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Truth PrevailRNI No:JKENG/2012/47637

Email:truthprevail911@gmail.com

POSTAL REGD NO-JK/485/2016-18

Internet Editionwww.truthprevail.com

Epaper:epaper.truthprevail.com

VOL: 9 Issue: 179 JAMMU AND KASHMIR, FRIDAY, JULY 24, 2020 DAILY PAGES 12 Rs. 2/-

3Lt Governor continues Public OutreachProgramme, visits Anantnag

5JKNPP protests seeking abolition ofToll Plazas in Jammu

12Major boost to Silk & Wool sectorsin J&K

Anand loses to Carlsen in Legends of Chesstourney

InsideInside

Kathua, July 23 :Tightening the noose ofbovine smugglers in Kathua,a team of P/S Lakhanpur(Kathua) rescued 13 bovineanimals which were loadedin Truck mercilessly.

Today a Police team ofPolice Station Lakhanpurheaded by Insp. SanjeevChib SHO Lakhanpur dur-ing Naka/vehicle checkingat NHW bi-pass roadLakhanpur intercepted atruck bearing registrationNo. PB05S-9343 comingfrom Punjab towardsSrinagar. During checkingof the vehicle13 bovineswere found laden inside thevehicle, which were beingtransported illegally withoutany permission. All thebovines were rescued andshifted to safer place.

An accused foundinvolved in the commissionof crime namely SukhvinderSingh S/O Jagir Singh R/ONawa Pind Tehsil JandialaDistrict Amritsar Punjabwas arrested by Police onspot.

The vehicle used fortransporting the said bovineswas also seized.

In this regard, a case FIRNo. 66/2020 U/S 188 IPC,11 PCA Act has been regis-tered at P/S Lakhanpur andinvestigation initiated.

Bovine smuggling

bid foiled by Kathua

Police at Lakhanpur,

rescued 13 animals,

one arrested

SRINAGAR, JULY 23 :The State ExecutiveCommittee (SEC), headed byB.V.R. Subrahmanyam,Chief Secretary, J&K, methere today and sanctioned anamount of Rs. 15 crore underSDRF to major health institu-tions for further procuringessential labs and equipmentsfor handling COVID pan-demic. SKIMS, Srinagar;GMC Jammu and GMCSrinagar have each beensanctioned Rs.5 Crore. Thefunds shall be placed withDivisional Commissioners ofJammu as well as Kashmirfor this purpose.

As per MHA guidelines,SDRF funds for COVID con-tainment efforts inGovernment Hospitals can beutilized for setting up addi-tional testing laboratories;procurement of personal pro-tection equipment for healthworkers and other relatedconsumables for governmenthospitals. It is pertinent tomention that this fundingunder SDRF is over andabove the funding that isbeing provided to HealthDepartment during thecourse of the year. The meet-ing was attended by Shri A.K. Mehta; FinancialCommissioner, Finance; ShriPawan Kotwal; FinancialCommissioner, Revenue andSh. Simrandeep Singh,Secretary to the Government,Department of DisasterManagement, Relief,Rehabilitation &Reconstruction.

SEC sanctions rs 15 cr for

major health institutions

under SDrF to deal with

COVID pandemic

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JAMMU, JULY 23 : TheGovernment on Thursdayinformed that 718 new positivecases of novel Corona virus(COVID-19), 117 from Jammudivision and 601 from Kashmirdivision, have been reportedtoday thus taking the totalnumber of positive cases inJammu and Kashmir to 16429.Also 09 COVID-19 deathshave been reported fromKashmir Division.

Moreover, 102 moreCOVID-19 patients haverecovered and discharged fromvarious hospitals, 18 fromJammu Division and 84 fromKashmir Division.

According to the dailyMedia Bulletin on novelCorona virus (Covid-19), outof 16429 positive cases, 7438are Active Positive, 8709 haverecovered and 282 have died;20 in Jammu division and 262in Kashmir division.

The Bulletin further saidthat out of 548877 test resultsavailable, 532448 sampleshave been tested as negativetill July 23, 2020.

Additionally, till date343799 travelers and persons

in contact with suspected caseshave been enlisted for observa-tion which included 40195 per-sons in home quarantineincluding facilities operated bygovernment, 12 in HospitalQuarantine, 7438 in hospitalisolation and 41651 underhome surveillance. Besides,254221 persons have complet-ed their surveillance period.

Providing district-wisebreakup, the Bulletin said thatBandipora has 525 positivecases (including 42 casesreported today) with 145Active Positive, 373 recovered(including 03 cases recoveredtoday) and 07 deaths; Srinagarhas 3608 positive cases(including 158 cases reportedtoday) with 2268 ActivePositive, 1265 recovered(including 12 cases reportedtoday), 75 deaths; Anantnagdistrict has 1131 positive cases(including 33 cases reportedtoday), with 394 ActivePositive, 718 recovered(including 02 cases reportedtoday), 19 deaths; Baramullahas 1738 positive cases(including 29 cases reportedtoday) with 730 Active

Positive, 948 recovered, 60deaths; Shopian has 1293 posi-tive cases (including 109 casesreported today) with 445Active Positive, 829 recovered(including 25 cases recoveredtoday) and 19 deaths; Kupwarahas 1008 positive cases(including 32 cases reportedtoday) with 390 ActivePositive, 602 recovered(including 04 cases recoveredtoday) and 16 deaths; Budgamhas 984 positive cases (includ-ing 34 cases reported today)with 450 Active Positive and514 recovered cases (including14 cases recovered today) and20 deaths; Ganderbal has 309positive cases (including 02cases reported today) with 163active positive cases and 141recoveries (including 02 casesrecovered today) and 05deaths; Kulgam has 1354 posi-tive cases (including 106 casesreported today) with 454Active Positive and 874 recov-eries (including 06 casesrecovered today) and 26 deathsand Pulwama reported 1128positive cases (including 56cases reported today) with 559active positive cases and 554

recovered (including 16 casesrecovered today) and 15deaths.

Similarly, Jammu has 712positive cases (including 47cases reported today) with 233active positive cases and 467recoveries (including 08 casesrecovered today) and 12deaths; Udhampur has 382positive cases (including 07cases reported today) with 82active positive cases, 299recovered and 01 death; Sambahas 349 positive cases (includ-ing 05 cases reported today)with 172 Active Positive and176 recoveries and 01 death;Rajouri has 501 positive cases(including 15 cases reportedtoday) with 379 active positivecases and 120 recovered(including 01 case recoveredtoday) and 02 deaths; Kathuahas 404 positive cases (includ-ing 08 cases reported today)with 124 Active positive and279 recovered (including 03cases recovered today) and 01death; Kishtwar has 92 positivecases (including 02 casesreported today) with 63 activepositive cases and 29 recov-ered; Ramban has 439 positive

cases (including 20 casesreported today) with 194 activepositive and 245 recoveries(including 03 cases recoveredtoday); Reasi has 98 positivecases (including 04 casesreported today) with 53 activepositive and 45 recovered;Poonch has 164 positive cases(including 05 cases reportedtoday) with 32 active positiveand 131 recoveries and 01death while Doda has 210 pos-itive cases (including 04 casesreported today) with 108active positive cases and 100recoveries (including 03 casesrecovered today) and 02deaths. According to the bul-letin, of the total 16429 posi-tive cases in J&K 3703 havebeen reported as travelerswhile 12726 as others.

The Bulletin said that thebreakup represents districtsfrom which the patients havebeen traced or are ordinarilyresiding.

The bulletin has informedthe people that, the best way toprotect themselves fromCOVID-19 is by maintainingphysical distance of at least 2metre from others, frequently

cleaning hands with an alcoholbased hand sanitizer or wash-ing them with soap and waterand following good respiratoryetiquette and hygiene.

As a measure for social dis-tancing in public places andworkplaces wearing a facecover is compulsory.

The bulletin againexplained that early detectionof COVID-19 can prevent thespread of disease so we need tobe responsible for the well-being of ourselves and every-one around us. “Not disclosingsymptoms could put life ofindividuals and their familiesat risk. In case of symptomslike fever, cough and difficultyin breathing report early. Donot fear, call COVID-19helpline numbers and seekmedical advice”.

Advisory has furtherexhorted upon the people notto step out of home, unlessabsolutely necessary. “If youhave to move out for unavoid-able reasons, ensure that youwear a mask and practicesocial distancing, personalhygiene and frequent hand-washing with soap and water.”

In case of any emergencypeople can avail free ambu-lance services 24x7 at theirdoorsteps by calling on toll-free number 108 while as preg-nant women and sick infantscan avail free ambulance serv-ices by dialling toll-free num-ber 102.

People can also call on toll-free national helpline number1075; J&K COVID-19Helpline Numbers 0191-2549676 (UT level Cell),0191-2520982, 0191-2674444,0191-2674115 (For JammuDivision), 0194-2440283 &0194-2430581 (For KashmirDivision) for support, guid-ance, and response to health-related queries on NovelCoronavirus Disease (COVID-19). Public is advised to strict-ly follow the advisories issuedby the government from timeto time and rely only on theinformation released by thegovernment through the dailymedia bulletin to print andelectronic media.

People are also advised torefrain from spreading rumoursand pay no heed to them at thesame time.

Reasi july 23 : Arnas policesolved one theft case whichtook place in the house of AnjuDevi w/o Ramesh Kumar R/OSai Narloo in the interveningnight of 11/12 july.

On this they first inquiredfrom all at their own level butcould not reach aconclusion.On 18 july AnjuDevi approached Police StationArnas with a written complainon which FIR No. 62/20 wasregistered u/s 457/380 IPC atpolice station Arnas and Policeteam from police station Arnasapprehended one person name-ly Deepak Kumar Sharma S/OSh. Isher Dass R/O DharmathaKanthan tehsil Arnas.During

interrogation he disclosed thathe has made this theft and haskept all the stolen goods atDharmatha in the jungle nearhis house.

Later Police took him to thespot disclosed by him andrecovered the stolen items inpresence of civil witnesses.Therecovered items include 264gram Silver and 6 gram golditems worth ?38000/.Thewhole operation was conductedby SHO Police station ArnasInsp. Rajesh Gautam under thesupervision of SDPO Arnas DrSatish Bhardwaj JKPS,Sh.Surjeet Bhagat JKPSAdl.SP Reasi & overall super-vision of SSP Reasi Smt.

New Delhi, July 23 :Five months after theSupreme Court allowed per-manent commission for ShortService Commission (SSC)women officers, the Ministryof Defence has issued a for-mal order allowing women tobe permanent commissionedofficers in eight additionalstreams in the Army.

Women SSC officers arepresently allowed a perma-nent commission in the Judgeand Advocate General (JAG)and Army Education Corps(AEC) branches.

The order specifies grantof permanent commission to

SSC women officers in eightadditional streams of theIndian Army: Army AirDefence (AAD), Signals,Engineers, Army Aviation,Electronics and MechanicalEngineers (EME), ArmyService Corps (ASC), ArmyOrdnance Corps (AOC) andIntelligence Corps.

Called the governmentsanction letter, it was issuedon Thursday for grant of per-manent commission towomen officers in the Army,paving the way for empower-ing women officers to shoul-der larger roles in the organi-sation.

Northeast has potential to become India's growth engine: PM ModiNew Delhi : The north-

east has the potential tobecome India's growthengine, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi said onThursday, noting that peaceis now being established inthe entire region.

He made these remarks atthe foundation stone layingceremony of the Manipurwater supply project viavideo link.

While blockades havebecome a part of history inManipur, the era of decadesof violence in Assam hasceased.

In Tripura and Mizoramtoo, youth have abandonedthe path of violence and theBru-Reang refugees are nowmoving towards a better life,he said in his address.

The prime minister notedthat the government is mak-

ing constant efforts toimprove connectivity in thenortheast region, be its high-ways, laying of rail tracks or

upgradation of airports.The foundation stone lay-

ing programme, the primeminister said, is an exampleof the fact that even duringthe crisis triggered by the

novel coronavirus, the coun-try has not stopped working.

Till the time a vaccine isdeveloped, we have to vigor-ously fight against coron-avirus and the developmentworks should also be carriedforward with full force, hesaid.

An externally fundedproject, the Manipur watersupply project was designedto provide freshwater house-hold tap connections(FHTCs) to remaining house-holds in Greater Imphal plan-ning area, and for 1,731 ruralhabitations covering2,80,756 households in all 16districts of Manipur.

The project outlay is Rs3054.58 crore, with a loancomponent funded by theNew Development Bank.

Kathua, July 23 : In adecisive action against drugmenace, a Police team of P/SLakhanpur on a routine Nakachecking at New Toll PlazaLakhanpur led by Sub-Inspector Sikander Chouhanunder the supervision ofInspector Sanjeev Chib SHOPolice Station Lakhanpurintercepted one truck bearingregistration No. PB12N-3721signalled to stop for checking.During checking 240 Nos. ofcardboard cartoons , each car-toon containing 120 bottles of“WINCIREX” cough syrupmaking total 28800 bottles of

100/100 ML and 191520 Nos.of “SPASMO-PROXYVON-PLUS” capsules stealthily hid-den under the soap cartoonswere found laden in the saidtruck which were being smug-gled from Ludhiana toBijbehara Srinagar. The saidtruck was driven by BalbirSingh @ Beeri S/o ChamanLal R/o Hedon Bet TehsilSamrala District LudhianaPunjab along with his associateSham Lal S/o Kewal KrishanR/o Hedon Bet Tehsil SamralaDistrict Ludhiana Punjab. Boththe accused persons werearrested and vehicle so

involved was also seized bythe police.On this a case FIRNo. 67/2020 U/S 8/21/22NDPS Act stands registered atPolice Station Lakhanpuragainst the arrested personsand the investigation is underprocess. Kathua Police is striv-ing hard and taking every pos-sible step to make people espe-cially youth aware to eradicatedrug menace. We request peo-ple of the area to come forwardand share information aboutdrug peddling or consumptionon 100 with Police for thecause. Your identity will bekept confidential.

SRINAGAR, JULY 23 :In a significant move aimedat improving road conditionsand giving major relief to thepublic, the LieutenantGovernor, G C Murmu,announced the launch of aMacadamisation Program forroads across the UT ofJammu & Kashmir.

The announcement comesin the backdrop of grievancesrelating to poor condition ofroads and the problems con-nected thereto, presentedbefore the LieutenantGovernor during his tours asa part of his outreach pro-gramme. Following adetailed discussion with hisAdvisors, the LieutenantGovernor approved a pro-gram for 100% macadamisa-tion of all roads in J&Kincluding 11,000 kms of fair-weather roads.

A Committee comprising

of the FinancialCommissioner (Finance),Principal Secretary(PW(R&B)), Secretary(Planning) and Secretary

(Rural Development) hasbeen constituted which willprepare a roadmap and afinancing plan for ensuring100% macadamisation of allroads in Jammu & Kashmirin a time bound manner. TheCommittee has been directed

to submit its report by10.08.2020

In the meanwhile, theLieutenant Governorannounced a release of Rs

200 Crores to the PublicWorks Department as thefirst tranche so that themacadamisation work on pri-ority roads can commence.

Prioritization of roads formacadamisation work will bedone by a Committee at the

District level, chaired by theDeputy Commissioner withthe Executive Engineer,PWD and ACD as its mem-bers. The prioritization crite-

ria will include, when a roadwas last macadamized,whether it was part of thegrievances presented beforeLieutenant Governor duringhis outreach tours, the pres-ent quality of the road andother similar factors.

COVID-19 : JK reports 718 new positive cases, 8709 recovered so far

Arnas police achieved a major success bysolving burglary case and recovered gold

and silver ornaments worth rs.38000

MoD allows permanent commission towomen officers in 8 more branches in Army

Srinagar, July 23 : Awoman has been injured in aceasefire violation by thePakistani side along the Lineof Control (LoC) in Tangdharsector of Jammu andKashmir’s Kupwara district,the Army said on Thursday.

She was rushed to a hospi-tal and her condition was stat-ed to be stable, an Army offi-

cial said.“Pakistan army targeted

civilian villages in forwardareas along the LoC lastnight. It resulted in bulletinjury to a woman of Hajitravillage of Tangdhar sector (inKupwara district),” he said.

The Army gave a befittingresponse to the Pakistaniaggression, the official added.

Woman injured in Pakistanifiring in J-K’s Kupwara

Major Narcotic smuggling bid foiled at lakhanpur byKathua police; seized huge quantity of contrabaned

substance and 02 persons arrested

LG announces launch of Macadamisation Program

New Delhi, July 23 :India on Thursday assertedthat the maintenance of peaceand tranquillity along theLine of Control (LAC) is thebasis of its bilateral relation-ship with China, and said itexpected the Chinese side tobe sincere in completing thedisengagement of troops ineastern Ladakh.

At an online media brief-ing, MEA spokespersonAnurag Srivastava saidanother round of diplomatictalks under the framework ofthe Working Mechanism forConsultation andCoordination (WMCC) isexpected to be scheduledsoon. “The maintenance ofpeace and tranquillity in theborder areas is the basis ofour bilateral relationship,” hesaid.

“Therefore it is our expec-tation that the Chinese sidewill sincerely work with usfor complete disengagementand de-escalation and fullrestoration of peace and tran-quillity in the border areas atthe earliest as agreed to by

the Special Representatives,”Srivastava added.

National Security AdviserAjit Doval and ChineseForeign Minister Wang Yiheld a nearly two-hour-longtelephonic conversation onJuly 5 to bring down tension

between the armies of thetwo countries in easternLadakh.

Both sides began the dis-engagement process fromJuly 6 following the talksbetween Doval and Wangwho were SpecialRepresentatives for theboundary question.

“We have also made itclear that India is fully com-mitted to observing andrespecting the LAC and thatwe will not accept any unilat-eral attempts to change thestatus quo along the LAC,”said Srivastava.

He said the two sides haveagreed during the conversa-tion of the SpecialRepresentatives to worktowards complete disengage-ment of the troops along theLAC and de-escalation fromIndia-China border areas forfull restoration of peace andtranquillity.

Maintenance of peace along LAC isbasis of ties with China : India

Government transfers 132 K and 8 M

land to School Education DepartmentSRINAGAR, JULY 23 :

The Administrative Council(AC), which met here under thechairmanship of LieutenantGovernor, G C Murmu,approved allotment and transferof land up to 132 kanals 8 marlasto the School EducationDepartment at village Brar, forconstruction of JawaharNavodiya Vidyalaya (JNV). Till

the construction of school infra-structure gets completed, alter-nate arrangements for housingthe JNV are being carried out.Once operational, the school willcater to the educational needs ofthe children of far flung areas ofdistrict Bandipora and adjacentareas by providing quality edu-cation as envisaged under theconstitutional right of education.

SRINAGAR, JULY 23 :To promote and increase theforest cover in J&K throughpeople’s participation, theAdministrative Council (AC)which met here under thechairmanship of LieutenantGovernor, G C Murmu,accorded approval to theForest Department’s proposalof organizing an integrated‘Green J&K Drive- 2020’ todouble the plantation targetachieved during previousyear.

With an aim of planting100 lakh trees covering15,000 hectares of degradedforest areas during the year2020-21, the drive will seekparticipation from PanchayatiRaj Institutions (PRIs), linedepartments, , educationalinstitutions, army, para-mili-tary forces, police and civil

society, for which the ForestDepartment will provide therequisite tree saplings. TheForest Department will alsoprepare a proposal for sharingthe usufruct with Panchayats.

Additionally, the planta-tion drive will help rehabili-tate the degraded forests,enhance afforestation of suit-able areas including vacantlands outside forests, villagewoodlots, farm lands and fal-low lands.

The drive extensivelyfocuses on extending treecover outside forests toreduce pressure on naturalforests for supplying minorforest produce, increasingsustainability of forest/treecover, and optimally utilizingthe mitigation and adaptationpotential of forests in the con-text of climate change and

resilient land use; which willinvariably improve the scenicbeauty of Jammu & Kashmir,besides improving the qualityand regulation of water in itsmajor rivers.

Green J&K plantationdrive is a step forward inachieving the goal under theNational Forest Policy whichenvisages hill states to havetwo-third geographical areaunder green cover to ensurestability of fragile eco-system.

Further, the decision alsotargets augmenting livelihoodopportunities amidst existingCOVID pandemic by creating1.3 million man days forunskilled labour to undertakeactivities like production ofsaplings, their transportation,plantation, maintenance, andcollection and sale of minorforest produce.

‘Green J&K Drive- 2020’ for increasing forest cover

Class IV posts: JKSSB’s Portal records 2,69,700 registrations;1,39,880 candidates submit online application so far

JAMMU, JULY 23 : Tilltoday morning, 2,69,700Registrations have been doneby the candidates on JKSSB’sOnline Portal, since the com-mencement of online applica-tion submission from 10thJuly, 2020 and 1,39,880 can-didates completed their onlineapplication submissionprocess for Class IV posts.Also 12,500 applications havebeen submitted online for thepost of Accounts Assistant. Ithas been noted that about89,000 unique visitors visitedthe online application portal

of JKSSB yesterday.Pertinently, the Jammu

and Kashmir ServicesSelection Board has adver-tised 8575 Class IV posts forDistrict/Divisional/UnionTerritory cadre in variousdepartments under the provi-sions of the Jammu andKashmir Appointment to theClass-IV (SpecialRecruitment) Rules, 2020, inpursuance of GeneralAdministration Department’sRevised Indent No.GAD/Mtg/RB-IV/50/2020Dated 22.06.2020 under

Advertisement NotificationNo. 01 of 2020 dated26.06.2020.

Further, the ServicesSelection Board has opera-tionalized two helplines oneeach at Srinagar and Jammufor the convenience of aspi-rants. In addition, any personwho finds difficulty in sub-mission of application formdue to technical issue or forany other reasons, may send aself-explanatory mail at ssbjk-grievance@gmail.com forseeking guidance, clarifica-tion etc.

DODA, JULY 23: DistrictDevelopment Commissioner,Dr. Sagar D Doifode todayimposed fine on shopkeepersand shoppers for violatingcovid protection SOPs hereduring inspection of mainmarket in Doda Township.

A fine of Rs. 50,000 wasrecovered from the erringshopkeepers and commutersfor not wearing face masks.

Wearing of face mask andobserving social distancingby the general public hasbeen made mandatory andthose violating the SOPs areto be fined. The DC said thatdistrict administration isworking tirelessly for thesafety of the general publicand sought cooperation of thepeople in fighting the deadlyinfection.

DDC Doda fines shop-keepers, shoppers forviolating Covid SOPs

JAMMU, JULY 23: TheJammu and KashmirGovernment has evacuatedabout 2,53,844 JK residents,stranded in other parts of thecountry due to COVID lock-down, via Lakhanpur andthrough special trains andbuses till date amid strictobservance of all necessaryguidelines and StandardOperating Procedures.

As per the official datareceived in this regard, theJammu and Kashmir admin-istration has received 92 spe-cial trains at Jammu andUdhampur railway stationsfrom different states and UTs,so far, with about 77,323 pas-sengers while about 1,76,521persons from other states andUTs including 899 fromabroad have been evacuatedby the government throughLakhanpur till date.

As per the detailedbreakup of the figures, about3299 stranded passengershave entered throughLakhanpur from July 22 toJuly 23 mornings while 966passengers have reachedtoday in the 71st DelhiCOVID special train atJammu. So far, 71 trains havereached Jammu with a totalof 61,627 stranded passen-gers belonging to differentdistricts while 15,696 passen-gers have reached Udhampurin 21 special trains, so far.

COVID-19: Govt evacuates2,53,844 stranded JK residents;1,76,521 via Lakhanpur, 77,323

through special trains

TRUTH PREVAILJAMMU FRIDAY JULY 24, 20202 SPECIAL

Doda admin launches massiveanti-encroachment drive

retrieves 27 kanal prime state land, demolishes 5 illegal structuresDODA, JULY 23: District

administration Doda, led byDeputy Commissioner, DrSagar D Doifode, haslaunched a massive anti-encroachment drive.

As part of the move, 5 ille-gal structures built over theprime state land were todaydemolished in Doda town-ship.

Giving details of exercise,the DC informed that illegalstructures were constructedon 27 Kanal prime state landadjoining the main road ofAkramabad and Malwas,while taking the advantage ofthe prevailing situation.

The Revenue Department,after due verification, submit-ted a report to DeputyCommissioner, and carriedout anti encroachment drive.

Two JCB machines werepressed into the service and05 structures, concrete as wellas semi concrete, built on theencroached land were demol-ished.

The district administrationis bracing for strict action

against the land Mafia/grab-bers across the district in theupcoming days, the DC

added.The DC also informed that

a special task force headed bya senior officer has been con-stituted in the district to iden-

tify all the encroached land.“A similar anti encroachment

drive will be initiated in toretrieve the identified by thetask force”, the DDC added.

Talat Parvez chairs meeting of Committee forimplementation of e-governance project in J&K

JAMMU, JULY 23 :Commissioner cum SecretaryHigher EducationDepartment, Talat Parvez,today chaired a meeting of theCommittee constituted forimplementation of e-gover-nance project in the UnionTerritory of Jammu andKashmir.

Among others the meetingwas attended by DirectorRUSA, Director Finance,Higher EducationDepartment, DirectorNIELIT, Head e-governance,Jammu University, NodalPrincipal Colleges Jammudivision and representativefrom NIC, Jammu whileDirector Colleges, J&K,Director IT, Kashmir, NodalPrincipal Colleges KashmirDivision and representativefrom GDC Women Soporeparticipated through videoconferencing.

The meeting had a detailed

review on progress of theProject e-Mission Team(PeMT) and implementationof e-governance project under

the scheme AtmanirbharBharat. It was informed thatinitially 7 colleges fromJammu division and 7 col-leges from Kashmir divisionhave been taken up for digital-

ization and smart classes areexpected to be started in thecoming session.

Commissioner Secretary

directed the concerned offi-cers for expediting comple-tion work on the projectbefore 31st March 2021. Healso asked for coverage ofcolleges established in the

remote areas under thescheme. The meeting also dis-cussed training of the staff fore-governance programme

from every college so that thedigital system is implementedin full for larger interest of thestudent fraternity especially inthe wake of Corona pandem-ic.

DrDO’s new Covid test centre at Leh mayaddress future bio-threats

Chandigarh, July 23 : Asfresh cases of COVID-19continue to emerge, a testingcentre for COVID-19 sampleshas been established at theDefence Institute of High-Altitude Research(DIHAR), Leh.

Apart from a utility dur-ing the ongoing pandemic,the infrastructure set upcan play a pivotal role inenhancing capability toaddress future bio-threatsand also in research activi-ties pertinent to agro-ani-mal diseases.

The facility was inau-gurated by RK Mathur,Lieutenant Governor ofUnion Territory of Ladakh,on Wednesday. Laudingthe efforts put in by theDefence Research andDevelopment Organisation(DRDO) for establishingthe centre at DIHAR, Mathursaid this would significantlyaugment the testing capabilityin Ladakh.

RK Mathur, LieutenantGovernor of Union Territoryof Ladakh, inaugurates the

testing centre for COVID-19 samples established at theDefence Institute of High-Altitude Research (DIHAR)

in Leh on WednesdayDIHAR is a laboratory

under the DRDO based at Lehwhich is engaged in researchon cold arid agro-animal tech-nologies to enhance the pro-

duction of fresh vegetablesand animal-origin food, bene-fitting not on the armed forcesbut also the local populace inLadakh.

Its activities include agro-animal disease investigationand control, up-gradation ofnative livestock germplasm,semipermafrost-based conser-vation of elite plant

germplasm, nano-materialsbased technology for improv-ing productivity and develop-ing greenhouse technologiesfor high altitude and colddesert areas. It is also screen-

ing and identifying medicinaland aromatic plants to exploittheir use for defence purpos-es.

Dr OP Chaurasia, directorat DIHAR, said: “At present,the facility is capable ofscreening 50 samples per daywhich can easily be enhancedwith the availability of moretrained manpower. Apart from

screening, the facility can beutilised for training manpow-er for COVID testing. Amongthe different measures, one ofthe important prerequisites isto efficiently identify the

infected individuals fol-lowed by isolation andtreatment.”

In view of their high-ly contagious nature,proper handling of livevirus in these facilitiesis of paramount impor-tance for the safety ofresearcher, health pro-fessional and the envi-ronment. The centre hasbeen designed to ensurea unidirectional work-flow for safety. It hasdedicated donning anddoffing areas along withtwo validated bio-safetycabinets for virus RNAisolation and neutralisa-

tion.In accordance with safety

standards and advisoriesissued by the Indian Councilof Medical Research, the cen-tre has been equipped withdeep freezers, autoclaves forsterilising the bio-waste, auto-matic disinfectant dispensersand a walk-in cold room forholding human samples.

Vikas Kundal reviews progress on Tourismprojects under PMDP

SRINANGAR, JULY 23: Managing Director Jammuand Kashmir ProjectsConstruction Corporation(JKPCC), Vikas Kundal todayheld a review meeting inrespect of PMDP projects ofTourism Department beingexecuted by JKPCC Ltd.

The meeting was attendedby General Manager (K)Showkat Ahmad & ExecutiveEngineers of various units ofKashmir Division while ChiefEngineer JKPCC, ND

Khawaja attended meetingthrough Video conferencing.

The meeting reviewedscheme wise PMDP projectswhile officers were directed toensure the effective follow-upof these projects in order toachieve best possible results.

The meeting called forproper hygiene, as per theguidelines already issued bythe Government, keeping inview the present COVID-19pandemic should be followedwhile executing projects at the

site of work.Besides, instructions were

issued to the ExecutiveEngineers for timely submis-sion of Utilization Certificatesto avail the requisite fundingfrom the intending depart-ment for timely completion ofworks.

MD directed the con-cerned officers to expedite thePMDP projects so that com-pletion date fixed for the proj-ects is achieved.

MD said that work for

PMDP projects underPRASAD scheme atHazratbal, Multi level carparking at Hazratbal,Shopping Kiosiks (BingriMarket) and Wuzu Khanna(Public Convenience block)need to be expedited andGeneral Manager wasinstructed to clear impedi-ment on war footing basis.

On the occasion, allDGMs were asked to expeditethe floating of e-tenders in atime bound manner.

Blood Donation camp held at SambaSAMBA, JULY 23 : On

the directions of DirectorHealth Services, Jammu,District Health Society,Samba, in collaboration withLion’s International ClubRamgarh, today organized avoluntary blood donationcamp, here at HigherSecondary School ,VillageGho Brahmana.

The Camp was inauguratedby Director Health Services,Jammu Dr. Renu Sharma.Around 26 voluntary donorsdonated blood in the camp.

A team of the Doctors &Paramedical staff from BloodBank, District Hospital Samba

headed by Dr. Shweta Bhagatperformed the job. The sup-porting staff was provided byBlock Medical Officer,Ramgarh. The Camp wasorganized under the supervi-sion of Chief Medical Officer,Samba, Dr. Rajinder Samyal.

Chairman, BlockDevelopment Council,Ramgarh, Darshan Lal,Sarpanch Panchayat HalquGho Brahmana, Ram Pal,President Lion’s InternationalClub Ramgarh, SardarSarvjeet Singh, Ex- sarpanchKeshav Sharma, Dy. CMOSamba., Dr. Sanjay Sharma ,Block Medical Officer

Ramgarh Dr. LakhwinderSingh, Blood Donation campCo-ordinator, Dr VijayThappa, PRI members & otherprominent citizens were alsopresent on the occasion.

The camp was organizedfollowing all the mandatoryprecautions of maintainingsocial distancing & othermeasures keeping in view theCOVID -19 guidelines.

Speaking on the occasion,Director Health Services, Dr.Renu Sharma, highlighted theimportance of availability ofsafe Blood and also empha-sized the need for gearing upVoluntary Blood Donation

camps to meet the need forsufficient blood especially rareblood groups in case of emer-gencies. She also informed thepeople present that blood isrequired by all and can bedonated by all irrespective ofreligion, caste, colour, creedand regions. She appealed thepeople from all strata of life tomotivate regular voluntaryblood donation.

Chief Medical OfficerSamba, Dr. Rajinder Samyal,informed public that blood candonated by a healthy personafter three months and blooddonation does not cause anysort of weakness or infirmity.

Manodarpan: DSEJ draws roadmap forimplementation of MHrD initiative

Program offers Psychological support to students, parents, teachers amid COVID JAMMU, JULY 23 : To

draw roadmap for effectiveimplementation ofManodarpan, an initiative ofMHRD offeringPsychological support to stu-dents, parents, teachers duringCOVID times and beyond,Directorate of SchoolEducation Jammu organisedan online Consultation ofPsychological Task Forceunder the patronship ofDirector School Education,Anuradha Gupta.

Principals, District insti-tute of education and training(DIETs), District NodalOfficers for counselling atDIETS , District counsellingcoordinators, Zonal coun-selling coordinators andteacher counsellors of JammuDivision participated in theonline consultation. Head

Counselling Cell DSEJ,Romesh Kumar Sharma, wasthe key speaker.

The Director emphasisedon quantifying targets andworking on professionalizingcounselling services for stu-dents. She said that coun-selling cells should make theirreach to every student.

Addressing PTF members,DNOs, DCCs and ZCCs, sheasked them to set quantifiabletargets and specify their areaof interest so that right personis assigned right job at theright time to achieve the settargets. Head CounsellingCell DSEJ, Romesh KumarSharma, in his key speech,explained in detail the MHRDinitiatives like Manodarpan,recently launched toll freehelpline, counselling cellDSEJ initiatives for ensuring

well being of the masses androadmap to implement themon ground. He motivated thePsychological Task Forcemembers to work tirelessly todevelop a counselling modelfor the whole nation. Hetouched upon topic viz Jobprofile of DCCs and ZCCs,institutionalization ofPsychological laboratories atDIETs, upscaling Aao BaatKarein TelecounsellingHelpline, revamping coun-selling Cells functioning inschools, CounsellingCalender, Counselling com-ponent in weekly HomeAssignments, organizingwebinar on Counsellingthemes, Individual targets forPTF members and liaisonbetween DNOs, DCCs andZCCs. Pertinently,Counselling cell at

Directorate of school educa-tion Jammu has undertaken alot of initiatives like constitut-ing psychological task force,nominating district and zonalcounselling coordinators,starting tele-counsellinghelpline for psychosocial sup-port, launch of counsellingcalendar, including coun-selling activities in DSEJhome assignments ,organiz-ing webinars on Well-beingthemes recently which arevery much in line with theobjectives of Manodarpan.

The webinar was moderat-ed by Alka Sharma, TeamCounselling Cell DSEJ in herversatile manner whereasShanti Saroop Sharma andShveta Sharma helped in itsproper conduct. Sohail Wani,an active member of IT JKKNprovided technical support.

Commissioner Secretary Labour & Employmentvisits Budgam; reviews functioning

Says district to get 100 bedded Hospital worth rs 180 cr for labourers; rs

1.65 cr released as COVID-19 relief for Labour ClassBUDGAM, JULY 23 :

“District Budgam will soonbe getting a 100 bedded hos-pital for labourers whichwould be built with an esti-mated cost of Rs. 180 crore atOmpora Housing Colony”informed CommissionerSecretary Labour andEmployment, SaurabhBhagat, here today whilechairing a meeting of officersof Labour and Employmentbesides other concerned dis-trict officers held to reviewworking of the department.

The meeting was alsoattended by DeputyCommissioner, Budgam, S.AMirza, Labour Commissioner,Abdul Rashid War, CPO,ACD, ALC and other con-cerned officers and officials.

Commissioner Secretarywas apprised that since theemergence of COVID -19Pandemic, the L&E depart-ment Budgam has released anamount of Rs 1.65 crore as arelief component for the reg-istered organized and unor-ganized labour class of thedistrict. It was also informedthat till date there are 24,785skilled and unskilled labour-ers registered with the depart-ment including 11 femalesbesides Rs 82.63 lakh havebeen released as financialassistance in favour of 8263registered labourers @ Rs

1000/per person underCOVID-19 Assistance. Theassistance was provided to1020 students affiliated withlabour Department under PSS

Schemes.Speaking on the occasion,

Commissioner Secretaryasked the officers for ensuringthat there shall be no duplicityand no compromise onAadhar validity while regis-tering a person with thedepartment. He asked for reg-istering all the labourers in theage group of 18 to 40 yearsunder Prime Minister ShramYogi Man dhan Yojna. Thescheme has been put up inmission mode by theGovernment of India to mini-mize the chances of anyduplicity or fraud.

Commissioner Secretary

reiterated that the Labourdepartment along with otherline departments shall con-duct awareness camps in thelength and breadth of the dis-

trict in order to educate thecommon people about vari-ous labour beneficiaryschemes launched by theCenter government. He fur-ther said that Government ofIndia has liberalized thescheme for BOC Registrationas it has been made easy andaffordable for any interestedperson and even a BDCChairperson or MunicipalCouncil Chairman on theirrecommendations can get thedeserving labour class regis-tered under BOC parameters.

Commissioner Secretarysaid that there are severalmega projects going on in

Budgam district while manyprojects involving hugeexpenditure are in pipe line.

Commissioner Secretary,while reviewing EDI and

WDC, instructed the DC toconduct fortnightly review ofboth these departments andfurnish the report accordingly.

Later, CommissionerSecretary along with DC andLabour CommissionerKashmir distributed financialassistance cheques relating todifferent schemes for BOCregistered labour class includ-ing scholarship for students.

Meanwhile, BOC WelfareBoard through Labour depart-ment presented a cheque ofRs 1.5 crore as COVID-19relief component to be distrib-uted among concerned benefi-ciaries through DBT Mode.

JAMMU, JULY 23 :Jammu & KashmirGovernment is going to bringout two Coffee table books onAgriculture and allied special-ties of the Union Territory aspart of its exports promotioncampaign. Among the twoproposed coffee table books,one would be on Agriculture,Animal/Sheep Husbandry andthe other exclusively on theHorticulture Sector.

The modalities for thepublications were finalizedat a meeting of Agriculture &allied sectors chaired byPrincipal Secretary,Agriculture ProductionDepartment, Navin KumarChoudhary, here at CivilSecretariat.

The meeting was attendedby Director Agriculture,Horticulture, Animal

Husbandry, DirectorHorticulture (P&M) of thetwin divisions. The Jammubased officers attended themeeting in person, whileKashmir based officersattended through VideoConference.

It was decided that twocoffee table books shall bedesigned and published, onerelating to Agriculture,Animal/Sheep Husbandry andthe other relating exclusivelyto the Horticulture Sector.

“These coffee table booksare very important andassume great significance inhighlighting UT’s marchtowards development,: thePrincipal Secretary said. Hesaid the UT’s progress shallbe known within and outsidethe country through suchendeavour, which can yield

dividends in forms of exportand potential.

All activities underAgriculture, Sericulture,Beekeeping marketing, policydocuments on Animal/SheepHusbandry Poultry would behighlighted in the books.

The concerned depart-ments were asked to providematerial and HD photographs.

The Principal Secretaryexhorted HoDs to come upwith crisp information on thespecialties and prominentachievement in the respectivesectors during the last oneyear. It was also decided tocreate Twitter handles forAnimal/Sheep Husbandry onthe line of Agriculture andHorticulture Departments.The concerned were asked tocomplete the exercise in aweek’s time.

Promoting exports: J&K Govt to publish2 Coffee table books on Agriculture,

allied specialties of UT

JAMMU, JULY 23 : OnDay 60 of resumption of rou-tine domestic operations inJammu and Kashmir, 24domestic flights with 2,193passengers on board todayarrived at Jammu andSrinagar Airports.

A total of 646 passengersaboard 10 regular commercialflights arrived at the JammuAirport while 14 domesticflights with about 1547 pas-sengers on board landed atSrinagar Airport today.

Pertinently, JammuAirport Authorities have

received a total of 451 domes-tic flights with 33,330 passen-gers while Srinagar AirportAuthorities have received 733domestic flights with 95,127passengers since 25th of Maytill date.

Also, the Jammu andKashmir government hasbrought back about 3,331 pas-sengers from various coun-tries to the Union Territorythrough special evacuationflights in the wake of globalpandemic till date.

After arrival, all the pas-sengers were tested for the

COVID-19 and transported totheir destinations at both theairports amid strict obser-vance of all necessary preven-tive protocols.

The Government has madeelaborate arrangements forthe arrival, screening, sam-pling and proper transporta-tion of the passengers to thequarantine centers taking spe-cial care of guidelines andStandard OperatingProcedures (SOPs) prescribedby the Union Ministries ofCivil Aviation and Health andFamily Welfare.

Day 60: Jammu, Srinagar Airports receive 24domestic flights with 2,193 passengers

Advisor Sharma discusses modalities forJKHDC, JKHC merger at BoD meeting

Calls for making twin Corporations more vibrant, financially viableSRINAGAR, JULY 23 :

Advisor to the Lt Governor,KK Sharma today directed formaking the Jammu andKashmir HandloomDevelopment Corporation(JKHDC) and Jammu andKashmir HandicraftsCorporation Limited (JKHC)more vibrant and financiallyviable so that these can effec-tively contribute to the econo-my and create the much-need-ed employment avenues byeffectively marketing hand-made products of the artisansof Jammu and Kashmir.

The Advisor was speakingat the Board of Directorsmeetings of JKHDC andJKHC convened to discussmerger of the twin corpora-tions.

Commissioner SecretaryIndustries & Commerce, M KDwivedi; Director GeneralPlanning, Sahibzada Bilal,Special secretary Finance,Shamim Ahmed DirectorHandicrafts & HandloomsKashmir, Masarat ul Islam;Managing Director J&KHandicrafts DevelopmentCorporation, Hashmat Yatoo;MD JKHDC, Rakesh Sharmaand others participated in themeeting through Video con-ferencing.

Seeking effective meas-

ures for making theCorporations more vibrantand income generating units,the Advisor said the same isimperative for their suste-

nance as well. He said thatbottlenecks, if any, impedingtheir smooth functioningneeds to be resolved by tech-nological interventions andscientific methods. He saidbetter marketing of the tradi-tional handmade handicraftsof Jammu and Kashmir is fun-damental in making these realincome generating ventures.

The Advisor directed forputting in place a robustmechanism for the revival andpropagation of the traditionalart and craft of Jammu and

Kashmir especially Pashminaweaving, maintaining that theinterventions so introducedshould help to regain its pop-ularity especially in the

national and internationalmarket.

The Advisor asked theofficers to go for re- profilingof showrooms, whichincludes formulating locationspecific plans, analysis of saleand demand of products ineach branch. He said thesemeasures would ensure thatthe products of the UT aremarketed properly and thesale receipt of the Corporationregister a marked increase. Hesaid this would eventuallyensure the self-sustenance of

the PSUs.While discussing the

issues related to the merger,the Advisor directed for fol-lowing a smooth procedure

which would prove beneficialfor both the Corporations withregard to the better manage-ment of human resource, upkeep of the assets and theirviability, and also effectivesettlement of pending liabili-ties. The meeting also dis-cussed in detail various issuesrelated to liabilities, humanresource management, merg-er, relocation and addition ofthe showrooms and sale out-lets, and other issues relatedto the merger of the twinCorporations.

MP Jugal Kishore reviews achievements of CSschemes in Jammu district at DISHA meet

Seeks expeditious completion of new, pending projectsJAMMU, JULY 23 :

Member Parliament, Jammu-Poonch constituency JugalKishore Sharma today chaireda meeting of DistrictDevelopment Coordinationand Monitoring Committee –‘DISHA’ to review the physi-cal and financial achieve-ments under various centrallysponsored schemes beingimplemented in Jammu dis-trict.

The meeting was attendedby Member Parliament RajyaSabha, Shamsher SinghManhas; DistrictDevelopment Commissioner,Sushma Chauhan;Commissioner JMC, AvnyLawasa; VC JDA, BabilaRakwal; Additional DistrictDevelopment Commissioner,Assistant CommissionerDevelopment, Chief PlanningOfficer, besides officers ofRural DevelopmentDepartment, Health, SocialWelfare, JPDCL, Jal Shakti,PWD, Education, Agriculture,NHAI, NHIDCL and otherconcerned departments.

At the outset, the DDCgave a detailed PowerPointpresentation on the achieve-ments and progress made inthe district under variousschemes and informed aboutthe present status of variousongoing developmental proj-ects being taken up by con-cerned departments.

The MP took a compre-hensive review of the physical

and financial achievements ofPMGSY, PMAY-G, NRLM,PMUJ, PMKSY, PMUY,SAUBHAGYA, IWMP,Swachh Bharat Mission-Grameen, Ayushman Bharat,MGNREGA, 14th FC, Backto Village, Languishing proj-ects and other central spon-

sored schemes being imple-mented by various depart-ments. The MP also reviewedthe progress of work on RingRoad Project, Jammu SmartCity Project and four laneJammu-Akhnoor RoadProject. He stressed upon theconcerned officers to expeditethe pace of work on all theseprojects for their timely com-pletion.

The DDC apprised the MPabout the action taken reporton the decisions taken in theprevious meeting of DISHA.She also informed about the

number of works completedunder MGNREGA. It wasinformed that in the year2020-21 total 4930 workswere taken up in the districtunder MGNREGA out ofwhich 1781 works have beencompleted, while 3149 worksare in progress which

includes, water conservationand water harvesting, microirrigation works, flood controland protection various ponds,check dams, vermi compostunits .

While reviewing SwatchBharat Abhiyan, it wasinformed that the district hasachieved 84 percent coverage.Regarding IWMP it wasinformed that out of total 70works 14 works have beencompleted while work on 56is in progress. Under RUR-BAN Mission, it wasinformed that 27 projects

have been completed whilework on 18 projects is inprogress. Regarding JammuSmart City Project it wasinformed that 3 projects havebeen completed and 15 proj-ects are under execution.

All the concerned officersapprised the MP about the

present status of schemesbeing implemented by theirrespective departments.

The MP stressed on expe-diting work on all the new andpending projects. He alsoemphasized on effectiveimplementation of centrallysponsored schemes in the dis-trict. The MP emphasized onoptimum utilization of avail-able resources and instructedthe concerned officers for reg-ular monitoring and follow-up of all ongoing develop-ment works to ensure qualityparameters.

DC G’bl reviews Eid-ul-Adha arrangementsGANDERBAL, JULY 23

: The Deputy Commissioner(DC) Ganderbal, ShafqatIqbal today chaired a meetingof concerned officers toreview the arrangements putin place for ensuing Eid-ul-Adha.

The DC while addressingthe meeting said that in viewof surge in COVID-19 posi-tive cases in the districtrestrictions in terms ofSection 144 Cr PC andSection 34 of DisasterManagement Act, 2005 havebeen imposed in the wholedistrict.

He said that all shops andbusiness establishmentsexcept chemists and essentialsupplies shall remain closedtill 27 July 2020 to preventfurther spread of COVID-19in the district.

Keeping in view Eid-ul-Adha festival, the DC saidthat markets shall open after27 July in a phased manner toavoid gatherings and violationof social distancing protocol

by the public thronging mar-ket places.

The DC urged religiousclerics, traders federation andcivil society of the district to

become administration's mes-sengers and sensitize the gen-eral public about the impor-tance of social distancing andother precautions in these dif-ficult times.

While reviewing thearrangements, the DC empha-

sized on PDD and PHE toensure uninterrupted supplyof electricity and drinkingwater across the district dur-ing the festival days.

He also directed EOMunicipal Committee,Ganderbal to ensure mainte-nance of proper sanitation andregular lifting of garbagearound religious and marketplaces. Meanwhile, DCwarned traders against hoard-

ing, profiteering and othermalpractices, he directed thatall the commodities includingessential items are sold as perthe rate list already notified by

the concerned departments.Among others the meeting

was attended by ADCGanderbal, Farooq AhmadBaba, ASP Ganderbal, CPO,ACR and various other offi-cers and officials from civiladministration.

TRUTH PREVAILJAMMU FRIDAY JULY 24, 20203 NEWS

SRINAGAR, JULY 23 :According to the PowerController, KashmirProvince, in order to carryout relay testing at 450 MVA220/132 kV Grid StationPampore, shut down of thefollowing transformer bank/feeders of Grid StationPampore shall be observed.

During the shutdown, thepower supply to the areas fedfrom 220 kV DIC Wagoora-Pampore Ckt-I shall remainaffected on July 24 from 11am to 12 noon.

Power shutdown

SRINAGAR, JULY 23 :The Administrative Council(AC), which met here underthe chairmanship ofLieutenant Governor, G CMurmu, has expressed griefover the sad demise ofKhalida Begum, mother ofAdvisor to LieutenantGovernor, Farooq Khan.

While expressing solidari-ty with the bereaving family,the Administrative Councilprayed for eternal peace tothe departed soul and strengthto the family members.

Administrative Councilcondoles the demise of

Khalida Begum

Talat Parvez reviews progress of rUSA,languishing projects in J&K

Highlights importance of bridging gap arising due to digital divideJAMMU, JULY 23 :

Commissioner SecretaryHigher EducationDepartment, Talat ParvezRohella today chaired ameeting to review progressof RUSA and other languish-ing projects in Jammu andKashmir. The meeting wasattended by Vice Chancellor,University of Jammu, ChiefEngineer R&B and otherexecuting agencies.

While Vice Chancellors ofUniversity of Kashmir,Islamic University of Scienceand Technology, ChiefEngineers of PWD Kashmir,JKPCC, Principals ofColleges of J&K, Engineersof Police HousingCorporation and other con-cerned attended the meetingvia video conferencing.

Speaking on the occasion,Commissioner Secretaryhighlighted the importance ofbridging the gap arising dueto digital divide whileemphasizing on utilizing theelectronic gadgets forimproving the quality ofteaching.

He asked the concernedUniversities and Collegeadministrations to makeavailability of studying mate-rial through memory chips tothe under-graduate and post-graduate students for whichfunds from RUSA schemewould be utilized.

He pointed out that tabletswould be provided to stu-dents in the areas where thereare internet connectivityissues.

On the occasion, DeanAcademic Affairs and coor-dinator RUSA JammuUniversity, Prof NareshPadha informed the meetingabout the detailed physical-cum-financial progress offunds sanctioned toUniversity under RUSA 2.0.

The meeting was alsoinformed about the physicaland financial progress offunds sanctioned toUniversity of Jammu forcompletion of languishingprojects at various off sitecampuses of the varsityunder languishing projectsscheme by JKIDFC.

The CommissionerSecretary asked theUniversity administration to

expedite the works on lan-guishing projects within thestipulated time frame.

He also appreciated theinnovative initiatives of VC

University of Jammu andasked for exploration of thealternatives within the coun-try for collaborations in dif-ferent innovative areas.

He also congratulated

VCs of the two Universitiesfor the idea of research clus-ter and for B.Voc courses.

On the occasion, ViceChancellor Kashmir

University informed that 10colleges have been identifiedas employment hub for guid-ing youth of J&K in the fieldsof self employment andentrepreneurship.

Besides universities, theCommissioner Secretary alsotook a detailed review of thelanguishing and RUSA proj-ects of various colleges of the

Jammu and Kashmir.Commissioner Secretary,

on the occasion, directed var-ious engineering wings tocomplete the projects withingiven timelines.

BARAMULLA, JULY23 : Deputy Commissioner(DC) Baramulla, Dr G N Itootoday said that a proper mech-anism is in place to screen andquarantine each and everyperson including migrants,travellers entering valley forCOVID-19 virus.

The DC said that publichealth shall not be compro-mised at any cost adding thatadministration will strictlyimplement all the relatedSOPs and guidelines to miti-gate the risk of transmissionof virus.

He said that any kind oflaxity won’t be tolerated inthe larger public interest andstrict action shall be takenagainst those violating advi-sories that include using facemasks and maintaining socialdistancing. The DC furtherinformed that so far about27000 tests have been con-ducted in the district amongwhich 1710 positive caseshave been reported and about948 patients have recoveredfrom the virus, thereby leav-ing only 705 active casesbesides 57 deaths.

Dr Itoo further informedthat about 93 shops have sofar been sealed for violatingthe prescribed guidelines andan amount of Rs 60,000 was

realized as fine from them.Meanwhile, DC said that

special arrangements havebeen put in place in view offorthcoming festival of Eid-ul-Adha wherein all essentialcommodities shall be facilitat-ed in a convenient manner.

He also said that sufficientstock of cattle and poultrybirds have been arranged to

avoid any inconvenience topeople. The DC appealedpeople to follow SOPs andguidelines especially usingface masks adding that about

6 lakh masks were distributedby the administration so far.

He also urged upon thevulnerable persons includingsenior citizens, pregnantwomen and others sufferingfrom comorbidities, to desistfrom coming out of theirhomes unnecessarily to safe-guard themselves from thevirus.

Proper mechanism in place for screeningof migrants, travellers : DC B'la

JAMMU, JULY 23 :Secretary, Jal ShaktiDepartment, M. Raju todayreviewed the progress of pre-

liminary works for executionof the Ujh MultipurposeProject and asked the con-cerned to vigorously pursuefor securing pending clear-ances.

Conceived to be construct-ed in Kathua District on UjhRiver (A Tributary of RaviRiver), the project involves acost implication of Rs9,16,700 crore.

The meeting was attendedby Chief Engineer, RTIC

Jammu, Suresh Sabharwal;Chief Engineer, I & FCHamesh Manchanda; ChiefEngineer, JKSPDC, Maneet

Kotwal and other officersconnected with the project.

The Secretary Jal ShakiDepartment enquired aboutvarious pending clearanceswhich are required to beobtained for implementationof the project, viz clearancefrom Ministry of Forest andMinistry of Tribal Affairs etc.

The Collector LandAcquisition, Irrigationexplained about latest statusof identification of the land to

be transferred to the Forestdepartment in lieu of the landcoming under submergencedue to construction of the

dam. The Secretary directedthe Collector to complete allthe requisite work on priority.

He further directed ChiefEngineer, JKSPDC to submitthe replies to the queries ofthe Ministry of Tribal Affairsat an earliest to obtain the nec-essary clearances. He alsoasked the concerned to con-vene public hearing in respectof Samba District so that theenvironment clearance for theproject is obtained.

Execution of Ujh multipurpose ProjectM raju reviews progress made in

securing pending clearances

Lt Governor continues Public OutreachProgramme, visits Anantnag

Seeks people’s feedback for effective implementation of developmental policiese-inaugurates developmental projects worth 118 cr, lays foundation stones of various works

SRINAGAR, JULY 23 :Lieutenant Governor, GirishChandra Murmu today soughtfeedback from the people inshaping and implementingdevelopmental policies andtermed their participation as avital component of participa-tory Government.

The Lt Governor observedthat the UT Government isensuring the active public par-ticipation at all Administrativelevels to make the functioningof the Government moretransparent, accountable andparticipatory. He made theseremarks during his visit toAnantnag District where heinteracted with 18 public del-egations and representativesof ULB’s & PRI’s.

Today’s visit was the latestin the series of Lt Governor’sPublic Outreach Programmefor taking a regular assess-ment of developmental aspi-rations of the people and otherimportant local issues of thedistricts.

During his visit, the LtGovernor also inaugurated 12developmental projects worthRs 118 cr and laid foundationstones of various works ofpublic importance. He wasaccompanied by Advisor tothe Lt Governor, BaseerAhmad Khan; DivisionalCommissioner Kashmir,Pandurang K. Pole; IGPKashmir, Vijay Kumar;Deputy CommissionerAnantnag, K.K Sidha andother senior officers.

Around 18 delegationsincluding representatives ofULB’s, PRI’s; formerLegislators; TradersAssociations; Civil SocietyAssociations from variousareas; Fruit Growers;Hoteliers & RestaurantOwners Pahalgam; un-employed Physical EducationTrainees; Sikh WelfareForum, Mattan /Chittisinghpora; members ofKashmiri Pandit community;

deputation of GujjarMahasabha & TribalCommunity, NGO HelplineBijbehara & South KashmirHandicapped Association

Anantnag put forth their con-cerning issues before the LtGovernor.

The members of delega-tions projected various issuesand demands pertaining toempowerment of ULBs,PRIs, creation of BDC fund,strengthening of road net-work, Special Package forUn-employed PhysicalEducation Trainees, beautifi-cation of Anantnag town,Mini-Secretariat and marriagehall, establishment of fruitmandis , introduction ofMarket Intervention Scheme,anti-hail net for orchardist,cremation grounds for minor-ity communities, drainagesystem for Gurduwara atMattan, inclusion of Gujjar &Bakerwalls in BPL category,crop insurance, augmentationof sports infrastructure etc.

Regarding the issuesraised, the Lt Governorassured the members of thedelegations that their genuineconcerns would be taken upon priority for early resolutionand directed the concernedofficers to initiate the neces-sary measures in this regard.

He stated that the inclusionof Chairpersons & Presidentsof BDCs, Municipal Councilsand Municipalities in Warrant

of Precedence is a move for-ward by the J&K Governmenttowards strengthening thegrass root level of democraticset up. He assured that the

issues like security andaccommodation of public rep-resentatives would bereviewed and resolvedaccordingly.

The Lt Governor alsoissued on spot directions tothe concerned departmentsfor the redressal of the issuespertaining to identifying ofland for Marriage hall forAnantnag town; formulationof DPR for already identifiedpatch of land for mechanicalparking in Bijbehara town;strict adherence to SOPs intransportation of buildingand construction material;construction of ramps foraccessibility of specially-abled persons inGovernment offices etc. Hefurther directed the con-cerned officers for earlycompletion of languishingprojects, besides taking up ofB2V works.

On containment ofCOVID-19 pandemic, the LtGovernor advised the peopleto follow all the preventivemeasures to protect them-selves from the spread of thedeadly disease. He asked thehealth officials to evolveeffective mechanism in themanagement of patients withco-morbidities, besides spe-

cific sampling and testing. Healso urged upon the publicrepresentatives to work in uni-son with the Government inthe fight against COVID-19.

The developmental proj-ects worth Rs 118 cr inaugu-rated by the Lt Governortoday included- SewerageScheme Anantnag Zone 1;Septage Management SchemeAnantnag under AMRUT;1.0MGD Rapid Sand Filter Unitat Bumzoo under JKIDFC;40,000 Gallons CapacitySlow Sand Filtration Plant atChaklipora under JKIDFC;Water Supply Scheme (WSS)Kralpora Brakpora underNRDWP;WSS Chontihal &Watkhush under JKIDFC;ANM Kokernag; 2x30 Mtrspan Steel Girder Foot Bridgeover Nallah Sadran, besidesTrauma Hospital, Waysidefacilities including ShoppingArcade, 100 Bedded GirlsHostel at Nowshehra,Overhead Pedestrian cross-ing, at Bijbehara.

Meanwhile, the works forwhich foundation stones werelaid included - 0.33 MGDRapid Sand Filtration Plant atAndoo; 1.50 lac Gallonscapacity OHT at Brenthy;55,000 Gallons capacity OHTat Monghal; Additional 3x30Mtr span Double Lane PSCGirder Bridge over RiverJhelum at Khanabal andOverhead Foot Bridge atHarnag, Anantnag.

TRUTH PREVAILJAMMU FRIDAY JULY 24, 20204 EDITORIAL/ARTICLE

Not as it seemsMasks have been a topic of much contention across the

world during these pandemic times. In certain countries, theyhave become an easy way to identify your political leanings.Still, the politicisation of masks is not relevant to current dis-course. When the pandemic had just started picking up pace,the WHO and the national health agencies across the worldwere not clear on whether the widespread use of masks isbeneficial or not. Indeed, there was a time not too long agowhen many health agencies were advising against the civil-ian use of masks in order to not strain the supplies of thesame for emergency workers. At the same time, many of thesame agencies were advising some kind of facial covering toprovide protection against droplets that are exhaled. Slowly,as mask production picked up, the messaging changed. Theuse of masks became a required etiquette and many nationalhealth agencies issued guidelines for public use of masks andface coverings. There has even been a surge of designermasks which make the essential accessory a bit more pleas-ing to the eyes. But even then, the WHO remained ambigu-ous in their stance towards mask usage. This was the case, atleast until recently. Now, new evidence being brought beforeWHO has forced the body to acknowledge the possibilitythat the novel Coronavirus has some form of mechanism forairborne and aerosol transmission. The WHO has stated thatthis discovery may have even more serious ramifications forenclosed public spaces that do not necessarily ventilate aswell as they should. This would also affect WHO guidelineson social distancing. The present guidelines advocate a dis-tance of one metre or a little over three feet. Individualnations have their own guidelines which vary but are gener-ally around six feet. If the WHO updates its guidelines, itmust acknowledge that the current social distancing normsmay not be enough to keep the virus at bay.

Invariably, this development means that masks now holdan even more valuable role in keeping us safe on a day today basis as a first and most often, last line of defenceagainst the contagion. Even in the early days of the pan-demic, N-95 masks were a coveted commodity. It was whatthe professionals used and it looked safe, much more than asimple piece of cloth. It provided a mental safety blanket ofsorts. Therefore, it was no surprise that not only were N-95fakes mass-produced, even fancier versions with valves onthe front and sides became more popular. They appeared tobe an even safer, more high tech option for the pandemicdays. Many who wore them stated that such masks are eas-ier to breathe through and that they keep the face cool. Ofcourse, all was not as it seems. In recent months, manyhealth bodies have spoken out against these valved masks.The Director-General of Health Services in India was latestin line to warn against the use of such masks. In a letter tothe Ministry of Health, the DGHS observed that valved N95masks are detrimental to the efforts to contain the spread ofthe Coronavirus. The problem with valved respirators is notthe concept itself but rather the type of valved respiratorsavailable to the public.

One-way valve respirators are normally used in construc-tion sites where they keep workers safe from dust, etc. Theydo not filter the air being exhaled by the person as it is beingreleased by the valves on the front or sides. As such, whilethese masks may keep the person wearing them safe, they doso at the cost of endangering everyone around. Two-wayvalve respirators are not commonly found for public use andare instead used almost exclusively by medical workerswhere they are most required. This goes against the spirit ofwearing masks to not only protect yourself but others aroundyou as well. A simpler, more reliable design, while lessimpressive to look at and even less comfortable, will never-theless suffice. If the problem of one-way valve masks doesnot subside, India may have to follow in the footsteps of sev-eral US states in penalising the use of such masks.

EDITORIAL-Subhash Chandra

AgrawalThe Central Board of

Direct Taxes (CBDT) hasintroduced a new kind of formfor filing tax returns and form26AS in anticipation of bettertax compliance, wherein form26AS will now be pre-loadedwith information relating toinvestments as well. With this,the CBDT has given anotheropportunity to citizens to fileaccurate and true incomereturns for the assessment-year 2018-19 by July 31. TheCBDT has been scanningcomputerised records of tax-payers and sending messagesvia the Short MessagingService (SMS) and emails totaxpayers who have beenfound to be remiss in theirduty to the nation.

The big question is why issuch an exercise needed at all?Despite various innovativeideas adopted by the CBDT toencourage people to pay theirtaxes regularly, India has notmoved towards a practical andeasy tax regime where peoplediligently file their taxes anddisclose their true income. Weare yet to reach a stage wherewe, as a society, take pride infiling our taxes and disclosingour actual income.

In view of this generalreluctance to pay taxes amongIndians, an altogether new taxregime should be introducedwithout the largely-misusedexemptions that we currentlyhave. Why do we need to givetwo confusing options to tax-payers of either availing someexemptions or getting a flatbasic Rs5 lakh as tax-freeincome? Only the latter optionof Rs5 lakh as tax-free incomeneeds to be retained.

The tax system should befurther simplified by abolish-ing cess, surcharges and so on.It is a matter of concern thatdespite repeated assurances bythe Government, the much-awaited, new and simplifiedIncome Tax Act has not beenintroduced in the country toreplace the six- decade-oldIncome Tax Act of 1961,which is now full of confusingamendments.

The implementation of theRaja Chelliah Committee rec-ommendations to fix the high-est tax slab at 30 per cent, tobe in tune with most countriesaround the world, had abol-ished the practice of convert-ing black money into whitemoney. Gradually increasingthe highest slab, as well asimposing cess and surcharges,has undone the good achievedearlier. Hence, the highest taxslab of 30 per cent should berestored so that people find itadvantageous to keep theirincome books honest.

Rather a permanentVoluntary Disclosure Scheme(VDS) should be introducedwith a provision for people todeclare their income at thehighest suggested tax rate of30 per cent. It could be anyincome without the taxpayerhaving to disclose its source.

This will make all cashtransactions, especially inproperty deals, accounted forif registration fee on propertydeals is also reduced to say,just two per cent, from what itis at present. The names of allthose disclosing their incomesunder the suggested 30 percent slab should be on the taxdepartment's website so thatstatus-conscious people mayrace to disclose their income.

The basic tax exemptionnow fixed at Rs5 lakh shouldpave the way for abolishing alltax exemptions, including oncharity, donations, contribu-tion to political parties andeven agricultural income. Thefact remains that an ordinaryfarmer does not earn morethan Rs5 lakh. And this provi-sion is grossly misused byultra-rich people, includingcelebrities to declare theirunaccounted income as agri-cultural income through pur-chase of some farmland meantfor the purpose of evadingtaxes only.

Income tax slabs should be10 per cent and 20 per cent forincomes between Rs5-Rs10lakh and Rs10-Rs15 lakhrespectively and thereafter itshould be 30 per cent for therest. The LK Jha Committeerecommendations to make thecalendar year the FinancialYear (FY) too, should beimplemented in line with mostcountries around the world.The fiscal year of April-Marchis a colonial legacy which wasintroduced by the British inIndia for their own interestsand convenience.

Rather than concentrating

on small cash transactionsthrough BhimApp and so on -which result in frauds perpe-trated on illiterate people - allsales and purchases aboveRs10,000 should be compul-sorily made through banktransactions only. For this towork, transaction charges oncredit cards should also beslashed to just half per cent(Goods and Services Tax-exempted). That, too, shouldbe borne by the CentralGovernment, with all incen-tives on purchases madethrough credit cards abol-ished.

Such a system will fetchmuch higher tax revenue forthe Government. The presenttwo per cent transactioncharges on credit cards forcetraders to charge it separatelyfrom customers, speciallywhere trade margins are low.Banks issuing credit cards willearn much more even with ahalf per cent transactioncharge because of theirincreased use. Plus, two setsof credit card swipingmachines should be madecompulsory for every GST-registered dealer so as to avoidcash payments by those seek-ing to evade taxes.

The Input Tax Credit sys-tem in the GST regime, partic-ularly in the manufacturingsector, is the biggest source ofcorruption and tax evasion.The GST invoices left out byordinary customers are soldby traders tomanufacturers/producers toavail false Input Tax Credit.Reforms in the Input TaxCredit system can only be pos-sible through drastic changesin the GST tax-structure,wherein basically only twoGST rates of 10 per cent and30 per cent exist, abolishingall other existing GST-rates.Abolishing lower slabs ofthree and five per cent will bemore than compensated byabolishing slabs of 12 and 18per cent. On the other hand,abolishing the highly corruptsystem of Input Tax Creditfrom the manufacturing andproducing sector will fetchmuch more revenue to theexchequer and it will not harmthe manufacturers/producersbecause of abolition of higherGST slabs of 12 and 18 percent.

In the same way, a GST of18 per cent in the service sec-tor is excessively high, wherefor example those participat-ing in TV panel discussionshave to pay roughly half oftheir honorarium in tax,including GST and incometax. All Government paymentscan be considered to beexempted from GST to avoidunnecessary Governmentaccounting by putting taxfrom one Government pocketto other.

Unfortunately, unmindfulpolicymakers brought clutch-plate and clutch-bearing underdifferent GST slabs of 18 and28 per cent respectively.Likewise similar items sold byconfectioners, like sweets,biscuits, savoury items and soon, attract different GST slabs,with diabetes-causing sweetsattracting just five per centGST.

To remove confusion andabnormality, invoices foritems like gold jewellery canbe drawn in two parts, one formetal and embodied items andthe other for making chargesso that 10 per cent GST maybe payable only on the latter.Cess on extra-luxurious itemsshould be replaced by addi-tional GST slabs in multiples,going as high as 50 per cent insome cases.

The Government must alsobring petroleum productsunder the GST regime toensure uniform pricing ofpetrol and diesel in all States.

At present, India is theonly country in the world tohave so many GST slabs. Zeroper cent GST should only beretained on totally unbrandedraw materials, which cannotbe consumed without givingthem a finishing touch, forexample agricultural products,fish, meat, cotton, yarn and soon. All items of long-term uselike cars, air-conditioners, tel-evision sets, refrigerators andso on could attract 30 per centGST while their parts coulduniformly attract 10 per centGST. In the end, theGovernment must realise thattax rationalisation on evensmall things can result in morerevenue earning for theGovernment and turn a coun-try that avoids paying its taxesinto one that takes pride indoing so.

Tax reforms vital

Are we being strong-armed by China into submission?I suspect that our fears

about encountering enor-mous Chinese pressure toacquiesce to theirdemands on establishingtheir orientations of theLAC are coming true.Although the DefenceMinister Rajnath Singhwhilst speaking to thetroops near Pangong Tsoon July 17 was verystrong in his message tothe nation about defend-ing Indian territory butwas candid enough toadmit that he could notguarantee a solution inkeeping with our princi-ples. He hoped that thetwo countries shouldresolve the matters. Butthat will be an arduouspath as there are severalcontentious issues. At thePangong Tso sectoritself, it was reported that"Chinese troops haveintruded 8 km intoIndian-claimed territoryup to a spur called Finger4 and are refusing towithdraw to Finger 8unless India withdraws toFinger 2."

Then on the GalwanRiver at the insistence ofChinese military negotia-

tors, the defined pointfrom where the disen-gagements were to com-mence has been movedfurther westwards deepinto India controlled ter-ritory. No agreement hasbeen reached for theChinese to disengage orpull back from con-frontation points south ofGalwan at PP-15 and HotSpring area. Further, nearPP-15, the Chinese havebuilt a road extending 3km into Indian-claimedterritory and in the HotSpring area over 1,500Chinese troops haveintruded 2-3 km intoIndian territory at theGogra Heights (PP-17A).Veteran infantryman andretired Major GeneralAshok Mehta sums upwhen he writes that, "atleast 60 km of the Indianstrategic real estate hasbeen occupied by Chinathrough PLA intrusionsfrom Depsang to Galwanin Ladakh and at NakuLa in Sikkim, 1,500 kmaway, where the PLA andIndian troops are in astandoff 2 km inside asettled border. Multipleintrusions may eventual-

ly be traded in China'spolicy of two steps for-ward, one step back, toretain the possession ofterritory".

In recent times from2013 onwards, this wasthe process adopted byChina. On April 15,2013, about 40 soldiersof the PLA of Chinaintruded into Indian terri-tory for about 20 km inDaulat Beg Oldi (DBO).These soldiers refused toback off when told byITBP border guards.DBO is an important mil-itary base of the IndianArmed Forces andDespsang is about 20 kmSouth of DBO. Finally,after a series of flagmeetings between thelocal commanders fromthe two sides took placeand after three weeks, theDaulat Beg Oldi standoffwas resolved. But we arenot sure so far whetherthe occupied areas werefully vacated.

Hours after Chinesetroops pulled back fromDBO, they came back tothe Chumar area inLadakh. Chinese troopsdismantled their tents

only on May 5 and thenthe Indian forcesremoved their tin sheds.Chumar standoff wasresolved in 21 days withChina agreeing to Indiantroops' patrolling in thearea as before. Then inthe backdrop of XiJinping's India visit inSeptember 2014,Demchok standoff beganon September 10, 2014,as Indian patrol teamsdiscovered that theChinese troops haddeployed heavy machin-ery to build a road insideIndian territory.Demchok is located inthe same Chumar area.The Demchok standoffcontinued even whenModi and Xi Jinpingwere signing 12 deals onSeptember 18. But, ittook another week for theChinese forces to with-draw to their pre-September 10 position.

What is material tonote is that from DBO toDemchok all these pointslie on India's EasternBorders straddling AksaiChin-Ladakh and wouldfacilitate easy ingressinto Indian Territory

namely Leh, Thoise andmost importantlySiachen Glaciers. Quiteclearly the Chinese havebeen aiming at that slow-ly, nibbling at our territo-ry at vantage points formany years. As a well-honed practice, thePeople's Republic ofChina as a matter ofnational policy uses forceand negotiation at thesame time. We must beprepared to not just playthe same game with thembut beat them at it. In themeanwhile, an invitationto Australia is seeminglybeing extended askingthem to join the nextround of MalabarExercise. According tosenior Indian officials,this exercise will bringtogether the navies ofIndia, Japan, Australiaand the U.S. in the Bay ofBengal at the end of theyear. A spokesperson forAustralia's defencedepartment accepted that"Australia sees value inparticipating in quadrilat-eral defence activities toincrease interoperabilityand advance our collec-tive interests in a free,

open and prosperousIndo-Pacific region."Although, in the currentcircumstances an exer-cise by this group in theSouth China Sea is likelyto leave a salutary mes-sage to the ChineseRegime. It would seemthat the several assur-ances of the US govern-ment conveyed by theirSecretary of State MikePompeo to India'sMinister of External SJaishankar are being ful-filled. Aircraft Carriers ofthe US Navy, the USSRonald Reagan and theUSS Theodore Rooseveltare both patrolling in thewestern Pacific, whilethe USS Nimitz hasentered the Bay ofBengal having crossedthe Malacca Straits toparticipate in ExercisePASSEX with IndianNavy. With each vesselcontaining more than 60aircraft, it represents thebiggest deployment ofUS aircraft carriers in theEastern Seas in recenttimes. It is time that likeminded liberal democra-cies join hands against anexpansionist regime.

LEAVE LUTyENS ALONE-Yashovardhan AzadSir Edwin Lutyens’

Delhi, with its heritageand a grace so fragile, willsoon be scarred and dis-figured as its iconic archi-tecture and lush greenerymay give way to modernbuildings after the UnionGovernment remainssteadfast with its plan toredevelop its stretch fromthe Rashtrapati Bhavan tothe India Gate and evenbeyond till the Yamunafront.

Some of the mansionssprawling in the cool,green light of the day,with their symmetry —striking and flawless —are waiting to be razed tothe ground. The trees thathave stood witness to his-tory may not survive totell a tale of another day.The amaltas trees thatbroke into soft yellowblossoms every summer,the sun-warm jamuns dot-ting the grassy groundsand the bitter-sweet smellof neem pods whencrushed under the feetafter rains may slip intothe twilight sepia of obliv-ion, though assurancescontinue of no trees beingfelled during the exercise.

Lutyens’ Delhi standsas a tribute to the time andthe timeless spirit of thecity. The leafy boulevardswalk you back to thememories of an erabygone under a soft lilacsky. Generations havegrown up to identify thecity with its pristine archi-tecture shimmering in theamber sunshine like ajewel unspoilt in theemerald green. TheCentral Vista, with someof the most iconic build-ings of Delhi, came intobeing when the Britishcapital was shifted toDelhi from Calcutta in1911. Architects EdwinLutyens and HerbertBaker designed large sec-tions of the area withiconic features but couldnot complete their task.The green expanse leftwas later filled up withbuildings that houseCentral Governmentoffices, though these areno match to the Lutyens’creations.

Restructuring theLutyens’ will take awayfrom the city its soul andcharacter. It will irre-versibly deface the cityand rob it of its identityand uniqueness. Thestakeholders, however,claim that this will not

affect the imposing edi-fice and architecture asconceived by Lutyens aslong as all the regulationsare followed.

The revamp has beenproposed to meet thecrushing need for spaceand reflect the aspirationsof a new and resurgentIndia as pleaded byGovernment sources. Butthen, why can’t the law-makers and Governmentemployees find space tolive and work elsewherein this ever-expandingcity? The swathe of greenand high-end lifestyle ofLutyens’ Delhi cushionsits residents from the hoipolloi, from the crowdedzones where the city livesand breathes. The rulingelite will have a real tasteof life in the capital if theyrub shoulders with thecommoners. It will givethem a hands-on feelingof the traffic jams, thecrowd and the dust, thefilth and the garbage,poverty and lawlessness,lack of orderliness — allof which are unheard ofwithin the safe bastion ofLutyens’ Delhi, like thepalace of Oscar Wilde’sThe Happy Prince, wheresorrow was not allowed toenter.

The proposal envisagesonly the three top-mostfunctionaries of India’sdemocracy, the President,Vice President and thePrime Minister, living andworking from the RaisinaHill.

The Central Vistarevamp brings down thebabus literally from theirexalted position on theRaisina Hill to the plains,alongside the Rajpath. Isthere a message, too, thatthey are only public ser-vants? The North andSouth Block will be con-verted into museums —but do we need more ofthem and that, too, withinLutyens? We already havethe national museum andthe archives. Havingswarms of visitors inthese huge buildingsevery day will necessitateheavy police presence inview of their proximity tothe presence of the high-est dignitaries of thecountry.

Ten square doughnut-shaped buildings, com-prising 51 Ministries ofthe Central Government,will come up at four loca-tions of the Central Vista.One of them wouldreplace the Indira Gandhi

Centre for Arts near aroundabout with heavytraffic density. The policeor the NDMC will beunder tremendous pres-sure to cater to the extraload of traffic, parking,civic and other amenities.

In addition, hutmentsare to be razed to houseoffice complexes, robbingthe heritage zone furtherof its greenery and openspace. The subways andthe metro link to be pro-vided for seamless move-ment between the officecomplexes are a mam-moth exercise, difficult tobe executed without alter-ing or scarring the beautyand symmetry. The pro-posal to add anotherbuilding to the existingParliament House willagain encroach upon thegreen expanse left aloneso thoughtfully byLutyens and Baker to pre-serve the unique façade ofNew Delhi.

Around 2,000 peoplefiled objections with theDDA and 1,200 werecalled for hearings. Someaverred that the change inland use was not legallytenable. Others felt thatthe revamp cannot bedone in isolation withoutconsidering the surround-ing zone. Besides, adetailed study is requiredto study the impact of theresultant pressure on civicamenities, traffic andtransportation.

Experts have alsowarned that any plan ofsuch magnitude shouldnot be executed in haste.They have cited instancesof great cities that haveintegrated modern refur-bishments with iconic his-torical structures seam-lessly and have befittinglyrenovated heritage struc-tures to suit our new-agedemands. Even cities likeWashington DC, Londonand Paris have been mod-ernised where new-agearchitecture has beenblended and balancedwith the heritage look andthe old-world charm.

In this great city, ourcountrymen and our gen-erations to come have astake. For a project of thissignificance and in a loca-tion as critical, thereneeds to be a widespreadconsultation before takingany such decision of his-torical significance. Andfinally, the moot point is:Whether there is a needfor such a project at all?

The best thing heard

about the Central Vistarevamp is the shifting ofthe residence of thePrime Minister to theRashtrapati Bhavanprecincts. This will clearup an important arterialroad from that zone toSouth Delhi. Lutyens’Delhi needs to be declut-tered further. All politicalparty offices and thesarkari ones working fromhutments within NewDelhi should be movedout, extending the greenbelt further. Why not con-duct an exercise to assesswhether so manyMinistries are actuallyrequired? Babus of ourexalted bureaucracywon’t undermine theirown strength. We need anoutside expert to deliber-ate, something on thelines of the recent restruc-turing of myriad cadres inthe Railways. Let the corestrength remain inLutyens’ zone and the restmoved out to markedareas like the CGO com-plex or in new hubs. Inthis digital age with thefacility of video confer-encing, do we need over-crowding and increasingpressure on civic ameni-ties in a heritage zone?

Instead, the iconicIndia Gate environs, giv-ing the impression of anembattled fortress withpolice barricades and for-tifications, need to be fur-ther opened up and beau-tified. The majesticRajpath Lawns lie tram-pled under the ugly greenPWD poles for almost sixmonths of the year, half inpreparation for theJanuary 26 parade and theother half in dismantlingthe whole façade. It’s timeto decide whether a resur-gent India, whose demo-cratic credentials aresolidly established, stillneeds to purvey its mili-tary might in a paradeevery Republic Day.

With evidence of con-tinuous settlement sincethe 6th century BC, Delhiis one of the oldest inhab-ited cities in the world.Destroyed several timesas it passed into the handsof many ruling dynasties,the city has been built andrebuilt around its treas-ured ruins. And now, withplans to revamp theLutyens’ Delhi, the cityonce again stands mutedat the crossroads of time,war-weary and subdued,pleading with a brokensoul to be left alone.

TRUTH PREVAIL

JAMMU, FRIDAY, JULY 24, 20205 STATE

"IHRO demands to save life by

providing best facilities to farmers

who are victims of snake bites"TP CORRESPONDENT

JAMMU, JULY 23:Chairman of Internationalhuman rights organizationAdvocate P. S. Chib demand-ing to save life of farmers bit-ten by snakes during fieldwork every year. He said thatmany lives of the farmers arein danger because of snakebites which leads to deaths ofthousands of people and sev-eral people suffer amputationor other disabilities. Manypeople of Jammu andKashmir are the victims ofsnake bites during the mon-soon season between June andSeptember when snakes areknown to come out.

Chib also said most victimsgo for traditional practicesand prayers after snake bitesbut instead of believing insuperstition they shouldimmediately rush to the hos-pital.

The major cause in delayin bringing the victim to thehospital is the unavailabilityof anti venom doze in thenearby health care centre inrural areas which may resultin death.

Chib appeals to theLieutenant Governor G.C.Murmu to provide Anti -venom in the nearby healthcare centres of rural areas sothat people bitten by snakeswill get the doze as early aspossible. If in case of death,from snake bite, families offarmers should get monetarycompensation.

TP CORRESPONDENTJAMMU, JULY 23: Former

Deputy Chief Minister &BJP senior leader,Kavinder Gupta, alongwith former MLC, ChVikram Randhawa, kickstarted the works of lanesand drains in presence oflocal Councillor, ShardaKumari, in Qasim Nagararea in Ward No. 47 ofGandhi Nagar constituen-cy. Speaking on the occa-sion, Kavinder Gupta saidthat a long pendingdemand of residents ofQasim Nagar has been ful-filled and the constructionof same will benefit thelocals as a good infrastruc-

ture will be provided to theinhabitants of the area.Gupta also appealed themasses to contribute someof their time for keepingtheir localities clean andgreen so that our hardworking Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, who isworking hard on the mis-sion of "Swach Bharat"could be achieved and itcan only be achieved if weall contribute somethingtowards it. He instructedJMC officials that qualityof works should be main-tained in the area andstressed upon the localinhabitants to keep vigil onthe quality of the material

being used during the exe-cution of the developmen-tal works in their area.

Sharda Kumari hailed theproactive approach ofFormer Deputy ChiefMinister and stated thatWard No 47 has been get-ting due attention in mat-ters related to developmentwith the help of KavinderGupta, who is working24×7 in order to providebest possible services tothe masses.

Later, Gupta touredShigligarh Mohalla,Chatha and during the tour,the inhabitants of the areaprojected a charter ofdemands. Gupta gave

them patient hearing andassured that all theapproved projects wouldbe started soon.

Gupta said that the UnionGovernment is also com-mitted to provide all basicamenities like adequatedrinking water, power,education, civic andhealthcare facilities to thepeople.

During the last five years, theGandhi Nagar constituen-cy has witnessed the realdevelopment at groundlevel, he said.

He also appealed the publicto follow the guidelinesissued by the Governmentfor controlling the furtherspread of Corona Virus.

Kavinder Gupta stated thatChatha has been developedto its fullest and pendingworks will also be taken insome time for the conven-ience of the public. Thepace of development inGandhi Nagar Consituencyshows that it has pro-gressed a lot in last 5 yearsand will soon reach to thelevel of a ModelConstituency.

Vivek Patyal, Daljit Singh,Rakesh Kumar, SumitBajrangi, BJP activists andprominent persons accom-panied him during the tour.

Gandhi Nagar has witnessed real development

during last 5 years: Kavinder TP CORRESPONDENTJAMMU, JULY 23: Special

Session of JKNPP Secretariatwas held today under thechairmanship of Chairman-JKNPP, Shri Harsh Dev Singhwith the President of JKNPP,Shri Balwant Singh Mankotia,General Secretaries andSecretaries attending.

Prof. Bhim Singh, ChiefPatron of J&K NationalPanthers Party in his openingremarks highlighted the uncer-tain times for the elected rep-resentatives of the PanchayatiRaj Institutions who are notbeing provided adequate secu-rity and cooperation.

They are being left to fendthemselves especially inKashmir province where thethreats from the militants arestill prevalent and they arebeing prevented from workingfor the betterment of the soci-ety.

The Secretariat Membersalso appreciated the concernby the Members of JKNPP inKashmir Province who couldnot attend today’s meeting dueto Lockdown in Kashmir andalso deliberated upon the cur-rent political situation of theUnion Territory, wherein theadministration under the Lt.Governor is only allowing theBJP to conduct political ralliesand other gatherings withoutany restrictions but is notallowing the other recognized

political parties to even con-duct their membership driveand awareness programmes byarresting the JKNPP workers.The members condemnedsuch an attitude of the UTgovernment and with onevoice and reiterated that such aconduct of the administrationis happening for the first timein the country and is totallyagainst the norms of democra-cy.

The Members also resolvedto carry on the struggle for thedowntrodden members of thesociety and other temporaryand contractual workers whoare being harassed by theadministration by terminationof their services. To ensurejustice to the unemployedyouth the JKNPP Secretariatresolved to conduct publicmeetings, mass contact andawareness programmesamongst the general publicand the bureaucracy so as toawaken the sleeping UnionTerritory administration to

their plight and ensure that themuch talked about the thou-sands of jobs are advertizedand filled immediately.

It was also resolved that theStudents & Youth Wings ofthe party will be activated toensure that the message ofJKNPP reaches each andevery student in J&K so thatthey are made aware of thepolicy and programmes beingconducted by the Party forensuring their brighter futurefor this the Students & YouthWings would be reorganizedand revamped so as to takeinto account the aspirations ofthe Students & unemployedyouth Community.

Those who also spokeincluded Mr. Yash PaulKundal, Ms. Anita Thakur,Mrs. Manju Singh, GeneralSecretaries, Capt. Anil Gour,Mr. Gagan Pratap Singh, Mr.Balwan Singh, Mr. DeshRattan Pandita, Secretariesand Provincial President, Mr.Rajesh Padgotra.

JKNPP Secretariat condemns UT Administration of

biased attitude towards recognized political parties

JKNPP protests seeking abolition

of Toll Plazas in JammuTP CORRESPONDENT

JAMMU, JULY 23:Withstanding the public furyover the establishment of Tollplazas one after the other andthe proposal to open severalliquor vends in Jammuregion, a strong contingent ofPanther activists led by Mr.Harsh Dev Singh ChairmanJKNPP and Mr. YashpaulKundal State President YoungPanthers staged a thunderousprotest demonstration inJammu here today. While set-ting ablaze the effigy of BJPand raising anti-governmentslogans, the enraged protest-ers sought abolition ofLakhanpur Toll Plaza besidesothers and demanded imme-diate roll back of the proposalmooted for issuing newlicenses of liquor shops in theinterest of the people.

Lambasting the BJP gov-ernment for installingLakhanpur Toll Plaza on thegateway of J&K and keepingin pipeline the construction oftwo more plazas, one atFallan Mandal on the Ringroad and another on Akhnoorroad, Mr. Harsh Dev Singhsaid that the move wasfraught with dangerous por-tends. He said that people ofJammu were wary of even theexisting Toll Plazas at Banand Sarore which were taxingthem heavily in addition toanother one at Nashri. "Thepeople were up in armsagainst the government seek-ing disbanding of these TollPlazas. With BJP leadershipcheating them by false assur-ances amid revival and estab-lishment of Lakhanpur TollPlaza had turned the civilunrest from bad to worse withmassive public outrage",Harsh rued. Describing theestablishment of LakhanpurToll Plaza and other installa-

tions as points of forcedextortion of taxes from thepeople, he said that with theplan to install 6 Toll Plazas inthe vicinity of Jammu, thehuge taxation in the form ofmultiple Toll Plazas was sim-ply unaffordable for the com-mon masses and particularlythose who had to commute onregular basis between Jammu,Akhnoor, Katra, Udhampur,Samba and Lakhanpur. Heaccused the GoI of doling dis-crimination to Jammu regionin view of only one such TollPlaza functional in Kashmirwhile the Dogras were putunder the burden of road taxto fill up its coffers, Harshroared.

Further, terming the pro-posal of opening of new116liquor vends in Jammu asmooted by the ExciseCommissioner vide his letterdated 16-06-2020 govern-ment as ill conceived andmotivated, Mr. Singh said thatit would only invite disasterin view of already frayed pub-lic tempers especially theyouth and women against thegovt.

He further disclosed thatthe Excise CommissionerJ&K had sent an officialmemo to the governmentseeking approval for openingthe said liquor shops at loca-tions already finalized by himin Jammu. "There are already

220 liquor vends in Jammuout of the total 224 existingliquor shops operating as ondate. Already there is hugenumber of liquor shops, barsbesides illicit distillationbeing carried on various partsof J&K. Every day there arereports of domestic violence,fatal road accidents and liquorsmuggling. Spike in cases ofwomen atrocities, youngdeaths and crime has ruinedthousands of families",divulged Harsh.

Yash Paul Kundal warnedthe J&K government aboutthe writing on the wall thatthe city of temples was beingconverted into city of TollPlazas and Bar Plazas. Hesaid that the civil society andothers had also expressedtheir concern over the issuewhich had the potential toexplode in a big way. He saidthat the situation in J&K wasalready very sensitive and thegovt. move of installing TollPlazas and new liquor vendswould have the effect ofadding fuel to fire. Callingupon the Lt. Governor toreview the installation of theToll Plazas and proposal ofopening new liquor shops inJammu region, he cautionedthat such moves could dan-gerously trigger catastrophicpublic revolt beyond control.

Dimple demands immediateclosure of Lakhanpur toll Plaza

TP CORRESPONDENTJAMMU, JULY 23:

Addressing a press confer-ence, Sunil Dimple PresidentJammu West Assemblydemanded Prime MinisterNarendra Modi for the restora-tion of the statehood to JammuKashmir and for the withdraw-al of the anti youth domicilecertificate. He coming downheavily on the inclusion ofabrogation of article 370, inthe NCERT 12 class syllabus-es connecting it with sepa-ratists. He said this is a bigquestion Mark on our nation-ality of the one crore thirtylakh residents' youths of theJammu Kashmir Dogras state.

Dimple alleged that afterdismantling our beautifulnationalistic Jammu KashmirDogra state in to union territo-ry.

He said now a particularRSS, BJP ideology is beingimposed in the minds of theyounger generation, students,youths and the whole country.Our state status is being pro-jected as separatist's agenda.He strongly opposed the inclu-sion of abrogation/ scrappingof article 370 topic, in theNCERT 12 Class syllabusesconnecting it with separatists.He said our Mahraja, and ourelder generation at the time ofaccession with India, theclause of article 370 was writ-ten in the Indian constitution

to protect the rights of theJammu Kashmir innocentnationalistic people. He saidby adding scrapping article370 in books the BJP is pollut-ing the brains of the youths,students and the people of thecountry by connecting theabrogation with separatistsagenda.

Dimple opposed the domi-cile certificates and demandedfor immediate restoration ofthe statehood and our specialstatus. He alleged the BJP isscrapping now our PRC statesubject by replacing it withdomicile certificate makingoutsiders of other states eligi-ble for the govt jobs in J&K.He warned that our strugglewill continue for the restora-tion of the statehood, with-drawal of the domicile and forreuniting the dismantled statewill continue.

Dimple threatened soon infuture we will start hunger

strikes, pad yatra and massagitation and all youths ofJammu Kashmir will come onour single plate form. He heldBJP responsible for weaken-ing the rights by making domi-cile certificates compulsoryfor the govt jobs & PRC irrel-evant documents.

Dimple said this is veryunfortunate that the BJP govtis adamant to impose domicilein J&K. He demands immedi-ate closure of Lakahnpur tollPlaza.

He warned that Lakhanpurtoll plaza will not be allowedto function and will start agita-tion in all districts of theJammu region.

He appealed to all the peo-ple, all political parties, trans-porters, student organizations,traders, transporters, to comeon one platform for the statehood, anti Domicile certificateand to oppose and stop all tollplazas.

TP CORRESPONDENTJAMMU, JULY 23: On

the directions of BJPNational President J.P.Nadda, BJP is going to make“Seva Hi Sangathan e-books” at State/UT, Districtand Mandal level acrosscountry, detailing the workthey have done in the last fewmonths in handling theCovid-19 pandemic. Theworkshops are being organ-ized at State/UT, District &Mandal level to train theparty workers for the creationof e-books.

After the successful com-pletion of J&K UT StateWorkshops, BJP IT & SocialMedia Department under theleadership of Incharge JaidevRajwal, on the directions ofBJP J&K President RavinderRaina & BJP J&K GeneralSecretary (Org.) Ashok Koultoday organized DistrictWorkshop via video confer-ence of Jammu, Jammu West,

Akhnoor, & Kathua. Duringthe workshop, Jaidev Rajwalpresented the complete anddetailed presentation abouthow to create “Seva HiSangathan e-books”. Whilebriefing, he said that BJP isgoing to create these e-booksacross country for the workdone in the last few monthsduring lockdown and also topopularise it on social mediaplatforms to counter the nar-rative of the government’slacklustre efforts to containthe pandemic and to alsohighlight Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s dailyefforts to fight Covid.

Rajwal said that PMNarender Modi lauded BJPworkers for the party’s reliefwork during the nationwideCovid-19 included lockdownand quoted that this was thebiggest “Seva Yagya” andsaid BJP is the only the polit-ical party at forefront whocontribute and put their best

efforts to work for the wel-fare of poor and needy peo-ple across country. He addedthat our party workers workday and night to provide foodto the needy so that no onecan sleep hungry, distributedmasks and sanitizers in orderto combat covid-19 pandem-ic, organized langers &kitchens, felicitated the frontline corona warriors like doc-tors, police officers, para-medical staff, bankers, mediapersons, and other peoplewho directly or indirectlyengaged in providing essen-tial services etc. He furtheradded that for the compilingof photographs, videos, partyservice work published innewspapers and responserelated to services providedby party workers from pub-lic, we are going to create“Seva Hi Sangathan e-books” in three languagesincluding English, hindi &urdu and popularised it onsocial media platforms inorder to inspire the genera-tions to come.

The workshop proceedingswere done by BJP J&K Co-Incharge IT & Social MediaDepartment Advocate IshantGupta, and attended by BJPJ&K Incharge Departmentfor Party Journals andPublicity Rajnish Jain, BJPJammu District VicePresident Karan Singh, BJPIT & Social MediaDepartment Jammu-PoonchPrabhari Yudhveer Singh,Udhampur-Doda PrabhariManjeet Singh Jasrotia,Technical Team HardeepSingh, Rahul Bhat, task forceteam of district & mandal, IT& Social Media Prabhari’sand Seh-Prabhari’s, & ITConstituency Incharges andCo-Incharges.

BJP Organized District Workshop

For “Seva Hi Sangathan E-Books”

Photo by Vivek

Mayor inaugurates water

cooler in Ward No.61TP CORRESPONDENT

JAMMU, JULY 23:Continuing his Endeavour toprovide better civic and devel-opment amenities to the peo-ple of Jammu city, ChanderMohan Gupta, Mayor JammuMunicipal Corporation inau-gurated the functioning ofwater cooler at Patta PalouraAkhnoor road near BSFSchool of ward no.61 Sh.Mohinder Kumar Bhagat con-cerned councillor of the ward,Ravi Verma General Secretaryof OBC Morcha J&K unit &others alongwith RakeshKumar Junior Engineer,Anoop Kumar Sharma,Sanitary Inspector & other

field staff of JMC were alsopresent during the inaugura-tion function which was heldin a very simple manner.Mayor told that there was direneed of pure drinking waterfacility in this particular areaas large number of devoteesvisits at Mata Baghla Mukhitemple for paying obeisance .Moreover there are aboutthree to four number ofschools in the surroundingareas and children passesthrough the area & even waitshere for availing transporta-tion in the hot & humid condi-tions and after the commis-sioning of water cooler theycan also be benefitted in a lotway.

Mayor further said the con-cerned councillor has person-ally taken the initiative ininstalling the water cooler atthis particular site. Besidesthis, mayor announced that onthe demands of the locals &

councillor concerned divisionof engineering section hasbeen directed to install beauti-ful stainless steel benches forthe public as well as restora-tion/rectification ofstairs/bathing ghat on the bankof the Ranbir canal passingthrough this locality.

He told that JammuMunicipal Corporation hasalready started the work ofinstallation of water coolers ineach ward of the city for theconvenience of general publicand also appeal to them tocome forward & cooperatewith the department in variousother development activitiesbeing undertaken by JMC,adopt the habit of segregationof dry & wet waste, do not usesingle used plastic/polythenein their routine life, avoidthrowing polythene/garbage inthe Ranbir Canal so thatJammu can be made really asmart city.

BJP pays tributes to Kuldeep Verma, martyr

of 2008 Amarnath land agitationTP CORRESPONDENT

JAMMU, JULY 23:Remembering KuldeepVerma, a martyr of 2008Amarnath land agitation, onhis Balidan Divas, a pro-gramme was organized byBJP District Jammu Westunder the leadership ofDistrict President MunishKhajuria at party office, KachiChawni.

BJP General Secretary(Org.) Ashok Kaul was themain speaker on the occasion,which was also addressed byformer BJP State President SatSharma, party Vice PresidentYudhvir Sethi, ShilpiVerma(widow of martyrKuldeep Verma) and ChanderMohan Sharma. Dr. PardeepMahotra, Sanjita Dogra, ArunJamwal, Mohan Singh Rana,Surinder Sharma, AyodhyaGupta, Praduman Singh andRavish Mengi were the otherspeakers on the occasion,while District GeneralSecretaries Rajesh Gupta andKaran Sharma conducted pro-ceedings on the occasion.

Ashok Kaul paying tributesto the martyr Kuldeep Vermarecalled chain of events duringthe Amarnath Yatra land agita-tion. He said that since long,the region of Jammu has suf-fered due to the vicious cam-paign and policies that wereset in motion by SheikhAbdullah and as a resultJammu had to struggle hardfor every single thing. He saidthat today due to all the sacri-fices that have been made bythese great men like KuldeepVerma our efforts bore thefruit on the fateful day of 5thAugust 2019 when theArticles 370 and 35 (a) were

abrogated.Kaul said that we have to

remember every day, theefforts of legends likeMaharaja Hari Singh ji, theday of 26 October, when hesigned the Instrument ofAccession. Every major deci-sion we are able to witnesstoday comes as a result of sac-rifice by some great son ofsoil, he said and added that weneed to pay our respect to theplaces and to the persons wholaid down their lives in thelong struggle on 5th of Augustto tell their spirits that weacknowledge their sacrifices.

Sat Sharma said that theagitation during 2008 wasbased on strong sentiments ofcommon masses. He said thatthe then regime tried to force-fully suppress the agitation bythe patriotic people and withthe ever increasing atrocitiesby the then government andthe administration, many pre-cious lives were lost. He saidthat Kuldeep Verma whoalways lifted the spirits ofpeople with his poetry sacri-ficed his life at such a crucialtime that the agitation at oncewas beyond the control of theadministration and dictatorshad to lay their arms in frontof masses.

Prem Gupta, UrvashiGupta, Veena Gupta, GaurabPargal, Subhash Gupta, SatPaul Karlupia, Brijesh Gupta,Neeraj Gupta, PratibhaSharma, Veena Gurtoo,Sumanyu Gupta, SangeetaVerma, Sanjay Bhat, KuldeepMahajan, Kanav Gupta, JatinGupta, Sanjay Bakshi, RakeshGupta, Jai Singh, RamanSharma and others were alsopresent on the occasion.

Photo by Bikas Bhagat

Photo by Bikas Bhagat

Photo by Bikas Bhagat

Photo by Bikas Bhagat

TRUTH PREVAILJAMMU, FRIDAY, JULY 24, 20206 NATIONAL/STATE

Nizam Of Hyderabad's Descendants

Back In UK Court Over Historic FundsThe descendants of the

Nizam of Hyderabad onWednesday returned to theHigh Court in London tochallenge a court orderrelated to over 35 millionpounds lying in a UK bankaccount.

In a judgment handeddown at the Royal Courtsof Justice in London lastyear, Justice Marcus Smithhad ruled in favour of Indiaand the titular eighthNizam of Hyderabad andhis brother, who hadreached a confidentialagreement in a decades-oldlegal dispute with Pakistanover funds belonging to theseventh Nizam of

Hyderabad at the time ofPartition in 1947.

However, other descen-dants of the Nizam, NajafAli Khan on behalf of 116heirs of the late seventhNizam, sought to challengethat ruling this week byaccusing the administratorof the seventh Nizam'sestate of "breach of trust".

Mr Khan, appearingremotely from India, toldthe court that the fundswere released improperlyto India and the two princes- Prince Mukarram Jah andhis younger brotherMuffakham Jah - and alsoclaimed "chronic financialhardship".

"I determined the benefi-cial ownership of thatmoney in my judgment in2019... It is impossible toaccept that he can be enti-tled to reopen the proceed-ings," said Judge Smith,dismissing Najaf AliKhan''s attempt to reopenthe case.

However, the judge willcontinue to hear argumentsover Wednesday andThursday over allegationsof impropriety by theadministrator of late sev-enth Nizam's estate.

The administrator appar-ently holds around 400,000pounds from the money leftover following payments

made to the state of Indiaand the two princes basedon their confidential agree-ment over the total funds.

The arguments centrearound legal costs accruedin the case and WithersLLP, who have acted forthe VIII Nizam sincePakistan issued proceed-ings in 2013, returned tothe court along with barris-ter James Brithwell appear-ing on behalf of India.

"The Nizam VII wasbeneficially entitled to theFund and those claiming inright of Nizam VII - thePrinces and India - are enti-tled to have the sum paidout to their order," Justice

Smith had ruled in favourof India and PrincesMukarram and MuffakhamJah in October 2019.

The dispute revolvedaround 1,007,940 poundsand nine shillings trans-ferred in 1948 from thethen Nizam of Hyderabadto the high commissionerin Britain of the newly-formed state of Pakistan.That amount had sincegrown in a London bankaccount into 35 millionpounds as the Nizam'sdescendants, supported byIndia, claimed it belongedto them and Pakistancounter-claimed that it wasrightfully theirs.

River Breaches Banks In District Near

Guwahati, Residents EvacuatedGUWAHATI: Assam's

junior Health Minister andMLA Pijush Hazarika hasbeen working with res-cuers and relief managerson a boat to reach flood-hitpeople in the state'sMorigaon district, 75 kmeast of Guwahati.

On Tuesday, the riverthat flows down fromneighbouring Meghalayaswelled up due to heavyrains and breached itsbanks as the huge volumeof water could not enter theoverflowing Brahmaputra.

The flood situation inAssam is still serious, withover 26 lakh people affect-ed in 26 districts; 89 havedied.

Assam's Morigaon dis-trict, which has been hit bythe floods for over onemonth, is one of the worsthit with over 300 villagesaffected. Mayong circle inMorigaon has one of thehighest affected villages,150 in all, and heavy rainshave made this year'sfloods even more difficultto handle. In Gova Mouza,the river surge has left hun-dreds homeless overnight.They are now in relief

camps, from the elderly tochildren.

"The killing river gotflooded quickly. It was asudden flood. We some-how managed to escape.Today, water has recededhere but increasing in theother end," said RanjitBaishnab, a flood survivor.

Mr Hazarika said thistime the floods have beencompounded by spells ofheavy rains. The challengeis huge for the state gov-ernment that has the coron-avirus pandemic to dealwith too.

"In this area 70 panchay-ats are under water, largelyalso because Brahmaputraoverflowed. In my areathere is one embankment,but in the neighbouringarea another embankmenthas breached," the ministersaid.

In the neighbouring areathere is palpable tension onfresh floods.

"We are afraid and it's aconcern for us since run-ning away to safetybecomes our priority andour stuff get washedaway," said Janis Rajbhar,a villager.

NEW DELHI: As theSupreme Court hears his caseagainst his own party, SachinPilot, sources close to himtold NDTV, feels, "If I amdisqualified, my role in poli-tics is over."

The top court today has toweigh in on whether it canintervene to stop Mr Pilotfrom being disqualified as anMLA in Rajasthan, alongwith an entourage of 18 otherlegislators, who have sidedwith him in his confrontationwith the Congress.

The party says that MrPilot & Co can be removed asmembers of the legislaturebecause they have actedagainst the Congress byignoring orders to attendmeetings held recently byAshok Gehlot, the ChiefMinister of Rajasthan and MrPilot's adversary. Mr Pilotcontends that anti-defectionlaws do not hold when thehouse is not in session andthat his no-show at partymeetings is a gesture of dis-sent and freedom of expres-sion that cannot trigger puni-tive action.

"If I win the court battle, Iwill continue to fight for myrights within Congress,"those close to Mr Pilot said,reiterating a claim that theCongress and others havefound hard to stomach - thathe is not joining the BJP, aproclamation first made toNDTV two weeks ago. "Whywould I want to bring downthe Congress government,when the idea is to change theleadership (in Rajasthan)", heis reported to have said.

Two Sundays ago, MrPilot, then serving as DeputyChief Minister of Rajasthan,took his show on the road bydriving down to Delhi -hesaid he had 30 MLAs in hiscorner, enough to bring downthe government of MrGehlot. His express demandwas to replace Mr Gehlot asthe head of the Congress gov-ernment. To ensure his possewas not poached, he placedthem in a resort in Manesarnear Delhi with access cut offfor Mr Gehlot and the

Congress.Mr Gehlot did the same for

his lot of about 100 MLAs,planting them in a hotel nearJaipur where movies, cook-ing classes and yoga sessionshave been conducted to keepthem entertained. The yogahasn't helped mellow things-Mr Gehlot has issued a seriesof very personal put-downsagainst his former deputy,describing him as "nikkam-ma" (worthless) and "aninnocent face that disguiseddeep betrayal."

"Gehlot abuses me but isnot reprimanded by the highcommand," Mr Pilot ventedto sources last night. It is truethat the Gandhis, the FirstFamily of the Congress, havemade it clear that they wouldlike to work out a way toretain Mr Pilot. However,their emissaries have made itequally clear that Mr Pilotmust begin talks without anystrings attached. So, even asit sacked Mr Pilot as DeputyChief minister and moved toremove him as an MLA,offers of a return to the foldhave been conveyed.

Mr Gehlot apparently didnot get the memo - to ensure

that Mr Pilot is put in a posi-tion so red-hot that he cannotconsider a reconciliation withthe Congress, the ChiefMinister has shot off hismouth about Mr Pilot's manyshortcomings, in injudiciouslanguage.

Representatives for theGandhis had told NDTV thatin his conversation withPriyanka Gandhi Vadra, MrPilot asked to be made ChiefMinister within a year -some-thing that is not within therealm of possibility. MrPilot's aides, when askedabout this, did not respondbut his comments to them onwanting a change of leader-ship in his home state point tothe role he is eyeballing.

While Mr Pilot shrugs offany allegations of a tacit dealwith the BJP, the fact that hechose Haryana, ruled by theparty, to host his MLAs andhis choice of lawyers - HarishSalve and Mukul Rohatgi,both at the top of their gamewho represent the the BJPand/or the centre in importantcases (Mr Rohatgi was theAttorney General till 2017) -suggest he is not bereft ofBJP support.

"If Disqualified, My Politics Is Over":

Sources On Sachin Pilot's Stand

NEW DELHI: TheTrump administration hasmaintained close contact and"tremendous cooperation"with India on the latestChinese border aggression,America's top envoy in NewDelhi has said, asserting thatthe last six months have beenunprecedented in terms ofthe bilateral relationship.

The troops of India andChina were locked in astandoff in several areasalong the Line of ActualControl in eastern Ladakhsince May 5. The situationdeteriorated last month afterthe Galwan Valley clashesthat killed 20 Indian Armypersonnel in the line of duty.

"For now, (we are) watch-ing the issues on theNorthern border of India inwhich China has raised dis-putes throughout the Westernsector, but also in the centraland East. Throughout all ofthis, we've had very closecontact with our Indian coun-terparts and quite frankly,tremendous cooperation,"US Ambassador to India KenJuster said on Wednesday inhis address to the virtualIndia Ideas' Summit organ-ised by US India BusinessCouncil.

The ambassador's remarkscame two days after USDefence Secretary MarkEsper described the Chinesemilitary's aggressive activi-ties in the region as "destabil-ising".

Esper also said the US was"very closely" monitoringthe situation between Indiaand China along the Line ofActual Control.

"We have seen post the(India) visit of the Presidentseveral further conversationsbetween the President andthe Prime Minister. TheSecretary (of State) has spo-ken on numerous occasionswith (External Affairs) min-ister, Jaishankar. I think it'sreally solidified their rela-tionship," Mr Juster said.

Deputy Secretary of StateStephen Biegun has spokennot just with ForeignSecretary HarshvardhanShringla, but with a range ofcounterparts in the Indo-Pacific region, he said.

Mr Juster said there havebeen a host of ministerial-level interactions betweenthe two countries includingthe one between CommerceMinister Piyush Goyal andUS Trade RepresentativeRobert Lighthizer and

Commerce Secretary WilburRoss.

The two countries also hada strategic energy partnershipmeeting. It is showing thebreadth and the depth of theissues that the two countrieswork on together, he said.

"I think because of theintensity of the last sixmonths, we've really had anew level of comfort in deal-ing with each other, a degreeof trust and respect to getthings done," Mr Juster said.

"I remember, issues wehad and repatriation flights,where we had to get coopera-tion, not just from the homeministry and the ministry ofexternal affairs, but at thelocal levels with state offi-cials and with police officers.It shows the importance ofthese individual relation-ships," he said.

Through all of this and theintensity of the last sixmonths and the range ofemotions from an incrediblysuccessful presidential visitto dealing with lockdownand all the urgent issues thatcame out of that, "we''vereally transformed a strategicpartnership into a compre-hensive global strategic part-nership," Mr Juster said.

US Maintained "Close Contact" WithIndia On Chinese Aggression: Envoy

Bihar Floods: Close To Five

Lakh People Affected

NEW DELHI: Close tohalf a million people innearly a dozen districts inBihar have been affected bythe flood that has cut aswathe of destructionacross the northern parts ofthe state, the disaster man-agement department said.

A total of 4.6 lakh peoplein 245 panchayats of 10 dis-tricts have been affected bythe deluge that has dis-placed more than 13,000people. So far, 4,845 peoplehave been put up at 16 reliefcamps, according to arelease issued by the depart-ment.

However, there has beenno report of any loss of lifeso far, it stated.

According to the state'swater resources department,the Kosi, Budhi, Gandak,Kamala Balan and LalBakeya rivers, flowingabove the danger mark atmany places, have beenshowing a receding trend orwere stable.

Water ResourcesMinister Sanjay Kumar Jhaasserted in a statement that"all embankments in thestate are safe" despite anincrease in water pressurebecause of heavy rainfall inareas along north Bihar'sborder with Nepal earlierthis month and again in thelast 24 hours.

The minister claimed theembankments were "in bet-

ter shape than ever" onaccount of the use of sheetpile while repair workswere on before the calamitystruck.

"We are fully prepared.All repair works were com-plete before the floodscame. Surveys of the flood-prone areas have been madebeforehand with the help ofdrones. Personnel areinvolved in relief and res-cue work, and engineershave been deployed in areasdeemed to be vulnerable,"he added.

Life was affected in largeparts of Sitamarhi, Sheohar,Supaul, Kishanganj,Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur,Gopalganj, EastChamparan, WestChamparan and Khagariadistricts due to the flood.

Large parts of Areraj sub-division in East Champaranhave been marooned, SubDivisional OfficerDheerendra Mishra said."About 25,000 people from18 villages have fled theirhomes and are taking shel-ter, along with their live-stock, at nearby schoolbuildings."

NDRF Ninth Battalioncommandant Vijay Sinhasaid in a statement that 21teams have been pressedinto service in 12 districts,taking people to safety anddistributing food and otheressential items.

No Labour Amid Covid, Indian FarmersUse Machines In "Watershed Moment"R A I P U R

JATTAN/SINGAPORE:For more than two decades,farmer Ravindra Kajal culti-vated rice the way his fore-fathers had - every June heflooded his fields with waterbefore hiring an army offarmhands to plant paddyseedlings.

But a scarcity of workersthis year because of thecoronavirus forced Mr Kajalto change. He irrigated thefield just enough to moistenthe soil and leased a drillingmachine to directly sowseeds on his 9-acre plot.

"Since I was more thancomfortable with the tried-and-tested way of growingrice, I opted for the newmethod with some trepida-tion," said Mr Kajal, 46,looking over his field, greenwith rice saplings, in RaipurJattan village in Haryana.

"But I've already savedaround Rs 7,500 per acrebecause I hardly spent onwater and workers this

year," he said.India is the world's

biggest exporter of rice andthe world's second-biggestproducer after China.Across the country's grainbowl states of Haryana andneighbouring Punjab, thou-sands of farmers like MrKajal have been forced bythe coronavirus to mecha-nise planting.

They are still wary of thetechnology and overturningthe time-honoured use ofmanual labour.

But Kahan Singh Pannu,Punjab's AgricultureSecretary, is convinced ahistoric change is underwaythat could dramaticallyincrease India's rice output,which in turn could impactworld markets.

"It is no less than a revo-lution in Indian agriculture,"he told Reuters.

Government officials saythe so-called direct seedingof rice (DSR) method couldincrease yields by about

one-third and slash costs onworkers and water.

Government officials saythe so-called direct seedingof rice (DSR) method couldincrease yields by aboutone-third and slash costs onworkers and water.

The DSR machines allowfarmers to grow more than30 saplings per square metreagainst the usual 15 to 18seedlings, said NareshGulati, a state governmentfarm official in Punjab.

Punjab is the home of the1960s Green Revolutionthat led to a spike in cropyields. This year, farmersthere have used seed drillingmachines to sow rice onmore than half a millionhectares, a big increasecompared with less than50,000 hectares in 2019,growers and governmentofficials said.

Mr Pannu expects DSRuse to jump again next year.

"More and more farmersare using the DSR technolo-

gy which seems to be sopromising that the entire 2.7million hectares of Punjab'srice area could come underit next year, which will be awatershed for India's riceproduction," he said.

Avinash Kishore, aresearch fellow at theW a s h i n g t o n - b a s e dInternational Food PolicyResearch Institute (IFPRI),said if this year's crop wasgood, DSR would be theway forward. "The scale ofthis year's shift to the DSRis a momentous change inrice cultivation in India," hesaid.

Sudhanshu Singh, a sen-ior agronomist at theInternational Rice ResearchInstitute in the Philippines,said the shift to DSR was"one of the rare positivefallouts from COVID."

None of the world's majorrice exporting nations -India, Vietnam and Thailand- makes significant use ofseeding machines.

AYODHYA: Ayodhya'sRam Temple will be 161-foottall, the temple architect hassaid, adding that the originaldesign - prepared in 1988 -mentioned its height as 141feet. The construction willbegin after a grand ground-breaking ceremony on August5 that will be attended byPrime Minister NarendraModi and a host of otherVIPS.

"The earlier design was

prepared in 1988. Over 30years have passed... the foot-fall is likely to increase.People are also very enthusi-astic about visiting the tem-ple. So we thought its sizeshould be increased. As perthe revised design, the heightof the temple has beenincreased from 141-feet to161-feet," Nikhil Sompura, anarchitect and son of CSompura, chief architect ofthe temple, told news agencyANI.

Two mandaps have alsobeen added to the design, hesaid.

"All pillars and the stonesthat were carved based on theearlier design will still beused. Only two ''mandaps''have been added," he added.

The construction of templewill take around 3.5 years, MrSompura mentioned.

"Once the ''bhoomi pujan''(ground breaking ceremony)is done in the presence of thePrime Minister, the construc-tion work will start. The team

of L&T, along with machin-ery and materials, havereached the spot and the workon foundation will start rightaway. It will take 3 to 3.5years for the completion ofthe work," he was quoted assaying by the news agency.

Three-day long Vedic ritu-als will be held ahead of thegrand ground- breaking cere-mony, which will revolvearound the installation of a 40kg silver brick as the founda-tion stone by the PrimeMinister.

The rituals will begin onAugust 3, news agency PTIreported.

Not more than 50 VIPs willattend the event, which wasdelayed by more than twomonths due to the coronavirusoutbreak.

Giant CCTV screens havebeen put up across Ayodhyaso the devotees can watch theprogramme, said the ShriRam Janmabhoomi TeerthaKshetra, which has beentasked with the temple.

Ayodhya's Ram Temple Will Be 161-

Foot Tall, An Increase Of 20 Feet

GUWAHATI: At least 48persons have lost their lives inJapanese Encephalitis (JE)and other such AcuteEncephalitis Syndrome(AES) out of 331 cases acrossAssam this year, the NationalHealth Mission (NHM) saidon Wednesday.

The National Vector BorneDisease Control Programme(NVBDCP) held a video-con-ference with all districts toreview the status of AES andJE in Assam, a joint statementby the health department andthe NHM's state unit said.

"The state currently has331 AES cases and 48 deaths,which includes 148 Non-JEcases, 24 Non-JE deaths and183 JE cases, 24 JE deaths," itadded.

The video-conference waschaired by Health and FamilyWelfare Commissioner andSecretary Monalisa Goswamiin the presence of NHMMission DirectorLakshmanan S and other offi-cials.

Ms Goswami reviewed thestatus of the diseases in thestate and instructed all con-cerned to ensure that the labo-ratories are functional andreplace the Elisa Reader andWasher (equipment for test-ing), wherever needed.

She also directed to ensure

availability and earmarking ofJE beds in all district hospi-tals and medical colleges totreat the patients of the mos-quito-borne diseases, thestatement said.

Ms Goswami directed herdepartment officials to close-ly monitor the activities andfollow up on the treatmentwith the JE patients.

"The monitoring and super-vision need to be strength-ened and IEC/awarenessactivities too should be rigor-ously done at all the districtsand special focus should alsobe given at the tea gardenareas in Assam," the state-ment said. Ms Goswami fur-ther instructed all officialsconcerned to regularly con-

duct field visits to ensure thatthe District Task Force meet-ings are conducted in closecoordination with variousdepartments for a better man-agement of AES and JE in thenortheastern state.

"The VC concluded withthe final remarks of theCommissioner and Secretary,instructing all concerned offi-cials to work in cohesion withthe different departments forbetter management of AES/JEin state," the statement said.

On Tuesday night, thehealth department said in itsdaily COVID-19 bulletin thattwo persons had died due tomalaria of the 211 reportedcases, while the state has seen18 dengue cases so far.

48 Dead In Acute Encephalitis

Syndrome In Assam So Far This Year

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and Fourms in Jammu and Kashmir.

River Breaches Banks In District Near

Guwahati, Residents Evacuated

AMETHI: Father of anArmy soldier was killedallegedly by neighbours overa fight regarding damage inthe wall of the adjoininghouses, police said onTuesday.

According to police, theincident happened atShukulpur Village underSangrampur police station ofAmethi district on Tuesdayevening.

"Surya Prakash Mishra,son of Rajendra Mishra saidthat his father was killed byneighbours over a fightregarding damage in the wallof the adjoining houses. Hewas injured when neighboursattacked him but died whenhe was brought toCommunity Health Centre(CHC)," Amethi SP KhyatiGarg said while speaking toreporters.

"We are investigating thematter and will take strongaction," she added.

Dr Alok Tripathi at CHCsaid, "Rajendra PrasadMishra was badly injured inthe fight. He died on the way

to the hospital. When hearrived here, he was dead."

Surya Prakash alleged thatthe neighbours killed hisfather when he was not athome. "Our neighboursAshok Kumar, VagishKumar, Chandrabhan,Gaurav and Satyam bargedin our house and beat myfather badly, because ofwhich he died," he said.

"We have informed thepolice earlier when we had afight over damage in the wallof the adjoining houses, butno action was taken by thepolice. Today suddenly thosepeople barged into our housewhile nobody was in thehouse, and killed my father. Iserve the country myself, Iam a young man of the coun-try and if I cannot save myfather, what will I do for thecountry. Today I feel veryashamed for not being able tosave my family, which pro-tects the entire country. Werequest the administration totake immediate action toarrest all 6 people immedi-ately." he added.

TRUTH PREVAILJAMMU, FRIDAY, JULY 24, 20207 HEALTH

Until now, people withinoperable triple-negativebreast cancer had one treat-ment option: chemotherapy.But this month, the U.S.Food and DrugAdministration (FDA)grantedTrusted Sourceaccelerated approval to thefirst immunotherapy treat-ment for breast cancer. Itcombines the drug ate-zolizumab (Tecentriq) witha form of chemotherapy.

This development is bignews because the drug gar-nered the first positive phase3 trial for an immunothera-py drug to treat breast can-cer. The treatment was alsofirst to show a substantialsurvival benefit for peoplewith triple-negative breastcancer, one of the mostaggressive forms of the dis-ease.

Going forward, it opensthe field to a large develop-ment program, Dr.PeteSchmid, PhD, one of theresearchers from QueenMary University of London,told Healthline.

Tecentriq is the brandname of the immunotherapydrug atezolizumab. It hasalready been approved totreat specific types of uri-nary and lung cancers.

A study published last fallin the New England Journal

of Medicine found that thetherapy extended progres-sion-free survival, whichrefers to a duration of timein which a person’s cancerdoesn’t worsen. Those whoused the drug had a medianprogression-free survival of7.4 months compared to 4.8months for those who onlyreceived the chemotherapywith a placebo.

“This is the first timeimmunotherapy has workedin such a difficult-to-treatcancer,” Schmid said in thestatement.

Schmid said moreresearch is needed to see ifthe drug could work onother types or earlier stagesof breast cancer.

How it worksAtezolizumab is an anti-

body that attaches to a PD-

L1, a protein in the cancercells, explained LeishaEmens, PhD, a professor atthe University of PittsburghMedical Center HillmanCancer Center, who workedon the trial.

That protein is expressedalmost exclusively withimmune cells in a tumor.The drug binds to the PD-L1protein and releases theimmune cells in the tumorso they can fight the cancer.Chemotherapy is part of thetreatment because it maydecrease the burden oftumor the immune systemhas to fight and may boostthe ability of the immunecells to attack the cancer.

“With this approval, wenow have a targeted agentfor the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer, and

this targeted agent engagesthe immune system,” Emenssaid.

“People using this drugcombination who respond toit may ultimately enjoy alonger response to the thera-py due to activation of theimmune system and theability of the immuneresponse to persist,” sheadded.

But this new drug comeswith a hefty price tag,according to the AssociatedPress. The news outletreported that atezolizumabcosts about $13,400 permonth.

Dr. Amy Tiersten, a breastoncologist at the DubinBreast Center at TischCancer Institute at MountSinai in New York City, wasthrilled about the drug’sapproval and said it shouldbe covered by insurance.

Why it gets acceleratedapproval

The FDA’s acceleratedapproval is granted for cer-tain drugs that treat seriousconditions and fill an unmetneed. The manufacturer ofthe drug is still required toconduct additional trials andis expected to submit morefindings by September nextyear. Upon those results, thedrug could garner traditionalapproval.

FDA Approves First Immunotherapy Drug

for Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

What is immunotherapy?Immunotherapy is a new

area of cancer treatment. Inrecent years, this type of treat-ment has proven successful inincreasing survival rates inpeople with certain types ofcancer. This includes metastat-ic prostate cancer and metasta-tic lung cancer.

Researchers have also beenlooking at immunotherapy formetastatic breast cancer.

For some time, they didn’tagree on the role of theimmune system in breast can-cer. More recent researchshows that the immune systemhas an important role. In fact,the first immunotherapy forbreast cancer was approved bythe Food and DrugAdministration (FDA) in early2019.

Keep reading to learn moreabout how immunotherapyworks and the types ofimmunotherapy now beingstudied for treating breast can-cer.

TREATING METASTATICBREAST CANCER

Metastatic breast cancer dif-fers from one person to anoth-er, depending on where thecancer’s spread. Treatment canvary quite a bit and must betailored to your needs. It gen-erally focuses on preventingrecurrences, eliminating orreducing pain, and maintain-ing your quality of life.

How does immunotherapywork?

Immunotherapy is a type oftreatment that uses the body’sown immune system to attackcancer cells. The immune sys-tem works by attacking sub-stances in the body it doesn’trecognize. This includes virus-es, bacteria, and cancer cells.Cancer cells present a bigchallenge, because they maynot seem very different fromnormal cells to the immunesystem. Immunotherapy helpsthe immune system work bet-ter to fight the cancer cells.

Different types ofimmunotherapy work in dif-

ferent ways. Some types workby boosting your immune sys-tem to help it work better.Others give your immune sys-tem more tools, such as anti-bodies, to attack specific can-cer cells.

There are four main types ofimmunotherapy thatresearchers are studying totreat metastatic breast cancer:

checkpoint inhibitorscancer vaccinesadoptive T cell therapymonoclonal antibodiesWhat are checkpoint

inhibitors?The immune system has

certain checkpoints that helpkeep it from attacking normalcells in the body. These check-points can also weaken theimmune system’s attack oncancer cells.

Checkpoint inhibitors aredrugs that prevent certaincheckpoints from working.This makes the immuneresponse stronger. The FDAhas approved several drugs inthis class for use in melanomaand metastatic lung cancer.

Clinical trials on checkpointinhibitors used alone and incombination with other thera-pies are also underway forpeople with metastatic ortriple-negative breast cancer.

In March 2019, the FDAapproved the firstimmunotherapy drug combi-nation for triple-negativebreast cancer.

This drug combinationincludes the checkpointinhibitor atezolizumab(Tecentriq) and the chemother-apy drug nab-paclitaxel(Abraxane).

Tecentriq blocks PD-L1, aprotein that keeps the immunesystem from attacking cancercells. Tecentriq is used togeth-er with Abraxane to maximizeimpact.

What are cancer vaccines?Cancer vaccines work by

stimulating a type of immunitythat attacks and kills cancercells.

The first FDA approved

cancer vaccine, sipuleucel-T(Provenge), was created forpeople with metastaticprostate cancer. This vaccinehas been shown to increaseoverall survivalTrusted Sourcein people with metastaticprostate cancer.

Researchers are studyingmany vaccine strategies inpeople with breast cancer.Some researchers believebreast cancer vaccines maywork best when combinedwith other therapies. Peoplewho haven’t received muchbreast cancer treatment mayalso benefit from vaccines.

Vaccines can take months tocause an immune response, sothey may not be appropriatefor very late stage cancerswhen used alone. They maystill play an important rolewhen used with other thera-pies. Research in this area isongoing. In October 2019,Florida based Mayo Clinicresearchers announced a vac-cine they’d developed hadeliminated cancer cells in theirfirst clinical trial participant.The clinical trial participanthad received a diagnosis ofearly stage breast cancerknown as ductal carcinoma insitu (DCIS). One researcherdid note that people with stage4 breast cancer had also seenpromising results after partici-pating in a different vaccineclinical trial.

You know how mammo-grams are supposed to helpyou spot breast cancer earlyso you have a better chanceat survival?

Yeah, I bought into that,too. I dutifully went throughthose smash-and-screens foryears, until early 2011 whenI looked in the mirror andnoticed a weird little dentjust below my left nipple.

That dent turned out to belobular breast cancer. Stage3.

And I had four clumps ofit, two in each breast. Thetumors had been growingslowly and stealthily foryears, maybe even as long asI’d been going in for thosedang mammograms.

Never heard of lobular? Ihadn’t either. But invasive(invisible, more like) lobularcarcinoma is the sixth mostdiagnosed cancer in women.

At least, when you break itout from its sister and part-ner-in-crime invasive ductalcarcinoma (IDC).

Lobular breast cancer gotlost in the research shuffleyears ago

Ductal breast cancer —the kind that makes a lump— accounts for about 80percent of breast cancers.

Lobular, ILC for short,accounts for around 10 per-cent — or just 1 in 10 inva-sive cases.

The numbers are fuzzybecause lobular hasn’t reallybeen studied all that much.In a breast cancer paper inthe late 1970s, a leadingresearcher basically said:“Look, women with lobulardie at the same rates aswomen with ductal, so let’sjust stick with what we’redoing.”

“There are no special con-

siderations regarding itsmanagement,” he wrote.And that was that.

Unfortunately, this partic-ular flavor of breast cancer(there are several) is not thesame and shouldn’t be treat-ed the same.

Lobular is notoriouslyhard to image — in mam-mography and other scans.As a result, people with lob-ular are often diagnosed at alater stage, like me.

Every one of my cancerdocs called it “sneaky,” say-ing it’s harder to spotbecause it doesn’t usuallymake a lump.

Lobular hiding withinalready difficult-to-screendense breast tissue? That’s adouble-whammy (which isalso how I ended up with myTwitter handle and blog,Double Whammied).

In the 9 years since my

treatment, I’ve figured out alot about lobular, and cancer,in general. I even work at acancer research center thesedays, not as a scientist, but ascience writer.

Interestingly, the placeeven has some lobular histo-ry. Back in 2000, epidemiol-ogists at the FredHutchinson CancerResearch Center in Seattlediscovered ILC breast can-cer rates were on the rise.When they analyzed datafrom a huge Women’sHealth InitiativestudyTrusted Source, theyquickly figured out why.

Women had recentlybegun using hormonereplacement therapy (HRT)to deal with their menopausesymptoms. Along with help-ing curb hot flashes, it alsogave a lot of them lobularbreast cancer. Strokes, too.

And blood clots.The FDA put the kibosh

on the use of HRT andthere’s been a ragingdebateTrusted Source aboutit ever since.

And lobular? It kind of gotlost in the shuffle.

Instead of figuring outhow and why a combinationof estrogen and progestinwould drive this cancer, the

powers-that-be decided lob-ular was already solved. Itwas just another estrogenreceptor positive breast can-cer, like ductal. Nothing tosee here.

Lobular got lumped inagain with its big sister,despite clear molecular dif-ferences. And the needle onknowledge again stoppedmoving.

Invasive Lobular Carcinoma Is an Understudied Form of Breast Cancer. It’s Time to Change That

Can Immunotherapy Be Used for

Metastatic Breast Cancer?

The Best Metastatic Breast

Cancer Blogs of the yearBreast cancer is the most

common cancer affectingwomen around the world.The Centers for DiseaseControl andPreventionTrusted Sourceestimate that about 231,800women and 2,100 men in theUnited States were diag-nosed with breast cancer in2013.

Metastasis is when cancercells spread to other parts ofthe body. Breast cancerstarts in the breasts and trav-els to the lymph system andblood stream to get to therest of the body, where itthen grows new tumors.Common areas for metastat-ic breast cancer are thelungs, liver, brain, andbones. Once breast cancerhas become metastatic, it’smuch harder to treat. Thefive-year survival rate is98.8 percent for localizedbreast cancer and 26.3 per-cent for metastatic breastcancer, according to theNational Cancer Institute.However, there are stilltreatment options that canhelp extend and maintainquality of life for as long aspossible.

Living with cancer ischallenging, both physicallyand emotionally. It can beextremely comforting toknow that there are othersout there experiencing thesame struggles and feelingsthat you are.

Is back pain a sign of breast can-cer?

Back pain isn’t one of the hallmarksymptoms of breast cancer. It’s morecommon to have symptoms like alump in your breast, a change in theskin over your breast, or a change inyour nipple.

Yet pain anywhere, including inyour back, can be a sign of breast can-cer that has spread. This is calledmetastatic breast cancer.

When cancer spreads, it can getinto the bones and weaken them. Painin the back could be a sign that aspinal bone has fractured or that thetumor is pressing on the spinal cord.

It’s important to remember that

back pain is a very common condi-tion. It’s much more commonlycaused by conditions such as:

muscle strainsarthritisdisc problemsIf the pain is severe and you have

other breast cancer symptoms or ahistory of breast cancer, see your doc-tor to have it checked out.

Metastatic breast cancerWhen doctors diagnose breast can-

cer, they assign it a stage. That stageis based on whether the cancer hasspread and, if so, how far it hasspread.

Cancer stages are numbered 1through 4. Stage 4 breast cancer is

metastatic. That means it’s spread toother parts of the body, like the lungs,bones, liver, or brain.

Breast cancer can spread in a cou-ple of different ways:

cancer cells from the breast canmove into nearby tissues

cancer cells travel through thelymph vessels or blood vessels to dis-tant sites. When breast cancer spreadsto other organs, it’s still called breastcancer. Symptoms of metastaticbreast cancer depend on which organsit has invaded. Back pain can be asign that the cancer has spread to thebones. Other symptoms of metastaticbreast cancer include:

headaches, vision problems,seizures, nausea, or vomiting if it’sspread to the brain

yellow skin and eyes, abdominalpain, nausea and vomiting, andappetite loss if it’s spread to the liver

chronic cough, chest pain, andtrouble breathing if it’s spread to thelungs

Metastatic breast cancer can alsocause more general symptoms, suchas:

fatigueweight lossappetite lossDiagnosisIf you have symptoms such as a

breast lump, pain, nipple discharge,or a change in the shape or look of abreast, your doctor may do some orall of the following tests to see if youhave breast cancer:

Mammograms use X-rays to takepictures of the breast. This screeningtest can show whether there’s a tumorinside the breast.

Ultrasound uses sound waves tocreate a picture of the breast. It canhelp a doctor tell whether a growth inthe breast is solid, like a tumor, orfilled with liquid, like a cyst.

MRI uses a powerful magnet andradio waves to create detailed pic-tures of the breast. These pictures canhelp a doctor identify any tumors.

Biopsy removes a sample of tissuefrom your breast. The cells are testedin a lab to see if they’re cancerous.

If the doctor suspects that cancerhas spread, one or more of these testscan check where it is.

Laird “Smitty” Smith is intreatment for stage 3 lungcancer.

At 72 years old, he alsowalks every day, plays golftwice a week, and mows hisown yard.

Smitty is being treated byDr. Carolyn Presley, a tho-racic medical oncologist atThe Ohio State UniversityComprehensive CancerCenter (OSUCCC)–ArthurG. James Cancer Hospitaland Richard J. SoloveResearch Institute.

He’s also enrolled in theFITNESS study, a projectdesigned to assess the physi-cal and mental fitness ofolder cancer patients and theeffect that may have on clin-ical outcomes.

“Biologic age does notequal chronological age,”Presley told Healthline. “A70-year-old could be ashealthy as a 50-year-old anda 50-year-old can be as frailas someone who is 80. Ageis not necessarily telling thewhole story.”

Older vs. younger cancerpatients

Jamie Fertal, DO, is med-ical director of theOutpatient Palliative CareClinic,The Center forCancer Prevention andTreatment at St. JosephHospital in California.

Among her specialties arepalliative care and geriatrics.

Fertal told Healthline thatpeople over 65 have uniqueproblems and needs com-pared to those who areyounger.

“They’re typically on farmore medications than theiryounger counterparts, sothere’s more possibility fordrug interactions,” she said.

“Many older patients startto develop frailty, which is asyndrome that includesweakness and loss of skele-tal muscle and susceptibilityto disability. And you cancertainly imagine how thatwould affect the ability towithstand chemotherapy,”she added.

Cognitive issues also needto be considered.

“Significant cognitiveimpairment would be adeterrent to treat with

aggressive chemotherapies.The strict compliancerequired can be a challengewith cognitive impairment,”said Fertal.

She explained that olderpatients typically need morephysical, psychological, andpractical support, such asrides to treatment.

“Many of these factors aresort of taken for granted withyounger patients,” saidFertal.

The FITNESS studyDr. Carolyn Presley, a tho-

racic medical oncologistwho is part of the FITNESSstudy. Photo courtesy of TheOhio State University

The Cancer and AgingResiliency (CARE) Clinic atThe Ohio State University isdesigned to meet the needsof older adults with cancer.

The clinic recommendstreatment based on “biologi-cal age” rather than chrono-logical age. Presley said theFITNESS study is open toolder adults with lung andblood cancers, noting theremay be a stigma associatedwith “geriatric” assessment.

So far, the study hasaccrued 27 patients, with agoal of 50.

Presley explained thatprior studies have involvedin-depth geriatric assess-ment but only before treat-ment started.

In the FITNESS study,participants are followedclosely for side effects andgeriatric assessmentthroughout the course oftreatment. “We want tounderstand side effects bet-ter. We have a lot of newertreatments and we don’tknow how older adults willtolerate and respond tothem,” she said.

The geriatric assessmentis a comprehensive visit.

“We’re really looking tosee how the patient is func-tioning,” said Presley. “Canthey still take care of them-

selves? How’s their mobilityand nutrition? Are they vul-nerable or fit? Can they tol-erate treatment?”

It’s important to know if apatient is able to take med-ications as prescribed ontheir own or if they wouldneed assistance.

“Treatment itself caninvolve taking a pill. Andevery treatment relies ontaking other medications forthings like nausea, diarrhea,constipation. Sometimeslifestyle changes areinvolved,” said Presley.

That’s why it’s importantto understand how well aperson functions and whattype of support system theyhave around them.

“We also do blood andstool tests to check themicrobiome bacteria thatlive in the gut.

Why People of Different Ages NeedDifferent Cancer Treatments

Justice Ruth BaderGinsburg announced Fridaythat she’s currently undergo-ing cancer treatment.

“On May 19, I began acourse of chemotherapy(gemcitabine) to treat arecurrence of cancer,”Ginsburg said in a July 17statement. “A periodic scanin February followed by abiopsy revealed lesions onmy liver. My recent hospital-izations to remove gallstones and treat an infectionwere unrelated to this recur-rence.”

First admitted to SibleyMemorial Hospital inWashington, D.C., withfever and chills, Ginsburgwas admitted to The JohnsHopkins Hospital inBaltimore, Maryland, onJuly 14, according to arecent Supreme Court state-ment.

That afternoon, the 87-year-old justice underwentan endoscopic procedure toclean out a bile duct stentplaced last year.

According to the court,she’s resting and will spendthe next few days in hospitalreceiving intravenous antibi-otic treatment.

Cancer treatmentGinsburg said “initial

immunotherapy had provedunsuccessful,” but a recentscan found “significantreduction of the liver lesionsand no new disease.”

She added that she’s toler-ating chemotherapy well,and is encouraged by thesuccess of current treatment.

She confirmed that sheremains fully able to act as a

member of the Supreme

Court.“Satisfied that my treat-

ment course is now clear, Iam providing this informa-tion,” Ginsburg said. “I willcontinue bi-weeklychemotherapy to keep mycancer at bay, and am able tomaintain an active daily rou-tine. Throughout, I have keptup with opinion writing andall other Court work.”

Dr. Hisham El-Bayar,FACS, director of the liver,bile duct, and pancreas pro-gram at the Center forCancer Prevention andTreatment at St. JosephHospital in Orange County,California, told Healthlinethat treatment “should notaffect her cognitive abilitiesat all. Especially since she isso sharp to begin with, but[it] may affect her stamina.”

El-Bayar isn’t involved inGinsburg’s cancer treatment.

Pancreatic cancer one ofthe most deadly

Ginsburg first received apancreatic cancer diagnosisin 2009 but announced arecurrence last year. She’salso received treatment forlung and colon cancer.

According to JohnsHopkins University, pancre-atic cancer is the fourth-leading cause of cancerdeath for both men andwomen.

Pancreatic cancer is treat-able when caught early, butmany cases aren’t diagnoseduntil a later stage.

The American CancerSociety projects more than47,000 deaths in 2020 frompancreatic cancer.

Risk factors for pancreaticcancer include:

smokingbeing of Ashkenazi

Jewish descenthaving chronic pancreati-

tis or the BRCA2, p16,STK11 gene mutation

being over age 50El-Bayar says there’s

some evidence that the dis-ease is associated with diet,particularly a Western one,and that obesity is a risk fac-tor as well.

He emphasizes pancreaticcancer isn’t entirely prevent-able, and the only way toscreen for it is “in patientswith strong family history orgenetic disposition, but eventhen survival [is] not good.”

However, in Ginsburg’scase, he says the odds are inher favor.

“If caught early and in theright position like hers, sheshould have a 50 percent ormore cure, since it wasfound by accident and wasvery small from what I haveread,” El-Bayar said.

“Survival is not necessari-ly based on age, but the can-cer itself as well as the stage.It is not curable without sur-gery, which she had,” hesaid.

Long history fighting thedisease

Ginsburg has fought a 20-year battle against differentcancers.

She had surgery for coloncancer in 1999, received herfirst diagnosis of pancreaticcancer in 2009, and wastreated for lung cancer inDecember 2018, reports theAssociated Press.

Dr. Alan Venook, a pan-creatic cancer specialist atthe University of California,San Francisco, who’s notinvolved in Ginsburg’s care,told the Associated Pressthat cancer spreading to herliver means “clearly, she’sgot incurable disease now.”

Venook confirmed thatimmunotherapy, whichGinsburg’s statement saidshe tried unsuccessfully,hasn’t worked well for pan-creatic cancer, and thechemotherapy drug gemc-itabine, which Ginsburg saidshe’s receiving, is one oftenused.

What to Know About Justice Ruth

Bader Ginsburg’s Cancer Recurrence

Is Back Pain a Warning Sign

for Breast Cancer?

TRUTH PREVAILJAMMU, FRIDAY, JULY 24, 20208 INTErNATIONAL

They Rushed To Help People During The

Pandemic. They Were Executed On VideoFive men vanished in June

while delivering food, waterand medical supplies to remotepockets of northeasternNigeria, where the coronaviruspandemic collided with adecade-long conflict.

They resurfaced Wednesdayin a gruesome video, whichshowed the final moments oftheir lives.

Suspected Boko Haram mil-itants captured the men - allNigerians who worked forinternational aid groups andthe government - in a bid forransom money, authorities say,and then executed them oncamera.

"This is a message to theinfidels who are using you tocheat and turn our people intounbelievers," an unidentifiedvoice said in Hausa, accordingto footage published by localmedia outlets. NigerianPresident MuhammaduBuhari's office condemned theviolence in a statement andextended his condolences tothe victims' families. "Heassures them that his govern-ment will continue to do all itcan to ensure that everyremaining vestige of BokoHaram is wiped out complete-ly from northeastern Nigeria,"the president's spokesman,Garba Shehu, said in the state-ment, "and that the perpetra-tors of this atrocity face thelaw." But some residents ofBorno state - the stronghold ofBoko Haram and an offshoot,the Islamic State in WestAfrica - expressed frustrationover the government's failureto oust the extremist groups,

which have killed more than30,000 people since 2009.

The latest slaughter, theysaid, comes as the need forhelp is especially acute.Regular attacks haven't sloweddown - militants killed 81 peo-ple on a single afternoon lastmonth - and the coronavirusadds another deadly threat.

"No one will want to go towhere he or she will be made atarget for abduction andkilling," said Allen Manasseh,a government worker inMaiduguri, the capital ofBorno state. "It will affect thehumanitarian situation in waysthat you cannot imagine."

By Wednesday, Africa'smost populous country hadcounted 37,801 cases and 805deaths. Doctors in the biggestcity, Lagos, have gone onstrike, citing a lack of protec-tive equipment, and those inrural communities have alsoreported dire shortages.

Travel is hazardous inBorno, residents say, becauseextremist groups are known toblock roads and ambush driv-

ers."Where is the government's

motivation for any humanitari-an worker to want to work inhard-to-reach areas?" said SaniMamman, a 37-year-old civilservant in Maiduguri. "No oneis going to guarantee the safe-ty of those in the danger zone."Kidnapping is a common men-ace in the northeast, he added.Extremists are known to forcepeople into their ranks and seeglobal nonprofit workers aspotential paydays. Those whotake the most dangerousassignments are often from thecommunities they serve, saidAbubakar Sadiq Kurbe, apolitical scientist inMaiduguri.

"They are angels," he said."Even the places where thegovernment can't access, theygo." The militants abductedthe men this summer as theytraveled on the main road toMaiduguri from the northerntown of Mondongo - the samestretch of highway where fourother aid workers were killedlast December.

"Polls Driving Washington Mad": China

Media On Houston Consulate ClosureSHANGHAI: The move

by the United States govern-ment to shut down China'sconsulate in Houston is anattempt to blame Beijing forAmerican failures ahead ofpresidential elections inNovember, Chinese statemedia said in editorials pub-lished on Thursday.

The United States said onWednesday it had givenChina 72 hours to close theconsulate "to protectAmerican intellectual prop-erty and Americans' privateinformation".

The decision marked adramatic escalation of ten-sions between the world'stwo biggest economiesamid fresh accusations ofChinese espionage in theUnited States and calls byU.S. Secretary of StateMike Pompeo for a newglobal coalition againstBeijing.

China's embassy to theUnited States described themove to close the Houstonconsulate as a "politicalprovocation" and called onWashington to "immediate-ly revoke" the decision.Foreign ministry spokes-woman Hua Chunyingwrote on Twitter that Chinawould "surely react withfirm countermeasures".

The official English-lan-guage newspaper ChinaDaily described the move as"a new gambit in the U.S.administration's bid to paintChina as a malevolent actoron the world stage, and thusmake it an outlaw to the

international community.""The move shows that

lagging behind his presiden-tial election opponent in thepolls... the US leader isgoing all out in his attemptsto portray China as an agentof evil," it added.

The Global Times, anEnglish-language tabloidrun by the CommunistParty's People's Daily news-paper, also accused U.S.President Donald Trump ofplaying politics.

? "The November presi-dential election is drivingWashington mad," it said.

In a statement released onThursday morning, theChinese embassy inWashington accused theUnited States of "ground-less fabrications" about theactions of China's diplomat-ic missions and urged it to"immediately revoke thiserroneous decision".

"It's time to step on thebrakes and return to theright direction!" theembassy posted separatelyon its official Twitteraccount.

According to U.S. courtfilings, the Federal Bureauof Investigation is alsoalleging that a Chineseresearcher accused of visafraud and concealing ties tothe military is now holed upin China's consulate in SanFrancisco.

Other Chineseresearchers at U.S. universi-ties have also been arrestedfor visa fraud, the filingsshowed.

UNITED NATIONS:World leaders will submitpre-recorded video state-ments for the UnitedNations General Assemblysession in September, the193-member organisationhas decided, as heads ofstate and government willnot be physically attendingthe annual gathering due tothe coronavirus pandemicand the high-level sessiongoes virtual for the first timein the UN's 75-year history.The landmark 75th sessionof the UN GeneralAssembly will begin onSeptember 15. The GeneralDebate is held at the begin-ning of each session of theGeneral Assembly and usu-ally runs for over a weekwhen leaders and ministersfrom the 193 UN memberstates address the worldfrom the iconic lectern in theGeneral Assembly hall.

The General Assemblyadopted a decision onWednesday that "eachMember State, observerState and the EuropeanUnion can submit a pre-recorded statement of itsHead of State, Vice-President, Crown Prince orPrincess, Head ofGovernment, Minister orVice-Minister, which will beplayed in the GeneralAssembly Hall during the

general debate of theAssembly at its seventy-fifthsession, the high-level meet-ing to commemorate theseventy-fifth anniversary ofthe United Nations and thehigh-level meetings.

..after introduction bytheir representative who isphysically present in theAssembly Hall."

While taking the decision,the General Assembly noted"with concern" the situationregarding the coronaviruspandemic and the "limita-tions recommended onmeetings within the UnitedNations premises as precau-tionary measures aimed atcontaining the spread ofCOVID-19".

The new format will meanthat it will be for the firsttime in the world organisa-tion's 75-year history thatglobal leaders will not gath-er here for the high-levelweek that annually bringsthousands of diplomats,government officials, civilsociety members and mediapersons from around theworld to New York City.

Telecommuting arrange-ments have been in place atthe UN headquarters heresince mid-March as coron-avirus spread rapidly acrossNew York, making the statethe epicentre of the pandem-ic in the US.

Green Card Wait List For An Indian

More Than 195 Years, Says US Senator

WASHINGTON: Thebacklog for an Indian nationalto get permanent residency orGreen Card is more than 195years, a top Republican sena-tor has said, urging his Senatecolleagues to come out with alegislative resolution toaddress this problem.

A Green Card, known offi-cially as a PermanentResident Card, is a documentissued to immigrants to theUS as evidence that the bearerhas been granted the privilegeof residing permanently.

Senator Mike Lee said onWednesday that the currentGreen Card policy did nothingfor the child of an immigrantwhose dead parent's GreenCard application was ulti-mately denied because his orher job was no longer avail-able. "Someone from Indiaentering the backlog todaywould have to wait 195 yearsto receive an EB-3 green card.Even if we give their childrenthis limbo status, none ofthem will have a prayer ofbecoming a US citizen," MrLee said on the Senator floor.

In fiscal year 2019, Indiannationals received 9,008 cate-gory 1 (EB1), 2,908 category2 (EB2), and 5,083 category 3(EB3) Green Cards. EB1-3are different categories ofemployment-based GreenCards. Lee, the senator fromUtah, was speaking on thelegislation moved by SenatorDick Durbin that seeks to pro-tect immigrant workers andtheir children who are stuck inthe green card backlog.

"Green cards are critical inthe lives of so many who arehere on temporary work visas.The backlog puts families atrisk of losing their immigra-tion status as they wait yearafter weary year to finallymake it through this greencard backlog," Mr Durbinsaid. "Our bipartisan agree-ment would add critical pro-tections that were not in theoriginal bill for immigrantworkers and their immediatefamily members who arestuck in the backlog. Theywould be able to switch jobsand travel without losingimmigration status. And chil-

dren of immigrant workerswould be protected fromaging out so they will not facedeportation," he said.

The Lee-Durbin agreementwould make three changes tothe Fairness for High-SkilledImmigrants Act. First, itwould immediately protectimmigrants and their familieswho are stuck in the backlogby allowing them to "earlyfile" for Green Cards.

This would allow workersto switch jobs and travel with-out losing immigration statusand prevent the children ofimmigrant workers from"aging out" of Green-Card eli-gibility so they will not facedeportation while they arewaiting for a Green Card.

Second, the amendmentwould create a green-card setaside for immigrant workerswho are unable to "early file"because they are stuck in thebacklog overseas.

Finally, the amendmentwould crackdown on abuse ofH-1B temporary worker visasby outsourcing companies byprohibiting a company fromhiring additional H-1B work-ers if the company's work-force is more than 50 employ-ees and more than 50 per centtemporary workers.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows UScompanies to employ foreignworkers in speciality occupa-tions that require theoreticalor technical expertise.Companies depend on it tohire tens of thousands ofemployees each year fromcountries like India andChina.

China Launches Rover To Mars

In Space Race With USWENCHANG: China

launched a rover to Mars onThursday, a journey coincid-ing with a similar US mis-sion as the powers take theirrivalry into deep space.

The two countries are tak-ing advantage of a periodwhen Earth and Mars arefavourably aligned for ashort journey, with the USspacecraft due to lift off onJuly 30. It is a crowded field.The United Arab Emirateslaunched a probe on Mondaythat will orbit Mars once itreaches the Red Planet.

But the race to watch isbetween the United Statesand China, which hasworked furiously to try andmatch Washington'ssupremacy in space.

The Chinese mission isnamed Tianwen-1("Questions to Heaven") in anod to a classical poem thathas verses about the cosmos.

It launched on a LongMarch 5 -- China's biggestspace rocket -- from thesouthern island of Hainan.

Chinese authorities haveyet to confirm the success ofthe launch.

Tianwen-1 is expected toarrive in February 2021 aftera seven-month, 55-million-kilometre (34-million-mile)voyage.

The mission includes a

Mars orbiter, a lander and arover that will study theplanet's soil.

"As a first try for China, Idon't expect it to do anythingsignificant beyond what theUS has already done," saidJonathan McDowell, anastronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center forAstrophysics.

The United States hasalready sent four rovers toMars since the late 1990s.

The next one,Perseverance, is an SUV-sized vehicle that will lookfor signs of ancient microbiallife, and gather rock and soilsamples with the goal ofbringing them back to Earthon another mission in 2031.

The Chinese mission is

similar to NASA's Vikingmissions in 1975-1976, inthat it has both an orbiter anda lander, McDowell said.

Tianwen-1 is "broadlycomparable to Viking in itsscope and ambition", headded.

Catching up After watching the United

States and the Soviet Unionlead the way during the ColdWar, China has poured bil-lions of dollars into its mili-tary-led space programme.

"China joining (the Marsrace) will change the situa-tion dominated by the US forhalf a century," said ChenLan, an independent analystat GoTaikonauts.com, whichspecialises in China's spaceprogramme.

China has made hugestrides in the past decade,sending a human into spacein 2003.

The Asian powerhouse haslaid the groundwork toassemble a space station by2022 and gain a permanentfoothold in Earth orbit.

China has already sent tworovers to the Moon.

With the second, Chinabecame the first country tomake a successful soft land-ing on the far side.

The Moon missions gaveChina experience in operat-ing spacecraft beyond Earthorbit, but Mars is anotherstory.

The much greater distancemeans "a bigger light traveltime, so you have to dothings more slowly as theradio signal round trip timeis large," said McDowell.

It also means "you need amore sensitive ground sta-tion on Earth because thesignals will be much fainter,"he added, noting that there isa greater risk of failure.

China has upgraded itsmonitoring stations in thefar-western Xinjiang regionand northeasternHeilongjiang province tomeet the Mars missionrequirements, state newsagency Xinhua reported lastweek.

Airline Flies Empty A380 To Nowhere

So Pilots Don't Lose LicensesAirlines are taking extreme

measures to survive the pan-demic, with Asiana AirlinesInc. flying the world's biggestcommercial plane more than20 times, going nowhere andcarrying no passengers, justto keep trainee pilots certi-fied.

Keeping crew flight-readyis one of the challenges carri-ers face as they grapple withthe unprecedented crisis thatkeeps more than a third of theworld's fleet grounded.

The empty Airbus SEA380 flew over South Koreafor a few hours a day forthree days in May to enablepilots of the 495-seat super-jumbo to practice taking offand landing. The alternative -- a trip to Thailand to use asimulator owned by ThaiAirways International Pcl --was blocked because of trav-el bans, an Asiana spokesmansaid. "Takeoffs and landingsof this plane cost a lot ofmoney, and it's money thatneeds to be used wisely, espe-cially these days," said UmKyung-a, an analyst atShinyoung Securities Co. inSeoul. "Asiana is in a bindbecause it also can't afford forits pilots to lose their licens-es." Asiana had another 135pilots who didn't haveenough flying time on its sixA380s, but it couldn't affordto keep flying the empty jet.In the end, the country'stransport ministry extendedthe pilots' flying credentialsas a special exemption.Japan's All Nippon Airways,which operates two A380s,received a similar extension

from Japan's aviation author-ity.

Most of the big A380 oper-ators, like Asiana's rivalKorean Air Lines Co., havetheir own simulators.

The International CivilAviation Organization hasprovided guidelines to statemembers on how to helppilots keep up their skills.Normally, pilots must havetaken off and landed an air-craft at least three times with-in the previous 90 days tokeep their license.

The problem is acute forthe biggest jets, which weredesigned for an age of masstravel. But Boeing Co.'s 747has more simulators and isused by many airlines,including Korean Air, forcargo flights, allowing carri-ers to rotate crews to keepthem certified.

The International AirTransport Association saidinternational air traffic maynot return to pre-Covid levelsuntil 2024.

One of the few that's stillflying the A380 is EmiratesAirlines, which has theworld's biggest fleet of thesuperjumbos. The airlinerestarted A380 flights on July15 to London Heathrow andParis as Dubai eased travelrestrictions. DeutscheLufthansa AG said last monthits A380 jets will be moth-balled for at least two yearsand may never return to serv-ice. Even before the virus,weak demand for the giantplane caused Airbus toannounce it would stop mak-ing the A380 next year.

WASHINGTON: TheUS will work with countrieslike India, Japan, and SouthKorea to tackle the threat ofChinese surveillance, a topAmerican Senator, who hasmade a Congressional legis-lation to make New Delhi astrategic defense partner ofWashington on a permanentbasis, has said.

Democratic Senator MarkWarner, Chairman of SenatePermanent SelectCommittee on Intelligence,in an interaction with mem-bers of the US India SecurityCouncil said China hademerged as a major problemfor the US companies doingbusinesses in that countryand intellectual theft was abig concern.

Mr Warner, who is alsoco-chair of the Senate IndiaCaucus, said he has spon-sored an amendment to theNational DefenseAuthorization Act (NDAA)

act to make India a strategicdefense partner on a perma-nent basis.

Expressing grave con-cerns over Chinese surveil-lance on every aspect of theorganisations doing businesswith Beijing, Mr Warnersaid the US will work withcountries like India, Japan,and South Korea to tacklethe threat from China.

Eminent Indian-AmericanRamesh Kapur, from the USIndia Security Council, saidthat in view of the presentscenario, it would make bet-ter sense to shift all manu-facturing back to America.

He said in areas wherethere were issues of cost dueto labour and other issues, itwould make sense to shiftthe manufacturing to Indiafor all US companies whichare at present in China.

Bharat Barai, fromChicago, said that manymedium and small-scale

electronic companies in theUS and India have suffereddue to unfair trade practicesof China. He also offered theSenator his services inarranging a meeting withPrime Minister NarendraModi, according to a state-ment.

Koty Krishna said he did alot of business with Chinaearlier and was always wor-ried about getting back hismoney and is glad that hehas moved out of that coun-try.

Krishna Srinivasa said itwas time for the US andIndia to forge a long-lastingdefense partnership that willsustain for at least 40-50years and requested the sen-ator to pursue the defensepartnership with his friendsin the senate like SenatorRobert Menendez and oth-ers.

Nar Koppula told SenatorWarner that the IndianAmerican Community hasalways helped him in hiselections and will continueto do so and asked him to befavourable to a stronger US-India partnership.

Rajendar Dichpallyexpressed concerns over theChinese aggression againstIndia and warned thatBeijing''s attitude will not belimited to the South Asianand Pacific regions, assert-ing that it will expand itsambitions and will be athreat to US in the future dueto its vast ambitions.

For 1st Time In 75 Years, UN General

Assembly Annual Meet To Go VirtualWASHINGTON: U.S.

federal employees wouldbe barred from usingChinese-owned mobilevideo app TikTok on gov-ernment-issued devicesunder a bill that passed aU.S. Senate Committee onWednesday, as lawmakersfeared the security of users'personal data.

The "No TikTok onGovernment Devices Act"from Senator Josh Hawleywas passed unanimouslyby the U.S. SenateCommittee on HomelandSecurity and GovernmentalAffairs, and will be takenup by the U.S. Senate for avote. TikTok's wide popu-larity among Americanteens have brought scrutinyfrom U.S. regulators andlawmakers, who fear theirpersonal information couldfall into the hands of gov-ernment officials inBeijing.

TikTok, used to createshort dance, lip-sync, com-edy and talent videos, saidlast year about 60% of its26.5 million monthlyactive U.S. users are aged16 to 24.

Under a Chinese lawintroduced in 2017, compa-nies have an obligation tosupport and cooperate inthe country's national intel-ligence work.

Earlier this week, theHouse of Representativesvoted to bar federalemployees from download-ing the app on government-issued devices as part of a$741 billion defense policybill. Lawmakers voted 336-71 to pass the proposal,offered by RepresentativeKen Buck.

With passage in theHouse and approval by theSenate Committee, the pro-hibition could soon becomelaw in the United States.

Top officials in theTrump administration havealso said they were consid-ering a broader ban onTikTok and other Chinese-linked apps, and that actionmay be imminent.

For example, Secretaryof State Mike Pompeorecently said Americansshould be cautious in usingthe app.

TikTok spokeswomanJamie Favazza said thecompany's growing U.S.team has no higher prioritythan promoting a safe appexperience that protectsusers' privacy.

"Millions of Americanfamilies use TikTok forentertainment and creativeexpression, which we rec-ognize is not what federalgovernment devices arefor," she said.

US Senate Panel Approves Ban On Using

TikTok App On Government Devices

US Senator Proposes To Make India

Permanent Strategic Defence Partner

Unsung Immune Cells Come Into Play

When Covid Antibodies Wane, Says StudyAntibodies have become

a familiar word in the pan-demic era, perhaps sug-gesting they're the besthope for keeping the dead-ly coronavirus at bay. Butwhen crucial vaccine datawas released this week, thespotlight panned to anunsung immune player: Tcells. AstraZeneca Plc,Pfizer Inc. and partnerBioNTech SE, as well asChina's CanSino BiologicsInc. all hailed the presenceof these white blood cellsin vaccine recipients as asign their experimentalshots show promise.

Thrust into focus byrecent studies, T cells are areminder that the body'sdefenses rely on more thanone weapon, and that muchof the immune response toCovid-19 is still a mystery-- especially afterresearchers revealed thatthe more lauded antibodieslack staying power.

"Antibodies are only avery small part of the pic-ture," said Paul Griffin, anassociate professor of med-icine at the University ofQueensland in Brisbane,who is leading clinicalstudies in Australia of twopotential Covid-19 vac-cines. But "we're really notthere yet in terms of fullyunderstanding" people'simmunity to the new coro-navirus.

As the pandemic took theworld by storm, scientistsfirst focused on antibodies

-- proteins that stick to anddisable foreign invaders --because eliciting them isthe basis for most success-ful vaccines. The immuneproteins are also easier tomeasure than T cells andcan be used to gauge priorinfection.

The study showing theywane quickly in patientswith mild disease dealt ablow to hopes that antibod-ies will provide some last-ing form of immunity.

Unsung WarriorsT cells, by contrast, are

able to kill virus-infectedcells, remember past dis-eases for decades, androuse fresh antibody sol-diers long after the firsthave left the battlefield.People infected with anoth-er coronavirus that wasresponsible for the SARSepidemic in 2003, forexample, still have a T-cellresponse to the disease 17years later.

That suggests T cellsmay still, at least hypothet-ically, be ready to protectSARS survivors against theinfection almost twodecades later, and might

bolster their defenseagainst Covid-19, Griffinsaid. "They might have aslightly milder or shorterduration in terms of thecourse of their illness, but Icertainly wouldn't thinkthat that would be protec-tive, unfortunately," hesaid.

One study found thatsome patients with nosymptoms of Covid-19 hadT-cells that recognized thevirus -- even when they hadno detectable antibodies.Another pointed to a levelof immunity in people whonever encountered thepathogen, possibly becauseof exposure to one or moreof the coronaviruses thatcause the common cold.

More research is neededto determine whether pre-existing T cells that cross-react with the SARS-CoV-2 virus may explain whysome Covid patients arebarely affected while oth-ers get very sick and evendie. What's clear is that abalance of both antibodiesand T cells is necessary foroptimal defense, accordingto Griffin.

TRUTH PREVAILJAMMU FRIDAY JULY 24, 20209 SPORTS

Olympics not possible under currentconditions : Tokyo head

Tokyo : The delayedTokyo Olympics could not beheld next year if conditionssurrounding the coronaviruspandemic continue as theyare, the president of the organ-izing committee said onWednesday.

In an interview withJapanese broadcaster NHK,Yoshiro Mori said he washopeful the situation wouldimprove and suggested a vac-cine was the key.

"If this kind of situation(with Covid-19) continues, isit possible to hold thegames?" Mori was asked byNHK.

"If current situation con-tinues, we couldn't," Morireplied, speaking in Japanese.

The Tokyo Olympics arescheduled to open on July 23,2021 - a year from Thursday.A small, 15-minute ceremonywithout fans is scheduled forThursday at the new nationalstadium to mark the date.

The International OlympicCommittee and Japaneseorganizers have repeatedlyexpressed confidence thegames will take place, thoughthey have offered few detailson how they can happen in themiddle of a pandemic.

The IOC and organizers

have also said the Olympicswill not be postponed againand would be canceled.

"It would be too much forus to answer each of thesehypothetical questions," Morisaid. "I don't think this situa-tion will last for anotheryear."

Researchers have said avaccine could be six-to-ninemonths away, which Morisaid was the key. Some, how-ever, question if young ath-letes should be a priority, andif all would agree to be vacci-nated.

"Whether the Olympicscan be done or not is about

whether humanity can beatthe coronavirus," Mori said.

"Specifically, to develop avaccine or drug is the firstpoint."

Organizers and the IOCsay they want to simplify thegames to help reduce the soar-ing costs. But officials cannotsay now if fans will be permit-ted next year, or if athleteswill face quarantines. Theysay few details will be avail-able until the fall.

Plans call for the full con-tingent of 11,000 Olympicathletes and 4,400 Paralympicathletes to be competing at 42venues.

Mane dreams to win Ballon d’OrNew Delhi : It was high

praise for Sadio Mane whenLionel Messi summed up theLiverpool star winger'sfourth-place finish in the 2019Ballon d'Or vote as "shame-ful".

Boosted by the Argentinegenius' admiration for him aswell as his own stellar form,Mane continues to harbourhopes of winning the presti-gious award sooner than later.

"Will see what's going tohappen for the Ballon d'Or butmy dream is to win the Ballond'Or and would love to do itone day," Mane told StarSports show Football United.

The 2020 Ballon d'Orawards night was cancelled

recently owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.

He played a massive rolein Liverpool winning theirfirst Premier League title in30 years. Last year, Manespearheaded the Reds' chargeto their first UEFAChampions League title since2005.

This time around, hescored goals and make assiststo keep the opposition defend-ers on their guard all the time.

"I always say that in life,you always have to be a chal-lenger and for sure, football isall about being hungry in agood way - to like to win. Wewon the Premier League andwe would like to win it again

and for sure, ChampionsLeague as well," he said.

Mane missed out last timedespite a remarkable run forboth his club and countrySenegal.

Expressing his delight onwinning the Premier League,he said, "Well, it's a big pleas-ure and a big honour for meand my team-mates for sure.All the good support fromaround the world, speciallyfrom India as well. I think thewait has been so long, 30years and finally, we did it, soyeah, really happy."

He gave credit to managerJurgen Klopp for Liverpool'striumph. "He gives us a lot ofadvice all the time which is

always important for you andall the players in our career.He helped us take responsibil-ity in the hard times, which isnot really easy."

Mane said his favouritemoment in the league waswhen his club opened up thegap with Manchester City.

"Honestly, it was a reallytough season for us, my team-mates and the fans as wellbecause the beginning wasnot easy - too many con-tenders Man City, United,Chelsea, Arsenal.

"If I were to choose myfavourite moment was whenwe opened up the gap overMan City. I think everybodycould breathe at that time."

End of coaching stint with Team India could havebeen better, says Anil Kumble

New Delhi : Former Indiaspinner Anil Kumble has saidthat his coaching stint with theIndian senior side could havecome to a better end. Kumbleopened up about his coachingstint during an Instagram livesession with formerZimbabwe pacer PommieMbangwa. The spinnercoached Virat Kohli-led sidefor one year before heresigned from the post in2017.He had stepped down asthe coach of the side after theChampions Trophy 2017finals between India andPakistan. "I was very happythat I took up the role of coachof the Indian side. It wasgreat, the one year I spentwith the Indian team was real-ly fantastic. Having been withgreat performers and againbeing a part of the Indiandressing room is a great feel-

ing," Kumble told PommieMbangwa during anInstagram live session.

"We did really well in thatone year period. I was reallyhappy that there were somecontributions made and thereare no regrets. I was happymoving on from there as well.I know the end could havebeen better but then that`sfine. As a coach, you realise,when it`s time to move on, it`sthe coach who needs to moveon. I was really happy Iplayed a significant role inthat one year," he added.

When Kumble hadresigned as the coach of theIndian side, he had termed therelationship with Virat Kohlias "untenable".UnderKumble, India managed toreach the finals of theChampions Trophy, and theside enjoyed huge success in

the Test format.Kumble would now be

coaching the Kings XI Punjabin the Indian Premier League

(IPL).The former Indian spinner

had announced his retirementfrom international cricket in

2008 and finished with 619wickets in the longest formatof the game. He has the third-highest number of wickets in

Tests, only behind Sri Lanka`sMuttiah Muralitharan (800)and Australia`s Shane Warne(708).

Anand loses to Carlsen in Legendsof Chess tourney

Chennai : India'sViswanathan Anand sufferedhis second consecutive loss,going down to world No.1Magnus Carlsen in the secondround of the USD 150,000chess24 Legends of Chessonline tournament.

The former world champi-on had kept the Norwegianace in check in three games ofthe best-of-four contest beforeslipping 1.5-2.5 by in the finalgame late on Wednesday.

The Indian ace is makinghis maiden appearance on theMagnus Carlsen Chess Tour.

He had gone down by asimilar margin to Russia'sPeter Svidler in the openinground. He takes on anotherformer world championVladimir Kramnik in the thirdround.

Anand is back in actionafter having last participatedin the Online Nations Cup in

May.Carlsen is in joint lead

with veteran Israeli BorisGelfand and Svidler. All of

them have six points after twovictories each.

Anish Giri got off themark with a win over

Vladimir Kramnik, whileworld No.3 Ding Liren'sstruggles continued as theChinese lost to Ian

Nepomniachtchi of Russia.All the round-robin games

are best-of-four game con-tests.

Legends of Chess is aunique event where Carlsen,Liren, Nepomniachtchi andGiri, semifinalists at theChessable Masters (part of theMagnus Carlsen Tour),received an automatic invite.

They are up against sixlegends aged 40-52, who havebeen at the top of world chessat various points in theircareer. The tournament is partof the Magnus Carlsen ChessTour. The winner of this eventwill qualify for the USD300,000 Grand Final sched-uled from August 9 to 20.

Results:Round 2: Ian

Nepominiachtchi beat DingLiren 2.5-1.5; MagnusCarlsen beat ViswanathanAnand 2.5-1.5; Peter Svidlerbeat Peter Leko 2.5-1.5; BorisGelfand beat Vasyl Ivanchuk2.5-1.5; Anish Giri beatVladimir Kramnik 2.5-1.5.

The Great EscapeBirmingham : Dean

Smith urged Aston Villa tofinish the job after theyclimbed out of the PremierLeague relegation zone asTrezeguet clinched a priceless1-0 win against Arsenal onTuesday. Smith's side havetheir survival fate in their ownhands after the Egypt winger'sfirst-half strike at Villa Park.

Watford's 4-0 thrashingagainst Manchester City earli-er on Tuesday had opened thedoor for Villa to escape thebottom three.

And Villa seized theirchance with a first homePremier League win overArsenal in 18 attempts datingback to 1998. Villa are nowfourth bottom and havemoved ahead of third-bottomWatford on goal difference,with Smith's men on -26 com-pared to the Hornets' -27.

They head to West Hamfor their final game of the sea-son on Sunday, while Watfordvisit Arsenal and second-bot-tom Bournemouth, threepoints from safety, travel toEverton. There are a multi-tude of permutations thatcould decide relegation, butVilla will be safe if they canbetter Watford's result onwhat is certain to be a dramat-ic finale. If Villa and Watfordboth win, goal difference orgoals scored will decide whogoes down.

"It is a big boost, that's forsure. We knew we had to getthat win to catch Watford andnow we have got the season inour own hands," Smith said."That's all you can ask goinginto the last game. It was agreat performance and aneven better result against agood team who just beat two

of the best teams in Europe."We have taken the season

to the last day. Watford can goand win at Arsenal so we have

to make sure we win at WestHam."

Having secured an FA Cupfinal place by beatingManchester City on Saturday,Gunners boss Mikel Artetamade six changes and Arsenallooked a shadow of the teamwho impressed at Wembley.

Arsenal cannot finishhigher than eighth and mustwin the FA Cup final againstChelsea to qualify for nextseason's Europa League.

'crazy low' on confidenceWatford goalkeeper Ben

Foster admitted the Hornets'confidence is "crazy low" asthey slipped into the relega-tion zone with one game of

the Premier League season togo after being thrashed 4-0 athome by Manchester City.

A change of managementdid little good after Watfordbecame the first PremierLeague team to sack threemanagers in a season whenNigel Pearson departed onSunday, as City bounced backfrom their weekend disap-pointment of losing an FACup semi-final to Arsenal.

Raheem Sterling scoredtwice in the first half beforePhil Foden and Aymeric

Laporte rounded off a com-prehensive City win as PepGuardiola's men won a fourthstraight league game for the

first time this season. Themargin of defeat could sendWatford down come the finalday of the season on Sundayas they dropped into the bot-tom three on goal differenceafter Aston Villa's win.

"I don't think we helpedourselves, I don't think we didenough to do anything butwhat the result suggested tobe honest," said Foster, whohelped keep the score downwith a string of saves. "Theconfidence is so crazy, crazylow."

Thrill, pressure & competitiveness similarin poker and cricket, says Dhoni

New Delhi : PokerStarsIndia, one of Indias most pop-ular online poker portals, hasannounced former India cap-tain M.S. Dhoni as its newbrand ambassador.

"I am excited to be associ-ated with the PokerStars fam-ily. The thrill, the excitement,the pressure and the competi-tiveness of it - these are justsome parallels I can drawbetween poker and cricket,"said Dhoni.

"In the last few years therehas been a change in themindset of people when theythink of online poker. Onlinepoker like any game of skillrequires one to be strategicand play responsibly. Slowlybut surely it is being recog-nised as a sport that is fun andquick to learn but rich in itscomplexity.

"With this collaborationwe hope to take online pokerto a larger audience." headded.

To mark his ambassador-ship with the brand, the veter-an cricketer stars inPokerStars India's latest cam-paign - 'I'm In' in which Dhoni

can be seen enjoying a gameof poker with three uniquepersonalities, while invitingothers to join in the fun gameof skill and thrills.

"It's already well estab-

lished that MS Dhoni, whohas led India to many interna-tional victories, is one of the

all-time cricketing greats.What is less known is that hisZen-like poise, combinedwith his ability to make fear-less decisions, make him aperfect poker player and a

truly valuable member ofTeam PokerStars India," saidAnkur Dewani, CEO,

Sachiko Gaming."With MS Dhoni at its

heart, the campaign showcas-es how poker is a game forabsolutely anyone, a truly uni-versal sport. We cannot wait

to see the response of ouraudience and players acrossthe country," he added.

Williamson excited to play IPL in UAEMount Maunganui : New

Zealand captain KaneWilliamson on Wednesdaysaid he is excited about play-ing the Indian Premier League(IPL) in the UAE but a lot of"planning and organising stillneeds to be done" amid theraging Covid-19 pandemic.

Speaking to the media onthe sidelines of the nationalteam's training camp, forSunRisers Hyderabad captainsaid, "Considering what itactually looks like where it isand all the details that come

with it, to play in the IPL isalways an amazing thing so,absolutely, it will be great toplay in it and be a part of it,"Williamson said but alsowanted to know more aboutsecurity arrangements.

"But there's a lot of detailsto come through before anyfinal decisions will be made.It will be nice to know more."

"By all accounts the IPL,they're looking to host thattournament which is a fantas-tic tournament to be a part ofand attracts such an incredible

audience," he added.Williamson said he fore-

sees good viewership for theIPL when it happens as peopleare starved of Live sportsright now.

"...There's been a naturallack of content so there is areal drive to see that happenand see it happen safely,which is first and foremost.

"It's a shame to see theWorld Cup be postponed but Isuppose it's the nature of whatwe're faced with in the currentclimate but exciting at the

potential opportunity individ-ually to see some cricketcome on to the horizon," hesaid.

Williamson also wel-comed the move to have anIPL at a safe place like theUAE as India's case load isabove 11 lakh.

"...In terms of the IPL as anisolated event, they're lookingat the best options to host it ina safe place where people canbe quarantined much likeyou're seeing with othersports around the world.

SAI extend contracts of 32 foreign coachesNew Delhi : The Sports

Authority of India (SAI) onWednesday extended thecontract of 32 foreign coach-es in 11 disciplines tillSeptember end next year toensure continuity in the train-ing of athletes till TokyoOlympics.

Top coaches among the 32included Santiago Nieva andRaffaele Bergamasco in box-

ing, Graham Reid (men'shockey) and Pavel Smirnov(shooting) among others. Thecontracts of many of thesecoaches were to end inSeptember this year.

National football coachIgor Stimac's contract wasalso extended although it hasnothing to do with theOlympics. He was appointedin May last year for a two

year tenure.The SAI said the decision

was taken to ensure that ath-letes bound for TokyoGames, postponed by a year,have continuity in their train-ing.

"The postponement ofTokyo Olympics by a yearmakes it imperative that thesame coaches be retained sothat athletes are not disadvan-

taged," Sports Minster KirenRijiju said. "A new coachtakes time to understand anathlete and the athlete needstime to understand the train-ing process of a coach. Wedon't have that kind of timenow." A SAI source said thatthe terms and conditions ofthe contracts, including theremuneration, remain thesame as earlier.

FC Goa signs Spanish forward IgorAngulo for a one-year contract

New Delhi : Indian SuperLeague (ISL) club FC Goa onWednesday (July 22, 2020)announced the signing ofSpanish forward Igor Angulofor a one-year contract.

Angulo, who hails fromthe Basque region in Spain,has spent the past 4 seasons inPoland with Gornik Zabrze.During his stay, he has beenamongst the top 2 goal-scor-ers in the Polish Ekstraklasafor three consecutive seasons,along with winning theGolden Boot in the 2018/19season.

He has scored a total of 88goals in 154 games in Polandand also has 21 assists to takehis total goal contributions'tally up to 109 over the fouryears spent with the record14-time Polish Champions.

"I am excited at the

prospect of playing for FCGoa and it is an adventure thatI am keen to start at the earli-

est," said Angulo after his newsigning.

The 36-year-old added,"What attracted me to the clubwas that I liked the way ofplaying, the philosophy. FC

Goa is one club that is alwayson the attack and in doing so,are able to create a beautiful

style of football.""Another big thing that

stood out is I like the mentali-ty of the club. It's filled withwinners, always fighting forthe biggest honours. And

that's what I want to do whenI come in," stated Angulo.

FC Goa's Director ofFootball, Ravi Puskur on hisfirst foreign signing stated,"We're excited to bring Igoron board to FC Goa. He's aproven, serial goal-scorerwith experience across multi-ple countries in Europe andwe're confident he will provean ideal fit for our style offootball."

"His time in Gornik hasmade him a legend and ahousehold name in Polishfootball and we hope that hewill have a similar impact forFC Goa and its fans," addedRavi. The Spaniard joinsRedeem Tlang, SansonPereira and Makan WinkleChothe in the list of playerssigning in favour of the Gaursthis off-season.

raheem Sterling desires to reach 20 PremierLeague goals this season for Manchester City

New Delhi : RaheemSterling, who led ManchesterCity to a 4-0 win overWatford on July 21 by scoringa brace wants to take his sea-son count to 20.

Manchester City's penulti-mate match in the PremierLeague witnessed theEnglishman finding the nettwice in the first half atVicarage Road and taking hisgoal tally to 19.

"It's massive as a winger toscore 20 goals in the PremierLeague. It's a massiveachievement and we have onemore game left, so I hope Ican do it then," Sterling wasquoted by Manchester City.

City will host Norwich onJuly 26 in their last match ofthe season.

Talking about the missedpenalty chance againstWatford, the 25-year old said,"I scored the first one and Iknew I was on 18 so I steppedup. I knew I had anotherchance to get the hat-tricktoday, it didn't happen but I'mreally happy with the twogoals."

Pep Guardiola's men

couldn't make it to the FA Cupfinal last weekend againstArsenal but Sterling believesthat the display against the

Hornets was the perfectresponse.

"After a disappointingmatch at Wembley we had to

find rhythm today and wedid," he expressed.

City has a UEFAChampions League last-16

second-leg clash with RealMadrid slated for August 8and Sterling feels that puttingin good displays now will

benefit the team."We've got to take all we

can from these remainingleague games and we know

Madrid have finished the sea-son well.

"We know it's going to bea strong test."

TRUTH PREVAILJAMMU FRIDAY JULY 24, 2020ENTERTAINMENT10

Diana Penty: Each film has

taught me something newIt's been an eight-year

journey for actress DianaPenty in the Hindi filmindustry. She says it has beena great learning experienceand that each film she hasdone till now has taught hersomething new.

The actress made herdebut in 2012 with the hit"Cocktail" starring Saif AliKhan and DeepikaPadukone. She was then seenin films like "Happy BhagJayegi", "Lucknow Central","Parmanu: The Story OfPokhran" and "Happy PhirrBhag Jayegi".

"It's been a great journey,and a great learning experi-ence. Each film has taughtme something new -- be itabout myself, my craft, myprofession, people. I'm alsograteful to have had theopportunity to work with

some wonderful and very tal-ented people along the way,"Diana told IANS.

She recently shared thatfollows her gut feeling whenit comes to picking scripts,and says that it has never lether down. Amid the lock-down, Diana has come outwith an initiative called TheKhaki Project to extend helpand support to MumbaiPolice, who have been in theforefront in the city's fightagainst the coronavirus out-break.

On the work front, shewill next be seen in theromantic drama "Shiddat",which also stars MohitRaina, Radhika Madan andSunny Kaushal, and is direct-ed by Kunal Deshmukh of"Jannat" fame on a script byShridhar Raghavan andDheeraj Rattan.

Will Ferrell got to my Irish vanity: Pierce

Brosnan on signing 'Eurovision'James Bond star Pierce

Brosnan says actor-comedianWill Ferrell convinced him tocome on board "EurovisionSong Contest: The Story ofFire Saga" by playing on his"vanity".

The Irish actor, who playsFerrell's father in the Netflixmovie, said he gave his nodto the project when he sawthat his character wasdescribed as "possibly themost handsome man inIceland".

"Will Ferrell is a grandman. I adore the fella. Andhe's so adept at playing thosemiddle aged men acting likechildren.

"My agent sent me thescript one morning, and bylunchtime I said yes. Mycharacter was introduced inparenthesis as 'possibly themost handsome man in

Iceland'. So Will Ferrell gotto my Irish vanity," Brosnan,67, told The Irish Times.

"Eurovision SongContest..." is set around thelong-running global singingcompetition of the samename. The contest, first heldin 1956, pits each participat-ing nation from the EuropeanBroadcasting Union againstone another, challengingthem to write and perform anoriginal song for a live TVand radio performance.

Ferrell and RachelMcAdams are set to play anIcelandic songwriting duo,Lars Erickssong and SigritEricksdottir.

Brosnan will essay therole of Erick Erickssong,Lars' father and Demi Lovatowill portray Katiana, one ofthe best and most angelicsingers in Iceland.

Sanjay Kapoor, Arjun Mathur

to star in lockdown-shot

series 'The Gone Game'Actors Sanjay Kapoor,

Arjun Mathur, ShriyaPilgaonkar and ShwetaTripathi will be seen in thecrime-thriller web series"The Gone Game", whichhas been shot during thelockdown period amid theCovid pandemic.

The thriller also starsRukhsar Rehman, LubnaSalim, Indraneil Sengupta,and Dibyendu Bhattacharyaamongst others.

"The Gone Game" unrav-els the mystery behind adeath that takes place duringthe pandemic-imposed lock-down and changes the life ofa family. It has been shotentirely from the confines ofthe artistes' homes, with thehelp of ingenious sets andlimited equipment.

Talking about the project,director Nikhil Nagesh Bhatsaid: "'The Gone Game' is anoriginal series in every sense.Be it the storyline, the char-

acters, or the overall visualappeal, we have tried tomake it authentic while keep-ing the current lockdownscenario as the backdrop ofthe show."

"It will not be wrong tosay that we made it fromscratch as we were working

with very limited resourcesand shooting entirely fromhome. We also had to usesome innovative techniquesto ensure that the perform-ances do not suffer becauseof the constraint of physicalproximity. We learned andunlearned many aspects fromour test shoots as due to theconditions, the process waslimiting, but it also gave theactors and the technicians alot of freedom to innovate. Ithas been an unconventionaljourney and we hope that theaudience will appreciate ourvision," he added.

The show will release onVoot Select in July.

Maidaan , featuring actorAjay Devgn in the lead, willnow hit the theatres on August13 next year .

Based on the goldenyears of Indian football,"Maidaan", was initial-ly scheduled to releaseon November 27, butearlier this year themakers pushed the filmto December 11.

Devgn took toTwitter on Saturday toannounce the newrelease date of themovie.

"2021 Independenceweek. An untold storythat will make everyIndian proud. 13thAugust mark the date.#Maidaan2021 (sic),"he wrote alongside theposter of the film.

Owing to the ongo-ing coronavirus pan-demic, the shoot of thefilm has got affectedand it is likely to beginpost monsoon.

In "Maidaan", the 51-year-old actor will portray the roleof Syed Abdul Rahim, whoserved as a coach and manag-er of Indian football teamfrom 1950 until his death in1963.

The movie is directed by

Amit Ravinder Nath Sharmaof "Badhaai Ho!" fame,Saiwyn Quadros has written

the screenplay, while RiteshShah has penned the dia-logues.

Also starring Priyamani,Gajraj Rao and Bengali actorRudranil Ghosh,"Maidaan" ispresented by Zee Studios andBoney Kapoor.

Kapoor who is also serv-ing as the producer along withAkash Chawla and Arunava

Joy Sengupta.Devgn recently announced

his film "Bhuj: The Pride ofIndia" is headed for a directrelease on streaming platformDisney+ Hotstar as theatresremain closed due to the pan-demic.

Ajay Devgn's 'Maidaan' torelease in August 2021

Actor Saif Ali Khan says itwon't be possible to listen to aHindi film song withoutacknowledging the legacy oface choreographer SarojKhan, who made the biggestnames in Bollywood dance toher tunes.

Khan, the name behindsome of the most famoussongs in Bollywood such as"Dhak Dhak" and "Ek DoTeen", died aged 71 of cardiacarrest early on Friday morn-ing.

Calling the three timeNational Award winner the"greatest and the most artisticchoreographer", Saif said howher name attached to a projectwas a merit enough for pro-ducers.

"A song with her oftenbecame real art, with everybeat and step requiring anemotion and expression...That era is gone and thatmusic is over.

"But for all of us who havehad the privilege of beinginstructed on set by that greatlady, will never be able tohear a Hindi film song with-out thinking of how she hasmade the greatest names inBollywood from AmitabhBachchan, Sridevi to ShahRukh khan and MadhuriDixit, dance to her tunes,"Saif said in a statement.

The actor worked withKhan in his debut, the 1993multi-starrer "Parampara" fol-lowed by "Aashik Awara" thesame year, the title track ofwhich not only became a hitbut, according to Saif, "sta-bilised my flounderingcareer".

"She had me doing sometrademark moves on myknees on a sweaty incrediblyhot and crowded set with noair conditioner and lots ofchemical smoke...

"I finished the step andfound I had torn the knees of

my trousers and blood wastrickling down my leg. I toldSaroj ji or 'Masterji' as I calledher, and she said 'oh don'tworry about blood. See wherethis blood takes you in life',"Saif recalled.

The "Jawaani Jaaneman"actor said Khan's style of cho-

reography made the musiccome alive with "grace andsensuality" and rememberedhow he would practice hersteps for hours on sets.

"But we were neverallowed to change the step tomake it easier. That was nother work ethic. She knewwhat 'style' suited each of usactors best and would createthat for us."

The 49-year-old said Khanonce made him rehearse asong for a week and had himperform in front of the entireunit, which would becomeone of his biggest hits: "OleOle" from "Yeh Dillagi" in1994.

"When I finished panting,she said 'ok, now forget allthat, now that you're easy withthe song let's try somethingbetter!' That song was 'OleOle' and she took a hit song toanother level. I must have per-

formed this song a few hun-dred times on stage on inter-national tours, often threetimes in a row to 'encores'."

Saif said he owes it toKhan and her then assistants,choreographers Jojo andAhmed Khan for the song thatturned him into a "dancing

star"."An incredible feat as I

have two left feet," he added.Khan got her first break as

an independent choreogra-pher with "Geeta MeraNaam" in 1974 but it tookSridevi's "Hawa Hawai" songin 1987 film "Mr India" forher to receive acclaim as adance choreographer ofrepute.

Her collaborations withMadhuri Dixit, on songs like"Ek Do Teen" in "Tezaab","Tamma Tamma Loge" in"Thanedar", "Dhak DhakKarne Laga" in "Beta" and"Dola Re Dola" from SanjayLeela Bhansali's "Devdas",got her further acclaim andrecognition.

Khan last choreographedfor "Tabaah Hogaye", featur-ing Madhuri, from filmmakerKaran Johar's production"Kalank" in 2019.

Songs with Saroj Khan oftenbecame real art: Saif Ali Khan

Bollywoods new-age starTiger Shroff says that whilelife is easier for people fromthe film industry, it also takes"double the effort" to emergefrom the filmy family shad-ow.

"Being my father's son,there's an added pressure ofbeing a star's son. Peoplethink it's very easy for us. Iwon't lie, in a way to get a lit-tle attention it helps. It's easierfor people who are from thefilm industry but it's doublethe effort to make it on ourown. I managed to get out ofmy father's shadow," addedTiger, son of actor JackieShroff.

The young actor alsoopened up about his parent'sreaction to social media com-ments on his looks in the ini-tial days of his career.

He said: "My father hasbeen in this industry for 30odd years. He has seen thehighs and lows of the industryand he protected me from thatfrom a very young age. Now,that I am out there in the open,I have become an easy target."

On being constantlytrolled for his roles in movies,Tiger said: "I enjoy some ofthe memes and trolls peopleshare. It's interesting and it'sgood to be talked about."

Asked if he loses his coolever, he said: "I do get angrybut at myself when I'm notable to get a shot right or notable to get a step. I am harshat myself sometimes in order

to improve.""In an industry where

there is so much competition,just to find one's identity is soimportant. I want people tothink something synonymouswith my name," said Tiger onhim being typecast withgeneric movies of action cum

dance sequences.Speaking about how he

handles criticism, Tiger said:"I like to give it back to themwith my work and therefore, Itake what they say to heartand take it sportingly."

He is fascinated with thewhole superhero universe.

"I would do anything to doa Spiderman film. Ever since Iwas a kid, I was enticed by thewhole superhero genre. I havetried to imbibe their attributesand qualities," he said.

Asked who he thinkswould best suit superheroroles, Tiger said: "I thinkHrithik Roshan would be per-fect to play Captain Americabecause this superhero is theperfect superhero and Hrithikis a perfect hero as well. I feelRanveer Singh would pull off

Thor because Thor is so elec-tric, and he is the god of thun-der as well."

On the personal front,Tiger said he is not a partyperson.

"I'm very awkward atsocial gatherings. I usuallytend to stay away, I'm notmuch of a party guy nor am Ia late kind of person. I go tobed at 10 while these clubsopen around 10:30," he saidon Zee Cafe show, "StarryNights Gen Y".

Tiger Shroff: There's addedpressure being a star's son

&TV's Santoshi MaaSunaye Vrat Kathayein per-fectly captures the pure con-nection between a 'Bhakt andBhagwan'. In the last episodeof the show, viewers in a dra-matic turn of events witnessedSwati (Tanvi Dogra) leavingthe house as instructed by the

Pandit to save Indresh(Ashish Kadian) from anyhazards that could damage hislife. But the drama doesn'tstop there, more hurdles forthe couple lie ahead, and onewill have to tune-in to see theoutcome.

In the Dev Lok, Paulomi(Sara Khan) who is wellaware of Indresh's criticalcondition starts plotting ontaking his life in some way orthe other. Well as on PrithviLok, Swati is seen praying toall Gods and Santoshi Maa byseeking help in savingIndresh's life. Swati is ready

to do anything to save herhusband from the clutches ofPaulomi, who is adamant onkilling Indresh. Everybody isnow concerned about hisrecovery, while Singhasan isextremely angry with Swatiand blames her for themishap. On hearing, Indresh's

deteriorating health Swatiseeks help from Santoshi Maaand pleads her to help hersave Indresh.

Speaking about theupcoming episode TanviDogra who plays Swatishares, `The current track is ahigh voltage drama where theSingh family is seen attendingto their son Indresh in the hos-pital as he has been hit by atruck.

Swati's father-in-lawSinghasan is seen blaming herfor the accident and Kunti foragreeing to their marriage.Indresh is in a critical condi-

tion, and the entire family isconcerned about his recovery.Will Santoshi Maa withouther powers be able to guideSwati in saving Indresh?

Citing the example ofSavitri and Satyawan,Santoshi Maa advises Swatito do the Vat Savitri vrat so

that she can get her husbandback to life. With intensedrama and emotions, theupcoming episode is packedwith sheer devotion of Swatitowards bringing back herhusband to life. WhileMahadev decides to not helpSwati, Santoshi Maa stepsinto advice on the needful.Will Swati be able to com-plete the Vat Savitri vrat? WillIndresh be out of the danger?

To know more, tune in toSantoshi Maa Sunaye VratKathayein every Monday toFriday at 9:00 pm only on&TV.

Will Swati be able to save Indresh in &TV’sSantoshi Maa Sunaye Vrat Kathayein?

Deepika Padukone`s stunning eye look

Actress and BJP MPRoopa Ganguly declares thatshe will boycott films of cer-tain Bollywood personalitieswho have been blatantly prac-ticing nepotism in the filmindustry. Her assertion comesin the wake of actor SushantSingh Rajput's suicide.

"I will not watch films ofcertain people after this.Because they have given amessage to the country thatboys and girls from smalltowns should not come to theindustry. Nepotism will bethere everywhere. Parents candefinitely help their children.But it should not be practicedin a way so that some peopleare pushed to death," Gangulytold IANS over phone fromKolkata.

Over a week now, Gangulyhas been aggressivelydemanding Central Bureau ofInvestigation (CBI) enquiryinto the untimely demise ofSushant. Her Twitter timelinehas been flooding with thehashtag #cbiforsushant.

"Without getting a suicidenote, or any stool/chair oranything in the room with

which he can hang himself,the police came to the conclu-

sion (that it was suicide).Instead of calling it an acci-dental death, the police makesa statement that it is suicide.The narrative was set a fewdays ago that he was going

through depression. That hasraised a big question in our

minds. Without a suicide note,how did police call it a suicideeven before the postmortem?"she said.

"A lot of questions havebeen answered but they don't

add up. Why did the forensicteam reach his house on June15? The police said there wasno foul play. The forensicteam reaching a day late andthat raises a big question.Why were there so manymarks on his body? That hehanged from the ceiling hasno impact on his face as wecan see in his last pictures.Why have the police notsealed his house yet? Where ishis dog?" she asks.

"Is it not possible that hewas murdered? Is it not possi-ble that someone murderedhim, locked his body insidethe bedroom and said the keyswere lost? Why has nobodybeen arrested yet? The policecouldn't prove it is a suicide,"alleges the actress-politician.

"A person, who was sogrounded, so down to earth,who is so ambitious that hewrites his dreams -- would hequit so easily?" she addedreferring to Sushant.

Ganguly is not doubtingthe capability of MumbaiPolice, which is currentlyinvestigating the death of the34-year-old actor.

"I am not raising questionon Mumbai Police's capabili-ty, but I feel investigation by acentral agency like the CBIwould be more unbiased.Why should the police depart-ment consider it as an insult totake help from other agen-cies? If they are so sure that itis suicide then they shouldactually call the CBI to proveit to us," she demanded.

Asked if she has spoken toany of her party leadersregarding her demand for aCBI probe, the BJP MPreplied: "I did not take interestin Sushant's case as an MP, soinitially I didn't want toinvolve any of my party mem-ber or leader into this. I amvoicing my opinion on socialmedia as a common person.But I feel so bad that I willprobably write a letter to theHome Minister. Also, Irequest the Chief Minister ofMaharashtra to ask for a CBIhelp into the investigation."

Sushant Singh Rajput wasfound hanging in his Mumbairesidence on June 14. Theactor's postmortem reportdescribed his death as suicide.

roopa Ganguly on nepotism post Sushant death:Won't watch films of certain people after this

TRUTH PREVAILJAMMU FRIDAY JULY 24, 2020

BUSINESS NEWS11

Telcos should provide location gridof bulk subscribers : DoT

New Delhi : Telecomoperators will now have toprovide the location grid ofthe premises of bulk sub-scribers during physical veri-fication for issuing new con-nections, according to a DoTorder.

Telecom companies willhave to provide a point of salecode through a portal to lawenforcement agencies, theorder said.

The Department ofTelecom (DoT) in an orderissued on July 20 asked tele-com operators to remove orcorrect gibberish text in con-sumer application form of allexisting connections that weregiven to customers using elec-

tronic know you customer (e-KYC) and Digital KYCprocesses.

"In case of issuing newmobile connections to thebulk subscriber, during thephysical verification of thepremises of bulk subscribers,the latitude/longitude of thepremises of the bulk sub-scriber and data and time ofthe inspection shall be cap-tured and the same shall beinserted in the CAF and data-base," the order said.

The move will ensure thatphysical verification of thebulk connections is done bytelecom companies.

DoT has mandated tele-com companies to conduct

inspection of premises of bulkconnection users every sixmonth and capture the loca-tion grid.

DoT has found gibberishentries in the consumer appli-cation form (CAF) submittedby telecom operators and theyhave been asked to remove orcorrect such anomalies in theexisting CAFs collectedthrough e-KYC and D-KYCprocesses.

The Department hadallowed telecom operators touse Aadhaar based e-KYCprocess from August 2016 butdiscontinued it following theSupreme Court judgement inAadhaar related matter inSeptember 2018.

Thereafter, DoT started D-KYC whereby telcos wereallowed to submit scannedcopy of customer's photo IDand address proof and digital-ly filled basic details of thesubscriber in CAF.

All the phone connectionsat present are issued throughD-KYC process.

Under the new rules, tele-com operators will have toverify details of the companyfrom the Ministry ofCorporate Affairs before acti-vating the SIM cards.

DoT has ordered theimplementation of the newprocess "within three monthsfrom the date of issue of theseinstructions".

Foreign cos among 16 entities inpre-bid for running pvt trains

New Delhi : Even as theIndian Railways plans tointroduce the first set of 12private trains in 2023, fol-lowed by 45 more in the nextfiscal, according to an initialtimeline drawn by theRailways, the national trans-porter held a pre-bid confer-ence and several internationalcompanies showed interest inthe project.

According to railway min-istry sources, Spanish coachand component maker CAF,Bombardier India, GMRgroup which owns and oper-ates two airports in the coun-try were among the prominentplayers which participated inthe pre-bid meeting.

Sources also said that pub-lic sector units (PSUs) likeRITES, Railways' tourismand catering arm IRCTC andBharat Heavy ElectricalsLimited (BHEL) also partici-pated in the meeting alongwith the Hyderabad-basedMedha Group, which had bidfor the Train 18 project, RK

Associates, Sterlite Power,Bharat Forge and JKBInfrastructure. The sourcessaid that Gateway Rail, JasonInfra, Hind Rectifier also par-ticipated in the meeting.

The 16 firms attended apre-application conference onthe private train project heldon Tuesday. However, therailways remained tightlippedon the companies that partici-pated in the meeting. TheRailways in a formal kickstartto its plans to allow privateentities to operate passengertrains on its network has invit-ed proposals from companiesto run 151 modern passengertrains on 109 pairs of routesacross the country. The proj-ect would entail private sectorinvestment of about Rs30,000 crore.

On Monday, a Railwaysspokesperson said that theissues and concerns raised bythe prospective private play-ers were discussed and clarifi-cations were provided by theofficials of the Ministry of

Railways and NITI Aayog forimproved clarity on the provi-sions of RFQ and biddingframework.

He said the queries weremainly related to eligibilitycriteria, bidding process, pro-curement of rakes, operationsof trains and composition ofclusters. The official furthersaid that there were queries onhaulage charges to which theRailways replied that haulagecharges will be specifiedupfront and will be suitablyindexed for the entire conces-sion period, thereby bringingcertainty in the haulagecharges.

"The Railways will alsoprovide the details of passen-ger traffic being handled onthe routes under bidding. Thiswill enable the bidders to dodue diligence for the project,"he said. The official also saidthat Railways has clarifiedthat trains to be operatedunder the project can be eitherpurchased or taken on leaseby the private entities. The

national transporter clarifiedthat risks with regard to oper-ation of trains shall be allocat-ed to the parties in an equi-table manner.

The Ministry of Railwayswill be providing writtenreplies to the queries receivedfrom the prospective appli-cants by July 31 and the sec-ond pre-application confer-ence is scheduled on August12. As part its privatisationplan, the Railways hasplanned to introduce 12 trainsin 2022-23, 45 in 2023-2024,50 in 2025-26 and 44 in 2026-27, taking the total number to151.

The request for qualifica-tion (RFQ), which was float-ed on July 8, is likely to befinalised by November, whilethe financial bids will beopened by March, 2021.

The selection of bidders isplanned to be done by April31, 2021, according to a time-line for introduction of privatepassenger trains prepared bythe Railways.

Good news for home loan borrowers, LIC HousingFinance reduces rate to all-time low of 6.90%

New Delhi : India's lead-ing housing finance mortgageloan firm LIC HousingFinance Ltd (LICHFL) onJuly 22 announced it hasreduced interest rate to anall-time low of 6.90 per-cent for new home loanborrowers having CIBILscore of 700 and above.

The rate of interest forhome loans up to Rs 50lakh starts from 6.90 per-cent for borrowers with aCIBIL score of 700 andabove, it said in a state-ment.

The firm said for aloan above Rs 50 lakh,the rate of interest is 7percent onwards for asimilar score.

"Home loan interestrates are at an all-time low forthe company and therebyresulting in low EMI pay-ment. Attractive price pointsand affordable EMI will aid inaddressing the demand sidefor buying homes," LICHFLManaging Director and Chief

Executive Officer (CEO)Siddhartha Mohanty said.

Through this product, thecompany is trying to create

demand, he told reporters.In April, the home finan-

cier had cut its home loanrates to 7.5 percent for newhome buyers having a Cibilscore of 800 and above.

Mohanty said there hasbeen a softening of the cost of

funds after a reduction in reporates by Reserve Bank ofIndia (RBI) in recent months.The company's cost of funds

currently stands at around 5.6percent.

He said below 25 percentof the company's total book isunder moratorium. Of its con-struction finance loan book ofRs 13,000 crore, around Rs8,500-9,000 crore is under

moratorium.The housing finance com-

pany also launched a specialhome loan product, Griha

Varishtha, for pensioners.The tenure is till attainmentof 80 years of age or maxi-mum up to 30 years,whichever is earlier.

This specially designedproduct caters to retired orserving employees of PSUinsurers, Central/state gov-ernment, railways,defence, banks, amongothers entitled to a pensionunder Defined BenefitPension Scheme.

For higher loan eligibil-ity, the applicant can alsojointly apply with theirearning children.

Additional benefitsunder this scheme include sixEquated MonthlyInstallments (EMI) waiver forcustomers going for ready tomove units or 48 monthsmoratorium period for pur-chase of under-constructionunits.

WhatsApp makes clear its plans on digital banking,to boost delivery of financial services to Indians

New Delhi : Instant mes-saging platform WhatsAppintends to foray into digitalbanking, financial services forthe masses and enable digiti-sation of small and mediumbusinesses to drive the gov-ernment’s financial inclusionagenda.

In a presentation at theGlobal Fintech Fest held vir-tually on July 22, the compa-ny’s top executive laid out itsIndia plans.

While Unified PaymentsInterface (UPI) based pay-ment is the starting point,enabling access to financialservices and complimentingthe banks’ digital offerings isthe ultimate aim forWhatsApp in India, saidAbhijit Bose, India head forthe Facebook-owned compa-ny. The company will makeall these offerings through thepartnership route, workingwith banks, non-bankinglenders, insurance companies,innovative technology serviceproviders and fintech part-ners, he added.

“We will conduct multiplepilots over the next year-and-a-half to test for problems andtry to solve distribution chal-lenges. These pilots will bedone with our partners andinnovative tech partners ineach vertical,” he said.

WhatsApp has plans towork closely with banks andother financial serviceproviders to help low income

wage earners access threebasic financial services: pen-sion, insurance and microloans.

Citing empirical data,

Bose said there are around300 million wage earners inthe country who can accesspension schemes but theyhave not done so. The reasonbeing complicated sellingprocesses and lack of digitalliteracy among the target con-sumers. In order to bridge thisgap, WhatsApp intends toleverage its digital distribu-tion capabilities and reducethe cost of selling to theseconsumers.

What he cited for pension,he intends to replicate formicro credit and insurance aswell.

As more and more con-sumers and businesses comeonline, Bose said they willhave digital footprints. These

can be leveraged by banksand non-banking financialcompanies (NBFCs) to lendto this segment. He added thatbanks are not being able to

lend to small businessesbecause of the lack of data. Todecide on a loan, bankershave to recreate their profitand loss statements throughbank account details.

WhatsApp is eyeing thisopportunity only throughpartnerships since large stablebanks, given with the strengthof their balance sheets, canactually help bridge this gapin a cost effective manner.

Bose said acceleratedcredit delivery will help thegovernment achieve 67 per-cent of its GDP growth targetsfor the next five years.“Overall it will benefit theecosystem, increase con-sumption and also protect thepoor and vulnerable from

financial shocks.”WhatsApp for Business

app now has 15 million Indianbusinesses connecting withtheir customers. The platformcan leverage its business APIs(application programminginterfaces) for these partner-ships with more banks andfinancial institutions. It hastasted initial success withplayers like Kotak MahindraBank and ICICI Bank and isnow ready to scale up its part-nerships with more lenders.

The Facebook-ownedcompany counts India as itslargest market, with 400 mil-lion users. At a time whenIndia is standing at the cusp ofa digital revolution,WhatsApp wants to play thelead role along with bankingpartners. It is currently run-ning a pilot on WhatsAppPayments and is looking to golive soon. It has also partneredwith Reliance Jio to create adigital online to offline e-commerce experience forIndian consumers.

Industry insiders haveoften pointed out howWhatsApp wants to becomethe WeChat of India. With thisdetailed presentation, Bosehas indicated the aspirationsof the company clearly. As thetech giant tests and runs thesepilots in India, it also want torecreate this success amongits two billion user base in 180other countries the companyis present in.

How Tesla defined a new era for theglobal auto industry

New Delhi : Tesla Inc'srapid rise to become theworld's most valuable car-maker could mark the start ofa new era for the global autoindustry, defined by a SiliconValley approach to softwarethat is overtaking old-schoolmanufacturing know-how.

Tesla's ascent took manyinvestors by surprise. Butexecutives at Daimler AG, theparent company of Mercedes-Benz, had a close-up viewstarting in 2009 of how Teslaand its chief executive ElonMusk were taking a newapproach to building vehiclesthat challenged the estab-lished system.

Daimler, which bears thename of the man who invent-ed the modern car 134 yearsago, bought a nearly 10%Tesla stake in May 2009 in adeal which provided a $50million lifeline for the strug-gling start-up.

That investment gaveMercedes engineers an insideview of how Musk was will-ing to launch technology thatwasn't perfect, and thenrepeatedly upgrade it, usingsmartphone style over-the-airupdates, paying little regard toearly profitability.

Mercedes engineershelped Tesla develop itsModel S luxury sedan inexchange for access to Tesla'spartially hand-assembled bat-tery packs, but in 2014Daimler decided to sell theirstake amid doubts Tesla'sapproach could be industrial-ized at scale.

Tesla would go on to pio-neer new approaches in man-ufacturing, designs in soft-ware and electronic architec-ture which enable it to intro-duce innovations faster thanrivals, leaving analysts todraw comparisons withApple.

Three people directlyinvolved with the Mercedesside of the collaboration saidthe brief partnership high-lighted the collision of old andnew engineering cultures: theGerman obsession with long-term safety and control, whichrewarded evolution, and theSilicon Valley carmaker'sexperimental approach whichembraced radical thinking andfast innovation.

"Elon Musk has beenwalking on the edge of arazorblade in terms of the

aggression with which hepushes some technologies,"said a former Mercedes engi-neer who worked on the part-nership.

By contrast, Mercedes andother established automakersare still not comfortable aboutreleasing a new technology,such as partially automateddriving, without years of test-ing.

Tesla did not respond torequests for comment.

Investors currently favorthe Tesla model, in an indus-try undergoing fundamentaland dizzying change eventhough the U.S. carmaker willface an onslaught of compet-ing electric vehicles fromestablished automakers dur-ing the next few years.

Today, Tesla is worth near-ly $304.6 billion, more thansix times Daimler's 41.5-bil-lion-euro ($47.7 billion) mar-ket capitalization. That's eventhough Mercedes-Benz alonesold 935,089 cars in the firsthalf of 2020, dwarfing the179,050 delivered by Tesla inthe same period.

However much canchange; Tesla's share price hasbeen highly volatile over theyears and many industryexecutives and analysts ques-tion whether the company hasthe right formula for long-term success. It has yet todeliver a full year of profits,and it has increased its debtload as Musk has pushed toexpand with new factories inChina and Germany.

There is also regulatoryrisk; Musk has clashed withU.S. market watchdogs, whodemanded he step down asTesla's board chairman afteran aborted leveraged buyoutproposal in 2018. U.S. vehiclesafety regulators are alsolooking into a series of crash-

es of Tesla vehicles operatingon Autopilot, a system thatMusk has said will somedayenable fully autonomous driv-ing.

TWO CULTURES COL-LIDE

Daimler and Tesla begancollaborating after Mercedesengineers, who were develop-ing a second-generation elec-tric Smart car, bought a TeslaRoadster. They wereimpressed by the way Tesla

packaged batteries, soarranged a visit to SiliconValley to meet Musk inJanuary 2009 and ordered1,000 battery packs.

The collaboration expand-ed. At a joint press conferencein the Mercedes-Benz muse-um in Stuttgart in May 2009,Tesla said the partnershipwould "accelerate bringingour Tesla Model S to produc-tion and ensure that it is asuperlative vehicle".

For its part, Mercedeswanted to use Tesla's batteriesto power an electric version ofits compact Mercedes-BenzB-Class.

The Tesla Model S wouldhit the road in 2012. An elec-tric B-Class, arrived in show-rooms two years later.

Despite having batteriessupplied by Tesla, theMercedes had a shorter oper-ating range after Daimlerengineers configured the B-class more conservatively toaddress their concerns aboutlong-term battery degradationand the risk of overheating, asecond Daimler staffer whoworked on the joint projectstold Reuters.

German engineers foundthat Tesla engineers had notdone long-term stress tests onits battery. "We had to deviseour own programme of stresstests," the second Daimler

engineer said.Before starting production

of a new car, Daimler engi-neers specify a "Lastenheft" -a blueprint laying out theproperties of each componentfor suppliers. Significantchanges cannot be made oncethe design is frozen.

"This is also the way youcan guarantee that we will beprofitable during mass pro-duction. Tesla was not as con-cerned about this aspect," thesecond Daimler source said.

Daimler's engineers sug-gested the underbody of theModel S needed reinforcingto prevent debris from theroad puncturing a batterypack, the first Daimler engi-neer said.

To quash doubts aboutsafety and security, followinga series of battery fires, Teslaraised the ride height of itsvehicles, using an over-the-airupdate, and a few monthslater, in March 2014, said itwould add a triple underbodyshield to new Model S carsand offered to retrofit existingcars.

Musk was able to makeadjustments quickly thanks toTesla's ability to burn throughmore cash during develop-ment.

"At Mercedes you canmake such adjustments everythree years at best," the engi-neer said.

The Model S, a four-doorelectric sedan would go on tooutsell the flagship Mercedes-Benz S-Class in the UnitedStates in May 2013, and out-strip S-Class deliveries glob-ally by 2017.

MUSK: INNOVATE ORGO

Musk's relentless focus oninnovation explains, in part,why he has disrupted the tra-ditional auto world. In aninterview at the 2020 AirWarfare Symposium, pub-lished on YouTube, he wasasked about the importance ofinnovation among hisemployees.

"We certainly need thosethat do advanced engineeringto be innovative," Musk said."The incentive structure is setup ... such that innovation isrewarded. Making mistakesalong the way does not comewith a big penalty. But failureto try to innovate at all ...comes with a big penalty. Youwill be fired."

Indian job seekers slowly losing interestin opportunities in US : report

Mumbai : While the USremains the favourite destina-tion for Indians looking forjobs overseas, there has beena substantial fall in the num-ber of searches looking foremployment opportunities inAmerica, a report by globaljob portal Indeed has said.

According to the Indeeddata, job searches for theUSA fell to 42 per cent inJune 2020 from a high of 58per cent in January 2019.However, the US remainedthe favourite destination forIndians looking at jobsabroad, the report noted.

A downward trend thatpredates impacts of theCOVID-19 pandemic, andcorresponds instead withuncertainty around and tight-ening of the US immigrationpolicy, it added.

The data for this report iscompiled and analysed fromjob searches on the Indeedplatform.

Indian job seekersremained keen to explorework opportunities across theglobe, making up a significantfraction of those employed invarious sectors such as tech-nology, administration andmanagement, sales and con-sumer marketing, among oth-ers internationally, the report

said.Over the same period,

there was a rise in searches forthese roles in Canada, the

UAE, the United Kingdom,Singapore, Australia andQatar, it added.

As a group, Indian jobseekers are highly focused ontech in their job searches -almost nine of the top 10clicked jobs by Indians to theUSA are related to tech roles.

While looking for employ-ment abroad, there is greaterdemand for jobs in this sector,especially for niche roles,

including full-stack develop-er, development operationsengineers, business analysts.

"India is a unique market,not only in terms of its largeand youthful labour pool, butalso in the way that it iswoven into the global econo-my. It is one of the few coun-

tries in the world that has avery high rate of mobility.People from India are willingto work in different parts of

the world and return home foropportunities as well," IndeedIndia MD Sashi Kumar said.

This two-way migrationconnects India to the globallabour force and means Indiaholds tremendous potential interms of supplying the world'stalent, he added.

How Placement Agencies HelpGetting you the Dream Job

Agencies : Ever thoughtthat the shortest route betweenyou and your dream job mightgo through a placementagency? Placement agenciesplay an integral role in con-necting the employers withpotential employees. But,sadly around 92% of Indianyouth are unaware of onlineplacement services, asrevealed by a 2019 surveyconducted by the non-profitorganisation, Michael andSusan Dell Foundation(MSDF). Perhaps, one of thegreatest benefits of seekingthe help of a reliable place-ment agency in your jobsearch is that you get access tojobs that sometimes only suchagencies can help you withand that too with ease.Moreover, you are dealingwith experts who have thor-ough knowledge of the cur-rent job market scenario. Youcan get valuable help indesigning a smart CV, brush-ing up on your interviewskills, and meeting yourcareer goals. Placement agen-cies take a heavy load of offyour back by streamlining thewhole process - sending yourCV only to target companies,arranging interviews, and thenfollowing up with you. Here'show it all works -

" The First PhoneCall

Usually, the first time youcontact a placement agency,you will be asked questions

relating to your career goals,salary expectations, qualifica-tions, work flexibility, and thelikes. Moreover, you will alsobe asked to send in your CVso that it gives them a betteridea of your skills. An impor-tant thing to keep in mindwhile preparing your CV is toinclude keywords associatedwith your skills, academic

qualifications, career choice,etc. so when placement agen-cies enter it into their system,it becomes easy to search forit.

" The Next PhoneCall

Once you have sent yourCV off to a placement agency,all you have to do then is towait in eager anticipation ofwhat is called the second ornext phone call as the agencylooks for jobs that match yourCV. If the agency finds a rolethat seems compatible with

your CV, they will call you upto check if it's alright for themto send your CV to therecruiter. On getting the affir-mation, the placement agencywill send your CV to therespective company afterwhich the waiting gamebegins again for some time.Moreover, you should makesure to call the agency everycouple of weeks to stay in theloop.

" The Final CallProbably the most antici-

pated one, this phone call willhelp you now whether thecompany spoken of previouslyhas accepted you or not. If yes,then the placement agency willconnect you with the recruiterfor you to have a one-on-onewith them and if not, there's noreason to lose hope in a widepool of opportunities with anexperienced placement agencyby your side.

Looking for a reliableplacement agency to help youland the job of your dreams?Look no further thanRandstad India. Having alegacy of over 25 years, wespecialise in temporary andpermanent staffing, outsourc-ing, and other workforce solu-tions and can help you findthe job you're looking for. Getin touch with us today!

TRUTH PREVAILJAMMU FRIDAY JULY 24, 2020NEWS12

Major boost to Silk & Wool sectors in J&KLt Governor inaugurates modernized Woollen Spinning Plant, Silk Filatures at Solina

e-inaugurates upgraded Government Spinning Mill, NowsheraSRINAGAR, JULY 23 :

In order to give an impetus tothe Silk and Wool sectors inJ&K, the LieutenantGovernor, Girish ChandraMurmu today inaugurated theModernized and UpgradedGovernment WoollenSpinning Plant and SilkFilatures at Solina.

The Lt Governor also e-inaugurated ModernizedGovernment Spinning Mill,Nowshera, Srinagar.

All these units have beenmodernized and upgraded at atotal cost of Rs 16.22 cr witharound Rs 9.06 cr being fund-ed under languishing projects.

Sh. BVR Subrahmanyam,Chief Secretary; Sh. ManojKumar Dwivedi,Commissioner Secretary tothe Government, Industriesand Commerce, Sh.Pandurang K. Pole,Divisional CommissionerKashmir; Dr. Shahid IqbalChoudhary, DeputyCommissioner Srinagar; Sh.Sanjay Handoo, ManagingDirector, JK Industries andother senior officers werepresent on the occasion.

The Lt Governor appreci-ated the efforts of theIndustries and CommerceDepartment to revive the unitswhich had been closed andhave been made fit for opera-tion after decades.

He observed that with theoperationalization of theunits, the economic benefitswould reach a large section ofthe society, especially thoseassociated with cocoon andsheep rearing. A significantamount of raw silk and wool

which was being sent outsideJ&K without any value addi-tion, would now be processedand finished within J&K, headded.

The Lt Governor called forundertaking innovative strate-gy for creating markets for themanufactured products inthese units at national and

international level.He also enquired about the

interventions being made forthe revival of the historicalsilk unit and asked the con-cerned officers to focus onenhancing viabilities of suchbusiness units as self-sustain-ing and employment generat-ing public sector units.

The Lt Governor directedthe I&C Department to carryout repair and renovationwork of the buildings and sur-

roundings of the Solina com-plex at the earliest withoutdisturbing the architecture ofheritage buildings. Further, asa long term measure, theSolina Complex should bedeveloped as a cultural hubwherein arts, crafts and cul-ture would be showcased,besides also acting as a focal

point for craft shopping, cul-tural programs for local andtourists visiting J&K, headded. The Lt Governor alsotook a round of the WoollenSpinning Plant and SilkFilatures and inspected vari-ous sections.

Commissioner Secretaryto the Government, Industriesand Commerce Department,Manoj Kumar Dwivediinformed the Lt Governor thatthe Silk filatures would have

silk yarn production capacityof 40,000 kgs consumingaround 1,20,000 kgs ofcocoon, thus providing anassured market to around10,000 cocoon rearers.

It was further informedthat the Spinning Plant wouldbe consuming around2,00,000 kgs of local wool to

produce around 1,50,000 kgsof yarn which would beweaved at GovernmentWoollen Weaving Mills,Bemina to produce localtweed which has got goodlocal and national market. Inthe coming times, this facilitywill render an effective mar-ket support to the local farmerfamilies who will be benefit-ting by way of getting betterremuneration for the rawwool.

yudhvir, Priya Sethi felicitate meritorious studentsJammu, 23th July : J&K

BJP Vice President YudhvirSethi and former MinisterPriya Sethi today felicitatedmeritorious students whowere excelled in the recentlydeclared Class 8th, 10th and12th examinations, in a pro-gramme held here.

The function was organ-ized by BJP Jammu EastMandal comprising MandalPresident Jammu EastPraveen Kerni, MandalSecretary Suresh Bharti andMandal Treasurer NareshAbrol. Speaking on the occa-sion, Yudhvir Sethi congratu-lated the students for theirachievements and said thathard work is the only parame-ter for achieving the successand they should continue towork hard in life. He alsoadvised the students to main-tain good habits, principles,moral character, etc. whichare the keys to progress andprosperity. He also asked themeritorious students to helpthe fellow students to do wellin their career. He wishedthem success in future career.

Sethi also complimentedthe East Mandal for itsendeavor to encourage thestudents for their achieve-ments, adding that the initia-tive will go a long way ininspiring more students toexcel in their career.

Lauding their achievementin the board exams, the for-mer Minister Priya Sethi

stressed that it is just thebeginning and they need tocontinue with the same perse-verance, determination andhard work, as the greatermilestone awaits them. She

advised the students to strivefor excellence and choosetheir career with great care.She also asked them to workhard to secure admission innational level Institutions.

Mandal Secretary SureshBharti and Mandal TreasurerNaresh Abrol, while present-ing vote of thanks, advisedpeople of the area to maintainsocial distancing and wearmasks whenever they visit to

markets and other placeswhich are compulsory foreveryone to combat coron-avirus pandemic.

Among others who werepresent included RSS senior

Kaaryakartas Om ji Abrol andSurinder Gupta; District CoMedia Secretary SanjeevSawhney, District OfficeSecretary Mahila MorchaSunita Dadwal, DistrictTreasurer Yuva Morcha SahilMehra, District OfficeSecretary Yuva MorchaNipun Malhotra, DistrictSpokesperson OBC MorchaNikhil Roy, Mandal VicePresidents Arun Sethi and

Vinod Gupta, Mandal OfficeSecretary Ved Padha, MandalSpokesperson SubhashSangra, Mandal Social MediaSecretary Kanav Abrol,Mandal President Mahila

Morcha Neeru Anand,Mandal President YuvaMorcha, Parul Mehra, BoothPresidents Harcharan Singh,Chunni Singh, Tarun Sharma,Ramneek Singh and AnkushMishra; District VicePresident Mahila Morcha,Sunita Wazir, senior leaderMahila Morcha SunitaSharma and BJP senior lead-ers Ravi Singh, SubhashRaina and many others.

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Director Horticulture conductsextensive tour of Shopian

SHOPIAN, JULY 23 :Director, HorticultureKashmir, Ajaz Ahmad Bhat,today conducted an exten-sive tour of Shopian toinspect developmentalworks in the district.

The Director inspectedvarious developmentalworks including depart-mental nurseries, fruitplant Zainapora besidesothers and directed theconcerned to conduct timebound operations andensure proper mainte-nance of the departmentalfarm and nurseries.

He said field staff mustensure proper functioningof irrigation infrastructureand layout of distributionsystem at an earliestbesides advising them to con-duct urea spray in nursery

plants.During his visit to ACHD,

Zainapora, the Director appre-

ciated the efforts made forplantation of imported root

stock and its maintenance,amid the lockdown due toCOVID-19.

He instructed officers toprovide every possible sup-

port and guidance to theorchardists for remedialmeasures to be adopted as per

spray schedule whilefollowing the guide-lines and SOP relatedto COVID-19.

Meanwhile Bhatstressed that farmersmust shift their tradi-tional cultivation intoscientific and highdensity species forbetter yield.

He said 2.80 lakhnew root stockimported fromNetherland has beenplanted and keptunder quarantineconditions at thisfarm for propagationand multiplication

besides 3.50 lakh has alreadybeen distributed.

Sanchalika Arya Veerangana Dal underdistributing ration and other merchandise

TP CorrespondentJAMMU, July 23 :

Sanchalika AryaVeerangana Dal under the

patronage of Smt. SukritiChowdhary along with theexecutive members of herteam, namely - Smt. ArpanaSethi ( Mantrani ) , Smt.Monika Gupta ( Upmantrani) and Smt. Seema Gupta (Koshoadhyaksh ) andYogita ji (sehsanchalika)

took up the novel initiativetoday by distributing rationand other merchandise tothe most unprivileged, desti-

tute and the students livingbelow the poverty line. Thesaid initiative was startedfrom two schools namelyVasudev Kutumbakam situ-ated at Rajeev Nagar andTrikuta Nagar respectivelyand also to the toddlersstudying in Creche at

Narwal. Besides distributingto the aforementionedschools, the whole team ofArya Veerangana Dal led by

Smt. Sukriti Chowdharyalso distributed the rationamongst the students atDAV School KachiChawani, Arya KanyaPathshala Kachi Chawaniand Arya Kanya PathshalaPurani Mandi. Thde contri-butions of ration to the

recipients who were morethan 200 needy students,were made exclusively bythe Sanchalika Smt. Sukriti

Chowdhary and also by theArya Pratinidhi SabahJammu and Kashmir. Thisdrive was highly applaudedby the general masses. Itneeds to be mentioned thatthis drive is in continuationsince the inception ofCoronavirus pandemic.

SHOPIAN, JULY 23 :Deputy Commissioner (DC)Shopian, ChaudhryMohammad Yasin todayreviewed the arrangementsput in place for ensuing Eid-ul- Adha.

While addressing themeeting, the DC directed theconcerned officers to ensureavailability of essential com-modities and sacrificial ani-mals to the general publicbesides providing uninter-rupted drinking water facilityand power supply during thefestive occasion.

He also directed the offi-cers to take strict actionagainst black marketers,hoarders and erring shop-keepers besides thoseinvolved in violatingCOVID-19 related SOPs andguidelines issued by theGovt. from time to time.

The DC also directed offi-cers of Municipal Committeeto take care of cleanliness inand around the Jamia Masjid,main town and streets ofShopian district.

Among others the meetingwas attended by SDMZainapora and other con-cerned officers and officials.

Eid-ul-Adha arrangements reviewed

in Shopian

SRINAGAR, JULY 23 :Department of Informationand Public Relation (DIPR)has expressed grief and sor-row over the demise ofMother of Irshad ur Rehman,an employee of theDepartment.

A condolence meeting ofofficers and officials of theDepartment was held todayin which participantsexpressed sympathies withIrshad ur Rehman.

The meeting prayed foreternal peace to the departedsoul and courage to thebereaved family to bear thisirreparable loss.

DIPR condoles withIrshad ur Rehman

Cancellation of Annual Shri Amarnnath yatra 2020Decision in line with other religious events, will save lives : raman Suri

JAMMU, July 23 :Terming the decision by ShriAmarnath Shrine Board(SASB)of cancelling theannual Shri Amarnath ji Yatra2020 due to rising cases ofCOVID-19, as responsibleand mature, Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP) J&KExecutiveMember Raman Suri todaysaid that this move will helpsave lives as no pilgrim aswell as no person from themanagement side will con-verge and crowd at any place.

Raman Suri said that thedevotees all over the worldmust be feeling sad about thedecision but since it is aimedat saving lives, it is absolutelyapt and in the right direction.In addition, Chari Mubarakhas already reached theShankracharya Temple inSrinagar and all rituals arebeing followed by a selectfew to keep the flame of faithburning. This itself is a greatwork where saints are prayingfor world peace, good healthof all and the end of COVID-19 crisis.

Raman Suri, while laudingthe decision of SASB led byLieutenant Governor G CMurmu, said that there was no

other way through which therush or people's convergencecould have been stopped atthe places that enroute theCave Shrine. Now thatDailyAarti from the CaveShrine is being telecasted live,

devotees can have some sol-ace and do prayers from theirhome itself.

Raman Suri added that thisdecision of SASB has beentaken in line with all otherreligious events that have also

been cancelled during thepast. He also lauded severalother Biradaris for cancellingtheir congregations in wake ofpandemic. Their decision, headded, is maturely taken andaims at saving lives.

Jammu Fruits and Vegetables Association Sabzi Mandi Narwal regardingthe latest guidelines and directions issued by DM Jammu

SRINAGAR, JULY 23:The government todaydirected that the patientsfrom districts will be admit-ted at category I health insti-tutions in Srinagar only onproper referral by the DistrictHealth authorities.

The patients from districtswill be accepted and admittedat Category I Health Careinstitutions in Srinagar i.e.SKIMS Soura, SMHS

Hospital, Chest DiseasesHospital, Srinagar andSKIMS Medical College &Hospital Bemina, only whenthey are properly referred bythe District Health authoritiesin consultation with theDirector Health Kashmir orhis authorised representative,said the communique.

This shall be ensured bythe Director Health Services,Kashmir, to reduce the case

load in the tertiary care insti-tutions, so that only thepatients requiring criticalcare are admitted in theaforesaid Institutions, thecommunique added.

It (communique) furtherasked to adhere to theinstructions strictly as thepatients from other districtsare reporting directly toCategory I Tertiary Careinstitutions in Srinagar.

Category I Health institutions in Srinagarto admit patients only on referral

BANDIPORA, JULY 23: Deputy Commissioner(DC) Bandipora, Dr OwaisAhmed today convened ameeting of religious leaders,Imams, Khateebs, Awqafmembers, civil society mem-bers to sensitize them aboutCOVID-19 containmentmeasures taken by the gov-ernment.

While addressing themeeting the DC said that waragainst the pandemic cannotbe won without the activecooperation from the public,they need to take extra care to

prevent the virus fromspreading.

He said the religious lead-ers should play an importantrole in raising awarenessamong masses regarding theuse of masks, sanitizers,avoiding gatherings andother health measures to pre-vent the spread of disease.

Dr Owais also sensitizedthe meeting about the issuesof concealing travel history,social stigma, violation oflockdown and importance offollowing health guidelinesand urged imams and civil

society members to also cre-ate awareness regardingthese issues for the goodcause. Among others, themeeting was attended byAdditional DeputyCommissioner ZahoorAhmed Mir, AssistantCommissioner Revenue,President MunicipalCommittee Bandipora, Hajinand Sumbal, Presidents oftraders federations, imamsand religious leaders fromdifferent areas of the districtbesides other senior officersof the district.

Imams, civil society members sensitisedon Covid-19 containment in B’pora

TP CorrespondentJAMMU : A press note

has been made by the SardarSurinder Singh (Kala)President, The Jammu Fruitsand Vegetables AssociationSabzi Mandi Narwal Jammuregarding the latest guidelinesand directions issued by theDistrict Magistrate Jammu. Inwhish the district Magistratemade a complete restrictionson the movements of the indi-viduals, vehicles and all theactivities with in theJurisdiction of the Jammu dis-trict expect in case of medicalemergency and in the order itis also mentioned that onlylocal chemist, fruit and veg-etables and dairy shops canremain accessible for commu-nity need.

Sardar Surinder Singh

(Kala) said that DM has notmenioned taht how the veg-etables grwers / farmers /Raddywala / vegetable shop-keepers will reach to the SabziMandi. The police is notallowing any one to enter intothe Sabzi Mandi which hascreated to the problesm of thewhole seller and farmers toreach the Mandi and the col-lies to handle the vegetablesfrom the Trucks and Lorries.

Sardar Surinder Singh(Kala) sad that Narwal MandiJammu daily brought 10 croreruppes vegetables and fruitsfromt he adjoiing states aswell as from Kashmir Valley,and if no one is allowed toenter into the Sabzi and Fruitmandi, how the fruits andvegetable whole seller willwork in Sabzi Mandi and all

the businessmen of the fruitsand vegetable whill die withina week. So it is urgent need ofthe all the stakeholders of thefruits and vegetable allow thebusiness smoothly by issuinga certain kind of pass.

Sardar Surinder Singh(Kala) requested to theDistrict Magistate Smt.Sushma Chouhan to pleaselisten the genuine demand fothe all stake holders and toallow the Collies / Raddywalas / Hawkers /Shopkeepers to enter int ehSabzi and Fruit Mandi for saleand purchase of the vegeta-bles and Fruits and other dayto day routing work in theSabzi Mandi and possibly byissuing a pass system.

Meanwhile, District mag-istrate Jammu issued weekend

lockdown order recently . Asper weekend lockdown thefruit and vegetables shops andchemists shops are to beremained open in weekendlockdown period from Friday6 p.m. to monday 6 a.m.DMclearly said it in her order Nocurfew pass Or other pass willbe issued . Now the NarwalMandi traders are feelingsconfused because how willthey come to mandi for trad-ing fruits and vegetables.Their appeal to DM is toplease make old passesacceptable in weekend lock-down. Vegetable mandi presi-dent Surinder Singh Kala alsoappeals to DM to considerproblem of traders if theirgeneral problems not sort outthen they will be facing hugelosses.

Confusion in Narwal Mandi tradersregarding weekend lockdown

RAMBAN, JULY 23 :District Legal ServiceAuthority (DLSA) Ramban,in coordination with depart-ment of ISM, Thursdayorganized a day long Medicalcum Awareness Camp on“Corona Virus” under theChairmanship of PrincipalDistrict & Sessions JudgeRamban, Kishore Kumar,here at the District CourtComplex.

Secretary, District LegalServices Authority (SubJudge), Ramban, AmitSharma coordinated theMedical cum AwarenessCamp about the prevention ofCORONAVIRUS (COVID-19).

The team of AYSUHdepartment comprises Dr.Sanjay Kumar (MedicalOfficer), Dr. Subash and Dr.Sudhar Kholi, besidesJudicial officers and officialsparticipated in the camp.

During the camp, thedepartment of ISM distributedthe immunity booster medi-cines including Ashwagandha

Churna, Amritarishta, Ayush-64, and Chyawanprash amongthe participants.

Addressing the gathering,Amit Sharma made peopleaware about the COVID-19and advised them to take pre-cautions as per advisories

issued by the Government,particularly in view of thespike in positive cases in thedistrict.

He further advised thepeople to wear mask, washhands with soap, use handsanitizers and maintainsocial distance out of home aswell as entering in the courtpremises, besides interactingwith staff.

DLSA ramban organises Medical cumAwareness Camp on CoronaVirus TP Correspondent

Jammu, 23th July :Today, aged and Infirmed per-sons, neglected by familiesneed sympathies includinghealth-care especially admistCOVID-19 and as such realiz-ing such responsibilities, Ms.Kamini Mahajan-Advocate,J&K High Court and her asso-ciate Ms. Tarika Mahajan pro-vided Masks, tea/refreshmentbesides sanitizing the buildingat The Home for the aged andInfirm (Vridh Aashram),Ambphalla, Jammu andarranged one day’s dinner forthe inmates and staff. Speakingon the occasion, Kamini saidthe people should come for-ward to take care of this classof people and the managementand inmates should observeguidelines of the Government

against COVID-19. Mr.Parvinder Pal Singh and Mr.Harjot Singh took keen interest

in service to inmates of theHome. The management andhapless inmates of the Home

highly appreciated the spirit ofHuman service, the same beingthe need of the hour which

helps in bandaging the suffer-ings of such like deserted classof people.

Service to age and infirmduring covid-19