% [RhR_d ]Rj U`h_ ]ZgVd e` acVgV_e Z_WZ]ecReZ`_ - Daily ...

12
I n one of the major anti-infil- tration operations in the last seven months, three heav- ily-armed terrorists were gunned down during a fierce gunfight while four soldiers, including an officer of the Indian Army, lost their lives in the line of duty in Machil sec- tor of North Kashmir’s Kupwara district on Sunday. The icy heights of Keran sector in North Kashmir’s Kupwara district had earlier witnessed a hand-to-hand combat on April 5 when elite para commandos eliminated five terrorists in one of the deadliest operations. All five commandos also laid down their lives while foiling the infil- tration bid. On late Saturday night, the anti-infiltration operation was launched while the terrorists attempted to breach the Anti Infiltration Obstacle system (AIOS) along the Line of Control (LoC) in a desperate bid to infiltrate inside the Indian territory ahead of the closing down of the mountain passes due to fresh snowfall in the higher reaches of North Kashmir. According to the recent assessment of the various intel- ligence agencies around 200- 250 terrorists were waiting across different launch pads to infiltrate inside the Indian ter- ritory before the peak winters set in the coming weeks. Around 1 am, a patrol party of the Border Security Force (BSF) first noticed the suspicious movements near the LoC and challenged the intruders, leading to a three- hour gun-battle in which a ter- rorist was eliminated. One BSF constable was also killed in action. Confirming the sequence of events a Srinagar-based defence spokesperson Col Rajesh Kalia in a written state- ment said, “At about 1 am, a BSF patrol noticed suspicious movement near the Anti- Infiltration Obstacle System (LoC fence), 3.5 km from the LoC. The BSF personnel chal- lenged the infiltrators and a gunbattle ensued, in which a terrorist was killed,” he said. “A BSF soldier was killed in action (KIA) and the firefight stopped,” Col Kalia said in a statement. He said more troops were rushed to the area and the movement of the terrorists was tracked with the help of sur- veillance devices. “Contact was re-estab- lished at 10.20 am when heavy fire was drawn by own search parties approximately 1.5 km from the LoC. D eadly Covid-19 killed a fifth of all cancer patients who contract the virus, cau- tioned scientists after analysing data from across the globe. In fact, they found that cancer patients who contract Covid-19 face a mortality rate of 22.4 per cent, i.e. 273 times higher than the death rate for non-cancer patients infected with virus. The study, which was pub- lished in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, also showed that those with lung and blood cancer face a high- er risk. In contrast, other known risk factors such as diabetes and heart disease were less significant to those in the can- cer group. The international study holds importance for India which, as per recent World Cancer Report, in 2018 there are about 1.16 million new cases, 784,800 deaths, and 2.26 million five-year prevalent cases. And that one in 10 Indians will develop cancer during their lifetime and one in 15 will die of the disease. Researchers looked at 15 studies from across the world which in total involved 3,019 patients and also found that treatment such as chemother- apy has no effect on mortal- ity rate. P ledging to be the President of all Americans, Joe Biden has sought an immediate end to the “grim era of demonisation” in the deeply-polarised nation, as he and his running mate Kamala Harris celebrated their historic triumph over Donald Trump in a bitter and closely- fought presidential election. “I pledge to be a President who seeks not to divide, but to unify; who doesn’’t see red states and blue states, only sees the United States,” Biden, 77, said in his victory speech before a drive-in audience in his home- town, Wilmington, Delaware on Saturday night, nearly ending the uncertainty over the out- come of Tuesday’’s election. Biden, who has succeeded in his third bid to the White House, thanked his supporters, saying he had earned votes from the “broadest and most diverse coalition in American history.” “I am humbled by the trust and confidence you’’ve placed in me,” who will be the oldest US president when he would be sworn-in on January 20, 2021, said amid applause and cheers from the audience. “The people of this nation have spoken, they’’ve deliv- ered us a clear victory, a con- vincing victory, a victory for ‘We the People’,” he said, refer- ring to more than 74 million voters who backed him. Biden ran twice unsuccessfully for president — in 1988 and 2008. Noting that he ran as a proud Democrat, Biden said he will now be an American President. “I will work as hard for those who didn’t vote for me — as those who did. Trump has so far refused to concede the election that attract- ed a record number of Americans to cast their votes amidst the Covid-19 pandem- ic. He has announced filing multiple lawsuits against the election results in key battle- ground states like Pennsylvania, where Biden was born and that gave him the crucial 20 electoral votes to cross the magic figure of 270 he needed to win. The Democratic Party leader also reached out to dis- appointed Trump voters, say- ing he would act as their pres- ident as much as he would for those who voted for him. O n the fourth anniversary of his controversial announcement of the demon- etisation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday hailed the move, which, he said, had hit the black money and increased transparency in the economy. The sudden move of Modi on November 8, 2016, had invited widespread criticism from the Opposition and econ- omists. Modi took to Twitter saying, “Demonetisation has helped reduce black money, increase tax compliance and formalisation and given a boost to transparency.” The Prime Minister said these outcomes have been greatly beneficial towards national progress. On the occasion, the ruling BJP said that in 2016-17, Unified Payments Interface (UPI) saw transactions worth Rs 6,952 crore while it increased to Rs 21 lakh crore in 2019-20. UPI is an immediate real- time payment system that helps in instantly transferring the funds between the two bank accounts through a mobile platform. I ndia and China on Sunday said the latest round of military level talks was “can- did, in depth and construc- tive.” The parleys held on Friday, however, could not achieve any breakthrough on defusing tension at the Line of Actual Control (LAC). In a statement issued both in Beijing and New Delhi, the two countries said it was agreed to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two nations. The statement also said the two Armies also agreed that the frontline troops “exercise restraint and avoid misunderstanding and mis- calculation.” The Corps Commander- level talks were held at Chushul border meeting point on Friday at the LAC with Lt General P G K Menon heading the Indian delegation while Major General Liu Lin led the Chinese tea. The Indian team also included Naveen Srivastava, Joint Secretary (East Asia) in the Ministry of External Affairs. The talks went on for more than ten hours and the two commanders agreed to have another round of meet- ing soon. The statement said both sides agreed to maintain dia- logue and communication through military and diplo- matic channels, and take for- ward the discussions for the settlement of outstanding issues. W ith stubble fires continu- ing to be reported in Punjab and nearby regions, the national Capital’s air qual- ity was recorded in “severe” cat- egory on Sunday. A ccording to the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) mobile app SAMEER, Delhi’s overall air quality index (AQI) was recorded at 426 which falls in the ‘severe’ cate- gory. The Ministry of Earth Sciences’ air quality monitor System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) said the sit- uation was unlikely to improve unless a drastic reduction takes place in stubble fire counts. “Surface winds have become calm, which were moderate so far, and are fore- casted to stay low in magni- tude for the next two days. This is the major factor due to which no quick recov- ery is expected unless a dras- tic reduction in fire counts takes place,” SAFAR said. According to SAFAR, stub- ble fire counts over Punjab, Haryana, UP, Uttarakhand and neighbouring areas stood high at 3,780 on Saturday and its share in PM 2.5 in Delhi’s air was estimated as 29 per cent for Sunday. It was estimated as 32 per cent for Saturday. Dungarpur (Rajasthan): Delhi has hit the peak of the third wave of Covid-19 and the number of cases suggests that it has been the worst since the virus arrived in the city and it will come down soon, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Sunday. New Delhi: The Congress has called demonetisation as an “anti-poor” move. Also, the party is observing November 8 as the “Viswasghaat Diwas”, running an online campaign. A fter facing wrath over slash- ing of post-matric scholar- ship amounts meant for the stu- dents belonging to SC and ST categories, the State Government revoked its decision on Sunday. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik ordered to put the noti- fication issued by the SC/ST Department on hold and asked the officials for a review of the decision. Now, the SC/ST stu- dents would continue to get the full fees for studies under the existing post-matric scholar- ship programme. The clarifica- tion by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) came a day after the State Youth Congress hit out at the BJD Government for reducing the course fee amounts for the SC/ST students. State Youth Congress pres- ident Smruti Ranjan Lenka had showed a copy of the notification issued by the SC/ST Department accusing the Government of slashing the course fees from Rs 60,000 to Rs 25,000 for the SC/ST students in BTech, from Rs 66,000 to Rs 25,000 in MTech, from Rs 40,000 to Rs 8200 in Bachelor of Management Studies (BMS), from Rs 40,000 to Rs 7200 in Bachelor of Homeopathic Medicine and Surgery (BHMS) and from Rs 45,000 to Rs 25,000 for the students pursing BPharma in various institu- tions. Lenka had said the poor students belonging to SC and ST, who have been already enrolled into various courses, would not be able to complete their stud- ies as the Government has reduced the course fees. S tate capital city Bhubaneswar on Sunday registered 57 new Covid-19 positive cases, mounting its total positive tally to 29,704, including 832 active cases.The new cases included 44 local contacts and 13 quarantine cases. The local contacts includ- ed four cases from Badagada, three each from Laxmisagar, Patia and Jharpada and two cases from Jayadev Vihar. Meanwhile, two more persons succumbed to the virus in the city on the day. T he Covid-19 toll surged to 1,425 in the State following 15 more persons’ death report- ed from nine districts on Sunday, the Health and Family Welfare Department said. Three more succumbed to the disease in Khordha and Sambalpur districts, two each in Bargarh and Balangir and one each in Cuttack, Deogarh, Ganjam, Jharsuguda and Sundargarh. The deceased in Khordha were a 59-year-old man, a 62 -year-old woman (both of Bhubaneswar) and a 65-year-old man. The deaths in Sambalpur were of a 72-year- old man, a 65-year-old man and a 63-year-old man. The causalities in Balangir were a 39-year-old and a 45-year-old man. The fatalities in Bargarh were a 70-year-old man and a 34-year-old man. The other deceased were an 86-year-old man of Cuttack district, a 68-year-old man of Deogarh, a 62-year-old man of Ganjam, a 77-year-old man of Jharsuguda and a 50-year-old man of Sundargarh.Meanwhile, with 1,434 positive cases recorded in all 30 districts and the State pool, the positives’ tally mounted to 3,01,574. Of the new cases, 833 were detect- ed from quarantine and 601 were local contacts.Khordha district recorded the highest 144 cases followed by Cuttack 141, Baleswar 99, Sundargarh 98, Angul 90, Mayurbhanj 80, Puri 77, Jagatsinghpur 68, Balangir 66, Bargarh 65, Kendrapada 54, Keonjhar 50, Sambalpur 38, Kalahandi and Nuapada 35 each, Jaipur 33, Bhadrak and Jharsuguda 31 each, Nabarangpur 27, Koraput 25, Dhenkanal 21, Ganjam and Nayagarh 17 each, Malkangiri 14, Kandhamal and Subarnapur 12 each, Rayagada nine, Gajapati six and Deogarh five.Besides, 28 positive cases were detected from State pool. W ith the advent of winter, people in various parts of the State experienced cold waves with 11 places recording temperature below 15 degree Celsius during the past 24 hours. According to the Meteorological Centre, Bhubaneswar, Sonepur record- ed the lowest temperature of 9.6 degree Celsius followed by Phulbani and Daringbadi with 10.5 degree Celsius each.Other places that recorded tempera- ture below 15 degree Celsius are Angul (11), Koraput (11.6), Bhawanipatna (12.2), Jharsuguda (13) , Keonjhar (13.8), Baripada (14.2), Balangir (14.6) and Sambalpur (14.7). Bhubaneswar and Cuttack recorded minimum tempera- tures of 18 and 16.8 degree Celsius, respectively. Temperature may fall by three to four degree Celsius in southern districts in the next few days, predicted the weath- er office.

Transcript of % [RhR_d ]Rj U`h_ ]ZgVd e` acVgV_e Z_WZ]ecReZ`_ - Daily ...

��������� ����� �������������������������������� ��������������� �������������������������������������� ���������� ��������������������������������������������������������������� ��� ������!�����"��� !#$������������������%�&������������� !��������������%'���� ��������������������� �����������������������$�(�������������)�������������*����*%�������� ����������������+��*������!�������*������������������������������������ ����+�������$

�������!�������� ����� �"���#� ��$���%���&'� �(��,��*����������������������-�����*����������������.����%�� �����������&���������� �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������$

������!�#��� �(� �������#� �#������������ ���� ������������������������.����%���������������%����.����������*����+������������� ��������������%�����������.�����������������%�$

�������

#��� ����������� /0���

In one of the major anti-infil-tration operations in the

last seven months, three heav-ily-armed terrorists weregunned down during a fiercegunfight while four soldiers,including an officer of theIndian Army, lost their lives inthe line of duty in Machil sec-tor of North Kashmir’sKupwara district on Sunday.

The icy heights of Keransector in North Kashmir’sKupwara district had earlierwitnessed a hand-to-handcombat on April 5 when elitepara commandos eliminatedfive terrorists in one of thedeadliest operations. All fivecommandos also laid downtheir lives while foiling the infil-tration bid.

On late Saturday night, theanti-infiltration operation waslaunched while the terroristsattempted to breach the AntiInfiltration Obstacle system(AIOS) along the Line of

Control (LoC) in a desperatebid to infiltrate inside theIndian territory ahead of theclosing down of the mountainpasses due to fresh snowfall inthe higher reaches of NorthKashmir.

According to the recentassessment of the various intel-ligence agencies around 200-250 terrorists were waiting

across different launch pads toinfiltrate inside the Indian ter-ritory before the peak wintersset in the coming weeks.

Around 1 am, a patrolparty of the Border SecurityForce (BSF) first noticed thesuspicious movements nearthe LoC and challenged theintruders, leading to a three-hour gun-battle in which a ter-

rorist was eliminated. OneBSF constable was also killedin action.

Confirming the sequenceof events a Srinagar-baseddefence spokesperson ColRajesh Kalia in a written state-ment said, “At about 1 am, aBSF patrol noticed suspiciousmovement near the Anti-Infiltration Obstacle System(LoC fence), 3.5 km from theLoC. The BSF personnel chal-lenged the infiltrators and agunbattle ensued, in which aterrorist was killed,” he said.

“A BSF soldier was killed inaction (KIA) and the firefightstopped,” Col Kalia said in astatement.

He said more troops wererushed to the area and themovement of the terrorists wastracked with the help of sur-veillance devices.

“Contact was re-estab-lished at 10.20 am when heavyfire was drawn by own searchparties approximately 1.5 kmfrom the LoC.

���� �1��,12��

Deadly Covid-19 killed afifth of all cancer patients

who contract the virus, cau-tioned scientists afteranalysing data from acrossthe globe.

In fact, they found thatcancer patients who contractCovid-19 face a mortality rateof 22.4 per cent, i.e. 273 timeshigher than the death rate fornon-cancer patients infectedwith virus.

The study, which was pub-lished in the Journal of theNational Cancer Institute, alsoshowed that those with lungand blood cancer face a high-er risk.

In contrast, other knownrisk factors such as diabetes

and heart disease were lesssignificant to those in the can-cer group. The internationalstudy holds importance forIndia which, as per recentWorld Cancer Report, in 2018there are about 1.16 millionnew cases, 784,800 deaths,and 2.26 million five-yearprevalent cases.

And that one in 10 Indianswill develop cancer duringtheir lifetime and one in 15will die of the disease.

Researchers looked at 15studies from across the worldwhich in total involved 3,019patients and also found thattreatment such as chemother-

apy has no effect on mortal-ity rate.

� ��� �0.���3(4�

Pledging to be the Presidentof all Americans, Joe Biden

has sought an immediate end tothe “grim era of demonisation”in the deeply-polarised nation,as he and his running mateKamala Harris celebrated theirhistoric triumph over DonaldTrump in a bitter and closely-fought presidential election.

“I pledge to be a Presidentwho seeks not to divide, but tounify; who doesn’’t see redstates and blue states, only seesthe United States,” Biden, 77,said in his victory speech beforea drive-in audience in his home-town, Wilmington, Delaware onSaturday night, nearly endingthe uncertainty over the out-come of Tuesday’’s election.

Biden, who has succeededin his third bid to the WhiteHouse, thanked his supporters,saying he had earned votesfrom the “broadest and mostdiverse coalition in American

history.” “I am humbled by thetrust and confidence you’’veplaced in me,” who will be theoldest US president when hewould be sworn-in on January20, 2021, said amid applauseand cheers from the audience.

“The people of this nationhave spoken, they’’ve deliv-ered us a clear victory, a con-vincing victory, a victory for‘We the People’,” he said, refer-

ring to more than 74 millionvoters who backed him. Bidenran twice unsuccessfully forpresident — in 1988 and 2008.

Noting that he ran as aproud Democrat, Biden said hewill now be an AmericanPresident. “I will work as hardfor those who didn’t vote forme — as those who did.

Trump has so far refused toconcede the election that attract-ed a record number ofAmericans to cast their votesamidst the Covid-19 pandem-ic. He has announced filingmultiple lawsuits against theelection results in key battle-ground states like Pennsylvania,where Biden was born and thatgave him the crucial 20 electoralvotes to cross the magic figureof 270 he needed to win.

The Democratic Partyleader also reached out to dis-appointed Trump voters, say-ing he would act as their pres-ident as much as he would forthose who voted for him.

���� �1��,12��

On the fourth anniversary ofhis controversial

announcement of the demon-etisation, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on Sundayhailed the move, which, he said,had hit the black money andincreased transparency in theeconomy.

The sudden move of Modion November 8, 2016, hadinvited widespread criticismfrom the Opposition and econ-omists. Modi took to Twittersaying, “Demonetisation has

helped reduce black money,increase tax compliance andformalisation and given a boostto transparency.”

The Prime Minister saidthese outcomes have beengreatly beneficial towardsnational progress.

On the occasion, the rulingBJP said that in 2016-17,Unified Payments Interface(UPI) saw transactions worthRs 6,952 crore while itincreased to Rs 21 lakh crore in2019-20.

UPI is an immediate real-time payment system that helps

in instantly transferring thefunds between the two bankaccounts through a mobileplatform.

���� �1��,12��

India and China on Sundaysaid the latest round of

military level talks was “can-did, in depth and construc-tive.”

The parleys held onFriday, however, could notachieve any breakthrough ondefusing tension at the Line ofActual Control (LAC).

In a statement issued bothin Beijing and New Delhi, thetwo countries said it wasagreed to implement theimportant consensus reachedby the leaders of the twonations.

The statement also saidthe two Armies also agreedthat the frontline troops“exercise restraint and avoid

misunderstanding and mis-calculation.”

The Corps Commander-level talks were held atChushul border meetingpoint on Friday at the LACwith Lt General P G K Menonheading the Indian delegationwhile Major General Liu Linled the Chinese tea.

The Indian team alsoincluded Naveen Srivastava,Joint Secretary (East Asia) inthe Ministry of ExternalAffairs.

The talks went on formore than ten hours and thetwo commanders agreed tohave another round of meet-ing soon.

The statement said bothsides agreed to maintain dia-logue and communicationthrough military and diplo-matic channels, and take for-ward the discussions for thesettlement of outstandingissues.

�""����� ��� �1��,12��

With stubble fires continu-ing to be reported in

Punjab and nearby regions,the national Capital’s air qual-ity was recorded in “severe” cat-egory on Sunday.

According to the CentralPollution Control Board’s

(CPCB) mobile app SAMEER,Delhi’s overall air quality index(AQI) was recorded at 426which falls in the ‘severe’ cate-gory.

The Ministry of EarthSciences’ air quality monitor

System of Air Quality andWeather Forecasting andResearch (SAFAR) said the sit-uation was unlikely to improveunless a drastic reduction takesplace in stubble fire counts.

“Surface winds havebecome calm, which weremoderate so far, and are fore-casted to stay low in magni-tude for the next two days.

This is the major factordue to which no quick recov-ery is expected unless a dras-tic reduction in fire countstakes place,” SAFAR said.

According to SAFAR, stub-ble fire counts over Punjab,Haryana, UP, Uttarakhand andneighbouring areas stood highat 3,780 on Saturday and itsshare in PM 2.5 in Delhi’s airwas estimated as 29 per cent forSunday. It was estimated as 32per cent for Saturday.

� � �$������������ ������������������������������ 56�57�89: ;9�<;:�����������59�66�==:��������� 8�;;�5;6������������55�=>7�����������6�77�;=70������������ 8�;<�7>6 >�675�������������8�5;�66=(� ������� 6�;=�8<<���� 55�=;;�����������6�5=�98;������������ ;�76�9>= 6�<:>�������������;�>6�5:8����� ;�8>�55: 5�>7= ;�:<�;66,���� ;�=:�68; )*+,-�������������=�8=�>5;����-���� ;�:9�=5; 6�<7;�������������=�>=�;9;4����� =�:5�96; 5�;68�������������<�88�5>8(������� <�9:�==5 5�=66�������������<�<7�:>;-������ <�<<�>5< 5�5;; <�5;�6=> �?������ <�55�=5: 5�787�������������5�7<�7;90��� <�:8�67: 7;;����������������<�:5�==5!����������� 5�77�9><���� <�;=;�������������5�6=�86<���%��� 5�8<�8:; 5�75<�������������5�>;�;;;3�?������������ 5�8:�>77 =�6>=�������������5�>;�>7>�

�� ./*0,*,12�� � �,*-)*/-/������ 1+*30*31+��� �� �/*3.*121�

���������� � � �$

Dungarpur (Rajasthan):Delhi has hit the peak of thethird wave of Covid-19 andthe number of cases suggeststhat it has been the worst sincethe virus arrived in the cityand it will come down soon,Delhi Health MinisterSatyendar Jain said on Sunday.

New Delhi: The Congress hascalled demonetisation as an“anti-poor” move. Also, theparty is observing November 8as the “Viswasghaat Diwas”,running an online campaign.

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

���� ���������������������������������� !

������� �������������������������������������������� ����������!������"���������

2���4���4�� ��"�������$��*�(�� (����

"� ������ ��������#����� ��������$������

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

���!���$$�#����� �5����*�������!��$�����#���!�

�#������������������$������$#����##���$$#��!��������

�� �������������������� ����������������� � ����� �������� ����������� !"

$%&��������� � ��� �'(�)������������#��������������*���)$+$,

%�����#&��������#��������� ��������"�##����$�������'��!#�������"��&�"����� ������ ������������ ������

(�)�"����#�����"��#������� ���������!�#�������

#�������������� ������������ ����� ��������������������$�%�� �� ���&����'��( �������� �& �� ���&����)����*��� �������� �� ������������������ +��� ���������������

���� -��-0�1.�0 �

After facing wrath over slash-ing of post-matric scholar-

ship amounts meant for the stu-dents belonging to SC and STcategories, the State Governmentrevoked its decision on Sunday.

Chief Minister NaveenPatnaik ordered to put the noti-fication issued by the SC/STDepartment on hold and askedthe officials for a review of thedecision. Now, the SC/ST stu-dents would continue to get the

full fees for studies under theexisting post-matric scholar-ship programme. The clarifica-tion by the Chief Minister’sOffice (CMO) came a day afterthe State Youth Congress hit outat the BJD Government forreducing the course fee amountsfor the SC/ST students.

State Youth Congress pres-ident Smruti Ranjan Lenka hadshowed a copy of the notificationissued by the SC/ST Departmentaccusing the Government ofslashing the course fees from Rs60,000 to Rs 25,000 for theSC/ST students in BTech, from

Rs 66,000 to Rs 25,000 inMTech, from Rs 40,000 to Rs8200 in Bachelor ofManagement Studies (BMS),from Rs 40,000 to Rs 7200 inBachelor of HomeopathicMedicine and Surgery (BHMS)and from Rs 45,000 to Rs 25,000for the students pursingBPharma in various institu-tions. Lenka had said the poorstudents belonging to SC and ST,who have been already enrolledinto various courses, would notbe able to complete their stud-ies as the Government hasreduced the course fees.

���� -��-0�1.�0 �

State capital cityBhubaneswar on Sunday

registered 57 new Covid-19positive cases, mounting itstotal positive tally to 29,704,including 832 active cases.Thenew cases included 44 localcontacts and 13 quarantinecases.

The local contacts includ-ed four cases from Badagada,three each from Laxmisagar,Patia and Jharpada and twocases from Jayadev Vihar.Meanwhile, two more personssuccumbed to the virus in thecity on the day.

���� -��-0�1.�0 �

The Covid-19 toll surged to1,425 in the State following

15 more persons’ death report-ed from nine districts onSunday, the Health and FamilyWelfare Department said.

Three more succumbed tothe disease in Khordha andSambalpur districts, two eachin Bargarh and Balangir andone each in Cuttack, Deogarh,Ganjam, Jharsuguda andSundargarh. The deceased in

Khordha were a 59-year-oldman, a 62 -year-old woman(both of Bhubaneswar) and a65-year-old man. The deaths inSambalpur were of a 72-year-old man, a 65-year-old manand a 63-year-old man. Thecausalities in Balangir were a39-year-old and a 45-year-oldman. The fatalities in Bargarhwere a 70-year-old man and a34-year-old man.

The other deceased werean 86-year-old man of Cuttackdistrict, a 68-year-old man ofDeogarh, a 62-year-old man ofGanjam, a 77-year-old man ofJharsuguda and a 50-year-oldman of Sundargarh.Meanwhile,with 1,434 positive casesrecorded in all 30 districts andthe State pool, the positives’

tally mounted to 3,01,574. Ofthe new cases, 833 were detect-ed from quarantine and 601were local contacts.Khordhadistrict recorded the highest144 cases followed by Cuttack141, Baleswar 99, Sundargarh98, Angul 90, Mayurbhanj 80,Puri 77, Jagatsinghpur 68,Balangir 66, Bargarh 65,Kendrapada 54, Keonjhar 50,Sambalpur 38, Kalahandi andNuapada 35 each, Jaipur 33,Bhadrak and Jharsuguda 31each, Nabarangpur 27, Koraput25, Dhenkanal 21, Ganjam andNayagarh 17 each, Malkangiri14, Kandhamal andSubarnapur 12 each, Rayagadanine, Gajapati six and Deogarhfive.Besides, 28 positive caseswere detected from State pool.

���� -��-0�1.�0 �

With the advent of winter,people in various parts of

the State experienced coldwaves with 11 places recordingtemperature below 15 degreeCelsius during the past 24hours. According to theMeteorological Centre,Bhubaneswar, Sonepur record-

ed the lowest temperature of 9.6degree Celsius followed byPhulbani and Daringbadi with10.5 degree Celsius each.Otherplaces that recorded tempera-ture below 15 degree Celsiusare Angul (11), Koraput (11.6),Bhawanipatna (12.2),Jharsuguda (13) , Keonjhar(13.8), Baripada (14.2),Balangir (14.6) and Sambalpur(14.7).

Bhubaneswar and Cuttackrecorded minimum tempera-tures of 18 and 16.8 degreeCelsius, respectively.

Temperature may fall bythree to four degree Celsius insouthern districts in the nextfew days, predicted the weath-er office.

)��������� �������'� ����

����,��--�����������������-.&�/��0

�������������� ��

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

�-������ ��(�)��������� �����������* �-������������������������������������.��/�������� ������� �������(�*�����������(�����������������*00*�'0

�������������� �������� ��(��1��������

2�����������*13

@(�,���%����� ��*���$� A����%�����*�##�"�������

��������������������

�������� $� A����%�����A

B2���!��% �6�7�5>����8� =::B0���.�������1+�������0�����*�

��*������)�� ��,12����2�!��4� -�4�02��-��-0�1.�0

0�!��� 0��� !�0�,�30 ��,1� 0,�� �C,1 0-0,�D�/0C�0,0

�9���������,.)0���������������� �����������

������4��*�#����(����#�� +*�-3-3:���!�,-��0

�+,�+��-�) 11�� 1..�4�1�(

.+/% �0��1..031�4)�121!(�4��<:<:E�( ���

24.(��-�(�( ����.��,�,��4(

��,+/1���

�0��-10(�F��-0-�1���<�,�(<:�

��������� ��������������������

����� ���������� ������ !�"�# ���!$� ����%&'�(%(%

����������� ������ ������������������� ������������������������� !��������"�� ���#�$!%���&�'��(� !)$&% �&!&�*+(� !)$&% �,%%��$-��(������������./-�����-���������01"�2�1�3$&4�5�������$6�7���$3�������#�2��������1�����"�� ���#�$!%�����1�����(����������8�������1�����(��������8�28�/�����9821�:4&��!4&&)!%�628�;8�<68:1��8������1��(�������8����������(���0���(��- �=6�-�� ������("�/����=�������������(��>�����3����9�����(��� �"�����:�� "�#��"�������7����/���#3����$�����&������(���$)����)%%���--��������9�����(*$,�������� ��9236�:��-"����/�$&��,���;�������(��&�$)?!5?��=)?!55������@��#9�����()��*���������������/�������*�A �8������@��#&& �� �'���������(�%&&$&,) )),�&,) )))�&,) ))%�

���������� �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������� ��������������� �� ���������������������������������������������������������� ������������ ����� ��������������� ��������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� �������� �!����������������"���������� ���������������������������� �������������������� ���� ��������������������������������� �����������������������������#��������������������������� ���� ����$����%����&�������������������������� ��������������� �����������������������'����������������������������������� ���������������"��������������������(�����������������������������

�(�#���;�����

November 6 was the 78thbirthday of Prof Ananta

Charan Sukla, one of the great-est authorities of comparativeaesthetics globally.Unfortunately, as we celebrat-ed it this year, Prof Sukla was

no more with us. He passedaway just a month back.ThatProf Sukla was a scholar extra-ordinaire in his chosen field isnot something that I need toemphasize here. His credentialsin that area is too strong. Andmy qualification to commenton that is too little.

What prompted me towrite this on his birth anniver-sary—apart from the fact thatI had the pleasure of interact-ing with him multiple times—is not his scholarship per se, buthis stubborn insistence to stickto the old-world academic way,which is rare these days.

He never looked forawards. In fact, he refused to bepublicly felicitated by many ofthe numerous social and liter-ary organisations who request-ed him for that. He shunnedpublicity and never cared if he

was quoted in media or wasspoken about in glowing terms,in his home State, Odisha.

But it was not his humili-ty that made him avoid mediaand publicity. Rather, it was asort arrogance—an academicarrogance.

Something that we haveonly read about, not seen.Because even the greatest aca-demicians these days love thelimelight, the wah-wahs frommedia and people who hardlyunderstand their scholarship.Prof Sukla sort of detestedthat.He cared little about peo-ple who did not understand hisresearch. “What is the point infeeling happy about listeninggood words about yourselffrom those that don’t under-stand anything of what youhave done?” he would ask.Rather, he looked at his peers

for recognition, for his intel-lectual energy and maybe, evenhis passion for living.I wouldget into a lot of discussionaround this with him—espe-cially around the need to makeacademic work reach to com-mon people.

He would be leastimpressed. The editor in mewhose prime motto in profes-sional life was to make every-thing understandable for every-one, never really understoodwhy he abhorred this.

So, many a times, I wouldget into mild debates with himon that. I guess he thought it awaste of his time to even getinto that sort of discussion. Yet,he told me so many unknownfacts about my area of interest,Odia culture. And for thatalone, I looked forward to theinteractions.I realised his value

only when I interacted withpeople from his area of schol-arship. Almost every singlescholar in aesthetics that Ihave met has talked of himwith huge respect. On theother hand, I have had toexplain who he was to a lot ofOdisha’s well-known people. Ifsome of them knew him, itwould be for his occupationalcredentials as a former profes-sor of English at the SambalpurUniversity, not as a scholar parexcellence!

That speaks a lot about theintellectual environment inOdisha, where how many pub-lic meetings you are invited todecides how great a scholar youare.

(The writer is a Delhi-based acclaimed author andscholar)

��������1������ �� ������������� �/� ��� � /���

���� -��-0�1.�0

Chief Minister NaveenPatnaik on Sunday con-

gratulated US President-electJoe Biden and Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris on theirsecuring the mandate in the USelections 2020.

Patnaik took to the Twitterto extend his best wishes andhoped that India-US friendshipwould grow stronger duringtheir tenure and the two biggestdemocracies of the world worktogether for making the worlda better place to live in.

���� -��-0�1.�0

Abreast cancer awarenessprogramme was flagged

off by Rotary DistrictGovernor, RID-3262 SaumyaRanjan Mishra and RotaryClub of Bhubaneswar SmilePresident Lalitendu Mohantyhere on Saturday.

To commemorate the occa-sion, a book titled "STAGE-4:Love, Trauma & Redemption"written by debutant authorRotarian Soumya Mohantyfrom the Rotary Club Smilewas released by RotaryInternational President-electShekhar Mehta and RotaryInternational Director-elect DrMahesh Kotbagi.Director

Fortis Hospital, Bengaluru DrNiti Raizada was guest speak-er and Bollywood directorMani Shankar and Ollywoodactor Sabyasachi were guests ofhonour.The programme wasattended virtually by Rotariansfrom all over the world. The

purpose of the event was toaddress one of Rotary's SevenAreas of Focus, namely, diseaseprevention by raising awarenesson breast cancer. AuthorSoumya pledged the proceedsfrom sale of her book to Rotaryfor the cause of fighting cancer.

(������������������� ��

����������� �� �������������!����������"�

���� 0C030,0

Police seized a truck loadedwith 11.14 quintal of ganja

in the Jeypore Sugar CompanyLtd (JSCo) area in Rayagadadistrict on Saturday night.

The seized contraband wasvalued at around Rs 1 crore,revealed an initial investigation.Acting on a tipoff, a team of theRayagada police led by IICNihar Ranjan Pradhan friskedthe truck parked at the JSColocality and found the contra-band packed in 45 polythene

bags. Following the seizure, thetruck was brought to theRayagada police station and theganja was measured in thepresence of a magistrate.

Police source said the truckdriver fled from scene. The pre-liminary investigation revealedthat driver hails fromMaharashtra.

A probe was underway toascertain whether driver wasengaged in illegal supply ofganja or truck was carryingother goods along with thecontraband.

���� -��-0�1.�0

An Odisha State Councilfor Occupational Therapy

and Physiotherapy has beenconstituted providing a boost tothe discipline of physiotherapyin the State.

The council was constitut-ed on June 3 under the provi-sions of the Odisha StateCouncil for OccupationalTherapy and PhysiotherapyAct, 2019 and the officialgazette to this effect was col-lected from the Govt Pressrecently by Dr SthitipragyaDalabehera, president of theOdisha chapter of the IndianAssociation of Physiotherapists(IAP) and Head of the depart-ment of Physiotherapy at theInstitute of Medical Sciencesand SUM Hospital.

The constitution of thenew council would greatly con-tribute towards professionaldevelopment of physiothera-pists, she said.

���� -��-0�1.�0

After successfully hostingthe first edition of Eco

Retreat on the Ramchandibeach in Konark, the StateGovernment is all set to organ-ise the glamping (glamorouscamping) festival at five touristdestinations, includingHirakud, Badmul (Satkosia),Nalitapatia (Bhitarkanika) andDaringbadi.

The Eco Retreat Hirakudwill be organised at Balbaspurfrom December 1 till February28.Ahead of the mega festival,Tourism Director Sachin RYadav on Sunday visitedSambalpur and reviewed thepreparations. District CollectorSubham Saxsena, SambalpurSadar Sub-CollectorSuryawanshi Mayur and otherdistrict officials accompaniedhim to the spot. The glamorouscamping is expected to give aboost to environmentaltourism in western Odisha.Like last year, the event wouldgive the tourists a unique expe-

rience of glamorous camping inluxury cottages, delectable cui-sine, spa, adventure and watersports activities, nature trailsand wholesome day itinerariesand cultural evenings, said anofficial.

Eco Retreat Hirakud wouldhave 25 premium Swiss cottagetents, air-conditioned restau-rants, an air-conditioned recep-tion and a conference hall.

Ropeway ride, jungle safari

in Debrigarh sanctuary, bananaride, jet ski and rifle shootingare the special attractions of theevent. The visitors can also visitvarious tourist places in the dis-trict of Sambalpur.

Notably, organised for thefirst time in the State, theevent at Konark was highlysuccessful with a record occu-pancy of around 89% withover 4,000 tourists spendingtime in the camps.

���������� ���� ����� ��� ��������

���� -��-0�1.�0

The National Human RightsCommission (NHRC) has

sought an Action-Taken Report(ATR) recently from theOdisha Home Secretary onthe preparedness to combatemergency situations in capitalcity Bhubaneswar.

Taking cognisance of apetition filed by Supreme Courtlawyer and rights activistRadhakanta Tripathy, theNHRC sought the report with-

in four weeks. The commissionalso marked the copy of itsorder to the Odisha DirectorGeneral of Police for informa-tion and needful action..

The order of the NHRCcame to rectify the unpre-paredness of the State capital toface exigencies, like the situa-tion cropped up after the petrolpump blast on October 7, nearRaj Bhavan in the city.

The Government hospi-tals in Bhubaneswar are notwell-equipped to deal withpatients with burn injuries.The traffic jam fromBhubaneswar to Cuttack wherethe injured were treated couldnot get proper medical atten-tion and there was delay inensuring treatment also,Tripathy alleged.

The negligence and failureof the State Governments toensure safety, fire fighting infra-

structure, continuous surveil-lance and vigil to protecthuman rights , timely propermedical treatment, proper traf-fic management amounts toserious violation of humanrights, Tripathy pointed out.

He requested the NHRC totake this case as extremely

urgent and ensure properhealthcare facilities inGovernment Hospitals inBhubaneswar, fire safety, traf-fic management and ancillaryand incidental issues to meetthe emergency situation inBhubaneswar, as it is the Statecapital.

�*#0����+!#�$��*�����

������������� �� �������

.�����%��������%!��������� �

�#$������%��&����'��(��)�����*�����%���

���� -��-0�1.�0

The demand for exclusionof tribals having been

converted to other religionsfrom the Scheduled Tribe listseems mounting in the Stateas organisations working forwelfare of Adivasis have urgedthe Centre to amend the con-cerned law at the earliest.

The Janajati SurakshaManch sent a memorandumin this regard to PresidentRam Nath Kovind and PrimeMinister Narendra Modithrough the Sub-Collector,Brahmapur on Saturday.Earlier, Manch members led

by Ganjam district coordina-tor Bhimasena Bhoi hadstaged a demonstration at theSub-Collector’s office.

In the memorandum,they mentioned that tribalswho have proselytised toother faiths like Christianityand Islam and are not prac-tising Adivasi culture havebeen sharing benefits avail-able to Scheduled Tribe forthe last 73 years sinceIndependence.“50 years backin 1970, noted tribal leaderand former Union MinisterKartika Oram had submitteda memorandum to the thenPrime Minister IndiraGandhi, demanding exclu-sion of such converted people.

The memorandum hadbeen prepared as per provi-sions in the SC and ST Orders(Amendment) Act, 1976. Itwas proposed that those peo-ple who have quit the beliefsof the Adivasi and acceptedChristianity and Muslim

would now be accepted asmembers of ST community,”read the memorandum.

It also mentioned thatthe Manch had undertaken asignature drive seeking peo-ple’s opinion in this regard in2015 and sent a memoran-dum with signatures of 27.67tribal people to the thenPresident Pratibha Patil.However, the plights of trib-als have remained unheard oftill today.

The Manch urged thePrime Minister to amend lawsand exclude those who haveconverted to other religions.

A similar memorandumwas also submitted toKeonjhar Sub-Collector fol-lowing a demonstration heldby over a hundred of tribals.

They alleged that somepeople claiming to beChristian have been instigat-ing poor Hindu people toconvert to Christianity. Thereligious conversion is going

on rampantly in villagesunder Anandpur, Saharapada,Telkoi, Banshapal and Sadarblocks. Even a church hasbeen constructed on a 9 acreof Government land atGopinathpur under Dalapakagram panchayat. KeonjharSadar MLA Mohan Charan

Majhi, former MP AnantNayak and Keonjhar districtBJP president AnshumanMahantburma had met dis-trict Collector Ashish Tahakerrecently. The distr ictCollector assured that hewould take appropriate actionsoon.

������������� �������������������� �

�����)�)��������'����+

�� � �02�0�3� �

Director General Police(DGP) Abhay on Sunday

visited the Malkangiri districtand took stock of the Maoistsituation. He also held discus-sions with BSF and police offi-cials to adopt strategies tocombat the Red rebels.

Visiting the new BSF campset up at Gorasetu inSwabhiman Anchal in the dis-trict, Abhay said, “I am verydelighted that a BSF camp hasbeen set up in Gorasetu whichwas a long standing demand oflocals.” I extend my sincere

gratitude to the BSF jawanswho are working tirelesslydespite every odd to ensuresecurity for the common peo-ple. I am optimistic about moredevelopment works inGorasetu area,” the DGP Abhayadded.“I believe theGovernment would take mea-sures for a fast-paced develop-ment in the tribal pockets.

The anti-Maoist operationwill be intensified with effectivecoordination between Odishapolice and its Andhra Pradeshcounterparts,” he added.TheDGP later distributed books toschoolchildren and cloths andblankets to locals.

���� -��-0�1.�0

Demanding arrest of BJPnational vice-president

Baijayant Panda in connec-tion with the alleged Sarua landscam, over a hundred womenunder the banner of the Dalitand Adivasi Mahila Manch hitthe streets here on Sunday.

Holding banner and plac-ards and shouting slogansagainst Panda, the womenstaged the protest at MasterCanteen Square.

They alleged that Pandahas exploited Dalit and Adivasipeople and acquired their landsunlawfully. “Baijayant Pandahas grabbed the lands belong-

ing to Scheduled Caste personsat Sarua village in Khordha dis-trict in a fraudulent manner,”claimed a protestor.

Panda should be arrestedimmediately so that the tribalpeople get justice, sheadded.Notably, the EconomicOffences Wing (EOW) of the

Crime Branch has arrestedManoranjan Sarangi, ChiefFinancial Officer (CFO) ofOTV and Director of Panda-owned Odisha InfratechPrivate Limited in connectionwith the land scam. Followingthe arrest, Sarangi resignedfrom both the posts.

��������������

,�)�����)���-�&��������������

����������-������� �������

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

�� ��-��-0�1.�0

Another Odia girl hasearned pride for the State.Aditi Parida has topped the

Combined Defence Services(CDS) II, 2019 Examination(Women), the results of whichwere published recently, officialsources said. The merit list haslisted a total of 241 candidatesincluding 174 candidates whocleared the exams for OfficersTraining Academy, Chennaifor short service Commission

Course (NT) (for Men) and 67candidates who cleared theexams for Officers TrainingAcademy, Chennai, Short

Service Commission Women(Non-Technical) Course. Aditifrom Dhenkanal has beenselected for the training forArmy Officer. Aditi finishedher graduation in MassCommunication fromSymbiosis College, Pune thissummer and she is also the top-per of her batch 2017-2010.

The daughter of an IndianArmy Brigadier, Aditi also hasthe credit of being the nation-al debate champion amongstthe Army Schools in 2016.

���!�� ���"��##����

���� !�((0!�

Orissa High Court JudgeJustice Sanjeeb Kumar

Panigrahi on Saturday saidthat the fundamental duties areequally important as the fun-damental rights. Delivering hiskeynote address at a TeachersTraining Programme onFundamental Duties organ-ised by the UGC-Ministry of

Education at the National LawUniversity, Odisha (NLUO),here Justice Panigrahi said thatthe citizens are supposed toenjoy their rights and performtheir duties coextensively.

Even when the fundamen-tal duties are not enforceable,the courts have often enforcedthe duties indirectly by readingthem in conjunction with thefundamental rights, especiallyArticle 21 which provides forright to life and liberty, JusticePanigrahi added.NLUO Vice-

Chancellor Prof YP Singhstressed upon the importanceof fundamental duties in nationbuilding and responsibility ofcitizens to perform such duties.

He stated that if all citizensdischarge their duties, peoplewouldn’t be required to fight fortheir rights, because the rightswould then be automaticallytaken care of. NLUO SeniorProfessor Dr Sachidhanandampointed out interface of rightsand duties and how both arecorrelative to each other.

./��������)���)������������%���0

�������� ���$�$!� %&'

� � �����(�2����� ������ ��+�����

�3 ��� ����,/ � ��� ���� ���� ��

����� ��1������� ������ !�"�# ���!$� ����%&'�(%(%

�����������(������ ��

What are green technologyand environmental sus-

tainability? Green technology isthe application of science andtechnology that is environ-ment-friendly and does notharm the ecosystem.

Environmental sustain-ability is the activity that pro-tects the environment or the lifesupport system, for the presentand posterity. Let us focus onfour principal aspects on thisaccount, i.e., lifestyle, con-struction activities, mining andindustrial activities, and waste

management. Environment-friendly life style is otherwiseunderstood as green lifestyle.The first and foremost thing tolead green lifestyle is to residein smart or energy efficientbuilding (Green Building) thatensures thermal comfort, nat-ural ventilation, optimumavailability of day light, safedrinking water, good sanitationand waste recycling.

The traditional source ofenergy is fossil fuel energymostly from coal, petroleum,diesel, liquid gas, etc that gen-erates greenhouse gases.Energy can be procured fromrenewable sources like solarphoto-voltaic panels, solar gey-sers, biogas, etc. Concretebuilding generates about 40 percent of the greenhouse gases(GHG), but if it is a greenbuilding GHG generation isquite minimum.

The second thing recom-mended for green lifestyle is toavoid sedentary life style, dowalking or cycling for short dis-tance, depend less on use offossil fuel transport vehicles,and use green fuel or battery

operated vehicle. The thirdthing is regarding use of ener-gy efficient electric bulbs, elec-tronic appliances like air con-ditioner, refrigerator, grinder,kitchen appliances, etc. Thefourth thing which is moreimportant is to eat home-cooked food from organic veg-etables and avoid junk food.

Every second child in Indiasuffers from some form ofnutritional failure. Governmentof India launched ‘POSHANAbhiyan’, a flagship programmewith a budget of Rs 950 crorein 2017-18, and 3,400 crore in2018-19 to meet the nutritiondeficiency.

If one looks at the modernlifestyle impact on health, it isperturbing. The non-commu-nicable diseases (NCDs) name-ly hypertension, heart attack,stroke, diabetes, cancer, asthma,chronic obstructive pulmonarydisease (COPD), Alzheimer'sdisease, hepatitis, chronic liverdiseases, osteoporosis, obesity,renal failure, etc are in increas-ing order. In India the esti-mated proportion of all deathsdue to NCD has increased

from 37.09 per cent in 1990 to60 per cent in 2000, 68 per centin 2012 and to 71 per cent in2016 (41 Million).

India produces 150 milliontonnes of construction anddemolition waste (CDW)annually. Real estate is a lucra-tive business. Even the con-structed buildings are demol-ished to raise multi-floor tow-ers leading to generation ofhuge quantity of constructionwaste. Most of the materials inthis waste can be recycled andreused, but it is not generallydone.

Mining and industrialactivities generate huge quan-tity of solid, liquid and gaseouswastes. During such activitiesone should be careful about theadverse environmentalimpacts. Around 3.5 lakh peo-ple of Angul and Dhenkanalindustrial region are severelysuffering from various respi-ratory diseases due to heavy airpollution and are under threatof Covid-19.

Industrial mine wastes areof various types such as fly ashfrom coal using industries, red

mud from aluminium indus-tries, slag from steel plant andferrochrome plant, spent potlining from aluminium indus-try, cement kiln dust, gypsum,sludge from paper mill andother sources, press mud fromsugar factory, mine over bur-den, mine washing and minedust. The new generationwastes are plastic, electronicand nuclear.

Municipal waste, industri-al waste and bio-medical wasteare governed by MunicipalSolid Waste Management Rules2016, Hazardous WasteManagement Rules 2016 (andother Rules depending on thenature of the waste) and Bio-medical Waste Management(Amendment) Rules 2019respectively. Similarly there arerules and guidelines for man-agement of the new generationwastes.

Sustainable developmenthas four pillars, namely, wiseuse of natural resources, pro-tection of environment, eco-nomic development, and socio-cultural development.Sustainable Development Goal

(SDG) –VII is dedicated to‘Affordable and Clean Energy’.It means universal access toenergy, increasing energy effi-ciency, achieving affordableand clean energy, and integra-tion of renewable energy tech-nologies.

At the initiative of India atthe Paris Climate Accord in2015, the International SolarAlliance (ISA) has been insti-tuted with its head quarters inIndia. It is a coalition of 121solar rich countries to addressenergy needs. Most of thesecountries, lying fully or par-tially between the Tropics ofCancer and Tropics ofCapricorn get nearly 300 daysof good sunshine in a year andtherefore they are most suitedto move on the solar energypath. This green energy willreduce fossil fuel use and min-imise waste generation.

SDG- XI addresses to‘Sustainable Cities andCommunities’. It means makethe cities and human settle-ments inclusive, safe andresilient. This SDG is translat-ed into the concept of ‘Smart

city’, which means a city wherethere is low carbon economylifestyle, healthy environmentand sanitation, rich culture,qualitative education, health,transport and communication,respect for citizens safety, peaceand tranquility, equity, andgood governance. City forest isa new emerging concept.Maharashtra Chief MinisterUdhav Thakeray decided toshift the proposed car shed forthe Metro Phase-III projectfrom Aarey colony toKanurmark in Mumbai to setapart about 800 acres as forestarea in Aarey colony. This is aclassic example of political willand attitude for eco-city plan-ning.

The Delhi Cabinetapproved the country’s firsttree plantation policy. DelhiGovernment has also takendecision for installation of asmog tower at ConnaughtPlace to clean the air. Farmersin neighbouring states ofPunjab, Haryana and UttarPradesh burn paddy cropresidue before onset of thewinter. The stubble burning

which emits toxic pollutantslike methane, carbon monox-ide, carcinogenic polycyclicaromatic hydrocarbons, etcadds to the air pollution prob-lem. As a solution to the prob-lem the Indian AgriculturalResearch Institute, Pusa hasdeveloped a new technologyfrom fungal extraction todecompose the straw in thecrop field itself. Therefore, thefarmers need to adopt thetechnology instead of burningthe straw.

The SDG-XIII stresses on‘Climate Action’. The green-house gas level now increasedfrom pre-industrial (1,750)level of 278 ppm to 407.8 ppm(2018). Climate change is anurgent issue that demandsimmediate attention. This SGDcalls for urgent action to com-bat climate change and itsimpacts which are the reflec-tions of climate aberrationsand frequent natural calamities.

(Dr Patro is president,Orissa Environmental [email protected]. Mob:943790420)

(���$ ���)�$����$��$ ���� ��$�*�� �$�+��$ ��������

���� -��-0�1.�0

In an example, while a total of2.98 lakh Covid-19 positive

cases were confirmed by theState Government on Friday, 67per cent of them were male,56.8 per cent below 40 yearsand only 10.5 per cent werefrom above 60 years.

The State's Covid tally onFriday rose to 2,98,768, with1,494 more people testing pos-itive for the infection, while 15

fresh fatalities pushed the tollto 1,393, Department of Healthand Family Welfare sourceshave confirmed.Of the 1,494cases, 867 were reported fromquarantine centres, and therest detected during contacttracing, officials said.

Five districts contributemore than 37 per cent of thecases, while Khurda district, ofwhich Bhubaneswar is a part,reported the maximum num-ber of fresh cases at 153, fol-lowed by Cuttack at 112 andBaleswar at 102.

Taking to Twitter, thedepartment expressed regretthat 15 more Covid-19 patientshave succumbed to the viraldisease.Three fresh fatalitieswere reported from Khurdaand Sambalpur districts, twoeach from Mayurbhanj and

Bargarh districts. One eachsuccumbed to the virus in thedistricts of Cuttack, Malkangiri,Balangir, Puri and Baleswar.

Khurdha accounted for thehighest number of deaths so farat 242, followed by Ganjam at231 and Cuttack at 116. 53Covid-19 patients have dieddue to pre-existing ailments. Asmany as 1,641patients recov-ered and discharged from hos-pitals on November 6. Thetotal recovered cases of Odishanow stood at 2,85,174

The positivity rate in theState accounted for 6.18 percent.Over 48.38 lakh sampletests conducted so far, includ-ing 51,098, on the day. Whilethe State had 13,789 activepatients, 10,635 wee in homeisolation, which was more than76 per cent.

�������������������������������������������� ����������������� �!"���#�����$"���������"������

���� .��,0 30 �

The owner of a crusher unitwas abducted by unidenti-

fied miscreants near Bijabahalunder the Biramitrapur policelimits in Sundargarh district onSaturday evening. Police beganconducting raids at differentplaces to rescue the kidnappedPradeep Kundu.

As per sources, Kundu hadgone to Bijabahal to meet hisstaffs and give them their salaries.Later, he was returning home ataround 7 pm. Midway, when hewas talking over phone parkinghis vehicle on roadside, the mis-creants abducted him.OnSunday, police found his car onNH-143 near Bijabahal alongwith some used syringes near thevehicle. Though exact reasonbehind the incident was yet to beascertained, Kundu’s familymembers suspected that hemight have been kidnappedover an extortion issue.

�� � - 0��0��

Adolescents through the‘teen clubs’ have taken an

initiative to fight stigma andsocial taboos related to themenstrual issues of teens in theslums in Brahampur city. NGOYouth for Social Development(YSD) has started a “KishoriShakti” campaign in thisregard.The girls are madeaware of the stigma related tomenstruation and also how to

access safe menstrual productsand maintain hygiene duringperiods, said Chandan KumarSahu of YSD.The YSD has aroadmap to sensitise more than1,000 adolescent girls in 40slums.

Besides menstrual hygiene,also awareness is created onchild marriage, violence againstwomen and girls, life, employ-ability skills, leadership skillsand above all for gender pari-ty in the society.

���� -021.�0

The patients as well as theirattendants seeking treat-

ment in the Maternal andChild healthcare building of theFM Medical College Hospital(MCH) are facing a harrowingtime as the lifts of the five storybuilding have gone unservice-able for more than a week.

The newly constructedmultistoried MCH unit whilehave two lifts for the movementof patients, attendants, healthcare and other supporting staff,they are facing a tough time asthey have to climb a number ofstairs to receive the services orgive services.

Even the serious patients,pregnant and aged women tooare climbing stairs with a lot ofdifficulties. Reports said ini-tially while one was out oforder, currently both the liftsare unserviceable. Reports alsoalleged that lifts frequently goout of order and the hospitaladministration hardly takesthe matter seriously.

Chief District MedicalOfficer Dulal Sen Jagdeo saidthat he had received com-plaints and work was inprogress to make the lifts ser-viceable.

���� ��0�0,0

Asix-member UGC peerteam visited the Khariar

Autonomous College for twodays on Saturday and Sundayfor inspection to considerextension of the autonomousstatus.

"The team interacted withour college staffs, both

teaching and non-teaching,on the first day. We present-

ed our report, which was fol-lowed by discussions withstaff members and physicalverification of various docu-ments, infrastructures, equip-ments and visit to all depart-ments," said college PrincipalNirupama Padhi.

The team would also lookinto the academic develop-ment of the college during thepast years, she added.

The college authoritiesinformed that the team head-

ed by Prof BK Punia, formerVC of MD University, Rohtakalso consisted of Prof SSSingh of Forest &Environment Department,Guru Ghasidash University,Bilaspur; Dr Devendra NathVerma, Nagarjun PG College;Prof Sanjat K Sahu, represen-tative, Sambalpur University;P Guru, State Governmentrepresentative; and Dr NareshKumar Sharma, UGC UnderSecretary.

��;���#������#�� /�0 .�3�,0�

Ameeting of the district levelpaddy collection was held

on Friday here. Attending themeeting, Health Minister NabaKishore Das ensured that all thefarmers of the district wouldget all the facilities as perGovernment norms. Hesought cooperation of all toobey the Government guide-lines of Diwali this year in viewof the Corona pandemic.

The meeting held underthe Chairmanship of DistrictCollector Saroj Kumar Samalwas attended by Zilla ParishadChairman Laxminarayan Patel,

SP Rahul PR, representative ofBargarh MP RaghunandanPanda, representative ofBrajrajnagar MLA BiswanathNayak, farmers representatives,millers and other district levelofficers.

A detailed discussion washeld for paddy procurement inthe current Kharif season. Itwas decided to collect paddyfrom November 25. Target setfor collection was 558,823quintal paddy this yearthrough 41 paddy collectioncentres and 32 PACS of the dis-trict.Aadhar Card has beenmade mandatory for sale ofpaddy by farmers within 30days from receipt of token and

special care will be taken so thatthe farmers of 19 mouzas underLakhanpur block without rev-enue village status do not faceany difficulties. The farmersrepresentatives requested toprovide all ancillary facilities inthe paddy sale centres, supply-ing gunny bags to farmersearly, arrange to sell surpluspaddy and solve any problemsin paddy sale immediately.

The district Collector sug-gested the farmers to bring dryand clean paddy and remainpresent personally or throughtheir representatives. Hesought cooperation of all toobserve Diwali only by lightinglamps due to corona.

�� � /0/��

Agirl student on her way totuition class died in a road

mishap on National Highway-16 under the Dharmasalapolice station in Jajpur districton Sunday. The deceased wasidentified as Sweta Behera, aClass 10 student and daughterof Santosh Kumar Behera ofNeulapur village.

According to reports, the15-year-old Sweta and her eldersister Sangeeta (18) were ontheir way to Karaka on theirnew scooter to attend tuitionclass in the morning.However,at Rathia Chhack on the NHtheir vehicle hit the rear of atruck parked on roadside fol-lowing which Sweta died on thespot. Her elder sister sustainedsevere injuries and rushed tothe Dharamsala hospital.

���� -�0, 0�

As many as 11 passengerswere injured after a private

bus carrying them skidded offNational Highway-16 nearTrisulapur Chhak in Bhadrakdistrict on Sunday morning.The injured passengers wereadmitted to the District

Headquarters Hospital here.According to reports, bus wason its way from Baleswar toBhubaneswar. The bus skiddedoff road when its driver lostcontrol over it. On receivinginformation, Fire Services per-sonnel and Bhadrak Ruralpolice rushed to spot and res-cued all passengers from bus.

���� 1��,12��

The Odia Samaj, New Delhi,organised a webinar on the

topic “Odisha Ra Krushi OAtmanirvarata” on an onlineplatform through video con-ferencing.The webinar wasgraced by Petroleum MinisterDharmendra Pradhan as chiefguest.

Former IRS SidharthaPradhan, who is president ofthe Odia Samaj, was too pre-sent.The distinguished panel ofspeakers included DirectorGeneral Administrative StaffCollege of India Dr SKPattanayak, Secretary and DG,Indian Council of AgriculturalResearch (ICAR), New DelhiDr Trilochan Mohapatra,Principal Secretary, State

Agriculture and FarmersEmpowerment Dr SaurabhGarg, Union Joint Secretary,Agriculture, Prashant KumarSwain, , Managing Director,NAFED (National AgriculturalCo-operative MarketingFederation of India Ltd.)Sanjeev Kumar Chadha. Over550 agro-entrepreneurs, agri-culturalists, representativesfrom various agro industries,intellectuals and students par-ticipated in the webinar.

With the enactment ofNew Farm Acts and liberalisa-tion of policies, now farmersare going to enjoy more free-dom in production, storageand marketing of their prod-ucts, said Minister Pradhan.

He said all policy makers,social organisations, banking

institutions and intellectualsshould come forward and joinhands to create an eco-systemin Odisha with the aim tomake at least 1 lakh youth self-reliant in agriculture sector.

Pattanayak highlighted var-ious aspects of the new farmAct. Dr Mohapatra gave hisviewpoints on various pre-har-vest interventions required forenhancing farm productivity,diversification of agri-alliedmix, agri production clusters,and deployment of technologyin agricultural sector. Dr Gargpresented the agricultureroadmap of Odisha. Chadhaspoke about various post har-vest interventions includingprocurement, logistic facili-ties, warehousing and storagefacilities.

�����-��-0�1.�0

Amemorandum of under-standing (MOU) was

signed between the IndustrialTraining Institute,Bhubaneswar and the Reemly’sDesign Studio to exchangeknowledge for enhancing skillin apparel making.

The Reemly’s DesignStudio manufactures wearingapparel, textile garments andclothing accessories, knittedor crocheted wearing apparel,lehengas and bridal wear. Itwould support the advanced

workshop, equipped withmachineries for the benefit ofthe students of the ITI,Bhubaneswar.

Reemly’s Design Studiowould act as a knowledge part-ner in training the trainers onnew machines, providing guestlecturers, technology, contentfrom fashion industry.

It would take weekly ses-sions for training students oncuttings techniques with AVmaterial.

!����������������*�������.'����

�������)��#��� ����

(4��������/ ������� � ������������� ����

���� -0 ��0,0

Police on Sunday busted aganja smuggling racket

operating from a rented houseat Shyamanandapur villageunder the Rasgovindpur police

station in Mayurbhanj district.The cops also arrested twopersons in this connection andseized contraband worth Rs 3lakh , a SUV, Rs 20,000 cash andthree mobile phones from theirpossession. The two accusedwere identified as Raftaq Ali(42) and Mihir Biswal (20),

When police raided the houseof businessman RabindraKumar Dey (50), the accusedwere replacing number plate ofa SUV in front of the house. Thevehicle had two number plates,one with registration number ofOdisha in the front and anoth-er of West Bengal in rear.

4������*����� ���*�������������5���

,�������� ��$�$-.��!�������%��/02�����--0*0���6�������

2��������� ��'*���?����?��� �������������*����2�2�--��

�*��+���(�������� ��* �%'��.���������������������

��������1����+�*�$���$ ������!����� ��

���� -��-0�1.�0

Samajwadi Party State presi-dent Rabi Behera has

demanded 75 per cent jobreservation in private sector forOdia youths as Haryana hasdone it by passing a bill in theAssembly recently.

Eight other States likeAndhra and Madhya Pradeshhave also done it earlier, saidBehera. He also demanded toincrease the maximum agelimit for Government job from32 years to 42 years in the State.

Before the commencementof Assembly winter session, theGovernment should convenean all-party meeting to imple-ment the reservation.

In view of increasingunemployment in the State, hehas also demanded implemen-tation of SC, ST, OBC.

#�$�(���(�� .��,0 30 �

Ateam from Kutra blockoffice has gone to Amritsar

on Friday to bring Birju Kulu,who had been freed fromPakistan jail after 20 years.

Birju, a resident of Katangvillage under Kutra block inSundargarh district, was anoth-er civilian of the country whowas imprisoned by a Pakistancourt on suspicion of being aRAW agent.

According to reports, Birju,the only son of his father KamlisKulu, was said to be an intel-lectually disabled person sincehis childhood. He had left hisfamily at an age of 25 years andmoved somewhere. His familysearched him everywhere butfailed to trace his whereabouts.The family was shocked whendetails about him was revealedby the Kutra police last year.

Sources said Birju had mis-takenly entered in Pakistanafter crossing the Indian borderdue to mental illness. ThePakistan army caught him sus-pecting him to be a spying agentfrom India. The civilian was

lodged at a jail in Lohore afterbeing awarded 20 years impris-onment. After finishing his jailterm, he was released onOctober 26 and the Pakistanarmy had handed him over tothe Indian authorities.Following his release fromPakistan, he was admitted to aCovid hospital atNarayanganjagarh in Amritsarfor treatment. When his arrivalat Amritsar reached his nativeplace, family members of Birjuand the people of the localitycelebrated by beating drum andby dancing.

The district administrationhad started preparation to bringBirju to his home. On Friday,block officials of Kutra led byWelfare Extension OfficerMadan Singh and another twopersons went to Amritsar by aBolero vehicle. RajgangpurMLA Razen Ekka and KutraBlock Development OfficerManas Ranjan Ray and otherofficials of Kutra block officewere present when the team leftfor Amritsar to bring Birju.MLA Ekka showed green flagand wished them a nice journey.

�0%����)���(����� ���*��(�������������(�� �������!���*��%�����������&���'������������������(������ �����)����

345��"��&� �(���6���7����8�5���������

��#���������������� �

3 ��������������� � ��� �� �� �����

)�����������������8���

&��"�� ��#

-����*����((789�##�����!������ ��

���������������1��� ��

%30����� � ���)��� ���0���/�

�������:������� ������ !�"�# ���!$� ����&'�(%(%

)�*���������&�������'+#,-.#�/����������������;����#���� �1��,12��

Andhra Pradesh,Chhattisgarh, Jammu and

Kashmir, West Bengal andRajasthan are among the topfive States which reported amaximum decline in the sale ofliquor while Punjab, Haryana,Uttarakhand, Telangana andUttar Pradesh have witnessedrecord sales between July andSeptember, during the unlockperiod this year. The liquorindustry has reported a declineof 8.98 per cent at 78 millioncases in this period in theIMFL segment. Though thepan-India liquor sale hasimproved in the second quar-ter, it was the first quarter(April-June) which did themaximum damage. Last year,the liquor industry had sold85.7 million cases (9 litreseach) during the same periodlast year.

As per data compiled byliquor industry, As per datacompiled by liquor industry,the sale of liquor dropped by 51percent in Andhra Pradesh, 40percent in Chhattisgarh, 39percent in Jammu andKashmir, 22 percent in WestBengal and 20 percent inRajasthan. On the other hand,Punjab recorded over 20 per-cent growth, Haryana 17 per-cent, Uttarakhand 15 percent,

Telangana seven percent andUP six percent in the liquorsale. These states stayed awayfrom imposing high Coronataxes.

To improve the sale, theAndhra Pradesh governmenthas recently cut down the priceof Indian Made Foreign Liquorin the medium and premiumcategories by at least 25 to 30per cent, citing instances of‘smuggling’ from outside thestate.

“Complete ban on liquorsale during lockdown followedby imposition of steep coronatax in some states have led toa drop of 29 percent in sale ofliquor across India in the firsthalf of the current fiscal.Situation has been worse instates like Andhra Pradesh,Chhattisgarh, West Bengal andRajasthan where sales haveseen a steep decline as these

states have imposed a coronatax on liquor. Sales were near-ly 30% below the same monthlast year in September. Also, thequantum of decline in sales wasin clear relation to the quantumof tax imposed,” said VinodGiri, director general of theConfederation of IndianAlcoholic Beverage Companies(CIABC).

For the first half of the fis-cal (April-September), all Indiasales volume growth for theIMFL segment was down 29.06per cent to 122 million cases,in comparison to 172 millioncases in during the same peri-od last year. Leaving out April,when the entire liquor tradewas shut down under lock-down, the sales growth for theperiod May to September in2020 was (minus) 16 per centover the same period last year,”said CIABC.

���� �1��,12��

The Congress on Sundayslammed the Modi

Government alleging that theNDA Government has contin-uously changed the explanato-ry reasons for carrying out thedemonetisation measure fouryears ago and that it has“destroyed” the Indian econo-my.

Prime Minister NarendraModi on November 8, 2016had announced the decision toban all currency notes of high-er denomination of �500 and �1,000 from midnight.

The Congress observed thefourth anniversary of demon-etisation as “VishwasghaatDiwas” (betrayal day) and rana social media campaign‘’SpeakUpAgainstDeMoDisaster’’.

Former Congress presi-dent Rahul Gandhi slammedthe government over demon-etisation, alleging that PrimeMinister Narendra Modi’’smove four years ago was aimedat helping a few of his “cronycapitalist friends” and had“destroyed” the Indian econo-my.

Rahul said the Congresshave been alleging that the2016 demonetisation was notin the interest of the people and

had adverse effects on theeconomy, a charge the govern-ment has dismissed repeated-ly.

In a video released as partof the party’’s online‘’SpeakUpAgainstDeMoDisaster’’ campaign, Rahul Gandhisaid the question is how theeconomy of Bangladesh “sur-passed” the Indian economy asthere was a time when Indiaused to be one of the most highperforming economies of theworld.

“The Government says thatthe reason is COVID but if thatis the reason, there is COVIDin Bangladesh and elsewhere inthe world also. The reason isnot COVID, the reason is‘’Notebandi’’ and GST,” Rahulsaid in a tweet message inHindi.

As part of the campaign,former finance minister PChidambaram said, “The firstlesson every ruler and everygovernment must learn is that- even if you do not do good tothe people, do not do harm.The BJP-led NDA governmentdid great harm to India’’s econ-omy on November 8th, 2016.”

Several senior Congressleaders such as MallikarjunKharge, Shashi Tharoor andSalman Khurshid alsoslammed the government overdemonetisation as part of the

party’’s online campaign. Former Union Minister

Ajay Maken at a media brief-ing quoted former PrimeMinister Manmohan Singh’’sremarks on November 24,2016, to hit out at the govern-ment.

“The way this scheme hasbeen implemented— is a mon-umental management failure,and in fact, it is a case of organ-ised loot, legalised plunder ofthe common people,” Makenquoted Singh as saying.

“Modi ji’s Governmentcontinuously changed theexplanatory reasons for car-rying out demonetization,”Maken said.

The Congress leader saidthat at different points, thesewere -- to counter blackmoney and corruption, tostem out fake currency or

“counterfeit”, for a “digital orcashless” economy, to tackleMaoism, terrorism and sepa-ratism, to bring idle savingsinto banks, to expand anddeepen the tax base, to arriveat a bigger, cleaner and realGDP and for faster economicgrowth, to bring down realestate prices and to partnerwith the GST.

Maken also made a pointby point rebuttal of the variousobjectives cited for demoneti-sation.

On the assertion thatdemonetisation has helped inreducing black money andcorruption, the party’s GeneralSecretary said 99.3 per cent ofthe demonetised currencycame back to the system.

“As far as corruption isconcerned, we have seen asurge in the use of immense

money power in poachingMLAs and destabilising non-BJP led state governments,”Maken alleged.

On counterfeit currency,he asked why have incidents offake and counterfeit currencynotes increased after demon-etisation.

Hitting out at the govern-ment, Maken asked why cashtransactions had increasedafter demonetisation andwhether a cashless economywas even desirable.

“How has Maoism, ter-rorism and separatism beenimpacted by demonetisation,”he asked.

Maken also argued thatdemonetisation did not haveany positive impact on savingsand had adversely impactedreal estate and also resulted injob losses.

����%��*�����;���� �������������������%����GD������������,����'�

���� ��� ����� ���"�� ��������5�0��/

���� �1��,12��

Attorney General KKVenugopal has refused to

reconsider his November 2decision declining consent toBJP leader and lawyer AshwiniUpadhyay to initiate contemptproceedings against theAndhra Pradesh Chief Ministerand his principal advisor formaking allegations againstjudges.

The topmost law officer, inhis reply to Upadhyay’s letterseeking reconsideration of thedecision, reiterated his standsaying that the issue of con-tempt was between ChiefJustice of India (CJI) S A Bobdeand Chief Minister Y SJaganmohan Reddy and hisprincipal advisor Ajeya Kallam.

Venugopal on Saturdayalso said in the response thatthe lawyer was not precludedfrom raising this issue on hisown before apex court judgesor during the hearing of a PILfiled by him only seeking thelifetime ban on convicted law-makers.

Upadhyay, on November 5,had urged Venugopal to have arelook on the decision and said,“I humbly request you toperuse these points (particu-larly the fact that the questionof contempt is not pendinganywhere else) and kindlyreconsider the granting of con-sent to my request.”

“This is an issue of greatimportance at a time when ourjudiciary continues to bebesieged by attacks, and astrong stand needs to be takenby those of us who are a partof the institution,” he said.

In the November 7 reply,Venugopal referred to his ear-

lier response and said, “Thevery crux of the alleged con-tempt lies in the contents of theletter written by Y SJaganmohan Reddy to theChief Justice of India, and thusopen to the the Supreme Courtto take up the matter of con-tempt suo motu as provided bythe Contempt of Courts Act,and the rules made thereun-der.”

“Given that the CJI isseized of the matter, it wouldnot be appropriate for me togrant consent and precludethe determination of the ChiefJustice of India on the matter.As you are no doubt aware,contempt is a matter betweencourt and contemnor, and noperson as of right can insistupon the initiation of con-tempt proceedings,” he said.

Venugopal said his deci-sion does not precludedUpadhyay from bringing thesefacts to the notice of the judgesof the Supreme Court with aprayer for initiation of suomotu action.

“You may exercise thisright by way of informationplaced on the administrativeside or by bringing it to theattention of the court duringthe hearing of ...where you arealready a petitioner in person,”Venugopal said in his letter.

Taking the consent of thelaw officer is a condition prece-dent for initiating criminalcontempt against a person.

In an unprecedented move,the Chief Minister, on October6, had written to the CJI alleg-ing that the Andhra PradeshHigh Court was being used to“destabilise and topple mydemocratically electedGovernment”.

+3��$������������ ���� � ������ � �/���������� � � �����������/� ����'�/��

���� �1��,12��

The National DairyDevelopment Board

(NDDB)’s dairy service hasdeveloped indigenous sex-sort-ed semen technology to ensurebirth of only female calves. Thefirst female calf from the sex-sorted semen dose, produced atAlamadhi Semen Station(Tamil Nadu), was born in afarm near Chennai in October2020. Currently, sex-sortedsemen technologies are pro-prietary to a few multi-nation-al companies, which makesthe technology expensive fordairy farmers.

Sexed sorted semen is spe-cially processed semen of bullsfrom which ‘Y’ chromosomesin sperm cells — which lead tothe birth of a male calf — areeither removed through a ‘sort-

ing’ process or killed. Semenwhich has only ‘X’ chromo-somes can ensure that a femalecalf is born.

“The field trials of thetechnology were encouraging.The ability to assure the birthof only female calves provideshuge financial advantage todairy farmers The sex sortedsemen dose produced using theindigenous technology isreported to be meeting theindustry quality and produc-tion benchmarks...This devel-opment would lead to a large-scale adoption of the technol-ogy,” NDDB Chairman DilipRath said on Sunday.

The project to developindigenous technology for sex-sorting bovine sperms was takenby NDDB Dairy ServicesServices a few years ago with anobjective to significantly bring

down the cost of sex-sortedsemen doses so that it becomesaffordable for dairy farmers inIndia, he added. Rath alsoexpressed confidence that thenew technology would help inachieving Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’’s vision of‘’Make in India’’ programmeand the current quest for an‘’Aatmanirbhar Bharat’’.

NDDB Dairy ServicesManaging Director SaugataMitra said, “The technology willhelp bring down the cost of arti-ficial insemination using sexsorted semen significantly fromthe existing ̀ 1,000. This will alsobe a turning point in overcoming the problem of straycattle in the country”.

NDDB Dairy Services man-ages four large semen stations inthe country -- Sabarmati AshramGaushala near Ahmedabad,

Animal Breeding Centre nearLucknow, Alamadhi SemenStation near Chennai and RahuriSemen Station near Pune.

These semen stationstogether produce about 35 percent of the total semen producedin the country.

�� �����������������1&�������������$���� �����$�$��������

���� �1��,12��

Indian scientists have devel-oped an eco-friendly smart

screen from groundnut shellsthat could help not only in pre-serving privacy but also inenergy conservation by con-trolling light and heat passingthrough it and reducing airconditioning load.

Led by Prof S KrishnaPrasad, along with Dr ShankarRao of the Centre for Nano andSoft Matter Sciences (CeNS),Bangalore, an autonomousinstitute of the Department ofScience & Technology,Government of the researchersdeveloped smart screen appli-cation, liquid crystal mole-cules which were confined ina polymer matrix.

“The matrix was builtusing cellulose nanocrystals(CNC) which were preparedfrom discarded groundnutshells by Prof Yuvraj SinghNegi’s team at IIT Roorkee. Therefractive index of the liquidcrystal molecules along a par-ticular direction were alteredby the application of an electricfield.

“In the absence of the elec-tric field, there was a mismatchbetween refractive indicesbetween those of the polymerand the liquid crystal, leading

to the scattering of light. Uponapplication of a few volts of anelectric field, the liquid crystalmolecules underwent a direc-tion change resulting in thematching of refractive indices,and the device became trans-parent almost instantaneously.

“When the field wasturned off, the system quicklyrecovered the scattering state.This reversible change betweenthe two states available at theflip of a switch occurred overthousands of cycles, withessentially no change in con-trast or switching speed,” saidthe scientists about the devicewhich has been described in arecent issue of Applied PhysicsLetters.

Pragnya and Dr Srividhya,students who worked on thedevice, emphasised that theprotocol for the CNC prepa-ration plays a key role in con-trolling the device contrastwith the IIT Roorkee materialoutperforming the CNC avail-able from commercial sources.

The scientists said thatwhile, in principal, the devicecould be developed from anycellulose or agricultural waste,due to certain properties ofgroundnut waste, the smartscreen developed fromgroundnut waste has beenfound to be most efficient.

"�� ����� �� ������������������$���/���������������

���� �1��,12��

Keeping with the trend ofsingle-day COVID-19

recoveries outnumbering dailynew cases, 49,082 patientshave recuperated from thedisease in a day taking the totalrecoveries to 78.68 lakh whichexceed the active infections by73,56,303, the Union HealthMinistry said on Sunday.

Incidentally, seventy sixper cent of the new recoveredcases, and as many, new infec-tions were reported from 10states and UTs. Kerala report-ed 7,201 cases in the last 24hours followed closely byDelhi with 6,953 cases.Maharashtra has come a dis-tant third with 3,959 newcases yesterday.

The Ministry said that thetrend of single-day Covid-19recoveries exceeding daily newcases has been observed forthe 37th day on Sunday.

“This has played a pivotalrole in pushing down theactive cases which is present-ly 5,12,665 and comprise 6.03per cent of the total caseload,”the ministry said. India hasreported less than 50,000 dailynew cases in a span of 24 hourswith 45,674 persons havingtested positive for coronavirusinfection.

“New daily cases have been trending down-ward since October 15,” theministry said.

“The gap between recovered cases and activecases presently stands at73,56,303. This gap has beensteadily increasing,” the min-istry underlined.

Seventy six per cent of thenew recovered cases areobserved to be concentrated in10 States and UTs.

"�� �,������� ����67897:�������������� �$�� ���

���� �1��,12��

Researchers from ColumbiaUniversity have developed

a long-lasting and affordablenasal spray that can successfullyprevent Covid-19 infections.These sprays have currentlybeen tested in ferrets, and 3Dmodel of human lungs.However, the spray cannot begiven out for public use just yet.Like any other medical tool, thenasal spray also needs to gothrough human clinical trials.

Currently, various vaccinesare being developed byresearchers around the world toprovide effective preventionfrom COVID-19 but scientistssay that nasal spray can help inprevention of the infection inplaces where mass vaccina-tion can take longer time in theabsence of a vaccine.

Also, people who do not gettheir hands on a vaccine canspray themselves daily, and

keep the risk of the virus at bay.This will not only reduce theburden on healthcare but willalso help limit the spread of thevirus in humans, which is theultimate goal, said the scientists.

The spray attacks the virusdirectly. It contains a lipopep-tide, a cholesterol particle linkedto a chain of amino acids, thebuilding blocks of proteins.This particular lipopeptideexactly matches a stretch ofamino acids in the spike proteinof the virus, which the pathogenuses to attach to a human air-way or lung cell.

Before a virus can inject itsRNA into a cell, the spike musteffectively unzip, exposing twochains of amino acids, in orderto fuse to the cell wall. As thespike zips back up to completethe process, the lipopeptide inthe spray inserts itself, latchingon to one of the spike’s aminoacid chains and preventing thevirus from attaching, explained

the researchers.“It is like you are zipping a

zipper but you put anotherzipper inside, so the two sidescannot meet,” said MatteoPorotto, a microbiologist atColumbia University and one ofthe paper’s authors.

However, the team, said itwould require additional fund-ing to pursue clinical trials inhumans. Dr. Anne Moscona, apediatrician and microbiologistat Columbia and co-author ofthe study, said they had appliedfor a patent on the product, andshe hoped Columbia Universitywould approach the federalgovernment’s Operation WarpSpeed or large pharmaceuticalcompanies that are seekingnew ways to combat the coro-navirus.

The work was described ina paper posted to the preprintserver bioRxiv and has beensubmitted to the journalScience for peer review.

#����������������������������������0�� �� �$�� ���

� ��� �1��,12��

Several senior Congress lead-ers have hailed Joe Biden

and Kamala Harris’ triumph inthe US elections, with someattacking the BJP alleging thatit appeared to side with DonaldTrump not following biparti-sanship in foreign policy.

Biden defeated incumbentPresident Trump in a bitterly-fought presidential electionthat attracted a record numberof Americans to cast theirvotes.

Asked about the slogan“Ab ki baar, Trump sarkar” atthe Howdy Modi event inHouston and whether suchthings could affect ties,Congress general secretaryAjay Maken at a media brief-ing seemed to take an indirectswipe at the Modi dispensation,saying the Congress has alwaysbelieved that the country, itsleaders and political partiesshould not directly or indirectlyinterfere in the politics of othercountries.

“We have always believed

in this and whenever we werein government, we never inter-fered in the politics of othercountries directly or indirect-ly because we don’t consider itright,” he said.

“Our leaders never tried togive a message that one candi-date in (US) elections there ismore liked than the other. Thecongratulatory message byCongress president (SoniaGandhi) and Rahul Gandhi isnot to any party leader but tothe president-elect, this is ourtradition,” Maken said whileanswering a question onwhether his party sees the USelection results as a victory ofone ideology.

Meanwhile, BJP leaders onSunday said Indo-US relationsare based on the principles ofdemocracy, and Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and Biden willtake the ties forward to the nextlevel.

“The US and India standon a strong bipartisan bilater-al relationship based on theprinciples of democracy, mutu-al benefits and global peace. I

am sure under the new leader-ship of Biden-Harris, US-Indiaties will continue to progress asstrong as they have been,” BJPleader Ram Madhav told PTI.

Modi and Biden knew eachother well from the days of theObama administration,Madhav said, while pointingout that the latter was instru-mental in holding an event ofthe prime minister at NewYork’s Madison Square on hisfirst trip to the United Statessince being elected to the toppost.

Rajasthan Chief Ministerand senior Congress leaderAshok Gehlot attacked the BJPover Biden’s win, saying, “RahulGandhi ji’s advice to EAM S.Jaishankar that PM Modi jishould have avoided gettinginvolved in domestic politics ofthe US has proved right withthe outcome of the US elec-tions.”

Rahul Gandhi’s advice hasbeen widely appreciated acrossthe spectrum, along with hisother sensible pieces of advice,including those related to

COVID-19, Gehlot said.In a tweet on Saturday,

Congress spokesperson JaiveerShergill said bipartisanship isthe cornerstone of foreign pol-icy.

“Nations forge relationshipvia institutional mechanismsrather than endorsing an indi-vidual. Irrespective of results,the slogan of ‘Ab ki baar, Trumpsarkar’ was a strategic blunderand proof of BJP’s inept under-standing of strategic ties,” hesaid.

Rahul Gandhi last yearhad hit out at Prime MinisterModi for his “Ab ki baar,Trump sarkar” remark at the“Howdy, Modi!” event.

Jaishankar had said backthen that India had adopted anon-partisan stand to domes-tic American politics and thatModi was merely repeatingUS President Donald Trump’swords, which he had used topitch his candidature to theIndian American communitywhile campaigning for the 2020US presidential election.

Earlier in the day, Congress

chief Sonia Gandhi extendedhers and the party’s felicitationsto Biden and Harris in con-gratulatory letters to both.

In her letter to Biden,Gandhi said the Indian peoplehave followed with great inter-est the course of the electionduring the last 12 months.

“We were greatly re-assured by your measuredspeeches, stress on healingdivisions among the people,and promotion of gender andracial equality, global cooper-ation and sustainable develop-ment of all countries,” she said.

Gandhi also hailed vicepresident-elect Kamala Harris’success as a “triumph for BlackAmericans and IndianAmericans”.

The Congress chief said sheknew Harris would work toheal and unite a “bitterly divid-ed nation”.

Last night, Congress leaderRahul Gandhi had congratulat-ed Biden for winning the USpresidential election, hoping thatthe Democrat would unite theUS and provide direction to it.

"�$!���������2���$)���������'����+�$

�������4������� ������ !�"�# ���!$� ����&'�(%(%

����!���� ���� ���-0�

AB e n g a l u r u - b o u n dEthiopian Airlines cargo

flight made an emergency land-ing at Mumbai airport, after itwas diverted en route fromRiyadh owing to a technicalglitch.

Informed sources said thatthe Bengaluru-bound cargoflight, ET-690, was diverted toMumbai after it suffered ahydraulic leakage.

The flight with eight-mem-ber crew landed safely at theMumbai airport, after theauthorities declared a full emer-gency after keeping the MumbaiFire Brigade, ambulances withmedical teams standby.

“Full Emergency wasdeclared for freighter flightET690 Ethiopian airlines fromRiyadh to Bangalore diverted toMumbai due to hydraulic leak-age. The aircraft landed safely.No one suffered injuries, “ anairport official said.

After the emergency waswithdrawn, normal operationsresumed at the city airport inthe afternoon. Meanwhile, theaircraft is currently parked at theairport where technical andengineering teams are attendingto the technical problems facedby it.

���'�%� �(��)����.���%,���� ����� ������������������������������������������� ����*���������,�����$�(���� ������������� ������� �����������������H��;9:������� ������������������������������������$�0������ ��� ��<=:������������������������������������������$,����������������������.�����������������������������������������!����)����.���%4�����0����%�������������� ����� ������������������ ��������������������� �/���,����(���������������.�%� �.����������!� ������ ������������$�

�� � 02�30 �

In a single day, 67 people havebeen affected by dengue in

the district. In the sample of116 people taken in the lab ofdistrict hospital MalkhanSingh, the report of 67 peoplehas come positive.

According to the healthdepartment data, a total of352 dengue patients have comepositive in the district so far.

CMS District HospitalMalkhan Singh said that 116dengue samples were taken inthe lab of the district hospital.In which 67 reports have comepositive.

KOCHI: The CPI(M)’s Keralaunit finds itself in an unenviousposition because of the overenthusiasm of some zealots inconvincing the leadership oftheir loyalty and servility,according to party insiders.

The move by Speaker of theLegislative Assembly to sum-mon officials of theEnforcement Directorate inconnection with the latter’sprobe into the LIFE Missionproject has come under criti-cism from Leader of OppositionRamesh Chennithala as well asBJP state unit president KSurendran.

The recent “raid” by the EDin the residence and businesspremises of Bineesh Kodiyeri,son of CPI(M)’s Kerala secretaryKodiyeri Balakrishnan had cre-

ated a furore among party cir-cles. Chief Minister PinarayiVijayan condemned the actionof the central agencies andalleged that the Centre was ona mission to derail the devel-opment activities of his gov-ernment.

The ED raid in the houseand business establishments ofBineesh, who has been arrestedby the former on charges ofmoney laundering and financ-ing narcotics dealer AnoopMohammed was a foregoneconclusion as the arrival of thesleuths were published in news-papers and news channels wellin advance.

The controversy eruptedwhen the ED team ‘seized’ acredit card in the name ofAnoop Mohammed from the

residence of Bineesh. His wifeRennitta alleged that the cardwas placed by the ED officialsthemselves and they forcedher to sign on papers statingthat it was seized from thehouse which she refused tooblige.

The “raid” saw a stand offbetween Kerala Police and EDteam with the former ques-tioning the competence of thelatter to enter the house ofKodiyeri. Kerala State ChildWelfare Commission chair-man and members too rushedto the residence of Kodiyeri onhearing the news that the two-year old child of Bineesh was“harassed’ by the ED team. TheED has been slapped with ashow cause notice by the com-mission. PNS

��������4&9:;� �����������������������<.

��#�����$$����� � �4!��

Income Tax Department offi-cials raiding the religious and

business premises of BelieversEastern Church, one of thebiggest evangelistic organisa-tions in Asia, at Thiruvalla inKerala on Saturday were takenaback when they saw the con-tents inside a luxury car parkedin a high security undergroundgarage. The car contained unac-counted currencies worth Rs5.7million.

The car belonged to ayouth in Thiruvalla and hadbeen loaned to DanielVarghese, head of the Church’sfinance department of BelieversEastern Church the spiritualhead of which is K P Yohannan.Confronted by the Income Tax

officials, Varghese is reportedto have told them that he did-n’t get time to get rid of the cur-rency notes. He also told theowner of the vehicle not to getupset as the “currency issue”would be taken care of by theformer.

Sources in the ITDepartment said that till lateSaturday, the raids yieldedunaccounted money to thetune of Rs 15 crore. Chancesare that the EnforcementDirectorate would enter thescene now. There are manyquestions that remain unan-swered and ED would be ableto find the answers,” said an ITofficial.

The IT Departmentlaunched massive raids on allestablishments of the BEC fol-

lowing specific inputs that theChurch, engaged in proselyti-zation and other charity workshave infringed the ForeignExchange Regulation Act andForeign ExchangeManagement Act (FEMA)many times. The funds anddonations received in connec-tion with charity programmesare meant only for that workand the receivers of the fundsare bound to furnish the detailsto the revenue department.

The BEC with businessinterests in educational insti-tutions, hospitals, plantations,hospitals and satellite Televisionchannels receives crores ofrupees as donations from for-eign countries under the garbof charity. But the raids whichcommenced on November 5

have found illegal transactionsinvolving more than Rs 6,000crore received from abroad. Amajor portion of these dona-tions have been invested in realestate and other business enter-prises owned and operated byK P Yohannan, who hadinstalled himself as the bishopof the sect. Yohannan has thou-sands of followers and theprayer meetings convened byhim as “Miracle Crusades”draw thousands of people fromall religions. Thousands fromother religions across Indiahave been converted byYohannan and his team to theway of Jesus, according to anintelligence official based inKerala.

The Pioneer was told thatbesides Kerala, the establish-

ment of BEC and Gospal Asia(a subsidiary concern) spreadacross the States of Tamil Nadu,West Bengal, Karnataka,Chandigarh, Punjab, andTelangana are under the scan-ner of the IT Department.

Yohannan, who is knownnow as Moran Mar AthanasiusYohan Metropolitan I is trav-elling in USA as part of mobi-lizing resources for the variousmissions and projects beingimplemented in India underthe BEC.

The BEC was in the newsrecently over the sprawlingCheruvalli Estate inPathanamthitta district whichis being acquired by theGovernment of Kerala for con-structing a new internationalairport.

0%�����������������1�����#����2����$����

Aligarh: The results of theexit poll of Bihar assemblyelections are also beingwatched by the current study-ing and alumni in AligarhMuslim University.

In this election, formerpresident of AMU StudentsUnion, Mashkoor Usmani iscontesting from the JaleAssembly seat of Darbhangadistrict being the Congresscandidate. Apart from this,there are hundreds of studentsfrom Bihar who are contestingtheir candidate in their district.In view of this, the current andformer students of AMU wereeyeing on the exit poll. PNS

;�� �� ���+ �� ������/��$� /�������/�������� �/�������� �+ �����

�&<6%�����68%=��������9��9�9����&'��8%85�68&��=�%'6�<��'�9*� 5)+3*

������>�%9���96�#8������<9�%��9�8<<�%������?�%�8��=����@�'� ����!���� ���� ���-0�

Continuing its drive againstdrug peddlers and those

possessing the contraband inBollywood, the NarcoticsControl Bureau (NCB) raidedthe residence of noted filmproducer Firoz A Nadiadwala,seized drugs and cash ofRs.3.59 lakh and arrested hiswife and four others.

In a raid conducted atNadiadwalas’ residence alongGulmohar Cross Road at JuhuVile Parle Development(JVPD) Scheme in north-westMumbai, the NCB sleuths

seized a total of 717.1 gm ofGanja, 74.1 gm charas and95.1 gm MD (CommercialQuantity) along with Rs3,58,610. The NCB seized 10gm of Ganja from anotheraccused Wahid Abdul kadirSheikh @ Sultan.

In all, the NCB sleuthsarrested five persons, includingFiroz A. Nadiadwala’s wifeShabana Saeed.

“Shabana Saeed was issuednotice u/s 67 of NDPS ActAfter recording her statement,she was placed under arresttoday,” an NCB statement said.

It is quite likely that Firoz

Nadiadwala will be summonedby the NCB for questioning inconnection with the operationconducted by it earlier in theday.

Sources said that Sunday’soperation was part of the NCB’sdrive aimed at unravelling thenexus between drugs mafiaand Bollywood.

Firoz Nadiadwala is cred-ited with making severalBollywood blockbusters,including “Welcome”,“Welcome Back”, “Phir HeraPhera”, “Awara PaagalDeewana” and “Rama Shastra”.

=�" ��� ����������������� ����=� �� ����*���>�� ��*���������������!(������(����������

<�������������+� ����<��� ��)����������������� !"

� ��� ,0 -�0�30

The Darbhanga airport innorth Bihar began opera-

tions on Sunday, meeting thelong-standing demand of thepeople of the Mithila regionwho had to travel for hours toPatna to catch a flight.

As the first flight, operat-ed by Spicejet, landed at the air-port from Bengaluru, it wasgiven the customary watersalute, while the passengerswere greeted with ''MithilaPaags'' (a traditional cap) andgarlands.

The plane then took off forDelhi with 180 passengers,including Darbhanga''s BJPMP Gopaljee Thakur,Darbhanga Town legislatorSanjay Saraogi and MLC Dilip

Chaudhary.Darbhanga will be con-

nected by flights to Delhi,Mumbai and Bengaluru, offi-cials said.

People of the region willsave at least four-five hourstravelling to and from Patnawith the airport beginningoperations, they said.

“It is really a good begin-ning. Hope that infrastructureand other facilities at the air-port will improve and flightservice to other cities will alsostart,” said a passenger whoarrived from Bengaluru.

A person, who had come tosee off a relative at the airport,said that with the airport start-ing operations, people will nothave to miss flights due to traf-fic jams while travelling to

Patna.“There were times when

we used to get stuck at theGandhi Setu due to trafficjams. Also, now we won''t haveto travel to Patna to receivesomeone or to see them off,” hesaid. With a lump in his throat,a man who was at the airportto receive his daughter said,“Today, I will be receiving herin my hometown.”

The Airports Authority ofIndia has developed the airportas a civil enclave, which is partof an Indian Air Force base allocated for civilaviation operations, at Kevti,around six km from theDarbhanga town.

The foundation stone forthe Darbhanga airport, thethird in the state after Patna

and Gaya, was laid inDecember 2018.

The flights will be operat-ed by Spicejet under regionalconnectivity scheme ''Udan''.

Civil Aviation MinisterHardeep Singh Puri hadannounced in September thatthe airport will begin opera-tions in the first week ofNovember ahead of Chhath.

The terminal building ofthe airport has a capacity tohandle 150 passengers, he hadsaid.

Thakur, the local MP, said,“People of the Mithila regionare thankful to Prime MinisterNarendra Modi for startingflight service from Darbhanga.I also thank the civil aviationminister who began the oper-ations before Chhath Puja.”

;9:������������� �������������H��<=:����������������

>6�������������������%����0������

�������/��� �������/ ������ �������� � ���������$���� �� ����0������������������%����-����I��+�������

Aizawl/Silchar: In view of the12-day long Assam-Mizoraminter-state border dispute andthe blockade of the NationalHighway (NH) 306, theMizoram Government is con-templating to bring the essen-tials through Bangladesh andMyanmar besides Tripura andManipur, officials said onSunday.

Mizoram Chief SecretaryLalnunmawia Chuaungo saidthat Chief MinisterZoramthanga also contem-plated getting supplies fromneighbouring countries sincethe 12 days of blockade hascaused a big distress to the pop-ulation.

“Government of Mizoramexplored alternative routes fortransport of essential suppliesfrom other neighbouring states(Manipur and Tripura) andsome headway had been made,”he told the media in Aizawl onSunday afternoon.

Chuaungo said that toresolve the inter-state borderstalemate, Union HomeSecretary Ajay Kumar Bhallaon Sunday held a meeting withhim and his Assam counterpartJishnu Barua.

He said that Mizoram wascommitted to the agreementarrived in the meeting andhoped that Assam Governmenttoo would be committedtowards getting the highwaysreopened.

“Border Security Force(BSF) troopers which havebeen sent to Mizoram by theCentral Government would bedeployed at the border areas ofAssam. The Assam govern-ment had agreed to take stepsto open all blockades of thehighways connecting Mizoram

and Assam,” the ChiefSecretary said.

Meanwhile, the Mizorampolice on Sunday did not allowa Congress delegation led byopposition leader DebabrataSaikia to visit the trouble tornbordering areas. The Congressleaders which also include allIndia Mahila CongressPresident and party spokesper-son Sushmita Dev said thatthey were attacked by someunidentified miscreants ofMizoram.

Saikia told the media thatthat were keen to visit theAssam government school inCachar district of southernAssam which was largely dam-aged after the miscreants trig-gered a blast on the intervening night of Friday-Saturday.

The border tension wasintensified after the bomb blastat the Upper Painom LowerPrimary school causing mas-sive damage to the school.

Southern Assam's DeputyInspector General of PoliceDilip Kumar Dey told IANSover phone that the matter wascommunicated to Mizorampolice as the miscreants belongto the neighbouring state.

The All Cachar KarimganjHailakandi StudentsAssociation observed a 12-hour shutdown on Saturday insouthern Assam's Barak Valleycomprising three districts --Cachar, Karimganj andHailakandi -- to protest againstthe abduction of 48-year-oldIntyaz Ali from Lailapur bor-der area of Cachar districtalong the Assam-Mizoram bor-der and his subsequent death inthe Mizoram government'scustody on November 2. IANS

��H��� �����������%����������������-�����������%�� ��

��#5#�A���#���������4

Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh has report-ed 2,237 new Covid-19 cases while 11more people have succumbed to the virusin the State, health officials said onSunday.

With the fresh cases, the state's Covidtally jumped to 8,42,967, while the deathtoll climbed to 6,791.

According to the daily media bulletinreleased by the state command controlroom, the authorities conducted 76,663tests including 25,407 rapid antigen tests.With this the state has so far conducted86,63,975.

The state's tests per million ratio hasnow gone up to 1,62,247, highest amonga list of nine major states. The positivityrate stands at 9.73 per cent.

According to officials, Krishna districtreported three deaths during the last 24hours that ended 10 a.m. Sunday. Twopersons died each in Chittoor andVisakhapatnam districts. East Godavari,Guntur, Nellore, Srikakulam and WestGodavari districts reported a death each.

Andhra Pradesh's fatality rate nowstands at 0.81 per cent against the nation-al average of 1.48 per cent.

During the last 24 hours, 2,256 peo-ple recovered from the virus. With thisthe number of recoveries increased to8,14,773. The recovery rate has improvedfurther to 96.66 per cent. The number of total active cases now standsat 21,403. IANS

Srinagar: Another 555 personstested positive in Jammu &Kashmir on Sunday while 456were discharged from hospitalsafter they recovered from theCovid-19 infection.

An official statement said555 persons had tested positiveof which 213 were from Jammuand 342 from Kashmir while456 patients were dischargedfrom different hospitals afterthey recovered from Covid-19.

As many as 98,892 peoplein J&K have been infected bythe coronavirus, of which91,681 have recovered. IANS

����!���� ���� ���-0�

In somewhat marginal fluctua-tions in the Covid-19 fatalities

and infected cases, the daily deathsdropped to 125, while the infectionsrose to 5092 in Maharashtra onSunday.

A day after the infections plum-meted to 3.959 and the number ofdeaths rose to 150, the daily infec-tions went up to 5092, while thedeaths came down to 125.

Out of the 125 deaths report-ed on Sunday, 60 are from the last48 hours and 14 were from lastweek. As part of reconciliation,another 15 deaths were added toSunday’s death tally which went upin the process to 125.

With 5092 new infected cases,the total infections in the statejumped from 17,14,273 to17,19,858. Similarly, the Covid-19toll in the state went up from45,115 to 45,240.

As 8,232 more people were dis-charged from various hospitals the

number of people discharged fromthe hospitals after full recoverysince the second week of March thisyear went up to 15,77,322. Therecovery rate in the state rose from91.53 per cent to 91.71 per cent.

Of the 125 deaths (including 15additional reconciled deaths)reported, Thane accounted for amaximum of 25 deaths, followed by23 deaths in Mumbai and 15 inPune.

In the lower range, nine deathseach in Solapur and Satara, 5 eachin Sangli and Nanded, 4 each inRaigad and Beed, 3 each in Nashik,Ahmednagar, Ratnagiri, Latur andBuldhana, 2 each in Palghar,Kolhapur and Bhandara and onedeath each in Jalgaon, Akola,Nagpur, Chandrapur, besides onefrom another state.

With 23 fresh deaths, theCovid-19 toll in Mumbai climbedfrom 10,422 to 10,445, while theinfected cases rose by 1,003 to trig-ger a jump in the to6tal infectionsfrom 263,049 to 264,545.

Meanwhile, the number of“active cases” in the state camedown one lakh mark as the totalcases dropped from 99,151 to96,372.. The fatality rate in the statestood at 2.63 per cent.

Currently, 10,51,321 people arein home quarantine while 7,912people are in institutional quaran-tine.

Pune district, which continuedto be the worst-affected city-districtin Maharashtra, saw the total num-ber of cases increase from 3,38,071to 3,38,583 while the total numberof deaths in Pune increased from7045 to 7060.

Thane district remained in thethird spot --after Pune and Mumbai– after the total number of infec-tions rose from 2,27,150 to 2,27,772,while the pandemic toll climbedfrom 5267 to 5292.

Meanwhile, out of 94,40,535samples sent to laboratories,17,19,858 have tested positive (18.22per cent) for COVID-19 untilSunday.

��������.�=>?����������-?.�� �$� ����4�� ����������*��1���������� ����

/J�������999�!�����������.��

Lucknow: Uncertainty pre-vails over the sale of firecrack-ers in Uttar Pradesh even asDiwali is only a few days away.

The Uttar Pradesh gov-ernment has not yet issued anyclear advisory on sale of crack-ers after certain Hindu leadersobjected to the ban on fire-crackers by the Delhi govern-ment.

Stockists and retail sellersof firecrackers say they don'tknow whether they will beallowed to sell fireworks thisyear or not.

“I hold a stock of fire-crackers but the area police isnot allowing me to set upshop. Diwali is only a few daysaway and then we will have thewedding season. But we stilldon't know what to do,” saidZaheer, who sells firecrackers

in Yahiyaganj area in Lucknow.His family deals in wholesale offirecrackers.

He said that he was gettinginquiries from retail sellers butwas not in a position to givethem any clear-cut answers.

In Prayagraj, firecrackersellers are selling 'green crack-ers', which are low on envi-ronmental and sound pollu-tion.

Similar is the case inVaranasi, though regular crack-ers are getting sold in Kanpurin the absence of any clear pol-icy on the issue. On Saturday,BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj hadkicked up a controversy whenhe said that “Diwali will be cel-ebrated without crackers onlywhen Bakrid (Eid al-Adha) iscelebrated without animalslaughter”. IANS

?4�7������ ��� � ��������#��5��(�����������������������

�� ������������/���������� ��� ������ ����� �������� ������� �/�$���� ��� �$�� ��������!���/��� ��0���� ����������� !"

The US elections havethrown up many exam-ples of “Trumpery,” aplastic cult concoctionthat has torn down every

convention in its sweep and will lastsimply because of its pop-upencroachment of established space,demanding legitimacy through ashredded system, right or wrong. Soas Donald Trump cried theDemocrats had “stolen” the electionfrom him and both his supportersand critics took to the streets and thewaterfront to be heard, one wanti-ng the counting to stop and the otherupholding the validity of the last votepolled, the free world’s integrity, rest-ing on institutional and systemicpride and justness, seemed to be itsgreatest casualty. But probably thislow was necessary for the fourth pil-lar of democracy to rescue it in thenick of time. The media, whichTrump had made his sworn enemyand a scapegoat for his follies,became his real contestant, standingup to him measure for measure.

In an unprecedented move, majorUS TV networks chose to cut awayfrom a live speech made by Trumpfrom the White House as he repeat-ed his allegations that an electoralfraud had been committed on thenation because his margins withBiden were dwindling. Mind youthis was Trump addressing thenation as President from the hal-lowed portals of his office and notfrom the Republican Party head-quarters. Still, the CBS, MSNBC,ABC and NBC stopped airing thefootage, clarifying that his statementswere baseless. They didn’t want tofuel his propaganda though theyadmitted that he could still be thePresident if he was proven right bylaw. Not only that, they immediate-ly commissioned on-ground reportsto verify voting fraud allegations andafter a granular fact-check, insistedthat the counting officials were notonly following the rulebook but weredouble-checking and meticulouslyseparating the votes in the event ofa recount. And lest the anchors beaccused of being partisan, all of themunanimously upheld Trump’s rightas a candidate to demand a recountor seek legal recourse but insistedthat a process could not be hijackedmidway without evidence to disen-franchise the voter. As channelsfanned out correspondents on theground to verify each of Trump’splaints, they equally approachedRepublican spokespersons, some ofwhom were quite embarrassed byTrump’s adventurism. In short, theUS media, defying all the co-optionand intimidation tactics that it hadbeen subjected to in an authoritar-ian era, stood up for itself. And firm.It upheld the nation’s foundational

principles than subject them tonihilistic degradation. It did itsjob and unitedly defended itsinstitutional responsibility.

MSNBC’s anchor BrianWilliams said, “Here we areagain in the unusual position ofnot only interrupting thePresident of the United States butcorrecting the President of theUnited States.” USA Today inter-rupted its live video feed as its edi-tor-in-chief Nicole Carroll said,“Our job is to spread truth — notunfounded conspiracies.” Ofcourse, the quote that becameviral was that of CNN presenterAnderson Cooper, whodescribed Trump “like an obeseturtle on his back, flailing in thehot sun realising his time wasover.” The usually pro-Trump FoxNews did not do his bidding withits correspondent saying, “Whatwe saw tonight is a President whobelieves that at the end of the day,when all the votes are counted,the election is not going to go hisway, so he’s trying to plan an alter-nate route to retain the WhiteHouse.” Print media has alreadybeen reasoned but Americanlive TV, that has depended onTrump’s outrageousness for com-mercial ratings, showed a raremoral fibre called character.

In fact, more than Trump vsBiden, this election will beremembered for the real contestbetween Trump and the media.Yet, it was not always this way.Looking back, Trump at onepoint was feted by the media andas a reality star created by net-works, was celebrated for hiseccentric excesses and rude dra-matics. Where prejudice, and notpatience, was a virtue. To theextent that Trump as Presidentcould not separate the gravitas ofoffice from the metrics of popu-lar consumption. A reality TVstar is acceptable, a reality TVPresident is not. But Trumpassumed that the media would betaken in by his rambunctiousnessand see it as an example of hisboldness as a leader of people,who pressed all the populist but-tons — “America First,” “MakeAmerica Great Again”, “Chinavirus.” And given the mandate in2016, he had made himself

believe that he did not need toadmit a mistake but sweep itunder the aura of his onscreenpersonality. That’s when themedia, which criticised his poli-cies when it needed to, becamehis enemy. That’s when Trumpdismissed the media as a purvey-or of “fake news” and sanctifiedhis own claims as facts. In theend, he transplanted his opinionsand worldview as the only truthand the rest as lies. And in theways of all autocrats and dema-gogues, he even colonised themedia, disorienting it from stand-ing by the truth without fear andfavour and colonising it on histerms. The rebels he dismissed asAmerica’s “opposition party” thatwould not see anything good inall that he did. This blanket oth-erisation also helped him shieldhimself from issues that cameunder the scanner, some ofwhich could have embarrassedhim no end. He simply got awayby playing victim, saying themedia hated him since he repre-sented a heartland America thathe pandered to. He even humil-iated journalists, attacking themindividually by naming andshaming them, threatening libelor even hurting their businessinterests. Matters came to a headwhen he blamed the media forblowing up the Coronavirus cri-sis from what it was, “just a flu”,although the US has lost a quar-ter million of its own to the pan-demic. The normally permissivesocial media giant Twitter had toban his one-time aide SteveBannon for asking Trump tobehead infectious disease special-ist Dr Anthony Fauci and FBIdirector Christopher Wray. Theproblem with Trump’s “otherisa-tion” policy was that he not onlyconfined it to the media and theliberals, he extended it to any-body and everybody with cred-ible standing and proven worth,who were apolitical. This explainswhy the media coalesced the wayit did this time, articulating as itdid a popular disgust. Besides,Trump mistook the fact that themedia wanted to be “king” in hispalace when it simply wanted toretain its place in civil society.

In the US, the media has

never been bigger than itsPresident, each of whom has usedit to disseminate his policies andeven attempted to coerce it. Yetthere was a Bob Woodward andCarl Bernstein in between, whoseold school legwork resulted inWatergate and ultimately forcedRichard Nixon to resign. It isheartening to note that decadesand years later, at least the discus-sion on facts, corroboration andevidence are back on the tableagain. And that’s good for old-school journalism.

Question is will the Indianmedia be equally cohesive as itstands deeply polarised and hor-ribly compromised. Will net-works dare to cut away frombiased coverage, beholden asthey are to their political mastersand corporate donors? Will weignore individual bottom lines ata critical juncture and take a unit-ed stand as an industry thatwould be taken more seriouslyfor a job well done rather thanundone? Will we be able to cre-ate a competitive market of freeideas or continue to rely ondoles of those we please? Not thatthere isn’t hope, considering thelocal Press and cable networks dotake on the establishment fear-lessly, most big scams havingbeen reported first by local cor-respondents. But then that’sbecause the local Press isn’t in thehigh stakes game yet and is stillseen as a social enterprise for thegreater good. But at the top, bothbroadcast and print media areunder pressure and indeedrewarded for favourable coverageof the powers that be. And thisis sadly responsible for the ero-sion of democracy itself, not justhere but elsewhere in the world.

According to FreedomHouse’s Freedom in the Worlddata, the Press is equally underattack in free States, where it isbeing gradually appropriated asa tool of governance than beingits watchdog. While it is easierto detect authoritarian crack-downs, what is more insidious,it says, are “more nuanced effortsto throttle their independence.Common methods includeGovernment-backed ownershipchanges, regulatory and finan-

cial pressure and public denun-ciations of honest journalists.Governments have also offeredproactive support to friendlyoutlets through measures suchas lucrative State contracts,favourable regulatory decisions,and preferential access to Stateinformation. The goal is tomake the Press serve those inpower rather than the public.”

Among free countries, thereport says, about 19 per cent or16 countries are struggling withPress freedom over the past fiveyears. In other words, it is asmuch a victim as civil libertywith populist leaders extendingthe arc of their political powerwhile keeping to the motions ofdemocracy. Undoubtedly, itmentions the US, China andIsrael but lists India too, especial-ly in restricting broadcast mediaby selective allocation of licencesand airwaves to the detriment oforganisations “unfriendly” tothe ruling regime.

Can the media rebound is thebig question? At this point, itmay look unlikely but tem-plates exist to prove that ultimaterepression is needed to feel theneed for and value an indepen-dent Press. The media sector ispicking up in Ethiopia andGambia, where it was once per-secuted, with more locals keento take up the profession.Germany has evolved a publictelevision system funded by tax-payers and overseen by indepen-dent boards. So it acts as a per-fect check and balance for theGovernment of the day. It hasestablished its credibility forimpartial news and analysis,something that people keep inmind while casting their ballot.But these are just templates andeach democracy-loving nationneeds to do its bit to ensure Pressfreedom if it wants to be fair toitself. Just remember GeorgeOrwell: “Unpopular ideas canbe silenced, and inconvenientfacts kept dark, without theneed for any official ban.Anyone who has lived long in aforeign country will know ofinstances of sensational items ofnews — things which on theirown merits would get the bigheadlines — being kept right outof the British press, not becausethe Government intervened butbecause of a general tacit agree-ment that ‘it wouldn’t do’ tomention that particular fact.The British Press is extremelycentralised, and most of it isowned by wealthy men whohave every motive to be dishon-est on certain important topics.But the same kind of veiled cen-sorship also operates in booksand periodicals, as well as inplays, films and radio….Anyonewho challenges the prevailingorthodoxy finds himself silencedwith surprising effectiveness. Agenuinely unfashionable opinionis almost never given a fair hear-ing.” It’s time to be unfashion-able.

(The writer is Associate Editor,The Pioneer))����������������� ����������������

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

��*��������������������������������+��� ���� ��������������,�---*./0�(12����������������������13�������������� �#���� ������������������������ ���������42������������5,���������15�,42�������*./0������������������� ���������������������������� ��(����������������6�������������.��������������������� ����� �������������������(���������������������������������������

����������������������������� �� �������������������0��������������������������������������������������������������

%���������������������������*��������������������������������������������������"������������������������������������������������������#������������������7������������������������������������������������������������������&������������ �����#������������������ ������������������*./0�(12������������8����9������ �����������������������(��!#($*!��������������������������7����8��������������������������������������������������������6�������������������!#($*!��������������������������� ������3:������������������������������(����������(���������������������������������(����������������������������������������������������������������������������������(��������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������!#($*!������$���������&���������� ��������������������������������������������������� ��(�������������������������������������������#���������������������������� ���������������������������������������������������������������� ��������������(�������6�������������������������(����������������������������������������� �6������������������������������������������������������������������������������ ����������������*./0�(����������������� ���������������������������#��������������������������� ��������� ������������������������������� �(���#�����%���������������� ������������������;����*�������������8���*����&���� ���������4-�����*./0�0*<�����������������6����������������������������������������� *!������������������=#�������������� ������� �� �������������������������������������������������� ���&������������������������������������������

!��������������������������������(�����������#�����������������������������������������������������������)�

6������������������ �6���������������(�����������������0����=������������������� ������ �� ��������� �� �����������������<;����������� �+�������$������������������ ��������&���������������������(����������������������������������������������������������������������(��������������������������������������������������� ���������(���������������#�����

�������6���(8��������������� ��*���������������������������0��������������;����.��������������������0���(<;��������������������������� ��%���6������������������0�3--2�����������$���������#����&���(������6�����.����������������������������������������������8�����.���������������������������������������6���������������������$���9������ ������9������������������������������.��������������������"��(��������#����������6�����6����������������.����&�/��($������������������������� ������������;���������������������������������;����� ��� ����������0����&����������������<;����������������������;��������������������0�������������������<;�#�������;����;�������������� ������������������������������*���������6��������� ���������0������������/���9���� �������*./0�(12�����������������0������������6���&���������������������������������������������������������������������������� ���$�����������������������0��������0�������������������������������������������������������0����(<;���������������������(����������� �������0������������ �����������������������������������������#����&�>�������������?���������������0������������0����&�����������������������+���6��������������������0������������������(���������.������������������� �����������������������������������������*���������������������������������*�������$������������������������#�����6�����������������������������#����&�������������������������������������������������������0�����������������%�������; �����$������@%;$A�������������������������������

0����������������*�����#�������������� ��������������������������(������B����������"�����������������������&�������������C������6��6������������������������*����&����������D�������������������������������������< ������������������8���E�������������#���������������������������������8������������������������������������������(�������������������>����������� ?��������������������������������������>���������������?����������������� �������������������������������������������0��������0���($������������������������� ����������*�����>������������������������������������ �?6���������������������������(����������������;�����#�������������������������������0����&��������� �6�������������� �� �������F>G�����&������������������������?#����(� ����������������������&��������������$�������������������������0������������������������������%��*�����H����������������� �����������6���&���������������������������������� ����� ����������(�������������� ������������������������������������������������������ 0��������"�������������������������������"���� ��������������������������������������*�����0������������������6�����������������<;&��������������������������������< ���������#������������������������(������������������������������������������#�������������0������������(���������������.���������� ��������������6���&������������������������ ���������������� ��������������E������������������������������������������������������������������ ��������������������� ��(�����������������������������������������������������������������.����������&�!�������������6��������������������6������0������������������������������������!���������#���� �������������������6�����!��������������������*������������������������������������������0�����������*����&�������������������������������������� ������;�0���(<;���������������������������

'�������&���0���

���������� �������Sir — The Haryana Governmenthas passed a Bill providing 75per cent reservation to local can-didates applying for private sec-tor jobs in the State that pay lessthan �50,000 per month. It willbe the second State to mandatesuch reservation after AndhraPradesh, which had passed asimilar Bill last July. It is crucialto remember that Gurugramand Faridabad are the industri-al hubs of Haryana and needqualified and skilled labourers.About 70 to 80 per cent of theodd 25,000 industries in the Stateare concentrated in these twocities. There are 250 Fortune 500companies in Gurugram apartfrom the nearly 300 automobilecompanies that generate 70 to 80per cent of the total State rev-enue.

The State Government’s pro-posal is politically motivated.Imposing domicile, territorialand numerical conditions andthen expecting corporates totrain under-qualified, unskilled

candidates is an unrealistic pro-jection. The proposed legislationmay score high on optics andintention but the message isambiguous for both the prospec-tive employers and employees.

Yash Pal RalhanJalandhar

�� �����������Sir — India has summoned theCharge d’Affaires (CDA) of thePakistan High Commission tolodge a strong protest overIslamabad’s “unilateral” decisionto transfer the management of

the Kartarpur Sahib gurdwarafrom a Sikh body to a separatetrust. Pakistan has exposed thereality of its leadership’s tallclaims of preserving and protect-ing the rights and welfare of thereligious minority.

Amid heightened tension

between the two countries, afterIndia scrapped Jammu andKashmir’s special status onAugust 5, 2019, and bifurcated itinto two Union Territories, thisis yet another attempt by ourneighbour to provoke us and ini-tiate a fresh proxy war.

Bhagwan ThadaniMumbai

������������Sir — As India continues to bat-tle the Coronavirus pandemicand high levels of air pollution,many States have decided to banfirecrackers this Diwali. However,the step was taken too late andnow the families that areemployed by the firecrackerindustry are left in a lurch.Products have already beenshipped but now with the banbeing implemented, they wouldnot receive payments.

Jubel D’CruzMumbai

+ ' + 3 � � 4 0 % 5 � + ' � � 0 � 6

+++3�������$���3�����*���$� A����%�������K @(�,���%�������K �������� $� A����%�����A

�������������� ������ !�"�# ���!$� ����&'�(%(%

�;

+����4�������������� �?����.��������������������������(�� �'����� ������������

��������������������������������?�������� L

-�����������������*����%����������������������� ��$3������"����������%#������"-/�#$������ ������*����G�����������I�"������-����#��������%���$

�&�6&��6���#�&��9�%�M0 ���.���

�������������� ����������������

1��%�����������*��������������������������?�*����%���������������������������������������&����������������!������$�4������������<=� ������

���������������������*��������������������*%���� &������ �����%�������������������$���������������� ��������*��������������������������������&�������������������������� ������N����%�*�������� ����������%����**�$�(���������������������� ����������������������!4<��!4���4+��.4+����5:�������<$9*���������������������$�0�����������������%�*%�����������%����!������������������0���O�����%�2�����+���������������<:58����������������������*������������,����������������7$;�%����������$

)�� ��� ������ ��� *������� ���**�� ��� ������ ���������������&�����$��������*����� &�������������*%�����������������������0���������� �����������������������������*����������$�������������������������� ��������59����<:���%����������&����� ��������� ���**�� *������$� 1���,���� !���

��������0�������?�����������������������&�������������$�(������%������������������������� ��������������**��������������������� ��������&�%��������*�����������*%����.����3���� ����������������=:::������$�������������*��&�� &������������������ ������� ���������������$�

!�&�B�9������9� ���

����������$$���������5��99�%�96B�6&��%C'����7=6��

7������ ����

$�@5���/�A�4*�"� ������ � �������������������������������)�������� �����������������&� ��/��������������

2�����������������������������5����������������������� ����*�������/����������������������/������� ����� �����

�#%4'<86�8

(���.���������������� ����������������������&������� ���������&������������������+���������� ��%�����������������������$

$���&����"6%��'&�#�&��9�%M3*����-�����

-������������ *�������������%����������*� �������������$�0������������� /�����"�����#�����$�(�����&������������������� �����*����������*%��� $

�%�=@�9�%M���������� ����

� � � � � � � � 6 � �� 8 � � � / 2 � 6 �

� 6 � 7 / - 2 � ���������� �%���������!����������������� �������������������������������������������������������������������%����$�4���������������$

#��;6�&9��=?�D��9�����EM�����.����������

���������58������

��������#�������$�����!���!��� � �#�#� ������;�!����#� ����� ���� �

��$$��"�����!�#������������7F��������#�#��� �

�#� ����

� ��#�#��� ����������!�$������;��� ��� 7����������;�����$�� ����(���#��!����� ���#��!� ����4�������!�$7�F #��#���!� ����(

, #%��6�7���, #%�

The passage of the Farmers’ (Empowermentand Protection) Agreement on PriceAssurance and Farm Services (Special

Provisions and Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2020 bythe Punjab Assembly served a body blow to theCentral Government’s three farm Acts that werepassed in September. The Centre’s Farmers’Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion andFacilitation) Act allows growers to sell their pro-duce outside the markets notified under the StateAgricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC)Act. It attempts to develop “one nation, one mar-ket” besides bringing in a framework for both, theagriculturalists and the buyers, for contract farm-ing across States and imposing stock limits on farmcommodities only in extreme situations in retailprices. Let us look at how private procurement andState purchase may co-exist in Punjab and theimplications if other States pass similar Ordinances.

To understand these Ordinances, we need tograsp the basic purpose of public procurement offoodgrain. The Central Government, through theFood Corporation of India (FCI) and other Stateagencies, procures foodgrain and other essentialcommodities from domestic producers at theMinimum Support Price (MSP). The objective isto provide price support to farmers, distribute sub-sidised foodgrain to the poor through theTargetted Public Distribution System (TPDS) andmaintain buffer stocks to ensure price stability andfood security. The Government’s procurement sys-tem also encourages farmers to increase produc-tion due to assured prices. The foodgrain procuredthrough this system gets distributed through fairprice shops across the country.

Although there are deficiencies and leakagesin the PDS, it served as a basic support of nutri-tion to around 50 per cent rural and 30 per centurban households in 2011-12, according to the lat-est National Sample Survey data. Moreover, thedependence on PDS rose considerably between2004-05 and 2011-12 in both rural and urbanIndia. Under the TPDS, people Below the PovertyLine (BPL) are provided foodgrain at a highly sub-sidised rate under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana(AAY). In fact, the PDS system provided great suc-cour to the needy during the COVID-19 pandem-ic-induced lockdown.

In this sense, the State procurement and PDSsystem serve the purpose of doing public good. Asfarmers get better prices and poor consumers getfood at lower prices, it serves the dual social objec-tive of food security and a hunger-free nation. Thelatter benefits one and all, as a country that risksrunning out of food stock may face civil unrest thatemanates out of the desperation of the poor. Incontrast, private procurement is part of a systemthat enables farmers to produce goods which areboth excludable and rivals. Food stocks procuredthrough private procurement serve consumers whocan afford market prices and exclude others. Theyare produced in a limited amount, hence rivals inconsumption. These two systems have two differ-ent objectives and serve different purposes but bothare equally important. The new Ordinancespassed in the Punjab Assembly pits two systemsagainst each other.

The Ordinance disallows sale/purchase ofwheat/paddy unless the price paid is equal to orgreater than the MSP. This appears to be serving

the social welfare objective of publicgoods production. However, it is moreapparent than real. This is primarilybecause the procurement criteria ofGovernment and private agents are verydifferent as they serve two differentobjectives.

The criteria set by the Governmentare designed to exclude as few as possi-ble. The grains are screened based on themoisture content, proportion of organ-ic and inorganic foreign materials andtest weight at a very basic level. The food-grains that pass these criteria are accept-ed. However, all accepted foodgrains areoffered the same price, the MSP.

On the other hand, private procure-ment is more fine-graded and priced dif-ferently. Hence a product, which margin-ally passes the Government’s procure-ment system, may fetch a lower price inthe private one or be excluded from aprice equivalent or higher than theMSP due to the grading system beingapplied. While the Government’s crite-ria of procurement may be standardisedacross India, private gradation is adjust-ed according to several factors, such asthe cost of extraction of the end sub-stance, the milling properties and theimpact on the end product for the con-sumer. Hence, a penal clause by thePunjab Government’s Ordinance ofimprisonment of no less than three yearsand a fine to the private procurementagent or company could be construed asbeing unjust.

Fine grading of agricultural produceis very essential from the viewpoint ofmanufacture of different food products.Due to the diversification of the con-sumers’ food palate, the focus is not only

the cost but also the quality of the pro-duce. This has led to greater attention byprivate procurement agents on factorslike varieties, the agro-climatic zones andseasonal variations of the commoditiesduring procurement. This has meant afiner grading mechanism as well to getboth quality and cost optimisation. Forexample, in the case of wheat, a criticalfactor of concern is the density of thegrain. The denser the grain, the morenutrients it contains and hence more willbe the extraction during the millingprocess on a per weight basis. Animportant quality factor is the glutencontent, a protein that impacts the bak-ing properties of the flour and is used todetermine the type of products that canbe made. Hence, organisations createspecifications in the procurement ofcommodities dependent upon the con-sumer segments and their needs.

The emergence of food retail hasintensified the choices for the con-sumer. More choice and consumerawareness have resulted in shorter prod-uct life cycles, increased innovationand competition and demand for newerofferings. The repeal of the APMC Actby several States, creation of FarmerProducer Organisations (FPOs) andincreased participation by the foodretail and processing sector have led tothe shortening of agricultural valuechains. Procurement determines theprofitability as it controls 60 to 75 percent of the total costs in the system. Thus,procurement of raw agricultural com-modities has become a strategic functionfrom a back-office role.

It is imperative to understand thatprivate agents would price their procure-

ment of commodities based on theprofitability and price behaviour of endconsumers. It, therefore, bears out thatthey would pay less for a quality wherean additional cost would need to beincurred for processing the grain to bringit in line with the consumer’s demand.This reduced price may result in the pro-curement price becoming lower than theGovernment’s prescribed MSP.

Thus, while the private sectorfavours market orientation of procure-ment of commodities, the public sectorsupports inclusivity for farmers in meet-ing their livelihood needs. The twoobjectives clash with each other. If cor-porates are punished for procuring at aprice lower than the MSP, then theywould also apply pressure tactics to gosoft on implementation or again changethe law, which may, in turn, affect theobjective of public goods provision.This would lead to instability in thewhole institutional set-up of the agri-business.

In the Punjab Assembly Ordinance,the farmers are given the discretion toapproach the civil court or other reme-dies under existing laws, but all theseinvolve long and expensive litigation andcannot be taken up by individual farm-ers. This coupling of both the public andprivate sector objectives through the con-duit of one overarching Ordinance willlikely be against the interest of farmers,private procurement agents and con-sumers of both foodgrain and alliedproducts.

(De is Associate Professor andVishwanath is Assistant Professor, Instituteof Rural Management, Anand. Viewsexpressed here are personal)

B���������������������������������#��������������������������������������� ����*������5���������������������������������������������������������������� ����

��� ��� �3 2 � � � � 6 � � + 7

��+����������*�� ��� �����

5#%�6��#& <����+

(��������� ���� �������������� �����������������%�������������������������������$�

(����������������������������

#%���%#&/�

��#����=2�8,�7��8

���(�1����/0-0..1�-2C

4 ,��0�!1��(�1)0 �1 .�0 1

3�D1��(�1,�.! 1(�4��(40�� 40!��(�1!�D�2�!4� (�4

4(�1 � 1�1,�1.��,1 �1P�.(��320�.��-�(�022(�1.1���D42D1

24�3�0�,1P�1�.�D1

2�(�30(�4��0�,!0��4(�-1

(0�1�����-C��,�D�,�02

)0 �1 .$�(��.!4��2��3�4)

-4(��(�1���-2�!0�,�� �D0(1

.1!(4 4-/1!(�D1.

(� 4�3��(�1!4�,��(�4)�4�14D1 0 !���3

4 ,��0�!1���222��12C�-1

030��.(�(�1��(1 1.(�4))0 �1 .�� �D0(1

� 4!� 1�1�(031�(.�0�,

!4�.��1 .�4)-4(��)44,3 0��

0�,�022�1,� 4,�!(.

#���������������� �����0�����������������(��� ����������� ���� ��� �� �������� 0� �� ��������������������� �����������������#��

����������������������������������������������(��� �������� ��������� ���������<����� ���������������������������������� ����������������������������������� �#���������������������������������(������������������������������������� &������� �����(���� ������������������������� 0������ �������������#� ������ ��������������������������������������������������������������������� �#����������������� �������������������������������(������������������������ �������������������������������� ������������������������������������� �����������#����������� �����������������������������������������������������������.����������������������� �������������0��������� ���������(�� ������������������������������ ���� �����(������������ ��������������������������������(�����������*�������������������������6���*(����������������������������������������������������(�������������������0������������������������������������������������&����������� ������ �������������������+����������������������������������(����������������������������������������������

;������ �����������������������������(������������������������������������������������������������6 ������������������������������(������������������������������ ���������������������������#����������������������

#�*./0� �����������������������"�����6 ������������ ��������������������������������������������������������� ����������������������@�����A��*./0��;��������������������������0�����*��������9�����!�����&����������$��������������������������� �������������������������������(�� � ������������������������������������ ������������������ =

#����������������������;���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������.�������������(�������������� ��������(*./0�� �������������������������(��������������� ������� �������������������������������*���������������������$�������������� �������(������������������������������������(��(��( ��F>0������ �?#�����11����������������������(������������������������������� �#�0����������(���� ��������������������>��(�� (��(�������������������������������?�������������������������������

!���� ���� ���� �� �������� �� ����� ��� ���� �������������������������� ��������������������� �0�����&������������� ���������������������(��������������������������������������������������

#����������������������*./0� ����������������������������������������������������������������� �����������������������������������I�������������������������������������������������������0��������� �����������������������������(������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ �����������������������������#��������� ��������������� ������ ������������������������������ �����������������������������������*./0� ���������������������������������������������

0������������������������������������������(��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������=0���������������������������������������������������� "��������8������������������������������������������������������������������� ���������#��������������������������������������������������� ��������� �

*���� ������������������������������ ������������� �������������������������������#������������������ �����������������������(�������������������6���� ��������������������

@���������� �������������������������� �����������������������������A

In 2007, the Musharraf dictator-ship found itself in the dol-drums. Suddenly, it was up

against a charged protest movement,an economy that had begun to fal-ter and the return of two politicalleaders from exile, Nawaz Sharif andBenazir Bhutto. Both had been keptout from the political systemdesigned by Musharraf during histenure as President. He was alsounable to smother private TV newschannels that, ironically, had mush-roomed during his Government. By2007, almost all of them had becomechattering vessels for Oppositionleaders and narratives.

This was something new inPakistan. The State-owned PTVwas not the only TV channel any-more. The content of the new chan-

nels could not be convenientlymoulded and shaped according to asitting regime’s needs and interests.Therefore, it won’t be an overstate-ment to claim that the channels con-tributed in expediting Musharraf ’sdownfall and ultimate ouster.

All this was being closelywatched by a startled “establish-ment.” After Musharraf ’s departure,the establishment eventually beganto harness this phenomenon bygradually arm-twisting and reining-in numerous channels, first to helpit create brand Imran — especiallyamong an urban generation of youthwho had come of age during theMusharraf era — and then todemonise anyone or anything thatstood in the way of turning thisbrand into a ruling possibility.

But this was in the near future.Because during the period theMusharraf regime was badly waver-ing, all it could think of or do (toretain the attention of Musharraf ’saforementioned urban constituency)was to pull in certain characters fromwhat is often referred to as the “con-spiratorial lunatic fringe”, andforcibly create some space for themon TV channels.

With Musharraf ’s Ministers

badly faltering in convincinglyaddressing the rapidly proliferatingnarrative against the regime, thescript provided to the conspiracytheorists was simple: Explain themovement against Musharraf as anevil scheme hatched by the enemiesof the country and their Pakistaniagents.

These colourful and articulatetheorists drew their material fromvarious popular conspiracy gurussuch as the Turkish Harun Yahyaand the American Alex Jones. Thiswas then fused with sensational nar-ratives from popular conspiratorialcultural products that included fab-ricated texts such as The Protocols ofthe Elders of Zion and low-budgetstraight-to-YouTube “documen-taries” such as Loose Change. Thesewere then peddled with a healthydose of cherry-picked sections fromAllama Iqbal and tales of ancientMuslim warriors drawn from liter-ature, that was more historical fic-tion than fact. Did all this attract theattention of the urban youth? It did.Unable to grasp the complexities ofthe ways in which political turbu-lence emerges and evolves, they wereprovided ready-made answersthrough which they could under-

stand the commotion in an entire-ly angled manner.

According to the British acade-mic and author Jovan Byford, in his2011 book Conspiracy Theories: ACritical Introduction, “Conspiracytheories seduce not so much throughthe power of argument, but throughthe intensity of the passions that theystir. Underpinning conspiracy the-ories are stories about good and evil.This gives conspiracy theories astrong emotional dimension.” Sothose who put the conspiracy theo-rists to work on TV amid the turmoilduring the Musharraf regime, knewexactly the kind of emotions theywere looking to stir (against theOpposition).

But did it help stall or evadeMusharraf ’s fall? No. His constituen-cy was limited and largely apolitical.This too was noted. Therefore, from2011 onwards, the establishmentbegan to aid Imran Khan to adoptMusharraf ’s constituency, expand itand then rapidly politicise it. Nineyears later, Khan was able to form aminority Government, largely pop-ular among the urban bourgeoisie.Even though the conspiracy theo-rists, who had appeared during thetail-end of the Musharraf regime,

were eventually discredited andtheir tirades debunked by a host ofhistorians, an idea that they hadintroduced during their figurative 15minutes of fame, stuck.

This idea was simple: If one con-tinues to lie about something withconviction from a mainstream plat-form, that lie, especially when car-ried and proliferated by social mediasites, often begins to be taken as a“fact” by large groups of people. Thepurpose of these so-called “facts” isnot to enlighten people but to sus-tain an audience in times of crisisand make sure it doesn’t drift awayinto the Opposition’s camp. If itneeds to be lied to, then so be it.

But the untruth requires to betold in such a manner that it worksto emotionally and psychologicallyreinforce narratives that have begunto erode in the minds of the target-ted audience.

Because once this audience isemotionally invested in the lie, it isalso likely to treat anything debunk-ing it as a grand conspiracy.

During times of crises for aregime, daily micro-battles can befought through this approach.However, as we saw during the lastyear of the Musharraf regime, and as

we are now seeing in Modi’s Indiaand Trump’s America, the risingintensity of this approach may as wellbe signalling that the war engulfingthe daily micro-battles is being lost.And in Imran Khan’s Pakistan, too,the intensity of this approach hasrisen amid the rising tide ofOpposition against the Governmentand its backers.

In a feature on the February1990 elections in Nicaragua, whichan Opposition alliance won bydefeating the ruling Sandinista Partythat had come to power in 1979through a revolution, Time magazinequoted a man who had supportedthe Sandinista but voted for theOpposition.

He told the magazine that amajority of Nicaraguans had votedfor the Opposition “with their stom-achs that had become empty.” TheSandinista had painted theOpposition as being anti-poor andmade emotional appeals to the elec-torate to not allow a rollback of therevolution. But these slogans had nomeaning to those fearing starvationand joblessness.

As the Opposition’s manoeuvresand narrative in Pakistan gainmomentum and currency in a sce-

nario riddled with rampant inflation,political repression and utter govern-mental incompetence, the conspir-acy cards are out again. But this timethey are not being played by thosebrought in from the “lunatic fringe.”

However, the content andmodus operandi are the same. Weare now seeing Ministers adoptingthis role. A recent example is themanner in which the InformationMinister Shibli Faraz explained theOpposition alliance, the PDM, as“the third piece of the axis of evil.”The other two pieces being India andIsrael.

This may sound entirely ridicu-lous to most because it smacks oftypical conspiratorial claptrap. ButFaraz is talking to a constituency thathad actually bought the curiousUtopian fusion of a theocratic fan-tasy and modern developmentaleconomics sold with great passion bybrand Imran and his makers.

However, to an empty stomachit is nothing but hogwash and thattoo, coming from an incompetentregime which has been reduced tonow defending its “selection,” know-ing well that the claim of it beingelected has been shot to pieces.

(Courtesy: Dawn)

2����������������������������������������� �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������

%����7�����8�

������� ������ !�"�# ���!$� ����&'�(%(%

+++3�������$���3���

!�� ���>������� ������ !�"�# ���!$� ����&'�(%(%

Beijing: Chinese President XiJinping on Sunday instructedofficials to expedite the con-struction of the new $47.8 bil-lion railway project connect-ing the country’s southwestSichuan province to Linzhi inTibet close to the Indian bor-der in Arunachal Pradesh,saying it would play a key rolein safeguarding stability inthe border areas.

The Sichuan-TibetRailway will be the second rail-way line into Tibet after theQinghai-Tibet Railway project.It will go through the south-east of the Qinghai-TibetPlateau, one of the world’smost geologically active areas,according to the Chinese offi-cial media.

The Sichuan-TibetRailway starts from Chengdu,capital of Sichuan province

and travels through Ya’an andenters Tibet via Qamdo, short-ening the journey fromChengdu to Lhasa from 48hours to 13 hours.

Linzhi, also known asNyingchi, is located close toArunachal Pradesh border.

The India-China borderdispute covers the 3,488-km-long Line of Actual Control,the de-facto border betweenthe two countries. Chinaclaims Arunachal Pradesh aspart of south Tibet which isfirmly rejected by India.

Linzhi also has an airportwhich is one of the five air-ports built by China in theHimalayan region.

The Ya’an-Linzhi sectionruns 1,011 km with 26 sta-tions. Trains are expected torun at speeds between 120 and200 kms per hour. The total

cost of the entire Sichuan-Tibet Railway project isaround 319.8 billion yuan(USD 47.8 billion), accordingto a recent report by the state-run Global Times.

In a video conference,ahead of the commencementof the construction of the pro-ject, Xi identified it as a majormeasure in facilitating the rul-ing Communist Party’s gener-al plan for governing Tibet inthe new era, and stressed theproject’s important role insafeguarding national unity,promoting ethnic solidarityand consolidating stability inborder areas. He made theinstruction ahead of the begin-ning of the construction of theSichuan-Tibet Railway’s Ya’an-Nyingchi section on Sunday,state-run Xinhua news agencyreported. PTI

Tehran: Iran’s president calledon President-elect Joe Biden to“compensate for past mistakes”and return the US to Tehran’s2015 nuclear deal with worldpowers, a state-run newsagency reported Sunday.

Hassan Rouhani’s com-ments mark the highest-levelresponse from Iran to Bidenand Vice President-electKamala Harris clinching theNovember 3 election.

“Now, an opportunity hascome up for the next USadministration to compensatefor past mistakes and return tothe path of complying withinternational agreementsthrough respect of interna-tional norms,” the state-runIRNA news agency quotedhim as saying.

Under President Donald

Trump, tensions between theUS and Iran have escalated,reaching fever-pitch earlier thisyear. One of Trump’s signatureforeign policy moves was uni-laterally withdrawing the USrom Iran’s nuclear deal in 2018,which had seen Tehran limit itsenrichment of uranium inexchange for the lifting of eco-nomic sanctions.

The US has since reim-posed punishing sanctions onIran that have crippled itseconomy, which was furtherbattered by the coronavirusoutbreak. In an effort to pres-sure Europe to find a wayaround the sanctions, Iran hasslowly abandoned the limits ofthe nuclear deal.

“The people of Iran,though their heroic resistanceagainst the imposed econom-

ic war, proved that the US max-imum pressure policy wasdoomed to fail,” Rouhani said.

He added Iran “considersconstructive engagement withthe world as a strategy.”

Meanwhile, Iran onSunday reached its highestever single-day death toll fromthe coronavirus with 459 newdeaths recorded.

This brings Iran’s totalrecorded deaths from the virusto 38,291 nationwide. Another9,236 new confirmed cases ofthe virus were confirmed overthe past 24 hours, bringing totalconfirmed cases to more than682,000 nationwide sinceFebruary.

Iran has struggled to con-tain the virus and has seen dailysurges and highs over the pastmonth. AP

Moscow: Azerbaijani forces have taken control ofthe strategically key city of Shushi in Nagorno-Karabakh where fighting with Armenia has ragedfor more than a month, the country’s president saidSunday.

In a televised address to the nation, PresidentIlham Aliyev said “Shusha is ours — Karabakh isours,” using the Azerbaijani version of the city’s name.

Shushi is of significant military value becauseit sits on heights about 10 kilometers (6 miles) southof the region’s capital of Stepanakert and lies alongthe main road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh withArmenia.

Nagorno-Karabakh is within Azerbaijan, but hasbeen under the control of local ethnic Armenianforces backed by Armenia since 1994. The latest out-break of fighting started on Sept. 27 and has left hun-dreds — if not thousands — dead.

Aliyev vowed to continue the fighting untilArmenia withdraws from the territory. AP

New York: With the historicelectoral win by Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, her hus-band Douglas Emhoff alsoscripted history as he will be thefirst ‘Second Gentleman’ - thefirst male spouse of a vice pres-ident in the US when she takesthe oath of office in January.

The wife of a US Presidentis addressed as First Lady whilethat of Vice President as SecondLady. America has never in itshistory before had a femalePresident and Vice President soit remains to be seen what for-mal title - ‘Second Gentleman,Second Husband’ - will begiven to the first male spouseof an elected leader.

So while Harris election asAmerica’s next Vice President

is groundbreaking as she bringsto the office a litany of firsts -she will be the first woman, thefirst Black woman, the firstwoman of Indian descent andthe first daughter of immi-grants to be sworn in as VicePresident, her husband willalso be making history in hisown way.

Harris is married toEmhoff, 56, a successful enter-tainment lawyer, who has beena strong and supportive pres-ence for Harris during theelection campaign.

“So proud of you,” Emhofftweeted on Saturday, with a pic-ture of him and Harris huggingas TV networks called thepresidential race for Biden andHarris. PTI

Washington: Chanting “Thisisn’t over!” and “Stop the steal”,supporters of President DonaldTrump protested at state capi-tols across the countrySaturday, refusing to acceptdefeat and echoing Trump’sunsubstantiated allegations thatthe Democrats won the elec-tion by fraud.

From Atlanta andTallahassee to Bismarck, Boiseand Phoenix, crowds rangingin size from a few dozen to afew thousand — some of themopenly carrying guns —decried the news of Joe Biden’svictory after more than threesuspense-filled days of vote-counting put the Democratover the top.

Skirmishes broke out insome cities. In Atlanta, outsidethe state Capitol in the long-time Republican stronghold ofGeorgia, chants of “Lock him

up!” rang out among an esti-mated 1,000 Trump supporters.Others chanted, “This isn’tover! This isn’t over!” and“Fake news!”.

The streets were awashwith American flags andTrump banners.

No immediate violence wasreported, though at one point,

police moved to separateTrump opponents from sup-porters. Biden held a slim leadin Georgia, which hasn’t gonefor a Democrat since 1992.

Jordan Kelley, a 29-year-oldfrom Murfreesboro, Tennessee,drove three-plus hours toAtlanta to attend the pro-Trump rally. AP

Washington: President DonaldTrump lost. But Trumpism didnot.

It won in the parts of thecountry and with the voterswhom Trump catered to overfour years, constantly jabbingthe hard edges of almost everycontentious cultural issue intoRed America, on the bet thatfear and anger were a winninghand. It almost was.

Joe Biden defeated Trumpto win the presidency, and is onpace to win up to 306 electoralvotes, a total that would matchwhat Trump exaggerated as a“landslide” four years ago.

In a typical election year,such a victory would meanBiden would have carried otherDemocrats along with him.Instead, several promisingDemocratic Senate and Housecandidates, including incum-bents, lost.

For Trump, the situationwas the inverse. His populari-ty among his base voters helpedprotect incumbent Republicansbut was not enough to savehim. He won more votes forpresident than any other can-didate. Except Biden. The rejec-tion of Trump was personal.

The election did little tosuggest that the country wassuddenly less polarized. Trumpwrung out votes from areaswhere he already had a core ofsupport, in rural and small-town America. Biden did thesame, only more, in urban andsuburban America while alsoholding down Trump marginsin some rural areas.

The outcome didn’t change

the fact that much of the coun-try is still speaking two differ-ent political languages.

“This defied everyone’sexpectations. Everyone said ifJoe Biden wins, Democratswin the Senate. If Trump wins,Republicans win the Senate,”said Rahm Emanuel, the for-mer mayor of Chicago andchief of staff to PresidentBarack Obama. “That’s notwhat happened. Clearly therewas an undertow.

“Life is not binary,”Emanuel said. “It’s more com-plicated. Florida, a state thatvoted for Trump, voted for theminimum wage. Illinois, a statethat voted for Biden, voteddown a progressive incometax. California, cobalt blue,

voted against affirmative actionin the place of employment.”

Emanuel said thatDemocrats may have erred innot offering clearer plans abouthow they would rebuild theeconomy while also gainingcontrol over the virus and innot batting back Republicanefforts to label them socialists.

“Trump played to people’sfatigue about COVID,” he said.“If we had brought the samesense of urgency to getting theeconomy moving as we did get-ting COVID under control, itmight have been different.”

Instead, some Democratswere advocating for expandingthe Supreme Court and endingthe filibuster in the Senate, pro-posals that might have prompt-

ed fear about one-party control.“It’s clear there was more

voter frustration with Trumpthan with the ideology of theRepublican Party,” said MikeMurphy, a strategist to severalRepublican presidential cam-paigns who broke with hisparty over Trump. “Clearly thepresidential race was operatingin its own world from the con-gressional race.”

Since Trump campaignedlargely on friendly turf, he alsohelped Republican candidatesin those areas.

“Trump lifted Republicancandidates by vastly boostingturnout in areas of Republicanstrength,” said David Axelrod,former senior adviser Obama.“In the states and districts that

favor Republicans, they ranup the score.”

Many voters offered a con-sistent refrain about Trump:They liked his policies butcould not abide his anger-fueled personality, his con-stant use of Twitter as aweapon, and the way heridiculed anyone who dareddisagree with him.

Biden’s call for a return todecency, and his appeal to be apresident for all Americansand not just the base of hisparty, was an important part ofhis formula.

But the closeness of therace, even with the president’spersistently low approval rat-ings, was also a testament to theinherent power of an incum-bent seeking reelection. There’sa reason only three electedincumbents before Trump hadlost in nearly a century.

When an incumbent loses,the challenger’s party oftengains. In 1980, when RonaldReagan defeated PresidentJimmy Carter, Republicanstook 12 Senate seats fromDemocrats. In 1992, BillClinton’s victory over PresidentGeorge H.W.

Bush also came with threeDemocratic Senate victoriesover incumbent Republicans.When Franklin D. Rooseveltdefeated President HerbertHoover in 1932, Democratsgained nearly 100 House seatsand a dozen in the Senate, giv-ing Roosevelt the muscularmajorities he needed to passsweeping New Deal legisla-tion.

But no president in recentmemory had maintained suchiron-grip allegiance from hisown party as Trump, with onlya handful of Republicans inCongress ever willing to crosshim, fearing that they werealways one presidential tweetaway from a primary challenge.They stuck with him during hisimpeachment, when only Sen.Mitt Romney, R-Utah, voted toconvict him, and Trump ostra-cized him. And several weresticking with him even in defeat,offering up unproven allegationsof voter fraud. Some votersliked Trump’s tough talk ontrade and getting other nationsto pay more for commondefense. They gave him cred-it, right or wrong, for an econ-omy that was buoyant beforethe pandemic struck. AP

2��������!��#��������3�3��1��� �#���4�$���1��� �����������

Beijing: The victory of JoeBiden in the US presidentialelection may provide a respiteto China from PresidentDonald Trump’s declarationof the “Cold War” and offera limited chance to reset theturbulent ties even as high-intensity rivalry is expected tocontinue, Chinese observerssaid on Sunday.

Trump’s four years inpower is the worst phase inChina-US relations as theruling Communist Party ofChina (CPC), headed by

President Xi Jinping, strug-gled to deal with whatChinese officials said is themost elusive and unpre-dictable American leader eversince the former US presidentRichard Nixon’s historic visitto Beijing in 1972, establish-ing ties for the first timewith the Communist nation.

Trump pushed aggres-sively on all aspects of the US-China ties, including withhis relentless trade war, chal-lenging Chinese military holdon the disputed South China

Sea, its constant threats toTaiwan and branding coron-avirus as ‘China virus’ after itemerged from Wuhan inDecember last year.

The Biden tenure couldusher in a “buffering period”for already-tense China-USrelations, and offer an oppor-tunity for breakthrough inresuming high-level commu-nication and rebuildingmutual strategic trustbetween the two countries, areport in the state-run GlobalTimes said. PTI

( �������� �/���� �����0� ��&%��0����@�������� ������������� ��5�0� ����������

New York: Indian-Americanand South-Asian political, dias-pora organisations have hailedthe “hard-fought victory” ofPresident-Elect Joe Biden andVice President-Elect KamalaHarris, describing it as “truly aremarkable win for the futureof America” and that Harris’political rise will “superchargethe political engagement of theIndian American community.”

The Democratic Biden-Harris ticket has defeatedincumbent President DonaldTrump and Vice PresidentMike Pence in a bitterly-foughtelection that attracted a recordnumber of Americans to cast

their votes. South Asians forBiden (SAB), a national grass-root, political organisation, onSaturday said it is elated to cel-ebrate the hard-fought victoryearned by Biden and Harris inthis election.

“This is truly a remarkablewin for the future of America,our democracy, and the entireSouth Asian community. Thatthe Biden-Harris ticketunseated an incumbent pres-ident is a historic feat and rep-resents a convincing repudia-tion of President Trump andhis abhorrent world view,”National Director, SAB, NehaDewan said. PTI

5�����'��#���������������������6#��&4�6��"����#�����$�#��������4����� ��� �������� �

)����,�������������/���;��$$�� �����+� ��,�$ ����A������3�����,

����������������������� ��!����!"���!���"������ ���

������ ����G

!���������������$�������������$��

B ������������� �/���������� ����$��� �� �� ��! ������������+��������� ����� Bangkok: Thai pro-democracy

protesters were confronted byriot police and sprayed by watercannons Sunday as they tried toapproach Bangkok’s GrandPalace to deliver letters abouttheir political grievancesaddressed to the country’s king.

The protesters had pushedaside a bus that was serving asa barrier to try to approach thepalace, which houses the royaloffices. The protesters had metearlier at Bangkok’s DemocracyMonument and marched asdarkness fell, pushing past aninitial thin line of police.

The water cannons wereemployed by the police for justa short time, and it was not clearif anyone was hurt in the chaos.

Thailand’s pro-democracymovement has been pushing abold challenge to reform themonarchy with almost dailydemonstrations.

Sunday marked the sec-

ond time water cannons hadbeen used against them duringseveral months of demonstra-tions.

The student-led movement,which over several months hasseized the political initiative, hasput enough pressure on the gov-

ernment of Prime MinisterPrayuth Chan-ocha to call forParliament to deal with at leastsome of their demands.

They are seeking Prayuth’sresignation, changes to the con-stitution to make it more demo-cratic and reforms to the

monarchy to make it moreaccountable.

The protesters believePrayuth lacks legitimacybecause he came to power afteran election last year whoserules were set up under militaryrule. Prayuth as army chief in2014 led a coup ousting an elect-ed government and then head-ed the junta that ran the coun-try until last year’s polls.

A new constitution was putinto effect by the junta that theprotesters also consider illegit-imate and anti-democratic.

The third demand, callingfor reform of the monarchy, isthe most controversial. Themonarchy has traditionally beenan untouchable institution,regarded by most Thais as theheart and soul of the nation.

A lese majeste law mandatesa prison term of up to 15 yearsfor anyone who defames theking or his close family.

Until the protesters raisedthe issue, public criticism of theroyal institution was virtuallyunknown.

While the protesters haveincreasingly put the monarchyissue front and center, theyhave received serious push-back. Even the main oppositionparty, otherwise sympatheticto their other points, has said itdoes not want to amend lawscovering the monarchy, androyalists have started holdingcounter-demonstrations.

Parliament has agreed todebate amending the constitu-tion and political leaders are dis-cussing setting up a reconcilia-tion committee, an effort that sofar has been rejected by the pro-testers.

But Prayuth has insisted hewon’t step down, and any effortto reform the monarchy seemsto be a dead end, leaving the sit-uation deadlocked. AP

!�� ���� ������������������������&����������������

�� ���������������������� ��������&�������������������� �/������������ ��(��/�����!�� ��������������� +

+���� C�� �����52������ ������/����&)��������� �� Yangon: Voters in Myanmar’s

biggest city, Yangon, turned upearly Sunday in large numbers tovote in nationwide elections that areexpected to return to power theparty of Nobel Peace Prize laureateAung San Suu Kyi.

Suu Kyi’s National League forDemocracy party won the last elec-tions in 2015 in a landslide, endingmore than five decades of military-dictated rule in the country.

With Myanmar under threatfrom a coronavirus surge, maskwearing was mandatory in the linesat polling stations, and many votersalso donned plastic face shieldsand gloves. Body temperatures weretaken and hand sanitizing gel wasfreely dispensed by officials, butsocial distancing rules were only fit-

fully observed.Traditional campaigning ahead

of the election was severely limitedby social distancing and quarantinesin some areas.

“The voter turnout here is morethan we expected,” said Zaw WinTun, a neighbourhood administra-tor and official at Yangon’s Pho Myaepolling station. “I think people areexcited to vote, as they would like toescape from the political struggles.They want real democracy.” He didnot elaborate, but appeared to bereferring to a power strugglebetween Suu Kyi’s civilian govern-ment and the military.

The ability of Suu Kyi’s admin-istration to run the country has beenhamstrung by a clause in the 2008army-drafted constitution giving

the military 25% of the seats inParliament, allowing it to blockconstitutional reforms.

At another polling station, 19-year-old Eaint Yadanar Oo said shewas excited because it was her firsttime voting.

“I came here to vote to performmy civic duty,” she said. Sheexplained that she was afraid of thecoronavirus pandemic, but that she“came here with full protectionbecause I want better educationaland job opportunities.”

More than 90 parties are com-peting for seats in the lower andupper houses of Parliament, whilethere were also elections at the statelevels. There were more than 37 mil-lion people eligible to vote, includ-ing 5 million first-timers. AP

$���)���)����������������������:��������������������#�@��

Nairobi: Ethiopia’s PrimeMinister has sought to defend amajor military action against thecountry’s defiant Tigray regionon Sunday, and urged citizensnot to target the ethnic Tigrayanpeople amid fears of civil war.

At least 60 people havebeen wounded and six killed inone location along the Tigrayborder alone, Doctors WithoutBorders said Saturday, and theUnited Nations warns of amajor humanitarian crisis ifmillions flee all-out fighting orif the Tigray region remains cutoff from the world.

Prime Minister AbiyAhmed tweeted that his militarycampaign is to bring the Tigrayregion to abide by Ethiopia’s“rule of law.”

“The government’s lawenforcement action in Tigrayaims to bring the greedy Mekelejunta under the rule of law andmaintain the constitutionalorder.

This step will benefit thewidest Tigrayans more thananyone else,” Abiy tweeted.

“I also urge all Ethiopians totake responsibility for ensuringthat Tigrayans do not fall preyto any illegal activity that followsthe government’s actions.”

The conflict pits two heav-ily armed forces against eachother in the heart of the strate-gic but vulnerable Horn ofAfrica region, and experts worrythat neighboring countries,including Sudan, Eritrea andSomalia could be sucked in.

Diplomats and others assertthat the conflict in Tigray coulddestabilize other parts ofEthiopia, Africa’s second-mostpopulous country with 110 mil-lion people, scores of ethnicgroups and other regions thathave sought more autonomyeven as the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Prime Minister AbiyAhmed tries to hold the coun-try together with exhortations ofnational unity.

Communications remainlargely cut off in Tigray, with air-ports and roads closed.

The Tigray leader in a let-ter to the African Union chair,seen by The Associated Press,has warned that Ethiopianforces are preparing to launch alarge-scale offensive. AP

<������������ ��� ���� ��������������������� �������2����

+�����������$� �� �����������!������� �/��������� ��(�����* �����0�� $��� �� +

)������?������� ������ !�"�# ���!$� ����&'�(%(%

� ��� �1��,12��

The Government is recon-sidering extension of sugar

export subsidies as India hasgot good opportunity to sell thesweetener in the internationalmarket during November-Aprilof the 2019-20 season thatcommenced this month,according to Food SecretarySudhanshu Pandey.

India, the world's second-largest sugar-producing coun-try, had to offer export subsi-dies during the last two yearsin order to reduce surplusstocks and help cash-starvedsugar mills clear cane pay-ment to growers.

Sugar mills exported 5.7million tonnes of sugar againstthe mandatory quota of 6 mil-lion tonnes set for the 2019-20season (October-September),as per official data.

Speaking to PTI, Pandeysaid: “Thailand's production isexpected to be down this year,

while Brazil's crushing willonly start in April 2021. Fromnow till April, there is goodexport opportunity for India.”

“This is the opportunitythe industry has to encashupon, we are doing our bestgiven that India is expected tohave a bumper sugar produc-tion this year,” he added.

According to officialsources, the food ministry isworking on a proposal forseeking cabinet approval forextension of the existing sugarexport policy for about 6 mil-lion tonnes in the 2020-21season. On October 30, FoodMinister Piyush Goyal hadsaid the government was notconsidering extension of theexport subsidy policy, but afterseveral rounds of consultationwith stakeholders and policymakers, a fresh thought isbeing given to the proposal,sources said.

Industry experts are of theview that India needs to export

more than 5 million tonnes ofsugar this year to ensuredomestic rates do not fall belowthe cost of production andmake it difficult for mills to paycane growers on time.

The surplus stock situationis expected to continue this sea-son as well because domesticsugar production is pegged at31 million tonnes, well abovethe annual demand of 26 mil-lion tonnes. To avoid sugarglut-kind of situation, Pandeysaid the government is encour-aging mills to produce ethanolinstead of sugar as the formercan be used for blending withpetrol under the NationalBiofuel Policy. The subsidisedloans are being given to millersfor distilleries capacity expan-sion in order to achieve theethanol production of over360 crore litres and meet theethanol blending with petroltarget of 10 per cent by 2022and 20 per cent by 2030, headded.

� ��� �1��,12��

GST Network's infrastruc-ture has been upgraded to

handle up to 3 lakh logged-inusers at a time, GSTN said onSunday.

Besides, the Goods andServices Tax Network (GSTN)has introduced auto-populatedsales return form GSTR-3B inPDF form which will be avail-able from October 2020 taxperiods onwards. The com-plete PDF with auto-popula-tion of input tax credit will beavailable on the common por-tal (GSTN) from November 12,2020, GSTN said in a state-ment.GSTN said it has aug-mented the capacity of thegateway from 1.5 lakh to 3 lakhconcurrent logged in taxpayersto handle the expected sharpsurge in the indirect tax-relat-ed activities on the portal aftereasing of lockdown.

Further, the upgrade hasenabled GSTN to handle andscale up to 5 lakhs concurrentlylogged-in taxpayers, if neces-sary, it added.The number ofactive taxpayer numbers haveeffectively doubled since thelaunch of GST at about 1.3crore. As per GSTN data,September 2020 witnessed asudden jump in filing of GSTR-3B, the monthly return filed bynormal taxpayers. This surgewas also due to the backlog infiling of previous months'returns for which relaxationswere provided to taxpayers inview of the COVID-19 out-break.The subsequent monthalso saw increased traffic which

was successfully handled by theGST portal, it said.

GSTN said detailedbreakup of various tables ofGSTR-1 (supply return) andGSTR-3B which have beenused to auto-populate GSTR-3B have also been provided inthe PDF.In the first phase, sys-tem has started auto-populat-ing details from GSTR-1 toGSTR-3B from July 2020 peri-od onwards for all GSTR-1sfiled after August 27, 2020,GSTN added.”All taxpayers arerequested to go through theirGSTR-3B (PDF) and providefeedback (if any) on any aspectby raising a ticket on the self-service portal,” GSTN said.

The GST Council, in its39th meeting on March 14, hadrecommended adopting andimplementing an incrementalapproach of linking the presentsystem of filing of GSTR-3Band GSTR-1.

� ��� �1��,12��

Nasscom on Sunday wel-comed Joe Biden's win in

the US Presidential election,and said the Indian IT indus-try looks forward to workingwith the new administration inpivoting technology, skills anddigital transformation for theUS.

The US is the biggest mar-ket for the Indian IT sector,accounting for a lion's share ofthe industry's revenue.

“NASSCOM congratulatesUS #PresidentElect @JoeBidenon his win. We look forward toworking with him and hisadministration in pivotingtechnology, skills and digitaltransformation for the UnitedStates,” it said in a tweet.

Nasscom has projected arevenue growth of 7.7 per centat USD 191 billion for the ITsector in the ongoing fiscal. Theindustry has added a net 2 lakhjobs, taking the overall work-force to 4.36 million.

Indian IT players will keepa close watch on Biden'sapproach and policies related toH-1B work visas that are usedby a large number of Indiantechnology professionals.

In June, during theCOVID-19 pandemic, USPresident Donald Trumpbanned the entry into the USof workers in several key non-immigrant visa categories,

including H-1B, until the endof the year, arguing that they eatinto American jobs.

Those affected include thefamily members of the H-1B,L-1, and certain categories of J1visas.

Later, the TrumpAdministration announcedcertain exemptions in H-1Band L-1 travel bans for thosecontinuing employment withthe same employer, a move thatcould help Indian IT profes-sionals and those working inthe healthcare sector.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows UScompanies to employ foreignworkers in speciality occupa-tions that require theoretical ortechnical expertise. Companiesdepend on it to hire tens ofthousands of employees eachyear from countries like Indiaand China.

In a statement, Nasscomsaid its member companieshave an important history inthe US.

“... They work with overthree-quarters of the Fortune500 companies in the US, pro-viding them vital technologyservices and helping theminnovate, compete, and grow,”it said.

The industry body alsonoted that India-US bilateraltrade increased by over 400 percent since 2005, with the totalincrease in value from USD 37

billion in 2005, to USD 149 bil-lion in 2019, and that technol-ogy sectors of both countrieshave played a critical role indriving this.

“The Indian technologyindustry makes critical contri-butions to the US economy andworkforce, including localinvestments and job-creation,workforce development andupskilling their US employees,CSR and community services,”Nasscom said.

Nasscom said a key chal-lenge that the sector faces is thelack of required Science,Technology, Engineering andMathematics (STEM) talent inthe US clearly highlighted bythe high degree of overallunemployment on one hand,and more than half a millionjob vacancies in computeroccupation on the other.

“Nasscom looks forwardto working together with thenew US Administration, tofind solutions to the STEMskills gap, and enable Americato be more competitive, togrow and create more jobs,” itadded.

Tech Mahindra ManagingDirector and CEO C P Gurnanitweeted “Democracy wins” andextended wishes to Biden andHarris on their win.

“Congratulations@JoeBiden @KamalaHarrisfrom the largest democracy tothe world's oldest democracy...

Wishing a term of prosperityand peace for not just Americabut the world,” he said.

A Democrat, 77-year-oldBiden became the oldest manever to be elected to the WhiteHouse.

He will be the 46th presi-dent of the United States.

Along with Biden, KamalaHarris, 56, would be sworn inas the vice president of theUnited States on January 20,2021. She will also be the first-ever Indian-origin, first-everBlack and first-ever African-American vice president of theUS. Nasscom PresidentDebjani Ghosh shared Harris'message where she said “WhileI may be the first woman in thisoffice, I will not be the last —because every little girl watch-ing tonight sees that this is acountry of possibilities”.

Ghosh said:“This....Should be a solemnpromise we all make”.

The IT sector globally hasbeen working on increasingparticipation of women in theworkforce as well as expandingthe diversity of teams.

Cyient ExecutiveChairman BVR Mohan Reddytermed it as a “historical day”.“I feel proud to see the glassceiling shattered and manybarriers broken. Here is tomany new paradigms of col-laboration, inclusion and unity,”he tweeted.

����� �1��,12��

State-run ONGC plans tohike output from its onshore

mature fields through produc-tion enhancement contracts(PEC) with oil and gas com-panies who have technicalexpertise, financial capabilityand resources to increase pro-duction by improving therecovery from such fields. Thecompany has already floated atender, seeking expressions ofinterest (EoI) from global oiland gas companies for thepurpose. In its tender docu-ment, ONGC said that theduration of the PEC will be 15years or more and companieswill be required to commitinvestment in capital expendi-

ture and operational expendi-ture to increase productionfrom the existing production byintroduction of new technolo-gies, among others.

“Interested companiesmust demonstrate integratedcapabilities across the entirevalue chain as well as experi-ence of successfully executingsuch type of contracts,” it said.

The selected company willhave to analyse field charac-teristics and production effortsso far carried out by ONGC,including review of reservoirmodels and identification ofareas for improving the reser-voir models for implementa-tion of the objective. The dead-line for submission of EoIs isDecember 1.

����� �1��,12��

In a bid to benefit workerswho lost their jobs during

COVID-19 pandemic, theCentre has decided that claimsthrough affidavit form are nolonger required under the AtalBeemit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana(ABVKY) of the ESIC.

“While analysing respons-es of scheme beneficiariesunder relaxed conditions, it wasfound that the condition ofsubmitting claims in affidavitform was causing them incon-venience. It was decided thatclaimants who submit onlinetheir claims under the AtalBeemit Vyakti Kalyan Yojanaand upload scanned copies ofrequired documents, i.e., copiesof Aadhaar Cards and bankdetails need not submit phys-ical claims,” a governmentstatement said.

If the documents are notuploaded during online filing

of claims, the claimant can sub-mit printouts of claims dulysigned along with the requireddocuments.

The ESIC in its meeting inAugust had extended AtalBeemit Vyakti Kalyan Yojanafrom July 1, 2020 to June 30next.

It also enhanced reliefunder the scheme from 25 percent of the average daily earn-ings to 50%, while relaxing eli-gibility conditions for a certainperiod to provide relief toworkers rendered unemployedduring the pandemic.

The Employees' StateInsurance Corporation is asocial security organisationproviding comprehensive socialsecurity benefits like reasonablemedical care and a range ofcash benefits in times of needsuch as job injuries, sicknessand death. It covers about 3.49crore insured workers/familyunits at present.

����� �1��,12��

Lakshmi Vilas Bank's suste-nance as a going concern is

dependent on its ability toimprove liquidity, asset quali-ty and capital base, accordingto the auditors of the bank.

In the bank's July-September earnings, the audi-tors said that as per the opin-ion of the bank, based on theirinternal assessment and thelikely capital infusion, thelender will be able to realise itsassets and discharge its liabil-ities in its normal course ofbusiness and hence the finan-cial results have been preparedon a going concern basis.

“The said assumption of

going concern is dependentupon the bank's ability toachieve improvements in liq-uidity, asset quality and sol-vency ratios, augment its cap-ital base and mitigate theimpact of Covid-19 and thus amaterial uncertainty exists that

may cast a significant doubt onthe Bank's ability to continue asa going concern,” they said asper the bank's regulatory filing.

“However, the bank opinesthat there are mitigating factorsto such uncertainties,” it said.

During the quarter endedSeptember, the banks reporteda net loss of Rs 397 crore, com-pared to Rs 357 crore duringthe same period last fiscal.

The banks saw a marginalimprovement in its asset qual-ity. Gross non-performing asset(GNPA) ratio stood at 24.45per cent as of September com-pared with 25.4 per cent as ofJune. Net NPA ratio improvedto 7 per cent from 9.64 per centin the previous quarter.

New Delhi: “NTPC is shapingup well for the future with itsdiversification plans and as aresponsible corporate, NTPC iscommitted towards environ-ment and the fast growingcapacity addition in the renew-able portfolio is testimony tothe commitment”, said RKSingh, Hon’ble Minister ofState (Independent Charge)for Power, New and RenewableEnergy and Minister of Statefor Skill Development andEntrepreneurship, Governmentof India.

Sanjiv Nandan Sahai,Secretary, Power, AshishUpadhyaya, AdditionalSecretary, SKG Rahate,Additional Secretary, VivekKumar Dewangan, JointSecretary, Gurdeep Singh,CMD NTPC, Directors ofNTPC and other senior offi-cials attended the occasion

online.Singh was speaking on the

occasion of 46th Raising Day ofNTPC addressing the seniormanagement of India’s largestpower producer along withthe employees and their fami-

ly members through the digi-tal platform.

Congratulating NTPC onits Raising Day, Shri Singhsaid, “during the pandemic

NTPC has ensured uninter-rupted power supply to thenation reinforcing the signifi-cance of affordable power inour daily lives.”

Jammu:To encourage theadventure tourism quotient inJammu, the Directorate ofTourism, Jammu conducted athree day trekking expeditionfrom Sanasar to Shankhpal,which concluded today.

The participants consistedof young adventure enthusiasts,nature lovers, bloggers, vlog-gers, etc from within Jammuand Kashmir, and also fromoutside.

Raj Kumar Katoch,Director Tourism, Jammu hadflagged off the expedition fromJammu on Thursday.

Pankaj Anand, Dy Director(Adventure and Registration),and

Anil Kumar Chandail DyDirector (Publicity) along withDr. Umesh Shan, AssistantDirector Tourism (NHW) ledthe participants, while adven-

ture experts of the depart-ment, Amar Paul Singh,Rakesh Koul and Meenakshiaccompanied them.

The group traversed theroute which is part of theworld renowned trek fromPancheri to Sanasar to Patnitopto Sudh Mahadev to Mantalai,which provides spectacularviews of Lesser Himalayas onone side and GreaterHimalayas on the other side.

The Shankhpal temple,believed to have been originallybuilt nearly 400 years ago, islocated at an altitude of 2897metres, which is the highestpoint on the Shankhpal ridge.

All trekkers were happy tobe part of the trek, and foundit an enlivening experience.They recognised the eco-tourism potential of the regionand termed it as a rewardingtrek.

“This trek has been a greatexperience, taking back a lot ofmemories. With majestic viewsand beautiful trails, this hasbeen a lifetime experience. I amnow resolved to explore Jammuregion more,” says Akrithi Jain,a blogger from Tamil Nadu.

Jammu based trekker andbiker, Preeti Chaudhary says, “Ireally enjoyed being a part ofthe trek. It was well organized,especially given the COVID19SOPs. I am looking forward tobeing a part of more suchevents in the future.”

Vikas Manhas, an avidtrekker, says, “Had wonderfultwo days with the administra-tion and staff of the Directorateof Jammu Tourism at Sanasar,who had organised a well man-aged trek. Looking forward tomore such initiatives by thedepartment.”

����� �1��,12��

Indian Metals & Ferro Alloys(IMFA) has reported a net

profit of �44.17 crore for theJuly-September quarter.

During the same period oflast fiscal, the company hadreported a net loss of �33.07crore.Its total income for theperiod under review rose by14.9 per cent to �455.34 crore.

IMFA Managing DirectorSubhrakant Panda said: “Wehave operated through thelockdown period by virtue ofthe exemption available to con-tinuous process industries and

delivered a strong operationalperformance, while healthymarket conditions in terms ofdemand & price have helpedboost profitability.”

“While inherent uncer-tainties remain due to theunpredictable nature of thepandemic, the proactiveapproach of the Central andstate governments to savelives and livelihoods augurswell. Going ahead, we alsoexpect the imposition ofexport duty on chrome ore bySouth Africa to have a positiveimpact on ferro chromeprices.”

7�1����!���� ��������������#�� ������%�����������������#��

�� ��##��!"��!$�%����� ��!���&#��!��"'��(��)!

��������(��������%�����������������������������������������.�0� ��

��������� %%���)��*���(������2�����2��������

�)!���������� �!���%�������*��'��+����,�*��-���%�!�

+�7�� #���� �����������������������������������!��#��

:���� �� ����(���4������������������� ���� �/�� D� � ��

/���%�����@�����������������) ���

���� ��*���������������� �����(��1?3

���������)���������143�����������%������)�������� ���

(���

&� ����:������� +�����$����C�D���)����������������� ���

E&���������������������������������������(�!��*���������;>�� �������,�%�� ������;9�%�������+��������������������� *��6��<:<:

�4�������������������������� ��.�����������������(�!��������� �� ����������������������������������������'���������������������*�������

�! 0����� �/��$������ ��� ���� ��� $ ��� ��������5� ����� �

! �������&9%6�8=����8965B6B8��9���������%�98%&�<6%�! �52���&���"�<6%�����=�

���������>��������<%6��=96��%�-3-3�9�H�B�%�6��

6&��%��

����� �1��,12��

Sale of Indian-made foreignliquor declined 29 per cent

during the first half of the cur-rent financial year, according todata released by theConfederation of IndianAlcoholic Beverage Companies(CIABC).

In a statement, the indus-try body said that the fall indemand was severe in AndhraPradesh, West Bengal,Puducherry, and Rajasthan,which still continue to imposecorona tax as high as 50 percent. In these states, salesdropped by almost 50 per cent.

"All India sales volumegrowth for IMFL segment forthe first half of the year 2019-20 was 29 per cent. Leaving outApril when the entire liquortrade was shut down underlockdown, the sales growth forthe period May to September

in 2020 was '-16 per cent' overthe same period last year," theCIABC said in a statement.

It noted that though thepan-India liquor sale hasimproved in the second quar-ter, it was the first quarter(April-June) which did themaximum damage. In the sec-ond quarter (July-September),sales improved over first quar-ter, rising up to 78 million cases(9 litres each) of IMFL whichwas 9 per cent below the sameperiod last year. Overall, salesrecovery in states that imposedno tax or came up with mar-ginal tax increases in light ofcorona pandemic was better.

The major states whichreported maximum drop insales in Q2 were AndhraPradesh (down 51 per cent),Chhattisgarh (40 per cent),West Bengal (down 22 percent) and Rajasthan (20 percent).

2�N��������������<7Q���0��&.��� ����������� ������������+�����

����� !�1��0�

Construction equipmentcompanies are smiling as

demand from core sectors likeroads, railways, irrigation,energy and other sectors fortheir products is picking up,said top officials of industrymajors.

Major industry players likeSchwing Stetter India and AjaxEngineering are expandingtheir capacities to cash in onthe impending surge indemand.

"It is smiling time for us.Business during Septemberand October was better thancorresponding period of 2019.Similarly, November business isalso looking good," VGSakthikumar, ManagingDirector, Schwing Stetter India,told IANS.

According to Sakthikumar,the machines of the rentalplayers have got deployed inprojects.

"The demand for con-struction equipment is pickingup for the past couple ofmonths and it is expected toaccelerate further owing to thedemand from sectors likeroads, railways, energy, irriga-tion and others," Jagadish Bhat,Managing Director and CEO,

Ajax Engineering, told IANS.Both Bhat and

Sakthikumar said tradeenquiries for their machineshave picked up.

"The demand is from high-ways, railways, metros, andsectors. Bulk of the proposed$1 trillion investment men-tioned in the NationalInfrastructure Pipeline willhappen next year,"Sakthikumar said.

The companies are hopingto close this fiscal with betterrevenues than what they hadexpected when the Covid-19pandemic lockdown happened.

"Last year, we closed witha turnover of about Rs 1,730crore. This year, we hope toclose with a business of Rs1,400-1,500 crore,"Sakthikumar said.

Schwing Stetter Indiamakes concrete mixers andother machinery used in con-struction works. It also sellsearthmoving equipment ofXCMG, China.

The Indian company is awholly-owned subsidiary ofGerman group Schwing Stetter.The German group is ownedby the Chinese XCMG group,which is ranked sixth globallyamong the construction equip-ment machinery makers.

;1���� ���� �$����������� ���D� ���$ ������������ ������

������� ������ !�"�# ���!$� ����&'�(%(%

.�����������!�#��%���������������������� ��������������������������%�$

���������������������������������$

R(���������������������������������������������������M��������������� �������������������������������%$������������������������������������� �����3�?���������������������&����������� ����������%3�?������������������$�������'� ���������*���������S�.��������$

.������������������,�*������������������������������$

����%�����������$#����(� �������������������������%�������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ��������������

���?�$(������������

������������������ �������������������������&������%$

R������������������!4D�,&57���� ��

�������� ������������������& �������%$�.����������%�����������%�����������&����������� �����������������%������������ %�������������������������� $��$�$�����&�������� %����S��%����������������&����$

.2���"�����������)��� (�.����������"�0��� �2� �%��!��*�%�������������A���

���� �%���%��(�)���������)�������� ��� ��)����!�2��)�����*��������%������ ���� ���������������� �������%������ �����(��%� A�B������������)�� �����������������!�%������ ����!�%��A�2!��� *���.������!���2�)�����)� �%� �� ��* *�����0A�,�����������"����� ��� ���!�%������� C��D+���"�<�%����

�� )����"� �����"�������(��������

""�����#�

�&���/�"%����������-%�-�;�(���!����������������������9������=�=��&��������� ������������ �����������������������������������*�������� ��$

-���-�����0?�%������������������������������� ��� �� �������������!���"�����������# ������������� �������*�������������� �������������������������*�&����������������%���$�

������ ��*������**����R���������������*�������&��&��&����� ��&��� �$S����������������0?�%������*������%�����������$,�������*����-���-'�����������*�����������������$�

(������������������������*������������$(����� �����������*%�0?�%�,���$

Artist Balaji Ponna doesn’tescape from reality, rather heengages with what he sees

and experiences around him. Hisexhibition — When Nothing GoesRight, Go Left — has a satirical slantabout it and Balaji, the graphicgenius, creates a series of water-colour on canvas that must go downin art history as a lesson in the lin-eage of exploring mixed media likesoot, indigo and pastels. The street,the landscape and the expression ofeveryday realities become a part ofhis canvas, layer upon layer.

"���!� �""� ����� ���$� �� ���

Political sub-texts andmainstream politics converge inhis works. He is skilled in the artof accommodation and linkspainted text-phrases with images.In fact the text frames themeaning and the subtext of thevisual images. The brevity andsimplicity of the imagery are keyin this regard.

A voracious reader, his work isinspired by two classical Germanphilosophers, Athur Schopaneurand Friedrich Wilhelm Nietsche.The far reaches of their writing thatembrace truth, morality, language,aesthetics, cultural theory, history,nihilism, power, consciousness andthe meaning of existence becomemilestones in the evolution ofBalaji’s own intellectual history.

Philosophy then becomes thebedrock on which his works evolve;knowing that his quietude is fash-ioned by India’s great thinkers, JKrishnamurti and Ramana

Maharshi, Srirangam Srinivas (SriSri) and chalam from Telugu writ-ers.

Balaji explains, “This series ofworks follows my continuingengagement with what may becalled ‘human-scapes’. It is also theoutcome of my concerns and com-ments about existing society. It is inmany ways the mirror of ourdystopian times. When hatred andtreachery become a norm, thehope for a better life fades into obliv-ion.”

His works engage with every-day idioms that are as pointed asthey are poetic and fantastic. Thesooty grey skies in his landscapessometimes have horses, sometimesjust remnants of human habitationand at other times a few humans asminiature models as in The WorldIs Flat. Balaji reimagines a motifcommon to the history of both indi-vidual and collective history. Thesuggestions of humans, the tinysculpted figures of the horses, theskulls, meant to serve as a means ofeither structural or metaphorical

moorings, all have a certain struc-ture and purpose.

�� ��$��"��##����For his part, Balaji stages an

intellectual aesthete’s intervention,liberating the landscape fromtraditional artifice. In his twoskull-related works, he talks aboutthe architects of time who want toconvey a far moreconservative/honest set of values.

Simultaneously historic andhumanoid, each landscape isunique, with an individualised tex-tural terrain. He uses soot forornamentation, and pastels for adulcet patination. Balaji’s embellish-ments take a great deal of inspira-tion from aerial views that he usesas his backdrop. The horizontal andvertical planes that coalesce alludeto earth songs murmuring throughthe planes of differential plates.Belonging to no one time or place,Balaji’s collective as well as single fig-ures are invariably stately, resilientand self-possessed. They announcetheir authority and autonomy even

though they are so miniscule. Theybring us a universe of new ideas andfresh perspectives.

�$����!� ��$�#� �������$�#�

What is clearly visible inBalaji’s work is a strong narrativeapproach along a quasi-surrealplane, with imagery formulating alanguage that seeks to create asatirical yet sensitive commentaryon the lifestyles, dogmas anddiscourses we are faced with ineveryday living. Tranquility andtension both combine in thecanvas in Branches forBirds…Sculptures for Streets. Thepainting is a symbolicrepresentation of objects with astrong narrative; the mention ofthe birds is a lamentation as wellas a satirical comment on urbanhistory.

“What I put across and sug-gest for all of us is to pick up thosesimple commonsensical markerswhich can lead us somewhere bet-ter. Like the shadow that followseven a visually impaired person,however, oblivious he is of thatfact. The effects of our inhumanand unconcerned deeds wouldfollow us everywhere to remind usof our impending doom,” saysBalaji.

This show constitutes one ofBalaji’s most important andremarkable bodies of work to date,the culmination of sustained artis-tic experimentation and rigorousresearch into the relationshipbetween power, culture and thedynamics of existence.

Amid the COVID-19 pan-demic, a new report revealed

that only two in 10 consumershave complete confidence thattheir food is safe to eat. ZebraTechnologies, a global leader inproviding solutions and servicesto enterprises, in the study ‘FoodSafety Supply Chain Vision’included approximately 4,957consumers and 462 food andbeverage industry decision-mak-ers in the manufacturing, trans-portation & logistics, retail andwholesale distribution markets inNorth America, Latin America,Asia-Pacific and Europe.

The report highlights theviews of consumers as well as thefood and beverage industry deci-sion-makers worldwide from

distribution and warehouses togrocery stores and restaurantsaround safety, traceability andtransparency.

Surveyed consumers report-ed their top food safety concernsto include restaurant kitchenand wait staff hygiene, foodborneoutbreaks, illness from contam-inated food and, food and bev-erage recalls.

“Findings from our studyshow that while the industry istaking measures to ensure amore transparent supply chain,more work needs to be done inorder to increase consumer con-fidence and improve food trace-ability,” Deep Agarwal, RegionalSales Director of India, ZebraTechnologies, said in a statement.

According to the report, onaverage less than 40 per cent offood and beverage industry deci-sion-makers place complete trustin the industry to ensure foodand beverage safety. Consumerscan be quite unforgiving if theyexperience a food incident asapproximately six in 10 report-edly would never eat at a restau-rant again if they contracted afoodborne illness or food poi-soning, the study said.

Slightly more than 80 percent of surveyed consumers saidcompanies have an importantrole to play in implementingfood safety solutions and ethicalresponsibility to ensure the safehandling of their food.

Most consumers (70 per

cent) said it is important to knowhow their food and ingredientsare manufactured, prepared andhandled, while 69 per centagreed knowing how their foodis sourced is also important.

The findings also showedthat almost seven in 10 decision-makers say the industry is pre-pared to manage food traceabil-ity and transparency, but only 35per cent of consumers agree.Furthermore, only 13 per cent ofconsumers felt the industry wasextremely prepared today tomanage food traceability and betransparent about how food trav-els through the supply chain,whereas 27 per cent of deci-sion-makers reported feelingthis way.

+<$,�+$�2@,4��%�<:����������������� ���*�������������������������������%��������%

Troubled Blood is J K Rowling’sfifth and latest thriller written

under the Robert Galbraith pseu-donym. It is also the first cold caseour detectives, Robin and Strike,pick up. A forty year cold case,which means every suspect iseither a grumpy senior citizen ordead.

Anyone who has read HarryPotter would readily agree thatRowling is a master storyteller.She can flesh out characters withease, giving them depth andcolour we never imagined possi-ble. And there’s an ease withwhich she uses language that isparticularly endearing. I have asoft corner for writers who can

employ importune and knackeredwith aplomb.

The story is wellset-up anddrawn out, chill-ing to boot, vivid-ly descriptive,transforming thereader more thanonce to a rainyevening in 1970sLondon. But all isn’thunky-dory in paradise.The book is 950 pageslong. That’s a size one canrelax with in a regency classicsavoured over tea and cookies. Ina murder mystery with a poten-tial serial killer angle, this leads to

feverishly sleepless nights.Galbraith would have donewell to go light on the “willthey won’t they” paralleltrack of Robin and Strike’s,potentially cutting down200 to 300 pages, whilestill retaining theessence of their chem-istry. Also, I suspectthat future novels inthis series will havemore than one mys-

tery to solve, with equal airtime. And that may be a sustain-able technique too.

You may remember the con-troversy surrounding the bookwhen it was released — about her

portrayal of cross dressers andtransgenders in poor light.Exaggeration would be a mildword to describe that hogwash. IfRowling is guilty of something, itis of bringing a gay/lesbian angleto one too many characters. Is shetrying to send a signal to theworld that she isn’t homophobic?Or is she trying to normalise herbooks with more inclusion anddiversity? One doesn’t know.

If you are a Galbraith fan, youwill pick this book up, my reviewnot withstanding. If you aren’t,you can still pick it up, for thesheer power of language. Butconsider yourself warned, youwon’t sleep easy for days to come!

/��� 4�2��3'��������������������"�������������������������*��������������%������������������ ������������ ��������������������%����������576:�2�����$�-����������'������%&���%���������������%���0D�(�0 �� 02�

� � � / 2 7 < � 2 � �

2����������������$����/��/

MIRROR OF OUR TIMES0������-020/���4��0'��+��*������M�$����%������&����'��� �&�(�)��M��������������������������������������������������������������������� ����������$�-%���0 �0�

������� ������ !�"�# ���!$� ����&'�(%(% ""�����)��������*�##

80%�7�)3��36��3193:'��;:+%�:��06�.07� '6%0<73+�3��'6%�7�=>�:';�%�3'%�1'613�'0�1'6�0:+��83�+�3>6'6%�4�:36?��53')%5

����� �?�������%���������������������������� ���%�����*������&��������� �%����������������������%������������������������������ �$

��� ��������*������%���+��� ������������%���*������������?������!���� ���������������� ������������������������ �����������������������������$

R(��������%���������������������������� �������������%�����������������������%��N�������*�������� �����������S����������%�����������!����T��!��������� �������������������������.���$

(������%�+� ����� ���������*��������������������������������������������&�����3�������&�������������"3�! �#���������������%������������" (��#$

3�! ������������*%� ���������������������������������������������������������������������� ��������������+��%������%����������*������������������*������%����������������$

������������������������ ������������+��������������������������������������

� �������������������������������N�����%��� ������*%��������������������������%����������������������������������$

���������%����*�����������?�������(��2���4�����%�����������������������%����������������������� ����*����� ������� �?����������� ������� �������+�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������%$

���� ���%����� ����������������������������*������������������� ���� ��������������������� ��+�����������%�� ���N��������������������������� ���������������������������$

R���������������*�������� ��������� ������������������������� ����%����������������������� �������������������������S���������������� �*���0���������� �����4!��.���)���������.$

������������ ����!���"#����$���#��#�#

�������������������������� ���,������ ���������������% ��� ��+������*%����������������

�������� ����������H ��M�������������������������������*� ������ ������%����������������$

(������%����*������������?����������� �����% �����J������������� ���������������� ���������� ���,������ ��������������������������������� �������������������������������� ������$

RD��� ���,����� ������������*�����������?���������� �������� ������������������� ��������������� �������S���������%������������ �����������������%���1�%��$

������������������������������������8>��������������������� ����%�������������������� ������������������������������������%����� ���,�������*����������������������������������5<����$

��"����%�&"#�%������!�#!�'�%��%&��%(��

,��������������������� ����������������������

*������������� ����� �����������������*���������� �*��������*���������������������������������"0�#�����������%�������$

)����������%����*�����������?��������111�0�������������� ������������������������������������%��������������������������������*������������������

�� �������������������%���$.�������������������������������������������������

������������*��������� *�������&�� �*������������������ ������������������������������������ �����*����������%�+����$

R(���������������������������������������������������������������*������������%������%�S����������%����������������!�� �� � ������ ������������%���.��������.����$

������!�����������(� �)���� ����������"��%���� �ADE�����F������

The current state of our society, characterisedby hundreds and thousands of big and small

problems, is that of an ailing society, which seemsto be dynamic and progressive from outside buthas become hollow because of negative traits likehatred, jealousy, anger, from inside.

The question therefore is that, what is themain cause or reason of its afflictions? A possi-ble answercould be thatthe problemsare of differentnature. Forinstance, thereis economic,political, social,ethnic, racial,communal andall sorts ofproblems and itis , therefore,dif f icult toname one ortwo causes ofthe present suf-ferings. Theanswer seems tobe correct but if we make a comprehensive listof the major global or national problems and clas-sify them under various heads, we will find thatthese problems are mainly due to five basic fac-tors. Take, for example, the problem of eve-teas-ing, rape, abduction — all of them are due to lust.The problems of obscenity in art, literature, cinefilms, cultural shows, etc, are also due to the samereason and the problem of overpopulation is alsodue to lack of control and less awareness.Likewise, anger is another factor that has led toa great social turmoil. Extremism, terrorism andviolence of all kinds are offshoots of anger.Similarly, economic exploitation, tax evasion,adulteration, smuggling, hoarding, black market-ing, corruption, bribery, are all due to greed, lustfor money or obsession for possessions.

Lastly, pride is the factor that leads to con-frontation, divisiveness, domination by a few peo-ple, prestige postures, etc. It leads to rivalry andrevengeful attitude. Delving deeper into the sub-ject will reveal that these five factors are the resultof the degeneration of love. Love is the inherentquality of every human soul but it may exist eitherin its pure or perverted form. If it exists in its pureform, everything is fine but if it not, then it bringsalong a lot of miseries. When it takes the formof desire for physical relations or dependence onemotional bonds, based on physical relationships,it is called attachment. If it manifests in the formof desire for money, and material possessions,then it is known as greed. If it becomes self cen-tered, then it comes up as selfishness.

‘Pure love’ is the only solution to all the prob-lems of the world as these are born from eitherthe absence of love or greed and attachment.Hence, the remedy for getting rid of all the prob-lems in the world lies in purification of love. Thisis what is called as self purification or self-changetoo. It is for this that one requires to learn andpractice meditation and inculcate divine quali-ties within self. Meditation is a practise thatenables one to stabilise and inculcate good qual-ities. It is, therefore, time that we understand thediagnosis of the ailments from which mankindpresently suffers and cures itself by purifying itsemotion of love.

In 2011, Panchayat Elections were heldin the then state (now a UnionTerritory) of Jammu and Kashmir

after a long gap of 33 years. The eventpromised hopes to the residents of J&Kwho were more than eager to participatein the democratic process of electingtheir local leaders. But the hopes diedwithin the next five years as the repre-sentatives of local self-government —sarpanches and panchs — felt demor-alised and saddened by their experienceas they demanded 73rd amendmentprior to the 2016 elections. It is impor-tant to note here that the 73rd amend-ment of the Panchayati Raj Act thatadvocates decentralised planning andoffers more powers to panchayats, is notapplicable in J&K. Now, a frontlineorganisation of elected panchayat mem-bers — The All Jammu and KashmirPanchayat Conference (AJKPC) — hasreiterated its demand for completeempowerment of Panchayati RajInstitutions (PRIs) in the Union Territoryby implementing this amendment inentirety.

The demand holds importancebecause Panchayati Raj Institutions(PRIs) will be able to function effective-ly and fulfill their responsibilities withthis devolution of power to Panchayats.However, at the same time, there is aneed to check the working of these localinstitutions that are responsible for exe-cution of all government schemes meantfor the upliftment of the rural commu-nities and have massive funds dedicat-ed to them.

In the border district of Poonch (250kilometers from Jammu city), villagersof the Bedar Panchayat in the MandiBlock are not happy with the wayPanchayat members are functioning.According to them, some representativesof their Panchayat are following corruptpractices while allocating benefits of gov-

ernment schemes to the public. They alsoshared a recent incident where an audioclip was circulated on social media inwhich the Deputy Sarpanch of BedarPanchayat was heard demanding a com-mission from one Abdul Rashid.

The brother of 55-year-old Rashidhad filed an application proving his eli-gibility for the Pradhan Mantri AwaasYojana Gramin (PMAYG), a governmenthousing scheme that aims to provide apucca house, with basic amenities, to allhouseless families and those families liv-ing in kutcha and dilapidated houses, by2022. The file was approved and aninstallment of �50,000 was also deposit-ed to the account of the beneficiary. Itis from this amount that the DeputySarpanch of Bedar Panchayat was founddemanding money from the beneficia-ries as a commission.

Soon the said audio recordingbetween the two parties went viralbringing the matter to the notice of theBlock Development Officer (BDO) andBlock Development Chairman (BDC) ofMandi tehsil. The two parties weresummoned to their office where apart

from a few dignitaries from the village,employees of the department stationed inBedar Panchayat were also present. Duringthe investigation, it was proved that theDeputy Sarpanch along with the SarpanchPanchayat was also involved in demand-ing money from the beneficiaries and thatthe employees of the department had norole to play in it. Although a thoroughinvestigation was conducted by the BDOto prove these charges but so far, no legalaction has been taken against the accused.

Incidences like these not only createa trust deficit between the public and theelected representatives but dilute theoverall objective of the social welfareschemes. 60-year-old Ghulam AhmedSheikh from the same Panchayat lives inone small room along with his wife andthree daughters. He works hard to sustainhis family but with his daughters growingup, it has become difficult for them tomanage in a single, dilapidated room thatleaks every time there is rainfall. With nomoney to build a house of his own.“Panchayat people did not include myname in the PMAYG list as they demand-ed a commission to register my name. If

I had so much money, I would have builtor repaired my existing room,” ruedGhulam as he talked about how he hasbeen deprived of what was rightfully his.

The Panchayat representatives adopta different route if their demands of com-mission are not met. Shah Mohammad,a resident of Ward No. 6 said thatalthough his name was in the list ofPMAYG, he never received any financialassistance. He was told that his accountnumber is wrong in the records. He spokewith the Panchayat members on severaloccasions and requested them to correctthe details but no one paid heed. Later, hedecided to meet the BDO who, on check-ing his application form, found that theaccount number in his file was correct. “Itproved that the Panchayat representativesare the ones who were trying to fill theircoffers by misleading poor people like me.There are many others who have beendeceived by their elected representatives,”shared a disappointed Shah.

A person from the Sarpanch’s familydisclosed that he has registered fournames from his own family in the list. Itis from the public funds that he is getting

a magnificent building ready for himselfclearly doing injustice to the vulnerablesections of the society.

When Mazhar Ali Jafri, the BDO,Mandi was contacted, he shared that peo-ple facing issues with the Panchayatshould contact their office directly as theywould like to support a more transparentprocess. He also assured that if anyemployee from his department is foundfollowing corrupt practices, strict actionwould be taken. After all these incidences,a few aware citizens have filed applicationsusing RTI to know exactly how muchmoney has been allocated for the schemeto this particular Panchayat and how it hasbeen utilised so far.

On one hand, there are efforts by thepeople demanding 73rd amendment forPanchayats in J&K and on the other, thereare such incidences which raise questionover the credibility of the whole system.It is about time that elected leaders at locallevel understand that it is not about hav-ing more power but utilising existingpower transparently and responsiblytowards the betterment of the people.

F0�������2�����

The advent of COVID-19 pan-demic has had a monumen-

tal impact in healthcare. Theimmediate and most directimpact has been the tremendoushuman toll of the virus. It hasaffected the nation’s healthcareinfrastructure, both public andprivate. The public healthcaresector has long been precarious-ly poised. Overburdened andunderstaffed, this outbreak hasstretched its resources to thebreaking point. Although theprivate sector fared relativelybetter, it too has been adverselyimpacted by the lockdown andsubsequent drop in footfall, thecosts of activating their epidem-ic plans and the halt in medicaltourism.

While there have been manydiscussions around the impact ofCOVID on healthcare as a whole,what is often neglected is the wayit has changed how couplesapproach pregnancy, along withtheir views on pre and post-natalcare. And as a practising obste-trician and gynecologist, I’ve hada first-hand view of how the coro-navirus has changed the pregnan-cy plans of thousands of couples.

The largest impact has beena drastic decrease in footfall toclinics and IVF centres across thecountry. According to fertilityexperts, there was a steep fall inthe number of patients seekingIVF treatment from 50,000 to

1,000 in a quarter from April toJune 2020. Many couples whofaced difficulty conceiving madethe decision to delay their visit.They were afraid to leave theirhomes unnecessarily and wereespecially anxious to avoid visit-ing medical centres. Instead, theychose to postpone their plans andwait out the situation.

This course of action is per-fectly understandable. Pregnancyis a scary, emotional and exhaust-ing undertaking for any family atthe best of times, never mind dur-ing a pandemic. Although thereis no recorded data of the verti-cal transmission of COVID,many mothers-to-be decided notto risk it at all. After all, there’s stilla great deal that we don’t under-stand about the virus, its trans-mission and its long-term impacton an individual’s health.

However, for couples whofaced difficulty in conceiving, thechallenges were even greater.Multiple visits to clinics, fre-quent tests and appointments

and the need to venture from thesafety of their own homes con-tributed to the dangers of theprocess. But as the year haspassed, many patients have cometo the realisation that the virus ishere to stay. This has forcedthem to look for safer, moreviable alternatives for what hasbecome the new normal.

One option that somepatients have turned to is telecon-sultation. This healthcare path-way is extremely useful in an ageof social distancing and allows theentire process – from appoint-ment to consultation to diagno-sis – to happen remotely. Thelong-awaited issuance of telemed-icine guidelines this April by theMinistry of Health and FamilyWelfare (MoHFW), in conjunc-tion with NITI Aayog and theMedical Council of India (MCI),has further boosted this method-ology.

But for those couples whoseek to overcome their troublesconceiving, a teleconsultation

isn’t enough. Instead, the safestand easiest option is the varioushome diagnostic devices cur-rently available on the market.

Home fertility monitors such asInito, are capable of performinglab-grade fertility diagnostic testsat home, increasing the chances

of getting pregnant by 89 per cent.These devices measure hormonesin a woman’s body and suggestthe best days to get pregnant.Inito, for example, also comeswith an app which is AI enabledthat helps in understanding thecycle variations of the user overtime and gives accurate results,unique to every individualwoman’s cycle. These deviceshave proved to be the best alter-native to lean on during these try-ing times. And couples’ trust inthese devices is evident in thenumbers. For Inito alone, thenumber of tests taken per con-sumer witnessed a surge ofaround 40 per cent during Aprilto September this year.

Although COVID poses var-ious challenges to would-be par-ents, patients who are deter-mined to have a child and havethe health, financial resources,and emotional resilience to seethe process till the end, shouldnot be deterred. We don’t knowhow long the virus will remain athreat or when a cure will bedeveloped. But by thoroughlyresearching the options avail-able to you, and with the help ofthe latest technological advance-ments, your dream pregnancymay be just around the corner.

(The writer is SeniorConsultant, Narayana HealthHospitals, Bommasandra,Bengaluru.)

+������$������$

������������������

��������*��%������������������ ��������������� ��������������� ������*%�����������*������%�% ��� ���!4D�,&57$

,����� �������*����������������*��������������� ����������������� ������������������$���� �������������������������� *����������%�������������� ��$

(������%����*������������/����������!������� ������%������ ��������%��������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������%�������������� ��������������������������*���������������������� ������������������������� $

.��&����������������������������������������*� ������� ��������������%�� 0/C43�- 0��0���0 �����/ /�

06�%�=:36%��@�+��>�3���4������������������������� ���5������������������5������DE��������������������������������������������� ������5��*���F$$, :@G$::<.

2$=2,<F

When is the right time?0��"�&->���������/��������������������������/������������,���������� ���� � ��� � �������"�2�����8�!���������� ����������� �/���� ���������������������8�(� �# :+�+�G+ )"#+�

F� ���� ;3������

E������-�)��� �3�!�*���

������� ������ !�"�# ���!$� ����&'�(%(%

��

MOTION PICTURE

DUGOUT *������) ��+���� 8����1��9���*� �������$ �#$���$+���� �3���������+�$��+*� #��$. ��$�� ������� ������36��1�� ���� �+� �� ��*��$��� ��*�

��#�+������ ������������,�$����$� ��$ ������ ������ ��,�$���84��$�93:���� ����� ��$���� �� +�������� ������) ��$���$���$ � �������� ����

;�+�������$! �+�$ ���� ���$����$. ��$��*�� �$�� ������$����)+���� ��� �����$ ����$�� �3�������+�+����+��!��$� ���8�����$����9�$ ����$�

�����!���������)���+�$ �+�$3;� � ��� �� +�!� )+�+�������$!� ��� �<=*� +��$�+ �� ��*�+�� ��$�$!�$�������$$���+������$ ����

�6/�B

&�������>?@=�������, ����

5�

�"��� �0 �.

Angel Di Maria scored twice asParis Saint-Germain made short

work of Rennes despite a raft ofabsences in a 3-0 win on Saturday thatenables the champions to hold ontotheir lead at the top of Ligue 1.

Di Maria struck in each half, withMoise Kean scoring the other, tomove PSG up to 24 points, fiveahead of second-placed Lille who lost2-3 against Brest on Sunday.

Rennes stay third on 18 points —but can be overtaken by Nice shouldthey beat Monaco on Sunday — whileMontpellier are a further point backin sixth after their 2-0 win atBordeaux.

PSG’s win was their eighth in arow in the French top flight and cameas under-fire coach Thomas Tuchelbattles with an injury crisis that hasleft him without the likes of Neymar,Kylian Mbappe and Marco Verratti.

Striker Mauro Icardi was also out,Marquinhos was moved back into thedefence following injury to centre-back Presnel Kimpembe, while PabloSarabia failed to overcome a musclestrain.

“I’m very happy, very proud. Itwas difficult to work at a starting XI,”said Tuchel.

“We showed great mentality, col-lective effort and solidarity. It’s a real-ly good win.”

�"��� 0�02���,�

Pakistan proved too strongfor a sloppy Zimbabwe as

they won the second T20International by eight wicketson Sunday, taking an unassail-

able 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

Riding on half centuriesfrom skipper Babar Azam (51)and 20-year-old Haider Ali (66not out), Pakistan made shortwork of a modest 135-run target,achieving victory with 29 balls tospare.

Zimbabwe, who were sent into bat, never recovered fromearly strikes by paceman HarisRauf (3/31) and spinner UsmanQadir (3/23) as they wererestricted to 134/7 in 20 overs.

Haider, playing only histhird international match,cracked three sixes and sixboundaries in a 43-ball knockand was declared player of thematch.

Azam, ranked second in theworld T20 batting rankings,

smashed eight fours and a six offjust 28 balls, the fastest of his 16T20I fifties.

Haider and Azam added100 for the second wicket, tak-ing away the game fromZimbabwe despite losing open-er Fakhar Zaman for just five inthe third over.

Zimbabwe fast bowlerBlessing Muzarabani took twowickets for 33 runs, includingAzam.

The last match of the seriesis scheduled for Tuesday, also inRawalpindi.

�"��� ,4 (���,

Robert Lewandowski scored his11th goal in just his sixth

Bundesliga game this season as BayernMunich went top of the table onSaturday with a 3-2 win at BorussiaDortmund.

“In the end, we deserved the winand such victories are doubly impor-tant for us,” said midfielder LeonGoretzka as Bayern saw off their rivals.

After Marco Reus had putDortmund ahead, David Alaba blast-ed home a free-kick to make it 1-1 athalf-time behind closed doors at SignalIduna Park.

Lewandowski gave Bayern thelead with a superb header early in thesecond half before Leroy Sane grabbedthe visitors’ third.

Erling Braut Haaland gaveDortmund hope with a late goal, butwas left to regret earlier misses.

“I have to score more goals, if wedon’t put our chances away at this level,then we won’t win,” said Haaland, whoconverted one of four shots on goal.

“They are the best team in theworld and we have to work harder totake the next step to be as good asthem”.

The 32-year-old Lewandowski

could have finished with a hat-trickagainst his former club after also hav-ing two goals disallowed by the VAR.

The win leaves Bayern two pointsclear of second-placed RB Leipzigwith Dortmund third, three pointsbehind Munich.

KIMMICH INJURYHowever the away win come at a

cost, as Bayern midfielder JoshuaKimmich had to be helped off in cleardistress with a first-half knee injury.

As reported by DAZN on Sunday,Kimmich could face up to threemonths out. Kicker report that the 25-year-old has torn his meniscus in hisknee and will require surgery, whichwould see him sidelined for aroundthree months.

�"� ��1.(�- 4���!�

Harry Kane fired Tottenham tothe top of the Premier League

as the striker’s late goal sealed a 1-0 win against struggling WestBromwich Albion on Sunday.

Jose Mourinho’s side knockedSouthampton out of first placethanks to Kane’s dramatic interven-tion at the Hawthorns.

His 150th Premier League goalwas perfectly timed after Tottenhamhad laboured to break down stub-born Albion.

Having scored his 200thTottenham goal in all competitionsagainst Ludogorets on Thursday,Kane now has 13 goals this season.

Tottenham are one point clearat the top, but they would bepassed later on Sunday by Leicesterif they beat Wolves, or Liverpool ifthey win at Manchester City.

Mourinho started with Kane,Gareth Bale and Son Heung-min inhis front three for the first time, andwhile the latter two were quiet, Kanewas on hand to clinch Tottenham’sthird successive league victory.

Tottenham are now unbeatenin their last seven league games butwere below their best for longperiods against a West Brom teamstill without a league win this term.

Mourinho has had a recenthabit of making social media poststhat take a swipe at his players whenthey under-perform, so it wouldhave been no surprise if theTottenham boss was thinking ofanother acerbic message until Kane

came to the rescue.Instead, Mourinho leapt

to his feet on the touchline tocelebrate a win that empha-sised Tottenham’s determinedattitude.

West Brom had suffered a pre-match blow when BranislavIvanovic and Matheus Pereira wereruled out after both tested positivefor the coronavirus.

NEW BOYS SHINEFrank Lampard believes

Chelsea are beginning to bearthe fruits from a summerof heavy investmentin the transfer marketafter a 4-1 win overSheffield United.

Despite a £220million transfersplurge, the Bluesdid not hit theground running asthey won just twoof their openingsix league gamesof the season.

However, theyhave now won fourin a row in all com-petitions with threeof the new sign-

ings, Ben Chilwell, ThiagoSilva and Timo Werner on thescoresheet on Saturday, whileanother Hakim Ziyech wonman-of-the-match for twoassists.

“The players we brought in, webrought in to improve,” saidLampard, who guided Chelsea tofourth in his first season in charge.

“People expect it to comeon day one. It’s not like that, it’sa work in progress. You saw alot of it today, there are greatsigns but we have to keep

going.”Sheffield United

remain rooted to thefoot of the table with-out a win this seasonand just like in defeatat Liverpool twoweeks ago, theyfailed to build on adream start fromDavid McGoldrick’sopener.

That was the firstgoal Mendy had con-

ceded in the PremierLeague and ended

Chelsea’s run of five straightclean sheets as Lampardhas focused on ending the

dreadful defensive record thatblighted his first season in charge.

Tammy Abraham had initiallybeen one of the casualties of thebacking Lampard was given in thetransfer market, but has won hisplace in the side in recent weekswith Werner moving out to the left.

The England internationalturned home Mateo Kovacic’s cut-back for his fourth goal of the sea-son to restore parity on 23 minutesand Chelsea never looked back.

Werner smashed against thecrossbar after Aaron Ramsdalecould only parry a dangerousZiyech free-kick.

However, Chris Wilder’s mendid not learn their lesson as fromanother Ziyech set-piece, Chilwellbundled the ball in off his hip.

Ramsdale turned anotherChilwell effort behind before half-time, but it seemed only a matter oftime until Chelsea killed the gameoff as they dominated the second-half. The hosts had to wait until 13minutes from time for the thirdwith Ziyech’s wicked free-kick deliv-ery again creating havoc.

This time the Moroccan pickedout Silva to flick home his firstChelsea goal.

Werner was then put throughon goal from Ziyech’s defence-splitting pass, but the German hitthe woodwork for the second timewhen his lob over Ramsdale cameback off the post. Moments later,Werner was not to be denied aneighth goal when he hammered theball past Ramsdale.

�"��� 4�1

Felipe Caicedo again rescuedLazio, scoring deep into injury

time to cancel out CristianoRonaldo’s early goal for Juventus ina 1-1 draw on Sunday.

Ronaldo had opened after quar-ter of an hour in Rome but second-half substitute Caicedo once againproved decisive firing in the equalis-er five minutes into injury time.

The 32-year-old Caicedo hadrescued his side in a 1-1 ChampionsLeague draw at Zenit SaintPetersburg during the week and alsoan injury time 4-3 winner againstTorino last weekend.

Juventus missed the chance tomove second behind Serie A lead-ers AC Milan, with the championsthree points behind their northernrivals who host Hellas Verona lateron Sunday.

Simone Inzaghi’s Lazio, current-ly embroiled in coronavirus chaos,are ninth, five points off the lead-

ers.Lazio lined out without

top striker Ciro Immobile,midfielder Lucas Leiva andgoalkeeper ThomasStrakosha, who remain incoronavirus isolation.

Lazio midfielder Luis Alberto

returned after recoveringfrom coronavirus with thehosts also boosted withdefender Stefan Radu backafter a month out injury.

Leonardo Bonucci, mak-ing his 400th start for

Juventus, proved decisive early

blocking Vedat Muriqi.But it was again Ronaldo who

proved decisive finishing off a JuanCuadrado cross after the Colombianshook off defenders Luis Albertoand Mohamed Fares.

Ronaldo, 35, scored his sixthgoal in four league games.

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic sent aheader wide for the hosts withJoaquin Correa also testingWojciech Szczesny.

Ronaldo had two chances for asecond in the first half, rattling thepost, with Pepe Reina tipping a free-kick over the bar.

But with Juventus looking incontrol, Ronaldo went off with 15minutes to go after taking a knockto his ankle.

And Caicedo, who had comeoff the bench nine minutes after thebreak, once again had the finalword.

The Ecudorian picked up aCorrea cross, swivelling to fire in theequaliser to hand Juventus theirfourth stalemate in seven leaguegames.

� ��� .�0 /0��

The momentum is with defending cham-pions Supernovas as they eye a third

straight Women’s T20 Challenge title, witha determined Trailblazers standing intheir way in the final here on Monday.

In the winners-take-all T20 final, theHarmanpreet Kaur-led side will havemomentum behind them, having beatenSmriti Mandhana and company in the lastround-robin game on Saturday.

Supernovas, champions in 2018 and2019, just about managed to ward off theirrivals in a last-over thriller.

The two-run victory enabled theSupernovas to enter the final, while knock-ing the Mithali-Raj led Velocity out of thecompetition.

For the defending champions, openerChamari Atapattu (111 runs) has been inbrilliant form. The Sri Lankan veteran isthe top scorer for Supernovas this season.Skipper Harmanpreet, who had scored twohalf-centuries including in the final lastyear, has been dismissed for 31 in both thematches and the big-hitting Indian T20captain will look to get back to herdestructive best in the final.

They will be up against Trailblazers,who started their campaign on a sensation-al note. Their bowlers, led by England’sSophie Ecclestone and veteran JhulanGoswami, bundled out the Velocity for apaltry 47. However, they were unable todish out a similar display on Saturday.

Skipper Mandhana, who has scored 39runs in two games, has had an under-whelming tournament and will be keen oncoming good with the bat.

The spinners are expected to play ahuge role and both sides boast of qualitytweakers.

While Trailblazers have the world No1 T20 bowler in left armspinner Ecclestone andRajeshwari Gayakwad,Supernovas are armedwith the services ofIndia’s star leg-spinnerPoonam Yadav andRadha Yadav,who will also bebrimming withc o n f i d e n c eafter bowling astel lar lastover onSaturday tohelp her sidereach thesummit clash.

In the paced e p a r t m e n t ,Trailblazers havethe experiencedJhulan Goswami,who has the abilityto turn the match onits head. For the theSupernovas, SouthAfrican AyabongaKhaka and WestIndies’ ShakeraSelman have donewell.

Having alreadyplayed in two finals,Supernovas know howto soak up the pressurewhich could be the bigdifference between thetwo sides.

� ��� 0-��,�0-�

In-form ShikharDhawan smashed 78off 49 balls to lead

Delhi Capitals to a chal-lenging 189 for threeagainst SunrisersHyderabad in the secondQualifier of the IndianPremier League here onSunday.

It turned out to be agood decision to bat firstas Dhawan and MarcusStoinis (38) got the teamoff to a flying start withtheir 86-run stand.

Skipper Shreyas Iyer(21) could not do muchbut Shimron Hetmyer,who was brought in forSunday’s match, chippedin with an unbeaten 42-run knock.

Dhawan, in his well-

paced innings, hit sixfours and two sixes. Headded 52 runs for thethird wicket withHetmyer before beingdismissed by seamerSandeep Sharma (1/30).

SRH’s sloppy fieldingalso helped DelhiCapitals as they droppedStoinis early in theinnings and gave them afew free runs. SRH alsodropped Dhawantowards the end, thoughit did not cost themmuch.

Yet again,Afghanistan spinnerRashid Khan (4-0-26-1)was the most effectivebowler though TNatarajan bowled well inslog overs.

Stoinis was asked toopen the innings by the

Delhi Capitals. Afterbeing dropped by JasonHolder off Sandeep atshort mid-on, theAustralian punished theSRH bowlers with a flur-ry of boundaries.

Stoinis, on three atthat time, was nicely setup by Sandeep but theopportunity was nottaken.

It was Holder, whowas then taken to task byStoinis, who creamed off18 runs from the WestIndian's over with threefours and a six.

Sandeep was initial-ly impeccable with hislength balls but driftedafterwards and was pun-ished by Dhawan.

In-came spinnerShabaz Nadeem to bowlthe last Powerplay over

Dhawan, Stoinis, Hetmyer fire DC to 189/3��$����)%� ���1�$��$����1�� �@����� /����� ����������+������/==

��������� Senior wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha’s sagaof picking up injuries continuedas he has been diagnosed with ahamstring tear which is sure toraise questions about his availabil-ity for the upcoming tour ofAustralia.

It will now depend on whatcall BCCI mandarins take consid-ering that physio Nitin Patel’smedical reports have of late comeunder scanner due to divergentviews of the IPL franchises.

Saha had stretched his groinwhile batting against DelhiCapitals in the second leg of theIPL but then played againstMumbai Indians in the 14th andfinal round game where he musthave picked up a tear whilefighting the earlier niggle.

“Wriddhiman Saha has ahamstring tear,” SRH skipperDavid Warner confirmed thenature of injury during the tossbefore Sunday’s Qualifier 2against Delhi Capitals.

However, the degree of thetear is still not clear.

It is understood that if Sahahas a grade 1 tear, which normal-ly takes four weeks of rest andrehabilitation, then he would beboarding the flight to Australiawith the first Test starting onDecember 17.

In case, he has a grade 2 tear,he will not be boarding the flightto Australia as he would need twomonths minimum to recover.

However, with two wicket-

keepers already in the squad(Rishabh Pant and SanjuSamson), India may not seek foranother stumper.

In order to shore up their bat-ting, India prefer Pant in overseasconditions and Saha in homeconditions where a better keep-er becomes necessity.

During MSK Prasad’s tenureas the chief selector, Andhra ladKona Bharat was considered as athird red-ball option behind Pantand Saha. PTI

�������������� �/���������$ ���@����H�����������(00"

and ended up leaking 14runs as DC reached 65 forno loss.

SRH skipper DavidWarner shuff led hisbowlers around, handingthe ball to Rashid andNatarajan. The Afghanspinner got them the

breakthrough with hiseighth ball by castlingStoinis.

Dhawan raised hisfifty with a six offNadeem.

Iyer struggled to timethe ball and was soon dis-missed by Holder.

4�#��������2�3����� 2� ��� � ��$$����2���&�����!�������*������������2�H����������/������

�������������/����&�� ����$�� ���

$�"�� �&���.��<�����������������������������4������������������������2�����������3����������������B"$

�*��������������������-�%��������,��� �������������

2�����'��������������$!�� ����$,������$� +�$

��� �0�� ������� ������������������� ������� ���,�#��� ��)������� �/��0� �� �/� " :!?=

2���+����$����������$���� ���� +

����������G������������� �/�������� �� I ������

���� �"�� ����������,�#�� ���������+� ����!�������������)������ �����$���������� ����� �����/���,� I ������