2W ^fde_¶e SV cVXZ`_R] eYcVRe+ 3C:4D - Daily Pioneer

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I ndia on Thursday outlined its priority at the BRICS summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that the forum adopted a counter-terrorism plan. Russia specifically brought in Afghanistan issue saying the situation there is “a threat to peace” and should not become “a threat to its neighbouring countries, a source of terrorism and drug trafficking.” Participating in the 13th BRICS summit chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping chose not to mention Afghanistan in his remarks. Barring Russia, none of the attending top leaders men- tioned the alarming situation in Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover with an active support of Pakistan. Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Afghan crisis is “a threat to peace”. A statement released later by Ministry of External Affairs titled “XIII BRICS Summit: New Delhi Declaration”, said, “We call for refraining from violence and settling the situ- ation by peaceful means. We stress the need to con- tribute to fostering an inclusive intra-Afghan dialogue so as to ensure stability, civil peace, law and order in the country.” “We condemn in the strongest terms the terrorist attacks near the Hamid Karzai Kabul International Airport that resulted in a large number of deaths and injuries. We underscore the priority of fight- ing terrorism, including pre- venting attempts by terrorist organisations to use Afghan territory as terrorist sanctuary and to carry out attacks against other countries, as well as drug trade within Afghanistan”, said the statement. A single dose of Covid vac- cine is 96.6 per cent effec- tive in preventing death and two Covid shots 97.5 per cent effective in checking fatality, the Health Ministry said on Thursday underscoring the need for vaccination of every individual in the country. Presently, 58 per cent of the country’s adult population has received at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine, while 18 per cent have got both the shots, the total number of jabs administered in India has crossed 72 crore. “The vaccines are disease- modifying in that they prevent serious disease and death. They are not disease-preventing,” Balram Bhargava, director gen- eral, Indian Council of Medical Research said at a Press con- ference here. The data analysed is for the period between April and August and did not distin- guish between the different Covid vaccines currently being administered in the country, said Dr Bhargava. This information, along with more data on break- through infections, is expected to be made available on the India Covid-19 vaccine track- er, which will be launched on the Health Ministry’s website soon, he said. The tracker combines data from CoWIN, the national Covid-19 testing database and the Covid-19 India portal of the Health Ministry to understand the trends in vaccination. “The data so far has shown the same effectiveness across all age groups in preventing mor- tality,” Dr Bhargava added. While the data shows only just about one per cent increase in effectiveness after the second dose, the Government has also appealed to people to ensure that they take the second dose of the vaccine. Rajesh Bhushan, Union Health Secretary, added that the pace of vaccination has picked up in September, with an average of 7.8 million doses administered daily so far. “The total number of doses given in the last nine days is more than 60 million, which was higher than the total doses given in the entire month of May,” he said. On the timelines of avail- ability of vaccines such as Moderna and Johnson & Johnson which have been given the emergency use authorisa- tion, VK Paul, chairman, National Covid Task Force and member-health Niti Aayog said, “There are issues around on we have to find common ground with manufacturers.” T he Supreme spiritual leader of Taliban, Shaikh Haibatullah, late on Wednesday released the policies of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan following the announcement of the interim “Cabinet of the New Islamic Sharia Government in Kabul.” His assertions are expect- ed to be the long-term policy priorities for the Taliban regime, experts said. “We want to have a peace- ful, prosperous and self-reliant Afghanistan, for which we will strive to eliminate all causes of war and strife in the country, and our countrymen to live in complete security and happi- ness,” said Haibatullah outlin- ing the Afghan national prior- ity under the new regime. On the relations with neighbours, he said, “We want strong and healthy relations with our neighbors and all other countries based on mutu- al respect and interaction. Our relations with those countries will be based on Afghanistan’s highest interests and commit- ments that do not contradict Islamic Sharia and national values of the country, we urge the countries of the world to value strong and good political relations, diplomatic relations and good relations with us.” “Dear compatriots: Congratulations on the with- drawal of all foreign forces, the end of the occupation and the complete liberation of the country... We wish paradise to all the martyrs, healing to the wounded and disabled, healing to the imprisoned and all the suffering in the last 20 years of jihadi struggle for the freedom and establishment of the Islamic system of the country,” he said in his statement. T he interim Government of the Islamic Emirates of Afghanistan (IEA) is likey to take oath of office on September 11, a day which also marks the 20th anniver- sary of the 9/11 attacks in the US in 2001. As per reports, the newly- formed Taliban government has rolled out invitations to var- ious countries to be part of the oath-taking ceremony, includ- ing China, Turkey, Pakistan, Iran, Qatar, India and interest- ingly, the US. Taliban announced the names of their interim govern- ment officials, emphasising that the formation in Afghanistan will be under a caretaker setup. The Taliban are seeking inter- national recognition and have called on the countries to reopen their embassies in the war-torn nation. “We recognise that peace and stability are must for investments. We want good relations with all the neigh- bours, including China,” said Zabiullah Mujahid, spokesper- son for the Taliban. “The war has ended, the country is getting out of the cri- sis. It is now the time for peace and reconstruction. We need people to support us. Afghanistan has the right to be recognised. The international community should open their embassies in Kabul,” he added. However, the internation- al community is still not ready to recognise the announced interim Government of the Taliban and has raised ques- tions over non-inclusivity of various other ethnic groups. A mid raging controversy over allotment of room for offering ‘Namaz’ leading to disruption of House proceed- ings by Opposition BJP, Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahto on the last day of Monsoon ses- sion constituted a seven mem- ber committee, which will look into the issue and come out with a report within 45 days. The panel with legislator Stephen Marandi as its con- vener will comprise legislators from both treasury and Opposition benches has been asked to come out with its report at earliest. The other members of the committee includes Pradeep Yadav (Congress), Neelkanth Singh Munda (BJP), Sarfaraz Ahmed (JMM), Vinod Singh (CPI- ML), Lambodar Mahto (AJSU Party) and Deepika Pandey Singh (Congress). Convener Stephen Marandi is senior law- maker from JMM. Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahto made the announce- ment for constituting the com- mittee after JMM legislator from Gandey, Sarfraz Ahmed gave a proposal to this effect asking the Speaker to reconsider the deci- sion on allotment of a room for prayer as Namaz cannot be offered on disputed land. Sarfraz’s proposal was sup- ported by Congress legisla- tors, Pradeep Yadav and Bandhu Tirkey. The two law- makers said that the remark and thought of the JMM law- maker reflects the true spirit of secularism of Country. BJP legislator Bhanu Pratap Shahi also supported the proposal saying it could have come on the very first day of the session, adding that though the words have come from the mouth of JMM legislators but it match- es with the thought of the BJP. “We need to end the stand- off in the interests of the State and its people. It is not good for MLAs as well. Under the cir- cumstances, I took a decision to place the matter before an all party committee and the Chair will support whatever decision is given by it,” the Speaker said. The Monsoon session that began on September 3 remained stormy and wit- nessed protests by the main opposition BJP over the allot- ment both inside and outside the House. It may be noted that the Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahto on Friday last allotted room number TW 348 for offering Namaz, prompting demand from the BJP to build a Hanuman temple and places of worship of other religions on the Assembly premises. On Wednesday, several BJP workers, including its State chief Deepak Prakash, report- edly sustained injuries after the police resorted to lathicharge while they were protesting against a move to allocate a spe- cial room for offering Namaz. Protesting against the police lathicharge, the BJP MLAs on Thursday, sporting black straps, raised slogans like “Lathi, Goli, Wali Sarkar Nahi Chalegi ‘’ while protesting ‘lathi charge’ and use of water cannons on protesters. Also, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in Jharkhand High Court against the allotment of room for offer- ing Namaz in the Jharkhand Assembly. The PIL filed by one Bhairav Singh requested for a judicial review whether such an allotment can be done or not on premises that are constructed with public money. T he active caseload of Covid- 19 crossed the 150-mark in Jharkhand on Thursday as fresh cases of Coronavirus infection outnumbered Covid recoveries in the state for the third con- secutive day, figures compiled by the National Health Mission (NHM) highlighted. At least 27 fresh Covid cases against 12 Covid recov- eries took the active Covid caseload in the state to 154, a bulletin from NHM stated. Ranchi alone accounted for 18 cases on the day and the active caseload here jumped to 94 as only six patients recov- ered from the viral infection in this district. The State on Thursday tested swab samples of 49,950 residents and 0.05 per cent of them were found infected by SARS-CoV-2, indicating a rise in the daily positivity rate of Covid-19. As per government data, over 3.48 Jharkhand res- idents have been infected by coronavirus so far and 98.48 per cent of them have recov- ered, while 1.47 per cent of patients could not survive. At least 20 of 24 districts did not report fresh Covid cases on the day. Dhanbad reported four cases against one recovery, while East Sighbhum reported two cases and the same number of recoveries. At least three people were found infected in Deoghar, while no patient recovered from the viral infection there. While the trajectory of active Covid cases continued to see an upward trend, the vac- cination numbers in Jharkhand could not cross the 1-lakh- mark on Thursday. As per a report from the NHM, Jharkhand on Thursday administered the first dose of vaccine to as many as 57,539 residents, while the second jab was administered to at least 22,200 beneficiaries. Nearly 60,000 beneficiaries vaccinated on the day fell in the age bracket of 18 years to 44 years. Ranchi vaccinated about 11,000 residents on the day, the highest among the 24 districts in Jharkhand, NHM data high- lighted. At least 88 session sites opened their doors for vaccine beneficiaries here, while only 31 session sites remained opera- tional in Bokaro, the district which inoculated around 7000 residents, the second highest among Jharkhand districts. According to a press com- munique from the health department, Jharkhand has so far administered the first dose of vaccine against Covid-19 to over 1.14 crore residents and around 30 lakh of them have also received the second jab. The state, as per govern- ment records, had at least 15.38 lakh vaccine doses in stock before the session sites opened their doors on Thursday. As per government data, there were 1.5 lakh Covaxin doses and 13.87 lakh Covishield doses in stock before vaccination began on Thursday. A Hercules C-130J plane of the Indian Air Force (IAF) carrying Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, and Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat, conducted a mock emergency landing on the national highway on Thursday. NH-925, which connects Barmer and Jalore towns, is India’s first national highway to be used for emergency landing of IAF aircraft. Gadkari and Rajnath Singh on Thursday inaugurat- ed a three-km-long emergency landing strip for the IAF air- craft. Gadkari assured the IAF that the emergency land- ing strips for the armed force’s planes will be developed with- in 15 days instead of 1.5 years. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) took about 19 months to construct the emergency landing strip on Satta-Gandhav stretch on NH- 925 in Barmer.

Transcript of 2W ^fde_¶e SV cVXZ`_R] eYcVRe+ 3C:4D - Daily Pioneer

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India on Thursday outlined itspriority at the BRICS summit

with Prime Minister NarendraModi saying that the forumadopted a counter-terrorismplan. Russia specificallybrought in Afghanistan issuesaying the situation there is “athreat to peace” and should not become “a threat toits neighbouring countries, asource of terrorism and drugtrafficking.”

Participating in the 13thBRICS summit chaired byPrime Minister NarendraModi, Chinese President XiJinping chose not to mentionAfghanistan in his remarks.

Barring Russia, none ofthe attending top leaders men-tioned the alarming situation inAfghanistan following theTaliban takeover with an activesupport of Pakistan.

Russian President VladimirPutin said the Afghan crisis is“a threat to peace”.

A statement released laterby Ministry of External Affairstitled “XIII BRICS Summit:

New Delhi Declaration”, said,“We call for refraining fromviolence and settling the situ-ation by peaceful means. We stress the need to con-tribute to fostering an inclusiveintra-Afghan dialogue so as toensure stability, civil peace,law and order in the country.”

“We condemn in thestrongest terms the terroristattacks near the Hamid KarzaiKabul International Airportthat resulted in a large numberof deaths and injuries. Weunderscore the priority of fight-ing terrorism, including pre-venting attempts by terroristorganisations to use Afghanterritory as terrorist sanctuaryand to carry out attacks againstother countries, as well as drugtrade within Afghanistan”, saidthe statement.

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Asingle dose of Covid vac-cine is 96.6 per cent effec-

tive in preventing death andtwo Covid shots 97.5 per centeffective in checking fatality, theHealth Ministry said onThursday underscoring theneed for vaccination of everyindividual in the country.

Presently, 58 per cent of thecountry’s adult population hasreceived at least one dose ofcoronavirus vaccine, while 18per cent have got both theshots, the total number of jabsadministered in India hascrossed 72 crore.

“The vaccines are disease-modifying in that they preventserious disease and death. Theyare not disease-preventing,”Balram Bhargava, director gen-eral, Indian Council of MedicalResearch said at a Press con-ference here.

The data analysed is for theperiod between April andAugust and did not distin-guish between the differentCovid vaccines currently beingadministered in the country,said Dr Bhargava.

This information, alongwith more data on break-through infections, is expectedto be made available on the

India Covid-19 vaccine track-er, which will be launched onthe Health Ministry’s websitesoon, he said.

The tracker combines datafrom CoWIN, the nationalCovid-19 testing database andthe Covid-19 India portal of theHealth Ministry to understandthe trends in vaccination.

“The data so far has shownthe same effectiveness across allage groups in preventing mor-tality,” Dr Bhargava added.

While the data shows onlyjust about one per cent increasein effectiveness after the seconddose, the Government has alsoappealed to people to ensurethat they take the second doseof the vaccine.

Rajesh Bhushan, Union

Health Secretary, added thatthe pace of vaccination haspicked up in September, withan average of 7.8 million dosesadministered daily so far.

“The total number of dosesgiven in the last nine days ismore than 60 million, whichwas higher than the total dosesgiven in the entire month ofMay,” he said.

On the timelines of avail-ability of vaccines such asModerna and Johnson &Johnson which have been giventhe emergency use authorisa-tion, VK Paul, chairman,National Covid Task Force andmember-health Niti Aayogsaid, “There are issues aroundon we have to find commonground with manufacturers.”

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The Supreme spiritual leaderof Taliban, Shaikh

Haibatullah, late on Wednesdayreleased the policies of theIslamic Emirate of Afghanistanfollowing the announcement ofthe interim “Cabinet of theNew Islamic ShariaGovernment in Kabul.”

His assertions are expect-ed to be the long-term policypriorities for the Talibanregime, experts said.

“We want to have a peace-ful, prosperous and self-reliantAfghanistan, for which we willstrive to eliminate all causes ofwar and strife in the country,and our countrymen to live incomplete security and happi-ness,” said Haibatullah outlin-ing the Afghan national prior-ity under the new regime.

On the relations withneighbours, he said, “We wantstrong and healthy relationswith our neighbors and allother countries based on mutu-

al respect and interaction. Ourrelations with those countrieswill be based on Afghanistan’shighest interests and commit-ments that do not contradictIslamic Sharia and nationalvalues of the country, we urgethe countries of the world tovalue strong and good politicalrelations, diplomatic relationsand good relations with us.”

“Dear compatriots:Congratulations on the with-drawal of all foreign forces, theend of the occupation and thecomplete liberation of thecountry... We wish paradise toall the martyrs, healing to thewounded and disabled, healingto the imprisoned and all thesuffering in the last 20 years ofjihadi struggle for the freedomand establishment of theIslamic system of the country,”he said in his statement.

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The interim Government ofthe Islamic Emirates of

Afghanistan (IEA) is likey totake oath of office onSeptember 11, a day which also marks the 20th anniver-sary of the 9/11 attacks in theUS in 2001.

As per reports, the newly-formed Taliban governmenthas rolled out invitations to var-ious countries to be part of theoath-taking ceremony, includ-ing China, Turkey, Pakistan,Iran, Qatar, India and interest-ingly, the US.

Taliban announced thenames of their interim govern-ment officials, emphasising that

the formation in Afghanistanwill be under a caretaker setup.The Taliban are seeking inter-national recognition and havecalled on the countries toreopen their embassies in thewar-torn nation.

“We recognise that peaceand stability are must for

investments. We want goodrelations with all the neigh-bours, including China,” saidZabiullah Mujahid, spokesper-son for the Taliban.

“The war has ended, thecountry is getting out of the cri-sis. It is now the time for peaceand reconstruction. We needpeople to support us.Afghanistan has the right to berecognised. The internationalcommunity should open theirembassies in Kabul,” he added.

However, the internation-al community is still not readyto recognise the announcedinterim Government of theTaliban and has raised ques-tions over non-inclusivity ofvarious other ethnic groups.

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Amid raging controversyover allotment of room

for offering ‘Namaz’ leading todisruption of House proceed-ings by Opposition BJP,Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahtoon the last day of Monsoon ses-sion constituted a seven mem-ber committee, which will lookinto the issue and come outwith a report within 45 days.

The panel with legislatorStephen Marandi as its con-vener will comprise legislatorsfrom both treasury andOpposition benches has beenasked to come out with itsreport at earliest. The othermembers of the committeeincludes Pradeep Yadav(Congress), Neelkanth SinghMunda (BJP), Sarfaraz Ahmed(JMM), Vinod Singh (CPI-ML), Lambodar Mahto (AJSUParty) and Deepika PandeySingh (Congress). ConvenerStephen Marandi is senior law-maker from JMM.

Speaker Rabindra NathMahto made the announce-

ment for constituting the com-mittee after JMM legislator fromGandey, Sarfraz Ahmed gave aproposal to this effect asking theSpeaker to reconsider the deci-sion on allotment of a room forprayer as Namaz cannot beoffered on disputed land.

Sarfraz’s proposal was sup-ported by Congress legisla-tors, Pradeep Yadav andBandhu Tirkey. The two law-makers said that the remarkand thought of the JMM law-maker reflects the true spirit ofsecularism of Country. BJPlegislator Bhanu Pratap Shahialso supported the proposalsaying it could have come onthe very first day of the session,adding that though the wordshave come from the mouth ofJMM legislators but it match-es with the thought of the BJP.

“We need to end the stand-off in the interests of the Stateand its people. It is not good forMLAs as well. Under the cir-cumstances, I took a decision toplace the matter before an allparty committee and the Chairwill support whatever decisionis given by it,” the Speaker said.

The Monsoon session thatbegan on September 3remained stormy and wit-

nessed protests by the mainopposition BJP over the allot-ment both inside and outside

the House.It may be noted that the

Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahto

on Friday last allotted roomnumber TW 348 for offeringNamaz, prompting demandfrom the BJP to build aHanuman temple and places ofworship of other religions onthe Assembly premises.

On Wednesday, several BJPworkers, including its Statechief Deepak Prakash, report-edly sustained injuries after thepolice resorted to lathichargewhile they were protestingagainst a move to allocate a spe-cial room for offering Namaz.Protesting against the policelathicharge, the BJP MLAs on

Thursday, sporting black straps,raised slogans like “Lathi, Goli,Wali Sarkar Nahi Chalegi ‘’while protesting ‘lathi charge’and use of water cannons onprotesters.

Also, a Public InterestLitigation (PIL) has been filed inJharkhand High Court againstthe allotment of room for offer-ing Namaz in the JharkhandAssembly. The PIL filed by oneBhairav Singh requested for ajudicial review whether such anallotment can be done or not onpremises that are constructedwith public money.

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The active caseload of Covid-19 crossed the 150-mark in

Jharkhand on Thursday as freshcases of Coronavirus infectionoutnumbered Covid recoveriesin the state for the third con-secutive day, figures compiledby the National Health Mission(NHM) highlighted.

At least 27 fresh Covidcases against 12 Covid recov-eries took the active Covidcaseload in the state to 154, abulletin from NHM stated.Ranchi alone accounted for18 cases on the day and theactive caseload here jumped to94 as only six patients recov-ered from the viral infection inthis district.

The State on Thursdaytested swab samples of 49,950residents and 0.05 per cent ofthem were found infected bySARS-CoV-2, indicating a rise

in the daily positivity rate ofCovid-19. As per governmentdata, over 3.48 Jharkhand res-idents have been infected bycoronavirus so far and 98.48per cent of them have recov-ered, while 1.47 per cent ofpatients could not survive.

At least 20 of 24 districtsdid not report fresh Covidcases on the day. Dhanbadreported four cases against onerecovery, while East Sighbhum

reported two cases and thesame number of recoveries. Atleast three people were foundinfected in Deoghar, while nopatient recovered from theviral infection there.

While the trajectory ofactive Covid cases continued tosee an upward trend, the vac-cination numbers in Jharkhand

could not cross the 1-lakh-mark on Thursday.

As per a report from theNHM, Jharkhand on Thursdayadministered the first dose ofvaccine to as many as 57,539residents, while the second jabwas administered to at least22,200 beneficiaries. Nearly60,000 beneficiaries vaccinated

on the day fell in the agebracket of 18 years to 44 years.

Ranchi vaccinated about11,000 residents on the day, thehighest among the 24 districtsin Jharkhand, NHM data high-lighted. At least 88 session sitesopened their doors for vaccinebeneficiaries here, while only 31session sites remained opera-tional in Bokaro, the districtwhich inoculated around 7000residents, the second highestamong Jharkhand districts.

According to a press com-munique from the healthdepartment, Jharkhand has sofar administered the first doseof vaccine against Covid-19 toover 1.14 crore residents andaround 30 lakh of them havealso received the second jab.

The state, as per govern-ment records, had at least 15.38lakh vaccine doses in stockbefore the session sites openedtheir doors on Thursday. As pergovernment data, there were1.5 lakh Covaxin doses and13.87 lakh Covishield doses instock before vaccination beganon Thursday.

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AHercules C-130J plane ofthe Indian Air Force (IAF)

carrying Defence MinisterRajnath Singh, Road Transportand Highways Minister NitinGadkari, Jal Shakti MinisterGajendra Singh Shekhawat,and Chief of Defence StaffBipin Rawat, conducted a mockemergency landing on thenational highway on Thursday.

NH-925, which connectsBarmer and Jalore towns, isIndia’s first national highway tobe used for emergency landingof IAF aircraft.

Gadkari and RajnathSingh on Thursday inaugurat-

ed a three-km-long emergencylanding strip for the IAF air-craft. Gadkari assured theIAF that the emergency land-ing strips for the armed force’splanes will be developed with-in 15 days instead of 1.5 years.

The National HighwaysAuthority of India (NHAI) took about 19 monthsto construct the emergency landing strip onSatta-Gandhav stretch on NH-925 in Barmer.

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City-based suicide preven-tion centre Jeevan has

saved 700 lives from commit-ting suicide in the last 15 yearsof its establishment. Moreover,around 10,000 people havecontacted the centre so far toseek counseling. On the eve of World SuicidePrevention Day, the centreshared its achievements.

Director of Jeevan J R Jainsaid that the Jeevan has playeda key role to curb rising sui-cides in the city especiallyyouths. In the last 15 years, thecentre has been able to save thelives of 700 people. “ Around700 people were those whowanted to end their lives butour volunteers managed tocounsel and motivate them tolead a healthy life,” said Jain.

Mahabir Ram, founderdirector, Jeevan said that theircentre is working hard to cre-

ate awareness and stop themenace but still a lot needs tobe done. He said that mediacan play a key role to controlsuicide. Ram noted that themedia must follow responsiblereporting and do

“When the media publish-es repeated stories about adeath or attempt in explicitdetail, the vulnerable may bepushed over the edge and copywhat they read or see. These arecalled imitative suicides. Theneed of the hour is to create astress free environment,” saidRam. Promisingly, the mediaalso has the ability to be a pow-erful ally in suicide prevention.By simply providing contactinformation of support servicesfor people in distress, dis-pelling common myths on sui-cide and sharing stories ofindividuals who have over-come suicidal thoughts, jour-nalists and media houses cansave lives.

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It was a surprise for the Rawalfamily when the postman

came with a letter sent byPrime Minister NarendraModi that contained blessingsfor a newlywed couple thatmarried amidst Corona restric-tions recently.

Dhruva Rawal son ofShailesh Rawal recently gotmarried with Sonal Ambani ofAhmedabad.

Talking to the mediaShailesh said that the mar-riage was fixed two yearsago.However, due to covidrestrictions we had to wait fora long time. Amidst restrictionswe had just printed elevenwedding cards all in Gujarati.Out of that one was sent to thePrime Minister . Besides, onewas presented to Kuldevi andone was presented at Shakti Mandir for seeking

divine blessings for the cou-ple,told Rawal.

Rawal, who is a journalistby profession, said, we hadnever expected that we wouldreceive a blessing letter signedby the Prime Minister. “It’s agreat inspiration for us and themost precious gift ever onecan have,’’ said Dhruva.

The letter has become talkamong the Gujaratis residinghere in Dhanbad for centuriesand the couple has receivedseveral good wishes on theInternet and other social mediaplatforms since the newsspread. Interestingly, it’s forthe second time that someonefrom Dhanbad has receivedsuch blessings.

Earlier, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi in 2017 hadinvited an elderly lady SabathiaDevi to tie Rakhi. The PM hadinvited her for the same onRaksha Bandhan day that year.

Jamshedpur: In yet anothershootout incident, a localVishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP)leader Bablu Singh was injuredwhen two bike-borne youthsopened fire on him at Bagbera, close to the Tatanagar railwaystation on Thursday morning.

The incident took place ataround 10.40 am when Singh,a resident of Traffic Colony inBagbera came out of his houseon a bike and drove towards theRailway Running Room nearTatanagar railway station.

The two bike- borneyouths are suspected to beSanjit and Ajit. They allegedlyhad personal enmity withBablu Singh and opened firewhen the latter reached nearthe Railway Running Room.

After the incident, BabluSingh, the president of theBagbera unit of Vishwa HinduParishad lay in a pool ofblood. The assailant ran fromthe spot. Bagbera police soonreached the spot and rushedthe gun-shot victim to TataMain Hospital ( TMH) wherehis condition was stated to becritical. They recovered threeempty cartridges from the spot.

Police officials said thatthey have started a probe overthe firing incident. Sourcessaid Sanjit and Ajit, siblings ofRanjit, who runs a liquor busi-ness had a fight with BabluSingh a few days ago oversome business related issueand the firing was an outcomeof it. PNS

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Amassive fire gutted twojewellery shops cum resi-

dences of two brothers at dis-trict headquarter Garhwaclothes market on the inter-vening night ofWednesday/Thursday.

No casualty was reportedin the fire that broke out in thedensely populated area. Theblaze was triggered after ashort circuit in the electricalpanel. The fire was noticed bythe shop owner at around 12am and he informed the citycouncil chairman PinkyKeshari, who informed the firestation and police.

Locals first tried to dousethe flames but they could notsucceed due to the immenseheat and clouds of smoke com-ing from inside.

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The Covid-19 Pandemic hascontributed to increased

feelings of isolation and vulner-ability, and thereby led to a sig-nificant rise in suicidal thoughtscoupled with a sense of loneli-ness, especially among suchindividuals who had to stayalone during the lockdown.

As the World HealthOrganisation (WHO) is set toobserve World SuicidePrevention Day on September10, it shall be rememberedhere that we all can play a rolein preventing suicides. By cre-ating hope through action, wecan signal to people experi-encing suicidal thoughts thatthere is hope and that we careand want to support them.

You can help give someonehope by showing that you care.All of us can play a role, nomatter how small. We maynever know what we do thatmakes a difference. We all canreach out and ask somebody.You do not need to tell themwhat to do or have solutions,but simply making the timeand space to listen to someoneabout their experiences of dis-tress or suicidal thoughts canhelp. Small talk can save livesand create a sense of connec-tion and hope in somebodywho may be struggling.

Stigma is a major barrier tohelp-seeking. Changing thenarrative around suicidethrough the promotion of hopecan create a more compas-sionate society where those inneed feel more comfortable incoming forward to seek help.We can all do something to livein a world where suicide.

Suicide has a domino effectWhat we, in technical

terms, call the Werther effectcan be seen as a domino effectin context of suicides. Every 45seconds someone takes their life,an estimated 703,000 people ayear around the world. Foreach suicide approximately 135people suffer intense grief or areotherwise affected resulting in108 million people, annually,profoundly impacted by suici-dal behaviours. For every sui-cide, 25 people make a suicideattempt and many more haveserious thoughts of suicide – atrend that makes it all the moreimportant for the media toreport suicides responsibly andensure that their reportage isn’tencouraging more suicides.

Cycle Around the Globe initiative

Cycle Around the Globeaims to raise awareness for sui-cide prevention efforts aroundthe world over the period sur-rounding World Suicide

Prevention Day and works tosupport the InternationalAssociation for SuicidePrevention’s work promotingevidence-based action in orderto reduce the incidence of sui-cide and suicidal behaviour.This campaign is about findingmechanisms to spread the mes-sage exponentially into areaswhere there is limited knowl-edge of these life/death issues.

We want our global com-munity to engage with eachother and to join together tospread awareness of suicideprevention. From the 10thSeptember- 10th October 2021,we are asking you to cycle anydistance on any road, track orgym and help us work togeth-er to prevent suicide.

Last year over 201,000miles were cycled in over 40countries, which is equivalentto eight times around theworld, but this year IASP wantsto top that!

Key facts

More than 700 000 peopledie due to suicide every year.For every suicide there aremany more people whoattempt suicide. A prior suicideattempt is the single mostimportant risk factor for suicidein the general population.

Suicide is the fourth lead-ing cause of death in 15-19-year-olds.

77% of global suicidesoccur in low- and middle-income countries.

Ingestion of pesticide,hanging and firearms areamong the most commonmethods of suicide globally.

Every suicide is a tragedythat affects families, commu-nities and entire countries andhas long-lasting effects on thepeople left behind. Suicideoccurs throughout the lifespanand was the fourth leadingcause of death among 15-29year-olds globally in 2019.

Suicide does not just occurin high-income countries, butis a global phenomenon in allregions of the world. In fact,over 77% of global suicidesoccurred in low- and middle-income countries in 2019.

Suicide is a serious publichealth problem; however, sui-cides are preventable with time-ly, evidence-based and oftenlow-cost interventions. Fornational responses to be effec-tive, a comprehensive multi-sectoral suicide preventionstrategy is needed.

Who is at risk?While the link between

suicide and mental disorders(in particular, depression andalcohol use disorders) is wellestablished in high-income

countries, many suicides hap-pen impulsively in moments ofcrisis with a breakdown in theability to deal with life stress-es, such as financial problems,relationship break-up or chron-ic pain and illness.

In addition, experiencingconflict, disaster, violence,abuse, or loss and a sense of iso-lation are strongly associatedwith suicidal behaviour. Suiciderates are also high amongst vul-nerable groups who experiencediscrimination, such asrefugees and migrants; indige-nous peoples; lesbian, gay,bisexual, transgender, intersex(LGBTI) persons; and prison-ers. By far the strongest risk fac-tor for suicide is a previous sui-cide attempt.

Prevention and controlSuicides are preventable.

WHO’s approach to suicideprevention, recommends thefollowing key effective evi-dence-based interventions:

limit access to the means ofsuicide (e.g. pesticides,firearms, certain medications);

interact with the mediafor responsible reporting of sui-cide;

foster socio-emotional lifeskills in adolescents;

early identify, assess, man-age and follow up anyone whois affected by suicidal behav-iours.

These need to go hand-in-hand with the following foun-dational pillars: situation analy-sis, multisectoral collabora-tion, awareness raising, capac-ity building, financing, sur-veillance and monitoring andevaluation.

Stigma and tabooStigma, particularly sur-

rounding mental disorders andsuicide, means many peoplethinking of taking their ownlife or who have attemptedsuicide are not seeking help andare therefore not getting thehelp they need. The preventionof suicide has not been ade-quately addressed due to alack of awareness of suicide asa major public health problemand the taboo in many societiesto openly discuss it. To date,only a few countries haveincluded suicide preventionamong their health prioritiesand only 38 countries reporthaving a national suicide pre-vention strategy.

The author is a SeniorConsultant, Psychiatry atRanchi Institute of Neuro-Psychiatry and Allied Science.

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The Comptroller and AuditorGeneral of India report on

General, Social, Economic andRevenue Sectors including PSUsfor the year ended March 2019has indicated gross irregularitiesin the rural bridges schemealongwith several lacunas inother schemes and functioningof different departments of theState government. The AuditReport was presented to theState Legislature on September08, 2021.

Under the General, SocialAnd Economic Sectors in theAudit of implementation ofMukhya Mantri Gram SetuYojna in the State it was foundthat the department neitherframed any operational guide-lines nor conducted any surveyto assess the un-bridged gaps inrural roads requiring con-struction of a bridge. Thoughthe Department issued instruc-tions through circulars/lettersto manage the scheme andhad a District Rural Road Plan(DRRP) under Pradhan MantriGram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY)with information on gaps inrural road network, these werenot adhered to.

Principal AccountantGeneral, Jharkhand, InduAgrawal informed in a pressconference here on Thursdaythat the bridges under thescheme were selected on therecommendations ofMPs/MLAs/others withoutexamining their feasibility orfactoring in the un-bridgedgaps in DRRP. Resultantly,bridges were constructed out-side the realm of DRRP, at

places having pre-existingbridges constructed under dif-ferent schemes within one KMconnecting same/nearby habi-tats and in municipal areas.

Of the 208 incompletebridge works in the State as onMarch 2019, 39 bridges couldnot be completed despite theircompletion periods by oversix months to nine years andsix months.

The Department did nothave any operational guidelinesfor engagement of consultantsfor preparation of Draft Project

Reports (DPRs). Resultantly,undue benefits were extendedto the empanelled consultantsby keeping their period ofengagement open ended leav-ing no scope for entry of newconsultants and absence ofpenalty clause, performancereview of consultants based onassessment criteria, review ofDPRs of consultants by inde-pendent agencies etc.

The consultants did notconduct the required geo-tech-nical investigations, hydrolog-ical and traffic data analysis. As

a result, eight bridges con-structed at a cost of Rs 52.12crore out of 42 test-checkedbridge works got fully or part-ly damaged subsequently.

In designing approachroads, the consultants provid-ed sharp curves (up to 90degree) at the entry/exit pointof 16 bridges and shortened thewidth (3.75 metres to 4.1metres) of approaches in com-parison to width of bridges (7.5metre) in 28 bridge works.The consultants had also addedextra provision or five per centfor laps and wastage of steel val-ued at 92.41 crow in 33 sam-pled bridge works.

The tender and agreementdocuments were loaded infavour of contractors such asreduction in defect liabilityperiod of bridges etc. Noresponsibility was fixed forexecution of sub-standardstorks valued at Rs 52.07 crowin six bridges. In the absence ofperiodic maintenance of com-pleted bridges, scouring inbridge foundations, wear andtear in expansion joints andwearing coats, cracks in RCCworks and damages in elas-tomeric bearing, damages torailings, footpaths, approachroads and flanks etc, werenoticed during joint physicalverification.

Also, the AG report indi-cates loss of Rs several crores tothe exchequer in various depart-ments due to lack of propermechanism, delayed mapping,lack of coordination amongdepartments and others.

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The BJP in Jharkhandobserved Black Day across

the State against alleged brutalpolice lathi-charge on partyworkers and leaders during ademonstration near Jharkhandassembly on September 8.

Thousands of party work-ers and leaders including for-mer chief minister BabulalMarandi, State presidentDeepak Prakash, Ranchi MPSanjay Seth, spokespersonPradeep Sinha and others weredemonstrating againstJharkhand assembly SpeakerRabindra Nath Mahto notify-ing a room of Jharkhandassembly to offer namaz.

Hundreds of BJP workerswere injured when the policeresorted to lathi charge andopened water cannons on themwhen the BJP workers tried toremove the barricade.

Deepak Prakash allegedthat he was assaulted by thepolice when he tried to saveMarandi.

Apprehending a massivedemonstration JharkhandPolice made a heavy deploy-ment and forces were deployedat strategic locations on the

thoroughfares. There was bar-ricading and sufficient posi-tioning of the police force atJagannathpur and roadsapproaching the assemblybuilding.

As part of the protest BJPworkers and leaders displayedblack ribbons on their sleevesand also tied black ribbons ontheir mouth to display theirprotest. “This protest wasobserved across the state.Leaders and workers outside ofthe party office besides in theirlocality observed the black day.The way the Hemant Sorengovernment is suppressing thevoice of criticism is not a goodsign for democracy inJharkhand,” said PradeepSinha.

The BJP has now goneoffensive on this matter as adelegation of party leaders onThursday met JharkhandGovernor Ramesh Bais andlodged a complaint against theAssembly Speaker for violatingthe norms of the constitution.

The BJP is also planning tocall statewide bandh on variousissues like the police lathi-charge, Speaker’s decision andthe overall failure of theHemant Soren government.

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The Jharkhand Assembly was the cen-tre of high voltage political drama on

Thursday on the last day of Monsoonsession, with legislators’ adopting dif-ferent tactics to draw attention. Whilea legislator reached the house driving anauto rickshaw, some came out of theHouse crying after the Speaker refusedto entertain his demand.

State Health Minister Banna Guptaon Thursday chose a novel way to markhis protest against the ‘auto-rickshawagent’ remark by senior BJP leader andformer Assembly Speaker CP Singh onthe floor of the house on September 7.

Gupta reached the house drivingthe auto rickshaw, saying that he adopt-ed the way of protest after Assemblyspeaker Rabindranath Mahto turneddown his request for a direction toSingh to seek an apology from him inthe House for the remark saying that thechapter has already been closed.

As the Health Minister entered onan auto-rickshaw to mark his protestagainst BJP legislators, BJP legislatorswere agitating at the entrance of the

assembly to protest against yesterday’slathi charge on their party leaders andworkers marching peacefully towardsthe Assembly.

On Tuesday, while the treasurybenches were having discussion on theSupplementary budget, the BJP law-makers including CP Singh wereprotesting. When the BJP lawmakers’protest intensified, Health ministerBanna Gupta, tried to intervene inSingh, to which the Ranchi MLA saidthat he is not much interested to talk toauto rickshaw agents referring to Gupta.The ruling party lawmakers includingministers reached the Well of the Houseprotesting Singh’s remark. The rulingparty legislators demanded actionagainst Singh for his remark. The mat-ter was settled after the Speaker inter-vened. The Speaker asked CP Singh towithdraw his remark.

In other development, BJP MLAand former minister Amar Bauri cameout from Chandankiyari in tears. Bauriin tears alleged that the Speaker didn’tallow raising his concern as he camefrom Dalit community. Bauri hadmoved adjournment motion against the

police lathicharge on BJP cadres andleaders, which the speaker rejected.

Bauri said, “I am upset as theSpeaker rejected the demand of a law-maker who comes from Dalit commu-nity. I will fight for my right in the nameof Ambedkarjee.”

At the same time, BJP MLA fromRanchi CP Singh said that when he wasSpeaker of the Assembly, he used to giveopportunity to the opposition to speakas much as possible, but in the gov-ernment of the Grand Alliance, DalitMLA were not allowed to speak.

Though the five day of theMonsoon Session went with noisyscenes with BJP lawmakers raising theissue of allotment of room for Namaz,several lawmakers raised the issuefrom the constituency. Congress MLAfrom Mahagama Deepika Pandey Singhraised the issue of anomalies in distri-bution of ration under green ration cardholders, completion of electrificationwork under JSBAY PHASE-II schemein Mahagama Assembly area underGodda district. The work of August(JSBAY) PHASE-II was to be complet-ed by October-2020 by 2020.

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Union Civil AviationMinister Jyotiraditya

Scindia on Thursdayannounced a 100-day (fromAugust 30 to November 30)ambitious roadmap to improvethe aviation infrastructure inIndia. Under the plan, four newairports at Agartala,Kushinagar, Jewar in GreaterNoida, and a second terminalbuilding at Dehradun — will beconstructed in the next 100days. Six heliports and com-missioning of 50 new com-mercial routes under the Udanscheme too are part of the plan.

Addressing a press confer-ence, Scindia said the Centrehas allocated �255 crore tomake Kushinagar airport inUttar Pradesh operational andlanding and take-off of Airbus321 Boeing 737 f lights.“Kushinagar will become thefocal point of Buddhist tourismcircuit,” he said.

Once this airport begins

operating international flights,it will become third function-al international facility in thestate. At present, two interna-tional airports — ChaudharyCharan Singh InternationalAirport at Lucknow and LalBahadur Shastri InternationalAirport at Varanasi — areoperational in the state whileanother one is coming up atJewar in Gautambudh Nagar.

The minister said a newterminal will come up atDehradun airport inUttarakhand, to facilitate pas-senger capacity from the exist-ing 250 to 1,800 after theCentre pumped in �457 crorefor its upgradation. He also saidthat Agartala airport will alsobe upgraded to increase itscapacity from 500 passengersper hour to 1,200 per hour atan estimated cost of Rs 490crore.

He said a new airport atJewar in Uttar Pradesh willcome up and the governmenthas earmaked �30,000 crore for

it. The airport is expected tohave a capacity of two crorepassengers every year.

Out of the 50 new routesunder UDAN, 30 new routeswill be launched by October,the minister said. Of the 30 newroutes, Alliance Air will launchsix new routes, IndiGo andSpiceJet will launch four newroutes each. In addition, BigCharter and Star Air willlaunch eight new routes each.The minister said he has setinfrastructure and policy tar-gets which will be implement-ed by November 30. Scindiaconfirmed that 50 new routeswill be launched under the cen-tre’s regional connectivityscheme Udan.

The minister also said thatthe probe report on the planecrash at Kozhikode airport lastyear will be made public in thenext couple of days.

As the Government movesahead with Air India disin-vestment, Scindia said thedeadline for submission offinancial bids will be September15, indicating that there will beno extension for submitting thebids.

While he announced a newpolicy for Maintenance, Repairand Overhaul (MRO) activities,he asked for VAT on ATF (AirTurbine Fuel) to be rationalisedwithin the range of 1-4%. ATFprice is a key component thathas a bearing on the operatingcost of airlines

Scindia also said the probereport of the plane crash atKozhikode airport last yearhas been submitted to the civilaviation ministry. The AircraftAccident Investigation Bureau(AAIB) probed the accident.

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Strengthening security andachieving self-reliance is a

necessity in the face of uncer-tainty across the globe includ-ing Afghanistan, DefenceMinister Rajnath Singh said onThursday.

He made these observa-tions after presiding over theinduction ceremony of indige-nously designed and devel-oped medium range surface toair missile(MRSAM)into theIAF at Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.

Underlining the need forself-reliance, Rajnath said,“Whether it is South China Sea,Indian Ocean region, Indo-Pacific region or Central Asia,we can see uncertainty every-where. The current develop-ments in Afghanistan are onesuch example,” he said.

Cautioning that the globalscenario is changing veryquickly and in an unexpectedway, the minister said the equa-tions between the nations arealso changing quickly as pertheir interests. He said thechanging geopolitics is affect-ing trade, economy, as well asthe current security scenario.“In such a situation, thestrength of our security andour self-reliance is not anachievement, but a necessity.”

As regards manufacturingweapon systems, Rajnath saidfrom being tagged as numberone defence importer in theworld, India today is supplyingdefence systems and sub-sys-tems to foreign countries andit is something worth to beproud of.

The MRSAM (IAF) is anadvanced network centric com-

bat Air Defence System devel-oped jointly by DefenceResearch and DevelopmentOrganisation (DRDO) andIsrael Aerospace Industries(IAI) in collaboration with theIndian industry comprising ofprivate and public sectorsincluding MSMEs.

Terming the productionof the MRSAM as a “gamechanger in the air-defence-system,” Rajnath reiterated thegovernment’s resolve tostrengthen the security infra-structure of the country todeal with any challenges aris-ing out of the rapidly changingglobal strategic scenario.

Rajnath also reaffirmedthe government’s commitmentto bolster the technologicalbase through indigenousresearch, design and develop-ment, with focus on ‘Make inIndia, ‘Make for the world’.

The minister described thedevelopment of MRSAM sys-tem as a shining example of theclose partnership betweenIndia and Israel, adding thathanding over of the system toIAF has taken this decades-oldfriendship to greater heights. Ithas played an important role instrengthening the defenceindustrial base of India andIsrael, he added.

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Signifying the growingdefence and strategic ties

between India and Australia,the two countries will hold thefirst 2+2 dialogue here for twodays starting Friday. DefenceMinister Rajnath Singh andExternal Affairs Minister SJaishankar will hold parleyswith their Australian counter-parts Peter Dutton and MarisePayne.

The dialogue comes at atime when the navies of the twocountries are involved in ahighly complex naval drill offthe Australian coast. Moreover,the two navies, along with theUS and Japanese navies someweeks back, took part in theMalabar series of exercises inthe Western Pacific. AustralianNavy also took part in theMalabar series of exercise offthe Indian coast last yearunderlining the growing rela-tions between the Quad nationscomprising these four nations.

Giving details of the forth-coming dialogue, the externalaffairs ministry(MEA) saidhere on Thursday, the parleyson September 11 will cover arange of bilateral, regional andglobal issues of mutual interest.

People familiar with thepreparations for the dialoguesaid the two sides are expect-ed to focus extensively on fur-ther ramping up the overalldefence and security ties andboost strategic cooperation inthe Indo-Pacific region. Chinahas all along opposed the Quadexercises claiming this willlead to militarization of thearea. China is flexing its mar-itime muscle there.

“The inaugural 2+2 min-

isterial dialogue is being heldpursuant to the elevation ofIndia-Australia bilateral rela-tions to comprehensive strate-gic partnership during theIndia-Australia leaders’ virtu-al summit on June 4, 2020,” theMEA said in a statement. “Theagenda for the Dialogue willcover a range of bilateral,regional and global issues ofmutual interest,” it said.

The focus of the talks at thetwo-plus-two dialogue is

expected to be on boostingoverall cooperation in theIndo-Pacific in the face ofChina’s growing militaryassertiveness in the region, thepeople cited above said.

Expanding bilateral coop-eration in areas of maritimesecurity is expected to beanother area of focus at thetwo-plus-two dialogue, sourcessaid here.

The two-plus-two dialoguebetween the foreign anddefence ministers was institut-ed as part of an overall goal toexpand strategic cooperationbetween the two countries.

The defence and militarycooperation between India andAustralia is on an upswing inthe last few years. In June lastyear, India and Australia ele-vated their ties to a compre-hensive strategic partnershipand signed a landmark deal forreciprocal access to militarybases for logistics support dur-ing the online summit betweenPrime Minister Narendra Modiand his Australian counterpartScott Morrison.

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The Election Commission(EC) on Thursday

announced bypolls for sixRajya Sabha seats that have fall-en vacant due to various rea-sons. Except for Puducherry,four Rajya Sabha seats fellvacant after the resignation ofmembers due to various rea-sons while the representativefrom Maharashtra, RajeevSatav, passed away in May dueto post-Covid complications.

According to the EC, twoseats from Tamil Nadu and oneeach from West Bengal, Assam,Madhya Pradesh andMaharashtra will go to thepolls on October 4. In addition,bypoll for a Bihar legislativecouncil seat has also beenscheduled for the same day.According to the EC, thecounting of votes will takeplace on the same day.

The Madhya Pradesh Rajya

Sabha (RS) seat got vacantafter BJP leader and formerUnion cabinet minister ThawarChand Gehlot was elevated asthe Karnataka Governor inJuly.

The two seats in TamilNadu fell vacant due to the res-ignation of AIADMK leaders KP Munusamy and RVaithilingam who are nowmembers of the Tamil Nadulegislative assembly.The WestBengal Rajya Sabha seat fell

vacant after resignation ofTMC leader and cabinet min-ister in West Bengal govern-ment Manas Ranjan Bhunia.

In Assam, the seat held byassembly speaker BiswajitDaimary fell vacant after heresigned from the membershipof the upper house ofParliament and his earlier party,the Bodoland People’s Front,and joined the BJP before therecent polls in the state.

The BJP may field Union

minister Sarbananda Sonowalfrom the Assam seat as he is yetto become a member of eitherhouse of Parliament.

The Maharashtra seat gotvacant due to the death ofCongress leader Rajeev Satav inMay this year due to Covid-19infection. In Puducherry, the RSseat will fall vacant soon as theterm of incumbent member NGokulakrishnan ends onOctober 6.

The EC said in its order thatall “broad guidelines of Covid-19” have to be followed duringthe election process that is fromthe time of issue of notificationto the counting of votes. “Thechief secretaries of states con-cerned are being directed todepute a senior officer from thestate to ensure that the extantinstructions regarding Covid-19containment measures are com-plied with while makingarrangements for conductingthe election,” the EC said.

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Seeking to expedite the con-struction of the ambitious

Mumbai-Ahmedabad BulletTrain project, Railway MinisterAshwini Vaishnaw onThursday launched majorheavy and modern mechanicalequipments like Straddle car-rier and the Girder transporterto help the faster casting of theviaduct.

This will expedite con-struction of high speed railway,as it is the proven technologyin metro and similar projects.Work has already begun on 325km (in Gujarat state) out of 508km corridor between Mumbaiand Ahmedabad undertakenby the National High SpeedRail Corridor, a unit of IndianRailways.

Vaishnaw said if the nationhas to achieve results of 21stcentury then we have to adopta mindset of 21st century.

“This Straddle carrier and

the Girder transporter is avery good example of 21stcentury mindset...” he said dur-ing the launch event and men-tioned India is now coming inthe select group of country likeItaly, Norway, Korea, andChina which have been design-ing and manufacturing suchequipment.

Straddle carrier equipmentis designed to handle the FullSpan Precast girders from cast-ing bed to stacking yard andfurther feeding them to BridgeGantry for further erection.This is a tyre mounted self-propelled gantry crane havinglifting capacity of 1100MT.

Girder Transporter isdesigned to transport the FullSpan precast girders fed byBridge Gantry to erection loca-tion.This is 27 axle tyre mount-ed self-propelled trolley of car-rying capacity of 1100MT.

The other key dignitariespresent at the launch ceremo-ny were Miyamoto Shingo,

Minister, Embassy of Japan,Suneet Sharma, Chairman &CEO, Railway Board, SatishAgnihotri, MD, NHSRCL andothers.

Addressing the gathering,Vaishnaw stated that to encour-age Aatma Nirbhar BharatAbhiyan initiative, full spanlaunching equipment of1100MT capacity is indige-nously designed.

More than 97 percent landhas been acquired for the pro-ject in Gujarat and Dadra &Nagar Haveli and 30 percentland in Maharashtra. This pro-ject will improve skillset in var-ious rail construction tech-nologies. Japanese counter-parts will provide training toNational High Speed RailCorporation Limited employ-ees and also to contractors.More than 6,000 workers arealready working at variousconstruction sites for the pro-ject, thus creating employmentopportunities for the local

youth, informed the RailMinister.

He further stated that theMumbai Ahmedabad HighSpeed Rail project expected tocreate more than 90,000 jobs inthis area including 51,000jobs for technicians, skilledand unskilled workers.Thisproject will boost the overalleconomy of the area by deploy-ing 1000s of trucks, dumpers,excavators, batching plants,tunneling equipment and soon.

For the construction ofviaduct superstructures of 508km long, Mumbai-AhmedabadHigh-Speed Rail Project(MAHSR), the State-of-the-Art construction methodolo-gies like Full Span LaunchingMethodology (FSLM) will beadopted. This technology willexpedite the process of launch-ing girders as the precast gird-ers of full span length will beerected as a single piece fordouble track viaduct.

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The Supreme Courton Thursday dis-

missed a plea seekingdirections to fill vacantposts at the NationalHuman RightsCommission (NHRC).

A bench headedby Justice L NageswaraRao noted that formerapex court judgeJustice Arun Mishrahas been appointed asthe chairperson of theNational HumanRights Commission.

“In view of subse-quent events ofappointment of chair-man and members thispetition has becomeinfructuous,” the benchalso comprising JusticeB R Gavai said.

During the briefhearing, the petitionertold the bench thatchairperson and mem-bers have been appoint-ed and only two postsare lying vacant.

The apex courtthen asked,“Chairperson has been

appointed, why shouldwe keep it pending.The matter has becomeinfructuous.”

The top court washearing a plea filed bylawyer RadhakantTripathi seeking adirection to fill vacantposts at the NationalHuman RightsCommission.

Justice Mishra isalso the first non-CJI tobe appointed to theNHRC chief post sincethe amendment of theProtection of HumanRights Act in 2019.

The post of NHRCchairperson was lyingvacant after Justice H LDattu, a former ChiefJustice of India (CJI),completed his tenure inDecember last year.

Rajiv Jain, formerdirector of theIntelligence Bureau,and justice M MKumar, former chiefjustice of the Jammuand Kashmir HighCourt have also joinedas members of thecommission.

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Amid skyrocketing edible oilsprices, the Centre has asked

States to take disclosures ofstock of edible oilseeds and oilswith the millers and stockists andreview weekly monitoring ofprices to check hoardings and toensure transparency in the avail-ability of edible oils and oilseeds.

A high level meeting of theministry of food is expected onFriday. Officials said that despitereduction in the import duty, asudden surge in the prices havebeen observed, which may bedue to hoardings by the stockist.

In a letter to chief secretaries,Principal Secretaries andCommissioners Food and CivilSupplies of states and unionterritories, Ministry of Foodand Consumer Affairs’ eco-nomic advisor Manisha SenSarma has asked states govern-ment to direct stockholders-millers, traders, refiners andwholesalers to declare stocks ofedible oils and oilseeds and thesame should be verified by thestates to keep prices under con-trol. “This is not a stock limita-tion order of any kind,” officialsadded.

As per the data shared by theministry of consumer affairs afew days back, the averagemonthly retail prices of ground-nut oil increased by 19.24 % inJuly over the same month lastyear.

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Amid demands to ensurevaccination of children

before the reopening of schoolsin the country, the Governmenton Thursday said there is nei-ther any scientific validation forsuch conditions nor any WHOrecommendation for it. But, itsaid, it is actively working forthe scientific validation of vac-cines for potential use in chil-dren.

Niti Aayog Member(Health) Dr. VK Paul said thiscriterion (vaccinating childrenfor reopening schools) was notacceptable anywhere in theworld. “Vaccinating children isnot a condition for reopeningschools. This criterion is notacceptable anywhere in theworld, no scientific body, epi-demiological evidence suggestsit as a condition...However,vaccination of staff is desirable,”Dr. Paul said at a press confer-ence of the Union HealthMinistry on Thursday.

Dr. Paul said the govern-ment is “actively working” inthe direction of scientific vali-dation of the vaccines forpotential use in children.

Only a few nations haveintroduced vaccination for chil-dren, no WHO recommenda-tion for it...Govt is workingactively in direction of scientificvalidation of our vaccines forpotential use in children.

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Union Home Minister AmitShah on Thursday chaired

a high level review meeting onthe security situation in Jammuand Kashmir and developmentprojects being implemented.Lieutenant Governor of Jammuand Kashmir Manoj Sinha,NSA Ajit Doval, Army ChiefGeneral M M Naravane, UnionHome Secretary Ajay Bhalla,Director of Intelligence BureauArvinda Kumar, R&AW chiefSamant Goel, BSF DG PankajSingh and CRPF chief KuldipSingh attended the meeting.

The meeting is believed tohave discussed about the polit-ical and security implications inthe Kashmir valley following thedeath of hardline HurriyatConference chairman Syed AliShah Geelani and latest situationin Afghanistan. There havebeen reports that Pakistan-based terror groups Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba -- both active in Jammuand Kashmir and involved in alarge number of terror attacks inthe past — have shifted theirbases to Afghanistan with afriendly Taliban regime in place.

The Home Ministerreviewed the security situationin Jammu and Kashmir andsteps being taken to check infil-tration from across the border and maintain peace inthe union territory, officialsources said.

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With the Covid caseloadcrossing over 40,000 and

country’s 35 districts still report-ing weekly positivity rate of over10 percent and 30 districtsbetween 5-10 per cent, theGovernment on Thursdayasserted that the second wave isnot yet over in many regionsand people should observe a lowkey celebration of the upcom-ing festivals, that too, at homes.The Centre asked the States toincrease the pace of vaccinationwith special focus on vaccinat-ing the vulnerable population.

The warning comes asKerala witnesses a surge ofinfections from its recent cele-bration of its biggest festival,Onam, which also marks theunofficial beginning of India’sfestive season that lasts till theend of the year “People shouldnot let their guards down as thesecond wave of the pandemic isyet to end. Low key celebrationsof festivals should be encour-aged to avoid the spread.Responsible travel rather thanrevenge travel should be prac-ticed.”

“People should be followingall the Covid appropriate guide-lines from maintaining socialand physical distance to wear-ing masks,” Union HealthSecretary Rajesh Bhushan said.

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Six months after the vacci-nation drive began on a

war footing, DistrictAdministration SambaThursday achieved a majormilestone in the journey of uni-versal Covid-19 vaccination byadministering atleast one doseto 100% Adult vaccination(18+ age group) making it firstin the UT of Jammu &Kashmir.

Lieutenant Governor ofJammu & Kashmir, while con-gratulating the team Samba,including health care workersand their covid management,through official twitter account,said “Samba has achieved 100%vaccination of above 18 years ofage and becomes the first dis-trict of J&K to achieve thismilestone and I am sure otherdistrict will catch up soon”.

Deputy CommissionerSamba, Anuradha Gupta saidthat 320780 Covid-19 dosesincluding 243013 as first dosehave been administered to 18+age category, Front Line work-ers and health Care workers asfirst covid 19 doses”.

The DC Samba hailed theefforts of frontline workersand healthcare workers forputting relentless efforts inensuring 100% coverage of18+ age category in the district.

"Our next goal is to vacci-nate people with the seconddose as well for their completeprotection” said the DC.

“We have established acovid control room in the dis-trict and are calling people aday in advance before their vac-cination becomes due. Todaywe held special sessions toadminister the second dose toteachers, Students, Pregnantand Lactating mothers acrossthe district” informed the DCSamba adding a camp was alsoheld at the court Complex.

Jammu: Former CongressPresident and Lok Sabha MPfrom Wayanad Rahul GandhiThursday offered specialprayers inside the cave shrineof Mata Vaishno Devi, nestledin Trikuta hills of Reasi district.

Before reaching the caveshrine, Rahul trekked 13 kmlong serpentine track undertight security arrangements.

Rahul attracted lot of atten-tion of fellow pilgrims as hetrekked uninterruptedly with-out taking too many breaks.

He also interacted with

fellow pilgrims during smallbreaks.

On reaching Jammu earlyin the morning, Rahul Gandhiwas given rousing reception atthe airport by the local leadersof J&K unit. From inside theairport he drove straight to theKatra base camp along with abattery of senior Congressleaders including J&K unitincharge Rajani Patil andJKPCC Chief Ghulam AhmadMir.

Along the entire route,Rahul Gandhi was greeted by

upbeat party workers and localleaders.

Several media teams fol-lowed him along the route andsought his comments after BJPquestioned his temple politics.

"I have come here to offerprayers to the Mata. I don't wantto make any political com-ments here", Rahul respondedbefore embarking on a yatranear Ban Ganga, the startingpoint of the yatra. Rahul isscheduled to stay back at thecave shrine where he attendedevening aarti.

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Aday after the ElectionCommission of India

demanded a detailed report fromthe State Home Departmentregarding announcement ofgrants to different Durga Pujacommittees of Bengal at a timewhen model code of conductwas in force in the State in viewof the forthcoming by-election forBhawanipore Assembly seat theState Government on Thursdaytold the poll panel that it hadcommitted no breach of modelcode as it was not applicable to theentire State.

Chief Minister MamataBanerjee who had lost toOpposition Leader SuvenduAdhikari in Nandigram is con-testing a by-election from theBhawanipore seat as she has to getthe elected to the House before

November 6 to remain on the topseat.

Instead of the Chief Ministerwho declares grants to the Pujacommittees every year, ChiefSecretary HK Dwivedi had onWednesday announced grants of�50,000 to the Puja committeesleading the BJP to write a com-plaint to the ECI alleging violationof MCC.

Replying to the EC queryHome Secretary BP Gopalikasaid that there was no violation ofthe model code as it was notapplicable to the entire State andwas limited to only three con-stituencies of Rezinagar, Jangipur— both in Murshidabad district— and Bhawanipore in Kolkatawhere elections were beingheld.

Besides, the Home Secretaryalso said that governmentannounced the monetary grants

from Netaji Indoor Stadiumwhich was not within theBhawanipore constituency.

Meanwhile in an unrelateddevelopment the TrinamoolCongress on Thursday stood byarch rival CPI(M) after its work-ers were attacked in Tripura andits party offices were torched inthat State by alleged BJP workers.

“It is highly condemnable …all the parties irrespective of theirideology should condemn theattacks on the CPI(M) offices …this is the kind of attack we havebeen referring to for the past cou-ple of months … our leaders, ourworkers and our offices werebeing attacked by the BJP. Nowthey are targeting the Left too …This is the culture of the BJP …we condemn this attack,” saidsenior Trinamool leader andBengal Minister ParthoChatterjee.

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26,200 new persons werediagnosed with Covid-19

out of the 1.56 lakh samplestested in Kerala during the last24 hours, according to VeenaGeorge, Minister for Health.

In a release on Thursday,the minister said 125 personsdied during the last 24 hoursand this took the death toll tilldate in Kerala to 22,126. TheTest Positivity Rate 16.69 percent.

There are 2.36 lakhpatients undergoing Covid-19treatment across the State. 114health workers were infectedwith the pandemic during thelast 24 hours. The Nipah virusthreat that was haunting theState seems to be blowing over

as 68 persons under surveil-lance tested negative onThursday, said George.

Meanwhile, the KeralaHigh Court came down on theState Government and thePolice for the alleged indiffer-ence towards assaults on doc-tors in Government Hospitals.

The court while hearing apetition filed by doctors againstthe callous attitude of the Policeexpressed shock over the replygiven by the latter that 228cases of physical assaults ondoctors have been registeredwhile only 25 cases were beingprobed. Judge DevanRamachandran asked thepolice to take strict actionagainst such attacks andarrange police security for thedoctors.

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Kerala’s political skyline is infor a change though it is

too early to predict when itwould happen. Ice has startedmelting in the ties between theCPI(M) and the MuslimLeague.

K T Jaleel, former Ministerfor higher education in theCPI(M)-led Government(2016-2021) has become a per-sona non grata in the party, ifthe comments from the topleadership are any indication.Reactions by Chief MinisterPinarayi Vijayan and party’sKerala secretary AVijayaraghavan expressingunhappiness over Jaleel’s com-ments against P KKunhalikutty, the Leaguestrongman, are being seen asthe party’s willingness to playball with the Muslim League.

On Monday, Jaleel, a for-mer SIMI chief, alleged thatKunhalikutty had used the A RNagar Cooperative Bank inMalappuram district for moneylaundering. Jaleel charged thatKunhalikutty, a formerMinister of industries in theOommen Chandi-led UDFGovernment (2011 to 2016)had made use of theCooperative Bank branch forlaundering �1,100 crore which

he had received as kick-backsand commissions for dealsinvolving some of the publicsector units in the State. He fur-ther stated that Kunhalikuttyhad also used the accounts ofChandrika (the daily owned byMuslim League) to convertunaccounted money to white .

“I have handed over all rel-evant documents to theEnforcement Directorate and itis sure that they would sum-mon Kunhalikutty for grilling,”Jaleel told media persons onThursday at Kochi after hismeeting with the ED officials.He had called on Vijayan onThursday morning for anunscheduled meeting. Jaleelsaid after the meeting that hehad told Vijayan about thedetails which he would behanding over to the ED.

But the stance of formerSIMI leader was repudiated byChief Minister Vijayan whenthe latter briefed the media onTuesday .

“There is no need for theED to investigate transactionsin Cooperative Banks. It comesunder the jurisdiction of theState Government. Jaleel mayhave been charmed by theED,” said Vijayan which isbeing seen as a snubbing toJaleel.

Jaleel had been interrogat-

ed by the ED officials twice in2020 in connection with theillegal import of Qurans, datesand other materials from UAEunder the Ramadan ReliefPackage. It was reported thatthe import of Quran and othermaterials were a façade forsmuggling gold from the UAEwith the connivance of diplo-mats from the oil kingdomposted inThiruvananthapuram.

On Wednesday, V NVasavan, minister for cooper-ation and Vijayaraghavan toldreporters that Jaleel was mis-using his position to settlepersonal score withKunhalikutty. “We do not sub-scribe to the views expressed byJaleel,” said Vasavan.

Chroniclers of Kerala’spolitical history, like PSujathan, told this newspaperthat they were not at all amusedby the thaw in CPI(M)-MuslimLeague ties. “The MuslimLeague was an important allyof two CPI (M) led govrnmentsin the past. They were inalliance during 1967-69 whenE M S Namboodirippadu wasthe chief minister. The CPI(M)had formed the E K Nayanar-led government in 1980 withAll India Muslim League, a fac-tion of the parent party,” saidSujathan.

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Two years after he wasarrested for the first time

for allegedly grabbing a plot ofland belonging to the laterenowned writer Mulk RajAnand in the hill station ofKhandala, incarceratedBollywood financer-turnedbuilder Yusuf Lakdawala diedat the Arthur Road Central Jailhere on Thursday, followingcomplications arising out ofcancer that he was sufferingfrom.

Seventy six-year-oldLakdawala— who had beenarrested by the EconomicOffences Wing (EOW) of theMumbai police in 2019 andlater taken into custody by theEnforcement Directorate (ED)early this year–had been admit-ted to jail hospital onSeptember 6 but was declareddead immediately after hisadmission to the state-run J JHospital.

Confirming Ladawala’sdeath, DIG Prison YogeshDesai said: “He (Lakdawala)was suffering from Cancer. OnSeptember 6, he was admittedto the prison hospital locatedinside the Arthur Road CentralJail. After his condition deteri-orated, he was rushed to the JJ

Hospital. He died on Thursdayafternoon. No foul play hasbeen reported”.

Meanwhile, the police haveregistered an Accidental DeathReport (ADR). The cause ofdeath has not been ascertainedyet.

The ED had arrestedLakdawala in May this year ina money laundering case reg-istered against him for alleged-ly forging documents to pur-chase a land worth Rs 50 croreat Khandala hill station locat-ed in Pune district. He was injudicial custody when he died.

In August this year,Lakdawala’s lawyer AbhinavChandrachud had moved thecourt seeking bail for his clienton medical grounds to enablehim to get proper treatment ina hospital. He had submittedLakdawala’s latest medicalreport to the court confirmingthe cancer had spread to otherparts of his body.

On their part, Arthur Roadjail authorities had in the pasttaken him to the Tata MemorialCancer Hospital for a check-upon the relapse of cancer whichhad been cured around 12years ago.

ED counsel HitenVenegaonkar, opposingLakdawala’s bail, had argued

that instead of granting bail,the court should direct theprison authorities to providethe necessary medical treat-ment to the accused while incustody.

The prison authorities hadgiven an undertaking to thecourt that they would arrangefor all necessary treatmentrequired by Lakdawala.

Lakdawala, who was arrest-ed first by the EOW of theMumbai police while trying toflee to London fromAhmedabad InternationalAirport. He was granted bailbut was rearrested in a money-laundering case registered bythe ED in the same case andhas been in the Arthur RoadCentral Jail since then.

The EOW's allegation wasthat Lakdawala had forgeddocuments to help him grabthe huge Khandala plot ofAnand, the Indian authorEnglish who passed away onSeptember 28, 2004 for alleged-ly forging signatures on thepapers dating back to 1949.

Earlier in 2010, he hadallegedly been booked forencroaching upon the proper-ties belonging to the late actressSadhana at Santacruz in north-west Mumbai, but was lateracquitted in the case.

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Lucknow: All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen(AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi charged theBharatiya Janata Party and the Yogi AdityanathGovernment with persecution of Muslims, includingdemolition of mosque in Barabanki, and said that theMuslims would give a befitting reply to this anti-MuslimGovernment.

“Since 2014, only Muslims have been killed in UP.It is on record that only mosques and Muslims are beingtargeted in UP but no political party has so far opposedit,” he said while addressing a rally in Katra locality ofBarabanki on Thursday.

Owaisi also raised the issue of razing of a mosquein Barabanki. "Can Yogi Adityanath answer why it vio-lated the Constitution by demolishing the mosque?Muslims pleaded with folded hands that their place ofworship should be spared but the administration,under the direction of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath,razed the mosque. Not only this, the journalists whohighlighted the issue were booked and an FIR was lodgedagainst them,” the AIMIM chief said. PNS

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Union MSME Minister andBJP leader Narayan Rane

found himself in an embarrass-ing situation on Thursday, as thePune Police Crime Branchissued a ‘Look Out Circular’(LOC) against his wife NilamNarayan Rane and MLA-sonNitesh Rane in an alleged �65crore loan default case.

The development cameclose on the heels of Rane’s arrestand subsequent bail over hiscontroversial remarks againstchief minister UddhavThackeray.

The LOC has been issuedbased on a complaint lodged by

the DHFL with the Pune police.The LOC mentions Nilam Raneas a co-borrower of a loanamount of �25 crore in the nameof Artline Properties Pvt. Ltd,while MLA Nitesh N. Rane hasbeen named as a co-borrower ofa loan of Rs.40 crore taken in thename of Neelam Hotels Pvt. Ltd.,both companies are based inMumbai. Both these loanaccounts stand with the DHFLMumbai. They were classified as‘non performing assets’ (NPAs),as per the norms of NationalHousing Bank and ReserveBank of India.

Nilam Rane and Nitesh owe

an outstanding of �27,13,18,931and �34,09,61,771 respectively tothe DHFL. The Pune CrimeBranch has issued the LOCsagainst the mother-son Nilamand Nitesh Rane, to the AssistantDirector, Look Out Cell, atChhatrapati Shivaji MaharajInternational Airport (CSMIA).

“In the aforesaid circum-stances, there is an apprehensionand fear that the said Co-bor-rower may leave the countryanytime with a malafide inten-tion to evade repayment of theloan granted by DHFL andescape the legal actions that maybe taken against (them)

civil/criminal by the DHFL,” theLOCs stated.

The LOC directed theMumbai Airport authorities toopen the LOCs, and wheneverthe Co-borrowers are inter-cepted at the airport, theirarrival/departure it should beintimated to the Pune PoliceCrime Branch. Reacting to thedevelopment, Nitesh wonderedas to how the Pune police issuedLOCs against him and his moth-er considering that their loansand DHFL were in Mumbai.

“The LOCs should also beseen in the light of the fact thatwe had agreed to settle the loanstaken from the DHFL,”Niteshsaid.

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Aizawl: The MizoramGovernment has devised strate-gies and making massive effortsto resolve the long-standingborder dispute with neighbour-ing Assam, State Home MinisterLalchamliana told the assemblyon Thursday.

The State Government hadin 2018 constituted a core com-mittee to study and assess thestate boundary. It was re-con-stituted with chief secretaryLalnunmawia Chuaunog as thechairman in 2019, he said.

"The core committee is cur-rently doing research and analy-sis on the state border by col-lecting topo-sheets and impor-tant documents related to thestate boundary with Assam,"Lalchamliana said, replying to aquery from Congress LegislatureParty leader Zodintluanga Ralte.

The State Government hasalready appointed a nodal offi-cer on the border issue and sub-mitted a report to the Centre asper the Union Ministry of HomeAffairs instruction, hesaid.

According to the homeminister, the state governmenthas also constituted a team tocompile important documents,supportive of Mizoram's standon the border issue and it will betabled before experts fromManohar Parrikar Institute ofDefence Studies when they visitthe state.

A boundary committeeinvolving all political partiesand NGOs, headed by DeputyChief Minister Tawnluia, hasalso been formed recently to dealwith the issue, Lalchamlianasaid. PTI

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Hale, the 17th century ChiefJustice of England, wrote in the‘History of the Pleas of theCrown’: “The husband cannotbe guilty of rape committed byhimself upon his lawful wife,for by their mutual consentand contract, the wife hathgiven up herself this kindunto her husband which shecannot retract.”

Upholding the traditionaland cultural history, matrimo-nial jurisprudence hasapproved that solemnisation ofmarriage shall mean theunconditional and lifetimeconsent to sexual acts by thewife. The 15th LawCommission headed by JusticeBP Jeevan Reddy, in its 172ndReport captioned ‘Review ofRape Laws’ submitted inMarch 2000, denied to crimi-nalise marital rape on theground that it will be an exces-sive interference of law inmarital lives of people. Further,the Parliamentary StandingCommittee of Home Affairs,which examined the CriminalLaw (Amendment) Bill, 2012,in the aftermath of the Delhigang rape case, in its 167thReport in March 2013 did notrecommend criminalisationof marital rape on the ground

that it would have the “poten-tial of destroying the sacredinstitution of marriage, whichis based on mutual love andtrust”. In 2019, the Delhi HighCourt had turned down apetition seeking a declarationof marital rape as grounds fordivorce. The Supreme Court,too, in the past refused to takeup the issue, saying it is thedomain of Parliament.

However, despite theabove facts, the Kerala HighCourt gave a new twist to thisissue which will have a signif-icant impact on this sensitivematter. The Bench said:“Autonomy is now consideredpart of privacy and ennobledas a fundamental right.” Ifbodily integrity is a violationof individual autonomy, thenit contradicts the provisionsof Section 375 of the IPC.

In contrast, theChhattisgarh High Court onAugust 23, 2021, on a revisionpetition, discharged a 37-year-old man from the chargeof matrimonial rape, sayingthat sex with a legally weddedwife is not rape under theIPC. The court, however,retained the charges ofSection 377 for ‘unnaturalsex’ and Section 498A for

dowry demands. In his order,Justice NK Chandravanshisaid: “In this case, the com-plainant is legally weddedwife of applicant no.1 (hus-band); therefore, sexual inter-course or any sexual act withher by the husband would notconstitute an offence of rape,even if it was by force oragainst her wish.”

The flip side of this ver-sion is that it is not only thenuptial duty of the wife to pro-vide sex to her husband but,on the contrary, it is the pri-mary duty of the husband alsoto provide the desired level ofconcupiscence to wife besidesmeeting her other needs suchas protection, provisions,home and other domesticfacilities. In many statutesapplicable in India, ‘impo-tence’ of the husband is one ofthe major grounds for divorcesought by the wife. But frigid-ity, barrenness and adulterousways of wives are not groundsfor divorce by men. There doexist promiscuous womenwho say, “Yeh dil maangemore”. Will there be any law toprevent such acts?

(The writer is a legal journalist and author. Theviews expressed are personal.)

��������������� ��� �����Sir — A survey called School Children’sOnline and Offline Learning (SCHOOL),conducted recently, observed that only eightper cent children in rural households inIndia attended regular online classes. Thesurvey on learning gaps was conducted afterschools in the country remained closed dueto the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey,conducted on schoolchildren in underpriv-ileged households in 15 States and UTs,shows that 37 per cent of children are notstudying at all and about one half are unableto read more than a few words.

The report paints a dismal picture ofthe condition of school education after thepandemic in rural areas in the country. Thesurvey found that as children did not attendschools for a prolonged period of time, theirlearning and cognitive abilities were great-ly hampered. The report proves that pan-demic and extended lockdowns havecaused enormous harm to school educa-tion, especially in rural areas. A great dealof sustained effort is required to repair thisdamage. Given that most of the schools inthe country are still closed, setting theschool education right is indeed a hard task.Unless the schools, especially primary andmiddle schools, are not resumed, it may bedifficult to reverse the learning gaps.

Venu GS | Kollam

������������� ����� Sir — There are reports that certain peo-ple who are entitled to a free ‘two-passen-ger rail pass’, misuse the facility by sellingthe remaining one to others at a discount-ed price. The Railway Board should devisemechanisms to prevent such misuse. It canbe made compulsory to submit ID proofsof the entitled one and the accompanyingcompanion with signatures while gettingfree rail passes. Original ID proofs by boththe entitled person and the accompanyingcompanion should be made compulsory tobe carried while travelling. Facility of freerail pass should be withdrawn immediate-ly, if found being misused.

Additionally, the parliamentariansshould be reimbursed for rail travels onlyon submitting proof of actual rail travel ver-

ified by the TTEs to avoid multiple reser-vations in different trains for a single jour-ney. The cost of unavailed reserved rail-berths or seats should be deducted fromtheir salaries or pensions, if found at fault.Free entitlement of rail travel, including forthe parliamentarians and those travellingat Government expense, including for thosein public sector undertakings, should onlybe for two-tier airconditioned rail travelrather than for first-class airconditionedclass or above.

Madhu Agrawal | Delhi

���������������������������������Sir — Operation Flood, also known as theWhite Revolution, made India self-suffi-cient in milk production and it wasachieved entirely through the cooperativestructure. Dr Verghese Kurien is knownas the ‘Father of the White Revolution’ inIndia. The revolution is associated with asharp increase in milk production. Today,around 12 million farmers in more than22 States across the country own around250 dairy plants, handling around 20 mil-

lion litres of milk a day. This is a remark-able achievement. While we in India tendto take our achievements for granted, thisfeat elicited high praise and admirationthroughout the world. In 1955, our but-ter imports were 500 tonne per year; today,our cooperatives alone produce more than12,000 tonne of butter.

By 1975, all imports of milk and milkproducts stopped. The import permittedwas that of food aid under Operation Flood.A separate agency called the Indian DairyCorporation (IDC) was created to receivegrants of food aid and use it in theOperation Flood; this agency was headedby Verghese Kurien. Any conversationaround milk cannot ignore the contribu-tions of Verghese Kurien, famously called‘the Milkman of India’ as well as the ‘Fatherof White Revolution’. Every year on theWorld Milk Day, Indians fondly remem-ber Kurien for his contribution.

Jayanthy Subramaniam | Trichur

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There has been a cacoph-ony from various quar-ters, especially from fem-inine activists, that the

concept of ‘marital rape’ shouldbe recognised and the men forc-ing their wives to be intimateagainst their willingness shouldbe tried under the law of rape.What an irony that instead ofgoverning society through lessonsof morality, ethics and compas-sion or using the tools of coun-selling, on each issue of theslightest importance we startemphasising on making laws.

What else will you crimi-nalise in a domestic relationship?You have already started sneak-ing into bedrooms like a voyeur.There is a strong possibility ofvested interests promoting suchnon-issues. It has been frequent-ly observed that as differentwatches and clocks give slightlydifferent timings on the samescale of the Standard Time, dif-ferent courts give varied, diver-gent and, at times, contradicto-ry judgments on the same mat-ter of law. The reason behind thiscan be attributed to judicialoverreach crossing the barri-cades of the separation of powernorms. Where is the need forindividual observations all thetime? This phenomenon willsurely give rise to divergentjudgments from Bench to Bench.

A Division Bench of theKerala High Court comprisingJustices Mohammad Mushtaqand Kausar Edappagath onAugust 6, 2021, dismissed theappeal of a man who had chal-lenged a family court order allow-ing his wife’s plea for divorce ongrounds of cruelty in the name offorced copulation, besides unnat-ural sex and dowry demands.

However, Section 375 of theIPC provides no space for mari-tal rape. Its Exception 2 states:“Sexual intercourse or sexualacts by a man with his wife, thewife not being under 15 years ofage, is not rape.” It implies that sexwith a wife who is over 15 is notrape, even if it is without her con-sent. However, in October 2017,in the Independent Thought vsUnion of India, the SupremeCourt ruled that sex with one’sminor wife, who is below 18 yearsof age, would amount to rapedespite her consent. Lord Mathew

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Even though food is a necessity fora healthy living, excessive use ofconventional urea to grow thefood is irreparably damaging the

environment. The damage is in the formof degraded soil quality that adverselyimpacts on the climate and contributesto global warming.

So, on one hand conventional urea ishelping us grow more food for the pop-ulation, while on the other, it is harmingthe environment - the key constituent fora healthy living. In the absence of a sub-stantial alternative, the world is in aCatch-22 situation as it needs a solutionto do away with the excessive use ofharmful, conventional urea.

World over, agriculture is facing awide spectrum of challenges, such asstagnation in crop yields, low nutrientuse efficiency (NUE), declining soilorganic matter, multi-nutrient defi-ciencies, shrinking arable land andwater availability. Depletion and degra-dation of land and water resources pre-sent serious challenge for food, liveli-hood and nutritional security for theever-growing population. Hence, a solu-tion was warranted that could solve boththe problems of food production at thesame time keeping the environment safe.

Finally, Indian Farmers FertiliserCooperative Limited (IFFCO) came outwith a solution. IFFCO has developed ananotechnology-based Nano Urea (liq-uid) fertilizer that offers solutions tomost of the problems that come with theuse of conventional urea. The Nano Ureahas been developed indigenously, for thefirst time in the world, at IFFCO'sNano Biotechnology ResearchCentre(NBRC) in Kalol, Gujarat througha proprietary patentedtechnology.

IFFCO's drive into this revolutionaryproduct was based onthe contemporaryand future challenges for agriculture interms of water scarcity,impact of climatechange, farm productivity and contribu-tion towards creating a nutritiousfood sur-plus country.

Nano Urea (liquid) is a source of nitro-gen which is an essential nutrient requiredfor proper growth and development of aplant. Nitrogen is a key constituent ofamino acids, enzymes, genetic materials(DNA-RNA), photosynthetic pigments(chlorophyll)and energy transfer com-pounds (ATP-ADP) in a plant.

Since nano nitrogen particles are dis-persed in liquid form in Nano Urea, itstarts acting almost immediately whensprayed on crop leaves to meet the crop'snutritional requirement and also triggerspathways for uptake and assimilation ofnitrogen inside the plants.

Typically, nitrogen content inahealthy plant is in the range of 1.5 percent to 4 per cent. Foliar application ofNano Urea (liquid) at criticalcropgrowth stages of a plant effectively ful-fils its nitrogen requirement and leadstohigher crop productivity in compar-

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The field of urban devel-opment plays anextremely important role

not only in developing infra-structure, but also in develop-ing symbiotic internationalrelations. With the city-sizesand urban population growingglobally, 'development diplo-macy' has been becomingmore and more a crucial partof the foreign policies of devel-oping nations. As a result,investment in urban develop-ment on bilateral or multilat-eral contours has a massivepotential for a nation located asstrategically as India.

The latest move of theGovernment to fund the largestever infrastructure develop-ment (Greater MaleConnectivity Project) in theMaldives is a conscious steptowards tapping this potential.

Aimed at striking a win-win balance, the Greater MaleConnectivity Project has vari-ous associated dimensionsranging from circular economyto population density and fromcorridor strategy of develop-ment to Indo-China relations.

Made up of around 1192inhabited, uninhabited andeven disappeared islands, thegeographical story of Maldivesis some what similar to that ofMumbai. With a thumpingpopulation of around 227000(nearly 40 per cent of the pop-ulation of Maldives) spreadover an area of only 8.3 Sq. KM,Malé, the capital of Maldives isone of the most densely pop-ulated cities on the planet.This emphatic population den-sity amid land scarcity has sub-jected Malé to considerableinstitutional, infrastructural

and financial strain. To accommodate this

decongestion sustainably,inducing the development innearby islands is the most sci-entific way. As the currentstrain, geographical setup andneed of decongestion are inter-linked, establishing a concretephysical link between Malé andnearby islands may emerge asan effective solution. Such aconnectivity may further fos-ter the socio-economic growthas well as emerge as a signifi-cant economic corridor.

Understanding the impor-tance of establishing an eco-nomic corridor between indi-vidual islands in an urbangovernance scenario as compli-cated as Maldives, India hasproposed a mega connectivityproject that will build a bridgeestablishing a direct linkbetween Malé and three otherislands (Villingili, Gulhifahuand Thilafushi). This project,named as the 'Greater MaléConnectivity Project' (GMCP)is set to change the destiny ofMaldives, subject to effectiveimplementation. Estimated tocost around Rs 3500 crore, theGMCP will enhance not onlythe intra and inter island con-nectivity but also the interna-tional connectivity given theproximity of the bridge towardsthe Velanainternational air-port.

Out of the total cost,around Rs 700 crore will beoutrightly funded by Indiawhereas remaining Rs 2800crore will be given to theMaldivian Government forlending it (Line of Credit) tothe AFCONS (the Mumbaibased company that will buildthis mega bridge). Further,for providing the constructionmaterials, human resource,technological support etc., onlyIndian companies will beassigned, meaning that theamount of Rs 2800 crore willget circulated only betweenIndians for a foreign project, onforeign soil.

The opportunity to pumpsuch a huge amount into theIndian economy underlinestangible potential of the urbanand infrastructure develop-ment sector.

Connecting two cities/regions by a transport corridorfor creating a potential invest-ment region, and to reduceregional socio-economicinequalities thereby strikingregional cohesion, is the coreprinciple of 'Corridor strategyof regional development'.

Application of a similarstrategy is being done in theplanning and designing of theGMCP that is suitable for thesustainable and resilient growthof Malé in the future where thepopulation density and eco-nomic activities are distributedrationally.

After launching the MaitriSetu between India andBangladesh, the Governmentof India is set to yet again trustthe corridor development cardfor the GMCP. Not just abroad,but internally, the develop-

ment of corridors such asDelhi-Mumbai IndustrialCorridor (DMIC), Banglore-Mumbai Economic Corridor(BMEC), shows the inclinationof the present Government toundertake multi-scalar/ trans-scalar planning exercises forenhancing economic and infra-structural balance betweentwo distant regions.

It is noteworthy, that, alongwith the provision of Covid-19vaccines, energy efficient LEDsfor Malé city and initiatingmultiple direct flights toMaldives, India is giving arock-solid backup for thedevelopment of Maldives'largest ever infrastructure pro-ject. It highlights the Indiangovernment's 'neighborhoodfirst' policy, this time, by devel-oping a bridge while bridgingdevelopment.

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ison to conventional urea.Application of nano-fertilisers

is now emerging as a promisingstrategy to promote plant growthand development. Precision andsustainable agriculture practiceslead to efficient use of water,fer-tilizer, and other inputs. Thismakes agriculture more sustain-able by reducing the waste,envi-ronmental pollution and energyconsumption.

Farmers typically apply fertil-izers through the soil by either sur-face broadcasting, subsurfaceplacement, or mixing with irriga-tion water. However, a large por-tion of bulk conventional fertiliz-ers like urea is lost to the atmos-phere or surface waterbodies,thereby polluting theecosystem. Excess nitrogen is lostthrough volatilisation as NH 3 oremissions N2O (a greenhousegas) or NO or through NO3leaching or runoff to water bod-ies leading toeutrophication andnitrate contamination.

The Nano urea (liquid) devel-oped by IFFCO has a dynamicadvantage due to its nano-scalemorphology and surface area tovolume size ratio, which makes itmoreimpactful. It is thus requiredin lesser measure compared to theconventional urea fertilizer to ful-fill plant's nitrogen requirement.

All India efficacy trials on over40 crops by Indian Council ofAgricultural Research's (ICAR)

institutes, state agricultural univer-sities, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, andfarmers at more than 11,000 loca-tions have demonstrated thatNano Urea (liquid) increases crop-productivity and can reduce therequirement of conventional Ureaby 50 per cent. Further, applicationof nano urea (liquid) improvesyield, biomass, soil health andnutritional quality of the produce.

Nano Urea (liquid) has beentested for bio-safety and toxicity asper the guidelines of Departmentof Biotechnology (DBT),Government of India and interna-tional guidelines developed byOECD, which are adopted andaccepted globally. Nano Urea (liq-uid) is completely safe for human,animals, birds, rhizosphere organ-isms and environment at the rec-ommended levels of application.

As per general practice, agri-cultural experts recommend use oftwo and a half bags of urea in oneacre of wheat crop. Since a 500 mlbottle of Nano Liquid Urea isequivalent to a bag of urea, thecost of the same to the farmers willalso come down accordingly.Being smaller in packing, thefarmer's expenditure on its trans-portation and storage will also bereduced. This will eventually leadto an increase in farmers' income.IFFCO has fixed the price of onebottle of its Nano Liquid Urea atRs 240.

About 11,000 agricultural field

trials were conducted on morethan 94 crops across India to testthe effectiveness of Nano LiquidUrea. An average eight per centincrease in crop yield has beenobserved in these trials.

One single particle of urea isequivalent to 55,000 small NanoUrea particles. On foliar applica-tion, these small particles aredelivered directly to the plantcell, thereby releasing nitrogeninside cells. This process not onlyincreases efficient use of nitrogenbut is also environment friendly.

The government is alsomulling to encourage rational useof nano urea, which is in liquidform, in the agriculture sector toaddress the issue of farmers'migration and help in reducingcultivation cost and doublingfarmers' income. It has also beenobserved that the practice of fix-ing a Minimum Support Price(MSP) for various crops by thegovernment is not working effec-tively for the welfare of farmers asthe increased cost of cultivationhas forced many farmers to leavefarming and look for bettersources of earnings.

Experts are of the view thatnano ureais a cost-effective solu-tion to problems faced by farmersin the agriculture sector. The newform of urea would prove to be aboon for the sector as farmerswould get high yield at a reducedcost of fertilisers.

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The Interior Ministry of thenew Taliban Government is

seeking to end protests inAfghanistan after days ofdemonstrations that havebrought heavy-handed assaultson protesters.

The Minister has issued anorder to end all protests in thecountry — unless demon-straters get prior permission,including approval of slogansand banners.

It’s unlikely the womenwho have been leading neardaily protest demanding theirrights from the country’s hard-line Islamic rulers will beallowed to protest under thenew rules. In the words of theMinistry’s statement, “It isannounced to all citizens not toattempt at the present time tohold any demonstrations underany name whatsoever.”

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Islamabad: America’s CentralIntelligence Agency DirectorWilliam Burns on Thursdaymet Pakistan Army chiefGeneral Qamar Javed Bajwaand ISI head Lt Gen FaizHamid during which they dis-cussed issues related to region-al security issues and the cur-rent situation in Afghanistan,the Military said.

The meeting was held afterthe Taliban on Tuesdayunveiled a hardline InterimGovernment with at least 14

members of the Cabinet,including acting PrimeMinister Mullah MohammadHasan Akhund, being listed onthe UN Security Council’s ter-rorism blacklist.

Burns and Bajwaexchanged views on matters ofmutual interest, regional secu-rity and the current situation inAfghanistan, the PakistanArmy’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said in astatement. PTI

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In the signs of the timesahead in Afghanistan post-

Taliban takeover, the mem-bers of the militia have attackedjournalists there and destroyedthe instruments at the NationalInstitute of Music ofAfghanistan.

“The Taliban entered theNational Institute of Music ofAfghanistan and destroyed allthe instruments there,” anexpert tracking the develop-ment said.

The premiere music insti-tute was an important cultur-al and arts rejuvenation story ofthe erstwhile democraticAfghanistan. The institute’sensembles comprising schoolstudents, including the all-female Zohra orchestra, haveperformed around the worldfrom Carnegie Hall in NewYork to the World EconomicForum in Davos. Many ofthese young musicians camefrom impoverished communi-ties but the Taliban has ban-ished all such arts under theSharia administration.

In another incident onWednesday, Ghorban

Mohammad “Andarabi” of theAfghan National Defence Forcewas kicked out of his house bythe Taliban and shot dead infront of his children in Khenjandistrict. He was liquidateddespite being given amnesty bythe Taliban in an indicationthat there is no shift in the bru-tality of the UN-sanctionedoutfit or any respect for its ownwords of commitment.

While the Taliban hasassured freedom of expressionunder its rule, the outfit mem-bers tortured at least tworeporters of the newspaper Al-Itteha Rooz after their arrest.

The outfit had in the pastexhorted that there would notbe any reprisals against thosewho worked for the US orNATO forces or their sympa-thisers. However, the action onthe ground belied the Taliban’scommitment, added Afghanwatchers.

The manner and the con-tents of the orders being issuedby the Ministers of the interimGovernment in Kabul suggeststhey are largely not capable ofhandling an administrationeven though they may be goodat guerilla warfare, they added.

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Amid reports of firing byTaliban on women pro-

testers in Kabul and elsewherein Afghanistan, the Germany-headquartered AfghanistanRepublican Salvation Front hasdemanded that the freedom ofexpression of the people shouldbe respected.

Freedom of expressionmust not be erased and con-structive criticism should beutilised to improve the func-tioning of the Government inAfghanistan, it said.

“After years of hardshipand oppression, Afghans weregiven the opportunity to asserttheir rights under the republicof Afghanistan. But twentyyears later, the Islamic Emirateof Afghanistan has re-emergedand gained control ofAfghanistan. Now the Talibanneed not deprive them of theirrights,” ARSF president AjmalSohail said in a statement.

“Every citizen of a countryhas the right to speak outagainst injustice and to demand

justice. Every human beingand system has flaws and inorder to eliminate these flaws,it is necessary for the state to lis-ten to the voice of the people,fill the gaps by taking advantageof their advice and sound crit-icism. By appreciating soundcriticisms from the public andaddressing the shortcomings,the existing government andsystem at the national level inAfghanistan can emerge as abetter face at the internationallevel,” Sohail further said.

“The Presidential Palacelowered the national flag again,in response to which the gen-eral public announced aprotest. The Islamic Emirate ofAfghanistan, the Taliban’s ref-erence to the country’s name,says that no one is allowed toprotest. If anyone goes out toprotest, the person will beresponsible for this and willface a serious backlash from thesecurity forces. Such threatsfrom the administration initself is a huge and unacceptableblow to freedom of expressionin the short term, he added.

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Kabul: Dozens of foreigners,including Americans, have leftKabul on an international com-mercial flight, marking thefirst large-scale evacuationsince US and NATO forces leftAfghanistan late last month.

Their departure onThursday represented a break-through in the bumpy coordi-nation between the US andAfghanistan’s new Taliban lead-

ers. The Taliban have said theywould let foreigners andAfghans with valid travel doc-uments leave, but a dayslongstandoff over charter planes atanother airport had cast somedoubt on Taliban assurances.

The Qatar Airways flight isheading to Doha.

A senior US official saidthat Americans, green cardholders and other nationalities

including Germans, Hungariansand Canadians are on the flight.Some 200 foreigners, includingAmericans, boarded the inter-national commercial flight fromKabul airport.

A dayslong stand-off overcharter planes at another air-port had left dozens of pas-sengers stranded and castdoubt on Taliban assurances.

AP

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The US is not in a rush torecognise the new Taliban-

led interim Government inAfghanistan but was engaged

with the people who are nowoverseeing and controlling thecountry to get the Americancitizens out of the strife-tornnation, according to a topWhite House official.

Peshawar/ Kabul:Afghanistan’s acting PrimeMinister Mullah MohammadHasan Akhund has appealed toformer officials of pastGovernments to return to thecountry and assured them “fullprotection”, saying the period ofbloodbath is over and they facea humongous task to rebuildthe war-ravaged nation.

“We paid a heavy price forseeing this historic moment inAfghanistan,” Mullah Hasansaid on Wednesday, a day afterthe hardline Islamic insurgentsunveiled an interim Cabinetafter seizing power in Kabul.

“We appeal to the officialsof past governments to returnto their country as we will givethem full protection of theirlives. We are faced with thehuge task of rebuilding andreconstruction of war-ravagedAfghanistan,” he said. PTI

Kuwait City: US DefenceSecretary Lloyd Austin said, theal-Qaeda extremist group thatused Afghanistan as a stagingbase to attack United States 20years ago may attempt to regen-erate there following anAmerican withdrawal that hasleft the Taliban in power. AP

Bangkok: Thai Prime MinisterPrayuth Chan-ocha sacked twoCabinet members on Thursday,including one who was widelyreported to have unsuccessful-ly plotted for him to lose a par-liamentary no-confidence votelast week.

Deputy Agriculture MinisterThammanat Prompao wasdeeply controversial even beforethe alleged mutiny attempt forbeing imprisoned for four yearsin Australia in the 1990s in a caseinvolving heroin smuggling.

He has also faced otherscandals, including a claimthat his doctorate in publicadministration was fraudu-lently earned. He has rejected

all accusations of wrongdoing.Thammanat won his

Cabinet position by being apolitical power broker capableof turning out the vote innorthern Thailand for the gov-erning Palang Pracharath party,and was made party generalsecretary in June. Because of hisreputation, it isn’t clear whetherhis dismissal will strengthen orweaken Prayuth’s government.

Palang Pracharath is themilitary-backed party thatnominated former army com-mander Prayuth as PrimeMinister after the 2019 gener-al election. Prayuth led a mil-itary government from 2014 to2019 after staging a coup. AP

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About 30 airports have beeneither built or under con-

struction in Tibet and Xinjiangprovinces which will boostChina’s civil and military infra-structure in the remote regionsbordering India, the country’sofficial media reported.

China has been rampingup infrastructure in Tibet.Recently, it has launched thehigh speed bullet train con-necting the provincial capitalLhasa with Nyingchi, theTibetan border town close toArunachal Pradesh.

“There are currently near-ly 30 civil airports built orunder construction in Xinjiangand Tibet,” state-run Chinamilonline quoted an official incharge of a military trans-portation dispatch centre underthe People’s Liberation Army(PLA) Western TheatreCommand (WTC) as saying.

“The rapid development of

civil aviation in the borderareas has provided conveniencefor the air transportation ofrecruits and veterans,” the PLAofficial said.

The WTC oversees theXinjiang and the Tibetautonomous regions as well asthe border with India, makingit the largest geographical areaunder one command in thePLA.

The massive developmentof rail, road and airport infra-structure was expected to vast-ly improve the Chinese mili-tary’s ability to move men,materials and weapons to theborder areas at a faster pace.

President Xi Jinpingrecently visited Nyingchi,becoming the first Chineseleader to visit the border areasin Tibet. A chartered flight car-rying 115 veterans took offfrom the Shigatse HepingAirport in Tibet and headed forChengdu, Sichuan Province, onSeptember 1, marking the offi-

cial opening of 23 air routes fortransporting new recruits andveterans into and out ofXinjiang and Tibet, theChinamil online report said.

After coordinating withairports in Urumqi, Kashgar,Lhasa, Shigatse and otherplaces, the dispatch centre hasopened up 23 routes to trans-port military recruits and vet-erans into and out of Xinjiangand Tibet this year, and tem-porarily opened three routesfrom Yinchuan, Jiayuguan, andZhangye to Ngari, it said.

This year, all the recruitsand veterans entering and exit-ing the Ngari area of Tibet willbe transported by air, it said.

In addition, some airlineshelp to reserve tickets of regu-lar flights to Ngari in responseto the troops’ emergency needs,it said adding that some urgent-ly needed military suppliescould also be delivered free ofcharge or at preferential rates bythe civil airliners.

Rio De Janeiro: Truckersjammed highways in morethan half of Brazil’s States onThursday, offering a show ofsupport for President JairBolsonaro.

A joint bulletin from theInfrastructure Ministry andFederal Highway Police saidtruckers were concentrated onfederal highways in 15 States ofBrazil’s 27 States.

Bolsonaro rallied demon-strations on Tuesday to coin-cide with Independence Dayand show strength as hisapproval ratings slide and hefeuds with the apex court. AP

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The summer that was sup-posed to mark America’s

independence from Covid-19is instead drawing to a closewith the US more firmly underthe tyranny of the virus, withdeaths per day back up towhere they were in March.

The delta variant is fillinghospitals, sickening alarming

numbers of children and dri-ving coronavirus deaths insome places to the highest lev-els of the entire pandemic.School systems that reopenedtheir classrooms are abruptlyswitching back to remote learn-ing because of outbreaks. Legaldisputes, threats and violencehave erupted over mask andvaccine requirements.

The US death toll stands at

more than 6,50,000, with onemajor forecast model project-ing it will top 7,50,000 byDecember 1.

“It felt like we had this for-ward, positive momentum,”lamented Katie Button, execu-tive chef and CEO at tworestaurants in Asheville, NorthCarolina. “The delta variantwiped that timeline complete-ly away.”

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The Government onThursday said it will release

�56,027 crore to exportersagainst pending tax refundsunder different export incen-tive schemes.

The amount will be dis-bursed to more than 45,000exporters, the commerce min-istry said.The �56,027 crore,which is being released undervarious export promotionschemes, is over and above dutyremission of �12,454 crore forthe Remission of Duties andTaxes on Export Products(RoDTEP) Scheme and �6,946crore for Rebate of State andCentral Levies and Taxes(RoSCTL) Scheme already

announced.The amount will bedisbursed this year only, UnionCommerce Minister PiyushGoyal told reporters here.

Benefits will help sectors tomaintain cash flows and meetexport demand in internation-al market, which is recoveringfast this financial year, he said.

Further, the commerce andindustry ministry said that theGovernment of India hasdecided to budget �56,027crore in 2021-22 itself in orderto disburse all pending exportincentives due to exporters.This amount includes claimsrelating to MEIS (MerchandiseExport India Scheme), SEIS(Service Exports IndiaScheme), RoSL (Rebate of StateLevies), RoSCTL.

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RBI Governor ShaktikantaDas on Thursday said

many fast indicators are show-ing an uptick in economicactivity and the Reserve Bankis quite optimistic about its 9.5per cent GDP growth estimatefor FY2021-22 at present.

He said the impact of thesecond wave of Covid-19 haswaned by August,and eco-nomic growth will be betterfrom the second quarteronwards on a sequential basis.

Speaking at an eventorganised by The IndianExpress and Financial Times,Das said the RBI has decidedto give more emphasis on

growth because of the pan-demic and operate in the 2-6per cent inflation band set bythe government for it.

The central bank will seekto gradually move towardsachieving the 4 per cent targetover a period of time, he said,adding that the possibility of asustained increase in inflationis unlikely.

Easy liquidity conditions inthe global markets are amongthe conditions which are lead-ing to a surge in marketsdomestically, he said, making itclear that there is no evidenceof the high asset prices affect-ing the inflation situation.

A call on continuing withthe accommodative stance or

notwill be taken by the rate-set-ting panel of the RBI, he said,replying to a question andadded that it does not see highinflation getting generalised.

The banking system’s grossnon-performing assets ratiostood at 7.5 per cent as of theend of June quarter, and thesame is “manageable” as of now,Das said, underlining thatlenders also have adequatecapital buffers.

To a question on high hair-cuts taken by banks in debt res-olutions, he said there is scopefor improvement in the func-tioning of IBC which caninclude legislative changes andalso time taken for a case by thebankruptcy courts.

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India’s fuel demand soaredalmost 11 per cent in August

when compared with the samemonth last year but lower thanthe previous month as mon-soon rains slowed mobilityand consumption.

Fuel consumption totalled16 million tonnes in August, upfrom 14.42 million tonnes ayear back but lower than 16.83million tonnes in July 2021,data from the PetroleumPlanning and Analysis Cell(PPA) of the Oil Ministryshowed.

Sales of petrol, which hadreached pre-Covid levels a cou-ple of months back, rose 13 percent year-on-year to 2.69 mil-lion tonnes and was up 2.5 percent over July 2021.

Consumption of diesel -the most used fuel in the coun-try - jumped 15.6 per cent to5.6 million tonnes from a yearearlier but fell 8.7 per cent fromthe previous month as mon-soon rains stalled the mobilityof trucks.

Cooking gas or liquefiedpetroleum gas (LPG) salesincreased 2.4 per cent to 2.3million tonnes, while naphthasales fell 5.1 per cent to 1.02million tonnes.

LPG sales fell 1.6 per centmonth-on-month.Sales of bitu-men, used for making roads,were 3.1 per cent up, while fueloil use edged up 8 per cent inAugust. Naphtha demand at1.02 million tonnes was 5 percent lower than a year back and16 per cent lower than July2021.

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Benchmark indices Sensexand Nifty managed to end

in positive territory after fight-ing bouts of volatility onThursday as investors followedrisk-off mode in global mar-kets. After a volatile trade, the30-share Sensex ended 54.81points or 0.09 per cent higherat 58,305.07 -- its all-time clos-ing high.

The NSE Nifty rose 15.75points or 0.09 per cent to set-tle at 17,369.25.

On the Sensex chart, BhartiAirtel was the top gainer, fol-lowed by Nestle India, TataSteel, Bajaj Finserv, HCL Techand ITC.

On the other hand, Titan,UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Auto,

HDFC Bank and Axis Bankwere among the laggards.

Of the Sensex constituents,18 shares logged gains and 12suffered losses.

During the holiday-trun-cated week, the Sensex rose175.12 points or 0.30 per cent,while the Nifty advanced 45.65points or 0.26 per cent.

Sectorally, telecom, power,utilities, capital goods andmetal indices rose up to 2.40per cent. On the other hand,realty, consumer durables,bankex and finance ended inthe red. Broader midcap andsmallcap indices rose up to 0.56per cent. “Domestic marketswere highly volatile trackingnegative cues from global mar-kets amidst selling seen inrealty and pharma stocks.

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India, the world’s secondlargest sugar producer, can

export 6 million tonne of thesweetener in the 2021-22 sea-son commencing next month,taking advantage of the firmglobal market, industry bodyISMA said on Thursday.

The country exportedabout 6.67 million tonne ofsugar in the first 11 months ofthe 2020-21 season (October-September), higher than the5.57 million tonne shipmentmade in the year-ago period.

Total sugar exports in thecurrent season could surpass 7million tonne, it said.

Currently, global prices areruling a more than four-yearhigh at round 20 cents perpound due to likely sugardeficit in the world market inthe next season on expected fallin production in Brazil, itadded.

“This would mean thatIndian sugar mills have a goodopportunity to export theirsurplus sugar in the next cou-ple of months up to January2022, and thereafter till April2022 before Brazilian sugarcomes into the market,” IndianSugar Mills Association(ISMA) said in a statement.Many sugar mills have signedforward contracts for export inthe upcoming season, it said.

New Delhi:Google onThursday announced an accel-erator programme ‘GNIStartups Lab India’ for inde-pendent local or single-subjectjournalism organisations inthe country.

Under its Google NewsInitiative (GNI), the tech giant

will offer a four-month pro-gramme that “seeks to helpindependent local or single-subject journalism organisa-tions find a pathway to finan-cial and operational sustain-ability through intensive coach-ing, skills training and othersupport”. PTI

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When is the last time you meditat-ed because of your hectic sched-

ule? Amidst the pandemic, we are alldealing with mental and physicalstress. That is when we think ofmediation for a while.

Now that the festive season hasarrived, it is a good time to greet LordGanesha with all of the enthusiasmand zeal. From Ganapati BappaMorya’s cheers to painted pandals tolit up sites of worship to the prepara-tion of modak in every home, it is thattime of the year when devotees leaveno stone tuned to greet Lord Ganeshaand seek his blessings.

Almost all Indian celebrationsinclude diya, lighting, and decorations.Using diya, decorative candles, andstring lights to light up your puja spacecan add a shine to your decor. In thepuja room, you can use string lights,diya, and scented candles in front ofthe mandap. It will add to the bright-ness and vibrancy of your décor.

The importance of fragrance inworship helps to connect spiritually.The magnificent fragrance from per-fumes and incense sticks was originat-ed in ancient India. These fragrancescalm or soothe our spirits from with-in. We tend to meditate while pray-ing so that we can focus on somethingwe wish to do without any difficulty.

Due to hectic lifestyle, meditationhelps in relaxing while redirectingyour energy, and improving youroverall health. However, the obliga-tions and distractions make it difficultin the beginning of meditation. In suchcircumstances, aromatherapy comes torescue.

Aromatherapy is the practice ofinhaling essential oil-derived scentsthat assists in managing emotions andpromotes healthy life. Essential oilssuch as lavender, chamomile, frankin-cense, and others can be used to com-bine aromatherapy and meditation.These oils will enhance your medita-

tion experience, while also offeringmental clarity and serenity. You mayget these fragrances blended in a vari-ety of incense sticks.

The ancient vedic school ofAyurveda teaches about the deeperholistic science behind the stimulationof the senses when people come intocontact with scents and feel their ther-apeutic effects. Perfumes’ restores ourhearts, spirits, and senses, in all of theirforms, can be best described as spir-itual, healing, and liberating fromegoic servitude.

Outlined below is one way howyou may integrate an incense stick aspart of your daily meditation. However,don’t forget, consistency is key!

�Arrange yourself in a comfort-able posture and light a stick ofincense. Bring your attention back to

the trail of smoke release byincense.

�Simply enjoy the current timewhile watching the basic and elegantshow.

�Carry on in this fashion for aslong as you desire, or until you feelsettled from inside.

�Spend only five to 10 minutesat first for a few times in a week,then gradually extend the length ofyour sessions and try the practicemore regularly. This method willincrease your ability to concentrateand you will improve graduallly.

Effects of fragranceThe aroma of plants, spices,

and herbs has medicinal and ther-apeutic effects, and it is incrediblysignificant to our psychology. Youneed to remain quiet. Relaxing themind becomes increasingly impor-tant as our lives get more hectic andmuddled. Meditation with essentialoils has a healing effect on both themind and the body.

It is thought that the aroma ispleasing to God and has a purifyingeffect. The lamp shines brightly, dis-pelling the negative energy thathas taken over the puja grounds.Diffusers with essential oils createa warm and inviting atmosphere inyour home. You might also usescented candles as an alternative.

So be ready to refresh youself inthis Ganapati festival!

(The author is the managingdirector of Hari Darshan

Sevashram Pvt Ltd, a home-grownbrand for incense products.)

Through the ages, people havealways believed in supernat-ural powers and elements.

The unworldly — some prefer togive it the rather cold name of theunderworld or the Hades —images have haunted people alltheir lives and, in certain cases,across generations. Today, themovie-makers have started fusingdifferent genres together. One ofthe most everlasting genres thatimpacts our minds is horror. Thepowerful genre can stimulate,rather tingle, almost every senseone can think of. The latest in theseries is Bhoot Police.

On the shoot for the horror-comedy, director Pawar Kripalanisays, “It was a great experience, tobe honest. We shot the movie amidthe raging pandemic and we hadto face a lot of hurdles but, despitethat, we had a rather fulfilling andsatisfying experience.”

Despite the restrictions, thepandemic didn’t hinder theirschedule. “We really didn’t wastetoo much time. We were extreme-ly lucky that we found a window,we found a part of the country thatwas less infected by the virus andwe just went for it,” Kripalani adds.

Upon being asked about hisfascination and deep love for thehorror genre, he explains, “My fas-cination with the genre is that, forme, it is like my go-to genre, it issomething that I as an audiencewill like to consume. It is some-thing that I have been watchingsince I was a kid. I have alwaysenjoyed horror; reading horror,making horror, watching horror...it has been a part of who I am,what it does, and deeper sub-tex-tual narratives that it also gives.The horror genre branches out intomany subgenres. Within that, youget to explore a variety of thingsthat you otherwise don’t get to dotoo much of.”

Furthermore, he recounts,“Two movies that really scared me;one was Alfred Hitchcock’s Psychothat really freaked me out and thenthere was this Steven Spielbergmovie called Jaws. Jaws left along-lasting phobia of water in me.I was scared of even a bathtub.That was the beginning of myassociation with horror. I was sotaken in by what Jaws had done tome, done to my mind. This genrereally grips you in ways that noother genre can. It can really affectyou. I was kind of consumed bythat, then I explored The Shining,Rosemary’s Baby, Exorcist, and allother great films that were made,

but Psycho and Jaws were the twoimpressions that really pushedme.” Moreover, he goes on to say,“I have watched Psycho and TheBirds and all of these other moviesover a thousand times by now. Ihave watched them without sound,I have watched them only for thevisual, I watch every version ofthese available.”

However, he laments the lackof elements of scenography inhorror movies in the Indian cine-ma. “In our country, we have notreally explored horror too much,to be honest. I still love Mahal,Madhumati and movies like that.There were a couple of othermovies in that space that I havereally been big fans of and Ienjoyed some of them. But I thinkgenerally we don’t have reallygood scenography when it comesto horror films. Abroad, there areso many that I kind of worship andthey are kind of ideals for me, andI look up to them and I see thefilmmakers have kind of studiedthe subjects exhaustively.”

On watching movies from ananalytical point of view, he says,“These movies still move me, scareme even now. Even now I am mes-merised by them; the way these havebeen put together. I think every cou-ple of years, I still watch TheShining. You lose yourself in thesemovies.”

The conventional approach ofmaking horror movies in Indiancinema has always been commer-cial. He says, “It has got its own per-

spective, its own voice which issomething that I have cultivatedover the years. So it’s a projection ofall things. Tips has taken it becauseit is inherently commercially acces-sible. With the actors, with the pack-ing, we push it to make it a littlewider.” Kripalani said that all theactors were thorough professionalsand excited to work together. “As Isay, it was a comedy, adventure,light-hearted and fun. There was alot of goofing around, a lot of fun,inherently everyone was kind ofenjoying the absurdity. Saif (AliKhan) has given his all and JavedJaffrey is an extremely hilarious per-son. It was a delight to work withhim. Yami (Gautam) and Jacqueline(Fernandez) were extremely fun.They are such fine actors. It waskind of a chill set,” he says.

There were also other people onthe set who made a mark. “We hadother people as well, we had JohnnyLever’s daughter Jamie (Lever),such a funny actor. We had AmitMistri, who recently passed away.He was also a fascinating actor. Itwas a fun cast and they were all real-ly fun to work with.”

Presented by Tips IndustriesLtd, in association with 12th StreetEntertainment, Bhoot Police is allset to release on Disney+Hotstartoday, September 10. StarringSaif Ali Khan, Arjun Kapoor,Jacqueline Fernandez and YamiGautam, the film is a braveattempt to raise high the flag ofthe horror-comedy genre in ourcountry.

Actor, producer, a champion fornature and its preservation,

Dia Mirza recently elaborated onher initiation into environmentalissues and the importance of rais-ing climate-sensitive citizens. Sherecalled how her love for nature wasborn from the engagement she hadwith it right through her childhoodand shared, “I had a beautifulschool, we did a lot of our classesunder big trees and spent a lot oftime in neighbouring villages work-ing with grass-root communities. Ialso had the privilege of growing upin a home that had a front yard,back yard and many fruit-bearingtrees. A lot of my time was spentwatching sparrows and squirrelsbuilding their nests.”

When the first scientific reportsabout climate change were pub-lished, her school discussed themand initiated conversations aboutconsumerism, the way people wereproducing and how that impactedthe planet. “My attention was drawnconsistently to our own choices andpatterns of consumptions so muchso that we would feel almost virtu-ous about saving a pencil right tillthe end. I became increasinglyaware of the fact that everything weuse and throw comes from the earthand should go back to the earth ina manner that doesn’t harm it. Ilearnt that human activity is chang-ing the temperatures of the planet.That was the beginning of learningabout the planet and our place in it.A very big shift was also created inmy consciousness when I watchedthe documentary, ‘The inconvenienttruth’,” recalled Mirza

In a chat with environmental-ist Abhiir Bhalla for the CandidClimate Conversations podcast, shealso shared how visiting a tiger for-est in Madhya Pradesh made herunderstand the challenges of ecol-ogy conservation. Mirza expressed,“I learnt about the compulsions ofthe forest rangers, how dangerousit is for them to face the threats ofthe wild, poachers and encroachers.Associating with people like BittuSehgal who runs the SanctuaryNature Foundation and VivekMenon who is the CEO of theWildlife Trust Of India made merealise the huge gap that existsbetween what climate scientistswere talking about and what chil-dren were learning in schools. Suchissues are also completely ignoredby the mainstream media and it isaround this time that Idecided that I could bea bridge between sci-ence, policy and thegeneral public. This ishow, over 15 yearsago, I started work-ing for the envi-ronment.”

Five years ago,while shootingthe series Ganga,The Soul OfIndia , Mirzasaw how pol-luted some ofthe most eco-s e n s i t i v ee n v i r o n -ments arewith plasticw a s t e .Thinking back,she said, “I wasusing this greatopportunity tonot just highlightthe cultural orenvironmentalaspect of theriver but also thefact that it sup-ports the livesand livelihoodof over fourmillion people.And then I sawmillions ofpieces of plastic inthe most pristine environ-ments and I wonderedwhere all this was goingto go because these

areas had no waste managementsystems, and when the locals burnthe waste, it ends up contaminatingthe air, the soil and also entering ourfood chain. That was a huge triggerand I felt a deeper sense of urgencyabout doing something about this.I remember when I had my firstmeeting with UNEP (UNEnvironment Programme) in SouthAfrica just after I was appointed thenational goodwill ambassador, Isuggested a really strong powerfulglobal campaign addressing plasticpollution and I was told that thiswas exactly what we were going tobe working on next!”

Mirza believes her educationplayed a big part in shaping her asa sensitive individual and feels it isvery important that the youth aresensitised early to climate change.“We are consumed by capitalismand material success because we aretrained to think that way. But all ofthat adds up to nothing becausewhat transcends everything is ouridentity as citizens of this planet.Everything that we have or claim toown comes from the planet. And wemust respect that,” she underlined.

Mirza also believes that the syn-ergy between individuals, civil soci-ety, policymakers and grassrootsorganisations is critical in creatinga groundswell of change. Sheremarked, “Kids for Tiger pro-gramme was launched after a giantpush was made to include andinvolve young people. Today wehave the power of social media andsome people are willing to invest inthe environment and wildlife cam-paigns. I think PETA has alsoplayed a very big part in helpingpeople understand how bad testingon animals is. There’s a very big partthat organisations play in increas-ing people’s awareness about issues.For instance, just the gesture of car-rying my own water bottle all overthe world has spread the message ofsustainability and I feel so gratefulthat so many people have followedsuit. I also don’t think we wouldhave had the win with the Aareyforest in Mumbai if it wasn’t for the

participation and incredibly con-sistent efforts of the localNGOs, civil society andalso celebrity supporters.”

Mirza has also beenlooking at data and statis-tics and is encouraged bythe level of participationby young people who arein turn mounting morepressure on governments,policymakers and indus-try than, perhaps, everbefore. However, sheadded, “Still, our gains areso few in contrast to the

larger picture. We have avery long way to go.Climate change is still notan electoral issue and onlythose platforms that areindependent have beenasking the right questionsand have been linking nat-ural disasters with climatechange. Climate changeneeds to become a polit-ical issue. Only then willpeople start talking aboutit. The media also needsto mainstream this con-versation. There isenough data to showhow much we wouldgain if we work withnature rather thanagainst it.”

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The Asian look of the age-oldMamagoto (which literallytranslates to ‘to play with

food’), is an atmosphere thatattracts all its customers. Thecolourful imagery and quirkyabstractions catch the eye. I spot-ted the Japanese and Chinesepaintings at my first look, and wasespecially impressed by the impres-sionistic nature of the Taking TigerMountain of the Chinese cigarettecards. The whimsical semblance ofthe manga movement could be dis-tinguished in the cafe’s varied pic-tures.

Since 2010, the pan Asian cafeis renowned for its street hawkercuisine and its urban art. The foodis supposed to be a fusion of streetfood of various places like Hongkong, Seoul, Bankgog, Tokyo,and so on. Hitherto, I had onlyheard about its popularity, but nowwas the time to test the waters. Wewere supposed to try Mamagoto’snewly inducted menu ‘TheShanghai Nights’. The nameShanghai in the 1920s denoted thehedonistic liberal metropolitan inChina which was filled with aplethora of jazz clubs, gambling

dens and, of course, gangsters.Through their new cuisine, I couldsense their attempt to evoke nos-talgia for the tradition.

We were treated with ricecrackers as hors d’oeuvre, whichwere basically fryums but tastierand better cooked. They also came

in colourful patterns that quicklycaptivated the eye.

I was In The Mood For Love,no, don’t get me wrong. That’s the

name of the first cocktail that wasserved to us. I can easily claim itwas what love would taste like ina cocktail: strong, bitter-sweet,enthralling, hot and cold at thesame time. It looked enchanting inits appearance, with a huge bubblefixated magically on the top of theglass. Instead of creating butterfliesin the stomach, the tequila,beguiled by rose vermouth, formedthis sensation in my _ , somethingI had never experienced before.After trickling down the food pipeand creating chills along the way,the drink softly hit. I could taste theapricot puree, mixed with vanillasyrup differently. The muddledstrawberry and lime juice profferedthe bitter-sweet taste that lasted onthe tongue for a while.

We were worried the firstdrink itself would give us the highmost cocktails in a row cannot pro-vide. Thus, the Chicken Dumplingswere a major saviour. The softdumpling dissolved in our mouths,the moment we tasted it. Thechicken was perfectly cooked,and steamed just the rightamount.

The Le Shanghaicocktail was upnext. The excite-ment level, alongwith the expecta-tions, of myfriends and minewas high, since thestart was soimpeccable. Trueto their name,Mamagoto didn’t

fail us. The drink was broughtinside a glass dome kind-of struc-ture, filled with smoke. The base ofwhisky blended well with the sweettaste of maple and hazelnut. It wasonly enhanced with smoke. Whilethe drink was light and sweet, itwas a good pre-appetiser for TheSmuggler’s Paradise, a blend of darkrum plus brandy. We were told thatthis was the very drink Shanghaioriginally became known for.While it was garnished with thelocal pudina, it gave a certain hitwell appreciated by the tastersaround me. The minty taste wasonly augmented by the angosturabitters. The only additional limejuice and sugar syrup gave it, yetagain, a sweet taste.

This was followed by LentilChicken With Peanuts, as the namesuggests, a spicy mixture of deli-cious pieces of chicken with

peanuts. The dish wasthe perfect combinationof spicy, chewy and soggy.

We were served withWild Dance, a bourbon,

grenadine, lime juice andhoney concoction, the tasteof which was supplemented

by fruits, especiallyorange. It was garnishedwith an ‘okay’ sign oforange peeling, signallythe fine drink we weregoing to have. We wereinformed of the allusionof Wild Dance, whichwas supposedly the firstjazz band of Shanghai inthe 1930s. We were sur-

prised to hear that the band wasactually commissioned by a gang-ster named Du Yuesheng (Big-Eared Du).

The last cocktail of the eveningwas Paris Of The East. With thebase of relaxing rum Old Monk, thefusion of juices escalated the tangyflavours. The amalgam of pineap-ple, pomegranate, lime andcoconut juices gave it a sweetfruity taste — a flawless ending toa pleasant night.

Picking up from where we left offafter sampling the wares of

Kerala for Onam, we felt we have notyet had enough. We were eager totaste some more dishes from SouthIndia, and were on the lookout forany opportunity that could cater toour cravings.

And that is when we found outthat The Westin, Gurgaon hadcommenced a 13-day long culinarysymphony titled, 'Treasures ofTrichy' to enliven the traditional andflavourful spirit of Tiruchirappalli,from September 3. On furtherenquiry, we found out that the'Treasures of Trichy' food festival,curated by chef Vijaykumar, was allabout celebrating the cuisine with atraditional showcase of timelessdelicacies based on authentic SouthIndian recipes from his homeland- the vibrant city of Tiruchirappalli.Lying along the banks of theCauvery, this ancient city, soaked inspirituality and rich history, is full ofdiverse and flavourful treasures.Well, we were hooked from themoment we realised we would beable to binge on another cuisinefrom Southern India, and reserveda table for lunch without further ado.

The day we visited Westin, wetook particular care in having anextremely light breakfast,preparing well in advancefor a sumptuous lunch.As we made our way toWestin we could notstop thinking aboutfood, probablybecause we weresomewhat hungry, anddecided to while awayour time reading aboutthe food from Trichy. Thecuisine here has been influenced bythe various regimes that have ruledthis area over the centuries and anamazing blend of fragrant spicydishes has emerged from the melee.Majority of the dishes here are ricebased, with the regions situated onthe banks of Cauvery being knownas the rice bowl of Tamil Nadu.Aside from that, coconut also plays

an important role in the cuisine ofTrichy.

Scrolling through somedrool-worthy images of

traditional dishes engi-neered in Trichyhouseholds, we didnot realise how quick-ly time passed as ourcab pulled up at theentrance of The

Westin. As we navigat-ed through the lobby to

the establishment's all-daydining restaurant, Seasonal Tastes,

the lunch buffet was being spread.But we had our eyes only on theTreasures of Trichy.

We sought out chef Vijaykumarand expressed that we were thereonly for his food and that we could-n't wait to fill ourselves to the brim.He had a hearty chuckle before shar-ing, "For this food festival, I have

recreated some simple yet heaven-ly recipes perfected and passed onby generations. These recipes arerestricted to the homes in the inte-riors of the region and untapped bypeople outside of those places. Youmay rest assured, I will be sendingonly the most choice dishes yourway."

After we seated ourselves werubbed our hands together in giddyjoy, in eager anticipation of what wasto come. Right off the bat we werespoilt for choice, in a throwback tothe sense of hospitality that thesouthern regions of India are knownfor, with three different appetisers.Small vadas, crispy fried florets ofcauliflowers, and succulent chickennuggets were served with an assort-ment of chutneys and pickles. Wewere particularly obsessed with thesoft hunks of chicken, which the cheftold us were so succulent becausethey were marinated for over half anhour with lemon juice, and the cau-liflower crisps, which went reallywell with the tomato chutney.

When the main course was seton our table, we realised what a wisedecision that light breakfast was,because what we had in front of uswas a diverse array of some of the

best dishes to be featured among the'Treasure of Trichy'. The selectionsincluded a delectable Mutton sukha(mutton roast), Kozhi varuval (friedchicken curry) which went reallywell with the Malabar porotta. Thechef, in one of his customary chatswith us, as he dropped by our tableperiodically to check that everythingis In order, shared that he preferredthe porottas with the fish curry. ThePaal katti melagu (paneer curry) wasparticularly creamy and we fanciedit as a standalone dish. The Lemonrice disappeared in a jiffy, and thatwas no surprise, it reminded us ofhome, after all.

Rubbing our tummies, we hadjust enough room for the tradition-al Seviyaan paayasam and the richRava kesari. While the paayasam hitthe right notes as a sweet dish, sincethere are some among us who don'tlike a dessert that is too sweet, thekesari was extremely sweet. But wedid not mind that, we reveled in thesugar rush.

Without wasting any time, con-sidering how the festival ends onSeptember 15, we would recom-mend you visit The Westin,Gurgaon for some lip-smackingfare from Trichy.

There are several questions thatpeople have when it comes to

protein intake right after the work-out. The quantity of protein every-body needs varies, and it is based onseveral factors such as age, sex, fit-ness, and activity level. Your dailydiet should give you the requiredamount of protein.

To learn how the proper mealscan benefit you after a workout, it’svital to examine how physical exer-cise affects your body. During theworkout, the muscles use to utilisetheir glycogen, so post-workout thebody tries to repair its glycogen stor-age as well as improve and regrowthose muscle protein. Consumingthe proper nutrients right after youexercise can improve your body towork faster. It’s essentially importantto consume carbohydrates and pro-tein after your workout.

�What should your post-workoutmeal, or snack, look like?

All macronutrient protein,carbs, and fat are required in yourbody’s post-workout recoverymethod. It is essential to consumethe right food; exercise triggers thedownfall of muscle protein.Consuming a sufficient quantity ofprotein after an exercise gives yourbody the amino acids it needs torepair and rebuild these protein. So,eating both carbs and protein aftera workout can maximise protein andglycogen synthesis.

�What is protein, and why is it nec-essary?

Protein are built up of severaldifferent amino acids mixed. Thereare various amino acid buildingblocks generally seen in plants andanimals. Amino acids are cate-gorised as either basic or non-essen-tial. Protein performs a crucialrole in the formation and mainte-nance of every cell in your body.Protein is a significant element ofany nutrition because it fuels yourtissue, so you have the strength yourequire to stay active. Essentialmacronutrient suggests a sufficientquantity of protein in the nutritionto stay healthy. Protein serves torepair muscle mass and its benefitsinclude maintaining blood sugars,which manages appetite, is usefulfor growth, improvement, andmaintenance of cells. Amino acidsare the building blocks of proteinand they also perform an importantrole in hair thickening, and so on.

�How much protein should weconsume every day?

To maintain your current

weight, 20 grams to 30 grams serv-ing of protein is required. Tofu, milk,yogurt, eggs, chicken parts, fish,whey protein, vegan protein can beconsumed. Along with it, one por-tion of carbs, for example, a slice oftoast or two, rice, cereal, or fruit willbe sufficient.

To strengthen muscle, consum-ing adequate protein and overallcalories over the day is the most cru-cial part. If you’re aiming to growmuscle, consume bigger portions ofprotein.

To slim down, consider havinga protein shake on your off-trainingday. For instance, if you have a com-pany meeting in the morning andtend to skip breakfast, drinking aprotein shake can substitute a mealand provide the stamina that is need-ed to work optimally. But it cannotreplace a meal, its purpose is to sup-plement the food, not replace it.

�What will happen if you don’t eatafter your exercise?

Protein is necessary for musclerepair. Therefore, not consumingprotein post-workout will result inunrepaired muscles. When proteinisn’t present in sufficient quantities,the muscle is not capable to fullyrepair and improve, which leads topain and an increased risk of dam-age. The deficiency of the properrepair-nutrients can cause pain, sothe body needs to maintain tissueand muscles and reduce inflamma-tion. It is important to consume aproper meal post-workout.

A glass of skimmed milk, soymilk, or protein powder shake canbe a very useful and reasonable wayto refuel. Eating protein post-work-out is one way that can reduce therisk of injury, make healing faster,and maintain the body as healthy aspossible. After a workout, a mealshould include both protein andcarbs. It will improve glycogen stor-age and muscle protein synthesis.

(The author is the founder ByNature, a lifestyle brand specialis-

ing in consumer goods)

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Ben Stokes was left out ofEngland’s provisional

squad announced onThursday for next month’sT20 World Cup.

Stokes is currently takingan indefinite leave of absencefrom cricket for his mentalwellbeing and to recover froma finger injury.

The 30-year-old al l-rounder, a key member of theside that won the 2019 50-overWorld Cup, has not taken thefield since July.

“Durham’s Ben Stokes wasnot available for selection andcontinues to take an indefinitebreak from all cricket to pri-oritise his mental wellbeing,”said an England and WalesCricket Board statement.

But fast bowler TymalMills has been included,returning to the side for thefirst time since 2017.

Mills has impressed dur-ing this season’s domestic T20Blast and starred for SouthernBrave as they won the inau-gural edition of the Hundred.

“I believe we have select-ed a squad that covers allbases and has the depth to besuccessful in what is expect-ed to be a very competitive

tournament featuring the bestplayers in the world,” saidEngland head coach ChrisSilverwood.

“Tymal Mills deserves hisinclusion and has demon-strated over the past couple ofyears, but particularly thissummer, that he has all skillsto succeed at this level,” headded.

Eoin Morgan leads asquad featuring several 50-over World Cup winners,including Jason Roy, JonnyBairstow, Jos Buttler, AdilRashid, Chris Woakes andMark Wood.

Lancashire all-rounderLiam Livingstone has beenincluded after scoring anEngland T20 record 42-ballhundred against Pakistan thisseason.

Fast bowler Jofra Archerhad already been ruled outwith an elbow injury while,as expected, there is noplace for Test skipper JoeRoot in the 15-man squad.

Surrey’s Tom Curranand the Hampshire pair ofLiam Dawson and JamesVince are the travelling

reserves.As part of their build-up

to the tournament, Englandare scheduled to play fourwarm-up matches, includinga two-match T20 seriesagainst Pakistan.

SQUADEoin Morgan (capt), MoeenAli, Jonny Bairstow, SamBillings, Jos Buttler (wkt),Sam Curran, Chris Jordan,Liam Livingstone, DawidMalan, Tymal Mills, Adil

Rashid, Jason Roy, DavidWilley, Chris Woakes, MarkWoodReserves: Tom Curran,

Liam Dawson, JamesVince

NO TAMIMBangladesh

on Thursdaynamed all the players

who completed a series winover New Zealand in theirsquad for T20 World Cup.

Mahmudullah Riyad willlead the side that took a 3-1lead in the New Zealand serieson Wednesday with onematch still to play.

Mohammad Naim andLiton Das retained their placesas openers in the World Cupsquad after established open-er Tamim Iqbal declared him-self unavailable.

Shamim Hossain, part ofthe team who won the under-19 World Cup, was also select-ed.

Squad: Mahmudullah Riyad(capt), Mohammad Naim,Soumya Sarkar, Liton Das,Shakib Al Hasan, MushfiqurRahim, Afif Hossain, NurulHasan Sohan, Mahedi Hasan,Nasum Ahmed, MustafizurRahman, Shoriful Islam,Taskin Ahmed, MohammadSaifuddin, Shamim Hossain.

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Moise Kean grabbed his firstinternational goals since

March 2019 as Italy thrashedLithuania 5-0 in World Cupqualifying on Wednesday, asDamian Szymanski’s late head-er forced England to settle for adraw in Poland.

Italy had drawn their previ-ous two qualifiers to slip into abattle with Switzerland for auto-matic qualification from GroupC.

But the European champi-ons produced a dominant dis-play against Lithuania in ReggioEmilia.

Young striker Kean, whorejoined Juventus from Everton,scored twice in the first half.

Edgaras Utkus put throughhis own net and GiacomoRaspadori also scored as Italymoved four ahead at the break.

Giovanni Di Lorenzo madeit five in the second period asRoberto Mancini’s side stretchedtheir lead over Switzerland at thetop of the table to six points.

England, who were beatenby Italy on penalties in the Euro

2020 final, lost their 100 percentrecord in qualifying with a 1-1draw against Poland in Warsaw.

Spain’s qualification hopeswere under threat heading intotheir game at Kosovo, but a 2-0win, coupled with Sweden’s sur-prise 1-2 loss to Greece, gaveLuis Enrique’s side a much-needed boost.

Germany made it threewins from three for the formerBayern Munich boss Hansi Flick

with an impressive 4-0 victory inIceland.

There had been seriousquestions marks raised about theform of forwards Timo Werner,Serge Gnabry and Leroy Sane,but all three netted in Reykjavik.

In Group E, Belgium con-tinued their cruise towardsqualification as Dennis Praet’sfirst-half effort saw RobertoMartinez’s side edge outBelarus 1-0.

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Novak Djokovic movedwithin two matches of

completing the first men’s cal-endar-year singles Grand Slamin 52 years on Wednesday, ral-lying to defeat Italian MatteoBerrettini in a USOpen quarter-final.

To p - r a n k e dDjokovic stretchedhis Grand Slam winstreak to 26 matches by elimi-nating sixth seed Berrettini 5-7, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 at Arthur AsheStadium in a rematch of July’sWimbledon final.

“I think it was a great per-formance overall,” Djokovicsaid, calling his last three sets“the best three sets I’ve playedin the tournament.”

The world No 1 booked asemi-final date on Fridayagainst Olympic championAlexander Zverev, who beatDjokovic in the semi-finals inTokyo.

“He’s in tremendous form.He has been winning a lot,”Djokovic said. “He’s one of thebest players in the world rightnow and I’m pumped. Thebigger the challenge, the moreglory in overcoming it.”

Djokovic is trying tobecome the first man to win allfour major titles in the sameyear since Rod Laver in 1969,but he wasn’t ready ponder theglory of that challenge justyet.

“Only focusing on the nextmatch. Don’t ask me about his-tory,” Djokovic said. “I’m think-ing only about the next match.Step by step.”

The 34-year-old Serbianalso seeks his fourth US Opentitle and men’s record 21stcareer Slam trophy, whichwould lift him one above themark he shares with RogerFederer and Rafael Nadal, bothabsent with injuries.

German fourth seed

Zverev, last year’s US Openrunner-up, reached his fourthcareer Slam semi-final by elim-inating South Africa’s 46th-ranked Lloyd Harris 7-6 (8/6),6-3, 6-4.

Zverev denied Djokovic’sbid for a ‘Golden Slam’ sweepof all four major titles plusOlympic Gold, but Djokovicleads their all-time rivalry 6-3.

“He’s the best player in theworld. He’s very difficult tobeat,” Zverev said. “I was thefirst player to beat him in a verybig match this year. That doesgive you something.”

Zverev is on a 16-matchwin streak that includes a titlelast month at Cincinnati.Djokovic didn’t play betweenthe Olympics and the Open.

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New York: British 18-year-oldsensation Emma Raducanubecame the first qualifier toreach the US Open semi-finalsby defeating Tokyo Olympicchampion Belinda Bencic 6-3,6-4 on Wednesday.

Raducanu, only the fourthqualifier to reach a GrandSlam semi-final, made theSwiss 11th seed the highest-rated victim of her youngcareer in making history on theNew York hardcourts.

“It was a really toughmatch,” Raducanu said. “I’mreally glad to have comethrough.”

Next for World number150 Raducanu, who hasn’tdropped a set at the Open is afirst-ever matchup against

Greek 17th seed Maria Sakkari,who ousted Czech fourth seedKarolina Pliskova 6-4, 6-4.

Sakkari, whose first Slamsemi-final came in June at theFrench Open, also eliminat-ed 2019 US Open winnerBianca Andreescu, and Czech10th seed Petra Kvitova, atwo-time Wimbledon cham-pion, in matching her bestSlam run.

Raducanu became theyoungest US Open women’ssemi-finalist since MariaSharapova in 2005, althoughshe is only a couple of monthsyounger than Canadian 19-year-old Leylah Fernandez,who will face second-seededAryna Sabalenka in Thursday’sother semi-final. AFP

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The Table Tennis Federationof India (TTFI) has called its

executive committee meeting onSaturday to discuss star playerManika Batra’s allegations ofmatch-fixing against nationalcoach Soumyadeep Roy.

After Manika’s allegation, inresponse to the TTFI’s show-cause notice, that the nationalcoach had asked her to throw amatch during the Olympic qual-ifiers, the federation had askedRoy for a written responsewhich he has submitted.

“The issue will be discussedin the virtual meeting and I willpropose formation of an inquirypanel but the committee willtake the final call,” TTFI secre-tary Arun Banerjee said onThursday.

TTFI president DushyantChautala is expected to attendthe meeting.

CAMP IN SONIPATOn the ongoing national

camp in Sonipat, Banerjee saidmost of the players have report-ed barring Manika. G Sathiyan,

who had wanted to train inPoland instead, is also expectedto reach in a day or two.

The federation recentlymade camp attendance compul-sory for players to be eligible forbig events, including the AsianChampionships in Doha laterthis month.

Sutirtha Mukherjee, whodid not report to Sonipat at thestart of the camp, has alsoreached after recovering fromfever, said Banerjee. “The rulesare pretty clear. You have toattend the camp to be eligible forselection,” he said.

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Johannesburg: Former cap-tain Faf du Plessis, veteran leg-spinner Imran Tahir and all-rounder Chris Morris were leftout as South Africa onThursday announced an 15-member squad for the upcom-ing T20 World Cup.

Temba Bavuma, who hadsurgery on Sunday and isexpected to be fit by mid to lateOctober, will lead the youngteam, which also featuresKeshav Maharaj, the left-armspinner who is yet to play aT20I. In the spin department,apart from Maharaj, TabraizShamsi and Bjorn Fortuin willbe the specialist bowlers in the

squad.Quinton de Kock, Aidem

Markram, Heinrich Klaasenand David Miller will formpart of an experienced battingline-up, while the fast-bowlingline-up features KagisoRabada, Lungi Ngidi andAnrich Nortje.Squad: Temba Bavuma (c),Keshav Maharaj, Quinton deKock (wk), Bjorn Fortuin,Reeza Hendricks, HeinrichKlaasen, Aiden Markram,David Miller, W Mulder, LungiNgidi, Anrich Nortje, DwainePretorius, Kagiso Rabada,Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie vander Dussen. AFP

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New Delhi: The Syed ModiInternational Super 300 tour-nament was on Thursday can-celled by the Badminton WorldFederation for the second yearin a row.

The tournament, whichwas also cancelled last year dueto the Covid-19 pandemic,was scheduled to be held inLucknow from October 12 to17.

“Further to August’sannouncement detailingupdates to the BWFTournament Calendar 2021,the BWF can confirm the SyedModi India International 2021is now cancelled,” the apexbody said in a statement.

BWF, which has had tocancel several tournamentsdue to Covid-19 complica-tions and restrictions, howev-er, did not specify the exact rea-son for calling off the tourna-ment in India.

“The BWF regrets the can-cellation but remains commit-ted to delivering a safe andstructured series of badmintontournaments for the rest of theyear,” the statement read. PTI

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Jasprit Bumrah will have tosqueeze every ounce ofenergy from his already

overworked body whileAjinkya Rahane will hope to getone final chance to save hisinternational career when Indiatake on England in the fifth andfinal Test, chasing a historicseries win.

The weather prediction forthe game starting Friday wouldbring smiles in the Indiancamp as there is forecast of rainduring the first two days whichincreases the chance of ViratKohli becoming the first Indiancaptain to win an away Testseries both in Australia (2018-19) and England (2021).

India are leading 2-1 rightnow.

However, just like the lastfour Tests, the visitors’ line-upfor the game is set to evokecuriosity.

At the heart of the conver-sation will certainly beBumrah’s workload after hav-ing bowled 151 overs already inthe past one month, including22 intense overs on the fourthand fifth day of the Oval Test.

Just like Bumrah, anothercomplicated “to be or not to besituation” surrounds Rahane’sinclusion after his twin failureson a good batting deck at theOval.

Six failures in seveninnings with confidence shot topieces is not the Rahane every-one is familiar with.

Yet, considering this is thelast Test of the series, Kohlimight think of giving hisdeputy one last chance failingwhich his India career might bein line now that he is 33 yearsold.

If not, then SuryakumarYadav’s f lamboyance orHanuma Vihari’s doggednesscould be used to unsettle theEnglish attack.

And workload is some-thing that concerns India andespecially Bumrah.

The manner in whichBumrah snuffed out Ollie Popeand Jonny Bairstow with lethalreverse swinging deliveries, themere thought of not facing him

would provide comfort to thebrittle English batting line-upwhich hasn’t lived up to expec-tations save skipper Joe Root.

With Mohammed Shamibeing declared fit, he is set towalk into the playing XI butskipper Kohli’s call in absenceof head coach Ravi Shastriand bowling coach BharathArun, both suffering fromCovid-19, will be crucial.

Umesh Yadav (6 wickets)and all-rounder ShardulThakur (3 wickets 117 runs),after their respective impressiveperformances in the last game,aren’t going to be benched andBumrah is someone who willbe required big time in thebiggest game of the series.

In case, the team manage-ment looks at the bigger pic-ture and decides givingBumrah an option to cool hisheels, then Mohammed Siraj,

despite an underwhelmingshow in the last Test, will get

a look-in.The non-inclusion of

Ravichandran Ashwin hasbeen non-negotiable for cap-tain Kohli, whose vote of con-fidence in Ravindra Jadeja’s all-round skills has been partial-ly vindicated if not fully.

For England, Root is theirfirst and only hope and hewould like to shrug off the

Oval disappointment andensure that he crosses the 600-run mark for the series.

Just like Rohit Sharma,who would like to overcomehis knee injury and breach the500-run mark for the fiveTests, which will be a tremen-dous achievement for someonewho was not a natural Testopener.

Root will get support fromdeputy Jos Buttler, who will beback in the playing XI and mayreplace Bairstow.

Manchester: India cricketteam’s junior physio YogeshParmar has tested positive forCovid-19 and BCCI presidentSourav Ganguly is unsurewhether the fifth and finalTest against England, sched-uled from Friday, will goahead or not.

After head coach RaviShastri and bowling coachBharath Arun, another mem-ber of the support staff test-ing positive forced the teamto cancel its practice sessionon Thursday.

“We don’t know if match

will happen at the moment.Hopefully we can get somegame,” said Ganguly.

The RT-PCR test reportsof the players are still awaited.

Parmar testing positivealso leaves the team without aphysio with the main physioNitin Patel already in isolationafter Shastri contracted thevirus during the Oval Test.

“The results of the RT-PCR tests (of players) areexpected later in the daydepending on which the fate ofthe game will be decided,” saida BCCI source. PTI

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India will tour South Africa foran all-format series in

December-January, CricketSouth Africa (CSA) said onThursday.

According to the itineraryannounced by CSA, India is setto play three Test matches, asmany ODIs and four T20Isduring the tour.

Two Tests are scheduled inJohannesburg from December17 to 21 and January 3 to 7,while Centurion will host thesecond Test from December 26to 30.

The Test matches will be fol-

lowed by three ODIs and fourT20Is to be held in Cape Townand Paarl.

Melbourne: Cricket Australiaon Thursday made it clear thatit will not host the Afghanistanmen’s team next month ifwomen are not allowed to playthe game under Taliban rule.

CA’s statement comes a dayafter Taliban’s cultural commis-sion, Ahmadullah Wasiq, wasquoted as saying that it wasn’tnecessary for women to playcricket.

“Driving the growth ofwomen’s cricket globally isincredibly important to CricketAustralia. Our vision for crick-et is that it is a sport for all andwe support the game unequiv-ocally for women at every level,”the CA said.

“If recent media reportsthat women’s cricket will not besupported in Afghanistan aresubstantiated, Cricket Australiawould have no alternative but tonot host Afghanistan for theproposed Test Match due to beplayed in Hobart.”

“We thank the Australianand Tasmanian Governmentsfor their support on this impor-

tant issue,” it added.The one-off Test between

Australia and Afghanistan isscheduled to begin onNovember 27 in Hobart.

The Australian CricketersAssociation (ACA) alsoendorsed CA’s stance.

“What is happening now inAfghanistan is a human rightsissue that transcends the gameof cricket.

“And while we would love tosee players such as Rashid Khanplay against Australia, hostingthis Test Match cannot be con-sidered if that same opportuni-ty to play the game is denied toRoya Samim and her team-mates,” it said.

Sports Minister RichardColbeck has called for the ICC’sintervention on the matter.

“Excluding women fromsport at any level is unaccept-able,” Colbeck said in a state-ment. “We urge internationalsport authorities, including theInternational Cricket Council, totake a stand against thisappalling ruling.” PTI

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England vice-captain JosButtler on Thursday said he

expects the fifth and final Testagainst India to proceed asscheduled despite a freshCovid-19 case in the visitingcamp.

“I don’t know too much, tobe honest, at the moment. Atpresent we are expecting thegame to go ahead. Things areall fine in our camp. We are

looking forward to the game,”Buttler said when asked aboutthe latest development .

Buttler, who was on pater-nity leave during the OvalTest, said his team is all firedup to square the series, whichIndia leads 2-1 at present.

“It was a fantastic Testmatch (at the Oval). TheIndians played brilliant crick-et. We want to win this Testmatch and level the series. Thespirits are high in the side, it’s

a must win game for us,” hesaid.

There is speculation thatEngland pace spearhead JamesAnderson might be rested forthe game but Buttler hintedotherwise.

“He has bowled fantasti-cally well in the series. Jimmyis incredibly fit. He has lookedafter himself very well. Helooks exactly the same (as wasin first match) and is availablefor selection,” he said.

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New Delhi: The BCCI apexcouncil on Thursday receiveda complaint against formercaptain MS Dhoni’s appoint-ment as the Indian team’smentor for the T20 WorldCup, citing the conflict ofinterest clause in the LodhaCommittee reforms. FormerMadhya Pradesh CricketAssociation life memberSanjeev Gupta, who has pre-viously filed a series ofConflict of interest complaintsagainst players and adminis-trators, has sent a letter to theapex council members thatDhoni’s appointment is a vio-lation of the Conflict ofInterest clause, under whichone person cannot hold twoposts. Dhoni is also captain ofChennai Super Kings in IPL.

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