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MONEY 8MMTC TO PROCURE6,090 TONNES ONION

ANALYSIS 7OUR SACRED

TEXT

SPORTS 12NICE GUYS

DO COME 1ST

HYDERABAD, TUESDAY NOVEMBER 26, 2019; PAGES 12 `3

}MAHESH GETS AKING-SIZECUTOUT

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RNI No. TELENG/2018/76469

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HYDERABAD DELHI LUCKNOWBHOPAL RAIPUR CHANDIGARH

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*LATE CITY VOL. 2 ISSUE 47*Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable

HYDERABADWEATHER

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Month & Paksham:Kartik& Krishna PakshaPanchangamTithi : Amavasya: 08:25 pmNakshatram: Visakha 09:23 amTime to Avoid: (Bad time to start

any important work)Rahukalam: 02:49 pm- 04:12 pmYamagandam: 09:16 am – 10:40 am

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PNS n HYDERABAD

Supplies of onions from therain-ravaged Maharashtra stateto many states, includingTelangana, have dwindled,jacking up their prices to Rs11,000 a quintal in wholesalemarkets here on Monday. Thevegetable is being traded at Rs150 a kg in retail markets.

Onion production in Telugustates was hit by the recentspells of incessant rains. Eventhough the Center is importingone lakh tonnes of onions,and has asked public sectortrading firm MMTC to procure6,090 tonnes of onions, to helpmeet domestic demand, thepresent situation is likely tocontinue for some more time.

Supplies of onions toHyderabad from neighbouringMaharashtra and Karnatakastates have come down drasti-cally. The markets here havereceived just about 80 truck-loads of onions, as against thenormal 120-150 lorries perday.

There is no let-up in onionprices in spite of the fact that90 per cent of the onionsreceived are damp.

The quality of onionsreceived from some of the dis-tricts, including Mahabubnagar

and Medak, is stated to be infe-rior. In all, 50 per cent of theonions received from theseplaces as well as the stocks fromKarnataka and Maharashtraare said to be damaged. Still,prices of onions vary betweenRs 9,500 and Rs 11000 a quin-tal.

The poor can't afford theenhanced prices and so they arecutting down on its consump-tion, though it forms part oftheir staple food. Officialshave crossed their fingers on

how to regulate the prices ofonions.

Amidst all this, someunscrupulous traders havestarted hoarding onions inanticipation of the eventualrise in their prices. Traderswho had hoarded onions ingodowns three months backare now bringing out the stocksas prices are ruling high.

The State government is notresponding properly to regulateprices, sources said. Hence,many traders rule out any sta-bilization in the skyrocketingonion prices for the time being.

In some states, onions arebeing sold through specialcounters at subsidised prices.This process has not yet begunin Hyderabad. Consumers arepaying through the nose for thevegetable in the open market.

Onion prices hitrecord high in citySold at Rs 11,000 a quintal on Monday

Amidst all this, someunscrupulous tradershave started hoardingonions in anticipationof the eventual rise intheir prices

PNS n HYDERABAD

A youth was killed and awoman critically injured whena speeding luxury car, beingdriven in the wrong directionby a tipsy driver, crashed intothe two-wheeler they were rid-ing at Madhapur on Monday.The bike rider, killed on thespot, has been identified as 25-year-old Abhishek Anand. Thewoman who was riding pillionon Abhishek's Royal EnfieldBullet bike suffered criticalinjuries in the mishap. They areemployees of a nearby MultiNational Company (MNC),said the police.

According to the police, thedriver of the BMW car, KAshwin Rao, was not only dri-ving the car in a drunkenstate, but also in the oppositedirection. Ashwin's blood alco-hol content (BAC) level showed185 mg/ml.

Abhishek and the womanwere on their way to Kondapurwhen the mishap took place atNovotel in the early hours ofMonday. The critically injuredwoman was rushed to a privatehospital in an unconsciousstate. The police have arrestedthe car driver and a case of neg-ligent driving was registeredagainst him. Ashwin, the driverof the car, escaped unhurt as hehad put on his seat belt, evok-ing comparisons on socialmedia to the Biodiversity fly-over accident in which the dri-ver escaped with injuries butothers were killed and injured.Monday's mishap is the thirdfatal incident that occurred in48 hours following theBiodiversity mishap onSaturday. A car in the convoy ofTRS Minister Errabelli DayakarRao turned turtle, killing twoand leaving three people criti-cally injured on Sunday.

The car and the bike involved in the mishap near Novotel in the city on Monday

Drunk BMW drivercrashes into bike, onedead another injured

Independent Committee toassess flyovers in the city: KTRPNS n HYDERABAD

In view of Saturday's tragicincident at BiodiversityJunction flyover, where awoman lost her life and sixothers were injured, the gov-ernment has decided to set upan independent, expert com-mittee to assess all flyovers inthe city.

Minister KT Rama Rao saidon Monday that the technicalpanel would examine speedrestrictions and other safetymeasures on all flyovers in thecity. The Minister directedGHMC to open theBiodiversity flyover only afterstudying the committee'sreport. The expert technicalcommittee inspected the Bio-

Diversity L-II Flyover onMonday afternoon with a viewto introducing safety mea-sures, particularly for speed

control on the flyover, alongwith GHMC officials and traf-fic police personnel.

Continued on Page 4

Minister for MA & UD and IT KT Ramarao at a meeting with civic officials atGHMC headquarters in Hyderabad on Monday

RTC JAC calls off52-day-long strikePNS n HYDERABAD

At last, TS RTC EmployeesUnions' JAC announced thewithdrawal of their 52-day-daystrike on Monday evening,keeping in view the HighCourt's verdict, peoples' trou-bles, and the pressing needs ofRTC workers. The JAC askedthe employees to be ready tojoin duty at 6 am on Tuesdayat their respective depots.

The JAC had two meetingson Monday -- one with leadersof various political parties andthe other involving its leadersat the Employees Union Officein Vidyanagar. They discussedthe High Court verdict andreviewed the strike. Later, theyreleased a statement with-drawing the strike.

In its statement, the JACcharacterized the strike as legal.The peaceful strike had attract-ed the attention of the nationas well as many nations acrossthe world. The workers wageda long fight for the protectionof RTC, common people'stransport system, as well as therights of workers. The workers,it said, achieved moral victoryin this long movement.

While greeting workers,supervisors and others forimplementing every action

plan given by JAC, the state-ment said "it is painful that sev-eral employees had lost theirlives during the strike. The JACwill do justice to the employ-ees."

The High Court has giventwo weeks' time to the LabourCommissioner to resolve theissue. The Court cited portionsof the Supreme Court's pastverdict which states that theintention of those resorting tostrike is not to abandon theirjobs, but the solution of theirproblems.

Continued on Page 4

n Addresses a letter to RTC MDstating employees should beallowed to join dutyunconditionally

n Employees ready to resumetheir duties from 6 am today

n JAC warns of intensified strike ifemployees are sent away

K VENKATESHWARLUn HYDERABAD

Common people who use RTCbuses as their principal meansof transport had to spend atleast Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000 permonth additionally to reachtheir workplace during the RTCstrike. More than 30 lakh peo-ple, who have no personal vehi-cles, use the public transportsystem every day in Hyderabad.These people have a faced a lotof troubles due to RTC strikeover the past 52 days.

Most of these people lostboth time and money, thoughthe government did run alter-native buses during the strikeperiod. For, the governmentfailed to run buses as perschedule in all routes. Most ofthe commuters had to spendtwo to four hours extra everyday waiting for buses.

Many people opted for auto-rickshaws to reach their desti-nations in the city. Autowalas,who invariably demand "extra"even on normal days, doubledtheir floor charges during thestrike. Some of the commutersspent extra bucks by travellingin Metro train.

Ramu from Chilukanagar,who works at Nampally, had

travelled by Metro spendingextra bucks every day as therewere no buses to reachNampally directly. He had toreach Uppal by auto and latercatch Metro train. Instead ofspending Rs.50 every day, hehad to spend Rs.150 every dayto reach his office in time. Likehim, many people spent Rs.100to 200 additionally every day to

reach their workplace in time. Roughly some 30 lakh com-

mon people who normallytake RTC buses spent addi-tional money to reach theirdestinations in time. Even RTCpass holders spent additionalmoney to reach their work-place, college and other placesin time in the absence of buses.

Commuters spent Rs 3K to Rs5K per monthto reach their work places during Strike

RTC MD says can’t take back striking staffPNS n HYDERABAD

TS RTC in-charge ManagingDirector Sunil Sharma hastermed as 'ridiculous' the state-ment that RTC workers wouldjoin duty at 6 am on Tuesday,following the withdrawal ofstrike by JAC on Mondayevening. Responding to JAC'spublic statement as well as the

letter addressed to him, Sharmasaid: "The announcement ofRTC JAC that they will be join-ing duties from tomorrow isridiculous. On one hand, they

say they will continue the strike;and, on the other, say they willjoin duties. Nowhere in anyPublic Sector Undertaking inthe country, workers andemployees abstaining fromduties and joining their dutiesat their whims and fancies willnever happen; nor can it beaccepted.

Continued on Page 4

L VENKAT RAM REDDYn HYDERABAD

Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao onMonday met GovernorTamilisai Soundararajan at RajBhavan, after a gap of morethan two and a half months.

KCR last visited Raj Bhavanon September 8, whenTamilisai took oath as new theGovernor of Telangana, replac-ing ESL Narasimhan, who hadserved the state as Governorfor about nine years. The sameday, KCR again visited RajBhavan for the swearing-inceremony of his ministersupon cabinet expansion.

The Chief Minister used tovisit Raj Bhavan frequently

when Narasimhan wasGovernor. There were occa-sions where KCR visited Raj

Bhavan twice or thrice in aweek.

Continued on Page 4

Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao calling on Governor Tamilisai Soundararajanat Raj Bhavan in Hyderabad on Monday

PNS n MUMBAI

In an unprecedented action inIndian politics, the Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party-Congress combine on Mondayorganised a public parade oftheir 162 supporting MLAs ina bid to disprove the claims of170 legislators made by theBharatiya Janata Party and itsally Ajit Pawar.

The dramatic parade, at ahotel here, came barely 12hours before the scheduledhearing in the Supreme Courton Tuesday morning on theparties' challenge to the newgovernment sworn-in earlySaturday morning withDevendra Fadnavis as ChiefMinister and Ajit Pawar as hisdeputy, creating a politicalupheaval in the state.

Besides the enthusiastic 162MLAs of the three 'Maha VikasAghadi' partners, top leaders ofall three parties like SharadPawar, Supriya Sule, PrafulPatel, Jayant Patil, NawabMalik, Jitendra Awhad (allNationalist Congress Party),Uddhav Thackeray, AdityaThackeray, Eknath Shinde, andSanjay Raut (all Shiv Sena),Ashok Chavan, PrithvirajChavan, Balasaheb Thorat andMallikarjuna Kharge(Congress) and others werepresent.

Abu Asim Azmi of theSamajwadi Party was also atthe parade held at the banquet

hall of the five star Grand Hyatthotel in the western suburbsnear the airport.

Several leaders addressedthe gathering against a back-drop of large hoardings pro-claiming "We Are 162" in dif-ferent corners of the hall.

The leaders assured thegathered legislators - many ofthem first-timers, from someof the remotest parts of the

state - that the three parties arein a full majority and theywould soon give a stablealliance government inMaharashtra.

"In many states, the BJP hasgovernments though it is not ina majority. The Centre is mis-using its powers to grab powereverywhere and Constitutionalnorms are being violateda... Butthis is not Goa or Manipur, this

is Maharashtra," Sharad Pawarthundered.

He reiterated that his rebelnephew Ajit Pawar had "nopowers or authority" to ally inthe name of the NCP with theBJP and urged the gathering topreserve the unity seen onMonday.

Thackeray warned that thosewho attempt to create obstaclesin the way of the unity of thethree parties would be taughta severe lesson.

Patil and Thorat said that thethree parties have alreadysubmitted a letter to theGovernor earlier Monday stak-ing claim to form the govern-ment on the basis of its supportof at least 162 legislators.

The public parade of 162 Sena, NCP and Congress legislators by the combine in a hotel in Mumbai on Monday

162 Sena-NCP-Congress MLAson unprecedented public parade

The leaders assured the gathered legislators -many of them first-timers, from some of theremotest parts of the state - that the threeparties are in a full majority and they wouldsoon give a stable alliance government in Maharashtra

‘Better getexplosives, killeveryone’: SC onDelhi pollutionPNS n NEW DELHI

The Supreme Court todaytook a bleak view of the stepsbeing taken to alleviate air andwater quality levels in thenational capital, and slammedthe centre and state govern-ments concerned for playing ablame game at a time when liv-ing conditions in Delhi havebecome "worse than hell".

"Delhi has become worsethan narak (hell). Life is notso cheap in India and you willhave to pay. How much doyou value a person's life?" thecourt asked the Delhi gov-ernment, saying that it has"no right to be in the chair".

The two-member bench ofJustices Arun Mishra andDeepak Gupta was referringto increasing instances ofstubble burning in neigh-bouring states, a major con-tributor to air pollution in thenational capital region, aswell as a Bureau of IndiaStandards (BIS) report claim-ing that water samples col-lected from 11 places acrossDelhi failed quality tests on19 parameters.

SC order onMaha govtformationtodayPNS n NEW DELHI

The Supreme Court will giveits order on government for-mation in Maharashtra onTuesday, the apex courtannounced as the politicalwhirlpool in the state spunfaster with the BJP and theShiv Sena-NCP-Congressthrowing in competingclaims and ugly scenes insideand outside Parliament.

The shaky government inMaharashtra, led by BJP'sDevendra Fadnavis andDeputy Chief Minister AjitPawar of the NCP who weresworn in early on Saturday,got a breather with theSupreme Court on Mondaysaying it was reserving itsdecision for a day.

The Centre told the apexcourt the BJP had the supportof all 54 NCP MLAs to forma government in Maharashtraand asked for two to threedays to reply to the pleaagainst Governor BhagatSingh Koshyari's decision onSaturday.

The BJP is the single largestparty with 105 MLAs in the288-member state assemblyfollowed by the Shiv Sena(56), NCP (54) and Congress(44). The Sena broke itsthree-decade-long ties withthe BJP after the latterdeclined to share the chiefminister's post.

n Workers must await LabourCommissioner's decision

n Warns of action if there is lawand order problem at depots

{

KCR meets Governor Autowalas, whoinvariably demand"extra" even onnormal days, doubledtheir floor chargesduring the strike.Some of thecommuters spentextra bucks bytravelling in Metrotrain

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PNS n WARANGAL

Health Minister Etela Rajenderon Monday said the Medicaland Health Department in thestate would transform into arole model to all the states inthe country. He was speakingafter reviewing the depart-ment's related issues inHuzurabad on Monday.

Speaking on the occasion,the Minister said the rolemodel concepts envisaged bythe department would beimplemented from Huzurabadand for the past three months,the department's awarenessaspects were reviewed on aperiodical basis.

The Minister said the ChiefMinister K ChandrashekharRao's intentions to providemedical aid for the poor wouldbe implemented thoroughly bytaking up several changes in the

concepts. The ground-levelissues are studied in the PHClevel and PHC visit programmeswere also undertaken, he fur-ther said. The Minister said thefamily data of the each andevery household and the ail-ment mapping pattern wasundertaken by the department.

"Four new medical collegeswill come up soon which willhelp the students in a big way.The state government has alsosought the Central governmentto sanction seven more newmedical colleges," the Ministersaid. The Minister said thehealth to the doorstep concept

is being implemented in thestate with utmost interest.

He further said that theTelangana state occupies primeslot in the doctors productionand 33 medical colleges werecatering to the needs. TheMinister said the CHCs in thestate would be provided withthe required staff with recruit-ment process. The reviewmeeting was attended bySpecial chief secretary ofHealth Shanthakumaran,Warangal urban collectorPrashanth Jeevan Patil, VaidyaVidhana Parishd director DrRamesh rEddy nd others.

Health Minister Etela Rajender addressing the media in Warangal on Monday

Four new medical colleges will come up soon whichwill help the students in a big way. The stategovernment had also sought the Central government

to sanction seven more new medical colleges— ETELA RAJENDER , Health MMinister

TS Health Dept will bea role model: Etela

‘Census offers credible basisto formulate sound policy’PNS n HYDERABAD

K Ramakrishna Rao, IAS,Principal Secretary (Finance) atDr MCR HRD Institute here,has inaugurated a 'TrainingProgramme for MasterTrainers for Census-2021' onMonday.

The programme is beingorganised by Directorate ofCensus Operations, AndhraPradesh & Telangana, Ministryof Home Affairs, in collabora-tion with Dr MCR HRDInstitute. About 125 MasterTrainers are being trained byfive National Trainers in twospells, from November 25th to30th and from December 2ndto 7th, 2019, who will trainapproximately 6,000 field train-ers, who will, in turn, trainabout 2,08,000 enumerators /supervisors in different dis-tricts from across the lengthand breadth of Telangana andAndhra Pradesh.

Ramakrishna Rao, in hiskeynote address, said that theCensus is the largest singlesource of a variety of statisti-cal information on differentcharacteristics of the people,which would be greatly help-ful in the formulation of coun-try's plans for socio-econom-ic development. He added thatthe Census data also caters tothe Constitutional require-ment of delimitation of con-stituencies, reservation of seatsfor SCs and STs, planning andprovision of funds for develop-ment, etc.

Continuing his address,Ramakrishna Rao underlinedthe importance of training of

Master Trainers, consideringthe fact that the quality of thefinal result of the Censusdepends mainly on their exper-tise in the collection of authen-

tic data. He, therefore, urgedthe Master Trainers to train thefield trainers seriously and toresolve their doubts. He statedthat as a part of the Census

operations, an elaborate check-list, self-explanatory manuals,detailed processes, and clear-cut procedures have beendeveloped and called uponthe Master Trainers to under-stand them fully, in letter andspirit, in order to make theCensus 2021 a grand success.

Ramakrishna Rao said, witha sense of pride, that theCensus is not only the world'slargest enumeration exercisebut also of paramount impor-tance to the Nation. TheCensus data is held in highesteem both by professionalsfrom different disciplines aswell as by people in generalfrom different walks of life.

K Ilambarithi, IAS, Directorof Census Operations,Telangana & Andhra Pradesh,in his inaugural address, saidthat for the first time in about150-years history of Census inIndia, data is being collectedthrough a specially-designedmobile app.

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Indian Census is thelargest exercise in the world,which will be conductedonce in 10 years across thecountry. The ensuing Censusin 2021, is the sixteenth inthe unbroken series since1872 and the 8°" afterIndependence.

This is the first Census forboth the States of Telanganaand Andhra Pradesh afterbifurcation of erstwhileAndhra Pradesh into two

States - Andhra Pradesh andTelangana. The Census willbe conducted in two Phasesnamely (i) Houselisting andHousing Census (ii)Population Enumeration.

The Government hasissued gazette notificationfor conducting of Census asper the guidelines of RegistrarGeneral and CensusCommissioner India and atDistrict level concernedCollectors and DistrictMagistrates were appointedas Principal Census Officers.

About 125Master Trainersare beingtrained by fiveNationalTrainers in twospells who will trainapproximately6,000 fieldtrainers

FCRI inks pact with Auburn varsity for skill trainingPNS n HYDERABAD

The Forest College and ResearchInstitute here entered into aMoU with Auburn University inAlabama state of the USA onMonday in the presence ofMinister for Forests IndrakaranReddy. The two institutions willcooperate with each other inupgrading standards of educa-tion and skill development.

Dean of Auburn UniversityJanakiram Reddy, Dean ofFCRI Chandrasekhar Reddyinked the MoU at a programmeheld at the Minister's chambersin the Aranya Bhavan. The twodeans exchanged the docu-ments. The Minister said thatinking a pack with AuburnUniversity, one of the mostprestigious universities in theUSA, would go a long way inbenefiting the FCRI's students.

Sharing of information andfruits of research would helpthe FCRI achieve the bestresults. The FCRI at Mulug isbeing developed to match glob-al standards in tune with CMK Chandrasekhar Rao's ideas.The MoU was inked as part ofthe objective, he clarified.

He hoped that the MoUwould serve as an importantmilestone in improving educa-

tional standards. The dean ofAuburn University, JanakiramReddy, served as assistant con-servator of forests and hence hisservices would be of great use forthe FCRI. Janakiram Reddypraised the state governmentfor setting up of FCRI withworld class standards and alsolauded the government's initia-tives in conserving forests. TheMoU would be useful for boththe institutions to study theglobal changes occurring in therealms of forestry and ecology.

Special Chief Secretary todepartment of forestsRajeshwar Tiwari, PCCF RSobha, OSD to Chief MinisterPriyanka Verghese, additionalforest conservation officersLokesh Jaiswal and S Srinivasand FCRI dean ChandrasekharReddy, chief conservator offorests Sunita Bhagawat, FCRI. Copies of the MoU being exchanged in presence of Minister Indrakaran Reddy in Hyderabad on Monday

Indrakaran saidthat inking apact withAuburn varistywould go a longway in benefitingFCRI's students

‘Govt willuplift workersin unorganisedsector’PNS n NAGARKURNOOL

Krishnaiah, a resident ofInole village of Achampetmandal took to driving anauto rickshaw to run hisfamily, after his wife died dueto sudden illness. Recently,Krishna also died in a roadaccident, leaving his twodaughters orphaned.

On Monday, AgricultureMinister S Niranjan Reddyhanded over cheques worthRs 5 lakh each to the twodaughters of Krishnaiah,from the lifeinsuranceschemef o runor-g a n -i s e dsectorworkers,at his resi-dence in Wanaparthy town.

Speaking on the occasion,he said that till date, theState government has dis-bursed insurance amount ofRs 13.5 crore to the familiesof workers of unorganisedsector who had died in acci-dents. He said that all work-ers registered under the Stategovernment's scheme for theunorganized sector workerswould make their familiesbeneficiaries of this scheme.He said that the State govern-ment was sincere towardsnot only the workers in theunorganised sector, but wasalso working for the welfareof people from all sections ofsociety, irrespective of casteand creed.

Ganjasmugglingracket busted,5 arrestedPNS n HYDERABAD

In a major breakthrough, theWarangal police arrested afive-member gang, includinga woman, for supplying ganjain the city. The accused wereidentified as Bhukta Swarupaof Tellabanda thanda ofMahabubabad district,Kandagatla Ravinder ofKareemabad, DevulapalliBalaram of Mamnoor, andVaskula Subhash ofBhattupalli.

Addressing the media,the Commissioner of Police,Dr V Ravinder said that thegang used to supply thebanned substance in thecolleges and educationalinstitutions in the city.Based on a tip-off abouttheir movements, the TaskForce put up a constantvigi l and nabbed theaccused on Monday. Thepolice recovered 10 kg ganjafrom their possession.

The Commissioner fur-ther said that the gang pro-cured the banned substanceat cheaper rates in thandasspread across the region andsell it at higher prices insmall packets to the students.The police have registered acase under NarcoticSubstance Prevention Act.The Task Force team led byNandiram Naik took up theinquiry and nabbed the cul-prits, the Commissionerdetailed.

Yoganandatempledevelopmentwork beginsPNS n SURYAPET

Works on Sri YoganandaLakshminarsimha Swamytemple at Arvapally in thedistrict began on Monday,with Thungathurthy MLAGadari Kishore laying foun-dation stone for develop-ment of the temple at a costof Rs 1.2 crore.

On the request of irrigationexpert late R Vidya SagarRao the day before his death,Chief Minister KChandrashekhar Rao hadsanctioned Rs 1 crore onApril 28 in 2017 for develop-ment of the temple, afterconsoling him at a hospital inHyderabad. Vidya Sagar Raowas a staunch devotee ofLord Sri YoganandaLakshminarsimha Swamy.Due to various reasons, workson the temple were delayed.

Speaking on the occasion,Kishore said that YoganandaLakshminarsimha Swamytemple was one of the oldesttemples in the district. He alsoinstructed the officials thatthere should be no delay inworks. The works on themain temple, raja gopuramand others would be complet-ed within the stipulated peri-od, he said. The MLAinstructed the officials to com-plete the works on the maintemple before Brahmotsavamsin February next.

Ex-cricketer Kapil Dev meets KTR in HydPNS n HYDERABAD

Former Indian cricket captainKapil Dev met Minister KTRama Rao here on Monday.He met the Minister as part ofVooty Golf Country promo-tions, which will be inaugurat-ed next year. Kapil Dev, whois brand ambassador forVooty's along with K SantoshReddy, Chairman DreamValley Group, and K PrithviReddy, CEO Vooty GolfCounty updated the Ministerabout the developments atVooty Golf County inVikarabad.

Along with an 18-holechampionship, premiumhousing units and resorts,Vooty Golf County is also

going to launch one of its kindClub House which they planto inaugurate in March 2020.The meet up session took

place at GHMC office wherethey had a hearty chat.

As per the press commu-nique, Prithvi Reddy CEO

Vooty Golf County said," Itwas a privilege to meet KTRama Rao and update himabout our upcoming ventures

in Vooty Golf County. Wehave also invited KT RamaRao to inaugurate the Vootyclub house. We are also soongoing to launch Haldi our newgolf course in Masaipet nearToopran, Telangana and resi-dential project which will bea state of art Golf Township."

Dream comes truefor Warangal people

PNS n WARANGAL

With the government's deci-sion to upgrade the Narsampetarea hospital to a 250 bed-hos-pital, the long cherished dreamof the local people is about tocome true, thanks to theefforts of the local MLA PeddiSudharshan Reddy.

According to the MLA, thegovernment has sanctionedRs 60 crore for the develop-ment of the hospital whichwould be converted into a dis-trict hospital for the benefit ofthe people of Narsampet,which is the biggest con-stituency in the Rural district,and surrounding areas.

"Following my efforts, dial-ysis centre has already beenset up at the hospital for thebenefit of kidney patients.Besides this, a blood bank was

also set up at the area hospi-tal recently," he said, addingthat the 250 bed hospitalwould come up in five acres ofland on the outskirts of thecity will all the modern facil-ities and equipment. "Thedevelopment of theNarsampet hospital willreduce the burden on theMahatma Gandhi MemorialHospital (MGMH),Warangal," he added.

Meanwhile, TRS party townpresident Naini Narsiah andparty mandal presidentNamala Satyanarayana,Lekkala Vidyasagar Reddyalong with party workers andlocals offered Palabhishekamto the portrait of ChiefMinister K ChandrashekharRao and MLA PeddiSudharshan Reddy inNarsampet on Monday.

n Govt decides to upgrade Narsampethospital to a 250-bed hospital

PNS n HYDERABAD

Mild tension prevailed whenfamily members of a womanset a motorbike ablaze seekingaction against perpetratorswho brutally gang-raped andkilled her in Lingapur mandalcentre on Monday. Thewoman's body was found inthe forests of Lingapur. Shewent missing on Sunday.

Javvaji Suresh, Jainoor Sub-Inspector, said the deceasedwas the wife of a street vendorbelonging to a nomadic com-munity and native ofShivajinagar in Jainoor mandal.

The couple originally hailsfrom Gosampalli village inKhanapur mandal of Nirmaldistrict.

The victim was reportedlygang-raped and killed by

unidentified persons while shewas selling utensils. Her bodywas found in the bushes on theoutskirts of Ramnayak Thandain Lingapur village. She wasnot reachable over the mobilephone after her husbanddropped her to sell the crock-ery items at Ellapatar village inJainoor mandal on Sundayafternoon.

The husband grew suspicionwhen she did not return hometill evening. He lodged a com-plaint with the police. Hesearched for her at Ellapatarvillage, but could not find her.He and his family members

traced the body in the wild onRamanayak Thanda-Ellaputarvillage at around 10 am onMonday.

Some of his communitymembers later staged a dhar-na demanding action againstthose who were involved in theheinous crime. They also tookaway her gold ornaments. Theyalleged that members of a cer-tain religion were increasing-ly targeting women of anoth-er religion. They wanted sternaction against the offenders.

The agitators called off thedharna after SP M Malla Reddyassured them of justice.

Street vendor gang-raped, killed in Asifabad

IT Minister KT Rama Rao with former Indian Cricket captain Kapil Dev in Hyderabad on Monday

The former cricketermet the IT Minister KT Rama Rao as partof Vooty Golf Countrypromotions, which willbe inaugurated nextyear

2021 Census work begins in TS, AP

HYDERABAD | TUESDAY | NOVEMBER 26, 2019 hyderabad 03

RIMEORNERC

‘inDriver' lets you bargain with cab drivers!PNS n HYDERABAD

At some point in our lives, wealways wanted to bargain withtaxi drivers or direct themaccording to the routes wewanted. A new ride hailing app'inDriver' decided to put theball back in passenger's court.'inDriver', an international ride-hailing app which is alreadyavailable in more than 300cities in 28 countries, launchedits services in Hyderabad.

Passengers select the mostsuitable driver based on what isimportant to them - fare, driverrating, estimated time of arrival.It is the only app that allowsusers to negotiate their cab farebefore booking the ride in real-time. Most of the ride sharingapps has predefined rules andthe customer has nothing to sayexcept entering destination loca-tion. Furthermore, they are con-stantly haunted by the issue ofsurge pricing.

'inDriver' allows passengersto suggest a fare for their select-ed route. Nearby drivers receivethe fare and route informationand can either accept the offeror bargain for more money.Passengers then see multipleoffers from drivers and can pickthe one they want based onthings such as fare amount, dri-ver ratings and type of vehicle.

On the other hand, the dri-ver has the possibility to chooseonly the most profitable tripsand to make a counter offer tothe passenger, something thatno other service offers. TheinDriver model is unique with-in the sector since it allowsusers and operators to inde-pendently negotiate the termsof travel in real time, including

cost, without any intermediary,unlike all the applications cur-rently operating in India, inwhich the cost of the trip isautomatically set by pre-estab-lished algorithms. With morethan 2,000 drivers, the appworks only within the city.

Pavit Nanda, India PR andCommunications Head,inDriver said, "We are excited

to launch inDriver inHyderabad. With our Set-Your-Own-Price Ride-Hailing App,the passengers and the driversmutually decide the fair andfavorable price of each route.With transparency at bothends, drivers can make ride-hailing trips more efficientand productive while the pas-sengers have the possibility ofgetting cheaper ride. For exam-ple through our app, passen-gers will pay around Rs 140/-for traveling from ApolloHospital Jubilee Hills to InorbitMall or they will pay Rs 160/-for travelling from AMB Mallto Annapurna Studios."

In the first stage, inDriver isoffering 0% commission fee todrivers, giving them the possi-bility to test the benefits of theplatform, which has great dif-ferentials in comparison withits main competitors. inDriverapp is available on GooglePlay Store and AppStore.

n ‘inDriver' allowspassengers to suggesta fare for their selectedroute

n Nearby driversreceive the fare androute information andcan either accept theoffer or bargain formore money

Telangana go-to spot for UK firms PNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana is among the top fivepreferred destinations for UKbusinesses. Maharashtra andDelhi were the top two states,owed to their existing pro-busi-ness environment and positivebusiness trajectories. Karnataka,Gujarat and Telangana are thenext most popular states inwhich companies are looking toenter or expand in.

The UK India BusinessCouncil (UKIBC) has releasedits 5th annual Doing Businessin India Report. These stateshave been ranked highlybecause they are leading Indiain terms of market size, quickapprovals and effective bureau-cracy, closeness to customers,and lower regulations and sup-portive government policies.

Telangana, being in the top fivepreferred destinations for UKbusinesses, is a display of immensework and steps taken by theGovernment of Telangana towardscreating a business conduciveenvironment. One of the exampleis the single-stop clearance facili-ty that ensures swift clearances toset up industries based on self-cer-tification by the entrepreneurs.

The findings produced inthis report are derived fromconsultation involving 133 UKbusinesses and higher educa-tion institutions in a series ofroundtable discussions and aUKIBC survey run from

September 23 to October 15,2019. The survey respondentswere positive about India, with56% stating that it is getting eas-ier to do business in India, andonly 21% saying that it has notimproved. Perhaps the mostpositive message in the reportfor Narendra Modi's govern-ment is the dramatic drop inperceptions of corruption.

When the UKIBC publishedits first Doing Business inIndia report in 2014, over 50%of respondents cited corruptionas a top barrier to operating inIndia. This figure has improvedyear on year, and in 2019 itdropped to 17.5%. The most

persistent barrier to doingbusiness continues to be 'legaland regulatory impediments',which were cited by 59% ofrespondents as a major barri-er. The second most popularreform request was related tothe bureaucracy, with 16.9% of

respondents calling for a 'sim-plification of the GST.

With Brexit on the agenda ofUK companies, 26 percent saidthat they planned to do more busi-ness with India as a direct result ofthe UK leaving the EU. The high-est scoring aspects of the Indian

business environment continue tobe tele-communication facilities,closely followed by the availabili-ty of skilled labour, the availabili-ty of support and service providers,and the availability of supply chain.

As per the press statement,Dr. Andrew Fleming, BritishDeputy High Commissioner toTelangana and Andhra Pradeshsaid "It is great for our visitorsto get a direct sense of thestrong commitment theTelangana State Governmenthave to improving the ease ofdoing business. The Teluguregion has been the numberone region of the country interms of EODB since I arrivedin 2017, something people arejustifiably proud of."

On presenting the report toJayesh Ranjan, PrincipalSecretary - Industries &Commerce, Govt. ofTelangana, by UKIBCManaging Director, KevinMcCole, Kevin said, "it is nosurprise that UK businesseshave recognised that Telanganato be in top-five States inimproving the ease of doingbusiness, or that it is the pre-ferred investment destinationfor UK corporates, across allsectors. The way the StateGovernment has engaged withUK investors over the last fewyears has been impressive, par-ticularly because the focus hasbeen on solving ease of doingbusiness issues."

n State among top five preferred destinations for firms which are looking to enter India or expand biz

EASE OF DOING BUSINESS

Principal Secretary Jayesh Ranjan and others at an event in Hyderabad on Monday

JBS-FalaknumaMetro trial run beginsPNS n HYDERABAD

Trial Runs in Metro corridor-II (JBS-Falaknuma) have beencommenced on Monday. Ateam of technical experts andengineers led by HMRL MDNVS Reddy and L&TMRHLMD KVB Reddy travelled byMetro train on this corridor andobserved various technical andsafety parameters and perfor-mance of the train during thetrial run.

With a length of 11 km, thecorridor has 9 stations: JBS-Parade Grounds; SecunderabadWest; Gandhi Hospital;Musheerabad; RTC X Road;Chikkadpally; Narayanaguda;Sultan Bazar; and MGBS.

NVS Reddy said that itwould take 16 minutes to coverthis corridor from JBS toMGBS, as against 45 minutes byroad. During the trial runs,which would be carried out inthe next few weeks, a largenumber of technical specifica-tions, performance criteria andsafety standards will be testedinclude signaling tests and safetrain separation tests, braketest by the signaling and traincontrol system, OHE-Rollingstock (Metro coaches) currentcollection tests; Passengerinformation announcementsand display tests; Dummy pas-senger evacuation tests;Degraded mode operation tests,etc.

The data and other inputs inthese tests will be sent online toM/s.Thales in Canada, which issupplying CommunicationBased Train Control (CBTC)technology and the signallingand train control software will

be finetuned based on theseinputs for safe operation ofMetro trains in automatic modewith CBTC technology.

After receipt of satisfactoryperformance and safety certifi-cation from Thales, the InternalSafety Assessor (ISA)M/s.Halcrow and other relatedIndian and international organ-isations, the Commissioner ofMetro Rail Safety (CMRS) willbe invited for final safety clear-ance of the corridor. AfterCMRS safety certification, thecorridor will be thrown openfor passenger operations.

L&TMRHL Project DirectorM P Naidu, Chief OperatingOfficer A K Saini, HMRL ChiefSignalling &Telecommunications EngineerSK Das, Chief Project ManagerB Anand Mohan, SE M VishnuVardhan Reddy, GM(Works)BN Rajeswar, GM(Security) ABalakrishna and other seniorengineers and officers partici-pated in the trial run andinspection.

it is no surprise that UK businesses haverecognised TS to be in top-five States inimproving the EoDB or that it is thepreferred investment destination for UKcorporates, said UKIBC ManagingDirector, Kevin McCole

Arvind bats forrestoration ofheritage structuresPNS n HYDERABAD

Principal Secretary MunicipalAdministration Arvind Kumarunderlined the need to have aproper master plan for restora-tion of heritage structures inHyderabad on Monday.Speaking at a workshop on"understanding conservationof cultural heritage" at theMetro Rail Bhavan, he saidthat a more planned approachfor conservation, restorationand preservation of heritagestructures would lead to eco-nomic rejuvenation of theregion as a whole.

He observed that the southof Musi River in Hyderabadhas a lot of architectural struc-tures most of which are in adilapidated shape and whichrequire urgent attention. Heasked the town planners andengineers present in the work-shop each one of them to ownat least one such structure andtake up restoration.

A team of officers from thetown planning and engineeringsections will be sent to Delhi to

have a firsthand understandingof the steps taken by the AgaKhan trust for restoration of theNizamuddin Basthi andHumayun Tomb.

The two-day workshoporganised jointly by UNESCOand Aga Khan Trust in coop-eration with the MunicipalAdministration and UrbanDevelopment Department dis-cussed in detail about the urbanheritage and its challenges.

Junhi Han Chief UNESCONew Delhi cluster office gavea power point presentation onresilient, creative and greenercities. Conservation architectParomita Desarkar spokeabout the urban heritage andits challenges while ShvetaMathur presented a case studyof Nizamuddin.

Fast-track bus bay works: KTRPNS n HYDERABAD

In order to provide to betteramenities to the citizens,MA&UD Minister KT RamaRao instructed the GHMCofficials to ensure that thereshould not be any border lineframe wall in front of commer-cial establishments in the city.

While taking review meet-ing with the officials along withHW Mayor, Dr BonthuRammohan, Dy Mayor BabaFasiuddin, Principal SecretaryArvind Kumar, Commissioner,GHMC Lokesh Kumar, ChiefEngineer and other senior

officials, the Minister dis-cussed on the development offootpaths and instructed todevelop and lay new foot atleast 10km in each zone.

On the status of ongoingengineering works the progressof works should be displayedthe details of work at the sitework. Since, erection of 100footover bridge is alreadyapproved, steps should betaken to expedite works and toconstruct bus-bays and busshelters in prescribed time.

On the successes of recent spe-cial programme conducted by theGHMC for collection of waste

material in all wards and pro-gramme of Swachh ward conduct-ed in Mehdipatnam, the Ministerinstructed theofficials totake ups u c hactivities inall wards.

PNS n HYDERABAD

On the international Day ofElimination of ViolenceAgainst Women, theRachakonda PoliceCommissioner, MaheshBhagwat, inaugurated the SHEShuttle bus service at PocharamInfosys under Ghatkesar Policestation limits.

SHE Shuttle is the latesttechnology-driven securitysystem for all women passen-gers and exclusive transportsystem for the working womenprofessionals in the IT corri-dor. It is equipped with awell-monitored surveillancesystem with CCTV, a womansecurity guard and a smart appare provided for every passen-ger with panic button. Reachsafe app helps commuters inexact time of bus arrival &

monitoring location. Speaking on the occasion,

Mahesh Bhagwat appreciatedthe efforts of Infosys towardswomen's safety. Infosys hadconstructed a command andcontrol center with communi-ty CCTVs in Ghatkesar PS,Medipally PS area worth RS 5crore. The Commissioner saidthat all forms of violenceagainst women should beeliminated and a RachakondaSecurity council like SCSCwill be formed very soon.

SHE Shuttle service to Pocharam Infosys

‘Focus onescort fornightimetrains’PNS n HYDERABAD

Gajanan Mallya, GeneralManager, South CentralRailway advised the officialsto specially focus on escort-ing the trains running innight time to enhance pas-senger security in all the vul-nerable sections especiallybetween Bengaluru andGuntakal section in view ofrecent incidents. He con-ducted a detailed review onthe security of passengersand safety aspects of trainoperations on the Zone.Principal Heads of thedepartments also participat-ed in the safety on Monday atRail Nilayam, Secunderabad.

Gajanan advised the offi-cials to give priority towardsloco failures and signal failures,which are affecting the punc-tuality of trains and instruct-ed to take up regular andmandatory maintenanceworks to avoid such incidents.

In 2 months,GHMC collectsRs 3 cr fine PNS n HYDERABAD

The Greater HyderabadMunicipal Corporation hascollected Rs 3 crore as finefrom 5,935 individualsbetween 1 September and 6November 2019. The penal-ties have been imposed onseveral violations that includedumping of constructiondebris along national high-ways, garbage dumping onpublic roads, burninggarbage, dumping waste inopen drains and also on indi-viduals for open public defe-cation. Despite these attemptsby GHMC at spreadingawareness on sanitation, theresidents of Hyderabad con-tinue to do these unhygienicpractices which in turn ismaking the city polluted.

Gov allots 68 acres toChristians for burial groundsPNS n HYDERABAD

Ending the over three-decadeswoes of the Christian commu-nity, the State government hasidentified a total 68.32 acreland in and around GreaterHyderabad for allotment tocemeteries. Chief Minister

K Chandrashekhar Rao hasgiven in-principal approvalfor allotment of the land afterall the mainline denominationsand independent churchescame together to form theAssociation of Christian BurialGrounds for GreaterHyderabad and agreed to sharespace in cemeteries.

Expressing gratitude, theAssociation on Mondaythanked Chief Minister KChandrashekhar Rao for hisgesture. The Association pres-ident Bishop Wilson Singhamand general secretary GonehSolomon Raj met TelanganaState Planning Board vice-chairman B Vinod Kumar at

the latter's residence inHyderabad to thank him fortaking up their issue with theChief Minister and expressedtheir desire to organise a mas-sive public meeting to thankand felicitate the ChiefMinister in Hyderabad. VinodKumar assured to take uptheir request with the ChiefMinister soon.

Felicitating Vinod Kumaron the occasion, Bishop

Wilson Singham said the pre-vious governments in undivid-ed Andhra Pradesh did notrespond to their repeatedrequests for allotment of landfor Christian cemeteries forover three decades. However,the Chandrashekhar Rao gov-ernment considered their rep-resentation and suggested thatall denominations and church-es of Christian communityshare cemetery space.

South of Musi Riverhas a lot of structuresmost of which are in a

dilapidated shape and whichrequire urgent attention

ARVIND KUMAR fPrincipal Secretary

67 mobilesrecovered viaHawk Eye appPNS n HYDERABAD

The West Zone Task forceteam of the Hyderabad citypolice recovered 67 lostmobile phones with the helpof Hawk Eye mobile applica-tion. The app, which waslaunched in January 2015,was done with a view toempower members of thepublic to become citizenPolice. Officials said thatclose to 9 lakh users are reg-istered on the application.

"One of the features of theHawk Eye app includes usersto report the loss of theirmobile phones. Basing on thecomplaints, the IT core teamat the office of theCommissioner of Police,tracks the lost mobile phonesby using their IMEI numbers.The team was successful inrecovering 67 mobile phones,all worth Rs. 6 lakhs, with thehelp of West Zone Task force"said Anjani Kumar, CP,Hyderabad.

One arrested forselling opium, 4 kg seized

The Commissioner's TaskForce, Central Zone team

arrested a native of Rajasthanwho was selling thecontraband, Opium, at OldBowenpally and seized four kgof the drug from hispossession on Monday. Thearrested was identified asGangaram Bishnoi (36), asupervisor at a privatecompany in Medchal. He wasresiding at a rented house inSri Krishna Nagar nearSuchitra,the policesaid.Anotherperson,identifiedas Bhikaram Bishnoi, also anative of Jalore in Rajasthan,is absconding. "Gangaramcame to Hyderabad 11 yearsago in search of a livelihood.Unable to support his familywith the meager salary heearns, he decided to earnmoney the illegal way. He metBhikaram, who sells Opiumfrom Rajasthan to customersin Hyderabad by transportingit through private travelsbuses and decided to do thesame. A week ago, Bhikaramcame to Hyderabad through aprivate travels bus and sold4.23 kg of Opium to Gangaramfor Rs 4 lakh per kg," saidAnjani Kumar, Commissionerof Police, Hyderabad. Policeseized a two wheeler, a pocketdigital weighing machine 3digital weighing machines andpolythene covers among othermaterial from his possession.The accused, along with therecovered contraband washanded over to SHO,Bowenpally PS, for furtheraction.

Man stabbed todeath in Old city

Unidentified assailantsstabbed a man to death at

Madannapet in Old City onMonday. The deceased wasidentified as Ghouse. Locals,who noticed the body,informed the police whoreached the spot and began aninvestigation. The body wasshifted to Osmania Generalhospital for autopsy. The policehave registered a case andhave begun an investigationinto the case.

Attempt to kidnapbusinessman

Unidentified assailantsattempted to kidnap a busi-

nessman near his house at LBNagar on Monday. The busi-nessman, Yadagiri Reddy how-ever escaped their clutchesand ran back home after heraised an alarm and called thelocals for help. According tothe police, the assailantsarrived in two cars. They triedto kidnap the realtor after hecame out of his residence.However, Reddy raised analarm after which theassailants snatched his phoneand fled away. Reddy ran intohis residence and informed thepolice who registered a caseand launched an investigatio.In a complaint to the police,Yadagiri said that one of thekidnappers had threatened himsaying that Jaipal Yadav, theMLA of Kalwakurty was withthem. The LB Nagar Policehave begun verifying CCTVfootage installed in the areaand are on the lookout for theassailants.

With a length of11 km, thecorridor has 9stationsincluding JBS-Parade Grounds;Sec’Bad West;Gandhi Hospital;Musheerabad;RTC X Road;Chikkadpally

Members of the Christian community felicitating Telangana State Planning Boardvice-chairman Vinod Kumar at his residence on Monday

Continued from Page 1

So, the government has to allowemployees to do their dutiesunconditionally, the JAC urged.

The JAC thanked all politicalparties, trade unions, students,and various organizations thatextended support to the RTCstrike.

The JAC convenor EA s h w a t h a m a

Reddy,

co-conveners K Raji Reddy, GLinga Murthy and O Sudhaissued the statement.

JAC addresses letter to RTC MD

The JAC leaders alsoaddressed a letter to theManaging Director of TSRTCinforming him of their deci-sion to call off the strike effec-tive Monday evening. Theyreminded him that, in theirNovember 22 letter, they hadurged the state government tofollow the High Court's sug-gestion that the state govern-ment and TS RTC need to actas a "model employer" andallow the employees to resumetheir duties without any hin-drance. The JAC said that,since there was no responsefrom the government, they

were reiterating the suggestionof the High Court.

'Moral victory for workers'

RTC JAC convenerAshwathama Reddy later toldmedia persons that the employ-ees had waged 52-day-longmovement. "The employeesmade the strike a big success,facing a lot of suppression.The government weakened themovement while remainingsilent. The government alsoweakened RTC assets in themanner the thieves fell in thenation. Some officials tried tosell the RTC. The workers havegot moral victory. Workerswere not defeated. The fightwill be continued in phasedmanner. The government istrying to bring internal changes

intentionally. The employeeshave to resume their duties bygoing to their respective depots.All have to extend support toemployees to attend their dutiestomorrow. The employees haveto attend at depots at 6 pm. Irequest the temporary employ-ees not to come to depotstomorrow. We will intensify themovement in case the govern-ment fails to take back theemployees. The JAC will extendall support to the bereavedfamilies. We will continue ourfight till the problems aresolved," he said.

Co-convener Raji Reddy saidthat the problems of RTCemployees are indescribable."We will fight along with thepeople to protect the publictransport system, whileappointing a committee for it."

PNS n HYDERABAD

The TSRTC strike came to aclose after 52 days. The JACConvener has formally calledoff the strike on Mondayevening and asked the employ-ees to resume duty fromTuesday. Thousands of RTCemployees took part in thestrike, who have boycottedduties from October 5. Their26 demands included betterwages, regulated workinghours and a merger with thegovernment, which would givethem the same benefits as stategovernment employees.

Scores of RTC employeeshave died during the strikeperiod. While some died ofcardiac arrest, some other com-mitted suicide. The JACclaimed that close to 25employees have died due to thedirect or indirect repercus-sions of the TSRTC strike.During the striking period, theemployees have not receivedtheir salaries. Due to financialpressure, some employeesresorted to extreme steps bycommitting suicide. Even theirsavings were fast depleting,making their helplessness evi-dent.

On October 13, a conductorworking with the TSRTC forover 15 years had committedsuicide. Prasad, the son of thedeceased, came home andknocked on the door. Heexpected his father to open it,as usual. As there was noresponse, he took the stairs ofhis home to peek into hisfather's room only to find his alifeless body. Recalling whathappened that day, Laxmi, thewife of the deceased said, "Hespoke to us normally. I was atwork, and he said that he hadeaten lunch and was going tosleep. I didn't sense anythingwrong." The deceased wasattached to Ranigunj Depot inHyderabad, and was also active-ly involved in the strike. Hisdeath garnered a lot of mediaattention, and politicians fromopposition parties flocked to hishome. But 40 days later, thedeceased's family is still inshock and disbelief.

Prasad, who discontinuedhis studies, works at a boutiquestore and earns a pittance. "Ifeel very guilty now, because healways told me to study," hesays. The state governmentled by Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao, has beenadamant in its response to thestrike, refusing to hold talkswith the Joint ActionCommittee (JAC), which is anumbrella organization encom-passing all employee unions.

"Not a single leader from theruling TRS even made a phonecall to us. My husband was onthe streets every day during theagitation for Telangana. Is thisthe blessing that KCR hasgiven us?" Laxmi fumes, hergrief turning to anger. "Howmany lives will you take foryour political greed? The work-

ers are only asking for theirbasic rights. If you had guts,you would have spoken to theworkers face to face. We havewasted our votes and he (KCR)has cheated us," Laxmi adds.

A conductor with WarangalRTC bus depot, M Pushpalata,has said that the education ofher two children suffered asthey stopped going to collegeafter Dasara vacation onaccount of the RTC strike. Shesaid that she is managing torun the household with thesalary of her husband, who isa petty employee. Her familydefaulted payment of houserent for two months. Her fam-ily has to spent Rs 5,000 underher treatment as she turnedsick out of anxiety of herfuture because of the strike.

A RTC driver, Vempalla Koti

Reddy, working in Nutanakal isworking in cotton fields tosupport family because he isgoing without salary for thepast two months to enable topay EMIs on loans borrowed.Bereaved family members ofconductor Nageswar, who diedof mental agony, said that hebecame bed-ridden out of anx-iety whether he would be hiredagain or permanently firedfrom service. He used to talkticket..ticket while in sleep.The family moved to Jogipetfrom Narayanakhed. When hewas taken to RTC hospital inTarnaka, the officials refused totreat him because of the strike.Two days after admitting himto Gandhi Hospital, he passedaway. The union leaders helpedthe family to perform the lastrites of Nageswar. His one ofthe sons quit education towork in a motorcycle repairshop.

A driver with Sangareddydepot K Karunkumar recalledhow he survived the greatestobstacle in life when in strikeperiod. He said that hisdaughter, a student ofBE, contractedDengue fever. Thecost of treatment was Rs3.80 lakh. His familypledged gold ornamentsbut couldnot raiseenough funds. However,his relatives came to hisrescue so that he couldsave his daughter.

HYDERABAD | TUESDAY | NOVEMBER 26, 2019 hyderabad 04

Helmet sellers join hands with copsDAVE BENNETT SILVERY n HYDERABAD

Ever since the police madewearing helmets mandatory,many sellers have started sell-ing helmets of sub-standardquality, putting commuters'life at risk. In view of theincreasing sale, distributionand usage of low-quality andfake helmets in the city, theCyberabad Traffic Police con-stituted a special team under MSrinivasulu, traffic inspector ofRoad Traffic Accident CasesMonitoring Cell (RTAM Cell)of Cyberabad.

The team's job is to identifysuch shops and initiate actionagainst them. The team identi-fied many such shops and reg-istered 10 FIRs of criminal casesagainst persons selling such hel-mets. Meantime, many helmetsellers approached the TrafficPolice and offered to join handsin the police's drive to curb thesale of such low quality and fakehelmets in the city. The shopowners offered to discouragingbuying, selling and distributionof such helmets, which areagainst the law and provide noprotection to the riders.

In an initiative that is thefirst-of-its-kind in the country,close to 35 helmet shop own-ers reached CyberabadCommissionerate and follow-ing a meeting with theCyberabad Commissioner VC

Sajjanar, they broke duplicatehelmets in the presence of themedia and ommuters onMonday. After that, the shopowners took an oath to curbselling of low quality helmets

In the meeting with theCommissioner, the sellersexplained about the disastrouseffects of selling low qualityhelmets to bike riders. "UntilOctober this year, out of 720deaths in fatal accidents inCyberabad, 388 deaths are

involving two-wheeler ridersand their pillion riders, con-stituting 54 per cent of deaths.Of those deaths, 94 per cent ofthe people who died whileriding two wheelers were eithernot wearing helmets or werewearing low quality helmets,"said S M Vijay Kumar, DeputyCommissioner of Police,Traffic, Cyberabad.

Though the total accidentshave come down by almost 8per cent in Cyberabad, the

fatalities have drasticallyincreased. After a careful study,the Cyberabad Traffic Policetook up the drive against saleof low quality and fake helmetsin Cyberabad limits. Criminalcases booked will be investi-gated in detail and the distrib-utors and manufactures will bedealt with, said the police.Officials said that there around40 such low-quality/fake hel-mets in the city's market withmost of them being manufac-tured at various places in theNational Capital Region, Delhi.

"Most of these low qualityhelmets bear a fake ISI markand are made with cheap plas-tic, fibre and thermocol mate-rials. The manufacturing costof these low-quality helmetswill be anywhere between Rs100 to 200 and are being soldat Rs 200, 250 upto Rs 500,"said the official. Speaking tomedia persons, V C Sajjanarsaid "It is a misconceptionthat some kind of helmet isbetter than no helmet. Lowquality helmets are as good asnot wearing helmets. Any per-son aged above 4 years shallwear a good quality helmetwhile travelling on a twowheeler motor cycle as perlaw." Officials said that a 'Notwearing helmet' case would bebooked against two wheelerriders who were found wearinglow-quality or fake or half/skullcap helmets.

Around 35 helmet shop owners, after a meeting with the CyberabadCP VC Sajjanar, broke duplicatehelmets in the presence of the mediaand commuters and took an oath tocurb sale of duplicate helmets

n WITH EMPLOYEES SET TO JOIN DUTIES TODAY AFTER 52 DAYS, THE DEMANDS OF STAFF STILL REMAIN UNFULFILLED

n During the strikeperiod, the staff havenot received theirsalaries. Due to financialpressure, someemployees resorted toextreme steps bycommitting suicide

n Even their savingswere fast depleting,making theirhelplessness evident

‘RTC in-charge MD'sdecision atrocious’PNS n HYDERABAD

Describing the decision of RTCin-charge MD as atrocious,Congress senior leader VHanumantha Rao called uponthe Congress activists to extendtheir support and solidarity tothe RTC workers. He allegedthat the Chief Minister KChandrashekhar Rao is behav-ing like a 'dictator' and ridicul-ing the democracy, though theRTC workers announced thatthey will join duties calling offtheir 52-day strike.

Describing the RTC JAC'sdecision as good, CongressMLA T Jagga Reddy urgedthe Chief Minister KChandrashekhar Rao to notcreate troubles to the work-ers, who are set to resume totheir duties from Tuesday. Heasked KCR to consider theemployees on humanitarian

grounds. Law and order trou-ble will arise if the employeesare obstructed from joiningtheir duties. The governmenthas to own the responsibili-ty if anything happened to theworkers. He called upon theparty cadre in Sangareddy togather at the bus depots insupport of the employees.

TJS chief Prof MKodandaram called upon theparty leaders, civil society,people and others to extendtheir support to the RTCworkers to infuse confidenceamong them. He called uponthe party leaders to con-demn the attitude of the stategovernment severely for notreacting clearly on the strike.CPI state secretary ChadaVenkat Reddy urged the stategovernment to take back theworkers as they were obeyingthe decision of High Court.

HC issuesnotices toGovt, RTCHYDERABAD: The TelanganaHigh Court on Monday issuednotices to the state governmentand TSRTC for filing counteraffidavit in a PIL filed againstentrusting the corporation busesto unqualified, inexperiencedand unfit drivers who arebecoming responsible for roadaccidents during the ongoingstrike period. The petition was filed byAdvocate Gopala KrishnaKalanidhi as a party in person. Inhis petition, the petitioner urgedthe court to pass orders forcompelling all the private driversto undergo thorough training for90 days in running RTC busesunder the guidance of retireddrivers of the corporation beforethey were allowed to ply RTCbuses for transportingcommuters. The matter wasadjourned by four weeks by adivision bench of the HC.

NO GAIN, ONLY ‘PAINFUL MEMORIES’

Family members mourn during the funeral of TSRTC conductor Surender Goud, who committed suicide — File Photo

RTC MD sayscan’t take backstriking staffContinued from Page 1

The RTC employees andworkers have abstained fromduties on their own and wereon an illegal strike. Neither theRTC Management nor thestate government asked themto go on strike. They went onan illegal and illogical strikeduring important festivals likeBathukamma, Dussera andDeepavali and have causedimmense inconvenience tothe people. The RTC workersand employees are on an ille-gal strike now."Shrama askedthe workers to show restraintuntil resolution of the issue bythe Labour Commissioner inline with the directions of HC.He warned the workers thataction would be initiated againstthose creating law and orderproblem at the depots. Sharmasaid that it was not possible toallow the workers to join theirduties until completion of theprocess suggested by the HighCourt. The situation would bemonitored by CC cameras at alldepots, he stated.

RTC JAC calls off 52-day long strike

Medaram festival will be plastic-free: Satyavati RathodPNS n HYDERABAD

Tribal Welfare MinisterSatyavati Rathod on Mondaysaid that plans are on to givenationwide branding to thethree-day Medaram tribal fes-tival, which is going to drawnot less than one crore devo-tees from various parts of thecountry.

This year, all-important trib-al leaders would b e invited tothe Sammakka-Saralamma fes-tival, which will be held fromFebruary 5 to 7 next year. Shesaid that the officials havebeen asked to complete allinfrastructural development

works by December as thedevotees would start throngingthe place from Decemberonwards.

Officials were also asked totake appropriate measures tolay roads and provide publictransport to rule out inconve-nience to people. ForestDepartment officials respond-

ed favorably when permissionhas been sought to provideparking and for creation ofother amenities.

Adequate publicity is beingprovided to ensure the devo-tees visiting the tribal fairwould also visit places oftourist interest in undividedWarangal district. Various

cultural programmes are beingdevised to lay emphasis ontribal culture during the festi-val, which is billed as thebiggest in Asia.

She said that the festivalvenue would be made plastic-free zone as KCR gives top pri-ority to maintaining ecologi-cal balance. She thanked theCM for releasing Rs 75 crorefor the festival inspite of eco-nomic slowdown. TribalWelfare principal secretary BMahesh Dutt Ekka, commis-sioner Christina Chongtu,PCCF R Sobhjja and otherstook part in the review meeting. Tribal Minister Sathyavati Rathod at a review meeting in Hyderabad on Monday

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Andhra Pradesh ChiefMinister YS JaganmohanReddy on Monday came for-ward to help Kubra Begum,who was hospitalised inCARE Hospital, following acar crash on Biodiversity fly-over as the victim's parentsare poor financially.

Her father works as a painterto support the family andbelongs to Anantapur district.

It may be recalled thatKubra Begum sustained crit-ical injuries as the speedingcar jumped off the flyoverkilling a woman on the spotand injuring her.

She was rushed to CAREHospital, where immediatelytreatment worth over Rs 1lakh was provided to her andthe hospital authorities askedher parents to pay the amountand keep ready Rs 5 lakh forher surgical treatment.

On learning about the inci-dent, Jaganmohan Reddyasked officials to release theamount to facilitate hersurgery from CM's ReliefFund. He assured the girl thather family will be taken careof until she has completelyregained her health.

AP CM helpsBiodiversitymishap victim

JAGAN’S GESTURE

KCR meets Governor Continued from Page 1

After Narasimhan wasreplaced by Tamilisai, KCR hasbeen avoiding Raj Bhavan.This has triggered speculationsin political circles that he wasnot happy at her appointmentas Governor.

In any case, KCR has metTamilisai only on three occa-sions since she took over asGovernor.

Post September 8, KCR metGovernor only on October 2,on the occasion of 150th birthanniversary celebrations ofMahatma Gandhi at BapuGhat, Langar Houz, to offerfloral tributes to Mahatma.

Since then, KCR has neithervisited Raj Bhavan nor metGovernor. On Monday, KCRsought an appointment withthe Governor and met herafter she agreed to the meet-ing. There was buzz thatKCR perhaps got the wind ofthe report that the Governoris believed to have submittedto the Centre with regard tothe ongoing strike of TSRTCemployees and the govern-ment's move to privatise RTC.

KCR is believed to havebriefed her on developmentsin the state following the RTCstrike and the reasons for thegovernment to go in for pri-vatization of RTC.

IndependentCommittee toassess...Continued from Page 1

The Minister directedGHMC to provide assistanceto Kubra, a young softwareengineer, who was among thevictims of the flyover acci-dent.

KTR held a meeting atGHMC headquarters onMonday and discusseddevelopmental programmes,sanitation, town planningand engineering activities.During discussions on foot-paths, he asked officials todemolish the compoundwalls of businesses that wereobstructing footpaths. Hewanted officials to focus onfootpaths, developing at least10 km length of new foot-paths in each zone. Apartfrom widening of footpathsand walkways, he wanted atleast 10 km length of newroads to be laid in each zone.A special dashboard was setup to monitor the progress ofengineering works underGHMC process and to pro-vide details of the progress ofthe works. The Minister saidthat the construction of over100 foot over bridges, forwhich permits had beengranted, should be speededup, apart from constructionand completion of bus-baysand bus shelters.

Students raise Rs 38L tohelp malnourished kidsPNS n HYDERABAD

The students of IndusInternational SchoolHyderabad (IISH) raised Rs 38lakh to help 220 children suf-fering from malnourishmentin their local community. Theaid was raised under IISH'sproject christened I-CAN(Indus Cares & Nourishes) atthe School's annual philan-thropic carnival, 'INSIGNIA'.

Earlier this year, students ofIISH initiated a project ofbuilding a CommunityKitchen that will provide onenutritious meal a day, to allchildren combating malnutri-tion in the local community

The students from all grades

set up 50 thrilling games andfood stalls, having a variety ofengaging and stimulating activ-ities to achieve their goal.Nuwaira Pasha, Principal ofIISH said, "IISH's objective is toset-up a full-fledged, self-sus-taining Community Kitchen oncampus that aims at providingone nutritious meal daily for atleast 200 children combatingmalnutrition in the neighbor-ing villages - Kondakal, Thandaand Mokila.""We're very proudto be a part of this fundraisingeffort. We took up this cause tohelp malnourished children inthe neighboring villages, whoface hardship and difficulties,”said the students, who raisedfunds.

The IISH students who raised funds for 220 malnourished children

Adequate publicity is being provided to ensurethe devotees visiting the tribal fair would also visit places of tourist interest in undivided

Warangal district—SATYAVATI RATHOD, Tribal Minister

RTC Driver Srinivas Reddy — (File Photo)

HYDERABAD | TUESDAY | NOVEMBER 26, 2019 nation 05SHORT READS

Punjab Police ASIkilled in accident, wifeseverely injuredPHAGWARA: An assistant sub-inspector (ASI) of PunjabPolice was killed and his wifeseverely injured when theirmotorcycle was hit by a privatebus at the sugar mill crossingarea here on Monday, policesaid. The deceased wasidentified as ASI Binder Pal(52), of nearby Bhanoki village,Phagwara DSP Surinder Chandsaid. His wife, Veena Rani, whowas riding pillion, sustainedserious injuries in the accident,the DSP said. Binder Pal andhis wife were rushed to theCivil Hospital after the accidentwhere doctors declared thepoliceman as brought dead,said a hospital official.

Hurt by behaviour ofCong MPs in LS onMaha issue: Speaker

People are unhappywith the atmospherein the country: PilotSIKAR: Targeting the BJP overthe political developments inMaharashtra, Rajasthan DeputyChief Minister and stateCongress president SachinPilot on Monday said peoplewere unhappy with the kind ofatmosphere being created inthe country. "People areunhappy with the atmospherein the country. They haveunderstood and are supportingthe Congress which is evidentfrom the results of theAssembly elections inMaharashtra and Haryana andthe Assembly bypolls inRajasthan and the recently heldlocal body elections in thestate," he told reporters here.Pilot said there should bedevelopment, economicpolicies and employmentopportunities but the Centrewas not focused on those andwas rather doing politics onemotional issues.

TN will continue tohave full control ofMullaiperiyar damNEW DELHI: The Tamil Nadugovernment will continue tohave full control on regularoperations and maintenance ofthe Mullaiperiyar dam and thedam safety bill will not alterexisting arrangements, JalShakti Minister Gajendra SinghShekhawat said on Monday.Talking to reporters here aftermeeting a delegation ofAIADMK MPs, Shekhawat saidthe bill will not alter the existingarrangement of damownership, its operation andmaintenance, and the waterrights of Tamil Nadu.

NIA court convicts six in 2016 ISIS terrorplot caseKOCHI: A NIA court here onMonday found six people,arrested in connection with a2016 Islamic State (ISIS) terrorplot case, guilty of conspiringto carry out strikes acrossKerala and neighbouring states.Those convicted are ManseedMuhmood, Swalih Mohammed,Rashid Ali, Ramshad, Safvanand Moinuddin. Special judge PKrishnakumar, however,acquitted Jasim N K. They havebeen found guilty under varioussections of the UnlawfulActivities Prevention Act(UAPA) including offencesrelating to membership of aterrorist organisation andsupport given to a terroristorganisation. The NationalInvestigation Agency (NIA) hadbusted the ISIS module fromKanakamala in Kannur districtin October 2016 when themembers were holding ameeting to chalk out plans tocarry out terror attacks againstprominent people, includingjudges, police officers andpoliticians, and foreign tourists.

NEW DELHI: Lok SabhaSpeaker Om Birla on Mondaysaid the behaviour of theCongress MPs, who stormedthe Well of the House to protestagainst the swearing-in of aBJP-led government inMaharashtra, was"unacceptable" and will not be"tolerated." "I am hurt bywhatever happened inParliament today. It isunacceptable and won't betolerated," Birla told reporters.Sources said it is beingconsidered whether CongressMPs Hibi Eden and T NPrathapan can be suspendedfor five years for storming theWell of the House andobstructing Parliamentproceedings by shoutingslogans.

PNS n DALTONGANJ

Mounting a blistering attack onthe Congress-JMM-RJDalliance in Jharkhand, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi allegedon Monday their "self-seeking"past governments were drivenby the "lust for power" andexploited the mineral-richstate's resources while neglect-ing its people.

He also accused the previousCongress governments at theCentre of procrastinating reso-lution of the Kashmir tangle andthe vexed Ayodhya dispute.

"This election is a contestbetween those who serve andthose who loot. The Congresshas problems, we have thesolutions. They have accusa-tions, we have the report of thework we have done. They haveempty promises, we have theproof of development," Moditold a poll rally in Daltonganj,his first ahead of the stateassembly elections.

The prime minister assertedthe BJP was committed to thefive principles of social justice-

-stability, good governance,prosperity, respect for all andsecurity.

Naxalism flourished underthe non-BJP governments dueto political instability, he said.

"Governments were madethrough the back door. Therewere alliances of self-seekerswho were driven by the lust forpower (satta bhog) and exploit-ed the resources of the state.

"They had their eyes on theriches found beneath the sur-face of the earth and cared lit-

tle for those living on the earth.How would it then have beenpossible to give electricity, roadsand water to people? Set upindustries?" he said.

Modi said it was for the firsttime since the creation ofJharkhand in the year 2000 thatthe BJP government led byRaghubar Das had completedits full term.

The Das government, hesaid, worked day and night toend corruption and set up insti-tutional mechanisms for greater

transparency in governance.He said the BJP governmentworked hard to end naxalismand crime.

Raising the issue of forestrights of tribals, the prime min-ister asserted," The BJP is com-mitted to protecting your rightto 'Jal, Jungle, Jameen' (water,forest and land).

He said a district mineralfund has been set up by theCentre to ensure that the ben-efits from resources mined intribal areas reach the peoplethere. Jharkhand has receivedRs 5,000 crore from that fund,the prime minister said, addingsteps were being taken to fast-track settlement of forest rightsclaims.

Urging people to vote theBJP to power for a second suc-cessive term, the prime minis-

ter said the 'double-engine'growth of Jharkhand becamepossible because the party wasin power both at the Centreand in the state.

"We sent funds and broughtpressure on the previous BJPgovernments in Uttar Pradeshfor speeding up construction ofhouses for the poor but to noavail. But since the advent of theYogi Adityanath government,UP is at the top in buildingdwellings for the poor," he said.

Elaborating on the benefitsof 'double-engine' growth, theprime minister said apart of thegas connection given to poorfamilies under the 'UjjwalaYojana' by the Centre, theJharkhand government hadprovided second gas cylindersto 33 lakh households in thestate.

PNS n VADODARA

A Hindu man had to junk hisdecision to sell his flat in aposh Vadodara locality inGujarat to a Muslim afterothers in his housing complexobjected.

Mahesh Palani, resident ofSamarpan Society in VasnaRoad area of the district, saidhe scrapped the idea to sell hisflat to a Muslim had plannedto withdrawn his police ver-ification application as well.

In a meeting of SamarpanSociety members on Sunday,several of them claimed sucha deal, to a Muslim, would"devalue real estate prices inthe area".

"I submitted an applicationto the police station for veri-fication to proceed with thesale, but will withdraw it,"Palani said.

Incidentally, the locality inwhich the complex is locatedis covered by a law whichmandates that an NOC fromthe housing society presidentand permission of the districtcollector is required for sucha sale.

The law is called theGujarat Prohibit ion ofTransfer of ImmovableProperty and Provisions forProtection of Tenants fromEviction from Premises inDisturbed Areas(Amendment) Act.

Members of SamarpanSociety, who held a meetingon the issue on Sunday, point-ed out the Disturbed Areas

Act held that sale of a propertyto a Muslim in a Hindu-dom-inated area and vice versa wasnot allowed until each imme-diate neighbour of the prop-erty in question consents to it.

The society, at present, has170 houses, of which twowere sold to Muslims in 2017and another leased out for 99years to another Muslim.

"After learning the flatowner was selling his prop-erty to a Muslim without anNoC from society members,especially immediate neigh-bours, we called a meetingand forced the owner to with-draw his decision," societygeneral secretary BikramjeetSingh said.

"Members of the minoritycommunity tend to sell theirhouses at low prices at a laterstage, dropping the propertyrates in the area. Also, whenminority community occu-pants increase, Hindu com-munity tends to move out,"Singh claimed.

Meanwhile, JP police sta-tion sub-inspector SS Jasanisaid the issue was settledamicably.

"The seller and buyerreached a compromise andthey have given their state-ments to the police. On thebasis of these statements, wewill give our opinion to thedistrict administration," hesaid.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Congress on Monday saidits alliance with the NCP andthe Shiv Sena had the supportof 154 MLAs and the BJP willget a "befitting reply" in theMaharashtra Assembly floortest.

The assertion came minutesafter the Supreme Court saidit will give its order on the ShivSena-NCP-Congress com-bine's plea against theMaharashtra governor's deci-sion to swear-in DevendraFadnavis as chief minister.

Asserting that democracywas "murdered" inMaharashtra and theConstitution "trampled upon",Congress's chief spokesper-son Randeep Surjewala said an"illegitimate government" ofthe Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) and Ajit Pawar wasformed.

In a dramatic development,BJP's Fadnavis took oath aschief minister and Ajit Pawarof the Nationalist CongressParty (NCP) was sworn-in ashis deputy on Saturday morn-ing.

The move jolted theCongress, the NCP and theShiv Sena, who were givingfinal touches to governmentformation in the state, butrattled the NCP the most dueto Ajit Pawar's rebellion.

"We requested the Supreme

Court that a floor test beordered immediately so that itis proven that the majority iswith the alliance formed forMaharashtra's development --Congress-Sena-NCP. Weshowed the affidavits of 154MLAs that clearly prove thatthe alliance has the majority,"Surjewala told reporters.

He said the combine had thesupport of 48 NCP MLAs, 56Sena MLAs, 44 lawmakers ofthe Congress and some inde-pendents, while asserting thatthe number of those support-ing the alliance will go upwhen other "MLAs are freedfrom BJP's jail".

"The Congress-NCP-Shiv

Sena combine believes thatthe people's mandate anddemocracy will win inMaharashtra. The BJP, AjitPawar and all such forces thathave trampled upon democ-racy, kidnapped the mandateand insulted constitutionalinstitutions will get a befittingreply in the floor test, whenDevendra Fadnavis and AjitPawar will be shown the doorby MLAs for not having major-ity," he said.

"We believe that the processwill begin on Tuesday,"Surjewala, flanked by seniorMaharashtra Congress leadersPrithviraj Chavan and MukulWasnik, said.

Pawars, Thackerays,- uncle-nephew tussles not new in MahaPNS n NEW DELHI

Sharad Pawar-Ajit Pawar, BalThackeray-Raj Thackeray,Gopinath Munde-DhananjayMunde.

Troubled uncle-nephewrelationships have rocked theboat of more than one partytrying to steer its way throughMaharashtra's troubled polit-ical waters with the crisis in theNCP only the latest in theseries.

The mentor-protege equa-tion of uncles with theirnephews has slipped intounpleasant territory in thestruggle for power in not justthe NCP but also the Shiv Senaand the BJP.

On Saturday, Ajit Pawarbroke rank with the NCP todefy his uncle and party patri-arch Sharad Pawar and tookoath as Maharashtra deputychief minister.

His rebellion and the deci-sion to back the BJP not onlyrattled the NCP -- the juniorPawar wields considerableinfluence in the party -- butalso in the close knit Pawarfamily.

After his brother AnantRao was killed, Sharad Pawartook his son Ajit Pawar underhis wing. In 1991, Ajit Pawarfirst contested and won theparliamentary polls fromBaramati. He gave up the seat

for his uncle when he becameDefence minister in the P VNarasimha Rao government in1991.

That was just the beginning. Ajit Pawar, a seven-time

MLA and also former deputychief minister, was seen as apolitical heir to the NCP chiefbut tensions started buildingup after Sharad Pawar's daugh-ter Supriya Sule entered poli-

tics and have refused to sub-side since.

The Thackeray family saw asimilar feud about a decadeago when the tussle betweenUddhav Thackeray and RajThackeray on who would leadthe Shiv Sena vertically splitthe Shiv Sena. Bal Thackeraychose son over nephew andthe rest, as they say, is history.

Tipped to be Bal

Thackeray's heir, RajThackeray mirrored his unclein his speeches, mannerismand also his aggressive politics.In comparison, UddhavThackeray was seen to be verymild.

But when the uncle optedfor the son, a miffed RajThackeray went to form theMaharashtra Navnirman Senain 2006, inflicting damage tothe Shiv Sena in the early yearsand costing it dearly in the2009 parliamentary andassembly polls.

Raj Thackeray is currentlydown but not considered outwith many still viewing him asa force to be reckoned with.

Like Ajit Pawar and RajThackeray, Dhananjay Munde,too, was tipped to inherit thelegacy of his late uncle, BJPleader Gopinath Munde.

In 2009, when GopinathMunde, a mass OBC leader,won from Beed, most thoughtthat he would field his nephewDhananjay for the assemblypolls.

Instead, he fielded hisdaughter Pankaja Munde fromthe Parli assembly seat.

This widened the riftbetween uncle and nephewand Dhananjay Munde joinedthe NCP, becoming AjitPawar's protégé. He was latermade leader of opposition inthe Legislative Council.

Asserting that democracy was"murdered" in Maharashtra and theConstitution "trampled upon", RandeepSurjewala said an "illegitimate govt" ofthe BJP and Ajit Pawar was formed

Modi said it was for the first time sincethe creation of Jharkhand in the year2000 that the BJP government led byRaghubar Das had completed its full term

BJP will get befitting reply inMaha Assembly floor test: Cong

Sena-NCP-Congletter to Guv claimingmajority ‘bogus': BJPPNS n MUMBAI

BJP leader Ashish Shelar onMonday dubbed as "bogus" theletter submitted by the ShivSena-NCP-Congress combineto the Maharashtra governorto claim that they have thenumbers to form governmentin the state.

The 'Maha Vikas Aghadi',the post-poll alliance formedby the three parties, submitteda letter to governor's office inthe morning, saying it has themajority whereas the recentlysworn in Chief MinisterDevendra Fadnavis "does nothave the required numbers".

The letter was signed byShiv Sena leader EknathShinde, NCP state chief JayantPatil and CongressMaharashtra unit headBalasaheb Thorat.

"It is a bogus letter as tech-nically Ajit Pawar is still theleader of the NCP's legislaturewing and he has extended sup-port to the BJP," Shelar toldreporters here.

"The NCP has still not sus-

pended Ajit Pawar from hispost as leader of the party's leg-islature wing and membershipof the party. Hence, Ajit Pawaris still the leader of the NCP inthe Assembly," he said.

Shelar pointed out that theNCP has delegated AjitPawar's powers to Jayant Patil,but it has not elected the lat-ter as leader of the party in theAssembly.

"And his powers are yet tobe validated by the governor ofthe state. Besides, the Congresshas not even elected its leaderof the House, hence the sig-nature of Balasaheb Thorat asstate president has no mean-ing," the BJP MLA said.

Guj man scraps deal to sell flatto Muslim as residents object

PNS n SRINAGAR

Accusing the BJP-led gov-ernment at the Centre of"misusing" central agencies topressurize politicians, for-mer Union ministerYashwant Sinha on Mondaysaid it was the EnforcementDirectorate (ED) that hadultimately emerged as thewinner in the politicalslugfest in Maharashtra thathas been going on for the pastfew days.

"I will tell you one thingwith confidence that onceagain the EnforcementDirectorate has won becausebehind all this are the agen-cies of the Government ofIndia which are working topressurize the politicians byframing cases against them,"Sinha said here. The formerUnion finance ministerclaimed that there was noparallel example in the coun-try's history of the ED being"misused" in such a manner.

"The way the ED has beenmisused by the Governmentof India, I think, there is noparallel example like that inour history," he said.

Govt misusingcentralagencies: Sinha PNS n BHADOHI (UP)

The mahant of Tapaswiji kiChhawani in AyodhyaParamhansji Maharaj onMonday said RSS chiefMohan Bhagwat should headthe trust to be set up for theconstruction of Ram temple.

"The RSS chief should bemade the ex-offico head ofthe trust so that he automat-ically takes that post. SanghParivar should be given theresponsibility of Ram tem-ple's construction," themahant told reporters at SitaSamahit sthal here.

The Supreme Court in ahistoric verdict on November9 had backed the construc-tion of a Ram temple by atrust at the disputed site inAyodhya, and ruled that analternative five-acre plot mustbe found for a mosque in theHindu holy town.

"Be it the issue of "rashtranirman" (nation building) ortemple construction, whatthe RSS has done from villagelevel to the cities, no one elsecan do," he said, adding thatthe prime minister, the homeminister and the defenceminister, all have their originsin the Sangh.

RSS chiefshould headTemple trust

Mohan Bhagwat Yashwant Sinha

Shelar pointed outthat the NCP hasdelegated AjitPawar's powers toJayant Patil, but ithas not electedthe latter asleader of the party

PNS n LUCKNOW

The Uttar Pradesh legislaturewill on Tuesday hold a specialday-long session to com-memorate the 70 years ofadoption of the Constitution.

The session marking theConstitution Day, November26, will start at 11 am withGovernor Anandiben Pateladdressing a joint sitting of theassembly, said legislativesources.

During its special session,the assembly will deliberateupon the preamble of theConstitution besides theFundamental Duties of citi-zens set out in Part IV-A of theConstitution.

The session will also see themembers deliberating uponthe ideas and philosophies ofDr Bhim Rao Ambedkar, theprincipal architect and thechairman of the draftingcommittee of the Constitution.

The Indian Constitutionwas adopted on November 26,1949 but it came into effectwholly on January 26, 1950 tocommemorate the pledge ofPurna Swaraj, passed in the

Lahore session of the Congresson this day in 1930.

Earlier on Oct 2, the statelegislature had convenedanother special session tomark the 150th birth anniver-sary of Mahatma Gandhi. Onthis day, the House house hadheld an uninterrupted 36-hour-long debate on sustain-able development goals(SDGs), an idea espoused byMahatma Gandhi.

The special session on Bapu,however, had been boycottedby opposition SamajwadiParty and Congress.

They are, however, expect-ed to participate in the specialsession on Tuesday.

Anandiben Patel

Congress, allies driven by lust for power: PM Modi tells Jharkhand poll rally

The Thackeray family saw a similarfeud about a decade ago when thetussle between Uddhav and Raj on whowould lead the Shiv Sena verticallysplit the Shiv Sena. Bal Thackeraychose son over nephew and the rest,as they say, is history

The society, at present, has 170houses, of which two were sold toMuslims in 2017 and another leased outfor 99 years to another Muslim

UP to hold spl session tomark 70th Constitution Day

Farmers’ bodies are concerned thatthe proposed draft Seeds Bill, 2019,and the Pesticide Management Billcould weaken farmers’ rights andincrease corporate control over seed,

as the definition of “farmer” has beentweaked to include traders and corporations.The original definition of “farmer” excludedany individual, company, trader or dealer, whoengages in procurement and sale on commer-cial basis (non-farmers); Bharatiya KrishakSamaj president Krishan Bir Chaudharyinsists this should be retained.

The draft states, “Farmer means any per-son who owns cultivable land or any other cat-egory of farmers who are doing the agricul-tural work as may be notified by theCentral/State Governments.” It identifies“farmer” as anyone owning cultivable landunder Clause 11, which makes all corpora-tions, who own land, eligible to be classifiedas “farmer”, while the new exemptions ofClause 47 spare multinationals from any reg-ulation under the seed law.

The draft Bill introduces new commer-cial definitions of seed, which facilitate easymarket access to multinational corporationsrather than conserve our rich biodiversity andguarantee farmers the freedom to save andexchange seeds they have evolved and, thus,ensure availability of high quality, reliable,affordable and ecologically adapted seed fortheir ecosystem and agro-climatic zone.

The Bill introduces unscientific defini-tions like “national seed variety” and “stateseed variety” in Clauses 17 (“national seedvarieties” means those varieties which are cul-tivated in more than one State) and 31 (“Stateseed varieties” mean those which are culti-vated in one State only).

Seed is the expression of diversity of traitsand agroclimatic zones, where varieties arebred by farmers and to which they are adapt-ed. To describe seeds, not according to traitsand agroclimatic zones but as “nationalseed” if grown in more than one state and“state seed” if grown in one state, has no sci-entific basis. This is a commercial descriptionto facilitate the marketing and the spread ofunreliable and costly seeds from MNCs.

Under the 1966 Seed Act, new seeds wereevaluated in 22 agroclimatic zones to ensurefarmers get quality inputs. Strangely, the 2019Seed Bill makes evaluation optional: “TheCommittee may, for conducting trials to assessthe performance, accredit centres of the IndianCouncil of Agricultural Research, StateAgricultural Universities and such otherorganisations fulfilling the eligibility require-ments as may be prescribed to conduct tri-als to evaluate the performance of any kindor variety of seeds.”

The seed Bill should ensure compensa-tion to farmers in case of seed failure.Instead, it leaves farmers to seek compensa-tion for seed failure under the Consumer Act.Liability clauses are meaningless if there is noliability for seed failure. The ConsumerProtection Act, 1986, stated that the produc-

er, distributor or vendor of seedof the registered kind or variety“shall disclose the expected per-formance of such kind or varietyto the farmer under given con-ditions” and if such seed fails toperform as expected, the farmercould claim compensation fromthe producer, dealer, distributoror vendor.

The 2019 draft Bill is aCompulsory Seed CertificationBill under which seed producersand seed processing units mustbe registered [247, 22(1) and (2)].Article 12 states that farmers“shall not be required to registerthe farmers’ varieties of seeds inthe said register” but the deletionof farmers’ rights in exemptionClause 47 dilutes farmers’ rights.

Significantly, “transgenicseeds” are introduced. A new cat-egory of “synthetic seeds” entersthe definition of “seed” in Article24. Section 44 opens the door forintroduction of transgenic vari-eties cleared by the GeneticEngineering AppraisalCommittee (GEAC). Under “spe-cial provision for registration oftransgenic varieties”, it states,“notwithstanding anything con-tained in Section 14, no seed ofany transgenic variety shall beregistered unless the applicant hasobtained a clearance in respect ofthe same as required by or underthe provisions of theEnvironment (Protection) Act,1986: (29 of 1986).”

But the biosafety regulatoryagency is a failure. It approved Btcotton which is failing; itapproved Bt brinjal which theMinister overruled; it approved

GM mustard even though it haslower yields than indigenouspublic varieties and is tolerant tothe prohibited herbicide, glufos-inate. Only a case in the SupremeCourt has prevented its commer-cialisation. Now, the new seed Billcould allow commercialisation ofBt brinjal and herbicide-tolerantmustard.

The Central SeedCommittee under the 1966 Actincluded one person to be nom-inated by each State Government.The 2019 seed Bill has changedthis provision to five representa-tives chosen by the Centre on arotational basis. Meanwhile, theSeeds Division, Dept ofAgriculture, has asked sellers forExpression of Interest (EOI) forbar-coding seed packets for a“national seed traceability sys-tem.” This must surely wait untilParliament passes the Bill.

Coming to the PesticideManagement Bill (PMB), it mustprovide for compulsory registra-tion of Technical Grade Pesticidesin India, prior to granting regis-trations for imports or indige-nous manufacture of pesticidesformulations, which is the pre-vailing practice in major agricul-tural nations such as the US,Europe, Brazil, China, Australiaand Argentina.

The PMB should not includedata protection for agrochemi-cals/pesticides as such provi-sions will effectively extend themonopoly enjoyed by multina-tional corporations, whichalready have 20-year patent pro-tection under WTO (effective inIndia from 2005). Additional

data protection would meanever-greening of patents. Dataexclusivity in agrochemicals sec-tor will delay entry of genericsand make agrochemicals/pesti-cides unaffordable for Indianfarmers. Moreover, the PMBlacks a “pesticide schedule.” Theinsecticide schedule is an integralpart of the Insecticide Act, 1968,and helps applicants and regula-tors to decide if registration isrequired or not.

The PMB’s over regulationof exports will adversely affectexports of pesticides, which canearn foreign exchange and boostthe indigenous agrochemicalsindustry. Export orders for pes-ticide formulations are time-bound, depending upon theagriculture season in differentcountries and timely delivery iscritical else customers will goelsewhere. All importing coun-tries have their own regula-tions and registration require-ments for imports, which eachexporter has to fulfill.

Hence, imposing unneces-sary data requirements and rais-ing unqualified deficiencies forexport-oriented products willonly add to costs and delays.Data available in the publicdomain should be accepted bythe registration authority asexport orders are country-spe-cific. The Ministry ofAgriculture would do well toresolve these issues before pro-ceeding with these legislations.

(The writer is Senior Fellow,Nehru Memorial Museum andLibrary; the views expressed arepersonal)

Footage of a red Volkswagen Polo careen-ing off Hyderabad’s brand-new BiodiversityPark Flyover while failing to negotiate a turn

at speed has gone viral on social media andmessaging applications. One woman walkingon the footpath below was tragically killed byfalling debris. Miraculously though, thanks toboth the angle of the impact and car construc-tion standards today, the driver of the vehiclesurvived despite severe injuries. In the imme-diate aftermath of the accident, everyoneblamed him as he was clearly seen driving a

lot faster than other vehicles. Reports said that he was apparently clocking at104 km per hour, which is understandably rather fast for urban conditions, althoughit is below the expressway speed limit. While it is true that most vehicles’ turn-ing performance suffers at speed, looking at the footage closely, one noticesmore than one flaw in the design of the flyover. First, the bend on the flyover isfar too sharp and without a method for the vehicles to slow down before theturn, such as rumble strips. A vehicle was almost certain to fall off the flyoversooner or later, the barrier design is so pathetic. Thankfully, this was just a smallhatchback. One wonders what would have been the death toll had a large SportsUtility Vehicle, or worse still, a heavy commercial vehicle toppled over. Truth betold, the lack of proper safety barriers, which are designed to either knock vehi-cles back on to the road or wire-fencing that is supposed to “catch”, is a reali-ty of flyovers across India.

India’s roads are deadly, with over 1,50,000 people dying annually. Whilethe Government and the police are quick to blame drivers and pedestrians, likethe driver of the car in Hyderabad, they do deserve to share a lot of the blame.The fact is that poor road quality and design as well as extremely pathetic traf-fic management are responsible for many of the deaths and injuries on Indianroads. Even some of the better roads in the country have inadequate barriers,high-speed crossing traffic and no speed management. In fact, the biggest prob-lem is not one of people driving fast. It is actually about having too many vehi-cles of vastly varying speeds sharing the same piece of tarmac. Indian roadsare a recipe for disaster. All it takes is one idiot to have that disaster. Roads haveto become more idiot-proof; the Government owes its road users that.

The political ambush in Maharashtra —for nothing else can describe the oppor-tunistic division of the power pie among

electoral rivals, the BJP and a NationalistCongress Party (NCP) breakaway — needsto be rectified by an immediate constitutionof the House. That alone can set off process-es leading to a floor test, all of which are time-taking but can restore order. Now that a newGovernment has been sworn in by theGovernor, it is incumbent upon him to call aHouse session, which will then elect a pro-

tem Speaker. He will administer the oath to MLAs, conduct the election of thefull-time Speaker, which in itself will show how the numbers are stacked, andthen let the latter handle the floor test. Although the Supreme Court in its infinitewisdom considers the technical aspects of the plea, that is if the letters of sup-port by BJP and NCP MLAs to the Governor were indeed genuine or not, thefact is it must really hasten conditions required for a floor test. Letters now meanlittle. Yes, it must consider the delicacies of the case but cannot disregard howthe Opposition front of the Congress, official NCP and Sena have also submit-ted a list of 154 MLAs to the Governor and court as counter-claimants to power.All the more reason that a House session and floor test are made possible atthe earliest to legitimise claims. Considering the muddied waters since daybreakSaturday, with each side claiming defections and overlapping loyalists, the topcourt is expected to do everything right to restore public confidence in and upholddemocratic principles. Otherwise, it will be perceived to have allowed the cloakand dagger feudalism that has come to justify itself as Constitutional practice.November 30, by which the Governor wants the floor test, is just four days away.So a breather has anyway been got. Also, the top court would recall that in theKarnataka scenario, it had moved in swiftly, at the midnight hour, to order sucha session. BS Yediyurappa couldn’t pile up numbers in a subsequent floor test.

Now that a new Government has been sworn in, there is no ground for dilly-dallying. BJP Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis says he has support of 170 MLAs,105 MLAs of his own, all 54 MLAs from the NCP and 11 Independents and small-er parties. The Congress with 44, the NCP (still claimed by Sharad Pawar as hisand not of his nephew and deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar) at 54 and Shiv Sena,now no longer a BJP ally, with 56 seats and some Independents have furnisheda list of 162. Both sides have common support and cross the halfway mark of144. There are bizarre stories of resort politics, with each camp shepherding itslegislators from inducements by competitors, as if they are a gullible lot who donot have a mind of their own to decide or are terrorised into the barracks. Factis, they are following established practice to treat their seats as assets and sellthem to the highest bidder. Undoubtedly democracy has been made a mockeryof far too many times in this country to become an ugly truth. And it sadly con-tinues as part of competitive point-scoring and whataboutery. What gives ourpoliticians the right to emulate indecorous examples, simply because they hadbeen executed by their rival at some point in time and continue to be a prece-dent? Meanwhile, the parading games have started. The BJP, which has madeanti-corruption the credo of its Congress-mukt Bharat, has not only bought overthe tainted Ajit Pawar but decided to hide his black book. Reports now indicatethat investigation in nine cases related to the `70,000 crore Maharashtra irriga-tion scam was closed on Monday, two days after Ajit Pawar was sworn in. Whata travesty considering the first thing that Fadnavis did when he became the ChiefMinister in 2014 was to register these same cases. Of course, the BJP has madebrazenness the new normal, not bothered about perceptions. But it is still diffi-cult to believe why the original NCP chief Sharad Pawar is tepid in handling theconsequences of a palace coup? For starters, there has been no action againstAjit Pawar beyond his suspension as a legislature party leader. There has beenno talk of expulsion. Does the old Maratha strongman fear that expulsion wouldalso lead to an exodus of his own MLAs in large numbers? Yet Ajit Pawar claimsthat NCP still has one leader and that is senior Pawar. So one wonders how theNCP chief, whose status has been hugely compromised by the assumption thathe is in the loop of things, is still willing to be fall guy. Speculation that his nephewdoesn’t have so much as a dare to stand against him and that his daughter wouldultimately find a place in the Union Cabinet seems to be growing. If all of this isproven, it will be the death of democracy as we know it.

‘ED’logical?

Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “How to kill a mandate”(November 25). As Mumbaikarswere fast asleep on Friday night,it appeared certain that Shiv Senaleader Uddhav Thackeray wouldbecome the State’s next ChiefMinister. But when Maharashtraand the rest of the country wokeup the following day, to our uttersurprise, Devendra Fadnavis wasback in power. Obviously, this wasdone after a pre-dawn revocationof President’s Rule that needed thePrime Minister to invoke specialpowers meant for emergencies,with Ajit Pawar offering theNCP’s support.

Ajit, whom Fadnavis hadonce termed the “epitome of cor-ruption” while promising to“never, never, never” tie up withthe NCP, took oath of office asDeputy Chief Minister. It nowlooks Ajit is the rebel with a causebut the reason for this rebellionis not ideological but glaringly“ED” logical. Or could it be thatRohit Pawar (grand nephew ofSharad Pawar) would be thepolitical heir of Sharad Pawar ?

KS Jayatheertha Bengaluru

Shameful act

Sir — Protests by students at theBanaras Hindu University (BHU)over the appointment of FirozKhan as an Assistant Professor of

Sanskrit literature is a textbookexample of religious discrimina-tion. It not only reeks of prejudicebut also displays blatant intoler-ance. What does his faith have todo with his credentials as an ableSanskrit professor?

Moreover, by protestingagainst a valid appointment, pro-testers have done a disservice tosociety as a whole by driving awedge deeper between two reli-gious groups, who have beenstruggling to co-exist peacefully

for ages. Even though the protestshave been called off, one wonderswhy our political class main-tained silence.

Professor Khan was appoint-ed on merit and that should havebeen respected. Rather thanopposing his appointment, thestudents should have appreciat-ed the fact that even Muslims areconnected to the Sanskrit lan-guage, which currently has a neg-ligible presence in India.

Padmini Raghavendra Secunderabad

Unjustified appointment

Sir — It is indefensible that BJPMP from Bhopal, Pragya Thakur,has been appointed to a parlia-mentary consultative committeeon defence. One wonders if she isbeing honoured for the criminal-like acts she had committed in thepast. By doing so, the BJP is notsending the right message to thepeople. Instead of encouraging itsleaders to promote harmony, it ispromoting divisiveness.

AnuragVia email

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

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

op nionHYDERABAD | TUESDAY | NOVEMBER 26, 2019

06

Seeds of misfortune

SANDHYA JAIN

Certain provisions of both the draft seeds Bill as well as the Pesticide ManagementBill need to be amended to prevent MNCs from swamping farmers

BJP leaders will go crazy ifthey are thrown out ofpower. They will lose theirmental balance as we aregoing to prove our majorityduring the floor test

Shiv Sena leader—Sanjay Raut

I really love my work and Iam passionate about it. Thelength of a role is not impor-tant but I don't want to playan insignificant role, like thefather of the hero or heroine.

Actor—Rishi Kapoor

Just take a look around (fanswith their camera lights onto click pictures). Do you seethis? Have you seen this inTest cricket? Feels like it is aWorld Cup final.

BCCI president—Sourav Ganguly

S O U N D B I T E

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

An unhealthy sign for Indian democracy

This refers to the editorial, “How to kill a mandate”(November 25). If the midnight drama in Mumbai isanything to go by, it becomes apparent that in the event

of elections to any Assembly, the BJP will undoubtedlyform the Government there. The certainty with which thishas been happening makes one wonder whether respectfor people’s mandate holds any significance for the party.Deemed as the very essence of democracy, while the BJPhas been blatantly violating it time and again with impuni-ty, it is all the more painful to observe the knee-jerk reac-tions of the “rightful claimants.”

Despite voters in many States disapproving of the BJPand its “unethical” ways, other parties lack the wherewith-al to challenge the saffron surge and its despicable manoeu-verings, which further emboldens it to carry out such coups.However, one would lament the lack of integrity amongmany of our leaders, whom the BJP has exploited tactful-ly to its advantage. That many of our Opposition leadersare embroiled in scams has further given the BJP the lever-age it requires to cajole and threaten them with. Is it a won-der then that an Opposition leader, who according to theBJP in Maharashtra should have been behind the bars forhis acts of omission and commission, is now anointed thesecond-in-command of the BJP-led Government no

sooner than he switched loyalty. Of course, procrastina-tion and talks about power sharing cost the new Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress alliance dearly. Nevertheless, that shouldnot be proffered as an excuse for the stunning turn of eventsthat saw the return of Devendra Fadnavis as the ChiefMinister. Blaming the Governor for exercising his prerog-ative, too, wouldn’t be right as gubernatorial posts in Indiahave always had political connotations attached to themand he would have seemed to have acted in accordancewith the unwritten diktats of the “appointment.”

Pachu MenonMargao

THE DRAFT BILLINTRODUCES NEW

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Blame the road, tooNo matter how the situationevolves in Hong Kong, onething remains crystal clear:It is part of China’s territoryas a special administrativeregion.

Chinese Foreign Minister —Wang Yi

Only that can dilute if not settle the putrid political mess inMaharashtra. The sooner a House session is called, the better

While the driver of the speeding car is to be blamed, oneshould not absolve the designers and makers of the flyover

All eyes on floor test

In an article in these columns onSeptember 17 titled, Recoverywill take time, we discussed our

outlook on the Indian economy.Today, we will explain why it isimportant to recognise the differentcontours of the current economicslowdown and how the worst isprobably over and we’re looking ata recovery.

For starters, our initial forecastwas 4.9-5.3 per cent of the GrossDomestic Product (GDP) for thesecond quarter (Q2). The officialstatistics for the Q2 of the GDP willbe released on November 29 andtherefore, it is important to give ourfinal forecast for the same. At thetime of our initial prediction, we

didn’t have the Index of IndustrialProduction (IIP) data and other keyvariables such as the WholesalePrice Index (WPI) and ConsumerPrice Index (CPI) for September.This posed a challenge, as the pro-jection was based on our under-standing of what was likely to hap-pen to all these variables.

The September figures defied allexpectations of analysts as theywere weaker than anticipated.Though, assessment for these vari-ables was not off the mark, to somedegree, it was optimistic about ahealthy and swift recovery from thethird quarter (Q3) onwards. Whilerecovery has indeed started, it does-n’t appear to be as swift as anticipat-ed and we suspect our fourth quar-ter (Q4) figure will be slightly lowerthan seven per cent. Therefore, Q2may be lower than the initial assess-ment. We now have the additionalbenefit of data for October and thisgives us an advantage as we can seethe churn in economic activityfrom the first week itself.

Leading forecasters have revisedtheir Q2 projections to 4.2-4.5 percent and the consensus view appearsto be 4.4 per cent. However, as com-

pulsive contrarians, our forecastrange remains at 4.6-5.0 and webelieve the figure to be closer to 4.7per cent based on our assessment.Of course, predictions can go wrongand they really do. However, asthings stand, we believe that we areall too conservative and, therefore,growth may very likely surprise us.However, once the figures arereleased, politics is likely to followon what is a simple statisticalprocess. It is, therefore, important topre-empt the misinformation that islikely to be spread because of a sub-five per cent figure.

First things first, growth ingeneral happens in cycles, that is, attimes an economy grows fasterthan its potential and at other timesit grows marginally slower. This iswhat is known as business-cycles.Therefore, we are in a negative busi-ness cycle, induced primarilybecause of banking sector stress andthere have been measures to addressthis over the last couple of months.

However, one must recognisethat a few quarters of bad growthdon’t matter much in the largerscheme of things. That is, despite aslow start in the first half, the

annual growth rate is likely to be 6.1-6.3 per cent. The Reserve Bank ofIndia (RBI) expects the growth to beat 6.1 per cent, while several inter-national agencies, too, have a sim-ilar assessment. However, yet again,this assessment is based on a poorshow in the first half of the finan-cial year. As we get more data, a lotof these forecasts would be revised,but chances of a significant revisionare very small. A growth of 6.1 percent is not half as bad as many maybelieve it to be, for the simple rea-son that this growth came at a timewhen the economy witnessed acredit squeeze due to the shadow-banking crisis. Moreover, one can-not ignore the fact that the world isgoing through what theInternational Monetary Fund (IMF)has termed as a synchronised decel-eration of growth rate.

A lot of the global factors areinduced by trade-related uncer-tainties, which have dampenedinvestment and consumption inmany of our trading partners. Agrowth rate of 6.1 per cent may below but consider the fact that in2008, it was at 3.2 per cent and it wasbetween 5-6 per cent in 2011-2013.

Therefore, a single low growth yeardoes not imply an economic crisis.Instead it presents an opportunity toundertake decisions required toaddress some of the long-standingissues that curtailed India’s growthrates.

This is precisely the approachthat the Finance Ministry has takenas it has made several big-ticketannouncements over the last coupleof months. These decisions also sig-nal a big change in the understand-ing of the Government with respectto policymaking, primarily fiscalpolicies, as it reflects how econom-ic policymaking is not just limitedto the Budget.

The tax cuts are an excellentexample of the same. They wereannounced on September 20 andthe Bill for the same has beenplaced in the current Parliament ses-sion. This is the correct approachto address a slowdown, because eco-nomic policymaking is often moredriven by the need to manageexpectations. To tie the hands of akey player in a dynamic economyseverely limits the policy optionsavailable.

Apart from this, despite the con-

sensus among academics, policy-thinkers and financial journalists,privatisation nearly came to a haltpost 2003. This changed last-weekas the Finance Minister announcedthe decision of the Union Cabinetto privatise five Public SectorUndertakings (PSUs).

This makes it one of India’sbiggest attempts at privatisationand only the second attempt at thesame. It is worth mentioning howthe only other Government with asuccessful record of privatisationwas under Atal Bihari Vajpayee.Therefore, there does appear to bea broad economic thinking of theNDA, which is based on the prin-ciples of minimum Government,maximum governance.

To what extent will Modi 2.0succeed in privatisation depends ona lot of factors but the five compa-nies chosen do reveal the extent ofpolitical commitment towards thesame. The question is whether it willhappen before March or not.

If the Government wants to stayclose to its fiscal deficit target thenperhaps it would happen beforeMarch. However, this looksextremely difficult, given that it’s

nearly the end of November.Realistically speaking, the fiscaldeficit could be anywhere between3.6-4.0 per cent. However, it’s not acause for concern as the complianceeffect will predominantly feature innext year’s corporate tax collectionsand a higher growth should resultin buoyant revenue collections. Butthe process of tax-reforms is farfrom over unless we address the ele-phant in the room, which is theGoods and Services Tax (GST). Theneed of the hour is to come up witha comprehensive idea for a GST 2.0,which will streamline processes,address issues related to the techno-logical platform but more impor-tantly, put in place a simpler taxa-tion structure with a lesser numberof slabs and greater stability ofproducts under each of them.

Economies are complex andindeed, we may have underper-formed in the first half of the cur-rent fiscal year. However, with themoves taken, we are very likely toget back to a seven per cent level inthe next financial year.

(Bhasin is a New Delhi-basedpolicy researcher and Jhamb is aresearch associate with the RBI)

Our sacred text

I AM HURT BY WHATEVER HAPPENED IN PARLIAMENT TODAY. IT IS UNACCEPTABLE

AND WON'T BE TOLERATED.—LOK SABHA SPEAKER

OM BIRLA

SECURITY PERSONNEL MANHANDLED OUR WOMENPARLIAMENTARIANS. WE HAVE NEVER BEFOREEXPERIENCED THIS INSIDE PARLIAMENT.—CONGRESS LEADER ADHIR RANJAN CHOWDHURY

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

Almost all religions have sacred texts reveredby their followers. In a similar manner, fora Republic, the Constitution can be termed

as its sacred text. Today, as we observe the 70thanniversary of the signing of the IndianConstitution, which is also known as theConstitution Day as well as the National Law Day,it is time to look back at the stellar role of the insti-tution which gave birth to it. The ConstituentAssembly undertook this duty with unparalleleddedication, devotion, sincerity and enthusiasm overa period of 167 days, from December 9, 1946 toNovember 25, 1949.

While kings and kingdoms have dominatedIndian history for over two millennia, one cannotignore the fact that democracy was not whollyunknown, though not as advanced as in ancientRome. The Lichchavi State, with its capital atVaishali, was in all probability the earliest form ofa well-organised Republic. It was governed by anassembly of nobles with an elected president, whowas known as the nayak (leader). But this wassomething unique and rare as even our ancient lawsof Manu have only spoken of kings, their respon-sibilities, conduct and so on. At the same time, wehave had from times immemorial the grassroot-level institution of Panchayats in various Janpads(republics). The Panchayat was a very strong insti-tution and besides giving a voice at the local levelto the populace, it was able to ensure a certaindegree of orderliness and regulation. Similarly, theancient Buddhist Sanghas had their own parlia-ments. But history is a witness to the fact that overthe centuries, due to several factors, we lost thisdemocratic system.

On the other hand, as late as 1857, at the timeof the First War of Independence, the rebels couldnot think of anything else as an alternative to thecolonial masters but only reaffirmed their faith inthe last Mughal emperor. It would, therefore, besafe to infer that our political culture had remaineddeeply ingrained in the rule of kings and their obe-dience and subservience. Independence from colo-nial rule had a much different meaning for them.

With such a historical background, it wasindeed revolutionary to think of the Indiannation in terms of a democratic republic. But thestruggle for freedom had begun, which saw its cul-mination in the formation of the ConstituentAssembly and eventual attainment ofIndependence. It was Mahatma Gandhi, who in1922, during his famous speech on Swaraj (self-rule) stated, “When the settlement comes, it willratify the wishes of the people of India asexpressed through her freely-chosen representa-tives.” This concept was further strengthened byJawaharlal Nehru, who while delivering the pres-idential address at Lahore in December 1929, madeexplicit references to the drafting of a Constitution.As a follow-up, the idea of having a ConstituentAssembly was conceptualised for the first time in1933. Ultimately, in pursuance of the CabinetMission plan, the Constituent Assembly wasformed through indirect elections as it was felt thathaving a direct election would lead to a consider-able delay.

Though the Constituent Assembly came intobeing on December 9, 1946, its drafting commit-tee was elected only on August 29, 1947. One ofthe first things the president of the Assembly,Rajendra Prasad, did was to send BN Rau, the con-stitutional advisor to undertake a study of

Constitutions of several countries. Laterthese, along with the Government ofIndia Act, 1935, became the sources forour Constitution. BR Ambedkar defend-ed this by stating, “The charge of produc-ing a blind copy of the Constitutions ofother countries is based, on an inade-quate study. As to the accusation that thedraft Constitution has been produced asa good part of the provisions of theGovernment of India Act, 1935, I makeno apologies. None holds patent rightsfor fundamental ideas of a Constitution.”

One of the most important and sem-inal decisions of the ConstituentAssembly was to ensure that we followeda democratic and a republican form ofGovernment. Inspired by the US presi-dential system and the BritishWestminster system, the Assemblypushed hard for vigorous debates regard-ing the adoption of either of the politi-cal systems. The presidential system,which has a non-parliamentaryExecutive, was advocated by socialists likeKT Shah. BR Ambedkar, on the otherhand, vouched for a system that wouldmake the Executive responsible to theParliament. This was supported by KMMunshi, Nehru and others.

In the absence of a writtenConstitution, the British system, whichfunctions on established conventions, isnaturally dominated by the legislature.Thanks to the Constituent Assembly, inour country, each functioning constitu-tional institution drew its strength fromthe written Constitution.

Such constitutional institutions havebeen considered to be the pilots of con-stitutional norms. The luminaries in theConstituent Assembly specifically under-lined the importance of institutionalindependence of such bodies andemphasised upon their importance forpreservation of democracy. Two of ourimmediate neighbours, who did not giveany importance to such institutions, havesuffered rapid changes in the structure

of the Government and its consequences.Despite the progress, movement for-

ward and social changes brought in bythe generational change and times, itseems to be of concurring relevance torefer to the debates in the ConstituentAssembly, so as to better appreciate cer-tain constitutional issues. The extent ofadmissibility of the Constituent Assemblyand the Lok Sabha debates has evolvedover a period of time. In the Golaknathcase, out of the 11 judges, two pro-nounced such debates as inadmissiblewhile interpreting Article 368. Theremaining judges did make a referenceto the debate without pronouncing on theadmissibility. This view has since under-gone a change as in Kesavananda Bharati,it was suggested that the most sensibleapproach would be to look at the debatesto ascertain the intention of the mem-ber and see whether it is of any help inthat situation. To that extent, thesedebates remain relevant for the purpos-es of interpreting the Constitution, par-ticularly as and when an amendmentcomes before the Supreme Court toadjudge its vires.

The relevance of ConstituentAssembly debates arises from the fact thata number of useful suggestions weremade by the then members, which hadnot been accepted at that time but havenow been incorporated through amend-ments.

For instance, the ElectionCommission (EC) consists of a ChiefElection Commissioner (CEC) and twoElection Commissioners at present.Prior to 1989, it was headed only by theCEC. During the debate in theConstituent Assembly it was argued byShibban Lai Saksena, “It will be far moreeconomical and useful if a permanent ECis appointed; not only the CEC but threeor five members of the Commission whoshould be permanent and who shouldconduct the elections. I do not think thatthere will be lack of work because all the

elections will not synchronise but theywill be at varying times in accordancewith the vote of no-confidence passed invarious Legislatures. This Commissionshould be permanent and all theCommissioners should be appointed inthe same manner as the CEC. Theyshould all be appointed by a two-thirdmajority of the Legislature and beremovable in the same manner.” Howprophetic he was.

The appointment and removal of thecurrent Election Commissioners hasindeed been a point of debate as they canbe removed from office on the recom-mendations of the CEC to the President,whereas the CEC’s removal wouldrequire a parliamentary procedure. Yetanother fundamental provision intro-duced by the Constituent Assembly inthe draft was on universal adult suffrageas a right. This provision was far moreprogressive than even some of the moreadvanced countries. This measure alonewas instrumental in immediately bring-ing about a realisation among severalpolitical and social groups that they hadbecome political forces to reckon with.

The members of the ConstituentAssembly had given us this sacred doc-ument but the intent was never to keepit frozen. It has remained an organic enti-ty, which has been amended from timeto time as per procedures. So far therehave been three serious attempts atreviewing the Constitution through theSarkaria Commission (1987), theVenkatachaliah Commission (2002) andMM Punchhi Commission (2008). Inspite of their significant contributions, thepolitics of the day has prevailed.

In the present atmosphere of com-petitive politics, it is almost impossibleto even dream of such a great collectiveeffort at nation-building as achieved bythe Constituent Assembly.

(The author is a former Governor anda Senior Adviser at the Pranab MukherjeeFoundation)

In the present atmosphere of competitive politics, we can’t dream of such a greatcollective effort at nation-building as achieved by the Constituent Assembly

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

Savour win, don’tpush your luck

GWYNNE DYER

If Hong Kongers go on demanding free electionsunder universal sufferage, Beijing will crush them,

regardless of financial and reputational damage

THE MEMBERS OF THE

CONSTITUENTASSEMBLY HADGIVEN US THIS

SACREDDOCUMENT BUT

THE INTENT WASNEVER TO KEEP IT

FROZEN. IT HASREMAINED AN

ORGANIC ENTITY,WHICH

HAS BEEN AMENDED FROM

TIME TO TIME AS PER

PROCEDURES.SO FAR THERE

HAVE BEEN THREESERIOUS

ATTEMPTS ATREVIEWINGTHE INDIAN

CONSTITUTIONTHROUGH THE

SARKARIACOMMISSION,

THEVENKATACHALIAH

COMMISSIONAND THE

MM PUNCHHICOMMISSION. IN

SPITE OF THEIRSIGNIFICANT

CONTRIBUTIONS,THE POLITICS OF

THE DAY HASPREVAILED

The “silent majority” in Hong Kong, who regime supportershoped would show that they were fed up with the pro-democ-racy protests that have shaken the city in the last five months,

turns out to be not only silent but non-existent. At the beginningof district council elections on Sunday, a majority of the councilswere controlled by pro-Beijing parties. By the time almost threemillion votes were counted on November 24 night, 17 out of 18councils were in the hands of pro-democracy councillors. It wasa great victory — but Hong Kongers are still not going to get democ-racy.

The district councils don’t make important decisions — theymostly deal with things like bus schedules and garbage collection— and for precisely that reason the Beijing regime lets them begenuinely democratic. This time, however, the council electionsbecame a sort of referendum on whether Hong Kongers still sup-port the protesters — and they clearly do.

At the higher levels of the administration, where more impor-tant decisions get made, democracy is notable by its absence. TheChief Executive — the head of the Government — is chosen bya committee of 1,200 members, of whom fewer than a 10th areelected by popular vote. Their choice must then be approved bythe Communist regime in Beijing.

That is not going to change, because the Chinese Government’shighest priority is always to preserve the Communist monopolyof power and it will not accept full democracy anywhere on its ter-ritory. Democracy in Hong Kong might set a dangerous examplefor people elsewhere in the vast country, so it cannot be allowed.

True, Hong Kong people enjoy rights that no other Chinesehave, like freedom of speech and independent courts. This onecountry, two systems, arrangement is guaranteed for 50 years bythe Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1997, when Britain handedits Hong Kong colony back to China. However, that did not includea commitment to unbridled democracy.

The ensuing Basic Law that acts as Hong Kong’s Constitutiondoes say that the “ultimate aim” is for the Chief Executive to beselected by universal suffrage but, any lawyer will tell you that anultimate aim is something you can postpone forever.

A better guarantee is the fact that it is in the Beijing regime’sinterest to preserve the city as a place where foreign businessesare happy to set up because the rule of law prevails and the courtsare independent. But it’s still just a conditional guarantee, becauseBeijing’s highest priority is not business. It is control.

The protesters have been remarkably determined and success-ful. They have already managed to force Chief Executive Carrie Lamto drop her proposed law that would have allowed Hong Kong res-idents to be extradited and tried in Chinese courts. That would haveended the rule of law in the city, since Chinese courts do what-ever the regime wants.

It was not Lam’s idea in the first place and she probably warnedBeijing that it was a bad idea, but she is not a free agent. As shesaid at a private business meeting several months ago, she hasto serve two masters (Beijing and the people of Hong Kong) andher room for manoeuvering is “very, very, very limited.” She alsosaid, “If I have a choice, the first thing is to quit, having made adeep apology.” But she does not have a choice in that. Neither doesshe have a choice in which concessions to make to the protest-ers, but Beijing has already let her drop the extradition law, andthese striking election results might now convince it to let her goa little further. If she were to grant two more of the protesters’demands — an amnesty for all arrested protesters and an inde-pendent inquiry into alleged police brutality — the protesters wouldbe well-advised to declare a victory and go home. And it wouldreally be a victory, for the strength of their reaction should act asa deterrent to any push by Beijing for greater control over HongKong for years to come.

If they go on demanding free elections under universal suf-frage for the Chief Executive and the Legislative Assembly, how-ever, sooner or later Beijing will feel compelled to intervene andcrush them regardless of the financial and reputational damage itwould suffer. Which way will it go? Impossible to say, but a majorobstacle to a negotiated outcome is that the protesters have delib-erately avoided having recognised leaders.That’s understandable,because any identifiable leaders would promptly be arrested. Butit makes it very difficult for Lam to negotiate a deal, or for the stu-dents at the heart of the demonstrations to guarantee that a dealwould definitely end the protests. So it could go the distance, andend in tragedy. That would be a great pity.

(Gwynne Dyer's new book is Growing Pains: The Futureof Democracy and Work.)

7% growth likely in next financial yearA single bad year does not imply an economic crisis but presents an opportunity to address long-standing issues that curtailed gains

KK PAUL

HYDERABAD | TUESDAY | NOVEMBER 26, 2019

www.dailypioneer.com

KARANBHASIN

PRACHIJHAMB

HYDERABAD | TUESDAY | NOVEMBER 26, 2019 money 08

CAPSULE

Apple makingiPhone XR in India,expandingoperations: PrasadNEW DELHI: Tech titan Applehas started production ofiPhone XR in India fordomestic market and exports,underlying the government'sefforts to bolster mobilemanufacturing in the country,IT Minister Ravi ShankarPrasad said on Monday.The minister also said thatSalcomp, the world's largestmanufacturer and a majorsupplier of chargers to Applefor iPhone, has reachedagreement to take over closedfacility of Nokia in a SEZ nearChennai. Salcomp will revivethe unit, which was closed fornearly 10 years, and thefacility will become operationalfrom March 2020. The unitwill produce charger and otherequipment, and will boast of adiversified portfolio.

JSW commissons 18-mt iron ore terminalat Paradip portNEW DELHI: The SajjanJindal-led JSW Grouphas invested Rs 750 crore tobuild an iron ore terminal atthe Paradip port in Odisha.The 370-metre long terminal,with a capacity to handle 18million tonne per annum, hasalready been commissionedby its arm JSW Infrastructure,the group said on Monday.It is built to handle cape-sizevessels for iron ore and pelletexports and can load at a rateof 100,000 tonne per day, itsaid, adding the maidenshipment of the BrahmaniRiver pellets on 'MV ICPheonix' has set sail already."With the commissioning ofthis terminal, the country cannow offer cape-sizeshipments. The capacities arefar better than not only anyother domestic port but alsomany ports internationally,"joint managing director ArunMaheshwari said.

ITD Cementationbags projects worthover Rs 3,400 crNEW DELHI: ITD CementationIndia on Monday said it hasbagged orders worth over Rs3,400 crore from variousgovernment entities. In a filingto the BSE the company said ithas five Letters of Acceptance(LoAs) from the entitiesconcerned. One of the orders isfrom Bangalore Metro RailCorporation for design andconstruction of undergroundstructures of Bangalore MetroRail Project, phase-2. Besides,it has got three LoAs from IrconInternational for tunnellingworks on Sivok (West Bengal)to Rangpo (Sikkim) New SingleBroad Gauge Railway LineProject comprising constructionof six tunnels, the filing said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Public sector trading firmMMTC has contracted to pro-cure 6,090 tonnes of onionimports to boost domesticsupply and ease prices, accord-ing to sources.

Last week, the UnionCabinet decided to import 1.2lakh tonnes of onions toimprove the domestic supplyand control prices, whichtouched Rs 100 per kg earlierthis month. Retail prices areruling at around Rs 70 per kgin the national capital.

Consumer Affairs SecretaryA K Srivastava held a reviewmeeting with various states ondemand, supply and prices ofthis key kitchen item.

Sources said it was informedthat MMTC has contracted6,090 tonnes of onion and theconsignment from Egyptwould reach Mumbai portsoon.

While MMTC has beentasked to import onions, coop-erative Nafed will supply thekey kitchen items in thedomestic market.

On November 19, FoodMinister Ram Vilas Paswansaid production in kharif andlate-kharif seasons of 2019-20is estimated to fall 26 per centto 5.2 million tonne, puttingpressure on supply and prices.

In a written reply to the LokSabha, Paswan said onion is aseasonal crop with harvestingperiod of rabi (March to June),kharif (October to December)and late-kharif (January-March). During July toOctober, the supply in the

market comes from storedonions from rabi season.

"During 2019-20, there was a3-4 weeks delay in sowing aswell as decline in sown area ofthe kharif onion because of latearrival of monsoon. Further,untimely prolonged rains inthe major growing states ofKarnataka, Maharashtra andMadhya Pradesh during theharvesting period caused dam-age to the standing crops inthese regions," Paswan had said.

As a result, the ministersaid the production of kharif

crop was affected.The rains during

September-October also hittransportation of crop fromthese producing regions toconsuming centres, he hadsaid.

"This led to limited avail-ability of kharif onions in themarket and has put pressure onits prices," Paswan had said.

The minister said the gov-ernment has banned onionexports and imposed stocklimits to boost domestic sup-ply and check prices.

On November 19, Food Minister RamVilas Paswan said production inkharif and late-kharif seasons of2019-20 is estimated to fall 26 percent to 5.2 million tonne, puttingpressure on supply and prices

Finance Minister introducesBill in LS to cut corporate taxPNS n NEW DELHI

Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman on Monday intro-duced the Taxation Laws(Amendment) Bill, 2019, in theLok Sabha to replace theOrdinance that was used toslash corporate tax rate tostimulate growth rate in aslowing economy.

The Taxation Laws(Amendment) Bill, 2019 willreplace the Taxation Laws(Amendment) Ordinance,2019, promulgated onSeptember 20, 2019, to cut thebase corporate tax rate to 22per cent from 30 per cent.

Sitharaman introduced theBill just before the proceedingsin the Lok Sabha wereadjourned for the day follow-ing opposition uproar overpolitical developments inMaharashtra.

Also, the InternationalFinancial Services Centres(IFSCs) Authority Bill, 2019,that provides for creation of aunified financial regulator forIFSCs was introduced amid adin over the Maharashtradevelopments.

Sitharaman had onSeptember 20 announced thelowering of the base corporatetax rate to 22 per cent from 30per cent for companies that donot seek exemptions, andreduced the rate for some newmanufacturing companies to15 per cent from 25 per cent.Including surcharges and cess-es (levies to raise funds for spe-cific purposes), the effectivecorporate tax rate will drop bynearly 10 percentage points to25.2 per cent.

The corporate tax cut fol-lows other measures by thegovernment to prop up slow-ing GDP growth adopted sincethe May general elections.These include efforts to reducered tape and boost foreigndirect investment (FDI), andplans to consolidate the state-owned banks.

As Parliament was not insession and there was a need toprovide fiscal stimulus toattract investments, generateemployment and boost theeconomy, the President ofIndia, in the exercise of pow-ers under Article 123(1) of theIndian Constitution, had pro-mulgated an Ordinance to

make certain amendments toIncome Tax Act, 1961.

As per constitutionalprocess, an Ordinance pro-mulgated under Article 123(1)has to be laid before both theHouses of Parliament and shallcease to operate at the expira-tion of six weeks from reassem-bly of Parliament; or if beforeexpiration of the above period,resolutions disapproving theOrdinance are passed by boththe Houses, on the date onwhich resolutions are passed.

Besides reduction in corpo-rate tax rates for existing andnew domestic companies, theOrdinance also implementedthe withdrawal of higher sur-

charge for non-corporates oncertain capital market trans-actions announced earlier onAugust 24, 2019, and also pro-vides relief from buyback taxfor listed companies in respectof buybacks which were pub-licly announced prior to theBudget announcement on July5, 2019.

Faltering domestic demand,weak global trade environ-ment, asset-quality challengesat banks and funding pressureon non-banking financialcompanies have contributed tothe economic slowdown. Grossdomestic product (GDP)growth slowed for a fifth con-secutive quarter in April-Juneto 5 per cent, the slowest pacein six years.

International credit ratingagencies have cut India's GDPgrowth forecast for 2019-20pronounced slowdown due tolong-lasting factors.

The finance minister alsoproduced the InternationalFinancial Services CentresAuthority Bill, 2019.

The Bill provides for theestablishment of theInternational FinancialServices Centres Authority.

The Authority will consist ofnine members, appointed bythe central government.Members of the Authority willinclude four members to benominated from the ReserveBank of India (RBI), theSecurities Exchange Board ofIndia (Sebi), the InsuranceRegulatory and DevelopmentAuthority of India (Irdai), andthe Pension Fund Regulatoryand Development Authoritybesides chairperson.

MMTC to procure6,090 tonnes onion

The Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill,2019 will replace the Taxation Laws(Amendment) Ordinance, 2019,promulgated on September 20, 2019,to cut the base corporate tax rate to22 per cent from 30 per cent

BSE to offer non-competitive biddingfacility in SDLsPNS n NEW DELHI

Leading bourse BSE has saidit will start non-competitivebidding facility in state devel-opment loans (SDLs) whichwill enable the retail investorsto participate in these auctionsthrough an online registrationprocess.

SDLs are dated securitiesissued by state governmentsthrough normal bidding processsimilar to the auctions con-ducted for such securities issuedby the central government,where interest is received semi-annually, and principal is repaidat maturity.

In a statement, BSE hasannounced the "introduction ofnon-competitive bidding facil-ity in state development loans.Retail investors can now par-ticipate in these auctionsthrough an easy online regis-tration process".

The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) in its various measuresto encourage retail participa-tion has extended access toprimary auctions to SDLs.

The RBI conducts auc-tions for such securities on aweekly basis where 10 percent of the notified amountis a l lotted for el igible

investors under the schemefor non-competitive bidding(NCB).

"We are happy that fromnow onwards BSE can act as afacilitator for non-competitivebidding under RBI's auction toaggregate the bids from retailinvestors and submit a singlebid to RBI. This facility will goa long way in strengtheningthe capital markets," BSE MDand CEO AshishkumarChauhan said.

The exchange's non-com-petitive bidding facility will bein addition to the governmentsecurities and treasury billswhich are currently beingoffered through its platforms-- BSE Direct App and bsedi-rect.com website.

The ReserveBank of India(RBI) in itsvarious measuresto encourageretailparticipation hasextended accessto primaryauctions to SDLs

PNS n NEW DELHI

Telecom company BhartiAirtel on Monday announcedthe 'acquihire' of Gurgaonbased Quikmile, a start upfocused on building tech-enabled logistics platforms forIndia.

The company did not dis-close the size of the 'acquihire'deal, which typically entailsacquisition of people or teams.

"Quikmile's team will nowbe a part of Airtel X Labs –Airtel's digital innovation fac-tory, which focuses on IoT,Digital Engineering, ArtificialIntelligence, and Machine

Learning," Airtel said in astatement.

Airtel X Labs team com-prises of professionals fromIndia and abroad, the state-ment said, adding that it isbuilding advanced digital capa-bilities to serve the emergingneeds of Digital India and is

rapidly scaling up its teams andscope of work.

Quikmile, which startedoperations in 2018, aims toharness the power of digitaltechnology to transformIndia's highly disorganizedlogistics sector and bring effi-ciency, quality, and safety tofleet owners.

This includes easy monitor-ing of fleet minutiae such asengine behaviour, tire condi-tions, mileage, etc to removetransportation issues such asroute planning, demand fore-casting, analysing vehicularperformance, and organisedachievement of targets.

PNS n ISLAMABAD

Pakistan's Foreign MinisterShah Mahmood Qureshi hasasserted that the US view onthe China-Pakistan EconomicCorridor (CPEC) will have"no impact" on the ambitiousproject, after a senior Trumpadministration official warnedIslamabad that the projectwould take a toll on the cash-strapped country's economy.

The CPEC is a planned net-work of roads, railways andenergy projects linking China'sresource-rich Xinjiang UyghurAutonomous Region withPakistan's strategic GwadarPort on the Arabian Sea.

The project was launched in2015 when Chinese President

Xi Jinping visited Islamabad andit now envisages investment ofover USD 60 billion in differentinfrastructure projects of devel-opment in Pakistan.

In-charge of South Asiaaffairs at the US StateDepartment, Alice Wells, lastweek said that the CPEC wouldtake a toll on Pakistan's econ-omy in future.

She made the remarks whileresponding to a questionThursday during her appear-ance at the Wilson Centerthink-tank in Washington.

"I think what CPEC exem-plifies is what happens whenyou de-link investment anddevelopment from establishedbest practices and infrastruc-ture development," Wells said.

According to Wells, there'sbeen a tendency to conflate theCPEC with grant assistancerather than understanding it tobe the loans, and loans not atconcessional rates, that it is.

"We want China to be a

responsible supporter and fun-der of infrastructure. No onecountry can do that. We all needto help work to ensure thatcountries have meaningfulchoices for sustainable and qual-ity infrastructure,” Wells said.

"What I think we all need toquestion and where we allneed to push is, why isn'tChina adopting internationalstandards?" Wells asked.

Responding to another ques-tion, Wells said that UnitedStates does not feel threatenedby the CPEC.

"I don't think the UnitedStates is feeling threatened.

We're very proud of the longhistory of military to militarycooperation that we've enjoyedwith Pakistan," she said.

Talking to the media in hishome town of Multan, Qureshirejected the US' "concerns",saying that the vital projectwould continue.

"Pakistan does not agreewith that view. We have reject-ed that view," Qureshi said. "Wedo not think that the burden ofthe CPEC will increase ourdebt burden."

He said that the CPECwould not increase the debtburden of Pakistan as out of thecountry's total debt burden isUSD 74 billion, the CPECrelated debt was just USD 4.9billion.

Pakistan does notagree with that view.We have rejected that

view. We do not think that theburden of the CPEC willincrease our debt burden.

SHAH MAHMOOD QURESHIPakistan's Foreign Minister

‘US stance on CPEC will have ‘no impact' on Pak’

Sensex scales new closing peak,soars 530 pts; Nifty above 12,050PNS n MUMBAI

Benchmark Sensex on Mondaysurged 530 points to hit a freshclosing high of 40,889.23, dri-ven by gains mainly in telecom,metal and auto stocks amidrenewed optimism over US-China trade truce.

After touching its recordintra-day high of 40,931.71, the30-share BSE Sensex ended529.82 points, or 1.31 per cent,higher at 40,889.23.

Similarly, the broader NSENifty settled just shy of its life-time closing high, up 159.35points, or 1.34 per cent, at12,073.75.

Bharti Airtel was the topgainer in the Sensex pack, ral-lying over 7.20 per cent, fol-lowed by Tata Steel 4.99 percent, IndusInd Bank 3.49 percent, Axis Bank 3.26 per centand HDFC 2.57 per cent.

On the other hand, ONGCfell 2.17 per cent and Yes Bankshed 1.70 per cent.

According to traders,domestic benchmarks followedglobal equities which wereenthused by reports that apreliminary trade deal betweenthe US and China may besigned by the end of this year.

Bourses in Shanghai, Hong

Kong, Seoul and Tokyo weretrading up to 1.50 per centhigher.

Stocks in Europe were alsotrading on a positive note.

On the currency front, therupee was flat against the USdollar at 71.71.

Brent futures, the global oilbenchmark, rose 0.11 per centto USD 62.44 per barrel.

After touching itsrecord intra-dayhigh of 40,931.71,the 30-share BSESensex ended529.82 points, or1.31 per cent,higher at40,889.23.

Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Chief Commercial Officer and Ajay Singh, Chairman andManaging Director, SpiceJet signed the codeshare and interline agreement

SpiceJet, Emirates signcodeshare agreementPNS n NEW DELHI

SpiceJet on Monday said it hassigned a codeshare agreementwith Emirates that will allow pas-sengers of the Dubai-based air-line to book tickets on the Indianbudget carrier using Emirates'ticketing system from early 2020.

While passengers ofEmirates will be able to accessthe SpiceJet network fromearly 2020, SpiceJet passengerstravelling from India to Dubaican take benefit of Emirates'expansive network later, open-ing up multiple internationalconnections for them.

"The codeshare agreementmeans travellers from acrossthe globe can book a singleticket with attractive fares toany of Emirates' nine pointsacross India and connectonwards to 172 domesticroutes that are part of SpiceJet's

network," the Indian budgetcarrier said in a press release.

The codeshare agreementfollows the signing of MoU byboth airlines in April this year.

SpiceJet has also signed aninterline agreement withEmirates that will allow theirpassengers, for travel periodstarting from December 15, tocheck-in their baggage at thefirst airport for the wholejourney, which consists offlights of both the airlines.

SpiceJet Chairman andManaging Director AjaySingh said, "We are verypleased to partner withEmirates for this new code-share agreement which willoffer a seamless travel expe-rience and the widest possi-ble travel options to our pas-sengers travelling to and fromEurope, America, Africa andthe Middle East."

Airtel boosts Airtel X labsportfolio with Quikmile acquihire

Volty IoTSolutions to setup plant in APPNS n HYDERABAD

Volty IoT Solutions, a city-based GPS trackers and IoTsolutions provider, said it issetting up a manufacturingplant in Andhra Pradeshwith an investment outlay ofRs 50 crore over three years.The new facility is capable ofmanufacturing 2,000 devicesper day, the firm said.

Volty IoT Solutions is set-ting up a manufacturing plantin Andhra Pradesh (NearMangalagiri).

Identified land is suitablefor the manufacturing unitand we are working on theregulatory requirements...Our plan is to invest Rs 50crore in three years andthereby will be creating fourto five hundred jobs, a com-pany press release said onMonday.

India RatingsdowngradesTexmaco's long-term issuer ratingPNS n KOLKATA

India Ratings & Researchhas downgraded TexmacoRail and Engineering Ltd'slong-term issuer rating inthe wake of rising net debtand weak credit metrics.

The agency has loweredTexmaco's long-term issuerrating to 'IND A' from 'INDAA-' and has simultaneous-ly placed it on 'Rating WatchNegative' (RWN). The down-grade reflects Texmaco's con-tinued negative free cashflow, rising net debt andweaker-than-previously-expected credit metrics, IndiaRatings said in a release.

inema is a crucialmedium of com-munication whereone can conveyhis/her views onvarious social

issues visually to createawareness among people.Kadapa-based filmmakerHema Reddy made manyshort films over societalissues.

Speaking to The Pioneer,Hema Reddy says, “I wasinterested in films sincechildhood and used to watchmovies in theatres whenevera new movie released. I stud-ied only till Class VII but Iwanted to direct films. I did-n’t know about the basics offilmmaking and handling acamera until I met ShivaReddy who worked as thedirector of photography formany short films. He helpedme learn directing a movie.”

Hema’s films speak onissues like road accidents,cricket betting, giving way toambulances, suicides by stu-dents and more.

Hema Reddy’s first shortfilm that he directed wascalled Emergency (2017) that

explains the importance ofgiving way to ambulances intraffic.

He says, “Even I can makelove stories that will get memore views and money onsocial media. In Emergency, ayoungster celebrates hisbirthday on the road byblocking all vehicles includ-

ing an ambulance. He refusesto give way for it and onlylater he comes to find outthat it was his father who wasin the same ambulance hisparty blocked. Through thisfilm, I want to convey thateven the people we love andcare about might get intoemergencies and so it is not

right blocking the traffic.”Hema Reddy’s father died ina road accident due to therash driving by an auto dri-ver.

“Innocent people die onthe roads daily for no fault oftheirs. Upon research, Ifound that thousands of peo-ple die due to the negligence

of others. So I made a shortfilm on this topic called NenuTappu Chesanu (I made amistake) in which a youthwho was the reason for thedeaths in a family due to hisrash driving realises his mis-take and goes on to spreadawareness about rash dri-ving.” Another movie of his,

Aata (game), explained thedangers of betting and howyoungsters, addicted to it, arewasting their money andwealth.

He says, “Cricket betting ison the increase in our statewith each passing year. Thisis seen especially during theIPL time. Youngsters are get-ting used to earning easy

money and are participatingin various kinds of betting.”

After watching his shortfilms, many have met HemaReddy and shared their sto-ries about how they also havelost their loved ones in roadaccidents and how their chil-dren are getting addicted tovarious vices.

Hema Reddy shares, “After

screening Nenu TappuChesanu at a government col-lege in Guntur, a youngstermet me and shared how hisbrother died in a road acci-dent for no mistake of his. InKadapa, after Aata wasscreened, four people told mehow their sons have beenaffected by betting and drugsand appreciated me forscreening these films.”

Kadapa and Guntur policeofficials appreciated hisefforts enough to have specialscreenings of his films inmany places. The police evenasked him to make shortfilms on suicides by students.He shares, “I did a moviecalled Kshanam whichexplains how students arecommitting suicides comingunder the pressure of choos-ing careers that are forcedonto them. In the film, Iexplained the importance ofcounselling to parents overeducation.”

He said he wants to directmore movies in future aboutsocial issues currently hap-penings in the country. Hewants people to be more con-scious of their actions.

Follow us on

@TheDailyPioneer

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dailypioneer

TuesdayNovember 26, 2019

USING FILMSAS A WEAPON C After screening Nenu

Tappu Chesanu at agovernment college inGuntur, a youngster metme and shared how hisbrother died in a roadaccident for no mistake ofhis. In Kadapa, after Aatawas screened, four peopletold me how their sonshave been affected bybetting and drugs

HEMA REDDYFILMMAKER

A screen grab from AataA screen grab from Kshanam

Support for country's PARA-ATHLETES

ara-athletes in India don’t gettheir due. Not many are evenaware of the internationalsporting events for para-ath-letes or even the people fromIndia who represent the

country at these world championships.But, awareness can be spread, about theamount of work that a para-athlete putsin to rise to world class standards,through events such as the ‘SolidarityRun and Ride’ that will be conducted onDecember 1. The event is going to beorganised by the Aditya MehtaFoundation (AMF) that has been help-ing athletes with disabilities pursuesports since 2013.

On Monday, the AMF conducted aroad show as a prelude to the run thatwas attended by a host of celebrities andother dignitaries.

The solidarity run, which also com-memorates the World Disability Daythat falls on December 3, will also spre-ad awareness about reckless driving thatmaims thousands of people each year.

Celebrities such as Lakshmi Manchu,Shilpa Reddy, Lavanya Tripathi, SanjanaGalrani among others and bureaucratssuch as Jayesh Ranjan, PrincipalSecretary-IT; Abhilasha Bisht, ADG;TSSP Sajjanar, IPS, CP, Cyberabadamong others participated in the roadshow.

Some of the para-athletes who partic-ipated in the event included S. Bala-chandar, a gold medalist from 2006 to

2019 at the national level doubles cate-gory in wheelchair tennis and GurlalSingh, a former Army man and the firstIndian to win bronze at the AsianGames in para-cycling. B. AnandKumar, a former world number one inpara badminton was also present.

Lakshmi Manchu says, “After AdityaMehta lost his limb in an accident,instead of brooding over it, he not onlyworked hard and excelled in the field hechoose but also went ahead to supportmany others like him. It is only appro-priate that we do our bit to give life tothese people. Aditya’s grit made him toconvert a disability into an ability andhe also made others like him too lead alife filled with pride. Let’s also registerfor the ‘Solidarity Run and Ride’ onDecember 1 and support the cause.”

— PNS

P

n 2018,ThompsonReutersFoundation rele-ased a survey

that found India to be themost dangerous nationwith respect to sexualviolence against women.According to the NationalCrime Records Bureau,every 20 minutes, awoman is raped in India.

A year ago, when the#MeToo movement — awar cry that unitedwoman across the globeto boldly stand-up andraise their voice againstsexual harassment — wasat its peak across India,women from variousoccupations opened upone case after anothergiving way to a culture ofspeaking up about crimesagainst women.

In order to study suchpatriarchal pressures thatwomen are subjected toDiscovery Channel, inassociation with VICEStudios, produced a docu-mentary called ‘ManWoman #MeToo’ thatpremieres on November29 at 9 pm on DiscoveryChannel and DiscoveryChannel HD. The film,while tracing the #MeToo

movement across India,delves into the origins ofpatriarchy and the mag-nitude of the problem.

“On December 17,2012, India woke up tothe news of one of theworst ever reportedcrimes against women.Everyone thought thisincident was going tochange the tide of crimes.But sadly, it fizzled out. It

took another six years forthe #MeToo movement togive women in India thecourage to speak upagainst the men whoinflicted abuse on them.Man Woman #MeToounpacks the movement tobring out the devastatingeffects of patriarchy on awoman’s life,” says SamiraKanwar, Head of Content,VICE Asia. — PNS

I

The effects ofpatriarchy

N WomenIndia, a UnitedNations entity,committed to

gender equality andempowerment ofwomen has collaborat-ed with TikTok, theworld’s leading destina-tion for short formvideo content, on theircampaign called#KaunsiBadiBaatHai.The campaign aims toraise awareness andinspire action towardsmaking the world freefrom violence againstwomen. This initiativeis a part of the global

‘16 Days of Activism’focused on ending gen-der-based violence. The‘Orange The World’campaign, that waskicked off on Monday,observed as Interna-tional Day for theElimination of Violenceagainst Women.

The TikTok in-appcampaign aims toencourage users toshow their support byundertaking the#KaunsiBadiBaatHai‘Rap for Change’ chal-lenge and sportingshades of orange intheir videos. — PNS

UUN, TikTok team upagainst violence

A screen grab of the documentary, Man Woman #MeToo featuring Laxmi Agarwal, an acid attack survivor

A Kadapa-based filmmaker is trying to portray the consequences ofnegligent actions by making films on rash driving and betting,

finds V SATEESH REDDY

10

Hyderabad Tuesday November 26, 2019

l In a tale akin to Romeo and Juliet, the friendshipbetween two children is threatened by their parents'differences. Malu is from an upper-class family andher single mother does not want her to play withJorgito, as she thinks his background coarse andcommonplace. The movie shall be screened atLamakaan on November 27 at 7 pm.

CITY GUIDE

ART AAND SSPORTS

MOVIES, PPLAYS AAND CCONCERTS

JOD TODlJod Tod, a Hindi play presented by KalayanTheatre group from Bengaluru,is a funfilled crackling comedy aboutquintessential relationships and its complications.This light hearted funfilled play will be held atLamakaan on November 30 at 7.30 pm.

lGallery Space, Banjara Hills is presenting a groupart show Space Time Continuum by Sachin Jaltare,Ramesh Gorjala, Anjaneyulu G and Bratin Khan untilDecember 20 between 10 am and 6 pm.

SPACE TIME

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FUN TIME

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK SPEED BUMP CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

CALVIN AND HOBBES

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

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

Yesterday’s solution

PAR

TY

what’s brewing?

Phot

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WEDDINGGALASeveral politicians and

bureaucrats from across thestate attended the AICC

member Ateeq Siddiqui'sdaughter Akasha Siddiqui’swedding with MohammedMeeran Ahmed, son ofMohammed Abdul QuayyumAhmed. The attendees has a galatime at the ceremony relishingthe night and showeredblessings on the couple.

BUZZING SALE

Sashi Nahata’sAakriti

exhibition-cum-sale of

designer clothes andaccessories, held in

the city recently, had alarge number of fashion

enthusiasts and commonpublic in attendance. With a

wide variety of designs, abigger price range, this placehas turned into a happening

hub in the city.

l Akasha Siddiqui l Mahmood Meeran Ahmed

l Vamsi Chandra Reddy l Asaduddin Owaisi

l Ponnala Lakshmaiah

l Imran and Abbul Mahmood Ali

l Shabbir Ali and Danam Nagender

l KVP Ramachandra Rao

lSa

shi N

ahat

a

lSo

nali

l Vijay Rani

lSi

ndhu

arthikeya Exhibitors chiefAdepu Srinivas akaWarangal Srinu, whorecently distributed

Vishal-starrer Action in Telugu,has signed on director GNageswara Reddy for a newfilm. Srinu will be co-producing

the untitled film, which waslaunched in Hyderabad onMonday, along with Suresh

Kondeti. Srinu said he alwaysenjoyed Reddy’s cinema andhis project with the director

will be a fun ride. He added thefilm’s principal shooting will com-mence in January.

Reddy said the film’s fun quo-tient will be higher to that of hisrecent release Tenali RamakrishnaBA BL. “Srinu has been a success-ful distributor so far. In the com-ing days, one will see him as a suc-cessful producer as well. SureshKondeti and I’ve been friends for along time,” said Reddy. Accordingto the makers a reputed actor willheadline the film’s cast.

A giant 81 feet cut out of theactor’s killer still from SarileruNeekevvaru has been erectedat Sudarshan 35 mm, reportsNAGARAJ GOUD

section ofsuperstarMahesh Babufans were aworried bunchwith the pro-

motions of his next,Sarileru Neekevvaru, lag-ging behind its competingfilm Ala vaikunthapuram-lo. They felt that theirfavourite star’s film waslagging behind as the AlluArjun-starrer’s two songshave already topped thecharts. With both the filmsslated to open in cinemasduring Sankranti with aday difference, their dis-content reached peakpoints. But their concernswere answered with thefilm’s teaser which releasedon Friday evening. Metwith a resounding recep-tion, it clocked more than20 million views and wasthe trending number onevideo on YouTube for 40straight hours. And now, it

seems, promotions havebegun full-scale for theAnil Ravipudi directorial.A giant 81 feet cut out ofthe actor’s killer still fromthe film has been erectedat Sudarshan 35 mm,Hyderabad. Normally, cutouts are erected a couple ofdays or a week before thefilm release for a big starbut for SarileruNeekevvaru, the cut outhas surfaced a good 55days before the release,making the superstar fansforget all their previousworries. Also, the fact thatSudarshan 35 mm is themain theatre for anyMahesh film, it has gener-ated a great deal of buzz inthe virtual world. So muchso that it even trendednationally on Twitter onMonday morning.

The film, an action-comedy, co-stars VijayaShanti, RashmikaMandanna, Rajendra

Prasad,PrakashRaj andSatyadev. It isa joint produc-tion venturebetween DilRaju, AnilSunkara and GMahesh BabuEntertainment.

For a major partof this month, it wasshot in Pollachi andKerala.

The unit is back inHyderabad for the newleg of filming.

Hyderabad Tuesday November 26, 2019

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11

tollywoodMAHESH GETS AKING-SIZE CUTOUT

G Nageswara Reddy's nextwith distributor Adepu

K

SREENIVAS GOESFOR A PHYSICAL

MAKEOVERne of the fittest youngactors around, actorBellamkondaSreenivas, has devel-oped eight-pack absfor his next with

Santosh Srinivas. The actor hasbeen hitting the gym constantlyfor the past couple of months,maintaining a proper diet to attainthe look that Santosh wanted ofhim for the new-age mass enter-tainer. “The film requiresSreenivas to perform high-octaneaction sequences. Santosh wantedhis actor to cut a super fitphysique and Sreenivas, instead ofsettling with six-pack abs, decidedto go an extra mile and get eight-packs. The actor is on a high afterthe success of Rakshasudu and iskeen on showcasing some variety

with his next,” said a source.The actor, who has also grown

his beard, flaunted his chiseledlook on Instagram and wrote:“This time I’m coming for every-thing they said I couldn’t have!#hustle in style ;) my next rollssoon! Some #mondaymotivationright here.”

The untitled film will have itsmuhurat in Hyderabad thisFriday, with the shoot kicking offnext month. Ace composer DeviSri Prasad will be rendering tunesfor the project, while prominentHindi cinematographer Dudley,who worked for films likeSingham and Chennai Express,will crank the camera. GSubrahmanyam is producing itunder Sumanth MovieProductions.

O

Singeetam drops by protégéAditya's film setsilmmaker VN Aditya was in for a pleasant

surprise when his guru, the legendarySingeetam Srinivasa Rao accompanied byhis wife, dropped by the sets of his come-back film Vallidhari Madhya, inHyderabad outskirts recently and even

chose to direct a scene. Aditya couldn’t help but goback and revisit his memories of working under themaster filmmaker. He assisted Singeetam for his filmslike Brundavanam, Bhairavadveepam and SriKrishnarjuna Vijayam. What’s more interesting wasthe fact that just like the old times, Aditya soundedthe clapperboard for the scene that his mentor direct-ed of Vallidhari Madhya.

Aditya gushes with joy, “It’s for the first time hevisited the sets of my film. Back then, for four longyears, I had food at his home. He spent half a day onour film sets. Our producer Arjun felicitated him andhis wife by presenting traditional garments.”

A love story, Vallidhari Madhya, is in the last leg ofits production. Arjun said, by this month-end, theywill complete the film. Relatively fresh faces — VirajAshwin and Neha Krishna — are the main leads.

F

RangaMarthaandarolls on

ilmmakerKrishna Vamsi’snew endeavour,Ranga

Marthaanda, went tofloors in Visakhapatnamon Monday. AstrologerBalumunnagi soundedthe clapboard for thefirst shot, while Tejadirected the honoraryfirst shot. StarringPrakash Raj, RamyaKrishna, Brahmanandamand Anasuya in the leadroles, the film is aremake of Marathi superhit Natsamrat. MaestroIlaiyaraaja is the film'smusic composer.

Former autorick-shaw driverDhananjayPrabhune, a looka-like of formerAndhra Pradesh

Chief Minister NChandrababu Naidu who wasspotted by director RamGopal Varma, says acting inTelugu films has changed hislife.

Prabhune, who will be seenplaying Chandrababu Naiduin Varma’s upcoming Telugudirectorial, Kamma RajyamloKadapa Reddlu, was honouredby the local rickshaw unionon Sunday.

Talking to the media,Prabhune praised the directorand his crew for taking specialcare of him during the shoot-ing of the film.

The people of Andhra werevery kind and the food wastasty, he said, adding that heloved working in the Telugufilm industry.

Prabhune said hislife has trans-formed aftergetting theopportunityto act in theTelugufilms.

KaluKomatkar,president ofthe rickshawunion, said theauto drivers wereproud that one of their fel-lowmen had found a place inthe movies, that too in thesouth film industry.

This is a great honour for

us, Komatkar added.Dombivili-based Prabhune

used to drive rickshaw in thetownship and later started ahotel in the temple town of

Trimbakeshwar inNashik district.

Last year, while inTrimbakeshwar,he shot to fameas ChandrababuNaidu lookalikeafter a touristshared a video of

Prabhune servingfood on the social

media. The post wentviral and caught Varma’s

attention.Varma, best known for

films Satya, Shiva, Kaun?among others, sent out atweet, asking people to help

trace the man in the clip. Thefilmmaker even announced areward of Rs 1 lakh to the onewho found Prabhune.

Prabhune was tracked with-in hours. Varma was thenmaking his Telugu-languagefilm Lakshmi’s NTR, a bio-graphical drama based on thelife of former film actor andChief Minister of undividedAndhra Pradesh, NT RamaRao.

Though actor Sritej playedChandrababu Naidu inLakshmi’s NTR, Varma castPrabhune in KammaRajyamlo Kadapa Reddlu asthe former CM.

Kamma Rajyamlo KadapaReddlu, based on the politicaldevelopments in AndhraPradesh, is slated to be relea-sed on November 29. — PTI

DIL RAJU TO RELEASE RAKSHITSHETTY'S KANNADA FILM IN TELUGU

ne of the most antici-pated Kannada filmsof the year, AvaneSrimannarayana,

starring Kannada sensationRakshit Shetty, will have arelease in Telugu as well. TheTelugu dubbed version hasbeen titled AthadeSrimannarayana and leadingproducer Dil Raju helmedthe dubbing rights.

A period drama set in the’80s, the film features RakshitShetty in a cop avatar, whileLovely fame Shanvi Srivastavis the leading lady. Theshooting has been wrappedup and it is currently in post-production. It will also be

released in Tamil, Malayalamand Hindi on December 27.“The film is high on buzzever since it went to floorslast year. With the trailer setto be dropped later this week,the makers are hopeful it willswell expectations surround-ing it. Dil Raju might deferthe release of his productionventure Iddari Lokam Okatefrom Christmas to facilitatethe release AthadeSrimannarayana in Telugu.The principal cast and crewof the film including theleading faces and the directorSachin Ravi will come downto Hyderabad to promote thefilm,” said a source.

O

F

Dudley

Devi Sri Prasad

Santosh SrinivasDoing Ram Gopal Varma's filmchanged my life: Prabhune

HYDERABAD | TUESDAY | NOVEMBER 26, 2019 sport 12

AFP n MOUNT MAUNGANUI

New Zealand said their comprehen-sive innings victory over Englandwas among their very best after

Neil Wagner’s five-wicket burst sealed thefirst Test at Bay Oval on Monday.

The tireless left-armer took the lasttwo England wickets in successive ballsfor a five-wicket haul and to complete therout by an innings and 65 runs late onthe final day.

While England captain Joe Rootlamented a disappointing batting effort,and the lack of a bowler with Wagner’sapplication, New Zealand skipper KaneWilliamson celebrated his side’s match-defining innings of 615 for nine declared.

“To lose the toss and be 350 behindin the first innings it required somethingspecial,” Williamson said.

“It’s certainly right up there in termsof a tough, grinding Test victory.”

BJ Watling’s 205 and MitchellSantner’s 126 laid the platform for NewZealand’s colossal 262-run first-inningslead.

England, resuming the final day at 55for three and needing to bat through tostumps to save the Test, progressedpatiently to 121 for four before NewZealand removed the last six wickets for76 runs.

Wagner finished with five for 44while Santner took three for 53.

“We saw the wicket deteriorate andknew if you could hit the wicket hard youwould get some variable bounce. Thatallowed us to make the breakthroughs,”Williamson said, admitting that he hadconcerns about how the match would fin-ish.

“England have experience andsome world-class players who’vebatted out draws before. If theywere better than us today theywere going to be able to save it. Itdid come down to the wire.”

‘COULD UUNLEASH MMORE’Root said England did not

help themselves with the waythey batted.

“Clearly some of the shotstoday were not good. Everyone’svery aware of that. You can't faulteffort but I put my hand up as well,that ball was treated with far too muchrespect.”

Root said the England bowlersalso needed to learn from the effortWagner put in.

“He runs in all day and makes sureevery ball means something,” Rootsaid, adding there were times Englandquick Jofra Archer could “unleash a lit-tle bit more”.

“You have to give credit to guys likeNeil Wagner who makes sure he gets the

most out of himself and doesa really good job for his team.”

The lop-sided win putNew Zealand in an unbeatable

position in the two-Test seriesand extended their home streakto a remarkable seven serieswithout defeat.

However, their celebrationswere tempered by injury, withTrent Boult bowling just oneover in the morning beforeleaving the field with a ribproblem and taking no fur-ther part.

Williamson, who hadbeen troubled by a hip injuryin the lead-up to the Test, leftthe field a few overs before

the end clutching his side.The captain was confident

he would be fit for the secondTest while Boult was to under-

go further medical examinationson Tuesday.

The second and final Test startsin Hamilton on Friday.

SRIKANTH PPULLS OOUT OOF PPBL SSEASON 55New Delhi: Ace Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanthon Monday pulled out of the upcoming PremierBadminton League (PBL) to focus on internationalevents ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The 26-year-old from Guntur, who had guided BangaloreRaptors to their maiden title win in the last PBL, willnot feature in the fifth edition scheduled to be heldfrom January 20 to February 9. “It's a tough roadahead. Need to go full throttle and fulfill theexpectations that lie on me. Hence, I won't beplaying PBL this year to focus more onInternational events. Wish @blr_raptors all the verybest and hope for a smashing season this year aswell,” Srikanth wrote on his Twitter handle.

BAILEY TTO BBE AAUS NNEW SSELECTORMelbourne: Former limited-overs captain GeorgeBailey is set to be Australia's new national selectoralongside coach Justin Langer and chairmanTrevor Hohns, according to a report. Bailey, 37, isstill an active cricketer and plies his trade in the BigBash League for Hobart Hurricanes and in theSheffield Shield for Tasmania. According to a reportin ‘The Sydney Morning Herald' and ‘The Age',Bailey will not be the first active cricketer to be anational selector. In the past Don Bradman andMichael Clarke have enjoyed the post while stillbeing the captain of the national team. Bailey, whohas represented Australia in five Tests, 90 ODIs and30 T20s, is yet to call it quits from the game.

IND AARCHERS BBAG RRECURVE BBRONZEKolkata: The embattled Indian archers overcameall odds to ensure two medals in the recurve andcompound mixed event of the Asian ArcheryChampionships. Competing under a neutral flagdue to the suspension of Indian federation, theIndian archers opened their account with a Bronzemedal in the recurve mixed pair event where AtanuDas and Deepika Kumari defeated Yichai Zheng andShaoxuan Wei of China 6-2 without breaking asweat. But it was the compound mixed pair team ofAbhishek Verma and Jyothi Surekha Vennam whoproduced a stunner ousting Korea 159-154 in aone-sided affair to set up a Gold medal clash withChinese Taipei, slated for Wednesday.

CAB PPLANS TTO RREFUND TTICKETSKolkata: With India's maiden Day/Night Testwinding up in less than three days, the CricketAssociation of Bengal (CAB) has decided to refundfans who bought tickets for the fourth and fifthdays. “The process of refunding the amounts forDay 4 and Day 5 Tickets has started. Messageswould be sent to all online transactors who havebooked only for these two days,” the CAB said in astatement. The CAB has promised to also work outa mechanism for refund of tickets sold offline onceits offices reopen on Tuesday. “CAB has alwaysstood by the cricket-loving people and have tried itsbest to provide them with the best of facilities. Thistime too, there would be no exception. It is ourmoral duty to refund amounts of the tickets for thelast two days where no game is being played at all,”CAB secretary Avishek Dalmiya said.

BANEGA PPENALTY SSENDS SSEVILLA TTHIRDMadrid: Ever Banega's first-half penalty provedenough to seal Sevilla a 1-0 win at Real Valladolidon Sunday as Julen Lopetegui's men jumped tothird in the Liga table. Sevilla are unbeaten in sixleague matches since a 4-0 thrashing at Barcelonalast month and trail the reigning champions andReal Madrid by only one point, although they haveplayed a game more. A tight encounter was settledby the only goal in the 13th minute, as Javi Moyanobrought down former Manchester City wingerNolito and Argentinian international Banegadispatched the resulting spot-kick. AGENCIES

SINGLES

IANS n KOLKATA

The cricket-crazy fans in Kolkatacame, they watched and they

applauded. But Indias maiden pink ballTest wouldnt have been possible had itnot been for new BCCI PresidentSourav Ganguly. It was his vision andhe left no stone unturned to ensure thatIndia not only finally played a Day-Night Test, but also organised it in amanner that was nothing short of aspectacle.

Speaking to IANS, during the finalsession on the second day of the Testbetween India and Bangladesh,Ganguly said it almost felt like it was aWorld Cup final being played at the his-toric ground.

“Just take a look around (fans withtheir camera lights on to click pictures).Do you see this? Have you seen this inTest cricket? When was the last time youhad a capacity crowd watching a Testmatch? Feels like it is a World Cup final,”he smiled.

The satisfaction to see his effortsbear fruit was clearly visible but whatthe pink ball Test also did was took himback to the famous 2001 Test betweenIndia and Australia that changed thegraph of Ganguly, the captain.

“Oh! It is an absolutely amazingfeeling. Feels great. Look for yourself.It brings back memories of the 2001 Testmatch if you ask me. This is what Testcricket should be, packed stadiums,” hesaid.

Does it bring joy that his effortresulted in such a beautiful outcomethat even someone like a Rahul Dravidsaid he would have loved to be a partof Day-Night Tests? Ganguly’s joyknew no bounds.

“It is very kind of him. Feels verygood when your teammates compli-ment you. Coming from him, it is spe-cial. I am very happy. Yes, it is a verysatisfying feeling,” he said.

Does he also miss being a part ofthe pink ball era? “You cannot say thatas we have all had our time. When wewere playing, the T20 had just come inand look at how it has spread and nowthis. So you cannot think that way,” hesmiled. Asked if things will only get big-ger and better now that the first pink

ball Test has been played, Gangulydecided to play the waiting game, butwas quick to add that the atmospherewould only get better if oppositions likeEngland, South Africa and Australiawere to play Day-Night Tests in India.

“Too early to talk of the future. Wewill all sit down and discuss the wayahead after this one. But just imaginethe frenzy if you have teams likeEngland, South Africa and Australiaplaying pink ball Tests against India.Think what the crowd will get to wit-ness,” he pointed.

While India decimated Bangladesh,the next challenge in Test cricket willbe slightly tougher against New Zealandas India will be travelling to Kiwiland.But Ganguly is confident that this teamcan deliver.

“I will not compare this bowlingattack with the ones in the past, but thisis a very good attack. New Zealand area good team. At home, in their ownconditions, it will be challenging but Iam hopeful Virat and the boys will dowell there as well,” he said.

Do we see a Day-Night Test on theNew Zealand tour now that Indiahave experience of playing under lightsagainst the pink ball? Ganguly said itwas still early days. “Nothing is decid-ed yet. We still have time for the NewZealand series. Let’s see,” he said.

PTI n KOLKATA

Attributing his recent success toa tweaked bowling grip, India

speedster Umesh Yadav said it hashelped him achieve better controland more consistency in deliver-ing out-swingers.

Yadav finished with match fig-ures of 8/81, which included a five-wicket haul in the second innings.

“Tweaking my bowling griphelped immensely,” Yadav saidduring a conversation with Indiaopener Rohit Sharma on ‘bcci.Tv’.

“My grip was different earlierso one or two balls would swingwhile a couple of them wouldeither get deflected from the legsor run down the leg side forboundaries as byes. So it was dif-ficult to control with this grip.

“So I spoke to my coaches andalso while discussing within our-

PTI n SURAT

Skipper Suryakumar Yadav blazedhis way to an unbeaten 94 as

Mumbai defeated Karnataka byseven wickets in a Group B SuperLeague match of the Syed MushtaqAli Trophy here on Monday to endthe rival’s winning spree.

Mumbai were chasing a stiff172-run target and Surya, who hasbeen in great form, single-handed-ly guided the domestic giants to vic-tory with an over to spare.

Surya (94 not out off 53 balls, 11fours, 4 sixes) walked in to bat afterMumbai were in a spot of bother at44 for 2, losing openers Aditya Tare(12) and Prithvi Shaw (30) and stillneeding over 100 runs to win.

The aggressive right-handersteadied the ship by stitching togeth-er a 46-run stand with Shreyas Iyer(14) for the third wicket.

After Iyer departed, it was Suryashow at the C B Patel Ground as hetoyed with the Karnataka bowlers,who wilted under his blisteringattack.

He hammered 11 fours andhoisted four towering sixes to stamphis class. His 53-ball 94 would havesurely impressed the national selec-tors.

The Mumbai captain thenstrung together a match- winningunbeaten 84-run stand for thefourth wicket with Shivam Dube (22

not out off 18 balls), who played theperfect second fiddle.

Earlier, put into bat, Karnatakaposted a healthy 171 for 6 despitelosing in-form players K L Rahul (0)and skipper Manish Pandey (4)early.

A strokeful 57 off 34 balls byopener Devdutt Padikkal, who

struck four fours and as many sixes,along with a rearguard 71 off just 47balls by Rohan helped Karnatakapost a decent score on the board.

For Mumbai, pacers ShardulThakur (2-29), Shivam Dube (2-39)and left-arm spinner Shams Mulani(1-8) shared the spoils.

This was Karnataka’s first defeatin the Super League stage, andMumbai’s win has opened up thingsin the group.

In the second game, Haryanathrashed Baroda by six wickets androde on fifties by Chaitanya Bishnoi(56) and Shivam Chauhan (50 notout) as they overhauled 139-run tar-get with 15 balls to spare.

In another game, Tamil Nadubeat Punjab by four wickets withspinners M Sai Kishore (3-10) andM Siddharth (3 -9) spinning theirweb around the opposition batsmen.

Meanwhile, in the final game ofthe day, Rajasthan beat Maharashtraby six wickets as they chased the100-run target in 16.2 overs. MahipalLomror top scored with an unbeat-en 35.

Nice guys do come 1st

New Zealand players celebrate the dismissal of Joe Root, right, during play on the final day of the first Test against England at Bay Oval on Monday AP

Archer claims racialabuse by spectatorPTI n WELLINGTON

England pacer Jofra Archer onMonday said he was subjected to

“racial insults” by a spectator on thefinal day, prompting the home boardto apologise to him for the “unaccept-able experience”.

The incident allegedly took placewhen Archer was leaving the field afterthe end of the first Test.

“A bit disturbing hearing racialinsults today whilst battling to helpsave my team. The crowd was beenamazing this week except for that oneguy, @TheBarmyArmy was good asusual also,” the 24-year-old Archerwrote on his Twitter handle.

The Barbados-born English crick-

eter accounted for double centurionBJ Watling (205) and scored 30 from50 balls but could not save his teamfrom going down by an innings and65 runs in Mount Maunganui.

New Zealand Cricket (NZC)issued a statement apologising toArcher for the incident.

“We are shocked and disappoint-ed to hear of the verbal abuse@JofraArcher received after the Testtoday. @englandcricket might be ourrivals but they’re also our friends andracist abuse is never okay!” NZCtweeted.

The NZC said it doesn’t tolerateany kind of abuse and promised toidentify the man and bring him tobook.

D/N Test felt like WorldCup final: Ganguly

BCCI president Sourav Ganguly poses duringpresentation ceremony of Eden Test Instagram

Indian skipper Virat Kohli on Monday admitted that it was almost impossible for even him tooutrun Ravindra Jadeja in the group conditioning sessions. Taking to Twitter, Kohli shared apicture of him running alongside Pant & Jadeja. “Love group conditioning sessions. Andwhen Jaddu is in the group, it's almost impossible to outrun him,”he tweeted Virat /Twitter

Tweaking bowling grip helped Umeshselves, I felt when I hold the ballproperly, I have more control andchances of moving the ball. So myoutswinger became consistent andI could also throw in a fewinswingers after making thatchange.”

Fellow pacer Ishant Sharma,said changing his wrist positionhelped him create angles whichmade life difficult for batsmen,especially left-handers.

“I created angles in my bowl-ing on the basis of my wrist posi-tion. If I come round the wicket tothe left-hander, it would be moredifficult for the batsman,” Ishantsaid.

“Before that, I used to bowlbut I couldn’t get the edge becauseit would land on the off stump andwould go out. Now, I bowl at thestumps, so it becomes difficult forthe batsman.”Ishant Sharma & Umesh Yadav in training AP

Surya lights Mumbai’s fortune in Surat

Suryakumar Yadav in a file picture MI/Twitter

Skipper Yadav’s career-best 94* help his side beat Karnataka by 7 wickets to keep semis hope alive

Haryana’s spin trio of Amit Mishra, Jayant Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal Chahal/Instagram

Wagner’s five-wicket haul on final day guide New Zealand to crush England in lop-sided Test