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HYDERABAD, WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 9, 2020; PAGES 12 `3

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RNI No. TELENG/2018/76469

Established 1864Published From

HYDERABAD DELHI LUCKNOWBHOPAL RAIPUR CHANDIGARH

BHUBANESWAR RANCHIDEHRADUN VIJAYAWADA

*LATE CITY VOL. 2 ISSUE 330*Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable

5

Eye on 2024, Naidu relies on ‘inclusive expansion’

2

‘India scaling up production of active pharmaingredients’

2

Four more added to Priyanka's advisory council

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated September 8, 2020 5:00 PM

ALMANAC

TODAY

Month & Paksham:

Bhadrapada & Krishna Paksha

Panchangam

Tithi : Saptami: 02:05 am (Next Day)

Nakshatram: Kritika: 11:15 am

Time to Avoid: (Bad time to start

any important work)

Rahukalam: 12:13 pm – 01:44 pm

Yamagandam: 07:38 am – 09:09 am

Varjyam: 04:51 am – 06:37 am

Gulika: 10:41 am - 12:13 pm

Good Time: (to start any important work)

Amritakalam: 08:34 am – 10:22 am

Abhijit Muhurtham: NIL

HYDERABAD

WEATHERFFoorreeccaasstt:: ThunderstormTemp: 31/23Humidity: 74%Sunrise: 06:03 amSunset: 06:23 pm

Though there was eupho-ria among locals rightafter the creation of

Telangana, there was concerntoo. From where will the rev-enues come for the new state ofTelangana? This was the issue,especially because the newstate had very little revenuesources, much of it going toAndhra Pradesh after the divi-sion.

But the scion of theKalvakuntla family K TarakaRama Rao (KTR) was unfazed.

Enthused after participatingina conference organized by theprime local chamber of com-merce, KTR came up with hisown plans shortly thereafter."Hyderabad is a prosperouscity, why don't we rapidlyexpand the city - to say- halfthe state? This will lead to hugeprosperity by urbanizingTelangana," said KTR, with aglint in his eyes. He left unsaidthat this would fill the coffersof the state and boost its rev-enues to unprecedented levels.

Although Tuesday's moveby the Telangana governmentto dislodge Village RevenueOfficers (VROs) from the

Revenue Department's hierar-chy has been justified as one

that is intended to removemassive corruption at thatlevel, the real point has beenglossed over. This is that landvalues have grown so rapidly inTelangana after the new statewas created that VillageRevenue Officers, by virtue ofthe position, have come towield by default (not design)tremendous powers. Many ofthem must have been usingthose powers to the hilt to filltheir own coffers, resulting infrequent charges of corruption.Since the state governmentwants to monitor the activitiesat the grassroots level, it has setup a new system where power

will flow to a higher level. Thiswill help the bosses of the stateto keep a tab on the goings-onin an effective manner and re-fashion development the waythey want.

For the benefit of those whocame in late: the VRO as aninstitution had been created byN T Rama Rao shortly after hecame to office in 1985 as amove to decentralizepower.NTR dismantled thePatel-Patwari (Karanam-Munasabu) system and intro-duced the VROs. But nowthings are moving in thereverse direction.

Growing land values trigger for revenue dept overhaul

Narcotic drugs seized, three heldDURGAPRASAD SUNKU n HYDERABAD

Three persons in possesion of psy-choactive drugs were arrested bya team of the Hyderabad Exciseand Enforcement wing onTuesday. The net worth of thedrugs seized from them was put atRs 2 lakhs.A

Following a tip regarding illegal

possession and sales of narcoticdrugs, the team raided a house atB.K. Guda, Ameerpet and seized46 Ecstasy pills, 2 gms of MDMAand 10 gms of charas. Subsequentinvestigations revealed that one ofthe accused, Pilli Manoj Kumar,along with his friends went to Goaand brought drugs to Hyderabadfor selling them at high prices.

NAVEENA GHANATE n HYDERABAD

In what is seenas the role of abigger boss, aTRS legislatorhas been seek-ing votes for hisconstituent whois apparentlyangling for lift in areality show.

TRS MLA fromChoppadandi constituencySunke Ravishankar has

appealed to peoplethrough his social

media handle to sup-port Bigg Boss con-testant MilkuriGangavva.

There havebeen several sea-

sons of Bigg Bossin various languages

in India, but this ispossibly for the first time

that a ruling party MLA hastaken it upon himself to appealto public to vote for his con-stituent.

L VENKAT RAM REDDYn HYDERABAD

Notwithstanding the hullabal-lo over the new Revenue Acton the onvil, with its statedpurposes being elimination ofgraft and introduction of totaltransparency in land deals,the Telangana State govern-ment is set to lose Rs 10 perday due to the suspension ofproperty registrations acrossthe state.

Effective Tuesday, all sub-registrar offices in the state willremain closed until furtherorders in view of the introduc-tion of the draft new RevenueAct in the ongoing session ofthe Legislative Assembly.

The government will intro-

duce 'The Telangana Rights inLand and Pattadar PassbooksBill, 2020' and 'The TelanganaAbolition of the Posts of VillageRevenue Officers Bill 2020' inthe Legislative Assembly onWednesday, paving the way foroverhaul of the RevenueDepartment. The House will

debate on the new Revenue Billon September 10 and 11 andthe new measure is expected tobe passed by House onSeptember 11.

This a jolt for the Stampsand Registration Department.For, it has come to the rescueof the state government reelingunder corona-induced finan-cial crisis by contributing Rs3,095 crore from April toSeptember till date, despitethe glaring fact that all othertax an non-tax revenues havetaken a severe beating due tothe lockdown and its knock-oneffects. The state government'sdecision to keep sub-registraroffices closed indefinitelywould compound its financialwoes.

Charged with sourcing drugs for Sushant Rajput

PNS n MUMBAI

The Narcotics Control Bureau(NCB) on Tuesday arrestedRhea Chakraborty after ques-tioning her for three days inconnection with drugs-relatedallegations in her boyfriendand actor Sushant SinghRajput's death case.

"Rhea has been arrested anddue process of informing thefamily has been completed,"said deputy director of NCB,KPS Malhotra.

She was taken to a publichospital here for medicalcheck-up and COVID-19 testssoon after her arrest.

Rajput, 34, was found deadat his Bandra apartment hereon June 14.

Before entering the vehiclealong with NCB officials, Rheawaved at the assembled mediapersons at the anti-drugagency's office in south

Mumbai.Clad in black, Rhea reached

the NCB office at Ballard Estatearound 10.30 am on Tuesdayand was also seen carrying abag with her, while entering theoffice.

The 28-year-old girlfriend ofSushant Singh Rajput had inrecent TV interviews denied

that she consumed drugs.Rhea was recently interro-

gated by the CBI probe team,camping at the DRDO guesthouse in Mumbai's westernsuburb Santacruz and alsoquestioned by the EnforcementDirectorate in connection witha money laundering case.

TS Assembly seeksBharat Ratna forPV, MIM boycotts PNS n HYDERABAD

The Telangana State Assemblyon Tuesday passed a resolutionurging the Centre to conferBharat Ratna -- the nation'shighest award -- posthumous-ly on former Prime MinisterPV Narasimha Rao.

Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao intro-duced the resolution in in theHouse.

Although several membersof the ruling and oppositionparties hailed the services of PVin their speeches, the AIMIM,despite its friendly ties with theTRS, opposed the resolution,and abstained from the Houseduring the entire proceedingsrelating to PV.

In a statement issued later, itsaid:"AIMIM has decided toboycott today's proceedings inTelangana Legislative Assemblyand Legislative Council. Ourparty cannot support resolutionand discussion on centenarycelebrations of late PVNarasimha Rao."

owever, Speaker PocharamSrinivas Reddy announced thatthe House had passed the res-olution 'unanimously'.

Later, the Speaker adjournedthe House for Wednesday.

Earlier, ruling TRS andCongress members, whileextending their support to theresolution, stated that theCentre must confer BharatRatna award on PV, recogniz-ing the services of the formerprime minister.

Rhea arrestedShe broke down beforearrest, reportedly admittedto arranging drugs for SSRNew Delhi: Hours before herarrest, actor RheaChakraborty broke downduring her questioning whenshe was confronted with herbrother Showik, sources saidtoday. The 28-year-old actorwas arrested after three daysof questioning over drug alle-gations linked to the investi-gations into the death ofSushant Singh Rajput, whomshe had dated in his finalmonths. Showik Chakraborty,her younger brother, wasarrested last week.

Investigators say RheaChakraborty admitted to

organising drugs for SushantSingh Rajput when he asked.

The anti-drugs agency'sofficial charges don't includeRhea Chakraborty usingdrugs. She reportedly also toldinvestigators that she was notin touch with any drug deal-er. During the coronaviruslockdown, when it was hardto get drugs, sources said,Rhea Chakraborty had herbrother arrange them withhelp from Sushant SinghRajput's house managerSamuel Miranda and helpDipesh Sawant.

NEW REVENUE ACT COMES AT A PRICE

Govt set to lose Rs 10 cr per day

PNS n HYDERABAD

Retired IAS officer CParthasarathi was on Tuesdayappointed as Telangana StateElection Commissioner. Hehas been appointed for atenure of three years.

Parthasarathiappointed pollpanel chief

PNS n NEW DELHI

Covid-19 is raginglike a wild fire acrossthe country, makingIndia the secondworst hit country afterthe US. But there is abright spot amid thismayhem — India'sfirst indigenous Covid-19 vaccine, Covaxin devel-oped by Bharat Biotech, may belaunched in early 2021.

Covaxin has successfullycompleted Phase 1 trials andthe Centre has given itsapproval for Phase 2 of clinical

trials from September 7.Speaking to IANS,

Sanjay Rai, Professor,Community Medicine,and PrincipalInvestigator for Covid-19vaccine trial at AIIMS,said: "Phase 1 trial hasbeen successfully com-pleted. Phase 2 trial is

most likely to get com-pleted sometime in October.After this, the Phase 3 trial willbegin. Covaxin may belaunched in early 2021 (aftercompletion of all trial stages)."

AMARAVATI LAND 'SCAM'

AP urges HC toorder CBI probe PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The AP government onTuesday requested the stateHigh Court to direct theCentre and the CBI to probethe alleged scams that hadtaken place in Amaravati dur-ing the previous TDP regime.

A d v o c a t e - G e n e r a lSubrahma nyam Sriram madethe request on behalf of theState government during thehearing on a petition filed bythe Telugu Desam Party lead-ers seeking to quash the inves-tigation by a SpecialInvestigation Team (SIT) ofthe police.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Osmania General HospitalJunior Doctors' Association(JUDA) has issued a strikenotice over woeful lack ofeven basic facilities and sup-plies, particularly oxygen andbeds, to conduct surgeries inthe hospital. The associationmembers who are on a

warpath said that there wereno operation theaters, apartfrom dearth of oxygen ports.They asked the hospital man-agement to make these facilitesavailable within 48 hours, fail-ing which the doctors wouldboycott even emergency ser-vices.

JUDA said: “We actuallyhave eight units for surgery, but

every day three units areoperating. We are supposed tobe given two operation theatersand five tables. But all we nowhave is one theatre with fourtables. We don’t have wards foroperative admission as it wasmade isolation ward. There isno oxygen supply in post-operative ward either”.

No oxygen, no beds: OGHJUDA to boycott surgeries

KINGSHUK NAG

Covaxin likely to hitmarkets in early 2021

INDIAN MEDIA MUST GO GLOBAL, THEWORLD IS LISTENING TO US: PM MODI

Veteran Telugu stage and film actor JayaprakashReddy died of heart attack at his residence in

Guntur on Tuesday. He was 74 and is survived byhis wife and a son, family sources said.Jayaprakash Reddy collapsed inside thebathroom on Tuesday morning and breathed hislast. The actor, popularly known as JP, began hiscareer as a school teacher. His passion for actingdrove him towards the stage and he played varied roles in countlessdramas. He then attracted the attention of Telugu film industry and avariety of roles came his way.

KANNADA ACTRESS SANJJANAAARRESTED IN DRUGS CASE

Kannada actress Sanjjanaa Galrani has been taken for questioning as theBengaluru police widened its probe into the illegal drug market and its

alleged links to the Kannada film industry. The questioning of the actorcomes days after the arrest of another Kannada actress, RaginiDwivedi, on drug peddling charges. Searches were conductedat the home of Ms Galrani this morning by the Central CrimeBranch of Bengaluru Police after getting a search warrantfrom a court. She has been taken to the office of the CentralCrime Branch for questioning. Ragini Dwivedi wasarrested on Friday after her home was searched thesame morning.

China has passed "an extraordinary and historic test" with its handling of thecoronavirus, President Xi Jinping said Tuesday at a triumphant awards

ceremony for medical professionals decorated with bugle calls and applause. Thenation's propaganda machine has churned out praise for China's Covid-19response, reframing the public health crisis as an example of theagility and organisation of the Communist leadership. Xi doled outgold medals to four "heroes" from the medical field in front ofhundreds of applauding delegates on Tuesday, all wearing facemasks and strikingly large red flower pins. "We have passedan extraordinary and historic test," Xi said, praising thecountry for a "heroic struggle" against the disease.

CHINA PASSED ‘EXTRAORDINARY ANDHISTORIC’ CORONAVIRUS TEST: XI JINPING

JAYAPRAKASH REDDY NO MORE;LEAVES BEHIND A HUGE VOID

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that not only Indian products, but India'svoice too is becoming more global with the world paying more attention to the

country. Inaugurating Patrika Gate in Jaipur and releasing two books authored byPatrika Group Chairman Gulab Kothari through a video conference, PMModi said Indian media also needs to go global at a time when thecountry enjoys a "very strong presence" at almost every internationalbody. "Our newspapers and magazines should have global reputation.We should reach digitally across the world in this digital age. Indianinstitutions should give away literary awards like they are givenin different parts of the world. This is the need of the hourand necessary for the country," he said.

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TRS netas seek votesfor reality show avva

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HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 hyderabad 02

The gradually unfoldingdrama being played outin Andhra Pradesh has

all the ingredients of a thrillernovel — with the main playerin the Opposition makingmoves with eyes fixed onthe 2024 Assembly elec-tions.

Understandably, themoves being made byTDP supremo NChandrababu Naidu aremost intriguing, quite deftand consequently, most inter-esting. This is understandable,considering his experience andpolitical sagacity.

Undoubtedly, Naidu is play-ing a risky game and even ifone move backfires, he maylose the battle and also the warin the sense that the TDP maycede its position as the princi-pal opposition party in thestate.

For now, Naidu is puttinginto practice the theory ofinclusive expansion to takethe wind out of YSRCP sails.

Taking advantage of its posi-tion in power, the YSRCP isstrengthening its base across

the state. Helped bythe populist schemesbeing launched by theYS Jaganmohan Reddygovernment, the YSRCP

is concentrating onweakening the TDP so that

there is little possibility of itsmain political rival unseatingit in the near future.

This may not happen in theimmediate future, but anti-incumbency factor is alwaysaround the corner.

Losing power to its mainpolitical rival YSRCP has hada devastating effect on theTDP.

Out of power, the party is lit-erally struggling to survive, andthe situation is such that it isjust two MLAs away from los-ing the position of the princi-pal opposition party.

In neighbouring Telangana,the ruling TRS successfullypulled the rug from theCongress feet and deprived it

of the principal oppositionposition. Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy wouldhardly be blamed for replicat-ing this, just to settle old scores.

Four of its 23 MLAs havealready deserted the TDP, hav-ing suddenly found deep admi-ration and love for Jagan andhis brand of development.

Not that the TDP can com-plain — it had played thesame game with the YSRCPwhen in power and had in factrewarded four MLAs of thethen Opposition party withCabinet berths.

It’s most unfortunate thatsuch a practice is allowed totake place on an increasinglyregular basis by ‘admirers ofdemocracy’, but that is a sub-ject for another column.

Weakened, and facing pos-sible ignominy of losing theLeader of the Opposition post,Naidu is now adopting the the-ory of inclusive expansion byencouraging two other ‘like-minded’ (in the sense of oppos-ing the ruling party) politicalparties to expand their baseamong particular sections ofsociety.

Towards this end, Naidu istrying to influence theCongress and Jana Sena toexpand their base and rebuildtheir image.

The Congress had enjoyedthe support of the predominantReddy community in undivid-ed AP during its rule of near-ly four decades. Most of the

Congress chief ministers camefrom the Reddy community.

In fact, it was often heard inNew Delhi that one can't imag-ine Andhra Pradesh without aReddy chief minister!

The disastrous decision tobifurcate AP led to a completerout of the Congress in theresiduary State, at around thesame time it lost power at thecentre.

Now it’s struggling to remainrelevant by waging a waragainst BJP-led Central govern-ment.

According to the politicalstrategy adopted by Naidu,there is a need of creating adivision in the Reddy commu-nity which has stood behindthe YSRCP. Being a party thatenjoyed the support of theReddy community earlier,Congress has the best chanceof making some forays into thisvote block, thereby halting theonward march of the YSRCP.

Several leaders, includingformer chief minister N.Kirankumar Reddy and KotlaSuryaprakash Reddy (son offormer chief minister KotlaVijayabhaskar Reddy), are like-ly to be entrusted this task ofwooing the Reddy and Dalitcommunities on behalf of theCongress, since they were con-sidered the backbone of theparty in its heydays.

Naidu is well aware that theKapu community also plays acrucial role at the hustings andthat film actor and Jana Senasupremo Pawan Kalyan has asizeable following among theKapus. This is despite the factthat the Jana Sena failed to bageven one seat in the districtsthat has a predominant Kapupresence like East Godavari,West Godavari, Krishna andGuntur.

Pawan Kalyan has a fairidea of the extent of his popu-larity among the Kapus, and

has been concentrating on thecommunity with an eye on thenext elections. The Jana Senachief has also aligned with theBJP so that this caste baseremains intact, while sendingsignals to one and all that heenjoys the support of theUnion Government, unlikeany other politician in thestate.

Naidu is well aware of thesefactors, and driving these twopowerful sections — theReddys and the Kapus — awayfrom the ruling YSRCP will behis priority in the days tocome.

While it may not be easy forNaidu to influence voters awayfrom the ruling party, he isplaying the waiting game, with2024 as the prize.

Only time will tell if Naidu’sploy of helping the Congressand Jana Sena strengthenwould pay off in the long run,or boomerang on him.

M D RATNA KUMAR

Senior Journalist

TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naiduis well aware of these factors, anddriving these two powerful sections— the Reddys and the Kapus — awayfrom the ruling YSRCP will be hispriority in the days to come

PIN

POINT

Eye on 2024, Naidu relies on ‘inclusive expansion’

Space becomes major constraintto set up nature parks in villagesPNS n NIZAMABAD

To set up village nature parks,space has become a major con-straint. Non-availability of suit-able government land at manyplaces has been posing prob-lems. In fact, out of 530 villagepanchayats in the district, suit-able government lands are notavailable in respect of 70 vil-lages.

As a result, works on natureparks in village could not begrounded for want of suitablesites.

It may be recalled that thegovernment has decided tohave these nature parks in vil-lages in at least one acre of land.

Moreover, the governmentwants them to be located in aradius of 3 km from the village.

For want of suitable space,these natural parks are beinglocated in half acre lands.

In respect of 460 villageswhere the works have beengrounded, the parks are beingdeveloped in forest lands in 59villages. In the rest of the 401villages, abadi lands and rev-enue lands are available.

Generally, shortage of landsis mostly an urban phenome-non. But the phenomenon issurfacing in villages too.

The district administration is

initiating measures to developthe nature parks in villages,District collector C NarayanaReddy has entrusted the task ofidentifying government landsto the RDOs.

In villages where the worksare yet to be grounded, of gov-ernment land has been subject-ed to encroachment the gov-ernment would take possessionof the land to allot it to devel-

opment of parks If forest lands are available in

the vicinity of the villages, thelands would be allotted todevelop nature parks.

The district collector hasbeen undertaking field trips tomonitor the progress of theworks. District RuralDevelopment officer Srinivassaid that the development ofthe parks is through in respectof 60 villages.

The cost of developing eachpark is put at Rs 5.90 lakh. Thedistrict administration allo-cates funds for maintenance ofparks for two years.

The NREGS funds are beingused to develop the parks.Saplings are being planted at adistance of one for over threefeet. Fence will be erected allaround the park, which alsowill have the walking trackfacility.

450 village gardens in Kamareddy soonPNS n NIZAMABAD

Under Palle Prakruthi pro-gramme, setting up of 450village gardens have reachedcompletion in Kamareddy dis-trict to provide better atmos-phere to the villagers.Remaining works would becompleted by September 15,Collector Dr Sharath said.

On Tuesday, the Collectorreviewed works on the gardenswith mandal level officersthrough video conference. Hesaid that compost shed worksshould be completed as early aspossible and should be sup-plied to farmers.

The Collector said that allthe gram panchayats shouldcomplete the monkey food

courts, protect the plants plant-ed in avenue plantation pro-gramme, take action for thesurvival of Haritha Haramsaplings. He said that actionwould be taken aganst pan-chayati secretaries if the sur-vival rate of plants is below 85per cent.

He ordered the officials toprocure fogging machines

through donors, also takeaction to provide work toabout 20 per cent of MGN-REGS workers and completework on lavatories beforeSeptember 28. AdditionalCollector Venkatesh Dothre,Assistant Collector KeshavHemath Patil, DRDO PDChandramohan Reddy andDFO Vasanth participated.

Maoist whotriggered IEDblast arrestedPNS n KOTHAGUDEM

Police have identified a naxalkilled in an encounter atCherla on Monday as KovvasiChandu, 28, alias Srinu aliasJoga.

He was the protection teammember of CPI (Maoist)Telangana State Committeesecretary Haribhushan. Hebelongs to Lankapalli villageof Chintoor mandal of EastGodavari district in AndhraPradesh, Bhadrachalam ASP,Rajesh Chandra informedon Tuesday.

The identity of anothernaxal killed in the encounterwas yet to be ascertained, hesaid. The ASP furtherinformed that the policearrested a Maoist who was apart of a naxal team that trig-gered an IED blast at PeddaMidiseluru in Cherla mandalon Monday. He was identifiedas Madivi Raju of Malleru inDantewada district, a mem-ber of the Maoist secondCRC dalam.

Police seized 20 gelatinsticks, 10 detonators and fivepamphlets from him, theASP said.

Growing land values trigger for revenue...Continued from Page 1

After Independence therehave been several landreforms. It is a different mat-ter that land as a resourcebecame relatively lessimpor-tant as industrialization pickedup pace in the country. Butwith the process of far-reach-ing reforms initiated in 1991matters took another turn.With urbanization becomingvery important, and with land

values going up rapidly, landbecame a prime resourceon-ceagain. Political bosses - start-ing with N ChandrababuNaidu realized the impor-tance of land and how it couldbe used to create riches andattract investors. He knewthat he was sitting on virginland in the state that could beconverted into riches. Littlewonder that Naidu startedbreaking the rocks aroundHyderabad and making way

for more land (in the processof course, filling up lakes).This expanded Hyderabad andindustrialists - of variouskinds, including RamalingaRaju of Satyam, rushed in tomake the moolah. Many cor-nered land and began to tradein it. With the entry ofMicrosoft, Indian School ofBusiness and other IT majors,land values increased mani-fold.

Hyderabad in its infancy

grew around the Charminarand anything outside the areawas the new city. With the pas-sage of time, the city expand-ed, with Banjara Hills, JubileeHills and other upscale areashousing the country homes ofthe nobility. But this was nat-ural expansion that had beensubsumed by the forcedexpansion by Naidu and thenfollowed by YSR and now byKCR and his son KTR. Withthe creation of Telangana,

Hyderabad has come to a newstage. The KCR-KTR duo nowwants to guide the process byrapidly modernizing andextending Hyderabad at topspeed. Whether this is goodfor the people of the newstate is a moot point. But atthis rate, Hyderabad will besoon without its rocks and hillsand sans its lakes andgreens.The over 450-year-oldHussain Sagar lake has shrunkto alarming levels.

TS Assembly seeksBharat Ratna for...

Continued from Page 1

KCR praised PV, stating thatthe former PM was the archi-tect of economic reforms thatchanged the face of the coun-try. Pointing to the year-longbirth centenary celebrations ofPV launched by the state gov-ernment, KCR said:“PV wasa great son of Telangana.However, he did not get thehonour he deserved�.

Crediting PV for India's rep-utation at the global level, KCRsaid that PV became the PrimeMinister at a time when thenation was facing a lot of prob-lems. PV took several adventur-ous decisions. The credit formaking former Prime Minister

Dr Manmohan Singh theFinance Minister of the nationwent to PV. “We are enjoy-ing the results of PV’sreforms. PV not only imple-mented land reforms, but alsohanded over 800 acres of hisown land to 479 poor fami-lies�. KCR demanded thatthe Centre should rename theUniversity of Hyderabad afterPV, install PV's statue onParliament premises, and hanga portrait of the former PrimeMinister in Parliament. KCRsaid that PV was the first per-son from south India whobecame Prime Minister and thesecond person who made Indiamodern, after first PrimeMinister Jawaharlal Nehru.

Parthasarathiappointed...

Continued from Page 1

Governor TamilisaiSoundararajan issued a noti-fication regarding theappointment under Article243K of the Constitutionalong with Panchayat RajAct, 2018 Telangana.Following the appointment,the 1993 batch IAS officermade a courtesy call on ChiefMinister K. ChandrashekarRao at Pragathi Bhavan.

His predecessor V NagiReddy retired in the month ofApril.

Covaxin likely to...Continued from Page 1

In the first phase of theCovaxin trial, around 375 par-ticipants were studied across12 locations. From July 20onwards, AIIMS began humantrials of Covaxin on 100healthy volunteers agedbetween 18 and 55 years. InPhase 1, the blood samplescollected from the volunteerswere monitored for sideeffects.

Covaxin is an "inactivated"vaccine, which injects doses ofthe virus that have been killed,

aiming to prompt the body tobuild antibodies, and in thisprocess the virus does not posea threat. On a comparison ofCovaxin with Russia's Covid-19 vaccine, Rai insisted thatCovaxin is better placed thanthe Russian vaccine.

He added that Covaxin andthe Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccine candidatein India are technically at thesame level in the clinical tri-als stage, though the Oxfordvaccine has reached Phase 3clinical trials in Britain, Braziland South Africa.

Narcotic drugsseized ...

Continued from Page 1

According to the police,Manoj Kumar, along withhis friends Gariganti NaveenRaj, Mohit Sharma and twoother persons, went to Goa,stayed there for five days, andreturned to Hyderabad afterbuying narcotic drugs fromlocals Kunal Shinde andRafee.

"Investigation revealed thatthe accused also brought thedrugs for B. Rohit, a softwareemployee, and some times heprocured cocaine fromZuhair Hussain of Saidabad,who used to purchase cocainefrom Nigierians and used tosell it to needy customers athigher prices," N. Anjireddy,Assistant ExciseSuperintendent (AES),Enforcement, told ThePioneer.

Rhea brokedown before...

Continued from Page 1After her arrest, as she was

being driven away in a policecar, Rhea Chakraborty wavedat reporters, many of whomhad hounded her and pushedher on her first day of ques-tioning. Rhea Chakraborty isfacing multiple investigationsbased on Sushant SinghRajput's family's allegationthat she took his money, men-tally harassed him and had arole in his death on June 14.The drug probe began after theEnforcement Directorate,which is investigating thefinancial allegations, flaggedWhatsApp chats retrievedfrom Rhea Chakraborty'sphone.

No oxygen, nobeds: OGHJUDA toboycott...

Continued from Page 1

JUDA pointed out thatdoctors and patients werecoming in, but due to lack ofbasic facilities they are notable to perform their duties.“In six months our coursewill be completed and we arelearning nothing. This is theonly hospital where surgeriesare being done. It’s been sixmonths since Covid-19 cameand all the measures taken sofar are temporary and make-shift. On paper there will be100 beds... In reality, therewon’t be availability. Fromadmin side there is failure”.

Govt set to lose Rs 10 cr per dayContinued from Page 1

Official sources said that,even after the new RevenueAct is passed on September 11,it may take a few more weeksto restart property registrationsthrough the Dharani onlineportal as stipulated under thenew Revenue Act. In any case,additional time would berequired for integration of allMRO and sub-registrar officesof Revenue as well as Stampsand Registration Departmentswith the Dharani portal.Besides, officials have to

integrate the entire landrecords with the Dharani por-tal, which is expected to a takecouple of weeks' time.

Officials say the chances of

resuming property registra-tions in September lookremote. They estimate that thegovernment is likely to loseover Rs 300 crore this monthat the rate of Rs 10 crore perday on an average.

When all revenue-earningsources of state governmentdried up due to corona-induced lockdown and later,the departments of Excise andStamps and Registration cameto the rescue of the state exche-quer by making the most of theopportunities for sale of liquorand registration of properties.

The state government, hav-ing decided to suspend prop-erty registrations indefinitely,will now have to depend main-ly on liquor sales to fill its cof-

fers. Last year (2019-20 April-March), the Stamps andRevenue Department con-tributed Rs 6,440 crore to thestate exchequer through prop-erty registrations.

Looking at this and expect-ing further realty boom inTelangana, the governmentenhanced the target to Rs10,000 crore this year --2020-21. But the Covid-10 pan-demic and subsequent lock-down from the very firstmonth of this fiscal April 2020,dashed its hopes.

Despite adverse circum-stances, the government couldearn Rs 3,095 crore from April2020 till date through registra-tion of 4.75 lakh propertydocuments.

CBI shouldimplead in...

Continued from Page 1

The A-G told the HighCourt that the state govern-ment had already written tothe Central government ask-ing for a CBI inquiry into thescam committed by the previ-ous regime. He requested thecourt to make the Central gov-ernment, CBI and ED partiesin the present writ petition anddirect them to implead in thecase. Sriram argued that theelected government of the dayhas the power to review itsadministrative policies andthere was no constitutional barfor that. The government hadconstituted SIT in accordancewith the provisions of CRPCand there is no violation of law,he said.

TRS netas seek...Continued from Page 1

Since the time Bigg BossSeason 4 started, several TRSleaders and supporters havebeen seen extending supportto Gangavva, who is popularfor her ‘My Village Show’ onYouTube. Even though thereare several other participantswho hail from Telangana, TRSsupporters are pitching hardfor Gangavva.

TRS leader KrishankManne said in a tweet that,irrespective of whether we

like the show or not, we willmake Gangavva win.

MLA Sunke Ravishankarposted on his social mediahandle, “It is a great thing forour constituent Gangavva whowon many hearts to be a partof the Bigg Boss Show. Let usvote for Gangavva and makeher win”. Earlier he said“Congratulations on the occa-sion of the entry into BiggBoss Show. Hailing from asmall village, Gangavva wonthe hearts of the audiencewith her words”.

The Collector said that all the grampanchayats should complete themonkey food courts, protect theplants planted in avenue plantationprogramme, take action for thesurvival of Haritha Haram saplings

PNS n HYDERABAD

The GMR HyderabadInternational Airport in collab-oration with the AirportSecurity Group of CentralIndustrial Security Force(CISF) organised TelanganakuHaritha Haaram,#GreenIndiaChallenge, nearGMR Arena at the airporthere on Tuesday.

MP Joginapally SantoshKumar, who was the chiefguest for the event, planted aneem sapling. Approximately600 saplings were planted bythe airport CISF personnelduring the event. The saplingsplanted were of native speciesand well-developed hardyplants, easy for them to sustain

and grow. Some of the key saplings

planted include Neem,Pongamia, Bauhinia, Acacia;Pink Tabebuea, Gulmohar,Jacaranda among others. Theseplants will be maintained bythe airport under its green ini-tiative.

According to airport offi-cials, the airport has a naturalecosystem that supports the lifeof various flora and fauna.The management of GHIAL istaking several efforts by main-taining plant nursery, hugelandscape, and rainwater har-vesting across the airport.

The HyderabadInternational Airport has anatural ecosystem that sup-ports the life of various floraand fauna. The management ofGHIAL is taking several effortsby maintaining plant nursery,huge landscape, and rainwaterharvesting across the airport.

HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 hyderabad 03

IN BRIEFIN BRIEF

The UK India BusinessCouncil (UKIBC)

renewed its'Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU) withTelangana Industries andCommerce Department.This collaborative partnership between the UKIBC and theGovernment of Telangana is well-established and has already led totwo UK business delegations to the State and a further delegation ofleading UK universities.. The MoU was signed at a virtual roundtableby Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary of Industries and KevinMcCole, MD of UKIBC in the presence of Andrew Fleming, DeputyHigh Commissioner, British Deputy High Commission - Hyderabadand UK businesses. Andrew Fleming mentioned, In responding tothe challenges of the current pandemic my Government iscommitted to building back lives and businesses better. This vision isshared by our friends in Telangana and both our governments aredetermined for this MoU to result in enhanced trade and investmentsbetween Telangana and UK. UKIBC will continue to supportinteractions between UK businesses and the State to provide directfeedback from business on the ease of doing business.

The current pandemic has created aneed for people to protect themselves

and their dependents from financialdifficulties brought on by diagnosis oruntimely death due to the corona virus.According to the findings of a recentsurvey 'Protection Quotient', it was

revealed that 41 per cent of the respondents said they wouldpurchase term plans due to an increase in Covid-19 spread.Additionally, the survey also highlighted that when confronted bythe thought that Covid could prey on the individual or family, 31 percent respondents in metros and 20 per cent in Tier 1 cities said theybought a life insurance with Covid or critical illness rider.

Union Minister of Agriculture &Farmers Welfare, Rural

Development and Panchayat RajNarendra Singh Tomar and ChiefMinister of Andhra Pradesh YSJagan Mohan Reddy will flag off theinaugural run of Anantapur - NewDelhi Kisan Rail through video link at 10.30 am on Wednesday. TheIndia's second and South India's first Kisan Train is planned tocommence its inaugural run from Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh toAdarsh Nagar in New Delhi on Wednesday. Anantapur is developingas Horticultural hub of Andhra Pradesh. A major portion of the fruitsand vegetables produced in Anantapur are transported out of AP.Starting a Kisan Rail will be particularly helpful in benefitting thesmall farmers and traders in marketing their product across thecountry in a safe, economical and speedy manner.

TS renews MoU with UKIBC for industrial development

Covid spread lead to spike in demand for health insurance

Union Minister to flag off inaugural run of Kisan rail

Patients pay pvt hospitals forambience, comfort, not docs NAVEENA GHANATE n HYDERABAD

Senior doctors are not seeingCovid patients in private hos-pitals, yet the occupancy in theprivate hospitals continues togrow.

A senior official from theHealth Department said, "Oneof the complaints we got frompeople about private hospitalsis that many senior doctors arenot seeing patients. It is juniordoctors or nursing cadre whoare checking on them..

While 42 per cent of beds inprivate hospitals are occupied,only 13 per cent of beds in gov-ernment hospitals are occu-pied. Currently TelanganaGovernment has 20,396 beds ofwhich just 2689 are occupied.The number of patients in pri-vate hospitals are double thenumber of patients in govern-

ment hospitals. Private hospi-tals have 10,299 beds of which4,350 are occupied.

A consultant pulmonologistat private hospital said, "I havecompleted my PG three years

back. I was contacted by mul-tiple hospitals during this pan-demic and most of them offer-ing me money which I could-n't have anticipated. I am theonly pulmonologist for the

hospital and I look at about20patients per day".

Despite the Chief Minister KChandrashekar Rao andTelangana State HealthDepartment repeatedly appeal-

ing people to not shell outmoney in private hospitals,people continue to trust theprivate hospitals. Officialspoint that people are merelypaying for ambience and nottreatment costs.

A senior official said, "It'strue the ambience in govern-ment hospital is not appealingbut treatment wise govern-ment hospital is better. Thereare senior doctors with 30 to 40years of experience. While inprivate hospitals, people arepaying money to get treat-ment from a specialist doctorwho just passed out or withmaximum of five years experi-ence."

Officials point that peopleshould understand that in pan-demic situations and shouldrecognise that governmenthospitals are better equippedthan private hospitals.

Vitamin D deficiency could elevate risk of CoronaPNS n HYDERABAD

The deficiency of Vitamin Dcould be dangerous forCoronavirus patients as it canexacerbate the health condi-tions.

According to a study, 80 percent of those who have testedpositive for Coronavirus havebeen suffering from Vitamin Ddeficiency.

Releasing the data of thestudy, the JAMA has said thatthe risk of contracting thevirus is very high for those whohave Vitamin D deficiency inaddition to other health com-plications.

The Vitamin D improvesthe immunity power of a per-

son. The vitamin deficiencymakes one vulnerable to testpositive for the virus.

Vitamin D is important tothe function of the immune

system and vitamin D supple-ments have previously beenshown to lower the risk of viralrespiratory tract infections.Statistical analysis suggests this

may be true for the Covid-19infection.

The Vitamin-D plays animportant role in reducingbreath related problems too.

The deficiency of Vitamin-D is more general. In fact, 50per cent of the population suf-fer from the deficiency of thevitamin.

People who are not ade-quately exposed to sunlight suf-fer from the deficiency.

Those who confine them-selves to homes, work in officesand carry out business indoorswithout getting exposed tooutside are sure to have thedeficiency.

Even six months after thevirus assuming virulent form,

no vaccine could be inventedso far.

That is why doctors admin-ister vitamins like Vitamin Cand D and prescribe nutritiousfood to the Coronaviruspatients.

As a precautionary mea-sure, many people are prescrib-ing themselves the Vitamin Cand D tablets indulging inself-medication.

Moreover, they are cautiousto have these vitamins in theirfood. While testing people forCovid, people with low levelsof Vitamin-D are likely to testpositive for the virus.

Obesity, diabetes are some ofthe risk factors that can lead toVitamin-D deficiency.

THE PIONEER REPORTER NAVEENA GHANATE RECOUNTS HER STORY

‘My saga of suffering and overcoming Coronavirus'PNS n HYDERABAD

When we step out, we can seemany who think they'reinvincible but Covid has nomercy and affects all - sevenin my family including aninfant, pregnant woman andsenior citizens were infected.There was suffering and over-coming.

Among the seven four arehigh risk category individuals,who did not step out of housesince March, but Coronaviruscame into our home. The firstperson infected in my familywas symptomatic. We got ourRT-PCR tests done five daysafter the first person testedpositive. Seven membersfrom my family and threemore from extended familywere infected. Our source ofinfection was one extendedfamily member who assumedthat fever was due to weath-er change and not related toCovid. One of the seven is aspecialist doctor.

Retest was positiveOnly two out of seven were

symptomatic. Unfortunately,the weather was not co-oper-ating either which led tosome of us suffering fromfever, weakness, cough, cold.Almost one week after testingpositive, three of us lost senseof smell. High risk individu-als gave tests again after 17days of isolation, the retestwas also positive except forthe infant who tested nega-tive. The second test turning

out to be positive was a shock-er. Only, towards end of theAugust, each one was slowlyturning into negative and byfirst week of September all ofus tested negative.

No room for patriarchy Being isolated in a house

with Covid patients leaves noroom for patriarchy. Everyonehad to take part in householdchores, because everyone wasa Covid patient. You justcan't expect your mother orwife or sister to do the house-hold chores.

In-house doctorWe were fortunate that

nobody needed hospitalisa-tion and had an in-house doc-tor who would direct us onwhat to do, when to takemedication and keep track ofour vitals. For the infant andthe pregnant woman, the onlymedication was crocin andparacetamol respectively, that

too when temperature wastouching 100F. The remainingtook the standard medicationfollowed in government hos-pitals. It starts with 9 tabletsto be taken in one go andalmost 25 tablets in a day. Oneof us would take turns tocheck vitals thrice every day.And when in doubt, peoplewould put on pulse oximeterand check oxygen saturation.

Wearing a mask at homeHandling an energetic

infant is challenging. Infantscan't wear a mask, so every-one else has to wear a mask.Those employed were work-ing from home. Except forstepping outside, life insidethe house seemed largely nor-mal, two weeks into isolation.Our employers were veryconsiderate and flexible whenit came to leaves or reducingworkload.

Fake news at homeHardest pill we had to

swallow was fake news, as itwas only adding to anxiety.Within a day we realised thepotential of the stigma asso-ciated, so we informed veryfew about the infection. Morethan Covid patients, the panicis high among those whoaren't infected. Mentalstrength is the key, becausethe moment you hear Covidpositive, everyone breaksdown. Survivor stories weresurvival guide during the iso-lation as it gives confidenceon how to defeat. The threatis VIRUS, NOT the PEOPLE!

26k used Metro, full-fledged operations to resume todayPNS n HYDERABAD

On the second day afterresuming Hyderabad Metroservices, 26,000 passengerstravel led by Metro onTuesday.

Metro Rail services wereoperated on Miyapur-LB

Nagar and Nagole-RaidurgCorridors from 7 am to 12noon and from 4 to 9 pm.HMRL MD NVS Reddy said,"A total of about 240 traintrips were made & total pas-sengers were about 26,000"

The number of passengerson corridor one were 17000

and Corridor 3 witnessed9,000 footfalls. Corridor 1on Monday reported 19,000footfalls, so there is drop.NVS Reddy said, "We will runservices on all the 3 corridorsfrom Wednesday onwardscontinuously from 7am to 9pm without any break".

PNS n HYDERABAD

A woman was found deadunder suspicious circum-stances in the unused publictoilet situated under theBansilalpet Railway Bridgeunder the limits of MarketPolice Station.

A passerby alerted policeofficials regarding the bodyon Tuesday morning follow-ing which the police rushedto the spot and started inves-tigation. The police officialsshifted the dead body toOsmania General Hospitalfor autopsy. The cause ofdeath and whether she wassexually assaulted or nor canbe known after postmortemexamination, police officialssaid.

Woman found dead in unused public toilet

RGIA, CISF staffers take part in Haritha HaaramStomachachedrives man tohang himself PNS n HYDERABAD

A 25-year-old man endedhis life by hanging as he wasunable to bear stomachacheat Dandepalli on Mondaynight. Sources said thedeceased was KumramChinnu, a tractor driver fromthe village. Chinnu resortedto the drastic step as he wasdepressed by chronic stom-ach-ache. His wife woke up inthe morning to find his bodyhanging from the ceiling inthe verandah. She informedher in-laws who in turninformed the police.

Ex-custodian of DargahYousufain found hangingPNS n HYDERABAD

Mohammed Faisal Ali Shah,52, former custodian ofDargah Yousufain at Nampa-lly, was found hanging in hishouse on Tuesday morning.

According to the police,Shah, who was living in thehouse next to the DargahYousufain shrine, was foundhanging in his room by hisdomestic help around 10.30am. The domestic help inturn informed Shah’s rela-tives, who reached the spotand alerted the Habeebnagarpolice. “Preliminary enquiriesrevealed that Shah was havinghealth and financial issues. Wehave registered a case and areinvestigating from all angles,”said P Shiva Chandra, SHO,Habeebnagar.

The police said there wereno external injuries on thebody on preliminary exami-nation, while there were nosigns of the room in whichShah lived being disturbed.

“It appears to be a clear caseof death by suicide.Nevertheless, since a few per-sons are expressing doubtsover the manner in which hewas found hanging, we areprobing it,” the SHO said.

He was the custodian ofDargah Yousufain for sever-al years before Wakf Boardtook over alleging irregular-ities in the functioning of theshrine.

Recently, during the annu-al Urs celebrations, the policehad registered a case againstShah on charges of criminaltrespass and other offences.

Protesting TDleaders takeninto custodyPNS n HYDERABAD

While eight Congress partyleaders were detained onMonday for protestingagainst the new layout reg-ulation scheme, continingthe protest, several localTelugu Desam party leaderscontinued the protest infront of Sub-RegistrarOffice, Kapra on Tuesdaymorning. They were takeninto custody by KushaigudaPolice.

According to KushaigudaPolice on Tuesday at around11:30 am, several TeluguDesam party leaders gath-ered in fornt of Sub-Registrar Office, Kapra with-out prior permission andstarted raising slogansagainst the government thatthey were unable to pay theraised amount on new layoutregulation scheme.

The protesters were takenin to preventive custody toavoid any untoward incidentsaid Kushaiguda Police.

Man falls victimto loan fraud,loses Rs 2 lakh PNS n HYDERABAD

A person was cheated byfraudsters to a tune of Rs 2lakhs under the guise ofPrime Minister'sEmployment GenerationProgramme (PMEGP) afterluring him with low interest.

The scammers approachedthe complainant and luredhim with PMEGP loan of Rs10 lakh with subsidy of 35 percent and low interest of 2 percent. Further the fraudstersent a loan application formand other details in messag-ing platform and asked himto fill it and gave a bankaccount number to depositRs 2,500 as process fee.

Thereafter the victimtransferred Rs 81,500 andRs 25,000 as told by scam-mers.

Furthermore, anotherfraudster approached himasking victim to pay Rs 5,000again under the pretext ofother charges. The imposterssiphoned Rs 86,350. Theaccused on total transfered anamount of around Rs 2 lakhs.

Pvt agencies likely tomaintain public toilets

GHMC CHALKS OUT PLANS

PNS n HYDERABAD

The GHMC is set to rope inprivate agencies to take overmaintenance of public toiletsin the State's capital. Withmaintenance becoming a keyfactor for extensive use ofpublic toilets, the GHMC offi-cials have decided to involveprivate agencies.

By October 2, the GHMC isplanning to construct 10,000toilets in its limits. The stategovernment has directedGHMC to construct 7,000

more toilets in addition to the3,000 toilets that were plannedearlier by the municipal cor-poration. At present, thereare more than 7,800 public toi-lets at different locations inHyderabad and officials areworking on completing theconstruction of the remainingtoilets by October 2.

"With maintenance beingthe key aspect, we decided torope in private agencies formaintenance and good utility,"said GHMC CommissionerDS Lokesh Kumar.

Police trace mother who abandoned newborn girl PNS n HYDERABAD

Sultan Bazaar police traced a21-year-old woman who aban-doned her newborn girl nearMaternity Hospital at Koti,allegedly due to financial prob-lems. The police officials havetaken the woman, identified asSaraswathi, a resident ofEsamiya Bazaar and hailingfrom Karnataka, into custodyon Tuesday.

Police officials said thatCCTV camera footage analy-

sis helped them to trace thewoman. Investigation revealedthat she got married in 2011and is having a son 8-year-old.Due to marital issues her hus-band got separated from herwhile she was pregnant. Fourmonths ago she came toEsamiya Bazaar to his grand-father's house and eking out aliving by working as maid.

Sultan Bazaar police tookthe mother into custody andsent her for medical examina-tion.

HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 hyderabad 04

Govt hospitals complain of faulty equipment, refer patients to pvtPNS n HYDERABAD

The condition of GovernmentHospitals treating Coronapatients in Khammam andJanagoan districts is worse thatthe patients are forced to go outand approach private diagnos-tic laboratories to get the CT-scan done to check conditionof their lungs as the CT-scanmachine in several govern-ment hospitals went out oforder.

The government hospital atJanagoan has 100 beds. The hos-pital treats Coronavirus patientstoo. While some of them under-go treatment in home isolationconditions, the others who visithere to receive treatment arebeing advised to get their CT-scan done from private labora-tories as the machine at the hos-pital was out of order.

The patients would have topay Rs 3,000 to get the testdone. In fact, a medical officer

of the hospital owns a privateclinic with CT scan facility. Thegovernment hospital referspatients to the hospital. Thusthe medical officer is cuttingthe hay while the sun shines.

The CT-scan machine is notworking in government hospi-tal at Khammam district head-quarters too. Out of over 100Coronavirus patients, 20 are inICU. The style of working of

the medical officers can begauzed if the CT-scan machineis not working in such hospi-tal. Sometimes, immediate test-ing of CT-scan was necessaryfor more serious patients. The

patients are expressing theirimpatience over the style offunctioning of the hospital asthey were forced to pay fromtheir pocket for the test.

In spite of bringing the issueto the notice of the Medical andHealth Minister EatalaRajender, the CT-scan machineat the hospital was not repaired.In fact, medical equipment atmany government hospitals isstated to be out of order.

In some community healthcare centres, even X-raymachines were out of order.The technicians working thereor doctors are stated to be handin glove with the private labo-ratories and refer the patientsto private diagnostic labs.

In some hospitals, evenCoronavirus diagnostic kitsare being siphoned off to pri-vate diagnostic laboratories.Some doctors take them totheir private clinics and usethem there.

Gandhi Bhavan becomes venue for wordy duels, clashesPNS n HYDERABAD

The historic Gandhi Bhavan,state head quarters forCongress party which oncebecame a hub political activi-ty and the nerve centre forpolitical strategy, has nowbecome the venue for wordyduels and clashes among theparty men.

Many a political heavyweight has worked their strate-gies from this place and wentto capture power in the state.

All prominent leaders of theCongress gathered at GandhiBhavan on Tuesday to chalkout strategy for the forthcom-ing GHMC elections. TPCCpresident N Uttam KumarReddy was presiding the meet-ing.

Tempers ran high at themeeting and sparks flew. Theirate Congress leaders resortedto fist cuffs among themselves.

It all began with the severewordy duel taking placebetween official spokespersonsof the TPCC Dasoju Shravanand Niranjan.

They crossed all bordersand resorted to heaping abus-es on each other lashing out

their vitriolic tongues. Theyeven went to the extent ofassaulting each other.

However, TPCC presidentintervened and pacified theclashing official spokesper-sons. For the time being thecontroversy apparently died

down. September 8 is the birth-day of Dasoju Shravan. As hewent to the Gandhi Bhavan, allCongress leaders conveyedtheir greetings. But in amoment the situation turnedfor worse leading to altercationbetween two of the official

spokespersons. The contro-versy soon was on the lips ofeveryone in the party.

Clashes between Congressleaders and the party rank andfile were not new. Earlier, vet-eran Congress leader VHanumantha Rao clashed with

a leader of the party. How the Congress high

command will respond onseries of clashes by the partymen is stirring a lot of interest.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao passedcritical remarks on the futureof the Congress at the TRSLegislature Party meeting heldon Monday.

He predicted that the TRSflag would flutter atop of theGHMC pocketing at least 104seats in the 150-seat GHMCelections. He quoted a surveyordered by the TRS to endorsehis views.

Predicting the future of theCongress and the BJP, hedubbed the Congress as veryweak in the Greater Hyderabadlimits and ruled out it winningsignificant number of seats.However, the BJP is likely tobag a seat or two more improv-ing its previous tally.

PNS n HYDERABAD

TPCC Chief N Uttam KumarReddy called upon the partyleaders to break the conspira-cies of the TRS party by wag-ing fight on bogus votes anddemilitation. Exuding confi-dence on victory in GHMCelections, Uttam said that theTRS government totally failedin municipal administration.

While participating in ameeting held to chalk out anaction plan to win GHMC

elections on Tuesday atGandhi Bhavan, Uttam KumarReddy said that the TRS is try-ing to benefit in the GHMCelections with the bogus votes.As part of it, the votes areenrolled differently at differentdivisions. The voter list total-ly in defective manner, hesaid.

Uttam asked the leaders toinitiate steps to see the delim-itation process done perfectly.He asked the Congress leadersto visit all houses using the ser-

vices of all Congress commit-tees in all 150divisions. Thepeople are against the TRS rulein GHMC and are lookingtowards Congress and the vic-tory of Congress certain in theGHMC elections, Uttam said.

AICC secretary Bosu Rajusaid that the leaders have towork in coordination aimingto win the elections. The seniorleaders V Hanumantha Rao,Marri Shashidhar Reddy, FerozKhan, Niranjan and otherswere also present.

TS records 2,392 fresh Covid cases, death toll crosses 900PNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana's Covid-19 tallycrossed 1.45 lakh on Tuesdayas 2,392 more people testedpositive and the toll breachedthe 900 mark with 11 freshfatalities during the last 24hours.

Health officials said with thenew Covid cases, the tally hasgone up to 1,45,163 while thetoll mounted to 906.

The fatality rate in the statehowever, remained at 0.62 percent against the national aver-age of 1.69 per cent. Of thefatalities, 53.87 per cent hadcomorbidities.

The cases, which haddropped to 1,802 on Mondaydue to fewer tests, surged againas the authorities ramped uptesting.

According to a mediarelease, with 60,923 tests dur-ing the last 24 hours, the num-ber of tests conducted till nowrose to 18,27,905.

The samples tested per mil-lion population mounted to49,234. Officials say this ismuch higher than the dailytesting target of 5,600 as per

the WHO benchmark of 140per million per day.

Of the 60,923 samples test-ed, 27,415 were primary and8,529 were secondary. Theresults of 1,606 samples wereawaited.

As many as 17 governmentand 38 private laboratorieswere conducting these testswhile the state has 1,076 rapid-antigen test centres.

According to officials, of1,45,163 cases, 1,00,162 (near-ly 69 per cent) were asympto-matic and 45,001 (nearly 31per cent) symptomatic.

The number of active casesin the state stands at 31,670,including 24,579 inhome/institutional isolation.

As many as 2,346 peoplerecovered from Covid-19 tak-ing the cumulative number ofrecoveries to 1,12,587. Thestate's recovery rate improvedfurther to 77.5 per cent whilethe national average was 77.54per cent.

Of the new cases registeredduring the last 24 hours,GHMC accounted for 305.

The state capital's neigh-bouring districts Rangareddy

and Medchal Malkajgirireported 191 and 132 cases,respectively. Sangareddy,another district bordering thestate capital, recorded 37 cases.

Outside Hyderabad and sur-rounding districts, Karimnagarrecorded the highest single-dayjump of 157. Khammam saw116 cases, Nalgonda 105,Nizamabad 102 and Suryapet101.

Age-wise Covid positivedetails show that 65.3 per centof those who tested positivewere in the age group of 21 to50 years. Officials said 24.71per cent were above 51 years.Nearly 10 per cent were below20 years.

Of 64.41 per cent of thosetesting positive were malewhile the remaining 35.59 percent were female, the officialsadded.

According to the mediarelease, of 20,396 beds with thegovernment, 17,734 beds werevacant, including 1,600 ICUbeds.

As many as 196 private hos-pitals treating Covid patientshave 10,312 beds, of which5,883 were vacant.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana's Covid-19 tallycrossed 1.45 lakh on Tuesdayas 2,392 more people testedpositive and the toll breachedthe 900 mark with 11 freshfatalities during the last 24hours.

Health officials said with thenew Covid cases, the tally hasgone up to 1,45,163 while thetoll mounted to 906.

The fatality rate in the statehowever, remained at 0.62 percent against the national aver-age of 1.69 per cent. Of thefatalities, 53.87 per cent hadcomorbidities.

The cases, which haddropped to 1,802 on Mondaydue to fewer tests, surged againas the authorities ramped uptesting.

According to a mediarelease, with 60,923 tests dur-ing the last 24 hours, the num-ber of tests conducted till nowrose to 18,27,905.

The samples tested per mil-lion population mounted to49,234. Officials say this ismuch higher than the dailytesting target of 5,600 as per

the WHO benchmark of 140per million per day.

Of the 60,923 samples test-ed, 27,415 were primary and8,529 were secondary. Theresults of 1,606 samples wereawaited.

As many as 17 governmentand 38 private laboratorieswere conducting these testswhile the state has 1,076 rapid-antigen test centres.

According to officials, of1,45,163 cases, 1,00,162 (near-ly 69 per cent) were asympto-matic and 45,001 (nearly 31per cent) symptomatic.

The number of active casesin the state stands at 31,670,including 24,579 inhome/institutional isolation.

As many as 2,346 peoplerecovered from Covid-19 tak-ing the cumulative number ofrecoveries to 1,12,587. Thestate's recovery rate improvedfurther to 77.5 per cent whilethe national average was 77.54per cent.

Of the new cases registeredduring the last 24 hours,GHMC accounted for 305.

The state capital's neigh-bouring districts Rangareddy

and Medchal Malkajgirireported 191 and 132 cases,respectively. Sangareddy,another district bordering thestate capital, recorded 37 cases.

Outside Hyderabad and sur-rounding districts, Karimnagarrecorded the highest single-dayjump of 157. Khammam saw116 cases, Nalgonda 105,Nizamabad 102 and Suryapet101.

Age-wise Covid positivedetails show that 65.3 per centof those who tested positivewere in the age group of 21 to50 years. Officials said 24.71per cent were above 51 years.Nearly 10 per cent were below20 years.

Of 64.41 per cent of thosetesting positive were malewhile the remaining 35.59 percent were female, the officialsadded.

According to the mediarelease, of 20,396 beds with thegovernment, 17,734 beds werevacant, including 1,600 ICUbeds.

As many as 196 private hos-pitals treating Covid patientshave 10,312 beds, of which5,883 were vacant.

TPCC Chief N Uttam Kumar Reddy addresses his party men at Gandhi Bhavan on Tuesday

Uttam exudes confidence of Cong victory in GHMC polls

‘TRS trying to win civicpolls with bogus votes’PNS n HYDERABAD

TPCC working president andMalkajgiri MP A RevanthReddy has alleged that TRSand MIM are trying to win theGHMC elections throughdelimitation and bogus votes.He said that delimitation mustbe based on total populationdivided by seats. However,the limitation process is asthey wished.

TPCC conducted a meetingto chalk out an action plan onGreater Hyderabad elections atGandhi Bhavan on Tuesday.

After participating in themeeting, Revanth Reddy saidthat 15,000 to 30,000 votes arethere in some divisions and70,000 to 80,000 in some divi-

sions in Old City. The Congress party must

be alert when the delimitationprocess takes place. TheGHMC mayor post isreserved for BC women thistime. The party has to exam-ine whether the governmentwould change the divisions ornot. The legal team should beready during the electiontime to approach the courtwhenever the need arises.The party has to preparemanifestos for every divisionseparately. The campaignmust be done on the assur-ance didn't implemented bythe government. The partyhas to set up a special set upto recognize bogus votes,Revanth Reddy suggested.

Chief Minister condoles actor Jayaprakash Reddy's deathPNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana Chief Minister KChandrashekhar Rao onTuesday condoled the deathof noted film actorJayaprakash Reddy. The ChiefMinister, who conveyed hiscondolences to the membersof the bereaved family saidReddy acted in several filmsin a variety of roles and alsowon people's admiration as atheatre artiste.

Reddy died of heart attackat his residence in Guntur inAndhra Pradesh on Tuesday.

He was 74 and is survivedby wife and a son, familysources said.

‘RTC will come out of crisis soon’n TS to establish 30 heavy motor vehicle driving institutesPNS n HYDERABAD

On the completion of oneyear as Minister, Puvvada AjayKumar said that TSRTC willcome out of crisis very soon.

He said that seeing thegrowth in the occupancy ratioin the recent days even duringthis Covid crisis, TSRTC willovercome all problems andcome out of it soon.

The Minister said that it isproposed to decentralise thetraining activity in TSRTCand establish another 30 heavymotor vehicle driving traininginstitutes (DTIs) at each rev-enue district headquarters, inaddition to the skilled develop-

ment centres at ZSTC,Hakimpet and Warangal toimpart quality training withthe course contents confiningto the regulations of the MVRules and Act. As many as 30driving training centres arebeing set up for training in dri-ving and this will also over-

come the shortage of skilleddrivers/manpower in the auto-mobile sector.

The Minister thanked all theemployees of TSRTC andTransport Department for sup-porting and co-operating withhim and wished that this willcontinue in future.

Opposition leadersallege intolerancePNS n HYDERABAD

CLP Leader Mallu BhattiVikramarka expressed intoler-ance over allotting only sixminutes time to the Congressparty to speak in the House.

He expressed anger over theargument of the governmentthat the Speaker allotted timebased on the number ofCongress members present inthe House. "People elected 19Congress MLAs. However,KCR purchased CongressMLAs and is now stating thatthe Congress party has nomembers," Bhatti said andquestioned what oppositionwould speak in 6 minutes.

"How to raise the issuespeople are facing, when theSpeaker starts ringing the bellright from the second minute,"Bhatti asked.

It may be recalled that theSpeaker gave six minutes timeto Bhatti to speak on resolu-tion appealing the Centre toconfer Bharat Ratna award toPV on Tuesday. After six min-utes, the Speaker asked Bhattito stop his speech. Irked withthe Speaker's act, Bhatti arguedsaying that he cannot concludehis speech within six minutes.

Later, the Speaker gave achance to Minister KT RamaRao. After KTR's speech, theSpeaker asked Bhatti to com-plete the speech within oneminute.

While speaking at Gun Parkalong with party MLAs-Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, DSridhar Babu, Seethakka, JaggaReddy and MLC Jeevan Red-dy, the CLP leader demandedthe state to revive the mediapoint in the Assembly.

ONLY 6 MIN IN THE HOUSE

Sanjay calls KCR ‘8th Nizam’PNS n HYDERABAD

Terming the Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao as '8thNizam', Telangana BJP ChiefBandi Sanjay Kumar allegedthat KCR is describing Nizamas a great one forgetting thefact that Nizam killed TS peo-ple using Razakars.

He questioned whether theChief Minister KCR and hisson Minister KT Rama Raoreceived any lathi injuries dur-ing the Telangana movement.He alleged that KCR speaksdifferently before elections andafter elections by enacting dif-ferent dramas at different timesto deceive Telangana people.He alleged that KCR is destroy-ing the history of Telangana by

making friendship withAIMIM.

Alleging that KCR adoptinga two-tongue attitude onTelangana Liberation Day,Sanjay said that KCR is notconducting September 17 asTelangana Liberation Day cel-ebrations officially.

Reminding that KCR's crit-icism against the then ChiefMinister K Rosaiah duringTelangana movement for notconducting Liberation Dayofficially, Sanjay asked KCR totell as to why the latter is main-taining silence on LiberationDay celebrations.

He said that he has been vis-iting historical places to tell thehistory of Telangana martyrs tothe present generation. Healleged that KCR is trying tohide the Telangana martyrshistory intentionally for votebank politics.

As part of his two day tourof the places where Razakarsresorted to atrocities, Sanjayvisited Bairanpally village inSiddipet district.

Covid scare in Assemblyas employee tests +ve PNS n HYDERABAD

Despite Assembly SpeakerPocharam Srinivas Reddy, tak-ing all the precautionary mea-sures by allowing only the per-sons with Coronavirus nega-tive reports inside theAssembly premises, one ofthe employees working in theAssembly tested positive onsecond day of the House cre-ating flutter among otheremployees.

The employee, who wastested positive issued entrypasses to hundreds of people.He was on duty even on thefirst day of the Assembly ses-sion. The employee wasallowed into the Assemblypremises as he was tested test-ed negative for Coronavirustwo days ago. He underwentCoronavirus test on Tuesday

with the developed symptomsin his body. With the resultbeing positive for Coronavirusinfection, other employees arescared that they might havecontracted the Coronavirus asmany of them took passesissued by him. However, theAssembly authorities focusedon finding the persons whowere in contact with theCoronavirus patient. Theauthorities directed severalemployees, who were in con-tact with him to home quar-antine themselves.

DMHO orders inquiry intocomplaint against YashodaPNS n HYDERABAD

District Medical and HealthOfficer, Hyderabad orderedfor an enquiry into a com-plaint regarding alleged foulplay on death of Group IIofficer Swetha Reddy.

The patient had undergonea C-section operation afterwhich she died at YashodaHospital at Malakpet. As perthe order, Dr P JayamaliniSPHO UHNC, Malakpet andDr P Veena, Medical officerUPHC Shalivahana Nagarare appointed as enquiryoff icers for conductingdetailed enquiry into the

incident. The two-member doctors

committee was asked to sub-mit detailed report and opin-ion along with case sheet,bills, doctor notes and othersdocuments within three daysto take further action.

The DMHO ordered theenquiry based on the com-plaint filed by MujahedMohiuddin Khudri,President of Telangana StateAll India Anti-CorruptionCommittee.

As per the complaint, Rs29 lakhs rupees was chargedand provided treatment todead body of Swetha Reddy.

TPCC leaders Dasoju Shravan and Niranjan abusing each other during a party meeting at Gandhi Bhavan on Tuesday

HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 nation 05

SHORT READS

UP govt suspendsAllahabad SSPLucknow: Chief Minister YogiAdityanath suspendedAllahabad SeniorSuperintendent of PoliceAbhishek Dixit on Tuesday forhis failure to control crime andcorruption and maintain lawand order, said Additional ChiefSecretary (Home) AwanishKumar Awasthi. Dixit is alsocharged with not following theinstructions of the government/headquarters properly and isaccused of promotingcorruption, a home departmentspokesperson added. Thespokesperson said the SSP didnot act on governmentinstructions for foot patrollingand increasing security of banksand business establishmentsagainst incidents of robbery.There was a steady increase inpending crime cases in Allahabad in the past three months,the spokesperson said, addingthe government instructions onsocial-distan cing were also notfollowed properly in the district,for which the high court hadalso expressed its displeasure.

Newly-wed coupleshot dead by woman'sfather, brother

MP: BJP leader fromGwalior joins Cong

BHOPAL: BJP leader fromGwalior Satish Sikarwar joinedthe Congress along with severalof his supporters in thepresence of the party's MadhyaPradesh unit chief Kamal Nathon Tuesday. Expressing confidence about winning all 27 seatsin the bypolls that are yet to bescheduled, the former chiefminister said voters of theseconstituencies may not supportKamal Nath or the Congress butthey will definitely support thetruth. After inducting Sikarwarand his supporters in the party,Nath said not only people, buteven BJP workers wereunhappy with the ruling regime.

Four killed as cargotruck rams car in TNCuddalore(TN): Four peopleincluding two women werekilled and five others injuredwhen a cargo truck rammedinto a SUV on a highway nearhere on Tuesday, policesaid. The fish laden Keralabound van from Parangipettaiherelost control after it brushedpast an oncoming two-wheeler and within momentsrammed into the sports utilityvehicle that was behind themotorcycle. In the impact, twowomen, aged 32 and 27 and a15 year old girl, who travelledin the SUV besides a man whowas seated next to the driver inthe van died on the spot,Deputy police Superintendent(Thittakudi), N Venkatesan said.

DEHRADUN: woman and herhusband were shot dead inUdham Singh Nagar district ofUttarakhand allegedly by herfather and her brother, whowere against the marriage,police said on Tuesday. Theincident took place in Kashipurarea of the district on Mondaynight, they added. The victims,Nazia and Rashid, had elopedin June and got married againstthe wishes of the woman'sfamily, Additional Superintendent of Police, Kashipur, RajeshBhatt said. Nazia's father hadcreated a ruckus at Rashid'shouse after the marriage andeven threatened to shoot thenewly-weds if he spotted themin the Alli Khan mohalla, wherethe two families live, Bhatt said.

Deepak Kochharin ED custodytill Sep 19

Man bookedfor threateningUP ministerMoti SinghPNS n PRATAPGARH (UP)

Police have booked a manhere for allegedly threateningUttar Pradesh cabinet minis-ter Moti Singh in a video clipthat has been widely sharedon social media.

In the video, the man canbe heard saying, "Mai seedheMoti Singh ka encounterkarunga (I will do encounterof Moti Singh)", amid clap-ping and cheering by a groupof people gathered around.

"In the video shared onsocial media, one person,Chandan Yadav, who is sur-rounded by around 50 otherpeople, is heard saying thatSabhapati Yadav is his mater-nal uncle. He threatened cab-inet minister Moti Singh andmade objectionable remarks,"Superintendent of PoliceAnurag Arya said.

‘Hunar Haat' to return inPrayagraj next month

PNS n MUMBAIA court here on Tuesdayremanded Deepak Kochhar,husband of former ICICIBank CEO Chanda Kochhar,in the custody of theEnforcement Directorate(ED) till September 19 in amoney laundering case.

Deepak Kochhar wasarrested here on Mondayunder sections of thePrevention of MoneyLaundering Act (PMLA) inconnection with the ICICIBank-Videocon money laun-dering case probe.

Officials had said DeepakKochhar was placed underarrest as the agency wants toput him under custodialinterrogation to obtain moredetails about some fresh evi-dence gathered in this case,that was filed under the crim-inal sections of the anti-money laundering law inJanuary last year.

PNS n NEW DELHI

'Hunar Haat', theMinority AffairsMinistry's initia-tive to generateemployment formaster artisans,will make a come-back on October 9in Prayagraj with the theme of“local to global” and a focus onindigenous Indian toys.

After a gap of about sixmonths due to the coronaviruspandemic, the next 'HunarHaat' will be organised inPrayagraj from October 9 to 18and more than 30 per cent stallswill be for artisans who prepareindigenous toys, MinorityAffairs Minister Mukhtar AbbasNaqvi said.

The artisans will also beextended help through variousinstitutions for attractive pack-aging of 'swadeshi toys', he said.Naqvi said here that every cor-ner of the country has a tradi-tional and ancestral legacy ofindigenous toys.

This legacy, which was on theverge of extinction, has got aboon after Prime MinisterNarendra Modi pitched for'swadeshi toys', the ministersaid. The Indian toy industryhas got a tremendous boost after

Modi advocated “vocal for localtoys”, he said in a statement.Naqvi said that every corner ofthe country is endowed withvarious kinds of indigenoustoys made with wood, brass,bamboo, glass, cloth, paper,clay, etc. 'Hunar Haat' will be anenormous platform, providingmarket and opportunities tomaster artisans who preparethese indigenous exquisite toys,he said.

Prime Minister Modi's appealto get “vocal for local toys” willhelp the Indian toy industry togain dominance in the toy mar-ket.

'Hunar Haat', which has pro-vided employment and employ-ment opportunities to morethan 5 lakh Indian artisans,craftsmen, culinary experts andother people associated withthem in the last five years, hasbecome a credible brand of rareexquisite indigenous handmadeproducts, Naqvi said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Army on Tuesday saidChinese troops fired shots inthe air and attempted to closein on an Indian position ineastern Ladakh a day earlier asit rejected charges by China'sPeople's LiberationArmy(PLA) that it trans-gressed across the Line ofActual Control (LAC).

The remarks by the Armycame after the PLA late onMonday night alleged that theIndian troops crossed the LACand "outrageously fired" warn-ing shots near the Pangong lakein eastern Ladakh.

The use of firearms alongthe LAC marks a serious esca-lation in border tensions as theprevious instance of shotsbeing fired at the de-facto bor-der was in 1975. India andChina exchanged accusationsjust four days after DefenceMinister Rajnath Singh and hisChinese counterpart Gen. WeiFenghe held talks in Moscowon ways to ease tensions at theborder. They met last Friday onthe sidelines of a ShanghaiCooperation Organisation(SCO) meet.

In a statement, the Indian

Army said that at no stage theIndian troops crossed the LACor resorted to use of any"aggressive means", includingfiring, as alleged by the ChinesePLA.

"At no stage has the IndianArmy transgressed across theLAC or resorted to use of anyaggressive means, includingfiring. It is the PLA that hasbeen blatantly violating agree-ments and carrying out aggres-sive manuveres, while engage-ment at military, diplomaticand political level is inprogress," the Army said.

"In the instant case onSeptember 7, it was the PLAtroops who were attempting to

close-in with one of our for-ward positions along the LACand when dissuaded by own(Indian) troops, PLA troopsfired a few rounds in the air inan attempt to intimidate owntroops," the statement added.

It further said that despitethe "grave provocation", Indiantroops exercised "greatrestraint" and behaved in amature and responsible man-ner.

The Army termed the state-ment issued by the WesternTheater Command of the PLAas an attempt to mislead theirdomestic and internationalaudience.

"The Indian Army is com-

mitted to maintaining peaceand tranquility, however isalso determined to protectnational integrity and sover-eignty at all costs," the Armysaid.

"India, while is committed todisengagement and de-esca-lating the situation on the LAC,China continues to undertakeprovocative activities to esca-late." Senior Colonel ZhangShuili, a spokesperson of PLA'sWestern Theater Command, ina statement on Monday nightalleged that Indian troops againillegally crossed the LAC and"outrageously fired" warningshots on Chinese border patrolsoldiers who were about tonegotiate. Chinese troops wereforced to take countermea-sures to stabilize the situation,he said without elaborating.

The Indian troops crossedthe LAC at the west section ofthe China-India border intothe Shenpao mountain regionnear the south bank ofPangong lake, he alleged.

Separately, the Ministry ofExternal Affairs termed asfalse reports in Chinese mediaattributing some comments toNational Security Advisor AjitDoval.

Chinese troops fired shots inair, tried to close in: Army

Oppn to put up joint candidatefor RS deputy chairman postPNS n NEW DELHI

The Congress on Tuesdaydecided that the oppositionwill put up a joint candidate forthe post of Rajya Sabha deputychairman and it will reach outto various parties in thisregard.

The decision comes ahead ofthe Monsoon Session ofParliament starting September14 and was taken at theCongress Parliamentary strat-egy group meeting chaired byparty chief Sonia Gandhi.

The post had fallen vacantafter Harivansh's term ended.He has since been re-elected tothe Upper House as a memberfrom Bihar.

The meeting was attendedby party's leaders in both hous-es including Rahul Gandhi,former Prime MinisterManmohan Singh and Leaderof Opposition Ghulam NabiAzad and leader of Congress

party in Lok Sabha AdhirRanjan Chowdhury.

Congress deputy leaders inboth houses and chief whipsand party's whips also attend-ed the virtual meeting.

This was the first time thatsome of the letter-writers, whohad demanded an overhaul ofthe party, came face to facewith the Congress leadershipafter the CWC meeting.

The Congress strategy groupdecided to raise the issue ofrestoration of the Question

Hour in both houses duringthe session.

The Congress also decidedto raise the issue of the han-dling of the COVID-19 pan-demic in the wake of rise indaily number of cases andIndia taking the second spot intotal cases in the world, besidesthe effect of lockdown.

The party will also raise inboth the houses the issue ofChinese aggression at the bor-der and the current situationthere.

Rlys generated over 8L man-days of work under GKRAPNS n NEW DELHI

The Railways has generatedmore than 8 lakh man-days ofwork in six states, includingBihar and Rajasthan, under arural public works schemelaunched in June this year totackle the impact of COVID-19 on migrant workers, theministry said Tuesday.

The Garib Kalyan RojgarAbhiyaan was launched withan initial funding of Rs 50,000crore. The Railways is execut-ing various works under it,including construction andmaintenance of approachroads for level crossings, devel-opment and cleaning of siltedwaterways, trenches anddrains, and maintenance ofapproach roads to railway sta-tions.

"Indian Railways has gener-ated 8,09,046 man-days ofwork till September 4, 2020,under Garib Kalyan Rojgar

Abhiyaan in six states viz.Bihar, Jharkhand, MadhyaPradesh, Odisha, Rajasthanand Uttar Pradesh.

“Piyush Goyal, Minister ofRailways and Commerce &Industry is closely monitoringthe progress made in theseprojects and generation of workopportunities for the migrantlabours of these states underthis scheme. Around 164 rail-way infrastructure projects arebeing executed in these states,”

the ministry said in a statement.Till September 4, it added,12,276 workers had beenengaged in this programmeand the payment of Rs 1,631.80crore has been released to thecontractors for the projectsbeing implemented.

The Railways has appointednodal officers in each districtas well as in the states so thata close coordination is estab-lished with the state govern-ment.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Union Health Ministry'stelemedicine service platform'eSanjeevani' has completedthree lakh tele-consultationstill now, the government said onTuesday.

The platform supports twotypes of telemedicine services -- doctor-to-doctor througheSanjeevani and patient-to-doctor through eSanjeevaniOPD. It has provided essentialhealthcare at a critical timewhen conventional medicine isperceived to be risky owing tothe nature of the coronavirusdisease, the health ministrysaid. On August 9, UnionHealth Minister Harsh Vardhanhad described as "landmarkachievement", the nationaltelemedicine service complet-ing over 1.5 lakh teleconsulta-tions.

The platform reached doublethat number within a monthsince then. One lakh of thesetele-consultations were held inthe last 20 days, the ministrysaid. The Doctor-to-DoctoreSanjeevani service is an impor-

tant pillar of the AyushmanBharat Health and WellnessCentre (AB-HWCs) pro-gramme, it said.

Launched in November lastyear, it aims to implement tele-consultation in all the 1.5 lakhhealth and wellness centres ina 'hub and spoke' model byDecember 2022, the ministrysaid.

Owing to the COVID-19pandemic, the health ministryrolled out the second tele-con-sultation service —'eSanjeevaniOPD' — enablingpatient-to-doctor teleconsulta-

tion on April 13 this year . This has proved to be a

boon in containing the spreadof coronavirus infection whilesimultaneously enabling provi-sions for non-COVID essentialhealthcare, it said.

ESanjeevani has been imple-mented by 23 states so far andothers are in the process ofrolling it out, the ministry said,adding that Tamil Nadu alonehas contributed 97,204 consul-tations on the eSanjeevaniOPDapp while Uttar Pradesh is insecond position with 65,173total consultations.

‘eSanjeevani' gets 3L consultations

PNS n NEW DELHI

Six members of a particularlyvulnerable tribal group ofAndaman and Nicobar Islandstested positive for COVID-19,the Health Ministry said onTuesday. Responding to a ques-tion, Health Secretary RajeshBhushan said all the six peoplehave recovered and returned totheir island.

"There are five particularlyvulnerable tribal groups(PVTG) -- some in Port Blairand others across differentislands in the archipelago. OnePVTG has shown positivity.Six were positive, all have recov-

ered and returned to theirisland," he said. In Nicobaresetribe which is not a PVTG, thereare still 15 active cases.

Particularly vulnerable tribal

group is a classification createdwith the purpose of enablingimprovement in the conditionsof certain communities withparticularly low development

indices. Bhushan also elaborat-ed on the situation of the otherparticularly vulnerable tribalgroups in the archipelago.

"Another tribe is Jarawa. Thereare less than 200 Jarawas. Theywere tested and no one has beenfound positive. From anothertribe, Ongees, all were found neg-ative. Sentinelese and Shompenare cut off and confined to theirislands and no report of death orvisible symptoms has beenreceived from them," he said.

Presently, there are 312 activecases of COVID-19 inAndaman and Nicobar Islands.The archipelago has recorded atotal of 2,997 cases and 50deaths due to the infection.

Andaman & Nicobar IslandsCOVID-19 tally rises to 3,359PNS n PORT BLAIR

Twenty-seven more peo-ple have tested positive forCOVID-19 in Andamanand Nicobar Islands, takingthe coronavirus tally in theunion territory to 3,359, anofficial said on Tuesday.

Of the 27 new cases, 20 weredetected during local contacttracing and seven were airportarrivals, the official said.

All passengers coming fromthe mainland have to manda-torily undergo rapid antigentest for COVID-19 at the air-port here on arrival, he said.

At least 50 people recoveredfrom COVID-19 in the last 24-hours, the official said, adding

that the total number of recov-eries in the union territory hasrisen to 2,997.

Of the total 3,359 COVID-19 cases, 312 are active as2,997 have recovered fromthe disease and 50 peoplehave died of the infection, theofficial said. A total of 39,708samples have been tested forCOVID- 19 till Monday, theofficial added.

PNS n DEHRADUN

The Uttarakhand governmentwill present its master planworth Rs 424 crore for the beau-tification of Badrinath andexpansion of facilities for devo-tees around the Himalayantemple to the Prime Minister'sOffice (PMO) on Wednesday,official sources said here.

The master plan for the beau-tification of Badrinath was pre-pared on the lines of Kedarpurireconstruction at the behest ofPrime Minister Narendra Modi,who is also personally monitor-ing the progress of projectsalready under implementationat Kedarnath. UttarakhandTourism secretary DilipJawalkar will make a presenta-tion on the master plan at thePMO on Wednesday in thepresence of Chief SecretaryOm Prakash, official sourcessaid. Development works

around the famous temple areto be carried out in three phas-es, said Chamoli DistrictMagistrate Swati S Bhadouriyawho recently gave final touch-es to the master plan at a meet-ing with officials concerned.

The beautification of theShesh Netra and Badrish lakesnear the temple is to be taken upin the first phase of the imple-mentation of the master plan,the temple and areas close to itwill be beautified in the secondand a path connecting the tem-ple directly with the SheshNetra lake will be built in thethird phase, Bhadouriya said.

BSF appehendsBangladeshi cattlesmuggler from MaldaPNS n KOLKATA

Border SecurityForce has appre-hended aB a n g l a d e s h inational when hewas allegedly try-ing to smugglecattle to then e i g hb ou r i ngcountry through a river routein Malda district, a BSF state-ment said on Tuesday.

Acting on specific input,BSF personnel at Sovapur out-post reached the midstream ofthe Ganga on a speedboat onMonday night and found aman swimming towardsBangladesh border holding onto a rope in which threebovines were tied to.

The border guards inter-cepted the man and broughthim and the cattle to the riverbank. During questioning the

man said, he hailed fromChapainawabganj inBangladesh and had crossedover to India about one monthback.

The BSF handed over theBangladeshi national and thecattle to Shamsherganj policestation. An FIR has beenlodged by the BSF to investigatethe matter in detail, the state-ment said.

The cost of the seized cat-tle is estimated at about 'Taka'1,20,000 in Bangladesh market,the statement said.

Badrinath beautificationmaster plan worth overRs 400 cr submitted

4 more added to Priyanka'sadvisory councilPNS n LUCKNOW

Congress interimPresident Sonia Gandhihas appointed four addi-tional members to theadvisory council ofPriyanka Gandhi Vadra,party General Secretaryin-charge of UttarPradesh.

The newly-appointed mem-bers are Rakesh Sachan,Acharya Pramod Krishnam,Harendra Malik and BegumNoor Bano.

Last year Sonia Gandhi hadset up an advisory council —whose 18 members includedAjay Rai, Ajay Kapoor,

Mohsina Kidwai, P.L. Puniaand R.P.N. Singh, among oth-ers — for the AICC generalsecretary. In February, threemore members — VivekSingh, Mohd Muqeem andVinod Chaturvedi — had beenadded to the advisory council.

Vivek Singh passed away inMay this year.

‘6 from particularly vulnerable tribal groupof Andaman Islands tested Covid positive’

Even as China accused Indiantroops of intimidatory firingon Monday, ForeignMinister S Jaishankar will

meet his Chinese counterpart WangYi face to face in Moscow for the firsttime after the standoff. The meet-ing will take place on the sidelinesof the Shanghai CooperationOrganisation (SCO) foreign minis-ters’ conclave, hot on the heels ofDefence Minister Rajnath Singh’sconversation with his counterpart,Gen Wei Fenghe, at the same plat-form. Pessimism surrounds theoutcome of the Wang-Jaishankarmeeting though Jaishankar hasbeen signalling to Chinese leadersthe big picture of India-China rela-tions and India’s terms for a reset. Hisemphasis on the need for India tobe more proactive and take risks arereflected in some recent Indian mil-itary, diplomatic and economicactivities that connote capabilitiesand confidence. Diplomacy is thepath India has chosen to secure itsobjective of restoration of status quoante. Jaishankar, who says he knowsWang for a long time, acknowledgesthe situation on the LAC is very seri-ous and requires “deep conversa-tions” at the political level.

India launched a blitzkrieg ofevents along the LAC prior toSingh meeting his counterpart.CDS Gen Rawat was exceptionallyvocal over the military option,including a two-front war if diplo-macy failed and the utility of Quad.COAS Gen Naravane, on his thirdvisit to Ladakh, was in Chushul atthe scene of recent action. Chief ofAir Staff, Air Chief MarshalBhaduria, inspected air bases in theeast and Foreign Secretary HarshShringla, in his first public address,highlighted the Galwan clash result-ing in casualties for the first time in42 years of peace and tranquility onthe border. Indian forces carried outtheir first proactive military opera-tion on their own side of LAC on thesouth bank of Pangong Lake byoccupying heights that gave themdomination in the Chushul area. Abattalion of Vikas regiment, com-prising exiled Tibetans, wasemployed in the pre-emptive oper-ation, messaging to China the dor-mant Tibet issue. A company com-mander of this special force waskilled due to an old mine and hisfuneral was attended by RamMadhav, general secretary of the BJP.About the proactive operation, thereis confusion over location and con-trol of contested heights at Helmet

and Black Top. The Army justsaid it occupied ground toimprove its defences.

After the meeting of DefenceMinisters on expected lines,China accused India of crossingLAC at Chushul and demandedIndian troops be withdrawn.India blamed China for multipleintrusions and urged the restora-tion of status quo ante. But bothsides stressed the determinationto continue talks. Central toChina’s complaint is Indian vio-lation of Chinese LAC at Galwanand Chushul without admittingit is the original sinner of multi-ple intrusions by violating borderprotocols and unilaterally alter-ing status quo. Stung by the ban-ning of 117 more apps (nowaggregate of 224 banned apps),for the first time China accusedIndia of colluding with the USagainst Chinese companies. Itformally charged US with med-dling in the border dispute.

While US officials have beenaccusing China of bullying India,President Donald Trump himselfhas been non-committal by call-ing the standoff “very nasty” andwanting to do something to helpboth countries. He did not thinkthat China was bullying Indiathough he noted that China wascertainly “going for it.” After thepartisanship Prime MinisterNarendra Modi displayed inendorsing Trump at Houston(and Ahmedabad) for the nextPresident, a video of which is theTrump vote-catcher amongIndian Americans, Trump’s cleanchit to China is problematic.

The use of Tibetan troops inoperations, when high altitudeLadakh Scouts regiments areavailable, is by design India’sbelated psy war. It has the poten-

tial to reignite India’s Tibet pol-icy, which in 1950 ignoredChina’s illegal occupation ofTibet. India’s much-touted aban-donment of the One China pol-icy has nothing to do with Tibetbut more with Taiwan and HongKong. Chinese Foreign Ministryspokeswoman Hua Chunyingsaid: “We firmly oppose anycountry providing conveniencefor the Tibetan secessionist forces’separatist activities.” The GlobalTimes accused India of playingthe Tibet card and noted thatChina’s national strength, includ-ing its military strength, is muchstronger than India’s and thatwhen it comes to ultimate com-bat capability, the Indian side willlose. Eighteen weeks after the ini-tial intrusions, the Indian Armycarried out its maiden proactiveoperation at Chushul heightsand unnerved the PLA.Dominating ground in othersectors should have been takenup much earlier. Many officersare demanding that the militaryoption be utilised to imposecosts on China now that the forcebuild-up is being completed.Three additional divisions, tanksand artillery are amassed alongLAC with reserves in depth.China has made matchingdeployment, including locatingits J20 frontline fighter, at Hotan.IAF is ideally suited for deter-rence by punishment in case mil-itary force is used to evict intru-sions.

The one intrusion that PLAcovets most is Depsang whichwas not covered by the failed “dis-engagement” dialogue. InSeptember 2013, it had occupiedthe same area and withdrewafter talks and India’s counter-intrusion at Chumar. The PLA at

Depsang poses a direct challengeto the strategic Daulat Beg Oldiemilitary garrison and air base,which it views as a threat to G219, the Aksai Chin highway toLhasa. While a counter-intrusionalong the 1,590 km LAC inLadakh will be feasible and notbe escalatory like military actionto push back at Depsang or anyother intrusion, neither is advis-able as long as the door to diplo-macy is open. The militaryoption must remain the lastresort notwithstanding the lastpublic pronouncement of the for-mer acting US Undersecretary ofState for South Asia and CentralAsia, Alice Wells : “India’s broad-ening strategic horizons overthe past two decades have result-ed in a shift away from a passiveforeign policy to one thatadvances its interests more vig-orously.”

Jaishankar had a long stint atBeijing and then as ForeignSecretary. He enjoys the fullconfidence of his Prime Minister.His understanding of Chinaunder President Xi Jinping andthe Chinese Communist Party issharp and realistic. He is con-vinced that since diplomacyworked to get China to withdrawfrom Depsang, Chumar andDoklam, it can work again. Giventhe escalatory firing by PLA andoccupation of positions close toIndia’s —creating a new frictionpoint —coupled with rash state-ments by Global Times, theChinese have raised the stakes forJaishankar.

(The writer, a retired MajorGeneral, was Commander IPKFSouth, Sri Lanka and foundermember of the Defence PlanningStaff, currently the IntegratedDefence Staff.)

Several years ago, the fiery Kangana Ranautappeared on the cult Bollywood talk show calledKoffee with Karan hosted by producer Karan

Johar. To paraphrase from that outing of hers, shesaid that if a film was ever to be made about her life,Johar would be the antagonist. Over the past fewyears, we have seen how that has played out. First,there was the story about nepotism and howBollywood promotes its own, and while the Indianfilm industry epitomises nepotism, it really is not veryunique in that regard. Anywhere in the world or inIndia, nepotism is a byword in politics and industry.

So when popular Bihari actor Sushant Singh Rajput allegedly committed suicide,Kangana was one of the first to climb onto the bandwagon to accuse the nepotismof Bollywood of pushing a young actor over the edge before quickly jumping on tothe murder conspiracy theory. And then from a crusader, she appeared more andmore like a headline-grabber. She has written utterly shameful tweets against men-tal health, questioning the very concepts of psychology, and taken on the Shiv Sena,a partner in the Maharashtra alliance government, with several party spokespersonsattacking her. There is no doubt that with little to no formal media training and revert-ing to type, Shiv Sena leaders come across as uncouth, sexist goons while attack-ing Kangana, who is playing her pro-BJP card well and using it to give ammunitionto the Central party’s relentless attack on its one-time ally. So she has been givenY plus category security by the Central Government to make a point, never mind thecosts this will involve or the purpose it will serve. That possibly will not save heroffice from being demolished by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)which is controlled by the Shiv Sena, an act that, if the Sena goes ahead with, willallow the once-plucky Kangana to play the victim yet again.

While the actor is entitled to her opinions, it would be prudent for her to remem-ber that the past can come back to haunt you. Her actions today, that make her looklike a pawn, will be judged by many in the future and while she has in the past raisedsome very valid points against the extreme nepotism in the film industry, where atalentless child of a superstar gets breaks that others would not, that model itself isbeing broken by new streaming platforms and more choices. Bollywood itself willnot survive the Coronavirus pandemic in any recognisable shape or form. The actionsof the television media in amplifying some of the wilder allegations raised by Kanganaand others of her ilk have also been shameful and must be questioned. This entireaffair will leave India, the Indian media and Bollywood scarred for years to come.

That the current talks diplomacy on Ladakh is justa meaningless charade was more than evidentfrom the Chinese mouthpiece, Global Times, which

warned India against doing “a handstand on the edgeof a cliff” or underestimate Beijing’s hitback capabili-ties. This came soon after its troops fired in the airunprovoked at Pangong Tso, claiming the push camefrom India. It looks alarming because this comes dayswithin Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s meeting withhis counterpart Wei Fenghe in Moscow on the side-lines of this year’s edition of the Shanghai CooperationOrganisation (SCO). Alarming because China had ini-

tiated that meeting. But used to tradeoffs on the talks table following intimidation andsalami-slicing on the ground, it had not bargained for India’s toughness on status quoante. Or that it would resolutely hold ground. And though India has emphasised that itwould like to settle the border issue within the framework of diplomacy and dialogue,the fact that Chinese troops are still stationed within our artillery range in the south ofPangong Tso should remind us that it will never back down on that count. And till weaddress the historicity of a fluidic Line of Actual Control (LAC) and insist that percep-tional differences over it be replaced by marking it on the ground, we will be back tosquare one. Till we establish the centrality of the boundary issue in negotiations, theeyeball-to-eyeball conflicts will only escalate. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar wasright when he indicated that talks would be needed at a deeper level of political engage-ment but it is unlikely that China would bend in those discussions, too. Unless it getssomething in return. As the Doklam standoff near the trijunction with Bhutan has showedus, the summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinpingensured just a temporary withdrawal of troops and within a year, the Chinese rampedup their positions, encircling claim lines so tightly that they could heave down militari-ly. And while Beijing realises that it needs to keep a transactional engagement with Indiato protect its strategic interests, it will never reconcile to losing the strategic advantagein Ladakh because of the DSDBO road that allows India troop parity in this sector. Besides,China wouldn’t want the Indian shadow over the Karakoram, particularly between Gilgit-Baltistan in the west (Pakistan-occupied Kashmir), where China is heavily invested inthe China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), and Aksai Chin in the east. It certainlydoesn’t want Indian troops in the higher ridges and won’t let go of the spurs it has wrest-ed post-Galwan. Besides, it sees India as the proxy of the US and will continue to beoffensive on that count. The combined US-India strategy to counter it along maritimeroutes and halt its digital monopoly by denying technological access in both marketshas already aggravated its anxieties. And while President Donald Trump may not be overt-ly confrontational with China given trade dependencies and instead try to claim creditas a mediator between the two Asian powers, India has to be prepared to bear the bruntof Xi’s belligerence and hegemonic ambitions.

In fact, China intends to stretch India along the Himalayan border as just a day before,it announced how it never recognised the “so-called ‘Arunachal Pradesh’”, and reiter-ated its claim it was actually “south Tibet” and part of its territory. The statement camein response to the Indian Army’s question asking if five civilians who went missing fromArunachal Pradesh days ago were in the custody of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).This “abduction” could lead to a potential flashpoint and over time there could be moreof maximalist rhetoric and territorial imperialism. China has been consistent in its expan-sionist designs in the northeastern State, issuing stapled visas to its residents in 2009,implying they were not Indian citizens. Incursions have been consistent over the decadewith some even claiming it had built temporary bridges. And these, too, it has justifiedwith the old argument of “a differing perception of the alignment of the LAC, as in manyother areas.” In March 2019, China destroyed 30,000 world maps printed for exportfor not mentioning Arunachal Pradesh and Taiwan as part of Chinese territory. And inApril 2020, Beijing’s Sky Map showed parts of Arunachal Pradesh within its interna-tional borders. India has got to be more than just vigilant, it now needs to be proactive.It is watching the Malacca Straits, a key strategic and economic transit corridor for China,it has upgraded the Quad initiative with US and Japan, and begun talking to Central Asianand southeast Asian nations debt-trapped by China’s Belt and Road Initiative. But apartfrom these, it should now drive a hard bargain with China over an Asian split costingthe latter its greater ambitions vis-à-vis the US. And yes, we should get vocal about join-ing the chorus on Tibet.

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

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

op nionHYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 9, 2020

06

High stakes for JaishankarThe Minister’s understanding is sharp and realistic. He is convinced that since

diplomacy worked to get China to withdraw from Doklam, it can work again

It (Jacob Blakes’) is an incredible family. And what they've endured, and they just do it with such dignity and grace.

California Senator —Kamala Harris

India has a strong presence on every international platform. In such a situation, theIndian media also needs to go global.

Prime Minister—Narendra Modi

The environment is filled witha quiet acceptance of the pre-vailing circumstances and con-ditioning but there is sincerityof moving ahead despite thespirit, to strive for a beginning.

ActorAmitabh Bachchan

S O U N D B I T E

Of security & demons

There is no Star Trek like control room in the film industry where everybody is sitting, doping and and conspiring against people.

Author—Chetan Bhagat

Within days of its Defence Minister meeting Rajnath Singh, Chinaviolates talks spirit by pushing troops in Ladakh, again

Kangana has become Bollywood’s bete noire but the Y-plus security makes her a pawn in a larger political game

ASHOK K MEHTA

EIGHTEEN WEEKSAFTER THE INITIALINTRUSIONS, THE

INDIAN ARMYCARRIED OUT ITS

MAIDENPROACTIVE

OPERATION ATCHUSHUL HEIGHTS

AND UNNERVEDTHE PLA.

DOMINATINGGROUND IN OTHERSECTORS SHOULDHAVE BEEN TAKEN

UP MUCH EARLIER

Fulfil GST promise

Sir — This is with reference to thearticle, “The GST quagmire,” pub-lished on September 8. In a rarecovenant of faith, the Centre andStates arduously evolved a consen-sus over the Goods and ServicesTax (GST) spread over a decadeand more. The then chairpersonof the GST Council and UnionFinance Minister had assured theStates that in case of a gap in theGST compensation fund, theCouncil shall decide the mode ofraising additional resources,including borrowing from themarket. The GST compensationto States was already rearing up asan issue because of an ailingeconomy and the pandemicensured that revenues from theimposition of cess started dwin-dling from August 2019. TheCentre had to dive into the excesscess collected during 2017-18and 2018-19.

It is sad that at the very firstsign of distress, the Centre hasresorted to “babuspeak” andreneged on its guarantee. It wouldrather let the States fend for them-selves. The GST, being more thanmere maths, is a quintessence offederal architecture. Any negationthereof weakens the radial ties in

the wheel of governance. A throw-back to the post-Raj days, whenpayment of privy purses wasopposed by many members,Sardar Patel in the Constituent

Assembly on October 12, 1949,reminded them that this was asmall price to pay for the integra-tion of India. When GST is beingtouted by the Government as a

crowning achievement, the Centreought to walk the extra mile touphold the federal spirit.

R NarayananNavi Mumbai

Salute to DRDOSir — Let us salute the Ministryof Defence and the DefenceResearch and DevelopmentOrganisation (DRDO) for suc-cessfully test-firing the firstHypersonic TechnologyDemonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV),making India the fourth countryin the world after the US, Chinaand Russia to develop and test thetechnology that will pave the wayfor missiles that will have thecapacity to travel at six times thespeed of sound. The DRDO hasdemonstrated its capabilities foruse of the highly-complex tech-nology that will serve as thebuilding block for the next-gen-eration hypersonic vehicles inpartnership with the industry.The HSTDV is an unmannedscramjet demonstration aircraftfor hypersonic speed flight. Themost significant part of this dreammission is that apart from beingused as a vehicle for hypersonicand long-range cruise missiles, theHSTDV can also be used for civil-ian applications, including thelaunch of satellites at a low cost.

M PradyuKannur

L E T T E R S T O TT H E E D I T O R

Regulate crypto currencies soon

The crypto currency was first launched in 2008 whenthe Bitcoin hit the markets as the first internet-basedcurrency. It is issued by private firms and individ-

uals and is neither backed by any security nor anyGovernment guarantee. Crypto currency is tradedthrough exchanges and the price depends only ondemand as supply is constant. Consequently, the ReserveBank of India (RBI) has continuously warned crypto cur-rency users and traders about the risks associated withthis new system. In fact, the Central Bank issued a cir-cular in April 2018 stating that it did not recognise thecurrency as a legal tender and it would not provide anyservices, financial or otherwise, to entities engaged incrypto trading.

However, on March 4, the Supreme Court struckdown the RBI’s circular and final directions are awaitedfrom the Central Bank and the Government in the mat-ter. Though there are about 20 exchanges in India whichdo business in crypto currency, the trading is still cloudypending the RBI’s final announcement on the matter.

The issues that need examination are many. First,is crypto currency a legal tender? If so, how will the trans-actions using crypto currency be monitored andbrought under the tax ambit? Second, can an internetcurrency be treated on par with sovereign currency?Third, if crypto currencies are not recognised as legaltender and they are just commodities, then rules on com-

modity reading should apply. So, who will control andmonitor the exchanges? Fourth, their value is demanddriven and there is no mechanism to protect investors.Fifth, as cross-border transactions using crypto curren-cy as a medium of exchange are possible, how will Indiaplug anti-national activities?

Sixth, there is scope for money laundering usingcrypto currency, considering the fact that developednations like the US and UK have already recognised thecurrency. So it may not be possible for India to do awaywith it totally. However, if crypto currency is to be usedin the mainstream economy, either as a currency or acommodity, then the Government/RBI should first bringin regulatory measures before these digital products makefurther inroads into the system and become a parallelblack economy.

M RaghuramanMumbai

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

An uttam future for UP

CONTRARY TO ALL OF THE LIES,

JOE BIDEN WANTS TO SURRENDER

OUR COUNTRY TO THE VIRUS?

—US PRESIDENT

DONALD TRUMP

IF I COULD GET A VACCINE TOMORROW, I’D DO IT.

IF IT COST ME THE ELECTION, I’D DO IT.

WE NEED A VACCINE AND WE NEED IT NOW.

—FORMER US VICE-PRESIDENT

JOE BIDEN

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

From being called an Ulta Pradesh (upsidedown State), Uttar Pradesh is making aquantum leap towards becoming an Uttam

Pradesh (good State). And in this endeavour, itis being helped by the fact that UP ranked num-ber two in the State Business Reform Action Plan2019: Ease of Doing Business (EODB). This is upfrom the 12th rank UP got in 2019, testifying thatit has emerged as the second-best State in Indiawhere investors are happy to contribute.

This was made possible because the BJPGovernment was able to do away with red tapism.It also signifies the fact that the UP Governmentis making great strides towards fulfilling PrimeMinister Narendra Modi’s dream of an AatmaNirbhar Bharat and Chief Minister YogiAdityanath is implementing all schemes meantto achieve this goal efficiently.

This 10-place jump in one year in the EODBrankings released by the Union Government isa big achievement indeed as UP has left severalleading States like Gujarat, Telangana, Rajasthan,Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra behind. UP hasimplemented 186 out of the 187 reforms in theState Business Reform Action Plan that were sug-gested by the Department for Promotion ofIndustry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). Whatmakes this achievement even more special is thefact that this year’s exercise was completely basedon user feedback. The jump in ranking indicatesthat entrepreneurs have been receiving the truebenefits of the reforms introduced by the UPGovernment. These reforms were spread acrossseveral areas such as labour regulation, online,single window, access to information and trans-parency, land administration, construction per-mit, commercial disputes, inspection enablersand so on.

More than 20 departments such as Invest UP(Udyog Bandhu), the Labour Department, thePollution Control Board, Commercial Tax,Power, Stamp and Registration, Excise, FoodSafety and Drug and many others were part ofthis journey. Successful implementation of the“Nivesh Mitra” in UP, too, has been instrumen-tal in UP achieving this EODB. In a period oftwo years, “Nivesh Mitra” received around2,29,936 No-Objection Certificate (NoC) appli-cations, out of which it disposed of over 94 percent of them. The Nivesh Mitra Portal received18,120 grievances from entrepreneurs, of which17,752 have been successfully resolved at an out-standing resolution rate of 98 per cent.

The success in the UP Government’s work-ing lies in its efforts to impart transparency andthe use of technology for Business-to-Government (B2G) interactive procedures. TheYogi Government has been successful in improv-ing the EODB by introducing variousInformation Technology-driven modules andNivesh Mitra is one such. Its success lies in thefact that it has now become an integral and effi-cient part in bridging the gap between industri-al demands and expectations and Governmentmachinery.

Maximum approval of the State BusinessReform Action Plan and higher user feedback sat-isfaction record on the Nivesh Mitra portalplayed a critical role in achieving the EODB. Inorder to make Government working more effi-cient and competitive, the EODB system has beenimplemented at the district level. Initiatives likethe monthly ranking of all 75 districts on theEODB parameters shall further result in creat-ing a conducive business environment.

Where UP stands today was not achieved in

one day and efforts in this direction areon since Yogi Adityanath took chargeas the Chief Minister of the State. Thebig push came in February 2018 whenthe UP Government organised anInvestors’ Summit in which memoran-da of understanding (MoUs) worth`4.68 lakh crore were signed. Thecontours of the simplified norms ofinvestment took shape then, which werereflected in two ground-breaking cer-emonies through which 371 projectswith an investment of about `2 lakhcrore were made. These projects arelikely to generate over five lakh jobs.

The foundation of the DefenceIndustrial Manufacturing Corridor inBundelkhand is another aspect ofincreased industrial development in theState. This corridor will be built withan investment of ̀ 50,000 crore and willcreate employment for five lakh people.The project got a fillip when the UPGovernment, in collaboration with theDefence Ministry, organised the coun-try’s largest Defence Expo 2020 inLucknow. More than 100 agreementswere inked, which included 71 MoUs,13 product launches, 18 technologytransfer agreements and six importantannouncements. Besides, over 100pacts were made.

UP’s own Uttar PradeshExpressway Industrial DevelopmentAuthority (UPEIDA) signed 23 MoUswith various enterprises, inviting invest-ment for the UP Defence IndustrialCorridor. In all, over 200 MoUs weresigned during the Defence Expo 2020.

That the Government wants to giveimpetus to industrial development isreflected in the Government’s OneDistrict One Product (ODOP) scheme,under which the Government dis-bursed loans of more than `8,875

crore. Apart from this, training and freetool kits were distributed to 6,000 arti-sans/handicrafts men. This indirectlyhas given employment to more thanfive lakh people.

The ODOP scheme was launchedin 2018 by Adityanath to promote thelocal artisans and local products. Thescheme has now been adopted by theUnion Government and Prime MinisterNarendra Modi calls it the “Vocal forLocal” scheme. The primary objectiveof this is to focus on a particular prod-uct and raise its quality to compete inthe international market.

Investment in any State depends onthree parameters — power supply,communication and transport. UP hasmade a quantum jump in all three. Thepower supply across the State hasimproved considerably while a networkof roads has been laid connecting thewestern part of the State with the east-ern region. The construction of thePurvanchal Expressway is a testimonyof the Government’s resolve to improveconnectivity. Construction of this six-lane, 341 km-long PurvanchalExpressway is in progress and will beopened for public use by early next year.

The expressway would havebecome functional by November butbecause of the COVID-19 pandemic,the launch has been rescheduled. Therewould be 11 interchanges for entry/exiton the expressway and in order to con-nect it to Gorakhpur, the constructionof the around 92 km-long GorakhpurLink Expressway is in progress.

Even the rugged Bundelkhand isgetting its share of highways. The con-struction of the 297 km-longBundelkhand Expressway at a cost of`14,849 crore is under way, which willconnect the Bundelkhand region with

Delhi via the Agra-LucknowExpressway. This is not all. TheGovernment has even started a projectto construct a Ganga Expressway thatwill connect Meerut with Prayagraj.

If there is a network of roadsacross UP, can air connectivity be farbehind? Till 2017, only two cities of UPwere connected by air but now thisnumber has gone up to 12. Besides,construction of Asia’s largest JewarInternational Green Field Airport inNoida is going at a fast pace in collab-oration with Zurich AirportInternational AG.

Any industrial exercise alwaysleads to job creation. This is evident inUP as with an investment of about `3lakh crore through the first and secondground-breaking ceremonies and othermeans, more than 33 lakh people havegot direct and indirect employment.Besides this, the BJP Government hasgiven Government jobs to three lakhyouths in three years. Of this 1.5 lakhpersonnel were recruited in the policeforce. After the registration of over10lakh youth for skill development train-ing, more than 8.48 lakh youth havebeen trained and more than three lakhyouth have been employed so far. Infact, UP was awarded a gold medal byASSOCHAM for being the best State inskill development.

The efforts put in by Adityanathunder the guidance of Modi havestarted showing results. It is just a mat-ter of time before this State will becomeone of the best States of India not onlyon the issue of governance but also onimparting education, health servicesand providing jobs to the people.

(The writer is Member, LegislativeCouncil, and vice-president, UP unit ofthe BJP).

It is just a matter of time before this State becomes one of the best in India not only on theissue of governance but also on imparting education and health services

analysis 07F I R S T C O L U M N

An unusualelection

KALYANI SHANKAR

The Bihar poll will be the first digital one heldamid the pandemic and will be fought through

virtual rallies and on social media

VIJAY BAHADUR PATHAK

THIS 10-PLACEJUMP IN ONE YEAR

IN THE EODBRANKINGS

RELEASED BY THEUNION

GOVERNMENT IS ABIG ACHIEVEMENT

INDEED AS UP HASLEFT SEVERAL

LEADING STATESLIKE GUJARAT,

TELANGANA,RAJASTHAN,

TAMIL NADU ANDMAHARASHTRA

BEHIND. UP HASIMPLEMENTED 186

OUT OF THE 187REFORMS IN THESTATE BUSINESSREFORM ACTION

PLAN THAT WERESUGGESTED BY THE

DEPARTMENT FORPROMOTION OFINDUSTRY AND

INTERNAL TRADE.WHAT MAKES THIS

ACHIEVEMENT EVENMORE SPECIAL IS

THE FACT THATTHIS YEAR’S

EXERCISE WASCOMPLETELY

BASED ON USERFEEDBACK

The forthcoming Bihar elections are unique in many ways.This will be the first digital poll held amid the pandemic andthis time, the elections will be fought through virtual rallies

and door-to-door campaigns as well as on social media. The BJPis far ahead of the others because of its experience in the virtu-al mode. It will indeed be a big achievement if the digital experi-ment succeeds in a backward State like Bihar. There are manyother firsts in the November polls. The absence of former BiharChief Minister Lalu Prasad is a big loss for the Opposition alliance,as they lack a charismatic leader. His rustic charm and jokes thatkept the crowds at his rallies in splits will be missed. He madethe poor and oppressed believe that they were the real rulers withhim at the helm. It was he who created the Muslim-Yadav (MY)vote bank. Unfortunately for his allies, Lalu is in jail serving hissentence in the fodder scam. In 2015, Lalu played a big role bystitching up the grand alliance, which won big. Though his sonand political heir, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav is quite mobile and artic-ulate but he is yet to establish himself as a leader.

In the absence of any tall leaders in the alliance, he is the chiefministerial face. The RJD’s social media accounts are now fullof images of Tejashwi meeting people in flood-hit areas. The RJDhas its own problems, as the ongoing sibling rivalry is a hindranceto unity in the party. Moreover, senior leaders like RaghuvanshPratap Singh are unhappy and thinking of moving to other par-ties.

Another first is the migrant labour issue. They have becomethe new vote bank. The Opposition believes that the Nitish KumarGovernment has not done enough for them. The whole countrysaw the plight of millions of migrant labourers walking back totheir villages because of the mishandling of the lockdown and theissues associated with it by both the Central and StateGovernments. It is estimated that at least two million migrant labour-ers have returned to their homes in Bihar. The unemployment ratein Bihar is 46.6 per cent, the highest in the country.

The third is the impact of Covid. This will be the first Assemblypoll in the midst of the pandemic. Bihar has recorded over 1.2lakh Coronavirus cases so far. The Government claims that aroundone-lakh tests are being done daily after a slow start, and the num-ber of positive cases has declined. The Opposition parties dis-pute this and have alleged that the State Government is tamper-ing with data.

Fourth, it will be the first time that the CPI(ML) has made anelectoral pact with the RJD. Both the CPI and CPI(M) have in thepast contested elections either with the RJD or the Janata Dal andthis time they will be part of the Opposition alliance. Given thedemography of Bihar, backward caste voters hold the key to power.Other Backward Classes (OBC) constitute 45 per cent to 50 percent of the population in Bihar, whereas the upper castes, Muslimand Scheduled Castes account for around 15 per cent each. Biharvotes on caste lines.

Fifth, the recent death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput (SSR)has become a poll issue. Politicians will not even hesitate to usethe untimely death of a young actor for their benefit and the SSRcase is a shining example.

Meanwhile, the election fervour is at a fever pitch with majorparties beginning their virtual campaigns since Monday. The NDAand the Grand Alliance are the two major groupings. The BJP, JD(U)and the RJD are the major triangular forces of Bihar politics todaybut no political party is in a situation to form a Government onits own.

The Congress has decided to hold 100 virtual rallies. However,it has not developed a strong State-level leadership. Party work-ers and leaders in Bihar squarely blame the State leadership forthe Congress’ poor prospects.

The JD(U) is strengthening itself by inducting several partyhoppers and so is the other camp. Jitan Ram Manjhi, former BiharChief Minister and the chief of Hindustani Awam Morcha Secular(HAM-S) had recently joined the NDA. Sharad Yadav, who wasexpelled by the party for anti-party activities, is likely to return tothe JD(U). Even though, the BJP president JP Nadda had recent-ly asserted that the NDA would contest the forthcoming poll inBihar unitedly, the LJP president Chirag Paswan, the son of RamVilas Paswan has been attacking Nitish.

The voters, too, are going to follow new the guidelines of theGovernment. These include the use of masks, gloves, sanitisers,thermal scanners and adhering to social distancing norms. TheElection Commission proposes to implement strictly all these reg-ulations. Bihar is important for political parties as it has 40 LokSabha seats. It is too early to predict poll results, as there couldalways be election upsets but for now it is advantage BJP-JD(U)alliance because of a weak and splintered Opposition and lack ofcharismatic leaders.

(The writer is a senior journalist)

India went into lockdown mode inMarch and people in almost all sec-tions of society have been facing

socio-economic difficulties since then.The almost insurmountable challengein front of policymakers has been tobalance lives and livelihoods. Theuncertainties of the lockdown entwinedwith health and safety concerns disrupt-ed the market that faced a supply anddemand shock. These issues resulted ina historically low Gross DomesticProduct (GDP) growth rate of -23.9 percent in the first quarter of the currentfinancial year, with industrial growthshrinking by 40 per cent. However, itis expected to pick up in the subsequentquarters as stated by the Reserve Bank

of India (RBI) and the World Bank. Theeconomic consequences of the pan-demic and local lockdowns have beenwell-discussed and are surfacing in theGDP and industrial production num-bers.

However, there is another side ofthe issue which is quietly creeping upand that is the social consequences aris-ing out of the lack of skill training.Certainly, this social and educationalconsequence will translate into eco-nomic adversity over a period.According to the All India Survey onHigher Education (AISHE), India’sgross enrolment ratio was 27.4 per centfor 2017-18. This is not a great figureas compared to the other developingcountries. This is further battered by thepossible decline in enrolment this yearowing to constrained access to educa-tional institutions and infrastructure formany unprivileged students, particular-ly in rural India. Given the contagion,the Indian education regime had to shiftgear to the online mode. Thanks to theinternet that, at least, served an option

for continuing education. But the ques-tion is: Is this viable on the ground? Willour students contribute to the humancapital and participate in the her-culean task of reviving the Indianeconomy? The presence of internet anddigital infrastructure along with theirsignificant (about 50 per cent) penetra-tion in the country have come today asa boon for education and for impart-ing training to aspirants. In this back-drop, the Pradhan Mantri e-VidyaProgramme was launched, which uni-fies all efforts related to digital, onlineand on-air education. Furthermore, top100 universities were permitted tostart online courses from May 30without any fresh approval from edu-cation regulators. States, such asKarnataka, too, announced policies foronline education.

However, there exist certainunprecedented challenges for movingtowards online education, which is theneed of the hour. It has not onlychanged the way students from KG topost-graduation learn, but also has sig-

nificantly altered the methods andmaterials of teaching for educators andparents. The fundamental constituentto enable online education is digitalinfrastructure, including high-speedinternet and supporting devices (desk-top, laptop, tablet or mobile phone).These prerequisites of online educationhave further expanded the gap betweenthe upper and middle class and urbanand rural populations of the country interms of access to education even afterpromulgation of the Right to Education.

Education and skill training havealways been a two-way communicationand feedback process that may not bedone in the online mode as effectivelyas it can be done in classrooms and lab-oratories. It is difficult to imagine stu-dents learning biology, physics andchemistry without actually experi-menting in laboratories. It is quiteimportant to differentiate knowledgeand skill in this context. Knowledge canbe delivered and learned from literature.However, skill-imparting needs exper-iment and experience that may not be

feasible in the online mode of learning.India, as an industrialising nation,

cannot afford to have an engineer withbookish knowledge of a combustionengine without having the skill todesign and operate it. Historically, theindustry-academia gap has alwaysexisted in India. A McKinsey report hadflagged the issue, a decade ago, that justa quarter of engineers in India wereactually employable. Now, the onlineeducation model producing graduateswith lack of skills may aggravate theemployability issue further. This maylead to a deteriorated human capital andunderemployment in the economydue to the fact that a large pool of thepresent unskilled human capital com-ing out of the online pedagogy will jointhe workforce in the future, faceemployability challenges and take alonger period to be skillful and join theproductive workforce of the nation.

Given the necessity of the onlineeducation system, at present, we mustacknowledge and address these issues,challenges and the consequences asso-

ciated with it. The lack of digital infra-structure in rural and unprivileged sec-tions has posed implementation chal-lenges on the ground, leading to socialinequalities. However, the major worrylies in the outcome of this new regimeof online education system in terms ofskill and lack of employability of thehuman capital that will have the greatresponsibility of putting the Indianeconomy back on its growth trajecto-ry with equitable development.

It is high time we think aboutbridging the gap between rural andurban digital infrastructure for onlineeducation and imparting employableskills. The National Education Policy(NEP) aims to reform the educationsystem by 2030 in a push towards anAtmanirbhar Bharat. One hopes thatthe NEP bridges the gap between theindustry and the academia in terms ofemployable skills and gives an equallearning and growth opportunity to all.

(The writer is a Senior ResearchScholar, Department of ManagementStudies, IIS, Bengaluru)

The challenges of online pedagogy and skillsIndia, as an industrialising nation, cannot afford to have an engineer with bookish knowledge of an engine without the skill to design it

SWAPNIL SONI

HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 9, 2020

www.dailypioneer.com

F O R E I G N E Y E

COVID-19 gave us a glimpseof a less work-drivensociety, but it will takedetermination to avoid areturn to the old normal. Itwill need an alternativepolitics of prosperity: Onethat gives priority to well-being over economic growthand is willing to challengethe consumerist vision ofthe good life.

(The Guardian editorial)

A TOUGH CHANGE

HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 money 08

CAPSULE

Next startup rankingto be released on September 11NEW DELHI: Ministry ofCommerce and Industry willrelease the next edition ofranking of states and unionterritories (UTs) based on theirstartup ecosystem onSeptember 11, an official said.The rankings are based on theinitiatives taken to develop thestartup ecosystem forpromoting buddingentrepreneurs. The rankingframework covers sevenpillars and 30 action points,including policy support,incubation centres, seedfunding, angel and venturefunding and easier regulations."The ranking is ready. It will bereleased on September 11,"the official added. The startupranking framework aims torank the states/UTs forestablishing a robustecosystem for supportingstartups.

HIL supplies 114.2 tonnes DDT to ZambiaNEW DELHI: State-owned HIL(India) Ltd has supplied 114.2tonnes of organochlorineinsecticide DDT to Zambia fora malaria control programme,the Union ministry said onTuesday. "This is the lastphase of dispatch out of the307 tonne order received fromZambia's healthy ministry,"HIL Chairman and ManagingDirector S P Mohanty said inan official statement. HIL, thesole manufacturer of DDTglobally, is exporting theproduct to many Africancountries. Mohanty said HILrecently supplied 20.6 tonnesof DDT to South Africa, whilethe supply of 129 tonne toZimbabwe is in progress, hesaid. "India is committed tomanufacture and supplyquality products at reasonableprices to the Southern Africanregion, which will strengthenour bilateral relationship," theministry added.

Rupee settles 25 pslower at 73.63against US dollarNEW DELHI: The rupeedepreciated 25 paise andsettled at 73.63 (provisional)against the US dollar onTuesday amid rise in demandfor the American currencyfrom banks and importers. Atthe interbank forex market, therupee started off on a tepidnote at 73.63 and finallyclosed at 73.60 against thegreenback, down 25 paiseover its previous close. Thelocal unit traded in a range of73.37 and 73.64 per US dollarduring the session. OnMonday, the rupee had settledat 73.35 against the US dollar.Meanwhile, the dollar index,which gauges the greenback'sstrength against a basket ofsix currencies, rose 0.43 percent to 93.11.

India's hiring outlookbleakest in 15 yrs: SurveyPNS n NEW DELHI

India is witnessing the weak-est hiring sentiment in 15years with just 3 per centcompanies planning to addstaff in the next three months,a survey of over 800 employ-ers said on Tuesday.

According to ManpowerGroup Employm-ent OutlookSurvey, that covered 813 firmsacross India, Indian employersreport cautious hiring plans forthe final quarter of 2020.

As per the survey, 7 per centof employers anticipate anincrease in payrolls, 3 per centforecast a decrease and 54 percent expect no change. Oncethe data is adjusted to allow forseasonal variation, the outlookstands at 3 per cent, it said.

"Hiring sentiment is theweakest since the survey began15 years ago, remaining rela-tively stable when comparedwith the previous quarter, butdeclining by 16 percentagepoints in comparison withthis time one year ago," thesurvey said.

The strongest hiring pace isrecorded in the small-sizedorganisations followed by themedium-sized and large-sizedfirms. From a region perspec-tive, north and east regionsindicate a more positive out-look compared to the west and

south, the survey said."Post the 'right sizing' exer-

cise aligning themselves tothe current market demands,organisations are now lookingat improving productivity, newforms of employee engage-ment, getting furloughedemployees back and imple-mentation of technology," saidSandeep Gulati, GroupManaging Director ofManpowerGroup India.

These factors are influenc-ing the employment trends thisquarter, he added.

Gulati further said that "thegovernment is also trying toease the burden on corporateIndia by providing varioussops from production-linkedincentives to changes in thelabour law and leniency on taxreturns. We hope to see theimpact of these reforms in the

subsequent quarters".The survey further said that

nearly 44 per cent of employ-ers reported that they mayreturn to pre-COVID-19 hir-ing within the next ninemonths whereas 42 per centare unsure about returningback to normalcy from the hir-ing perspective.

When asked about existingmembers of the workforcethat have been placed on a jobretention or furlough scheme,42 per cent of companies sug-gest they plan to bring themback with reduced hours, how-ever, 3 per cent indicate thesestaff will be let go. Globally,employers in 22 of the 43countries and territories sur-veyed by ManpowerGroupexpect to add to payrolls in theperiod up to the end ofDecember 2020. ‘India scaling up production

of active pharma ingredients’PNS n WASHINGTON

India, a global hub for gener-ic drugs, has launched a newscheme to boost production ofactive pharmaceutical ingredi-ents that are greatly dependenton the Chinese supply chain,according to NITI Aayog CEOAmitabh Kant.

Speaking at the 14th AnnualBioPharma and HealthcareSummit, he said India is nowgearing up for innovation in itspharmaceutical ecosystemfocusing on speedy and scaledup delivery of new vaccinesand personalised medicines.

He said that India haslaunched a new scheme toboost production of activepharmaceutical ingredientsthat are greatly dependent onthe Chinese supply chain.

"We are planning to docomplete manufacturing inIndia," he said at the virtualsummit organised by the USA-India Chamber of Commerceon Friday.

The day-long virtual sum-mit was attended by majorplayers from the US pharma-ceutical sector, whose com-bined annual research and

development budget is morethan USD 45 billion.

Relations between the USand China, the world's leadingmanufacturer in a number ofsectors, have deteriorated afterthe coronavirus outbreakspread across the world fromthe central Chinese city ofWuhan. President DonaldTrump has squarely blamedBeijing for allowing the virusto spread across the world thathas led to the death of overeight lakh people and triggeredan unprecedented globalhealth crisis.

Bilateral tension betweenWashington and Beijing hasalso spiked over security con-cerns and human rights viola-tions in Xinjiang and Tibet.

This has led to a number ofcountries looking at India as asubstitute to China for theirmanufacturing bases and keycommodity production.

Kant said the Indian govern-ment is committed to achieveits 'Pharma Vision 2020', whichaims to make the country aglobal leader in drug discovery,innovation, and drug manu-facturing.

India is working towardsrobust innovation landscapeawareness, innovation facilita-tors such as human capitalinvestment in research anddevelopment, safety-legal envi-ronment, regulatory environ-ment to provide truly worldclass biopharma research, hesaid. The government has car-ried out far-reaching reformsto streamline the clinical trialand regulatory approvalprocess to facilitate drug dis-covery in partnership withthe private sector, he said.

Bio incubators have been setup to monitor and nurturescaling of technologies. Indiais developing world class clin-ical trial infrastructure toincrease the number of bedsper thousand population.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Fitch Ratings on Tuesdayslashed India's FY21 growthprojection to (-) 10.5 per cent,from (-) 5 per cent estimatedearlier, saying the continuedspread of the virus and impo-sition of sporadic shutdownsacross the country has disrupt-ed economic activity.

In the first quarter of currentfiscal India's gross domesticproduct (GDP) contracted bya massive 23.9 per cent.

Fitch said India recordedone of the sharpest GDP con-tractions in the world in theApril-June quarter, but notedthat growth should reboundstrongly in the July-Septemberperiod amid re-opening of theeconomy. However, there aresigns that the recovery hasbeen sluggish and uneven, itsaid.

In its September update ofGlobal Economic Outlook,Fitch said, the deepest reces-sions were in India, the UK andSpain, countries that saw par-ticularly large shocks in dailymobility data on visits to retail

and recre-ation venues,and wherel o c kd ow nswere strin-gent and long- l a s t i n gthroughout2Q20.

It said multiple challengesare holding back growth recov-ery, both in the short andmedium term.

"New cases of the coron-avirus continue to increase,forcing some states and unionterritories to re-tighten restric-

tions... The con-tinued spread ofthe virus andthe impositionof sporadics h u t d o w n sacross the coun-try depress sen-

timent and dis-rupt economic activity," Fitchsaid.

It further noted that thesevere fall in activity has alsodamaged household and cor-porate incomes and balancesheets, amid limited fiscal sup-port.

Also a looming deteriorationin asset quality in the financialsector will hold back credit pro-vision amid weak bank capitalbuffers. Furthermore, highinflation has added strains tohousehold income and supply-chain disruption and exciseduties increases have causedprices to rise. It projected infla-tion to slow amid weak under-lying demand, easing supply-chain disruption and a goodmonsoon.

"We have slashed our GDPforecast for this fiscal year to -10.5 per cent, a huge revisionof - 5pp (percentage points)compared to the June GEO. Weexpect the shortfall of activityrelative to our pre-virus forecastto be 16 per cent by early 2022,"Fitch said.GDP growth is like-ly to be (-) 9.6 per cent in July-September, (-) 4.8 per cent inOctober-December and 4 percent in January-March quarterthis fiscal, as per Fitch projec-tions.For the next fiscal, Fitchestimated Indian economy togrow 11 per cent, while for2022-21 growth would be 6 percent.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Supreme Court's decisionto allow telcos to pay outstand-ing dues over 10 years will notbe enough to help VodafoneIdea to stabilise its position,while Jio and Airtel are expect-ed to strengthen their marketshares through subscribergains, Fitch Ratings has said.

It further said another tariffhike of at least 20 per cent isprobable in the next 12months.

Vodafone Idea's plan to raisefunds through a mix of equityand debt is "unlikely" to restoreits competitive position andreverse subscriber losses, as theamount would not be sufficientfor capex, it argued.

"We believe Vodafone Idea

will gradually lose market sharegiven its weak balance sheetand limited financial flexibili-ty," a Fitch release said, addingthat Jio and Bharti, on the otherhand, are expected to gain

market share on the SC verdict.Industry tariffs are expected

to rise as users adopt higher-price 4G plans.

"We expect Jio and Bharti toincrease their combined rev-

enue market share to 75-80 percent from around 70 per centin the next 12-18 months, atthe expense of Vodafone Idea,which will likely lose 50 mil-lion-70 million subscribers inthe next 12 months; it lostabout 155 million subscribersin the last nine quarters," it said.

Reliance Jio could snap upmore than half of VodafoneIdea's subscriber losses, withthe balance going to Bharti, therelease added.

While Jio had postedEarnings before Interest TaxDepreciation and Amortisation(EBITDA) growth of 55 percent, and Bharti reportedIndian mobile EBITDA growthof 35 per cent in the first quar-ter of the current fiscal,Vodafone Idea's numbers

remained stagnant, coveringonly half of its interest cost.

"Vodafone Idea's auditorexpressed material uncertain-ty over the company's ability tocontinue as a going concern,which, the auditor said,depends on successful negoti-ations with Vodafone Idea'slenders to waive their rights torepayment after breaches ofcovenants under its bankloans," Fitch Ratings said.

At June end, it had a cashbalance of USD 470 million(about Rs 3,454 crore) whichwas well short of short-termdebt maturities and guaranteesof USD 3.6 billion (about Rs26,450 crore).

"It has so far paid about USD1.1 billion of its total unpaiddues of USD 8.9 billion, and it

will need to pay around USD1-1.2 billion a year duringFY2021-2031," it said.

The Supreme Court's latestruling will allow Bharti Airtelto pay the remaining outstand-ing dues in 10 annual paymentsof about USD 600 million(about Rs 4,410 crore) startingMarch 2022 instead of a lumpsum.

Bharti's FY21 Indian mobileEBITDA is likely to improve by30-40 per cent on the back ofimproved margins followingtariff hikes and 5-6 per centsubscriber growth.

Fitch expects Jio's FY21mobile revenue to increase by45-50 per cent, driven by high-er monthly average revenue peruser (ARPU) and subscriberaddition of about 40 million.

Dues payment over 10 yrs not enough to aid VIL: Fitch

Indian economy to contract10.5 pc in FY2021: Fitch

PNS n BRUSSELS

The European Union's exec-utive commission is propos-ing its experienced Latvianvice president, ValdisDombrovskis, to take over thepost as trade chief of the blocfollowing the resignation ofIreland's Phil Hogan.

EU Commission PresidentUrsula von der Leyen madethe announcement as shenamed European Parliamentheavyweight Mairead McGu-inness as the new financialservices commissioner to fillIreland's seat at the table.

Dombrovskis now fills avital post in dealing with theUnited States, China and post-Brexit Britain, with all threedemanding near daily atten-tion. “I am looking forward towork on all those issues,"Dombrovskis. It also meansvon der Leyen limited herreshuffle in the Commissionand with McGuinness shenarrowed the gender gap inthe Commission, which nowstands at 14 men and 13women.

EU namesDombrovskisas its newtrade chief

PNS n NEW DELHI

Markets regulator Sebi onTuesday added the NationalStock Exchange (NSE) to thelist of entities that can under-take e-KYC Aadhaar authen-tication. The regulator, in May, hadcome out with a list of eightentities permitted to use e-KYC (Electronic-Know YourCustomer) Aadhaar authen-tication.

Central DepositoryServices (India) Ltd (CDSL),National SecuritiesDepository Ltd (NSDL), BSE,CDSL Ventures, NSDLDatabase Management, NSEData and Analytics, CAMSInvestor Services andComputer Age ManagementServices were the eight enti-ties that were allowed to usee-KYC Aadhaar authentica-tion.

In a circular issued onTuesday, Sebi said, "NationalStock Exchange of IndiaLimited shall undertakeAadhaar authentication ser-vice of the UIDAI subject tocompliance of the conditionsas laid down in this regard."

Sebi allows NSEto undertake e-KYC Aadhaarauthentication

PNS n MUMBAI

Budget carrierGoAir has oper-ated over 200charter flightsfrom SaudiArabia to vari-ous domesticairports as partof repatriationefforts and has flown morethan 37,000 passengersbetween June 10 andSeptember 4, the airline saidon Tuesday.

The Wadia Group-promot-ed private carrier had com-menced the repatriation flightson June 10 and graduallyramped up its operations witha combination of VandeBharat Mission flights andprivate international charters.

GoAir has flown a total37,016 passengers from threecities of Saudi Arabia --Dammam, Riyadh and Jeddah-- to 11 Indian airports, oper-ating 203 charter servicesbetween June 10 and

September 4, an airlinespokesperson said.

According to the airline,charter operations fromDammam commenced fromJune 10, while these servicesfrom Riyadh started operatingfrom June 11. However, ser-vices from Jeddah started onlyfrom July 30, it added.

"We are pleased to havesuccessfully completed therecord 200 charter flights fromthe Kingdom of Saudi Arabiain 87 days as part of the repa-triation efforts, be it VandeBharat Mission or interna-tional private charters," saidKaushik Khona, ChiefExecutive Officer, GoAir.

PNS n NEW DELHI

National Skill DevelopmentCorporation and professionalnetwork LinkedIn on Tuesdaysaid they have joined hands toprovide access to free LinkedInLearning resources for impart-ing digital skills to youth forenhancing employability.

Under the partnership, 10free LinkedIn Learning paths,consisting of 140 courses for arange of in-demand tech jobs,will be made available for freeon eSkill India digital platformuntil March 31, 2021.

LinkedIn will also provideperiodic labour market insightsbased on its economic graph ofmore than 69 million membersin India. This will include in-demand skills, emerging jobs,and global hiring rates toNSDC to better understand theskilling ecosystem.

According to LinkedIn data,Indian professionals with dig-ital skills were 20 per cent morein demand than professionalswithout digital skills in 2020.

LinkedIn is the world's

largest online professional net-work.

"With this in mind, theLinkedIn and NSDC collabo-ration aims to enable a future-ready digital workforce by pro-viding access to free learningresources aligned with 10 in-demand jobs in today's digitaleconomy", NSDC stated. The10 free LinkedIn Learningpaths will help India's youthdevelop the skills needed forthose jobs, it added.

Each learning path includesvideo content designed to helpjob-seekers develop core digi-tal skills needed for an in-demand tech role, covering arange of skills from entry-level digital literacy toadvanced product-based skills.

Given the need for adaptableand transferable skills in thecurrent times, LinkedIn is alsomaking available for free, threeadditional soft skills learningpaths on the eskill India por-tal, the statement said.

“NSDC is facilitating onlineacquisition of skills throughnew-age platforms to create atechnically competitive work-force. Our collaboration withLinkedIn reflects our com-mitment to advance digitalcompetencies and skills ofyoung professionals," NSDCCEO & MD Manish Kumarsaid.

PNS n NEW DELHI

E-commerce giant AmazonIndia on Tuesday said it isadding five sort centres andexpanding eight such existingfacilities in the country tostrengthen its capacity ahead ofthe festive season.

The five new sort centreswill be launched inVisakhapatnam, Farukhnagar,Bengaluru, Mumbai andAhmedabad, a statement said.

Apart from these new build-ings, Amazon India will alsoexpand eight existing sort cen-tres to increase its overall sor-tation area to more than 2.2million square feet, across 19

states, it added."With this expansion,

Amazon India will strengthenits delivery speed and connec-tivity for customers and sellers,ahead of the festive season," thestatement said.

Amazon's sort centres seg-regate customer packagesbefore they are shipped todelivery stations. The sortationhappens based on the locationand mode of transportation of

the package to customers. Akey element of Amazon's logis-tics network, these sort centresleverage and automation toincrease the speed of trans-porting packages for customersand sellers in the country.

"By expanding and investingin the sort centre network, weare positioned to ensure con-tinued customer and sellerdelight, ahead of the upcom-ing festive season. This expan-sion will create hundreds ofopportunities for individualsand ancillary industries espe-cially during this time wheneconomic growth is a priorityfor the country," Amazon IndiaDirector Abhinav Singh said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

.State Bank of India is plan-ning to launch a loan product,SAFAL, primarily focussedon organic cot-ton growerswho don't haveany credit his-tory, said a topofficial of thec o u n t r y ' slargest lender.

The bank isusing ArtificialIntelligence (AI) and MachineLearning (ML) in a big way forgenerating business, SBI man-aging director C S Setty saidspeaking at a Fintech confer-ence organised by Federationof Indian Chambers of

Commerce and Industry."We want to go beyond this

so-called retail segment andreach out to... like farmers.Today I am not only giving

crop loans... Weare about tolaunch a prod-uct called Safeand Fast Agri-culture Loan .There is a com-pany whichbrought all theorganic cotton

growers and created a databaseon the basis of blockchain,"Setty said. He further said thatany buyer of this cotton acrossthe world can check whetherthe farmer actually is growingthe organic cotton.

SBI planning to launch ‘SAFAL'for organic cotton growers

Amazon to add 5 sort centres, expand8 existing units ahead of festive season

NSDC, LinkedIn partner to impart free training

GoAir operates over200 charter flightsfrom Saudi Arabia

Follow us on

@TheDailyPioneer

facebook.com/dailypioneer

WednesdaySeptember 9, 2020

or those who arefans of serials ontelevision, theDamera sisters area household namewho made a name

for themselves for their girl-next-door looks. Sirisha,the younger of the two, saysher debut into acting wascompletely accidental. Shetells us, “My sister is an artist,while I was pursuing myunder graduation, my sisterasked me if I’d be interestedin acting, when I agreed, Idid a small role in DD in2010. Later, I learnt aboutauditions for Amrutham andwent ahead and gave mine. Ibagged the main lead in theserial, after which I went onto do back to back projects.My debut was completelyaccidental.”

For Sirisha, it was hermother who encouraged herand her sister to take up Arts.Her mother, who was verypassionate about danceencouraged the sibling-duoto take part in all college and

school dance, stage perfor-mances. “My mother wasinterested in dancing andstage performances since herschooling. So my sister and Iwould perform in school andcollege. After my sister gotmarried, I started to receivemore offers since she didn’ttake up many. I wanted topursue my MBA. But becauseof financial issues, I had totake up acting,” she explainswhen asked about her deci-sion to take up acting as aprofession.

If Mogalirekulu proved heras an actor, it’s Ramulammathat got her the never-beforefame. Sirisha, being aTelangana-lad hailing forSircilla in Karimnagar,enjoyed playing the characterfor its raw nature. She says,“My role in Mogalirekuluproved my mettle as anactress. That was my firstbreak, but my career-best hasto be Ramulamma. I enjoyedplaying Ramulamma, it’s apowerful role. I play awoman from a rural back-

ground who is full of massand speaks in pakkaTelangana dialect.”

Asked about the accep-tance from the audience forthe roles she plays on screen,she tells us, “When I go out, Ihad many people coming tome and saying they feel I’mlike a girl-next-door. I likethe variations in my serials. Idon’t like to play the samecharacters.”

Sirisha feels OTT is takinga toll on the TV industry. Sheexplains, “Nowadays, every-one is taking to web series.These shows are beingreleased very often and theshooting process and thetime duration too, isn’t much,and many love watchingthem. Already, many young-sters don’t watch serials, I feelthe rise of OTT could affectthe TV industry. I might takeup a project for OTT if I’mever offered one.”

Like many other artistes,Sirisha too is upset about thedominating number of out-siders in the Telugu small

screen industry. She feels if given a chance,

Telugu people can do won-ders and create ripples here.She says, “It is upsetting thatthe cast in most of the serialsis being hired from otherstates. The production housesor the channels are not eventrying to look for locals. I’munsure about the reasonbehind this, but it will bereally helpful for people hereif we encourage local talent,Telugus too, can do wonders.”

When you think of Ramulamma, actress Vijayashanti is someonewho instantly strikes one's mind. But in the Television industry, if

one takes the name of Ramulamma, it is Sirisha Damera thatstrikes one immediately thinks of. She found her niche in the small

screen industry and established a name for herself from her veryfirst serial. The Telangana-lad speaks to K RAMYA SREE about

her entry into TV, passion for dance, and more...

F

Meet the small screen Ramulamma

out of the

BOX

aving traveledacross India,Shubham Sainihas exploredthe nooks andcorners of the

country. His love for traveland photography urgedhim to create a platformthat is a perfect amalga-mation of his two passions— Photographers of India.Four years in, the social

media page has close tohalf a million followersand is a photographycommunity in the countrythat imparts unmatchedtravel experiences.

The young entrepreneurfeels motorcycles haveevolved from somethingfor mere commuting to anexploration companion.He explains, “The bikingscenario has dramatically

changed year on year inthe last decade. Be it abreakfast or a weekendride or an off-road adven-ture, motorcycles are nowconsidered an ideal travelbuddy by many. The mostexplored terrains, moreoften than not, drive pur-chase decisions for thekind of motorcycles theriders would like to buy.”

This change saw a lotmore women riders hit theroads. He says, “Over theyears, there has been a sig-nificant change in howwomen riders are per-ceived and this change hasencouraged more womenfrom all walks of life toexplore the joys of riding.We have so many rolemodels today who arebreaking stereotypesaround motorcycling andchallenging the norms.Today, I meet a lot morewomen riders when I trav-el around for our photog-raphy tours, many of themtrack racers as well. Ridingclubs, as well as brands,are supporting women rid-ers. This, hopefully, willonly be amplified withmore representation, col-laboration, and inclusivityin mainstream ridingecosystems and culture.”

Taking us through hisjourney, Shubham says, “Ihave been fascinated with

clicking pictures for aslong as I can remember.And as I grew older, I wasdrawn to exploring newplaces. I decided to blendboth my passions andfounded Photographers ofIndia — a community forpassionate travellers andphotographers. I often saypeople earn to travel and Itravel to earn. In fouryears, the community hasgrown to almost half amillion and we have takenover 1,000 travellers withme on off-beat escapades,photography trips, andmotorcycle expeditions.”

Shubham who dreamsto cover Route 66 — thehistoric U.S. route thatruns east-west across theCentral part of the state ofNew Mexico tells us hisbest riding experience.“My best riding experi-ence thus far has been toSpiti Valley, which Iundertook in 2017. It wasin extreme weather — -26Degrees Celsius duringthe month of February —and three of my friendsrode on our RoyalEnfields. It was such anamazing and adventurousride, though we couldn’tmake it to Kaza, we saweverything from huge vul-tures to stones fallingfrom the cliff while wewere riding through them,

nothing was planned onthe trip and we were tak-ing one day at a time. Itwas unforgettable.”

Shubham is a proudowner of a Royal EnfieldStandard (Cast Iron) and aHimalayan. “Although, Ihave a soft spot for myHimalayan and it is myfavourite companion onmost of my offbeat adven-tures,” he signs off.

An all-rounder and multi-faceted Shubham Saini,started off biking at the age of 20 and travelled

over 400 cities across the globe within a span ofjust four years. An entrepreneur, a well-trained

photographer, biker, and avid traveler, Shubhamis one of the youngest community custodians in

the space of motorcycling in India. He talks to K RAMYA SREE on how he has successfully

brought together a community of photographers,videographers, travelers, and independent artists

across various genres of work

H

MOTORCYCLINGHIS WAY ACROSS

THE GLOBE

SHUBHAM FEELSMOTORCYCLES HAVEEVOLVED FROM SOMETHING FORMERE COMMUTINGTO AN EXPLORATIONCOMPANION

10

Hyderabad Wednesday September 9 2020 what’s brewing?

FUN

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK SPEED BUMP CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

CALVIN AND HOBBES

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

n a sensational development, theNarcotics Control Bureau onTuesday arrested Bollywoodactress Rhea Chakraborty after atough three-days of grilling tounravel the drugs nexus in the

film industry, officials said.She has been charged under various sec-

tions of the NDPS Act for her alleged role inthe drugs angle which has emerged in theinvestigations into the death of actor SushantSingh Rajput.

Rhea will be taken for a medical testshortly and is likely to be produced before amagistrate through video-conferencing forremand in the evening.

The NCB had interrogated Rhea for sixhours on Sunday, later on Monday for eighthours and again for around five hours onTuesday before placing her under arrest.

I

NCB arrestsRhea, threedays intoquestioning

Swara defends Rhea,says no proof of murder

s part of the on-going war agai-nst drug menacein Karnataka,the City CrimeBranch (CCB)

Police conducted its raidat Kannada actress Sanjj-ana Galrani’s residence inthe up market IndiraNagar area early Tuesday.

This is the secondhigh-profile raid on aKannada actress, afterRagini Dwivedi, who isalready in police custodyfor her alleged role indrug trafficking duringhigh-end parties organ-ised in Bengaluru.

In a statement by theJoint Police Commissio-ner (Crime) SandeepPatil said, “After obtaini-ng a warrant from a cou-rt, a search is being con-

ducted at Sanjjana’shouse for her alleged rolein a drug case.”

Post Bollywood actr-ess, Kangana Ranaut’srevelations about thealleged nexus betweendrug mafia and a sectionof Bollywood biggies,noted Kannada filmmak-er Indrajit Lankesh,about a week back,alleged that the drugmafia had gained its rootin Sandalwood as well.

As a fallout of his reve-lations, the City Police,inquired him and he isalleged to have given 15-20 prominent names ofSandalwood stars, musi-cians and technicianswho are allegedly indul-ging in drugs and whofrequent high-end par-ties organised in the city.

ctor Swara Bhasker haswritten in defence ofRhea Chakraborty,who has been accusedby Sushant Singh Raj-put’s family of abetting

his suicide and misappropriatinghis funds. Swara compared themedia’s treatment of Rhea to theSalem witch trials in the 17th cen-tury. She wrote in The Week thatwatching the narrative aroundRhea unfold in the news, she wasreminded of Arthur Miller’s playThe Crucible, a dramatisation ofthe trials that saw 20 women beingexecuted on suspicion of practis-ing witchcraft. “In recent weeks,I’ve often thought of The Crucibleas I watched the public sentimentaround the death of actor SushantSingh Rajput, ostensibly by suicide,turn from emotional outpouringof grief by fans into a media-fu-elled hysteria and blind certitudethat he was murdered,” she wrote.

She continued that after the ini-tial debate around nepotism,

attention was diverted to Rheaafter Sushant’s father filed an FIRagainst her in Patna. “This led to ashocking slander campaign andhysterical media trial that haspractically declared Rhea to be amurderess, with no proof, basedon contorted facts, rank misinfor-mation and what are now beingproven to be lies,” Swara wrote.

She wrote, “She has been vilifiedand called slanderous names bysocial media ecosystems and#JusticeForSushant ‘warriors’. Sala-cious conspiracy theories abouther have done the rounds and she,her family and staff at her buildinghave been physically hounded byshameless media personnel.” Whi-le there has been no evidence toprove that Sushant was murdered,“evidence that suggests thatRajput’s family has lied is emerg-ing.” “Watching this case play outand turn into a senseless, hysteri-cal, conspiracy-heavy TV soap-likereality-show, one cannot help butwonder at the human condition.”

A A

Actress SanjjanaGalrani's homeraided in drug case

My son wants tobe away from thelimelight: Akshay

ollywood starAkshay Kumarsays his sonAarav wants tohave a lifeaway from the

media glare and create hisown identity.

Aarav was born toKumar and actor-authorTwinkle Khanna in 2002.The couple are also par-ents to seven-year-olddaughter, Nitara.

“My son is very differ-ent. He just doesn’t wantto tell anyone that he’s myson. He wants to be awayfrom the limelight. Hewants to have his ownidentity. That’s what thewhole thing and I under-stand it. So, I let him bethe way he wants to (sic),”

Kumar told host BearGrylls in the upcomingepisode of Discovery’s Intothe Wild with Bear Grylls.

The actor, who will nextbe seen in horror comedyLaxmmi Bomb, said hehas tried to inculcate hisfather’s values in his son.

“He’s (my father was)the only influence I havein my life and I’ve fol-lowed all his rules and allhis things that he hastaught me. And I hopemy son gets that,” Kumaradded. The much-antici-pated episode of theadventure show will pre-miere on September 11on Discovery Plus app at8 pm and on September14 at 8 pm across 12Discovery channels.

B

opular supportingactor Jaya PrakashReddy, who isknown for hisnegative andcomedic roles in a

career spanning more than25 years, passed away onTuesday at his home inGuntur. Aged 74, he suffereda cardiac arrest.

Reddy honed his actingskills in the theatre, whichwas his first love. Impressedby his performance in a playGupchup at Nalgonda in the80s, Dasari Narayana Raorecommended his name toRamanaidu, who later got thesame play performed for himin Hyderabad. The legendaryproducer signed him on forBrahmaputrudu (1988)shortly after. More gigs infilms Bobbili Raja, PremaKhaidi, Chitram BhalareVichitram, JambalakidiPamba and Lorry Driver fol-lowed but a major break-through project eludedReddy.

Mounting interest rates onloans meant that he bid adieuto acting in 1992 to focus onhis career in the field ofteaching. For the next fiveyears, he concentrated onteaching and raising his kids.It was the 1997 filmPreminchukundam Raa thathelped him revive his filmcareer. He received plauditsfor his act as a Rayalaseema-based factionist in theromantic drama. While a dryspell did follow for a year, hissubsequent releaseSamarasimha Reddy turnedthe tide. More villainous gigsfollowed and noughties sawexperimented with comedyroles once again. If Sonthamwas a first step in that direc-tion, the phenomenalresponse to his cameo act inKabaddi Kabbaddi helpedhim to emerge as a sought-after comedian soon.

Directors like EVVSatyanarayana, Sreenu Vaitlaand SS Rajamouli soon start-ed exploring his uncannysense of comic timing andunique dialogue delivery tothe optimum last decade. He

particularly enjoyed a longassociation with SreenuVaitla and Anil Ravipudi,playing supporting roles inall their films. He evendebuted in Tamil last decadewith Dhanush-starrerUthamaputhiran, which wasa remake of Telugu hit Ready.He reprised the village hot-head role in the Tamil ver-

sion as well to great recep-tion. Such was his dedicationto his craft that he evendubbed for his lines in Tamil.

In one of his last inter-views, he expressed his wishto see the revival of the cul-ture of dramas in the Telugustates. His last feature filmwas Mahesh Babu-starrerSarileru Neekevvaru, where

he played a wheelchair-bound role. He even actedand produced a drama titledAlexander. Directed byDavala Satyam, the shoot waswrapped up last year and itsrelease hangs in balance.

He is survived by sonChandra Prakash Reddy anddaughter Vipula, both ofwhom reside in AP.

11

Hyderabad Wednesday September 9 2020tollywood

JAYA PRAKASHWANTED REVIVAL OF THE CULTURE OF DRAMASP

Tel

ugu

ind

ust

ry p

ays

trib

ute

to

JP Megastar Chiranjeevi tweeted, “He is a greatartist. I've last acted with himin Khaidi No150. Hewould often requestfilmmakers not toschedule hisportions during theweekends as itwould clash with histheatre commitments.He even asked me toattend some of his plays but Icouldn't. He is remembered as the firstfactionist in films. He created a separateidentity for himself.”Mohan Babu wrote onTwitter, “His deathpained me. He hasbeen a part of manyfilms from mybanner LakshmiPrasanna Pictures.Despite being busy asan actor, he always madetime for theatre. He believed in helping others.”Nandamuri Balakrishnasaid, “He was a dearcolleague and weshared a close bond.We've done filmslike SamarasimhaReddy andNarasimhanaidutogether. As he camefrom a theatrebackground, he would treat theatre and filmsas his two eyes. His busy schedule in filmsnotwithstanding, he always ensured that heperformed plays.”Nagarjuna wrote onTwitter, “He was a finegentleman mrJaiprakash reddyGaru .. mycondolences to hisfamily and may hissoul rest in peace (sic).”Victory Venkatesh posted,“I am extremely sad tohear about the suddendemise of my dearfriend#Jayaprakashreddygaru. We were sucha great combinationon screen. Willdefinitely miss him. #RIPPraying for his family and loved ones (sic).”Pawan Kalyan stated, “Withroots from theatrebackground, heentertained theaudience withnegative roles,comedy roles and asa character artist. Hewould slip into anyrole with great ease.Despite being busy as an actorin the industry, he never forgot theatre. Hisdeath is a loss to both fields.”Mahesh Babu tweeted, “Saddened by thepassing of #JayaPrakashReddy garu. One of

TFI's finest actor-comedians. Willalways cherish theexperience ofworking with him.Heartfeltcondolences to hisfamily and loved ones.”Prakash Raj posted,“He loved acting. Hebrought alive hisroles in both theatreand films. Thank youfor entertaining uschief.”Ravi Teja wrote, “Verysad to hear about#JayaPrakashReddygaru. I used to fondlycall him Mama. Thisis a huge loss for allof us. Mycondolences to thefamily and loved ones.Rest in peace Mama(sic).”SS Rajamouli wrote,“Shocked & saddenedto know about thesudden demise of#JayaPrakashReddygaru. Had greattimes working withhim. Thanks forentertaining us with yourversatility by portraying some memorablecomedy and villain roles over the decades.May your soul rest in peace (sic).”Allu Arjun said, “Filmindustry lost anotherwonderful artist. Irespected and admiredhis talent. He had aterrific memory andunique voice. He alwayssupported theatre groupsand artists. I still rememberhis request asking me to support theatres and Ihope to do it someday.”Sreenu Vaitla tweeted, “My dear uncle,I haveknown you since the beginning of my career,the warmth and love you had towards me iswhat I will always have in my cherishedmemories. You filled every scene with yourenthusiasm. You always ended our telephonicconversations with ‘Nana we belong here.. webelong to the movies’ this will always stay withme as your blessing. I'm so grateful to haveknown you. RIP Jp uncle you will be missed.My deepest condolences to the family (sic).”VV Vinayak said, “I liked him a lot. I especiallyliked his comic timing more. He has been apart of all of my films and to lose an actor likehim is a personal loss.”Ram wrote, “Dear #Jayaprakashreddygaru..thank you for keeping usentertained..was always in awe of you from theday I met you on the sets of Ready..Rest inpeace now sir.”Genelia Deshmukh posted, “RIP#Jayaprakashreddy garu .. Remembering fondly ourgreat times at shoots.. Was always fun interactingwith you.. Prayers and strength to the family.”

PROMINENT MEMBERS OF THE TELUGU FILM INDUSTRY TOOK TO SOCIAL MEDIA TOSHARE AN OUTPOURING OF GRIEF FOLLOWING THE DEATH OF CHARACTER ACTOR

JAYA PRAKASH REDDY. HERE IS WHAT SOME OF THEM HAD TO SAY:

n many ways, itwas his turn inVenkatesh-starrerPreminchukun-dam Raa thatrevived Jaya

Prakash Reddy’s career inTelugu cinema after his ini-tial spate of films didn’t landhim big offers. Speaking tous, the romantic drama’sdirector Jayanth C Paranjirecalls that he was finding itdifficult to cast the villainopposite Venky when heremembered Jaya PrakashReddy from Bobbili Rajadays. Jayanth was the assis-tant director on BobbiliRaja, where the actor playedthe small role of a tribalchief. “He is a tall guy andheavily built and I know hewas capable of playing thevillain. At that point of time,he was in Guntur, workingas a school teacher anddoing theatre. We asked him to come down toHyderabad and later did amake-up test. He lookedominous in the get-up andwe roped him in shortlyafter,” Jayanth tells us.

The director adds thatJaya Prakash realised he got

a juicy part, prompting himto prep for it. “He spentclose to three weeks in dif-ferent rural pockets ofRayalaseema and picked upthe local slang. He incorpo-rated some of the words intohis lines on sets. He took thecharacter to the next levelwith his skills. On day oneitself I realised that we’vemade the right choice,” thedirector notes, smilinglyadding that as Reddy had anatural flair for comedy, hisexpressions got a little comi-cal in the beginning as hecommenced filming. “I hadto tone it down and remindhim that he was playing themain villain. Once he gotinto the zone of the actor, hesimply aced it.”

Jayanth remembersReddy as one of the fewgenuine guys from theindustry. “He had absolutelyno agenda when he spoke.He said what he felt; henever held back. He wasdown-to-earth and a simplechap. It’s unfortunate that he has passed away. Thedeath news came as a shock to me,” the directorconcludes.

Jaya Prakash Reddy wasone of the few genuine guys

from the industry: JayanthPreminchuku-

ndam Raadirector

Jayanth CParanji recalls

his workingexperience

with JayaPrakash for

Bobbili Raja,Reddy's natural

flair forcomedy, writes

NAGARAJGOUD

I

t the turn of thenew millenni-um, JayaPrakash Reddystarted toaccept comedy

roles, taking people on ajoy ride over the next twodecades of his career.While there are manycomedic gigs of his thatbring an instant smile onthe faces of the audience,his turn in Ravi Teja-star-rer Kick — especially thepolice station scene —stands out. Speaking to us,film’s writer VakkanthamVamsi says, “When I waspenning the cop role, thefirst name that crossed mymind was what if JP garuplays it. There were noother options. He startedexperimenting with hisroles by then. I dropped bythe location at AnnapurnaStudios to see how that

episode was being shot. Hewas a diabetic and hissugar levels dipped thatday. So the shoot was sus-pended after half day’swork, but post (the film)release no one noticed hewas not feeling well in theinitial portions of thescene. The balance episodewas shot in the final leg ofshooting and I was presenton sets this time too. Hewas back in his element

and along with Ravi,brought the scene aliveand made it iconic. In fact,sitting in front of the mon-itor and seeing them goabout it full of beans, wewere cracking up.”

Vamsi, who also gave JPanother memorable funnyrole as Sarkar inOosaravelli, credits JP’sturn in PreminchukundamRaa helping Telugu cinemarealise the importance ofaccents. “Back then in theindustry, the film languagewas spoken in Andhradialect particularly that ofKrishna district. After hisperformance inPreminchukundam Raa,the Seema accent found aplace in the Telugu filmlanguage landscape. Andthe major credit for itshould go to JP garu. Hewas great with the way hereeled dialogues of

Preminchukundam Raa.Over time, due to his otherfilms set in a Seema back-drop, he had become acomplete authority overthe Seema accent.Filmmakers too startedlooking at accents as anasset to storytelling. Nowthe Telangana accent isbeing explored and shortly,I believe filmmakers wouldexplore slangs of differentdistricts as well,” Vamsiexplains.

Vamsi remembers theactor first from his turn inChitram! BhalareVichitram! “It was an inter-esting and a brief role heplayed in the film, yet hemanaged to leave animpact. The film openedalongside megastarChiranjeevi’s Gang Leaderand went on to become ablockbuster,” he states.

— NG

A

Due to JP, Seema accent found a placein the film language: Vakkantham

Swaroop's adventure drama with Matineehe Pioneerwas the firstto informyou thatAgent SaiSrinivasa

Athreya helmer RSJSwaroop has agreed todo his next forMatineeEntertainment (April

27). To this end, thelatest is that the projectwas made official onTuesday, with the pro-duction house indicat-ing that it's an action-adventure drama witha generous dose ofhumour. To be shot inTirupati, the film willroll in December. The

cast is yet to be final-ized.

The untitled film isMatinee’s third pro-duction of the year, asthey are already pro-ducing MegastarChiranjeevi-starrerAcharya andNagarjuna-starrer Wild Dog.

T

AP n NEW YORK

Don’t tell Dominic Thiemthe US Open is dimin-ished in any way just

because it’s the first GrandSlam tournament since the2004 French Open without atleast one of Roger Federer,Rafael Nadal or NovakDjokovic in the quarterfinals.

“It doesn’t matter at all ifthe Big Three are here or not,”the No 2-seeded Thiem said onMonday after beating No 15Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6 (4),6-1, 6-1 in the fourth round atFlushing Meadows.

“Everybody wants theirhands on the trophy,” saidThiem, who won almost half ofAuger-Aliassime’s servicepoints, 46 of 88.

“It doesn’t really matterwho they’re going to beat.”

Djokovic — seeded No 1,unbeaten this season and theoverwhelming favorite — wasdisqualified on Sunday afterunintentionally hitting a linejudge in the throat with a ballafter dropping a game in the

first set against Pablo CarreñoBusta.

Nadal (pandemic con-cerns) and Federer (two kneeoperations) did not enter thetournament at all.

This ends a run of 13consecutive major champi-onships won by a member ofthe Big Three.

“It’s been getting prettyboring,” said DenisShapovalov, the f irstCanadian man to reach theUS Open quarterfinals, “withthese three guys winningevery tournament.”

None of the men left hasever earned so much as oneSlam trophy yet.

The quarterfinals on thebottom half of the draw willbe Thiem against No 21 Alexde Minaur ; and No 10Andrey Rublev against No 3Daniil Medvedev. On the tophalf, where Djokovic used toloom: No 12 Shapovalov vsNo 20 Carreño Busta; No 5Alexander Zverev vs No 27Borna Coric.

Medvedev was runner-up to Nadal last year, losingin five sets. He hasn’t dropped

a set while advancing to thequarter f inals and he’sdropped serve only threetimes.

“I’m playing better everymatch,” Medvedev said. “Ihope this can continue. I’mpleased, actually, with thefact I’ve won all the sets.”

Thiem is the onlyremaining man who has con-tested multiple major finals.He is 0-3, losing twice toNadal at the French Openand to Djokovic at theAustra l ian Open thisFebruary.

12HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 9, 2020

Melbourne: Former Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh is eyeinga stint in the Big Bash Leagueand Cricket Australia is tryingto help him find a team.

No Indian player has everfeatured in the BBL as BCCIdoesn’t allow active players totake part in overseas league.

The 38-year-old Yuvraj hadretired from international anddomestic cricket last year, clear-ing the decks to ply his trade inforeign leagues across the globe.

According to a report inSydney Morning Herald, Yuvraj’smanager Jason Warne of WSports & Media has confirmedthat Cricket Australia is tryingto find a franchise that wouldbe interested in the formerIndian all-rounder.

“We’re working with CA totry to find him a home,” Warnesaid on Monday.

However, as per the report,“interest in Yuvraj from BBLclubs had been modest todate.” PTI

AFP n AMSTERDAM

Nicolo Barella extended Italy’stwo-year unbeaten run as

he scored the winner inMonday’s 1-0 victory away to theNetherlands in the UEFANations League while ErlingHaaland netted twice forNorway in a 5-1 thrashing ofNorthern Ireland.

Italy’s win was slightlyspoiled by news of rising starNicolo Zaniolo injury, who willundergo another serious kneeoperation on Wednesday after

tearing an anterior cruciate lig-ament for the second time ineight months.

Barella’s bullet header infirst half stoppage time wasenough for Roberto Mancini’sside to take all three points inAmsterdam and top spot inLeague A, Group 1.

The Azzurri’s are a pointahead of the Dutch, who areplaying under interim coachDwight Lodeweges followingRonald Koeman’s appointmentat Barcelona, and third-placedPoland following their 2-1 away

win over Bosnia andHerzegovina.

HAALAND OON SSONGIn other matches, Romania

came out on top against Austriain Klagenfurt, with Denis Alibec,Dragos Grigore and AlexandruMaxim on target in a 3-2 victo-ry.

Norway shook off theiropening loss to Austria asBorussia Dortmund strikerHaaland helped tear apartNorthern Ireland in Belfast.

Paddy McNair cancelledout Mohamed Elyounoussi’sfine finish but Haaland, whostruck his first internationalgoal in Friday’s defeat, thumpedin from the edge of the area torestore Norway’s lead.

Alexander Sorloth scoredtwice, the second via an assistfrom Haaland who completedthe scoring on the hour withanother superb finish.

Scotland scraped past aninexperienced Czech Republic2-1 in Olomouc to go top ofLeague B, Group 2.

Melbourne: Spin legend ShaneWarne has urged CricketAustralia to keep the iconicMelbourne Cricket Ground asthe venue for the Boxing DayTest against India later this yeardespite growing Covid-19 casesin Victoria.

The governing body is set toannounce the schedule forIndia’s tour of Australia thisweek which will include fourTests and there are fears thatMCG may lose the Boxing DayTest.

“Cricket is the 2nd biggestsport in the world behind soc-cer(fact) & the biggest day onthe Aust sporting calendar is theBoxing Day test. We must try &do everything possible to keepit at the MCG this year. FYI-The Melb Cup & the AFL GFare the next biggest events inAust !,” Warne wrote on hisTwitter handle.

India’s tour is likely to startwith limited-overs matches (T20series) before the action shifts tothe four-Test series. PTI

PAY HHIKE FFOR PPAK DDOMESTIC CCRICKETERS Karachi: Pakistan Cricket Board on Tuesday unveiled a revampedpay structure for its domestic cricketers, under which the topperformers stand a chance of earning 3.2 million through theseason, a whopping ‘83 per cent more’ than last year. The 3.2million (`14 lakh INR) over the course of the season will include amonthly retainer of 150,000. Ahead of the 2020-21 season, whichbegins on Sept 30, the PCB announced a new pay structure whichwill see even the lowest paid domestic players earn at least “sevenper cent more” than what they received in the 2019-20 season.

MBAPPE TTESTS CCORONA PPOSITIVE Paris: France and Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappetested positive for Covid-19 and will miss Tuesday's NationsLeague match against Croatia. The Paris Saint-Germain forwardwas isolated once he found out about his positive test and leftFrance's training camp to return home on Monday evening.

JEJE LLEAVES CCHENNAIYIN FFC Chennai: Indian international striker Jeje Lalpekhlua has left two-time ISL champions Chennaiyin FC after six years, the player andclub confirmed on Tuesday. Jeje, called Mizo Sniper by the club'sfans for his lethal instinct in front of goal, leaves the club as itsleading goal-scorer with 25 strikes to his name. He was pivotal tothe club's ISL title triumphs in 2015 and 2017-18.

LYNN JJOINS MMI TTEAMMATES IIN AABU DDHABI Abu Dhabi: Australian batsman Chris Lynn arrived here onTuesday to join his Mumbai Indians teammates for the upcomingIPL. The four-time champions also informed that Lynn'scompatriot James Pattinson and Kiwi's Trent Boult had joined theside last week.

BILLY SSTANLAKE JJOINS MMELBOURNE SSTARS Melbourne: Melbourne Stars have further boosted their pacestocks for the upcoming Big Bash League with the signing oftowering quick Billy Stanlake from the Adelaide Strikers. Theagreement will see pace bowler Daniel Worrall move to the Strikersin return.

SINGLES

AP n LONDON

James Rodríguez joinedEnglish Premier League club

Everton in an attempt to revivea career that faltered at RealMadrid.

Signed by the Spanish giantafter rising to prominence witha stunning goal for Colombia atthe 2014 World Cup, the attack-ing midfielder couldn’t matchthose highs in Madrid.

“I’ve come here totry to improve, to getbetter,” the 29-year-old James said.

“I’ve also comehere to help the teamto win, to play goodfootball —entertainingfootball.”

A tEverton, he isbeing reunitedwith managerCarlo Ancelotti who notonly signed him for Madrid but

also at Bayern Munich on loanin 2017.

Everton said James joinedon a two-year deal with anoption for an additional season.The reported fee was 20 millionpounds ($26 million).

“James, as everyone knows,is a fantastic player with a lot ofquality and a lot of ability tomake assists for the strikers,” saidAncelotti, who left Bayern laterin 2017 and was hired byEverton last year.

“He’s really excited aboutthe project of the club and thefact we want to improve. Hewas really excited to sign and I

didn’t spend time to convincehim — he was already con-

vinced.”James won the league

title twice at Madrid andBayern but Everton hasnot won the Englishchampionship since1987.

“I’m a winner, I’ma real winner,” James said.

PTI n NEW DELHI

Former New Zealand all-rounder Scott Styris feels

foreign players won’t bemuch affected, but the Indiancricketers will definitely missthe energy while playing infront of empty stands in theupcoming IPL.

“I don’t think there willbe too much of an adjust-ment for the overseas players.A lot of the overseas playersplay in front of small crowdsor even empty grounds on a

regular basis, so they will beused to that,” Styris said inStar Sport’s show CricketConnected.

“But you are right, Indianplayers, I can’t remember. Imean (Virat) Kohli, 10 yearsago, most of those playershave been around longenough now. They won’tstruggle, but they will justwonder where they are andlook for that energy in otherways,” he added.

Former India pacer AjitAgarkar said it will be oddinitially to play in empty sta-diums as in India the crowdcan act as a 12th man for thehome team.

“It might be little odd atthe start, but like Scotty (ScotStyris) said, that energysometimes you get fromcrowds, particularly in India,the IPL has moved to theUAE, but in India, it cansometimes act like a 12thman for the home team,” hesaid.

PTI n DUBAI

Ascore of 150 to160 will be a

competitive one inDubai or AbuDhabi track,reckons RCBcoach MikeHesson, who ishappy to have identifiedhis team’s designateddeath bowlers, an areathat has let them downduring earlier IPL sea-sons.

The length of sideboundaries are big-ger in grounds likeAbu Dhabi and thatwill bring down theaverage team total.

“Here 150-160will be good scoresin some groundsand it will be different.Chinnaswamy (in Bengaluru)

is a great batting wick-et, smaller boundariesand scores (teamtotals) are (on) high-

er (side),” Hesson toldRCB’s YouTubechannel.

He said that oncertain grounds,spinners will comein handy, especiallywhen the surface isa bit skiddy.

“On certaingrounds yes. Itdepends, like AbuDhabi, seamers hadplayed a big rolethere and probably

(the pitch) doesn’t(offer) spin as much as

the other two grounds(Dubai and Sharjah). It

does skid. We need theability to adjust to conditions

on the day as well,” Hessonsaid.

Bowling at the death ingrounds like Abu Dhabi will becompletely different fromChinnaswamy.

“Bowling at the death inAbu Dhabi will be quite differ-ent from bowling atChinnaswamy. The lengthsyou bowl and we have identi-fied our death bowlers,”Hesson said.

Although he didn’t nameChris Morris but Hesson hint-ed that the South African’sinclusion certainly providedRCB with a potent death oversbowling option.

“I think there’s been a lotof talk about finishing theinnings with the ball in the pastand we have got some experi-enced players in that space.Also we can improve on play-ers we already have.... Makethem a year wise.. A yearsmarter,” Hesson added.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Delhi Capitals’ pacer KagisoRanada feels that the team

has the wherewithal to challengeall comers for the IndianPremier League title this season.

Always seen as an under-performing side for much oftheir 12-year history, Delhientered the playoffs last year forthe first time in seven years andbeat SunRisers Hyderabadbefore losing to ChennaiSuper Kings.

“We had a reallygood season, so Iknow that we canchallenge and winthis competitionbecause we camereally close lastseason. So, men-tally I guess thathelps,” Rabadasaid. “But, also, it isa new tournamentso we have to startagain and we’ve got anice group put together, nice

team.”A good start as usual will be

key, the bowler reckoned.“We have to start again and

start the whole process, so hope-fully we can get off to a goodstart but win at the end of theseason – we want to be the mostconsistent team and win attimes when we really, reallyneed to win,” he added.

Rabada, who has 31 wicketsin his IPL career, trained for thefirst time with the rest of theteam on Monday after complet-ing his quarantine.

“It feels good to be run-ning in, and to be withsome teammates as well,” hesaid. “This (situation) isquite unique, not a lot ofpeople get to do this.We’re in the middle of adesert, playing cricket —it’s something that I did-

n’t think I would ever be ableto do. So it’s a lot of fun also.”

Rabada said that thebreak he has got due to the

Covid-enforced freeze on the

cricket calendar has helped himrecharge his batteries.

“It’s been a high volume ofcricket in the past five years forme, but I really enjoyed thebreak at home,” he said. “I feel

quite strong. I think I just needto bowl more, and make sure Ihaven’t forgotten how to bowl.I need to keep up with the bowl-ing practice, but otherwise I feelhealthy.”

No 3 Thiem cruises into last eight,Medvedev sets up all-Russian QF tie

Dominant win

Dominic Thiem pumps his fist after defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime in 4th round

AFP n NEW YORK

Serena Williams had to sum-mon up every last ounce of

strength to depose 15th seedMaria Sakkari in three hard-fought sets on Monday.

The 38-year-old Americanneeded almost two and a halfhours to dislodge her 25-year-old Greek opponent 6-3, 6-7(6/8), 6-3 inside an emptyArthur Ashe Stadium in NewYork.

“She’s such a good com-petitor. It was a really intensematch,” said Williams, who hadbeen dumped out of a USOpen tuneup tournament bythe same opponent last month.

“I felt like she almost

played better today. I was a lit-tle fatigued last time and hadsome cramps. Just felt like I wasable to compete longer,”Williams added.

Williams rallied from two

games down in the decidingset, pumping herself up withloud screams that echoedaround the spectator-free arenaas she broke Sakkari twice toclinch the last-eight spot.

Serena survives scare

150-160 score will be goodon UAE tracks: Hesson

Delhi Capitals can challenge & win IPL-13: RabadaWorkload management will be

key for pacers in hot UAE: ShamiKolkata: Keeping in mindthe hot and humid conditionsin the United Arab Emirates,it will be vital for fast bowlersto manage their workloadproperly as the task at handwouldn’t be easy when the IPLgets underway on September19, feels Kings XI Punjabpacer Mohammad Shami.

The cities of Dubai, AbuDhabi and Sharjah — whichwill host the league this time—are expected to experiencetemperatures of around 35-40degree celsius during the tour-nament.

“Temperature is muchhigher compared to India.There are chances of gettingdehydrated. There will bechances of cramps. So we willhave to keep those things inmind,” Shami said.

“It will be difficult as thewickets here are also different.So workload management isimportant. But it is not thatdifficult that it can’t be man-aged. It depends on us how wemanage our workload,” addedthe 30-year-old, rated as oneof the best pacers in the worldat the moment. IANS

Yuvi eyeingstint in BBL

Indian players will miss energydue to empty stands: Styris

Warne wants BoxingDay Test at MCG

Italy continue unbeaten run James Rodríguezjoins Everton

An elephant whohas become acause celebre

for animal rightsactivists around theworld will be allowedto leave his Pakistanizoo and transferredto better conditions,the animal welfare

group helping with the case said on Saturday. Dubbed the 'world'sloneliest elephant' by his supporters, Kaavan has languished at azoo in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad for more than 35 years.Martin Bauer, a spokesman for Four Paws, said the elephant hasbeen finally given medical approval to travel, most likely toCambodia, where he will find companionship and better conditions.The overweight elephant Kaavan underwent a full medicalexamination at the zoo on Friday, said Bauer. In May, Pakistan'sHigh Court ordered the Marghazar Zoo closed because of itsabysmal conditions blamed on systemic negligence. RescuingKaavan from the zoo's dire conditions attracted the attention ofanimal activists around the world, and celebrities including USsinger Cher, who lobbied for his relocation. "Unfortunately, therescue comes too late for two lions that died during an attemptedtransfer at the end of July after local animal handlers set a fire intheir enclosure to force them into their transport crates," Bauer saidin a statement released on Saturday.

French tourist fined forstealing sand from beach

Loneliest elephant okayedto quit zoo for new life

1L-kg blue whale, largestanimal on earth spotted

Ablue whalewas spottedoff the coast

of Sydney,Australia lastmonth, in what isbelieved to havebeen the thirdsighting of theendangered seacreature in these

waters in over a century. According to officials, the whale mayhave measured more than 25 metres in length and weighedover 100 tonnes. According to Andrew Marshall, an NPWSranger, the mammoth whale was sighted near the beach townof Maroubra. "The blue whale is the largest animal on the planetyet despite its size it could have easily slipped by Sydney'scoast unnoticed," he said. Despite its large size, blue whales aremostly invisible even to experienced whale-watchers, Marshallclaimed. "They are not often seen because they tend to live veryfar out to sea, their populations are widely dispersed and wehave very limited data on its migration and critical habitat." ASydney-based photographer named Sean K, was able to capturephotographs of the majestic blue whale as it swam along thecoast near Maroubra. "I'm speechless but could blurt out amillion things at the same time," the photographer wrote in apost shared on photo-sharing app Instagram.

In yet anothertravel fauxpas, a French

tourist wascaught with twokilograms ofsand in hisluggage that hehad collectedfrom a Sardinianbeach.

According to The Independent, the tourist was fined £890 -approximately Rs 86,633 - by the local Sardinian authoritiesresponsible for the coastal protection in the region. It is saidthat the Italian island's pristine white-sand beaches are highlyprotected, and tourists can face heavy penalties for trying tosmuggle some sand away. Penalties include one to six years injail for theft, "with the aggravating circumstance of havingstolen an asset of public utility", the outlet reports. "Thesebehaviours not only harm the environment but alsocompromise the maintenance of the coastline for thesustainable development of tourism in Sardinia," a pressrelease stated, as quoted by the local media. The island'sidyllic beaches draw tourists from all around the world. It issaid the Sardinian beaches face the threat of both erosion andtourists manually removing the sand. And this is not the firsttime that a tourist has been caught doing it.

Tesla cybertruck fan builds a lookalike

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MostRead A

Bosnian fan ofboth Fordtrucks and

Elon Musk's Teslacould not just siton his handswaiting for theelectric carmakerto release itsCybertruck,

expected from late 2021. Instead he came up with his own versionof the futuristic vehicle. It took eight months for IT specialists andengineers at Igor Krezic's Stark Solutions company to disassemblea rugged Ford Raptor F-150 into its smallest parts and thentransform it into petrol-powered vehicle that resembles aCybertruck. The first drive through the streets of the southern townof Mostar drew a lot of attention, Mario Coric, the companymanager, said. "Everybody was watching and half of them thoughtwe made a tank, because people don't know what the Cybertruckis. One girl even stopped and asked if this is the place where theyare producing Tesla Cybertruck," Coric said. Though it may not lookidentical to Cybertruck's functional prototype the pickup capturesits spirit. The owner wanted us to combine two opposite sides —Ford and Cyber — because he is a fan of both Tesla and Ford, sowe merged two souls into one," he said. "This one uses gasolineand Tesla uses electricity. We tried to copy as much as possible butour car is not the same size as the Cybertruck," Coric added.