7.59 lakh cases pending in various courts in Telangana

NAVEENA GHANATE n HYDERABAD

A whopping 7,59,285 cases arepending in various courts inTelangana as per information avail-able on National Judicial DataGrid (NJDG) as on Wednesday.

Of these, 4.43 lakh are criminalcases while 3.15 lakh are civil innature.

An astonishing 90 cases havebeen pending for over 30 years now– 35 of these are civil in nature. Ofthese, two cases have been stayedand 11 cases are securing presence.

Shockingly, 10,166 cases havebeen pending for over 10 years ofwhich 7,362 are civil in nature andthe remaining are criminal cases. Amajority of the cases have beenstayed or securing presence.

While 6.59 lakh cases are origi-nal, 63,285 are execution peti-tions, 19,694 are appeals and 14,953are applications.

An agonising 26,835 marriagepetitions are pending and 1,771 arejuvenile cases. About 3.77 lakhcases are warrants or summonsrelated to criminal cases. In Julyalone, 43,836 cases were filed in

various courts ofTelangana while46,307 were disposed of.As many as 54,205 cases werefiled by senior citizens and92,508 were filed by women inTelangana.

The Union Government hasapproved a scheme for setting up1,023 Fast Track Special Courts(FTSCs) across the country forexpeditious disposal of pending

cases of Rape under IPC andcrimes under POCSO Act.

1 lakh illegalconstructions inGHMC limits: HCP

ointing out that the GHMC wasnot requesting the court to lift

stays on illegal constructions; theTelangana High Court onWednesday said that such stayorders are granted since officialsfail to file objections in a proper

manner. The Court said due tolack of proper objections filed

by officials, it has norecourse but to turn ablind eye to such cases,in a way facilitating illegalconstructions. The High

Court noted that there areabout one lakh illegal structures

in GHMC itself and wondered howmany there would be across theState. It said that officials cannotcite Covid-19 as an excuse for notacting on illegal constructions.

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HYDERABAD, THURSDAY, AUGUST 5, 2021, 2021; PAGES 12 `3

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Current Weather ConditionsUpdated AUGUST 04, 2021 5:00 PM

FFoorreeccaasstt:: Partly cloudyTTeemmpp:: 29/22HHuummiiddiittyy:: 71%SSuunnrriissee:: 5:56 amSSuunnsseett:: 06:47 pm

AALLMMAANNAACC

TTOODDAAYY

Month & Paksham:

Ashadha & Krishna Paksha

Panchangam

Tithi : Dwadashi 17:08

Nakshatram : Ardra Full Night

Time to Avoid : Time to Avoid (Bad

time to start any important work)

Rahukalam : 1:57 pm - 3:32 pm

Yamagandam : 6:00 am - 7:35 am

Varjyam : 1:35 pm - 3:20 pm

Gulika : 9:11 am - 10:46 am

Good Time : (to start any important work)

Amritakalam : 7:42 pm - 9:27 pm

Abhijit Muhurtham : 11:56 am - 12:47 pm

LovlinaBorgohain,

right, becameonly the thirdIndian boxer

to win amedal at the

Olympicswhen she

won a bronzein the

Women'swelterweight

event inTokyo, while

Ravi Dahiya,far right, beat

NurislamSanayev by

pinfall in themen’s

wrestlingfreestyle 57kg

semi-final,assuring India

of at least asilver

medal, onWednesday.India has so

far won 1silver and 2

bronze.

7.59 lakh cases pending invarious courts in Telangana

PARTICULARS CIVIL CRIMINAL TOTAL

0 to 1 year 137941 (35.33%) 123983 (39.98%) 267775 (37.44%)

1 to 3 years 145274 (37.21%) 131882 (40.62%) 277156 (38.76%)

3 to 5 years 63337 (16.22%) 46916 (14.45%) 110253 (15.42%)

5to 10 years 38404 (9.84%) 14834 (4.57%) 53238 (7.44%)

10 to 20 years 5235 (1.34%) 1083 (0.33%) 6318 (0.88%)

20 to 30 years 205 (0.05%) 137 (0.05%) 342 (0.05%)

Above 30 years 21 (0.01%) 26 (0.01%) 47 (0.01%)

KCR gives a shocker to Oppn parties,launches Dalit Bandhu in Vasalamarri

ML MELLY MAITREYI n HYDERABAD

In a surprise development, DalitBandhu, touted as a prestigiousscheme by the TRS government,was launched at Vasalamarri, ChiefMinister K Chandrasekhar Rao’sadopted village in Yadadri Bhongirdistrict, without the expected fan-fare on Wednesday.

The proposed launch inHuzurabad on August 16 will nowonly be a formality.

KCR, who visited Vasalamarri vil-lage and went round the Dalitwadaand all other colonies in the villageto understand the problems andgrievances of people gave assurancesto people and instructions to offi-cials.

He later addressed a meeting ofDalits at Rythu Vedika building.

Giving good news to the Dalits ofthe village, he said Dalit Bandhufunds would be released to 76 SCfamilies in the district fromThursday onwards.

PNS n HYDERABAD

In a morale boosting gesture to theover 60 lakh member family ofTelangana Rashtra Samithi, partyworking president KT Rama Raoon Wednesday distributed chequesof Rs 2 lakh insurance to the fam-ilies of 80 deceased workers.

KTR invited the families of 80party workers who died in acci-

dents to the Telangana Bhavan hereon Wednesday, had lunch withthem, and handed over thecheques.

Later, he told the families of thedeceased party workers that thoughthey had lost their breadwinners inthe family, the party and its presi-dent K Chandrasekhar Rao wouldbe their support.

Families of deceased TRSworkers are not alone: KTR

PNS n HYDERABAD

In a significant direction to theState government, the TelanganaHigh Court on Wednesdayordered it to conduct a surveyacross the State and identify gov-ernment lands.

A High Court bench, headed byChief Justice, Justice Hima Kohliand Justice Vijaysen Reddy, issuedorders to this effect on Wednesday.

Survey govt-ownedlands, submitreports, HC tells TS

PNS n NEW DELHI

The BJP has declared donationsworth more than three times of theaggregate amount for five otherparties, including the Congress,TMC and NCP, according to areport by the Association forDemocratic Reforms.

The report stated that the BJPalso disclosed donations from theAmravati Municipal Corporation,where both the mayor and thedeputy mayor are from the saffronparty. The party's declarations also

included land received from at leastthree donors.

"The donations declared by theBJP are more than three times theaggregate declared by the

Congress, NCP, CPI, CPM andTMC, for the same period (Rs785.77 crore against Rs 228.035crore declared by the remainingparties)," it said.

The report, prepared by theAssociation for Democratic Reforms(ADR), focuses on donationsreceived by the national political par-ties, above Rs 20,000, during thefinancial year 2019-20, as submittedby the parties to the ElectionCommission of India (ECI).

BJP got over three times more donationsthan 5 other parties combined, says ADR

PNS n NEW DELHI

Chief Justice of India(CJI) N V RamanaWednesday recusedhimself from hearingAndhra Pradesh's pleaafter it said "no" to theSupreme Court's sugges-tion to go for mediation over dis-pute with Telangana which hasallegedly deprived the state of itslegitimate share of drinking and

irrigation water from theKrishna river.

The CJI, who hails fromAndhra Pradesh, had saidin the last hearing that hebelonged to both the statesand suggested “mediation”

to Andhra Pradesh andTelangana for settling their dis-

pute, saying it did not want tointerfere “unnecessarily”.

KCR lends a patient earto woes of Dalits, others

It was a treasured encounterfor the residents of Dalitwada

in Valasamarri village inTurkapally mandal of BhongirYadadri district with ChiefMinister K Chandrasekhar Raowho he went on foot andenquired about the well-beingof every family in his adoptedvillage. The Chief Minister onWednesday spent nearly threehours walking about four kmthrough the colony andstopping in front of each of the60 houses. Sometimes, he evenstepped inside their dwellingsto listen to their grievances. Heenquired whether they weregetting pensions and whetherthey heard about ‘Dalit Bandhu’and what they proposed to dowith Rs 10 lakh financialassistance.

CM promises houses, land pattasin Vasalamarri under Dalit Bandhu

Stop booster (third) shots for Delta: WHOPNS n NEW DELHI

The World Health Organisation iscalling for a moratorium onCOVID-19 vaccine boosters untilat least the end of September, itshead Tedros AdhanomGhebreyesus said on Wednesday.

The move was to enable that atleast 10% of the population of everycountry was vaccinated, WHODirector-General Tedros said.

The call to stop COVID-19 vac-cine boosters is the strongest yetfrom the UN agency as the gapbetween inoculation rates inwealthy and poor countries widens.

"I understand the concern of allgovernments to protect their peo-ple from the Delta variant. But we

cannot accept countries that havealready used most of the global sup-ply of vaccines using even more ofit," Tedros added.

High-income countries admin-istered around 50 doses for every100 people in May, and that num-ber had since doubled, according toWHO. Low-income countries haveonly been able to administer 1.5doses for every 100 people, due tolack of supply.

"We need an urgent reversal,from the majority of vaccines goingto high-income countries, to themajority going to low-incomecountries," said Tedros.

Some countries have begun touse or started weighing on the needfor booster doses.

While 6.59 lakh cases areoriginal, 63,285 areexecution petitions, 19,694are appeals and 14,953 are applications

Rs 10 lakh to be credited into bank accounts of 76 SCs

Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao goes around theDalitwada in Vasalamarri, his adopted village in YadadriBhongir district, on Wednesday.

High-incomecountriesadministeredaround 50doses forevery 100people inMay, and thatnumber hadsincedoubled,according to WHO.

TRS working president KT Rama Rao distributes a cheque of Rs 2 lakh insurance amount tothe family member of a deceased party worker, at the Telangana Bhavan on Wednesday.

Court stopsrelease of Rs 58crore to fightcontempt casesPNS n HYDERABAD

The Telangana High Court onWednesday sought an explanationfrom the State government forsanctioning Rs 58 crore to fightcontempt of court cases pendingagainst state bureaucrats, includingChief Secretary Somesh Kumar.

Taking up a Public InterestLitigation filed by a lecturer, a HighCourt bench comprising ChiefJustice Hima Kohli and JusticeVijaysen Reddy sought to knowfrom the State government howpublic money was spent thus andhow the Treasury regulationswould allow such expenditure.

The report stated that theBJP also disclosed donationsfrom the Amravati MunicipalCorporation, where both themayor and the deputy mayorare from the saffron party.

Rahul Gandhi to visitTS in Sept: RevanthHYDERABAD: TPCC chiefA Revanth Reddy onWednesday disclosed thatAICC former presidentRahul Gandhi would partic-ipate in the party’s ‘DalitDandora’ programme in thefirst week of September.

CJI recuses after APsays ‘no’ to mediation

WATER SHARING DISPUTE

NOD FOR CONTINUATION OF FAST TRACKSPECIAL COURTS FOR POCSO CASES

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved continuationof 1,023 fast track special courts, including 389exclusive POCSO courts, as a centrally sponsored

scheme for another two years. Union Minister AnuragThakur said out of 31 States and UTs, 28 have started thescheme. West Bengal is one of the states which has notstarted the scheme, he said. The scheme would continuefrom April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2023 with an outlay of Rs1,572.86 crore -- Rs 971.70 crore as central share and Rs601.16 crore as State share, an official statement said.

AIR INDIA ACCUMULATED RS 70,820 CRLOSSES TILL MARCH 31, 2020: CENTRE

Air India has been suffering heavy losses since itsmerger with Indian Airlines in 2007 and it hasaccumulated losses of about Rs 70,820 crore till

March 31, 2020, Minister of State for Civil Aviation VKSingh said on Wednesday. Financial bids for Air India arelikely to be received from qualified interested bidders bySeptember 15 this year. The Centre had invited Expressionof Interests (EoIs) for Air India on January 27, 2020. Thelast date of submission – after multiple extensions due toCOVID-19 pandemic – of EoIs was December 14, 2020.

MHA FOR DISCIPLINARY ACTION ONCBI FORMER DIRECTOR ALOK VERMA

The Union home ministry has recommended disciplinaryaction against former CBI director Alok Verma forallegedly misusing his official position and violating

the relevant service rules, officials said on Wednesday.They said the Ministry of Home Affairs has written to theDepartment of Personnel and Training (DoPT), the nodalministry for the CBI, to take necessary disciplinary actionagainst VermaThe action, if approved, may includetemporary or permanent forfeiture of Verma's pension andretirement benefits, the officials said.

INDIA BUILDS WORLD'S HIGHEST ROADIN LADAKH, BEATS BOLIVIA'S RECORD

The Border Roads Organisation has constructed theworld's highest road in eastern Ladakh at an altitude of19,300 feet, the government said in a statement today.

The road has been constructed at an altitude higher thanthe Mount Everest base camps - the south base camp inNepal is at an altitude of 17,598 feet, while the north basecamp in Tibet is at 16,900 feet. To put this in anotherperspective, most large commercial aircraft fly at 30,000feet and above, so this road is at an altitude that's morethan half of that.

SPORTS 12ENGLAND ALL OUT FOR

183 ON DAY 1

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Continued from page 1

Moved by their plight, KCRannounced 2BHK houses tothose who did not have adwelling of their own andsought to know what theywould do if they get Rs 10 lakhper family under DalitBandhu.

Some responded that theywould utilise the amount to setup a dairy farm, others saidthey would buy a tractor andsome said they would start abusiness.

The Chief Minister asked ifall the eligible received Aasarapensions and instructed dis-trict Collector PamelaSatapathy to sanction pen-sions if anyone was left out.

Moved by the dilapidatedcondition of houses in theDalitwada, KCR, who wentinside some houses and spokewith residents, advised them tothink of good options to utilise

funds under Dalit Bandhu.He also visited other

colonies besides Dalitwadaand assured that everyonewould be sanctioned a houseand they should not despair.

He was attentive when elder-ly women recounted theirproblems and he gave on thespot instructions to the officersto address those issues. Manysaid that their houses werebelow the road level, and gotflooded during rains.

He told the Collector that as2BHK houses would be con-structed for all, roads anddrains should be constructedas per a plan. When it wasbrought to his attention that 20women beedi workers were notgetting pension, he directed theCollector to sanction pensionswithin two days.

He told a beedi worker thathe studied by staying in thehouse of one such worker andhe was aware of their problems.

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hyderabad 02HYDERABAD | THURSDAY | AUGUST 5, 2021

EGG

RATES

HYDERABAD 436

VIJAYAWADA 524

VISAKHAPATNAM 557

RREETTAAIILL PPRRIICCEE `̀44..2299

`̀//110000

CHICKEN

RATES

Dressed/With Skin `235

Without Skin `255

Broiler at Farm `129

`̀//KKGG

(IN HYDERABAD)

PNS n HYDERABAD

Senior interventional gastroen-terologist from GleneaglesGlobal Hospitals, Dr YalakaRami Reddy has received apatent from Government ofIndia for developing a uniquesurgical device 'CompositePolypectomy Snare', whichpromises to make colonoscopyprocess easier.

"There are certain complex-ities in the existing devicesused to snare polyps from

inside the colon region in ahuman body. Such difficultiescompelled me to innovate thisdevice which is not just easy tohandle, it also reduces thetime taken to performcolonoscopy on complicatedpolyps," Dr Reddy in a pressrelease said.

The device also will enabledoctors to control internalbleeding, which is a complicat-ed affair while using otherdevices. The device will nowundergo the rigours of testing

by authorities, and sometimesoon it will hopefully be put tocommercial use, he said.

This is the second patentwon by Dr. Rami Reddy for hisproduct innovations. Earlier, hedeveloped a feeding pipe toprovide relief to terminally illpatients suffering fromoesophageal cancer. The feed-ing tube addresses currentproblems like complete block-age in the oesophagus occur-ring due to cancers, the pressrelease added.


The bench noted that quiteoften, encroachment of gov-ernment lands and illegaltransactions were beingbrought to the notice of thecourt. It said that the Collectorsof 33 districts should immedi-ately take up a survey and com-plete it in a time-bound man-ner.

Government lands shouldbe identified and the surveydetails along with geo-taggingof lands be entered into therecords, the bench said.

The bench also ordered thatmeasures be taken to ensurethat government lands are notregistered illegally and detailsof such lands are sent to the

Registration authorities. Instructions should also be

given to the sub-registrars notto conduct surveys of govern-ment lands in records, thecourt instructed the Collectors.It said that if the sub-registrarshave any doubts, they shouldconsult the Collectors first.

The bench also instructedthe Collectors to personallysupervise the recording of gov-ernment land survey details.Collectors of all the 33 districtsshould submit the reports sep-arately, it said.

The High Court ordersshould be sent to the districtCollectors within one week, theBench instructed the AdvocateGeneral and adjourned thehearing to October 27.

PNS n HYDERABAD

The only Indian woman to wintwo Olympic medals, P.V.Sindhu feels that this is not theend as the star shuttler noweyes 2024 Olympics to be heldat Paris.

After arriving in her home-town on Wednesday to a hero'swelcome following the bronzemedal win at Tokyo Olympics,she made it clear that she ishungry for more.

"It will not stop with this.There will be many more suc-cesses going forward.Definitely, I will play in Parisand will do my best," said the26-year-old who won two con-secutive Olympic medals andis the reigning world champi-on.

Addressing a press confer-ence along with her Koreancoach Park Tae-sang, physical

trainer Srikanth Varma anddirectors of SuchitraBadminton Academy, she saidthat while winning the silvermedal at Rio Olympics agochanged her life, it was impor-tant to keep the momentumgoing over last five years.

Sindhu said she could getthe medal because all of them

worked hard. "We worked veryhard. We knew that only hardwork and sacrifices can get usthere. All of us had the dreamof a medal at Tokyo. We knewthe value of the medal," shesaid.

On the rigorous trainingbefore Olympics, she said theyall knew the importance of

physical fitness. She recalledthat even the recovery sessionwas done carefully.

Varma was all praise forSindhu for bearing with thetorturous training she had togo through. "I worked withother athletes, but Sindhu istremendous," he said

He recalled that Sindhunever took a break from thetraining even for a single day.

The Korean coach said hewas very happy as for him thiswas first Olympic medal ascoach. "I will never forget thismoment in my life," he said.

He said despite the pandem-ic situation, Sindhu remainedfocused and worked hard withpatience and this finally paidoff. He exuded confidencethat the star shuttler will wina medal in next Olympics too.

Suchitra Academy headcoach and director Pradeep

Raju said they had the dreamof achieving multiple medals atOlympics. He said Sindhu washighly motivated and thecoach was equally passionateabout success.

He said they received allhelp from Telangana sportsauthorities as Gachibowli sta-dium was made available fortraining. The stadium wasselected because it was similarto what they had in Tokyo.

The authorities switched onthe AC and created the samematch situation to enable herto practice. At least 20 differ-ent players from the Academysparred with Sindhu on rota-tion.

"Before Mission Paris 2024,we want to see her becomeworld number one. Our dreamis to see her play nextOlympics as number oneseed," he said.

Hungry for more success, Sindhu now eyes 2024 Olympics in Paris

Hyd doctor receives patent from GOI for developing unique surgical device

GO issued for reducingeligibility age for pensionsPNS n HYDERABAD

The State government onWednesday issued a GOreducing the eligibility age forAasara pensions from 65 yearsto 57 years as promised byChief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao.

GO No. 36 instructed theSERP CEO and other officialsthat the process for identifyingthe eligible beneficiaries bestarted immediately.

“The decision to reduce theeligibility age for pensionswas taken keeping in view sev-eral representations receivedfrom various sections of soci-ety,” said Minister forPanchayat Raj and RuralDevelopment YerrabelliDayakar Rao in a statement.

The Minister said that lakhsof new beneficiaries would getold age pension of Rs 2,016.

“Officials are ready to com-plete the process for identify-ing the eligible beneficiaries,”the statement said.

The Minister said that so far,the government was givingpension to those who complet-ed 65 years like no other Stateand thanked the ChiefMinister for the GO reducingthe eligibility age for pen-sions to 57 years.

TS EAMCET2021 begins PNS n HYDERABAD

The Telangana StateEngineering, Agriculture andMedical Common EntranceTest (TS EAMCET) 2021 hascommenced on Wednesdayamid Covid-19 safety protocols.

The entrance test for theengineering courses is beingheld from 9 am to 12 noon, and3 pm to 5 pm at 105 test cen-tres including 82 in Telanganaand 23 in Andhra Pradesh.Students were allowed into thecentres after thermal screeningand sanitising their hands.This year, 2,51,606 studentsincluding 1,64,962 for engi-neering and 86,644 for AMhave registered. The engineer-ing entrance test will be held fortwo more days i.e., on Thursdayand Friday, while the test forAM stream is slated to be con-ducted on August 9 and 10.

Rahul Gandhi to...Continued from page 1

He said that the TPCC has tofinalise the venue and date forthe programme. “The Congresswill organise day-long pro-grammes for Rahul Gandhi’svisit,” Revanth Reddy said. Hesaid that the TPCC will take therecommendations of formerMP Ponnam Prabhakar andTPCC election committeechairman DamodaraRajanarsimha with regard tothe selection of candidate forthe Huzurabad by-election.

BJP got over three times moredonations than 5 other parties...Continued from page 1

According to the report, theBJP declared a donation of Rs4.80 lakh from the AmravatiMunicipal Corporation.

"No details of address, bankname, PAN, among others,have been provided by theparty against this donation. Acasual search on the internetshows that the aforesaid donoris a Government ofMaharashtra local body (asmentioned on their website). Itraises questions on the legali-ty of the contribution made bya municipal corporation whichis a governing body (whosemayor and deputy mayor arefrom BJP) to a political party,"the poll rights group said.

"The BJP declared 570 dona-

tions of Rs 149.875 crore,AITC collected 52 donationsworth Rs 7.1035 crore,Congress collected 25 dona-tions of Rs 2.6875 crore andNCP collected two donationsof Rs 3.005 crore havingincomplete cheque/DD detailswhere cheque number, bankdetails on which it was drawnand the date on which thecheque was received/ en-cashed is not provided. Thus,without the completecheque/Demand Draft (DD)details, it would be a time-con-suming process to link thedonors against their dona-tions and hence trace themoney trail," the report said.

The report said the BJPdeclared receiving land fromthree donors of a total value of

Rs 1.516 crore."The three donations are

from Jhanjharpur in Biharworth Rs 36.80 lakh, Rs 50 lakhand Rs 64.88 lakh. Apart fromthe names, location of donors,PAN details of one donor, noother details have been provid-ed like donors' address, bankdetails, PAN of remaining twodonors, address and khasra'(plot) number of land, type ofland agricultural/commercial,among others," it said.

The report added that theCPM and CPI also failed todeclare the details of chequeand DD (cheque number, bankon which it was drawn and thedate) for a total of 39 donationsamounting to Rs 1.0786 croreand 29 donations amountingto Rs 52.17 lakh, respectively.


In its interim orders, the benchdirected the State governmentnot to release the money.

The Chief Secretary had onJune 7 issued a GovernmentOrder (GO) sanctioning Rs58,95,63,000 towards contemptcases pending in the HighCourt. More than 250 contempt

cases are reportedly pendingagainst the bureaucrats.

The High Court issuednotices to Secretaries of Revenueand Finance Departments alongwith CCLA, Treasury Directorson this matter. It also issuednotices to Somesh Kumar in hisindividual status. The courtadjourned the next hearing toOctober 27.

Court stops release of Rs 58crore to fight contempt cases

GO No. 36 instructedthe SERP CEO andother officials that theprocess foridentifying the eligiblebeneficiaries bestarted immediately


The bench, also comprisingJustice Sur ya Kant, onWednesday took note of thesubmissions of G Umapathy,the counsel appearing forAndhra Pradesh, that thestate wanted adjudication ofthe case by the apex courtbench instead of going for themediation.

“Then let the matter be list-ed before another bench. Weare not forcing you, if youdon't want mediation. Place itbefore another bench,” the CJIordered.

"They don't want media-tion, and I don't want to hearthe matter," CJI Ramana saidduring the brief hearing.

Solicitor General TusharMehta, appearing for theCentre, said the governmenthas no objection if the CJI-ledbench heard the plea ofAndhra Pradesh.

“I do not have any objec-tion, neither does theGovernment. We have full

faith,” the law officer said.“Thank you,” the CJI said

while politely refusing to hearthe case of Andhra Pradesh.

On August 2, CJI Ramanahad said: "I don't want to hearthis matter legally. I belong toboth the states. If the mattercan be settled in mediation,please do that. We can helpwith that. Otherwise I willtransfer this to anotherbench."

The counsel for AndhraPradesh had taken time tillWednesday for apprising thebench of the view of the stateover the apex court's media-tion offer.

In July, Andhra Pradeshgovernment had moved thetop court claiming that theTelangana governmentrefused to follow the decisionstaken by the Apex Councilconstituted under the AndhraPradesh Reorganization Act,2014, the directions ofKrishna River ManagementBoard (KRMB) formed underthis Act, and the Centre's

directives.The petition said the fun-

damental rights includingright to life of the people liv-ing in Andhra Pradesh was"seriously impaired andinfringed" upon as they werebeing deprived of their "legit-imate share of water" due to"unconstitutional, illegal andunjust" acts of the Telanganagovernment and its officials.

"The present petition isbeing moved because the stateof Telangana is refusing to fol-low decisions taken in theApex Council constitutedunder the Andhra PradeshReorganization Act, 2014,directions of KRMB, and direc-tions of government of India,"it said.

"This has caused immensehardship for people of AndhraPradesh as availability of waterhas been seriously prejudicedby depletion in Srisailam Damproject as well as other projectssuch as the Nagarjuna SagarProject and the PulichintalaProject," it added.

7.59 lakh cases pending in...Continued from page 1

Fast Track Courts are function-al for heinous crimes, crimesagainst women and children etc.

However, out of the 37 fasttrack courts proposed, only 34are functional in TS. As manyas 12,200 cases are pending infast track courts as of May 31,2021. The fast track courts,which disposed of 4,942 cases in2019, disposed of only 178 and89 cases in 2020 and 2021respectively in TS.

It may be mentioned herethat Telangana High CourtBench strength was hiked by 75percent after CJI NV Ramanaintervened as lakhs of cases arepending in courts.

It may be mentioned herethat on Tuesday, the SupremeCourt said “Collectively, we aremaking a mockery of the judi-cial system,” referring to thesheer number of trivial and mis-

cellaneous cases that have pre-vented the top court fromdeciding the ones that reallymatter to those waiting for finaldecisions of their long-pendingmatters.

1 lakh illegal constructions in...Continued from page 1

A High Court Bench comprising Chief Justice Hima Kohli andJustice Vijayasen Reddy was hearing a petition filed against illegalconstructions in GHMC limits where it said that rules on paper weregood but enforcement at the field level was not up to the mark. Thecourt expressed anguish against the zonal commissioners for notreporting the action taken on illegal structures. Giving a last chanceto submit these reports within two weeks, the High Court orderedofficers who did not do so to pay Rs 10,000 as expenses andadjourned the hearing to August 25.

Survey govt-owned lands, submit...


The party was handing over acheque of Rs 18 crore to theinsurance company towardsaccidental insurance of partyworkers, KTR said.

The TRS, with 60 lakhmembership, had grown intoan invincible power and all the60 lakh members are the fam-ily of TRS, he said. No one wholost their kin should feel inse-cure and the responsibility of

their families would be on theparty general secretaries wherethey are in-charge of theirrespective areas, KTR said.

The problems of 80 familieswould be resolved in 10 days,he said, adding last year, 950TRS workers died in acci-dents and their families wouldalso be helped by the party. “Itwould be the responsibility ofthe party to take care of work-ers who were protecting it,”KTR said.

Families of deceased...

CJI recuses after AP says...

KCR lends a patient ear to...

Long-lasting Covid symptoms rare in kids: StudyPNS n HYDERABAD

Most children with Covidrecover within a week, only asmall percentage have long-term symptoms, according toa study published in the jour-nal Lancet Child andAdolescent Health.

The study showed that lessthan one in 20 children withsymptomatic Covid experi-enced symptoms last inglonger than four weeks, andalmost all children have fullyrecovered by eight weeks.

The most common symp-toms reported in childrenwere headaches, tiredness(fatigue), a sore throat, andloss of smell (anosmia).

Reassuringly, there were noreports of serious neurologi-cal symptoms such as fits orseizures, impaired concentra-tion or attention, or anxiety,the findings showed.

"It is reassuring that thenumber of children experi-encing long-lasting symptomsof Covid symptoms is low.Nevertheless, a small number

of children do experience longillness with Covid-19, and ourstudy validates the experiencesof these children and theirfamilies," said Professor EmmaDuncan.

The team looked at dailyhealth reports logged in theZOE Covid Symptom Studyapp by parents or carers onbehalf of more than 250,000children aged 5-17, with near-ly 7,000 having symptomsconsistent with Covid and apositive test.

The team focused on the

period from September 2020through to February 2021.

During this time, 1,734 chil-dren were reported who had aclear start and end point totheir symptoms and a positiveCovid PCR test.

On average, the illness last-ed for five days in youngerchildren (5 to 11 years old)and seven days in older chil-dren aged 12 to 17.

Fewer than one in 20 expe-rienced symptoms for 4 weeksor more, while only one in fiftyhad symptoms lasting more

than 8 weeks.The researchers also

assessed the children whotested negative for Covid-19who may have had otherchildhood illnesses, such ascolds and flu.

To do this, they randomlyselected a group of age-matched and gender-matchedchildren with symptomsreported through the app whowere tested at the same timeas the positive children.

Children with Covid-19were ill for longer compared

to children with other ill-nesses who tested negative forCovid-19 (an average of 6days' illness with Covid-19 v/s3 days with other illnesses)and were more likely to be illfor more than four weeks.

However, at four weeks,the small number of childrenwith other illnesses tended tohave more symptoms thanthose who were ill withCovid-19 (average 5 symp-toms in Covid-negative groupv/s 2 symptoms in Covid-pos-itive group).

KCR gives a...Continued from page 1

“By 11 am, Rs 10 lakh would becredited into the account ofeach Dalit family,” he said.“Vasalamarri village would beimmediately sanctioned Rs 7.6crore under Dalit Bandhuscheme,” the Chief Ministerdeclared. Along with DalitBandhu, they would also get2BHK houses and the villagewould be reconstructed with allamenities, KCR said. Similarly,surplus government land wouldbe distributed to SCs. The ChiefMinister advised the Dalits tochoose good vocations, tradesand utilise the Dalit Bandhufunds judiciously.

Pseudoephedrine bound for Oz from Hyderabad seizedPNS n HYDERABAD

The Narcotics Control Bureau(NCB) on Wednesday said ithas seized one kg ofPseudoephedrine here andarrested two people fromTamil Nadu while they wereallegedly sending the courierparcel containing the con-trolled substance to Australia.

Acting on specific intelli-gence inputs, the NCB,Hyderabad, made the seizureat a courier office here onAugust 2, the NCB said in apress release.

The consignment con-tained bundles of lace andalong with otherembroideryitems and was destined toAustralia. On thorough exam-ination, the NCBofficersfound a transparent pouchwith a white colour crystal

powder concealedin the cav-ity of the wheel of the bundle.The extraction and testing ofthe hiddenmaterial revealedthat it was Pseudoephedrine,a controlled substance underNDPS (Narcotic Drugs andPsychotropic Substances) Act,1985," said the release.

The arrested two wereidentified by the NCB teamwith the help of CCTV cam-eras and were arrested onTuesday in connection withthe seizure.

Precursor chemicals likeAcetic Anhydride, Ephedrineand Pseudoephedrine arechemicals which are used asintermediary for the manu-facture of dyes, paints, tex-tiles, pesticides, said therelease quoting AmitGhawate, NCB, ZonalDirector, Bengaluru.

Trains cancelledPNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Several trains have been pro-posed to be cancelled and alsoa number of train serviceshave been diverted due thecommissioning of Vijayawada-Uppaluru doubling and carry-ing of non-interlocking worksin Vijayawada division.

Accordingly, Train 08561Visakhapatnam-Kachegudaspecial train leavingVisakhapatnam on August 12and 13 will be cancelled.

HYDERABAD | THURSDAY | AUGUST 5, 2021hyderabad 03

PNS n HYDERABAD

Star shuttler PV Sindhu, theonly Indian woman to win twoOlympic medals, arrived inHyderabad on Wednesday to awarm welcome by theTelangana government.

Telangana Sports Minister VSrinivas Goud and other offi-cials accorded a warm wel-come to the Tokyo 2020 bronzemedalist on her return to herhome town. She had won sil-ver in the last Olympics.

Accompanied by her parentsand Korean coach Park Tae-sang, Sindhu reachedHyderabad from New Delhi,where she had landed onTuesday.

As soon as she emerged outof the passenger terminalbuilding at Rajiv GandhiInternational Airport, her rel-atives, friends and well wish-ers greeted her.

Sporting her trademarksmile and proudly displayingthe Olympic medal, Sindhuposed for dozens of photoand video journalists.

The reigning world champi-on Sindhu, who had won sil-ver at the Rio Games fiveyears ago, told reporters thatshe was very happy over win-ning another Olympic medal.

"I will continue to workhard in the coming days to win

more awards and rewards,"she said.

The shuttler thanked thestate government and allauthorities concerned forextending all the help to her.

The 26-year-old won bronzemedal on Sunday by defeatingChina's He Bing Jiao. Withthis, Sindhu became only thesecond Indian and first womanathlete from the country to bagtwo Olympic medals.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana's Minister forIndustry, KT Rama Rao, saidon Wednesday that Frenchfruit beverages manufacturingcompany Georges Monin dou-bling its investment in thestate will give a big fillip to thefood processing industry.

The Minister took to Twitterto welcome Monin's decisionto double investment in itsupcoming manufacturing

plant in Telangana to Rs 200crore. The company had ear-lier announced that despite thesetbacks caused by theCoronavirus pandemic, it isdoubling its investment forthe plant, targeting completionby 2023. "With the increasedinvestment of 200 crore, Indiaremains a top-priority marketfor Monin," said OlivierMonin, chairman, GeorgesMonin.

Monin had signed a

Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU) with thestate government of Telanganain 2018, announcing an initialinvestment of Rs 100 crore to setup the manufacturing plant.

The French business hassince opened its wholly-ownedsubsidiary in Hyderabad asMonin India Pvt Ltd and hasacquired 40 acres of land for itsmanufacturing site.

It has also set up an in-houseR&D centre in Hyderabad.

Double Olympic medalist PV Sindhuarrives in Hyd to a rousing welcome

PNS n HYDERABAD

Two workers who weredeployed to clean a sewerageline were feared dead afterthey entered a manhole atSahebnagar in Vanasthalipuram on Tuesday night. Thebody of one was recoveredwhile efforts are on to tracethe second person.

Anthaiah and Siva, both res-idents of Saidabad, were askedby the contractor to clean themanholes in Sahebnagar. Siva,who first entered the manhole,went missing following whichAnthaiah got down to helphim. Two other workers triedto reach out to Siva andAnthaiah and failed.

Following information,police and fire departmentofficials rushed to the spotand recovered the body ofSiva while efforts were on tofind Anthaiah.

PNS n HYDERABAD

A moving vehicle caught firenear the busy Khairatabadjunction here in the city onWednesday morning. Nocasualties were reported.

Fire erupted from theengine of the SUV, believed tobe a police escort vehicle,when it reached near the junc-tion. The alert driver noticedflames and immediatelystopped the vehicle. All thoseinside the car rushed out of thevehicle and informed the fireservices department.

All the occupants in the

moving police escort vehicleescaped unhurt when the vehi-cle caught fire.

A fire engine rushed to thespot and the fire was dousedimmediately. The car was gut-ted in the fire.

A short circuit in the engineof the SUV is suspected tohave led to the fire.

Traffic was disrupted forsome time due to the burningvehicle on the busy road dur-ing the peak hour. The burntvehicle was removed from theroad.

The Punjagutta Police areinvestigating.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Sadhana Samithi leadersfrom Parakala ofTelangana's Warangal dis-trict staged a protest infront of the PragathiBhavan (Chief MinisterCamp Office) on Tuesdayand demanded to makeParakala a separate district.

They even tried to laysiege to the camp office inHyderabad.

The protesters have beenprotesting for their demandat Parakala for the last 21days and decided to stagethe protest in front of theCM Camp Office inHyderabad after the localleaders turned a blind eyetowards their protest.

The protesters weredetained by the HyderabadPolice, and have been shift-ed to Goshamahal PoliceStation.

PNS n HYDERABAD

A citizens' collective has saidthat all eligible residents of avillage in Telangana have beenadministered the first dose ofCoronavirus vaccine makingthe hamlet 'Covid-resilient'.

Project Madad, a collectiveof doctors and volunteers fromIndia and the Indian diasporaworking together to provideCovid education and health-care assistance to rural India,said it has developed a modelto make India's villages Covid-resilient.

In coordination with thegovernment, Project Madadhas achieved a Covid-resilientvillage - Rajannapet in Sircilladistrict of Telangana - it said.

"On July 31, Rajannapetachieved Covid-resilience sta-

tus with first dose vaccinationof 1,328 eligible adults," it said.

The group has used a five-pronged model to progres-sively bring about a behaviour-al change among the villagers

who, according to the organi-sation, will not just be vaccinat-ed, but also be better preparedin time to tackle any possiblefuture wave. The model con-sists of five elements -- empow-

erment and equipping of ruralhealthcare workers, activecountering of Covid misinfor-mation in the vernacular lan-guage, innovative methods toencourage socially responsiblebehaviour and increase vaccineacceptance, use of technologyto address specific dimensions,and targeted delivery of vac-cines to achieve universal cov-erage. While there are severalvillages in Tripura, Goa,Maharashtra, and Jammu andKashmir that have successful-ly vaccinated all its eligible res-idents with both doses of vac-cine, Project Madad claimedthat Rajannapet was India'sfirst "Covid-resilient" villageand that their model was oneof its kind.

According to the ProjectMadad, achieving a state of

Covid resilience involves a lotmore than just vaccinating thepopulation.

"The five-pronged'Rajannapet model towardsCovid resilience in villages' isnot just about overcoming vac-cine hesitancy. It is aboutachieving a social and behav-ioral transformation that makesthe village impervious to sea-sonal outbreaks, reduces theseoutbreaks to a few isolatedcases and does not let the virusacquire pandemic proportions.

"Even if complete andimmediate vaccination of everyeligible adult in India weresomehow possible, vaccina-tion alone is not enough tocounter the Covid menace andits impact. It needs to be partof a composite strategy," thegroup said.

PROJECT MADAD

Post first dose of all residentsTS village now Covid-resilient

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Kushaiguda Police ofRachakonda Police Commiss-ionerate on Wednesday haveapprehended a worker of awine shop for stealing Rs 22.3lakh from Sai Durga Wines atMoulali on Wednesday.

The accused identified asBodige Sunil, 34, a native ofPochampally in YadadriDistrict was residing atChithalbasthi, had committedthe theft on July 31. Afterreceiving the complaint fromthe owners of the wine shop,the police have searched forthe accused and got him with-in four days. Police officialshave recovered Rs 22.1 lakhfrom him.

According to the police,the accused, an engineeringdropout, who was working inSai Durga Wines for overthree years now used to collectthe earnings of the day fromthe shop and hand it over tocomplainant's business partnerRamachandra Reddy, at

Chaitanyapuri. According tothe police, being a 'dry day' onAugust 1 and 2 on account ofBonalu, the shop did big busi-ness on July 31. That day, at10.30 pm Sunil has taken thecollection amount of Rs22,38,000 from the Wines tohandover it to complainant'spartner, but did not reachChaitnyapuri.

Sunil fled away with thecash and took shelter inYadadri-Bhongir district fortwo days spending Rs 28,000,later he returned to Hyderabadwith the remaining cash onAugust 3. On reliable infor-mation, the special team of theKushaiguda Police led byinvestigation officer GurvaReddy apprehended him onWednesday.

2 sewage workers feared dead while cleaning manhole

SEPARATE DISTRICT

Sadhana Samithiprotests outsidePragathi Bhavan

SI accused of raping trainee cop remanded

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Hyderabad CybercrimePolice arrested a Nigerian forcheating techie of Rs 10 lakhsthrough a matrimonial site.The accused Osher EbukaVictor, a Nigerian was testedCovid positive for and wasquarantined.

The complainant, a techiefrom Begumpet has receiveda match in matrimonial sitefrom the accused under thename ‘Victor Mehal Kumar’,a pharmacist from Gujarat.Later after their relationshipgrew, the accused has takenRs 10 lakhs from her on dif-ferent occasions and switchedoff his mobile. Realising thatshe was cheated, the victimhas lodged a complaint withthe police. The police tracedout the accused and havearrested the accused in Delhiand brought him toHyderabad.

Moving police SUV vehicle catches fire

PNS n HYDERABAD

P Srinivas Reddy, Sub-Inspector of police, who wasaccused of attempting to rapea woman Probationary Sub-Inspector of 2020 batch in theearly hours of Tuesday, wassent to judicial remand for 14days by a local court onTuesday, said MahabubabadSuperintendent of Police NKoti Reddy in a statementhere on Wednesday.

Srinivas Reddy, who wasworking as the SI at theMaripeda police station in thedistrict, was placed under sus-

pension on Tuesday by theNorth Zone IG and WarangalRange DIG Y Nagi Reddy, asthe victim approachedWarangal PoliceCommissioner Tarun Joshi.

In her complaint, the officerstated Srinivas Reddy had beensending messages to her phoneand been deleting them quick-ly. He used to question her asto why she was not respondingto his messages. According tothe FIR, Srinivas Reddy hadcommitted sexual assault onher and bit on several places onher body, and dropped herback at her residence.

Since the woman S-Ibelonged to the downtroddenSC community, a case of SC/STPrevention of Atrocities Act wasalso booked against SrinivasaReddy besides IPC sectionsincluding 354, 354 (A), 354 (B),354 (D) and 376 r/w 511. SP

Koti Reddy said that ThorrurDSP Venkataramana Motla hadbeen appointed as the investi-gating officer into the case.

He also added that 'vigilancecommittee' would also beformed to check such heinousacts in the department in thefuture and added that gendersensitivity programmes wouldalso be conducted for thepolice personnel. "Stringentaction will be taken against theofficers as per the law, irrespec-tive of their rank or designa-tion, if they were found guiltyof such offences." Koti Reddyadded.

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Shalibanda Police arrest-ed three persons who wasaccused of physically assault-ing an individual owing tocommunity rivalry betweenthe two parties onWednesday. On August 2, thevictim along with his friendswas heading towards theLaldarwaza temple on theirtwo-wheelers, when the threeaccused C Vamshi Yadav, CRakesh Yadav and C KrishnaYadav stopped the vehicle ofthe victim, wrongfully con-fined and physically assault-ed him.

Police officials remarkedthat the assault was a result ofenmity between the two com-munities from Mekalabanda.

The victim suffered a headinjury in the tussle as aresult, he has been hospital-ized. The case was regis-tered the next day.

Community rivalry:Three persons held for physical assault

KTR: Fruit beverage firms to give fillip to food processing industry

Youth stabs a girl multiple times for rejecting proposal, attempts suicidePNS n HYDERABAD

A youngster stabbed a womanmultiple times allegedly aftershe rejected his proposal, at herresidence in Bowenpally underthe limits of Hyderabad PoliceCommissionerate on Wednes-day afternoon. After the inci-dent, the accused also stabbedhimself with the same knife.

The condition of thewoman, who is currentlyunder treatment, was said to beout of danger.

According to the police, thevictim identified asChamanthi, 22, a salespersonat a supermarket had becomefriends with the accusedGirish, 24, an assistant chef inJawaharnagar. Both of them,who were the residents ofYapral had exchanged phonenumbers and were in contactover phone for some daysuntil he proposed to herrecently.

The victim had rejected hisproposal and maintained dis-tance from him. But, theaccused didn't leave her andcontinued to harass her in thename of love.

She also informed her par-ents about the harassment.They intervened and warnedhim to mend his behavior.

Speaking to The Pioneer,Police Inspector of BowenpallyRavi Kumar said, “Theaccused and the victim arewell known to each other.The family members of the girlare saying that the accused isharassing her in the name oflove. She has rejected his pro-posal. Boring grudge againsther, the accused attacked herat her residence onWednesday."

On Wednesday, at around1.30 pm, the accused went tothe residence of the victimand started an argument withher. After heated arguments,

the accused approached herfrom behind with a knife andstabbed her multiple times inthe stomach and hands.

Her family members, whowere on the spot, were threat-ened by him. She fell on thefloor, after which Girishattempted to commit suicideby stabbing himself in thestomach. Girish fell on thefloor dramatically.

While the victim wasrushed to a private hospital inBowenpally, Girish is under-going treatment at GandhiHospital.

As per the police officials,both the accused and victimare out of danger.

"Both are in stable condi-tion now. The BowenpallyPolice booked a case ofattempt to murder and tookup investigation. Girish will betaken into custody after herecovers," the police inspectorof Bowenpally said.

Cops register case against Teenmar Mallanna PNS n HYDERABAD

The Cyberabad Police haveregistered a case againstNaveen Kumar (TeenmarMallanna) for allegedly collect-ing and storing the personalinformation data of employeeson Wednesday.

Based on a complaintreceived from a formeremployee of Q News, the policehave raided the office andfound that Naveen collectedpersonal data of employeesand stored them in office com-puters. They have registered acase against Naveen under the

sections 67 IT Act, 506, 509,417 IPC and started the inves-tigation. The complainantclaimed that Naveen has col-lected photos and other detailsof all the employees through anapp. She worked in that officetill August 2020 and resigneddue to discomfort in office.

Recently, the ex-employeesof Q News have conducted apress meet and made allega-tions against Naveen, that hehas collected crores of moneyfrom the political parties. Incounter, Naveen has telecasteda few videos in his Q News andYoutube channels.

As per the complainant, hehas shown a video in the name‘Lodge Matter’. In the video, heshowed pictures of her andother employee and narrated astory like they had illicit affair.Objecting to that video, she hasfiled a case. The police raidedoffice and booked a case.

NPA passing outparade on Aug 6

Wine shop worker held for stealing Rs 22.3 lakh

PNS n MEDCHAL MALKAJGIRI

Education Minister SabithaIndra Reddy and LabourMinister Ch Malla Reddy onWednesday launched roadwidening works near SantaBio-Tech and ITI in MedchalMalkajgiri district.

The Minister said that thecredit for establishing 1,000residential schools, realisingthe importance of education,goes to the Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao.

The state governmentincurs an expenditure of Rs1.20 lakh on each student, shesaid pointing out howTelangana became an educa-tional hub with the setting upof universities, degree collegesand polytechnic college.Malla Reddy said that the gov-ernment is encouraging to setup industries and providingemployment to youth. UnderPattana Pragathi, the govern-ment will develop municipalcorporations and municipal-ities at a cost of Rs 2,000 crore.

T’gana is nowan educationalhub: Minister

MAJOR FACELIFT

There was a time when the River Musi was Hyderabad's lifeline. And then, for a long time, pollution of different forms coupled with inaction from successivegovernments over decades made her weak. Now, River Musi is preparing for a new chapter, one with which the State government wants to make the historic river amajor tourist attraction in Telangana. Members of the Musi Riverfront Development Corporation Ltd (MRDCL), the wing formed exclusively to rejuvenate the water

body, say that by 2024, the smoothly flowing waters of the Musi will be dotted with boats. From Puranapul to Nagole, bushes have been removed, walking tracks werebuilt, extensive greenery has been developed and tonnes of debris were cleared. Anti-larval operations, extensive fogging and spraying of chemicals using drones to

check mosquito menace are some of the measures taken to control the mosquito population along the banks of Musi.

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Sardar Vallabhbhai PatelNational Police Academy'spassing out parade for its 72RR batch will be held here onAugust 6. The DikshantParade will see 144 IPS proba-tioners and 34 Foreign OfficerTrainees passing out. UnionMinister of State for HomeAffairs Nityanand Rai will bethe chief guest. The 178 train-ees had joined the academy inDecember 2019 after complet-ing a 15-week foundationcourse.

Nigerian heldfor cheatingwoman techie

hyderabad 04HYDERABAD | THURSDAY | AUGUST 5, 2021

PNS n NAGARKURNOOL

The Government's apathy andlack of funds and technology indeploying huge machineryhave stalled Asia's biggest andlongest SLBC (Srisailam LeftBank Canal) tunnel construc-tion works. Even after comple-tion of the deadline, the offi-cials have failed to complete atleast 40 per cent of construc-tion. With an intention to pro-vide quality drinking water tothe fluoride-hit villages inNalgonda district and cater tothe drinking water needs ofHyderabad city apart fromproviding irrigation water to3.5 lakh acres in 516 acres, theSLBC project was proposed in1985. Since the project requiredhuge funding, it is taken up onthe lines of the EliminetiMadhava Reddy Lift Irrigationscheme and finally, it shapedinto SLBC project.

The YS Rajasekhar Reddygovernment had decided toexecute the project as part ofJalayagnam in 2004. With astrong commitment, the thenChief Minister YS RajasekharReddy had approved it underJalayagnam and the responsi-bilities of the project had beenhanded over to JP Associatesfor executing the project. Asper the plan, a head-regulatorwould be built at 4 km ahead

of the upstream of the Srisailamproject and a balancing reser-voir would be built atNakkalagandi. FromNakkalagandi, water would betaken through a 7.25 km-longsecond tunnel and later anoth-er 25-km-long tunnel-1 wouldbe dug to shift the water to theElimineti Madhavareddy LIscheme.

Though the project was ini-tiated 16 years ago, even 40 per

cent of the tunnel 1 and 2 hadnot been completed. TwoTBMs (Tunnel Bore Machines)were on the digging job fromboth ends. As one of the TBMmachines has got stuck in therecent rains and the govern-ment has to spend Rs 50 crore.The engineering officials for-warded proposals worth Rs 60crore four months ago forreplacing TBM's bearings andbelts damaged due to frottage.

The SLBC works came to astandstill as there is no responsefrom the government to releasethe funds. The tunnel engineersand labour left the project siteas there is no lull in the execu-tion of the project. The hugeequipment of the TBM has totransport through seaway, theofficials estimated that it maytake another 5-6 months toreceive the import. The siteengineers said the work may be

further delayed as technocratsfrom Japan, Germany andAmerica should be summonedto take up the repair work ofTBM machinery.

As against the total tunnel of43.9 km, tunnelling of 29.9 kmhas been completed another 14km has yet to be dug. The SLBCis the only way to supply irri-gation water to eight lakh acresspread over in the three zonesif the project is completed.Even a single pie had not beensanctioned for the project bythe governments headed byKiran Kumar Reddy andKonijeti Rosaiah in the unitedAP.

The project's engineeringexperts observed that fundcrunch and heavy expendi-ture for the project and techni-cal trouble given by the heavymachinery were the major rea-sons to be attributed for thedelay in the project works.About 30 TMCs of water could

be supplied through the tunnelto cater to the drinking andirrigation water needs of theNagarjuna Sagar and Nalgondadistricts. Apart from the SLBCproject, the Dindi LI schemewas also going at slow pace inTelangana.

The cost of the SLBC project,which is achieved after themovement for two-and-halfdecades, was escalated than thecost of cultivation due to theapathy of the successive gov-ernments. The Oppositionparty leaders have alleged thatthe government is showingstep-motherly treatmenttowards the SLBC to releasejust Rs 60 crore for bearingsand belts of TBM machinery,while it was liberally investingabout Rs 80,000 crore for theKaleswaram project. They saidit is not fair on the part of thegovernment to neglect the pro-ject which costs around Rs20,000 crore.

Fund crunch stalls Asia's biggest SLBC tunnel works

CIVIC HHONOUR

Zilla Parishad chairperson Manjusri and other leaders felicitating Legislative Council Protem Speaker Bhupal Reddy at ZPmeeting in Sangareddy on Wednesday.

PNS n SANGAREDDY

The farmers are jubilant overthe State Cabinet decision towaive farm loans below Rs50,000 by the end of August.Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao has madean announcement over thesecond phase of waiver of farmloans fulfilling the electionpromise.

However, a section of farm-ers, who did not renew theirloans is not happy as theyhave to pay the interestamount. The officials are per-sistently announcing that thefarmers have to pay the inter-est if they did not renew theirloans not depending on thegovernment policy decision.

As many as 73,565 farmershave taken loans below Rs50,000 in the combined Medakdistrict and they will be bene-fited to the tune of Rs 261.2crore in the form of loan waiv-er. Now, the officials are on thejob of listing out the details ofthe farmers who have takenloans. The loan waiver amountwill be deposited into the bank

accounts of the farmers, whohad taken below Rs 50,000from August 15. The majori-ty of the farmers who hadtaken loans below Rs 50,000will be small and marginalfarmers and they will havegreat relief with the Cabinetdecision.

About 5.11 lakh farmers areeligible for the loan waiverscheme in the combinedMedak district and the govern-

ment is spending Rs 3,286.8crore to right off the loans.Already, about 62,746 farmershave received loan waiveramounts to the tune of Rs 91.79crore in the first phase. In thesecond phase, about 73,565farmers have been identified aseligible persons and the totalvalue of the loans will be Rs261.2 crore.

In Sangareddy district, about1,89 lakh farmers are going to

get benefits up to Rs 1800crore. In the first phase, 11,462farmers have taken loans belowRs 25,000 and the governmentwaived Rs 18.29 crore. The offi-cials estimated that there willbe 24,765 farmers who havetaken loans below Rs 50,000.They may receive Rs 89.20crore as a loan waiver.

In Medak district, thereare 2.35 lakh farmers out ofthem, 12,334 farmers receivedloan waiver amounts in thefirst phase of below Rs 25,000.A total of Rs 19.35 croreworth of loans had beenwaived in the first phase. Anestimated 24,200 farmers mayget benefits in the secondphase and Rs 85 crore will be

deposited into their accounts. In Siddipet district, as many

as 20.148 farmers hadreceived Rs 27.14 crore as loanwaiver in the first phase and24,600 farmers have beenidentified in the second phasewith a loan waiver of Rs 87crore.

Expecting the crop loanwaiver, the farmers have notrepaid their loans and themajority of farmers have notevinced interest even to renewtheir loans. Now, the farmerswho did not renew their loanshave to pay the interestsaccrued on the principalamount. The officials said theprocess of loan waiver willcommence from August 16.

DETAILS OF LOAN WAIVER

SANGAREDDY 24,765 89.20

Siddipet 24,600 87.00

Medak 24,200 85.00

TOTAL 73,565 261.20

DISTRICT NO OF FARMERS LOANS TO BEWAIVED (IN CR)

73,465 farmers to benefit from loanwaiver in combined Medak district

PNS n NAGARKURNOOL

A medical camp is organizedfor Chenchus as per the wishof Telangana state GovernorTamilsai Soundararajan atBhourapur Chenchupenta inLingala mandal ofNagarkurnool district underthe aegis of PalamuruUniversity and Red CrossSociety on Wednesday. DistrictCollector L Sharman partici-pated in the multi-level med-ical camp as a chief guest.

Speaking on the occasion,the Collector said theGovernor has directed thePalamuru University and RedCross Society to adoptChenchupenta in Nallamalaforest in Nagarkurnool districtto provide better medical careto the Chenchu tribes. The RedCross Society and severalNGOs have conducted an in-depth study on the lifestyle ofthe Chenchus to provide thembetter opportunities by con-ducting meetings for theirupliftment. About 29 special-ist doctors from Nagarkurnool,Mahabubnagar andHyderabad attended the med-ical camp. Cardiologists,

Pediatric, gynaecologists,ortho, eye, dental and generalphysicians have conductedtests on the Chenchu tribals.

The doctors advised thepeople to have their jab to pre-vent the Covid-19. AchampetMLA Guvvala Balaraj, whoparticipated at the camp saidthe Telangana government hastaken up various measures toprotect the culture of Adivasisand Chenchus which is on theverge of extinction. Some ofthe children are shifted toChevella and admitted to theschools. All the Chenchupentahamlets have been upgraded asvillage panchayats and stepsare being taken to rule their

own villages as sarpanches.Though there are laws for thegrowth of the Chenchus, peo-ple need to create awarenessamong them over the laws.

Palamur University Vice-Chancellor LakshmikanthRathod said Chenchupentahas been adopted as per thedirectives of GovernorTamilsai Soundararajan andNSS camps were being con-ducted through social activistsof the varsity.

Governor's office LiaisonOfficer Seetharamulu saidChenchupenta hamlets havebeen adopted by the Governorin various districts and stepswill be taken to provide theirnutritional food, quality edu-cation and proper medicalcare. Apart from medical tests,Chenchus are given blankets,mosquito nets, fruits and veg-etables.

Indian Medical Associationstate president Dr LavakumarReddy, secretary B NarenderReddy, senior Prof Dr GuttuSrinivas, DM&HO DrSudhakar Lal, Mahabubnagarhospital superintendent DrRamkishan and others werepresent.

Multi-level health camp forChenchu tribes organised

People's role in curbingcrimes underscoredPNS n WARANGAL

Warangal Police Commissioner Dr Tarun Joshi has calledupon the people to take partin protecting the law andorder and controlling thecrimes.

The Commissioner launched the CC cameras estab-lished in the limits ofHanmakonda police stationwith support from the peopleon Wednesday. The peoplecontributed to setting up 33CC cameras at Bus stand cen-tre, Congress Bhavan junction,Ashoka Hotel Junction,Maxicare Hospital, Asian Malland on the main thorough-fares en route to JNS Ground.All these cameras have beenlinked to the CommandControl Centre in the control

room in Hanmakonda. Speaking on the occasion,

the Police Commissioner saidthe role of CC cameras is vitalin curbing the crimes andidentifying the criminals. Theyare very crucial in submittingproof in the courts over thecrimes apart from catching theculprits within hours after thecrime incident. arun Joshi saidthe incidents of chain-snatch-ing, thefts and other crimeshave declined in the state overthe past three years and it waspossible only with the CCcameras, which were estab-lished with the partnership ofthe people. Central zone in-charge DCP Pushpa,Hanmakonda ACP M JitenderReddy, Hanmakonda InspectorVenumadhav and other policepersonnel were present.

PNS n MAHABUBNAGAR

Minister for Excise, Sports,Culture and Tourism Dr VSrinivas Gowd has directed theofficials to take measures toprevent seasonal diseases likeMalaria and Dengue due tomosquito bites.

Launching the programmes toprevent malaria and dengue atthe municipal office here onWednesday, the Minister told thesanitation staff to alert peopleagainst water stagnation in thehouses as mosquitoes will breadand cause the spreading of dis-eases like malaria and dengue.

Water may stagnate in theabandoned tyres, utensils andcoconut shells. The sanitary staffshould educate the people toclean the environment and sur-roundings. He asked the Malariaspecial officer to focus on anti-malaria steps in the colonies andvillages. He said a super-special-ity hospital is coming up inMahabubnagar at Rs 300 crore inthe old collector office.

The Minister said there issevere water scarcity and powercuts before 2014, now people aregetting drinking water daily and

uninterrupted power supply. Thegovernment is releasing funds tomunicipalities every month andit is an example for the growth ofthe civic bodies, he added.

Srinivas Gowd said the gov-ernment will provide doublebedroom houses to all the eligi-ble poor people and there is nonecessary to reapply for thehouses again as it is a continuousprocess.

Stating the Mahabubnagarhas entered into Guinness Bookof world records by preparinghuge word with two crore seedballs and Similarly, Ramappatemple in Warangal securedUNESCO tag.

Municipal chairman KC

Narsimhulu and others spoke onthe occasion. Municipal vice-chairman Ganesh, DM&HO DrKrishna, District Malaria OfficerVanjay Kumar, MunicipalCommissioner Pradeep Kumarand others were present.

Special prayers at Bonalu:Minister Srinivas Gowd saidwith support from people andblessings from the God,Mahabubnagar district will betaken into the growth path. Heparticipated in Bonalu at Tankaravillage in Hanwada mandal ofMahabubnagar district onWednesday. He inaugurated awater tank at the Pochammatemple built with support fromthe donors.

Take steps to prevent seasonaldiseases, says Minister Srinivas

PNS n PEDDAPELLY

Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has turned into aGod for lakhs of poor peopleas he introduced many welfareschemes for their upliftment,Ramagund am MLAKorukanti Chander said onWednesday.

The MLA disbursedcheques to the KalyanaLakshmi beneficiaries in the37th division in the limits ofRamagundam MunicipalCorporation on Wednesday.Speaking on the occasion, hesaid people use to sell thefemale babies in the tribalthandas earlier and under therule of KCR, people are cele-brating if the girl child is born

in the house with immensehappiness. Terming KCR as agreat person, Chander saidthough the state is facing asevere financial crisis withthe corona pandemic, the gov-ernment is continuing thewelfare schemes uninterrupt-ed thinking the poor shouldnot be suffered.

The Kalyana Lakshmi is giv-ing strong support to the poorfamilies as the state govern-ment is giving Rs 1,00,116 forthe wedding of the daughter.

Deputy Mayor NadipelliAbhishek, corporators PentaRajesh, Pamukuntla BhaskarAddala Gattaiah, TRS leadersBoddu Ravinder, Ch Srinivas,Jaheer Basha and others werepresent.

KCR turned into Godfor the poor, says MLA

Krishna Madigademands DalitBandhu for allDalits PNS n SIDDIPET

MRPS founder presidentManda Krishna Madiga hasalleged that while the Dalitsare making sacrifices in thestate, Chief Minister KCR'sfamily is enjoying the royaltreat. He said Dalits havebeen thrown into backward-ness after the Telangana stateis formed.

He addressed a seminar on'Integrated growth achieve-ment for SCs' at VyshnaviGardens at Duddeda inKondapaka mandal of theGajwel constituency onWednesday. With the fear oflosing the Huzurabad by-elec-tion, KCR arranged a meetingat Vasalamarri in Nalgonda dis-trict to cheat the Dalits, KrishnaMadiga said and alleged thatthe Chief Minister has openedup a new drama to lure Dalitvotes in the name of an invalidscheme of Dalit Bandhu aheadof the by-poll.

He demanded that if KCRhas real commitment he shouldimplement Dalit Bandhu as aone-time settlement to all theDalits in the State before theissuance of election notification.

PNS n SANGAREDDY

As part of the second phaseof the Swatch BharataMission, the govern-ment is invitingentries for a nation-al short film com-petition in thename of SwatchataFilmos - AmruthaMahotsav, DistrictCollector P HanumantaRao said on Wednesday.

He said competitions will beconducted by the drinkingwater and sanitation depart-ment and people can prepare

videos by choosing one out offour ODF plus activities. The

issues for films may befrom wet and dry waste

maintenance, man-aging plastic wasteand liquid waste,change in attitudeand others.

The Collectorsaid the short film

duration should notexceed more than five

minutes and the shootingshould be done in rural areas.The voice-over, dialogues,music, songs and dialoguesshould be clear

Entries sought forAmrutha Mahotsav

PNS n WARANGAL

Warangal Mayor G Sudharaniwho inspected the petrol bunksite on Wednesday ordered theofficials to complete the con-struction within a month. TheMayor inspected the HPCLpetrol bunk works taken upmat the Municipal corporationoffice.She said arranging tanksunderground was completedand asked the officials to con-centrate on developing theisland. The works of the under-ground slab, levelling, sales build-ing were at various stages of con-struction and asked the officials

to speed up the construction.Municipal CorporationSuperintendent EngineerSatyanarayana, DFO Kishore,Executive Engineer Srinivas,Deputy Engineer Sanjay Kumar,Assistant Engineer Ranjith,HPCL site engineer Naresh andothers were present.

PNS n PEDDAPELLY

India Coffee House employ-ees of the NTPC Ramagundam project were felicitatedon Wednesday. CanteenManagement Committee ledby its Chairman A K Desai,GM (Operation) and othermembers felicitated ICH staffin recognition of their bestservices during the Covidpandemic. At a programmeheld at the plant canteen onWednesday, Desai presenteda memento to each of the 139ICH staff and appreciatedthem for their selfless serviceduring the Covid-19.

NTPC ICH stafffelicitated

PNS n RANGAREDDY

The Dalit unions have demand-ed the resignation of MinisterSabitha Indra Reddy and LBNagar MLA and Musi riverFront Chairman DevireddySudhir Reddy. The Dalit unionsfrom the Rangareddy districtstaged a protest recently at theDr B R Ambedkar statue andsubmitted a memorandum tothe Ambedkar statue demand-ing the resignation of MLA.

The Dalit unions have astepped-up campaign on socialmedia in the wake of DalitBandhu announced by ChiefMinister KCR in the wake ofHuzurabad by-elections. Theunions said that funds pour ininto the constituency if the by-elections are held. Hence, theylaunched a campaign seekingthe resignation of the ministerand MLA.

Dalit leadersdemand resignationof Minister, MLA

Mayor tells officials tospeed up petrol bunk works

nation 05HYDERABAD | THURSDAY | AUGUST 5, 2021

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday attacked the Yogi Adityanathdispensation over the killing of an Ayurvedic doctor in Sitapur, saying the securitysystem for the common people is in a poor state and the Uttar Pradesh government is

not doing anything except indulging in false propaganda. "In Sitapur, UP, a doctor washacked to death by criminals who stormed his clinic," she said. "'Such incidents are creatingfear in the minds of the people of the state. The security system for the common people is

in such a poor state and the government is notdoing anything except indulging in falsepropaganda," the Congress general secretary saidin a tweet in Hindi. Munendra Pratap Verma, anAyurvedic doctor who ran his own private clinicfrom his home in Mudrasan village, was attackedby accused Achchey Lal Verma with a sharp-edged weapon multiple times on Tuesday, policesaid. The doctor's father who was present at thetime also suffered injuries while trying to save hisson. The doctor died on the spot, they said.

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved continuation of the 'Samagra ShikshaScheme' for school education for another five years. Union ministers DharmendraPradhan and Anurag Thakur told reporters that the scheme would continue from April 1,

2021 to March 31, 2026. Education minister Pradhan said the scheme would be called'Samagra Shiksha Scheme 2'. A financial outlay of Rs 2,94,283.04 crore, which includes

central share of Rs 1,85,398.32 crore hasbeen made to implement the scheme. It willcover 1.16 million schools, over 156 millionstudents and 5.7 million teachers ofgovernment and and aided schools,according to details shared by thegovernment's principal spokesperson onTwitter. The scheme also moots access toquality education with an equitable andinclusive classroom environment with agreater focus on imparting skills among thestudents.

Ayoung man has been arrested for making alleged objectionable comments aboutRSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on a WhatsApp message in Sambhal district of UttarPradesh, a police officer said on Wednesday. A case was registered against the

man under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and he was arrested based on a complaintfiled by the district coordinator of the RSS-backed student organisation Akhil BharatiyaVidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the officer said.

"Vishal Maurya of Ganesh Colony heremade some objectionable comments aboutBhagwat. A complaint was filed by ABVPdistrict coordinator Akash Kumar stating thathis comments hurt their feeling and that theyouth also misbehaved with him,"Superintendent of Police Chakresh Mishrasaid. The man's mobile phone has been seizedand a detailed probe into the matter isunderway, the officer said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Rajya Sabha Chairman MVenkaiah Naidu on Wednesdaysuspended six TMC MPs for theday for carrying placards whileprotesting along with otheropposition MPs over the Pegasusspying issue. Just as witnessedsince the start of monsoon ses-sion, slogan-shouting TMC andother opposition MPs troopedinto the well of the House, someholding placards, to demand adiscussion on the issue of Israeli-made, military-grade Pegasusspyware allegedly being used tosnoop on opposition leaders,government critics and jour-nalists. Naidu took exception tothe placards, which had anti-government slogans, beforeadjourning the proceedings ofthe House till 2 pm.He first asked members to go

back to their seats and thenthreatened to invoke rule 255against those holding placards.As the members refused tobudge, he ordered that those"disobeying the chair and raisingplacards shall leave the Houseunder rule 255."

He, however, did not nameanyone and said Rajya SabhaSecretariat will give the list.

Lok Sabha proceedings wereadjourned for the day onWedne sday after the

passage of two bills, amidvociferous protests by theopposition over Pegasussnooping allegations and otherissues. As soon as the Housemet again at 3.30 pm, RajendraAgrawal, who was chairing theproceedings, took up theCoconut Develo pment Board(Amendment) Bill, 2021, whichwas moved by AgricultureMinister Narendra Singh Tomar.However, the oppositionmembers continued their proteston the Pegasus snooping row aswell other matters. Amid the din,Tomar moved the bill, saying theproposed legislation will benefitcoconut farmers in differentstates. Soon thereafter, the billwas passed without debate evenas the opposition objected to thehasty approval to the bill.

LS adjournedtill Thursdayamid oppositionprotests

Venkaiah Naidu suspendssix TMC MPs for ruckus PNS n NEW DELHI

Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal on Wednesday saidthe Delhi government willorder a magisterial inquiryinto the death of a nine-year-old Dalit girl following analleged sexual assault.

The chief minister alsoannounced a compensationof Rs 10 lakh for the family ofthe girl.

“Our girl cannot come back.The injustice done to the fam-ily is unfortunate and cannotbe compensated, but the gov-ernment will give Rs 10 lakh tothem and order a magisterialinquiry into the matter,” he toldreporters after meeting thefamily.

“There is a need to strength-en law and order in Delhi. Iappeal to the central govern-ment to take firm steps in thisdirection,” he said.

In a tweet, the chief minis-ter said that the governmentwill appoint top lawyers toensure the guilty is punished.

The parents of the girlaccompanied by hundreds oflocals were staging a protestnear the site of the incident inOld Nangal area in southwestDelhi, demanding capital pun-ishment for the accused.

The girl lived with her par-ents in a rented house in frontof a crematorium. On Sundayat around 5.30 PM, she went toget cold water from a cooler atthe crematorium after inform-ing her mother, her parentssaid.

Around 6 PM, the cremato-rium's priest, Radhey Shyam,and two-three other people,known to the girl's mother,called her there and showedher daughter's body claimingthat she got electrocuted whilegetting water from the cooler.

There were burn marks

between her left wrist andelbow, and her lips were alsoblue, according to police.

It was alleged the priest andthe others dissuaded her moth-er from making a PCR call,saying police will make a caseout of it and during the post-mortem, doctors will steal thegirl's organs, so it was better tocremate her.

Police had on Monday saidthat based on the statement ofthe victim's mother, rapecharges have been added in theFIR. Four people, including thepriest, have been arrested.

Delhi government to orderprobe into death of Dalit girl

PNS n RAIPUR

As Chhattisgarh's northernregion continues to witnesshuman-elephant conflicts, thestate forest department is plan-ning to procure paddy andserve it as fodder to jumbos inforests on a pilot basis in a bidto prevent them from enteringhuman settlements, a seniorofficial said.

Elephants generally strayinto villages in search of food.Hence, providing them fodderaway from human settlementscan help reduce the incidentsof man-animal conflict, theofficial said on Tuesday.

However, the opposition BJPin the state criticised the forestdepartment's move, saying itseems the project has beenmade for "committing corrup-tion".

As per the Chhattisgarh gov-

ernment records, 204 peoplewere killed in elephant attackswhile 45 jumbos died in thestate in last three years - 2018,2019 and 2020.

During this period, 66,582cases of elephants causingdamage to crops, 5,047 cases of

damage to houses and 3,151cases of damage to other prop-erties were also reported.

Human-elephant conflictsin the state's northern regionhas been a major cause ofconcern since the last onedecade. The menace has fur-

ther spread its footprint tosome districts in central part ofthe state in the last few years.

Surguja, Raigarh, Korba,Surajpur, Mahasamund,Dhamtari, Gariaband, Balod,Balrampur and Kanker dis-tricts in the state have beenmainly affected by the menace.

"Elephants generally strayinto villages in search of food,including paddy, and destroyhouses and crops. Such inci-dents also cause loss of lives.Providing them fodder awayfrom the human habitats canhelp reduce man-animal con-flicts," state Principal ChiefConservator of Forest(Wildlife) PV Narsingh Raotold PTI.

Therefore, the departmenthas decided to keep piles ofpaddy in forests at some dis-tance away from villages whichmay distract elephants from

entering the human settle-ments, he said.

"Initially, it will be done ona pilot basis in some villagesand based on the behaviour ofelephants, it will be replicatedin other areas," the officialsaid.

For the procurement ofpaddy, the forest departmenthas communicated with theChhattisgarh State CooperativeMarketing Federation (MARK-FED), and once it will be sup-plied, the concept will beimplemented, he said.

According to MARKFEDofficials, the agency, whichbuys paddy from farmers atminimum support price, hasoffered to supply paddy to theforest department at Rs2,095.83 per quintal, and hasprovided the names of storagecentres from where the con-signments can be collected.

C’garh govt to buy paddy to serve elephants

PNS n MANGALURU

Officials of the NationalInvestigation Agency (NIA)carried out raids at the resi-dence of the son of formerUllal MLA B M Idinabba nearhere on Wednesday morning.The officials, who arrived atdawn from Bengaluru, begantheir investigation forthwith,police sources said.

Idinabba's son, B M Basha,resides in the house with hisfamily. The raid has beenconducted on the basis of thesuspicion that the family haslinks with the Syria-basedterrorist organisation, ISIS.

A team of 25 officials infour cars arrived at Mastikattein Ullal early this morning.Police personnel from the cityhave been providing protec-tion. It is suspected that thedaughter of Basha had gonemissing from Kerala severalyears back and had joinedISIS. Basha is into the realestate business here. Two of hissons stay abroad.His familymembers had allegedly sub-scribed to the YouTube chan-nels pertaining to ISIS and issaid to have a soft corner forthe outfit, the sources said.

NIA raids houseof ex-MLA's sonover alleged ISISlinks

PNS n GUWAHATI

The Assam assembly witnessedpandemonium on Wednesdayas ruling and opposition mem-bers engaged in heatedexchanges over the boundaryclash with Mizoram, forcingthe Speaker to adjourn theHouse for 40 minutes.

The entire opposition, com-prising Congress, AIUDF, BPF,CPI(M) and IndependentMLAs, rushed to the Well of theHouse demanding a neutralprobe either by the CentralBureau of Investigation (CBI)or the National InvestigationAgency (NIA) and showedplacards with slogans such as"give protection to border res-idents".

In a rare instance, ruling BJPlegislators also rushed to theWell of the House to counterthe opposition's allegations.

Members of the two sides,separated by the desk of theassembly secretary, pointedfingers at each other andbanged the desk several times.

Speaker Biswajit Daimarytried to pacify both sides in

vain and finally adjourned theHouse for 40 minutes.

Earlier, Congress MLAKamalakhya Dey Purkayastharaised the issue as a Point ofOrder and informed the Housethat problems started withMizoram from October 2020.

"We had given a letter to theUnion government informingit about the issue. Even afterthat, why did personnel ofAssam Police die? Whose faultwas this?" he said. Replying to

the question, ParliamentaryAffairs Minister PijushHazarika said that Assam andMizoram are not two differentnations, but two neighbouringIndian states.

"We have to solve our prob-lems through dialogue andthe process has already start-ed. But I would like to informthe House that 34 people diedin their (Congress) tenure (ininter-state clashes) since 1974,"he said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Congress leader RahulGandhi on Wednesday metthe family of the nine-year-old Dalit girl who died herefollowing an alleged sexualassault and asserted that he iswith them on the path to jus-tice and "will not back downeven an inch". After meetingthe victim's family, the formerCongress chief said the fam-ily is demanding nothing butjustice and is saying that theyare not getting it and need allthe assistance in this.

"I told them that RahulGandhi is standing with themtill they get justice and willnot back down even an inch,"he told reporters after meet-ing the parents of the victim.

Asked with whom does theresponsibility lie in the case,Gandhi said, "I only know thatit is my job to help them."Later, in a tweet in Hindi, hesaid, "Her parents' tears aresaying only one thing - theirdaughter, the daughter of thiscountry, deserves justice. AndI am with them on this pathto justice."

Dalit minorrape: Rahulmeets victim'sfamily in Delhi

MAN ARRESTED IN UP FOR

COMMENTS ABOUT RSS CHIEF

PRIYANKA GANDHI SLAMS YOGI

GOVT OVER DOCTOR'S KILLING

CABINET NOD TO SAMAGRA

SHIKSHA SCHEME FOR SCHOOLS INDIA

CORNER

PNS n AHMEDABAD

The Gujarat government onWednesday disbursed Rs 140crore in interest-free loans to14,000 women's self-helpgroups under theMukhyamantri MahilaUtkarsh Yojana (MMUY), astate government schemelaunched last year for financialupliftment of women.

Chief Minister Vijay Rupanimade the announcement atVadodara on the occasion of"Nari Gaurav Diwas", organ-ised as part of the nine-daycelebrations for the comple-tion of his five years in office.

The scheme was launchedby the state government inSeptember last year with a tar-get of covering 10 lakh women(10 per group) and givingthem Rs 1,000 crore in inter-est-free loans by the end ofDecember 2022, Rupani said.

"Today, we will be deposit-ing Rs 140 crore in the bankaccounts of 14,000 women'sself-help groups that haveover 1 lakh members. This isa first-of-its-kind scheme inthe country that provides col-lateral and interest-freefinance to women's groups sothat they can set up smallbusinesses and contribute totheir family's income," thechief minister said in hisaddress.

Claiming that the MMUY isbetter than the micro-financemodel promoted by NobelPrize winner MuhammadYunus of Bangladesh, Rupaniexuded confidence that otherstates will also adopt thescheme for the economicupliftment of women. TheGujarat government's focusis to ensure that women leadin all sectors and performbetter than men, he said.

Guj disburses loans

to self-help groups

PNS n NEW DELHI

The NHRC on Wednesday saidit has taken a serious view of sui-cide by two prisoners of jails inMumbai and Kolkata and soughtreports within four weeks on thecondition of prisons inMaharashtra and West Bengalfrom the secretary of the LegalService Authority.

While dealing with the pro-ceedings related to these cases,the National Human RightsCommission (NHRC) in a

statement has observed that theincidents reveal "mismanage-ment in the jails inMaharashtra and West Bengal".

"The NHRC has taken aserious view of the deaths dueto suicide by the two prisonersof Taloja Central Jail, NaviMumbai and Dum DumCentral Correctional Home,Kolkata, and non-submissionof requisite reports in the mat-ters by the concerned author-ities despite its notices," thestatement said.

There are adequate provi-sions in jail manuals providingfor an atmosphere free fromtemptations, which do not givean opportunity to any inmateto commit suicide. It is for thisreason that ceiling fans andhanging hooks are not provid-ed in the prison cells, therights panel said.

The suicide by an undertrialprisoner at the Taloja Central Jailhappened on May 27, 2020,while the convicted prisoner ofDum Dum Central Correctional

Home, Kolkata, committed sui-cide at SSK Hospital on April 28,2020 during treatment, it said.

In both the cases, the com-mission has asked the Secretary,Legal Service authority, throughthe registrars of the high courtsof Mumbai and Kolkata, respec-tively, to submit a report with-in four weeks about the condi-tions in the jail premises inMaharashtra and West Bengal,which do not give an opportu-nity to an inmate to commitsuicide, the statement said.

NHRC seeks report on jail suicides

PNS n NEW DELHI

A total of 1,948 people were arrested and 34 others convictedunder the stringent anti-terrorlaw Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in 2019, theRajya Sabha was informed onWednesday. Union Minister ofState for Home Nityanand Raisaid this in a written reply toDMK member Tiruchi Siva'squestion about the total num-ber of people imprisonedunder the UAPA in the coun-try at present.

PNS n THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

Despite a high number ofdaily positive cases, KeralaHealth Minister Veena Georgeon Wednesday said the sever-ity of the COVID-19 pan-demic was decreasing in thestate. The number of patientsseeking treatment at hospitalsand those needing ICU sup-port has dwindled, she saidduring the Question Hour ses-sion in the Assembly.

"The hospital occupancy

and ICU occupancy havedecreased in the state now-a--days. That means,the severity of the dis-ease is decreasing,"George pointed out.

The HealthMinister also said thedepartment is nowassessing the impact of'break-through infec-tion' and 'reinfection'among people. "We are exam-ining whether people are expe-riencing vaccine breakthrough

infection ( a COVID casethat occurs in some-

one who is fullyvaccinated) andreinfection ( aperson, whowas infectedand recovered,is infected

again)," she said.As per a recent

survey conducted bythe Health Department, the

reinfection rate has decreasedremarkably.

1,948 arrested,34 convictedunder UAPA

PNS n DEHRADUN

Uttarakhand Chief MinisterPushkar Singh Dhami onWednesday launched thecountry's first earthquakeearly warning mobile appli-cation 'UttarakhandBhookamp Alert' developedby IIT Roorkee.

Launching the lifeguard-ing mobile app at the secre-tariat here, Dhami said con-sidering Uttarakhand's vul-nerability to earthquakes,people should be informedabout the availability of amobile application like this.

The application is avail-able in two versions, com-patible with both Androidand iOS platforms. Theproject was sponsored by theUttarakhand State DisasterManagement Authority.

Pushkar launchesfirst earthquakeearly warningmobile application

Covid severity decreasing inKerala, says Health Minister

The Rajya Sabha proceedingswere adjourned till Thursdayamid continuous protests by

opposition parties over thePegasus snooping controversy,and issues of farm laws andprice rise. However, the UpperHouse passed the AirportsEconomic Regulatory Authorityof India (Amendment) Bill, 2021,which seeks to encouragesmaller airports to expand airconnectivity to relatively remoteand far-flung areas. The House

passed the bill after a briefdiscussion amid protest andsloganeering by the oppositionover various issues, includingthe Pegasus snoopingcontroversy and farm laws.The Lok Sabha had passed theAirports Economic RegulatoryAuthority of India (Amendment)Bill, 2021 on July 29. When theUpper House assembled after a15-minute adjournment at 2:56pm, the opposition continued toprotest.

RS too adjourned

Ruckus in Assam Assembly overboundary clash with Mizoram

graphic change in the area.This resulted in violent protestsby the people. Even the so-called Azad J&K Governmentprotested tooth and nail thisbifurcation and also instituteda suit in its court. But so greatwas Pakistan’s urge to keep thefruits of aggression and toextend the borders of Pakistanillegally that it ignored all oppo-sition and continued to resortto illegal means, including tor-ture, to make it a federallyadministered area with nomen-clature as Northern Areas.

Earlier too, in utter disre-gard for law and territorialintegrity and sovereignty ofIndia, Pakistan had cededShakasgam track territory in thisillegally occupied Northernareas to China when Sino-PakFrontier agreement was signedin 1963. It has also sinceannexed Chitral, Hunza andNagar and other territories in oraround Northern Areas includ-ing Punial, Ishkoman and Yasinwhich formed a part of the thenprincely State or were under itssuzerainty at the time of itsaccession to India.

Pakistan again changed thestatus of Northern Areas onMay 21, 2018, when it promul-gated the Gilgit-Baltistan Orderreplacing its earlier ‘empower-ment and self-government’order of 2009. Under the neworder, all powers exercised byGilgit-Baltistan Council were

given to the Assembly. But theCouncil was retained as adviso-ry body for federal functionswith regard to the NorthernAreas. Thus legislative powerson key subjects are vested in thePrime Minister of Pakistan andnot in the elected Assembly.

There were protests againstthis order not only in the area,but at many places in Pakistan.This reform package was seenas a precursor to attempts byPakistan to make this area as itsfifth province as also to changeits demographic composition.

This perception was con-firmed when last year PakistanPrime Minister Imran Khanannounced that the territory willbe given provisional provincialstatus. Again in violation ofinternational law and sovereign-ty of India and amid strongprotests by people in PoK,Pakistan permitted China to runthe China-Pakistan EconomicCorridor project which passesthrough this Gilgit-Baltistanterritory. Even the UNEconomic and SocialCommission for Asia Pacific inits report in May 2017 stated thatthe CPEC project could creategeo-political tensions with Indiaand lead to further instability inthe region. Though reportedlyprepared at the request of theChinese Government, thereport also pointed out concernsabout its social and environ-mental safeguards. Provision

of provisional provincial statusto Northern Areas by Pakistanappears to be an attempt to lendlegal cover to the much-criti-cised CPEC project which runsthrough Gilgit-Baltistan, anIndian territory.

India has already stronglyprotested against this yet anoth-er severe illegality of Pakistan.Last week, the Indian MEArejected a reference to CPEC ina recent Pakistan-China jointstatement. It said that the CPEClies in Indian territory illegal-ly occupied by Pakistan andthat India resolutely opposes it.With regard to reference to J&Kin the joint statement, theMEA spokesperson said thatthe UTs of J&K and Ladakh arean integral and inalienable partof India.

Obviously, if Pakistan stillchooses to continue with its ille-gal actions and material changesin J&K and Ladakh under itsillegal occupation, that willmean continued violation ofsovereignty and territorialintegrity of India. This willlead to more instability in theregion. For overall develop-ment, India desires peace withPakistan, but Pakistan`s actioncould lead to one more war overJammu and Kashmir whichcould be far more dangerous.

(The writer is a journalist,former IIS officer and produc-er. The views expressed arepersonal.)

INDIAN WOMEN MAKE US PROUDSir — The brilliant performance put upby Indian women athletes sets them apartat the Tokyo Olympics. Although India’stotal medal tally is modest, the contribu-tions of women athletes is commendable.The silver by Saikhom Mirabai Chanu inweightlifting, a bronze by badminton starPV Sindhu, a bronze by LovlinaBorgohain in boxing and the women’shockey team’s spectacular performancewhich enabled them to enter the semifi-nals, all these show that women athletesof India have a bright future in interna-tional sports events.

When we think about the social dis-crimination and gender inequality thatwomen face in India, theirs is indeed greatachievement. It must be understood thatof the 15 Olympic medals that India haswon since 2000, women have won seven.Considering that India ranks 112 out of153 countries in the Global Gender GapIndex 2020, women’s achievement is sogreat. Given the fact that women in gen-eral and professional women in particu-lar face gender discrimination and prej-udice in India, their achievement istremendous when compared with that ofmen. Indian women’s achievement at theTokyo Olympics is certainly an inspira-tion for prospective women athletes in thecountry and for women in general whowant to prove their expertise in differentfields.

Venu GS | Kollam

CREATE JOBS FOR A BETTER FUTURESir — Candidates at job interviews afterthe lockdown will have an additionalchallenge at hand. It could be a freshergraduating out of a college or people atdifferent stages of their career seeking ajob either for better prospects or as a fall-out of unfortunate job loss due to theCOVID-19 pandemic. The first chal-lenge is that there may be fewer jobs forthem to grab. Too many candidates maybe chasing too few jobs. How does a can-didate stand apart in such a situation?

Apart from evaluating candidates fortheir fitness for the job, the companies

are going to evaluate them on how theycoped with the uncertainties posed bythe pandemic. In one way, this is actu-ally a great opportunity for both candi-dates and companies. Companies willlook for in the candidates the ability toadapt to uncertain conditions.Candidates can stand apart from othersif they prove that they can think and actdifferently in such uncertainties. Facingpay cuts, job losses and rising costs, manypeople grit their teeth and made the mostof an extremely rough year. This, then,is as good as it gets. It is time to createmore jobs opportunities.

MR Jayanthi | Mumbai

PUNISH THE SAVAGES OF DELHISir — Shocked to know that a Dalit girlwas sexually assaulted and murdered inDelhi and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’sGovernment will order a magisterialinquiry instead of an CBI investigation.The Chief Minister announced a compen-

sation of ̀ 10 lakh for the girl’s family. Butthe girl cannot come back. The fact of thematter is that there is a need to strength-en law and order in Delhi and the UnionGovernment must take firm steps in thisdirection.

The Delhi Government must appointtop-notch lawyers to ensure that theguilty are punished. The victim’s parents,accompanied by hundreds of locals,staged a protest near the site of the inci-dent in Old Nangal area, southwest Delhi.The police, based on the statement of thevictim’s mother, added rape charges to theFIR. Four people, including the priest ofa nearby crematorium, have been arrest-ed. It is high time all the four accused mustbe severely punished in the shortest peri-od of time and their trial must be in a fast-track court.

Bhagwan Thadani | Mumbai

P A P E R W I T H P A S S I O N

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06

Send yyour ffeedback tto:[email protected]

Pakistan has coercively been occupying areas in Gilgit-Baltistan that

belong to India since the princely State’s accession to India in 1947

AFTER ILLEGALLYOCCUPYING THE

AREAS FOLLOWINGAN AGGRESSION ONTHE THEN PRINCELY

STATE, PAKISTANESTABLISHED ANADMINISTRATIVE

STRUCTURE IN THEOCCUPIED AREA.WITH A NOMINAL

LEGISLATURE, THE GOVERNMENT

CONTINUES TO BE UNDER THE PAK

GOVERNMENT’SCONTROL

LETTERS TO TTHE EDITOR

JL KOUL JALALI

Aholistic approach is to be taken in caseof street children and there must be aconcrete scheme for the uplift of chil-

dren as help will not come from heaven asin Slumdog Millionaire. We want to protectthe children from COVID-19 but what is theuse if they die of hunger instead unless time-ly help is not given. The family cannot evenapply for a ration card as they do not haveany residence proof or any identity docu-ments. The Government has plenty ofschemes for slum redevelopment, but mostof these are on paper. Importantly, sanitationis not on the agenda. Clean atmosphere and

civic amenities can make them healthy chil-dren.

The way things are, there is no collec-tive vision; no rules either. Nearly 60 per centlive in slums in most of the metro cities, buta good chunk of the municipal corporation’sagenda is devoted to gardens, roads, park-ing and so on; the slums don’t feature. In ourlopsided system of political representation,slum dwellers have been relegated to a votebank. They are patronised, and encouragedto live in deprivation.Poor sanitation and envi-ronment, contaminated drinking water andcrowded conditions all make the matterworse. Everyone is talking about SwachhBharat, but how many toilets have been con-structed in slums under this project? Thepoliticians always look at how many votesthey can garner in an area. They don’t lookat problems like housing or their poor livingenvironment. Even yearly allotment of fundsto MPs or MLAs can help out the cause ofslum children in the best way possible.

CK Subramaniam | Navi Mumbai

Slum children need special care

India tells Pak tovacate all its areas

India has rejected the “cosmet-ic exercise” of the recent elec-tions in Pakistan-occupiedKashmir. Traditionally, the

ruling party in Pakistan wins elec-tions in PoK and the incumbentruling party, Tehreek-e-Insaaf, wonthese elections. India lodged astrong protest with Pakistan lastweek, saying that such exercises canneither hide illegal occupation ofthe areas of the then princely Stateof Jammu and Kashmir byPakistan, comprising about 35 percent of its total area, nor the gravehuman rights violations, exploita-tion and denial of freedom to peo-ple in these occupied areas. Indiahas called on Pakistan to vacate allthe Indian areas under its illegaloccupation since 1947, on whichit has no locus standi. By virtue ofaccession of the ruler of the thenprincely State Maharaja Hari Singhto India in 1947, sovereignty of thewhole erstwhile State lies whollyand solely with India.

The time appears to havecome for Pakistan to introspectdeeply and reflect on its illegalactions in these illegally occupiedparts of now Union Territories ofJ&K and Ladakh. Steeped in abjectpoverty and backwardness, thisillegally occupied area is still con-sidered to be the most neglectedarea in South Asia. Despite violentprotests by people at every stage,Pakistan has illegally, forcefully andthrough underhand meanschanged frontiers and compositionof these areas beyond recognition.After illegally occupying the areasfollowing an aggression on thethen princely State, Pakistan estab-lished an administrative struc-ture in the occupied area namedas Azad Jammu and KashmirGovernment. Even though with anominal legislature, theGovernment there continues to beunder strict control of PakistanGovernment.

During the late 1970s, Pakistanstarted to take steps to bifurcate thesubsequently extended occupiedarea in two parts, one it hadalready named as Azad J&K andthe other as Northern Areas, com-prising Gilgit-Baltistan, which ithad deemed to be a separate geo-graphical entity to be administeredfederally by Pakistan. TheNorthern Areas is mostly inhab-ited by Shia Muslims and Pakistanalso initiated steps for demo-

SOUNDBITEThe flood is manmade, theunprecedentedrelease of waterfrom the DamodarValley Corporation dams is responsible for the situation.

West Bengal Chief Minister— Mamata Banerjee

We’ve otheroptions if USPresident JoeBiden continues to ignore the coun-try’s leadership.

Pakistan National Security Adviser

— Moeed Yusuf

You don’t sleep the entire night andthen record thisearly in the morn-ing. And you don’tget sleep coz it’s Kishore da’s birthday.

Actor— Ayushmaan Khurrana

There are only 34Cabinet berths.Some (MLAs) havebeen left out.Whenever there isan opportunity, the party willgive them responsibilities.

Karnataka Chief Minister— Basavaraj Bommai

It will not stop with this. There will be many moresuccesses goingforward. Definitely,

I will play in Paris.

Indian shuttler— PV Sindhu

The continued disruption of Parliament is not unexpected. The scale and impli-cations of the Pegasus snooping scandal are so overwhelming that it would havebeen naive to hope that the Opposition will not use it as a handle to corner the

Government. The relations between the Opposition and the ruling BJP have steadi-ly worsened over the alleged misuse of Central probe agencies. The last nail has been

the fact that several Opposition leaders are on the listof those whose phones may have been compromisedby Pegasus infections. Still, one would have expect-ed that the two sides would find a middle path andParliament will dutifully take up its legislative busi-ness. But sadly, neither side is ready to blink and thecountry has to witness yet another round ofParliament logjam, the type of which has become rou-tine over the years. From the Opposition’s point ofview, the demand for a debate on the scandal is jus-tified. After all, Parliament is the right forum wheresuch an issue that poses a grave threat to India’s

democracy, should be discussed and debated even if the Government were to alto-gether reject the demand for a probe into the matter.

However, the Government feels that it owes no such favour to the Opposition becauseit allegedly wants to use the scandal as an opportunity to unite with an eye on theupcoming Assembly polls and presidential elections next year, and the Lok Sabha pollsin 2024. Amid such distrust, it will be futile to hope for resumption of Parliament pro-ceedings any sooner, though strategically the Opposition may agree to debate on issueslike inflation, fuel price hike and the economic situation — issues that could help itcorner the Government. The Pegasus scandal has become a glue to unite the Oppositionand those wanting to uproot the Modi Government are working overtime to bring theOpposition on one platform. The unprecedented Opposition unity has emboldened themto stick to the path of confrontation, something which the Government can afford onlyat the cost of making people further sceptical about the very purpose of the existenceof our democratic institutions. It’s time both the ruling dispensation and the Oppositionleaders sit down and find a middle path to restore the dignity and relevance of thelegislature as one of the strongest pillars of our democratic institutions.

For a couple of months now, the focus of pandemic watchers was on Keralaand the State has consistently reported the highest share of nationwide, freshCOVID-19 cases. Even on Tuesday, the State’s numbers went past 23,500, the

highest single-day count recorded by any State in the last eight weeks and grab-bing a 56 per cent share in the national figure. The current test positivity rate in theState stands at 11.8 per cent. However, when it comes to the more alarming issueof the R-number — it indicates how many persons one COVID-19 patient can infect— Kerala has company. Eight States and Union Territories returned the reproduc-tion — number of 1.2, meaning that one patient is infecting more than one person.Nine other States have an R-number of 1. The greater the ability to infect fresh per-sons, the greater is the transmissibility of the virus. The number of cases does not

give the real picture. The R-number does that job.The more dangerous the variant, like the Delta Plusvariant, the faster the transmissibility. Contract trac-ing will show the speed of transmission. The com-bination of testing and contact tracing alone canshow if the case trajectory is reaching a problem-atic level in a region in the country. It is high timethe Government accords testing and contact trac-ing as much primacy as vaccination. The jabs, itmust be noted, do not necessarily stop new infec-tions but only mellows their intensity.

Unfortunately, except Kerala, no other State orUnion Territory is doing extensive testing and neither the national COVID task forcenor the Union Health Ministry has insisted on it as yet. It is in this context that theKerala example should be emulated by the rest of India. The latest sero survey hasrecorded low seropositivity of 44 per cent for Kerala as against the national averageof 68 per cent. That means the majority of the State’s population has remained pro-tected from the virus. Considering that a majority of Kerala’s population is urban, theachievement is all the more impressive. Secondly, the State conducts the most COVID-19 tests daily, the figure hovering around 1.4 lakh. A record 1.96 lakh tests were con-ducted on July 28. The State Government concentrates the testing in localities withhigh positivity. As a result, there is a high incidence of positive cases. In the absenceof heavy testing, it cannot be said that other States reporting fewer fresh cases aresafer. Thirdly, reports suggest the Delta variant entered Kerala later than the rest ofIndia and that could explain the current surge in cases. Kerala has also managed tokeep the fatality rate far lower than the national average despite the high number ofdaily cases. As of Tuesday, 39.9 per cent of the State’s population is vaccinated. TheKerala model will be complete if the R-number is brought down, contract tracing isincreased and localised lockdowns are brought back into force.

The right way?

The middle pathThe Govt and the Opposition would do well to

sit together and thrash out their differences

PICTALK

People flout social distancing norms at a weekly market, in Mumbai PTI

Kerala is reporting quite a high number ofCOVID cases but the reasons are genuine

Youth and radicalism:Search for cannon fodder

WHY IS THE GOVERNMENT AFRAID OF

DEBATING ON PEGASUS IN PARLIAMENT?

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO HIDE?

— AIMIM CHIEF

ASADUDDIN OWAISI

WITH CHECKS AND BALANCES IN PLACE, ILLEGAL

SURVEILLANCE IS NOT POSSIBLE. THOSE

REPORTS HAVE NO FACTUAL BASIS.

— ELECTRONICS AND IT MINISTER

ASHWINI VAISHNAW

William Faulkner’s observa-tion that “the past is neverdead, it is not even the past’holds for issues that enemies

of India exploit to fuel unrest. Theresurgence of the talk surrounding‘Khalistan’ indicates how those interest-ed in harming India never stop sowingseeds of discontent.

For any strife to continually ‘catch thefancy’ of the people, it has to appear per-sonal and immediate. Such issues can findeasy access in India with many societal,caste, religious, and sectarian fault lines.The abundance of youth is a bonus forthose looking to take advantage. The rad-icalisation of youth to be used as cannonfodder is commonplace across strife-dri-ven regions like in Syria where the socialunrest originated from college campuses.The JNU protest is another illustrationwhere sloganeering against a fee hike soontransformed into a demonstration ofwhatever was the ‘flavour of the monthprotest’

The so-called movement for Khalistanchecks all the necessary boxes to be an‘ideal’ issue for agencies like Pakistan’s ISIto attack India. It is well-documented thatISI pumped monetary and arms resourcesand provided a haven for extremists whopropagated the demand for a separate Stateof Khalistan.

In the last few years, long-standingissues like left-wing extremism or Islamistterror are being called out or are past theirsell-by date. The significant churn in theUnited States and Australia, and the UnitedKingdom against Chinese influence in col-lege campuses has shaken things up. Thecrackdown by Saudi Crown PrinceMohammed Bin Salman in 2017 on Islamistterrorists unleashed significant changes inhow Jihadist terror operated across theglobe. Vowing to galvanise an Islamic mil-itary coalition that aimed to counter “ter-rorism and extremism,” Mohammed binSalman led a series of high-level meetingsof an alliance of Muslim nations against ter-rorism funding and the day-to-day disrup-tion of al-Qaida, the Islamic State, and like-minded jihadists. In this atmosphere, glob-al entities that benefit from strife, such asthe military-industrial complexes, need tofan new issues to survive.

One of the reasons why Khalistan is ared-flag issue unlike ever before is the glob-al support that has come its way in the recentpast, with significant ramifications. In arecent Club House chat, a young person ofIndian origin based in Europe and dedicat-ed to the Khalistan cause claimed that themovement aimed at the physical separationof Punjab from the Indian union in less thantwo generations. The support for the sep-aratist elements of the Khalistan movement,especially amongst the second-generationPunjabi youth based in Canada, the UnitedKingdom, and the United States, hasgained momentum as it ostensibly seeks tocorrect a historical wrong. However, thedanger has increased manifold due to a suc-

The so-called movement for Khalistan checks all the necessary boxes to bean ‘ideal' issue for agencies like Pakistan's ISI to attack India

KHALISTAN WASNEVER A

DOMESTIC ISSUE,AND THE SOONER

THE AVERAGEINDIAN REALISESTHAT IT HAS THE

POTENTIAL TOCHANGE THEWORLD, THE

FASTER WE CANCOUNTER IT. THE

REASON THAT WECANNOT TAKE ALLOF THIS TO BE ANOVERSTRETCHING

OF ONE'SIMAGINATION ISSTARING US INTHE FORM OF ASIMPLE FACT —

THE WORLD HASSHIFTED FROM

‘CONVENTIONALWARFARE’ TO THEUNCONVENTIONAL

An Indian student has developed an innovative microfinance con-cept for women, inspired by Bangladesh’s Grameen Bank —the world’s largest microfinance institution — which made bank-

ing more accessible to the poor. SWIFT- Sustaining Women in FinancialTurmoil — was formed in September 2020, when its founder, GobhanuKorisepati, launched a microfinance social business platform. He spentover three months in an internship with Grameen Bank to learn thelogistics. SWIFT was founded to bridge financial inequalities in Indiaby making financial services accessible to the underprivileged. Theneed was felt because he witnessed the complexities accompany-ing traditional loans such as mandatory collateral and proof of incomefirsthand and found that financial services tend to discriminate againstthe poor directly. The institution is based on an adapted version ofmicro-finance that best targets women who lack access to financialservices. It brings women financial stability and human dignity by

providing them micro-loans to start their entrepreneurial adventures.A loan can change the life of any individual, especially for a womancoming from an underprivileged background. To date, SWIFT hasloaned to over 1000 women, working with a focus on sectors suchas agriculture, clothing, and food services. The largest loan SWIFThas lent individually is worth `20,000. The borrower is a youngwoman, Magali, and the loan helped her buy wholesale fabric, thread,elastic, yarn, and maintain her sewing machine. The loan was uniqueas it was aimed at reaching vulnerable populations in an isolated region.SWIFT’s many loans are targeted to help the women who need it themost, and they have been successful in lending over `19 lakh sofar. Another borrower from SWIFT is Meela, a rural farmer who aspiredto be an entrepreneur, and the loan provided the perfect opportuni-ty to do so. Meela has a family of three and a monthly householdincome under the poverty line. By providing her a loan, SWIFT helpedher buy seeds and fertilizers to increase agricultural production. SWIFTcurrently selects the needy based on criteria that are constantly beingadapted to fit the best interests of Indian women.

The criteria currently considered are based on the communityimpact a loan would have: how many people the loan can positive-ly affect and risk evaluation factors, loan duration, and repaymentschedule. It is important to note that SWIFT does not charge any inter-est on the loans as its goal is only to better the livelihoods of theborrowers and their communities. When asked how SWIFT has raisedfunds, Gobhanu says that SWIFT is fortunate enough to have gaineda following on social media platforms and its website (swiftmfi.org),which primarily allocates its funding addition to local fundraisers suchas bake-sales and charity games. What makes SWIFT unique fromother charities is that it is run directly by children. A few months afterfounding SWIFT, Gobhanu sought out help and was overwhelmedby the support of youth he could find online. Today the SWIFT teamconsists of over 20 high school students who donate their time andefforts to make the world a better place. SWIFT is also currently incul-cating the habit of microfinancing throughout schools as the orga-nization believes that financial literacy is a fundamental step for India’sdevelopment. Gobhanu says that his vision is for SWIFT to reach devel-oping and developed nations worldwide, not just India. In the com-ing years, he hopes to create a sustainable student-run organizationthat works to create equality of opportunity for marginalized com-munities.

(The writer is a student from Andhra Pradesh and founder of theSWIFT initiative. The views expressed are personal)

Maldives and India arehaving a relationshipcrisis owing to media

articles and social media postsattacking the dignity of theIndian High Commissionoffice in that country. TheIndian High commission wrotea letter to the ministry of exter-nal affairs that was shared withthe Maldivian local media.Thecommission complainedletter about the malicious andincreasingly personal attacksthat may damage the bilateralrelations between India and theMaldives.

The Maldivian DemocraticParty (MDP) released a state-ment that empathised withIndian diplomats and termedthe attacks as derogatory. TheMDP blamedthe whole dramaon a local newspaper, Dhiyares,and its owner, Ahmed Azaan.

The MDP believes that the anti-India campaign run by Azaanis a well-funded, tailor-made,and intricately choreographedpolitical campaign to bringties between the Maldives andits closest ally, India, to break-ing point.

The reason for the ‘Indiaout’ campaign was the militarypresence in the Maldives, whichaccording to the locals, is athreat. The ‘India out’ campaignstarted in 2020 and spreadacross social media like a wild-fire. The co-founder of theDhiyares media, ShifxanAhmed, clarified that they hadonly one issue - about theIndian military presence.

It is not the first time thatan anti-India campaign hadreared its ugly head. Back in2013, when the ProgressiveParty of Maldives (PPM) was in

power, international relationsbetween India and Maldivestook a hit. PPM, led by AbdullaYameen Abdul Gayoom, hadtilted towards the Chinese. Toplease the Chinese, the Yameengovernment indulged in anti-India slogans and policies.

Researcher Dr. GulbinSultana, an analyst at ManoharParrikar Institute for DefenceStudies and Analysis (IDSA),shares the same sentimentabout the anti-India rhetoric of2013. But even if the Yameengovernment had a biased that

favoured the Chinese, theyengaged in an India-first poli-cy as well.

There have been a fewuntoward incidents that led tothe Maldivians harbouringan-ti-India sentiments. The firstincident was when India giftedtwo Dhruv Advanced LightHelicopters (ALF) in 2010 and2015. These helicopters were tobe operated by Indian officersand to be used for ocean searchand rescue operations, airliftingpatients across the islands, andMaritime weather surveillance.They were based in Addu atolland at Hanimaadhoo but thepro-China stance of the Yameengovernment let it interpret themas proof of the Indian military’sgrowing presence in theMaldives. In 2016, when the agi-tation reached its peak, theYameen government requested

India to take back their chop-pers and the defence personnel.The Indian refusal to take backthe choppers added fuel to thefire. In 2018, Ibrahim MohamedSolih came to power andscrapped agreements that pro-scribed the use of choppers andhe extended the stay of Indianpersonnel stay in the Maldives.Solih’s friendly stance towardsIndia and its choppers againfuelled anti-India sentiments inthe Maldives.

The Maldivian governmentbelieved in keeping terms ofcontracts about defence, sover-eignty, and national securitysecret. Some groups of peopleinterpreted this secrecy as athreat to democracy. Thedomestic players in theMaldives opposed agreementswith India because of this lackof transparency. According to

Maldivian law, any agreementhas to be tabled in Parliamentand needs parliamentaryapproval. It is only after theapproval the government canengage in bilateral treaties. Butthe Solih government, in thename of national security, doesnot share any data withParliament. The idea of keepingeverything under wraps in thename of national security angersthe people and fuels protests.

The second incident wasthe signing of Sifvaru-UthuruThilafalhu (UTF) harbour pro-ject agreement between Indiaand the Maldives in 2021,under which India will bedeveloping a Maldives NationalDefence Force Coast GuardHarbour. This project was ini-tiated under the Yameen gov-ernment. The dockyard is anatoll located near Malè, the cap-

ital of the Maldives.The Indian motive behind

signing this agreement was thegrowing presence of theChinese in the Indian Oceanregion. This agreement wouldsatisfy the strategic interests ofboth India and the Maldives.But in 2019, when the Solihgovernment came to power,media suspicion began to grow,owing to Solih’s inclinationtowards India about the UTFproject. The Maldivian govern-ment has repeatedly clarifiedthat they would not allow anymilitary presence on their land,be it Indian, Chinese, or anyoneelse. The Maldives has repeat-edly asked India not to interferein its domestic politics.

After the threats to blast theIndian high commission in theMaldives, appropriate securitymeasures have now been taken.

There have been a few untoward incidents that led to the Maldivians harbouring anti-India sentiments

HYDERABAD | THURSDAY | AUGUST 5, 2021

07

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FIRSTCOLUMNAN INNOVATIVE

INSTITUTION

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

(The writer is a lawyerand columnist. The viewsexpressed are personal.)

Maldives and Indian relationship

PK VASUDEVA

(The writer is retired SeniorProfessor, International Tradeand Member, VivekanandaInternational Foundation,

New Delhi. The views expressedare personal.)

GOBHANU SASANKAR KORISEPATI

cessful shift in the perspective. Theanti-Sikh pogrom of 1984 is notattributed to Congress but the‘Indian State.’ As a result, theKhalistan issue now targets theIndian government and propagatesa ‘revolt’ as the only way out.

This status transition is strate-gically designed and it would befoolish to think otherwise. It is sim-ilar to the Israel-Palestine issue andthe desire of vested parties to repli-cate the model where a narrativewould constantly stoke fires ofhow the Indian state has unleasheda flurry of horrors upon the ordi-nary citizens of Punjab. The narra-tive-building machinery is also inplace, with socio-cultural eventssuch as literary jaunts with authorsand think tanks disseminatingideas and information to that end.

One can see how global con-cepts such as critical race theory, a40-year-old idea that believes racialdivision to be a social constructinstead of a personal bias, arepro-mogulated locally. The ongoingfarmers’ protest is a testimony to thesame, where a broad idea - farm-ers opposing the three laws - hasbeen rejigged to make it region-spe-cific - how the state has primarilytargeted the farmer of Punjab.

The Khalistan issue is alsobeing pitched as a shared narrativeat a global level, claiming to echothe sentiments of the Sikh commu-nity, even though the citizens ofPunjab rejected the very idea of aseparate State. The local view is rou-tinely, and even vehemently, dis-missed on public platforms andsocial media by radicalised ele-ments based outside of India. While

Indians wave off the issue asbunkum or pointless wishful think-ing of a handful of wavered NRIyouth, global media picks on thatpoint of view and furthers it. Thephysical or virtual protests also havemany Pakistan-sponsored implantsdisguised as Sikhs. The cycle is thencompleted when such news is ped-dled for domestic consumption asthe local view that an authoritari-an government has suppressed.

The propagators of Khalistanare quick to portray Prime MinisterNarendra Modi as the all-powerfulfascist responsible for the subjuga-tion of Punjab, even though theactions of the current Indian gov-ernment tell a completely differentstory. In 2018, a Delhi court award-ed the first death penalty to twopersons in the 1984 anti-Sikh riotsin the cases that were probed andre-opened by the SpecialInvestigation Team (SIT) set up bythe Modi government in 2015. In1994, the two had gotten away dueto lack of evidence, and their con-viction became possible only due tothe evidence provided by the BJPstate government.

The Khalistan issue is a testingground for other pan-India strifesthat can be used against the coun-try. It is in tandem with a 2016Pakistan Senate recommendationto the then Nawaz Sharif govern-ment to play up caste and religionissues in India to curb India’s glob-al influence. A 13-member com-mittee of the Senate, Pakistan’sequivalent to the Rajya Sabha,asked the government to talk about‘Dalits, unhappy Muslims, andencourage those opposing Prime

Minister Narendra Modi’ to desta-bilise India. It also made some tac-tical recommendations to “hireInternational lobbyists and strate-gic communication firms and reac-tivate Pakistani community livingabroad to change the global narra-tive”.

The narrative-building effortsto push Khalistan or any exploitablelocal fault line to the forefront as aglobal agenda cannot be ignored orundermined. One is reminded ofhow the US attack on Iraq in 2002also resulted from a complex nar-rative-building exercise. India’sstature as a geopolitical player onthe global stage has only increasedin the recent past. Whether it is Asiaor the Indian Ocean Region, India’ssignificance is now key to shapingthe world as it has also emerged asa natural counter balance to China.This reality does not suit tradition-al foes such as China and Pakistanand their new supporters, namely,Turkey and Iran.

Rest assured, any narrative thatthwarts India would be ready topick for them. Khalistan was nevera domestic issue, but its play hasonly increased, and the sooner theaverage Indian realises it has thepotential to change the world, thefaster we can counter it. The reasonthat we cannot take all of this to bean overstretching of one’s imagina-tion is staring us in the form of asimple fact - the world has shiftedfrom ‘conventional warfare’ to theunconventional. While we mightnot comprehend the severity ofunconventional warfare, it surely isat play around the world by thoseinterested in it.

AMRITA BHINDER

SWIFT bridges financial inequalities by offeringfinancial services to the underprivileged

HYDERABAD | THURSDAY | AUGUST 5, 2021 Money 08

MONEY MATTERS

Tata Motors on Wednesdaysaid it has expanded theTiago range with the

launch of a new sporty trim,Tiago NRG, with price startingat Rs 6.57 lakh (ex-showroomDelhi). The new sporty versionof the hatchback comes withhigh ground clearance, biggertyres, body cladding and roofrails to give it a SUV look. The Tiago NRG is powered by 1.2 litrepetrol powertrain (86 PS power) which comes mated to five speedmanual and AMT (automated manual transmission) transmission.The model has a four star safety rating by Global NCAP. "Trulyenergetic just like its name, the NRG fits well with the growing trendof bringing to market more SUV like vehicles. It is not only strong onthe exterior but is feature-loaded & stylish in the interior, and is anabsolute pleasure to drive with enhanced abilities to take over roughterrains," Tata Motors Vice-President (Sales, Marketing & CustomerCare) Rajan Amba noted. Crowning the Tiago range, the NRG willcontinue to help the company increase its brand presence, he added.

India's services sector remainedin contraction territory for thethird straight month in July, as

business activity, new orders andemployment declined furtherlargely due to the COVID-19pandemic and local restrictions, amonthly survey said onWednesday.The seasonallyadjusted India Services Business Activity Index rose from 41.2 inJune to 45.4 in July, but was stuck in the red due to subdueddemand conditions amid the COVID-19 crisis.In PurchasingManagers' Index (PMI) parlance, a print above 50 meansexpansion, while a score below 50 denotes contraction. "Thecurrent COVID-19 environment continued to weigh on theperformance of the service sector that is so crucial to the Indianeconomy. July data was somewhat disappointing, with incomingnew business and output falling solidly over the month, but therewas at least a slowdown in rates of contraction," Pollyanna DeLima, Economics Associate Director at IHS Markit, said.

Indian service sector stuckin contraction territory: PMI

Suzuki Motor Gujarat (SMG),a 100 per cent subsidiary ofJapan's Suzuki Motor

Corporation, will scale downproduction activity this month atits Ahmedabad-basedmanufacturing plant due tosemiconductor shortage, MarutiSuzuki India (MSI) said onWednesday.SMG, which supplies cars exclusively to MSI, has alsodecided to scale down production to single shift at somemanufacturing lines in the plant. "Owing to the semiconductorshortage situation, the company has been informed by its contractmanufacturing company, SMG, that production will be partiallyimpacted in this month," MSI said in a regulatory filing. SMG willtentatively not carry out production on the three Saturdays (August7, 14 and 21) this month, it added. In addition, some of theproduction lines at SMG plant may see temporary reduction fromtwo-shift to one-shift working, MSI noted.

Suzuki Motor Guj to scaledown production this month

Gold in thenational capitalon Wednesday

rose by Rs 123 to Rs46,992 per 10 gramamid gains ininternational preciousmetal prices,according to HDFCSecurities.In theprevious trade, theprecious metal hadclosed at Rs 46,869per 10 grams.Silver also zoomed Rs 766 to Rs 66,926 per kilogramfrom Rs 66,160 per kilogram in the previous trade."Spot gold pricesfor 24 carats in Delhi rose by Rs 123 with recovery in COMEX goldprices," according to HDFC Securities, Senior Analyst(Commodities), Tapan Patel.In the international market, gold wastrading in the green at USD 1,815 per ounce, while silver was flat atUSD 25.71 per ounce.

Gold gains Rs 123; silverzooms Rs 766

Tata drives in Tiago NRG withprice starting at Rs 6.57 lakh

PNS n NEW DELHI

As many as 52,732 startupshave been benefitted from thedepartment for promotion ofindustry and internal trade(DPIIT) startup recognitioninitiative as on July 21, 2021,Parliament was informed onWednesday.

'Startup India' is a flagshipinitiative of the governmentwhich aims at building a strongecosystem for nurturing inno-vation and startups in thecountry. A 19-point StartupIndia Action Plan was

launched in January 2016which paved the way for theintroduction of a number ofpolicy initiatives. "A total of52,732 startups have taken thebenefit of DPIIT startup recog-nition, as on 21st July 2021,"Minister of State for Commerceand Industry Som Parkashsaid in a written reply to theLok Sabha.

In a separate reply, he said sofar nine incubators have beensanctioned Rs 30 crore underthe Startup India Seed FundScheme (SISFS).In anotherreply, he said the government

is working on setting up aSingle Window System forclearances and approvals ofindustry in the country.

"This will eliminate the needfor investors to visit multipleplatforms/offices to gatherinformation and obtain clear-ances from different stake-holders. This will also providetime-bound approvals and real-time status updates toinvestors," he said.

Replying to a question ongold, Minister of State forCommerce and IndustryAnupriya Patel said that Gold

Dore can be imported byrefineries against a licenceissued by the DirectorateGeneral of Foreign Trade(DGFT) with Actual User con-dition.

"DGFT has not issuedimport licences to any govern-ment company in the last threeyears," she said.In anotherreply, she said bilateral tradebetween India and Pakistan,including through ICP(Integrated Check Post) Attari,remains suspended as a resultof unilateral measures taken byPakistan in August 2019.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Supreme CourtWednesday sought responsesfrom the Centre and the elevensugarcane-producing statesincluding Uttar Pradesh andMaharashtra on the PIL filedby a former parliamentarianseeking implementation of amechanism providing pay-ment of dues of farmers with-in 14 days from supply ofsugarcane to the mills.

A bench comprising ChiefJustice N V Ramana andJusitce Surya Kant took note ofthe submissions of senioradvocate Anand Grover,appearing for Maharashtra'sformer Lok Sabha MP RajuAnna Shetti, that the sugarcanesuppliers be paid their dueswithin 14 days of the supplyacross the country as envisagedby an order of the AllahabadHigh Court.

“Issue notice. List it afterthree weeks,” the bench saidafter Grover pointed out casesof states which have beendefaulting in big way in ensur-ing the payment to the farmers.

As per the UP SugarcaneSupply Act, it is mandatory topay the cane growers their dueswithin 14 days and interest onthe amount if not paid dueswithin the stipulated time peri-od. Besides the Centre, UttarPradesh and Maharashtra, thetop court also issued notices toPunjab, Uttarakhand, Haryana,Gujarat, Bihar, Telangana,Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka,Tamil Nadu.

It also sought responses fromfour sugarcane purchasing firmsand they are Bajaj HindustanSugar Limited, Indian Sugarmills

Association, Cane Agro Energy(India) Limited and IndianSucrose Ltd. Shetti, in his PIL,has sought the setting up of amechanism for payment ofprice of sugarcane produce tothe cane farmers “in order toavoid accumulation of suchdues and preventing the farm-ers from falling in the viciouscycle when a mill is declaredsick and their dues of sugar-cane produce remained unpaidduring the process of resolu-tion or liquidation of sugar millleading to deterioration ofcondition of farmers.”

PNS n MUMBAI

Equity benchmark Sensex ral-lied 546 points to finish abovethe 54,000-mark for the firsttime on Wednesday, trackingstrong gains in financial stocksamid positive cues from glob-al markets.

After scaling its lifetime peakof 54,465.91 during the session,the 30-share index ended 546.41points or 1.02 per cent higherat a record 54,369.77. Similarly,the broader NSE Nifty surged128.05 points or 0.79 per centto its all-time peak of 16,246.85.It touched a lifetime intra-dayhigh of 16,290.20. HDFC wasthe top gainer in the Sensexpack, surging around 5 percent, followed by Kotak Bank,ICICI Bank, SBI, HDFC Bankand Axis Bank.

On the other hand, Titan,Nestle India, Ultratech Cementand Sun Pharma were amongthe laggards. Domestic equitiesextended gains with bench-marks Sensex and Nifty scalingfresh high mainly on the backof sharp rebound in heavy-

weight financials, said BinodModi, Head - Strategy atReliance Securities. He notedthat financials were the sole dri-ving force for the market rally,

which was triggered after bet-ter-than-expected June quarterperformance reported by SBI.The country's biggest bankposted a 55 per cent rise in

standalone net profit at Rs6,504 crore for the first quarterof the financial year, helped bydecline in bad loans. Further,positive cues from global equi-

ties also lifted sentiments, Modistated. Elsewhere in Asia,bourses in Shanghai, HongKong and Seoul ended withgains, while Tokyo was in red.

SC seeks replies of 11 States forclearing dues to sugarcane ryots

About 53K startups benefitted from DPIIT as of July

PNS n NEW DELHI

The government is presentlyholding stakeholder consulta-tions with states, central min-istries, and technicalinstitutions toexplore the devel-opment of freightsmart cities inthe country,Parliament wasinformed onWednesday.

State govern-ments have beenrequested to identify citiesfor development as freightsmart cities, Commerce andIndustry Minister PiyushGoyal said in a written reply tothe Lok Sabha. He said thatone of the inputs during stake-holder consultations has beento start with a list of 10 suchcities, which has not yet beenfinalised. "The government ispresently holding stakeholder

consultations with state gov-ernments, central ministries,technical institutions, etc. toexplore the development offreight smart cities in the

country," Goyal said.Replying to a question

on ONDC, Ministerof State forCommerce andIndustry SomParkash said it isan initiative aiming

at promoting opennetworks for all

aspects of the exchangeof goods and services over

digital or electronic networks."ONDC is expected to make e-commerce more inclusive andaccessible for consumers.Consumers can potentiallydiscover any seller, product orservice by using any compat-ible application or platform,thus increasing freedom ofchoice for consumers,"Parkash said.

Govt holds stakeholderconsultations to exploredevelopment, says Goyal PNS n NEW DELHI

Shares of Shipping Corporation of India Ltd (SCI) onWednesday dipped nearly 3per cent after the companyreported a decline in consol-idated net profit for thefirst quarter of the currentfiscal.

The stock went lower by2.62 per cent to Rs 109.55on BSE. On NSE, it dipped2.40 per cent to Rs 109.65.

State-owned SCI onTuesday reported a consol-idated net profit of Rs158.51 crore for the firstquarter of the current fis-ca l .The company hadclocked a consolidated netprofit of Rs 336.87 crore inthe corresponding period ayear earlier, according to aregulatory filing.

Its total income declinedto Rs 1,048.47 crore in thelatest June quar ter asagainst Rs 1,178.43 crore inthe year-ago period.

SCI sharestumble 3 pcafter earnings

PNS n NEW DELHI

SpiceJet and Go First airlineshave not paid approximatelyRs 2.74 crore for using theAhmedabad airport's runwaytill June 1 this year, Minister ofState for Civil Aviation V KSingh said on Wednesday.

Go First was previouslyknown as GoAir. The Indiancarriers have taken a big finan-cial hit due to the travel restric-tions since March 2020 amid

the coronavirus pandemic. In his written reply to a

question in Rajya Sabha, Singhsaid that the number of privatecompanies, which includesinternational operators, thatused the runway of theAhmedabad airport duringthe last three financial years is500. "A total of Rs 9,252 by AirOdisha Aviation PrivateLimited, Rs 1.23 (approx.) byGo Airlines India Ltd, Rs 3,964by Karnavati Aviation Pvt Ltd,

Rs 1.51 crore (approximately)by SpiceJet Limited, Rs 4,083by Supreme TransportOrganisation and Rs 1.14 lakh(approximately) by Thai AirAsia have not been paid forusing the runway ofAhmedabad airport till June 1,2021," he stated.

All Indian airlines havetaken measures -- such as cut-ting salaries and firing employ-ees -- since March 2020 to con-serve their cash flows.

SpiceJet, Go First have not paidRs 2.7 cr for using runway: Govt

PNS n NEW DELHI

BharatPe on Wednesday said ithas raised USD 370 million(about Rs 2,745.8 crore) infunding, led by Tiger Globalthat has pushed the merchantpayment and lending serviceprovider's post-money valua-tion to USD 2.85 billion.

The series E round includeda secondary component ofUSD 20 million, a statementsaid. Staff holding vestedemployee stock option plan(ESOPs) have been given fullliquidity in the secondary, itadded. "The round, led byTiger Global, also saw newparticipation fromDragoneer InvestmentGroup and SteadfastCapital," the statement said.

Five out of the sevenexisting institutionalinvestors participated inthe round - namelyCoatue Management,Insight Partners, SequoiaGrowth, Ribbit Capitaland Amplo, it added.Ashneer Grover has beenelevated to Co-founder andManaging Director, whileSuhail Sameer has beenappointed as the CEO. “Wenow have USD 0.5 billion cashon books and are extremelywell capitalised to deliver on

our mandate to build India'sfirst truly digital bank. Rarelydoes one witness the originalthesis play out without anypivot," Grover said. BharatPewill remain maniacally focusedon lending as the core businessand small merchants as ourprimary target segment, headded. “AtBharatPe,we have ahigh per-f o r m i n gt e a m

attracted to our focussed exe-cution, growth potential andculture of meritocracy.

I am happy to appoint SuhailSameer as the CEO in recog-nition of stupendous businessgrowth he has delivered dur-ing the last 1 year and his abil-ity to lead from the front,"

Grover said.Sameer willalso be part ofthe board of

directors.

BharatPe raises $370 mn funding led byTiger Global, valuation touches $2.85 bn

PNS n NEW DELHI

The country's biggest bankSBI on Wednesday posted a55 per cent rise in standalonenet profit at Rs 6,504 crore forthe first quarter of the currentfinancial year, helped bydecline in bad loans.

The lender had reported anet profit of Rs 4,189.34 crorein the April-June quarter of2020-21. The operating prof-it of the bank increased 5 percent to Rs 18,975 crore fromRs 18,061 crore in the April-June quarter of the previousfiscal.

However, interest incomeof the bank declined margin-ally to Rs 65,564 crore asagainst Rs 66,500 crore at theend of June 2020. Net inter-est margin too slipped to 3.15per cent as against 3.24 percent at the end of first quar-ter of last year.

The bank's gross non-per-forming assets (NPA) of thetotal advances declined to5.32 per cent at June-endfrom 5.44 per cent at June-end last year.

Similarly, net NPAs alsodeclined to 1.7 per cent inJune 2020 against 1.8 per centa year ago.

SBI net profit inQ1 surges 55%to Rs 6,504 cr

Markets at fresh highs: Sensex rallies546 pts to scale 54K; Nifty tops 16,200

PNS n NEW DELHI

Dalmia Nisus Finance hasinvested around Rs 80 crore intwo real estate projects inChennai and Bengaluru beingdeveloped by Puravankara Ltdand Shriram Properties and isin process of closing threemore investment of Rs 125crore. Dalmia Nisus FinanceInvestment Managers LLP, analternatives manager, hasinvested this amount from itsReal Estate Credit Opport-unities Fund - I (RECOF - I).

Dalmis Nisus is the jointventure fund of Nisus Financeheaded by industry veteranAmit Goenka and the GauravDalmia Group. These maideninvestments are part of the Rs500 crore RECOF-1 Fund thatprimarily invests into struc-tured credit and mezzanineinvestments across the residen-tial space in India. RECOF-1fund had announced its firstclose in March 2020.

Gaurav Dalmia, Chairman,Advisory Board of the Fundsaid, "On a long-term riskadjusted basis, real estate struc-tured capital remains a veryattractive asset class."

Amit Goenka, ManagingPartner and CEO of the Fund,said this is a unique time forcapital pools to maximize onthe opportunities within thereal estate sector. "We are excit-ed about our investment withthe Puravankara Group andShriram Properties and believethat in the current environ-ment, top deck players likethese will continue to showextraordinary growth and per-formance," he added.

"Our investments areuniquely structured to createa win-win with our investeecompanies while significantlymitigating idiosyncratic risks.Our investors will generate asignificant alpha due to theuniqueness of our structureand partnership," Goenka said.

Dalmia invests aboutRs 80 cr in 2 projects

The BSE benchmark has gained 6,618.44 points or 13.86 per cent so far this year.

oo January 21, 2021: Touches the momentous 50,000-mark

in intra-day trade

oo February 3: Closes above 50,000 for the first time

oo February 5: Crosses 51,000-mark in intra-day trade

oo February 8: Ends above 51,000-level

oo February 15: Rallies above 52,000-mark

oo June 22: Reaches 53,000-level in intra-day trade

oo July 7: Closes above the 53,000-mark for the first time

oo August 3: Market capitalisation of BSE-listed

companies jumps to a record high of

Rs 2,40,04,664.28 crore

oo August 4: Sensex goes past the 54,000-mark

for the first time in intra-day trade, also

closes above this mark

Follow us on

@TheDailyPioneer

facebook.com/dailypioneer

ThursdayAugust 5, 2021

GIVING BACK TO

OUR ELDERLY

imes today are tough,people are being laidoff, being paid mea-gre salaries, andmany others, havebeen incurring losses.

The pandemic has made livesworse for those most vulnerable,those that are trying to hold onto the last bit of everything theyhave left.

While common people them-selves have trouble looking afterthemselves and their own, here’sa heart-touching story of howJesus Christ Charitable Trust, anNGO in Challapalli, in theseunprecedented times, foundhelp in strangers who came for-ward to bail the out.

This NGO is aiming to raisefunds of Rs. 18 lakhs to save theshelter started by J RamaMohana Rao. The shelter ishome to more than 30 seniorpersons, widows, and evenstreet dwellers. After facing amassive financial crisis duringthe Covid-19 lockdown, Rao israising funds through thecrowdfunding platformImpactGuru.com to save theshelter. The fundraiser has done

immensely well and has so farraised over Rs.15 lakhs.

Rao started the shelter withthe aim to provide a peaceful,dignified lifestyle to the eldersand homeless who were eitherabandoned by their family orhad no place to live. The trustshelters them, cares for theirwell-being, provides therapy (ifnecessary), and even counselsindividuals who are hooked toharmful behaviours.

The residents are also provid-ed with good meals, a cleanplace to live, and the promise ofa better life, all of which areprovided at no cost.

“These are abandoned olderpeople with no other place tolive. People who have beensaved will spend the remainingof their lives here. Many peoplehave breathed their last here,and I have administered theirfinal rites. They cannot be aban-doned on the streets again. AndI need people’s help to rescuetheir only home,” J RamaMohana Rao explains theimportance of the fundraiser.

The shelter gained immenselove and support from thesociety. Many peoplefrom the surroundingcommunities wouldcome to the foun-dation to con-tribute clothes,blankets, andmedications, aswell as spendtime with thepeople housedthere.

However, thefoundation hasnot received anyvisits since the lock-down. There’s more!Today, the landlorddemands that the ownersevacuate the property. Thelonely older folks, on the otherhand, have nowhere to go andthe cost of saving this shelterhome is Rs. 18 lakhs.

“This place doesn’t belong tous. This used to be a vacantplace which belongs to someoneelse. J Rama Mohana Rao sirstarted this Ashram here withhis permission. But now, theyare demanding extra money andwant us to leave the place. Inthat case we will not have anyshelter to cover us. If that hap-pens, we have to live on thestreets, at bus stands, and rail-

waystations.

We will haveno one to look after us. Ourkids have abandoned us. Wewant to live these last few yearspeacefully. Please help us pro-vide justice for this,” cries an 80-year-old resident.

“A little assistance can help insaving the roof of the peopleresiding in the shelter and everydonation has the potential to dowonders,” Rao tells us.

He has been requesting peo-ple to support his cause andhelp him save the roof of thepeople residing in the shelter.

More and more people havebeen donating, you can con-

tribute to their cause atImpactGuru.

At a timewhen peoplehave beenfinding ittough to fendforthemselves,Rs. 15 lakhhave beenraised by anNGO tosupportelderly, writesRACHELDAMMALA.

T

ovid had a significantimpact on bone andjoint health and hasresulted in increasedcomplications in thejoints. In general, bone

health has been neglected in theIndian healthcare system.

According to many studies,more than 80% of the Indian pop-ulation is Vit-D deficient. Duringthe pandemic, due to lockdowns,people have been confined to theirhouses and were not properlyexposed to sunlight, and it furtheraggravated Vit D deficiency.

Lack of physical exercise has ledto increased obesity issues in peo-ple, which in turn, raised joint

problems. Due to decreasedmobility during lockdowns, therewere increased complaints aboutmuscle and bone pains.

On the other side, due to overusage of steroids during Covid,there was a rise in the incidence ofconditions like Osteoporosis andAvascular necrosis of joints.Steroids decrease bone mineraldensity and predispose for weakbones.

Along with that, steroidsdecrease blood supply to bone andjoints and result in the develop-ment of Avascular necrosis injoints. The hip is most commonlyaffected by this condition.

On the alarming side, there has

been a surge in bone and jointinfections post the lockdown.Immunity is at compromise withhigh steroid usage; thus, patientsare more prone to infections.

Here’s how one can tackle boneand joint issues and keep fit:

Healthy diet:

Diet rich in calcium, Vit D andC and proteins are important formaintaining good bone and jointhealth.

Calcium-rich foods like milk,cheese, and other dairy productsare key for bone health. If you arenot exposed to sunlight properlythen we need to supplement withVit-D tablets/syrups.

Regular exercise:

Exercise is a most key factor inkeeping our bones and jointshealthy. Exercising at least 4 daysa week will improve strength andoverall fitness. Regular exerciseswill improve joint movement,strength, and flexibility of mus-cles. Strength training and weight-bearing exercises are the best waysto build healthy bones and mus-cles.

Maintaining healthy weight:

Keeping our weight within thenormal range of BMI( body massindex) is very important for pre-venting joint damage. Being over-weight puts joints at high risk for

early arthritis, as being overweightwill increase stress over joints.

Avoid smoking:

Smoking decreases blood sup-ply to bones and makes themweak.

Avoid alcohol consumption:

Heavy alcohol decreases bonedensity and also interferes withabsorption and regulation of calci-um and vitamin D, thus increas-ing the risk of osteoporosis.

(The writer, Dr Gopi KrishnaReddy G, is a ConsultantOrthopaedic and JointReplacement Surgeon at SLGHospitals).

AFTERMATH

OF COVIDON BONE

ANDJOINT

HEALTH

C

ith the first fullweek of theTokyoOlympics nowin the books,here are some

fresh insights about thetopics, trends, and talentsthat have kept Indianaudiences on Twitter talk-ing over the past week.The biggest trend we’reseeing is that women ath-letes are leading the way,led by Mirabai Chanu(@mirabai_chanu), P VSindhu (@Pvsindhu1),and other top names.Mirabai Chanu’s tweethas been the mostRetweeted Tweet of theGames by the Indianaudience thus far, while PV Sindhu is the athletewith the most India men-tions during the Games.Apart from her, LovlinaBorgohain(@LovlinaBorgohai),Mary Kom (@MangteC),Deepika Kumari(@ImDeepikaK), andAtanu Das

(@ArcherAtanu) weremost mentioned intweets.

The sports that weremost talked about includeBoxing, OlympicWeightlifting,Badminton, OlympicField Hockey, and Tennis.Clapping hands, second-place medal, first-placemedal, thumbs up, andsports medal emojis werethe top 5 most used onTwitter.

Not to forget the hash-tags that were most used:#Tokyo2020, #Olympics,#Cheer4India,#TokyoOlympics and#TeamIndia.

Women athletes aretopping the Twitter chartsglobally too.

The three athletes withthe most global mentionson Olympics conversa-tions are: Brazilian skate-boarder Rayssa Leal,American gymnastSimone Biles andBrazilian gymnast RebecaAndrade.

HOWTWITTERATIIS CHEERING

FOR OUROLYMPIANS

W

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

l Each row and column cancontain each number (1 to 9)exactly once.

l The sum of all numbers inany row or column mustequal 45.

Yesterday’s solution

CALVIN AND HOBBES

SPEED BUMP

FUN

10

what’s brewing?Hyderabad Thursday August 5, 2021

xercise is animportant partof recoveryafter fallingprey to Covid-19. As the num-ber of Covid-

positive cases is on therise, remember that irre-spective of how restlessyou may feel after beingrestricted to your home, ifyou were stricken by thedisease, you should take iteasy and remember that itis only natural to takesome time to achieve thefitness level you possessedbefore you got infected.

Generally, doctors rec-ommend a break of three-six months, even after thesymptoms subside,depending on the severityof the infection in thepatient. Provided beloware some guidelines toease your transition to the

active lifestyleyou onceled.

Alwayswarm up

before and cool downafter exercising. Beginwith breathing exercisesand mild walking. Youwill be shocked to see howyou gasp for breath evenafter walking for 100metres.

Wear comfortableclothes that circulate air tohelp you breathe normal-ly. Also, wear comfortableshoes for free movement.

Eat healthy and nutri-tious food in sufficientquantities an hour beforethe exercise. Forget aboutdieting post-Covid19 ill-ness.

Staying hydrated whilerecovering from the ill-ness is imperative. Ensurethat you drink amplewater before and afterexercising.

Don’t exhaust yourselfby exercising in hotweather. Try working outearly in the morning or inthe evening. If by chanceyou can’t work out in themorning, then meditateduring the afternoon, butdon’t indulge in roughworkout sessions.

At the same time, avoidexercising indoors withthe air conditioner on.Extreme cold weather canleave you breathless whichcan lead to an unevenflow of blood in the ves-sels and stressed muscles.

Doctors claim thatweakness can last up tosix months after recover-ing, depending on a per-son’s immune system andenergy levels. If yourfriend can run 20-25 laps

of the fieldpost-recov-ery,doesn’tmean

that your body can alsotolerate the same.

Immediatelystop workingout if you expe-rience any of thefollowing symp-toms:”Nausea”Dizziness or

lightheadedness”Breath lessness is

common while exercis-ing. However, stop ifthe breathlessnessworsens and does-n’t subside evenafter resting”Excessive

sweating”Tightness in

the chest area”Increased pain

especially in the armsand jaw

The moment you expe-rience any uncommonsymptoms, you shouldstop exercising and con-tact your doctor immedi-ately. There is no harm indiscussing the symptomswith your fitness expert aswell. Remember, medicalstaff and doctors are therefor our assistance.

The best way to startexercising is by warmingup. Mild exercises canloosen the muscles andincrease blood flow. Thiswill help in exercisingproperly without anyroom for injuries, sore-ness oruneasi-ness inthebody.

Fewexercis-ing tipsthat canloosen muscleand increasestrength

Warm-upexercise

Rollyour

shoulders slowly to loosenthe

musclesandincreasebloodflow.Youneed torollthem

clockwise and anti-clockwise five times con-secutively. Continue this

motion for five min-utes.

Fitness exer-cise

We allhavemarchedduring theschoolgradua-tion cere-mony, so,

it will notbe difficult to

march onone spot for10 minutes.

You can also

walk/run up anddown the staircase

for 10 minutes. Ithelps in improv-ing breathless-ness.

Strength exer-cise

Stand facing thewall and raise both

hands and place yourpalms on it. Now push

yourself towards the wall,against the force and thenreturn to your position.

This exercise helps inbuilding strength inarms and joints.

Start with mildexercises. Gradually,increase the frequen-

cy, intensity and dura-tion of your workout at

your ease. This is thebest way of challengingyourself by increasing onelevel further.

Breathlessness is nor-mal while exercising, buttoo much of it can beharmful and should beaddressed immediately.Increase the intensity ofyour workouts accordingto your tolerance.

Fatigue and extremepain can be signs of over-exertion. It is advised towork out with a fitnessexpert so that if you feelbreathless or are inextreme pain, s/he canprovide you with emer-gency assistance.

(The author is the co-founder of Synq.fit, a one-

stop solution for yourhome workouts.)

Pratik Sudadvisescautionagainst

exertingyourself toomuch afterrecovering

from Covid-19

One step at a time

urrently, most of theprominent socialmedia platformshave become vehi-cles that proliferatenegativity, drive divi-

siveness, and enable cyberbully-ing. While they each have stan-dards for behaviour outlinedfor all to see, they are at bestinconsistently applied, and atworst completely ignored. Thesites have become so toxic thatnot a day goes by where manyregular users are not exposed tosome level of negativity. Peopleregularly report the loss ofinteractions with friends, familyand colleagues online.

The call for reform has beenside-stepped by these compa-nies. The likes of key socialmedia platforms have held upthe freedom of expression flagin their defense, though manybelieve this is just a way to jus-tify a business model that islucrative to them and theirshareholders. There is littledoubt that extreme societaldamage has been done fromthese platforms’ unwillingnessto make meaningful changes toaddress these issues. To date,the conversation has largelybeen about the issues with theseplatforms. However, now is thetime for solutions. It is time to

bring about a more positive wayto interact online where mem-bers can connect in a safe andsecure environment openly andfreely.

Various new-age networkingplatforms are focus sing onimproving online forums whilemaking concerted efforts tomitigate negativity and cyber-bullying. Their sole aim is tobring about a social revolutionthat counterbalances the onlinenegativity and toxicity that isperpetuated, enabled and per-haps unknowingly supportedby major social media plat-forms today.

These modern social net-working platforms enable peo-ple to give and receive guidancefor free and the members helpeach other in achieving theirrespective goals. These targetscould be related to fitness,career, health, parenting, hob-bies, personality development,or any other topic.

These platforms are a com-munity where like-minded peo-ple and those who share com-mon interests and goals cometogether to support each otherand render a helping hand toeach other. The members insuch a scenario can interact andengage one-on-one amongstlike-minded individuals orother communities across theglobe instantly and seamlessly.They are devoid of ads, negativ-ity, fake news, trolling, andcyberbullying and work beyondthe popularity contest approachof garnering maximum likesand shares.

New-age networking plat-forms leverage the power ofcontent moderation, identityverification, and technology

mix to come up with state-of-the-art community-enabledsolutions that help resolve allthe associated issues. Peoplewith real identities facilitate anincreased level of trust, credibil-ity, and safety amongst themembers and prefer platformsthat provide a safe and protect-ed environment where theirprivacy is secured.

Trust, respect and genuineconnections form the core ofthese social networking plat-forms and they are leaving nostone unturned to ensure thattheir community is free fromnegativity and toxicity. All theywant is to leave a positiveimpact on the members' lives.

These new-age networkingplatforms don't function as theusual social media platformsbut rather lend a helping handto solve the problems faced bypeople in the social space. Theyaim to come up with a newsocial contract so that peoplecan interact quickly, easily, andinstantly with each other. Theyare aware that negativity, divi-siveness, polarisation and fakenews rule the social mediaspace today. However, theywish to take a bold stance andbet on the goodness of the peo-ple. They desire to uplift eachother rather than tearing eachother down. The broader visionof these new-age platforms is tonormalise a different onlineexperience and provide analternative way to spend yourtime online which is positive,interactive, engaging, and fos-ters connections!

(The author is the co-founder& CEO of ChekMarc, a social

platform that enables impactfulone-on-one connections.)

No to negativityMarc Kaplanshares hownew-age socialmedia platformsare providingusers with arevampedexperience

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11

Hyderabad Thursday August 5, 2021 tollywood

awan Kalyan’s sonAkira is going tobe launched bydirector TrivikramSrinivas. Thoughthere is no official

statement yet, as per thesources, it is confirmed thatTrivikram will be the debutfilm of Akira.

As we known, PawanKalyan and TrivikramSrinivas are the thickest offriends. Pawan Kalyan’supcoming movie in whichhis character is named‘Bheemla Nayak’ is also byTrivikram practically, for itwas written by him, DirectorSagar Chandra is helming theproject. The film is the offi-cial remake of the Malayalamhit film AyyappanumKoshiyum. It also stars actorRana Daggubati.

Pawan Kalyan hasarranged for a martial artstrainer for Akira. Akira hasbeen living with his father atPawan Kalyan’s house atJubilee Hills, where he’s

undergoing various forms oftraining. Recently, RenuDesai had posted a video ofAkira practicing martial artson her Instagram account.

Fans of Pawan Kalyan aremore than happy to knowthat Akira is going to belaunched by Trivikram.Everybody believes thatTrivikram’s movies will bethe perfect script and screen-play for Akira’s entry. So withTrivikram heading the pro-ject, fans believe Akira is onthe right path.

ega Star Chiranjeevi’supcoming filmAacharya is going tohit the screens beforeRRR itself! The filmmay be released on

October 1, 2021. The unit, wehear, is almost sure about thisdate. SS Rajamouli’s RRR. star-ring stars NTR Jr and RamCharan Tej, is going to release onOctober 13. Just two weeksbefore that, Acharya is going tosay hello to Telugu audiences.

Currently, Acharya is in itsproduction phase, with shootingunderway in Kakinada, AndhraPradesh. The film will completeits shoot within the next fourweeks, and some post-produc-tion works have already started.By the third week of September,everything will be ready, sourcestell us.

Apart from Chiranjeevi, MegaPower Star Ram Charan, KajalAgarwal, Pooja Hegde, and oth-ers will be seen playing key rolesin the movie.

Koratala Siva is hoping to giveanother hit with this film. ManiSharma has composed the musicand the two songs that havereleased have been received withgreat applause. The moviereportedly revolves around amiddle-aged Naxalite-turned-social reformer who launches afight against the EndowmentsDepartment over misappropria-tion and embezzlement of templefunds and donations. Presentedby Surekha Konidela, the film isproduced by Charan himself, andNiranjan Reddy under theirKonidela Production Companyand Matinee Entertainmentrespectively.

Acharya likely torelease on Oct. 1,

before RRR

ilmmaker SSRajamouli’s RRR star-ring Ram Charanand Jr NTR has beenreceiving a growinghype across the

country for its ensemble castand the director himself. RRRis the much-anticipated film of2020, which is gearing up forthe grand release on October13. The period drama will seeBollywood actress Alia Bhattstar opposite Ram Charanwhile international actress

Olivia Morris is paired oppo-site Jr NTR. RRR is beingbankrolled by DVV Danayya,the film is being made on abudget of more than Rs 350crores. Earlier, it was also heard thatKichcha Sudeep has beenroped in to play the role of apolice officer in Jr NTR andRam Charan starrer RRR, butlater the actor refuted therumor. Recently the Eega actorshowered accolades on Jr NTRby saying, “I have worked with

Megastar Chiranjeevi, andwith due respect to him andothers, I consider Jr NTR myfavourite, as I am bitten by hisenergy which is palpable.”

Kichcha Sudeep is a popularname in Tollywood as he wasseen in Rajamouli’s directorialventures Eega and Baahubali:The Beginning. He also playedthe important role in theMegastar Chiranjeevi starrerSye Raa Narasimha Reddy co-starring Nayanthara andTamannah Bhatia.

2 girlMehreenKaur Pirzadarecentlyannouncedthat she will

be seen in more andmore films now and hasstarted lining up severalprojects. According tothe latest news, Mehreensigned another breezyentertainer.

Mehreen will be pair-ing with Havish in thisfilm under the directionof G. Karthik Reddy.Karthik earlier came withfilms like Adda and Voter

in 2013 and 2019 respec-tively. The film is touted to

be a romantic entertainer andhas a unique screenplay.

A source reveals that the characteri-sations are novel and story-based andinformed that the fictional entertainerhas interesting twists in the script witha novel screenplay. Script work for theproject has neared completion and thefilm will go on floors at the earliest.Mehreen is currently starring in F3, thesequel to F2, under the direction ofAnil Ravipudi, and Manchi RojujuVachchayi under the direction ofMaruthi.

he latest update fromSarkaru Vaari Paata isthat Action King Arjunhas been replaced byJagapathi Babu. Due tothe Covid situation, the

actor’s dates have become difficultto be adjusted to the film’s sched-ule and thus had to walk out ofthe project. He, right now, has his

hands full with a couple ofKollywood films. Understandinghis trouble, Arjun has beenreplaced by Jagapati Babu, who isa close friend to Arjun.

Jagapathi Babu had playedfather to Mahesh Babu in theirprevious film Srimanthudu. NowSarkar Vaari Pata will have thetwo share screen space again.Jagapathi Babu has proved him-self as a villain with a stylish lookin films like Nannaku Prematho.The character in SVP too, wehear, is going to be similar.

The makers of SVP are going torelease the film’s teaser on August9, on the occasion of Super StarMahesh Babu’s birthday. Fans areeagerly waiting for it. The makersrecently announced the releasedate to be January 13, 2022.Thaman has composed music forthe film that is being directed byParasu Ram.

MEHREEN

SIGNS A

ROMANTIC

FILM

ARJUN REPLACED BYJAGAPATHI BABU IN SVP

aapsee Pannu ismaking a come-back to Tollywoodafter many yearswith MishanImpossible, direct-

ed by Swaroop RSJ of AgentSai Srinivasa Athreya fame.The film will see theJummandi Naadam actressplaying an unconventionalrole of a bounty hunter.Mishan Impossible producedby Niranjan Reddy andAnvesh Reddy, hasMalayalam actor HareeshPeradi in the role of anantagonist, it is learnt.

Hareesh Peradi is a popu-lar face for Tamil audiencesas he was seen in VikramVedha. He was also seen inSulthan, directed byBakkiyaraj Kannan and co-starring Karthi andRashmika Mandanna. InTollywood, he was seen inMahesh Babu and RakulPreet Singh starrer Spyder,where he played the role ofCBI Head Officer.

N M Pasha is on board asthe associate producer forMishan Impossible. Mark KRobin is the music composer,while Deepak Yeragara istaking care of the cinematog-raphy department for theproject and the editing is byRavi Teja Girijala.

On the work front,Hareesh Peradi will be seenplaying important roles inMalayalam movies Muddyand Bheeshma Parvam,which will hit the theatersthis year.

Hareesh Peradi, Vikram Vedha

join Mishan Impossible

he first lyrical singlefrom the upcoming filmVarudu Kavalenu,which has actorNaga

Shaurya inthe lead,has beentitled DiguDigu DiguNaaga. Thesong hasbeen pic-turised onactress RituVarma thatshows her in avintage avatar. Thelyrics have beenpenned by AnanthaSriram that has com-posed by VishalChandrashekhar andsung by ShreyaGhoshal. The remakefolk song has alreadycrossed a millionviews withinhours of itsrelease. Fanshave been rav-ing about the

lyrics, and especially, Shreya’svocals. Along with the lead castNaga Shaurya and Ritu Varma,

Varudu Kavalenu has Nadia,Murali Sharma, Vennela

Kishore,Praveen,Ananth,Pammi Sai,Rangasthalam

Mahesh,Kireeti

Daamaraaju,Vaishnavi

Chaitanya, andSiddique Shah will

be seen playingimportant roles. Onthe technical front,Ganesh KumarRaavuri wrote the dia-logues, VamsiPatchipulusu handledthe Cinematography,Vishal Chandra

Shekhar has composedthe music, while NaveenNooli oversees editing.Suryadevara Naga Vamsiis producing the filmunder the SitharaEntertainments banner.

P

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F

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TRIVIKRAMTO LAUNCH

PK'S SONAKIRA

‘I am bitten by

NTR’s energy'Digu Digu Digu Naaga

hits over a million views

sport 12HYDERABAD | THURSDAY | AUGUST 5, 2021

TOKYO TIMELINE

WEDNESDAY HIGHLIGHTS

lAthletics: Neeraj Chopraqualified for final by toppingqualification round in men’sjavelin throw.Shivpal Singh finished 12thin group B qualification and27th overall in men’s javelinthrow; failed to advance tofinal round.lBoxing: Lovlina Borgohainlost to Busenaz Surmeneli ofTurkey 0-5 in women’s 69kgsemifinal.lGolf: Aditi Ashok at tiedsecond and Diksha Dagar attied 56th after round 1 inwomen’s individual strokeplay.lHockey: India lost toArgentina 1-2 in women’ssemifinal.lWrestling: Ravi Kumarbeat Oscar Eduardo Tigreros(Colombia) in first round,beat Georgi ValentinovVangelov (Bulgaria) in quar-terfinals, beat NurislamSanayev (Kazakhstan) insemifinal of men’s freestyle57kg.Anshu Malik lost to IrynaKurachkina (Belarus) in firstround of women’s freestyle57kg; will play in repechageround.Deepak Punia beatEkerekeme Agiomor(Nigeria) in first round, beatZushen Lin (China) in quar-terfinals, lost to David MorrisTaylor (USA) in semifinals ofmen’s freestyle 86kg; willplay for Bronze medal.

IN ACTION TODAYlAthletics: K T Irfan, RahulRohilla and Sandeep Kumarin men’s 20km race walkevent. (01:00 pm)lGolf: Aditi Ashok andDiksha Dagar in women’sindividual stroke play round2. (04:00 am)lHockey: India vs Germanyin men’s Bronze medalmatch. (07:00 am)lWrestling: Vinesh Phogatvs Sofia Magdalena Mattsson(Sweden) in women’sfreestyle 53kg. (08:00 am).Anshu Malik vs ValeriaKoblova (ROC) in repechageround of women’s freestyle57kg. (second bout after07:30 am start)Ravi Dahiya vs Zavur Uguev(Russian OlympicCommittee) in men’sfreestyle 57kg final. (ninthbout after 02:45 pm start)Deepak Punia in men’sfreestyle Bronze medalmatch. (11th bout after02:45 pm start)

Live on SONY TEN& SIX Network

Tokyo: Medal contenderNeeraj Chopra became thefirst Indian javelin thrower toenter the finals of the OlympicGames with a stunning throwof 86.65m in his openingattempt that put him on top ofthe qualification round onWednesday.

The 23-year-old keptIndia’s hopes of an elusiveOlympic medal from athleticsalive by earning a direct entryinto the finals to be held onSaturday as he sent the spearwell past the qualifyingmark of 83.50m in hisfirst attempt.

However, ShivpalSingh, failed to make thefinal cut with a below-parbest throw of 76.40m,which he came up in hisfirst attempt, to finish alowly 12th in the GroupB qualification which fea-tured 16 athletes.

Competing in hisfirst Olympics, Chopratook just a few seconds tomake the final round. Hetopped the Group Acontest as well as the twoqualifications roundsand left the javelin arenaafter his first throw.

“I am at my firstOlympic Games, and Ifeel very good. In warm-up my performancewasn’t so good, butthen (in the quali-fying round) myfirst throw had agood angle, andwas a perfectthrow,” Choprasaid after hisevent.

Chopra is,however, under noillusion that the finalwill be a totally differ-ent contest where theworld’s best will gofor podium finish.

“It will be a differ-ent feeling (in thefinals), since it is myfirst time in the

Olympics. Physically we (all)train hard, and are ready, but Ialso need to prepare mentally.

“I will need to focus on thethrow, and try to repeat this(performance) with a higherscore,” said the youngster whocame into the Olympics withthe fourth best throw (88.07m)this year.

Chopra’s performance onSaturday will go down as one ofthe best performances by anIndian in the Olympics, as hefinished ahead of Gold medalfavourite and 2017 world cham-pion Johannes Vetter ofGermany.

Vetter, who had earlier saidthat Chopra will find it tough tobeat him in the Olympics, strug-gled in his first two throwsbefore crossing the automaticqualification mark with a85.64m final throw.

The 28-year-old toweringGerman, who came into theOlympics after having sevenmonster throws of over 90mbetween April and June, waslying at a dangerous seventh

position after his firsttwo throws buteventually quali-fied for the final atsecond overall

behind Chopra.Pakistan’s Arshad

Nadeem, who hadwon a Bronze

medal whenC h o p r ac l i n c h e dGold in the2018 AsianGames inIndonesia,t o p p e dGroup B

to earn anautomatic quali-

fication to thefinals with a sec-ond round throwof 85.16m.

He qualifiedfor the finals atoverall third behindChopra and Vetter. PTI

PTI n CHIBA

Ravi Dahiya onWednesday becameonly the second Indianwrestler to qualify for

the title clash at the OlympicGames, when he sensationallyturned around the 57kg semi-final bout by pinningKazakhstan’s Nurislam Sanayevbut Deepak Punia was left tofight for Bronze medal after helost his semifinal, here onWednesday.

Before Dahiya, SushilKumar was the only Indian tomake the Gold medal bout atthe 2012 Olympics in Londonwhere he had settled for aSilver.

The fourth seeded Dahiyatrailed 2-9 after Sanayev effect-ed a few ‘fitley’ (leg lace) but asthe clocked ticked away, Dahiyaregrouped and got hold of hisrival with a double leg attackthat resulted in a ‘victory by fall’.

“I had no business conced-ing that much lead againstSanayev. I am not happy withit,” Dahiya told PTI when askedabout his inspiring achieve-ment.

It just shows the kind ofstandards the Indian fromNahri village in Haryana hasset for himself.

“I have beaten Sanayevtwice before, so I knew I canpull it off despite trailing by a

huge margin. I was assuredinside, but I should not haveconceded lead and made it aclose fight. That was pretty badof me,” he said.

“I still have some unfin-ished business to do. I camewith a target here and that isnot complete yet (winning

Gold).”In the final on Thursday,

Dahiya will face reigning worldchampion Russian ZavurUguev to whom he had lost inthe 2019 World Championshipsemifinals.

Despite a huge deficit, the23-year-old Dahiya did not

panic, showing tremendousmental strength and dramati-cally turned the bout in hisfavour.

After the end of the firstperiod, Dahiya had a 2-1 leadbut Sanayev came preparedand attacked the Indian’s leftleg, got a good grip and turned

him thrice to log six points ina jiffy.

Suddenly, Dahiya’s leadwas gone and he was staring ata defeat but his superior stami-na and technical prowess wasstill at work. The remaining oneminute was enough for him toturn the tide and he did it instyle.

He got hold of Sanayevwith a double leg attack andthen gripped him tightly withthe Kazakhstan wrestler’s backon the mat and finished thebout with a mighty ‘pin’.

A dominant Dahiya hadwon both his previous contestson technical superiority enroute the final.

Dahiya outclassedColombia’s Tigreros Urbano(13-2) in his opener and then

outwitted Bulgaria’s GeorgiValentinov Vangelov (14-4).

While Dahiya was a live-wire on the mat, Deepak Punia(86kg) made good use of afavourable draw to reach thesemifinals but lost to the formi-dable American David MorrisTaylor. He will now fight forBronze on Thursday against thewinner of the repechage roundbetween Myles Amine and AliShabanau.

It was always going to be aherculean task for Deepak totrouble the American, the 2018world champion and the reign-ing Pan-American champion.

It was hardly a contest asTaylor effected one move afteranother to win by technicalsuperiority in the first perioditself.

Deepak could make onlyone move on counter attack butthe American did not give theIndian any chance to convertthat into points.

The 22-year-old Deepakhad earlier got past Nigeria’sEkerekeme Agiomor, theAfrican championship Bronzemedallist by technical superi-ority and then prevailed 6-3over China’s Zushen Lin in thequarterfinal.

Anshu Malik, on the otherhand, lost her opening 57kgbout to European championIrina Kurachikina but sincethe Belarus wrestler has

reached the final, the 19-yearold Indian has got a secondchance to be in medal round.

She will now compete inthe repechage round onThursday and if she wins, shewill also fight for Bronze.

Dahiya will now be onlythe fifth Indian wrestler towin an Olympic medal.

KD Jadhav had becomeIndia’s first wrestler and also thefirst individual Olympic medal-list when he won a Bronze dur-ing the 1952 Helsinki Games.

After that, Sushil Kumarenhanced wrestling’s profileby winning a Bronze at 2008Beijing Games and bettered thecolour of the medal by claim-ing a historic Silver in 2012 atLondon Olympics that madehim India’s only athlete withtwo individual Olympic medalsfor nine years.

The feat then has nowbeen matched by shuttler PVSindhu.In the same 2012Olympics, Yogeshwar Dutt wona Bronze.

Sakshi Malik became thefirst Indian woman wrestler towin an Olympic medal whenshe took a Bronze in 2016 RioOlympics.

This Tokyo edition couldwell be a watershed Olympicsfor Indian wrestling with bothVinesh Phogat and BajrangPunia also in contention for amedal.

Neeraj into the finalwith one attempt Tokyo: Indian golfer Aditi

Ashok got off to a brilliant startat the Olympic Games, cardinga four-under 67 in the openinground for a share of the secondspot at the KasumigasekiCountry Club on Wednesday.

Aditi, who caught the golf-ing world’s attention five yearsago at the Rio Olympics, sharedthe position with World No 1Nelly Korda.

She was one shot behind theleader, Madalene Sagstrom ofSweden, who shot 66.

“I think I played better thanI expected today because I hada lot of hybrids into the greens,so I didn’t really expect to be like5-under through 17,” Aditi said.

Aditi may well have had ashare of the lead but for a bogeyon the 18th hole.

While Sagstrom shot abogey free five-under 66, Aditi

had five birdies against onebogey and that on the closinghole.

She was placed well ahead ofsome big names in women’s golf,including the formidabledefending champion, Inbee Park(69).

India’s other entrant in the

field, Diksha Dagar (76) had arough start in her maidenOlympics as she had five bogeysand no birdies to lie at the tied56th spot.

The 60-player field will play18 holes each day and there willbe no cut, so all players get toplay 72 holes. PTI

Tokyo: A brave Indian women’shockey team put up a gritty per-formance but it was not enoughto secure a maiden Olympicfinal berth as it lost 1-2 to worldNo 2 Argentina in a hard-fought semifinal on Wednesday.

India still have a chance towin the Bronze medal as theywill take on Great Britain in thethird-fourth place play-offmatch on Friday.

The Indians fought valiant-ly and gave Argentina a run fortheir money by taking the leadin the second minute througha penalty corner conversion byGurjit Kaur.

But the Las Leonasbounced back strongly withskipper Maria Barrionuevo’s(18th, 36th minutes) twinstrikes from penalty corners tosecure the hard-fought win.

The Netherlands will playArgentina in the final on Friday.

The bunch of 18 fearlessand determined Indian womenhad already done the unthink-able when they stunned three-time champions Australia 1-0on Monday to enter theOlympic semifinals for the firsttime.

Prime Minister NarendraModi offered consoling wordsto the Indian women’s hockeyteam, saying the players showedgreat skill and grit.

“One of the things we willremember #Tokyo2020 for is thestupendous performance byour Hockey teams. Today andthrough the Games, ourWomen’s Hockey team playedwith grit and showcased greatskill. Proud of the team. Best ofluck for the game ahead and forfuture endeavours,” Moditweeted. PTI

Tokyo: Indian boxer LovlinaBorgohain (69kg) signed offwith a Bronze medal in herdebut Olympic Games after acomprehensive 0-5 loss toreigning world championBusenaz Surmeneli onWednesday, bringing an endto the country’s campaign inthe sport here.

Up against quite literallya bully in the ring, Borgohainwas completely out-punchedby the Gold medal favouriteTurkish boxer, who produceda thoroughly dominatingperformance.

Borgohain also coped aone point deduction in thesecond round for not payingattention to the referee’sinstructions despite a coupleof cautions.

“I don’t know what to say.I could not execute what Ihad planned. I could havedone better,” Borgohain saidafter the loss.

The Indian’s start wasnot all that bad as she stoodup to the strong challenge butshe came undone afterSurmeneli got down to con-necting her vicious hooks

and body shots.The third round was

especially punishing forBorgohain, who faced twostanding eight counts duringthe bout.

Surmeneli was unrelent-ing in all three rounds afterbeing unsettled only slightlyin the opening few secondswhen Borgohain tried tokeep her at long range andstruck only counter-attackingstraight hits.

The flamboyant Turkishboxer didn’t just out-punchher rival after that but alsotaunted her with some show-boating, including droppingher guard to dare the Indian.

Nonetheless, Borgohaingoes home a history-makeras the 23-year-old hasbecome only the third Indianboxer to ensure a podiumfinish at the showpiece afterVijender Singh (2008) andMC Mary Kom (2012).

Tokyo: A demoralising semifi-nal defeat behind it, the Indianmen’s hockey team would needan error-free performance fromits defence to secure an Olympicmedal after 41 years when ittakes on Rio Games Bronze-winner Germany in the third-fourth place play-off match onThursday.

The Indian defence willhave to pull up its socks andavoid repeating the same mis-takes which it made againstBelgium if they desire to standon the podium here.

The onus is on the likes ofHarmanpreet, Rupinder,Surender Kumar, Amit Rohidasand star goalkeeper PR Sreejeshwill have to be on their toes tocome out triumphant against themight of Germans.

The Indians also need to

avoid unnecessary tackles infront of their circle.

Going by rankings, there ishardly anything to differentiatebetween the two sides as Indiaare currently on third place andGermany on fourth. ButGermany would be a tough nutto crack. Having lost 1-3 againstAustralia in the semifinals here,the Germans would be deter-mined to prove a point.

Having failed to secure theGold medal here after two suc-cessive yellow metals in 2008and 2012 Games, the Germanshad to settle for a Bronze in Rio2016 and they would be deter-mined to at least return with apodium finish from here.

In the Olympics, both thesides have faced each other 11times recording four wins eachand three games ending in draw.

Manpreet & Co aim to endIndia’s 41 years medal drought

PTI n NOTTINGHAM

England were all out for 183in their first innings against

India on the opening day of thefirst Test here on Wednesday.

Having reached tea at 138for four, England lost theirremaining six wickets for just 45runs in the day’s third and finalsession.

Skipper Joe Root made 64off 108 balls, even as the othersfailed miserably to stand up tothe Indian pace bowling attack.

For the visitors, JaspritBumrah picked up four wicketsfor 46 runs, Mohammed Shamihad 3/28, while Shardul Thakurbagged 2/41.

England scored 77 runs in25.2 overs bowled in the after-noon session for the loss of twowickets, after scoring 61 in thefirst session.

The pitch had enough forthe pacers in the first hour ofplay with the ball swinging andseaming around.

With India going in withfour pacers, Shardul Thakurcame into the side but the one

spinner picked was RavindraJadeja, who didn’t bowl in thefirst session.

Dropping premier spinnerR Ashwin was a big call as hehad been well prepared for theseries opener with his prepara-

tion including a county game.Earlier at tea, Joe Root and

Jonny Bairstow frustrated Indianbowlers with solid Test matchbatting in challenging conditionsbefore Mohammed Shami broketheir 72-run stand by dismissing

the latter to leave England at 138for four at tea on day one.

Like the first session, Indianpacers beat the batsmen regular-ly but Root (52 batting off 91balls) and Bairstow (29 off 71)played with grit and patience to

thwart their attempts.Shami was finally able to

break their threatening stand byhaving Bairstow leg before at thestroke of tea. Shami got one tojag back in and India reviewedthe umpire’s decision successful-ly. England scored 77 runs in25.2 overs bowled in the after-noon sessions for the loss of twowickets.

India had their tail up earlyon in the session when Shamihad Dom Sibley caught at shortmid-wicket in the third overpost lunch. Shami made Sibleyfall into a trap set for him witha full ball on his pads which theEngland opener flicked itstraight to K L Rahul, leaving thehosts at 66 for three.

Bairstow joined Root in themiddle and they ended up bat-ting the rest of the session.

While the Indian pacerskept asking questions with theball constantly moving around,Root seemed to find answersmore often that not. He playedwith soft hands and close to hisbody, and was quick to latch onto the loose balls.

New Delhi: Table TennisFederation of India onWednesday decided to issue ashow cause notice to star pad-dler Manika Batra for her refusalto take national coachSoumyadeep Roy’s help at theTokyo Olympics.

Though Manika’s coachSanmay Paranjape was givenaccess for training sessions inTokyo, he did not have theaccreditation to enter the field ofplay and a request to upgrade hisaccess card was denied. In ashow of protest, Manika hadrefused help from designatedteam coach Roy during her sin-gles matches.

“Before she boarded theflight to Tokyo, she very wellknew that her personal coachdid not have field of play access.Therefore, she should not haveacted the way she did. “We willissue the notice tomorrow andManika will have 10 days torespond and based on that wewill decide what action to betaken further,” TTFI secretarygeneral said. PTI

TTFI to issue showcause to Manika

Another heartbreak in hockey

Tokyo: The Indian women’shockey team has learnt tobounce back from losses, saidcoach Sjoerd Marijne, addingthat the defeat to Argentina inthe Olympic semifinal is histo-ry as the side focusses onclaiming a historic Bronze.

“We came here to win amedal and still there’s one(available). It’s now aboutrecovery, about the mindset.The good thing is, it’s notalways good that we lost a lot

in the past but we also havelearned to deal with the loss-es,” Marijne said after thematch.

“So it’s okay, what can weimprove on from this match.”

The Dutchman feels Indiafailed to grab their opportuni-ties against Argentina, whicheventually made the differ-ence. “In these matches it isabout taking your opportuni-ties. Argentina did that betterthan us. With the PC, the

injection was not always per-fect, the trapping was not goodand then you can’t play exact-ly the PC you want,” he said.

“I can’t be angry with thegirls or be mad because wedon’t play these kind of match-es so much. It’s a whole newexperience and you also haveto learn how to play thesematches. It’s all about takingyour opportunities. “The inten-sity we showed in the lastquarter, that was really good.”

India has learnt to bounce back from losses: Marijne

New Delhi: The marquee T20World Cup clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan in alllikelihood will be held onOctober 24, which is a Sunday,even though the ICC will bereleasing the official schedule ofthe tournament in few days.

“As of now, Sunday, October24 looks the likely option as thefirst week’s Qualifying roundmatches starting October 17 willbe held in Muscat, Oman,” asource privy to developments inthe ICC board said.

“So when the main roundrobin fixtures are played, it isbetter to start with an Indo-Pakgame which will have the bestTRP.” India and Pakistan areslotted in Group 2 along with theWTC winners New Zealand andAfghanistan. PTI

India vs Pakon Oct 24

England all out for 183 on Day 1

WRESTLER

RAVIENSURES 4TH MEDAL

WRESTLER

RAVIENSURES 4TH MEDAL

Ravi Dahiya reacts after win against Kazakhstan's Nurislam Sanayev during the men's 57kg freestyle semifinal @Tokyo2020hi

Lovlina ends with Bronze

India’s Lovlina Borgohain, right, exchange punches against Busenaz Surmeneliof Turkey during their women's welter weight semifinal boxing match PTI

1st Test. Day 2Live from 3:30pm IST

SONY SIX NETWORK

Indian players celebrate after England batsman Jonny Bairstow was declared out on Day 1 of first Test AP

India’s Deepak Punia, top, and China’sLin Zushen in action on Wednesday AP

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7.59 lakh cases pending in various courts in Telangana

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Transcript of 7.59 lakh cases pending in various courts in Telangana