CAPSULE

PARALYMPICS: DEEPASCRIPTS HISTORY Rio de Janeiro: India's DeepaMalik on Monday created historyby becoming the first-everwoman from the country to win a medal at the Paralympics whenshe bagged a silver in theshotput F-53 event here.

ILLEGAL CONSTRUCTION:KAPIL SHARMA BOOKED Mumbai: In more trouble forstandup comedian Kapil Sharma, who has kicked up arow through his bribe tweet,Oshiwara Police here on Modayregistered an FIR against him forunauthorised construction at hisflat in suburban Goregaon.

‘DETAILS OF RAFALECONTRACT FINALISED’New Delhi: Details of the multi-billion euro contract for 36Rafale fighter aircraft have beenfinalised and the Government is now working on the inter-governmental agreement (IGA)with France.

AAP SUSPENDS MLA FORTICKET SALE ALLEGATIONNew Delhi: The Aam AadmiParty on Monday suspended itsBijwasan MLA DevinderSehrawat, who had accusedparty leaders in Punjab of“exploiting women” in return fortickets, from the primarymembership of the party.

CIVILIAN KILLED, 10 HURTIN GRENADE ATTACKSrinagar: Militants hurled agrenade at a police post inAnanantnag district on Mondaynight, killing a civilian andinjuring 10 people, includingthree policemen. Police said themilitants hurled a grenade at thepolice post in Sherbagh area.

KESTUR VASUKI/ KUMAR CHELLAPPAN nBENGALURU/CHENNAI

Just after the Supreme Court’sverdict on Monday ordering

Karnataka to release 12,000cusecs of water to Tamil Nadutill September 20, protests oversharing Cauvery water escalat-ed and turned violent with inci-dents of attacks on buses,trucks and hotels, businessestablishments reported in boththe States, sparking fresh tensions.

One protester was killedand another injured in policefiring in Bengaluru. TheCentre rushed ten companiescomprising 1,000 personnel ofthe special anti-riot paramili-tary force Rapid Action Force(RAF) to Karnataka to tacklethe violent situation.

The protests turned violentin Bengaluru, Mysuru,Mandya, Hassan, Chamaraja-nagara districts and other partsof Karnataka. Similarly, in TN,groups of unidentified peopleunleashed attacks on businessestablishments owned by peo-ple from Karnataka.

While in Chennai, HotelNew Woodlands, a prominenteating place in the city ownedby Kannadigas on the main DrRadhakrishnan Road was van-dalised by a group of Tamils,elsewhere in TN many vehicles,especially trucks and buses

with Karnataka registrationnumbers were attacked byfarmers’ groups as well as Tamilnationalists. Security has beenbeefed up all over the State andbranches of Karnataka Bankhave been provided police pro-tection round-the-clock.

Policemen have been post-ed in front of residences of emi-nent personalities like film starRajinikanth. Bus and lorry ser-vices between TN and Karna-taka remained suspended.

Reports from the Kerala-TN border also warn of a pos-sibility of a breakdown in lawand order as farmers in TNhave launched a series of agi-

tations against Kerala for thelatter’s move to construct a damacross the Siruvani River.

Ties between AndhraPradesh and TN too are notnormal as the AP Governmentis constructing a check damacross Palar River which isexpected to cut off water sup-ply to three districts of TN.

Meanwhile, the CauverySupervisory Committee thatmet in New Delhi failed toarrive at a decision on quantumof water to be released to TNand other States pursuant to theSC’s order and decided to meetagain on September 19.

Continued on Page 7

SC grants K’taka 20% breather inwater release

RAKESH K SINGH n NEW DELHI

The 22 people missing fromKerala and suspected to

have joined ISIS have reachedthe terror group’s so-calledCaliphate in Afghanistan, asper intelligence inputs. Many ofthem are supposed to beundergoing training under theguidance of dreaded terrorists,said sources.

NIA sources said the 13men, 6 women and three chil-dren had left their houses inKasargod and Pallakad dis-tricts of Kerala between mid-May and first week of July.Since then there is no trace

of them. “All of them had exited

India from Bangalore,Hyderabad or Mumbai air-ports for Kuwait, Dubai,Muscat or Abu Dhabi fromwhere they are learnt to havetravelled to Afghanistan viaIran. One Yasmin MohammadZahid, who was nabbed at theIGI Airport in Delhi whiletrying to f lee India toAfghanistan, is reported tohave given the information,” asenior NIA official said.

Yasmin, 29, was arrested bythe NIA on August 1. Duringher custodial interrogation,Yasmin revealed that her hus-band and co-accused in the ter-ror case, Abdul Rashid, told herin the first week of July that heand other missing personsfrom Kerala had reached theCaliphate in Afghanistan.

Yasmin also revealed that

she had married Rashid, 30, onMay 3 in a nikah ceremonysolemnised over the phone inwhich another co-accusedShihas acted as “wali”(guardian) of the bride, whileanother co-accused Ashfaque

and Yahya acted as witnesses.Thereafter, Abdul Rashid usedto send videos and messages insupport of the Caliphate andAbu Backer al-Baghdadi to her.

Yasmin further disclosedthat Rashid and his first wife

Ayesha were in touch with aUK-based couple who hadconverted to Islam and werespreading messages in supportof ISIS and the Caliphate oversocial networking platform.

Continued on Page 7

22 ‘missing persons’ from Kerala join ISIS ranks in Af

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE nNEW DELHI

The Supreme Court onMonday refused to cancel

its order directing Karnataka tosupply water to Tamil Nadufrom the Cauvery river basinbut agreed to reduce the quan-tum to be released from 15,000cusecs per day to 12,000 cusecsper day till September 20.

Taking up the urgent appli-cation filed by Karnataka on aholiday, a Bench of JusticesDipak Misra and UU Lalitsaid that prevailing violence inthe State cannot be a ground todefy the court order. Asking thepeople of Karnataka to respectlaw and order, the SC asked theState authorities in bothKarnataka and Tamil Nadu toprevent citizens from takinglaw into their own hands.

As the hearing began a lit-tle after 10.30 am, senioradvocate Fali S Narimanopened the argument on Kar-nataka’s application. TheBench was perplexed on howthe State can hide behind theprevailing protests to seekdeferment of the court’s orderfor a week.

The application byKarnatak said, “The applicationis necessitated not merelybecause of the spontaneousagitation in the various parts ofKarnataka including Bangalore,Mandya, Mysore and Hassan inthe Cauvery Basin, which hasparalysed normal life besidesdestroying public and privateproperties (in hundreds ofcrores of rupees), but also hav-ing regard to the ground real-ities of needs and require-ments as stated in the application.”

Continued on Page 7

Inflation sinks to 5.05%, hopes for bank rate cut rise

Stubborn Rajkhowasacked by PresidentPIONEER NEWS SERVICE n NEW DELHI

President Pranab Mukherjee on Mondaygave a marching order to Aruanchal Pradesh

Governor JP Rajkhowa after his refusal to quitthe office. A Rashtrapati Bhavan communiquésaid Rajkhowa “shall cease to hold the office ofthe Governor of Arunachal Pradesh”.

The President hasasked MeghalayaGovernor VShanmuganathan to dis-charge the additionalfunctions of theArunachal Governoruntil regular arrange-ments are made.Rajkhowa, who wasappointed the Governor of Arunachal Pradeshon May 12, 2015, was the first gubernatorialappointee of the Modi Government.

“I want the President to dismiss me. I willnot resign. Let the President express his dis-pleasure. Let the Government use provisions ofArticle 156 of the Constitution,” the Governorhad told a Guwahati-based TV news channel on Monday.

Continued on Page 7

PNS n NEW DELHI

Retail inflation eased to a five-month low andfell to 5.05 per cent in August from 6.07 per

cent in July, raising hopes for an interest rate cutin October when the Reserve Bank of India’s newGovernor Urjit Patel presents his first policyreview. The inflation dipped mainly becausefood prices stabilised; however, index of indus-trial production (IIP) growth contracted to 2.4per cent from 1.95 per cent in July as manu-facturing output fell 3.4 per cent, according tothe Government data released on Monday.

The RBI has set a target of 5 per cent ofretail inflation by March 2017. Former RBIGovernor Raghuram Rajan, whose tenureended on September 4, left interest ratesunchanged last month, flagging upside risks tothe inflation target.

Enthused by moderation in retail inflation,the Finance Ministry expressed hope that theRBI will take into account improvement in theprice situation while deciding on rate cut in itsnext policy review due in October.

Continued on Page 7

VR JAYARAJ n KOCHI

The mystery behind the dis-appearance of 22 people

from Kerala who are reportedto have joined Islamic State(ISIS) camps in Afghanistanhas resurfaced with the fami-ly of one of the young womenin the group receiving a mes-sage saying that she has givenbirth to a baby girl. The fam-ily of another young woman inthe group had received a sim-ilar message in August.

As per the message report-edly sent through Telegram

mobile App, Rifaila, wife ofIjas, a doctor from Padanna,Thrikkarippur in Kerala’sKasaragod district, has givenbirth to a baby girl. The mes-sage was sent to Ijas’s sister byAshfaq, another person whohad gone missing from thesame district.

Ijas, Rifaila and their one-and-a-half-year old son wereamong the 17 people whohad gone missing over threemonths ago from Kasaragoddistrict. Four persons — twoyoung men and their wives —had also gone missing from

Yakkara in Palakkad district.Relatives had earlier said thatRifaila was pregnant whenshe had gone missing.

The place of origin of themessage has not yet been iden-tified but it is presumed that ithad originated in Afghanistan.It is said that the message wassent by Ashfaq from theaccount of Abdul RasheedAbdullah, an engineeringgraduate who is thought to bethe chief coordinator of thegroup that had left Indiaallegedly for joining the ISIS.

Continued on Page 7

‘Gifted-with-baby-girl’ messagesconfirm migration to ‘Caliphate’

Centre rushes 10

RAF companies

to Karnataka as

violence erupts,

1 protester dead

A police officer detains a youth as they walk past Tamil Nadu’s trucks set ablaze by mob in Bengaluru on Monday AP

Happy Eid-ul-Azha

THE PIONEER

WISHES ITS READERS

Fluid

situation

vKarnataka Chief MinisterSiddaramaiah has called anemergency Cabinet meetingon Tuesday to discuss theCauvery issue

vSiddaramaiah has written tohis Tamil Nadu counterpartJ Jayalalithaa seekingprotection for Kannadigasin her State

vHe also assured Jayalalithaathat Tamils in Karnatakawere being ensuredappropriate protection

vMeanwhile, the CauverySupervisory Committee

that met in New Delhi onMonday failed to arrive at adecision on quantum ofwater to be released to TNand other States pursuantto the SC’s order anddecided to meet again onSeptember 19

vTies between AndhraPradesh and TN too are notnormal as the Governmentof Andhra is constructing acheck dam across PalarRiver which is expected toto cut off water supply tothree districts in TN

Wife & co-accusedof a new terrorrecruit spills beans

— File Photo

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RNI No.2016/1957, REGD NO. SSP/LW/NP-34/2016-18

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HAIR COLOUR’

13 VIVACITY

Cauvery keeps TN,Karnataka boiling

HOLIDAY NOTICEThe Press and Offices of ThePioneer will remain closed onTuesday, September 13, 2016, onaccount of Eid-ul-Azha. Therewill, therefore, be no issue of thenewspaper on Wednesday,September 14, 2016.

Akhilesh sacks 2 ministers

facing corruption charges

PNS n LUCKNOW

In an attempt to come cleanbefore the Assembly polls,

Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadavsacked two ministers facingcorruption charges.

The decision came twodays after the Allahabad HighCourt refused to shelve a CBIprobe against illegal mining inUttar Pradesh.

On Monday morning,Mining and Geology MinisterGayatri Prasad Prajapati andstate Minor Irrigation, AnimalHusbandry and Panchayati RajMinister Raj Kishore Singhwere sacked from the ministry.

While Prajapati wasremoved following AllahabadHigh Court order to go for aCBI probe into illegal miningin the state, Singh was sackedfor his involvement in checkdam scam in Pratapgarh, land-grabbing in Basti and also ille-gal mining in Sonebhadraregion.

Both were very close toSamajwadi Party supremoMulayam Singh Yadav.

Yadav Senior, who is inDelhi, feigned ignorance aboutthe move. He claimed that hecame to know about the dis-missal of the ministers from themedia.

A highly-placed source inthe government said that ChiefMinister had kept bothPrajapati and Singh in the darkabout their dismissal. Bothwere informed around 9 am onMonday that they had beensacked. Both tried to contactYadav Senior and later left forNew Delhi.

Prajapati’s mercurial risefrom the Below Poverty Linecard holder to a billionairecaught everyone’s imagination.Complaints were lodged but hemanaged to come clean bypulling the ‘right’ strings at the‘right’ time.

Prajapati is an MLA fromAmethi Assembly segment of

the Amethi Lok Sabha con-stituency represented byCongress vice-president RahulGandhi.

In his affidavit filed duringthe 2002 Assembly polls,Prajapati had valued his assetsat a meagre ̀ 9,436. In the 2012polls, the worth of his proper-ty jumped to `3,71,720. It issaid that his income rose andran into several thousand crorerupees in the last four years.Prajapati owns several bunga-lows, cars, farm houses andbusinesses in the name of hisfamily members.

The minister and his fam-ily members were also report-ed to have got BPL cards madeout for themselves to takeadvantage of Kanya VidyaDhan.

Prajapat i began asMinister of State forIrrigation in February 2013and was moved to the lucra-tive berth of Minister of Statefor Mining under the ChiefMinister, who held the port-folio. In July 2013, the ChiefMinister elevated Prajapati toMinister of State withIndependent Charge and inJanuary 2014, he was made aCabinet minister.

Raj Kishore Singh, an MLAfrom Haraiya seat in Basti, isalso said to be involved in sev-eral scams and land-grabbingcases, causing much embar-rassment to the SamajwadiParty government. Singh’s wifeis the district panchayat chair-person while his brother con-tested the last Lok Sabha pollson SP ticket from Basti.

The Allahabad High Courton July 28 directed the CBI toinvestigate illegal mining acrossthe state and also the role ofgovernment officials in facili-tating it, and submit a reportwithin six weeks. OnSeptember 9, the High Courtrejected an application by thestate government for with-drawal of its order. Raj Kishore Singh

Gayatri Prasad Prajapati

city 02LUCKNOW | TUESDAY | SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

Lucknow (PNS): Chief MinisterAkhilesh Yadav has written a letterto Prime Minister Narendra Modirecommending a CBI probe intowrestler Narsingh Pancham Yadav’sdoping controversy and the way hewas debarred from contesting in theRio Olympics. Yadav has alsoattached the letter given to him bythe wrestler explaining in detailabout the conspiracy.

In his letter to the PM, the CMsaid that Narsingh had won silvermedal in the World WrestlingChampionship at Las Vegas last

year and the UP government hadconferred him with Yash BharatiAward. The Chief Minister said thatin his letter, Narsingh stated that aconspiracy was hatched againsthim by some jealous wrestlers whodid not want him to go to Rio. “Onlya CBI probe can expose the personsbehind this conspiracy hence Irecommend a probe by the centralagency,” he said.

Narsingh and his family alsodemanded a CBI probe after he wasdebarred from contesting in the RioOlympics on charge of doping.

PNS n LUCKNOW

The Bharatiya Janata Party gota shot in the arm when four

sitting legislators of the BahujanSamaj Party joined it onMonday.

Reacting to the develop-ment, BSP chief Mayawati saidthat these were ‘rejected’ MLAsand were denied ticket by theparty.

The four BSP MLAs whojoined the BJP in the presenceof party’s state president KeshavPrasad Maurya are MahaveerRana, Roshan Lal Verma,Harvinder Kumar Sahani aliasRommi Sahani and Om Kumar.

With this, 14 MLAs fromother parties have joined the BJPin the last couple of months andmajority of them are from theBSP.

Mahaveer Rana is MLAfrom Behat Assembly seat in

PREETAM SRIVASTAVA nLUCKNOW

Despite a clean chit fromformer Lokayukta,Justice (Retd) NK

Mehrotra, for possessing dis-proportionate assets, sackedMining Minister GayatriPrasad Prajapati may have todo a lot of explaining to justi-fy his rags to riches story andillegal mining when the CBIstarts the probe.

So far, Prajapati has main-tained that he is not been in anycorruption case and theLokayukta probe has provedhis ‘innocence’. He has alsoclaimed that even the CBI can-not pin him on corruptioncharges.

Social activist NutanThakur, who complainedagainst Prajapati to theLokayukta and moved the HighCourt, claimed that the ChiefMinister’s decision to sack the Mining Minister was tosave the minister from legalaction.

“How can one explain thata man who was a BelowPoverty Line card holder in hisfirst stint as MLA in 2012,turned into a millionaire infour years and has severalindustries, establishments andproperties owned by him or hiskin?” she asked.

Thakur alleged that manyproperties were owned byPrajapati’s driver and otherstaff members, particularly awoman friend.

“During probe, even theformer Lokayukta had foundhow Prajapati was running awell-oiled ‘syndicate’ compris-ing public representatives,media persons, transporters

and officials. The syndicatefacilitated illegal mining andmoney was collected in thename of ‘VIP’, the code for‘extortion’,” she said.

Thakur had earlier givenproperty details of Prajapati, hiswife Maharaji, daughters Sudhaand Ankita (village Parsawa),sons Anurag (Dilkusha Road)and Anil (Indrajeet Kheda,Amethi). She said that theseproperties were brought afterOctober 2013 which pointedthey were procured from

income through illegal mining.She also gave examples of

Lifecare Medical Centre(Pratapgarh, Amethi),Shubhang Exports Limited(Indrajeet Kheda, Amethi) andDecent Constructions(Amethi) that has Prajapati’sson Anil as director.

Besides, she also referred toseven properties of Prajapati’saides, Devatadeen, atMahmudpur, 15 properties ofhis official driver Ramraj and10 properties of private driver

Ram Sahai. She also gavedetails of Prajapati’s threebrothers Jagdish, Chediramand Sriram, being beneficiariesof Antyoday Yojana and point-ed out that the minister and hisbrothers were in the BPL list.

His two sons, Anil andAnurag Prajapati, becamedirectors of a dozen companieswhich came into existence afterPrajapati became a minister.

Thakur alleged thatPrajapati’s sons Anurag andAnil had floated a dozen com-

panies – MGA Colonisers,Desert Contractors, LifecareMedical and Research, SuhagExport, Daya Builders PrivateLimited, Excel Built Tech,Kahana Build Well, MGAHospitality, MSA Infra Venture,MGM Agro Tech, MSGRealtors and MSGAEnterprises since 2013, afterGayatri Prajapati became aminister.

During the Lokayukta’sprobe, both Ram Sahai (driver)and Gudda (woman friend)refused to divulge detailssought from them and insteadquestioned the Lokayukta’sauthority to question them.

Interestingly, not onlyThakur but even Income Taxdepartment confirmed toLokayukta that Ram Sahai hadprocured eight propertiesworth over Rs 77 lakh in twoyears but had not filed anyreturns during this period.

In his report sent to thestate government, theLokayukta had mentioned thatthe charges of disproportionateassets against Prajapati couldnot be ascertained in theabsence of ‘evidence’. However,he mentioned that he did notprobe the ‘illegal mining’charges as it was pending withHigh Court.

With the High Court hard-ening its stance and the CBIstarting a probe into illegalmining, the Chief Ministerconveniently sacked GayatriPrasad Prajapati. Sourcesclaimed that the CBI had col-lected strong evidences of ram-pant ‘illegal mining’ in UP andsoon they would approach theHigh Court for permission toget a case registered and takelegal action.

PNS n LUCKNOW

The Samajwadi Party hasflayed the Bahujan Samaj

Party and the Bharatiya JanataParty for making an issue out ofthe controversial statement ofsenior minister MohammadAzam Khan against Baba SahebBhimrao Ambedkar.

BJP president Amit Shahhas announced to stage a dhar-na in Lucknow on September 16to protest Azam Khan’s deroga-tory remarks against DrAmbedkar.

The ruling SP, which claimsto be the true legatee of DrAmbedkar, alleged that both BJP

Chilli powderbomb hurledat BJP MLA

Lucknow (PNS): Threeyouths hurled chilli powderbomb on Bharatiya Janata PartyMLA from Sadar constituency,Kapil Deo Agarwal, inMuzaffarnagar on Monday.The motive for the bizarreattack was not clear.

The MLA sustainedinjuries in the eyes and wasrushed to a hospital wheredoctors said that there was nodanger to his eyes. The policeregistered a case and were try-ing to take help of close circuittelevision footage to ascertainthe identity of the attackers.

As per reports, the MLAwas meeting local people at hisGandhi Nagar residence onBhopa Road when threeunknown youths on a motorcy-cle came close to him andthrew the chilli powder bomb.The incident sent shock wavesand as the people fled, thesecurity personnel fired in theair assuming that the legislatorwas attacked with a bomb.However, the attackers managedto flee the scene. While thepolice claimed that they were yetto identify the attackers, sourcessaid that the MLA’s staff had dis-closed their identity and thepolice wanted to nab them andextract the motive for the attackbefore disclosing anything.

CM recommends CBI probe

into Narsingh episode

Onus on Prajapati to prove his innocence

Sacking of two ministersan eyewash, says Oppn

Lucknow (PNS): Even asthe Akhilesh Yadav govern-ment tried to project itself as agovernment having zero toler-ance to corruption by sackingtwo ministers, the oppositionparties termed the action as an“eyewash” and demanded thatthe Chief Minister tender hisresignation on moral grounds.

Bharatiya Janata Party statepresident Keshav PrasadMaurya said that if the SP gov-ernment was against corrup-tion, why did it petition theAllahabad High Court to stopa CBI probe into illegal mining.

“The government sackedits corrupt ministers to save itsskin and project itself as clean,”Maurya said in a written state-ment released in Lucknow onMonday.

The BJP leader said thatthe Chief Minister took the

decision after getting a rapfrom the High Court.

“A CM who defends cor-ruption in High Court has noright to continue in power. Heshould resign on moralgrounds,” he said.

BJP state general secretaryVijay Bahadur Pathak said theaction was too late as theseministers had already siphonedoff several thousand crores of rupees from the publicexchequer. “Sacking ministersfive months prior to electionswill not serve any purpose forthe Samajwadi Party as thepeople know whom these min-isters were serving,” he said.

Bahujan Samaj Party statechief Ram Achal Rajbhar saidthe SP would be wiped outbecause people do not like acorrupt government.

“What is more shocking is

that SP national presidentMulayam Singh Yadav knewabout the involvement of theministers in corruption but didnot act against them,” hecharged.

Congress general secre-tary and media committeevice-chairman Maroof Khansaid the sacking of the minis-ters proved that Akhilesh Yadavwas aware of his certain defeatin the coming Assembly polls.

“Such cosmetic action willnot at all change the mindset ofthe people, who have decidedto remove the corrupt SP gov-ernment,” Khan said.

He said that GayatriPrajapati had links withMulayam Singh Yadav as hehad threatened senior IPS offi-cer Amitabh Thakur on phoneleading to registration of an FIRagainst the SP chief.

Saharanpur while Kumar repre-sents the Nataur seat of Bijnorin the Assembly.

Roshan Lal Verma is MLAfrom Tilhar seat inShahjahanpur and HarvinderKumar Sahani represents thePallia constituency inLakhimpur Kheri.

Welcoming the former BSPlegislators in the party, Mauryasaid that the exodus of such alarge number of legislatorsshowed the disenchantment ofthese leaders with Mayawati’spolicies. “Mayawati has becomecash hungry. She wants moneyfor every thing – from distrib-ution of tickets to giving party

posts. She is losing connectwith the people,” the BJP leadersaid and added, “These areleaders who have ears to theground. They know that the BJPhas now become the first choiceof the people. They know thatonly the BJP has policies to takeUP to a new level of develop-ment and have therefore joinedhands with us.”

When asked whether theselegislators would be fielded inthe next Assembly polls, the BJPstate chief said that they had notput any condition for joining theparty. “The BJP ParliamentaryBoard will take a call on givingtickets to them. More senior

leaders from other parties willjoin the BJP very soon,” he said.

Only last month, BSP’s BalaPrasad Awasthi (Mohammadi inLakhimpur) and Rajesh Tripathi(Chillupar, Gorakhpur), SherBahadur (Jalalpur) of SamajwadiParty, Sanjay Prasad Jaiswal(Rudauli, Basti), Vijay Dubey(Khadda, Kushinagar) andMadhuri Verma (Nanpara,

Bahraich) of the Congress hadjoined the BJP outfit.

Later, Congress MLAPradeep Chaudhary and SPMLA Shyam Prakash has alsojoined the BJP.

Earlier, former leader ofopposition in UP Assembly andBSP’s MLA Swami PrasadMaurya had joined the BJP andlater resigned from the House.

Four BSP MLAs join BJP

SP slams BSP, BJP

tirade against Azam

and BSP had pathological hatredfor Azam Khan and the saffronparty always spewed venomagainst him. The SP allegedthat both the parties wanted tocreate anarchy in the state bydeliberately twisting AzamKhan’s statement about DrAmbedkar. The SP said that theBJP was particularly aiding andabetting lawlessness in the stateunder the cover of protests anddemonstrations.

SP spokesman and Cabinetminister Rajendra Choudharysaid here on Monday that DrAmbedkar and his ideologyhad been a natural ally of thesocialists. “During his first termas chief minister, MulayamSingh Yadav had renamed theVidhan Sabha Marg as Dr BRAmbedkar Road and hadlaunched the Ambedkar VillageScheme covering 10,000 vil-lages in the state and AzamKhan, following in the footstepsof Dr Ambedkar, was spear-heading the struggle for socialjustice for emancipation of Dalitsand socially disadvantaged sec-tions of society,” he said.

Alleging that the maximumnumber of atrocities againstDalits took place during the BSPrule in UP, the SP leader said that“BSP chief has always been par-tisan against Muslims as she hadactively campaigned for thenGujarat Chief Minister NarendraModi during the Assembly elec-tions in that state”.

Accusing the BSP and theBJP of indulging in vote bankpolitics, the SP spokesman saidboth these parties were ideolog-ically bankrupt and had noissue to target the SP govern-ment so they were spearheadinga campaign to malign the SPgovernment and advancing theirown vote bank politics.

Printed and Published by Vijay Prakash Singh for and on behalf of CMYK Printech Ltd., 4th Floor, Sahara Shopping Centre, Faizabad Road, Lucknow-226016 and Printed at Tin Tin Printech Pvt Ltd., C-33 Amausi Industrial Area, Nadarganj, Lucknow. Tel: (0522) 2438656 / 9336266608.

Editor: Chandan Mitra. Resident Editor: Vijay Prakash Singh. RNI No. 2016/57. Lucknow Telephones: EPABX: 4036600 Fax: 2345582. Allahabad Office: (95532) 2420818, 2421018, 3290460. Kanpur Office: (95512) 2304006, 2304416. Varanasi Office: (95542) 2414294, 2414295. Delhi

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NOTICE

It is notified for the informa-tion that my original first yearmarksheet roll no. 1110101025pass out architecture, fromBBDU Lucknow year 2016has been actually lost ManavAggarwal S/o Mr. SanjayAggarwal, Flat no. 309C-block silver line appartmentFaizabad road Lucknow.

city 03LUCKNOW | TUESDAY | SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

Eunuch Ravina aka Usmanof Hasanganj was killed for

forcing her male friend to geta sex change surgery andbecome like her. The stunningrevelation surfaced after thearrest of Mohd Yasir ofKhadra, a close friend of thevictim, in Hasanganj. Duringsustained quizzing, Yasir brokedown and owned up his com-plicity in the murder of Ravinawho was found charred todeath with stab injuries at herHasanganj home onSeptember 4.

The police recovered aknife from Yasir allegedly usedfor stabbing the victim beforesetting her afire at her houseon the fateful day.

Yasir confessed that hebecame intimate with Ravinaa few years back and used tofrequent her house where shelived alone. Both used toexchange messages overWhatsApp and also used totalk over the phone. In themeantime, Yasir’s family fixedhis marriage and he starteddistancing himself fromRavina. Yasir claimed thatRavina used to coerce him to

change his sex and became aeunuch. He said that she wasso frenzied while counsellingat times that he started keep-ing a knife with him as a safe-ty precaution.

On the fateful day, Yasirreached Ravina’s house aftershe called up and asked him toreach there. Yasir said thatRavina was in a drunken statewhen he reached her home.After spending some time,Ravina started fiercely arguingwith him pressing that hechange his sex through surgeryand became a eunuch andalso offered to give every-thing she had.

But when Yasir remainednon-committal, an argumentstarted which soon snow-balled. In a paroxysm of rage,Yasir stabbed Ravina with theknife on the chest after whichshe fell on the bed.

Seeing Ravina profusely

bleeding, Yasir got scared. Tomake it up as an accident, Yasirdoused her with petrol takenout from Ravina’s scooty andlater set her afire. He later fledthe scene on Ravina’s scootyand parked it near Kaiserbaghbus stand before leaving for hishouse by an auto.

Yasir’s statements contra-dicted the police version thatRavina had committed suicideand that there were no ante-mortem injuries on the body.

ASP, trans-Gomti,Jaiprakash, who briefed themedia about the arrest, saidthat the police had collectedsample of ash from the victim’scharred body which wouldbe sent for forensic tests toascertain if Yasir had usedkerosene or petrol.

The Additional SP saidthat Yasir admitted to hiscrime on his own. “The nee-dle of suspicion pointedtowards Yasir when call detailswere scanned and he wasfound to be the last caller. Itsurfaced that he broke SIMcards of both his cellphoneswhich deepened the suspi-cion on him. Yasir was thendetained and interrogatedwhere he broke down.

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

As many as eight newdengue cases were report-

ed across various hospitals inLucknow on Monday taking thetotal number of cases to 195.The office of Chief MedicalOfficer (CMO) has opened ahelpline for lodginginputs/complaints pertainingto the dengue treatment.

CMO Dr SNS Yadav saidthat any negligence or exorbi-tant charging by privatepathologies or hospitals wouldbe met with strict action. “If apatient or his/her kin comeacross such problems, they cancall on 0522-2622080 or7839700132 to register theircomplaints,” Yadav said.

Earlier, the CMO met DMSatyendra Singh to discuss thespread of dengue and treatmentfacilities being provided topatients. “Dengue is a notifieddisease and for this theGovernment of India hasalready issued directives onJune 9. A copy of the directiveshas been given to LucknowNursing Home Associationtoo,” he added.

The CMO said that whenthe dengue test card (RDT) dis-played positive, nursing homesshould ensure that the patientwas made to undergo ELISA

test. “If it becomes clear in theELISA test that the patient issuffering from dengue, thenonly should the hospitalsshould declare it,” he pointedout. “The nursing homes havebeen told to provide a list ofpatients testing positive in theELISA test to the CMO officethrough an e-mail latest by 4pm. In case there is a need ofplatelets, it should be provide onthe rates prescribed by NACO.If any dengue patient dies dur-ing treatment, complete med-ical treatment details, alongwith indoor ticket, should besent to the CMO office too,”

said the CMO. “A failure in thecompliance of orders will bedealt with strictly and actionagainst nursing homes be takenincluding the cancellation ofregistration,” warned Dr Yadav.

The nursing homes havebeen asked to make arrange-ments for a separate ward forthe treatment of denguepatients. The beds should beequipped with mosquito netsand the gap between bedsshould be as per prescribednorms. The ELISA test is beingdone free of cost at KGMU,SGPGI and RML Institute ofMedical Sciences.

Lucknow (PNS): District administration offi-cials, including DM Satyendra Singh and SSP ManzilSaini, conferred at the Aishbagh Ramleela audito-rium on Monday to ensure law and order duringEid-ul-Azha. The DM told officials to carry mapsof their respective areas and also conduct micro-planning for any eventuality. He also suggested thatthey could take the help of internet in this con-nection. “Lucknow is a city of ‘adab’ and ‘tehzeeb’and with some precautions peace could be main-tained. Besides making arrangements for sanitation,water supply and power, there should be arrange-ment for waste disposal of animal sacrifice,” headded. SSP Manzil Saini directed her junior col-leagues to report for duty on time and be vigilantthereafter. The cops were instructed to scrutinisebanners, posters, hoardings and wall paintings nearreligious places and remove them immediately ifthey hurt the sentiments of people in any way. Shealso ordered that the availability of equipmentrequired in emergency should be ensured beforehand. The meeting was also attended by ADM-WestJaishankar Dubey, ADM-TG Ashok Kumar, ADM-LA Shatrohan Vaish and other administration andpolice officials.

Lucknow (PNS): Thieves struck at a famoustemple in Indira Nagar (near Samddhipur crossing)and decamped with deities’ adornments and dona-tion box containing more than Rs 50,000 inGhazipur police station area on Sunday night.

Udya Bhan Mishra of Basant Market in sector18 of Indira Nagar looks after the Hanuman tem-ple located in Indira Nagar. On Monday morning,he got a call from some devotees who informed himof the theft. Mishra immediately reached the tem-ple and found the lock at the main gate lying bro-ken. When he entered, he found three crowns miss-ing. He found that the donation box was also miss-ing. “The miscreants uprooted it and fled the scenewith the box,” he told the police.

Investigation officer Madhukant Mishra said,“We will go through the footage of the CCTV toscan the miscreants or those found lurking aroundthe temple at the time of the incident. Right now,we did not get any lead about the miscreants,” hesaid. This is not the first case in which burglarsstruck in the Ghazipur police station area. Earlier,on September 9 night, unidentified miscreants hadstormed the house of BJP leader and MP BrijBhushan Sharan Singh to commit loot. His sonPrateek Bhushan Singh had said that he and his ser-vants caught three persons Devanand Upadhyay,Vipul Upadhyay and Bablu Upadhyay, all ofSultanpur, from the spot and later handed them overto the police. “More that six cases of theft had takenplace at different houses in the past few weeks inGhazipur. In all the incidents, it was found that laxpolice patrolling was a reason behind the spurt inthe theft cases. Despite this, neither the local policenor senior police officials intensified the patrolling,”they lamented. They said theft cases were more scar-ing as there was an equal possibility that the mis-creants might hurt house inmates if they woke uphearing the commotion. “There were instances inwhich thieves attacked family members when theywoke up hearing the commotion. In rural areas,such incidents are very common,” they argued.

Meanwhile, miscreants burgled a house ownedby a store manager of a hotel in Gomti Nagar anddecamped with Rs 6,000 in cash and three mobilephones. The house owner Ajit Kumar Yadavinformed the police that the theft took place onSunday night. Police are investigating the case.

DM, SSP reviewpreps for Bakrid

Preparations underway for Eid-ul-Azha prayers at AishbaghEidgah on Monday Pioneer

Cash, valuables stolen

from city temple

Dengue: Add 8 more cases

Principal secretary, Health, inspecting wards at Balrampur Hospital on Monday

Eunuch was killed for forcing

friend for sex change

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

Alabourer, identified asAshok of Basha village in

Gudamba, ended his life fol-lowing a discord with his wifeon Monday. He was foundhanging from the ceiling witha saree tied around his neck.Police sent the body for autop-sy and started investigations.The cops said Ashok had beenunder depression for the last

few weeks. Meanwhile, uniden-tified miscreants snatched thepurse of a woman, identified asRenu Verma of Mahanagar, onMonday night. The incidenttook place at Wireless crossingwhen the woman was return-ing home. The SHO,Mahanagar, confirmed theincident and said the policeteams were looking for the mis-creants on the basis of detailsgiven by the victim.

Labourer ends life after tiff with wife

city 04LUCKNOW | TUESDAY | SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

The prices of gold has hit anall time high and yet the

city jewellers are not upbeatbecause there is a slump in themarket which is expected toprevail during the festive sea-son in the near future.

Financial experts and jew-ellers believe that the factorsresponsible for keeping thehigh-value transactions at bayin the current times were theIncome Declaration Schemewhich closes on September 30and tax collection at sourcewhere a TCS of one per centwill apply for purchases injewellery made above Rs 2lakh in cash where the buyersalso have to show their PANcards. The owners of jewellerystores, who almost double theirsales per day during the festiveseason , said that they wereplanning to target the segmentwhich goes in for transactionswhich were lower than Rs 2lakh and were creating a vari-ety of designs which would lurethese customers in order toboost their sales in the festive

season.Some corporate and brand-

ed jewellery stores also hopethat they will be getting a goodresponse from the official classwith the Seventh PayCommission ready to be imple-mented in the state.

However, a majority of thetraditional jewellers who havebeen in the business for longsaid that they were not plan-ning to target any segmentbecause most of the highspenders during the festiveseason would follow the wait-and-watch policy instead ofshelling out the money. Theysaid that nothing would workin the present scenario.

Talking to The Pioneer,organising secretary, LucknowSarrafa Association (Chowk),Adheesh Jain said that goldprices had hit the highestalmost after three years. He saidthat the rate of gold as on June1, 2016, was Rs 28,535 per 10grams and its current value wasRs 31,300 per 10 grams. “ If welook at the previous years thengold touched a price of Rs31,300 on August 26, 2012, and

an all time high of Rs 35,074 onAugust 29, 2013,” he said.

Another financial expert,Rakesh Srivastava, said thatgold prices had soared becauseof the declining value of the USdollar. Giving the relationshipbetween the fall of the dollarand the price of gold, he said,“Dollar is a currency of USAand is also an international one.When the dollar slips the oil-buying countries use gold fortransactions there due to whichthe price of this yellow metalincreases”.

Pawan Kumar Tiwari,chairman, Institute of Cost

Accountants of India (LucknowChapter), said that onSeptember 12, the decline inthe value of the dollar contin-ued and it had impacted goldby 0.13 per cent.

Meanwhile, president ofLucknow Sarrafa Association(Chowk) said that the spurt ingold prices which was expect-ed to increase further did notbring in happy tidings for thejewellers. He said that ordi-narily their sales doubled dur-ing the festive season. “Wecan put the sales in the city atRs 1.5 crore for one single dayin the festive season and this

amount gets doubled duringthe festival period,” he said.

“ There is big slump in themarket due to the policies ofthe Central Government’. Itspolicies had hit the real estateand the impact is being seeneverywhere in all the segmentsof the market,” he said.

Pawan Aggarwal, ownerof a well-known jewellery shop,agreed that the market was notbuzzing at all. “The market isnot happening at all. Variousgovernment policies like takinga receipt for purchase of jew-ellery worth Rs 2 lakh have dis-couraged the buyers and is thusimpacting the market. We hopethat the festive and weddingseasons will witness somesales,” he added.

Tewari said that the jew-ellers had been impactedbecause of several reasons.“They are already burdened bythe excise duty of one per centwhich has been levied on jew-ellers having a turnover ofmore than Rs 6 crore, theIncome Tax DeclarationScheme which closes onSeptember 30 and the condi-

tions levied on transactions ofmore than Rs 2 lakh will cast aloop on high-value transac-tions,” he said.

A manager of a well-known corporate jewellerystore on condition of anonymi-ty said that they were focusingon increasing designs in lightweight jewellery. Admittingthat the market was goingslump, he said that they hopedthat the festive season wouldboost their sales.

The traders also admittedthat the recycling in gold wasnot being considered as a goodoption. Puneet Rastogi, from awell- known traditional jew-ellery shop, said that it wasobvious that the purchaserswere following the wait-and-watch policy.

The organising secretary,Lucknow Sarrafa Association,Adheesh Jain, categorically saidthat no effort in terms of newdesigns and offers was going tolure the heavy purchasers. “Hewill not budge for the next sixto seven months for any effortwhich we make in terms ofoffers,” he added.

CM ANNOUNCES `1CRCASH AWARD FOR BHATI

Congratulating Varun SinghBhati for winning bronze medalin high jump in the RioParalympics, 2016, the ChiefMinister announced a cashaward of one crore rupees for hisachievement. In a message,Yadav said that Varun hadbrought laurels to he country aswell as the state. “We congratu-late him for his success,” he said.Varun is a native of Jamalpur vil-lage in Greater Noida.

MAJ GEN SHARMA TAKES CHARGE

Major General VinodSharma assumed the charge ofGeneral Officer Commanding(GOC), Madhya Uttar PradeshSub-Area (MUPSA), Lucknow,and president, CantonmentBoard, recently. Prior to thisappointment, he was DeputyMilitary Secretary in WesternCommand, Chandi Mandir.He was commissioned in theArmoured Corps in December1983. During his illustriouscareer spanning 33 years theGeneral Officer Commandinghas held important posts ,including Staff and Commandtenures in the Rashtriya Riflesin Jammu and Kashmir,instructor at the ArmouredCorps Centre and School,Ahmednagar, Brigade Major inNagaland, General StaffOfficer-1 (Operation) in a divi-sion in Jammu and Kashmir,Military Observer in theUnited Nations Mission in

Congo and in ArmyHeadquarters.

GREETINGSGovernor Ram Naik greet-

ed people of the state on theoccasion of Eid-ul-Azha. In hismessage, the Governor saidthat Eid-ul-Azha was an inspi-ration for people to help thepoor. He urged people to cele-brate the festival in an atmos-phere of brotherhood and har-mony. Chief Minister AkhileshYadav also greeted people andsaid the festival should be cel-ebrated in a cordial manner. Heurged the people to maintaincommunal harmony.

MEETING Under the leadership of

Divisional CommissionerAnoop Chandra Pandey, areview meeting of the progressin the state government’s devel-opment works and welfareschemes will be held onWednesday. All district magis-trates, chief development offi-cers, along with officials ofdepartments concerned willbe present in the meeting.

AWARDAt the 9th Global

Agriculture LeadershipSummit-2016 in New Delhi,UP Governor Ram Naik gaveaway the Research LeadershipAward to the Indian Institute ofSugarcane Research, Lucknow.Director AD Pathak, and prin-cipal scientist at IISR AK Sahreceived the award.

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

Actress Shweta Prasad Basusaid here on Monday that

the historical shows werewatched with a lot of interest bythe audience. The actress, whowill be playing the role of aMagadha princess in the show‘Chandra Nandini,’ said that sheherself keenly watched severalhistorical shows. She was in thecity for the promotion of hernew show and in a chat withThe Pioneer, she said that as awarrior princess, she would beseen indulging in horse-ridingand sword-wielding.

She said that the magnumopus would capture the royalcouple, Chandragupta Mauryaand Nandini's journey whichbegan on the note of hatred andrevenge. This period dramawill see Rajat Tokas play therole of Chandragupta Mauryaand Shweta Basu Prasad that ofNandini. “The world is awareof Chandragupta’s name beingmentioned for uniting theIndian sub-continent into onestate but not many know theother side of his story. For thefirst time ever, throughChandra-Nandini the worldwill get to witness the story ofhis marriage to PrincessNandini,” she added.

Highlighting her character,Shweta said, “This show marksmy comeback on TV after areally long time. The characterof Nandini is that of an

extremely strong princess whois multi-faceted. The story willchronicle the love story of thismighty ruler ChandraguptaMaurya and his princessNandini in whose destiny iswritten hatred. Audiences willget to see a saga like no otherthrough this story.” She saidthat she would describe hercharacter as a strong one. “Thewoman is a strong one whobelieves in love and is marriedto a man who has conqueredher father’s kingdom and doesnot believe in love at all. Shewants to take vengeance for los-ing her kingdom”, she stated.

On being asked the ratio of

fact and fiction in the show, theactress said that it had been fic-tionalised. “The main plot ofhistory is there which is relat-ed to Chandragupta Mauryaand if one goes back to it thenone can see that the princessexisted and was married to theMaurya and the love storywhich will be depicted will bean intense one,” she said.

A member from the chan-nel said, “Keeping the grandstature of the show in mind, themakers have conducted an in-depth study to maintain itsauthenticity. Every minutedetail has been largely moni-tored. Right from the set of theshow to the costumes, the jew-ellery, the language, the dictionand rituals everything has beenfinalised and conceptualisedafter a great amount of hardwork and high-end extensiveresearch of the Mauryan era.The show will certainly depicta royal ensemble on the televi-sion screen along with thestrong and unmatched chem-istry of Chandragupta Mauryaand Nandini.”

This epic tale boasts of tal-ent like Arpith Ranka as RajaPadmanand, Papia Sengupta asMoora, Mansi Sharma asQueen Avantika and Marathiactor, Manoj MurlidharKolhatkar, as Chanakya. Onmedia queries regarding the sexscandal which surfaced in2014 the actress refrained frommaking any comments.

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

ADalit gram pradhan waskilled and his body was

dumped by the roadside inKakori allegedly over a politi-cal rivalry. Dismissing this the-ory, the police said that the vic-tim might have had personalenmity which led to his mur-der. Anil Kumar Gautam ofBadura village of Malihabadwas elected gram pradhan inthe recent election. He left hishouse on Sunday morning topurchase medicines. On reach-ing a neighbouring pan shop,he called his family and saidthat he would return shortly. Alittle later, his younger brotherAjesh got a call from an

acquaintance asking about Aniland said that his phone wasswitched off.

On being informed, theanxious family contacted Anilon his cell phone and laterlodged a report of disappear-ance with the police. While asearch was on, the body of anunidentified man was recov-ered by the roadside in Kakoriaround 11 pm on Sunday. TheKakori police flashed the mes-sage over wireless and werelater contacted by theMalihabad counterparts fordetails. Later, the victim’s fam-ily reached there and identifiedthe body to be that of Anil.

While the police claimedthat the body bore no marks of

injuries, the family claimedthat there were burns on thevictim’s leg and his motorcyclewas missing. They also appre-hended the role of a politicalrival saying that Anil was get-ting life threats for the last fewdays. “He had sought helpform the local police but nohelp came,” they alleged.

The family alleged that thepolice did not take the threatsseriously despite knowing thatAnila held an important post.“The body was shuffled fromone place to another and theprobe was deliberately delayed.The police did not share anyinformation about recovery ofarticles from the body,” the kincomplained.

Lucknow (PNS): The UttarPradesh State AIDS ControlSociety along with the NationalHealth Mission is workingtowards making the state ofUttar Pradesh zero new HIVinfection. Talking to ‘ThePioneer,’ the incharge, ITCTand PPTCT, Preeti Pathak, saidthat they had already launchedthe early infant diagnosis.

“With the early infant diag-nosis in the state we will be ableto control the spread of the HIVinfection in the new generation.This has already been launchedin the form of a project in UttarPradesh. We have trained over400 counsellors at the 395ICTC and PPTCT centres andDBS (Dried Blood Spot) cardshave also been distributed forthis programme,” she said.

Pathak pointed out thatthey had already collected sam-ples and send them to the AllIndia Institute of MedicalSciences, New Delhi. “Whenthe infant is diagnosed that heor she is suffering from HIVthen we can immediately beginthe Nevrapin syrup for 6-12weeks and the infant will bemonitored by the UPSACS forthe next six months,” she said.

Pathak said that uptill nowthey had been able to test sam-ples of only 10 lakh pregnantwomen. “ With the help ofNACO and NHM we will beable to test 50 lakh pregnantwomen. The NACO estimatesthat there will be 3,000 pregnantwomen which will be HIV pos-itive,” she said.

She further said that therewere several factors which wereresponsible for making womenpregnant.

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

Young talent Harsh Nagarsaid here on Monday that

he faced the camera for thefirst time in Hazratganj whenhe shot for the film ‘AlwaysKabhi Kabhi’ directed byRoshan Abbas. The actor wasin the city for the promotion ofhis film ‘Love Day’.

Talking to The Pioneer,Harsh said that he had alwaysbeen interested in acting. “Iwas selected for the film‘Always Kabhi Kabhi’ when Iwas training for acting. I facedthe camera for the first time inHazratganj and also shot inother parts of the city,” he said.

Talking about the newfilm, he said that it was storyof three friends. “There arethree friends and the storyspans the period of theirfriendship from 13-30 years.My character is of one who isthe more sensible mindedamongst others but when oth-ers indulge in somethingwacky then also he cannot say‘no’ but he is the one who fearsthe most when indulging inthese acts,” he added. He saidthat the film might soundsimilar to ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ butwas essentially different.

The actor has beengroomed by Kishore NamitKapoor, Anupam Kher andBarry Jones and has also pur-sued an acting course at NewYork Film Academy. HarshNagar has done more than 50commercials for big brandswith Ranbir Kapoor, Sonam

Kapoor and Pulkit Samrat. Harsh has also acted as a

lead in French film ‘TheQueen’ and now plans to sethis foot in the Bollywood withhis upcoming film ‘Love Day’which will be released inSeptember.

Harsh being a Taekwondoblack belt has a flexible bodyand is also a good dancer. Witha well-built personality and abeautiful face, Harsh has greatacting skills and baritone voice.Apart from this, he is a lawgraduate from the MumbaiUniversity. He also loves to lis-ten to people’s troubles, heartaches and life stories and sel-dom gives them advice.

Lucknow (PNS): LucknowDevelopment Authority Vice-Chairman AK Yadav on Mondaydirected officials and staff mem-bers to prepare duplicate copiesof files missing from the recordroom within the next 10 daysand submit a report.

As per an estimate, 1,500files are missing.

The Vice-Chairman toldofficials at a meeting to collec-tively work for eliminating the

Lucknow (PNS):Demanding information aboutpayments made to privateagency entrusted with the solidwaste management, volunteersof Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)held a demonstration atLucknow MunicipalCorporation (LMC) head-quarters on Monday. The LMCbrass handed over the infor-mation later in the evening.

The AAP workers reachedLMC office and met addition-al municipal commissioner PKSrivastava asking for informa-tion that they had soughtthrough an RTI application.But when asked to wait, theystaged a dharna outside theoffice and refused to leavewithout the information. Theyalso held a demonstration atthe office of environment engi-neer Pankaj Bhushan.

Later, LMC officials calledthe police who asked volunteersto vacate the premises but theyinsisted on meeting theMunicipal Commissioner andgetting the information. Thehigh drama continued for fourhours when they were assuredthat the information would begiven to them by 4 pm.

Later in the evening, LMCofficials provided copies ofinformation sought by districtAAP convenor GauravMaheshwari. The AAP office-bearer said that the reportwould be scrutinised by a teamof volunteers to identify cor-ruption in the solid waste man-agement project.

CITYBRIEFS SCHOOLSCAN

Gold prices all-time high, city jewellers not yet upbeat

harassment of customers bya group of workers. He alsostressed on initiatives toensure that applicants wereable to approach competentofficials instead of middle-men. Yadav asked the jointsecretary to ensure that thefiles were uploaded in thenewly-developed software ina systematic manner so thatcustomers whose originalfiles were lost did not suffer.

Outgoing Vice-Chairman Satyendra Singhhad ordered that all filesrelating to property and othermatters be uploaded andstored in the software. He hadalso banned duplicate files tocheck corruption.

It is a matter of probewhy missing files were notuploaded in the software likeother files. Sources claimedthat it was a game plan adopt-ed by a group of LDA staffextorting money from cus-tomers for making files avail-able. For this, they remain intouch with conduits whointroduce applicants seekingdetails and the status of theirproperty and in turn chargefairly handsome amounts ofmoney.

LDA V-C’s directive to

prepare duplicate

copies of missing files

Dalit gram pradhan killed

over rivalry in Kakori

Shweta Prasad to portray role of

Magadha princess in new show

Actress Shweta Prasad Basu inLucknow on Monday

Faced camera for

the first time in

Hazratganj: Harsh

UPSACS, NHMbid to make UP free from HIV infection

AAP volunteers protest at LMC office

CMS ALUMNAE MAKES IT TO PCS (J)

Ex-student of CityMontessori School, KanpurRoad Campus, Harkiran Kaursecured 34th rank in UP in theprestigious Judicial ServiceExaminations, PCS (J).Harkiran gave credit for hersuccess to the blessings of herparents and the inspirationalacademic atmosphere of theschool.

EID CELEBRATION Delhi Public School organ-

ised a special assembly on theoccasion of Eid-ul-Azha onMonday. It started with a beau-tiful song dedicated to thealmighty. The students enact-ed a skit depicting how goodconquers evil if one is deter-mined to follow the path ofgood. Principal Anthwaladdressed the staff and studentsand conveyed to them how Eidis all about conquering the evilwith good.

LUCKNOW | TUESDAY | SEPTEMBER 13, 2016 nation 05

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj shakes hands with Nepal Foreign Affairs Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat at a meetingin New Delhi on Monday PTI

PNS n NEW DELHI

The BJP on Mondayridiculed the decision of

Uttar Pradesh Chief MinisterAkhilesh Yadav to sack twoMinisters facing corruptioncharges, saying it was an eye-wash after the High Courtordered a CBI probe into thealleged mining scandal.

Pointing out that theCourt’s observation implicatestop functionaries of the StateGovernment in the miningscam, the BJP said it amountsto a slap on the face of theYadav Government.

The two sacked UPMinisters, Gayatri Prajapatiand Rajkishore Singh, allegedBJP national secretary ShrikantSharma collected money andwere close to the ChiefMinister.

Sharma charged theAkhilesh Government of “loot-ing the entire State” throughPrajapati who is a mere pawnand “the real face is that ofAkhilesh Yadav and his fami-ly”. The BJP Secretary said it isto save the family that Akhileshsacked the two Ministers.

The BJP leader said all theseyears, the Akhilesh Governmentprotected these mafias whowere serving the family andearning money on behalf of theChief Minister. He said the SPleaders, workers and Ministersgrabbed the Government land

wherever it was possible. TheBJP leader cited the example of‘Jawahar Bagh scandal’ to provethat SP had close nexus withland mafia.

At a Press conference,Sharma said the decision to sackthe Ministers has come too latein the day after the SamajwadiParty Government “looted” theState for five years and proved tobe a “failure on all fronts”.

He said the court hadrejected the Government’s con-tention that a CBI probe wasnot required and observed that“those in the Government alsoseemed to be involved in this”.If Yadav has any sense ofmorality, he should resign,Sharma demanded.

“After looting the State forfive years the Chief Minister isdoing it for publicity in TV andradio. It will be an unsuccessfulattempt to cover up the failureof corrupt Government underwhich crime ruled the roost andeducation, health and road sec-tors collapsed,” he said.

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE nNEW DELHI

The much awaited Rafalefighter jet deal with France

is in the final stages of contractnegotiations and is expected tobe inked soon. TheGovernment-to-Governmentcontract is expected to bearound 7.8 billion Euros for 36jets manufactured by Frenchaircraft manufacturer Dassault.The first lot of jets will join ser-vice two years from the date ofsigning the contract which hasto be given the nod by CabinetCommittee on Security (CCS)headed by the Prime Minister.

“Finer points of the contractare being worked out. The dealis almost in final stages,” Govern-ment sources said on Monday.Officials of Defence Ministries ofIndia and France besides repre-sentatives of Dassault areengaged in the negotiations,they said, adding the clearancefor the deal could be announcedsoon. However, officials refrainedfrom giving a time frame for theannouncement.

Last month, a report sub-mitted by the team negotiatingthe proposed contract wascleared by the Defence Ministry.

The file was then sent to thePrime Minister’s Office (PMO)for review and clearance.

Sources said the PMO hadsought from the DefenceMinistry some clarificationson the life cycle costs and unitprice of the aircraft which wasreplied to. French sources said

they are expecting a positivedevelopment this month andtheir officials were camping inNew Delhi.

Prime Minister NarendraModi during his visit to Francein April last year announcedthat India will purchase 36Rafale jets in a Government-to-

Government contract. Soonafter this development, theDefence Ministry scrapped anearlier ongoing process to pur-chase 126 Rafale fighter planes.As per that proposal, while 18jets were to be bought off theshelf, the HindustanAeronautics Limited (HAL)

was the manufacture theremaining 108 planes underlicenced production. The dealcould not go through due todifference over cost and otherrelated issues between Indiaand the French manufacturer.

The weapon systems, partof the deal, will also include thenew-age, beyond visual rangemissile, Meteor, and Israelihelmet mounted display.

The total price of the dealwas brought down from near-ly 10 billion euros, as sought ini-tially, due to various reasonsincluding tough negotiation byIndia, the discount offered bythe French Government andreworking of some of the cri-teria. The French also agreed tothe 50 per cent off set clause assought by India. It entails, theFrench investing 50 per cent ofthe contract amount into theIndian Defence industry.

France has also offered tocollaborate in developing andmanufacturing fighter jet enginefor indigenously designed andbuilt Tejas fighter jet. Indian sci-entists are yet to make a break-through in successfully devel-oping the Kaveri engine. Thisproject was sanctioned morethan 20 years back.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Government’s plan tomake available drinking

water through solar energybased dual pumps in remoteareas in various States is movingat a snail pace. The scheme wasto mainly cover Naxal-domi-nated areas, tribal areas andremote areas of different States.

The Union Ministry ofDrinking Water and Sanitationstarted the scheme for instal-lation of solar pumps in 88identified Left WingExtremism (LWE) affected dis-tricts of ten States.

These were AndhraPradesh, Bihar, Telangana,Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand,Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, UttarPradesh, Maharashtra andWest Bengal.

For this, `221.30 crore wasallocated from National CleanEnergy Fund (NCEF) under theFinance Ministry with a target of11,068 such schemes.

The scheme has been co-funded with the assistance ofNCEF which contributed 40per cent of the fund while thebalance i.e. 60 per cent havebeen shared equally betweenNational Rural Drinking WaterProgramme (NRDWP) cen-tral and State shares.

However, so far as on July26, 2016, just 8,967 solar powerpumps have been installed

against the target 11,068. (See box).

The Ministry’s similarscheme launched for installa-tion of such pumps across thecountry with focus on tribal,remote and thinly populatedhabitations has not shownimpressive results.

The scheme has been takenup with the collaboration ofMinistry of New andRenewable Energy (MNRE).

For this, 17 States havebeen given a target of 15,400.However, as per the latest dataavailable from the Ministry, just5,004 units have been installedagainst the target 15,400. ManyStates like Tamil Nadu, Gujarat,Haryana and Karnataka, not asingle solar pump has beeninstalled.

In rural areas particularlyin some seasons when there isfrequent power failure and

people face lot of hardship forcollecting potable drinkingwater, solar energy based dualpump drinking water schemeis considered the most suitableoption. In this scheme a solarenergy based s pump isinstalled in the bore well as wellas a hand pump is fitted. Sowhen there is no solar poweravailable during rainy dayspeople can collect water fromhand pumps.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The National Green Tribunal(NGT) has issued notices to

Ministries of Water Resourcesand Environment and others inconnection with the proposedproject of Inland WaterwaysAuthority of India (IWAI), seek-ing permission to constructwater taxi project on Yamuna.

The proposed NationalWaterway 110 will be used forshipping and navigation ofwater transport facility fromWazirabad to Fatehpur Jat inaccordance with the IWAI Act.

While taking up a hearingon the “Maily se Nirmal YamunaRevitalisation Project 2017”, thetribunal had earlier issued com-prehensive directions on thedemarcation of the flood plainsof river Yamuna. While passingthe directions, the Tribunal hadalso prohibited constructionactivity in the demarcated flood-plain of Yamuna.

In the wake of this order,the applicant IWAI sought thepermission of NGT for thedevelopment of an environ-ment friendly and compli-mentary water transportationin the Delhi stretch of Yamuna.

In its plea, the IWAI said ithas conducted pre-feasibilitystudy through a reputed con-

sultant for the integrated devel-opment of Yamuna to enablenavigation and to develop watertransport facilities in the Delhiregion (Palla-Wazirabd-Okhla)which has revealed that watertaxi, ferry options and recreationactivities are the most feasibleand environmentally sustainablefor the said stretch.

Meanwhile, the proposalof the project involves develop-ment of five floating termi-nals/jetty like structures whichwould be anchored by cables.These jetties will be less than the20,000 sq metre each structures.

As per the plea, these float-ing terminals may be deployedand withdrawn at will and theeffect on the flood plain will benegligible. Approach roads at

these five terminals, would bekuchcha roads and developedwithout any tarred or perma-nent material. IWAI proposes toprovide e-rickshaws for ensur-ing the connectivity from theapproach road to the terminal.

Further, spaces will bemarked for parking and noparking spaces are planned inthe vicinity of the floodplains.A waiting area with toilets willbe constructed on makeshiftbasis using a steel shed sup-ported by shafts. The pleaadded maintenance dredgingwill be undertaken from timeto time to ensure assured depthof the river stretch of 16 kmsfor light moving vessels andalso for the terminals to themain channels.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Centre on Mondayapproved financial schemes

to execute major educationalreforms in the higher and tech-nical education sector. While itwill soon set up a HigherEducation Financing Agency(HEFA) to boost research-ori-ented infrastructure for pre-miere institutions like IITs, NITsand IIMs, a Technical EducationQuality ImprovementProgramme (TEQIP) wouldalso be launched with an aim toraise standards in educationalinstitutions of low income States,hill States, North-East andAndaman and Nicobar islands.

HEFA will be set to providefunds up to `20,000 crore forbuilding research-orientedinfrastructure at IITs, IIMs andother centres of higher educa-tion. The HRD Ministry’s pro-posal to this effect was clearedat a meeting of the UnionCabinet chaired by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi.

HRD Minister PrakashJavadekar said HEFA would bejointly promoted by an identifiedpromoter and his Ministry withan authorised capital of `2,000crore of which Governmentequity would be `1,000 crore.

Announcing the Cabinetdecision on TEQIP, Javadekarsaid that the focus in this phasewould be on seven low-incomeStates (Bihar, Chhattisgarh,Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh,Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh), 3hill States (Himachal Pradesh,J&K and Uttarakhand), 8Northeastern States (ArunachalPradesh, Assam, Manipur,Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland,Sikkim and Tripura) andAndaman and Nicobar Islands.

The HEFA would beformed as a Special ProjectVehicle (SPV) with a PSUBank/Government-ownedNBFC as promoter and itwould leverage the equity toraise up to `20,000 crore forfunding infrastructure projectsand development of world classlaboratories in institutions likeIITs, IIMs and NITs etc.,Javadekar said.

HEFA would also mobilise

Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR) funds from PSUs andCorporates, which would bereleased for promoting researchand innovation in these institu-tions on grant basis, a statementreleased by the Ministry said.

The Government wouldservice the interest portionthrough regular Plan assis-tance. All Centrally-fundedhigher education institutionswould be eligible for joining theHEFA as its members. Eachmember institution would beeligible for a credit limit asdecided by HEFA based on theamount agreed to be escrowedfrom the internal accruals, saidan HRD Ministry statement.

“If a project is completedbefore time, we will provide abonus and if it is not complet-ed as per schedule, there can bea penalty for the entity con-cerned,” Javadekar said.

The Cabinet Committee

on Economic Affairs alsoapproved the proposal for ini-tiation of the 3rd Phase ofTEQIP, which will be imple-mented as a ‘Central SectorScheme’ with total project out-lay of `3,600 crore.

The HRD Ministry in astatement said that education-al institutions will be chosen onthe basis of a challenge modelike the competition that washeld for cities under theSwachchh Bharat scheme.

Javadekar said that in thefirst two phases of TEQIP,southern and western Stateshad benefited a lot so the focusis going to be on some otherStates in the third phase.

According to a statementreleased by the HRD Ministry,the project would be initiatedwith a cost of ̀ 2,660 crore, withthe possibility of additionalfinancing of `940 crore at later stage.

New Delhi: India and Russiawill review the status of bilat-eral ties on Tuesday ahead ofthe Russian President VladimirPutin’s visit next month.

The discussions will bepart of the 22nd Session of theIndia-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission(IRIGC-TEC) where ExternalAffairs Minister Sushma Swarajwill lead the Indian delegationwhile Dmitry OlegovichRogozin, Deputy Chairman,will head the Russian side.

Asserting that India andRussia share a special and priv-ileged strategic partnership,External Affairs Ministry saidSwaraj and Rogozin wouldreview the work of variousworking groups and subgroupsunder the IRIGC-TEC mecha-nism and discuss the prepara-tions for the forthcoming visitof Putin. Putin will be travellingto India in October for BRICSSummit and will also hold abilateral Summit with PrimeMinister Narendra Modi.

The last meeting of India-Russia Inter-GovernmentalCommission on Trade,Economic Scientific, Techno-logical and Cultural Cooper-ation was held in Moscow inOctober 2015. PNS

Rafale deal to be a reality soon

First lot of jets to join service two years from date of signing contract

Educational reforms: Govt clears schemes

v The contract is expected to be around 7.8 billionEuros for 36 jets manufactured by Frenchaircraft manufacturer Dassault

v The weapon systems, part of the deal, will alsoinclude the new-age, beyond visual rangemissile, Meteor, and Israeli helmet mounteddisplay

v The French also agreed to the 50 percent off set clause as sought byIndia. It entails, the French

investing 50 per cent of the contract amountinto the Indian Defence industry

v France also offered to collaborate indeveloping and manufacturing fighter jetengine for indigenously designed and builtTejas fighter jet

v Indian scientists are yet to make abreakthrough in successfully developing theKaveri engine. This project was sanctionedmore than 20 years back

HITTING THEBULLSEYE

Cabinet

nod

q Higher Education FinancingAgency (HEFA) soon to boostresearch-oriented infrastructurefor premiere institutions likeIITs, NITs and IIMs

q A Technical Education QualityImprovement Programme wouldalso be launched with an aim to raise standards ineducational institutions of lowincome States, hill States,North-East and Andaman andNicobar islands

q The HRD Ministry’s proposalto this effect was cleared at ameeting of the Union Cabinetchaired by PM Narendra Modi

Union HRD MinisterPrakash Javadekaraddresses media in NewDelhi on Monday PTI

Sacking of twoMinisters eyewashby Akhilesh: BJP

Pointing out that theCourt's observation

implicates topfunctionaries of theState Government inthe mining scam, the

BJP said it amounts toa slap on the face of

the Yadav Government

Drinking water project moving at snail’s pace

State Target Achievement

Andhra Pradesh 219 48

Bihar 281 0

Chhattisgarh 2,014 1,994

Jharkhand 2,249 1,662

Madhya Pradesh 1,403 964

Maharashtra 80 20

Odisha 3,696 3,721

Telangana 101 33

Uttar Pradesh 201 173

West Bengal 824 352

Total 11,068 8,967

SCHEME WITH ASSISTANCE FROM NCEF

NGT notice to Centre overwater taxi project on Yamuna

India, Russia to

review bilateral

ties ahead of

Putin’s visit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Punjab Governor VP Singh Badnore at a meeting in New Delhi on Monday PTI

nation 06LUCKNOW | TUESDAY | SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

TN RAGHUNATHA n MUMBAI

Mukesh Ambani-headedReliance industries Ltd

(RIL) figures in the defaulters’list of the MumbaiMetropolitan RegionDevelopment Authority(MMRDA) for its failure toclear premium charges to thetune `1576. 90 crore despiteextension in payment dead-lines, for three plots of landleased out to it by the State-runundertaking at the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) innorth-central Mumbai.

As per the list of defaultersamong different categories ofits lease holders made availableto RTI activist Anil Galgali, var-ious private organizationlessees owe premium charges tothe tune of `1,628.59 crore forthe plots of land allotted tothem at the BKC. Of them, RILowes a maximum of ̀ 1,576. 90crore as premium charges fortwo plots of land allotted to itby the MMRDA.

Of the total amount of`2,055. 56 crore payable toMMRDA for 15 plots of landleased out to various privateorganisations, a majority ofprivate organisations have paidthe premium charges —amounting to the tune of ̀ 426crore to the State-run under-taking. Among the defaultersare RIL and Indian NewspaperSociety (INS). The INS owes`23.68 crore to the MMRDA.

Of the three plots leasedout to it, the RIL has cleared asmall amount of `4.94 lakhagainst lease of plot no G/RG-1A allotted to it. Despite theMMRDA having extended the

deadline for clearing the duesfrom September 1, 2010 toAugust 31, 2016, RIL owes asmuch as `1,187.59 crore forplot number G/C- 64, while theMukesh Ambani owes as muchas `389.31 crore with respect toplot number G/C-66 for whichthe deadline for clearance ofdues had been extended fromJuly 15, 2012 to August 20,2015.

In the case of plot nosG/RG-1A and number G/C-66,the RIL has completed con-struction, while it is still tocomplete its construction in thecase of plot number G/C- 64.

Having clinched the landdeal with the MMRDA inFebruary 2006, the RIL hadbegun the work on set up theDhirubhai AmbaniInternational Convention andExhibition Centre (DAICEC)at BKC in mid 2006. The lead-ing corporate house wanted tolaunch DACEC by 2009.

Billed as the single largestconvention being set up in thecountry, the DAICEC involvesconstruction of four buildingsincluding a Convention Center,

an Exhibition hall, and aTheatre in a 75,000-square-meter plot in the center ofMumbai. The Convention andExhibition Centre will includeretail space, service apartmentsand hospitality facilities.

Among other privatelessees, Naman Hotels has paid`8.76 crore as against `32.52crore payable to MMRDA.“The MMRDA has withheldthe part OC for the non pay-ment. The INS has anOutstanding of `28.12 crore,after it paid `2. 65 crore,"Galgali said.

From the Government sec-tor, `27.63 crore is due fromthe Commissioner of IncomeTax for two different plots. Ithas completed the constructionon plot G/C -41 to 43 and owes`5 lakhs 56 thousand 59 againstit. Whereas it has still to com-plete the construction on plotG/R 41 to 43. An amount of ̀ 7crores 21 lakhs 10 thousand647 is pending from theMaharashtra Maritime Board.

The other Governmentand private organisations likeCBI, ICAI, Regional PassportOffice, Accountant General,Commissioner of Labour,Bank of India, PNB, CanaraBank, Oriental Bank ofCommerce, Bank of Baroda,ONGC, Indian OilCorporation Ltd, IDBI, TataCommunication, PariniDevelopers Pvt Ltd, TCGInfrastructure Holdings PvtLtd, EIH Ltd, Jet Airways Ltd,Raghuleela, Starlite systemsLLP, Naman BKC HousingSociety etc have paid theirpremium charges for the plotsof land allotted to them.

FAIZAN AHMAD n PATNA

The political scenario is sud-denly taking a turn in Bihar

with the two major partners ofthe ruling coalition heading fora bitter verbal duel since theday the RJD’s strongman andfour time Siwan MPMohammad Shahabuddin isreleased from jail after 11 years.His very first comment thatNitish Kumar was the CM ofcircumstances and other relat-ed comments from him andsenior most RJD leaderRaghubansh Prasad Singh cre-ated a such a storm in the Mahagathbandhan that theOpposition parties started visu-alising that the allianceGovernment was now headingfor a clash and on verge of theclosure of the chapter of theirnine month old bonhomie.

Shahabuddin’s stingingremarks were so painful thateven CM Nitish Kumar had toreact and then senior leaders ofJD(U) jumped into wordy duelto warn the RJD leaders. PostNitish’s assertion that his man-date was to serve the peopleand not to take notice or reactto utterances by somebody, histwo senior Ministers BijendraPrasad Yadav and Rajiv RanjanSingh Lalan on Monday issueda strongly worded advisory toRJD supremo Lalu Prasad tokeep his men in control andensure that everybody in thealliance should adhere to theprinciples of coalition.

Energy Minister Yadav andwater resources developmentMinister Lalan, both formerState presidents of JD(U) at ajoint presser lashed out at RJDnational vice presidentRaghubansh Prasad Singh, aformer Union Minister, andappealed to Lalu to restrain

him from issuing “highly objec-tionable” and below standardstatements in order to maintainRaj Dharma and save theGovernment from uncalled forembarrassment.

“His tone is more ven-omous than that of BJP leaders.If he has any problem he shouldbetter speak in party forum. Hisstatements are sending verywrong message and no coalitionwill allow such liberty to any-one,” said Yadav. “We havealliance under some mutualagreement and nobody shouldbe allowed to cross theLakshman Rekha,” added Lalan,

However, the two leadersdid not say anything with clar-ity on repeated queries if theGovernment would challengethe Patna High Court’s ordergranting bail to Shahabuddin.“The law will take its owncourse of action,” was theirreply. Lalan added that chal-lenging the order in the high-est court was a legal procedureand might take some time.

On slapping Crime ControlAct against the released RJDleader, Lalan quoted a highcourt ruling and said on thepretext of some old case, CCAct could not be invoked.

Both the Ministers refusedto mention name ofShahabuddin even once andsaid their party did not takenotice of his utterances so noquestion of commenting overit. On being asked aboutShahabuddin, Yadav quipped,“Who is he? Are you talkingabout the man who is releasedon bail after 11 years?Hundreds of people go andcome out of jail. We are notsupposed to react on theircomments.”

Asked about the fissures inthe grand alliance, Lalu’s sonand Deputy CM TejashwiPrasad Yadav reacted, “Ouralliance is as strong asHimalaya and no force canshake it.”

Shahabuddin, who is stay-ing at his ancestral home at

Pratappur village in Siwan,also toned down his offensiveand said that the coalitionGovernment would completeits full term. He also tried toexplain what he meant bycalling Nitish a CM of cir-

cumstances. “My statementwas wrongly interpreted. WhatI meant to say that beforeAssembly polls there had beena situation wherein we cametogether to stop the BJP,” hesaid.

JD(U) asks Lalu to rein in RJD leaders

An NDA delegation led by BJP leader Sushil Modi, Nand Kishore Yadav, PremKumar coming out after meeting Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind over granting ofbail to former RJD MP Mohammad Shahabuddin in Patna on Monday PTI

PNS n PATNA

The NDA on Mondaydemanded slapping of

Control of Crimes Act (CCA)against former RJD MPMohammad Shahabuddinwho was released from jail onSaturday and said he should beexterned from Siwan.

A delegation of BJP,Hindustani Awam Morcha andRLSP called on GovernorRamnath Kovind and submitteda memorandum making theseand other demands. BJP leaderSushil Kumar Modi who led thedelegation said they soughtGovernor’s direction to the StateGovernment for invoking CCAagainst RJD strongman to puthim behind bars again. “Anatmosphere of fear has grippedBihar after his release from jailafter 11 years,” he said.

Shahabuddin was grantedbail by Patna High Court andwas released from Bhagalpurcentral jail on Saturday.

Modi said the Governorpromised to look into thematter under theConstitutional framework.The BJP leader said theGovernment should invokeprovisions of CCA to restorefaith of the people in law and

order. He reminded thatGovernment has alreadyinvoked CCA against formerJD(U) and now IndependentMLA Anant Singh.

“Even if it was not possi-ble to invoked CCA againstRJD leader for some proce-dural reasons, he should bekept away from Bihar andbrought back only to standtrial in the cases against him,”the former Deputy CM Modidemanded.

Modi accused the StateGovernment for paving way forthe release of Shahabuddin andsaid it deliberately delayed trialin one of the cases for which thePatna High Court had directedto complete trial in ninemonths. “The Governmentshould set up a cell in the policedepartment under an IG rankofficer to monitor trial of thecases in a time bound manner,”he demanded.

The NDA has decided tohold protest dharna in Patnaon September 14 against theState Government’s role in therelease of Shahabuddin. StateBP president Mangal Pandeysaid in each district head-quarter similar protest marchand dharna would be organ-ised on September 15.

NDA demands CCA

against Shahabuddin

RIL owes `1,576 crore to

Maha development body

BRIBE TWEET ROW: MNS, BJPTURN UP HEAT ON KAPIL

Sonowal lays foundation stoneof doubling of railway line

Kolkata: A horse died after being hit by a vehicle on Red Roadarea of the city, police said.

The incident happened at around 6.58 am when a stray horsewas hit by an unidentified car on the Red Road, following whichit died on the spot, a senior officer of Kolkata Police said.

The driver fled from the scene but was later detained andwas found to be a juvenile, he said.

As per law, matter is being referred to Juvenile Justice Boardand a case was indexed against him under IPC Sections 279 and429. PTI

HORSE DIES IN HIT-AND-RUN CASE

U.P. POWER TRANS-MISSION CORPORA-TION LTD. TENDER

NOTICE Following sealedTenders are invited from theexperienced/reputed contrac-tors for the execution of follow-ing works and Manufacturers/suppliers for supply of followingmaterial on the prescribed ten-der forms which will be obtainedon payment of Tender Cost.1. Short Term Tender No.129/AETC/2016-17:- Operation &routine maintenace of 132/33KV2x20MVA S/S, Rani Ki Saraiunder ETD, Azamgarh. EarnestMoney: Rs. 21,000.00 (Rs,Twenty One Thousand) only.Tender Cost: Rs. 2415.00 (Rs.Two Thousand Four HundredFifteen) only. Earnest money willbe in shape of FDR/CDR/DDduly pledged in favour ofSuperintending Engineer,Electy.Transmission Circle,Azamgarh. Documents of ShortTerm Tender No. 129 will be pur-chased upto 29.09.2016 andcomplete Tender will be accept-ed upto 15.00 Hrs. of30.09.2016 in the office ofundersigned and will be opened on same day at 16:00 hrs.Please visit our web sitewww.upptcl.org for details/download and for any other cor-rections/amendments/modifica-tion extension till the date ofsumbmission of tender.Superintending Engineer(Trans.) Hafizpur AzamgarhNo. 2093 Date 12.9.2016Save Electricity in the interestof nation.

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TN RAGHUNATHA n MUMBAI

Controversial stand-up come-dian Kapil Sharma on

Monday came under immensepressure from the OppositionMNS and ruling BJP to reveal thenames of the BrihanmumbaiMunicipal Corporation (BMC)officials who had allegedlydemanded `5 lakh bribe fromhim apparently to regularize the“illegal” construction undertak-en at his Andheri (west) rowhouse.

While the MNS’ group leaderin the BMC Sandeep Deshpandelodged a complaint againstSharma with the Versova policestation under Section 176 of IPCfor his failure to reveal the namesof civic officials who haddemanded bribe from him, BJP’sMLA Ram Kadam and his sup-porters staged a protest in frontof Oshiwara police stationdemanding revelation of thenames of BMC officials aboutwhom the popular TV host hadspoken about.

The twin developmentscame down on a day when the

BMC, which has come under fire in thewake of Sharma’s much-discussedbribe tweet, came on a day when theBMC enlarged the scope of its crack-down against unauthorized construc-tions to look into large-scale majoralterations allegedly carried out bySharma, actor Infran Khan and othersin another building at Goregaon andturned up heat on film and conversionsof residential homes into studios atVersova’s Aaram Nagar locality innorth Mumbai.

Talking to media persons after fil-ing a complaint against Sharma, MNS’Deshpande said, “Though my advocate,I filed a complaint against the TV hostunder Section 176 of IPC for failure tolodge a complaint against the civic offi-cials who had demanded bribe fromhim”.

“Since the BMC officials are pub-lic servants, their act of demanding abribe amounts to an offence underSection 36 of Cr PC. It is a duty of aperson to lodge a complaint against thatpublic servant with the authority con-cerned, and if he fails to perform to doso under Section 176 of IPC, it amountsto an offence,” Deshpande said.

Simultaneously, BJP legislator RamKadam who had earlier filed a com-plaint with the cyber cell of theMumbai police on Friday within hoursafter Sharma put out two controversialtweets, staged a protest along with hissupporters in front of the Oshiwarapolice station, demanding that the TVhost reveal the names of the BMC offi-cials who had demanded bribe fromhim.

The complaint filed by the MNScame on the heels of an applicationmade by advovate Abha Singhdemanding registration of an FIRagainst Sharma for alleged violations athis Andheri (west) row house.

It may be recalled that a fierce con-troversy had broke after Sharma hadstirred up the hornet’s nest through histwo controversial tweets to the Prime

Minister that read: Yeh hain aapkeachhe din ? @narendramodi”… I ampaying 15 cr income tax from last 5 yearn still i have to pay 5 lacs bribe to BMCoffice for making my office @naren-dramodi”.

Meanwhile, the BMC is looking intothe major structural alterations made bySharma, actor Irfan Khan and otherswho own flats in a building developedby M/s Dev Land and Housing PrivateLimited. Sharma, Irfan and three otherindividual flat owners have been servednotices by the BMC for alleged viola-tion of building norms. The developer,who continues to possess 10 flats in thebuilding, has also been issued a notice.Incidentally, this building was issued anOccupation Certificate (OC) by theBMC in 2013.

In a related development, the BMCis considering acting against at leastunauthorized construction and majoralternations made residential premis-es owners at Oshivara’s Aaram Nagarlocality in line with the a verdict givenby the Bombay High Court inDecember 2015. The BMC has sincethen pulled down 75 illegal structures.On its part, the State-run MaharashtraHousing And Development Authority(MHADA), which owns the land, hadpaid Rs 70 lakh to the BMC for under-taking demolitions.

This locality houses several suchresidential premises which have beenillegally converted into studios, whereseveral TV serials and commercials areshot on a day-to day basis.

According to a BMC survey, thislocality 135 residential premises whichinclude celebrities’ residences thathave been converted into illegal studiosor commercial premises. In a letterwritten to Mumbai MunicipalCommissioner Ajoy Mehta some timeback, Mumbai North West MPGajanan Kirtikar of Shiv Sena said thatthere were such 52 residential premis-es at Aaram Nagar which have beenconverted illegally into studios.

Hojai: Assam Chief MinisterSarbananda Sonowal on Monday laidthe foundation stone for doubling therailway line between Hojai andLumding.

Speaking on the occasion, Sonowallauded the efforts and dedication of theRailway Ministry under the leadershipof Prime Minister Narendra Modi fordeveloping railway infrastructure in theregion.

People of Assam have been expect-ing doubling of railway line for the last70 years, however, within two years inoffice, the BJP led Government hastaken up the plan and implemented itushering in an era of fast developmentin the state, he said.

"Assam has no dearth of resources,however, with the development of

Railway infrastructure, the resources ofthe state can be tapped and Assam canscale a new height," Sonowal said andthanked Railway Minister SureshPrabhu and Minister of State forRailways Rajen Gohain for their ini-tiatives.

Stating that Assam has been lack-ing in development and many of thestate's demands remained unfulfilled,he thanked the Prime Minister andRailway Minister for paying specialattention to the region and hoped thatRailways will act as the growth enginefor the area.

Calling upon the people of the stateto extend all cooperation to the Railwaysfor realisation of Railway projects,Sonowal assured that the state govern-ment will extend all help.

LUCKNOW | TUESDAY | SEPTEMBER 13, 2016 nation 07

Chikungunya reigns

over viral Delhi

‘GIFTED-WITH-BABY-GIRL’ MESSAGES CONFIRM...

The message has reported-ly been handed over to theNIA, which is currently inves-tigating the case. The agency isexamining the message aboutRifaila and other messagesreceived from those who hadgone missing. Rifaila herselfhad sent home a message a fewdays after their disappearanceto say that they had not joinedany terrorist group.

In her earlier message, shehad told her relatives that thestories spreading in India aboutthem were false and that theyhad left the country in searchof jobs. Ijas’s brother Shiyas, amanagement degree-holder,and his wife Ajmela, a physio-therapist, were also in the groupthat had gone missing fromKasaragod district. On August21, the relatives of Nimisha,another young woman in thegroup of the missing people,had received a message sayingshe had given birth to a babygirl. Nimisha, a Hindu fromThiruvananthapuram who hadembraced Islam and assumedthe name of Fatima, was preg-nant when she had left Indiawith her husband Essah fromPalakkad, originally a Christian.Essah’s younger brother, whoalso had embraced Islam toassume the name of Yahia, andhis wife, a Christian from Kochinamed Merin who had convert-ed to Islam and got rechristenedas Miriyam, also had left thecountry with them. Nimishahad converted to Islam whenshe was a dentistry student andMerin embraced Islam whenshe was working in Mumbai.Marwan, one of those whohad gone missing fromKasaragod, had in a messagesent to his parents earlier indi-cated that they had reachedISIS-controlled region. He saidin the message that people hadtermed him as a terrorist andthat he was proud to be calledso if fighting in the name ofAllah was an act of terrorism.

Meanwhile, reports fromDelhi said that the authori-ties in Afghanistan and Iranhad told the Indian HomeDepartment that they had noinformation about the peo-ple who had gone missing.The Indian Intel l igenceagencies had got enoughclues to believe that thosewho had left the countrycould have reached ISIScamps in Afghanistan viaTehran, Iran.

SC GRANTS...Taking serious exception to

the manner in which the appli-cation was drafted, the SCsaid, “Agitation in spontaneityor propelled by some motiva-tion or galvanised by any kindof catalytic component, cannever form the foundation forseeking modification of anorder.” Commenting on theviolence, the SC said, “It is theobligation of the Executive(State) to see that the order iscomplied with…concept ofdeviance has no room anddisobedience has no space.The citizens cannot becomelaw unto themselves…weexpect inhabitants of both theStates shall behave havingregard to the respect for lawand order.”

Nariman admitted it was adrafting error but went on tosubmit that from September 5to September 12, the State hadcomplied with the court orderand released 84,168 cusecs intoMettur Reservoir in TamilNadu. He complained that fur-ther release of water will leadto severe shortage of drinkingwater in Karnataka. He soughtthe court’s direction to be putin “abeyance” until theSupervisory Committee, head-ed y the secretary of the WaterResources Ministry, decides onthe quantum of water to beshared between the two States.

The Bench decided to hearthe issue on September 20 andtill such time directedKarnataka to continue sup-plying water to Tamil Nadu tosave the samba crops on 40,000acre. However, it reduced thedaily water supply from 15,000to 12,000 cusecs, althoughKarnataka wished for only1,000 cusecs.

CAUVERY KEEPS TN...Union Water Resources

Secretary Shashi Shekhar, whochaired the meeting, said thecommittee could not arrived ata decision for the want of“adequate” information. Hesaid the States concerned couldnot produce adequate informa-tion relating to withdrawal ofwater, its utilisation, allega-tions of withdrawal when it wasnot permitted, variation inrainfall and its impact on theactual run-off over a periodspanning 29 years.

Amid escalating tensionin Karnataka, the Centre

assured all assistance to theState to maintain law and orderand ensure peace. “I am intouch with the Chief Secretaryof Karnataka and whateverhelp is required will be provid-ed,” Union Home SecretaryRajiv Mehrishi told reportershere. Meanwhile, as news of theattacks in TN spread toKarnataka thanks to socialmedia and videos of a Tamilianbeing attacked for his remarkson the Cauvery water rowwent viral on Facebook,Bengaluru bore the brunt of theretaliatory violence. Miscreantsresorted to arson and stonepelting in the city and else-where targeting propertiesowned by Tamil speaking peo-ple and 12 vehicles weretorched. A woman televisionjournalist and her cameramanwere also assaulted for cover-ing the violence.“My colleague,Rohini Swamy, and myself, weboth were roughed up andbeaten by those protestingagainst Supreme Court direc-tion to release Cauvery water toTamil Nadu,” India Today cam-eraman Y Madhu said. TheRAF resorted to baton-chargeat various places where vio-lence was witnessed andauthorities clamped Section144 in Bengaluru as a measureto contain violence.

In Mandya, G Madegowda,president of Cauvery RytharaHitha Rakshana Samithee, thatis spearheading the agitationsaid, “The Supreme Court hasnot given us justice. We cannotexpect justice from the court.The only option to get justiceis to intensify the agitation.”

Meanwhile, KarnatakaHome Minister GParameshwara has requestedpro-Kannada activists andfarmers associations to main-tain peace. Parameshwara saidpolice forces had beendeployed in areas where Tamilslive in large numbers inBengaluru and elsewhere inKarnataka. He said, “Ourappeal is if you are protesting,please protest peacefully. Weknow that injustice has beendone to Karnataka. We havedeployed sufficient amount ofpolice force. We have got sup-port from the Centre also.”

He also said that 10 com-panies of the CRPF and theRAF have been sent. “We havealso requested for 10 morecompanies from the Centre”.

Chief MinisterSiddaramaiah has called anemergency Cabinet meetingon Tuesday to discuss theCauvery issue.

Reacting to the violence inthe two States, Siddaramaiahhas written to his counterpartJ Jayalalithaa seeking protectionfor Kannadigas in TN. He alsoassured Jayalalithaa thatTamilians in Karnataka werebeing ensured appropriate pro-tection.

“We have taken utmostprecaution to ensure the safe-ty and security of all citizens,particularly Tamil speakingpeople in the State. You wouldagree that the incidents of vio-lence against Kannada speak-ing people that are beingreported from Tamil Naduwould incite passions threaten-ing peace in our State, which allof us should prevent,” readSiddaramaiah’s letter toJayalalithaa.

According to Governmentsources the Chief Minister hasasked the DG & IG OmPrakash and Chief SecretaryAravind Jadhav to keep inconstant touch with their coun-terparts in TN to ensure safe-ty of residents of both theStates. Bengaluru Policedetained several pro-Kannadaactivists for arson and violence.There were also reports ofvehicles being set on fire inMysuru. Protests turned violentin Pandavapura as protestorsdamaged six shops belongs toTamilians besides set fire to aTN-registered lorry. The pro-testers pelted stones on thepolice who resorted to lathicharge to disperse them. Theagitation continued in Mandyacity and Bengaluru-MysuruState highway was blocked atseveral places.

The house of retired JudgeJustice Shivppa in Pandavapuravillage was attacked. JusticeShivappa had served as a Judgein TN. Karnataka’s border withTN along Chamarajanagar dis-trict has been sealed in thewake of fresh disturbancesreported in the Cauvery basindistricts. Intelligence officials inTN are worried over the pos-sibilities of the agitationexceeding all limits. “We hadpointed out that secessionistslike P Nedumaran and FrancisSeeman (Naam Tamilar) aretrying to hijack the leadershipof the agitation,” said a seniorofficial of the Ministry ofHome Affairs.

The SC’s directive toKarnataka has not cooled the

tempers of farmers in CauveryDelta. “Tamil Nadu hasbecome an island withoutwater. The SC directive is in noway going to help the farmers.The only option available infront of the Centre is to nation-alise all the rivers in the coun-try. We should have a NationalWater Bank on the lines ofReserve Bank of India,” said GAjeethan, technical advisor,Consortium of Indian Farmersassociation.

INFLATION SINKS...“With regard to the rate

cut, there is a direct relation-ship between the inflation fig-ures and policy rates of the RBI.So, inflation has moderated asexpected. I would, therefore,expect the RBI to take this intoconsideration and take its call.I am sure they will consider allthe aspects and take a call,”Economic Affairs SecretaryShaktikanta Das told reportershere. The rate of price growth,based on the consumer priceindex (CPI), was the lowestsince March 2016 when itstood at 4.83 per cent. In thepreceding month July, CPIinflation was at a nearly two-year high of 6.07 per cent. InAugust 2015, the rate of pricerise was 3.74 per cent. “Lowerinflation in vegetables inAugust helped as the rate ofprice rise stood at a mere 1.02per cent against 14.06 per centin July,” the data showed.

Similarly, food and bever-age prices remained sticky asthey grew 5.83 per cent inAugust in comparison to 7.96per cent in July. However, theoverall consumer food inflationin August fell to 5.91 per centas against 8.35 per cent in July.

On industrial output front,it was contracted by 2.4 percent in July registering theworst performance in eightmonths mainly on account ofdeclining output in manufac-turing and capital goods sec-tors. On cumulative basis, thefactory output in April-Julydeclined by 0.2 per cent com-pared to 3.5 per cent growth inthe year-ago period. “The pre-vious low was witnessed inNovember last year when thefactory output shrunk by 3.4per cent. Factory output hadgrown by 4.3 per cent in Julylast year,” the data added.

Meanwhile, industrial pro-duction growth for June wasrevised downward to 1.95 percent from 2.1 per cent provi-sional estimates released lastmonth. The official datashowed that the manufacturingsector that constitutes over 75per cent of the IIP index,declined by 3.4 per cent in Julycompared to 4.8 per centgrowth a year ago. In terms ofindustries, 12 out of 22 indus-try groups in the manufactur-ing sector showed negativegrowth in July.

22 ‘MISSING PERSONS’FROM...

Rashid had given the ATMcard of his first wife Ayesha toYasmin and transferred Rs 1.5lakh into her account in mid-July. Yasmin used the moneyfor her travel preparations toAfghanistan. She had pur-chased flight tickets, paid forthe Afghanistan visa fee, andalso converted the currency to$620 using the money fromAyesha’s account.

Earlier in July, theIntelligence agencies hadpicked up intercepts of anoth-er missing AshfaqueMohammad, 23, that originat-ed from Afghanistan withcountry code +93. Ashfaquehad gone missing from hishome at Kasargod on May 28informing his parents that hewas going to Kozhikode forundertaking Quran classes.

A week later, he had toldhis parents that he was leavingfor Sri Lanka. The parents hadalerted the police when theyreceived a message over amonth later in which heclaimed that he had “reachedthe final destination, abode ofAllah.”

STUBBORN RAJKHOWA...Union Home Minister

Rajnath Singh had called on thePresident last week and con-veyed to him that Rajkhowa’scontinuance in the post hasbecome untenable after theSupreme Court’s observationsagainst him over dismissal ofthe Congress Government inthe State. The Home Minister’smeeting with the Presidentcame after Rajkhowa refused tostep down despite a nudge bythe Centre to put in his papersafter the Supreme Court passedserious strictures against himover the dismissal of theCongress Government lastyear. A defiant Rajkhowa hadsaid he would not step downbut was ready to be sacked.

Rajkhowa, a 1968 batchIAS officer, had retired as ChiefSecretary of Assam before being appointed asGovernor.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

PRIYANKA SHARMA n

NEW DELHI

With chikungunya anddengue cases continuing

to rise unabated in the nation-al Capital, the vector-borne dis-eases are taking the shape of anepidemic. According to amunicipal report released onMonday, 1,057 cases of chikun-gunya have been recorded tillSeptember 10 from 560 caseslast week, marking a jump ofnearly 90 per cent. As many as387 fresh dengue cases wereconfirmed, taking total numberof patients suffering from vec-tor-borne disease to 1,158, saida municipal official, adding itwas over 50 per cent rise fromthe last week count.

Meanwhile, a 65-year-oldman admitted to Sir Ganga RamHospital succumbed to chikun-gunya on Monday, said SirGanga Ram Hospital PRO AjoyShegal, adding that the test forthe vector-borne diseasethrough RTPCR test for himcame positive with an extreme-ly high viral count. RamakantPandey is the first chikungun-ya casualty recorded in Delhi.

The deceased, a resident ofGhaziabad, was shifted to GangaRam Hospital in Delhi fromYashodra Hospital in Ghaziabadin a deteriorating condition onSeptember 10, Shegal told ThePioneer.

On the number of chikun-gunya cases claimed by the civicbody, Dr Atul Kakar, vice-chair-man of Internal Medicine at SirGanga Ram Hospital, said theexact figure of chikungunyacases is much higher than thenumber reported by civic agen-cies.

“Till date, we have reportedabout 500 chikungunya patientsand 50-60 dengue cases. OPDsand emergency are overcrowd-ed with patients. We have added16 extra beds in the medicinedepartment to cater feverpatients,” he said.

“As the peak time for vectordiseases is September, vector-borne cases will rise in thecoming week. However, fromonset of October, there will be

slight decrease in the number,”added Dr Kakar.

Dr Lalit Dar, professor ofmicrobiology at AIIMS toldThe Pioneer, “This year over 60per cent people suffering fromviral fever is because of chikun-gunya and only 1-2 per centpeople are suffering fromdengue this time. And 20 percent people are suffering fromfever like illness without anymajor symptoms as they havedeveloped antibodies againstboth the diseases.”

Dr Dar also said the num-ber of chikungunya cases ismuch higher than the civicbody’s figure as 1,360 cases ofthe vector-borne disease wereconfirmed at AIIMS laborato-ry alone.

About 328 dengue casesand 531Chikungyuna casesreported at Safdarjung Hospital,with five deaths (dengue), saidDr AK Rai, medical superinten-dent at Safdarjung Hospital.

“This year, it’s the suscepti-ble population such as migrants,labourers and others who areaffected with the diseases. Thespurt in the vector-borne dis-eases is due to both municipalfailure and general population’slack for mosquito breeding pre-

ventive measures,” said a seniordoctor.

All private and Governmenthospitals are flooded withdengue and chikungunyapatients with thousands suffer-ing from acute high fever (viralfever). In the need of the hour,additional beds have beenplaced to accommodate thou-sands of patients at all the hos-

pitals in the national Capital, thedoctor said.

Besides, construction siteshave added more spots for aedesto breed. Dr AC Dhariwal,Director, National Vector BorneDisease Control Programme(NVBDCP) said stagnant waterat construction sites are some ofthe causes of mosquito breedingin this season.

The recent remarks of theIndian Air Force chief,Air Chief Marshal ArupRaha, that Pakistan-occupied Kashmir

would have been with India, if thecountry had opted for a militarysolution to settle the Kashmir issuerather than having taken themoral high ground and rushing tothe United Nations for a settle-ment, are indeed significant.

In unusually candid remarkson the conflict in Jammu &Kashmir in 1947, when Pakistansent in hordes of raiders into theState, the IAF chief said India didnot follow a pragmatic approachto secure its interests. As a result,PoK has become a “thorn in ourflesh”. According to Air ChiefMarshal Raha, our foreign poli-cy was enshrined in the charterof the UN, charter of the Non-Aligned Movement as well as thePanchsheel doctrine. In his view,“We have been governed by highideals and we really did not fol-low a very pragmatic approach...to security needs.” As a result,we had ignored the role of mili-tary power to maintain a con-ducive environment.

Recalling how the IAF waspressed into service at a criticalmoment in October 1947, torush troops and equipment to theKashmir valley, he said the prob-lem still persisted because, whena military solution was in sight,the country went to the UN fora peaceful solution, which nevercame about. The IAF chief ’sremarks revive the debate onsome controversial decisionstaken by the country’s politicalleadership at that time, which hasburdened the nation with a fes-tering problem for 70 years. Theproblem began soon after inde-pendence. Following partition, allIndian States were given theoption to accede to either Indiaor Pakistan. Maharaja Hari Singhof the State of Jammu & Kashmirwas considering the idea of anindependent State, but was unableto make up his mind.

While he kept dilly-dallyingon the issue, he was confrontedwith the Pakistani invasion of hisState. Pakistan pushed thousandsof heavily armed tribesmen inOctober, 1947 across the borderin a bid to capture the State byforce. These tribesmen, led byPakistani Army regulars attackedMuzaffarabad and soon thereafter,captured large parts of the State.The Jammu & Kashmir StateArmy, which comprised ofMuslims and Dogras, was calledupon to defend the State’s borders,

but the Army was crippled bydesertions. The Muslims desert-ed the State Army, joined theinvaders and even provided themlogistic and other support. Despitethe desertions, the State Army ledby Brig Rajinder Singh offeredvaliant resistance at Uri for twodays. But once this resistancecollapsed, the intruders capturedBaramulla and were on the out-skirts of Srinagar. They also cut offpower supply to Srinagar.

Thus, within days, MaharajaHari Singh realised that his inde-cisiveness was costing him theState. He then pressed the panicbutton and made a desperateappeal for Indian forces. Despitethe grave implications that thesedevelopments had for India’sstrategic interests, the JawaharlalNehru Government took theview that it had no locus standi togo to the rescue of this State,unless the State acceded to India.The Maharaja finally signed theInstrument of Accession onOctober 26, and New Delhi begana massive airlift of troops toSrinagar from the early hours ofOctober 27. Home MinisterSardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s

assertiveness ensured that theIndian Army arrived in Srinagarjust in the nick of time. Within afortnight, Baramulla and theheights of Uri were re-taken. AirChief Marshal Raha’s commentsrelate to these events.

However, while the Armywas on the job, Prime MinisterJawaharlal Nehru took the fatefuldecision on January 1, 1948 —much against the advice of SardarPatel — to complain to the UNSecurity Council. India told theUN that Pakistan was aiding andabetting the intrusions into thevalley but the latter vehementlydenied its involvement. FollowingIndia’s complaint, the UNSecurity Council decided to setup a commission to assess theclaims and counter claims of thetwo countries. After persistentdenials, Pakistan owned up thatits Army units were engaged inthe Kashmir operation. The UNCommission then passed a reso-lution calling for a ceasefire, fol-lowed by the vacation of aggres-sion by Pakistan.

However, before heapproached the UN, Nehru wentto Lahore on December 8, 1947,

to plead with his counterpart,Liaquat Ali Khan, to initiate stepsto de-escalate tensions by issuingan appeal to the Pakistani intrud-ers in Kashmir to withdraw.According to VP Menon,Secretary in the StatesDepartment at that time, Khanpleaded helplessness on theground that he ran a moderateGovernment that was alreadyunder attack by the media for itsfailure to fully back the AzadKashmir movement. If he issuedsuch an appeal, there was everydanger of his Government beingdislodged by a more extremistpolitical entity. Instead, LiaquatAli Khan said “it would be bet-ter for India to withdraw itsforces and appoint an impartialadministration in the state”.Nehru returned empty-handedfrom Lahore and thereafter decid-ed to go to the UN. This hurtIndia’s interests on two counts:One, it internationalised theKashmir dispute; and two, itstopped the Indian Army fromfinishing the job of throwing outthe intruders. In fact, it is said thatthe ceasefire was ordered at a timewhen the Army needed just a fewmore days to complete its task.Further, the decision to beseechthe UN showed India up as aweak state that needed thirdparty intervention to throw outan aggressor. It led to the UN set-ting up a Commission and post-ing its observers along the cease-fire line and encouraged the USand other Western nations tomeddle in India internal affairs.

Most Indians who areacquainted with the events thatunfolded in Kashmir in the lastquarter of 1947 are aware of howKashmir got divided and howPoK became a thorn in India’s flesh.Air Chief Marshal Raha has onlyre-kindled those unpleasant mem-ories of the pusillanimity of theIndian state from the very day ofour independence and how this hasbeen the unfortunate template fordealing with issues concerningIndia’s strategic interests. Also,despite our democratic experi-ence over 70 years, the Nehruvianestablishment’s tradition of buryingthe truth is still so entrenched in thenational capital that eyebrows areraised even when a serving chief ofour Armed Forces speaks of whatwent wrong 70 years ago. But wemust thank Air Chief MarshalRaha for his candidness because insecurity and military-related mat-ters, only unvarnished truth willserve the national interest!

(Photo courtesy: Indian Air Force)W

ith the United States of America and Russia joining hands to contain vio-lence in Syria, the chances for the war-ravaged nation to have peace, havebrightened. The new agreement, if it comes into effect under which a joint

military operation has been planned, will help prevent the deadly offensives ofthe Islamic State and other rebel groups that have paralysed civilian life for thelast five years, since civil strife broke out. The agreement also highlights a slewof improved humanitarian aid access, which is badly needed in the conflict-rid-den country. This can relieve thousands of people trapped in the fighting of forcesof Bashar al-Assad and the rebels. Despite continuing mistrust, the US and Russiahave moved for a joint peace initiative in one of the most contested battle-fieldsin West Asia. It will hopefully script a new trend in bilateral relations betweenthe two giants in the global power calculus.

However, the peace deal over Syria can raise new complexities, even as ithas been cautiously welcomed by world leaders and the main opposition par-ties. The Free Syrian Army, the moderate rebel group, says the deal is not going

to be a reality as both Russia and Syriawill not abide by it. Even BassmaKodmani, the spokeswoman of theopposition High NegotiationCommittee, by stating, “If it (the deal)is going to be enforced...”, underlinesthe fragility of the agreement. The pastrecords indicate that both America andRussia had failed to observe the lastagreement, so there can be no guar-antee that this will be successful. JohnKerry, the US Foreign Secretary,while saying that “no one is buildingthis based on trust, it is based on over-sight, compliance and mutual inter-est”, is directly hinting that the roadahead in making peace talk, will be dif-ficult in Syria. Though the agreementcan be regarded as a turning point forSyria, yet its success depends on

Russia to a considerable extent — as only Moscow can convince Assad. Unlessthere is a political solution which hints at Assad's honourable exit or devises acomprehensive framework under which the major opposition parties are broughtunder one head, no peace deal will work on the ground. If Assad is not con-vinced about his safe exit (assuming he agrees to quit) and of the security ofhis kinsmen belonging to the minority Alawite (a Shia community), in all likeli-hood he will see that the current civil war continues. The Arab-Sunnis consti-tute near about 60 per cent of Syria's population and they have been waiting forlong to topple the Assad regime. So, the post-Assad scenario can well compli-cate the entire peace process, especially if an international monitoring force doesnot guarantee safety to the civilians of all communities in the country. The UNmust see to it that both the US and Russia abide by the terms and conditionsof the deal and sustain that respect in the days to come. Else, Syria will have towait for a long, long time, for peace.

The general delay in delivering road projects under the Pradhan Mantri GramSadak Yojana on schedule is disheartening. The Centre's decision, that default-er States pay for undue delays, makes sense. Holding the States account-

able for their inability to complete roads, sends a strong signal to the public thatrural roads as arteries of development, cannot be ignored. In view of the pass-ing of the historic Goods and Services Tax Bill by Parliament, rural infrastruc-ture assumes added significance. The Government must note that major trans-actions in the country still operate largely through roads and, therefore, the Statesmust execute the PMGSY projects by giving them top priority. The report of theFirst Common Review Mission submitted by former Finance Secretary Sumit Basuand his team brings home the point that there was no agreement between someStates and the Union Ministry of Rural Development about the length of the roadto be constructed under the PMGSY. The panel had recommended that there wasan urgent need for improved monitoring and additional manpower from the agen-cies involved, and that the State Governments should provide necessary helpfor the completion of many of the roads. The CRM also stressed on adequatebudgetary provisions for the maintenance of PMGSY roads. Sensing the seri-

ousness of the condition of the roads,a framework must be drawn by theStates for the maintenance of theseroads, normally and in emergencies.

As the PMGSY was a 100 per centCentrally-funded scheme till 2014-15,the States solely depended on theUnion Government for the projects'implementation. But from 2015-16,the PMGSY funding pattern haschanged to 60:40 sharing between theCentre and the States respectively.However, the sharing ratio for the hillStates, in the North-East and else-where, has become 90:10. This showsthat the States have an almost equalshare of accountability in overseeingthat road connectivity comes on timefor millions of villagers. Apart from thefinancial terms, in no way can the

States shy away from their responsibilities, as the roads lie within their territo-rial jurisdiction. To be precise, the Union Government formulates the policy guide-lines and facilitates the making of quality roads by emphasising on planning,clearance of road works, better methods of execution and, of course, timely imple-mentation. Beyond this, the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways ask-ing for details of the pending projects wherein the clearances are required eitherfrom the courts or from the Department of Forests, will help clear the cloud overthe incomplete projects in the States. Why have the respective StateGovernments failed to maintain the quality, quantity and timely delivery of PMGYprojects so far? Accusations can go back and forth, but the delays have to beaddressed by keeping aside allegations.

When it comes to providing maximum connectivity to the villages, region-al politics or ideological party rivalry should not be a roadblock. Public roadsare a fundamental need of the people, and they must be made available to them.When we are talking about global villages, we must ensure a decent level of roadconnectivity to our people.

Improving rural roads

PMGSY cannot be allowed to falter anymore

opinion 08LUCKNOW | TUESDAY | SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

Kashmir blunder thatbleeds us to this dayAir Chief Marshal Arup Raha’s remark that PoK would have been with India, had India opted fora military solution, has revived the debate on decisions taken by our leaders 70 years ago

Syria’s chance for peace

US-Russia deal gives hope, but obstacles remain

Playing games

Sir — This refers to the editorial,“Kim continues madness”(September 12). It serves China’sinterests to let North Korea contin-ue its adventurism and madness.Isolating a country through eco-nomic sanctions has no deterrenteffect, especially on states which arehigh on self-righteousness andadventurism, and are nurturedcovertly through big powers.

The condemnation comingfrom China is only limited todiplomatic Press briefings, whichare famous for their rhetoric. Tokeep a check on both South Koreaand Japan, China is there to sustainNorth Korea, economically andfinancially. It is playing the samestrategic game of empoweringfriendly states with nuclear mater-ial so as to enable them to keep avigil on common enemies.

Gaurav SinghalRewari

Honour athletes

Sir — This refers to the editorial,“Wrestlers awaiting prize”(September 12). It is shocking that,due to red tapism and shoddy atti-tude of the Haryana Government,the Phogat sisters are being deprived

of the cash rewards which waspromised to them in 2012.

Vinesh Phogat, who was one ofthe medal contenders for the coun-try at Rio Olympics, got seriouslyinjured during the bout. Had shewon a medal, there would havebeen a beeline to reward her.

At a time when none otherthan the Prime Minister himselfis keen on improving our medaltally in next two Olympics, suchattitude is the last thing that oursportspersons deserve. It is real-ly disheartening that such talent-ed sportspersons have to runfrom pillar to post for their well-deserved awards.

Bal Govind Noida

Water woes

Sir — This refers to the article,“The intensifying water fightamong States” (September 9) byKalyani Shankar. The article elo-quently talks about the currentcontroversy between Karnatkaand Tamil Nadu on the Cauverywater issue. Tamil Nadu’s demandfor water is genuine, but is causingpolitical ripples in Karnataka.

The author has rightly con-cluded that the solution to thewater dispute between the twoStates on sharing river water, is to

constitute a permanent tribunal forresolving inter-State water disputes.

While the Centre shouldimmediately constitute the Cauverymanagement board, Tamil Nadushould build more reservoirs andKarnataka should release maxi-mum water during water storage.Farmers in Tamil Naidu should optfor alternate crops. The ultimatesolution lies in former PrimeMinister AB Vajpayee’s solution oflinking various Indian rivers.

PN SaxenaVia email

Anarchy rules

Sir — This refers to the BrainStormer, “Where to go fromhere?” (September 8). The AamAadmi Party started off well withthe aim to root out corruptionfrom the country. Gradually,many members quit the party,accusing Delhi Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal of dictatorship.It is unfortunate that the peopleof Delhi fell victim to Kejriwal’ssweet words. It is sad that thenational capital has been taken fora ride by anarchists.

Venkataraman Jagadesan Via email

www.dailypioneer.com

p a p e r w i t h p a s s i o n

A SURYA PRAKASH

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

We're trying to be as

careful as a surgeon's

scalpel in terms of

taking out the cancer

of these terrorist

organisations (like IS).

CIA Director

—John Brennan

When my career took

off, I don't remember

anything. It's like I'm trau-

matised. I needed time

to recalibrate my soul.

Pop star

—Lady Gaga

The only sad thing

about being a selec-

tor is that you end up

losing some of your

friends. We have

taken some bold and

tough decisions.

Cricket selector

—Sandeep Patil

RAHA HAS ONLY RE-KINDLEDUNPLEASANT

MEMORIES OF THEPUSILLANIMITY OFTHE INDIAN STATE

SINCE INDEPENDENCEAND HOW THIS HASBEEN THE TEMPLATEFOR DEALING WITH

ISSUES CONCERNINGINDIA’S STRATEGIC

INTERESTS

SOUNDBITE

Apex court must declare

triple-talaq illegal

This refers to the article, “Constitution shields Muslims from mullahs”(September 12) by Balbir Punj. At the time of partition, when a numberof Indian Muslims, led by Mohammed Ali Jinnah with his two-nation the-

ory, left India to form Pakistan, one had hoped that communal hatred and poi-son would be buried once and for all. It was expected that the Constitution ofIndia, promulgated with the founding of a democratic republic in 1950, wouldbe the sole law governing the country. Unfortunately, Muslim bigots runningthe All India Muslim Personal Law Board, had a Sharia’h law as their guidingframework. It comprised regressive provisions such as triple-talaq, polygamy,lack of maintenance for divorced Muslim women, etc.

Since some of these provisions are now being examined by the SupremeCourt, one hopes and prays that the apex court will assert itself and pronouncethe Sharia'h as null and void. A secular democracy cannot have parallel laws,one for Indian Muslims and another for the rest.

M RatanVia email

Send your feedback to: letterstopioneer@gmail.com

KUMAR CHELLAPPAN

With India and theUnited States signingthe Logistics Exchange

Memorandum of Agreementduring the visit of Minister forDefence Manohar Parrikar toWashington, military coopera-tion between the two countriesis poised to expand significant-ly to the benefit of both.

China’s growing militarystrength and increasing bel-ligerence has led to a consciousstrategic choice by New Delhi toget closer to Washington. Withthe signing of this agreement,India can, to some extent, bal-ance China’s might, at least interms of size. A loose coalitionof navies — led by the US — isgradually emerging, withAustralia, Japan, East Asiannations and India, to help meetfuture challenges to the world’scommon waterways.

However, the agreementdoes not mention the setting upof ‘permanent bases’ in either of

the countries. According tothe signatories, LEMOA onlyfacilitates establishing “mutualbasing facilities”. This would beon a case-by-case basis, intend-ed to help speed up humanitar-ian relief operations as alsoemergency evacuation fromconflict-prone regions. In cer-tain circumstances, it couldalso help smoothen operationallogistics between the navies ofthe two countries.

Among other things, theagreement facilitates inter-oper-ability between the two militariesand guides sale and transfer ofhigh-end technologies. It givesboth countries access to desig-nated military facilities of theother for purposes of repair, re-fuelling and replenishment ofsupplies. While this covers portcalls, joint exercises, training, andhumanitarian assistance anddisaster relief, use of facilities forany other purpose would needapproval on a case-to-case basis.

On the face of it, LEMOAseems rather benign. Forinstance, it would enable Indiato use US facilities in theevent of evacuation of itsnationals from conflict zonesor when it launches rescueoperations at times of naturaldisasters. LEMOA’s propo-nents point out that as a ris-ing power with global ambi-tions, India needs such a pactwith the US as it facilitates theextension of New Delhi’s oper-ational reach considerably.

Though the US does cur-rently uses Indian military basesand logistics — for example,during joint military exercises —this is managed on a case-by-case basis, which is simply morecumbersome. LEMOA does notnecessarily give anything thatthe US does not already get, butit makes the process more reg-ularised and sytematised.

With LEMOA in place, it isalmost certain that pressures

would intensify to sign theother two foundational agree-ments — CommunicationInteroperability and SecurityMemorandum Agreement andBasic Exchange andCooperation Agreement forGeo-Spatial Cooperation. IfIndia were to do so — and if cre-dence were to be given to whatUS Defence Secretary AshtonCarter said on a visit to Indiapreviously that there was astrategic confluence betweenIndia and the US today.

India’s signing of LEMOAraises several questions.Wouldn’t the military proxim-ity to the US worsen India’salready troubled ties withPakistan and China? It mayeven push China and Pakistaninto a closer embrace.Pakistan’s Cabinet has alreadyapproved a log-term defenceagreement with China. Chinesecooperation with Pakistan hasreached economic high points,

with substantial Chineseinvestment in Pakistani infra-structural expansion, includingthe Pakistani deep-water portat Gwadar. It can be expectedto sour its relations with friendslike Russia and Iran, pushingthem closer to Pakistan aswell. Importantly, the benefitsIndia expects to draw fromLEMOA may not offset thelosses, as India is not in a posi-tion to tap the full potential ofthis agreement.

In the event of an India-Pakistan war, would the USallow Indian ships to re-fuel atits bases in West Asia? This isquestionable. The signing ofthe pact seems to be ill-timedtoo as the US is due for a polit-ical transition soon. Having putoff signing the agreement for12 years, India could havedelayed signing it by a fewmore months to get a clearerpicture of the White House’spolicies. Some media reports

describe LEMOA as paving theway for the stationing ofAmerican troops on Indiansoil. This is not true; LEMOAis a logistics pact and not a bas-ing agreement.

When the strategic balanceacross the entire Asian region isundergoing a seismic shift, Indiacannot be seen to be playing alosing hand. The main players,today are the US, Russia andChina. The current effort ofcountries such as China andRussia is to restrict, if notexclude, US influence from theregion, labelling it as a non-Asian power.

In global affairs, timing isof great significance. Hence,India’s leaders need to reflectwhether this is the opportunemoment for the country toreset its compass and moveaway from its long-term insis-tence on strategic autonomy.

(The author is a defence ana-lyst and commentator)

The LEMOA between India and the US has benefits for both countries. But there are several questions too. Leaders need to reflect ifthis is an opportune time for the country to move away from its long-held strategic autonomy, writes PK VASUDEVA

Blaming RSS is the lazy way out

3rdeye 09LUCKNOW | TUESDAY | SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

Nitish Kumar is a Chief Minister of circumstance.

My leader is Lalu Prasad. RJD will form the

Government on its own next time around.

—RJD strongman

MOHAMMED SHAHABUDDIN

I have been given a mandate by the public to

provide governance, and not to respond to all

sorts of statements by certain people.

—Bihar Chief Minister

NITISH KUMAR

What happened

after the killing

of the Mahatma

was that the RSS

was banned and

all its top leaders

arrested. It is an

open secret that

there was no love

lost between the

Sangh and

Gandhi, who went

out of the way to

appease the

Muslims. The

appeasement

antagonised

many, especially

the partition

survivors

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

Congressmen and Marxists,who blame the RashtriyaSwayamsevak Sangh forthe assassination ofMahatma Gandhi, should

be cautious while making the bluntcharge. There are many unaskedquestions and unanswered queriesassociated with the 1948 murder of theMahatma by Nathuram Godse, whowas the then editor of Hindu Rashtra— a newspaper owned by the Hindu Mahasabha.

The killing continues to be miredin controversies nearly seven decadesafter the incident. People who wereoccupying power, both in Governmentand outside, at the time of the assas-sination, blamed the RSS for the grue-some incident. The latest in the con-troversy is the legal cobweb into whichCongress vice president Rahul Gandhihas fallen after making an allegation.Rahul Gandhi has been hauled to thecourt of law by an aggrieved RSSactivist. The Congress scion is speak-ing in different voices on different days.

Nathuram Godse, the assassin,might have been a member of the RSS,but he switched over his allegiance tothe Hindu Mahasabha, an entirely dif-ferent organisation. It should also benoted that KB Hedgewar, a prominentmember of the Hindu Mahasabha,quit the organisation over ideologicaldifferences and launched the RSS in1925. This itself proves that the RSSand the Hindu Mahasabha are twodifferent entities. The truth is thatwhile the Hindu Mahasabha struggledto survive and grow as an organisa-tion, the RSS found instant acceptabil-ity among the people and left theHindu Mahasabha gasping for air.

Godse left the RSS and joined theHindu Mahasabha because of thedecision of the Sangh to abstain fromactive politics. It was the intransigentstance of Mahatma Gandhi, that Indiashould stand by its word and payPakistan `55 crore as per a dealreached out between the two countriesat the time of partition, that prompt-ed Godse to do away with the Fatherof the Nation.

In his final statement read out tothe court which sentenced him todeath for the killing, Godse had madeit clear that his decision was a fall-outof Mahatma Gandhi’s decision toundertake a fast unto death to force theIndian Government to make the pay-ment to Pakistan. Sardar VallabhbhaiPatel, the then Deputy Prime Minister,had declared on January 12, 1948, thatIndia would not make the payment tillPakistan kept away from Kashmir.

Sardar Patel knew well that theamount to be paid by India to Pakistanwould be pumped to create chaos,confusion and crisis in Kashmir. Butfollowing the threat of fast issued byGandhi on January 12, 1948, and thecommencement of his fast on January13, 1948, the Government of Indiadecided to dump its earlier decisionand go ahead with making the cashpayment to Pakistan. A communiqueregarding the payment of the amountto be made to Pakistan was issued bythe Government on January 17, 1948.

“As soon as he read the news itemon the teleprinter about Gandhi’sfast, Nathuram Godse must havethought that all other plans should beset aside. Care had to be taken to seethat Gandhiji did not interfere withthe democratic working of theGovernment. According to Godse, itwas a matter of life and death for thenation”, wrote Gopal Godse in theintroduction to Nathuram Godse’sbook, Why I Assassinated MahatmaGandhi? It was written in the formatof a statement by Nathuram Godseand submitted to the trial court whichsentenced him to death.

What happened after the killing ofthe Mahatma was that the RSS wasbanned and all its top leaders werearrested. It is an open secret that therewas no love lost between the Sanghand Gandhi, with the latter going outof his way to appease the Muslims.This appeasement especially antago-nised the survivors of partition.

Marudur Gopalan Ramachandran,an eminent writer and thinker inKerala, who undertook deep researchinto Gandhi’s assassination andNathuram Godse’s character, has madesome interesting observations. It isknown to all that Nathuram Godse wasa prominent member of the HinduMahasabha at the time of the killing.Why were the leaders of HinduMahasabha were not grilled or probed

by the investigators? Why was not therole of the Sabha investigated by thepolice? Why was Nirmal ChandraChatterjee, the then president of theSabha, was not questioned even onceby the police?” asks Ramachandran.

He also points out that NirmalChandra Chatterjee, a lawyer, was ele-vated as a judge of the Calcutta HighCourt within months of the Gandhiassassination. Later, Chatterjee con-tested the first general election (1952)as a Hindu Mahasabha candidatefrom Hooghly and won with a goodmargin. He reached the Lok Sabha asan independent candidate supportedby the Communist Party of India inthe 1963 by-election. Chatterjee, whocontested the fourth general electionin 1967 as an independent candidateagain, and supported by the commu-nists, won with big margin.

He contested the 1963 and 1967elections from Burdwan. With hispassing away, the seat fell vacant andthe CPI(M) fielded his son SomnathChatterjee from the same constituen-cy. In course of time, SomnathChatterjee rose to become the Speakerof the Lok Sabha with the support ofthe Congress.

Ramachandran says he has somegenuine doubts about the politicalleanings of Nathuram Godse. “Leadersof the CPI(M) and the Congressshould ask Somnath Chatterjee, who

was this Nathuram Godse when theymeet the octogenarian leader nexttime”, said Ramachandran.

While we will leave the doubt tobe clarified by people who matter, twoprominent persons in the countryexpressed their helplessness inanswering the question. MGSNarayanan, former Chairman ofIndian Council of Historical Research,is not at all amused by people whoblame the RSS for Gandhi’s assassina-tion. “I am at a loss of words and can-not explain why the HinduMahasabha was not probed and itsleaders not questioned. It is also amyster y why Nirmal ChandraChatterjee was made a High Courtjudge” Narayanan said.

V Kalyanam, (95), private secre-tary to Gandhi at the time of the assas-sination, could be the only person alivewho had close interaction with theMahatma. Kalyanam was hardly fivemetres away from Gandhi whenGodse fired the three bullets. “I can-not say whether it was the RSS or someother organisation which was behindthe assassination of Gandhi. But theRSS was not unhappy over the killing.It had always criticised Gandhi for hisviews”, Kalyanam says. To the questionon why the Hindu Mahasabha, towhich Godse belonged, was not at allprobed, Kalyanam responds that itwould remain unanswered.

Plugging loopholes in logistics pact thinknowP

eople try so hard to believe in

leaders now, pitifully hard. But we

no sooner get a popular reformer

or politician or soldier or writer or

philosopher-a Roosevelt, a Tolstoy, a

Wood, a Shaw, a Nietzsche, than the

cross-currents of criticism wash him

away. My Lord, no man can stand

prominence these days. It's the surest

path to obscurity. People get sick of

hearing the same name over and over...

We want to believe. Young students try

to believe in older authors,

constituents try to believe in their

Congressmen, countries try to believe

in their statesmen, but they can't. Too

many voices, too much scattered,

illogical, ill-considered criticism.

— F Scott Fitzgerald

Conquering malaria,

the Sri Lankan way

Colombo’s successful fight against malaria is a reminderto India that ending this deadly disease is within ourreach, even if the complexity of the task is different

People who seek to frame the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh for the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, must be cautious while levellingbaseless allegations. Even after nearly seven decades of the incident, there are many unanswered questions associated with the murderNAMAL NAWANA

FIRSTCOLUMN

As as child, I saw malaria as an unavoidable part of people’slife in Sri Lanka. Born in Sri Lanka but raised in Australia, Ihave vivid memories of my return visits. I remember the excite-

ment of sleeping under what seemed to be a gigantic net. In latervisits, I remember wondering why there seemed to be smoke beingsprayed in the towns and villages. The answer was that malariawas rampant, and family and friends, suffering with fever and pain,were commonplace. The Government was dealing with the prob-lem with the tools at hand.

The country had nearly eliminated malaria in 1960s, but bythe end of the decade, a disastrous resurgence brought the dis-ease roaring back. The challenges only intensified as the countryplunged into a civil war. Sri Lanka, it seemed, would struggle withmalaria forever. However, the island-nation made history last weekas it became the second country in the Southeast Asia region tobe certified as malaria-free. On September 6, the World HealthOrganisation recognised this huge public health achievement atan official ceremony in Colombo. From over 400,000 cases in 1991,the disease has been reduced to zero in October 2012. The coun-try has not had a single death from malaria since 2007.

At the 2015 East Asia Summit, 18 Asia Pacific countries com-mitted to ending malaria in Asia by 2030. The world must take noteof Sri Lanka's success. It is a shining example of what is possi-ble as global momentum builds to end one of the world's dead-liest diseases. Sri Lanka has a long and complicated history withmalaria. Its historic recognition follows decades of progress, set-backs and persistence. In the mid-1930s, there was a massivemalaria epidemic with millions of cases and 80,000 deaths — allduring a span of nine months. Thanks to an aggressive malariaprogramme in the 1960s, Sri Lanka reduced this to fewer than 20cases per year, nearly eliminating the disease. The Governmentthought the job was finished and scaled the programme back. Butby 1969, Sri Lanka was battling a deadly resurgence of more thanhalf a million cases a year. Once again, the country undertook amassive effort to eliminate the disease.

This time, Sri Lanka has achieved the goal, despite a near-ly 30-year civil war between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelamand the Government of Sri Lanka, which devastated infrastruc-ture and healthcare delivery in many parts of the country.Leadership from the Government's anti-malaria campaign, strongprogramme management and an emphasis on surveillance, werethe key factors in Sri Lanka's success. The strategy targeted high-risk populations with aggressive prevention, diagnosis and treat-ment programmes. The country also invested in healthcare infra-structure. Funding from Government administrations and theGlobal Fund to Fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria was criti-cal to sustain the efforts. In 2011, the Global Fund awarded theSri Lanka Ministry of Health a grant of $15.5 million to substan-tially improve public health infrastructure, which aided malariaelimination efforts. The challenge now will be to maintain theelimination and prevent resurgence.

India has already set itself on a similar path towards malariaelimination. With 70 per cent of the region's malaria burden, thecountry will play a critical role in the regional and global effortsto end malaria. It will also become the frontline if drug resistancespreads West from Myanmar. Earlier this year, the UnionGovernment took an ambitious step of endorsing a national frame-work to eliminate malaria by 2030. The commitment shows thatIndia is serious about improving health and addressing the needsof its people. The task won't be easy. Malaria ignores country bor-ders and often preys on marginalised populations in remote areas.

Investing in malaria elimination is a smart long-term strate-gy that will boost business, economic development and tourism,and improve health security across the region. More importantly,it will save lives, reduce suffering and enable people to reach theirfull potential. All of us should cheer Sri Lanka's success. It remindsus that ending this deadly disease is within our reach.

(The author is chief executive officer, president and a mem-ber of the Board of Directors of Alere Inc. He is also a mem-ber of the board of Malaria No More)

LUCKNOW | TUESDAY | SEPTEMBER 13, 2016 money 10

The guidelines on direct selling,issued by the Ministry ofConsumer Affairs, represent animportant step which will bothsafeguard the interests ofconsumers, as well as identifyand help protect ethical directselling companies

AMWAY INDIA CEO ANSHU BUDHRAJA

The main thing to be done now isto call as many meetings of the

GST Council and try and sort outall the major issues so that we

are ready with the draft lawcompletely and the industry can

get itself ready

REVENUE SECRETARY HASMUKH ADHIA

CORP & GOVT

FROM

BUZZ

PNS n NEW DELHI

With fear of a possiblerate hike that resur-

faced by the US FederalReserve as early as nextweek, Dalal Street got severejolt on Monday as the BSEbenchmark Sensex plungedabout 444 points to a two-week low of 28,353.54, whilethe NSE Nifty cracked belowthe 8,800-mark. Both thebourses remained underpressure as investors fearedthat a possible rate hike bythe US Federal Reserve couldreverse dollar flow into thecountry,

With heavy fall in bank-ing as well as metal stocks,the broader markets toounderwent heavy cash out-flow as BSE mid-cap indexslumping 2.95 per cent -- itsbiggest fall in six months --and the small-cap shedding2.35 per cent. Tata Steel wasthe biggest loser from theSensex pack on the day --dropping 5.30 per cent to`373.60 -- when it alsoreported widening of losses.

“Global liquidity was avery important factor forthe uptick in Indian marketwhich has been put in ques-tion by Fed and ECB, lead-ing to a sharp spike in glob-al bond yield,” said VinodNair, Head of Research,Geoj it BNP Par ibasFinancial.

Meanwhile, the rupeealso continued its down-trend for the second-straightday, depreciating by 24 paiseto end at 66.92 against theUS dol lar on sustaineddemand for the Americancurrency amid nervousnessover the outlook for the USmonetary policy.

As far as domestic mar-kets are concerned, almostall the sectors fared poorly,only BSE IT and Tech indicesmanaged to keep their headsup, logging gains of 0.87 percent and 0.26 per cent,respectively. This uptick wasfuelled by buying in Infosys,TCS and Wipro, which were

three of the only four stockson the BSE to rise.

In the early trading, theSensex opened lower at28,481.09 and dropped fur-ther to 28,251.31 before end-ing at 28,353.54, showing afall of 443.71 points or 1.54per cent. The index haddropped by 604.51 pointson June 24 due to Brexit fall-out. The NSE Nifty fellsharply by 151.10 points or1.70 per cent to 8,715.60 --its biggest fall since June 24.

Currency market wasalso hit hard, with the rupeedown 25 paise against the UScurrency during the day.Asian and European stocks

declined as sentiment wasrattled by concerns that theUS Fed could be consideringan imminent interest ratehike. Key indices in Asialike China, Hong Kong,Japan, South Korea andTaiwan fell by 1.18 per centto 3.36 per cent. Europeanindices in France, Germanyand the UK fell by up to 2per cent. Meanwhile, USfutures trading indicated thatthe Dow Jones IndustrialAverage could slide 116points at the opening bell.

Back home, 26 scrips outof the 30-share Sensex packended lower. Biggest losersincluded Adani Ports (4.37pc), SBI (4.28 pc), L&T (3.68pc), NTPC (3.56 pc), AxisBank (3.42 pc) Tata Motors(3.29 pc), M&M (3.06 pc),Hero MotoCorp (2.61 pc),Bajaj Auto (2.60 pc), ITC(2.49 pc) and GAIL (2.39pc). While, Infy rose by 1.74per cent followed by Reliance0.28 per cent, TCS 0.28 percent and Wipro 0.14 percent.

Among BSE sectora lindices, realty fell by 5.23 percent followed by metal 4.34per cent, capital goods 3.25per cent, power 3.14 percent, industrial 3.05 per cent,utilities 2.95 per cent andauto 2.61 per cent. The totalturnover fell to `3,428.93crore from `3,569.44 croreon Friday.

PNS n NEW DELHI

To fast track the roll out ofGST, the Cabinet on

Monday approved setting up ofthe crucial body GST Council,which will decide on the taxrate, exempted goods and thethreshold by November 22. \

The first meeting of theCouncil, to be chaired byUnion Finance Minister ArunJaitley, will be held onSeptember 22 and 23. TheCouncil will comprise Ministerof State for Finance in chargeof Revenue Department andstate finance ministers as mem-bers. Union Revenue Secretarywill be the ex-officio secretaryto the Council, but will have novoting rights.

The Cabinet, headed byPrime Minister NarendraModi, “approved setting up ofGST Council and setting up itsSecretariat,” an official state-ment said. Talking to reporters,Revenue Secretary HasmukhAdhia said the Government isrunning ahead of schedule onGST roll out and is all gearedup to meet the April 1, 2017,deadline.

“Now it is for the GSTCouncil to thrash out all theissues within the time limit oftwo months. We have set a timelimit of two months for dis-cussion and final decision onall the major aspects. Nowwhether that’s going to be fea-sible, that we have to watch andsee. So from September 22 toNovember 22, should be a rea-

sonable time limit for dis-cussing and thrashing out themajor issues,” he said.

Asked if the GST rate,exemptions and thresholdwould be decided by theCouncil before November 22for inclusion in the CGST law,Adhia said: “It should be. Yes”.

The Government is plan-ning to introduce GST legisla-tions -- Central GST (CGST)and Integrated GST (IGST) --in Winter Session of Parliamentin November.

Adhia said states have theflexibility to nominate eitherfinance or taxation or anyother minister to the GSTCouncil and he has alreadywritten to the state chief sec-retaries in this regard. So far,Adhia said “we are ahead of thetime schedule. The main thingto be done now is to call asmany meetings of the GSTCouncil and try and sort out allthe major issues so that we areready with the draft law com-pletely and the industry can getitself ready.”

GST, which is consideredas the biggest tax reform sinceindependence, will subsumeexcise and service tax, andvarious other local leviesincluding VAT and octroi.While the Centre will haveone-third vote, statestogetherwill have two-thirds in theGST Council. To adopt a res-olution, a three-fourthsmajority will be required.

The Cabinet meeting alsodecided to provide for ade-

quate funds for meeting therecurring and non-recurringexpenses of the GST CouncilSecretariat, the entire costfor which shall be borne bythe central government. TheGST Council Secretariat shallbe manned by officers takenon deputation from bothCentral and StateGovernments, the statementsaid.

While the GST Councilwill be created as per Article279A of the amendedConstitution, the GSTCouncil Secretariat will haveits office in New Delhi.

Revenue Secretary will bethe ex-officio secretary of theGST Council, which will havechairperson of the CentralBoard of Excise and Customs(CBEC) as a permanent invi-tee (non-voting). Also, a postof additional secretary in theGST Council Secretariat andfour posts of Commissioner(at the level of joint secretaryto the central government)will be created.

The GST Council willmake recommendations tothe Union and states onimportant issues related toGST. These include goodsand services that may be sub-jected to tax or exempted,principles governing place ofsupply, thresholds, GST ratesincluding floor with bandsand special rates for raisingadditional resources duringnatural calamities and specialprovisions for certain states.

Sensex dives 444 points on

Federal Reserve rate hike alarm

Cabinet approves creation ofGST Council and its secretariat

PNS nMUMBAI

Tata Steel on Monday report-ed consolidated net loss of

`3,183 crore for the quarterended June 30 because of its erst-while entity Long Steel UK.

The steel major’s operatingprofit or EBITDA (earningsbefore interest, tax, depreciationand amortisation) at 21 per centwas higher than the year-agoperiod due to improved operat-ing performance in India,Europe and South East Asia.

It posted net loss after taxes,minority interest and share ofprofit of associates of `3,183crore for the April- June quarterof the current financial year, asagainst net loss of ̀ 316.91 crorein the year-ago period.

Tata Steel’s Europe divisionwas sold at a loss of `3,296.48crore to Greybull Capital LLP.This loss was recognised in thefirst quarter.

The Tata Steel Group post-ed net profit of ̀ 172 crore in thequarter under review from con-tinuing business for the first timeafter several quarters, the com-pany said.

Its total income fell by 6 percent to `26,406.10 crore duringthe quarter under review, as

against `28,025.43 crore in theyear-ago period.

“Seasonal headwinds and aslowdown in a large steel con-suming sector like real estate

affected steel demand in thequarter. While the regulatorychanges have helped stem theflood of imports, domestic sup-ply has increased and added to

the competitive pressure.“The company’s deliveries

were stable this quarter and wesuccessfully maintained our mar-ket share in our chosen high- endsegments,” said Tata Steel Indiaand South East Asia ManagingDirector T V Narendran.

“Our auto business grew by19 per cent over the last year andbranded products now con-tribute around 34 per cent ofoverall sales. Stronger realisationsand focus on value added prod-ucts helped the business expandmargins by 310 basis points anddeliver an EBITDA of `2,236crore,” he said.

Despite continued importsfrom China, the South EastAsia operations have shown asignificant improvement in thebusiness due to focus on down-stream products and solutions,exports and effective manage-ment of spreads, Narendransaid.

Operations in India, Europeand South East Asia made pos-itive contributions. EBITDA of`3,270 crore, 65 per cent high-er than the fourth quarter of2015-16. It was 21 per cent high-er than the first quarter of 2015-16 due to improved operatingperformance regions.

Tata Steel net loss widens to`3,183 cr on hit from UK biz

NEW DELHI: Mahindra group’sauto component armMahindra CIE Automotive onMonday said it will acquireBengaluru-based Bill Forge for`1,331.2 crore.

The company’s board,which met on Monday,approved 100 per cent acqui-sition of Bill Forge Pvt Ltd andauthorised signing of acquisi-tion agreement, Mahindra CIEAutomotive said in a regulato-ry filing.

“The acquisition wouldsubstantially increase revenueand profitability of the com-pany from Asian markets andreinforce its position as one ofthe leading global forgingsplayer,” it added.

The acquisition also leadsto diversification of the com-pany’s business portfolio

including entry into the two-wheeler segment, it added.

The acquisition is pro-posed to be completed by endof October 2016, it said.

As on March 31, 2016, BillForge had posted revenues of`582.3 crore and profit after tax(PAT) of `51.4 crore.

As part of the deal,Mahindra CIE would issue31,991,563 shares to the share-holders of Bill Forge besides itwill also issue 22,500,000 sharesto ParticipacionesInternacionales Autometal, oneof the promoters of theBengaluru-based firm.

Founded in 1982, BillForge is a market leader in pre-cision forging.

It has six manufacturingfacilities in the country acrossBangaluru, Coimbatore amdHaridwar.

It is also setting up a plantat Celaya in Mexico. It suppliesto a number of domestic andand global two-wheeler andpassenger vehicle makers.

Mahindra CIEAutomotive’s board alsoapproved raising of `700 croreby way of issuing securities,including qualified institutionsplacement (QIP).

Mahindra CIE Automotivescrip on Monday ended at ̀ 190.90apiece on the BSE, down 3.63 percent from previous close. PTI

PNS n NEW DELHI

Cairn India shareholders onMonday approved merger of

the company with its parentVedanta Ltd after LIC and CairnEnergy plc of UK voted infavour of the sweetened merg-er ratio.

Requiring support of at leasthalf of the 40.12 per cent minor-ity shareholders of Cairn India,the deal got support of 72.43 percent of the minority votes, thecompany said in a regulatory fil-ing.

The voting percentage wasindicative of state-run LifeInsurance Corp (LIC) as well asthe company’s erstwhile parentCairn Energy plc voting it favourof the deal.

LIC holds 9.06 per centstake in Cairn India while CairnEnergy has 9.82 per cent. But oftheir support the deal could nothave mustered the requisitemajority support of minorityshareholders.

“The scheme has beenapproved by a majority of theminority shareholders,” the fil-ing said adding together withpromoter, the deal got supportof 92.86 per cent of sharehold-ers. Of the members present andvalidly voting, “65.41 per cent innumber, representing 92.86 percent in value, voted in favour ofthe resolution approving the

scheme,” it said. “The public shareholders

of the company have casted72.43 per cent of votes (in value)in favour of the resolution.”

Vedanta shareholders hadlast week approved the mergerunder a revised all-share deal.

In a bid to salvage the merg-er of cash-rich oil firm CairnIndia with its debt-laden parentVedanta Ltd, the billionaire AnilAgarwal-led group had in Julysweetened the deal by offeringthree additional preferenceshares in hope of winning overminority shareholders like LIC.

Through the merger,Agarwal is looking to createIndia’s largest diversified natur-al resources firm, which couldcompete with BHP Billiton Ltdand Vale SA.

In the revised offer,Vedanta will give minorityshareholders of Cairn Indiaone equity share and fourredeemable-preference shareswith a face value of `10 each.The preference shares will carrya coupon of 7.5 per cent andtenure of 18 months.

Vedanta is said to be want-ing to use `23,290 crore cashlying with Cairn to pay off partof its ̀ 77,952 crore debt. It hadin May rolled over a contro-versial $1.25-billion loan takenfrom the cash-rich oil explorerCairn India in July 2014.

Cairn India shareholdersapprove merger with Vedanta

Mahindra CIE to acquireBengaluru’s Bill Forge for `1,331.2 cr

NEW DELHI: To protect con-sumers from frauds, theGovernment on Mondayissued new norms mandatingdirect sellers to maintain con-fidentiality of private infor-mation of buyers as well asmaintain record of complaintredressal.

It also makes it mandato-ry for e-retailers and onlinemarketplaces to get prior writ-ten consent of the direct sell-ing entities like Amway beforesoliciting sales.

The model guidelines,which have been sent tostates, also seek to definedirect selling and direct sell-ers as well as pyramidschemes involving chain ofsubscribers wherein a buyerenrols one or more sub-scribers and the chain con-tinues.

The norms also providedfor direct selling companiesfor setting up a GrievanceRedressal Committee toattend to consumer com-plaints that will necessarilyhave to carry a unique num-ber through which they canbe tracked for redressal.

Also, the guidelines man-date such firms to providename of purchaser and seller,delivery date, procedure ofreturning goods and warran-ty.

The direct selling indus-try was pitching for a clearcutguidelines for the sector toremove legal ambiguities todifferentiate between fraudu-lent ponzi schemes and gen-uine businesses run by them.

The process for framingproper guidelines was startedin 2013 by the Government

after the police arrested thethen Amway’s IndiaChairman William SPinckney and two companydirectors over allegations offraud in Kerala under thePrize Chits and MoneyCirculation Schemes(Banning) Act.

The Ministr y ofConsumer Affairs issued theguidelines for states to regu-late direct selling and multi-level marketing (MLM), thatprohibited pyramid scheme aswell as money circulationschemes under the garb ofdirect selling business.

The ‘Direct Sell ingGuidelines 2016’ frameworkwas released by the ConsumerAffairs Minister Ram VilasPaswan and has been sent tothe states/Union Territoriesfor adoption.

The industry welcomedthe move saying that it willbring clarity in the `7,500crore-sector and end regula-tory conflicts, leading tofuture growth in direct sellingsegment.

The Government hasdefined legitimate direct sellingand differentiates it from pyra-mid and money circulationschemes to help investigatingagencies identify fraudulentplayers.

“We are sending the modelguidelines to all StateGovernments. States can makesome changes as per theirlocalised requirements. Theguidelines were necessary forbetter growth in the directselling business,” ConsumerAffairs Secretary Hem Pandetold reporters here.

Guidelines are always

optional, he said when askedwhether it would be mandato-ry for states to adopt thesenorms.

Indian Direct SellingAssociation (IDSA) PresidentJitendra Jagota said: “In theabsence of proper policy orguidelines, numerous fraudu-lent players have been takingadvantage of the situation. Nowthat the guidelines are out, itshall address the current con-cerns of the industry and pro-vide much needed impetus”.

“The guidelines on directselling, issued by the Ministryof Consumer Affairs, representan important step which willboth safeguard the interests ofconsumers, as well as identifyand help protect ethical directselling companies,” AmwayIndia CEO Anshu Budhrajasaid. PTI

Govt issues model guidelines for states on direct selling

MUMBAI: After selling off itslong products business, TataSteel Europe is now plan-ning to become a premiumstrip player and concentrateon improving its perfor-mance, a senior companyofficial said on Monday.

“Following the sale oflong products business, TataSteel Europe would focus onbeing a premium strip play-er and concentrate onimproving its performance.The strategy for exploringfurther strategic consolida-tion in Europe is a step inthat direction,” Tata SteelGroup Executive DirectorKoushik Chatterjee saidhere.

Tata Steel’s Europe divi-sion was sold at a loss of`3,296.48 crore to GreybullCapital LLP in the quarterended June 30, 2016.

Chatter jee said the

company’s recent restruc-turing and cost-cutting ini-tiatives in the UK, alongwith weaker sterling, hadhelped the business toreport better performancein the quarter.

Meanwhile, Tata SteelEurope said it is in discus-sion with industry players toexplore a strategic collabo-ration through a potentialjoint venture.

The company in Marchannounced plans to sell allits UK operations after yearsof losses. Tata still owns thePort Talbot steel works inWales, which employs morethan 4,000 workers, and2,000 workers at other plantsin Hartlepool, Rotherhamand Stocksbridge.

Tata earlier said it is intalks with companies ,including Thyssenkrupp, fora joint venture. PTI

..eyes Europe’s premier strip maker space

NEW DELHI: Telecom operatorIdea Cellular on Monday said itwill provide more interconnectpoints shortly to Reliance Jionetwork which will support calltraffic of 1.85 million addition-al customers of the new entrant.

But in the same breath,Idea said that it is incurring hugecost due to the high number ofincoming calls from Reliance Jionetwork.

“Unless controlled, thisinduced traffic asymmetry isexpected to exacerbate the lossin coming months,” an Ideastatement said.

The move to provide addi-tional facility for network inter-connetion comes within threedays of telecom regulator Traiintervening in the feud betweenincumbent mobile operators --

Airtel, Vodafone and IdeaCellular -- and new entrantReliance Jio Infocomm.

The tussle is over call failuresexperienced by subscribers ofthe Mukesh Ambani-led tele-com firm due to insufficientpoints of interconnection beingmade available by the existingoperators.

“Idea has now decided toproactively expand capacitywith Jio to over 6.5 million sub-scribers, with the release of 196additional POIs, shortly. Thisadditional capacity will providefor a buffer of 119 per centagainst the August subscribervolumes,” Idea said.

Idea - the third largestmobile operator in the country- further claimed that callsfrom nearly 2.97 million unique

Jio subscribers terminated on itsnetwork in August 2016.

“Our current allocation ofPOIs would in normal circum-stances cater to 4.65 millionsuch subscribers indicating abuffer of 57 per cent in callingcapacity,” it said.

Idea is the first of the threeincumbent telecom operators toagree to offer additional inter-connection ports for Jio. Thiswill enable more calls from Jiocustomers to connect with sus-bcribers on Idea network.

However, the Aditya Birlagroup firm said that it awaitsregulatory intervention toaddress the asymmetry of traf-fic issue and ensure complianceof existing interconnectionusage charge (IUC) regula-tions. PTI

Telcos war: Idea to open moreinterconnect points for Jio

NEW DELHI: Presiding judge fora three-member arbitrationpanel set up to decide on the2̀2,100-crore tax demand from

Indian tax authorities on UK’sVodafone Group has been iden-tified and an announcement islikely shortly.

Vodafone had initiated twoseparate arbitrations under theIndia-Netherlands BilateralInvestment Treaty and the India-UK Bilateral Investment Treatyagainst the tax notice linked toa legislation that gave the I-TDepartment powers to raise ret-rospective demand.

While appointment of arbi-trators in the dispute raisedunder the India-UK treaty hasnot yet taken off, the two sideshad named one arbitrator eachunder the Dutch treaty.

“The presiding arbitratorwas pending and the judge hasnow been identified. I think theannouncement will be madeshortly,” a source said.

Vodafone had in Marchmoved the Hague-basedInternational Court of Justice(ICJ) after arbitrators appointedby it and the IndianGovernment failed to reach aconsensus on selection of a pre-siding judge of the three-mem-ber panel.

Vodafone InternationalHoldings BV had on April 17,2014, served a notice of arbi-tration under the DutchBilateral Investment Treaty seek-ing resolution of the tax demandimposed by India through a taxlaw with retrospective effect tosidestep a Supreme Courtjudgement. PTI

Voda tax arbitration:

Presiding judge to be

named shortly

money 11LUCKNOW | TUESDAY | SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

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RADICO 103.4 -5.05 -4.66RAIN 46.5 -2.65 -5.39RAJESHEXPO 450.5 1.05 0.23RALLIS 219.2 -8.65 -3.8RAMCOCEM 575.1 -12.45 -2.12RAMCOSYS 468.85 -14.3 -2.96RAYMOND 437.5 -13.8 -3.06RCF 47.05 -1.65 -3.39RCOM 49.7 -1.05 -2.07RDEL 56.35 -8.8 -13.51RECLTD 226.9 -14.8 -6.12REDINGTON 112.85 0 0RELAXO 428.8 -5.3 -1.22RELCAPITAL 532.55 -31.4 -5.57RELIANCE 1046.6 2.9 0.28RELIGARE 270 2.6 0.97RELINFRA 577.45 -39.9 -6.46RENUKA 15.9 -0.55 -3.34REPCOHOME 813.25 -37.6 -4.42RKFORGE 370 -14.65 -3.81ROLTA 63.05 -2.05 -3.15RPOWER 51.5 -2 -3.74RTNPOWER 9.46 -0.04 -0.42SADBHAV 298.2 2.05 0.69SAIL 47.9 -2.75 -5.43SANOFI 4300.15 -65.85 -1.51SBBJ 671.9 -31.05 -4.42SBIN 252.7 -11.3 -4.28SBT 529.2 -20.95 -3.81SCHNEIDER 133.05 -2.95 -2.17SCI 67.65 -1.65 -2.38SEQUENT 139.25 -1.05 -0.75SFCL 110 -2.45 -2.18SHARDACROP 363.9 -0.65 -0.18SHILPAMED 539.1 -2.8 -0.52SHK 300 -14.5 -4.61SHOPERSTOP 370.5 -9.65 -2.54SHREECEM 16890 -451.05 -2.6SHRIRAMCIT 2226.3 -25.6 -1.14SIEMENS 1241 -49.4 -3.83SIMPLEXINF 338.7 -9.35 -2.69SINTEX 76.05 -4.15 -5.17SITINET 35.7 -0.45 -1.24SJVN 28.3 -0.05 -0.18SKFINDIA 1430 6.7 0.47SMLISUZU 1307.45 -37.3 -2.77

SOBHA 300.2 -5.55 -1.82SOLARINDS 632.85 -8.05 -1.26SONATSOFTW 150 0.3 0.2SOUTHBANK 23 -1.15 -4.76SPARC 360 -16.75 -4.45SPICEJET 61.4 -0.35 -0.57SREINFRA 72.5 -4.1 -5.35SRF 1624.45 -89.85 -5.24SRTRANSFIN 1179 -44.05 -3.6STAR 1006.9 23.55 2.39STRTECH 84.6 -1.85 -2.14SUNDRMFAST 283.65 -8.9 -3.04SUNPHARMA 786.95 -10.2 -1.28SUNTECK 246.5 -4.15 -1.66SUNTV 451.9 -22.85 -4.81SUPREMEIND 923.55 -18.3 -1.94SUVEN 193.25 -5.4 -2.72SUZLON 17.25 -0.7 -3.9SWANENERGY 63 0.35 0.56SYMPHONY 2297.1 -49.85 -2.12SYNDIBANK 75.75 -3.95 -4.96SYNGENE 471.4 -10.65 -2.21TAKE 159.4 -6.5 -3.92TATACHEM 530.35 -28.9 -5.17TATACOFFEE 120.55 -5.15 -4.1TATACOMM 494.5 -17.65 -3.45TATAELXSI 1509.05 -23.35 -1.52TATAGLOBAL 135.25 -4.3 -3.08TATAINVEST 564.05 -26.8 -4.54TATAMOTORS 554.15 -18.85 -3.29TATAMTRDVR 350.2 -13.2 -3.63TATAPOWER 74.4 -2.7 -3.5TATASPONGE 589.95 -24.9 -4.05TATASTEEL 373.6 -20.9 -5.3TCS 2359.1 6.6 0.28TECHM 463.75 5.5 1.2TECHNO 328.6 -0.9 -0.27TEXRAIL 110.3 -3.8 -3.33THERMAX 818 -31.05 -3.66THOMASCOOK 194.9 -4.6 -2.31TIMKEN 548.45 -22.5 -3.94TITAN 411.65 -12.15 -2.87

TNPL 323 -11.45 -3.42TORNTPHARM 1650.2 -12.3 -0.74TORNTPOWER 178.45 -4.15 -2.27TRENT 241.85 7.35 3.13TRIDENT 49.9 -1.1 -2.16TRITURBINE 119.05 -5.65 -4.53TTKPRESTIG 4870.4 26.1 0.54TUBEINVEST 570.4 -3.95 -0.69TV18BRDCST 39.75 -1.55 -3.75TVSMOTOR 320.9 -9.1 -2.76TVSSRICHAK 2635 -68.85 -2.55TVTODAY 296.75 -7.95 -2.61TWL 116.8 -4.9 -4.03UBL 810.2 -4.9 -0.6UCOBANK 40.85 -1.85 -4.33UFLEX 254.15 -9.15 -3.48ULTRACEMCO 3868.15 -103.55 -2.61UNICHEMLAB 261.5 -11.8 -4.32UNIONBANK 141.1 -8.2 -5.49UNITDSPR 2281.3 -35.3 -1.52UNITECH 5.91 -0.33 -5.29UPL 647.1 -11.8 -1.79VAKRANGEE 208.6 0.8 0.38VEDL 161.55 -10.1 -5.88VGUARD 182.9 -3.15 -1.69VIDEOIND 103.25 -0.7 -0.67VIJAYABANK 38.9 -1.9 -4.66VINATIORGA 609 -1.15 -0.19VIPIND 128.2 -5.8 -4.33VOLTAS 374.2 -14.55 -3.74VRLLOG 292.35 -2.05 -0.7VSTIND 2180 -35.35 -1.6VTL 976.2 -23.1 -2.31WABAG 550 -15.75 -2.78WABCOINDIA 6237.75 -104.7 -1.65WELCORP 76.25 -2 -2.56WELSPUNIND 56.65 -0.1 -0.18WESTLIFE 219 -0.3 -0.14WHIRLPOOL 920 -19.3 -2.05WIPRO 481.3 0.65 0.14WOCKPHARMA 819.9 -37.85 -4.41WONDERLA 400.85 -4.45 -1.1YAMNINV 38 0.6 1.6YESBANK 1205.35 -71.9 -5.63ZEEL 515.6 -17.85 -3.35ZENSARTECH 1012.55 -29.55 -2.84ZYDUSWELL 886 -19.4 -2.14

NIFTY 50

SCRIP OPEN HIGH LOW LTP CHANGEINFY 1,025.25 1,058.00 1,025.25 1,055.00 19.5TECHM 454 466.4 453 464.1 5.8WIPRO 474.8 483.4 472.15 482 1.35TCS 2,337.00 2,363.95 2,324.00 2,358.00 5.55RELIANCE 1,030.40 1,056.00 1,029.15 1,046.95 2.4HCLTECH 772 792.1 770 780.2 -0.35COALINDIA 327.7 333 327.5 330.3 -1.9KOTAKBANK 811.95 815 805 814 -4.85EICHERMOT 22,695.8022,825.0022,445.1522,750.00 -175.05HDFCBANK 1,274.70 1,284.40 1,271.50 1,279.60 -10.8HDFC 1,390.00 1,410.00 1,373.70 1,398.00 -12.65IDEA 82.5 83.8 82.05 82.7 -0.9HINDUNILVR 924.85 924.85 912.45 919 -10.95BHARTIARTL 317.9 321.95 314.1 317.8 -4.3MARUTI 5,305.00 5,350.00 5,251.00 5,330.00 -73GRASIM 4,660.00 4,696.00 4,577.00 4,642.00 -64.65CIPLA 572.2 579.2 562.3 570.5 -8ASIANPAINT 1,156.35 1,163.00 1,137.00 1,155.00 -16.75SUNPHARMA 789 795.9 779.1 786 -11.45ONGC 250 252.85 248.2 250.8 -4.15DRREDDY 3,153.00 3,185.00 3,132.00 3,140.00 -53.3INDUSINDBK 1,198.00 1,203.05 1,185.10 1,195.35 -22.3POWERGRID 182.6 183.4 179.75 180.05 -3.75ULTRACEMCO 3,900.00 3,939.90 3,844.55 3,869.05 -84.65INFRATEL 347.85 347.85 341 343.75 -7.55GAIL 389.4 389.8 383.4 386.25 -8.75ICICIBANK 267 269.45 262.7 267.85 -6.25LUPIN 1,555.00 1,561.80 1,527.50 1,533.20 -36.35HEROMOTOCO 3,540.00 3,555.00 3,492.00 3,537.00 -84.2ITC 255.95 256.7 251.75 251.85 -6.45AUROPHARMA 792 798 779.6 780.7 -21.65BAJAJ-AUTO 2,970.00 2,977.70 2,926.00 2,953.00 -83.45ZEEL 529.95 529.95 511.8 517.35 -16.05AXISBANK 597.8 601.85 588.4 594.5 -18.6BOSCHLTD 23,950.0024,000.0023,400.0023,400.10 -763.95M&M 1,456.50 1,458.00 1,416.00 1,424.90 -47.55TATAMOTORS 551 560 549.25 553.75 -19.5TATAMTRDVR 353 360 345 350.4 -12.85LT 1,488.00 1,491.60 1,459.90 1,463.00 -54.7NTPC 156.8 158.2 152.25 153 -5.8BPCL 580.35 585.6 563.1 566 -22.55TATAPOWER 76.5 76.5 73.55 74.15 -3.05SBIN 257.5 258.75 251.8 253.65 -10.45BHEL 150.5 153.85 146.25 147.6 -6.45ACC 1,640.00 1,640.00 1,570.25 1,584.00 -69.35ADANIPORTS 268.9 268.9 256.4 259.75 -12.45AMBUJACEM 269.1 269.85 259 260 -12.65BANKBARODA 167.95 167.95 161.15 162.1 -9.85TATASTEEL 385 385.9 370.6 371.95 -22.65YESBANK 1,249.00 1,249.00 1,197.00 1,199.50 -76.75HINDALCO 149 150.6 139.9 141.2 -13.65

se 500B

VITAL STATS

GOLD SILVERMumbai 32919 45715Delhi 31978 45715Kolkata 32256 45715

BSE: SENSEX

OpenHighLowCurrent valuePrevious close Change (Pts) Change (%)

66.90

88.77

75.22

0.65

NIFTY NEXT 50

SCRIP OPEN HIGH LOW LTP CHANGEPGHH 6,630.00 6,719.00 6,505.10 6,687.95 107OFSS 3,300.00 3,389.75 3,290.00 3,380.00 48.95CUMMINSIND 927 933.45 911.25 932.7 -1.25COLPAL 975 982 966.8 982 -2.65DABUR 290 292 285 292 -0.8EMAMILTD 1,185.00 1,209.00 1,176.15 1,196.00 -5.15TORNTPHARM 1,645.00 1,686.90 1,613.10 1,656.00 -7.1GSKCONS 6,100.00 6,150.00 6,080.00 6,100.00 -28.35GLAXO 2,990.00 3,008.45 2,975.00 2,985.00 -16.05BRITANNIA 3,400.00 3,449.90 3,370.00 3,436.00 -19.05UBL 809.15 821.6 801 810.25 -6.8BEL 1,195.10 1,221.60 1,181.10 1,196.00 -15.2SHREECEM 17,340.0017,340.0016,751.8017,100.00 -242.9UPL 648 657.9 635.1 651 -9.5PIDILITIND 703.95 710.35 686.1 700.55 -10.5BHARATFORG 849 859 827.1 849 -12.75OIL 397 397.9 389.65 394.55 -6.05CASTROLIND 470.95 472.5 456.15 463.7 -7.5DIVISLAB 1,311.15 1,318.25 1,294.00 1,303.00 -21.15MCDOWELL-N 2,150.00 2,328.00 2,150.00 2,280.00 -38.35ABB 1,185.00 1,185.00 1,150.00 1,166.15 -19.75IOC 557 562.25 550.3 553.35 -10.3MARICO 292.45 292.45 281.95 288.5 -5.4CADILAHC 385.4 385.95 374 382.55 -7.3GODREJCP 1,645.00 1,645.00 1,604.10 1,621.95 -32.7NHPC 25.9 26.1 25.5 25.65 -0.55GLENMARK 889.7 904.4 871.55 876 -20.7RCOM 49.8 50.7 48.2 49.55 -1.25BAJAJFINSV 2,970.00 2,996.95 2,884.95 2,948.85 -85.55TITAN 420 420 410 411.6 -12.35IBULHSGFIN 775.6 779.95 759.8 772 -23.7APOLLOHOSP 1,345.00 1,349.90 1,307.10 1,308.00 -45.1LICHSGFIN 574.5 574.5 553.3 562.4 -20.75SIEMENS 1,269.50 1,269.50 1,237.20 1,241.85 -47.9CONCOR 1,355.30 1,363.45 1,311.00 1,318.95 -52.1CAIRN 196.85 204.45 186.75 191.25 -8HINDPETRO 1,235.90 1,240.45 1,187.30 1,199.00 -51.7SRTRANSFIN 1,211.10 1,211.10 1,170.00 1,171.75 -50.9ASHOKLEY 85.25 85.4 83.25 83.55 -3.7HINDZINC 212.5 216.8 210 210.4 -9.95JSWSTEEL 1,800.00 1,800.00 1,736.70 1,741.00 -82.8MOTHERSUMI 325.85 325.85 308.25 314 -15.85VEDL 167.4 176.3 158.5 163 -8.25PFC 122.85 122.85 118 118.4 -6.45BAJFINANCE 1,124.80 1,133.85 1,050.00 1,093.00 -60.55PNB 139.7 142.65 135.75 137 -7.85NMDC 109.6 109.6 103.95 104.7 -6.1SAIL 50 50.1 47.55 47.85 -2.8RECLTD 237.7 237.8 226.1 226.9 -14.75DLF 152.75 154 143.1 145.5 -12.5

28481.0928481.1128251.3128353.5428797.25-443.71-1.54

BSE: GAINERS

CYIENT 491.55 (7.00)

TRENT 241.85 (3.13)

FINCABLES 431.85 (2.47)

STAR 1006.90 (2.39)

DELTACORP 156.60 (2.39)

Current (Chng %)NSE: GAINERS

INFY 1,055.00 (1.88)

TECHM 464.10 (1.27)

WIPRO 482.00 (0.28)

TCS 2,358.00 (0.24)

RELIANCE 1,046.95 (0.23)

Current (Chng %)BSE: LOSERS

RDEL 56.35 (13.51)

HDIL 90.00 (10.85)

HINDALCO 140.80 (8.99)

DLF 145.05 (8.08)

IL&FSTRANS 87.65 (7.54)

Current (Chng %)NSE: LOSERS

HINDALCO 141.20 (8.81)

YESBANK 1,199.50 (6.01)

TATASTEEL 371.95 (5.74)

BANKBARODA 162.10 (5.73)

AMBUJACEM 260.00 (4.64)

Current (Chng %)

SENSEX NIFTY

PTI n NEW DELHI

Government’s revenue col-lection in the first 5

months of current fiscal hasshown impressive growth,with indirect taxes up 27.5per cent and direct taxes,15.03 per cent. The totaldirect and indirect tax col-lections at the end of Auguststood at `5.25 lakh crore,about a third of the `16.26lakh crore target for 2016-17.

The Government is eyeing12.64 per cent growth fromdirect tax to `8.47 lakh crorein the current fiscal, and 10.8per cent growth to `7.79 lakhcrore from indirect tax. Led byrobust collections in personalincome tax and excise duty,direct tax mop up touched`1.89 lakh crore and indirecttax revenue stood at `3.36 lakhcrore during the April-Augustperiod.

Direct tax revenue

includes corporate and per-sonal income tax. Indirect taxtakes into account mop upfrom excise, service tax andcustoms duty.

The gross collection ofCorporate Income Tax (CIT)grew at 11.55 per cent, whilethat under personal incometax (PIT) it was 24.06 per centover the corresponding peri-od last fiscal. After adjustingfor refunds, however, the net

growth in CIT collections is (-)1.89 per cent while that in PITcollections is 31.76 per cent.

Excise duty collectionsgrew 48.8 per cent in theApril- August period to `1.53lakh crore, while Service Taxrecorded an increase of 23.2per cent at `92,696 crore.Customs mop-up during thefive month period was at`90,448 crore, registering agrowth of 5.7 per cent.

Impressive growth in tax

collection; Indirect up 27%,

direct 15% in April-August NEW DELHI: The Governmenton Monday launched toll freenumber 1924 to register postalcomplaints, over a month afterintroducing Twitter Sewa forredressal of telecom and postalgrievances.

“Prime Minister has askedall departments to set up andstrengthen public grievancesredressal system. Moving onthese lines, we started TwitterSewa on August 2 and now wehave issued a toll free number1924 to address postal com-plaints,” CommunicationsMinister Manoj Sinha said afterinaugurating the service.

The service will be opera-tional initially for 12 hours onworking days between 0800hrs to 2000 hrs. Sinha said thecomplaints will be addressed in24 hours unless they are relat-ed to policy matters. “The ser-vice has been started initially inthree languages -- Hindi,English, Malayalam and grad-ually we will start services in allscheduled languages,” he added.

He said the Department ofPosts (DoP)is 8th largestdepartment in terms of numberof complaints received.

“We have been receivingaverage of 100 complaints in aday from across the country onTwitter Sewa and the resolutionstatus is 97 per cent till date,”Sinha said. The DoP will set upa nodal officer in all postal cir-cles who will handle publiccomplaints. “In three monthswe will start providing ser-vices in all languages on IndiaPosts helpline number.

Meanwhile, we will directcalls received in any other lan-guage to the concerned circle.If required, we will also expandoperating hours from 12 to 24,”DoP Secretary BV Sudhakarsaid. The complaints receivedon the toll free number wouldbe registered in ComputerisedCustomer Care (CCC) Centreportal by the operators at theDak Bhawan and the 11 digitsticket number would be pro-vided to the complainants. PTI

Govt launches toll free

number 1924 to lodge

postal complaints PTI n NEW DELHI

Domestic budget carrierSpiceJet on Monday said

it has signed an interline pactwith German scheduled oper-ator and service distributorHahn Air to spread its pres-ence in the international mar-kets, particularly Europeandestinations. An interlinearrangement refers to a pactto issue and accept tickets forflights that are operated bythe partner airline. Whenselling an iinterline ticket, theoperating airline’s own flightnumbers are used.

With this pact, SpiceJetwould be able to sell itsflight tickets on Hahn Air’sbooking system, thereby giv-ing the airline a direct accessto the global platform whilemaking passengers’ travelworldwide easy, a releasesaid on Monday. This is thesecond time the Gurgaon-based airline has entered intosuch a pact with an overseasairline. In 2013, SpiceJet, thenowned by Kalanithi Maran,

had tied up with Singapore’sTiger Air for a similar arrange-ment. However, it was calledoff within a year after the air-line nearly went belly up inDecember 2014.

“We have charted out asystematic growth path forSpiceJet and the time is ripe forus to reach out to a wider audi-ence while enabling our cus-tomers to avail an extensivenetwork with elevated conve-nience. The association willhelp us to penetrate theuntapped markets,” ShilpaBhatia, Senior Vice Presidentfor Commercial, SpiceJet, saidin the release.

The Dusseldorf-basedHahn Air is a global leader inproviding distribution servicesfor air, rail and shuttle partners,

and a ticketing expert for trav-el agents. Apart from givingaccess to retail customersworldwide, Hahn Air offers anetwork to non-GDS (globaldistribution system) airlinesenabling them to be bookedthrough over 95,000 travelagencies across 190 markets.

“We are proud to wel-come SpiceJet as the latest air-line to join the H1-Air net-work. This is especiallymomentous as they are HahnAir System’s 50th partner,”Alexander Proschka, Headof Hahn Air Systems, said.With the interline agreementin place, SpiceJet’s domesticand international serviceswill now be available on allGDSs and will be issuable onthe Hahn Air platform.

SpiceJet in pact with HahnAir for better global reach

Reliance Capital to transfer commercial finance business to separate company NEW DELHI: Paving the wayfor stake sale in its commercialfinance unit with a loan port-folio of about `16,500 crore,Reliance Capital has got share-

holders' approval for the trans-fer of this business to a separatecompany. Post the transfer,Reliance Capital would beapplying to the RBI for regis-

tering itself as a CoreInvestment Company (CIC)and this would also facilitatethe application of a bankinglicence, as and when the apex

bank's policy permits.The transfer was approved

by an overwhelming majorityof 99.99 per cent votes infavour of the scheme of

arrangement at the court-con-vened general shareholdersmeeting held on September 10,Reliance Capital said in a state-ment on Monday.

Reliance Nippon LifeInsurance and Reliance NipponLife Asset Management, bothsubsidiaries of Reliance Capital,already have a strategic partner

– Nippon Life Insurance - with49 per cent stake. ASs per thescheme, commercial financedivision of Reliance Capital wasproposed to be merged into

Reliance Gilts, a wholly-ownedsubsidiary of Reliance Capital,and this merged entity was tobe renamed RelianceCommercial Finance (RCF).

LUCKNOW | TUESDAY | SEPTEMBER 13, 2016 world 12

TROTTINGTROTTINGGLOBE

UN: AIRSTRIKES ON WATERWELL KILL 30 PEOPLESanaa: A UN official saysairstrikes launched by the Saudi-led coalition on a water well innorthern Yemen have reportedlykilled 30 people.

N KOREA CAPABLE OF NEXTN TEST ANYTIME: SEOULSeoul: North Korea is capable ofdetonating another nucleardevice at its main atomic testsite any time it chooses, Seoulofficials said on Monday, as theUnited States reportedly plannedto send two nuclear-capablesupersonic bombers to theSouth in a show of force againstPyongyang.

AUSTRIA PREZ ELECTIONSTO BE POSTPONED: GOVTVienna: The re-run of Austria’spresidential election on October2 needs to be postponedbecause of problems with glueon postal votes not sticking, theinterior minister said on Monday.

SEVERAL HURT AS BLASTHITS TURKISH CITY OF VANIstanbul: An explosion rockedthe eastern Turkish city of Vanon Monday, leaving severalpeople wounded, state-runAnadolu news agency reported.

5.8 MAGNITUDE QUAKEJOLTS SOUTH KOREASeoul: A 5.8 magnitudeearthquake jolted South Korea,media reported on Monday.Earlier, a 5.1-magnitude tremorstruck the outskirts of Gyeongjucity in Gyeongsang province at7.44 pm, with its epicentrelocated about 9 km southwest ofthe city.

FRENCH PM WARNS OFMORE TERROR ATTACKSParis: French Prime MinisterManuel Valls has warned thecountry of more terror attacks inthe days to come, saying thatsome 15,000 people are in theprocess of radicalisation inFrance and on police radar, while1,400 are under investigation.

NEPAL ANNOUNCES STATE

VISIT OF PRACHANDA TO INDIA

Kathmandu: Nepal on Mondayannounced the four-day statevisit of Prime Minister PushpaKamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ to Indiafrom Thursday — his firstforeign visit after taking over asPrime Minister last month.

Hillary diagnosed with pneumonia, cancels campaign trip

S RAJAGOPALAN n

WASHINGTON

Hillary Clinton’s abruptexit from Sunday’s 9/11

anniversary ceremony in NewYork with a pronounced stum-ble and the subsequent dis-closure that she has beenunder treatment for pneu-monia has fuelled renewedspeculation about her healthat a crucial stage of the USpresidential race.

Clinton, who has beendogged for long byRepublican-inspired conspir-acy theories about her state of

health, cancelled her two-daycampaign trip to California,beginning Monday, after doc-tors advised her rest.

The disclosure that shewas diagnosed with pneumo-nia last Friday came hoursafter a video of the Sundaymorning episode showed herstumbling and appearing tofaint as she tried to get intoher van, with secret serviceagents having to lend her ahelping hand.

Clinton, who was driven

from the memorial event atGround Zero to her daughter’sManhattan apartment,emerged from there after about90 minutes, smiling and wav-ing to onlookers, remarking:“I’m feeling great. It’s a beauti-ful day in New York.”

Later in the day, a cam-paign aide said Clinton’s physi-cian, Dr. Lisa R. Bardack, hadexamined her at her home andput out a statement, sayingClinton was “rehydrated andrecovering nicely” after having

become “overheated and dehy-drated” at the morning event.It went on to mention thatClinton had been diagnosedwith pneumonia on Fridaymorning and put on antibiotics.

Clinton’s Republican rival,Donald Trump, who for weekshas been raising questionsabout her “strength” and “sta-mina” for the rigours of presi-

dency, expressed the hope thatshe gets well soon. At the sametime, he indicated that thehealth aspect would remain acampaign issue.

“I hope she gets well soon,”Trump told Fox News onMonday morning, adding,“Something is going on but Ijust hope she gets well and getsback on the trail, and we’ll be

seeing her at the debate.”Trump then went on to

say that he underwent a newhealth check-up last week,adding he would be releasingthe details later this week. “Ifeel great, but when the num-bers come in, I’ll be releasingvery, very specific numbers,”said Trump, who has so farissued only a limited summa-

ry of his health status.Both Clinton, 68, and

Trump, 70, have been facingacute criticism for long over their refusal to put outtheir full health records in thepublic domain.

The Clinton campaignhad issued a statement fromDr Bardack in July 2015 to saythat the candidate was ingood health, whose currentmedical conditions includedhypothyroidism and season-al pollen allergies.

In 2012, Clinton had suf-fered a concussion that result-ed from a fainting spell. Theblood clot that she sufferedbetween her brain and skull atthe time was completelyresolved as indicated by follow-up testing in 2012, the state-ment said, adding Clinton test-ed negative for all clotting dis-orders. However, as a precau-tion, Clinton has remained ondaily blood thinners, the doc-tor said.

PTI n WASHINGTON

Democratic presidential nom-inee Hillary Clinton is lead-

ing her rival Donald Trump byfive percentage points, accordingto a latest poll which said that thereal-estate tycoon may have amore challenging route to victoryin the November polls.

Clinton holds a 46 per centto 41 per cent edge over Trumpamong likely voters, followed byLibertarian candidate GaryJohnson at nine per cent and the

Green Party’s Jill Stein at two percent, The Washington Post-ABC News said in its latest poll.

However, Clinton, 68, leadTrump, 70, by 10 percentagepoints among the registeredvoters, 45 per cent to 35 percent, it said.

“The findings come at atime when the marginsbetween Clinton and Trumphave narrowed in some battle-ground states and few nation-al polls also have shown atightening in the competition,”

the Washington Post said,adding that Trump has a morechallenging route to victory.

According to another poll,the two presidential candidatesare tied in four key battlegroundStates of Arizona, Georgia, NewHampshire and Nevada.

NBC News-Wall StreetJournal-Marist poll said Clintonleads Trump by one point amonglikely voters in Arizona, Nevadaand New Hampshire.

Trump has a three-pointlead in Georgia.

AFP n DAMASCUS

Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad vowed to retake all of

Syria from “terrorists,” hoursbefore a truce brokered byRussia and the United States wasdue to take hold on Monday.

Speaking in Daraya, a for-mer rebel stronghold recentlysurrendered to the Gove-rnment, Assad said “the Syrianstate is determined to recoverevery area from the terrorists,”state media reported.

“The armed forces are con-tinuing their work, relentless-ly and without hesitation,regardless of internal or exter-nal circumstances,” he said.

Assad made a rare public

appearance to celebrate theMuslim Eid al-Adha holiday inDaraya, where state mediashowed him attending prayersat the Saad Bin Moaz mosque.

After years of governmentsiege and fighting, its remain-ing residents and rebel fightersevacuated the town in lateAugust under a deal with the

regime, which has since retak-en control.

“After five years, some peo-ple still haven’t woken up fromtheir fantasies,” Assad said,referring to the anti-govern-ment protests that erupted inSyria in 2011.

“Some were betting onpromises from foreign powers,which will result in nothing,” headded.

Assad was joined at theprayers by a number of mem-bers of his ruling Baath party,as well as several ministers andmembers of parliament. Themufti, or Muslim cleric, pre-siding over the prayers, hailedDaraya as an example for Syria,which has been ravaged by

conflict since 2011.“Daraya is living proof for

all Syrians that the only optionavailable to you is reconcilia-tion and abandoning fighting,”said Adnan al-Afiyuni, muftifor Damascus province.

Rebel fighters said theyhad been forced to agree thedeal with the Government afterthe siege created a humanitar-ian crisis for Daraya’s remain-ing residents. But the govern-ment has touted the deal, andother similar agreements, as thebest way to achieve local cease-fires and end the violence.

More than 290,000 peoplehave been killed and over halfthe population displaced sincethe conflict began.

AFP n MINA

Muslims from around theworld on Monday

returned to the scene of lastyear’s deadly stampede to per-form a stoning ritual nearMecca that is the final majorrite of Haj.

Rivers of pilgrims flowedon multiple ramps toward theJamarat Bridge where the“stoning of the devil” is takingplace under high security.

Authorities in SaudiArabia do not talk about lastyear’s stampede, which killedhundreds around Jamarat onthe first day of the ritual.

Riyadh issued a death tollof 769, although figures com-piled from foreign officials inmore than 30 countries gave astampede tally of roughly 2,300.

But a number of safetymeasures have been taken andpilgrims on Monday expressedno concern.

“There has been a clearimprovement,” said Saudi pil-grim Ibrahim Ayed, 40, return-ing for Haj and the stoning forthe first time in a decade.

The stoning ritual coin-cides with Eid al-Adha, Islam’sfeast of sacrifice, which is cel-ebrated by more than 1.5 bil-lion Muslims worldwide.

Sheep are slaughtered andthe meat distributed to needyMuslims, symbolising the

prophet Abraham’s willing-ness to sacrifice Ishmael on theorders of God, who provideda lamb in the boy’s place at thelast moment.

Pilgrims no longer carryout the sacrifice rite themselvesbut pay agencies to distributethe meat.

The Jamarat ritual, whichoccurs in Mina at the easternedge of Mecca, emulatesAbraham’s stoning of the devilat three spots in resisting thetemptation to disobey God’sorder.

On the first of three daysof stoning, elevated camerasstationed several metres(yards) apart filmed the pil-grims, most clad in white mov-ing behind coloured flags iden-tifying their groups.

The stoning bridge, whichresembles a large multi-storeycar park, was erected in thepast decade at a cost of morethan USD 1 billion (900 mil-lion euros) and was designedto prevent overcrowding.

Hundreds of police werestationed on each of theJamarat’s five floors, linked byescalators, from where pil-grims toss gravel-sized stonesagainst rough stone walls.

More than 1.8 millionfaithful, most of them fromabroad, are performing thesix-day Haj, which ends onThursday.

AFP n RIYADH

Gulf Arab states expressedconcern on Monday over

a Bill passed by the USCongress that would allowrelatives of victims of the9/11 attacks to sue SaudiArabia for compensation.

The six-member GulfCooperation Council, ofwhich Saudi Arabia is themost powerful member,expressed “profound worry,”the bloc’s secretary general,Abdullatif al-Zayani, said in astatement.

He said the law “contra-venes the foundations andprinciples of relat ionsbetween states, notably sov-ereign immunity.”

The US House ofRepresentatives passed the

Justice Against Sponsors ofTerrorism Act by a unani-mous voice vote on Friday.

The Senate alreadyapproved the bill four monthsago and it now goes beforePresident Barack Obama.

The White House has sig-nalled that he is likely to vetothe bill but his veto can beoverridden by a two-thirdsmajority of both houses.

Zayani expressed hopethat the US administration“will not endorse this law...Which will create a graveprecedent”.

Saudi Arabia is a long-standing US ally but it was alsohome to 15 of the 19 Al-Qaedahijackers who carried out theSeptember 11, 2001 attacks onthe United States which killednearly 3,000 people.

PTI n DHAKA

With the recovery of morebodies, the death toll in

a fire tragedy at a food and cig-arette packaging factory inBangladesh on Mondayclimbed to 33, while authoritiescalled in the army to join thecombing operation at the still-smouldering accident site.

Four more bodies werepulled out of the rubble of thefour-storey Tampaco Foils Ltdfactory in Tongi, just north ofcapital Dhaka, Gazipur districtauthorities said.

Fire at the factory was stillnot doused completely morethan 48 hours after the tragedystruck ahead of Eid festival.

There were about 100 peo-ple inside the factory when theexplosion occurred onSaturday, and most of themwere to leave for a week-longholiday for the festival.

Twenty two teams of fire-fighters and army were engagedin search and rescue operations.

AFP n RAMALLAH

Palestinian President MahmudAbbas has accused Israel of

“ethnic cleansing,” days afterIsraeli PM Benjamin Netanyahumade a similar allegation.

The remarks followNetanyahu’s claim during anaddress rejecting criticism ofIsraeli settlement building thatthe Palestinians were seeking astate with “no Jews”.

Netanyahu called that “eth-nic cleansing,” drawing a strongrebuke from the United States.

Speaking yesterday nightbefore the Eid al-Adha Muslimfestival, Abbas said the Israelis“don’t want to progress one iotatowards peace, in spite of theirdeceptive allegations.”

“On the contrary, they godeeper with their settlements,infringement of holy places,ethnic cleansing and deliber-ate killing,” he said, accordingto official Palestinian newsagency WAFA.

In a video address onMonday, Netanyahu said that thePalestinian leadership wanted astate on the basis of “no Jews.”

PTI n BEIJING

Awoman in northwest Chinaallegedly killed four of her

children and later committedsuicide after her family wasreportedly denied Governmentpoverty allowance because theywere not poor enough, high-lighting the wealth gap in theCommunist nation.

The tragedy in Kanglecounty in China’s Gansuprovince was compoundedwhen the husband was founddead eight days later in anoth-er apparent suicide, China YouthDaily reported on Sunday.

Villagers found 28-year-old Yang Gailan near her houseon August 26, together with herfour children aged three to six.

All five were either alreadydead or died in hospital soonafter, Hong Kong-based SouthChina Morning Post reportedon Monday. Apparently thefour children had been hackedwith an axe before being fedpesticide, and the mother, whowas accused of the murders, hadpoisoned herself, the localGovernment said in a statement.

AFP n DAVAO

President Rodrigo Duterteratcheted up his feud with

the United States on Monday,ordering all American specialforces out of the southernPhilippines where they havebeen advising local troops bat-tling Muslim extremists.

Duterte’s order came aweek after he called USPresident Barack Obama “ason of a whore”, causing Obamato cancel their scheduled bilat-eral meeting at a summit inLaos.

The Filipino leader, the firstto hail from the south and whoclaims Muslim ancestry, hasbeen stepping up efforts tobring peace to the southernPhilippines, where decades-longinsurgencies with Muslim andcommunist rebels have claimed

more than 150,000 lives.Last month he restarted

peace talks with the largest sep-aratist group, the 12,000-strongMoro Islamic Liberation Front(MILF), which like others hasbeen fighting since the 1970sfor an independent ISIS orautonomous rule.

US advisors in the areahelp train Filipino troops butare barred from engaging incombat except in self-defence.

Previously, about 500-600US personnel rotated throughthe Mindanao region but in2014, then-defence secretaryVoltaire Gazmin said thiswould be cut back to 200.

Duterte did not specifywhen or how many Americanswould be expelled but said thePhilippines alignment with theWest was at the root of the per-sistent Muslim insurgency.

PTI n BEIJING

Amid global criticism over itsrights record, China on

Monday announced reforms inlaws protecting human rights aswell as outlined measures toimprove the conditions of pris-ons and detention centres.

Chinese judicial authori-ties have introduced reformsin many areas in order to fur-ther improve the legal guar-antee procedure of humanrights, an official white paperissued on Monday said.

Titled “New Progress in theJudicial Protection of HumanRights in China”, the WhitePaper issued by the central cab-inet said China has introducedreforms in the case admittingsystem by converting the case-filing review system into a case-

filing register system.China has revised the

Criminal Procedure Law, andimplemented principles of legal-ity, in dubio pro reo, exclusionof unlawful evidence, the whitepaper said.

The reforms followed criti-cism over the treatment metedout to dissidents and the humanrights lawyers with prison terms.

The country also revisesthe Civil Procedure Law toeffectively settle disputes, revisedthe Administrative ProcedureLaw to strengthen the protectionof legitimate rights and interestsof private parties in adminis-trative lawsuits, the white papersaid, adding it enacted the firstAnti-Domestic Violence Lawto strengthen legal protection ofthe personal rights of victims ofdomestic violence.

Hours before truce, Assad vows to retake all of Syria

Clinton leads Trump by five per cent: New poll

Pilgrims return to

scene of deadly

Haj stampede

nDisclosure, afterpublic stumble, renewsfocus on her health

n Trump says he’llrelease detailed reporton his own health

Bangladesh

fire tragedy

toll hits 33

Pilgrims arrive to cast stones at a pillar symbolising the stoning of Satan, in a ritualcalled “Jamarat,” the last rite of the annual Haj, on the first day of Eid al-Adha, inMina near Mecca on Monday AP

China announces reforms

to improve rights record

Gulf states voice concernover US 9/11 Bill

Duterte orders US advisersout of southern Philippines

Abbas hits back afterNetanyahu ‘ethniccleansing’ claim

Yogalates among

1,200 new words in

Oxford dictionary

PTI n LONDON

Yogalates, the trend of com-bining Pilates exercises

with the postures and breath-ing techniques of Yoga, isamong 1,200 new entriesunveiled on Mondayin the latest edition ofthe Oxford EnglishDictionary (OED).

As Septembermarks the centenaryof the birth of Britishauthor and screen-writer Roald Dahl,the edition also con-tains a range ofrevised and newly-draftedentries connected to Dahl andhis writing.

“Revised entries in thisrange include those for wordswhich many of us encounteredfor the first time in his booksfor children such as the adjec-tives frightsome, scrummy,scrumptious, splendiferous and

splendiferousness,” saidJonathan Dent, senior assistanteditor of the OED.

“This quarter’s updatestrays into other fictionalworlds and beams down a newentry for the science-fiction

sense of transporter(along with the fullermatter transporter andthe abbreviated trans-mat),” he adds.

Other unusualentries include moobs,used to describeunusually prominentbreasts on a man, typ-ically as a result of

excess fat, and gender-fluid,which refers to a person whodoesn’t identify with a singlefixed gender.

Further to a number offood-related terms — includingthe Malaysian or Indonesiandish, rendang — social mediaexpressions have also made anappearance.

Woman kills 4 kids,herself in China due to poverty

Gigi Hadid confirms Taylor

Swift is working on new music

Los Angeles: Model Gigi Hadid has confirmedthat her best friend and singer Taylor Swift isworking on new musicfollowing her reportedsplit from actor TomHiddleston. The 21-year-old model, whowalked a runway atNew York FashionWeek, said she is sograteful to Swift thatshe managed to attendher show as the singerhas now started goingto studio again, report-ed Entertainment Tonight. “She’s obviously sucha great friend, and you know she is starting togo back to work in the studio again, and real-ly made time to be here for me, and I am sograteful for that,” Hadid said. Swift, 26, took toInstagram to share a clip of Hadid in which sheis seen walki ng down the ramp for TommyHilfiger at New York Fashion Week.

Cara Delevingne calls it

quit with St Vincent?

London: Model-turned-actress CaraDelevingne has reportedly split from her part-ner St Vincent. The 24-year-old actress secret-ly ended her relationship with the musician dur-ing the promotional tour of “Suicide Squad”after dating her over a year, reported FemaleFirst. “Cara and Annie still care about eachother, but pressures of the long-distanceromance just became too much. The cracks werebeginning to show on Cara’s birthday inAugust when Annie wasn’t there for her party.“They decided to call it a day but remain palsand are hoping they can work things out as it’sno doubt they really love each other,” a sourcesaid.

Britney Spears gives dance

class to young girls

Los Angeles: Pop star Britney Spears is havingfun while teaching dance to a group of younggirls. The 34-year-old singer shared clips onInstagram from thedance class in whichshe is seen instructingchildren from stretch-ing to finger-wagging.“Teaching these littleones dance brings meso much joy. It’s sorefreshing being withchildren. You’rereminded of theUNKNOWN onceagain... Let’s all keeplear ing,” she wrote.She posted another clip by captioning it, “It’ssooo great to teach! Class today.”

Katie Price to adopt a child

London: TV personality Katie Price says shewill soon adopt a child as she has already start-ed the legal process for that. The 38-year-oldstar, who is already the mother-of-five, hasrevealed she wants to give her body a rest andthat is why has turned to adoption to welcomeher sixth child. “I’ve already started the processto adopt, so fingers crossed. You have to doeverything legally and go down that road. Theproblem isn’t just getting a child, that’s the easybit, it’s all the checks. “I’m just waiting to beinterviewed by the adoption agency. I’ve alwayssaid I’d love to adopt and I feel this is the rightchild now to do it... I feel like I don’t want anymyself physically, I feel like a baby machine. Iwant to give my body a rest!,” she said. Price saidshe does not bother about her critics beratingher for having another child. “If I can offer ahome to another child, why not. If I’ve got themoney, love and support, it’s better than a childbeing dead or not having a home,” she said .

GLOBE

TROTTING

Giant poisonous

spider found

in ScotlandLondon: Authorities inScotland are scratching theirhead what to do with a poiso-nous giant spider, common inAustralia, Africa and Asia,which was found inside a ship-ping container, media reportssaid on Monday.

The Huntsman spider wasspotted by staff at a manufac-turing firm in Dumbarton.They called in the ScottishSPCA amid concerns that itcould be poisonous. The ani-mal charity contacted an arach-nid specialist who helped iden-tify the spider, which can givea painful bite.

The Huntsman is beingcared for while a suitable homeis sought, the BBC reported.Scottish SPCA Animal RescueOfficer Emma Bonner, whodealt with the incident, said:“We were called to a manufac-turing business on StirlingRoad, Dumbarton, on Fridaymorning after we receivedreports of a large spider.

“When I arrived one of theemployees had managed to getthe spider inside a clear bagwithin a container. We didn’tknow if it was venomous.” Thespider was passed to ScottishSPCA Chief Inspector FionaHenderson who contacted aspecialist.

Henderson said: “An arach-nid expert identified it as aHuntsman spider. We believethat due to a yellow stripe onits abdomen that the spider isfemale. “It would be hard to saywhere it is from exactly due tothe fact it arrived here in a ship-ping container. PTI

LADY GAGA says that she wastraumatised and struggled to copewith her fame in the initial phase ofher career. The 30-year-old saysshe struggled to cope after thesuccess of her debut single Just

dance in 2008.“I needed a moment to

stabilise. When my career took off,I don't remember anything at all.It's like I was traumatised. I neededtime to recalibrate my soul. I took

medication. I'm not sayingI feel good because ofthe medication, Iwouldn't encourageyoung people to take

anti-depressants ormood stabilisers,”Gaga said.

She alsorevealed thatturning 30 helpedher calm down andshe feels betternow than everbefore.

“I definitely lookafter my well-being.It's the single greatestblessing of my artisticcareer, it's wonderful. Iwanted to leave my 20simmediately,” she said.

‘Play with haircolour’

While celebrating the change in atti-tudes of today’s women towards

the concept of hair colour-ing, actress SONAMKAPOOR has urgedthem to experiment and

have fun as it is safeto do so .“Colours add joyto my days. Iwouldn't be ableto imagine my life

in dull black andwhite. It has such abeautiful way ofinducing energyand life intoeverything. Itgives meconfidence toindulge in myfashion choicesand really playwith mylooks,” shesaid.

VIN DIESELand DeepikaPadukoneflauntedtraditionalIndian attire,created byace IndianfashiondesignerSabyasachi Mukherjee. Thedesigner on Monday shared aphotograph in which Diesel andDeepika can be seen in hiscreations.

LUCKNOW | TUESDAY | SEPTEMBER 13, 2016vivacity 13

‘Like how my characterPreeto is passionateabout her children’swell-being. It’s the samehow my mother is in reallife. There are a lot ofnuances about this rolethat I have picked upfrom her; the ways shetalks or even thinks.’— KAMYA PUNJABI

Fame disturbedGaga initially

“Dear men, would you let mestand in your place? Wouldyou let me laugh on your

face? Or will you continue to call mecrazy, sexy, slutty, Basanti, Pinky, sweetyand whistle at me? And actually you knowwhat, I apologise to the men, it’s not justmen. Dear women! Dear aunty will youstop gawking at me? Dear didi, will youstop telling me to shut up? Dear Ma, willyou stop ignoring me? Dear women, willyou at least stand up for me?” Questions,questions and self-introspection. This washow Kalki Koechlin exhorted her tribe tostand true to their core at an event organ-ised by Ficci Ladies Organisation.

The bold and the beautiful Kalki wasinvited to present a monologue on con-temporary women in India. “It is obviousfor me or anyone to speak up on variousissues related to womanhood. It is aboutwomen’s safety, rights and their lives.”Though positing herself as a crusader ofwomen’s rights, her monologue essential-ly focussed on the hypocrisy withinwomen themselves that sullied theirgreater strengths. The actress also had ameow moment. Asked if any actress hadbeen mean to her, she took a long pause,then said, “I don’t know. Actresses havenever been bitchy with me maybe becauseno actress see me as successful enough tobe a threat.” And she laughed. “I am notgonna mention but there are female jour-nalists who have criticised the way I dress,like how can she talk about women’s rightsissues when she is dressed like that? I findthis very strange that you will have to weara kurta if you want to talk about womenissues. You can’t carry a Prada if you aretalking about rights,” she added, wearinga blue and white gown. This is obvious-ly a chink in the armour that menencash, she implied.

Kalki’s voice has always favoured thespirit of womanhood; her 20-minutemonologue was so powerful that it gaveus goose-bumps. She continued to artic-ulate the voice of dissent and protest.“Enough! Enough of a woman who hasbecome vicious from her environment.Enough of a woman who has to becomea man to compete, who has to weakenwhere she is strong or strengthen whereshe is weak. Enough of a woman who hasto make space for her child and lover, whohas to occupy what space is left over.Enough of uninformed teenage girlsbleeding after losing their virginity andkeeping silent after. Enough of having to

deal all alone with the morning after.Enough of the disposed foetus or theunwanted daughter. Enough of girls infairy dresses with bulimia and major com-plexes. Enough of parents in denial,gender gaps in dividing sexes. I am tired,you are tired, we are all tired. We are tiredof acting, manicuring, exercising, abort-ing, procreating, posing, shopping, smil-ing, f...ing, threading, the pill, make-up,high heels, stainless steel, tampons, cov-ering up, nurturing, caring and crying,”she sighed.

“I have always been vocal aboutwomen’s rights and feminism. It is onlynow that I am famous that people noticeme and hear what I say. Even before my

first film, Dev D happened, I was a partof The Skeleton Woman, a play based onthe book Women Who Run With TheWolves. It has a feminist premise. I havealways picked up work that reflects myideologies,” she explained.

Kalki also talked about commercialsurrogacy. “Currently I am working with

a director who has made a documentaryon surrogacy in India. I think giving birthto a child is an intense process. It’s a strongbond but is really risky to do that. Andabout the commercial aspect I think thereare women who are surviving on this. Ifsurrogacy exists and is possible, it has tobe a choice of the individual or the per-sons involved in that, the mother, the sur-rogate mother... Unfortunately the babydoesn’t have choice,” she emphasised.

In the end we did catch up with herlighter side, that of travel. Recently, theactress went on a biking trip to theNortheast with her father for a show thatstarts on September 17. She travelledacross three states and covered 4,000 km.

Talking about the Himalayan Enfieldride, she said, “Me and my father, we usedto do a lot of travelling when he wasyoung. We have been to the Himalayas,Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Gujaratand lot of places in South India but wehad never been to Northeast. And I thinkNortheast is a stunning part of ourcountry which is ignored. We covered4,000 km in two weeks. Both of us wereon motor bikes. It was fantastic. Of coursefor me it was some personal time with myfather which I have not had in many yearsbut it was also the connection with localpeople.” Just like her many roles, Kalkiexercises every facet of her very feminineexistence.

Mehr-un-Nissa, who laterbecame the all-encompass-

ing Noor Jehan, the fiery admin-istrator and self-assured woman,has inspired the designer duo ofAshima–Leena for theirbridal/couture collection. Theychose the Mehr-un-Nissa phase ofMughal emperor Jahangir’sfavourite queen to capture herflesh-and-blood persona and herability to shine through life’smany challenges.

Dripping in diamonds andpearls, an artful visionary, Mehr-un-Nissa proved to be a beaconof femininity and modernity. Likean intricate tapestry woundtogether by golden silks, thiswhimsical soul was forged notonly by classic values and a pen-chant for the arts, but also bysocial responsibility and an unbri-dled will. She transcended soci-etal norms at the time, reveling intraditional roles and forms ofstudy, as well as taking unprece-dented interest in political andcourt affairs. Multi-faceted asshe was, Mehr-un-Nissa proved tobe the epitome of a modernMaharani — strong-willed anddedicated but doused in softnessand femininity.

Antique texti le craftingweaves a narrative of juxtaposi-tion, a tale that captures therefreshing youth of Mehr-un-Nissl spirit without forsakingrichness and regality. The design-ers have used richly adornedbrocades in subtle shades — pas-tels and shimmering hues of gold,contrasted with royal odhnis ofunfettered colour akin to fuchsia,peacock green and midnight blue.Adding dimension to what isreminiscent of Mughal rule, pais-leys and florals are punctuatedwith modern streaks of patternand vivid colour – antique textilecrafting entwining stand-aloneaesthetics to produce an air ofinnovative intricacy. The sametechnique transposes heavy andsuperfluous embroidery, lendingbuoyancy and royalty to tradition.

The collection’s spirit res-onates not only with luxury andgrandiose design but also with aquirky and boundary-breakingflair for style.

When the Mughal empirewas at the very peak of its powerand glory, she dared to challengewhat was expected of her, all thewhile unafraid to exhibit woman-ly charm. In the same manner,Ashima-Leena’s endeavour torecreate a sense of Mughal royal-ty does not rely upon redundantelements. Class and innovationare paramount to their aesthetic.

Historical lookbook

Known for her bold stances on feminism and commitment towards women’s rights and gender equality, KALKI KOECHLIN presented ‘Wo-Manlogue', a theatrical monologue on empowerment. By UNNATI JOSHI

GIRL, UNINTERRUPTED

‘I am not gonna mention butthere are female journalists

who have criticised theway I dress, like how canshe talk about women’s

rights issues when she isdressed like that?’

Oscar and Emmy winners Steve Golin, GregYaitanes and Logan Marshall-Green have come up

with another crime drama television series, Quarry.The show is based on the book series of the same nameand stars Logan Marshall-Green, Peter Mullan, JodiBalflour, Edoardo Balleriniand Jamie Hector.

Quarry centres arounda disillusioned VietnamWar veteran named MacConway played by LoganMarshall-Green, whoreturns home to Memphisfrom Vietnam in 1972 andfinds difficulty in settlingback into civilian life. Hefinds himself shunned bythose he loves anddemonised by the public.Both Mac and his friendArthur are pariahs in themedia for their supposedrole in the massacre ofVietnamese civilians. Ashe struggles to cope withhis experiences at war,Conway is drawn into a network of killing and cor-ruption that spans the length of the Mississippi Riverwhen they attract the eye of the mysterious Broker(Olive Kitteridge’s Peter Mullan), who runs a shadowynetwork of hitmen and sees potential in these twotrained killers.

The Vietnam era crime drama premiers September14 on Star World Premiere HD at 10 pm.

Quarry kicks in

this Wednesday

Much-rated show talks about Vietnam war

The show isbased on the

book series ofthe same

name. Theseries stars

LoganMarshall-

Green, PeterMullan, Jodi

Balflour,Edoardo

Ballerini andJamie Hector

Multi-faceted as she was, Mehr-un-Nissa proved to be the epitome of a modern woman,strong-willed, dedicated, yet soft. Presenting ASHIMA-LEENA’s bride for the season

APn NEW YORK

Mere minutes before heading out toface Novak Djokovic in the USOpen final, Stan Wawrinka met in

the locker room with his coach and felt asnervous as he ever had. Wawrinka was shak-ing. Started to cry, even.

Why? "I don't want to lose the final in aGrand Slam, that simple. That's the only rea-son," he explained later. "The feeling of: Youdon't want to lose. I don't want to come tothe court and lose a final. So close, so far."

Once he was on the court, and got oversome shaky play at the very start, Wawrinka'sgame and mindset were strong as can be, asthey always seems to be these days when thestakes are highest. Repeatedly pointing hisright index finger to his temple, the gesturehe uses when showing his mettle, Wawrinkasurprisingly wore down No 1 Djokovic andbeat the defending champion 6-7 (1), 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 for his first US Open title and thirdGrand Slam trophy overall.

"He was the better player. He wastougher mentally," said Djokovic. "He knewwhat to do."

The 31-year-old Wawrinka is the old-est US Open men's champion since KenRosewall was 35 in 1970. He enteredSunday having spent almost exactly twice asmuch time on court during the tournament— about 18 hours vs about 9 hours — asDjokovic, who benefited from injuries tothree opponents that withdrew before orduring matches.

"Honestly, after the match, I was com-pletely empty," the third-seeded Wawrinkasaid. "I put everything on the court. Notonly today, but the past two weeks."

By breaking in the final game of thesecond and third sets, and by saving 14 of17 break points he faced, Wawrinka alreadyhad gained the upper hand by the timeDjokovic clutched at his left leg and gri-maced after missing a forehand while get-ting broken early in the fourth.

Djokovic was granted the unusualchance to have a medical timeout at a timeother than a changeover. He removed both

shoes and socks so a trainer could help with bleeding toes.Wawrinka complained about the 6-minute break, andDjokovic looked over and apologized. Later, Djokovic start-ed limping and received more treatment.

"We played almost 4 hours," said Djokovic, "and I thinkI can speak in the name of Stan, as well: We both felt it."

Wawrinka has won only five of 24 career meetingsagainst Djokovic, but has now beaten the 12-time majorchampion on the way to each of his own Grand Slam titles,including in the 2014 Australian Open quarterfinals and2015 French Open final.

Before this matchup, Djokovic praised Wawrinka as"a big-match player," and, boy, is he ever. Wasn't always,though: Playing in the shadow of his far-more-accom-plished Swiss countryman and good pal, Roger Federer,Wawrinka needed until his 35th appearance at a major,at age 28, just to get to the semifinals for the first time.

But look at Wawrinka now.He has won 11 consecutive tournament finals.He is 3-0 in Grand Slam finals, beating the No. 1-

ranked player each time. Take that trio of highest-stakesmatches out of the equation, and Wawrinka is 0-19 in allother matches against the top man. And he did it Sundayby coming back against Djokovic.

As Wawrinka placed one stinging shotafter another right on a line,Djokovic looked up at coachBoris Becker while gesticulat-ing with his hands and mut-tering. He went fromappearing locked-in at theoutset to completelydrained in every way.

On one point,Wawrinka delivered a shot sohard it knocked the racketfrom Djokovic's grasp and againsta wall behind the baseline.

After smacking a forehandwinner to end a 20-stroke

exchange near the end of thesecond set, Wawrinkapointed to his temple.Did it again after aforehand passingshot drew anerrant volley for abreak early in thethird. And so on.

LUCKNOW | TUESDAY | SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

TERRIBLE CONVERSION OF THE

BREAK POINTS. JUST TERRIBLE

FROM MY SIDE

— NOVAK DJOKOVIC

ON MANAGING TO CONVERT ONLY 3

OF 17 BREAK POINTS 14

9/11 REMEMBERED

A moment of silence was observed at the US Open to mark the 15thanniversary of the Sept 11, 2001, attacks. Broadway performer NormLewis, who was set to sing the national anthem in Arthur Ashe Stadiumprior to the final between Novak Djokovic and Wawrinka, asked thecrowd to observe the moment "in memory of those lost 15 years agotoday." An American flag was unfurled over the court, presented by aBrooklyn-based US Marine Corp battalion. Another gesture was paintedon the middle of the court: 9/11/01.

US JOY IN DOUBLES

Bethanie Mattek-Sands is the first American to win the US Openwomen's doubles championship since Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond in2011. No US player had even reached the final since then, until Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic took the title Sunday.During the final, which was played on the 15th anniversary of the 9/11terrorist attacks, Mattek-Sands choked up and her eyes filled with tearsas she told the crowd: "It's a special day today here for everybody in NewYork." AGENCIES

USDIARIES

AP n NEW YORK

After considering skipping the USOpen because of injury concerns,

Novak Djokovic made it all the way to thefinal for the sixth time in the past sevenyears.

He came up short of the title, though,settling for his fifth runner-up showing atFlushing Meadows because, by his ownadmission, he got tight at key points — andnot because of the physical distress he dealtwith down the stretch, including bleedingtoes that were treated by a trainer.

Most glaring of all during a 6-7 (1),6-4, 7-5, 6-3 loss to Stan Wawrinka onSunday was this statistic: Djokovic, one ofthe greatest returners of his, or any, gen-eration, converted only 3 of 17 breakchances. "I lost my nerves in the impor-tant moments. He kept his cool. I thinkthat's what decided the match," saidDjokovic, the No 1 seed anddefending champion. "I guesssometimes it happens, eventhough you have the expe-rience and know what todo. Just the heat of themoment and importanceof the match, I guess, wastoo strong for me at certainperiods of thematch. Just ifyou lose yourcool, the matchcan go away."

It's a rather startling admissionfrom someone who owns 12 major titlesand a career Grand Slam, who has spentmore than 200 weeks at No 1 in the ATPrankings, who was the first man to exceed$100 million in career prize money in ten-nis.

And, especially, someone who earli-er this season was considered close tounbeatable. Until losing in the thirdround at Wimbledon against Sam Querrey,Djokovic had won 30 consecutive GrandSlam matches, becoming only the thirdman — and first in nearly 50 years — towin four consecutive major titles.

But Djokovic acknowledged that hebecame too passive at pivotal segments ofthe match against No 3 Wawrinka, whocollected the third major trophy of hiscareer and first at Flushing Meadows.

"He was more courageous, because hestepped in and played aggressive,"

Djokovic said, "where I was kind of morewaiting for things to happen."

Never was that more apparent thanwhen Djokovic was returning serve. Overand over again, he would get an openingto break Wawrinka, and over and overagain that opportunity went by the way-side.

Coming into Sunday, Djokovic hadwon nearly 50 percent of his returngames in the tournament. AgainstWawrinka, he only managed to win 3 of22.

"Terrible conversion of the breakpoints," Djokovic said. "Just terrible frommy side."

He has appeared in 21 Grand Slamfinals, second in the history of men's

tennis only to RogerFederer, but now

has a record of12-9 in those all-

o n - t h e - l i n ematchups.

That includes a 2-5 mark atthe US Open, where Djokovic

won the titles in 2011 and 2015, butlost to Federer in 2007, to Rafael Nadal

in 2010 and 2013, and to Andy Murrayin 2012.

Late Sunday evening, Djokovicwas asked to assess his season,

which includes a 56-6 record,along with titles at the AustralianOpen, French Open and fiveother tournaments. He picked up

a sore left wrist shortly beforea first-round loss at the RioOlympics last month, thendealt with problems with bothshoulders and his right elbow

over the past two weeks,before the foot issues in

the final."Winning two

out of four GrandSlams is a pretty good

year, and playing another final — I haveno complaints. Obviously I wish that Icould win another title, but this is what itis. You have to shake hands and accept theloss from a better player and move on,"Djokovic said.

"It's not the first time, it's not the lasttime I'm going to lose a match. Big match,"he continued. "Hopefully I can learn fromit. Hopefully I can get better, because that'sthe cycle of life, I guess, for us athletes."

AP n NEW YORK

Stan Wawrinka was about 2 1/2hours removed from winning

the US Open for his third majorchampionship when he was pre-sented with a question he proba-bly was figuring would be coming.

The gist: After adding this tro-phy to those from the AustralianOpen in 2014, and the FrenchOpen in 2015, is it time to focus oncompleting a career Grand Slam bywinning Wimbledon in 2017?

Wawrinka ran his left handthrough his hair, rubbed his eyesand smiled.

"So what? Are you saying nextyear I focus only on Wimbledon?There is no plan. The only plan istrying to push myself the maxi-mum to be the best player I can,"Wawrinka said on Sunday night."I'm not good enough to start andsay, 'OK, I'm going to win a GrandSlam this year.' No."

Well, actually, Stan, you sureseem to be at this point. And that6-7 (1), 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 victory overNo 1-ranked and defending cham-pion Novak Djokovic in the USOpen final on Sunday night wasonly the latest evidence.

So long in the shadow of hisSwiss countryman and close friendRoger Federer, Wawrinka did notreach a Grand Slam semifinaluntil age 28, in his 35th appearanceat one of his sport's four most pres-tigious events.

Now, though, Wawrinka haswon three majors over the pastthree seasons, pulling even withAndy Murray. Since the 2005French Open, Federer, Djokovicand Rafael Nadal have won 39 of47 Grand Slam trophies. OnlyWawrinka and Murray also havemultiple titles in that span.

So it's clear that the third-ranked Wawrinka now must be

seen among the cream of the cropin men's tennis and a threat at allbig tournaments moving forward.He is, after all, 3-0 in major finals,and has won 11 consecutive finalsoverall. Wawrinka has never madeit past the quarterfinals atWimbledon, and lost in the secondround there this year to the resur-gent Juan Martin del Potro.

So what about Wimbledon?What might he be able to do there?He added 1996 champion RichardKrajicek as a coaching consultanton grass this season to help withvolleying, so he is definitely inter-ested in improving at the AllEngland Club.

What else we learned:KERBER IS NO 1: It becomes offi-cial on Monday when the newWTA rankings are released, butAngelique Kerber clinched herdebut at No 1 after the US Opensemifinals, then showed it's defi-nitely justified by winning hersecond Grand Slam title of the sea-son. The 28-year-old German hadnever been so much as a finalist ata major until this season, butmade three such runs, winning theAustralian Open and finishing asthe runner-up at Wimbledon,before dropping only one set atFlushing Meadows. At 28, she is theoldest woman to reach No 1, buther skills and stamina could keepher in the mix for a while.

AGENCIES n NEW DELHI

Following his maiden appearance at theUS Open Saketh Myneni on Monday

achieved a career-high rank of 137 in sin-gles in the latest list, issued by the ATP.

The 28-year-old Myneni, who will leadIndia in the Davis Cup tie against Spain,entered the main draw of the US Open afterwinning three rounds in the Qualifyingevent and jumped six places to 137.

However, out of action Yuki Bhambriplummeted to 219 after a steep loss of 48positions in the ranking ladder and is nowthe third highest-ranked Indian behindRamkumar Ramanathan, who is now 203(loss of one position). Young Sumit Nagalwas the next best at 380.

In doubles, Rohan Bopanna, who hasopted out of Davis Cup tie against Spainciting a knee injury, lost a place to be 18thand was followed by Leander Paes (63) andDivij Sharan (64), who improved by fiveslots.

Purav Raja was static at 73.In the WTA rankings, Sania Mirza

(9730) continued to be world number indoubles but now only five points separateher from fellow number one MartinaHingis (9725).

In the singles, Ankita Raina was bestranked at number 292, a loss of three places.She was followed by Prerna Bhambri(408) and Snehadevi Reddy (489).

KERBER BECOMES NO 1NEW YORK: US Open championAngelique Kerber officially became the old-est woman to debut at No 1 in the WTArankings, ending Serena Williams' record-tying run of 186 consecutive weeks in thetop spot. Monday's rankings are the firstsince Feb 2013 without Williams at No 1.

The 28-year-old Kerber's rise from No.2 was assured when Williams lost in thesemifinals at Flushing Meadows.

Kerber went on to beat KarolinaPliskova in Saturday's final for her second

Grand Slam title of the season. She is the first woman from Germany

to be ranked No 1 since Steffi Graf, whohas been a mentor for Kerber.

Williams is now No 2, followed byFrench Open champion Garbine Muguruzaat No 3, Agnieszka Radwanska at No 4,Simona Halep at No 5, and Pliskova at acareer-best of No 6. Pliskova was No 11before making it past the third round of amajor for the first time and becoming thefourth woman to eliminate both Williamssisters during a Grand Slam tournament.

Roberta Vinci dropped from No 8 toNo 15 on Monday after losing to Kerberin the quarterfinals last week. VictoriaAzarenka went from No 7 to No 11; sheskipped the US Open because she is preg-nant.

Novak Djokovic remained at No. 1 inthe ATP rankings despite losing to No 3 StanWawrinka in the men's final at FlushingMeadows on Sunday night. Andy Murraystayed at No 2.

Rafael Nadal gained one spot to No. 4,and Kei Nishikori moved up from No. 6 toNo. 5. Roger Federer slid from No. 4 to No.7 as he sits out the rest of 2016 while rehab-bing his surgically repaired left knee.

STANTASTICNerves betrayed me in Final loss: Djoker

Career Slam next on Stan’s path

Honestly,after thematch, I

wascompletely empty.

puteverything on thecourt.

Not onlytoday,but the

past twoweeks

–– Stan

Wawrinka

Myneni achieves career-best

rank; Sania remains atop

Novak Djokovic (left), Stan Wawrinka and Angelique Kerber (down) with their trophy APSaketh Myneni during US Open AP

1Stan Wawrinka is the firstUS Open champion tosave a match point en

route to the title since NovakDjokovic in 2011. He turnedaside one against DanielEvans in a five-set third roundvictory. Wawrinka also etchedhis name in the record bookswith his first US Open crown

3It was his third GrandSlam title. All threeGrand Slam title runs

have included wins over the

World No 1 in the final, havingpreviously defeated RafaelNadal for the 2014 AustralianOpen crown and NovakDjokovic in the Roland Garrosfinal last year

5IStan Wawrinka became

the fifth man in the OpenEra to win multiple major

singles crowns after turning30, joining Australian RodLaver and Ken Rosewall, andAmerican Andre Agassi andJimmy Connors.

11Stan Wawrinkahas now won allthree Grand Slam

finals he has played and hislast 11 finals in a row, and hasbecome the oldest malewinner of the US Open since35-year-old Australian KenRosewall in 1970

31The 31-year-old isthe oldest GrandSlam champion

since American Andre Agassiat the 2003 Australian Open

andalsobecame the first manto win his first three majors atdifferent events since AndreAgassi. Wawrinka won the2014 Australian Open and2015 French Open prior to USOpen success Faisel Features

Safarova (L) and Mattek-Sands AP

STATISTIX

Wawrinka fights back from a set down to stun Djokovic for 1st US title, 3rd Slam

LUCKNOW | TUESDAY | SEPTEMBER 13, 2016 sport 15

PTI n MUMBAI

Un d e r - p e r f o r m i n gbatsmen RohitSharma and Shikhar

Dhawan retained their placein India's 15-member crick-et squad for the three-Testhome series against NewZealand as the selectors onMonday kept faith in theside that beat West Indiesrecently.

All-rounder Stuart Binnyand pacer Shardul Thakurwere overlooked from thesquad which was pruned to15 from the 17 that defeatedWest Indies 2-0 last month inan away series. The Test rub-ber against New Zealandstar ts September 22 inKanpur.

"We have stuck to thecombination which has donevery well. We were of theopinion that this was thebest possible combinationfor New Zealand," chief selec-tor Sandeep Pati l toldreporters after chairing the

final meeting of the currentselection committee.

Defending the selectionof Rohit, whose Test recordis well below par after 18games, Pat i l said theMumbai batsman has notbeen given a consistent runin the longest form of thegame.

Rohit's form was expect-ed to be a major talkingpoint today given that in theseries against West Indies, hemustered only 9 and 41 fromtwo innings in the third Testat Gros Islet, the only time hegot a chance to play in theseries.

He also did not do well inthe first innings of the ongo-ing Duleep Trophy final inGreater Noida after beingspecifically included in one ofthe teams — India Blue —following his return fromthe West Indies and the USA.

"Rohit is a fabulous play-er, with immense talent. Hehasn't got a long run in Testcricket as he has been picked

for one Test and thendropped. The selection com-mittee, along with captain

(Virat Kohli) and coach (AnilKumble) said they will giveample opportunities to any-one who is picked," Patilsaid.

"We have tremendousfaith in all 15 but we are notfocusing only on 15. Thereare others too as benchstrength," added the formerMumbai and India batsman.

The squad for NewZealand features three open-ers and asked who would bethe preferred among M Vijay,Dhawan and K L Rahul, Patil

said it was upto the teammanagement to decide onthe playing 11.

"The playing elevenwill be decided by cap-tain and coach depend-ing on the conditions.We want him (Dhawan)to come good, not onlyShikhar but all the 15 wehave selected," he said.

He a lso soundedpleased with the progressof Karnataka youngster

Rahul."We are happy with the

way KL Rahul has fitted intothe seniors team," he said.

Senior opener GautamGambhir was notably ignoredby the selectors despite fourback-to-back half centuries inthe ongoing Duleep Trophy.Instead, the committee per-sisted with Shikhar Dhawan,whose place in the side hasbeen questioned along withRohit.

"It's not that we didn'tdiscuss other names, includ-ing Gautam Gambhir and

other seniors, but we stuck tothe combination which didwell abroad. We were all ofthe opinion that the bestteam should play."

"We want him (Dhawan)to come good, not only him,we want all 15 to perform.We have faith in all 15," wasPatil's response when askedwhy Dhawan was retained.

The squad to be led byVirat Kohli has six specialistbatsmen with WriddhimanSaha as the wicketkeeper.The opening slot would betaken by Dhawan and MuraliVijay, while the middle orderfeatures Kohli , Aj inkyaRahane, K L Rahul, andCheteshwar Pujara alongwith Rohit.

Ravindra Jadeja is thelone all-rounder in the squad.In the bowling department,Mohammed Shami andIshant Sharma will spear-head the pace attack, whileAmit Mishra and R Ashwinheld on to the two slots forspinners.

MUMBAI: "The only sad thingabout being a selector is thatyou end up losing some ofyour friends," said SandeepPatil after the selection panel,headed by him, picked thelast Indian cricket squad ofits tenure here on Monday.

Patil, who was appointedthe chairman of selectors fol-lowing the sacking ofMohinder Amarnath inSeptember 2012, said he endshis term as a happy man.

"We have taken some boldand tough decisions looking atthe future of Indian cricket. Weare very happy at the end of ourterm that the team is doing wellin all three formats and I wishthe next committee all the best.

"Also, a big thank you tothe BCCI for providing the

ROHIT, DHAWAN RETAINED

No surprise in team selection for NZ Test as selectors keep faith with old guards; Binny, Shardul & Gambhir overlooked

As selector, youend up losingfriends: Patil

NEW DELHI: Spain did not need their best players tobeat India but then they are taking the World GroupDavis Cup play-off tie very "seriously", bringing astrong 20-member contingent to tackle the lower-ranked home players.

Led by world number four Rafael Nadal, theSpaniards landed here in the morning and hit the

courts in theevening.

After watch-ing Nadal andDavid Ferrerindulge in anintense sessionlasting one hourand 30 minutes,it was not diffi-cult to concludethat the Indianplayers have fireto deal with.

Nadal said itis humid but thecourts are goodfor some goodtennis. Asked if

he liked the evening timing for the tie, the 14-timeGrand Slam champion, covered in sweat-soaked T-shirt, said it was "very necessary".

"The court is good, it's very humid. First day,we had a long trip. To be in India again is nice. Ihave been here a lot of times in last couple of years.I feel good here, good people, good crowd."

When asked what made Spain bring big play-ers to India, Nadal said winning the World Groupplace back was a "motivation".

"I am representing my country and that'salways special motivation. There's always con-frontation when you are not playing at home, so dif-ficult. India have a good team, it will be tough. Theywill be playing at home in front of home crowd inconditions they chose. We have lots of good play-ers in top-100, it's tough for us not to be in worldgroup, so we are looking forward to coming back tothe world group, and that's the chance to win here,it's not going to be easy. We need to be ready andplay our best," he said. PTI

Spain arrive with fullforce for Davis Cup tie

Virat Kohli (Capt), K L Rahul,Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, MVijay, Rohit Sharma, R Ashwin,Wriddhiman Saha, Ravindra Jadeja,Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma,Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shikhar Dhawan,Amit Mishra, Umesh Yadav

INDIA TEST SQUAD

PTI n RIO DE JANEIRO

India's Deepa Malik on Monday created historyby becoming the first-ever woman from the coun-

try to win a medal at the Paralympics when shebagged a silver in the shotput F-53 event here.

Deepa's best throw of 4.61m from her sixattempts was enough to clinch the silver medal.

India, thus, now have secured three medal fromthe Rio Paralympics.

Deepa will receive a cash award of Rs 4 croreunder Haryana Sports Scheme for her feat.

Bahrain's Fatema Nedham won the gold medalwith a best throw of 4.76m, while Dimitra Korokidaof Greece bagged the bronze medal with a throwof 4.28m.

Deepa is a paraplegic, paralysed from waistdown and mother of two and wife of an Army offi-cer. Life took a twist when a spinal tumour madewalking impossible for her 17 years ago.

The spinal tumour had to be operated and 31surgeries were conducted on Deepa which washealed after 183 stitches between her waist and legs.

Besides shotput, Deepa has participated injavelin throw, swimming and has also been a moti-vational speaker.

She has also won medals in swimming at inter-national competitions. She holds the Asian recordin javelin throw, and also has World Championshipssilver medals in shot put and discus in 2011.

Deepa's silver is India's third medal of theGames after Mariyappan Thangavelu and VarunSingh Bhati won gold and bronze respectively inmen's high jump.

Deepa scriptshistory, winssilver in shotput

opportunity. The Board hastaken some great decisionsduring my time. We are happywith the roadmap the BCCIhas drawn with Rahul Dravidtaking over as coach of thejuniors and Anil Kumble theseniors," said Patil.

Patil also said that he wasvery happy to state that no out-side interference was there inselection matters during histenure. "We also leave at a timewhen there is big pool of play-

ers to choose from, in all for-mats," he said.

Patil picked up the squadfor home series in the presenceof fellow selectors Saba Karimand Vikram Rathour, whileGagan Khoda and MSK Prasadjoined in from Australia viavideo conference.

"We have always done wellat home and I am sure we willdo well against New Zealand.Hope we also do well outsideIndia," he said.

16LUCKNOW | TUESDAY | SEPTEMBER 13, 2016the pioneer