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RNI No. TELENG/2018/76469

Established 1864Published From

HYDERABAD DELHI LUCKNOWBHOPAL RAIPUR CHANDIGARH

BHUBANESWAR RANCHIDEHRADUN VIJAYAWADA

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THAROOR ‘APPALLED’ BY BACKLASHOVER BIRTHDAY GREETINGS TO ADVANI

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday said he was"appalled by the vicious backlash" against his birthdaygreetings to senior BJP leader L K Advani and alleged that

he was being branded as a "Sanghi sympathiser". He said onlythose who haven't read him would call him a "Sanghi." WishingAdvani a happy 92nd birthday, Tharoor on November 9 hadposted in his twitter handle a video of the veteran BJPparliament leader's speech in Parliament and said, "this speechis a reminder of his fine contributions to India's richdemocracy".

PM TO LAUNCH RBI'S RETAIL DIRECT,INTEGRATED OMBUDSMAN SCHEMES

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch two innovative,customer-centric initiatives of the Reserve Bank of India,the retail direct scheme and the integrated ombudsman

scheme, on Friday with a view to easing access to governmentsecurities market for retail investors. These schemes, to belaunched by the prime minister through video-conferencing,are aimed at deepening the debt market and improve customergrievance redressal mechanism. On Thursday, the PMO saidthe RBI Retail Direct Scheme is aimed at enhancing access tothe government securities market for retail investors.

NO TRANSGRESSION, CHINA BUILDINGVILLAGES ON ITS SIDE OF LAC: RAWAT

Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Bipin Rawat on Thursdaysaid the controversy about the Chinese coming into theIndian territory and building a new village is "not true",

and that the villages were well within the Chinese side of theLine of Actual Control (LAC). He also asserted that Chinahas not transgressed the Indian "perception" of the LAC. Inits recent report, the US Department of Defence said Chinabuilt a large village inside disputed territory between itsTibet Autonomous Region and India's Arunachal Pradesh inthe eastern sector of the LAC.

KIDS' DEATH IN GORAKHPUR HOSPITAL:SUSPENDED DOCTOR KHAN SACKED

Paediatrician Kafeel Khan of Gorakhpur's BRD MedicalCollege and Hospital, who had been suspended in 2017after the death of 70 children due to oxygen shortage, has

been dismissed, a government official said here on Thursday. DrKhan has been sacked after being found guilty in the probe intothe circumstances leading to the death of children in thehospital, UP Principal Secretary Alok Kumar said. As the matteris sub judice, detailed information about Dr Khan's dismissal willbe given to the court, Kumar said. In September 2019, a UPgovernment inquiry had absolved Dr Khan of any negligence.

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MONEY 8GROWTH TO EXCEED 10PC IN FY22 ON

STRONG AGRI RECOVERY: NITI VC

SPORTS 12RIZWAN, ZAMAN POWER

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ML MELLY MAITREYI n HYDERABAD

Taking exception to the commentsof Chief Minister K ChandrasekharRao holding the Union Governmentand Jal Shakti Ministry responsiblefor the delay in constitution of newTribunal for re-allocation of Krishnawaters between two Telugu States,Union Jal Shakti Minister GajendraSingh Shekhawat on Thursday saidthat it was the Telangana govern-ment’s failure to ‘act in time’ that wasthe reason for the delay.

He said the Centre has sought theview of the Law Ministry on form-ing a new Tribunal or to continuewith the existing one.

For resolving the water dispute

of Krishna river basins, Shekhawatasked both Telangana and APgovernments to take steps to makethe two boards – Godavari RiverManagement Board and KrishnaRiver Management Board – effec-tive at the earliest as agreed under

the Andhra PradeshReorganisation Act.

Shekhawat was also upset overKCR terming the Krishna andGodavari River Management Boardsconstituted under the Act ofParliament as ‘drama’.

"How can it be marked as adrama? I think this is a lethal attackon the democratic system and con-stitutional framework of this coun-try," he said.

“How could a Chief Ministerholding a responsible position couldspeak in a belittling manner aboutthe AP State Reorganisation Act andits provisions approved byParliament,” Shekhawat asked.

Addressing a media conference inDelhi on Thursday, Shekhawat saidhe has a responsibility to place thefacts on the issues raised byTelangana Chief Minister beforethe people of the two Telugu Statesand the country.

WATER WARS

Centre blames TS for delay inresolving water sharing disputeso Waiting for advice of Law Ministry on forming new Tribunal, says Shekhawat

‘Ban the Scan’ campaign gainstraction, pits activists against copsG RAVI KIRAN n HYDERABAD

With more and more people get-ting involved, the ‘Ban the Scan’campaign has paved the way forheated discussions to the extentthat there is a risk of pitting socialactivists and police against eachother in the city.

While social activists suspectthat the Hyderabad police depart-ment is building a database of peo-ple using facial recognition systemswithout their consent and sharingit with all investigation agencies, thepolice deny anything of the sort isin the pipeline.

The ‘Ban the Scan’ campaignoriginally launched by the InternetFreedom Foundation along withAmnesty International and anNGO named Article 19. It was runin New York by AmnestyInternational in June, but hasfound acceptance in the city of late.

“They take photographs of thosepeople who are not criminals, not

even accused, and store them intheir database. They allegedly sharethe data with investigation agen-cies. It is a clear violation of the pri-vacy of any citizen,” said AnushkaJain of the Internet FreedomFoundation.

She added: “We worry that allthese practices of surveillanceover the citizens by the police willlead to the misuse of the database

in favour of the governments,violating the privacy of the citi-zens. A big building has been con-structed in Hyderabad to store andmaintain a database of all types ofsurveillance systems. And they willshare it to any agency, violating thedata protection law, which is mostworrisome.”

A gift for newlyweds booking TSRTC busesK VENKATESHWARLUn HYDERABAD

Those who tie the knot in Covidtimes have to forget their dreamsof big fat weddings and settle forlow-key affairs. However, there isat least something to cheer aboutfor newlyweds in Telangana as theTSRTC would be presenting giftsto the newly-married couple ifthey booked RTC buses for the cer-emony.

It is part of TSRTC’s plan to int-roduce many innovative schemes.

According to TSRTC ManagingDirector VC Sajjanar, theCorporation is planning to giveshields and gifts to newly-married

couples if they booked RTC buses.As many as 500 couples will getgifts on a single day.

As part of the programme, sev-eral depot managers visited mar-riage halls on Thursday and prese-nted gifts to newlyweds who boo-

ked RTC buses. TSRTC has introduced several

facilities like digital payments andkiosks for mothers to feed milk.

Meanwhile, the TSRTC has dec-ided to re-introduce buses fromSecunderabad, Nampally andKacheguda railway stations andMGBS and JBS bus stands to allareas from 4 am.

In another tweet, Sajjanar alsoinformed that the RTC hasincreased the number of servicesfor the benefit of students as edu-cational institutions reopened.Sajjanar asked the commuters towrite to md@tsrtc.telangana.gov.inwith suggestions, feedback orgrievances.

TSRTC sets up Boardto manage its affairs

Governor TamilisaiSounderarajan issued orders on

Thursday constituting theTelangana State Road TransportCorporation (TSRTC) Board withnine directors to manage its affairswithin the State. Accordingly,TSRTC Chairman BajireddyGoverdhan was named theChairman, TSRTC MD VC Sajjanarthe Vice-Chairman of the newly-constituted Board.

Skin whitening creams ‘imported’ fromPakistan found to contain toxic mercurySNV SUDHIRn VIJAYAWADA

The next time you purchase animported skin whitening creamfrom a local market in cities likeVijayawada that appears to befancier and tempting than otherlocally made products, be verycareful.

These skin whitening creamsmay contain dangerously high lev-els of mercury, a heavy metal andneurotoxin, which is highly haz-ardous to health.

Curiously, skin whiteningcreams that contain high levels of

mercury are labelled as having beenmanufactured in Pakistan.

This was established by tests con-ducted by research teams of NewDelhi-based environmental andadvocacy organisation, Toxics Link,on imported skin whitening creams

bought from Kaleswara RaoMarket and Tarapet in Vijayawada.

According to the WHO, mercu-ry is hazardous to health and hasthe potential to cause damage tothe central nervous system, thegastrointestinal system and thekidneys. The UNEP has alsoshown concern over the fact thatmercury bio-accumulates in thebody tissue and its long-termexposure can have an impact onthe brain, heart, kidneys, lungsand immune system particularlyin unborn children and babies.

Rentals up even as officespace availability risesPNS n HYDERABAD

Hyderabad leads other South Indiancities in terms of available officespace lying vacant. This has more todo with the speed at which addition-al office space is being created, ratherthan the lack of tenants.

As per latest ANAROCK data,this 15.20 percent vacant spacepertains to H1 FY22 as against the11.30 percent a year ago. Asmuch as 4.5 million sq. ft. newoffice space was added in the cityin H1 FY22.

No exemption from helmetfor pillion riders, rules HCPNS n HYDERABAD

The Telangana High Court onThursday upheld the GovernmentOrder enforcing the manda-tory helmet rule for pil-lion riders of two-wheelers.

Chief Justice SatishChandra Sharmaand Justice ARajasekar Reddywere hearing a writpetition filed by a lawstudent seeking exemp-tion from helmet for pil-lion riders.

The two judge panel not onlysaid that it is mandatory as per theMotor Vehicles Act that pillion rid-ers must also wear helmets and that

no exemption will be given forchallans. The court ruled that theMotor Vehicles Act mandates thatthe pillion rider too should wear

a helmet failing which a chal-lan would be imposed.

As per Section 129 ofthe MV Act, all per-sons above the age offour years have towear a helmet whileriding a two wheelerin public. According

to the MV Act 1989, apenalty for riding with-

out a helmet is Rs 100 andif the pillion rider is helmetless,

then an e-challan will be issued forthe same amount.

Harish ‘exposes’ Kishan, demands apologyPNS n HYDERABAD

Health Minister T Harish Rao onThursday demanded an apologyfrom Union Minister G KishanReddy for “uttering lies” by claim-ing that the Telangana governmentdid not provide land for the AIIMSand other medical colleges but wasresorting to false propaganda.

Producing proof in the form ofletters written to the then UnionHealth Minister JP Nadda on June20, 2015, Harish Rao said that theTelangana government had hand-ed over 201 acres of land as well asNIMS building at Bibinagar for theAIIMS. “Yet Kishan Reddy tweet-ed that the State did not hand overthe land required for setting up themedical college,” Harish Rao said.

The letter, handing over 201acres of land along with surveynumbers, was written by Revenuedepartment officials one-and-a-

half years ago to the AIIMSDirector and the AIIMS officialshad even acknowledged the letter.

Harish Rao said he was ready tocome to Delhi whenever KishanReddy suggested, to represent per-sonally on AIIMS and other med-ical colleges if the Union Minister

supported the cause of the State.Addressing a media confer-

ence at Telangana Bhavan, HarishRao wondered if it was befittingthe stature of a Union Minister to‘utter lies’.

Majority of TRS, TDP, YSRCPincome came from unknown sourcesPNS n VIJAYAWADA

The ruling parties in Telanganaand Andhra Pradesh, TRS andYSRCP respectively, along withopposition TDP are among the topthree regional parties in the coun-try to have declared highest ‘unk-nown income’ during FinancialYear (FY) 2019-20, meaning thatthese parties were unwilling orunable to reveal the source of mostof their income in this period.

An analysis of their IncomeTax returns and statements ofdonations filed with the ElectionCommission done by Delhi-basedAssociation of DemocraticReforms (ADR) shows that thesources remain largely unknown.

At present, political parties arenot required to reveal the name ofindividuals or organisations givingless than Rs 20,000.

CBI seeks UShelp to trace two accused

‘DEROGATORY’ POSTSAGAINST JUDGES

PNS n NEW DELHI

The CBI has sought help fromauthorities in the US in trackingtwo accused, C Prabhakar Reddywho is also known as "Punch"Prabhakar and Mani Annapure-ddy, believed to be staying in thatcountry in connection with a caserelated to alleged derogatory soc-ial media posts against judges andthe judiciary, officials said onThursday.

The agency has got arrest war-rants issued against both the acc-used from courts in India, theyadded.

The CBI, which is the NationalCentral Bureau (NCB) for Indiaunder the Interpol mechanism,has approached InterpolWashington, which is the NCB ofthe United States, with the arrestwarrants against the duo, theofficials said.

The investigators had gath-ered information on the locationof the accused using a BlueCorner Notice of the Interpol,they said.

Every country has an NCB,which is the link agency with theInterpol.

State Health Minister T Harish Rao addresses media persons at the Telangana Bhavan inHyderabad on Thursday.

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TOP 10 REGIONAL PARTIES THAT DECLAREDHIGHEST UNKNOWN INCOME DURING FY 2019-20

BJD DMK SHS JDS JDU SP SAD

CBI sends voicesamples to CSFLPNS n NEW DELHI

The CBI is getting a forensicanalysis done of the voice samplescollected during its covert opera-tion to bust an alleged racket ofNavy officers and businessmeninvolved in the leak and sale ofconfidential information pertain-ing to the force, sources said onThursday.

The agency has sent the voicesamples to the Central ForensicScience Laboratory (CFSL) andthe results are awaited, an officerprivy to the development said.

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TRS steps uppressure, scoffsat BJP dharnas

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hyderabad 02HYDERABAD | FRIDAY | NOVEMBER 12, 2021

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(IN HYDERABAD)

TRS steps up pressure,scoffs at BJP dharnasML MELLY MAITREYI

n HYDERABAD

Indicating that they are in nomood to ease the pressure onthe BJP, TRS leaders onThursday scoffed at the saffronparty’s dharna demandingprocurement of paddy culti-vated in the rainy season anddescribed it as a ‘washout’.

Ministers and TRS leadersclaimed that the farmers didnot even bother responding tothe dharna call by the BJP asthey were well aware that thesaffron party leaders weredeliberately misleading andinstigating the tillers.

Rythu Bandhu Samithi Statepresident and MLC PallaRajeswar Reddy and StateCivil Supplies CorporationChairman Mareddy SrinivasReddy launched a tiradeagainst State BJP leaders.

Speaking to media personsat Telangana Bhavan, theydisclosed that till Wednesday,3,550 paddy procurement cen-tres were opened and lifting ofthe crop was on in all thesecentres. “The BJP was stagingdharnas with no understand-ing about the paddy procure-ment,” the TRS leaders said,emphasising that paymentswere being made to farmerssoon after the procurement.

They regretted that a personwith no basic understandingabout issues was the presidentof the State BJP. “In otherStates, while farmers weretransporting paddy to the

purchase centres, in Telanganagovernment set up purchasecentres in the villages itself,”the TRS leaders pointed out.

They demanded that if StateBJP president Bandi Sanjayhad any genuine concerntowards farmers, then heshould get a letter from theCentre that it would procurepaddy in Yasangi season. “TheBJP’s political journey is basedon the foundation of lies andfalsehood,” they said.

The farmers would stagedharnas on Friday under theaegis of TRS with the demandthat Centre should procurepaddy in Yasangi and to pro-tect the interests of farmers ac-ross the country, they warned.

Meanwhile, Civil SuppliesMinister Gangula Kamalakarin Karimnagar alleged thatBJP was playing with the livesof farmers by its contradicto-ry statements. “The Centreshould make its stand clear

whether it would purchasepaddy in Yasangi season fromTelangana farmers or not,”the Minister said.

Speaking at a media confer-ence along with Karimnagardistrict TRS leaders, he saidthat the State governmentwould procure every graincultivated by farmers in therainy season. “State-wide,6,663 purchase centres werebeing set up for the procure-ment of paddy and already,5.15 lakh tonnes was pro-cured,” Kamalakar said.

While the State govern-ment was purchasing paddyon one hand, BJP was enact-ing dramas in the name ofdharnas, he alleged. He urgedthe farmers not be misled bythe statements of BJP leaders.

“It’s the responsibility ofthe Centre to procure rice. TheCentre alone should buy theentire Yasangi paddy,”Kamalakar demanded.

BJP activists stage a protest demanding the TRS government procure Kharifpaddy from farmers.

Sharmila seekspermission for deeksha A

fter the Hyderabad Policerefused to give permission

to the YSRTP chief YSSharmila for her proposed72-hour 'Rythu Vedana'deeksha at Indira ParkDharna Chowk, Hyderabadfrom Friday (November 12),Sharmila has once againappealed to the PoliceDepartment seekingpermission for dharna fromSaturday (November 13). Inher request to the HyderabadPolice, Sharmila hasmentioned that she has noother venue to stage dharnaother than Hyderabad, aselection code is in placeacross the state. Sharmila,who has planned to stage her72-hour dharna at Kama-reddy cancelled her plan. Itmay be remembered herethat the police rejectedpermission for her to stagedharna, stating that the rulingTRS has been grantedpermission to stage a dharnaagainst the Centre on Fridayat Indira Park. However,Sharmila has cited that shewould stage dharna againstthe Central government aswell as the State in procuringpaddy from the farmers.

PNS n HYDERABAD

The SCR, responding to anissue of an ex-army officer,AK Jairath, being asked topay Rs 500 for parking hiscar at the railway station for31 minutes, said the retiredBrigadier had parked in thecirculating area, where any-one parking beyond 30 min-utes would have to pay Rs500.

The retired Brigadier wascharged the overstay fee,the SCR said, and not theparking fee, which would beRs 50 for the first two hoursfor a car, and Rs 15 formotorcycle for the first twohours.

The charges for overstayin the circulating area wereto ensure that there was nocongestion in the busy areaand only on vehicles stayingbeyond the allowed time.

Any vehicle can stand infront of the main stationgate up to eight minutes forfree.

Thereafter, up to 15 min-utes, the vehicle is chargedan overstay fee of Rs 100;the overstay charge for vehi-cles waiting from 16 min-utes to 30 minutes is Rs 200.Vehicles waiting in the cir-culating area for more than30 minutes are levied acharge of Rs 500, SCR said.

SCR clears air on parking fee

WORLD PNEUMONIA DAY

Elderly, children at high risk of getting pneumoniaPNS n HYDERABAD

Every year, November 12marks the World PneumoniaDay. The day has been estab-lished in 2009 to raise aware-ness and advocate for globalaction. As per World healthorganisation (WHO), Lowerrespiratory infections remainedthe world's most deadly com-municable disease, ranked asthe 4th leading cause of death.Pneumonia is the single largestinfectious cause of death inchildren worldwide.

Air pollution is the leadingrisk factor for death from pneu-monia across all age groups.

Indoor air pollution is predom-inantly caused by biomass fuelsmoke exposure such of burn-ing of wood, coal, cow dung,crop residue at home for cook-ing food, heating water especial-ly in villages. Women and chil-dren are at high risk of exposureto indoor pollutants. Outdoorair pollution caused by automo-bile smoke exhaust, industrialemission, burning of cropresidue etc. Smoke when getmixed with fog, it forms smog.Smog exposure is common inwinter especially in metro cities.Smog is harmful for respirato-ry tract mucosa, which leads torespiratory tract infection and

pneumonia. Elderly people andchildren are at high risk of get-ting pneumonia.

Smoking (both active andpassive) is important risk fac-tor for pneumonia. Parentalsmoking can cause frequentpneumonia in children. Livingin crowded homes can causePneumonia. Failure to take orcomplete required immuniza-tion for children may also putthem at risk of Pneumonia.Pre-existing illnesses, such assymptomatic HIV infectionsand measles, also increase riskof contracting pneumonia.

Dr Chandrakant Tarke,Consultant Pulmonologist,

Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabadanswers everything aboutpneumonia. Read on:

What is Pneumonia:Most lungs consist of air

sacs. Infection that inflames airsacs in one or both lungs,which may fill with fluid, iscalled as pneumonia. It affectsoxygen absorbing capacity oflungs. Severe pneumonia canlead to respiratory failure.

Pneumonia is caused by anumber of infectious agents,including viruses, bacteria andfungi. Pneumonia is a deadly dis-ease, especially for children indeveloping countries.Coronavirus can also cause

pneumonia.Common pathogens caus-

ing pneumonia:Streptococcus pneumoniae -

the most common cause of bac-terial pneumonia in children.Haemophilus influenzae type b(Hib) - the second most com-mon cause of bacterial pneu-monia. Respiratory syncytialvirus is the most common viralcause of pneumonia. In infantsinfected with HIV,Pneumocystis jiroveci is one ofthe most common causes ofpneumonia, responsible for atleast one quarter of all pneumo-nia deaths in HIV-infectedinfants.

First non-ordained Indian to bedeclared saint by Pope next yearPNS n THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

Devasahayam Pillai, a Hinduconverted to Christianity in the18th century, will become thefirst Indian layman - a non-ordained member of theChurch - to be conferred saint-hood.

Pope Francis will canonizeBlessed Devasahayam Pillai,together with six otherBlesseds, during aCanonization Mass in St Peter'sBasilica in Vatican on May 15,2022, Church officials said inThiruvananthapuram on

Wednesday.The announcement was

made by the Congregation forthe Causes of Saints in theVatican on Tuesday.

With the completion of theprocess, Pillai, who took thename "Lazarus" after embrac-ing Christianity in 1745, willbecome the first lay personfrom India to become a saint,the church said.

"Lazarus" or "Devasahayam"in the local language, meaning"God is my help".

"While preaching, he partic-ularly insisted on the equality

of all people, despite caste dif-ferences. This aroused thehatred of the higher classes,and he was arrested in 1749.After enduring increasinghardships, he received thecrown of martyrdom when hewas shot on 14 January 1752",a note prepared by the Vaticansaid. Sites linked with his lifeand death are in KottarDiocese, in Kanyakumari dis-trict of Tamil Nadu.

Devasahayam was declaredBlessed on December 2, 2012,in Kottar, 300 years after hisbirth.

CPI Narayana says actressKangana a ‘luxurious beggar' PNS n HYDERABAD

CPI national secretary Dr KNarayana aka 'ChickenNarayana' has termedBollywood actor KanganaRanaut 'a luxurious beggar' andasked her to tender apology tothe people for making insultingremarks on the FreedomMovement.

Narayana, on Thursday, react-ed severely to Kangana's remarksthat the country got alms, notfreedom in 1947. "Everyone

knows how Kangana got PadmaShri award. She does not deserveto speak on the FreedomMovement. Not only Kangana,but also the BJP and the RSSwhich gave her Padma Shrihave no right to speak on theFreedom Movement. Kangana'sstatement that the nation gotfreedom only after NarendraModi became the PrimeMinister is a clear example of herslave mentality," Narayana said,adding that he was condemningher remarks severely.

‘Ban the Scan’campaign gainstraction, pits...Continued from page 1

The Internet FreedomFoundation has asked forinformation in this regardthrough an RTI petition.However, the reply from thepolice was: “It is to informyou that the informationsought by you cannot be fur-nished”.

Meanwhile, Anjani Kumar,Commissioner of Police,Hyderabad, denied the alle-gations. He also ruled out thesurvey report of the activists.“Earlier, photos of missingpersons were in paper form.Now, digital photos havecome. We circulate thosephotos to match throughCCTV to locate missing ones.It is digital matching, not afacial recognition system.Whatever the survey reportsays, it’s not true,” the citypolice chief maintained.

However, the activists sus-pect that the photographs ofnot just missing people, butothers too are being scannedand matched using theCCTV cameras. The numberof CCTV cameras inHyderabad was around onelakh in 2015, but has shot upto six lakh at present. Someof these cameras are beingused for facial recognition,the activists say.

They also give an example.On May 19, one SQ Masoodwas stopped on the road bythe police in Hyderabad.They took his photographafter asking him to removehis mask.

He sent a letter to theCommissioner of Policeexplaining the matter.

Centre blames TS for delay...Continued from page 1

KCR had sought the constitu-tion of a new Tribunal or newTerms of Reference to the exist-ing Tribunal for re-allocation ofriver waters between the twoStates following bifurcation.“However, as the Telanganagovernment in 2015 filed apetition in the Supreme Courtfor the constitution of a newTribunal, the Centre could notmove forward on the issue asthe matter was sub-judice. Howcould the Centre or I takeresponsibility for the delay ofseven years when it was theTelangana government thatapproached the SupremeCourt,” Shekhawat observed.

Subsequently, in the October6, 2020 Apex Council meetingattended by the Chief Ministersof both Telangana and AndhraPradesh, Shekhawat suggestedto Telangana to withdraw thepetition from the SupremeCourt so that Centre could ini-tiate action for resolving the

water sharing dispute betweenthe two Telugu States.

KCR had then said he wouldwithdraw the petition in twodays but actually it took abouteight months, he said. “Only onOctober 6, 2021, did theSupreme Court allow theTelangana government to with-draw the petition. The Centre’srole for resolving the issue relat-ed to the constitution of the newtribunal began one month afterthe withdrawal of the petitionfrom the Supreme Court,” theUnion Minister said.

Shekhawat said he had takenthe initiative to convene theApex Council meeting withthe two Chief Ministers. “Thetwo States were also busy lodg-ing complaints against eachother about the discharge ofwater from the projects and pri-ority of utilising water for elec-tricity generation,” he said.

Prime Minister NarenderModi also directed the Jal ShaktiMinistry to take measures forthe resolution of the issue

between the two States. “Thenwith the agreement of the twoChief Ministers, it was decidedto notify the jurisdiction ofKrishna and Godavari RiverManagement Boards constitut-ed under the AP StateReorganisation Act, 2014 passedin both Houses of Parliament.The jurisdiction of the Boardswas notified to give powers tothe Boards to discharge theirrespective responsibilities,” hesaid.

Shekhawat said the tribunalwas constituted for resolution ofthe dispute over water sharingbetween the two States and itwas referred for the advice of theLaw and Justice Ministry and itwas being awaited. “We aretrying our best to resolve theissue either through the newTribunal which will be againtime consuming or give newterms of reference to the exist-ing Tribunal which I and thetwo States also prefer. We arewaiting for the advice of the LawMinistry,” he said.

Skin whitening creams imported...Continued from page 1

Samples of these creams col-lected from the Vijayawadamarkets were tested in ShriramInstitute for IndustrialResearch, New Delhi usingISO/TR: 17276-2014 for analy-sis using Inductively CoupledPlasma-Mass-Spectrometry(ICP-MS) and the instrumen-tal limit of detection was 1 ppb.

Shriram Institute forIndustrial Research is a certi-fied laboratory whose servicesare often used by PollutionControl Boards across thecountry.

Toxics Link study “Darktruth of skin whitening creams:Presence of Mercury in skinwhitening creams” detectedmercury in six out of 15 sam-ples. Five samples had alarm-ing levels of mercury rangingfrom 4,000 to 14,000 ppm.Only one out of six sampleshad mercury concentrationbelow 1 ppm i.e., 0.3 ppm.

The study also revealed thatall the six samples containingmercury were manufactured inPakistan, according to thelabels in the packaging.Moreover, the test resultsrevealed that all the samplesmanufactured in India hadmercury below detectable lim-its.

In India, there is a stringentregulation, under the Drugsand Cosmetics Rules 2020 toprevent mercury from beingadded to cosmetics.Manufacturing and import ofcosmetics containing mercurycompounds are completelyprohibited; but unintentionalmercury is allowed up to 1ppm.

However, the present study isan indicator that the mercury-containing products are still

available in the Indian market.India has also ratified theMinamata Convention on mer-cury which restricts mercuryuse in cosmetics to 1 ppm.

“It is disturbing that themercury concentrations insome of the imported sampleswere found to be as high as1,000 times more than thecurrent permissible limit of 1ppm. The results of the sam-ples are astonishing consider-

ing the levels of mercury thatis being detected in theseproducts,” Toxics Link’s leadresearcher of this study, AlkaDubey told The Pioneer.

These are brands that werealso tested in 2019 by ToxicsLink in collaboration with eZero Mercury Working Group(ZMWG). Even then, theseproducts reported high mer-cury concentrations, Dubeysaid.

Mercury in cosmeticsused to inhibitmelanin formationPNS VIJAYAWADA: Mercury incosmetics is used in inorganicand organic forms. Inorganicmercury is used in skin whiteningcreams and soaps. It is added toskin whitening products to inhibitthe formation of melanin. Melaninis responsible for skin colour.Dark-skinned people have moremelanin than light-skinned people.Mercury inhibits melanogenesis inmelanocytes by inactivatingtyrosinase, the important catalystin melanin production, thusreducing pigmentation of skin. In-vitro studies showed thatinorganic mercury species suchas mercurous chloride (calomel),mercurous oxide, mercuricchloride or ammoniated mercury,which are predominantly used inskin-whitening creams, couldpenetrate the skin. Organicmercury compounds, such asthiomersal, which contains ethylmercury, and phenyl mercuricsalts, are used as cosmeticpreservatives in eye makeupincluding mascara, in hand andbody creams and lotions, andmakeup cleansing products.

International casestudies tooestablisheddangerous ill effectsPNS VIJAYAWADA: Severalinternational case studies tooestablished dangerous ill effects ofmercury in cosmetics and skinwhitening creams. Rakete et al(2021) had reported a case study ofa 4-yr old boy from Germany whogot admitted with loss of weight,weakness, fatigue, strong sweating,arterial hypertonia (114/104mmHg) and tachycardia (>150bpm). The boy also had abdominalpain in the stomach, joint painwithout any swelling, redness andhigh blood pressure. After 6months of first admission, thepatient’s blood was tested formercury which established themercury poisoning. Furtherinvestigation reveals that the boygot mercury intoxication due to thetransmission of a mercury-containing cream by skin-to-skincontact with his mother. Thisestablished that case reportsassociated with skin-lighteningcreams often articulate considerablediagnostic difficulties connecting thesymptoms to mercury poisoning.

No exemption...Continued from page 1

The petitioner wanted thecourt to direct the govern-ment to refund the amountcollected from citizens onwhom the file has beenimposed prior to the amend-ment of the rules.

After the High Court’sclear orders, the petitionerwithdrew the case.

CBI seeks...Continued from page 1

The CBI has filed six morechargesheets against as manyaccused – Sridhar ReddyAvuthu, Jalagam VenkataSatyanarayana, Guda SridharReddy, Sreenath Suswaram,Kishore Kumar Darisa aliasKishore Reddy Darisa andSudduluri Ajay Amruth – inthe case.

CBI spokesperson Joshi saidthese accused were arrested bythe agency from differentplaces in Andhra Pradesh andTelangana on October 22 andthey are currently in judicialcustody.

The CBI had earlier arrest-ed five accused in the case andfiled five separate chargesheetsagainst them, he said.

With this, 11 chargesheetshave been filed against the 11accused arrested in the case sofar, Joshi said.

TSRTC sets up...Continued from page 1

The Board will have as direc-tors the Special Chief Secre-tary / Principal Secretary /Secretary from the depart-ments of Transport, R&B,Finance, Labour, Employ-ment, Training and Factories.Also, there will be one repre-sentative of GoI, as well as theState Transport Commissi-oner, Engineer-In-Chief/Chief Engineer, R&Band GHMC Commissioner,GHMC as directors.

Harish ‘exposes’ Kishan, demands apologyContinued from page 1

“Kishan Reddy also allegedthat the State government offi-cers never met their Uniongovernment counterpartsregarding sanction of newmedical colleges. It was anirresponsible statement again,”he said.

Producing another letter,Harish Rao said that on June21, 2015, the then State HealthMinister Laxma Reddy wroteto Nadda about setting up

medical colleges in districthospitals. “The Union Ministerthen responded that it wouldnot be possible. The State gov-ernment wrote another letteron August 8, 2019 to the thenUnion Health Minister HarshVardhan to set up medicalcolleges in Karimnagar,Khammam and other districts.Harsh Vardhan too repliedthat it would not be possible tosanction medical collegesunder Phase I and II and theywould consider the request

during Phase III,” Harish Raosaid.

He continued: “Phase-III isalso over and out of 157 med-ical colleges sanctioned to sev-eral States, not even one collegewas sanctioned to Telangana.”

The Union Minister utteredanother lie that out of theamount given to people underKCR Kits scheme, Rs 5,000 wascontributed by the Centre.

“Is it not discrimination onpart of Union Government todeny sanction of medical col-

leges to Telangana?” HarishRao sought to know, anddemanded Kishan Reddy to atleast ensure 10 medical collegesare sanctioned to the State.

The Centre was also silentabout allocating three acres ofland from the premises ofICMR for setting up theNational Centre for DiseaseCentre in Hyderabad so theState government itself provid-ed temporary accommodationfor it, the Health Ministersaid.

Rentals up...Continued from page 1

Interestingly, despite thevacant spaces available,rentals have increased in thecity. In Hyderabad, averagerentals increased to Rs 58 persq. ft. in H1 FY22 from Rs56.5 per sq. ft. in H1 FY21and Rs 56 per sq. ft. pre-Covid-19 in H1 FY20.

The analysis showed thatBengaluru, Hyderabad andChennai saw office vacanciesincrease by at least 4.2 per-cent, 3.9 percent and 2.78percent respectively in H1FY22 as against the sameperiod in H1 FY21.

The net absorptiondeclined by 30 percent in H1FY22 compared to H1 FY21.

Majority of TRS...Continued from page 1

As a result, a substantialamount of funds cannot betraced and are from‘unknown’ sources.

While the national politi-cal parties were broughtunder the RTI Act by the CICruling in June 2013, theyhave still not complied withthe decision. Total trans-parency is, unfortunately, notpossible under the currentlaws, and it is only the RTIthat can keep citizensinformed.

As per the ADR analysis,TRS has declared ‘unknown’income of Rs 89.158 crore,TDP Rs 81.694 crore andYSRCP Rs 74.75 crore.

CBI sends voice samples to...Continued from page 1

The CBI is probing allegationsthat confidential informationpertaining to procurement andmaintenance of naval equip-ment was leaked for pecuniarybenefits and charges of briberyin a deal for mine laying sad-

dles from Allen ReinforcedPlastics Limited, a Hyderabad-based company, the sourcessaid.

The agency arrested TPSastry, the executive director ofthe company, on September 8after his alleged role in thebribery surfaced, they added.

HYDERABAD | FRIDAY | NOVEMBER 12, 2021 hyderabad 03

NAVEENA GHANATE

n HYDERABAD

The next time you are buyingcoconuts or cell phone covers,do take a moment to check ifit is from a public toilet. Whilemany public toilets are defunctand have been reduced toadvertising boards, some havebeen leased out to vendors bycontractors.

Activist Vinay Vangalaraised the issue on Twitterthat the public toilet atPatancheru is being used onlyfor commercial purposes.Soon, other netizens sharedpictures of toilets being con-verted into commercial estab-lishments.

Soon enough, the GreaterHyderabad MunicipalCorporation (GHMC) sanita-tion wing took note, descend-ed on the location, closeddown the shop and imposed apenalty of Rs 2,000. VinayVangala said, “The quick actionby GHMC is much appreciat-ed, but I see these toilets areused only for commercial pur-poses. The very purpose ofinstallation is not reaching thepublic. Unauthorised peopleare subletting them. TheEnforcement wing should look

into this as it appears to be likea scam”.

Activists pointed that theinstructions of Minister KT

Rama Rao for a detailed auditof all public toilets and actionagainst those vandalising is nottaken seriously.

Social activist Harish Dagasaid, “Ahead of the electionslast year, about 10,000 such toi-lets were set up on footpaths.Of these almost over 3,000have been now removed, 3,000are shut or non-operationaland the rest are functioning ascommercial establishmentsand not as toilets for publicusage.”

In April, the MunicipalAdministration Departmentannounced that an audit ofpublic toilets in seven circles ofGreater Hyderabad MunicipalCorporation would be takenup by Administrative StaffCollege of India (ASCI) andNational Institute of UrbanManagement (NIUM).

Meanwhile, recently ASCIdeveloped a real-time mobileapp for regular monitoring byULB staff covering cleanli-ness, infrastructure availabili-ty, Covid-19 response, toiletmaintenance and record keep-ing.

The features of PattanaPragathi Toilet ManagementScheme (PPTMS) include aweb portal to capture the infor-mation on toilet infrastructuredevelopment, design featuresand operations and mainte-nance (O&M) plan.

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Hyderabad City Policealong with the Directorate ofRevenue Intelligence (DRI)seized 14.2 kilograms of pseu-doephedrine, a controlled sub-stance under the NDPS Act1985, from an internationalcourier agency office atBegumpet. The value of theseized contraband was aroundRs. 5.5 crore.

The drug was being smug-gled from the city to Australiain parcel and was seized basedon specific information, saidCity Police CommissionerAnjani Kumar.

Preliminary investigationsrevealed that the consign-ments were booked usingfraudulent Aadhar cards with

Hyderabad address. It waspossibly booked from TamilNadu, said Anjani Kumar.

"The drug was packed inplastic covers and kept inbetween two layers of photoframes to avoid detection.During examination, officialsfound 22 photo frames in alland a total of 14.2 kilogram ofPseudoephedrine wasretrieved. The samples testedpositive," the Commissionersaid.

The DRI has booked 15cases and seized over 300kilograms of Ephedrine andpseudoephedrine consign-ments destined to Australia bycourier, air and sea cargo inthe last one year from variouslocations in Chennai, Delhiand Bengaluru, officials said.

14.2 kg pseudoephedrine worth Rs 5.5 crore seized

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Asifnagar Police ofHyderabad Police Com mis-sionerate arrested three engi-neering students for peddlingbanned narcotic substanceMDMA pills, while they wereselling them at Mehdipatnambus stand on Thursday. Thepolice seized 110 pills worthRs.3 lakh from them.

Inspector of police,Asifnagar, N Ravinder afterreceiving credible informa-tion, rushed to the spot andapprehended two persons

identified as Belly Ajay Sai, 22,a resident of Ra machandrapu-ram and Racharla Ankith, 22,a resident of Ameerpet.

The police officials have

seized 50 MDMA pills fromthem.

In the inquiry, the accusedpersons revealed that anotherperson Dharavath Sai Charan,

25, from Hayathnagar was alsoinvolved in the offence. Thepolice have also arrested himand recovered 60 pills fromhim.

The accused engineeringstudents had purchased thepills online for Rs 1,500 eachand were selling the same forRs 2,500 each after collectingadvance payment throughmobile applications, said CityPolice Commissioner AnjaniKumar.

All the three were present-ed before court and remandedin judicial custody.

Three arrested for selling MDMA pills

PNS n HYDERABAD

In the latest in the series ofseizures of ganja and otherdrugs by the excise and policein and around Hyderabad dur-ing the last few days, officialsof the Prohibition and ExciseDepartment of Telanganaapprehended four persons andseized marijuana worth Rs 1crore at Medchal on Thursday.

Police said that two carswere flagged down by officialsnear Kowkur in Jawahar Nagarand upon inspection, ganjaweighing 462 kilograms wasfound in the cars. The fouroccupants of the car wereimmediately detained andquestioned. The arrested per-sons have been identified asFareed, Ismail, Sachin Chawanand Baswa Raju.

Preliminary investigationrevealed that the drug wasbeing transported from theAndhra-Odisha border area toMaharashtra to be given to sup-pliers in the state which will inturn be sold to customers,before it was seized at Medchal,said David Ravikant, DeputyCommissioner, Excise, Medchaldistrict. The Excise police haveregistered a case and havelaunched an investigation intothe racket to weed out theconsumers and suppliers.

With Medchal being one ofthe major routes used by trans-porters of the drug among thesouthern states, major drugbusts in the district have beenoccurring ever since ChiefMinister K ChandrasekharRao decided to go all out andwipe out the usage of narcoticsin the state. On October 23,

4.92 kg of Mephedrone wasseized at three different placesin Medchal Malkajgiri districtby Excise officials. On October30, two drug peddlers werearrested and 110 kg of ganjawas seized from their posses-

sion in LB Nagar. The contra-band, estimated to be valued atRs 18.50 lakh, was being trans-ported from the agency area inVisakhapatnam district ofAndhra Pradesh to Nagpur viaHyderabad.

Farmer, driver held for cultivating ganja T

he Medchal Police on Thur-sday apprehended a personfor growing cannabis plant

in his field at Dabilpur village ofMedchal district. The arrestedperson identified as Narasimha,50, is a farmer by profession.According to the police, Naras-imha was found suspiciouslyplucking leaves off a plant andstuffing them into a bag. Whenquestioned, he then confessedthat it was a cannabis plant andhe was cultivating the leaves tobe sold. Narasimha said that hedid this without the knowledgeof the land owner and wasselling marijuana leaves to earnextra income. A CLUES teamwas called to the place and afterconfirming that the plant was amarijuana one, police officialsseized the seven feet plant andregistered a case against him.

IN THE BACKYARD…

In a similar arrest, theJawaharnagar Police onThursday apprehended a manwho was growing a cannabisplant in his house. The arrestedperson, MA Ayaz Khan, 50, is adriver by profession residing atMallelaguda of Arundhati Nagar.According to the police,information was received abouta person growing cannabisplants in the backyard of hishouse at Mallelaguda. A team ofpolice officials descended onthe residence to investigate thesame and upon seeing the cops,the accused tried to flee but wasimmediately apprehended. The police officials arrested theaccused and registered a caseunder the NDPS Act. forcultivating ganja

PNS n HYDERABAD

Businessman SaranalaSreedhar Rao, who was arrest-ed by the Raidurgam Policelate on Wednesday for cheat-ing a firm of Rs 11.24 crore, hassimilar cases registered againsthim at different police stations,said the police on Thursday.

According to sources,Sreedhar Rao, the director of 28companies, was earlier accusedof trespassing and land grab-bing and a case in this regardhas been registered in theGachibowli Police station in2019. Police officials confirmedthat they have completed filingthe charge-sheet in this case andwill initiate legal proceedings.

Following Sreedhar Rao’sarrest on Wednesday, anotheralleged victim of hisapproached the police claim-ing that Rao did not pay himhis dues after hiring him forcellular work at his companiesin Hyderabad and Bangalore.Seven victims have lodgedcomplaints against SreedharRao so far at the Gachibowli,Raidurgam and Narsingi policestations, according to sources.

Several other complaints fol-lowed after the arrest ofSreedhar Rao for cheating thecomplainant, SreenivasaHosamane and 11 others thathe was developing a propertyin Raidurgam and offered tosell it for Rs 17,04,82,741. The

complainant and other part-ners then paid an amount of Rs11,24,14,402 to the accused andhe was supposed to handoverthe property by June, 2018.

However, Rao did not handover the property and stoppedresponding to them. He fur-ther denied them registrationand started threatening them.

Despite cases being filed ear-lier as well, it is alleged that Rao’sproximity to political circleshelped him in avoiding arrest.In 2019, IT officials grilledSreedhar regarding the landsale transactions between hiscompanies and Chandra-babuNaidu’s wife Bhuvaneswari andhis son Lokesh’s wife Brahmani,worth several crores of rupees.

Arrested businessman Sreedhar booked earlier for similar cases

PNS n HYDERABAD

Hyderabadi Chai is the indis-putable emperor of Irani cafes.Besides a regular diet of biryani,milky sweet tea is another con-coction that sees mostHyderabadis through the trialsand tribulations life has to offer.When asked the famous bak-eries in the city about their best-selling product, the answer wasunanimous Osmania biscuits.

For generations, this is onecombination that Hyderabadishave woken up to, and by whichthey survive even the toughestof situations.

Now, this iconic combo hasfound a new famous fan. Paytm

founder Vijay Shekhar Sharmawas drooling over the freshOsmania biscuit andHyderabadi Chai from aParadise Food Court outlet.

Calling it "a killer combo",Sharma on Thursday tweetedthe photo of a tea cup. Netizensdidn't miss out to appreciate andsuggest other variants of com-binations and varieties inHyderabad. A netizen TarunKumar Davuluri said, "Youshould try the Irani chai &Osmania biscuit combo atCharminar!! Treat yourself withmutton biryani at Paradisebefore leaving". Another VarunVitta suggested to try chai inCafe Nilofer at Banjara Hills.

‘HYDERABADI COMBOS'

Paytm founder now fan of Osmania biscuit-Irani Chai

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Telangana governmenthas released the guidelines forissuing "Official Documentfor Covid Death" to facilitatepayment of ex gratia of Rs50,000 from the SDRF.

Applicants have to applyfor ODCD through MeeSeva.

Along with details of thedeceased, the applicant mustupload the death certificate. Asper the guidelines, the applicanthas to upload Covid-19 posi-tive test report (if available). IfCovid positive test report is notavailable, the applicant canupload Medical Certificate ofCause of Death (MCCD) inForm 4 & 4A (under Section1.0 of the Registration of Birthand Death (RBD) Act, 1969)indicating that the death hasoccurred due to Covid-19, ifthe same is available.

If neither the Covid positivetest report nor the MCCD is

available, the applicant canupload other investigativereports or any other documentto establish that death occurred

due to Covid. District levelCDAC headed by the districtCollector will approve theODCD.

Now, get official document for Covid death at MeeSeva

Ganja worth Rs 1 cr seized at Medchal; four peddlers held

NO STINK

Public toilets turn into shopsHexacopter dronesto tackle mosquitomenace in 6 zonesPNS n HYDERABAD

As many as six 'hexocopter'drones were deployed in eachof the six zones under theGHMC to take up anti-larvaloperations to curb the mos-quito menace.

As part of this, anti-larvalchemicals will be sprayed over30 ponds in the first phase. Asper the official communica-tion, it is proposed to takemosquito control measures inanother 20 ponds.

Drones are being deployedover ponds that have stagnantwater in the first phase. Spra-ying is done twice a month bycontract with a private agencyand sometimes the exercise istaken up three times wherenecessary. The entire activitywill be completed in 10 min-utes which saves time.

Officials said that dronesfacilitate easy access to allparts of the pond, save timeand money and also ensureuniform spraying.

Mosquito larvae and largemosquitoes are being con-trolled by spraying the chem-ical through drones in ponds,colonies, quarries, open plotsand closed catchment areaswhere mosquito menace ishigh.

All-women teamto manage OU’sUGC-HRD CentrePNS n HYDERABAD

The new administrative teamconsisting of all womenadministrators took charge atOsmania University’s UGC-Human Resource Developm-ent Centre on Thursday.

This is the first time in thehistory of a centenary oldUniversity that a major trainingcentre is headed by a womanfaculty supported by two otherwomen faculty members. ProfB Vijaya of the Department ofEnglish assumed charge as theDirector, Dr B Lavanya of theHistory Department tookcharge as Associate Directorand Dr V Samunnatha ofBusiness Management asAssistant Director.

"An all women team havebeen entrusted to take theactivities with a hope that theteam will ensure timely con-duct of the UGC training pro-grammes and also take up newinitiatives to conduct pro-grammes to other staff andstakeholders of OU too,"opined V-C Prof Ravinder.

As the government gavepowers to the districtCollectors to disburse Rs

50,000 ex gratia to the next of kinof the Covid deceased, a PILseeking directions to the State toappoint death audit committeewas filed in the High Court onThursday. Senior Congress leaderDasoju Sravan filed the petitionseeking the government to set upa death audit committee. Hestated that an estimated 1,20,000people died of Covid. However,the government records put thenumber of deceased due to Covidat only 3,912. "The actual numberof Covid deaths in Telanganashould come out if justice is to bedone to the families of the victims

in the wake of the SC order onCovid financial assistance,"Sravan said. He said that theTRS government should go togreat lengths to conduct a Coviddeath audit and reveal the actualdeaths and do justice to all thevictims. Sravan alleged that theTRS government hid the numberof Covid deaths in order to coverup its incompetence. “Thegovernment says that only 3,912people have died from Covid,giving the impression that therewas no Covid. But there is clearinformation that about 1,20,000people died. According to theTelangana government, only3,912 people died. Who will dojustice to the rest?"he asked.

Audit panel demandedPNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana Governor Dr TamilisaiSoundararajan has made a presentation on trib-al development and health at the 51st confer-ence of Governors and Lt. Governors, chairedby President Ram Nath Kovind at theRashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Thursday.

Dr Tamilisai was one among the sixGovernors chosen to make a presentation atthe prestigious conference attended by Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, and Home Minister AmitShah.

The Governor during her presentation hashighlighted the pilot study and project, initi-ated by her in Adilabad, Bhadradri-Kothagudem, and Nagarkurnool in Telangana.

As part of the initiative, a need-based nutri-tional improvement and livelihoods improve-ment pilot project will be implemented soonthrough a multi-pronged approach.

Dr Tamilisai addresses at Rashtrapati Bhavan

PNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana on Thursday reg-istered 153 fresh Covid cases,pushing the tally to 6,73,140,while the toll rose to 3,971with two more fatalities.

The Greater HyderabadMunicipal Corporation(GHMC) accounted for themost number of cases with52, followed by Nalgonda 14and Karimnagar 12, a stategovernment bulletin said,providing details as of 5.30PM on Thursday.

T'gana registers153 Covid cases

CONFERENCE OF GOVERNORS

JUDAs, government doctors differ over in-service quotaPNS n HYDERABAD

Representatives of theTelangana Junior DoctorsAssociation (JUDA) onThursday met HealthMinister T Harish Rao andgave a representationstrongly opposing the in-service quota to candidates

who are already being givenservice point weightage.

TJUDA president Dr DSagar said in the represen-tation that inclusion ofquota results in biastowards regular candidates.However, the stand takenby the JUDa did not godown well with senior doc-

tors who are of the opinionthat in-service is a loss formerit students.

Dr Lalu Prasad Rathod,Telangana GovernmentMedical Association statepresident expressed dis-pleasure over the requestmade to Minister HarishRao. He said, "Those who

have completed MBBSshould join governmentservice and serve the peo-ple. Doctors working ingovernment service andtaking forward the welfareschemes to the peopleshould not be denied an in-service quota."

He urged everyone to

come forward and do theirpart to strengthen the pub-lic health sector. Meanwhile,the JUDAs urged HarishRao to find a solution assoon as possible to thepathetic state of theOsmania General Hospitalbuilding to avoid any furthermishaps.

04HYDERABAD | FRIDAY | NOVEMBER 12, 2021

PNS n MULUG

Demanding that the State gov-ernment should buy the paddycultivated by the farmersimmediately, the district BJPconducted a dharna under theleadership of the party districtpresident ChintalapudiBhaskara Reddy on Thursdayin front of the DistrictCollector office.

The dharna was organized ascalled by the State BJP leader-ship. He alleged that the Stategovernment under the leader-ship of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao deceived thefarmers with a false promise ofbuying the paddy. Speaking tothe Additional CollectorTripathi who came to the dhar-na spot, Bhaskara Reddy saidthat even after the paddy wasbrought to the purchasing cen-ters, the government was notcoming forward to buy it anddescribed it as blatant decep-tion of the farmers.

The government also dis-suaded the farmers not to sow

paddy as it would not be ben-eficial to them, he said. Just forthe sake of public consump-tion, the KCR governmentwas saying that it was purchas-ing the paddy from the farm-ers but in actuality, it was act-ing quite against it. He angri-ly asked the AdditionalCollector “Where will thefarmers go if the governmentdoesn’t come forward to pur-chase the paddy that they havecultivated.

It is nothing but outrightdeception of farmers whohoped that the governmentwould buy the paddy by pay-ing the remunerative price”. It

is quite unfortunate that thegovernment, which is sup-posed to come to the rescue ofthe farmers, to say that it can-not buy the paddy, Reddycommented.

The BJP district presidentalso warned the governmentthat his party will stand by thefarmers on this issue, and beready to organize massive agi-tations in support of the farm-ers till the point of making theChief Minister to change hisstance. Along with BJPactivists, a number of peoplebelonging to farmers' organi-zations participated in thedharna.

KCR govt deceiving farmersBJP organizes dharna at District Collector”s office

PNS n MULUG

The District Collector KrishnaAditya asked the officials tospeed up arrangements forthe Medaram Jatara as thefestival was approaching fastand suggested to them to invitetenders for the works to betaken up for this occasion andalso to provide facilities to thedevotees attending the Jatara.Aditya ordered them to workwith coordination and com-plete involvement to make theevent flawless and successful.Addressing a combined meet-ing of R and B, RWS, Pan chay-at Raj, and the police officialson Thursday held in his cham-ber, the collector said thatthere should not be any delayin calling the tenders for theworks and also studied theproposals for the works pre-pared by different depart-ments.

Depicting Medaram Jararaas the biggest tribal festivaldepicting their customs andtraditions, the Collector said

that the thousands of devoteesattend the festival to seek theblessings of Sammakka,Sarakka in the fulfillment oftheir wants and desires.Keeping the importance andsanctity of the festival, theofficials should make no stoneunturned to make impeccablearrangements, the Collectorsaid at the meeting. He alsoadvised the officials to workhard as there was only threemonths' time to make flawlessarrangements to provide facil-ities

to the thousands of devotees.

Advising them to follow Covidprotocols while involvingthemselves in the MadaraJatara arrangements. Arr ange-ments will be made in a per-fect manner keeping in viewthe past experiences, theCollector said adding thatbasic facilities like drinkingwater provision, toilets, andother requirements of thedevotees would be looked afterwithout giving any scope forproblems.

Officials belonging to differ-ent departments participatedin the meeting.

Speed up the arrangementsCollector orders officials on Medaram Jatara.

PNS n NIZAMABAD.

In view of the ensuing MLCElection scheduled to be heldon 10, December, all the offi-cials must take necessary mea-sures to conduct the poll in afree, fair, and frank manner,the District CollectorNarayana Reddy ordered theofficials in a coordinationmeeting held at NizamabadCollectorate on Thursday.

He also urged them not togive any scope to untowardincidents during the poll. Hesaid that all efforts will bemade to follow the instruc-tions and guidelines as per theelection norms issued by theElection Commission whilereiterating that the securityaspects of the erstwhile dis-tricts of Nizamabad andKamaraddy would be takeninto account by providingutmost supervision at everycorner. He ordered the officialsto remove banners, flexies,

wall writings immediately andstressed that no permissionshould be given rallies anddharnas.

However, prior applicationsfor permissions may be subjectto the conditions laid on theprior consultations with thepolice officials, he clarified.

The Collector asked all theofficials concerned to makearrangements for an all-partymeeting with equitable impor-tance to all political parties.

By the time, the ElectionNotification is issued on 16November, all the DistrictOfficials would be engaged onduties so as to avoid any scopefor any sort of complaint, hesaid adding that check postswould be alerted to conductstrict checking.

He also said that by nextMonday, arrangements for thetraining to this effect be givento the polling personnel andthey should be properly vac-cinated

Be prepared forthe MLC election

PNS n JAYASHANKAR

BHUPALPALLY

Stating that the economic andfinancial development ofwomen not only sustains thembut also their families as themoney in their hands wouldbe utilized properly and eco-nomically, District CollectorBhavesh Misra ordered theofficials on Thursday thatsteps should be taken toimprovise the economic con-ditions of self-help womenand strive for their compre-hensive development. He alsoasked the district officials tostart new groups so as to

involve all the women in thedistrict.

In a review meeting of theprogrammes taken up so far inthe district, the officials gavethe details of the members ofthe self-help groups and theloans given to them.

The village developmentofficial Purushothamexplained to the Collectorthat there were 86,927 womenmembers in 364 village unit-ed associations and8188 self-help groups. He also said thatin the current financial yearloans up to Rs 107 crore weregiven to the members out of atarget of Rs 188 Crore.

PNS n WARANGAL

An awareness programme wasconducted by NALSA for pub-lic prosecutors and police offi-cials on the Telangana victimcompensation scheme-2005.Speaking on the occasion GVMaheshnath, secretary

Warangal district legal helpcenter detailed the measures tobe taken for properly compen-sating accident victims and healso stressed the care thatshould be taken in this regardand also gave suggestions tothat effect. A detailed discus-sion was also held regarding

the issues pertaining to it.Deputy Director Satyanarayana explained the role ofpolice and public prosecutorsin helping the victims. He alsogave suggestions with regard toproviding compensation tothe victims and helping themget justice.

Help women empowereconomically,says Misra

Awareness programmeon victim compensation

PNS n SATTUPALLI

The concerted efforts of thepolice to prevent the smug-gling of ganja have paid divi-dends as a massive amount ofthe substance being transport-ed has been seized. By bust-ing the ganja smuggling rack-et the police have around 566kgs of ganja valued at Rs 1cr42lakh The confiscation hadtaken place when the sub-stance was being smuggled toneighboring Maharastra fromAndhra Pradesh andMarredumilli in a truck.

The police have taken twopeople into their custody inthis connection and the thirdman involved with is abscond-ing. Encouraged by the confis-cation the police have sharp-ened their strategies as to howganja smuggling could be pre-

vented. The Khammam dis-trict police commissionerVishnu S Varrier disclosed thedetails of the ganja confisca-tion.

According to reliablesources, a police team headed

by ACP Venkatesh andSattupalli Circle InspectorRamakanth while conductingvehicle checking onWednesday night, found nearJalagam Vengalarao park, gotsuspicious of the vehicle num-

ber MH 23 AU 7377 andchecked and to their dismay,they found hundreds of kgs ofganja in it and took two peo-ple into custody.

The Commissioner said thatthe ganja was secretly keptunder the plates speciallyarranged for this purpose andit was being smuggled fromVishakapatnam to Maharastravia Maredupalli, Rajamundryand Sattupalli. One of thearrested revealed that the ganjawas meant to be smuggled toAhmednagar in Maharastra.The Commissioner also saidthat to prevent smuggling ofganja a number of steps werebeing taken and special teamswere also formed for this pur-pose.

A search team has beenformed to nab the abscondingthird accused.

o Valued at Rs 1cr 42lakh o Police successfully busted the gang

PNS n NALGONDA

District Collector PrashanthJeevan Patil said that the noti-fication will be issued on the16th of this month as the localbody quota MLC electionschedule has been issued andthe Model Code of Conductwill also apply to the MLCelections.

Collector arranged anawareness meeting on MLCelections with representativesof political parties in his cham-ber in the Collectorate onThursday.

On the occasion, the

District Collector said thatthe elections will be held asone MLC seat is vacant for thecombined Nalgonda district.

He said only municipalcouncilors, ZPTCs, MPTCs,and ex-officio members wouldhave the right to vote in theMLC elections. He said therewere 7 vacancies in Nalgondacombined district and therewere a total of 1271 voters andthe draft voter list would bepublished on November 15th.

He said polling stationswould be set up division-wise.Representatives of politicalparties agreed.

Collector conductsmeeting on MLC poll

566 kgs of ganja seized

Officials observing the seized ganja

PNS n KAMAREDDY

The Collector Jitesh V Patilhas asked the officials con-cerned to start inviting appli-cations from the 12th of thismonth in all the villages underthe aegis of the forest rightscommittee. In a video confer-ence, he also advised them toselect forest rights committeemembers in villages by orga-nizing village meetings addingthat care should be taken toform them with a 1/3 quota towomen and 2/3 representationto STs. In the new habitation,a forest rights committee mustbe formed, the Collectorstressed on the occasion. Hesaid those who have been cul-tivating before 2005 and thosewho have been cultivatingthe forest lands for the lastthree generations could applyalong with voter ID cards,Aadhar cards.

PNS n NIZAMABAD

Accusing Chief Minister KChandrasekhara Rao ofignoring the interests of thefarmers of the State the dis-trict BJP organized a dharnaon Thursday saying that theCentre was ready to buypaddy and rice.

Speaking on the occasion,the BJP district presidentBasva Laks hminarayanablamed the state govern-ment for not purchasing thepaddy from the farmers.

He said that protestingthe attitude of the State gov-

ernment the party took updharna. He revealed that theCentre had written a letter tothe State government indi-cating that it was ready topurchase 40 lakh metrictonnes of rice and 60 lakhmetric tonnes of paddy andhe questioned why the TRSgovernment was not pur-chasing the produce fromthe farmers.

Ment ioning that theC entre had purchased48.75lakh metric tonnes ofrice and 60 lakh metrictonnes of paddy from thestate through FCI, the farm-

ers were frustrated to seethat no one was coming for-ward to buy their producewith the government itselfkeeping itself away from it.The BJP leader also ques-tioned the Chief Ministerwhy he was not opening IKPand Single Window centersand asked that “Is it not afact that the state govern-ment has entered into anagreement with FCI for thesupply of salted rice”. Heblamed the state govern-ment for not respondingwhile the Centre came for-ward to buy normal rice.

Center ready to buy paddy, rice

PNS n HYDERABAD

The AICC has asked TPCCleaders to come to Delhi onNovember 13 to do a post-mortem on the severe debacleof the party in the Huzurabadby-poll. The AICC asked TPCC ChiefA Revanth Reddy, CLP leaderMallu Bhatti Vikramarka,TPCC working presidents—Dr. J Geetha Reddy, MaheshKumar Goud, T Jagga Reddy,Mohd Azharuddin and AnjanKumar Yadav, TPCC ElectionManagement Committeechairman DamodaraRajanarsimha, AICC programsimplementation committeechairman A MaheshwarReddy, TPCC CampaignCommittee chairman MadhuYashki Goud, AICC secre-taries, and members alongwith Huzurabad Congress can-didate Balmoor VenkatNarsinga Rao and Karimnagar

former MP PonnamPrabhakar. It is learnt that theAICC is going to warn theTelangana leaders to work seri-ously from now on keeping theHuzurabad by-polls result inview, as it is fully upset with theoutcome of the Huzurabadby-poll.

According to sources, theopponents of TPCC Chief A

Revanth Reddy lodged com-plaints with the AICC that theparty had neglected theHuzurabad election and hencethe party got mere 3014 votes.The party would have gotmore votes to protect thedeposit if it took the electionsseriously. It is learnt that someleaders lodged a complaintwith the AICC saying that the

Congress party indirectlyextended support to the BJPcandidate Eatala Rajender. It isalso learnt that some leaderslodged counter complaints say-ing that the party did a badperformance at Huzurabadjust because of former TPCCChief N Uttam Kumar Reddy.

It may be recalled that thePolitical Affairs Committeehas appointed a committee toconduct a study and to submita report on the Huzurabaddebacle.

The AICC also appointed anobserver to conduct a studyand to submit a report beforeNovember 30.

However, one of the partyleaders said that the November13 postmortem was to alert theparty and warn the leaders,who neglected and not partic-ipate in the elections and cam-paign though the partyappointed a 20 member starcampaigners team

Why we failed in Huzurabad by poll?AICC summons Revanth and others for the fiasco

Applications forforest landspanels from today

Tribal man alleges custodial torture; inquiry orderedPNS n SURYAPET

A 23-year-old tribal man onThursday alleged that hewas beaten up by the policein Sur yapet distr ic t ofTelangana for a crime hesaid he did not commit.

Condemning the allegedassault in custody, the man,his family and some resi-dents of a v i l l age inAt hmakur (S) manda lstaged a protest in front ofthe police station.

Sur yap et Dis t r ic tSuperintendent of Police SRajendra Prasad said hehas ordered an inquiry intothe matter.

The man told TV chan-nels too that he was taken tothe station on Wednesdayin connection with theft offarm equipment and allegedthat three police personnel,including a sub-inspector,beat him up while in cus-

tody.The SP said as part of

investigation into the theft,the police identified thetribal man by call detailrecords (CDRs) and depo-sition of other people. So,he was called to the stationfor inquiry and let off afterb e ing aske d to app e arbefore the police today.

Today, the man his fam-ily and others held theprotest, he said.

The SP told PTI overphone that he has orderedan inquiry by a DeputySuperintendent of Police(DSP)-rank of f i c ia l toinquire into the incidentand submit a report so thatfurther action could be ini-tiated.

Meanwhile, the tribalman was taken to a hospi-tal and later discharged,the senior police officialadded.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Former PCC Chief VHanumantha Rao said thatwhen the TRS governmentbanned protests at the IndiraPark Dharna Chowk a fewyears ago, he opposed it andfiled a petition. Now thesame government was goingto stage a dharna at IndiraPark Dharna Chowk onFriday. VH remembered thathe filed a petition in theCourt for removing theDharna Chowk by the TRSgovernment then. He saidthat for the first time rulingparty leaders were going tostage a dharna at Indira ParkDharna Chowk demandingthe Central government toprocure the paddy. He spoketo the media at GandhiBhavan.

PNS n SURYAPET

The Additional DistrictCollector S Mohanarao saidthat the elections to the MLCseat will be conductedsmoothly and peacefully andthat arrangements are beingmade for that. Speaking at anall-party meeting held onThursday, he said that threepolling centers were beingarranged for the polling. Hesaid that there were 402 vot-ers in the district and stressedthat all political partiesshould follow Covid protocoland cooperate with theadministration to conductthe elections smoothly. In themeeting representatives ofvarious parties expressedtheir opinions and assuredthe Additional Collector oftheir complete cooperation.

PNS n SANGAREDDY

In a meeting with DCC,DLRCs on Thursday theAdditional District CollectorRajarshi Shah asked thebankers to take steps toachieve loan targets. Thedetails of the meeting and thedecisions were announcedby the lead bank managerRamanareddy. Addressingthe meeting the AdditionalCollector said that the pend-ing SC, ST units should begrounded immediately. Headvised the bankers to coop-erate for economic supportschemes and provide loans tothe beneficiaries.

Achieve loantargets,Bankers told

I filed a petitionwhen TRSbanned DharnaChowk: VH

Poll will besmooth, says AdditionalCollector

nation 05HYDERABAD | FRIDAY | NOVEMBER 12, 2021

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R Rahul expresses concern overincessant rains in Chennai

Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi expressed concern on Thursday over theincessant rains in Chennai and urged party workers to help in the relief-and-rescue work."The incessant rains in Chennai have become a cause for worry.

Requesting our brothers and sisters in the state to follow all safety measures.And an appeal to Congressworkers - please help inrelief and rescue work. Takecare, Chennai," he wrote onTwitter. Most districts innorthern Tamil Nadu,including Chennai, are likelyto receive heavy to veryheavy rainfall, an officialsaid, even as the city and itssuburbs received sharpshowers all through the nightand on Thursday morning aswell.

Former Maoist gunned down inJharkhand

Aformer member of the CPI (Maoist) was shot dead by unidentified men at avillage here on Thursday as he was on his way home from a river ghat, wherehe had gone to observe Chhath puja rituals, a senior police officer said.

Six men on three motorcycles gunned down Kedar Thakur at Kolgay villagein Keredari police station area around 6.30 am, said Superintendent of PoliceManoj Ratan Chouthe. The

assailants are suspected to be activemembers of the banned outfit.According to Chouthe, the victim,who was in 40s, had distancedhimself from all Maoist-relatedoperations, after having served histime in Hazaribag Central Jail forcriminal activities. A searchoperation has been launched in thedistrict, the SP said, adding thatThakur's body has been sent forpost-mortem.

Three of family killed, buried inriver bed; four held

Three members of a family, who went missing earlier this week, were foundmurdered and buried in a riverbed here, a senior police officer on Thursday,while also stating that a suspect who was picked up for questioning took the

lid off the case. The victims, residents of Pondegair village in West Singhbhumdistrict, were identified as SalemDanga (40), his wife Belani (40) andtheir 13-year-old daughter Rahil, theofficer said. Their bodies, withthroats slit, were found buried inKoel Karo river bed on Wednesday.Acting on a tip-off, the police pickedup a local, Marx Danga, who, duringinterrogation, "admitted that he andthree others killed the couple andtheir daughter", the senior officersaid. A raid was subsequentlylaunched and the others allegedlyinvolved in the murder were held.

Kangana says 1947 was ‘bheek',India got ‘real freedom' in 2014PNS n NEW DELHI

Actor Kangana Ranaut kicked offa firestorm on Thursday fordeclaring that India attained“real freedom” in 2014, when theModi-led government came topower, and describing the coun-try's Independence in 1947 as“bheek”, or alms.

The “Manikarnika” actor,known for provocative and ofteninflammatory statements, wasonce again the centre of debate– and ire – with politiciansacross the spectrum, includingBJP MP Varun Gandhi, amongthe host of social media usersand others who reacted with out-rage for her comments at anevent on Wednesday evening.

BJP's Pilibhit MP VarunGandhi shared a video ofRanaut's remarks on his Twitterhandle. In a 24-second clip dis-tributed widely, Ranaut saysIndia's Independence in 1947was not freedom but "bheek"(alms). "And we got real freedomin 2014," she said at the eventorganised by a new channelwith some people in the audi-ence heard clapping.

"It is an anti-national act andmust be called out as such. Tonot do so would be a betrayal ofall those who shed blood so thattoday we may stand tall and freeas a nation," Gandhi said in his

tweet in Hindi.People can never forget the

infinite sacrifices of our free-dom movement and the mil-lions of lives lost and families

destroyed, he added. Belittlingit all in this “shameless man-ner” cannot be condoned sim-ply as a careless or callousstatement, he said.

"Sometimes an insult to thesacrifice and penance ofMahatma Gandhi, sometimesshowing respect to his killerand now this disdain for thesacrifice of millions of freedomfighters from Shaheed Mangal

Pandey to Rani Laxmibai,Bhagat Singh, ChandrashekharAzad, Netaji Subhash ChandraBose and others... "Should I callthis kind of thinking madnessor treason?" the Lok Sabha MPasked.

Varun flays Kangana for‘anti-national’ remarksNew Delhi: BJP MP Varun Gandhislammed film actor KanganaRanaut on Thursday for herreported remarks that Indiaattained freedom in 2014 andwhat it got in 1947 was "alms",and said it is an anti-national actand must be called out as such. People can never forget theinfinite sacrifices of our freedommovement and the millions oflives lost and families destroyed,he said, asserting that to belittle itin this "shameful manner" cannotbe condoned simply as a carelessor callous statement."It is an anti-national act and mustbe called out as such. To not doso would be a betrayal of all thosewho shed blood so that today wemay stand tall and free as anation," the Lok Sabha MP said.He also posted a short clip ofRanaut's remarks during a new

channel programme in which sheis heard saying in Hindi, "That wasnot freedom but 'bheekh' (alms),and the freedom came in 2014."Ranaut, who was recently givenPadma Shri, was apparentlyreferring to the BJP coming topower in 2014. She has sparkedcontroversy in the past with herright wing comments and jibes atopposition politicians. Slamming her, Gandhi tweeted,"Insulting the sacrifice ofMahatma Gandhi sometime,respecting his killer sometime,and now the disdain for thesacrifices of Mangal Pandey, RaniLaxmibai, Bhagat Singh,Chandrashekhar Azad, NetajiSubhash Chandra Bose and lakhsof freedom fighters. Should I callthis thinking madness ortreason?"

AAP asks Mumbai Police tobook her for ‘seditious' remarksMumbai: The Aam AadmiParty submitted an applicationto the Mumbai Police onThursday, demanding that acase be registered against filmactor Kangana Ranaut for herreported remarks that Indiaattained freedom in 2014 andwhat it got in 1947 was "alms".The AAP's national executivemember Preeti Sharma Menontermed the remarks as“seditious and inflammatory". The AAP strongly condemns

the derogatory statement madeby Ranaut- claiming that India'sindependence of 1947 was"bheek" and not realindependence, Menon said in atweet. In another tweet, Menonsaid they have submitted anapplication to the MumbaiPolice, requesting actionagainst Ranaut for her"seditious and inflammatorystatements", under Indian PenalCode Sections 504, 505 and124A.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Asserting that constitutionmakers had envisaged gover-nors as “friend, philosopherand guide” to the people andthe government, PresidentRam Nath Kovind onThursday asked them to giveas much time as possible intheir states and make livelyconnections with the public.

Addressing a day-long con-ference of Governors andLieutenant Governors, heasked them to remember thatthey are committed to ensurewelfare and service of the peo-ple of the state.

“While discussing theresponsibility of the gover-nors, our expert constitutionmakers had expressed theiropinion that the governorswill be 'friend, philosopherand guide' to the general pub-lic and the government,”Kovind said.

He said this role of the gov-ernors is very important inraising awareness among thepublic and in ensuring partic-ipation from the people inachieving the national goals.

“I want all of you governorsto remember that you all arecommitted for the welfare andservice of the people of yourstates,” he said in his address inHindi.

To fulfill this commitment,it is necessary for you to giveas much time as possible toyour state and make livelyconnections with the people,the president said in the con-ference, which was attended byVice President M VenkaiahNaidu, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, Union HomeMinister Amit Shah, amongothers.

Kovind said, in democracy,we all should maintain “contin-ued connectivity“ with the

general public. “I am sure that all of you

must have visited all the dis-tricts, along with rural areas inthose districts, through someprogrammes,” he said.

The president also praisedthe country's fight against thecoronavirus pandemic underthe leadership of Modi andunderlined the role of theGovernors.

It is a matter of satisfactionfor the participants of thisconference that the governorsmade active contribution inbraving the COVID pandem-ic, he said.

“World's most comprehen-sive and effective campaign tocheck Covid has been run inIndia under the leadership ofPrime Minister NarendraModi. All our corona warriorshave discharged their dutieswith extraordinary sacrificeand determination,” he said.

Kovind said the govern-ment's unprecedented initia-tive and the efforts of our sci-entists and entrepreneursmade possible developmentof vaccine and its large scaleproduction in the country.

Prez: Governors ‘friend,philosopher, guide’ to govt

Ban Ki-moon to pen memoiresPNS n NEW DELHI

Ban Ki-moon will come outwith a personal account of hisdecade at the helm of theUnited Nations during a peri-od of historic turmoil andpromise.

"Resolved: Uniting Nationsin a Divided World" is beingpublished by HarperCollinsPublishers India and releaseson November 18.

Ban performed what hasbeen called the "most impos-sible job on this earth" witha genuine belief in collectiveaction and global transforma-tion.

Freed from the diplomaticconstraints of a lifetime ofpublic service, the formerUN Secretary General offersa candid assessment of thepeople and events that shapeour era, and a bracing analy-sis of what lies ahead.

Meeting challenges andresistance with a belief in theUN's mission of peace, devel-opment and human rights,Ban steered the UnitedNations through a volatileperiod that included the ArabSpring, nuclear pursuits in

Iran and North Korea, theEbola epidemic, and brutalnew conflicts in CentralAfrica.

As Secretary General, healso forged global agreementsto fight extreme poverty andaddress the climate crisis.

Born in 1944, just one yearbefore the United Nationsitself, Ban's earliest memoriesare haunted by the sound ofbombs dropping on hisKorean village and the sightof fires consuming whatremained.

As a six-year-old boy, hefled with his family, trudgingfor miles in mud-soakedshoes, suffering from inces-sant hunger, and wonderinghow they would survive -until the United Nations res-cued them. Young Ban Ki-moon grew up determined torepay this lifesaving generos-ity.

Siddhesh Inamdar, execu-tive editor at HarperCollinsIndia says the South Koreandiplomat's book "makes foran inspiring personal andprofessional journey, with awarm Indian connectiontoo".

Amarinder backs extensionof BSF jurisdiction PNS n CHANDIGARH

Former Chief MinisterAmarinder Singh on Thursdayopposed the resolution adopt-ed by the Punjab Assemblyagainst the Centre's move toextend the BSF's jurisdiction,saying the Union government'sdecision does not infringesupon the state authority.

The leader said with neigh-bouring Pakistan using sophis-ticated technology and impro-vised drones with a range of asmuch as 30 km, it is importantthat the Border Security Force(BSF) gets more operationaljurisdiction.

"The BSF like the PunjabPolice is our own force and notany external or foreign forcecoming to occupy our land," hesaid in a statement here.

The Union government hadlast month amended the BSFAct to authorise the borderguarding force to undertakesearch, seizure and arrest with-

in a 50 km stretch, up from theexisting 15 km, from the inter-national border in Punjab,West Bengal and Assam.

The PunjabAssembly onThursday adopted aresolution againstthe Centre's notifi-cation, calling it an"insult" to the statepolice and seekingits withdrawal.

"The operationaljurisdiction of the BSF con-cerns national security andnot the law and order in thestate, which the current pow-ers that be in Punjab are appar-ently not able to understand,"Amarinder Singh said oppos-ing the resolution.

The state governmentshould not politicise the issueof national security for "pettypartisans ends and motives", hesaid.

The leader said apart fromPunjab, the jurisdiction of the

BSF is up to 50 km from theinternational border in Jammuand Kashmir, Rajasthan,

Gujarat and WestBengal.

"Extendingthe opera-tional juris-diction of theBSF neitheri n f r i n g e s

upon the fed-eral authority of

the state nor ques-tions the competence

of the state police in maintain-ing law and order as some vest-ed political interests are tryingto make out," Amarinder Singhremarked.

The former chief ministersaid there is a huge differencebetween the law and order andnational security.

"Unfortunately, people play-ing up the issue are unable tomake out the differencebetween the law and order andthe national security," he said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Rajasthan Chief MinisterAshok Gehlot met Congresspresident Sonia Gandhi hereon Thursday and the twoleaders are learnt to have dis-cussed the political situation aswell as the impending cabinetreshuffle in the state.

Gehlot met Congress gener-al secretary Priyanka GandhiVadra, along with AICC gen-eral secretary in-charge ofRajasthan Ajay Maken andAICC general secretary KCVenugopal, at former partychief Rahul Gandhi's resi-dence here on Wednesdaynight and held lengthy discus-sions on the cabinet reshufflein the state.

A major reshuffle is on thecards in Rajasthan in the nextfew days and various modal-ities are being worked out byadopting the "one man, onepost" formula while consider-ing appointments in the cab-inet, sources said.

Gehlot later told reportersthat the Congress high-com-mand will decide on the

reshuffle and Maken has allthe information about it.

He said the party wantsgood governance to continuein the state.

Gehlot said the Centreshould further reduce theexcise duty on petrol anddiesel and the states would fol-low suit by reducing VAT.

Rajasthan is not among thestates that have reduced theVAT on petrol and diesel so farafter the Centre reduced theexcise duty by Rs 10 per litreon petrol and by Rs 5 per litreon diesel.

Pointing towards the spi-ralling fuel prices, Gehloturged the Centre to supportthe states by further reducingtaxes on it.

Gehlot calls onSonia to discuss RajCabinet reshuffle

UDF takes out cycle rallyto Kerala Assembly PNS n THIRUVANANTHAPU-RAM

Intensifying their agitationdemanding the cut of state taxon petrol and diesel, the oppo-sition Congress-UDF legisla-tors on Thursday took out abicycle rally to the KeralaAssembly and later boycottedthe House proceedings protest-ing over the LDF govern-ment's reluctance to discuss thematter in the House.

After trooping out of theHouse, they also staged aprotest sit-in at its portals andraised slogans against the stategovernment for rejecting theirdemand for discussing thetopic during the zero hour.

Last week also the UDF

had staged a walkout in theAssembly urging the Left gov-ernment to forgo the addition-al tax on fuel products on thelines of the Centre to ease theburden of the common people.

However, the Left govern-ment maintained that it wasunable to slash the tax as itwould adversely impact thewelfare initiatives of the statedue to the grim financial situ-ation.

Earlier in the day, Leader ofOpposition V D Satheesan ledthe protest cycle rally of his leg-islator colleagues from thenearby MLA Hostel attachedto the assembly complex.

Wearing masks and donningthe usual khadi dhoti andshirt, they could be seen ped-

alling the 'poor man's vehicle'through the busy city road toreach the main entrance of theAssembly.

When the House proceed-ings commenced and zerohour began, K Babu(Congress) sought a noticefor an adjournment motionover the issue saying that com-mon people were in a crisis dueto the frequent fuel price hikeand the state government'sstand not to reduce tax was achallenge against them.

Hitting out at the PinarayiVijayan government, Satheesansaid the central governmenthad made a nominal reductionin the fuel tax and many otherstates made proportionatedecrease on its lines.

FUEL PRICE HIKE

PNS n MUMBAI

Maharashtra minister NawabMalik's son-in-law SameerKhan has sent a Rs five croredefamation notice to formerchief minister DevendraFadnavis for making "baselessallegations against him with-out any merit", and alsodemanded written apologyfrom him.

A state BJP spokesperson,however, said they willrespond to the notice legally.

Nawab Malik's daughterNilofer Malik Khan posted asnapshot of the legal notice,dated November 10, on herTwitter handle on Thursday.

"False accusations ruin lives.Before one accuses or con-demns they must know whatthey are talking about. Thisdefamation notice is for thefalse claims & statementswhich Mr. @Dev_Fadnavishas put on my family. We will

not back down," she tweeted.Sameer Khan was arrested

in an alleged drugs case by theNarcotics Control Bureau(NCB) in January this year. Hewas granted bail in Septemberby a court, citing lack of evi-dence.

In the legal notice toFadnavis, Sameer Khan'slawyer mentioned that hisclient was "falsely implicated"in a case lodged by the NCB,which had alleged that he wasinvolved in a drug syndicate.After filing of the charge sheetin July, Khan was released onbail, it said.

Malik's son-in-law sendsRs 5 crore defamationnotice to Fadnavis

UP govt officialarrested forsexually abusingfemale worker An under-secretary-level offi-cer was arrested here after apurported video showing himforcing himself on a femalecontractual worker went viralon social media.

The woman, who hasaccused the official of harass-ing her for a long time and alsothreatening to sack her if shereported the matter, had madethe video herself out of frus-tration when she failed to getthe police to act against him.

The incident allegedly tookplace in Bapu Bhawan, hous-ing several government officesin the state capital, drawingwidespread criticism to thestate government.

The woman has allegedthat she had filed a complaintwith the Hussainganj policestation on October 29 and pre-sented multiple videos in sup-port but the official was notarrested though an FIR waslodged.

The incident evoked astrong reaction fromCongress general secretaryPriyanka Gandhi who raiseda question on the security ofwomen in the state.

Encounterbetweensecurity forcermilitants in J&K PNS n SRINAGAR

An encounter broke outbetween security forces andmilitants in Kulgam district ofJammu and Kashmir onThursday, police said.

Acting on specific inputsabout the presence of militantsin Chawalgam area of Kulgamin south Kashmir, securityforces launched a cordon andsearch operation there, apolice official said.

As the forces were conduct-ing the searches in the area,the militants fired upon them,he said.

The forces retaliated lead-ing to an encounter, the offi-cial said, adding that theexchange of fire is going on.

and their kin unable to gettreatment in hospitals.

Next on the list was terror-ism — the lesser said the bet-ter. Security experts would bebetter placed to tell if demon-etisation led to any let-up interrorism. It would be too sim-plistic to assume that motivat-ed terrorists would stopbecause they could notexchange their notes. After alltheir accounts were not frozen.

As for counterfeits, accord-ing to the Government's dec-laration, more than 99 per centof the currency notes got backinto the system.

Digitisation, no doubts,improved but is still a verysmall fraction of the cashtransactions. Moreover, digi-tisation in a country like oursis conceivable only in cities.India operates on cash. Andwhy should a farmer pay afraction of money to Paytmfor transacting? Digitisationcomes with a transaction cost.Japan is still largely a casheconomy.

So what was the motive —the real motive — of theGovernment? The motiveswere indeed different from theones propagated.

Maybe one was theupcoming UP elections. InIndian elections cash rules. Itstripped the Opposition par-

ties of their cash tranche. Ormaybe to shift the fulcrum ofthe economy from an unor-ganised to an organised sector.The money started flowingeven more vigorously from thecommon man to entrepre-neurs. Whatever it was, itmeant severe hardships for thepeople, small businesses andworkers. Eighty-five per centof the economy is the informalsector which works on 95 percent cash transactions. It wasparalysed with the so-calledmasterstroke. While the infor-mal sector shrunk the organ-ised sector ate into its chunk.Indeed, they were betterequipped to adapt and takeadvantage of the new digitisa-tion and other policies.

Another big reasoncould be that the party inpower wanted to do some-thing dramatic. To showthat it was different from theprevious Government andhad the wish to purge theeconomy. It was a quick fixsolution, which has hardlyever worked anywhere in theworld, but it could be easilysold to common people. The‘shock and awe’ paradigmwas being invoked and putto good political mileage.

An argument oftendoled out is that if peoplesuffered then how come the

NDA Government cameback to power in 2019. Thathas some merit to it. Butthen people are often unableto connect the dots especial-ly when they are stuck with'shock and awe'. They feelthe hardships they are facingare somehow their follies, ormaybe they are unlucky.They fail to connect it to agrand executive order.Moreover, PM Modi camewith a lot of goodwill and peo-ple presumed he can do nowrong, no evil. Even if it didnot work his intentions weregood so he deserved a betterchance. He was let down bybureaucracy, the corporatesand exonerated the concept ofdemonetisation.

However, after five years,the Government did not doa single press conference orpress release commemorat-ing the occasion. No TV ador newspaper ad was com-memorating the occasion.Even the ministers whotweet about anything andeverything, gave the fifthbirthday of demonetisationa skip. Even the Governmentwants to forget about it as anightmare. But can we?

(The writer is a columnistand documentary filmmaker.The views expressed are personal.)

THE PEOPLE’S CHIEF MINISTER Sir — It is really heartening to see TamilNadu Chief Minister MK Stalin work-ing on the field right from the day rainsstarted in the State. He has been wad-ing through water in various areas andsupervising measures to alleviate the suf-ferings of the people in distress, includ-ing feeding them and giving instructionsto the officers for further action. Hispresence is definitely a moral support tothe people who are affected by the floodand an encouragement to all thoseengaged in public service.

At this juncture, it is unfortunate thatinstead of extending their support to theGovernment to tide over the precarioussituation, the Opposition leaders havebeen indulging in mud-slinging andaccusing the ruling dispensation oftheir failure in solving other unimpor-tant issues which can definitely wait. Itis an irony that the AIADMK — whichhas ruled the State for the last 10 yearsand is the major contributor to the suf-fering of the people — is trying to placethe entire blame on the ruling DMK.CM Stalin has asserted that funds allo-cated for related works have been swin-dled by the AIADMK and that was thereal reason for the State.

Tharcius S Fernand | Chennai

AN UNWELCOME SINO-PAK STANDSir — It is welcoming that India begana new chapter by initiating the AfghanDialogue with eight like minded nations.Though the timing is a little late, India'smove to concentrate on uncertain situ-ations in Afghanistan is welcoming.India did Delhi Dialogue with regionalpartners of Central Asia so as to send amessage out to the whole world thatIndia is still a reliable friend and strate-gic partner to its troubled friendAfghanistan. However, it is regrettablethat for some countries geopoliticalrivalry still comes before the discussionof Afghanistan’s future.

The way Pakistan and China skippedthe dialogue and vowed to initiate theirown version of dialogue shows their nar-row mindness. That can't stand a dia-

logue on Afghanistan being led byIndia. Pakistan specifically wanted tolead such a dialogue, claiming that aMuslim nation should lead Afghanistan.It is very selfish of Pakistan. MeanwhileChina is supporting such irrationalagendas of Pakistan. This clearly indi-cates that China, too, can't stand inter-national developments like the AUKUS,QUAD, Malabar Exercise, etc.

Kirti Wadhawan | Kanpur

WHEN HOSPITALS CLAIM LIVES Sir — In the last few years, tragic fireaccidents in hospitals in various parts ofthe country have shaken the citizens ofthis country and has further highlight-ed serious lapses in the enforcement offire safety norms by authorities. It isheart-wrenching to imagine how theseinnocent patients, some of whom can-not even run for safety due to theirhealth conditions, are burnt alive as fireengulfs them in such accidents. TheGovernment authorities seem lax about

enforcing fire safety guidelines. This isall due to carelessness, poor supervision,insufficient staff and lack of dedicationon duty.

As part of a larger emergencyresponse mechanism, with the growthof cities, we should further moderniseand expand fire- force to meet the needsof growing Indian cities which needmodern and well-equipped fire forces.India has had a history of such deadlyfire incidents, hence these must bemade an opportunity to create an inde-pendent fire safety monitoring agencyat the Central and State level, to carryout the safety audit of such places andstreamline safety procedures for thesefacilities. This Monitoring agency shouldfrequently visit these hospitals to seewhether fire safety guidelines are beingproperly followed.

Ramesh G Jethwani | Bengaluru

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

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Digitisation has improved but is still a very small fraction of cash transactions.Moreover, digitisation in a country like ours is conceivable only in cities

PM MODI CAMEWITH A LOT OF

GOODWILL ANDPEOPLE PRESUMED

HE CAN DO NOWRONG, NO EVIL.

THEY FEEL THEHARDSHIPS THEYARE FACING ARE

SOMEHOW THEIROWN FOLLIES, OR

MAYBE THEY ARE UNLUCKY

LETTERS TO TTHE EDITOR

GYANESHWAR DAYAL

It is true that both Pakistan and NewZealand outclassed Team India in thebeginning of the T20 World Cup and that

in turn made us pay heavily, leading to anearly exit from the tournament. Having failedto achieve a facile win over Pakistan, our

morale came down drastically and that wasreflected in our next outing against NewZealand. The team crumbled at just 110 runsand lost by a big margin which caused usheavy leeway in net run rate and we weremade to chase weaker teams to bring backour lost glory.

But in the end that could not help thecause and thereby the team lost the finalchance in the tournament. However, thatdoes not warrant disgusting threats to acricketer's child. In India, we take things veryseriously even though winning and losing arepart and parcel of the game. It is a timelywarning to the cricket loving public to keepaway from such silly antics on social mediato air its anger. Meanwhile, the man who hadthreatened to rape the infant daughter of ViratKohli has been arrested in Hyderabad. Cricketis a religion in India but that does not meanwe break the morals and go to a mad wayof expressing anger.

MR Jayanthi | Mumbai

A glorious game called cricket

Put your moneywhere the mouth is

It has been five long yearssince Prime MinisterNarendra Modi announcedon November 8, 2016, that

the 500 and 1000 notes wouldnot be legal tender from mid-night. The brief telecast made aparadigm shift in the life ofevery Indian. Chaos and confu-sion followed the announce-ment. Long serpentine queueswere seen outside of banks tochange the notes. It was themoment of truth for India. Morethan 70 people lost their lives toexchange their notes.

We were told it was anattempt to dig out the blackmoney from the system andstop terror funding. The otherbenefits enumerated includedweeding out counterfeits anddigitising the economy. Fiveyears have gone by. Let's assess ifthe cherished goals have beenachieved, as the Government isreluctant to do so. Was it at all amasterstroke? Was it a surgicalstrike on the black money or astrike on the Indian economy?

Demonetisation did awayalmost 95 per cent of the curren-cy on a four-hour notice. It waschaotic with the Governmentchanging the goal post every sec-ond day.

After some time PrimeMinister Modi declared that hewas no economist and that hehad never claimed to be one buthis intentions were good. In thesame fashion, I can say that Idon’t hold a degree in econom-ics but my intentions of revisit-ing the demonetisation are good.I approach demonetisation as acommoner. I saw and enduredthe months of upheaval that fol-lowed demonetisation.

I as any other countrymancan vouch for one fact that blackmoney or the unaccountedmoney is still there in the system.During the exchange period,some people made a killing byfacilitating the exchange. For afraction of the cost, the blackbecame the new white.Innovative ideas to exchangethe old notes were flying all over.You could do it by buying gold,booking railway tickets, buyingpetrol and so on. But commonmen saw their marriages broken,jobs lost, cottage business shut

SOUNDBITESalman Khurshid inhis new book writesthat Hindutva issimilar to thejihadist Islamistgroups like the ISIS.

BJP IT cell chief—Amit Malviya

The Asia-Pacificregion cannot andshould not relapseinto the confronta-tion and division

of the Cold War era.

Chinese President —Xi Jinping

I want to unite 130

crore people in this

country. This is

Hindutva...Hindutva

unites, Hindutva

doesn't break.

Delhi Chief Minister

—Arvind Kejriwal

People tell me thatage is not on myside. I have workedhard on fitness andit’s time to prove

myself again.

Wrestler—Geeta Phogat

It comes as India’s major diplomatic win as 96 countries have recognised the twoIndian-manufactured COVID-19 vaccines — Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin andAstraZeneca’s Covishield. The WHO has so far included eight vaccines in the

Emergency Use Listing (EUL) and two out of these happen to be Indian vaccines.This also assumes significance as the UK had earlier raised flags about the verac-ity of the CoWIN ( GoI’s web portal for COVID-19 vaccination registration) data andthe vaccine certificates issued by it, though it was quick to reverse the decision afterthe ‘vaccine certificate row’ between the two countries. Under this certificate pact,these countries — including the UK, the US, Australia and many European and Middle

East nations — have agreed to mutual recognitionof vaccine certificates of travellers fully vaccinat-ed with WHO approved vaccines. The list includesmost of the important countries that trade with India.China and Pakistan, however, did not make it andthat barely comes as a surprise. The Governmentcontinues to be in communication with the rest ofthe world so that beneficiaries of the world’s largestCOVID vaccination program are accepted and recog-nised, thereby easing travel for education, businessand tourism purposes.

The relaxation certainly comes as hope for inter-national travellers to and from India. Those who have been eagerly waiting for aninternational trip to one of these countries can let loose their wanderlust. However,the bigger picture is much more promising. The relaxation is expected to revive thesaddened travel sector which eventually can boost the economy. As per the ‘Migrationand Development Brief’ released by the World Bank, India was the largest recipientof remittances in 2020 with over $83 billion. The World Bank, however, projects thatremittances to India are likely to drop by 23 per cent to $64 billion this year due tothe impact of the pandemic. As more countries across the world recognise vaccinesand open their borders to foreing travellers, workers and students, the decline mightgradually reverse. However, at the same time, the citizens also must not forget thatthough travel restrictions are being eased, the virus is still there. The hodophiles shouldnot flock to airports and board the very first flight abroad. It is necessary to takeone step at a time and remain watchful.

From a small player, India becomes a mainstream one on Afghanistan affairs by host-ing a meeting of Russia, Iran and CIS countries on the question of humanitarianaid and return of peace to that country. The Central Asian countries that attended

the meeting included Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.It was a meeting of National Security Advisors, but it is a mainstream initiative never-theless in taking forward the resolution of the UN and other bodies about stability inAfghanistan since the Taliban forced themselves to power in August. The Delhi Declarationreiterated that Afghan territory should not be used for terrorist acts, sought an inclusiveGovernment with representation from the “major ethno-political forces”, unimpeded human-itarian assistance and cooperation against radicalisation, extremism and drug traffick-ing. The Declaration underscored the importance of peace in the country as it has impor-

tant security implications for the people of Afghanistanas well as their neighbours. The regional security dia-logue is the third after Iran hosted the first two in 2018and 2019. Through the Declaration, India called forcloser consultations, greater cooperation and coor-dination among the regional countries to deal with thechallenges Afghanistan poses.

That is the key takeaway from New Delhi: coop-eration and coordination between regional countries.India hit the nail on the head by raising the issue. Itis the lack of cooperation that has wasted all well-meaning measures of the neighbours to date. The

regional powers have so far only been busy talking about themselves. Iran hosted ameeting of neighbours of Afghanistan but did not invite India. Russia, too, did not inviteIndia to the extended Troika meeting involving China, Pakistan and the US in August.The snub was explained as the result of the divergence of views of Russia and Indiaover Afghanistan with India against establishing any Government in Kabul by force andRussia insisting that the Taliban can counter the Islamic State better. India subsequent-ly made it to the Moscow Format meeting hosted by Russia. Then came the New Delhi-sponsored event. It is to be followed by Pakistan, which declined India’s invite to attendthe NSA meeting, hosting yet another extended Troika meeting. China, which skippedthe New Delhi meet, is attending. The outcome of all these meetings, there may bemore to come in the future, is nearly the same. However, there is no evidence of anychange in the attitude of the Taliban. They have not responded to any of the declara-tions about their Government. They have not made any commitment to severing tieswith terror groups based in Afghanistan. The only issue they have responded to is aboutreceiving humanitarian aid. New Delhi’s emphasis on regional cooperation is a cau-tion to countries that are putting themselves before others.

Growing role

Vaccine diplomacyAs international borders reopen to globetrotters,

travel and economy look to take a flight, too

PICTALK

Women perform ‘Arghya’ during the Chhath Puja festivities, New Delhi RANJAN DDIMRI/THE PPIONEER

India calls for cooperation among regionalcountries to deal with the Afghan challenges

I’m glad to be ableto support theTanzanian filmindustry and alsoinvest in the tourismof this beautiful country.

Actor —Sanjay Dutt

Nature’s call: Now’sthe time to answer

PEOPLE IN THE BJP ARE ALWAYS BUSY

PINCHING THE TMC GOVERNMENT. ALL THEY

KNOW IS TO FIND FAULT WITH US.

—BENGAL CHIEF MINISTER

MAMATA BANERJEE

MANY STATES REDUCED THEIR TAXES AFTER THE

CENTRE GAVE EXEMPTIONS ON FUEL, BUT THE

BENGAL GOVERNMENT HAS NOT YET DONE SO.

—BJP LEADER

SUVENDU ADHIKARI

Protection of forests is critical not only to reduce emissions, but also toconserve biodiversity and to support sustainable development

National security advisors of seven countries attended a high-levelregional security dialogue this week on Afghanistan, hosted forthe first time by India. This marks a significant step by India to

place itself in the heart of influence in the theater of Afghanistan. Pakistan, an invited party, along expected lines, chose to stay away

from the meeting given its political and military differences with India,and its claim to right of ownership over Afghanistan's internal politicsand governance. China, another key player was also invited, but choseto keep its partner-country Pakistan happy and stayed away.

The signal emerging is, China would like to increase its economicand technology presence in Afghanistan with Pakistan laying the ground-work and would try all it can to neutralize India's sphere of influence.

India has decades of diplomatic, economic, cultural assets inAfghanistan and has a significant concern with the evolving situation inthe country, which is already starting to make its presence felt throughheightened terror attacks and attempts. India has so far not providedofficial recognition to the new Taliban regime and has been demandinga united international approach on Afghanistan.

Historically, Russia has been a key player in this region, as manyof the countries were part of erstwhile Soviet Union. However, inthe wake of an expansive China its share has diminished. China,now is the dominant trade partner with Central Asia, while Russiais a distant second. India and the United States, despite being influ-ential and large, have almost no trade relationship. This makes thesituation complex as many of the countries in Central Asia are in ahuge debt-trap with China.

This creates a situation for these relatively smaller countries to alignwithout any influence on consensual international voices of peace andstability in Afghanistan. While these countries are aware security threatsdue to the Afghan chaos, they are also sensitive to the huge domi-nance of China finance in their key infrastructure projects.

India did well to take the lead and host the regional security dia-logue in New Delhi, at a time when some of these central Asian coun-tries, as well as Iran and Russia are looking for fresh perspective,away from China influence.

India has to approach Afghanistan through this regional multilater-al platform with a certain amount of diplomatic maturity as it tries toexpand its scope of influence in the region. India needs to take this region-al dialogue wider and louder by involving the European Union and UStowards peace and stability in the region. Europe, which has so far reliedon NATO alliances and therefore, the US,for monitoring Central Asia, isnow waking up to the new realities after Washington exited Kabul.

The US has significant security and strategic interests to remain invest-ed in the region, even though it does not want to be at the fore frontanymore. This means China will have an opportunity to run its militaryand strategic objectives from Afghanistan and other parts of central Asiaunchallenged while Indian security interests will be threatened. At somepoint of time, Pakistan would also like to use its influence over China tocreate security threats for India using Afghan non-state actors.

India is actively participating in developing a strong technolog-ical and economic alliance via the QUAD, which is more focusedtowards the Indo Pacific belt. The QUAD countries also have a keeninterest in ensuring a secure safe Central Asia, while containingChina's technological and economic dominance. The regional secu-rity dialogue for India is good beginning, it must follow up withincreased presence in the Central Asia.

(The writer is a policy analyst. The views expressed are personal.)

Controlling tuberculosis isa disconcerting chal-lenge for India. The

decades' old unrestrainedtransmission of the diseasehas impacted millions ofIndians leaving them withlatent TB infection. A signifi-cant number of people beingundernourished weakens theirimmunity making them proneto TB reactivation.The densi-ty of the growing urban infra-structure has facilitated inquick transmission of TBacross all economic spheres.

India has undertakenactivities to control TB formore than half a century, still,TB has been the country'smost severe health condition.Nearly, 480,000 TB-relateddeaths happen every year andover 1400 every day. In addi-tion to this, around one million

cases are undetected or inad-equately diagnosed in India.

These tragic losses occurdue to the existing poverty, lackof infrastructure and equip-ment and less knowledge.Fortunately, India is in a betterposition to deal withTuberculosis now. The recentinterventions and technologi-cal advancements for TB diag-nosis have been effective inproviding appropriate andtimely treatment.

The National Strategy Plan2017-2025 for TB eliminationhas obtained remarkable goalsin strengthening the pro-gramme structure, supportsystems and implementationsurroundings for controllingTB. This comprises compulso-ry notification of all TB cases,aligning the programme withpublic health services and

National Health Mission, one-stop service for TB-HIV cases,tactical drug-resistant TB man-agement and revaluation ofpartnership guidelines.

As per the India TB report2021 published by the Ministryof Health and Family Welfare,NTEP (National TuberculosisElimination Programme) iden-tified more than 4,11,000patients. With these steps andmeasures NTEP almost cov-ered the gap of enrolment ofTB treatment. Notificationswere sent to 18, 05,670 patientsaround that time, which is 11

per cent more than the antic-ipated numbers.

Early diagnosis of peoplepossessing a high probability ofhaving presumptive TB is anessential part of the case iden-tification strategy. Patients withpresumptive TB would beproactively identified andreferred to the nearby diagnos-tic facility for suitable investi-gation. Patients attending boththe private and the public sec-tor institutions need to beperiodically tested for TBsymptoms by the healthcarefacilitators. Passive case detec-tion alone results in missedcases and late diagnoses.Enhanced medical outreach fordetecting more TB cases areelementary for universal access.

TB screening has to beundertaken at all the points ofcontact with healthcare person-

nel among the key population,which include the socially andclinically vulnerable anddeprived people. New diagnos-tics approved by WHO can beused in high burden resourcesettings like India.

RNTCP gained location-wise coverage in March 2006and since then, case notifica-tion rates have increased up tothe time where it remained sta-tionary. The notification rateshave decreased in many partsof India despite growing effortsexamining symptomaticpatients in the public sector.Steps for ascertaining TB noti-fication from private medicalcentres have contributed toincreasing the overall notifica-tion, but it's still incrementalonly.

Prevalent surveys suggest-ed that not all people with chest

symptoms seek care and treat-ment and many do not payattention to them. This provesthat the health services' pro-gramme needs to draw specialattention to create awarenessabout how to identify symp-toms and seek treatment.

Active case finding (ACF)is one way to do the abovementioned. ACF is a provider-initiative with the main objec-tive of early detection of casesby actively finding targetedsegments and to begin prompttreatment. It must be noted that'screening' is a vigorous proce-dure and prioritizing theapproach of screening, vulner-able groups and screeninginterval will have a regularassessment done by the pro-gramme. While there is a cleardefinition of vulnerable targetgroups for other national pro-

grammes, TB is no exception.Moreover, while the pro-gramme is capable of increaseexamining symptomaticpatients by 50-60 per cent; itwill result in added case find-ing substantially.

Analysing the social, eco-nomic, and political context ofthe operation of the TB pro-gramme has highlighted theinsight and need to rapidlyrespond to the issues to addressthe unavoidable TB epidemic.

The consistent shortage ofresources, indifferent privatesector and a weak public healthsystem add to the pre-existingchallenges in Indian’s medicalinfrastructure. Nevertheless,the research has shown that theNSP has huge underlyingstrengths, and they could beutilised for making an everlast-ing epidemiological impact.

Early diagnosis of people possessing a high probability of having presumptive TB is an essential part of the case identification strategy

HYDERABAD | FRIDAY | NOVEMBER 12, 2021

07

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FIRSTCOLUMNDELHI HAS TO REACH

OUT TO CENTRAL ASIA

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

TB crisis: Time for India to act

RAJENDRA DHAR

(The writer is a professor atNIMS Medical College and

Hospital. The views expressed are personal.)

KUMARDEEP BANERJEE

BKP SINHA

The Quad countries have a keen interestin ensuring a secure and safe Central Asia

There is a high concentration ofgreenhouse gas emissions in townsand cities where the populations aredense and per capita electricity con-

sumption is high. It is therefore necessaryfor every town and city to have an urbanforest. Urban forest refers to planting treesin densely populated areas, like parks, street-ways, and private properties.

Like any other forest, it captures andstores atmospheric carbon dioxide duringphotosynthesis to help mitigate climatechange.It is also crucial to properly man-age and log natural forest patches and pro-tect them from construction and otherdevelopment activities in order to maintaintheir carbon sink capabilities.

The implications of global warming,including sea-level rise, temperaturechanges, precipitation change and more fre-quent extreme weather events, made it cru-cial to examine greenhouse costs. Thus, thework by William Nordhaus (an Americaneconomist) such as the DICE (DynamicIntegrated model of Climate and theEconomy), FUND (Regional Integratedmodel of Climate and the Economy) &PAGE (Policy Analysis of GreenhouseEffect) [which are a part of IntegratedAssessment Models (IAM)] are used to esti-mate the social cost of carbon which is thepresent value of the net future harms causedby an additional ton of emissions in a par-ticular year. The IAM model is a quantita-tive model that describes how the econo-my and the climate are interwoven world-wide.

He also suggested that governmentsaround the world should impose a carbontax in order to combat negative externali-ties caused by greenhouse gas emissions.Furthermore, a carbon tax would provideadditional revenue to the federal govern-ment that could be used to conserve anddevelop forests, thereby reducing theunequal impact of climate change on theaffluent and the poor. The model concludesthat attempts should be made to reduceemissions, even at economic cost.

Tropical forests are home to manyunique species of animals and plants as wellas provide food, medicine, and cleandrinking water to the people. They regulateregional rainfall and prevent droughts andfloods in the region. Thus, their protectionfrom deforestation and degradation is crit-ical not only to reduce emissions, but alsoto conserve biodiversity and support sus-tainable development.

Spatial fragmentation affects matingpatterns, gene flow and pollen dispersionwithin plant populations that are essentialto maintaining genetic diversity. Presently,degradation and fragmentation of habitatsare the leading causes of biodiversity lossin terrestrial ecosystems. Therefore, the peo-ple who rely on these resources are likelyto suffer the most.

In the coming years, climate change willcause major ecological and economic dis-asters in coastal cities, where mangroves andwater bodies are rapidly disappearing.

THE HIMALAYANRANGE FORESTS

PROVIDE VITALPROTECTION AND

ARE MOSTVULNERABLE TO

CLIMATE CHANGE.A LARGE VARIETY

OF MEDICINALPLANTS

GROWS IN THESUBALPINE AND

ALPINE REGIONSOF THE WESTERN

HIMALAYAS DUE TO THEIR

DIVERSETOPOGRAPHYAND CLIMATE

Mangrove vegetation will becomeuninhabitable if it is not aggressive-ly protected now. Furthermore,waves, storms, and cyclones will like-ly make coastal areas inhospitable.

Himalayan range forests providevital protection and are the most vul-nerable to climate change. A largevariety of medicinal plants grow inthe sub alpine and alpine regions ofthe western Himalayas due to theirdiverse topography and climate.Medical plants play a crucial role inhealth care. Millions of people makea living as traditional healers or col-lectors or vendors of these plants. Itis possible that climate change couldhave harmful effects on medicinalplants, such as a decrease in avail-ability and species extinction.

In 2009, State Governmentsand Union Territories were asked toassess their climate vulnerabilityand devise state action plans to com-bat climate change. This is the firsttime the SAPCCs has facilitated dis-cussions on state-specific climatechange solutions. One of the majorgoals of SAPCC (State Action Planon Climate Change) is to protect theState from the adverse effects of cli-mate change and improve its ecolog-ical sustainability.

Most coastal states have devel-oped climate change action plans,which are under the purview of theMinistry of Environment, Forest andClimate Change (MoEFCC).However, there are no clear guide-lines on how states should coordi-nate their strategies. In addition, itis less clear how the MoEFCC isgoing to steer independent min-istries towards a common climate-change mandate.

At the UN Climate ChangeConference (COP21) in Paris, abreakthrough was achieved in thefight against climate change and itsnegative effects. As part of the

agreement, all (192) countries havecommitted to reduce emissions andwork together to adapt climatechange. In addition, countries wereurged to strengthen their commit-ments over time. The countriesagreed to outline publicly what cli-mate protection measures theyintend to take in their IntendedNationally DeterminedContributions (INDCs). The INDCprovided India with a unique oppor-tunity to strengthen its institution-al capacity for climate change strate-gies, particularly in relation to devel-opment issues.But the INDC doc-uments are merely a collection ofdomestic policies with the exceptionof the forest pledge and is also lim-ited to ongoing actions rather thancoming up with new initiatives.There is little evidence to suggest thatthe NDC has made any additionalcontribution to the development andimprovement in a national climatepolicy. However, the process of itsformation demonstrated a deliber-ate attempt at inter-ministerial coor-dination. MoEFCC initiated inten-sive consultations with various min-istries, departments, state authoritiesand inter-ministerial committeeswere constituted to prepare sector-specific background materials.Research organizations and thinktanks were also consulted for inputon modelling studies.

The question arises, what can bedone at grassroots level to maketrees, forests, and biodiversity moreresilient and more adaptable to theimpending climate crisis? Climatechange and other environmentalchallenges have made it crucial tounderstand how we can buildresilience in society, nature andinterconnected socio-ecological sys-tems.

It is imperative that not onlypoliticians and bureaucrats, but all

groups of citizens are enlightenedenough to take action and put pres-sure on the decision makers torespect the forest for its ecologicalservices in the context of climatechange in India.

Climate change will have a last-ing impact on the way we produce,transport, build, and think aboutforests. Therefore massive efforts arerequired to promote research inengineering, agriculture, architec-ture, transportation, and health ser-vices, as pollution is one of the maincauses of most illnesses in India.

To keep the environmenthealthy, India needs more resilientplan driven by communities.Furthermore, to protect communi-ties, we need to develop ecological& reliable technical solutions.Different methods are required toachieve carbon-free agriculture,architecture, transport, production,and consumption, etc.

It is important to include'Conservation of Forest' in earlychildhood education so that the chil-dren become more conscious oftheir actions from a young age.Empathy towards environment andall living creatures is an importantvalue that schools need to inculcatein children. Broad brush approachneeds to be refined in order to makecurriculum more interesting forstudents of diverse streams.

Climate change has global impli-cations and nations must take coor-dinated action to reduce emissionsand adapt to climate change.Diplomats from developed countriessuch as the United States, Germany,Netherlands, Japan and other EUcountries should prioritize fosteringinternational cooperation to trans-fer technologies and funds forresearch, education, forest conserva-tion and development of forestresources.

(The writer is a formerIndian Forest Service offi-cer. The views expressed

are personal.)

HYDERABAD | FRIDAY | NOVEMBER 12, 2021 Money 08

PNS n NEW DELHI

Indian economy is expected togrow by more than 10 per centin the current fiscal supportedby a record kharif crop andbright rabi prospects, NitiAayog Vice-Chairman RajivKumar has said.

Kumar, however, cautionedthat inflation is emerging as akey risk to sustainable globaleconomic recovery with sup-ply chain constraints and ris-ing energy prices.

"We expect India's real GDPgrowth in FY22 to exceed 10per cent supported by a recordkharif crop and bright rabiprospects. This will boost ruraldemand and spur the revival in

the manufacturing sector withimproving capacity utilisation,"he wrote in Niti Aayog'snewsletter 'arthNITI'.

According to Kumar, signif-icant increase in exports willalso boost economic growthand employment generation.

"Gradual pickup in contact-intensive services sector is fur-ther likely to support thegrowth momentum. Indiaachieved the landmark mile-stone of administering 1 billionCovid-19 vaccine doses on 21October, he said.

The Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman also noted that therapid vaccination drive acrossthe country will ensure that therisk of future wave is min-imised.

The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) has lowered the growthprojection for the current

financial year to 9.5 per centfrom 10.5 per cent estimatedearlier while the IMF has pro-jected a growth of 9.5 per centin 2021 and 8.5 per cent in thenext year.

Kumar pointed out thatIndia sustained its pace ofeconomic recovery inSeptember 2021 as reflected byacceleration in manufactur-ing PMI at 53.7 (52.3 in August2021) offset by a modest decel-eration in services PMI at 55.2(56.7 in August 2021).

"Other key high frequencyindicators -- power consump-tion, railway freight, GST col-lections, e-way bills, etc. -- alsoshow continued pickup in eco-nomic activity," he said.

Growth to exceed 10pc in FY22on strong agri recovery: NITI VC

PNS n MUMBAI

Key stock market indicesSensex and Nifty declined fora third straight day onThursday due to heavy sellingin banking, financials andinfra stocks following globalinflationary concerns and for-eign fund outflows. The equi-ty benchmark Sensex tum-bled by 433.13 points or 0.72per cent to close at 59,919.69points as 24 of its scripsdeclined. The index hadopened lower and latertouched a day's low of59,656.26 points as bankinggiants SBI and ICICI Bank andHDFC took a beating.

The 50-issue Nifty of theNational Stock Exchangedeclined by 143.60 points or 0.80per cent to end at 17,873.60points. As many as 41 of itsstocks declined.

"Global inflationary pressurefollowing upsetting US inflationdata forced the domestic marketto trade with deep cuts," VinodNair, Head of Research at GeojitFinancial Services said. Beatingthe market estimates, the USinflation hit a 30-year high levelof 6.2 per cent YoY adding fearsof an earlier than expected ratehike, while the US bond yieldsshot higher. "Rising inflationarypressure along with prospectsof an early rate hike can keepthe domestic market on edgeas such indicators tempt for-eign investors to pump out liq-

uidity from emerging mar-kets like India," Nair explained.

Among Sensex stocks, SBIfell the most by 2.83 per cent.ICICI declined by 1.09 per centwhile housing finance majorHDFC dropped 1.31 per cent.

Financial stocks BajajFinserv and Bajaj Finance andprivate banks HDFC Bank,Kotak Bank, and Axis Bankalso declined. Tech Mahindra,Sun Pharma, Asian Paints,PowerGrid and HUL wereamong major losers.

On the other hand, Titan,M&M, Reliance Industries andTCS advanced.

Sectorally, BSE realty,healthcare, bankex, finance,telecom and auto indices fellup to 2.51 per cent while con-sumer durables, power, metal,utilities and energy indices

rose up to 0.68 per cent.Broader midcap and smallcapindices fell up to 0.64 percent. "Weak global cues led byrising CPI in the US spookedmarkets as fears of the Fedbeing behind the curve seemto worry the street. Back homemost of the sectoral indicestraded weak today but it isinteresting to note that even ona weak day the street didreward companies with a pos-itive earnings surprise, a keyfeature witnessed during thesecond-quarter earnings sea-son," S Ranganathan, Head ofResearch at LKP securitiessaid.

Defence stocks saw goodinvestor interest given the sizeof the opportunity in the'Atmanirbhar Bharat' Theme',he said.

Sensex, Nifty slides for thirdday on foreign fund outflows

PNS n MUMBAI

The rupee depreciated by 18paise to end at 74.52 (provi-sional) against the US curren-cy on Thursday, as heavy sell-ing pressure in domestic equi-ties and a strong greenback inthe overseas market weighedon investor sentiments.

At the interbank foreignexchange market, the localcurrency opened at 74.44,then lost further ground toquote 74.59 against theAmerican currency.

The local unit finally settledat 74.52 a dollar, down 18paise over its previous close of74.34.

Rupee falls 18ps to close at74.52 againstUS dollar

PNS n NEW DELHI

Swaraj Tractors, a part ofMahindra Group, onThursday unveiled an indige-nously designed multi-pur-pose farm mechanisationsolution to scale up horticul-ture segment in the country.

Christened as CODE, thesolution is conceived with theidea of eliminating drudgery oflabour involved in horticulturefarming. The narrowest andthe lightest ride-on machine,the 12 HP CODE aims to rev-olutionise horticulture farmingin India allowing farmers tocarry out operations in narrowrows for various vegetable andfruit crops. Additionally, theshorter turning radius of thismachine provides bettermaneuverability in smaller

farms cultivating horticulturecrops. "The company is tryingto bring new solutions in thearea of horticulture where cur-rently there is not much mech-anisation...we are actually want-ing to pioneer this space.

With the help of machineslike CODE, more land couldbe cultivated which could leadto the increase in income offarmers," Swaraj Tractors said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

State-owned PowerMech Projects onThursday posted Rs27.04 crore consoli-dated net profit for

September quarter2021-22. It hadincurred a net loss ofRs 55.10 crore inthe quarter endedSeptember 30, 2020,a BSE filing said.

Total incomerose to Rs 544.29crore in the quarterunder review fromRs 347.55 crore inthe same period ayear ago.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance hasentered into a tripartite partner-ship with the India Post PaymentsBank (IPPB) and the Departmentof Posts (DoP), launching twoinsurance products to tap thevast rural customers across thecountry.

The life insurer will offer termand annuity products to cus-tomers through IPPB's extensivenetwork of 650 branches andover 1,36,000 banking accesspoints.

The partnership aims to enablethe customers, particularly fromthe weaker sections and living inun-banked and underserved areas,so that they can be financiallysecure, the three partners saidduring the launch here.

Under the partnership, the rural

customers can access Bajaj AllianzLife Smart Protect Goal and BajajAllianz Life Guaranteed PensionGoal, the term and annuity prod-ucts, respectively.

Bajaj Allianz Life Smart ProtectGoal is a comprehensive andvalue-added term insurance prod-uct, which is designed to give

immediate financial support to afamily in the event of an untime-ly death of the breadwinner.

Bajaj Allianz Life GuaranteedPension Goal is an annuity planaimed at meeting post-retirementexpenses as it offers guaranteedand fixed regular income till theperson is alive.

Power Mech Projects Q2 profit at Rs 27 cr

Bajaj Allianz partners IPPB, Dept of Posts

Auction for 5Gspectrum likely in ’22

Swaraj Tractors unveilsmechanised solution

PNS n NEW DELHI

Gold exchange-traded funds(ETFs) continue to attractinvestor attention as they gar-nered net assets worth Rs 303crore in October due to festiveseason demand.

This was, however, lowerthan the net inflow of Rs 446crore seen in September.Before this, the segment saw anet inflow of Rs 24 crore in theprevious month, data withAssociation of Mutual Fundsin India (Amfi) showed.

"Gold ETFs saw a faithfulinflow during October too ofabout Rs 303 crore. As expect-ed, the festivities kept theasset class in demand. Goldsale level this Dhanteras at 50tonnes was almost 20 tonnesmore than the 2019Dhanteras," Priti Rathi Gupta,founder, LXME, said.

Investors might have chosento buy physical gold givenOctober is a festive month,Himanshu Srivastava,Associate Director – ManagerResearch, Morningstar India,said. "The lower quantum ofnet inflow in October com-

pared to the previous monthcould be attributed to thesurge in gold prices in Octoberthat could have held investorsback from allocating higheramounts in Gold ETFs," hesaid.

Another factor for lowerinflow could be investors focuson equity markets, which havebeen trading at all-time highlevels.

"Despite these factors, thenet inflow in October is rea-sonable nonetheless and doespoint towards investors likingfor yellow metal in theirinvestment portfolio," headded.

With this, the Gold ETF cat-egory has received a net inflowof Rs 3,818 crore so far thisyear. The segment witnessed

just one month of net outflow,which was in July 2021 ofaround Rs 61.5 crore.

The latest inflow helped inpushing the number of foliosin the category by eight percent to 26.6 lakh in Octoberfrom 24.6 lakh in the preced-ing month. So far this year, thefolio numbers have surged byalmost 200 per cent.

The number indicates thatgold has made inroads intothe investor's portfolio as partof their asset allocationrequirement like never before.

Investments into ETFs thattrack the yellow metal havebeen witnessing a steadyuptick since August 2019.

However, the asset classwitnessed net outflows of Rs141 crore in November 2020,Rs 195 crore in February2020 and Rs 61.5 crore in July2021.

Srivastava said that goldfunctions as a strategic assetin an investor's portfolio,given its ability to act as aneffective diversifier and alle-viate losses during tough mar-ket conditions and economicdownturns.

Gold ETFs attract Rs 303 cr inOct on festive season demand

JSW Paints aims to achieveRs 1,000 cr sales in FY22

PNS n NEW DELHI

JSW Paints, part of the USD 13 billion JSWGroup, aims to achieve its goal of a Rs 1,000crore revenue in the current fiscal year, on theback of strong economic recovery andimproved demand conditions. The company,a relatively new entrant into the segment, hascrossed a monthly sales of Rs 100 crore inOctober this year, a company statementsaid. "The Rs 100 crore monthly sales mile-stone puts JSW Paints firmly on track toachieve its goal of crossing Rs 1,000 crore rev-enue in FY22," said JSW Paints.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The auction for the 5G spec-trum is likely to take placearound April-May next year,Communications MinisterAshwini Vaishnaw said onThursday.

While relief measuresannounced in September thisyear for telecom operatorsmarked the first set of reforms,the government will bring outa series of further reforms and"telecom regulatory structureshould change in coming 2-3years", Vaishnaw said.

Speaking at the 'Times NowSummit 2021', the ministersaid India's telecom sector reg-ulation has to be benchmarkedwith the global best, and addedthat "so, we will come with aseries of reforms in this, suchthat the global benchmark of

regulations is achieved inIndia".

On the timeline for 5G auc-tions, Vaishnaw noted that theTelecom Regulatory Authorityof India (Trai), which looks atthe structure of auctions, isundergoing consultations onthe matter.

"I think they will submittheir report by February-mid iswhat we are thinking, maybeFebruary-end, maximum tomaximum March. Immediatelyafter that, we will have the auc-tions," he said.

INSIDER-TRADING CHARGES

Indian-origin partnerat McKinsey held PNS n NEW DELHI

Puneet Dikshit, a 40-year-oldIndian-origin partner at man-agement consulting giant,McKinsey & Company, hasbeen arrested and charged withinsider-trading and making ille-gal profits totalling over USD450,000 in the US.

Dikshit, a partner at a glob-al management consulting firm,has been charged with "illegal-ly trading in advance of a cor-porate acquisition by one of thefirm's clients in September,"the Securities and ExchangeCommission (SEC) said in astatement on Wednesday.

Dikshit, who was arrested onWednesday and charged withtwo counts of securities fraud- violating Section 10(b) of theSecurities Exchange Act of1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereun-der – faces up to 20 years inprison on each count, theDepartment of Justice said ina press release.

Representing McKinsey aspartner, Dikshit learned highlyconfidential information con-cerning The Goldman Sachs

Group's impending acquisitionof the consumer loan fintechplatform GreenSky Inc, the SECstatement said.

The SEC's complaint, filed inFederal District Court ofManhattan, alleged that in thedays leading up to the acquisitionannouncement on September15, 2021, Dikshit used insideinformation to purchase out-of-the-money GreenSky calloptions that were set to expirejust days after the announce-ment. Following the takeover,GreenSky share prices jumped44 per cent, CNBC reported.

The SEC's complaint furtheralleged that Dikshit violatedhis firm's policies by failing topre-clear these options pur-chases, which he sold on themorning of the acquisitionannouncement for illicit profitstotalling over USD 450,000.

US Attorney DamianWilliams said, “As alleged,Puneet Dikshit, a consultingfirm partner, exploited his accessto material nonpublic informa-tion about a pending acquisitionof GreenSky, Inc., to trade inGreenSky call options.

Morepen LabsQ2 net profitup 38 per centto Rs 37 crorePNS n NEW DELHI

Drug firm MorepenLaboratories on Thursdayreported a 37.55 per cent risein its consolidated net profitto Rs 37.36 crore for the quar-ter ended on September 30,2021, on account of robustsales. The company had post-ed a net profit of Rs 27.16crore for the correspondingperiod of the previous fiscal,Morepen Laboratories said ina regulatory filing.Consolidated total incomeof the company stood at Rs398.16 crore for the quarterunder consideration. It wasRs 340.12 crore for the sameperiod a year ago, it added."With massive increase inactive pharmaceutical ingre-dient (API) demand global-ly and more particularly withfrequent supply disruptionsfrom China, we are puttingour expansion plans for APIon fast track," MorepenLaboratories Chairman andMD Sushil Suri said.

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Friday November 12, 2021

Scre

entim

e li

nke

d to ndia has surpassed

the United Statesas the world's dia-betes capital, withover 77 milliondiabetics. As a

result, the prevalence of dia-betes-related avoidable eye-sight loss has increased simul-taneously and sharply. InIndia, it is estimated that 1.1million individuals sufferfrom retinal problems,with diabetic retinopa-thy2 and a diabetesconsequence thatdamages the eyes.Diabetic retinopa-thy (DR) isbelieved toimpact one inevery three per-sons with dia-betes and is theprimary cause ofblindness inyoung working-age adults, owingto the risingprevalence of thedisease.

“Today, youngdiabetics mustaggressivelystart control-ling their

sugar levels and go for retinacheck-ups once a year, even ifthey do not have any eyesymptoms,” says Dr. RajaNarayanan, Gen. Secretary ofVitreoretinal Society of India.

“In light of the Covid-19pandemic, the number of

patients with

advanced diabetic retinopathycomplications has increasedas compared to pre-pandem-ic. In my experience, I havewitnessed many diabeticpatients that could not con-trol their sugar levels. Despiteknowing about diabeticretinopathy, patients avoided

visiting hospitals forcheck-ups

because ofsocial distanc-

ing norms,which

eventuallylead to

no fol-low-

ups from the patients,” addsDr. Narayan.

DME is the most prevalentkind of diabetic retinopathy,and it occurs when damagedblood vessels enlarge and flowinto the macula of the retina,causing visual problems.While medical improvementshave made treatments simpleand efficient, a substantialpercentage of diabeticretinopathy cases are causedby a delay in diagnosis. Lackof compliance, according to

experts, is a key lim-iting issue in guaran-teeing universal cov-erage of systematicscreening; accordingto a recent survey,approximately 70% ofdiabetic patients hadnever had their eyesexamined for diabeticretinopathy2.

When diabeticretinopathy is identi-fied, it is critical tofollow the treatmentplan and live a healthylifestyle in order toproperly control dia-betes and avoid the

beginning or advance-ment of eye illnesses.

I

DIA

BE

TE

S

SHIKHA DUGGAL

handu ke chachane chandu kichachi ko, chandniraat mein chandiki chammach sechutney chatayi —

this resounding punch-linefrom Karan Johar’s iconicfilm Kabhi Khushi KabhiGham has stayed with all ofus since the film’s release.Malvika Raaj, the young ‘poo’,has grown up to be a gor-geous and brilliant actresswho made her debut withZee 5’s action-thriller Squad.The Pioneer began the exclu-sive interview with theactress who withdrew fromthe industry as soon as sheearned cult fame for her per-formance in K3G — sheacknowledges she had herreasons, which we shallexamine more in the conver-sation.

“Bollywood was always adream — I am living mydream again. The kind ofsubject I have chosen for myliteral debut in the movieSquad is surely going to staywith the audiences because ofthe patriotism factor it has init. India is a common factoramongst us. Also, to play anIndian soldier becomes gravefor us as an actor; it is a seri-ous responsibility that can’tgo wrong with it,” statesMalvika when asked abouther return to Bollywood withnewer experience.

The actress, who’s a profes-sional actor and dancer, wasalso fresh to performing anaction film for the first time.It was a challenge that shetook up, and with the postersgoing viral across the inter-net, one can certainly res-onate with Malvika as a spe-cial force’s agent all deckedup in dark black uniformwith a rifle in her hand.

“We had action trainersfrom Poland on the sets, theduration of six months wentinto getting the actionsequences right because theywere so crucial,” she adds.Malvika, the daughter ofrenowned celebrity fashiondesigner Sonakshi Raaj,opted not to sign any regularBollywood film after per-forming K3G as a childactress and started to learnthe business as the majorlead. She claims that Squadwill be a unique specialforces picture since she is justas busy kicking some asses asthe male protagonist, and theaction parts are all properlyshot.

Instead of rescuing adamsel in distress as per the

clichéd plotline, Malvika willbe seen rescuing a little girlin the mission. “The childartist from the film was soattached to me; she never leftme alone for a second. Sheliked playing UNO with mein my vanity van (shelaughs). Every night, shemade it a point to come tome and greet me with agoodnight kiss and run away.It melts my heart,” she says ofher best set recollections. Shereveals that the lead actorRinzing Denzonga, who isthe son of Bollywood’s famed

actor Danny Denzongpa, andMalvika Raaj were childhoodfriends and that this film fur-ther strengthened their con-nection on sets.

“We heard real gunsincluded. Each armed gunwas worth eight kilograms,immensely heavy to hold andthen run as well. You alsohave rifles armed on yourback which hurts your spine.But, let me tell you when youadorn the Indian uniform ithas the power to make youfeel out of this world,” sheexpresses how exhausting it

was for her to shoot all of theaction sequences with theBuddhist actor. The uniform’sauthority was such that itused to happily force theactress to wake up on freez-ing-cold mornings and shootrigorously.

On being asked about howher life had altered since thepopularity of her role as ‘Poo’,Malvika shares, “Post K3G Ihad untimely fame, I was themost popular kid in myschool. Everyone knew me.However, I saw a phase postwhen my parents were a little

apprehensive of me continu-ing in the film industry with-out completing my studies. Iwas constantly receivingoffers, but like any other con-siderate parents, they thoughtwell of me. Teenage years arevery fragile, one is slogginghard to build their lives con-cretely and that’s what theywanted me to do too.”

All things said and done,she has returned to the busi-ness in a full-fledged way,and we can’t wait to see heron the digital displays onceagain.

Young ‘Poo’ on livingher Bollywood dream

C

Life as aMUSICAL projectRudra veena player Ustaad BahauddinDagar, who focusses on setting highstandards, which is the only way to extend amusician’s life, shares with The Pioneer

about his journey and comments on howthe rise of social media platforms haschanged the perspective of the audience inrecent times and more.

oday, the young generation are often inclined to western songs, hence,leaving less space for developing a taste or adoration for Indian classicalmusic. I had the recent opportunity to talk to one of the finest maestrosin the industry and thoroughly enjoyed the conversation, making melook at Indian music in a newer light.

Ustaad Bahauddin Dagar is an acclaimed rudra veena player and theson of the renowned north Indian musician, Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar. He rep-resents the 20th generation of the Dagar lineage, which dates back, to NayakHaridas Dagar, to the 16th century.

Read on for some excerpts from the interview:

T

o When did you startyour journey ofmusic?I have been raised in afamily where almosteveryone is into music,thus, the journey oflearning music beganduring my childhood.We were always sur-rounded by a motivat-ing atmosphere when itcame to music, art, andpoetry. Musicians andstudents used to begathered at our housein order to learn andgrow together. Whenyou are nurtured insuch a manner, you getinclined towards art. Ialso used to listen torock, pop, jazz, alongwith several forms ofIndian classical music.So, by the time I was16, I had planned to bea musician, and I askedmy father if he couldteach me, and that washow my first ventureinto this enigmaticworld happened.

o Who is your inspira-tion?I have always beeninspired by my father,Ustad Zia MohiuddinDagar, and my uncle,Ustad Zia FariduddinDagar Music. For me,music is a way ofexpressing emotion. Iwas inspired by thegood works of musi-cians like KishoriAmonkar. The conceptof contemporary musicis also unique. Music isever dynamic andevery musician hascontributed something,in their own manner,thus, achieving successin the process.

o Did you learn anyinstrument apartfrom Rudra veena?At the age of seven, Ihad started learningsitar, but I dropped itas my only desire wasto learn and get toknow the rudra veena.

o How is rudra veenadifferent fromsaraswati veena?

Saraswati veena is pop-ular in the south, and itis made up of one pieceof wood. It is designedto suit the Carnaticstyle of music.Rudra veena is basical-ly a stringed instru-ment designed fornorth Indian music,like khayal and dhru-pad. Rudra veena isalso considered as ayantra or a compass asit measures the notes,microtones to theirexactness and helps thesingers understandhow the notes areplaced.

o Apart from music,what are your otherareas of interest?Apart from music, Ilike to go to museums,observe beautifulpaintings displayed atart exhibitions, spendtime with nature, visitwildlife sanctuaries,and so on.

o What is your favouritegenre of music?Currently, I am work-ing with dhrupad, andthe last 30 years haveproved to be extremelyenriching. It has helpedrearranging my musicclearly, and it has keptme occupied through-out. I hardly get anytime to listen to anyother music. Once in awhile, I get time toexplore western musicor other forms ofmusic like qawwali,ghazal, and so forth.

o What is that oneflavour that you missin today’s music?I think that the musichas become more pol-ished and refined inthe present times. Also,I miss long hours atconcerts that used tobe the norm of our day.Nowadays, concertshave a tight schedule.Today’s concerts aremore like a perfor-mance, which is notthe idea of Indian clas-sical music, where onehas to keep on redis-

covering new ideas. Imiss lengthier concertsthat felt like like four tofive journeys,

o You have a long lega-cy. Does it work inyour favour or do youneed to raise yourbar?The legacy favours usbecause we follow ourparticular sanskar athome. However, some-times we need to worktwice as much as peo-ple are looking up to usall the time. You needto raise your bar all thetime else your time willbe over.

o How has your audi-ence changed over theyears?I think the audiencehas changed due toplatforms like YouTubeand other social mediaplatforms, which havepromoted so manygenres and increasedthe reach significantly.The perspective of theaudience has changed.I remember the timeswhen the musicianshad a lesser audienceto entertain. With therise of social mediaplatforms, a new gen-eration of the audiencehas come up. Today,every recording isavailable online, so ifyou don’t play wellenough, you will getcriticised.

o What has changed forthe artists and theaudience amidst thepandemic?The audience is missingout on the fun of liveperformances and con-certs, while artists havesuffered economically.Many musicians’ careershave ended and somehave taken up odd jobs.At the same time, I alsofeel that musicians hadtime, during the pan-demic, to reflect onwho they are as humanbeings and how theirwork has progressed.Both good and badthings happened.

DESIGNINGDREAMS

The students of Hamstech's Fashion Designerprogramme displayed their skills at the LiveDigital Fashion Show 2021. The event that

took place at N conventionMadhapur, saw the students

coming back from thepandemic to present theirwork in various mediumslike embroidery, applique,

mirror work, painting,pottery and much more.

10

Hyderabad Friday November 12, 2021

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

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

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

Yesterday’s solution

CALVIN AND HOBBES

SPEED BUMP

FUN

The retail chainbrandRatnadeep now

has a newdestination inHyderabad, andHome Minister Md.Mahmood Ali wasat its launch partyas the chief guest.The store at LangarHouz is now the130th store inSouth India.

what’s brewing?PARTY

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RETAIL‘RATNA’

11

Hyderabad Friday November 12, 2021 tollywood

K RAMYA SREE

urup, a film star-ring DulquerSalman, is one ofthe many excitingreleases at the boxoffice today. The

film was released today inMalayalam, Tamil, Telugu,Kannada, and Hindi — onover 1,500 screens around theworld. Srinath Rajendrandirected the film, which isbased on the life of India’smost wanted fugitiveSukumara Kurup, who wasaccused of murder and fakinghis own death. IndrajithSukumaran, Sunny Wayne,Shine Tom Chacko, SobhitaDhulipala, AnupamaParameswaran, and ShivajithPadmanaban are among thestars of the crime drama.Kurup, was co-produced byDulquer Salman’s own pro-duction company WayfarerFilms and M-StarEntertainments.

“As an actor, my objective isto become closer to more

people,” says Dulquer whoconsiders the Telugu businessto be nothing new to him, ashe takes some time out of hishectic schedule to speak withthe media about his film andother topics.

The actor claims that hefeels the enormous affectionthat the Telugu audience hasfor him and that he has madesome excellent friends herelike Rana and Akhil who willstick by him, which is why hisfilm is being released inTelugu as well.

“Srinath and I began ourjourneys at the same time. Mydebut was with him. Duringour debut itself, we decided todo a movie like Kurup. Thisstory is all about real-life inci-dents. We do not just want toshow the crime, we wanted todelve into his childhood, andhis adolescence, and that iswhat we will tell in this film,”Dulquer tells about his part-nership with SrinathRajendran, his director.

Since Kurup is a story of akiller, the actor says he willnot be seen as any conven-

tional hero. “I will be seen as a‘Bad Guy’. In this film, wehave shown how many fami-lies have been affected byhim. We have been hearingabout Kurup since childhood.We have heard many thingsabout him and that he loves toparty and live life to thefullest. Many things abouthim came up in the paper atthe time. I took them as a ref-erence and prepped for therole,” shares the actor whoserustic first look posterincreased the hype on thefilm. When asked if this is a

pure thriller film, the actorresponds, “There is action,romance, thriller, emotions init. It touches upon variousgenres.” Kurup was developedon a big scale for a theatricalexperience, according toDulquer, who is also the film’sproducer.

Despite having a large fanbase in the Telugu regions,Dulqeur, who is one of themost well-known performersin the Malayalam film indus-try, has just a few Telugu filmsto his credit.

To this, the actor responds

saying, “If I make movies inTelugu, then that should havea really good story. Mahanatigave me immense love fromthe Telugu states. If we make agood movie, we will beremembered. That is I amvery selective about doingTelugu projects. Now, I ammaking a film with HanuRaghavapudi underVaijayanthi movies banner.The shooting is in its final legand we plan to release it nextyear. The movie, a love story,is based on the backdrop of awar.”

I’m very selectiveabout Telugu movies:

Dulquer Salman

K

Sudhakarwants to play

respectable,long-lasting

rolesSHIKHA DUGGAL

udhakarKomakula, whoplayed Nagarajuin Life isBeautiful andwas then cast as

a hero in the Krackk film,will play the ACP in RajaVikramarka releasingtoday. The release of thefilm, which is being pro-duced by ‘88’ Rama Reddyunder the banner of SriChitra Movie Makers andstars KartikeyaGummakonda, will be amemorable day forSudhakar as it is releasedon his birthday today.

“Director Sri Saripalliknows me for about 10years now and we workedfor many films together inAmerica. There he audi-tioned me for two or threemovies. In terms of career,when I did Life isBeautiful, he was workingfor other films as an assis-tant director then. He alsoworked as a chief associatefor my film Nee Topura. Sothe contact between usgrew stronger. He said hewas okay with Kartik, nev-ertheless one day he calledand said that there is a roleavailable for me in whichit’s as crucial as the leadactor. I got a bit of a breakafter Nee Nue Topura andthat is how I said a yes toRaja Vikramarka,” sharesthe actor.

When asked about hisinvolvement in the film, heemphasises how importanthis role is because he playsthe character of Govind,the Chief Security Officerfor the Home Minister. “Sofar, I have done fun roles.This one’s going to be avery serious and happen-ing role. There are com-bined scenes with all theother actors, including thehero. There are differentshades to my role.Everyone appreciated the

fact that even my look isso odd one out,” saysSudhakar.

He remarked at thepress conference that henever aspired to be a heroand that all he wanted todo was play respectableand long-lasting parts. Hecalled actor Kartikeya, theyoungest sensation ofTollywood cinema cur-rently, and confirms thatthe audience will love thecombined scenes ofSudhakar and Kartikeyatogether in one frame.

The young actor goes onto say, “New-age filmmak-ers and actors are lookingat a different perspective.Kartikeya once played avillain’s role in a Tamilmovie yet he’s loved by themasses today. My hungeras a hero is still not satis-fied, I want to do moreroles.”

Furthermore, about hisfriendship with the direc-tor, who he has known fora long time, he says that asa professional, he has set-tled down; formerly, hewas constantly on themove when it came to hiswork. He appears to be aworking monster, andactor Sudhakar believesthat his quality will neveralter.

Just when questionedabout his thoughts on thepresent salary provided toperformers in the Telugubusiness, the actorresponds in an unexpectedtone: “Such things shouldnot be discussed. The pro-ducers and presenters didnot compromise anywherein the production of thefilm. The director wasgiven what he wanted andwe all took it gracefully.”

With megastarChiranjeevi saying all nicethings about the coversong, Sudhakar shared histrue feelings. He expresses,“The song was shot inlockdown in the whole ofAmerica. Chiranjeevi garusaw it and sent a voicemessage. I messaged him,‘I’ll meet you when I cometo India’. After returning toIndia, I messaged himwishing new year and heimmediately replied. Thevery next day his managercalls me and informs methat I have an appointmentwith him the comingSunday. Usually, he doesn’tmeet anyone on weekends.However, Chiranjeevi garuknew that my wife wouldleave for America and hearranged this beautifulmeeting for us. It remainsspecial for me till date.”

S

Khiladi locksits release date

ass Maharaja Ravi Teja and and directorRamesh Varma’s action entertainer Khiladi,produced by Satyanarayana Koneru, isnearing completion. The film, also starringMeenakshi Chaudhary and Dimple Hayathi

as female leads, announced its arrival. The makers of thefilm, on Thursday, announced that Khiladi will open intheatres on February 11, 2022. Ravi Teja is seen in anaggressive pose while smoking a cigarette on theannouncement poster. Meanwhile, the crew is workinghard to promote the picture. The film's soundtrack wascomposed by rockstar Devi Sri Prasad, and the first twotracks received a lot of positive feedback. Because therelease date has been set and the production is nearingcompletion, the producers will ramp up theirpromotional efforts in the following days. Ravi Teja takeson a completely new role in the film, which is producedby Pen Studios in collaboration with A Studios.

M

Bholaa Shankar takes offegastarChiranjeevi's megamassive actionentertainer Bholaa

Shankar, directed by MeherRamesh and produced byRamabrahmam Sunkara,was officially launched onThursday with a puja. Thelaunch ceremony wasattended by numerousimportant guests.

On the muhurtham day,legendary filmmaker KRaghavendra Rao soundedthe clapboard, while VVVinayak switched on the

camera. At the grandlaunching event, directorsKoratala Siva, HarishShankar, Vamsi Paidipally,Bobby, MalineniGopichand, N Shankar, andwriter Satyanand handedover the film’s screenplay tothe producers.

Bholaa Shankar has beencreating enough buzz sincehis formal announcement.The title poster, followedby a special Rakhi video,received a huge response.Chiru just had a look test,and everyone is waiting to

see how Meher Rameshwould portray the megastarin the highly awaited film.The picture has a strongstoryline, a talented ensem-ble cast, and a top-notchtechnical crew. WhileTamannaah Bhatia willplay the leading heroineopposite Chiranjeevi,Keerthy Suresh will portrayhis sister in the film, whichwill feature all the emo-tions and ingredients in theappropriate proportions,resulting in a pucca com-mercial entertainment.

M

It’s

a w

rap f

or

ADIP

URUSH

n Thursday, filmmakerOm Raut wrappedproduction on his nextfilm, Adipurush, star-

ring Prabhas and Saif AliKhan.

The multilingual periodstory stars Prabhas as LordRam, Khan as Lankesh, andKriti Sanon as Janaki, and isbased on the Hindu epicRamayana. The filmmaker,

who is best known for AjayDevgn’s Tanhaji: The UnsungWarrior, took to social mediato say that the team completedfilming in 103 days and thatthey are now eagerly awaitingthe release of the film.

“It’s a shoot wrap forAdipurush!!! A wonderfuljourney has come to its finishline. Can’t wait to share withyou the magic we have creat-

ed. #Adipurush#103DaysOfShoot,” he wrote,alongside a picture with thecast.

The project, which is fund-ed by T-Series, began filmingin February of this year.Adipurush, described as a film commemorating the tri-umph of virtue over evil, is setto hit theatres on August 11,2022.

O

Dice Mediaannouncesits 1st Teluguweb-serieswith Aha

ice Media, PocketAces’ long-form pre-mium storytellingchannel, is kicking offthe festivities a bit

early by announcing itsdebut into regional program-ming with the premiere ofAlludu Garu, its first Teluguseries. The new show is areplica of Dice Media’s criti-cally acclaimed family dramaWhat The Folks!, which hasaired for three seasons. Alludu Garu is a coming-of-age narrative about Ajay(Abhijeeth Poondla), arecently married son-in-lawwho is forced to spend a fewweeks alone with his overlyconcerned in-laws in a tradi-tional family. His bittersweetencounters with his in-lawsin an attempt to impressthem contribute to the hilar-ity, making you chucklewhile yet feeling terrible forhim. Despite his reserva-tions, Ajay works hard tomatch their expectations andintegrate into the family,despite his opposing worldviews. While his antics willundoubtedly make youlaugh, you will also sympa-thise with his predicament.

Abhijeet Pondla, Y .KasiVishwanath, a renownedactor and director, andprominent Telugu cinemaactress Dhanya Balakrishnafeature in the series. It isdirected by Jayanth Gali,who is widely known for hisfilm Love Life Pakodi, andco-produced by TamadaMedia.

D

Mallika Sherawatall set to makeTollywood debut

ollywood-Hollywoodactress MallikaSherawat, is set to

make her debut inTollywood, under thedirection of V.C.Vadivudayan, a Tamilfilmmaker.

This will be Mallika’sfirst Telugu assignment,due to the film's simulta-neous production inTamil, Telugu, and Hindi.

The film, titledNagamati, is described asan epic play set in threedifferent historical peri-ods: 1900, 1947, and1990. Mallika will also be

featured in this film in ahitherto unseen avatar,according to reports.Horror films such asPottu, Veeramadevi, andSowkarpettai have allbeen directed byVadivudiyan.

The makers ofNagamati staged a cere-monial muhurathamfunction in Mumbai tolaunch the film, whoseregular shoot will beginshortly. The soundtrackfor this film will be com-posed by Amrish, whohas worked on films suchas Charlie Chaplin 2 andMotta Siva Ketta Siva.

B

O T H E R S P O R T S

HYDERABAD | FRIDAY | NOVEMBER 12, 2021

PTI n JOHANNESBURG

Cricket South Africa (CSA)on Thursday named a 14-

member South Africa ‘A’squad for the upcoming three-match four-day contestsagainst India ‘A’ inBloemfontein.

The home team will be ledby 32-year-old opening batterPieter Malan. The series, anopportunity for the players tovie for places in the seniorsquad before India’s upcomingtour of the country, will beheld from November 23 toDecember 9 at MangaungOval.

All-rounder George Lindeand fast bowler Lutho Sipamlaare in the squad with Warriorspacer Marco Jansen andKnights batter Raynard vanTonder also included.

CSA convenor of selectors

Victor Mpitsang stressed onthe significance of the series before the Indianteam’s tour.

“Test cricket remains oneof CSA’s key focus areas, alongwith ensuring that the formatcontinues to thrive and holdrelevance in our country.

“It is therefore vital that a

steady stream of talent contin-ues to emerge from our high-performance programme,”Mpitsang said in a pressrelease.

“The COVID-19 pan-demic saw the disruption ofthe South Africa A team’s fix-tures and CSA is pleased to seethe return of content for this

programme. We are lookingforward to more tours for thisteam in particular, as the Ateam programme is a crucialone to CSA’s overall pipelinestrategy.

“The senior South Africaand India teams will be clash-ing this summer here at home,so this is an ideal opportuni-ty for players with Proteasambitions to put their handsup and make a case for them-selves.”

On Tuesday, the BCCIalso announced the India ‘A’squad for the tour withGujarat’s Priyank Panchalnamed as captain of the teamthat also comprises PrithviShaw, Navdeep Saini androokie Kashmiri pacer UmranMalik.

South Africa ‘A’ squad: Pieter Malan (captain,

Rocks), Sarel Erwee

(Dolphins), DominicHendricks (Lions), Raynardvan Tonder (Knights),Sinethemba Qeshile(Warriors), SenuranMuthusammy (North WestDragons), Marco Jansen(Warriors), Migael Pretorius(Knights), Beuran Hendricks(Western Province), LuthoSipamla (Lions), GlentonStuurman (Warriors), GeorgeLinde (Western Province),Jason Smith (Dolphins), Tonyde Zorzi (Western Province).

Fixtures: November 23-26: 1st

Four-Day game at MangaungOval, Bloemfontein

November 29-December2: 2nd Four-Day game atMangaung Oval,Bloemfontein December 6-9:3rd Four-Day game atMangaung Oval,Bloemfontein.

New Delhi: The opening T20International between India andNew Zealand in Jaipur onNovember 17 could be played infront of a sizeable crowd with thehost association putting no restric-tions on entry of spectators witheven single shot of COVID-19vaccine. Those who are not jabbedwill have to carry a valid COVIDnegative test report which is notolder than 48 hours from the startof the match.

The Sawai Mansingh Stadiumwhich has a capacity of 25000 ishosting an international game aftereight years. “As per the current stateguidelines, we can have a fullcrowd. You need to be vaccinatedwith one dose or you carry a neg-ative test report which will bechecked at the entrance,” RajasthanCricket Association secretaryMahendra Sharma said. PTI

PTI n NEW DELHI

India is set to host the first-everyogasana world champi-

onship in June next year.The National Yogasana

Sports Federation (recognisedby the Sports Ministry) is work-ing towards building a strongculture of fitness, competition,well-being, and growth throughpractice and development ofyogasana. Addressing the open-ing ceremony of India’s firstPhysical National YogasanaSports Championships inBhubaneswar, NYSF presidentUdit Sheth said, “India is goingto host first-ever WorldYogasana Championship show-casing India’s heritage sport tothe world in June 2022.”

Yogasana sport for bothmale and female categories hasbeen included in the KheloIndia Youth Games, 2021.

PTI n ABU DHABI

England were “devastated”to lose to New Zealand in

the T20 World Cup semifinalsbut proud to have fought“unbelievably well”, said limit-ed overs captain Eoin Morgan,who hopes to continue as theleader of the side.

New Zealand avenged theirheartbreaking loss in the 2019ODI World Cup final againstEngland on boundary count bybeating the same opponents byfive wickets in the T20 WorldCup first semifinals here onWednesday.

“Yeah, we’re devastated. Tobe on the wrong side of a closegame is not easy to take. Wefought unbelievably well on awicket that didn’t necessarilysuit our batting, but we man-aged to post in and around apar score,” Morgan said at thepost-match press conference.

“I’m extremely proud of theperformance that we put in.When you play really well, it

doesn’t always guarantee thatyou win games. Unfortunately,we found ourselves on the

wrong side of a really tightgame today.

“I hope to be back, I am stilloffering enough, and I loveplaying in this changing room.Incredibly proud to be theirleader,” said the 35-year-old,who has led the English T20side since 2014.

Sent in to bat, Englandposted 166 for 4 with MoeenAli remaining not out on 51.The Black Caps chased downthe target with one over to sparewith opener Daryl Mitchellplaying a pivotal role with anunbeaten 47-ball 72.

James Neesham also playedan important cameo, hitting an11-ball 27 with one four andthree sixes to take New Zealandto the final.

Morgan said England werein the game till the arrival ofNeesham, who completelychanged the complexion of thematch, playing shots not evenhis batters could execute on asluggish pitch.

“We were brilliant with the

ball. We were right in the gameprobably until Jimmy Neeshamcame to the wicket, if not aheadof the game. Everything workedright up until Neesham camein. It was a fantastic cameo inhigh-pressure circumstances.

“Throughout those inningseverybody struggled to clear theropes on both sides, that wasjust the nature of the pitch. Youhave to take your hat off to him.He played really well. We’veplayed against Jimmy a lot.He’s not struck the ball like thatagainst us ever. It’s really goodbatting.”

He also praised Black Capsopener Mitchell for his unbeat-en knock which was studdedwith four boundaries and asmany sixes.

“I’d say, so he’s played a hellof a hand today. He’s playedreally well against the No. 1 sidein the world and taken his sideright to the final.”

Morgan admitted that hisside was outplayed by New Zealand.

PTI n DUBAI

Pakistan batters MohammadRizwan and Shoaib Malik are

suffering from “mild flu” andthey could be doubtful startersfor the T20 World Cup semifi-nal against Australia onThursday.

Rizwan and Malik, whomissed the team’s training ses-sion on Wednesday, though test-ed negative for COVID-19. Theteam has also cleared the regu-lar testing through the tourna-ment.

“Both players were tested forCOVID-19 and both tested neg-ative,” ‘ESPNCricinfo’ reported.

“As with the rest of theirsquad, they have cleared regularCOVID-19 testing through thetournament, including one acouple of days ago.

That is part of the ICC’s pol-icy to encourage teams to test as

often as possible,” it added.According to the report, the

two players woke up onWednesday morning with “light flu and low fever” andwere first advised to delay prac-tice but were later allowed to giveit a miss.

“Pakistan are not overlyconcerned at the moment abouttheir participation in Thursday’sgame, and will be reviewing theirstatus in the morning again,” thereport said.

PTI n NEW DELHI

India’s Tokyo Paralympics goldwinner Pramod Bhagat was on

Thursday named among sixshuttlers for the Male ParaBadminton Player of the Year bythe sport’s world body but noneof his compatriots featured in theable-bodied awards’ categories.

Reigning world championBhagat, who had won a historicgold medal in the men’s singlesSL3 class in the Tokyo Olympicsin September, was also namedalong with Manoj Sarkar for thenewly introduced ParaBadminton Pair of the Year,with five other nominees.

Sarkar had bagged a bronzein the men’s singles SL3 class inthe Tokyo Olympics.

The 33-year-old Bhagat,who had contracted polio whenhe was four years old, picked upthe sport after watching his

neighbours play. Initially, hecompeted against able-bodiedplayers before getting into com-petitive para badminton in 2006.Bhagat is also current worldnumber one and Asian champi-on in SL3. In SL3 classification,athletes with lower limb impair-ment compete. There was noIndian in the list of nominees inthe able-bodied categories.

Danish players ViktorAxelsen and Anders Antonsen,China’s Wnag Yi Lyu and Japan’sYuta Watanabe were nominatedfor the (able-bodied) Male Playerof the Year.

Axelsen was the gold medal-list at the Tokyo Olympics.China’s Tokyo Games gold win-ner in women’s singles, Chen YuFei, Spain’s Carolina Marin,Taipei’s Tai Tzu Ying and Japan’sAkane Yamaguchi were thenominees for Female Player ofthe Year.

PTI n ABU DHABI

Former England skipper Mike Athertonfeels New Zealand is the strongest team

across all three formats of the game at themoment after the Black Caps reached theirmaiden T20 World Cup final.

New Zealand registered a sensation-al five-wicket win over favourites Englandhere on Wednesday in the first semifinals.It would be their third final appearanceat an ICC global event in as many years.

Over the past few years, the BlackCaps have proved themselves to be a forcein all three formats. They reached the finalof the ODI World Cup in 2019, losing toEngland on boundary count and are theholders of the inaugural World TestChampionship title.

“They are an outstanding team, in allformats of the game really,” Atherton told‘Sky Sports’.

“They are through to another WorldCup final, they were a sliver away fromwinning the last World Cup in 2019, theyare the World Test Championship win-

ners. “Across formats, you would have tosay they are the strongest team at themoment so congratulations to them, a fan-tastic achievement with limited resourcesin terms of personnel and money andthings that we’ve often talked about,” headded.

Chasing 167, the Black Caps were onthe back foot when star opener MartinGuptill and skipper Kane Williamson weredismissed by Chris Woakes inside the firstthree overs of the reply.

England kept mounting pressure butopener Daryl Mitchell and JimmyNeesham had other plans.

Mitchell blazed his away to an unbeat-en 47-ball 72 before Neesham hit a flur-ry of sixes to give New Zealand the win.

“It just changed so quickly tonight. Fora long time in that chase,

I thought England were ahead of thegame,” Atherton said.

“The pitch looked two-paced andsluggish, no one really got going and sud-denly Neesham comes out and changedthat game with some fantastic hitting,”

Atherton said.Pakistan take on Australia in the sec-

ond semifinal and Atherton feels the for-mer champions have the edge over AaronFinch and Co.

“I’m going with Pakistan, I think theyhave got the best and most varied attackin this competition.

“You think of that attack: ShaheenShah Afridi, Haris Rauf, the spinners, thecombinations that they have so I reckonthey got the best attack and I think theywill win it,” he said.

PTI n GONDA (UTTAR PRADESH)

It was a “perfect and happyending” for Nisha Dahiya as

she emerged national champi-on in the women’s 65kg catego-ry a day after her dramatic“murder story” turned out to bea case of mistaken identity. The title clash ended in just 30seconds with Nisha, the U23world championship bronzemedallist, pinning her rivalJaspreet Kaur from Punjab.

Except for her semifinalagainst Haryana’s Priyanka, itturned out to be an easy day inthe office for the 23-year-oldNisha, who represents Railways.“It indeed is a happy and per-fect end to my campaign. I wasso stressed yesterday. I could noteven sleep. I was already low onenergy due to weight cut andthis incident just proved toomuch to handle,” Nisha told PTIafter winning her third gold

medal at the Nationals. It wasreported that Nisha had beenshot dead in Sonepat but laterit came to light that the deceasedwas her name sake and anupcoming wrestler.

Nisha’s agility and attackingmoves were too hot to handlefor her opponents. She stoodout with her leg attacks.

“Of course, an athletewants to be discussed andtalked about but I am sure notin this way. I want people toknow for my performance andnot for such freak incidents,”she said.

AP n GUADALAJARA (MEXICO)

Karolina Pliskova overcamea slow start before beating

Garbiñe Muguruza 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (6) in her opening match atthe WTA Finals.

In a contest between twoformer No. 1-ranked players,the third-seeded Pliskovastruggled early adjusting tothe nearly 5,000-feet altitude ofGuadalajara, Mexico’s secondlargest city on Wednesday.

“The first set was not thebest from me. The serve wasamazing in the second set,many free points on the firstserve,” Pliskova said.

“Then it was a fightingthird set. I thought I just hadtoo many chances, didn’t makeit really, but happy it went myway in the end.”

Pliskova is playing theWTA Finals for the fifth time,having reached the semifinalsin 2018 and ‘19. The 2020 tour-

nament was canceled.She didn’t win any titles in

2021 but kept a high ranking byreaching the finals atWimbledon and Montreal, andthe semifinals at Cincinnati.

Pliskova now has a 9-2record against formerWimbledon and French Openchampion Muguruza, who wonthe Chicago and Dubai titles

this year and is making herfourth appearance at the sea-son-ending event.

“That was a very toughmatch for both of us. It was aone-point difference — I savedmany match points and is atough loss I fought as hard asI could,” Muguruza said.

“I´m happy with my fight-ing spirit even though I lost.”

We are devastated but proud of our performance: Morgan

SA ‘A’ Squad announced for 3-match series against India ‘A’ Pakistan’s Rizwan, Maliksuffering from ‘mild flu’

No restriction on

crowd attendance

for Jaipur T20I

Perfect ending for Nisha Dahiya atNationals, emerges 65kg champion

India to host 1st-everworld yogasanachampionship

Pramod Bhagat nominated forPara Badminton Player of Year

PTI n DUBAI

Mohammad Rizwan struckhis third half-century ofthe tournament before

Fakhar Zaman roared back toform with a 32-ball unbeaten 55 topower Pakistan to 176 for four inthe second semifinal of the ICCT20 World Cup here on Thursday.

Openers Rizwan (67 off 52)and Babar Azam (39 off 44) shareda 71-run stand before Zamanended the innings on a high withhis unbeaten knock.

The last five overs yielded 59runs for Pakistan.

Pakistan enjoyed their bestpowerplay of the tournament, rac-ing to 47 for no loss in six oversafter Australia put them in to bat.

Rizwan, who was down withflu ahead of the game, did not lookat his best early on and Babar tookthe lead in attacking the Australianpace attack. The Aussies werelooking for some swing early onbut they were not able to get it.

The Pakistan skipper beganwith a regal cover drive off a lateoutswinger from Josh Hazlewood.Babar, who had shown supreme

form in the group stage, looked insublime touch. Among the fiveregal boundaries he hit, his short-arm jab between deep midwicketand long-on stood out.

Leg-spinner Adam Zampa,who has been Australia’s go tobowler in the middle overs, final-ly got the breakthrough Australianeeded by having Babar caught inthe deep with Pakistan reaching 71for one in 10 overs. More than theball, it was the pressure created byZampa that led to the wicket.

Rizwan, who was droppedtwice in the innings, got into theact after Babar’s dismissal. The

wicketkeeper batter grew in con-fidence as his innings progressedand once he he got his trademarkhalf full half sweep shot right offHazlewood, he looked much moredangerous.

Australia did well from overs7-11, conceding only 28 beforeRizwan changed Gears.

He decided to take the attackto the impressive Zampa in the12th over which went for 14 runsand included a slog sweep for six.

Rizwan got his second six offHazlewood two overs later, dis-patching the seasoned pacer overdeep midwicket.

Zaman, who did not have a lotof runs under his belt heading intothe semifinal, hit a flat six over longoff to gain confidence.

With Zampa completing histidy effort, Pakistan were lookingfor a big over and that happenedto be the 17th when Hazlewoodwas hammered for 21 runs, includ-ing a six off a free hit.

After Rizwan’s dismissal,Zaman displayed his power hittingskills against Mitchell Starc, club-bing him for a six and four in a 15-run over.

Six-hitting machine Asif Alihad a rare failure in the tourna-ment as he was out first ball offCummins.

Zaman finished the innings onan exhilarating note, depositingStarc for two massive sixes to takethe team past 170.

Zampa (1/22 in four overs) wasthe pick of the bowlers forAustralia while Hazlewood was themost expensive, leaking 49 runs infour overs.

PAKISTANENJOYED THEIR

BEST POWERPLAYOF THE

TOURNAMENT,RACING TO 47 FOR

NO LOSS IN SIXOVERS AFTER

AUSTRALIA PUTTHEM IN TO BAT

NZ is strongest cricket team acrossall formats right now: Atherton

Pliskova, Kontaveit open with wins at year-end WTA Finals

RIZWAN, ZAMAN POWER PAKISTAN TO 176