefore police, gets fresh summon

LAKHIMPUR VIOLENCE

PNS n NEW DELHI

Azad Samaj Party chief andDalit leader ChandrashekharAzad on Friday said he and hissupporters will gherao the res-idence of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi here if the cul-prits of the Lakhimpur Kheriincident are not arrested with-in seven days.

The prime minister shouldtalk to farmers, go to LakhimpurKheri and meet family membersof slain farmers, he demanded.

"The prime minister tweetson every issue but he is yet toreact on the killing of the farm-ers. The culprits are roamingfree. We will gherao the PM'sresidence if the culprits are not

arrested within seven days,"Azad said at a press conferencehere.

The Dalit leader comparedthe Lakhimpur Kheri incidentto the Jallianwala Bagh mas-sacre, and asserted it will have

huge repercussions in the UttarPradesh Assembly Electionsnext year. Azad alleged there isno law and order in UttarPradesh and demanded that theCM tender his resignation.

He also supported thedemand for a caste census, say-ing it will help ascertain the per-centage of neglected sections ofsociety.

Eight people were killed inthe Lakhimpur Kheri violenceon Sunday. Of the eight, fourwere farmers, who were alleged-ly knocked down by vehiclesdriven by BJP workers travellingto welcome Uttar PradeshDeputy Chief Minister KeshavPrasad Maurya to an event inthe area.

Will gherao PM's residence if Lakhimpur Khericulprits not arrested in seven days: Azad

PNS n LUCKNOW

There will be no injustice withanyone and no action will be takenunder any pressure, Uttar PradeshChief Minister Yogi Adityanath saidon Friday, amid demands by theopposition to arrest Union MinisterAjay Mishra's son in the Lakhimpur-Kheri violence case. Describing theviolence, which left eight people,including four farmers, dead, asunfortunate, he said thegovernment is going deep into thedetails of the incident. "There is no

place for violence in democracy,and when the law is givingguarantee to secure everyone, thereis no need to take it into one'shands, whosoever they be," thechief minister said while speaking toa news channel. On allegations that

attempts are being made to savethe minister's son, Ashish Mishra,in the case, Adityanath said, "Thereis no such video. We have issuednumbers, and if anyone hasevidence, they can upload it. All willbe crystal clear. There will be noinjustice with anyone. No one willbe allowed to take the law in hishand but no action will be takenunder any pressure." "We will notarrest anyone on allegations. Butyes, if someone is guilty, he willalso not be spared irrespective ofwho he is," he said.

No action will be taken under pressure, withoutevidence: UP CM on Lakhimpur Kheri violence

PNS n NEW DELHI

A day after the UK announcedlifting of its quarantine rule forIndian travellers, External AffairsMinister S Jaishankar on Fridayspoke to his British counterpartLiz Truss with a focus on issuesrelating to travel between the twocountries.

The UK on Thursdayannounced that Indian trav-ellers fully vaccinated with bothdoses of Covishield or any othervaccine approved by itwill not require toundergo a 10-daym a n d a t o r yquarantine onarrival fromOctober 11.

"Good totalk to UKF o r e i g nS e c r e t a r y@ t r u s s l i z .Agreed to facili-tate travel betweenour two countries. Thiswill help to implement theRoadmap 2030," Jaishankartweeted.

The Roadmap 2030 wasadopted at a virtual summitbetween Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and his Britishcounterpart Boris Johnson at avirtual summit in May.

The roadmap is aimed at ele-vating bilateral ties to a compre-hensive strategic partnership andguide cooperation over the nextdecade in the key areas of tradeand economy, defence and secu-rity, climate change and people-to-people connect among others.

The annoucement on liftingquarantine rule for Indian trav-ellers was made by British HighCommissioner to India Alex

Ellis on Thursday evening."From Monday, a traveller

from India to the UK, doublejabbed with Covishield or anoth-er vaccine recognised by the UKregulator does not have to quar-antine. It will be easier andcheaper to enter the UK. This isgreat news," Ellis said in a videostatement.

Separately, the UK issued afresh travel advisory and said the"red list" will reduce to sevencountries and "proof of vaccina-

tion will be recognisedfrom 37 new coun-

tries and territo-ries including

India from 4am onMonday.

U n d e rthe newBritish rules

that cameinto effect on

October 4,Indians, fully vac-

cinated withCovishield, required to

undergo 10-day quarantine as theUK had issues with India'sCOVID-19 vaccine certification.

India also imposed reciprocalaction under which all Britishnationals arriving in India fromthe UK needed to undergo amandatory 10-day quarantineeven if they are fully vaccinated.

In its latest travel advisory, theUK said the government extend-ed the inbound vaccinatedarrivals system to a further 37countries and territories acrossthe globe including India, SouthAfrica and Turkey, which meanteligible vaccinated passengersarriving from the rest of theworld countries only need to takea "day two test in England".

Jaishankar speaksto Liz Truss ontravel issues

PNS n THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

Coconut palms grow slowly andare difficult to clone, but scien-tists at a top Belgian universityhave claimed a breakthrough incloning the sixth most cultivat-ed fruit on earth.

The discovery of scientists atK U Leuven and the Alliance ofBioversity International andCIAT (The Alliance), multiply-ing seedlings faster and conserv-ing coconut genetic resources forthe long-term, is expected to helpcoconut farmers in countries

like India address the challengesin the sector, including LethalYellowing Disease, climatechange, rising sea levels andoutdated plantations.

"This will help preservecoconut palm biodiversity andmeet increasing demand forcoconuts and derived products",the scientists said in a statement.

"Nobody thought we could doit. But we persevered", said BartPanis of the Laboratory forTropical Crop Improvement (KULeuven) and the Alliance.

Panis and PhD studentHannes Wilms did it, drawinginspiration from another fruit

variety: the banana. From his work on banana

plants, Panis suspected that a cer-tain plant hormone could also besuccessful in coconut palms.

"Coconut plants do not formside shoots. They put all theirenergy into one shoot that has togrow as fast and as tall as possi-ble. This makes it very difficultto clone and store the plants,"Panis said.

For their research, the scien-tists first extracted the coconutpalm embryo from the coconut.They then applied the plant hor-mone to the meristem - or grow-ing point - contained in the four

month old plantlets.In this way, they succeeded inhaving the plantlet form not onlyone shoot, but several sideshoots. They managed, in turn,to split these shoot clusters andallow new side shoots to grow onthem as well.

Their findings were publishedin Scientific Reports in itsSeptember edition.

In an e-mail interview to PTI,Wilms, the co-author from KULeuven, said cloning the coconutpalms is not as easy as one maythink.

Belgian scientists claim breakthrough in cloning coconut trees

PNS n MUMBAI

The Mumbai airport witnessedchaotic scenes on Friday due toheavy passenger rush amid thefestive season and airlinesadvised travellers to reportearly to allow sufficient timefor security check.

Many people took to socialmedia to mention about thechaos and also shared picturesand videos of the scenes at theairport, which is operated byAdani Group.

In a statement, the airportoperator said with the onset ofthe festive season, there hasbeen a surge in passenger traf-fic and a sudden spike was wit-nessed at CSMIA this morn-ing. The aerodrome is knownas Chhatrapati Shivaji MaharajInternational Airport.

Other city airports of thecountry also witnessed similarscenes, it added.

The operator also expressedregret over the inconveniencecaused to any passenger and

said that it was offering themall the support required.

In a tweet, Bollywood musi-cian Vishal Dadlani said, "lit-erally feels like we're in thedark ages".

"Endless milling crowds,machines breaking down, tem-

pers frayed, chaos everywhere.Staff doing their best butabsolutely unable to cope," hesaid.

Along with a video of thejam-packed terminal, anotherpassenger said, "completechaos at Mumbai airport andthe poor admin/officials haveno idea how to control it.Proper mismanagement".

"Due to Security Hold Areacongestion at Terminal T2Mumbai Airport, we recom-mend our customers to reportearly for check-in to avoid anyinconvenience," Vistara said ina tweet.

IndiGo issued an advisoryasking its passengers atMumbai and Chennai airportsto report early to allow suffi-cient time for security check.

According to the airportoperator, owing to recent intel-ligence reports received bystakeholders and threats atanother airport in the state,security has been furtherbeefed up at CSMIA.

SC Collegiumapprovesappointment of10 addl JudgesPNS n NEW DELHI

The Supreme CourtCollegium has approved theproposal for appointment of10 Additional Judges asPermanent Judges in thePunjab and Haryana HighCourt.

The Collegium headed byChief Justice N V Ramanatook the decision in its meet-ing held on October 7 and theresolution was uploaded onthe apex court website onFriday.

The Additional Judgeswhose names have beenapproved are -- Justices SuvirSehgal, Alka Sarin,Jasgurpreet Singh Puri,Ashok Kumar Verma, SantParkash, Meenakshi I Mehta,Karamjit Singh, Vivek Puri,Archana Puri, and RajeshBhardwaj.

In another decision theCollegium, in a meeting heldon October 6, has approvedthe proposal for elevation ofthe four advocates as Judgesin the Karnataka High Court.

The names approved are -- Anant Ramanath Hegde,Cheppudira MonnappaPoonacha, SiddaiahRachaiah, andKannankuzhyil SreedharanHemalekha.

The Collegium alsoapproved the proposal for ele-vation of advocate J SathyaNarayana Prasad as Judge inthe Madras High Court andadvocate Manu Khare asJudge in the Allahabad HighCourt.

Besides Ramana, Justices UU Lalit and A M Khanwilkarare part of the three-memberCollegium which takes deci-sions with regard to highcourt judges.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Delhi government employeesand teachers not having at leastone shot of COVID-19 vaccinewill not be allowed to attendtheir offices and workplacesfrom October 16, accord-ing to a Delhi DisasterM a n a g e m e n tAuthority (DDMA)order on Friday.

All such unvacci-nated Delhi gov-ernment employees,including teachers andfrontline workers, willbe treated as "on leave" till theyget the jab, the order stated.

The heads of departmentsconcerned will verify vaccinat-ed employees through AarogyaSetu app or vaccination certifi-cate, it stated. The order, issuedby Delhi Chief Secretary andDDMA executive committeechairperson Vijay Dev, statedthat the central government"may consider issuing similar

directions in respect of itsemployees working in Delhi."

The DDMA, in its meeting onSeptember 29, had decided toensure 100 per cent vaccinationof all government employees,frontline workers, healthcare

workers as well as teachersand other staff members

in schools/colleges.These categories ofpersons have frequentinteraction with thegeneral public and

vulnerable section ofthe society, stated the

order.All government employees

working in departments /autonomous bodies / PSUs /local bodies / educational insti-tutions under Government ofNCT of Delhi, including front-line workers, healthcare workersas well as teachers and other staffworking in schools/collegesshould get vaccinated (at leastfirst dose) by October 15, saidthe order.

‘Unvaccinated Delhi govt staff will not beallowed to attend office from October 16’

PNS n BHOPAL

A total of 553 people, whoseearning family member working ingovernment service succumbedto the coronavirus infection inparts of Madhya Pradesh, havebeen given government jobs oncompassionate ground in thestate so far, an official said onFriday. The deceased familymembers of the new appointeeswere in government service indifferent capacities, he said.Madhya Pradesh Chief MinisterShivraj Singh Chouhan handedover appointment letters ofgovernment jobs to 239 of thesebeneficiaries during a virtual eventheld on Thursday evening, thepublic relations department officialsaid. "Chouhan gave theappointment letters to 239 eligiblepersons from different districts

during the programme. The stategovernment has so far givengovernment jobs to 553 personson compassionate ground afterthe earning member of theirfamily succumbed to COVID-19.The deceased were in governmentservice in different capacities,including on temporary positions,"he said. Under this scheme, thestate government has so farreceived 1,645 applications andout of them 553 eligible personswere given appointment letters tillnow, he said. On the occasion,Chouhan also transferred a totalof Rs 14.10 lakh (Rs 5,000 each)into the bank accounts of theguardians of 282 children, whohave lost their parents due to thepandemic in the state. Thefinancial assistance was givenunder the 'Mukhyamantri COVID-19 Baal Seva Yojana'.

Kin of 553 Covid victims get government jobs

Leopard thatescaped fromzoo tracedPNS n KOLKATA

A leopard that fled its enclo-sure in West Bengal'sJhargram zoo around 16hours ago was traced insidethe park on Friday noon.

Forest minister JyotipriyoMallick told PTI that thefive-year-old female leopard,Harshini, was seen hidinginside a thatched hut on thepremises of the zoo during anextensive search operationand put back in its enclosure,under the surveillance of for-est personnel.

"She had sneaked out ofher enclosure last eveningbefore a head count. We haveput her back and she is doingfine," Mallick said.

The animal had attackedand injured at least six peo-ple in Si l iguri-Dooarsregion, following which itwas captured and brought toJunglemahal ZoologicalPark three years ago, hesaid.

Man held for cheating people ofRs 5 cr on promise of high returnsPNS n NEW DELHI

A 52-year-old man was arrested for allegedly duping people to the tune ofnearly Rs 5 crore on the pretext of getting them high returns on investingin his chit fund scheme, police said on Friday. The accused identified asPramod Kumar Sethi, a resident of West Patel Nagar in the city, hasduped more than 17 victims so far, they said. Sethi targeted the victimswho were personally known to him and induced them to invest in his chitfund scheme on assured monthly returns. After collecting a lot of moneyfrom the victims, he stopped the scheme and despite requests refused torefund the invested amount on one pretext or another, according topolice. An FIR was registered against the accused in 2016 after victimsalleged that Sethi was running a chit fund company and induced thepublic to invest in his scheme on the assurance of giving handsomemonthly returns against their periodic investment, police said.

Heavy festive season rush ofpassengers at Mumbai airport

Hindu Bengalis referred totheir Muslim brethren asbecharas to be pitied and notdisapproved of them even forvoting for Partition almost 100per cent. Their leader, verypopular with the peasantry,Fazulul Haque, had proposedthe Pakistan Resolution atLahore on March 23, 1940, atthe Muslim League session. Itis true many Hindus discrim-inated against Muslims. Afrequent complaint was thatthough they invited Muslimsto wedding dinners, the latterwere made to sit separatelyand had to wash their emptyplates at the end of the meal.

One complaint I have per-sonally heard from a memberof the Bramachari family. Thesituation was that their villagehad become impossible tolive in and the entire familyhad to flee to, say, Calcuttaovernight. How to deal withhis six-month-old sister (whomay cry at night) was thequestion. After discussion,the family decided to strangleher. Thankfully, an elderlyaunt got an idea, “let’s give hera little afeem so that she sleepsthrough the night”.

There was no spare farm-land for the incoming peasants.So they were sent to Danda-Karanya in Madhya Pradesh,

which had been cleared forthem. The refugees had beenused to a lot more fertile landand, therefore, most of themcould not adjust to the part-stony forest land and theyreturned to West Bengal’srefugee camps. The result ofovercrowding in Calcutta wasunwelcome. Several streets, likePark Street which reminded oneof London, became unkemptand ordinary. Yet Bidhan Roy,the medical physician-cum-Chief Minister, battled on todevelop West Bengal. He builttwo small cities, Kalyani andDurgapur, to create space fornew industries. His only faultwas to be subservient to Nehru,but then he was not a grassrootspolitician. The number onephysician in India, his privatepatient fee then was `64,unheard of in Bombay andMadras of those days.

Roy was followed byCongressman Prafulla Sen,who was clean and honest. Helasted three years when in1967, the general electionswere called. The Congresswas replaced by a UnitedFront Government headed byAjoy Mukharjee, a formerCongressman often referred toas the Gandhi of Bengal.Once, fed up with the recalci-trance of Deputy CM Jyoti

Basu and their CommunistMinisters, Ajoy babu sat on adharna. Asked by a journalistas to how he can protestagainst his own Ministry, hisreply in Bengali was: “I am notmukho (chief) montri, normurkho (foolish) montri but athutto (broken arms)Jagannath.” The reply soundsvery effective in Bengali. Withthe Communists dictatingterms, West Bengal washurtling down. Naxals addedpoison to the bitterness.

West Bengal, for 33 yearsor more, had to suffer theCommunist policy of keepingpeople on the frontiers ofpoverty so that they do notrebel but, at the same time, donot get strong enough fororganising a revolution. Theonly unusual step they tookwas to make peace with share-croppers, who were partnerswith land owners. West Bengalshifted to three crops a year;the yields went up and thetillers were happier. WestBengal has become a farming-cum-trading State rather thanjust number one industrialState in 1947.

(The writer is a well-known columnist, an authorand a former member of theRajya Sabha. The viewsexpressed are personal.)

MENTAL HEALTH MATTERSSir — Mental health is a critical topic inthe modern era. The World MentalHealth Day encourages us to be more con-scious of not only the physical but also ourown mental health as well. Good healthdoes not refer to merely the absence of anydisease but it centres around completephysical, social and mental well-being.Most people know that exercise is goodfor your body but did you know how goodit is for your mental health as well? Regularexercise can really help you deal with anx-iety and depression. Mental wellbeingplays a vital role in an individual’s life aswell as the society’s as whole.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ourlives have changed considerably. Ourmovements have been restricted, social lifehas been halted and we have started livingin a digital workspace which has increasedour stress and depression levels. People havelost their loved ones and their jobs whilemany are still struggling with the side-effects of the infection or post-illness trau-ma. As the Mental Illness AwarenessWeek is underway, we must take a step toput our mental and emotional health on thepedestal for not just a few days, but for aslong as we want to live happily.

Somya Agrawal | Ujjain

A BID TO SENSITISE PEOPLESir — Selfless acts of those who save livesof road accident victims will now berewarded with a cash prize for theirhumane attitude amidst the ever-growinginstances of accidents. The Ministry ofRoad Transport and Highways must belauded for this initiative of rewarding thesamaritans. This can augur well to reduceIndia’s staggering road mishap toll. India hasa bad distinction of having the highest num-ber of road accidents, ranking third among20 nations. The fatalities ratio is much high-er as compared to the US and Japan.

The National Crime Records Bureaudata reveal that of the 1,33,715 lives lost in2020, 1,20,716 cases were due to negligence.These numbers are alarming since mobil-ity was disrupted during the pandemic. Inspite of an amendment to the Motor Vehicle

Act to sensitise police forces and hospitals,altruism is affected on account of harass-ment and legal complications. Reductionin mortality demand concerted action onseveral fronts like scientific road designs,standards, zero tolerance enforcement,safety awareness etc. The Samaritan plancan work well only if district committeesreadily recognise their contribution aidedby the police, hospitals and the otherauthorities concerned.

Vijay Singh Adhikari | Nainital

PUT CRACKERS TO ‘FIRE’Sir — Both the States and the courts havetheir own responsibilities and limitations.It is unfortunate some progressive-think-ing court orders are ridiculed for being“anti--sentimental”. Similarly, people ofDelhi and Rajasthan are sore with theirGovernments for banning firecrackers fora specific period. The Delhi Governmenthas banned the storage, sale and use of fire-crackers. Bursting of crackers, the ensuingemission of pollutants into the air and the

enormous damage they can do to the res-piratory system is known only too well.

An interesting explanation offered bythe Rajasthan Government is the “effect onimmunity” by the smoke of firecrackers. Asis known, immunity plays a large role in theprevention of COVID-19, as well as recov-ery. The Supreme Court’s prohibition onsale of firecrackers through the famous 2018judgment has still not been imbibed by thecommon people. The court had, instead,allowed green crackers. People of Delhi andthe rest of NCR will vouch for the terrible“gas chambers” their cities turn into aroundDiwali. This year’s Delhi Governmentorder has cleared the air — no storage, nosale, no use of firecrackers. It is always pos-sible that clandestine black marketing offirecrackers may happen; but the intentionof the courts and the Governments cannotbe sidetracked.

Ganapathi Bhat | Nagpur

P A P E R W I T H P A S S I O N

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VIJAYAWADA | SATURDAY | OCTOBER 9, 2021

06

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Starting with the Congress, and later the Communists, political partiesfor decades didn’t allow West Bengal to realise its full potential

BENGAL, FOR 33 YEARS OR

MORE, HAD TOSUFFER THECOMMUNIST

POLICY OF KEEPINGPEOPLE ON THE

FRONTIERS OFPOVERTY SO THAT

THEY DO NOTREBEL BUT, AT THE

SAME TIME, DONOT GET STRONG

ENOUGH FORORGANISING A

REVOLUTION

LETTERS TO TTHE EDITOR

PRAFULL GORADIA

We are disturbed and distressed thatinnocent civilians have been killed inKashmir; we deplore and condemn the

senseless killings of members of minoritycommunities; no cause can justify or con-done that. Among those killed were ordinarypeople like you and me — a pharmacist, astreet food vendor, a taxi driver and schoolteachers. The targeted killings by theResistance Front (TRF) militants were obvi-ously meant to convey the message that theywill resist the influx of those who fled Kashmirin the 1990s and ‘outsiders’ and ‘non-locals’

into the Valley as they fear it could changeits demographic profile. The fear of demo-graphic change may have been fueled by thewebsite launched to facilitate and expedite thereturn of Kashmiri Pandits to the Valley.

It cannot be claimed that everything ishunky dory in Kashmir following the abroga-tion of Article 370 and the bifurcation of theState into two Union Territories. Clearly, theUnion Ministers’ mega outreach programmesand Union Government’s promise of hugeinvestment in infrastructural development havenot brought normality to the troubled region.By restoring statehood and special status,granting more autonomy commensurate withlegitimate political aspirations, promising thepreservation of Kashmir’s distinct culture andidentity, demilitarising the region to theextent possible and strengthening secularism,the Union Government can militate against mil-itancy and win the hearts and minds of the peo-ple of Kashmir.

G David Milton | Maruthancode

The Valley is ‘not’ beautiful

How Congress tieddown Bengal’s hands

Nearly a century ago,Gopal KrishnaGokhale said: “WhatBengal thinks today,

India thinks tomorrow.” What aflattering compliment to a Statewhere I grew up and spent 38years. Even after Partition, WestBengal maintained its positionamong Indian provinces. Thenbegan a pour-in of haplessrefugees from East Bengal,Pakistan’s eastern wing. ChiefMinister Bidhan Roy was a capa-ble, honest and visionary leaderbut Jawaharlal Nehru did notallow him to handle the inflowof refugees.

Nehru wrote him letter afterletter. To quote from them: “Ihave your letter of August 4about the influx from EastBengal. I realise your difficultiesand naturally we should do whatwe can to help you. But as I toldyou long ago, there is no reason-able solution to the problem ifthere is a large influx from EastBengal. That is why I think thatit was a very wrong thing forsome of the Hindu leaders of EastBengal to come to West Bengal.

“I have been quite certainright from the beginning thateverything should be done toprevent Hindus in East Bengalfrom migrating to West Bengal.If that happened on a mass scale,it would be a disaster of the firstmagnitude. Running away isnever a solution to a problem. If,as you suggest, things have gonetoo far already, then naturally weshall all do what we can, but Ishudder at the prospect and themagnitude of the human miserythat will come in its train. To thelast, I shall try to check migrationeven if there is war.”

These are samples of doublestandards of the Nehru dynasty.Because when it came to Punjab,many more were coming in,many dead, in bleeding trains. Atthe time, rumours were afloatthat Master Tara Singh, a Sikhleader, had threatened Nehruthat if he came in the way ofPunjabi refugees, the PM may bekilled. Otherwise, why have onepolicy for Punjabis and anotherfor Bengalis? Bengali Muslimswere not leaving in significantnumbers; here it was largely aone-way traffic.

That was the time when

SOUNDBITEI have told Tesla that it should manufacture electriccars in India, andalso export cars from here.

Union Minister — Nitin Gadkari

I thank theChancellor (Angela Merkel) for the decisiverole she has had in

designing the future of Europe.

Italian Prime Minister — Mario Draghi

Watching thisyounger generationof talent capture thestage inspires me toreinvent, unlearnand relearn.

Actor— Shilpa Shetty Kundra

For the past twoyears, the MHA has been directlycontrolling the security situation inthe Valley. And look what it has led us to!

PDP spokesman — Suhail Bukhari

I think we will see a really strongEngland side comeout here as wewould want as

players and as Australian fans.

Australian Test skipper

— Tim Paine

Dealing with celebrities and their kin is often a double-edged sword, espe-cially when it comes to journalism. On the one hand, it garners eyeballsand mileage in terms of attention and, on the other, if not handled deftly, it

can open up a can of worms. Captioning this case through the pedigree of analleged offender does get the reader’s attention. That it may not be in the best

traditions of healthy journalism is another matter.What an adult does, cannot be laid at the doorstepof his parentage, irrespective of the merits of thecase. On Friday afternoon, Shah Rukh Khan’s sonAryan’s bail plea was rejected in the cruise shipdrug raid case. Aryan is an adult, responsible forhis own conduct. The law of the land will deal withhim appropriately, depending on the merits of thecase. Why then bring in the parentage? Aryan isin the limelight for many wrong reasons. In casethe chap is not guilty, he should be allowed to walkfree honourably. However, if he is guilty (the

panchnama does quote him as saying, ‘I am going to have a blast…have a goodtime’, with six gm of charas), he should be awarded punishment like anybodyelse, without giving any leverage to his lineage.

In fact, erring children born to super influential parents should meet with evenharsher punishment to set an example. The law enforcers, media and the society,on their part, should also make sure that they do not indulge in witch-hunting. Whilea few grams of drugs on the cruise liner is hitting the headlines, the drug seizureof `21,000 crore from the Mundra port in Gujarat was conveniently forgotten bythe media and swept under the carpet early enough. Undue hype only makes lifemiserable for the accused and the NCB, besides weakening the case. RheaChakraborty’s case is still fresh in our memories. On a different note, certain psy-chologists point out that SRK’s repeated brag about his success after a hard strug-gle and mega stardom may impress people like Karan Johar but it could be irri-tating to many. In that case, there would be a propensity to bring him down a pegor two. Therefore, a section of the media may be overtaken by this desire to showa mirror and possibly establish how the brag itself could be misplaced.

The time to think is over. It is time to act sensibly and avoid the third wave of theCoronavirus pandemic. It is time to wear masks, fully covering the mouth andnose. The festive season began on Thursday with the first day of Navratras. It

will last till the new year. The three-month period has several events that can turn super-spreaders. Social, cultural and religious groups are ready with their demands for per-mission to celebrate certain festivals. Political parties are advising restraint, but votebank policies can sway them any time. The Governments at the Centre and in theStates have so far shown a strong resolve to break the infection cycle this time. Theyare also running against time in trying to fully vaccinate the eligible population in thecountry. A relief of sorts is the revelation by a survey that more people are losingtheir inhibitions about vaccination. Social media platform LocalCircles says vaccine

hesitancy is at its lowest at seven per cent. The sur-vey responses show that the vaccine-hesitant do notplan to take the jab till they are convinced that thecurrently available vaccines provide enough protec-tion from the current and future variants of COVID-19. There is no logic to remain hesitant, but the leastthat such people can do is strictly follow the safe-ty precautions. There is clear evidence that vacci-nation will not prevent infection but can certainlyreduce its intensity and the unvaccinated only havethe precautions as a fallback.

The Centre asserts it can tackle the third waveif it becomes unavoidable. It apparently has an adequate medical infrastructure interms of beds, separate hospitals, oxygen, drugs and doctors to tackle a daily surgeof 4.5-5 lakh fresh cases. It is a worst-case scenario no doubt, but people mustrealise that the country is officially still not rid of the second wave of the pandem-ic. At the national level, there is a consistent pattern of daily decline in cases. However,the virus is proving difficult to control in some pockets of the country. The COVID-19 positivity percentage is over 10 in 34 districts of the country. Thirteen of thesedistricts are in Kerala and 18 in the Northeast. The rest of the country is opening upfast now. Schools have reopened, economic activity is back to normal, domestictravel has re-commenced. Many States have unlocked places of worship though some,like Tamil Nadu, are keeping them closed during weekends to avoid crowding. UnlikeIndia, several countries are still experiencing a bad pandemic situation, but theGovernment plans to open up the country for foreign tourists from October 15. Itmust have its logic for doing so. The Government may want to have a rethink con-sidering that people still do not follow elementary rules like wearing masks. The lastday of the ‘Mahalaya’ ceremony on Wednesday, for instance, saw thousands assem-bling on river banks, completely careless about the safety of self and others.

Staying safe

Cruise controlKids born to influential parents have an

equal right to be judged fairly, or punished

PICTALK

IAF’s aerobatic team, Sarang, performs to mark the 89th foundation day of the force, at Hindon airbase in Ghaziabad PTI

The nation must continue to be serious about COVID and not let its guard down

Pollution levels arethe worst in India

WE CAN’T STAY SILENT IF FARMERS

ARE KILLED IN A PLANNED WAY…I ALSO

UNDERSTAND MY DUTY.

—PUNJAB CHIEF MINISTER

CHARANJIT SINGH CHANNI

THE PUNJAB CHIEF MINISTER IS NOT EVEN

ABLE TO DECIDE ON HIS OWN DGP. HIS JOB

IS ONLY TO SPREAD NEGATIVITY.

—UP CHIEF MINISTER

YOGI ADITYANATH

As India’s air pollution levelshave expanded geographicallyover time and increased somuch in Maharashtra and

Madhya Pradesh that an average personis now losing an additional 2.5 to 2.9years of life expectancy, a data of min-istry of agriculture showed that 95,278incidents of stubble burning have beenreported so far since this January. Thecases have declined during the monsoonperiod.

The data showed that 10,765 inci-dents reported in January; 10,111 inFebruary; 10,646 in March; 39,254 inApril; 21,970 in May; 2,036 in June; 273in July; 68 in August and 155 inSeptember. Maharashtra has reported2,516 incidents in January, 2,308 inFebruary, 1,713 in March, 915 in Apriland 519 in May. Madhya Pradesh hasreported 416 incidents in January, 226 inFebruary, 5,183 in March, 20,690 in Apriland 2,367 in May. Chhattisgarh hasreported 2,230 incidents in January,1,710 in February, 526 in March, 230 inApril, 214 in May and 783 in June.

Bihar reported 2,618 incidents inApril and 378 in June. Haryana report-ed 132 incidents in January, 234 inFebruary, 1,934 in April, 1752 in May.Uttar Pradesh reported 828 incidents inJanuary, 1,269 in February, 447 in March,7,227 in April and 2,369 in May. Punjabreported 1,183 in April, 9,940 in May and328 in June.

As per the data, Punjab witnessed anincrease of 44.5 per cent incidents of stub-ble burning in 2020 despite getting 46 percent of the total funds from the centralgovernment for checking crop burningresidue. Punjab saw 76,590 incidents offire in 2020 as compared to 52,991instances in 2019 which indicates anincrease of 44.5 per cent as compared tothe earlier year. Haryana in the year 2020,the total active fire events reported was5,000 while in 2019, it was 6,652 whichindicates a decrease of 25 per cent.

The stubble burning in Delhi and itsneighbouring states-Haryana, Punjaband Western Uttar Pradesh has notstarted yet. Stubble burning is essential-ly a common practice followed by farm-ers in order to get their fields ready forsowing wheat. This usually happensahead of the winter season. After thepaddy is harvested, there is very little timefor farmers to sow wheat, which makesit an urgent task for farmers. While somealleviating measures have been taken bygovernments, these are never enough asevery year Delhi witnesses unusual lev-els of smog during the months of Octoberand November. This makes it importantfor the government to diagnose andaddress the fundamental issues whicharm twist the farmers to burn paddystraw every year.

Paddy stubble burning in Punjab,Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh isa fact, but farmers have no choice. They

Stubble burning by farmers is not defiance but a low-cost straw disposalmethod that also reduces the turnaround time. The solution lies in this fact

POLLUTION INDELHI AND THE

NATIONALCAPITAL REGION

IS INVARIABLYBLAMED ON

STUBBLEBURNING BYFARMERS OF

NEIGHBOURINGSTATES,

ALTHOUGH STUBBLE IS ONLY

ONE OF THEMANY SOURCESOF DELHI’S AIR

POLLUTION.OTHERS

INCLUDE DUST,INDUSTRIAL AND

VEHICULAREMISSIONS, AND

INCINERATION

Life is a complex process. Living through it requires many skills,all of which are perhaps not even listed. The human life spanis less than 50 man-years for effective work. This itself would

be a generous figure if one factors in the time spent in sleeping,rejuvenation, looking after daily needs, etc. To calculate this for allthe human groups inhabiting the planet is a daunting task. Peoplelearn what they can in what their circumstances and talent enable.This can only go so far. The time spent in earning a livelihood and‘keeping the body and soul together’ is yet to reach the calcula-tion table. The reality of the planet Earth runs into numbers whichare demanding to comprehend. Life has existed in some form forbillions of years on this planet. It evolved gradually from the livingcells to amphibian life to separation of creatures that lived on theland and water. The present version of Homo Sapiens has traces,in some parts of the planet going back to 70000 years or more.

In the meanwhile, land movements took place, volcanic eruptionsand more shaped the geography of what is today the plant Earth.Pushing of the weaker landmass against a more stable earth struc-tures like the Tibetan plateau caused mountains to rise. Rivers flowedand river valley cultures, emerged over thousands upon thousandsof years. The history of the world as taught and learnt in curricu-la around the globe, in the best of cases, do not even cross 10,000years. Clearly there is so little that we know of how the Homo Sapiensarrived to be where they are on this planet. Planet Earth itself is avery small speck in the solar system of a galaxy. Our galaxy is oneof many. A galaxy is a gravitationally bound system of stars, stel-lar remnants, inter stellar gas, dust and dark matter. To compre-hend the figure, it is impor tant to recognise that in 2021, datafrom NASA’s space probe was used to revise the previous esti-mate to roughly 200 billion galaxies. This was only with refer-ence to the observable universe. Most of the galaxies are approx-imately 3000 to 300000 light years in diameter. Most galaxies are‘gravitationally organised into groups, clusters and super clus-ters’. The speed at which the so called stars of this galaxy sys-tem move is even more complex to comprehend. Galaxy of MilkyWay ‘includes the solar system with the name describing thegalaxy’s appearance from Ear th.

It is estimated to contain 100 to 400 billion stars and at leastthat number of planets. The solar system is located at a radius ofabout 27000 light years from the galactic centre.’ The above descrip-tion would be enough to flag the super microscopic reality of a humanexistence on this planet. Yet, this super miniscule existence is some-thing ‘super’ in its own way. It has life and an intelligence whichis somewhat evolved. It is important to keep the above in mind tohave a sense of proportion about the significance and value of humanlife. It is important to understand how precious a super tiny lifeexpression can be.It is important to get a sense of proportion anddepth to our thinking and endeavours. All measurement is not justa measurement through figures. It is also a measurement by expe-rience. It is also a measurement by potential. There are several nar-ratives available of the powers some evolved Homo Sapiens suc-ceeded in achieving. All this needs to be built into our curriculumplanning and so-called school, college and beyond, education.

(The writer is a well-known management consultant. The viewsexpressed are personal.)

It’s been the biggest shockin archaeology for a longtime. British and

American archaeologists havefound solid evidence thathuman beings — we couldcall them ‘the forerunners’ —were in the Americas around6,000 years before the earliestpreviously accepted date.

What the archaeologistsfound, at White Sands inNew Mexico, was thousandsof actual footprints, whichdefinitely beats some chippedstones that might or might notbe ancient spear points.Moreover, the lead author ofthe report in the journal‘Science’, Prof. MatthewBennett of BournemouthUniversity in England, thinksmost of the footprints werejust kids.

“These were America’s

first teenagers,” he told ‘TheObserver’, “and they werehanging out together as theydo today. The only thingmissing then was a smart-phone.” What the forerunnershave given us, is a couple ofchallenging mysteries. Thesmaller one is how they gotthere.

They presumably startedby crossing the now-sub-merged land bridge betweenSiberia and Alaska. That wasthe easy bit. But a solid wallof glaciers more than a kilo-metre high blocked the landroute south through Canadafrom Alaska 22,000 years ago.How did they get aroundthat? Maybe they had dugoutcanoes (though big trees wererare in the Ice-Age Arctic), butit would have been a very longway down a rocky, ice-clad

coast (2,500 km.) with noth-ing to eat but the fish you cancatch. By comparison the‘Clovis’ people, who we usedto think were the first humansin the Americas, had it easy.

By the time they showedup about 13,000 years ago, anorth-south corridor hadopened up through the ice-fields in what is now Alberta.You could walk the whole dis-tance to Clovis, New Mexico,

and find food along the way.From the arrival of the

Clovis people onwards, evi-dence of human presence inthe Americas is widespreadand continuous. Furtherresearch has found that somesimilar people may have beenin the two continents as longas 16,000 years ago.

But the bigger mystery isthis: if there were alreadyhuman beings in New Mexico22,000 years ago, where didthey go for the next 6,000years? How could there not beother evidence of their pres-ence in other places?

You can’t carbon-datefootprints in the mud, but youcan date the ditch grass seedsthat are trapped in the mud(now turned into rock) in thelayers just above and belowthose footprints. The archae-

ologists tested the date everyway they knew, and everytime the answer came out thesame: the footprints arebetween 23,000 and 21,000years old.

Okay, then. Time to askthe question we’d all ratheravoid. Could the forerunnersbe one or more groups thatdid an end-run around theglaciers 22,000 years ago,thrived for a little while in theAmericas, and then for somereason died out? No evidencefor a human presence over thenext 6,000 years strongly sug-gests that the forerunners justweren’t there any more. Nomass extinction of Americanmegafauna (large prey ani-mals) until the Clovis huntersarrive sixty centuries latermakes it almost certain.

When human hunter-

gatherers first settled a conti-nent or ocean island wherethe big prey animals had notco-evolved with humanbeings and did not fear them,there was always a massextinction: Australia 46,000years ago, the Americasaround 10-12,000 years ago,New Zealand only 700 yearsago. If it didn’t happen anyearlier than that in theAmericas, then the forerun-ners were probably long gone.

Or maybe, they were stillhanging on somewhere insmall numbers until theClovis people arrived, proba-bly with better weapons, andswept them aside. That’s whatDr Andrea Manica, a geneti-cist at Cambridge University,thinks. He told the BBC thatthe genetics “clearly shows asplit of Native Americans

from Asians approximately15-16,000 years ago.”

The forerunners are notrepresented in that genetic lin-eage, and Manica suggeststhat “the initial colonists of theAmericas were replaced whenthe ice corridor formed andanother wave of colonistscame in. We have no idea howthat happened.” Yes, we do.We just don’t like to thinkabout it.

The world’s prehistory isfilled with examples of morepowerful groups driving outor wiping out less powerfulgroups. Often the men andthe boy children would bekilled while the women wouldbe kept, but the forerunners (ifthey were still around to meetthe new bosses) weren’t eventhat lucky. Sixty centuries,and nothing to show for it.

The archaeologists have found thousands of footprints at White Sands in New Mexico, which has left them with two challenging mysteries

VIJAYAWADA | SATURDAY | OCTOBER 9, 2021

07

www.dailypioneer.com facebook.com/dailypioneer | @TheDailyPioneer | instagram.com/dailypioneer/

FIRSTCOLUMNCOMING TO GRIPS

WITH HUMAN REALITY

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

(The writer is a SpecialCorrespondent, ThePioneer. The views

expressed are personal.)

America’s first teenagers?

GWYNNE DYER

(Gwynne Dyer’s new book is ‘The Shortest History

of War’. The views expressed are personal.)

VINAYSHIL GAUTAM

are compelled to burn paddy stub-ble in the short time they have.These farmers work on a paddy-wheat cycle. Since wheat is a rabicrop, farmers are compelled to har-vest paddy and sell it as well asmake sure the field is ready for thenext round of sowing. This processtakes around 15 days. The strawwas once removed manually dur-ing the harvest and used as cattlefeed or to make cardboard, butnow most farmers rent a combineharvester which leaves up to 80per cent of the residue in the field.Farmers say they donot have thetime or money to store the strawor plough the stubble back intothe ground. For these farmers,burning the paddy straw is an easyway out.

This act of farmers is not defi-ance. Instead, the burning processis a low-cost straw-disposalmethod that also reduces the turn-around time for them. However,the resultant smoke travels all theway to the national capital due tothe winds. This smoke adds to thealready existing suspended partic-ulate matter (SPM) and otherthings that clogs lungs.

Every year, pollution in Delhiand the National Capital Region isinvariably blamed on crop stubbleburning by farmers from neigh-bouring states-Haryana, Punjaband West Uttar Pradesh. Althoughtheir stubble is only one of manysources of Delhi’s air pollution.Others include dust, industrialand vehicular emissions, andincineration. Weather plays a roletoo. Farmers burn stubble twice ayear - in summer and at the onsetof winter. The first time they do it,

the warm breeze disperses it quick-ly. But the second time, in Octoberand November, plummeting tem-peratures and low wind speedspread the smoke far and wide.

According to the governmentdata, stubble burning is a poten-tial source of Green House Gases(GHGs) and other chemically andradioactive important trace gasesand aerosols such as CH4, CO,N2O, NOX and other hydrocar-bons. It is estimated that uponburning, Carbon (C) present inrice straw is emitted as CO2(70 percent of Carbon present), CO(seven per cent) and CH4(0.66 percent) while 2.09 per cent ofNitrogen (N) in straw is emitted asN2O. Besides, burning of cropresidue also emits large amountsof particulates that are composedof a wide variety of organic andinorganic species. Many of the pol-lutants found in large quantities inbiomass smoke are known or sus-pected carcinogens and could leadto various air borne/lung diseases.Besides, it is estimated that burn-ing of one tonne of paddy strawaccounts for loss of 5.5 kgNitrogen, 2.3 kg phosphorus, 25 kgpotassium and 1.2 kg sulphurbesides, organic carbon.

In Delhi, the PM10(Particulate Matter-10 describesparticles that can be inhaled, withdiameters that are generally 10micrometres and smaller) andPM25 levels are 4-5 times higherthan the national average, accord-ing to a detailed study carried outby IIT-Kanpur, and submitted tothe Delhi Pollution ControlCommittee and Department ofEnvironment way back in 2016.

Industries alone further add toalmost 90 percent of SulphurDioxide to Delhi’s pollution. AndCarbon Monoxide is contributedat the rate of almost 83 percent justby the vehicles.

According to the University ofChicago’s Air Quality Life Index(AQLI) report, in India, home to22 of the world’s 30 most pollut-ed cities, toxic air kills more thanone million people each year.According to the report, morethan 480 million people or about40 per cent of its population liv-ing in the Indo-Gangetic plains inthe north where pollution levelsregularly exceed those found any-where else in the world by anorder of magnitude. Residents ofnorthern India are on track to losemore than nine years of lifeexpectancy if pollution levels ofthat of 2019 persist as the regionexperiences the most extremelevels of air pollution in the world,it said. In 2019, India’s average par-ticulate matter concentration was70.3 microgram per cubic metre(?g/m3), the highest in the worldand seven times the World HealthOrganisation’s (WHO’s) guide-line of 10 ?g/m3, the report said.

The smoggy air cloakingIndia’s cities often contains dan-gerously high levels of fine partic-ulate matter, known as PM2.5.These pollutants have been linkedto lung and heart disease and areknown to impair cognitive func-tions and the immune system.PM2.5 air pollution causedaround 54,000 premature deathsin New Delhi in 2020, accordingto an analysis by GreenpeaceSoutheast Asia.

RAJESH KUMAR

The super-miniscule existence of humans is something ‘super’ in its own way

VIJAYAWADA | SATURDAY | OCTOBER 9, 2021 Money 08

PNS n MUMBAI

The Reserve Bank of Indiaexpectedly kept interest ratesunchanged at a record lowon Friday but signalled thestart of tapering pandemic-era stimulus measures oneconomic recovery takingroots.

The six-memberMonetary Policy Committee(MPC) kept the key lendingrate or the repo rateunchanged at 4 per centwhile the reverse repo rate orthe borrowing rate wasmaintained at 3.35 per cent.It voted 5-1 to retain theaccommodative stance, RBIGovernor Shaktikanta Dassaid in an online broadcast.

He indicated the centralbank's willingness to make"gradual" adjustments to theexcess liquidity in the mon-etary system which current-ly stands at over Rs 9 lakhcrore.

Importantly, the GSAPprogramme to purchase gov-ernment securities from themarket has been stoppedfor now to ensure that thereis no further infusion of liq-uidity, he said and stressedthat the step is not a rever-sal of its accommodativepolicy stance. RBI will beready to resume bond pur-chases if needed, he added.

RBI had bought Rs 2.2lakh crore worth bondsthrough GovernmentSecurities AcquisitionProgramme or GSAP in theprevious two quarters.

RBI keeps interest rates unchanged atrecord low; signals tapering of stimulus

PNS n MUMBAI

RBI Deputy Governor MRajeshwar Rao on Friday saidthe central bank is examiningwhether deposit acceptanceby Google and Amazon iswithin the prescribed lawsand regulations, at a timewhen concerns about big techfirms' play in the financialspace are at a heightened

level. Both Google Pay andAmazon have announcedpartnerships with lenders toaccept deposits in the coun-try through their mobilephone apps. "We are examin-ing the issue regarding theregulatory implications, hav-ing regard to the applicablelaws and the regulations thatare prescribed for the thing.So, we are examining it," Rao

told reporters. He addedthat the entry of big techs intothe financial sector space is aglobal phenomenon which isengaging the attention of cen-tral banks around the world aswell. In its last financial sta-bility report in June this year,the Reserve Bank of India(RBI) had warned againstallowing big tech firms intofinancial services.

Big tech's financial sector play under watch

PNS n MUMBAI

To further ease the financial woesof the states hit by the pandemic,the Reserve Bank has decided tocontinue with all the enhancedborrowing limits through the waysand means advances (WMA) andoverdraft facility this fiscal. Sincethe beginning of the pandemicand resultant higher borrowings,states have been paying higherinterest to their bondholders -trending close to 7 per cent all sofar this fiscal. This is despitemany of them borrowing less thanthe notified amount by tapping theWMA window more often thistime around, and as of July, it hasrisen 35 per cent to Rs 92,000crore. As recommended by theSudhir Shrivastava-led panel thatreviewed the WMA limits forstates and UTs, the Reserve Bank

has enhanced the interim WMAlimits and has given Rs 51,560crore till September-end to helpstates tide over the difficultiesduring the pandemic, the centralbank said on Friday, announcingthe fourth monetary policy reviewwherein it left all the key policyrates unchanged. “Consideringthe uncertainties related to theongoing pandemic, it has beendecided to continue with theenhanced WMA limits up toMarch 31, 2022,” RBI GovernorShaktikanta Das said. It has alsobeen decided to continue theliberalised measures introduced todeal with the pandemic, such asenhancing the maximum numberof days of OD in a quarter from36 to 50 days and the number ofconsecutive days of OD from 14to 21 days, up to the end of thisfiscal, the governor added.

RBI keeps all liquidity windowsfor states open till March-end

PNS n NEW DELHI

The real estate industry on Fridaywelcomed the RBI's decision tokeep key policy rates unchanged,saying the interest rates on homeloans will remain at historical lowlevel and housing sales may rise byup to 40 per cent during this festivalquarter. The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) decided to keep benchmarkinterest rate unchanged at 4 percent. This is the eighth time in arow that the RBI has maintained

status quo. "RBI's move of keepingthe repo rate at 4 per cent andreverse repo rate at 3.55 per cent isa welcome move. Theacknowledgment of taking anaccommodative stance while havingindicators of economic recovery is amessage in the right direction,"CREDAI President Harsh VardhanPatodia said."While inflation has been better

than expected with the festiveseason coming in and RBI keepingrates at status quo we look forward

to more support from bankers onhome loans to push the festivesales cheer," he said. NAREDCO-Maharashtra President AshokMohanani said the interest rates willcontinue to be at a record low forsome time and this is the best timeto buy homes. Anshu manMagazine, Chairman & CEO, India,South-East Asia, Middle East &Africa, CBRE, said he expectsresidential sales to further increasein the coming months as home loanrates would remain cheap. Anarock

Chairman Anuj Puri said: "In shortfor homebuyers, the low home loaninterest rates regime will continue inthe market and help foster housingdemand during the ongoing festiveseason. Notably, this is a periodwhen housing sales usually surgeon the back of attractive offers bydevelopers and lending banks." Theongoing festive quarter will see atleast a 35-40 per cent yearly risein overall housing sales across thetop 7 cities as against the sameperiod in 2020, he said.

Realtors hail RBI policy; expect sales to rise 40pc in Oct-Dec on low rates

PNS n MUMBAI

Following are the highlights ofthe RBI's bi-monthly monetarypolicy announced by GovernorShaktikanta Das:nRBI keeps short-term lending

rate (repo) at 4 pc for 8thtime in row; retains accommodative policy stance

n Marginal standing facility rateand bank rate too remainunchanged at 4.25 pc;Reverse repo rate alsounchanged at 3.35 pc

n GDP growth projection tooretained at 9.5 pc for FY'22

n RBI says retail inflation likelyto be 5.3 pc for 2021-22,lower than earlier projectionof 5.7 pc

n Going forward, severalevolving factors providecomfort on food price front,says RBI Guv

Highlights of RBI's bi-

monthly monetary policy

PNS n MUMBAI

After flagging concernssurrounding the inflationaryimpact of the high indirect taxeson fuels for the second time, RBIGovernor Shaktikanta Das onFriday said it is now for thegovernment to take a decision onthe issue, which is pinchingcommon citizens. Das, who hadearlier flagged the issue publiclyfor the second consecutive timein as many policy announcements, said that the governmenthas acted on other supply sideissues like pulses and edible oils.It can be noted that thegovernment had hiked duties andcesses on fuels like petrol and

diesel to record levels after asharp dip in global crude priceslast year which resulted in higherrevenue collections. With therebound in prices, thegovernment has not moved tocut the taxes due to whichIndians are paying over Rs 100for a litre of petrol and diesel isalso close to the three-digit mark.“On this issue (indirect taxes onfuels) as well as on several otherissues where the action lies in thedomain of the government, thereis constant engagement betweenthe RBI and the government. Wevoice all our suggestions andconcerns from time to time,” Dastold reporters in the customarypost policy interaction.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The RBI's decision to keep interestrates unchanged while continuingits accommodative stance is a pru-dent step in view of the unevenpath of recovery momentum, IndiaInc said on Friday. The central bankexpectedly kept interest ratesunchanged at a record low onFriday but signalled the start oftapering pandemic-era stimulus

measures on economic recoverytaking roots. Chandrajit Banerjee,Director General, CII said even asencouraging signs of improvementhave been noted across severalpockets of growth lately, "we are inconsonance with RBI's reading thatthe current growth recoveryprocess would need continued pol-icy support even as the inflationtrajectory has turned out to bemore favourable than expected”.

India Inc welcomes RBI's decisionto keep interest rates on hold

Flagged our concerns on high

petrol taxes: RBI Governor

PNS n MUMBAI

The Reserve Bank on Fridayretained the GDP forecastfor the current financial yearat 9.5 per cent and flaggedglobal semiconductor short-ages, elevated commodityprices and potential globalfinancial market volatilityas downside risks to eco-nomic growth.

In his address after thethree-day meeting of therate-setting panel, RBIGovernor Shaktikanta Dassaid recovery in aggregatedemand gathered pace inAugust-September, and it isreflected in high-frequencyindicators, like railwayfreight traffic; port cargo;cement production; electric-ity demand; e-way bills; GSTand toll collections.

"The ebbing of infections,together with improvingconsumer confidence, hasbeen supporting private con-sumption," he said, andadded the pent-up demandand the festival seasonshould give further fillip tourban demand in the secondhalf of the financial year.

Also, rural demand isexpected to get impetus fromcontinued resilience of theagricultural sector andrecord production of khariffoodgrains in 2021-22 asper the first advance esti-mates.

Das also said the improvedlevel in reservoirs and earlyannouncement of the mini-mum support prices for rabicrops has boosted theprospects for rabi produc-tion. The support to aggre-gate demand from govern-ment consumption is alsogathering pace.

The Governor said criticalsupport to aggregate demandalso came from exports,which remained in excess ofUSD 30 billion for the sev-enth consecutive month inSeptember 2021, reflectingstrong global demand andpolicy support. Further,recovery in the services sec-tor is also gaining traction.

"Impact of elevated inputcosts on profit margins,potential global financialand commodity marketsvolatility and a resurgence inCOVID-19 infections, how-

ever, impart downside risksto the growth outlook," Dassaid while retaining the pro-jection for real GDP growthat 9.5 per cent in 2021-22.

MONEY MATTERS

The centre has relaxed export banfor Odisha to ship 810.1894 MT(tonnes) of red sanders wood in

log form. The relaxation was givenfor red sanders wood in the form oflogs fallen due to cyclone, fromParalakhemundi forest division inOdisha. According to a notificationof the directorate general of foreigntrade (DGFT), the state's forest, environment and climate changedepartment, will finalise the modalities for export of the respectivequantity within 12 months."Prohibition on export of red sanderswood in log form has been relaxed for export of 810.1894 MT(tonnes) of red sanders wood in log form by the Forest, Environmentand Climate Change Department, Government of Odisha," it said. In2017, the government prohibited the imports of red sanders, anendangered species of wood.

Centre eases export bannorms for Odisha

Drug firm Zydus Cadila on Fridaysaid it has received tentativenod from the US health

regulator to market genericAdapalene and Benzoyl Peroxide gelused for treatment of acne in theAmerican market. The company hasreceived tentative approval from theUnited States Food and DrugAdministration (USFDA) to market Adapalene and Benzoyl PeroxideGel 0.3 per cent/2.5 per cent, Zydus Cadila said in a statement.The drug will be manufactured at the group's topical plant atAhmedabad, it added. Adapalene and Benzoyl Peroxide combinationis used to treat acne. It works by killing the bacteria that cause acneand by keeping the skin pores clean, Zydus Cadila said.The group now has 323 approvals and has so far filed over 400abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs) since thecommencement of its filing process, it added.Shares of CadilaHealthcare, the listed entity of the group, were trading at Rs 550.55per scrip on BSE, up 0.18 per cent from their previous close.

Zydus Cadila gets nod tomarket generic acne drug

As the concerns surrounding global warminggrow, the government and the central bankare deciding on who should oversee

climate risk from a finance perspective, ReserveBank Deputy Governor M K Jain said on Friday.The RBI has started its own work on the issue,which includes forming an internal sustainablefinance group which will come out with aguidance note shortly on how to go ahead,Deputy Governor M Rajeshwar Rao said. "With regard to climate risk, Ithink it is at the nascent stage and a debate is going on among theregulators as well as the government whether it should be within thedomain of the government or the regulator," Jain told reporters in thecustomary post-policy review conference.

Govt, RBI debate on whoshould oversee climate risk

PNS n HYDERABAD

India becoming a USD fivetrillion economy by 2025 isimpossible under the currentcircumstance and the countryneeds to grow at nine per centper annum for the next fiveyears in order to achieve that,former Reserve Bank GovernorC Rangarajan said on Friday.Delivering his address at 11thConvocation of ICFAI Foundationfor Higher Education,Rangarajan said attempts shouldbe made to curb the adverseimpact of a third wave ofCOVID-19, if it happens andboth the coverage of vaccinationand the pace of investment inhealth infrastructure should beaccelerated within the strategyof expanding the overallinfrastructure investment."A few years ago, there was the

hope that India would become aUSD five trillion strong economyby 2025. That has becomeimpossible. India's economywas USD 2.7 trillion strong in2019. At the end of March 22,we will still be at the same level.To go from USD 2.7 trillion toUSD 5 trillion, the economy hasto grow at 9 per cent for fiveconsecutive years," Rangarajansaid. In order to achieve theUSD five trillion economy,growth which is the answer tomany of socioeconomicproblems, should thereforebecome the undivided concernof the government and equitywhich is equally important willbe a distant dream unless it issupported by high growthspurred by reforms.

RBI retains growthforecast at 9.5 for ’22

‘India becoming $5trillion economy by2025 impossible’

PNS n WASHINGTON

Buoyed by an increase in pub-lic investment and incentives toboost manufacturing, India'seconomy is expected to grow by8.3 per cent in the fiscal year2021-22, less than the previousprojection early this year beforethe country was hit by the sec-ond wave of the COVID-19pandemic, the World Bank hassaid in its latest report.

World Bank Chief Economistfor the South Asia Region HansTimmer told PTI here thatwhen one looks at the high fre-quency data, they see that as aresult of the second wave of theCOVID-19 pandemic, therecovery paused, and someindicate that the recovery actu-ally declined briefly.

“We project for this fiscalyear 8.3 per cent (growth ratefor Indian economy) that is lessthan we projected early in theyear before the health crisis

caused by the second wave.“Given the sharp contraction

of the economy last year, itmight not look like a lot, but inmy view, that is actually verypositive news, given the violentsecond wave and the severity ofthe health crisis,” he said onThursday.

On March 31, the WorldBank said India's real GDPgrowth for fiscal year 21/22could range from 7.5 to 12.5 percent in its latest South AsiaEconomic Focus report releasedahead of the annual Springmeeting of the World Bank

and the International MonetaryFund (IMF).

In April-May, India struggledwith the second wave of thedeadly coronavirus pandemicwith more than 3,00,000 dailynew cases, throwing hospitalsand health system out of geardue to a shortage of medicaloxygen and beds.

According to Timmer, whatis remarkable and what is thepositive part of that number isthat the pause was short lived,and the hit on the economy wasby far enough, not even compa-rable as large as a year earlier.

“That's how we ended upwith 8.3 per cent growth,” hesaid. “We still think that the sit-uation is very uncertain inter-nally and sometimes external-ly. We still use a very broadrange of possible outcomes forthe Indian economy, althoughthe more we are progressing inthe current year, the less theuncertainty is.

“But that range that we areusing is seven-and-a-half to12-and-a-half per cent we did itfrom the start of the pandem-ic, and you have to concludenow that we are at the lower endof that range, but that is totallydue to the second wave in myview,” Timmer said.

That mitigated some of theimpacts on the vulnerable partsof India. It is time now to shiftgears and to start focusing onmedium-term growth, he said,adding that India has alreadydone some reforms during thecrisis that go in that direction.

‘India expected to grow by 8% in 2021-22’

PNS n NEW DELHI

The government intends tohave EV sales penetration of 30per cent for private cars, 70 percent for commercial vehiclesand 80 per cent for two andthree-wheelers by 2030 as thereis an immediate need to decar-bonize the transport sector,Union minister Nitin Gadkarisaid on Friday.

Gadkari further said if elec-tric vehicles penetrate to 40 percent in the two-wheelers andcars segment and close to 100

per cent for buses by 2030,India would be able to reducecrude oil consumption by 156million tonne worth Rs 3.5lakh crore.

"There is an immediate needto decarbonize the transportsector and make it sustainablewith the economy, ecology,and environmental point ofview ," he said while address-ing an event organised byindustry body FICCI virtually.

"The government intends tohave EV sales penetration of 30per cent for private cars, 70 per

cent for commercial vehicles,40 per cent for buses, and 80per cent for two and three-wheelers by 2030," he added.

The road transport and

highways minister pointed outthat in the EV mission, NITIAayog has inspired 25 states tocome up with EV policies, outof which 15 have alreadyannounced state EV policy.

He said a potential pilotproject is being planned toinstall an electric highwaybetween Delhi-Mumbaiexpressways which will facili-tate the movement of heavy-duty trucks and passengerbuses on electricity.

Noting that transport playsa crucial role in the overall

development of a country,Gadkari said,"Globally Indiahas the highest rail-line lengthand the second-largest roadnetwork which carries mil-lions of passengers and tonnesof goods every day." To fulfill everyday transportneeds of a large population, hesaid his ministry is focusing onthe development of efficientand affordable public transportsystems such as metro rail,rapid rail transit, mono-rail,BRT, intra and intercity busservices.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Gold in the national capitalon Friday rose Rs 50 to Rs45,959 per 10 grams amidgain in international pre-cious metal prices and rupeedepreciation, according toHDFC Securities.

In the previous trade, theprecious metal had settled atRs 45,909 per 10 grams.

Silver in contrast dippedby Rs 922 to Rs 59,834 per kg,from Rs 60,756 per kg in theprevious trade.

The rupee opened on aweak note and fell below the75 per US dollar level in earlytrade on Friday.

PNS n CHENNAI

Two and three wheeler majorTVS Motor on Fridayunveiled the upgraded ver-sion of its popular motorcy-cle TVS Apache RTR 160 4V,equipped with a host of newfeatures, strengthening itsproduct portfolio. Theadvanced features include a

new headlamp assembly,Daytime Running Lamp(DRL) and three ride modes,besides TVS SmartXonnectamong many others.

The special edition pricesbegin from Rs 1.15,265 (forthe base variant with drumbrakes) to Rs 1.21,272 (ex-showroom New Delhi) forthe special edition variant.

"TVS Apache RTR 160 4Vseries of motorcycles havealways lived up to the grow-ing expectations of our aspi-rational customers, by deliv-ering cutting edge technolo-gy to racing enthusiasts",TVS Motor Head(Marketing) premiummotorcycles, MeghashyamDighole said.

EV sales penetration of 30% for pvt cars by’30

TVS rolls out special edition of Apache RTR160

Gold gains Rs 50; silvertumbles Rs 922

PNS n NEW DELHI

There is a need to re-negotiatethe existing trade relationshipand relook at the free tradeagreement with 10-memberASEAN bloc with an aim toeliminate barriers and misuseof the FTA, Commerce andIndustry Minister Piyush Goyalsaid on Friday.

The two-way trade betweenIndia and ASEAN (Associationof Southeast Asian Nations) isabout USD 80 billion andremoval of non-trade barriersand other impediments wouldhelp take this figure to USD 200billion in the coming years, hesaid.

"It is unfortunate that in therecent past, we had to deal withseveral restrictive barriers onour exports in the ASEANregion particularly in the agriand the auto sector. I think

these only result in reciprocalaction from other countriesincluding from India and willhurt the long-term desire of ourleaders to expand tradebetween the countries.

"Therefore, I think there is aneed for re-negotiating theexisting trade relationship,trade barriers, relooking at ourFTA with ASEAN and focusingon new rules to eliminate themisuse of the FTA, eliminatingnon-tariff barriers, and that canultimately lead to building con-fidence on both the sides toreduce tariffs for inter-Aseanand India trade," Goyal said.

He was speaking at CII'sIndo-ASEAN BusinessSummit. The minister urged hisASEAN counterparts to sup-port the effort for early conclu-sion of scoping exercise andcommencement of the tradepact review.

Goyal: Review FTA with ASEAN to stop misuse

um Bin’ actor PriyanshuChatterjee is all set for hisupcoming film Barun Raiand the House on theCliff, which has been shotin the UK at locations

such as Southampton, Camden,Cheshunt, North Weald, StaplefordTawney and Hackney.

Talking to IANS, Priyanshu sharedhis experience of doing a crossoverfilm. “Working on a film like Barun

Rai and the House on The Cliff hasbeen great,” theactor said. “Itis a differ-ent expe-

riencework-

ing on aBritish

crossover film.Its sensibilities arevery different fromthose of aBollywood produc-tion. In a crossoverfilm, an actor has tofocus on targeting a

different global audi-ence.”

The film, directed by SamBhattacharjee, is scheduled for a UKrelease on October 29 and is slatedto be out in India in December.

Priyanshu plays the character of‘Barun Rai’, a parapsychologist anddetective. Playing such a role for thefirst time in his career, Priyanshudons a completely different look inthis film, which will be similar to theclassic 70s look of a crime investiga-tor.

The film, described as a paranor-

mal/psychological horror film, alsofeatures actors such as NyraBanerjee, Sid Makkar, David Bailie,Aakash Shukla, Tony Richardson,George Dawson and EmmaGalliano. It is produced by UnicornMotion Pictures.

“Our director Sam Bhattacharjee’senergy was pretty infectious. It wasalso great working with NyraBanerjee, Sid Makkar and AakashShukla. It was also an amazing expe-rience to be able to team up withinternational actors such as GeorgeDawson, Tony Richardson andEmma Galliano. They are some ofthe most amazing and patient actorsI have ever worked with,” added theactor, who’s also known for moviessuch as Dil Ka Rishta, Bhootnath andHate Story 3.

At the end of his conversationwith IANS, Priyanshu said: “To beshooting non-stop in rough, cold,brutal weather and keeping yourhumanity alive is a great human tri-umph. I saw that every day in thisunit’s actors and technicians. I saluteall of them.”

he dance reality show Super Dancer Chapter 4,judged by Geeta Kapur, Anurag Basu andShilpa Shetty, will air its finale episodetitled Nachpan Ka Maha Mahotsav onSaturday, October 9.

Shilpa Shetty Kundra, who hasbeen associated with the show for quite a longtime, describes how it has impacted her life.She said: “Every year, these kids blow yourminds with their unparalleled talent anddedication. Watching this younger gener-ation of talent capture the stage inspiresme to reinvent, unlearn, and relearn.”

The top five finalists will showcasetheir talent and compete with eachother as they view for the top prize.They are Florina Gogoi, SanchitChanana, Pruthviraj Kongari, EshaMishra and Neerja Tiwari. “Theymake me believe in the process andin divinity even more,” Shilpa said.“It assures me that the craft and thefuture of India are in the besthands.”

Florina Gogoi shared her experi-ence of being on the show and said itwas a great feeling to reach this pointand she was willing to give it her best.

“It is a very big achievement for me to be apart of Nachpan Ka Maha Mohatsav,” she said. “I amexperiencing all kinds of emotions and am elated to havereached the top five ladder. The goal is yet to be achieved,but I will give it my all.”

Looking ahead, he said: “I have mixed emotions rightnow. I am both excited and anxious at the same time asthis has been a long journey for me. I have been practis-ing constantly with Vartika 'didi' for my finale act togive the audience a power-packed performance.”

9

Vijayawada | Saturday October 9, 2021what’s brewing?

scar-winningactor JoaquinPhoenix hassuggested thata sequel toJoker is possi-

ble as there are morethings to “explore” withthe villain.

The 46-year-old starwon the Best ActorOscar for his role asArthur Fleck/Joker inthe 2019 movie, whichserves as an origin storyto the iconic Batman vil-lain.

Phoenix told Playlist:“This is an interestingguy. There are somethings we could do withthis guy and could(explore) further. But asto whether we actuallywill? I don’t know.”

It was reported earlierthis year that directorTodd Phillips was work-ing on a script for thesequel and he previouslysuggested that a follow-up had been discussedduring filming for thefirst film, reports vari-ety.com.

Speaking after themovie’s release, the film-maker said: “Well therewas (a push for a sequel)even before Joker cameout.”

“A movie does thatkind of business andbecame that belovedaround the world —they had talked to usabout it. Joaquin and Ihad spoken about it any-way as far back as whenwe were shooting the

movie.”Phillips had planned

to get DC and WarnerBros., to focus on moviesthat explore the darkerside of their superheroesand hoped that otherfilmmakers wouldembrace the concept.

The 50-year-old direc-tor explained: “I pitchedit as three movies, Jokerbeing the first with me,and then these two othermovies, with two otherdirectors.”

“But I don’t reallywant to name them,because then it’ll becomea thing and I’m pullingthese directors into itwhen I’ve never eventold them about it. It wasjust me telling WarnerBros. about it.”

elebrity coupleRicha Chadhaand Ali Fazal,who are well-versed with inter-national cinema

and how new-age content isevolving, announced theirdebut production ‘Girls WillBe Girls’, and said theyintend to bring stories thatare ‘glocal’ and clutter-break-ing at the same time.

Being outsider-insiders,talking about their project,Richa said: “Authentic, origi-nal, and honest stories go along way, and it is ourendeavour to make filmsthat exhibit nothing less. Weaim to bring stories that areuniversal and unique.Through our projects, wewant to discover theunheard voices and present

clutter-breaking content.”Ali added: “As artists, we

not only want to work ininteresting projects but alsomake cinema that is ground-breaking and thought-pro-voking. We want to bring tothe audience stories thatmatter to us and in turn, res-onates with them. We sin-

cerely hope that people willenjoy the films we makeunder our banner.”

Ali is known for workingin several international pro-jects that include British-American film Victoria &Abdul and Furious 7, amongothers.

Richa on the other has

travelled to the Cannes FilmFestival, Venice InternationalFilm Festival, London IndianFilm Festival with films likeMasaan, Love Sonia, and theweb series Inside Edge forAmazon Prime Video.

It is a truth universallyacknowledged that theIndian film industry is oneof the largest cinema hubs inthe world and there is nodearth of possibilities andopportunities within this fra-ternity.

It is this line of thoughtthat has motivated Richa andAli to bring to celluloid theirmaiden project Girls Will BeGirls, directed by ShuchiTalati and produced throughtheir banner Pushing ButtonStudios, Crawling AngelFilms, and Dolce Vita FilmsFrance.

Richa, Ali Fazal to bring ‘glocal' stories

ollywood actress AliaBhatt has invested inPhool.co, a start-upbacked by IIT-Kanpurthat converts floralwaste into charcoal-

free luxury incense products.Founded in 2017 by engineer-

ing graduate Ankit Agarwal,Phool.co has also received Fairfor Life — Fairtrade and EcocertOrganic & Natural certificates.

Using its ‘flowercycling’ tech-nology, the start-up has alsolaunched a product that it calls‘Fleather’ — an alternative to ani-mal leather made with flowers.

In the media release announc-ing the investment, Alia is quotedas saying: “I admire the founder’svision of making incense and bio-leather from recycled flowers,thereby contributing to keepingour rivers clean, creating ahumane alternative to leather andproviding employment to womenin India’s heartland.”

Previously, Phool.co had raised$2 million in seed funding fromthe IAN Fund (New Delhi),Social Alpha FISE (Bangalore),Draper Richards KaplanFoundation (San Francisco) andIIT-Kanpur.

Speaking on the investment byAlia, the IIT-Kanpur Director,

Abhay Karandikar, commented:“The innovative ‘flower cyclingtechnology by PHOOL’ hasenabled sustainable and eco-friendly waste flower manage-ment, and the uplift of hundredsof women along the way.”

Phool.co has received the pres-tigious UN Young Leaders Awardfor Sustainable DevelopmentGoals, UN Momentum of ChangeAward, Asia Sustainability AwardHong Kong, AlquityTransforming Lives Awards,London, and Breaking the Wall ofScience, Berlin.

Alia invests in waste-flower recycling startup

Priyanshu opens up on workingin British crossover film

O

B T

T

C

Shilpa finds judging ‘SuperDancer 4’ rejuvenating

JOAQUIN PHOENIX HINTS AT JOKER SEQUEL

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

l Each row and column cancontain each number (1 to 9)exactly once.

l The sum of all numbers inany row or column mustequal 45.

Yesterday’s solution

CALVIN AND HOBBES

SPEED BUMP

FUN

SHIKHA DUGGAL

he discovery ofmodern medicine isvery crucial forhuman lives, push-ing us all to ahealthier tomorrow.

In this week’s specialweekly column, wehave a medical profes-sional, the well-knownDirector ofInternationalProsthetic EyeCenter, Dr. Kuldeep

Raizada. He who

crossed the bor-ders of his beau-tiful city ofAligarh, to pur-sue his educa-tion inHyderabad in

the year 2000,talks to us about

his journey, andlove for the Cityof Pearls.

The warmth,love, and

respect he’sreceived forhis profes-

sion,from the city, hesays, has been veryencouraging. Hismedical practicebloomed into a full-time profession andhe acknowledgesevery moment the cityhas gave him so muchof its affection back.“This city has helped memaintain my dignity; it hasbrought me that love andrespect in society. The citizenshave always reciprocate well!There is a significant improve-ment in the quality of life in thecity that I have seen. With thesetup of modern scientific inno-vation, the boundaries of med-ical technology have extendedto unimaginable heights here!There has never been a pointthat the position of a doctor inHyderabad must have dimin-ished, we remain indispens-able.”

Launching his career with thedepartment of prosthetics at theLV Prasad Eye Institute in 2002,he built his own Eye Center.Equally absorbed in the busi-ness of medical devices park, inorder to become the largestmanufacturer of medicaldevices in eye care, he set-up‘Akriti Eye Care’.

He says his most worrisomeconcern while migrating to theNizamian city back then, wasverbal communication and thefood! He is extremely happywith the fact that he is able tocope with these. When hegeared to settle down liberally,he saw that that was a huge sec-tion of people who could speakHindi too, along with Urdu,English and Telugu — it was aconfluence of languages comingtogether in one state. Assertingthat the city’s cuisine swept himoff his feet, he is totally in lovewith the Hyderabadi gastrono-

my.

ComparingHyderabad to what was former-ly the imperial capital of thiscountry to other cities, hedeclares, “The Hyderabadi cul-ture and its social lifestylemakes one attached to it,because it is full of emotionalinfluences. The ‘work culture’sets it apart from other cities! Itdoesn’t bring any kind of chaosonto the stage.

Highly valued by the resi-

dents, economic competitive-ness and attractiveness are someof the vital assets. The identityof the city is prospering on itsown.” The one thing that comesto the mind of the founder ofAkriti Eye Care’s when he hearsHyderabad is ‘cleanliness’!There is this active support ofthe citizens, they just don’t turninto orators but take actions onit too.

Apart from that, the platter oftrade prospects it has to offer isalso what makes the city standout amongst others.

Sharing one of his fondestmemories spent here, the doc-tor shares, “In the year 2005, Imet my soulmate here! Weworked at the same place, I did-n’t realise how I had fallen in love with her whilepracticing medicine (he giggles). Thereafter, a beautifuljourney began with my wifeand today we are blessed withtwo gorgeous kids, their birthhere can never let me forget myaffection for this city ever.”

Recollecting a very old mem-ory from the city when he

wasn’t even a permanentresident back then, he

says, “I had come herefor my interview, and itwas the perfect time to behere. GaneshChaturthi was goingon. I witnessed thecity in a gala mood,so much was happen-

ing. It was all free ofjudgements, people

from all backgrounds,and languages were merri-

ly bopping on the rhythm ofdrums, it was a beautiful sight

to witness.” Advising thepromising youngsters in themedical field to focus on a sin-gular domain when in the med-ical pastures, he also mentionsthat “discipline coupled withmodest sacrifices is the onlyroute to success, because itdoesn’t come overnight.” On aconcluding note he says he isnow pleased to see how this cityis also being known for devel-opments in eye prosthetics, andthat’s there more to come in thecity.

Making eye carethrive in Hyderabad

T

ood lovers whopost images of foodon Instagram,wanting to sharetheir experiencewith others, are

more likely to crave for more,affecting their waistline, findsa study.

Surveys have suggested thatalmost 70 per cent of millen-nials — those born in theeighties and nineties — regu-larly share images of foodbefore eating it. It is also one

of the most common themeson social media platforms, theDaily Mail reported.

A study led by researchersat Georgia SouthernUniversity in the US showedthat diners who photographtheir meals and upload onsocial media sites such asInstagram take longer to feelfull. It leaves them more likelyto want a second serving.

Previous studies have foundthere are some benefits.According to one such study,

sharing food images on socialmedia made food taste better,because taking snaps makesthe brain concentrate more onthe smell and taste of the food.

For the new study, pub-lished in the journal Appetite,the team recruited 145 stu-dents and split them into twogroups.

Both were given plates ofcheese crackers to nibble buthalf were told to stop and takea picture first, the report said.

Immediately after eatingthem, volunteers were asked torate how much they likedthem and whether they want-ed more. The results showedthose taking snaps of thecrackers scored higher interms of enjoyment and wanti-ng seconds.

According to researchers,picture-taking seemed tochange the way the brain per-ceives food and increases thecraving for more calories.

“Memories of food and theact of recording consumptioncan affect how much we eat.Our results indicate picture-taking leads to greater wantingof the food following con-sumption,” the researcherssaid in the paper.

The effects were mostnoticeable in volunteers givensmaller portions — six crack-ers instead of 12.

“Those seeking to eat small-er portions, especially oftempting foods that they wantto cut back on, should avoidtaking pictures of what theyare eating,” the researcherswarned.

INSTAGRAMMING FOODIMAGES MAY LEAVE YOU

CRAVING FOR MORE

PNS | VIJAYAWADA

majority of tal-ented models inthe fashion andfilm industrybelieve thatfashion is noth-

ing but freedom of expres-sion. It’s a choice and in awider sense, a lifestyle.Though the field of fash-ion is quite alluring, thequalities that finally matterare, undoubtedly, stabilityand hard work. Severalupcoming models floodthe fashion field each day,aspiring to try their luckas actors in the film indus-try. Jain Sagar, 27, fromGudivada is no exception,but his perseverance andpassion are what made allthe difference. The Pioneerlearns more about his longyet inspiring journeywhich got him to becrowned the prestigiousMr ContinentalInternational, Mr Indiaawards, and win quite anumber of titles at thenational level too.

Carrying good looksalone doesn’t mean onewould rock the ramp,Sagar remembers sayingthis to his friends when hewas first advised to try hisluck as a model.

“As I met with someminor accident during mycollege days, my walkingstyle slightly differed. Forthis reason my walk wasoften teased of resemblinga ramp walk. Though Iwas into pursuingAeronautical engineering,I just gave it a try, in myattempt to do somethingout of the box. But slowly,I became determined toenter the modelling indus-try, this got stronger whenI was cheated by one ofthe online fashion agen-cies in Mumbai. That’swhen I started watchingand attending fashionshows that fetched me alot of learning and atten-tion. I then started toarrange some eventswhere I got to know aboutthe fashion shows happen-ing around. Meanwhile, Ialso participated in streetshows during weekends inMumbai and Chennai. Todate, I participated inmore than 55 fashionshows at the district, state,national and internationallevel. I also acted as ajudge for more than 18reality shows. I won the

titles of Mr Super Modelof Tamil Nadu in 2016, MrKing South India in 2017,Best Model fromKarnataka in 2018,Fashion Icon of India in2019 and most recently,Best Talent of the Year atMr India 2021 (FilmfareAwards) in Jaipur.”

The model says hismost prestigious title inhis career has to be the MrContinental International2019 — 1st Runner Up,with India in the secondplace. The contest waeheld in Malaysia, wheretopmost models fromalmost 28 countries tookpart.

Talking about winningsuch a precious title, hesays, “It was quite a mem-orable moment receivingwards from noted direc-tors and actors ofBollywood.”

Jain Sagar, now trainsmodels like him, and alsohas taken to onlinegrooming these days.

The passionate model isknown for voicing his sup-port to the transgendercommunity, which lacks aproper platform of theirown to preserve their iden-tity. He recently also repre-sented the community atthe ‘Lakme Glammon2021’ Fashion Show, whichhas been garnering mil-lions views on the internet!

“I believe God blessesyou with a ten per centluck. It’s up to you to honethe remaining 90 per cent

with your efforts. I wouldrather say, more than fameand luck, bad luck encour-aged me all the way toperceive life clearer. Anawful lot of times, I havebeen made waiting forvarious chances in thefashion world. Despite allthat, I never let my talentfor sale which keeps memotivated till date. Besidesbeing a model, I am anengineer in the film indus-try and an entrepreneurtoo, which makes my par-ents’ hearts swell withpride.”

Sagar’s life is no bed ofroses. Opening up abouthis hardships, he says, “Myfather had suffered seriousloss in jewellery business,and that’s when I promisedmyself that I would alwaysstand by his side, shoulder-ing and sharing his finan-cial burden.”

Though the actor madea name for himself as amodel,. ultimately, he says,he longs to see himself onthe silver screen some day.“Irrespective of my hur-dles and failures, my hopeis still alive, and I amthriving and workingtowards my goal. I have nosecond thought but mov-ing forward with utmostperseverance and passionwhich I believe to be theformula for success,” con-cludes the dashing person-ality, who is determined,and is eagerly looking for-ward to prove his talent onthe silver screen.

Determined to rock theramp and the big screens

F

A

HYDERABADHAS HELPED ME

MAINTAIN MY DIGNITY; ITHAS BROUGHT ME THAT LOVEAND RESPECT IN SOCIETY. THE

CITIZENS HAVE ALWAYSRECIPROCATE WELL! THERE IS A

SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTIN THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN

THE CITY THAT I HAVESEEN.

n a world domi-nated by technolo-gy, the joy ofputting pen topaper is almostentirely lost. The

older we get, the larger thegap between writing thingsdown and digitizationbecomes. While the globalpandemic cast a heavy shad-ow on many, it also had itsadvantages — one of whichwas how people turnedinwards to find serenity,strength, and peace.

More light was shed onmental health, its impor-tance, and methods thathelped people achieve that.Many turned to pursue theircreative interests (includingwriting, drawing, and paint-ing) far more seriously thanthey had ever done before,leveraging pens, paper, andstationery. Similarly, journal-ing was one of the main ele-ments that supported peoplethrough those testing timesMarking the occasion ofMental Health Day, theimportance of putting pen topaper, particularly throughjournaling, is important to anindividual's well-being.

Five key benefits ofjournaling:

Helps manage stress andanxiety: Keeping a journaloften helps us put ourthoughts in order and reducethe chaos of everyday life.Journaling not only helps usrelive memories and experi-ences, but provides us with aplatform to get to know our-selves better and reveal ourdeepest fears, passion points,thoughts, and feelings. Thisall helps us remain balanced,focused, and controlled.Journaling is like talking to abest friend but better as itdigs deep into our souls. Tomake journaling more enjoy-able, invest in colourful sta-tionery to lift your mood,and get your creative juicesgoing.

Helps draw on and learnfrom personal experiences: Itis scientifically proven thatwriting using pen and paperhelps retain information bet-ter than when using mobilephones or tablets. Writingdown affirmations, achieve-ments, and learnings helps ustake in information, andlearn from the past. It alsohelps look at experiencesthrough different approachesto ensure that we make betterand informed decisions.

Improves mood andenhances sleep: Generations,

including millennials andGen Z, work very differentlyfrom previous groups. Theyhave shorter attention spansand store bits and pieces ofinformation. Their mindsresemble a computer withvarious open tabs, whichmakes shutting their braindown challenging. Journalingencourages people to letthings out keeping them saneand uplifted and making agood night’s sleep possible.Colour coding a journalenhances the experience evenfurther as it would helpprocess and get a deeperunderstanding of feelings.

Boosts creativity:Journaling sets the brain freeas it provides us with anopportunity to doodle, draw,write, illustrate, and colour ina personal space without anyjudgment. Journaling allowspeople to explore unchartedthoughts and emotions.Writing gets thoughts outand clears the mind for freshideas, helping our mindswander and dream — all thewhile recharging its creativecells.

Helps build a strongerimmune system and a higherIQ: Several studies aroundthe world show that regularjournaling leads to soundsleep, a stronger immune sys-tem and eventually a higherIQ. James W. Pennebaker, asocial psychologist at theUniversity of Texas at Austin,who is considered the pio-neer of writing therapy,

said, “Labelling emotionsand acknowledging traumaticevents have a known positiveeffect on people. When wedo that, our working memo-ry improves, since our brainsare freed from the enormous-ly taxing job of processingthat experience, and we sleepbetter, indeed improving ourimmune system.” Accordingto research published inFrontiers in BehavioralNeuroscience, ‘paper is moreadvanced and useful com-pared to electronic docu-ments because paper containsmore one-of-a-kind informa-tion for stronger memoryrecall’.

Use this year’s MentalHealth Day to start a newhabit that would benefit youpositively and stimulate yourbrain in a way that digitalcommunication doesn’t.

The power of writing ispowerful and unmatched —continue to express yourselfin an impactful manner toensure a better and healthyyou.

Journaling formental wellness

I

SaturdayOctober 9, 2021

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facebook.com/dailypioneer

600TH SIX IN IPL

SIXES BY EACH TEAM

VIJAYAWADA | SATURDAY | OCTOBER 9, 2021 sports 11

PAK IINCLUDE SSARFARAZ IIN TT20 WWORLD CCUPKarachi: Pakistan on Friday made three changes totheir squad for the T20 World Cup, bringing informer captain Sarafraz Ahmed, Fakhar Zamanand Haider Ali at the expense of Azam Khan,Mohammad Hasnain and Khushdil Shah. Formerspinner Saqlain Mushtaq has been named interimhead coach following the resignation of Misbah-ul-Haq. As announced earlier, former Australiabatter Matthew Hayden and former South Africapacer Vernon Philander will be the team’s battingand bowling consultants for the mega event. Thecut-off for making squad changes is October10.Many former Pakistan cricketers, includingRashid Latif and Shoaib Akhtar, wanted wholesalechanges in the squad announced on September 4.

AMANDEEP DDRALL TTIED FFIFTH AAFTER FFIRST DDAYTourrettes (France): Indian golfer AmandeepDrall enjoyed another fine start as she carded 1-under 71 and was tied 5th at the end of the first dayat the Terre Blanche Ladies Open on the LadiesEuropean Access Series Tour. Another Indian inthe field, Vani Kapoor (77), was tied 52nd.Amandeep, a multiple winner on the domesticHero Women’s Pro Golf Tour, had four birdiesagainst three bogeys. Her four birdies came in astretch between sixth and 11th. Sweden’s LinnGrant who was ranked fourth in the WorldAmateur Golf Ranking before turning professionalin August, held a two-shot lead at the end of dayone after she fired an opening round of 68.

ISL RREALLOCATES PPRIZE MMONEY New Delhi: Indian Super League organisers onFriday announced an increase in the prize moneyof ‘Shield Winners’ by Rs 3 crore starting from theupcoming season, while reducing the amounthanded to the ISL champions.The League WinnersShield, introduced in 2019-20 season conferred totable toppers, were presented with Rs 50 lakh inthe last two seasons. As part of the ISL prizemoney reallocation, Football Sports Development(FSDL) has now allocated Rs 3.5 crore to theLeague Winners. The ISL champions -- winner ofthe final -- will now get Rs 6 crore (previously Rs 8crore), while the runners-up will get Rs 3 crore(previously Rs 4 crore).

POONAM YYADAV JJOINS WWBBLMelbourne: Spinner Poonam Yadav on Fridaybecame the eighth Indian cricketer to sign for theWomen’s Big Bash League after Brisbane Heatroped her in for the upcoming season. The 30-year-old diminutive India wrist spinner joined theBrisbane side to fill the spot left by the withdrawalof New Zealand star Amelia Kerr. Yadav is in theIndian squad for the ongoing multi-format tour ofAustralia. She played in two of the three ODIsagainst Australia but did not find a place in theplaying eleven in the subsequent lone Pink-ballTest. Yadav has made a habit of wreaking havocagainst Australian batters, including her 4 for 19 inlast year’s T20 World Cup opener, and Brisbanewill hope she can do the same in the WBBL.

QUEEN EELIZABETH LLAUNCHES BBATON RRELAY London: Queen Elizabeth II held her first majorengagement at Buckingham Palace since the onsetof the coronavirus pandemic a year and a half ago,as she presided Thursday over the launch of thebaton relay for next year’s Commonwealth Gamesin the central England city of Birmingham. The 95-year-old monarch handed the baton for what areoften referred to as the “friendly games” to four-time Paralympic gold medallist Kadeena Cox, whois fresh from winning two events in Tokyo. Cox, 30,took the baton on a brief journey around the nearbyQueen Victoria Memorial in central London beforehanding it to another competitor. “It’s really special,”she said. “I fall into this category where I’m verydiverse - I’m a female, disabled, Black athlete. Forme I think that’s what the Commonwealthrepresents and especially being in Birminghamwhich is such a diverse place.” AGENCIES

SINGLES

IANS n BENGALURU

The Indian women’s hockey teamcaptain Rani Rampal on Friday

hoped that the experience gainedfrom playing against the best teamsin the FIH Hockey Pro League willhelp her team in the same way as itdid the mens team. The Indianwomens team was on Friday includ-ed in the Pro League for the upcom-ing Season 3 along with Spain as areplacement for Australia and NewZealand who had pulled out becauseof the Covid-19 restrictions imposedby their respective governments.

The other players too expressedtheir excitement over playing the topleague which kicks off on October13 with the first match betweenOlympic and World Champions, theNetherlands and Belgium.

Rani said, “This is great news forus. We have seen how much theexposure at the FIH Hockey ProLeague helped our male counter-

parts from the Indian team. They gotto play the best teams in the world,and I believe that helped them taketheir game to the next level.Likewise, the Indian women’s teamis also looking forward to makingthe most of this opportunity. Theentire team is excited.”

Goalkeeper Savita, on the otherhand, stated that this exposure willhelp increase the talent pool in theIndian team. “We have some verytalented junior players coming intothe core group. Playing regular

matches against top teams in theFIH Hockey Pro League will helpthe team try a different combinationof players ahead of important tour-naments like the Asian Games in2022 and the FIH Women’s WorldCup in July 2022. We believe thisexperience in the Pro League willhelp us improve our game further,”said Savita, who recently won theFIH Woman Goalkeeper of theYear award.

Two-time Olympian Monikatoo joined her teammates inreflecting their enthusiasm toplay the FIH Hockey Pro Leaguethis season. “We never got to playtop teams like the Netherlands asoften as we would have liked to.Before our first match at theTokyo Olympics against theWorld No.1 team, we had playedthem just once more than three orfour years ago. But being part ofthe Pro League this season willgive us the perfect opportunity to

test our abilities against top teams.We are looking are all very happyto be included for this season andhope to make the opportunitycount.” she was quoted as sayingin a release by Hockey India.

Youngster Sharmila Devi,who won the FIH Rising Star ofthe Year, also stated that this willbe a great opportunity for youngplayers like her in the team.

“Playing top teams of theworld will provide youngstersl ike me great exposure.Something we wanted to work onbefore the Asian Games was toperform under pressure. The FIHHockey Pro League will be agreat experience in that aspectand we are very excited about it,”she said. The’Indian women’steam will open its FIH Pro Leaguecampaign with a double-headeragainst the Netherlands onFebruary 19 and 20, 2022 in anaway fixture.

IANS n CHENNAI

Local collegian, AlwinSundar (AS Motorsports),

grabbed the pole position inthe Novice (Stock 165cc) cat-egory as the third round ofthe MMSC fmsci IndianNational Motorcycle RacingChampionship 2021 com-menced at the MMRT, hereon Friday in fair weatherconditions.

Alwin, only 19, and whoheads the championship inthe Novice category followinga double in the first round inAugust, overcame a shakystart in the qualifying sessionwhen he went off the track onthe out-lap, but gatheredhimself to post the fastest lap

of two minutes, 08.098secsafter deftly negotiating traffic.

Mumbai’s Kayan ZubinPatel (Sparks Racing) postedthe second-best lap of02:08.545 while team-mateAllwin Xavier (Thrissur)completed the front rowclocking 02:08.772. In all, 38

riders out of 43 qualified tostart Saturday’s race.

Meanwhile, TVS Racing’sDeepak Ravikumar(01:52.567) and Jagan Kumar(01:52.627) were among thequickest riders in the freepractice session in the pre-mier Pro stock 301-400cc

category with championshipleader Rajini Krishnan(RACR Castrol PowerRacing) just behind the leadpair, clocking 01:52.647.

Later, Idemitsu HondaSK6’ Racing’s Rajiv Sethu setthe pace in the Pro-stock165cc category during thefree practice session by top-ping the timesheets with a hotlap of 01:56.344, ahead ofTVS Racing pair of defendingchampion Jagan Kumar(01:56.405) and KY Ahamed(01:57.070). The close com-petition between Honda andTVS riders has producedseveral nail-biting finishesand this’weekend’s double-header promises more of the same.

PTI n MADRID

Indian golfer Shubhankar Sharma card-ed a solid 4-under 67, laced with five

birdies, in the opening round to be tied21st at the ACCIONA Open de Espanahere.

Sharma, who has time and againshown glimpses of fine form but also

given away some advantage after that,was looking good once again, stumbledto just one late bogey on the sixth, whichwas his 15th hole.

India’s other star, Gaganjeet Bhullar,who became a father recently, openedwith 4-over 75 and needs a good secondround to make the cut.

Ross McGowan produced a courserecord 61 and led the way after round onebut world number one Jon Rahm was justtwo shots back on home soil.

Englishman McGowan claimed hisfirst European Tour win in the Spanishcapital 12 years ago at the MadridMasters but had to wait 11 years to seala second at last season’s Italian Open.

Home favourite Sebastian GarciaRodriguez was his nearest challenger butall eyes were on Rahm, who was at eightunder as he seeks a third consecutive vic-tory at his home open.

AP n LONDON

FIFA plans to postponethe Club World Cup

until early next year due tohosting challenges linked tothe pandemic, people famil-iar with the planning said.Coronavirus restrictions ledto Japan withdrawing fromstaging the seven-teamtournament this December,and South Africa then aban-doned a bid due to theneed to get more of thecountry vaccinated.

FIFA is now exploringstaging the event in Januaryor February, the people toldThe Associated Press. Theyspoke on condition ofanonymity because theywere not authorized to dis-cuss ongoing talks.

Qatar is an option —like in February whenBayern Munich won thedelayed 2020 edition inDoha — to help the Gulfnation test venues for themen’s national teams’ WorldCup that starts in November2022.

FIFA is already due tostage the Arab Cup compe-tition in December in Qataras part of World Cup prepa-rations. The Club WorldCup could attract a moreglobal fanbase, with Chelseaqualified as ChampionsLeague winners.

It will disrupt a PremierLeague weekend for thewest London club, as wouldhave been the case if thetournament was contestedas planned in December.

PTI n DUBAI

French University Ecole Superieure Robert deSorbon has conferred former India spinner

Harbhajan Singh with a honorary PhD inSports during a convocation ceremony here.

Harbhajan couldn’t attend the ceremony inperson as he is currently in a bio-secure envi-ronment as part of Kolkata Knight Riders’ cam-paign in the IPL.

The university awards honorary doctoratedegree to eminent personalities in variouswalks of life, which also includes achievementsin the sporting arena.

“If any institution accords respect, youaccept that with utmost humility. If I have beenconferred with honorary sports doctorate by theuniversity, it is because I played cricket and peo-ple have showered their love and affection forthat. I am honoured to be conferred with thedegree,” the 41-year-old Harbhajan said.

Harbhajan’s name was recommended to theFrench University by noted industrialist DrHarcharan Singh Ranauta, vice-president ofIndian Federation of United NationsAssociations (IFUNA).

Harbhajan also thanked the jury whichselected him.

“I would like to thank Dr John ThomasParade, president Sorbon, Dr Vivek Choudhury,chairman, Sorbon International ConvocationCommittee (Celebrity), Dr Mukesh Tyagi,Sorbon International Convocation Committee,for finding me worthy enough.”

Team M Sixes Players Most Sixes

Chennai Super Kings 14 100 9 Faf du Plessis/Ruturaj Gaikwad (20 sixes each)

Punjab Kings 14 93 13 Lokesh Rahul (30 sixes)

Rajasthan Royals 14 90 16 Sanju Samson (17 sixes)

Kolkata Knight Riders 14 80 10 Nitish Rana (15 sixes)

Royal Challengers 13 74 10 Glenn Maxwel (21 sixes)

Mumbai Indians 13 68 12 Kieron Pollard (16 sixes)

Sunrisers Hyderabad 13 66 15 Jonny Bairstow (15 sixes)

Delhi Capitals 13 48 9 Prithvi Shaw/ Shikhar Dhawan (12 sixes each)

Total 54 619 94 Lokesh Rahul (30 sixes)

FAISEL FEATURES

+ Rajasthan Royals’opening batsman Lokesh Rahulsmashed the 600th six in the 14th edition of IPL

+ As many as 94 batsmen hit 619 sixes so far withPunjab Kings’ Lokesh Rahul topped the list with 30sixes in 13 innings

+ Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Glenn Maxwel is onsecond spot with 21 sixes in 12 innings. ChennaiSuper Kings’ Faf du Plessis and Ruturaj Gaikwadshared the third spot with 20 sixes each

+ As far as teams are concerned, CSK have hit themost of the total sixes that the tournament hasseen thus far. Nine players contributed exactly 100sixes of the 619 sixes in IPL 2021

+ Rajasthan Royals batsmen have hit sixes than anyother team with 16 players have hit sixes. Fifteenbatsmen hit sixes for Sunrisers Hyderabad

+ Delhi Capitals’ nine players hit 48 sixes in14matches which is fewest among the eight teams

Great chance for us, Indian women’s hockey team on playing Pro League FIFA plans to postponeClub World Cup until 2022

Novice Alwin Sunder at pole; Ravikumar, Sethu top practiceSolid start for Shubhankar in Madrid

PTI n DHABI

Ishan Kishan and SuryakumarYadav struck whirlwind fifties as

defending champions MumbaiIndians posted a mammoth 235 fornine against Sunrisers Hyderabadin their must-win IPL match hereon Friday.

MI not only need to win thematch, they have to beat SRH by171 runs or more to leapfrogKolkata Knight Riders in the racefor the fourth and last play-off spot.

MI needed a miracle and thescript unfolded in their favour, atleast in the first innings, when theyopted to bat and posted a mam-moth total.

From the word go, Kishanfound the fence at will and scoredhis 84 runs off just 32 balls.

Yadav’s 82-run knock came off40 balls during which he hit 13fours and three sixes.

MI openers -- Kishan andskipper Rohit Sharma (18 off 13)meant business and showed theintent from the onset.

Kishan, especially, was in bel-ligerent mood as he went hammerand tongs and didn’t spare a sin-gle SRH bowler to bring up his fiftyin just 16 balls, the fastest half cen-tury this season.

It was raining boundaries andsixes for Kishan in every over as MIraced to 78 runs in the first five

overs.The menacing partnership

between the openers was finallybroken in the sixth over by RashidKhan when he induced a top-edgefrom Rohit which was brilliantlycaught by Mohammad Nabi run-ning backwards.

But Kishan was in a relentlessmood as he continued to use hislong handle to great effect and putimmense pressure on SRH attack.

It looked like child’s play forKishan as he clobbered Rashid overthe deep midwicket to bring up theteam’s 100 in 7.1 overs.

Kishan finally departed in the10th over when he top edged anUmran Malik delivery toWriddhiman Saha behind thestumps.

After Kishan’s dismissal, SRHpulled things back, courtesy somesmart captaincy from ManishPandey, who replaced Kane Williamson out with anelbow niggle.

A courageous Pandey broughtyoung left-arm spinner AbhishekSharma into the attck in the 13thover and the bowler reposed hiscaptain’s faith by removing KieronPollard (12) and Jimmy Neeshamin final two balls of the over tostand in chance for a hat-trick.

Yadav, who had not been at hisbest in the second leg so far, roseto the occasion when it matterdand took the onus of guiding MIinnings after Kishan’s dismissal.

He kept the scoreboard tickingwith trademark cricketing shots,the most notable among them wasa lofted hit over pacer SidhharthKaul’s head to bring up his fifty in24 balls.

The last five overs yielded 58runs for MI during which Yadavwas at his attacking best.

PTI n DUBAI

Royal Challengers Bangalorerallied to stop Delhi Capitalsat 164 for five in their IndianPremier League match here

on Friday. The table-toppers frittered

away a strong 88-run opening part-nership provided by Shikhar Dhawan(43) and Prithvi Shaw (48) with theother batsmen unable to build on it.

Shimron Hetmyer (29) hit twobig sixes to go with two boundariesand ensured the Capitals go past the

150-mark after the batters appearedto struggle in the middle overs.

For RCB, Mohammed Sirajbowled well to finish with 2 for 25from his four overs while HarshalPatel, Yuzvendra Chahal and DanChristian picked up a wicket each.

Dhawan and Shaw got theCapitals off to a good start, adding55 runs in the first six overs, with-out taking too many risks. While theleft-handed Dhawan, who has beenin good form, continued to play flu-ently, his opening partner came upwith some fine shots too.

RCB skipper Virat Kohli choseto open the bowling with the off-spinof Glenn Maxwell, who started witha wide. Dhawan showed his intentwith a superb drive on the off-sideto get DC moving.

The left-right combination ofDhawan and Shaw scored 88 runs inthe first 10 overs, hitting some splen-did shots on the way before the for-mer fell to Harshal Patel when hegave a catch to Dan Christian.

Shaw, who was beginning tolook dangerous and slog sweptChahal powerfully for a six over mid-wicket, fell to a catch by Garton inthe deep, two short of a well-deservedfifty.

Christian struck a huge blow forthe Bangalore team by getting the DCcaptain Rishabh Pant (10) to edgeone to the ‘keeper K S Bharat, leav-ing them at 108 for three in the 13thover. Earlier, Kohli won the toss andchose to bowl. Both the teams wentin with unchanged playing XIs.

Kishan, Yadav guideMI to mammoth 235

DC make 164 as RCB fight backM P NRR

DC 13 20 +0.526

CSK 14 18 +0.455

RCB 13 16 -0.159

KKR 13 12 +0.294

PBKS 14 12 -0.001

MI 13 12 -0.048

RR 13 10 -0.737

SRH 13 6 -0.422

IPLpointstable

Honorary PhD in Sports conferred on Harbhajan Singh

12

Vijayawada | Saturday October 9, 2021

KIRAN ABBAVARAM'S NEXT GOES ON FLOORS

ctor Kiran Abbavaram, who has been impressing fans and critics with his performances in filmslike Raja Vaaru Rani Gaaru, SR Kalyanamandapam, and his upcoming comedy-thriller, SebastianPC524, signed another film that went on floors on Friday.

The film, which will be directed by debutant Kaarthik Shankar, was launched with a muhurtam ceremonyat Annapurna Studios. The film is being produced by Kodi Divya Entertainments, Kodi Divya, daughter ofveteran Tollywood director Kodi Ramkrishna. Actress Sanjana Anand has been roped in to play the female lead opposite Kiran. The yet-to-be-titledfilm, which marks the 5th film of the actor, will have composer Mani Sharma scoring the soundtrack.Further details about the cast and crew of the film will be out soon.

A

tollywood

ctress Samantha Ruth Prabhu,who is known to speak hermind against the things plagu-ing society, on Friday, sharedseries of posts on herInstagram Stories, slammingpeople for setting different

standards for men and women.The star actress quoted author Farida Don her Instagram Story days after her splitwith actor Naga Chaitanya. She wrote“Good morning” over the post.

The quote read: “If matters are con-stantly morally questionable when doneby women, but not even morally ques-tioned when done by men — then we, asa society, fundamentally have no morals. -Farida D.”

The actress also addressed speculationsurrounding her separation from NagaChaitanya in a powerful statement.

Sharing a note on her social media onFriday, Samantha responded to rumoursabout “affairs”, family planning andalleged abortions, dismissing them as“false”.

She wrote: “Your emotional investmentinto a personal crisis has overwhelmedme. Thank you all for showing deepempathy, concern and for defending meagainst false rumours and stories that arebeing spread. They say I had affairs, neverwanted children, that I am an opportunistand now that I have had abortions. Adivorce in itself is an extremely painfulprocess. Let alone allowing me the time toheal. This attack on me has been relent-less. But I promise you this, I will neverallow this or anything else they say, breakme.”

Samantha had written an Instagrampost that she and Chay had decided to

separate on October 2 after fouryears of marriage.

She wrote: “To all our well-wishers. After much delibera-tion and thought Chay and Ihave decided to part ways as hus-band and wife to pursue our ownpaths. We are fortunate to have afriendship of over a decade thatwas the very core of our relation-ship which we believewill always hold a spe-cial bond between us.We request our fans,well-wishers, and themedia to support usduring this difficulttime and give us theprivacy we need tomove on. Thanking youfor your support.”

ikhil Siddharth, who has beenbusy shooting for his upcomingfilms 18 Pages and Kartikeya 2,has now, for his 19th film hasteamed up with editor-turned-director Garry BH. Malayalam

actress Iswarya Menon of MonsoonMangoes fame will play the female lead inher Telugu debut. This yet to be titled flickthat is bankrolled by Raja Shekhar Reddy, isbilled to be a complete action-packed enter-tainer, to be made on a large scale. Nikhilwho is doing different genre films is allexcited to play a spy for the first time. Atop-notch technical team will be workingfor this high budget entertainer, whoseshoot launched on Friday. While ManojhReddy is the cinematographer, SricharanPakala renders soundtracks for the film.

Anirudh Krishnamurthy is the writer.Arjun Surisetty handles art department,while Ravi Anthony is the productiondesigner.

K RAMYA SREE

aha Samudram iseasily one of themost anticipatedfilms of themonth — for itsensemble cast andalso for the return

of Siddarth to Tollywood.After delivering a

blockbuster like RX100,Ajay Bhupathi’s direc-torial venture Maha

Samudram is gear-ing up for an

October 14release, andfans can’t waitto see

Siddarthreturn toTelugu

cinema.Produced by Sunkara

Ramabraham under AKEntertainments, the filmhas Aditi Rao Hydari andAnu Emmanuel playingfemale leads.

In a conversation withthe press, Siddarth spoke inand out about the film, hisinterest to work for Telugucinema and more.

Firstly, speaking on howhe came on board thismulti-starrer project, wherehe shares screen space withactor Sharwanand, the Oyestar shares, “I watchedRX100, Everyone knowshow perfectly that moviewas made. When AjayBhupathi was narrating thisstory to me, it didn’t seemlike Maha Samudram is hissecond film. I was so inawe of the narration, that Iimmediately gave my nod.”

Despite having to post-pone the film’s shoot multi-ple times, owing to Covid,the actor is happy withthe way it has turned out

to be, and is confidentof the film’s success.

Siddarth wasshown in a never-seen-beforeintense look inthe trailerreleased some-

time back, and the

actor credits his makeupartist Shiva, who has beenwith him for eight years,for the look.

Speaking about the trail-er, Siddarth was all praisefor the editor and directorfor the way the trailer wascut. He says, “This film’strailer is edited in a first-of-its-kind manner — leavingaudience confused on whatthe film is all about. Thetrailer is great, but every-one who has seen it saysthey don’t understand whatthe story is, and that iswhat we wanted.”

“Circumstances arisebecause of the decisions wemake. ‘Good man’, ‘badman’ is based on the deci-sions they make. I saw themovie, it will be a wonder-ful love story. Maha is thename of the heroine, whois it? That is evident in thefilm. Female charactershave been wonderfullywritten. This is definitely asure shot blockbuster.Thanks to Ajay Bhupathifor imagining me in a rolelike this, and for trustingme with it. People will startseeing me in different light,after this film, as I wasalways carried an image ofa ‘chocolate boy’ or a ‘loverboy’,” shares theBommarillu star.

Siddarth stayed awayfrom the film industry forquite sometime for reasonsbest known to him. But theactor proudly calls himselfa Telugu star despite havingbig hits in other major lan-guages. For him, not muchhas changed in his lifesince his first film Boys, in2003. “I am the same manwho developed maturityover time. The break I gotmade me realise what Iwant to do. It was theTelugu people who mademe a star. I have an iconicfilm in every language —Boys in Tamil and Rang DeBasanti in Hindi, but Iwould always maintain thatI am a Telugu actor, every-where. I am a Telugu star,an Indian actor. That iswhy I wanted to thrill theTelugu audience again andI am not going to leave theTelugu industry anytimesoon.”

Heaping praises forSharwanand, his co-star,Siddarth says, “Sharwaand I are always talkingabout the possible rea-sons on why this film isgoing to become a hit.Sharwa rose to greatheights from the last timewe met, and formed afan-base of his own.We do

not know how the chem-istry with the heroines inthe movie will be, but thechemistry between Sharwaand I, is amazing.”

About his productionhouse, he says he set it upto give a boost to peoplewho are outsiders just likehim, and that he is in talkswith some young directorsand will soon producefilms in Telugu.

On a concluding note,the actor shares a funnyincident with his directorwhen he got injured duringthe shooting of the film.“During the climax shoot, Iinjured myself, and Ajaycalled up my family andtold them I was having asurgery. My entire familywas worried and made callsthroughout the day.Thankfully I only had aminor injury, and recov-

ered without anysurgery.”

‘I AM A TELUGU STAR & I WILLNOT LEAVE THIS INDUSTRY’

e told you that Sampath Nandi isbusy with his upcoming ambitiousproject Simbaa The Forest Man.Bankrolled by Sampath Nandi andRajender Reddy D, the movie iswritten by Sampath himself and

helmed by Murali Manohar Reddy.Now according to the latest update, actor

Jagapathi Babu has joined the sets of SimbaaThe Forest Man. Set against the backdrop of ajungle, as is evident from the film’s name,sources say that Jagapathi Babu will beseen playing a very crucial role in thefilm. Krishna Prasad is the cinematogra-pher, while the music for the film is byKrishna Saurabh. Production Designingis being taken care of by Rajeev Nair andediting is by Tammiraju.

The makers of the film recentlyreleased a video that showed a group ofmen cutting trees and smuggling them.They are given a fitting reply by the pro-tagonist who appears to be a macho manliving in the forest.

he shoot of AnandDeverakonda’s next,Highway, has finally wrappedup, in the city. The film is apsycho crime thriller setagainst the backdrop of a

highway. Bankrolled by Talari Venkatunder the Sree Iswarya Lakshmi Moviesbanner, the film is helmed by cine-matographer-turned-director KVGuhan, known for his work in films likeAthadu, Naani, Jalsa, and Dookudu.Malayalam actress Manasa Radha-krishnan is being paired opposite Anandin this film that marks her foray intoTelugu cinema. Highway will have musicby Simon K King. The makers of thefilm are now looking to finish post-pro-duction works as early as possible, so thefilm could release in theatres, soonest.

Apart from this, Anand is shootingfor the last leg of a dark comedy titledPushpaka Vimanam. The Dorasani actorwill also be seen in an untitled film eachwith Suresh Productions and MadhuraEntertainments.

It’s a wrap-up forAnand's Highway

oung actor Raj Tarun isteaming up with SandeepMadhav, for an upcomingmultistarrer film, which willbe helmed by Sudheer Rajuand bankrolled by M Asif

Jani of Star Film Factory production.According to the latest update, theupcoming film will be launched onOctober 10, with a puja ceremony.

Sources tell us that both the youngactors — Raj Tharun and SandeepMadhava were impressed by the narra-tion. More details regarding theremaining cast and crew will be outvery soon.

Sandeep Madhav is known for play-ing the lead role in the hit film GeorgeReddy. He made his acting debut withRailway Station which was released in2012, where he played one of the leadroles. He worked as an assistant direc-tor under Jeevan Reddy for the movieDalam. Sandeep made his lead actingdebut with RGV’s directorial ventureVangaveeti. In the film, he essayed theroles of Vangaveeti Mohana Ranga andVangaveeti Radha, Ranga’s brother

On the other side, Raj Tarun is cur-rently working with director SrinivasGavireddy for an upcoming romanticand comedy-drama AnubhavinchuRaja, which is helmed by SrinivasGavireddy who is known for helmingSeethamma Andalu Ramayya Sithralu.Kashish Khan is playing the love inter-est of Raj Tarun in this romantic andcomedy film.

Samantha calls out society's doublestandards, responds on rumours

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Jagapathi Babu joinsSimbaa The Forest Man

Nikhil toplay a spy

Raj Tarun, SandeepMadhav multi-starrer

gets launch date