AR\ZdeR_ XZgVd Z_ e`

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P akistan on Sunday agreed to allow 5,000 pilgrims per day to Kartarpur and acceded to most of the issues raised by India during the meeting held between delegations of the two countries on the Pakistani side of the Attari-Wagah Border to discuss the modalities of the Kartarpur corridor. Islamabad also assured that no Pakistan-based individuals and organisations will disrupt the pilgrimage to Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara after India handed over a dossier to Pakistan about such elements. Pakistan has “in-principle agreed” to build a bridge to connect with the Indian side and visa-free travel for Indian passport holders and OCI card- holders. After the second round of talks on the project on Sunday, Home Ministry Joint Secretary SCL Das said Pakistani officials confirmed that controversial Sikh leader Gopal Singh Chawla had been dropped from various bodies, including as secretary general of Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (PSGPC). New Delhi had earlier con- veyed its strong concerns to Pakistan over the presence of the leading Khalistani sepa- ratist in a committee appoint- ed by Islamabad on the project. “We have shared our con- cerns regarding individuals or organisations based in Pakistan who may try to disrupt the pil- grimage and misuse the oppor- tunity,” Das told a Press con- ference at the Attari Border on the Indian side “To highlight the concerns, we handed over a dossier today containing information about these organisations and indi- viduals which may pose a kind of potential threat to our pil- grims. We have handed this over with a request that they seriously act upon it,” Das said. The Pakistan side assured the delegation that no anti- India activity would be allowed, the joint secretary, who head- ed the Indian delegation, said. On Chawla, Das said, “We had sought confirmation that indi- viduals like Gopal Singh Chawla were removed from the bodies to which we had raised objection. So they confirmed in that Chawla had been removed from PSGPC and other bodies.” He said the Pakistani side was apprised of the ban imposed by Government of India on the US-based pro- Khalistan outfit ‘Sikhs for Justice’. “We told them that we have declared this organisation (SFJ) unlawful and given them our gazette notification ban- ning it. We told them we have information that this organi- sation is also operating from their land,” he said. The Indian delegation also sought consular presence in the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara to be able to provide assistance to pilgrims if required, a state- ment by the External Affairs Ministry said. The Indian del- egation comprised representa- tives from Home Ministry, External Affairs Ministry, Defence Ministry, the Punjab Government and the National Highway Authorities of India. India has been urging Pakistan that 5,000 pilgrims be allowed every day and 10,000 additional pilgrims be allowed on special occasions with no restriction in terms of faith. Das said the delegation raised the issue of encroachment and acquisition of land belonging to the gurdwara. “We have requested Pakistan to honour religious sentiments and remove the encroachment, besides restor- ing the encroached land to the gurdwara,” he said. The statement said Pakistan has agreed to look into the issue. The work on the four- lane highway to the crossing point at the International Boundary is progressing well and is on schedule, officials said. It will be completed by September-end. India is con- structing a state-of-the-art con- struction passenger terminal facility that can accommodate 15,000 passengers, they said. A month after Navjot Singh Sidhu had given his resig- nation as the Punjab Cabinet Minister to Congress national president Rahul Gandhi, the cricketer-turned-politician on Sunday made his resignation letter public on social media fuelling speculation regarding his future course of action. Sidhu shared his resigna- tion letter, addressed to “Indian National Congress president Rahul Gandhi” on Twitter, which he “submitted on June 10, 2019”, a day after he met Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi in the national Capital. In related tweet, Sidhu declared that he will also be sending his resignation to Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh. However till the filing of the report, the Chief Minister’s Office denied receiving his resignation. The 55-year-old Sidhu had met the party central leadership on June 9 after Amarinder divested the former cricketer of the Local Government and Tourism Departments on June 6 after accusing him of being a “non-performer” Minister that cost the Congress during 2019 Lok Sabha polls in the State’s urban areas. Sidhu had blamed the Chief Minister of “singling him out for no reason” and defend- ed himself by doling out figures and numbers to prove that urban areas performed better than the rural areas of the State during elections. T he Congress efforts to woo its rebel MLAs back in its fold received a jolt on Sunday as one of the lawmakers arrived in Mumbai after assuring the Congress crisis managers of a possible rethink on his decision to quit. Rebel Congress MLA MTB Nagaraj flew to Mumbai on Sunday, where he made it clear that there was no question of withdrawing his resignation. Leaders of the Congress- JD(S) coalition held talks with Nagaraj on Saturday and were confident that he would take back his resignation and help them salvage the 13-month-old HD Kumaraswamy-led Government that is on the brink of collapse. Before emplaning a char- tered flight for Mumbai, the Hoskote MLA told reporters that he intended to take a final call on taking back his resig- nation after talks with Chikkaballapura MLA K Sudhakar. Nagaraj and Sudhakar had submitted their resignations to Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar on July 10. Later in the day, speaking to reporters in Mumbai, Nagaraj said there was no ques- tion of withdrawing his resig- nation and that he was “firm” on the decision. Stating that all MLAs who have resigned are together, he denied that senior BJP leader R Ashoka had flown with him on the special flight or that the saf- fron party’s influence was behind their resignations. Earlier in the day, Congress MLA and former Minister HK Patil had said, “Nagaraj must have learnt that Sudhakar is in Mumbai and I feel he has gone there to bring him and other legislators back.” A t least two people, includ- ing an Army man, were killed and 27 injured after a four-storey building collapsed in Himachal Pradesh’s Solan district on Sunday, a district official said. The building, located on the Nahan-Kumarhatti road, housed a restaurant and col- lapsed amid heavy rain in the area, he said. An Army man and a civil- ian were killed in the incident, Solan Deputy Commissioner (DC) KC Chaman said. Chaman, who is on the spot, told PTI that 37 people were trapped, and till now 27 people have been rescued and two bodies pulled out of the debris. At least eight more are still trapped under the debris. The rescued people, including eight Army person- nel, sustained multiple injuries and have been admitted to a nearby hospital, he said. I mportant components of the modules of India’s ambitious second lunar mission, Chandrayaan-2, scheduled for early Monday launch, have been manufactured by a Union Government-run centre here, an official said on Sunday. The Central Tool Room and Training Centre (CTTC) has manufactured 22 types of valves for fuel injection and other parts for the cryogenic engine of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mark III rocket, dubbed “fat boy” by Indian sci- entists for its ability to carry satellites weighing up to 4 tonnes, a top official said. Seven specific assemblies for navigation and inertial momentum of the orbiter and the limbs of the moon rover “Pragyan” have also been man- ufactured by the centre. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) had ear- lier said all three modules of the moon mission — Orbiter, Lander (Vikram) and Rover (Pragyan) — were getting ready for the launch and the lander was expected to touch down on the lunar surface early in September. The Bhubaneswar-based institution had started manu- facturing the parts for the country’s prestigious lunar mis- sion in March 2017, the centre’s Managing Director Sibasis Maity, told PTI in an interview. Noting that CTTC had signed an agreement with ISRO in 2016 for technology transfer and a contract for supply of spacecraft component, Maity said the arrangement had helped it further strengthening its manufacturing capability. “For the current mission, the CTTC has created 22 vari- eties of valves for the liquid propulsion system of the launching vehicle to control the fuel while releasing it for com- bustion,” he said. Recalling that the CTTC had supplied critical hardware items for the Chandrayaan 1, Maity said the institution had also made high-precision com- ponents this time for the cryo- genic engine that will be used in the GSLV Mk-III. Elaborating on the seven assemblies manufactured by the CTTC for navigation and inertial momentum of the orbiter, he said these were solar array drive assemblies to help the solar panels of the orbiter and lander; momentum wheel assembly, reaction wheel assembly, dynamically tuned gyroscope, Isro laser gyroscope (ILG), mini advanced inertial navigation system (AINS) and rate gyro electronic package device (RGPD). A 22-year-old man working in a restaurant in South Delhi's posh Defence Colony area was stabbed to death for resisting a snatching bid on Sunday around 1am. The man was stabbed thrice in the chest and succumbed to the injuries while being taken to AIIMS Trauma Centre, police said on Sunday. Shyam Bodh Sah, a native of Bihar and a resident of Zamrudpur in Delhi, was working for Swagat Restaurant for the last four years. The incident took place when Shah was on his way back to home on bicycle. Police was informed about the incident by a co-worker who was travelling on the same stretch. "Restaurant employee Laalo Ram noticed Shah lying on footpath and crying for help. He informed police. Shah was taken to AIIMS Trauma Centre where he was declared brought dead," DCP Vijay Kumar said. T wo hardcore Maoists, including a woman carry- ing cash reward of 5 lakh each on their heads were killed in an encounter with security forces in the insurgency-hit Dantewada district on Sunday morning, police said. The gunbattle broke out in a forested patch near Gumiyapal village, located around 400 km from Raipur, when a District Reserve Guard team was out on an anti-Naxal operation, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Naxal Ops) Sundarraj said. The security forces acting on intelligence input tried to pinned down the Maoists which resulted in exchange of fire after which the rebels disappeared into the forest, he said. During search of the encounter spot, bodies of two ultras and two firearms — a .303 rifle and a muzzle-load- ing gun — were recovered, the DIG added. Those killed were identi- fied as Deva and Mamgli alias Mui, who were active members of the Malangir area commit- tee of Maoists. A suspected woman Naxal, identified as Kosi, was also arrested from the spot, the official said. RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. No. - RYP DN/34/2013-2015

Transcript of AR\ZdeR_ XZgVd Z_ e`

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Pakistan on Sunday agreed toallow 5,000 pilgrims per day

to Kartarpur and acceded tomost of the issues raised byIndia during the meeting heldbetween delegations of the twocountries on the Pakistani sideof the Attari-Wagah Border todiscuss the modalities of theKartarpur corridor.

Islamabad also assured thatno Pakistan-based individualsand organisations will disruptthe pilgrimage to KartarpurSahib Gurdwara after Indiahanded over a dossier toPakistan about such elements.

Pakistan has “in-principleagreed” to build a bridge toconnect with the Indian sideand visa-free travel for Indianpassport holders and OCI card-holders.

After the second round oftalks on the project on Sunday,Home Ministry Joint SecretarySCL Das said Pakistani officialsconfirmed that controversialSikh leader Gopal SinghChawla had been droppedfrom various bodies, includingas secretary general of PakistanSikh Gurdwara PrabandhakCommittee (PSGPC).

New Delhi had earlier con-veyed its strong concerns toPakistan over the presence ofthe leading Khalistani sepa-ratist in a committee appoint-ed by Islamabad on the project.

“We have shared our con-cerns regarding individuals or

organisations based in Pakistanwho may try to disrupt the pil-grimage and misuse the oppor-tunity,” Das told a Press con-ference at the Attari Border onthe Indian side

“To highlight the concerns,we handed over a dossier todaycontaining information aboutthese organisations and indi-viduals which may pose a kindof potential threat to our pil-grims. We have handed thisover with a request that theyseriously act upon it,” Das said.

The Pakistan side assuredthe delegation that no anti-India activity would be allowed,the joint secretary, who head-ed the Indian delegation, said.

On Chawla, Das said, “We hadsought confirmation that indi-viduals like Gopal SinghChawla were removed from thebodies to which we had raisedobjection. So they confirmed inthat Chawla had been removedfrom PSGPC and other bodies.”

He said the Pakistani sidewas apprised of the banimposed by Government ofIndia on the US-based pro-Khalistan outfit ‘Sikhs forJustice’. “We told them that wehave declared this organisation(SFJ) unlawful and given themour gazette notification ban-ning it. We told them we haveinformation that this organi-sation is also operating from

their land,” he said.The Indian delegation also

sought consular presence in theKartarpur Sahib Gurdwara tobe able to provide assistance topilgrims if required, a state-ment by the External AffairsMinistry said. The Indian del-egation comprised representa-tives from Home Ministry,External Affairs Ministry,Defence Ministry, the PunjabGovernment and the NationalHighway Authorities of India.

India has been urgingPakistan that 5,000 pilgrims beallowed every day and 10,000additional pilgrims be allowedon special occasions with norestriction in terms of faith. Dassaid the delegation raised theissue of encroachment andacquisition of land belonging tothe gurdwara.

“We have requestedPakistan to honour religioussentiments and remove theencroachment, besides restor-ing the encroached land to thegurdwara,” he said.

The statement saidPakistan has agreed to look intothe issue. The work on the four-lane highway to the crossingpoint at the InternationalBoundary is progressing welland is on schedule, officialssaid.

It will be completed bySeptember-end. India is con-structing a state-of-the-art con-struction passenger terminalfacility that can accommodate15,000 passengers, they said.

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Amonth after Navjot SinghSidhu had given his resig-

nation as the Punjab CabinetMinister to Congress nationalpresident Rahul Gandhi, thecricketer-turned-politician onSunday made his resignationletter public on social mediafuelling speculation regardinghis future course of action.

Sidhu shared his resigna-tion letter, addressed to “IndianNational Congress presidentRahul Gandhi” on Twitter,which he “submitted on June10, 2019”, a day after he metRahul and Priyanka Gandhi inthe national Capital.

In related tweet, Sidhudeclared that he will also besending his resignation toPunjab Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh. However tillthe filing of the report, theChief Minister’s Office deniedreceiving his resignation.

The 55-year-old Sidhu hadmet the party central leadershipon June 9 after Amarinderdivested the former cricketer of

the Local Government andTourism Departments on June6 after accusing him of being a“non-performer” Minister thatcost the Congress during 2019Lok Sabha polls in the State’surban areas.

Sidhu had blamed theChief Minister of “singling himout for no reason” and defend-ed himself by doling out figuresand numbers to prove thaturban areas performed betterthan the rural areas of the Stateduring elections.

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The Congress efforts to wooits rebel MLAs back in its

fold received a jolt on Sundayas one of the lawmakers arrivedin Mumbai after assuring theCongress crisis managers of apossible rethink on his decisionto quit.

Rebel Congress MLA MTBNagaraj flew to Mumbai onSunday, where he made it clearthat there was no question of withdrawing hisresignation.

Leaders of the Congress-JD(S) coalition held talks withNagaraj on Saturday and wereconfident that he would takeback his resignation and helpthem salvage the 13-month-oldHD Kumaraswamy-ledGovernment that is on thebrink of collapse.

Before emplaning a char-

tered flight for Mumbai, theHoskote MLA told reportersthat he intended to take a finalcall on taking back his resig-nation after talks withChikkaballapura MLA KSudhakar. Nagaraj andSudhakar had submitted theirresignations to Speaker KRRamesh Kumar on July 10.

Later in the day, speakingto reporters in Mumbai,Nagaraj said there was no ques-tion of withdrawing his resig-nation and that he was “firm”

on the decision.Stating that all MLAs who

have resigned are together, hedenied that senior BJP leader RAshoka had flown with him onthe special flight or that the saf-fron party’s influence wasbehind their resignations.

Earlier in the day, CongressMLA and former Minister HKPatil had said, “Nagaraj musthave learnt that Sudhakar is inMumbai and I feel he has gonethere to bring him and otherlegislators back.”

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At least two people, includ-ing an Army man, were

killed and 27 injured after afour-storey building collapsedin Himachal Pradesh’s Solandistrict on Sunday, a districtofficial said.

The building, located onthe Nahan-Kumarhatti road,housed a restaurant and col-lapsed amid heavy rain in thearea, he said.

An Army man and a civil-ian were killed in the incident,Solan Deputy Commissioner(DC) KC Chaman said.

Chaman, who is on thespot, told PTI that 37 peoplewere trapped, and till now 27people have been rescued and

two bodies pulled out of thedebris. At least eight more arestill trapped under the debris.

The rescued people,including eight Army person-nel, sustained multiple injuriesand have been admitted to anearby hospital, he said.

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Important components of themodules of India’s ambitious

second lunar mission,Chandrayaan-2, scheduled forearly Monday launch, havebeen manufactured by a UnionGovernment-run centre here,an official said on Sunday.

The Central Tool Roomand Training Centre (CTTC)has manufactured 22 types ofvalves for fuel injection andother parts for the cryogenicengine of the GeosynchronousSatellite Launch Vehicle(GSLV) Mark III rocket,dubbed “fat boy” by Indian sci-entists for its ability to carrysatellites weighing up to 4tonnes, a top official said.

Seven specific assembliesfor navigation and inertialmomentum of the orbiter andthe limbs of the moon rover“Pragyan” have also been man-ufactured by the centre.

The Indian Space ResearchOrganisation (ISRO) had ear-lier said all three modules of themoon mission — Orbiter,Lander (Vikram) and Rover(Pragyan) — were getting readyfor the launch and the landerwas expected to touch down onthe lunar surface early inSeptember.

The Bhubaneswar-basedinstitution had started manu-facturing the parts for thecountry’s prestigious lunar mis-sion in March 2017, the centre’s Managing DirectorSibasis Maity, told PTI in aninterview.

Noting that CTTC hadsigned an agreement with ISROin 2016 for technology transferand a contract for supply ofspacecraft component, Maitysaid the arrangement hadhelped it further strengtheningits manufacturing capability.

“For the current mission,the CTTC has created 22 vari-

eties of valves for the liquidpropulsion system of thelaunching vehicle to control thefuel while releasing it for com-bustion,” he said.

Recalling that the CTTChad supplied critical hardwareitems for the Chandrayaan 1,Maity said the institution hadalso made high-precision com-ponents this time for the cryo-genic engine that will be usedin the GSLV Mk-III.

Elaborating on the sevenassemblies manufactured bythe CTTC for navigation andinertial momentum of theorbiter, he said these were solararray drive assemblies to helpthe solar panels of the orbiterand lander; momentum wheelassembly, reaction wheelassembly, dynamically tunedgyroscope, Isro laser gyroscope(ILG), mini advanced inertialnavigation system (AINS) andrate gyro electronic packagedevice (RGPD).

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A22-year-old man workingin a restaurant in South

Delhi's posh Defence Colonyarea was stabbed to death forresisting a snatching bid onSunday around 1am. The manwas stabbed thrice in the chestand succumbed to the injurieswhile being taken to AIIMSTrauma Centre, police said onSunday.

Shyam Bodh Sah, a nativeof Bihar and a resident ofZamrudpur in Delhi, wasworking for Swagat Restaurantfor the last four years.

The incident took placewhen Shah was on his way backto home on bicycle. Police wasinformed about the incident bya co-worker who was travellingon the same stretch."Restaurant employee LaaloRam noticed Shah lying onfootpath and crying for help.He informed police. Shah wastaken to AIIMS Trauma Centrewhere he was declared brought dead," DCP VijayKumar said.

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Two hardcore Maoists,including a woman carry-

ing cash reward of �5 lakh eachon their heads were killed in anencounter with security forcesin the insurgency-hitDantewada district on Sundaymorning, police said.

The gunbattle broke out ina forested patch nearGumiyapal village, locatedaround 400 kmfrom Raipur,when a DistrictReserve Guardteam was out onan anti-Naxaloperation, DeputyInspector Generalof Police (NaxalOps) Sundarrajsaid.

The securityforces acting onintelligence inputtried to pinneddown the Maoistswhich resulted inexchange of fireafter which therebels disappearedinto the forest, hesaid.

During search

of the encounter spot, bodies oftwo ultras and two firearms —a .303 rifle and a muzzle-load-ing gun — were recovered, theDIG added.

Those killed were identi-fied as Deva and Mamgli aliasMui, who were active membersof the Malangir area commit-tee of Maoists.

A suspected woman Naxal,identified as Kosi, was alsoarrested from the spot, theofficial said.

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Instead of recommendingaction against the Tourism

Corporation of Gujarat Ltd(TCGL) for illegally acquiringa patch of forest from GirWildlife Sanctuary for itstourism activities in violationof the Forest Conservation Act(1980), the RegionalEmpowered Committee (REC)of the Union EnvironmentMinistry has suggested a way tothe State entity to wriggle outof the unauthorised forest landdiversion issue.

The violation came in lightafter the TCGL through theState Government had soughtdiversion of .7540 hacters offorest land from the GirWildlife Sanctuary for regu-larisation of lion safari lodgeunder tourism activity by theTCGL in 2017. The GujaratGovernment had moved a pro-

posal before the REC claimingthat the National Board ofWildlife (NBWL) had alreadyapproved the diversion.

However, after detailedanalysis of the proposal, theREC found that the TGCLhad illegally occupied a patchof land, to be precise around .34hactres for the safari lodge.Now, it was seeking addition-al .7540 hectares of land fromthe wildlife sanctuary to extendits tourism activities.

Seeking reply from theTCGL, the REC in a meetinglast year in June deferred theproposal saying that “The useragency needs to clarify itsintension about the .34 hactresof land under their possession.As Manager TGCIL, clarifiedduring discussion, the area isrequired to be evacuated asearly as possible as it attractsthe Forest ConservationGuidelines.”

The REC also took excep-tion that during the diversionrequest proposal no recordswere made available to thecommittee regarding the exactyear of construction of struc-tures and constructed by theRCGL on .34 hactres of forestland. The same needs to besought from the TGCL or fromthe State Government. Thepanel also found that the pro-posal lack mandatory details.

For instance, “density ofvegetation is not given and thereare no trees marked for fellingon the proposed forest land. Lastyear, the REC deferred the pro-posal in want of informationsuch as signing of lease/exten-sion of lease after 1980 withoutobtaining prior approval underthe Forest Conservation Act,1980 which amounted to viola-tion of the laws,” said the panelwhich referred the matter to a

sub-committee. The project proponent had

said that the hotel has been inexistence prior to the enact-ment of Forest (Conservation)Act, 1980 and was on lease till

2013. The lease is required tobe renewed now and the rec-ommendation of StandingCommittee is needed as it is a non-forestry activityunder Sec 29 of Wildlife

(Protection) Act, 1972. “The REC examined the

proposal for diversion of forestland under the Forest(Conservation) Act, 1980. Itconsidered the proposal and

report submitted by the Subcommittee of RFC and decidedthat before diversion of .75 hac-tres of forest land is to be con-sidered the unauthorised occu-pation of .34 forest land shall beget evacuated and possessiontaken by forest department.”

The sub-committeeformed thereafter in its reporton August last year noted thatthe TCGL had admitted thatthe said area (.34 hactres)required to be evacuated asearly as possible as it attractedthe Environment Ministryguidelines. Interestingly,instead of imposing penalty foropen violation, the REC sug-gested that “If, however, theuser agency/State Governmentfind it difficult to operate thefacility without the area havingfacilities on .34 hactres, therevised proposal for entire areaof 1.10 hactres forest land shallbe submitted to the Ministry.

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To help identify depressionearly, scientists have now

enhanced a technology thatuses Artificial Intelligence (AI)to sift through sound of yourvoice to gauge whether you aredepressed or not.

Given that India — thesixth most depressed country inthe world — has an estimated56 million people sufferingfrom depression and 38 millionfrom anxiety disorders, thetechnology can be of immenseuseful for intervention in thesector. Infact, the Union healthministry is already workingtowards using AI in a safe andeffective way in public health.

The study, conducted byMashrura Tasnim andProfessor Eleni Stroulia, com-puting science researchers fromUniversity of Alberta in

Canada builds on past researchthat suggests that the timbre ofour voice contains informationabout our mood.

Using standard benchmarkdata sets, Tasnim and Strouliadeveloped a methodology thatcombines several MachineLearning (ML) algorithms torecognise depression moreaccurately using acoustic cues.

A realistic scenario is tohave people use an app that willcollect voice samples as theyspeak naturally.

“The app, running on theuser’s phone, will recogniseand track indicators of mood,such as depression, over time.Much like you have a stepcounter on your phone, you could have a depressionindicator based on your voice as you use the phone,”said Stroulia.

Depression is ranked by

WHO as the single largestcontributor to global disabili-ty. It is also the major contrib-utor to suicide deaths.

The ultimate goal, saidresearchers, is to developmeaningful applications fromthis technology. Such a tool

could prove useful to supportwork with care providers or tohelp individuals reflect on theirown moods over time.

“This work, developingmore accurate detection instandard benchmark data sets,is the first step,” added Stroulia

while presenting the paper atthe Canadian Conference onArtificial Intelligence recently.

Union health ministerHarsh Vardhan said in LokSabha on July 12 that to addressgaps in India’s AI ecosystemand realise its economicimpact, the central govern-ment has prioritised buildingAI technology capabilities.

“The potential of AI inpublic health is being exploredin our country. The Ministry ofHealth and Family Welfare(MoHFW) is working towardsusing AI in a safe and effectiveway in public health in India,”he said during Question Hour.

Vardhan said a few of theinitiatives undertaken by thecentral government to use AIin public health are imagingbiobank for cancer, for whichthe NITI Aayog withDepartment of Bio-Technology

aims to build a database of can-cer-related radiology andpathology images of more than20,000 profiles of cancerpatients with focus on majorcancers prevalent in India.

He said the NITI Aayog isworking on using AI for earlydetection of diabetic retinopa-thy. He added that the NITIAayog is currently in the processof developing an institutionalmechanism, funding frame-work and other such steps torealise India’s AI aspirations.NITI Aayog, after consultationwith various ministries andleading academicians, institu-tions, practitioners and indus-try players, released India’sNational Strategy for ArtificialIntelligence in June 2018.

“Through the strategy andsubsequent initiatives, the keyrecommendations in AI arebeing pursued,” he said.

#���� 345� 4�6�

To meet the acute shortageof medical faculty, the

Union Health Ministry hasasked the States to rope in theretired medical teaching facul-ty of the Armed Forces MedicalCollege, Pune.

It has shot off a list ofnames and phone numbers ofaround 200 retired Professorand Associate Professors tothe Board of Governors of theMedical Council of India(MCI), a top medical educationregulator to forward it to themedical colleges in the States.

A senior Health Ministryofficial said that the move is inline with the think tank NITIAayog’s plan which had clearedsuch a proposal in a meeting acouple of months ago. NitiAayog Member Dr VK Paulhad chaired meeting withDirectorate General ArmedForces Medical Services(DGAFMS), MCI & NationalBoard of Examination (NBE)officials to discuss harnessingthe potential of AFMSHospitals for capacity buildingof Medical Specialists Cadre.

When contacted, a retiredAFMS doctor on the conditionof anonymity said that he wasaware of the proposal andwould be more than happy toimpart education to the med-ical students. “However,nobody has contacted me so

far. Also, I would have to seethe place of the posting andwhat kind of remuneration theGovernment has in its mind.”

Roping in the retired AFMSfaculty is just one of the varioussteps that the Government istaking to fill the posts, forinstance increasing undergrad-uate seats, enhancement ofmaximum intake capacity atMBBS level from 150 to 250 andrelaxation in the norms of set-ting up of medical college interms of requirement for land,faculty, staff, bed/bed strengthand other infrastructure.

The Government has alsoincreased postgraduate seats.The ratio of teachers to stu-dents has been revised from 1:1to 1:2 for all MD/MS disci-

plines and from 1:1 to 1:3 insubjects of Anesthesiology,Forensic Medicine,Radiotherapy, MedicalOncology, Surgical Oncologyand Psychiatry in all medicalcolleges across the country.

“For some subjects likeBiochemistry, Pharmacology,Microbiology we do not getenough people. Non-medicalstudents can teach, althoughpreference is given to thosefrom medical field,” said theofficial. India has 472 medicalcolleges and close to a millionregistered doctors.

However, there is a short-age of doctors as per the WorldHealth Organisation (WHO) norm of 1 doctor per1,000 population.

#���� 345� 4�6�

The NIA has arrested HassanAli and Harish Mohamed

from Tamil Nadu in connec-tion with a new terror group under the banner ofAnsarulla that aimed to wagewar against India.

The NIA said the accusedpersons and their associateshad collected funds and madepreparations to carry out ter-rorist attacks in India, with theintention of establishing Islamicrule in the country.

The Tamil Nadu AnsarullaCase was registered on July 9against Syed Bukhari, residentof Chennai, Hassan Ali,native of Nagapattinam,Mohammed YusuffudeenHarish Mohamed, native ofNagapattinam and othersunder Indian Penal CodeSections relating to criminalconspiracy, waging war againstthe nation and overawing theGovernment by use of criminalforce besides relevant provi-sions of the Unlawful Activities(Prevention) Act.

The NIA registered thecase following receipt of cred-ible information that the

accused persons, while beingwithin and beyond India, hadconspired and conducted con-sequent preparations to wage war against theGovernment of India by form-ing the terrorist gang Ansarulla,the agency said.

The accused persons andtheir associates had collectedfunds and made preparationsto carry out terrorist attacks inIndia, with the intention ofestablishing Islamic rule inIndia, the NIA said.

On Saturday, the NIA car-ried out searches at the houseand office of accused SyedMohammed Bukhari inChennai City besides the hous-es of Hassan Ali and HarishMohammed in Nagapattinamdistrict of Tamil Nadu.

During the searches, theNIA had recovered ninemobiles, 15 SIM cards, sevenmemory cards, three laptops,five hard discs, six pen drives,two tablets and three CDs/DVDs besides documentsincluding magazines, banners,notices, posters and books.

The arrests by the NIAcame late on Saturday follow-ing questioning of the trio.

#���� 345� 4�6�

Commemorating the 20thanniversary of ‘Operation

Vijay’, Defence MinisterRajnath Singh on Sunday ignited a ‘victory flame’from the National WarMemorial here.

According to the Army, the‘victory flame’ will be carried bya team of motorcyclists over 11 towns and cities tofinally merge with the eternal flame at Kargil WarMemorial, Dras.

Kargil Vijay Diwas is cele-brated every year on July 26 tohonour those who laid downtheir lives during the KargilWar. Singh and Army chiefGeneral Bipin Rawat paid

homage to the martyrs by lay-ing a wreath at the Amar JawanJyoti at the National WarMemorial here.

“I pay homage to Armyjawans who sacrificed theirlives while securing the coun-try’s borders. I also offer sincere condolences andrespect to their families,” Singhtold reporters.

A number of events havebeen planned by the Army inDelhi and Dras in Jammu &Kashmir to mark the 20thanniversary of the Kargil War.

The torch relay team willconduct educational and patri-otic talks and will interact withthe prominent personalitiesand students in various educa-tional institutes.

#���� 345� 4�6�

ARashtriya SwayamsevakSangh (RSS) affiliate

requested Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on Sunday toban TikTok and Helo, claimingthat these two Chinese social media applications hadbecome a hub for “anti-nation-al” content.

In a letter written to Modi,Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM)co-convener Ashwani Mahajanhighlighted the organisation’sconcerns over the two plat-forms, which he alleged wereexposing India’s youth to beinginfluenced by “vested interests”.

“In recent weeks, TikTokhas become a hub for anti-national content that is beingshared extensively on the appli-cation and which can rupturethe fabric of our society,”Mahajan said.

Talking about Helo, theSJM leader alleged that the appwas found paying Rs 7 crore forover 11,000 morphed political ads on other socialmedia platforms.

“Some of these ads wereusing morphed pictures ofsenior Indian political leaders.Functionaries of the BJP them-selves wrote to the EC duringthe last general election raisingthese concerns,” he said.

Mahajan demanded thatthe Ministry of Home Affairsban all the Chinese apps,including TikTok and Helo, inthe country. “As some seg-ments of the Chinese estab-lishment have negative inten-tions with regard to the sover-eignty and integrity of India,”he said.

The SJM co-convenerclaimed that the combinationof apps like TikTok and inter-ventions by ChineseGovernment can be used togain access to the private livesof Indian citizens and “createsocial turmoil in our country”.

Mahajan expressed con-cern that India currently didnot have any regulations tomonitor the applications pro-vided on Play Store in Androidmobile phones and App Storein iPhones.

He requested theGovernment to being a newlaw that requires testing andregulation of such apps to“protect our national security”as well as the privacy of citizens.

#���� 345� 4�6��

Aday after Ram Lal wentback to the RSS after hold-

ing the post of general secretary(organisation) for over 13 years,BJP president Amit Shah onSunday elevated party’s jointgeneral secretary (organisa-tion) BL Santosh to the all-important post.

The BJP said in a statement that he will assumehis new responsibility withimmediate effect.

A RSS ‘pracharak’ who isworking in the BJP since 2006,Santosh is considered an ideo-logue who is equally well-versed with the dynamics ofelectoral politics.

It is considered that heenjoys the trust of PrimeMinister Narendra Modi andShah. His views have oftenplayed a key role in the party’sdecisions related to southernstates, especially Karnataka, aplace he hails from and wherehe was the BJP’s general secre-tary (organisation) for eightyears from 2006.

In 2014, the BJP gave hima national position, makinghim one of the associates ofRamlal as a joint general sec-retary (organisation). He was given the charge of south-

ern States.An assertive leader who

can effectively espouse theparty’s Hindutva ideology,Santosh’s appointment to thesecond most powerful post inthe party assumes extra significance at a time when itis set to undergo organisa-tional changes.

Ahead of the recent LokSabha elections, he had strong-ly defended the BJP’s surprisedecision to not give ticket to itssenior leader Ananth Kumar’s widow Tejaswini

Ananth Kumar from her hus-band’s pocket borough ofBangalore South.

Though the move had ruf-fled the feathers of a section ofthe state leaders, BJP candidateTejasvi Surya easily won fromthe seat. The BJP also improvedits show in the general electionin southern States likeTelangana and Karnataka butcould not make much headwayin Andhra Pradesh, Kerala andTamil Nadu.

As organisational electionsin the BJP are due in the com-ing months and speculation rifethat Shah, who is also theHome Minister, may relin-quish his party post, Santosh’srole will be crucial in steeringthe organisation through thesechanges, while keeping it bat-tle-ready for the assembly elec-tions ahead.

Santosh’s predecessorRamlal was moved back to theRSS after holding the positionfor over 13 years.

The post of general secre-tary (organisation) is alwayskept by a leader with the RSSbackground as it allows theHindutva organisation to havean important say in its affairswhile allowing him to serve asa bridge between the BJP andits ideological parent.

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chhattisgarh 03RAIPUR | MONDAY | JULY 15, 2019

By Dr Sushil TrivediThe Government of India had

categorically declared, some timeago, that Left Wing Extremists(LWEs) pose the most seriousthreat to the country’s internalsecurity. During the last five years,LWEs have retreated to a limitedgeographical area, and are nowmostly active in the tri-junctionalong the Chhattisgarh-Odisha-Andhra Pradesh border andMa harashtr a-C h h att i sgarh-Madhya Pradesh border.

The Indian government, in arecent meeting, has directedcentral forces and state policepersonnel deployed in the LWE-prevalent areas to make a decisivepush to tackle the LWEs.

The maximum presence ofLWEs continues to be inChhattisgarh. It is important to

analyze the factors for continuedviolence by LWEs in the area,posing such a serious challenge tothe growth story of Chhattisgarh.

The administration in thetribal areas of Chhattisgarh hasfailed to deliver services requiredby the people. Consequently,people living in far flung areashave been denied an equal pace ofdevelopment. Social conflictsarising from this deprivation havenot been adequately resolved byharmonizing the competing andconflicting values, identities andinterests. The local administrationhas been more concerned aboutspending the funds than actualdelivery of goods and services.

Corruption and its proliferationare by-products of no-governanceand bad governance. Thegovernance record in providing

education, health care and povertyalleviation programmes has beendisastrous, leading to public agonyand mistrust in the system. Thisultimately contributed to internaldisturbances and provided anopportunity to the LWEs toestablish the epicentre of theirmovement in the tribal area of Bastar.

The administration in theLWE-hit Bastar area - dominatedby tribals - has been afflicted byvarious ailments: lack of profes-sionalism and poor capacity-building; inefficient incentivesystems that do not appreciateupright and outstanding persons,but occasionally even reward thecorrupt and incompetent; lack ofadequate transparency andaccountability procedures; nosecurity for whistle blowers;arbitrary and whimsical transfer

of personnel; political interferenceand administrative acquiescenceand erosion in values and ethics.

In this context, administrativereforms are immediately needed toensure that a transparent structureis in place. To see that schemes areplanned and implemented accord-ing to the needs of the people ofBastar, various levels of approvalprocesses should be cut down. Thepresent system of getting every-thing approved from the state gov-ernment delays the developmentprocess and hampers growth ofinnovation at the district level.Proper use of modern technologymust be promoted to expeditedecision making and to reach thelast mile with the benefits ofgovernance.

A paradigm shift in the natureof government officials would

help cope with the demands andchanges in society. The currentcrop of government officials seemto have no commitment to publicservice. They mostly believe indoing their paper work and showingthe achievement of financialtargets. This ought to be changedand achievement of real targets inletter and spirit must be ensured.

Chhattisgarh has a vibrantdemocracy and a civil societywhich enables the proceduralaspects of democratic governance.However, the substantial aspect ismostly elusive, with public institu-tions being inaccessible to a largesection of the people. Despite apromising institutional context,the structures of governance haveremained ineffectual in fulfillingthe basic needs of the tribals inBastar.

Decentralization and account-ability, transparency and respon-siveness would make the officersand employees at district levelmore responsible. This mayinspire them to work for peacefulconflict management also. Forthis, Bastar does not need morestrong men, but more committedpersons. Without committed per-sons, no amount of money, noamount of equipment and noamount of resources will bringdevelopment and peace in Bastar.

We must strengthen the dem-ocratic institutions by good gover-nance. In this regard, political par-ties and their grass root workerswill also have to come forwardbecause democratic assertion andarticulation cannot be done by thecivil administration or securityforces alone. The political parties

will have to go to the people toreiterate that the government iscommitted to the welfare of thepeople and also to convince thepeople that the LWEs are there tobring destruction and have notrealized the so called ‘goal’ ofattaining socialism even in onesmall village. This kind of politicalmove will help win back supportof the people for anti- LWE opera-tions.

So, a three–pronged strategyof maximum security measures,welfare and development activitiesand political commitment willhave to be implemented simulta-neously to combat extremism andrestore normal life.

(The author, a retired officerof the Indian AdministrativeService. He can be contacted [email protected])

Fighting Left Wing extremism needs better governance

STAFF REPORTER nRAIPUR

Four of the ministers instate cabinet on Sunday

held talk with Kabirpanthisover ‘egg controversy in midday meal’ but the meetingremained inconclusive asthe later were adamant ontheir demand of not to serveeggs in schools and‘Anganwadis’ of state.

Now reports say thatChief Minister BhupeshBaghel will take a finaldecision on the matter soon.

In the meeting withKabirpanthis convened hereat New Circuit House,Home Minister TamradhwajSahu, Women and ChildDevelopment minister Anila

Bhedia, UrbanAdministration ministerShiv Daharia and SchoolEducation Minister DrPremsai Singh were present.

Premsai later whiletalking to media personsinformed that the meetingremained inconclusive as

the Kabirpanthis, who arestrongly opposing to thedecision of state governmentof providing eggs in mid-daymeal to students of govern-ment schools in state, wereadamant on their demand.

``As the meetingremained inconclusive nowthe Chief Minister will makethe final decision in thematter soon’’ Premsaifurther added.

Notable, Kabirpanthishave threatened of launchingan indefinite agitation at thepilgrimage of Sant Kabir,Damakheda, by blocking thenational highway there fromJuly 16 if government goesahead with the decision ofserving eggs in mid-daymeal.

CM to decide on Eggmenu in mid-day meal KORBA: A jail inmate died while

another was injured after the duotried to cross the jail walls ofKatghora sub-jail in an attempt to runaway from the prison, policeinformed here on Sunday. Thedeceased was identified as RameshKumar while Ashok Kumar sufferedleg fracture, AdditionalSuperintendent of Police (ASP) KorbaJai Prakash Badhai said that theunsuccessful attempt was made onSaturday night. According to police,on Saturday, after the evening prayerboth inmates climbed on the firstfloor with the window of the jail bar-rack and then via the pipe reached tothe second floor. The distancebetween second floor and the outerwall was too much but both gave it ashot and jumped from the secondfloor to catch the outer wall. However,they could not reach the wall and hitthe ground, police informed.

Ramesh suffered internal injuriesand was taken to hospital where hesuccumbed to injuries.

Two prisoners tryto jump off ‘jailwall’, one dead

STAFF REPORTER n RAIPUR

Congress national general secretaryand party in-charge for

Chhattisgarh PL Punia on Sunday lav-ished praise on Bhupesh Baghel gov-ernment for its vision to boost ruraleconomy through Narva, Garva,Ghurva and Badi (NGGB) project.

Punia while talking to media per-

sons at party’s state headquarters RajivBhawan appreciated the efforts ofBaghel government in boosting therural economy through NGGB.

“It’s one of the best schemes forempowering the rural populace andstrengthening their economy. Withhaving foresightedness it will yield amajor result in the long term”, he said.

Regarding one-to-one talks withthe ministers in state cabinet, heinformed that the ministers haveapprised him about the works theyhave undertaken and also the work-plans to be executed in near future.

Pradesh Congress CommitteeChief Mohan Markam was also presentduring the press conference.

STAFF REPORTER nJAGDALPUR

Chhattisgarh’s oppositionBJP has stepped up contact

drives in Chitrakot andDantewada assembly seatswhere assembly bypolls will beheld in coming up months. Thedates for both the seats have notbeen announced so far.

The Chitrakot seat fellvacant after resignation ofCongress MLA Deepak Baijwho has been elected to LokSabha 2019 from Bastar seatwhile Dantewada seat becamevacant after sitting BJP MLA

Bhima Mandavi was killed byalleged Naxals in April thisyear.

BJP state president VikramUsendi during a meeting atTokapal and tour of ChitrakotAssembly constituency urgedparty workers to wrest the seatfrom Congress. He said that theparty should launch a door-to-door membership drive in theconstituency.

Usendi while motivatingthe party workers saidChitrakot seat had been party’sstronghold till late last year andparty cadres must ensure thatBJP wins the seat.

Former Minister and BJP’stribal leader Kedar Kashyap,former Lok Sabha MP fromBastar Dinesh Kashyap andother leaders also claimed thatparty would win both the seatson the basis of the hard workand dedication of partyworkers.

STAFF REPORTER n RAIPUR

Chhattisgarh governmenthas initiated the renewal

of all the existing categories ofration cards for which in allvillage panchayat and wards ofcivic bodies, the camps will beheld to receive the applica-tions.

The applications can besubmitted from July 15 to 29,2019. The distribution of newcards will be held fromSeptember 1 to 8, 2019through camps.

As per estimate, about58.54 lakh ration cards will berenewed.

State government hasrationalized the renewalprocess for which in singlepage application form thedetails and necessary docu-ments have to be submitted.

The documents to accom-

pany the applications are twophotographs of family head,aadhaar card and bankaccount photocopy. It shouldbe submitted at villagepanchayat or respective wardin urban bodies.

The application and rationcard, both will be free of cost,for the card-holders. Till thenew ration card is issued, theration will be distributedthrough the old one. Once theholder receives the new card,he will have to surrender theold ones at their respectiveshops. The old ration cardshould not be submitted at anyother place.

People can seek moredetails about ration cardrenewal process from theirrespective village Panchayat orward office or fooddepartment.

Ration cards renewalto begin from today

BJP gears up for Chitrakot,Dantewada assly bypolls

STAFF REPORTER nRAIGARH

A56-year-old woman wastrampled to death by a

wild elephant in a forestedpatch of Raigarh, a forest offi-cial informed here on Sunday.

The incident happened in

the wee hours near Tendmudivillage in Chhal forest rangewhen the victim, Chamrin BaiRathiya, went out of her house,

divisional forest officer PranayMishra said.

“The tusker caught hold ofRathiya and smashed her onthe ground, leaving her seri-ously injured. The woman diedwhile being shifted to a localhospital by villagers,” he said.

The body was later sent forpost-mortem, he added.

The kin of the deceasedwere provided an immediaterelief of Rs 25,000, while theremaining compensation willbe given on completion of allformalities, the official said.

Notably, wild elephantshave killed over half-a-dozenpeople in Raigarh district andcaused serious damage tohouse and crops. The forestdepartment has implementedseveral strategies like usingsolar power fencing, trenchinggrounds and recently solarlights to stop wild elephantsentering into village.

Punia lavishes praise onBaghel govt for NGGB vision

Elderly woman trampled todeath by rouge elephant

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The cricketer-turned-politi-cian Navjot Singh Sidhu’s

resignation as Punjab CabinetMinister triggered a politicalslugfest on Sunday with someleaders, including his Cabinetcolleagues, calling it a “drama”and Sidhu a “king of the-atrics”.

Soon after Sidhu tweeteda copy of his resignation letter,dated June 10, addressed toformer Congress chief RahulGandhi, reactions from notonly the political parties butthe common man poured inon the former cricketer’s move.

Sidhu’s Cabinet colleagues,Brahm Mohindra andCharanjit Singh Channi,

ridiculed his “resignationdrama” while urging him toshow more dignity and deco-rum in his actions.

“This is nothing butdrama from the ‘king of the-atrics’. If he had to resign, heshould have followed protocoland sent it directly to theChief Minister,” said theMinisters, quipping whetherSidhu was so dumb that hedidn’t know that the CabinetMinister post was not a partypost, and his resignation couldnot be accepted by theCongress president.

Pointing out that he hadsent the so-called resignationto the Congress president onJune 10, as per his tweet, theMinisters asked why it took

Sidhu 34 days to announce iton Twitter. “In any case, sincewhen had Twitter become theplatform for appointments orresignations,” they asked.

The Ministers noted thatSidhu had kept the working ofthe Power Department in alimbo for almost 40 days bynot taking over the new port-folio allocated to him by theChief Minister. “He did noteven take cognisance of thefact that it is such a crucialtime for the power sector,with power being vital forpaddy sowing. Clearly, Sidhudid not care about the detri-mental effect of his actions,”they added.

The Ministers advisedSidhu to take any further

action keeping their reper-cussions in view, not just forhimself but the State and itspeople, as well as the partywhich had given him so much.

Reacting on Sidhu’s resig-nation, SAD president SukhbirBadal said that the formercricketer was fond of engagingin theatrics. “There is no needto write any letter to RahulGandhi when a one line mes-sage to the Chief Ministerwould have sufficed,” he said.

“It is now clear that Sidhusubmitted the ‘resignation’ let-ter one month back only toblackmail the party and forceit to bend to his will. This itselfshows that Sidhu is an oppor-tunist who only believes in selfpromotion,” said Sukhbir.

Strongly reacting onSidhu’s announcement, BJPnational secretary TarunChugh said that it was strangethat Sidhu submitted his res-ignation to Rahul who hadalready resigned as presidentof Congress.

“Instead of waiting forSidhu's resignation, ChiefMinister Capt AmarinderSingh should dismiss Sidhu ashe has made his intentionclear not to continue in theGovernment as a CabinetMinister...It’s just a drama,” hesaid.

The BJP leader said thismove of Sidhu was highlymanipulative and political.“Sidhu has today tweeted hisresignation which shows that

it was tendered on 10th ofJune, 2019 but leaves peopleconfused.

“The question is whetherit was handed over to Rahul on10th of June or today, that ison 14th of July. Further, it isalso not clear why Sidhu choseto send his resignation toRahul and not to ChiefMinister Capt AmarinderSingh or Governor VP SinghBadnore,” he said adding thatit seemed that Sidhu actuallywanted to use his resignationas a political tool to createpressure on Congress highcommand and Chief Minister.

Chugh urged theGovernor and the ChiefMinister to immediately dis-miss Sidhu in the interest of

justice and fairplay.Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)

MLA Aman Arora, appreciat-ing Sidhu's performance asLocal Bodies Minister, accusedhim of “running away from hisresponsibility and duty ofuprooting neck deep institu-tionized mafia in his recentlyallotted portfolio of Power”.

Appreciating Sidhu for hisclean image and straightfor-wardness, Arora said that itwould have been a wonderfulopportunity for Sidhu toexpose the previous as well asthe present Government’snefarious stance by scrappingPPAs with three private ther-mal power plants which havebeen given the license to lootthe State for next 25 years and

was duty bound to give reliefto the people of the State fromexorbitant power tariffs.

Expressing surprise onSidhu's move to send resigna-tion from Cabinet to CongressPresident even as the prerog-ative for the same lies eitherwith the Chief Minister or theGovernor, Arora urged Sidhuto clear air on his resignationand wished him good luck forhis future endeavours.

Former minister and BJPsenior leader ManoranjanKalia said that Sidhu was inthe habit of “making presti-gious point on smallest issue,little caring for collectiveresponsibility and co-existenceand expects from others to tol-erate him”.

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Haryana Chief MinisterManohar Lal on Sunday

said that with a view to increasehappiness in the life of peopleand to reinforce brotherhoodfeeling in society, the Raahgiriprograms were started two-and-a-half years ago inHaryana, which the people hasappreciated very much.

“The Raahgiri programmereflects that social concern isone of the top priorities of thepresent government. ThisRaahgiri's social message isconnected with the water con-servation campaign,” the ChiefMinister said while participat-ing in the state level Raahgiriprize distribution program inthe campus of ChaudharyCharan Singh HaryanaAgricultural University atHisar.

The program was attendedby Finance Minister Capt.Abhimanyu, MP BrijendraSingh among others.

On the occasion, the ChiefMinister encouraged the youthand said that this programstarted two-and-a-half yearsago has become very popularamong the people today. Theaim of this program is to freethe hectic life from stress, hesaid.

He said that the Happinessis considered the national pros-

perity index in Bhutan. Wehave also started this programwith the same intention whosesole purpose is social concern,he said.

Manohar Lal said thatevery program of Raahgiri hassome social message. This

Raahgiri’s social message isconnected with the water con-servation campaign. Recently,the Prime Minister NarendraModi had emphasized the needfor proper utilization of waterin the ‘Mann Ki Baat’ program.Jal Shakti Abhiyan has also

been started to tell people theimportance of water and tomake them aware of itswastage, he said.

He further said that we donot have to stop such programsat any time, but also have tointroduce them at the sub-divi-sion and block level and ensuremaximum participation of thepeople. On one hand, such pro-grams maintain health of theparticipants and secondly, thereis an atmosphere of meetingand interaction with people,which increases the spirit ofbrotherhood too, he said.

He said that the purpose ofthese programs is not to takeany political advantage.

The Chief Minister saidthat in order to encourage theyouth and the players,vyayamshalas have been builtin villages and such a sportspolicy has been developed forsports persons, which is beingappreciated across the country.A Yoga Council has been setup in Haryana so that moreand more people can livehealthy lives by adopting yoga,he said.

Manohar Lal also hon-oured the districts performingnotable in the Raahgiri pro-grams held at the district levelwith award in different cate-gories. For organising maxi-mum Raahgiri function fromApril 2018 to March 2019, the

Chief Minister honouredKarnal, Gurugram andFatehabad.

Gurugram, Karnal andHisar districts were honouredon the basis of the number ofparticipants in the Raahgiriprograms, Karnal, Rohtak andJhajjar were honoured for get-ting maximum media coverage,Fatehabad, Kaithal and Panipatwere honoured on the basis ofparticipation of the DeputyCommissioner in Raahgiri pro-grams, Fatehabad, Kaithal andPanipat were honoured on thebasis of the participation of theDeputy Commissioners andon the basis of the participationof Superintendent of Police inRaahgiri.

Apart from this, theDeputy Commissioners andSuperintendents of Police ofAmbala, Fatehabad, Bhiwani,Karnal and Narnaul districtswere honoured. IPS BhartiArora, Pankaj Nain, SonalGoyal and Sarika Panda werealso honored for their contri-bution towards popularizingthe Raahgiri program.

The Director General ofPolice Manoj Yadava present-ed the annual report of thePolice Department regardingRaahgiri. He said that 367 pro-grams of Raahgiri have beenorganized in the state in the lastone year, in which 8.59 lakhpersons have participated.

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To stop power theft in thestate, the Punjab State

Power Corporation Limitedhas launched a massive cam-paign recovering Rs 521.13lakh as penalty from 2643 con-sumers for power theft.

The campaign to checkpower theft was launched fol-lowing a strict directions issuedby the Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh recently tocurb the menace of theft ofelectricity in the State. Actingon the same, PSPCL has con-ducted series of raids andachieved excellent results.

PSPCL chairman-cum-managing director (CMD)Baldev Singh Sran said thatwithin two weeks of July, mas-sive raids were conducted bythe PSPCL distribution andenforcement teams in Punjab.

“A penalty of Rs 521.13lakhs has been charged from2643 consumers for theft ofpower from across the Stateand 39,953 premises of con-sumers were checked duringthese raids,” he said.

Sran appreciated the roleand contribution of the differ-ent enforcement teams whilesharing the excellent results ofspecial drive by five operation

zones of PSPCL.He said that Amritsar Zone

distribution teams have done agreat job, and checked 19,290consumers and found 1,026 fortheft and charged them Rs161.68 lakhs as penalty.

“Distribution teams inBathinda Zone checked thepremises of 1,514 consumersand charged Rs 131.54 lakhs to590 defaulting consumers. InPatiala Zone, 442 consumerswere charged for Rs 76.84lakhs, while 4,264 consumers ofindustrial town Ludhiana andKhanna circle were checkedand 160 consumers found fortheft of power and charged forRs 37.94 lakhs,” he said.

CMD shared that theteams of Jalandhar Zone hadchecked 7125 consumers andfound 260 indulging in theftand a sum of Rs 29.27 lakhscharged.

“Enforcement teams,under Engineer-in-chief(Enforcement Wing), had alsochecked the premises of 1459consumers and found 165indulging in theft and chargedthem Rs 83.86 lakhs as penal-ty,” he said.

Sran said that at two-threeplaces, PSPCL squads weregheraoed and obstructed fromchecking by locals in Wajidke,

Zira and Fazilka areas andlocal staff accompanying theenforcement squad was alsomanhandled by the notoriouspersons.

“FIRs have been lodgedagainst the people involved inobstruction of theft detectiondrive at Wajidke,” he saidwhile pointing that the ChiefMinister had asked the ChiefSecretary and the state policechief to ensure adequate policeprotection to PSPCL staffengaged in taking actionagainst unscrupulous ele-ments engaged in pilferage ofpower through ‘kundi con-nections’.

He explained that theft ofpower indirectly results in risein tariff due to low revenue col-lection which will put burdenon honest consumers also.

“PSPCL has appealed to allits consumers to helpCorporation in controlling themenace of theft of electricity byproviding information abouttheft of power for campaignagainst theft of electricity in thestate. Consumers or informerscan also inform about theft ofelectricity on Whatsapp no96461-75770,” said Sran whileassuring the PSPCL consumersthat their identity will not bedisclosed.

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Punjab Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh on Sunday

welcomed Pakistan’s decision toremove the requirement of sep-arate permit system to allow pil-grims to travel through the his-toric Kartarpur corridor.

At the same time, he has alsorequested the waiver of passportto facilitate devotees from therural areas of the State.

Chief Minister hoped thatthe Government of India wouldpress Pakistan to accept other keydemands being raised by himover the past several monthsincluding further increase inthe daily limit of pilgrims allowedpassage by Islamabad to enable‘khulle darshan’ to mark the his-toric occasion of the 550th birthanniversary celebration of GuruNanak Dev.

“This is vital to ensuresmooth flow of pilgrims onimportant days during the cele-bration period in November,” hesaid.

Pakistan has now agreed to5,000 devotees a day as againstits original proposal of 500 butCapt said that the number need-ed to be further raised, at least onspecial occasions, in view of thehuge demand for permissionsexpected to come from the Sikhsand other devotees who werelikely to descend from aroundthe world.

The CM, however, hailedPakistan’s decision to allow OCI(Overseas Citizen of India) andPIO (Persons of Indian Origin)card holders, as urged by him, inan earlier to the Government ofIndia on the issue. It may berecalled that in their MoU,Pakistan had suggested allowingonly Indian yatris.

He also thanked the IndianGovernment for persuadingIslamabad to accede to hisrequest for passage of pilgrims onall seven days of the week.

Capt said the historic corri-dor would not serve its fullpotential unless Pakistan agreedto become even more flexiblewith regard to the various issuesraised by him to enable all thepilgrims visit the Sri KartarpurSahib Gurdwara.

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Punjab Congress on Sundaylambasted the Shiromani

Akali Dal (SAD) presidentSukhbir Badal for sheddingcrocodile tears over the issue ofCBI filing the closure report inthe Mohali court in connectionwith the Bargari sacrilege caseagainst three followers of DeraSacha Sauda in the aftermath ofthe killing of Dera followerMohinderpal Bittu in Nabhahigh security jail.

“If Sukhbir Badal is feelingso agitated over the closurereport by the CBI, he shouldimmediately ask HarsimratKaur Badal to resign from theUnion Cabinet as the CBI fallsunder the Central Governmentpurview,” said Punjab CabinetMinister and senior Congressleader Sukhjinder SinghRandhawa and party MLAs ina joint statement.

Randhawa, along withparty MLAs Kushaldeep SinghKikki Dhillon, Raja AmarinderSingh Warring, HarpartapSingh Ajnala, Fatehjung SinghBajwa, Kulbir Singh Zira andBarindermeet Singh Pahra,challenged the SAD chief tomatch his words with concreteaction in this regard.

Taking the attack right intothe SAD ranks, Randhawa saidthat the actual crux of thematter is that the CBI is pro-

tecting the Badals who are themain conspirators in the case.“They hatched a deep-rootedconspiracy to seek votes ofDera premis (followers). In2012, the Badal Governmentwithdraw charge-sheet filed inBathinda Court in GuruGobind Singh Swang caseagainst Ram Rahim mere fivedays prior to Assembly electionto please the Dera premis,” hepointed.

Alleging that the CBI isworking as a puppet in thiscase, the Congress leaders stat-ed that the premier agency didnot investigate the case prop-erly and come in to action onlywhen Punjab Police’s SIT, head-ed by RS Khatra, cracked thecase and arrested the accused.“We already had apprehen-sions about the intentions ofCBI. For this very reason,Punjab Government withdrewthe Kotkapura and BehbalKalan Police firing cases fromthe CBI,” said Randhawa.

He said that it was beyondcomprehension that what forceSukhbir to still maintain tieswith the BJP whose govern-ment in neighbouring Haryanais considering parole to DeraSacha Sauda chief just to gar-ner votes in view of theimpending Assembly polls.

Warning Sukhbir that hecan't avoid justice on this veryemotional issue, Randhawa

said that every single soul inPunjab knows who was respon-sible for the sacrilege incidentand the events followingsmeared with blood of inno-cent protestors. The party lead-ers also reminded the SADpresident that the latter cannotbefool the public on the issueanymore and the doomsday forthe Akalis is fast approachingas they are the guilty ones in theeyes of the Sikh panth.

Meanwhile, Punjab EktaParty (PEP) president andBholath MLA Sukhpal SinghKhaira alleged that the CentralBureau Investigation (CBI) hasfiled closure report in theMohali CBI court in two casesof sacrilege registered againstDera Sacha Sauda followersunder pressure from the SADand BJP.

He said that the BJP is hellbent to appease Dera leaderswith an eye on Dera supportduring assembly elections inHaryana later this year.

He alleged that the ChiefMinister Capt AmarinderSingh had also stabbed Sikhcommunity in the back bymisleading them on probe inthe sacrilege cases as he didn’texercise any legal and admin-istrative steps to implement thePunjab Vidhan Sabha resolu-tion and allowed cases to col-lapse.

“I am always convincedthat Capt Amarinder is work-ing to protect Badal family inthe sacrilege cases and alsoworking as spokesman of BJP,”said Khaira adding that even onthe issue of SYL canal, “CaptAmarinder seems standing onthe side of BJP to give thembenefit in the Haryana assem-bly elections”.

At the same time, Khairasought an explanation from theBadals on their role in the BJP'sattempts to bail out Dera fol-lowers of sacrilege charges. Hereminded that it was SukhbirBadal who had forced AkalTakht to exonerate Dera chiefGurmit Ram Rahim Singh andnow his party is in alliance withBJP in Haryana.

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Chandigarh: To discuss theCBI closure report in theBargari sacrilege case, theShiromani Akali Dal (SAD)has convened an urgent meet-ing of its core committee onJuly 16, Tuesday, at the partyhead office in Chandigarh.Party president Sukhbir Badalwould preside over the meet-ing which would discuss theissue of closure report of CBI

in the most sensational caseof sacrilege of Sri GuruGranth Sahib, said the party’sspokesman Daljit SinghCheema.

Cheema said that theSAD has already expressed itsdispleasure over this action ofCBI and would furtherresolve how to take up thiscase to the logical conclusion.

PNS

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Himachal Chief MinisterJai Ram Thakur on

Sunday said that the StateGovernment is committed todevelop Janjehli as a favouriteeco-tourism destination of thecountry, since the area hastremendous scope of tourismdue to its salubrious climate,pristine setting and mesmeris-ing scenic beauty.

The Chief Minister, whilepresiding over the closing cer-emony of Janjehli TourismFestival-2019 held at Janjehli inSeraj area of Mandi districtannounced Rs one crore forconstruction of Seraj KalaManch so that the event couldbe organized in a befittingmanner.

He also announced Rs 3crore for construction of MiniSecretariat at Janjehli so that allthe offices could be housed inone complex.

The Chief Minister saidthat this festival was an effortto showcase the rich culturaldiversity and natural beauty ofthe area.

He said that HimachalPradesh has several tourists'destinations such as Shimla,Manali, Kullu, Dharamshalaetc, but still there are severalvirgin destinations whichneeded to be developed fromtourism point of view.

Thakur also said that thiswould not only reduce theever increasing pressure oftourists on the already over-crowded tourist destinations,

but also provide the touristsnew destination to enjoy.

The State Government hasdecided to develop Chanshal inShimla district as Winter sportsand skiing destination, Janjehliin Mandi district as ecotourism destination, Bir Billingin Kangra district asParagliding destination andPong Dam in Kangra district asWater sports destination, hesaid.

The famous ClubMahindra Group has agreed tosetup a resort in Jhanjheli in thedistrict. Efforts would also bemade to setup a ropeway uptofamous tourist place ShikariMata Temple. This wouldensure expansion of tourismactivities in the area, he added.

The Chief Minister alsothanked the people for pro-viding wholehearted support tothe BJP in the recently held LokSabha elections.

He said that the BJP in thestate not only won all the fourseats, but also made record byensuring BJP victory in all the68 assembly constituencies ofthe state. Not only this, the voteshare of BJP in the state wasabout 69 per cent, which washighest in the country, headded.

Thakur said that theGovernment would provideall possible help to make thisTourism Festival more attrac-tive and well organised.

He also urged people tocome forward to adopt ‘HomeStay Scheme’ launched by theState Government. This would

not only provide better board-ing and lodging facilities to thetourists, but also help in sup-plementing their income, headded.

The Chief Minister saidthat an ADB Tourism Projectis also coming up in Jhanjheliwhich would be an addedattraction for the tourists.

The PWD Rest Housewould be constructed soonwhich would also facilitate thetourists visiting the area. Theroad to Janjehli would beupgraded and improved sothat more tourists could beattracted to visit the area, headded.

Thakur announced Rs 20lakh for development ofFishery farm at Janjehli. He alsoannounced that a multi-storeyParking would be constructedat Janjehli and Rs 20 lakhwould be given for construc-tion of Bridge over BakhliKhad.

His other announcementsincluded Rs 10 lakh each forconstruction of bridge overKaveli Nala and Basla Road, Rs11,000 each to all the 21 MahilaMandals participating in thefestival.

The Chief Minister alsoflagged off the colourful cul-tural troupe procession to markthe closing of Janjehli TourismFestival-2019.

He visited exhibition stallson the occasion and envisagedkeen interest the items dis-played by various Departments,Boards, Corporation andNGOs.

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Britain’s ambassador toWashington believed US

President Donald Trumppulled out of the Iran nucleardeal because it was associatedwith his predecessor BarackObama, according to leakeddocuments published onSaturday.

“The administration is setupon an act of diplomatic van-dalism, seemingly for ideolog-ical and personality reasons --it was Obama’s deal,” ambas-sador Kim Darroch wrote in adiplomatic cable in May 2018.

The cable was included ina second batch of leakedreports published by the Mailon Sunday newspaper, the firstof which caused Darroch toresign earlier this week.

Separately, the SundayTimes reported that a govern-ment investigation into theleak had identified a civil ser-vant as the person responsible.

Working with officialsfrom the National CyberSecurity Centre, part of spyagency GCHQ, and MI6, theprobe has homed in on a sus-pect who had access to histor-ical Foreign Office files, thepaper said.

The first leaked reportsauthored by Darroch werepublished last weekend, caus-ing major turmoil betweenBritain and its closest ally.

The ambassador wasreported to have described theWhite House as “inept”,prompting Trump to claim theambassador was a “pompousfool” whom he would no longerdeal with.

Darroch resigned onWednesday, saying it was now“impossible” to do his job.

In May 2018, Britain’s then-foreign minister Boris Johnsonwent to Washington to try topersuade Trump not to aban-don the Iran deal.

In a cable sent afterwards,Darroch reportedly indicatedthere were divisions in Trump’steam over the decision, and criticised the White House for a lack of long-termstrategy.

“They can’t articulate any‘day-after’ strategy; and con-tacts with State Departmentthis morning suggest no sort ofplan for reaching out to part-ners and allies, whether inEurope or the region,” he wrote.

He reported back thatSecretary of State MikePompeo, during his talks with

Johnson, “did some subtle dis-tancing by talking throughoutabout ‘the President’s deci-sion’”.

The newspaper reportedthat, according to Darroch,Pompeo also hinted that he hadtried but failed to “sell” arevised text to Trump.

In 2015, the United States,China, Britain, France, Russiaand Germany signed a dealwith Iran to limit its nuclearprogramme in exchange for apartial lifting of internationaleconomic sanctions.

Trump had long been crit-ical of the deal and withdrewthe United States on May 8,2018.

As well as a governmentinvestigation into the leaks,police are also looking into apotential breach of the OfficialSecrets Act.

London’s MetropolitanPolice sparked widespread con-demnation on Saturday after awarning to journalists thatpublishing leaked documentscould be a criminal matter.

Johnson, who is now in therace to succeed May as primeminister, said that prosecutingmedia outlets would have a“chilling effect on publicdebate”.

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Violent clashes broke outafter several thousand peo-

ple marched in Hong Kongagainst traders from mainlandChina in what is fast becominga summer of unrest in thesemi-autonomous territory.

After issuing a warning,police on Saturday moved for-ward to disperse the crowd ofmostly young protesters whosay peaceful demonstrationshave failed to bring aboutchange.

Police used pepper sprayand batons. In panicky scenes,fleeing protesters scrambledover each other, some falling tothe ground. Some had donnedprotective masks and helmetsahead of the confrontation.

Major demonstrations inthe past month against a pro-posal to change extraditionlaws that would allow HongKong suspects to stand trial inmainland China have reawak-ened other movements in thecity.

Thousands marched lastweekend against middle-agedmainland women who singloudly and dance somewhatprovocatively in a public park.

The protests have a com-mon refrain: Hong Kong’s gov-ernment, led by a non-demo-cratically elected chief execu-tive, is not addressing the peo-ple’s concerns. Another rally is

planned for Sunday. Walking behind a banner

that read “Strictly enforce thelaw, stop cross-border traders,”Saturday’s marchers passed bypharmacies and cosmetic shopsthat are popular with Chinesetourists and traders who bring

goods back to sell in the main-land.

Many of the stores wereshuttered because of theprotest. Amy Chan, a 25-year-old bank employee, called theprotest a continuing actionbuilding on the momentum of

the anti-extradition law rallies.“There isn’t an anti-extraditionprotest every day to keep usgoing,” she said.

“I hope that throughtoday’s action, people in HongKong will not forget that thereare actually many other social

issues waiting to be solved.” The city’s leader, Carrie

Lam, has pledged to do a bet-ter job of listening to all sectorsof society, but many protesterswant her to resign. Her gov-ernment proposed legislationin February that would haveallowed suspects to be extra-dited to China.

The proposal ignited con-cerns that the rights and free-doms guaranteed to the formerBritish colony for 50 yearsafter its 1997 return to Chinaare being chipped away at by apro-Beijing government inHong Kong.

Lam suspended the legis-lation indefinitely after pro-testers blocked the legislatureon June 12, preventing theLegislative Council from meet-ing to debate the extraditionbill.

Faced with continuingprotests, she declared the bill“dead” on Tuesday, but pro-testers remain unsatisfied,demanding it be formally with-drawn. The march Saturdaytook place in Sheung Shui, adistrict that lies across the bor-der from the mainland city ofShenzhen.

Organiser Ronald Leung, aleader of the North DistrictParallel Imports ConcernGroup, said residents havebeen complaining about theissue of Chinese traders formany years.

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Atotal of 141 migrants fromthe sub-Sahara region were

rescued at sea Saturdaybetween Spain and Morocco,from a variety of makeshift ves-sels, the Spanish maritime res-cue service said.

Two boats carrying 86 peo-ple, one of which was alreadybeginning to sink, were recov-ered in the Alboran Sea, thestretch of the Mediterraneanbetween the two countries, aspokesman for the service said.

Some of the people werealready in the water by the timethe rescuers arrived, but every-one was rescued, he said,adding that among the 86 were14 women and three children.

Further west, in the Straitsof Gibraltar, rescue boats pickedup three men in a kayak, andanother 52 people — including14 women — in a dinghy.

Around 11,000 migrantshave arrived in Spain by seasince the beginning of the yearand 203 people have diedattempting the crossing fromnorth Africa, according to thelatest figures from theInternational Organization forMigration (IOM), issued onWednesday.

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French President EmmanuelMacron on Sunday sought

to showcase European militarycooperation in the annualBastille Day parade at a time ofgrowing tensions betweenEurope the United States.

Key EU leaders, includingGerman Chancellor AngelaMerkel and Dutch PrimeMinister Mark Rutte, joinedMacron to watch the paradedown the Champs-Elysees thatmarks the July 14, 1789 storm-ing of the Bastille fortress inParis in the French Revolution.

Over 4,000 members of thearmed forces, including regi-ments from other Europeanarmies, marched down thefamed cobbles of the avenue ina tradition that dates back tothe aftermath of World War I.

Army dogs festooned withmedals, members of France’scelebrated Foreign Legion andmounted cavalry in glitteringuniforms brandishing ceremo-nial sabres all paraded in frontof the high-ranking guests.

Meanwhile, French inven-tor and entrepreneur FrankyZapata showed off his futuris-tic flyboard, soaring above theChamps Elysees and the assem-

bled leaders.Standing in an open-top

command car alongsideFrance’s chief of staff GeneralFrancois Lecointre, Macroninspected the waiting forcesand waved to the crowds.

But in a reminder of thedomestic troubles the presidenthas faced in the last months, hemet jeers and whistles fromsupporters of the “yellow vest”movement who have stagedweekly protests against the

government.Two prominent members

of the movement JeromeRodrigues and MaximeNicolle, were both detained bythe police, sources told AFP.

Closer European defencecooperation has been one ofMacron’s key foreign policyaims and the president shows nosign of wavering despite grow-ing political turbulence inGermany and Britain’s loomingexit from the European Union.

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Bangladesh’s former militarydictator Hussain

Muhammad Ershad died onSunday due to complicationsfrom old age at a hospital inDhaka, officials said here.

He was 91 and is survivedby his wife Raushan Ershad, ateenage son from his now sev-ered second marriage and twoother adopted children.

Ershad, the Jatiya Partychief and also the leader of theopposition in Parliament, wasadmitted to the CombinedMilitary Hospital (CMH) onJune 22 after his conditiondeteriorated.

The former presidentbreathed his last at 7:45 am onSunday at the intensive care unitof the facility where he was keptin life support for the last ninedays after his organs graduallystopped functioning, the InterService Public Relations (ISPR)said.

“Previously, he used to tryto respond through his eyes, buton Saturday he could not evenblink his eyes,” Ershad’s youngerbrother and Jatiya Party leaderG M Quader told reporters hereyesterday.

President Abdul Hamid,Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinaand Speaker Dr Shirin SharminChiudhuy mourned Ershad’sdeath and prayed for the eter-nal peace of the departed soul.

Ershad’s namaz-e-janaza(funeral prayers) was held at theArmy Central Mosque afterZuhr prayers, Jatiya Party sec-retary general MoshiurRahman Ranga told reportershere. Three more funeralprayers have been planned forthe former president.

His second namaz-e-janazawill be held at South Plaza ofthe parliament building at 10am on Monday. The bodywould then be taken to theparty’s central office located atKakrail road for partymen andcommon people to pay theirtributes.

On Tuesday, Ershad will beflown to his ancestral home dis-trict in Rangpur, from where hewill be brought back to Dhakaon the same day for burial at theBanani army graveyard.

A former army chief,Ershad took over the statepower in a bloodless coup in1982 and subsequently ran thecountry for eight years until hewas forced to quit in a pro-

democracy mass upsurge in1990.

Despite being imprisonedsubsequently on severalcharges, Ershad emerged asone of the most powerful polit-ical leaders in the 1990s after hisJatiya Party became the coun-try’s third biggest political out-fit.

He was elected to parlia-ment several times, once con-testing from the prison even.

Ershad, who was also a pro-lific poet, was considered to bea soft hearted person in privatelife though he faced with ironhand the opposition street cam-paigns to topple him during hisnearly a decade of rule, first asa dictator and then as an elect-ed president.

His rule was marked by acontroversial move to makeIslam the state religion of theofficially secular Bangladesh.

Ershad was born in 1930 inDinhata, a subdivision ofCoochbehar district of pre-sent-day India’s West Bengal toMokbul Hossain and MazidaKhatun. His parents migratedfrom Dinhata to Bangladesh(the then East Pakistan) in1948 a year after the the India-Pakistan partition.

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China detained anotherCanadian citizen amid

sour relations between the twocountries, Canada’s foreignministry said on Saturday,though the reason for the jail-ing remains unclear.

“Global Affairs Canada is aware of the detention of a Canadian citizen in Yantai, China,” a spokesmansaid.

He added that “Canadianofficials are providing con-sular assistance” but no furtherdetails could be disclosed dueto privacy laws.

The detention followsBeijing’s jailing of twoCanadians earlier this yearafter Meng Wanzhou, chieffinancial officer for Chinesetech giant Huawei, was takeninto custody in Vancouver ona warrant from the UnitedStates.

However a source familiarwith the latest detention saidthere is no indication it’s relat-ed to the cases of CanadiansMichael Kovrig, an ex-diplo-mat, and Michael Spavor, aconsultant.

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Apower outage that grippedNew York’s Manhattan

ended on Saturday after itplunged Broadway theatersinto darkness, brought subwaysto a halt and flicked off bill-boards in Times Square.

About 42,000 customerslost electricity in the earlyevening, according to powerutility Con Edison, which did-n’t indicate a cause of thepower failure.

The power returnedaround 10:00 pm (0200 GMT),accompanied by applause thatcould be heard throughout theformerly darkened streets.

Mayor Bill de Blasio saidon Twitter that the outage wascaused by a “manhole fire,” butlater told CNN it was underinvestigation.

Earlier in the day, dozens ofpeople posted photos on socialmedia of streets, subways andapartments shrouded in dark-ness.

The blackout disruptedservices across the UnitedStates’ most-populous city, withNew York’s MetropolitanTransportation Authority onTwitter encouraging “every-one to avoid below-groundsubway stations,” whichaccount for most of the city’srail network.

Firefighters said theyresponded to numerousrequests for help, particularlyfrom people trapped in eleva-tors, and the strobes of policecars and ambulances weresome of the few to stand out ina city where light is rarely inshort supply.

New Yorkers in generaltook Saturday’s outage in stride,with passersby manning intersections to direct trafficand a disrupted Carnegie Hallconcert continuing in thestreet.

Officers shouted “let’s go!”at drivers as they tried to keeptraffic flowing, while peoplestrolled nonchalantly on streets

that were temporarily closed tovehicles.

At the Row NYC hotel on8th Avenue, dozens of guestswere sitting on the sidewalkoutside the property.

Hotel staff had asked themnot to go inside as there wereno lights for them to see by andthe elevators weren’t working,16-year-old Spanish touristAlba Moreno said.

Con Edison said it wouldhave most of its customersback online by midnight, butthere were few details about thecause of the outage.

“This appears to be some-thing that just went wrong inthe way that they transmit

power from one part of the cityto another to address demand,”said de Blasio.

The mayor was not in NewYork but rather Iowa, where hewas pursuing the Democraticnomination for presidentdespite low poll numbers --which did not escape the noticeof New Yorkers.

“Drop out of the presiden-tial campaign,” one commenterwrote on Twitter. “You clearlyhave to be in the city to -- youknow -- do your job.” The cut affected the westernchunk of Manhattan, particu-larly the Hell’s Kitchen neigh-borhood and the Broadwaytheater district.

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Floods and landslides causedby incessant rains in Nepal

have till now claimed 60 livesand left 38 others injured, policesaid on Sunday.

Thirty five people arereported to be missing in therain-related incidents that havethrown normal life out of gearin central and eastern parts ofthe country.

Heavy rainfall sinceThursday has hit more than 25districts, affecting 10,385households.

Nepal Army and policepersonnel have so far rescued1,104 people from several placesacross the country with 185alone from Kathmandu.

According to Nepal Police,a total of 27,380 police person-nel have been deployed acrossthe country for search and res-cue operations.

The Flood ForecastingSection (FFS) said that mon-soon is active and the rainfallwill continue for two to threedays in most places across thecountry, The Himalayan Timesreported.

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Amajor 7.3-magnitudeearthquake hit the remote

Maluku islands in easternIndonesia Sunday, sendingpanicked residents runninginto the streets, but no tsuna-mi warning was issued.

The shallow quake struckabout 165 kilometres (100miles) south-southwest of thetown of Ternate in NorthMaluku province at 6:28 pm(0928 GMT), according to theUS Geological Survey.

“The earthquake was quitestrong, sending residents to fleeoutside.

They are panicking andmany are now waiting on the

roadside,” said local disastermitigation official Mansur, wholike many Indonesians goes byone name.

Officials were assessing thesituation but there were noimmediate reports of casualties,he told AFP.

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Nine people died Sundaywhen a small aircraft being

used for tourism crashed innorthwest Sweden, the regionalauthority said. “The nine peopleon board are dead,” GabriellaBandling, spokeswoman for theVaesterbotten region, told AFP.

She did not say who theywere. According to Swedishmedia reports, the plane wascarrying people for a parachutejump but crashed a little after2:00 pm (1200 GMT).

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French President EmmanuelMacron on Sunday show-

cased European military coop-eration in a Bastille Day paradebut the glittering event was tar-nished by violent clashesbetween police and protesters.

Key EU leaders, includingGerman Chancellor AngelaMerkel and Dutch PrimeMinister Mark Rutte, joinedMacron in Paris to watch theannual parade that includedrepresentatives of nine otherEuropean armies in a show ofunity.

But the celebrations ofFrance’s national day were tar-nished by clashes that subse-quently erupted between pro-testers and police that recalledviolence seen at the peak of the

“yellow vest” protest move-ment earlier this year.

Police fired tear gas toclear protesters from theChamps-Elysees. Protesterstore down security barriersand set fire to rubbish bins andportable toilets, AFP corre-spondents said.

The earlier parade itselfhad gone without a hitch.Some 4,300 members of thearmed forces marched downthe avenue’s famed cobble-stones in a tradition that datesback to the aftermath of WorldWar I.

But standing in an open-top command car alongsideFrance’s chief of staff GeneralFrancois Lecointre, Macronwas met with some jeers andwhistles from supporters of theyellow vest movement.

Two prominent membersof the movement, JeromeRodrigues and MaximeNicolle, were both detained bythe police, sources told AFP.

Even before the clashes erupted, Paris author-ities said 152 people had beendetained.

A futuristic highlight of theparade came when Frenchinventor and entrepreneurFranky Zapata showed off hisfuturistic flyboard, soaringabove the Champs Elysees andthe assembled leaders.

“The army is transforming:it is modernising for our sol-diers, our sovereignty and ourindependence,” Macron toldFrance 2 television in briefremarks.

Closer European defencecooperation has been one of

Macron’s key foreign policyaims and the president showsno sign of wavering despitegrowing political turbulence inGermany and Britain’s loomingexit from the European Union.

At the 2017 parade,Macron’s guest of honour wasthe newly inauguratedPresident Donald Trump as theyoung French leader sought toform a bond with his US coun-terpart.

But since then ties betweenTrump and Macron havesoured over the US pulloutsfrom the Paris climate accordand the Iran nuclear deal, aswell as France’s new law for atax on digital giants, most ofthem US companies.

“President Trump has beenan excellent ambassador for aEurope of defence,” Armed

Forces Minister Florence Parlytold the Parisien newspaperSunday, pointing to “questions,even thinly veiled threats hemade towards Europe or on thedurability of American com-mitment”.

Macron, who pushed theidea of the EuropeanIntervention Initiative (EI2)to undertake missions outsideof existing structures likeNATO, insisted on the impor-tance of European defencecooperation.

“Never, since the end ofWorld War II has Europe beenso important,” Macron, whoafter coming to power in 2017controversially dispensed withthe president’s traditional July14 television interview, said ina written statement.

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It is no secret that the BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP) is the darling ofmany media and news organisa-tions, who treat every step andsneeze of Prime Minister Narendra

Modi as an occasion for a prime-time spe-cial. Even cricket, India’s beloved sport,was a victim of this worrying obsession.Prior to India’s hard-fought loss to NewZealand in the World Cup semi-finals, apopular Hindi news channel hosted ashow which asked: “Can Prime MinisterModi win us the World Cup?” Like manyof us, I worry about such obsession (cou-pled with an unhealthy dose of compli-ance) manifesting itself as mainstreamacceptability, certainly not good for thecountry. But this is a conversation (an arti-cle) for another day.

For now, let us talk about somethingthat flashed across our television screensduring the election season and was a topicof hot debate and discussion: India’sarmed forces. Although hardly muchtime has passed since the election sum-mer of 2019, there has been a dramaticshift in the stance the BJP has adoptedtowards the men in uniform. During theelection season, we were often treated tothe party’s dramatics, which was oftenobscene. For example, Uttar PradeshChief Minister Yogi Adityanath insultedour armed forces by calling them “Modijiki sena”, thus implying that they workedat the beck and call of only one man andnot in furtherance of their duty to theentire nation. As a former police officer,who tried to serve the people of the coun-try and whose only master was the ruleof law, I found such statements appalling,especially from a Chief Minister of a BJP-ruled State.

Sometimes, the drama was nauseat-ing: Like when BJP leader Manoj Tiwariattempted to cash in on the Pulwamaattack by wearing military clothing dur-ing a political rally. I am pretty certainthat such antics make a mockery of whatit means to be a soldier and belittles a hal-lowed uniform. Prime Minister Modi, too,often piggybacked on the armed forces.For instance, in some of his rallies, therewere photographs of the security forcespersonnel killed in the February 14 sui-cide bombing in Pulwama. While thesewere absolutely crass, there was at leastenthusiasm from the BJP about thearmed forces. But how do we determineif this Government actually cares aboutthe country’s armed forces? Or does itmerely aim to rely on them for politicalpoints?

One way to do so is to look at the wayit has dealt with one of the most shock-ing tragedies on Indian soil: The Pulwamaterror attack. It is obvious that theGovernment will make sure that no suchattack happens on Indian soil in the futurebut why have we been kept in the dark

about the intelligence failuresthat eventually led to such adeadly attack? In order toensure that the lives of our sol-diers are not in jeopardy, wemust understand how theseattacks occurred and how dowe plan to avert them in thefuture? On this aspect, howev-er, there have been no ques-tions from the media and noanswers from the Government.

Another relevant barome-ter is the number of terroristattacks that have taken place inIndia since 2014. In a writtenreply by Minister of State forHome Affairs, it was statedthat the number of terroristincidents in Jammu & Kashmiralone jumped 177 per cent inthe past five years. This is afrightening number.

I may be trolled and manymay say that this proves thatthe armed forces need morebacking and focus from ourGovernment, which Modijihas done. To this, I say that Iwholeheartedly agree with thefirst part but disagree with thesecond. While there is a needfor India to focus more on itsdefence forces by upgrading itsmachinery and ensuring abetter life for its soldiers, I dis-agree that the BJP has any

intention to actually do some-thing to change the currentscenario.

A clear indication of thisand of where theGovernment’s priorities donot lie was when UnionFinance Minister NirmalaSitharaman announced thefirst Union Budget for thenew term of the BJP-ledGovernment. While the entiresession was extremely under-whelming, as evidenced bythe 1,000 point fall in theSensex, the Defence Budgetwas especially disconcerting.This because as part of the lat-est allocation, only 1.45 percent of the country’s GrossDomestic Product, was givento defence expenditure, whichmay be the lowest since the1962 war.

This is especially distress-ing because in the previous fis-cal year (2018-19), a shortfallof close to�1.12 lakh crore wasprojected by the three wings ofthe armed forces (excludingthe Defence Research andDevelopment Organisation).

When asked about theinadequate funds, the Ministryof Defence stated: “ThisMinistry is bound by the bud-getary ceilings conveyed by the

Ministry of Finance. Thereduced allocations werepassed on uniformly to all theservices.” As wonderfully putby my colleague, ShashiTharoor, with thisGovernment, “defence isfavoured when it comes torhetoric, and treated as badlyas other ministries when cost-cutting is done.”

For all its rhetoric, the BJPwould do well to rememberthat India has fought fourwars since independence(comprehensively winningthree), but no political leaderhas previously attempted totake advantage of the victoriesuntil it changed the way politi-cians view and deal with ourforces.

All of this posturing wouldstill be okay if the BJP actual-ly showed some action.However, as is evident fromthe party’s actions, the rela-tionship between it and thearmed forces is: Out of sightand out of mind. When elec-tions are out of sight, ourarmed forces, unfortunately,do not find any place in theirhearts or minds.

(The author is president ofJharkhand Pradesh CongressCommittee)

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Sir — The World Cup is aclosed chapter for most Indiansnow. But there is a lesson in thisif we care to learn. While thereis no denying the lovely game ofcricket, India needs to widen itshorizon. A rising global powercannot sit content with playingjust one sport. The entire focusand funding of the SportsMinistry and relevant authoritiesare mostly diverted towardscricket. Other sports, includinghockey, snooker, football andtennis, do not receive the sameimportance, despite good per-formances by sportspersons.

Other than Ten Sports, mostsports channels only show livecricket matches or highlightsfrom previous tournaments. Inorder to develop people’s inter-est, it is important to broadcastvarious sports disciplines andtheir competitions to developinterest and also showcase thedifferent platforms these sportshave. This will also encourageparticipating sportspersons asthey will receive more supportfrom their home county.

KS PadmanabhanChennai

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Sir — We enjoyed an excitingfinish in the first semi-finalmatch, where New Zealand man-aged to knock out India narrow-ly. The latter was the raging hotfavourite to lift the World Cupthis time. Although the Asian

continent was represented by notless than five teams — half thetotal number of teams that tookpart — only India reached thesemi-final stage. Rest of theAsian teams finished in thisorder; Pakistan fifth, Sri Lankasixth, Bangladesh eighth andAfghanistan last. Ever since thedefeat, cricket fans have been

stunned into disbelief. They hadexpected their heroes, whoreceive almost a demi-god status,to perform well but that did nothappen. A billion people are nowin a state of mourning. But insport, we must be prepared toaccept both victory and defeat.

A Shravan Hyderabad

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Sir — All along, the marriagebetween the Janata Dal (Secular)and the Congress was more of con-venience than conviction. Thetussle between leaders of both par-ties continued even during therecently-concluded Lok Sabhaelections. But the recent turn ofevents has shown all the three par-ties — JD(S), Congress and the BJP— in poor light. There is more thanmere suspicion that the BJP isbehind all this drama. But if theCongress could be swift whileforming the Government in theState last year, its leadership shouldhave shown the same zeal to stopthis crisis from snowballing.

Bal GovindNoida

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Sir — The aviation sector is in direneed of basic and structuralreforms. The government mustplay a more interventionist role inthe running of aviation companies.

GirishVia email

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India is standing at a crucial juncture whereits evolution into a global power and a devel-oped economy largely depends on how effi-

ciently it tackles the menace of rising unemploy-ment. As per the National Sample Survey Officereport, 2017-18, unemployment rate is estimat-ed to be at a 45-year high, reaching 7.8 per centin urban areas and 5.3 per cent in rural areas.

In one of its recent reports titled, ‘South AsiaEconomic Focus, Spring 2018: Jobless Growth?’,the World Bank estimates that every month, theworking age population increases by 1.3 millionpeople and India must create 8.1 million jobs ayear to maintain its employment rate, which hasbeen declining based on employment dataanalysed from 2005 to 2015. Surprisingly, unem-ployment rate is alarmingly high among theskilled workforce ie, people with at least a grad-uate degree, which saw a three per cent rise from10.39 per cent in May-August 2017 to 13.17 percent in September-December 2018. The key issuehere is employment generation but employabil-ity of the workforce, too, continues to remain amajor challenge.

Unlike any developing country in the world,India has all the right resources such as low-costlabour, abundant human capital and an insatiableappetite towards entrepreneurship. But the ris-ing requirement for the right kind of skillset oftenprevents us from reaching our full potential. Inthis regard, it should be noted that theGovernment’s flagship programmes such asSkill India, Startup India and Standup India werelaunched with the right intent and in accordancewith the changing demands of the labour mar-ket. However, these initiatives could not addressthe key issues at the grassroots level.

In the last 25 years, particularly after the lib-eralisation of the economy, India witnessed rapidgrowth and the benefits of the boom years trick-led down to the poor and the marginalised, thuslifting thousands of people from the clutches ofpoverty. Like in every economy, there comes atime when the growth momentum slows down,giving rise to unemployment, income inequali-ty and disquiet among the people. After years ofdouble-digit growth, China’s real growth sloweddown to 6.6 per cent in FY18 from the double-digit growth of nearly 14.2 per cent in the lastdecade.

In the wake of the internet revolution thatengulfed the world, India’s youth showed remark-able inclination and desire to embrace it, there-by laying the foundation of a ‘New India’,strongly rooted in new-age technologies of thecentury. However, the digital dividend, whichcould have potentially become the backbone of‘New India’s’ growth story, remained under-utilised. A large majority of the population eventoday lives in rural areas where the lack of basicinfrastructure, connectivity and employmentopportunities continues to dominate their dailylives. The ‘New India’s’ foundation, therefore,should be laid on a mission to generate adequateemployment and equal growth opportunities forthe people. It is, therefore, important to identi-fy the crucial links in the chain that could at var-ious stages in an individual’s life ensure the infu-sion, stimulation and development of the rightkind of skill.

The Government must opt for a three-

pronged approach to generate employ-ment and ensure employability of theof workforce:

Promote skill-based education Educational institutions should lay

greater emphasis on nurturing employ-ability and skill development of thepupils, while equally focussing on aca-demic excellence. One of the drawbacksof the Indian education system, at timeseven acknowledged publically, is thatthe focus remains centered on acade-mic excellence, and not preparing thechild for an uncertain future.

A 2019 ‘Annual EmployabilitySurvey’ report by Aspiring Minds saysthat there has been no change in theemployability prospects of Indianengineering graduates in the pastnine years, with only a handful ofthem possessing next-gen tech skills.Nearly 80 per cent of Indian engineersare not fit for any job in the knowl-edge economy and only 2.5 per centof them possess tech skills in ArtificialIntelligence (AI) required by theindustry. Not possessing the right kindof skill set will result in economicredundancy and subsequent displace-ment from the job market.

Moreover, schools and colleges inrural India, even in metros, are yet toawaken to the opportunities and threatsthat rapid growth in technology willbring about. Yuval Noah Harari, in hislatest book, ‘21 Lessons for the 21stCentury’ says that we have no idea whatthe job market will look like in 2050.It is generally agreed that machinelearning and robotics will change everyline of work. Therefore, it is high timethat we revisit our traditional school-

ing system and replace it, in a phased-out manner, with a curriculum that isconducive to and promotes a holisticgrowth of the children.

Promote bilateral ties to export talent

With 1.3 billion people, Indiaenjoys a strong and distinctive demo-graphic profile in the world, offering itan edge over other countries that aregrappling with an ageing population.This throws open the doors of export-ing talent and increasing the scope ofremittances. The Ministry of SkillDevelopment and Entrepreneurship isbelieved to be working on a policyframework to officially seek theCabinet’s approval to export talent.Once implemented, this will help mil-lions of Indians find jobs abroad andearn a decent living. However, thisneeds to be thoroughly thought out andbilateral agreements need to be put inplace to facilitate smooth movement ofworkers. Such agreements will ensurejob opportunities for Indian employeesand address the challenges arising outof a shrinking workforce. This will bea great way to potentially tap thedemographic dividend.

Recently, the German Cabinetannounced that it is coming up with animmigration proposal to help non-EUimmigrants to move to Germany. Toliberate the labour market and to fill thejob vacancies, the country will ease theimmigration and work permit processfor skilled workers. This hints at a like-ly change in the stringent immigrationpolicies in most countries to attractskilled workers.

Focus on manufacturing

and agriculture sectors A major part of India’s population

is reliant on agriculture and alliedactivities for l ivelihood.Manufacturing and agriculture togeth-er account for 33.8 per cent of India’sGross Domestic Product (GDP). Inview of the changing geo-politicaldynamics and trade protectionism, itis important to shift the focus to man-ufacturing and agriculture sectorsthat have immense employment gen-eration potential. China, for example,is now focussing more on reformingits agriculture sector and introducingmodern farming methods with agreater emphasis on sustainable agri-cultural practices. After all, feeding 1.3billion people will be a herculean taskif it’s not prepared.

Technology has a great role to playin modernising the two key sectors forIndia. Policy reforms should be intro-duced and incentives should be provid-ed so that migrations into cities in searchof better job opportunities can be min-imised. This will ultimately result in aself-sustaining practice wherein thecountry will be able to meet its increas-ing food demand and provide its peo-ple with employment opportunities.

In conclusion, India has set anambitious target of transforming itselfinto a $5 trillion economy by 2025. Thismay seem unachievable but with theright kind of reforms, policy interven-tions and focussed approach, it maybecome a global economic power andprovide its people with adequateemployment opportunities.

(The writer is a communicationsprofessional)

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Britain has failed to make mean-ingful progress towards a freetrade deal with the US amid

“chronic” staffing shortages and com-munication breakdowns in Whitehall,according to a cache of documentsseen by The Telegraph. Details ofmeetings spanning two years showhow overstretched departments havebeen working “at cross purposes” astransatlantic talks have repeatedlystumbled over politically sensitive top-ics such as rules on health, farmingand the finance industry. Officialshave begun to fear that Americanfrustration with the lack of agreementor even partial agreement could endhopes of a post-Brexit partnershipenvisaged at the centre of a “globalBritain” trade strategy.

In one message, a British diplo-mat warned that Liam Fox’s, the tradesecretary, visit to Washington, DC,could look like a “bit of a desperatebid” to demonstrate progress. Thecache of correspondence and memos

shows gradually rising concernamong officials about Britain’s abil-ity to conduct such complex negoti-ations. The documents bring furtherscrutiny to a relationship understrain following the leak of criticismsof the Trump administration by SirKim Darroch, the BritishAmbassador to the US.

His resignation prompted angeracross Whitehall over a perceivedbreach of diplomatic norms.Meanwhile, it is understood that theUS cancelled a planned meetingbetween Fox and Trump’s com-merce secretary Wilbur Ross. Evenin the earliest talks, the UK struggledto keep pace with US negotiators.One email from late last year showsthat the Trump administration hadbegan sending “less senior” officialsto meetings.

The shift, which occurred in July,reflected Britain’s inability to get “theright people in the room”, according tothe correspondence. It came despite aWhitehall amber-red alert, which sig-nalled a risk of failure and warned thatthe discussions were talks were rapid-ly “falling behind schedule”. British offi-cials blamed the bureaucratic missteps

on a lack of communication betweenkey trade departments of business,energy, industrial and strategy, theDepartment for International Trade,the Foreign Office, the Department forthe Environment and Rural Affairs andthe Treasury.

Yet, the amber-red alert remainedin place early this year, underlining alack of progress. A Whitehall sourcetold The Telegraph that shortages ofexpert trade officials were a “chronicproblem”. Changes to the Brexit sched-ule have also resulted in the most ablecivil servants being shunted aroundcrucial roles, compounding the insta-bility. The Department for InternationalTrade rejected such assessments. Aspokesman said: “Last Wednesday,the UK-US Trade and InvestmentWorking Group began its sixth meet-ing involving over 100 officials from thetwo sides. It has now covered allmajor policy areas that needed to becovered before our two nations beginnegotiations on an actual free tradeagreement. Formal talks cannot beginuntil after Brexit.”

“Only last week, the InternationalTrade Secretary returned fromWashington where he held high-level

trade discussions with key figures in theadministration, including IvankaTrump and the US TradeRepresentative, Robert Lighthizer. Weare well prepared for trade negotiationswith our biggest trading partner. Tosuggest otherwise is completely anddemonstrably false.”

The documents seen by this news-paper reveal how negotiations with theUS are forcing Ministers and officialsto confront the difficult choices of lifeoutside the EU. One email, dated lastmonth, warned that British plans tomake Silicon Valley giants pay more taxrisked a roadblock in trade negotia-tions. The Government aims to imposea digital services tax that will targetGoogle and Facebook, among others,but faces pressure from the US tradedepartment to wait for the OECD toagree international rules.

Documents show that throughouttrade discussions, American officialshave sought to draw Britain out of theEU’s sphere of influence. British nego-tiators said Washington had repeated-ly “painted the EU Commission as thebad guys” as they sought to influencethe post-Brexit legal system. Americanofficials said “it was easier to change a

regulation before it is finalised”. Notes from one meeting between

Fox and Lighthizer in 2017 also showthe US official seeking UK backing forreform and “innovation” at the WorldTrade Organisation. David Jones, a for-mer Brexit Minister and Tory MP, saidthat the US animosity towards the EUwas understandable, as “the EU hasoperated as a cartel. It is protectionist,it is an exclusive economy.”

Senior EU sources hit back, sayingthey were concerned that Britain couldbecome a pawn in US disputes withBrussels. They also warned that adopt-ing US standards in areas such as foodand medicine would have a knock-oneffect, closing off parts of the EU’s sin-gle market for British companies.

“The UK has a crucial choice tomake in terms of where its own pref-erences lie, such as on US food stan-dards and the EU regulatory approachto risk,” said one senior EU official.

“How it interacts with the EU willbe affected by that choice. In any case,UK business exporting to the EU (willneed to be) inside the regulatorysphere of EU, irrespective of whatmodel the UK chooses.”

The desire for a US trade deal

among British politicians, includingTory leadership frontrunner BorisJohnson, does not guarantee one willbe signed.

Britain’s struggles in negotiationsare matched by a shopping list of inter-national concerns for the Trumpadministration. One former US tradenegotiator said: “If Trump decided togo for it, he’s got his hands full withNafta and (North) Korea and eventhen, the UK would have to free itselffrom the EU. We’re talking aboutsomewhere down the road.” Joe Owen,director of the Institute forGovernment’s Brexit programme,warned it was doubtful that Whitehallhad the capacity to manage conflictingdemands from the US and the EU ontrade.

“The risk is big policy decisions getmade by the UK based on US demandsfor a free trade deal, rather than think-ing about what the UK’s requirementsare first and reconciling them with theUS. So you could end up with a back-to-front approach,” he said.

A senior MEP told The Telegraphthat the UK would be “easy pickings forAmerica” in talks.

(Courtesy: The Telegraph)

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Bengaluru: Asserting that thecoalition Government inKarnataka had lost majority,the State BJP on Sundaydemanded the Chief MinisterHD Kumaraswamy immedi-ately resign or seek a trust voteon Monday itself.

"I demand that the ChiefMinister, if he is honest andcares for the democratic sys-tem, he should immediatelyresign or should move amotion seeking for trust voteon Monday itself," State BJPchief B S Yeddyurappa said.

Speaking to reporters here,he said, sixteen MLAs of JD(S)and Congress have resigned,and also two independentshave withdrawn support tothe government, and extendedit to the BJP.

"You (Kumaraswamy)don't have majority. So letthem (coalition) ask for confi-dence vote or reign immedi-ately. Tomorrow in theBusiness Advisory Committeemeeting I will advise samething to Kumaraswamy anddiscuss," he added.

In a surprise move amidthe existential crisis faced by his

government, Kumaraswamyhad on Friday announced inthe state Assembly that he hasvoluntarily decided to seek atrust vote to end the "confu-sion" caused by resignations ofrebel MLAs and requested theSpeaker to fix time for thesame.

According to sources, atthe Business AdvisoryCommittee meeting on Friday

Kumaraswamy had proposedthat the trust vote be held onWednesday.

However, no decision wastaken as the principal opposi-tion BJP did not attend themeeting.

Yeddyurappa's statementcame, even as efforts by coali-tion leaders to mollify rebelCongress MLA M T B Nagarajseemed to have failed as he has

flown to Mumbai Sunday.Leaders of the Congress-

JD(S) coalition had held nego-tiations with Nagaraj onSaturday in a bid to woo himback to save the H DKumaraswamy-led govern-ment that is on the brink ofcollapse.

Pointing out that the ChiefMinister has said that withoutthe support of MLAs he willnot continue and will seek atrust vote, Yeddyurappa said,despite all their effortsCongress rebel MLAs M T BNagaraj and K Sudhakar havesaid they will not withdrawtheir resignations and havegone (to Mumbai).

He also stated that 15MLAs have approached theSupreme Court and the courtmay also come to a decision onTuesday.

Five rebel Congress MLAshad moved to the SupremeCourt on Saturday against theAssembly Speaker K R RameshKumar for not accepting theirresignations.

MLAs Anand Singh, KSudhakar, N Nagaraj (MTB),Munirathna and Roshan Baig

have sought impleadment inthe already pending applica-tion filed by the 10 other rebelMLAs on which hearing isscheduled for Tuesday.

The coalition government,which has been shaky since itcame into being last year aftera post-poll arrangement inthe wake of a hung verdict, isfacing a serious crisis nowwith 16 MLAs--13 of theCongress and three of theJD(S)-- resigning their assem-bly membership.

Besides, two Independentlegislators, who were madeministers recently to providestability to the government,have quit the ministry andwithdrawn support.

The ruling coalition's totalstrength is 116 (Congress-78,JD(S)-37 and BSP-1), besidesthe Speaker.

With the support of thetwo independents, the BJP has107 MLAs in the 224-memberHouse, where the half-waymark is 113.

If the resignations of the 16MLAs are accepted, the coali-tion's tally will be reduced to100. PTI

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Panaji: The four new Ministersinducted into the Goa cabinetwould be allotted portfolios onMonday, Chief MinisterPramod Sawant said.

Chandrakant Kavlekar, whowas earlier leader of the oppo-sition, would be designated asdeputy chief minister, Sawanttold reporters here on Sunday,but refused to divulge any fur-ther details.

Days after 10 CongressMLAs in Goa joined the BJP,Sawant on Saturday reshuffledhis cabinet, dropping threemembers of the ally GoaForward Party (GFP) and anIndependent legislator as min-isters.

Michael Lobo, whoresigned as deputy speaker ofthe Goa Legislative Assembly,and three of the 10 MLAs whojoined the BJP — ChandrakantKavlekar, Jeniffer Monserratte,Philip Neri Rodrigues — weresworn in as new ministers.

The monsoon session of thestate Assembly begins onMonday.

Asked how the new minis-ters would handle questions inthe House, Sawant said, "I willbe there to help them."

Ten Congress MLAs lastWednesday joined the BJP,increasing the saffron party'sstrength to 27 in the 40-mem-ber House.

Prior to the swearing-inon Saturday, Sawant issued anotification, dropping all threeGFP leaders — Deputy Chief

Minister Vijai Sardesai, WaterResources Minister VinodPalyekar, Rural DevelopmentMinister Jayesh Salgaonkar —and Independent MLA andRevenue Minister RohanKhaunte from the cabinet toaccommodate the new mem-bers.

Sardesai said the inductionof 10 Congress MLAs into theBJP was the "death of the lega-cy" of late chief ministerManohar Parrikar, who was atowering figure in politics of thecoastal state. PTI

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Apersonal security officer(PSO) of a National

Conference leader was killedwhen at least three terrorists tar-geted a party convention inKokernag area of SouthKashmir's Anantnag district onSunday.

The police constable wasattached with the NationalConference leader (Retd) JudgeSyed Tauqeer for last few days.

Official sources said, "ter-rorists attacked a party conven-tion in Kokernag area ofAnantnag where NationalConference leader was also pre-sent. When he escaped unhurthis security guard was hit by bul-lets and was immediately rushedto the nearby hospital".

Anantnag district police ina tweet late sunday eveningconfirmed, "A selection gradeconstable Riyaz ahmed posted asPSO, martyred after terroristattacked him in Hiller, Anantnagon Sunday evening".

Ground reports claimed,the police constable sustainedbullet injuries in his abdomenand was rushed to the nearbysub district hospital from wherehe was referred to the districthospital in Anantnag.

"Before reaching Anantnag,Riyaz Ahmad succumbed to hisfatal injuries",official sourcessaid.

After receiving the input ofterrorist strike in the area, local

police and other security forceslaunched a manhunt to trackdown the presence of terroristsin the area.

Condemning the terroriststrike on the party convention,former Chief Minister andNational Conference VicePresident Omar AbdullahSunday evening tweeted, "Mycolleague from Kokernag inSouth Kashmir Judge (Retd)Tauqeer Sb was just attacked bymilitants.While he escapedunhurt his security officer washit & killed in the line of duty. Iunreservedly condemn this das-tardly attack & convey my con-dolences to the family of thedeceased".

"The security officer,Selection Grade Constable RiyazAhmed Khan was posted withhim for the last few years & waskilled when 3 militants attackeda party convention. I’ve just spo-ken to Tauqeer Saab to conveymy concern & my condolencesfor Riyaz’s death", OmarAbdullah tweeted.

Jalpaiguri/Kolkata (WB): Aman died in West Bengal'sJalpaiguri district after he fellinto an overflowing drain, apolice officer said on Sunday,as incessant rain continued towreak havoc in the low-lyingareas of north Bengal.

Bimal Sil, a man in his early40s, reportedly slipped intothe gutter while wadingthrough a flooded street onSaturday night at Shanuparalocality of the district, he said.

Sources in the administra-tion said downpour over thepast five days has inundatedseveral parts of the sub-Himalayan districts ofDarjeeling, Kalimpong,Jalpaiguri, Coochbehar andAlipurduar.

The Met department haswarned of "heavy to veryheavy" rainfall in these districtstill Monday. PTI

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Baghpat: Police have booked near-ly 12 youths for allegedly pulling thebeard of a Muslim cleric and forc-ing him to chant 'Jai Shri Ram'.

Superintendent of PoliceShailesh Kumar Pandey Sundaysaid, "Prime facie it seems to be amatter of physical assault. Even then,the police have registered a caseagainst 12 youngsters on the basisof the cleric's complaint. Action willbe taken against them on the basisof probe."

Citing the cleric's complaint, theSP said Imam Imlaq-ur-Rehman, aMuzaffarnagar resident, was goingto his village on his motorcycle yes-terday, when nearly 12 youngstersaccosted him, beat him up and alsopulled his beard.

The Imam claimed he was alsoforced to chant 'Jai Shri Ram', the SPsaid.

The cleric said he was rescuedby two people of his village when he

raised an alarm, added SP Pandey.The complainant also said the

youths told him to come to the vil-lage, only after shaving off hisbeard.

The SP said the cause of beat-ing up is yet to be known.

SP Pandey said the Imam hadregistered a similar case inMuzaffarnagar district, which waslater found to be true. PTI

20���� ������#���������� ���� ��6������@� � ����� �6�����: @ Jaipur: Rajasthan Chief Minister

Ashok Gehlot Sunday directedofficials to conduct a thorough andimpartial inquiry into the killing ofa police head constable inRajsamand district.

The head constable, AbdulGani, was beaten to death by four-five unidentified persons onSaturday while he was returningfrom Hamela ki Ber village, wherehe had gone for investigation of acase, police had said.

"It is very sad to learn about thedeath of Head Constable AbdulGhani. My heart goes out to hisfamily members and I want toassure them that justice will bedone… Have given direction to theofficials for thorough and impar-tial enquiry," Gehlot said in atweet.

Deputy Chief Minister SachinPilot also took to Twitter to con-demn the incident.

He said directions have beenissued for a speedy investigationand stern action against theaccused. PTI

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The investigation into the miss-ing idols from temples in

Tamil Nadu has come to a deadend as the special officer probingthe case himself coming out in theopen and alleging that the StateGovernment was not interested inbringing the culprits to book or inretrieving the idols. The facts dis-closed by the top officer probingthe case of missing idols from thetemples of the State has put theTamil Nadu Government in aspot as the latter was alwaysagainst his appointment as OSD toinvestigate the theft of pricelessidols.

Ponn Manickavel, the SpecialOfficer who was appointed by theMadras High Court to probe themissing idol cases after his retire-ment from Indian Police Servicein 2018 November opened up forthe first time while speaking toreporters at the Lord MurugaTemple at Palani on Saturday.

“Though the Idol Wing of theTamil Nadu Police is handicapped

by the non-cooperation of theGovernment, we have traced 20idols which were stolen from tem-ples in the State and smuggled toforeign countries. But the StateGovernment is not interested inbringing the retraced idols backand has denied funds for evenbasic expenses,” said Manickavelwho was in the temple town inconnection with the investiga-tion into anther missing idol.

“A Nataraja idol which wentmissing from a temple inTirunelveli in 1982 has been locat-ed in a museum in Adelaide . Themuseum authorities told us thatthe idol was purchased by themfor Rs 30 crore in 2001 andexpressed their willingness toreturn it to us. But theGovernment should bear theexpenses for bringing the idolback,” disclosed Manickavel.

The officer, known for hisintegrity and honesty throughouthis 35 years of service as a supercop revealed that despite his pleasto the then police chief T KRajendran in 2018, no action has

been taken by the government.“What is more disturbing is theattitude of the Tamil NaduGovernment. Top bureaucrats andpoliticians are threatening thewitnesses who were willing to fur-nish all facts regarding the disap-pearance of the dols from the tem-ples administered by the HinduReligious and CharitableEndowment (HRCE ) Departmentof the Government.

The team probing the missingidols have traced 20 antique idolsout of the more than 2,000 idolswhich went missing from TamilNadu and that were smuggled outof the countr y. “ The USGovernment’s Homeland SecurityWing has seized some of the idolswhich were smuggled from TamilNadu. Though the US officials arewilling to hand over the idols, wehave to depute our representativesto identify the same and bring itback to Tamil Nadu. But theTamil Nadu government is notwilling to bear the expenses,” saidManickavel.

T R Ramesh, president,

Temple Worshippers Society, whois keeping track of the details ofthe stolen idols, said both theAIADMK and the DMK govern-ments do not want the cases to beresolved for obvious reasons. Therationalists Dravidian parties usedthe temple properties and theantique idols for furthering theirpersonal fortunes. They literallyrobbed the temples under theHRCE department. Their opposi-tion to the appointment ofManickavel itself is an ideal proof,”said Ramesh.

The Madras High Court in2018 had ordered the HRCEDepartment to submit to thecourt within six weeks detailsabout the 50,000 acres of missingprime landed property owned bythe temples. “Till date they havenot filed anything in the court,”said Ramesh, He pointed out thatthe rationalists and the personswho are not interested in bringingto light the daylight robberieshappening in temples across theState are the winners in this roundof the legal battle.

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Patna: The flood situation inBihar turned grim on Sundaywith the death of four people asaround 18 lakh were affected innine districts of the State, anofficial report said.

Five rivers of the state areflowing above the danger leveldue to torrential rains in thecatchment areas borderingNepal, the report by theDisaster ManagementDepartment said.

Chief Minister NitishKumar conducted an aerialsurvey of the flood-affectedareas of several districts.

Of the four deaths, thereport said, two were reportedfrom Araria, while one eachwas reported from Sheoharand Kishanganj districts.

A total of 17,96,535 popu-lation has been affected byflood waters in 55 blocks ofnine districts - Sheohar,

Sitamarhi, East Champaran,Madhubani, Araria,Kishanganj, Supaul, Darbhangaand Muzaffarpur.

The report added thatabout 11 lakh people havebeen affected in the worst-hitSitamarhi district, followed by5 lakh in Araria.

It said 13 teams of NDRFand SDRF have been deployedto carry out relief and rescueoperations in the affected dis-tricts.

The authorities have alsoopened 152 relief camps givingshelter to 45,053 people, while251 community kitchens havebeen made functional.

The chief minister held ahigh-level meeting to reviewthe flood situation. Later, heconducted the aerial survey off lood-affected areas ofDarbhanga, Madhubani,Sheohar, Sitamarhi and East

Champaran districts.Water Resources Minister

Sanjay Jha, Chief SecretaryDeepak Kumar, AdditionalChief Secretary (WaterResources department) ArunKumar and DisasterManagement DepartmentPrincipal Secretary PratyayaAmrit accompanied Kumarduring the aerial survey.

At the meeting, the chiefminister directed the officials tokeep decent arrangement forthe flood-hit people at thecamps.

He also ordered for expe-diting the relief and rescueoperations, an official releasesaid.

Around 280 to 300 mmrainfall has been received in thepast three-four days in Terairegion of Nepal against 50 mmof average rainfall recorded dur-ing the past years, it said. PTI

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Chennai: The DMK on Sundayappointed a team to review theDraft National Education Policy,saying the decision was neces-siated by BJP-led CentralGovernment's "serious" attemptsto somehow "impose" Hindilanguage.

The Leader of Opposition inthe Assembly MK Stalin saidallocation of funds in the UnionBudget to support appointmentof Hindi teachers in non-Hindispeaking States was in "contra-diction" to removal of compul-sory Hindi clauses in reviseddraft education policy issued lastmonth.

"DMK is willing to seekopinions from experts in edu-cation on the draft NationalEducation Policy, which is pos-

ing a threat to classical languageTamil," Stalin said in a statementhere. The nine-member team,including former higher educa-tion minister K Ponmudi andformer school education minis-ter Thangam Thennarasu, havebeen asked to submit a reportwithin 10 days.

The report would be sub-mitted to Union Ministry ofHuman Resources andDevelopment, he noted.

Alleging that the BJP-ledCentre was "serious" in some-how imposing Hindi language,the DMK chief said, "The recentbudget allocation to supportappointment of Hindi teachersin non-Hindi speaking states isin contradiction to the reviseddraft education policy." PTI

9����##������?���������������� ��)�9������%0 Thiruvananthapuram: The

Kerala Government would setup a first-of-its-kind elephantrehabilitation centre here at anoutlay of �105 crore, to take careof jumbos, which were eitherorphaned or abandoned.

Kottoor, an ecotourism vil-lage situated nearly 35 km fromhere, would soon host the coun-try's first-ever elephant rehabil-itation centre.

Chief Minister PinarayiVijayan had inaugurated thephase 1 of the project last month.

The rehab centre wouldhouse an elephant museum,mahout training centre, a well-equipped veterinary hospitaland crematorium for the pachy-derms.

Former wildlife wardenShajikumar told PTI that thefacility intends to take care of theorphaned or abandoned ele-

phants. "The centre can accom-modate 50 elephants, and a res-idential facility for 80 mahoutshas been arranged.

There will be administrationblocks, tourist cafeteria speadover 56 hectares of land,"Shajikumar, who formerly head-ed the project said.

The Kottoor elephant reha-bilitation centre is also planningto accommodate aged captiveelephants.

P S Easa, a member of thethree-member technical com-mittee of Koottoor elephantrehabilitation centre said theproject was a comprehensiveprogramme to provide anopportunity to study elephants.

Elaborating, he said, themain objective was to ensurethat elephants, which areorphaned or abandoned couldbe provided a facility for a bet-

ter treatment."Basically rehabilitation

involves sending the jumbosback in to the wild. But thesedays its quite difficult to imple-ment.

If a wild elephant is caughtin Wayanad, the locals may notagree to release it back thereitself. In such cases, this Kottorrehabilitation centre can takecare of them," he said.

Noting that the rehabilita-tion centre would facilitate a lotof research, a PhD scholar ofNational Institute of AdvancedStudies, Banglore, SreedharVijayakrishnan said, "The facil-ity will help us understand theanatomy and physiology of theelephants. This will facilitate a lotof research." The research schol-ar also said it was possible tooffer specialised care to the ele-phants. PTI

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In one of the biggest-evercompensation packages

given to the family of a roadaccident victim, the State-runMotor Accident ClaimsTribunal (MACT) has settled acompensation claim of �1.22crore to the family of a marineengineer, who was killed in aroad accident involving a Statetransport bus and a stationarytruck in December 2014.

The MSRTC settled anaccident claim for �1,22,50,000at a national Lok Adalat held atThane on Saturday.

Sachin Ghanekar (33), amarine engineer working withM/s Jacob Engineering com-pany, was knocked down by aMSRTC bus while he was walk-ing on a road at Takka Naka inPanvel town of Raigad districtin neighbouring coastalKonkan region on December28, 2014. The mishap hadtaken place when he came inbetween a stationary truck andthe MSRTC bus. Ghanekar

succumbed to injuries at alocal hospital.

Following the mishap,Ghanekar’s family had movedthe Motor Accident ClaimsTribunal (MACT) at Thaneand lodged a claim for �2crore on the ground that he wasearning a monthly salary of�99,380 and was the sole bread-winner of the family.

At the national Lok Adalatheld in the presence ofPrincipal District & SessionsJudge NR Borkar, MACTmember DN Rokade handedover the settlement papers for

for �1,22,50,000 to the widowBhakti Ghanekar, her daughterand parents of the victim.

The claimants in the casewere victim’s wife BhaktiGhanekar (31), daughterAkasha Ghanekar (9) and par-ents Ramchandra Ghanekar(64) Lata Ghanenkar (56).

While Advocate URVishwakarma appeared for theclaimants, Advocate H P Patilrepresented MSRTC at the LokAdalat.

In a similar case earlier, aMotor Accident ClaimsTribunal at Madurai had in the

first week of June 2016 award-ed over �1.2 crore to the fam-ily of a businessman TPrabhakaran who died in aroad accident on August 30,2012.

In that case, the tribunalpresided over by AdditionalDistrict Judge R ShanmugaSundaram had directed theowner of a truck involved in theaccident and the company withwhich it was insured to joint-ly pay �1,20,44,500 along withinterest at the rate of 7.5 percent from the date of claimmade in 2013.

The Judge made it clearthat out of the total amountordered by him, the claimantTN Rekha, wife of T.Prabhakaran, of MahatmaGandhi Nagar in Madurai,who died at the age of 39, shallbe entitled to �46.32 lakh andtheir minor daughter to �45.50lakh.

Prabhakaran had beenkilled while travelling in a carwith his friend, who was dri-ving, from Madurai to Tiruchi.

Nagrakata (WB): West BengalBJP chief Dilip Ghosh, whoseparty swept the north Bengalregion including Darjeelingseat in the Lok Sabha elections,on Sunday said the party hasnever promised to create aseparate Gorkhaland state.

Ghosh also said theNational Register of Citizens(NRC) will soon be imple-mented in West Bengal on thelines of Assam.

"We want development ofGorkha people. We are sym-pathetic to the Gorkhalandstatehood demand, but hadnever promised a separatestate," he said while speaking tothe media after a workers' meethere in Jalpaiguri district.

Reacting to the statementof the BJP chief, DarjeelingMLA and Gorkha NationalLiberation Front (GNLF)spokesperson Neeraj Zimbasaid, "Dilip Ghosh has his ownpolitical compulsions but thatdoes not stop us from contin-uing our demand for separate

Gorkhaland state.""We want a permanent

political solution to the issue,"he said.

Absconding GorkhaJanmukti Morcha (GJM) leaderBimal Gurung, in an interviewto PTI in April this year beforethe Lok Sabha elections, hadclaimed the BJP has promisedto look into the Gorkhalanddemand.

Wanted in many casesincluding sections of UnlawfulActivities (Prevention) Act,murder and rioting, Gurung ison the run for over two years.

However, for the first timein about three decades, the

Gorkhaland statehood demandwas not a poll issue in theDarjeeling Hills as parties,including the GJM and GNLF,sought development andrestoration of democracy in theregion.

Darjeeling and Kalimpongdistricts of the state had wit-nessed a 104-day strike in 2017seeking creation of separateGorkhaland state.

The agitation saw a split inthe GJM, that rules the semi-autonomous GorkhalandTerritorial Administration inthe hills, with the BinayTamang and Anit Thapa fac-tion shifting loyalties to the rul-ing Trinamool Congress.

BJP candidate Raju SingBista won the Darjeeling LokSabha seat.

Darjeeling Lok Sabha con-stituency has been returningBJP candidates since 2009,with Jaswant Singh winning theseat that year followed bySurinder Singh Ahluwalia in2014. PTI

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Srinagar: The People'sDemocratic Party (PDP) onSunday asserted that Kashmiris a political issue which needsa political solution andannouncing mega develop-mental projects will never helpachieve permanent peace in theState.

"The situation in Kashmirat present is worrisome onmany fronts than one and aholistic and pragmaticapproach is needed to restorepeace and normalcy in thestrife-torn region," senior PDPleader Ghulam Nabi LoneHanjura said at a workers' con-vention here.

"For that, the best solutionis what the PDP has beenadvocating since decades.Dialogue, reconciliation andconfidence-building measureswill help bring a change. Theiron fist approach has neverdone any good to people andsuch a policy is bound to fail,"he said.

Hanjura stressed for agreater coordination between

the party workers and leaders,saying the need of the hour wasto highlight immense hardshipsfaced by the masses "with noone in the power corridors lis-tening to their plight".

"The situation at present ispeculiar and pathetic withthose at the helm least con-cerned about the plight of thecommon man," he added. PTI

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Hanjura

Jammu: The Amarnath Yatraresumed from Jammu onSunday after a day-long sus-pension as a precautionarymeasure in view of a sepa-ratists-backed strike called on"Martyrs' Day" in the Kashmirvalley, officials said.

Since its commencementon June 28, the pilgrimage wassuspended from here for thefifth time on Saturday owing tothe strike called by separatistgroups.

On July 8, it was suspend-ed as a precautionary measurein view of the third deathanniversary of HizbulMujahideen militant BurhanWani.

The 13th batch of 7,993 pil-grims, the biggest so far, leftJammu for the twin base campsof Baltal and Pahalgam inKashmir, the officials said.

The pilgrims left in twoconvoys comprising 310 vehi-cles from the Bhagwati Nagarbase camp under tight securi-ty arrangements early in the

morning and were expected toreach their destinations in thevalley later in the day, theyadded.

The officials said while5,270 pilgrims opted for thetraditional 36-km Pahalgamroute in Anantnag district,2,723 would take the shorter12-km Baltal track inGanderbal district.

Over 1.75 lakh pilgrimshave so far registered them-selves for the 46-day long pil-grimage.

The journey towards the

holy cave shrine, located at aheight of 3,880 metres in thesouth Kashmir Himalayas, com-menced on July 1 from both theBaltal and Pahalgam routes.

Multi-tier security arrange-ments are in place for a smoothand successful conduct of thepilgrimage, scheduled to con-clude on August 15.

As many as 2.85 lakh pil-grims had paid obeisance at theholy cave shrine last year, whilethe figures were 3.52 lakh in2015, 3.20 lakh in 2016 and2.60 lakh in 2017. PTI

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Guwahati: With the death of five morepatients on Sunday, the toll in JapaneseEncephalitis (JE) in Assam rose to 76,a National Health Mission (NHM) bul-letin said.

The registered positive JE casesacross the state also increased to 348from 334 on Friday.

The five deaths were reported fromDarrang, Nalbari, Tinsukia, Kamrupand Udalguri districts, the bulletinsaid.

Giving the cumulative figures forJE/AES (Acute Encephalitis Syndrome),the bulletin said there were 1350 suchcases from January onward this year andthe number of deaths is 177.

Measures to control the mosquitoborne disease that affects the brain con-tinued to be taken across the state whichis currently undergoing a transmissionseason for Japanese Encephalitis, NHMsources said.

Health Minister Dr Himanta BiswaSarma has said the emergency measurestaken to combat the JE/AES situationwould be there till September 30. PTI

7���������������4�/������ �������89 Jammu: A juvenile justice board has framed

charges against a minor in the case of gan-grape and murder of an eight-year-oldnomadic girl in Kathua and has fixedMonday for examining prosecution witnessesand commencing trial.

According to an order served to theCrime Branch here, officials have been askedto bring in their prosecution evidence andwitnesses for the trial to begin.

The order has left the prosecution baf-fled as the crime branch contested before theJammu & Kashmir High Court last year thathe is not a minor. The case has seen onlyadjournments till date.

According to the notice, the charges wereframed against the accused by the JuvenileJustice Board Kathua on July 8 and "the nextdate of hearing has been fixed on July 15".

"The case has been fixed for prosecutionevidence... Kindly arrange the presence ofpublic prosecutor appointed in the case soas to examine the prosecution evidence/ wit-nesses," it said. The juvenile is accused of rap-ing and murdering the young girl.

The crime branch had filed a petition inthe high court against his claim of being juve-nile. The crime branch petition had stated

that the chief judicial magistrate in Kathuaerred in accepting the accused's claim ofbeing a juvenile.

It had also annexed a report of the med-ical board of Government Medical College,Jammu, which said the accused was "not lessthan 19 and not more than 21".

The trial in this case was shifted to thePathankot Sessions Court on the directionsof the Supreme Court last year.

The Pathankot Sessions Court had onJune 10 this year sentenced Sanji Ram, dis-missed special police officer Deepak Khajuriaand Parvesh Kumar to life imprisonmentwhile sacked policemen Anand Dutta, TilakRaj and Surender Verma -- were handed fiveyears in jail.

The verdict came 17 months after the girlwas brutally gang-raped inside a 'devisathan'(local temple) and later killed. She was kid-napped on January 10 and her body wasfound on January 17.

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Mumbai: Mumbai police havearrested a 40 -year-old manfrom West Bengal for allegedlysending obscene messages onFacebook to a woman anchor ofa television news channel here,an official said Sunday.

Cuffe Parade police arrest-ed the accused, identified asAtanu Ravindra Kumar, anunemployed man, the officialsaid.

The incident came to lightafter the TV anchor approachedthe Cuffe Parade police stationa few days ago, he said.

"In the complaint, she saidthat the accused was sendingobscene messages to her fromhis Facebook profile. When sheblocked him, he created threemore profiles and again startedsending similar messages," headded.

Thereafter, the victimshared the matter with her hus-band, following which the latter

rebuked the accused online.But after that he started sendingabusive messages to the couple,the official said.

Fed up with the onlineharassment, the anchor lodgeda complaint with Cuffe Paradepolice against him, he said.

Accordingly an offence wasregistered under IPC sections354 (Assault or criminal force towoman with intent to outrageher modesty), 506 (criminalintimidation), 504 (intentionalinsult with intent to provokebreach of the peace) of IPC andsection 66 of Information andTechnology Act.

During the probe, policefound that the Facebook accounthad been created in West Bangal.Accordingly, a team went thereand arrested the accused, he said.

Kumar was produced beforea court Saturday, which remand-ed him in police custody tillTuesday, the official said. PTI

��������������������"�� ������� �"� ���D���"������� Kolkata: An FIR was registered

on Sunday against the MetroRailway after a complaint alleg-ing negligence on its part waslodged by the family of a manwho died after he was draggedby a train as his hand got stuckbetween two of its doors, policesaid.

The incident took place atthe Park Street station onSaturday when the man, SajalKanjilal, a resident of Kasba areaof Kolkata, was trying to boarda Kabi Subhash-bound train.

According to eyewitnesses,Kanjilal fell on the tracks as thetrain entered the tunnel. Thetrain came to a halt, with fourof its eight coaches still at theplatform, after staff and pas-sengers outside raised an alarm.

The man was rushed to theSSKM Hospital, where the doc-tors declared him "broughtdead".

Rajkumar Mukherjee,Kanjilal's cousin, said he hasfiled a complaint at Park Streetpolice station accusing the

metro authorities of criminalnegligence.

"We will take up the matterwith the highest metro author-ities, no matter what," he said.

"An FIR was lodged againstMetro Railway today on thebasis of a complaint filed bySajal Kanjilal's family, allegingcriminal negligence," a policeofficial said.

The Metro Railway author-ity has ordered an inquiry intothe incident by theCommissioner of Railway Safety(CRS), an official said.

He said the mishap tookplace in one of the newly induct-ed rakes, manufactured by theIntegral Coach Factory. Therakes, delivered more than 20months ago, were put into ser-vice only a few months ago.

The CRS will conduct aninquiry to ascertain the cause ofthe incident and submit a reportat the earliest, he added.

"Questions are being raisedover the sensor technology usedin the rakes and its alleged fail-

ure to detect Kanjilal's handbetween the doors, but a clearpicture in the matter will beavailable only after the investi-gation," the official said.

West Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee Saturdayordered a police inquiry into theincident, which she described as"very unfortunate".

She asked state UrbanDevelopment Minister andKolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim toassure Kanjilal's family of fullcooperation from the govern-ment.

Theatre artists Sunday tookout a protest march near thePark Street station, alleging thatlaxity on part of the MetroRailway led to Kanjilal's death.They also sought a response onthe allegations from the author-ities.

Kanjilal, who was unmar-ried, sold magazines atAcademy of Fine Arts andNandan complex, a hub of cul-tural activities in the city, for aliving. PTI

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Kolkata: Buoyed by increasingtourist footfalls and develop-ment of various destinations inthe state, Gujarat is expectingtourist inflow to cross six crorein the current fiscal, an officialsaid.

The western state which is"focusing on attracting foreigntourists" will come out with aheritage tourism policy soon,the official said.

"In 2016-17, tourists' inflowwas 4.48 crore and the samewent up to almost 5.8 crore in2018-19. The annual growthrate was 14 per cent. With thetrend of increasing tourists'footfalls, we are expecting thattourist inflow should cross sixcrore in the current fiscal," saidJenu Devan, Commissioner ofthe state Tourism Departmenton Saturday.

He said the tourism sectorcontributes about three per centof the state's gross domesticproduct and its contribution isexpected to "improve" in the

years to come.Over Rs 12,500 crore was

invested in the sector in the lastfour years to improve the infra-structure for the sector, he said.

"The state is preparing aheritage tourism policy andapproval for this will comeshortly. At present, there are 33heritage properties. With theimplementation of the policy,more of such properties willcome within tourism map,"Devan said.

Elaborating on the tourismpotential and emerging desti-nations, State Tourism MinisterJawahar Chavda said Gujarat is"a rich place" in terms of itseconomy, nature and culture.

"The state offers mountainsto desert and sea beach," he said.

"Apart from the neigh-bouring states such asRajasthan, Maharashtra andMadhya Pradesh, West Bengalis an important for Gujarattourism as over seven lakh vis-itors travel to the western state

every year," Chavda said on thesidelines of a road show here onSaturday evening.

In Gujarat, two prominenttourist sites - Somnath andDholavira - would be developedinto iconic tourism destina-tions as a part of the Centralgovernment's Swadesh DarshanScheme, Devan said, addingthat "big packages" are going tocome for these two sites to woovisitors.

The minister said the stateis focusing on attracting foreigntourists, which currently com-prises roughly one per cent ofthe annual inflow of travellers.

"NRI comprises about 2-3per cent of the annual touristinflow in the state. In addition,about six lakh foreign touristsvisit the state last year. Weshould be able to attract onelakh more foreign tourists thisyear We will do road showsoverseas in order to attracttourists from foreign coun-tries," Devan said. PTI

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Jammu: Six alleged bovinesmugglers were arrested and 67animals rescued in Jammu &Kashmir's Rajouri district onSunday, a police official said.

Five bids to smugglebovines from Nowshera,Budhal and Thanamandi areasof Rajouri to Kashmir Valleywere foiled, the official said.

During an interception inSamote area, one MohammadNazir was arrested and 10bovines being smuggled toKashmir were rescued, theysaid.

In another incident, oneManzoor Hussain was arrestedand 23 bovines were rescuedfrom Nanga Thub in Budhal,police said.

In Thanamandi, a policeteam intercepted a vehicle andrescued 4 bovines, an officialsaid. The team seized the vehi-cle and arrested its driverMohammad Razaq, he said.

Fifteen bovines were res-cued from Lamberi area. Thedriver of the vehicle in whichthe animals were being carriedand the alleged smuggler man-aged to escape, police said.

Another 15 bovines wererescued from two vehicles atRajal top on the Jammu-Rajouri highway and two dri-vers, Mohammad Wasim andZahoor Ahmed, and a smug-gler, identified as MohammadShabir, were arrested, the offi-cial said. PTI

A4��� ���������������=����!!����������������>B�C��-�$����Guwahati: A leading 'Miya'

poet, who was among the 10poets booked after a video ofhis poem about alleged dis-crimination towards Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assamwas shared online, expressedregret if his writing had hurtAssamese sentiments.

Hafiz Ahmed said he hadwritten the poem in 2016 andit was not related to the citi-zenship determination exer-cise, whose final list is slatedto be released on July 31.

"I cannot think of insult-ing Assamese sentimentthrough my poems. I hadcontributed to Assamese lit-erature since long," Ahmedsaid in a statement onSaturday.

"I was even physically

assaulted for standing in sup-port of Assamese language," hesaid. "Still, if my poem has hurtthe sentiments of anyone, thenI express my regret."

The controversy eruptedafter a group of poets recent-ly uploaded on social media avideo of the 'I am Miya' poemwritten by Ahmed.

The poem, in an EastBengali dialect, spoke aboutthe alleged discriminationtowards Bengali-speakingMuslims in Assam over theyears and especially during theupdation process of theNational Register of Citizens.

Following this, seniorjournalist Pranabjit Doloi fileda complaint last Thursdayagainst 10 poets of the genre,accusing them of labelling

Assamese as xenophobic intheir poems.

Apart from Ahmed, otherpoets against whom an FIRwas filed are: Rehana Sultana,Abdur Rahim, AshrafulHussain, Abdul Kalam Azad,Kazi Sharowar Hussain aliasKazi Neel, Shalim M Hussain,Karishma Hazarika,Banamallika Choudhury andForhad Bhuyan.

Guwahati DeputyCommissioner of PoliceRamandeep Kaur said onSunday that no arrests hadbeen made, but investigationwas on.

"I am not against the genreof the 'Miya poetry' or theMuslims, but I am against thecontent of the poems," Doloitold PTI. PTI

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Chennai: Vice President MVenkaiah Naidu on Sundaycalled for a national movementagainst non-communicablediseases (NCD), even as heappealed to private hospitals toplay a role in setting up 'NCDClinics' in both urban andrural areas.

Underscoring dangers ofsedentary lifestyles andunhealthy dietary habits thatalso caused NCDs, Naiduurged the medical fraternity toreach out to people, particu-larly students, to educate themon dangers of lifestyle dis-eases.

"... A national movementagainst the growing incidenceof non-communicable diseasesneeds to be launched," he saidafter inaugurating a private

hospital here."Although, we have made

great strides in reducing infantand maternal mortality ratesover the last five decades andin controlling the spread of dis-eases like HIV and TB, there isneed to make concerted actionto stop the growing incidenceof non-communicable dis-eases," Naidu said.

He urged the IndianMedical Association to take thelead in promoting awarenessamong the people, particular-ly students.

Quoting World HealthOrganisation 2017 data thatsaid 61 per cent of deaths inIndia are attributed to NCDs,the Vice-President said he feltthere is a need to establishNCD clinics in both urban and

rural areas."The private sector must

play a prominent role in settingup such clinics," he said.

Suggesting private hospi-tals to expand its footprint tovillages and remote rural areas,Naidu said the private sectorneeds to complement theefforts of the government inreaching modern healthcarefacilities to the rural areas.

He appealed to doctors inboth public and private sectorsto create awareness campaignsin nearby schools on the need tomaintain healthy lifestyle. TamilNadu Governor BanwarilalPurohit who also took part inthe inauguration emphasisedon the country's "glorious" pastin medical education and med-ical sciences. PTI

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With promoter spat inten-sifying at the country’s

largest airline IndiGo, mar-kets watchdog Sebi and the cor-porate Affairs Ministry havestarted digging deep into alle-gations of governance lapsesand violations that could forcethe Government to overrideexisting arrangements andpacts at InterGlobe Aviation,officials said.

Bringing into public thedifferences between long-timefriends and promoters ofIndiGo into the open, RakeshGangwal has sought Sebi’sintervention into alleged cor-porate governance lapses atthe company and even said that‘paan ki dukaan’ (betel shop)would have managed thingswith more grace.

InterGlobe Aviation, whichgot listed in 2015, has comeunder intense regulatory scan-ner and there are indications ofmultiple violations of Sebinorms. The role of each andevery entity associated with allboard members and entitieslinked to the promoters arebeing probed amid signs oflapses in complying with gov-ernance requirements, fairmarket trade and insider trad-ing norms, the officials said.

One of the major issuesraised by Gangwal was aboutrelated party transactionsinvolving co-founder RahulBhatia’s InterGlobe Enterprises(IGE) Group and the allega-tions have been refuted by theBhatia camp.

An official said the corpo-rate affairs ministry would beseeking a “para-wise com-ments” from the company onGangwal’s complaint and

would also be looking at therelated party transactions.

With the promoter feudigniting concerns over corpo-rate governance practices atInterGlobe Aviation, the min-istry would examine whethermemorandum, articles, agree-ments and resolutions are inconsonance with provisions ofthe Companies Act.

The company could facestrict regulatory action, includ-ing overriding of existing pacts,in case there are violations ofthe Act.

The official said the min-istry can even invoke powersunder Section 6 of theCompanies Act, 2013.

Section 6 provides powersto override any memorandum,articles, agreements or resolu-tions passed at general meetingor by the board of directors incase they violate norms.Following Gangwal’s letter toSebi, the Ministry and others,the markets regulator hassought response from the com-pany by July 19.

Against this backdrop, Sebihas also widended its probe,launched a few months ago,into suspicious insider tradingviolations in the shares ofInterGlobe Aviation.

The officials said that anumber of executives andboard members are likely to besummoned by the markets reg-ulator.

Among the issues flaggedby Gangwal are that variousrelated party transactions withthe IGE Group were executedwithout seeking the audit com-mittee’s approval and withoutseeking competitive bids fromthird parties, and non-appoint-ment of an independentwoman director.

#�� � 345� 4�6�

Asserting that the arrange-ment between the pro-

moter groups has been trans-parent from inception atIndiGo, Rahul Bhatia groupSunday claimed that RakeshGangwal always limited hisfinancial risks and was makinginsidious efforts to create anunseemly controversy aboutcorporate governance.

In a reflection of the deepdifferences between the twopromoter groups, InterGlobeEnterprises (IGE) Group hasnow issued three statements inless than a week seeking to clar-ify issues and reject the allega-tions by Gangwal.

Gangwal has sought mar-kets watchdog Sebi’s interven-tion to address the corporategovernance issues at InterGlobeAviation — the parent of thecountry’s largest carrier IndiGo— where he holds around 37per cent stake while Bhatiagroup has about 38 per centshareholding.

“Even more significantly,during the turbulent period ofa fledgling airline, it was left tothe IGE Group, as a responsi-ble founder, to fend for IndiGo.Gangwal was missing in actionat that time and there werestages where he wanted to de-risk and pushed for the busi-ness to be sold,” the group saidin a statement that also pro-vided details about investments

made by the two sides.Noting that Gangwal has

much to answer, the groupwondered whether there issanctity in agreements enteredinto by business people —freely and at their own will.

“Do business ethics andmorals permit a contractingparty to walk away from itsobligations at its convenienceafter it has enjoyed the benefitsunder an agreement and pre-tend to be a victim?,” it said.

Referring to purchase ofplanes from Airbus, the state-ment said that the IGE Groupand Gangwal gave a jointundertaking of support IndiGoin November 2005, whereinboth sides undertook to investin the airline at least $50 mil-lion (which then was about�200 crore), and maintain thatinvestment until the delivery ofthe last aircraft.

“As Gangwal was not goingto take any further financialrisk or obligation, IGE singly(though the undertaking toAirbus was a joint one ) tookthe obligation to further investup to �110 crore in IndiGo sothat taken together with thethen existing investment of�99 crore, the conditionsplaced by Airbus could bemet,” the group claimed.

According to the state-ment, IGE Group continued tosupport the startup (IndiGo)without diluting Gangwal’spotential upside.

0��� ���� �����(����� ������?��&�� � ����& 9�(� ����&�����?��"��� �������������#� #���� 345

4�6�

The ReserveBank of

India will comeout with amobile applica-tion to helpvisually chal-lenged peoplein identifyingcurrency notesas cash still remains a dominantmode of transaction.

At present, banknotes inthe denominations of �10, 20,50, 100, 200, 500 and 2,000 arein circulation, besides �1 notesissued by the Centre.

The RBI said that identifi-cation of banknote denomina-tion is key to successful com-pletion of cash-based transac-tions by visually impaired persons.

Intaglio printing basedidentification marks for help-ing the visually challenged inidentification of banknotesdenomination are present inthe notes of �100 and above.

After demonetisation ofold �500/1,000 notes inNovember 2016, new ban-knotes in design and sizes havebeen put in circulation.

“The Reserve Bank of Indiahas been sensitive to the chal-lenges faced by the visuallychallenged in conducting theirday to day business with Indianbanknotes,” said the centralbank while scouting for a ven-dor to develop the mobileapplication.

The proposed mobile appwould be able to identify thedenomination of notes ofMahatma Gandhi Series andMahatma Gandhi (New) seriesby capturing the image of thenotes placed in front of mobilecamera, the RBI said whileinviting bids from tech firms todevelop the app.

The RBI had come outwith a similar ‘request for pro-posal’ from vendors but latercancelled it.

The app will also generate“audio notification” intimatingthe currency note denomina-tion to the user if image is cap-tured correctly, else intimatingthe user to try again in case ofimage is not readable.

There are about 80 lakhblind or visually impaired peo-ple in the country, who are like-ly to benefit from the initiativeof the central bank.

In June, 2018 the centralbank had declared that it wouldexplore the feasibility of devel-oping a suitable device ormechanism for aiding the visu-ally impaired in the identifica-tion of Indian banknotes.

#���� 345� 4�6�

Foreign investors haveremained net buyers in the

Indian capital markets thismonth so far, even as the equi-ty segment saw robust outflowspost the Budget.

As per the latest deposito-ries data, foreign portfolioinvestors (FPIs) withdrew a netsum of �4,953.77 crore fromequities during July 1-12, butpoured in a net �8,504.78 croreinto the debt market, translat-ing into a cumulative netinvestment of �3,551.01 crore.

Overseas investors pulledout money from the equitymarkets for five of the six ses-sions following the Budget,which was presented on July 5.

According to experts, theproposal in the Union Budgetto hike surcharge on incometax for wealthy individuals,including foreign funds whichare structured as trusts andassociation of persons (AoPs),dented FPIs’ enthusiasm forIndian equities and may lead tore-evaluation of their exposureto the domestic stock market.

FPIs have been net buyersfor the past five consecutivemonths, infusing a net�10,384.54 crore in June,�9,031.15 crore in May, �16,093crore in April, �45,981 crore in

March and �11,182 crore inFebruary into the Indian cap-ital markets (both equity and debt).

“During the Budget, thegovernment announced vari-ous measures to boost foreignflows and FDI in Indian mar-kets such as rationalising andsimplifying the KYC form forFPIs, allowing FPI investmentsin debt securities issued byNBFCs and hiking statutorylimit of foreign investments insome companies.

“While these were broad-ly viewed as positive steps, theproposal to hike surcharge onincome tax for wealthy indi-viduals, including foreign fundswhich are structured as trustand AoPs, didn’t go down wellwith the markets,” saidHimanshu Srivastava, SeniorAnalyst Manager Research atMorningstar Investment.

V K Vijayakumar, chiefinvestment strategist at GeojitFinancial Services, said, “Themajor drag on Indian marketnow is the faltering GDPgrowth and tepid earningsgrowth. If macro indicatorsreflect an improving economy,FPI flows can be expected tocontinue. Otherwise FPIswould be less enthusiastic topour more money into Indianmarkets.”

#���� 345� 4�6�

The telecom regulator is notin a position to modify its

previously recommended penal-ty on Vodafone India and IdeaCellular (now merged) andBharti Airtel as it is bound by theprovisions of Trai Act, accord-ing to a senior Trai official.

Citing the clauses in theAct, the regulator recentlyinformed the Department ofTelecom (DoT) that it is “con-strained from offering any fur-ther comments” on the matterand the Centre now has to takea final call on the issue.

The regulator has alreadygiven its views once in responseto a back reference in 2017 byDoT, the Trai official saidadding that as per the provisionsin the Act there is no scope forany further modification.

The Act makes it clear thatonce a recommendation isreferred back to Trai by DoT,the regulator has to within 15days, forward to the centralgovernment its suggestionsafter considering the referencemade by the Government.

After receipt of furtherrecommendation, if any, theCentre shall take a final deci-sion, the Act says.

The official, who did notwish to be named, said pur-suant to the October 2016 sug-gestions of Trai on the penalty

to be imposed on the threeoperators, the recommenda-tions were referred back byDoT on April 5, 2017 forreconsideration, to which Traisent its views to theGovernment on May 24, 2017.

Hence, after receiving “fur-ther recommendation” inresponse to the first back ref-erence, the Centre has to takefinal decision on the matter,the official said explainingthat Trai is unable to changethe penalty it had suggestedsince it is bound by the provi-sions of the Act. In October2016, Trai had recommendedimposing a total penalty of�3,050 crore on Airtel,Vodafone Idea for allegedlydenying interconnectivity tonewcomer RJio.

The penalty on Airtel andVodafone works out to beabout �1,050 crore each. In caseof Idea it comes to about �950crore. Since Vodafone and Ideahave now merged their busi-nesses, the new entity VodafoneIdea will have to bear the bur-den of both companies.

The DigitalCommunications Commission,the apex decision-making bodyof DoT, last month, approvedimposing penalty on Airteland Vodafone Idea for notproviding points of intercon-nection to Reliance Jio.

Before imposing the penal-ty, however, the Commissiondecided to seek Trai’s views onrevising �3,050 crore suggest-ed penalty, citing the “presentfinancial health of the sector”.

#���� "=�"/�/

With the growing trend ofshipments in recent

years, exports of defence prod-ucts will exceed the �35,000crore target by 2024-25, an offi-cial said.

“I expect the exports willsurpass the target of �35,000crore by 2024-25,” DefenceProduction DepartmentSecretary Ajay Kumar toldPTI.

Defence components arekey drivers, he said. Kumar wasin the city to promote privatesector participation in defenceproduction and also inaugu-rated a facilitation centre for thedefence production at BharatChamber of Commerce.

“Defence exports had beengrowing exponentially. It islike a big rock, which is hard tomove, but once it starts rolling,it only gains momentum,” hesaid.

Last fiscal, exports wereabout �10,700 crore and in2019-20, the Centre set a tar-get of �20,000 crore. In the firstquarter of the current fiscal,exports worth �5,600 crorehad already been recorded,” hesaid.

Exports were just worth�1,500 crore in 2016-17 and�4,500 crore 2017-18, he said.

#���� 345� 4�6�

The Government wants Oiland Natural Gas Corp

(ONGC) to sell its golf cours-es in Ahmedabad andVadodara in Gujarat, sendingthe company into a tizzy as oneof them has two producing oilwells, sources said. TheDepartment of Investment andPublic Asset Management(DIPAM) has deemed golfcourses and sports clubs ownedby central public sector enter-prises as ‘non-core’ assets andwants to monetise them.

A recent exercise byDIPAM to assess land banksand other non-core assets ofgovernment departments aswell as central PSUs identifiedtwo of ONGC’s golf courses inAhmedabad and Vadodara, asalso a sports club owned byBharat Petroleum Corp Ltd(BPCL) in Chembur, Mumbai.

Sources said the exerciseidentified only properties withreal estate potential in prime

cities while leaving out golfcourses ONGC has inAnkleshwar in Gujarat andRajahmundry in AndhraPradesh. It also did not prioritisethe grand golf course Oil IndiaLtd (OIL) has in Assam and oneONGC has in the North-East.

While the golf courses areused by executives of the PSUsfor playing the leisurely gameand hosting their business part-ners, ONGC had built the onein Ahmedabad after it struck oilin the city more than twodecades back. After the Moterafield was discovered inAhmedabad, ONGC was waryof encroachment around the oilwells in a city that was develop-ing into a megapolis. So it builta golf course around the wells toward off encroachers, they said.

The golf course identifiedby DIPAM has two producingoil wells, sources said, addingthe field exists in a nominationblock that according to rulesONGC cannot sell off or farm-out to outsiders.

#���� 345� 4�6�

Domestic steel giant TataSteel on Sunday said its

consolidated steel productionrose by 9.18 per cent to 7.61million tonnes (MT) in the firstquarter of the current fiscal.

The company’s output inthe year-ago period was at6.97 MT, Tata Steel Ltd said ina BSE filing.

During April-June 2019,Tata Steel India produced 4.37MT as against 3.64 MT in thesame quarter a year ago. InEurope, Tata Steel Europe pro-duced 2.66 MT in the quarteras compared to 2.81 MT in thesame period of 2018-19.

Tata Steel South East Asiaproduced 0.58 MT in April-June over 0.52 MT in the cor-responding quarter last fiscal.

Tata Steel’s consolidatedsales during the quarter underreview stood at 6.75 MT, upfrom 6.39 MT in the same peri-od a year ago. During April-June 2019, Tata Steel India sold3.87 MT as against 3.34 MT inthe same quarter last year.

In Europe, it sold 2.27 MT

as compared to 2.45 MT.In South East Asia, the

company sold 0.61 MT in thequarter as against 0.60 MT inthe same period previous fiscal.

“Global business confi-dence has dipped sharply inrecent months amidst broadereconomic weakness and theuncertainty around the ongo-ing US-China trade conflict,which has had an adverse effecton investment decisions, capexspend and trade f lows.Consequently, steel pricesacross many geographiesdeclined in 1QFY20.

“This coincided with a sharprise in iron ore prices due to sup-ply disruptions and elevatedcoking coal costs. As a result,market spreads for steel pro-ducers globally have been affect-ed,” Tata Steel said in the filing.

In India, the company saidthat liquidity issues in the NBFCand banking sector along withrural stress have negativelyimpacted sentiments and over-all economic activities, includ-ing domestic consumption.

Despite this, Tata Steel’s pro-duction in India during first

quarter increased by 20 per centyear-on-year with consolidationof Tata Steel BSL for the full quar-ter and higher capacity utilisationat both Tata Steel Standalone andTata Steel BSL, it said. In Europe,the steel industry is facing sig-nificant headwinds in terms oflower economic growth andtrade flow uncertainty that isimpacting steel consumingproducts, the company added.

“Tata Steel Europe’s1QFY20 production wasimpacted by planned shut-downs and unplanned outagesduring the quarter. This cou-pled with sluggish demandaffected the sales volume in1QFY20,” it said.

The company further saidthat resumption of trade talksbetween the US and China, andthe recent Union Budgetannouncements to resolvesome of the liquidity issues areexpected to trigger an improve-ment in business sentimentglobally and in India. This isalso expected to translate intoa stronger business perfor-mance in second half of thecurrent financial year.

#���� 345� 4�6�

State-owned engineeringfirm BHEL on Sunday said

it has bagged a �100 crore orderfrom NTPC for setting up a 25MW floating solar photovolta-ic power plant at Simhadri inAndhra Pradesh.

The plant will be set up onthe raw water reservoir ofNTPC’s Simhadri ThermalPower Plant, BHEL said in astatement.

“BHEL has won an orderfor setting up a 25 MW float-ing SPV power plant on EPC(engineering, procurement andconstruction ) basis, atSimhadri in Andhra Pradesh.Notably, this is the secondorder of floating SPV plantfrom NTPC Ltd, the earlierbeing 100 MW floating SPVplant at Ramagundam inTelangana,” it said.

With this order, BHELsaid, it has emerged as thelargest EPC player in the float-ing solar PV segment in Indiawith a portfolio of 130 MW.

#���� 345� 4�6�

In a bid to deal with stress inNBFC sector, guidelines

will be issued soon for state-owned banks to take overpooled assets of non-bankingfinancial companies, a financeministry official said.

“Both Department ofEconomic Affairs , andFinancial Services are in con-sultation. The eligibilitynorms for takeover should beout this week or latest by nextweek,” the official said.

To address the stress inthe sector, Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman in theBudget proposed that publicsector banks would purchasehigh-rated pooled assets offinancially sound NBFCs,amounting to a total of Rs 1lakh crore during the currentfinancial year.

For this, the Governmentwill provide one time sixmonths’ partial credit guar-

antee to PSBs for first loss ofup to 10 per cent.

The official further saidthe banks would be allowed topick up primarily ‘AAA’ ratedassets where chances of delin-quency is the lowest and bigstate-owned banks will beallowed to participate in this.

It will help raise the bal-ancesheet size of the partici-pating banks and provide bet-ter-run NBFCs access to liq-uidity, the official said, addingmost of the assets will be notof maturity over 3 years.

Banks, which themselvesare in stress, will be kept outof this, the official said.

Soon after the Budget,the RBI too announced aspecial liquidity windowwhich could potential lyrelease �1.3 lakh crore. TheNBFC sector came understress following series ofdefault by group companies ofIL&FS since September last year.

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Montek Singh Ahluwalia,the noted economist who

headed the PlanningCommission, has advised theModi regime against its plansto tap the overseas debt market,saying the idea of sellingsov-ereign bonds was contemplat-ed earlier as well but aban-doned as the negatives far out-weighed the positives.

The comments from theUPA-era technocrat come amida proposal from the NarendraModi Government to borrowat least �70,000 crore of itsplanned market borrowingsfrom a sovereign bonds saleoverseas, in a departure fromthe earlier practice of raisingthe money domestically alone.

We thought it will do usmore damages than gains,Ahluwalia role PTI over theweekend here.

When asked about therationale of setting benchmarkrates, he expressed doubts if themarket will be liquid.

#���� 345� 4�6�

Quarterly earnings fromfrontline companies such

as RIL, Wipro and HDFCBank and macroeconomicdata would be the major trig-gers for the domestic equitymarkets this week, say ana-lysts.

Investors will also monitortrade-related developments,as well movement in the rupeeand crude oil prices, theyadded.

“Trade disputes, mutedexpectation from quarterlyresults and premium valuationwill lead to under-perfor-mance in the near term. Forthe week ahead, market willstart to react on the actual per-formance of Q1 FY20 resultwhich seems subdued,” saidVinod Nair, Head of Research,Geojit Financial Services.

Infosys counter may seesome movement on Mondayafter the IT major came outwith its June quarter resultspost market hours on Friday.

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Alot of the Bollywoodbrigade was in the stands

of Lord’s to watch the England-New Zealand World Cup Final.From Siddharth Roy Kapur toAditya Roy Kapur to BomanIrani they were all there — tosupport India — but just 45minutes of bad cricket by Kohliand the boys, compelled themto, well, as Irani said, “I amsupporting no one. I am sup-porting the game.” In a non-India show at Lord’s many ofthe stars who had tickets forboth the big Sunday games, itwas being said, had opted to goto Wimbledon instead whereRoger Federer was bidding forhis next title against NovakDjokovic in a classic Final.

ENGLISH CELEB LINE

But that did not make thecelebrity line-up for the

England side any less.Cricketing hero AndrewFlintoff was there to supporthis team in making history.Popular radio show host ChrisEvans who just the other daysuggested abseiling TheShard, the fifth largest build-ing in Europe with the topfour all in Russia, was inattendance along with MattSmith of the highly popularfilm Fantastic Beasts, toprated comedian Frank Skinnerand Piers Morgan, the contro-versial English broadcaster,journalist, writer and televi-sion personality who co-anchors the ITV Breakfastprogramme Good MorningBritain and was also the judgeon America’s Got Talent andBritain’s Got Talent. These,beside the long line ofEngland’s former cricketers,

some of them there with theirprestigious MCC badges onred and yellow striped blueblazers. “I am textingPresident Trump to let himknow the score…” he tweetedfrom the ground.

THE LORDLY SLANT

Viewing the famous Lord’sPavilion building directly

opposite the equally famousspaceship Media Centre youwonder why the quaint struc-ture in red and yellow brick sitson such a distinct slant. ThePavilion, built in 1890 byThomas Verity, is a Grade IIlisted building and houses theplayers’ dressing rooms on thefirst floor from where they passthrough the Long Room, with

walls adorned with historicpaintings, before emerging outonto the field. The playing areaslopes around 2.5m from rightto left as you look from theMedia Centre, creating aunique challenge for batsmenand bowlers. But it is the LongRoom that comes steeped intradition, the place whereMCC club members can sit

and have a drink with somecricket on the field. Famouslyfor India, Diana Edulji wasdenied permission in therewhen she was India captain. Itwas only in 1998 that womenwere allowed into this zonethrough law, prompting her tosay MCC is actually MCP!Before that, only QueenElizabeth had access into thisall-man area!

ALL ROADS TO LORD'S

India did not make it so youwould have thought the

atmosphere in the standswould take a beating. Not so atall. From English fan beggingfor tickets, to all the light blueflooding the tube station from

anywhere to St John’s Wood, tostewards warning against beingrun out on the escalators, itwas cricket all the way. Thenoise, you would have thoughtwould be lower. Not at all,singing The Piranhas song, thefans kept the fire going insideeven as a band of drummersand acrobats revved up theatmospherics near the NorthGate, compelling the hugecrowd to take a break andsome videos. Even the Lord’sMerchandise Shop, which is allbut over with World Cup mer-chandise had a long waitingqueue for customers to get in,early morning onwards. All of28,500 seats were full to capac-ity at the Lord’s CricketGround where hosts Englandreached to fight for their placein the Hall of Fame.

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Liam Plunkett took three key wick-ets as England restricted NewZealand to 241-8 in the World Cup

final at Lord's on Sunday, with both sidesdesperate to win the tournament for thefirst time.

Fast bowler Plunkett dismissed NewZealand captain and star batsman KaneWilliamson for just 30 before removingestablished opener Henry Nicholls foran innings-best 55 in a return of 3-42from his 10 overs.

Chris Woakes followed up with 3-37.

New Zealand, however, successful-ly defended a total of 239 in their shocksemi-final win over India, when theyreduced one of the world's strongest bat-ting line-ups to 24-4.

"Sometimes it doesn't feel real, it'snice to be part of this occasion," saidPlunkett. "It's a good pitch, we bowledwell to restrict them.

"It's nice to know my role. I smashthe pitch and use my variations, makethe batsmen make mistakes. We wouldhave snapped your hand off to be chas-ing 240, New Zealand are a good team."

Williamson, as he had done againstIndia, batted first after winning the tossin overcast conditions and on a greenpitch

Nicholls was still on nought whengiven out lbw to Woakes but successful-ly reviewed umpire KumarDharmasena's decision.

Fellow opener Martin Guptill, theleading run-scorer at the 2015 WorldCup, hit fast bowler Jofra Archer for twoboundaries in three balls -- an upper-cut six over third man followed by astraight drive back over the paceman'shead.

Guptill has struggled at this tourna-ment, however, and on 19 he was lbw toWoakes. He reviewed but was walkingback to the pavilion even before replaysconfirmed the ball would have smashedinto his middle stump.

- Williamson out -It left number three Williamson,

who started the match with 548 runs inthe tournament at an average of 91.33,having to mount yet another rescue mis-sion.

But after putting on 74 for the sec-ond wicket with Nicholls, he fell whenhe edged a rising cross-seamer fromPlunkett to wicketkeeper Jos Buttler.

Dharmasena initially said not outbut an England review confirmed theend of Williamson's 53-ball innings,which featured just two fours.

New Zealand found themselves118-3 when Plunkett struck for the sec-ond time in 14 balls.

Nicholls, who had completed a 71-ball fifty, fell for 55 when he played onafter being cramped for room by aPlunkett delivery that curved back intohim.

New Zealand were now looking tosenior batsman Taylor to bail them outof trouble but he could only manage 15before falling lbw to Wood.

When Jimmy Neesham (19) chipped

Plunkett to Joe Root at mid-on, the BlackCaps were 173-5 with 11 overs left.

Tom Latham defiantly hit Wood forsix but Colin de Grandhomme, who top-edged a hook off Archer into his helmet,took 28 balls for a 16 that finished whenhe chipped a Woakes slower ball mid-off.

Latham's 47 off 56 balls endedwhen he chipped a low Woakes full tossto mid-off.

England have been in the finalthree times while New Zealand werebeaten finalists in 2015.

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Lewis Hamilton made the mostof a favourable safety car inter-

vention on Sunday to claim arecord sixth British Grand Prix vic-tory at a packed Silverstone.

The defending five-time worldchampion clocking fastest lap onhis final lap to finish 25 secondsclear of Mercedes team-mate andnearest title rival Valtteri Bottasafter an action-packed contest.

The Briton moved 39 pointsclear of the Finn behind in the titlerace, but Bottas was unlucky withthe timing of the safety car whicheffectively gave Hamilton a free pitstop.

Charles Leclerc of Ferrari wasthird.

Pierre Gasly finished fourthahead of his Red Bull team-mateMax Verstappen, whose race wascompromised by a late collisionwhen Sebastian Vettel of Ferraridrove into him, and Carlos Sainz ofMcLaren.

It was Hamilton's seventh winin 10 races this year and the 80thwin of his career. He had shared theBritish Grand Prix record of wins,on five, with fellow-Briton JimClark and Frenchman Alain Prost.

Daniel Ricciardo was seventhfor Renault ahead of KimiRaikkonen of Alfa Romeo, DaniilKvyat and his Toro Rosso team-mate Alex Albon.

"What a day," said Hamilton."To all the crowd, thank-you somuch for coming out."

Hamilton, who stopped on hisslow-down lap to collect a British'Union Jack' flag, added: "I love youSilverstone. I appreciate everythingand the opportunity to be a part ofthis.

"I couldn't have done this with-out these guys or without myteam."

A glum Bottas said: "Congratsto Lewis… It wasn't my day."

A much happier Leclerc said"It's probably the race I've enjoyedthe most in my career."

The safety car was deployedwhen Antonio Giovinazzi spuninto a gravel trap in his Alfa Romeo- gifting Hamilton a 'free' first, andonly, pit stop. The luckless Bottas,on a two stop strategy, had alreadypitted before the incident.

#���� 345/8"

Indian boxing star VijenderSingh remained an unstop-

pable force, cl inching aTechnical Knockout over themore experienced MikeSnider on his debut in the USprofessional circuit here.

In what was to be aneight-round super mid-dleweight contest on Saturdaynight (early Sunday morningin India), the 33-year-oldfrom Haryana prevailed infour rounds for his 11th con-secutive victory in the circuit.

"It was excellent gettingback in the ring after a longtime off. It's great to be herein the USA and to get the win.It was really exciting. I amreally happy for my winning

debut in USA," Vijender saidafter the bout.

The triumph came in thesecond minute of the fourthround when Vijender cor-nered Snider with a flurry ofstraight punches, promptingthe referee to stop the bout inthe Indian's favour.

"It took me about fourrounds to get back in theswing of things. I expected itto take two or three rounds,but it took me four. I feltgood," said Vijender.

This was Vijender's eighthknockout win in all.

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Neymar fired another shot inhis battle with Paris Saint-

Germain after saying hisfavourite football memory isBarcelona's incredible 2017comeback win over PSG, whichNeymar helped inflict onhis current club.

Asked by onlinesports channel Oh MyGoal about his bestchanging room memo-ry, the world's mostexpensive player chosethe aftermath of thatwin.

"We all went crazyafterwards. I think it wasthe best possible feelingfor all of us," the Brazilianstar said in the interview,which was posted onSaturday.

Neymar was speak-ing in Sao Paulo aheadof his belated return tothe club on Monday,

after insisting last week that he had prioragreement from PSG to stay in Brazil

to help his foundation, the NeymarInstitute.

His comments are set to furtherstrain his relationship with the club.

He wants out of the Parc des Princesand would prefer a return to Barca,

but is struggling to find suitorsdue to the 222 million euros

($252 million) the capitalsplashed out to take himaway from Barcelona twoyears ago.

The chances of himrejoining the Catalan

giants are further com-plicated by AntoineGriezmann's arrival

from Atletico Madridfor 120 million euros.

When Neymarmissed last Monday's

first training sessionPSG issued a state-

ment declaringthey would take

"appropriatea c t i o n "

against the star.Sporting director Leonardo has nev-

ertheless said that "Neymar can leave PSGif there is an offer that suits everybody".

Later Saturday, Neymar added fuel tothe fire over a possible return to the CampNou, with an Instagram post.

It was a 10-second video of himself ina Barcelona shirt, his father, and a quotefrom the Bible: "No weapon turned againstyou will prosper." (Isaiah Chapter 54, Verse17).

Barcelona's famous rout of Paris Saint-Germain took place in the final 16 stageof the 2017 Champions League.

PSG had won the first leg of thatChampions League last 16 tie 4-0 and wereseconds away from the quarter-finals.

Neymar scored in the 88th and 91stminutes of the famous match before set-ting up Sergi Roberto for a winner fiveminutes into stoppage time.

That sealed their 6-1 win over PSG,who then shelled out the world-record feeto bag the Brazilian the following summer.

"What we felt when we scored the sixthgoal I've never felt anything like that, it wasincredible," Neymar told Oh My Goal onSaturday.

#���� 345� 4�6�

Mohammad Anas bettered hisown national record in men's

400m to clinch Gold and qualify forthe World Championships whileHima Das won the women's 200mevent for her third international tri-umph in less than two weeks at theKladno Athletics Meet in CzechRepublic.

The 24-year-old Anas clocked45.21 seconds as he won an easy race,finishing nearly one second ahead ofSilver winner Omelko Rafal (46.19)of Poland in the race run on Saturdaynight.

Apart from re-writing his earli-er national record of 45.24 secondswhich he recorded last year, he alsoqualified for the World AthleticsChampionships to be held in Doha

from September 27 to October 6.The World Championships qual-

ification time is 45.30 seconds inmen's 400m race.

In the women's 200m race, Himaclocked a much improved time of23.43 seconds to win the Gold. Shehas a personal best of 23.10 sec in200m. This was her third interna-tional Gold in 11 days.

In her first competitive 200mrace of the year, the 19-year-oldAssam runner had clocked 23.65 sec-onds on her way to Gold at thePoznan Athletics Grand Prix inPoland on July 2. After that, she wonher second 200m Gold at the KutnoAthletics Meet, also in Poland, on July7 with a time of 23.97 seconds.

At this Czech Republic city ofKladno, the Indian trio of VipinKasana, Abhishek Singh and

Davinder Singh Kang took the topthree spots in men's javelin final withefforts of 82.51m, 77.32m and76.58m respectively.

In men's shot put event, nation-al record holder Tejinder Pal SinghToor managed a creditable bestthrow of 20.36m to win the Bronze.He holds the national record of20.75m.

In the women's 400m, V KVismaya clocked her personal best of52.54 seconds to win the race.Saritaben Gayakwad was third with53.37.

Meanwhile, in the XXIIInternational Memorial Competitionin Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Indians alsobagged 6 Gold, 3 Silver and 1 Bronze,with national record holder MSreeshankar winning the long jumpevent with a creditable 7.97m.

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Novak Djokovic saved two matchpoints to clinch a fifth Wimbledontitle and 16th major on Sunday,

shattering Roger Federer's bid to becomethe oldest Grand Slam champion in thelongest final ever played at the tourna-ment.

Despite being outplayed by the 37-year-old Swiss for large parts of theknife-edge encounter, the world numberone triumphed 7-6 (7/5), 1-6, 7-6 (7/4),4-6, 13-12 (7/3).

At 4 hours and 57 minutes, it was thelongest Wimbledon final ever played andsettled by a final set tiebreak for the firsttime.

Djokovic is the first man in 71 yearsto win the title from match points down.

He is now level with Bjorn Borg as afive-time Wimbledon winner.

"I think that if this is not the mostexciting final then definitely it's in the toptwo or three of my career against one ofthe greatest players of all time, Roger, whoI respect," said Djokovic.

"Unfortunately in this type of matchsomeone has to lose. It is quite unreal tobe two match points down to come backand strange to play a tie-break at 12-12."

Djokovic is just four Grand Slam titlesshy of the all-time record held by Federerwho is more than five years older.

It was incredibly tough on Federer,chasing a ninth Wimbledon crown, whodidn't face a break point until the eighthgame of the fourth set.

He even had two match points in the16th game of the deciding set which last-ed over two hours.

"It was long and it had everything. Ihad answers, so did he and we playedsome great tennis," said Federer.

"I hope I give some other people at 37the feeling it is not over yet."

Djokovic's win meant that the 'BigThree' of men's tennis -- himself, Federerand Rafael Nadal -- have won the last 11Slams.

He has now won nine of his last 11clashes against Federer and three of theirfour Wimbledon meetings.

With William and Catherine, theDuke and Duchess of Cambridge lookingon from the Royal Box, Federer carved outthe only break point of the opening set.

But Djokovic saved it and with servedominating, the set was decided by thetiebreak.

- Two match points saved -The top seed was 3-1 up, then Federer

inched to 5-3 before Djokovic swept the

next four points.At 58 minutes, it was two minutes

longer than the women's final on Saturday.Djokovic, however, then went com-

pletely off the boil, losing his footing ashe was broken in the first game of the sec-ond set.

Federer broke twice again and afterjust 25 more minutes the final was all-square with Djokovic managing just twowinners in the set.

Federer was comfortably on top in thethird set, flashing winners from all parts

of the court but was unable to convert aset point in the 10th game.

Djokovic made him pay. Despite notmanaging a single break point in thematch, he pounced again in the tiebreakto reclaim the lead.

Federer wasn't finished. Back came theveteran with a double break for 5-2.

Djokovic then carved out his firstbreak points of the match in the eighthgame.

The first was saved after a breathtak-ing 35-shot rally before the Serb finally

broke for the first time.It was too little, too late, however, as

Federer deservedly levelled the final.Into a tense finale, Federer saved three

break points in the fourth game but adrilled, backhand passing shot gaveDjokovic the break in the sixth game fora 4-2 lead.

The world number one couldn't backit up and Federer had Centre Court ontheir feet when he restored parity in thenext game.

Despite twice being just two pointsfrom defeat, Federer broke for 8-7 but wasunable to serve out for the match.

As the clock ticked past the previouslongest final of 4 hours and 48 minutes ittook Nadal to beat Federer in the 2008final, the match was decided by the first12-12 tiebreak in a singles match at thetournament.

Djokovic prevailed, moving to threechampionship points and claiming victo-ry when Federer shanked a return wide.

Federer finished with 25 aces and 94winners to Djokovic 10 aces and 54 win-ners.