2 more Cong. MLAs quit in Karnataka - SPLessons

thursday, july 11, 2019 Delhi

City Edition

22 pages O ₹��10.00

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Rahul makes his

fi��rst visit to Amethi

after election defeat

3

Dutee Chand sprints

to 100m glory at

World Universiade

Page 19

Federer faces Nadal in

semifi��nals; Djokovic

meets Bautista Agut

Page 18

A World Cup semifi��nalspread over two days concluded with minutes thatstretched between agonyand ecstasy.

Under dull afternoonskies masked by lowslungclouds, India suff��ered an 18run defeat to New Zealand atOld Traff��ord here on Wednesday. The Men in Bluefailed to get past the WorldCup’s lastfour stage, like inthe previous edition at Australia in 2015.

Chasing New Zealand’s239 for eight, India stumbledright at the start, collapsingto 24 for four in 10 overs asseamers Trent Boult andMatt Henry (three for 37)bowled incisive spells. RohitSharma, Virat Kohli, K.L. Rahul and Dinesh Karthik fellquickly and the remainder ofthe clash was more abouthitching hopes on RavindraJadeja’s fi��ery 77 and his 116run seventhwicket partnership with M.S. Dhoni, whoscored 50.

It boiled down to 52 fromthe last fi��ve overs, but withBoult dismissing Jadeja andDhoni being run out, the miracle never happened, a de

feat became inevitable andIndia fi��nished at 221.

Finally, Kohli’s wordsfrom the postmatch pressconference lingered: “To go

out on 45 minutes of badcricket is heartbreaking.”

World Cup ends in agony for Kohli’s menLose to New Zealand by 18 runs, fail to cross the semifi��nal hurdle yet again

When the nation gasped: M.S. Dhoni gets run out during the World Cup semifi��nal betweenIndia and New Zealand at Old Traff��ord in Manchester on Wednesday. * AP

K.C. Vijaya Kumar

Manchester

HENRY SHATTERS INDIA’S

DREAM A PAGE 17

The Karnataka political crisis spilled over to thestreets of Mumbai with thedetention and later forceddeparture of Water Resources Minister and Congress troubleshooter D.K.Shivakumar, who had arrived in the fi��nancial capital to meet the 10 rebelCongressJD(S) legislatorson Wednesday morning.

Mr. Shivakumar was inMumbai to convince the rebel MLAs to return to theparty fold. The MLAs havesubmitted their resignations to the Speaker andmoved to Mumbai, allegedly at the behest of the BJP,threatening the stability ofthe CongressJD(S) coalition government.

As Mr. Shivakumar attempted to breach the police’s security blanket tomeet the legislators stayingin Hotel Renaissance, hewas held back and asked towait on the road oppositethe hotel by the Powai police led by ACP MilindKhetle.

He was eventually detained and taken to the Kalina campus of Mumbai University.

High drama aspolice detainMinister

Special correspondent

Mumbai/Bengaluru

CONTINUED ON A PAGE 12

The battle for power in Karnataka reached the SupremeCourt on Wednesday after 10Congress and Janata Dal(Secular) MLAs jointly accused the H.D. Kumaraswamyled coalition government of scams andmaladministration.

They also blamed Assembly Speaker K.R. Ramesh Kumar of delaying theacceptance of their resignations in a bid to prolong the

life of the rulingdispensation.

A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi isscheduled to hear the petition of the MLAs onThursday.

The MLAs said they werefed up with the maladministration and inner contradictions within the CongressJD(S) coalition. Their decisionto resign was as per theirconscience, they claimed.

Power tussle reaches SClegal correspondent

New Delhi


Political instability in Karnataka spilled over into neighbouring Goa on Wednesday,with twothirds (10 out of 15)of the Congress MLAs breaking away to merge with theruling BJP.

The group, led by Leaderof Opposition ChandrakantKavlekar, met AssemblySpeaker Rajesh Patnekar inthe evening and gave him aletter, informing him abouttheir split.

The MLAs include Atanasio Monserratte, Jeniff��erMonserratte, Francis Silveira, Philip Nery Rodrigues,Cleaofacio Dias, WilfredD’Sa and Nilkant Halarnkar.

Chief Minister PramodSawant, who was presentwhen the group reached theAssembly , said the 10 MLAshad merged with the BJP.

With the 10 MLAs changing sides, the strength of the

Congress in the House willbe down to just fi��ve MLAs.

The BJP’s strength in theAssembly has now gone upto 27. The Goa Forward Party has three MLAs while theNCP and the MGP have oneeach. There are three Independents.

To a question, Mr. Sawantsaid no new inductions inthe Cabinet were on thecards.

Mr. Kavlekar said he andother MLAs decided to jointhe BJP as developmentworks in their constituencies were suff��ering as theywere in the Opposition.

“We have seen Mr. Sawant’s working style. He isworking for the progress ofthe State. We decided to joinhands with him. Being inOpposition, our development works were also suffering,” he said. The MLAsjoined the BJP unconditionally, he claimed.

Party strength down to 5 in House

Another shocker: Goa CM Pramod Sawant greeting formerOpposition leader Chandrakant Kavlekar and other CongressMLAs in Porvorim on Wednesday. * ATISH POMBURFEKAR

10 Congress MLAsjoin BJP in Goa

Press Trust of India

Panaji

In a freak accident, RohitPandey, 22, a SpiceJet technician, died after he got stuck inthe hydraulic door fl��aps ofthe main landing gear of aQ400 aircraft he was attending to at the Kolkata airporton Wednesday.

The hydraulic doors “inadvertently” got closed, leavingPandey trapped there, SpiceJet said in a statement. Thelandinggear doors of theBombardier Q400 aircraft

had to be broken to rescuehim but he was declareddead, it said. The accidenthappened at 1.45 a.m.

A complaint of “unnaturaldeath” was fi��led at the Airport police station. A policeteam visited the accident

spot, an offi��cer said, addingthat forensic experts wouldnow collect evidence.

Aircraft maintenance engineers The Hindu spoke tosaid such an accident wasrare. “I have never heard ofsuch a thing in my 26year career. Either he did not followthe SOP or was instructedwrongly by a senior to get thework done quickly,” a seniorengineer said.

Hailing from suburbanMumbai, Pandey was thebreadwinner of the family.

SpiceJet technician dies infreak accident in Kolkata special correspondent

Kolkata

Rohit Pandey

A Bill that seeks to merge13 labour laws into onecode on occupational safety, health and workingconditions that would apply to all establishmentswith 10 or more workerswas approved by the UnionCabinet on Wednesday,paving the way for its introduction in Parliament.

The Code on Occupational Safety, Health andWorking Conditions Bill,2019, which would impact“40 crore unorganisedworkers”, was approved ata Cabinet meeting chairedby Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Information and

Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said.

The Bill was the secondof four proposed codesthat aim to merge 44 labour laws, with the Codeon Wages Bill, 2019 thatwas approved on July 3 being the fi��rst, Labour andEmployment Minister ofState (independent charge)Santosh Kumar Gangwarsaid.

Mr. Gangwar added thatthe Wages Bill, which covers minimum wages andother wage issues, wouldbe introduced in Parliament in “two or threedays”.

Worker safety code Billgets Cabinet approvalIt seeks to merge 13 labour laws

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI


The corridors of the VidhanaSoudha on Wednesday witnessed the unfolding of apolitical drama triggered bythe resignations of Congresslegislators K. Sudhakar(Chickballapur) and HousingMinister M.T.B. Nagaraj (Hoskote). It ended with theformer having to be escortedout by the Police Commissioner to the Raj Bhavan,amid trading of charges bythe Congress and the BJP.

On a day the BJP knockedon the doors of Governor Vajubhai Vala over Speaker Ramesh Kumar’s decision tohold an inquiry before accepting the resignations of 11CongressJD(S) legislators,Mr. Sudhakar and Mr. Nagaraj tendered their resignations.

Soon, theatrics beganwith KPCC president DineshGundu Rao, Social WelfareMinister Priyank Kharge andformer MLC Nazeer Ahmedblocking Mr. Sudhakar nearthe back entrance of the Vidhan Soudha and restraininghim from leaving. They tookhim into the chambers of Industries Minister K.J. Georgeto convince him to withdrawhis resignation.

BJP stages dharnaBJP leaders who had gotwind of this rushed to thespot and staged a dharna infront of the closed doors,urging the Congress leadersto let go of Mr. Sudhakar.Another team of leaders led

by BJP MLC Ravi Kumar approached the Speaker toseek his intervention. Theyalso fi��led a written complaintwith the Speaker’s offi��ce.

Mr. Ravi Kumar also accused the Congress of “taking away” ChikkodiSadalagalegislator and Congress whipGanesh Hukkeri, who alsomet the Speaker on Wednesday evening.

The situation becametense with the arrival offormer Chief Minister andCongress Legislature Partyleader Siddaramaiah.

2 more Cong. MLAs quit in KarnatakaAfter situation turns tense, one legislator is escorted by the Police Commissioner to Raj Bhavan


Bengaluru

Hopeful still: Karnataka Water Resources Minister D.K. Shivakumar, along with Congressleaders Murli Deora, left, and Sanjay Nirupam, right, waiting outside a Mumbai hotel wherethe rebel MLAs were put up, on Wednesday. * PRASHANT WAYDANDE


CMYK

Govt. fails to comply withNGT order, forfeits ₹��5 cr.NEW DELHI

The National Green Tribunal

has directed that

performance guarantee of

over ₹��5 crore deposited by

the Delhi government be

forfeited as it has failed to

comply with orders on two

separate matters pertaining

to pollution caused by dairies

and illegal banquet halls in

the city.

CITY A PAGE 3

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The making of Ganesha idols is on in full swing at a workshop in Parel, Mumbai. The torrentialrain last week had hampered the work for a brief period. Ganesha Chaturthi falls onSeptember 2. * ARUNANGSU ROY CHOWDHURY

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Warming up

Appointed CM onpopular demand: GehlotJAIPUR

In a surprise remark,

Rajasthan Chief Minister

Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday

said he was appointed to the

CM’s post for the third term

“on popular demand”, as

villagers across the State had

expressed their opinion in his

favour during the 2018

Assembly elections. He said

the then Congress president

Rahul Gandhi had selected

him in view of the strong

public sentiments.

NORTH A PAGE 5

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NEARBY

The government informedParliament that “no foreigngovernment or organisation has any locus standi”in repealing Article 370 inJ&K as matters relating tothe Constitution were internal and only for the Indian Parliament to dealwith.

While responding to aquestion on whether repeal of Articles 370 and35A will in any way violateany United Nations regulation or any internationalobligation of the country,Minister of State for HomeG. Kishan Reddy said,“Jammu and Kashmir is anintegral part of India. Matters relating to the Constitution of India are internaland entirely for the IndianParliament to deal with. Noforeign government or organisation has any locusstandi in the matter.”

India can repealArticle 370 atwill: Centre


New Delhi

DETAILS ON A PAGE 12

A ND-NDE

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DELHI THE HINDU

THURSDAY, JULY 11, 20192EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

CITY

The Delhi Cabinet on Wednesday approved an interdepartmental committee report on the Yamunafl��oodplain natural waterstorage project.

The Delhi government hasclaimed that the pilot projectis the fi��rst of its kind in thecountry and has the potential to end the city’s waterwoes. The project is expected to start in a month’s time.

In a statement, the Delhigovernment credited ChiefMinister Arvind Kejriwal’spersonal monitoring of theproject “on an hourly basis”for the possible implementation of the project during theongoing monsoon season.

The CM has given the Irrigation and Flood Department a month to make preparations for the pilot project,it added.

NGT approvals awaited“The project aims at conserving water in the Yamunafl��oodplains and creating amega reservoir between Palla and Wazirabad to dealwith water shortage in Delhi,particularly during summer,” the government said.

The project envisages thecreation of small ponds inthe fl��oodplains that willcatch water from an overfl��owing Yamuna during themonsoon, it said.

Most of the requisite approvals for the pilot projecthave been received barringtwo from the National GreenTribunal committees, whichare expected “very soon”.

“Soon after the Cabinetmeeting, Mr. Kejriwal calledup Union Jal Shakti MinisterGajendra Singh Shekhawat.The CM thanked the Minister

for the quick approvals forthe project by the Centre,”the statement read.

Land on lease“The pilot project has beenfastpaced due to hourlymonitoring by the CM. He

has been keenly pushing forthe project, which is going tobe a game changer for Delhi,” the statement added.

The interdepartmentalcommittee report has recommended that an amountof ₹��77,000 per acre per yearshould be paid to the farmers for leasing out their landfor the project.

“The farmers will get thesum according to the number of acres of land they givethe government on lease forthe pilot project,” the statement added.

Yamuna fl��oodplain waterstorage project on fast trackDelhi Cabinet approves interdepartmental committee report

Staff Reporter

New Delhi

The project aims at conserving water in the Yamuna fl��oodplains and creating a mega reservoirbetween Palla and Wazirabad to deal with water shortage in Delhi. * FILE PHOTO: SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA

<> [Progress] of the

pilot project has

been fast-paced

due to hourly

monitoring by the

Chief Minister

Government statement

Dundahera village residentSushma Devi had lost herphone somewhere in her village three months ago. Shereported the matter to thepolice, but there was no update for a long time.

However, she was surprised to get a call from thepolice recently saying thather phone had been recovered. Sushma was overjoyed when DCP (Headquarters) Sashank Kumar Sawanhanded over the mobile at afunction at Old CP offi��ce onWednesday. She was among100 people, mostly from Gurugram, who were handedover their lost phones.

In view of the inconve

nience caused to the mobilephone users due to the lossof their sets, Gurugram Police Commissioner Muhammad Akil had recently directed the police toimmediately lodge noncognisable off��ence report insuch cases and return it thephones to the owners afterfi��nding it with the help oftechnical surveillance.

Inafi��rstsuch instance,65 mobile phones were returned to their owners thispast month. Some of thosewere from outside Gurugram as well. Najafgarh’s Karambir had lost his phone inGurugram’s Sector 7 aroundtwo months ago. He did notexpect to get his phone backso easily.


GURUGRAM

Gurugram police returnlost cell phones to owners

An assistant subinspectorwith the Border SecurityForce (BSF) was arrested atthe Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport for allegedly stealing jewellery froma woman’s purse, the policesaid on Wednesday.

Acting swiftly, the policerecovered the entire stolenjewellery within 45 minutes.

The accused, identifi��ed asNaresh Kumar, is a residentof Haryana, currently postedin Siliguri as an ASI.

The police said, on July 9morning, a woman passenger arrived at the IGI Airportwith her husband to board afl��ight to Srinagar. After completing the security checkformalities with the airline,the couple reached Gate No.41 and were waiting forboarding.

Security staff�� alertedThe woman sat on a chairand kept her purse under it.She fell asleep, while herhusband was away. Whenshe woke up, she found herpurse, containing gold jewellery worth several lakhs,missing. After she failed tolocate the purse, she reported the matter to the security

personnel on the airportpremises.

DCP (Airport) Sanjay Bhatia said that a police team also reached the area after being alerted by the airportsecurity staff��. SubinspectorAjay Mishra with other teammembers promptly reactedto the situation as severalfl��ights were about to take off��and there were chances oflosing the suspect.

CCTV footage “After getting details fromthe woman passenger, thepolice team minutelyscanned the CCTV camerafootage to identify the suspect. In one footage, Kumar,sitting next to the woman,was seen taking away herpurse and moving to another side of the premises,” saidMr. Bhatia.

The suspect was traced in

other CCTV footages. It wasfound that he entered awashroom with the purseand a few minutes latercame out empty handed.“We recovered the pursefrom the washroom and gotclarity about the suspect.Other security personnel atthe airport were alerted. Thesuspect was nabbed justwhen he was about to boarda fl��ight to Siliguri,” said Mr.Bhatia.

He was arrested underIPC Section 379 (punishment for theft) against anFIR registered at PS IGI Airport. The stolen items wererecovered from his pocketduring frisking after whichhe was held, added Mr. Bhatia.

Kumar had come homeand was returning to resumework. Medical examinationconfi��rmed that the accusedwas drunk, said Mr. Bhatia.

Swift police action helps recover stolen jewellery from accused

STAFF REPORTER

NEW DELHI

Naresh Kumar

BSF man arrested for stealingwoman’s purse at IGI Airport

<> In one footage,

Kumar, sitting next

to the woman, was

seen taking away

her purse and

moving to another

side of the premises

Sanjay Bhatia

DCP (Airport)

AAP unhappy over EPCAreport on transportNEW DELHI

The AAP expressed

“disappointment” over the

latest EPCA report on the

augmentation of public

transport in Delhi asking how

was it willing to go with the

Centre’s proposal of

implementing only three

routes of Metro PhaseIV

despite the Delhi Cabinet

clearing all the six routes

proposed. The EPCA on

Monday had asked the SC to

allow work to begin on the

three ‘priority corridors’ so

that the city is not “deprived

of crucial public transport.”

IN BRIEF

The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) public hearing on Wednesdayturned into a political battleground with AAP and the BJPaccusing each other of hooliganism and violence duringits proceedings here.

Leader of the Oppositionin the Delhi Assembly, Vijender Gupta, said he had fi��led acomplaint at Lodhi Road police station against “AAPloyalists” since he was “forcibly prevented” from submitting his petition before theDERC.

AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj claimed, “Ifhe has any evidence in thematter, he should show it. Infact, we have proof that Devinder Kumar Sehrawat misbehaved with Rakhi Birlawhile Vijender Guptasnatched papers from herand tore it.” In a tweet, Mr.Bharadwaj claimed that BJPMLAs came very late at theDERC hearing but wanted tospeak fi��rst. AAP MLAs protested against BJP MLAs sit

ting in VIP area adding thatthey were not ready to sitwith the public.

‘Leader manhandled’“At DERC, it all started withDERC inviting @NitinTyagiAAP to speak( fi��rst somefi��rst serve basis). And @OPSharmaBJP interruptingMLA Nitin Tyagi. Then people asked BJP to reduce electric tariff��s in BJP ruled states[sic],” Mr. Bharadwaj tweeted. He also alleged that BJPMLAs used “fi��lthy languageagainst woman MLAs of theAAP”.

Mr. Gupta condemned the

“hooliganism of AAP MLAs,leaders and workers” at theDERC public hearing on tariff�� petitions alleging, “I wasforcibly prevented from submitting his petition beforeDERC. AAP MLA JarnailSingh went to the extent ofsnatching the petition frommy hands and tearing it intotwo pieces. BJP MLAs O.P.Sharma and Jagdish Pradhan, Mr. Sehrawat and AnilBajpai were manhandled.”He also claimed that his personal assistant was badlybeaten and his clothes weretorn.

“Representatives of va

rious RWAs were manhandled and maltreated. Theywere not allowed to presenttheir case in the public hearing,” the leader alleged. Mr.Gupta, in his petition to theDERC, demanded the AAPgovernment to roll back thefi��xed charges, Power Purchase Cost AdjustmentCharges, Surcharge and Pension Trust Surcharge.

Claiming that the Delhi government had increased thefi��xed charges on electricitybills by six times in just oneyear from ₹��20 to ₹��125 perconnection, he demandedthat the government compensates consumers.

Consumers complainSome consumers complained that they did not getenough time to put forththeir views due to the confrontation between representatives from AAP and theBJP. The DERC will analyseall suggestions and objections received during thehearing and consider itwhile determining new tariff��rates.

Accuse each other of hooliganism and violence during the meeting

Staff Reporter

New Delhi

AAP, BJP engage in spat at DERC hearing

BJP leaders address the media at the party offi��ce in NewDelhi on Wednesday. * SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA

The Opposition BJP questioned claims of “worldclass” infrastructure at Delhigovernmentadministeredschools after a ceiling fan fellon a student, injuring him,in Trilokpuri here onWednesday.

Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari accused the AAP government of having become“a government of scams”even as he questioned the silence of its leaders on the accident. “In one of the government schools, whichare claimed to be worldclass today, a ceiling fan fellon an innocent child in Trilokpuri. He is fi��ghting for hislife in GTB Hospital. The Kej

riwal government, whichhas committed corruptionon a largescale, is responsible for this incident,” Mr. Tiwari alleged.

“Today, a fan has fallen,tomorrow something elsemay fall on the children butthe Delhi government is notserious about their security...Education Minister Manish Sisodia should apologisefor this incident,” he said.

Funds allocationMr. Tiwari further attackedthe AAP government in relation to the funds allocated tothe education sector in comparison to those under theBJPruled civic bodies.

“Of the ₹��53,000crorebudget, the AAP has allotted

₹��12,460 crore to educationwhich is 23.51% of the total...There are 1,033 schoolsunder the Delhi government, whereas for the 743schools under the NorthCorporation, the Delhi government has allotted only1.46% from the budget,” Mr.Tiwari alleged.

“I want to ask the ChiefMinister...Are not the children studying in municipalschools the children of Delhi,” the leader said.

“We treat the entire worldas one family but Kejriwal’spolitics is of discrimination.Since the BJP is the rulingparty in the municipal corporations, the AAP government does not release fundsto them,” he alleged.

Attacks authorities after ceiling fan falls on student

Staff Reporter

New Delhi

BJP questions infrastructure ofDelhi governmentrun schools

The Delhi government haslaunched a crackdown onalleged bogus dealers registered under the GST andallegedly involved in issuing fake invoices, according to an offi��cial statementissued by it here onWednesday.

The move came afterDeputy Chief MinisterManish Sisodia directedthe Trade and Taxes Department to take the strictest possible action againstbogus dealers. In the statement, the departmentidentifi��ed around 56,000suspicious dealers on various risk parameters.

Delhi govt.cracks whip on‘bogus dealers’

Staff Reporter

New Delhi

The police on Wednesdayapprehended a 17yearoldboy in connection with themurder of a 43yearold senior auditor whose bodywas found murdered at hishouse in Jaitpur of southeast Delhi on July 7.

DCP (SouthEast) Chinmoy Biswal said that fourpersons, including the deceased’s wife and their son,were nabbed on Tuesday.

“We have detained a juvenile who helped the culprit in the murder,” said Mr.Biswal.

The juvenile disclosedthat the auditor’s wife andher son had assigned thetask to him and anotherman, Rishab, for ₹��1.25 lakh.The two were told that theywere going to kill the auditor’s brother who used tosexually assault his sisterinlaw. They did not know thatthe victim was actually thehusband of the woman.

‘No remorse’“The deceased’s son saidthat his father never lovedhim. He [father] neverbrought any gift for him andalways demeaned his moth

er in front of other familymembers,” said a police offi��cer.

The accused mothersonsaid they had no remorse asthey swere fed up with thebehaviour of the auditor.

The police said that theauditor was stabbed aroundsix times on back and neck.

On July 5 night, themotherson called the duoto their house and askedthem to hide on the terrace.The victim returned around11.30 p.m. and was drunk.He slept without having dinner. Around 2.30 a.m., theaccused killed the victim.

He had helped the murderer in carrying out the crime

STAFF REPORTER

NEW DELHI

Juvenile held in auditor murder case

Three men were arrested for allegedly stealing bags from the car ofan Uttar Pradesh BJP MLA. Thevehicle was parked on the premises of a private hospital in southeast Delhi, the police said on Wednesday.

The accused — Gurvayurappan(36), Prasath (26) and P. Surender(25) — all from Trichy in Tamil Nadu, are currently residing in Madangir area and are members of“notephenk” gang, the policesaid.

Lured driversAccording to the police, on Monday around 5 p.m., the accused lifted three bags from the car of HariShankar Manohar, the BJP MLA

from Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras. The accused lured the driver,

who was alone in the car, by throwing notes of ₹��10 and ₹��20 on theroad. When the driver came out topick up the notes, the accused’s accomplice managed to lift three luggage bags from the car.

A complaint was fi��led by the Legislator’s personal assistant RajeshKumar Singh on Tuesday.

The accused revealed that theyworked for Murugan and Govindan. Both of them used to lure alcohol addicts and unemployedyouths from Tamil Nadu and bringthem to Delhi. They trained youthsto steal bags from vehicles, theDCP said. Two Apple MacBook,₹��18,000 cash, foreign currencynotes and one countrymade pistolwere seized, the police said.

STAFF REPORTER

NEW DELHI

3 members of gang heldfor stealing U.P. MLA’s bags

Talk:Discussion on “U.S. - Iran ten-sion and India’s stake therein”.Speakers: T.N.R. Rao, formerly,Secretary (Petroleum); Prof. K.P.Vijalakshmi, Professor, Centre forCanadian, US and Latin AmericanStudies, JNU; Dr. Gulshan Dietl,former Professor, Centre for WestAsian Studies, JNU; and Dr. JohnCherian, Foreign Editor, Frontline.Chair: Ambassador K.P. Fabian atConference Room – I, India Interna-tional Centre (IIC), 6.30 p.m.

Exhibition: “Vriksha”, an exhibi-tion featuring the work of 30 artistscelebrating the eternal power oftrees – painting, photographs,drawings, sculptures and ceramics,curated by Uma Nair at Main ArtGallery, Kamaladevi Complex, IIC,11 a.m.-7 p.m.

Exhibition: “Journey of Life”, adrawings show by Arunkumar Chat-terjee at Art Gallery, IIC Annexe, IIC,11 a.m.

Exhibition: "A traveller in abstractuniverse" Solo painting show byYashvant Singh at Triveni KalaSangam, 205, Tansen Marg, 11a.m.-8 p.m.

(Mail your listings for this column [email protected])

DELHI TODAY

AAP MLA Prakash Jarwal onWednesday alleged thatthree shots were fi��red at himduring an event in south Delhi’s Shani Bazaar on Sunday.

The police have deniedthe claim. A police offi��cersaid that a PCR call was received regarding the fi��ring at

the AAP MLA in Sangam Vihar. “We verifi��ed the claimsof fi��ring from several peoplewho were at the event, butall of them refused to verifythe fact. We have checkedCCTV footages also but nothing was found. The matter isunder investigation,” the offi��cer added.

Mr. Jarwal, however, in

sisted that he was shot at.The MLA added that afterverbally informing the police, he fi��led a complaint atNeb Sarai police station.

The legislator claimedthat he was shot at by an illegal alcohol distributor whohad been chasing him for thepast three days. Mr. Jarwal alleged that despite asking for

police security, no actionwas taken. “My life is in danger. I was attacked on Sunday after which I informedpolice, but nothing wasdone,” he said.

In the police complaint,Mr. Jarwal said an AAP worker also got death threats bythe same person over thephone.

Prakash Jarwal fi��les formal complaint; says his life is in danger

STAFF REPORTER

NEW DELHI

I was shot at during event, claims AAP legislator


THE HINDU DELHI

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CITY

The National Green Tribunalhas directed that performance guarantee of over ₹��5crore deposited by the Delhigovernment be forfeited as ithas failed to comply with orders on two separate matters pertaining to pollutioncaused by dairies and illegalbanquet halls in the city.

A Bench headed by NGTChairperson Justice AdarshKumar Goel further directedthat performance guaranteeof ₹��10 lakh each imposed onthe three civic bodies also beforfeited as the municipalities have failed to check pollution from dairies.

‘Avoiding responsibilities’Coming down heavily on theDelhi Pollution ControlCommittee (DPCC), theBench said: “Despite observations in the earlier orderas well as repeated orders ina large number of cases, theDPCC seems to be avoidingits statutory responsibilities… and to cover up theirinaction, is passing the orderof imposition of fi��nes on other statutory bodies, without

any jurisdiction.”“While the DPCC may

take action on ‘polluterpays’ principle against polluting activities of any statutory body, it has no authority to recover compensationfor alleged inaction by suchstatutory authorities,” theBench stated.

Noting that a report furnished by the Delhi government on the action takenagainst illegal banquets andrestaurants operating in Mahipalpur was “not exhaustive”, the green panel stated:“There is no comprehensivereport about compliance of

waste management rules. Itis pertinent to note that theproblem of solid waste management in Delhi is assuming serious proportions dueto increasing population.”

“No compensation isshown to have been assessed for the illegal withdrawal of groundwater forswimming pools, except saying that unlicensed poolswere closed or that a reportabout illegal borewells wassent,” the Bench noted.

The observations cameon a plea seeking remedialaction against illegal banquets that are allegedly causing air pollution in southwest Delhi.

“The policy for enforcement of environment normsfor places where social gathering takes place is necessary on account of there already being a high level ofair pollution. Such gatherings should not result infurther deterioration of thesituation,” said the NGT.

In both cases, the NGThas warned of “appropriatecoercive measures” againstauthorities if the orders arenot complied with.

Govt. fails to comply withNGT order, forfeits ₹��5 cr.‘Did not enforce green norms on illegal banquet halls, eateries’

Shinjini Ghosh

New Delhi

A plea in the NGT hascontended that illegalestablishments are causingair pollution in Mahipalpur.

Following a plea alleging unscientifi��c dumping of garbage in Sonipat, the NationalGreen Tribunal has directedthe Haryana Chief Secretaryto advance the timeline forestablishment of a wastetoenergy plant.

Directing authorities tofurnish another report pertaining to the allegationsmade in the plea, a Bench

headed by NGT ChairpersonJustice Adarsh Kumar Goelsaid: “We direct the HaryanaChief Secretary to take remedial steps so that the timelineof December 2021 for awastetoenergy plant is appropriately preponed.”

Referring to an earlier order passed by the tribunal,the Bench also directed theCentre and the Central Pollution Control Board (CBCP) toissue guidelines at the State

waste,” the Bench said.The Ministry was directed

to furnish the report withintwo months.

The directions came on aplea, which alleged that airpollution was being causeddue to unscientifi��c dumpingof garbage, and was aff��ectingpublic health.

Earlier, the NGT hadsought a report from the Haryana State Pollution ControlBoard and the civic body.

level. “We direct the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs to take initiative, in consultation with the CPCB andother experts, for specifyinga mechanism to engage theservice providers and indicate range of rates that mayobviate the need for anytimeconsuming process.Service providers may beidentifi��ed for waste collection, transportation, processing and disposal of

‘Advance timeline for wastetoenergy plant’ NGT order comes on plea alleging unscientifi��c dumping of garbage in Sonipat

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI

Sixty foreign nationalswere detained on Wednesday during police searchesin Greater Noida. Theywere allegedly found to bestaying in the country without valid travel documents.

Almost all of those heldare from eight Africancountries, including Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Ivory Coast and Angola. Twentyeight of themare women, said the police.

“Sixty foreigners stayingin Greater Noida on invalidor forged documents, andthose suspected to havelinks with drug traffi��cking,were detained on Wednesday,” said Gautam BuddhNagar Senior Superintendent of Police VaibhavKrishna.

Inspections were conducted at four housing societies in Greater Noida’s Pi1, Beta 2 and Dadri.

The searches began at 5a.m. under the 10th editionof ‘Operation Clean’, a special initiative of the districtpolice, and continued till 8a.m., said the police.

During the inspections,3.5 kg of cannabis, six laptops and 114 SIM cards wereseized.

60 foreignersdetained inGreater Noida


Noida

CMYK

A ND-NDE

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DELHI THE HINDU


Final ‘divinity’ trials for admissions to a few minoritycolleges of Delhi Universityheld on Wednesday saw students trying their luck byputting up the best musicalperformance and answeringquestions on the “impact ofSikhism”.

According to the university guidelines, to qualify forthe divinity quota, introduced in 2017, candidateshave to be thorough aboutthe “elemental aspects” ofSikhism as well as its culturalaspects. The trials held at Kamala Nehru College werejudged by a university observer, a convener and threeprofessors.

17 in fi��nal roundWhile 17 candidates were selected for the fi��nal round ofdivinity trials, only 14 turnedup on Wednesday morning.Participants are judgedbased on performance of religious musical rendition andvivavoce, that was given 75%weightage. For the remaining 25%, they have to submitcertifi��cates.

“Students are being assessed on the basis of theircalibre, creativity and intellectual capability. After their

performance, they wereasked questions to test theirtechnical knowledge of music and Sikhism,” said ShuliChaudhary, who was coordinating the trials.

Vivavoce roundWhen asked what kind ofquestions were thrown atthem during the vivavoceround, some candidates saidthat they were simply askedto leave after their performance. But a few otherswere asked about the Sikhcode of conduct, impact ofSikhism on the world, teachings of Sri Guru Granth Sahiband some technical questions regarding their artform.

Shruti, a BA Psychology(Honours) aspirant at Mata

Sundri College said, “I havebeen preparing the ‘Sorath’raag for a while now and Ifeel confi��dent about my result.”

Prabhjot Singh, anotherparticipant who aspires tostudy B.Com (Honours) at SriGuru Gobind Singh Collegeof Commerce, said his trialswent well and he played arendition of ‘Malhar’.

But for some students, divinity was the last route toget admission in Delhi University. “I had no other option to get into the Delhi University except the divinitytrials which they conduct. Ilove to play instrumentsthough I am not so keen onthe ideology of Sikhism,”said a participant who didnot wish to be named.

Aspirants judged on musical rendition, viva performance

Saurav Sinha

New Delhi

Students try their luck in ‘divinity trials’

The trials held at Kamala Nehru College were judged by auniversity observer, a convener and three professors.

* FILE PHOTO: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

On the fi��rst day of admissions at Ambedkar University, several students turnedup at the Kashmere Gatecampus on Wednesday. Butfor many, enrolling at theuniversity is an alternativeas they wait for the next Delhi University cutoff��s.

Sarthak Mishra, whoscored 82% in his board exams and took admission inB.A. Economics (Honours)at the Ambedkar University(AUD) said, “I wanted to getinto a North Campus collegeunder Delhi University, butI did not get through as thecutoff��s were high. So fornow, I am enrolling myselfat AUD. But I am hoping thatthe DU cutoff��s will decrease so that I can take admission there.”

“There is a lot to explorein DU as the university hasbetter options,” Mr. Mishraadded.

Leftout studentsNot securing a berth inNorth campus of DU isanother reason why someare choosing to exploreAUD. Sujeet, who scored

87% in his board exams, hadtaken admission in B.scMaths (Honours) at Pannalal Girdharlal Dayanand AngloVedic (PGDAV) college.

Student politicsStudent politics is anotherpull. Jaya Jha, who took admission in B.A. Sociology(Honours) at AUD, said thatshe wanted to be a “studentpolitician” but was disappointed with the campus.However, she is not willingto dump her dream. Shesaid that she would contest

elections there. “In DelhiUniversity, students aremore aware about the elections as it started in 1954and have a long history ascompared to Ambedkar University where electionsstarted just a year ago”, sheadded.

AUD reserves 85% of itsseats for students from theNational Capital Territory.

The last date for admissions at AUD is Thursdayand the next Delhi University cutoff�� list will be released on Friday.

Ambedkar University abackup option for manyStudents wait for next DU cutoff��s to switch university

Nidhi Mishra

NEW DELHI

AUD reserves 85% of its seats for students from Delhi.* FILE PHOTO: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

Kejriwal may inaugurateRTR fl��yover next week NEW DELHI

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal

is likely to inaugurate the Rao

Tula Ram flyover on July 16.

The flyover is expected to

make commute from south

Delhi and Noida towards IGI

Airport hassle-free.

Construction on the 2.7-km-

long flyover, which branches

out of the Munirka flyover,

started in 2014.

IN BRIEF

MLA acquitted in case ofmisbehaviour with copNEW DELHI

A city court on Wednesday

acquitted AAP MLA Sarita

Singh in a case of alleged

misbehaviour with a Delhi

police officer in 2015. The

court noted that Delhi Police,

failed to probe the case

against her. PTI

Missing woman traced to Bengaluru GHAZIABAD

A woman who went missing

after leaving a note has been

traced to Bengaluru, the

police said on Wednesday.

She was presumed dead after

her car with the note was

found near Hindon barrage on

July 6. PTI

Nearly 4,000 studentshave cancelled their admissions to Delhi University’scolleges after the release ofthe third cutoff�� onMonday.

So far, a total of 50,989students had taken admission at the college and upto 4,061 cancellations hadtaken place in the last twodays alone, a university offi��cial said. They also saidthat 1,165 admission withdrawals had taken placesince the start of admissions.

This year, there areabout 63,000 seats up forgrab at DU under variouscategories. However, a majority of the students admitted have been underthe unreserved categorywhile only about 3% students have been admittedunder the EWS and ST categories. Admissions underthe third list will go on tillThursday.

The fourth cutoff�� list isscheduled to be releasedon July 15.

Nearly 4,000cancellationsafter third list

Staff Reporter

New Delhi

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday dismissed a petitionopposing the city government’s proposal to make metro ride free for women. TheHigh Court noted that it is forthe government to decide ongiving concession to a particular class.

A Bench of Chief JusticeD.N. Patel and Justice C. HariShankar while dismissing thepetition imposed a cost of₹��10,000 on the petitioner. TheHC also rejected petitioner’splea to reduce fares and tomake 15 slabs of the ticketprice instead of existing six.

“Fixation of fares is a statutory function and the processof fi��xation is complex whichinvolves consideration of several factors, including cost. Allthese factors cannot be determined in a PIL (public interestlitigation),” the Bench said.

The High Court said advocate Bipin Bihari Singh, the petitioner, failed to point out anyillegality in fi��xation of fares.

Regarding the plea that Delhi government be directed notto take any step to make metro

ride free for women, the courtobserved that though this pleahas been made, it has not beenargued by the petitioner.

The Bench said it was leftopen for the authorities to giveor not to give any concession toa particular class in metro ridefares.

Delhi government Additional Standing Counsel SanjoyGhosh said that the plea waspremature as currently no suchexemption has been given tothe women to travel in the metro and the proposal is still under consideration.

Mr. Singh, in his petition,challenged the proposal of Delhi government to make metroride free for women sayingsuch a move would create a parallel arbitrary discriminationagainst other poorer sections ofthe society.

HC dismisses plea againstfree metro ride for womenCourt imposes ₹��10,000 as cost on petitioner

Staff Reporter

New Delhi

A Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) delegation called onLieutenantGovernor AnilBaijal here on Wednesdayurging him for “immediateredressal” of issues beingfaced by residents of theGroup Housing Societies.

There are an estimated1,200 societies in the Capital housing over 10 lakhresidents. Arguing that societies such as these werein “urgent need of redevelopment”, the delegation,which consisted of BJP Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Goeland West Delhi MP Parvesh Verma, announcedthat they would soon holda “Mahasammelan” forGroup Housing Societies.

The delegation submitted a memorandum to theLieutenantGovernor toaddress the issues

immediately.In a statement, Mr. Goel

said that the developmentof Group Housing Societies in the city had begunin 1980 and its conditionhad become “deplorable”in the last forty years.

‘Houses in shambles’“These societies are in urgent need of redevelopment and it can be done asper the Master Plan of Del

hi2021. But strong decisions are expected fromthe government so thatthese colonies do not faceissues of parking, community services, and other basic amenities postredevelopment. Today lakhsof houses are in shambles,” the statement saidfurther.

Meanwhile, Mr. Goel announced that Delhi’s “fi��rstMahasammelan for GroupHousing Societies” wouldbe held at the TalkatoraStadium on Sunday. Besides addressing the “hostof issues” facing the GroupHousing Societies in Delhi,the Mahasammelan wouldalso feature an open discussion on the Union Budget 2019.

LG to hold meetingsThe statement said, fol

lowing the meeting withMr. Baijal, it had been decided that the LG wouldhold meetings with theMPs and offi��cebearers ofthe Federations of theGroup Housing Societies.

“The societies demandseparate water connections to the fl��ats instead ofsingle connection to theentire society. Besides, theissue of appointment ofauditors by the Registrarof the Group Housing Societies too should be addressed,” Mr. Goel said.

“This is for the fi��rst timesuch an event shall be heldpostindependence. TheMahasammelan would also feature the discussionon the failures of the Kejriwal government on several fronts, including pollution, electricity, water,traffi��c jams and healthcare,” Mr. Goel added.

Redress issues in housing societies, LG urged

BJP delegation calls on Baijal; to hold ‘Mahasammelan’ on the issue

Anil Baijal

Staff Reporter

New Delhi

Thousands of applicants ofthe Delhi DevelopmentAuthority’s 2017 housingscheme surrendered theirfl��ats after allotment, withsome citing dislike of the location and the size of thehomes as the reason, UnionHousing and Urban Aff��airsMinister of State (Independent charge) Hardeep SinghPuri told the Rajya Sabha onWednesday.

In response to a questionby Amar Singh, Mr. Puri informed the House that ofthe 12,617 fl��ats off��ered by theDDA in the 2017 scheme,4,711 fl��ats were surrenderedwithin 45 days of the drawof lots held in Novemberthat year.

“In majority of cases, theapplicants have not provid

ed any specifi��c reasons forsurrender. However, someof the reasons as reportedare that applicants did notlike the location of the allotted fl��ats and that the size ofthe allotted fl��ats was small,”the reply stated.

In order to address the issues, the DDA had takensome corrective steps, including starting a free shuttle bus service from thenearest bus terminal andMetro station at Narela, Siraspur and Rohini Sector 34and 35 starting in December2018 for the residents. In addition, DDA had allotted 23shops for daily needs toNAFED at Dwarka Sector23B, Rohini Sector34and Narela G2 and G8. Ithad also handed over portacabins to Mother Dairy andSafal for outlets at Narela.

DDA fl��ats surrendereddue to location, size: Puri 4,711 returned within days of draw of lots


NEW DELHI

Dust envelops Rajpath on a hot and humid Wednesday afternoon. The maximum temperaturewas recorded at 37.2 degrees Celsius, while the minimum temperature settled at 28.2degrees Celsius, both a notch above normal. * SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA



Dust screen

Online Right to Information (RTI) applications tothe East Delhi MunicipalCorporation (EDMC) cannow be fi��led and trackedthrough the Delhi government’s online portal, offi��cials said on Wednesday.The online service remained defunct for yearsand the EDMC has reopened it to make it easy forthe applicants to get information at a mouse click.

An online RTI portal wasstarted by the unifi��ed municipal corporation of Delhiin 2011. But it stoppedworking after the trifurcation of the MCD. In place ofthe portal, the page to submit the RTI application onwebsites of all three corporations has the message“submission of online RTIapplication has been sus

pended due to updation ofsoftware”.

The Hindu had earlierreported that the Northand South bodies were approached by the Delhi government to reopen theportal, but did not take upthe off��er over questions ofsharing the ₹��10 applicationfee. The two corporationsare yet to fi��x their RTIportals.

Commissioner, VarshaJoshi, currently inchargeof both the civic bodies,did not respond to messages in this regard. Earlierthis month, she had tweeted that the issue would befi��xed in six months time.

Routing applicationsA senior offi��cial of theEDMC said that the corporation had been workingwith the Delhi governmentfor the last three to four

months to set up a systemto route online RTI applications through the government portal.

While RTI applicationswere earlier physically sentto the municipal corporation, the delays in transferof fi��les slowed down theprocess and aff��ected thoseapplying for information,the offi��cial said. To put anend to this, the PIO and theappellate authorities of alldepartments have been given unique login IDs to directly access the Delhi government portal, trackreplies and send statusreports.

Though the EDMCs website still carries the software updation message,the offi��cial said that itwould soon be linked tothe Delhi government portal and people can fi��le theirRTI queries there.

Now, fi��le and track RTIs toEast corporation onlineNorth and South civic body yet to reopen portal

Sidharth Ravi

New Delhi

Retired Supreme Courtjudge Justice Madam B. Lokur on Wednesday said therewas lack of implementationof laws and court orders forthe realisation of right tosanitation for all in thecountry.

Speaking at the launch ofa book titled ‘Right to Sanitation in India: Critical Per

spectives’ at India International Centre here, JusticeLokur said an area that needed to be looked at when sanitation is concerned, wasprosecution aspect of thelaw.

“The laws provide for thebureaucrats, the executive todo some things. If they donot do it, what happens? Theperson goes to court, that iswhat public interest litiga

tion is about. But how aboutprosecuting people who arenot doing their jobs? Can weprosecute them? If we can,they why aren’t we doing it?”Justice Lokur said.

The other issue that Justice Lokur highlighted wasthe lack of implementationof laws. “You may have goodlaws, Supreme Court judgments, but if the governmentdoes not implement it, what

are the citizens or a manualscavenger supposed to do?”he said.

The book highlights keyissues concerning the realisation of the right to sanitation for all, the scope of theright, its links with otherrights, such as health, gender equality and environment and issues of specifi��crelevance in Indian context,such as manual scavenging.

‘Right to sanitation lacks implementation of laws’Staff Reporter

New Delhi

Delhi girl Isha Kanth isone of the two persons inthe world to have baggedan internship programmeat the International Courtof Justice based in Hague.

Ms. Kanth, who is currently pursuing a bache

lor degree in Law fromQueen Mary University ofLondon, has earlierworked in rural Biharspreading awareness onthe right to education andwomen empowermentamong children belonging to the marginalisedsections.

Delhi girl bags ICJinternship programmeStaff Reporter

NEW DELHI

An Uttar Pradesh Ministeron Wednesday said bus drivers should “take a nap orpractise vajrasana” following a heavy meal to avoiddozing off�� at the wheel. Theadvice came following a busaccident on the Yamuna Expressway on Monday inwhich 29 people were killed.

U.P. Transport MinisterSwatantra Dev Singh said at apress conference here thatan inquiry committee reportinto the Expressway accident on Monday has suggest

ed that the driver fell asleep.The inquiry committee

constituted by Chief MinisterYogi Adityanath was asked tosubmit its report to the Stategovernment within 24hours.

The Minister said he gotthe “vajrasana tip”, a basicsitting posture in yoga, froma video made by Sadguru.

“I was watching a videoyesterday and it instructedthat if anyone is driving aftera full meal, he should take a30minute break,” the Minister told media persons.

“That is, when he eats, he

should either take a nap orsit in vrajasana for 20 minutes and then go,” the Minister added.

Route changeWhen asked why the route ofthe bus was changed, Mr.Singh said there were no passengers for Ghazipur thatday but several people wereheading for Agra or Delhi.

“The driver of the illfatedbus had joined after threedays of leave. He had a goodtrack record and was involved in only one accidentin the past. He had an expe

rience of eight or nineyears,” the Transport Minister said.

No action can be takenagainst the driver as he isdead. But if offi��cials checking duty on the route weremissing, action will be takenagainst them, he said.

Mr. Singh also suggestedbetter training for driversand regular health checkups.

“Apart from this, publicawareness should also bedone. The regional managers should ensure compliance of this,” he said.

U.P. Minister’s vajrasana tip to sleepy driversTo stay alert after heavy meal; advice comes following Yamuna Eway accidentPress Trust of India

Lucknow

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesdaychaired a highlevel meetingto review the State’s powersituation in the prevailingpeak power demand season.

State Congress leaderNavjot Singh Sidhu, who wasallotted the Power and Nonrenewable Energy Ministryafter being divested of theLocal Government portfolioon June 6, is yet to assumeresponsibility of his newcharge amid a widening riftwith Capt. Amarinder.

During the meeting, theChief Minister ordered acrackdown on power theft,particularly in areas bordering Pakistan and Haryana, ina bid to check the huge losses suff��ered by the PunjabState Power CorporationLimited.

Total power demand inPunjab rose by 17.8% in June,and had further increasedby 33.3% as of date, compared with the corresponding periods of the previousyear, on account of the pro

longed dry spell, delayedmonsoon and higher powerconsumption in the agriculture sector.

Opposition attackWhile the Opposition parties, including the Shiromani Akali Dal and the AamAadmi Party, have been targeting the Congress government over alleged powercuts during the ongoing kharif sowing season, Mr. Sidhu’s absence at his Ministryhas given them added ammunition to target the ruling

party. Capt. Amarinder and Mr.

Sidhu have been at loggerheads since the 2019 LokSabha polls. It started withNavjot Kaur Sidhu, wife ofMr. Sidhu, accusing Capt.Amarinder of blocking herLok Sabha ticket from Chandigarh. Later, the Chief Minister blamed Mr. Sidhu fornot handling his departmentwell, which he claimed hadresulted in the Congress’s“poor performance” in urban areas in the general election.

CM reviews power situationas Sidhu yet to take chargeCongress leader was allotted Power Ministry in JuneVikas Vasudeva

Chandigarh

Amarinder Singh and Navjot Singh Sidhu have been atloggerheads since the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. * FILE PHOTO.

CMYK

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THE HINDU DELHI


Published by N. Ravi at Kasturi Buildings, 859 & 860, Anna Salai, Chennai-600002 and Printed by S. Ramanujam at HT Media Ltd. Plot No. 8, Udyog Vihar, Greater Noida Distt. Gautam Budh Nagar, U.P. 201306, on behalf of THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD., Chennai-600002. Editor: Suresh Nambath (Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act).

Regd. DL(ND)-11/6110/2006-07-08 ● RNI No. UPENG/2012/49940 ● ISSN 0971 - 751X ● Vol. 9 ● No. 164

0DISCLAIMER: Readers are requested toverify and make appropriate enquiries tosatisfy themselves about the veracity ofan advertisement before responding toany published in this newspaper. THGPUBLISHING PVT LTD., the Publisher &Owner of this newspaper, does not vouchfor the authenticity of any advertisementor advertiser or for any of the advertiser’sproducts and/or services. In no event canthe Owner, Publisher, Printer, Editor, Dir-ector/s, Employees of this newspaper/company be held responsible/liable inany manner whatsoever for any claimsand/or damages for advertisements inthis newspaper.

DELHI Timings

Thursday, July 11

RISE 05:31 SET 19:22

RISE 14:20 SET 01:08

Friday, July 12

RISE 05:32 SET 19:22

RISE 15:20 SET 01:47

Saturday, July 13

RISE 05:32 SET 19:22

RISE 16:19 SET 02:27

No new taxes were levied inthe budget for 201920 presented by Rajasthan ChiefMinister Ashok Gehlot in theState Assembly here onWednesday, while tax reliefworth ₹��301 crore was extended to people of the Statethrough various exemptionsand amnesty schemes.

Mr. Gehlot termed it a“people's budget”, whichhad incorporated the aspirations and suggestions of thecommon people.

Modifi��ed budgetMr. Gehlot, who also holdsthe fi��nance portfolio, presented the modifi��ed budgetfor the current fi��scal afterthe Assembly passed thevoteonaccount of ₹��86,906crore in February this yearin view of the Lok Sabhaelection. The modifi��ed budget’s estimates for total expenditure were ₹��2,32,944.01crore and those for revenuereceipts were ₹��1,64,004.64crore.

Taking a major step for“ease of doing farming”, Mr.Gehlot proposed the establishment of a ₹��1,000 crorefund for farmers’ welfare,which would be utilised forgetting remunerative pricesfor agricultural produces.Natural farming will also bepromoted to reduce inputcosts and encourage traditional methods with an expenditure of ₹��10 crore.

Various schemesThe budget proposed various schemes in irrigation,renewable energy, water,transport, animal husbandry and health sectors andgave tax relief through newprovisions for exemption instamp duty and registrationfee, electricity duty, motorvehicle tax and irrigation taxand amnesty schemes inmining, commercial taxesand industry sectors.

Mr. Gehlot announced apolicy for new and renewable energy projects and set atarget for disbursement ofshortterm crop loans worth

₹��16,000 crore from cooperative banks. He said his government had given “complete benefi��t” of loan waiverto farmers by paying on itsown the dues of ₹��6,000crore left over by the previous BJP regime.

The Chief Minister alsoannounced ₹��927 crore forState highways, Janata Clinics on the lines of MohallaClinics in Delhi, new policyfor electric vehicles and exemption to micro, small andmedium enterprises fromobtaining various permissions for the fi��rst three yearsof their operations.

Government jobsAs many as 75,000 vacancies in various governmentdepartments will be fi��lled toprovide jobs to the youths,while 104 types of new medicines will be included in theState government’s freemedicine scheme. Loansworth ₹��1 lakh each will besanctioned to youths underthe Chief Minister's YuvaRozgar Yojana.

Tax relief worth ₹��301 crore extended to the people


JAIPUR

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot presenting the budget in the State Assembly onWednesday. * ROHIT JAIN PARAS

No new taxes in Rajasthanbudget, sops for farmers

Madhya Pradesh Finance Minister Tarun Bhanot on Monday increased the budgetaryallocation for farmers by145% over the previous yearto ₹��22,736 crore.

Presenting his maidenbudget in the Vidhan Sabhahere, he said, “Under theloan waiver scheme, theState government haswaived loans to the tune of₹��7,000 crore of 20 lakh farmers in two months. For theremaining farmers, ₹��8,000crore will be set aside.”

To resolve farmers’ issuesand implement schemes suc

cessfully, Mr. Bhanot said thegovernment has decided toset up a farmers’ advisorycouncil, comprising farmers’representatives. Moreover,under the Krishi Bandhu Yojana, farmers will be trainedin farming techniques.

Horticulture schemeTo improve the income ofthose involved in horticulture and food processing,the State government has decided to launch a horticulture and food processingscheme, for which ₹��100crore has been earmarked.The government has decidedto cover fi��shermen and she

pherds under the Kisan Credit Card scheme.

For panchayat and ruraldevelopment, ₹��25, 015 crorehas been set aside, whichwas 26 % more than the pre

has decided to reserve 70%of vacancies for locals in newprivate fi��rms, Mr. Bhanotsaid, “Immediately after assuming offi��ce, the Chief Minister had directed thatchanges be made in the industrial policy to this eff��ect.”

Industrial policyAs for industrial investment,he said, the government hasapproved a pilot project for aland pooling scheme and formulated a new industrialpromotion policy. Mr. Bhanot said a new startup and amicro, small & medium enterprises policy has alsobeen drafted.

vious year’s allocation, hesaid

Quoting scriptures tostress the importance ofcows, Mr. Bhanot proposedto earmark ₹��132 crore forcow welfare and three models to develop gaushalas inthe State.

The government has alsodecided to hike grant to theState Waqf Board and Hajcommittee as well, he said

The social security pension for elderly, widows anddisabled has been raised to₹��600 per month from ₹��300.This may benefi��t more than42 lakh people, he said.

Stating the government

₹��132 crore earmarked for cow welfare; social security pension for elderly, disabled doubled Sidharth Yadav

Bhopal

Farmers get major chunk in Madhya Pradesh budget

Finance Minister Tarun Bhanotpresenting the budget in theAssembly. * A. M. FARUQUI

In a surprise remark, Rajasthan Chief Minister AshokGehlot on Wednesday saidhe was appointed to theCM’s post for the third term“on popular demand”, as villagers across the State hadexpressed their opinion inhis favour during the 2018Assembly elections.

He said the then Congresspresident Rahul Gandhi hadselected him in view of thestrong public sentiments.

“Mera Mukhya Mantribanna banta tha... Logchahte the ki Ashok Gehlot hiCM baney (I deserved to become the Chief Minister. People wanted that Ashok Gehlot should become CM),” Mr.Gehlot said at a press conference on the Assembly premises here after presentingthe 201920 State budget.

Mr. Gehlot, whose ap

pointment to the CM’s postwas fi��nalised after severaldays of lobbying by rival factions in the State Congress inDecember last year, said itwas “very clear by namewho should become the CMand who should not”. Hesaid he was given the oppor

tunity by respecting the public sentiments in his favour.

Mr. Gehlot did not makeany reference to PradeshCongress Committee president Sachin Pilot, who wasperceived to be in the racefor the CM's post and wasmade the Deputy CM aftermany days of intense deliberations in Delhi followingthe victory of the Congressin the Assembly polls.

‘Highest priority’While affi��rming that he remembered the people’s affection for him, Mr. Gehlotsaid his government wouldaccord the highest priorityto sensitivity, transparencyand accountability in administration.

“The State budget is basedon our resolve to providegood governance. We are going to get our rightful sharein Central funds,” he said.

Made CM on populardemand, says Gehlot‘Cong. chief selected me because of strong public sentiments’


JAIPUR

The CBI has registered twocases in Uttar Pradesh mining scam, naming formerMinister Gayatri Prajapatiand four IAS offi��cers as accused, and carried outsearches at 12 locations inthe State, offi��cials said onWednesday.

The agency’s FIR namesPrajapati, a former Minister in the Samajwadi Partygovernment, and thenPrincipal Secretary in theGeology and Mining Department Jiwesh Nandan,Special Secretary SantoshKumar, then District Magistrates Abhay and Vivek,they said.

Mr. Nandan, a 1987batch IAS offi��cer of the U.P.cadre, is presently postedas an Additional Secretaryin the Defence Ministry,while Mr. Kumar is postedas Greater Sharda SahayakSamadesh Region Development Pradhikari in UttarPradesh.

Minister, IASoffi��cers namedin mining scam

press trust of india

new Delhi

The daughter of an UttarPradesh BJP legislator hasalleged that her life is indanger from her father after she married a Dalit manand asked the police forsecurity.

Sakshi Misra (23), who isthe daughter of Rajesh Misra, the MLA from BithariChainpur in Bareilly district, uploaded a video onsocial media on Wednesdayand informed about herwedding to Ajitesh Kumar(29) last Thursday, policesaid.

In another video, shehas apprehended threat toher life from her father,brother and an associate,and urged the Bareilly Senior Superintendent of Police to extend security tothem. Ms. Misra has alsoappealed to the MPs andMLAs of Bareilly to not helpMr. Misra as she allegedthat her father and otherswere out to eliminate her.The BJP legislator could notbe reached for comments.

MLA’s daughterfears for lifeafter marryingDalit man

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Bareilly (U.P.)

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DELHI THE HINDU


A vision report titled ‘Eco-nomic possibilities for Od-isha — towards a one trilliondollar economy’, jointlyprepared by JSW Group andPwC India, was released byChief Minister Naveen Pat-naik on Wednesday.

“Odisha, having huge nat-ural resources, is on its wayto achieve this objectivethrough its investment infriendly policies, infra con-nectivity and skilled man-power,” said Mr. Patnaik atthe report release functionat the State Secretariat. Od-isha will play a central rolein driving national growth asa manufacturing hub, headded.

According to a press re-lease issued on the occa-sion, the global economyhas grown over three timesin the past three decades,and it is projected to grow

more than double in size by2050.

Huge potential“The potential of mineral-based industries in Odisha,along with other sectors likeagriculture, food process-ing, creative industries,MSMEs and women entre-preneurship, will play animportant role in makingthe State a one trillion dollareconomy,” the release said.

JSW Group chairman Saj-jan Jindal emphasised therole of regional economiesin making India a ten-tril-lion-dollar economy. Hesaid Odisha is the “hiddengem” of the country.

The report also empha-sised the unique competi-tive advantages of Odishaover other States and its“potential to become the ex-port hub for metal productsacross the world”.

We will play central role innational growth: Naveen CM elaborates on plan to make Odisha a $1 trillion economy


Bhubaneswar

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik releasing the ‘Economicpossibilities for Odisha — towards a one trillion dollareconomy’ in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday. * BISWARANJAN ROUT

The total allocation in therail budget-2019 for Odishawill be approximately₹5,800-₹6,000 crore, includ-ing allocations for variousprojects, passenger ameni-ties, track renewal and re-pairs, road overbridges, roadunderbridges, electri�cationand sta� amenities.

Giving details of the allo-cations, East Coast Railwayauthorities said on Wednes-day that as many as �ve newsurveys were announced forOdisha. Passenger amenitieshave got an allocation of₹180 crore, they said.

New projectsThe new projects for whichthe funds had been allocatedinclude �yover at Baghuapal,grant for maintenance ofcoaches, automatic coachwashing plants at Bhubanes-war and new wheel lathe forMancheswar Workshop, An-gul Electric Loco Shed and

Bondamunda.Five new surveys were al-

so announced in the railbudget. These include RajaAthagarh to Kaipadar Roadavoiding Bhubaneswar andKhurda Road; 10 �yovers atTitlagarh, Singapur Road,Haridaspur, Koraput, Sam-balpur, Machhapur, JajpurRoad, Sambalpur City, Sarlaand Gopalpur Port; chordline from Talcher to Angulthrough colliery to avoid en-gine reversal at Talcher; by-pass from Titlagarh-Rahen-bata to Sikir; and �yover atCuttack for goods train toavoid congestion at Cuttack.

Besides, funds have beenallocated for laying new rail-way lines and doubling oflines. While ₹400 crore hasbeen allocated for Haridas-pur-Paradeep new line, ₹350crore has been allocated forKhurda Road-Bolangir newline, and ₹250 crore for An-gul-Sukinda Road new lineand ₹150 crore for Talcher-Bimlagarh new line.

Odisha to get up to ₹6K cr. in rail budgetECoR announces 5 surveys for the State


BHUBANESWAR

Three people have died in�ood and landslides trig-gered by incessant rainacross Assam.

A person each drownedin eastern Assam’s Dhemajiand Golaghat districts whileanother was buried underearth due to landslide inKamrup (Metropolitan) dis-trict that covers much of Gu-wahati, o¦cials said onWednesday.

A spokesperson of the As-sam State Disaster Manage-ment Authority said that 11of the State’s 33 districtshave been a�ected by the�ood with 2,07,098 peopledisplaced across 530villages.

13 relief campsNational Disaster ResponseForce and State Disaster Res-ponse Force teams haveevacuated many of the�ood-a�ected people. Someof them have taken refuge in13 relief camps set up in fourdistricts.

“The Brahmaputra and

tributaries such as Dikhou,Dhansiri, Jia Bharali and Be-ki are �owing above the dan-ger level,” the spokespersonsaid.

Heavy rainfall has alsowreaked havoc in ArunachalPradesh with three districts– West Kameng, East Ka-meng and Shi-Yomi – su�er-ing the most due to bridgesand stretches of strategicroads getting washed away.

O¦cials said hundreds ofvehicles have been strandedalong a 64-km stretch of theroad to Tawang from easternAssam’s Charduar.

Border Road Task Force

o¦cials said repairing theroads would take time be-cause of the extent of thedamage.

A woman has been re-ported missing in West Ka-meng district after theirhouse on the bank of a riverwas damaged by a �ash�ood on Sunday. E�ortswere on to locate her.

Arunachal Pradesh ChiefMinister Pema Khandu onWednesday asked the auth-orities concerned to coordi-nate and work out a Stateemergency mitigation planfor minimising damage dur-ing the monsoon season.

3 killed in Assam �ood, landslides Over 2 lakh people displaced in 530 villages of 11 districtsSPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

GUWAHATI

People at the site of a landslide in Guwahati on Wednesday.* PTI


THE HINDU DELHI


WEST

While Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is talking toughon those seeking permissionto set up sugar factories inMarathwada, former MP Raju Shetti on Wednesday saidthe State must refuse to entertain any such proposal inthe region in the future.

The farmers’ leader toldThe Hindu that the government should instead encourage farmers to cultivatedroughtresistant crops likepulses and oilseeds, whichare not only conducive toMarathwada’s climate butwould retain moisture andaid in recharginggroundwater.

Drip irrigationRecently, commenting onthe approval for new sugarunits, Mr. Fadnavis had saidthat permission would begiven only to those factories which agreed to usedrip irrigation — a recommendation also voiced byUnion Minister Nitin Gadkari at a sugar conclave held

in the city last week.“Given the acute water

crisis that grips the Marathwada region each year, thegovernment should banishall thought of setting up sugar mills there. The rainfallpattern in this region is extremely volatile and thereis no guarantee of regularwater supply,” Mr. Shettisaid, adding the question ofconditional approval doesnot arise.

Lack of monitoringHe said drip irrigation to cultivate sugar cane, which wasmade mandatory by the Fadnavis government in 2017,was rarely implemented ow

ing to the plummetinggroundwater level in Marathwada and lack of monitoringof the drip irrigation system.

Of the 190odd sugar factories in the State, Mr. Shettisaid, 70 units spread acrossthe Marathwada and Vidarbha regions are beyond anyhope of rehabilitation.

“It takes 150 ‘water days’to run a sugar factory successfully. Since, this amountof water is only available inwestern Maharashtra districts irrigated by the Krishna river basin, the idea of establishing sugar mills inMarathwada must be discouraged by the government,” the SwabhimaniPaksha leader said.

He expressed scepticismover Mr. Gadkari’s views onthe need for sugar factoriesto switch to ethanol production if they did not wish toclose down.

“While Mr. Gadkari’s ideaof producing ethanol soundsgood in principle, it is not atransformation that can bemade overnight. While [Mr.Gadkari] talks about trans

forming the public transportsystem of the Nagpur civicbody by running buses on alternative ethanolbasedfuels, I want to ask him whyare these buses out of ordertoday?” Mr. Shetti said.

Import of maizeHe accused the Central government of operating solelyfor the benefi��t of traders andignoring the interests offarmers by permitting theimport of four lakh tonnes ofmaize at concessional import duty rates to meet thedemand of poultry feed.

“There was no need to allow such a large quantity ofmaize to be imported whenthe crop is grown freely inthe Marathwada region andis a vital economic lifeline offarmers there. This decisionis going to hit them hard.Last year, owing to excessproduction, farmers weregetting paid well below theminimum support price of₹��1,400 per quintal. Now, theCentre is importing by claiming shortfall in production,”Mr. Shetti said.

State must not allow new sugarmills in Marathwada: Raju Shetti‘Farmers should be encouraged for droughtresistant crops likes pulses, oilseeds’

Raju Shetti

Shoumojit Banerjee

Pune

NCP president Sharad Pawarhas written to Chief MinisterDevendra Fadnavis, seekingspeedy rehabilitation ofthose aff��ected by the Tiwaredam breach in Ratnagiri,and basic amenities to them.

Mr. Pawar visited the damsite on Monday. At least 18people died while fi��ve wentmissing in the fl��ood causedby the dam breach on July 2due to torrential rain in theregion. In his letter, dated July 9, Mr. Pawar demandedrelief to the aff��ected peoplethrough the funds of thePrime Minister, Chief Minister, and the national disastermanagement.

He said the previous CongressNCP government inMaharashtra had helped thevictims of the Malin landslide. Nearly 151 people werekilled in the landslide in Malin village, located in thefoothills of the Sahyadrimountain range in Pune district, in July 2014.

“The then governmenthad undertaken relief workimmediately after the Malintragedy. Relief was provided

to the aff��ected familiesthrough the funds of theChief Minister, Prime Minister, and the disaster management and in other ways,” Mr.Pawar said in the letter.

“The existing governmentschemes were implementedon priority then. The demands of Tiware villagersand aff��ected people shouldbe considered on the sameground,” the former Unionminister said.

He asked Mr. Fadnavis toproperly rehabilitate the affected families and speedilyreestablish the basic publicamenities there.

Mr. Pawar said during hisvisit to the village, he observed largescale loss oflives, property andlivestock.

Not only crops, the farmsoil also got washed away bythe fl��ooding last week, leading to concerns over the livelihood of local farmers, theNCP chief said.

He said the Chief Ministershould ensure educationand hostel facilities to children whose family membersdied in the incident. “The affected families should berehabilitated at a safer location, away from the dam.”

Highlights NCPCongress govt.’s eff��orts during Malin landslide


Mumbai

Causing devastation: A view of Tiware dam that breachedfollowing incessant rain, in Ratnagiri, on July 3. * FILE PHOTO

Rehabilitate Tiware dam breach victims, Pawar writes to Fadnavis

Five people were arrestedfor allegedly kidnapping asevenyearold boy for ransom in Gondia district, thepolice said on Wednesday.

The boy, kidnapped on July 3, was found abandonedthe next day and reunitedwith his parents.

Vaibhav Prakash Wasnik(23), Shekhar DulichandShende (23), both residentsof Ghategaon in Sadak Arjuntehsil; Pravin Kailash Patil

(22), Rahul Namaji Gavad(19) and Saurabh BalkrishnaGaidhani (19), all residents ofDeori, were arrested fromNagpur on Tuesday.

It was a joint operation ofthe Local Crime Branch(LCB) and the Duggipaar police, and all fi��ve have confessed to their involvementin the crime, Vinita Sahu, Superintendent of Police, Gondia, said. The boy, a residentof Ghategaon, was kidnapped from outside the zilla parishad school, where he

studies, by two men whocame on a scooter.

Ms. Sahu said she formedfi��ve teams of the LCB, besides increasing vigil on theroads leading out of the district. The kidnappers, probably in panic, abandoned theboy trussed up in a gunnysack near Shenda Putali village in Deori tehsil the nextday. He was found and reunited with his parents.

In their hunt for kidnappers, the LCB and the cybercell of the police got some

clues after speaking to theboy, and succeeded in nabbing the accused from various places in Nagpur onTuesday, the SP said.

The accused had kidnapped the boy with theintention of extorting ransom from his parents, Ms.Sahu said.

The accused were all unemployed young men andnone of them had any criminal record, she said. One ofthe accused, Rahul Gavad, isthe son of a policeman.

Five arrested for kidnapping schoolboy in Gondia


Gondia

7yearold student of zilla parishad school found abandoned, reunited with parents

Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray will not accompany Chief MinisterDevendra Fadnavis duringthe annual Vitthal ‘puja’ inPandharpur town, sources close to the former saidon Wednesday.

Earlier, there were reports that Mr. Thackeraywould accompany Mr.Fadnavis in performingthe ‘puja’ on Ashadhi Ekadashi on Friday, when thepilgrimage undertaken bydevotees from across theState culminates.

The response from theSena came in the wake ofcriticism from Maharashtra Congress presidentAshok Chavan, whoslammed Mr. Thackerayover his plan and said hispresence will set a newprecedent.

“The offi��cial ‘puja’ is always done by the ChiefMinister. Last year, LordVitthal did not wish theChief Minister come tohim,” he said, referring toMr. Fadnavis not going toPandharpur against thebackdrop of Maratha quota stir.

Uddhav to skipPandharpurvisit with CM Press Trust of India

Mumbai

Two powerful plays, one inGerman and the other inMarathi, will be showcasedat a threeday conference onyouth radicalisation in thecity later this week.

Paradies, which waschosen as ‘Play of the Year’in the German state of NorthRhineWestphalia, will beenacted at the conferencetitled, ‘Towards Peace’between July 14 and 16. Theevent is organised by theMaharashtra Cultural Centreand Max Mueller Bhavan.

The play, written byGerman playwrights LutzHubner and Sarah Nemitz,deals with the life of Hamid,a teenager who is lured byradical groups with falsepromise of riches in theafterlife. It is directed byMina Salehpour, theyoungest awardee of theGerman theatre prize, ‘DERFAUST’.

The conference will alsoshowcase ‘Y’, a Marathi playcowritten by VibhawaraDeshpande and ShrirangGodbole (directed by Mr.Godbole), which talks aboutthe vulnerability of youth indrifting towardsradicalisation. The play,introduced to audiences in2017, will be returning toPune for the conference.

“After our fi��rstcollaboration, Ms.Deshpande, Mr. Godbole,and I decided to work onanother play together. Wehad a workshop aboutpolitical issues that have a

global impact, and chose towrite about radicalisation interms of religion andnationalism,” Mr. Hubnertold The Hindu. “We wantedto put the focus on themotives of a fanatic.”

The story explores themind of a radicalised youngman, in the process lookingat the fears, hopes, desiresand emotions of youngpeople, who want to fi��ghtand kill for an ideology, Mr.Hubner said.

The play goes a leveldeeper into unravelling whyradical ideologies are soseductive. “We mustunderstand why somebodydecides to leave his normallife behind. It is easy toanalyse what’s negative inthese decisions, but we canonly understand it fullywhen we know what the

promises of these ideologiesare. In case of the IslamicState, where the main topicis paradise, we thought thatfor many youngsters, it is akind of pop phenomenon,that they are not reallyMuslims; they are justlooking for adventure, beingpart of a group, fi��ghting forsomething, that’s biggerthan them,” he said.

Mr. Hubner said he foundthe IndoGermancollaboration to be“extremely rich” and“interesting”. He hoped theywould serve as a platformfor discussion and provestronger than mere“enlightenment campaigns”.The theme of youthradicalisation, he said, is asrelevant in Germany todayas it is in India.

Mr. Godbole said

youngsters are involved interrorist activities and actsof extremism not just inEurope or West Asia, butthroughout the world. “Evenin India, we have the youthtaking part in extremistactivities like mass killingsand lynching. And this is notjust due to religion, it movesfar beyond it.”

The youth, especiallythose who are unemployed,are manipulated into beingpart of extremist groupssince they are given a senseof belonging and feelempowered, he said.

“Radicalisation amongthem is what inspired us towrite about it. ‘Y’ is basicallya crossroad that the youthfi��nd in their life, to eitherchoose radicalisation or anevolved and mature path,”he said.

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Award-winning German play comes to Pune

Janice Saji

Pune

Paradies, a Marathi play to be enacted at conference on radicalisation among youth

Real-life lessons: Paradies deals with the life of Hamid, a teenager who is lured by radicalgroups with false promise of riches in the afterlife * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

CMYK

A ND-NDE


DELHI THE HINDU


SOUTH

Former Chief Secretary andpopular poet and lyricist K.Jayakumar released a special volume in Malayalam onthe Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple brought out bythe special publications division of The Hindu here onWednesday.

Executive Offi��cer of thetemple V. Ratheesan received the fi��rst copy fromMr. Jayakumar, who is alsothe founding ViceChancellor of the Malayalam University, at a simple function organised in the forecourt ofthe temple. The temple shotinto fame with the discoveryof ancient treasures in itssubterranean vaults.

Titled SamskrithiyudeSambath, the special volume has articles, accompa

nied by an array of pictures,on the traditions associatedwith the temple, its rich history, its amazing architectural splendour and the manyrituals and festivities associated with it.

The collector’s item alsohas a portfolio of photographs, including a few rareones, from The Hindu photoarchives.

First in MalayalamThe special volume is thefi��rst to be brought in Malayalam by The Hindu on a religious centre in Kerala.

The cover price of the108page volume is ₹��300.

In March 2018, The Hinduhad come out with a specialvolume, Wealth of Heritage,on the temple, the ninth in aseries on religious centres inSouth India.

It has been published by The Hindu


THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

Former Chief Secretary K. Jayakumar, right, releasing aspecial volume on the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple inThiruvananthapuram by handing over the fi��rst copy to V.Ratheesan, executive offi��cer of the temple * S. GOPAKUMAR

Special volume onPadmanabhaswamytemple released

The Supreme Court onWednesday clarifi��ed thatthe comments made by itin a judgment against Kerala police offi��cers and authorities for destroying thecareer of space scientistNambi Narayanan in the infamous ISRO spy scandalcase would not aff��ect ongoing civil suit proceedingsagainst some offi��cials.

A Bench led by JusticeA.M. Khanwilkar said thecivil suit for ₹��1 crore compensation fi��led by Mr. Narayanan against State offi��cials would be tried on itsown merits and not be infl��uenced by the September2018 judgment of the Supreme Court. The application was fi��led by formerKerala ADGP Siby Mathews. In its September 2018judgment, the court saidthe spy case was a criminalframeup based on “somekind of fancy.” Over 24years after Mr. Narayanan’scareer got “smothered” inthe infamous case, a threejudge Bench led by thenChief Justice of India DipakMisra found him a victim oftrumpedup allegations ofespionage by the police.

In the judgment, thecourt ordered Kerala to payhim ₹��50 lakh as compensation for loss of his fundamental right to live withdignity and selfrespect forall these years since his arrest on November 30, 1994.

The court had evenagreed with Mr. Narayananthat a mere compensationin money could not servehim complete justice. Mr.Narayanan had argued thatthe prosecution launchedby the police had a “catastrophic eff��ect” on his career and personal life, besides setting back thetechnological advancement in space research.

SC clarifi��es on scientist’s civil suit

Legal Correspondent

New Delhi

The BJP on Wednesdaystrongly backed MLAs of thegoverning coalition who hadsubmitted their resignationsand urged Governor Vajubhai R. Vala to advise SpeakerK.R. Ramesh Kumar to accept the resignations at theearliest.

Party leaders staged adharna in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue on the Vidhana Soudha premises in aneff��ort to put pressure on Mr.Ramesh Kumar and latermet him in his chambers.

In a memorandum submitted to the Governor, theBJP delegation, led by Statepresident B.S. Yeddyurappa,alleged that instead of accepting the resignations, theSpeaker had allowed the parties in the ruling coalition to

remain in power and threaten the MLAs who had resigned.

Maintaining that the coalition government had lost itsmajority following the resignation of several MLAs, theBJP leaders appealed to theGovernor to direct the Stateadministration not to implement orders of the government, such as issuing anyGovernment Order.

Addressing protesters,Mr. Yeddyurappa and otherBJP leaders severely criti

cised the Speaker for not accepting the resignations atthe earliest.

After the BJP delegationmet him, the Speaker said hewould take a call on the resignations after hearing theMLAs concerned.

On the BJP’s plea that heshould ensure that a situation wherein the Finance Billmay get defeated in theHouse should not arise, theSpeaker said the government would collapse if theFinance Bill was defeated.

BJP steps up pressure onSpeaker to accept resignationsParty leadersstage dharna, askGovernor toadvise Kumar


Bengaluru

Karnataka BJP chief B.S. Yeduyurappa with party leadersprotesting against the Karnataka government in Bengaluru onWednesday. * K. MURALI KUMAR

Five people, including athreeyearold girl, werekilled and four others wereinjured when an underconstruction building in the corecity area collapsed causingthe basement and fi��rst fl��oorof an adjoining residentialbuilding to give way. Thatbuilding started tilting onto athird adjacent apartment.The incident took placearound 1.55 a.m. on Wednesday in Pulakeshinagar. Morethan 35 people from eighthouseholds escaped un

harmed, and have beenasked to look for alternativeaccommodation.

Narayan, 26, who workedas watchman, his wife Nirmala, 20, and their threeyearold daughter Anushka,who lived in the basement ofthe residence Sai Adi Ambalwere killed.

This building began to tilttowards an adjacent apartment even as residentswatched in horror.

Almost all the buildingson the road were constructed with barely any space between them.

According to the police,six labourers from Bihar andWest Bengal were sleeping inthe underconstructionbuilding. While two labourers Khagen Sarkar, 39, andShambu Kumar, 38, died,Fire and Emergency Servicespersonnel rescued the otherfour workers. Civic offi��cialssaid that work on the building had started six monthsago.

Civic offi��cials who were atthe spot said the owner ofthe underconstructionbuilding had not adhered toapproved plans.

5 killed as two buildings collapse in BengaluruUnderconstruction structure caves in; basement and fi��rst fl��oor of an adjoining residence gave way

Fire and Emergency Services personnel and the NDRF teamcarrying out rescue operations at the site. * SUDHAKARA JAIN

Staff Reporter

Bengaluru

Congress leaders, alongwith their counterparts inthe Janata Dal (Secular),held a protest in Bengaluruon Wednesday, in a publicshow of strength, againstthe BJP’s alleged attemptsto topple the coalition government in Karnataka.

At the protest in themorning, senior leaders ofthe JD(S) and the Congresslaunched a scathing attackagainst the BJP for allegedhorsetrading, attemptedto lay siege to the Raj Bhavan and were detained.

Former Chief MinisterSiddaramaiah and AICCgeneral secretary K.C. Venugopal, along with severalparty workers, staged adharna on the road. Theylater courted arrest.

Cong. leadersprotest inBengaluru


Bengaluru

BJP MP demands NRC in Karnataka NEW DELHI

BJP MP Tejasvi Surya on

Wednesday urged the Union

government to extend the

National Register of Citizens

to Karnataka as he alleged

illegal immigrants from

Bangladesh had become a

security threat to Bengaluru

and the entire State. Mr.

Surya said, “They have not

only become a security threat

but also an economic threat

as they are taking away the

jobs of locals.”

IN BRIEF

A.P. releases White Paperon State financesVIJAYAWADA

Ahead of the first Budget

session, the Andhra Pradesh

government released a White

Paper on State finances, in

which it accused the previous

government of

misgovernance and financial

mismanagement. Finance

Minister Buggana

Rajendranath Reddy said the

State had inherited a huge

debt of ₹��3.62 lakh crore.

Mirror image: A model of Burj Khalifa, a skyscraper in Dubai, being set up at Swarajya Maidan in Vijayawada on Wednesday. Itwill be the top attraction in the exhibition to be organised on the grounds. * CH. VIJAYA BHASKAR

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Standing tall

A Full Bench of the KeralaHigh Court on Wednesdayheld that the State government could not shirk its dutyto establish schools withClasses I to V within every 1km, and Classes VI to VIIIwithin every 3 km, as specifi��ed in Rule 6 (1) of the Rightof Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE)Act.

The Bench comprisingJustice V. Chithambaresh,Justice Alexander Thomasand Justice Ashok Menonmade the observation whiledeciding on upgrading issues related to lower and upper primary schools underthe RTE Act referred to it bya Division Bench.

The Bench further observed that the State government could not wriggle out

of its obligation under theAct on the premise that achild could get a transfer toanother school for completing his or her elementaryeducation, and that the headteacher or teacher in chargeof the schools where thechild had studied should immediately issue transfer

certifi��cate.The court said the State

government could not refusepermission to add Class V tolower primary schools andClass VIII to upper primaryschools. Restructuring of allschools with uniform Classesfrom I to VIII was the schemeenvisaged by the Act, whichcould not be trampled uponby any State.

The Bench slammed thegovernment for the latter’sstand that it was not feasibleto upgrade existing schoolsor start new schools, andthat the provision of transportation facilities for students to reach other schoolswould suffi��ce.

The court pointed out thatthe government could nottake refuge under Rule 6(4)of the Rules (Provision forensuring transport facility)from establishing schools for

elementary education asmandated.

‘Not tossed about’The court observed that achild was not to be treated as“a chattel to be tossed aboutfrom one school to anotherfor the completion of elementary education.”

The Division Benches hadheld that there was no lapsein the implementation of theRTE Act and that the provision of easy transport of children to another school wassuffi��cient, instead of establishing new schools or upgrading existing ones.

The Full Bench also ordered the government todeal with the applications given by various school managements seeking to upgrade their existing schoolsin the light of its observations.

‘Govt. cannot shirk duty towards schools’Kerala High Court says State must restructure schools as required by RTE Act

The HC slammed the Keralagovernment for the latter’sstand that it was not feasibleto upgrade existing schools.


KOCHI

A sheelephant sustained injuries after a truck knockedit down at Ponkuzhi on theKeralaKarnataka border under the Wayanad WildlifeSanctuary on Tuesday.

Sanctuary offi��cials arrested truck driver Sameej, 30,at Balussery in the Kozhikode district, in connectionwith the incident, which occurred around 7.30 p.m. Asa herd of elephants wascrossing the KozhikodeKollegal National Highway 766inside the sanctuary, thesteel rackladen truckrammed the elephant, sanctuary sources said.

Though the truck driverdid not stop the vehicle afterthe incident, the sanctuary

offi��cials arrested him later atThakarappady and seizedthe truck.

A team of experts led byforest veterinary surgeonArun Zachariah examinedthe jumbo and gave fi��rst aidafter tranquillising it.

The elephant had a com

pound fracture on the rightshoulder and its ribs mightalso be broken, the sourcessaid. The animal was administered a revival injectionto which it responded well.A special team was constituted to monitor the movementof the herd, the sources said.

Jumbo develops compound fracture on right shoulder

Staff Reporter

KALPETTA

Veterinary experts examining the sheelephant aftertranquillising it. * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Truck hits, injures wild elephanton KeralaKarnataka border

Health Department offi��cials of Andhra Pradesh areon their toes after two suspected cases of anthraxwere reported from Madagada village of Araku mandal in Visakhapatnamdistrict.

Two persons agedaround 30 to 35 years fromMadagada village experienced anthrax symptomsafter allegedly consumingunprocessed meat sold in aweekly shandy about aweek ago.

The offi��cials shifted theduo to the King GeorgeHospital here after initialtreatment at Araku.

The hospital authoritieshave sent the samples tothe microbiology department for tests.

Anthrax scaresends offi��cialsinto a tizzy

Staff Reporter

VISAKHAPATNAM

Hindustan Shipyard Limited(HSL), along with its two public sector consortiumpartners, is gearing up tosubmit its bid for the construction of six conventionalsubmarines, for which theExpression of Interest (EoI)notifi��cation has been issuedby the Indian Navy.

This will be followed byanother EoI for OriginalEquipment Manufacturers(OEM).

The Indian strategicpartner has to design andconstruct the submarines inthe country under the MakeinIndia initiative.

The proposal, taken upunder Project75 (I), is moving to the next level after thereelection of the NDA government at the Centre.

Keeping the Navy’s requirement in mind, HSLformed the consortium withBharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) and Mishra

Dhatu Nigam Limited (MIDHANI) in May to provide acredible domestic alternative. This was cleared by theDefence Acquisition Committee.

The Navy is going for thesecond strategic partner model to achieve selfrelianceafter the project to acquire111 Naval Utility Helicopters.

For the OEM to be selected by the Ministry of Defence, transfer of technology

to the Indian partner will bea prerequisite.

A senior offi��cial of HSLtold The Hindu that with robust technical and fi��nancialbackup, the consortiumformed by them would be astrong contender for the₹��45,000crore deal.

Informed sources saidthat apart from HSL, the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited and Larsen & Toubrowould also submit their bids.

Both HSL and Mazagonare public sectors, while L&Tconstructs nuclearpoweredArihant class submarines atthe Ship Building Centre inthe city.

“We will harness the complimentary expertise of thethree giant organisations,”the HSL offi��cial said.

HSL, which is strategicallylocated on the east coast inan area of 117 acres in anagronomic layout with largeoutfi��tting quay, hull construction facility, slipwaysand fully covered buildingdock, also has a submarinerepair facility.

The yard, which was setup on 1941 by the ScindiaSteam Navigation Co. Ltd,has rich experience in shipbuilding, ship repairs and refi��t of submarines.

At present, INS Sindhuvirsubmarine is undergoing arefi��t at the yard.

The shipyard was broughtunder the Ministry of Defence from Shipping in 2010.

HSL in race for Navy’s submarine project Company says it is a strong contender for the ₹��45,000crore programme

HSL will harness the complimentary expertise of the threegiant organisations, says a senior offi��cial. * K.R. DEEPAK

Santosh Patnaik

VISAKHAPATNAM


THE HINDU DELHI


CMYK

NATION

Weather WatchRainfall, temperature & air quality in select metros yesterday

Temperature Data: IMD, Pollution Data: CPCB, Map: INSAT/IMD (Taken at 17.00 Hrs)

Forecast for Thursday: Heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolatedplaces over West Uttar Pradesh and Nagaland, Manipur,Mizoram & Tripura; heavy rainfall at isolated places over Himachal Pradesh, Gangetic West Bengal, Coastal & South InteriorKarnataka and Konkan & Goa.

city rain max min city rain max min

Agartala...............0.3.... 31.2.... 26.4 Kozhikode ...........81.4.... 28.2.... 22.0

Ahmedabad............ —.... 38.4.... 26.5 Kurnool ................... —.... 36.2.... 25.7

Aizwal ...............30.0.... 22.9.... 19.9 Lucknow..............20.8.... 29.2.... 24.4

Allahabad ..........13.3.... 29.2.... 26.0 Madurai.................0.2.... 40.6.... 25.6

Bengaluru .............. —.... 29.6.... 21.1 Mangaluru...........66.9.... 30.1.... 21.0

Bhopal................... —.... 32.1.... 24.4 Mumbai....................7.... 28.3.... 26.2

Bhubaneswar .....17.7.........—.... 25.6 Mysuru.................... —.... 29.0.... 19.7

Chandigarh ........29.1.... 31.8.... 27.0 New Delhi .............0.4.... 37.2.... 28.2

Chennai ...............4.4.... 39.2.... 26.4 Patna ..................61.6.... 30.8.... 25.4

Coimbatore............ —.... 33.0.... 22.0 Port Blair ................ — .... 31.6.... 25.3

Dehradun...........42.0.... 33.7.... 23.0 Puducherry..........30.6.... 37.0.... 24.6

Gangtok...............3.6.... 20.0.... 18.1 Pune ...................11.8.... 27.2.... 22.2

Goa ...................34.8.... 31.5.... 23.9 Raipur ..................... —.... 32.7.... 24.8

Guwahati ...........50.3.... 28.2.... 24.4 Ranchi..................... —.... 31.6.... 24.4

Hubballi................. —.... 24.0.... 21.0 Shillong.............192.4.... 19.7.... 17.8

Hyderabad ............. —.... 34.3.... 24.3 Shimla...................2.2.... 24.5.... 17.0

Imphal.................6.8.... 23.7.... 26.0 Srinagar .................. —.... 32.2.... 19.7

Jaipur .................... —.... 38.0.... 27.6 Trivandrum ...........3.8.... 29.6.... 23.2

Kochi.................10.2.... 31.4.... 24.4 Tiruchi .................... —.... 39.0.... 26.4

Kohima................2.8.... 22.0.... 17.4 Vijayawada .............. —.... 39.1.... 28.5

Kolkata.................. —.... 34.3.... 28.1 Visakhapatnam ......... —.... 31.4.... 28.4

(Rainfall data in mm; temperature in Celsius)

Pollutants in the air you are breathing Yesterday

CITIES SO2 NO2 CO PM2.5 PM10 CODE

In observation made at4.00 p.m., Ballabgarh,Haryana, recorded anoverall air quality index(AQI) score of 279,indicating an unhealthylevel of pollution. Incontrast, Pune,Maharashtra, recorded ahealthy AQI score of 19.

Ahmedabad ...... 42 159 .70 ....69 .....— ....*

Bengaluru......... 27 .43 .70 ..... — ...96 ....*

Chennai ............ ..7 .24 .52 ....72 .....— ....*

Delhi ................ 17 .32 .41 ....86 .259 ....*

Hyderabad ........ ..5 ...— .15 ....23 ...32 ....*

Kolkata............. ..8 .48 .13 ....62 ...86 ....*

Lucknow........... ..9 .22 110 ....53 .....— ....*

Mumbai ............ ..— .23 100 ....19 ...43 ....*

Pune................. ..— ...8 .23 ....14 ...14 ....*

Vishakhapatnam 13 .50 .45 ....59 .123 ....*

Air Quality Code: * Poor * Moderate * Good (Readings indicate average AQI)

SO2: Sulphur Dioxide. Short-term exposure can harm the respiratory system,

making breathing difficult. It can affect visibility by reacting with other air

particles to form haze and stain culturally important objects such as statues

and monuments.

NO2: Nitrogen Dioxide. Aggravates respiratory illness, causes haze to form by

reacting with other air particles, causes acid rain, pollutes coastal waters.

CO: Carbon monoxide. High concentration in air reduces oxygen supply to

critical organs like the heart and brain. At very high levels, it can cause

dizziness, confusion, unconsciousness and even death.

PM2.5 & PM10: Particulate matter pollution can cause irritation of the eyes,

nose and throat, coughing, chest tightness and shortness of breath, reduced

lung function, irregular heartbeat, asthma attacks, heart attacks and

premature death in people with heart or lung disease

Dalit man killed by uppercaste in-laws in GujaratAHMEDABAD

A 25yearold Dalit man was

murdered by his wife’s father

and other relatives in Varmor

village of Ahmedabad district.

According to police, Haresh

Kumar Solanki was killed by

eight men outside his wife

Urmila’s house in the

presence of a women’s

helpline team.

BJP MLA dances with guns in handsDEHRADUN

The BJP has issued a notice to

its suspended BJP MLA from

Uttarakhand, Kunwar Pranav

Singh Champion, after a video

showing him dancing with

guns in hands during a get

together went viral. In the

video, he is purportedly seen

dancing to a popular

Bollywood number. PTI

The Union Cabinet has approved the InterState RiverWater Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2019 that willhelp adjudicate disputes relating to waters of interState rivers and river valleys. A version of this Billwas fi��rst introduced in theLok Sabha in 2017 but itsubsequently lapsed.

The Bill seeks to amendthe Inter State River WaterDisputes Act, 1956 tostreamline the adjudicationof interState river waterdisputes.

Adjudication processA key feature of the Bill isthe constitution of a single

tribunal with diff��erentBenches, and the setting ofstrict timelines foradjudication.

“When any request under the Act is received from

any State Government inrespect of any water disputeon the interState rivers andthe Central Government isof the opinion that the water dispute cannot be set

tled by negotiations, theCentral Government constitutes a Water Disputes Tribunal for the adjudicationof the water dispute,” said apress note.

There are about a dozentribunals that now exist toresolve disputes amongStates on sharing waterfrom rivers common tothem. The standalone tribunal so envisaged will have apermanent establishment,offi��ce space and infrastructure so as to obviate withthe need to set up a separate tribunal for each waterdispute a time consumingprocess.

The Bill also proposes aDispute Resolution Committee set up by the Central

Government for amicablyresolving interState waterdisputes within 18 months.Any dispute that cannot besettled by negotiationswould be referred to the tribunal for its adjudication.The dispute so referred tothe tribunal shall be assigned by the chairpersonof the tribunal to a Bench ofthe tribunal for adjudication.

The Bill can also aff��ectthe composition of themembers of various tribunals, and has a provision tohave a technical expert asthe head of the tribunal.Currently all tribunals arestaff��ed by members of thejudiciary, nominated by theChief Justice.

Single tribunal to hear water disputesThe InterState River Water Disputes Bill also proposes to resolve such confl��icts within 18 months

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI

Reality check: A fi��le photo of offi��cials inspecting water levelin the Cauvery near its entry point in Tamil Nadu.

Of the major ports in India,Diamond Harbour in WestBengal located at the mouthof river Hooghly has recorded the maximum sea level increase, according to data tabled in the Lok Sabha by theMinistry of Earth Sciences.

While recent studies reveal that sea level rise in thecountry has been estimatedto be 1.3 mm per year alongIndia’s coasts during the last4050 years, at Diamond

Harbour the rise was almostfi��ve times higher at 5.16 mmper year. The mean sea levelrise for Diamond Harbourwas based on recordings over the period between 1948to 2005. This is followed byKandla port in Gujarat wherethe sea level rise was 3.18(1950 to 2005), followed byHaldia in West Bengal, whichrecorded a sea level rise of2.89 mm a year (1972 to2005). Port Blair also recorded a sea level rise of 2.20 mmper year (19161964).

Sea level rise is said to belinked with global warmingand as per the fi��fth assessment report of the Interna

tional Panel on ClimateChange, the global sea levelwas rising at an average rateof 1.8 mm per year over the

last century. Going by the data from the Ministry of EarthSciences, four ports — Diamond Harbour, Kandla, Haldia and Port Blair — recordeda higher sea level rise thanthe global average. Chennaiand Mumbai recorded a sealevel rise far below the globaland the national averages at0.33 mm per year (19162005) and 0.74 mm (18782005) respectively.

“Rising sea levels can exacerbate the impacts of coastal hazards such as stormsurge, tsunami, coastalfl��oods, high waves and coastal erosion in the low lyingcoastal areas in addition to

causing gradual loss of coastal land to sea,” the Ministrysaid in response to a question by MPs Saugata Roy andAnto Antony.

The sea level rise is higherin West Bengal, particularlyin the Sunderbans delta because of the deltaic sedimentdeposition as a result of themixing of fresh water and saline water, according to experts.

In response to anotherquestion related to globalwarming by Lok Sabha MPsShivkumar C. Udasi and Kanakmal Katara, the Ministryof Earth Sciences explainedthat global warming not only

causes melting of ice and glaciers, but also leads to internal expansion of water inoceans and thus a rise in thesea level. On results of studies on the impact of globalwarming, the Ministry saidheavy rainfall and temperature extremes like heatwaves and shifts in semiaridregions were some recentfi��ndings which may have linkages with climate changeand global warming.

“Studies over Indian region have shown a warmingtrend of 0.6°C on all India average basis, mainly contributed by maximum temperatures,” the Ministry said.

Bengal port records country’s highest sea level rise in 50 yearsFour ports in India recorded a highersealevel rise than the global average

Sea fury: Rising water levels and coastal erosion pose majorthreats to people living in coastal areas. * THULASI KAKKAT

Shiv Sahay Singh

Kolkata

The UnionCabinet,chaired byPrimeMinister

Narendra Modi, onWednesday approvedBanning of UnregulatedDeposit Schemes Bill,2019, to tackle the menaceof ponzi schemes in thecountry. The Bill, whichwill replace the Banning ofUnregulated DepositSchemes Ordinance, 2019,will be introduced in theongoing session of theParliament. “SEBI and RBIapproved deposits will beallowed,” Union MinisterPrakash Javadekar said.

Bill to tackleponzi scams


NEW DELHI

The CabinetCommitteeonEconomicAff��airs

approved the third phaseof the Pradhan MantriGram Sadak Yojana(PMGSYIII) under which1.25 lakh km of roads inrural areas will beupgraded at an estimatedcost of ₹��80,250 crore by202425. “This wouldfacilitate easy and fastermovement to and fromGramin AgriculturalMarkets (GrAMs), highersecondary schools andhospitals,” an offi��cialstatement said.

Green light forrural roads


NEW DELHI

The UnionCabinetaccordedOrganisedGroup A

Service status to theRailway Protection Force.“Grant of status to RPF willend stagnation, improvecareer progression of theoffi��cers and keep up theirmotivational level,” anoffi��cial release said. Earlierthis month, the benefi��tswere extended to CentralReserve Police Force,Border Security Force,Central Industrial SecurityForce, IndoTibetanBorder Police andSashastra Seema Bal.

RPF set to getGroup A status Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI

The UnionCabinetapproved anamendmentto the

Protection of Childrenfrom Sexual Off��ences Act,2012. The Bill, which hadbeen introduced earlierbut lapsed in Parliamentwhen the Lok Sabha wasdissolved in May, wasapproved by the Cabinetchaired by PM NarendraModi, Information andBroadcasting MinisterPrakash Javadekar said.The Bill provides forstringent punishment,including death, for sexualassault of children.

Death penaltyfor child abuseSpecial Correspondent

NEW DELHI

The UnionCabinetapproved theTransgenderPersons

(Protection of Rights) Bill,2019, a previous version ofwhich had lapsed whenthe Lok Sabha wasdissolved in May. The Billlooks at providing social,economic and educationalempowerment totransgender persons, astatement said. Sendingthe Bill to the Parliamentagain was on the fi��rst100day agenda of theNarendra Modigovernment’s secondterm.

Support fortransgenders


NEW DELHI

A contempt petition hasbeen fi��led in the SupremeCourt against the IndianMedical Association for calling — and the Centre for notpreventing — a nationwide

strike by doctors on June 17,2019.

The strike was held to demonstrate solidarity withthe junior doctors of WestBengal in their protestagainst assault on two juniordoctors at the NRS Hospital

The petition said that despite the ‘repeated and clearcalls from the highest courtof the land,’ doctors acrossIndia have continued to resort to strikes, disruptingmedical services across thecountry.

in Kolkata. The petition fi��ledby an NGO, People for BetterTreatment, said that thestrike was in violation of a2014 order by the SC whichhad “categorically held thatdoctors should not resort tostrike under any condition.”

Contempt plea against IMA, Centre for June strikeLegal Correspondent

NEW DELHI

The Supreme Court onWednesday said it wouldconsider the plea seekingurgent hearing of a PIL petition challenging the constitutional validity of Article 370 which grantsspecial status to Jammuand Kashmir and limitsParliament’s power tomake laws for the State. ABench comprising ChiefJustice Ranjan Gogoi andJustices Deepak Gupta andAniruddha Bose took noteof the submission of BJPleader and lawyer AshwiniUpadhyay that his PIL belisted for an urgent hearing.

“File a memo. We willsee,” the Bench said.

On February 18 this yearas well, he had mentionedthe PIL for urgent listingfor the hearing.

Article 370: SCmay considerearly hearing


New Delhi

The Indian Air Force (IAF) islooking to adopt a new European visual range airtoair missile across its fi��ghterfl��eet.

The Advanced ShortRange AirtoAir Missile ofEuropean missilemakerMBDA has been approvedfor Jaguar jets.

The IAF was looking to integrate it on the Su30 MKIsand the indigenous LightCombat Aircraft as well, defence sources said.

“The ASRAAM has beenchosen for the Jaguar and iscurrently undergoing integration. First fi��ring is expected by yearend,” a defence source said.

It would be the fi��rst overthewinglaunched missilein the IAF inventory. All missiles are now fi��red from un

der the wing.The missile was shortlist

ed through a tender andMBDA is working with Hindustan Aeronautics Limitedon the integration, whichwould later do further modifi��cations. “HAL is in talkswith MDBA for integratingthe missile on the LCA andthe Su30MKI as well. It willbe taken up after the Jaguarintegration,” the sourceadded.

ASRAAM is widely usedas a Within Visual Range(WVR) air dominance missile with a range of over25km.

HAL had built about 145Jaguars for the IAF, of whicharound 120 are in service,and 80 jets will continue till2025 to 2030.

A plan to get a more powerful engine has been longdelayed.

IAF to adopt ASRAAMmissile for fi��ghter fl��eet It is currently undergoing integration

Dinakar Peri

New Delhi

OTHER KEY DECISIONS

Swara Bhaskar takesTwitter user to taskMUMBAI

Actor Swara Bhaskar reached

out to the Mumbai Police on

Wednesday after a Twitter

user, Deepak Tiwari, made

derogatory comments. The

police assured her of prompt

action. “I am now in the

process of filing an official

complaint with my local

police station,” she wrote.

IN BRIEF

Receiving threats afterplaint: Manisha GulatiCHANDIGARH

Punjab State Commission for

Women Chairperson Manisha

Gulati on Wednesday said

that after the police

complaint against singer

Honey Singh for vulgar lyrics,

she had been receiving

threats on social media.

The Hailakandi district administration in southernAssam has served a 48hour showcause notice toa private school for lettingits students take part in aroad blockade. The students of Blue Flowers English Medium Higher Secondary School blockedHalkandi’s Rabindra Saraniroad on Tuesday, wherethe school is located, demanding its repairs. However, offi��cials said thatthe Public Works Department had already given awritten assurance to theschool to repair the road byJuly 31.

Further, the chairperson of the district’s ChildWelfare Committee fi��led anFIR against the school principal for violation of childrights under the JuvenileJustice Act.

Four other schools werealso issued showcausenotices for making theirstudents participate in therally.

School getsshowcausenotice for roadblockade


Guwahati


DELHI THE HINDU


CMYK

A ND-NDE

EDITORIAL

Sujatha Byravan

During the runup to the Paris climate change meetingin 2015 (COP21) under the

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, eachcountry decided the level and kindof eff��ort it would undertake tosolve the global problem of climate change. These actions werelater referred to as nationally determined contributions (NDCs).

India made a number of promises that would lead to the reductionof greenhouse gas emissions, ormitigation, and actions to adapt toliving in a warmer world, or adaptation. Many of its described programmes and plans were intendedto enable India to move to a climatefriendly sustainable development pathway. Primarily, by 2030,there will be reductions in theemissions intensity of the GDP byabout a third and a total of 40% ofthe installed capacity for electricity will be from nonfossil fuelsources. India also promised anadditional carbon sink — a meansto absorb carbon dioxide from theatmosphere — of 2.5 to 3 billiontonnes of carbon dioxide equiva

lent through additional forest andtree cover by the year 2030. Treesand other vegetation fi��x carbon aspart of photosynthesis and soil tooholds organic carbon from plantsand animals. The amount of soilcarbon varies with land management practices, farming methods,soil nutrition and temperature.

Enhancing green coverIndia has yet to determine how itscarbon sink objectives can be met.In a recent study, the Forest Survey of India (FSI) has estimated,along with the costs involved, theopportunities and potential actions for additional forest and treecover to meet the NDC target. Given that forest and green cover already show a gradual increase inrecent years, one might use this increase as part of the contributiontowards the NDC. Or one mightthink of the additional 2.53 billiontonnes of CO2 equivalent sink ashaving to be above the background or businessasusual increase.

The additional increase in carbon sinks, as recommended in thisreport, is to be achieved by the following ways: restoring impairedand open forests; aff��oresting wastelands; agroforestry; throughgreen corridors, plantations alongrailways, canals, other roads, onrailway sidings and rivers; and viaurban green spaces. Close to threequarters of the increase (72.3 %)

will be by restoring forests and afforestation on wastelands, with amodest rise in total green cover.

The FSI study has three scenarios, representing diff��erent levelsof increase in forest and tree cover. For example, 50%, 60% or 70%of impaired forests could be restored. The total increase in the carbon sink in these scenarios couldbe 1.63, 2.51 or 3.39 billion tonnesof CO2 equivalent by 2030, at costsvarying from about ₹��1.14 to ₹��2.46lakh crore. These fi��gures showthat the policy has to be at least ata medium level of increase to attain the stated NDC targets.

Natural forestsA recent study in Nature by SimonLewis and colleagues provides insights into what works well withregard to green cover. Locking upthe carbon from the atmospherein trees, ground vegetation andsoils is one of the safest ways with

which to remove carbon. If donecorrectly, the green cover increasewill provide many other benefi��ts:it will improve water quality, storewater in wetlands, prevent soilerosion, protect biodiversity, andpotentially provide new jobs. Theauthors estimate that allowingland to be converted into forestsnaturally will sequester 42 timesthe carbon compared to land converted to plantation, or six timesfor land converted to agroforestry.

Another study in Science byJeanFrançois Bastin and colleagues estimates that it is possibleto add 0.9 billion hectares of canopy cover worldwide, potentiallymitigating up to twothirds of historical greenhouse gas emissions.This would then prevent or delaythe worst impacts from climatechange.

Restoration type is keyTaken together, these studies indicate that while there is enormouspotential in mitigating climatechange through forest restoration,the amount of carbon stored depends on the type of forest restoration carried out. The most eff��ective way is through natural forestregeneration with appropriate institutions to facilitate the process.Vast monocultures of plantationsare being proposed in some countries, including in India, but thesehold very little carbon; when theyare harvested, carbon is released

as the wood is burned. Besides, some of the trees se

lected for the plantations may relyon aquifers whose water becomesmore and more precious withgreater warming. Such forms ofgreen cover, therefore, do not mitigate climate change and also donot improve biodiversity or provide related benefi��ts. India, therefore, needs fi��rst to ensure that deforestation is curtailed to themaximum extent. Second, thearea allocated to the restoration ofimpaired and open forests andwastelands in the FSI reportshould be focussed entirely on natural forests and agroforestry.

While using a carbon lens toview forests has potential dangers,involving local people and planting indigenous tree varietieswould also reduce likely diffi��culties. Instead of plantations, growing food forests managed by localcommunities would have additional cobenefi��ts. Once natural forestsare established, they need to beprotected. Protecting and nurturing public lands while preventingtheir private enclosure is thereforeparamount. Active forest management by local people has a longhistory in India and needs to expand to meet climate, environment and social justice goals.

Sujatha Byravan is a scientist who studies

science, technology and development

policy

Turning down the heat There is enormous potential in mitigating climate change through forest restoration

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more letters online:

www.hindu.com/opinion/letters/

Last month, the United Nations released the 26th revision of World Population

Prospects and forecast that Indiawill overtake China as the mostpopulous country by 2027. The only surprise associated with this forecast is the way it was covered bythe media. Is this good news orbad news? Is it news at all?

Is this news? Not really. We haveknown for a long time that India isdestined to be the most populouscountry in the world. Populationprojections are developed usingexisting population and by adjusting for expected births, deaths andmigration. For shortterm projections, the biggest impact comesfrom an existing population, particularly women in childbearingages. Having instituted a onechildpolicy in 1979, China’s female population in peak reproductive ages(between 15 and 39 years) is estimated at 235 million (2019) compared to 253 million for India.Thus, even if India could institutea policy that reduces its fertilityrate to the Chinese level, India willovertake China as the most populous country.

The element of surprise comesfrom the date by which this momentous event is expected. TheUN revises its population projections every two years. In 2015, itwas predicted that India wouldovertake China in 2022, but in the2019 projections it is 2027. The UNhas revised India’s expected population size in 2050 downward from1,705 million in 2015 projections to1,639 million in 2019 projections.This is due to faster than expected

fertility decline, which is goodnews by all counts.

Like it or not, India will reign asthe most populous countrythroughout most of the 21st century. Whether we adjust to this demographic destiny in a way thatcontributes to the longterm welfare of the nation or not dependson how we deal with three criticalissues.

Population controlFirst, do we need to adopt stringent population control policies?History tells us that unless the Indian state can and chooses to actwith the ruthlessness of China, thegovernment has few weapons inits arsenal. Almost all weaponsthat can be used in a democraticnation, have already been deployed. These include restrictionof maternity leave and other maternity benefi��ts for fi��rst two birthsonly and disqualifi��cation frompanchayat elections for peoplewith more than two children insome States along with minor incentives for sterilisation.

As demographer Judith Blakenoted, people have children, notbirth rates and few incentives ordisincentives are powerful enoughto overcome the desire for children. Groundlevel research byformer Chief Secretary of MadhyaPradesh Nirmala Buch found thatindividuals who wanted larger families either circumvented the restrictions or went ahead regardlessof the consequences. As one of herinformants noted, “The sarpanch’s post is not going to support me during my old age, but myson will. It does not really matter ifI lose the post of sarpanch.”

Second, if punitive actionswon’t work, we must encouragepeople to have smaller families voluntarily. There are sharp diff��erences in fertility among diff��erentsocioeconomic groups. Total Fer

tility Rate (TFR) for the poorestwomen was 3.2 compared to only1.5 for the richest quintile in 201516. To get to TFR of 1.5, a substantial proportion of the populationamong the top 40% must stop atone child.

In western societies, low fertility is associated with the confl��ictthat working women face betweenwork and child rearing and the individual’s desire to enjoy a childfree life. Not so for Indian couples.In India, couples with one child donot consume more nor are womenin these families more likely towork. My research with demographer Alaka Basu from Cornell University shows that it is a desire toinvest in their children’s educationand future prospects that seems todrive people to stop at one child.Richer individuals see greater potential for ensuring admission togood colleges and better jobs fortheir children, inspiring them to limit their family size. Thus, improving education and ensuringthat access to good jobs is open toall may also spur even poorer households into having fewer childrenand investing their hopes in thesuccess of their only daughter orson. Provision of safe and easilyaccessible contraceptive serviceswill complete this virtuous cycle.

Population and policyThird, we must change our mindset about how population is incor

porated in broader developmentpolicies.

Population growth in the northand central parts of India is fargreater than that in south India.What should we do about the oldpolicies aimed at not rewardingStates that fail to control population growth? These policies include using the 1971 population toallocate seats for the Lok Sabhaand for CentreState allocation under various Finance Commissions.In a departure from this practice,the 15th Finance Commission is expected to use the 2011 Census formaking its recommendations. Thishas led to vociferous protests fromthe southern States as the feelingis that they are being penalised forbetter performance in reducingfertility.

There is reason for their concern. Between the 1971 and 2011Censuses, the population of Keralagrew by 56% compared to about140% growth for Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Amove to use the 2011 Census forfunds allocation will favour thenorthcentral States compared toKerala and Tamil Nadu.

However, continuing to staywith a 1971 Censusbased allocation would be a mistake. CrossState subsidies come in manyforms; CentreState transfers is butone. Incomes generated by workers in one State may also providethe tax revenues that support residents in another State. The varying pace of onset and end of demographic transition creates intricatelinks between workers in Haryanatoday and retirees in Kerala andbetween future workers in UttarPradesh and children in Tamil Nadu.

Demographic dividend provided by the increasing share of working age adults is a temporaryphase during which child dependency ratio is falling and oldage

dependency ratio is still low. Butthis opportunity only lasts for 20to 30 years. For States such as Kerala and Tamil Nadu which experienced fertility decline early, thiswindow of opportunity is alreadypast.

As the United Nations Population Fund estimates, over the next20 years, the window of opportunity will be open for moderateachievers such as Karnataka, Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir. Asthe demographic window of opportunity closes for these States, itwill open for Uttar Pradesh, Biharand other States that are the last toenter fertility transition. This suggests that workers of Bihar will besupporting the ageing populationof Kerala in 20 years.

The focus areasIn order to maximise the demographic dividend, we must investin the education and health of theworkforce, particularly in Stateswhose demographic window ofopportunity is still more than a decade away. Staying fi��xated on thenotion that revising State allocation of Central resources based oncurrent population rather thanpopulation from 1971 punishesStates with successful populationpolicies is shortsighted. This is because current laggards will be thegreatest contributors of the futurefor everyone, particularly for ageing populations of early achievers.Enhancing their productivity willbenefi��t everyone.

It is time for India to accept thefact that being the most populousnation is its destiny. It must worktowards enhancing the lives of itscurrent and future citizens.

Sonalde Desai is Professor of Sociology,

University of Maryland and Professor and

Centre Director, NCAER-National Data

Innovation Centre. The views expressed

are personal

A demographic window of opportunity In India, investing in the laggard States will ensure their role as being the greatest contributors of the future

Sonalde Desai

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Reining in hateThe lawenforcers beingmute is what ends upemboldening the fringe totease, torment and eventake a toll on lives (Editorialpage, “The growing powerof the lumpen”, July 10.)The episodes of lynchingare a blot on the face of afree, democratic India. Ifthe new slogan of thegovernment, ‘Sab ka saath,Sab ka vikas, Sab kavishwas’ is to have anymeaning, quick steps needto be initiated to win backthe trust of all who arebeing targeted.C.V. Aravind,

Bengaluru

■ Those from the minoritycommunity are beaten up,forced to chant a religiousslogan and, then lynched.What response do suchincidents evoke in the heartsof the rightthinking Indian?Strong and peaceful protestsare needed. The government

has worked on predictablelines: fi��rst denial, thensymbolic arrests, latercustomary bails, protractedtrials with endlessadjournments and, fi��nally, amuchdelayed conviction, ifat all. Public memory is shortand a young son lost. Whowill compensate his familyfor the irretrievable loss? Sofar no senior minister oreven the Prime Minister hasspoken out consistently toreassure the minorities. Civilsociety must make itspresence felt especially asthe Opposition is in disarray. Dr. Kuruvilla Varkey,

Oddanchatram, Dindigul, Tamil Nadu

Malnutrition trapThe chestthumping aroundthe vision of a $5 trillioneconomy for India has nomeaning if it doesn’t touchthe poorest and the deprivedin a positive way (OpEd page,“The malaise ofmalnutrition”, July 10) Thegrim fact that only 16% of

funds allocated underPOSHAN Abhiyaan was usedby governments betrays thesheer insensitivity of theauthorities towards themalnutritionaffl�icted. Thecascading tendency of atransmission of poverty frommother to childrencontinues, which is proofenough that thegovernment’s eff��orts havehad only peripheral impact. Ayyasseri Raveendranath,

Aranmula, Kerala

■ The inheriteddehumanising povertyexplains the persistence ofmalnutrition on a large scale.Children born inimpecunious circumstancessuff��er the most frommalnutrition. It is all themore reason forgovernments to intervene toprovide adequate nutritionto all. Funds for food to allyield great returns and helpin unlocking the fullpotential of citizens besides

strengthening the workforce.Governance can be termed‘good’ only when it banisheshunger and starvation. Thepoor must also be valued likethe rest of the populationsince attaching less value totheir lives is one unstatedreason why their nutritionalneeds are not taken care ofas they should be. G. David Milton,

Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu

What about recycling?Ever since the Union Budgetlaid out the path for electricvehicular transportation,there has been debate onhow this will aff��ect theautomobile industry and itsassociated peripheralmarkets. However, there hasbeen little debate on theimportance of (lithium)battery recycling and theissue of tackling solid waste.If EV technology is to have abright and sustainable futurein India, there has to be acomplete product lifecycle

bees. Therefore, using beeshas potential as a controlstrategy in Sri Lanka, India,Nepal and Thailand.Beehive fences are gainingpopularity in Africa, costinga fraction of what anelectrifi��ed fence would,according to an NYT article.Farmers also have a newsource of income fromselling honey besidesboosting the role of bees astop pollinators. As far as thestrategy of soundamplifi��cation is concerned,which has been elaborated inthe report, “Honour for ‘PlanBee’ that helped savejumbos” ( July 10), the fact isthat elephants are smart andquickly learn that the threatfrom a recording of buzzingbees is unreal. Thereforeinvesting in the real thingworks best as a few stingsreinforce its effi��cacy. Nadikerianda Chinnappa,

Bengaluru

system in place. Recyclingmust go handinhand withmarket, production and jobopportunities. Sreenuj C.M.,

Thalassery, Kannur, Kerala

Elephant repellantElephants are afraid of beesand there are numerous casestudies across the world toshow that the world’s largestlandbased animal is terrifi��edof the tiny insect. While abee sting does not aff��ect thethick hide, it is the stings tothe elephant’s most sensitiveareas, namely its trunk,mouth and eyes, that hurtthe most. Research hasshown that in Africa, placingbeehives every 30 m or so iseff��ective in keeping 80% ofAfrican elephants away fromfarmland. A paper in CurrentBiology (2018), titled “WildSri Lankan elephants retreatfrom the sound of disturbedAsian honey bees”, hasshown that the Asianelephant is also scared of

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters emailed to [email protected] must carry the full postal address and the full name or the name with initials.

The verdict in Sunday’s Greek elections aff��ords a

rare comfort for Europe’s centrists, who, argua

bly with the exception of Spain in April, have of

late ceded ground to populist forces. The conservative

centreright New Democracy party of Prime Minister

Kyriakos Mitsotakis has won 158 out of the 300 seats.

The leftwing Syriza party of outgoing premier Alexis

Tsipras was left with 86 seats. Critical support for Mr.

Tsipras could not be ruled out from MeRA25, the Greek

wing of Europe’s antiestablishment DiEM25, of exfi��

nance minister Yanis Varoufakis; it has nine seats. But

there is another dimension to this overall sense of polit

ical balance and stability in Parliament. Golden Dawn,

the antiMuslim party that ranked third in the last elec

tions, has been convincingly rejected by voters, with

less than the requisite vote share to enter the legisla

ture. The potential for mischief from hardline national

ist parties was on display only recently. In January, Mr.

Tsipras’s government narrowly survived a vote of confi��

dence after Independent Greeks, a coalition partner,

withdrew support, refusing to back the renaming of the

former Yugoslavian state as Northern Macedonia. Given

the infl��ux of immigrants and the refugee crisis, the rul

ing New Democracy and Opposition Syriza party both

have a moral responsibility to consolidate the middle

ground. Mr. Mitsotakis has assumed charge under rela

tively benign conditions. Four years ago, Greece was

bearing the brunt of an international bailout, biting aus

terity measures and a collapsing banking system while

on the verge of being ejected from Europe’s single cur

rency zone. That prospect is way behind, as the general

consensus is that the euro is destined to succeed, for fai

lure would be too costly.

Athens last year managed to exit the €86billion bai

lout programme, but conditions in 2019 are far from

ideal. Economic growth is at a tepid 2% rate as the pop

ulation continues to be weighed down by reforms to the

once generous pension system and spending cuts to the

education and healthcare budgets. The roughly 18%

unemployment rate is by far the highest in the Euro

pean Union. Mr. Mitsotakis, the Harvardeducated

former banker, is said to be well regarded in the Brus

sels establishment. The inference is that the economic

path of the past four years would not be derailed. The

concern for Greeks is over whether Mr. Mitsotakis can

navigate what seems a diffi��cult road ahead without

overly adding to their woes. Athens’s strategic Mediter

ranean location lends greater heft to the EU’s approach

on the external policy front. Mr. Mitsotakis must lever

age the goodwill he apparently enjoys with Brussels to

shape an asylum policy underpinned by enlightened

selfinterest and humaneness. As Greece makes a fresh

start, its leaders should temper the expectations.

Grecian churnGreece under Mr. Mitsotakis is set for

a period of stability and continuity

The Supreme Court’s decision to examine the

question whether illegal immigrants are entitled

to refugee status needs to be welcomed, but with

caution. It is debatable whether the Centre is right in

claiming that this has emerged as a substantial question

of law in the context of the Rohingya Muslims from

Myanmar. For, it is fairly obvious that those escaping

persecution in their home country are invariably un

documented. It logically follows that those fl��eeing con

ditions of war or confl��ict will have to be treated as refu

gees fi��rst before their cases can be examined in detail,

and deemed fi��t for deportation as illegal entrants. It will

be strange if any court holds that no illegal immigrant is

entitled to refugee status. That would amount to a per

verse denial of the very existence of refugees as a class.

What the government is perhaps looking for is a deci

sion holding that it can choose the class of illegal immi

grants it wishes to treat as refugees; and that it can deny

that status to any section it deems a threat to national

security or is likely to strain local resources. The court’s

decision to go into the issue, therefore, off��ers an oppor

tunity to clarify India’s approach to the refugee ques

tion, which has generally been favourable to vulnerable

entrants, but is stridently hostile to the Rohingya.

India is not a signatory to the UN Convention on the

Status of Refugees, 1951, and a Protocol adopted in 1967

on the subject. However, since Independence it has by

and large adhered to the larger humanitarian principles

underlying these instruments. In this backdrop, it is as

tonishing that the present regime is determined to de

port the Rohingya, in utter disregard of the danger to

their lives in Myanmar, and in violation of the principle

of nonrefoulement, the norm that prohibits states from

forcibly returning refugees to conditions that caused

them to fl��ee their homes in the fi��rst place. It will be am

oral and unjust if this most vulnerable group from

Myanmar’s Rakhine state, numbering about 40,000 in

India now, is denied refugee status. With the Centre tak

ing a stand against treating them as refugees, a positive

ruling is needed from the apex court to prevent their

forcible deportation. The government’s keenness to de

port the Rohingya is rooted in the technicalities of its ci

tizenship law. It defi��nes “illegal immigrant” as any fo

reigner entering India without valid travel documents,

or overstays a permitted period of stay. It rules out giv

ing citizenship by registration to such illegal immi

grants. The amendments it proposes to the Citizenship

Act do not cover Muslim immigrants and are limited to

persecuted Afghan, Bangladeshi and Pakistani minori

ties. India should work with the world community on

the voluntary repatriation of the Rohingya and not bes

mirch its fi��ne record of humane treatment of refugees

by pursuing the deportation option without relent.

Caution neededSupreme Court decision on the Rohingya’s

status must protect those fl��eeing persecution


THE HINDU DELHI


CMYK

A ND-NDE

OPED

The Committee of the Indian Merchants’Chamber and Bureau in Bombay, submittingto the Government of India their views relating to exchange and currency questions,strongly urge the the fi��xity of exchange within gold points and suggest the introductionof a token coin, valued at two rupees orthree, in which the percentage of silver shallbe so small that there may be no appreciableloss even when silver is seventy pence. Theyalso advocate the issue of coins to an unlimited extent. A point which the committeedesire most to urge is the penalising of Indian Exports by the raising of exchange andthe undue advantage which it gives to imports from foreign countries. The committee advocates the strengthening of a gold exchange standard, believing that a goldexchange standard has proved from the beginning disastrous to the country, and thatin gold standard only lies its salvation. In order to make gold standard a success, theCommittee recommend that establishmentof a gold mint in India on the same terms asthose given to the British dominions. Boththe gold standard and paper currency reserve should be entirely located in India.Council Bills must be sold meanwhile forstated amounts.

A HUNDRED YEARS AGO JULY 11, 1919.

Chamber on Currency Crisis.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah earlier this month held India’s fi��rstPrime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru,responsible for the country being deprived of onethird of Kashmir. Except for those who deify Nehru, mostothers readily agree to the obviousfact that Nehru was not infallible. However, it is ironical Mr. Shah and hisparty, the Bharatiya Janata Party, focus on an area of Nehru’s alleged culpability — his handling of the Kashmir question — on which the latterperhaps deserves their indulgencesand empathy.

What must one, then, think ofwhen one thinks of Kashmir? Is it astolen land? Or a symptom of HinduMuslim rivalry? Or a case of crossborder terrorism? Or perhaps a battleground for two nuclear rivals?

Kashmir is all these and muchmore. However, there are some aspects to the muddle that have beenignored for far too long.

Nehru, the Kashmiri PanditFirst, given Nehru’s wellknown secular credentials, we tend to treat himas less of a Hindu, if not looking athim as an outright antiHindu. Inreality, on Kashmir, he acted not onlyas a Hindu determined to protect hiscoreligionists, but as a KashmiriPandit.

In 1947, the immediacy of the crisis in Kashmir — the procrastinationof Maharaja Hari Singh to join eitherIndia or Pakistan and Pakistan’s invasion of the state — dictated that Nehru and the Government of India doeverything to prevent the impendinggenocide of the Hindus in Jammuand Kashmir.

Wouldn’t a secular Nehru have also acted in a similar way? Indeed. Buta secular Nehru would have liberatedthe rest of Kashmir, including Pakistanoccupied Kashmir (PoK), as well.Because India could either claim thewhole of Jammu and Kashmir ornothing. Ignore, for the time being,the purported reluctance of IndianArmy to proceed further due to theoperational constraints that forcedNehru to agree to a ceasefi��re.

Further, if one were to examineNehru’s actions in solely communalterms, one wouldn’t be able to visualise a better strategy for the Hindus in the State than the one hechose. It must surely have crossedNehru’s mind that if he liberatedPoK, it would create a situationwhere Hindus in Jammu and Kashmir were further relegated to a minority.

Here, it is not diffi��cult to count thebenefi��ts of Nehru’s calibrated inaction. A unifi��ed Jammu and Kashmirwould have meant that even a brilliant gerrymandering of political topography would not have helped theKashmiri Hindus. Hence, the BJP’scriticism of Nehru’s actions comesacross as ironical.

The Hyderabad parallelPrior to 1947, Jammu and Kashmirand Hyderabad State were mirror images of each other: an autocratic ruler from a minority community having put a heavy yoke on the majoritypopulation.

We are far too willing to accept thegory details of Hyderabad Nizam’smisrule but squeamish in shedding asimilar light on Kashmir. This has distorted our understanding of theKashmir problem in two ways.

One, the current angst among theKashmiri Muslims is explained awayas the people’s antiIndia sentimentsor the machinations of Pakistan.

There is truth in both explanations.But they also mislead us into believing that the Kashmir problem startedafter 1947. The fact is that the crossborder terrorism started much before the Partition of the subcontinentwhen Muslims in British India usedto slip into the princely State of Jammu and Kashmir in solidarity withfellow Muslims, who were getting araw deal from their ruler. Had webeen cognisant of this fact, we wouldhave focussed more on good governance and ensuring basic liberties tothe people in Kashmir.

Two, after its accession into India,Jammu and Kashmir was pushed intoadopting democracy whereas it never had the institutions, the culturaltemperament and the robust civil society so essential for democracy totake roots and fl��ourish. Recall howHyderabad State (now Telangana)suff��ered for decades from leftwingextremism which was a counter to itsfeudal setup.

Leaving aside a few honourableexceptions like the princely States ofTravancore, Baroda and Kolhapur,most areas under native rule prior toIndependence proved to be fallowfor democracy, whereas British Indiaenjoyed a whiff�� of rulesbasedgovernance.

Understanding the parallels between Hyderabad and Kashmir wouldgive us a whole new way of dealingwith the root cause of the problem,

rather than just its symptoms. TheMaharaja’s delay in choosing between India and Pakistan promptedPakistan to resort to military intervention. That its troops were dressedup in mufti should not distract usfrom that fact.

On a fi��refi��ghting modeAfter accepting the Maharaja’s instrument of accession, Nehru’s maintask was to secure the safety of Hindus, especially in the Valley. Havingaccomplished his goal, he had to endthe war at a time and place of hischoosing. How else could he haveachieved it without going to the United Nations?

He was right in his likely assessment that Hindus wouldn’t be safe inPakistan and Muslims would be better off�� in India. His assessment wasproved right during his time. But thefi��refi��ghting nature of Nehru’s actions in 194748 should have been additionally followed up with measuresof restoration and rehabilitation,keeping Kashmir’s history and culture in context.

Nehru and India had three policyoptions at their disposal during theinitial years of the problem. Theywere: a) Use the window of opportunity to relocate Hindus away fromthe Valley; that would have avoidedcommunal strife though democracywould have taken more time to fructify; b) Usher in secular and liberaldemocracy which would take care ofthe interests of everyone; or c) Put inplace an autocratic system thatwould be managed from New Delhi.

The fi��rst option (evacuation) wasnever attempted as the governmentthought it was not necessary and theCentre was supposed to be followingthe second option (democracy) butde facto ended up following the thirdone (direct rule).

Unfortunately, for Nehru, takingpossession of Jammu and Kashmir —minus the ‘onethird’ — was an end initself but not the beginning of a longprocess of integration. Further, hehad too much confi��dence in the superiority of India’s liberal polity,which he believed Kashmiris wouldhappily embrace. He also had toomuch faith in the sense of justice andequanimity of his successors. Hisfaith proved to have been misplaced.

D. Shyam Babu is Senior Fellow, Centre forPolicy Research. Views are personal

The former PM erred in having too much confi��dence in the sense of justice of his successors

A measured handshake: Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru with Kashmir’s Maharaja Hari Singh in Srinagar in May 1948. * THE HINDU PHOTO ARCHIVES

Nehru and the Kashmir quandary

D. Shyam Babu

In the mid and late1800s, social movementsin Europe for equal rights for women threwup the word ‘feminism’, which traces its origins to French. The suff��rage movement inBritain in the early part of the 20th centurywas another component of women’s fi��ght forequality across the world.

Over the years, this fi��ght has gained momentum, often with varying goals depending on the cultural traditions and the degreeof prevalence of patriarchy in diff��erent societies. Various instances have inspired womento collectively get together and assert theirrights — to create a combined voice thatstrongly advocates the impending need toview them as equal to men.

In the current world, there are strongstances that women are taking to supportcauses, such as the #MeToo movement thatstarted in the U.S. and took down powerplayers like Harvey Weinstein and Roy Priceand is now a force to reckon with in India.

Why it is neededThe abuse of power by men in high offi��ceshas been an open secret. Many womenacross industries have been subject to lewdremarks, suggestive behaviour and assault —and have often been penalised for rejectingsuch advances.

Tanushree Dutta’s decision, in September2018, to speak out against her alleged exploiters from a decade ago gave courage to manywomen to be able to openly speak up againstbullies who coerce them into compromisingsituations.

Many other women have been empowered by the #MeToo platform to be able totake on powerful bullies. A big boon for feminism, #MeToo has also given women a toolagainst oppressors in infl��uential positions.As sexual harassment is considered a seriousoff��ence when proven beyond reasonabledoubt, the men stand to lose their sources ofincome as well as public reputation. Socialmedia has, thus, been a huge platform inhelping women to be able to express their ordeal as well as fi��nd solidarity and support.

A corollary to the same is the apparentmisuse of these tools by some for personalagendas.

Many women are choosing to lash out atexlovers and blame them for harassment.Consent is imperative in every relationship;however, a mutual relationship (irrespective

of the state of it) cannot be comparable to exploitation of women employees at workplaces by men in senior positions.

Settling personal scoresFormer Chief Justice of the Bombay HighCourt, Sujata Manohar (who was part of thebench that penned the Vishakha guidelinesagainst sexual harassment at workplaces),observed that many women were misusingthe #MeToo movement to shame men on social media and to settle personal scores. Adding allegations of a personal nature dilutesthe essence of a very powerful and necessarymovement.

Further, a lot of women anonymouslyshare stories about their harassers but refuseto take further legal or police action. Thisraises questions on the ingenuity of theirclaims. In a recent example, an aspiring actor fi��led a complaint against a noted director,but then withdrew it.

Such actions not only allow the men inquestion to go scotfree, but also cast a shadow on the veracity of the victims’ claims. Ifan untoward incident did occur, the suff��erermust be willing to follow the proper channelto lodge a complaint and seek support forthe same. It takes immense courage for a survivor to come out in public and relive her ordeal, and she must be believed and supported.

In such an atmosphere, false claims by afew women cast a net of suspicion on all allegations. Using social media to name andshame an alleged perpetrator just to settle apersonal score under the garb of #MeToo is adisservice to women who genuinely needthe aid of the movement.

To achieve a balance, it is important fairlyassess each situation while taking a neutralapproach in dealing with both the parties involved — the man and women.

This article does not attempt to undermine the need for women to assert themselves. Neither does it aim to question thelegitimacy of all the complainants rallyingbehind the #MeToo movement. It only aimsto argue that as we propose to create a moreequal society, we must not let the oppressedassume the role of the oppressors. Whilethere are great tools at our disposal, they also come with great responsibility.

For #MeToo to retain its moral clarity, it isimportant that we now look at ways tostrengthen the processes at workplaces andthe legal framework in general, so that casesof sexual harassment are speedily settled,and not left to a ‘shesaidhesaid’ aftermaththat extends the trauma of the innocent women and, sometimes, the men concerned.

Damini Chopra is an actor

Deepening #MeToo A year after an actor inspired women to speak up againstharassment, it’s critical to assess the gains and challenges

Damini Chopra

The Integrated Child DevelopmentServices (ICDS) scheme is one of theworld’s largest programmes for earlychildhood care and development.Now, a new study suggests that nutrition and health counselling deliveredunder the programme’s auspices isone of the best possible investmentsthat can be made by any government.

This timely, nonpartisan report isby India Consensus, a partnershipbetween Tata Trusts and Copenhagen Consensus, which has undertaken a fi��rstofitskind analysis of 100government programmes. Thesewere identifi��ed by NITI Aayog fortheir role in supporting India’s eff��ortsto achieve the Global Goals.

The Global Goals have a dizzyingarray of 169 targets, such a long listthat no country on Earth can achieveall of them. That’s why the unique India Consensus economic analysis approach is vital: it addsnew knowledge aboutcosts and benefi��ts. Thisway, it can be clearerwhich programmesachieve the most goodfor every rupee spent.

Researchers haveidentifi��ed twelve programmes that have phenomenal benefi��ts for every rupee spent. Among the topprogrammes is nutrition and healthcounselling.

Empowering the motherAs a behavioural change intervention, nutrition and health counsellingis relatively low cost for every personthat is reached. It’s important to notethat this programme does not provide food, but instead provides information to the mother, making it morelikely that the child will receive moreand better food. And that in turnleads to lifelong benefi��ts.

Many studies have now demonstrated that these benefi��ts can belarge. Improving the nutrition andhealth outcomes of the children ofmothers reached makes this a highlycosteff��ective intervention.

Two analyses were undertaken inAndhra Pradesh and Rajasthan, looking at a sixyear campaign of nutrition counselling and handwashing.

The average cost of counselling sessions for each woman was estimatedat ₹��1,177 and ₹��1,250 for Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan respectively.Based on previous studies, it is estimated that counselling leads to a 12%reduction in stunting. This leads tobetter cognitive skills.

Quantifying the benefi��tsQuantifying the increase in earningsshows that the per unit benefi��t forAndhra Pradesh and Rajasthancomes to ₹��71,500 and ₹��54,000.

What these fi��gures mean is thatthe investment generates returns tosociety worth ₹��61 and ₹��43, respectively, for every rupee spent. Whilethe analysis will diff��er for otherStates, these results show that nutritional counselling is a phenomenalinvestment. It’s relevant to note thatthese fi��gures take into account thechallenges of nutrition counselling:it’s a relatively diffi��cult interventionto implement and ensure that every

person is reached. Buteven if India’s implementation problemswere worse than othercountries studied by researchers, it is unlikelyto make the investmentless impressive. The takeaway point is that,among all the ways thatthe Indian government

is spending money to achieve GlobalGoals targets, adding additional resources to nutrition counsellingwould be a phenomenal investment.

The preliminary results of this analysis show that there are many policies that can achieve amazing outcomes. If India were to spend₹��50,000 crore more on achieving theGlobal Goals, focussing on the mostphenomenal programmes identifi��edso far by India Consensus wouldcreate extra benefi��ts for India worth₹��20 lakh crore — more than the entireIndian public consumption.

With returns like this at stake,there are compelling reasons to lookfavourably at approaches includingnutrition counselling.

Bjorn Lomborg is president of the

Copenhagen Consensus Center.

Shireen Vakil heads the Policy and Advocacy

unit of the Tata Trusts

A case for nutrition counselling

It is a lowcost measure that off��ers lifelong benefi��ts

Bjorn Lomborg

Shireen Vakil

Malaysia today [ July 10] tightened its immigration regulations and called on all noncitizens above 12 years of age to call at the Immigration Offi��ce before September 15 to furnishfresh particulars about themselves. Thereare an estimated 700,000 noncitizensamong Malaysia’s 10 million population,nearly a quarter million of them are Indians.The more rigid immigration regulationswhich will come into eff��ect next Tuesday[July 15] is part of the emergency declared inthe country when racial riots broke out onMay 13. The regulations known as Essential(Modifi��cations of Immigration Laws) Regulations 1969 were gazetted today [ July 10] andwill remain in force for the duration of theemergency. The new regulation requires travellers to leave Malaysia only at authorisedpoints. Under the present regulations, travellers are only required to enter the country at such points but could leave from anyspot. Authorised points are airports, ports,Johore causeway and immigration and customs check points at the MalaysiaThailandborder in Kedah and Kelantan.

FIFTY YEARS AGO JULY 11, 1969

Immigrants to Malaysia

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DATA POINT

CMYK

A ND-NDE


DELHI THE HINDU


NEWS

FROM PAGE ONE

tional personnel to preventany untoward incident.

Nearly two hours afterMr. Sudhakar was taken intothe chambers, he was fi��nallyescorted out by Mr. Khargeand Bengaluru Police Commissioner Alok Kumar amidsloganeering against the BJPby Congress workers. Mr.Kharge, downplaying the incident, said, “He is not achild. I did not drag him butonly requested him to meetthe KPCC president and heobliged.” Later, Mr. Sudhakar met the Governor andhanded over his resignationletter to him too.

The crowd swelled in thecorridors with workers andleaders from both partiesgathered outside. Theyraised slogans against eachother while BJP legislatorssat on a dharna and tried toforce their way inside thechambers.

Outside the VidhanaSoudha, former BJP Minister Renukacharya and Urban Development MinisterU.T. Khader got into a verbalspat that threatened to spillout of control. Police, whowere taken by surprise, shutthe gates of the VidhanaSoudha and deployed addi

Two more CongressMLAs quit in Karnataka

Secretary. Administration inthe State came to a standstillsince the time Mr. Kumaraswamy took oath as Chief Minister, the petitioners alleged, adding that thegovernment had “lost miserably before the electorate.”

Hurt by scandalsChief among the variousscandals that rocked it werethe IMA ponzi scam, inwhich “thousands of peoplehave been cheated of theirhardearned money”, andthe JSW land scam, in which“land has been given at throwaway rates to industrialists,” the MLAs said.

The petition claimedthat, in all, 14 MLAs of theCongress and the JD(S) haveresigned. It also mentionedthe resignation of MLAAnand Singh on July 1 andtwo other legislators on July8. The government was inminority in the 222strongAssembly, it said.

The Speaker’s ploy to stalltheir resignation processwas antidemocratic and aviolation of the Constitution, the MLAs said.

The petition was mentioned for urgent listing bysenior advocate Mukul Rohatgi and advocates Subhranshu Padhi and Devanshi Singh before ChiefJustice Gogoi on Wednesday. Mr. Rohatgi said “timeis of great essence in thecase and the petition shouldbe heard today ortomorrow.”

The petition has beenfi��led by Pratap Gouda Patil,Ramesh Jarkhiholi, ByratiBasavaraj, B.C.Patil, S.T.Somashekar, Arbail SivaramHebbar, Mahesh Kumathalli, K.Gopalaiah, H.D.Vishwanath and Narayan Gowda.

Chief Minister Kumaraswamy, the Speaker and theCentre have been made parties along with the State ofKarnataka through its Chief

Karnataka power tusslereaches Supreme Court

happy with us for some reason. It does not mean all isover,” he said, insisting on ameeting.

Meanwhile, speaking tothe media from inside thehotel, the rebel MLAs refused to meet him. MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi said, “We donot want to meet him. Weare fi��rm and four more willjoin our group,” he said.

Another MLA S.T. Somashekhar said: “Friendship and politics are diff��erent. We will meet you(Shivakumar) later in Bengaluru but not today. We willnot be able to see you in anembarrassing position.Please go back. You haveplayed a vital role in moulding our political career.”

Complaint to policeIn their complaint to PoliceCommissioner SanjayBarve, the legislators hadclaimed they feel ‘threatened’ and do not wish tomeet the Minister, who mustbe “stopped from storminginto the hotel.”

Signed by the 10 MLAs.the letter said: “We haveheard that Mr. Shivakumarand others are going tostorm into the hotel. We feelthreatened by the same. Wedo not want to meet him.Kindly request help in thematter and do not allowthem to enter the premises.”

He was accompanied byformer Mumbai Congresspresidents Milind Deora andSanjay Nirupam and otherparty workers. After threehours of drama outside theguest house on the campus,Mr. Shivakumar was takento the airport for a fl��ightback home late in the evening. He was being “forced toleave under pressure by unknown forces”, he said.

The police said its actionwas based on the complaints of the rebel MLAseven as it was forced to impose prohibitory orders under section 144 of the Cr.PC,restraining gathering of fouror more persons.

Prior to this, it was hoursof drama outside the Mumbai hotel with Mr. Shivakumar staying put, despitepouring rain and insistingthat he be allowed to go inside as “he had a room reserved in his name.”

BJP supporters, meanwhile, shouted slogans asking Mr. Shivakumar to goback. As Mr. Shivakumardisplayed his hotel bookingconfi��rmation, a letter fromthe hotel was also being circulated that said his reservation was cancelled due to“some emergency.”

“I have come to meet myfriends who I have been associated with for three tofour decades. They are un

High drama as policedetain Minister

The Congress on Wednesday said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government inMaharashtra had imposedconditions similar to “martial law” in Mumbai to prevent their leaders frommeeting rebel MLAs, and accused the ruling party of“dismantling democracy” inthe country.

Congress leader in theLok Sabha Adhir RanjanChowdhury told presspersons that the CongressMLAs were “being held captive” by the BJP in a Mumbaihotel.

“The democratic edifi��ceof Karnataka has been deliberately dismantled by theruling regime in order tograb power in Karnataka. Ina deliberate and predetermined manner, they haveengineered defection in theruling party. So now, a number of MLAs have been under the captivity of the ruling party,” said Mr.Chowdhury, after leading awalkout from the Lok Sabhaover the Karnatakasituation.

“Inducement or intimidation are being deployed bythe ruling regime with thesingle objective of capturingpower in Karnataka,” he al

leged. Questioning the police action against KarnatakaCongress leader D.K. Shivakumar, who was denied permission to enter the hotelwhere the rebel MLAs werestaying, Mr. Chowdhurysaid, “It appears that inMumbai, especially, for theCongress, a martial law hasbeen imposed only to prevent the MLAs who are inthe captivity of the rulingparty to come forward andtalk to Mr. Shivakumar.”

The Congress leader alleged that it was a “gross violation” of Mr. Shivakumar’sfundamental right as he hada valid hotel booking but theMaharashtra governmentforced the hotel management to cancel it.

“We have raised the issueinside Parliament to drawthe attention of the people,”he said.

‘Martial law’ inMumbai: CongressSays BJP is holding MLAs in captivity SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury

Union Parliamentary Aff��airsMinister Pralhad Joshi onWednesday told the Lok Sabha that Karnataka MinisterD.K. Shivakumar was not allowed to enter a Mumbai hotel because the rebel Congress MLAs lodged therefeared for their safety.

Parliament was disruptedfor the third day in a row over the political crisis in Karnataka.

The Rajya Sabha was adjourned four times. In theLok Sabha, the Oppositionstaged a walkout as theywere not allowed to raise theissue.

Congress leader in theLok Sabha Adhir RanjanChowdhury said democracywas being destroyed in Karnataka, and accused the BJPand the Union governmentof hatching a conspiracy tooverthrow the governmentin the State.

Slogans raisedAs Lok Sabha Speaker OmBirla did not allow Mr.Chowdhury to further speakon the issue during ZeroHour, Congress memberscame to the Well and startedshouting slogans that democracy was being crushedin the State.

Mr. Joshi, meanwhile, displayed a letter written by the

MLAs lodged in the Mumbaihotel, and said it was ontheir request that the policewere guarding the premises.

“I would like to put this onrecord that the MLAs stayingin a hotel in Mumbai havewritten to the City PoliceCommissioner that there is athreat to their life from Shivakumar,” Mr. Joshi said.

The Rajya Sabha was adjourned twice before lunch.Congress members stormedinto the Well after their demand for a debate on Karnataka was rejected by HouseChairman M. Venkaiah Naidu forcing an adjournment.

When the House met atnoon for Question Hour,Congress members wereagain on their feet.

Chairman’s plea“This is not the way. TheQuestion Hour is very important. So much money hasbeen spent on this. The entire country is watching us,”the Rajya Sabha Chairmansaid, urging members creating the din to allow theHouse to function.

After the lunch break, theRajya Sabha was set to start adebate on the Union Budget,but slogan shouting by Con

gress members forced an adjournment within fi��ve minutes. The Housereconvened at 3 p.m.

Deputy Chairman Harivansh asked Congress MP P.Chidambaram to open thedebate on the Budget, but herefused.

Then Mr. Harivansh askedSuresh Prabhu of the BJP tobegin the debate.

Mr. Prabhu spoke for over50 minutes amid pandemonium.

The House functioned till4 p.m. It was decided thatthe debate on the Budget willbe reinitiated on Thursday.

Karnataka row stalls ParliamentDemocracy being destroyed in the State, says Congress leader Adhir Ranjan


New Delhi

On their feet: Opposition members protesting in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. * RSTV/PTI

A day after the Finance Ministry came out with astatement “clarifying” thateven the accredited journalists will be allowed inside the Ministry only withan appointment, the Editors Guild of India called itan “arbitrary decision.”The Guild on Wednesdaydemanded that the orderbe withdrawn with immediate eff��ect.

“The Guild has no dispute with the Ministry thatjournalists should behavewith restraint and responsibility while enjoying theiraccess to the Finance Ministry. But a blanket orderis not the answer,” it said ina statement.

“This order is a gag onmedia freedoms and caneven result in a further fallin India’s global press freedom rankings, especiallyas the contagion can easilyspread to other Ministriesas well,” the Guild said.

It said that if the FinanceMinistry feels inconvenienced by journalists’ access to government offi��cesthen the system could beimproved in discussionswith journalists. “TheGuild urges the Finance Minister, Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman, to reconsider her decision and withdraw it.”

‘FinMin curbson media arbitrary’


New Delhi

The government informedParliament that “no foreigngovernment or organisationhas any locus standi” in repealing Article 370 in Jammuand Kashmir as matters relating to the Constitutionwere internal and only forthe Indian Parliament todeal with.

Minister of State for Home

G. Kishan Reddy said in awritten response in the Rajya Sabha that Jammu andKashmir was an integral partof India.

While responding to aquestion on whether repealof Articles 370 and 35A willin any way violate any United Nations regulation or anyinternational obligation ofthe country, Mr. Reddy said,“Jammu and Kashmir is anintegral part of India. Matters relating to the Constitution of India are internal andentirely for the Indian Parliament to deal with. No foreign government or organisation has any locus standiin the matter.”

Home Minister Amit Shahrecently told the Lok Sabhathat Article 370 was a “tem

porary provision”. Mr. Reddy said, “At present, Article35A is contained in the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order,1954 which was addedthrough the Constitution Order issued by the Presidentof India under Article 370.”

The two provisions let theJ&K legislature decide the“permanent residents” ofthe State, prohibits a nonJ&K resident from buyingproperty in the State and ensures job reservation for itsresidents.

Replying to a separatequestion, Mr. Reddy said

that after the Pulwama terror attack, 93 terrorists hadbeen killed in Jammu andKashmir.

On February 14, 40 CRPFpersonnel were killed whena carborne bomber of JaisheMohammad rammed aCRPF bus in Pulwama.

The Minister said thatwhen compared with thecorresponding period of2018, the fi��rst half of thisyear has witnessed a reduction in terrorism by 28%, reduction in net infi��ltration by43% and increase in neutralisation of terrorists by 22%.

(With PTI inputs)

India can repeal Article 370 at will: CentreMinister says UNor any countryhas no say

G. Kishan Reddy


New Delhi

The National InvestigativeAgency (NIA) has attachedthe Srinagar house of Kashmiri separatist leader AsiyaAndrabi as “proceeds of terrorism”. This is the fi��rst timethe agency has attached theproperty of a separatistleader.

The NIA order pasted outside the house of Ms Andrabi said the agency had reason to believe that the“property represents proceeds of terrorism and hasbeen used in furtherance ofterrorist activities of proscribed organisation DukhtaraneMillat (DeM).”

An NIA offi��cial said the at

tachment was done as perprovisions of law.

“The approval was granted by DGP, J&K as requiredunder the law. Consequentto attachment, the propertycannot be sold, transferredor otherwise dealt with inany manner without the express permission of offi��cermaking the order,” the agency said.

NIA attaches separatistleader’s Srinagar house ‘Represents proceeds of terrorism’


New Delhi

Asiya Andrabi

The Jammu & Kashmir HighCourt has directed the Union Home Ministry, the National Investigation Agency(NIA) and the J&K Government to submit its objections to a plea questioningthe functioning of the NIA inthe State.

Mushtaq Ahmad Khan,father of Haris MushtaqKhan, 24, a resident of theGopalpora village of Wathoora in Budgam, who wasarrested by the NIA, has fi��leda writ petition questioningthe NIA Act and its implementation in J&K.

Hearing the plea of Mr.

Khan, Justice Tashi Rabstan,heading a Bench, issued notices to the Union of Indiathrough its Secretary to Government, Ministry of HomeAff��airs; Director General,NIA; Investigating Offi��cerconcerned NIA Jammu &Kashmir State; Principal Secretary to the governmentHome Department, J&K; andthe Station House Offi��cer ofKothi Bagh, Srinagar.

Mr. Khan’s son was arrested on November 24, 2018and was lodged in the District Jail, Jammu, “eventhough the off��ence was alleged to have taken place atSrinagar”. “The NIA Act isultra vires to the Constitu

tion of Jammu & Kashmir asthe Parliament of Indialacked legislative competence of such an enactment,which otherwise falls withinthe exclusive legislative domain of the State of Jammu &Kashmir,” advocate Salih Pirzada pleaded before theBench on Tuesday.

The advocate argued thatthe NIA Act “manifestly encroaches upon the exclusivelegislative domain of the J&Kand is thus beyond the legislative competence of theParliament, hence liable tobe declared ultra vires.” Theplea also questioned the suomoto transfer of cases to theDirector General, NIA.

HC seeks response from Centreon validity of NIA Act in J&KPlea questions the role of the agency in the State


Srinagar

The Lok Sabha on Wednesday cleared the New DelhiInternational ArbitrationCentre Bill, 2019. The Bill,which replaces an Ordinance promulgated inMarch this year, providesfor the incorporation of theNew Delhi InternationalArbitration Centre (NDIAC)for creating an autonomous regime for institutionalised arbitration.

The Bill, moved by Union Law Minister RaviShanker Prasad, has a provision to declare the NDIACas an Institution of National Importance. The Minister said the Centre will beheaded by a chairperson,who has been a judge ofthe Supreme Court or aHigh Court or an eminentperson having specialknowledge and experiencein the administration of arbitration.

Lok Sabhagives nod toarbitration Bill


New Delhi

The government has received complaints of bankseither not sanctioning or delaying disbursement to applicants of the Credit LinkedSubsidy Scheme (CLSS) under the Pradhan MantriAwas Yojana (Urban), UnionHousing and Urban Aff��airsMinister of State (independent charge) Hardeep SinghPuri admitted in the RajyaSabha on Wednesday.

Under the scheme, applicants of economically weaker section (EWS), low income group (LIG) andmiddle income group (MIG)can get subsidies on the interest to be paid on housingloans.

Replying to a question

from BJP MP T.G. Venkatesh,the Minister admitted that“some complaints havebeen received about Primary Lending Institutions(PLIs) not sanctioning ofcredit linked subsidy or delaying the subsidy underCLSS component of PMAY(U)”.

He added that the Ministry had reviewed the issuesthat had arisen with the twonodal agencies — NationalHousing Bank and Housingand Urban DevelopmentCorporation Ltd. (HUDCO)— and put in place a “grievance redressal mechanism”.

So far, subsidy of ₹��14,482crore had been disbursed to6.43 lakh benefi��ciaries under CLSS.

Banks delaying PMAY(U)subsidies, admits govt. Complaints being addressed: Minister


NEW DELHI

The Opposition parties, already in disarray after theLok Sabha election debacle,were caught in a keen contest among themselves forthe post of member in thegeneral council of the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC).

As a norm, a Rajya Sabhamember is selected throughconsensus and no electionsare held for the post. But onWednesday, Congress’s Pradeep Bhattacharya, Trinamool Congress’s Dola Senand CPI(M) candidate Elamaram Kareem were in thefray for the post.

Ms. Sen won the contest

with 90 votes and Mr. Bhattacharya was the runnerupwith 46. Mr. Kareem got onlyeight votes.

The total votes cast were156, of which 12 votes weredeclared invalid.

Sources said an attemptwas made by the Trinamool

Congress to reach out to theCongress and the CPI(M) onTuesday night to avoid anelection. It proposed thatthe CPI(M) be allowed totake the seat.

“The Congress refused.They said that they will winand later resign from theseat,” a senior Oppositionleader said.

The Trinamool has only13 members in the House,while the Congress has 46and the two Left parties together have seven members.

“This lack of synergy between three leading Opposition parties further showsthe state of incoherence weare in,” a top Oppositionleader said.

In fi��erce Opposition battle,Trinamool wins ESIC postDola Sen gets the most votes after eff��orts at consensus fail


New Delhi

Dola Sen

The occupational safety Billwill be introduced “in theongoing session.”

“The decision will enhance the coverage of thesafety, health and workingconditions provisions manifold,” a government statement said.

While the code will be applicable to all trades, including IT establishments andservice sector, where morethan 10 workers are employed, it will be applicableto mines and docks that em

ploy even one worker. Thecode also framed rules forwomen workers workingnight shifts.

“Women permitted towork beyond 7 p.m. and before 6 a.m. subject to the safety, holidays, workinghours or any other condition as prescribed by appropriate government in respect of prescribedestablishments. However,only after taking their consent for night work (sic),”the statement said.

Worker safety code Billgets Cabinet approval

CMYK


THE HINDU DELHI


NEWS

The Assam government hassent a proposal to theCentre for fasttracking theestablishment of 10 detention centres across the Stateto house people who wouldbe excluded from the fi��nalNational Register of Citizens(NRC).

The Supreme Courtmonitored register, being updated on the basis of its 1951avatar, has to be publishedby July 31.

NRC exclusionAbout 40.07 lakh people outof 3.29 crore applicants hadbeen excluded from the

draft NRC published on July30, 2018. Another 1.02 lakhpeople were removed fromthe draft list of citizens onJune 26.

“We have sent the proposal for 10 new centres in various places for NRCexcluded people,” Kumar SanjayKrishna, Assam’s AdditionalChief Secretary (Home andPolitical) told The Hindu onWednesday.

As per the blueprint, adetention centre eachwould be established in Barpeta, Dima Hasao, Goalpara, Kamrup (Metropolitan),Karimganj, Lakhimpur, Nagaon, Nalbari, Sivasagar,and Sonitpur districts.

Assam mulls 10 centres forthose excluded from NRC RAHUL KARMAKAR

GUWAHATI

Congress names whips,committee membersNEW DELHI

The Congress on Wednesday

named Tamil Nadu MP

Manickam Tagore and Assam

member Gaurav Gogoi (in

photo) as party whips. Goa

MP Francis Sardinha and

Kerala member K.

Muraleedharan have been

chosen for the parliamentary

Standing Committee on

Finance. Kerala member K.

Sudhakaran will be on the

committee on OBCs, Ravneet

Singh Bittu, Punjab MP, on

PSUs and Santokh Singh

Chaudhary on SC/STs.

IN BRIEF

No martyrdom status forPulwama CRPF victimsNEW DELHI

There is no official

nomenclature to accord

martyrdom status to CRPF

personnel killed in the

Pulwama attack in Jammu

and Kashmir, the Rajya Sabha

was informed on Wednesday.

Minister Nityananda Rai said

the Ministry had issued

instructions to issue

“Operational Casualty

Certificate” to the next of kin

of the Central Armed Police

Forces and Assam Rifles

personnel killed in action.

The Union Home Ministryhas banned the Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), a group advocatingsecessionist and proKhalistani activities in India. Thegroup was advocating Referendum 2020, an onlinecampaign for Khalistan, aseparate land for the Sikhs.

Its founder Avtar SinghPannu was seen shoutingslogans and wearing a Tshirtthat said “Khalistan Zindabad, Referendum 2020” atthe IndiaNew Zealand cricket match in the U.K on Wednesday.

A senior Ministry offi��cialsaid the SFJ’s online supporters were over 2 lakh butphysically it was only agroup of eight to 10 people.The Punjab government

gave crucial information tohelp ban the group, the offi��cial said.

The offi��cial said 11 caseswere registered against theSFJ in the past four years and39 people were arrested.The group also funded certain activities.

“The Union Cabinet onWednesday gave its clearance to declare SFJ, a fringeorganisation run by radicalSikhs in U.S, Canada, U.K,etc. as an unlawful association under Section 3(1) of theUnlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967,” the offi��cialsaid.

Punjab Chief MinisterAmarinder Singh said theCentre’s decision to declareSikhs for Justice (SFJ) an “unlawful association” was a“welcome step”.

Centre outlaws outfi��t forproKhalistani activities‘Sikhs for Justice’ is based abroad


New Delhi/Chandigarh

AlQaeda chief Ayman alZawahiri has released a videoasking its cadres to infl��ict“unrelenting blows” on theIndian Army and the government in the KashmirValley to “bleed” the economy and make the countrysuff��er.

This is the fi��rst time Zawahiri has issued a videospecifi��c to Kashmir.

A senior government offi��cial said it seemed to be anact of desperation on thepart of the outfi��t in the wakeof recent action by securityagencies in Kashmir Valley.

The video was posted onthe AsSahab channel, an inhouse production of AlQaeda. While Zawahiri did notmention Zakir Musa, a ter

rorist killed in May by security forces in Kashmir, hisphoto fl��ashed on the screen.Musa was the founder of theIndian cell of AlQaeda, titled “Ansar GhazwatulHind.” The AlQaeda chiefwarned terrorists not to fallinto the trap of Pakistan,which he termed a puppetof the U.S.

AlQaeda releases its fi��rst video on KashmirCalls for ‘unrelenting blows’ on Army


New Delhi

Ayman al-Zawahiri

The body of an eightyearold boy from PakistanOccupied Kashmir (PoK), whowas found dead four kilometres inside Kashmir inthe Kishenganga river onTuesday, was moved over200 km on Wednesday asthe Pakistan Army keptchanging the site to hand over the body.

“The two Armies (Indiaand Pakistan) establishedcontact (on Tuesday) after avideo was uploaded by thefamily living in PoK’s Minimarg across the river. Theboy was identifi��ed but thelocation for exchange kept

changing on Wednesday,”Shahbaz Ahmed Mirza, Deputy Commissioner, Bandipora, told The Hindu.

The family of AbidSheikh, a student in PoK, ina video uploaded online,said the boy had left forschool on July 8 but did notreturn home. They suspecthe fell off�� the cliff�� into theriver and was washed fourkm across the LoC in J&K'sGurez valley.

“My only appeal to people of India is to help in returning the body of my son.I will be indebted. Our Armychief should also play a positive role,” Nazir Sheikh, theboy’s father, said in a video.

As Pak. Army dithers, PoK

family awaits son’s bodyLocation to hand over body not decided

Peerzada Ashiq

Srinagar

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday reaffi��rmedhis personal connectionwith Amethi on his maidenvisit to the Uttar Pradeshconstituency after suff��eringa humiliating defeat in theLok Sabha election.

“I am happy to be inAmethi. It feels like cominghome,” he tweeted.

Earlier, addressing Congress workers at the Gauriganj Guesthouse in Amethi,Mr. Gandhi assured themthat though he was electedMP for Wayanad in Kerala,he would not abandon theU.P. constituency and wouldcontinue to visit it.

“Don’t think that RahulGandhi is not yours,” he toldthem in an indoor meeting.

He said he would conti

nue to raise the shortcomings of the Union and theState governments regardingAmethi in the Lok Sabha.

Mr. Gandhi explained tothe workers that it was hisresponsibility to developWayanad, but he would alsogive time to Amethi.

“Don’t you think I won’t

come here. I will keep coming here,” he said to loudclaps from party workers.

The Congress leader advised his party workers tostart doing the job of the Opposition in the constituency.Referring to corruption andthe state of the economy andtrade, he said there was no

shortage of issues. “It ismore fun doing the work ofthe Opposition. It’s easier,”Mr. Gandhi said in a lightervein.

Sarvesh Singh, who wasthe chairman of the Congress election committee inAmethi, said the meetinglasted two hours and was attended by over 1,200 people.

Mr. Singh said that whilethere was no discussion onthe factors behind his defeat, Mr. Gandhi told theworkers that there may havebeen “shortcomings” fromboth ends, his and the workers, leading to the defeat.Victory and defeat are a partof life, he told the workers.

Mr. Gandhi ignored theworkers’ requests to continue as party president, Mr.Singh said.

Rahul reaffi��rms Amethi connectSays he won’t abandon the constituency and will continue to visit it

Back in action: Congress president Rahul Gandhi with partyworkers in Lucknow on Wednesday. * PTI


AMETHI

In the fi��rst such formal engagement since the U.S. decided to withdraw India’spreferential trade status inMarch, a team from the offi��ce of the United StatesTrade Representative will arrive in Delhi on Thursday formeetings with offi��cials of theCommerce and External Affairs Ministries.

Offi��cials on both sideshave stressed that the talksare not yet a resumption ofthe trade dialogue, but are“talks about talks”. They willexplore steps to resume dialogue as mandated by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi andU.S. President DonaldTrump after their meetinglast month in Osaka.

The conversations in Delhi are expected to lay theground for a meeting between USTR Robert Lightizerand Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal in the next fewweeks, as New Delhi andWashington try to pick upthe pieces of the trade dialogue that went off�� the railsafter the U.S. announced areview of India’s Generalised

System of Preferences (GSP)status last April.

The fi��nal announcementof the withdrawal came onJune 1.

In retaliation, India imposed higher tariff��s on 28U.S. products, that it hadbeen holding off�� on sincelast April.

Trade ties have beenfurther hit by a series oftweets and public commentsby Mr. Trump, whose latesttweet on Tuesday called Indian tariff��s on Americanproducts “no longeracceptable”.

In a Congressional hearing in June, Mr. Lightizer also told members of theHouse Ways and MeansCommittee, that the U.S.’s

GSP decision was only thefi��rst of many possible punitive measures against whathe called a “series of problems” with India.

“We made literally noheadway on the issues overthe course of months andmonths and months,” Mr.Lightizer said.

‘Sudden’ changesApart from higher tariff��s onIT products and services andautomobile and agriculturalproducts, the U.S. is expected to raise what it calls “sudden” and “unexpected”changes in rules and standards applied in India.

The government’s newrules on fi��nancial data localisation and ecommercehave upset many U.S. IT andecommerce companies including Amazon and Walmart operating in India.

In May 2019, the decisionof the Directorate General ofForeign Trade (DGFT) to banbiofuels went down badly inWashington.

Indian and U.S. expertssay it is unlikely that the twosides will be able to retracetheir steps to last year,.

United States Trade Representative team to meet offi��cialsSuhasini Haidar

NEW DELHI

Tariff�� tensions top U.S.agenda in meetings today

Trade ties have been hit dueto public comments byPresident Donald Trump.

The U.S. House Committeeon Rules voted on Tuesdaynight to send a watereddown version of an amendment to enhance defencecooperation with India tothe full House fl��oor for avote.

The new India NDAAamendment, a part theHouse’s version of the National Defense AuthorizationAct (NDAA) FY 2020, replaces a signifi��cantly strongeramendment (the “ShermanAmendment”) that sought toplace India on a par with theU.S.’s NATO allies by amending the Arms Export ControlAct (AECA), a U.S. law thatgoverns the sale of highenddefence equipment to othercountries.

Concerns over India’s purchase of the S400, turf battles between the Armed Services and Foreign Aff��airsCommittees and some StateDepartment opposition arelikely to have contributed tothe watering down of theamendment. Nevertheless,what passed the Senate andwhat is being considered bythe House, provides some direction to the executive withregard to bolstering India

U.S. defence cooperation,although falling short of theoriginal legislative goal. Thiscomes days after Secretaryof State Michael Pompeo travelled to New Delhi to pushfor stronger U.S.India tiesacross the board.

The original Houseamendment was submittedby Brad Sherman, a California Congressman who is coChair of House India Caucusand heads the Asia Pacifi��csubcommittee of the HouseForeign Aff��airs Committee.Despite having bipartisansupport and cosponsorsfrom both sides of the aisle,the amendment did notmake it to the House RulesCommittee — a fate similar tothe corresponding amendment in the Senate, submitted by Mark Warner (Democrat, Virginia) and JohnCornyn (Republican, Texas)

which also sought to give India NATOequivalent statusfor arms sales.

A source outside Congresswho had worked on the legislation said India’s plans topurchase the S400 Triumfmissile shield from Russiamade some in the Senate(and House) wary and camein the way of the originalamendment making it to thefi��nal package in both legislative chambers. This view wassupported by at least oneperson in Congress.

“It’s hard to go after Turkey for the S400 purchaseand allow India a boost inthe same Bill,” a Congressional aide, who did notwant to be named, told The

Hindu. The NDAA Bills(House and Senate versions)limit transfer of F35 aircraftto Turkey unless Turkey canprovide assurances that it is

not accepting delivery of theS400.

“It’s always disappointingwhen strong bipartisan legislation on India doesn’t getacross the fi��nish line. Policymakers should understandthat we need to boost Indiaas a counter to China andthat we can’t let India’s relationship with Russia get inthe way,” Mukesh Aghi, president and CEO of the U.S.India Strategic PartnershipForum, told The Hindu. Theoriginal AECA amendmentsalso became a casualty ofturfrelated issues betweenthe House Foreign Aff��airsCommittee and Committeeon Armed Services and thecorresponding committeesin the Senate.

AECA is the statute whichauthorises the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programthrough which the U.S. sellsarms abroad and the procedure is less complicated ifthe purchaser is a NATO allyor Japan, South Korea, Israel, Australia or New Zealand.

The Sherman amendmentin the House and Warner/Cornyn amendment in theSenate, sought to add Indiato the list of nonNATO allieslisted above.

NATO ally status unlikely nowU.S. House to vote on diluted Bill on defence cooperation with Delhi

Sriram Lakshman

Washington

CMYK


DELHI THE HINDU


WORLD

Kim Darroch resigned onWednesday as Britain’s Ambassador to the United Statesafter the leak of his candidobservations on the Trumpadministration, a ferociousresponse from President Donald Trump and the failureof the likely next Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, to support the British envoy.

Sir Kim submitted his resignation in a letter that saidthe situation was making itimpossible for him to carryout his role. “Although myposting is not due to end until the end of this year, I believe in the current circumstances the responsiblecourse is to allow the appointment of a new ambassador,” he wrote.

Leaked emailOn Monday, Mr. Trump saidthe White House would nolonger deal with Darroch after the leak of confi��dentialemails written by the Ambassador that had described theTrump administration as

“clumsy and inept.” The President described the Ambassador as “wacky,” a “verystupid guy” and a “pompousfool,” and called Prime Minister Theresa May “foolish”for ignoring his advice onBrexit, Britain’s plan to leavethe European Union.

The dispute has cast a shadow over ties between London and Washington and taken center stage in the Toryleadership contest to succeed Ms. May as Prime Minister, which Mr. Johnson isheavily favoured to win.

During a TV debate onTuesday night, Mr. Johnson,the former Foreign Secretary, ignited a fi��restorm byrefusing several opportunities to say that he would keepSir Kim in his post until ascheduled departure date inJanuary. He also declined tocriticise Mr. Trump, stressing his good relationshipwith the White House andplaying down the rift. Withinhours, the Ambassador hadsubmitted his resignation.

Mr. Johnson’s failure toback the Ambassador was

met with withering criticismfrom opponents.

“The fact that Sir Kim hasbeen bullied out of his job,because of Donald Trump’stantrums and Boris Johnson’s pathetic lickspittle response, is something thatshames our country,” saidEmily Thornberry, the Opposition Labour Party’s shadow Foreign Secretary.

Even Mr. Johnson’s rival inthe leadership race, JeremyHunt, the current ForeignSecretary, described Mr.Trump’s comments as “un

acceptable” and said duringthe debate that he wouldkeep Sir Kim in his job.

Mr. Johnson said on Wednesday that he regretted SirKim’s departure, and thatwhoever leaked the Ambassador’s messages should be“run down, caught andeviscerated.”

With Mr. Johnson intenton Britain leaving the European Union in October, the“special relationship” withWashington is of particularimportance given that Mr.Tump has promised a trade

agreement with Britain.“I think the reality was

that in light of the last fewdays his ability to be eff��ectivewas probably limited,” VicePresident Mike Pence’s chiefof staff��, Marc Short, said onWednesday morning inWashington. “So it was probably the right course.”

Support for Sir KimIn response to Sir Kim’s decision, Ms. May paid tribute tohim in Parliament and saidthat the whole Cabinet hadrightly given him its support.

“Good government depends on public servants being able to give full and frankadvice. I want all our publicservants to have the confi��dence to be able to do that,and I hope the house will refl��ect on the importance ofdefending our values andprinciples, particularlywhen they are under pressure,” she said. Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the oppositionLabour Party, said of SirKim, “the comments madeabout him are beyond unfairand wrong.” NY TIMES

British envoy resigns after Trump leakU.S. President had called him stupid after Ambassador Darroch termed the administration inept

Stephen Castle

London

In hot water: Kim Darroch said the situation was making itimpossible for him to carry out his role.

A global media watchdoghas slammed Pakistani authorities over the removal ofthree television channelsfrom the country’s airwaves, saying the move was“indicative of disturbing dictatorial tendencies” as pressure mounts on journalistsin the South Asian nation.

The statement from Reporters Without Borders(RSF) comes days after AbbTakk TV, 24 News, and Capital TV all had their broadcasts cut, after screening apress conference with Opposition leader MaryamNawaz.

Pakistani authorities saythe channels were unavailable due to “technical issues”, but RSF describedthe outage as an act of “brazen censorship”.

“Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is appalled tolearn that three PakistaniTV news channels havebeen suspended from cablenetworks at the behest of

the authorities in reprisalfor broadcasting an Opposition leader’s news conference,” the watchdog saidlate on Tuesday. It went onto pin the removal of thechannels on the PakistanElectronic Media RegulatoryAuthority, saying “the allpowerful broadcast mediaregulator” takes its leadfrom the country’s “militaryestablishment”.

Maryam interviewA senior offi��cial with knowledge of the case confi��rmedthe move against the channels, saying the broadcasters had violated Pakistan’s“code of conduct” and beenwarned against airing thepress conference with Maryam Nawaz.

Ms. Nawaz is the daughter of former Prime MinisterNawaz Sharif — who is currently behind bars for corruption — and her press conference featured a judgeclaiming he had been blackmailed into convicting theformer premier.

Pakistan curbs on newschannels slammedBrazen censorship: media watchdog

Agence France-Presse

Islamabad

Sri Lanka’s Parliament onWednesday began debatinga noconfi��dence motionagainst the government forfailing to prevent Easter suicide bombings that killedmore than 250 people.

The Opposition MarxistPeoples’ Liberation Frontsubmitted a motion accusing the ruling coalition offailing to prevent the April21 attacks despite the “factthat proper information hadbeen made available regard

ing suicide terrorists.” Voting on the motion is

expected on Thursday. Anura Dissanayaka, the

leader of the Peoples’ Liberation Front, said the attacksoccurred because the government failed to fulfi��l itsresponsibility. “People haveno confi��dence in this government,” he said.

Minister of Economic Reforms Harsha de Silva rejected the allegation. “If weknew about it, we wouldhave taken preventivemeasures.”

Sri Lanka governmentfaces noconfi��dence vote ‘Failed to prevent attacks despite intel’

Associated Press

Colombo

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani warned Britain on Wednesday of “consequences”over the detention of an Iranian oil tanker off�� the coastof Gibraltar.

“I point out to the Britishthat you initiated insecurity(on the seas) and you shallgrasp the consequences of itlater on,” Mr. Rouhani saidin comments to the Cabinetbroadcast by state TV.

Iran’s President called theseizure of the tanker “a foolish act.”

The 330m Grace 1 tanker,

capable of carrying two million barrels of oil, was haltedon Thursday by the policeand customs in Gibraltar — atiny British overseas territory on Spain’s southern tip —with the aid of a detachment

of British Royal Marines.Iran condemned the de

tention as an “illegal interception,” but Gibraltar offi��cials said the cargo wasbelieved to be destined forSyria, which is subject to European sanctions.

‘Somewhere else’Iran denied this, saying thatthe destination “was somewhere else.”

“The port named in Syriadoes not even have the capacity for such a supertanker to dock,” Iran’s DeputyForeign Minister AbbasAraghchi said on Sunday.

Iran warns U.K. of ‘consequences’President Rouhani terms seizure of tanker ‘a foolish act’


Tehran

Hassan Rouhani

A news anchor of a prominent Pakistani channel wasshot dead over personal enmity here, the police said onWednesday.

Bol News anchor MureedAbbas had a heated argument with some people overa monetary dispute whichescalated into a violent clashin the KhayabaneBukhariarea on Tuesday night, theysaid.

The accused opened fi��re,killing the anchor and hisfriend, DIG South SharjeelKharal said.

Abbas sustained multiplebullet wounds in the chestand abdomen, he said.

The police raided thehouse of the suspect andcaught him attempting sui

cide. “The suspect shot himself in the chest,” he said. Hewas admitted into hospital ina critical condition.

Report soughtSindh Inspector General ofPolice Kaleem Imam directed the concerned Deputy Inspector General to furnish areport. He also directed theconcerned offi��cials to conduct a forensic examinationof the evidence.

Chief Minister of SindhMurad Ali Shah, who was ona visit to Iran, issued directions to maintain law and order following the incident.

He was gunned down over personal enmity, say police


Karachi

Mureed Abbas * FACEBOOK

News anchor shot dead in Pak.

Now is the “right moment”for peace in Afghanistan,President Ashraf Ghanisaid on Wednesday as heonce more called on theTaliban to negotiate withhis government.

The Taliban has steadfastly refused to discusspeace with Mr. Ghani,whom it considers a U.S.stooge heading an illegitimate regime. But a seriesof talks in recent daysseems to have shifted theneedle in Afghanistan’swar, with the U.S. and theTaliban claiming to havemade signifi��cant progressduring a summit in Doha.

“In the past 18 years thetime was not right forpeace, for a realistic peace.Today is the right moment,” Mr. Ghani said at anEU anticorruption conference being held in Kabul.

“If we lose this opportunity then the responsibility (for the loss) is big.”

Now is thetime for peace,says Ghani


Kabul

Muhammad Didar MukhlisAfghan, a sergeant serving ata remote Afghan Army base,was pleased when his nephew invited his wife andson to his wedding backhome in easternAfghanistan.

The sergeant pitched in almost $400 to help with thenephew’s wedding costs. Butinstead of a wedding, theevent became a murderscene. The nephew, QariAziz, was among a group ofTaliban fi��ghters who killedthe sergeant’s wife and soninside Aziz’s home in May.

“They attacked my wifeand son because I am serving in the ranks of the Af

ghan National Army,” Mr. Afghan said.

The killings were the latest in a series of retaliatoryTaliban attacks against thefamilies and homes of Afghan soldiers and policeoffi��cers.

They have continued evenas U.S. and Taliban negotiators have reported progressin talks.

Taliban infi��ltrators haverepeatedly joined government units, then spiked soldiers’ or police offi��cers’ foodwith drugs and shot themdead as they slept. In somerare instances, governmentinfi��ltrators have done thesame to the Taliban.

Equally disturbing for many Afghans is the Taliban tactic of burning the homes ofsoldiers’ families while themen are serving elsewhere.

In Kandahar, an Army Colonel, Zahir Jan Abdali, saidthe families of at least sevensoldiers and police offi��cershad been burned out of theirhomes in recent months.

Among them was KhanoSlimanzai, a border policeoffi��cer who said his unit retreated from his village, Slimanzai, during a Taliban offensive.

Mr. Slimanzai said he arranged for a relative to helphis wife and children fl��eetheir home, in their barefeet, to a dry river bed outside their village as the Taliban approached.

Less than 30 minutes later, he said, Taliban fi��ghtersburned the home and destroyed the family’s belongings, he said.

Another eff��ective Talibantactic is dressing in Army orpolice uniforms and drivingstolen, explosivesladenHumvees into governmentoutposts. NYTIMES

Taliban targets Afghan soldiers’ kin In ‘retaliatory’ attacks, insurgents kill family members and burn down homes

David Zucchino

Farooq Jan Mangal

KABUL

The attacks continued even as U.S. and Taliban negotiatorsreported progress in talks. * AP

New Greek Prime Minister promises tax cuts ATHENS

Greece’s new Prime Minister

Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in

Cabinet on Wednesday he

would honour a pledge to cut

taxes. Mr. Mitsotakis said a

tax bill would be submitted

by the end of the month. AFP

IN BRIEF

U.S., China negotiatorsresume trade talksWASHINGTON

Top U.S. and Chinese

negotiators held phone talks

on Tuesday as the world’s top

two economies seek to

resolve their trade war, more

than a week after they

declared a truce. A White

House official said the talks

“went constructively”. AFP

France says its missileswere found in Libya PARIS

France confirmed on

Wednesday its missiles had

been found at a Libyan base

used by forces loyal to

strongman Khalifa Haftar,

raising fresh questions about

its role in the conflict. AFP

Joe Biden and his wife, Jill,took in more than $15 million since leaving the Obama White House, accordingto newly released documents, catapulting the Democratic presidential candidate into millionaire statusand denting the workingclass aura he’s developedover decades.

Long fond of describinghimself as “Middle ClassJoe” while he took in littlemore than his governmentsalary, the former VicePresident stressed his workingclass roots from the very beginning of his bid for his party’s 2020 presidentialnomination. But federal taxreturns and a fi��nancial disclosure released on Tuesdayshow that since Mr. Bidenleft public offi��ce, his incomehas surged thanks to a lucrative book deal and constantpublicity tours that broughtin more than $4 million.

Mr. Biden’s disclosureshowed that he also made atleast $2.7 million in businessincome as part of his publicity tour and writing andtook a $425,000 salary fromCelticCapri Corp., the business entity the Bidens usedfor their postWhite Housework.

Mr. Biden and his wifesigned a multibook dealwith Flatiron Books valuedat $8 million, according toPublishers Weekly. Heearned $540,000 as a professor and namesake of theUniversity of Pennsylvania’sPenn Biden Center for Diplomacy and GlobalEngagement.

Biden earned over $15 mnafter leaving White HouseDisclosure dents his working class aura

Associated Press

Washington

Joe Biden

Twitter is moving to fi��lterout inappropriate contentbased on religion as part ofits eff��ort to curb hatespeech.

In a policy update onTuesday, Twitter said itwould take down “dehumanizing language” thattargets specifi��c religiousgroups. Examples shownby Twitter that would beremoved would be description of members of a religion as “disgusting” or“fi��lthy animals.”

“After months of conversations and feedback fromthe public, external experts and our own teams,we’re expanding our rulesagainst hateful conduct toinclude language that dehumanizes others on thebasis of religion,” the Twitter safety team wrote.“Starting today, we will require tweets like these tobe removed...when they’rereported to us.”

Twitter to curb hate speechagainst religion


Washington

CMYK

BUSINESSEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

THE HINDU DELHI


NIFTY 50

PRICE CHANGE

Adani Ports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405.00. . . . . . . . . 0.00

Asian Paints. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1322.95. . . . . . . . . 1.95

Axis Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 769.25. . . . . . -16.95

Bajaj Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2740.40. . . . . . -46.00

Bajaj Finserv. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7658.20. . . -197.20

Bajaj Finance . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 3429.05. . . -174.05

Bharti Airtel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358.55. . . . . . . . -3.75

BPCL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349.60. . . . . . -10.50

Britannia Ind . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 2769.55. . . . . . . . . 6.90

Cipla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 544.95. . . . . . . . -3.85

Coal India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233.35. . . . . . . . . 3.75

Dr Reddys Lab . . . . . . . .. . . . 2584.65. . . . . . -14.20

Eicher Motors. . . . . . . . .. 18751.00. . . -287.60

GAIL (India). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144.95. . . . . . . . -2.15

Grasim Ind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 913.45. . . . . . . . . 2.50

HCL Tech. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1018.90. . . . . . . . -1.85

HDFC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2227.75. . . . . . . . -5.05

HDFC Bank. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2388.75. . . . . . . . . 9.60

Hero MotoCorp . . . . . .. . . . 2400.00. . . . . . -44.10

Hindalco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193.65. . . . . . . . -4.25

Hind Unilever . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1718.60. . . . . . -21.65

Indiabulls HFL . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 659.60. . . . . . -27.50

ICICI Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430.90. . . . . . . . . 2.40

IndusInd Bank . . . . . . . .. . . . 1487.25. . . . . . . . -4.85

Bharti Infratel . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 259.95. . . . . . . . -0.75

Infosys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 717.25. . . . . . . . . 1.75

Indian OilCorp . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 148.15. . . . . . . . -3.25

ITC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273.15. . . . . . . . . 0.05

JSW Steel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254.90. . . . . . . . -7.45

Kotak Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1475.85. . . . . . . 13.00

L&T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1499.55. . . . . . -27.05

M&M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 621.65. . . . . . -11.05

Maurti Suzuki . . . . . . . . .. . . . 5927.90. . . . . . -17.55

NTPC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129.05. . . . . . . . -0.50

ONGC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151.65. . . . . . . . -1.75

PowerGrid Corp . . . . .. . . . . . 205.30. . . . . . . . . 0.55

Reliance Ind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1278.85. . . . . . . . -1.25

State Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354.20. . . . . . . . -5.30

Sun Pharma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 392.20. . . . . . . . . 5.80

Tata Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151.65. . . . . . . . -4.15

Tata Steel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 454.80. . . . . . -13.65

TCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2108.20. . . . . . -25.15

Tech Mahindra . . . . . . .. . . . . . 674.85. . . . . . . . -1.05

Titan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1101.20. . . . . . . . . 2.25

UltraTech Cement. .. . . . 4480.70. . . . . . -18.00

UPL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 634.85. . . . . . . . -5.20

Vedanta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160.00. . . . . . . . -1.50

Wipro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266.95. . . . . . . . . 1.45

YES Bank. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93.00. . . . . . . . . 1.65

Zee Entertainment . . . . . . 332.75. . . . . . . . . 1.00

EXCHANGE RATES

Indicative direct rates in rupees a unitexcept yen at 4 p.m. on July 10

CURRENCY TT BUY TT SELL

US Dollar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 68.37. . . . . . . 68.69

Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 76.67. . . . . . . 77.03

British Pound. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 85.31. . . . . . . 85.72

Japanese Yen (100) . .. . 62.75. . . . . . . 63.04

Chinese Yuan . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 9.94. . . . . . . . . 9.99

Swiss Franc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 68.87. . . . . . . 69.20

Singapore Dollar . . . . . . .. . 50.21. . . . . . . 50.45

Canadian Dollar. . . . . . . . .. . 52.10. . . . . . . 52.35

Malaysian Ringitt . . . . . .. . 16.51. . . . . . . 16.60

Source:Indian Bank

BULLION RATES CHENNAI

July 10 rates in rupees with previousrates in parentheses

Retail Silver (1g) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41. . . . . . . (40.8)

22 ct gold (1 g) . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 3270. . . . . . (3264)

market watch

10-7-2019 % CHANGE

Sensex dddddddddddddddddddd 38,557 ddddddddddddddd-0.45

US Dollardddddddddddddddddd68.58 ddddddddddddddd-0.10

Gold ddddddddddddddddddddddddd 34,870 ddddddddddddddddd0.00

Brent oil ddddddddddddddddddd66.39 ddddddddddddddddd3.42

With companies all set to releaseresults for the fi��rstquarter of the current fi��nancial year, market participants appear to be unanimous in predicting asubdued quarter for mostsectors.

According to most brokerages, the overall slowdownthat is aff��ecting consumerdemand will impact a numbers of sectors such as automobiles, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) andconsumer durables, whileglobal concerns could seesoftware majors gettingaff��ected.

Further, analysts are pegging the overall toplinegrowth for the fi��rst quarterat single digits — a sharpmoderation from the doubledigit growth in the last fi��nancial year.

Banks, however, are expected to report healthy

numbers on account of decent loan growth, bettermargins and lower provisioning amid a consistent fallin bad assets.

Driven by fi��nancials“The Q1FY20 earningsreport season will likely be arepeat of Q4FY19, with fi��nancials driving the perfor

mance singlehandedly,”stated Motilal Oswal Financial Services in its latestreport.

“Corporate banks will account for the entire growthin the Nifty... autos will haveanother lacklustre quarter.IT sector profi��t growth willcome off�� in this quarter.

Consumer sector is also

expected to report a mutedquarter,” it added.

In a similar context, Edelweiss Securities is of theview that the fi��rst quarterwould be a “soft quarter”with the profi��t of Nifty companies growing a meagre 7%.

“What’s worrying is thesharp moderation in toplinegrowth to just 3% (18% inFY19 and 7% in Q4FY19),” itsaid. It added that the topline growth is likely to be thelowest in a decade if commodities are excluded.

“What stands out is theslowdown’s breadth witheven IT and industrial companies, which had postedmidteen profi��t growth inFY19, likely to report mere4% and 10% profi��t growth,respectively, in Q1FY20,” itexplained. Edelweiss believes that cement, retailbanks and pharmaceuticalswill be the few sectors whereprofi��t growth would likelyhold up at reasonable levels.

Markets set for damp quarter ‘Topline growth likely to be lowest in a decade’; global concerns to hit IT sector

ASHISH RUKHAIYAR

MUMBAI

Bleak outlook: What stands out is the slowdown’s breadthacross sectors, says an Edelweiss report. * REUTERS

The escalating feud betweenthe Rakesh Gangwal (RG)Group and InterGlobe Enterprise (IGE) Group of RahulBhatia, the two promotergroups of InterGlobe Aviation Ltd., (IGAL) that runsIndiGo, resulted in the company’s shares crashing in thestock market on Wednesday.

Shares tanked by 19% to₹��1,291 during intraday tradeto its lowest since March2019 to fi��nally close with aloss of 10.73% at ₹��1,397.75 onthe BSE. The company’smarket cap was wiped outby over ₹��6,000 crore to₹��53,765 crore.

This forced InterGlobeEnterprises Pvt. Ltd. (IGE),the holding company of IndiGo cofounder Rahul Bhatia’s family, to clarify itsstance on the alleged Related Party Transactions (RPT)entered with IGAL as levelled by the other cofounder Rakesh Gangwal in hiscomplaint to SEBI on Tuesday.

Denying the allegations,InterGlobe Enterprises in astatement said, “The existence of RPTs was disclosedat the time of the IPO in 2015in the public domain. Postthe IPO, many of the RPTshave ceased to exist whileothers have been renewedon an arms’ length basis aspart of the normal course ofbusiness.”

“The IGE Group has ensured that no entity of thegroup should take any advantage under RPTs. Without exception, IGAL has received more favourabletreatment from the IGEGroup entities as comparedto their other customers.The materiality of the transactions for IGAL is not sig

nifi��cant as is evident fromthe table above, it is only0.53% of IGAL’s consolidatedturnover for FY 201819,” itsaid. Currently the RPTs areconfi��ned to real estate, simulation training, GSA commission, and crew accommodation in Accor Hotel and thetotal expenses in FY19 was tothe tune of ₹��150.2 crore.

Defusing anxietyThe IndiGo management also stepped in to defuse theanxiety of employees.

“The issues betweenthem will eventually get sorted out, but I want to stressthat these issues have nothing to do with the airline andits functioning,” RonojoyDutta, CEO, IndiGo, said in aletter to employees.

“Our mission, directionand growth strategy remainsunchanged, and fi��rmly inplace. As such, it is very important that we all remainfocussed on running a highperformance airline,” hesaid. Mr. Dutta added, “Absolutely nothing has reallychanged for any of us, I willjust go about doing my job tothe very best of my abilities,and I know I can count onyou to do the same.”

Even as the sharp diff��erences between the two promoters is playing out in theopen, material submitted byMr. Gangwal to the SEBIbring to the fore the acrimony that has been building upbetween the two factions forthe past one year.

Sample this letter to theboard on June 12, 2019, byMr. Bhatia on Mr. Gangwal.

“So, here is a man whotook full advantage of the situation and the opportunityoff��ered to him 14 years ago,when he was generously allotted 50% equity; did notmind that the IGE Group wastaking the entire economicrisk, which at peak exposure[between redeemable preference shares, unsecuredloans, and personal guarantees] was in excess of ₹��1,100crore [almost sixfold the IGEGroup’s contractual obligation of ₹��200 crore in the understanding with Mr. Gangwal]; happily agreed to thefundamental propositionthat the IGE Group will havecontrol; obliged himself tosupport the IGE Group inmaintaining control througha voting rights agreementembedded in the SHA and inthe AoA of the company.”

Bhatia group’s clarifi��cation follows Gangwal’s letter to SEBI

Lalatendu Mishra

MUMBAI

IndiGo stock tanks 11% aspromoters’ feud escalates

Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman on Wednesdayclarifi��ed that the EconomicSurvey and the Union Budget project diff��erent rates ofnominal GDP growth for201920 because they usediff��erent base fi��gures. However, she added that thetwo rates were consistentwith each other.

While the Union Budgetpresented on July 5 projected a nominal GDP growth of12% for fi��nancial year 201920, the Economic Surveypegged this fi��gure at 11%.Opposition leaders in theLok Sabha highlighted thisdiscrepancy and demandedwhy there were so many different numbers being issued by the government.

The Opposition alsowalked out of the lowerHouse during Ms. Sitharaman’s reply to the concernsover the Budget, protestingthe Budget’s announcement of a hike in the duties

and cess rates on petrol anddiesel.

“The growth rate in thenominal GDP for 201920 inthe Budget document hasbeen projected at 12% overthe advance nominal GDPestimates of ₹��1,88,40,731crore for 201819,” Ms. Sitharaman said during her reply. “The advance estimatesof 201819 were released onJan. 7, 2019.”

“The growth rate of nominal GDP for 201920 inthe Economic Survey hasbeen projected at 11% overthe provisional nominalGDP estimates of₹��1,90,10,164 crore of 201819,” the Finance Minister added. “The Provisional Estimates of 201819 were released on May 31, 2019.

“Both the projections areconsistent with each other

as each of them project thenominal GDP of₹��2,11,00,607 crore for 201920,” she said, adding thatthe government holds theEconomic Survey, which isproduced by the Chief Economic Advisor, at a “respectful arm’s distance.”

Her explanation for thelower GDP base being usedin the Budget was that thiswas the same number usedin the Interim Budget presented in February.

“A lower GDP base of201819 has been used in theBudget document as thesame GDP base was used inthe interim Budget presented in February 2019,” Ms.Sitharaman said. “Using thesame GDP base ensurescomparability from Budgetto Budget, interim Budgetto regular Budget, and thisBudget to last year’s Budget.” She said that using thesame base ensures comparability of the defi��cit ratiosused in the July Budget andthe interim Budget.

The two use diff��erent base fi��gures, says Nirmala Sitharaman


NEW DELHI

Near, yet far: The Centre holds the CEA’s Economic Survey ata ‘respectful arm’s distance’, the Minister said. * REUTERS

GDP growth rates in Economic Survey,Budget consistent with each other: FM

The Central Statistics Offi��ce(CSO) needs to rethink howit estimates the growth ofthe informal sector as thecurrent method is no longeraccurate, former Chief Statistician of India Pronab Sensaid on Wednesday.

“Using the corporate sector data to estimate the activity in the noncorporatesector, as is being done,works only as long as thetechnologies being used inboth sectors are reasonablysimilar,” Dr. Sen said whilespeaking at a session onGDP data organised by theNational Council of AppliedEconomic Research.

“However, this is no longer the case,” he added. “In

dian corporates, especiallythe large ones, have seengreater technology beingused and this is not the casefor the noncorporate sector. The CSO needs to rethink this.”

Dr. Sen further said thatthe data for the last fewyears showed that there

was an increasing trend ofcompanies using technology instead of labour.

“The data implies thatthere are many companiesthat are replacing manylowskilled workers with afew highlyskilled, highlypaid workers,” Dr. Sen explained. “This is because

they are using technologyinstead. All those peoplewho are concerned aboutthe future use of automation and its impact on labour, well, the automationis already happening.”

One way in which theCSO could better estimatethe informal sector activityis to use employment data,he added.

Former Chief EconomicAdviser Arvind Subramanian again highlighted hismisgivings with the GDPgrowth data for the period201112 to 201617.

He also said that Indiawas well placed now to incorporate Goods and Services Tax data to arrive atan expenditure side estimate of GDP growth.

Current method no longer accurate due to greater automation: Pronab Sen


NEW DELHI

The CSO could better estimate informal sector activityusing employment data, says Pronab Sen. * R.V. MOORTHY

‘CSO must rethink informal sector estimates’

An internal committee of theReserve Bank of India (RBI),which was set up to reviewtimings of diff��erent fi��nancialmarkets, suggested that theforeign exchange marketcould function from 9 am to9 pm At present, the currency market works from 9 amto 5 pm.

“Calibrated extension ofmarket hours, and to beginwith, revised market timingsof 9 am — 9 pm, may be considered to gauge demandand potential benefi��ts,” the

draft report of the committee said.

The report noted thatthere are mixed views on thebenefi��ts of extension of market timing.

Higher costs“While the extension of market timings is expected toprovide benefi��ts such as better pricing of post markethours information/data, improved onshore price discovery and a possible shift ofoff��shore volumes to onshore, there is a view that itmay entail higher costs to

stakeholders,” it said. Since the central bank is

in the process of reviewingand rationalising foreign exchange regulations to provide fl��exibility regardingproducts, participation andpositions, both for residentsand nonresidents, extension of market hours wouldcomplement these policymeasures, the draft said.

The panel suggested callmoney market timings couldbe extended till 6 pm insteadof the 5 pm now, to facilitateliquidity management bybanks.

Mixed views on extension of timings, says draft report


Mumbai

RBI panel moots change in timingsfor foreign exchange market

India Inc.’s foreign directinvestment (FDI) in Junefell by over two times froma year ago to $820.36 million, data from the ReserveBank of India showedWednesday.

The outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) bythe Indian fi��rms stood at$2.29 billion in the samemonth the previous year,according to the RBI dataon OFDI.

In May, Indian companies had invested over$1.56 billion in their overseas ventures.

Outward FDIdrops to $820 million

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

MUMBAI

BUSINESSEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

DELHI THE HINDU


IN BRIEF

OBC cuts MCLR by up to10 basis pointsNEW DELHI

Oriental Bank of Commerce

(OBC) has cut the marginal

cost of fundsbased lending

rate (MCLR) by up to 10 basis

points (bps) for various

tenors eff��ective Thursday.

For the 3month, 6month

and 1year tenor loans, MCLR

is now 5 bps lower at 8.45%,

8.55% and 8.65%. Earlier

this week, RBI Governor

Shaktikanta Das said he

expected faster transmission

of the three successive repo

rate cuts totalling 75 bps. PTI

With domestic automobilesales continuing on a downward spiral, the industry onWednesday cautioned that ifimmediate concrete measures are not taken by the government to help arrest thefall, job cuts may soon followin the sector that employsnearly 37 million people.

In June, total vehicle salesin the country declined by12.34% to over 19.97 lakh units, as per data released bySociety of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

PV sales dropPassenger Vehicle (PV) salesfell 17.54% to over 2.25 lakhunits. The PV sales had beendeclining for the past 12months, barring a slight uptick in October 2018.

Additionally, passenger

car production stood at over1.69 lakh units last month —the worst since June 2013,when it had dropped to over1.64 lakh units. “This is theworst phase of the industry.

We have not seen such kindof prolonged slowdown ever.There have been patches ofdegrowth earlier but thatlasted for one or two quarters at most. Nothing like this

has happened before,” saidRajan Wadhera, president,SIAM. He added that the industry doesn’t see this improving “as it is linked to theoverall GDP fi��gures… theeconomic survey is talking ofthe last quarter of 5.8%growth.” Expressing disappointment that the industry’s concerns were not addressed in the Budget 2019,particularly the demand toreduce GST on automobiles,he added that if the degrowth continues, it is badfor everyone and industrywill need to take “critical”“measures to stay afl��oat”and “conserve resources”

“…in the shortterm, if wedon’t arrest it [the decline],the degrowth will continue.It is already aff��ecting us fi��nancially... if we have nowork, then there will be nonew jobs and the current

jobs will also start goingdown,” he cautioned.

Asked if there have beenany job cuts over the pastyear, he said, “I don’t thinkthat phase has started, butwe are very close to that. Wecan’t survive at this moment.At SIAM, we support theelectric vehicle plan of thegovernment, but at the sametime, we must survive duringthat plan.”

“… Reduction in the GST,which unfortunately has nothappened, would have beenthe biggest enabler to startthe demand… We have beenmaking the presentation tothe government saying thatthis degrowth aff��ects theGST revenues as well. If wedegrow by 20%, the overallGST also is less by 20%. Weare really very concerned.We need very concrete measures,” Mr. Wadhera added.

Industry jittery as auto sales’ slide continuesSIAM seeks measures to save jobs in a sector that employs close to 37 million people


NEW DELHI

Commercial vehicle manufacturer Ashok Leyland hasurged the Centre and industry bodies to provide longterm direction or a policyguideline to help the autosector, said its chairmanDheeraj G. Hinduja.

“It is important that thegovernment and the industry bodies provide longterm direction or a policyguideline to the auto sectorthat include policy pronouncements such as vehicle scrappage, cab code orbus body code,” Mr. Hindujasaid in a message to shareholders.

“This would provide theimpetus to the Indian commercial vehicle sector totransit to the global premierleague and also help opti

mise resources,” he added. With regard to the com

mercial vehicle industry, hesaid: “In the shorttomedium term, we anticipate continuance of investment ininfrastructure, revival of defence mobility spending andthe much needed relief tothe liquidity challenges ofNBFCs.”

Regarding the company’spreparedness for the BSVI,he said it was a steep challenge for both originalequipment manufacturersand the ancillary sector totransform from BSIV to BSVI norms in just three years.“Our status of readiness isnext to none in emissionconformance and fuel performance.”

On the fi��rm’s EV strategy,he said that the strategy androllout plans were in place.

Provide policy guidelineto help auto sector: ALL‘Strategy, rollout plan in place for EVs’


CHENNAI

The World Coff��ee Producers’Forum (WCPF) is scheduledto discuss a range of issuescritical to the economic sustainability of coff��ee farmersround the globe at its twoday conference that commenced on Wednesday.

WCPF is a notforprofi��tentity that represents over 25million coff��eegrowing families across 60 countries.

Direct impact on growersSome of the topics scheduledfor discussion and that wouldhave direct bearing on over2.50 lakh coff��ee farmers inIndia, include how to replicate Brazil’s success of domestic coff��ee consumption,how to protect farmers fromcurrent market mechanisms

that harm their incomes andhow to improve transparency and traceability fromseedtocup to ensure betterprice premium for their pro

duce. One of the key highlights will be a paper on“Economic and political analysis to improve small coff��eegrowers’ income” presented

by Prof. Jeff��rey D Sachs, director, Center for SustainableDevelopment of the Institutede la Tierra of Columbia University. Juan Esteban Orduz,president, Colombian Coff��eeGrowers Federation Inc. toldThe Hindu that the forumwould push for cooperationbetween all key stakeholders, including the New YorkStock Exchange and consumers, to ensure a sustainableincome for farmers, add value to coff��ee in producingcountries and also increaseconsumption in producingcountries.

Working on problems“The current price crisis affects all producing countriesalike. Our goals and objectives are to work on main

problems such as price anddemand creation,” said Mr.Orduz who is also the president of North American subsidiary of the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation.

As per Vanusia Nogueira,executive director, BrazilSpecialty Coff��ee Association— BSCA, the key objective ofWCPF was to focus on actionsthat would eventually improve the economic condition of all coff��ee producersaround the globe.

Till recently, large coff��eefairs and expos were all organised and held in importing/consuming countries andhad discussion agendas withtopics of interest to thesecountries; there were no important coff��ee fairs or gatherings driven by producing

countries. At that time, international markets were increasingly interested in environmental and socialsustainability, to the point ofdemanding social and environment sustainability certifi��cation for coff��ees. International markets were lessinterested in, and unwillingto bear the cost of, or evendiscuss, the issue of economic sustainability, she said.

“Producers would be required to provide environmentally and socially sustainable coff��ees at whatever pricethe market dictated, even ifthat price was below theirown cost of production,” added Mr. Orduz while explaining the context under whicha global body for coff��ee growers was set up in 2017.

Coff��ee growers’ meet may bring a cuppa cheer for IndiaSome important topics for discussion include how to replicate Brazil’s success of domestic coff��ee consumption

Green shoots: The forum will push for adding value to coff��ee in producing countries and also increase consumption. * REUTERS

Mini Tejaswi

Bengaluru

OYO becomes world’sthird largest hotel chainBENGALURU

OYO Hotels & Homes on

Wednesday said it had

emerged as the world’s third

largest hotel chain, as per

room count, as of June 2019.

Over a period of six years,

OYO has expanded to over

800 cities, nearly 23,000

OYObranded hotels and

8,50,000 rooms, surpassing

the scale of traditional and

established hotel chain

brands in the world, the

company said. It has

presence in 25 destinations

and 85 hotels in U.K. and 68

hotels across 40 U.S. cities.

The Special Bench of theNational Company LawTribunal (NCLT), Chennaiadmitted insolvency proceedings against NewChennai Township Pvt.Ltd. for default in paymentof dues worth over ₹��400crore. The petition wasfi��led by Phoenix ARC Pvt.Ltd. The company is behind Marg’s fl��agship project Swarnabhoomi.

NCLT noted the casewas fi��led before November10, 2017 and since then, nochange has been seen inthe requests for adjournment by the fi��rm, exceptsaying that if more timewere given it would resolveit through settlement talks.

NCLT admitsplea againstChennai fi��rm


Chennai

Insolvency plea againstRHC Holding dismissedNEW DELHI

The National Company Law

Appellate Tribunal on

Wednesday dismissed a

petition by HDFC to initiate

insolvency proceedings

against RHC Holding, an

entity promoted by

billionaire brothers

Malvinder Mohan Singh and

Shivinder Mohan Singh. A

twomember bench headed

by Chairman Justice S.J.

Mukhopadhaya upheld the

order of the principal bench

of the National Company Law

Tribunal which had rejected

HDFC’s plea.


THE HINDU DELHI


SPORT

The bugles were silenced,drums got discarded and disbelief reigned. For the Indianfans, a boisterous morningslipped into an afternoon ofmelancholy despite RavindraJadeja’s incredible knock, asNew Zealand stunned ViratKohli’s men in the World Cupsemifi��nal at Old Traff��ordhere on Wednesday.

Effi��ciency trumped fl��airand Kane Williamson’s menshowed that they could winwithout a snarl. PursuingNew Zealand’s 239 for eight,India fi��nished with 221 in49.3 overs. Jadeja’s 77 (59b,4x4, 4x6) was pulsepounding but it was fated to end intragedy while the Kiwissnatched an 18run victory.

Modest targets can betricky and India needed a solid start but, instead, a nightmare ensued. Rohit Sharmanibbled at a Matt Henry(three for 37) delivery, theedge was grazed, wicketkeeper Tom Latham caughtwith glee and boom, theWorld Cup’s most prolifi��cbatsman departed.

Joy in wavesJoy for the Black Caps camein waves. For the addition ofa single run, India lost twowickets. Kohli missed somefrom Trent Boult as the leftarmer’s angle was tough tocounter. The speedster thengot one to straighten andKohli, who tends to shuffl��e abit more in his initial tenure,did that while trying to wristone to the legside. The Indian captain missed, the padgot struck and Boult’s appealbellowed from the pit of hisstomach. Kohli was adjudgedout, he promptly sought a review and though the replayshinted that the ball was goingover the bails, it was an ‘umpire’s call’ decision and theagitated batsman left.

At fi��ve for two, the queasiness in the Indian dressingroom worsened as K.L. Rahul fell to Henry. The delivery hovering near the off��stump rose and Rahul, who

was riding the bounce, failedto withdraw his bat and Latham found another welcomethud into his gloves. Indiafi��ve for three and the fi��resraged.

Magic on the turfRishabh Pant and DineshKarthik tried to resist, theformer driving, the latterstonewalling and going 20balls without a run. Karthikthen clipped a four off�� Boultand just as the initial nerveseased, James Neesham sprinkled magic on the turf. Karthik sliced Henry and as theball raced beyond backwardpoint, Neesham dived to hisleft, and his left hand refl��exively darted out and pluckeda catch for the ages. India 24for four in 10 overs and indire straits.

The game is a levellerthough and when Pantfl��icked Lockie Ferguson, theuppish stroke popped out ofNeesham’s hands at shortmidwicket! Pant and HardikPandya shared a 47run fi��fth

wicket alliance but India wasalways behind the DuckworthLewis par score. Andthen Pant tried to depositleftarm spinner MitchellSantner over midwicket, except that he found Colin deGrandhomme. India 71 forfi��ve in the 23rd over and thecrowd yearned for a miracle.

M.S. Dhoni (50) and Pandya nudged the scoreboardbut as the required rate went

past seven, the pressure wasbound to tell. It did emphatically when Pandya miscued aslogsweep off�� Santner and apatient Williamson tumbledand still held on. India 92 forsix, down for the count andin walks Jadeja with rebellious ideas.

Stirring actWhile Dhoni remained calm,Jadeja turned aggressor, loft

ing Neesham and Henry forsixes and the crowd wasalive. A stirring act tookshape and when Jadejaetched his 50, besides theusual Rajput twirl of the bat,he gesticulated towards thecommentary box, perhaps,an admonition to SanjayManjrekar, who recentlymade some critical remarks.

Jadeja rode his luck as afew shots teased the fi��eldersbut a massive six off�� Ferguson showed that the battlewasn’t over yet and a hopegifting partnership enthusedthe audience. Jadeja andDhoni added 116 off�� 112 deliv

eries for the seventh wicketbut New Zealand could notbe denied. Jadeja’s attemptto clout Boult proved fataland Martin Guptill’s sensational throw left Dhonistranded. The rest wilted andDavid had indeed quelledGoliath.

Earlier, resuming at theovernight 211 for fi��ve in 46.1overs, New Zealand added 28runs while losing three wickets with Jadeja’s terrifi��c fi��elding accounting for Ross Taylor (74) and Latham. Still,New Zealand set a challenging target that eventually became insurmountable.

Henry’s triple blow stuns the toporder, shatters India’s dreamDespite Jadeja’s incredible knock and his gallant century stand with Dhoni, the Men in Blue fall short by 18 runs to crash out in the semifi��nals

K.C. Vijaya Kumar

Manchester

Gone with the wind: Virat Kohli gives vent to his frustration after getting dismissed cheaply by Trent Boult. * AP

NEW ZEALANDMartin Guptill c Kohli b Bumrah 1(14b), Henry Nicholls b Jadeja 28(51b, 2x4), Kane Williamson cJadeja b Chahal 67 (95b, 6x4),Ross Taylor run out 74 (90b,3x4, 1x6), James Neesham cKarthik b Pandya 12 (18b, 1x4),Colin de Grandhomme c Dhoni bBhuvneshwar 16 (10b, 2x4), TomLatham c Jadeja b Bhuvneshwar10 (11b), Mitchell Santner (notout) 9 (6b, 1x4), Matt Henry cKohli b Bhuvneshwar 1 (2b),Trent Boult (not out) 3 (3b); Ex-tras (lb-5, w-13): 18; Total (foreight wkts. in 50 overs): 239.

FALL OF WICKETS1-1 (Guptill, 3.3 overs), 2-69(Nicholls, 18.2), 3-134 (William-son, 35.2), 4-162 (Neesham,40.6), 5-200 (Grandhomme,44.4), 6-225 (Taylor, 47.6), 7-225(Latham, 48.1), 8-232 (Henry,48.6).

INDIA BOWLINGBhuvneshwar 10-1-43-3, Bumrah10-1-39-1, Pandya 10-0-55-1,Jadeja 10-0-34-1, Chahal10-0-63-1.

INDIAK.L. Rahul c Latham b Henry 1

(7b), Rohit Sharma c Latham bHenry 1 (4b), Virat Kohli lbw bBoult 1 (6b), Rishabh Pant c deGrandhomme b Santner 32 (56b,4x4), Dinesh Karthik c Neeshamb Henry 6 (25b, 1x4), HardikPandya c Williamson b Santner32 (62b, 2x4), M.S. Dhoni run out50 (72b, 1x4, 1x6), RavindraJadeja c Williamson b Boult 77(59b, 4x4, 4x6), BhuvneshwarKumar b Ferguson 0 (1b),Yuzvendra Chahal c Latham bNeesham 5 (5b, 1x4), JaspritBumrah (not out) 0 (0b); Extras(lb-3, w-13): 16; Total (in 49.3overs): 221.

FALL OF WICKETS1-4 (Rohit, 1.3), 2-5 (Kohli, 2.4),3-5 (Rahul, 3.1), 4-24 (Karthik,9.6), 5-71 (Pant, 22.5), 6-92(Pandya, 30.3), 7-208 (Jadeja,47.5), 8-216 (Dhoni, 48.3), 9-217(Bhuvneshwar, 48.6).

NEW ZEALAND BOWLING

Boult 10-2-42-2, Henry 10-1-37-3, Ferguson 10-0-43-1, deGrandhomme 2-0-13-0, Nee-sham 7.3-0-49-1, Santner 10-2-34-2.

Toss: NZ. MoM: Matt Henry.

New Zealand won by 18 runs.

SCOREBOARD INDIA VS NEW ZEALAND

India’s batting heart wasfl��ung aside in the fi��rst 10 overs as New Zealand speedsters Trent Boult and MattHenry pegged away withwickets and maidens. ViratKohli conceded that thephase when his team was reduced to fi��ve for three andthen 24 for four, had repercussions that lasted throughthe World Cup semifi��nalwhich Kane Williamson’smen won at Old Traff��ordhere on Wednesday.

“The game pretty muchchanged in those fi��rst 40 minutes and credit to the NewZealand bowlers, the pressure they created was immense and they bowled inthe right areas,” the Indiancaptain said in the postmatch press conference.

“You obviously feel badabout the result and everyone wants to win. In hindsight you can think diff��erently. We are sad but we are notdevastated. Today we werenot good enough, a bad dayat the knockouts and you are

out of the tournament,” headded.

Speaking about the dismissals, Kohli said: “Rohit(Sharma) got a really goodball, the ball I got was prettydecent. Yes in some casesshot selection could havebeen better. For the fi��rst seven or eight overs we didn’tget a ball to drive, it was the

perfect spell of fast bowling.”

Pant will learnAsked to comment on Rishabh Pant’s manner of exitthrough a shot that wasstruck straight to a fi��elder inthe deep, Kohli became theprotective senior: “Look,Pant is an instinctive playerand his partnership with

(Hardik) Pandya was commendable. In hindsight hewill learn, he is young. WhenI was young I made manymistakes. I am sure he willrefl��ect on it and becomestronger.”

Kohli was also satisfi��edwith the run rate that Ravindra Jadeja and M.S. Dhonimaintained through theirpartnership: “The way theybatted together I felt it wasthe perfect tempo. MS (Dhoni) was given that role ofcoming in a bad situationand taking control.”

Jadeja’s innings drewpraise from his leader andKohli said: “I have beenwatching him for 10 yearsand this was his best knock.At that point (in the slog) wefelt that we could close thegame. Jadeja has been an understated cricketer but he ispriceless.”

Visibly disappointed, Kohli, though, drew some cheerfrom the ‘semifi��nal appearance’ and said that he “isproud of the way the teamplayed through the tournament.”

Kohli ‘proud of the way the team played through the tournament’

K.C. Vijaya Kumar

Manchester

Fine innings, but... Jadeja drew praise from skipper Kohli who termed the left-hander’s innings ‘his best.’ * REUTERS

‘The game changed in the fi��rst 40 minutes’

Kane Williamson often doesa shy halfsmile, not for himare the extremes of unbridled joy or soulnumbinganguish. After marshallingNew Zealand well andspringing a shockdefeatupon India in the World Cupsemifi��nals here at Old Trafford on Wednesday, theskipper was measured in hiswords, mixing guardedpraise with dry wit.Excerpts:

A tough gameIt was important to main

tain our vitality and weknow what a class side Indiais. We thought close to 240was competitive on a pitchlike this and it was an incredible game. We had agreat starting point whenwe got those wickets andthen the rebuilding phasegets tricky. We had somegood deliveries there, sometimes they don’t take theedge, but today they took(it).The Jadeja special

The innings that (Ravin

dra) Jadeja played was as ifhe was playing on a diff��erentpitch. It was a brilliant innings and India showedwhat a class side it is and wehad a very good game ofcricket spilling over twodays.Dhoni’s run out

We all know the game is afi��ne line. We have seen(M.S.) Dhoni fi��nish gamesearlier and to get him runout with a direct throw wasexcellent.A staggered contest

I think the guys slept pretty well. We were focusing onwhat we could achieve onthis surface. It wasn’t a 300wicket, it was a mid200wicket, 240 or 250 wasideal. And then it was a brilliant start with the ball.The catching philosophy

Just watch the ball andcatch it. Just watch it, (perhaps say) ‘someone pleasecatch it’ (grins) and if it ismine then catch it.The fi��nal

Anybody can beat anybody, so it is important to putyour feet on the ground.


Manchester

‘It wasn’t a 300wicket,240 or 250 was ideal’

When M.S. Dhoni trudgedaway following a run out atOld Traff��ord here on Wednesday, a question lingeredin the press box: “Are weseeing him for the last timein the blue shade?” Withspeculation over a probableretirement swirling in theair, it was understandablethat the former captaincame up for discussion inthe postmatch mediainteractions.

First up, Kane Williamsonwas asked to comment onDhoni’s strikerate and thenthe reporter questioned derisively: “Would you have

picked him in your team?”The New Zealand skipperlooked perplexed and countered: “He is not eligible toplay for New Zealand, isn’the?” And when the correspondent persisted, Williamson praised Dhoni: “He is aworldclass player and if Iwas the Indian captain Iwould have picked him. Hiscontribution was excellent.Is he looking to change hisnationality? We might consider him (grins).”

Later, when Virat Kohliwas probed about any inputfrom Dhoni specifi��c to his career’s conclusion, the Indiancaptain categorically said:“He hasn’t told anything.”

Dhoni’s fi��nal bow?K.C. Vijaya Kumar

Manchester

What’s up? Speculation is rife about Dhoni’s future. * AFP

CMYK

A ND-NDE


DELHI THE HINDU


SPORT

SUDOKU

Solution to puzzle 12674 Solution to yesterday’s Sudoku

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

The Gita teaches humanity to outgrow limitations and makefull use of the gift of human birth to attain liberation fromthe cycle of samsara, pointed out Srimati Prema Pandurangin a discourse. A jivatma has the faculty to meditate on theSupreme Brahman and if one is able to be steeped in Brahman at the moment of death, he is sure to attain Brahman,say the scriptures. Krishna points out to Arjuna that whoever at the time of death gives up his body and departs thinking of Him alone comes to His status of being. The Lord assures that one need not have any doubt in this.

The story of King Bharata who renounces his kingdomand is engaged in peaceful penance in solitude somehowgets attached to a deer and when he sheds his mortal framehis thoughts are preoccupied with the deer. He is born adeer and lives for some time in this form. But, owing to hisprevious samskara as a great devotee of the Lord, in his nextbirth he is born as Jadabharata and fi��nally attains salvation.Krishna says that by dedicating one’s mind and buddhi toHim even when one is engaged in one’s duties and dharma,one can be sure of attaining Him. But what is the guaranteethat one may think of God during one’s last moments, sincefailing senses, deteriorating health etc may lead one to loseconsciousness.

With great foresight, realised souls such as Adi Sankara,Kulasekhara Azhwar, Periazhwar, etc, focus on ‘antima kalaSmriti,’ that is, the thoughts that pass through the mind of aperson in one’s last moments that would decide the futureof the atma. They teach us to pray to God to be with us andguide us at that time. Constant practice of meditation onGod throughout one’s lifetime alone can help to fi��ght thestrong distractions from outside world.

FAITH

Life and death 4 Claim he is abnormal saint (7)

5 El Salvador media's love for

some coffee (8)

6 Moulded model contains

uniform segment (6)

7 No charges for Liberty (4)

14 Hurl that chap on little

boulevard (5)

16 Left district in Himachal

Pradesh at end of September

to get something related to 1

(5)

18 General returns, followed by

another general carrying

policeman's night dress (8)

20 A ham jar is broken by a ruler

(8)

21 Shuns chess we played (7)

23 A referendum by old Greek

god (6)

25 Begins an enterprise that is, to

some extent, mad (6)

27 Sketched actor Barrymore (4)

29 Law broken by king and tramp

(4)

15 Tells, letter by letter, "Magic

incantations" (6)

17 Bringing down a plane on fl��at

area above step (7)

19 Order naval officer without

hesitation (7)

22 Write: A nogood city (6)

24 Svelte redhead on board ship

slides (8)

26 Scold maid, "Nosh is bad" (8)

28 Crafty daughter followed small

animal (6)

30 For starters, no earthling is

lying — He took a giant step

for mankind! (4)

31 Wined dancing astronaut (5)

32 After fi��rst half of June,

heartless lady produces

"Seventh Month" (4)

■ DOWN

1 Low at the beginning of night

and behave listlessly (4)

2 Deer running behind South

London garden's impaled (8)

3 Goes around in feminine

clothes (6)

(set by Incognito)

■ ACROSS

8 Shake stone (4)

9 Fuses stink badly (5)

10 Agree, god makes ladies'

fi��ngers (4)

11 Reply, "Solution" (6)

12 US lecher may be a strongman

(8)

13 Partially photograph a rise

extraordinarily for a hypocrite

(8)

THE HINDU CROSSWORD 12675

Men’s singles: Quarterfinals: 1Novak Djokovic (Srb) bt 21David Goffin (Bel) 64, 60,62; 23Roberto Bautista Agut(Esp) bt 26Guido Pella (Arg)75, 64, 36, 63; 2Roger Federer (Sui) bt 8Kei Nishikori(Jpn) 46, 61, 64, 64; 3Rafael Nadal (Esp) bt Sam Querrey(USA) 75, 62, 62.Mixed doubles: Third round: 1Bruno Soares (Bra) & Nicole Melichar (USA) bt Andy Murray(GBr) & Serena Williams (USA)63, 46, 62.

THE RESULTS

England seems primed towin its maiden title but it willtake a special eff��ort to upstage archrival and defending champion Australia inthe second semifi��nal here onThursday.

Considering the fi��repower the host possesses, manycurrent and former playershave said it is England’sWorld Cup to lose, a trophyit has not been able to liftdespite making the fi��nal in1979, 1987 and 1992.

On the other hand, Australia has been so consistentin the mega event that it isyet to lose a semifi��nal, having won six and one being adramatic tie against SouthAfrica in the 1999 edition.

Not many would have puttheir money on Australia asrecent as four months agobut Aaron Finch and histeam have made a phenomenal comeback that beganwith a rare series win in India in March.

England may have won 10out of its last 12 meetingsagainst Australia but knowswell that the piece of statisticcounts for little heading intothe semifi��nal, especially after the Eoin Morganledside’s 64loss to in the leaguestage.

But England is back to itsbest since that loss to Australia as it beat India and NewZealand in their fi��nal twoleague games.The squads:

Australia: Aaron Finch (Capt.),Jason Behrendorff��, Alex Carey,Nathan CoulterNile, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon,Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richard

son, Steve Smith, MitchellStarc, Marcus Stoinis, DavidWarner and Adam Zampa.

England: Eoin Morgan (Capt.),Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, JonnyBairstow, Jos Buttler, Tom Cur

ran, Liam Dawson, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, JamesVince, Chris Woakes and MarkWood.

Match starts at 3 p.m. IST.

England will needto be at its bestDefending champion Australia has proved its credentials

WORLD CUP

Impact player: Jason Roy will be key to England’s fortunesagainst Australia. * DAVID ROGERS/GETTY IMAGES


BIRMINGHAM

More than a decade aftertheir momentous Wimbledon fi��nal in 2008 — a matchfor the ages that ended under semidarkness — RogerFederer and Rafael Nadalwill lock horns again, thistime a round earlier.

The two won their respective quarterfi��nal matches onWednesday against Kei Nishikori and Sam Querrey to setup their 40th headtoheadmeeting on Friday. While Federer came through a tensefoursetter 46, 61, 61, 64for his 100th win at SW19,Nadal doused a spirited challenge from the serviceheavyAmerican 75, 62, 62.

“Well, we have a lot of information on Rafa and so dothey about us,” said a smilingFederer about facing Nadal.“We can all talk tactics forthe next two days or just sayit’s grass court tennis and Iam going to attack. If he candefend, it’s good for him orit’s good for me. I mean, people hype it up, just like in theFrench Open. It was a joy toplay on his court. Now, I’dlove to play on grass. Let’ssee what happens.”

Toughing it outThe eighttime Wimbledonchampion, though, had totough it out against Nishikori. The Japanese broke earlyin the fi��rst set forcing theSwiss to play catchup. Federer pounced in the secondright at the beginning, justwhen Nishikori appeared toswitch off��, and maintainedthe lead throughout. He

broke open the contest at 33in the third set and neverlooked back.

“The beginning was brutal,” Federer said later. “Keiwas smashing returns and Ihad to make adjustmentsand stay with him. I had toget the lead and protect it inthe second and then start anormal match at oneset all. Iserved well from there. Itwas a good serving performance against a great returning player.”

The day’s honours, however, went to World No. 1Novak Djokovic, who dismantled David Goffi��n 64,60, 62. A lot had to go rightfor the 21st seed if he was tothreaten Djokovic. At just aninch under six feet, hedoesn’t necessarily intimidate his opponents. Hisservespeed doesn’t rank

high enough to give him thefi��rstmover advantage thatcan be crucial on grass.

But he covers for hisshortcomings with cleverchanges of pace, courtspeedand persistence. He appeared to maximise these talents for a fl��eeting while, going up a break in the fi��rst setand serving at 43, beforebearing the full brunt of theDjokovic onslaught.

The six games that Djokovic lost were his least everat Wimbledon, bettering the

seven he conceded to YenHsun Lu in 2010. He will nowtake on Spaniard RobertoBautista Agut, who defeatedArgentine giantkiller GuidoPella 75, 64, 36, 63 tomake it to his maiden Slamsemifi��nal.

The turnaround from Djokovic in the fi��rst set wasswift. After having brokenthe defending champion inthe seventh game, Goffi��n losthis rhythm from 300 up. Adouble fault and an unforcederror brought the Serb rightback before a decision by theumpire to award a point toDjokovic instead of a replayfollowing a contentious linecall seemed to throw the Belgian off��.

He would save the breakpoint with a fi��ne volley butcouldn’t do much when Djokovic drew him into a long

rally and dealt the killer blowwith a volley of his own.From thereon, the fourtimechampion won 15 of 17games, including eight onthe bounce, to drain theCentre Court of all its energyand with it any lingering suspense of an upset.

It’s a FedererNadal semifi��nal as scripted The Swiss records his 100th win at SW19; Djokovic crushes Goffi��n; Agut in maiden Slam semifi��nal

N. Sudarshan

LONDON

Sublime: Novak Djokovic lost just six games — his least ever at Wimbledon — during his dismantling of David Goffi��n. * REUTERS

Touted as a strong prospectfor India at the Tokyo Olympics, Hima Das is currentlythe toast of the nation forwinning backtoback racesin the fi��rst week of July.

Hima is part of the elite Indian quartermilers trainingfor more than two months inSpala, Poland, along with afew javelin throwers andshotputter Tejinder PalSingh Toor. However, it is important to put things inperspective.

The most common refrainfor going abroad is qualitycompetition that is not possible in India. That, however,does not bear out. At Poznan, there were just a handful of Jamaicans and Thairunners across all events,

none among the top runnersfrom their respective countries. Even the top Polish athletes were missing.

Hima won the 200m in23.65 seconds, far from herpersonal best of 23.10 whileV.K. Vismaya was third in23.75, a personal best. Mohd.Anas Yahya was the only onewho came close to doing hisbest, registering a season’sbest timing of 20.75 (his record is 20.63) in 200m to fi��nish third.

All-India raceIn the women’s 400m, it wasan allIndia race that saw allfour time over 54 seconds.The bestplaced Indian malequartermiler was K.S. Jeevanwith 47.25s. Kunhu Mohammed managed 47.48, afar cry from even his season’s best of 46.47 at the Federation Cup earlier this year.

Tejinderpal Singh Toor couldnot cross the 20m mark.

At Kutno, the Indians ranamongst themselves andagainst club athletes from

around Poland. Hima andVismaya slipped to 23.97 and24.06 respectively but stillcompleted a 12 for India. Forthe record, her goldwinningperformance in Poznan willnot put her among thetop300 in the world today.

“The federation itself isrealistic. These competitionsare mainly in and around theathletes’ training base inSpala and are entered intofor experience. They are notpart of the offi��cial annual calendar,” an AFI offi��cialadmitted.

However, it may be notedthat the Sports Ministry hasapproved ₹��65.93 lakh forcompetitions in Spala andaround, probably includingthe Czech Republic, for nineathletes and two coachesduring the period 15 June to15 August.

With club level competi

tion and falling standards,one wonders about the supposed gains for the Indianathletes in such long campsabroad without adequate international competitions.

It’s not just the runnerswhose performances raisequestions. Javelin throwerShivpal Singh, who managedan impressive 86.23m at theAsian meet, has been slipping gradually, his last outing being 76.90 in Poland. Vipin Kasana has notparticipated at all during thistime while Davinder SinghKang and Rajinder Singhhave had poor outings in oneevent each.

A more accurate refl��ection of India’s chances andstandards would be, therefore, at the World Championships in SeptemberOctober.Till then, it would do well totemper hopes and adulation.

Poland show not accurate gauge of India’s chances Better indicator would be the World Championships

ATHLETICS

Hima Das.* BEN HOSKINS/GETTY IMAGES

UTHRA GANESAN

NEW DELHI

Tajikistan brightened its titleround chances, shockingfancied Syria by two secondhalf goals, in the Intercontinental Cup at the EKA Arenahere on Wednesday.

Striker Komron Tursunovfound the lead before Ilhomjon Barotov netted thesecond to help Tajikistanreach six points after twomatches.

The Tajiks, who had surprised India in the opener,just need a draw againstDPR Korea to make the fi��nal.

Syria created a few chances in the fi��rst half but wasunlucky not to fi��nd the netas three of its attempts cameoff�� the framework.

Tajikistan enjoyed greater possession, but couldnot make inroads into theSyria box. Despite keepingits playmaker Firas Alkhatib

on the bench in the fi��rsthalf, its two men in attack —Shadi Al Hamwi and Mohammad Almarmour —troubled the Tajik defence alot.

After Hamvi saw his 13thminute eff��ort saved well byTajik goalkeeper Rustam Yatimov, Syria kept workingon the fl��anks, earning threegolden opportunities, butfailing to capitalise on them.

Tajikistan came backstrongly in the second half,going ahead immediately after the break. Tursunovfound the target off�� a spectacular longranger that beatSyrian custodian IbrahimAlma.

Even before Syria couldregroup, Tajiks doubled thelead in the 67th minutewhen Ilhomjon Barotovtapped home an assist fromPanshanbe Ehsoni. The result: Tajikistan 2 (Komron Tursunov 46, Ilhomjon Barotov 67) bt Syria 0.

Tajikistan stuns Syria

Amitabha Das Sharma

AHMEDABAD

INTERCONTL. CUP

Peter Sagan burst into lifeon the Tour de Francewhen he claimed the fi��fthstage at the end of a 175.5km bumpy ride from St.Die des Vosges onWednesday.

The threetime Worldchampion from Slovakiabeat Belgian Wout van Aertand Italian Matteo Trentinin a sprint fi��nish to strengthen his grip on the pointsclassifi��cation as he looks tosecure a recordbreakingseventh green jersey.

Sagan has 144 points inthe points classifi��cationwith Australian MichaelMatthews in second placeon 97.

France’s Julian Alaphilippe retained the overallleader’s yellow jersey.

Sagan takesthe fi��fth stage

Reuters

COLMER

TOUR DE FRANCE

CMYK

A ND-NDE


THE HINDU DELHI


SPORT

ICC World Cup: Star Sports1, 2 & Select 1 (SD & HD), 3p.m.Wimbledon: Star Sports Select 2 (SD & HD), 5.30 p.m.

TV PICKS

Five Brazilians in Copateam of tournamentPORTO ALEGRE

Five Brazilians have been

selected in the 2019 Copa

America’s team of the

tournament by the South

American Football

Confederation (CONMEBOL).

Goalkeeper Alisson, right

back Dani Alves, centreback

Thiago Silva, midfielder

Arthur and forward Everton

featured in the competition’s

best XI, published by

CONMEBOL on social media.

The remainder of the team

comprised Uruguay centre

back Jose Gimenez, Peru

leftback Miguel Trauco,

Argentina midfielder Leandro

Paredes, Chile midfielder

Arturo Vidal, Colombia

playmaker James Rodriguez

and Peru striker Paolo

Guerrero. IANS

IN BRIEF

Pique handed €2.1 million tax billMADRID

Barcelona’s Gerard Pique will

be forced to pay €2.1 million

to Spain’s tax authorities after

his conviction for rights

image fraud was confirmed, a

legal source told AFP on

Wednesday. According to a

May 13 decision the country’s

National Court rejected

Pique’s appeal against the

2016 sentence which required

the former Spain

international to pay €1.5

million in tax arrears and a

€600,000 fine. The tribunal

concluded Pique had faked

the handover of his rights

images to his Kerad Project

company to pay less tax for

2008, 2009 and 2010. AFP

McLaren retains Sainz,Norris for 2020 seasonLONDON

McLaren will keep the same

driver pairing for the 2020

Formula One season after

confirming Carlos Sainz and

Lando Norris will retain their

seats next year. “McLaren is

pleased to confirm that

Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris

will continue as McLaren F1

drivers for the 2020 FIA

Formula 1 season,” McLaren

said in a statement. AFP

National record holder Dutee Chand became the fi��rstIndian woman track andfi��eld athlete to clinch a goldmedal in the World Universiade after she won the 100mdash event here.

The 23yearold Duteeclocked 11.32 seconds to winthe gold as she led the racefrom start to fi��nish. Runningat lane No. 4, Dutee was thefi��rst one out of the eight athletes to blast off�� the startingblocks and she made most ofit to fend of a late challengefrom Del Ponte (11.33) ofSwitzerland.

Lisa KwaYie of Germanytook the bronze in 11.39 seconds in the race run pastmidnight Indian time onTuesday.

The Odisha runner,whose National recordstands at 11.24 seconds, thusbecame the fi��rst Indian towin a 100m gold in a globalevent.

She has now become onlythe second Indian sprinter towin a gold in a global eventafter Hima Das, whoclinched the top spot in400m in the World JuniorAthletics Championshipslast year.

Earlier on Tuesday, Duteequalifi��ed for the fi��nal with atime of 11.41 seconds in thesemifi��nal, which had madeher the fi��rst Indian sprinterto make it to the fi��nal ofWorld Universiade. On Monday, she had advanced to thesemifi��nals from the heatswith a time of 11.58 seconds.

Pat from the PresidentPresident Ram Nath Kovindcongratulated Dutee on herfeat.

“Congratulations @DuteeChand for winning the 100msprint at the Universiade, theWorld University Games, inNaples. This is India’s fi��rst

such gold and a moment ofimmense pride for our country. Please keep up the effort, and look to greater glory at the Olympics,” thePresident tweeted.

Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju also applauded Dutee’s efforts. “I’ve been passionately following since mychildhood but it never came.Finally, for the fi��rst time, a

gold for India! Congratulations @DuteeChand for winning the 100m sprint at theUniversiade, the World University Games, in Naples,”Rijiju said in his tweet.

Dutee clinches 100m gold Becomes the fi��rst Indian to win a sprint gold in a global event


Napoli

Commanding show: Dutee Chand clocked 11.32 seconds to win a starttofi��nish race.* FISU/TWITTER

‘Pull me down, I will comeback stronger’. Perhaps,this tweet by sprinterDutee Chand, afterwinning the gold.

“This is truly specialgiven the backdrop Ientered this event. Andmore so because it givesme the tag of ‘World’which is so important andinvaluable for any athlete,”Dutee told The Hindu fromNapoli. “Honestly, I wasexpecting a third or afourth place in my secondappearance in theseGames. But, when Iqualifi��ed for the fi��nal, Idecided to give it all and itwas a very close raceseparating me and the

silver medallist,” she said.

No pressureWas there pressure beforethe fi��nal? “Not at all, for Iknew that the Universitypeople would not sayanything even if I didn’twin any any medal,” the23yearold athlete said.

“But, the desire to comeup with something specialwas there certainly as I ampreparing for the DohaWorld championship laterthis year,” says Dutee, whowon two silvers in 100mand 200m in the Asiadslast year.

“The focus will be on100m for sure even as Idedicate this medal to theAchyuta Samanta sir(founder of Kalinga

Institute of Technology,Odisha) for all theirsupport,” she said.

Dutee’s coachcummentor Nagapuri Rameshof SAI says the gold is theresult of lot of eff��orts atGachibowli Stadium andthanks the initiative of theGopi AcademyMytrahFoundation.

“In sprints, a championis one who knows when toaccelerate and when torelax without reducing thespeed. She is really goodoff�� the blocks. This is thereason why I made her gothrough the drills ofspeeding up to 30m andthen relax for 20m withcones on the track and thisseemed to have workedreally well,” Ramesh said.

A fi��ghter to the coreV.V. SUBRAHMANYAM

HYDERABAD

If Graham Reid’s fi��rst threemonths in his role as India’sChief Coach have beenabout familiarizing himselfwith the job, the next fourwill be slightly more crucial.India will have to be in topform going into November’sOlympic qualifi��ers, and Reidis aware that there is noroom for slipups.

First on the agenda, as theIndian men’s hockey teamreconvenes for the Nationalcamp at the SAI here thisweek, is defence.

With the assistance offormer Australia defenderFergus Kavanagh, Reid willhope to work on ‘collectivedefending’ — something thathas become a catchphrase ofhis. “I have talked about thecollective defensive mindsetthat we need,” he said.

“Irrespective of whetheryou are a midfi��elder or astriker or defender, you haveto tackle, get the ball off�� theopposition, and put pressure on them. That is whatwe are focusing on in thefi��rst week. Later on, we willlook into the attack andwhat we do with the ball bitmore.”

The next six weeks, leading into India’s Olympic Testevent in Tokyo, will be an

opportunity for Reid to fi��rmly establish his style of play.

Attacking game“I love attacking hockey andhighpressing and gettingthe ball off�� the opponent,which is the smartest way todefend. I would like to havea passing game, which weneed to work more on. Weneed to know when to dribble as well. The great thing isthat these players have greatskills, but now the questionis how to get them to do itwhen required,” he said.

If defence is the currentarea of focus, there is muchto work on at the other endof the pitch too. “We need toget better on the conversion

rate,” said Reid. “We are getting into the 25 and the circlepretty well; now, we need toconvert those opportunitiesinto more quality scoringchances. That is the key.”

Communicating with hisplayers has not been a problem for Reid.

“There are players whocan speak English, thosewho can only understand it,and those who can’t speakor follow the language,” hesaid. “Whatever I have to saygets translated. Communication has to be always clear;so I would like to get someEnglish lessons started aswell. But it’s not been hardto get my message across tothe team.”

Wants to establish his style of attacking hockey

Shreedutta Chidananda

Bengaluru

New ideas: Graham Reid feels Indian needs to get better onthe conversion rate. * K MURALI KUMAR

Coach Reid keen to work on ‘collective defending’

Angad Vir Singh Bajwa heldon to his good form to clinchthe men’s skeet bronze inthe 30th Universiade onWednesday.

Asian champion Angad,who had a world record 60out of 60 in the fi��nal, shot 44in the fi��nal and missed a better medal by one point. Hehad qualifi��ed for the fi��nal inthird place with 122 out of125. “I am upset that I missed the silver, but happywith the qualifi��cation,” saidAngad.

Coming back from illhealth, when he missed twoWorld Cups, and competingin a top competition, it wasan impressive performanceby Angad.

“I was ill before this, hadnot trained much and needed a break after a hectic season. Before this competition, I got to prepare the wayI wished, on my own andwith the right intensity,”said Angad.

He was pleased with theway he handled the scrutiny, and hoped that “thiscompetition will be a stepping stone to the World Cupin Finland.”

It will be the last WorldCup in shotgun to win Olympic quota places. Thereafter,it will be the Asian championship for the Olympicquota for the Indian shooters in their quest for a berthin Tokyo 2020.

It was the third medal forthe Indian shooters, following the individual silver andteam bronze by Elavenil Valarivan in women’s air rifl��e.

The results:

Men’s skeet: 1. Nicolas Vasiliou(Cyp) 56 (119); 2. Timi Vallonemi (Fin) 54 (121); 3. Angad VirSingh Bajwa 44 (122); 17. Indreshwar Sekhon 101.

Angad bags a bronze

SPORTS BUREAU

NAPOLI

Angad.

SHOOTING

Seasoned Rakhi Halder aggregated 214kg to take thewomen’s 64kg title in theCommonwealth weightlifting championships here onWednesday.

The CommonwealthChampionships are beingheld simultaneously together for the youth, juniorand senior categories.The medallists: Senior: Women: 59kg: Davinder Kaursnatch 80kg, clean and jerk104kg, total 184kg (gold);64kg: Rakhi Halder 94kg,120kg, 214kg (gold).

Junior and Youth: 59kg: Sukarna Adak 77kg, 101kg,178kg (gold)

Junior: 64kg: Seram Nirupama Devi 85kg, 112kg, 197kg(gold)

Men: Junior and Youth: 61kg:Jacob Vanlatluanga 112kg,130kg, 242kg (gold).

Gold forRakhi Halder

Sports Bureau

Apia (Samoa)

Ankita Raina, the fourthseed, beat Natalija Kostic ofSerbia 61, 76(1) in the fi��rstround of the $60,000 ITFwomen’s tennis tournament on Wednesday.Other results: $100,000 ITF women, Contrexeville, France: Doubles(prequarterfi��nals): TamaraKorpatsch (Ger) & Diana Marcinkevica (Lat) bt Nigina Abduraimova (Uzb) & PrarthanaThombare 62, 57, [105].$25,000 ITF women, Getxo,Spain: Doubles (prequarterfi��nals): Valeriya Strakhova(Ukr) & Rutuja Bhosale bt Malalen Morante Oyague & IratiUrbaneja Salazar (Esp) 62,75.$15,000 ITF women, HuaHin, Thailand: First round:Sowjanya Bavisetti bt AyakaOkuno (Jpn) 64, 64.Doubles (prequarterfi��nals):Patcharin Cheapchandej (Tha)& Zhuoma Ni Ma (Chn) bt NanaKawagishi (Jpn) & Snehal Mane60, 62; Mana Kawamura &Himeno Sakatsume (Jpn) btMio Kozaki (Jpn) & Saumya Vig61, 60.€69,280 Challenger,Braunschweig, Germany:Doubles (prequarterfi��nals):Nicola Kuhn (Esp) & Daniel Masur (Ger) bt Jamie Cerretani(US) & Sriram Balaji 76(1), 64.

Ankita enterssecond round

SPORTS BUREAU

VERSMOLD (GERMANY)

Gursimar Badwal andAmandeep Drall shot identical scores of threeunderpar 67 to share the lead onthe opening day of the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour(Leg 10) at the BangaloreGolf Club on Wednesday.

Ananya Datar (68) wasone stroke behind the leaders in third. The scores (top six afterround one): 67: GursimarBadwal, Amandeep Drall; 68:Ananya Datar; 71: SonamChugh, Ridhima Dilawari, Neha Tripathi.

Gursimar andAmandeepshare lead

Sports Bureau

Bengaluru

Vijender Singh is excitedahead of his fi��rst professional fi��ght in the USA and bankson the support of local Indians to make his markthere.

The former Olympic andWorld championshipsbronze medallist was tomake his USA debut in April,but had to postpone his fi��ghtafter receiving a cut on hiseyebrow during sparring.

Vijender used the opportunity to make his debut inpolitics. However, he said henever quit boxing.

Back in training“I was back to training soonafter the elections were overand trained for oneandahalf months.

“I trained with my trainerLee Beard in Manchester forsixseven weeks beforereaching here on Sunday,”Vijender told The Hindu

from Newark.The unbeaten 33yearold

Indian star, who has remained unbeaten in his10professional bouts with seven knockout wins, will take

on American Mike Snider atthe Prudential Centre in Newark, on the undercard ofShakur Stevenson vs Franklin Manzanilla, onSaturday.

Not a problemVijender, who last appearedin a bout against ErnestAmuzu of Ghana in Jaipur inDecember, 2017, said his comeback was not a problem.

“I have trained hard,done a lot of sparring andworked on my technique. Ihave concentrated on mybasics. I will handle the nextbout with my experience.”

Throwing light on his approach, Vijender said, “I

need to be more patient. Iwill rely on my footwork andskills as it will be a long duelof eight rounds.”

Vijender looked forwardto feel at home against the38yearold American, whohas a winlossdraw recordof 1353, including eightknockout victories, in thesuper middleweight contest.

“The diff��erence of fi��ghtingin the UK and the USA is thatI have received a lot of messages from the Indians basedhere.

“I hope many of them willbe here to support me.”

Even as Snider warnedthe Indian of a “rough andugly” contest, Vijender gavehis familiar reaction. “I don’tbelieve in big talk. I believein doing my job well.

“A door has opened forme. I am in the USA for afi��ght after eight years.

“Last time I had won agold medal in the World Police Games in New York andthis time I will be the winneras well. I look forward toachieving my longstandingdream of tasting success atthe Madison Square Gardensooner than later,” he said.

Vijender looks forward to his fi��rst pro fi��ght in the USI don’t believe in big talk, says the champion boxer

Y.B. Sarangi

KOLKATA

Vijender Singh.

Ace Indian badmintonplayer K. Srikanth said hereon Wednesday that he’sbeen focusing on the upcoming tournaments andqualifying for the TokyoOlympics.

“There’s a year left (forthe Olympics). It’s aboutplaying the tournaments before the Olympics and qualifying. I think there are 15tournaments until April nextyear. I would like to do well,probably win some and justtry to improve,” said Srikanth after inaugurating theVSR Sports Academy in Mogappair. The 26yearoldshuttler, who won four Super Series titles in 2017 andgot to the World No. 1 ranking last year, said it’s been a“great season” for him so far,

and was looking forward tothe rest of the year.

“I haven’t been playingfor the last two months, but

it’s still been a great year.There are many more tournaments coming up, so I’mlooking forward to doingwell,” said the World No. 9.

Asked if he feels there’sbeen a slump in his form —when compared to 2017 —and subsequently his confi��dence, he said, “I think I’vebeen doing well. I’m reallyconfi��dent about how I’mplaying against all the topplayers. So, it’s just aboutthe moments.

“I haven’t really lost veryeasy matches in the past fewmonths. So, it’s about pulling off�� those crucial pointsand, if you can get one ortwo of those, it can reallychange the whole course ofthe match. It’s just about(owning) those momentsand you have to keep working until you get that (right).”

Srikanth focused on qualifying for TokyoAce shuttler says it has been a great season for him so far

S. Prasanna Venkatesan

CHENNAI

K. Srikanth. * M. KARUNAKARAN

Chris Gayle has turned out inmaroon colours for the WestIndies in fi��ve World Cups,starting from 2003 in SouthAfrica. But the 39yearoldswashbuckling opener, whocalls himself the ‘UniverseBoss’, has not been able toshow the way for the Caribbean team in the context ofwinning the World Cup.

Talking to The Hindu,Gayle who is the brand ambassador for adda52.com, India’s online poker gamingsite, said that the West Indiesas a team believed it had thewherewithal to qualify forthe semifi��nals, but was leftdisappointed in the end.

When asked to sum up histeam’s display, Gayle said:“Absolutely disappointednot making the last four. Ishould not be here. Butthat’s life; in as much as webuilt the hopes of being inthe semifi��nals, we could not.Given the start we had in the

fi��rst game against Pakistan,everybody was pumped upand believed that the teamwould advance to semifi��nals.We should have gone for thekill against Australia and after losing this match we wenta bit fl��at. We could not fi��ndthe gear to come back. Whenone looks at the overall WestIndies performance, we beatourselves. We had some fouror fi��ve games that were veryclose. We made small mar

gins of error and that costus.”

Gayle believes that the ICCshould go back to the old format of the World Cup.“Twelve teams split into twogroups from which six teamsplay the Super Six and thenthe knockout from quarterfi��nals,” Gayle said.

Passion still thereThe Jamaican, who made hisinternational debut in 1999,

has not announced his retirement and has shared histhoughts with the West Indies skipper Jason Holder. “Istill have the passion forWest Indies cricket and theprocess of playing cricket aswell. I will continue to playas long as possible and sharemy experience with theplayers. They all want me tobe involved with West Indiescricket. Contract or no contract, it doesn’t matter tome.” said Gayle, adding thatthe home series against India would be close and interesting.

Eleven years ago, duringthe inaugural IPL, the dashing West Indian was introduced to poker by Rohan Gavaskar and he enjoyedplaying the card game withAshoke Dinda and ManojTiwary. “Now I am addictedto it. I am an amateur now,but would like to play someprofessional tournaments. Iam here to build relationshipwith adda52.com,” he said.

Small margins of error cost us, says GayleBelieves the ICC should go back to the old format of the World Cup

G. Viswanath

Mumbai

Failed mission: Chris Gayle said West Indies believed it hadthe wherewithal to qualify for the semifi��nals. * VIVEK BENDRE

WORLD UNIVERSIADE

Former National championSaniya Sheikh had the bestfi��nish, in skeet, among theIndian women, as she fi��nished 30th with 112 in afi��eld of 61 shooters in theShotgun World Championship on Wednesday.

Saniya had a series of 22,23, 23, 22 and 22. AreebaKhan, who had shot 70 outof 75 overnight, falteredwith rounds of 22 and 17 onthe second day, and was47th with a total of 109.

Kartiki Singh Shaktawatshot 108 for the 50th spotamong 61 shooters.

In junior men’s skeet,Gurnihal Singh Garcha(109), Ayush Rudraraju(107) and Arjun Thakur(104) were placed 31st,32nd and 35th in a fi��eld of36 shooters.The result: Junior men’sskeet: 1. Daniel Korcak (Cze)55 (120); 2. Andrea Lapucci(Ita) 54 (121); 3. David JamesSneddon Mcneill (GBR) 41(118).

Saniya Sheikhfi��nishes 30th SPORTS BUREAU

LONATO (ITALY)


DELHI THE HINDU


CMYK

A ND-NDE

SHOWCASE

AcademicToday, Oxford University Press is hosting the

third edition of its South Asia Conclave. This

one-day meet will bring together various

political leaders, academics, civil servants, and

journalists to deliberate on crucial issues such as

democracy, national security, and economic

growth.

Venue: Shangri-La’s Eros Hotel, Ashoka Road

Time: 8:15 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

CONCLAVE

Double Bill recitalThere will be two dance performances at the IIC

Double Bill dance recital. The first one will be a

Kathak recital by Arunima Sengupta Basu, a

disciple of Pt. Rajendra Gangani. This will be

followed by a Bharatanatyam duet by Archana

and Chetana, disciples of Guru B. Bhanumati and

Guru Sheela Chandrasekhar.

Venue: C.D. Deshmukh Auditorium, IIC

Time: 6 p.m.

DANCE

Dakshin delightsThe all-day Blooms Restaurant is hosting Dakshin

delights, a festival dedicated to South Indian

food. On till July 13, the dishes offered as part of

the festival menu are made with traditional

mustard seed seasoning and rich spices. There

will also be fresh coconut curries, Nilgiri style

steamed fish, and Malabar chicken curry.

Venue: Blooms Restaurant, Nehru Place

Time: 12 Noon-3 p.m . and 7 p.m.-11 p.m.

FOOD

ShradhanjaliIHC, in collaboration with Antardhwani Cultural

Society, is hosting a shradhanjali in honour of

two classical musicians: tabla maestro Prof. Lalji

Srivastava and flute player Pt. Bholanath

Prasanna. The will feature a violin recital by

Shubham Sarkar, flute recital by Ajay Prasanna,

and a vocal recital by Ritesh and Rajnish Mishra.

Venue: Stein Auditorium, India Habitat Centre

Time: 7 p.m.

MUSIC

RockPelican Shuffles, a Kolkata-based rock & roll

band, will perform tonight. While they play

originals, they are also known for covering the

likes of the Beatles and Coldplay. The band is

Varun Gujadhur on vocals and guitar, Shubhamoy

Mitra on bass, and Aditya Dutta on drums.

Venue: The Piano Man Jazz Club, B 6-7/22

Safdarjung Enclave Market.

Time: 9 p.m. - 11:50 p.m.

GIG

5 EVENTS WORTH YOUR WHILE

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We stand under a large tent atthe British High Commissioner’sresidence, in sweltering Delhiweather. The oversized screenplays out the India-Englandcricket match, the coolers givingsome relief, the beer a lot more.It’s an irony that’s not lost onmost, even if no one articulatesit, because the only beer that’sbeing served on this little bit ofBritish soil is Bira 91.

Originally named after thePunjabi word for brother, Bira,the 91 is derived from the coun-try code you dial for India. An-kur Jain, founder-CEO, describesthe beer as “smart and fun at thesame time, but not pretentiouslyso.” ‘Can’t be a Delhi-ite,’ I think,as he says it, though the branddebuted in Hauz Khas Village.

From the once-quaint alley-ways surrounding a medievalmonument and lake in the Capi-tal, Bira is now at The Oval, atLord’s, at Old Tra�ord, as the of-�cial beer being served at thecricket world cup. The brandlaunched in the UK with theevent, having signed a partner-ship with the International Crick-et Council for the next �ve years.This means they’re the exclusivebeer poured at this year’s eventas well as the next world cup, inIndia, and other tournaments:all formats of the game and somewomen’s matches as well.

Besides the in-stadium brand-ing, seen on screen (for those ofus who weren’t lucky enough tomake it there), there’s also whatmarketeers call activation: livespaces that bring alive the brand(they serve beer, sell merchan-

beers. Coming up this month is astout and IPA (India Pale Ale).

An important part of thebrand story is the India link,with nationalistic millennialsconsciously picking a productthat has its roots here. Bira callsitself “Imagined in India”; they

brew in Nagpur, a location nearIndore, Kovur near Rajahmun-dry, and abroad in upstate NewYork and Belgium. “It precedesMake in India,” says Ankur, ad-ding that the thought and identi-ty is from our soil. In an inter-view, he tells us a little moreabout the partnership.

Why cricket, consideringpeople in their 20s are moreinto soccer?� While it is true that some youn-ger consumers will be watchingother sports like soccer, or ten-nis or basketball, I think cricket

captures the imagination ofmost Indians, young or old

— it’s unparalleled. It’s afairly obvious choice fora brand that has aspira-tions beyond a small

niche.

What are youexpecting from it?

� The main objective is to buildawareness for our brand with In-dian consumers. Now, we are atbest known to 20 or 30 millionconsumers, most of them in Del-hi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune,and some of the other larger

markets. With this type of part-nership we have the potential tobe known by almost 100% of con-sumers in the country, given thateverybody’s watching the worldcup. Over the next �ve years, we

expect to be known as a brandthat’s synonymous with nationalculture in some way, and cricketis a great way for that.

How would you use digitalcontent you have access to?� These are images and videocontent from the matches thatwe would have a right to use. Togive you an example, if you go onTwitter, ICC is posting a recap ofthe sixes that have been hit.That’s branded as Bira 91content.

Do you see a future wheresport and alcohol will not beassociated?� Hard to say. When it comes tobeer there’s been a lot of innova-tion around healthier alterna-tives as well, so if you look at ma-rathons, especially in Germany,are sponsored by alcohol-freeversions of beers. So there’s achange in the way beer compa-nies are approaching sportingpartnerships overall, which isnot out of the realm of possibili-ty in India either.

Bira 91goes to Britain

In a ve-year partnership with the International Cricket Council, the

India-at-heart beer company takes on twoworld cups — now in the UK, and four

years later, in India

Winning formula The Indian craft beer is making its presence felt at theICC World Cup; (left) Ankur Jain * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

BEER-FOOD PAIRING

Thomas Hartman, VP,Brewing andInnovations, says thatthe key thing to noteis intensity. “Onewould want to keepthe ¢avour intensity inthe beer about equalto the ¢avour intensityin the dish. Also, eithercompliment or contrastthe ¢avours in thebeer and the dish,” hesays. Here, he o¥ersfood pairings.

BIRA 91 WHITE: Pairswell with lighterdishes, as the beer hasa delicate balance andis highly drinkable. Vegetarian: A freshsalad. Also, a dish withsome herbs, and acitrus or fruit element.Non-vegetarian: It isexcellent with mussels,clams, oysters, evencrab.

BIRA 91 BLONDESUMMER LAGER: Avery versatile beer asthe clean malty¢avours with thebalancing hoppinesscan serve to cutthrough fatty or spicydishes, complimentroasted chicken, or pairwell with grain dishes.

BIRA 91 STRONG: Thisbeer is all about richmalty character andyeast aromatics, with abig body and higheralcohol. It can standup to high intensity,rich, or spicy foodwell. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

dise, o�er face tattoos). There’s abeer garden at all India and En-gland matches and partnershipswith bars and restaurantsscreening the world cup in Indiaand England. Plus there’s the‘digital ampli�cation’ becauseyou can’t go far without it, espe-cially with a product that’smeant to be “not too serious”,with its inverted B and monkeylogo.

“The intent is to speak the lan-guage of this generation of con-sumers, and also have a reallyactive conversation with them,”says Ankur, of people in their20s and 30s, who drink for taste,and the enjoyment of an expe-rience. Bira, a craft beer, came ata time (in 2015) when a new gen-eration of drinkers had enteredbars: they weren’t looking at thealcohol content on the bottle,and were perhaps happier drink-ing less even if at a higher price.Ankur cites the change acrossother categories, like co�ee.Today, he says, “Premium istaking away share from themass-market segment. Vol-umes are going up �ve toseven per cent year on year;premium by 20%.”

He says they went keg-�rstinto neighbourhoods, connect-ing with people. “Over the lasttwo or three years we’ve disco-vered pillars we’re executing on:food, music, and now cricket.”

The April Fools’ Fest in Delhithis year, for instance, featuredentertainment (music, comedy)with food and beer. With sevenvariants, there’s something foreveryone, and in February thisyear Boom was introduced, tocompete with the lower-priced

FACT OF THE MATTER

Beer helped Joseph Priestleydiscover oxygen. He noticedgases rising from the bigvats of beer at a brewery andasked to dosomeexperiments.

Sunalini Mathew

The Jacobin Cuckoo is one luckybird indeed. At least according toIndian myth. Also known as thePied Cuckoo or Chatak, this birdheralds the onset of the monsoonin India.

Being an agricultural economythe rainy season is considered oneof the most auspicious seasons inthe country. And so, the PiedCuckoo in North and Central Indiais a welcome sight.

It is a bird with black and whiteplumage (pied) with a fancy creston the head. Its scienti�c name isClamator jacobinus. The genus‘Clamator’ literally translates tobeing a shouter, a bird which isquite vocal, so you’ll hear yourselfsurrounded by the calls close tothe monsoon. The word ‘jacobi-nus’ relates to pied birds.

There are two populations ofthe Pied Cuckoo in India. One is aresident in the southern part ofthe country. The other, accordingto tracking by birders, makes itsway to North and Central India

from Africa by crossing the Ara-bian Sea, along with the monsoonwinds. When the monsoon arrivesin all its majesty, its sighting alsospreads widely.

The bird is primarily arboreal,which means that it mostly lives ontrees but often forages for food inlow bushes, and sometimes evenon the ground. Considering its ar-boreal nature, it prefers forests,well-wooded areas and also bush-es in semi-arid regions. These

birds are primarily insectivoresand feed on grasshoppers, beetlesand are also often seen feeding onfruits and berries from trees.

The species, like all cuckoos, isa brood parasite. It lays its eggs innests that belong to other birds,preferring similar-sized birds likebabblers and bulbuls, as their‘hosts’. The hosts are often dis-tracted by male cuckoos, and thefemales quickly lay their similar-sized and coloured eggs into the

other habits. This is being docu-mented online on ebird.org, anIvy-League initiative for bird-watchers all around the world.

A large number of birdwatchersreported the sighting of the PiedCuckoo on the online documenta-tion forum, and when these datesof sightings were compared to themonsoon's arrival, as availablewith the Indian Meteorological De-partment, the results were fairlyclear. Pied Cuckoos did indeed ar-rive before the monsoon in mostparts of central and northern In-dia. In a few areas, it was also ob-served that wherever the mon-soon was to arrive earlier thanusual, the Pied Cuckoo alsoshowed up a few days earlier. Sothe Chatak is not an old wives’ taleanymore.

To join a trail in Mangar, Ha-ryana this Sunday and spot the Ja-cobin Cuckoo, email [email protected]

The writer is the founder of NINOX - Owlabout Nature, a nature-awarenessinitiative. He formerly led a programme atWWF India as a naturalist, and is theDelhi-NCR reviewer for Ebird, a CornellUniversity initiative, monitoring raresightings of birds in the region

hosts’ nests. The hosts then takecare of the eggs and the chicks thathatch from them, as their own.The parasitic chicks are fed by thehosts and then leave the host pa-rents once they are ready to be ontheir own.

A few years ago, birdwatchersset out to test the truth behindwhether the bird does signal thecoming of the monsoon. We begana monitoring process, collectingdata around bird sightings, and

The Jacobin Cuckooheralds the monsoonin north India

Abhishek Gulshan

irds are primarily insectivoresnd feed on grasshoppers, beetles

hosts’ nests. The hosts then takeare of the eggs and the chicks that

Rain

catcher

IN OUR BACKYARDHarbinger of rains JacobinCuckoo in its habitat

* ABHISHEK GULSHAN


THE HINDU DELHI


CMYK

A ND-NDE

The maximum time we generallyspend on boats would be a couple of hours. So the prospect ofspending two full days on acountry boat, that too on one ofthe mightiest rivers, seemed defi��nitely appealing.

We fi��rst heard of the boat tripson Mekong River, from some travel blogs; some had found it interesting, while for some othersit was a trifl��e unappealing. Mekongstyle slowboats ply between Luang Prabang and HuayXai in Laos, taking two days tocover the 300odd kilometres(boats are not run on the Mekong River in the night, as it istoo risky, with many rocks present). Speed boats cover the distance in one day, but are generally considered too dangerous,and were defi��nitely not for us.

We decided to go upriverfrom Luang Prabang, as it suitedour itinerary better. We werepicked up from the hotel andbrought to Luang Prabang port,a few kilometres outside the city,before 7 am. It did not seem tobe a good day for the tour company, as there were only six passengers on board the big boat,including us. The seating wascomfortable and the boat wasequipped with two clean, modern toilets.

It did not take us long to realise that the boat was a family affair. The owner of the boat was

the driver, with his wife being incharge of cooking and housekeeping, while the elder sonhelped around. The cute, youn

ger chap seemed to be enjoyinghimself, driving his remotecontrolled toy car all over our feet!The family lived on the boat, in

the living quarters at the rear.An hour after we left, we

stopped for a quick visit at the famous Pak Ou caves, locatedright by the river. It is a Buddhistshrine, which was patronised bythe erstwhile royals of Laos,housing more than 4,000 idolsof the Buddha. The count increases every year, as more areadded by devotees, during theyearly festival. There is a lowerand an upper cave, with the latter being reached by climbing afl��ight of steep steps. The uppercave houses the king’s idols, andwas exclusively used by the royalfamily in days of yore.

The steep banks of the riverare mostly covered with thick

evergreen forests. There is verylittle habitation on the river, barring a few stray villages, an indicator that Laos has the lowestdensity of population amongSoutheast Asian nations.

We left Pak Ou caves ataround 8 am, and the boat didnot stop till it reached Pak Bengaround 5.30 pm, manned singlehandedly by our driver.

Pak Beng is a small riversidehamlet where all boats stop afterDay 1, the economy of whichseems to be primarily driven bytourists halting here, duringtheir upward and downwardjourney along the Mekong. Wefound quite a few eateries, andguest houses. Next day, we

boarded the boat at 6.30 am,when the river was still partlyshrouded in mist. Shortly afterPak Beng, we saw extensiveroadconstruction on one side ofthe river, which seemed to becausing ecological damage. Ourguide told us that it is a road being constructed by China, tosupport the construction of adam which Laos is planning tobuild on the Mekong, so thatthey can generate hydropowerand export to China. This meansthat the boat trip that we weredoing now will not be possibleafter a few years.

Shortly, we started seeingscores of people wearing strawhats, squatting by the side of theriver, and sieving water, in thehot sun. They were panning forgold; another humble source of

income for the poor, whichcould be destroyed by the dam.

There was a customary stop atan isolated tribal village on theriver, where the guide tried togive us a glimpse of a traditionallifestyle. No communication waspossible with the villagersthough, as none knew a word ofEnglish.

Till now, we had Laos on bothsides of Mekong. A little pastnoon, at a certain point, Laosterritory ends West of the river,and Thai territory begins. Fromhere onwards, the Mekongforms the natural boundary between Laos and Thailand. TheThailand side looks more developed and prosperous than theLaos side.

Extensive banana plantations,stretch for kilometres on theLaos side of the river. Our guideexplained that these huge plantations are run by Chinese companies, on leased land. The fruit,however, found no favour withthe locals because of the use ofpesticides.

The Mekong has a lot of traffi��c, be it in terms of speedboats,ferrying both locals as well astourists, cargo boats, and passenger boats like ours. Localmarkets function right along theroute, something that is boundto change when lifestyleschange.

The boat ride is perhaps themost unhurried activity you willdo anywhere in South East Asia.And, it becomes all the moreprecious when you know it maynot be possible for long.

Life’s a boat (Clockwise frombelow) Cruising down the river, a temple at Luang Prabang

* GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCK

Backpacking

in brownwater

Take a slow boat down the muddywaters of the Mekong, ticking off��historical sights, mysterious caves andunusual foods on your list

Joseph Andrews

■ Across

1 Charades, for

example (7,4)

9 Embedded (9)

10 Junk (3)

11 Soil’s organic

component (5)

13 Ledger for

recording

transactions as they

occur (7)

14 Sudden arrival (of

people or water?) (6)

15 Kiss and cuddle (6)

18 US state — Black

Sea state (7)

20 Regal (5)

21 Sign of the zodiac

(3)

22 Large broad-

bladed weapon (9)

24 Men’s underwear

(5,6)

■ Down

2 Snake (3)

3 Negotiates between

parties (7)

4 Disordered (6)

THE GUARDIAN QUICK CROSSWORD-13119

6

Solution will appear inThe Hindu dated

July 12, 2019.

Solution No. 13118

5 Devout (5)

6 Legends and sagas, in

general (9)

7 The Lady with the

Lamp, d. 1910 (11)

8 Person or organisation

with an interest in

something (11)

12 Venetian travel

writer, who may (or may

not) have served Kublai

Khan, d. 1324 (5,4)

16 Dark cherry (7)

17 Carnivorous insect,

which rests as if in prayer

(6)

19 Part between sloping

sides of a roof (5)

23 Relevant (3)

POOCH CAFE

HAGAR THE HORRIBLE

TIGER

PEANUTS

CALVIN AND HOBBES

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE

WUMO

SHOWCASE

How to reachLuang Prabang can bereached by air from India,with a stopover at Bangkok,Kuala Lumpur, or Singapore.Huay Xai is connected by asingle fl��to Vientiane. HuayXai and Luang Prabang areconnected by overnightbuses as well.

How to bookThe cruise can be prebooked online withmany agencies like nagiofmekong.com ormekongsmilecruise.com. The fare isUS$120140 per person, which includesmeals, and onenight hotel stay enroute.It is said that much better rates can beavailed, if you get to the Luang Prabangport before 7 am, andjust board a departing boat.

CMYK

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LIFEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

DELHI THE HINDU


Nine deer dead in Japanafter eating plasticTOKYO

Nine deer have died after

swallowing plastic bags in

Japan’s Nara Park, a wildlife

group said on Wednesday,

warning that a surge in

tourism may be to blame.

The Nara Deer Preservation

Foundation said that masses

of plastic bags and snack

packets were found in the

stomachs of the deer which

died between March and

June this year. AFP

IN BRIEF

Thousands of animalssaved in crackdown LYON

Police across the globe have

seized thousands of wild

animals, including primates

and big cats, and arrested

nearly 600 suspects in a vast

crackdown on illegal wildlife

smuggling, Interpol said. The

operation was carried out in

109 countries.

Britain’s staterun health service is teaming up with Amazon to provide medical advice for common ailmentssuch as migraines and fl��u viathe tech giant’s voice assistant Alexa, aiming to helpmore patients at home andcut down on costs.

The plan is to give patients— especially the elderly,blind and those unable to access the internet through traditional means — access toinformation verifi��ed by theNational Health Service(NHS) by using voice commands, the governmentsaid.

Cutting health costsThe deal could ease pressureon the NHS by reducing theneed to visit a doctor.

It also marks the latestmove by Amazon intohealthcare following its purchase of online pharmacyPillPack last year and a tieup with Berkshire Hathawayand JPMorgan Chase & Co inthe U.S. aimed at cuttinghealth costs for hundreds ofthousands of theiremployees.

British Health SecretaryMatt Hancock said millionsof people were already asking Alexa and other voice assistants about health matters, and he wanted to makesure they received the verybest advice in response.

He said the service wouldbe backed by strong privacyrules to protect patientconfi��dentiality.

The NHS is a cherished institution for many Britons,providing services from rou

tine consultations to lifesaving operations. But it is under strain in the face ofincreasing patient demandsand budget constraints.

First port of callA general practitioner (GP),often referred to as “familydoctor”, is usually the fi��rstport of call for a person feel

ing unwell in Britain.Helen StokesLampard,

Chair of the Royal College ofGPs, said voiceassisted technology could free up moredoctors’ appointments forpatients who need themmost. “It has the potential tohelp some patients work outwhat kind of care they needbefore considering whetherto seek facetoface medicalhelp, especially for minorailments that rarely need aGP appointment,” she said.

Aff��ordability an issue“But we must be careful notto create a ‘digital divide’between those patients whocan aff��ord it and are able touse it, and those who can’t.”

Alexaenabled devicessuch as Echo and Echo Dotrange in price from about£50 to more than £200.

‘Doctor’ Alexa to the aid of Britons NHA teams up with Amazon to provide medical advice for common ailments

Reuters

London

Patients get access toinformation verifi��ed by theNHS. * GETTY IMAGES/VETTA

France will stop reimbursing patients for homeopathic treatment from2021, the Health Ministersaid in an interview, infuriating manufacturers butalso disappointing doctorswho wanted an immediatehalt.

Health Minister AgnesBuzyn, a former prominent doctor who hasvowed to place scientifi��c rigour at the heart of policy,said she had made the decision after a damning verdict on homeopathy by thenational health authoritypublished in June.

Mr. Buzyn said the refunds will be phased downto 15% from the current30% in 2020 and then tozero in 2021.

France to endhomeopathyfunding

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Paris

Snowball, a sulphurcrestedcockatoo, shot to YouTubestardom a decade ago for hisuncanny ability to rock outto the Backstreet Boys.

Now, Snowball is back after having taught himself adizzying array of new movesthat might put you toshame.

His rhythmic bodyrolls,headbangs, shimmies, andmany variations thereofwere documented in a newpaper published in CurrentBiology on Monday.

“This shows for the fi��rsttime that another speciestruly dances to human music, spontaneously and without training, just based onits own development andsocial interaction with humans,” senior author Aniruddh Patel, a psychologistat both Tufts and Harvarduniversities, said.

This is not the fi��rst timeSnowball has rendered hisservices for the noble pursuit of scientifi��c discovery.

An earlier study by Mr.Patel in the same journalconfi��rmed our featheredfriend could g roove to thebeat — though at the time,his dancing was confi��ned tohead bobbing and lifting hisfeet, actions long associatedwith courtship.

Soon after, Snowball’sowner Irena Schulz, whotakes care of him at a birdsanctuary in Duncan, South

Carolina, noticed he wasmaking movements to music she hadn’t seen before.

The development was allthe more remarkable for thefact that she hadn’t attempted to train him, save for providing some verbal encouragement with words like“Good Boy!” as she swayedback and forth and wavedher hands.

Had Snowball lifted hisgame to another level andtaught himself some slicknew moves?

To answer this vital question, the scientists playedhim the 1980s classicsAnother One Bites the Dustand Girls Just Want to HaveFun, each three times, for atotal of 23 minutes.

The study’s lead researcher, R. Joanne JaoKeehn, a cognitive neuroscientist as well as a traineddancer, then studied videofootage framebyframe.

She confi��rmed that hehad indeed acquired a diverse repertoire of 14 distinct moves, and two combination moves. “Here, we’relooking at highly complexmovements, many of whichare not part of natural parrot behavior,” Mr. Patel said,adding that this suggestscognitive planning of actions and the willingness tochoose between alternatives to respond to astimulus.

“I wish I could dance likeSnowball,” he added.

Some birds love to dance,have fun just like humansStudy shows cockatoo capers voluntarily


Washington

A fi��le photo of Snowball tapping her feet. * AP

Employing the homeless andoff��ering beer brewed fromleftover bread, “The GreenVic” in London’s trendy Shoreditch district is aiming tobe the world’s most ethicalpub.

Open for an initial threemonths, founder RandyRampersad has securedenough funding to buy secondhand furniture, soapmade by the blind, toilet rolls

from recycled paper anddrinks supplied by social enterprises that donate tocharity.

He launched the projecthoping to enable the averagepubgoer to give to charitywithout having to changetheir daily routine. The pubemploys the homeless andthose with disabilities. Foodis all plantbased and itavoids sending anything tolandfi��ll by recycling andcomposting.

“Every single drink youbuy goes towards a diff��erentcharity,” Mr. Rampersad, 35,said.

The drinks menu has tiesto over 40 diff��erent charities.

For instance, a Brewgooder craft lager, for £4.90($6.14), is produced by a nonprofi��t organisation that donates all its money to cleanwater projects in Africa.

The Toast Ale, at £5.50, isbrewed with fresh surplusbread.

For this London pub, charity begins at homePubgoers can donate at Rampersad’s Green Vic, which employs homeless, people with disabilities

People walking past the Green Vic, which is aiming to be theworld’s most ethical pub, in Shoreditch, London. * REUTERS

Reuters

LONDON

U.S. rapper Nicki Minaj saidon Tuesday that she waspulling out of a concert inSaudi Arabia next week, citing her support for the rightsof women and the LGBTQcommunity.

Homosexuality is bannedin Saudi Arabia.

Ms. Minaj was due to headline the Jeddah World Festmusic festival on July 18, buther plan to appear was criti

cized last week on socialmedia.

“While I want nothingmore than to bring my showto fans in Saudi Arabia, afterbetter educating myself on

the issues, I believe it is important for me to make clearmy support for the rights ofwomen, the LGBTQ community and freedom of expression,” she said.

The U.S.based HumanRights Foundation (HRF) lastweek urged Ms. Minaj tocancel her performance,saying her appearancewould be at odds with therapper’s participation in festivities in New York markingGay Pride month in June.

Says she supports the rights of women and LGBTQ community

Reuters

LOS ANGELES

Nicki Minaj

Nicki pulls out of Saudi concert

New dome over destroyedChernobyl plant unveiledCHERNOBYL

Ukraine on Wednesday

inaugurated a metal dome

encasing the destroyed

reactor at the infamous

Chernobyl plant. Branded as

the world’s largest moveable

metal structure, the New Safe

Confinement seals the

remains of the fourth reactor

at the nuclear plant that was

the site of the Chernobyl

disaster in 1986. AFP

When Toby Bouska Jr. started assembling cabs for Kenworth semitrucks last year,he learned the ropes by observing longtime workers atthe factory. But it wasn’t exactly engaging, and he didn’tget much practice doing thejob himself.

“It’s them doing the job,and you just have to watch,”said Mr. Bouska, 21, whoworks at Kenworth’s plant inChillicothe, Ohio, U.S. “I’mnot really good at just sittingthere watching.”

But then his managershad him train in a new way:with a hightech headset.They gave him a MicrosoftHoloLens, a device thatblends digital imagery withthe real world. When hewore the headset, it overlaiddigital arrows and diagramsover the parts he was looking at, helping to guide hiswork.

New opportunityAfter the success with Mr.Bouska’s training, Kenworth’s parent company,Paccar, has ordered 50 of thedevices. Five will be comingto the Chillicothe plant,which employs more than2,000 workers, and the

manager plans to use themto train employees on atleast two dozen tasks.

Hightech devices haveplayed a central role inwhitecollar workplaces fordecades, with a screen infront of nearly every face.Now, companies like Microsoft see a multibilliondollaropportunity to get more personal technology, includingthe HoloLens, in the handsof workers who don’t sit behind a desk.

The new push goesbeyond tools to perform aparticular task, like a clerkringing up a customer with atablet or a robot moving materials around a factory. It ismeant to integrate the tools

into the corporate life of acompany, like training, scheduling and regular communications. The eff��orts are enabled by cloud computing,which makes it easier to deliver information via a smartphone app or a mixedrealityheadset.

Google is going after themarket, as is Salesforce, withits acquisition of Quip.

Perhaps no tech company, though, is more aggressive than Microsoft at pursuing socalled frontline orfi��rstline workers, who do theactual production, sales andservice work for customers

Microsoft estimates that 2billion frontline workershave access to fast internet

connections and are, in theory, potential customers. Ina call with investors thisyear, Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s Chief Executive, saidselling products for fi��rstlineworkers expanded the market Microsoft could tap into.

Open playing fi��eldEmma Williams, a Microsoftexecutive who develops productivity tools for various industries, like health care andretail, said there was a big,open playing fi��eld.

Technology already surrounds many frontline workers, but many of these workers do not even have acorporate email account, sothey create workarounds tocommunicate. Team Inc., acompany that performsmaintenance and repairs atindustrial sites, realised lastyear that almost half of itsfi��eld technicians used personal email accounts and cellphones to communicate,said Tracy Terrell, Team’schief information offi��cer.The company’s leaders decided that was too risky.

“We don’t want to beemailing to Yahoo accountsor sending information viatext, because that’s kind ofour trade secret,” Ms. Terrellsaid. NY TIMES

HoloLens, which blends digital imagery with real world, caters to fi��rstline workers

Karen Weise

CHILLICOTHE

Workers’ gizmo: Manufacturing operations under way atKenworth Truck Co. in Chillicothe, Ohio, U.S. * NYT

Wear this headset for onthejob training

Labgrown meat, fi��rst introduced six years ago inthe form of a $2,80,000hamburger, could hit supermarket shelves at $10 apatty within two years, European startups said.

Consumers concernedabout climate change, animal welfare and their ownhealth are fueling interestin socalled clean meat,with the number of associated business startupsclimbing from four at theend of 2016 to more thantwo dozen two years later,according to the GoodFood Institute marketresearcher.

Plantbased meat alternatives are also booming.

It was Dutch startupMosa Meat's cofounderMark Post who created thefi��rst “cultured” beef hamburger in 2013 at a cost of$280,400.

Biotech Foods cofounder Mercedes Vila alsohighlighted the importance of moving from lab tofactory.

She said the average costof producing a kilogram ofcultured meat is now about€100, signifi��cantly belowthe $800 cited a year ago.

Labgrownburger couldcome cheap

Reuters

MADRID/ZURICH

Artist Fin Dac, second from right, working on ‘Magdalena’, a mural in honour of Mexicanpainter Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo in the month of her birth in Guadalajara, Mexico. * AFP

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Splendid portrait

A guiltridden neighbour ofNew Zealand Prime MinisterJacinda Ardern revealed onWednesday that he was responsible for accidentallykilling the nation's “FirstCat” Paddles while reversing out of his driveway.

Paddles died in November 2017, shortly after Ardern won offi��ce, but the fullcircumstances of the deathwere never publicly revealed, leading to curiosityabout who killed the cat.

The muchloved felinewas a popular member ofthe prime ministerial household, with a Twitter accountset up in her name, @FirstCatofNZ, attracting morethan 11,000 followers.

Paddles, who was “poly

dactyl”, with extra toes thatlooked like thumbs, alsoonce interrupted a phonecall between Ms. Ardernand U.S. President DonaldTrump by jumping on atable.

Ms. Ardern’s neighbour,identifi��ed only as Chris, saidthat he was rushing back towork from a lunch break inhis Auckland home whenthe moggy ran into the pathof his reversing car.

Neighbour says he killedNew Zealand’s ‘First Cat’ PM’s feline came under his car


Wellington

Paddles * TWITTER

More than 300 women willjoin a roundtheworldvoyage launching in Octoberto highlight the devastatingimpact of plastic pollution inthe oceans and conductscientifi��c research into theescalating crisis.

Millions of tonnes of plastic, from food packaging tofi��shing gear enters the seaeach year, leading some marine experts to warn thatthere could be more plasticthan fi��sh in our oceans by2050.

The twoyear allfemalevoyage comprises scientists,teachers, fi��lmmakers, product designers, photographers and athletes. It is organised by eXXpedition, anonprofi��t focusing on marine pollution.

They will collect samplesfrom some of the planet’smost important and diversemarine environments tobuild a picture of the state ofthe seas.

Circulating currentsThe 38,000 nautical miletrip will cover the Arctic, theGalapagos Islands, the South

Pacifi��c islands and centralocean areas where plastic accumulates because of circulating currents.

“One of the things thatstill gets me is when you are1,000 miles from the nearesthuman being and then yousee a toothbrush fl��oat past,”mission director Emily Pennsaid, adding that 8 milliontonnes of plastic ended up inthe sea every year where itbroke down into tiny fragments, the same size asplankton.

“There’s a misconceptionthat there are islands of plastic out there that you cansee, but it’s more like a soup.It’s fi��ne fragments,” said Ms.

Penn. She said the solutionwas to “turn off�� the tap” onland and stop the plastic entering the sea in the fi��rstplace. The research will focus on identifying the typesof plastic and fi��nding tailored solutions.

“There’s not one silverbullet solution. We need tobe working from every sector, from every angle.

“We need design of newmaterials, we need policychange, we need education,we need the arts to be shifting mindsets, we need engineers. The only way we aregoing to solve it is by allworking together,” Ms. Pennsaid.

300member allwomanvoyage to fi��ght ocean plasticThe research will focus on fi��nding tailored solutions

Reuters

London

Plastic trail: Marine experts have said that there could bemore plastic than fi��sh in the oceans by 2050. * AFP

2 more Cong. MLAs quit in Karnataka - SPLessons

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