12
I ndia has virtually rejected Pakistan’s offer to re-open Kartarpur corridor for pil- grims from June 29, terming it as an effort to “create a mirage of goodwill,” and told the west- ern neighbour that as per pact at least seven days notice was required prior to the travel. “Cross-border travel has been temporarily suspended as part of measures to prevent and contain the spread of coron- avirus. Further view would be taken in consultation with health authorities and other stakeholders concerned,” sources said here reacting to the Pakistani proposal. Pakistan has conveyed its readiness to India to reopen the Kartarpur Corridor on Monday on the occasion of the death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh, the Foreign Office said on Saturday, over three months after it was temporarily closed due to the Covid-19 pandem- ic. India temporarily sus- pended the pilgrimage and registration for the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara in Pakistan on March 16 in view of the coro- navirus outbreak. “As the religious places are gradually opening up around the world, Pakistan has also made necessary arrangements to reopen Kartarpur Sahib Corridor for Sikh pilgrims,” Pakistan’s Foreign office said. To ensure adherence to the health guidelines, Pakistan has invited India to work out nec- essary SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) for the reopening of the corridor. They said Pakistan was trying to “create a mirage of goodwill” by proposing to resume the Kartarpur pilgrim- age from June 29 with a short notice of two days. But the bilateral agreement provides for travel information to be shared by India with Pakistan at least seven days before the date of travel, they said. The normal way is to open the registration process well in advance. Moreover, Pakistan is yet to construct a critical bridge on their side across the floodplains of Ravi river despite having committed to it in the bilater- al agreement, sources said. It would also need to be seen whether pilgrim move- ment is possible and safe through the corridor during monsoon, sources said. In 2013, when the area was flood- ed, it had caused great damage to people in Punjab’s Gurdaspur. The 4.5 km-long corridor connects Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Punjab’s Gurdaspur with Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, a small town about 4 km from the International Border, located at Narowal district of Pakistan’s Punjab province. It is the place where the founder of Sikhism Guru Nanak is believed to have spent the last 18 years of his life. Pakistan in July last year agreed in-principle to build a bridge on the zero line of the Kartarpur corridor to provide all-weather connectivity. A fter the skies over many parts of Gurugram turned dark as swarms of locusts descended on the city around noon with some residents even sharing videos on the social media, the Delhi Government on Saturday put all districts on high alert and asked the district magistrates to coordinate with the fire department for spraying of pesticides and insecticides to prevent a possible attack of crop-destroying locusts. An advisory issued by the Delhi Development Commissioner said residents can distract the locusts by mak- ing high-decibel sound through beating of drums, utensils, play- ing high-volume music, burst- ing crackers, and burning neem leaves. The advisory asked the people to keep doors and win- dows closed and cover outdoor plants with plastic sheets. The district magistrates have also been advised to deploy adequate staff to make villagers and residents aware of these measures. “Swarms of locusts usually fly in daytime and rest during night. Therefore, they should not be allowed to rest during night time,” it read. “Night spray of malathion or chlorpyrifos is useful. PPE kits may be used while spraying for safety, the advisory said.Earlier, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai chaired an emer- gency meeting of senior officials where he was informed that swarms have also reached the Asola Bhatti area in South Delhi.He asked district author- ities to remain on high alert. The forest department was directed to take various steps to repel the swarms of locusts, the official said. He also asked officials of the agriculture department to make field visits to areas close to Gurugram. The development secre- tary, divisional commissioner; director, agriculture depart- ment and district magistrates of South Delhi and West Delhi attended the meeting, the offi- cial said. T he Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday questioned senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel at his residence in Delhi in con- nection with the Sandesara brothers money laundering case, officials said. T he State reported one more Covid-19 death on Saturday when a patient of Ganjam district succumbed to the virus while undergoing treatment. “Regret to inform the death of a 68-year-old Covid positive male of Ganjam district. He was also suffering from the co- morbid conditions of hyper- tension and diabetes,” the Health and Family Welfare Department said. With this, the total death toll in State rose to 18 and nine in Ganjam district. As many as 170 persons tested positive in the State on the day, taking the total tally to 6,350. While 143 cases were reported from quarantine cen- tres, remaining 27 were local contacts. Ganjam district reported the day’s highest 58 cases, fol- lowed by Nabarangpur and Khordha districts with 19 cases each, Rayagada and Gajapati 16 each, Cuttack 14, Puri and Kendrapada six each, Malkangiri five, Jajpur three, Nayagarh three, Sambalpur two and Koraput and Bargarh one each.Besides, NDRF per- sonnel, who was under quar- antine, after returning from Amphan duty in West Bengal, also tested positive. Turn to Page 4 T he Puri administration on Saturday ordered a curfew in the district from June 30 night to 10 pm on July 2 in view of the Bahuda Yatra and Suna Besha of the Holy Trinity. Puri Collector Balwant Singh said residents of build- ings located on both sides of the Bada Danda (Grand Road) would not be allowed to come out during the curfew. If any outsider stays in the buildings along the Bada Danda, action would be taken against the building owner, the Collector said. Even lodges and dharmasalas are not per- mitted to provide shelter to out- siders during the curfew. There would be complete restrictions on vehicular move- ments in the district, he said. However, medical urgency and essential services would be exempted from the restric- tions. On June 22, the adminis- tration had imposed curfew in the Grand Road and complete a shutdown in the district ahead of the Rath Yatra to con- tain Covid-19 transmission. Meanwhile, the adminis- tration is carrying tests of servitors, who would partici- pate in the Bahuda Yatra on July 1.

€¦ · Maharaja Ranjeet Singh, the Foreign Office said on Saturday, over three months ... now agreed to resume one-way traffic to Nepal through the Rasuwagadhi border, the Kathmandu

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Page 1: €¦ · Maharaja Ranjeet Singh, the Foreign Office said on Saturday, over three months ... now agreed to resume one-way traffic to Nepal through the Rasuwagadhi border, the Kathmandu

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India has virtually rejectedPakistan’s offer to re-open

Kartarpur corridor for pil-grims from June 29, terming itas an effort to “create a mirageof goodwill,” and told the west-ern neighbour that as per pactat least seven days notice wasrequired prior to the travel.

“Cross-border travel hasbeen temporarily suspended aspart of measures to prevent andcontain the spread of coron-avirus. Further view would betaken in consultation withhealth authorities and otherstakeholders concerned,”sources said here reacting to thePakistani proposal.

Pakistan has conveyed its

readiness to India to reopenthe Kartarpur Corridor onMonday on the occasion ofthe death anniversary ofMaharaja Ranjeet Singh, theForeign Off ice said onSaturday, over three monthsafter it was temporarily closeddue to the Covid-19 pandem-ic.

India temporarily sus-pended the pilgrimage andregistration for the KartarpurSahib Gurdwara in Pakistan onMarch 16 in view of the coro-navirus outbreak.

“As the religious places aregradually opening up aroundthe world, Pakistan has alsomade necessary arrangementsto reopen Kartarpur SahibCorridor for Sikh pilgrims,”

Pakistan’s Foreign office said.To ensure adherence to thehealth guidelines, Pakistan hasinvited India to work out nec-essary SOPs (Standard

Operating Procedures) for thereopening of the corridor.

They said Pakistan wastrying to “create a mirage ofgoodwill” by proposing to

resume the Kartarpur pilgrim-age from June 29 with a shortnotice of two days.

But the bilateral agreementprovides for travel informationto be shared by India withPakistan at least seven daysbefore the date of travel, theysaid. The normal way is to openthe registration process well inadvance.

Moreover, Pakistan is yet toconstruct a critical bridge ontheir side across the floodplainsof Ravi river despite havingcommitted to it in the bilater-al agreement, sources said.

It would also need to beseen whether pilgrim move-ment is possible and safethrough the corridor duringmonsoon, sources said. In

2013, when the area was flood-ed, it had caused great damageto people in Punjab’sGurdaspur.

The 4.5 km-long corridorconnects Dera Baba Nanakshrine in Punjab’s Gurdaspurwith Darbar Sahib inKartarpur, a small town about4 km from the InternationalBorder, located at Narowaldistrict of Pakistan’s Punjabprovince. It is the place wherethe founder of Sikhism GuruNanak is believed to havespent the last 18 years of hislife.

Pakistan in July last yearagreed in-principle to build abridge on the zero line of theKartarpur corridor to provideall-weather connectivity.

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After the skies over manyparts of Gurugram turned

dark as swarms of locustsdescended on the city aroundnoon with some residents evensharing videos on the socialmedia, the Delhi Governmenton Saturday put all districts onhigh alert and asked the districtmagistrates to coordinate withthe fire department for sprayingof pesticides and insecticides toprevent a possible attack ofcrop-destroying locusts.

An advisory issued by theDelhi DevelopmentCommissioner said residentscan distract the locusts by mak-

ing high-decibel sound throughbeating of drums, utensils, play-ing high-volume music, burst-ing crackers, and burning neemleaves. The advisory asked thepeople to keep doors and win-dows closed and cover outdoorplants with plastic sheets.

The district magistrateshave also been advised to deployadequate staff to make villagersand residents aware of thesemeasures. “Swarms of locustsusually fly in daytime and restduring night. Therefore, theyshould not be allowed to restduring night time,” it read.“Night spray of malathion orchlorpyrifos is useful. PPE kitsmay be used while spraying forsafety, the advisory said.Earlier,Delhi Environment MinisterGopal Rai chaired an emer-gency meeting of senior officialswhere he was informed thatswarms have also reached theAsola Bhatti area in SouthDelhi.He asked district author-ities to remain on high alert. The

forest department was directedto take various steps to repel theswarms of locusts, the officialsaid. He also asked officials ofthe agriculture department tomake field visits to areas closeto Gurugram.

The development secre-tary, divisional commissioner;director, agriculture depart-ment and district magistrates ofSouth Delhi and West Delhiattended the meeting, the offi-cial said.

����� ������ ��

The EnforcementDirectorate (ED) on

Saturday questioned senior

Congress leader Ahmed Patelat his residence in Delhi in con-nection with the Sandesarabrothers money launderingcase, officials said.

����������� ����� ������� ������� �������

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The State reported one moreCovid-19 death on

Saturday when a patient ofGanjam district succumbed tothe virus while undergoingtreatment.

“Regret to inform the deathof a 68-year-old Covid positivemale of Ganjam district. Hewas also suffering from the co-morbid conditions of hyper-tension and diabetes,” theHealth and Family Welfare

Department said. With this, thetotal death toll in State rose to18 and nine in Ganjam district.

As many as 170 personstested positive in the State onthe day, taking the total tally to6,350. While 143 cases werereported from quarantine cen-tres, remaining 27 were localcontacts.

Ganjam district reportedthe day’s highest 58 cases, fol-lowed by Nabarangpur andKhordha districts with 19 caseseach, Rayagada and Gajapati 16each, Cuttack 14, Puri andKendrapada six each,Malkangiri five, Jajpur three,Nayagarh three, Sambalpurtwo and Koraput and Bargarhone each.Besides, NDRF per-sonnel, who was under quar-antine, after returning fromAmphan duty in West Bengal,also tested positive.

Turn to Page 4

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The Puri administration onSaturday ordered a curfew

in the district from June 30night to 10 pm on July 2 in viewof the Bahuda Yatra and SunaBesha of the Holy Trinity.

Puri Collector BalwantSingh said residents of build-ings located on both sides ofthe Bada Danda (Grand Road)would not be allowed to comeout during the curfew.

If any outsider stays in thebuildings along the BadaDanda, action would be takenagainst the building owner,the Collector said. Even lodgesand dharmasalas are not per-

mitted to provide shelter to out-siders during the curfew.

There would be completerestrictions on vehicular move-ments in the district, he said.However, medical urgency andessential services would beexempted from the restric-tions.

On June 22, the adminis-tration had imposed curfew inthe Grand Road and completea shutdown in the districtahead of the Rath Yatra to con-tain Covid-19 transmission.

Meanwhile, the adminis-tration is carrying tests ofservitors, who would partici-pate in the Bahuda Yatra onJuly 1.

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Page 2: €¦ · Maharaja Ranjeet Singh, the Foreign Office said on Saturday, over three months ... now agreed to resume one-way traffic to Nepal through the Rasuwagadhi border, the Kathmandu

He is as spiritual in reallife as his character ofMadhavanand Vyaasji

in Zee Tv’S Qurbaan Hua. Theshow is an intense dramaabout two passionate youngindividuals — Neel andChahat, who are on a missionof their own, driven by thelove and pride of their family.

Meet Aayam Mehta, whoplays Neel’s father, a man ofvalues and discipline.

“One thing that attractedme to play Vyaasji is that heis a dharmik person, he triesto follow religion to a T.Sometimes he does become alittle stubborn, but otherwisehe is a nice man. Just like me,he is open-minded andrespects and believes in allreligions and faiths,” Mehtatells you and adds that the firstthing he does in the morningis to thank God.

“There are millions ofpeople in the world who areunable to see the day’s light.Therefore, every morningwhen I open my eyes, I smileand thank God that he hasgiven me another day to live.It’s nothing short of ablessing,” he says.

Mehta who has been partof shows like Na Aana Iss DeshLado, Rehnaa Hai Teri PalkonKi Chaaon Mein and KaalBhairav Rahasya, says thatacting is all about imitating.

“Since our childhood, weall have imitated someone orthe other. Acting means 100per cent imitation of acharacter. When we imitatesomeone partially, we laugh itoff but if we do it exactly toperfection, then you take itseriously. That’s how actorswork. For me, acting is anunnatural thing. Take anexample, you have to shoot adeath sequence. You go onsets, act like your mother haspassed away but the directortells you that it is not lookingreal. That is when you have tostep into the shoes of thecharacter, imagine that thetragedy has happened withyou and then come trueemotions. This is nothing butan unnatural task for our

brain,” he explains.Acting was never on cards

for Mehta. It was destiny thatbrought him into the field.“Like every other child, I wasalso confused. There weretimes when I wanted to be acricketer l ike SachinTendulkar. It was only after Iturned 16, that I realised mypassion for acting. Back then,I didn’t know that theatre wasa thing. The mere knowledgethat I had about stage playswas because of Ram Leela.Then I came across a play andgot influenced by it. I enrolledmyself in theatre. After sixyears, I shifted to Mumbai,” hetells you.

Shifting to the City ofDreams was easy for Mehta,but the real challenges cameafter that.

“One of my theatre co-actor, who was extremely badat acting, shifted to Mumbaibefore me and within twoweeks he was there on TV.Watching him onDoordarshan, I thought thatMumbai mein lagta hai actorska akaal hai. Sabko kaam miljata hai. Isko agar mil gaya tomain to kitna acha hun.However, reality hit me hardwhen I went to the city. Forabout two years, no one evenentertained me. And my co-actor too ran out of work. Hisfirst project became the lastand he disappeared,” Mehtarecalls.

Mehta’s first project was aone-day shoot where he waspaid �600. “Initially, I ignoredsmall roles because I wasbeing told that I might gettypecast. Then I startedwaiting for the right project tocome. But gradually thingsturned for the better. Also TVwas not my calling. I didn’twant to be a part of shows thatwere never ending. My longestrunning show where I had afive-month stint was Lado.Then I did films like AWednesday, Zokkomon andPadmavat,” he tells you.

The reason why Mehtachose to not dig deep into TVwas because he feels that TVis losing its essence. “Thegolden period of TV was the80s. The kind of shows thatwere made back then, wecan’t even make 10 per cent ofit now. Today, the serials onlydiffer in names, the story isthe same. We have run out offresh ideas. There is no shelflife of serials. The daily soapsare running on tracks insteadof a story. That was the reasonI did limited shows, the oneswhich I think has substance inthem. Like Qurbaan Hua,there’s a story in it,” he tellsyou.

With shoots resuminggradually, Mehta is all excitedto go back to work. “Wehaven’t had any confirmationfrom the team yet, but I amexcited to go to the sets andmeet the lovely cast again,” hesays.

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� What is your role in Your Honour?I play Kashi Samthar, a CRPF officer.

He has known Judge Bishan’s family foryears. He sees Bishan as an elder brother.The problem arises when Bishan’s son,Abeer, gets involved in a hit-and-run case.Bishan then pleads with him to sort outthe matter, which leaves Kashi in adilemma of either doing justice to his jobor staying loyal to Judge Bishan.� What made you say yes?

If you get a chance to do a web serieswith a good script you just can’t let itgo. This was the biggest reason. Thecharacter was good too. Also, in webseries, you can work easily andswiftly, unlike TV where you haveto work at a very fast pace. � How was the experienceworking with the cast?

The experience was good.I shared a good rapport withthe whole team. I have knownJimmy (Sheirgill) for a long timeso it was like an add-on. Also, forthis series I lost around 12 kg, I can’tforget this. The shoots were all funand happy, we were in Punjab,which is again such a happy place tobe in. I could not have asked for more.� You have played a father a coupleof times. How do you differentiatebetween these roles?

All the characters are different. As forRaghav Shrivastav from Mere AngneMein, he was more concerned aboutsociety, had the responsibility of thefamily so he was tired in his life. ForAmbar Sharma, he lives in a metropolitancity, he has no one but his daughter in life.The difference in these characters is themindset. Both the characters look at theworld with a different mindset and that’swhat makes them different from eachother.� Do you think OTT platforms will bethe new normal, even once things getback to normal?

I think so and makers should now gearup for the change because their directcompetition is with OTT platforms, whichis rich in content. They should try andcome up with new concepts and storiesthat the audiences have never seen before.We all can see the pattern in the comingweeks and will get to know whetherpeople will be willing to switch from OTTto TV again or not. It is the best time towork on the content and everyoneirrespective of the medium should try andmake as rich content as possible. � What was the most challenging role?

Each and every role requires the same

amount of hard work and effort. We giveour all in whatever character we areplaying. But to name one I think its AmbarSharma. It takes a lot of effort, bothmentally and physically, to deal with themood swings that he has. Having said that,if your work doesn’t throw any challenges,there’s no enjoyment.� In all these years, what has been yourtake away from the industry?

One, see your work as work, don’tmake it your life. Second, do your workand come back to your people. I don’t havea lot of friends in the industry, once I amdone with my work, I retire to my den.This is what I love and have learnt to do.In this industry, you have to be mentallystrong. Be happy in your life and love yourwork, it is the key.

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This one comes withadequate corn and colamoments with Swara

Bhaskar, as usual, living in thedual skin of Rasbhari. A comingof age story of a small town boy,his English teacher, his do-anything-for-you friends andhis school sweetheart, this eight-episode series is complete initself and yet leaves a convenientwindow for Season 2 andbeyond.

Swara, as the Englishteacher, and also as the libidohigh Rasbhari, is a treat towatch though Ayushmaan as theboy in the bonnet is alsooutstanding. The sights andsounds of Meerut, a small cityalways in the 40 kmph gear anda satellite town to Delhi havebeen well captured by thedirector. The kitty party women,the dirty talk, the abuses and thestray cords of men are so

naturally part of the firmamentthat you start enjoying andexpecting them as routine.

Indian content on OTTplatforms, without any censors,has come of age, much likeAyushmaan who has wetdreams about his Englishteacher and spends most of histime talking and trying to losehis virginity. This, by the way,takes him to hilarious situationswhich punctuate this series.Losing virginity, talking sex andgetting cheap thrills fromvoyeurism seem to be the solepurpose of his life — and of allhis classmates — as he veersaround to taking tuitions fromSwara to learn more about lifeand respect.

Without being preachy orlofty, this simple, funny and wellmeaning series engages yougently, converting yourreservations about abuses intosometimes shocked laughterand sometimes a surprisingwait for the next one.

The series is souffle light,has its funny moments andkeeps you engaged for most ofthe episodes.

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Detective-helmed murder mysteries havetheir own natural pace and edgychutzpah. The Hunt for the Bone

Collector, A Season 1 Original on SonyLiv, is nodifferent, only the chief detective is paralysedand confined to a wheelchair but with a mindmoving like the cheetah.

The bone collector, who placed him in the chairthree years ago, is back and so is detective Rhyme,played to perfection by Russell Hornsby. The returnbrings him back to the helm from his ultra techenabled living room, from where he tells his newlypicked partner Amelia Sachs “You are here so thatI can be there”, there being the crime scene. “Youwill be my eyes and ears”, he tell her even as sheretorts with “I may be your eyes and ears, but I havea mind all my own and so am more than just anequipment.” Amid the banter, and the respectRhyme commands from his entire team, Ameliaincluding, there are a series of murder stories woveninextricably into the the main hunt, that of the bonecollector who has returned to New York with hissignature three bodies and three clues.

The series, a resurrection of the DenzilWashington-Angelina Jolie film of 1985. Must saythe film was more taut and happening than thisseries. That is not to say that Hornsby leaves anytwitch of the face, any speaking eyes, any mindboggling brain storms to keep you less interested.The problem, however, lies in the interweaving oftoo many murder trails that have nothing to do withthe bone collector.

The game between the two, Rhyme and theBone Collector, is riveting whenever the focusreturns to it. One wishes that the creator MarkBiancuilli had remained linear and fixated the showjust on the cat and mouse ploys between Rhymeand his team pitted against the Bone Collector. Theother murder cases fall by the wayside most of thetime as they fail to match the intensity of the stringsaround the Bone Collector. Watchable, interestingand good for a slow burn.

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If one wanted to see anactor do two contrastingroles, then the latest movie

to release on the OTTplatform— Bhonsle starringManoj Bajpai — would be theperfect film to watch thisweekend. It would make youwonder how an actor who canbe part of such an intense filmlike this go and do a role of apsychopath doctor in Mrs.Serial Killer. But the truth isthat the transformation thatone sees of this versatile actor

is a treat.Directed by Devashish

Makhija and co-produced byManoj Bajpai, the story revolvesaround insider versus outsider— Maratha Manus versus thosewho are from North India.While the subject has been aburning issue in Maharashtra,what really stands out here is theabsolutely awesomeperformance by Bajpai.

Despite the fact that themovie is dead slow — nothingmuch moves forward but thewhole idea to keep the NorthIndians away, there are very littledialogues. One can actuallycount the number of wordsthat he has said in the entirefilm. It is his sheer stance,

presence, expressions and theway he moves, an old retiredMumbai cop, will keep onecaptivated till the very end.

The last time we saw suchbrilliance from the actor wasAligarh.

The movie goes on to showthat one doesn’t need to give anactor heavy dialogues that heneeds to shout for him to leavean impact in a film.

Those looking for masalahere, there is none. So this is notyour typical commercial filmthat is set to entertain but itmakes one internalise as doesthe movie through its charactersas it unfolds. A film that onemust watch for Bajpai’sbrilliance. +,�����,�$����

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There is a reason why child marriageis an offence and why the practicewas done away with it. Bulbbul set

in backdrop of 1881, takes one on ajourney of a girl child married off to amuch older man and the aftermath ofwhat happens when she grows upalongside her dewar who is her age.

Director Anushka Sharma has chosenan interesting storyline to tell her story fromthe perspective of her lead protagonist TriptiDimri— a chudail with ulte pair who is onthe prowl and kills.

The locale has also been chosen well.A haveli with its deep dark secrets of theThakur khandaan that need to be keptunder wraps at whatever the cost — afterall one will get to wear good clothes and goldjewellery to adorn your body.

While the setting is perfect for a horrormovie, unfortunately, Bulbbul is just anengrossing film about whodunnit. Butthat also somewhat disappears as the storyprogresses and all is revealed at the climaxwith flashback. There is great performanceby Tripti Dimri, a woman who is strong inthe face of adversary and stands with herhead held high despite all odds. A womanwho in a patriarchal society makes a placefor herself— a Goddess of strength whofights for the rights of women.

One just wished that the all theinteresting things that went bump weren’ttinted red or covered in a haze of mist. Theidea of chudail killings and red is a bit toocliched. But still it doesn’t put a dent in thisdrama-murder mystery. Makes for aninteresting watch.

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It’s 1950s Brooklyn, there is jazz in the air andan amateur detective (Edward Norton) has justlost his mentor boss to some shadowy men who

abduct and shoot him in an alleyway just when hearrives there to rescue him.

That’s the premise of the film which then delvesinto this amateur’s quest into who the killers of hisboss could have been. That he suffers from theTourette Syndrome only heightens his histrionicskills which give colour to this largely black andwhite vintage Brooklyn film panning over boxedtaxis, steaming pit holes and, of course, thosedelectable hats. Norton, who plays the centralcharacter of Lionel Essrog, is as good in front ofthe camera as he is behind it and also with the pen.As writer-director, he does well to channelise thisbrainy intrigue that coasts from the underbelly ofBrooklyn to its highest corridors of power,detecting deceit, drama and diehard criminals alongthe way, will go down well with cinema lovers ofthe intensely knowledgeable kinds.

After he loses his mentor (Frank Minna, playedby the ever laconic Bruce Wills) to a dubious casegone wrong, he and his friends known as Minna’smen as they were rescued by him from anorphanage and trained to become detectives, goon the trail with Norton’s sharp mind skillsemanating from his awkward ailment which giveshim both twitches and the ability to retain aphotographic memory and unfurl puzzles at thedrop of a hat.

The film, adapted from Jonathan Lethem’snovel of the same name, is brilliant, nuanced,thrilling in its own special way and a treat to watchif lunatic pace of the modern kind is not really yourkind of thing.

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Today, the buzzword amongstudents and teachers and

parents is online teaching. Dueto Covid-19, the world came toa standstill and education is noexception. The education sec-tor bore the major grudge oflockdown where the classes ofthe students were disrupted,examinations postponed orcanceled and admissions cameto a grinding halt.

The biggest problem inonline teaching is the expertiseof the teachers in delivering thecontent. Most of the teachersare not well versed in usingtechnology in their teachingand compulsion of adoptingthe technology makes themstressful.

The second major hurdle isthe availability of the gadgetsand uninterrupted internetfacility. Thanks to JIO, most ofthe cities and towns are able to

provide speed network ataffordable cost. But the regionswhere the network is not goodenough create problems for theteachers to undertake classesonline.

The same is with the stu-dents who are scatteredthroughout the town or a vastarea where all of them cannotaccess the streaming of the classwell. Apart from the network,

most of the students do notpossess smart phones or lap-tops which disables them toavail the advantage of theonline classes. It will puttremendous pressure on theminds of these youngsters.Many of those who possesssmart phones find it difficult tobear the cost of the data packs.

As per the data given by theMinistry of School and Mass

Education, out of 60 lakh stu-dents, 22 lakh are accessingeducation.

A whopping 38 lakh stu-dents do not have opportuni-ty to access online educationand the Government is think-ing ways and means to cover allthe students of the State.

The case of the 14 yearsKerala girl pursuing 10th Classwho committed suicide whenher father failed to repair theTV on which she was to attendthe virtual class speaks volumesabout the trauma faced by mil-lions of her like. The father,who lost his job due to lock-down, does not have money torepair the TV, forget about buy-ing a smart phone. She was abright student and feared thatshe will lag behind due to theinability to attend online class-es. Recently, another girl inWest Bengal also did the samebecause of the failure of herfamily who could not provide

a smart phone.The environment of class-

room teaching cannot be pro-duced in the online learning.Face- to- face contact is notpossible.

The students who usuallytake the help of their friendswhen unable to understand aconcept taught by the teacherwill remain helpless. Exchangeof notes or borrowing of booksis not possible. Moreover, thefeeling of loneliness in thehouse while attending the classmakes them passive in thelearning process which leads todecrease in the interest.

As the Covid-19 spread ison its peak, the online classeswill also continue as there is noother alternative available.

(Dr Biswal is Head,Department of Commerce,Nowrangpur College,Nabarangpur, Mob:9437125286, [email protected])

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Following the death of threeCovid-19 patients in Jahada

gram panchayat of Ganjamdistrict, the Sarpanch of the GPusing the special power ofCollector has announcedJahada village as a containmentzone for six days.

The containment, whichcame into effect at 1 pm on

Saturday, would remain inforce till 1 pm on July 2, saidSarpanch Sulata Behera.

Notably, the DharakotePanchyat Samiti Vice-Chairman and two others havesuccumbed to the coronavirusin last couple of days.

On Saturday, out of the 59Covid-19 positive cases detect-ed in the district, as many as 18were corona on-duty personnelof different departments.

The rest were local con-tacts.

The 18 infected Covid war-riors included two fromSheragada, seven fromRangeilunda, one fromSanakhemundi, one fromPolasara, one fromKukudahandi, one fromBuguda, one from Bhanjanagar,two from Aska, one from

Brahmapur MunicipalCorporation (BeMC) and onefrom Purusottampur.

The 39 local contactsincluded two from Aska, fivefrom the BeMC area, one fromChattrapur, three from KSNagar, one from Khalikote, 10from Beguniapada, one fromKukudahandi, two fromPurusottampur, four fromHinjilicut, one from Buguda,five from Polasara, three fromSheragada , one fromRangeilunda area and a positivecase of Subarnapur with trav-el history to Surat.

With the new cases, thetotal in the district rose to 1,195with 375 active cases. While thenumber of recovered casesstood at 811, nine patientshave succumbed to the virus sofar.

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Vigilance sleuths onSaturday arrested Raila

Majhi, Sarpanch of MujangaGP under Dasmantpur block inKoraput district while she wasdemanding and accepting abribe of Rs 20,000 from a vil-lager.The Sarpanch haddemanded the bribe from oneGangadhar Saunta ofBaktaguda village under the

Koraput Sadar police limits toissue a work order in respect ofa village pond in his favour.

Based on a complaint fromSaunta, the Vigilance policehad laid a trap to nab theSarpanch. The Vigilance teamcaught Majhi red-handed at herrented house at Bhejaput villageunder the Koraput Sadar policestation. The bribe amount wasrecovered from her posses-sion.

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Amidst lockdown restric-tions, patients visiting the

District Headquarters Hospital(DHH) here are facing a lot ofdifficulties as the CentralClinical Research Laboratory islying defunct for over threemonths.

As a result, the patientswho were otherwise gettingservice free of cost, are payingthrough those nose in the pri-vate diagnostic centres. Theworst suffers are the poorpatients.

The unit, which is a high-end laboratory, was establishedin PPP mode prior to conver-sion of the DHH to FMMedical College and Hospitalas it was a mandatory require-ment to be fulfilled before theDHH to be upgraded formedical college hospital.

The centre was collectingsamples for critical testing for15 different types of daignos-tic tests for both the indoor as

well as outdoor patients. Butever since Covid pandemicrestrictions were imposed, thepatients have been deprived ofthe facility.

Reports said that most ofthe samples while were testedhere, the testing machines havegone unserviceable for a longtime now. The samples whilewere being sent to Cuttack bybuses, since regular buses arenot plying to Cuttack andBhubaneswar, the samples arenot being sent.

Further, the reports added,in the meantime some sampleswhile were sent by 108 ambu-lances to Cuttack andBhubaneswar, yet that too hasstopped.

Regarding the issue, centremanager Asit Kumar Nayakadmitted that testing machineis out of order. He said the unitwas not able to send samplesto Bhubaneswar owing to irreg-ular bus services.

“Some samples are testedhere and some are sent toBhubaneswar by bus. Since the

machine is unserviceable andbus service has become errat-ic during Covid -19 period,samples from the patients arenot collected and the centre isclosed,” said Nayak.

The DHH which isupgraded to medical collegehospital is witnessing a spurtof patients not only from the

district and other districts butfrom neighbouring States too.Around 1,500 patients visitthe outdoor on regular basis.Although the number hasbecome half due to the Coronafear and restrictions, those vis-iting are deprived of testingfacilities triggering commo-tion among them.

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An Anganwadi Worker withprofound disability on

both of her legs caused due topolio, was denied a mutualadjustment from Chudapali(C) to Chudapali (B)Anganwadi Centre despite aresolution made in the villagedevelopment committee meet-ing headed by the Sarpanch ofChudapali GP.

On the basis of the villagecommittee resolution, theDSW of Balangir by way of anoffice order on May 8 hadinstructed Mamatarani Pandato work at Chudapali(B)Anganwadi Centre in placeof Rosy Nag who was directedto work in Chudapali (C)Anganwadi Centre in place ofMamata.

However, theDSW revoked the ownorder on June 11 with-out looking into thestatutory provision ofthe RPWD Act mere-ly on the ground of anunlawful executiveinstruction passed bythe Women and ChildD e v e l o p m e n tDepartment againstthe spirit of theCentral Act.

The Rights ofPerson with DisabilityAct 2016 clearly defines, "NoGovernment establishmentshall discriminate against anyperson with disability in anymatter relating to empower-ment”

It further stipulates thatevery Government establish-ment shall provide reasonableaccommodation and appro-priate barrier free conduciveenvironment to employees withdisability

Mamata worked inChudapali (B) centre fromFebruary 2017 to December2019 by taking additionalcharge without any honorari-um. Instead of reward she wassent to a center which is not

physically accessible and fallswithin 2.5 km distance fromher residence.

Now Mamata is harassed.She approached the higherquarters like the RevenueDivisional Commissioner,North Division and the StateCommission for Disability,seeking suitable action to pro-tect her interest

Before that Mamata hadalready approached the CDPOfor 40 times and DSW, Sub-Collector for several times andattempted to meet the districtCollector during his grievancebut was allegedly restrainedand misbehaved by SSSOChhabira Mahanand.

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As many as ten persons test-ed Covid-19 positive in the

twin cities of Bhubaneswarand Cuttack on Saturday. Whilenine cases were detected inBhubaneswar, one positive casewas reported from Cuttack.

The nine cases reported inthe capital city included a 26-year-old woman of AirportColony, with a travel history ofNew Delhi, four cases, a 31-year-old-woman and a 38-year-old woman, a 50 year-old man

and an 18-year-old male ofSiripur, Laxmibazar Basti linkedwith an earlier positivecase.Besides, a 52-year-old man,a native of another districtworking as a private securityguard near the RBI office, wasfound positive.Three cases alsoincluded a 38 year-old man, a42-year man, a 41-year-oldman, all employees of a privatehospital, linked with an earlierpositive case, said theBhubaneswar MunicipalCorporation. A 47-year-old-woman of Cuttack city also test-ed positive on the day. She is afamily member of a previousMahanadi Vihar case reportedon June 16, said the CuttackMunicipal Corporation .

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In a horrifying incident, aman and his wife were mur-

dered for their suspectedinvolvement in sorcery inPendal Guda village under theMalkangiri police limits late onFriday night.

The deceased were identi-fied as Soma Madi (50) andwife Sukri (45). As per reports,some villagers called the cou-ple out of their house and aheated argument ensuedbetween them. Later, the mis-creants hacked the couple todeath.

A local said some villagershad been suspecting the couplepractising black magic andtheir murder could be fallout ofthis.

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Natural calamities are takingan average of 2,000 lives

per annum in the State. Despitepreventive measures beingtaken by the authorities, deathtoll is still in higher propor-tions.

During the last five years,10,406 people were killed indifferent natural calamities.

Drowning, snakebite andlightning have become majorthreats during the last fiveyears. While 3,848 people diedbecause of drowning, the deathtoll due to snakebites was 3,627.And lightning took 1,940 lives.

In 2015-16, as many as1,339 people were killed due tolightning, fire mishaps, sun-strokes, cyclones, floods, whirl-winds, drowning, boat cap-

sizes, snakebites and landslides.Deaths due to such reasonswere recorded at 2,702 in theyear 2018-19 and the figureincreased to 2,291 in 2019-20.

In 2019-20, as many as 974people lost their lives due todrowning while 759 were killedin snakebites, 326 in lightningand 92 in fire accidents.

However, deaths due tosunstrokes are declining despiteclimate change. In 2015-16, atotal of 63 people died in sun-strokes while the figure was

recorded at 32 in 2019-20.In 2019-20, cyclones took

66 lives and floods and whirl-winds claimed 23. The sameyear, due to drowning, 974 per-sons lost their lives and 16 werekilled in boat capsizes, three inlandslides and 759 insnakebites.

Because of proactive stepsby the administrations, casu-alties owing to sunstrokes,floods and cyclones werereduced.

Meanwhile, to save peoplefrom lightning, warning mes-sages are being sent to peoplethrough SMSs.

However, despite medicalpreparedness, as some peopleare relying upon witchcraftdue to blind belief, the numberof deaths due to snakebites stillremains on a higher side.

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The State Government on Saturdayeffected a reshuffle in the IAS cadre

and transferred five officers.According to a notification issued

by General AdministrationDepartment, 2017-batch IAS officerSomesh Kumar Upadhyay posted asCGM, Omfed and CEO, HockeyPromotion Council has been appoint-ed as Sub-Collector, Titilagarh. Hewould also remain in additional chargeof EO, Titlagarh Municipality.

Similarly, 2017-batch AnveshaReddy, ED, OMC and OMECL, hasbeen transferred as Sub-Collector,Baripada. He will also remain inadditional charge of EO, BaripadaMunicipality.Gridco ED Patil AshishIshwar has been transferred as SubCollector, Balasore. He would remainin additional charge of EO, BalasoreMunicipality.

OCAC OSD Divakara TS hasbeen appointed as Sub-Collector,Dharmagarh in Kalahandi district. Hewould also remain in additional chargeof EO, Dharmagarh NAC. OTDC MDHema Kanta Say has been transferredas Sub-Collector, Jeypore. He wouldalso remain in additional charge of EO,Jeypore Municipality.

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The All India United Trade Union Centre (AIUTUC)staged a demonstration in front of the Collectorate here

on Friday in protest against increase in working hours fromeight hours to 12 hours, amendment to Labour Act, hikein fuel prices, privatisation of Government companies, sky-rocketing of essential commodities etc.

The AIUTUC also demanded Government job statusand salary to ASHA and Angwanwadi Workers, cooks andartisans and jobs for migrant workers who have returnedto Odisha during the Covid lockdown.

AIUTUC district secretary Rajkishore Mallick, trea-surer Ganeshwar Sethi and members Deepak Das,Sasmita Mohanty, Swadhinee Behera, ManagobindaPanda and Yogendra Rout were present. Later, they sub-mitted a memorandum to the district Collector in favourof their demands.

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After the Kalinga Stadiumhere opened its gates for

elite athletes to train forOlympics, the cadets from theHockey High-PerformanceCentre, the Nava Tata HockeyAcademy in the State haveresumed outdoor training atthe stadium following the stan-dard operating procedures aslaid down by the State andCovid-19 international guide-lines for players laid down bythe National Centre for DiseaseControl (NCDC).

Led by head coach PLaxminarayan, a team of 23 hasbeen undergoing completephysical assessment and labtests, performance manage-ment and analysis at theAbhinav Bindra TargetingPerformance Centre.

Speaking about the transi-tion from pre to post Covidenvironment, Project DirectorNTHA, Odisha, Rajiv Sethsaid, “Post the forced lockdown

across the country, the playersare excited to resume theirsport.

We ensure athletes tostrictly follow social distancingwhile interacting with fellowsportspersons, trainers andsupport staff to wear masks(when not training), washhands and maintain personalhygiene."

Speaking about his team,Laxminarayan said, “In thisshort span, since their induc-tion, the players have shownmarked improvement in theirperformance. The rightamount of exposure and spe-cialized coaching from nation-al and international coaches hasadded to their game. Theynow play with a greater level ofconfidence."

Currently, the team istraining in a small cluster offive as part of the guidelines. Inthe coming weeks additional 5members of the HPC willrejoin the team, he furtheradded.

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Page 4: €¦ · Maharaja Ranjeet Singh, the Foreign Office said on Saturday, over three months ... now agreed to resume one-way traffic to Nepal through the Rasuwagadhi border, the Kathmandu

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Adigital form of monthlyOdia feature magazine

'Rebati-Ama Matira Swara' waslaunched jointly by its editorand publisher Subasini Jenaand former MP RK Jena on theRath Yatra day here.

Rebati is published month-ly since October 2018. Its dig-ital form was launched in view

of the current Covid pandem-ic situation to reach out to thereaders and further enhance itsaccessibility to the readers,especially the overseas whootherwise find it difficult to geta hard copy. Associate EditorKrushnakumar Mohantyamong others were present.One can log on to www.reba-tee.in and access the magazinefree of cost.

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From page 1

However, 184 morepatients recovered on the day,taking the total number ofrecoveries to 4,606 in theState.

The maximum 48 recov-ered in Ganjam district, 45 inKhordha, 31 in Baleswar, 12

in Gajapati, 10 in Bhadrak, six each in

Jagats inghpur andJharsuguda, five each inKendrapada and Puri, fourin Sundargarh, three ach inBalangir and Keonjhar, twoin Cuttack and one each inAngul, Jajpur, Kandhamaland Mayurbhanj.

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The FICCI LadiesOrganisation (FLO),

Bhubaneswar Chapter wouldorganise a webinar on theJagannath culture and tradi-tion.

The programme ‘YugeYuge Jagannath’ would bestreamed on YouTube at 4 pmon Monday.Eminent speakersDr Pitabas Routray andJayanarayan Mahapatra (servi-tor of Jagannath Temple) wouldshare incredible stories on LordJagannath and JagannathTemple.

Bahubali sevayat AnilGochikar would make a specialappearance on the programmeand noted dancer KumarBhimsen would performOdishi. FLO BhubaneswarChapter Chairperson DharitriPatnaik has urged people toparticipate in the webinar. Tunein to the YouTube linkhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gf26j_sgMF4.

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As many as 179 cases of vio-lation of Covid-19 guide-

lines have been registered inCuttack district so far andmore than �13-lakh fine hasbeen collected from the viola-tors. This was informed by dis-trict Collector Bhabani ShankarChaini on Saturday during aCovid-19 review meeting in thepresence of State-levelobservers.

Covid observers for thedistrict Sourav Garg andSushant Mohapatra took stockof the steps taken by the districtadministration to check thespreading of the virus andcalled upon the local adminis-tration to make people aware ofthe different guidelines issuedby the Govt. So far, the districthas reported 537 Covid positivecases, of whom, 411 personshave recovered, sources said,adding that the district has tilldate witnessed three coronadeaths.

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The Delhi Government alongwith the Centre has started

the serological testing to traceand contain the novel coron-avirus as on Saturday ChiefMinister Arvind Kejriwal in adigital briefing said that around20,000 testing is being done perday, and Government has planfor 13,590 hospitals beds forthose infected by the viruswhile outlining a five-prongedresponse to the rising tide ofcases in the city.

According to the KejriwalGovernment, the five-keyweapons against corona battleare —increasing beds in hospi-tals, testing and isolation,oximeters and oxygen concen-tration, plasma therapy treat-ment to save lives and serolog-ical survey.

Kejriwal said, "Delhi isfighting a tough battle againstCorona. Our fight started in themonth of March. In March,

when the pandemic had spreadacross the globe in variousnations, Indians living abroadexpressed their desire to returnto their homes in India. TheCentral Government took theright decision by arranging forflights for people in other coun-tries to come back to India."

In the month of March, asmany as 35,000 Indians came toDelhi, especially from nationsthat had been badly hit byCoronavirus. CM Kejriwal said,"These people were screened atthe airports for fever. Somewere sent to RML andSafdurjung, but many weresent to their respective homes.Some people were quarantined,but more or less 35000 peoplewere sent back to their homes.

There was very little infor-mation, facts, and guidelinesavailable on Corona. Whenthese people went back to theirhomes, naturally, the Coronagot transmitted to their con-tacts. In those days, there were

no testing kits or testing labsavailable, testing was not doneat the scale it is done today,"

"Then, the lockdown hap-pened. Because people were attheir homes all the time,Corona did not spread rapidlyand the transmission rate waslow. When the lockdown start-ed lifting in the last week ofMay, we had anticipated aspike in the number of Coronacases. This spike in Delhi canbe noticed around May 15. Aswe entered the month of June,the cases had increased morethan expected, and we startednoticing the lack of beds andtesting in Delhi. Because of alack of beds, people were notable to get the treatment andthere was also a sudden spikein the death rate in Delhi. Wehad two options, first wasreimposing the lockdown andthe second was fightingCorona. On asking the peopleof Delhi, we came across theview that the lockdown has to

be lifted someday or the other.Till when is Delhi going toremain in lockdown? The peo-ple said the lockdown can notcontinue indefinitely," addedthe CM.

Elaborating in five keyweapons, Kejriwal said, "It wasdecided that we will collective-ly fight a battle against Corona.Five weapons were prepared tofight a hard-hitting battleagainst Corona.”

Kejriwal said, "Our firststep was increasing hospitalbeds. Our first decision wasreserving 40 percent of bedcapacity for the treatment ofCorona patients in all the bighospitals in Delhi.” “Seconddecision was declaring some ofthe hospitals in Delhi as fullydedicated COVID hospitals.Our third decision was attach-ing hotels to the hospitals. If ahospital has 100 beds, thehotel attached to it will have200 beds, and the total bedstrength of the hospital will

increase to 300 beds. In thisway, we have increased thecapacity of the hospitals. Somehotels were against it, and theywent to the court to overturnour decision. We won thecourt case, and now 3500 bedshave been installed in thehotels. Around 2000 beds havebeen prepared at the RadhaSoami Satsang Beas Centre,and 10000 beds will soon beprepared for the treatment ofCorona patients at the carecentre. At the newly con-structed Burari Hospital, 450beds have been prepared forCorona treatment temporari-ly. In the first week of June,there were no beds available inDelhi. However, in the lastweek of June, there are 13500beds in Delhi, out of which6000 beds are occupied and7500 remain vacant. There isno dearth in the number ofbeds in the government andprivate hospitals in the city.The Delhi government will be

arranging for more beds in thecoming days."

On his second weaponwhich is testing and isolation,he said,”In the first week ofJune, we observed that peoplewere not able to get tested accu-rately. Some labs were alsoshowing inaccuracy in theresults, they showed negativeresults positive and positiveresults negative. In the firstweek of June, we were con-ducting 5000 tests daily, nowwe are conducting 20000 testsdaily. Now, we are not receiv-ing any complaints regardingtesting. We are conductingtests in every street and iden-tifying Corona patients and iso-lating them. I want to thank thecentral government for pro-viding antigen kits for con-ducting rapid testing in Delhi.We have also procured 6 lakhkits to conduct these tests, butthe initial kits were given by thecentral government. They havesupported us,"

"Our third weapon isoximeters and oxygen concen-trators. The biggest issue inCorona is that a person may diedue to constantly lowering oxy-gen levels. People who arerecovering at home have beenprovided oximeters by theDelhi government, that detectsyour oxygen level accurately.We have advised the patients tocheck their oxygen level afterevery two hours. These oxime-ters are working as a SurakshaKawach for Corona patients. Ifa person comes to a hospital, heshould not suffer because of alack of oxygen cylinders. Wehave procured around 4000oxygen concentrators, and allbeds in the Delhi governmenthospitals have attained supplyof oxygen for the patients,"Kejriwal said, adding fourthweapon which is plasma ther-apy treatment, he said,” The firstplasma therapy trial was givento 29 patients in Delhi. Thesefirst trials were highly success-

ful, and the results were sharedwith the Drug Controller ofIndia (DCI), which then per-mitted the trials for Delhi govtand private hospitals in Delhi.Plasma therapy has not provento effective in the treatment ofpatients with extreme co-mor-bidities or serious patients, butit has proved to be effective onmoderate patients and it pre-vents the deteriorating condi-tion."

Adding further more on hiscorona battle, he said that ourfifth weapon is survey andscreening. The serological sur-vey in Delhi is starting fromSaturday. “Through this survey,we will be able to detect in whatplaces is the Corona spreadingrapidly. Many such surveys andscreening are conducted inDelhi,"

“Our victory is definite,we will certainly defeat Corona,and these five weapons willprove to be very effective in ourbattle," he added.

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The Confederation of AllIndia Traders (CAIT) came

down heavily on India head ofthe Chinese Smartphonemaker Xiaomi, Manu KumarJain for saying that the “BoycottChinese” sentiment exists onlyon social media.

The CAIT termed thestatement most “insensitive”and “disrespectful” that hashurt sentiments of millions ofIndians. “At a time when theentire country is deeply sad-dened and upset with theChinese brutality againstIndian soldiers, Jain is trying toplease his Chinese masters bydownplaying the mood of thenation,” the CAIT said in astatement.

The traders’ body hasstrongly condemned the state-ment of XIAOMI chief sayingthat it is much against thecurrent spirit of the Countryand as an Indian it was betteron his part to keep a silencerather than poking his nose.

On the other hand, theCAIT Secretary GeneralPraveen Khandelwal thankedBollywood Actress KanganaRanaut and Raveena Tondon

for her unequivocal supportand appealing to the people ofIndia to use Indian products inplace of Chinese goods. “Weare awaiting other celebrities tofollow this line,” he said.

CAIT national president BC Bhartia said that such state-ments by him are highly irre-sponsible and most regrettable.“At the time when people ofIndia have started to alignwith the boycott China senti-ment on the ground and vari-ous celebrities too have joinedthe movement, Jain’s statementshows that he is completelyoblivious to ground reality andsitting in the air conditionedcomfort of his home and officepassing such remarks only forbusiness gains, putting aside and completely dishon-oring the sacrifice and mar-tyrdom of brave Indian sol-diers,” he said.

“The CAIT had earlieraccepted the challenge ofChinese mouthpiece ‘TheGlobal Times’ and now willensure that Jain feels the heatof the movement when he willface a strong backlash from thepeople of India who are infu-riated with his remarks,” hesaid.

The traders’ body hadalready called for a boycott ofChinese goods, listing 450imported items, condemningChina's military aggressionalong the Line of ActualControl in Eastern Ladakh.

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Power discom BSES has laid22 Kms of underground

cables and installed 24 trans-formers to power the world’slargest 10,000 bed Covid hos-pital set up for Covid patientsin south Delhi’s Chattarpur,would be able to accommodateover 10,200 patients.

A senior BSES official saidthat this is one of the largestprojects, whose power infra-structure set-up in a recordtime. “This massive facilityrequired an equally massivepower infrastructure. For this,BSES Rajdhani Power Limited(BRPL) was tasked with ready-

ing the power infrastructure ina record time of 15-days – byJuly 5, 2020. The first phase of

the work is completed and theremaining work is still underprocess and will be completed

before the deadline,” he said.Originally, BRPL had been

entrusted to provide an electric

load of 18,000 KW (18 MW).But, looking at the require-ments, the power-load require-ment has now been increasedto 23,000 KW (23 MW).

The official further saidthat for catering to this massiveload requirement, over 100discom officials and workersare working round-the-clockunder the direct supervision ofthe company’ senior leadershipteam and in close coordinationwith the government and otherdepartments.

“Moreover, for ensuringsafety of the premises, most ofthe transformers being set-upare dry-type, which do not haverequirement of oil and are

maintenance free,” he added.According to a BSES offi-

cial, “BSES is always geared-upto ensure quality and reliablepower supply to its consumers,under-all circumstances. Weare closely watching the evolv-ing Corona Virus situation inthe national Capital and takingall appropriate measures toensure reliable power supply toall residential, commercial andindustrial consumers withoutcompromising the safety ofour employees. We are workingclosely with the authorities inthis regard. For this projectalso, BSES officials are adher-ing to all the laid-down safetyguidelines”

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Three months after it closedamid the Covid-19 lock-

down, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital(SGRH) will resume OPD(Outpatient Department) ser-vices from July 1 while takingprecautions.

Dr D S Rana, Chairman(BoM) of Sir Ganga RamHospital (SGRH) said that OPDservices will function from 8 amto 8 pm as they were function-ing during pre-lockdown times.

“Although our OPD ser-vices will be normal but still wehave undertaken sufficient pre-cautions to safeguard the healthof patients. All our OPD cham-bers are located in the Green

Covid Safe Zone,” he said.Dr Rana said that the hos-

pital will undertake all standardsafety protocol measures whichwill be strictly followed keep-ing in mind the safety of our

esteemed patients and theirattendants. "Our hospital willensure best Infection controlmeasures and SafeEnvironment to protect thehealth of our patients in Covidera,” he said.

SGRH is a leading privatefacility in the national capitalwith 675 beds. On June 4, theDelhi government had declaredit a COVID-19 facility andasked it to reserve 80 per centof the beds for coronaviruspatients.

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At least 45 fresh cases ofCovid-19 infection sur-

faced in Jharkhand on Saturdaytaking the total count of Covidcases to 2372, health officialssaid. As per a bulletin releasedby the National Health Mission(NHM) on Saturday, as manyas 77 Corona patients recov-ered from the infection from

Saturday morning to night.With the findings, the totalcount of active Covid cases inState comes down to 603,NHM officials said.

The count of Covid-19patients, who recovered fromthe virus; however, stands at amuch higher 1724 inJharkhand – a trend theGovernment has attributed tothe efforts of doctors.

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Mumbai terrorist attackconvict David Headley

cannot be extradited to India,but Pakistani-origin Canadianbusinessman co-conspiratorTahawwur Rana faces extradi-tion, a US attorney has told afederal court while opposing hisbail plea.

Rana, 59, a childhoodfriend of David ColemanHeadley, was recently rearrest-ed on June 10 in Los Angeles onan extradition request by Indiafor his involvement in the 2008Mumbai terror attack in which

166 people, including sixAmericans, were killed. He is adeclared fugitive in India.

According to the federalprosecutors, between 2006 andNovember 2008, Rana con-spired with Headley, also knownas "Daood Gilani”, and others inPakistan to assist Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Harakat ul-Jihad-e-Islami, both US-desig-nated terrorist organisations,to plan and carry out theMumbai terrorist attacks.

Pakistani-American LeTterrorist Headley was involvedin plotting the 2008 Mumbaiterror attack. He was made an

approver in the case, and is cur-rently serving a 35-year prisonterm in the US for his role in theattack.

The US is yet to file India’srequest for Rana’s extradition,but is expected to do it soon. Itis evident that the offences forwhich Rana was tried in theIllinois court will differ from theIndian offences mentioned inthe complaint.

Rana in his defence hasargued that US’ decision not toextradite his co-conspirator,Headley, to India is inconsistentand bars his extradition.

However, Assistant USAttorney John J Lulejian told afederal court in Los Angeles onFriday that unlike Rana,Headley immediately accepted

responsibility for his conductand pleaded guilty to all of thecharges in the SupersedingIndictment.

“Because Headley fulfilledthe required terms, the pleaagreement established thatHeadley would not be extradit-ed to India. Rana’s situation isdifferent because he neitherpleaded guilty nor cooperatedwith the United States.

“As a result, he is unable toavail himself of the benefitsafforded to Headley through hisnegotiated plea. Thus, he can-not complain that he facesextradition, while his co-defen-dant does not,” the US attorneysaid. Rana’s bail application isdue for hearing next week.Early this week, his attorney told

the court that the 26/11 convictis not a flight risk and has pro-posed a USD 1.5 million bondfor his release.

"Rana should be releasedon a robust bond: secured byapproximately USD 1.5 mil-lion in property pledged byfamily and friends and underthe supervision of his daugh-ter, Lemaan Rana, a matric-ulating medical student andPh.D. candidate,” Amy Karlin,the Interim Federal PublicDefender, said in the courtsubmission on behalf ofRana.

India seeks his arrest on anumber of offences, includingthe conspiracy to commit mur-der, conspiracy to commitforgery for the purpose of

cheating, and murder underrelevant sections of the IndianPenal Code (IPC). He is soughtfor his role in 2008 terroristattacks in Mumbai.

The US attorney urged thecourt to continue his detentionpending the extradition pro-ceedings to India. DescribingRana as a flight risk, the attor-ney said that no matter whatbond package he offers, Ranaposes an unacceptable flightrisk.

If the US extradites Rana toIndia and he is convicted of thecharges, he may be eligible forthe death penalty. Given whatis at stake, Rana has an extremeincentive to flee and avoid fac-ing these extradition proceed-ings, Lulejian said.

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Maharashtra witnessed abiggest spike in the

Covid-19 cases for the secondconsecutive day, as the positivecases jumped from Friday’shighest tally of 5,024 to 5,318on Saturday, while 167 newdeaths were reported duringthe day.

With fresh 5,318 positivecases and 167 new deaths, thetotal number of infected casesin the state mounted to1,59,133, while the total num-ber of deaths rose to 7,273.

Of the 167 deaths report-ed, 86 deaths occurred in thelast 48 hours while the rest 81deaths were from the previousperiod.

Of the total 167 deathsreported, Mumbai aloneaccounted for 105 deaths, tak-ing the total number of deathsin the metropolis from 4,179 to4,284 now, while the number ofinfected cases went up by 1,402cases to touch 74,252.

Apart from Mumbai’s 105deaths, there were 19 deaths inPune, 10 in Jalgaon, 7 in

Dhule, 6 in Solapur, 3 each inThane, Nashik andAhmednagar, 2 each in Palghar,Latur and one death each inRaigad, Satara, Sangli,Kolhapur, Aurangabad,Osmanabad and Jalna.

With 84245 patients havingbeen discharged from varioushospital since ever since theoutbreak of pandemic in theState, the recovery rate stood at52.94 per cent. The mortalityrate in the state is 4.57 per cent.The state health authoritiespegged the number of “activecases” in the state at 67,600.

With 32,735 cases and 819deaths, Thane has emerged asthe second worst-hit districtafter Mumbai in the state.Pune district has come thirdwith 19,761 patients and 694deaths till now.

Out of 8,96,874 samplessent to laboratories, 1,59,133have been tested positive(17.74%) for COVID-19 untilSaturday.

Currently, 5,65,161 peo-ple are in home quarantinewhile 36,925 people are ininstitutional quarantine.

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Kerala has registered overone lakh people becoming

literate in the last three years,the Kerala State LiteracyMission claimed on Saturday. The new literatesfrom various sections of soci-ety include tribals, fisherfolk,SC/ST and also the migrant

population.Mission directorP.S. Sreekala said that from2017 to 2020, a total of 1,05,565new literates have emerged inthe state."The hard work put inby our team among the weak-er and downtrodden sectionsof the society has now yieldedresults," said Sreekala.

They include 10,972 trib-als from Wayanad andPalakkad.

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Page 5: €¦ · Maharaja Ranjeet Singh, the Foreign Office said on Saturday, over three months ... now agreed to resume one-way traffic to Nepal through the Rasuwagadhi border, the Kathmandu

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The CBI has taken over theinvestigation in the

alleged suicide of InspectorVishnudutt Vishnoi, in-charge of Rajgarh police sta-tion in Rajasthan's Churudistrict, officials said onSaturday.

The agency has re-regis-tered the case of abetment tosuicide earlier probed byRajasthan's state cr imebranch, they said.

The case was referred tothe CBI by the Rajasthan

overnment af ter allegations of pressuring theofficer were levelled by theBJP and the BSP againstCongress MLA KrishnaPunia, who had denied theallegations.

Vishnoi, a popular officerin his department, had lefttwo suicide notes, oneaddressed to his parents andthe other to the district'ssuperintendent of police.

In the suicide note to theSP, Vishnoi had said he wasnot able to bear the pressureput on him.

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As crop-threaten-ing locust swarm

enters the outskirts ofDelhi, the UnionAgriculture Ministryon Saturday said moreteams from Rajasthanhave been deputed tohelp in the controloperations being undertakenin Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

The locusts keep flyingduring day time and settledown only after dark in theevening. Ground control teamsare constantly tracking themand will undertake major con-trol operations once they set-tle down, it said, adding thecontrol teams in Uttar Pradeshhave been alerted in this

regard.The control operations are

underway in Rajasthan,Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, itadded.

“More control teams fromRajasthan have been moved toHaryana and UP to help in thelocust control operations beingcarried out in these two States,”the ministry said in a state-ment.

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An Ahmedabad residenthas filed a civil applica-

tion in Gujarat High Courtchallenging the local civiccorporation's decision todeclare his housing complexa micro containment zone inview of the coronavirus out-break.

Vishwas Bhamburkar haschal lenged AhmedabadMunicipal Corporation's June20 decision to declare SatelliteCentre Cooperative HousingSociety, where he stays, as amicro containment zone.

Bhamburkar also chal-lenged the constitutionalvalidity of the coronavirus-induced lockdown by claim-ing it forced people under“house arrest” without anybacking of law, and left thevulnerable section strugglingfor sur vival with no safeguards provided to thembefore its

implementation.In his plea, which will be

presented for urgent hearingon Monday, Bhamburkar said12 people from his housing society had testedpositive for novel coronavirustill June 13.

Of the 12 who tested pos-itive, nine have recovered,while an elderly woman died,he said.

There has been no newcase in the complex in thepast 15 days, and therefore the AMC has nogrounds to declare it as a micro-containment zone, hecontended.

“While demarcating themicro containment zone is atthe discret ion of the municipal commissioner, this discretion cannot be used

indiscriminately,arbitrarily, unilat-erally, illogically,and without hav-ing any basis infacts,” he said.

He has soughtfrom the court todirect the AMCand StateGovernment toreconsider thedecision todeclare SatelliteC e n t r eC o o p e r a t i v eHousing Society

as a micro containment zone.

He has sought that thecivil application be heardunder the suo motu PIL thatis being heard by the division bench of ChiefJustice Vikram Nath andJustice JM Pardiwala relatedto the state's response to thecoronavirus pandemic andlockdown.

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The Congress on Saturdayasked Prime Minister

Narendra Modi to publiclycondemn China for its“brazen incursions” intoIndian territory and urged theGovernment to take “strongand quick action” to resolvethe Line of Actual Control(LAC) issue.

The grand old partyalleged that the last six yearshave seen the biggest diplo-matic failure under the ModiGovernment.

Former Union MinisterKapil Sibal said that the PrimeMinister should address thenation and promise that anyone capturing Indian territory would be pushedback.

Addressing an onlinePress conference, Sibal saidthe entire nation and theentire Opposition wouldstand behind him and hispromise.

“Some quick action isrequired,” he said, seekingearly resolution of the borderdispute with China, while

noting that diplomacy andeconomic blockade withChina would not work.

“Yes, the action should bestrong (against China). Thequality, nature and the timingof that action has to be decided by the Government,”said the Rajya Sabha member.He further said it was for the

Government to decide andnot the Opposition.

The Congress alleged thatChina has erected tents andstructures near PP-14 inGalwan Valley, the placewhere 20 Indian soldiers sac-rificed their lives.

He added that satellite

imagery also reflects con-struction of new black toproads by Chinese forces onthe Galwan riverbed, erectionof large numbers of militarytents and presence of bull-dozers and other heavy equip-ment.

“What is our Government

doing about it? The PM mustclear the air and condemnthese brazen Chinese incur-sions,” he said.

Asking why the PrimeMinister does not openly andpublicly condemn the “brazenacts of inf i ltrat ions, incursions and occupation” of

Indian territory by China, hesaid, “I want the PM to pub-licly condemn China. We willsupport the Prime Minister.”

Sibal said the situation issuch that the PM's statementthat nobody intruded intoIndia is being used by theChinese globally.

“We want the PrimeMinister to address the nationand promise that if anyonehas captured Indian territory,we will push them back. Ifyou say so, the public and theentire Opposition will standbehind you and yourpromise,” he said.

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As COVID-19 cases crossedthe 5 lakh mark in India,

former Congress presidentRahul Gandhi on Saturdaycharged Prime Minister

Narendra Modi of “surrender-ing and refusing to fight thepandemic”.

“Covid-19 is spreadingrapidly into new parts of thecountry. The Government OfIndia has no plan to defeat it,”

Rahul Gandhi tweeted. Targeting Prime Minister

Modi, he said, “PM is silent. Hehas surrendered and is refusingto fight the pandemic”.

The Congress leader alsotagged a news report that

claimed the Union Governmenthad “retreated” as no meeting ofthe Indian Council of MedicalResearch (ICMR) or the Groupof Ministers had taken place andneither had the Health Ministryheld its briefings on the pan-

demic.Rahul Gandhi’s allegations

of “surrender to pandemic”comes after he had attacked thePrime Minister over theChinese incursion and calledhim “Surender Modi”.

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The Union Health Ministryon Saturday included an

inexpensive, widely usedsteroid dexamethasone in thetreatment protocols for Covid-19 patients in moderate tosevere stages of illness amongother therapeutic measures.The drug is also a part of theNational List of EssentialMedicines (NLEM) and iswidely available.

The updated protocolincludes the advice to use dex-amethasone as an alternativechoice to methylprednisolonefor managing moderate tosevere cases of Covid-19. Thechange has been made afterconsidering the latest avail-able evidence and expert con-sultation, the ministry said.

According to the revised‘Clinical ManagementProtocols for Covid-19’, dex-amethasone which is alreadyused in treating lung infectionsbesides in a wide range ofconditions for its anti-inflam-matory and immunosuppres-sant effects can be used as an

alternative to methylpred-nisolone which already existedin the treatment guidelines.The health ministry on June 13had also allowed the use ofantiviral drug remdesivir forrestricted emergency use andoff-label application oftocilizumab, a drug that mod-ifies the immune system or itsfunctioning, and convalescentplasma for treating Covid-19patients in moderate stage ofthe illness as an “investigationaltherapy”.

It also recommendedhydroxychloroquine in patientsduring the early course of thedisease and not on critically illpatients. The use of these drugscontinues to be included in therevised treatment protocolsunder the ‘investigational ther-apy’.

The revised treatment pro-tocols for moderate casesadvised considering methyl-prednisolone 0.5 to 1 mg/kg ordexamethasone 0.1 to 0.2mg/kg for three days, preferablywithin 48 hours of admissionor if oxygen requirement isincreasing and if inflammato-

ry markers are increased. Theduration of administrationshould be reviewed as per clin-ical response.

For patients having respi-ratory distress requiringmechanical ventilation, bothnon- invasive and invasive, theministry said methylpred-nisolone 1 – 2mg/kg/day ordexamethasone 0.2 to 0.4mg/kg per day should be con-sidered for 5-7 days in twodivided doses, if not givenalready.

“Note that a larger dose ofglucocorticoid will delay theremoval of coronavirus due toimmunosuppressive effects,”the treatment protocols stated.

The revised treatment pro-tocols were issued as India’sCovid-19 tally raced past thefive-lakh mark on Saturdaywith the biggest single-daysurge of 18,552 cases while thedeath toll climbed to 15,685with 384 fatalities, the updat-ed figure at 8 am showed.

According to World HealthOrganisation (WHO), the cor-ticosteroid dexamethasone wastested in hospitalised patientswith Covid-19 in the UnitedKingdom’s national clinicaltrial ‘RECOVERY’ and wasfound to have benefits for crit-ically ill patients. According topreliminary findings sharedwith WHO, for patients onventilators, the treatment wasshown to reduce mortality byabout one-third, and forpatients requiring only oxygen,mortality was cut by about one-fifth.

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Majority of children withCovid-19 in 26 countries

fared well clinically comparedto adults during the first fourmonths of the pandemic,according to a study.

Published in EClinicalMedicine, a journal ofThe Lancet, the study is thelargest systematic review todate of children and youngadults with Covid-19.

Researchers from the LongSchool of Medicine at TheUniversity of Texas HealthScience Center at San Antoniofound that while 19 per cent ofthe pediatric population infect-ed with the virus had no symp-toms, 21 per cent exhibitedpatchy lesions on lung X-rays.Similarly, 5.6 per cent sufferedfrom co-infections, such asflu, at least 3.3 per cent wereadmitted to intensive care units.Seven deaths were reported.

“Our data is compiledfrom 131 studies and encom-passes 7,780 patients whospan the pediatric age spec-trum,” said study seniorauthor Alvaro Moreira, assis-tant professor of pediatrics atUT Health San Antonio anda fellowship-trained neona-tologist.

“In the study we reportthe most common symptoms,quantify laboratory findingsand describe imaging char-acteristics of children withCovid-19,” he said.

The most frequent symp-

toms, similar to the adultpopulation, were fever andcough. Those were found in59% and 56% of the pediatricpopulation.

In 233 individuals, a pastmedical history was noted,and among this group, 152were children with compro-mised immune systems orwho had underlying respira-tory or cardiac disease.

The number of childrenwith excellent outcomes sur-prised the research team.“Although we are hearingabout severe forms of thedisease in children, this isoccurring in very rare cir-cumstances,” Dr. Moreira said.

Thankfully, he said, onlya small number of patientsmet inclusion for multisysteminflammatory syndrome inchildren. Their disease paral-leled the extreme forms ofCovid-19 seen in adults.

Kidney failure was seen innine pediatric patients, liverfailure also in nine and shock in 19. Mechanical ven-tilation was required by 42patients.

The study does not takeinto consideration a newsurge of patients in New York,England and Italy where specialists are now starting tosee children with multisysteminflammatory syndrome, Dr.Moreira said.

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In a good news to the scien-tists engaged in developing

vaccines, a study has found thatpatients suffering from severerespiratory symptoms due tothe novel coronavirus infectioncan rapidly generate animmune response in the formof virus-attacking T cells.

The study, published inthe journal ScienceImmunology, assessed T cellsfrom 10 Covid-19 patientsunder intensive care treatment.

According to theresearchers, including thosefrom the University ofCalifornia in the US, two out of10 healthy individuals withoutprior exposure to the virus alsoharbored SARS-CoV-2-reac-tive T cells.

Based on this observation,they said these T cells may becross-reacting to the novelcoronavirus, due to past infec-tion with related coronavirus-es that cause common coldsymptoms.

The findings, according tothe researchers, address thepoorly understood question ofwhether the virus specific T cellresponses vary in patients overtime depending on diseaseseverity. They said the studymay help understand whetherpatients with more severesymptoms can generate pro-tective virus-specific T cells atall, and offer clues regarding thecells responsible for excessiveimmune responses which hasled to the deaths of manyCovid-19 patients.

In the research, scientists,including Daniela Weiskopffrom the La Jolla Institute forImmunology in the US,

extracted blood cells from 10patients at weekly intervalsstarting soon after they wereadmitted to the ICU forCovid-19. They exposed thesecells to “megapools” of knownSARS-CoV-2 protein compo-nents in a technique meant tocapture a large fraction oftotal viral-reactive T cells.

The researchers foundthat SARS-CoV-2-specificCD4+ helper T cells wereactive in all 10 patients, andCD8+ “killer” T cells werepresent in 8 out of 10 patients.They also characterised thecells' production of specificinflammation-triggering cell-cell signalling molecules calledcytokines.

According to the scien-tists, the strongest responseswere directed to the virus'spike (S) surface protein, sup-porting prior work that haspointed to this protein as apromising target to inducevirus-specific T cells. Onscreening all patients at 0, 7,and 14 days after inclusion inthe study revealed that SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells werepresent relatively early duringthe course of infection, andincreased in these patientsover time.

Using the same T cellstimulation technique in age-matched healthy controls, theresearchers found SARS-CoV-2-reactive T cells in 2 out ofthe 10 individuals. Theybelieve a future study of howpreexisting SARS-CoV-2-spe-cific T cells in healthy controlscorrelate to protection againstCovid-19 can help shed morelight on the disease and “andalso inform vaccine designand evaluation.”

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Putting the 107-year-old colo-nial era Delhi Gymkhana

Club under the Governmentscanner, the National CompanyLaw Tribunal (NCLT) onSaturday directed the Centre toconstitute a five-member specialcommittee to enquire into theaffairs of the Club. The com-mittee will look into issues relat-ed to the utility of the land leasedout by the Government, con-structions in progress withoutpermission and membershipissues, including waitlist andaccelerated membership.

It has directed theGovernment to appoint twomembers on its GeneralCommittee (GC), managing its

affairs. However, it has permit-ted the general committee tocarry day to day functions of theclub by using its funds otherthan the fee collected fromapplicants for new member-ship. The tribunal has directedto list the matter on September7, 2020, before it for hearing.

In an 81-page interim orderthe acting president NCLTPrincipal Bench B.S.V. PrakashKumar said: “I have found primafacie case demonstrating that theaffairs of the Club are being con-ducted in a manner prejudicialto the public interest, therefore,I hereby direct Union of India toappoint two of its nominees ofits choice as Members in theGeneral Committee to monitorthe affairs of the Club along with

other GC Members and givesuggestions to the GC”. Theorder said that it will also file areport of recommendations,suggesting for better use of theclub premises for the largergood in a transparent manneron equity basis within twomonths. The judgment said theclub, which is in the midst of atakeover battle by the Centre,would be allowed to make no“new policy decisions, appointnew members and/or beginnew constructions”.

The Ministry of CorporateAffairs (MCA) had moved theNCLT asking for replacement ofthe directors of the Club withgovernment nominees to runthe affairs of the company, andin the interim relief, asked for

suspension of GC and forappointment of an administra-tor until final order is granted.

The NCLT said it foundprima facie case demonstratingthat the affairs of the Club arebeing conducted in a mannerprejudicial to the public interest.

According to the NCLT,the five-member committee willenquire into the issues related tothe utility of the land leased outby the Government to the club,with regard to constructions inprogress without requisiteapprovals or with approvals,suggestions for changes inArticles and Memorandum ofAssociation, membership issuesincluding waitlist and aboutaccelerated membership, adher-ence of the Club to the Rules

governed by the CompaniesAct 2013.

The club, which shares awall with the Prime Minister’sresidence at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg,has been under investigation foraround three years. TheGovernment has cited “parivar-waad” (nepotism), financialirregularities, misuse of allocat-ed land and issues related tomembership as the primaryreasons behind its move toacquire the club.

The tribunal has also putseveral restrictions on the gen-eral committee, directing it notto take any policy decision ormake any changes to theMemorandum of Association orArticles of Association till its fur-ther order.

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Page 6: €¦ · Maharaja Ranjeet Singh, the Foreign Office said on Saturday, over three months ... now agreed to resume one-way traffic to Nepal through the Rasuwagadhi border, the Kathmandu

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New Delhi: M Nagaraj, CMD,HUDCO, shared the highlightsof HUDCO’s robust perfor-mance in 2019-2020, whereinthe company has recorded out-standing financial results in itsGolden Jubilee Year witnessinga 45% growth in Net Profit thathas touched an all-time high of�1708.42crore in 2019-2020,from �1180.15 crore in 2018-2019. HUDCO has seen a 13%growth in its net worth that hasreached�12343.49 crore in2019-20, from �10955.77 crorein 2018-2019. The net total income also wit-nessed a quantum jump of35% to �7571.64 crore in 2019-2020, from �5591.22 crore in2018-2019.

Further, D Guhan, Director(Finance), has shared thatHUDCO Board has alsoapproved an all-time high div-idend of �3.10 per share sub-ject to approval by the share-holders.

The above includes inter-im dividend of �0.75 per sharepaid in March, 2020. The totaldividend recommended by theCompany is �620.59 croreagainst �165.16 crore in theprevious year.

Further, HUDCO’s NetNPA is 0.19%, which is amongthe lowest in the sector. Duringthe year 2019-2020, HUDCO’semphasis was on sanction ofprojects pertaining to Housing-PMAY(U), Expressways andWater Supply projects.

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MSME Minister NitinGadkari on Saturday said

he has requested theCommerce Ministry to allowexport of Personal ProtectiveEquipment kits, as the countryis producing it in large quan-tities. Addressing a webinar onthe occasion of InternationalMSME Day, Gadkari, who alsoholds the portfolio of RoadTransport and Highways, saidabout two months ago thatIndia imported PPE kits fromChina via a special aircraft butnow the country’s industryand MSMEs were manufac-turing lakhs of PPE kits perday.”Now, already I haverequested the commerce min-istry” to allow export of PPEKits from India, the minister

said, adding that it was beingconsidered. Stressing that PPEhas export potential, he saidthat people are getting ordersfor PPE kits from Dubai,Canada, the US and Europeancountries.Recently, Indianapparel export industry bodyAEPC had also urged the gov-ernment to lift the ban onexports of PPE kits as its pro-duction has reached 8 lakhunits per day.

Gadkari also launchedreport of GAME National TaskForce for MSMEs, entailingindustry wide recommenda-tions to boost the units andentrepreneurial dynamism inIndia. Meghalaya CMConrad Kongkal Sangma;Uttarakhand CM TrivendraSingh Rawat, Karnataka CMBS Yediyurappa and Punjab

Minister of Education andPublic Works Vijay InderSingla also spoke on the stepstheir States were taking toboost the MSME Sector, whichcontribute about 48% of India’sexports and provide employ-ment to 11 crore people. Therecommendations from thereport “Improving EconomicDynamism and AcceleratingMSME Growth” are likely tohelp MSMEs ‘Survive, Revive,Thrive and Sustain’.The taskforce chaired by K P Krishnan,IAS (Retd), Former Secretary,Ministry of Skill Developmentand Entrepreneurship, and co-chaired by Ravi Venkatesan,Founder GAME and FormerChairman of Microsoft Indiaand Bank of Baroda presentedthe highlights of the recom-mendations.

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State-owned Oil India Ltd(OIL) has reported a net

profit of �925.64 crore for theMarch quarter as opposed to aloss last year as lower corporatetax offset a dip in oil and gasprices.

Net profit in January-March at �925.64 crore com-pares with a loss of �208.54crore in the same period a yearback, the company said in astatement. The company said itopted for the new concession-al tax regime, paying an effec-tive tax rate of 25.17 per centin lieu of giving up exemptions.Current corporate tax rate is 35per cent. “This has resulted inreversal of deferred tax liabili-ty of �821.01 crore during2019-20,” the statement said.

The lower tax rate offsetdrop in revenue from slump inoil and gas rates.

“Crude oil price realisationduring Q4 (January-March) ofFY20 and FY 2019-20 gotadversely affected due to fall ininternational crude oil pricesbecause of Covid-19 and col-lapse in understanding betweenOPEC and Russia on continuedproduction cuts,” it said.

Average crude oil pricerealisation during January-March (Q4 FY 2019-20) wasUSD 52.18 per barrel, whichwas lower by 15.51 per cent ascompared to a price realisationof USD 61.76 a barrel duringQ4 FY2018-19.

Total revenue was up mar-ginally to �3,583.72 crore in Q4from �3,583.72 crore a yearback. For the full 2019-20 fis-cal, the company’s net profitwas almost unchanged at�2,584.06 crore on a revenue of�13,648.71 crore.

Average crude oil pricerealisation was lower by 11.31per cent to $ 60.75 per barrelin 2019-20, as compared to $68.50 during 2018-19.

Average natural gas pricerealisation during 2019-20improved to

$ 3.46 per million Britishthermal unit as compared to$3.21 during the preceding fis-cal.

OIL said crude oil pro-duction dipped 5.7 per cent to3.134 million tonnes in FY20.However, production for Q4was 1.48 per cent higher at0.758 million tonnes as com-pared to 0.747 million tonnesin Q3 2019-20.

Natural gas productionduring FY 2019-20 was mar-ginally lower at 2,801 millionstandard cubic meters as com-pared to 2,865 mmscm during2018-19.

The board of OIL hasdeclared a final dividend of 16per cent (�1.60 per share) for2019-20.

“OIL has availedthe option of (tax dispute res-olution scheme) Direct TaxVivad se Vishwas Scheme, 2020for settlement of its pendingIncome Tax disputes which ispending for approval of desig-nated authority,” the statementsaid, without giving details.

On the blowout at a gasproducing well in Baghjan fieldin Assam, OIL said efforts tocontrol it are going on.

“Teams of OIL, ONGCand international expert areworking to control the well atthe earliest,” it said.

“Due to blow out, there isproduction loss of about 80,000standard cubic meters per dayof natural gas which is onlyabout 1 per cent of OIL’s dailynatural gas production.”

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The EnforcementDirectorate (ED) Has

objected to the Mumbai Policefiling a closure report in acheating case registered earli-er against now-defunct JetAirways, its promoter NareshGoyal, and his wife.

Stating that the police did-n’t consider crucial facts of the case, the ED has filed anintervention application beforea court.

Jet Airways, Goyal and hiswife Anita were booked oncharges of cheating and a crim-inal beach of trust in Februarythis year by MRA Marg policeon a complaint filed by city-based Akbar Travels IndiaPrivate Limited alleging thatthey were cheated of �46 croreby the Goyals.

In its closure report filedbefore a court a month later, thepolice stated that there was noevidence to probe the case fur-ther.

In its application, the EDstated that the police had failedto consider the facts that werecrucial in establishing the caseagainst the Goyals.

Meanwhile, the AkbarTravels has decided to chal-

lenge the closure report incourt. “The report by thecity police seemed to havebeen filed without any properinvestigation. No investigationhas been done on our allega-tions of personal assurances bythe director (of Jet Airways)and also on foreign accountdetails provided by the com-plainant,” Akbar Travel’s coun-sel Dharmesh Joshi said onSaturday, adding that they willfile a petition on July 6.

As per the complaint filedwith the police earlier, JetAirways had done businessworth �900 crore with AkbarTravels between 2018-19.

It alleged that the airlineand its promoter have failed topay �46,05,68,036 to the trav-el company.

Despite knowing the finan-cial crisis at Jet Airways, whichwas in position of no return,Naresh Goyal made falsepromises.He willfuly inducedthe travel company to takebooking on behalfof the airline,thecomplaint stated.

The ED is conducting aprobe against the Goyals andthe defunct airline under thePrevention of MoneyLaundering Act and ForeignExchange Management Act.

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State Bank of India (SBI) has sanc-tioned loans to over 4 lakh accounts

under the �3-lakh crore EmergencyCredit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS)for MSME sector, hit hard by the coro-navirus-induced lockdown.

On the occasion of InternationalMSME Day, SBI managing director CSShetty on Friday addressed MSME cus-tomers and employees across the nationvideo conference.

SME products were highlighted tothe customers to increase awareness andenable them to choose the right prod-uct for their business, SBI said in a state-ment.

At the national level, the bank hassanctioned loans to over 4 lakh cus-tomers under guaranteed emergencycredit line (GECL) facility so far, a seniorbank official said. About �20,000crore has been sanctioned to eligibleMSME customers under the scheme

which was launched on June 1.The scheme will be applicable to all

loans sanctioned under GECL facilityduring the period from the date ofannouncement of the plan to October 31or till an amount of �3 lakh crore is sanc-tioned under the scheme, whichever isearlier.

The main objective of the scheme isto provide an incentive to memberlending institutions to increase accessand enable availability of additionalfunding facility to MSME borrowers, inview of the economic distress caused bythe COVID-19 crisis, by giving them 100per cent guarantee for any losses sufferedby them due to non-repayment of theGECL funding by borrowers.

The statement further said ChiefGeneral Manager, Delhi Circle, VijuyRonjan committed unhindered sup-port to MSMEs by SBI in times to come.SBI deputy managing director and ChiefOperating Officer Saloni Narayan alsoparticipated in the video conference.

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Ajoint move by SEBI and RBI forLiquidity window to the mutual

funds has helped induce confidence inthe system, though not much demandfor the scheme was seen, the capitalmarket regulator said on Saturday.

In view of the possible redemptionpressure that the mutual fund industrymay face after the abrupt winding upof six debt schemes of FranklinTempleton Mutual Fund, the centralbank announced a special liquidity win-dow of �50,000 crore for mutual fundsin April end.

“The move by SEBI & RBI jointlyto extend a liquidity window to mutu-al funds helped build confidence in thesystem, though not much use was madeof the window,” an Indian Chamber ofCommerce statement quoted SEBIwhole-time director G Mahalingam assaying.

No further details on this wasshared.Mutual Funds need to be torch-

bearers of faith for the retail investor,he said.

Under the special liquidity scheme,the RBI will conduct repo (repurchaseagreement) operations of 90-day tenorat a fixed repo rate of 4.40 per cent forbanks.According to the RBI, banks canavail funds under this facility exclu-sively for meeting the liquidity require-ments of “mutual fund” houses byextending loans and undertaking out-right purchase of and/or repos againstthe collateral of investment grade cor-porate bonds, commercial papers(CPs), debentures and certificates ofdeposit (CDs) held by the fund hous-es.

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President Ram Nath Kovindhas promulgated the

Banking Regulation(Amendment) Ordinance,2020 to bring all urban coop-erative banks and multi-statecooperative banks under thesupervision of the RBI in order to protect the interest ofdepositors.

The Ordinance amendsthe Banking Regulation Act,1949 as applicable to coopera-tive banks, an official statementsaid on Saturday.

“The Ordinance seeks toprotect the interests of depos-itors and strengthen coopera-tive banks by improving gov-

ernance and oversight byextending powers already avail-able with RBI in respect ofother banks to Co-operativeBanks as well for sound bank-ing regulation, and by ensuringprofessionalism and enablingtheir access to capital,” it said.

The amendments do notaffect existing powers of theState Registrars of Co-operativeSocieties under state co-oper-ative laws, it added.

The amendments also donot apply to PrimaryAgricultural Credit Societies(PACS) or co-operative soci-eties whose primary objectand principal business is long-term finance for agriculturaldevelopment, and which do not

use the words “bank”, “banker”or “banking” and do not act asdrawees of cheques, it said.

“The Ordinance alsoamends Section 45 of theBanking Regulation Act, toenable making of a scheme ofreconstruction or amalgama-tion of a banking company forprotecting the interest of thepublic, depositors and thebanking system and for secur-ing its proper management,even without making an orderof moratorium, so as to avoiddisruption of the financial sys-tem,” it said.

There are 1,482 urbancooperative banks and 58multi-state cooperative bankshaving about 8.6 crore depos-

itors with total savings depositof about Rs 4.85 lakh crore.

The decisionassumes significance in thewake of scams in cooperativebanks, including the Punjaband Maharashtra Cooperative(PMC) Bank, affecting lakhs ofcustomers who are facing dif-ficulty in withdrawing theirmoney due to restrictionsimposed by the Reserve Bankof India (RBI).

The RBI had placed regu-latory curbs on PMC Bank onSeptember 23, 2019, after find-ing out certain financial irreg-ularities and misreporting ofloans given to real estate devel-oper HDIL.

Earlier this month, the RBI

had put restrictions on with-drawals from People’s Co-oper-ative Bank, Kanpur, UttarPradesh. Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman had intro-duced ‘The Banking Regulation(Amendment) Bill, 2020’ in theLok Sabha on March 3, 2020,which is pending approval.The proposed law sought toenforce banking regulationguidelines of the RBI on coop-erative banks.

In her February 1 Budgetspeech, Sitharaman had pro-posed amendments to theBanking Regulation Act withan aim to increasing profes-sionalism and improving gov-ernance among the cooperativebanks.

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Amid the ongoing eco-nomic woes created by

the coronavirus pandemic,the Reserve Bank has decid-ed to extend the enhancedborrowing facility providedto the banks to meet their liq-uidity shortages tillSeptember 30.

The RBI, as a tempo-rary measure, had increasedthe borrowing limit of sched-uled banks under the mar-ginal standing facility (MSF)scheme from 2 per cent to 3per cent of their Net Demandand Time Liabilities (NDTL)with effect from March 27,2020.

Under the MSF, bankscan borrow overnight fundsat their discretion by dippinginto the Statutory LiquidityRatio (SLR).

This relaxation, whichwas granted till June 30,2020, has now been extend-ed till September 30.

“On a review, it has nowbeen decided to extend thisenhanced limit till September30, 2020,” the Reserve Bankof India (RBI) said in a cir-cular.

Banks may continue toaccess overnight funds underthe MSF against their excessSLR holding, it added.

The marginal standingfacility rate currently standsat 4.25 per cent.

The RBI has also extend-ed the relaxation on the min-imum daily maintenance ofthe Cash Reserve Ratio(CRR) at 80 per cent for afurther period of threemonths till September 25,2020.

On March 27, the min-imum daily maintenance ofthe CRR was reduced from90 per cent of the prescribedCRR to 80 per cent till June26, 2020.

This was done in viewof the continuing of hard-ships faced by banks interms of social distancingof staff and consequentstrains on repor t ingrequirements.

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Petrol price on Saturday washiked by 25 paise per litre

and diesel by 21 paise, takingthe cumulative increase in ratesin three weeks to �9.12 and �11.01 respectively.

Petrol price in Delhi washiked to �80.38 per litre from�80.13, while diesel rates wereincreased to �80.40 a litre from�80.19, according to a price

notification of state oil mar-keting companies.

Rates have been increasedacross the country but thefinal retail selling price differsfrom state to state dependingon the incidence of local salestax or VAT.

In Mumbai, petrol pricewent up from �86.91 per litreto �87.14, while diesel ratewas hiked to �78.71 from�78.51.

Page 7: €¦ · Maharaja Ranjeet Singh, the Foreign Office said on Saturday, over three months ... now agreed to resume one-way traffic to Nepal through the Rasuwagadhi border, the Kathmandu

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Washington: China's recentaggression in eastern Ladakh ispart of its large-scale militaryprovocations against its neigh-bours and the US will not standfor unprovoked, premeditatedmilitary action for intimidatingpeaceful nations into submis-sion, an influential Americanlawmaker has said.

Congressman Ted Yohosaid that now is the time for theworld to come together and tellChina that enough is enough.

“China's actions towardsIndia fall in line with a largertrend of the Communist Partyof China using the confusion ofthe COVID-19 pandemic as acover to launch large scalemilitary provocations againstits neighbours in the region,including Hong Kong, Taiwan,and Vietnam,” Yoho said onFriday.

In a tweet, the Republicanlawmaker said that the US willnot stand for unprovoked, pre-meditated military action for thepurpose of antagonising andintimidating peaceful nationsinto submission.

“Now is the time for theworld to come together and tellChina that enough is enough,”Yoho said.

Earlier in the day,Congressman Dr Ami Bera,the longest serving Indian-American lawmaker in theHouse of Representatives,expressed concern over theChinese aggression along itsIndia border.

“I encourage China to useits longstanding diplomaticmechanisms with India todeescalate the situation ratherthan force to settle boundary

issues,” Dr Bera said in a tweet.As the Chair of the House

Foreign Subcommittee on Asia,Bera said that he is “concernedby the continued Chineseaggression along its border”with India.

“While this is a matterbetween China and India, it ismy view that increasing militaryforces on either side of theLine of Actual Control will becounterproductive and unhelp-ful,” he said.

In early June, HouseForeign Affairs CommitteeChairman Representative EliotEngel expressed being “extreme-ly concerned by the ongoingChinese aggression” along theLine of Actual Control.

The Indian and Chinesemilitaries are engaged in a bor-der standoff in Pangong Tso,Galwan Valley, Demchok andDaulat Beg Oldie in easternLadakh.

The two sides are engagedin diplomatic and military talksamidst escalating tension fol-lowing the violent clashes inGalwan Valley on June 15.Twenty Indian Army personnelwere killed in the clash. PTI

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Washington: As many as 20 USsenators have urged the Trumpadministration to grant emer-gency refugee protection to Sikhand Hindu communities inAfghanistan facing persecutionas religious minorities.

In a bipartisan letteraddressed to Secretary of StateMike Pompeo, the senatorscalled on the State Departmentto prioritise resettlement oppor-tunities under the US RefugeeAdmissions Program allocationceilings for Afghan Sikh andHindu communities.

The population of Hindusand Sikhs in Afghanistan haveplummeted markedly due toyears of persecution by theTaliban and more recent terror-ist actions perpetrated by ISISKhorasan (ISIS-K), they said.

“This Administration hasrepeatedly highlighted protect-ing religious freedom as a topforeign policy priority,” the sen-ators wrote.

“Sikh and Hindu commu-nities in Afghanistan face anexistential threat from ISIS-Kbecause of their religion. To pro-tect religious freedom, weurgently ask that you take theseessential steps to defend thesethreatened religious minorities,”they said in the letter.

The letter also calls onPompeo to offer additional sup-port to members of the Sikh andHindu communities that chooseto remain in Afghanistan, and toensure that Afghan religiousminorities benefit from the USD20.6 million in American aidalready provided to addressCOVID-19.

“Ensuring that religiousminorities receive US COVID-19 assistance should be a prior-ity in all countries where pro-tection of religious minorities isa challenge,” the senators added.

The letter was written bysenator Robert Menendez,Ranking Member of the SenateForeign Relations Committee,Senate Democratic LeaderChuck Schumer, and senatorsThom Tillis, Dick Durbin,Patrick Leahy, Dianne Feinstein,Kirsten Gillibrand, Tim Kaine,Kamala Harris, Bob Casey, ChrisVan Hollen, Bernie Sanders,Patty Murray, Chris Coons, EdMarkey, Tammy Duckworth,Jack Reed, Mark Warner, BenCardin, and James Lankford.

“ISIS-K targets religiousminorities in Afghanistan andposes an existential threat toAfghanistan's Sikh and Hinducommunities in particular,” theletter said. PTI

<:8,�����������$������������ ����������������)�����,�$�� -��� � Washington: US President

Donald Trump has signed anexecutive order to prosecutethose who damage nationalmonuments, making it a pun-ishable offence with up to 10years in jail.

The order comes in thewake of rioters defacing anddestroying historical sites,monuments and statues in thecountry as violence erupted fol-lowing the brutal custodialdeath of African-AmericanGeorge Floyd on May 25. Thepresident has accused radicalleft for the violence.

Trump, in a strongly word-ed executive order on Friday,said: “My administration willnot allow violent mobs incitedby a radical fringe to becomethe arbiters of the aspects of ourhistory that can be celebratedin public spaces”.

Over the last five weeks,there has been a sustainedassault on the life and proper-ty of civilians, law enforcementofficers, government propertyand revered American monu-ments such as the LincolnMemorial, Trump said.

“Many of the rioters, arson-ists and left-wing extremistswho have carried out and sup-ported these acts have explic-itly identified themselves withideologies — such as Marxism

— that call for the destructionof the United States system ofgovernment,” he said.

Under the order, the fed-eral government is directed toprosecute any person or enti-ty that damages or defacesreligious property and withholdcertain federal support fromstate and local governmentsthat fail to protect public mon-uments, memorials and statuesfrom destruction or vandalism.

Anarchists and left-wingextremists have sought toadvance a fringe ideology thatpaints the United States ofAmerica as fundamentallyunjust and have sought toimpose that ideology onAmericans through violenceand mob intimidation, Trumpsaid.

They have led riots in thestreets, burned police vehicles,killed and assaulted govern-ment officers as well as business

owners defending their prop-erty, and even seized an areawithin one city where law andorder gave way to anarchy.During the unrest, innocentcitizens also have been harmedand killed, the president rued.

“These criminal acts arefrequently planned and sup-ported by agitators who havetraveled across state lines topromote their own violentagenda. These radicals shame-lessly attack the legitimacy ofour institutions and the veryrule of law itself.

“Individuals and organisa-tions have the right to peace-fully advocate for either theremoval or the construction ofany monument. But no indi-vidual or group has the right todamage, deface, or remove anymonument by use of force,”Trump said.

The law authorises apenalty of up to 10 yearsimprisonment for the willfulinjury of a federal property.The executive order alsodirects that those who inciteviolence and illegal activity areprosecuted to the fullest extentunder the law. State and locallaw enforcement agencies thatfail to protect monuments,memorials and statues will besubject to the withholding offederal support. PTI

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San Francisco: A federalappeals court on Friday ruledagainst the Trump adminis-tration in its transfer of $2.5billion from military con-struction projects to buildsections of the US border wallwith Mexico, ruling it illegal-ly sidestepped Congress,which gets to decide how touse the funds.

In two opinions, the 9thUS Circuit Court of Appealsagreed with a coalition of bor-der states and environmentalgroups that contended themoney transfer was unlawfuland that building the wallwould pose environmentalthreats.

The rulings were the latesttwist in the legal battle that haslargely gone Trump's way. LastJuly, the Supreme Courtallowed the $2.5 billion to bespent while the litigation con-tinued, blunting the impact ofthe latest appeals court action.

The administration hasalready awarded much of themoney, including a $1.3-bil-lion job in Arizona that wasannounced last month. Trumpvisited Yuma, Arizona, onTuesday to mark completionof the 200th mile of borderwall during his administration,much of it with the transferredmilitary funds that the 9thCircuit panel found illegal.

After the $2.5 billiontransfer of military funds, thePentagon diverted another$3.6 billion that an appealscourt in New Orleans ruled inJanuary could be spent.

Still, critics of Trump's wallpraised the rulings on Fridayfor upholding the Constitution,which grants Congress thepower of the purse.

“The funds that he is pil-fering, which were appropri-ated by Congress, are vital tosupport the safety and well-being of the brave men and

women in uniform, as well astheir families,” said HouseSpeaker Nancy Pelosi, aCalifornia Democrat.

The 9th Circuit ruled thatthe Trump administration notonly lacked the authority toauthorize the transfer of funds,“but also violated an expressconstitutional prohibitiondesigned to protect individualliberties.” The vote on bothrulings was 2-1 with judgesappointed by former PresidentBill Clinton in the majorityand a Trump nominee dis-senting.

The panel said the gov-ernment was proceeding withborder wall construction with-out ensuring compliance withany environmental regula-tions, thereby harming theinterests of Sierra Club mem-bers who visit the borderregion for hiking, bird watch-ing and other recreationalactivities.

The panel also held thatthe government failed to showthat construction would haltthe flow of illegal drugs.

It said the administrationhad cited drug statistics butdidn't address how the wallwould have an impact on theproblem.

“The executive branch'sfailure to show, in concreteterms, that the public's inter-est favors a border wall is par-ticularly significant given thatCongress determined fencingto be a lower budgetary pri-ority and the Department ofJustice's data points to a con-trary conclusion,” the majori-ty wrote.

After the Supreme Courtgave the green light last year tobegin work on the wall usingDefense Department money,the Justice Department vowedto continue to defend theadministration's efforts to pro-tect the southern border. AP

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Dhaka (Bangladesh): Four sus-pected members of a Rohingyagroup allegedly involved inkidnapping for ransom werekilled in a gunfight withBangladeshi police near thesprawling refugee camps whererefugees from Myanmar live,officials said.

The gunfight took placeFriday when a team of securi-ty officials was searching for thegang leader in a forest near theRohingya camps at Cox's Bazar,said police Inspector PradeepKumar Das.

Another inspector, MorzinaAkhter, said the suspects openedfire at police, sparking the gun-fight that led to their deaths.Police also recovered about40,000 drug pills and locally

made guns, he said.According to authorities

and local media reports, thegang led by Abdul Hakim haskidnapped many locals for ran-som and killed those whosefamilies failed to pay.

It had allegedly abducted atleast seven Bangladeshis overthe last two months and killedthree hostages. Hakim remainsat large. While human rightsgroups acknowledge there arecriminal elements among someof the Rohingya refugees, theyhave urged authorities to thor-oughly investigate such cases.

In March, police fatallyshot seven suspected membersof a Rohingya gang allegedlyinvolved in drug dealing andhuman trafficking. AP

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Washington: US PresidentDonald Trump is “Incrediblygrateful” for the "widespreadsupport" he has received fromthe people of India and Indian-Americans, the White Househas said in response to a sur-vey suggesting that over 50 percent of the community mem-bers in some key battlegroundAmerican states are switchingover to him in the presidentialelection in November.

White House Deputy PressSecretary Sarah Matthewsmade the comments whileresponding to a question on arecent survey results thatIndian-Americans, who tradi-tionally vote for theDemocratic Party, are switch-ing towards Trump, aRepublican, in the November3 election.

Trump is seeking re-elec-tion to the White House in theNovember 3 presidential elec-tions.

“President Trump isincredibly grateful for thewidespread support he hasreceived from the people ofIndia and from millions ofIndian-Americans across theUnited States,” Matthews toldPTI.

According to the surveyresults conducted by AlMason, co-chair of the TrumpVictory Indian-AmericanFinance Committee, more than50 per cent of Indian-Americans in the battle groundstates of Michigan, Florida,Texas, Pennsylvania andVirginia are crossing over tosupport Trump.

During his more than threeand half years of his presiden-cy, Trump has made an extraeffort to reach out to theIndian-American community.

His close relationship withPrime Minister NarendraModi – reflected in the twoleaders jointly addressing mas-sive public rallies in Houstonand Ahmedabad – has helpedhim make deep inroads amongthe Indian-Americans. PTI

Washington: Democrats areintensifying their attacks onPresident Donald Trump andhis Republican allies over healthcare, hoping that an issue thathelped lift the party during the2018 midterms will prove evenmore resonant as the WhiteHouse seeks to repeal theAffordable Care Act during apublic health crisis.

Joe Biden, the presumptiveDemocratic presidential nom-inee, told an audience in theswing state of Pennsylvania thisweek that efforts to underminethe Obama-era health care lawwere “cruel” and “callous.”

House Speaker NancyPelosi called Trump “beyondstupid” for trying to roll backthe law and introduced legisla-tion that would expand thescope of the overhaul, essen-tially daring Republicans tovote against it.

The health care law hasbeen a flashpoint in Americanpolitics since its enactment a

decade ago. Once a cudgel Republicans

used against Democrats, thetables have turned as the law —and its protection for preexist-ing conditions — has becomemore popular.

Democrats believe thattheir advantage on the issue willonly grow as the Trump admin-istration renews its push to nul-lify the law even as coronavirusinfections surge.

“Trying to take away healthcare in the middle of a pan-demic is like throwing out thesandbags during a hurricane,”said Jesse Ferguson, a longtimeDemocratic strategist.

“The pandemic has madeclear for people how importantit is to them that their neigh-bors have health care. It's nolonger a nicety that othershave health care; it's now anecessity.” Still, the Trumpadministration filed a briefThursday urging the SupremeCourt to strike down the

health care law in its entirety,in support of a lawsuit broughtby Texas and other conserva-tive states against it. The briefcame on a day that the U.S. Sawa record number of new coro-navirus cases, with 37,077reported Thursday.

If the lawsuit is successful,some 20 million Americanscould lose their health coverage,and protections for people withpreexisting health conditionsalso would be put at risk.

Trump has long expresseda desire to protect those withpreexisting conditions but hasnot said what he would doinstead. Even some Republicanssay the party should avoid relit-igating the issue.

Doug Heye, a longtimeRepublican strategist, said theDemocratic attack ads essen-tially write themselves.

“For me, it's really easy tosee how Democrats will be ableto out-message Republicans onthis," he said. AP

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Washington: President DonaldTrump is entering the finalfour-month stretch beforeElection Day presiding over acountry that faces a publichealth crisis, mass unemploy-ment and a reckoning overracism.

His Democratic challenger,Joe Biden, is raking in cash.And a series of national andbattleground polls suggestsgrowing obstacles to Trump'sreelection. But the election isfar from locked in. Biden andhis leading supporters are step-ping up warnings to Democratsto avoid becoming compla-cent. Former President Barack

Obama and Michigan GovGretchen Whitmer insist thatplenty could change betweennow and November 3 and thatthe party must be vigilantagainst Trump, who knowsfew boundaries when it comesto his political foes.

“We understand that whathappens five months before theelection and what happens atthe election can be very differ-ent things,” Whitmer said.Michigan was one of theMidwestern states that Trumpcarried by a razor-thin marginin 2016, helping him win theElectoral College even as he lostthe popular vote. AP

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Berlin: German ChancellorAngela Merkel cautionedSaturday that the coronaviruspandemic is far from over, asregional outbreaks gave rise tofears of a second wave.

Two of the largest US statesreversed course and reinstatedsome coronavirus restrictionsamid a surge in new infections.

India reported more than18,000 new cases, pushing itscumulative total over the half-million mark, the fourth high-est globally behind the US,Brazil and Russia.

Elsewhere, Egypt andBritain said they would easevirus controls, while Chinaand South Korea battled small-er outbreaks in their capitals.

Merkel said in her weeklyvideo podcast that gettingEurope's economy back ontrack is her primary goal as

Germany takes over the rotat-ing European Union presiden-cy next week, but stressed thateveryone shared a “jointresponsibility” in followingsocial distancing, mask andhygiene rules as lockdownrules are relaxed.

German authoritiesrenewed a lockdown in a west-ern region of about 500,000 peo-ple last week after about 1,300slaughterhouse workers testedpositive for COVID-19, in anattempt to prevent the outbreakfrom spreading across the area.Germany has recorded nearly195,000 coronavirus infectionsand only around 9,000 deaths,with more than 177,000 recov-eries, according to a JohnsHopkins University tally.

“The risk posed by thevirus is still serious,” Merkel said.

“It's easy to forget because

Germany has gotten throughthe crisis well so far, but thatdoesn't mean we are protected,that the risk has been averted;that is not the case, as isdemonstrated by these region-al outbreaks.”

Fans of Germany's Schalkesoccer club planned to demon-strate later in the day at the sta-dium against chairman ClemensToennies, one of whose compa-nies owns the slaughterhousewhere the outbreak began.

Workplace and living con-ditions for migrant workersemployed at the facility havecome into focus after the out-break. In the US, the dailynumber of confirmed infec-tions surged to an all-timehigh of 45,300 on Friday, eclips-ing the previous high of 40,000set the previous day, accordingto Johns Hopkins. AP

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London: Charles Webb, a life-long non-conformist whosedebut novel “The Graduate”was a deadpan satire of his col-lege education and wealthybackground adapted into theclassic film of the same name,has died. He was 81.

Webb died June 16 inEastbourne, England, of a bloodcondition, said his friend JackMalvern, a Times of Londonjournalist to whom Webb's finalbook was dedicated. Webb wasonly 24 when his most famousbook was published, in 1963.

The sparely written narra-tive was based closely on hisyears growing up comfortably inSouthern California, his studiesin history and literature atWilliams College inMassachusetts and his disori-enting return home. AP

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Nepal has decided to reopenits second border point

with China after five monthsfor the supply of goods likeconstruction material andequipment necessary forhydropower and airport pro-jects, according to a mediareport.

Nepal on January 29 closedits two border points withChina -- Tatopani andRasuwagadhi -- to prevent thespread of the coronavirus.

The Tatopani border pointwas opened on April 8 to bringmedicines and health equip-ment from China.

The two countries havenow agreed to resume one-waytraffic to Nepal through theRasuwagadhi border, theKathmandu Post reported.

The exact date to reopenthe border has not beenfinalised, it said.

Hari Prasad Pant, chiefdistrict officer of Rasuwa, saidthat reopening the border pointhad been discussed betweenauthorities from the two coun-tries at the Nepal-ChinaFriendship Bridge (MiteriBridge) on Wednesday.

As per the agreement,Chinese cargo drivers will dropthe goods at Nepal borderpoint. Once the Chinese load-ers and drivers return, Nepalidrivers and loaders will receivethe shipment and take them tothe respective places.

Initially, four trucks will beallowed daily. The number willbe increased gradually.

“We have accorded prior-ity to import essential goods,mainly construction equip-

ment, in the first phase,” saidPunya Bikram Khadka, chiefcustoms officer at RasuwaCustoms Office.

As the financial closure ofmost of the projects likehydropower and airport needto be completed by mid-July,the priority will be given toimport their equipment, hesaid.

A large number of equip-ment of Bhairahawa andPokhara international airportshas been stranded in the bor-der point after the lockdownwas imposed in January.

Khadka said that people'smovement would not beallowed on either side of theborder except the workers andthe drivers.

Nepal has so far reported12,309 coronavirus cases with28 deaths.

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Page 8: €¦ · Maharaja Ranjeet Singh, the Foreign Office said on Saturday, over three months ... now agreed to resume one-way traffic to Nepal through the Rasuwagadhi border, the Kathmandu

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India’s Test batting mainstayCheteshwar Pujara cannotdescribe in words the influence

that Rahul Dravid has had on his lifebut says he will always remain grate-ful to him for teaching the impor-tance of switching off from cricket.

Often compared to Dravid, whowas considered the ‘wall’ of Indiancricket, Pujara said he is thankful toDravid for teaching him how to keeppersonal and professional lives sep-arate.

“He helped me understand theimportance of switching off fromcricket. I had the same thought, moreor less, but when I spoke to him, itgave me a lot of clarity about it andI was sure of what I needed to do,” hetold ESPNcricinfo.

“I also saw in county cricket howthey keep personal and professionallives separate. I value that advice a lot.Many people consider me to befocused. Yes, I am focused, But I alsoknow when to switch off. There is lifebeyond cricket.”

In his illustrious internationalcareer, Dravid amassed 13288 runs in164 Tests and 10889 runs in 344ODIs. He also captained India in 79ODIs, winning 42 of them, whichincludes the world record of 14 suc-cessive wins while chasing.

“I cannot say in one line whatRahul bhai means to me. He hasalways been an inspiration, and willremain one,” Pujara said.

His mental fortitude and battingtechnique is often compared toDravid but Pujara said “despite myenchantment with him” he nevertried to “copy him.”

“There is a similarity in ourgames, but that’s not because of myfascination with him. That camemainly through my experiences with

Saurashtra, where I learned thatscoring a hundred alone isn’t enough,you have to carry your team,” he said.

“That is how I learned responsi-bility - it is about helping my team toraise a big total, and for that I oughtto attach importance to my wicket. Ilearned that from my junior cricketdays with Saurashtra, which was aweaker team in domestic cricket.”

����� .����-�

West Indies speedster OshaneThomas is “overweight” and

needs to work harder on his fitness tomaintain pace and prolong his inter-national career, feels former pacerFranklyn Rose.

Rose, who took 53 wickets in 19Tests and 29 scalps in 27 ODIs between1997 and 2000, said he is concernedabout the fitness of Thomas, who iscurrently in England for next month'sthree-Test series.

“I am a bit concerned because helooks overweight to me. I never met theguy, but I know he has a lot of talent,and that’s why the Windies has takenhim to England on tour. But he needsto keep working hard and be hungri-er for success,” Rose was quoted as say-ing by 'Jamaica gleaner’.

The 23-year-old Thomas is yet toplay a Test but he has captured 27 wick-ets in 20 ODIs and 15 wickets in 12T20Is.

He took just two wickets in twoinnings in the West Indies inter-squadpractice match at Old Trafford.

Thomas’ ability to bowl over 90miles per hour catapulted him to theWest Indies set-up but Rose doubtedif he will be able to maintain his pace.

“If I come on the scene bowling 90miles per hour, I would want to main-tain that for another five years. Thequestion is, can he maintain that speed

at the highest level if he is not at peakfitness?

“I can see that he has a lot of tal-ent, and let me be clear, this is not aboutbashing Oshane Thomas. It is abouthelping him to achieve his optimum incricket.”

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West Indies pace leg-end Andy Roberts

has slammed batsmanShimron Hetmyer foropting out of the Englandtour because of healthconcerns amid theCOVID-19 pandemic.

Along with senior proDarren Bravo, Hetmyerpulled out of the tour ofUK and forced the RogerHarper-led selection com-mittee to make some last-minute changes.

“They would haveplayed an integral part of the batting. As muchas we don’t like the way Hetmyer has been play-ing, he is one of the batsmen for the future. Butsomebody has to get into his head and let himrealise that you can't score runs sitting in thepavilion,” Roberts said in an episode onMichael Holding’s YouTube channel.

According to Roberts, the challenge formost West Indies batsmen was they “don’t real-ly train and practise enough to work the ballinto gaps. We believe in boundaries.”

“I am glad to see there is a sort of a resur-gence in the last couple of months, not years,just the last couple of months - there are someyoungsters are coming through and I hope thatwe don’t try and expect too much off them toosoon,” Roberts said.

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England skipper Joe Rootsaid West Indies boosts

of a “formidable” bowlingattack and his team willhave to be well-prepared toface it during next month’sthree-Test series beginningon July 8.

England had suffered a1-2 loss against the WestIndies in their away serieslast year and the visitors willbe rely on their potent paceunit to retain the WisdenTrophy when the openingTest gets underway atAgeas Bowl, Southampton.

“We are very aware ofthe skill West Indies haveand what they will bring tothis series,” Root told BBCSport.

“One thing that stoodout was how formidabletheir bowling attack can be.It is really important weprepare well and we areready for all of that.”

Talking about his rival

skipper Jason Holder, whohad hit a double hundred inthe second Test to emergeas the leading run-scorer in2019, Root said: “Jase is oneof the most well-respectedguys in international crick-et.

“He took the job at ayoung age and we are start-ing to see him at the peakof his career. He comesacross as a very good bloke.

I am looking forward tochatting to him from asocial distance.”

Root might miss theopening Test against WestIndies if it coincides withthe impending birth of hissecond child.

The three-Test serieswill mark the return ofinternational cricket fol-lowing a coronavirus hia-tus.

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Yesteryear stylish batsman GundappaViswanath on Saturday revealed that he

was “very, very hurt” after his distin-guished career came to an abrupt end fol-lowing a poor Test series against Pakistanin 1982-83.

Along with Sunil Gavaskar, he was oneof the minstays of the Indian battling line-up through the 1970s, playing some fineknocks against the best pace attacks of thatera.

However, a poor outing in a six-Testseries against Pakistan cut short his careeras he was dropped for the tour of the WestIndies and subsequently could not make itto the 1983 World Cup squad.

“I was very, very hurt when I wasdropped. At that time, in all the three times(innings) I took wrong decisions. It is partof the game. But in that (situation) in twoinnings, if I had scored well, they would nothave removed me,” Viswanath said on StarSports 1 Kannada show DiggajaraDanthakathe.

“Kapil’s captaincy was not announcedbut it was almost known to everyone.”

Known for his legendary square cutsand flicks, Viswanath, the first superstarbatsman from Karnataka to play for India,played a pivotal role in the state’s RanjiTrophy triumphs.

He quickly rose from domestic tointernational cricket because of his battingprowess. He came to the limelight under thecaptaincy of Erapalli Prasanna for Karnatakaand under Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi forIndia.

“Thanks to Prasanna who pushed forme initially. It helped me play for the state.Pataudi was playing for Hyderabad in theRanji Trophy. As a part of Karnataka team,we had to play against him. He (Pataudi) sawme closely there.

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He might not have experience on hisside but young off-spinner Amar

Virdi remains confident of cuttingthrough the competition and earning aplace in England team for the three-Testseries against the West Indies beginningon July 8.

The 21-year-old has featured in only23 first-class games in his career and willhave to beat more experienced spinnerslike Jack Leach, Dom Bess, MattParkinson and Moeen Ali to get into theTest squad.

“Obviously I'm here so I want to beplaying Test cricket whenever that comes,so I'm going to keep on trying my hard-est to make sure that I'm playing," theSurrey spinner, who was included inEngland's 30-man squad earlier thismonth, said on Friday.

“I don’t really try to impress as such

- I want to do my own thing and be whoI am. That’s what I want to show peopleand show people what I'm capable ofdoing, rather than doing other things ortry to forcefully show my skills.”

Virdi said he is focussed on workinghard to get into the squad for the open-ing Test.

“I definitely do want to be playing inthe first Test match, or at least be in thesquad. If I didn’t want to do that I prob-ably shouldn't be here. I’m very proud ofmyself that I've got to this stage. The nextstage is about pushing for a Test place, sowhenever that does happen I’m going tokeep working hard.”

Virdi, who has taken 69 wickets in his23 first class matches at an average of28.78, says his strength lies in his aggres-sion as he is always looking for wickets.

“I think you've got to be aggressiveand you've got to be looking to take wick-ets. Maybe the pitches aren't alwaysgoing to be suited to you but as a spin-ner even if you are looking to keep it tight,my eyes are always on taking wicketsregardless.

"Obviously being young, I’m stilllearning my skills and getting better at myskills, so you will bowl the odd loose ballor you might not get six balls in the per-fect space. But I think you’ll bowl a lotmore wicket-taking deliveries and that’swhat makes you dangerous: when a bats-man knows that you can get them out onany wicket.”

If he makes it to the squad, Virdi willbecome only the third Sikh to representEngland after Monty Panesar and RaviBopara.

He says Panesar has been a role modelas he is also state-educated and spent hisformative years at the Guru Nanak SikhAcademy in Hayes.

“Growing up I watched GraemeSwann and Monty and that was veryinspirational to me. Obviously withMonty as well because he looks very sim-ilar to me, especially being from the com-munity that I am,” he said.

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Pakistan will leave for their tourof England on Sunday with 20

players and 11 support staff, thePCB said on Saturday, even asseven out of the 10 coronavirus-infected cricketers returned neg-ative when they were tested thesecond time.

The Pakistan Cricket Boardsaid the team will be departing forManchester.

PCB chief executive WasimKhan told reporters that fastbowler Musa Khan and wicket-keeper-batsman Rohail Nazirwho were among the reserveplayers had also tested negative

and would be leaving with theteam.

Khan made it clear that the 10players who had earlier testedpositive would be sent to Englandonly after two of their successivetests return negative.

Out of the 10 players and oneofficial, who had earlier testedpositive during the PCB testingprogramme, Fakhar Zaman,Mohammad Hasnain,Mohammad Hafeez, MohammadRizwan, Shadab Khan and WahabRiaz have teste

Khan reiterated that the sixplayers who have now testednegative will undergo a thirdround of testing at some stagenext week and if they return neg-ative, then the PCB will makearrangements to send them toEngland.

“I am aware MohammadHafeez and Wahab Riaz took per-sonal tests outside of our processprior to the second PCB testing.While their results came negative,as per the PCB testing pro-gramme, they are deemed to

have one negative test followinga positive test.

“Therefore, once they areretested and receive a second neg-ative result under the PCB test-ing programme, they will beavailable to join the squad inEngland,” Khan said.

The chief executive said uponarrival in Manchester, the squadwill be transported toWorcestershire where they willundergo the England and WalesCricket Board (ECB) testingbefore embarking on a 14-day

isolation, during which they willbe allowed to train.

The players leaving onSunday are Azhar Ali (captain),Babar Azam (vice-captain), AbidAli, Asad Shafiq, Faheem Ashraf,Fawad Alam, Iftikhar Ahmad,Imad Wasim, Imam-ul-Haq,Khushdil Shah, MohammadAbbas, Musa Khan, NaseemShah, Rohail Nazir, SarfarazAhmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi,Shan Masood, Sohail Khan,Usman Shinwari, and Yasir Shah.

������ ��-��

Former Pakistan openerAamer Sohail said that

Younis Khan's appointment asthe team’s batting coach showsthat the Pakistan Cricket Boardcould not trust head coach andchief selector Misbah-ul-Haqwith the role. Misbah was alsothe batting coach of the teamwhile holding the other twopositions and Sohail said thatbatsmen may not feel comfort-able talking about their problemsto someone who is also a headcoach and chief selector andhence the appointment of Youniswas necessary.

“The fact is that Misbah-ul-

Haq for reasons best known tothe PCB, was given the roles ofhead coach and chief selector,and he was also looking after theposition of batting coach,” Sohailwrote on PakPassion.net.

“Many of us commented

then that this was not a good ideaas batsmen who are struggling insome aspect of their batting areunlikely to share their problemswith the batting coach who hap-pens to be the chief selector andthe head coach as well.”

“In that context, YounisKhan’s appointment, whilstrecognising his experience, isproof 0-2 that the PCB areaccepting the fact that theymade the wrong decision byentrusting Misbah with so manyroles. What the PCB are imply-ing is that Misbah is not a goodenough batting coach which iswhy they had to bring in some-one like Younis Khan into thepicture as a batting consultant.”

Sohail said that Misbah’shistory of being too defensive asa captain may make him a badmentor for Babar, who is cur-rently leading Pak in limited-overs cricket.

“If Babar has been identi-fied as Pakistan’s captain in atleast two formats of the game,then it's incumbent upon thePCB to help him become thebest captain he can be. This canbe achieved by identifying anyweaknesses in his leadershipqualities and by good mentor-ing. But if Misbah is to beBabar’s mentor, then we have aproblem because he was himselfcriticised for being a defensivecaptain,” he said.

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Former India all-rounder IrfanPathan on Sunday said that

national team vice-captain RohitSharma did not lack in hardwork in his early years eventhough his body language sug-gested a “relaxed” attitude to hisbatting.

“A lot of people are mistak-en when they see a guy who hasa lot of time and he is slightlymore relaxed than compared toRohit. Then you say he needs towork hard,” Pathan was quotedas saying by Star Sports show‘Cricket Connected’.

He said the same thingswere said about another formerIndia opener, Wasim Jaffer.

“... When he used to run heused to run very relaxed, whenhe used to bat he had lot of timeand we used to think - why isn't

he working hard - but actually,he was working really hard.

“Similarly with Rohit, fromoutside we used to think hemight need to work harder, hemight need to put more applica-tion,” said the 35-year-old Pathanwho played 29 Tests between2003 and 2008.

Pathan said Rohit "alwaystalk about sensible things” andthat is why he is successful as abatsman as well as captain of IPLside Mumbai Indians.

“He used to always talkabout working hard and he usedto always talk about the teamfirst as well, that is why you seesome of the results he got at thecaptain of the Mumbai Indiansteam.

“He got the beating of notplaying the World Cup and thencame back really hard because ofa strong mind set after 2012.”

Rohit’s relaxed batting doesn’tmean lack of hard work

‘We need to prepare well to take on WI’

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Page 9: €¦ · Maharaja Ranjeet Singh, the Foreign Office said on Saturday, over three months ... now agreed to resume one-way traffic to Nepal through the Rasuwagadhi border, the Kathmandu

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COVID-19 has not just brought with ita health and social emergency, butalso a massive economic crisis to theworld. With thousands of people los-ing their jobs during the two-month-

long complete lockdown, India is likely seeingthe biggest recession since 1979. Rampant joblosses have gripped the economy, and the IT sec-tor has seen an immediate impact. Startups andmid-sized companies now have to make a toughchoice between business sustenance and theirworkforce. So, recruiters have held back onrolling out offers, and laid-off employees.

In this unprecedented scenario, job seekersare understandably devastated about their nextstep in an unstable market. Overall, this is agloomy time for job seekers and companies alike.Yet, great companies were born in times of reces-sions and slowdowns. So, there is certainly a rea-son to be optimistic! Certain sectors like health-care, ed-tech, and media and entertainment ser-vices have remained strong.

As we transition to a post-COVID era, we areseeing that large enterprises and MNCs arealready picking up on their recruitment effortsand are transitioning to remote hiring and videointerviews. The belief is that since business isslowing down globally, there is an opportunity toutilise their Global Capability Centers (GCCs) inIndia to be more efficient in the long-term.

���������������� With the supply of applicants higher than the

demand, job seekers must focus their efforts onstanding out from the pack. What this means forthem is that they need to invest more time onthemselves and hone their people and communi-cation skills in order to put their best foot for-ward in the interviews.

In our recent survey, we found that nearly67% of applicants want to be helped with mockinterviews, and a whopping 73% would like tofocus on the softer aspects like resume writing tomarket themselves and their capabilities better.While most schools and courses trainengineers to code and help them uptheir technical know-how, there seemsto a big gap in coaching them on howto present themselves in a way thathelps them get noticed in the firstplace and open doors to great oppor-tunities. Simple things like beingprompt and curious, how to dress for aninterview, how to engage with the recruiter,etc., have a great deal of impact on hiring deci-sions.

Companies that are ramping up their hiringefforts are migrating to virtual platforms toremotely interview, onboard, and engage withemployees. This online ecosystem not only elimi-

nates location restraints but provides the benefitsof speed and scale too. Since the pandemic, allpublic events like job fairs, conferences, and net-working events have been canceled. Someemployers are now relying on online events likehackathons to source the best candidates.

In the case of first-level filtering, bot-basedscreening is gaining popularity. Employers canfilter out candidates with a set of pre-definedquestions. This significantly reduces the time andeffort taken to manually check the basic require-ments. An uptick in the usage of online skill-based assessments and virtual whiteboard inter-views for technical roles also seen. Therefore, thefocus remains on educating enterprises regardingthe best practices for video interviewing andemphasising on seamlessly replicating their cur-rent processes while working remotely to ensurea better candidate and recruiting experience.

One thing that job-seekers must be mindfulof is that businesses have suffered too in thesetrying times, with some looking at a setback ofanywhere between 3-12 months. In this environ-ment, companies are slashing pays for seniormanagement while protecting their junioremployees. However, we do expect an overallmarket salary drop of 8-12%. This could possiblybe the normalisation of inflated salaries that wehave seen as a result of the startup bubble overrecent years.

������� ��� ��With the physical distancing norms, the

future of work will be a combination of WorkingFrom Home (WFH), in-office facilities at limitedcapacity, gig-workers, and Talent as a Service(TaaS) model.

Many IT companies in urban locations havetransitioned to a WFH model rather seamlesslyfocusing on business continuity without affect-ing their productivity and output. With a suc-cessful trial period, many industry leaders haverecognised that home is a viable option and pro-

vides some productivity benefits. We thinkcompanies will post-evaluate the cost-

efficiency, productivity, and practicalityof office versus WFH and implement

new structures accordingly. A hybridmodel is what seems to be the mostexpected.

Certain sectors, like manufactur-ing, F&B, hospitality, and retail, require

physical presences and there is not muchroom for adjustment. Whereas in tech, the

question looms now more than ever onwhether an office is required at all. Nothing can

replicate physical collaboration especially wheninnovating but the show must go on and we mustadapt. In such cases, companies are also testing a33% model, where only one-third of the work-

force will be expected to work physically fromthe office.

Companies are also likely to leverage the gigeconomy in the coming months due to anincreased acceptance of working with peersremotely. Companies can now bring inresources who are experts in their tasks on pro-ject-basis. This will allow them to get work donefaster, better, and cheaper than hiring a full-timeresource. We found that, given the right oppor-tunity, nearly 55% of software engineers in Indiawould consider becoming a freelance developeror consultant.

Another emerging trend among businessesthat are stretched for resources isTaaS. After Software as a Serviceand Platform as a service, TaaS isthe latest disruption in the recruit-ment world. Just like cloud-basedsolutions changed the way enterprisesused software, the ‘talent cloud’ infra-structure looks at transforming the waytop enterprises think about scaling their teams.TaaS is a highly cost-effective and resource-richsubstitute for internal recruitment efforts. Themodel offers a higher velocity of work with tal-ent-on-demand — available anytime with multi-ple engagement models including full-time,remote, and project-based. TaaS isn’t a new phe-nomenon per se, as many seasonal businesseshave been functioning using this model foryears. However, sustaining and growing a full-time business in an uncertain economy in thepost COVID19 era is adding a lot of pressure onmid-large sized companies, who are nowembracing the contingent workforce strategy.

These new working models not only provideflexibility and a larger pool of opportunities forjob-seekers and gig-workers; it is also a big leaptowards a more accessible and inclusive work-place. Remote working is no longer a lifestylechoice. It is opening doors for candidates to anarray of jobs that weren’t available to them beforedue to geographical limitations and even makejobs accessible to candidates with special needsor chronic illnesses.

� �������������� ���������������But even as we usher in a new era for

work, we must be cognizant of the opposingeffect of a perpetual WFH mode — blurring ofwork time and space. The reduced physicalboundaries between the two otherwise sepa-rate settings could make it difficult for someto unplug, thereby impacting ‘life-work’ bal-ance and family dynamics. It can also bedemanding for high-pressure roles, sometimespressuring people to be ‘on’ for longer hours,thereby leading to higher levels of stress andeventual burnout.

It could potentially also take away the focusyou are expected to give to work. There are cer-tainly a lot of distractions at the office, but itcould be a lot worse when working from home.Especially when you are not a self-starter. Stayingmotivated and focused on work while catering tothe demands of the family calls for extra effort.

Women are especially concerned with work-ing from home set-up because of the extension ofgender norms, attributing care roles to them inthe domestic spheres. Women are often responsi-ble for housework and childcare and are morelikely than men to spend time on chores. Amidstthe lockdown, many women have quit jobs or

have taken sabbaticals in order to meet thedemands of their families and home-school-ing requirements for their children. Parentsare now managing round-the-clock childcarewhile trying to meet work-related deadlines.

It is an unfair truth that event today, womenwith caregiving roles are viewed as less commit-

ted to work. It is up to employers to pay extramind to the motherhood responsibilities at play.

Long-term flexible working hours can relievework-to-family conflict, giving women morecontrol over their schedules. This trend has beenpicking up in Nordic countries in the past fewyears with 90% of employees benefiting fromflexible work schedules. Employees can tap intotheir most productive and creative hours whilealso ensuring they can step away from work toprioritise persona tasks.

Today, focusing on increasing the number ofwomen-hires has been a priority for many com-panies who have started to think about diversityas a big part of their talent strategy. Increasedflexibility in WFH roles is giving them an oppor-tunity to encourage more women-candidates toapply for these roles. Owing to this, we have seena 40% increase in female applicants.

Other challenges like lack of real-time collab-oration, lower levels of motivation and produc-tivity among teams, personal distractions, depar-ture of social elements we associate with corpo-rate lives, and even finding a reliable wifi needsome serious consideration. But challenges donehave to be a ‘bad’ thing. It’s only a matter of timebefore we think up solutions. After all, necessityis the mother of inventions!

There’s no doubt that remote work is on therise. And these emerging working models arenot just helpful for the employees, but also ben-efit employers who are looking to hire andretain the best talent. So, essentially what startedoff as a stop-gap solution to a crisis, is now asine qua non.

The writer is the co-founder of Talent500 byANSR, a talent acquisition enterprise for Fortune

500 companies and founder of Byond Travel

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So how are you holding up duringthe pandemic? A tough questionto treat, these really are tryingtimes for people trying to staysane and functional during this

period. As a book lover, I spent this peri-od catching up on my reading. Sharingmy impressions of the top four from myreading list:

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An inherently sad book whichdespite its grim undertone is acci-dentally inspiring. It’s an emotion-

al investment worth making. At the age of thirty six, Paul

Kalanithi, a doctor nearing the comple-tion of his training as a neurosurgeon isdiagnosed with stage four lung cancer.He goes from being a healthy individualwith limitless potential ahead of him to avery sick man with an uncertain future.After the grim diagnosis, Paul strugglesto answer the philosophical questionsthat plague him.

“The tricky part of illness is that, asyou go through it, your values are con-stantly changing. You decide you want tospend your time working as a neurosur-geon, but two months later you may feeldifferently. Death may be a one time

event, but living with a terminal illness isa process.” Paul never claims to have theanswers, but he perseveres and fights tolive.

The book will give you tremendousinsights about how to live a rewardinglife in the looming presence of death.When breath becomes air is his memoirfor his daughter who was eight monthsold when he passed away.

One of my favourite moments in thebook is when Paul is lying on a bed inthe same hospital room where his wife isgiving birth to their daughter, Cady.Cradling his child for the first time, hewrites, “The possibilities of life emanatedbefore us.”

The book opens with a heartfelt reve-lation and it promises to be nothing lessthan an absolute page turner.

“I flipped through the CT scanimages, the diagnosis obvious: the lungswere matted with innumerable tumors,the spine deformed, a full lobe of the liverobliterated. Cancer, widely disseminated.I was a neurosurgical resident enteringmy final year of training. Over the lastsix years, I’d examined scores of suchscans, on the off chance that some proce-dure might benefit the patient. But thisscan was different: it was my own.” —Paul Kalanithi

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Fredrik Backman is a Swedish writerwho, after dropping out of college,worked as a freelancer until only a

few years ago. His co-worker told him astory about an old man whose impoliteoutburst was calmed by his wife.Backman’s own wife told him he was likethat: often difficult in social situations.Backman saw the potential for a storyabout a similar old man. A man hedecides to call Ove.

Ove is a fifty nine year old recentwidower who lashes out at his neigh-bours (and anybody else) when they vio-late his very uncompromising perceptionof how things ought to be. A few monthsafter his wife passes away, he decides tokill himself, making careful preparations.But his neighbours, who vary from

eccentric to entertainingly bothersome,continue to interrupt his efforts. He ulti-mately strikes up an unlikely andunwanted friendship with an Iranianfamily living next door, and slowlybegins to change his mind about a num-ber of things.

Backman shows how easy it is tobecome isolated and bitter in this mod-ern world, but also how easily we can beled back to a brighter, more connectedworld through simple human contactand affection.

The book has already been adaptedinto a film in Sweden, which was alsonominated for an Oscar. Definitely readthe book before Hollywood decides tomake a film out of this which I’m verysure they will.

This heart warming book is aboutthe transformations we go through in lifeand how different events within our lifeaffect, shape and make us who we aretoday. This book is all heart, go read it,you won’t regret it.

“Loving someone is like moving into ahouse,’ Sonja used to say. ‘At first you fallin love with all the new things, amazedevery morning that all this belongs to you,as if fearing that someone would suddenlycome rushing in through the door toexplain that a terrible mistake had beenmade, you weren’t actually supposed to

live in a wonderful place like this. Thenover the years the walls become weathered,the wood splinters here and there, and youstart to love that house not so muchbecause of all its perfection, but rather forits imperfections. You get to know all thenooks and crannies. How to avoid gettingthe key caught in the lock when it’s coldoutside. Which of the floorboards flexslightly when one steps on them or exactlyhow to open the wardrobe doors withoutthem creaking. These are the little secretsthat make it your home.” — FredrikBackman

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Atruly timely and important bookthat everyone living on this ner-vous planet should read. Haig’s

honest and personal experiences shinethrough on every page and his writing islike a cup of tea and a warm blanketmaking you feel that no matter howcrazy the world can get everything isgoing to be ok.

This book also addresses depression,panic attacks and how to deal with them.Or at least get better at it.

“Its all right that the world is crazy, aslong as I make my little corner of the

world sane.” Diane Lockhart from TheGood Fight.

The above quote perfectly summaris-es this book. This is the sort of book thatyou can finish in one sitting or slowlydevour it and learn a life lesson fromevery chapter.

There is no better time to dive intothis book than right now.

The author shares his observationsabout today’s “nervous planet” we liveon, overloaded with technology andsocial media connecting people all overthe world, yet leaving them feeling alone.This book is even more relevant todaybecause of everything that the world isgoing through.

The first half of the book is light,witty with loads of insight into tech, con-sumerism and media. But it’s the secondhalf where things picked up for me. Hegets down to issues and talks about waysof dealing with all the chaos that sur-rounds us. How distracting and numbingourselves is the real enemy and how justbeing more aware can make the worldand us just a tad less nervous.

“One frustration with anxiety is thatit is often hard to find a reason behind it.There may be no visible threat and yet youcan feel utterly terrorized.” — Matt Haig.You can also follow the author onInstagram for some daily affirmations.

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This is a love story rooted more inthe pulp-romance genre than rock-and-roll. Given the music indus-

try’s notorious sexism, Taylor Reiddeserves credit for creating female char-acters who are more self-aware anddetermined than the foolish men aroundthem. It’s an incredible story of a bandthat wanted to change the world, so theydid. It’s one of those books where youcheck if the band was real, if the peoplewhich are in the book truly existed. It’sall very real. It’s hard to believe it’s not abiography.

One of the things I enjoyed the mostabout the book is the format in which ithas been presented to us.

The book is a series of interview

extracts and because of that we have veryintriguing multiple point of views. A lotis left to the reader to decipher the situa-tion being presented.

Set in one of the greatest eras of rock& roll, this story had everything youwould want: drugs, sex, ambition, egoand talent. Although the story itself isgreat, the way the author chose to tell thestory — as an oral history — is how thisnovel had me hooked. By letting thecharacters tell the story themselves, Reidbuilt incredible depth to these characters.

The book has many fantastic songs,which we can only read as poetry. Butthe good news is that Reese Witherspoonhas bought the rights to the book and isturning it into a mini series, whichmeans the songs will come to life. Here’shoping that Lady Gaga sings them.

My favourite quote from the book:“I had absolutely no interest in being

somebody else’s muse.I am not a muse.I am the somebody.End of fucking story.” — Taylor Jenkins Reid

The writer is a bibliophile and com-munications professional based in

Singapore

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Heard this story from Santokh Kanwar.Parental home Borunda. Caste Charan.She heard this story in her marital home,Devariya, from a barber’s wife. Twentyfour years old. — Bijji

At the hour of death, the par-ents impressed upon theirseven sons many a time tokeep their only sister well, totake good care of her and not

to let her suffer in any way. To find her agood match. Give her a good dowry. Ifshe suffered after they went, even afterdying they would not attain moksa.However, the son’s wives were absolutelyhorrid. If they had their way, the sisterwould suffer for sure.

The brothers reluctantly agreed totheir parents’ wishes, but the old couplecould not trust them much. Their livesleft their bodies with great difficulty.

And with the death of the parents,the wives lost whatever shame they hadleft. They would make their nanad toil allday. They would curse and abuse her.The nanad would go behind the houseand sob to lighten her heart. Every day,the wives would mutter and curse thatthe man who married the girl wouldsurely have rotten karma; so useless shewas! However, the nanad was actuallyquite deft and thoughtful. Beautiful too.If her sisters-in-law didn’t see this, whatwas she to do! It was the colourful festi-val of the Teej of Saavan, to welcome themonsoon. On every tree, swings werehung. In every lane, groups of girls,decked out in their finery and singaar,appeared. But that poor girl, the sister toseven brothers, stood crying behind herhouse in filthy clothes. With whom couldshe share her pain!

When the youngest brother saw hissister sobbing, his heart melted. In all theother homes, today was the day whensisters would deck out in their best. Thebrother slowly approached his sister andasked her the reason of her misery.However, she kept silent.

Though the youngest brother wasscared of his wife, he still had somerespect and love for his sister. With sometrouble, he had found a prospect for hissister and had fixed up the engagement.

She was to be married on the fifth day ofSaavan — just two days hence! The sisterwould go away to her husband’s home.Ram knows when she would return!

When the brother kept asking ques-tions, the sister finally revealed to herbrother her pain: she too wanted to weara beautiful new ghaghra and chunari andgo play and celebrate on the swings. Thebrother went to all his sisters-in-law toask them to lend their fine clothes, butnone of them agreed. He finally went tohis own wife. She agreed but on one con-dition: if her silken chunari or ghaghrawere spoiled, she would dye them againin his sister’s blood! The brother thoughtwhat damage could come in just one day.Even then he asked his sister to beextremely careful and handed her thenew clothes. And got bound by thepromise he made to his wife.

The sister’s luck was so bad that asshe swung on the swings, it suddenlybegan to pour so heavily that despite herbeing most careful, the silken clothes gotdrenched. Fully soaked! The colour ofthe chunari began to run. In great fearshe went home. As soon as her brother’swife saw the state of the clothes, sheflared up and hissed like a black snake!Went and lay down. The husband tried

to calm her, but she just would not listen.‘Being a man, you go back on yourwords,’ she taunted. ‘Either spit 7 timesand lick it up or fulfil your promise.’

One can live without a sister, buthow can one live without a wife! Till hissister was killed and the chunari was notdyed in her blood, the brother’s wifevowed that she would partake neithergrain nor water. Fast unto death! Thebrother said that the day after tomorrowthe groom would arrive with the wed-ding procession. Who all would he giveanswers to? To which the wife replied, ‘Ifa witch runs away before her wedding,what can her brothers possibly do? Not asoul would get to know what happened.’

Helpless, the brother had to agree. Atmidnight, as the girl lay sleeping, the twocut her head off. After dyeing the chunariin her blood, the wife broke her fast andgorged on choorma to her heart’s con-tent! The brother took his sister’s bodytwo miles away, dug a deep pit andburied it. With an hour of the night left,he came back and quietly went to sleep.

Where the sister was buried, therebegan to grow a tall and slender kelu tree,which swayed gently in the breeze. Asfate would have it, the girl’s jaan proces-sion came down that same road.

Suddenly, the groom’s father saw the tall,slender tree swaying in the breeze. Hethought how great it would be to tie thetoran at the bride’s home! He asked thebarber in the procession to go and cutthe tree and get it. But what a matter ofsurprise it was that when the barber bentdown to cut the tree and a voice from theground was heard: ‘Barberji, O Barberji,don’t cut this kelu tree. Sinner is the broth-er, sinner his wife. Dyed the chunari withthe sister’s life!’

The barber fled in fright. Panting, hereturned and narrated the tale. Thegroom’s father said that surely he musthave imagined it. He then ordered thedholi to cut the tree. The dholi hurriedand bent to cut the tree, when, just asbefore, he heard: ‘Dholiji, O Dholiji, don’tcut this kelu tree. Sinner is the brother, sin-ner his wife. Dyed the chunari with thesister’s life!’

The dholi also fled in fright. Thenthe groom’s younger brother gatheredcourage and came. He too was just aboutto cut the tree, when he heard a voice:‘Devarji, O Devarji, don’t cut this kelutree. Sinner is the brother, sinner his wife.Dyed the chunari with the sister’s life!’

And the younger brother fled infright. The groom’s elder brother mocked

all of them and said, ‘Go and die in apuddle of water. A five-year-old kid isn’tas scared as you all are.’ Muttering, heheaded to the tree. He was just about tocut the tree, when he heard: ‘Jethji, OJethji, don’t cut this kelu tree. Sinner is thebrother, sinner his wife. Dyed the chunariwith the sister’s life!’

The older brother also took to hisheels. Told his father everything. Thefather got quite annoyed. He said, ‘Youall are just wasting time. Can’t cut a littletree, how will you even sire children?’

He walked towards the tree. He heldit with his right hand and was just aboutto cut it with his axe, when he heard avoice from the roots: ‘Susraji,1 O Susraji,don’t cut this kelu tree. Sinner is the broth-er, sinner his wife. Dyed the chunari withthe sister’s life!’ The father of the groomwas scared. But he thought maybe hewas imagining things, so he once againgot ready to use his axe. Again the samevoice called out to him, and this timeeven he fled! ‘Brothers, it was true! Neverseen such a thing, never heard such athing!’ he huffed.

This time, the groom went himself.As soon as he held the tree, he heard:‘Husbandji, O Husbandji, you may cutthis kelu tree. Sinner is the brother, sinnerhis wife. Dyed the chunari with the sister’slife!’ The soft stem got hacked in oneblow of the axe. But yet another won-drous thing happened — as soon as thetree was chopped off, the earth miracu-lously parted and from it emerged abeautiful woman, her face veiled!

Then she kept no secrets from herhusband. Told him all that had befallenher. Hearing everything, the weddingprocession did not even go to the village.They took their wedding feras aroundthe stump of the kelu tree instead of theholy fire! And the jaan took the beendniand returned from there itself...!

The sister of seven brothers had awonderful life in her marital home.Bathed in milk and gave birth to healthychildren! And as for those seven brothersand their wives, they got struck by theplague. Such a death!

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China is on the full course ofaggression. It is an old

habit for the Middle Kingdom.However, it does it in the guiseof “Peaceful rise”, and “ChinaDream”.

The latest episode ofChinese brutality across theLine of Actual Control (LAC)in Eastern Ladakh simplydemonstrates the fact that theXi Jinping regime has becomedesperate to grab more andmore territories. Xi is a mega-lomaniac. He wants to bee v e r y t h i n g — P r e s i d e n t ,Chairman of the CentralMilitary Commission and thehead of the ChineseCommunist Party (CPC).Unfortunately, the Chineseparliament i.e. National People’sCongress (NPC) passed muchtalked about legislations toremove the two terms limitimposed on Presidents sincethe 1990s.

Therefore, this allows Xi toremain in power for ever andhe does not need to retire in2023. Thus his power grab hasbeen so complete that the CPCvoted to enshrine his name andpolitical ideology in theConstitution of the country.This truly elevates his status towhat had been enjoyed byChairman Mao Zedong from1949 to his death till 1976.

These all instances are verycritical for the internationalcommunity as they altogetherhave granted Xi freedom forunilateral actions with impuni-ty. This is a unique diversion inChinese political order fromwhat had been known as the“collective style of leadership”that existed till 2012. The lat-est example is the currentCovid-19 pandemic that hasengulfed the world sinceDecember. In fact, China hastaken full advantage of thecrisis to extend its control overmore Indian territories on thisfront of the LAC. Despite hav-ing all the existing diplomaticand military understanding sofar, the People’s LiberationArmy (PLA) has come acrossthe LAC in Eastern Ladakh.

However, Delhi may repeatthe same mistakes Nehru didif it trusts the Chinese. Startingfrom 1947, both the politiciansand policy makers sitting inDelhi had the impression thatthe top national security threatwill always come fromPakistan. Hence the forceswere always geared to prepareand take on challenges emerg-

ing from the Indo-Pak border.It is to be noted that even ourfirst Prime Minister JawaharlalNehru and Defence MinisterVK Krishna Menon thoughtthat China could never pose athreat to India. Thus Menonwanted our full defence forcesto be always alert on the Indo-Pak border front only, not onthe border with China, or inany point on the McMahonLine. Further, Nehru empha-sised on his friendly relation-ship with Chinese PremierZhou En-lai just before theIndo-China War in 1962. Thusthe misjudgement and com-placency that the early leader-ship developed towards Chinahad cost us dearly in 1962.After the war in 1962, Nehruhimself acknowledged inParliament that our defencepreparations on the easternfront were much weaker thanwhat we had in the westernborder. Looking at the currentLAC stand-off, it seems Indiahas not learnt lessons from itspast mistakes and misjudge-ments of weak presence on the

eastern border.Chief of the Army Staff

General Manoj MukundNaravane recently expressedhis concern in Delhi overIndia’s readiness to counterchallenges emerging from twofronts — China and Pakistan.It is absolutely true that Indiahas to deal with two prominentgeopolitical rivals for now,apart from other small irritants,like Nepal, now raising theirugly heads. So, why to wait andwatch? It’s an urgent momentfor the nation to see things andreassess its strategic visiontowards the threat comingfrom Beijing.

The very nebulous natureof the border between Indiaand China should have cau-tioned us much before. It ismore than 4,000 km borderthat we share with China start-ing from Ladakh to ArunachalPradesh. And since 1962,incursions have been takingplace all along this border irre-spective of whichever party wasin power. In 1975, during thetime of Indira Gandhi, there

had been an apprehension thatChina might come up to aidPakistan to settle the distur-bances in East Pakistan.Fearing that Indira had imme-diately signed the Treaty ofPeace, Friendship andCooperation with the USSR toassure help from Moscow. Inreality China did not move inthat direction. In 1988, formerPrime Minister Rajiv Gandhilanded in Beijing for a muchbetter understanding and thento settle the border disputes,but hardly that could bear anysignificant fruit.

Of course, we have mutu-al understanding and a relativecalm along the border for sometime, but the Chinese has start-ed developing massive infra-structure facilities all alongthe border with India.Miserably, India could notmatch the pace and be ready tofight infrastructure facilitiesin comparison to its counter-part. However, since 1962, andparticularly after the 1990s,successive Governments havespent large amounts in enhanc-

ing our defence portfoliobacked by superior informationand technology. It must besaid here that with the openingof our economy, what has fol-lowed is our desire to be therein the club of elite powers in theworld. And this has definitelymoved us on a fast-trackgrowth, making us being heardacross the world. After the fallof the USSR in the 1990s andthe end of the Cold War, theglobal power calculus haschanged.

And India had to come outof the closet of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)and had to look for a possiblerapprochement with the US.However, it took time for Delhito come out of the Nehruviandogma for quite A long time.During all these years, Beijinggrew bigger and has made itspresence felt all across theworld. The West has failed toread the Communists in Chinabecause the successive leadersin Beijing in the post-liberali-sation phase have been able toadjust the market economy to

that of their socialist ethos. Sothe western assessment offalling of the Communists andChina opening up to the demo-cratic front had all fallen flat.

In fact, the US and the restof its Western allies have indi-rectly helped China to becomea global power. And alongwith these powers, today Indiais paying the price of having anever emerging power on itseastern front. So we have todeal with Beijing and particu-larly the Xi’s imperial designs.

After 1962, Chinese incur-sions have taken place in 1967,2013, 2014, 2017 and in thisyear itself. And every time, thePLA has been successful inforcing into our sovereign ter-ritories all along. The reasonbehind for such regular incur-sions is that this entire set offrontier is not settled in mostof the places. After 2013 and2014 incursions, the status quoante was restored with muchdifficulty, both through diplo-matic and military parleys.

For now, what the PLA hasdone in Eastern Ladakh, par-

ticularly in Galwan Valley isunimaginable. Such actions onthe part of the ChineseGovernments violate thesigned agreements of 1993,1996, 2005, etc, for maintain-ing peace and tranquility on theLAC and on the McMahonLine. Further these violentovertures put our 45 years ofbilateral understanding to ahalt. The current land grabspree by the Xi regime has con-tradicted the agreementsreached between both thecountries in Wuhan andChennai summits in 2018 andin 2019 respectively.

Certainly, today’s Indiaunder the Narendra ModiGovernment is not that weakIndia of 1962. Our forces arewell equipped. We are global-ly better placed. With ouradvancement in science andtechnology, especially in thefield of information, commu-nication and space research, weare a power of global reckon-ing. Our statecraft and diplo-macy can easily mould globalpublic opinion and make usheard around the globe. Muchmore than what draws homeour strength is we have a largemass fully aware about China’snasty game plans.

Can we trust China any-more? What to do next? Howcan India make sure that thePLA does not grab our landanymore? Surely we can’t trustXi and his team. For now, weneed to look for peaceful solu-tions. When both the sides arenegotiating for disengagementat the current situation, evensatellite imagery shows that thePLA is once again building upstructures on the point whereour 20 soldiers and an officerwere martyred. So, we need tomake our preparations for anyeventuality and which we cando much better now thanbefore. We cannot be compla-cent anymore and retain ourpositions all along the LAC. Itis not a time for blaming theGovernment. It is time forshowing our total strength.We should not waste our timefor political blame game. Letour forces stand up to any mis-adventure that comes from theother side of the LAC.Meanwhile, our diplomaticefforts and military prepared-ness must go on an equal foot-ing.

(The writer is an expert oninternational affairs)

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Current education system inIndia is neither creating

enough 21st Century globalskills in students to meet theindustry requirement nortraining them in life skills.Employers have to reskill andupskill even the best degreeholders to make them relevantfor today’s job requirement.This implies that we need to re-invent ourselves to make ourstudents capable of handlinguncertain future in store forthem.

Alongside employment,the purpose of education,according to SwamiVivekananda, is man-making,life-giving, character-building,and assimilation of noble ideas.Dr APJ Abdul Kalam opinedthat the main aims of educationare to build character and tocultivate human values in stu-dents, to develop a scientificattitude with a spiritual foun-dation, to build confidence toface uncertain future, and todevelop a sense of dignity,self-respect, and self-reliance.How do we, the teachers, learnto teach in this scenario?

The Gurukul systemprevalent in ancient India canhelp us in fulfilling the dualobjectives of education.Gurukul was the residentialcentre of learning originated5000 BC in the Indian sub-continent. Gurukul was sup-ported by public donations;therefore, it had the freedom todecide the subjects to be taught,

design its own curricula, ped-agogy, and methods of evalu-ation. Bloom’s Taxonomy(remembering, understanding,applying, analysing, evaluatingand creating) has similaritywith the six levels of learningprevalent in Gurukul —abhyas, practice or the recita-tion of the text taught, under-standing of the meaning, phala,comprehension of results; ari-havada, the study of explana-tory texts and upapatti, attain-ment of conclusions.

Gurukul believed in a par-adigm that nothing can betaught. Gurus were facilitatorsand guides and did not actual-ly train the shishya’s mind, butonly showed them how to per-fect their instruments of learn-ing. Thus, Gurukul was suc-cessful in developing self-con-fidence, discipline, and control;character formation; socialawareness; personality, intel-lectual, spiritual and emotion-al development; critical think-ing and preservation of knowl-edge and culture. So, how canwe integrate this Bhartiyavision and system of teachingand teachers in our present sys-tem to make it relevant in the21st century? Gurukul systemmay become robust if we re-align it with the present-dayneeds using ICT tools.

SO WHAT SHOULD WE DOCovid-19 has forced us to

embrace online pedagogy.Since we are not prepared to

completely embrace it all of asudden for the want of skillsand resources, blended peda-gogy can yield intended results.Teachers need to optimallyuse ICT tools in imparting edu-cation. Why students todaylearn more from the internetthan the classrooms is that theformer is more engaging andprovides unlimited time andspace for learning. Today’s stu-dents have an addiction toscreen learning in audio-visu-al mode. How can we replicatethis in the classroom environ-ment? We need to encourage

them to join global communi-ties on social media and otherengaging platforms.

The current buzzword is“experiential learning”. Weshould have blended curricu-la encompassing theory, tuto-rials, practical, disserta-tions/projects, excursions, fieldstudy, internships, etc, andmake students to experiencethese to enrich their learningdomains. We should cite exam-ples from national, regional,and local perspectives; narratesuccess stories of our nationalheroes; and also from nature,

to explain the concepts to cap-ture the imagination andthought process of the learners.

Young brains need stimu-lating experiences to retainconcepts for long memory. A21st-century teacher shouldgo even beyond this to makesure that students, alongsidelearning, are also analysing,applying, and finally inter-preting it to create a newknowledge base for the good ofthe nation. Learning outcome-based Curriculum Frameworkof UGC becomes relevant inthis context.

Students should beexposed to the trans-discipli-nary discourse of learning tofind solutions to the issues ofnational significance. As such,21st-century teachers need tobe life-long learners (yavad-jeevait adhiyate viprah = TheWise Pursue LearningThroughout Life) by becomingco-learners to students. It ispossible that what we learntoday may become irrelevanttomorrow. Therefore, weshould believe in the paradigmof learning, unlearning, andrelearning. This enables us tobe relevant as teachers forever.The 21st-century teachershould be able to create oppor-tunities for students to takepride in their learning. Sincepeer learning and sharingexperiences are the norms ofthe day, students should beencouraged to share their workwith their peers and take pride.We ought to provide a co-oper-ative learning environment forstudents. We can teach them tocreate blogs, post opinions,and make audio-visuals on avariety of topics. We shouldalso encourage them to earnthrough skill developmentactivities alongside learningi.e. earn while you learn. Reallearning takes place only whenthe focus is on practical andapplied knowledge and in cre-ating awareness in social, emo-tional, moral, ethical, spiritual,and creative aspects of life.There lies the importance of a

real teacher able to createcuriosity in learners and maketheir life purposeful. Four pil-lars of education, namely,learning to know, learning todo, learning to be, and learn-ing to live together shouldalways remain engraved in thethought process of teachersand taught.

To conclude, a 21st centu-ry teacher should become anawakened global leader toencourage and inspire studentsto become inquisitive. In thefuture, success will not dependon a degree, but on the abilityto learn, interpret, apply, andinnovate. A real 21st-centuryteacher is the one who can trainstudents to use and interpretinformation effectively toderive benefit for the societyand the nation. Teachersshould update themselvesannually to present to the stu-dents their new versions. In thisway, we can help Bharat tobecome atma nirbhar. Weshould believe in our ancientdoctrine of learning i.e. “Mayauspicious thoughts come to usfrom all over the world” tomake our ancient wisdom “OmSarve Bhavantu Sukhinah,Sarve Santu Niraamayaah” tobecome true.

(The writer is ViceChancellor, Doctor Hari SinghGour Vishwavidyalaya, aCentral University, Sagar. Viewsexpressed here are his own, notof the university)

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On the day of eclipse, last sunday,from early morning, I was flood-ed with calls from all those seek-

ing to learn how to mitigate its curse.They wanted to know: Is it necessary toobserve fast during the eclipse time?Why no cooked food should be kept inhouse during eclipse? A detailed list offood grains identified with each zodiacsign (Moon sign of an individual) thatshould be offered to pundits to ward offevil influence of eclipse is in wide circu-lation on social media platform. What isits relevance? Is eclipse necessarily acurse? Why are doors of temple closedduring eclipse? The eclipse is over butfor future reference, the readers need tobe made aware of truth.

First, let me reiterate that eclipses areusual astronomical phenomenon thattake place at periodic intervals. Theseare a part of nature’s process of periodi-cal realignment of the energy orchestraof the cosmos, vital to run the life cycle.It would, therefore, be unfair to termthis usual cosmic phenomenon as acurse that would call for its mitigation.To understand what an eclipse means inreal terms, it is desirable to first under-stand what Rahu and Ketu mean in real

terms. Two imaginary points where theelliptical paths respectively traversed bythe Sun and Moon, cross each other, aremarked as Rahu and Ketu, also knownas nodal points. Whenever a New Moonhappens close to the nodal point, Moonintercepts Solar radiation from reachingthe earth. This phenomenon is termedas Solar eclipses.

For a moment, let us assume thatsolar eclipse could bring about someunseemly effect in nation’s and individ-ual run of life in the emerging times.The question now is: Is it possible toreach out the two imaginary celestialpoints to appease them? Second, canthese imaginary points selectivelyrespond to offerings of different coloursof food grains identified with specificzodiac signs made to pundits, andrelieve us of our suffering? It is simplydifficult to digest, no matter how muchassumed Puranic stories try to justify.

Now, let us understand, what hap-pens during Solar Eclipse. BecauseMoon stands in way of solar radiationreaching out the earth during eclipse,the amount of infrared ordinarily avail-able gets significantly reduced. Here, it ispertinent to note that it is the infrared

available with solar radiation whichkeeps bacterial growth in check. Andcooked food or cut fruits remain vulner-able to quick bacterial growth. In oldendays proper facility for preservation offood was not available. Nor was suchheating mechanism in place that couldbe effortlessly ignited to warm up thefood just before you eat. Accordingly, inorder to ensure intake of healthy food,the elders improvised a method to avoidsuch food as would be susceptible tobacterial invasion. In today’s time, weare equipped with proper preservationfacility. Also, we have user friendly heat-ing devices that could be effortlesslyused to warm up our food as and whenwe need. So, the age old practices of fast-ing and not to have in store cooked foodor cut fruits during eclipse are no longerrelevant as of now.

Now coming down to the closure oftemple doors during eclipse time, itagain appears to be an unmindful exer-cise by the self-acclaimed custodians ofour belief system. Temples are supposedto be the place of abode of deities, sym-bolising divine bodies, supposedlyengaged in discharging different heaven-ly duties vital to our existence. Is ithumanly possible to ever put the system

driving the universe individually andcollectively to a state of rest? Don’t youthink that if it were possible, the systemas such will collapse? How long shall weallow the ignorant to drive us crazy withsuch ill-conceived blind beliefs?

It is high time that we show doors tothe charlatans known to instil a sense ofunnecessary assumed fear in gulliblepeople’s minds to serve their vestedinterest. In so far as the possible good orbad implication of eclipse is concerned,it has already been detailed in the previ-ous issue.

But having said that, let me make itclear that if we are aware, we can prepareourselves to intelligently negotiate withthe challenges coming our way. We can’tstop cyclones, pandemics, earthquakesand societal churning from coming. But,through human efforts, we can certainlyminimise the damage, as we have beensuccessfully doing during such eventual-ities. The so called belief driven remedialmeasures would do no good.

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