60 killed as rain pounds Maharashtra - E-learning Adda

CMYK

A ND-NDE

saturday, july 24, 2021 Delhi

City Edition

16 pages O ₹�10.00

Printed at . Chennai . Coimbatore . Bengaluru . Hyderabad . Madurai . Noida . Visakhapatnam . Thiruvananthapuram . Kochi . Vijayawada . Mangaluru . Tiruchirapalli . Kolkata . Hubballi . Mohali . Malappuram . Mumbai . Tirupati . lucknow . cuttack . patna

follow us:

thehindu.com

facebook.com/thehindu

twitter.com/the_hindu

CM Mamata Banerjee

chosen as chairperson

of TMC in Parliament

Page 8

Road ahead is daunting,

says Manmohan Singh on

postpandemic revival

Page 9

Amazon, Flipkart lose

legal battle challenging

CCI investigation

4

At least 60 persons havebeen killed in landslips triggered by intense rain in western Maharashtra and thecoastal Konkan region asmonsoon fury continued unabated on Friday.

While the entire State, including the normally aridMarathwada and Vidarbharegions, have been receivingparticularly heavy showersover the last 72 hours, the situation remained particularlygrim in the Mahad and Poladpur tehsils in Raigad, Chiplun and Khed in Ratnagiri,as well as the ‘sugar belt’ districts of Kolhapur, Satara andSangli.

Fortynine of those killeddied in three separate landslips in Raigad itself.

Tragedy struck Taliye village in Mahad on Thursdayevening when the entire village of around 35 houses wasinstantly buried in a majorlandslip in an incidentstrongly reminiscent of the2014 Malin landslide in Pune.

While the precise casualtyfi�gures were not confi�rmed,the authorities said so farmore than 35 bodies hadbeen recovered from the debris while more than 70 people were missing.

Other sources said 38 bo

dies had been retrieved fromthe site till now.

Local people were the fi�rstresponders as heavy rainfall,waterlogging, and disruptedconnectivity delayed the National and State Disaster Response Forces (NDRF and

SDRF) teams. The reliefteams struggled to clearboulders and damaged roadsto reach the village.

60 killed as rain pounds Maharashtra Landslips kill 49 inRaigad; rescueeff�orts hamperedShoumojit Banerjee

Pune

First responders: Locals carrying out rescue operations after several people died in a landslipat Taliye village in Satara district of Maharashtra on Friday. * PTI

Parliament failed to function for the fourth day in arow following protests fromthe Opposition on issuesranging from the Pegasusspyware controversy to thefarmers agitation.

In the Rajya Sabha, Trinamool Congress MP SantanuSen was suspended for theremaining part of the monsoon session for snatchingand tearing the statementon Pegasus that was beingread by the Minister forElectronics and InformationTechnology (MEITy) Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday.The motion seeking his suspension was moved by Minister of State for Parliamentary Aff�airs V.Muraleedharan and waspassed by a voice vote.

The Opposition partiesprotested against the move,saying that they were not given any opportunity to respond. Trinamool MPs DerekO’Brien and Sukendu Sekhar Ray said the concernedmember should have beengiven an opportunity tospeak. Mr. O’Brien alsopointed out that after thehouse adjourned on Thursday, Mr. Sen was roughedup. “We saw boorish behaviour and hooliganism inthis house,” he said.

In response, ChairmanVenkaiah Naidu said this is

sue was not brought to hisnotice. Congress Chief WhipJairam Ramesh asked Mr.Naidu to allow for a clarifi�cation on the statement on Pegasus made by Mr. Vaishnaw.

Though Mr. Sen wasasked to leave the House byMr. Naidu, he continued toremain in his seat. Amid theprotests, the House was adjourned thrice as despitemultiple pleas from the Deputy Chairman, Mr. Sen didnot leave. In fact, he remained seated inside theHouse even after the adjournments. His picture wascirculated to all entry gatesof the House with directionsto the marshals that heshould not be allowed inside. Convention dictatesthat no business can betransacted till the suspended member is removed fromthe House.

Opposition raises Pegasus, farmers’ stir

Special Correspondent

New Delhi

Parliament stalledfor 4th day in a row

Santanu Sen

CONTINUED ON A PAGE 8

News and opinion websiteThe Wire on Friday reportedthat Delhibased Kashmirijournalists, a prominent civilsociety activist critical of theoffi�cial policy towards Jammu and Kashmir and over 25people from Kashmir wereselected as potential targetsof surveillance between 2017and mid2019 by an as yet

unidentifi�ed governmentagency that was believed tobe a client of the NSO Groupof Israel.

According to The Wire report, the names include separatist leader Bilal Lone andthe late S.A.R. Geelani,whose phones were forensically analysed by it. “For theother potential targets inKashmir, it was not possible,for one reason or another, to

conduct forensic analysis.As The Wire and its mediapartners have noted, the appearance of a number in theleaked database does not necessarily mean that thephone in question had beeninfected, but it does meanthat the phone number waslikely selected for potentialsurveillance,” it said.

Kashmiris among snooping targetsSpecial Correspondent

NEW DELHI


A drone (unmanned aerialvehicle) with explosives wasshot down in Jammu’s Akhnoor sector on Friday andthe tying material used “resembles the ones found withthe payloads dropped” onthe technical airport at theAir Force Station, Jammu, onJune 27 that left two IAF personnel injured.

“There was a specifi�c input that the JaisheMuhammad ( JeM) was planning todrop a payload by a dronenear Akhnoor. Around 1a.m., the police spotted thedrone and shot it down.Around 5 kg of improvisedexplosive device (IED) material was attached to it,” Additional Director General ofPolice, Jammu, MukeshSingh said.

The IED, the police said,was to be picked up by militants or their supporters onthis side of the InternationalBorder. The IED, whichcould be detonated by connecting a few wires, was attached to a wing of the hexacopter (having six wings). Itwas fi�tted with both a fl�ightcontroller and a GPS.

Drone with explosives shot down Peerzada Ashiq

JAMMU


Amid the monsoon’s revivalsince the second week ofJuly, rainfall has seensignifi�cant variation acrossthe country. Several parts ofthe western Konkan coastand the southern peninsulawere seeing instances ofextreme rainfall. Accordingto IMD data on the regionaldistribution, the SouthPeninsula has seen 29%more rain than normal fromJune 1 to July 23. A Page 9

Revival seesrise in extremerainfall events

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD


TWO LANDSLIPS IN KARNATAKA

STALL TRAINS A PAGE 5

Xi Jinping becomes

fi�rst Chinese leader in

years to visit Tibet

Page 13

The Delhi High Court on Friday directed the police toshift a LGBTQ communitycouple, wanting to get married but facing threats fromtheir families, to a safehouse set up by the Delhi government and provide themadequate security.

Justice Mukta Gupta directed the SHO of Mayur Vihar PhaseI police station totake the duo to Kingsway

Camp where a safe househas been set up for couples“whose relationship is opposed by their families or local community and khaps”.

The HC also issued notices to the family members ofthe couple. It will hear thematter again on August 2.

The couple, through advocate Utkarsh Singh, approached the HC saying theyare adults and their relationship is not acceptable totheir families as they belong

to the LGBTQ community.Mr. Singh said the couple

were assaulted by their family members after which theycame to Delhi from Punjabto solemnise their marriage.

In 2018, the SupremeCourt had passed an orderto protect couples choosinginterfaith or intercaste marriages after NGO Shakti Vahini fi�led a petition against“honour killings”. It hadasked States to set up safehouses for such couples.

Delhi HC orders police to shift LGBTQcouple to safe house, provide securityThe duo came to the Capital from Punjab to get married

press trust of india

new delhiThe Supreme Court onFriday dismissed a challenge to a National GreenTribunal (NGT) ban onthe sale and use of fi�recrackers during the COVID19 pandemic in theNational Capital Region(NCR) and all cities andtowns where the ambientair quality is in the pooror above categories.

A Bench led by JusticeA.M. Khanwilkar said itdid not require a reportby the Indian Institute ofTechnology to know thatfi�recrackers were bad forthe lungs.

The court remindedthe petitioners, mostly fi�recracker manufacturerswho said the ban was animpediment to their livelihoods, that the worldwas in the middle of apandemic.

SC upholdsNGT ban onfi�recrackers

Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI

DETAILS ON A PAGE 2

Low-key ceremony: Flagbearers Harmanpreet Singh and Mary Kom lead the Indian contingent during the athletes’ parade atthe opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics. * REUTERS (REPORT ON PAGE 15)

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC


Let the Games begin!

‘Filed preliminary reporton Jaipur Golden deaths’ NEW DELHI

Health Minister Satyendar

Jain on Friday said the report

submitted by the Delhi

government to the High

Court in May, which said that

21 deaths in Jaipur Golden

Hospital were not due to

oxygen shortage, was a

“preliminary report”.

CITY A PAGE 3DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

NEARBY

‘Minister’ quits duringfarmers’ parliamentNEW DELHI

On the second day of the

‘Farmers’ Parliament’ at

Jantar Mantar in Delhi, the

‘Minister of Agriculture and

Farmers’ tendered his

resignation after he “couldn’t

meet eyes of the farmers”.

NEWS A PAGE 8DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

Navjot Singh Sidhu, thenewlyappointed presidentof the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, on Fridayformally took charge at aceremony, with Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, whohad expressed his displeasure at Mr. Sidhu’s elevation, joining the event andcongratulating him.

On July 18, Mr. Sidhu waselevated as State party chiefalong with four workingpresidents by the All IndiaCongress Committee.

Capt. Amarinder hadbeen maintaining that hewill not meet Mr. Sidhu until the latter publicly apologises for his personal derogatory social media attacksagainst him.

However, he met Mr. Sidhu during a ‘tea’ hosted byhim, even though Mr. Sidhudidn’t tender any publicapology, ahead of the offi�cial function where Mr. Sidhu took charge of the partyaff�airs.

Delhi, protesting teachers,doctors with problems, securing justice in sacrilegecases, catching the big fi�shinvolved in drugs trade etc.are the real issues,” he said,adding that he cared onlyabout the welfare of Punjab. “Punjab will win, Punjabis will win,” he stressed.Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)president Sukhbir Badalwas quick to hit out at theCongress. “Was this a coronation or a vote of no confi�dence by @INCPunjabagainst its own govt, proposed by the old presidentand seconded by the new?With 6 months to poll inPunjab, did anyone hearany Congressman soundingproud of their govt? All oneheard was a nonperformance song,” he tweeted.

but the country. Punjabshares a long border withPakistan... China, Pakistanand now Taliban in Afghanistan, they will all come andsit at Kashmir’s border,Punjab’s border. We needpeople together.”

Addressing the gathering, Mr. Sidhu said the purpose of his post was to resolve the issues of people.“The Congress is united...today, all workers in PunjabCongress have become party chief, and there’s no difference between a leaderand workers. My aim is towork towards giving thepower of people back tothem. I’ll work towards thefulfi�lment of the party’s 18point agenda,” he asserted.

“The agitating farmerssitting on the borders of

At the event, Capt. Amarinder congratulated thenew PCC team, includingMr. Sidhu. He said “We willnow move together in politics. We have to think andwork towards welfare ofPunjab... not just Punjab

Sidhu opens new innings as chief of Punjab CongressCM Amarinder, who had expressed displeasure at the elevation, joins event and congratulates him

VIKAS VASUDEVA

CHANDIGARH

Between the lines: Amarinder Singh and Navjot Sidhu at thelatter’s oath-taking ceremony in Chandigarh on Friday. * PTI

CMYK

A ND-NDE

Delhi Metro instals selfi�epoints to support athletesNEW DELHI

The DMRC has installed

several selfie points across

the metro network to pledge

support to Indian athletes at

the Tokyo Olympics. The

DMRC tweeted: “Many

enthusiastic patrons joined

the entire nation in cheering

for our athletes. Show your

support along with Delhi

Metro to the pride of our

nation at the Tokyo

Olympics...”

IN BRIEF

BIMTECH welcomes

students of 34th batch

NEW DELHI

On the occasion of 34th

Commencement Day, Birla

Institute of Management

Technology, Greater Noida,

rolled out a virtual red carpet

to welcome more than 400

students of its 34th Batch of

PGDM 202123 and their

family members on July 23,

2021. MD and CEO of Tech

Mahindra, C.P. Gurnani, was

chief guest at the event. He

shared his journey to boost

the morale of the students.

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a petitionfi�led by the Delhi Jal Board(DJB) seeking contempt action against Haryana ChiefSecretary Vijai Vardhanand Additional Chief Secretary Irrigation and WaterResources Department,Devender Singh, for wilfully disobeying a February1996 order of the court tomaintain the water level atthe Wazirabad reservoir toserve the drinking waterneeds of the Capital.

Appearing before aBench led by Justice A.M.Khanwilkar, senior advocate Vikas Singh, for DJB,submitted Haryana was notsupplying Yamuna water tothe Capital as required under the court order.

Mr. Singh said there wasa shortage of 450 cusecs in

the water supplied by Haryana to Delhi regardless ofthe court’s directions.

‘Water crisis in Delhi’“Due to nonsupply ofadequate water by Haryana, the water level in theWazirabad reservoir is only31% of the capacity. Thishas the possibility of triggering a severe water crisisin Delhi. The petitioner hasalready had to curtail water for several areas in Delhi, including President’sEstate, Parliament Houseand other institutional anddiplomatic buildings aswell as many residentialareas,” the DJB had

submitted.Senior advocate Shyam

Divan, for Haryana, countered that the contempt petition was an “absoluteabuse of process” by theDJB.

Haryana is releasingmore than 1,000 cusecs ofwater and sometimes evenmore, he submitted.

The court dismissed thecontempt petition after ashort hearing.

The DJB had accused Haryana of contempt for acting in clear violation of theapex court order of February 29, 1996, in the DelhiWater Supply and SewageDisposal Undertaking versus State of Haryana case.

The DJB, earlier in 2021,had approached the apexcourt to “immediatelystop” Haryana from discharging pollutants intothe Yamuna River.

DJB claims Yamuna water not being supplied as per 1996 order

Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI

Apex court rejects DJB petition forcontempt action against Haryana

<> Contempt petition

was an absolute

abuse of process

by the DJB

Shyam Divan

Senior advocate for Haryana

The Council for the IndianSchool Certifi�cate Examinations (CISCE) on Friday saidit will announce results forClass X and XII board examination on July 24.

Chief Executive and Secretary of CISCE Gerry Arathoon said the results of ICSEand ISCexaminations willbe declared at 3 p.m. The results will be published on itswebsite, through SMS andmade available to schoolsthrough the CAREERS Portal.

‘Imputed marks’ Board examinations for ClassX and XII had been cancelleddue to COVIDand will be announced on basis of an alternate assessment policy decided by the board bycalculating “imputedmarks”. “In the event, a candidate has objections regarding computation of marks inthe result, she or he maymake a written application to

the school, stating the objection in detail along with reasons thereof,” the Board said.

It added that schools willbe required to review all suchapplications and only uponbeing satisfi�ed with the contentions made therein, forward the same to the boardalong with comments and remarks endorsing the contentions made and documentssupporting the opinion regarding the computation ofmarks. “In case the resultwill need to be altered, theCISCE will notify the Head ofthe School concerned. Thisdispute resolution mechanism is only for the correctionof calculation errors,” Mr.Arathoon said.

ICSE, ISC board results tobe declared today at 3 p.m.‘Write to school regarding any objection’


NEW DELHI <> The results will be

published on its

website, through

SMS and made

available to

schools through

the CAREERS

Portal

A 25yearold man — out onspecial parole due to COVIDin June — and his accomplice have been arrested after a brief exchange of fi�rein northeast Delhi’sBrahmpuri, the police saidon Friday.

DCP (NorthEast) SanjayKumar Sain said the accused have been identifi�edas Arbaj and Shahwaj (25) —both residents of Zafrabad.

A fi�ring incident tookplace in Seelampur on July14 following which a case ofattempt to murder wasregistered.

“The accused duo wasidentifi�ed. On Friday at12.35 a.m., a police teamraided a house in NandRam Mohalla in Brahmpuriin search of Arbaj and Shahwaj. The duo was found onthe fi�rst fl�oor of the house,”the offi�cer said, adding that

after seeing the policemen,they tried to fl�ee the spot. Achase began.

The police said they conducted an intensive searchoperation in the area andlater, zeroed in a house,which was locked frominside.

“The house owner wasnot opening even after repetative knocking. Later,the owner, who appearedscared, opened the gateand requested police tosave his family as both theaccused were hiding in hishouse,” the offi�cer said.

The accused then fi�redthree rounds at the policeteam.

The team also fi�red inselfdefense and the accused received gunshot injuries on their legs, Mr. Sainsaid.

They were then shiftedto a hospital where they areundergoing treatment.

Two criminals arrested inattempt to murder case An accused was on parole due to COVID

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI

The wife of TMC MLA andformer Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament VivekGupta was robbed of herbag by a gang in southeastDelhi’s Lajpat Nagar on Friday afternoon, the policesaid.

Deputy Commissionerof Police (SouthEast) R.P.Meena said the victim, Kanika Gupta, is currently residing at a hotel in LodhiColony. A case charge oftheft has been registered.

The incident happenedwhen she was in her carwith her driver on DefenceColony fl�yover. A man intercepted their vehicle following which the driver deboarded the car. Suddenly,another person distractedher following which, shetoo, deboarded the car.

Next, when she got inside the car, she found thather bag containing cash,phone, gold coin and documents was missing. Further probe is under way, thepolice added.

Wife of TMCMLA robbed

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI

The Supreme Court on Fridaydismissed a challenge to a National Green Tribunal (NGT)ban on the sale and use of fi�recrackers during the pandemic in the NCR and all cities and towns where theambient air quality is in the‘poor’ or above categories.

A Bench led by Justice A.M.Khanwilkar said it does notrequire a report by the IndianInstitute of Technology (IIT)to know that fi�recrackers arebad for the lungs. The courtreminded the petitioners,mostly fi�recracker manufacturers who said the ban wasan impediment to their livelihoods, that the world is in themiddle of a pandemic.

The NGT had in its December 2020 order that onlygreen crackers would be per

mitted for Christmas and NewYear — between 11.55 p.m.and 12.30 a.m. — in areaswhere the ambient air qualityis in the ‘moderate’ or belowcategories. District Magistrates were directed to ensurethat fi�recrackers were notsold and violators are fi�ned.

‘Right to business’ The Tribunal had reasonedthat the “right to business isnot absolute. There is no right

to violate air quality andnoise level norms”. The courtagreed with the Tribunal order and said no further clarifi�cation was required.

In 2017, the apex court hadbanned the use and sale oftoxic crackers on the basis ofa petition fi�led by two infants— a sixmonthold and14monthold.

‘Right to life’They had said the air pollution caused by various factors, especially fi�recrackers,has made Delhi a gas chamber. They pleaded for theirright to life. The court hadsaid the sale of green and improved crackers would be only through licensed traders.The court had dismissed arguments that bursting crackers was a fundamental rightand an essential practice dur

ing religious festivals likeDiwali.

“We feel that Article 25(right to religion) is subject toArticle 21 (right to life). If aparticular religious practice isthreatening the health andlives of people, such practiceis not to entitled to protectionunder Article 25… Our endeavour is to strive at balancingof two rights, namely, right ofthe petitioners under Article21 and right of the manufacturers and traders under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution,” Justice Sikri hadobserved.

“If the situation is coveredby general directions of theSupreme Court, it must be followed in letter and spirit. Inother words, these appealsare devoid of merit and aredismissed,” Justice Khanwilkar’s Bench said on Friday.

SC dismisses plea challenging NGTban on sale and use of fi�recrackersBench says IIT report not required to gauge illeff�ects of fi�recrackers on health

Legal Correspondent

NEW Delhi

Bumper to bumper: Massive traffi�c jam at ITO in New Delhi on Friday afternoon. * SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA



Jam session

A 36yearold man allegedlykilled his relative and another man in northwest Delhi’sWazirpur, the police said onFriday.

The accused — SandeepJain, owner of a utensil factory in Wazirpur Industrialarea, and his accomplices —driver Sanjay Kumar (28)and rickshawpuller Sunil —have been arrested, theysaid. The trio killed Surender Gupta (36), owner of achemical godown in Bawana, and his friend Amit Goel(35).

Jain had borrowed ₹�20lakh from Gupta but was unable to repay the loan following which he was threatened with direconsequences. Goel’s bodywas found inside his car inTimarpur on Thursday.Gupta was found dead inside Jain’s factory, the policesaid.

Man nabbed forkilling relativeover ‘loan’ issue

STAFF REPORTER

NEW DELHI

The Delhi High Court Fridayasked the police to respondto a plea by former AAPcouncillor Tahir Hussain —arrested in connection withthe northeast Delhi riotslast year — seeking to setaside UAPA provisions relating to terror activities invoked against him in thechargesheet.

Justice Mukta Gupta issued notice to the Centre,Delhi government and DelhiPolice on the petition,which has also challengedgrant of sanction to prosecute him in the case lodgedunder the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act(UAPA).

The court said a reply affi�davit/ status report be fi�ledby the authorities withinfour weeks and listed thematter for further hearingon September 28.

Senior advocate MohitMathur, representing Hussain, submitted that although the provisions relatingto terrorist activities havebeen invoked against him inthe charge sheet, there isnothing to show that his actwas that of a terrorist.

Hussain has sought to setaside UAPA provisions including sections 13 (punishment for unlawful activities), 15 (terrorist act), 16(punishment for terroristact) and 18 (punishment forconspiracy) invoked in thecharge sheet fi�led by theCrime Branch of Delhi Police. The chargesheet in theUAPA case relates to an alleged larger conspiracy thatled to the riots.

Delhi riots: HCseeks policereply on TahirHussain’s plea

Press Trust of India

New Delhi

The Delhi Rozi Roti AdhikaarAbhiyaan (DRRAA) on Fridayheld a public hearing on hunger and food insecurity in theCapital.

Several people from diff�erent parts of the city sharedtheir experiences on howduring the pandemic andeconomic distress, they wereunable to get ration from thegovernment designatedcentres.

Krishna Devi, a domestichelp from Gautampuri, said:“My husband is unable towork owing to health issues.Even during the last lockdown, we did not receive anyration. I have visited severalgovernment offi�ces and triedto arrange all kinds of documents. Despite that, I havestruggled to even get a rationcard made. It has become increasingly diffi�cult to sustainourselves without government aid.”

Several people also saiddespite having applied for ration cards years back, theystill haven’t received one.

Amrita Johri of the DRRAAsaid according to an RTI response, around two lakh ration card applications arepending with thegovernment.

Veerwati from Pratapgarhsaid: “I had applied for a ration card in 2016 but still haven’t got one. I did not evenreceive any ration throughthe ecoupon system, whichwas launched last year during the lockdown. This time,I visited the designated

schools several times but wastold that the ration is out ofstock. Not only did I not getration, but I also ended upspending more oncommuting.”

Suman Devi, a resident ofthe Lal Gumbad camp, described how delayed rationdistribution had aff�ected thefamily of four.

“My husband used to workin a factory, and he has beenout of work since lockdown. Iused to work as help but I lostthat as well. My eldest childhad to discontinue studiesand we are trying hard toprovide proper nourishmentto the younger one as well. Itwas only in June that we gotthe ration designated for Mayand that too after much hassle. Expenses for everythinghave increased. They ask usto nourish our children well.How are we supposed to dothat when we have no workand ration ourselves?,” ruedMs. Devi.

Several talked about issues in getting ration from govt. centres

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI

People speak on hunger at publichearing held by food rights group

<> I had applied for a

ration card in 2016

but still haven’t got

one. I did not even

receive any ration

through the

e-coupon system

Veerwati

A resident of Pratapgarh

The Delhi High Court Fridaysought DDA’s reply on a petition seeking publication ofthe draft Master Plan of Delhi2041 in Punjabi and Urdulanguages.

An HC Bench issued notice in the petition fi�led by National Hawker Federationand six individuals and granted time to Delhi Development Authority to fi�leresponse.

The petition, which is fi�ledthrough advocate Anupradha Singh and Imsori Amri, also seeks a direction to DDApublish all the documents,including the preparatorystudies and maps, reliedupon by it while preparingthe draft Master Plan 2041.

The petition states thatwhile the master plan wascritical for envisioning the city’s upcoming 20 years, DDApublished the published itsdraft for the general only inHindi and English and excluded the two other offi�cial

languages, Punjabi andUrdu.

It is thus argued that suchpublication was discriminatory as it excluded the part ofthe population which cannotread Hindi or English.

The petition also assertsthat stakeholders wouldwant to share suggestion butmost of them are unaware ofthe draft master plan and arein no position to contribute.

The petition submits thatsharing information with respect to the plan was essentialto not only ensure transparency but to also protect theright of citizens to participate. The matter would beheard next on August 31.

HC issues notice on plea fordraft MPD in Punjabi, UrduMatter posted for hearing on August 31


New Delhi

The BIP on Friday announced it was giving ChiefMinister Arvind Kejriwal amonth to fulfi�l promisesmade to the Capital’s farmers failing which the party’s Kisan Morcha wouldlaunch an agitation.

Leader of Opposition inthe Delhi Assembly RamvirSingh Bidhuri termed it“shameful” that courts hadto remind the Chief Minister of the promises made to

the people which he had“conveniently forgotten”,including those made tothe farmers of Delhi.

“The same kind of promises are being made tofarmers in Punjab and theywill face the same kind ofbetrayal at the hands of Mr.Kejriwal. He has become apromise making machinery but has been terrible atfulfi�lling them,” Mr. Bidhuri alleged at a meeting ofthe Delhi BJP Kisan MorchaWorking Committee

The LOP said Mr. Kejriwal had promised to thefarmers of Delhi that if hecame to power, he wouldgive 50% more price thanthe MSP announced by theCentre but this has nothappened.

This announcement, Mr.Bidhuri said, was madearound three years ago andif calculated in terms of value, the Delhi governmentowed ₹�300 crore to thefarmers and demandedthat it be paid to them.


New Delhi

BJP to launch protest if CM fails to fulfi�lpromises made to farmers in a month

The Indian Youth Congress(IYC) on Sunday protestedagainst “indecent” remarksmade by Union MinisterMeenakshi Lekhi againstfarmers.

The National president ofIYC, Srinivas B.V., said remarks made by Ms. Lekhitowards the food givers ofthe country are highlycondemnable.

“For the last 8 months,the country’s food producers have been fi�ghting dayand night on the border ofDelhi against the threeblack agricultural laws,leaving everything behind,but the BJP government ofthe capitalists is trying tocrush the protest. Thecountry’s youth will not letModi government succeedin their conspiracy,” Mr. Srinivas said.

IYC objects to Lekhi’scomment on protestersSrinivas calls her remark ‘indecent’


NEW DELHI

Former Congress councillor Ishrat Jahan, arrestedunder the stringent law UAPA, sought bail on Friday inthe northeast Delhi riotsconspiracy case saying thatDelhi Police does not have“an iota of evidence”against her.

Ms. Jahan and severalothers have been bookedunder the antiterror law inthe case and are accused ofbeing the “masterminds”of the February 2020 riots,

which had left 53 peopledead and over 700 injured.

“The intent was to falsely implicate her. The investigating agency [police]does not have an iota of evidence to show that Ms. Jahan was connected to theconspiracy,” said advocatePradeep Teotia, appearingfor Jahan, while arguing forher bail before AdditionalSessions Judge AmitabhRawat.

This is the fi�rst time theaccused has sought regularbail in the matter.

Ishrat seeks bail, claims policehave no evidence in riots casePress Trust of India

New Delhi

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

DELHI THE HINDU

SATURDAY, JULY 24, 20212EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

CITY

CMYK

A ND-NDE

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

Regd. DL(ND)-11/6110/2006-07-08 ● RNI No. UPENG/2012/49940 ● ISSN 0971 - 751X ● Vol. 11 ● No. 175

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

Timings

DELHI

SATURDAY, JUL. 24

RISE 05:39 SET 19:17

RISE 19:52 SET 05:29

SUNDAY, JUL. 25

RISE 05:39 SET 19:17

RISE 20:38 SET 06:36

MONDAY, JUL. 26

RISE 05:40 SET 19:16

RISE 21:17 SET 07:41

Health Minister SatyendarJain on Friday said that a report submitted by the Delhigovernment to the HighCourt in May, which said that21 deaths in Jaipur GoldenHospital was not due to oxygen shortage, was a “preliminary report”.

“In that particular case,they [committee members]had to submit the report inone day. It can be called apreliminary report,” Mr. Jainsaid during a media briefi�ng.

“We had formed a committee to look into all suchcases, but the Central government through the LGended that committee,” headded.

The fourmember committee, which prepared thereport, was formed by theDelhi government on the directions of the High Courtand nowhere in the report itwas mentioned that it is apreliminary report. “Reportof the Committee on Deathin Hospital due to insuffi�ciency of oxygen supply” is the

name given in the documentsubmitted to the High Court.

On Wednesday, DeputyChief Minister Manish Sisodia had said the Delhi government does not have anydata on oxygen shortagerelated deaths as the Centralgovernment did not allowthem to form another committee to look into all claimsof deaths due to lack of oxygen and give compensationto the families.

Mr. Sisodia made the comment in response to theCentre’s statement in Parliament that “no deaths due tolack of oxygen have been

specifi�cally reported byStates/UTs” during the second wave

Hospital’s contentionBut Jaipur Golden Hospitalhad said that the deaths werelinked to oxygen shortage.“Twenty criticallyill COVIDpatients died last night overoxygen crisis. The oxygenstock was never completelydry, but the pressure was lowas we were running out ofstock,” Dr. D.K. Baluja, Medical Director of Jaipur GoldenHospital in Delhi had said onApril 24, adding that thedeaths were “linked” to the

oxygen shortage. The report submitted to

the High Court also said thatJaipur Golden Hospital has“claimed” that the reporteddeaths were “due to the defi�ciency of oxygen”.

Panel report“In view of the above observations, the committee wasof the opinion that all 21 recorded patients were sick orcritical and suff�ering fromCOVID19 infection. As perthe case records made available to the committee, all thereported patients were getting oxygen therapy or ventilation throughout the hospital stay including the time ofresuscitation and there wasno mention of any oxygenshortage in any of the caserecords. In view of the natural virulent course of the disease and lack of any evidencesuggestive of oxygen shortage in the case records, thecommittee was of the opinion that shortage of oxygenas the cause of death couldnot be ascertained,” the report by the committee read.

Jaipur Golden Hospital deathsreport ‘preliminary’: Minister The Delhi governmentappointed panel had not stated that it is an initial report

Staff Reporter

New Delhi

A COVID-19 patient being brought to Jaipur Golden Hospitalin New Delhi. * FILE PHOTO: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

NITI Aayog member Dr. V.K.Paul has asked the Delhi government during a meetingto be “watchful” and warnedthat unlocking can lead to anincrease in COVID19 cases.

“The next three monthsare important. We need to bewatchful,” Dr. Paul said at ameeting of the Delhi DisasterManagement Authority(DDMA) on July 9, as per minutes of the meeting released later.

He said “unlock activitycould lead to an increase incases, though at present thepositivity rate of cases is atits lowest point”. Dr. Paul also said that Delhi should takethe advice of Centre beforeimposing any restrictions oninterState travel

Also, Dr. Samrian Pandaof the Indian Council of Medical Research said that the“third wave is unlikely to beas severe as the secondwave”. But he warned that asubstantial third wave wouldbe plausible if any new variant emerges, which is moreinfectious and escapes priorimmunity in the absence of

adequate lockdownmeasures.

“In the absence of thesetwo factors, the projectedthird wave is unlikely to be assevere as the second wave.The timing of the third waveremains uncertain and itwould be driven by factorsoutside the scope of modelling,” he said.

62 new casesMeanwhile, the city reported58 new COVID19 cases in thepast 24 hours, taking the total cases to 14,35,778, according to a Delhi governmentbulletin. There was only one

death and the total numberof deaths stood at 25,041.

A total of 67,817 tests weredone in a day and the testpositivity rate (TPR) was0.09%. Of the total cases,14,10,164 people have recovered and there are only 573active cases.

Also, the COVID19 vaccine stock of the city will lastfor only less than a day, asper a vaccination bulletin.The city has been facing a similar situation for more than10 days and the Health Minister had said last week that500 vaccination centreswere shut due to shortage.

‘Centre’s advice must be taken before imposing travel norms’

Staff Reporter

New Delhi

Unlocking can lead to rise inCOVID19 cases, warns V.K. Paul

The Supreme Court orallysaid on Friday that structuresencroaching into the ecologically fragile Aravali forestland at Lakarpur Khori in Haryana will be cleared.

The court had on June 17refused to halt the demolitionof about 10,000 unauthorised residential constructionsencroaching into the forestland.

On June 7, it had directedthe Faridabad Municipal Corporation to “take all essentialmeasures to remove encroachments on the forestland without any exception”.The court had categoricallysaid that “landgrabbers cannot take the refuge of the ruleof law”.

A Bench of Justices A.M.Khanwilkar and Dinesh Maheshwari on Friday gave the

corporation four more weeksto complete the demolition.Additional Advocate Generalof Haryana, Arjun Bhardwaj,informed the court that 74acres of land had beencleared.

Senior advocate ColinGonsalves, for some of the residents, said there was no effective rehabilitation policyfor them. “The situation is very tragic. Everyone is on thestreets. All houses are emp

ty,” Mr. Gonsalves submitted.He highlighted the COVID19situation. He said the currentpolicy suff�ered from defects.

The court pointed out thatMr. Gonsalves was referringto a draft policy. The Benchdirected the corporation toconsider a representation tobe made by Mr. Gonsalves forthe residents before fi�nalisingthe policy.

The court listed the casefor hearing next on August 3.

It had refused to halt demolition of illegal constructions in June

Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI

Apex court says Aravali forest landencroachments will be cleared

The court had categorically said that “land-grabbers cannottake the refuge of law”. * FILE PHOTO: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

The National Students Union of India (NSUI) on Fridaydemanded a vaccinationpolicy for all the studentsacross the country beforeopening educational institutions and conducting anyexaminations.

The students organised ademonstration and attempted to march from the NSUIoffi�ce on Raisina Road toParliament House. But theywere stopped by the police

and detained. The students demanded

that entrance examinationsand other examinations being held across the countrybe conducted keeping inmind the safety of students.It also demanded compensation to students for thelost academic year. TheNSUI said that the Centralgovernment has not declared any relief package forthe students’ fraternity evenafter 1.5 years of the pandemic has passed.

Vaccinate students beforeopening institutions: NSUIStudents detained while staging stir


NEW DELHI

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said that theDelhi government would review the experience of otherState that have opened schooland would take a decision regarding opening schoolsbased on the information received. He added that theideal situation for reopeningschools would be after vaccination is complete.

“Ideally, we will not openthe schools until everyone isvaccinated. However, seeingthat other States are also reopening schools we will reviewhow it goes for them and accordingly plan out. We havebeen receiving a lot of messages from the parents regarding the safety of childrenand want to assure them thatsafety will be our priority,”Mr. Kejriwal said.

He added that there arenot enough vaccines beingsupplied to Delhi and that the

Centre needs to rethink itssystem of supplying vaccinesso it can provide the Stateswith more stock.

Mr. Kejriwal was speakingon the sidelines of an eventwhere he inaugurated thecountry’s fi�rst ISO 9001 certifi�ed AAP MLA offi�ce in the Timarpur constituency.

He informed the publicthat the offi�ce will follow asystem that will solve the grievances of the public whilemaking sure they are atconvenience.

Will take cue from otherson school reopening: CM


NEW DELHI

CM says ideal situation forreopening schools would beafter vaccination. * FILE PHOTO

Urban Development Minister Satyendar Jain on Friday said that ₹�293 crorehas been released to theNorth Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) to givesalaries.

“On Thursday, the Delhigovernment gave an advance of ₹�293 crore to theNorth body to help thempay the salaries of employees. They were facinga problem in paying thesalaries. Now, we hope thatthey release the salaries assoon as possible. We havegiven them an advance forthe next instalment, whichis not due yet,” Mr. Jainsaid.

However, Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor has said thatDelhi government has notreleased any specifi�c advance amount for salarypayment to North bodyemployees and Mr. Jain’sstatement in this context is“misleading”.

Advance of₹�293 cr. givento North bodyfor salary: Jain

Staff Reporter

New Delhi

Over 32 retired engineersand technocrats from theDelhi Development Authority (DDA), municipal corporations and the New Delhi Municipal Counciljoined the BJP on Friday.

State BJP presidentAdesh Gupta, while welcoming them into the partyfold, said he hoped theywould work for the welfareof the society and countryas per party policies. “It isfor the fi�rst time that such alarge number of technocrats have joined the partyto work for the people,”Mr. Gupta said on theoccasion.

Param Yadav, one of thejoinees, thanked the partyand said this would be thefi�rst time that a politicalparty would have an engineers cell. “We are alwayseager to work for the partyand the country. We arehopeful that the vast experience of so many engineers would give a distinctdirection to the party andwould take it to a newheight,” he said

32 exengineersand technocrats sign up for BJP


New Delhi

Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal has granted the powers ofdetaining authority to DelhiPolice chief till October 18 under the National Security Act,according to a notifi�cation.

It comes ahead of Independence Day and at a time farmers protesting against theagriculture laws have beenholding ‘Kisan Sansad’ at Jantar Mantar. Delhi Police said itis a routine order and is issued regularly.

The NSA allows preventivedetention of an individual formonths if the authorities feelthat the individual is a threatto the national security, andlaw and order, police said.

“In exercise of the powersconferred by subsection (3)

of Section 3, read with clause(e) of Section 2 of the NationalSecurity Act, 1980, the Lt. Governor is pleased to directthat during the period July 19to October 18, the Delhi PoliceCommissioner may also exercise the powers of detainingauthority under subsection(2) of the Section 3 of the aforesaid Act,” the notifi�cationstated.

LG grants powers ofdetaining authority to Delhi Police chiefPress Trust of India

New Delhi

Lt. Governor Anil Baijal * PTI

The Delhi Congress on Fridaywrote to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asking him toconfer the highest civilianaward of the Delhi government on photojournalist Danish Siddiqui, who was killedwhile on assignment in Afghanistan. He also demandedthat an honorarium of ₹�1crore be paid to his family.

Delhi Congress chief Ch.Anil Kumar said that Mr. Siddiqui as a photographer withReuters had captured masscremation of bodies of COVIDvictims in Delhi that had attracted international attention and had called the bluff�of both the Central and Stategovernments about the number of actual COVID fatalitiesduring the second wave of

the pandemic.“Siddiqui leaves behind

his parents, two siblings, hiswife and two children. A fi�nancial reward to his familywill be a befi�tting tribute tothis brave man, who hadearned name and fame notonly for himself and Delhi butalso for the country,” Mr. Kumar said.

Confer highest civilianaward on Siddiqui: Cong.Party demands ₹�1 crore aid to his kin


NEW DELHI

Danish Siddiqui. * PTI

The Delhi government willgive a ‘Samman Rashi’ of ₹�1crore each to the families ofsix “bravehearts of Delhi”who lost their lives in theline of duty.

A decision to this eff�ectwas taken at a meeting ofthe Delhi Cabinet. The Revenue Department proposedto provide exgratia, whichwas approved by the Cabi

net on the instructions ofChief Minister ArvindKejriwal.

“The people of Delhi wholost their lives in the line ofduty cannot be compensated, but the family will getsome help from the amountgiven by the government tohonour their sacrifi�ce,” Mr.Kejriwal was quoted as having said.

The six men includethree from the Indian Air

Force (IAF), two from DelhiPolice and one from the Civil Defence wing.

Assistant Commissionerof Police Sanket Kaushik,who is from Ajmer in Rajasthan and residing in VasantVihar, died after a speedingmini truck coming from Gurugram hit him at Rajkorifl�yover on July 25, 2020.

Constable Vikas Kumar, aresident of Jhajjar, was doing picket duty near Outer

Ring Road on September 15,2016 when a speeding carfrom Munirka hit the barricade, injuring him. He diedat AIIMS on October 1.

Civil Defence VolunteerParvesh Kumar, a residentof VPO Khaira, was with histeam checking vehicles nearMangolpuri fl�yover in September 2020 when he washit by a truck, resulting inhis death.

Rajesh Kumar, an Air

Force employee, and SunitMohanty, a Lieutenant inthe IAF died after an aircraftcrashed near Menchuka inPari Hills in Arunachal Pradesh on June 2019.

Meet Kumar was a Squadron Leader in the AirForce. His MiG21 aircraftcrashed during an operational fl�ight on July18, 2018at Kangra Hills in HimachalPradesh in which he passedaway.

Delhi govt. to give ₹�1 crore each to kin of six braveheartsSpecial Correspondent

New Delhi


THE HINDU DELHI

SATURDAY, JULY 24, 2021 3EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

CITY

CMYK

A ND-NDE


DELHI THE HINDU


NORTH & EAST

The Gyanvapi Masjid committee in Varanasi said it hadhanded over a 1,700 sq feetseparate plot of land in theperiphery of the Kashi VishwanathGyanvapi Masjidcomplex for the underconstruction Kashi VishwanathTemple Corridor project onthe request of the administration in exchange of another plot.

Sayid Yasin, joint secretary of the Anjuma IntejamiaMasajid, the caretaker of themasjid, told The Hindu onFriday that it was done as a“goodwill gesture” but a senior offi�cial of the Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust described it as simply anexchange of plots.

In lieu of the plot, which isseparate from the land on

which the mosque is situated, the mosque committeereceived a smaller 1,000 sqfeet plot at a distance of 100mts at Bansphatak, Mr. Yasinsaid. The registry for the landwas done on July 8 and theland was handed over subsequently, he added.

Chief Executive Offi�cer ofShri Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust Sunil Verma saidthe “exchange” deal was carried out with the Uttar SunniCentral Waqf Board. “It hasnothing to do with the mosque. It [the plot] was outsidethe periphery of the mosque,” Mr. Verma said.

Explaining the diff�erencein sizes of the two plots exchanged, Mr. Verma said theexchange was done as perthe value of the land, and notthe size. The exchange ofland rule was based on land

to value, he said. In monetary value, both lands wereequal, he stressed.

Mr. Yasin said the mosquecommittee had three plots inthe complex. One housed themosque; the second had acommon passage for bothHindu and Muslim devoteesand the third (plot no. 8276)had a police control roombuilt on it for the security ofthe two sites.

‘Bigger security setup’However, since the KashiVishwanath Temple Corridorwas coming up near the complex, it was felt that a biggersecurity setup would be required at the location, hesaid.

“The passage that leads tothe temple was not bigenough,” he said.

Mr. Verma, however, ar

gued that the plot was surrounded by the temple property on all four sides. Itwould remain open, he said,when asked about the plansof construction on the plot.

Mr. Yasin said though theproperty belonged to theSunni Waqf Board, the mosque committee had enteredinto the exchange deed afterthe approval of the Board.

It must be noted that a local court in Varanasi on April8 had directed the Archaeological Survey of India toconduct a survey of theGyanvapi Mosque compound adjacent to the KashiVishwanath Temple to fi�ndout whether it was a “superimposition, alteration or addition or there is structuraloverlapping of any kind, withor over, any other religiousstructure.”

Mosque panel gives land for Kashitemple corridor in exchange deal It was done as a goodwill gesture, says Gyanvapi Masjid Committee in Varanasi

Omar Rashid

LUCKNOW

Private hospitals in Haryana’s Panchkula district willrefund an amount of ₹�21.46lakh ‘overcharged’ from COVID19 patients for theirtreatment, even as they arein the process of refundinga similarly charged amountof ₹�35.43 lakh.

The latest amount of₹�21.46 lakh has been calculated after selfaudit of billsby the hospitals from March1 to April 30. A districtlevelcommittee was constitutedby Haryana Speaker and local MLA Gian Chand Guptato look into complaints of‘overcharging’ by privatehospitals during the secondwave of COVID19.

Mr. Gupta said that onthe recommendations ofthe committee an amountof ₹�35.43 lakh in diff�erentcases that was ‘over

charged’ was already beingreturned by private hospitals.

“Apart from this, an additional amount of ₹�21.46 lakhcalculated after selfaudit ofbills by private hospitals willbe paid to the patients andtheir families,” he said.

Panel recommendationB.B. Singhal, member of theCovid bill monitoring committee, told The Hindu onFriday that on the recommendation of the panel, Alchemist Hospital, WingsHospital and Paras Hospitalwere in the process of refunding an amount of ₹�35lakh to patients and their families.

“Apart from this, 33 caseswere reviewed by privatehospitals from March 1 toApril 30 and, on the basis ofselfaudit of bills, an amountof ₹�21 lakh would be refund

ed; 6 cases are from Alchemist Hospital, 10 from OjasHospital and 17 from ParasHospital,” he said.

‘Selfaudit continuing’Mr. Singhal said the selfaudit by hospitals was stillcontinuing and they hadbeen directed to submit areport before the committee by July 31.

The committee was constituted under the chairmanship of Additional Deputy CommissionerMohammad Imran Raza.During the second wave ofCOVID19 pandemic, several patients and their familieshad met Mr. Gupta andcomplained that privatehospitals were overchargingfor treatment.

Taking cognisance of thecomplaints, the Speakerhad recommended the formation of the panel.

Monitoring panel formed after complaints of overcharging

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

CHANDIGARH

Haryana pvt. hospitals to refundexcess amount to COVID patients

Three persons were killedand forty others injured,nine of them seriously, in acollision between two buseson the MogaAmritsar roadin this district of Punjab onFriday, police said.

Those killed and injuredwere travelling in a minibuswhich was on its from Ziratown to Chandigarh carrying supporters of the Congress party who were to attend the installationceremony of Navjot SinghSidhu as State party chief.

The minibus collidedwith a Stateowned PEPSUroadways bus near Loharavillage, police said.

Moga Deputy Commissioner Sandeep Hans saidthe deceased have beenidentifi�ed as Virsa Singh,Vickey and Gurtej Singh.

The nine seriously injured were referred to a hospital in Ludhiana.

Three killed, 40hurt in Punjabaccident

Press trust of india

Moga

Drum-sellers on a Bhubaneswar street during lockdown relaxation time. * BISWARANJAN ROUT

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

Back to business

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Fridaywarned against complacency in the COVID19 preparedness for the possiblethird wave as positive casesin the State steadily decreased in the last fewweeks.

“Although the situation isunder control, we shouldnot remain selfsatisfi�ed,but become more vigilantwhich will keep us safe,”said Mr. Patnaik reviewingCOVID19 situation here. Hedirected offi�cials to strictlyenforce the COVID19 protocols.

‘First priority’“If the third wave of COVID19 hits us by end of August, we will have to tacklewith fullpreparedness.Healthcare is a fi�rst priorityof the State government.We are giving emphasis onstrengthening of health infrastructure as well as human resource development,” said Mr. Patnaik

He said the State government had provided COVID19 assistance to thetune of ₹�2,004 crore in 10diff�erent categories of benefi�ciaries including particularly vulnerable tribalgroups, migrant labourers,street vendors and womanselfhelp groups.

Meanwhile, 1.5 lakh vaccines have been administered which is almost 50%of targeted population ofabove 18 years in Odisha.

‘1.14 crore fi�rst jabs’According to State Healthand Family Welfare department, 1.14 crore peoplehave received the fi�rst dosewhile 36 lakh have been administered the seconddose.

As many as 64,29,405persons aged above 45 havetaken the fi�rst dose while42,89,450 in the agegroupof 18 to 44 have received thefi�rst dose.

Besides, around 7 lakhhealth and frontline workers have been given the fi�rstdose.

‘Being vigilant will keep us safe’Satyasundar Barik

BHUBANESWAR

No complacency in fi�ghtagainst COVID: Naveen

A scheme launched by theCongress government inRajasthan for providingagricultural equipment, including tractors and seedsowing machines rent freeto small and marginalfarmers has turned out tobe successful. Over 25,000farmers have benefi�tedfrom the scheme duringthe ongoing kharif cropseason.

Since June this year,65,915 hours of operationwere recorded on the agricultural fi�elds measuring40,578 acres, giving reliefto the needy farmers withsmall land holdings. Agriculture Minister LalchandKataria said here on Fridaythat the programme wouldcontinue till thismonthend.

Over 27,300 farmersacross the State had benefi�ted from the scheme with1.03 lakh hours of operation during the COVID19pandemic between Apriland July last year. The freerental scheme has beenlaunched for the farmerswho own up to 2.5 acres ofland.

Rajasthan freerental schemefor farm toolsa successSpecial Correspondent

JAIPUR

Manipur journalist Kishorchandra Wangkhem, released after more than twomonths in jail, said he wasconsidering petitioning theSupreme Court for scrapping the National SecurityAct (NSA).

His petition against the sedition law is pending in theapex court.

“I will talk to my lawyersand see if I can move the Supreme Court against the NSAjust as I had done against the

sedition law,” he said afterhis release from jail at 4:10pm on Friday.

He was arrested alongwith political activist Erendro Leichongbam on May 13under the NSA for using thedeath of Manipur BJP president S. Tikendra Singh tocomment on social mediathat “consuming cow dungand cow urine” cannot cureanyone of COVID19.

Mr. Leichongbam was released on July 19 followingan order by the SupremeCourt.

Accusing the State government of abusing powersto silence dissenting voices,Mr. Wangkhem said he wastargeted as he was conducting an investigation for a story relating to COVID19. Heclaimed COVID19 cases hadsurged in Manipur after thereturn of some 200250 people from the Kumbh Mela.

“The government probably got a wind of what I wastrying to do and put me injail to make sure I cannotspeak the truth.,” Mr.Wangkhem said.


GUWAHATI

Released Manipur journalist tomove Supreme Court against NSA

Online sale and home delivery of liquor has come intoeff�ect in areas within the Guwahati Municipal Corporation following a notifi�cationby Excise Principal Secretary Rajesh Prasad.

The facility, which maybe extended to other areasof the State, has been provided to avoid overcrowdingand to facilitate social distancing norms in terms ofCOVID19 guidelines, the order said.

The online sale is also envisaged to curb consumption of illicit liquor.

An offi�cial statement onFriday said eligible retailershave been asked to registeron an app developed solelyfor online sale by furnishinga copy of the valid licence,location of the premises, listof delivery agents withname, address, phone number, photograph, and otherdetails.

The delivery agent shallnot be less than 21 years ofage and each retailer can engage a maximum of 10 delivery agents, the order said.The home delivery periodhas been fi�xed from 11 a.m.to 10 p.m. subject to com

pliance of the lockdown restrictions issued from time totime.

“The online sale of liquorshall not be available forhostels of educational institutions, government, nongovernment, semigovernment offi�ces and other public and religious places,”the order said, adding thatretailers would have toabide by the MRP fi�xed bythe Assam Excise Department.

Three litre limitThe eligible customer couldorder online up to threelitres (bulk litre) of liquorwhile the delivery agentcould carry a maximum ofnine litres at a time, it stated.

Retailers of Indian madeforeign liquor, beer andcountry spirit have beenasked to charge ₹�50 an order for a distance of lessthan 1 km and ₹�75 an orderfor a distance between 1 kmand 2 km. Service chargesand Internet payment gateway charges, as may be applicable, will be borne bythe customer. Assam is thesecond State in the Northeast after Meghalaya to allow home delivery of liquor.

Now, Guwahati seeshome delivery of liquor It’s to avoid overcrowding, says govt.


GUWAHATI

PERSONAL

CHANGE OF NAME

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

D.RAMASWAMY (93), Retired JuniorOfficer, Advt Accounts Dept, TheHindu, Chennai passed away on23-07-2021. Address: No.23/12, Nach-iappan Street, Mahalingapuram, Chen-nai-600034. Mobile No: 9345121781

OBITUARY &

REMEMBRANCE

DEATH

CMYK

A ND-NDE

SOUTHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

THE HINDU DELHI


Weather WatchRainfall, temperature & air quality in select metros yesterday

Temperature Data: IMD, Pollution Data: CPCB, Map: INSAT/IMD (Taken at 18.00 Hrs)

Forecast for Saturday: Heavy/very heavy rainfall likely at isolated places over Gujarat, Rajasthan, Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura,Odisha, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Konkan & Goa, coastalKarnataka, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Karaikal, Kerala and Mahe.Thunderstorm with lightning likely at isolated places over Assam, Mizoram, coastal Andhra Pradesh, Yanam and Rayalaseema

city rain max min city rain max min

Agartala................ 4....30.1....26.2 Kozhikode.................. 14....28.8....25.0

Ahmedabad...........—....33.0....28.1 Kurnool ....................... 7....32.1....23.2

Aizawl................ 7.2....27.0....21.7 Lucknow...................... 2....36.1....26.6

Allahabad..............—....37.4....28.6 Madurai .......................—....36.2....26.6

Bengaluru .......... 3.1....23.7....19.7 Mangaluru ................ 6.5....28.2....24.2

Bhopal ............. 29.6....24.7....23.2 Mumbai ..................... 19....29.0....25.6

Bhubaneswar...... 0.6....30.1....25.4 Mysuru ........................ 2....24.8....20.4

Chandigarh ...........—....35.7....28.6 New Delhi ...................—....34.8....26.3

Chennai ................ 8....34.8....24.7 Patna ..........................—....35.2....28.6

Coimbatore ...........—....30.8....23.9 Port Blair..................... 7....31.1....25.0

Dehradun .............. 1....34.4....24.8 Puducherry ..................—....33.2....25.2

Gangtok........... 14.4....21.9....18.0 Pune....................... 12.2....25.4....21.2

Goa..................... 63....27.5....22.8 Raipur .........................—....31.0....26.0

Guwahati ..............—....35.0....27.6 Ranchi .........................—....28.4....22.9

Hubballi ................—....24.0....21.0 Shillong.......................—....25.5....18.2

Hyderabad .......... 13....27.9....21.8 Shimla....................... 32....26.0....19.5

Imphal .................. 4....24.9....21.6 Srinagar.......................—....29.9....17.1

Jaipur ................... 8....33.2....26.0 Thiruvananthapuram....... 12....31.4....23.2

Kochi .................. 12....29.8....25.6 Tiruchi.........................—....36.3....27.0

Kohima .................—....30.0........ — Vijayawada ................ 72....34.0....24.0

Kolkata ............... 14....30.7....26.5 Visakhapatnam .............—....30.8....25.2

(Rainfall data in mm; temperature in Celsius)

Pollutants in the air you are breathing Yesterday

CITIES SO2 NO2 CO PM2.5 PM10 CODE

In observation made at4.00 p.m., Jodhpur,Rajasthan recorded anoverall air quality index(AQI) score of 148indicating a moderate levelof pollution. In contrast,Shillong, Meghalayarecorded a healthy AQIscore of 13

Ahmedabad..... ..4 .15 .27 ..181 .148 ....*

Bengaluru ....... ..4 .45 142 ....39 ...42 ....*

Chennai .......... ..6 .30 .64 ....27 ...61 ....*

Delhi .............. ..8 .16 .76 ..146 ...94 ....*

Hyderabad ...... ..— .63 .14 ....14 ...22 ....*

Kolkata........... 12 .18 .18 ....19 ...37 ....*

Lucknow ......... ..9 .38 .73 ....69 ...87 ....*

Mumbai .......... ..— ..— .21 ..113 ...97 ....*

Pune............... ..6 .22 .55 ....19 .105 ....*

Visakhapatnam 14 .46 .37 ....32 ...58 ....*

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

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

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

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

and monuments.

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

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

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

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

dizziness, confusion, unconsciousness and even death.

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

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

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

death in people with heart or lung disease

Heavy rainfall in Karnatakaleft rivers in spate and led tocancellation of many trainsin key routes across theState. Rain that continued tolash many parts of Shivamogga, Chikkamagaluru,and Hassan districts resultedin loss of lives and damage toproperty on Friday.

A farmer died in Chikkamagaluru, while many houses and fi�elds were fl�oodedacross the three districts.Emergency response teamswere busy rescuing strandedpeople. Tunga and Bhadrarivers are in spate.

In Belagavi district, heavyrain and water release fromMaharashtra caused fl�oodsin Krishna river and its tribu

taries on Friday. In Belagavicity, water entered houses inlowlying areas, includingGoods Shed Road, Shivaji Nagar, Maratha Colony, Mandoli Road and the Old PB Road.

Parts of the BelagaviKolhapur National Highwaywere closed due to heavyrain.

In the ghat section of theHubballi Division of theSouth Western Railway, landslips were reported at two locations, one between Dudhsagar and Sonaulim and theother between Caranzol andDudhsagar, on Friday. Thisresulted in cancellation anddiversion of various trains.

Meanwhile, train no 01134Mangaluru Jn.ChhatrapatiShivaji Maharaj Terminus Express Special (running onthe diverted route via MadgaonLondaMiraj due to anoverfl�owing Vashishti riverbetween Chiplun and Kamathe), suff�ered a derailment on the DudhsagarSo

naulim section. The fi�rstcoach and the engine partially derailed. However, no casualty was reported.

The passengers of the affected coach were shifted toother coaches, a press release said.

(With inputs from Belaga-vi and Hassan bureaus)

Rain triggers landslips, trains cancelled Rivers in spate inseveral districts of Karnataka


HUBBALLI

Bellary Nala river inundating agricultural fi�elds in Yallurvillage of Belagavi district on Friday. * P.K. BADIGER

Water level in Godavaririver is rising atBhadrachalam and the levelmay touch 43 feet, the fi�rstwarning level, by Saturday.Owing to heavy downpourin the catchment areas,many tributaries andstreams are in spate,Central Water Commissionoffi�cials said.

The water level at

Bhadrachalam was 26.5 feetat 6 p.m. on Friday.

Offi�cials discharged 3.43lakh cusecs fromBhadrachalam.

Due to incessant rain forthe last three days, manystreams and rivulets areoverfl�owing in Chhattisgarh,Telangana and AndhraPradesh.

Offi�cials cautionedvillagers staying on riverbanks on the rising level.

Level in Godavari risingstaff reporter

VIJAYAWADA

The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Union of Indiawhat “material” it hadagainst Thwaha Fasal, a Kerala youth booked under thedraconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act forMaoist links.

Appearing before a Benchled by Justice U.U. Lalit, Additional Solicitor General S.V.Raju said that a “lot of literature concerning revolution,violence and secessioniststruggle in Jammu and Kashmir” were seized from him.

Fasal had appealed to theapex court after the KeralaHigh Court reversed the National Investigation AgencyCourt’s decision to grant himbail. The High Court, however, had not interfered in thebail granted to Fasal’s coac

cused, Alan Shuaib, citingmitigating circumstances,medical condition and hisyoung age. Mr. Raju said theNIA was fi�ling an appeal inthe apex court againstShuaib’s bail. The Bench hasdecided to take up both cases together on July 30.

Senior advocate V. Giri,for Fasal, submitted that hisclient was a young man of 23years and a journalism student with no fi�nancial backing. “He has no antecedentsand has already undergone530 days of custody,” Mr. Girisaid.

He read out the titles ofsome of the books arraignedas evidence against Fasal, including one on the caste system, Rosa Luxemburg’s critique of Lenin, and ‘HelloBastar: The Untold Story ofIndian Maoist Movement’ by

journalist Rahul Pandita. Mr.Giri informed the court thatpamphlets calling for conservation of the WesternGhats was already availablein the public domain.

“Apart from these, wasthere anything else said bythe witnesses?” Justice Lalitasked Mr. Raju. The law offi�cer replied that pamphletsand notices of Maoist frontswere found with Fasal. Notes

in Fasal’s own handwritingand circulars of the internalcommunications of theMaoists were found. “Theyshowed an acceptance of thepath of violence,” he submitted. Mr. Raju said the thirdaccused in the case, knownin the media as the “Pantheerankavu Maoist case”,had fl�ed to the “jungles”.

“Accused number threeran away and has gone intothe jungles... The momentthey are released, these people will go to the jungles...He [Fasal] was meeting withan absconding Maoist leader,” the Additional SolicitorGeneral submitted.

The High Court had dismissed the defence lawyer’sarguments that the youngsters were interested in understanding and assimilatingnew ideologies.

What material do you have against Fasal, asks SCThe Kerala youth has been booked under the UAPA for links with Maoists

Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI

Thwaha Fasal

The Special InvestigationTeam (SIT) probing the Kodakara black money heistcase submitted a chargesheet at the judicial fi�rst classmagistrate court, Irinjalakuda, on Friday.

A 22member gang thatallegedly made off� with themoney is on the list of accused, while Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, includingState chief K. Surendran, areon the witness list. Thereare 216 witnesses in thecase. According to the chargesheet, the stolen money,which came to ₹�3.5 crore,was the election fund of theBJP.

A gang had waylaid a carand decamped with the mo

ney kept in it at Kodakara onApril 3. The car driverlodged a police complaintthat ₹�25 lakh and the vehiclewere stolen. The policefound that the stolenamount was in fact around₹�3.5 crore. The police arrested 22 people in connectionwith the case and recoveredthe car and ₹�45 lakh of thestolen money.

The SIT questioned manyBJP leaders, including Mr.Surendran, for hours. Theirstatements too have beensubmitted along with thechargesheet.

The police said the probeto recover the stolen moneywould continue. It shouldbe investigated whether theBJP violated the model codeof conduct, they said.

Stolen money was BJP’selection fund, says SIT Chargesheet fi�led in Kodakara case


Thrissur

Bird fl�u suspected in KozhikodeKOZHIKODE

Kozhikode is on high alert

after a suspected bird flu

outbreak has been reported

from a private poultry farm at

Koorachundu panchayat. The

results of samples, sent after

300 birds in the farm were

found dead, have come out

positive for bird flu.

IN BRIEF

Kerala steps up vigil due to heavy rainTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM

The Kerala government has

stepped up vigil with heavy

rainfall continuing in several

districts. Chief Minister

Pinarayi Vijayan said district

authorities had been directed

to evacuate people from

vulnerable locations, if

needed. The continuing rain

in the eastern high ranges

could trigger landslips.

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD



WEST

Fresh COVID19 recoveries inMaharashtra dipped again to5,979, while the State reported 6,753 new cases on Friday, pushing the active casetally to 94,769. As many as167 deaths took the total tollto 1,31,205, with the case fatality rate rising to 2.09%.

The total case tally hasreached 62,51,810, whilecumulative recoveries haverisen to 60,22,485, with therecovery rate at 96.33%.

“Of a total of 4,64,46,360laboratory samples testedthus far, 62,51,810 (with theaverage case positivity falling incrementally to 13.46%)have returned positive, withover 1.82 lakh samples beingtested in the last 24 hours,”said State Surveillance Offi�cer Dr. Pradeep Awate.

1,144 cases in Pune

Pune recorded 1,144 newcases taking its tally to10,81,200. Twelve deathspushed the total death toll to18,218. As per district authorities, the active case tally hasagain risen to 9,900.

Mumbai reported 373 newcases to take its total case tally to 7,33,344, while the active cases dipped to 10,068.Eight fatalities took the city’sdeath count to 15,818.

Kolhapur reported 900new cases, taking its case tal

ly to 1,89,616. The active cases rose to 11,492. As many asfour deaths saw the cumulative death toll rise to 5,375.

Satara reported 817 casesand 15 deaths as its total cases rose to 2,11,999, of whom7,281 are active, while the

death toll climbed to 5,098. Neighbouring Sangli dis

trict reported 944 new casesand 15 deaths. The total casetally stands at 1,78,023, withthe active cases rising to10,689, while its total deathtoll reached 4,910.

Maharashtra records 6,753 new cases State records 167 deaths; recoveries dip to 5,979; spike of 373 infections in Mumbai

Taking all precautions: A health worker collects the swab sample of an elderly passenger forCOVID19 testing at Dadar station in Mumbai on Friday. * PTI


Pune

Weeks after unveiling itselectronic vehicle (EV) policy, the Maharashtra government on Friday announcedits decision to become thefi�rst State in the country tojoin hands with ClimateGroup’s EV100 campaign.

The drive aims to makeelectric transport the newnormal by 2030 by encouraging companies to switch

from vehicles running onfossil fuels to EVs and installcharging infrastructure.

Maharashtra’s EV policyaims to achieve 25% electrifi�cation of lastmile deliveryvehicles by 2025. Within sixmonths from the day of notifi�cation of the policy, ecommerce companies, deliveryand logistics players, andmobility aggregators willsubmit EV transition plans tothe Transport Department.

Climate Group, an international nonprofi�t, will actas a bridge between privatecompanies and the State government to ease the pro

cess of shifting their fl�eets toEVs. As per Climate Groupand SYSTEMIQ research’sFleets First study, the majority of EVs today are privatelyowned passenger vehicles,while only 11% are part offl�eets. Focussing on fl�eetscan spur electrifi�cation andboost infrastructure, it said.

State Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray, whohad unveiled the policy,said, “Investing in a cleantransport system is an essential part of our State ClimateAction Plan. With the revisedEV policy, we want to engageearly on with the most im

portant stakeholder — businesses. The EV100 partnership aims to build a robustdemand for EVs that can enable key linkages for the vibrant business communityin Maharashtra, and supportfaster uptake of the policy.”

Divya Sharma, India executive director, ClimateGroup, said, “We urge businesses in Maharashtra toutilise the incentives off�eredby the State and join EV100to drive 100% fl�eet transitionby 2030. Companies shouldset interim targets alignedwith the State’s EV policy toaccelerate electric mobility.”

MVA govt. to join Climate Group’s EV100 driveState to urge fi�rmsto make transitionto EVs by 2030Staff Reporter

Mumbai

Gokul, the largest milkbrand in the State’s milkcooperative sector, on Friday said there would be nosupply of milk to Mumbai onSaturday due to rains in Kolhapur and Sangli districts.

Vishawas Patil, chairman,Kolhapur Zilla SahakariDudh Utpadak Sangh Limited, which owns the brand,said: “The collection waslargely aff�ected on Thursday

and Friday due to downpour in western Maharashtra and Konkan. Against thedaily collection of 13 lakhlitres, we could collect 2.5lakh litres on Friday. It haddropped by 76,000 litres onThursday. Flooding has notonly aff�ected collection ofthe milk, but also transportation due to closure of Stateand national highways. Wewill not be able to supplymilk pouches to our Mumbai consumers on Saturday.”

No milk supply to Mumbaitoday due to rains: GokulFlooding hits collection, transportation


Pune

A Mumbai court on Fridayextended the police custodyof actor Shilpa Shetty’s husband and businessman RajKundra along with his business associate, RyanThorpe, till July 27, for allegedly producing and circulat

ing pornographic videosthrough social media.

The police suspect thatmoney earned was used foronline betting and he had fi�nancial transactions withYes Bank and United Bank ofAfrica. The police havesought custody to fi�nd outtheir revenue channels.

Court extends Raj Kundra’spolice custody till July 27SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

MUMBAI

CMYK

A ND-NDE


DELHI THE HINDU


EDITORIAL

Parallel systemThe observations of theSupreme Court whilecancelling the bail grantedto a BSP MLA’s husbandthat there cannot be twoparallel systems of justice isa signifi�cant statement. In1959, when E.M.S.Namboodiripad made asimilar observation, statingthat the courts areinstinctively with the rich,he was surprisinglyconvicted for contempteven though he was onlymaking a class evaluation ofthe judicial system. Later, P. Shiv Shankar, thenUnion Law Minister, saidthe Supreme Court,composed of the elements

of the elite class, had itsunconcealed sympathy forthe haves, and that theConstitution had to beamended to remove thisoligarchic approach. Healso said that antisocialelements had benefi�tedfrom the Court’sjudgments. This resulted inthe initiation of contemptproceedings against him.Later, he was said to haveonly examined the classcomposition of the Courtand exonerated. A reading of JusticeChinnappa Reddy’sjudgment in the equal payfor equal work caseinvolving the Delhi policedrivers’ case gives the

impression that courtsshould be a little moreconcerned about the rightsof the millions than todiscriminatory laws againsttax evaders, smuggler kingsand robber barons. Over aperiod of years, this hasbeen the approach of theSupreme Court and JusticeChandrachud has rightlydescribed it as a paralleljustice system. There cannot be twoopinions that ourConstitution is a people’sConstitution and, therefore,the Supreme Courtcollegium should appointjudges not merely on termsof their constitutionalqualifi�cations but on their

constitutional values also.The time has certainlycome for a supersession ofideas on the question ofappointment of judges. N.G.R. Prasad,

Chennai

I-T raidsThe incometax raids onthe premises of the DainikBhaskar media group areclear attempts to throttledemocracy (Page 1, July 23).Even the diehardsupporters of thegovernment of the day musthave felt that such selectiveraids are eroding thecredibility of the lawenforcing agencies. It is anundeniable fact that those

taxpayer’s money shouldnot be wasted. A. Balagangadharan,

Pollachi, Tamil Nadu

■ The allparty meeting wasfi�xed to set sane rules formeaningful discussions. If,from day one, there is goingto be mud slinging andwalkouts, why have asession? Our parliamentarysessions are beginning tolook more like a battlefi�eld. Ifparliamentarians have onlythis aggressive behaviour toshowcase, where is thecountry heading? R. Gopal,

Chennai

who are supporting theGovernment have neverbeen subjected to suchraids and harassment. C.G. Kuriakose,

Malippara, Kothamangalam, Kerala

House in disorderAre our Members ofParliament bent on wastingprecious time and energyinstead of holding usefuldiscussion and debateduring parliamentarysessions? The citadel of democracy isparalysed as soon as theMPs assemble and theSpeaker suspends theHouse. What a pity! Thereshould be a provision topunish such activities. The

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

To read more lettersonline, scan the QR code

N.L. Rajah

The Great Indian Bustard, agravely endangered species,with hardly about 200 alive

in India today, came under theprotective wings of the SupremeCourt of India in a recent judgment. The Court said, in M.K. Ran-jitsinh & Others vs Union of India &Others (https://bit.ly/372sm5v),that in all cases where the overhead lines in power projects exist,the governments of Rajasthan andGujarat shall take steps forthwithto install bird diverters pendingconsideration of the conversion ofoverhead cables into undergroundpower lines.

The overhead power lines havebecome a threat to the life of thesespecies as these birds frequentlytend to collide with these powerlines and get killed. The Ministryof Power, in an affi�davit datedMarch 15, 2021, has said: “TheGreat Indian Bustard (“GIB”) lacksfrontal vision. Due to this, theycannot detect powerlines ahead ofthem, from far. As they are heavybirds, they are unable to manoeuvre across power lines withinclose distances. Thus, they are vulnerable to collision with power

lines.”In protecting the birds, the

Court has affi�rmed and emphasised the biocentric values of ecopreservation. The philosophy ofbiocentrism holds that the naturalenvironment has its own set ofrights which is independent of itsability to be exploited by or to beuseful to humans.

Biocentrism often comes intoconfl�ict with its contrarian philosophy, namely anthropocentrism.Anthropocentrism argues that ofall the species on earth humansare the most signifi�cant and thatall other resources on earth maybe justifi�ably exploited for the benefi�t of human beings. Expressions of such line of thought dateback many centuries and fi�ndmention in Politics, a wellknownwork of Aristotle, as also the moralphilosophy of Immanuel Kantamongst many others.

The ‘Snail darter’ caseA noteworthy instance of the application of anthropocentrism inthe legal world is in that of the“Snail darter” case in the UnitedStates. In 1973, a University of Tennessee biologist David Etnier, discovered a species of fi�sh called the“Snail darter” in the Little Tennessee river. Etnier contended thatthe snail darter was an endangered species and that its existence would be gravely threatenedby the continuation of development works relating to the Tellico

Reservoir project. Following thisrevelation, a lawsuit came to befi�led challenging the continuationof the Tellico Reservoir project.The challenge travelled all the wayto the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court of the United Statesof America in Tennessee ValleyAuthority vs Hill, held that sincethe “Snail darter” was a specifi�cally protected species under the National Environmental Policy Act,the executive could not proceedwith the reservoir project. However, after the Supreme Court delivered its verdict, Congress enacted a law excluding retrospectivelythe snail darter from statutoryprotection. The project progressed and the fi�sh suff�ered.

Species in dangerHumans share the world withcountless other species, many ofwhich are nearing extinction onaccount of man’s imprudent insensitivity. About 50 years ago,there were 4,50,000 lions in Africa. Today, there are hardly20,000. Indiscriminate monocul

ture farming in the forests of Borneo and Sumatra is leading to theextinction of orangutans. Rhinosare hunted for the socalled medicinal value of their horns and areslowly becoming extinct. From thetime humans populated Madagascar about 2,000 years ago, about15 to 20 species of Lemurs, whichare primates, have become extinct. The compilation preparedby the International Union forConservation of Nature lists about37,400 species that are gravely endangered; and the list is evergrowing.

Some green shootsSome aspects of constitutional lawon ecoconservations are signifi�cant. The Constitution of India declares that it is applicable to theterritory of India. While makingsuch a declaration, it very obviously refers to humans within that territory and its predominant aimwas to give them rights, imposeobligations and to regulate humanaff�airs. The Constitution is signifi�cantly silent on any explicitly stated, binding legal obligations weowe to our fellow species and tothe environment that sustains us.It is to the credit of the judiciarythat out of these still and placidwaters, it has fi�shed out enduringprinciples of sustainable development and read them, inter alia, into the precepts of Article 21 of theConstitution.

Amid such a gloomy landscape,

one is heartened to observe somegreen shoots emerging.

Pieces of legislations are slowlyevolving that fall in the category ofthe “Right of Nature laws”. Theseseek to travel away from an anthropocentric basis of law to a biocentric one. In September 2008,Ecuador became the fi�rst countryin the world to recognise “Rightsof Nature” in its Constitution. Bolivia has also joined the movementby establishing Rights of Naturelaws too. In November 2010, thecity of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvaniabecame the fi�rst major municipality in the United States to recognisethe Rights of Nature (https://bit.ly/3iHkKuK). As a fi�rst step,these laws empower people in acommunity to “step into theshoes” of a mountain, stream orforest ecosystem and advocate forthe right of those local communities”. These laws, like the Constitution of the countries that they arepart of, are still works in progress.

In times like this the SupremeCourt’s judgment in M.K. Ranjith-sinh upholding the biocentricprinciples of coexistence is a shotin the arm for nature conservation. One does hope that the respective governments implementthe judgment of the Court and thatthe fate of the Great Indian Bustard does not go the way of theSnail Darter.

N.L. Rajah is Senior Advocate, Madras

High Court

Empowering nature with biocentric jurisprudenceIn a recent ruling, the Supreme Court of India has sought to move away from an anthropocentric basis of law

GE

TT

Y IM

AG

ES/I

ST

OC

KP

HO

TO

The Ahmedabad MunicipalCorporation (AMC) needs tobe complimented for con

ducting seroprevalence studies onits own. The latest seroprevalencedone in June 2021, for which thedata was released a few days ago,has shown that the city populationhas COVID19 antibodies in 81% ofthe population sampled. This isone of the highest rates seenanywhere. The study only measured antibodies, as there are noeasy methods to check cellmediated immunity or neutralisingantibodies. Some studies in othercountries have shown that besidesthe antibodies, there is a substantial proportion of infected peoplewho will not show antibodies butwill have cellmediated immunity.

Studies in Ahmedabad in earlierrounds of serosurveillanceshowed that up to 30% of the population with past infection, whichis not recent, do not show antibodies in such surveys. It is possiblethat the waning of antibodies andcellmediated immunity togethercan indicate that an additional 1015% of persons might be protected. Therefore, the proportion ofpeople with some immunity protection at the population level inAhmedabad may be close to 9095%.

On herd immunityThe Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation is one of the most progressive municipal corporations to useserosurveys evidence to plan anddecide the course of action. Aspart of the COVID19 control work,besides the routine testing, tracingand isolation work — that most cities or districts have done — theAhmedabad Municipal Corporation also invested in conductingperiodic serosurveillance of itsown. It is time to use the eff�orts of

Ahmedabad city as a case study torevisit the discussion on thethreshold for herd immunity.

At the national level, the National Institute of Epidemiology (NIE)of the Indian Council of MedicalResearch (ICMR) has conductedfour rounds of serosurvey; theCouncil of Scientifi�c & IndustrialResearch (CSIR) too conducted anationwide serosurvey. TheStates, including Karnataka, Kerala, Haryana, West Bengal, Odisha,Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Punjab, have donecitywide populationbased serosurveys. The serosurveillancefrom cities show the percent of thepopulation infected with the virusand has antibodies in a specifi�ctime period. The threshold forherd or populationlevel immunity is a local geographical phenomenon, wherein the population orherd is intermixing with each other and spreading the disease within itself. Hence, it is reliable only toestimate the level of immunity atthe city or town level, given thatthere are no sizeable amounts ofmigration occurring, changing thepopulation dynamics of transmission.

For example, in Gujarat, twonearby cities, Ahmedabad and Baroda, behave as two separate communities or herds as there is notmuch travel and intermixing between the people of the two citiescompared to mixing within thesame city. So, both cities may havevery diff�erent immunity levels —say 80% in one and 20% in another. So, the disease might infect many people, as a greater proportionof the susceptible are present inthe city with 20% immunity butnot spread greatly in the city withhigher levels of protection, say80% immunity.

Some serosurveys which combine smaller numbers from multiple studies might be misleading.For example, suppose we do acommon study between two cities. In that case, we may estimate55% of persons having immunity —inferring that both cities have ahigh degree of vulnerability. Whilea limited inference will mean thatthe disease will spread equally in

both cities, it is not completelytrue as one city will have a lowerburden in the future, with 80% ofpeople having some form of immune response. Each of the majorcities or towns must conduct itsown serosurveillance to estimatethe level of protection and estimate the proportion of the susceptible population in that city.

Other surveysA nationally representative sampleof serosurveys is useful to providea bird’seye view of the situation.The NIE should be complimentedfor its eff�orts and for conductingfour rounds of serosurveys overthe last 15 months. The eff�orts ledby the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Indiaand the World Health Organization’s tuberculosis programme inthe fi�eld and technical partnershipled by the NIE are praiseworthyfor any public health agency; comparable to the best in class in a rigorous process, and peerreviewed publications in highimpact journals.

The results from these surveysshowed that antibody levels increased from 0.7% in April 2020 to67% in June 2021. There is also notmuch of a diff�erence between urbanrural, and malefemalegroups. A higher prevalence isseen in people above the age of 45,in vaccinated people and healthcare workers. But one must understand that all these are averagenumbers from a study of a totalsample of about 29,000 people. Asthe sample is taken scientifi�cally,we have to assume that it represents the true situation in thecountry. While the aggregated data at the national level inspires thegood work done by the NIEICMRscientists and other researchers in

the collaboration, it is not a reasonto celebrate in enthusing unreasonable optimism. We should becareful and not jump the gun indeclaring that we are nearing thethreshold of population immunityat the national level.

We can still have major outbreaks in specifi�c geographical regions in the future, as seen in theUnited Kingdom, Israel, and others. There will also be regional andStatewise diff�erences. Urbanareas, as sampled by the ICMR study, showed a prevalence of 69% —slightly higher than in the ruralareas, which had a fi�gure of 65%.The rural areas have a greaterspread of the virus similar to urban areas, despite rural areas being less congested with lower social interactions. There is notmuch crowding in the rural areasas seen in urban areas. Comparedto the Indian urban sample of theICMR, the Ahmedabad city seropositivity is higher at 81%. Thetime ahead will be a marker toknow how many cases will be detected in Ahmedabad and howtransmission dynamics and seroprevalence will change in the future. Hence, the surveys in this city provide a good case study forthe country to review and plan cityspecifi�c actions.

Ahmedabad experienced a verybad second wave. A similar secondwave was also seen in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and other big cities. If serosurveillance is done inthese cities, we may see very highlevels of antibodies. Urban localbodies and State governmentsshould launch rapid and successive rounds of serosurveys.

Aiding policy makingA more effi�cient way is to set upsentinel surveillance sites in all public hospitals and estimate thetrend in overall seroprevalence.One such eff�ort was done by Karnataka in utilising the strengths ofthe National Aids Control Organization’s fi�eld team along with technical supervision by multiple academic institutions in Bengaluru,including the Public Health Foundation of India, the Indian Institute of Science, the Indian Statisti

cal Institute, etc. These eff�orts canguide and inform decisions on theextent to which the city’s business,educational institutions, and markets can be opened up. Wider andfaster vaccination coverage is anadditional and absolute necessity.

The distribution of vaccines,stepping up the hospital response,and severity in future waves canbe understood and addressed bythe periodic antibody prevalencefrom serosurveys. Based on serosurveillance studies, such an evidencebased approach will be veryuseful in the process of decisionmaking while unlocking cities andincreasing economic activities. Tillsupply constraints are completelyresolved, it will also help deployscarce vaccine resources to theplaces in most need of them. Also,serosurveillance does not costmuch — at a price of ₹�500 per test,it will cost ₹�25 lakh to test 5,000people. This is not a major cost forany major city. We constantly faceone problem: cities do not havemechanisms to use evidence generation and analysis expertisefrom public health professionalsincluding epidemiologists.

In summary, every major citywith a population of more than 10lakh should do a rapid serosurveillance survey and set up sentinel surveillance to confi�rm theprotection levels in the existingpopulation and plan. It is time touse the information on existing levels of antibodies in the population to guide evidencebased policymaking. These eff�orts will helpunderstand and mitigate the riskof opening up the economy andsociety, and deciding the priorityfor vaccination. Over 40 citieshave a million population, andanother 300 cities have a population between one lakh to 10 lakh.There is an urgent need to take upserosurveillance studies to helpguide the COVID19 control strategy throughout rural and urbanIndia.

Dr. Dileep Mavalankar is Director, Indian

Institute of Public Health, Gandhinagar.

Dr. Giridhara R. Babu is a Professor,

Head-Lifecourse Epidemiology at the

Public Health Foundation of India

A serosurvey template for the whole of IndiaThe Ahmedabad case study is ideal to help track the threshold for herd immunity and aid evidence-based policymaking

Dileep Mavalankar &

Giridhara R. Babu

PT

I

The British government’s demand to renegotiate

parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol of the

Brexit agreement with the EU has set the stage for

another round of clashes between London and Brus

sels. Just seven months after the agreement came into

force, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government now

says the Protocol, which was accepted by both sides to

avoid physical and economic barriers between North

ern Ireland, a part of the U.K., and the Republic of Ire

land, an EU member, hampers trade inside the U.K.

When the Brexit agreement was signed in 2020, Mr.

Johnson agreed to set up checks at the British side for

goods entering Northern Ireland. This meant, in order

to avoid an economic barrier between the two Irelands,

Britain eff�ectively set up one between the British main

land and the Island of Ireland. The decision had eco

nomic and political repercussions, aff�ecting British

traders every time they move goods across the Irish

Sea. Within Northern Ireland, the Irish nationalists who

support unifi�cation are in favour of the Protocol, while

the unionists, including the Democratic Unionist Party

that was once an ally of Mr. Johnson, do not want it. In a

diffi�cult economic and political situation now, Mr. John

son’s conservative government is seeking a way out.

The government wants all customs checks on goods

entering Northern Ireland to be removed. It has also

sought to end the role of EU institutions in enforcing the

Protocol and introduce a dual regulatory system that

would allow products to freely circulate in the province

if they comply with either British or EU standards. But

the problem is that this is part of an agreement which

Mr. Johnson signed in 2020, and welcomed. The EU has

said it remained open to “practical, fl�exible solutions”

to the controversial clauses. Many had warned even be

fore the 2016 Brexit vote that Northern Ireland would

be a thorny issue if the U.K. chose to leave the EU, given

Ireland’s violent history. The economic integration and

soft borders between the two Irelands were one of the

key aspects of the 1998 Good Friday agreement that

brought peace to the island after 30 years of Troubles.

Now Mr. Johnson, a Brexit supporter, is caught in a diffi�

cult situation, thanks to Brexit. For London, continuing

with the protocol will have economic and political con

sequences. If the U.K. moves the customs checks to the

border between the two Irelands, it can upset the peace

agreement. In the event of the absence of an agree

ment, either party can suspend the Protocol using Arti

cle 16, which means the crisis would be back to square

one. Both sides should realise the seriousness of the sit

uation and be ready for talks. Any amends to the Proto

col should not compromise on the conditions that gua

rantee peace in the island of Ireland.

Return to troublesBrexit was never going to be easy, and should

not compromise the Good Friday agreement

The Ganga might have stood witness to many stag

es of India’s civilisation, as Mahatma Gandhi once

noted, but in recent decades it has become a con

duit for sewage, solid waste, industrial effluents and

other pollutants. It is depressing, though not surpris

ing, therefore, that a new study by an NGO has found

evidence of a modernday scourge, microplastics, in

the river, with the highest concentrations in Varanasi

and Kanpur, followed by Haridwar. What the data show

is the alarming presence of plastic fi�laments, fi�bres,

fragments, and in two places, microbeads, with their

composition pointing to both industrial and secondary

brokendown plastics from articles of everyday use.

These range from tyres, clothing, food packaging, bags,

cosmetics with microbeads, garland covers and other

municipal waste. The fi�nding of signifi�cant levels of mi

croscopic particles invisible to the naked eye at below

300 micrometres to 5 millimetres in the country’s ho

liest river calls into question the progress of two high

priority, wellfunded missions of the NDA government,

Swachh Bharat, to deal with solid waste, and Namami

Gange, to rid the river of its pollution. Surprisingly,

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s support for the river

cleanup, originally scheduled to be implemented by

December 2020, has not saved it from serious defi�cits;

offi�cial data indicate that 97 Ganga towns may be dis

charging about 750 million litres of untreated sewage a

day into the river. An environmental activist, Guru Das

Agrawal, died in 2018 after fasting in protest, and his

letter to Mr. Modi did not change the situation.

Microplastics, recorded in recent times in the remot

est of places — Mount Everest, Arctic snow, Icelandic

glaciers, the French Pyrenees, and the depths of the

Mariana Trench, among others — pose a hazard as plas

tics production outpaces the ability of governments to

collect and manage waste. Successive governments is

sued waste management rules, but dropped the ball on

implementation. Although the Centre recently issued a

draft to tighten the Plastic Waste Management Rules, ci

ties have failed to implement existing rules as well as

the Solid Waste Management rules, on ending single

use plastics, waste segregation, recycling labels on

packaging, extended producer responsibility for manu

facturers and recovery of materials. Moreover, growing

plastic waste will far exceed the capacity of govern

ments to manage it, given that recycling has its limits.

Swachh Bharat, therefore, must mean not merely keep

ing waste out of sight, achieved through costly dumping

contracts, but sharply reduced generation, full segrega

tion and recycling. Plastic waste around the world is

threatening the food web and the crisis demands a new

global treaty modelled on the Montreal Protocol and

the Paris Agreement. India needs to demonstrate that it

is serious about a cleanup at home.

The Ganga’s messageIndia must take its laws on waste seriously

to stop microplastics pollution

CMYK

A ND-NDE


THE HINDU DELHI


GROUND ZERO

Subhash Ghashing, 21, took out hismobile phone and logged on toplay an online warfare game at

around 12.15 a.m. on July 18. While heavy rainfall lashed the city, Subhash continued his virtual adventure in a makeshift balconycumstorage space,unaware of the reallife misadventurethat was lying in store. His approximately 150 square feet house in New BharatNagar stood at the topmost residentiallane on a hillock in Chembur, Mumbai,part of around 4,000 such housespacked like matchboxes and spread onthe hill slope.

The night before, his cousin sister’shaldi ceremony (a prewedding ritual)had gone on for a long time, with closerelatives visiting from diff�erent towns.Inside the small room, his brotherinlaw and fouryearold niece were asleepon a bed, while others, including his sister and parents, were on the fl�oor. Giftsand other items bought for the weddingtook up the remaining space.

“It was pouring. I have never seenanything like that. Muddied water wasfl�owing from the top of the hills. Suddenly, I heard a loud noise. It felt like something had come crashing from thetop. It was soil, lots of it, with rocks,”Subhash recalled.

Unable to take the impact, the wallsof his house broke down and he wasthrown out on the road. “There werethree other houses in line behind us. Allof it went under the slush and rocks.That must have saved us. My familymembers were injured, but I took themout and thankfully, no one died. Butlook at our house,” he said, pointing tothe destroyed room where he had livedfor 21 years.

At around 12.30 a.m., a twodecadeold retaining wall, a structure designedto resist the lateral pressure of soil, constructed by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), almost 15 to 20feet away from Subhash’s house, crumbled under the pressure from the muddied water fl�owing from the top of thehill. In certain areas, weep holes on thewall were clogged, leading to the accumulation of water and soil. The wallheaved and buckled under the pressureand collapsed in a matter of seconds.With it, it took around seven lives.

The road to New Bharat Nagar is noless than a short hike for a newcomer.As one enters through the HindustanPetroleum gate on Mahul road in Chembur, no twowheeler can go beyond apoint, let alone a fi�re brigade truck or anambulance. A walk through the ascending, narrow lanes, dotted with smallhouses on both sides and countless pipelines snaking across the ground,takes one to New Bharat Nagar, wherethe recent landslide killed 19 people. Allwere sleeping peacefully when tragedystruck at midnight.

Vijay Gupta, a local political workerwith the Nationalist Congress Party(NCP), used to live in the area till a fewyears ago. He was one of the fi�rst individuals from outside who rushed to thespot after receiving a call from a resident. “I rushed here immediately andcalled the authorities. But it took a fewhours before they reached,” said Vijay.

The District Disaster ManagementPlan, 2019, for the Mumbai suburbscharted out by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) states, “Several areas around hill slopes in GreaterMumbai are prone to landslides. Therisk is more during the monsoon andheavy rains. Areas around hill slopes inGhatkopar, Bhandup and Kurla in theEastern Suburbs are prone to landslides, resulting in increased exposureof slopes to erosion and water infi�ltration. Slum populations residing onthese hill slopes are at high risk.”

The plan had identifi�ed 252 spotsspread across the Mumbai suburbs, including Malad, Dindoshi and Jogeshwariin the western suburbs, that are proneto landslides. It repeatedly pointed outthat slums were vulnerable primarilybecause of their location, density andlack of access to infrastructure.

Civic offi�cials estimate that around70,000 to one lakh families in Mumbailive in those 252 spots. A ward offi�cial,from one of the vulnerable spots, saidpeople lived in such dangerous areasdespite knowing the risk. “Land pricesare out of reach for common people, especially the working class labourerswho stay here. Hence, they choosethese spots that are cheap and aff�ordable,” he said. As families grow, the offi�cial said, they tend to add more fl�oors tothe existing structure.

Adjacent to Subhash’s house lives theSakhare family. The Sakhares, the Gorses, the Ghavares, the Pardhes and theDupargades are relatives and have beenliving in New Bharat Nagar for over twodecades. Their families have grown asmore and more fl�ock to the city insearch of a livelihood.

Rupesh Sakhare, 24, was asleepwhen he heard the loud noise. As heopened the door to check the situation,he saw Priyanka Agrahari, 15, anotherresident of the area, soaked in waterand mud, crying and climbing up to herhome. “I asked her what she was doingoutside so late in the night and why she

was covered in mud,” Rupesh said. She pointed to her house, which was

at a higher elevation than that of his.“She had been washed away from herhouse with the force of the water. Shecould have died. But some young menpulled her out in time,” he said.

Rupesh and his brother, Bhimrao,rushed to see what had happened.Their uncle, Pandit Gorse, and his family lived adjacent to another retainingwall built by local MLA and MaharashtraMinister Nawab Malik. The Gorses hadgiven a room on rent to Priyanka’s family, who had built an extra fl�oor on theexisting house using the retaining wallas support. The room that was built hadcompletely blocked the drainage pipesmeant for water seepage in case of heavy rainfall.

“When we rushed there, we saw allfi�ve houses under the mud. The layerwas over 8 feet thick. A feeling of fearand helplessness took over me,” Bhimrao said. “I saw my family — my sister,brother, uncle and aunt — buried underthe thick layer of mud,” he added.

Memories of a similar tragedy at Malin village in Pune district, where an entire village was crushed under a landslide after heavy rainfall, fl�ashedthrough his mind.

Living dangerouslyLives are at risk in these comparativelycheaper localities. The slums on the hillslopes at Vikhroli, in the eastern suburbof Mumbai, is another such locationthat the civic body had identifi�ed as vulnerable. Ten others had lost their livesdue to a landslide at Surya Nagar on thesame day when the tragedy at Chemburoccurred.

Authorities from the BMC’s S Ward,of which Vikhroli is a part, had writtento the offi�ce of the District Collector,Mumbai Suburban, and also to the Disaster Management Cell in May and Junethis year, about the possibility of landslides in Vikhroli, Powai and Bhandupdue to heavy rainfall. The letter had alsosought an arrangement for alternativeaccommodation to those in danger.Another letter to the Disaster Management Cell had even mentioned the inaccessibility to the interiors of the slum

areas in case of an emergency.In reply, the Collector’s offi�ce said it

was the responsibility of the civic bodyto prevent and remove encroachmentsirrespective of land titles.

According to data collected by AnilGalgali, an activist and social worker, atotal of 290 people have died and 300others injured in Mumbai due to landslides between 1992 and 2021. A decadeago, former Chief Minister PrithvirajChavan had ordered an action plan forthe resettlement of those living in theslums on hill slopes and especially thosein highly vulnerable places. The UrbanDevelopment Department (UDD) hadbeen asked to design the plan, which isstill in the preparation stage. Offi�cialswithin the UDD stated that such a planwould require changes in the existingguidelines for granting additional FloorSpace Index (FSI), and involve huge fi�nances, etc.

After the tragedy July 18, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray held a meetingwith senior government offi�cials fromall departments, including those withthe Disaster Management Cell. “Mumbai has a number of places that facesthreats from landslides. At many places,retaining walls have been built. All thesewalls need to be examined with expertsfrom the Indian Institute of Technology[IIT] and other institutes. Other options, if any, need to be analysed andimplemented. The existing walls needto be strengthened,” he said.

The Chief Minister also directed thecivic administration to shift those indanger zones to houses built for ProjectAff�ected Persons (PAPs) in the city.Around 38 residents from Chemburhave already been shifted to a nearbyarea called Vishnunagar. The BMC saidit had also moved four families from

GTB Nagar’s Mukundrao Ambedkarroad after a landslide was reported in anearby hill area.

Slums on hill slopes is not the onlyproblem in Mumbai. According to newsreports, close to 50 people have alreadylost their lives due to buildings collapsing in 2021. The civic administration annually sends notices to dangerous anddilapidated buildings, asking citizens tovacate homes. “But the question is,where will they go? There has to be rehabilitation on a casetocase basis,” saidBilal Khan, an activist with Ghar BachaoGhar Banao Andolan (GBGBA).

Bilal pointed out the need to set upinfrastructure, for which, expertswould have to be roped in. The activistalso pointed out the need for accuratedata. “We work and react whenever adisaster strikes. This has to be changed.A longterm strategy is needed,” he added.

Urban planners and designers seethis as a problem that can only besolved if adequate housing is madeavailable. Instead of completing the target of building over 15 lakh houses in 20years under slum redevelopmentschemes in Mumbai, the State government has managed to build only 1.5lakh. “Why would anyone build on a hillslope or a riverbed or on rocky terrainunless they are left with no options?Slums come up on land that are naturally unliveable. These were all nonbuildable lands. Slumdwellers know thatthe location is unsafe, but they have invested in that,” said Pankaj Joshi, principal director at Urban Centre Mumbai,which works on urban planning, research, design, advocacy and community outreach.

“In Mumbai, land that houses slumshas not increased, but the density has

grown manifold, with two to threefl�oors being constructed over the baseslums. This has not been built followingany structural engineering principles.They are extremely weak and can collapse at any time,” he added.

He explained that this was resultingin an increase in the population living inslums. At the same time, more peoplewere living in fragile structures that, ifmet with a disaster, would hardly beable to withstand the impact, he added.

Pankaj said the latest DevelopmentPlan for Mumbai had noticed thesedangerous slums in each of the wards.“But the question is where will you rehabilitate them? The only option is tobuild more houses,” he said.

Maharashtra’s Housing Minister Jitendra Awhad said he was aware of the problem. In his initial days after takingcharge, the Minister had clarifi�ed thathis priority would be to help buildersbuild more houses under slum redevelopment schemes, which could be givento slumdwellers. “We can support thecivic body in lowcost housing schemes,which may require huge funds. But thathas to be a policy decision for which deliberations at a higher level are required,” he said.

According to Sayli UdasMankikar, asenior fellow at the Observer ResearchFoundation (ORF), all slum land had tobe treated as aff�ordable housing reservations. “The Slum Rehabilitation Authority should fulfi�l its fi�rst objective ofundertaking comprehensive planningof slum lands by modifying development control regulations in order to enable the production of aff�ordable housing through the redevelopment route,”she said.

A similar tragedyAround 25 kilometres away from Chembur stands Ambedkar Nagar at Kurar village in Malad, a western suburb ofMumbai. Two years ago, in July 2019, aretaining wall constructed by the BMChad collapsed due to the forceful fl�ow ofwater from the Malad Hill Reservoiramid incessant rainfall. It killed 31 andinjured over 110.

On July 18, those who are yet to berehabilitated faced the nightmare onceagain.

“I lost my son in 2019. Water enteredour hut and took him away from me. OnSunday, I held his twoyearold daughter to my chest and ran out in the dark. Ithought the tragedy was being repeatedand I did not want to lose more members of my family,” Munni God said, asshe recalled her son Shravan’s death.Close to 75 families — who are yet to berehabilitated — from Ambedkar Nagarwere forced to spend the entire night inthe heavy rain after water entered theirhuts made of tarpaulin and supportedby bamboo.

“We women work as domestic help inthese big buildings,” said Supriya Goregaonkar, pointing to the newly builthighrises that off�er a scenic view of thelushgreen hills to buyers. “These days,we go to work in the morning, cook forthe families in the afternoon and thenworry about our safety at night. Wewere promised rehabilitation. But now,no one listens to us. The governmentshould worry about us when we arealive, not spend money on our kins afterwe die,” she said.

The COVID19 pandemic has worsened the situation for many who workas labourers, carpenters, tailors or aswatchmen. Walli Sheikh, a carpenterwho is unable to fi�nd work these days,can’t stop worrying about the safety ofhis hut. “We cannot build a pucca[brick] construction here as this is forest land. But despite being eligible, weare not rehabilitated,” he said.

Aneesh Yadav, a resident who is fi�ghting for the rehabilitation of the remaining families, shows a letter dated August28, 2020, from G. Mallikarjun, Director,Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP),who had asked the BMC to take action torehabilitate the families. The letter saidthe remaining families were in a dangerzone and the process of rehabilitationneeded to be initiated soon. A 1997Bombay High Court order, too, had directed the administration to shift thesefamilies from forest land and rehabilitate them. No action has been taken yet.“We have written to the Chief Ministerrequesting his intervention after theChembur tragedy. It was only then thata team of civic offi�cials came to meet usand recorded the details,” he said.

During every election since the 1997court order, politicians have promisedthese residents pucca houses. “All of ushave voter IDs and we do vote. Theywant our votes and if we are shiftedfrom here, they will not get our votes.We feel cheated and neglected. We livein the hope that at least one politicianout there will fulfi�l the promise,” saidShriram Kadam, who works as a security guard.

Meanwhile, after surviving the mayhem that the rains had brought with it,the wedding of Subhash’s cousin sisterwent on as scheduled. “How could wepossibly postpone the date? It was simply not possible,” he said. Already embarrassed that his brotherinlaw had tosuff�er an injury on his trip to attend thewedding, Subhash made arrangementsfor his sister and her husband at a private hospital and sent them back home.

“The wedding had to go ahead asplanned. Yes, it was diffi�cult. But wecompleted all the rituals in the presenceof four family members and sent my sister with her husband. I came here tojoin the others in digging the mud andcleaning my home,” he said.

Tragic aff�air: Rescue personnel carrying out operations in Chembur on July 18 (top and below). At least 19 people were killed in the area after they were trapped due to landslides. * EMMANUAL YOGINI

The city of dreams’ unending nightmareThe densely populated slums on the hilly slopes of the Mumbai suburbs are sitting on deathtraps as the recent disaster in Chembur demonstrated. Alok Deshpandereports on the tragedy that took lives and swept away houses, once again highlighting the need for a comprehensive and sustainable plan for the ever-expanding city

CMYK

A ND-NDE


DELHI THE HINDU


NEWS

FROM PAGE ONE

in the morning, neither thelocal administration, norany NDRF team was insight… This governmentseems to be utterly callousto the fate of its people,”said BJP Leader of Opposition Pravin Darekar, whoreached the accident spotalong with fellow BJP leaderGirish Mahajan.

Chief Minister UddhavThackeray, who held anemergency meeting to review the situation in theKonkan, assured that rescue operations were proceeding speedily and thatthe government’s prioritywas to save lives at any cost.

He said rescue teamswere facing enormous problems as in several places,roads had been utterlydamaged or washed awayby the fl�oodwaters or rockfalls, especially in villagesand hamlets in the mountainous tracts.

“Unfortunately, in Taliye, more than 30 personshave lost their lives in alandslide…now, heavydownpours have begun inNagpur in Vidarbha as well.Our priority is to ensurethat there is no loss of life.NDRF, Coastguard, SDRFand local teams have beenmobilized on a war footingin the shadow of the COVID19 pandemic,” Mr.Thackeray said.

Six persons were killed inKevnale in Poladpur taluk.Thirteen injured personswere undergoing treatmentat hospitals in Poladpur andMahad.

Expressing anguish atthe loss of lives caused bythe Raigad landslide, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi announced ₹�2 lakh each forthe next of kin of the deceased from the PM’s National Relief Fund. A sum of₹�50,000 would be given tothe injured, the PMO said.

“Anguished by the loss oflives due to a landslide inRaigad, Maharashtra. Mycondolences to the bereaved families. I wish theinjured a speedy recovery.The situation in Maharashtra due to heavy rains is being closely monitored andassistance is being providedto the aff�ected,” Mr Moditweeted.

Union Home MinisterAmit Shah spoke to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and said theCentre would extend allpossible help to the Stategovernment to deal withthe situation.

The opposition BJPmeanwhile blamed theUddhav Thackerayled Maha Vikas Aghadi government for apathy and tardiness in rescue operations.

“When we reached here

60 killed as rain poundswestern Maharashtra

adjourned twice on Fridaydue to the ongoing protestsby the Opposition partiesover the Pegasus spying andthe farmers’ protests.

As the proceedings began, on behalf of all themembers, Speaker Om Birlawished the 127 Indian athletes participating in the Tokyo Olympics success.

During the QuestionHour, only a couple of queries could be taken up.

Owing to the continuedsloganshouting by the Opposition members, theHouse was adjourned tillnoon. When the proceedings resumed, sloganeeringstarted again and the Chairfi�nally adjourned the Housetill Monday.

Earlier in the day, Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah berated the House for disruptions in past three days.“The moot question is whowould benefi�t from a dysfunctional Parliament? Certainly, not the country andit’s people,” Mr. Naidu said.The only business that hasbeen transacted in last threedays, he said, was a debateon COVID19.

“The proceedings of theHouse hit a new low withthe papers being snatchedfrom the Minister and torninto pieces and thrown intothe air. Such actions are aclear assault on our parliamentary democracy,” he added.

The Lok Sabha was also

Parliament stalled forthe fourth day in a row

ni; and his son, scientistSyed Naseem Geelani, itnoted.

The current head of theHurriyat Conference Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was a potential target of surveillancebetween 2017 and 2019,apart from his driver, human rights activist WaqarBhatti and at least fi�ve Kashmiri journalists, includingMuzamil Jaleel of The In-dian Express, AurangzebNaqshbandi with The Hin-dustan Times at the time, Iftikhar Geelani (formerlywith DNA) and Sumir Kaulof PTI, it said.

Shabir Hussain, a Delhibased political commentator from Kashmir, was alsoin the list, it pointed.

“Others on the leaked database include at least twomembers of People’s Democratic party (PDP) chief andformer chief minister of J&KMehbooba Mufti’s family...their selection as potential targets of surveillancehappened when Mufti wasstill chief minister of theerstwhile State and in a coalition with the BJP...whenasked if she thought therewas a link, Mufti declined tocomment,” it stated.

J&K Apni Party presidentAltaf Bukhari’s brother Tariq Bukhari also appeared inthe list, besides at least fourmembers of separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani’sfamily, including his soninlaw, journalist Iftikhar Gila

Kashmiris amongsnooping targets

the recent past are beingused to drop payloads, including AK47 rifl�es and IEDmaterial. Such drones cantravel up to 20 km, depending on the payload,” henoted.

Around 16 AK47 rifl�es,three M4 rifl�es, 34 pistols,15 grenades, 18 IEDs and ₹�4lakh cash have been ferriedusing drones in the last oneand a half years in Jammu,he added.

The police have put inplace an antidrone systemat several installations inJammu, including the airport.

The drone was more thansix km inside the IB. “Thedrone is an assembled one,with its parts manufacturedin Taiwan and Hong Kong.The threads recovered werethe same as that of thoseused to drop the payloads atthe Air Force Station, Jammu. It seems the JeM has assembled many drones withthe same series. The serialnumber of the fl�ight controller found on the droneon Friday is just one digitdiff�erent from the one thatwas shot down at Akhnoorrecently,” Mr. Singh said.

“The drones recovered in

Drone with explosivesshot down in Jammu

West Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee was unanimously chosen as theChairperson of the Trinamool Congress’ Parliamentary party, placing her in apivotal position to coordinate with the other opposition parties.

After TMC’s victory inWest Bengal Assembly elections in May this year, theparty has been positioningitself as unifi�er for all opposition parties, a role that theCongress as single largestopposition party has beenplaying so far. The Congressoften fi�nds itself constrainedsince it is a political opponent to many of the regionalparties in diff�erent States.

Party’s Rajya Sabha leader MP Derek O’Brien at apress conference in Delhisaid Ms. Banerjee has beenthe guiding force behind theparliamentary party for along time.

“We are just formalising areality. Our chairperson is aseventime member of Par

liament. She has the visionto guide the parliamentaryparty. She has the experience and insight. She wasanyway guiding us. The decision has been taken bothat a conceptual and tacticallevel. She has always been acall away. We feel more empowered,” Mr. O’Brien said.

Ms. Banerjee is not an MPor an MLA. In recent Assembly elections, she hadlost the Nandigram seat by aslender margin to TMC rebelSuvendu Adhikari. However, there are no rules prohibiting an unelected person from leading aparliamentary party.

Mamata is chairpersonof TMC in Parliament She was unanimously elected to post


New Delhi

Mamata Banerjee

Left MPs moved a motionobjecting to the introduction of a private member’sBill seeking a uniform civilcode, saying such legislationwould damage the communal harmony. BJP MP KirodiLal Meena has proposed theBill.

CPI(M) MPs ElamaramKareem and V. Sivadasan,along with CPI MP BinoyViswam, moved the motion.

The Bill could not be tabled on Friday since the Rajya Sabha failed to functionfor the fourth straight day.

Mr. Kareem, in his letterto Chairman Venkaiah Naidu, said the subject of uniform civil code needed wider consultation anddiscussion before legislationcould be brought in. “The

manner in which such a Billis intended to be introducedby a member in a hastymanner without consultations is not acceptable,” henoted.

Mr. Viswam said in his letter to Mr. Naidu that the demand for a uniform civilcode had a complicated andpolarising history that datedback to Independence. “Anexamination of the Billclearly indicates its ulterioragenda, given that it selectively chooses to highlightinequalities in one religion,while conveniently ignoringthose in others,” he stated.

Given the extensive diversity of religion, cultures andtraditions that govern theseareas of customary law, allreforms must not only dojustice but must appear tobe just as well, he said.

Left MPs oppose movefor Bill on civil code ‘Subject needs wider consultation’


New Delhi

Communist Party of India(Marxist) MP John Brittasmoved a privilege motionagainst the Law Minister Kiren Rijiju for a misleadingreply to a question raised byhim on the fi�lling up of vacancies in the High Courts.

Mr. Brittas in a starredquestion in the Rajya Sabhahad asked the Law Ministerto provide details of thenumber of High Court judges recommended by the Supreme Court collegium forappointment during the lastone year, and how many ofthese recommendations hadbeen implemented.

In response, Mr. Rijiju informed the house that out of80 recommendations by the

SC collegium between July 12020 to July 15, 2021, only 45of had been appointed asjudges and the remainingwere “under various stagesof processing”.

The Minister had pointedout that fi�lling up vacanciesin the higher judiciary was acontinuous, integrated andcollaborative process bet

ween the Executive and theJudiciary, requiring consultation and approval fromConstitutional authorities atthe State as well as Centrallevel. No timeline could begiven for fi�lling up the vacancies, he had said.

Mr. Brittas in a letter toRajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu said that thereply given by the Ministerwas “in contravention of theorder of the Hon’ble Supreme Court”. The top courthas said, “If the SupremeCourt collegium after consideration of the aforesaidinputs, still reiterates the recommendation(s) unanimously, such appointmentsshould be processed and appointment should be madewithin 3 to 4 weeks.”

CPI(M) MP moves privilegemotion against Law Minister John Brittas fl�ags his reply on fi�lling up vacancies in courts


New Delhi

Kiren Rijiju

Former Congress presidentRahul Gandhi on Friday demanded the resignation ofUnion Home Minister AmitShah and a judicial inquiryby the Supreme Courtagainst Prime Minister Narendra Modi for ‘using’ thePegasus spyware.

Addressing journalistsoutside the Parliament complex, he claimed that he wasnot a potential target but“every single phone of his isdefi�nitely tapped”.

He asserted, “I get phonecalls from the IB [Intelligence Bureau] people whotap my phone. They call meup and say beware we aretapping you. My security people tell me that they have

to debrief what I say to theirseniors”. He, however, added that only those whowere “thieves or corruptwill get scared of NarendraModi”.

He said, “Pegasus is classifi�ed by the Israeli State as aweapon and that weapon issupposed to be used againstterrorists. The Prime Minister and the Home Ministerhave used this weaponagainst the Indian State.They have used it politically,they have used it in Karnataka, they have used to scuttleprobes, they have used itagainst the Supreme Court,against all the institutions.The only word for this istreason. There is no otherword for this and the HomeMinister should resign”.

Talking about alleged tapping of his phone, he statedthat it was not just aboutbreach of his privacy but anattack on the people whosevoices he raised.

He accused the government of using the spywareagainst the Supreme Courtas well as former CBI Director [Alok Verma] when acase was about to be regis

tered in the Rafale deal.“I have said very clearly

that there has been grosstheft in Rafale. For whateverreason, none of you peoplesupported me. But truth hasa way of coming out. Thereis an inquiry in France andthe Prime Minister himself isresponsible for corruptionin Rafale,” he said.

“The real question is: whyat the last minute when theCBI Director was about tofi�le an FIR, why was hisphone tapped and why washe blackmailed? And whodid it? That’s the real question,” he remarked.

The press conference followed protests by Opposition members, including theCongress, DMK and the ShivSena over the Pegasus issue.

Rahul accuses Modi and Shah of treason‘Pegasus is classifi�ed by Israel as a weapon and that weapon is supposed to be used against terrorists’

Rahul Gandhi with leaders from the Congress, the DMK and afew other parties protesting in New Delhi on Friday. * PTI


New Delhi

The Joint ParliamentaryCommittee ( JPC) examining the Personal Data Protection Bill was on Fridaygiven an extension till theWinter Session of Parliament to submit its longpending report. Five members, including the Chairperson of the committee,Meenakshi Lekhi, were inducted into the Council ofMinisters in the latestround of Cabinet reshuffl�ein the Modi government atthe Centre.

Ms. Lekhi has been replaced in the JPC by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPP.P. Chaudhary. The JCPwas constituted in the LokSabha in December 2019and was expected to submit its report in the BudgetSession. This is the fi�fthtime the committee’s tenure has been extended.

Ms. Lekhi at a press conference on Thursdayclaimed that the reporthad been submitted to theLok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Thursday.

Former IT Minister Ravishankar Prasad had alsosaid in an interview to TheHindu that he had read thereport of the committee.The members have maintained that the draft reporthas not been circulated tothem so far.

“How can MeenakshiLekhi claim Personal DataProtection Bill Bill reporthas been submitted toSpeaker Om Birla whenthe report has not been circulated to members muchless adopted,” Congressleader Manish Tewaritweeted.

The Personal Data Protection Bill seeks to regulate the use of an individual’s data by thegovernment and privatecompanies.

More time forreport on Data Bill


New Delhi

In a bid to woo the dominantand infl�uential Brahmin community ahead of the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, the MayawatiledBahujan Samaj Party (BSP) onFriday promised to expeditethe construction of the RamMandir in Ayodhya if it cameto power with a full majority.

The BSP’s national generalsecretary and its Brahminface Satish Chandra Mishralaunched a fresh outreachprogramme for the community from Ayodhya where theRam temple is being constructed. It must be notedthat the BSP identifi�es itself asan Ambedkarite party andwhile in power constructedparks, memorials and statuesof Dalit and Backward Casteicons.

“When we form a full majority government in 2022, Iwould like to assure you thatthe lakhs and crores of rupeesthey have hoarded but are notputting to use to build a temple for bhagwan Shri Ram, wewill compel them to build agrand temple,” Mr. Mishra

said.At a public meeting of the

prabudh varg, or enlightened class, aimed at the Brahmins, Mr. Mishra questionedthe slow speed of the construction of the Ram Mandir,the foundation stone forwhich was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 5, 2020.

Mr. Mishra, virtually the secondincommand in the BSP,said even the foundationblock of the temple was notyet complete.“Nobody knowswhen they will complete thetemple. How many yearsmore will it take,” he asked at

the gathering of Brahmins.Ms. Mayawati recently re

minded the Brahmins to emulate the Dalits and remainfi�rm in voting for the BSP,without falling for any lure ortemptation by other partiesparticularly the BJP. She alsooutlined that her 2022 campaign would heavily rely onthe prospects of consolidating the sizeable Dalit votesand the Brahmins.

The BSP has often claimedthat this formula had led toMs. Mayawati’s phenomenalmajority win in 2007.

At the public meeting, Mr.Mishra reiterated the BSP

chief’s remarks. He urged theBrahmins to “come togetherand showcase your strength”if they wanted to emerge asthe descendants of Lord Parshuram and Chanakya, considered icons of aggression andstrategy by the community.

If the Brahmins built a“brotherhood” with the Dalits, the two communitiesalone could come together asa strong force in the State, Mr.Mishra said.

Deeper aimNot just the Brahmin vote, thedeeper aim of such meetingsappears to be an attempt tocash in on the capability ofthe community to infl�uenceother castes given the hierarchical social setup in theState. While talking to reporters after praying to Lord Ramat the makeshift Ram Janmabhoomi temple and at the Hanumangarhi temple and completing rituals at Saryu Ghatwith his family, Mr. Mishrahinted at this goal.

“And you know that whenthe Brahmin comes, peopleof sarv samaj also come,” Mr.Mishra said.

Will speed up Ram temple: BSP Party kickstarts series of public meetings to woo the Brahmin communityOmar Rashid

LUCKNOW

BSP leader Satish Chandra Mishra addresses the ‘PrabudhVarg Sammelan’ in Ayodhya on Friday. * PTI

On the second day of the‘Farmers Parliament’ at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, the ‘Minister of Agriculture andFarmers’ tendered his resignation after he “couldn’tmeet eyes of the farmers”.

At the mock Parliamentjust a short distance from theParliament building, Ranveer Singh Brar of the Bhartiya Kisan Union–Kadian, pretended to be UnionAgriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and attended to the questions raised byother protesters who took

on the roles of MPs. “I was made the minister

only for one day and as theminister, I had to resign as Ihad no answers to the questions the farmers were ask

ing me. I couldn’t look themin the eye,” said Mr Brar, adding that the demands madeby the farmers are legitimatewhich is why the ministerhad to resign — at least in this

session of mock parliament.Mr Brar said Mr Tomar al

so hailed from a farming family with a humble background and added that whenpeople attain positions of

power, they forget wherethey come from.

On taking on the role ofthe minister, Mr Brar said,“Whenever I was asked aquestion, I would change thetopic. If the farmer wouldask me about the laws, Iwould talk to them aboutemployment. I they wouldask me about somethingelse, I would start talkingabout COVID,” he said.

Every answer given by thepretendminister was received with a loud roar of“Shame” from the gatheredprotesters.

The farmers’ parliamenton Friday had 52 memberswho spoke and six who conducted the parliament proceedings including a speakereach from Telangana and Ut

tarakhand apart from Punjab.“The APMC Bypass Actbrought in September 2020should be immediately repealed by the Parliament; theFarmers' Parliament repealsthis Act, and orders the Parliament to do the same,” saidHardev Arshi from All IndiaKisan Sabha, one of the sixspeakers.

Responding to Union Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi’s comment calling farmers mawalis(ruffian)— which she laterwithdrew — Mr Arshi said,“They fi�nd the worst word inthe dictionary and call usthat. One of the ministers saidthat farmers should come tothe table and talk. Will one ever call a mawali for talks? Wecondemn it.”

At farmers’ parliament, ‘minister’ quits over farm billsProtesting ryotscontinue parallelsession, debates

In solidarity: Farmers on their way to Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. * SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA

Hemani Bhandari

NEW DELHI

CMYK

A ND-NDE


THE HINDU DELHI


NEWS

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to India next week for a twodayvisit during which he willhold talks with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar,the Ministry of External Affairs and the U.S. State Department announced onFriday.

Mr. Blinken’s visit will behis fi�rst to New Delhi sinceassuming offi�ce and is expected to focus on a numberof bilateral issues, as well asprepare for a Quad summitwith leaders of U.S.IndiaJapanAustralia in WashingtonD.C. later this year.

“This trip will underscorethe importance of our cooperation on topics like COVID19 response eff�orts,shared security interests,and the climate crisis. I lookforward to strengtheningour important partnerships,” Mr. Blinken said in astatement, referring to hisvisit to India, which will befollowed by a visit to Kuwait.The U.S. State Departmentsaid the two sides would discuss U.S. and India’s“shared democraticvalues”.

Afghan crisisMr. Blinken’s visit is expected to focus on the situation

in Afghanistan and discusspossible cooperation withIndia as the Taliban makeadvances there. His visit willcoincide with that of Afghanistan Army chief General Wali Mohammad Ahmadzai (on July 2730),leading to speculation thatthe two visiting offi�cialscould meet in New Delhi.

The MEA said the discussions between Mr. Blinkenand the Indian leaderswould focus on “regionaland global issues of mutualinterest — including recovery from the COVID19 pandemic, the IndoPacifi�c region, Afghanistan andcooperation in the UN”.

Mr. Blinken will arrive inDelhi on Tuesday, July 27,and will hold his offi�cialmeetings on Wednesday.The MEA said he wouldmeet National Security Adviser Ajit Doval as well,while the U.S. State Department said he would meetthe Prime Minister.

U.S. Secretary of State to visit India next week Afghanistan, Quad, vaccines on agenda

Suhasini Haidar

New Delhi

Antony Blinken

Amid the revival of monsoonsince the second week of July, there has been a signifi�cant variation in rainfallacross the country.

Several parts of the western Konkan coast and thesouthern peninsula werewitnessing instances of extreme rainfall. According tothe India Meteorological Department data on the regional distribution, the ‘SouthPeninsula’ received 29%more rain than normal during the period June1July 23.

In the same period, northwest and central India witnessed a 10% and 2% defi�citrespectively and northeastIndia a 14% defi�cit, thoughthis region has a higher baserainfall than other regions.

Mahabaleshwar in western Maharashtra reportedmore than 60cm of rainfallin the past 24 hours (Thursday morning to Friday morning) which “exceeded its alltime record”, the IMD said.From Friday morning to

5.30 p.m., it recorded 18 cm.Torrential rain over the Konkan coast was likely to continue for the rest of the week,the agency added.

According to the districtwise rainfall data for Maharashtra, except fi�ve districts,all the other 31 got “large excess rains”. July and Augustare the most important mon

soon months, contributingover twothirds of the seasonal rainfall. Central Indiaand the south peninsula areexpected to see most of therainfall. However, climatescientists have warned thatmonsoon patterns overallhave been changing.

The frequency andstrength of cyclones over the

Arabian Sea has increased inthe past two decades. Thereis a 52% increase in the frequency of cyclones over theArabian Sea from 2001 to2019 and an 8% decrease over the Bay of Bengal compared with the period 19822002, when historicallymost cyclones have been inthe Bay of Bengal, accordingto a study published in Cli-mate Dynamics. Even theduration of cyclones has increased by 80%. More cyclones were bringing inmore moisture from the Arabian Sea and contributing toextreme rainfall events.

Roxy Koll, climate scientist at the Indian Institute ofTropical Meteorology inPune and among the authorsof the study, tweeted that itwas important to monitorand better forecast theseevents. “The ongoing monsoon fl�oods across India isunprecedented, but not unexpected. We already see athreshold rise in widespreadextreme rains that causefl�oods across India,” he said.

Rise in extreme rainfall events Southern peninsula receives 29% more rain than normal; big defi�cit in northeast

Jacob Koshy

NEW DELHI

The 1991 economic reformslifted millions out of poverty,unleashed the spirit of freeenterprises, and catapultedIndia into a $3 trillion economy, but the road ahead iseven more daunting than the1991 crisis, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saidon Friday.

To mark the 30th anniversary of economic liberalisation and the opening up ofthe Indian economy on July24, Dr. Singh issued a statement in which he recalledthe achievements, but alsoexpressed his pain at the devastation caused by the COVID19 pandemic and theloss of lives and livelihoods.

The country needs to recalibrate its priorities to adignifi�ed life for all Indians,he said.

“It gives us immense joyto look back with pride at thetremendous economic progress made by our nation inthe last three decades. But Iam also deeply saddened at

the devastation caused bythe COVID19 pandemic andthe loss of millions of fellowIndians. The social sectors ofhealth and education havelagged behind and not keptpace with our economic progress. Too many lives and livelihoods have been lost thatshould not have been,” Dr.Singh said.

“It is not a time to rejoiceand exult but to introspectand ponder. The road aheadis even more daunting thanduring the 1991 crisis. Ourpriorities as a nation need tobe recalibrated to foremostensure a healthy and dignifi�ed life for every single Indian,” he added.

Dr. Singh, who as FinanceMinister to the late formerPrime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao had unveiled a slewof reforms in 1991, talkedabout progress since theopening up of the economy.

Desire to prosper“Over the last three decades,successive governmentshave followed this path to catapult our nation to a $3 trillion economy and into theleague of the world’s largesteconomies. More importantly, nearly 300 million fellowIndians have been lifted outof poverty in this period andhundreds of millions of newjobs have been provided for

our youth,” he said. Theformer Prime Minister saidthat although liberalisationwas triggered by an economic crisis, it was also built on“the desire to prosper, thebelief in our capabilities, andthe confi�dence to relinquishcontrol of the economy bythe government”.

The liberalisation processhelped in the making ofsome worldclass companies, and India has emergedas a global power in manysectors, he said.

“I was fortunate to play arole in this reform processalong with several of my colleagues in the Congress party,” Dr. Singh noted.

Recalling his Budgetspeech, Dr. Singh said, “AsFinance Minister in 1991, Iended my Budget speech byquoting Victor Hugo,‘nopower on Earth can stop anidea whose time has come’.Thirty years later, as a nation, we must rememberRobert Frost’s poem, ‘But Ihave promises to keep, andmiles to go before I sleep’.”

Road ahead is daunting: ManmohanFormer PM says a healthy and dignifi�ed life for every Indian must be prioritised


New Delhi

The Army is procuring jammers in large numbers andexpanding the range of theexisting ones to protect largemilitary bases in forwardareas from drone attacks, asenior defence offi�cial said.Also with ceasefi�re holdingalong the Line of Control(LoC), both India and Pakistan are using the peace toupgrade their defences onthe border, offi�cials said.

“We were cognisant of thethreat from drones for sometime. To cover forward bases, we are getting bigger jammers, including from theDefence Research and Development Organisation andan Indian company in Hyderabad,” one offi�cial said. “Weare working to expand therange of our jammers whilealso importing additionalones.”

Stating that several measures were being put inplace, offi�cials said. To beginwith, the sentries postedalong the installations weremore alert now and on thelookout for possible presence of drones. “Drone andquadcopter threat is now areality,” a second offi�cial not

ed. There have been severalinstances in the last coupleof years where quadcopterswere used to drop drugs,arms and ammunition fromacross the border in Jammuand Punjab.

However, the June 27 attack on Jammu air base is thefi�rst instance where smalldrones were used to dropexplosives.

Ceasefi�re holdingThere has been no violationby Pakistan since the commitment by both sides in February to observe the ceasefi�re along the LoC and otherareas. However there weretwo infi�ltration attempts recently. With no fi�ring at all,both sides are using thepeace to upgrade their de

fences. Restoration work onthe existing border fence,called the AntiInfi�ltrationObstacle System, is underway, the second offi�cialexplained.

Over the years, the Armyhas signifi�cantly improvedits electronic surveillancealong the LoC to check infi�ltration and, after some delays, work is under way toconvert the existing borderfence into a smart fence integrated with several sensors.

In the past few months,some terror camps along theLoC have been reactivatedand there has been someprobing and infi�ltration attempts, one of the offi�cialssaid. But there has been noovert support by PakistanArmy to the terrorists, theoffi�cial said. There have alsobeen surveillance inputs onseveral occasions of movement of terrorists close tothe LoC, though there havebeen no attempts to infi�ltrate. All indices of violenceare down and overall there isa 40% reduction, one of theoffi�cial said. “However, localrecruitment remains a worry. Operations are going onin the valley and terroristsare being neutralised.”

Army to use jammers to protectforward bases from drone attacksIt is also upgrading defence along the border, say offi�cials

Dinakar Peri

NEW DELHI

The drone that was shot downin Akhnoor on Friday. It had 5 kg of explosives. * ANI

The Supreme Court on Friday held that in any election, be it to Parliament orState legislature, the maintenance of secrecy of voting is“a must”.

Secrecy is a part of thefundamental right of freedom of expression. The confi�dentiality of choice strengthened democracy, itstated.

“In direct elections to theLok Sabha or State legislature, the maintenance of secrecy is a must and is insisted upon all over the worldin democracies where directelections are involved to ensure that a voter casts hisvote without any fear or being victimised if his vote isdisclosed,” a Bench of Justices D.Y. Chandrachud andM.R. Shah held.

‘Deal with iron hands’Any attempt at boothcapturing or bogus voting were

crimes against democracyand should be dealt withiron hands. “Booth capturing and/or bogus votingshould be dealt with ironhands, because it ultimatelyaff�ects the rule of law anddemocracy. Nobody can bepermitted to dilute the rightto free and fair election, theBench observed.

Democracy and free elections were a part of the BasicStructure of the Constitution, Justice Shah, who authored the judgment, noted.“An election is a mechanismwhich ultimately representsthe will of the people. Theessence of the electoral system should be to ensurefreedom of voters to exercise their free choice,” hesaid.

The court, in its judgment, confi�rmed the guiltand sentencing of eight menaccused of using violence tosnatch the voters slips andto cast bogus voting in anelection in Bihar in 1989.

SC says secrecy of vote a must in any election ‘Right to free and fair poll paramount’

Krishnadas Rajagopal

NEW DELHI

On the move: Security personnel heading towards the site ofthe encounter with militants in Sopore. * PTI

Two LashkareTaiba (LeT)militants, including a top‘commander’, were killed inan overnight operation inSopore in north Kashmir,the police said on Friday.

“The presence of terrorists was ascertained in Warpora village during a jointcordon and search operation on Thursday night.They were given opportunities to surrender. However,they fi�red indiscriminately.

Two LeT terrorists werekilled in the operation,” InspectorGeneral of Police Vijay Kumar said.

The police identifi�ed theslain militants as Fayaz Ahmad War, alias Rukana aliasUmar, from Warpora; andShaheen Ahmad Mir, aliasShaheen Molvi, from Cherpora in Budgam. “War was atop commander of the LeT.He had a long history of terror crime, as he was associated with terrorism sinceyear 2008,” Mr. Kumar said.

LeT ‘commander’ amongtwo militants killed in J&KPeerzada Ashiq

SRINAGAR

A 22yearold Dalit manwas allegedly killed in a village in Aligarh by three upper caste men on suspicionof stealing a bag of wheat.

The police have registered a case of murder andinvoked relevant sectionsof the SC/ST Act against thethree accused named bythe family of the victim.

The main accused hasbeen arrested.

According to local sources, the incident happenedon Wednesday night in Nagariya Bhood village of Harduaganj town in Aligarhdistrict.

Rampal Singh, the father of the deceased, told reporters that the incidenthappened when his younger son Ravindra, who rana grocery store in the village, returned from theneighbouring Jalali town.

“When he was parkinghis motorcycle, Rajbahadur, his son Anurag Singhand nephew Shibbu entered the house andclaimed that Ravindra hadstolen a bag of 40 kg wheatfrom their house. Theyused casteist slurs and keptbeating him until he lostconsciousness,” he said.

Dalit manbeaten to deathin Aligarh

Anuj Kumar

Ghaziabad

CMYK

A ND-NDE


DELHI THE HINDU


NEWS

(set by Hypatia)

Never go off� the grid now.

We are digital. Come solve online.

@ https://qrgo.page.link/jjpTn

■ ACROSS

1 Magnifi�cent balloon (5)

4 He needs this drink in hot weather! (5)

11 Cover with seat belts (7)

12 Solitary soldier’s cryptic clues (7)

13 Basically evaluates drafts: improves them substantively! (5)

14 Nervous date at bar with bruised criminal (9)

15 Emergency situation in Paris — milk and butter held back with the

French women! (7,3)

17 House fl�y (4)

19 Pieces regularly skipped, rewinding SPB song (4)

21 Act one is fast moving? (46)

25 Judge music festival in front of radical muse (9)

27 Cover song by two, about victory (5)

28 Obstetrician / doctor likes needle (7)

29 Retired agents win over a player twice in bridge (7)

30 Toss recipe in casserole (5)

31 Forest officer, scratching head in nettle (5)

■ DOWN

2 More tired, I swear I err somewhat (7)

3 Sadly lost fashionable title (8)

5 Clubs pursuing a team announced result (6)

6 Localities in the outskirts of old ancient city near Bhilai, oddly (7)

7 Admire sweetheart’s small face... taken up (6)

8 Capital, when idle, is distributed (3,5)

9 Members most often follow upcoming artist (4)

10 Miss the French nag (6)

16 Saw cenotaph... Or is memorial covered? (8)

18 From both sides, island air can be circulating toxic emissions (4,4)

19 Frisk doctor in jail (6)

20 As per Spooner, father’s wager is a writeoff (3,4)

22 Promote commercial vehicle these days (7)

23 Whole book about Ireland? On the contrary! (6)

24 Woman heading out with setter’s fur coat (6)

26 Choose time needed by cook for boy (4)

SCAN TO PLAY

+ 13308SUDOKU

Solution to puzzle 13307 Solution to yesterday’s Sudoku

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

When the Lord incarnates as a human being, He is notbound by any karma or sorrow, as is with the case of all others right from Brahma to the smallest ant. Out of His Sankalpa and His yoga, He takes a human or any other form to protect the good, quell adharma, establish dharma, and restoreorder in the universe. His empathy for the jivatmas is clearwhen He chooses a human form to live among them and byexample teaches them many lessons for life and salvation,pointed out Sri Krishnamurthy Sastrigal in a lecture.

For instance, in the Ayodhya Kanda, much valuable advice and guidance for those who wallow in sorrow is embedded in Rama’s wailing about the life of solitude in store forHim. The truth, that all are born in this samsara to expiatefor their past karma, good and bad, is explained when Ramaanalyses Kausalya’s state.

Rama feels for Kausalya on whom He has infl�icted endlesssorrow. At a time when she has to be looked after by her sonwhom she had nurtured since birth, she now only faces thepangs of separation. Even the pet myna which Kausalyarears would be more aff�ectionate and kind than Him. Beingchildless would have been a better option than bringingforth such an unfortunate son as Him.

He attributes Kausalya’s mental anguish to some pastdeeds of hers that are now bearing fruit. Maybe in her previous births she must have been the cause of separatingmother from son. The eff�ects of past actions are felt as joyand sorrow by all in the course of time. There is no escapefrom this bond of karma. He then proclaims that if He wishes He can win over Ayodhya singlehandedly and becomethe ruler. But Rama restricts Himself since it is the path ofadharma and will lead to further sin.

FAITH

Bond of karma

Vaccination is an ongoingand dynamic process, andtherefore, a fi�xed timelinecannot be given for the completion of the COVID19 immunisation drive, but thoseabove 18 years of age are expected to be vaccinated byDecember 2021, the HealthMinistry informed the LokSabha on Friday in a writtenreply.

Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi was one of twoMPs who had asked if alladults would be fully vaccinated by December 2021,sought information on theavailability of vaccines, andother related questions. Trinamool Congress’s Mala Roywas the other MP with thesame queries.

The Minister of State forHealth, Bharati Pravin Pa

war, said that between August and December 2021, atotal of 135 crore doses of COVID19 vaccines are expectedto be available, and assertedthat there had been no delayin entering into purchaseagreements with domesticvaccine manufacturers. Ad

vance payments had alsobeen made to manufacturersfor the supply orders placedwith them.

Dr. Pawar also informedthe House that ₹�9,725.15crore had been spent so faron the COVID19 vaccinationprogramme, including on

the procurement of vaccinesand the operational cost forvaccination.

“COVID19 vaccination isan ongoing and dynamicprocess, which is being guided by National Expert Groupon Vaccine Administrationfor COVID19 (NEGVAC) on

the basis of concurrentscientifi�c evidence. In viewof the dynamic and evolvingnature of COVID19 pandemic, no fi�xed timeline at present can be indicated for thecompletion of vaccinationdrive.

However, it is expectedthat benefi�ciaries aged 18years and above will be vaccinated by December 2021,”the Minister stated in herreply.

‘Among the fastest’In a statement laid on the Table of the Lower House,Health Minister MansukhMandaviya noted that as onJuly 20, 2021 a total of 32.64crore persons had receivedat least one dose of the COVID19 vaccine, of which 8.55crore persons had completed the two dose schedule. Headded that as on July 20,2021, a total of 34.83 croredoses had been supplied freeof cost by the Government ofIndia to States/UnionTerritories.

Timeline not fi�xed to vaccinate all: govt.All above 18 arelikely to get the jabby Dec.: Minister


New Delhi

Virus protection: A vaccination drive in progress at a centre in New Delhi. * SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA

The Budget allocation for theNational Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) increased 10times from ₹�33.17 crore in201617 to ₹�333.58 crore in201718, said senior lawyerPrashant Bhushan on Friday.

Mr. Bhushan alleged thatit was the year when the NSOGroup of Israel, which hasdeveloped the Pegasus spyware, was paid hundreds ofcrores for snooping on several eminent individuals’phones.

He tweeted, “In 201617,NSA’s budget was Rs 33.17crs. Next year the budget increased 10x to 333 crores because 300 Crores was addedunder new head 'cyber security R&D'. This is the year

when NSO was paid 100s ofCrs for Cyber hacking ofOpp, Journos, Judges, EC,Activists using Pegasus!Wow”.

By NSA, Mr. Bhushanseems to be referring to theNational Security Advisorwhose Budget comes under

the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS). According to the ExpenditureBudget statements for the relevant years, the allocationfor the NSCS fi�rst shot up 10fold in 201718, but actualspending was less than double the previous year.

Shot up by 13 timesHowever, in the following fi�nancial year, before the May2019 general election, thespending by the NSCS shotup by over 13 times from the201718 levels, to well over₹�800 crore.

The allocation for 201617was indeed ₹�33.17 crore,which was later revised to₹�81.03 crore. However, theactual spending was ₹�39.09crore.

In 201718, the allocationsurged to ₹�333.58 crore, butrevised estimates put thelikely spending at ₹�168 crore.The actual expenditure was₹�61.18 crore.

It was only in 201819 thatthe actual expenditure onthis front shot up signifi�cantly. That year, ₹�303.83 crorewas allocated for meetingthe ‘administrative expenses’. However, revised estimates presented later weremuch higher at ₹�841.73crore.

While the original Budgetallocation was earmarked asrevenue expenditure, as perthe revised estimates, only₹�125.84 crore was for revenue spending, with the balance ₹�715.89 crore refl�ectedas capital expenditure.

Tenfold rise in NSCS budget: BhushanActual spending jumped 13 times to ₹�812 crore in prepoll year 201819, he says

Prashant Bhushan


NEW DELHI

The National InvestigationAgency (NIA) and the Maharashtra government on Friday said there was no needfor the magistrate’s reportinto the factors that led toFather Stan Swamy’s deathto be submitted before theBombay High Court.

Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, for the NIA,told a Division Bench of Justices S.S. Shinde and N.J. Jamadar that since Swamy’sappeal (challenging NIAcourt’s rejection of his bail)

had abated, there was noquestion of having a reportin this appeal.

He argued that every appeal as per the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC)shall abate on the death ofthe accused, provided theappeal was against the sentence or conviction.

Public prosecutor ArunaPai agreed with Mr Singh.

The Bench said, “If theappeal goes, everythinggoes, nothing remains.”

Senior advocate Mihir Desai, for Swamy, told thecourt that he was invokingconstitutional jurisdiction ofthe High Court. He said itmay not be in the strictsense of the appeal, but itwas in supervisoryjurisdiction.

The court told him tosend his written submissions on this and that theywould ponder over it, andadjourned the matter on August 4.

Mr. Desai sought an investigation into the factors thatled to Swamy’s death undersections 176 of the CrPC.

‘No need to submit report onStan Swamy’s death before HC’His appeal hasabated, says NIA counsel


MUMBAI

Stan Swamy

The Editors Guild of India(EGI) on Friday expressedconcern over the IncomeTax raids on the offi�ces ofDainik Bhaskar and BharatSamachar on Thursday.

“They [raids] comeagainst the backdrop of indepth reporting on the pandemic by Dainik Bhaskar,which brought to fore thegross mismanagement bygovernment authorities andthe immense loss of humanlives,” an EGI statementsaid.

“Bharat Samachar, too,has been subjected to raids

by the tax authorities. It isone of the few channels inUttar Pradesh that has beenasking diffi�cult questionsfrom the State governmentwith respect to pandemicmanagement. Notwithstanding the merits of thecase, the timing of theseraids is concerning given therecent critical coverage byboth the organisations,” theEGI said.

“ This is all the more disturbing given the recent media reports on the widespread surveillance of journalists and civil society activists using the Pegasus software,” the statement read.

Editors Guild expressesconcern over IT raids It condemns snooping on journalists


NEW DELHI

In a bid to prevent suicidestriggered by mental healthissues in prisons across thecountry, the National Institute of Mental Health andNeuro Sciences (NIMHANS),Bengaluru, has recommended the “Gatekeeper Model”where selected inmates,trained to identify prisonersat risk of suicide, would referthem to treatment or supportive services.

Acting on the request ofthe Ministry of Home Aff�airs,NIMHANS, an Institute of National Importance, issued aset of guidelines on the man

agement of mental health issues of the prisoners and prison staff�. Referring to theBangalore Prison MentalHealth Study, the advisorypointed to the prevalence ofmental illness and substanceuse disorder in about 80% ofthe prison population.

NIMHANS experts saidprisoners with mental disorders had to be regularly assessed for severity of suicidalrisk and also put on regularand supervised medication.To address the prisoner’smental health needs, thecorrectional facility shouldhave links to communitybased initiatives like the Dis

trict Mental HealthProgramme.

“Buddy system”The advisory said the concept of a ‘Buddy System’ —social support throughtrained prisoners called“buddies” or “listeners” —

was found to have a good impact on the wellbeing of suicidal prisoners. Periodic telephone conversations withfriends and family would also foster support, it said.

These initiatives were partof several other recommendations made by NIMHANS

to eff�ectively manage mentalhealth issues among prisoners and staff�.

Communicating the guidelines to all States, the MHAsaid the COVID19 virus hadposed unique challenges tothe world and prisons andcorrectional facilities werealso aff�ected by the pandemic.

Though appropriate measures were taken by theauthorities to check thespread of the virus in prisons, there was a need tocontinue monitoring the situation rigorously withoutletting the guard down andprovide care to inmates andprison staff�.

Emphasising on the mental health of prisoners, theMinistry said incarcerated

people could face many vulnerabilities during the pandemic, which might impacttheir mental wellbeing. Theprison staff� was also workingunder tremendous pressureand faced challenges in performing their duty while safeguarding themselves fromcontracting the infection.

In Tamil Nadu, DirectorGeneral of Police, Prison &Correctional Services, SunilKumar Singh said 58 mobilephones were purchased forprisoners to make video callsto their family members inlieu of the physical interviewsthat were temporarily suspended in view of thepandemic.

(Assistance for overcomingsuicidal thoughts is availableon the helpline number 104.)

‘Gatekeeper Model’ mooted to prevent suicides in prisons NIMHANS issues guidelines for dealingwith mental health challenges

The MHA said COVID19 posed unique challenges, which hadaff�ected prisons and correctional facilities. * FILE PHOTO

S. Vijay Kumar

CHENNAI

The Karnataka High Courton Friday quashed the notice issued to Twitter Indiamanaging director ManishMaheshwari by the Uttar Pradesh police seeking his personal appearance as part ofits probe into a communallysensitive video uploaded bya user on Twitter platform,saying it was mala fi�de.

The single Bench of Justice G. Narendar said that thenotice under Section 41(A) ofthe CrPC should be treatedas under Section 160 ofCrPC, allowing Ghaziabadpolice to question Mr. Maheshwari through virtualmode, at his offi�ce or his residential address inBengaluru.

Maintaining that the provisions of the statute underSection 41(A) CrPC shouldnot be permitted to become“tools of harassment”, Jus

tice Narendar said Ghaziabad police did not place anymaterial which would demonstrate even the prima facie involvement of the petitioner, though the hearinghas been going on for thepast several days.

“In the background of thefact that Section 41(a) noticewas issued by mala fi�de, thewrit petition (fi�led by Maheshwari seeking quashing)is maintainable. Accordingly, the notice under sectionAnnexure A notice shall beread as Section 160 of theCrPC,” the court said.

“The action of the respondent (Ghaziabad police) trying to invoke section 41(A) ofthe CrPC gives no doubt inthe mind of court that thesame has been resorted to asan armtwisting method asthe petitioner refused toheed to the notice underSection 160 of the CrPC,” thecourt observed.

HC quashes noticeto Twitter India MDPolice sought personal appearance

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

BengaluruIndia will focus on implementing its “ambitiousplans” through concreteactions domestically aswell as globally via collaborations, such as the International Solar Alliance andthe Coalition of DisasterResilient Infrastructure,said Bhupender Yadav, Environment Minister, on theconcluding day of the G20Energy and Climate JointMinisterial Meeting held onFriday at Naples, Italy.

He attended the eventvirtually, leading an Indiandelegation that includedrepresentatives from theEnvironment Ministry aswell as from the PowerMinistry.

According to a statement from the Press Information Bureau, the Minister stressed that commonbut diff�erentiated responsibilities to combat climatechange, “as per respectivecapabilities and nationalcircumstances” were at theheart of the United NationsFramework Convention onClimate Change, and theParis Agreement.

“We should not be shifting goalposts and settingnew benchmarks for globalclimate ambition,” Mr. Yadav said.

He added that underPrime Minister NarendraModi, India had exhibitedexemplary resolve byachieving its pre2020 voluntary commitment of reducing emission intensity.

The G20 climate meeting is seen as a prelude tothe United Nations Conference of Parties meeting inGlasgow, Scotland inNovember.

Mr. Yadav stated that India remains steadfast in itscommitments to join andlead eff�orts to combat climate change within themultilaterally agreed convention and its ParisAgreement.

Committed toclimate actionplan: Ministerspecial correspondent

New Delhi

The last year has been quitetransformative for India’straditional artists. As exhibitionsgot cancelled and inventoriesbegan piling up, they startedlooking at alternative ways tomake a living. Pattachitra masks,Madhubani wall panels depictingscenes from the pandemic, and thelike began popping up on estoresand timelines. Brands, too, begandoing their bit to help get themvisibility.

The latest champion is TaruNaturals. The grassrootsmovement that connects 10,000smallscale farmers to markets hasjust launched its organic D2C(direct to consumer) brand — thinkstonemilled fl�our, readytoeatbreakfast foods, indigenous grains,and more. What sets it apart,however, is its packaging featuringGond art.

Developed by Saurav Roy,founder of Goabased Roy Studio,the vibrant artwork — byrenowned artists such as Gati Rita,Suresh Kumar and Mukesh Varia —not only showcases the story ofthe farming community but pushesthe Studio’s ongoing eff�orts to“recontextualise how design andcraft can come together”.

The packaging also features theartist’s name and where one canget in touch with them.

Gond art onquinoa packs

India’s traditional artistsare getting a new canvas

Talking pointTokyo 2020: The Olympics is underway and you can catch

the action on SonyLIV. The OTT platform is hosting 20 live

streams, in Hindi, English, Tamil and Telugu (download the

app for iOS and Android). Now there’s no excuse to miss

Chennai sailor Nethra Kumanan hit the waves, catch

Jaipur’s air rifle favourite, Avani Lekhara, in action at the

Paralympics, or watch 13yearold English girl Sky Brown

conquer the skatepark.

Hello, shopping

American cosmetics company,

Anastasia Beverly Hills, is

opening its first standalone

store in India, in Noida, by the

end of the month. But if you

can’t travel, don’t worry. Shop

brow pomades, eyeshadow

palettes, mascaras, and more

on Nykaa, which recently rolled

out the brand’s products in the

₹�1,200₹�6,000 price range.

Meanwhile, Chumbak has

launched the Squad

Smartwatch that monitors

blood oxygen levels, menstrual

cycle, steps, and sports.

Available in six designs; at

chumbak.com; ₹�4995.

Pick ofthe weekVirtual tours, workshops,

and other events you just

can’t miss

Refills for the win

Here’s some good news for

those looking for plastic

packaging alternatives.

Mumbai’s Reliance Smart Acme

Mall is now home to a Unilever

pilot project: the instore

vending model, Smart Fill. Set

up in partnership with Reliance

Retail, the initiative helps

customers get a refill of their

homecare products — for

brands such as Surf Excel, Vim

and Comfort — rather than

purchase a new packet. As

added incentive: consumers can

get ₹�30 off on the MRP if they

get their own bottle and ₹�15 off

if they buy the Smart Fill bottle.

LV for your ears

Thanos would love to steal this

one! Looking like it would fit

perfectly into the Marvel

multiverse, Louis Vuitton’s new

portable Horizon Light Up

Speaker is futuristic and

fashionable. Inspired by the

Toupie handbag, the latest

addition to the luxury brand’s

collection of connected

products incorporates glass,

stainless steel, and leather, 35

LEDs, threeinch subwoofers,

two 0.75inch tweeters, and up

to 15 hours of playback — all for

the whopping price tag of

approx ₹�2,15,200. Out end of

August. eu.louisvuitton.com

Nature diaries

A world without seeds; it’s a

scary thought. This dystopian

idea, pegged on a reallife

incident — of cotton farmers

from Odisha’s Bhimdanga

village — had formed the

backbone of Bijal Vachharajani’s

2018 book, The Seed Savers.

Now, Mumbaibased Repertory

Theatre is turning the tale

about how the villagers came

together to open a seed bank

into a onehour shadow theatre

show and workshop. This

Sunday, at 4.30 pm, for children

between six and 12 years.

Tickets at ₹�349.

in.bookmyshow.com

Right of admission

What happens when four

estranged college friends

reunite on Zoom during the

pandemic and then decide to

stay in touch? That’s what

standup comedian and writer

Anuvab Pal explores in

Admission. Starring actors

Kunaal Roy Kapur, Tillotama

Shome, Rasika Dugal and Noah

Lucé, the 55minute play is

directed by Rohan Sippy.

Bookings are open now (tickets

from ₹�199 onwards), and the

show, which opens on July 31 at

6.30 pm, will be available for

streaming for 24 hours on

in.bookmyshow.com

This city is full of irresponsible people. It makes me furious. Look atthat stupid couple having a party,without even inviting me?

Yesterday, I entered the lift andeveryone inside rushed out. Howdo they expect us to spread cheer ifpeople are taking social distancingto this degree? Of course, I had notworn my mask (it was a oneminutelift ride, after all — what can spreadin one minute?). And then again,when was the last time they saw someone’s dazzling smile? (Lipstickshade Scandalous Ruby, in caseyou’re interested.) I mean, what’sthe point of sending forwards thatsay ‘Keep Calm and Smile’ if no onecan see that smile, and they are doing the opposite of keeping calm bystampeding over each other toavoid me and my Scandalous smile?

I was the fi�rst to get my vaccineshot when they started it for seniorcitizens. Of course, you know Idon’t appear remotely senior. I hadto just fl�ash my Aadhaar card, andcan go back to being late30s now. Imade my husband’s driver (who is asenior citizen — I am honest thatway) stand in the queue for threehours for my slot. The embarrassment! I saw a neighbour and beforeshe opened her mouth, I pushed anold woman along, pretending I wasthere only to help my senior citizenaunt. My ‘aunt’ turned around andsmacked my hand. My mean neighbour is now sending me ads for retirement homes and yoga for ageing bones.

I shared my picture across socialmedia. I put a fl�ag emoji on the armon which I got my vaccine. I havecomorbidities, I explained, eventhough I am in my late 30s. I had to

make up some of the lesser comorbidities to not appear both old andsick.

Look at people thronging markets, to buy essential goods. When Ithrew a Covid party, I made sureeveryone arrived at 10minute intervals. No one ever saw crowds en

tering or leaving my house — I wassuper responsible like that. Thebuilding security said someonecomplained about the noise, and Isaid I was only watching TV. I amslightly deaf, I explained — it is oneof my comorbidities.

They even tried to stop my maids

from coming in. Themaids are at risk fromtravelling, they said.Am I to now clean myown house? After theparty that I (never)threw? I am throwingcrying fi�ts at thethought. Is that howyou people want tospread cheer?

Whenever someonesends me a link to donate for the Covidunemployed, I tell them Iam tirelessly supportingthe economy. I spenddays onlineshopping fordesigner clothes, but

where to wear them?Really! I even started a donation

drive for myself and my comorbidities. I am breaking my back beingresponsible, I said. No one has donated a single paisa. Irresponsiblepeople.

Where Jane De Suza, the author of HappilyNever After, talks about the week’s quirks,quacks and hacks

*SR

EE

JIT

H R

KU

MA

R

yoursHow can we keep sane if we can’tfl�ash ruby smiles or throw parties?

Yarn it!

Irresponsibly

Jane De Suza

CMYK

A ND-NDE


THE HINDU DELHI


SHOWCASE

Never Have I Ever, as a show, hasdeeply divided South Asian audiencesin its portrayal of an Indian transplantfamily in California, with the kidsstriving for western modernity and theelders clutching tightly on totraditions. One half of audiences claimthe show is hyperbolic andunrelatable, while the other praisesthe portrayal of the struggle of theSouth Asian diaspora in the UnitedStates.

The Netfl�ix series, narrated by John

McEnroe and written by Mindy Kalingand Lang Fisher, follows DeviVishwakumar (MaitreyiRamakrishnan), a straightA studentat a Sherman Oaks high school inCalifornia. She lives with herwidowed mother, Dr NaliniVishwakumar (Poorna Jagannathan),and her pictureperfect cousin,Kamala Nandiawada (RichaMoorjani), a brilliant scientistcompleting her PhD. Season twooff�ers an uplifting take on brownfeminism, where Nalini’smotherinlaw Nirmala (Ranjita

Chakravarty) comes to live withthe family.

Virtual prepThe second season was greenlitduring the pandemic, so thetable reads were all remote.Moorjani, 32, recalls beingnervous about how thevirtual reads would “kill thecreative process and wouldn’tbe that funny”, but then sherealised “it is still performance”and everyone adapted seamlessly.

Whereas Jagannathan, 48, brought a

lot of collaborative energy tothe show’s mission to be asauthentic as possible. “Eventhe plate in which Nalini’smotherinlaw, Nirmala, off�ersfood had to be right. Becauseyou can’t cater during Covid,they had to teach someonehow to make South Indianfood; so eventually 11 disheswere made [includingparuppu],” she says.

The STEM gapMoorjani collaborated with costumedesigner and Kalingconfi�dant, SalvadorPérez Jr, to retainthe essence ofKamala, whilekeeping itprofessional for

her lab sessions. “When she wears ablack leather jacket and goes to put hername on a research paper [omitted bya misogynistic male colleague], as theactor I felt empowered!”

Speaking of labs and commitments,the actor duo is proud to portraystrong women in STEM (Science,Technology, Engineering, andMathematics). “This season, I learnedabout how much women of colour inSTEM go through. It’s a real systemicproblem where their names are takenoff� research papers,” explainsMoorjani.

Video games and short fi�lmsBeyond the quirky Kamala and theeverwitty Nalini, the actors strive toenrich their careers with diff�erentmediums such as video games, shortfi�lms, theatre and dance.

Having voiceacted in Fallout 76 — avideo game by Bethesda — Moorjani iskeen on diving deeper into this richstorytelling medium. She is also inpostproduction for Broken Drawerdirected by Rippin Sindher — a fi�lmloosely inspired by true events about ayoung Sikh mother who was killedwhile working at her familyownedconvenience store in rural California.

Meanwhile, Jagannathan is inpostproduction for I’ll Show YouMine, portraying author Priya Suri. She

had a busy 2020, assumingsupporting roles in AppleTV+’slegaldrama Defending Jacob

opposite Chris Evans, in Netfl�ix’sMessiah, and in HBO’s Big LittleLies.

Season two of Never Have I Ever isnow streaming on Netfl�ix

Scan the QR code towatch theinterview, or visitweekend.thehindu.com forthe full article andvideo

Stills from the show* SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

The modernbrown womanexperience in

AmericaRicha Moorjani and PoornaJagannathan on playing SouthAsian women in STEM inNetfl�ix’s comedy Never Have I

Ever, and why new mediums ofstorytelling matter

This season, Ilearned about howmuch women ofcolour in STEM gothrough. It’s a realsystemic problemwhere their namesare taken off�research papers

Divya Kala Bhavani

South Korea calling

It is BTS vs BTS. The Kpop

group’s latest single,

‘Permission to Dance’, has

beaten their May hit, ‘Butter’,

to nab the no. 1 spot on

Billboard Hot 100. The catchy

tune, cowritten by Ed Sheeran

and with a fiveminute MV, is

an earworm. Meanwhile, if you

are into all things Korean,

head to InKo Centre’s

Annyeong Station — a new

platform for conversations,

exchanges and demonstrations

(last Thursday japchae, the

popular Korean glass noodles

dish, was on the menu).

Details: inkocentre.org

Instapick3D-printed bridge: Amsterdam is checking the innovative

box yet again. It has just unveiled the world’s first

3Dprinted steel bridge, fabricated from 4,500 kg of

stainless steel rods. Designed by artist Joris Laarman, and

built by Dutch robotics company MX3D, the curving

Sshaped structure spans the Oudezijds Achterburgwal in

the city’s Red Light District.

Reading and viewing

A Begum & A Rani: Hazrat

Mahal and Lakshmibai in 1857

captures the different struggles

of the two women who chose

to be a part of India’s first war

of independence. Author

Rudrangshu Mukherjee is the

chancellor and professor of

history at Ashoka University.

Penguin Random House; ₹�699.

See rather than read at

Terrain.art that has a solo

exhibition by emerging

contemporary artist Jayeti

Bhattacharya. Shifting

Coordinates shows the context

of migration in many ways. On

view until July 30.

The dark clouds of the pandemic have a silver lining.People across the countryare breathing life into talents that were perhapsknown just to family andfriends. Certainly, when itcomes to food, a great many men and women havebeen demonstrating howwell they wield a karchhi.

One such talented chef isDipayan Mazumdar, whoused to earlier organiseclassical musical eveningsin the capital. Now he runsBHK or Babo's Home Kitchen (baboshomekitchen.in;phone nos. 9769416232,9810016405).

Always fond of cooking,he took it up professionallylast October once such concerts came to a standstillthanks to the pandemic.The food that he cooks anddelivers is largely Bengali.He picked up the recipesfrom his mother and grandmother, he says.

I ordered some foodfrom BHK last week whentwo friends — one who

loves fi�sh and the otherwho is allergic to it — cameover for dinner. So, to makeboth happy, we asked for avegetarian platter (₹�999 fortwo) and fi�sh combo (₹�750for two). The platter comprised shukto, narkolmung dal, jhingey aloo posto, mochar ghonto, andaamer (mango) chutney.The fi�sh combo consistedof two rotund fi�sh chopsand two large pieces ofmustard fi�sh.

The friends had come

with PotPot’s haleem andnihari, so there was nodearth of meaty dishes. Wehad the fi�sh chops —mashed fi�sh and potatoescrumbed and fried goldenbrown — as starters, andthought they were superb.Shukto, which is a Bengalidish of mixed vegetablescooked in a very lightsauce, was excellent, aswas the coconutfl�avouredmung dal.

The khuskhus (posto)with potatoes and ridge

gourd was the way it iscooked at home — light, yettasty. The fi�shloving friendenjoyed the katla cooked ina sharply fl�avoured shorshe(mustard) sauce. The chutney was delicious — hot,sweet and sour. The mocha(banana fl�orets) didn’t appeal to me much, but all inall, we had a great meal.

BHK’s most popular dishes include Kolkata bhetkifi�sh fry or cutlet: fi�llet marinated in lime and garlic,dipped in beaten egg andfried. Deliciously crisp, ithas a minty fl�avour that Ienjoyed.

It is also known for itsbreakfast fare of koraishutir kochuri — puris stuff�edwith mashed and mildlyspiced, hingfl�avoured peas— and baby potatoes coatedwith asafoetida (hing). Ihad a bit of BHK’s shorsheyilish (hilsa in mustard) thenext day for lunch, andfound both the fi�sh andpreparation exceptionallygood. A good chef has toknow his fi�sh (or fi�shmonger!) well, too.

Next week it off�ers,along with other favourites,something called prawnpouri, fried prawns andprawn malaikari (₹�750 fortwo).

HBK only takes preorders and has limited slots.“Our goal is to help peoplediscover Bengali cuisine,”Mazumdar says. I hope thekitchen continues post COVID19, too. Food with music will be a good combo.

The writer is a seasoned foodcritic

FOOD SPOT

A Bengalikitchen comesalive in Delhi

An organiser of musicalshows turned chef during

the pandemic with Babo's Home Kitchen

rahul verma

(clockwise from left)Vegetable platter withfi�sh combo; Bhetki fry;shorshe ilish

* SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

CMYK

A ND-NDE


DELHI THE HINDU


SHOWCASE

Conservative is not a word you’d callSukki Menon. But surprisingly, the 31yearold — born to a SingaporeanMalayalee father and an English mother— hails from a hyper traditional family. And she’s thankful for it.

Sukki Singapora (as she is knownto her fans and critics) is a burlesquedancer striving for Asian representation and women’s empowermentthrough her performing art. She is also a Netfl�ix star, who shot to prominence after appearing on the popular2019 docuseries, Singapore Social,which has since lead to movie off�ersand invites to Oscar parties. “Had my

parents fully supported me [growing up], would I be as impas

sioned as I am?” she wondersout aloud, over a morning callfrom London. “Would I have

had the angst, the fi�re in my belly,to take on a whole country, to tra

vel the world and fi�ght to makea diff�erence for other younggirls?”

Because fi�ght she did. First,she successfully campaignedfor burlesque to be seen as alegitimate art form in Singapore. And now she’s her taking

Sukki Menon ina fi�vemetrewig at EltonJohn’s 2020Oscar party,and (left) withthe students ofa school inKerala

* @SUKKIMENON

calling card of entertainer, feminist,activist and humanitarian across theworld, to make inroads for brownperformers. Perhaps why she isn’ttoo chuff�ed about being called Asia’sDita Von Teese. “It is a compliment,of course; Dita is a queen. However, Ido think as Asian artists we need tostop saying we’re the Asian version ofsomething western. It’s an antiquated statement that somehow lessensus and our achievements to a subversive colonial thinking,” she says. “It’slike saying Shah Rukh Khan is the Indian George Clooney. No, GeorgeClooney is like the western SRK!”

Taboo breakerBurlesque may be viewed with prejudice by the majority, but it resonated with Sukki because it celebratedfemale sensuality, something thatwas seen as taboo in her childhood.“There are many misconceptionsabout the art form, such as it is a seedy activity in a night club with mencrowded around. But it could not befarther from the truth. My shows areheld in theatres around the world,and 80% of my audience is female.”

To the staunch feminist — who believes that feminism is another wordfor human rights — burlesque is allabout women taking charge, of theirbodies, their choices. “I think thatwhen a woman follows her heart andbuilds a career, she becomes an inspiration to other women. And whileit is diffi�cult when you are the fi�rst atanything, because you are inevitablyalone, creating that role model forthe next generation is important tome,” she concludes.

Read the full story onweekend.thehindu.co.in

The feminist in

burlesque

Tapping into her rootsMalayalam may not be her strong suit, but Sukki enjoys her visits to

her family home in Annakara (two hours from Thrissur, in Kerala),which she calls very grounding. She was last there in October2019, for her birthday, and, going by Instagram, she had a blast

hanging out with her cousins, and making time for cows, herperfectly coiff�ed rainbow hair in place. She also gave a talk at the

local school about being brave and following one’s heart. Withplans to visit this December, Covid permitting, she hopes to makea bigger splash. “Brace yourself. I plan to bring burlesque there.”

How Sukki ‘Singapora’Menon is taking her

burlesque moves andfeminist views to a

larger platform

*D

AN

IEL R

OB

ER

TS

Surya Praphulla Kumar

In April this year, Bengalurubasedcomposer Sanjay Sugumaran lost hisfather to the second wave. While mostturn to art when coping with tragedy,artistes like Sugumaran have channelled their grief into their music. Hechose rap to pay homage, and released the multilingual track, ‘Survive’, on YouTube a month later. Likehis other counterparts, 27yearoldhoped his song brought people together with its message of hope, withlines like ‘I will stand, no matter what/ I will fi�ght no matter what / I willlove, no matter what / Survive, nomatter what.’

“My father had taken a loan andbought me my fi�rst keyboard andwithout him, I wouldn’t have been themusician that I am today,” says therapper, who collaborated with singerJohn Mozart and rapper Joshua

Kirubagaran.Since the pandemic also robbed

those in mourning the chance to bidfarewell to their loved ones with agathering of friends and family at a

funeral, making music was especiallyhealing for artistes. Last year, TV actor Siddhant Karnick saw his father,an ex army man, fi�ght Covid19 and fi�nally succumb to it.

“Writing my thoughts downwas the only way to makesense of the senseless,” saysNashikbased Karnick on howthe lyrics of ‘Best Before’ — released on Father’s Day ( June 20)this year — came to be.

Phone calls and CT scansSugumaran explains how he beganmaking notes for the song (also available on Spotify) right from the time hisfather was hospitalised. He recreateda phone conversation that he had withhis father, and the video for the composition as well as the artwork is animage of his father’s last CT scan.

On the otherhand, Karnick’s‘Best Before’,available on Ama

zon Music, is surprisingly buoyant for

a track about loss. “I wanted to use the prin

ciple of playing against the dialogue,which is a popular technique used intheatre. It’s where, for example, thedarker dialogues are delivered by thevillain with a sense of comic timing,”explains Karnick, who approachedPunebased producer Gandhaar Aminto compose it.

“I expected them [the lyrics] to bemore about the incident, but Siddhantturned it around into something positive,” says Amin. “Siddhant is someone who is always on the go, so I wanted the song to refl�ect that.”

Unexpected death, combined withthe inability to spend enough time

with Covid patients during their lastdays, has left loved ones with unprecedented grief. “My uncle was the pillar ofmy family. He was my father fi�gure andnow that he’s gone, I feel so lost,” saysGoabased Allister Martins, 26, of hismaternal uncle who passed away earlier this year due to Covidrelated complications.

Martins, who wrote the song ‘Without You’ the day his uncle passed away,has refl�ected on how those who areclosest to the deceased deal with thesituation. “His wife and he were highschool sweethearts. So the lyrics arepartly what I think and partly whatcould have been going on in my aunt’smind,” says Martins, who also directedand shot the video (on YouTube, Spotify), which came out in June, on hisphone. ‘You told me you’ll be there / Tillwe’re old and have grey hair / Now I’msitting all alone in your chair,’ are linesthat he wrote to depict his aunt’semotions.

Finding a sense of communityMusic has been a cathartic experiencenot just for the artistes, but for listenersas well. “The most touching messagewas from a friend I had reached out towork with on a lyric video. I had senthim the audio and the lyrics and, in response, I found out that he had lost hisfather a week ago and that the song hadhelped give him a sense of closure,”says singersongwriter Abhilash LRfrom Mumbai. His composition ‘Reminiscing’, that released on YouTube, isdedicated to his grandmother whopassed away before the pandemic.

Besides supporting the bereaved,these songs have also created a sense ofcommunity. “The pandemic has shownus that we’re all in this together,” saysvocalist Sharoni Poddar of Kolkataband, The Miliputs. The fi�vememberband recently released ‘Bhule JawaBlues’, an indie blues song in Bengali(also on YouTube).

“Whether it’s about losing a personeternally or having to let go of someonebecause of the physical distance duringthe lockdown, our new release is allabout the memories that haunt uswhen someone moves on,” concludesPoddar.

The writer is the former editor ofRolling Stone India and teaches journalism at FLAME University.

How grievingmusicians acrossthe country arekeeping thememories ofloved ones,especially dads,alive through their art

(Clockwise fromabove) SiddhantKarnick, albumartwork, Abhilash LR,a still from ‘Without

You’, Allister Martinsand Karnick’s album

The pandemic has shown

us that we’re all in this

together

Sharoni Poddar, vocalist, The Miliputs

Saying goodbye:

songs of lossLalitha Suhasini

CMYK

A ND-NDE

WORLDEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

THE HINDU DELHI


China’s President Xi Jinpingthis week became the fi�rstChinese leader in manyyears to visit Tibet as well asits southeastern border region with India, as he inspected a newly opened andstrategically important railway line.

The offi�cial Xinhua newsagency reported on FridayMr. Xi arrived in Tibet onWednesday on a threedayvisit, landing at the airport inNyingchi, which is locatedless than 20 km from the border with India's ArunachalPradesh. The Xinhua reportsaid Mr. Xi drove to theNyang river bridge to inspectthe Yarlung Zangbo river, orBrahmaputra river — theNyang is its second largesttributary. He also visited Nyingchi town and its railwaystation to inspect the newlybuilt SichuanTibet railway.

This is Mr. Xi’s fi�rst visit tothe Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) since taking overas the General Secretary ofthe Communist Party of China in 2012. He had visited in2011 when he was VicePresident. That visit was to markthe 60th anniversary of whatthe Communist Party calls“the peaceful liberation of

Tibet”, and this week’s tripwas timed to mark the 70thanniversary.

The Seventeen PointAgreement was signed onMay 23, 1951. China refers tothe agreement as heraldingwhat it calls “the peacefulliberation of Tibet”. Theagreement has been rejectedby the Dalai Lama, who hassaid the Communist Partyhad both forced it on Tibetand subsequently violated itscommitments, leading himto eventually fl�ee to India inexile in 1959.

From Nyingchi, Mr. Xi travelled to Lhasa, where he visited the Potala Palace — thetraditional home of the DalaiLamas — and Drepung mo

nastery. He called on monksthere “to support the leadership of the Communist Partyof China” and “maintain theunity of the motherland”. Hesaid the Communist Partywould “actively guide the development of Tibetan Buddhism”, part of a broader effort to promote what theParty calls the “Sinicisation”of Tibetan Buddhism with anemphasis on patriotism andensuring Beijing’s authorityon the appointment of lamasand key religious fi�gures.

Military ideologyMr. Xi on Friday, the last dayof the trip, met with soldiersof the Tibet Military Command of the People’s Libera

tion Army, state media reported, calling on them to“implement the Party’s military ideology in the new era”and to “comprehensivelystrengthen training andpreparation work”.

Developing connectivityto border areas was a particular focus of the visit, evident in the visit to Nyingchi,which assumed particularsignifi�cance coming a monthafter China started operatingthe fi�rst bullet train line in Tibet, linking Lhasa to Nyingchi near the border with Arunachal Pradesh. The ChinaState Railway Group said the435km line, on which construction began in 2014, hasa designed speed of 160 kmper hour and would connectthe capital city of the TibetAutonomous Region to theborder city of Nyingchi witha travel time of three and ahalf hours.

The LhasaNyingchi rail isone among several major infrastructure projects recently completed in Tibet’ssouthern and southeasterncounties near the Arunachalborder. Last month, Chinacompleted construction of astrategically signifi�cant highway through the Grand Canyon of the Yarlung Zangboriver, the “second signifi�cant

passageway” to Medog county that borders Arunachal.

The LhasaNyingchi rail isone section of the SichuanTibet railway line connectingthe two provincial capitals, astrategic project describedby the Chinese leader as “amajor step in safeguardingnational unity and a signifi�cant move in promoting economic and social development of the western region.”This will be the second railway line connecting Tibet tothe hinterland, following thealready open QinghaiTibetrail.

The fi�rst section of thenew line, from Chengdu, theprovincial capital of Sichuan,to Yaan, was fi�nished in December 2018, while work onthe 1,011 km YaanNyingchiline will compete the entirerailway line by 2030. ZhuWeiqun, a senior Party offi�cial formerly in charge of Tibet policy, was quoted as saying by state media therailway will help "transportadvanced equipment andtechnologies from the rest ofChina to Tibet and bring local products out”. “If a scenario of a crisis happens atthe border,” he said, "the railway can act as a 'fast track'for the delivery of strategicmaterials.”

Xi visits Tibet, fi�rst trip by leader in yearsHe landed in Nyingchi, which is located 20 km from the border with Arunachal Pradesh

Ananth Krishnan

Strategic move: Xi Jinping visiting the Drepung Monastery inthe western suburbs of Lhasa on Thursday. * AP

The Taliban on Friday saidthey don’t want to monopolise power, but insisted therewon’t be peace in Afghanistan until there is a new negotiated government in Kabuland President Ashraf Ghaniis removed.

In an interview with theAssociated Press, Talibanspokesman, Suhail Shaheen,also a member of the group’snegotiating team, laid outthe insurgents’ stance onwhat should come next in acountry on the precipice.

The Taliban have captured territory in recentweeks, seized border crossings and are threatening anumber of provincial capitals, as U.S. and NATO soldiers leave Afghanistan. Thisweek, the top U.S. militaryoffi�cer, General Mark Milley,said that the Taliban have“strategic momentum,” andhe did not rule out a complete Taliban takeover. Buthe said it is not inevitable. “Idon’t think the end game isyet written,” he said.

Afghans who can aff�ord itare applying by the thousands for visas to leave Af

ghanistan, fearing a violentdescent into chaos. The U.S.NATO withdrawal is morethan 95% complete.

Shaheen said the Talibanwill lay down their weaponswhen a negotiated government acceptable to all sidesin the confl�ict is installed inKabul and Mr. Ghani’s government is gone.

“I want to make it clearthat we do not believe in themonopoly of power becauseany governments who(sought) to monopolise power in Afghanistan in the past,were not successful governments,” said Shaheen, apparently including the Taliban’s own fi�veyear rule inthat assessment.

“So we do not want to re

peat that same formula.”But he was also uncom

promising on the continuedrule of Mr. Ghani, callinghim a war monger and accusing him of using his Tuesday speech on the Islamicholy day of IdalAdha topromise an off�ensive againstthe Taliban. Shaheen dismissed Mr. Ghani’s right to govern, resurrecting allegationsof widespread fraud that surrounded Mr. Ghani’s 2019election win.

After that vote, both Mr.Ghani and his rival AbdullahAbdullah declared themselves President. After acompromise deal, Mr. Abdullah is now No. 2 in the government and heads the reconciliation council.

‘Will lay down arms when govt. acceptable to all is formed’

Associated Press

Islamabad

Ashraf Ghani

For peace deal, Taliban sayAfghan President must go

Ice creams hardly play a rolein international confl�icts.But the U.S.based ice creambrand Ben & Jerry’s decisionto stop selling its products tothe Jewish settlements in theIsraelioccupied Palestinianterritories of East Jerusalemand West Bank has triggeredan uproar in Israel, whichhas taken the battle againstthe brand to its parent company and 35 AmericanStates. Israel Prime MinisterNaftali Bennett has warnedUnilever, the Londonbasedparent company, of “severeconsequences” over its subsidiary’s decision.

‘Values’ over profi�t In its July 19 statement, Benand Jerry’s, known for taking up progressive causessuch as Black Lives Matter,said the sales of its productsin the occupied Palestinianterritories was “inconsistentwith our values”.

Israel seized the WestBank and East Jerusalem inthe 1967 war and has promoted Jewish settlements inthe territories since the1970s. Currently, there areabout 140 Israeli settlementsin the West Bank and East Jerusalem where more than6,00,000 Jews live.

Ben & Jerry’s, founded inthe 1970s by two Americanhippies, operates in Israelthrough a licensee, Ben &Jerry’s Israel, which makesand distributes its productsin Israel and the occupiedterritories.

“We have informed our licensee that we will not renew the license agreementwhen it expires at the end ofnext year,” the companysaid. It added that it wouldseek another arrangement

to sell its ice creams withinthe internationally acceptedborders of Israel.

The Palestine SolidarityCampaign, an activist groupbased in the U.K. that promotes boycotting Israeligoods, has welcomed Ben &Jerry’s decision. “This isHuge. Very important stepby Ben & Jerry’s and a message to all complicit companies. The tide of history isturning. #BDS,” the PSCtweeted on Monday.

Activists who support theBoycott Divestment andSanctions (BDS) movementhas been campaigning for ayears for economic measures to put pressure on Israel to change its policies regarding settlements andoccupation.

Unilever’s position Unilever, the British multinational, acquired Ben & Jerry’s in 2000 for $326 millionin an unusual agreementthat allowed the brand tokeep an independent boardwith the right to make decisions on its social missionsand brand integrity. The decision to end sales to the Jewish settlements came fromthe Board.

In a statement, Unileversaid: “Ben & Jerry’s was acquired by Unilever in 2000.As part of the acquisitionagreement, we have alwaysrecognised the right of the

brand and its independentBoard to take decisionsabout its social mission. Wealso welcome the fact thatBen & Jerry’s will stay in Israel.”

There were signs of tensions between the parentcompany and the independent board of Ben & Jerry’s.Anuradha Mittal, the Board’schair, told NBC that Unileverissued the statement againstthe wishes of the Board.

Israel’s response Gilad Erdan, Israel’s Ambassador in Washington, haswritten to each of the 35 Governors of American Statesthat have passed lawsagainst BDS, urging them tosanction the ice creambrand.

In the letter, a copy ofwhich was posted on Twitter, Ambassador Erdanwrote Ben & Jerry’s decisionamounted to “defacto adoption of antiSemitic practicesand the delegitimization ofthe Jewish state”.

In 2018, Airbnb announced it would removelistings on its website in theJewish settlements in Palestine, but reversed the decision a few months later afterhaving come under enormous pressure from Israeland a lawsuit in a federalU.S. court.

This time too, Israel isleaving no chance behind tomount economic and legalpressure on Ben and Jerry’sand Unilever to undo the decision.

The challenge Israel facesis that if Ben and Jerry’ssticks to its decision in solidarity with the Palestinians,it could set a successful precedent for other corporations and give a boost to theBDS movement.

‘Sales in occupied territories is inconsistent with our values’

Stanly Johny

A Ben & Jerry's ice creamtruck outside the factoryin Be'er Tuvia. * AFP

Ben & Jerry’s angers Israelby boycotting settlements

The U.S. imposed sanctionson Cuba’s Defense Ministerand a special forces unit onThursday for repressingpeaceful protests, a stepPresident Joe Biden warnedis “just the beginning” ofmeasures against Havana.

The U.S. Treasury Department said its Offi�ce ofForeign Assets Control frozethe assets of Alvaro LopezMiera and the Special National Brigade (SNB), a divi

sion of Cuba’s Interior Ministry, in relation to humanrights abuses committedduring a crackdown on protests earlier in July. “This isjust the beginning — the U.S.will continue to sanction individuals responsible for oppression of the Cuban people,” Mr. Biden said.

The sanctions were imposed under the Magnitskyact, which allows a U.S. president to take action againsthuman rights abuses andcorruption.

U.S. sanctions Cuba overcrackdown on protestsMore measures to come, warns Biden

Agence France-Presse

Washington

Pakistan on Friday voiced‘serious concern’ over media reports about India allegedly eavesdropping onforeigners, including PrimeMinister Imran Khan, usingIsraeli spyware Pegasus andurged the UN to thoroughlyinvestigate the matter.

According to reports, Mr.Khan was a potential targetof the Israelimade Pegasusspyware programme byclients of the NSO Group cy

berespionage fi�rm.The Foreign Offi�ce (FO)

through a statement responded to the media queries related to India’s allegeduse of the Israeli spyware.

“We have noted with serious concern recent international media reports exposing Indian government’sorganised spying operationsagainst its own citizens, foreigners as well as Prime Minister Imran Khan, using anIsraeli origin spyware,” theForeign Offi�ce said.

Pak. raises ‘concern’ overreports of spyware usePM Imran Khan was allegedly targeted


Islamabad

Unfazed by Republicanthreats of a boycott, HouseSpeaker Nancy Pelosi declared that a congressionalcommittee investigating theJanuary 6 Capitol insurrection will take on its “deadlyserious” work whether Republicans participate or not.

The Republicans’ Houseleader, Kevin McCarthy,called the committee a“sham process” and suggest

ed that GOP lawmakers whotake part could face consequences. Mr. McCarthy saidMs. Pelosi’s rejection of twoof the Republicans he had attempted to appoint was an“egregious abuse of power.”

The escalating tensionbetween the two parties isemblematic of the partisananger that has only worsened since former President Donald Trump’s supporters laid siege to theCapitol. With most Republi

cans still loyal to Mr. Trump,and many downplaying theseverity of the violent attack, there is little bipartisanunity to be found.

Mr. McCarthy said onWednesday that he wouldwithdraw the names of allfi�ve Republicans he had appointed after Ms. Pelosi rejected two of them. Ms. Pelosi made clear that she won’trelent, and Democratsmulled fi�lling the emptyseats themselves.

Pelosi says Capitol probe will goon despite GOP’s boycott plansRepublican leader slams her for rejection of 2 party nominees

Associated Press

Washington

China said on Friday that ithas imposed countersanctions on U.S. individuals,including former U.S. Commerce Secretary WilburRoss, in response to U.S.sanctions on Chinese offi�cials in Hong Kong.

The sanctions are thefi�rst imposed by China under new antiforeign sanction law, and come days before U.S. Deputy Secretaryof State Wendy Sherman isdue to visit China.

China imposessanctions onU.S. citizens

Reuters

Beijing

‘Taliban claim of control ofover 90% of border a lie’KABUL

The Taliban's claim to hold

90% of Afghanistan's borders

is an "absolute lie", the

Defence Ministry said on

Friday, insisting government

forces were in control of the

country's frontiers. "It is

baseless propaganda," deputy

spokesman of the Ministry of

Defence Fawad Aman said. AFDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

CMYK

A ND-NDE

BUSINESS

NIFTY 50

PRICE CHANGE

Adani Ports. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 680.05. . . . . . -11.75

Asian Paints. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 3083.75. . . . . . -23.00

Axis Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 755.40. . . . . . . . . 8.65

Bajaj Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 3841.90. . . . . . -11.30

Bajaj Finserv. . . . . . . . . . .. 13201.20. . . . . 136.60

Bajaj Finance . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 6180.90. . . . . . -14.65

Bharti Airtel . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 548.30. . . . . . . . . 1.60

BPCL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 461.35. . . . . . . . . 0.45

Britannia Ind . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 3439.80. . . . . . . 14.50

Cipla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 948.00. . . . . . . . -1.90

Coal India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 144.10. . . . . . . . -0.60

Divis Lab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 4824.75. . . . . . -18.50

Dr Reddys Lab . . . . . . . .. . . . 5422.15. . . . . . . 37.65

Eicher Motors. . . . . . . . .. . . . 2549.65. . . . . . -10.45

Grasim Ind . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1549.50. . . . . . -32.55

HCL Tech. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 994.00. . . . . . . 15.40

HDFC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 2482.50. . . . . . . . -7.80

HDFC Bank. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1442.75. . . . . . . . -5.95

HDFC Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 665.35. . . . . . . . . 3.25

Hero MotoCorp . . . . . .. . . . 2835.00. . . . . . . . -3.25

Hindalco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 391.75. . . . . . . . -1.75

Hind Unilever . . . . . . . . .. . . . 2358.10. . . . . . -20.05

ICICI Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 676.65. . . . . . . 20.70

IndusInd Bank . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 989.30. . . . . . . . -2.85

Infosys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1590.45. . . . . . . . . 0.25

Indian OilCorp . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 106.00. . . . . . . . -0.70

ITC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 212.40. . . . . . . . . 5.40

JSW Steel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 717.55. . . . . . . . . 1.00

Kotak Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1722.95. . . . . . . 15.75

L&T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1611.75. . . . . . -30.40

M&M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 764.20. . . . . . . . . 5.75

Maruti Suzuki . . . . . . . . .. . . . 7293.85. . . . . . . . -5.70

Nestle India Ltd. . . . .. 18143.95. . . . . 149.15

NTPC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 118.50. . . . . . . . -0.70

ONGC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 115.30. . . . . . . . -0.20

PowerGrid Corp . . . . .. . . . . . 233.00. . . . . . . . -0.25

Reliance Ind . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 2105.70. . . . . . -15.00

SBI Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1050.45. . . . . . . 24.45

State Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 428.90. . . . . . . . . 6.85

Shree Cement . . . . . . . .. 27986.40. . . . . . -93.60

Sun Pharma . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 694.00. . . . . . . . . 6.70

Tata Consumer

Products Ltd. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 775.15. . . . . . . 10.95

Tata Motors . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 295.55. . . . . . . . -7.00

Tata Steel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1281.40. . . . . . . . . 8.40

TCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 3212.85. . . . . . . . -3.50

Tech Mahindra . . . . . . .. . . . 1131.00. . . . . . -17.60

Titan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1700.95. . . . . . . . -0.80

UltraTech Cement. .. . . . 7490.30. . . . . . . 31.30

UPL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 819.70. . . . . . . . -8.30

Wipro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 599.15. . . . . . . 14.95

EXCHANGE RATESIndicative direct rates in rupees a unitexcept yen at 4 p.m. on July 23

CURRENCY TT BUY TT SELL

US Dollar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 74.20. . . . . . . 74.52

Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 87.32. . . . . . . 87.70

British Pound. . . . . . . . . . . . .101.95. . . . 102.40

Japanese Yen (100) . .. . 67.18. . . . . . . 67.48

Chinese Yuan . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 11.45. . . . . . . 11.51

Swiss Franc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 80.57. . . . . . . 80.92

Singapore Dollar . . . . . . .. . 54.57. . . . . . . 54.82

Canadian Dollar. . . . . . . . .. . 59.05. . . . . . . 59.31

Malaysian Ringitt . . . . . .. . 17.55. . . . . . . 17.64

Source:Indian Bank

Biocon reported a 44% decline in net profi�t to ₹�84crore for the quarter endedJune on account of losses atan associate fi�rm. Revenuegrew 6% to ₹�1,808 crore.

Profi�t was impacted by ashare of loss in its Bostonbased associate entity Bicara Therapeutics Inc., itsaid. Before including losses incurred by Biscara, thefi�rm had a net profi�t of ₹�142crore. “Biocon has seen astrong 41% yearonyeargrowth in research services and a steady growth inits biosimilars business, reporting a revenue of ₹�758crore, up 10% over thesame period last year” saidKiran Mazumdar Shaw, executive chairperson.

Biocon Q1 netplunges 44%to ₹�84 crore


Bengaluru

TNPL 2021: Star Sports 2(SD & HD), 3.30 p.m. & 7.30p.m.Tokyo 2020: Sony Ten 2, 3 &Sony Six (SD & HD), 5.30 a.m.(Sunday).

TV PICKS

Benzema tests positive,delays start with RealMADRID

Karim Benzema has tested

positive for COVID19 ahead

of preseason training. Real

Madrid, in a statement on

Friday, did not elaborate on

the France forward’s

condition. Benzema, who was

expected to return to Madrid

on Friday, will stay in Lyon

while infected. AP

Mayank, Ishi win titlesGURUGRAM

Top seed Mayank Sharma and

unseeded Ishi Maheshwari

won the boys and girls titles

respectively in the AITA

Championship series under16

tennis tournament at the

Gyaananda School Sportshub

Academy on Friday.The results (finals): Boys: Mayank Sharma btAnahat Mudgil 62, 64; Girls:Ishi Maheshwari bt AditiRawat 16, 62, [104].

The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) has relaxed regulatory restrictions on loans andadvances to bank directorsand their relatives, sixyears after they were announced.

As per the revised guidelines, the threshold limitfor board approval for personal loans granted to directors of other banks hasbeen raised to ₹�5 crore,from ₹�25 lakh.

However, consideringthe sensitivity of the issueand to ensure that directors continue to carry outtheir functions without being infl�uenced by extraneous considerations, thenew threshold would applyonly for grant of ‘personalloans’ and not for businessloans, banking industry offi�cials said.

RBI eases loanrestrictions forbank directors


MUMBAI

Consumer consent forsharing information, limiting fallback liability totimely refund, and aligningsome of the proposedamendments that are currently beyond the scope ofthe Consumer ProtectionAct 2019 with the objectiveof the Act, are some recommendations that NationalAssociation of Softwareand Services Companies(Nasscom) has made on thedraft ecommerce rules.

Its suggestions on proposed changes to the Consumer Protection (eCommerce) Rules focus on“strengthening consumerprotection, ensuring thatobligations are proportionate to underlying risks”.

Tweak draftecom rules,says Nasscom


NEW DELHI

Nonbanking fi�nancialcompany (NBFC) MagmaFincorp Ltd. has been renamed Poonawalla Fincorp Ltd. following the acquisition of controllingstake by the Adar Poonawallaled Rising Sun Holdings in May.

The company had initiated a rebranding exercise, the NBFC said.

Magma is nowPoonawallaFincorpSpecial Correspondent

MUMBAI

Adar Poonawalla


DELHI THE HINDU


market watch

23-07-2021 % CHANGE

Sensex dddddddddddddddddddddd 52,976 ddddddddddddddd0.26

US Dollardddddddddddddddddddd 74.40 ddddddddddddddd0.08

Gold ddddddddddddddddddddddddddd 46,698 ddddddddddddddd0.53

Brent oil ddddddddddddddddddddd 73.77 ddddddddddddddd1.67


SPORTEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed pleas fi�led bytelecom fi�rms includingBharti Airtel and VodafoneIdea for a chance to placegrievances about “arithmetical errors” in their AdjustedGross Revenue (AGR) duesbefore the Department ofTelecommunications (DoT).

The telcos had sought anopportunity to correct mistakes in the calculations.

A Special Bench of Justices L. Nageswara Rao, S. Abdul Nazeer and M.R. Shahpronounced the order.

In September 2020, thecourt had ordered that theannual 10% instalments forpayment of AGR dues wouldcommence from April 1,2021, up to March 31, 2031.

“If I have paid ₹�1, only 50paisa is refl�ected... in one

entry, the actual paymentmade is ₹�155 crore, paymentshown in DoT is ₹�153 crore,”senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, for VodafoneIdea,had submitted.

The Bench had howeverreminded the telcos aboutthe express bar imposed onreassessment of AGR dues.

“The Supreme Court hassaid not just once, but twiceand thrice that the amountscannot be recomputed,” theBench said at the hearing.

SC rejects telcos’ plea onAGR ‘arithmetic errors’Bench had cited bar on reassessment

Krishnadas Rajagopal

NEW DELHI

The government’s gross taxcollections may surpass thebudget target for this year,as high taxes on fuels and a‘relatively faster recovery ininternational trade’ havespurred excise and customsduties collections to 30% ofthe fullyear estimate in thefi�rst quarter itself, ratingsagency ICRA said.

Healthy infl�ows in thefi�rst quarter, with overallgross tax revenue at 25.1% ofbudget estimates, indicatedthere was room to reducecesses on petrol and diesel,said Aditi Nayar, chief economist at the agency.

“This would allow monetary policy normalisation tobe postponed, in a bid to

continue to support economic activity in an uncertain growth environment,”she added, stressing that lowering fuel taxes will boostconsumption sentiment andease infl�ationary pressures.

Compared to the preCOVID era, tax infl�ows were39% higher in the fi�rst quarter at ₹�5.6 lakh crore, despite the impact of the second COVID19 wave andcorporation tax, personalincome tax and central GSTreceipts being about 21%22% of their fullyearestimates.

ICRA also noted that GSTcompensation cess collections were ₹�24,600 crore inthe fi�rst quarter, almost 25%of the fullyear estimate of ₹�1lakh crore.

Tax revenues maysurpass target: ICRA‘Will allow room to cut fuel taxes’


NEW DELHI

Rough opening for Aditiin record 18th MajorEVIAN-LES-BAINS (FRANCE)

Indian golfer Aditi Ashok’s

campaign at the Amundi

Evian Championship, her

record 18th Major, was off to

a sluggish start as she shot

4over 75 in the opening

round. Thailand’s Pajaree

Anannarukarn shared the

lead with American Yealimi

Noh on a 65. PTI

IN BRIEF

Reliance Industries Ltd.(RIL) on Friday reportedfi�rstquarter net profi�t rose4.2% to ₹�13,806 crore, ashigher price realisation inthe oil to chemicals (O2C)business helped propel a57% jump in overall revenue.

Revenue surged to₹�1,58,862 crore, from₹�1,00,929 crore a year earlier, aided by a doubling ofrevenue from the Oil & Gasbusiness due to incrementalproduction from KG D6block, and increased revenues from the Jio and Retailunits, RIL said in a release.

“Our company has delivered robust growth despitefacing a highly challengingoperating environment

caused by the second waveof the COVID pandemic,”CMD Mukesh D. Ambani saidin the release. “The results...clearly demonstrate the resilience of Reliance’s diversifi�ed portfolio of businesses

that cater to large parts ofthe consumption basket.”

Jio Platforms Ltd. reported consolidated net profi�trose 44.9% to ₹�3,651 crore asservices revenue increased9.8% to ₹�22,267 crore. The

telecom unit’s customerbase rose to 440.6 million ason June 30. Total data traffi�cjumped 38.5% to 20.3 billionGB during the quarter.

“Jio has posted yet another record quarterly performance with industry leadingoperating metrics,” Mr. Ambani added.

COVID curbs hit retailStating that COVIDrelatedrestrictions had impactedthe Retail unit’s operationsand profi�tability, he said RILremained focused on ensuring supplies through a combination of onlineoffl�inechannels.

“I am confi�dent that theretail business is poised tocreate exponential value andgrowth,” Mr. Ambani said.

RIL net rises 4.2% to ₹�13,806 cr.as refi�ning lifts revenue by 57%Incremental output from KG D6 block helps double Oil & Gas business revenue


MUMBAI

Employees attend a customer at the Reliance IndustriesPetrol pump in Navi Mumbai on June 24, 2021. * AFP

Ecommerce majors Amazon and Flipkart on Fridaylost their legal battle in theHigh Court of Karnataka, asa division bench upheld theCompetition Commission ofIndia’s decision to conductan investigation through itsDirector General intowhether they had enteredinto anticompetitive agreements in violation of theprovisions of the Competition Act, 2002.

Observing that the inquiry initiated by the CCI “cannot be crushed at the initialstage”, the court said that ifboth the companies were“not involved in violation ofany provisions of the Act of2002 they should not feel

shy in facing enquiry by theCCI.” The Division Benchcomprising Justice SatishChandra Sharma and JusticeNataraj Rangaswamy delivered the verdict whileupholding the June 11 verdict of a single judge bench,which too had upheld theCCI’s decision. Amazon Sellers Services Pvt. Ltd. andFlipkart Internet Pvt. Ltd.had appealed against thesingle judge Bench’s order.

HC upholds CCI probeagainst Flipkart, Amazon‘Can’t crush investigation at initial stage’


Bengaluru

Zomato debuts at 66%premium on BSEMUMBAI

Shares of online food

delivery and restaurant

listing platform Zomato Ltd.

debuted on the BSE at 66%

premium, closing at ₹�125.85.

Eighth seed Ramkumar Ramanathan fought his waypast qualifi�er Alexis Galarneau of Canada 76(4), 46,64 to set up a quarterfi�nalagainst Prajnesh Gunneswaran in the $52,080 Challenger tennis here.

The results: €44,820Challenger, Pozoblanco,Spain: Doubles: Semifi�nals:Igor Sijsling & Tim Van Rijthoven (Ned) w.o. Teymuraz Gabashvili (Rus) & Arjun Kadhe;Quarterfi�nals: Gabashvili &Kadhe w.o. Benjamin Bonzi &Mathias Bourgue (Fra).

$52,080 Challenger, Cary,US: Prequarterfi�nals: Ramkumar Ramanathan bt AlexisGalarneau (Can) 76(4), 46,64; Prajnesh Gunneswaranbt Sam Riffi�ce (US) 62, 64.

$15,000 ITF women, Cairo: Doubles: Semifi�nals: Claudia Hoste Ferrer & Leyre Romero Gormaz (Esp) bt AnastasiaSukhotina (Rus) & AshmithaEaswaramurthi 60, 62;Quarterfi�nals: Sukhotina &Ashmitha bt Ana Lantigua DeLa Nuez (Esp) & Clara Vlasselaer (Bel) 76(1), 63.

Ramkumar toface PrajneshSports Bureau

Cary (USA)

The Athletics Federation ofIndia has cleared long jumper M. Sreeshankar and racewalker K.T. Irfan for theOlympics after their coachessubmitted written assurancetheir athletes would produceat least their qualifi�cationperformance in Tokyo.

The AFI conducted “fi�tness trials” for the two athletes in Bengaluru recentlyand made it clear that it wasnot happy with their form.

Sreeshankar, who qualifi�ed for Tokyo after breakinghis own National record withan 8.26m jump in the Federation Cup in March, hadjumped 7.48m in his trials acouple of days ago.

“But there was no offi�ciallyset target for the trials,that was the problem, thatwas the only reason theymanaged to slip out. The se

lection committee said weshould have informed themin writing earlier what theyshould jump or what the target was,” Adille Sumariwallatold The Hindu on Fridayevening.

“The coaches (Sreeshankar's dad S. Murali and walks'Alexander Artsybashev) saidit was one bad day (at thetrials) and that they wouldreproduce the qualifi�cationstandard.

“We asked them whetherthey were ready to take theresponsibility. They said yesand we asked them to give itin writing. Action will be taken against the coaches ifthey don't,” Sumariwallasaid.

WarningThat could also be a warningto all the coaches in theteam. Sreeshankar was partof the fi�rst athletics batch, a28member group that included 18 athletes, that leftfor Tokyo on Friday evening.

AFI clears Sreeshankar and Irfan for TokyoNod comes with rider: coaches could face action if the two athletes fail to produce worthwhile performances

OLYMPIC GAMES

Stan Rayan

KOCHI

Time to raise the bar: M. Sreeshankar will have to do a lotbetter than his eff�ort at the recent trials. * FILE PHOTO

Point to prove: K.T. Irfan has the wherewithal to justify hisselection for Tokyo, his coach believes. * FILE PHOTO

David Miller’s unbeaten fi�ftypaved the way for SouthAfrica's 42run win over Ireland in the second Twenty20 International at Stormont on Thursday as theProteas took an unassailable20 lead in the threematchseries.

South Africa was struggling at none for two afterboth captain Temba Bavuma amd Janneman Malanwere dismissed withoutscoring by offspinner PaulStirling. But Miller’s 75 notout off 44 balls helped takeSouth Africa to a total of 159

for seven.A target of 160 was within

Ireland's reach but it lostwickets steadily, with BjornFortuin and Tabraiz Shamsitaking three apiece. ShaneGetkate and George Dockrell were the only Irelandbatsmen to reach 20, withthe hosts bowled out for 117with three balls left.

The scores: South Africa159/7 in 20 overs (Quinton deKock 27, David Miller 75 n.o.,Wiaan Mulder 36) bt Ireland117 in 19.3 overs (Bjorn Fortuin3/16, Tabriz Shamsi 3/14).Toss: SA; MoM: Miller; SouthAfrica won match by 42 runsand leads three-match series2-0.

Associated Press

Belfast

David Miller helps South Africa seal series

A positive COVID19 test onThursday resulted in thelastminute postponementof the scheduled secondOneDay International between the West Indies andAustralia at KensingtonOval, offi�cials announced.

“The second ODI between West Indies and Australia has been postponeddue a positive Covid19 testresult from a nonplayingmember of the West Indiesteam,” said a Cricket West

Indies statement.“This decision was taken

after the toss at KensingtonOval once the result wasknown due to the Covid19protocols. All members ofboth teams and match offi�cials will be retested today.A decision on when thematch will replayed will bemade at a later date once thetest results are known,” thestatement added.

Thursday’s postponement not only jeopardisesthe remaining two ODIs ofthis tour but also Australia’stour of Bangladesh whichwas only confi�rmed onThursday.

CRICKET

Agence France-Presse

Bridgetown

Windies-Australia secondODI postponed

Opener Wessley Madheveretopscored with 73 as Zimbabwe beat Bangladesh by23 runs on Friday to keepalive hopes of winning athreematch Twenty20 series against Bangladesh inHarare.

Zimbabwe made 166 forsix before bowling Bangladesh out for 143 with oneball remaining.

Madhevere hit three sixesand fi�ve fours off 57 balls before being caught at extracover by Afi�f Hossain afterskying a delivery from leftarm medium fast bowler

Shoriful Islam.Ryan Burl, who came in at

number six, was the best ofthe other Zimbabwe batsman with an undefeated34, including two sixes andtwo fours, while Dion Myersmade 26.

Shoriful was the most successful of the Bangladeshbowlers, also capturing thewicket of Luke Jongwe fortwo to fi�nish with three for33.

StruggleBangladesh openers nevergot on top of the Zimbabwebowling.

Naim and Sarkar were

back in the pavilion with just17 on the board, both dismissed by Blessing Muzarabaniwho fi�nished with two for 21from his four overs.

Wellington Masakadza,who took three for 20, alsogot in amongst the Bangladesh batsmen, removingShakib al Hasan, captainMahmudullah Riyad and Mahedi in quick succession.

The scores: Zimbabwe 166/6in 20 overs (Wessley Madhevere73, Ryan Burl, 34 n.o., DionMyers 26; Shoriful Islam 3/33)bt Bangladesh 143 in 19.5 overs(Afi�f Hossain 24; Luke Jongwe3/31, Wellington Masakadza 3/20). Toss: Zimbabwe.

Madhevere inspires Zimbabweto serieslevelling victoryAgence France-Presse

Harare

CMYK

A ND-NDE


THE HINDU DELHI


SPORT

“It’s fi�nally happening! Wedid not know until last weekif this would be possible,”beams a volunteer as the fi�vegigantic wooden Olympicrings make their way into anearempty Olympic Stadium on Friday.

The volunteer is ecstatic tosee the Games, postponed bya year due to the coronaviruspandemic, get underway,while hundreds of localsgather outside the stadium toprotest the holding of theGames.

Such is the contrast, suchare the two parallels in Japan— where some see the Gamesas an opportunity to showthe world that Japan can hostthe Games even in such testing conditions, others protest the very decision. In fact,

such is their antipathy to theGames that a 53yearold woman named Kayoko Takahashi tried to douse theOlympic torch last week.

She reportedly screamed“No Olympics. Stop theGames,” and tried to squirtwater with a watergun during the torch relay before be

ing arrested. Back at theOlympic Stadium, the opening ceremony was a rathersubdued and muted aff�air asthe stands sat empty.

The 205 contingentswalked out gleefully, wavedtheir fl�ags with gusto, to begreeted by the offi�cials, journalists and volunteers.

In keeping with the timeswe live in, the ceremony featured a segment with a performer running on a treadmill and surrounded bydarkness — depicting howathletes had to train in isolation during the pandemic.

The opening ceremony also had a strong Manga ( Japa

nese comics and graphic novels) fl�avour as all the text onthe placards was inspired bythe speech bubbles featuredin comics.

Nineteen Indian athletestook part in the ceremonyand were marshalled by 2012London Olympics bronzemedallist Mary Kom and the

Indian men’s hockey teamcaptain Manpreet Singh.

A 114member Indian contingent had marched at the2016 opening ceremony,which was held in front of acapacity crowd of 78,000 people at Rio’s Maracana stadium, while 81 Indiansmarched on at the 2012

Games. But such is the worldwe are now in — masks andsocial distancing are theneed of the hour and therazzmatazz of an opening ceremony at Tokyo’s $1.45 billion stadium is curtailed bythe sight of thousands ofempty seats.

Japanese tennis star Nao

mi Osaka lit the cauldron.She lifted the Olympic torchto the gleaming cauldron,which had unfurled at thetop of a ramp representingMount Fuji.

Japan's Emperor Naruhitooffi�cially opened the Games.“I declare open the Games ofTokyo,” said the monarch.

Pandemichit Tokyo Olympics off� to a muted, subdued startOpening ceremony features athletes training on a treadmill in the dark, depicting how they prepared; Osaka lights cauldron; Emperor declares Games open

Shyam Vasudevan

Tokyo

Proud moment: Manpreet and Mary Kom lead the Indian contingent during the Opening Ceremony on Friday. Osaka had the honour of lighting the cauldron while IOC president Bach is seen with Japanese Emperor Naruhito. * PTI

Avishka Fernando and Bhanuka Rajapaksa hit halfcenturies as Sri Lanka beat Indiaby three wickets for a consolation win in the rainhitthird ODI here on Friday.

Century standChasing 226 for victory in thereduced 47oversaside contest, Sri Lanka rode on a 109run secondwicket stand between Fernando (76) and Rajapaksa (65) to achieve thetarget with 48 balls to spare

in Colombo. India won thethreematch series 21.

Debutant legspinner Rahul Chahar returned fi�guresof 3/54 to put Sri Lanka introuble before Ramesh Mendis steered the team homewith an unbeaten 15.

Earlier spinners Akila Dananjaya and debutant Praveen Jayawickrama tookthree wickets each to helpbowl out India for 225 in 43.1overs.

Jayawickrama, a leftarmspinner who returned fi�guresof 3/59 on his ODI debut,combined with Dananjaya totrigger a middleorder col

lapse as India slipped from179/4 to 195/8.

India elected to bat andstarted strongly, only to loseits way after a 100minuterain delay.

The visitors were 147/3when rain stopped play.

Earlier skipper ShikharDhawan was out early,caught behind off� Dushmantha Chameera for 13, but fellowopener Prithvi Shaw andSanju Samson took the attackto the opposition bowlers.

Shaw made a runaball49, and Samson, hit 46 off� 46balls, put on 74 for the second wicket.

Fernando, Rajapaksa guide Lanka to consolation winShaw, Samson come good before India loses the plot as Akila Dananjaya and Jayawickrama strike

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Colombo

INDIA IN LANKA

Setting it up: Fernando laid the foundation for the chase. * AFP

World No. 1 Deepika Kumari logged 663 points

to fi�nish ninth in the individual women’s categorywhile Indian men archersgave a belowpar performance in the ranking roundof the archery competitionson the opening day of theTokyo Olympics on Friday.

Pravin Jadhav, Atanu Das,and Tarundeep Rai scored656, 653, and 652 respectively out of a maximum 720 totake 31st, 35th and 37th slotsrespectively on the men’sranking list.

Koreans Je Deok Kim(688) and Jinheyk Oh (681)were placed fi�rst and thirdwith USA’s Brady Ellison second at 682.

Deepika, who will faceBhutan’s Karma in the fi�rstelimination round, could

run into South Korea’s topranked Olympicrecord holder An San in the quarterfi�nals. An set an Olympic record with 680 points.

Pravin will face RussianGalsan Bazarhapov, Atanuwill meet YuCheng Deng ofChinese Taipei and Tarundeep will take on OleksiiHunbin of Ukraine in theopening elimination round.

The Indian men’s team,which managed the ninth

spot with 1961 points, waybehind topranked Korea(2049), will square off�against Kazakhstan onMonday.

Pravin and Deepika, taking part in the mixed teamevent, were lying ninth with1319 points while Koreatopped with 1368. Deepikaand Pravin will take on Chinese Taipei’s ChiaEn Linand ChihChun in the roundof 16.

Indian men produce a belowpar performance

Y.B. Sarangi

Tough task ahead: Deepika Kumari is likely to run into thetopranked Korean An San in the quarterfi�nals. * REUTERS

Deepika ninth in ranking round

ARCHERY

India: Prithvi Shaw lbw bShanaka 49 (49b, 8x4), ShikharDhawan c Minod b Chameera 13(11b, 3x4), Sanju Samson cAvishka b Jayawickrama 46(46b, 5x4, 1x6), Manish Pandeyc Minod b Jayawickrama 11(19b), Suryakumar Yadav lbw bAkila 40 (37b, 7x4), HardikPandya lbw b Jayawickrama 19(17b, 3x4), Nitish Rana c Minodb Akila 7 (14b), K. Gowtham lbwb Akila 2 (3b), Rahul Chahar c &b Karunaratne 13 (25b),Navdeep Saini c Avishka bChameera 15 (37b), ChetanSakariya (not out) 0 (1b); Extras(lb1, w9): 10; Total (in 43.1overs): 225.

Fall of wickets: 128 (Dhawan,2.3 overs), 2102 (Shaw, 15.5),3118 (Samson, 18.4), 4157(Pandey, 24.5), 5179 (Hardik,28.3), 6190 (Suryakumar,

30.6), 7194 (Gowtham, 32.3),8195 (Rana, 32.5), 9224(Rahul Chahar, 42.4).

Sri Lanka bowling: Chameera8.10552, Akila 100443,Karunaratne 60251, Jayawickrama 100593, Shanaka80331, Mendis 1080.

Sri Lanka: Avishka Fernando cShaw b Rahul Chahar 76 (98b,4x4, 1x6), Minod Bhanuka cSakariya b Gowtham 7 (17b,1x4), Bhanuka Rajapaksa cGowtham b Sakariya 65 (56b,12x4), Dhananjaya de Silva c & bSakariya 2 (9b), Charith Asalanka lbw b Hardik 24 (28b,3x4), Dasun Shanaka c Pandey bRahul Chahar 0 (1b), RameshMendis (not out) 15 (18b, 1x4),Chamika Karunaratne st. Samson b Rahul Chahar 3 (10b),Akila Dananjaya (not out) 5 (2b,1x4); Extras (b4, lb6, w15,

nb5): 30; Total (for sevenwkts. in 39 overs): 227.

Fall of wickets: 135 (Minod,5.3), 2144 (Rajapaksa, 22.6), 3151 (de Silva, 24.6), 4194 (Asalanka, 31.6), 5195 (Shanaka,32.4), 6214 (Avishka, 36.2), 7220 (Karunaratne, 38.4).

India bowling: Saini 50270,Sakariya 80342, RahulChahar 100543, Gowtham 80491, Hardik 50431, Rana30100.

Toss: India.

ManoftheMatch: AvishkaFernando.

Manoftheseries: SuryakumarYadav.

Sri Lanka won by three wick-ets with eight overs to spare, In-dia clinched series 2-1.

First T20I: July 25, Colombo, 8p.m. IST.

SCOREBOARD

Archery: Mixed teamCycling: Men’s road raceFencing: Men’s sabre, women’s epeeJudo: Men’s 60kg, women’s 48kgShooting: Men’s 10m air pistol, women’s 10m air rifl�eTaekwondo: Men’s 58kg, women’s 49kgWeightlifting: Women’s 49kg

SATURDAY’S MEDAL EVENTS

Archery: Mixed team: Deepika Kumari & Pravin Jadhav vs ChiaEnLin & ChihChun Tang (Tpe), 1/8 eliminations, 6 a.m.; quarterfi�nals, 10.45 a.m.; semifi�nals, noon; bronze medal match, 12.55p.m.; gold medal match, 1.15 p.m.Badminton: Group stage: Men’s doubles: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy& Chirag Shetty vs Lee Yang & Wang ChiLin (Tpe), 8.50 a.m.;Men’s singles: B. Sai Praneeth vs Misha Zilberman (Isr), 9.30 a.m.Boxing: Men’s welterweight (round of 32): Vikas Krishan vs Sewonrets Quincy Mensah Okazawa (Jpn), 3.50 p.m.Hockey: Men (Pool A): vs New Zealand, 6.30 a.m.; Women (PoolA): vs Netherlands, 5.15 p.m.Judo: Women’s 48kg (7.30 a.m. onwards): Shushila Likmabam.Rowing: Men’s lightweight double sculls (Heat 2): Arjun Jat andArvind Singh, 7.30 a.m.Shooting: Women's 10m air rifl�e: Apurvi Chandela, Elavenil Valarivan, Qualifi�cation, 5 a.m.; Final, 7.15 a.m.; Men’s 10m air pistol:Abhishek Verma, Saurabh Chaudhary, Qualifi�cation, 9.30 a.m.; Final, noon.Table tennis: Mixed doubles (round of 16): Sharath Kamal & Manika Batra vs Lin Yunju & Cheng IChing (Tpe), 8.30 a.m. Women's singles (fi�rst round): Manika Batra vs TinTin Ho (GBR),12.15 p.m.; Sutirtha Mukherjee vs Linda Bergstrom (Swe), 1 p.m.Tennis: Men's singles (fi�rst round, from 7.30 a.m.): Sumit Nagalvs. Denis Istomin (Uzb).Weightlifting: Women's 49kg: Mirabai Chanu, 10.20 a.m.

All times IST

INDIANS IN ACTION TODAY Mirabai Chanu is all set to liftan Olympic barbell stackedwith weights of diff�erentkinds in her weightliftingmedal event on Saturday.Besides the hundreds of kilograms of steel, the weightof a billion expectations alsolie on her shoulders.

The Manipuri weightlifteris among India’s strongestmedal contenders in a depleted fi�eld in the women’s49kg category.

Mirabai’s coach VijaySharma expects her to be engaged in a threeway battlewith China’s Hou Zhihui, thecurrent world record holder,and USA’s World Cup winnerJourdan Elizabeth Delacruz.Indonesia’s Asia Windy Cantika, who beat Mirabai to thesilver at the Asian Championships, could also pose a

threat. Vijay, however, feltthat Mirabai is certain to seala place on the podium. “Herpreparations have been going on really well. Our training camp in the USA was thekey to help her maintain herpeak. We’re very confi�dentof returning with a medal,but the colour of the medalwill depend on how she per

forms on Saturday,” said Vijay here on Friday.

He added that her stupendous show at the AsianChampionships in May hasput her in good stead for theOlympics. Mirabai set a newclean and jerk world recordof 119kg and also set a newpersonal best with a combined total of 205kg.

Mirabai ready for lift off�Coach Vijay confi�dent of a podium fi�nish

Shyam Vasudevan

Tokyo

WEIGHTLIFTING

Golden opportunity: Mirabai will hope to make the most of adepleted fi�eld in the 49kg category. * TWITTER/@MIRABAI_CHANU

Agolden start in shootingwill be the best way for

ward for the Indian contingent in Tokyo. The onus willbe on two of the best womenair rifl�e shooters ApurviChandela and Elavenil Valarivan, who have dominatedthe event and taken turns tobe World No. 1.

After the breakthrough ofAnjali Bhagwat and SumaShirur, making the Olympicfi�nals in the event in Sydney2000 and Athens 2004, India has never had it thisbright.

Apurvi had won twoWorld Cup gold medals in2019 before the pandemicand shot a world record

252.9 in the Delhi fi�nal. Thatrecord still stands againsther name. Incidentally, it isbetter than the men’s worldrecord. The 28yearoldApurvi, competing in her second Olympics after Rio, hasthe experience. A recent dip

in her score has only helpedApurvi focus a lot more. The21yearold Elavenil, a prodigy trained by Olympic medallist Gagan Narang, will behappy to prove her class.

From being the WorldChampionship junior silver

medallist in 2018, Elavenilhas come a long way, winning the World Cup gold inRio and the World Cup Finalgold in Putian China, in 2019.

The 20yearold Mary Carolyn Tucker of the US andthe 19yearold Eszter Meszaros of Hungary will be theones to follow.

In men’s air pistol, Indiahas Saurabh Chaudhary andAbhishek Verma, who havealso taken turns to be WorldNo. 1 in the event.

Both have taken quicksteps to reach the top of theworld, starting with theirmaiden international exposure in the Asian Games inPalembang in 2018.

Saurabh won the gold andAbhishek a bronze in theAsian Games, in a worldclass fi�eld.

Apurvi, Elavenil poised to excel in air rifl�eSaurabh, Abhishek have the calibre to deliver big in men’s air pistol event

Kamesh Srinivasan

SHOOTING

Best bets: Apurvi Chandela and Elavenil Valarivan carry India’s expectations. * PTI

The Chinese juggernaut intable tennis is all set to

roll on in Tokyo. On the fi�rstday of the tournament on Saturday, however, not manyChinese will be in action.

Top seeds Xu Xin and LiuShiwen will start the proceedings in the mixed doubles prequarterfi�nals, a category introduced in Tokyo.

Besides the Chinese pair,Japan’s veteran Jun Mizutaniand Ito Mima will be hopingto get off� the blocks quicklyagainst Stefan Fegrel and Sofi�a Polcanova of Australiaand make it to the quarterfi�nals.

Nikhil Kumar, who hasjoined Kanak Jha of Indianorigin from the United Statesof America as the second

paddler, will open his campaign against Mongolia’sLkhagvasuren Enkhbat.

Men’s and women’s fi�rstround and intense action inmixed doubles will be thrilling to witness.

Three of the four Indianswill start their campaigns onSaturday. The mixed doubles pair of A. Sharath Kamal

and Manika Batra, seeded12th, will start against thethirdseeded pair of Lin YunJu and Cheng I Ching.

Acid testThe match will be an acidtest for India’s 2018 AsianGames bronze medalwinning pair.

Manika and Sutirtha Mukherjee will also be seen in action in women’s singles.While Manika will be upagainst Ho TinTin of GreatBritain, Sutirtha will hope torepeat her recent exploitsagainst Sweden’s LindaBergstrom.

Manika holds a 20 advantage in headtohead matches. Sutirtha, meanwhile, enjoys the advantage ofwinning the last of the twomatches against Bergstrom,at the World Tour event inHungary last year.

China’s domination set to continue

Amol Karhadkar

TABLE TENNIS

Sutirtha with coachSoumyadeep Roy.

* TWITTER/SAIMEDIA

Biles fi�rst athlete to get a Twitter emojiTOKYO

Fourtime Olympic champion

Simone Biles has become the

first Olympic athlete to have

her own customised hashtag

emoji on Twitter. ANI

TOKYO TITBITS

Israeli athletes killed atMunich rememberedIsraeli Olympic team

members killed by Palestinian

gunmen at the 1972 Munich

Olympics were remembered

during the Tokyo Olympics

opening ceremony with a

moment of silence. REUTERS

CMYK

A ND-NDE


DELHI THE HINDU


SPORT

A few countries stood out atthe opening ceremony onFriday for having only eithera man or a woman bearingthe fl�ag, as the InternationalOlympic Committee (IOC)encouraged both male andfemale fl�agbearers.

Ethiopian male swimmerAbdelmalik Muktar and Tajikistani male judoka TemurRakhimov waved the fl�ags oftheir respective countries,despite having a mixeddelegation.

Congo, on the other hand,had only female sprinter Natacha Ngoye Akamabi represent its mixed team.

IOC’s statementIn February, the IOC issued astatement asking participantcountries to select both amale and female fl�agbearerwhere possible for the fi�rsttime ever.

Other countries that onlyhad a male fl�agbearer, suchas the United Arab Emirates,had a male only delegation.

Delegations of countriesknown for conservative gender values complied with the

IOC request, as male rowerHusein Alireza and femalejudoka Tahani Alqahtaniboth smiled and waved asthey held up the Saudi Arabian fl�ag.

The IOC pledged to worktowards gender equality after previous Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee President Yoshiro Mori wascriticised for making sexist

remarks about women in February.

Mori eventually steppeddown from his role.

The opening ceremonywas mired in scandal in the

leadup to the Games.

A composer and creativedirector involved in the ceremony both stepped downfrom their roles days beforethe start.

Some nations march with one fl�agbearerThe IOC has pledged to work towards gender equality at the Games

TOKYO OLYMPICS

Reuters

TOKYO

Not obliging: Ethiopia was one of the countries that did not have a female athlete also holding the nation’s fl�ag at the opening ceremony * GETTY IMAGES

Global viewers of Friday’sopening ceremony for theTokyo Olympics may havebeen confused at the orderof the national parade,where Andorra was followedby Yemen. Look no furtherthan Japan’s uniquealphabet.

Unlike previous Olympicsheld in Japan, where athletes marched into the stadium in the English order oftheir names, Tokyo 2020 followed Japan’s writingsystem.

“After Italy, Israel, Iraq,India, Indonesia I thoughtthere was a system but that

was followed by Uruguay,Ukraine, Uzbekistan and overall it seems random,” oneperplexed viewer wrote onTwitter.

“Can anyone explain whyIreland got to go 4th in theParade of Nations? So intrigued as to the running order of team entering the stadium,” tweeted another.

Blame Japan’s writing system, a bane for learnersboth native and foreign.

ComplicatedIn addition to two alphabets— strictly speaking, syllabaries — comprised of 46 characters each to write themodern language’s sounds

phonetically, written Japanese also uses imported Chinese characters, about2,000 of which are taughtthrough junior high schooland are required for basicreading of newspapers andoffi�cial documents.

The order follows Japanese pronunciation syllableby syllable: a, i, u, e, o, ka,ki, ku, ke, ko and so onthrough the list of consonants paired with the fi�vevowels.

Moreover, countries werelisted by their Japanese pronunciation. For example, Yemen — “Iemen” in Japanese— comes near the front, notthe back.

Unique order of nations at paradeAthletes enter the stadium following Japan’s writing system

Reuters

TOKYO

Localised: Ireland came in as the fourth team into the stadium because of using the localalphabet to determine the sequence of the nations * GETTY IMAGES

View from Tokyo: Shuttler Chirag Shetty will hope some oftennis ace Novak Djokovic’s magic rubs off� on him, SumitNagal goes through the paces, fencer S. Bhavani Devidiscusses with her coach while boxer Simranjit Kaur soaks inthe Olympic atmosphere. * TWITTER/SAIMEDIA

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

Diff�erent hues

Thousands of fans lineddowntown Milwaukeestreets on Thursday to catcha glimpse of their belovedBucks in a parade to celebrate the city’s fi�rst NBAchampionship in half acentury.

Victory paradeSix police offi�cers on horseback clopped past cheeringfans at the head of a procession that included a hookandladder fi�re truck, occasionally blaring its horn, andopenair buses and fl�atbedtrucks carrying Bucks stars,including Finals MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and JrueHoliday, as well as the trophythey captured on Tuesdaynight with a Game 6 victoryover Phoenix Suns.

Fans could be heardchanting “Bucks in Six”, anodd but beloved rallying cry

with roots in a former Bucksplayer’s fruitless predictionin 2013 that the team wouldtake down the playoff�s’ topseed at the time.

Antetokounmpo held his

son, oneyearold Liam, atopa bus as fans along the routechanted “MVP!” Later, heshot a basketball into thecrowd.

“Milwaukee, we did it ba

by! We did it!” Antetokounmpo said to a cheering crowdin the Deer District, the areaoutside the Bucks’ Fiserv Forum.

Neil and Rachana Bhatia,

both 34 and from suburbanWaukesha, brought onemonthold son Zain to theDeer District, saying theywanted to give Zain an earlytaste of being a Bucks fan.

“It unifi�es the city andputs the city on a globalstage. It’s great for the cityand the state. It’s just bringing everybody together to celebrate something thathasn’t happened in 50years,” Neil said.

“The city has had its struggles. What I know is that it’sbeen a city that’s coming together,” said longtime Bucksfan Dameon Ellzey.

“In my neighbourhood,you could hear everybody ontheir porches screaming,”Ellzey said. “Black, white,Asian. In a city like Milwaukee, that’s big.”

Milwaukee has longranked among the most segregated cities in America.Team president Peter Feigincalled it “the most segregated, racist place” he’d ever experienced, remarks he later

softened. As the Bucks drove toward

a championship this year,some people were cheeredby the diversity of the massive crowds that gathered inthe Deer District to watch theBucks on big TV screens.

The team’s ascendancehas also invigorated a Midwestern city far from theleague’s more cosmopolitanvenues like Los Angeles, Boston or Miami — cities thathave traditionally found iteasier to attract the game’stop players.

LoyaltyOne reason fans have embraced Antetokounmpo ishis loyalty to the team thatdrafted him eight years agowhen he was just 18. “He recognises the city and its quality and he resonates with it,”Timothy Seymour, 20, saidof Antetokounmpo. “He really refl�ects our work ethic. Heworks hard. And he refl�ectshow we’re only going to getbetter.”

Milwaukee Bucks players return home to a rousing welcomeFans have embraced Antetokounmpo for his loyalty to the team that drafted him eight years ago

NBA

Associated Press

Milwaukee

Crowd’s darling: Giannis Antetokounmpo had a major role to play in ending Bucks’ title drought. * AFP

Young wrestlers Tannu andPriya became the latestworld champions as India'sspectacular run continued atthe Cadet World Championship, here on Thursday.

Tannu did not concede asingle point en route the43kg title, winning three ofher four bouts by fall, includ

ing the fi�nal against Belarus'Valeryia Mikitsich.

Priya grabbed the 73kg title with a 50 win over Belarus' Kseniya Patapovich.

Aman Gulia (48kg) and Sagar Jaglan (80kg) took titlesin men's freestyle competition to propel India to theTeam championship title forthe fi�rst time in the history.

Another Indian, Varshawon the bronze medal in the65kg category with a victoryby fall against Turkey’s Duy

gu Gen.India fi�nished on top with

147 points, ahead of USA(143) and Russia (140).

On Saturday, Komal willalso be in contention forworld title as she reachedthe 46kg fi�nal after beatingBelarus’ Sviatlana Katenkaby technical superiority. Shewill take on Azerbaijan's Ruzanna Mammadova.

Nitika (61kg) and Harshita(69kg) though lost their semifi�nal bouts.

Tannu and Priya become cadet World champions

WRESTLING


Budapest (Hungary) Uttarakhand’s Nivedita Karki stunned reigning youthWorld champion Gitika ofHaryana 32 in the 48kg fi�nalto clinch the gold at theyouth National boxingchampionships on Friday.

Haryana women and Services Sports Control Board(SSCB) men retained theteam championships.

Haryana women claimed12 medals, including sevengold and fi�ve silver while theSSCB men fi�nished on top inthe men’s event with 10 medals — seven gold and threesilver.

Haryana’s Tamanna outboxed Rajasthan’s AnjaliChoudhary 50 in 50kg fi�nal.Neha (54kg), Preeti (57kg),Preeti Dahiya (60kg), LashuYadav (70kg), Khushi (63kg)and Deepika (+81) were theother gold medallists for Haryana in the women’s

category.Meanwhile, Haryana men

fi�nished second with fourgold and fi�ve silver medals.

Bishwamitra Chongthamled the glorious run for SSCBin the men’s event as heblanked Himachal Pradesh’sAbhinav Katoch 50 in the51kg fi�nal. Vishwanath Suresh (48kg), Vicktor SinghShaikom (54kg), Vijay Singh(57kg), Ravichandra Singh(60kg), Jaydeep Rawat (71kg)and Deepak (75kg) were theothers who claimed gold.

Nivedita Karki clinches goldSSCB men, Haryana women retain team championships

BOXING


Sonipat

Inspired by the sun, the Tokyo Olympic cauldron is designed to be better for theplanet.

The fl�ame at Tokyo’s National Stadium and anothercauldron burning along thewaterfront near Tokyo Baythroughout the Games willbe sustained in part by hydrogen, the fi�rst time the fuelsource will be used to poweran Olympic fi�re.

Previous fl�ames haveusually run on propane, although magnesium, gunpowder, resin and olive oil have also been used since the fi�rstmodern cauldron was lit forthe Amsterdam Games in1928. The torch relay was introduced eight years later forBerlin.

Unlike propane, hydrogendoes not produce carbondioxide when combusted.The Tokyo cauldron isfuelled by hydrogen produced by a factory in the Fukushima prefecture that runson renewable energy. Propane and hydrogen wereboth used during the torchrelay.

Organisers for the LondonGames in 2012 touted plansfor a lowcarbon torch butcouldn’t get the design rightin time. They instead used amix of propane and butane.

Smaller sizeBrazilian offi�cials commissioned a smaller cauldron forRio in 2016 to reduce theamount of fuel needed.

The Tokyo cauldron wasdesigned by Canadian archi

tect Oki Sato. His suninspired orb unfolds like petalsfrom a fl�ower, which organisers say “embody vitality andhope.”

The fi�rst torch for thesegames was lit in Olympia,Greece, 16 months ago, butthe relay was suspended formuch of 2020 due to thepandemic.

Offi�cials put the torch ondisplay at prefectures aff�ected by the earthquake andtsunami that ravaged the region in 2011 until the relaywas offi�cially restarted in Fukushima on March 25, 2021.

Some stages of the relaywere pulled off� roads thismonth due to fears aboutspreading the coronavirusbefore the fl�ame made itsway to the National Stadiumin Tokyo’s Shinjuku City.

Olympic cauldron to be powered by hydrogenUnlike propane, hydrogen does not produce carbon dioxide when combusted

Associated Press

TOKYO

Renewable energy: The cauldron will be sustained in part by hydrogen, the fi�rst time the fuelsource will be used to power an Olympic fl�ame. * GETTY IMAGES

60 killed as rain pounds Maharashtra - E-learning Adda

Documents

Transcript of 60 killed as rain pounds Maharashtra - E-learning Adda