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CELEB TALKS 10PRIYANKA TO STAR IN

NETFLIX SUPERHERO MOVIE

OPINION 6CULLING

CORRUPTION

SPORTS 12RICHARDS SEES SAME

PASSION IN KOHLI

VIJAYAWADA, FRIDAY AUGUST 23, 2019; PAGES 12 `3

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RNI No. APENG/2018/764698

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VIJAYAWADA DELHI LUCKNOWBHOPAL RAIPUR CHANDIGARH

BHUBANESWAR RANCHI DEHRADUNHYDERABAD

*Late City Vol. 1 Issue 298*Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable

}I CONVEY A LOTWITH MY EYES:

PRABHAS

Page 9{

PNS n NEW DELHI

Congress leader PChidambaram was Thursdaysent to five-day CBI custody bya Delhi court which said his cus-todial interrogation was justifiedin the INX Media corruptioncase. The court saidChidambaram will be in theCBI custody till August 26,during which the agency will gethim medically examined regu-larly as per the rules, andallowed his family members andlawyers to meet him for half anhour every day.

"Considering the facts andcircumstances, I am of the viewthat police custody is justified,"Special Judge Ajay KumarKuhar said and remanded himto the CBI custody till August26. After the pronouncement ofthe order, 73-year-oldChidambaram was immediate-ly taken out of the court roomby the CBI team. The courtheard the arguments of theCBI and his counsel for over oneand a half hours during whichthe agency said there was a needto unearth a larger conspiracyand to go to the root of the case.Chidamabaram's counselopposed the CBI plea sayingthat all the other accused,including his son Karti, havealready been granted bail in thecase. Chidambaram, who wasUnion home minister as alsofinance minister during theUPA rule from 2004 to 2014,

was arrested Wednesday nightafter he failed to get protectionfrom the Supreme Court, whichdid not list for an urgent hear-ing his appeal against the DelhiHigh Court verdict dismissinghis anticipatory bail plea onTuesday. The CBI had registeredan FIR on May 15, 2017, alleg-ing irregularities in the ForeignInvestment Promotion Board(FIPB) clearance granted to theINX Media group for receivingoverseas funds of Rs 305 crorein 2007 during Chidambaram'stenure as the finance minister.

Thereafter, the ED lodged amoney laundering case in thisregard in 2018. Chidambaramwas produced in the courtamidst tight security and senioradvocate Kapil Sibal, appearingfor him, argued that the firstarrest in the case was of BhaskarRaman, chartered accountant ofKarti, who is presently out onbail. Besides that, Peter andIndrani Mukherjea, alsoaccused in the case, are out ondefault bail as they are in jail inconnection with another mat-ter, Sibal said.

The court heard the arguments of the CBIand his counsel for over one and a half hoursduring which the agency said there was aneed to unearth a larger conspiracy and togo to the root of the case

PNS nWASHINGTON

U.S. President Donald Trumpsaid on Wednesday that hisadministration was seriouslylooking at ending the right ofcitizenship for U.S.-born chil-dren of non-citizens and peo-ple who immigrated to theUnited States illegally.

"We're looking at that veryseriously, birthright citizen-ship, where you have a baby onour land, you walk over the bor-der, have a baby - congratula-tions, the baby is now a U.S. cit-izen. ... It's frankl ridiculous,"Trump told reporters outsidethe White House.

Trump has made crackingdown on immigration a centralplank of his presidency and re-election campaign, but many ofthe administration's sweeping

rule changes and executiveorders have been stymied by thecourts. The Republican presi-dent had told Axios news web-site in October 2018 that hewould end "birthright citizen-ship" through an executiveorder. Experts have said such amove would run afoul of theU.S. Constitution. TheConstitution's 14thAmendment, passed after theCivil War to ensure that blackAmericans had full citizenshiprights, granted citizenship to "allpersons born or naturalized inthe United States."

It has since routinely beeninterpreted to grant citizenshipto most people born in theUnited States, whether or nottheir parents are American cit-izens or legally living in theUnited States.

Trump proposesto end birthrightcitizenship

Chidambaram sent tofive-day CBI custody

PNS n AMRAVATI

Andhra Pradesh High Court onThursday suspended the statePower GenerationCorporation's pre-closureorders to Navayuga EngineeringCompany on a hydro-electricpower station, which is part ofthe Polavaram project. Thecourt also stayed the reverse ten-dering process, initiated by theState Government, for the pro-ject and also dam head works.

Justice DVSS Somayajuluissued interim orders to thiseffect on a petition filed byNavayuga, challenging the APGenco's pre-closure order.

On August 1, the YSJaganmohan Reddy govern-ment decided to terminate thecontract awarded to Navayugafor execution of the Polavaramdam head works. On August 14,AP Genco issued the pre-clo-sure order to Navayuga on thehydroelectric project, citing lackof progress in works. The StateGovernment issued a 'reversetender' last week, inviting freshbids for the hydro power stationand the Polavaram head works.

Navayuga challenged Genco'sorder, related only to the hydropower station, contending thatas per the contract, it has timetill November 2021 to complete

the project. They appealed tothe High Court that they wereready to complete the project inthe stipulated time, even thoughGenco had failed to identify theplace in time.

Navayuga gave all the detailsin support of their performancestating that they had not vio-lated any condition of the agree-ment. They explained that bychanging the contractor, a lot oftime will be wasted in the exe-

cution of the project, resultingin a loss to the State exchequer.

After hearing arguments ofthe petitioner and the stategovernment, Justice Somayajuluissued interim orders, sus-pending Genco's pre-closureorder.

The Telugu Desam Party(TDP) dubbed the high courtorder as a slap on the face of theChief Minister.

Continued on Page 4

JAGAN DEALT MAJOR HC BLOW

Govt order on Polavaram power project suspendedl AP Genco's pre-closure orders put on hold

Navayuga challenged Genco's order, related onlyto the hydro power station, contending that asper the contract, it has time till November 2021to complete the project. They appealed to theHigh Court that they were ready to complete theproject in the stipulated time, even though Gencohad failed to identify the place in time

PNS n VELLORE

A video that shows a funer-al procession lowering thedead body of a Dalit off abridge in Vellore district ofTamil Nadu has been widelyshared online, amid reportsthey were forced to do sobecause they were deniedaccess to the cremation site.The road to the site runsthrough private propertiescontrolled by the "uppercastes". However, local policeand revenue officials haveclaimed the funeral proces-sion had not been opposed.

"A decade ago, upper casteproperty owners fenced thearea. We did not want to askthem. There are stairs fromthe bridge to come down butwe can't carry the body. Wewant a road or a cremationsite for us elsewhere," Vijay, anephew of the deceased said.

As many as 50 Dalit fami-lies live in the area. Theynormally bury their dead ata different site. However, incase of "unnatural deaths", asin this case, they cremate thebody. The deceased, Kuppan,65, had died in an accident afew days ago.

Denied road to cremation,dalits danglebody off bridge

G RAVI KIRANn VIJAYAWADA

CRDA is waiting for the nod ofthe cabinet sub-committee tocontinue the construction worksof MLAs, NGOs and otheremployees' quarters atLingayapalem.

CRDA had promised to com-plete Happy Nest, for which thegeneral public paid the bookingamounts, within two years. Thecommittee will give its decisionwithin a week.

The committee is interactingwith CRDA officials regularlyon the irregularities of the ear-lier government.

Actually, all the works in theCapital Region have beenstalled. The committee is infavour of continuing MLAs,NGOs and Employees quartersconstruction.

Even though the committeehas orally cleared the continu-ation of the constructions, offi-cials of CRDA have asked themto visit those places and givethem the nod which will hap-pen in a day or two.

Happy Nest, a commercialproject of CRDA, and there isno clarity from the Governmentwhether to continue or cancel.

The committee has takenthe details of the project. CRDAofficials explained to them thatthey have collected bookingamounts from the customersand as per RERA guidelinesthey promised the customers tocomplete the project in twoyears. If they did not fulfill thatpromise, as per RERA guide-lines, CRDA will be in trouble.The same was explained to

Cabinet Sub Committee and itis yet to take a final decision.

As per the sources, the com-mittee has verified all works andtenders thoroughly and theydidn't find any irregularity.

As far as Capital Region con-cerned, the only issue is thelands changed hands beforeand after the announcement ofthe Capital.

Continued on Page 4

PNS n PALGHAR

A 33-year-old woman fromNalasopara in Palghar districtallegedly stabbed her hus-band to death as she wasunhappy over the birth oftheir second girl child, policesaid on Thursday. The inci-dent took place at their resi-dence in Gala Nagar early onWednesday, police said. Theaccused, Pranali SunilKadam, was arrested lateWednesday night for killingher 36-year-old husband,Palghar police spokespersonHemant Katkar said.

"The accused was unhap-py ever since she had givenbirth to a girl child for thesecond time. She blamed herhusband for it. Besides, shealso doubted the character ofher husband and they fre-quently quarreled over theissue," he said.

"Around 5 am onWednesday, Pranali stabbedSunil multiple times with thehelp of a kitchen knife. Hewas rushed to a private hos-pital by his parents, where hesuccumbed to his injurieshours later," Katkar added.

Unhappy oversecond girlchild, womankills husband

PNS n SUPAUL

While former Bihar ChiefMinister Jagannath Mishrawas being cremated with fullstate honours, 22 rifles carriedby police personnel failed tofire a single shot onWednesday. Mr Mishra's cre-mation took place at his ances-tral village in Supaul districtand it was attended by ChiefMinister Nitish Kumar,Deputy Chief Minister SushilKumar Modi and Bihar HealthMinister Mangal Pandey.

During the cremation,policemen failed in theirattempt to give a gun salute toMr Mishra in front of theChief Minister and other dig-nitaries. Cops were seen test-ing if their weapons had life bypulling the trigger but allefforts failed. Nitish Kumarhad reached the cremation siteby a helicopter. Responding tothis, Rashtriya Janata DalMLA from Pipra YaduwanshKumar Yadav, who was alsopresent at the funeral, said thatthe incident was the insult tothe former Bihar ChiefMinister and demanded aninvestigation into the matter.

All 22 riflesfail to fire atBihar ex-CM'sstate funeral

Nothing Happy for CRDA Nest

CHANDRAYAAN-2

Scientists to take up crucial soft landing on Sept 7PNS n CHENNAI

The crucial process of taking upsoft landing of the lander'Vikram' onboard theChandrayaan-2 spacecraft thatis currently in the lunar orbitwill be taken up in the earlyhours of September 7, ISROChairman K Sivan said onThursday. Scientists at theIndian Space Organisation inBengaluru would be engaged inthis process which is expectedto be completed by 1.55 am, hetold reporters at the airporthere.

"It is expected to make a softlanding (on the surface of themoon) at around 1.40 am andcompleted by 1.55 am. At theglobal level this is an importantmission. It is being keenlywatched by everyone," he said.

Elaborating about the com-plexity involved, he said thespeed of the spacecraft needs to

be brought down to 'zero.'In a major milestone for

India's second Moon mission,the Chandrayaan-2 spacecraftsuccessfully entered the lunar

orbit on Tuesday by performingLunar Orbit Insertion (LOI)maneuver. The second Lunarbound orbit manoeuvre for thespacecraft was successfully per-

formed on Wednesday. Therewill be three more orbitmanoeuvres to make the space-craft enter into its final orbitpassing over the lunar poles ata distance of about 100 km fromthe Moon's surface. ISRO hassaid subsequently the lander willseparate from the Orbiter (onSeptember 2) and enter into a100 km X30 km orbit aroundthe Moon. Then it will performa series of complex brakingmanoeuvres to soft land in theSouth polar region of the Moon.

Asked whether PrimeMinister Narendra Modi wouldbe part of the event when'Vikram' makes the soft landing,he said an invitation has beensent seeking the PrimeMinister's participation.

Asked if there was any gen-der bias at ISRO, he said therewas no such discriminationand talented women werealways given better roles.

"There is no gender bias atISRO. Two women got anopportunity duringChandrayaan-2 mission.Similarly, there will be oppor-tunities for women to play leadroles in future projects (ofISRO)," he said.

Two women scientistshogged the limelight whenISRO launched theChandrayaan-2 on July 22 withRitu Karidhal and M Vanithabeing the mission and projectdirectors respectively.

Sivan was on Thursday hon-oured with the Tamil Nadu gov-ernment's Dr A P J AbdulKalam Award by Chief MinisterK Palaniswami at the Secretariathere.

Chandrayaan-2, launched onJuly 22 by India's most power-ful rocket GSLV MkIII-M1,had entered the Lunar TransferTrajectory on August 14, leav-ing the Earth orbit.

l Cabinet sub-committee yet to give nod forcontinuation of works

Even though the committee has orally cleared thecontinuation of the constructions, officials of CRDAhave asked them to visit those places and give themthe nod which will happen in a day or two

Moon as viewed by Chandrayaan 2's LI4 camera on August 21, 2019. This imagewas taken at a height of about 2,650 km from Lunar surface. Photo: IISRO

Rahul’s Wayanad pollrival arrested nearDubai in cheating casePNS n THIRUVANANTHAPU-RAM

Thushar Vellapally, the BJPally who contested againstRahul Gandhi from Kerala'sWayanad in the national elec-tion earlier this year, wasarrested near Dubai onTuesday, in a case of allegedcheating. "He has beentrapped," sources close tohim said.

Kerala Chief MinisterPinarayi Vijayan has writtento Foreign Minister Dr SJaishankar seeking his inter-vention. "I express concernabout his well-being andhealth while in custody. Allpossible help within the lim-its of law needs to be madeavailable to him," the ChiefMinister wrote.

Mr Vellapally was runninga company in Dubai around10 years ago, sources said.

"The company went intolosses and the sub-contrac-tors had demanded compen-sation for losses. A chequegiven earlier as compensa-tion, amounting to 8 million

Dhirams, bounced recentlywhen Thushar Vellapally wasin Dubai, leading to hisarrest," sources said.Vellapally was arrested inAjman near Dubai.

Mr Vellapally heads theKerala unit of Bharat DharmaJana Sena (BDJS), a politicalparty and an ally of the BJP-led National DemocraticAlliance (NDA). In his letter,the Chief Minister hasreferred to ThusharVellapappy as the vice presi-dent of Sree NarayanaDharma Paripalana Yogam(SNDP), an organisation thatworks with the politicallyinfluential Ezhava commu-nity.

GOOD NEWS FOR 6.3 LAKH PENSIONERS

EPFO to restorecommutation of pensionPNS n NEW DELHI

Providing relief to 6.3 lakhpensioners, retirement fundbody EPFO has approved aproposal to restore commu-tation, or advance part-withdrawal, underthe Employees 'Pension Scheme.

The movewould benefit thepensioners whohad opted forcommutation andgot a lump-sumamount at the time ofretirement before 2009. Theprovision for commutation ofpension was withdrawn bythe EPFO in 2009.

Under the commutation,monthly pension used to becut by one-third for the next

15 years and the reducedamount would be given inlump sum. After the 15 years,the pensioners were entitledto get the full pension.

"In a major decision, the(EPFO's apex deci-

sion-making body)Central Board ofTrustees (CBT)in a meetingheld atHyderabad on

August 21, 2019,approved propos-

al to recommendfor amendment in EPS-

95 for restoration of com-muted value of pension topensioners after 15 years ofdrawing commutation, whichwill benefit about 6.3 lakhpensioners," according to astatement by the EPFO.

Congress leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram after he wasproduced in a CBI court in the INX media case, in New Delhi, on Thursday

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated August 22, 2019 5:00 PM

ALMANACTODAY

Month & Paksham:Shravana & Krishna PakshaPanchangamTithi : Saptami: 08:08 amNakshatram: Kritika 03:48 am (Next Day)Time to Avoid: (Bad time to start

any important work)Rahukalam: 10:45 am – 12:18 pmYamagandam: 03:25 pm – 04:59 pm

Varjyam: 03:12 pm - 04:53 pm

Gulika: 07:37 am - 09:11 amGood Time: (to start any important work)

Amritakalam: 01:17 am - 02:57 amAbhijit Muhurtham: 11:53 am - 12:43 pm

VIJAYAWADAWEATHERForecast: Isolated ThunderstormsTemp: 34/26Humidity: 80%Sunrise: 06.00Sunset: 06.36

Printed and Published by B Krishna Prasad on Behalf of CMYK Printech Limited. Printed at Jagati Publications Limited, Sakshi Press, Door No. 5-625, Vadlamudi Road, Atmakuru Village, Mangalagiri Mandal, Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh.Published at Door No. 40-4-11, Flat No.501, Sujatha Citadel, Jasti Venkataratnam Street, Behind DV Manor Hotel, Vijayawada, Krishna District, AP. Resident Editor B Krishna Prasad RNI title Code no. APENG03628. Phone No. 0866-2479001.

Although every possible care and caution has been taken to avoid errors or omissions, this publication is being sold on the condition and understanding that information given in this publication is merely for reference and must not be taken as having authority of or binding in any way on the writers, editors, publishers, and printers and sellers who do not owe any responsibility for anydamage or loss to any person, a purchaser of this publication or not for the result of any action taken on the basis of this work. All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent court and forums in Delhi/New Delhi only. Readers are advised and requested to verify and seek appropriate advice to satisfy themselves about the veracity of any kind of advertisement beforeresponding to any contents published in this newspaper. The printer, publisher, editor and any employee of the Pioneer Group's will not be held responsible for any kind of claim made by the advertisers of the products & services and shall not be made responsible for any kind of loss, consequences and further product-related damages on such advertisements.

CAPSULE

GUV GREETS PEOPLEON JANMASHTAMIVIJAYAWADA: GovernorBiswa Bhusan Harichandanextended greetings and bestwishes to the people ofAndhra Pradesh on theoccasion of Sri KrishnaJanmashtami on Friday. In amessage, he said, “Thefestival of Janmashtamireminds us of the eternalmessage of Lord Sri Krishnathrough Bhagvad Gita,affirming the foundation forbuilding a harmonioussociety.” The Governorwished that the auspiciousoccasion would be aharbinger of peace, progressand prosperity and furtherstrengthen the bonds ofbrotherhood, amity andharmony among the people ofthe State.

AP GOVT COMESTO PATIENT'S AIDVIJAYAWADA: Eminentarthritis specialist Dr NunnaKavya Devi extended hergratitude to the StateGovernment on Thursday forreleasing Rs 1.2 lakh forJoinvile Arthritis treatment toyoung Harika, who has beenfor the last six years.Speaking to media persons,she said Harika had appliedfor financial help from theChief Minister Relief Fund onAugust 13 and within an hourRs 1.2 lakh was released fortreatment, which enabled thegirl to undergo treatment. She said that for providingbetter treatment Harika needsRs six lakh per year.

TEAM BLACK POSTS WINVIJAYAWADA: Team Blackdefeated Team Orange by 29runs in the Anantapur District U-14 selection matches atAnantapur Sports Village onThursday. As many as 72 playersfrom all sub-centres ofAnantapur were divided into sixteams. ADCA SecretaryShahabuddin stated that theassociation was giving plenty ofchances for players. "In theseselection matches, each playerwill play five matches and basedon their performance, the districtteam will be finalised," he said.The scores: Team Black 119 in43.4 overs (Bhanu prasad 53,Ramesh 23, Chaithanya threefor 23, Karthik three for 35) btTeam Orange 90 in 35.2 overs(Mukesh 34, Harshith 21, KiranKumar five for 22, Sanjay twofor 14). Team Blue 182 in 45overs (Venkat Nagesh 76,Pranav 24, Suhas five for 46) btTeam Red 129 for seven in 45overs (Afreed Khan 51, NikshiptManohar two for 19, Sameertwo for 23, Shahid two for 16).Team Green 237 for three in 45overs (P. Manideep 107, K.Pradeep 46, Teja 41) bt TeamYellow 69 in 36 overs (BhargavRaju 28, Harsha Vardhan threefor nine, Sagar three for 100).

VIJAYAWADA | FRIDAY | AUGUST 23, 2019 vijayawada 02

EGGRATES

` 37,820 (10 gm)

` 150

GOLD

` 43, 800 (1kg)

` 300

HYDERABAD 315VIJAYAWADA 335VISAKHAPATNAM 361RETAIL PPRICE `3.35

SILVER

VIJAYAWADABULLION RATES

`/100

CHICKENRATES

Dressed/With Skin `141

Without Skin `160

Broiler at Farm `97

`/KG

(IN VIJAYAWADA)

Sameera bags InspiringPersonality AwardPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Guntur-born national carromplayer SK Husna Sameera washonoured with the ‘InspiringPersonality Award’ by JanaSena Chief Pawan Kalyan onthe occasion of the birthdaycelebrations of PadmabhushanKonidena Chiranjeevi atHyderabad on Wednesdayevening. The event was meantto felicitate renowned person-alities from various fields.According to a press release,

every year the AkhilaBharata Chiranjeevi Yuvathaorganises the megastar’s birth-day in a grand manner by felic-itating noted personalities.This year they selected HusnaSameera for the award.

On the occasion, Pawanpraised the carrom player'sefforts and for achieving adoctorate at the young age of16. He also appreciated hermaking an entry into theGunnies World Record in car-rom’s longest marathon - 34

hours, 45 minutes and 56 sec-onds. Andhra Pradesh StateCarrom Association PresidentDr Neeraj and GeneralSecretary Kakula Subba Raocongratulated Sameera forher achievement.

“This award will give a boostfor carrom players in AP,"they said.

Guntur's national carrom player Husna Sameera receiving the ‘Inspiring PersonalityAward’ from Jana Sena Chief Pawan Kalyan at Hyderabad on Wednesday

Pawan praised thecarrom player'sefforts and forachieving a doctorate at theyoung age of 16

Little Krishnas’come alive at CCVAPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Krishnashtami was celebratedwith much splendour at theCCVA on Thursday. SatwikChukkapalli, Chair, YI,Amaravati stated that the cel-ebrations mirrored the spiri-tual heritage of India and thecreative talent of the kids.

He inaugurated the cele-brations of Lord Krishna atCCVA in which 20 childrenand elders displayed theirskills in dance and kolattamchoreographed by UmaVenkata Rama Krishnan.

The show included a displayof Krishna in various forms.The beauty and mischievous-ness of the Almighty camealive when tiny tots enthralledthe audience with eye-catching‘Krishna Vesha Pradarshana’.

A few Little Krishna's werealso seen savouring butterand ice cream and parentscould be noticed runningaround the naughty Krishnas.

The Chief Guest felicitated

Natyacharya Uma VenkataRama Krishnan in the pres-ence of the guests of honourMadiraju Madhava of SusrutaOpticals, Dr NVPSMahalaxmi, CEO of MalaxmiProperties, Sandeep Mandava,CEO of Recharla RealconPrivate Limited and Dr ESivanagi Reddy, CEO, CCVA.

National Poshan AbhiyanAward for Krishna CollectorPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Krishna District Collector MdImtiaz has been selected for theprestigious National PoshanAbhiyan Award by the UnionGovernment. He will receivethe award from Prime MinisterNarendra Modi in New Delhion August 23.

Md Imtiaz was selected forhis implementation of theNational Nutrition Programmein the district. The UnionGovernment announced theaward to Krishna District forconducting convergence actionmeetings at 26 places, fororganising nutrition aware-ness programmes among thepublic, community-basedevents, and immunisation pro-grammes in the district.

According to the districtofficials, the percentage of

anaemia-stricken people hadcome down to 0.5 percentfrom 5.04 percent and that ofpremature babies to 5.047 per-cent in the district. 100 percentgas connections at Anganwadicentres, construction of toilets,drinking water facility arrange-ments and developing 249nutri-gardens was also takenup. All these have contributedto bag the National PoshanAbhiyan Award. ICDS Project

Director, K Krishna Kumari,Former DM & HO Dr IRamesh and ICDS ExpansionOfficer N Sunitha Devi accom-panied the Collector to NewDelhi.

The UnionGovernmentannounced theaward to KrishnaDistrict for theirimplementationof the NationalNutritionProgramme inthe district

VMC Chief takes stock of issues at NTRShopping ComplexPNS n VIJAYAWADA

VMC CommissionerPrasanna Venkatesh onThursday ordered officials toprovide lighting facility at thecellar parking area of Dr NTRshopping complex and speedup the lift and escalator works.

During his visit to the com-plex, the Commissioner tooknote of the insufficient light-ing at the cellar area, theincomplete lift and escalatorworks and ordered officials tomaintain hygiene in the com-

plex at the earliest.He directed the officials to

take immediate action againstshop owners who displayedsignboards and added thatsecurity guards had beemployed in the premises.Healso held a meeting with theshop owners and told them tomaintain cleanliness andhygiene in the complex.

Estate Officer Dr Sridhar,Executive Engineer ASNPrasad, ADH Sujatha and oth-ers were also present on theoccasion.

SCR to run 20 specialtrains betweenSec'bad and GuwahatiVijayawada: South CentralRailway, in order to clear extrarush of passengers, will oper-ate 20 special trains between theSecunderabad - Guwahati –Secunderabad stretch, accord-ing to a press release onThursday. Train No. 02513Secunderabad - GuwahatiSpecial will depart fromSecunderabad at 5:40am onAugust 29, September 5, 12, 19,and 26, October 3, 10, 17, 24,and 31, and arrive at Guwahatiat 8:45am on Saturdays. Returntrain 02514 Guwahati -Secunderabad Special willdepart from Guwahati at11:55pm on August 31,September 7, 14, 21, and 28,October 5, 12, 19, and 26, andNovember 2, and arrive atSecunderabad at 4am onTuesdays.Enroute, the specialtrains will also make stops atWarangal, Khammam, Rayanapadu, Eluru, Rajamundry,Samalkot, Anakapalli,Duvvada, Kottavalasa,Vizianagaram, SrikakulamRoad, Palasa, Berhampur,Khurda Road, Bhubaneswar,Bhadrakh, Balasore,Kharagpur, Ram purhat, MaldaTown, Barsoi, Kishanganj.

Andhra Colts beatsACA President'sXI by 8 wicketsPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Andhra Colts defeated ACAPresident’s XI by eight wicketsin VJD method as the tie wasdisturbed by rain, in the SirVizzy Tournament at ACAAcademy at Vizianagaram onThursday.

At Visakhapatnam, Mumbaidefeated Himachal by sevenwickets. Yashasvi Jaiswal ofIOC was declared the Man ofthe Match.

The scores: ACA President’s288 for six (Manyala Pranith9, D. B. Ravi Teja 57,Khamuruddn three for 49) btAndhra Colts 138 for 2 in 26overs (T. Vamsi Krishna 76, Y.Sandeep 34) – VJD method.

Chhattisgarh 267 in 50overs (Ashu 127, Vishal 45,Akshya Karnewar three for 44)lost to Indian Oil Corporation140 for one in 25 overs(Yashasvi Jaiswal 74, AnkushBains 45) – VJD method.

ACA Secretary 243 for eightin 50 overs (Dhruva Kumar45, B. Vinay Kumar 44,Sanganakal two for 50, FarookAhmed two for 48) btPondicherry 233 for in 37.5overs (KB Arun Karthik 94, S.Karthik 91, PP Manohorthree for 45) – VJD method

HPCA 200 in 43.3 overs(Nitin Sharma 36, ArjunTendulkar two for 43, SairajPatil two for 39, PrashanthSolanki two for 36, VigneshSolanki two for 39) lost toMumbai 203 for three in 36.4overs (Ashay Sardesai 55,Hardik Tamore 43).

ACA Administrator Syed Ali handing over the Man of the Match cheque toYashasvi Jaiswal of IOC in Vizianagaram on Thursday

Andhra Pradesh part ofNH16 ridden with potholes PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Driving from Kallaparu toSidhantham bridge provesdangerous to commuters as theNH16 stretch remains pot-hole ridden. Commuters areforced to pay toll for travellingon a bad highway. The stretch,connecting the two promi-nent places of Vijayawada andVishakapatnam, acts like a life-line to coastal Andhra Pradesh.Speeding vehicles have to slowdown to be able to manoeuvrearound the potholes.

At Kallaparu toll plaza,around 120000 Passenger CarUnits (PCUs) can be witnessedwhile it is around 19877 PCUsat Unguturu toll plaza.According to official data as ofJanuary 2017, traffic is as highas 31976 for Kallaparu and21231 for Unguturu.

This stretch is part of theNational Highway that con-nects Chennai to Kolkatta andalso part of the golden quadri-lateral. The by-road transportfrom Krishnapatnam, Chennaiand Kakinada ports have to

come on to this deplorablehighway. Rains, lack of main-tenance and overloaded vehi-

cles have taken their toll on thehighway. Those driving carsand heavy vehicles like trucks

have a tough time negotiatingthe potholes.

“During the Independenceday weekend, I commuted bycar from Vijayawada toKakinada. The commute onthe bypass has been scary. Wecouldn’t drive with the typicalspeed on highways and had toslow down as if we were dri-ving in traffic congestion. Weget this uncomfortable rideafter paying a toll of Rs 45 atKalaparru and Rs 90 atUnguturu toll plaza,” said com-muter K Srinivas.

This has been the case sincethe past couple of years. “Idon't understand why theystill need to collect toll for thispoorly maintained road. Tollfee rates are high at Unguturu,yet the experience is so bad.Driving experience is not at alllike a highway. The route fromTanuku to Unguturu is notgood enough to pay this hightoll price. This has been thecondition since last year," com-plained ChaitanyaChakravarthy, resident ofEluru.

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Tourism Minister M SrinivasaRao interacted with the Gramavolunteers who were recruit-ed recently in the four man-dals, at NTR mini stadium inNarsipatnam here onThursday.

While interacting with thevolunteers, the Ministerenquired about the state gov-ernment welfare schemes andguided them by stating thatintroducing volunteer systemwas completely for disbursingpension and ration at doorsteps to the public and toevade corruption from groundroot level of the public welfareschemes.

Minister said that for thefirst time in the history thestate government has intro-duced new system to preventcorruption and recruitedgrama and ward volunteers inwhich more than 50 percent

women candidates were givenpriority among the four man-dals.

Taking former ChiefMinister YS Raja SekharaReddy as inspiration, the vol-unteers should serve the pub-lic with service motto but notfor their personal influences.He also stated that the state

government under the lead-ership of YS Jagan MohanReddy has planned for 4 lakhjobs by giving priority to themerit students and womenwithout any disparities acrossthe state.

MLA Petla Uma ShankarGanesh said that as the YSRCPgovernment in the state isproviding Rs 5 000 as month-ly salary for each volunteer,even though they were recruit-ed for providing services vol-untarily.

At Visakhapatnam,Mumbai defeatedHimachal by sevenwickets. Yashasvi Jaiswalof IOC was declared theMan of the Match

Anantapur Sports Academy hits new highPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Anantapur Sports Academy isselected for the prestigiousRashtriya Khel ProtsahanPuruskar – 2019 and the awardwill be conferred by President ofIndia at a ceremony Academy’sProgram Director MonchoFerrer at Rashtrapati Bhavan onAugust 29.

The objective of the RashtriyaKhel Protsahan Puruskar is toencourage and promote theinvolvement of corporates, vol-untary organizations, sportscontrol boards in the promotionand development of sports.

The award is given in fourcategories, which include iden-

tifying and nurturing of buddingyoung talent, encouragement ofsports through corporate socialresponsibility, employment ofsportspersons and sports welfaremeasures.

Responding to the recogni-tion, Moncho Ferrer said, “Weappreciate the efforts ofGovernment of India foracknowledging the contribu-tions of sport towards the devel-

opment of children and com-munities by recognizing initia-tives by having sport for devel-opment as a category”.

“This recognition advocatesthe importance of utilizing sportas a tool for development inIndia. Though RYDT’s effortsfor using sport for developmentamong children and communi-ties were doubted by many dur-ing the early years, this recog-nition now reaffirms our com-mitment, and gives us the beliefthat we are heading in the rightdirection.”

Sai Krishna Pulluru, Directorof Anantapur Sports Academysaid: “The award furthers ourorganization’s responsibility in

continuing our efforts to con-tribute towards the developmentof children and youth eventual-ly rural communities throughsports in Anantapur.”

Rayalaseema DevelopmentTrust (RYDT), an NGO found-ed in 1969, works to promotethe integrated development ofunderprivileged communitiesin Andhra Pradesh andTelangana.

RYDT believes that ruralchildren’s participation in sportsis necessary for their growth,self-esteem, and confidence aswell as to address the challengesbeing faced by them due to theprevailing inequalities in ruralregions.

This stretch is part of theNational Highway thatconnects Chennai to Kolkattaand also part of the goldenquadrilateral

AP-ASICON tocommencefrom todayVijayawada: The 42ndannual state conference ofAssociation of Surgeons APchapter (AP ASICON) willcommence at KL Universityfrom August 23 to 25.

“The conference is beingorganised for the first time inthe state after its bifurcationin 2014," said organisingcommittee chairman Dr TJPrasanna Kumar here onThursday. Addressing themediapersons, he said thataround 1,000 surgeons wereexpected to attend the con-ference.

"Renowned speakers fromall over India would give aseries of talks on recentchanges in surgeries andinterventional procedures.They would also contribute toupdates on laparoscopic surg-eries,” he said.

The volunteersshould serve thepublic with servicemotto but not fortheir personalinfluences

Minister interacts with volunteers

VIJAYAWADA | FRIDAY | AUGUST 23, 2019 vijayawada 03

CAPSULE

MISCREANTS SETFIRE TO 2 CARS, 2BIKES IN CITYVijayawada: Three unidentifiedmiscreants created a panicamong the residents of Sri NagarColony by setting fire to a carparked in front of a realtor’shouse on Wednesday midnight. Satyanarayanapuram Inspector BBala Murali Krishna said that theincident happened around 12:20am in Sri Nagar Colony. ‘’Wehave gone through the CCTVfootage and came across threeunidentified miscreants settingfire to a car and two motorcyclesparked in front of realtor SivaShankar’s house,’’ he said. Duringpreliminary investigation, it wasfound that the miscreants hadpoured petrol on the vehicles andset them on fire. The trio fled theplace on a two-wheelerimmediately after setting fire tothe vehicles, he added.The CI further said that on seeingthe raging fire, the residentsdoused the fire and alerted SivaShankar. A case has beenregistered following the realtor’scomplaint and furtherinvestigation is on to trace theculprits, the CI said. In a similarincident, two two-wheelers and acar parked in front of houses atSivalayam Street, Singh Nagar,were burnt down by miscreants.Two motorcycles were damagedbadly and the front portion of thecar was partially damaged. Thepolice suspect that petrol pilferersmight have been involved in boththe incidents.MLA Malladi Vishnu visited thespot and examined the damagedvehicles.

SHAH TO ATTEND‘DIKSHANTHPARADE' ON AUG 24Hyderabad: Union Home MinisterAmit Shah would participate in70th Batch IPS ProbationersDikshanth Parade to be held inSardar Vallabhai Patel PoliceAcademy, Hyderabad on August24. Amit Shah will receive thehonorary salute from IPSProbationers.On Thursday, Police Academydirector Abhay told that 92 IPSofficers, including 12 womenofficers got trained in this batch.The batch also includes 11foreign officers including sixRoyal Bhutan police officers andfive Nepal police officers. ThreeProbationers were being selectedfor Telangana cadre from thisbatch. On the other hand, GouseAlam from Telangana cadreselected as a best all roundProbationer officer. Richa Thomarfrom Rajasthan cadre selected asa best woman Probationer officeramong women Probationers. The best all round ProbationerGouse Alam will receive PrimeMinister's baton and HomeMinister's revolver, Abhay told.He said that most of theProbationers are from poorfamilies and they completed thetough training as IPS officers byfacing several challenges.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Chief Secretary L VSubramanyam opined thatbankers should work for atleast 15 years in a rural area.

Addressing the State-levelBankers’ Meeting here onThursday, he said that thebanking sector should bedeveloped in rural areas sothat the country couldprogress economically. "A fewbank managers are not show-ing interest to work in ruralareas, which is not correct," headded.

Subramanyam appealed tothe bankers to think aboutfarmer suicides and theunemployed youth. Herequested them to come upwith a solution to these prob-lems.

He said, “There are no

short-cuts to create wealth. Weshould work hard and take updevelopmental programmesin all the sectors so that wealthcan be created automatically.”

SLBC president PakiriSwamy said that drasticchanges would come in thebanking sector by 2022. PrimeMinister Narendra Modi hadgiven a call to bankers toboost the economy of thecountry and accordinglybankers are taking measures,he added.

Farmers decry Botsa's remarks PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Farmers of villages, whereland has been pooled forAmaravati, are incensed overMinister B otsaSatyanarayana's remarks overflood threat to the new statecapital region and that thegovernment would reconsid-er the previous regime's deci-sion.

When this correspondentvis ited the vi l lages -Lingayapalem,, Rayapalemand many villages in Tullurumandal - to assess the situ-ation in villages and onwhether there is any floodthreat to the core capitalregion and to gather publicopinion, especially of farm-ers, they gave vent to theiranger against the Minister.

They wanted the Ministerto explain why a lift-irriga-tion scheme had to be builtin Tulluru if there is floodthreat to the core capitalregion.

After building the floodbank to river Krishna in1962, the farmers said that

they never came across theirvillages getting flooded by

the river waters. The farmers said that they

pooled lands for the capitalcity rather happily. Theyclarified that N ChandrababuNaidu did not snatch theirlands.

The farmers see conspira-cy behind the minister'sflood threat statement, whichhas dealt a heavy blow totheir morale.

The farmers suspect some-thing fishy is going on in theadministration about thecapital city.

The ruling party promisedseveral things prior to theelections but changed tackafter the polls, irate farmersnoted and made it clear thatcould remain silent anylonger.

The farmers observed thatthe current regime is undo-ing what Naidu has done tothe State and dared it to merge both the two Telugu states into unifiedAP again and rule as one single entity.

After building the flood bank toriver Krishna in 1962, the farmerssaid that they never came acrosstheir villages getting flooded by theriver waters

Kanna pours cold water on YSRCP game plan G RAVI KIRANn VIJAYAWADA

In a ding-dong battle betweenYSRC and BJP, the saffronparty's State Chief KannaLakshminrayana has tweetedthat the former is trying tomisuse the name of PrimeMinister Narendra Modi forits hasty decisions, whileRajya Sabha Member VijaysaiReddy is trying to project therelationship between the twoparties is warm and cordial.

Coming close on the heelsof Vijaysai Reddy onWednesday, after his meetingwith Union Railway MinisterPiyush Goyal, declaring thatYSRC was maintainingfriendly relations with theBJP and was taking PrimeMinister's approval for itsevery decision, a series oftweets by Kanna againstYSRC are dampening theJagan party's efforts.

Vijaysai had claimed thatYSRC's decision on PowerPurchase Agreements (PPA),Polavaram retendering andother initiatives were takenafter duly informing PrimeMinister Narendra Modi. "Weare in touch with the Unionministers and the PrimeMinister," he added.

The contradictory claimsby BJP and YSRC assumesignificance in the wake ofMunicipal AdministrationMinister Botsa Satyanarayana.It looks as though the YSRCgovernment wants to do dam-age control by saying it hasfriendly ties with BJP.

Immediately, KannaLakshminarayana has tweet-ed against the remarks ofVijaysai Reddy. He said, "BothTDP and YSRC are the same.TDP has taken a U-Turn andblamed BJP for everything.Now, YSRC is trying to useBJP as a guard for their hasty

decisions".He ruled out the chances of

BJP supporting YSRC in anyof its decision. He condemnedthe remarks of BotsaSatyanarayana and stated thatshifting the Capital fromAmaravati is not at all correct.

At the same time, theUnion Government has givenclarity on PPAs issue. Itinstructed the State govern-ment to review any agreementwith strong proof on anyirregularity or corruption.Otherwise, damage would becaused to the very image ofthe country as several globalpower companies wereinvolved.

Earlier, Kanna had con-demned the argument of CMYS Jaganmohan Reddy onKapu reservation that theState government cannot pro-vide five percent quota to thatcommunity in 10% EBCreservations.

Kanna also alleged that theVillage Volunteer system isnothing but a YSRC's variantof TDP's Janmabhoomi com-mittees.

Meanwhile, DPurandareswari cited cancel-lation of the PPAs and goingin for reverse tendering ofPolavaram projects as exam-ples of YSRCP digging its owngrave.

She accused Jagan of play-ing mind game. In spite ofcenter advising the AP gov-ernment against dishonour-ing PPAs in a letter, why didJagan ignore the advice, hequestioned.

BJP slams govt ‘of cancellations'Eluru: BJP leader ManikyalaRao on Thursday describedthe State Government as a'government of cancellations'.

Without searching foralternatives, the governmentis bent on cancelling every-thing without a rule orrhyme, he said.

For the past two months,an atmosphere of bankrupt-cy prevailed in the State, heobserved. The governmenthas been practicing the pol-itics of compromise by hurl-ing out threats, he said.

He questioned the gov-ernment on what action hasbeen initiated to check cor-ruption in Polavaram andother irrigation projects. Hesuspected that a clandestinedeal is under way between theOpposition and ruling party.

Further, he expressedapprehensions over a con-ducive atmosphere prevailingin the state. He cautioned thegovernment that the peoplewould revolt against it if theytry to dupe the people.

Netflix-led OTT platforms threaten cable TV in IndiaPNS n MUMBAI

Netflix and other over-the-top(OTT) platforms are slowlybut steadily eating the cableTV business, a new KPMGreport has said, adding thatthere was a decline of nearly12-15 million active sub-scribers for the cable & satel-lite (C&S) universe in thefourth quarter (Q4) of thefinancial year 2019.

Subscription revenues grewat a modest 8.1 per cent inFY19 to reach Rs 463 billion,with the NTO implementationhiccups costing growth in thelast quarter.

"While the C&S universewas reported to have expand-ed to 197 million householdsby the end of 2018 with digi-tal cable gaining the most,there was an erosion in theactive subscriber base in thelast quarter with a decline ofnearly 12-15 million house-holds in the overall C&Shousehold base," said theKPMG report titled "India'sDigital Future: Mass of nich-es".

The potential reasons forthis decline were non-renew-al of subscriptions, the transi-tion of subscribers to alternatesources of entertainment suchas OTT and certain blackoutsowing to the implementationof the New Tariff Order(NTO).

"As a result, subscriptionrevenues took a hit in the lastquarter with subscribers facingmultiple issues, includinghigher cable bills, while tran-

sitioning to the new regime,"the report mentioned.

The Average Revenue PerUser (ARPU) was relatively flatfor both DTH and cable oper-ators in the first three quartersbefore seeing an increase by10-25 per cent in the lastquarter.

"While the active subscriberbase declined, growth inARPUs covered up a largepart of the decline in subscrip-tion revenues, leading to over-all growth of 8.1 per cent forthe year FY19," the findings

showed.While the English watching

audience is relatively smaller inIndia, the widespread availabil-ity of English content on OTTplatforms has been one of thekey factors for a shift in con-sumption from TV to digitalfor English content.

Netflix has planned to investRs 6 billion per year in origi-nals, whereas Amazon Primehad committed Rs 22.3 billion(in 2017) over 2-3 years inIndia.

For some original series,

global platforms like Amazonand Netflix are spending in therange of Rs 10-20 million perepisode.

For example, per episodecost of original series, includ-ing 'Made in Heaven' and'Mirzapur' on Amazon Prime,was Rs 10-20 million.

"From the subscription-onlyNetflix and Amazon PrimeVideo to hybrid models ofHotstar and Zee to new multi-format models like MX Player,OTT players are striving to dif-ferentiate themselves," saidthe report.

There could be close to 11-14 million direct paid sub-scriptions in FY19, includingAmazon Prime subscriptions,said the report.

Owing to the relatively high-er price points and the widere-commerce appeal associatedwith Netflix and AmazonPrime, respectively, these twoplatforms accounted for a bulkof the direct subscription rev-enues. Owing to a robust slateof live sports, the internation-al library and live TV content,Hotstar also contributed sig-nificantly to the overall directsubscription revenues of theindustry in FY19.

"We expect the direct sub-scriber base in India to rise toas much as 55-65 million byFY24, driven by the availabil-ity of high-quality contentcurated for different audi-ences and continued growth inthe digital infrastructure andthe digital payments land-scape in the country," said thereport.

The potential reasons for this decline were non-renewal of subscriptions, the transition ofsubscribers to alternate sources of entertainment such as OTT and certainblackouts owing to the implementation of theNew Tariff Order (NTO)

Ruling out thechances of BJPsupporting YSRC inany of its decision,Kanna condemnedthe remarks ofBotsa and statedthat shifting theCapital fromAmaravati is not atall correct

Work on developingbanking sector inrural areas: CS

PNS n HYDERABAD

University of Hyderabad,supported by Research andInnovation Circle ofHyderabad (RICH) organ-ised a panel discussion on thetopic 'Current scenario andpath forward for GM crops inIndia'. The deliberations byexperts and farmers broughtforward the necessity foradopting and advancingmodern science and tech-nology in agriculture, likeGM crops in India, for bring-ing the farmers out of thecurrent distress situation.

It also emphasised thatgovernment should continu-ously promote plant biotechresearch and build capacityfor adopting emerging tech-nologies like genome editing,advances in regulatory sci-ences for safety evaluationsand research on environ-mental, socio-economic andtrade impact of illegal plant-ing in India. During the dis-cussion, farmers haveexpressed their intent andwillingness to accept tech-nologies that offer promisingand cost-effective solutions totheir crop losses.

They are of the view thatthe government needs to con-sult them proactively ratherthan making decisions basedon inputs from selectedgroups of c ivi l society.Farmers organisations alsoexpressed that governmentshould fast-track food andenvironmental safety assess-ments so as to give timelyaccess to the new technolo-gies for the benefit of farm-ers income and increasing

productivity.According to Dr S R Rao,

Regulator y Expert ofBiotechnology, "in order tostreamline current situation

of illegal cultivation by sec-tion of farmers for demon-strating their right to accessto technology, prevent poorquality and unauthorized

seed of unknown identity, itis desirable that the govern-ment reviews the impact ofillegal cultivation. Ratherthan delaying decisions andpunitive actions, the govern-ment should evaluate foodand environmental safety,sustainability and impact onfarmers and organized pub-lic and private seed sector inthe larger interest of thecountry."

Speaking at the event,Ram Kaundinya, DirectorGeneral, FSII said, "It isessential for farmers to getaccess to the latest technolo-gies. Taking resort to illegalplanting is only making farm-ers vulnerable towards buy-ing seeds at a high price and

taking advice from individu-als without technical knowl-edge. The combination ofthese circumstances will onlypush the farmer towardsmore uncertainties and cropfailure."

India being one of thelargest cotton producer coun-tries, has still not reachedhigh yield levels when com-pared globally, in spite of thehuge yield gains made in thelast 15 years. Long durationhybrids, low harvest index,inadequate use of biotechtraits and low ginning out-turn are some of the factorsresponsible for low produc-tivity in India. With conser-vative growth forecast fortextile industry by 2027-28,there is a requirement of 569lakh bales. However, lookingat current production trends,likely production is estimat-ed at 476 lakh bales.

With this trend, it willincrease dependence onimports to meet domesticrequirement, impact on cot-ton export will be at the tuneof $8bn. This can adverselyimpact $330Bn opportunityin global markets for theIndian textile industry by2028.

The event was attended byDr Dayanand, Dean of theSchool of Life Sciences,University of Hyderabad(UoH); S R Rao, RegulatoryExpert of Biotechnology;Rakesh K Mishra, Director,Centre for Cel lu lar &Molecular Biology (CCMB)and R am Kaundinya,Director General, Federationof Seed Industry of India(FSII).

Adopt modern tech in farming, ryots told

n Kala Azar or black fever is a dangerous and often fatal form of Leishmaniasis

ORAL TABLETS TO TREATDEADLY ‘KALA AZAR'PNS n HYDERABAD

Indian Institute of TechnologyHyderabad Researchers havedeveloped a method to pro-duce controlled-release oraltablets for treating fungal infec-tions and leishmaniasis (kalaazar or black fever) that areprevalent in the country. Thetablets were found to releasethe drug Amphotericin B in asustained and controlled man-ner over a period of 10 days.

Amphotericin B (AmB) isthe drug of choice for progres-sive and potentially life-threat-ening fungal infections of theabdomen and heart valves,fungal pneumonia, and leish-maniasis, a neglected tropicaldisease. It is used to treat KalaAzar or black fever, a danger-ous and often fatal form ofLeishmaniasis, commonamong the economicallyunderprivileged sections instates such as Bihar, Jharkhand,West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.

The development of oral,controlled release tablets forfatal fungal infections andleishmaniasis, could help inbetter management of the dis-ease burden in the country.The development of cures fordangerous fungal diseases andleishmania has been challeng-ing. Prof Brahmchari who firstused an antimony compoundfor treating 'kala azar' in the1920s was even nominatedfor the Nobel Prize in 1929.

The disadvantages associat-

ed with AmB include highcost, toxicity and poorbioavailability (<0.9%). Amb isadministered through injec-tion, which results in uncon-trolled release of the drug intothe blood stream. There havebeen attempts to make oralmedication containing AmB tocontrol the delivery of thedrug and bring down costs.

In order to make controlled-release oral tablets, the drugmolecules must be loaded ontoa base that dissolves gradual-

ly to release the drug over aperiod of time. The Researchwas led by Prof. SaptarshiMajumdar and Dr. ChandraShekhar Sharma, AssociateProfessor, Creative andAdvanced Research Based OnNanomaterials (CARBON)Laboratory, Department ofChemical Engineering, IITHyderabad.

Speaking on the rationale ofusing nanofibres to produceoral tablets of AmB, ChandraShekhar Sharma said,"Nanofibres - fibres that are ahundred thousand times thin-ner than the human hair - areincreasingly being consideredas a medium for controlledrelease of drug moleculesbecause of their large surfacearea and porosity. There aretwo choices to be made in pro-ducing controlled-releasetablets. The polymer is used asthe base nanofibre and themode of producing the nanofi-bre itself."

n Tablats to releaseAmB in controlledmanner

Taking resort to illegal planting is onlymaking farmers vulnerable towardsbuying seeds at a high price andtaking advice from individuals withouttechnical knowledge. The combinationof these circumstances will only pushthe farmer towards more uncertaintiesand crop failure.

The development oforal, controlledrelease tablets forfatal fungal infectionsand leishmaniasis,could help in bettermanagement of thedisease burden in thecountry

VIJAYAWADA | FRIDAY | AUGUST 23, 2019 region 04

CAPSULE

MAN MURDERED IN VIZIANAGRAMVizianagaram: A 42-year-oldman was found murdered atMadhupada village underGantyada police station limits inVizianagaram district. Thedeceased was identified S YerriNaidu, a daily wage labour. YerriNaidu was found in a pool bloodon the road in the village in theearly hours on Thursday withmultiple injuries on his face andother parts of the body. Thepolice are suspecting that Naiduwas beaten and later stabbed todeath. As the murder has sentshock waves among theresidents of the village, thepolice along with the cluesteams rushed the crime spot.The police are suspecting thatillegal affair might have been thereason for the murder of Naidu.The Superintendent of Police BRaju Kumari visited the spot andasked her team to nab theaccused as soon as possible.

NEWLY-WED WOMAN‘KIDNAPPED' BY KINHyderabad: A 20-year-oldnewly-wed woman was allegedlykidnapped by her relatives inAmberpet on Thursday evening.According to the police, Binduloved Raju, 23, and married himon July 15. The couple lived in ahouse in Amberpet. Raju told thepolice that Bindu's relatives tookher away against her will. Policesaid Raju alleged that his wife'srelatives took her away fromtheir house after creating aruckus in the afternoon. He saidhe too beaten up when he triedto intervene. Polices bookedcases under relevant Sectionsand launched an investigationinto the matter. The LB Nagarpolice had counselled thefamilies on both sides soon afterthe young couple got married.

MAD RUSH FOR E-KYCIN SRIKAKULAMPNS n SRIKAKULAM

After the state and centralgovernment made mandatoryof Aadhaar for availing govern-ment benefits, people acrossthe district in Srikakulam havebeen rushing to the banks forregistering their E-KYC withAadhaar. In clearing the rush,some of the banks have beenissuing tokens making peoplewait for a week. On Tuesdaythe Andhra bank in the primelocation had witnessed therush over 500 members fromvarious villages who reachedearly morning to enroll theirdetails of Aadhaar.

Recently some of the bankslike Union Bank and othersshut down the services of pro-viding Aadhaar as they failedto clear the rush and as it wasdifficult to handle both thebank customers and Aadhaarapplicants.

According to the districtofficials , 3,27,426 beneficiariesare pending for E-KYC, inwhich 40 percent of peoplewere yet to enroll Aadhaarcards in the district for avail-ing government benefits.

Eruvada Appalanaidu, vil-lager from Garividi mandal,Srikakulam, said there werevery few centers providingAadhar services at banksacross the district and recent-ly many of the centers havebeen closed down due to inter-rupted internet services. Foreach individual, Aadhaarapplication will takes around20 minutes for updating theirdetails. Meanwhile if power or

internet service is disconnect-ed, the process has to startfrom beginning.

District Collector J Nivasheld a meeting with thebankers here on Thursdayevening who disclosed theirissues in handling the cus-

tomers.Collector said that 64 aad-

haar service centres wereestablished in the district andaccording to the records only30 enrollements have beentaken place at each centre ondaily basis, while the centre atpost office and Andhra bankhave been registering over 60applications in a day.

Collector stated that theofficials had sent a proposal tothe state government inarranging additional 27 centresto clear the rush in which 9centres to be located at postoffice and 18 at Me seva cen-tres in the district. He urgedthe public not to be panic asthe last date for updation wasextended upto September 15.Hereafter some of the postoffices in the district will workon Aadhaar enrollment onSundays also, Collector J Nivassaid.

Recently some of thebanks like UnionBank and others shutdown the services ofproviding Aadhaar asthey failed to clearthe rush and as itwas difficult to handleboth the bankcustomers andAadhaar applicants

Applicants rushing to the banks to register their E-KYC with Aadhaar inSrikakulam on Thursday

Authorities turn blind eye to ill-equipped hospitals PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Private hospitals and clinicshave been mushroomingaround Vizag city on a recordpace. It is not just people fromaround the region who dependon the new hospitals, but alsopeople from neighbouringstates. But the issue with thesehospitals is the lack of neces-sary physical infrastructure.

There are many hospitalsaround KGH andMaharanipeta that do not havefree space or parking areas.People visiting the hospitals inthe area have complained thatthe establishments that havesmall parking spaces only allowtheir staff members to usethem and bar the visitors.Hence, vehicles can be seenparked on the road, inconve-niencing the local residents andcausing traffic snarls in thearea.

Andhra Pradesh AllopathicPrivate Medical CareEstablishments (Registrationand Regulation) Rules, 2007,mention about specific infra-structure and facilities requiredfor setting up of clinical estab-lishments. Descriptions ofopen area and constructedarea need to be mentioned in

the registration form. TheDistrict Registration authorityis headed by District Medicaland Health Officer (DM &HO) and its members wouldbe drawn from Indian MedicalAssociation (IMA) and AP

Nursing Homes Association(APNA) in the districts con-cerned.

Indian Medical Association(IMA) member Dr KS KarunaMurthy said, "Hospitals shouldhave enough free space for the

movement of visitors andpatients and also need to bewell ventilated. Moreover, thehospitals must have the rampto shift patients to safety dur-ing any sort of mishap. Theconcerned district healthauthorities must keep a tab onit while the civic body has tomake sure that the establish-ments do have parking spacefor staff and visitors beforegranting permission."

He, however, mentionedthat, "The IMA AP chapter hasbeen demanding to amendsome rules of the AP PrivateMedical Care Establishments.The rules regarding infrastruc-ture and facilities cannot besame for all hospitals, so thegovernment should re-framethem as per the category ofhospitals."

A top brass with the Vizagdistrict health administrationadded that, "The members ofIndian Medical Associationcheck the availability of infra-structure, doctors, nurses andparamedics among otherthings before registering them.Based on the inspection report,the District RegisteringAuthority grants the registra-tion certificate to the con-cerned establishment."

Andhra Pradesh Allopathic PrivateMedical Care Establishments(Registration and Regulation) Rules,2007, mention about specificinfrastructure and facilities required forsetting up of clinical establishments

Vector-borne diseases see 50% drop rate this yearPNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Less rainfall has inadvertentlyattributed to the drastic dropin the number of vector-bornediseases across AndhraPradesh this year, compared tothe corresponding period of2018. A report from the HealthDepartment shows that thenumber of cases of malaria anddengue has dropped by about50 percent.

Government hospitalsacross the state have heaved asigh of relief this year as theyfeared that dengue and malar-ia cases would reach alarmingproportions.

According to the StateHealth Department, nearly1800 dengue cases were report-ed till August in 2018.However, the number hovers ataround 850 this year, implyinga drop of more than 50 per-cent. Similarly, as many as4200 malaria cases were regis-tered in the same period in2018, against 1,900 of thisyear so far.

Stagnation of rain water,which becomes a solid breed-ing ground for malaria mos-quitoes, was hardly of anyissue due to the lack of rainfall.However, the health adminis-tration claims that wide aware-ness programmes, includingdoor-to-door campaigns,helped them to curb the vec-tor-borne diseases.

Last year, Visakhapatnamhad turned into a dengue hub

with about 90 percent casesbeing reported from the dis-trict alone in Andhra Pradesh.

Dengue and chikungunyaare caused by the AedesAegypti mosquito, whichbreeds in clear water. Thefemale Anopheles mosquito,which causes malaria, canbreed in both fresh and muddywater. So, the dengue cases aremostly being reported in urban

areas. "Urbanisation and changes

in environmental factorsfavour the spread of dengue,which could be why Vizag isrecording more dengue cases.People are also not aware thatdengue is caused due to mos-quitoes breeding in stagnatedfresh water at homes, and notjust in contaminated water,"said L Kalyan Prasad, epi-demiologist from IntegratedDisease SurveillanceProgramme (IDSP).

As there is no specific cureavailable yet, early detectionand proper medication is saidto be lowering the fatality rate.However, relatives of somedengue patients in Vizagclaimed that even if someonedied of dengue fever, the finalreport does not reflect it.

Driver, cleanercharred to deathPNS n VIZIANAGARAM

A driver and a cleaner wereburnt alive when their chem-ical laden lorry rammed a sta-tionary lorry at Gudivadajunction, Gajapathinagaramin Vizianagaram district inthe wee hours of Thursday.

The local police said theincident took place when thelorry carrying chemicals fromVisakhapatnam was going toSingroli in Madhya Pradeshand it hit another stationarylorry at Gudivada junction .The chemicals burst intoflames and the fire spread toboth the lorries. Driver of thechemical laden lorry RamSundar (34) , and his assistantwho is also cleaner of thelorry Prakash Singh (24) weretrapped in the cabin andburnt alive.

The fire tenders came lateas the incident could notreported soon after the acci-dent.

Sub Inspector SrinivasaRao of Gajapathinagarampolice station said the lorrywhich was travelling towardsParvathipuram fromVisakhapatnam a hit the sta-tionary lorry around 3 amand the accident resulted intraffic jam for over threehours on the national high-way 24. The traffic was reg-ulated after 6am. The twocharred bodies were shiftedto government hospital forautopsy and the incident wasinformed to their relativesand owners of the vehicles.

MID-DAY MEALS TO SCHOOL CHILDREN

Akshaya Patra getsBharti Axa boostPNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Bharti AXA Life Insuranceon Thursday pledged to sup-port and contribute to themid-day meal programme forgovernment school children inpartnership withAkshayaPatra Foundation.

This is part of 13 SmilingYears initiative of Bharti AXALife Insurance. It urged itsemployees to donate a day'ssalary and transform the livesof many. The donation will beoffered to AkshayaPatratosponsor meals for school chil-dren from underprivilegedsections of the society.

''Going to bed hungry is sad.Mid-day meal can sometimesbe the only meal of the day for

many children in India. Westrongly believe that a fullstomach leads to better learn-ing and powers their futurewith protecting lives to spread-ing smiles,'' said Vikas Seth,CEO of Bharti AXA LifeInsurance.

AkshayaPatra presentlyfeeds 1.76 million childrenevery day in 15,000 schoolsacross 12 States in the coun-try.

"We see a positive value inassociating with Bharti AXALife Insurance for our mid-daymeal programme. This associ-ation will help us take a fewsteps towards our mission ofreaching 5 million children by2025," said its CEO ShridharVenkat.

PV KONDAL RAOn WARANGAL

Rural districts in Telangana areslowing shifting towards theBJP, at least in the urbanregions if the revelations ofrecent surveys of a researchgroup deployed by the saffronparty are taken into consider-ation. The researchers fromKakatiya, Shatavahana,Gandhi, Palamuru andTelangana universities haveconducted a sample survey inthe urban areas after the abro-gation of Article 370 inKashmir. And the youths inthese areas - Warangal,Karimnagar, Adilabad,Nizamabad, Khammam,Nalgonda, Medak, andMahabubnagar erstwhile dis-tricts are showing their inclina-tion to choose BJP as the solealternative in the coming days.

Surprisingly, the CongressParty, the current opposition inthe state is lagging far behindthe BJP and TRS in the survey,which covered various sec-tions of the society. The elec-torate in the age group of 18 to40 are showing an inclinationtowards the BJP and theybelieve it is the sole alternativeto the ruling TRS. They say thatthe saffron party would emerge

stronger in the coming daysgiven the present rise of thesupport base. Surprisingly,mostly the electorate in the agegroup of 18 to 40 prefers theBJP and a total of 60 per centvoters of this age group arekeen on supporting the BJP in

the coming days to securedevelopment and comprehen-sive growth of the state.

The urban local bodies arepreferring BJP as they believethis is an alternative force sincethe urban areas want to attainprogress, say the survey reports.

The Kakatiya Universityresearch group led by Rameshfelt that the previous strongholdof BJP like Parakal is keen onretaining that party as the for-midable force in the local bod-ies.

Even Narsampet, Jangaonand Mulugu areas along withthe Bhupalpalli is likely to fallin the lap of BJP if a poll is con-ducted in the next 45 days.Municipal voters in all these dis-tricts are keen on bringing athird alternative to the Congressand TRS and they saw the BJPas the sole transforming forcefor the urban voters.

Even people in the age groupof 45 to 55 are inclined towardsthe BJP particularly after Article370 abrogation. Though theyfeel that issue would not be con-sidered as the prime thing, thevoters in this age group say thatthe Congress was not in a posi-tion to provide the alternative tothe TRS in Telangana urbanlocal bodies.

The aggressive onslaught ofthe BJP leadership to attract anumber of leaders and cadreinto its fold is considered as themain preposition by theresearch groups for their con-clusive result. The BJP, as per thesurveys is emerging stronger inWarangal urban local bodies,Karimnagar corporation limits,Peddapalli district, Nizamabadurban local bodies, Nalgondaurban parts, Mahabubnagardistrict, and the Nagarkurnoollimits. It is inching close to theTRS even in the TRS strong-holds like Medak andSangareddy and not only theleaders but also the voters areshifting towards the BJP inurban parts. The surveys ofurban parts conducted by theresearch groups of universitiesspread across the ruralTelangana districts say the BJPsemergence is imminent in allthese parts.

BJP making major inroads into TS?ACCORDING TO A SURVEY, RURAL DISTRICTS IN STATE PREFERRING THE SAFFRON PARTY OVER TRS

PNS n KORUTLA

The weekly Mumbai-Karimnagar Lokmanya Tilakexpress train will have halts atKorutla and Metpalli stationsfrom September 1, accordingto an order issued onThursday. Earlier, Korutlaand Metpalli residents used totravel to Jagityal, which is 35km away, or to Armoor inNizamabad district, 50 kmaway, to catch the train toMumbai.

Residents of the two townshave been elated as their dreamcame true at last. Efforts tostage a 'rail roko' to get thetrain halted at Korutla bypulling chain proved futilebecause of heavy police bando-bust. On number of occa-sions, the local residents sub-mitted memoranda to GM ofSC railway seeking halt for thetrain at the two places.

Earlier, Kalwakuntla Kavita,former Nizamabad MP, triedto secure a halt for the train atKorutla, but failed. The BJPMP, Dharmapuri Srinivas,urged Railway Minister PiyushGoyal for a halt to the train atKorutla and Metpalli and per-sisted in his efforts. As a result,the Minister issued orders tohalt the train for a minute at

these stations on an experi-mental basis for six months.

The Lokmanya Tilak

Express has been extended toKarimnagar on September 26last year. At that time, the trainhad halt only at Lingampalli.The BJP MP Arvind submit-ted a report to the departmentof railways on the number ofbuses being operated fromKorutla and Metpalli toMumbai from these placesand explained the RailwayMinister the need for the trainto have halts at these twoplaces. The Union Ministerissued the relevant orderresponding on this.

Now Lokmanya Tilak expressto halt at Korutla, Metpalli

According to theState HealthDepartment, nearly1800 dengue caseswere reported tillAugust in 2018.

Residents of the twotowns have been elatedas their dream cametrue at last. Efforts tostage a ‘rail roko' to getthe train halted atKorutla by pulling chainproved futile because ofheavy police bandobust

Surprisingly, the Congress Party, thecurrent opposition in the state is lagging farbehind the BJP and TRS in the survey,which covered various sections of thesociety

Govt order onPolavarampower projectsuspendedContinued from Page 1

Reacting to the order, Leaderof the Opposition NChandrababu Naidu said thatit would have a severe impacton the progress of thePolavaram project as a wholeand cause inordinate delay inexecution.

"What will the govern-ment say to this now? Despitethe Centre's warning, theState Government is notappreciating the reality. Wehave been cautioning againstindiscriminate actions too,"the former chief ministertold reporters in an informalchat here. Former ministerDevineni UmamaheswaraRao demanded that the gov-ernment complete thePolavaram Project at the ear-liest. "At least, after theorder of the High Court, thegovernment should changeits mind," he said and addedthat this proves that chargesof graft were all baseless.

NothingHappy forCRDA Nest-Continued from P1

There are allegations that fewlands of Grama Kanthamswere taken over by rulingparty influencing people andshow them as regular lands.They got benefits on par withthe regular farmers' lands.

Other than these issues, asfar as construction works areconcerned, there are no irreg-ularities under the CRDA.

After verification all filesand interactions with offi-cials, the committee didn'tfind any irregularity in theworks taken up by CRDA.They may ask the officials tocontinue, as there is no possi-bility of going for the retender-ing process.

The question is whetherChief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy will acceptfor the continuation of worksor not. Says an official inanonymity: "If theGovernment is concernedabout corruption or irregular-ities, they have to verify withus. If they are having an inten-tion to stop capital city workswe cannot do anything."

After a political turmoil onMinister Botsa Satyanarayanacomments, it seems YSRC is ina defensive mode.

VIJAYAWADA | FRIDAY | AUGUST 23, 2019 nation 05SHORT READS

2018 saw dip intourists visiting HP: CMSHIMLA: The number offoreign and domestic touristsvisiting Himachal Pradeshdeclined by 10 per cent in theApril-June 2018 tourist seasonas compared to thecorresponding period in 2016and 2017, Chief Minister JaiRam Thakur has said. As perthe data provided by Thakur inthe state Assembly onWednesday, 1.25 lakh foreigntourists visited the state in thetourist season from April toJune last year. The number wasover ten per cent less ascompared to foreigners visitingHimachal Pradesh in the threemonths in 2016 and 2017. Inreply to a question by CongressMLA Sunder Singh Thakur, thechief minister said 1.42 lakhand 1.36 lakh foreign touristshad visited the state from Aprilto June in 2017 and 2016respectively.

Heavy rains: Tomatoprices soar to Rs 80/kg

Three elephants killedafter being hit by truckin Odisha

CHANDIGARH: Prices of tomatoand onion have doubled to Rs80 and Rs 50 per kg in Haryanaand Punjab, respectively thisweek due to supply shortagecaused by heavy rains in theregion and several other partsof the country, according totraders. Prices of other keyvegetables such as peas,cauliflower and beans have alsosurged sharply as heavy rainsdamaged crops in both thesestates and the neighbouringHimachal Pradesh. Onion isselling at around Rs 50 per kgin the two states and their jointcapital Chandigarh. "Just a weekago, onion was selling at Rs 20-25 per kg and prices have nowdoubled.

KEONJHAR: Three elephantswere killed after being hit by atruck on a national highway inOdisha's Keonjhar district earlyon Thursday, a forest officialsaid. The pachyderms werecrossing NH-20 near Balijodiarea under Ghatagaon forestrange, when the iron ore-ladentruck knocked them downaround 3am, he said. "A femaleelephant, aged around 16, and aone-year-old calf died on thespot, while another female,which had sustained criticalinjuries, died during treatment,"Ashok Kumar Nayak, theGhatagaon Forest Range Officer,said. Senior officials, includingKeonjhar Divisional ForestOfficer Santosh Joshi, hadrushed to the spot following theincident to provide aid to theinjured pachyderm, aged a littleover 16, Nayak explained.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Delhi Police has arrested96 persons, including BhimArmy chief ChandrashekharAzad on charges of rioting andunlawful assembly, officialssaid on Thursday.

Azad will be producedbefore a court on Thursday, asenior police officer said.

The Dalit leader and around95 others were detained onWednesday night fromTughlaqabad area after protestby Dalits against the demoli-tion of a Ravidas templeturned violent, promptingpolice to resort to "mild lath-icharge" and use tear gas todisperse the crowd.

"An FIR has been registeredon charges of rioting, unlaw-ful assembly, voluntarily caus-ing hurt to deter public servantfrom his duty, causing damageto public property, amongothers. "Chandrashekhar hasbeen arrested along with 95other protesters," said DeveshSrivastava, joint commission-er of police, Southern range.

The officer said they aremaintaining vigil in the areaand monitoring the situation.

The protesters turned vio-lent when police did not allowthem to proceed to the site ofthe temple demolished by theDelhi Development Authority(DDA) on August 10 on theorders of the Supreme Court.

PNS n MUMBAI

In a bid to ensure timely com-pletion of civic works,Brihamnumbai MunicipalCorporation (BMC) chiefPraveen Pardeshi has recent-ly issued a circular asking theofficials to get the projectsdone in time or else be pre-pared to lose 50 per cent oftheir salary.

Apart from the officials,the circular also warned civiccontractors that if they failedto meet the deadline, theywould also lose 20 per cent ofthe project cost.

"Pardeshi issued the circu-lar last week, in which heasked the municipal officialsengaged in supervising pro-jects to get the works donewithin the deadline or elsethey will lose their salary by 50per cent," a senior civic officialsaid on Thursday.

"The contractors have alsobeen warned that they wouldlose 20 per cent of the projectcost if they fail to meet thedeadline. The circular saidthe reasons cited by the offi-cers and contractors for notmeeting the project deadlinesare unconvincing and veryfrivolous," he added.

The circular issued by thecivic chief would work as adeterrent and motivate theofficials, especially the engi-neers to complete the projectswithin the deadlines, he said.

The move has been wel-comed by activists, who said itwould benefit everyone and

help fix the responsibility.RTI activist Anil Galgali,

who has exposed several casesrelated to alleged corruption inthe cash-rich BMC, said, "Thecivic body spends over Rs10,000 crore every year onpublic works, but it has hard-ly met the deadline of any pro-ject."

"On the contrary, the pro-jects are deliberately delayed toescalate its cost. This happensdue to unholy nexus betweenengineers and contractors.Hope this initiative to cutsalary would work and breakthe nexus," he said.

PNS n BENGALURU

Union Minister D VSadananda Gowda onThursday rejected theCongress charge of "witch-hunt" and abuse of investigat-ing agencies over the arrest ofP Chidambaram, saying therewas no need for the BJP-ledGovernment to resort to suchthings.

"Practically... what they did(misuse of investigating agen-cies during the Congresstenure)... now they are suffer-ing from the same phobia", theChemicals and FertilisersMinister said.

The whole world knows thecase against Chidambaram andhis son (Karti), he claimed.

"So if at all we wanted to

resort to political vengeance,we would have done earlier (inthe previous term).

Now everything is over, weare in absolute power and theparty has got more (bigger)mandate.

Now is there any necessityfor anybody to (do it)?, Gowda

asked.The Congress is levelling

charges against the govern-ment as "they want to saveface", he said.

Ealier on Thursday, theCongress came down heavilyon the BJP-led governmentover the arrest of

Chidambaram, accusing it ofusing the CBI and the ED as"personal revenge-seekingdepartments".

Senior Congress leader andformer Finance MinisterChidambaram was arrestedlast night amid high drama bythe CBI and he spent the nightat a agency guest house.

"Over the last two days Indiawitnessed the broad daylightmurder of democracy as alsothe rule of law," said Congressspokesperson RandeepSurjewala.

He further said that whilemany accused in the INXMedia case have not beenarrested, a senior politicianhas been arrested without anylegal basis.

"Government is using CBI,

ED as personal revenge-seek-ing departments for the partyin power, as also those rulingthe country", Surjewalacharged.

Denying the Congresscharges as "baseless", Gowdasaid: "This is not the time (toresort to such tactics) becausewe have got a beautiful man-date not only in Parliament, butin various corners (of the coun-try), people are praising (theModi government)".

"All party people (leadersfrom different parties) are join-ing with us (BJP).

What's the fun in simply lev-elling some false allegationsagainst our...(political rivals).It's a totally baseless allegation",Gowda, a former KarnatakaChief Minister, added.

‘Cong charges baseless, they want to save face’

Lalu’s sons back in action aftera long time, hit the streetsPNS n PATNA

After a prolonged sulk over theLok Sabha poll debacle forwhich they indirectly blamedeach other, RJD supremo LaluPrasads sons- Tejashwi Yadavand Tej Pratap Yadav- appearto have agreed to come out oftheir shells and bury theirhatchet.

The scions gave up theirsquabble and hit the streets lateWednesday night here whenthey staged a demonstrationthat lasted for several hours inprotest against the demoli-tion, by municipal authorities,of a doodh mandi (milk mar-ket) in the vicinity of thePatna Junction.

Tej Pratap Yadav, the elder ofthe two, has for long beenalleging that the youngerbrother surrounded by syco-phants was being misled intotaking political decisions thatwere hurting the party.

Tejashwi has refrained fromreacting in public but is under-stood to have been upset overthe frequent outbursts of hiselder brother whose renegadestance during the Lok Sabhapolls is said to have con-tributed to the partys dismalshow in the general electionswherein the RJD, for the firsttime, failed to win a single seat.

Prasad, who had foundedthe party in 1997, is away inRanchi serving sentences infodder scam cases while hisfamily, which controls theparty in his absence, has of lateleft the cadres confoundedwith the infighting.

On Wednesday, clamour fora generational change in the

RJD arose with many partylegislators speaking out infavour of heir apparentTejashwi Yadav replacing hisailing and jailed father LaluPrasad as the national presi-dent

The demand by RJD MLAscould be seen in the backdropof reports of family feudbetween Tejashwi and his twosiblings active in politics- elderbrother Tej Pratap Yadav andeldest sister Misa Bharti, aRajya Sabha member.

Things appeared to havechanged when the brothers hitthe streets in protest againstabout a score of shops beingrazed in a drive carried out toremove encroachments fromthe crowded and congestedstreets that adjoin the railwaystation.

The dharna in which thebrothers were joined by manyleaders of their party includingMLA, national general secre-tary and family aide BholaYadav, was reminiscent of thecolourful politicking that was acharacteristic of Lalu Prasad inhis hey days, with fiery speech-es and impromptu songs.

The leaders and their fol-lowers carried their dharnainto the thick of the night,braving intermittent showersand mosquitoes and insectsthat hovered around the water-logged streets.

The stir was called off aftera written assurance from themunicipal authorities that allthe shops will be relocated ata distance of not more than 1.5kilometres from the railwaystation.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Delhi High CourtThursday sought CBI'sresponse on a plea by an UttarPradesh Police constable chal-lenging framing of chargesagainst him for the allegedmurder of the Unnao rape sur-vivor's father and havingframed him for possession ofillegal arms.

Justice Sanjeev Sachdevaissued notice to the CBI andlisted the plea for further con-sideration on August 30.

The high court also calledfor digital records of the trialcourt in the case.

Amir Khan, who is in judi-cial custody, sought quashingof framing of charges, includ-ing murder and criminal con-spiracy, against him allegingthat the August 13 order was"illegal, improper, prejudicialand against established prin-ciples of criminal procedurecode".

"The trial judge in theimpugned proceedings orderand charges framed admittedthat there is no role of the peti-tioner in the conspiracy ofassaulting/ beatings to the sur-vivor's father. Thus, making thepolice officials including peti-tioner (Khan) liable for mur-der is untenable illegal," theplea said.

His counsel argued in thehigh court that Khan's role wasconfined to lodging of FIR andthat he signed the memo ofrecovery of weapon.

The woman, allegedly rapedby expelled BJP MLA KuldeepSingh Sengar in 2017 when shewas a minor, is battling for life

after a truck rammed into hercar in Uttar Pradesh's RaeBareli on July 28, killing two ofher aunts. Her lawyer was alsoinjured in the accident.

In the case related to herfather's death, the trial court onAugust 13 had charged Sengarand nine others for theoffences punishable under sec-tions 302 (murder), 506 (crim-inal intimidation), 341 (wrong-ful restraint), 120B (criminalconspiracy) and 193 (false evi-dence) of the IPC and undersection 25 of the Arms Act.

The charges framed againstthem also included sections323 (voluntarily causing hurt),324 (voluntarily causing hurtby dangerous weapons ormeans), 166 (public servantdisobeying law, with intent tocause injury to any person) and167 (public servant framing anincorrect document withintent to cause injury) of IPC.

The court had also can-celled the bail of three UPpolice officials -- the thenMakhi police station's in-charge Ashok SinghBhadauria, Sub InspectorKamta Prasad and Khan --accused in the case, and sentthem into custody after thecharge of murder was framedagainst them.

Khan, in his petition, saidthat there was no proximity ofevents in the alleged murderand illegal arms cases andthey cannot be clubbed andtried jointly.

The plea claimed that trialcourt has wrongly clubbed thetwo cases as one was sessionstriable and other was magiste-rial triable case.

It added that the chargesheet of murder case was sup-plied to Khan only after fram-ing of charges which was a"grave illegality".

PC joins list of high-profile people put behind barsPNS n NEW DELHI

New Delhi, Aug 22 (PTI)Senior Congress leader PChidambaram became the lat-est entrant in the list of high-profile people to have been putbehind bars when the CBIarrested him on Wednesday inthe INX media case.

The 73-year-old will bequestioned in the case whichwas filed by the agency in2017, alleging irregularitiesin the FIPB clearance grantedto a media group for receivingoverseas funds of Rs 305 crorein 2007 when he was thefinance minister.

Chidambaram, who alsoserved as the home minister,was arrested on Wednesdayafter the Supreme Courtdecided to hear only on Fridayhis petition seeking a stay ona Delhi High Court order onTuesday that dismissed hisanticipatory bail plea in thecase.

Following are the names ofsome high-profile people whohave been put behind thebars:

Lalu Prasad Yadav: The 71-year-old former Bihar chiefminister and railways minis-ter is in jail in Ranchi afterbeing found guilty in multi-crore fodder scam cases.

In April 2019, the apexcourt dismissed his bail pleaand rejected his argumentsthat he has been in jail for 24months, saying that in com-parison to the 14-year sen-tence awarded to him, 24months was nothing.

The three cases in whichPrasad has been convictedare related to the over Rs 900-crore fodder scam, which per-tains to fraudulent withdraw-al of money from treasuries inthe Animal HusbandryDepartment in early 1990s

when Jharkhand was part ofBihar.

The RJD was in power inthe state with Prasad as thechief minister when the scamallegedly took place. He islodged in the Birsa MundaCentral Jail in Ranchi.

J Jayalalithaa: She wasarrested in 1996 afterSubramanian Swamy, thenJanata Party chief, filed a caseagainst her alleging that dur-ing her tenure as the TamilNadu chief minister from1991 to 1996, she amassedproperties worth Rs 66.65crore, disproportionate to herknown sources of income.

In September 2014,Jayalalithaa and three others

including her aide Sasikalawere convicted in the dispro-portionate assets case. Shewas sentenced to four years injail and fined Rs 100 crore.

The AIADMK chief, aftersecuring bail, returned toChennai in October 2014after spending 21 days in theBangalore Central Jail. Shedied in December 2016 at theage of 68 after a prolonged ill-ness in Chennai.

Bangaru Laxman: The for-mer BJP chief was in 2012sentenced to four years in jailby a Delhi court for taking abribe of Rs one lakh in a fic-titious arms deal case.

Laxman, born in AndhraPradesh in 1939, was the pres-

ident of the BJP from 2000 to2001 and served as a ministerof state for railways from1999 to 2000.

In April 2012, he was heldguilty of taking a bribe fromfake arms dealers to recom-mend the Defence Ministry toaward them a contract forsupplying thermal binocularsto the Army. Bangaru died in2014 at the age of 74.

A Raja: The 55-year-oldformer telecom minister andDMK leader was arrested onFebruary 2, 2011 and got bailfrom the trial court on May12, 2012 after spending 15months in Delhi's Tihar jail inthe high-profile 2G spectrumscam.

Raja, who was the ministerin the Congress-led UPA gov-ernment when 122 telecomspectrum licences were issuedto eight companies in 2008 onfirst-come-first-serve basis,was acquitted by a specialcourt in 2017.

Kanimozhi: The 51-year-old daughter of DMK chief MKarunanidhi was in jail for sixmonths from May 21, 2011 toNovember 28, 2011 in thepolitically-sensitive 2G spec-

trum allocation scam case.She was acquitted by a spe-

cial court in 2017 which heldthat the prosecution miserablyfailed to prove the charges.

B S Yeddyurappa: The BJP'sfirst chief minister in SouthIndia was arrested in October,2011 after a special Lokayuktacourt charged him in case ofalleged irregularities in deno-tifying government land. Hewas released after spending 25days in jail in 2011.

Yeddyurappa, who had ledthe BJP to its first-ever gov-ernment in the south in the2008 assembly polls, wasforced to resign as Karnatakachief minister in August 2011

following indictment by thenLokayukta Santosh Hegde inthe Bellary illegal mining case.

The 76-year-old was acquit-ted in 2016 by a special CBICourt in a corruption caserelated to illegal mining inBellary that allegedly involveda bribery amount of Rs 40crore.

Suresh Kalmadi: The 75-year-old former president ofthe Indian OlympicAssociation and organisingcommittee chairman ofCommonwealth Games 2010was arrested by the CBI inApril 2011 for his allegedinvolvement in theCommonwealth Games scam.

Chidambaram, who also served asthe home minister, was arrested onWednesday after the Supreme Courtdecided to hear only on Friday hispetition seeking a stay on a DelhiHigh Court order on Tuesday thatdismissed his anticipatory bail pleain the case

PNS n NEW DELHI

Congress leader PChidambaram, arrested bythe CBI, was producedbefore a Delhi CourtThursday in the INX Mediacorruption case.

The hearing would takeplace before Special JudgeAjay Kumar Kuhar.

Soon after entering thecourtroom, Chidambaramwas seen having discussionswith his party leaders andsenior advocates Kapil Sibal,Abhishek Manu Singhvi andVivek Tankha.

Solicitor General TusharMehta, who will representCBI in the case, is also pre-sent in the court.

Chidambaram's familymembers, including his wifeNalini and son Karti, arealso in the courtroom alongwith other senior advocatesincluding Dayan Krishnan.

Heavy security arrange-

ment has been made outsidethe courtroom.

He was arrested lateWednesday night from hisJor Bagh residence.

The CBI had registered anFIR on May 15, 2017, alleg-ing irregularities in theForeign InvestmentPromotion Board (FIPB)clearance granted to theINX Media group for receiv-ing overseas funds of Rs 305crore in 2007 duringChidambaram's tenure asthe finance minister.

Thereafter, the ED lodgeda money laundering case inthis regard in 2018.

Chidambaram'sarrest depressing:MamataPNS n NEW DELHI

West Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee on Thursdaysaid the arrest of PChidambaram was "depress-ing" and alleged that the judi-ciary was not coming to thehelp of a "crying" democraticsystem.

In her first reaction afterChidambaram's arrest onWednesday evening, Banerjeequoted Rabindranath Tagoreand said the "message of justiceis crying silently in isolation".

"P Chidambaram is an econ-omist, and a former homeminister and finance minister.The manner in which he hasbeen arrested is depressing.There are four pillars ofdemocracy: democratic insti-tutions, Election Commission,media and judicial system.Thedemocratic system of ourcountry is crying, yet the judi-ciary is not coming to its aid,"she said in a statement issuedby the Trinamool Congresshere. She also alleged thatmedia outlets have becomespokespersons of the rulingBJP.

Chidambaram was arrestedby the CBI on Wednesdaynight from his residence herein connection with the INXmedia corruption case.

BMC officials face50% salary cut ifprojects delayed

The contractorshave also beenwarned that theywould lose 20per cent of theproject cost ifthey fail to meetthe deadline

Dalit protest: Azad,95 others arrested

His counsel argued in the high courtthat Khan's role was confined tolodging of FIR and that he signed thememo of recovery of weapon

HC seeks CBI reply on UPconstable's plea in murder case

Things appeared to have changedwhen the brothers hit the streets inprotest against about a score of shopsbeing razed in a drive carried out toremove encroachments from thecrowded and congested streets thatadjoin the railway station

Practically...what they did(misuse of

investigating agenciesduring the Congresstenure)... now they aresuffering from the samephobiaD V SADANANDA GOWDA

Union Minister

PC PRODUCED BEFORE COURT

India’s reputation as one of the world’smost corrupt bureaucracies is well-documented. On the CorruptionPerceptions Index, India ranks 78thand this outlook is with merit and

cause. What is surprising, however, is thatthe civil services examination and the postof a civil servant are still one that attractsgreat attention and fanfare. Any aspirant,who “cracks” the examination, is treated withgreat respect. This is, perhaps, why lakhs ofyoung aspirants spend days together, work-ing towards the goal of being part of theIndian bureaucracy.

A large number of these students arefrom prestigious institutes like the IndianInstitute of Technology and various NationalLaw Schools, among others. As a former civilservant, I find that this desire to join the civilservices, surprisingly, has not dwindled. Afew pessimists would say that these youngaspirants join the bureaucracy to extracttheir pound of flesh. As Theodore Rooseveltsaid, “A man who has never gone to schoolmay steal a freight car; but if he has a uni-versity education, he may steal the wholerailroad.” But levity aside, I think this isunduly harsh and frankly not true. In fact,as is true in most avenues of life, corruptionin the Indian bureaucracy, too, follows thePareto principle (also known as the 80/20rule) that is 80 per cent of all corruption inthe bureaucracy is carried out by 20 per centof the people. The problem is to identify andpunish this 20 per cent, which is bringingthe entire country and the service immenseshame and disrepute.

Corruption has no rigid definition, butthe most common academic connotation,which defines it as “the misuse of public officefor private gain”, seems to be the most appro-priate. While most times the media appearsto cover the “headline” scandals and/orinstances of corruption — ie, the kind ofscams that attract most eyeballs — rarely dowe realise just what the magnitude of every-day corruption is in our country.Transparency International estimates thatIndians end up paying bribes of over ̀ 21, 000crore (approx $3.5 billion) every year to accessGovernment services. Therefore, there are dif-ferent types of corruption, which differ fromservice to service. MR Venkatesh, a CharteredAccountant-turned lawyer, said it best in theselines, “IAS officers are after the rich people,IRS officers are after the middle class and IPSofficers are after the poor. This is the new var-nashrama created by the bureaucracy.” Whilethis looks like oversimplifying a complex issue,the crux of the problem does ring true.

So what are the causes of corruption?There are a number of people who have end-lessly theorised on the reasons why the Indianbureaucracy suffers from corruption. Onesuch reason is the country’s complex legal andregulatory framework. India remains anextremely difficult place to do business. To setup or operate any business here, an entrepre-neur or businessman has to jump through var-

ious hoops and then hope to gainfavour from the relevant bureau-crat even before starting his/herbusiness. It is, therefore, no coin-cidence that India’s low rankingon the Corruption PerceptionsIndex corresponds with its lowposition in the World Bank’s indi-cators for doing business.

Just to give an idea aboutthe ease of doing business inIndia, according to a WorldBank survey, the act of obtain-ing a single construction permitin India involves 27 discreteprocedures, takes 162 days andcosts 46 per cent of the totaloutlay to a construction firmbuilding a warehouse. The key-word here is “discretion.” Theminute it is brought in, the cor-rupt official gets an opportuni-ty to make a quick buck.

Another reason as to whycorruption persists in our coun-try is the lack of respect towardsentrepreneurs and businessmen.While we often get to hear prais-es about a Narayana Murthy oran Azim Premji, these examplesare an exception rather than thenorm. This because we, asIndians, have been encouraged totreat a business as an entity thatmakes money by stealing some-one else’s buck. This is why anynew business is looked at withsuspicion first and then withadmiration. While the conduct ofsome Indian promoters does

indicate that there is some truthto this perception, our lack ofopenness and admirationtowards entrepreneurs does thecountry more harm than good.

So what can be done? Weneed to change our attitudestowards businesses. There is nodenying the fact that there shouldbe a strict framework withinwhich all businesses flourish.However, a strict frameworkdoes not necessarily mean thatany new business ought to betreated with contempt. For exam-ple, it is important that everybusiness operates within therealm of the law and obtains allrelevant approvals. However,bureaucrats must not be givenany reason to place more hurdlesin helping them establish a busi-ness than those that are alreadypresent. It is evident that thisGovernment needs cash and,therefore, is on a tax collectionspree. However, in the long-run,it is impossible for anyGovernment to collect taxes if itcontinues to act in a targetted andadversarial manner. It is, there-fore, crucial for the Governmentto intimate and drive home thepoint to bureaucrats that theirrole is to facilitate the lives of hon-est citizens rather than acting asimpediments.

Another way to mitigate theeffects of corruption is toimprove information dissemina-

tion and use technology. Whilethe former is crucial and mustbe encouraged with zeal, the lat-ter must be approached withgreater care in a country likeIndia where technology is real-ly only to the benefit of a fewrather than most. The bestexample of how this can providebenefit is the recent change inthe law which allows drivers tocarry scanned copies of their dri-ving licences and RCs. Mostpeople, however, have not heardabout this change in the rules.

I have personally heard ofmany stories of traffic cops tak-ing bribes from unassuming dri-vers merely because they tellthem that they are required tocarry physical copies of their doc-uments. In such a case if peopleare informed about the change inrules and technology is usedmeaningfully, instances of bribeswill automatically be reduced.

While the problem of cor-ruption is huge, we can at leaststart adopting a differentapproach to tackle it. Bringingabout a change in mindset will beof great help. This should be cou-pled with other innovative solu-tions. With these changes, Ithink, we will find that the problem of corruption is not asinsurmountable as we think.

(The writer is former presi-dent of Jharkhand PradeshCongress Committee)

To be fair to Indian policy-makers, it istrue that the economic slowdown isimpacting countries across the world,

and they could potentially use that as acrutch to explain away India’s current prob-lems. That would be wrong, becausewhile global issues do impact India, partic-ularly Indian exports, the fact is that theIndian economy is more self-contained thanmost people imagine. Besides many of ourproblems have been created by a combi-nation of poor policy, poor implementation

and poor management. It is also true that a lot of the current trouble withreduced credit offtake can be traced back to the profligacy of banks dur-ing the UPA era, with politically connected people getting loans at extreme-ly favourable terms. However, the task of fixing the mess has meant thatthe banks are now at the other extreme and routinely turn down loan requestseven to viable corporations and entrepreneurs as well as private individu-als. Yes, the fiasco of demonetisation and the chaotic implementation ofthe Goods and Services Tax (GST) have a role to play in the situation thatIndia finds herself in, but it is the extreme reticence of banks to lend moneythat is causing the contagion to worsen. Banks are rightly scared, and theywill need assurance from the Government and the bureaucracy that theywill not be punished for business failures. Now the RBI Governor’s state-ment that our service sector is sluggish and the trough is a combination ofmultiple factors only deepens the sense of foreboding.

A lot of reassurance will need to come from smart policy makers, andthere is seemingly a lack of smartness when it comes to economic andindustrial policy. Half-baked ideas, such as the talk of abolishing incometax, a wet dream of certain ‘economists’ are being talked about. On the otherhand, half-baked ideas such as additional surcharges on income tax for highincome earners became a reality in the budget but papers lack details onhaving sums unaccounted for. The Economic Survey in parts reads like atheological text rather than what it was meant to be. The Government real-ly needs to bring in some proper experts, even if those people might beopposed to some of the policies followed by the Government in other areas.There is no doubt that the Indian economy is a challenge, we have a lot ofpoor people and they have to be taken care of. However, the best way todo that is to ensure employment and grow the economy so that incomesrise across the board and social sector spending can also improve. It is achallenge that requires the cumulative brainpower of thousands of econo-mists, statisticians and social scientists. The alacrity with which this gov-ernment is dealing with national security issues is welcome but frankly itneeds to show that concern for a sputtering economy and the fallout of lowergrowth, or perish the thought, a recession, could be more severe than anyof us can imagine.

US President Donald Trump has gotaway with making bewildering, puzzlingand impossible statements by virtue of

the high office he holds, giving his adminis-tration officials heartburn whether to treatthem as an American sitcom joke or inter-pret them as layered diplomacy. For they sim-ply cannot leave the words hanging there,especially when they impact relationsbetween nations. Now that the world’s mostimportant man has escalated an internation-al spat, by calling off his trip to Denmark

because its Prime Minister rejected his idea to buy Greenland as an absurdi-ty, eggs are splattered all over their faces. One, Denmark is well within its rightsto decide on Greenland, its semi-autonomous Arctic island with a 50,000 pluspopulation, and air views on its territorial sovereignty whenever anybody triesto belittle it. And Trump is trying to grab it by standards of a defunct bartereconomy, proposing an outright land deal. But to be told off by the US President,who impetuously threatens a hitback with comments like “nasty” and “Youdon’t talk to the United States that way, at least under me,” can assume seri-ous proportions, considering that Trump has not only upended conventionsbut has also followed through with his absurd statements with a fair bit of dogged-ness and whimsy. This has surprised Denmark all the more because it is akey partner in the North Atlantic alliance, and was among the first countriesto pledge military support in Iraq and Afghanistan. More than 40 Danish troopsdied in Helmand province, fighting alongside American and British soldiers.So it certainly doesn’t deserve this blow-off.

Of course, the world’s largest island comes with its strategic value in theArctic region. Global warming and melting ice caps are making Greenland moreaccessible for harnessing potential oil and mineral resources. All the big pow-ers — Russia, China, the US, Canada — are in a tussle to stake their claim onArctic lands, hoping to own and leverage future riches. But would the US goso far with its Nordic conquest as to sink its perennial allies like the Titanic? Ofcourse, the Washington Post reported that Trump had been peddling the ideafor weeks and had “even discussed taking over Denmark’s annual $600 mil-lion subsidy to Greenland in perpetuity, and possibly tossing in an additionallarge payment to sweeten the deal.” Considering that the US already has a mil-itary base in Denmark, one fails to understand the urgency of land acquisition.For by cancelling his trip, he has upset the royal household, which had formal-ly invited Trump. He has also upset climatologists and scientists who sayGreenland’s massive ice sheet has seen one of its biggest melts on record thissummer and economic exploitation would only worsen the scenario. Thoughthis may not break down the cordial relations with the US yet, its Prime Ministerassuring continuity despite the cancellation of Trump’s visit, Danes have beenput off by what they call a “farcical” and “grotesque” behaviour. Some observershave also speculated that Trump was looking for a pretext to call off his visitconsidering his predecessor Barack Obama was also scheduled to visit the coun-try and enjoys more popularity and the former didn’t want to appear dwarfedby comparison. But to go so far out, no matter what the strategic or personalintent, only makes the US fall from grace globally and its allies question theprice of loyalty. For long, the US has been perceived as a global bully, can itafford to be more obnoxious now? Most importantly, nobody thought thatGreenlanders should be asked what they want considering many wonder if Trumpindeed remembered the location of Greenland from his geography lessons.

Trumping logic

Save the forests

Sir — It is a matter of concern thatthere has been a 83 per centincrease in forest fires in theAmazon rainforest area in Brazil.Conservationists have blamedBrazilian President Jair Bolsonarofor its plight, saying that heencouraged loggers and farmersto clear the land. Bolsonaro on theother hand has blamed non-gov-ernmental organisations, sayingthat they may have set the fires toembarrass his Government afterit’s decision to cut funding forthem. Ironically, Bolsonaro has noevidence to support his claim.

Spread across millions ofhectares in multiple countries, theAmazon basin not only hostsmassive sinks of carbon that helpsbring down the pace of globalwarming but is also home to threemillion species. The situationtoday is depressing. First and fore-most, the Brazilian Governmentmust realise the need to protect theforests. The international commu-nity must put diplomatic pressureon Brazil to convince it on the needto protect the forests and also helpit seek higher funds.

Tanisha ShrivastavaUjjain

Damage already done

Sir — This refers to the editor-ial, “Chidambaram in a spot”(August 22). After a day-longdrama, P Chidambaram did

show up for a surprise Press con-ference at the Congress head-quarters, but by then, the dam-age had been done. During thePress conference, he claimedthat no formal chargesheet wasfiled against him in the INX

Media case and that there wasno question of him evading thelaw.

Had Chidambaram said thesame thing after the Delhi HighCourt rejected his bail plea, hewould have done much good not

only to himself but also to hisparty. The Congress leadership,too, had been crying hoarse,terming the action taken againstChidambaram a “political witchhunt” but the High Court hassound evidence against him.The case against him appears tobe water-tight. All eyes are nowon the courts. Only time willuncover the truth but certainly,the Congress has further lostcredibility among the masses.

Jai Prakash GuptaAmbala Cantt

Clarity needed

Sir — This refers to the article,“Upping deterrence ante?”(August 22) by Vivek Mishra. TheGovernment must come clear ifit is contemplating a change in its‘No First Use’ policy to checkmatePakistan or is this just anotherexercise to make the peoplebelieve that it can go to any extentto protect the nation’s interests?This issue demands wider debateand discussion.

KarthikVia email

P 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 nionVIJAYAWADA | FRIDAY | AUGUST 23, 2019

06

Culling corruption

AJOY KUMAR

While this issue is huge, it is not insurmountable. We can at least start adopting adifferent approach to tackle it by bringing about behavioural change

You get this feeling of doubt,that do you remember evento act? I was also goingthrough that stage. Not avery good frame of mind.

Actor—Suniel Shetty

Countries like India, Iran,Russia and Turkey wouldhave to fight against terrorists in Afghanistan at some point of time.

US President—Donald Trump

S O U N D B I T E

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

Idea of India needs fresh outlook

This refers to the article, “Reunification of India a neces-sity” (August 21) by Markandey Katju. The learnedwriter has put forth a very noble idea, the success-

ful implementation and sustainability of which will be aboon for the entire sub-continent. However, a look backinto the history of Partition of India will reveal that groundrealities are different and do not offer much hope on thelines of Vietnam or Germany or Italy where, unlike India'sreligious bigotry, differences were political in nature. Inthis connection, I would like to make two points.

First, noting the facts of history and the extent of com-munal discord in the country during the last 70 years, itwill be incorrect to put the blame of India’s Partition entire-ly on the British. At best, it can be said that the British tookadvantage of communal discord. In this connection, it wouldbe worthwhile to recollect what Mahatma Gandhi had saidduring a prayer meet on the day the vital decision of Partitionwas taken. He said: “It is no use blaming the Viceroy forPartition. Look to yourselves and in your hearts for an expla-nation of what has happened.” Second, it will also be worthrecalling that the seeds of Two-Nation Theory were sownin the 19th Century. Ironically, after the formation of theIndian National Congress (INC), the queering pitch forIndependence raised alarm bells in the minds of Muslims

at the prospect of being ruled by the Hindu majority. It is,thus, a deep-rooted problem which requires extraordinaryefforts in cleansing the heart and mind. We would, there-fore, do well to accept the reality and create an atmosphereof open heartedness where grievances are brought out inthe open and healed forever so that the noble idea of uni-fication of India can be achieved. Sadly, this has not hap-pened so far and things have remained camouflaged in polit-ical language and interference.

BP SrivastavaNoida

ANOTHER WAY TOMITIGATE THE

EFFECTS OFCORRUPTION IS

TO IMPROVEINFORMATION

DISSEMINATIONAND USE

TECHNOLOGY.WHILE THEFORMER IS

CRUCIAL ANDMUST BE

ENCOURAGED,THE LATTER

MUST BEAPPROACHED

WITH GREATERCARE

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

Saving the economy

He (Modi) talks in a language thatconnects him with the people. Ifyou are going to demonise himall the time, you are not going to be able to confront him.

Congress leader—Jairam Ramesh

The US President’s attempt to buy Greenland and calloff his Danish visit for being rebuffed is outrageous

Scapegoats for the economic contagion will befound, but that there is a problem remains a fact

Sometimes the process isincorrect. I am not talkingabout the legality. The way his(Chidambaram’s) matter hasbeen handled is depressing.

West Bengal Chief Minister—Mamata Banerjee

Breaking barriers

HE (CHIDAMBARAM) WAS BEING TARGETTED. SINCETRUTH IS INCONVENIENT TO COWARDS, HE IS BEING

SHAMEFULLY HUNTED DOWN.—CONGRESS LEADER

PRIYANKA GANDHI VADRA

PRIYANKA SHOULD BE TAKING CARE OF HERHUSBAND ROBERT VADRA. THERE ARE SEVERAL CASES AGAINST HIM.—DEPUTY CHIEF MINISTER OF UTTAR PRADESHKESHAV PRASAD MAURYA

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

The small boat at Gujarat’s bustling PipavavPort bobs up and down as it waits to ferrypassengers to Shiyal Bet Island barely 600

metres away. It’s a rainy morning and the watersof the Arabian Sea are beginning to turn choppy.Fifty-year-old Dakuben jumps onto the boat withease, having undertaken the 12-minute journeyinnumerable times to visit her daughter in ShiyalBet. However, this time, her visit is mired in sor-row as she is going to mourn the death of her new-born granddaughter.

Gujarat’s Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) is 30deaths per 1,000 live births and the state rankedtenth in the country according to the NITI Aayog’s2016 IMR report. According to statistics 69 percent of infant deaths in Gujarat were neonatal,higher than the national average of 67.60 per cent.

Anaemia is one of the major factors respon-sible for the rising neonatal, infant and maternalmortality in Gujarat, especially among ruralwomen. According to the fourth National FamilyHealth Survey (NFHS-4) conducted in 2014-15,54.9 per cent women in the age group of 14-49years are anaemic and 51.3 per cent of pregnantwomen have anaemia.

The NFHS-4 placed Gujarat among the top15 states with the highest incidence of anaemiaas the percentage of anaemic women there washigher than the national average of 53 per cent.

The survey revealed that lack of educationplayed a major role and anaemia was particular-ly high among illiterate women due to lack ofawareness about health-related issues.

At 31.2 per cent, Shiyal Bet’s literacy rates aremuch lower than the state’s 78.3 per cent (2011census). With the island’s female literacy rate beingjust 15.48 per cent, it’s no surprise that awarenessabout anaemia and other health issues is low.

In order to change this scenario, Vatsalya, aninitiative to improve the health and nutritional sta-tus of women, children, and adolescents wasundertaken in Shiyal Bet and 21 villages with sim-ilar poor health and development indicators inRajula Block in Amreli district. Launched in 2016by the Centre for Health Education, Training,Nutrition Awareness (CHETNA), a not for prof-it organisation, the three-year programme hasbeen able to bring down undernutrition, improveantenatal and postnatal care and ensure safe moth-erhood.

It has also been able to break myths relatedto early breastfeeding, promote healthy feedingpractices, timely immunization and increaseaccess to basic health services.

The intervention, supported by GujaratPipavav Port Limited (GPPL) APM Terminalsunder their corporate social responsibility initia-tive, used a multi-pronged strategy includinggames, Q&A sessions and street theatre to engagethe community. Sustained efforts, coupled withcommunity participation helped to bring downthe number of children suffering from undernu-trition from 30 per cent in 2016 to 14 per cent in2019. The number of children who attained nor-mal body mass index also rose.

The intervention marked up registration ofpregnancies by almost 42 per cent and increasedthe number of women receiving antenatal care,tetanus injections and folic acid tablets. A rise ininstitutional deliveries by 9.42 per cent was alsoseen at the end of the three years.

“We are committed to bringingchange in the lives of marginalised com-munities. Therefore, empowering themwith factual information and linkingthem to government schemes and pro-grammes was imperative. This interven-tion was more challenging because wehad to work in difficult-to-reach villageslike Shiyal Bet and with migrating pop-ulations and communities that were iso-lated and neglected. But we were able tomake a difference in their lives thanksto our dedicated field team, and our part-nership with the community, frontlinehealth workers and panchayat leaders,”said Pallavi Patel, Director, CHETNA.

A key to this success was the strat-egy to train women from the commu-nity as Vatsalya mitras (friends).This gavethe community a sense of ownership andled to increased participation. So whenShantuben Chauhan became a trainedVatsalya mitra, she used her influence asan anganwadi worker (AWW) to reachout to pregnant and lactating women.Chauhan, an AWW for the last 15 years,is a popular face in Shiyal Bet. With bothher marital and natal home being inShiyal Bet, Chauhan was able to mobilisethe community very effectively.

However, when the CHETNA teamfirst visited Shiyal Bet, they found thatalthough Chauhan was articulate andgood at her work as an AWW, she, likemost of the others, believed in manymyths related to reproductive and sex-ual health. One of the biggest miscon-ceptions she had was related to menstru-ation. Not only was it a taboo subject, butneither she nor her three daughters prac-ticed menstrual hygiene. Consideringthat only 54 per cent of rural women usea hygienic method of menstrual protec-tion (NFHS-4), this was not surprising.

The fact that women with at least 12 yearsof schooling were more than twice aslikely to be using a hygienic method (79per cent) as against women with noschooling (34 per cent) meant thatChauhan who is uneducated, didn’t getaccess to information which could helpher practice menstrual hygiene.

So the first step was to demystifymenstruation. The team knew thatonce they were able to get Chauhan onboard then she would get the others. “Iwas ashamed to discuss this issue. Thetraining helped me understand why Ishould not be ashamed and why men-strual hygiene is important. I used thescientific information to convince otherwomen and adolescents during Vatsalyasamwads (dialogue),” recalled Chauhan.

For Vatsalya mitra VandanabenGoswami, the training cured her of thebelief that she was ‘impure’ during herperiods and going to the temple orkitchen was wrong. “After I became bet-ter informed, I no longer forced mydaughters to follow these customs. I usedmy own example to convince otherwomen and girls,” contended Goswami.

The monthly Vatsalya samwadsproved to be a good move as they helpedbreak the ice on many ‘uncomfortable’issues like the tradition of early marriageand family planning in all 22 villages.Besides explaining the consequences ofearly marriage on the health of adoles-cents, the importance of antenatal careand postnatal care visits for pregnant andlactating women were discussed. Alsoaddressed were myths related to earlyand exclusive breastfeeding. Accordingto NFHS-4, just 50 per cent women inGujarat start breastfeeding in the firsthour of life as recommended by theWorld Health Organisation, thus depriv-

ing newborns of the highly nutritiousfirst milk, colostrums, and the antibod-ies it contains. In fact, about one in fivechildren who were ever breastfed weregiven something other than breast milkduring the first three days.

Raziben’s three children were amongthem. She had followed the custom offeeding her children goat’s milk or hotwater mixed with jaggery immediatelyafter birth. It was only after attending theVatsalya samwads that she understoodwhy this was not healthy for the newborn.This helped her initiate early breastfeed-ing for her fourth child born last year.Inspired by this, her friend and neighbourManjuben also breastfed her daughterwithin 24 hours of her birth in June thisyear. In fact, there was an 22 per centincrease in early breastfeeding by the endof the project.

A big factor in the improving healthand nutrition indicators was the partner-ship with local leaders and panchayats.Leaders like Gangabhai, the sarpanch ofKundaliya Village, played an active rolein mobilizing the community and pro-moting awareness.

“There has been a big change in myvillage after CHETNA began their work.The AWWs have become more informedand active. More women are attendingthe monthly Mamta Divas. Earlier only7-8 women had health cards, now 60 ofthem have cards. I also pay visits to sup-port and motivate them,” he said.

While the success has been encour-aging, challenges remain. Consideringthe entrenched patriarchy and caste bar-riers in Gujarat, sustaining behaviour-al change requires greater investment oftime and resources. Only then, will noone be left behind.

(The writer is a senior journalist)

Vatsalya, an initiative to improve the health and nutritional status of women andchildren, was undertaken in 22 villages in Amreli’s Rajula Block

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

Disable theplastic bomb

KUMARDEEP BANERJEE

An awareness campaign in regional languages, ridingon social media platforms, must be undertaken by the

Centre and pushed down to the panchayat level

SWAPNA MAJUMDAR

THE MONTHLYVATSALYASAMWADS

PROVED TO BE AGOOD MOVE AS

THEY HELPEDBREAK THE ICE

ON MANYUNCOMFORTABLEISSUES LIKE THE

TRADITION OFEARLY

MARRIAGE,MENSTRUATION

AND FAMILYPLANNING IN ALL

22 VILLAGES.BESIDES

EXPLAINING THECONSEQUENCES

OF EARLYMARRIAGE ON

THE HEALTH OFADOLESCENTS,

THE IMPORTANCEOF ANTENATAL

CARE ANDPOSTNATAL CARE

VISITS FORPREGNANT AND

LACTATINGWOMEN WERE

DISCUSSED. ALSOADDRESSED

WERE MYTHSRELATED TOEARLY ANDEXCLUSIVE

BREASTFEEDING

Mariam, an orphaned, baby dugong died somewhere in Thaiwaters this week. While she lived, ‘Sleepyhead’, so fond-ly nicknamed by the social media, ensured engaging

moments for millions of her fans. Sadly, Mariam’s life story endedtragically with her demise due to intestinal blockage caused by plas-tic waste. The little marine creature’s suffering once again put thespotlight on the grave issue of plastic debris polluting our oceans.

A ticking bomb, that will inevitably lead to our destruction,microplastics, particles that are smaller than five millimeters, aremaking their way into our food and drinking water, yet, very little pre-vents us from asking the vegetable vendor for a plastic carry bag.

Let’s take a look at some eye-popping statistics in order to under-stand the magnitude of the problem that we, with our callous atti-tude towards the environment, have created.

It is estimated that an average Indian ingests around five gramsof microplastic every week, the equivalent of a credit card. A studyconducted a few years ago by the Central Pollution Control Board(CPCB) found that major Indian cities generate nearly 4,100 tonsof plastic waste daily, which for the whole country translates to near-ly 30,000 tons per day, out of which Delhi tops the chart at near-ly 700 tons of plastic waste generated daily.

According to estimates, nearly 90 per cent of this untreatedand non-recyclable plastic ends up in the soil, forests, mountains,landfills and oceans, harming humans and unsuspecting birds, marinecreatures, cows and other animals.

Given the detrimental impact of plastic waste on human lives,particularly children, our oceans and the planet at large, it is com-mendable that a clarion call to defuse this bomb has come fromPrime Minister Narendra Modi himself. Modi, during his IndependenceDay address urged citizens to eliminate single-use plastic and usecloth and jute bags instead. He asked for the first big step in thisdirection to be taken from October 2, 2019, to mark the 150th birthanniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

Thankfully, many government agencies and large private sec-tor players have taken cognizance and have started taking stepsto reduce or eliminate plastic under the Extended ProducerResponsibility (EPR) policy approach. While the Parliament hasbanned use of non-reusable plastic items within the complex, theIndian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) a sub-sidiary of the Indian Railways, has also banned plastic use fromOctober 2. It has issued a circular which prevents vendors fromusing plastic carry bags and will ensure the return of plastic drink-ing water bottles by passengers. Encouragingly, some private firmslike Mahindra and Hindustan Lever have also announced plasticreduction measures.

On the policy-making front, the CPCB is slated to submit a con-solidated report on the use and management of plastic waste, afterit gets data from State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs). The rec-ommendations the CPCB will make are likely to bring in more normson top of the Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2018.

However, good intentions and new guidelines are not enoughto tackle this menace. There are a couple of measures that needto be implemented without any compromise to ensure compliance.

A mass awareness campaign in regional languages, riding onall social media platforms, needs to be undertaken by the centralgovernment and pushed right to the municipal and village panchay-at level. Only mass campaigns on the lines of Swachh Bharat Abhiyanwill create awareness at the grassroots and prevent indiscriminateand irresponsible plastic use. A key issue which needs urgent atten-tion is coordination between the CPCB and SPCBs. Most often, likeother areas of Federal Vs State policy overlaps, we find SPCBs pass-ing “Shut with Immediate Effect” kind of orders that are not in linewith Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2018.

A nodal ministry, looking into plastic waste management rulesand their implementation, the Ministry of Environment and Forests(MoEF) should urgently set up a national-level co-ordination taskforce comprising state and CPCB representatives. There should besignificant private sector and civil society representation as well.This body should be given targets to reduce plastic waste and c-coordinate on key matters between the Centre and states. In theabsence of such a body, interpretation of key laws remains ambigu-ous and lands in No Man’s Zone. This leads to non-complianceand missed targets. Finally, citizens need to get religious about plas-tic waste management. The festive season is approaching and tonsof plastic will be used, that will most likely end up in the nearestwater body. A conscious, collective effort has to be made by all tocut down plastic use. In fact, a zero plastic festival would be a wel-come idea this season.

(The writer is a policy analyst)

Maybe we can get through theclimate crisis without a glob-al catastrophe, although that

door is closing fast. And maybe we cancope with the huge loss of jobs causedby the revolution in robotics andArtificial Intelligence (AI) without asocial and political calamity. But canwe do both at the same time?

We should know how to deal withthe AI revolution because we havebeen down this road before. It’s a bitdifferent this time, of course, in thesense that the original industrial rev-olution in 1780-1850 created as manynew jobs (in manufacturing) as itdestroyed (in cottage industries andskilled trades).

The AI revolution, by contrast, is

not producing nearly enough replace-ment jobs but it is making us muchwealthier. The value of manufacturedgoods doubled in the United States(US) in the past 30 years even as thenumber of good industrial jobs fell bya third (eight million jobs gone).Maybe we could use that extra wealthto ease the transition to a job-scarcefuture. The climate emergency isunlike any challenge we have facedbefore. Surmounting it would requirean unprecedented level of globalcooperation and very big changes inhow people consume and behave, nei-ther of which human beings have his-torically been good at.

These two crises are already inter-acting. The erosion of middle-classjobs and the stagnation (or worse) ofreal wage levels generates resentmentand anger among the victims and isalready creating populist, authoritar-ian regimes throughout the world.These regimes despise internationalcooperation and often deny climatechange as well (Trump in the US,Bolsonaro in Brazil).

And there is a recession coming.Maybe not this year, although almost

all the storm signals are flying: Stockmarkets spooked, a rush into gold,nine major economies already inrecession or on the verge of one, an“inverted yield curve” on bonds andtrade wars spreading. Even USPresident Donald Trump is worried,which is why he postponed the harsh-er American trade tariffs againstChina, which were due next month.

Economists have predicted nineof the past five recessions as they sayin the trade, so I’m not calling the turnon this one. But a recession is overdueand a lot of the damage done by the

Great Recession of 2008 has still notbeen repaired. Interest rates are stillvery low, so the banks have little roomto cut rates and soften the next one.When it arrives, it could be a doozy.

So what can we do about all this?The first thing is to recognise that wecannot plot a course that takes usfrom here and now, through all thechanges and past all the unpleasantsurprises to ultimate safety, maybe 50years from now.

We can plan how to get throughthe next five years and we should bethinking hard about what will be need-

ed later on. But we can’t steer a safe andsteady course to the year 2070 anymore than intelligent decision-mak-ers in 1790 could have planned howto get through to 1840 without toomuch upheaval. They might have seensteam engines but they would havehad no idea what a railroad was.

We are in the same position asthose people with regard to both AIand the global environmental emer-gency (which extends far beyond“climate change”, although that is at itsheart). We know a good deal aboutboth issues but not enough to be con-fident about our choices — andbesides, they may well mutate andhead off in unforeseen directions asthe crises deepen.

But there are two big things wecan do right now. We need to stop theslide into populist and increasinglyauthoritarian Governments (becausewe are not going to stop the spread ofAI). And we have to win ourselvesmore time to get our greenhouse gasemissions under control (because weare certainly going to go through 450parts per million of carbon dioxideequivalent, which would give us +20C

higher average global temperature). The best bet for getting our pol-

itics back on track is a guaranteedminimum income, high enough tokeep everybody comfortable —whether they are working or not. Thatis well within the reach of any devel-oped country’s economy and has theadded benefit of putting enoughmoney into people’s pockets to saveeverybody’s business model.

And the best way to win moretime on the climate front is to startgeo-engineering (direct interventionin the atmosphere to hold the globaltemperature down) as soon as we getanywhere near +20C. To be ready then,we need to be doing open-air testingon a small scale now. There will behowls of protest from the right abouta guaranteed minimum income andfrom the greener parts of the left aboutgeo-engineering. However, both willprobably be indispensable if we wantto get through these huge changeswithout mass casualties or even civil-isational collapse.

(The writer’s new book is GrowingPains, the Future of Democracy and Work)

In denial of converging global crisesArtificial Intelligence and climate emergency are the two biggest threats facing economies today. We know a good deal about both

but not enough to be confident about our choices — and besides, they may well mutate and head off in unforeseen directions

GWYNNE DYER

VIJAYAWADA | FRIDAY | AUGUST 23, 2019

www.dailypioneer.com

F O R E I G N E Y E

As the seriousness of theclimate crisis becomesmore obvious, so does thefact that it can only besolved by coordinatedinternational action, whilecompeting nationalisms canonly exacerbate it and makethe easily foreseeable endworse for all competitors. Arules-based internationalorder is the counsel ofenlightened self-interest,not idealism. But today themost powerful nation is inthe hands of a man whocan recognise neither hisown nor anyone else’slegitimate self-interest.

(The Guardian editorial)

ON GREENLAND

VIJAYAWADA | FRIDAY | AUGUST 23, 2019 money 08

CAPSULE

Amazon.instrengthens deliverynetwork in TNCHENNAI: E-commerce giantAmazon unveiled itsnew delivery station here onThursday to strengthen itsdelivery network in TamilNadu. The new deliverystation, claimed to be thelargest in the state, is spreadacross 24,000 square feet andwill enable Amazon ensurefaster deliveries. The DeliveryStations will enable Amazonlogistics supplement capacityand provide flexibility toAmazon's delivery capabilitiesto support customer orders.Prakash Rochlani, Last MileTransportation Director,Amazon India, said theinitiative was in line with thecompany's vision of makinge-commerce part of everydaylife. "This expansion willfurther create thousands ofwork opportunities forindividuals in Tamil Nadu aswe continue to remaincommitted to our long terminvestments", he toldreporters here. The companyalso announced expansion ofits delivery network inNamakkal, Tiruchenkodu,Sivakasi, Krishnagiri andTiruvallur.

Tata Sons namesPratik Pal as TataDigital CEONEW DELHI: Tata Sons onThursday said it has appointedTCS executive Pratik Pal as thechief executive officer of TataDigital. Pal, whoseappointment is effectiveAugust 21, will head the newentity which has been formedto incubate new digitalbusinesses, a statement said.He has been with TataConsultancy Services (TCS)for over 27 years and has heldseveral key leadershippositions across multiplebusiness units and industryverticals, it added. In his mostrecent role, Pal was TCS'global head of retail, travel,transportation, hospitality andconsumer packaged goodsindustry unit. "Pratik bringsstrong domain knowledge ofconsumer-centric businessesto this role combined with adeep understanding of hownew digital technologies aredisrupting these industries. Asthe CEO of Tata Digital, Pratikwill play a key role in buildingnew platforms of growth," TataSons Chairman NChandrasekaran said.

Sensex sinks 587 pts; Yes Bank nosedives 14 percentPNS n MUMBAI

Benchmark equity indexSensex plummeted 587 pointson Thursday, pressured byheavy selling in banking andenergy stocks amid weak glob-al cues.

Investor sentiment alsotanked after Chief EconomicAdviser KrishnamurthySubramanian virtually ruledout a stimulus package fromthe government.

The 30-share Sensex sank587.44 points, or 1.59 percent, to 36,472.93. It hit anintra-day low of 36,391.35

and a high of 37,087.58.The broader NSE Nifty

ended 177.35 points, or 1.62per cent, down at 10,741.35.During the day, it plunged toa low of 10,718.30 and toucheda high of 10,908.25.

Yes Bank was the biggest lag-gard in the Sensex pack, plum-meting 13.91 per cent, followedby Vedanta, Bajaj Finance andTata Motors, which declinedup to 7.76 per cent.

ONGC, SBI, HeroMotoCorp, ICICI Bank, TataSteel, HDFC twins and RILalso ended in the red.

Tech Mahindra, TCS, HUL

and HCL Tech were the onlygainers, spurting up to 1.57 percent.

According to traders, ChiefEconomic AdviserSubramanian's comments

practically ruling out a stim-ulus package for the economyweighed on investor senti-ment.

"If we basically expect thegovernment to use taxpayers'money to intervene every timewhen there are some 'sunsets',then I think you introduce

possible moral hazards from'too big to fail' and as well asthe possibility of a situationwhere profits are private andlosses are socialised,"Subramanian said at an event.

Globally, markets were jit-tery ahead of comments fromFederal Reserve Chair Jerome

Powell at Jackson Hole,Wyoming, US.

Elsewhere in Asia, ShanghaiComposite Index and Nikkeiended on a positive note,while Hang Seng and Kospisettled in the red.

Equities in Europe weretrading lower in their respec-tive early sessions.

Meanwhile, the Indianrupee depreciated 33 paise to71.88 against the US dollarintra-day.

Brent crude futures, theglobal oil benchmark, rose0.65 per cent to USD 60.69 perbarrel.

Yes Bank was the biggest laggard inthe Sensex pack, plummeting 13.91per cent, followed by Vedanta, BajajFinance and Tata Motors, whichdeclined up to 7.76 per cent

BofA-ML

Even a stimulus packagecan't help the economy muchPNS n MUMBAI

The financial conditions havedeteriorated so badly despitethe four repo rate cuts andthere is a need for a fiscal stim-ulus, which though may notyield much results due to thefiscal constraints, warns anAmerican brokerage report.

The warnings come amidthe gloomy news on thegrowth front, with GDP expan-sion sliding to a 5-year-low of5.8 percent in March andexpected to fall further in Junequarter. The numbers will beannounced next week.

Falling stocks, an overvaluedrupee and higher volumes inthe US dollar-rupee market areevident of the tightening finan-cial conditions, Bank ofAmerica Merill Lynch said ina report Thursday.

"We believe the economywarrants a significant fiscal stim-ulus at this stage which does notresult in higher borrowing costs,"the report said, but was quick towarn that it may yield thedesired results due to the fiscalconstraints of the government.

"What India needs is a fiscalboost funded by offshore bor-rowings. But a fiscal stimulus

package is unlikely to be agame-changer due to fiscalconstraints," it said.

The stimulus package willhave to be announced along-side a USD-bond sale so as tonot disrupt local currencybonds, it added.

The report said "most" of thetightening of financial condi-tions are due to the weakness

in the equities markets, wherethe markets have plunged over10 percent since June, which itattributed to "the lack of anyfiscal stimulus in the budgethas been one of the big reasonsfor this sell off."

The brokerage lamented thatit was "very strange" to observegovernment is sticking to fis-cal consolidation in FY20 in

"when the backdrop is clearlydeteriorating".

Tapping into global savingswhich are in massive search forhigher yields can be one of theways of introducing the fiscalstimulus, it added.

The RBI has reduced its keyrates by a cumulative 1.10 per-centage points in four succes-sive rate cuts since Februaryand has also changed the direc-tion of policy to be moreaccommodative.

It can be noted that the gov-ernment had announced plansfor a sovereign bond sale inoverseas market, though manyare not enthused with the plan.

Those against the moveincluded former RBI gover-nors, economists and otheranalysts, who point out that thecountry had not resorted tosuch a move even in the after-math of the 1991 crisis.According to some mediareports, the government isplanning to raise up to USD 10billion in October.

Policymakers will also haveto somehow inject more liq-uidity into the troubled non-banking lenders and douseany concerns around them, thereport added.

Falling stocks, an overvalued rupee andhigher volumes in the US dollar-rupeemarket are evident of the tighteningfinancial conditions, Bank of AmericaMerill Lynch said in a report Thursday

‘WTO reforms should bewholistic, comprehensive’PNS n NEW DELHI

Commerce and IndustryMinister Piyush Goyal onThursday made a case forwholistic and comprehensivereforms of the World TradeOrganisation (WTO) withoutignoring the ground realities,especially the stark inequalityamong developed and devel-oping nations.

He said instead of going fora piecemeal reform, the mem-bers should take on board issuesof all countries of the WTO.

"It is the time when allmembers of the WTO startlooking at some of thosereforms that have been pend-ing for long. When we look atreforming the WTO, (it shouldbe done) wholistically andcomprehensively. It cannot bepick and choose," Goyal said.

He was speaking at a pro-gramme of South-South andTriangular Cooperation here.

"I do hope that as we look atreforming the WTO, a little bitmore relevance to today and21st century realities willcome into play," he added.

The statement comes ata time when the US hascalled for reforming theworld trade body. TheUS wants formulation ofsome guidelines regard-

ing special and differentialtreatment (S&DT), which ismeant for developing nations.

The S&DT allows develop-ing countries to enjoy certainbenefits, including takinglonger time periods for imple-menting agreements and bind-ing commitments, and mea-

sures to increase tradingopportunities.

The US also wants reformsin the dispute settlement bodyof the organisation and it hasput roadblocks in appoint-ment of new members in theappellate body of the WTO.

The minister said free tradecannot happen in two tradingpartners if their level of eco-nomic development is different.

"You really cannot have freetrade between the countryhaving per capita GDP of USD1,000, or USD 2,000 or USD4,000 and other of USD 60,000and USD 80,000," he said.

He said it is a "ridiculousargument" to say that two trad-ing partners with this level ofdevelopment should compete

equally in global markets.Geneva-based WTO is a

164-member body whichframes rules for global

trade. India is a membersince 1995.

"India has alwayssupported an open,inclusive, transpar-ent, non-discrimi-natory and rule-based internation-al multilateraltrading systemand engagementwith countries,"Goyal said.

I do hope that aswe look atreforming the

WTO, a little bit morerelevance to today and21st century realities willcome into play

— PIYUSH GOYAL Commerce aand IIndustry MMinister

NDB looks to penetrate into Indian offshore marketPTI n BEIJING

The New Development Bank(NDB) of the BRICS countries,which got its first 'AAA' ratingthis week, plans to tap into theIndian Rupee offshore marketas part of its efforts to raise cap-ital, according to a top bankofficial.

The Shanghai-based NDB -floated by Brazil, Russia, India,China and South Africa (BRICS)- is headed by renowned Indianbanker K V Kamath.

Japan Credit Rating AgencyLtd (JCR) on Tuesday assigned'AAA' foreign currency long-term issuer rating with a stableoutlook to NDB, the first suchrating acquired by the Banksince it started functioningfour years ago.

"It is the safest of investmentratings. If you are a AAA issuer,essentially it means that there's

almost zero probability of youever defaulting. That's what therating agencies effectively tellinginvestors out there," NBD VicePresident and Chief FinancialOfficer Leslie Maasdorp toldPTI in an interview. Maasdorpsaid it is significant that theNDB got higher rating than theBRICS countries.

"India, for example, is BBB-on investment grade, SouthAfrica has one rating at invest-ment grade, China is A+, Brazilis sub-investment grade andRussia is BBB+. So, basically,what we have now, is that theNDB is rated significantlyhigher than weighted averageof our members," he said.

"And it is a significantachievement because there isno other bank that we areaware of in the world that isonly owned by emerging mar-kets that has a rating as high asours. All of the others that havesuch a high rating, they haveeither the United States or inJapan or the European Unionas members. We have no AAA-rated countries as members,"he said.

Maasdorp said the bank islooking into the Indian Rupeeoffshore market to raiseresources after Masala bondsmarket slowed down.

Kamath, who is the

President of the Bank, "knowsthe Indian market extremelywell, we looked very closely atMasala bonds market", he said.

"We definitely intend to tapinto the Indian Rupee offshoremarket. We looked at this alreadyin 2017. But then, in 2018,there's been a significant drop inthe market liquidity and demandfor Masala bond," he said.

"For a number of reasons theMasala bond market kind ofslowed down. We remain verykeen to access offshore Rupee(market) as part of our capitalraising, but we don't have tim-ing yet. We are studying mar-ket conditions closely, because,

obviously, investors are verysensitive to interest rate envi-ronment," he said.

"I anticipate that in 2020 weare likely to raise IndianRupees, but it will be based onthe demand for local currency.Many of our loans in India todate have been in USD, where-as in other countries there'sbeen more demand for localcurrency," he said.

"So, we are likely to also lookfor hard currencies for 2020,but it's all based on what hap-pens to the interest rate envi-ronment," he said.

Maasdorp said a total of 37projects have been approvedfor all the five BRICS counties.

"India is number two interms of approvals now -- I'dsay about 29 per cent of ourentire approved loans (totallingUSD 10.2 billion), almost athird of that is in India," he said.

Maasdorp said the bank is looking intothe Indian Rupee offshore market toraise resources after Masala bondsmarket slowed down

PNS n NEW DELHI

Continuing the record-settingtrend, gold price on Thursdayhit a new high of Rs 38,970 per10 gram by gaining Rs 150 inthe national capital, accordingto the All India SarafaAssociation, mainly on accountof a weaker rupee and safe-haven buying from investorsdue to weak equity market.

Gold prices have been hit-ting a fresh high everydaysince Tuesday.

Silver advanced by Rs 60 toRs 45,100 per kg on increasedofftake by industrial units andcoin makers.

Despite sluggish overseas

trend, gold prices rose onaccount of sustained buyingfrom local jewellers, traderssaid.

Besides, weakness in rupeeand equity market also aidedthe rally in the yellow metal,

they added.In New York, spot gold was

trading lower at USD 1,498.80an ounce, while silver wasdown at USD 17.09 an ounce.

"Gold prices in the interna-tional market are hovering

near the psychological level ofUSD 1,500 an ounce as tradersstayed away from taking freshposition amid the key eco-nomic events scheduled thisweek," Hareesh V, HeadCommodity Research, GeojitFinancial Services said.

"Expectations are high thatthe US Federal Reserve chair'sspeech at Jackson Hole meet-ing on Friday would providecues on future US interest ratecuts that may influence goldprices. Also, traders are keen-ly awaiting the result of G7summit for hints of any addi-tional steps by policy makers topush global economic growth,"he said.

In the domestic market, goldprices held firm due to a fee-ble Indian rupee which weak-ened to its lowest level this year,Hareesh said.

In the national capital, goldof 99.9 per cent purity rose Rs150 to Rs 38,970 per 10 gram,while that of 99.5 per centgained Rs 170 to Rs 38,820 per10 gram.

Sovereign gold stood steadyat 28,800 per eight gram.

Silver ready advanced by Rs60 to 45,100 per kg, whileweekly-based delivery gainedRs 133 to Rs 43,765 per kg.

Silver coins held flat at Rs91,000 for buying and Rs92,000 for selling of 100 coins.

Gold continues bull run, nears Rs 39,000 mark NDTV interim CEOSuparna Singh resignsPNS n NEW DELHI

Media firm NDTV onThursday said its Interim CEOSuparna Singh has resigned,with immediate effect.

"Suparna Singh hasinformed the company that shewill step down from herresponsibilities as Interim CEOwith immediate effect," NDTVsaid in a regulatory filing.

NDTV said pursuant to aboard resolution onDecember 4, 2017, theboard resolved toappoint SuparnaSingh as its CEOsubject to thereceipt of requi-site approval fromthe Ministry ofInformation andBroadcasting.

"This approval was prompt-ly applied for on December 12,2017, but has not yet beenreceived. Subsequently,Suparna Singh and the com-pany entered into an appoint-ment agreement to appointSingh as the CEO where theappointment was conditionalupon receipt of such approval,"NDTV added.

Accordingly, Suparna Singh

has been acting as the interimCEO during this interregnum,the company said.

NDTV said the matter willbe placed before board andcommittee members for con-sideration.

The CBI has booked NDTVpromoters Prannoy Roy andRadhika Roy and others forallegedly violating foreigndirect investment (FDI) rulesin a 2007-09 investment, acharge denied by the compa-

ny.Besides the Roys,

the agency regis-tered a FirstI n f o r m a t i o nReport (FIR)against then CEO

V i k r a m a d i t y aChandra as well as

unidentified govern-ment officials on charges ofcriminal conspiracy, cheatingand corruption, officials hadsaid on Wednesday.

Earlier this month, NDTVfounders Prannoy Roy and hiswife Radhika were preventedfrom flying abroad.

The couple is facing a casefiled by the Central Bureau ofInvestigation (CBI) for thepast two years.

NITI Aayog for majorsteps to deal witheconomic slowdownPNS n NEW DELHI

Government think tank NitiAayog on Thursday made a casefor extraordinary steps to dealwith the unprecedented stress inthe financial sector which hasresulted in an economic slow-down in the country.

The government needs totake steps which eliminateapprehension from the mindsof private sector players andencourage them to step upinvestments, Niti Aayog vicechairman Rajiv Kumar said.

He also said private invest-ments will drive India out ofthe middle income trap.

Terming the stress in thefinancial sector as unprece-dented, he said nobody hadfaced this sort of situation inthe last 70 years where entirefinancial system was underthreat.

"Nobody is trusting any-body else... within the privatesector nobody is ready tolend, everyone is sitting oncash...you may have to takesteps which are extraordi-nary," he said at an eventhere.

Elaborating further, Kumarsaid some of the steps havealready been announced in theUnion Budget to address stressin the financial sector and give

a push to economic growthwhich hit a 5-year low of 6.8per cent in 2018-19.

Explaining how stress in thefinancial sector has led to aslowdown in the economy,the Niti Aayog vice chairmansaid the entire episode startedwith indiscriminate lendingduring 2009-14 leading rise innon-performing assets (NPAs)post 2014.

Rising NPAs reduced theability of banks to do freshlending, he said, adding thespace was occupied by theshadow banks with creditgrowth of 25 per cent.

The governmentneeds to take steps

which eliminateapprehension from theminds of private sectorplayers and encourage themto step up investments

—RAJIV KUMAR Niti Aayog vice chairman

Changing features of currency often not proper: Bombay HCPNS n MUMBAI

Changing the size and otherfeatures of currency notes oftenis "not proper" especiallybecause a visually impairedperson spends years to figureout the dimensions and otherfeatures of a banknote or coin,the Bombay High Court said.

A division bench of ChiefJustice Pradeep Nandrajog andJustice Bharati Dangre askedthe Reserve Bank of India

(RBI) to state in two weeks thereason behind its decision tomake such changes often.

The court was hearing apetition filed by the NationalAssociation of the Blind, claim-ing new currencynotes and coinsposed difficulty forthe visuallyimpaired people inidentifying and dis-tinguishing them.

The bench had on

August 1 directed the RBI tofile its affidavit in response tothe petition. The RBI onThursday sought further timeto file its affidavit as it was col-

lecting data onthe issue.

"We don'twant anydata. We onlywant to knowthe reason

behind chang-ing the colour, size

and other features of the cur-rency notes and coins. Don'tduck this issue," the court said.

Just because the RBI has thepower and authority, it doesnot mean it has to exercise thesame without caution, it said.

"This is not proper. A visu-ally impaired person spendsyears to figure out the dimen-sions and features of a curren-cy note or coin but then thenext day, the RBI changes it,"Chief Justice Nandrajog said.

Despitesluggishoverseas trend,gold prices roseon account ofsustainedbuying fromlocal jewellers

elugu actor Prabhasbecame a global starafter the blockbustersuccess of theBaahubali films, isback with his new

film Saaho, which promises tobe an extravagant action

thriller and is rumoured to bemade at a budget of `350

crore. Going by the trailer of hisnew film, Prabhas is back toplaying the larger-than-life heroin Saaho, after the Baahubaliseries. The actor says he iscomfortable portraying suchan image.

“I am quite confident doingaction and giving silent expres-sions as well as close-up shots.I go easy with the swagger andconvey a lot with my eyes. I amnot that confident with my dia-logue delivery and am constant-ly working on that,” Prabhasrevealed how he goes about cre-ating the alpha male image forthe screen.

Considering his last release,Baahubali 2: The Conclusionended up being one of thehighest-grossing Indian films

ever, Prabhas concedes thathe was careful about whatto do next. Initially, he

toyed with the idea of sign-ing a small and easy film, tohave some stress-free time. “Iwas looking for a differentscript after Baahubali and Iwanted to do somethingsmall. If we look at the mag-nitude of Baahubali, hon-

estly speaking, it is not possiblefor an actor to deliver every filmat such a level. It is too much ofa pressure and the risk was huge.We shot for the two Baahubalifilms over five years. It wasexhausting, though the finalproduct was grand. So, initial-ly I wanted to do somethingeasy-breezy,” he said.

However, when the script ofSaaho came up, the actor couldnot resist. He also mentionedthat the budget of his new filmeventually increased to create allthe grandeur. “We started plan-ning the film with a budget of`150 crore. Then slowly wedeveloped the script and espe-cially the action sequences, andthat made us expand the bud-get to `350 crore. We cannot deliver a bad quality of VFX,since we are looking for excel-lence.”

Saaho, directed by Sujeeth,has been simultaneously shot inTelugu and Hindi. Prabhas sayshe had to constantly adapt to thetwo versions, particularly whenit came to dialogue delivery.

“There are differences I hadto keep in mind as an actor. Forexample, in a south Indian lan-guage, say in Telugu, the emo-tion inherent in a sentence nor-mally comes at the end of theline, while in Hindi you expressthe emotion with every word.The flow of the language is dif-ferent and my expression had tobe in sync with the words. It isa technical thing but I had to getit right,” he pointed out.

Language, Prabhas says, wasa challenge. “I was born inTamil Nadu, so I am familiarwith the Tamil language butHindi was a first-time experi-ence for me. This was the firsttime I was shooting a film inHindi, so I consciously putextra effort. It is up to theaudience to decide now, thoughour whole unit felt my Hindiwas good,” he said.

Starting his career in 2003with the Telugu film Eeswar,Prabhas has done several filmsin Telugu but recognition cameonly after the Baahubali series.What does he look for in a scriptnow? “For me, the story has tobe engaging and the treatmentof the story has to be designedto entertain the audience. It isnot star power (that I look at).Rather, I look at my character inthe film as secondary becausethe script is what we are con-tributing to. In Baahubali, too,the global appreciation hap-pened because of the way(director) Rajamouli garu treat-ed the story with grandeur. Itwas a story of our superhero, anIndian story,” said Prabhas.

Saaho is one of the most tech-nically advanced films ever pro-

duced in India. The film hasbeen shot with IMAX camerasand has the look and feel of aHollywood film. Does thatsnatch away an element ofIndianness from the film?

“What we saw in (the actionsequences) Baahubali was acombination of action anddance choreography, and that iswhy there was a different kindof grace in those scenes. Saahois a regular film, with some styl-ish and slick action choreogra-phy. We are not trying to com-pete with Hollywood becausethey are more advanced than weare, but it is true that we arecapable of delivering some-thing at par with internationalstandards. We have the talentbut in Indian films, we haven’ttried this level of action andVFX. Therefore, for the massaudience in India, we are givingsomething that is newand technologically

advanced. For the rest, it is upto them to decide. As for me, asthe release date approaches, mystress level is going higher!” hesmiled.

Saaho, directed by Sujeeth,also stars Shraddha Kapoor,Jackie Shroff, NeilNitin Mukesh,M a h e s hManjrekar,M u r a l iSharma, andC h u n k yPandey inkey roles.The filmreleaseso nA u g u s t30.

— IANS

I am quiteconfident

doing actionand giving

silent expressions aswell as close-up shots.

I go easy with theswagger andconvey a lot

with my eyes. Iam not that

confident withmy dialogue

delivery and amconstantly

working on that— PRABHAS

This is the first time I haveworked in such a big-budget film so I am excitedbut nervous as well. Peoplehave huge expectationsever since the trailer wasreleased, so I amstressed now— SHRADDHA KAPOOR

ollywood actress Shraddha Kapoor is gearing upfor the release of the multilingual Saaho. Theactress says that she is interested in experi-menting with her roles and that box-officenumber can never stop her from followingher heart.

“Whether it worked at the box office or not, Iam always offered different roles that are strongand well edged-out. As an actor, I am alwayslooking for something different, looking for a newchallenge. I know that not all my films haveworked wonders at the box-office, but that hasnot stopped me from experimenting,” Shraddhasaid.

The actress, who made her debut with TeenPatti in 2010, has left a mark with her role as asinger in Aashiqui 2, a Kashmiri girl in Haider,a dancer in ABCD 2, and a real-life gangsterin Haseena Parkar, among other roles. She hasthe commercial biggie Saaho coming up,besides Chhichhore.

Some of her past films such as Ok Jaanu,Haseena Parkar and Batti Gul Meter Chalufared below expectations, but Shraddha’s con-fidence remains unfazed. “The fate of a film isnot in my hand, so numbers should not stopme from experimenting. When an actor triedavoiding formula in order to experiment, shetends to stumble. However, every time I intro-spect I feel it is better to go for a script that Ilike but is risky, than a safe script that I may dohalf-heartedly,” said the daughter of veteranactor Shakti Kapoor.

Shraddha, however, concedes, she is not alto-gether oblivious of the cold box-office response tosome of her films. “Those box-office results didmake me sit down and introspect. I startedlooking out for a better understanding ofhow to engage and entertain the audi-ence, which is constantly chang-ing,” she said.

The actress admits sheis stressed out abouthow “Saaho might fareat the box-office”.“This is the first time Ihave worked in such abig-budget film so I amexcited but nervous as well.People have huge expectationsever since the trailer wasreleased, so I am stressed now,”said the actress.

K RAMYA SREEn HYDERABAD

requent Metrousers will agreewhen we say thatmost travellers lackbasic etiquette tobe followed while

travelling in public transport.With the Metro seeing hun-dreds of new riders each day,a lesson in basic etiquette is theneed of the hour.

Of course, most commutersare polite, but it doesn’t hurt toremind a few people aboutwhat’s acceptable when you’rein a packed train.

With over three lakh peopleusing the Metro on a dailybasis, there are certain thingsabout your fellow passengersthat do get to your nerves.

While some trouble passen-gers by clanking their luggageagainst the metal rails, othersmake things uncomfortable forothers by spreading their legs.

Then you have the public DJwho thinks everyone in thecoach has assembled to listento his chartbusters. You alsohave the ‘I’m always first’ kindwho does not let passengersalight at a station and swarmin like a group of bees. Whilethis is the most common com-plaint by users, there are a mil-lion other etiquettes that peo-ple do wrong every day.

When one is travelling bybus, the conductor generallyasks people to give up theirseats for pregnant women orthe elderly. But when it comes

to the Metro, there is no one totell these people to give uptheir seats. And many like toblissfully ignore boards whichclearly state ‘seat reserved forelderly/pregnant women’.

If this weren’t enough, youhave men entering the women’scoach despite a sign boardthat says men will be fined ̀ 500if they enter ladies’ coach.

“People who want to boardthe train don’t wait for thosewho want to alight. They justtry to push you and get into thecoach despite announcements

being made to let alighting pas-sengers first. There have beeninstances where I have missedmy stop because I have beenpushed back due to the rush.Not just this, despite repeatedannouncements to not standnear the door, people lean onthe door, leaving no room forpassengers to get in or out,” saidK Navya, a daily commuter inMetro Rail.

“People don’t respect queueseven near the counter. Therehave been times where peopletried to squeeze their hands into

the counter while I’m still tak-ing my ticket,” said anothercommuter P Chythanya, a soft-ware engineer.

However, N V S Reddy, MDof HMRL begs to differ andsaid, “When compared to otherpublic transport, the behaviourof Metro passengers is muchbetter. By and large people arefollowing the rules and arekeeping the premises clean.However, there is scope forimprovement. This is a longdrawn thing. In Western coun-tries, metro etiquettes have

evolved over time and theyrespect everybody’s right. Inour country it will take time,but we are educating themabout the etiquettes, especial-ly when it comes to pushing co-passengers or respectingwomen and elders by offeringseats. We are observing howpeople are behaving and willact accordingly.”

To make life easy and theMetro rides memorable,authorities have started adver-tising about etiquettes to be fol-lowed by riders in train.

HERE ARE A FEW ETIQUETTESTO BE KEPT IN MIND WHILEYOU RIDE IN METRO

o Wait your turn to enter the train, don'tbe rude or put anyone in danger.

o No loud music on Metro: Everybodyjust wants a nice quiet ride on Metro.Use your head phones.

o Don't seat hog on Metro: Spreadingyour legs or using your belongings totake up more than one seat is a rudething to do.

o Don't eat on Metro: Eating makes amess and causes problems, pleasehelp keep Metro clean and fresh.

o Don't block the aisles: When you havelarger items with you, move to the rightplace and move out of the way.

o Don't squat on floor, hold your sareeclose to you, be polite and listencarefully, don't carry pets, don't walkon escalator and hold your children.

LIFE IN AMETRO

THE OTHER SIDE OFMETRO TRAVEL

I CONVEY A LOT WITHMY EYES: PRABHAS

The actorsays that

Saaho is nottrying tocompete

withHollywoodmovies but

proving thatIndian filmsare capable

of deliveringsomething in

par withinternational

standards

I am excited butnervous for Saaho:Shraddha Kapoor

F

T

B

FridayAugust 23, 2019

Follow us on

@TheDailyPioneer

facebook.com/

dailypioneer

ollywood maverick QuentinTarantino, 56, is expecting his firstchild with wife Daniella Pick. The

couple, in a statement, told people.comthat they are “very delighted toannounce that they are expect-ing a baby”.

The Once Upon aTime in Hollywooddirector first metDaniella, daughter ofIsraeli singer andsongwriter TzvikaPick, in 2009 whilepromoting his filmInglorious Basterds.

The pair didn’tstart dating until 2016,and then got engagedin June 2017 afterhaving dated foraround a year. The56-year-old film-maker marriedDaniella in an inti-mate ceremony inLos Angeles inNovember 2018.

The couple hosted anengagement party onSeptember 2017 in NewYork City that served as aPulp Fiction cast reunion, witha guest list including nameslike Bruce Willis, Samuel LJackson and Uma Thurman.

H

ctor-producerChitrangada Singh hasrevealed that she is develop-

ing a web series under her production banner. The actor,who ventured into the production aspect of filmmaking with

2018 film Soorma, a biopic on former Indian hockey captainSandeep Singh, said, that as a producer she wants to support content

that is interesting and engaging. “I want to tell engaging stories. Iam currently working on two scripts as a producer. I am also

developing a web series. There is a lot of hard work we areputting in it. Hope people will have something good to sayabout it,” Chitrangada said. She is also planning to act

in one of her production ventures. “I hope I willfit in one of my projects as an actor as well.”

The 42-year-old actor was speaking onthe sidelines of Lakme Fashion Week

Summer/Resort 2019 where shewalked for Delhi-based designerAnjali Verma. Titled Delilah, the

collection was crafted in the tone-on-tone colour palette in hues of biscuitbeige, pista green, aqua green and dusty

pink. Chitrangada, who wore a cherryred heavily embellished floor-length gown,said the social media scrutiny celebrities haveto go through for their fashion choices is “harsh”.“We all are on social media so somebody or other

would put up a picture and there will be com-ments on it. It does make me conscious,” she said.

The actor, however, does not get bogged downby the negative comments she receives at times. “Ihave stopped taking them seriously because you

do a bad look and the next day you do a good lookand everything changes. One good cover and viewschange. I have gotten used to it but everything gets

harsh sometimes,” she said LFW Summer/Resort2019 ends on Sunday. — PTI

A

ctor Liam Hemsworth hasfiled for a divorce fromsinger Miley Cyrus, citing

“irreconcilable differences”.The two announced their sepa-

ration on August 10, after less thana year of marriage. Just three daysafter their split, Hemsworth shareda message on social media wishingCyrus “nothing but health andhappiness going forward”, tmz.comreported.

Sources connected to the couplesay that Hemsworth and Cyrushad a prenup, keeping their earn-ings during the marriage separate,so there won’t be a fight overmoney. Cyrus was spotted withcelebrity blogger Kaitlynn Carterthis past weekend in a Hollywoodnightclub.

In the club, the two ladieswere reportedly spotted “basi-

cally having sex” and theduo “didn’t care who saw”,

according to apagesix.com report.

— IANS

Ban oon MMikalifted; hhesays wwon'tsing iin PPakagain

inger Mika Singh hasapologised to theFederation of Western

India Cine Employees(FWICE) after the associa-tion banned him from work-ing in India, following hisrecent live performance inPakistan.

Interacting with the mediaon Wednesday in Mumbai, Mikasaid he had to do it owing to aprior commitment, but admitted itto be a mistake he would neverrepeat. However, the interaction soonturned into a heated exchange betweenthe singer and the media.

“This was a commitment signed longback. The timing was wrong that I wentthere because the decision on Article 370 hasjust been taken. I called the federation and toldthem that this was a mistake. I apologise for themistake and I won’t repeat it. I got a visa, so Iwent (to Pakistan). If you get a visa, you will go,too,” said Mika, while interacting with the mediaalong with chief advisor of FWICE, AshokePandit, and the body’s president, BN Tiwari, on Wednesday in Mumbai.

Earlier, the All India Cine WorkersAssociation (AICWA) and FWICE had bannedMika for performing at the wedding of a rela-tive of former Pakistani President, GeneralPervez Musharraf, in Karachi. Mika’s presencebecame known after pictures and videos of hisperformance appeared on social media. In hisjustification, the singer said that he had com-mitted to the client “long back”. — IANS

ational Award-winning actorAkshay Kumar has made it tothe fourth position on the Forbes

magazine’s World’s Highest-Paid ActorsOf 2019 list. According to the list onForbes.com Akshay has raked in $65million. Hollywood star Dwayne ‘Rock’Johnson tops the Forbes list of the 10highest-paid actors, collecting $89.4million between June 1, 2018, and June1, 2019. Australian actor ChrisHemsworth took the second spot with$76.4 million — one ofmany actors fromMarvel’s super-hero universe.

The list also covers the timeline fromJune 2018 to June 2019, during whichthe highest-grossing films of all timeAvengers: Endgame was also released.

The Thor star is followed by mostof the Avengers stars — ‘IronMan’ Robert Downey Jr. atNo. 3, ‘Rocket’ BradleyCooper at sixth, ‘CaptainAmerica’ Chris Evans ateighth and ‘Ant-Man’Paul Rudd at the ninthspot. Others namedare Jackie Chan,Adam Sandler andWill Smith.

ctress Priyanka Chopra is set to star in Netflix’supcoming project, a superhero movie titled WeCan Be Heroes. It is still not known if the Indian

beauty will play a superhero or not, but the film is forkids and is being written, directed and produced byRobert Rodriguez, director of the Spy Kids franchise.The film is about how a group of kids steps up to savethe world when aliens abduct all of Earth’s super-heroes.

Meanwhile, the Quantico actress’ Marathi pro-duction Paani recently won the Best Film award

in the Environment Conservation category.“I’m so proud to have produced a special

film like #Paani. Congratulations to ourdirector @adinathkothare and the

entire team @PurplePebblePic@madhuchopra @Iamsidchopra

for our second NationalAward,” Priyanka had

tweeted. — IANS

Vijayawada Friday August 23, 2019

AA

N

Priyankato star in

Netflixsuperhero movie

onam Kapoor has joined theBollywood bandwagon spreadingawareness on children’s rights, aspart of #WhyTheGap campaignpromoted by Save The ChildrenIndia.

The actress shared a group photo of herbatch from her school days in Arya VidyaMandir, Mumbai, and tweeted: “My schooldays were some of my happiest memories.I believe that education is the one path totrue independence and freedom. Weshould all be asking #WhyTheGap andworking towards #TheRightStart forevery child.”

The actress believes every childshould have the right

start because true independence can beachieved with education, and she nomi-nated actors Arjun Kapoor, Swara Bhaskerand Dulquer Salmaan to take up the chal-lenge on Twitter.

Save the Children India, which works forunderprivileged children, started the onlinecampaign called #WhyTheGap to help spreadawareness about the existing gaps in our soci-ety between the privileged and the under-privileged strata.

Bollywood celebrities such as AkshayKumar and his wife Twinkle Khanna,actresses Taapsee Pannu and Dia Mirza,musicians Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy, andAyushmann Khurrana’s wife TahiraKashyap Khurrana have also tweetedon the same.

— IANS

S

#WHYTHEGAPSonam Kapoor FOR CHILD

RIGHTS

AKSHAY KUMAR fourthhighest paid actor inthe world: Forbes

S

Chitrangadato produce aweb series

celeb talks

LIAM

HEMSWORTH files for

divorce from

MILEYCYRUS

Quentin Tarantino expectingfirst baby with Daniella Pick

10

Man Vs Wild with Modi creates history

he special edition of Man VsWild, featuring Prime MinisterNarendra Modi with survivalist

and adventurer, Bear Grylls, created his-tory by garnering highest slot viewership(on active channels) with 3.69 millionimpressions overtaking GEC leader StarPlus with 3.67 million impressions.

The premiere on Discovery Network(across 12 Discovery channels) alsodelivered the highest ever slot reach forthe infotainment genre with 6.1 milliontune-in on Discovery Channel which is15 times more as compared to the last 4weeks average of the same slot. The pre-miere slot performance grew 50 timesgiving an unprecedented 93% channelshare to Discovery Channel amongst theinfotainment genre.

The premiere delivered the highestever sampling in the infotainment genrewith 15.6 million tune-ins. The premiereof the show on August 12 on Discovery

Channel rewrote the rules of the info-tainment genre emerging as the highest-ever rated show in the history of genrein India garnering 6.9 million impres-sions. The cumulative reach for the showacross Discovery Network, originals andrepeat included, and DD National was animposing 42.7 million. The special edi-tion is also being showcased onDiscovery network of channels across179 countries.

“The historic edition of Man Vs Wildmade a larger point about importance ofwildlife conservation and sensitisedpeople about environmental change. Inthat sense, it was much more than a TVshow,” said Megha Tata, ManagingDirector — South Asia, Discovery.

In celebration of the show’s success,Discovery India will make a donation forthe cause of tiger conservation in Indiain alignment with the PM’s message ofcommitting to wildlife conservation.

T

Vijayawada Friday August 23, 2019

11

tollywood

NANI'S TRIBUTE TO THEORIGINAL GANG LEADERAs megastar Chiranjeevi turned 64 on Thursday, natural star

Nani unveiled a new poster of his from September 13 slot-ted Gang Leader as a mark of tribute to the original Gang

Leader. The interesting aspect of the poster is its similarities to thatof an iconic still from Chiru’s evergreen hit Gang Leader (1991). “Thisshot in our film is a tribute to the classic Gang Leader…On the occa-sion of the megastar’s birthday, we decided to show you a glimpseof it as a poster — Happy birthday, sir. You are the Gang leaderwe will always look up to,” posted Nani on Twitter.

‘Annaya saved me fromtaking a wrong direction’

ower star and JanaSena Chief PawanKalyan saidA n n a y aChiranjeevi’s 64thbirthday is special

for him. The reason beingthat, as a fan of the Megastar,he has been waiting to seeChiranjeevi in a patriotic filmand his wish got fulfilled withSye Raa Narasimha Reddy.The latter tells the epic storyof Kurnool-based freedomfighter UyyalawadaNarasimha Reddy who led anarmed rebellion against theBritish in 1846, more than adecade before the sepoymutiny took place in Meerut.

“I couldn’t act in the filmbut I consider lucky to havegiven voice-over for it. Ourfamily’s surname Konidelacomes from a village inKurnool and Uyyalawada isalso from the same district. Ibelieve the film came toAnnaya, rather than goingtowards it. I couldn’t producea great film like it with himbut I’m happy that Charan hasproduced it. Interestingly, itwas made under KonidelaProduction company,” he stat-ed. He was speaking at theannual Megastar Chiranjeevibirthday celebrations atShilpakala Vedika in

Hyderabad on Wednesdayevening.

Pawan expressed his joy tosee two of his favourite peo-ple — Chiranjeevi andAmitabh Bachchan — in oneframe in the October 2release. “They are both my

biggest source of inspirations.The film also gave me an elu-sive opportunity to meet withAmitabh Bachchan garuwhen I dropped by the sets tosee Annaya,” he noted.

He said that his elder broth-er saved him thrice from tak-

ing a wrong turn in life. “I wasdepressed when I failed inintermediate. Annaya had alicensed pistol back then andI felt like committing suicidewith it. Sensing that I was ina bad state of mind, I wastaken to Annaya who told me,

‘If you don’t like academics,take another route. But don’tget depressed’. His words lift-ed my morale. I wished stu-dents who committed suicidesin Telangana earlier this yearhad a brother like Annaya.Their death pained me.Politics aside, I believe thatfamilies should be able to pro-vide counselling,” he advised.

Citing another instance,Pawan recalled that as ayoungster his blood wouldboil when someone spokeabout India in a bad light.“Annaya would fear that Iwould become a revolution-ary. He counselled me say-ing that I should first be agood human being. Itstopped me from taking aradical step,” he reminiscedand added that at 22, he wasaway from home for sixmonths doing meditationand Yoga at producer NVPrasad’s ashram in Tirupati.“I told Annaya that I don’tneed anything in life and willtake the spiritual route. Headvised me against it, sayingthat I will not be useful tosociety if I take such a move.He felt that if I was respon-sible for life and family, Iwouldn’t think on such lines.I took his guidance whichmade me who I’m today.”

id Tamil-Telugu actor Vishal calls off his mar-riage with Anisha Alla, a Telugu actress hegot engaged earlier this March in Hyderabadin a low-key ceremony? Well, that’s what thebuzz from Chennai circles says. Speculations

about their wedding — scheduled for later this year— being called off has been doing the rounds for thepast two days. What has fuelled the speculations fur-ther is the fact that Anisha has deleted all pictures ofher with Vishal on her Instagram page. This came asa shocker for fans of Vishal as Anisha was spotted

recently on the sets of his film in Turkey.Before they made the news of them being an

item together in January, Anisha, taking toInstagram, posted that she had “found

somebody to go down the path of life with,loving him and life with true passion. I

look up to this man for all that he standsfor and for all of his heart. I vow to give

back to him, the families and thepeople around with this step for-

ward. I vow to be the best that Ican be, intention towards collec-

tive learning, love and moralvalue (sic)”.

Vishal wrote back then, “Yes. Happy. Too happy. Happiest. Her nameis #AnishaAlla. And yes, she said yes. It’s confirmed. My next biggesttransition in life; will be announcing the date soon. God bless (sic).”

Wonder what happened? Your guess is as good as ours!

VISHAL splits with ANISHA?

d

p The Power Star mentions that he wascontemplating suicide after failing his intermediate.Chiranjeevi encouraged him to take a path that wasmore suitable for him, finds NAGARAJ GOUD

fter a promis-ing turn ini S m a r tShankar, whichalso lit up the

box-office, NabhaNatesh is in muchdemand. Presently, apart of Ravi Teja-starrerDisco Raja, where shewill be seen in a veryurbane part, the actress,according to sources, isin prime contention tobag Sai Dharam Tej’s next with producer BVSNPrasad. “Nabha liked her part and she believes itwill show her in a completely new light. It’s littledifferent from the chirpy roles that she has been

associated with so far, which is why she is excit-ed about it. Dates aren’t an issue. Talks with

her are in full swing and it’s a matterof time before she officially signs the

project,” said a source close to thedevelopment.

While it remains to be seenwhen this project, with debu-

tant Subbu in the director’schair, will roll as Sai Tej isalso attached to star inDeva Katta’s next, pro-ducer Prasad is confi-

dent of taking it tofloors November-

end itself.The dia-

l o g u e sa r eb e i n gwritten

rightnow.

—NG

NABHA intalks for Sai

Tej's nextThe actress had liked

her part, which willshow her in a

completely newlight, and it'sa matter of

time beforeshe

officiallysigns the

project

a

aving wrapped up the filmingof Akshara, a social-dramapeppered with comedy,actress Nandita Swetha hassigned a new film, which is a

family-driven suspense thriller. Tomark the directorial debut of Sanjeev M, she will be seen alongsideShiva Kantamaneni ofAkkadokaduntadu fame in the film.Still untitled, the film will be launchedin Ramanaidu Studios, Hyderabad onSaturday and the shoot will kick off onthe same day as well. The makers arekeen to wrap up the shoot in a coupleof schedules. “Four of the total fivesongs have already been recorded.One song has been sung by Mangli(noted TV anchor),” said the makers.To be a joint production venturebetween G Rambabu Yadav, R Venkateshwara Rao, KS ShankarRao and V Krishna Rao underLighthouse Cine Magic banner, thefilm features Raasi, K Ashok Kumar,Posani Krishna Murali, Ajay, Praveen,Bitthiri Satti, Ajay Ghosh, AdityaMenon and Annapurnamma insupporting roles.

NANDITAIN ANOTHERTHRILLER

hhile the filming ofVijay Deverakonda’snext with PuriJagannadh is at leastfive months from now,

seems there’s no stopping for pro-ducer Charmme Kaur though.With iSmart Shankar behindher, the actress-turned-producer, it seems, iskeen on keepingthe project in thelimelight. Wehear she hasapproached theTelugu FilmChamber ofCommerce toregister the title asFighter. However, itseems the title has beenalready registered in anotherproducer’s name. She is hopingto get the consent of the said pro-ducer to part the title; else, herteam might christen it as VijayDeverakonda’s Fighter.

The actor will be seen as ayouth with a stammer in the film,joint production venture betweenPuri and Charmme under PuriJagannadh Touring Talkies ban-ner and Puri Connects, and hefights this condition every day toemerge to be a fighter, a factorthat led to the title.Deverakonda’s mannerisms andattitude are bound to take his fans on a euphoric ride, sources say.

Meanwhile, Deverakonda has been signed on as the brand ambassador of the food deliv-ery app Zomato. His popularity across the South fetched him the deal and he is charging`1 crore as his fee, it is understood. The actor is presently shooting for Kranthi Madhav’suntitled romantic drama, which will be wrapped in another month.

w

DEVERAKONDAis Puri's FIGHTER

sport 12VIJAYAWADA | FRIDAY I AUGUST 23, 2019

AFP n COLOMBO

Skipper Dimuth Karunaratne helped SriLanka to 85 for two at stumps on a rain-

hit day one of the second Test against NewZealand in Colombo on Thursday.

Only 36.3 overs were possible after rainwashed out the first session and bad lightended play for the day with Karunaratneunbeaten on 49.

Karunaratne, fresh from a match-winningcentury in the first Test in Galle last week lastweek, hit six boundaries during his 100-ballstay in overcast conditions.

Former captain Angelo Mathews was giv-ing Karunaratne company in the middle toremain unbeaten on nought after facing 14

deliveries.New Zealand all-rounder Colin de

Grandhomme, who made the XI in place ofMitchell Santner, said the match was “even-ly poised”.

“There’s a bit of more bounce on this trackthan what we encountered in Galle and that’snice,” he said after play ended.

“If we can get a couple of early wicketson Friday morning that will be nice.”

Karunaratne batted with positive intentdespite losing opening partner LahiruThirimanne and Kusal Mendis either side oftea.

Thirimanne never looked comfortableand his 59-minute stay at the wicket producedjust two runs.

His misery ended when he pushed aWilliam Somerville delivery and was caughtat extra cover by skipper Kane Williamson.He had been earlier dropped by wicketkeep-er BJ Watling off Somerville.

Mendis looked good as he reached 32with four fours and put on 50 runs withKarunaratne to steady the batting.

De Grandhomme got Mendis caughtbehind on a seaming delivery outside the offstump and Watling gloved the catch.

The hosts only need a draw to clinch thetwo-match series.

The entire opening session and anotherhour was lost due to persistent rain and thetoss took place at 1:10 pm (0740 GMT). Theafternoon session went uninterrupted but playwas again delayed by 28 minutes after tea dueto rain.

After 7.3 overs in the evening session, playwas called off due to bad light.

PTI nMUMBAI

Former opener Vikram Rathour willbe replacing Sanjay Bangar as India’s

new batting coach while Bharath Arunand R Sridhar were expectedly retainedas bowling and fielding coaches respec-tively.

The senior national selection com-mittee headed by MSK Prasad has rec-ommended three names each for all thesupport staff positions and the topnames in each category will be appoint-ed after the formalities with regards toConflict of Interest declaration is com-plete.

The 50-year-old Rathour, has played6 Tests and 7 ODIs in 1996 withoutmuch success but was a domestic heavy-weight for Punjab. He till few years back(2016) was a senior national selectorunder Sandeep Patil’s chairmanship.

He had earlier applied for NCA bat-ting consultant and U-19 batting coach’sposition but his application was put onhold as his brother-in-law AshishKapoor is the chairman of U-19 selec-tion committee.

“Vikram Rathour has got enoughexperience and we are convinced withhis skill sets (as a coach). We will ask himto declare if he has any conflict,” BCCICEO Rahul Johri told reporters.

As per the recommendations of theselection committee, current incumbentSanjay Bangar came second while for-mer England batsman MarkRamprakash was third.

“The team management had theirown views but looking ahead, we feltthere should be some freshness in thesupport staff,” Johri said.

Former Mumbai Indians physioNitin Patel, who was part of the supportstaff during the 2011 campaign, is backwhile Englishman Luke Woodhouse wasappointed as the strength and condition-ing (trainer) coach.

The other notable candidate to losehis job was incumbent administrativemanager Sunil Subramaniam, who wasremoved for his alleged misbehaviourwith top diplomats of the Indian govern-ment during the ongoing tour of WestIndies. Subramaniam was replaced byGirish Dongre.

IANS n NEW DELHI

Moments after Ravi Shastriwas re-appointed as the

head coach of the Indian teamtill 2021, Cricket AdvisoryCommittee (CAC) chief KapilDev had said ‘as all of you wereexpecting’ Shastri is the numberone candidate for the job. But ithas now come to the fore thatKiwi Mike Hesson had almosttoppled Shastri.

Speaking about it, a seniorBCCI functionary said that itwas a close call between Shastriand Hesson and New Zealand’strack record under the Kiwifrom 2012 till 2018 had almostsealed the deal for the formerKings XI Punjab coach.

“It was not a walk in thepark for Shastri as some of youseem to believe. Hesson wasreally close to getting the go-ahead. It is there for all to seehow the New Zealand team

improved by leaps and boundsunder him across all formats.

“From being the perennialsurprise package in big-ticketevents, they had become achampion side under him and

that is something that reallyimpressed the CAC.

“Under his coaching, theKiwis reached their first-everWorld Cup final in 2015. Whilehe did resign in 2018, the Kiwis

playing their second final on thetrot in 2019 also had a lot to dowith what Hesson brought tothe table.

His strategizing with thesenior members in the team

can’t be discounted,” the func-tionary explained.

Asked what then turnedthe table back in Shastri’s favour,considering that the CAC madeit clear that skipper Virat Kohliwasn’t consulted before takingthe call, the functionary said itwas Shastri’s experience as aplayer on the internationalstage.

“The CAC felt that Shastri’sproven record as a player wasone area that needed to be givedue recognition as one’s ownstature might become an area ofconcern when handling a teamwhich has big names.

“Hesson hadn’t playedenough cricket himself and aswe know started coaching in hisearly twenties. Shastri on theother hand played 80 Testmatches and 150 ODIs. That issomething that went againstthe for Kiwi coach,” the func-tionary said.

IANS n NORTH SOUND

Virat Kohli had a fan boy moment ahead ofthe first Test as he got an opportunity to

interview legendary cricketer Vivian Richards,whom the Indian skipper has always idol-wor-shipped.

Kohli quizzed Viv Richards on how he dealtwith the fastest of bowlers of his time withouteven wearing a helmet or a guard. He intro-duced the Caribbean master as “the greatestinspiration to all of us batsmen”.

“Whenever I have seen videos of you walk-ing out, you’re in a hat, no helmets back then.Even when there were, after a point you chosenot to. Because it was something that made youfeel like you had the belief and ‘you are chew-ing gum’.

“I know the pitches were not as preparedor as covered back then. What was it like? Whatwent through your head walking out knowingthat you don’t have a lot of protection. Thereis no restriction on bouncers and then you goout and dominate like that.

“What did you feel from the time you leftthe changing room till you got to the pitch.What was the mindset?” Kohli asked.

“I believed I am the man,” said Richards.“It may sound arrogant but I always felt that Iwas involved in a game that I knew. I wouldback myself every time.

“You have to back yourself to get hurt, totake the knocks. But the helmet — I tried, I amnot going to lie and tell you. But, it felt a littleuncomfortable. So I felt my cap, my marooncap which was given to me. I felt so proud withthat.

“My mindset was that if I am goodenough to be here, if I get hurt it’s God’s will.I will survive,” the 67-year-old replied.

Kohli also shared his experience of facingfast bowlers: “I feel like it’s better to get hit earlyon and get to know the feeling than always feel-ing like you might get hit.

“So, I prefer actually getting hit early on andreally hard so it motivates me even further notallow that to happen again, just that pain to gothrough your body and be like — okayenough, it’s not happening again.”

Richards further said that getting hit wasa part of cricket.

“Because to be fair while batting you aregoing to get hurt. It depends on how you comeback from this knocks. In the old days, beforethese little guards (chest guards) around yourribs, you take it there and that’s when you feelit. You take a count but then that’s part and par-cel of the sport,” Richards opined.

Kohli also quizzed him about the chal-lenges Richards faced that made him believein himself. The former Windies skipper said:“I always felt I was good enough to be com-peting and I wanted to express myself in thebest way that I can.”

“I see that little similarity in you and thatsame passion in you,” said Richards as Kohlihad his moment, “There are times when folkswould look at us and say, ‘Wow why are theyso angry?”

Richards, who retired from the sport in1991 had earlier hailed Kohli’s batting skills andhad said that the Indian skipper’s batting stylereminded him of his own days.

AFP n LEEDS

Marcus Harris and Usman Khawajaboth fell cheaply before Australia

reached 54-2 at tea on Thursday’s rain-marred opening day of the third AshesTest against England at Headingley.

Only 18 overs in an original day’s allo-cation of 90 had been bowled when badlight forced an early tea, with DavidWarner 26 not out — his first double-fig-ure score in five innings this series — andMarnus Labuschagne seven not out.

Rain had previously stopped play at2.45 pm (1345 GMT) after delaying thescheduled start by more than an hour.

And there was further frustration forboth England and a crowd who had wait-ed patiently to watch cricket when, afterplay resumed, only 3.1 more overs werepossible before the umpires suspendedplay for bad light even though the flood-lights were on full blast.

After a grinning Warner andLabuschagne sprinted off the field,umpires Chris Gaffaney and Joel Wilsonwere booed as they returned to the pavil-ion.

Wilson was later seen having an ani-mated conversation on the dressing roombalcony with several England playersand backroom staff.

England, looking to level the five-match series at 1-1, had seen captain JoeRoot win the toss in the hope of makingthe most of overcast, bowler-friendlyconditions.

Australia had dropped openerCameron Bancroft, who had made just 44runs in four innings, and brought inHarris to partner Warner at the top of theorder after England had enjoyed the bet-

ter of a rain-affected draw in the secondTest at Lord's.

Both left-handed batsmen struggledagainst England’s new-ball attack of StuartBroad and Jofra Archer.

The experienced Warner was repeat-edly beaten by Broad jagging the ball offa length, while the express Archer, in hissecond Test, went past Harris's outsideedge.

Archer, bowling from around thewicket, squared him up with an 87.3 mphdelivery that saw Harris get a thin edgethrough to wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow— like Root appearing on his homeground.

Moments after Harris had fallen foreight, with Australia 12-1 off four overs,the umpires took the players off the fieldbecause of rain.

It took Warner 14 balls to get off the

mark as he continued to struggle, althoughBroad may have bowled a fraction tooshort with several deliveries beating theoutside edge without really challenging thebatsmen.

But he did take a wicket when UsmanKhawaja, the third left-hander inAustralia’s top three, made thin contactwith an intended leg glance and wascaught behind as he too fell for eight.

England, however, had to reviewNew Zealand official Gaffaney’s originalnot out decision before reducing Australiato 25-2.

For Australia, fast bowler JamesPattinson came in for paceman PeterSiddle.

England were unchanged after open-er Jason Roy was passed fit having beenhit on the head batting in the nets onTuesday.

PTI n NORTH SOUND

Opener KL Rahul put up a grit-ty fight with a circumspect

Ajinkya Rahane as India partiallyrecovered from a top-order col-lapse to reach 68 for 3 at lunch onthe opening day of the first WorldChampionship Test match againstthe West Indies.

Rahul, who had a wretched 18months in the red-ball format,before this Test match, was com-posed during his unbeaten 37after India were reduced to 25 for3 inside the first eight overs on atrack that offered bounce and lat-eral movement for new ballbowlers Kemar Roach (2/12 in 6overs) and Shannon Gabriel (1/26in 7 overs).

Mayank Agarwal (5), the ever-dependable Cheteshwar Pujara(2) and skipper Virat Kohli (9)were back in the pavilion in thefirst hour after Jason Holder putthe visitors in on a bouncy track.

Rahul (37 batting, 73 balls)and vice-captain Rahane (10 bat-ting, 43 balls) added 42 runs forthe unbroken fourth wicket andstemmed the rot going into thelunch break after 24 overs werebowled during the opening ses-sion.

Agarwal got one from Roach,which held its line and the open-er didn't fully commit forwardwith resultant nick being gobbledby Shai Hope behind the stumps.

The dogged Pujara didn't lastlong as he got a delivery fromRoach that moved a shade awayafter pitching with India's No. 3lunging forward. The edge wastaken low down by Hope.

Skipper Kohli relishes suchadverse situations and tough con-ditions but it wasn't his day despitea promising start that included adrive past point and another pastmid-on.

However, Gabriel's ball, one

Roach, Gabriel jolt India early

Mayank Agarwal looks down after being dismissed by Kemar Roach, right, during day 1 of the first Test in North Sound AP

Richards sees samepassion in Kohli

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‘Hesson almost beat Shastri to India coach job'

Harris,Khawaja fall amid showersKarunaratne standstall on rain-hit day

that climbed on him from short oflength, saw Kohli fend awkwardly,only to be caught at gully by debutantShamarh Brooks.

At 25 for 3, it could have beenworse but a determined Rahul put hishead down and left a lot of deliveriesoutside off-stump as Rahane also

defended dourly at the other end,waiting for Roach and Gabriel's firstspell to end.

It was only when back-up pacerMiguel Cummins came into operationthat Rahul collected three of his fourboundaries -- a cut and a couple of off-drives.

Not for once did Rahane lookcomfortable during the first sessionand both his boundaries were freakones. The first was a thickish outsideedge that bounced short of second slipbefore going for four runs. The sec-ond was a pull-shot and he wasn'tentirely in control. However, the bestpart was that he hung in there.

KEEMO PAUL RULED OUTAll-rounder Kemmo Paul has

been ruled out of the first Test againstIndia due to an ankle injury and pacerMiguel Cummins was named as hisreplacement by Cricket West Indies.

Paul was ruled out due to aninjury in his left ankle and willremain in Antigua to continue hisrehabilitation.

"With Keemo ruled out for thismatch, it's good to have someone withMiguel's quality back in the squad, ashe brings experience to the team,"Windies interim head coach FloydReifer said in a statement.

Cummins had made his Testdebut against India three years agoand took a career best 6 for 48 in thesecond innings of the second matchof the four-Test series.

"Watching him in the last A Teamseries against India A and the train-ing sessions his lengths haveimproved. He's a very hard worker anda wicket-taker. I'm sure, if given theopportunity to play, he will make avaluable contribution in our bid to winthis series," he added.

The first Test beginning onThursday marks the start of the ICCWorld Test Championship for bothteams. In this series, each team canearn 60 points for a win or 20 pointsfor a draw.

Windies pacers exploit friendly conditions as India struggle at 68-3 in 1st session

India's captain Virat Kohli plays a shot duringday one of the first Test AP

MAYANK AGARWAL (5),THE EVER-DEPENDABLE

CHETESHWAR PUJARA (2)AND SKIPPER VIRAT

KOHLI (9) WERE BACK INTHE PAVILION IN THEFIRST HOUR AFTER

JASON HOLDER PUT THEVISITORS IN ON ABOUNCY TRACK