7Rc^ ac`eVded dhV]] @aa cR_\d - Daily Pioneer

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P resident Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday gave his assent to the three farms Bills passed by Parliament even as the farmers' organisation and Opposition parties continued to rally against the controversial legis- lations. One of BJP's oldest allies and a founding member of the NDA, the Shiromani Akali Dal, on Sunday called for unifying the Opposition to take on the BJP. The Opposition had earli- er urged the President to return the Bills to Parliament saying the Bills were anti-farmer and had been rammed through the Rajya Sabha without a division of votes. SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Sunday called upon all political parties and organisations to close ranks for a united fight to pro- tect the interests of farmers, farm labour and farm produce traders in the country, espe- cially in Punjab. "We are ready to join or fol- low any struggle in the overall interests of the farmers, farm labour, Arhatiyas and other farm produce traders," said Badal, while making his first public speech after the party broke alliance with the NDA on Saturday night. Badal received instant support from the Trinamool Congress. "We sup- port Sukhbir Singh Badal and Akali Dal's stand with the farmers. Fighting for farmers is part of Trinamool DNA. In 2006, Mamata Banerjee risked her life on a historic 26-day fast for farmers' rights. We oppose Farm Bills 2020 as they endan- ger States' role, MSP, PDS pro- curement, TMC leader Derek O'Brien tweeted. Thanking Derek for his support, Sukhbir tweeted, "Derek — your stand against the Agriculture Bills in Parliament is well known. Appreciate your support." He said the country needed to understand and empathise with the farmers and farm labour in view of the pathetic conditions in which they were living. Reiterating his party's firm commitment to preserving peace, communal harmony and fraternity in Punjab at all costs, Badal said, "We must not flinch from the ideals of keep- ing our struggle for people's rights absolutely peaceful and democratic. I must caution against attempts to defame our struggle by disturbing peace but that should only strength- en our resolve to safeguard the age-old values of Punjabi fra- ternity and the path of peace- ful democratic struggle." He again advised the Chief Minister to issue an Ordinance to declare the whole State a Mandi (Principal Marketing Yard) to save farmers from “black laws”. Badal was address- ing gatherings of party work- ers and farmers at Ropar, Hoshiarpur and Phagwara on Sunday, to mobilise them for October 1 Kisan March, which would commence from all three religious Takht Sahibs in Punjab and culminate at Mohali. Taking a cue from its counterpart in Rajasthan, the Amrinder Singh Government in Punjab is considering bring- ing a legislation declaring the entire State as a Principal Mandi Yard to nullify the Central Act. This would nulli- fy the Central law prohibiting imposition of any tax or cess on out-of-mandi transactions. Declaration of Punjab as a mandi will ensure farmers sell- ing directly to third parties will get MSP and the State earns its mandi tax. T he exit of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), one of the old- est allies of the BJP, from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), would not impact the strong majority of the 303- member BJP in the Lok Sabha but it may dent its own catchy and all-season political slogan of “sabka saath, sabka vikas”. The NDA has now been reduced to a conglomeration of Janata Dal(U), LJP, AIADMK, Jana Nayak Janata Party, Apna Dal and a handful of regional outfits in North-East. The SAD has only two members in the Lok Sabha, including Harsimrat Kaur, who resigned from the Modi Government following SAD's protest over three farm Bills recently passed by Parliament. The three Rajya Sabha members of the SAD are Balwinder Singh Bhunder, Naresh Gujral and Sukhdev Singh Dhinsa. On the eve of Lok Sabha polls in 2019 and soon after the poll victory, the BJP had claimed to having 36 NDA allies which included major parties like Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Shiv Sena and SAD, Janata Dal-United JD(U) and several other assorted region- al outfits across the country. The departure of SAD in a year when Shiv Sena too “lost patience” with the BJP and less than two years fol- lowing the TDP's decision to move out of the NDA in 2018 reflects that the BJP is increas- ingly asserting itself with its plans and programmes after its sweeping victory in the Lok Sabha. Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of Mehbooba Mufti in Jammu & Kashmir and Upendra Kushwaha's RSLP in Bihar, left the NDA due to dif- ferent political reasons. The NDA which started in 1998 under Atal Bihar Vajpayee has transformed considerably since 2014. With Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah taking a tight grip over the affairs of the Government and the party and setting the BJP with an aim of “speedy expansion” in the States and introduce its policies the allies have reasons to feel threatened. The protest against the too much of centralisation of decision-making in the NDA had also created rumblings in the North-East with Asom Gana Parishad walking out of the NDA to protest Citizenship (Amendment) Bill but it rejoined later. Another regional NDA ally Bodo People's Front too had differ- ences with the BJP which were ironed out by State leadership. F ormer Bihar DGP Gupteshwar Pandey, who was all over national TV for the last few months, joined the State's ruling JD (U) on Sunday amid indications he would con- test the Assembly polls begin- ning next month. Pandey joined the party in the presence of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who is also the JD (U) president, less than a week after taking voluntary retirement from service. His much-anticipated induction took place a day after he met Kumar and insist- ed there was nothing political in their conversation. The 1987 batch IPS officer had strongly defended Kumar on the issue of institution of a CBI probe into the mysterious death of Sushant Singh Rajput, the Patna-born talented film star. The voluble officer had reminded actor Rhea Chakraborty, Rajput's girl- friend and the main accused in the abetment to suicide case being probed by the CBI, of her "auqat" (status) to question Kumar, when she suggested that there was politics behind the Bihar Government's deci- sion to push for a CBI probe. Pandey's application for VRS was accepted by Governor Fagu Chauhan on September 21, five months before the 1987 batch IPS officer was to superannuate, and in a rare gesture, a three-month cooling off period applicable to bureaucrats was waived in his case. "I have a long, loving association with Kumar. He personally called me and offered party membership. “I have a public profile and connect with people…people love me. But I don't know anything about politics. I will do what I am asked to do," he later told journalists. “Pandey also turned up at a Press conference at the JD (U) headquarters where he was welcomed into the fami- ly by Ashok Choudhary, a Cabinet Minister who was earlier in the day appointed the working president of the State unit. I n a new move, the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) has approved a proposal to collect annual sewage pollution charge from all households, irrespective of whether they are located in areas with or without sewer network. According to a National Green Tribunal order, every individual household causing pollution by the release of sewage into an open environ- ment or in the sewer network is liable for payment for its treatment as per "polluter pays" principle. At present, the util- ity collects sewage charges only from those households which have water connections and a functional sewer net- work. The money is utilised for maintenance, upkeep and to upgrade the sewer network. But many households get water from the DJB and generate sewage but have not been pay- ing sewage charges as there is no sewer network in their area, according to an official. The DJB has 25.20 lakh active water consumers, of which 19.94 lakh come under areas with sewage connec- tion. Sewage charges are levied in their water bills. "Earlier, we had been collecting sewage charges from households which come under sewered areas and have an active water connection. S ix years after a head injury he suffered from a fall at his home confined him to the hospital bed, former Union Minister Jaswant Singh, a close associate of ex-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, died here on Sunday. He was 82. A former Army officer, Singh had been ill following the accident since August 2014. He had been in and out of the Army Research and Referral Hospital since then. Three months ago, he was back to the hospital — for one last time. "It is with profound grief that we inform about the sad demise of Major Jaswant Singh (Retd), former Cabinet Minister of Government of India at on September 27, 2020. He was admitted on June 25, 2020 and being treated for Sepsis with Multiorgan Dysfunction Syndrome and effects of Severe Head Injury old (Optd) had a cardiac arrest this morning," the hospital said in a statement. Singh fell out with the BJP leadership prior to the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and was denied the ticket. He went on to fight the election as an Independent candidate and lost. Three months later, he met with what would turn out to be a fatal accident. Born on January 3, 1938, in Jasol village of Barmer district, Rajasthan, Singh did his study at the prestigious Mayo College and National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla. At the age of 19, he joined a cavalry regiment of the Indian Army. After serving in the defence services for eight years, he resigned from his commission in 1965 to take a plunge into politics. He didn't have much suc- cess in his initial years in pol- itics and had to wait till 1980 when the fledgling BJP sent him to the Rajya Sabha. From then on it was an uninterrupt- ed stay in Parliament — five times as member of the Upper House and four times as Lok Sabha MP — till 2014. An able administrator with few blemishes of the type that are associated with many lead- ers, Singh had the swallow the mortification of accompanying three terrorists — Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, Mushtaq Ahmad Zargar and Masood Azhar — and escort the hijack- ers of the IC 814 aircraft to Kandahar in exchange for 175 passengers who were held hostage by Pakistan-backed terrorists. His career, however, was also hit by controversy when he was in the Government during the Kandahar the hijacking of 1999. Singh escorted three ter- rorists — Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, Mushtaq Ahmad Zargar and Masood Azhar — to Kandahar in exchange for 175 passengers of IC 814 air- craft who were held hostage by Pakistan-backed terrorists. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other top BJP lead- ers paid rich tributes to Singh. Modi said Singh served India diligently and will be remem- bered for his unique perspec- tive on matters of politics and society The PM later spoke to Singh's son Manvendra to con- vey his condolences. Modi said, "Singh served our nation diligently, first as a soldier and later during his long association with politics. During Atal's Government, he handled crucial portfolios and left a strong mark in the worlds of finance, defence and exter- nal affairs. Saddened by his demise." Singh, considered close to Vajpayee and veteran leader L K Advani, held defence, finance and external affairs portfolios in the Vajpayee Government. In his message, Modi added, "Singh will be remem- bered for his unique perspec- tive on matters of politics and society. He also contributed to the strengthening of the BJP. I will always remember our interactions. Condolences to his family and supporters. Om Shanti." Expressing his anguish, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said Singh served the nation in several capacities and distinguished himself as an effective Minister and parlia- mentarian "Singh would be remem- bered for his intellectual capa- bilities and stellar record in ser- vice to the nation. He also played a key role in strength- ening the BJP in Rajasthan. Condolences to his family and supporters in this sad hour. Om Shanti," Singh said. C ovid-19 virus claimed nine more lives in Jharkhand on Sunday, taking the total num- ber of Covid casualties in the state to 679, figures released by the health department stated. Meanwhile, nearly 1,000 people from across Jharkhand were found infected by the lethal virus on Sunday, taking the Covid tally close to 80,000. As per a bulletin released by the National Health Mission (NHM), at least 226 of the 974 Covid cases that surfaced on Sunday were from East Singhbhum, while 214 of them were from Ranchi. The number of active cases, however, dropped in East Singhbhum as 303 Covid patients recovered from the infection there. Among the nine Covid patients who died on Sunday, at least four were from East Singhbhum, a district which accounts for 291 of state’s 679 Covid casualties, gov- ernment data highlighted. As per government data, Bokaro reported two deaths while Ranchi, Khunti and Hazaribag reported one death each. The number of active cases of infection rose above 4000 on Sunday after cases outnumbering recoveries for the third consecutive day here. As per government data, as many as 4016 people were battling the viral infection in Ranchi on Sunday after only 153 recoveries were reported against 214 cases on the day. The Government has so far collected swab samples of 20.71 lakh people in Jharkhand and tested 20.59 lakh of them. Of the 20.59 lakh people tested for the virus, as many as 79,909 were found Covid positive. On Sunday, health workers tested swab samples of 22,342 people and 21,368 of them came negative. As per government data, Jharkhand has one of the best Covid recovery rates in India. Of the 80,000-odd people found infected in the state so far, at least 66,797 have recov- ering, taking the Covid recov- ery rate in Jharkhand to 83.59 per cent. The national Covid recov- ery rate, as per government figures, was 82.40 per cent on Sunday. Despite the nine casual- ties reported on Sunday, Jharkhand’s Covid mortality rate was 0.84 per cent, which is lower than the national average of 1.60 per cent. As per government data, the doubling rate of Covid-19 infection in Jharkhand was 42.8 days against the national doubling rate of 47.25 days. In the past seven days, Covid infection grew in Jharkhand at the rate of 1.63 per cent. As per data compiled by the NHM, at least 502 of the 679 Covid victims in Jharkhand were older than 50 years. As many as 137 Covid victims were in the age brack- et of 31 to 50 years, while 31 victims were below the age of 30 years.

Transcript of 7Rc^ ac`eVded dhV]] @aa cR_\d - Daily Pioneer

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President Ram Nath Kovindon Sunday gave his assent to

the three farms Bills passed byParliament even as the farmers'organisation and Oppositionparties continued to rallyagainst the controversial legis-lations. One of BJP's oldestallies and a founding memberof the NDA, the ShiromaniAkali Dal, on Sunday called forunifying the Opposition totake on the BJP.

The Opposition had earli-er urged the President to returnthe Bills to Parliament sayingthe Bills were anti-farmer andhad been rammed through theRajya Sabha without a divisionof votes. SAD presidentSukhbir Singh Badal on Sundaycalled upon all political partiesand organisations to closeranks for a united fight to pro-tect the interests of farmers,farm labour and farm producetraders in the country, espe-cially in Punjab.

"We are ready to join or fol-low any struggle in the overallinterests of the farmers, farmlabour, Arhatiyas and otherfarm produce traders," saidBadal, while making his firstpublic speech after the partybroke alliance with the NDA onSaturday night. Badal receivedinstant support from theTrinamool Congress. "We sup-port Sukhbir Singh Badal andAkali Dal's stand with thefarmers. Fighting for farmers ispart of Trinamool DNA. In2006, Mamata Banerjee riskedher life on a historic 26-day fastfor farmers' rights. We opposeFarm Bills 2020 as they endan-ger States' role, MSP, PDS pro-curement, TMC leader DerekO'Brien tweeted.

Thanking Derek for hissupport, Sukhbir tweeted,"Derek — your stand againstthe Agriculture Bills inParliament is well known.Appreciate your support." Hesaid the country needed to

understand and empathise withthe farmers and farm labour inview of the pathetic conditionsin which they were living.

Reiterating his party's firmcommitment to preservingpeace, communal harmonyand fraternity in Punjab at allcosts, Badal said, "We must notflinch from the ideals of keep-ing our struggle for people'srights absolutely peaceful anddemocratic. I must cautionagainst attempts to defame ourstruggle by disturbing peacebut that should only strength-en our resolve to safeguard theage-old values of Punjabi fra-ternity and the path of peace-ful democratic struggle."

He again advised the ChiefMinister to issue an Ordinanceto declare the whole State aMandi (Principal MarketingYard) to save farmers from“black laws”. Badal was address-ing gatherings of party work-ers and farmers at Ropar,

Hoshiarpur and Phagwara onSunday, to mobilise them forOctober 1 Kisan March, whichwould commence from allthree religious Takht Sahibs inPunjab and culminate atMohali.

Taking a cue from itscounterpart in Rajasthan, theAmrinder Singh Governmentin Punjab is considering bring-ing a legislation declaring theentire State as a PrincipalMandi Yard to nullify theCentral Act. This would nulli-fy the Central law prohibitingimposition of any tax or cesson out-of-mandi transactions.

Declaration of Punjab as amandi will ensure farmers sell-ing directly to third parties willget MSP and the State earns itsmandi tax.

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The exit of Shiromani AkaliDal (SAD), one of the old-

est allies of the BJP, from theNational Democratic Alliance(NDA), would not impact thestrong majority of the 303-member BJP in the Lok Sabhabut it may dent its own catchyand all-season political sloganof “sabka saath, sabka vikas”.

The NDA has now beenreduced to a conglomeration ofJanata Dal(U), LJP, AIADMK,Jana Nayak Janata Party, ApnaDal and a handful of regionaloutfits in North-East.

The SAD has only twomembers in the Lok Sabha,including Harsimrat Kaur, whoresigned from the ModiGovernment following SAD'sprotest over three farm Billsrecently passed by Parliament.

The three Rajya Sabhamembers of the SAD areBalwinder Singh Bhunder,

Naresh Gujral and SukhdevSingh Dhinsa.

On the eve of Lok Sabhapolls in 2019 and soon after thepoll victory, the BJP hadclaimed to having 36 NDAallies which included majorparties like Telugu Desam Party(TDP), Shiv Sena and SAD,Janata Dal-United JD(U) andseveral other assorted region-al outfits across the country.

The departure of SAD ina year when Shiv Sena too“lost patience” with the BJPand less than two years fol-lowing the TDP's decision tomove out of the NDA in 2018reflects that the BJP is increas-ingly asserting itself with itsplans and programmes after itssweeping victory in the LokSabha.

Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) of Mehbooba Mufti inJammu & Kashmir andUpendra Kushwaha's RSLP inBihar, left the NDA due to dif-

ferent political reasons.The NDA which started in

1998 under Atal BiharVajpayee has transformedconsiderably since 2014. WithPrime Minister NarendraModi and Union HomeMinister Amit Shah taking atight grip over the affairs ofthe Government and the partyand setting the BJP with anaim of “speedy expansion” inthe States and introduce itspolicies the allies have reasonsto feel threatened.

The protest against thetoo much of centralisation ofdecision-making in the NDAhad also created rumblings inthe North-East with AsomGana Parishad walking out ofthe NDA to protestCitizenship (Amendment) Billbut it rejoined later. Anotherregional NDA ally BodoPeople's Front too had differ-ences with the BJP which wereironed out by State leadership.

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Former Bihar DGPGupteshwar Pandey, who

was all over national TV for thelast few months, joined theState's ruling JD (U) on Sundayamid indications he would con-test the Assembly polls begin-ning next month.

Pandey joined the party inthe presence of Chief MinisterNitish Kumar, who is also the JD(U) president, less than a weekafter taking voluntary retirementfrom service.

His much-anticipatedinduction took place a dayafter he met Kumar and insist-ed there was nothing politicalin their conversation.

The 1987 batch IPS officerhad strongly defended Kumar

on the issue of institution of aCBI probe into the mysteriousdeath of Sushant Singh Rajput,the Patna-born talented filmstar.

The voluble officer hadreminded actor RheaChakraborty, Rajput's girl-friend and the main accused inthe abetment to suicide casebeing probed by the CBI, of her"auqat" (status) to questionKumar, when she suggestedthat there was politics behindthe Bihar Government's deci-sion to push for a CBI probe.

Pandey's application forVRS was accepted by GovernorFagu Chauhan on September21, five months before the1987 batch IPS officer was tosuperannuate, and in a raregesture, a three-month cooling

off period applicable tobureaucrats was waived in hiscase.

"I have a long, lovingassociation with Kumar. Hepersonally called me andoffered party membership.

“I have a public profileand connect withpeople…people love me. ButI don't know anything aboutpolitics. I will do what I amasked to do," he later toldjournalists.

“Pandey also turned up ata Press conference at the JD(U) headquarters where hewas welcomed into the fami-ly by Ashok Choudhary, aCabinet Minister who wasearlier in the day appointedthe working president of theState unit.

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In a new move, the Delhi JalBoard (DJB) has approved a

proposal to collect annualsewage pollution charge fromall households, irrespective ofwhether they are located inareas with or without sewernetwork.

According to a NationalGreen Tribunal order, everyindividual household causingpollution by the release ofsewage into an open environ-ment or in the sewer networkis liable for payment for itstreatment as per "polluter pays"principle. At present, the util-ity collects sewage chargesonly from those householdswhich have water connections

and a functional sewer net-work.

The money is utilised formaintenance, upkeep and toupgrade the sewer network.But many households get waterfrom the DJB and generatesewage but have not been pay-ing sewage charges as there isno sewer network in theirarea, according to an official.

The DJB has 25.20 lakhactive water consumers, ofwhich 19.94 lakh come underareas with sewage connec-tion. Sewage charges are leviedin their water bills. "Earlier, wehad been collecting sewagecharges from householdswhich come under seweredareas and have an active waterconnection.

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Six years after a head injuryhe suffered from a fall at his

home confined him to thehospital bed, former UnionMinister Jaswant Singh, a closeassociate of ex-Prime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayee, died hereon Sunday. He was 82.

A former Army officer,Singh had been ill following theaccident since August 2014. Hehad been in and out of theArmy Research and ReferralHospital since then. Threemonths ago, he was back to thehospital — for one last time.

"It is with profound griefthat we inform about the saddemise of Major Jaswant Singh(Retd), former CabinetMinister of Government ofIndia at on September 27,2020. He was admitted on June25, 2020 and being treated forSepsis with Multiorgan

Dysfunction Syndrome andeffects of Severe Head Injuryold (Optd) had a cardiac arrestthis morning," the hospital

said in a statement.Singh fell out with the BJP

leadership prior to the 2014Lok Sabha polls and was denied

the ticket. He went on to fightthe election as an Independentcandidate and lost. Threemonths later, he met with whatwould turn out to be a fatalaccident.

Born on January 3, 1938, inJasol village of Barmer district,Rajasthan, Singh did his studyat the prestigious MayoCollege and National DefenceAcademy, Khadakwasla. At theage of 19, he joined a cavalryregiment of the Indian Army.After serving in the defenceservices for eight years, heresigned from his commissionin 1965 to take a plunge intopolitics.

He didn't have much suc-cess in his initial years in pol-itics and had to wait till 1980when the fledgling BJP senthim to the Rajya Sabha. Fromthen on it was an uninterrupt-ed stay in Parliament — fivetimes as member of the Upper

House and four times as LokSabha MP — till 2014.

An able administrator withfew blemishes of the type thatare associated with many lead-ers, Singh had the swallow themortification of accompanyingthree terrorists — AhmedOmar Saeed Sheikh, MushtaqAhmad Zargar and MasoodAzhar — and escort the hijack-ers of the IC 814 aircraft toKandahar in exchange for 175passengers who were heldhostage by Pakistan-backedterrorists.

His career, however, wasalso hit by controversy when hewas in the Government duringthe Kandahar the hijacking of1999.

Singh escorted three ter-rorists — Ahmed Omar SaeedSheikh, Mushtaq AhmadZargar and Masood Azhar —to Kandahar in exchange for175 passengers of IC 814 air-

craft who were held hostage byPakistan-backed terrorists.

Prime Minister NarendraModi and other top BJP lead-ers paid rich tributes to Singh.Modi said Singh served Indiadiligently and will be remem-bered for his unique perspec-tive on matters of politics andsociety

The PM later spoke toSingh's son Manvendra to con-vey his condolences.

Modi said, "Singh servedour nation diligently, first as asoldier and later during his longassociation with politics.During Atal's Government, hehandled crucial portfolios andleft a strong mark in the worldsof finance, defence and exter-nal affairs. Saddened by hisdemise."

Singh, considered close toVajpayee and veteran leader LK Advani, held defence, financeand external affairs portfolios

in the Vajpayee Government.In his message, Modi

added, "Singh will be remem-bered for his unique perspec-tive on matters of politics andsociety. He also contributed tothe strengthening of the BJP. Iwill always remember ourinteractions. Condolences tohis family and supporters. OmShanti."

Expressing his anguish,Defence Minister RajnathSingh said Singh served thenation in several capacitiesand distinguished himself as aneffective Minister and parlia-mentarian

"Singh would be remem-bered for his intellectual capa-bilities and stellar record in ser-vice to the nation. He alsoplayed a key role in strength-ening the BJP in Rajasthan.Condolences to his family andsupporters in this sad hour. OmShanti," Singh said.

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Covid-19 virus claimed ninemore lives in Jharkhand on

Sunday, taking the total num-ber of Covid casualties in thestate to 679, figures released bythe health department stated.

Meanwhile, nearly 1,000people from across Jharkhandwere found infected by thelethal virus on Sunday, takingthe Covid tally close to 80,000.As per a bulletin released by theNational Health Mission(NHM), at least 226 of the 974Covid cases that surfaced onSunday were from EastSinghbhum, while 214 of themwere from Ranchi. The numberof active cases, however,dropped in East Singhbhum as303 Covid patients recoveredfrom the infection there.

Among the nine Covidpatients who died on Sunday,at least four were from EastSinghbhum, a district whichaccounts for 291 of state’s679 Covid casualties, gov-ernment data highlighted. Asper government data, Bokaroreported two deaths whileRanchi, Khunti andHazaribag reported one deatheach.

The number of activecases of infection rose above4000 on Sunday after cases

outnumbering recoveries forthe third consecutive dayhere. As per government data,as many as 4016 people werebattling the viral infection inRanchi on Sunday after only153 recoveries were reportedagainst 214 cases on the day.

The Government has sofar collected swab samples of20.71 lakh people inJharkhand and tested 20.59lakh of them.

Of the 20.59 lakh peopletested for the virus, as manyas 79,909 were found Covidpositive. On Sunday, healthworkers tested swab samplesof 22,342 people and 21,368 ofthem came negative.

As per government data,Jharkhand has one of the bestCovid recovery rates in India.Of the 80,000-odd peoplefound infected in the state sofar, at least 66,797 have recov-ering, taking the Covid recov-ery rate in Jharkhand to 83.59per cent.

The national Covid recov-ery rate, as per governmentfigures, was 82.40 per cent onSunday.

Despite the nine casual-ties reported on Sunday,Jharkhand’s Covid mortalityrate was 0.84 per cent, whichis lower than the nationalaverage of 1.60 per cent. As

per government data, thedoubling rate of Covid-19infection in Jharkhand was42.8 days against the national doubling rate of47.25 days. In the past sevendays, Covid infection grew inJharkhand at the rate of 1.63per cent.

As per data compiled bythe NHM, at least 502 of the679 Covid vict ims inJharkhand were older than 50years. As many as 137 Covidvictims were in the age brack-et of 31 to 50 years, while 31victims were below the age of30 years.

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Amidst coronavirus pan-demic, the residents of

Bokaro and Chas will be ableto do morning walk and jog-ging on the main routes of thecities. The district administra-tion is at work; soon to declarethe routes as “Traffic FreeZone” from 5 am to 9 am in thetwin cities on every alternateSunday.

All the residents will beable to do these activities in thepandemic (Coronavirus) peri-od, considering the govern-ment-directed norms, SOP, useof face masks and social dis-tancing. “We will announce theprogramme very soon,”

informed Rajesh Kumar Singh,Deputy Commissioner Bokaro.

Aiming to expedite theactivities under Global ActiveCity (GAC) programme ameeting was held under thechairmanship of DeputyC o m m i s s i o n e r - c u m -Chairman, Global Active CityCommittee Bokaro. DeputyDevelopment Commissioner,Additional MunicipalCommissioner, Chas, DistrictSuperintendent of Police, CivilSurgeon, District PlanningOfficer, District TransportOfficer, District EducationDeputy Superintendent,District Sports Officer andIndian Coubertin CommitteeMember (InternationalOlympic Family) cum GlobalActive City Lead OfficerJaideep Sarkar were present inthe meeting.

During the meeting, Jaideeppresented a detailed outline ofthe GAC programme which waskicked-off in October 2019.

Despite the preparations,the “Indo-German SportsWorkshop” of Germany’s world-renowned Leipzig Universityhindered as the governmentannounced lockdown due toCoronavirus pandemic, saidJaideep.

“Meanwhile, there is onegood thing that a preliminarysurvey of all the listed globalactive cities of the world, includ-ing Bokaro, now has been ini-tiated by the famous surveyagency “Liverpool John MooreUniversity (LJMU)” of theUnited Kingdom, for this event,”he added.

From April to June 2020,Global Active Partner CityBokaro has been prominently

ranked among the top forumsof various national and inter-national sports, including thenewly formed Indian OlympicEducation Committee (IOEC)of the Indian OlympicAssociation (IOA) and theNational Council of SportsScience and Physical There wasalso an international virtualprogram of Education (NCSPE)in which Kiren Rijiju Ministerof Sports, Government of India,Dr. Narendra Dhruv Batra,President, Indian OlympicAssociation and Michael Gross,Project Director, Global ActiveCity Program were presentthere, he said.

The ‘Global Active City’program targeted to link healthand social life programs. Youmay call it the international ver-sion of the ‘Fit India Movement’.Our aim is to bring health

awareness among mass and toinspire them to join some sportsevents, said Jaideep.

Recently, Bokaro Steel Citygot the tag of ‘Global ActiveCity’ (GAC) standard. NowBokaro becomes the first city inIndia and second in Asia to getthis place. Karasiyaka in Turkeyin Asia is the first city, got a pres-tigious standard.

The Global Active City pro-gramme is fully aligned with theagenda, guidelines and recom-mendations of UN, WHO,UNESCO all of which aim atimproving the health and wellbeing of people as part of sus-tainable development.

The International OlympicCommittee additionally sup-ports the Global Active pro-gramme. Bokaro Steel City is thefirst city in India to join the net-work.

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Asecurity audit is on for thetown police station. Explaining this security

audit, Palamau SP SanjeevKumar said this security auditwill take into account the lat-est update on the seasonedcriminals as to whether they areon parole or on bail or free asthe possibility of their return tocrime cannot be ruled out.Beats will be vigorouslypatrolled, Kumar said.

The SP said the town policestation is the nerve centre of thedistrict and as such, it ought tobe all-fit to handle any expe-diency.

Sources said a robbery in ajewellery shop and a case ofburglary in quick successionhave brought the heat on thepolice.

About cyber police sta-tion, the SP said a team ofpolice officials who are soft-ware savvy is being put inthere as ageing inspectors therein the cyber police stationwere finding it beyond theirwisdom and capacity to crackhighly sophisticated cybercases.

He said these inspectorswere neither any versed incomputer science nor hadthey any inclination to be anyexperienced in running fin-gers on the key pad.

Kumar said in the policeforce there are sub inspectorsof police who have engineer-ing diploma and degree andthat they want to tap for solv-ing cyber fraud cases.

Sources said more than 50cyber cases are lodged withthe cyber police station but its

cracking is too meagre.Sanjeev Kumar said he is

all out to give police here more'eyes' and 'teeth'. Kumar saidshop keepers and affordableresidents will be convinced toinstall the third eyes theCCTV cameras for everyone'sbenefit.

About 'teeth' Kumar saidit is all about strengtheningthe police picket and checkpost.

A check post at Shahpurend of the river Koyal is ofstrategic importance butBansdeeh picket languishesconceded Kumar.

As festive season is aroundpolice are cautious about roadhold up as such incidentsswing up abruptly days aheadof pujas.

The SP said there is an allout effort to foil road hold up.

It’s only appropriate that whenthe entire world is looking

forward towards an effectivevaccine against Covid 19, wetalk about the disease againstwhich the first successful vac-cine was prepared throwingopen a tremendously success-ful field of vaccine therapy.

World Rabies Day is cele-brated every year on 28thSeptember by WHO since 2007in memory of Louis Pasteur,the father of Microbiology andscience of vaccinology to rein-force the resolve to eliminatethis zoonotic disease fromplanet earth by 2030, whichkills around 60 thousand inno-cent people year after year ofwhich 20,000 are children. Onethird of total cases and deathsin same proportion sadly arefrom Indian subcontinent ofwhich majority are from India.

This totally eradicable dis-

ease is currently prevalent inover 100 countries mostly inpoor countries of Asia andAfrica where costly post expo-sure prophylaxis alone engulfbillions of rupees which can beeasily put to better use.

Rabies is an almost certainfatal disease but fortunately it’snearly 100% preventable dis-ease. However, it requiresenhanced public education,cooperation of masses and col-laboration with different stake-holders which include veteri-narians, pet lovers and gov-ernment agencies.

99% of rabies, (a lyssa viraldisease) are caused by dog bitethrough its infected saliva.Only one percent of the casesare transmitted through bites ofother carnivores or forestdwelling animals.

Capturing and vaccinat-ing stray dogs which are poten-tial transmitters and carriers ofthe disease by use of pallet gunsor food mixed vaccines andmandatory pet and dog vacci-nation are extremely importantmeasures. Transmission chainCan be broken only If unin-terrupted herd immunityagainst the virus in the caninepopulation is achieved by vac-cinating about 70% populationof dogs within the geographi-cal boundary with updatedvaccine against strains of the

causative virus. Making people understand

what animals (dogs) andhuman patients of rabies looklike when they are infected withrabies virus is very importantpart of early treatment. Peopleshould also know the likelychanges in animal behavioursuch as unprovoked bite orunusual aggression as sign ofrabies infection in dogs .Peopleshould also understand thatanyone bitten by such an ani-mal should be brought to thenotice of treating doctor imme-diately. Generally burning andtingling sensation in the areaaround the bite along withfever and muscle ache etc arethe earliest suggestive clinicalfeatures in human rabies. Lateron when disease advances pic-ture suggestive of bulbarinvolvement emerges such asdifficulty in articulating andswallowing liquid, a stage ofHYDROPHOBIA which givesthe disease it’s much popularname.

At this stage no definitivetreatment works and patientssuccumb to disease.Interestingly human rabiespatient’s bite has not beenfound to transmit this viral dis-ease.

Post exposure prophylaxisin the form of cleaning the sus-pected wounds with soap and

water for at least fifteen min-utes followed by application ofiodine/alcohol over the woundis very important on the spotmeasures and can not be overemphasised.

Post exposure prophylaxisby the use of intramuscular orIntra Dermal vaccine, andimmediate simultaneous rabiesimmunoglobulin administra-tion if required, as advised bythe doctor based on the sever-ity of animal exposure hasbeen the cornerstone of man-agement.

Bite by unidentified or lostanimals should be treated asrabies infected and post expo-sure prophylaxis treatmentshould be instituted withoutundue delay. Lost animals iflocated afterwards should beobserved for changes in theirbehaviour or if found deadshould be deemed as sufferingfrom rabies.

Till such time that suspectdogs are being observed (gen-erally for ten days period) vac-cine administration shouldproceed as scheduled andcompleted or discontinued ifso required.

Generally, vaccine isadministered in five dosage onday 0,3,7,14 and 28 Intra mus-cularly over deltoid or antero-lateral thigh region in chil-dren. It can be given Intra der-

mally also with modified pro-tocol. Intra - dermal route isfar more cost effective withcomparable efficacy if usedproperly.

Rabies immunoglobulinshould be given in serious bitecases immediately or withinseven days of incidence @20iu/kg body weight dosageonce only. Half of it should beinfiltrated around the woundand the remaining half atanterolateral thigh intramus-cularly.

Pre-exposure prophylaxisis for those who handle suchrabies animals and to thosewho are visiting rabies endem-ic zones. It has similar proto-col for vaccine administrationas in post exposure prophy-laxis.

Unfortunately, due topoor quality of educationpeople in large numbers fallpray to quacks and thugs evenin modern times specially invillages and remote parts ofour country. Governmentshould ensure that SchoolSyllabus carry enough mate-rial on health-related issuesand ignite scientific temper inyoung minds.

(The Author is currentlyprofessor of medicine atManipal Tata Medical college,Jharkhand)

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BJP leader Ragini Singh, wifeof former Jharia MLA

Sanjeev Singh, on Saturdaylevelled extortion allegations onsitting Jharia Congress MLAPoornima Singh, who alsohappens to be her cousin sister-In- law, since the MLA orderedstopping of mining operationsby an outsourced coal miningcompany at Chandmari area ofBCCL.

The MLA refuted extortionallegation and said she is fight-ing for the tribals who havebeen evicted forcefully withoutpaying any compensation.

Incidentally, Ragini had

lost last Assembly electionsagainst Poornima.

Talking to media personson Saturday Ragini said,Poornima is working on adviseof her brother -in-law Harshwho wants to control the areafor extortion of money fromoutsourced mining companies.On same day members of theJanta Mazdoor Sangh (Kuntifaction) that is being lookedafter Ragini got the work start-ed.

Ragini said, sincePoornima become MLA herbrothers- in - law has becomeactive and is demanding extor-tion from coal businessman. Ithas become a daily phenome-

non, alleges Ragini.The work at Chandmari

was forced closed by the JhariaMLA claiming that the land onwhich the mining company ismining coal belongs to triballandowners and not to theBCCL.

Poornima said, the matterhas been reported to deputycommissioner with requestedto get the matter examined andonly then allow mining oper-ations.

However, area projectmanager AK Sharma said, thework was started just as exca-vation is being done on BCCLowned mines not of the tribalraiyats.

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Women of the vocationalcentre Koshish, who

completed their certificationcourse, received the certifi-cates in a felicitation pro-gramme organised in thepremises of DPS Bokaro todaymaintaining the norms ofsocial distancing. The felicita-tion ceremony was chaired byA. S. Gangwar, Principal, DPSBokaro.

Koshish, is a vocational

center for women-run underthe aegis of DPS Bokaro thatensures the financial stability ofwomen of the marginalisedsections of the society by offer-ing them an opportunity tomaster the skills of knitting,stitching, and soft toy makingthrough certified courses.

Speaking on the occasionA. S. Gangwar said thatKoshish Vocational Center wasinitiated in 2006 with the aimto enable mothers of studentsof Deepansh and other women,to learn skills that would help

them earn their livelihood."In a short span of time, the

vocational centre has doneimmensely in the field of skilldevelopment and the missionof 'Self-reliant India' to enhancethe quality of the living of themarginalised section of soci-ety."

Gangwar added that theTraining Centre has a com-mendable number of sewingmachines and professional staffto teach the skills of designing,tailoring and embroideryincluding more.

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BJP national president, JagatPrakash Nadda on Saturday

constituted a new team. Threesenior leaders including formerchief minister Raghubar Das,Koderma MP Annapurna Deviand BJP Rajya Sabha memberSamir Oraon find place in theteam.

The elevation of these lead-ers in BJP central team carriesmessage mainly to give morerepresentation to Jharkhandleaders in central team.Presently, only Khunti MPArjun Munda who is also

union tribal affairs ministerfinds place in BJP nationalpolitics.

Moreover, there were noState BJP leaders in outgoingteam of BJP president.

Former chief ministerRaghubar Das who are as sulk-ing after debacle in Assemblyelection has been made as oneof the national vice presidents.The other national vice presi-dents are Chhattisgarh formerchief minister Raman Singh,Rajasthan former chief minis-ter Vasundhara Raje Scindiaamong others.

Das is credited of beingonly chief minister in State who

has completed his full term offive years. Raghubar Das aproduct of JP movement whostarted his political career aslabour leader at Tata Steel hasbeen legislator since 1995. In2019 he lost his JamshedpurWest in hands of friend turnfoe Saryu Roy.

The elevation of BJPRajya Sabha MP Samir Oraonas BJP national president ofschedule tribes (ST) morchais an attempt to please tribals.By elevating Oroan, a triballeader from backward districtGumla to national presidentof ST morcha, the BJP wantsto give a message to tribals

that the Saffron party is realwell wisher of tribals.

Oraon talking to ThePioneer said, "I am thankfulthat party has given me sucha big responsibility. My aimwill be to strengthen party atgrassroot level bringing moreand more tribals in BJP fold."

Oraon further said thatthe BJP is only party whichcares for poor Dalits andtribals but some political par-ties are creating confusion inpeople minds about partypolicies, my aim will be clearall such confusion.

Koderma MP AnnapurnaDevi too find place in new

central team of BJP presidentJagat Prakash Nadda.

Annapurna widow of lateRamesh Yadav has remainedwith RJD for more than twodecades, however, ahead oflast year general electionAnnapurna switched sidefrom RJD joining the BJP.The BJP gave fielded herfrom Koderma which shewon with good margin ofvotes.

The BJP national presi-dent has gone through socialdemography in making newteam. From Jharkhand thenew team comprises one trib-al and two OBC face.

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Practising lawyers, Judicialofficers and judges will not

have to turn pages of dozens ofcivil and criminal law books toget references of SupremeCourt and High Court judge-ments as assistance in any legalcase. Everything will be avail-able on the tip of their finger.Lawyers and judicial officerswill only have to use a com-puter or a phone to get recentSupreme Court and HighCourt judgements in Civil andCriminal cases.

Jharkhand High Court chiefjustice, justice Dr Ravi Ranjan onSaturday launched the e-handbook on Civil and Criminalcases. The e-hand book preparedby Jharkhand Judicial Academyis on the website of academy.

The judicial academy hasprepared the e- hand book oncivil and criminal trial to serveas practical guide to lawyers, inservice officers and the newofficers who shall be joining theJudicial service very soon.

The special features of the

book on civil trial is that relevantprovisions of Jharkhand Civilcourt rules have been incorpo-rated along with the provisionsof CPC, limitations Act, StampAct, Court Fees Act at one place.

This will give the judges aperspective to appreciate theinterplay of different provisionswhile applying law to fact of aparticular case.

The thrust is on principle oflaw and its applications in lightof the up-to-date case law on thepoint. At places, different ques-tions have been raised andanswered to give the reader aclear grasp of the law on thepoint.

e-hand book of criminaltrial is also designed to addresssome of the fundamental aspectsof enquiry and trial like, institu-tion of criminal cases, arrest,remand, bail, jurisdiction, cog-nizance, judgement with up todate case law. There are someimportant subjects like framingof charge, sentencing, victimcompenstation etc which hadbeen covered in the earlier pub-lications of the academy so they

have not been included in thisedition.

The special feature of thesetwo editions is that both ofthem are in digital form withhyper-links to the relevant pro-visions of CPC, Cr.P.C and theCase laws. The advantage of thehyper-link is that by one click

one can have access to the com-plete text of the Judgment or theprovision from the relevantstatute.

During Covid pandemictime when physical distance hasbecome a reality, there is anurgent need to innovate andimprovise so that the cause of

judicial education does not suf-fer.

The attempt to switch overto online is an effort in this direc-tion. judicial academy is sup-posed to cater to the need basedpractical requirements of thesubordinate courts in refreshercourses.

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Jharkhand Government onThursday is learnt to have

filed an affidavit in response tonotice issued by High courtseeking explanation on thecause of delay in constructionand completion of 500-bedsuper specialty wing of Sadarhospital in the heart of the citycapital.

Jharkhand chief secretarySukhdeo Singh who was askedby the court to explain the delaysought apology for the delayand told the court that the stategovernment is taking all nec-essary efforts to complete the

project by the end of this year.The Government told the

court that due to the outbreakof Covid-19 and lockdowntherein, the project got delayed.

Currently the super spe-cialty wing is partially opera-tional with provision of 200beds without any operationalICU.

The National BuildingsConstruction Corporation,under the Union urban devel-opment ministry, had con-structed this super specialitycentre on a super built-up areaof 750,000sqft with an invest-ment of �131 crore. The build-ing includes basement and

G+8 floors. Construction workstarted in 2008 and it wascompleted in 2011. But the fur-nishing work was not under-taken and the building keptlying unused for many years assuccessive governments tookno effort to carry forward theplan.

Initially, the StateGovernment planned to oper-ate this wing on a public-pri-vate partnership (PPP) mode.But private players hardlyshowed any interest.

In 2016, Jyoty Sharma, anRTI activist and social workerfiled a PIL in this regard overnon-operation of the hospital.

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The streets of Jamshedpurget out of the morning

slumber when 36-year-oldAnand Sharma takes out his1938 model of Matchlessmotorcycle for a ride everyday. The ‘thudding’ noise of aMatchless bike, one of theoldest British motorcycles,manufactured in Plumstead,London, fascinates the bikelovers of the city. The youthswith throbbing hearts lookforward to catching a glimpseof the bike.

Anand, a resident ofMango, has a passion to col-lect vintage bikes and has awide col lect ion of suchmachines. He owns around 30such vintage bikes. FromWorld War II model ofMatchless motorcycle tomoped Laxmi 48 cc, he has a

rich collection of two-wheel-ers, which he is proud of.

His vintage collection ofbikes include MOFA 22cc,Explorer 50cc, Silver Plus50cc, Ensign 150cc, Crusader175cc, Mini Bullet 200cc,STD 1984 350cc, AVLMachismo 500cc, Lightining535cc, STD BULLET withSidecar to name a few.

“My passion for vintagebikes and Bullet was bornwhen my father sold his autoto buy a bullet. My father hada craze for the Royal Enfieldand it passed on to me. Thesound of the Bullet fascinat-ed me the most and my pas-sion for the bikes grew withthe passage of time,” saidAnand. He said that the bestpart of his collection is that allthe bikes are well preservedand are in running condition.He toils every day to keepthem going.

Another two-wheeler inhis collection that he has

restored is a Laxmi 48cc (ear-lier known as the Innocenti

Lambretta). He bought thevintage moped fromKolhapur in Maharashtra.The bike comes with twohand gears, like a scooter.And the brakes are in thepedal. “You have to rotate thepedals in reverse to applybrakes,” he informed.

Anand informed that hislove and knowledge of bikesgrew when he joinedRoadmelters, a club of RoyalEnfield riders of Jamshedpurthat was started in 2008.

He joined the club in2013 and started taking partin nation-wide rides.

“The club provides acommon platform to all Bulletriders who want to sharetheir riding experiences. Iam in touch with bike ridersacross the country and everytime a vintage bike is availableI am there to buy it. Themembers of the club also dis-

cuss the performance of theirrespective bikes and how toimprove the standard of bik-ing,” said Anand, who is anadministrator of the club.

Another vintage vehiclehe owns is Hitodi that used tobe manufactured at IndiaAutomotives Ltd (IAL) inAdityapur, Jamshedpur. Thename Hitodi came fromHindustan Tools and Dies.The company launched a 49.9cc moped in the mid 1970'swhich sold in a few numbers.“ This vehicle is also close tomy heart. It was manufac-tured in our city so I havekept it preserved,” he noted.

Ask him his future plans,the young rider said, he wantsto promote collection vintagebikes in the city and want toorganise its exhibition so thatmore youths can become partof this passion.

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As the three phase Biharassembly election has been

announced and RJD is naturalprincipal challenger to the NitishKumar led JD (U)-BJP rulingcombine; the BJP has intensifiedattack on RJD boss Lalu Prasadand Jharkhand chief ministerHemant Soren.

Jharkhand BJP spokesper-son Pratul Nath Shahdeo whoaddressed a press conference onSunday afternoon at the partyheadquarters alleged that theSoren government is extendingillegal favour to RJD presidentand former Bihar chief ministerto run the party even if LaluPrasad.

Shahdeo said that LaluPrasad, convicted in a series offodder scam cases, is lodged atKelly’s bungalow for his treat-ment.

“Kelly bungalow has becomethe central election office of theRJD. It seems that the chief min-ister is giving him a return gift.Politicians are continuouslymeeting him and this is going on.But these politicians claim thatthis was a courtesy meeting. IG(Jail) of Jharkhand Police hasrecently given a baseless state-ment that jail manual can’t beeffective upon Kelly bungalow.IG (Jail) has claimed that they

handed over Lalu Prasad toRanchi district administrationhence the jail manual is not oper-ational on Kelly bungalow,” saidShahdeo.

Shahdeo reminded that on24 August 2018 when theJharkhand High Court had per-mitted his treatment.

“The court had said thatLalu Prasad’s treatment will bedone at RIMS under custody.The Jail Act 1894 clearly says thateven the place where convicts aretaken for small duration will betreated as jail and the rules of jailmanual will remain effective,” hesaid.

Shahdeo said that writtenpermission of the jail superin-tendent is necessary to meet peo-ple in judicial custody. But in caseof Lalu Prasad rule is not fol-lowed. RJD is part of the HemantSoren led government inJharkhand and the BJP accusedchief minister and his govern-ment is treating him like a guest.

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Airport authorities haveresumed flight services to

Kolkata ahead of upcomingDurga Puja, one of the largestfestivals of the Bengali com-munity during which severalthousand residents ofJharkhand travel to WestBengal to participate in festiv-ities with family and friends,officials said on Sunday.

“We have resumed fourweekly flights to Kolkata aheadof Durga Puja. A high demandfor flights to Kolkata is antici-pated during the festive season,”said Director of Birsa MundaAirport in Ranchi, VinodSharma.

Sharma added that thenew flights to Kolkata, run byIndigo Airlines, take off fromthe State capital on Tuesdays,Wednesdays, Saturdays andSundays.

“Besides Kolkata, we havealso resumed passenger flightsto Mumbai. Flights to NewDelhi, Bangalore andHyderabad were already oper-ational after the resumption ofair services,” said Sharma.

All flights from Ranchiremained suspended since theimposition of a nationwidelockdown on March 24 in thewake of Covid-19 pandemic.

Once flight services resumedon May 25, the Ranchi airportwas permitted to operate onlyseven flights, airport officialssaid.

While the count of flightsgradually increased to 10 byAugust end, the number wasstill less than half of the num-ber of flights that took offfrom Ranchi before lockdown,and there were no flights toKolkata.

Although Ranchi-ites nowhave the option to fly toKolkata during Durga Puja,railway services connectingRanchi to Howrah haveremained suspended despite

demands by various groups ofresuming direct trains betweenRanchi and Kolkata. TheGovernment has not given anyindication regarding theresumption of passenger trainsfrom Ranchi to Howrah priorto the festival, to be celebratedin the last week of October.

The Public Relation Officerof Ranchi Railway Division,Neeraj Kumar said that therewas no plan to resume trainsconnecting Ranchi to Howrahin the near future.

“There is no plan toresume direct trains betweenRanchi and Kolkata as of now.However, passengers can trav-

el to Dhanbad or Jamshedpurand take connecting trains toHowrah during the festive sea-son,” said Kumar.

The Federation ofJharkhand Chamber ofCommerce and Industry(FJCCI) recently demandedresumption of Kriya YogaExpress, a daily express trainwhich connects Ranchi toHowrah. However, theRailways is yet to take a call ontheir demands.

Meanwhile, interstate busservices are yet to start, and nobuses are plying betweenRanchi and Kolkata as of now.

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IPS officer-turned-politicianAjoy Kumar, who had

resigned from the position ofJharkhand Pradesh CongressCommittee (JPCC) after LokSabha polls last year, returned tothe Congress Party on Sunday.Inspired by former party pres-ident Rahul Gandhi, he decid-ed to return to the Congress,Kumar said.

Kumar announced hisreturn on his official Twitterhandle. He tweeted a statementof Mahatma Gandhi and wrote,'Silence becomes cowardicewhen, on the demand of time,you do not utter the truth anddo not behave accordingly. -Mahatma Gandhi.'

Kumar also wrote, "At atime when there is a need tospeak out openly against injus-tice and occupation of institu-tions, Rahul Gandhi inspiredme and I decided to return tothe Congress today.

After leaving CongressParty, Kumar had joined AamAdmi Party (AAP).

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elec-tions, the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) defeated Congress ledalliance in which other alliancepartners were Jharkhand MuktiMorcha (JMM), JharkhandVikas Morcha (JVM) and theRashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).The Congress could managed towin only one seat, while theJMM could win one seat.

After the results of the LokSabha elections, the Congresswas divided into two groups.One was led by Kumar and theother was headed by formerUnion Minister Subodh KantSahai. After a clash betweenparty workers, the leaders ofboth the groups also had ameeting in New Delhi.

Kumar had alleged thatSahai and other leaders weretrying to get tickets for familymembers in the Lok Sabhaelections and the upcomingassembly elections.

In the letter sent to RahulGandhi, Kumar made his pointin a very sharp tone. He had saidthat he has received gallantryawards as IPS but as allies get

him, even the worst criminalslook better than him. He allegedthat party workers were loyal tothe leaders, not the Congress.

Current JPCC ChiefRameshwar Oraon had saidthat all those who have left theCongress cannot join theCongress again for the next sixyears. In such a situation, nowthe speculation of SukhdevBhagat, Pradeep Balmuchu,Manoj Yadav coming again inthe Congress is rife.

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Anationwide agitation waslaunched by the Congress

Party against three agriculturebills passed in the parliament.In this sequence, a Raj Bhavanmarch has been organised onMonday by JharkhandPradesh Congress Committee(JPCC) from the Gandhi stat-ue located at Morabadi in theState Capital. JPCC In Charge,RPN Singh reached Ranchi onSunday to join the pro-gramme.

Singh was welcomed byMinisters in the StateGovernment, Banna Gupta,Badal Patralekh, MLADeepika Pandey and AmbaPrasad, JPCC WorkingPresident Keshav MahatoKamlesh, Rajesh Thakur,Feroz Rizvi Munna and otherleaders at Ranchi Airport.

Speaking to media per-sons at the Airport, JPCC InCharge said that the UnionGovernment is trying to bringback the landlord system onceagain which the CongressParty had ended in theCountry. "BJP has attacked thefarmers of the Country forhelping their capitalist friends,the new black law related toagriculture will completelydestroy the farmers, crores ofpeople will face unemploy-ment. Efforts are being madeto defeat the green revolutionstarted by former PrimeMinister Lal Bahadur Shastri,ever y single worker ofCongress has been mobilizedagainst the law to withdraw itwith the support of farmersand general public," he added.

Singh said that due to thelockdown, he has come toJharkhand after a long time,the functioning of the organ-isation will be reviewed alongwith the functioning of theState Government. He willtalk to each MLA to knowtheir problems in their area.

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With restrictions on socialgatherings being

imposed owning to the pan-demic, crowded streets andserpentine queues- a sight rem-iniscent with Durga Puja festi-val may become a thing of thepast this year. Pandal organiz-ers in the City have decided toadopt technology and take therevellers on a virtual tourthrough live streaming andsocial media.

Decked up with thematicpandal and attractive installa-tions to catch the public’s eye,this year the much awaited fes-tival will not just have smallerstructures with no fanfare butwill also have restrictions onthe entry of visitors.

“Unlike every other year,this time Durga Puja celebra-tions will be low key. In view ofthe present situation, provisionsfor online darshan are beingmade. For this an 8 inch by 4inch LED screen will beinstalled in the pandal premis-

es. Live streaming of the aarti,pushpanjali and all other ritu-als will be done on socialmedia platforms like Facebookand YouTube. For devoteeswho want to give donations,account numbers will also beflashed in the videos,” saidAshok Purohit President,Ranchi District Durga PujaCommittee (RDDPC) andChairman Rajasthan MitraMandal Puja Committee.

Purohit further stated thatthis year the entire structure ofthe pandal will be about 15 feethigh and 20 feet broad whilethe budget is of around Rs 5lakh as against Rs 20 lakhspent in 2019. The idol will alsobe of around four feet as againsta towering structure of around15 feet made in past.

“This year the height ofthe idol has been reduced tofour feet to ensure less num-ber of people are involved inthe immersion process. As ofnow a theme for the pandalhas not been decided. Toavoid any gathering, there

will be no attractive decora-tions and bhog distribution.As far as the rituals are con-cerned, all customs and tra-ditions will be duly followedbut pandal hoppers will notbe allowed to visit the venueand pay obeisance to theGoddess.

Preparations for onlinedarshan like installation ofLED screens is being donewhile videos will also be float-ed on social media platforms,”said Munchun Rai, ConvenerRDDPC and President RanchiRailway Station Durga PujaCommittee.

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As per the guidelines issuedby the University Grants

Commission (UGC), the newacademic session 2020- 23 invarious universities and col-leges will now begin fromNovember 1 while to com-pensate for the time lost, therewill be no winter and summerbreaks. Universities have alsobeen directed to complete theadmission process by October31.

In accordance with theUGC guidelines State univer-sities have also sped up theadmission process. With thesession commencing from

November 1, the first semes-ter exams are to be conduct-ed from March 8 to March 26.

As per sources, the week-long Durga Puja holidaysgiven by Ranchi University(RU) will now be reduced tothree or four days whileDiwali and Chhath will be forone day each instead of ascheduled 8 eight- day break.

RU sources further claimthat the varsity has complet-ed the admission process onthe basis of the first list onSeptember 25 while the sec-ond list is due to be releasedon September 28.

“The guidelines releasedby UGC will be duly fol-

lowed. In order to take thefirst semester exams in Marchthe only option is to cut shortthe holidays,” said RU ProVice Chancellor Dr KaminiKumar.

Following the same, DrShyama Prassad MukherjeeUniversity (DSPMU) hascompleted the applicationprocess on the basis of the firsttwo lists while admissions arebeing accepted on the thirdlist.

In view of the UGC guide-lines, the admission processwill be duly completed byOctober 31 and classes for thenew academic session will beconducted from November 1.

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The Congress has initiatedtalks with local parties like

RLSP, VIP, NCP and evenwith the former UnionMinister in VajpayeeGovernment Yashwant Sinhato forge an alliance for theBihar Assembly elections,starting next month. At thesame time, it has given anultimatum to its old naturalally RJD to make up its mindby this month end over theissue of seat sharing.

Sources said the Congress

leadership has conveyed toRJD to come to the negotiationtable and finish the seat shar-ing process so that enoughtime remains for the grandalliance to campaign.

RJD chief Tejaswi Yadav islikely to go to Ranchi to dis-cuss further on the BiharAssembly polls with his father,RJD patriarch Lalu Yadav, whois lodged in jail in Jharkhandin connection with the fodderscam.

The Congress has alsoshared its list of ‘bastion’ seats.some of them believed to becommon for both the RJD and

Congress which had foughtthe last assembly polls togeth-er and registered impressivewins to form theMahagathbandhan govern-ment including JD (U). NitishKumar had later switchedsides to BJP and formed theNDA Government.

Congress sources said ithas agreed to project formerDeputy CM and RJD chiefTejaswi Yadav as the ChiefMinisterial candidate of thealliance but in lieu of more sayin the choice of seats.

“We have already shared alist of 75 constituencies to

RJD which is the bone of con-tention between both the par-ties to begin the negotiations,”said a senior Congress leaderlooking after the Bihar affairs.

He shared that Congress isalso in talks with NCP,Yashwant Sinha, VIP and for-mer Union Minister UpendraKushwaha's RLSP, in case thealliance with RJD does notmaterialise. A resentment inKushwaha is also palpable forhis objection to TejashwiYadav’s projection as the CMface of the alliance.

Congress chief SoniaGandhi, in the meantime, onSunday announced the namesof a few candidates for theassembly by-election in

Madhya Pradesh and UttarPradesh.

With former Congress col-leagues and friendsJyotiraditya Scindia andSachin Pilot ranged on oppo-site sides, the Madhya Pradeshbypolls have now become ahigh-pitched electoral clashboth between the two andboth the Congress and BJP on28 Assembly seats.

Pilot is campaigning forthe party candidates in the by-elections for 28 Assembly seatsin the state, most of which arein the Gwalior-Chambalregion, considered to be thebastion of Scindia. Most of theseats for which Pilot has beencalled have a large number of

Gujjar voters and Congresshopes to use Pilot to woothem.

Of the 28 seats, 25 werevacated by Congress MLAswho switched to the BJP to

facilitate the comeback ofShivraj Singh Chouhan asChief Minister, while three fellvacant due to the death of sit-ting MLAs.

Congress announced can-

didates for 9 more seats inwhich three of the nine can-didates are ex-BJP leaders.The party had announced thefirst list of 15 candidates onSeptember 11.

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Dr Ajoy Kumar rejoinedCongress after he quit the

party to join the Aam AadmiParty (AAP). The former MPand former president ofJharkhand Pradesh CongresCommittee had joined AAP in

September 2019. CongressGeneral Secretary K CVenugopal, in a statement,said, “Congress president SoniaGandhi has approved the pro-posal for the re-joining of Dr.Ajoy Kumar, Ex-MP and for-mer President, Jharkhand PCC,to the Congress party.”

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The Union Home Ministryon Sunday ordered the

immediate dispatch of 300 com-panies of paramilitary forces forpoll-bound Bihar.

These paramilitary are fromvarious units of CRPF, BSF,CISF, SSB, ITBP and RPF. TheState Government was asked tosubmit detailed deploymentplans for the poll duties of the300 companies across the State.One company consists of 135jawans and officers.

With 80 companies, CRPFhas the highest number of itspersonnel deployed in Bihar.The BSF will send 55 compa-nies, CISF 50, and SSB 52 com-panies. While 30 companiesare from ITBP, the RPF will

send 15 companies for the pollbound State.

The Union Home Ministrydirected the paramilitary forces

to adhere strictly to the Covid-19 guidelines during trans-portation, deployment andlogistics.

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Against the backdrop ofcasualties of six personnel

due to suicide or fratricide inthe last few months, the Centralparamilitary forces have issuedorders to its officers to liberal-ly grant leave to the jawans,expeditiously resolve any issuesbeing faced by them, timelyclear their allowances and for-mulate a proper duty roster.

The move comes followinga directive from the UnionHome Ministry after theConfederation of ExParamilitary Force WelfareAssociation raised concernover the rising shootout andsuicides and demandedinstructions to the Forces tocheck the trend.

During the last fewmonths, jawans of paramilitaryforces like CRPF, BSF, SSB andITBP have resorted to fratrici-dal killings leading to the deathof six jawans. This dangeroustrend is continuing and in themajority of the cases, enquirieshave concluded that domesticdiscord was the reason forsuch incidents.

Apart from existing mea-sures already in place to checksuch incidents in the ranks, the

Forces have issued a fresh setof guidelines to contain anysuch trend in the future.

The officials commandingtheir respective formationshave been specifically asked toadopt a liberal approach ingranting leave to the jawans. Asuitable roster of duty of jawanscan be formulated. Payment ofallowances and entitlementsshould be made at the earliestand without any hassles.Officials at different levels havefurther been asked to give sin-cere hearing to the problemsbeing faced by the jawans andmake every possible effort toresolve their issues, officialssaid, adding the latest directivehas been circulated across allthe formations of these para-military forces.

While the Central ReservePolice Force (CRPF) is engagedin a variety of internal securi-ty roles like anti-terrorism andcounter Naxal operations, theBorder Security Force (BSF) istasked to secure the frontiersalong Pakistan and Bangladesh,the Indo-Tibetan Border Police(ITBP) is securing the borderswith China and the SashastraSeema Bal is deployed alongthe boundary with Nepal andBhutan.

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The Government is mullingto substitute petrol, diesel

and kerosene in boats operat-ing at tourists spots across thecountry with environment-friendly CNG/LPG fuel. Thiswas stated by Union PetroleumMinister Dharmendra Pradhanat a virtual event held here onthe occasion of World TourismDay marked on Sunday.

Talking about sustainableenvironment, the Minister said

that he was keen to take it fur-ther by susbstituting petrol,diesel, kerosene etc in operat-ing boats at tourist sports withCNG/LPG which are pollu-tion-free.

In fact, in Varanasi an ini-tiative has already beenundertaken in this regardwith the local administrationafter consultation with thelocals are planning to replacethe pollution causing petroldriven boats at over 84 ghatsof the Ganga river with the

green fuel CNG.Pradhan also emphasised

upon using battery operatedvehicles in and around touristspots.

With Covid-19 playingspoilsports with the interna-tional travel, Union TourismMinister Prahlad Singh Patelurged every citizen to visit atleast 15 destinations in thecountry by 2022 to promotedomestic tourism.

He said that the Ministryhas launched the Dekho Apna

Desh (DAD) initiative earlythis year with the objective ofcreating awareness among thecitizens about the rich heritageand culture of the country,encouraging citizens to trav-el widely within the countryand enhancing tourist footfallsleading to development oflocal economy and creation ofjobs at the local level.

To create mass awareness,the Ministry has also launchedan online DAD pledge andQuiz on the MyGov.in plat-

form. The online pledge andQuiz are open to all for par-ticipation.

Patel further said that theprogramme will help inenhancing the overall experi-ence of the tourists, whowould benefit from theknowledge of the local touristfacilitators and it will also helpin creating employmentopportunities even in theremotest parts of the country.

This year United NationsWorld Tourism Organisation

(UNWTO) has designated2020 as the Year of Tourismand Rural Development. “ThisYear is an opportunity to pro-mote the potential of tourismto create jobs and opportuni-ties.

It can also advance inclu-sion and highlight the uniquerole tourism can play in pre-serving and promoting naturaland cultural heritage andcurbing urban migration,” saida senior official from theMinistry.

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Due to increasing cases ofpaddy crop residue burn-

ing in Punjab, the air pollutionin northern India is likely to getpoor in the coming days.Between September 21st and25th, at least 612 paddy cropresidue burning incidents havebeen reported while only 215such incidents were reportedduring this period last year. Themaximum were incidentsreported from Amritsar, TarnTaran and Patiala.

Besides NASA satellites,the agencies are using eightsatellites like Metop-1, Metop-2, Noaa-18, Noaa-19, Terra-1,Aqua-1, S-NPP, and DroughtTVD to capture the incidentsof stubble burning in northernstates. On the other hand,farmers have alleged that theydo not have machinery to stopstubble burning.

As per the data compiledby Consortium for Research onAgroecosystem Monitoringand Modeling from Space,Indian Agricultural ResearchInstitute (IARI), Punjab hasreported 568 stubble burningincidents between September26 and 18. Haryana has report-ed 31 incidents; Uttar Pradesh12 and Delhi one incident sofar. The data showed that inci-

dents of paddy crop residueburning have increased sinceSeptember 18.

Presently, Delhi and NCR’sair quality is moderate. If winddirections change from Punjabside to Delhi, the air pollutionwill be poorer. Currently, winddirection is from Punjab toPakistan

According to IARI data,there were 61,332 instances ofstubble-burning in Punjab,Haryana and Uttar Pradeshbetween October andNovember, 2019. There were75,532 instances in 2018,88,948 in 2017 and 127,774 in2016, according to data sourcedfrom the Indian Council ofAgricultural Research.

In late September andOctober each year, farmersmainly in Punjab and Haryanaburn an estimated 35 milliontons of crop waste from theirpaddy fields.

The Prime Minister’sOffice recently held high levelmeetings in advance with con-cerned states to tackle this

issue ahead of the stubbleburning season. As per data,total funds of �11,78.47 crorewere provided in the year 2018-19 and 2019-20 to Punjab,Haryana, Uttar Pradesh andDelhi. In 2020-21, �600 crorehas been provided in the bud-get for the scheme and �548.20crore has been released to thestates well before time to ensurethey can take up the activitiesin advance.

Every winter, not just Delhibut also large parts of northIndia are frequently envelopedin a thick blanket of smog,caused by air pollution fromvehicular and industrial emis-sions mixing with fog. Theburning of post-harvest paddystubble in the agricultural fieldsof Haryana and Punjab is oftencited as a major cause of thisunhealthy smog.

This year, health expertsfear that the effects of COVID-19, which primarily causes res-piratory problems, would beworsened by heightened airpollution due to smog andsmoke from the annual stubbleburning.

The burning of stubbleemits large amounts of toxicpollutants like Methane,Carbon Monoxide and car-cinogenic polycyclic aromatichydrocarbons.

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Lauding the farmers forshowing “tremendous

resilience” during theCoronavirus pandemic andtheir contribution to‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initia-tive, Prime Minister NarendraModi on Sunday said that theywould benefit from the newagriculture-related Bills oncethese become laws. He alsospoke about the rich Indian tra-dition of story-telling which, hesaid, was needed to rejuvenatethe family system.

Addressing the 69th edi-tion of his monthly radioaddress ‘Mann Ki Baat’ , Modipointed out that farm growershad benefited when fruits andvegetables were taken off theambit of the AgricultureProduce Marketing CommitteeAct in 2014 and now otherfarmers would benefit too.

The Prime Minister notedthat in the recent past, the agri-culture sector has been liber-ated from many restrictionsand has tried to break free frommany myths. He shared theexample of Kanwar Chauhan,a farmer from Haryana, whoused to face “great difficulties”in marketing his fruits and veg-etables outside the mandi, butin 2014, fruits and vegetables

were excluded from the APMCAct, which “ benefited him”.

Farmers would be able tosend their produce whereverthey want without old restric-tions and get a good price, saidthe prime minister .

He also talked about TamilNadu Banana farmers’ compa-ny, a collective of farmers,which purchased hundreds ofmetric tons of vegetables, fruitsand bananas from nearby vil-lages during the lockdown,and supplied a vegetable combokit to Chennai. He mentionedthe ‘Irada Farmer Producer’group from Lucknow who,during the lockdown, procuredfruits and vegetables directlyfrom the cultivators’ fields,and sold directly in the marketsof Lucknow, free from themiddlemen.

Talking about India’s richtradition of storytelling, PM

Modi said that ‘our stories aregaining popularity again.’

“We have had a tradition ofstorytelling. This is an ancientmethod of narrating stories.Kathakali Shebam has alsobeen part of this. Differenttypes of folklore are prevalentin our country,” he said.

“But there are issues withsome of the families. Somefamilies have lost touch withtheir values,” he said, addingthat stories can help reinvigo-rate such families.

“There has been a thrivingtradition of telling stories inIndia. There is an importanttradition of storytelling inTamil Nadu and Kerala. It iscalled Villu Pattu,” said PMModi, talking about the variousforms of storytelling prevalentin India.

Modi spoke to peopleinvolved in this field. It includ-ed a group of women who runBengaluru Storytelling Societyand even asked them to narratea story.

“I urge all storytellers toinclude all inspirational storiesfrom the period of foreign ruleas we are going to celebrate 75years of independence, espe-cially between 1857 and 1947.We can introduce our newgeneration to them in form ofstories,” he further said.

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Amid rising number ofCovid-19 cases and fatali-

ties, Union Health Minister DrHarshvardhan on Sunday cau-tioned that Indian populationis still far from achieving herdimmunity against COVID-19as shown by Indian Council ofMedical Research (ICMR) sec-ond Sero Survey and there is noroom for complacency.

Dr Harsh Vardhan also saidthat the ICMR expert panel isexamining reinfection cases. Atotal of 88,600 new cases and1,124 deaths have been report-ed in the past 24 hours in thecountry.

While interacting with socialmedia users during ‘SundaySamaad-3’, the Minister said:The findings of the second serosurvey are going to be released

soon. “But second sero surveyindications are that we are farfrom having achieved any kindof herd immunity which neces-sitates that all of us should con-tinue following COVID appro-priate behaviour.

“The first sero-survey ofMay 2020 revealed that thenationwide prevalence of novelcoronavirus infection was only0.73 per cent,” he said.

The Minister also talkedabout the cases of reinfectionsbeing reported from the countrysaying that the “ICMR is alsoactively investigating andresearching reports of reinfectionand although the number of rein-fection cases is negligible at thismoment the government is fullyseized of the importance of thematter.”

Dr Harsh Vardhan discour-aged the wide usage of investi-

gational therapies such as remde-sivir and plasma therapies.“Government has issued regularadvisories regarding the rationaluse of investigational therapies.The private hospitals have alsobeen advised against routine useof these investigational therapies:

The doctors in the States/UTs arebeing made aware of the thera-pies.

The Union Health Ministeralso dispelled fears regarding thephased opening of schools andadvised on proper protocol to befollowed while visiting salons

and hair-spa.India has been recording

higher number of recoveriesthan the new cases for severalconsecutive days in the recentpast. 92,043 new recoveries havebeen reported in the last 24 hoursin the country. 76 per cent of thenew recovered cases are found in10 States/UTs, said a seniorhealth official adding thatMaharashtra continues to topthis list. It has alone contributedmore than 23,000 followed byAndhra Pradesh with more thanmore than 9,000 cases.

Ten States/UTs account for77 per cent of the new con-firmed cases. Maharashtra con-tinues to lead this tally. It hascontributed more than 20,000followed by Karnataka andAndhra Pradesh with morethan more than 8,000 and 7,000cases respectively.

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Aday after the Centreannounced commence-

ment of paddy procurement atthe minimum support price(MSP) with immediate effect inPunjab and Haryana in thewake of early arrival of thekharif crop in these two States,the National CooperativeDevelopment Corporation(NCDC), an apex financingorganisation under the UnionAgriculture Ministry, sanc-tioned �19,944 crore as the firstinstalment to Chhattisgarh,Haryana and Telangana for asmooth purchase process.

Chhattisgarh got the high-

est amount at �9,000 croreswhile for Haryana, the sanc-tioned amount is �5,444 croresand Telangana �5,500 crores.These States account for near-ly 75 percent of paddy pro-duction in the country.However, Punjab is yet to getany sanctioned amount.

The Centre has fixed MSP

for 'common variety' paddy at�1,868 per quintal and for 'A'grade variety at �1,888 perquintal for the current year. OnSaturday, the Centre hadannounced purchase of thecrops at MSP to placate thefarmers across the countrywho were up in arms againstthe recently passed FarmsBill.which has got the Presidentsanction on Sunday.

The NCDC loan is sup-posed to assist the States or theState Marketing Federationsin undertaking paddy pro-curement operations in a time-ly manner through theirrespective cooperative organi-zations.

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Covid-19 claimed yet anotherunsung hero of Tamil Nadu,

Kattumannarkoil V Kannan lateSaturday night. He was 72 and suc-cumbed to the pandemic in a cor-porate hospital in Chennai. Hailingfrom Cuddalore district, Kannan,a postgraduate with degree in lawtook to farming from his young ageand was the vice-president ofCauvery Delta FarmersAssociation.

His was a life dedicated to thefarmers of Tamil Nadu. He hadonly one ambition in his life- to seethe major rivers of the countryinter linked through a network ofcanals so that no farmers anywherein the country would be deniedirrigation facilities even amidstdraught. Kannan wrote a book“River Cauvery-The MostBattl(r)ed”, which was release byTamil Nadu Governor BanwarilalPurohit in May 2019. TheGovernor had reiterated the needto inter link the major Indian riversso that the country would not seesimultaneous floods and draught.

Kannan had distinct andunique ideas for regaining thestatus of farmers and farming.“We do not want any charity fromthe State or Central Governments.Make loans available to us atreduced rates of interest and ensurethat the agriculture produces getminimum support priceannounced by the Government.Also allow us to sell the farm pro-duce to the buyers of our choice.This together with the interlinkingof rivers would make life easy forus,” Kannan said before he wasquarantined early this month.

Kannan is survived by wife, ason and daughter. A great scholarof Tamil classics, Kannan would bemissed badly by the farming com-munity, according to PonRadhakrishnan, former unionminister who was a close friend ofthe farmers’ leader.

Aligarh: Famous stars of India like BharatBhushan, Padma Vibhushan Gopal DasNeeraj, Javed Akhtar, Rahi Masoom Raza,Shahryar, and Ravindra Jain to Alka Yagnikhave shone in the sky from the land ofAligarh who decorated the film world in theseven notes of their song and music. Theygave many famous songs which are still alivein the hearts of the people. Now, the filmcity is going to establish at just 131 km fromAligarh which will be a great platform forthe actors of Aligarh

AMU is well known for multi-talentedactors. Even today, the actors of the AMU'sKennedy Hall have a dream of Mumbai. Forthose talents, the 1300 km run of Mumbaiwill now be reduced to 130 Km of Noidawhere the Film City is planned to establish.

Zakir Sheikh, Director / Producer,Dhanak Media Production House, Aligarhsaid that there is no shortage of art in theAligarh region. The film city will alsoemploy artisans like Carpenter, Fine Artalong with restaurants, hotels, and other

small jobs. The effort is to take Brijwood for-ward, like Bollywood and Tollywood bymaking a family film in this era of vulgar-ity and take the civilization of Brij to theworld level.

Ruturaj Sharma, Cinematographer, andVideo Editor, Aligarh said that he is run-ning a Stroller Studios production housealong with a YouTube channel calledStroller TV. Having worked on severalBollywood projects, he is now working asa filmmaker at Delhi's famous filmmakinginstitute Moonlight Films & Theater Studio.If a film city is formed in Noida, there willbe more successful. Many artists and tech-nical assistants associated with Aligarh willalso get new jobs. There will be immensepossibilities for success.

Many hit films like 2016 releasedAligarh, 2017 released Toilet Ek PremKatha, 2015 released Tevar, Nil BatteSannata, N-8, 2019 released Luka Chuppiwere shoot in Aligarh, Agra and nearbyplaces. PNS

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Shekha Lake, located 16 km fromthe city, near Jalali town is the

only natural tourist destination ofthe district. In the winter season,foreign birds from Siberian, Poland,Bhutan, China, and Russia aretweeting, in which more than 150species of birds including GraylagGoose, Bar-headed Goose, Mallard,Mallard Teal, and many more comehere but year by year they are get-ting extinct.

In a lake spread over 40hectares, Rs 30 is charged fromtourists, but the toilets are dirty,with no supply of water from thetanks. On average 40 tourists insummer and around 100 tourists inwinter visit here daily. Dr. Salim Ali,the country's first bird scientist whocame to Aligarh in 1954, discovered

this place and during the honor cer-emony in AMU in 1977, he pro-posed this place to the WildlifeDepartment as a suitable place ofresearch on the birds. On 8thFebruary 2014, former ChiefMinister Akhilesh Yadav declaredit as a bird sanctuary and releasedRs 3 crore 4 lakh for the construc-tion of a boundary wall, main gate,office, canteen, and parking.

Recently, Praveen Rao,Principal Chief Conservator ofForests, ordered the cleaning of thelake.

Amit Srivastav, DeputyDirector, Tourism Department saidthat there is no office of the TourismDepartment in the Aligarh Divisionand all of its work is taking carefrom Agra office. There is no pro-posed plan of work in Aligarh thisyear.

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Overcrowded jails of UttarPradesh have emerged as

Covid-19 hotspot. Every 71jails of the UP are overcrowd-ed up to 3 to 4 times its capac-ity which gives rise to unhy-gienic conditions and impossi-ble to maintain social distance.

17 prisoners were foundCorona positive in Aligarh jailand 128 in Fatehgarh jail.According to DG jail AnandKumar, more than 140,000 pris-oners were tested for corona inU.P’s 71 jails in which 7000 werefound positive including jailstaff.

Dr. Kafeel and Sharjil whowere in jail for the protest ofCAA told that the capacity ofone cell is 40 in which more

than 130 prisoners were con-fined. There is no social dis-tancing in the cell.

Prashant Kumar, socialactivist to pioneer said thatthese jails including Aligarh,Mathura, Agra, etc are thehotspot of the COVID viruswhich is like a COVID livebomb and can be blast anytimeif the government will not takeany appropriate action.

The way district prisons arefacing the increasing cases ofcoronavirus, the AMU studentleaders who had been jailed hadalready warned about this newhotspot of the coronavirus.Sharjil Usmani and FarhanZuberi, who were arrested forprotesting the CitizenshipAmendment Act, had alreadytold about the overcapacity after

coming out of jail.Sharjeel Usmani told that

the population and resources ofthe city were limited at the timewhen District Prison was built,now the city has expanded 10times in the last 125 years, butthe prison capacity is still lim-ited. A cell can hold 40 to 45captives, but in the current sit-uation, there are more than 130prisoners. This can be ignoredin normal circumstances, but inthe time of a pandemic, thiscapacity can be very disastrous.Farhan Zuberi, another stu-dent who came out of theprison said that there is a stoneof the British era outside the cell,in which the capacity of the cellis mentioned as 45. In this way,the capacity of the district jail isfixed around 1150.

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As the number of Covid-19patients touched an all time

high in the State, KeralaMinister for Health K K Shylajablamed the people for not fol-lowing the guidelines and safe-ty measures recommended bythe Government and warnedabout a possible total lockout.Neighbouring Tamil Nadushowed a decline in the numberof new patients tested onSunday as well as the totalnumber of patients

On Sunday, 7,445 new per-sons were diagnosed withCovid-19 in the State and thistook the total number ofpatients in Kerala to 56,709. Thelast 24 hours saw 21 patientssuccumbing to the pandemic.

According to a bulletin

issued by Tamil NaduGovernment, 5,791 newpatients were diagnosed withCovid 19 on Sunday while thetotal Covid-19 cases were 46,341. There were 80 deathsreported in the State during thelast 24 hours. There are 10,368more patients in Kerala than inTamil Nadu.

Earlier in the day MinisterShylaja said the relaxation in thelockout ordered by theGovernment for Onam holidaysled to the increase in the num-ber of patients. “The Oppositionparties which are staging unnec-essary and unwanted agitationsacross the State are equallyresponsible for this situation,”said the minister who was ratedas the world’s top thinker in theyear 2020 by Prospect , a Britishmagazine.

Despite being a closed hol-

iday, ambulances blaring theirsirens , transported 3,752 per-sons requiring urgent medicalattention because of Covid-19 tohospitals.

Kozhikode topped the list of14 districts with highest num-ber of new patients. The coastaldistrict, known for its spots ofcultural, historical and tourismimportance tested 956 personswhile Ernakulam (924) andMalappuram (915) new patientson Sunday.

Shylaja said though theState has more number ofpatients compared to neighbors,death rate is low in Kerala. “Ourmortality rate is 0.12 per centbut this is likely to increasealong with the number of newpatients in days to come,” saidShylaja. She also said that theState may have to opt for a totallock down if the present trendcontinues and people do not fol-low the guidelines issued by theGovernment.

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Two terrorists were gunned down by thejoint team of security forces in Samboora

area of Awantipora on Sunday while alertjawans of the Border Security Force (BSF)foiled a major infiltration bid by at least fiveheavily armed terrorists along theInternational border in Samba sector ofJammu frontier.

Till the time of filing the report, searchoperations were still going on at theencounter site in Awantipora.

However, twitter handle of the KashmirZone police while confirming the reportsposted an update, “one more 'unidentified'terrorist eliminated in the ongoing operation,total two so far, search operations still goingon”.

Meanwhile, in Jammu BSF spokesmanin a statement said, “Alert BSF troops foiledanother major infiltration bid from Pakistaniside in the Samba sector on the interveningnight of Saturday and Sunday.”

The spokesman said, the movement ofa group of five terrorists was noticed on thePakistani side of the IB in the Samba sectorby alert BSF troops. It was the second suchattempt through the Samba sector and thesame was foiled. Earlier, terrorists fromPakistan had tried to intrude on the inter-vening night of September 14 and 15,” saida BSF spokesperson.

A BSF spokesman said, taking advantage

of the darkness, five heavily armed terror-ists tried to enter into Indian territory butwere engaged by the alert BSF troops. Theyhad reached close to the IB taking advantageof dense growth of wild grass. The BSF per-sonnel ordered the terrorists to stop, but theystarted firing at the troops. Pakistan Rangerspersonnel provided cover fire to these ter-rorists. However, the alert BSF troops start-ed retaliatory firing at the terrorists,” he said.

The terrorists retreated to the Pakistanisoil following the exchange of fire. Followingrepeated incidents of cross border firing andarms dropping using drones close to theInternational border across Jammu frontierthe border security grid has been kept in astate of high alert to foil these nefariousdesigns of Pakistan.

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Aday after senior BJP leaderRahul Sinha expressed his

displeasure over the appoint-ment of Trinamool Congressdefectors to high party posts atthe cost of the “veteran time-tested” saffron leaders newlyappointed party vice presidentMukul Roy reached out to thediscontented leader sayingSinha and BJP were identical inBengal.

Roy himself a foundermember of the TrinamoolCongress who left the party fol-lowing his differences withChief Minister MamataBanerjee and joined the BJP afew years ago said, “Rahulda isthe face of BJP in Bengal with-out whom the party would not

have come this far… his con-tribution to the party is not lessthan anyone else.”

Sinha a former State partypresident was dropped as theparty national secretary andwas replaced by anotherTrinamool Congress discardAnupam Hazra a former MP.Hazra too struck a conciliato-ry note saying “all issues in theparty can be sorted out throughdiscussion,” adding he wouldapproach the doors of all theleaders for better performance.

Three Bengal leaders wereinducted into the nationalforum on Saturday. Apart fromRoy and Hazra the third leaderis Raju Bishta from Darjeelingwho was made the partyspokesperson.

Soon after being ignored in

the major reshuffle in the partyon Saturday Sinha had explod-ed saying that he was hugelydisappointed by the develop-ment. “I will speak up details10-12 days later but for now Ican say that I am extremely dis-appointed by the new arrange-

ment where TMC defectorshave been honoured withpriced posts… Is this thereward I got for serving theparty for the past 40 years?” hesaid adding “nothing can bemore unfortunate and disap-pointing than this.”

The top-level schism tend-ed to reach the grassroots withHazra’s car on Sunday beinggheraoed by angry saffronworkers at Baruipur in South24 Parganaas where the dis-contented workers complainedagainst TMC men occupyingimportant posts in the party.

“The TMC workers whohave joined the BJP are gettingimportant responsibilitieswhere as we are being ignoredby the district leadership … thisis unacceptable,” a party man-

dal workers said even as twogroups engaged in fisticuffssources said. About half adozen party men had to behospitalised, insiders said.

Similar skirmishes tookplace at Basirhat where theparty men revolted against dis-trict party president TapanGhosh holding him guilty ofgetting sold out to theTrinamool Congress.

“Our district president issold out to Prashant Kishoreand is doing nothing. He haswithdrawn the active fightingworkers which is why the partyis not taking any programme inthe district,” angry workerssaid even as they vandalised theinteriors of a tent where aparty programme was to beheld.

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Aday after his arrest in theSushant Singh Rajput

death-related drug case, aMumbai holiday court onSunday remanded Kshitij RaviPrasad, a former executive ofKaran Johar’s DharmaProductions, in the NarcoticsControl Bureau (NCB) tillOctober 3.

Amid an allegation byAdvocate Satish Maneshinde,the lawyer of Kshitij, that theNCB “is bent upon falselyimplicating Karan Johar orsome top officers of DharmaProductions”, MetropolitanMagistrate V J Dongre agreedwith the investigation agency’splea and said that “the custo-dial interrogation of the presentaccused (Kshitij) is justifiable toreveal the truth”.

In his order remandingKshitij in NCB custody tillOctober 3, Magistrate Dongresaid: “It further reveals from theremand papers that the presentaccused (Kshitij) has taken thedelivery of Ganja from theaccused Karamjeet (Singh) andhis associate who are directlyconnected with (late Sushant’shouse manager) SamuelMiranda. From the abovefacts, the link of the presentaccused seems to be connect-ed with the present crime inwhich other accused (havealready been) arrested”.

“So considering the seriousnature of the offence in whichseveral accused have alreadybeen arrested, I think thedetailed custodial interrogationof the present accused ( Kshitij)is justifiable to reveal the truth.Therefore the accused isremanded to the custody of theNCB till 03.10.2020,” theMagistrate stated, as he direct-ed the NCB to produce Kshitijbefore the Special court at thenext hearing.

In its remand application,the NCB remand applicationlinked Kshitij’s arrest with theSushat Singh Raiput-deathrelated drug case andKaramjeet Singh was arrestedon the statements by the arrest-ed accused actress Rheachakraborty and her brotherShowik.

According to the NCB, theKshitij’s house was searched onSeptember 25 and “one rolljoint believed to the remains ofsmoked Ganja joint was foundthat certain documents andgadgets were taken for furtherinvestigation”. “On the basis ofa voluntary statement made byhim” that he had procuredhashish from accused AnkushArneja, Kshitij was arrested.

In a 7-page remand appli-cation, the NCB JointIntelligence Officer Murari Lalsaid that Sanket Patel, a peddlerwho had been arrested earlier,had supplied Ganja to Kshtij on

the orders of another co-accused Karamjeet SinghAnand.

Patel, who is currently onbail, admitted that “on theinstructions of accusedKaramjeet”, he had deliveredthe Ganja to Prasad outside hishome in Adani Building,Andheri west, 12 timesbetween May-July 2020.

For each consignment of50 gms, Prasad paid him Rs.3,500 – coming to a total of 600gms Ganja worth Rs.42,000 inthat period. “On the basis of hisvoluntary statement andalleged involvement in dealingof illicit drugs, accused SanketHukum Chand Patel wasplaced under arrest. Presentlyhe is on bail,” the remandapplication said.

During the search atKarmjeet’s residence, the NCBrecovered 17 grams of Ganja,4grams of Charas and Rs 6 lakhin cash.

In a statement given to theNCB, Karmjeet has admittedthat he had supplied contra-band to Samuel Miranda sev-eral times. In a significant dis-closure, Karmajeet has toldthe NCB that he was linked tolate Sushant, accused Rhea andher brother Showik in connec-tion with supply of contrabandand sometimes received pay-ment by cash/Google pay.Based on his confession andalleged links with drug deals,

Karmjeet was arrested and iscurrently in judicial custody.

The NCB told the courtthat Kshijit was indirectly con-nected with Anuj Keshwani –one of the earliest arrests madeby the NCB - from whomcommercial quantities of nar-cotics was seized.

With Kshitij’s arrest, thetotal number of persons arrest-ed in connection with theSushant death-related drugcase has gone up to 20. Thosearrested so far comprised:actress Rhea Chakraborty, herbrother Showik Chakraborty,Abbas Lakhani, Karan Arora,Zaid Vilatra, Abdul BasitParihar, Samuel Miranda,Dipesh Sawant, KaizanEbrahim, Anuj Keswani,Ankush Arneja, KaramjeetSingh Anand, Sanket Pat+el,Sandeep Gupta, Aftab Ansari,Dwyane Fernandes, SuryadeepMalhotra, Chris Costa, RahilVishram and lastly KshitijPrasad.

While some of them are inNCB custody, others are injudicial custody. Three or fourof them are currently on bail.

Meanwhile, appearing forKshitj, advocate SatishManeshinde alleged that theNCB had “harassed, black-mailed”, “even given a thirddegree treatment” to elicitstatements from his client(Kshitij).

Maneshinde said that the

team that raided Kshitij’s housedid not find anything except“the end bit of a stale and drycigarette butt” in the balcony.He told the court that theNCB team began insisting itwas a ganja joint even thoughthere was nothing to suggestthat and even drew up a panch-nama to that effect despite hisprotests. “Upon his wife’s insis-tence, the word ‘believed’ to bea ganja joint was inserted in thepanchnama,” Maneshindesaid.

Maneshinde alleged thathis client (Kshitij) was cate-gorically informed by keyinvestigating officer in thepresence of several other offi-cers, that since he was associ-ated with Dharma Productions,they would let him off if heimplicated either Karan Johar,Somel Mishra , Rakhi,Apoorva, Neeraj or Rahil false-ly alleging that they consumeddrugs. “Kshitij refused to com-ply with this despite the pres-sure being mounted on him ashe did not know any of thesepeople personally and did notwish to falsely implicate any-one,” he said.

“It can be seen from theremand application and thestatement of Kshitij Prasadthat NCB is bent upon falselyimplicating KJo or some topofficers of DharmaProductions,” Maneshindealleged.

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New Delhi: The SouthwestMonsoon is set to retreat fromwest Rajasthan and adjoiningareas from September 28.Overall, the country has received951.3 mm rainfall than normalof 869.4 mm, about 9 per centextra rainfall until September 27.

As per the IndiaMeteorological Department(IMD), 19 states have receivednormal monsoon rainfall while10 received excess or extraexcess rainfall so far. Parts ofnorth India -- Delhi, HimachalPradesh, Jammu and Kashmir,Uttarakhand, Nagaland,Mizoram and Manipur--- haverecorded deficient rainfall. TheUnion Territory of Ladakh hasrecorded high deficiency ofrainfall this year. Due to goodrainfall in 29 states, kharif cropsacreage has recorded 1116.88

lakh ha as compared to last year1066.06 lakh ha.

“Conditions are becomingfavourable for withdrawal ofmonsoon from west Rajasthanand adjoining areas of northwestIndia from September 28onwards. Going by the visibletrend, a sharp decline in rainactivity over central India can beexpected from October secondweek onwards,” the IMD said.

June recorded 17 per centmore rainfall, while July saw 10per cent deficiency. However,there was an excess rainfall inAugust -- the month recorded27 per cent more rainfall thannormal. In September, north-west India recorded a 46.8% raindeficiency while south peninsulareceived 67.7% surplus rain;east and northeast India received12.8% surplus rain; central India

recorded a 6.1% rain deficiency.

Rainfall in the range of 96 to104 per cent of the Long PeriodAverage (LPA) is considered as'normal', while precipitation inthe range of 104 to 110 per centof the LPA is 'excess'. Large partsof the country in west andsouth India, including Gujarat,Goa, Telangana, AndhraPradesh, Tamil Nadu andKarnataka, have received excessrainfall. Sikkim is the only stateto have received large excessrainfall.

As per IMD data, East andNorth East India has witnessed7 percent, Central India 16 per-cent extra and South Peninsula30 percent extra rainfall thismonsoon season. North WestIndia has witnessed 15 percentrain deficiency. PNS

New Delhi: An influentialorganisation of Ladakh onSunday withdrew its call for theboycott of the LadakhAutonomous Hill DevelopmentCouncil (LAHDC), Leh, afterthe Central governmentassured it that the demand forprotection of language, demog-raphy, ethnicity, land and jobsof the locals will be consideredpositively within 15 days of thepolls.

Union Home MinisterAmit Shah also assured a del-egation of the People'sMovement for ConstitutionalSafeguard Under SixthSchedule for Ladakh that thecentral government is com-mitted to empower theLAHDC of Leh and Kargiland would safeguard the inter-ests of the people of the UnionTerritory of Ladakh.

In a joint statement, formerLadakh MPs Thiksay Rinpocheand Thupstan Chhewang, for-mer Jammu and Kashmir min-ister Chhering Dorje andUnion ministers Kiren Rijijuand G Kishan Reddy said thedelegation was assured that allissues related to language,demography, ethnicity, landand jobs will be consideredpositively and taken care of.The Ministers on Sundayaddressed media along with theleaders. Amit Shah had met the

delegation on Saturdayevening.

“A dialogue between a larg-er Ladakhi delegation com-prising of representatives fromLeh and Kargil districts underthe aegis of Peoples Movementfor Constitutional SafeguardUnder Sixth Schedule forLadakh and Union HomeMinistry would commenceafter 15 days of the culminationof LAHDC, Leh elections. Anydecision so reached in thisconnection would be in con-sultation with the representa-tives from Leh and Kargil,” thestatement said. The statementsaid the central government isopen to discuss protection ofLadakh’s language, demogra-phy, ethnicity, land and jobsunder the 6th schedule of con-stitution and under other pro-visions while looking intoissues related to Ladakhi peo-ple. “The delegation hasagreed to withdraw its call forthe boycott of the ensuingLAHDC, Leh elections andpromised its wholesome sup-port to the smooth conduct ofthese elections,” it said.

Rijiju said Union Ministerof State for Home G KishanReddy would visit Ladakh onMonday and meet a cross sec-tion of people in the UnionTerritory to allay their appre-hensions. PNS

Lucknow: Seventy-seven morepeople died from coronavirusin Uttar Pradesh on Sunday as4,403 fresh infections surfaced,taking the case tally to 3,87,085in the state.

So far, 5,594 people havedied from the disease in thestate, according a health bul-letin.

Of the 77 fresh deaths,Lucknow reported 11, followedby seven in Kanpur, six inGorakhpur, five in Kushinagarand four in Allahabad.

As far as fresh cases areconcerned, Lucknow reportedthe maximum 549 infections,followed by Allahabad (263),Ghaziabad (229), GautamBuddh Nagar (204), Meerut(191), Kanpur (179) andVaranasi (163).

The count of activeCOVID-19 cases in the statestands at 55,603, the bulletinsaid. So far, 3,25,888 patientshave recovered from the dis-ease.

“The recovery rate of thestate stands at 84.19 per cent,”Additional Chief Secretary(Medical and Health) AmitMohan Prasad told reporters.

He said over 96 lakh sam-ples have been tested in thestate till now. PTI

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ABharat bandh, millionsof farmers on thestreets, eightOpposition leaderssuspended, National

Democratic Alliance (NDA) part-ners and Rashtriya SwayamsevakSangh (RSS) affiliates openlyrebelling against the Government,these scenes have been dominatingour news cycles. Yet Prime MinisterNarendra Modi is confident thatthe three farm Bills are good forIndia.

Theoretically, the Bills appearwell-intentioned but the devil isalways in the implementation.Overall, they aim to empowerfarmers to sell from farm-gate butin the process end up empoweringcorporations and traders to expandtheir businesses and swamp thefarm to fork chain. A new wave ofliberalisation just rammed intorural India. But many suspect thereal agenda is generating “agri-dol-lars” and in the words of dissent-ing (Telangana Rashtra Samithi)MP Dr Keshava Rao, to “make anagriculture country into a corpo-rate country.”

The Government argues thatfarmers are not free to sell any-where because of a “corrupt andmiddlemen-infested AgriculturalProduce Market Committee(APMC).” Hence, break the APMCand free the farmers. Now corpo-rations and any other person witha PAN card can directly procureproducts from farmers. Agri-busi-ness companies can enter intocontracts with them. But whatcomplicated matters was the lackof substance in the Bills, no men-tion of a guaranteed price for farmpick-ups in case of a bad year orexcess yields and the Government’scavalier manner of handling theRajya Sabha last Sunday, negatingdebate and passing the Bills byvoice vote. This naturally raisedmore doubts. Indian farmers havehad centuries of slavery under theCompany Raj and perhaps that’swhy a muffled voice of MP SRBalasubramaniam, who evokedthe “Champaran Satyagraha”, rangthe loudest. APMC will be replacedby the corporate market as there isno fair agreement between twounequal parties, he stated. He maybe right after all as a David andGoliath can never have a fairagreement. Neither can sheep andwolves co-operate, nor can a cor-poration and a marginal Gondfarmer in Madhya Pradesh.

Today the farmer is weak, high-

ly indebted and trapped in thecycle of over-production andlow income. His monthly house-hold surplus is under �1,500 permonth. This has already beendestroyed by COVID-19.

Each harvest season, his inputand production costs rise, yet hecannot even sell at a minimumsupport price (MSP). As perreports, only six per cent farm-ers sell at MSP, the remaining 94per cent are dependent on mar-kets and traders outside theAPMC mandi. Reality check —small and marginal farmerscannot even reach the APMC asthey don’t have any means oftransportation, forget sellingoutside their geographic limits.The majority of farmers aremarginal. This means they onlygrow enough to feed their fam-ilies and sell a little surplus to themarkets. From the village field,away from the town, they some-times find it convenient to sellto local traders.

Most of them begin the sow-ing season by taking credit forseeds and fertilisers and repaythem through post-harvest sales.The tenant farmers are worseoff. They want to sell at MSP butdue to the trader-creditor-farmer relationship and marketforces, which have an upperhand in price fixation, theycannot.

So, on the face of it, liberali-sation seems to be a good stepas “farmers can sell anywhere.”But is it? Here we must go by thewarning given by MP ProfessorManoj Jha to the Rajya Sabha:

“You have replaced the rohu andhilsa with the sharks. You willbring the East India Companyback to India.” He was referringto traders as the small fish andthe big agri-business corpora-tions as “sharks” that have nopersonal connection with farm-ers. In fact, most farmers stilltrust their eco-system oflicenced commission agents asthey deliver on prices and guar-antee sales.

Given agri-dollars in theirpockets and new reform poli-cies, food majors can break anymarket and create monopolies,forcing the farmers to sell cheap-er or let their produce rot. Notconvinced? Let’s go back to thedal scam of 2015. After aninvestigation by the IT depart-ment, a scam valued at �2.5 lakhcrore was unearthed. The con-sumers paid the price by buyingarhar dal at �210/kg. It wasreported that a cartel of agri-business companies was respon-sible for buying pulses at lowprices through the supply chainnetworks and hoarding it over-seas, creating artificial scarcityand profiting immensely byselling the stocks back to Indiansat high prices. The Governmentused the Essential CommoditiesAct (ECA) to bust hoarders andrecovered 75,000 metric tonnesof dal. But now, even the ECAlimits on hoarding and stock-ing are being done away with.

In 2006, Bihar removed theAPMC regime and the realincomes of farmers in the Statehave fallen while private invest-

ment is yet to move into theState. Only traders are cartingproduce from Bihar all the wayto Punjab to sell in mandis.

Many vouch for APMCreforms and not its destructionas the regulated market is stillthe farmer’s best chance at get-ting MSP. This is evidenced byPunjab. Won’t rural India beengulfed by corporate marketsthat will ruin APMC systemsand farmers’ rights as the grow-ers will be left unprotectedovernight without a transition-al and transparent system cod-ified? The Samajwadi Party MP,Professor Ram Gopal Yadav,asked if these reforms can assurethe farmers’ good prices? No,because the difference betweenAPMC and corporate marketswould be of “BSNL and Jio”, hesaid. It was Biju Janata Dal MP,Dr Amar Patnaik, who had firstwarned against “cartelisation.” Ineffect, the private sector will bea phoenix rising from the ashesof our public infrastructure.

The biggest problem in pro-curement, as we have seen glob-ally, is grading. Corporationsand agro-processors candemand graded products forMSP and if the gunny bag isungraded, they may not buy atall, or at a reduced price. This iscommon practice, which resultsin huge losses for farmers andfood security of the world.Traditionally traders graded theproduce. With them gone, willfarmers bear grading costs?Naturally, if they do, MSP cannever be realised.

There are also serious ques-tions on post-harvest infra-structure and warehousing inrural India. Will the farmers, dueto bad storage facilities, makedistress sales? The new reformsfavour the big farmers and agri-businesses but are detrimentalfor small and marginal farms(below two hectares) that con-stitute 86.21 per cent of our totalland holdings.

Further, once the marketforces evolve, unless MSP ismade a legal right orGovernment procurementincreases, achieving it will be achallenge. Contract farming isspecious. A glimpse into the USmodel is enough to deducehow the contracting parties(agri-business firms) force thefarmers to buy their recom-mended seeds, fertilisers andother inputs, often from theirallied stores or vendors and attheir prices. They also force thefarmers to buy more equipment,increasing the cost of productioneach year. If the farmers don’tabide, they don’t buy the pro-duce and legal proceedings fol-low.

In India, the poultry sector isa good example of how the own-ers have been reduced to farmhands on their own property.And to take two steps back,PepsiCo filed a case againstGujarat farmers unfairly.PepisCo has got more flak asmany potato farmers committedsuicide due to their procurementpolicies in West Bengal. The sto-ries of contract used to exploitfarmers are endless.

The next big problem is nosmall and marginal farmer hasaccess to the Sub-DivisionalMagistrate and DistrictMagistrate. How many of themwill be able to go to the alreadyover-burdened official to settletrade disputes? Even their jour-ney for justice will become anightmare given their literacylevels and manipulation by thebigger parties. The companies ortraders will not be criminallyliable; this is a regressive stepfavouring big agri-businesses.

Modi needs to critically thinkabout rising farmer suicidesand doubling farmers’ incomeby 2022. He ought to dispel thefarmers’ doubts and insist onspecifics and mechanisms likeensuring the retail buyers do notgo beneath a cut-off price.Otherwise, the haze of silencecan be ominous . One fears theday when the words of DravidaMunnetra Kazhagam (DMK)MP TKS Elangovan come true— “To sell the farmers them-selves as slaves to the big indus-trial houses… It will kill thefarmers and make them a com-modity.”

(The writer is programmedirector for policy and outreach,National Seed Association ofIndia)

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Sir — Dates for the BiharAssembly elections have beenannounced with special provi-sions, keeping in mind the ongo-ing pandemic. To make sure thatthe polling doesn’t become asuper-spreader event, theElection Commission (EC) hasissued a slew of measures. Theelection will be held in threephases. Polling or paramedicalstaff will conduct thermal screen-ing of voters at the entry point ofeach polling station, the guide-lines said. They will have morethan seven crore single-usegloves for voters to put on beforeusing the electronic votingmachine to cast their vote. Overseven lakh units of hand sanitis-er and about six lakh personalprotective equipment (PPE) kitshave also been arranged. ForCovid patients and those withhigh fever, the EC has arrangedan extra voting hour under thestrict supervision of healthauthorities.

This will be the first majorelection to be held in the middleof the worldwide Coronaviruscrisis and it is yet to be seen if theabove provisions will be enoughto keep the voters safe. Bihar has

already battled floods and massreverse migration, it cannotafford a massive COVID-19 out-break.

Nihal RajNoida

��� � ���������Sir — What started as an inves-tigation into the untimely deathof actor Sushant Singh Rajput

and the mysterious circum-stances under which it hap-pened has meandered into bust-ing the drug racket in Bollywood.Many believe that this will unveilthe dark side of the industry butwill it? The Narcotics ControlBureau’s investigation doesn’tseem to be much concernedabout unearthing the drug nexusbut rather hunting down selec-tive names unfriendly to the

establishment. This has given themedia anchors yet anotherchance to divert public attentionfrom crucial issues. IncreasingCOVID-19 cases have beenreduced to numbers flashing onone’s television screen, concernsaround the economic crisis havebeen hushed and discussions onthe recently passed farm andlabour Bills are lost in the din.Rajput’s death was most unfor-

tunate and the truth behind itneeds to be exposed but peopleshould not fall prey to the polit-ical drama surrounding it.

Urvi JainUjjain

� �������� ���Sir — With the dates of the BiharAssembly elections beingannounced, the fate of the rulingJanata Dal (United) and theBharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ledGovernment, headed by ChiefMinister Nitish Kumar, will bedecided. Under fire for badlyhandling the Covid outbreakand the returnee migrants, NitishKumar might find staying inpower rather challenging. Thiscan also mean a transfer of a hugechunk of voters to RashtriyaJanata Dal (RJD), which alongwith the rest of the Oppositionbloc, the Congress and smallerallies, faced a humiliating defeatin last year’s parliamentary polls.The stakes are also high for theCongress as the verdict willdecide whether the grand oldparty can improve its tally of 27legislators.

Bhagwan ThadaniMumbai

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Tough times are testing the most resilient ofleaders globally. Despite the nation beingconfronted with serial adversities, Modi 2.0

retains and compounds the Prime Minister’s polit-ical capital by powering on with the reforms agen-da, regardless of the clamour by “compulsive con-trarians”, as the late Arun Jaitley referred to theOpposition.

Since the lockdown, the Centre has pressedahead with a series of incremental reforms: Fromthe Atmanirbharta series to the NationalEducation Policy (NEP) 2020 and the trilogy ofagriculture reforms. Then there are the three newBills intended to consolidate social security formigrant labourers, which will impact 80 per centof the population employed in the informal sec-tor. The series of post-pandemic legislations can-not be viewed in silos but must be seen as a setof structural and incremental reforms aimed atrebooting the economy and improving the easeof doing business (EODB) for farmers.

The post-Corona “new normal” challengesevery vector of economic growth to optimise andconverge resource efficiencies. This is so that eachvertical of the economy turns self-sustaining andprofitable. Agriculture is one vertical that has beenconstantly dependent on subsidies, doles and wel-farism. This has been a constant drain on theexchequer as it was compelled to fund an uneco-nomic sector. To make matters worse, the farmsector delivered only subsistence-level earnings tothe farmers, a point validated by the NSSO(National Sample Survey Office) estimates whichshow that rural indebtedness escalated by 12 percent between 1993 to 2013.

Mitigating agrarian distress requires reduc-ing dependency on cultivation as a source of liveli-hood and moving towards value-added manufac-turing. Because, a whopping 58 per cent of ourworkforce is dependent on farm income, but con-tributes only 17 per cent to India’s Gross DomesticProduct (GDP). At present, agriculture can onlydeliver a growth rate of 3.4 per cent per annum,whereas we need the sector to increase its produc-tivity potential to at least 10 per cent in order tolift rural India out of poverty. Increasing per capi-ta earnings can only happen through expansionof economic activity by firing equally on all fourcylinders of the economy: Agriculture, manufac-turing, exports and services.

Essentially, the intent of any reform must begauged by the “degree of inclusivity embedded inits blueprint.” Considering that 500 million of ourworkforce is engaged in farming, the landmarkreforms will have a net positive impact as the agri-cultural sector moves from a subsidy-centric toa market-oriented approach, encouraging theagripreneurial aspirations of the growers.

The agri-reforms, though politically sensitive,were much needed after 73 years of Independencein order to transit towards a “One Nation, OneMarket.” Each farm Bill enables this transition dif-ferently. But this article specifically focusses on theFarmers (Empowerment and Protection)Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm ServicesBill, 2020, which will increase efficiencies in thelow-profit agriculture sector by opening it up tocontract farming.

Why is corporatising agriculture a farmer-friendly reform? India, having matured to a food-

surplus economy, is today more inneed of focussing on “surplus-manage-ment” to decrease wastage. This willincrease farmers’ profitability by ramp-ing up cold storage facilities and food-processing infrastructure that will leadto value-added manufacturing. Theannual agri-wastage is estimated at�92,000 crore, so corporatisation of thesector will enable building a seamlessfarm-to-consumer supply chain.

Contrary to allegations that the leg-islation is loaded in favour of corporates,I wish to substantiate through empiri-cal evidence how corporatising the sec-tor benefited farmers. It profited grow-ers by underwriting their seasonal pro-duce through a negotiated pre-fixedprice with corporates that offeredincome surety. It also encouraged a shiftfrom mono-cropping to crop diversifi-cation, bought in new technologies andhelped in financing and modernisation.The best Indian examples of corporatis-ing farming are seen from the outcomesof the Amul paradigm, the e-chaupalsand the Patanjali models of sourcingfrom farmers’ collectives.

The active involvement of farmersin shared initiatives creates a sense of co-ownership as seen in the successful pro-totype of the Amul cooperative whichwas legendary in leading the WhiteRevolution. Today, India is the largestmilk producer, and Amul is the largestfood product FMCG outfit with a�52,000 crore turnover. The winningphilosophy of Amul’s strategy was thatit treated the dairy farmer as a stakehold-er by offering him higher prices for theproduce while purchasing, yet sold it tothe consumers at marginal profits.

I am guilty of being politicallyincorrect by validating another exampleon how pursuing a successful Chinesetemplate can benefit India, too. In 2016,the State Council of China officiallymade rural e-commerce a nationalstrategy in its anti-poverty drive, which

decreased poverty rates from 10.2 percent to 1.7 per cent in the last six years.And one of the ways it achieved this wasby uplinking farmers onto Alibaba’s e-commerce platforms of the TaobaoVillage.

The Bill on contract farming is awin-win for both suppliers and mar-keters. The collectives gain by tappinginto multiple synergies derived from thecorporates’ ability to support post-har-vest logistics, processing, packaging,branding, retailing and their access to awide distribution network. Marginal andsmall farmers own less than five hectaresof land, so when they form collectives,the aggregation favours regular income,and, in fact, serves to enhance their col-lective economic and bargaining power.

Narendra Modi had promised todouble farmers’ income by 2022. Thestatus quo in their earnings will remainif this incremental reform is not trans-lated into action. The challenge is dou-bling farmers’ income without undulyraising consumer prices, even as inputcosts continuously increase. To boostprofitability, farmers need the skill setsat the command of corporates who havedeeper insights into the ever-changingconsumer needs.

To cater to the altered behaviouralprofile of the post-contagion consumersmean that they now have diminishedpurchasing power, yet seek superiornutritional benefits, better hygiene andcontactless doorstep delivery. Also, theshare of cereals in middle-incomehouseholds is reducing in favour offruits, vegetables and milk. Demand forvalue-added processed foods is on therise. Increasing health and wellnessawareness, too, is generating demand fora wider variety of foodgrains. This callsfor a fundamental transformation for thefarmer, from selling whatever was histraditional produce to adapting to whatthe consumer actually wants.

When demand-driven value chains

enter the sector, they bring enormousbenefits to the growers as they are ableto align production with marketdemands. Because, at the end of the day,increased crop productivity alone is notsufficient to raise farmer incomes if mar-ket needs do not support such produc-tion.

Eventually, the Centre must aim atbuilding consensus by assuaging appre-hensions of farmers, who are being mis-led through fear-mongering by vestedinterests, lest they succeed in sabotag-ing a progressive legislation, as in thecase of aborting the Land AcquisitionBill. Though agriculture is not in theConcurrent List and remains a State sub-ject, as the new laws deal with inter-Statetrade, it becomes a Central subject. Thisshould hold up to legal scrutiny. TheCentre is then well within its rights toenact laws and no State Government thatchallenged this provision has won in thepast.

Besides, over time, once farmingturns into a lucrative industry, it holdsthe potential of widening the taxpayerbase and could then be considered forbeing transferred to the Union list. TheCentre should in fact aim at taxing farm-ers thus far exempt from taxation.Especially the rich growers with over 10acres of land. A fair yardstick of evalu-ating taxation herein would be to takethree-year averages, as there are annu-al variations in produce due to climate-risks.

Ultimately, India must harness thepotential to transform into a megafood processing hub by optimising effi-ciencies, as the farmer, too, aspires tomove up in Masclow’s hierarchy of needsand go beyond the Congress era sloganof “roti, kapra aur makaan (food, cloth-ing and housing)” to partake in a thriv-ing modern economy.

(The writer is author, columnist andChairperson of the National Committeefor Financial Inclusion at the Niti Aayog.)

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Recently, when social media inPakistan exploded, condemningthe rape of a woman on the

Lahore motorway and the insensitivewords used by Lahore’s Capital CityPolice Officer (CCPO) for the victim,there were also folks who suggested thatthe punishments for zina (rape and pre-marital sex) introduced in 1979 by theZia-ul-Haq dictatorship, were success-ful in curbing sexual assaults in Pakistan.It wasn’t hard for those who disagreedwith this perception to produce factsand figures to negate this claim.

But this piece is not about that.Instead, it is a response to those whowere left baffled after learning thedynamics and technicalities of Zia’s lawsin this context and inquired how soci-ety had accepted such laws for 11 years— the number of years the dictatorGeneral Zia was in power.

First of all, since women were mostaffected by these laws, which actually

saw scores of them ending up in jailwhile their tormentors were set free,there was constant resistance fromvarious women’s organisations againstZia. In fact, bodies such as the Women’sAction Forum (WAF) found themselvespushed on to the frontlines of the resis-tance, after many mainstream politicaloutfits opposed to Zia were neutralisedthrough arrests, jail sentences, disap-pearances, torture and exile.

Zia extracted power from above bybeing part of the military establishmentand through the support that hereceived from the US and Saudi Arabia.To draw political support from below,he nourished those segments and con-stituencies that had been developed andactivated by religious parties during the1977 movement against the ZA BhuttoGovernment from 1972-77.

One can assume that had he failedto cultivate support from these seg-ments, he would have struggled to intro-duce the series of controversial laws thathis regime imposed in the name of faith.

Nevertheless, in 1988 when hepassed away, he left behind a countrywracked by escalating Sunni-Shia strife,the growth of militant sectarian and“Islamist” outfits whose leaders werebrought into the mainstream to preachand practise armed jihad, a rise in hate

crimes against minority sects and otherreligions, an onslaught on women’srights and a generation of youngPakistanis ravaged by drug addiction,gun violence and embroiled in deadlyethnic and sectarian conflicts.Corruption in State and Governmentinstitutions, too, increased when theregime repealed anti-corruption lawsenacted in 1973. Zia introduced “devel-opment funds” for members of hishand-picked national and provincialAssemblies and wrote off bank loanstaken by his supporters. Many seniorofficers of the armed forces and mem-bers of Zia’s Cabinet were reported tohave been involved in the narcotics tradeand money laundering scams.

So why did so many Pakistanis goalong with the charade of a regimewhich promised them a “new Pakistan”by claiming that it was going to finallycreate an “Islamic State” that it insistedwas what Pakistan’s founders had beencommitted to deliver?

An increase in the rate of literacyfrom 1972 onwards meant that moreurban Pakistanis were exposed to thewritings and theories of scholars oper-ating outside the intellectual and polit-ical realm of the “Muslim Modernism”of the country’s founders. By the late1970s, they had begun to question the

sincerity and feasibility of the modernistproject. Because of the impact of the lossof East Pakistan in 1971, many tendedto agree with the anti-modernists thatthe project had been engineered to keepan economic and political elite inpower. An increase in the literacy ratesaw young wo/men from the country’ssmall towns and villages furthering theirstudies in colleges and universities ofmain urban areas. When they arrivedto take their place in educational insti-tutions in cities such as Karachi andLahore, the ethos of their traditionalupbringing felt alienated and eventhreatened by the vocal Left and liber-al groups on campuses. Consequently,they were embraced by Right-wing reli-gious outfits.

Many of these students would go onto graduate and settle in cities andbecome part of urban Pakistan’s emerg-ing new petty bourgeoisie and traderclasses. What’s more, when these class-es came out on the streets during the1977 anti-Bhutto movement, they werebacked by the industrialist and businessclasses, who were repulsed by the“Left-leaning” Bhutto regime. Themovement’s slogan was Shariah law. Soin Zia’s promise of an Islamic system,they could identify with what theybelieved was their true heritage and call-

ing, whereas the industrialists and thebusinessmen yearned for a strong rulerwho would reset the country’s econom-ic direction back to what it had beenbefore Bhutto’s chaotic “Socialism.”

According to Riaz Hassan in theanthology, Pakistan at Seventy, anincrease in the urban population alsohad important social and political con-sequences. A large segment of theincreasing population led a precariousexistence, subjected to all kinds of hard-ships. This frustration generated a con-siderable amount of disillusionmentwith modernist governments and theirpolicies of economic and social devel-opment. The persistent insecurity ofurban existence over the years resultedin the emergence of various religiousmovements. The number of mosques inthe cities multiplied and, through them,religious influences further permeatedsocial life. This was shaped into a pow-erful segment and constituency by thereligious parties and then nourished andexpanded by the Zia dictatorship.

These segments provided consid-erable support for Zia’s so-called“Islamisation” process. Even thoughthose protesting against Zia’s pro-grammes and laws often managed toembarrass the regime by getting theirpoint of view published in some

Western newspapers, most human andcivil rights activists and political work-ers went unheard even in the most lib-eral and democratic European coun-tries.

This was because of the fact thatmuch of the efforts of the media in thesecountries and of their governments werefocussed on the civil war in Afghanistan.The US and its allies in the NorthAtlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)largely looked the other way when theZia regime was using religion to com-mit open human rights violations andintense political repression. The mostthe West was willing to offer at the timewas political asylum to those thrown outor volunteering to move out of Pakistanbecause of the oppressive atmospherehere. For the US and its European allies,Zia was too important an asset to upsetin their Cold War against “Sovietexpansionism.”

These are some of the prominentfactors behind the dictatorship’s successin unleashing laws and Ordinanceswhich, today, would be almost impos-sible to enact without being vehement-ly challenged within and outside thecountry. However, attempts to retainand re-ignite them are still very muchpart of Pakistan’s political playbookeven today. (Courtesy: Dawn)

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Cairo: The United Nations saidYemen’s warring sides agreedSunday to exchange more than1,000 prisoners, marking thefirst phase of a release planreached earlier this year.

The UN mission in Yemensaid the internationally recog-nized government that was dri-ven from the capital six yearsago and the Houthi rebelsagreed “to immediately releasea first group of 1,081 conflict-related detainees and prisoners,in accordance with the lists ofagreed-upon names.”

The prisoner swap dealwas seen as a breakthroughduring 2018 peace talks inSweden. Both parties agreedthen to several confidence-building measures, including acease-fire in the strategic portcity of Hodeida.

Implementation of the ten-tative peace plan, however,stumbled amid ongoing mili-tary offensives and distrustbetween the two sides. The con-flict in the Arab world’s poor-est country erupted in 2014,when the Iran-allied Houthisseized the capital and much of

the country’s north. A Saudi-ledcoalition, determined to restorePresident Abed Rabu MansourHadi’s government, launched amilitary intervention monthslater.

“Today is an important dayfor over a thousand familieswho can expect to welcomeback their loved ones hopeful-ly very soon,” said the U.N.Special Envoy for Yemen,Martin Griffiths. Sunday’s dealcame at the conclusion of aweek-long meeting in Glion,Switzerland that was co-chairedby Griffiths’ office and theInternational Committee of theRed Cross.

The UN said the deal wasbuilt on a plan that both sidesagreed on in February. Griffithsurged both parties to “move for-ward immediately with therelease and to spare no effort inbuilding upon this momentumto swiftly agree to releasingmore detainees.” FabrizioCarboni, ICRC’s director for theMiddle East, urged the parties toswiftly work to move the agree-ment “from signatures on paperto reality on the ground.” AP

Seoul: North Korea accusedSouth Korea of sending shipsacross the disputed sea bound-ary to find the body of a SouthKorean official recently killedby North Korean troops, warn-ing Sunday the intrusion couldescalate tensions. South Koreadenied the accusation.

“We urge the South side toimmediately halt the intrusionacross the military demarca-tion line in the West Sea thatmay lead to escalation of ten-sions,” the official KoreanCentral News Agency said. “Itarouses our due vigilance as itmay lead to another awfulincident.” Along with itsdenial, South Korea proposeda joint investigation to resolvediscrepancies in each coun-try’s account of the SouthKorean official’s death lastweek.

Officials in Seoul have saidthe 47-year-old was likelyattempting to defect beforeNorth Korean troops aboard aboat fatally shot him andburned his body.

According to Seoul, NorthKorea on Friday sent a messageincluding a rare apology byleader Kim Jong Un for theshooting death of the official,who was found floating on anobject in its waters.

The North Korean messagedistributed by South Korea

said its troops shot the officialbecause he attempted to fleeafter refusing to answer toquestions. It said North Koreamaintained troops were unableto find the official’s body andburned the object he was float-ing on in line with anti-coro-navirus rules.

Sunday’s KCNA reportconfirmed North Korea noti-fied South Korea on Fridaywith its account of the incident,but it didn’t say whether thenotification included an apol-ogy from Kim.

South Korea’s military and coast guard responded to North Korea’s claim of a border incursion by sayingtheir ships and aircraft havebeen searching waters south ofthe boundary since Friday incase the official’s body driftsback.

South Korean PresidentMoon Jae-in met with hisNational Security Council onSunday. Moon’s office said thecouncil viewed Kim’s apologypositively and proposed a jointinvestigation with North Koreato find out what happened tothe official.

Senior presidential officialSuh Choo-suk said SouthKorea also wants North Koreato restore a suspended militaryhotline between the nations tofacilitate communications. AP

Beijing: The remains of 117Chinese soldiers who died inthe 1950-53 Korean War werereturned to China on Sundayin an annual repatriationdelayed this year by the coro-navirus outbreak.

South Korea handed overthe remains at a ceremony atIncheon airport outside Seoul,and a Chinese military trans-port plane flew them toShenyang, a northeasternChinese city near the NorthKorean border.

Chinese soldiers fought onthe North Korean side againstU.S.-led forces in the Southduring the war on the KoreanPeninsula.

Most of the 117 remainswere found in theDemilitarized Zone that sepa-rates North and South Korea.It was the seventh annual repa-triation, and the largest sincethe 437 returned in the first onein 2014. In all, the remains of716 Chinese soldiers have beensent back.

This year’s return, origi-nally planned for the spring,was postponed for severalmonths because of the spreadof COVID-19. AP

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US Democratic presidentialcandidate Joe Biden said

he expects “personal attacksand lies” from Donald Trumpin their first televised debate onTuesday, comparing theRepublican president to Nazipropaganda chief JosephGoebbels.

“It is going to be difficult,”the former vice presidentacknowledged in an interviewbroadcast Saturday onMSNBC.

“My guess is, it’s going to be just straight attack. They’re going to be mostlypersonal. That’s the only thinghe knows how to do,” he saidof Trump.

The debate Tuesday inCleveland, Ohio will be the firsttime the 77-year-old veteranpolitician has faced the presi-dent he has promised to unseat.The men will meet again fortwo more debates before theNovember 3 election.

But some of his supportersfear that Biden, who is prone to blunders and slip-ups, maywaver in these televised duelsunder the rhetorical blows ofthe Republican billionaire —who is also prone to blundersand slip-ups, but who is farmore aggressive.

“He doesn’t know how to debate the facts. He’s not that smart,” Biden also claimed. “He doesn’t knowmuch about foreign policy, he

doesn’t know much aboutdomestic policy. He doesn’tknow much about the detail.”

As a result, Biden predict-ed, “it’ll be mostly personalattacks and lies; but I think theAmerican people are on tohim.”

Trump himself never ceases to mock what he says ishis rival’s lack of dynamism,nicknaming him “Sleepy Joe” and attacking his mentalacuity.

“He’s sort of l ike

Goebbels,” Biden said. “Yousay the lie long enough, keeprepeating it, repeating it,repeating it, it becomes com-mon knowledge.”

“It’s not like it’s going to come as a surprise. And so I’m prepared to go out and make my case as to why Ithink he’s failed and why Ithink the answers I have to pro-ceed will help the Americanpeople and the American econ-omy, and make us safer inter-nationally.”

Washington: Ahead of thefirst debate-stage matchupbetween President DonaldTrump and his Democraticchallenger Joe Biden, eachcampaign is promising a starkcontrast in policy, personali-ty and preparation.

Trump has decided to skipany formal preparation. Andwhile Biden’s team believes thesignificance of the debate maybe exaggerated, theDemocratic nominee has beenaggressively preparing to takeon the president.

Biden’s campaign has beenholding mock debate sessionsfeaturing Bob Bauer, a seniorBiden adviser and formerWhite House general counsel,playing the role of Trump,according to a person withdirect knowledge of the prepa-rations who spoke on condi-tion of anonymity to discussinternal strategy. Bauer hasnot actually donned a Trumpcostume in line with Trumpstand-ins from previous years,but he is representing hisstyle and expected strategy.

“I’m sure the presidentwill throw everything he canat (Biden). My guess is thatthey’re preparing for that —bombarding him with insultsand weird digressions,” saidJay Carney, a former aide toBiden and President BarackObama.

“I think it’s an importantmoment — I think it’s reallyimportant for President

Trump, because the directionof this election has been pret-ty stable for a long time now,and he needs to shake it up asany candidate would who’sbehind,” Carney added.

“The question is, can thatwork?” Trump and Biden arescheduled to meet on thedebate stage for the first timeTuesday night at Case WesternReserve University and theCleveland Clinic in Cleveland,Ohio. The 90-minute eventmoderated by Fox News hostChris Wallace is the first ofthree scheduled presidentialdebates. Vice President MikePence and California Sen.Kamala Harris, Biden’s run-ning mate, will also debate inOctober.

For some, the debates rep-resent the most importantmoments in the 2020 cam-paign’s closing days, a rareopportunity for millions of

voters to compare the candi-dates’ policies and personali-ties side-by-side on prime-time television. Trump hasbeen trailing Biden in thepolls for the entire year, a real-ity that gives the president anurgent incentive to changethe direction of the contest onnational television if he can.

Others, including thoseclose to Biden’s campaign, donot expect the debates to fun-damentally change the race nomatter what happens, givenvoters’ daily struggles with thepandemic and the economy.They also point to high-profiledebates in past elections thoughtto be game-changing momentsat the time but that ultimatelyhad little lasting effect.

Those with knowledge ofBiden’s preparations suggesthe will not take the fight toTrump if he can avoid it. Buton Saturday, at least, he was on

the attack when he discussedhis strategy on MSNBC. “I’mprepared to go out and makemy case as to why I think he’sfailed and why I think theanswers I have to proceed willhelp the American people,the American economy andmake us safer internationally,”Biden said, arguing thatTrump won’t persuade voterswith broadsides because “thepeople know the president isa liar.” He also comparedTrump to Adolf Hitler’s pro-paganda minister, JosephGoebbels, saying, “He’s sort oflike Goebbels.

You say the lie longenough, keep repeating,repeating, repeating, itbecomes common knowledge.”Biden said he doesn’t expectTrump to articulate a detailedvision for a second term. “Hedoesn’t know how to debate thefacts, because he’s not thatsmart,” Biden continued. “Hedoesn’t know that many facts.He doesn’t know much aboutforeign policy. He doesn’t knowmuch about domestic policy.He doesn’t know much aboutthe detail.”

While Biden has said hewill try to be a fact checker ofsorts on stage, the Democratis being advised to avoiddirect confrontations andinstead redirect the conversa-tion to more familiar cam-paign themes of unity andissues that matter most tovoters: the economy, health

care and the pandemic.“Arguing over facts, liti-

gating whether what he’s say-ing is accurate, that is not win-ning to Biden,” said Jen Psaki,a former Obama aide who isclose to Biden’s team. “This isan opportunity to speakdirectly to the American peo-ple. His objective should be tospeak directly to them, but notbe pulled in by Trump. Thatis hard.” Trump has not beendoing any formal prepara-tion, according to aides andallies who spoke on the con-dition of anonymity to discussprivate conversations.

No set has been con-structed and aides refused tosay whether anyone is playingBiden. Trump, instead, hasmaintained that the bestpreparation is doing his dayjob — particularly his fre-quent and often contentiousinteractions with reporters.White House aides alsoscheduled an ABC town hallearlier this month to exposeTrump to real voter ques-tions for the first time inmonths in preparation for thesecond debate.

Privately some aides andallies are worried that Trump’slack of formal preparation willlead him to fall into the samehubris trap as other incum-bents in their first generalelection debate. Obama, forexample, famously struggled inhis first matchup against MittRomney in 2012. AP

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Washington, United States:Democratic presidential can-didate Joe Biden on Saturdaycalled on the US Senate torefrain from confirmingPresident Donald Trump’sSupreme Court nominee untilafter the November 3 election.

“The Senate should not acton this vacancy until after theAmerican people select theirnext president and the nextCongress,” Biden said, justmoments after Trumpannounced his nomination ofAmy Coney Barrett to replacethe late liberal justice RuthBader Ginsburg.

Trump predicted that

Barrett, a staunch conservative,will get a “very quick” confir-mation in the Republican-controlled senate. AFP

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Yerevan (Armenia): Fightingerupted anew on Sundaybetween Armenian andAzerbaijani forces over the dis-puted separatist region ofNagorno-Karabakh and a topterritorial official said 16 peo-ple were killed and more than100 wounded, whileAzerbaijan’s president said hismilitary has suffered losses.

Armenia also claimed thattwo Azerbaijani helicopters wereshot down and three Azerbaijanitanks were hit by artillery, butAzerbaijan’s defense ministryrejected that claim.

Heavy fighting broke out inthe morning in the region thatlies within Azerbaijan but hasbeen under the control of eth-nic Armenian forces backed byArmenia since 1994 at the endof a separatist war. It was notimmediately clear what sparkedthe fighting, the heaviest sinceclashes in July killed 16 peoplefrom both sides.

N a g o r n o - K a r a b a k hauthorities reported thatshelling hit the region’s capitalof Stepanakert and the towns ofMartakert and Martuni.Armenian Defense Ministryspokesman ArtsrunHovhannisyan also saidAzerbaijani shelling hit withinArmenian territory near thetown of Vardenis.

Artur Sarkisian, deputyhead of the Nagorno-Karabakharmy, said that 16 people werekilled and more than 100

wounded. It wasn’t immediatelyclear if the figure includedboth soldiers and civilians.Earlier, the Armenian humanrights ombudsman said awoman and child had beenkilled in the shelling.

Another Armenian DefenseMinistry spokeswoman,Shushan Stepanyan, said “theArmenian side” shot down twohelicopters and hit three tanks.Azerbaijani President IlhamAliyev ordered martial law beimposed in some regions of thecountry and called for a curfewin major cities.

In a televised address to thenation, Aliyev said that “thereare losses among theAzerbaijani forces and the civil-ian population as a result of the

Armenian bombardment,” butdidn’t give further details. Healso claimed that “many unitsof the enemy’s military equip-ment have been destroyed.”

Russian Foreign MinisterSergey Lavrov “is conductingintensive contacts in order toinduce the parties to cease fireand start negotiations to stabi-lize the situation,” ForeignMinistry spokeswoman MariaZakharova said.

Albanian Prime MinisterEdi Rama, chairman of theOrganization for Security andCooperation in Europe, calledon the sides to stop fighting.The long-unsuccessful negoti-ations for resolving the territo-ry’s status has been conductedunder OSCE auspices. AP

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Kyiv: About 100,000 demon-strators marched in theBelarusian capital calling forthe authoritarian president’souster, some wearing card-board crowns to ridicule him,on Sunday as the proteststhat have rocked the countrymarked their 50th consecutiveday.

Protests also took place innine other cities, underliningthe wide extent of dismayand anger with PresidentAlexander Lukashenko, whohas stifled opposition andindependent news media dur-ing 26 years in power.

The protest wave beganafter the Aug. 9 presidentialelection that officials saidgave Lukashenko a sixth term

in office with a crushing 80per cent of the vote. Theopposition and some pollworkers say the results weremanipulated.

Lukashenko has defiedcalls for him to step down andmany prominent members ofa council formed with the aimof arranging a transfer ofpower have been arrested orhave fled the country. Theprotests have persisted despitethe daily detentions of demon-strators. AP

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Ocean City (US): More than100 people have been arrestedon criminal and traffic offens-es during an unauthorised carrally in a Maryland city, whereconfrontations between par-ticipants and police were cap-tured on videos.

The Baltimore Sun reportsthat police from neighbouringjurisdictions helped OceanPolice police officers withcrowd control at the H2oi” rallyin the beach town.

Ocean City Police ChiefRoss Buzzuro said in a state-ment Sunday that the rallyparticipants came to the city “todisrupt, destroy and disrespectour community and our lawenforcement officers.” “This isnot a car show and the major-ity of these visitors are not carenthusiasts,” he said.

“Our policing philosophyis to be friendly, fair and firm.Unfortunately, the disorderlybehaviour and unruly crowdsleft no choice but to shift ourphilosophy and take addition-al steps to protect our officersand our community.”

A video posted onlineshows an officer from theMaryland Department ofNatural Resources Police grab-bing a man walking in a cross-walk and forcing him to theground. A department spokes-woman said the man wasarrested for disorderly con-duct and that police were“gathering more information”about whether the officer fol-lowed the proper protocol.

Ocean City Mayor RickMeehan has vowed to end theannual event. To deter peoplefrom coming, legislatorsallowed the city to create a zonewith reduced speed limits andincreased fines for infractionssuch as racing, skidding andwheel-spinning. AP

��� ������������ ������ ����������� ���!��"�������������" Sydney: A lone whale was res-

cued from among hundreds ofcarcasses Sunday, taking to 110the number of creatures thatsurvived a mass stranding insouthern Australia.

The country’s largest-evermass stranding saw around470 pilot whales become stuckin a remote harbour onTasmania’s rugged westernseaboard last week, sparking amajor effort to save the ani-mals.

It was “absolutely remark-able” another whale was foundalive six days after the pod wasfirst discovered, a Tasmaniaenvironment departmentspokeswoman told AFP,adding that it had been takenback out to sea.

More than 100 rescuerstoiled for days in chilly waters,but many volunteers and con-servationists have now packedup as efforts turned to dis-posing of the remaining car-casses.

“There has been a tremen-dous team effort and thiscombined commitment hasallowed us to get as manywhales as we can back out to

sea,” Parks and WildlifeService manager Rob Bucksaid of the “complex rescue”.

With more than 300 car-casses spread across a 10-kilometre area (about 6 miles),authorities shifted their focusSunday to a mass sea burial.

Boats have begun towingthe dead whales into the openocean, where they will bereleased over several days.

Authorities have warnedthat more whales could befound in the area, with someanimals likely to becomebeached for a second time.

The causes of mass strand-ings remain unknown, butsome experts have suggestedthe pod may have gone offtrack after feeding close to theshoreline or by following one ortwo whales that strayed. AFP

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Paris: France is stepping upthe pressure on Belarus’ long-time leader AlexanderLukashenko, with PresidentEmmanuel Macron telling aprominent French weekly that“Lukashenko must go.”

The European Union saidThursday it does not recognizeLukashenko as president ofBelarus because of large-scaleprotests by Belarusians whoquestion the results of lastmonth’s presidential electionthat Lukashenko claims heoverwhelmingly won.

Opposition members andsome poll workers in Belarussay the vote was rigged.

Ahead of a trip Mondayto Lithuania and Latvia,Macron was quoted inSunday’s Journal duDimanche newspaper as say-ing “it’s clear that Lukashenkomust go.”

“What’s happening inBelarus is a crisis of power, anauthoritarian power that can’tmanage to accept the logic ofdemocracy and is clinging onby force,” the newspaperquotes Macron as saying.

In a speech Saturday tothe virtual U.N. GeneralAssembly, Belarus’ foreignminister warned Westernnations against interfering orimposing sanctions over thecountry’s disputed presidentialelection and the government’sviolent crackdown on pro-testers. AP

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On the occasion of WorldTourism Day, Oil Minister

Dharmendra Pradhan onSunday urged for switchingprime tourist destinations to100 per cent clean fuel.

He was addressing a vir-tual meet on ‘tourism andrural development’ along withTourism Minister PrahladSingh Patel, an official state-ment said here.

Pradhan commended theMinistry of Tourism for itsnovel initiative ‘Dekho ApnaDesh’ that promotes andencourages local heritage andtourist sites.

He spoke about India’s richculture, history and ancientarchitectural marvels whichoffer immense scope for thegrowth of the tourism industry.

Tourism industry, he said,offers immense job opportu-nities and called for weavingsustainability with tourism andcollaborating to switch primetourist cities to 100 per centclean fuels, which will furtherhelp protect monuments andensure a cleaner environmentfor tourists.

����� 3:��6:;��

Production of crude steel inIndia in August declined 4.4

per cent on a year-on-yearbasis to 8.48 million tonne(Mt), according to data fromthe World Steel Association.

During the same periodlast year, India had produced8.87 million tonne of crudesteel.

Globally, however, crudesteel production marked a mar-ginal rise and China recorded8.4 per cent increase at 94.8million tonne.

In a statement, the WorldSteel Association said that totalsteel production for the 64countries reporting to it was156.2 million tonne in August2020, a 0.6 per cent increasecompared to August 2019.

It further noted that due tothe ongoing difficulties pre-sented by the Covid-19 pan-

demic, many of the estimatesmay be revised with nextmonth’s production update.

“China produced 94.8 Mtof crude steel in August 2020,an increase of 8.4 per cent com-pared to August 2019. Indiaproduced 8.5 Mt of crude steelin August 2020, down 4.4 percent on August 2019,” it said.

Japan produced 6.4 milliontonne of crude steel in August2020, down 20.6 per cent com-pared to August 2019. SouthKorea’s steel production was 5.8million tonne in August, downby 1.8 per cent on a year-on-year basis.

Germany produced 2.8million tonne of crude steel inAugust 2020, down 13.4 percent.

The US produced 5.6 mil-lion tonne of crude steel inAugust 2020, a decrease of24.4 per cent compared toAugust 2019.

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The Confederation of AllIndia Traders (CAIT) has

called upon Union CommerceMinister Piyush Goyal to rollout the e-commerce policy atthe earliest to curb “malprac-tices” of large e-commerceplayers in India.

In a statement, the traders’organisation said: “Indian e-commerce ecosystem has beengreatly vitiated by large e-com-merce companies and in thewake of steep rise of e-com-merce share in the Indiandomestic trade, it is all the morenecessary to have a robust andwell defined e-commerce pol-icy so that small businesses donot suffer at the hands of largee-commerce companies havingdeep pockets and enormousresources.”

Further, it said that CAITis all set to launch its e-com-merce portal ‘Bharatemarket’ inOctober. CAIT has alsodemanded formation of a reg-ulatory authority for regulatingand monitoring e-commercebusiness and having adequatepowers to penalise offenders ofthe e-commerce policy.It hasalso suggested that there shouldbe no relaxation in FDI policyfor e-commerce players.

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Vodafone Idea Limited(VIL) has started upgrad-

ing its 3G users to 4G in keymarkets.

In a statement on Sunday,the company said that it hassubstantially enhanced 4Gcapacity by consolidating theVodafone and Idea networksand deployment of latest tech-nologies enabling it to upgradelarge chunks of 3G spectrum to4G.”VIL will now be able tooffer faster 4G data speeds to its3G users on the Vi GIGAnetnetwork. The company’s enter-prise customers currently using3G based services will beupgraded to 4G and 4G basedIoT applications and services,in a phased manner,” it said.

While the company willcontinue to offer basic voiceservices to its 2G users, 3G datausers will gradually be upgrad-

ed to 4G in a phased manneracross all markets.

According to RavinderTakkar, MD & CEO, VodafoneIdea Limited, “With highestquantum of spectrum in thecountry and large part of italready refarmed for 4G, VIL isnow best placed to upgrade our2G/3G users to high speed 4Gdata services.”

“As our integration nearscompletion, we have alreadyexpanded our 4G coverage to1 billion Indian populationwho can now avail faster dataservices pan-India. We believeour latest move will furthercatalyse the digital revolution inthe country,” he said.

To switch to the high speed4G GIGAnet network, 3G userswill need to upgrade to Vi 4GSIM card and 4G smartphone.The company offers a range ofbundled offers to upgrade to4G, it said.

����� 3:��6:;��

State-run NTPC Ltd hasinvited bids for procure-

ment of biomass pellets for itsvarious thermal plants ondomestic competitive basis(DCB) as part of its endeavourto reduce burning of cropresidue on farmlands that causeair pollution.

The power producer hasenvisaged consumption of fivemillion tonnes of pellets in thecurrent year at its 17 its powerplants including NTPC Korba(Chhattisgarh), NTPC Farakka(West Bengal), NTPC Dadri(Uttar Pradesh), NTPC Kudgi(Karnataka), NTPC Sipat(Chhattisgarh), and NTPCRihand (Uttar Pradesh).

NTPC had first undertak-en this initiative on pilot basisin 2017 for biomass co-firing byreplacing some of the coalwith pellet-based fuel at NTPCDadri, Uttar Pradesh. Post suc-cessful implementation, it nowplans to replicate the model in17 of its plants.

The invitation for bidswould be done through e-ten-dering at SRM Portal. The bid-ding process will be followed bythe ‘Single Stage - TwoEnvelope’ Bidding System.

“NTPC is confident thatco-firing will help create largescale rural employment oppor-tunities in processing as well as

supply chain for biomass,” thecompany said in a statement onSunday. The power producerwill give preference to bidsfrom suppliers from Punjaband Haryana.

NTPC had fired 100 tonnesof agro residue-based pellets atDadri, Uttar Pradesh in 2017.The test-firing was carried outin four phases, with gradualincrease in percentage of firingfrom 2.5 per cent to 10 per centalong with coal. Till date, thecompany has fired more than7,000 tonnes of agro residuepellets. As per estimates, about145 MMTPA of crop residueremains unutilised and most ofit is burnt in India in the openfields, creating severe air pol-lution that leads to health issues.Open burning of agro residueis considered a major contrib-utor to the surge in PM 2.5 innorthern India in the post-har-vesting season.

“With its gross calorificvalue comparable to the bitu-minous coal, the power gener-ation potential of the entire 145MMTPA biomass burnt throughco-firing in coal-based powerplants is equivalent to 28,000-30,000 MW of round-the-clockgeneration of renewable powerwhich can produce the sameamount of electrical energy ascan be produced from solarcapacity of 125,000-150,000MW,” the NTPC statement said.

����� 3:��6:;��

Diesel prices continued todip for the third straight

day on Sunday on the back ofsubdued crude oil prices glob-ally.

In the national capital,diesel was priced at �70.80 perlitre, 14 paise down from�70.94 a litre on Saturday.

Similarly, its price fell in theother metros as well. InMumbai, Chennai and Kolkata,the fuel was sold at �77.22,�76.27 and �74.32 respective-ly on Sunday, compared to theprevious levels of �77.36,�76.40 and �74.46 per litre. Oilmarketing companies, howev-er, kept petrol pricesunchanged for the fifth con-secutive day. In Delhi, Mumbai,Chennai and Kolkata, petrolwas priced at �81.06, �87.74,�84.14 and �82.59 per litrerespectively.

The recent fuel price fall ison the back of expectation ofslowing demand for oil globallyas a second wave of coronavirusspike threatens further derail-ment of economic activity.

Brent crude price is alsosubdued around $42 a barrel.

For domestic auto fuel con-sumers, the price fall has beena bonanza amid the currenttough economic conditions.With the price cut on Sunday,diesel has now become cheap-er by �2.76 per litre in Delhithis month.

����� 3:��6:;��

The dynamic economicupheaval unleashed by

Covid-19 pandemic might hin-der the Reserve Bank of India(RBI) from giving a pin-point-ed growth as well as inflationforecast in the upcoming mon-etary policy report, expertsopined.

The existing legislationsmandate the RBI to come outwith a growth and inflationforecast twice in an interval ofsix-months in the monetarypolicy report.

Expectedly, the report isslated to be issued with theupcoming policy review onOctober 1. The report was lastissued in February.

“Given the continuinguncertainty on the economicrevival, it is difficult to saywhether RBI will come outwith clear forecasts on theGDP print for FY21,” saidSuman Chowdhury ChiefAnalytical Officer at AcuiteRatings and Research.

“It has, however alreadyhighlighted the risks of a mate-rial contraction in economicoutput in the previous MPCreport. As regards inflation, itis likely to reiterate its expec-tation of a moderation in theCPI inflation over the next fewmonths due to lesser supplyconstraints, higher crop outputin kharif season and also thefavourable base effect kickingin.”

According to BrickworkRatings said: “With uncertain-ty regarding the pandemiclooming large, the RBI may notprovide a GDP forecast forFY21 in the upcoming MPCmeeting. As in the previousstatements, the RBI may con-tinue to talk about economiccontraction without quantify-ing the magnitude.”

“Given the continued surgein Covid-19 cases in the coun-try’s major hubs, which is hin-dering the recovery process, weexpect the Q2FY21 GDP toshrink by 13.5 per cent.”

In April, the RBI’s

Monetary Policy Report saidthat the global economy mayslump into recession in 2020.

The report noted that thethe coronavirus pandemic,lockdown and the expectedcontraction in global outputwill weigh heavily on thegrowth outlook. The actualoutturn would depend uponthe speed with which the out-break is contained and eco-nomic activity returns to nor-malcy, said the MonetaryPolicy Report for April 2020.

As per the report, due tothe highly fluid circumstancesin which incoming data pro-duce shifts in the outlook forgrowth on a daily basis, fore-casts for real GDP growth inIndia are not provided in theMonetary Policy Report, await-ing a clear fix on the intensity,spread and duration of Covid-19.

It is widely expected thatpersistently high inflationfanned in part due to supplyside disruptions along withseasonal factors will deter the

Reserve Bank to administer adose of lending rate cut duringthe upcoming monetary poli-cy review.

Notably, the expected movewill come at a time whenindustrial output is at historiclow due to the Covid-19 pan-demic.

The RBI’s MPC (MonetaryPolicy Committee) is expectedto release its resolution on themonetary policy after theirmeet on September 29 toOctober 1, 2020.

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The success of the ‘OperationFlood’ led to India emerg-

ing as the highest milk pro-ducing nation in the worldmore than two decades back.From a milk deficient country,India became self-sufficient inmilk production mainly attrib-uted to the role played bydairy cooperatives such asAmul (Gujarat CooperativeMilk Marketing Federation),Nandini (Karnataka MilkFederation) etc.

After the announcement oflockdown in March to curbspread of the COVID19, itresulted in disruption of sup-ply chains associated with thevarious sectors of Indian econ-omy. However, the dairy coop-eratives continued with theiroperations of procuring milkfrom the members (as well asnon-members) and distribu-tions of dairy products to con-sumers notwithstanding oper-ational challenges faced.

While many private sectorsorganised dairy players stoppedor reduced milk procurementfrom farmers because ofdecline in demand, majority ofthe co-operative dairies havecontinued to collect milk fromdairy farmers to ensure bestpossible financial support inspite of lower sales. This hasresulted in surplus stock ofSkimmed Milk Powder (SMP)and butter with the co-opera-tive dairies. On one hand themilk procurement hasincreased and on other the

demand for the dairy productsis yet to reach the pre-COVIDlevel.

It is estimated that thedairy cooperatives currentlyhave around 1.5 lakh tonne ofSMP stocks, which impliesaround 1.5 million tonne ofmilk stock (conversion ratio ofSMP to liquid milk 1:10). Thisstock is far more than the SMPstocks held with the coopera-tives a year ago. With the onsetof flush season (milk produc-tion goes up) from October,dairy cooperatives have beenasking the government to pro-vide incentives under theMerchandise Exports fromIndia Scheme so that around50,000 tonne of SMP could beexported.

A number of countrieswhich imports large quantity ofdairy products are not permit-ting import of dairy from Indiaapplying various tariff and non-tariff barriers. The EuropeanUnion (EU) does not approvedairy imports from India underthe pretext of various issues likepesticide and antibiotic residueetc. The United States had ahigh import duty of 40 to 60%on dairy products. China, theworld’s largest importer of dairy

products does not permitimport from India after itimposed a ban on the importsof milk and milk productsfrom China years back becauseof presence of toxic chemical -melamine in Chinese dairyproducts. Russia’s guidelinesstipulate that their own veteri-nary control team approvesdairy plants in India prior toimports. In the last four years,Russia has not granted anyapproval for Indian dairy plants.

International Inner Wheel isone of the largest women ser-

vice voluntary organizations inthe world and is active in morethan 104 countries with theobjective to promote truefriendship, encourage the ideasof personal service and fasterinternational understanding.

The Inner Wheel Club(IWC) Delhi Main conducteda Webinar on 21.09.2020 to cel-ebrate the UN 75thAnniversary.

This webinar was attendedby more than 200 IWC mem-bers. Inner Wheel Clubs worldover takes part in a wide rangeof works for charities and caus-es with the aim of helpingeveryone to live better lives.International Inner Wheelinvolves the United Nations (ECOSOC and UNICEF ) witha consultative status .

Economic Social Council(ECOSOC) is the most impor-tant organ of the UN whichcoordinates follow-up on majorUN conferences and summitsto advance all dimensions ofsustainable development – eco-nomic, social and environ-mental.

International Inner Wheelhave their representatives in theUN who assist the work ses-sions of the commissionsregarding important themesas : Human Rights, Rights ofthe Children, conditions ofWoman, the family, the Elderlyand Drugs . Webinars wasaddressed by four pastInternational Inner WheelPresident (PIIWP).

Jaipur: Chief Minister AshokGehlot said that all classeshave played an important rolein the fight against coronainfection in the State. With thehelp of public representatives,leaders of various parties,NGOs, social workers, reli-gious leaders, Bhamashahs andCorona Warriors, the StateGovernment has succeeded incontrolling the corona infectionto a great extent in the State,with the death rate from coro-na also being minimal. He saidthat in this war against Corona,the entire state remained unit-ed and everyone’s cooperationwas saved in saving the lives ofpeople and their livelihood. Inthe future, all will fight togeth-er against Corona.

Gehlot was holding a videoconference from the ChiefMinister’s residence onSaturday to discuss the stepstaken so far for the Kovid-19epidemic with the leaders ofvarious political parties andrepresentatives of voluntaryorganizations. He also soughtsuggestions from leaders of allparties and representatives ofvoluntary organizations. Hesaid that corona managementin Rajasthan has been verygood. The state is in a muchbetter position than other stateson various parameters of epi-demic control.

The Chief Minister saidthat for the last few days, therehas been a concern expressedby the public representatives,

public and various organiza-tions on the growing transition.He said some states had previ-ously imposed a lockdown twodays a week. But the Indiangovernment says that two daysa week lockdown is not usefulto prevent infection. Due to thelong lockdown in the past,livelihood crisis has arisen infront of the livelihood workers.He said that to prevent infec-tion, the state government hasimposed Section 144 in 11cities of the state and prohib-ited the gathering of morethan five persons.

Gehlot said that no morethan one person should visitthe patients admitted in theCovid Care Centers. The riskof infection increases withmore than one family visitingpatients. He instructed toissue advisory in this regard.During the VC, representativesof social organizations andNGOs also suggested to creategreater awareness about healthprotocols among the generalpublic. Everyone gave sugges-tions regarding strict adherenceto social distancing and apply-ing mask.

Medical Minister Dr.Raghu Sharma said that ade-quate oxygen beds, ventilatorsand ICU beds are available inthe state. He said that the state’stesting capacity has exceeded51 thousand per day. In thecoming time, 4500 tests will bedone daily with Cobas machinein SMS hospital.

Chandigarh: Punjab Food,Civil Supplies and ConsumerAffairs Minister BharatBhushan Ashu today kick start-ed paddy procurement atRajpura Grain Market.Reiterating that Chief MinisterCaptain Amarinder Singh ledstate government always stoodby the farmers, he averred thatevery effort would be made forthe withdrawal of the anti-farmer bills passed by theUnion Government. He wasaccompanied by MLA RajpuraHardial Singh Kamboj, MLAGhanour Mr. Madan LalJalalpur, Punjab Mandi BoardSenior Vice Chairman Mr.Vijay Kalra and Food and CivilSupplies Director AninditaMitra.

Interacting with the mediapersons after starting govern-ment procurement operations,Ashu said, following the direc-tives of the Chief MinisterCaptain Amarinder Singh, thestate government has madeelaborate arrangements for theprocurement of expectedarrival of 170 lakh metrictonnes of paddy across themandis of the state, adding thatstate government was com-mitted to procure every grainof the produce because it wasthe fruit of six months of hardwork of the farmers. “PunjabGovernment has made all outarrangements for the smoothand uninterrupted procure-ment of paddy crop in all theMandis of the state keeping inview the COVID-19 pandem-

ic”, he added.The Food Minister said

that due to the early arrival ofpaddy crop, the state govern-ment has started the pro-curement of paddy fromtoday and will ensure earlypayment of the crop to thefarmers. He said that thistime, Punjab Mandi Boardhas set up 4035 procurementcenters in the state including1872 official centers, where30x30 feet space has been ear-marked in wake of Corona.Besides this, masks and soapand sanitizer for hand wash-ing are being provided tofarmers and arrangements forlabour, gunny bags and trans-port for lifting of crops havealso been completed.

Ashu appealed to the farm-ers not to set fire crop residuein the fields as it will exacerbateCOVID situation in the stateand bring only dry produce tothe mandis for easy and hassle-free procurement. He said that

similar to the wheat season,farmers would be able to bringtheir produce in the Mandis byobtaining the passes given tothem through commissionagents and these would be ofdifferent colors for variousdays.

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�����������������Eager to marry but constantly rejected by women, a bachelor hopes to

win over a former crush by accepting help from an unlikely source: hermother. Starring Yami Gautam, Vikrant Massey and Suhail Nayyar, the filmreleases October 9 on Netflix.

�� ����A young

newlywed moves toher husband'simposing estate,where she mustcontend with hissinister housekeeperand the hauntingshadow of his latewife. Starring LilyJames, ArmieHammer and KristinScott Thomas, thefilm releases onOctober 21 on Netflix.

����������When a slum dweller

spins a web of lies in pur-suit of the upward mobil-ity he has long craved, hisruse could be especiallydangerous for his youngson. StarringNawazuddin Siddiqui,Nasser and AakshathDas, the film releases onOctober 2 on Netflix.

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We all know that the persistenceof the novel Coronavirus is oneof the few things that are here

to stay. Hence, we must learn to acceptthe new normal, be it about everydaylifestyle changes or even fashion. Andlooking at the new garments and trendswhich are becoming staples in ourwardrobe, the first would be gloves,which seem to be back in fashion.Designers are gradually introducinginteresting pairs, which would hopeful-ly help the people regain the humantouch.

Various types of gloves have beenintroduced now such as disposable,anti-bacterial, hypo-allergenic, envi-ronment-friendly and many more. Theglobal demand for disposable gloves hassuddenly skyrocketed as compared totheir sales before the pandemic. Theseprotective gears have become the latestadditions in our wardrobes in the lastfew months.

Of course, we are not mentioningthe latex surgical ones in which handssweat like in saunas. The protective gearin our hands is somewhat a beautifulexpression of our indomitable spirits inthe face of contagion. Gloves have def-initely been an overlooked accessoryused for practicality, although it has gonedown in history as the most universalitem in fashion. They have become anecessary trend amid the pandemic dueto the additional protection that they canoffer other than masks and sanitisation.

Celebrities and fashion influencersare now taking to social media to exhib-it their collection of gloves, which areaccessorised with nail-paints and rings.The latest accessory of fashionablegloves actually came into developmentjust before the outbreak and designerswere seen exploring their potential onfashion runways.

You can sport hand-embroideredgloves, anti-bacterial crochet ones orprinted, colourful ones to meet your dif-ferent types of moods. There’s one forevery place — while you are set to hitthe gym or an aerobics class, to thesupermarket or while travelling. Glovesmade of anti-microbial fabrics andfibres are the latest innovation that givesa long-lasting protection from microbeseven after multiple washes. These fab-rics protect your hands from variousviruses and bacteria that are muchrequired amid this unprecedented phase.

Nelson Jaffery, Head of Design,Liva, shares a few noted trends:

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Colours play an integral part notonly in fashion but also in our life as theyadd happiness, distract us from negativethinking, change actions and causereactions. The type of colour combina-tions that we choose for ourselvesreflects our personal self. The brightcolour reflects happiness and adds pos-itive vibes, while the dull shades reflectthe tedious mood. As we are alreadymindful about matching our acces-sories on what we wear, choosing theright colour as per the outfit will helpyou create a new style statement.

While at work, gloves can get soiledand stained, at this point the colours thatyou choose can turn out to be life savers.Choosing darker shades is the best wayto embrace the style of being carefree.A few timeless shades to select from are:

Bittersweet chocolate: This deeplydivine shade can match to almost everyoutfit, making all the difference.

Dark lavender: The shade has cer-

tainly made a comeback in fashion as itis bright and vivacious, giving us theright summer vibe. It goes well on lightcolours like white, pink and off-white.

Gallery red: Also known as rose red,with a tint of pink, it adds class to anyoutfit that you opt to wear.

����� �����*���Cutwork style is back in vogue. The

vintage technique and the intricate stylelends a see-through look to the garment.Done by cutting away the fabric andbinding the edges with buttonholestitches, the technique emerged in the14th century in Italy, and eversince, over-coming the top trends like laces andflares. Well, cutwork gloves can beworn for special occasions to give yourattire a chic and more elegant look.

To keep the protection quotientintact, it’s recommended to uselatex/plastic gloves underneath the cut-work.

)��������������������� �Wearing print and patterns can be

intimidating as compared to solid colourgloves. Mixing prints has always been atop fashion trend. Prints have evolvedthroughout and now have become thepriority when we think of something

trendy. Even though many women pre-fer to live in a terminal state of simplic-ity out of fear of looking too complicat-ed or frumpy but bold prints are morewearable than they seem. It’s just about

making the right choice. If you end upchoosing too many prints at a moment,it can look chaotic rather than stylish.Hence, choosing simple prints can be themust-have in gloves.

�=����� �?�"=86When we get a little overexcited or

think of dramatising our mood into ourattire, puff style is something to go aboutwithout any doubt. When we started tosee the puff trend rising, it seemed like justthe season’s newest must-have. Andeversince, it’s been re-imagined in so manyiterations and has returned season afterseason, becoming more than just a fleet-ing trend.

These are usually worn during thewinters, however, with the ever-evolvingstyle statement, gloves are becoming amore casual and go-to style.

Safety garments like gloves and masksare here to stay no matter how far we comewith the pandemic. Hence, choosing theright and comfortable fabric like viscosewill always be a great option to sustain thisvirus in the best possible way.

It has been actor BomanIrani’s endeavour to break

down the craft of cinema forbrilliant minds of all ages.The actor, who is known forhis path-breaking perfor-mances in 3 Idiots and LageRaho Munnabhai, hasanswered his call as a story-teller by devising Spiral Bound,a series of screenwriting work-shops for eager learners. Thisinitiative by the actor hasclocked in 150 online screen-writing sessions during thelockdown.

Through these workshops,Irani offered a learning oppor-tunity to budding writers,amateurs and professionalsfrom different walks of life tounite and learn the nuances ofscreenwriting. What started forhim as a step towards being astudent of cinema, has nowresulted in an incredible jour-ney of mentoring hundreds ofstudents.

Happy to have arrived atthe milestone of hitting 150sessions, Boman took to hissocial media to express grati-tude towards artists and film-makers, who showed theirsupport to Spiral Bound. In thecaption, he wrote, “One hun-dred and fifty sessions onscreenwriting in just about165 days right through thislockdown. Writers, directors,actors, designers, beginners,all... with heart. All with theintention to learn and grow.Not allowing the chains ofthese lockdowns to shackleand get the better of us. If at all

we were shackled, it was witheach other. Bound by the spi-raling shackles of learning,love and friendship. Proud ofeach and every one of you!Grateful too!”

He said, “Spiral Boundbegan with the idea of jammingon stories and refining them.We have over 100 peopleattending the sessions everyday and now clocking in 150sessions leads me to think thatwhat we’re offering these mindsis really working for them.”

The first workshop wasconducted by AlexanderDinelaris, Oscar-winning filmBirdman’s screenwriter anddear friend to Boman. This wasbefore the lockdown when theactor launched his productionhouse — Irani Movietone. Heshared that he wanted to writehis screenplay but couldn’t.He was looking for some guid-ance, so he went to New Yorkin search of it. And he metAlexander there. That’s how itall started.

Boman believes that theseworkshops will produce somegreat films in the future. Hesaid that it’s all about the powerof screenplay. “No camera cando wonders, if the screenplayisn’t worthwhile. It has thepower to make or break greatfilms,” added he.

On the work front, theactor looks forward to therelease of 83, where he will beportraying the role of a formerIndian cricketer FarokhEngineer, and JayeshbhaiJordaar.

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It’s often said, “Honesty is the best policy.” Whichis the reason why a kind and an honest person

would never approve of someone who reachesheights by foul means or through corruption. Tothem, life often seems unfair and the result, at times,turns out to be revengeful. However, one fails tounderstand an important fact that the law of karmais eternal and works on the simple principle of cause-and-effect — “as you sow, so shall you reap.”

Corruption in India has stirred many politicaldebates and agitations in the history, attracting exten-sive coverage in the Indian media too. Bribery, scamsand misuse of public money are becoming common.Many a times, those involved in these activities goscot-free, lead a luxurious life and enjoy many priv-ileges without beingaccountable for theirnefarious deeds. But weforget that the law ofkarma is infallible andimmutable. As per thislaw, every act or expres-sion by a human being willbe experienced by him/herin the same degree andnobody can escape theeffects of this law. What wecannot see most of thetime is how and when anaction is punished or rewarded, due to which we getdisillusioned. However, as per the karmic law, some-times the result of an action may be carried over tothe next life and hence, it says that there is alwaysjustice in whatever happens. The fact that there areall kinds of differences — physical, economical andsocial — is the very evidence. It’s because of the con-sequences of your previous karma which are car-ried over and experienced in the next birth.

We hence should perceive life in a deeper anda more holistic way. First, we must realise that thedoer of karma is not the body but the being or thesoul, which is immortal. The eternal law of karmafacilitates and shapes the continuous journey or evo-lution of the human soul. We are here to express ourtrue nature and experience the reward of that. Ourexpressions may be a subtle feeling or thought orthey may be a visible action.

It is unfortunate that most people today are blindto their spiritual identity and law of karma, as a resultof which they believe that they are here for one life-time and so they can eat, drink, make merry andindulge in all pleasures through right or wrongmeans. But the fact is that such people may havewealth but they lack peace of mind, health and truejoy. This narrow-minded limited view of human lifehas spawned vices such as lust, greed, ego and attach-ment. In the pursuit to have more, enjoy more andpossess more, people have become totally callousabout values like honesty, compassion, sharing andcooperation. Even when people suffer the result oftheir bad karma, they do not realise that they haveto improve themselves instead they blame others andbecome even more corrupt and vicious. If peoplecould see in advance that each corrupt deed theycommit would boomerang into a painful sufferingor loss for them either in this life or in the future,they would never commit something wrong again.But they neither have the wisdom nor the strengthto live a life of total moral integrity. We must realisethat the richness of one’s character is the most essen-tial and real wealth that raises the value of humanlife.

Today, people have lost faith in god and goodkarma. But the law of karma is the most foolproofone that guarantees good return to those who dogood. The time and place and the source from whereit will come vary. But the wheel of divine justice neverfails. So, instead of seeking short-term pleasures andrewards through corrupt deeds, let us live a right-eous life and reap the fruit of abundant joy and well-being.

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Last month, Lieutenant Governor ofJammu & Kashmir, Manoj Sinha,reviewed the progress of the

Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana(PMGSY) in a meeting held at RajBhavan in Srinagar. While stressing uponmaintaining the quality of roads, hedirected the concerned officials to strict-ly adhere to the project timelines. Thefocus of the LG reflects not only the strate-gic significance of the territorial connec-

tivity in remote, hilly regions but alsostresses upon ‘roads’ being an importantindicator of development. It is throughroads that people residing in these tough,mountainous corners of this newly-announced Union Territory will be ableto participate in development of the coun-try. However, the condition of roads inseveral difficult-to-reach areas needsimmediate attention of the administra-tion.

In the border district of Poonch,located 250 km from Jammu city, manyvillages still lack road connectivity.Malhan, the smallest Panchayat ofSurankot tehsil in Poonch, is one of themany areas where road connectivity hasbeen one of the most pressing issues forseveral years now. In 2012, the initiationof work for road construction betweenSehri Khawaja to Ziarat Sharif Maidanhad brought a new ray of hope for the vil-

lagers. The idea of not having to gothrough difficult mountainous trails dur-ing extreme weather conditions provid-ed a sense of comfort to them. But thehappiness was short-lived as due tosome internal reasons, the constructionwas put on hold. Now, it’s been eight years,and people here are still awaiting that roadconstruction to go on the floors again andconnect them with the town.

“We had given up our land for thedepartment to pave the road. Villagerssacrificed their fields and gardens for thelarger good of the entire community thatfaces several challenges while commut-ing through the kutcha roads,” shared thevillagers who have not received anycompensation for the land they had givenup. According to them, officials from thedepartment visit the area only to leaveafter giving them assurances, which havenot yet been materialised into anythingconcrete in the last eight years.

During his Poonch visit in July thisyear, the former LG Girish ChandraMurmu, the predecessor to LG ManojSinha, had also focussed on the construc-tion of roads. That time, the chief of theconcerned department had visited the vil-lage and had promised the villagers thatthe matter will be resolved at the earliestand the road will be completed, howev-er, only to no relief.

“The road belongs to my ward. Itsincomplete construction has become ahindrance in other works of developmentin the entire Panchayat. To attract theattention of the concerned authority, thisPanchayat had even boycotted the secondphase of the programme, ‘Back to Village’run by the Central Government, but tono avail,” explained Shamim Akhter, thePanch of Ward No 5.

Adding to the complication, thePanchayat has recently received guidelinesfrom the district department that the con-struction of houses under Indira AwasYojana (IAY) should be completed with-in three months. The beneficiaries of thescheme were waiting for the road to beconstructed as without it building ahouse will be quite difficult. If they do notobey the orders, they will have to returnthe installment that has come into theiraccounts along with an interest. “That’sthe dilemma. If the road issue isn’tresolved soon, I will not be able to ben-efit from the IAY scheme. Constructionof roads need to be completed first andthen the houses should be built,” sharedAbdul Khaliq, one of the beneficiaries ofthe IAY scheme.

Not just construction of the housesbut the development challenges of suchisolated villages can be addressed easilyonce they are connected via roads.Reaching schools, hospitals and town forwork and other needs will become easi-er. The emphasis of the current admin-istration on construction of roads in ruralareas is surely a positive sign. It is thisbelief in the government that people ofthis village are waiting patiently for theirdreams to be fulfilled.

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On a quiet road in India’s cap-ital, tucked away on a wide,

red-bricked sidewalk, kids setadrift by the country’s COVID-19 lockdown are being tutored.

The children, ages four to 14,carry book bags more than twokilometers (a mile) from theirthatched-roof huts on the banksof the Yamuna River to thisimpromptu, roadside classroom.There, they receive free lessonsin Math, Science, English andPhysical Education, taught by aformer diplomat and his wife.

It all began when VeenaGupta’s maid, who lives on thebank of the river, complainedthat with schools shut, childrenin her impoverished communi-ty were running amok and wast-ing time. “If they stayed at homedoing nothing, they’d becomedrifters,” said Dolly Sharma,who works at Veena’s high-riseapartment, which overlooks thelush riverbank.

Veena, a singer and grand-mother of three, and her hus-band, Virendra Gupta, decidedto go out to the street and teachthe kids so they are not leftbehind when school reopens.“They don’t have access to inter-net, their schools are shut andthey don’t have any means tolearn,” said Veena, who boughtbooks, pencils, notebooks andother teaching materials, and setup the small, open-air classroom

under the shade of a leafybanyan tree.

The country’s stringent lock-down to curb the spread ofCOVID-19 shut schools acrossthe country in late March. Mostremain closed as the number ofcases has surged past five mil-lion, making India second worst-hit in the world by theCoronavirus.

While many private schoolsswitched to digital learning andonline classes, children in mostgovernment-run schools eitherdon’t have that option or don’thave the means to purchase dig-

ital learning tools like laptops orsmartphones. “There is onlyone mobile phone in my familyand it is usually with my father.I can’t study online,” said NitinMishra, a ninth grade student inVirendra’s math class. Mishra’s

mother works as a part-timemaid and his father is unable tofind employment.

The street-side classes havegrown as dozens of childrenshowed keen interest. Now theGuptas — with help from their

driver, Heera — teach three dif-ferent groups thrice a week,morning and evening. Afterclass, the children are treated tohomemade lemonade and cook-ies prepared by Veena.

The two say teaching thekids makes them feel closer totheir grandchildren, who liveabroad. “My father would makeme spend my summer vacationlearning the next year’s cur-riculum in advance,” saidVirendra, who served as Indianambassador to several coun-tries including South Africa. Itreally boosted my confidence

and made me interested inschoolwork. And that is what Iam trying to do with these chil-dren, so when their schoolreopens, they are slightly aheadof their class.”

Veena said she hopes torecruit more volunteers to teachthe street-side classes. “It is notabout the money that people cancontribute and give, it is abouttheir time,” she said. “Theyshould take out little bit of theirtime, an hour or so, if not everyday, every alternate day, andcome and help these children.”

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Mayank Agarwal out-shone his Kings XIPunjab captain KL

Rahul with a maiden IPLhundred as the duo pum-melled the Rajasthan Royalsbowlers into submission topost an imposing 223 for 2here on Sunday.

Agar wal (106) andRahul (69) stitched 183 runsfor the opening stand, thehighest partnership for anywicket so far this season asthey took apart the Royalsbowlers who were also way-ward in their line and length.

The duo just missed therecord of highest openingwicket partnership in IPLhistory by a mere two runswhen Agarwal was out in the17th over after hitting 10fours and seven sixes duringhis magnificent 50-ballknock.

Nicholas Pooran thenhit 25 not out from justeight balls while GlennMaxwell also remainedunbeaten on 13.

Rahul was content toplaying second fiddle toAgarwal though the KXIPcaptain also made some bril-liant shots during his 54-ballknock studded with sevenfours and a six, continuinghis rich vein of form after his132 not out against RoyalChallengers Bangalore.

Agarwal surged ahead ofhis captain by reaching hisfifty (from 26 balls) in stylewith a six off Shreyas Gopaland followed it up withanother maximum to bringup KXIP's 100 in the ninthover.

KXIP reached 110 at thehalfway mark.

The Royals captain SteveSmith kept on shuffling hisbowlers and spinner RahulTewatia was hit for 19 runsin the eighth over, whichincluded two sixes and afour.

The Royals bowlers hadno clue how to deal with themarauding opening duo.Only Ankit Rajpoot con-ceded less than 10 runs anover.

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Royal Challengers Bangalorewould be looking to

address their pace-bowlingconcerns when they facedefending champions MumbaiIndians in the Indian PremierLeague here on Monday.

RCB started on a winningnote but then their star-stud-ded collapsed against Kings XIPunjab, resulting in a hum-bling 97-run defeat.

After scores of 14 and 1,Kohli is due for a big one andwould be itching to spendmore time in the middle.

Opener Devdutt Padikkal,who started his IPL career witha classy half-century, did notdo much against KXIP andwill be aiming for consistency.

Australian limited overscaptain Aaron Finch would behoping to convert starts intomatch-winning performanceswhile AB de Villers, who haslooked in god touch, will beexpected to provide the latefireworks again with the lower-order not inspiring a lot ofhope.

It is still not clear whetherRCB will have the services of

South African all-rounderChris Morris, who sat out ofthe first two games due to aside strain.

In the bowling depart-ment, Yuzvendra Chahal, asalways, will be the key manwith pacers, barring NavdeepSaini, leaking runs.

Dale Steyn and UmeshYadav have proved expensiveso far. The South African greatis likely to retain his place inthe playing eleven but thesame can’t be said aboutYadav, who couldmake way forMohammadSiraj.

Englandall-rounderMoeen Ali will bea welcome addition to themiddle-order but with JoshPhillippe keeping wickets reg-ularly, he can only replaceSteyn.

Mumbai Indians, whoticked all the boxes in theircomfortable win againstKolkata Knight Riders, are

unlikely to tinker with theirteam composition.

The biggest positive is thatskipper Rohit Sharma is backamong the runs and looked inominous touch against KKR,and so did Suryakumar Yadav.

The only change that theteam can make is bring inIshan Kishan in place of thebulky Saurabh Tiwary.

Apart from their battingprowess, Hardik

Pandya andKieron Pollard canjointly perform the

role of an addi-tional bowler,but MI coachM a h e l aJayawardanehas made itclear that theydon’t want totake any riskswith Hardik,

who is play-ing after along breakfollowing aback injury.

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Australia womencame out with yet

another incredibleperformance, bothwith bat and ball, asthey defeated NewZealand by eightwickets in the sec-ond T20I on Sunday,thereby securing thethree-match series.

Australia first bundled New Zealand for 128in 19.2 overs, with the innings punctuated byanother contentious White Ferns dismissal andthen chased down the target with more than threeovers to spare. Chasing the target, Alyssa Healy— who earlier in the first innings went past MSDhoni to take over record for maximum dis-missals in T20Is — gave a solid start to the Aussiesalong with Beth Mooney. The pair added 51 runsin 4.3 overs before Healy got out after scoring 33runs off just 17 balls, which included five 4s anda six. Soon Mooney also went back to the pavil-ion after contributing with 24 runs.

However, skipper Meg Lanning (26*) andRachel Haynes (40*) didn't allow any furtherwickets to fall and saw the hosts go across the linein 16.4 overs.

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Suarez set up a goal two minutesafter coming on as a substitute,

his sumptuous pass finished off byMarcos Llorente, before scoringhimself with a powerful header atthe back post.

He then added another in injurytime following up his own shot tomake it six for rampant Atletico atthe Wanda Metropolitano.

Diego Costa had earlier giventhe home team the lead. AngelCorrea and the impressive JoaoFelix, who was perhaps the best play-er on the pitch put Granada out ofsight, before Suarez stole the show.

Suarez might have had a hat-trick given he also won a penalty andhad the ball under his arm to takeit, only for the decision to bereversed by referee Javier Estrada.

But Suarez's performance off thebench completed the perfect start tothe season for him and for Atletico,who might start to believe the scor-ing problems of last term could bebehind them. It was not onlySuarez's contribution that would

have pleased Diego Simeone but thedisplays of his other forwards, withCosta and Felix, perhaps invigorat-ed by the Uruguayan's arrival, look-ing sharper.

Felix was excellent. If the 20-year-old can find some consistencythis season after a stop-start open-ing year, Atletico could challenge forthe title.

They might have been two upin the first quarter of an hour asCosta did well to head in Correa'scross before Felix won a penalty, hisdancing run into the box drawing afoul from Domingos Duarte.

But Saul Niguez's shot was bril-liantly saved by Rui Silva, withFelix booting the ball into the standin frustration, suggesting he mighthave been keen to take it.

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Valtteri Bottas won theRussian Grand Prix on

Sunday after his Mercedesteammate Lewis Hamilton'srace was ruined by penalties,in front of the largest crowdof the pandemic-hit season.

Hamilton had been look-ing to match MichaelSchumacher's record of 91wins in Formula One but hadto settle for third behindBottas and Max Verstappen.Bottas built a sizeable lead

over Verstappen with easeand cruised to his first winsince the season-openingAustrian Grand Prix.

Hamilton was alreadyunder investigation by thestewards when he started therace from pole position.Before the race he twicestopped to perform practicestarts at the exit of the pit lane,rather than in the designated

area. That eventually earnedhim two five-second penal-ties, dropping him as low as11th at one stage.

"Where's that in the rulebook?" he asked the team,and called the situation"ridiculous."

Hamilton had askedMercedes over the radio if hecould perform the startsthere, and was told he could.

It was the second time inthree races that a team blun-der cost the British driver ashot at victory.

Hamilton was leading atthe Italian Grand Prix whenhe was given a penalty forentering the pit lane while itwas closed, after a radio mes-sage from the team warninghim was sent too late.

Hamilton's champi-

onship lead over Bottas wascut to a still-healthy 44 pointswith seven scheduled racesremaining on a calendarheavily modified because ofthe coronavirus pandemic.

Bottas, who also claimedthe bonus point for fastest lap,said he wanted to "thank mycritics" after ending a run ofeight races without a windespite having, withHamilton, by far the fastestcar.

He tried to take the leadoff Hamilton at the start

using the slipstream butbraked too late for the secondturn, allowing Hamilton toretake first. Bottas later saida "massive bee or something"had obstructed his vision atthe crucial moment.

Two first-lap crashesbrought out the safety car asMcLaren's Carlos Sainzclipped a barrier while tryingto rejoin the track from a run-off area and Lance Stroll'sRacing Point span into abarrier after contact withFerrari's Charles Leclerc.

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Two goals in the final three minutes sawInter Milan come from behind to beat

Fiorentina 4-3 in Serie A.Romelu Lukaku and Danilo D'Ambrosio

scored late to help Inter get its season off toa winning start on Saturday.

Fellow title hopefuls Atalanta and Lazioalso won their first matches.

Inter finished last season a point behindJuventus, which won a record-extendingninth successive Serie A. The Nerazzurri alsolost the Europa League final to Sevilla. Thatfinal prompted Inter to receive a delayed startin Serie A.

Fiorentina took the lead with less thanthree minutes on the clock as some woefulInter defending allowed Christian Kouameto play a one-two with Giacomo Bonaventuraon the edge of the six-yard box and tap in.

Lautaro Martínez leveled on the strokeof halftime, curling in the ball.

Inter took the lead early in the secondhalf. Martínez bamboozled Sofyan Amrabaton the edge of the box and his shot from atricky angled was turned by Fiorentinadefender Federico Ceccherini into his ownnet.

Fiorentina leveled in the 57th with a well-worked counter started and finished byGaetano Castrovilli.

That was assisted by Franck Ribéry, andthe Fiorentina winger was again inspirationalsix minutes later with a delightful pass to send

Federico Chiesa clear. The youngster lobbedthe onrushing Inter goalkeeper SamirHandanovic.

Arturo Vidal and Achraf Hakimi cameoff the bench to make their Inter debuts and,just as Inter appeared to be heading for defeat,the home side turned the match around.

Hakimi knocked on Radja Nainggolan’sball over the top for Lukaku to side-foot infrom close range in the 87th, and D'Ambrosioheaded in Alexis Sanchez’s cross following ashort corner two minutes later.

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Hoffenheim ended Bayern Munich’s 32-gamerun without defeat on Sunday with a 4-1

win in the Bundesliga.Bayern’s former reserve team coach,

Sebastian Hoeneß, coaxed a concentratedrelentless team effort from his new side and wasrewarded with goals from Ermin Bicakcic,Munas Dabbur and two including a penaltyfrom Andrej Kramaric.

It was Bayern’s first defeat in any competi-tion since a 2-1 loss at BorussiaMönchengladbach on Dec. 7, 2019, and HansiFlick's third as coach since he took over theBavarian powerhouse on Nov. 3, 2019.

Bicakcic opened the scoring in the 16thminute with a header into a corner, andDabbur made it 2-0 eight minutes later.Hoffenheim goalkeeper Oliver Baumann's longkick seemed to catch Bayern's defense by sur-prise.

Benjamin Pavard attempted to win the ballfrom Kramaric, but instead it fell kindly forDabbur, who calmly lobbed the ball overBayern's advancing goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.

Joshua Kimmich pulled one back in the36th, letting fly from outside the penalty areainside the far top corner, giving Baumann nochance.

Flick brought on star striker RobertLewandowski and midfielder Leon Goretzka forthe last half hour, then Kingsley Coman and the17-year-old Jamal Musiala with a little more thana quarter-hour remaining.

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Newly-appointed women’schief selector Neetu

David says her panel's focuswill be on unearthing moreyoung talent like 16-year-oldShafali Verma, who becamean overnight star with her raresix-hitting ability.

One of the finest spinnersto have come out of India,David very much under-stands the requirements ofmodern-day limited-overscricket.

Opening batter Shafaliwas 15 when she earned hermaiden-call up last year andsix months after making herIndia debut, she played amajor role in the team’s marchto the T20 World Cup final inMarch.

“The way cricket is beingplayed, it is quick and for thatwe need more players likeShafali. Earlier, the approachwas different but but now yousee batters trying to be aggres-

sive from the word go even indomestic cricket. We want togive opportunity to thosekind of players,” the 43-year-old, who has taken over fromHemlata Kala, told PTI.

David holds the worldrecord for best bowling fig-ures in an innings in a Test —8/53 against England inJamshedpur in 1995. She played 10 Tests, taking 41wickets. She retired frominternational cricket in 2008.

The first assignment ofthe David-led panel will bepicking three teams for theWomen’s T20 Challenge, toheld in UAE in Novemberalongside the IPL play-offs.Picking squads will be a chal-lenge as no cricket has beenplayed since March due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.

“Nothing is permanent.Change is the rule of naturebut experience counts a lot.Experience and youthfulenergy in the team is a goodcombination.

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Top-seeded Simona Halep won 10 straightgames in beating Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-4, 6-

0 to reach the second round of the French Openon Sunday and extend her winning streak to 15matches.

Wearing thick black leggings and a long-sleeved pink jersey to combat the chilly conditionson Court Philippe Chatrier, the 2018 championmade a series of unforced errors and trailed 4-2.

But then she found her range, clinching thefirst set with a hold to love and sealing victory onher first match point when her Spanish opponentclipped a forehand wide.

She is ranked second but seeded first at RolandGarros because defending champion Ash Bartyskipped coming to Paris because of coronavirusconcerns.

Halep won titles on clay in in Prague andRome and her winning run - interrupted by thepandemic - dates to February.

Over on Court Suzanne Lenglen, U.S. Openrunner-up Victoria Azarenka experienced a vast-ly different temperature to Flushing Meadows onlytwo weeks ago.

The tenth-seeded Azarenka fumed whenmatch officials didn't immediately send her andopponent Danka Kovinic back to the locker-roomduring a rain interruption.

Goffin, a former quarterfinalist here, was thefirst seeded player to be knocked out when he lost7-5, 6-0, 6-3.

His countrywoman Elise Mertens - the 16thseed - fared better in beating 122-ranked RussianMargarita Gasparyan 6-2, 6-3.

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