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12 PAGES + SUNDAY POST | `5.00BHUBANESWAR | SUNDAY, JUNE 26 | 2022VOLUME 12, ISSUE 86 | www.orissapost.com

POST NEWS NETWORK

Rourkela, June 25: A gunfightbroke out between Rourkela Policeand two criminals at MundasahiSquare under Chandiposh policelimits here Saturday, resulting inseizure of an AK-47 rifle and otherfirearms from their possession, asenior officer said.

One of the dreaded criminalssustained critical injuries whilehis aide was detained and an AK-47 rifle and other firearms wereseized from their possession dur-ing the encounter. The injuredcriminal was identified as BiswajitSahu, 24, and his detained associ-

ate as Tuchu Enduar, 28, both na-tives of Basia village in Gumladistrict of neighbouring Jharkhand.

Apart from the AK-47 rifle, 20live cartridges, a 9mm automaticpistol, five bullets, one country-made gun and its four bullets wereseized from their possession. Thetwo are history-sheeters in Gumla

district of Jharkhand.Investigations were on to find outas to why they were carrying thefirearms to Rourkela, SP MukeshKumar Bhamu said.

The seizure of a firearm likeAK-47 has given credence to theclaims that the criminals in thestate are no longer new to the so-phisticated weapon which has nowmade its way to the state.

Acting on a tip-off, police fol-lowed the two from rear on a carwhen they tried to escape intoRelhatu forest bordering Jharkhand.

The police team following themfrom behind and tried to intercepttheir car when Biswajit fired indis-

criminately at the former in a bid to escape.

The law enforcers retaliated withequal strength, ensuing a 20-minuteexchange of fire when a bullet firedby the police team hit the left leg ofBiswajit during the melee. As a re-sult, Biswajit collapsed on the spot andwas overpowered, the SP said.

Meanwhile, the SP, DSP BikramKeshari Bhoi and other senior po-lice officers also reached the spotand caught the two. Biswajit wasrescued in a critical condition andadmitted to Rourkela GovernmentHospital (RGH) in critical condition.

A case has been registered inChandiposh police station.

AHMEDABAD:Activist TeestaSetalvad wasSaturday de-tained by GujaratAnti TerroristSquad (ATS)

from Mumbai in connection withan FIR registered against her atthe Ahmedabad city crime branch,sources said. “Teesta Setalvad hasbeen picked up by the Gujarat ATSfrom Mumbai in connection withan FIR registered by the Ahmedabadcrime branch,” a source in theGujarat ATS said. A day earlierthe Supreme Court had dismisseda petition challenging the cleanchit given by the SIT to then GujaratCM Narendra Modi and others inthe 2002 post-Godhra riots cases.

Gujarat ATS detainsTeesta Setalvad

Murmu’s village gets power

A patient falls off the edge of a cornice on the seventh floor of the Institute of Neuroscience Hospital after sneakingout of his ward, in Kolkata, Saturday. The patient sustained grievous injuries and died in the hospital PTI PHOTO

FATAL FALL

AK-47 seized in RourkelaPolice are investigating whether the criminals have links with any Maoist outfit or Jharkhand-based PLFI

n Mania’s hands werecuffed when he managedto escape after shoving thecops escorting him tocourt a few minutes aftergetting convicted in anNDPS case

POST NEWS NETWORK

Bhubaneswar, June 25: A drugpeddler escaped from police custodyin the Additional District Judge(ADJ) court here, Saturday.

The convict on the run has beenidentified as Bijay Kumar Maniaof Padmapur village underBalipatna police limits on the out-skirts of the Capital city.

Mania’s hands were cuffed whenhe managed to escape after shov-ing the cops escorting him to courtjust a few minutes after getting

convicted in a Narcotic Drugs andPsychotropic Substances (NDPS)case. Cuttack flying squad officialsof Excise department, while ontheir way towards Baliapatna fromBhubaneswar, spotted Mania witha gunny bag near Padmapur mar-ket during the wee hours September11, 2020. Upon seeing the officials,Mania tried to flee the place after clos-ing his betel shop. Suspecting his con-duct, the sleuths intercepted Maniaand found ganja in the gunny bag.

Later, the Excise officials seized

ganja weighing 105 kg and Rs 42,000in cash during the search at hisshop. He was arrested and later pro-duced before the court on the sameday. After examining various doc-uments and statements of witnesses,the court of ADJ, BhubaneswarSaturday declared Mania guilty ofpossessing and trading ganja. Thejudge, Shasmita Padhi, awardedhim rigorous imprisonment of 10years. The court has also asked theconvict to pay a fine of Rs 1 lakh. Incase of failure to deposit the fine,Mania has to serve additional sixmonths jail term.

The trial was conducted bySpecial Public Prosecutor RashmiRanjan Brahma. Badagada policehas launched a manhunt to nabthe absconding convict.

Notably, an accused identifiedas Satya Sundar Dhala arrestedby the Nayapalli police Friday es-caped from police custody at the court.

Convict flees police custody

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Baripada, June 25: The state gov-ernment Saturday launched elec-trification work in a portion ofUparbeda, the ancestral village ofNDA Presidential candidateDroupadi Murmu in Mayurbhanjdistrict, on a war footing after re-ports on people there remaining inthe dark came to the fore.

Murmu, however, does not livein that village now. She has shiftedto Rairangpur, a municipal townaround 20 km away from Uparbedaunder Kusum block, decades ago.

Officials and workers of the TataPower North Odisha DistributionLimited (TPNODL) went toUparbeda with earth digging ma-chines, utility poles and trans-formers to ensure supply of elec-

tricity to the portion where it is yetto reach.

“We have issued an order to theMayurbhanj section of the com-pany to complete electrificationwork and ensure power supply tothe entire Uparbeda village within24 hours,” a senior official of theTPNODL told PTI.

Contd...P4

A truck carrying utility poles reachedUparbeda village, Saturday OP PHOTO

Mumbai: 48 and fabulous! Yes, that's how KarismaKapoor is feeling today as she celebrates herbirthday. An actor par excellence, Karisma con-tinues to make millions of hearts beat with hervivacious smile and charming personality.

Although Karisma is currently away fromthe showbiz, her fan following has not gone evena notch. The diva is still loved by her fans andthey continue to revisit her classic movies, to rel-ish the magic of 90s cinema.

As the diva of the 90s celebrates her birthdaytoday, social media is filled with birthday wishesfor the gorgeous star. Fans are leaving no stonesunturned in making cute edits and collages forher. Amid the love that is pouring in, actressKareena Kapoor took to her Instagram andshared a lovely birthday wish for Lolo.

Sharing her baby picture, she wrote,"To the pride of our family …This ismy most favourite picture of you AajSab bolo Happy birthday to our LoLo#just the best sister ever"

Similarly, actress Ananya Pandyapenned a cute note for the very 'i-conic' Karisma.

Sharing a cute throwback pic-ture, Anaya wrote, "Happiestof birthdays to the most iconic@therealkarismakapoor#LoloFanForLife." AGENCIES

Mumbai: Actress Sara Ali Khan wasseen pulling superstar Salman Khan'sleg by calling him "uncle" in a promo

of IIFA Awards 2022, which willbe aired Saturday night.

In a clip shared on Colorschannel's Instagram, Sarasays that she wants to launch a brand.

She adds: "Salman uncleke saath (with Salman uncle)".

The 'Dabangg' star replies:"Aapki picture gayi (now your

film is gone)."Sara then says, "Meri picture

kyun gayi (why so?)Salman replies: "Aapne sabke

samne mujhe uncle bulaya (youcalled me uncle in front of everyone)."

To which Sara says: "You toldme to call you uncle."

Sara and Salman then danceto 'Tan Tana Tan Tan'.

Held in Abu Dhabi, the star-studded event saw severalBollywood personalities in at-tendance, including actors VickyKaushal, Shahid Kapoor andAnanya Panday. IANS

Mumbai: 30 years ago today, a youngDelhi boy set his foot in the film in-dustry. With a boyish charm, un-matched energy, delightful dancemoves and a dream to be the best, hebegan to win the hearts of millionsfrom his first movie.

Three decades down the line, theman is not just ruling B-Town buthas fans in every corner of the world.He has rightfully earned the title‘King’ or ‘Baadshah.’

Yes, you read it right! SuperstarShah Rukh Khan completes 30 yearsin the film industry Saturday ashis film 'Deewana', whichmarked his debut on celluloid,released on this day in 1992.

On this day, fans lookedback at his journey and onceagain reminded why SRK isnot just an actor, but a dreamand an inspiration. As the‘Baazigar’ completes 3decades in the industry, fanstook to social media to cele-brate him and his journey.

Production houseYash Raj Films cel-ebrated thisspecialmo-

ment in cinema and his incrediblejourney by unveiling SRK's guardedlook from 'Pathaan' through a mo-tion poster.

Talking about this beautiful cele-bration of SRK on his special day, di-rector Siddharth Anand explains, "30years of Shah Rukh Khan is a cine-matic moment in itself in the his-tory of Indian cinema and we wantedto celebrate it with his millions and

millions of fans globally.""Today is Shah

Rukh Khan dayand we need to

tell the worldthat. This isTeamPathaan's

way of sayingthank you toShah Rukh forthe countless

memories andsmiles that he has

given all of us in his incredible journey

in cinema,” headded.

AGENCIES

P2 LADY GAGA HAILED AT 2022BRITISH LGBT AWARDS

leisureSinger-actress Lady Gaga, diver Tom Daley and thefirst all-male 'Strictly Come Dancing' couple wereamong the winners of 2022's British LGBT Awards.Hosted by comedian Sue Perkins, the awards showis the UK's biggest LGBT+ awards event.

Christian Bale says he hasn't watched 'TheBatman' but has called actor RobertPattinson an absolutely wonderful actor. "I still haven't seen it. I will see it," Bale toldduring 'Thor: Love and Thunder' premiere.

SUNDAY | JUNE 26 | 2022 | BHUBANESWAR

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AQUARIUSYou always see the largerpicture, and desire to chan-nelise all your energiestowards making things better. Such posi-tive approach makes you an excellentteam player, and enables you to bringnovel ideas and effective solutions to thetable, says Ganesha.

PISCESThis day promises to be filledwith much romance, laugh-ter, and fine dining, saysGanesha. You will seem irresistible to theopposite sex. You might also find yourselffalling for someone. A breathe of fresh aircould waft into old relationships, or newones could be formed.

SAGITTARIUSYou are in a dilemma today.You may find yourselfstanding at crossroads, andyour decision power does not seem tohelp you much, says Ganesha. You arelikely to become controversy's favouritechild; this may add fuel to the fire.

LIBRAGanesha says that on thework front you may be inthe midst of meetings ornegotiations, which will work out favor-ably for you. This will help ease your ten-sion and you will feel mentally free. Todayyou will feel more vibrant and active tooand hence will be able to get more done.

SCORPIOAccording to Ganesha, yournew business venture islikely to keep you on toestoday. You may even neglect your person-al life to meet expectations at work. Afeeling of disappointment may surroundyou as things do not go according to plan-ning and your efforts may go in vain. Nopains, no gains reminds Ganesha.

LEOYou will look to give yourhouse a new appearance bydecorating it or undertakingsome renovation projects. You will makethe best out of waste and produce sometruly marvellous pieces of art for improv-ing the ambience of your nest. You will beable to save up on some money.Laudable, says Ganesha.

VIRGOYou will excel remarkably inwhatever work you prefer toengage yourself in today.Ganesha says your aspiration to start abusiness endeavour in a foreign countrywill bear fruit. To considerably enhanceyour self-image, it is necessary to makerequired improvements in your personalappearance.

GEMINIYou will feel lonely andunwanted today. You willfeel the need for someonewho can calm your troubled mind.Meditation and yoga will help you calmyourself. It is a good day to receive lovefrom that someone special, says Ganesha.

CANCERYou will succeed in a newventure and will brim withradiance and energy.Ganesha says this is the best time for get-together and kindle contact with friendsand relatives.

ARIESNow at last you haverealised that you have beenpreoccupied with work atthe cost of your family life. Making up tothem now is going to take a lot moreeffort. Ganesha says be ready to openyour purse strings for either eating out,going out for a movie or shopping at thebest places.

FORTUNE FORECAST

TAURUSThis day has been ear-marked for beautification, amakeover, says Ganesha.You are likely to remain preoccupied withways to enhance your looks and appear-ance. A new, stylish hair do, face packsand massages, trendy outfits and acces-sories could be in store. You will, subcon-sciously, be doing all that you can do, toget noticed by others.

CAPRICORNGod helps those who helpthemselves, likewise, yoursincere efforts will be paidoff well, today. If you're dealing withshares and stocks, it maybe your day,today. Your life partner will proved to belucky for your success, so give him/her thecredit he/she deserves, suggests Ganesha.

BREVITY

CALVIN AND HOBBES

PEANUTS CROSSWORD

SUDOKU

SOLUTIONS

CRO

SSW

ORD

SUD

OKU

CHECK FOR SOLUTIONS OF THE PUZZLES TOMORROW

post To solve the Sudoku puzzle, fill in the boxes in such amanner that every row, column and 3x3 box containsthe digits 1 to 9, without repeating any.

CHRISTIAN BALE HASN’T SEENPATTINSON’S ‘THE BATMAN’

Los Angeles: The decision ofthe U.S. Supreme Court to over-

turn its historic Roe v. Wadeabortion rights decision in its

50th year has been greeted withwidespread criticism fromAmerican celebrities.

Voicing the majority view in theentertainment industry, pop starTaylor Swift tweeted: "I'm absolutelyterrified that this is where we are-- that after so many decades ofpeople fighting for women's rightsto their own bodies, today's de-cision has stripped us of that."

In a detailed response, cook-ery show host and author

Padma Lakshmi said:"People will still get abor-

tions. These procedureswon't stop just be-

cause Roe v.Wade is

over-

turned. This will only prevent safe,legal abortions from taking place."

Thundered multiple award-win-ning actress Ariana DeBose: "Yeah,ain't NOBODY telling me what Ican & can't do with my body. Ain'tnobody telling me who I get to loveor marry for that matter. America... you're in for the fight of yourlife."

Oscar-winning actress PatriciaArquette was equally unequivocal.She said: "This Supreme Court is anabsolute disaster. From giving peo-ple the right to carry guns to tak-ing away women's rights of au-tonomy over their own bodies. Weweren't being reactive, we saw itcoming."

But the last word certainly be-longed to the best-selling authorStephen King. He tweeted: "It's thebest Supreme Court the 19thcentury has yet produced."IANS

‘Dark day for women’

30 YEARS OF ROMANCE

King Khan NOW and FOREVER

48 and FABULOUS!

Sara Ali Khancalls Salman

Khan ‘uncle’!

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P3SUNDAY | JUNE 26 | 2022 | BHUBANESWAR

CAR FEST PREP

Chitrakara servitorspaint woodenparrots as part ofchariot constructionin Puri, Saturday

INFECTED RECOVERED DEAD

World 54,84,68,392 52,33,60,641 63,49,828

India 4,33,78,234 4,27,61,481 5,24,974

Odisha 12,89,191 12,79,649 9,126

COVID-19 TRACKER

downtown

POST NEWS NETWORK

Bhubaneswar, June 25: Odishahas collected Rs 15,950.94 crore rev-enue from own tax and non-taxsources during April and May of thecurrent financial year 2022-23, reg-istering a growth of 38.76 per centcompared to the same period oflast fiscal.

The state had collected Rs11,495.74 crore till May of last fis-cal. The collection during the monthof May this year alone stands at Rs8,793.50 crore, official sources saidSaturday.

State’s own tax revenue collec-tion during the first two months of2022-23 fiscal was Rs 6,698.27 croreagainst the collection of Rs 5,359.46crore till May of 2021-22. So, theown tax revenue collection hasregistered a growth of nearly 25 per cent.

The state has recorded 50.70 percent growth in non-tax revenuetill May, 2022 with collection of Rs9,252.67 crore from this source. Thecollection has registered such a

high growth due to high collectionfrom mining activities, the sources said.

The collection of revenue fromnon-ferrous mining & metallurgi-cal industries has been increasedby 42.08 per cent till May 2022.

While during 2022-23 budget, es-timate for mineral revenue gen-eration was targeted at Rs. 43,444

crore, the state government hadbeen able to collect Rs 8,196.18 crorefrom this sector by May end.

The state has collected Rs 4,438.79crore from the mining activitiesduring the May month alone.During the 2021-22 financial year,the actual collection from the min-ing sector was Rs. 48,641.77 crore.

In view of Covid-19 pandemic, the

mining revenue collection till Mayof 2020-21 was only Rs 746.70 crore,which was increased by 672.57 percent to Rs 5,768.77 crore during thesame period in 2021-22. The col-lection again rose by 42.08 per centduring the current fiscal year.

Land revenue and stamps andregistration have been increased by20 per cent and 101 per cent, re-spectively.

The excise revenue collectioncrossed Rs 1,000 crore during thefirst two months with registeringa growth of 46.29 per cent. The ex-cise revenue collection was Rs692.87 crore during April and Mayof 2021 while the state has collectedRs 512.98 crore from this sourcein the month of May alone, thisyear.

Similarly, commercial tax col-lection has been increased to Rs4,259.30 crore till May this yearagainst the collection of Rs 3,657.47crore during first two months of lastfiscal. The commercial tax collec-tion increased by 16.45 per cent tillMay end.

State’s revenue collection up 38pc till May

The state had collected Rs11,495.74 crore till May of last

fiscal. The collection during themonth of May this year alone

stands at Rs 8,793.50 crore

State’s own tax revenue collectionduring the first two months of 2022-23 fiscal was Rs 6,698.27 croreagainst the collection of Rs 5,359.46crore till May of 2021-22

Aspecific gene that may be re-sponsible for differences in

symptoms and outcomes of heartattack between men and womenhas been identified by a team of re-searchers.

According to Jennifer Dungan,Associate Professor at Universityof Florida's College of Nursing,many of the current symptomprofiles and lab tests for heart dis-ease do not accurately reflectknown differences in women'sheart disease.

This oversight has led to increased gaps in health care equity.

"Because of this disparity,women are more likely than mento report heart disease symptomsthat appear out of the norm, ex-perience delayed treatment for

heart disease and even have undiagnosed heart attacks,"Dungan said.

"For reasons that remain un-certain, women can experienceheart disease differently than men.

This can lead to inequities forwomen that need to be addressed."

Dungan said cardiac researchersbelieve that some of these differ-ences in symptoms and outcomesmay be due to genetic variation be-

tween men and women. She hasidentified a specific gene she be-lieves may be responsible, namedRAP1GAP2.

"RAP1GAP2 is a strong candi-date for sex-linked effects on

women's heart disease outcomes," Dungan said.

"Certain DNA markers in thisgene are thought to manage the ac-tivity of platelets, colourless bloodcells that help our blood clot. Thisalso presents a heart attack risk.An overactive gene could causetoo many platelets to respond to theclot, which could block the flow ofblood and oxygen to the heartmuscle and lead to a heart attack,"she added.

Since RAP1GAP2 was not linkedto poor heart outcomes amongmen in her team's study, she be-lieves this gene may work differ-ently in women. Their findingswere recently published inAmerican Heart Journal Plus.

"Our goal is to find the genemarkers most accurately linked to

heart disease for all women,"Dungan said.

Dungan and her team aims toanalyse health data from 17,000postmenopausal women. Theyplan to use statistical geneticsmethods to study if there is a linkbetween certain DNA markers onRAP1GAP2 and heart diseaseamong women.

"At the end of the study, ifRAP1GAP2 gene markers accu-rately reflect women's heart symp-toms and predict their likelihoodof a future heart attack, strokeor death, then those gene markerscould help us be more confident intheir diagnosis and future prog-nosis," she said. "Having more ac-curate biomarkers for womenwould save lives and improvehealth equity for all women." IANS

Why heart attacks in women are often missedAccording to Jennifer Dungan,

Associate Professor at University ofFlorida's College of Nursing, many ofthe current symptom profiles and labtests for heart disease do notaccurately reflect known differences inwomen's heart disease

Dungan said cardiac researchersbelieve that some of these

differences in symptoms and outcomesmay be due to genetic variationbetween men and women. She hasidentified a specific gene she believesmay be responsible, named RAP1GAP2

INDO-ASIAN NEWS SERVICE

Bhubaneswar, June 25: School andMass Education (S&ME) MinisterSamir Ranjan Dash and BalasoreMLA Swaroop Das were fined forviolating traffic norms Saturday.

A video of the incident inBalasore has gone viral on socialmedia in which Das could be seenriding the bike with the minister aspillion, both not wearing helmets.The motorcycle owner, who is afriend of Das, received an e-challanthrough SMS from the traffic police.

“In the morning we were in ahurry to make a surprise visit tosome schools. No four-wheelerswere available at that time so wewent on a motorcycle. Mid-way werealised that we did not wear hel-mets,” said Das.

Soon after the visit, the MLAsaid he went to the traffic policestation and paid Rs 1,000 as fine.

Meanwhile, during the inspec-tion at Mahavir Nodal School inBalasore, the S&ME minister

found that the Class III studentswere unable to recite the table ofthree.

“When I reached the school,mathematics class was going on.So, I asked the students about ta-bles, but the students failed to re-

cite the table of three," Dash said.Expressing displeasure, he

asked the DEO to issue a show-cause notice to the headmistressand block her salary until theClass III students are able to recitetables up to 15.

S&ME Minister, Balasore MLA fined for flouting traffic norms

POST NEWS NETWORK

Bhubaneswar, June 25: Odisha-based startup, Bon V, Saturdayunveiled India’s first ArtificialIntelligence (AI) powered multi-utility air vehicle at sixth editionof Viva Technology (Vivatech)conference held in Paris.

Backed by IIT Mandi, HimachalPradesh and supported by AtalIncubation Centre (AIC), CVRaman and BhubaneswarEngineering College, Bon V, wasselected by NITI Aayog, InvestIndia, Atal Innovation Mission,Indian Software Products IndustryRound Table ( iSPRIT) andEmbassy of India in France tolead the product innovation storyof India at Vivatech. The four-member team of the startup ledby Satyabrata Satapathy, one ofthe CEOs, specialises in aerialmobility technology.

“Bon V’s RM001 is capable oflifting 200 KGs of cargo over 40 KM,which can be used in difficult ter-rains to support in-demand mo-bility. RM001’s ultra-modern designfurnishes it with multi-utility ap-plications. The wonder aerial ve-hicle has a weight three timeslighter than any typical aerialcraft while maintaining strengthdoubles that of a helicopter,”Satapathy said.

“The possibility of deliveringemergency medical supplies ormapping hilly terrains for logis-tical operations will be vastly eas-ier and user-friendly. Its auto-pilotcapabilities also make it an ex-cellent probe vehicle for reach-ing remote locations and func-tioning in challenging terrains.Bon V RM001 is a versatile aerialvehicle that can be utilized in awide range of areas,” he added.

The sixth edition of theVivatech concluded with a reachof about 119 million people from149 countries. It was India's firstofficial entry to the prestigiousconference.

POST NEWS NETWORK

Cuttack, June 25: As many as 12antique idols of Hindu deities wereunearthed from the house of a vil-lager at Deopur in Cuttack Sadararea here Saturday.

The idols of Lord Brahma,Lord Vishnu, Lord Maheswar,Goddess Durga and other deitieswere unearthed from the houseo f S h a m b h u n a t h B e h e r a ,sources said.

On being informed, a four-mem-ber team from the Archaeologydepartment of the state govern-ment visited the village and ex-

amined the idols, all made of brass,sources added.

The team reportedly asked Beherato sell the idols to the Archaeologicaldepartment. However, he refusedto do so and urged the team toarrange government assistance forestablishment of a temple for theidols in the village.

The officials assured Behera

that they would discuss the issuewith their higher-ups, sources said.

Behera, meanwhile, claimedthat a woman appeared in hisdream Thursday night and de-scribed about the idols buriedunder the house. The idols werefound when a portion of Behera’sbedroom was excavated Fridaymorning, said a villager.

12 antique idols unearthed from villager’s house

Some of the idols unearthed from the house OP PHOTOS

The idols of Lord Brahma, LordVishnu, Lord Maheswar, Goddess

Durga and other deities wereunearthed from the house of

Shambhunath Behera of CuttackSadar area

On beinginformed, a

four-memberteam from the

Archaeologydepartment of

the stategovernment

visited thevillage and

examined theidols, all made

of brass

Behera,meanwhile,claimed thata womanappeared inhis dreamThursdaynight anddescribedabout theidols buriedunder thehouse

Balasore MLA and S&ME Minister travel on a bike without wearing helmets

Odisha-based startupdisplays AI-poweredair vehicle in Paris

POST NEWS NETWORK

Bhubaneswar, June 25: A minorstudent died in a road mishap nearPathargadia under Chandaka po-lice limits Saturday. The student’sfemale friend who was riding pil-lion sustained severe injuries. Thedeceased identified as Diganta Daswas a resident of Sailashree Viharunder Chandrasekharpur policelimits. He was studying in classXI in a private school.

Sources said that Das along witha female friend was returningChandaka on a motor cycle after theclosure of the school inChandrasekharpur area Saturdayafternoon. Das, reportedly, losthis balance after the motorcyclecrossed speed breaker atPathargadia. He rammed into anelectric pole along the road anddied on the spot.

His body was later taken to theCapital hospital. The critically in-jured female friend of the deceasedis currently undergoing treatmentat a private medical college andhospital at Infocity.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik busy working in Rome, Saturday

POST NEWS NETWORK

Bhubaneswar, June 25: SeniorBJP leader and Union MinisterDharmendra Pradhan Saturdayappealed people to reduce the useof single-use plastics during the up-coming annual Rath Yatra 2022 in Puri.

In a video message, Pradhansaid lakhs of people are likely tovisit Puri to witness the Rath Yatrathis year. The Badanda (GrandRoad) will witness a sea of devoteespull the three gigantic chariots toGundicha Temple.

However, during the festival,people use single-use plastic suchas water bottles, glasses and poly-ethene pockets to keep prasad andflowers, which has a negative im-pact on the environment, waterbodies and animals.

“Today, single-use plastic is ahuge problem. Nowadays, the coun-try is unanimously agreeing toban single-use plastic, even if it isnot completely banned. There is aneed to reduce the use of single-useplastics as well as recycling plas-tic. We all need to be committed tokeeping the environment cleanand safe,” Pradhan appealed to thepublic in his message.

The Union Minister also calledfor a mass movement to reduceplastic usage in Puri during RathYatra. He urged social organisa-tions and people to voluntarilystart a mass movement to eliminatesingle-use plastic. This would resultin environmental conservationand a better future for the youth,he added.

Pradhan urges peopleto avoid use of single-use plasticsduring Rath Yatra

The Union Minister alsocalled for a mass

movement to reduceplastic usage in Puri

during Rath Yatra

Student dies in road mishap

CM AT WORK

downtownSUNDAY | JUNE 26 | 2022 | BHUBANESWARP4

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Four young Indian inno-

vators have been namedamong the world’s top 50leading gastronomygamechangers in a pres-

tigious list celebrating the nextgeneration of leaders creating sus-tainable solutions for the globalfood and drink industry.

The ‘50 Next Class of 2022’, un-veiled at a first-ever live awardsceremony in the Spanish city ofBilbao on Thursday, includes Delhi-based forensic scientist Risha

Jasmine Nathan, Bangalore-basedVinesh Johny and Anusha Murthy,and Mumbai-based Nidhi Pant.

Singapore-born Indian-originfood entrepreneur Travinder Singhalso makes the top 50 for his foodtech start-up idea that turns foodwaste into beverages.

They join innovators selectedfrom more than 400 candidatesacross 30 ter ritories in six continents as the next-gen leadersof gastronomy.

“My research, which I completedin New Zealand in 2020, was aboutusing food and vegetable peels andconverting them into beads thatcould suck up heavy metals fromdrinking water,” Risha JasmineNathan told PTI about the ground-breaking concept that made the‘50 Next’ cut in the “ScienceInnovators” category as a sus-tainable solution to tackle the prob-lem of water contamination in thedeveloping world.

Nathan, who will be taking up apost of Lecturer at the AngliaRuskin University in the UK laterthis year, is now researching thetopic in more detail, hoping tochange the lives of millions who stilldon’t have access to clean water.

Chef Vinesh Johny, who makes

the 2022 class in the “EmpoweringEducators” category, is the founderof Lavonne Academy of BakingScience & Pastry Arts in Bangalore– India’s first specialised interna-tional baking school.

“The school is primarily tryingto make sure that we get world-class pastry education for the stu-dents in India,” said Johny, whofounded Lavonne 10 years ago.

“I got into the culinary sector be-cause I really wanted to do some-thing that was skill-based and not very

academically oriented and fell inlove with the art of pastry making.Nurturing young talent in our in-dustry by giving them practical andhands-on experiences in the area ofculinary arts, baking, pastry mak-ing, cooking and even sustainablemethods of sourcing produce is ofparamount importance,” he said.

Also in the same category isAnusha Murthy, who along with co-creator Elizabeth Yorke is behind‘Edible Issues’ – a food collective thatfosters conversation around the

Indian food system via commu-nity engagement and workshops.

Aside from the joint venture,Murthy is also building a cookingrobot to help consumers eat morehealthily. The “TrailblazingActivists” category of ‘50 Next’ in-cludes Nidhi Pant, founder of S4STechnologies – an acronym forScience for Society, which has cre-ated an electricity-free solar-pow-ered food dehydrator that helps toalleviate vulnerable communitiesfrom hunger and helps farmerspreserve crop yields.

Pant’s technology is particu-larly directed towards women, asS4S trains landless female farm-ers to use their machines andequips them with marketing andfinance strategies.

Indian-origin Travinder Singh,founder and CEO of Crust Group,has been selected in the“Entrepreneurial Creatives” cate-gory for his concept of turning foodwaste into products such as arti-san beers and non-alcoholic drinksmade from fruit and vegetable waste.

From Singapore, the start-uphas already expanded to Japan andTaiwan and is looking at the UK andEurope and eventually India as fu-ture markets.

“I’m a Punjabi in Singapore,which is a very small minority. Iguess being from that backgroundhelped me become a lot more adapt-able to different situations and sce-narios,” said Singh.

“Why grow and consume morewhen there is so much surplusaround the world which can beused as a substitute for your rawmaterial. It is economically friendly,saves cost and you are also upcy-cling. Sustainability should not bejust a buzz word but more about thevalue-based concept of maximis-ing our resources,” he said.

“50 Next reflects the variety ofprofiles that shape the present andthe future of the gastronomy sec-tor,” said BCC General ManagerJoxe Mari Aizega.

“50 Next is an inspiring and nec-essary event at a time when gas-tronomy and the entire food in-dustry value chain is facing itsown revolution. And we want thatrevolution to happen here,” saidUnai Rementeria, President of theregional government of Biscay.

The ‘50 Next’ list is now in its sec-ond year and the first to be un-veiled at a live in-person event fol-lowing the COVID-19 pandemiclockdown last year. PTI

4 Indian innovators in world’s top ‘50 Next’ gastronomy gamechangersA LIST RATHER

THAN A RANKING,‘50 NEXT’

CELEBRATES PEOPLEAGED 35 AND UNDER

FROM ACROSS THEWIDER FOOD ANDDRINK SCENE TO

COMPLEMENT THEANNUAL RANKINGS

OF ‘THE WORLD’S 50BEST RESTAURANTS’

POST NEWS NETWORK

Bhubaneswar, June 25: As partof the ongoing ‘Sabka Bharat,Nikharta Bharat’ campaign, theBhubaneswar Smart City LimitedSaturday organised a number ofevents to commemorate the sev-enth anniversary of the SmartCities Mission.

The Union Ministry of Housingand Urban Affairs (MoHUA) iscurrently running a social mediacampaign called “Sabka Bharat,Nikharta Bharat” in which smartcities are publishing testimoni-als about how their initiativeshave benefited their inhabitantsin various ways.

The anniversary celebrationfeatured a variety of activities or-ganised in support of the SmartCities Mission, as well as some ofthe significant efforts being carriedout by the Bhubaneswar SmartCity Limited including a plantationprogramme in the morning where

corporators from words 67, 12, 14,and 8 and young social activists

were present, and a tour of theIntegrated Command ControlCenter (ICCC) of BSCL for schoolstudents where more than 200 stu-dents visited and gained knowl-edge of the benefits and draw-backs of technology throughout thetrip and a firsthand experiencewith how a city is being governedin the ICCC.

The initiatives that have beencarried out as part of the SmartCities Mission and how peopleare benefiting from it were alsothe subjects of a radio programmeand a brief documentary thatwere organised by the BSCL. Apainting contest on the theme‘Smart Bhubaneswar’ was alsoorganised by BSCL, and peer lead-ers were taken on a visit to theState Museum in Capital city tocommemorate the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, BMC Commissioner and CEO of BSCL Vijay Amruta Kulangesaid, “Development of the smartcity is progressing quickly andhas improved the aesthetics ofthe city. Today’s citizens usethese smart solutions on a dailybasis since everything is at their fingertips.”

General Manager of BSCLKamaljit Das stated that since in-dividuals can now access anycitizen service online from thecomfort of their homes, smart so-lutions are improving people’slifestyles day by day. The SmartCities Mission’s activities havestrengthened and empoweredthe Capital city.

BSCL observes 7th annivof Smart Cities Mission

Development of the smartcity is progressing quickly

and has improved theaesthetics of the city.

Today’s citizens use smartsolutions on a daily basis

since everything is at theirfingertips

VIJAY AMRUTA KULANGE | BMC COMMISSIONER & CEO OF BSCL

AFFIDAVITI, Ajharuddin Shaikh, S/oRiyajuddin, Village-Mustafapur, P.O.- Dobal,P.S.- Dhamnagar, Dist.-Bhadrak, I have changedmy name AjharuddinShaikh to Sk Ajharuddinfor the purpose ofpassport.

CLASSIFIEDAFFIDAVIT

By virtue of an affidavitsworn before theExecutive Magistrate,Cuttack, I, PrasadHarichandan Behera, sonof Pramod Kumar Beheraat Police Line, Buxi Bazar,PS- Cantonment, Cuttack-1 do hereby affirm that myICSE pass certificate ofClass-X bearing UniqueID-6713333, passedcertificate No.-TF 80125417was lost while traveling atPuri on 7.06. 2022. So I amswearing this affidavit toproduce before the ICSEauthority, New Delhi forissuance of duplicateClass-X pass certificateand mark sheet in myfavour.

LOST

Continued from P1

Uparbeda village with a popu-lation of 3,500 has two hamlets.While Badasahi hamlet is fullyelectrified, Dungursahi has only14 households which are yet toget electricity.

The official, who did not wantt o b e n a m e d , s a i d t h a tDungursahi was not electrifiedas the houses there were con-structed on forest land.

“We have no intention to keep thevillagers in the dark, but it was sodue to lack of certain official clear-ance,” the official said.

The fact that the people inMurmu's village remain in darknessdue to lack of electricity came to thefore when journalists reached hernative place to talk to the people aftershe was nominated the Presidentialcandidate.

Murmu's nephew BiranchiNarayan Tudu lives at Dungursahihamlet along with his wife and two children.

“We had requested many peo-

ple to provide electricity to ourDungursahi hamlet. However, noone paid any heed,” Biranchi's wifetold reporters.

She said that they have notbrought the matter to the notice ofMurmu though she visits the vil-lage during festivals.

The matter has been informedto the local MLA and MP duringelection time in 2019, but nothinghad happened, said ChittaranjanBaske, another resident ofUparbeda village.

He said the people use kerosenelamps to illuminate their houses.

Meanwhile, the villagers areelated that one among them is likely to occupy the RashtrapatiBhavan.

Uparbeda village is also thebirthplace of former MPs SalkhanMurmu, Bhabendra Majhi andformer minister Kartik Majhi.

Official sources revealed thatthere are 500 villages with no formal roads and 1,350 villageswith no electricity in Mayurbhanjdistrict.

Murmu’s village gets power

POST NEWS NETWORK

Bhubaneswar, June 25: TheCommissionerate Police Fridaygrilled Santosh Kumar Patra,the boyfriend (BF) of noted TVactress Rashmirekha Ojha whowas found dead in her room atGada Sahi in Nayapalli areaJune 18.

Patra, an HR manager in a fi-nancial company, was interrogatedat the Nayapalli police station formore than four hours Friday.

The boyfriend of deceased ac-tress revealed that he had gone

to Bolangir for training whenOjha committed suicide. Patraalso claimed that the actress had

attempted suicide earlier too.Patra will be called in future forfurther interrogation in the mat-ter. Police had Thursday grilledOjha’s former boyfriend Raja foraround two hours.

The family members of Ojha,while speaking to media, haveheld Patra responsible for thedeath of their daughter. Notably,the post mortem report of Ojhaconfirmed the actress committingsuicide. She was under mentalpressure and police has been investigating to find the reasonsbehind it.

Actress suicide: CP grills boyfriendPRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Bhubaneswar, June 25: Odisharecorded 62 new Covid-19 casesSaturday, taking the tally to 12,89,191,the state Health department saidin a bulletin.

The toll remained at 9,126 as therewere no fresh deaths. There are 410active Covid-19 cases in the state atpresent. In the last 24 hours, 43 morepeople recovered from the disease,taking the total recoveries to 12,79,602.

The coastal state’s daily Covid-19 test positivity rate (TPR) stoodat 0.47 per cent as the new cases weredetected after testing 13,265 samples.

62 new Covid cases

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Cuttack, June 25: The VigilanceDirectorate arrested an anti-smug-gling guard in the office of CivilSupplies Officer (CSO) of BalasoreSaturday for allegedly possessingassets disproportionate to his knownsources of income, an official said.

Raids were conducted at five placesin Balasore and Ganjam Friday fol-lowing the allegations againstJanardan Palei, posted at the RiceReceiving Centre (RRC) cum DistrictStorage Centre (DRC) in Jaleswar.

Movable and immovable assets,including 12 plots, worth over `1.4crore were unearthed. Palei wasfound possessing disproportionateassets (DA) constituting 226 per centof his known sources of income.

Vig nabs CSO officeanti-smugglingguard in DA case

The Odisha Urdu Academy organised a national level Sufi Qawwali programme at Rabindra Mandap in Bhubaneswar, Saturday OP PHOTO

SINGING SACRED

Rama Devi Women’s University observed its Annual Alumni Meet 2022 at the varsity in Bhubaneswar, Saturday OP PHOTO

ANNUAL ALUMNI MEET

cmyk

cmyk

stateSUNDAY | JUNE 26 | 2022 | BHUBANESWARP5

POWER-PACKED PERFORMANCE

A team led by eminent Odissi danseuse Swapnarani Sinha and her disciples from Angul enthralled the audience with their power-packed performance at aprogramme in Vienna, Austria from June 20 to June 22 as part of year-long celebration of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’. The team had earlier performed at AngulMahotsav to the delight of the audience OP PHOTO

FOR LORD’S JOURNEY

Carpenter servitors busy in the construction of Brahma Taladhwaja chariot of Lord Baladevjew in Kendrapara, Saturday

POST NEWS NETWORK

Kendrapara, June 25: Increasedindustrial pollution and humaninterference have posed seriousthreat to the biodiversity ofBhitarkanika National Park inthis district.

This has threatened the survivalof marine creatures and otherwildlife in the sanctuary pushingthem towards extinction. This hashappened due to a host of reasonslike pressure on freshwater supply,industrial pollution as well as cli-mate change.

The growing load of pollutionfrom industries, mining and un-controlled human activities havestifled the mangrove ecosystemwhich is critical to sustain wildlifeand important to the identity ofthe state.

Around 86.26 million cubic metreof water is being lifted for indus-trial and mining activities fromBrahmani river every year. This haschoked the supply of freshwater tothe sanctuary. The Brahmani riverflows from Angul district toBhitarkanika. As a result, the in-dustrial effluent discharged intoBrahmani river in Angul thenflows into the sanctuary, a reportby the Centre said.

Lecturers Devi Prasad Sahu,

Sarat Kumar Sahu and KhitishKumar Singh conducting researchon the biodiversity of Bhitarkanikaand its integrated managementsaid that the environmental con-dition of Bhitarkanika is quitealarming.

The toxic and polluted water flow-ing to this wetland everyday hasposed serious threat to the marinecreatures and other wildlife inBhitarkanika. The Union ministryof environment, forest and climatechange conducted an assessment ofthe water in the river basin ofBrahmani and Baitarani in between2008 to 2018 to study its impact onBhitarkanika. The study was con-ducted on the water that flows intoBhitarkanika from these two riversand the drawing of water by iron,aluminum, cement, ferrochrome,fertilizer plants dependent on thesetwo rivers. Moreover, the effluentsdischarged by these plants werealso taken up for assessment dur-ing the study.

The study stated that theBrahmani river is getting in-creasingly polluted due to the in-dustrial plants. The report statedthat water samples collected fromBhitarkanika is 10 times more toxicthan the same collected in Angul.

T he water o f Brahmani ,Baitarani and Mahanadi holds

importance in protecting the bio-diversity of Bhitarkanika.However, the Brahmani suppliesmore water to Bhitarkanika thanthese two other rivers.

The number of industrial plantsalong the Brahmani river is in-creasing with the rise in popula-tion. Water is essential to containthe fly-ash emerging from the in-dustrial plants, for which 86.26MCM of water is drawn by theseplants every year from riverBrahmani.

Around 15,800 kilolitre of wateris drawn from Brahmani riverfor as many as 10 mines situatedbeside the Brahmani river basin.Moreover, use of the river waterby mega irrigation projects and bypeople for various purposes isalso affecting the water flow intothe sanctuary.

The toxic effluent dischargedby the plants is polluting the riverwhile, on the other hand, exces-sive human and industrial waterusage is drying up the river andhindering the water flow to thesanctuary.

The authorities though awareare yet to take up any measure torid the river of its toxic effluents.The industrial pollution fromnearby Paradip and Dhamra portsis also threatening the sanctuaryfor which observers have demandedsincere and urgent steps to savethe sanctuary.

BIO-DIVERSITY AT RISK

Pollution, water liftingthreaten Bhitarkanika

Around 86.26 million cubicmetre of water is being

lifted for industrial and miningactivities from Brahmani riverevery year

Industrial effluent dischargedinto Brahmani river in Angul

flows into the sanctuary

Central govt report statesthat water sample collected

from Bhitarkanika is 10 timesmore toxic than the samecollected in Angul

POST NEWS NETWORK

Chhatrapur, June 25: Complaintshave been lodged with the Schooland Mass Education (S&ME) de-partment against 114 teachers serv-ing with fake certificates and doc-uments in Ganjam district.Meanwhile, 11 block education of-ficers (BEOs) have been directed toverify the certificates of the teach-ers concerned and take actionagainst them.

In some cases where teachershave been caught forging certifi-cates, action has been taken whilein other cases action has allegedlybeen delayed.

The verification reports about 85fake teachers have not been sent tothe S&ME department.

As for the 114 teachers who have

allegedly submitted fake educa-tion certificates, the joint directorof the Directorate of ElementaryEducation has directed BEOs ofChhatrapur, Kabisuryanagar,Be guniapada, Aska,Jagannathprasad, Shergada,Polasara, Berhampur, Hinjilicut,Buguda and Sorada for certificateverification and action.

Certificates of educational qual-ification, training, marksheets,caste and migration certificates

of these teachers will be vetted. In case their certificates are

found to be forged, legal actionsuch as dismissal from service, de-partmental proceedings and FIRsat police stations will be takenagainst them.

Earlier, 99 teachers were foundserving with fake certificates.While seven of them were dis-missed from their jobs, one was sus-pended. FIRs have been lodgedagainst 19 teachers.

Notably, following the allega-tions of submission of fake edu-cation certificates by some teach-ers during recruitment, the stategovernment in 2020 had asked theauthorities to verify certificatesand mark sheets of employees andteachers of primary and upperprimary schools.

POST NEWS NETWORK

Patana, June 25: Bhimkund, oneof the major tourist sites inKeonjhar district, is going to get afacelift soon. To boost its tourismpotential and attract more tourists,a blueprint for its developmenthas been drawn up.

The scenic Bhimkund touristspot is in Balijodi mouza underPatana block. A detailed project

report of an estimated `5 crorewill be prepared.

Recently, a high-level commit-tee headed by Collector AshishThakare visited the spot so as toprepare the DPR. The PublicWorks department division ofGhatagaon has been assigned thetask to draw up the DPR.

It was learnt that projectstaken up for Bhimkund includesa concrete road to Sanakunda,

various beautification works,and construction of platforms,drinking water facility, parkinglot and cafeteria.

The proposed facelift has en-thused the locals who exuded hopefor better earning scope with arise in tourist footfall.

Bhimkund waterfall lies ina stunningly spectacular natu-ral setting encircled with lushgreen forests. The majesticBaitarani river creates two wa-terfalls called Sanakunda andBadakunda for the nature lovers.Both the falls offer a thrilling ex-perience to the visitors due to thedeep gorge with almost verticalsides and swift water current,making the environment mistywith water vapour.

Roaring sound of the water-falls makes the place most fas-cinating for tourists. Locals re-vere these waterfalls as sacredin a religious point of view.They throng the place duringannual celebrations of MakarSankranti in large numbers.Mythology has it that Pandavasstayed for some time here dur-ing their secret exile.

POST NEWS NETWORK

Chhatrapur, June 25: At leasteight supply department officersand 10 mill owners have landed insoup after an audit report revealedthe irregularities in the supply ofrice worth `1.72 crore here inGanjam district.

Acting on the direction of theMD, Odisha State Civil SuppliesCorporation Limited (OSCSCL),Ganjam civil supply officer (CSO)has framed draft charges againstthe eight former officers of the de-partment.

Among them are the formerCSO, supply inspector (SI) andmarketing of ficer (MO).Interestingly, the former CSO haseven retired. The Ganjam districtadministration is all set to registercases as per the OPDR Act, 1962against the 10 defaulting millers.

The district collector has di-rected the tehsildars to prepare alist of both movable and immovableproperties of the default millers for

further action. Among them aretwo millers each from Polasara,Khallikote and Rangeilunda blocksand one each from Purushottampur,Aska, Kabisuryanag ar andDharakote blocks.

Unfortunately, one of the ricemill owners has passed away. But,the district collector has directed of-ficials to prepare a list of movableand immovable properties of his kin.

As soon as the list is submittedin the Collectorate, a case will beregistered against them as per theOPDR Act, sources said.

It is alleged that the 10 rice mill

owners had procured paddy formilling. They were supposed to re-turn rice after milling in the 2021-22 fiscal. However, the 10 millershave not yet returned the rice worth`1.72 crore, despite repeated re-minders by the OSCSCL.

On the other hand, it is suspectedthat the Civil department officersare hand in gloves with the millowners in the scam. But the topofficers and other officials are notsubmitting necessary documentsand papers about the irregularities.They have allegedly tried to coverup the matter.

POST NEWS NETWORK

Balasore, June 25: School & MassEducation Minister Samir RanjanDash made a surprise visit toMahabir Nodal School at Mathasahiin Balasore Town at 9 am Saturday.

However, he was displeasedover teaching in the school as aClass 3 student fumbled in recit-ing table of 3. Then, the minis-ter discussed the matter withheadmistress Banalata Das. Hewanted to know about the short-comings in the teaching.

The minister held both theclass teacher and the headmistressresponsible for not making stu-dents learn the minimum ofmathematics and sent the head-mistress a show-cause noticewithholding her salary.

He has directed the district ed-ucation officer(DEO) to hold theheadmistress’s salary until theClass 3 students are able to recitethe multiplication tables from 2-15.The minister has been inspectingschools after another ‘T’ (Tour)was added in the 5T model of gov-ernance in the state.

POST NEWS NETWORK

Malkangiri, June 25: The waterlevel in Balimela dam in Chitrakondaarea of Malkangiri district has plum-meted. It may affect power genera-tion and irrigation, a report said.

As per reports, the dam is capableof retaining water up to a height of 1,516feet. Last year, the water level wasover 1,466.30 feet. This year it has di-

minished to 1,445.30 feet. The damwater is used both for irrigation andelectricity production. As the waterlevel has reduced by 21 feet, irriga-tion of farmlands has been affected.Electricity generation is most likelyto be badly hit in days to come, it is said.

Even though the monsoons weredelayed last year, the dam hadenough water for irrigation andpower production.

Usually, it is seen that rains inSeptember and October play a cru-cial role in filling up the dam. Thereis apprehension that if rains play tru-ant this year, the water level will plum-met further. Also one has to keep inmind that 3,000 cusec water is releaseddaily through sluice gates to neigh-bouring Andhra Pradesh.

Locals said, the situation will worsenwithout adequate rainfall in comingdays. Canals in the locality will fail todeliver water from the dam to acres offarmlands. Farming, the mainstay of thelocal economy, will be hit, they rued.

POST NEWS NETWORK

Kalinganagar, June 25: Actingon a tip-off, police busted a fakecement factory during a raidnear Golgaon in Kalinganagar in-dustrial hub in Jajpur districtand detained four persons inthis connection.

Police also seized over 200 pack-ets of fake cement and detainedfour persons in this connection.The detained persons -- the ownerof the cement plant, its supervisor,a truck driver, and a truck owner--were taken into custody for in-terrogation.

The cement plant was runningin the area for last two years. Duringraid, police found a crushing ma-chine of defunct rice mill where thedamaged cement is crushed to pre-pare cement powder.

The powder is then packed inpackets bearing the logo and brandname of reputed cement brandUltratech and transported to var-ious destinations for sale.

Ganjam: Complaints filedagainst 114 ‘fake’ teachers

11 BEOs ASKED TO VERIFY CERTIFICATES AND TAKE LEGAL ACTION

Fake cement factorybusted; 4 detained

HM’s salary held asClass 3 student failsto recite table of 3

Action delayed in ̀ 1.72 cr rice scam 8 Civil Supply department

officials under scanner,cases against 10 millers

Water level plummetsin Balimela reservoirIRRIGATION AFFECTED; POWER PRODUCTION MAY SUFFER

`5cr DPR for Bhimkund makeover

OP PHOTO

Herd rescues stranded jumbo from wellSaraskana: An elephant fell into a well near Kabatashola underSaraskana block in Mayurbhanj district, Friday night. The wellbelongs to Hari Singh. The villagers tried to lift it out from the wellbut in vain. Ranger Laxmidhar Behera said that later its herd cameback to the well and lifted the jumbo out by dragging it with theirtrunks. Meanwhile, a herd of elephants unleashed a reign of terror inMorada area. The animals broke a house in Purnadiha village andgobbled up stocked rice and paddy.

WORDSWORTH

power post P6

O ne of our Supreme Court judges made an important if startlingpoint when giving a lecture abroad. A legal website reporting his speechgave this headline to the story: “Will result in slippery slope if courts

are regarded as only organ to defend citizens’ rights”.The judge (I am not naming the person because the identity is unimpor-

tant, it is the idea that we must try and understand) was quoted as sayingthat “the growing litigious trend in the country is indicative of the lack ofpatience in the political discourse. This result is a slippery slope wherecourts are regarded as the only organ of the State for realization of rights- obviating the need for continuous engagement with the legislature and theexecutive.”

The words are clear enough and direct enough so what do they mean? Thejudge is saying that it is important that citizens engage with government andelected representatives for their rights. Courts are also important in this processbut they are not the only place where rights can be defended or claimed.

This is actually how many democracies function and the justice systemand in particular the Supreme Court is only one part of the edifice the citi-zen engages with. In the United States, the Supreme Court hears and disposesof only 80 cases a year. In India, the Supreme Court has 70,000 pending mat-ters. This points to a significant difference be-tween the two justice systems though ours is mod-elled in many ways on the American system.

In 1949, it was decided that India would havea Supreme Court consisting of no more thaneight judges (Article 124). The US has nine.India today has over 30. The US court onlyhears matters together. India’s court has sev-eral small benches that hear everything frombail matters to property disputes. In the US suchmatters are settled by the lower judiciary. In India,for reasons we do not need to get into today, thisdoes not happen and so the justice system hashad to evolve into something different from theway it was conceived.

Let us leave this aside and look again atwhat was said by the judge. Despite the justicesystem in India being heavily engaged with thecitizen, at least according to the numbers, thejudge feels that there is a ‘growing’ trend to-wards more litigation and not enough en-gagement with the political process. To my mindthis is the correct analysis. The question is whythis is happening.

The answer appears to be that the State inIndia is running amok. If the governmentand the political party controlling it want todestroy the homes of people without trial orconviction, where do those people go? Oneplace they can go is the executive which is the perpetrator of violence. Theycan also go to the legislature, meaning the Opposition parties to engage withthem and make the government see reason. Is this not happening in Indiatoday? Certainly it cannot be the case that people who are moving court, in-cluding citizens, civil society groups, activists and so on, are not engagingwith the government at all. They are. But what is to be done when the mo-tivation of the political party in charge is to persecute? How does one en-gage meaningfully with one’s oppressor?

This the judge did not speak on. Something else was said in the speech,which justified the widening of spaces where rights must be sought. The judgesaid: “While the Supreme Court must protect the fundamental rights of thecitizens it must not transcend its role by deciding issues requiring the in-volvement of elected representatives. Doing so would not only be a devia-tion from the court’s constitutional role but would not serve a democraticsociety, which at its core, must resolve issues through public deliberation,discourse and the engagement of citizens with their representatives and theconstitution.”

There is nothing exceptionable about what is said. Healthy democraciesmust have citizens able to conduct meaningful and productive engagementswith all parts of the State. However, it must be stressed here that the judi-ciary has a primary function and that is to stop and push back against ex-ecutive overreach. Especially when such overreach is threatening theConstitution of India.

Today, the situation is that cases involving citizenship and anonymous fund-ing of electoral politics have not been decided by the court. Habeas corpuspleas of Kashmiris also went undecided. This is the source of the pressurethat commentators and activists have put on the judiciary, that the judge waspresumably responding to. To many of us it seems like India has taken a di-rection led by the government controlled by a single political party led byan undisputed leader. This direction is not in keeping with either India’sConstitution or traditions or modernity.

Of course the rest of the State apparatus including the legislatures andexecutive must be places where the citizen can go and claim her rights. Butit appears to be indisputable that the primary arena of this battle has to bein the justice system where the judges must stand up for citizens against arampant and malign State.

T he well-known developmentdivides in India which re-semble the north-south di-

vide often pose a problem in com-paring the poor and the rich acrossits various regions. While it is ev-ident that such a divide offers aclue to reading inequality as well,there is a need to have an under-standing of equivalence of richand poor across regions as well ascompare economic hierarchy acrossregions and characteristic groupsof population. Such an under-standing is facilitated amply by thewealth quintile distribution of pop-ulation offered by the most recentlyconducted national Family HealthSurvey-5 of 2019-21. This wealthquintile distribution is based on awealth score derived for each sur-veyed household based on a rangeof household assets and amenitiesthat clearly presents an economichierarchy representing a commonaxis of stratified reading of variousdemographic and health outcomes.

Based on this comprehensivewealth score of surveyed house-holds, a quintile distribution is ob-tained against which the regionalpattern is contrasted as well as afew selected characteristic attrib-utes are also contrasted to figure outthe kind of discrepancy that ex-ists across regions and character-istics. To begin with, an urban-rural divide in wealth statusdistribution informs that ruraland urban India are dispropor-tionately represented against theall-India quintile structure withdistinct urban advantage and ruraldisadvantage. While more than

50% of rural India remains withinthe bottom two quintiles of wealthhierarchy, two-third of urban Indiaoccupies the upper hierarchy oftwo quintiles. Such a divide is anindirect reflection of rural-urbaninequality in the sense that morethan two-thirds of urban popula-tion belongs to the upper hierarchyof wealth score structure againstmore than half of the rural popu-lation remaining within the bottomtwo quintiles. Such as stark divideexhibits urban privilege and ruraladversity in clear terms.

Considering regional compari-son, one thing that is apparent re-lates to the poorer states in theeast and north-east having a largershare of households in lower hi-erarchy of national wealth quintileas against states in south with sub-stantial share belonging to theupper hierarchy of the nationalwealth quintile structure. Thisforms the basis of caution to beadopted in equalising depriva-tion/privilege across regions. Whilereading this distribution, one canidentify regions with richest poorvis-à-vis the poorest poor whichhappens to be Lakshadweep andJharkhand which have the leastand the most share of householdsin the bottommost hierarchy ofthe national wealth quintiles. Hence,a poor from Jharkhand can be fortytimes worse off compared to a poorfrom Lakshadweep. Besides thisextreme comparison, the equiva-lence of the poorest in the south maywell be many times better whencompared to the poorest in centralor eastern India. Therefore, the

poor of India according to this as-sessment are hardly comparableacross its regions and their countin considering the equivalenceelaborated above may well equateone poor of the privileged regionwith five of them in the disadvan-taged region. In a similar tone, thecomparison of the rich too can beexplicitly divided in the sense thatrich most belonging to Delhi,Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh innorth and Pondicherry and Keralain south are hardly comparablewith the rich of other regions.Such divide in terms of qualify-ing to the national wealth quintilestructure needs to be noted whilecounting rich and poor across re-gions on one hand and readingdeprivation/welfare on the other.

Another additional feature ofthis exposition of economic divideacross states relates to the cumu-lative structure of the conformityof the quintile share distributionagainst the national pattern. Sucha cumulative structure will offer adeviation pattern from the nationalideal that would reveal a compar-ative construct of the entire eco-nomic hierarchy advantage/dis-advantage of all states/regions.Such a cumulative structure mostlyremains below the national idealindicating the concentration favour-ing the more affluent vs the less af-fluent excepting in case of somestates wherein the curve will remainabove the national ideal indicat-ing the concentration of the less af-fluent when contrasted against thenational ideal. Such an expositionmakes poorer states of Madhya

Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,Odisha remain above the ideal na-tional pattern as against the richerstates with a cumulative structureremaining below the national ideal.The share of the cumulative struc-ture above/below the national idealline informs the share of departurefrom the national hierarchy.

This analysis, though simplistic,serves the purpose of contrastingrich poor equivalence across re-gions in India which is perhapsquite essential in comparison ofstate of welfare disparity acrossregions. While such a valuation isundoubtedly average conditionedto a large extent, they do inform onthe equivalence of the poor andrich across regions. In fact, carry-ing out the same across religionand caste attributes reflects theconformity of the religious ma-jority and deviance for minorities.Similarly, it is revealing that sched-uled tribes remain quite disad-vantaged in relation to nationaleconomic hierarchy. On the whole,stark disadvantage among the ma-jority population count vis-à-visprivilege among a minority popu-lation count confirms the prevail-ing inequality at large. Therefore,it would be safe to say that there isan explicit divergence in wealth/as-sets across regions in India.

Udaya S Mishra works as aProfessor in the Department of

Bio-Statistics at IIPS, Mumbai.Balakrushna Padhi works as an

Assistant Professor at BITSPilani, Rajasthan Campus.

Views are personal.

THE NEW POLITICST

here is an old saying inFrench politics that peo-ple vote with their heartsin the first round of an

election, and with their heads inthe second. This dictum no longerholds. In this year’s national elec-tion, French citizens voted tacti-cally from the start, supportingthe candidates from their ownbloc who were most likely to win.In the first round of the presi-dential election in April, this dy-namic advanced the candidaciesof Jean-Luc Mélenchon on the farleft and Marine Le Pen on the farright, with President EmmanuelMacron holding the center. Now,the pattern has been repeated inFrance’s legislative elections.

In the just-concluded secondround, the biggest winner was LePen’s National Rally, which in-creased its parliamentary repre-sentation from just eight seats to89. Never before under the FifthRepublic has the far right’s starrisen so high. While the then-National Front won 35 seats in1986, under the leadership of LePen’s father, that outcome could bedismissed as a one-off occurrence.By contrast, this year’s outcomeunderscores National Rally’s in-creasing entrenchment in Frenchpolitics and society.

The shock result – which sur-prised even the party’s own lead-ers – can be explained by theFrench run-off system, wherein thetwo leaders in the first round faceoff against each other in the sec-ond. Faced with the prospect ofhaving to pick between either thefar left or the far right, centrist vot-ers in many districts simply ab-stained. At the same time, manysupporters of the far left or the farright chose to go with the other ex-treme rather than voting for a cen-trist. Clearly, the “republican front”that once kept the far right at bayhas fallen.

The National Rally will now beable to create a parliamentarygroup (requiring at least 15deputies) in the National Assembly,availing itself of additional ben-efits in terms of funding and ac-cess to positions of power. Untilnow, National Rally deputies havebeen known more for their ab-senteeism and incompetence thananything else; but that could per-haps change with the formation ofa parliamentary group.

With 142 deputies, the far left canclaim to be the main opposition toMacron’s government. It has as-sembled under the New Popular,Ecological, and Social Union(NUPES), a coalition of left-wingparties, including Mélenchon’sFrance Unbowed, the Communists,the Socialists, and the Greens.While these parties’ respectiveshares of the vote remained stablefrom five years ago, tactical votingby their supporters paid off, morethan doubling their final seat count(which is up from 58 in 2017).

Mélenchon, however, fell shortin his bid to become prime minister.NUPES did not come anywhereclose to the 289 seats (out of 577)needed to command an absolutemajority; nor did it succeed inmobilising the youth vote (whichremained stubbornly absent).Moreover, because Mélenchonchose not to run for a parliamen-tary seat, it is an open question asto who will lead the left in parlia-ment. With the different parties re-taining their own groupings, therewill be no official NUPES parlia-mentary faction. Will the alliancebe able to sustain itself without itscharismatic leader?

For his part, Macron can al-ready claim to have reached anumber of “firsts” in his brief po-litical career. In addition to beingthe youngest French leader sinceNapoleon and the first presidentto win re-election since JacquesChirac (in 2002), he will now be thefirst president since FrançoisMitterrand (in 1988) to have only

a plurality in parliament.Macron’s Ensemble coalition –

comprising his own party, LaRépublique en Marche!, FrançoisBayrou’s MoDem party, andÉdouard Philippe’s Horizons party– will have 246 seats, 43 short of anabsolute majority. The question,then, is how he and his new primeminister, Élisabeth Borne, shouldgo about implementing the gov-ernment’s agenda. Most immedi-ately, Borne will need to reshufflethe government to account for thefact that three of its previous min-isters were not re-elected, includ-ing Amélie de Montchalin, theMinister for Ecological Transition– a portfolio representing one ofMacron’s top priorities.

To continue the progress he hasmade, Macron will need to findnew allies in the National Assembly.Many Ensemble members areeying the center-right Republicans,whose 61 deputies would giveMacron a majority. But a formalpact seems unlikely. Instead,Macron may look to strike ad hocdeals with both the center left andthe center right.

Only time will tell whetherFrance can rediscover the spirit ofcompromise that marked the Thirdand Fourth Republics, where par-liamentary democracy dominated,or face the same problems of in-action and gridlock that led Charlesde Gaulle to found the FifthRepublic, with its strong presi-dency, in 1958. Macron did prom-ise a more horizontal, consensus-based approach to governance aspart of his second mandate. Oneway to interpret the parliamen-tary election result is that the vot-ers took him at his word.

The writer is AssistantProfessor of Political

Theory at the University of Nottingham.

©PROJECT SYNDICATE

FOCUS

In addition to being the youngest French leadersince Napoleon and the first president to win

re-election since 2002, Macron will now be thefirst president since 1988 to have only a

plurality in parliament

Executive Overreach

SUNDAY | JUNE 26 | 2022 | BHUBANESWAR

Let all circumstances, allhappenings in life be occasions,constantly renewed for learningmore and ever more.

THE MOTHER

THE “REPUBLICANFRONT” THAT

ONCE KEPT THE

FAR RIGHT AT BAY

HAS FALLEN

Hugo Drochon

WISDOM CORNERIf it is important to you, you will find a way. If not, you’ll find anexcuse. RYAN BLAIR

If people are not laughing at your goals, your goals are too small.AZIM PREMJI

Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Smallminds discuss people. ELEANOR ROOSEVELT

FRANCE

Readers of Orissa POSTare most welcome to contribute letters(200 words), articles andcolumns (between 750-1250words). Contributors arerequested to send theircontact numbers and fullpostal address/email ID. They may alsosend in their valuable comments, opinionand suggestions, preferably by email, to: edit@orissapost.com

B-15, Rasulgarh Industrial Estate,Bhubaneswar-751010

LettersTO THE EDITOR

WHILE MORE THAN50% OF RURAL INDIA

REMAINS WITHINTHE BOTTOM TWO

QUINTILES OFWEALTH HIERARCHY,

TWO-THIRD OFURBAN INDIA

OCCUPIES THEUPPER HIERARCHYOF TWO QUINTILES

Udaya S Mishra &Balakrushna Padhi

Maha machination

Sir, This refers to “National party will help us, says Shinde,” Orissa POST,June 24. The Uddhav Thackeray government would appear to be coming un-done by, on the one end, its own weakness, the inability or unwillingnessor both of a family-run party to accommodate the rising ambitions within,and on the other end, by its partner-turned-foe BJP’s aggressive fishing inmurky waters. After all, unlikely alliances are not unusual in Indian poli-tics and, time and again, power has proved to be a strong glue followed bybitter divorces. The prospect of a vertical split in the Sena, and the endgamefor the Uddhav Thackeray government, will pose a test for the institutionsof the Speaker and Governor. The Deputy Speaker could be called upon toassess the claims and counter claims and determine the status of the Senafactions under provisions of the anti-defection law, while the Governorcould play a critical role in resolving the political instability. The fate of theUddhav Thackeray government in Maharashtra will also send signals thatresonate beyond the state. With less than two years to go for the general elec-tion in 2024, and given that the Opposition is struggling to rally together toput up a fight against a formidable and predatory BJP, the loss of a crucialstate will be consequential.

N Sadhasiva Reddy, BANGALORE

India’s aid for Afghanistan

Sir, A devastating earthquake in Afghanistan has led tothe death of more than 1000 people and injuries to many more.Several people have lost their homes and livelihood in thequake-hit provinces. This earthquake has been regarded asone of the worst-hit quakes in decades for Afghanistan.This calamity has pushed the people of Afghanistan into moreturmoil as a lot of sanctions from the international communitywere already imposed due to the Taliban rule from the lastone year. Amid all this the Indian government has sent thefirst consignment of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan forthe earthquake-hit people. India has always stood withAfghanistan during its hard times and the people ofAfghanistan are going through one of the most challengingtimes in their history. India and Afghanistan share histor-ical and cultural linkages which will only strengthen afterthis humble act from India. India also has a good relation-ship with the people of Afghanistan. This help will alwaysbe remembered by Afghans.

Deba Prasad Nayak, CUTTACK

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Aakar Patel

If the governmentand the political

party controlling itwant to destroy the

homes of peoplewithout trial or

conviction, wheredo those people go?

Tomfoolery

It is sometimes claimed that the original Tom Fool was Thomas Skelton.He was a jester, a fool, for the Pennington family at Muncaster Castle in

Cumbria. This was probably about 1600 — he is said to be the model for thejester in Shakespeare’s King Lear of 1606. In legend, he was an unpleasantperson. One story tells how he liked to sit under a tree by the road;whenever travellers he didn’t like asked the way to the ford over the RiverEsk, he would instead direct them to their deaths in the marshes. Anothertale links him with the murder of a carpenter who was the lover of SirWilliam Pennington’s daughter.So much for stories. In truth, Tom Fool iscenturies older. He starts appearing in the historical record early in the1300s in the Latinate form Thomas fatuus. The first part served even thenas a generic term for any ordinary person, as it still does in phrases likeTom, Dick or Harry. The second word means stupid or foolish in Latin andhas bequeathed us fatuous and infatuate, among other words. By 1356Thomas fatuus had become Tom Fool. Around the seventeenth century, thecharacter of Tom Fool shifted somewhat from the epitome of a stupid orhalf-witted person to that of a fool or buffoon. He became a character whoaccompanied morris-dancers or formed part of the cast of various Britishmummers’ plays performed at Christmas, Easter or All Souls’ Day. A tom-fool was more emphatically foolish than an unadorned fool. Tomfoolerywas similarly worse than foolery, the state of acting foolishly, which hadbeen in English since the sixteenth century. Perhaps oddly, it took untilabout 1800 for tomfoolery to appear. It had been preceded by the verb totom-fool, to play the fool.

Divergence in wealth across regionsSPECTRUM INDIA

P7

nationalSUNDAY | JUNE 26 | 2022 | BHUBANESWAR

Women even today arenot getting enoughopportunities to growdespite having equalstatus in societyVASUNDHARA RAJE | BJP LEADER

Northwest India, which is againreeling under hot conditions aftera brief spell of pre-monsoonshowers, is likely to experiencean enhanced rainfall fromMonday, the IMD said Saturday

ENHANCED RAINFALL LIKELY

yy

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Delhi's roadswill soon bedurable and

aestheticallyappealing as thegovernment's aim isto provide a pleasantand hassle-free commutingexperience to everyone

MANISH SISODIA | DELHI DEPUTY CM

of theday uote

Importantdevelopmentworks related

to welfare of peopleshouldn't be held up due to theongoing politicalcrisis in the state

UDDHAV THACKERAY | MAHARASHTRA CM

Thepresidentialcontest this

time round is not afight of identity butof ideology

YASHWANT SINHA |OPPOSITION’S PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

Amarinder Singhundergoes surgeryChandigarh: Former PunjabChief Minister Capt AmarinderSingh underwent a successfulspinal surgery in a Londonhospital Saturday. Accordingto his wife Preneet Kaur, whois with him, the surgery wassuccessful and he was shiftedto a private room in thehospital. He will be dischargedMonday, she said.

NIA conducts raidsNew Delhi: The NationalInvestigation Agency (NIA)conducted searches at fivelocations in Mizoram's Aizawl,Champai and Kolasib districtsin connection with anexplosives seizure case. Thecase relates to the recovery of2,421.12 kg of explosives,including 1,000 detonators,4,500 metres of detonatingfuse, as well as Indian andMyanmarese currency, from avehicle in Zawngling area,Saiha district.

Hyd youth diesHyderabad: A youth waselectrocuted after a live wiresnapped and fell on him here,sources said Saturday. Theincident occurred inBholakpur area of the city onFriday night. The teenagerwas riding a motorbike.According to police, the wiregot entangled into a DCM vanand snapped. The live wire fellon the youth who was ridingthe two-wheeler behind thevan.

Man robbedNew Delhi: A man has beenrobbed of `34 lakh here at theSarai Rohilla flyover, thepolice said Friday. DeputyCommissioner of Police SagarSingh Kalsi said a PCR call wasreceived around 12.50 a.m. onJune 23 at Sarai Rohilla policestation regarding a loot atSarai Rohilla flyover. As soonas the police receivedinformation, it rushed to thespot. A person -- Vicky Gupta,working for his employer VijayRathod, submitted that he wasdelivering a payment of `34lakh from his shop to a placein Subzi Mandi.

DGCA stops ops at2 training schoolsNew Delhi: Aviation regulatorDGCA has stopped operationsof two flying training schoolsdue to serious safetyconcerns, an officialstatement said Saturday. Thetwo schools are ChimesAviation Academy in MadhyaPradesh and NMIMS Academyof Aviation in Maharashtra, itsaid. Chimes AviationAcademy (CAA) had inFebruary last year inked anagreement with the country'slargest airline IndiGo for cadetpilot programme. "In one case(Chimes), it has been stoppedtill such time the runway issuitable for flying operations.

SHORT TAKES

INDO-ASIAN NEWS SERVICE

New Delhi, June 25: The mon-soon variability will impact thefood grain production, and in turn,food security for the country if therain dependent farmers are notprovided timely weather inputsalong with guidance on technicalinputs for better farm practices,experts said Friday.

Rainfall due to southwest mon-soon -- termed as the real FinanceMinister of the country - decidesthe fate of crop production alongwith other weather variables.

Factors that impact food pro-duction also include unprecedentedheat waves such as the one expe-rienced by northwest India ear-lier in March. Even when the SWmonsoon arrived three days early

over Kerala, the progress had beendelayed over central India andparts of south peninsular India.

In view of the increasingly er-ratic nature of the monsoon, farm-ers have already altered their sow-ing windows or changed crops,replacing traditional yields withcash crops, or vegetables withshorter crop life, or horticulturewith variable gestation period.During a webinar, multi-sectoral ex-perts pointed out the lacunae andsuggested some measures.

Abinash Mohanty, programmelead, Risks & Adaptation, Councilfor Energy Environment & Watersaid: "A 1 per cent change in mon-soon rainfall will result in 0.34 percent change in India's agriculture-driven GDP that year. A normalmonsoon can increase GDP from

the transport, storage, trade andcommunication sector by 1 percent and 3 per cent in the agri-dominated states. Our electricitygeneration can decrease by 13 percent in case of weakened mon-soon. Hydroelectric power consti-tutes 40 per cent of the powersources that can also be impacted."

Asserting that India needs to

build resilience through systems,technology and financial innova-tions, Mohanty said: "The approachneeds to be changed from reliefcentric to response centric andthat can happen only when farm-ers are provided granular climateinformation that can inform aboutthe impact it will have on cropsand the steps that need to be taken

in the short, medium and longterm."

Availability of granular datahas been a common concern flaggedby other experts too, be it agricul-ture related or weather information.Stating that Russia-Ukraine war hasgiven a clear message to each andevery country to prioritize foodsufficiency, Devinder Sharma, anagriculture expert told a webinarthat monsoon deficiency is furthergoing to increase pressure on foodprices, which are already high."We need to build capacity to pro-duce rather than worrying aboutthe food security chains."

Sharma said: "In the name ofclimate smart agriculture, the focusis on corporatized technology drivenrather than making farming climateresilient. Moreover, the Krishi

Vikas Kendras (KVKs) across Indiahave been unable to deliver." AnjalPrakash, research director, BhartiInstitute of Public Policy, IndianSchool of Business and one of thelead authors for the IPCC working group report II, echoedthe sentiment.

"New age skills and new age re-quirements to combat climatechange are just not there (in India),"he said and added, "People, espe-cially in the Himalayan region,are adapting (to climate change)on their own. There is no supportwhatsoever from the agriculturalextension centres regarding cli-mate change. The way in thisMinistry is organized, they haveno lateral entry to even under-stand the climate change impacton agriculture."

Monsoon variability can lead to food insecurity: ExpertsRainfall due to southwest monsoon -- termed as the real Finance Minister of the country - decides the fate of crop production along with other weather variables

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Bilaspur, June 25: The 11-year-old boy, who was rescued afterbeing trapped in a borewell forover 100 hours in Chhattisgarh'sJanjgir-Champa, was dischargedfrom a private hospital hereSaturday, an official said.

According to doctors, RahulSahu, who sustained multiple in-juries and contracted serious in-fection due to the accident, is nowfit and fine and can walk. Officialsfrom the Bilaspur district admin-istration and police were in thehospital when Rahul was dis-charged this morning, while Janjgir-Champa collector Jitendra Shukla,superintendent of police VijayAgrawal and other officials werethere to take him home.

On June 10, Rahul fell into an un-used 80-feet deep borewell in thebackyard of his house in Pihrid vil-lage of Janjgir-Champa, and gotstuck 60-feet below the surface.

Despite facing several challenges,neither the rescuers nor Rahulgave up the fighting spirit for almostfive days. He was rescued by a jointteam of over 500 personnel frommultiple agencies, after a 104-hour-long operation on June 14 night. Therescuers dug a parallel pit and cre-ated a tunnel to reach the boy.According to the boy's father RamKumar Sahu, Rahul is not men-tally sound and could not speakproperly. Rahul's mental state pre-vented the rescuers to easily pullhim out using a rope. The boywas admitted to a private hospi-tal in Bilaspur district. ChiefMinister Bhupesh Baghel had vis-ited the hospital to take stock ofhis health, and had directed doc-tors to take all necessary measuresto ensure best medical care.

Chhattisgarh boyleaves hospital

Tribal women carry dry leaves at a village in Jabalpur PTI PHOTO

DAILY GRIND

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

New Delhi/Lahore, June 25:Sajid Majeed Mir, one of India'smost wanted terrorists and themain handler of the deadly 2008Mumbai attacks who was earlierdeclared dead by Pakistan, hasbeen jailed for over 15 years in a ter-ror-financing case by an anti-ter-rorism court in the country, whichis struggling to exit the grey list ofthe FATF.

The Counter Ter rorismDepartment (CTD) of the PunjabPolice, which often issues convic-tions of the suspects in such casesto the media, did not notify Mir'sconviction.

His sentencing comes asIslamabad prepares for an on-sitevisit by the officials from the Paris-based global terror financing watch-dog Financial Action Task Force(FATF) to verify the implementa-tion of Pakistan's relevant anti-money laundering and terrorism-financing reforms. A positive reportmay facilitate Pakistan's exit fromthe grey list of the FATF.

“An anti-terrorism court inLahore early this month had handeddown 15 and a half years jail termto Sajid Majeed Mir, an activist ofbanned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), ina terror-financing case,” a seniorlawyer associated with terror fi-nancing cases of LeT and Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) leaders said Friday.

Besides, since it was an in-cam-era proceeding at the high-secu-rity jail, the media was not allowed.The lawyer further said Mir has

been in the Kot Lakhpat jail inLahore since his arrest in April. Hesaid the court also imposed a fineof over `400,000 on the convict.

Pakistani authorities had in thepast claimed he had died, butWestern countries remained un-convinced and demanded proof ofhis death. This issue became amajor sticking point in FATF's as-sessment of Pakistan's progresson the action plan late last year.

This was where things finallystarted moving in Mir's case lead-ing to his ‘arrest', the Dawn news-paper reported Saturday. His con-viction and sentencing were,therefore, major achievements thatPakistani officials showcased intheir progress report given to FATFon its action plan during the latestplenary, the paper commented.

It indeed helped in convincingFATF members that Pakistan hadfinished all the required tasks, itadded. Mir, 44, is on the FBI's listof most-wanted terrorists. The UShas placed a bounty of USD 5 mil-lion for his role in the 26/11 Mumbaiterror attacks. Mir is on India'smost-wanted list for his role in the26/11 Mumbai attacks that left 166people dead, including sixAmericans.

Before the last meeting of theFinancial Action Task Force (FATF),Pakistan reportedly told the agencythat it had arrested and prosecutedSajid Mir in order to seek its re-moval from the global anti-laun-dering body's ‘Grey list'.

Mir was called the "project man-ager" of the Mumbai attacks.

26/11 attacks handlerjailed for 15 yrs in Pak

THE COUNTER TERRORISM DEPARTMENT OF THE PUNJAB POLICE, WHICHOFTEN ISSUES CONVICTIONS OF THE SUSPECTS IN SUCH CASES TO THE

MEDIA, DID NOT NOTIFY MIR'S CONVICTION

PAKISTANI AUTHORITIES HAD IN THE PAST CLAIMED HE HAD DIED, BUT WESTERN COUNTRIES REMAINED UNCONVINCED AND

DEMANDED PROOF OF HIS DEATH

INDO-ASIAN NEWS SERVICE

Srinagar, June 25: RajasthanChief Minister Ashok GehlotSaturday launched a scathing at-tack on Union Minister and seniorBJP leader Gajendra SinghShekhawat, alleging that the latterwas hand in glove with SachinPilot in the conspiracy to topple thestate government.

During his visit to Sikar, Gehlotsaid, "Everyone knows that you(Shekahwat) conspired to topplethe government. Now you are tak-ing the name of Sachin Pilot say-ing he made a mistake. There isstrong proof that you were handin glove with him (Pilot)."

Addressing a gathering inChomu, Shekhawat had recentlysaid that Pilot lost a "goldenchance" in revolting against theC o n g r e s s a n d r e p e a t i n g a"Madhya Pradesh-like experi-ment" in Rajasthan.

Shekhawat also claimed that ifPilot had not failed to topple theRajasthan government, the state's13 districts would not have re-mained thirsty and the work onthe Eastern Canal project wouldhave started. Gehlot referred tothe above statement of Shekhawatand spoke on the recent matter ofphone-tapping during his speech.

The state Anti-CorruptionBureau (ACB) recently served anotice to Shekhawat for collect-ing his voice samples in thephone-tapping case that was re-ported during the political crisis

of 2020, when Pilot had rebelledagainst the state leadership underGehlot. Gehlot said, "The law isdoing its job and finally the no-t i c e h a s b e e n s e r ve d t oShekhawat. What's wrong withsubmitting voice samples?"

"You (Shekhawat) were themain character in the plot to top-

ple the government and everyoneknows that you have been ex-posed. When your voice came,the world knew that the voicewas yours. You conspired to top-ple the government and now youare taking the name of SachinPilot, saying that he made a mis-take. This becomes an officialproof that you were hand in glovewith him," Gehlot added.

The Chief Minister's remarkshave once again triggered discus-sions in the Congress, as he hintedthat Shekhawat was in collusionwith Pilot. Many feel that Gehlot'sremarks wil l intensify the ongoing tussle between the two camps led by the Chief Ministerand Pilot.

Gehlot hits out at Shekhawat

The CM’s remarks haveonce again triggered

discussions in theCongress, as he hintedthat Shekhawat was in

collusion with Pilot

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Chandigarh, June 25: A 27-year-old son of IAS officer Sanjay Popli,currently under arrest in a graftcase, died of bullet wounds hereSaturday, with police saying hecommitted suicide but family al-leging foul play.

The Punjab Vigilance Bureauhad earlier this week arrested IAS

officer Sanjay Popli in a graft casefor allegedly demanding bribe inexchange of clearing tenders for lay-ing a sewerage pipeline inNawanshahr.

Chandig arh's SeniorSuperintendent of Police KuldeepSingh Chahal said after verifyingthings it has come to fore that the27-year-old "has shot himself".Further investigations are on, the

SSP said, adding a licensed pistolwas used in the incident.

In connection with the investi-gation of the case, a Vigilance teamhad come to the Popli's house andwas present at the time of the in-cident, a neighbour and familyfriend said. On June 21, the PunjabVigilance Bureau had arrestedPopli for allegedly demanding oneper cent commission as bribe forclearance of tenders for laying asewerage pipeline at Nawanshahr.

An inconsolable Sanjay Popli'swife told reporters, "The Vigilanceofficials were pressuring us andthey were even torturing my do-

mestic help to give false statementsin support of the case they have reg-istered. My 27-year-old son is gone.He was a brilliant lawyer. Theyhave snatched him"."To build afalse case, they snatched my son--Kartik Popli is gone," said Sanjay

Popli's wife showing blood spotsof his son on her hands.

"I want justice. I will move court,"said the wailing woman, repeat-edly crying "my son has been killed"."(Punjab Chief Minister) BhagwantMann should answer," she said.She said her husband Sanjay wasdue to appear before the court anda Vigilance team had visited theirhouse.

"The Vigilance people took Kartikupstairs and when I went up theywere mentally torturing my son,"she said, while adding "even our mo-bile phones were snatched"."Myson has died...," she alleged.

Arrested IAS officer’s son dies, cops say suicideThe Punjab Vigilance Bureau had earlier this weekarrested IAS officer Sanjay Popli in a graft case forallegedly demanding bribe in exchange of clearing

tenders for laying a sewerage pipeline in Nawanshahr

Media can report FIRs,court cases withoutattracting libel: HCINDO-ASIAN NEWS SERVICE

Nagpur, June 25: In a significantjudgement, the Bombay High Courthas upheld the rights of the mediato report registration of first in-formation reports (FIRs) with thepolice and cases filed in the courtswithout attracting defamation pro-ceedings.

Stressing the freedom of thepress and the importance of the in-formation disseminated by themedia, Justice Vinay Joshi, of thecourt's Nagpur bench, quashed adefamation case filed in 2018 againstLokmat Media Pvt Ltd CharmanVijay Darda and Editor-in-ChiefRajendra Darda, who were repre-sented by lawyer Firdos Mirza.

The ruling came on the libel suitfiled by Ravindra G. Gupta ofYavatmal - represented by lawyerNitin Lambat - who felt aggrievedby a report published in theLokmat's May 20, 2016 edition, con-tending it was a false and frivo-lous news item in connivance withthe co-accused with the sole in-tention of humiliating him andlowering his esteem in society.

"There is no material to show thatthe applicants (Dardas) were some-how concerned with the publicationof the defamatory news item," saidJustice Joshi in his judgement de-livered on June 20.

He noted that whatever waspublished in the newspaper wasbased on the FIR registered againstGupta, which cannot be termed asdefamation.

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KARNATAKA

P8JAMMU &KASHMIR

SUNDAY | JUNE 26 | 2022 | BHUBANESWAR

INDO-ASIAN NEWS SERVICE

Bangalore, June 25: The hijab rowwhich made international head-lines and pushed Karnataka underthe spotlight has been seen as a de-velopment detrimental to the imageof the state which is considered oneof the most progressive and pros-perous in the country. However,insiders in the BJP and the RSS con-fide that the crisis has proved to bea shot in the arm for them aheadof the state assembly polls.

The hijab row played out overmonths in the state with initiallythe month-long protests by 6 stu-dents of the Udupi Pre-UniversityGirl’s College who demanded thatthey be allowed to wear a hijabwhile attending classes.

The BJP wanted polarisationamong the Hindu masses. The hijabcrisis and developments with regardto the resistance to the govern-ment order as well as the courtorder delivered it on a silver plat-ter to the BJP, sources said.

The youth who were not so keenon Hindutva have now become ar-dent Hindutva followers. Theyflaunted saffron shawls and thishas ensured the formation of futurecadres who will cast their votes inthe upcoming Lok Sabha elections,insiders claimed.

The Congress is the loser in thewhole episode as the SocialDemocratic Party of India (SDPI)got the sympathy of the minoritycommunity in the state. BJP lead-ers proposed to impose a ban on

SDPI alleging that they have trainedthe girls to stage a protest for thehijab.

The 6 girls who started theprotest praised the SDPI and howit had helped them and clarified thatit was they who approached theSDPI for help.

Cong ress leaders DKShivakumar and Siddaramaiahlaunched a scathing attack on theRSS for creating social unrest.

Chaman Farzana, educationistand national secretary of the AllIndia Mahila Congress, told IANSthat a non-issue has been madeinto an issue which will have a di-rect bearing on the education of agirl belonging to the minority com-munity.

“The concept of a uniform wasbrought by the Britishers. Whyadopt a British norm here, why ishijab not being allowed? In northKarnataka, none of the womencome out of their homes withouta cloth around their heads. Smallgirls seeking an education comeout of their houses in veils. Theyhave become sufferers. Is it rightfor anyone to make them suffer?”Farzana questioned.

“In orthodox Muslim familieseducation is rare among girls. Now,when the hijab is banned the par-ents are asking them to marry and

settle down. It is a great loss to thenation,” she said.

Following the protest by Muslimreligious leaders and traders againstthe dismissal of petitions seekingpermission to wear the hijab inclasses, a series of communal in-cidents followed. Hindu activists de-clared a ban on Muslim traderswhich again made headlines. Ittrickled down to the demand for theprohibition on the use of loud-speakers in mosques.

However, the situation cameunder control after Muslim reli-gious leaders announced that theywill follow the court order. Themajority of students belonging tothe minority community startedcoming for exams and classes with-out the hijab. A few of them whoresisted were sent back home fromtheir classes.

As the elections are fast ap-proaching it is feared that the hijabrow could make a comeback in thestate. Chief Minister BasavarajBommai and Education MinisterBC Nagesh have said that they willimplement the uniform rule strictly.Educational institutions are ask-ing students to take transfer cer-tificates and join other colleges ifthey do not want to shun the hijab.Presently, the issue is before theSupreme Court.

HOW NEO-HINDUTVA WORKS

Hijab row dents Karnataka’s image, but gives BJP boost

Insiders in the BJP andthe RSS confide that thecrisis has proved to be ashot in the arm for them

ahead of the stateAssembly polls

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Srinagar, June 25: Security forceshave made unprecedented secu-rity arrangements for Amarnathyatra as they apprehend a higherthreat perception to the pilgrimsthis year, a senior Army officialsaid here Saturday.

The Army officer, who did notwish to be identified, said secu-rity personnel three to four timesmore in strength have been de-ployed around the yatra as there’sa credible intelligence of a likelymilitant strike.

“There is an increased threatperception to the Amarnath yatrathis year. We generally receive in-puts about terrorists targeting theyatra every year, but this year,there are more such inputs,” the of-ficer said.

He said the administration ex-pects the number of yatris to go upthis year especially since the pil-grimage is taking place for the firsttime in four years -- it was can-celled midway in 2019 with theCentre’s revocation of J-K specialstatus, and suspended in 2020 and2021 due to the pandemic -- andalso because of the increased num-ber of tourist arrivals.

The security preparations havealso been made keeping these fac-tors in mind, the officer added.

“We are expecting almost twoto three times increase in the num-ber of yatris. A lot of preparationshave been put into place. The num-ber of security forces personneldeployed on the ground for thesmooth conduct of the yatra isthree or four times more than theprevious years,” he said.

The heightened security meas-ures also come in the backdrop ofa recent spurt in target killings,including those of workers be-longing to the minority commu-nity.

Despite the administration’s ef-forts to ensure a safe and secureyatra “we cannot say that we havemade it 100 per cent foolproof,” theofficer said.

Apart from the deployment,drone surveillance and RFID chips

will also be part of the three-tier se-curity arrangements for the pil-grims.

Inspector General of Police (IGP)Kashmir Vijay Kumar had June14 said that three Lashkar-e-Taiba(LeT) terrorists, who were killed in

recent encounters, were sent fromPakistan to attack the annualAmarnath Yatra.

Of the three slain terrorists, twowere Pakistanis and one was alocal, he said.

July 10, 2017, seven people were

killed and 11 others injured whenmilitants attacked a bus carryingAmarnath yatris in Botengo onthe Srinagar-Jammu nationalhighway. The Yatra is scheduledto start June 30 and will culmi-nate August 11.

Unprecedented security for Amarnath YatraTHE HEIGHTENED SECURITY MEASURES ALSO COME IN THE BACKDROP OF A RECENT SPURT IN TARGET KILLINGS

JAMMU: Security forces Saturdaycarried out a massive search op-eration along the InternationalBorder (IB) in Jammu andKashmir to detect cross-bordertunnels and prevent any infiltration attempts by terror-ists during the Amarnath Yatra,officials said.

The search operation wasjointly carried out by Police, CRPF,and BSF in the forward villagesin Samba, Kathua, and Jammu dis-tricts, the of ficials said. “Various intelligence inputs sug-

gest that terrorists are planningto infiltrate from across the bor-der to disrupt the yatra,” DeputySuperintendent of Police (oper-ations), Samba, GR Bhardwajsaid.

Bhardwaj, who was leading thejoint search operation, said thatabout 8-km area from Suchetgarhborder to Regal was combed by thejoint forces with a focus on de-tecting any possible cross-bordertunnel which might have beendug from across the border byterrorists to infiltrate.

He said the forces searched allunattended areas during the op-eration, which is part of the un-precedented security arrange-ments made for the upcomingyatra.

“We are alert to the threat andhave stepped up area dominationpatrols, search operations, andnight vigils to thwart any attemptby terrorists to disrupt the yatra,”Bhardwaj said, adding that ad-ditional checkpoints have alsobeen set up to strengthen the bor-der and highway grid.

Massive searches carried out along IB

INDO-ASIAN NEWS SERVICE

Bangalore, June 25: In a setbackto the ruling BJP government, lit-terateurs and thinkers have writ-ten an open letter to Chief MinisterBasavaraj Bommai urging him to“establish peace in Karnataka byprotecting Muslims.”

Chief Minister Bommai shouldhave “assured protection” ofMuslims in the state who are being“targeted by communal forces”again and again, the letter stated,adding “the Chief Minister shouldhave stated that Ramzan festival will

be celebrated on lines with theBasavana Jayanthi. Then it wouldhave touched hearts.”

The litterateurs maintained thatthey had tried to meet him andsubmit the memorandum sinceover a month, and they were notable to meet him.

“It is demanded that the policeshould be directed to work as perthe objectives of the Constitution.The victims of communal forcesshould be getting justice, witnessesshould be protected and assured ofprotection,” it added.

Going forward, the litterateurssuggested that in case of commu-nal violence, arson, and deaths,there should be action on respec-tive DC, district administration,police officers.

“Online and social media cam-paign against minorities shouldbe monitored and controlled. Thegovernment should be vocal aboutcondemning it and initiate action,”they urged.

As many as 75 litterateurs andthinkers including filmmaker GirishKasaravalli, singer MD Pallavi,writers Vaidehi, B. Suresh, HS.Anupama, Dr Tejaswini Niranjanand Nanjaraj Urs have expressedtheir concerns in the letter.

Litterateurs urge CM to‘establish peace’ in state

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Srinagar, June 25: There areabout 150 militants present at thelaunchpads across the Line ofControl (LoC) ready to infiltrateinto Jammu and Kashmir while500 to 700 more are undergoingtraining at eleven terror campsthere, a senior Army officer saidSaturday.

He said security forces have suc-cessfully thwarted infiltration at-tempts by the militants along theLoC in the Valley. “There are about500 to 700 people at the 11 trainingcamps at Manshera, Kotli andMuzaffarabad across the LoC,” theArmy officer, who did not wish tobe named, said.

As per the intelligence inputs, hesaid, there are about 150 terror-ists at the launchpads in PakistanOccupied Kashmir ready to infil-trate into J&K.

The officer said there has beenno successful infiltration along theLoC in the valley so far this year.

“Till May end, everything hasbeen taken care of. There was aparticular group which had comeand you are aware that it got elim-inated at Bandipora and Sopore,”he said, referring to the killing offoreign militants in encounterswith the security forces.

The Army officer said militantsare now focusing on other infil-tration routes other than thosethat have been identified.

“I am not saying that we have putin place a system that ensures zero

infiltration. Yes, there is a possibilityof infiltration taking place here, butin recent years, the way we havemade the fence stronger, the waythe deployment has been made in-cluding the surveillance equip-ment, the success rate of infiltra-tion has gone down. As a result,what happens is that when there ispressure on one side, they try othersides, the alternate routes. They(militants) are now trying theRajouri-Poonch routes, the areas ofthe south of Pir Panjal. The infil-tration here (in Kashmir valley) hasgone down compared to otherroutes,” he said here.

‘150 militants ready at launchpadsacross LoC to infiltrate into J&K’

500 to 700 more areundergoing training at 11 camps at Manshera,

Kotli and Muzaffarabadacross the LoC

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Bangalore, June 25: KarnatakaChief Minister Basavaraj BommaiSaturday instructed officials to com-plete the land acquisition processand start the work within a monthfor comprehensive development ofAnjanadri Hills, considered to be thebirthplace of Lord Hanuman, atKishkinda in Koppal district.

The instructions were issued ata meeting chaired by Bommai to re-view the implementation ofAnjanadri Hills ComprehensiveDevelopment project.

Stating that about 60 acres ofland is required for the project, ofwhich about 58 acres is currentlyheld by private owners, the ChiefMinister asked the De putyCommissioner of Koppal districtto acquire the land through directnegotiation with the farmers orthrough the KIADB (KarnatakaIndustrial Areas DevelopmentBoard) land acquisition process.

In the first phase of the project,connecting roads to Anjanadrishould be developed, and alterna-tive roads too should be identifiedand built, he said.

According to his office, the ChiefMinister also wanted the officialsto widen the State Highway from theNational Highway to Gangavathi inthe district. He instructed the offi-cials to prepare a detailed projectreport and develop parking andother amenities for the pilgrimsat the base of the foothills.

Referring to the proposal forbuilding a 430-metre ropeway toreach the top of Anjanadri Hills,Bommai instructed the statetourism department to complete thetender process for the work withintwo months. He wanted the offi-cials to create tourist amenitiesand parking facilities at the baseof the ropeway. “I will personallyvisit Anjanadri Hills before July 15to inspect the progress of theworks,” Bommai said.

CM for quick startof Anjanadri Hillsdevelopment work

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Srinagar, June 25: PDP chiefMehbooba Mufti Saturday appealedto the youth of Kashmir to shun mil-itancy and save their lives, claim-ing security forces were gettingincentives for killing them.

Mehbooba said Jammu andKashmir was going through a tu-multuous phase and in the timesto come, it will need its youth.

“I hear every day that three orfour youths have been killed,which means the local recruit-ment here has increased,” shetold reporters here.

“It is my request to the parentsand the children to save their livesbecause killing you is an incen-tive for them (security forces). Theyget money and promotions forthat,” she alleged.

“So, do not pick up arms. Theykill four-five (militants) every day...I appeal to you this is not right andyou should leave it,” the PDP pres-ident said.

Referring to the protests byKashmiri Pandits over the targetkillings of the members of thecommunity, she said people, in-cluding religious leaders, should em-

phasise on the fact that Panditswere a part of the Kashmiri soci-ety and are its asset.

“Kashmiri Pandits are stillprotesting. When the situation wasbad during my tenure (as CM),even then no Pandit was killed.We provided them a salary for 17

months while they were home. I ap-peal to our people, our maulvis(religious leaders) to announcethat they (Kashmiri Pandits) are ourassets,” she said.

“Whenever something wronghappens here, the BJP uses thiscommunity (Kashmiri Pandits) todefame us,” she added.

About the unprecedented secu-rity arrangements for this year’sAmarnath Yatra, the formerJammu and Kashmir chief ministersaid the administration has cre-ated such an atmosphere as if someattacker is coming.

“They are yatris, our guests. Wehave been caring for them for cen-turies. But, (this year), you (ad-ministration) have placed so manynakas (security checkpoints) thatit seems the yatra is taking placefor the first time,” she added.

Mehbooba urges Kashmiri youth to shun militancy

I hear every day that three or four youths

have been killed, whichmeans the local recruitment

here has increasedMEHBOOBA MUFTI I PDP CHIEF

P9

nationalSUNDAY | JUNE 26 | 2022 | BHUBANESWAR

An atmosphereof violence andmistrust isprevailing inthe countryASHOK GEHLOT |RAJASTHAN CM

A labourer has found a 3.15 caratdiamond during digging work in amine in Madhya Pradesh's Pannadistrict, an official said Saturday.According to local experts, theprecious stone may fetch around`10-12 lakh in auction

DIAMOND FOUND

cmyk

cmyk

If Agniveerswho serve for ashort period of

time are not entitledto a pension, thenwhy this ‘facility’should be for publicrepresentatives? If those whoprotect the country do not have theright to pension then I am also readyto forego mine

VARUN GANDHI | BJP MP

of theday uote

The ExternalAffairs Ministryrose to the

occasion to meet theincreased demandfor passport servicesbuilt up due to two-and-half-years of the Covidpandemic, and recorded animpressive monthly average of 9 lakh

S JAISHANKAR | UNION MINISTER

All thedemocraticinstitutions in

Jammu and Kashmirhave been diluted tofit in the vision of aparticular politicalparty. There is fear, anxiety, concern,and insecurity everywhere. Ourpeople, particularly our youth, havebeen pushed to the margins

FAROOQ ABDULLAH | NC PRESIDENT

Cop ends lifeNew Delhi: A 24-year-old DelhiPolice constable allegedlydied by suicide inside thepolice barrack in the nationalcapital, an official said onSaturday. "The Constable,identified as Jaimal Singh,committed suicide on Friday,"Deputy Commissioner ofPolice (New Delhi) AmruthaGuguloth said. Jaimal Singh issurvived by his wife and adaughter. The officialinformed that legalproceedings under section 174CrPC have been initiated. "Hehas been under treatment fordepression for the past threemonths. This could probablybe a cause for committingsuicide," Guguloth said.

19 arrestedGhaziabad: Ghaziabad Policehave arrested 19 peopleduring a raid at an illegally runhookah bar in this UttarPradesh district, an officialsaid Saturday. According tothe official, the said hookahbar was found being operatedat Urban Terrace restaurant inIndirapuram. Hookahs andother material were alsoseized in large numbers, headded. "Around sevenhookahs, one packet of coal,seven chilams and severalpackets of different kinds offlavours used in the hookahwere seized," the officialadded.

Woman injuredGurugram: A 22-year-oldwoman was injured when shewas shot at by a jilted lover inIMT Manesar area ofGurugram Saturday morning,police said. The woman had anarrow escape as the bulletgrazed her shoulder. Thevictim has been identified asRadhika, 20, a resident ofGhaziabad while the man hasalso been identified but hisname is yet to be disclosed.According to the police, theincident took place at around9 a.m. in IMT Manesar policestation jurisdiction area.

Vandalism case: 19SFI activists heldWayanad (Kerala): Nineteenactivists of the Students'Federation of India (SFI), thestudents wing of the rulingCPI(M), have been arrested andremanded so far in connectionwith the attack on Congress MPRahul Gandhi's office here, evenas opposition Congress-led UDFtargeted Kerala Chief MinisterPinarayi Vijayan over theincident saying the attack washeld with his knowledge. TheMarxist party's students' cadreattacked the Wayanad MP'soffice as part of a Sangh Parivaragenda with the knowledge ofVijayan to please the NarendraModi government at the Centre,the Congress alleged.

SHORT TAKES

INDO-ASIAN NEWS SERVICE

New Delhi, June 25: Over one-thirdof school children who receivedonline lessons during the Covid-19pandemic reported worseningheadache symptoms or new-onsetheadaches, says a new study.

The study, presented at theEuropean Academy of Neurology

(EAN) Congress 2022, indicatedthat prolonged exposure to com-puter screens, a lack of suitableconditions for online learning fromhome, school exams and anxietiesabout Covid-19 were all found to berisk factors for the worsening ofheadache symptoms or triggeringnew-onset headaches.

"Although earlier studies re-ported that young people were hav-ing lesser headaches due to theclosure of schools in the earlyweeks and months of Covid-19,this longer-term study has foundthat stresses and pressures of thepandemic eventually took theirtoll," said lead researcher AyseNur Ozdag Acarli from ErmenekState Hospital in Karaman, Turkey.

For the study, the team analysed851 adolescents aged between 10

and 18, with 756 (89 per cent) ofchildren reporting headaches overthe study period. Among these chil-

dren, 10 per cent reported new-onset headaches over the pandemichome-schooling period. Over a

quarter (27 per cent) of children saidtheir headaches had worsened, 61per cent said their headaches hadremained stable and 3 per cent saidtheir headaches had improved.

Those who reported worsened ornew-onset headaches suffered fromheadaches an average of 8-9 timesper month.

Over half of children withinthis group (43 per cent) used pain-killers at least once a month com-pared to a third (33 per cent) in thestable group.

The study found that headacheshad a big impact on mental healthand school achievements.Depression and anxiety scores, in-cluding anxiety about catchingCovid-19, were significantly higherin the worsened and new-onsetheadache groups.

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

New Delhi, June 25: To protectchild artistes in the entertainmentindustry, the NCPCR has come upwith draft guidelines stating thatno minor should work for morethan 27 consecutive days and 20per cent of the child's income hasto be deposited in a fixed depositaccount.

The draft 'Regulatory Guidelinesfor Child Participation in theEntertainment Industry' covers tel-evision programmes, including re-ality shows, TV serials, news andinformative media, movies, con-tent on OTT platforms and socialmedia, performing arts, advertis-ing or any other kind of involvementof children in commercial enter-tainment activities.

The draft guidelines by theNational Commission for theProtection of Child Rights (NCPCR)aims to protect child artistes fromphysical and psychological stresswhile ensuring a healthy work en-vironment for them.

It requires the producers to ob-tain permission to involve a childin a shooting from a district mag-istrate where it is to be held and puta disclaimer of the steps taken toensure the child has not been sub-jected to abuse or exploitation.

The draft specifies that no childshould be allowed to work for morethan 27 consecutive days. The childshall participate in one shift eachday with a break after every threehours and not be made to enterinto an agreement for rendering anyservice as a bonded labourer underthe Bonded Labour System(Abolition) Act, 1976.

The producer has to ensure thatthe school education of children en-gaged in the shooting will not getaffected. A child excused fromschool attendance because of en-gagement in the entertainment in-

dustry shall be taught by a privatetutor appointed by the producer, thedraft guideline states.

At least 20 per cent of the child'sincome from the production or eventhas to be directly deposited in afixed deposit account in a nation-alised bank in the name of the childto be credited on becoming an adult.

The guidelines also bar a childfrom being cast in a role or situa-tion that is inappropriate or causesdistress while stating that age, ma-turity, emotional or psychologicaldevelopment and sensitivity haveto be kept into consideration.Production units have to ensurethat the work environment is safeand the children are not exposedto harmful lighting, irritating orcontaminated cosmetics.

It has to be ensured that facili-ties are appropriate to the age andneeds of each child and they shouldnot be made to share dressingspaces or rooms with adults, es-pecially of the opposite sex.

The children should not be ex-posed to ridicule or behaviour thatcould affect their emotional health.Children should not be shown im-bibing alcohol, smoking or indulgingin any anti-social activity and delin-quent behaviour, the draft guide-lines stated. According to it, no childshould be engaged in any situationinvolving nudity and programmesbased on victims of child abuseshould be sensitively handled.

NCPCR issues draftrules for child artistes

The draft guidelines by the NCPCR aims to protect child artistesfrom physical and psychological stresswhile ensuring a healthy work environment for them

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Lucknow, June 25: The BSPSaturday extended its support to theBJP-led NDA's presidential candi-date Droupadi Murmu, who is likelyto be the first tribal leader and thesecond woman to occupy the post.

Murmu Friday filed her nomi-nation papers for the July 18 pres-idential election, with PrimeMinister Narendra Modi handingover the set of papers to ReturningOfficer P C Mody.

"The BSP has decided to extendsupport to Droupadi Murmu inthe coming presidential electionskeeping in mind that the Adivasisamaj is an important part of theparty's movement," BSP supremoMayawati said here.

"This decision was taken nei-ther to support the BJP or NDA norto go against the opposition UPA.It was done keeping in mind ourparty and its movement for mak-ing a capable and dedicated Adivasiwoman the President of the coun-try," she said.

The BSP president while crit-icising the opposition parties forkeeping her out of consultationwhile deciding on the presiden-tial candidate, stressed that herparty is free to decide on thepresidential election.

"The Bengal chief minister byunilaterally and arbitrarily invit-ing only selected parties to themeeting of the opposition on June15 and then Sharad Pawar (ofNCP) not calling the BSP for asimilar meeting on June 21 makestheir casteist intentions clear,"Mayawati alleged.

Online classes triggered headache in kids: StudyFor the study, the team

analysed 851 adolescentsaged between 10 and 18,with 756 (89 per cent) of children reporting

headaches over the study period

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

New Delhi, June 25: Ahead ofhis visit to Germany for the G7summit, Prime Minister NarendraModi Saturday said he will ex-change views with the leaders of thebloc and its partners on issuessuch as energy, food security,counter-terrorism, environmentand democracy.

Modi is visiting Schloss Elmauin southern Germany on June 26and 27 for the summit of the G7, agrouping of the world's seven rich-est nations. The G7 leaders are ex-pected to focus on the Ukraine cri-sis that has triggered geopoliticalturmoil besides fuelling a global foodand energy crisis.

Modi is attending the G7 summitfollowing an invitation by GermanChancellor Olaf Scholz. The sum-mit is being hosted by Germany inits capacity as the chair of G7."Inan effort to strengthen interna-tional collaboration on importantglobal issues impacting human-ity, Germany has also invited otherdemocracies such as Argentina,Indonesia, Senegal and South Africato the G7 Summit," Modi said in astatement ahead of his visit.

"During the sessions of theSummit, I will be exchanging viewswith the G7 counties, G7 partnercountries and guest InternationalOrganisations on topical issuessuch as environment, energy, cli-mate, food security, health, counter-terrorism, gender equality anddemocracy," he added. Modi said hewas looking forward to meetingleaders of some of the participat-ing G7 and guest countries on thesidelines of the summit. The PrimeMinister said he was also lookingforward to meeting ChancellorScholz again after the "productive"India-Germany Inter-GovernmentalConsultations last month.

PM to discussseveral issuesat G7 summit

INDO-ASIAN NEWS SERVICE

Mumbai, June 25: Shiv SenaPresident and Chief MinisterUddhav Thackeray Saturdaylaunched a scathing attack on pur-ported attempts by the rebel groupto christen itself after the partyfounder-patriarch, the lateBalasaheb Thackeray.

“Don't invoke my Dad's name, useyour father's name, to win the elec-tions,” said a livid Thackeray, pre-siding over a meeting of the ShivSena's national executive hereSaturday afternoon.

His strong reaction came in re-sponse to unverified reports that therebels led by Minister EknathSambhaji Shinde - currently camp-ing in Guwahati - had allegedlydecided to rename itself as "ShivSena-Balasaheb Thackeray Group".

As a row built up with angstamong Shiv Sainiks inMaharashtra, the rebels quicklybacktracked and claimed that theyare the “real Shiv Sena”. Thackerayalso said that the party will writeto the Election Commission ofIndia (ECI) to ensure that the nameof Shiv Sena or BalasahebThackeray is not misused by unau-thorised persons or groups of such“turncoats” for their political in-terests, failing which they would

face legal action.Meanwhile, the national exec-

utive of the Shiv Sena Saturdaypassed a resolution authorizingMaharashtra Chief Minister andparty chief Uddhav Thackeray totake action against "those whohave betrayed the party", but re-frained from taking immediate ac-tion against rebel leader EknathShinde. The executive, which methere, also passed a resolution thatno other political outfit or factioncan use the name Shiv Sena and thename of its founder, late Bal

Thackeray, even as the Shinde fac-tion, which is camping in Guwahati,said it has named itself as ‘ShivSena (Balasaheb)’.

“The executive decided that ShivSena belongs to Bal Thackerayand is committed to taking for-ward his fierce ideolog y ofHindutva and Marathi pride. ShivSena will never deviate from thispath,” party MP Sanjay Raut saidin Mumbai.

“It passed a resolution, giving allpowers to take action against thosewho have betrayed the party to

Shiv Sena president UddhavThackeray,” he added. A total ofsix resolutions were passed at themeeting, including one congratu-lating Chief Minister Thackeray forleading Maharashtra efficientlyduring the Covid-19 pandemic andfor the development works carriedout in the last two and a half years,Raut said.

The national executive con-demned the rebel MLAs and said theparty was firmly behind UddhavThackeray. Raut also quotedThackeray as saying at the meetingthat the rebels should not use BalThackeray's name to seek votes.“Balasaheb (Thackeray) and ShivSena are two sides of the same coinand except Shiv Sena, no one can usehis name,” one of the resolutionsread. The executive also resolved thatthe party will contest all cominglocal body elections and win. ShivSena workers Saturday vandalisedan office of rebel Shiv Sena MLATanaji Sawant, who is currentlycamping with other dissidents ledby Eknath Shinde in Guwahati. Agroup of Sena workers barged intothe office of Bhairavnath SugarWorks, which belongs to Sawant, anddamaged the office located in Katrajarea in the morning, party corpo-rator Vishal Dhanawade, who waspart of the action, said.

A man searches for recyclable material in the polluted waters of Yamuna, near ITO in New Delhi PTI PHOTO

TOXIC FOAM

INDO-ASIAN NEWS SERVICE

Kolkata, June 25: The TrinamoolCongress and its supremo MamataBanerjee may be fighting theAgnipath scheme tooth and nail, butnot all is well with ex-servicemenin West Bengal where the party isin power for over 10 years now.

Several World War-II veterans,as well as some widows, have saidhow they do not receive theirmonthly pensions on time. Ex-serv-ice men (ESM) also complain abouthow they receive no preferenceduring recruitment to the state po-lice force or other departments.The West Bengal government hadearlier announced that 5 per centof recruitment in the police wouldbe earmarked for ESM.

"It’s been over two months nowsince I received any pension. I haveno other means of livelihood. At myage, the best I can do is pluck somevegetables from our garden and

sell them outside. That way, I man-age to earn a few rupees a day thatI need to pay for some rice andlentils to stay alive," the widow ofa WW-II veteran said.

She is nearly 90-year-old anddoesn't want her name made pub-lic. "They will stop paying if I com-plain. I prefer to wait," she added.

Her husband was part of the Burmacampaign and the famous Battle ofKohima. He was injured and re-turned home a paraplegic. She hasbeen making both ends meet sincethen. Her husband died a few yearsago and she is no longer able towork as she used to.

"We are supposed to receive a

pension of`3,000 per month, but thepayment is irregular. It’s a hand-to-mouth existence for most of uswho don't have children or other rel-atives. It’s particularly difficult forthe widows. We find that there arefunds for all kind of schemes in thestate, but when it comes to us, thereis a shortage of funds," a former sol-dier of the Gorkha Rifles said.

West Bengal has 376 World War-II pensioners, including 38 wid-ows. An official in the state financedepartment said that pension could-n't be paid as funds were not allo-cated. There was no comment fromthe Rajya Sainik Board that oper-ates under the state government.

Manwhile, an ESM wonderedhow the state can pay `50,000 eachto Durga Puja organisers but fail toallocate funds for ESM and their wid-ows. The Uttarakhand government,on the other hand, has increased thepension for WW-II veterans andwidows from `5,000 to `10,000.

War veterans’ pensions held up in WBSeveral World

War-II veterans, as well as

some widows, have said that

they do notreceive

their monthlypensions on time

BSP extendssupport to Murmu

UDDHAV BERATES REBELS

Supporters of rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde gather outside hisresidence in Thane PTI PHOTO

P10SUNDAY | JUNE 26 | 2022 | BHUBANESWAR West African country Burkina

Faso’s army has given civilianstwo weeks to evacuate vastareas in its northern andsoutheastern regions ahead ofmilitary operations againstIslamist insurgents

EVACUATION ULTIMATUM

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internationalThis year’s foodaccess issuescould become

next year’s globalfood shortage. Nocountry will beimmune to the socialand economic repercussions of sucha catastrophe

ANTONIO GUTERRES |SECRETARY-GENERAL, UN

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Too manycountries aresaying this is a

European war that isunnecessary ... andso the pressure willgrow to encourage -coerce, maybe - the Ukrainians to abad peace

BORIS JOHNSON | PM, UK

It is necessaryto takeimmediate

action on energyprices because ofinflation, which isbeing causedsubstantially because of energy.These increases are spreading andcausing price increases for otheritems

MARIO DRAGHI | PM, ITALY

EU chief in Tehran Dubai: European Unionforeign policy chief JosepBorrell met Iran’s topdiplomat Saturday, Iranianstate TV reported, as the blocseeks to break an impassebetween Tehran andWashington over reinstating a nuclear pact. Iran’s Foreign Minister HosseinAmirabdollahian last weekcalled on Washington, whichexited the deal and thenimposed crippling sanctionson Tehran during the Trumpadministration in 2018, to “be realistic”.

Strike snarls UK trains for 3rd dayLondon: Train stations wereall but deserted acrossBritain Saturday, as the thirdday of a national strikesnarled the weekend plans ofmillions. Train companies saidonly a fifth of passengerservices would run, as about40,000 cleaners, signallers,maintenance workers andstation staff walked off thejob in Britain’s biggest andmost disruptive railway strikefor 30 years. The Rail,Maritime and Transport Unionis seeking a substantial payraise as workers face a cost-of-living squeeze amid fourdecade-high inflation rates.

China to give Af$7.5mn as aidShanghai: China will providehumanitarian aid worth 50million yuan ($7.5 million) toAfghanistan after it was hitby an earthquake that killedmore than 1,000 people thisweek, the Chinese foreignministry said Saturday. Theaid will include tents, towels,beds and other materials, theministry said in a statementon its website. The 6.1magnitude earthquakestruck Afghanistan earlyWednesday near thePakistani border, about 160km (100 miles) southeast of Kabul.

Stampede inAfrica kills 18Rabat: At least 18 peoplewere killed in a stampede asmore than 2,000 sub-Saharanmigrants tried to breach theborder between Morocco andMelilla, a Spanish enclavecity in Africa, state mediareported. An earlier reportsaid five migrants were killedand 76 others injured, and 140Moroccan security officerswere wounded, including fivein critical condition, reportsXinhua news agency citingstate media. A total of 13 ofthe injured migrants laterdied in hospital, raising thedeath toll to 18, the statemedia said.

SHORT TAKES

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Nairobi, June 25: The end of con-stitutional protections for abor-tions in the United States Friday em-boldened abortion opponentsaround the world, while advocatesfor abortion rights worried it couldthreaten recent moves toward le-galization in their countries.

The US Supreme Court’s over-turning of the landmark Roe v.Wade decision “shows that thesetypes of rights are always at riskof being steamrolled,” said RuthZurbriggen, an Argentinian ac-tivist and member of theCompanion Network of LatinAmerica and the Caribbean, agroup favoring abortion rights.

But in El Salvador, anti-abor-tion campaigner Sara Larín ex-pressed hope the ruling will bolstercampaigns against the procedurearound the globe.

“I trust that with this ruling itwill be possible to abolish abor-tion in the United States andthroughout the world,” said Larín,

president of Fundación Vida SV. The decision, which leaves it up

to lawmakers in individual US stateto decide whether to allow or banabortions, lit up social media acrossArgentina, where a law that legal-ized elective abortion up to the 14thweek of gestation took effect inJanuary 2021 after years of debate.

Anti-abortion activists cheered theruling, with legislator AmaliaGranata tweeting: “There is jus-tice again in the world. We are goingto achieve this in Argentina too!!”

In more conservative countrieslike El Salvador, where abortions

are illegal no matter the circum-stance and where some 180 womenwith obstetric emergencies havebeen criminally prosecuted in thelast two decades, Larín warnedthat the ruling could inspire yetmore efforts to loosen abortion re-strictions outside the US.

In Mexico, lawyer and activistVerónica Cruz said the ruling couldgive a boost to anti-abortion groups,but added it likely won’t have anyimpact in Mexico where 10 of thecountry’s 32 states have legalizedabortion up to 12 weeks gestationin recent years.

She noted the ruling could leadto an increase in calls for help fromUS women seeking to have abor-tions in Mexico or to buy pills to in-terrupt pregnancies at Mexicanpharmacies.

Ricardo Cano, with the anti-abortion group National Front forLife, also doubts the ruling wouldhave any impact in Mexico or else-where in Latin America, given theadvance of leftist ideologies in theregion.

Colombia, which became inFebruary the latest Latin Americancountry to expand access to abor-tion, also will not be affected bythe ruling, said Catalina MartínezCoral, director for Latin Americaand the Caribbean for the Centerfor Reproductive Rights.

US abortion ruling sparks global debateUS WAS ONE OF THE FIRST COUNTRIES TOGRANT A NATIONWIDE RIGHT TO ABORTIONWITH THE 1973 ROE V. WADE DECISION THATWAS OVERTURNED FRIDAY AFTER YEARS OFMOBILISATION BY OPPONENTS

SC has made the US an outlieramong developed nations

in the world: Biden

Over 50 nations with previouslyrestrictive laws have liberalized

their abortion legislation over thepast 25 years: UN

US firms including Walt Disneyand Meta said they will cover

employees’ expenses if they haveto travel for abortion services

About half of states are expectedto introduce new curbs, out of

which 13 have outlawed abortioneffective immediately

American womentoday have lessfreedom than theirmothers... This

cruel ruling is outrageousand heart-wrenching. Butmake no mistake: therights of women and allAmericans are on theballot this NovemberNANCY PELOSI | DEMOCRATIC SPEAKEROF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Vatican lauds decision

Vatican City: The Vatican’sAcademy for Life Friday praised theUS Supreme Court’s decision onabortion, saying it challenged theworld to reflect on life issues, butalso called for social changes tohelp women keep their children.

The Vatican department saidthe defence of human life couldnot be confined to individual rightsbecause life is a matter of “broadsocial significance”.

“The fact that a large countrywith a long democratic tradition haschanged its position on this issuealso challenges the whole world,”the academy said in a statement.

Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia,

who heads the Pontifical Academyfor Life, said the court’s decision wasa “powerful invitation to reflect” onthe issue at a time when Westernsociety “is losing passion for life”.“By choosing life, our responsi-bility for the future of humanity isat stake,” he said.

The academy statement alsocalled for changes in social condi-tions to make it easier to defend lifein all its stages. “This also meansensuring adequate sexual education,guaranteeing health care accessi-ble to all and preparing legislativemeasures to protect the family andmotherhood, overcoming existinginequalities,” it said.

Pope Francis hascompared having an

abortion to “hiring a hitman” to eliminate aproblematic person

Roman Catholicchurch teaches that

abortion is murderbecause life begins atthe moment ofconception and endswith natural death

US DRAWS FLAK FROM ALLIESI think it’s a big step backwards.

I’ve always believed in a woman’sright to choose and I stick to that

view, and that’s why the UK hasthe laws that it does

BORIS JOHNSON | PM, UK

No government, politician, or manshould tell a woman what she can

and cannot do with her body. Ican’t imagine the fear and anger

JUSTIN TRUDEAU | PM, CANADA

I voice my solidarity withwomen whose freedomsare today challenged EMMANUEL MACRON | PRESIDENT, FRANCE

Watching the removal ofa woman’s fundamentalright to make decisionsover their own body isincredibly upsettingJACINDA ARDERN | PM, NZ

INDO-ASIAN NEWS SERVICE

Seoul, June 25: South KoreaSaturday vowed a stern response toany North Korean provocation asthe nation observed the 72nd an-niversary of the outbreak of the1950-53 Korean War.

In his speech during a ceremonymarking the anniversary, PrimeMinister Han Duck-soo said theNorth’s recent missile launchesand nuclear preparations have es-calated tensions beyond the KoreanPeninsula and are posing a threatto international peace, reports

Yonhap News Agency.“The government will strengthen

its defensive posture based on thefirm alliance between South Koreaand the US, and respond swiftlyand sternly using all means nec-essary,” he said.

“The government will never for-get peace can be achieved on thebasis of strong defence and security,”Han said.

South Korea will also seek diplo-matic efforts to gain cooperationfrom the international communityto achieve peace on the peninsula,and to provide humanitarian as-sistance to the North, he added.

Han expressed gratitude to theveterans of the Korean War andpledged to protect the KoreanPeninsula in its path toward peaceand prosperity just like the veter-ans fought for the freedom of thecountry.

KOREAN WAR ANNIV

REUTERS

Oslo, June 25: Terrified revellersat a gay bar in Oslo hid in a base-ment and desperately called lovedones as a gunman went on the ram-page, killing two people and in-juring more than 20 on the day thecity was due to celebrate its an-nual Pride parade.

The attack took place in the earlyhours of Saturday, with victimsshot inside and outside the LondonPub, a longstanding hub of Oslo’sLGBTQ scene, as well as in thesurrounding streets and at oneother bar in the centre of theNorwegian capital.

A suspect , a 42-year-oldNorwegian citizen of Iranian ori-gin, was detained minutes after

embarking on the shooting spree,according to police who said theybelieved he acted alone. Twoweapons, including a fully auto-matic gun, were retrieved fromthe crime scene, they added.

“There is reason to think that thismay be a hate crime,” police said.“We are investigating whether thePride was a target in itself orwhether there are other motives.”

“Many people were crying andscreaming, the injured were scream-ing, people were distressed andscared - very, very scared,” said

Marcus Nybakken. “My firstthought was that Pride was thetarget, so that’s frightening.”

Norwegian police, who are notnormally armed, will now carryguns until further notice as a pre-caution, national chief BenedicteBjoernland said.

The shooting took place justmonths after Norway marked 50years since the abolition of a lawthat criminalised gay sex. The sus-pect was known to authorities, in-cluding for violence of a less severenature, police said.

PRIDE PARADE DAY

Gunman opens fire at gay bar Authorities said that the

attack was also beinginvestigated as a possible

act of terrorism

GUNMAN KILLSTWO, INJURESMORE THAN 20

PRIDE PARADECANCELLEDAFTER TRAGEDY

NORWAY POLICETO CARRY GUNSAS PRECAUTION

PROTESTS ENGULF ECUADOR

Indigenous demonstrators drive past burning road blockades while heading towards the capital Quito after a week ofprotests against the economic and social policies of President Guillermo Lasso, in Machachi, Ecuador. The presidentcharged that the Indigenous leader is seeking to stage a coup and warned he will use all legal tools to contain the violence unleashed by the demonstrations REUTERS

Seoul vows stern response toPyongyang’s provocations

The Korean War began June 25, 1950 whenNorth Korea invaded South Korea following

clashes along the border and rebellions in the latter nation

BRIDGE OF DREAMS

B’desh PM flags off itslongest rail-road bridgePRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Dhaka, June 25: BangladeshPrime Minister Sheikh Hasina onSaturday inaugurated the long-awaited Padma bridge, the country’slongest and entirely built with do-mestic funding.

The 6.15-km-long road-rail four-lane bridge is built over the Padmariver connecting southwesternBangladesh with the capital andother parts. The multipurpose road-rail bridge, which is fully funded by

the government, has been con-structed at a cost of $3.6 billion.

Hasina expressed deep grati-tude to the people involved with theconstruction of the Padma bridge.

“I have no complaints againstanyone, but I reckon those who op-posed the Padma Bridge con-struction plan and called it a ‘pipedream’, lack self-confidence. I hopethis bridge will boost their confi-dence,” the PM said.

“This bridge is not just bricks,cement, iron, and concrete... Thisbridge is our pride, a symbol ofour capacity, our strength, and ourdignity. This bridge belongs to thepeople of Bangladesh,” she said.

The project was initially ex-pected to be funded by a consortiumled by the World Bank. In 2012, itcancelled the proposed credit say-ing it had "credible evidence" ofhigh-level corruption amongBangladeshi officials.

Sievierodonetsk fallsto Russia after one ofwar’s bloodiest fightsREUTERS

Kyiv, June 25: Russian forces havefully occupied Sievierodonetsk,the mayor of the eastern Ukrainiancity said Saturday, confirmingKyiv’s biggest battlefield setbackfor more than a month, after weeksof some of the war’s bloodiestfighting.

Ukraine called its retreat fromthe city a “tactical withdrawal” tofight from higher ground inLysychansk on the opposite bankof the Siverskyi Donets river. Pro-Russian separatists said Moscow’sforces were now attackingLysychansk.

The fall of Sievierodonetsk - oncehome to more than 100,000 people,now a wasteland - was Russia’sbiggest victory since capturing theport of Mariupol last month. Ittransforms the battlefield in theeast after weeks in which Moscow’shuge advantage in firepower hadyielded only slow gains.

Russia will now be hoping topress on and seize more groundon the opposite bank, while Ukrainewill hope that the price Moscowpaid to capture the ruins of thesmall city will leave Russia's forcesvulnerable to a counterattack incoming weeks.

“The city is now under the fulloccupation of Russia. They aretrying to establish their own order,as far as I know they have appointedsome kind of commandant,” MayorOleksandr Stryuk said.

Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine’s mil-itary intelligence chief, told Reutersthat Ukraine was carrying out “atactical regrouping” by pulling itsforces out of Sievierodonetsk tohigher ground across the river.

“Russia is using the tactic ... itused in Mariupol: wiping the cityfrom the face of the earth,” he said.“Given the conditions, holding thedefence in the ruins and open fieldsis no longer possible. So theUkrainian forces are leaving forhigher ground to continue the de-fence operations.”

Biden signs landmarkUS gun control lawAGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Washington, June 25: PresidentJoe Biden Saturday signed intolaw the first significant federal billon gun safety in decades, saying thatwhile it falls short of what’s re-ally needed it will “save lives.”

The gun legislation includes en-hanced background checks foryounger buyers and federal cash forstates introducing “red flag” lawsthat allow courts to temporarilyremove weapons from those con-sidered a threat.

Billions of dollars have been al-located to crack down on “straw pur-chasers” who buy firearms for peo-ple not allowed to own them, andto curb gun trafficking.

However, much tougher meas-ures wanted by Biden and otherDemocrats did not make it in, including a ban on military stylerifles often used by the lone gunmenwho typically car rying out mass shootings. Also absent is alongtime push for mandatory background checks on all gun purchases.

When WWII broke out, Hitlerunited a significant number, if

not most, of the European countries underhis banner for a war against the SovietUnion. Today, the EU and NATO are actingin a similar way, building a moderncoalition of the same kind for a fight andpretty much a war against RussiaSERGEI LAVROV | FOREIGN MINISTER, RUSSIA

Depriving women of their individual rights is a backlashagainst decades of hard-fought workANN LINDE | FOREIGN MINISTER, SWEDEN

P11

businessSUNDAY | JUNE 26 | 2022 | BHUBANESWAR

There is a needfor NBFCs to

take a diversifiedapproach across sectorsand geographies andalso be mindful aboutthe risk matrix former RAJNISH KUMAR | FORMERCHAIRMAN, SBI

INDIA’S LARGEST FLOATINGSOLAR PROJECT

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Theinauguration ofIntel’s new

state-of-the-artdesign facility inBangalore is atestament of itscommitment to contribute towardsbolstering India’s technologyleadership

RAJEEV CHANDRASEKHAR | UNION MINISTER

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The companyhas announceda total dividend

of approx. Rs 13,000crore for FY22. Alongwith the sharebuyback of over Rs11,000 crore completed inSeptember, the total capital return inFY22 is over Rs 24,100 crore

NANDAN NILEKANI | CO-FOUNDER &CHAIRMAN, INFOSYS

There hasnever been abetter time for

the BIS performancestandards for EVbatteries to beimplemented. I amconfident that these standards willensure that only the best and mostsecure batteries reach Indianconsumers in the long run

AKSHAY SINGHAL | CEO & CO-FOUNDER, LOG9 MATERIALS

Bharat NCAP schemefrom April next yrNew Delhi: The new car safetyassessment programme,Bharat NCAP, which proposesa mechanism of awarding‘Star Ratings’ to automobilesbased upon their performancein crash tests, will be rolledout from April 1, 2023, anofficial statement saidSaturday. According to thestatement, Bharat New CarAssessment Programme(Bharat NCAP) is applicableon type approved motorvehicles of category M1(motor vehicles used for thecarriage of passengers,comprising eight seats, inaddition to driver’s seat) withgross vehicle weight less than3.5 tonnes, manufactured orimported in the country.

Future defaults on`4.10cr paymentNew Delhi: Debt-ridden FutureEnterprises Ltd (FEL) hasdefaulted on interest paymentof Rs 4.10 crore for its non-convertible debentures. Thedue date for payment wasJune 24, 2022, FEL said in aregulatory filing. “TheCompany is unable to serviceits obligations in respect ofthe interest on Non-Convertible Debentures wasdue on June 24, 2022,” it said.This is the fourth default inJune by the Kishore Biyani-ledFuture group firm. Earlier thisweek, FEL defaulted twice oninterest payments of Rs 85.71lakh and Rs 6.07 crore for itsnon-convertible debentures.

Net profits of mfgcos surge 50.2%Mumbai: Net profits ofmanufacturing companiessurged by 50.2 per cent during2021-22, the input costpressures notwithstanding,the Reserve Bank of India said.Net profit also increased forthe information technology(IT) companies, whereas thenon-IT services sectorcontinued to record losses atthe aggregate level, it said.

NTC unveils twonew businesses Chennai: Diversified businessconglomerate NTC Group underits flagship company NTCLogistics has unveiled two newverticals -- Boxory Logistics PvtLtd and Cargonix Xpress PvtLtd -- as part of consolidatingits operations in the country, anofficial said Saturday. BoxoryLogistics would focus on freightservices like air freight, multi-city transportation,warehousing, while CargonixXpress would be focused onsame day delivery, milk runamong others.

SHORT TAKES

Tata Power Solar Systems Saturday said it hascommissioned India’s largest floating solarpower project of 101.6 Megawatt Peak (MWp)in Kerala backwaters. The project is installedon a 350-acre water body in Kayamkulam,Kerala, a company statement said

REUTERS

Washington, June 25: TheInternational Monetary FundFriday slashed its US economicgrowth forecast as aggressiveFederal Reserve interest rate hikes

cool demand but predicted that theUnited States would “narrowly”avoid a recession.

In an annual assessment of USeconomic policies, the IMF said itnow expects US Gross DomesticProduct to grow 2.9% in 2022, lessthan its most recent forecast of3.7% in April.

Last October, the IMF predicted5.2% US growth this year, but sincethen, new Covid-19 variants andstubborn supply chain disruptionshave slowed recovery, while a sharpspike in fuel and food prices

prompted by Russia’s war inUkraine further stoked inflationto 40-year highs.

“We are conscious that there isa narrowing path to avoiding a re-

cession in the US,” IMF ManagingDirector Kristalina Georgieva tolda news conference, noting that theoutlook had a high degree of un-certainty. “The economy contin-ues to recover from the pandemic

and important shocks are buffetingthe economy from the Russian in-vasion of Ukraine and from lock-downs in China,” she said. “Furthernegative shocks would inevitablymake the situation more difficult.”

If large enough, a shock couldpush the United States into a re-cession, but it would likely be shortand shallow with a modest rise inunemployment, akin to the US re-cession in 2001, said IMF DeputyWestern Hemisphere Director NigelChalk. Strong US savings wouldhelp support demand, he added.

IMF sees ‘narrowing path’ to avoid US recessionUS inflation by the Fed’s

preferred measure is running at more than

three times the US centralbank’s 2% target

For 2023, the IMF cut itsUS growth forecast to1.7% from 2.3% and itnow expects growth totrough at 0.8% in 2024

INDO-ASIAN NEWS SERVICE

New Delhi, June 25: Ride-hailingplatform Ola has shut down itsused vehicle business Ola Cars aswell as Ola Dash, its quick-com-merce business, at a time whenIndian companies are pouring

money into the 10-15 minute gro-cery delivery market.

“Ola has reassessed its priori-ties and decided to shut down OlaDash - its quick commerce busi-ness. Ola will also be reorientingits Ola Cars business to focus moreon strengthening the go-to-mar-

ket strategy for Ola Electric,” thecompany said in a statement. It

added that Ola Cars’ infra, tech-nology and capabilities will be

“repurposed towards growing OlaElectric’s sales and service network”.

Ola now aims to invest moretowards its electric car, cell man-ufacturing, and financial servicesbusinesses.

Ola Dash shuts down at a timewhen India’s quick commercemarket is all set to witness 15 timesgrowth by 2025, reaching a marketsize of nearly $5.5 billion.

The total addressable marketfor quick commerce in India standsat $45 billion, and urban areas aredriving this market on the back ofmid-high-income households.

Zomato Friday poured Rs 4,447crore into acquiring quick-com-merce grocery delivery platformBlinkit. In December 2021, Swiggyannounced to pour $700 million intoInstamart.

Last month, 10-minute deliveryplatform Zepto raised $200 mil-lion, taking its valuation to around$900 million.

Ola Electric is also facingscrutiny over faulty batteries in itselectric two-wheelers, among otherEV players like Okinawa Autotech,Pure EV, Jitendra Electric Vehicles,and Boom Motors, by the gov-ernment.

Ola winds up used car, quick-commerce platformsTHE COMPANY SHUT OLA CARS WITHIN ONE

YEARS OF ITS LAUNCH, AS IT FOCUSES ON ITSELECTRIC TWO-WHEELER AND CAR VERTICALS.OLA HAS SO FAR SHUT DOWN OLA CAFE, FOOD

PANDA, OLA FOODS, AND NOW OLA DASH

REUTERS

Washington, June 25: Recent im-plosions in the cryptocurrencymarkets indicate that long-warned-about dangers of decentraliseddigital money are now material-ising, the Bank for InternationalSettlements (BIS) has said.

The BIS, the global umbrellabody for central banks, soundedthe warning in an upcoming annualreport, in which it also urged moreeffort in developing appealing cen-tral bank digital currencies.

BIS general manager AgustinCarstens pointed to recent col-lapses of the TerraUSD and luna‘stablecoins’, and a 70 per centslump in bitcoin, the bellwetherfor the crypto market, as indicatorsthat a structural problem exists.

“Without a government-backedauthority that can use reservesfunded by taxes, any form of moneyultimately lacks credibility,”Carstens told Reuters.

Carstens said the meltdown wasnot expected to cause a systemic cri-sis in the way that bad loans trig-gered the global financial crash. Buthe stressed losses would be sizeableand that the opaque nature of thecrypto universe fed uncertainty.

“Based on what we know, itshould be quite manageable,”Carstens said. “But, there are a lotof things that we don’t know.”

Central Bank Digital Currencies(CBDCs)

The BIS is a long-term sceptic ofcryptocurrencies and its reportlaid its vision for the future mon-etary system - one where centralbanks utilise the tech benefits of bit-coin and its ilk to create digitalversions of their own currencies.

The immediate challenges aremainly technological, similar tohow the mobile phone world neededstandardised coding in the 1990s.But there is also the geopoliticalissue as relations between the Westand countries such as China andRussia wane.

“This (interoperability) is a topicthat has been on the G20 agenda forquite some time.. so I think there isa good chance for this to move for-ward,” Carstens said, adding howthere had been a number of “real-life”trials with different CBDCs over thelast year. Asked how long before in-ternational standards for CBDC in-teroperability might be agreed, he said:“I think in the next couple of years.Probably 12 months is too short.”

Crypto fears now materialising: BIS

The BIS, the global umbrellabody for central banks,

sounded the warning in anupcoming annual report, in

which it also urged moreeffort in developing

appealing central bank digital currencies

Bitcoin heading to zero: China warns investorsBeijing: As cryptocurrencies reel under the global downturn, Chinese state-runnewspaper Economic Daily has warned investors that the price of leading cryp-tocurrency Bitcoin is “heading to zero”. The warning came as the cryptocurrencymarket continued to face meltdown with Bitcoin hovering around $21,000 per digi-tal coin Saturday -- a substantial drop from its record high of $68,000 in Novemberlast year. “Bitcoin is nothing more than a string of digital codes, and its returnsmainly come from buying low and selling high,” the newspaper said. “In thefuture, once investors’ confidence collapses or when sovereign countries declarebitcoin illegal, it will return to its original value, which is utterly worthless,” itadded, reports South China Morning Post. The Chinese government bannedBitcoin mining in July last year. It has plans to launch its central bank digital cur-rency (CBDC) called the digital Chinese yuan (e-CNY).

The overall value of the crypto market has slumped more that $2

trillion since November

Recent collapses of the TerraUSD andluna ‘stablecoins’, and a 70% slump inbitcoin shows the grim situation amid

worst crypto winter

Roughly 90% of monetary authoritiesare now exploring CBDCs as they areknown. Many hope it will equip them

for the online world and fend off cryptocurrencies

I think all theseweaknesses that were

pointed out before have prettymuch materialised. You justcannot defy gravity. At some point you really haveto face the musicAGUSTIN CARSTENS | GENERAL MANAGER, BIS

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

New Delhi, June 25: The gov-ernment has extended the time forlevy of GST compensation cess bynearly 4 years till March 31, 2026.

As per the Goods and ServicesTax (Period of Levy and Collectionof Cess) Rules, 2022, notified by thefinance ministry, the compensa-tion cess will continue to be leviedfrom July 1, 2022 to March 31, 2026.

The levy of cess was to end June30 but the GST Council, chairedby Union Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman and comprising stateFMs, decided to extend it till March2026 to repay the loans taken in thelast two fiscal years to make up forthe shortfall in their revenue col-lection.

After the 45th GST Council meet-ing in Lucknow in September lastyear, Sitharaman had said the regimeof paying compensation to states forrevenue shortfall resulting fromsubsuming their taxes such as VATin the uniform national tax GST, willend in June 2022.

However, the compensation cess,levied on luxury and demerit goods,will continue to be collected tillMarch 2026 to repay the borrowingsthat were done in 2020-21 and 2021-22 to compensate states for GSTrevenue loss.

In order to meet the resourcegap of states due to short release ofcompensation, the Centre has bor-rowed and released Rs 1.1 lakhcrore in 2020-21 and Rs 1.59 lakhcrore in 2021-22 as back-to-backloan to meet a part of the shortfallin cess collection.

The Centre has repaid Rs 7,500

crore as interest cost for the bor-rowing in 2021-22 and Rs 14,000crore is to be paid this fiscal year.From 2023-24, the repayment ofprincipal amount will start whichwill continue till March 2026.

Goods and Services Tax (GST)was introduced in the country witheffect from July 1, 2017 and stateswere assured of compensation forthe loss of any revenue arising onaccount of implementation of GSTfor a period of five years.

Though states’ protected rev-enue has been growing at 14 per centcompounded growth rate, the cesscollection did not increase in thesame proportion and Covid-19 fur-ther increased the gap betweenprotected revenue and the actual rev-enue receipt including reduction incess collection.

EU plans to issue $52bn in bondsINDO-ASIAN NEWS SERVICE

Brussels, June 25: The EuropeanCommission Friday announcedplans to issue 50 billion euros ($52billion) of EU-Bonds to finance theNextGenerationEU recovery pro-gram between July and December.

The funds for the temporary re-covery instrument were aimed atsupporting member states’ eco-nomic recovery from the Covid-19pandemic and helping build agreener, more digital and more re-silient Europe, reports said.

To finance NextGenerationEU,the European Commission aims toraise around 800 billion eurosfrom capital markets between mid-2021 and the end of 2026. Up to 9billion euros in loans to supportUkraine may also be issued bythe Commission, under a new ex-ce ptional Macro-FinancialAssistance MFA programme, aswell as up to 6.6 billion euros inloans under the SURE programmefor mitigation of temporary un-employment risks.

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Colombo, June 25: Sri Lanka hasreduced the limit of foreign cur-rency possession by an individualfrom $15,000 to $10,000, in a des-perate move to shore up its fast-de-pleting forex reserve required tofund the import of essentials, in-cluding food and fuel.

Sri Lanka is facing a severe forexcrisis which forced the island na-tion to declare a default of its in-ternational debt in April, becomingthe first Asia-Pacific country indecades to default on foreign debt.

With the intention of attractingforeign currency in the hands of thepublic into the formal banking sys-tem, Minister of Finance Ranil

Wickremesinghe issued the orderunder the Foreign Exchange Act.

“Reducing the amount of for-eign currency retained in posses-sion by a person in, or resident in,Sri Lanka from $15,000 to $10,000 orits equivalent in other foreign cur-rencies,” an official statement said.

An amnesty period of 14 work-

ing days from June 16, 2022 hasbeen granted to deposit the excessforeign currency or sell to an au-thorised dealer.

The move came over a monthafter Governor of the Central Bankof Sri Lanka Nandalal Weerasinghesaid that the apex bank was look-ing towards bringing the limit ofholding foreign currency down to$10,000 from $15,000.

The Governor had said that evenwith $10,000, proof of possessionmust be presented.

Sri Lanka is facing the worsteconomic crisis since independ-ence in 1948 which has led to anacute shortage of essential itemslike food, medicine, cooking gasand fuel across the country.

TPWODL signs MoU with InnodustBhubaneswar: Tata Power Western Odisha Distribution Limited(TPWODL), Saturday, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)with Innodust Techsolution Private Limited to facilitate technicalcompetency enhancement of its business associates workforce at itscorporate office in Burla, Sambalpur. Innodust Techsolution PrivateLimited is a leading service provider of skill development forindustrial, summer training, workshop, research and developmentactivities in Odisha. Under the scheme titled ‘Udaan’ TPWODL’sbusiness associate workforce who could not avail opportunities offormal structured technical education will undergo comprehensive,theoretical and practical training which will help them become more competent technically. Along with thetechnical course, TPWODL will also provide trainings on safety, ethics and customer centricity to its businessassociate workforce to help them provide the highest quality services to its customers. On this occasion TPWODLCEO, Gajanan Kale said, “TPWODL is concerned and committed for helping our business associate workforce tolearn advanced technical requirements to serve our customers well and grow along with the company.”

BIZ BUZZ

SL limits foreign money holdingDWINDLING FOREX RESERVES

SRI LANKA IS FACING ITS WORST ECONOMIC CRISIS WHICH HAS FORCED THEGOVT TO CUT THE FOREIGN CURRENCY POSSESSION FROM $15,000 TO $10,000

GST compensation cess levy extended till March 2026

The Centre has releasedthe entire amount of GST compensationpayable to states up to May 31, 2022

No person-to-persontransactions: NCPIPRESS TRUST OF INDIA

New Delhi, June 25: Dispelling ru-mours doing the rounds on socialmedia that one should be cautiouswhile driving on highways as thosepretending to clean the glass ofcars can defraud the owner by wip-ing on FASTag, the NPCI Saturdayclarified that the payment infra-structure does not allow person-to-person transactions.

These videos circulating on so-cial media are baseless and false,the National Payments Council ofIndia (NPCI) said in a clarifica-tion issued on Twitter.

“NETC FASTag operates onlyfor person-to-merchant (P2M) trans-actions. No person-to-person (P2P)transactions are facilitated throughNETC FASTag network. This meansan individual cannot receive themoney in NETC FASTag ecosystemfrom fraudulent transactions. Onlyauthorised system integrators (SI)on behalf of concessionaires areallowed to participate for specificplazas and initiate payment trans-actions,” NPCI said.

Thus, no transactions can be ex-ecuted through open internet con-nectivity and no financial transac-tions can be initiated without theenlisted prerequisites, NPCI said.

FASTag VIRAL FAKE VIDEO

Printed and published by Tathagata Satpathy on behalf of Navajat Printers and Media Pvt. Ltd. and printed at Navajat Printers, B-15 Industrial Estate, Rasulgarh, Bhubaneswar -751010, Odisha;Phone:7894447142(Marketing). Editor: Tathagata Satpathy, RNI No. ORIENG/2011/371593

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P12SUNDAY | JUNE 26 | 2022 | BHUBANESWAR

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Dambulla, June 25: SkipperHarmanpreet Kaur (31 n o, 32b,2x4; 1/12 in 3 overs) contributedwith both bat and ball to steer theIndian women’s cricket team to aseries sealing five-wicket win overSri Lanka in the second T20I hereSaturday.

Vice captain Smriti Mandhana’s(39, 34b, 8x4) experience comple-mented by the exuberance of bothShafali Verma (17) and SabbhineniMeghana (17) helped India chasedown the 126-run target in 19.1overs.

India stuttered in what shouldhave been a comfortable run chasebefore Harmanpreet took Indiahome. Sri Lanka squandered a finestart to post a below par 125/7. Thethird and final T20I will be playedhere Monday.

It was a day to remember forMandhana who became the sec-ond fastest Indian woman to reach2,000 runs T20 runs. Mandhanareached the feat in her 84th in-nings, becoming the third Indianwoman after the legendary MithaliRaj (70 innings) and current skip-per Harmanpreet Kaur (88 innings)to cross the mark.

Opting to bat first and with theseries on line, it was the duo ofcaptain Chamari Athapaththu (43,41b, 7x4, 1x6) and Vishmi Gunaratne(45, 50b, 6x4) provided an ideal startfor the Lankans by taking theIndian bowlers to the cleaners.

The duo also put up Sri Lanka’sbest opening stand (87) in T20s toleave the Indians frantically rum-maging for breakthroughs. However,as both Athapaththu and Gunaratnedeparted, it was a sorry state ofaffairs for Sri Lanka as they lost aslew of wickets, only managingan underwhelming total.

Deepti Sharma (2/34 in 4 overs)was certainly the best bowler onview while the likes of Radha Yadavand Pooja Vastrakar also helpedIndia claw back with the ball.

Mandhana lauds bowlersIndia opener Smriti Mandhana

hailed her side’s bowling unit forgetting the job done as they clinchedthe three-match Women’s T20I se-

ries. “They (bowlers) did a reallygood job today and also in the lastmatch to defend 139,” Mandhanasaid at the post-match press con-ference.

The Indian bowlers struggledto get a breakthrough early on asthe Sri Lankan opening duo ofskipper Chamari Athapaththu (43)and Vishmi Gunaratne (45) gavethem a solid start.

“We didn’t have to tell themmuch. It was just about followingour game plan as a bowling unit andsticking to it. We knew one or twowickets here and there will get usback in the game.

“Our bowlers were really pa-tient with it. Definitely, we leakeda few runs with some misfieldshere and there but I’m sure we will

come back stronger.”The Romesh Powar-coached team

has fielded the likes of PoojaVastrakar, Renuka Singh, SimranBahadur and Meghna Singh. TheIndian spin attack, on the otherhand, had the likes of DeeptiSharma, Poonam Yadav, RajeshwariGayakwad and Radha Yadav.

Mandhana and her opening part-ner Shafali Verma got off to a flierand the left-hander said it wasabout backing their strengths. “Meand Shafali had a game plan goingtoday. We knew which bowlers totarget, we know each other’sstrengths and weaknesses, it wasabout our strengths,” she said.

“Later on after the power-play, itwas more about singles and doublesand not whom to attack as we had

only 126 to get. It was about rotat-ing strike and dealing in one andtwos.”

Mandhana said the wicket wasdifficult to bat on. “It was keepinga bit low, and of course it was onthe slower side. So it wasn’t aneasy pitch to bat on. You had to re-ally work hard on your runs butonce you get used to the pace andbounce of the wicket, runs came in,”she concluded.

BRIEF SCORESSri Lanka Women 125/7 (Vishmi

Gunaratne 45, ChamariAthapaththu 43; Deepti Sharma2/34, Harmanpreet Kaur 1/12) lostto India Women 127/5 (SmritiMandhana 39, Harmanpreet Kaur31 n o; Inoka Ranaweera 2/18, OshadiRanasinghe 2/32) by 5 wickets.

India eves seal series PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Bangalore, June 25: Rajat Patidar(122, 219b, 20x4) stamped his classwith an authoritative century to putMadhya Pradesh on the cusp oftheir historic Ranji Trophytriumph against 41-timechampions Mumbai on arain-hit fourth day of thesummit clash hereSaturday.

Havens opened upminutes before the teabreak, and MadhyaPradesh finished their firstinnings at 536 soon after re-sumption with a game-chang-ing lead of 162 runs, courtesyPatidar’s superb knock.

Four hundreds have beenscored by batters from ei-ther side but none oozed moreclass and competence thanPatidar’s, who was in a league ofhis own when it came to regaldrives on both sides of the wicket.

At stumps, Mumbai erasedsome of the deficit, reaching113/2 with Prithvi Shaw (44, 51b,3x4, 2x6) and Hardik Tamore (25),promoted up the order, showingsome positive intent but throw-ing away their wickets in des-peration for quick runs.

Shaw was dismissed with a clas-sic plan of bowling wide outside theoff-stump and he finally chasedone from Gourav Yadav (1/23)straight into cover’s hands.

With 95 overs left on the finalday, there is very little chance ofMumbai winning this match un-less they score around 320-plusruns in 50 overs (includingSaturday’s overs) and set a tar-get of 150-odd for MP with atleast 45 to 50 overs to get the10 wickets.

The wicket isn’t showingany signs of crumbling andhence a chance of anMP collapse in thefourth innings does-n’t look imminentat the moment.Especially, know-ing that they havea first innings lead,MP will like to downthe shutters from hereon as ends will prove the

means.When the fourth day started,

MP needed seven more runs to getthe first innings leadbut what

was more important was for Patidarto play at least one session and hedid that with minimum fuss whichcould now prove to be decisive inthe context of the game.

By the time Patidar was out,MP’s lead had gone over 100 runsand the sullen faces of the Mumbaiplayers said it all. A poker-facedChandrakant Pandit, who hadthroughout the four days, sat inone corner of the dressing room,can now afford a wide grin as evena miracle can’t turn things aroundfor his “home state”.

The IPL might have been awhite ball competition but thekind of confidence that Patidargained from his century againstLucknow Super Giants May 25IPL Eliminator came in handy. Heput that to best use exactly onemonth later – June 25 – when hegot his eighth and most importanthundred of his first-class career.

The cornerstone of MP’s suc-cess this season has been their bat-ting and No.2, 3 and 4 scoring runsconsistently. While Patidar has sofar scored 628 runs and is sec-ond behind Sarfaraz Khan (937)in the run-getter’s list, YashDubey (613) and ShubhamSharma (578) have also earned

their stripes with match-win-ning performances.

If Dubey and Sharma pro-vided solidity, Patidar added flam-boyance with his adventurousstroke-play but at the same timewas judicious enough to know

when he needed to defend.Shams Mulani was disap-

pointing early on. His final figureson the day 63.2-11-173-5 might notmake a pretty reading but therotund left-arm spinner gave it hisall. He got an able ally in Avasthi(32-7 -93-2) while TusharDeshpande (36-10-116-3) was sharp

in couple of of his spells.BRIEF SCORES Mumbai 374 &113/2 (Prithvi Shaw

44); MadhyaPradesh 536 (RajatPatidar 122,Saransh Jain 57;

Shams Mulani5/173, Tushar

Deshpande 3/116). Matchto continue.

Rajat broadens MP’s title chance

LEADING FROM FRONT: India Women skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (without helmet) walks off the field along with DeeptiSharma after helping her side win the second T20I, Saturday

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Malahide (Ireland), June 25: Hestruck gold in his debut season ascaptain in the IPL, and HardikPandya admits that responsibilitybrings out the best in him on acricket field.Hardik, who led theGujarat Titans to the IPL title in theside’s and his debut season earlierthis year, has been named as cap-tain of the Indian team for the two-match T20 International seriesagainst Ireland, starting hereSunday. And the dashing all-roundersaid he believes in taking owner-ship on the field.

“Earlier also, I liked taking up re-sponsibility and now also it is thesame but it is a bit more responsibilitynow. I always believed that I did bet-ter when I took responsibility,”Hardik said during a virtual pressconference on the eve of the firstT20I. “If I can take ownership ofmy own things and take my owndecisions, they tend to be strong.Cricket is such a game, staying strongduring situations is very important.

“Always responsibility was givento me and I took it and that’s whyI became better. While captainingI will see how I can give the sameresponsibility to every player andgive them the ability to fight withsituations,” he added.

Playing under two talismanicskippers in MS Dhoni and ViratKohli has taught Hardik a lot aboutleadership qualities, but he saidevery captain has their own style.

“Obviously I have taken a lot ofthings from them (Dhoni and Kohli)

but at the same time I also want tobe myself, obviously my under-standing of the game is differentbut I have taken a lot of good vibesfrom them. “I am not instinctive butI see more situation than go withmy gut (feeling). At what point oftime, what decision the team re-quires, I focus on that rather thangoing on my gut. Gut always goes50-50,” he said.

“I have got an opportunity tolead India. It’s in itself a big thing.I don’t play the sport to show any-one anything, if I am good enough.I was always the same.”

India has bench strength nowIndia is fielding its reserve play-

ers in the series against Irelandand Hardik said the bench strengthIndia possess now is a good sign forthe game in the country.

“If such a situation arises thatwe have to send two teams, we arevery lucky that we have the benchstrength where we can allow theplayers to go and express and a lotof people will get opportunities.

“There are so much talent inIndia that people don’t get oppor-tunities. Playing for India is al-ways a dream and for them toachieve that dream will be reallyfantastic,” he said.

“The way talent has come upand the character the players haveshown and the way we played, it in-dicates India’s bench strength.There are plenty of options rightnow in Indian team. Four people arestill fighting for places in the team.They are knocking the doors, so itcan be better than that.”

Captaincy brings outbest in Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya carefully listens to stand-in head coach VVS Laxman’s wordsduring India’s practice session ahead of first T20I against Ireland

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Leicester, June 25: Virat Kohlishowed his class, hitting an im-pressive 67 off 98 balls while ShreyasIyer (62) and Ravindra Jadeja (56n o) also got ample batting practiceas India finished their second in-nings on 364/7 ag ainstLeicestershire on day three of theirfour-day warm-up match hereSaturday.

Kohli, who has been enduring aprolonged lean patch, decoratedhis innings with five boundaries andtwo sixes. He was ably supportedby Iyer, who scored his runs off 89balls with the help of 11 bound-aries, and Jadeja who struck 10fours during his unbeaten knock.

But Chesteshwar Pujara couldonly manage 22 of 53 balls withthe help of three fours. Pujara bat-ted for both sides. He was out fora duck in Leicestershire’s first in-nings Friday.

Jadeja was also out for a duck offNavdeep Saini early in the Indiansecond innings but came back laterto bat again as it is just a practicematch. At stumps, MohammedSiraj (1 n o) was giving Jadeja com-pany.

Pacer Navdeep Saini (3/55), oneamong the four Indian players toturn out for Leicestershire, shone

bright with three wickets for thecounty side. Another Indian playerKamlesh Nagarkoti (2/48) also

chipped in with two wickets, whileR Sai Kishore (1/55) and Will Davis(1/400) accounted for a wicket each.The visiting Indians still leadLeicestershire by 366 runs at stumpswith a day’s play remaining in thematch.

Earlier, Saini, who picked upShubman Gill’s wicket on the sec-ond day, dismissed well-set SrikarBharat (43) and Jadeja (0) in a spanof three deliveries to reduce Indiato 118/4. But it was Hanuma Vihari(20) who was the first to depart,after adding just 11 runs to hisovernight score, off the bowlingof Will Davis.

Seventeen runs later, Saini strucktwin blows in an over in the formof Bharat and Jadeja. Nagakotithen accounted for Iyer and ShardulThakur (28) in a span of sevenovers.

But before being dismissed,Shardul shared 39 runs in the com-pany of Kohli, who came out tobat at an unusual No.7 position.Pujara didn’t help his cause as hewas stumped by Sam Bates off SaiKishore. Kohli was dismissed byJasprit Bumrah (1/30), while Iyerwas the last batter to be dismissedby Nagarkoti.

Warm-up tie: Kohli, Iyer, Jaddu impress

Virat Kohli successfully defends during his innings in the warm-up match, Saturday

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

New Delhi, June 25: A strongfield awaits Olympic javelin throwchampion Neeraj Chopra in theprestigious Diamond League Meetin Stockholm June 30, which willbe his biggest event ahead of theWorld Championships in Eugene,USA, next month.

The 24-year-old Chopra will comeinto the Swedish capital with con-fidence after clinching his firstwin of the season at the KuortaneGames in Finland June 18, beatingreigning World ChampionAnderson Peters of Grenada for thesecond time this month.

The Indian superstar had won asilver in his first competition ofthe season at the Paavo NurmiGames in Turku, Finland June 14with a national record throw of89.30m.

Chopra had a nasty fall duringhis third attempt at the KuortaneGames but luckily he did not sus-tain any injury. The conditionswere treacherous there for javelinthrow as the run-up was slipperydue to rains. His first round throwof 86.64m was, however, enoughto hand him a gold.

Peters’ name is in the list of par-ticipants in Stockholm but he didnot complete all his throws in anevent at Orimattila in FinlandWednesday, recording a best throwof 71.94m.

The athlete from Grenada hasseen a dip in form after winning theDoha Diamond League Meet witha season-leading throw of 93.07m.After that, he had thrown 86.60mat Paavo Nurmi Games for a thirdplace and 84.75m in KuortaneGames for another third position.

Olympic silver medallist JakubVadlejch of Czech Republic andcompatriot Tokyo Games bronzewinner Vitezslav Vesely will alsobe in action. This will be the firsttime all the Tokyo Olympics medalwinners will be in action togetherthis season.

Vadlejch, who was sixth at PaavoNurmi Games with a best throwof 83.91m, returns after skippingthe Kuortane Games. The same isthe case for Germany’s JulianWeber, who returns after finish-ing fifth at Paavo Nurmi Gameswith 84.02m.

Finland’s Oliver Helander, whosurprisingly won gold at the PaavoNurmi Games with a big throw of89.83m, also returns after skippingKuortane Games.

Strong field awaitsNeeraj in DiamondLeague tournament

RAJAT PATIDAR

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Paris, June 25: India won itsmaiden World Cup gold in com-pound mixed team archery eventafter the duo of Abhishek Vermaand Jyothi Surekha Vennam out-classed their experienced Frenchopponents at the Stage 3 editionhere Saturday.

Riding on a spectacular start,the Indians withered late resist-ance from the French pair ofJean Boulch and 48-year-oldO ly m p i c m e d a l l i s t S o p h i eDodemont to seal the contest 152-149, a first-ever World Cup gold forIndia in the compound mixedteam event.

The gold also opened the ac-count of Indian archers, who haveassured a second medal in thewomen’s recurve team eventwhere the trio of Deepika Kumari,Ankita Bhakat and SimranjeetKaur will fight for the yellowmetal Sunday.

Later, World No.3 Jyothi se-

cured a second medal for Indiaafter settling for a silver in theindividual section, going downto Ella Gibson in an intense shoot-off 148-148 (10-10*) that was de-cided on the arrow that landed

closer to the centre.Making a comeback after more

than seven months, World No.3Jyothi, who was sidelined in theAsian Games trial, is also in thehunt for another medal as she

takes on French veteran Sophie inthe individual semifinal later inthe day.

A Beijing Olympics bronzemedalist, Sophie switched tocompound discipline after fail-ing to make the 2012 LondonOlympics squad. The third-seeded Indians got off to a flier,drilling in four 10s that includedtwo Xs to race to a three-pointlead and put early pressure onthe French pair.

The Indians managed just one10 in the second end as the Frenchduo reduced the deficit to one-point. The third was a tie, whilein the deciding fourth end,Abhishek and Jyothi held theirnerves to edge out their oppo-nents by two points to annexethe title.

The most successful Indiancompound pair of Abhishek andJyothi have a handful of WorldCup bronze medals and their besthas been a World Cup Final silverat Yankton last year.

Abhishek-Jyothi pair secures gold medalMAIDEN COMPOUND MIXED TEAM GOLD FOR INDIA IN ARCHERY WORLD CUP