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HYDERABAD, SATURDAY FEBRUARY 27, 2021; PAGES 12 `3

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SENSEX POSTS WORST DAY IN 11MONTHS, SINKS 1,940 POINTS

The BSE Sensex crashed about 1,940points to post its biggest single-day fall innearly 11 months and the NSE Nifty

plunged over 568 points to crack below thepsychological 15,000-mark on Friday, trackingglobal selloffs triggered by a panic in bondmarkets overseas. Investors also turnedcautious ahead of the third quarter GDP datarelease, besides keeping an eye on simmeringgeopolitical tensions between the US andSyria. At the day's close, the 30-share BSESensex settled 1,939.32 points or 3.80 percent lower at 49,099.99 its worst one-day fallsince May 4 last year

POLL OFFICIALS FRONTLINE WORKERS,WILL BE VACCINATED: ELECTION BODY

Election officials will be eligible for COVID-19vaccination, the Election Commission said onFriday as it announced dates for assembly

polls in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Assamand Puducherry. Election officials are frontlineworkers and they will be vaccinated, ChiefElection Commissioner Sunil Arora said in thenews conference in Delhi. Voting time has beenincreased by 1 hour because of the pandemic, headded. During filing of nominations, only twopeople will be allowed to accompany thecandidate, he said. This is the first major set ofelections to be held in the middle of thecoronavirus pandemic after the Bihar election.

SMRITI IRANI RIDES A SCOOTER INBENGAL, DAY AFTER MAMATA BANERJEE

Union Minister Smriti Irani was seennegotiating the narrow lanes of suburbanKolkata on a scooter as part of a BJP

motorcycle rally on Friday, just a day afterTrinamool Congress boss Mamata Banerjee wasseen riding pillion to work. On a day the ElectionCommission is expected to announce dates for theBengal elections, due in April-May, along withother states across the country, the BJP's big gunsRajnath Singh and Smriti Irani are campaigning onMamata Banerjee's turf. Rajnath Singh will be inBalurghat along with state BJP president DilipGhosh while Irani took part in the rally in theBaruipur-Sonarpur area, a TMC stronghold.

MUMBAI'S HIGH-SECURITY ARTHURROAD JAIL AWAITS NIRAV MODI

With a UK court ruling in favour ofextradition of fugitive diamondmerchant Nirav Modi, wanted in

India on charges of fraud and moneylaundering in Punjab National Bank scamcase, Mumbai's Arthur Road jail has kept aspecial cell ready to lodge him, an officialsaid today. The jail official said that onceNirav Modi is brought to Mumbai, he will bekept in one of the three cells of barrack No.12, which is a high-security barrack."Preparations for lodging Nirav Modi in thejail have been completed and a cell is readyfor him, whenever he is extradited," he said.

5

The way forward for the

Insolvency Code

2

PM asks banks tocome out with

innovative prod-ucts for startups

8

B'desh High

Commissioner meets

Assam CM Sonowal

Five Assembly polls to beginMarch 27, counting on May 2PNS n NEW DELHI

Voting for five Assemblies willbegin on March 27, with WestBengal conducting the maxi-mum eight phases continuingtill April 29, and votes for thepolls in the four states and oneunion territory will be count-ed on May 2, the ElectionCommission said on Friday.

As many as 18.68 crore vot-ers will be eligible to cast theirvotes at 2.7 lakh polling sta-tions for 824 assembly seatsacross Assam, West Bengal,Kerala, Tamil Nadu andPuducherry.

The elections for the fiveAssemblies are expected towitness a determined attemptby the BJP to put a strong show,including in Assam where it isalready in power, as well as inWest Bengal, Kerala, TamilNadu and Puducherry wherethe saffron party has beenpushing hard in recent years.

Elections in Assam will beconducted in three phases onMarch 27, April 1 and April 6,while polling in Kerala, TamilNadu and Puducherry willtake place in a single phase on

April 6.Elections for the West

Bengal Assembly will be heldin eight phases, up from sevenlast time, beginning withpolling for 30 seats on March27, Chief ElectionCommissioner Sunil Arorasaid while announcing thepoll schedule.

The second phase of WestBengal's assembly electionshas been scheduled for April 1and will cover 30 constituen-cies, followed by the thirdphase on April 6 for 31 seats,the fourth on April 10 for 44constituencies, the fifth onApril 17 for 45 seats, sixth for43 seats on April 22, seventh

phase on April 26 for 36 seatsand last and eighth phase onApril 29 for 35 seats, Arorasaid.

Dattatreya ‘manhandled’ in HimachalAssembly, 5 Cong MLAs suspendedPNS n SHIMLA

Himachal Pradesh GovernorBandaru Dattatraya wasallegedly manhandled by someCongress members in theAssembly complex on Friday,following which five MLAswere suspended for theremainder of the BudgetSession.

The incident took place out-side the Speaker's office whenthe Governor was leaving forthe Raj Bhavan after he cutshort his adresss in the Housefollowing a ruckus create bythe Congress on the openingday of the Budget session.

Speaker Vipin Parmar saidthe Opposition members triedto stop the Governor, who wasaccompanied by ChiefMinister Jai Ram Thakur,when he was going towards hiscavalcade.

They hit on the Governor'sback with copies of his address.

They also hit the bonnet of theGovernor's car, the Speakersaid, adding that he is examin-ing the Assembly rules tolodge an FIR against theCongress legislators.

The Speaker told PTI thatthis is for the first time in thehistory of the HimachalPradesh Assembly that a

Governor was manhandled byOpposition members.

After the incident, theSpeaker suspended Leader ofOpposition Mukesh Agnihotriand four other Congress MLAsHarsh Vardhan Chauhan,Satpal Raizada,

Covid jab in pvt hospitals: How costly it is?PNS n HYDERABAD

With memories of priceyCovid-19 testing in privatehospitals and testing centresstill fresh in their minds,notwithstanding the 'cap ontesting charges' set by the TSgovernment back in June2020, most people are nowafraid of going for the jab inprivate hospitals, which arenow bracing up to comple-ment governments' vaccina-tion drives.

What would be the cost ofeach dose of the Covid-19

vaccine; if at all people chooseto get vaccinated in privatehospitals? There is animated

discussion on this moot ques-tion among many people asthe state government has

declared that all those aged 60years and above as well asthose who are 45 years butwith co-morbidities canundergo vaccination eitherin government hospitals or inlisted private hospitals.

According to Director ofPublic Health Dr SrinivasaRao, the price of each dose ofthe vaccine could rangebetween Rs 300 and Rs 400 inprivate hospitals. A clear pic-ture will emerge shortly.

It may be recalled that thestate health authorities havebeen vaccinating government

and private medical profes-sionals as well as frontlineworkers free of cost so far.

As of now, there is no con-sensus on who should super-vise the vaccination pro-gramme in private hospitals.It is not yet clear whether thevaccines would be supplied toprivate hospitals through thevaccine centres or directlyfrom the companies.According to Dr SrinivasaRao, clear guidelines are yet toemerge from the Centre.

ML MELLY MAITREYI n HYDERABAD

Telangana State has now setits sight on branding of meatand fish produced in theState. Encouraged by the suc-cess of its ongoing pro-grammes to give fillip torural economy and uplift offamilies involved in tradition-al sheep rearing and fisheries,the State Government nowwants to help boost farmers'incomes through quality pro-cessing and value addition inrespect of sheep meat (mut-ton) and fish.

Like in the case of brand-ed milk and drinking waterproducts that come withsome assurance in terms ofcertain levels of quality andhygiene standards, it is nowtime for meat, fish and othernon-vegetarian products pro-duced in the State by local

farmers to have brand valuein the market.

Upon being marketed as'Telangana brand' meat andfish, the products should giveconfidence to consumers whohave become health and qual-ity conscious after the pan-demic, according to sourcesworking on the concept.

State to promote‘Telangana brand’of meat and fish

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Supreme Court on Fridayrefused to entertain a pleaseeking implementation ofNational Green Tribunal orderon the expansion ofKaleshwaram Lift IrrigationProject in Telangana.

A bench headed by ChiefJustice S A Bobde said it wasnot the executing court of theNGT order and for that mat-ter any tribunal.

The apex court was hearinga plea filed by advocateThummanapally Srinivas andothers seeking implementationof NGT's October 20, 2020

order. The NGT had held thatenvironmental clearance wasgranted to the KaleshwaramLift Irrigation Project inTelangana "ex post facto" in

violation of legal requirementsand formed a committee toassess the damage caused asalso to suggest restorationmeasures.

India exits recession,GDP raises at + 0.4% PNS n NEW DELHI

After contracting for twoquarters in a row, the Indianeconomy entered the positiveterritory with a growth of 0.4per cent in the October-December quarter, mainly dueto good performance by farm,services and construction sec-tors, official data showed onFriday.

Trade and hotel industryregistered a contraction of 7.7per cent during the third quar-ter this fiscal, as the sectorscontinued to suffer on accountof coronavirus pandemic.

According to the datareleased by the NationalStatistical Office (NSO), thefarm sector recorded a growthof 3.9 per cent, and themanufacturing sectoroutput grew by 1.6per cent in the quar-ter under review.

The con-structions e c t o r

advanced by 6.2 per cent,while electricity, gas, watersupply and other utility ser-vices clocked a 7.3 per centgrowth.

The NSO said, "GDP atConstant (2011-12) Prices inQ3 of 2020-21 is estimated atRs 36.22 lakh crore, as againstRs 36.08 lakh crore in Q3 of2019-20, showing a growth of0.4 per cent".

The gross domestic product(GDP) had expanded by 3.3per cent in the corre-sponding periodof 2019-20.

AP pitches for Natl academy of Correctional AdminPNS n AMARAVATI

Andhra Pradesh is pitching forthe establishment of theNational Academy ofCorrectional Administrationin the state.

The state government willput forth this proposal to theUnion Home Minister AmitShah during the SouthernZonal Council meeting, sched-

uled to be held in temple-townTirupati on March 4, authori-tative sources said.

As the Sardar VallabhbhaiPatel National Police Academyis located in Hyderabad, the APgovernment wants the NationalAcademy of CorrectionalAdministration (NACA) estab-lished in the state.

"The proposed academy willcater to the needs of middle

and senior level prison admin-istrators in terms of training,policy formulation and overalldevelopment of prison admin-istration," a senior bureaucratin the state Home Departmenttold P T I.

This would also bring inuniformity and standardisenorms and procedures relatedto prison administration, theofficial said.

"The prestigious Academywill be established in AP," headded.

Chief Minister Y S JaganMohan Reddy, who reviewedthe preparedness for theSouthern Zonal Council meet-ing, asked the state officials toprepare a detailed proposalfor presenting to the Centre.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, HP Governor BandaruDattatreya and State Legislative Assembly Speaker Vipin Parmar arrive to attendthe Budget session, in Shimla on Friday

SC nixes plea to implementNGT fiat on Kaleshwaram CM directs officials

to formulatehorticulture policyPNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao hasinstructed officials of theAgriculture Department toformulate a HorticulturePolicy, keeping in viewTelangana's background, itssoil, weather conditions, andrequirements of the State.

Emphasising the need toexpand research and develop-ment activities to boost hor-ticulture crops,

Tirupati, N Sagarschedule soon

PNS VIJAYAWADA:Curiously, the ElectionCommission of India failed tomention by-polls for theTirupati Lok Sabha seat inAndhra Pradesh andNagarjunasagar Assemblyconstituency in Telanganawhile releasing the schedulefor elections in four Statesand the Union Territory ofPuducherry. It was largelyexpected that the ECI wouldalso announce the dates forthe by-polls in the two Telugustates, but going by theabsence of any mention inthe poll panel briefing, itappears that such a schedulewould be announcedseparately, perhaps in thenext few days.

Bengal, TN'slast-minutesops beforeannouncementPNS n CHENNAI

At least two of the five poll-bound states today rushed toannounce populist schemeshours ahead of the electiondates being announced.

Tamil Nadu and WestBengal introduced variouspolicy changes seeminglyaimed at electoral prospects.The model code of con-duct, which comes intoeffect immediately after theElection Commissiondeclares the poll dates,

Fuel prices will comedown: PradhanPNS n VARANASI

Allaying concerns of peopleover the upward spirallingof fuel pr ice, UnionMinister DharmendraPradhan on Friday said theprice will decrease as win-ter season ends.n Unauthorized,

temporaryfacilities on thechopping block

n Second modernabattoir comingup at Chengicherla

n 18.68 cr voters willbe eligible to casttheir votes at 2.7 Lpolling stations for824 Assembly seats

n Assembly polls inWest Bengal will beheld in eight phases,up from seven last time

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(IN HYDERABAD)

One of the main reasonsfor the success of theinsolvency code (IBC)

is its design. Earlier, the insol-vency legal regime was tiltedin favor of debtors whoretained control over man-agement and operations ofthe company during thebankruptcy process. In con-trast, the new insolvencycode shifts the control overday-to-day working of thecompany towards creditorsand professionals.

During insolvency pro-ceedings, this has reduced thefreedom available to compa-ny managements to decide onwhat evidence to presentbefore the National CompanyLaw Tribunal (NCLT). Now,the NCLT and the profession-al have near complete controlover evidence and conduct ofthe case from start to judg-ment.

Another distinct featureof the new insolvency regimeis the way the proceedings areconducted. Earlier insolven-

cy proceedings followed theadversarial system. In thissystem the court acts as a ref-eree between the prosecutionand the defence and thewhole process is a contestbetween two parties. Theunderlying principle was tocreate a distance between theinvestigation and the personwho ultimately decides theoutcome. Here, courts actedlike a referee between thedebtors and creditors, such asin the recovery of claims byunsecured creditors by filingcivil suits or petitioning theHigh Court for winding up ifthe debtor was a company.

The process under the pre-sent insolvency regime hassubstantial characteristics ofthe inquisitorial system.Some of the noteworthy fea-tures of the process followedin the new insolvency code

and their resemblance to theinquisitorial system are dis-cussed below.

First, the trial is in thehands of the NCLT. TheNCLT plays an active roleassisted by the InsolvencyProfessionals (IPs) and theInsolvency ProfessionalAgencies (IPAs). The triggerfor starting the IBC is a peti-tion to the NCLT. This peti-tion is called an insolvencypetition. When an insolven-cy petition is filed, the role ofthe NCLT is to identifywhether the debtor has com-

mitted a default in repaymentof an undisputed debt to thepetitioning creditor. If theNCLT finds that the debtorhas defaulted to the creditor;and has not disputed theclaim of default by the cred-itor beforehand, the NCLTmust allow the petition to gothrough, or else it must dis-miss the petition.

Second, case managementin the insolvency codedepends upon the NCLTmembers, so their contribu-tion is very high for the dis-posal of any case. Case man-

agement is effective as mem-bers of the NCLT sit with thedebtors and creditors andexchange views in makingdecisions for the speedy dis-posal of any case. This is incontrast to the adversariallegal system, where represen-tatives from each party takeopposing positions to debate

and argue their case, whilstthe Judge’s role is to upholdprinciples of fairness andequality and to remain neu-tral until the very end whenshe gives judgment.

Less reliance on judicialprecedents is the third simi-larity to the inquisitorial sys-tem. Conventionally, judicialprecedent is set by “case law”which helps flesh out thestatutory laws and in somecases new substantive lawcomes from pronouncementswhere statutes and prece-dents are silent. There is lit-tle use of judicial precedent ininquisitorial systems. Thismeans Judges are free todecide each case indepen-dently of previous decisionsby applying the relevantstatutes. As the current insol-vency regime is of recentorigin, there are hardly any

judicial precedents available.This gives a great degree ofleeway to the NCLT whiledeciding in insolvency pro-ceedings.

The insolvency code con-fers partial executive powerson the NCLTs and it is thisexpansion of the range offunctions that has transmut-ed the NCLT from a purejudicial forum to a hybrid onewith judicial plus executivepowers. However, appeals aremade to the NationalCompany Law AppellateTribunal (NCLAT) and theSupreme Court; thus, there isa clear separation of judicia-ry from the executive atupper levels.

This fusion of judicial andexecutive powers in one enti-ty/person is not new. Prior tothe amendments made inthe Criminal Procedure Code

in 1973, judicial and execu-tive powers were combined inexecutive magistrates inIndia.

In short, there are two dis-tinct design features of theinsolvency code. First, thereis a changeover from a debtorin control to a creditor-driveninsolvency process. Second,in practice the NCLTs followan inquisitorial system, eventhough tacitly.

Therefore, the way for-ward is to build on theseunique features of the insol-vency code. Efforts should bemade to include more andmore ingredients of theinquisitorial system in theinsolvency process and dis-courage any move to bringabout ‘equality of arms’between the debtors andcreditors.

(Author has a PhD fromthe USA and a DLitt from

Kanchi University. The arti-cle is based on his research and practice and views are

personal)

DR. SAMEER SHARMA

The way forward for the Insolvency Code First, the trial is in the hands of the NCLT. The

NCLT plays an active role assisted by the

Insolvency Professionals (IPs) and the Insolvency

Professional Agencies (IPAs). The trigger for

starting the IBC is a petition to the NCLT

Continued from page 1

Prohibits governments frommaking fresh welfareannouncements so as tominimise any undue advan-tage accruing to ruling par-ties.

The Commission held apress conference on Fridayat around 4.30 pm toannounce the dates for theassembly elections in Kerala,Puducherry, and Assam,apart from West Bengal andTamil Nadu.

Bengal,TN's lastminute...

Muted response to Bharat BandhPNS n HYDERABAD

Protests at few places by theLeft parties and trade unionsaffiliated to them in Telanganamarked the 'Bharat Bandh' toprotest against the fuel pricehike.

The shutdown call given byAll India Traders' Associationevoked poor response in thestate. Few shops and businessestablishments downed shut-ters in parts of Hyderabad andsome other towns.

The bandh had no majorimpact on normal life. Goodtransport activity, however,came to a halt as the truck own-ers' association joined the shut-down. As the All India MotorTransport Congress (AIMTC)backed the shutdown, the truck-

ers in the state joined too theprotest demanding some relieffrom the Centre.

Protesting the steep hike inprice of diesel, Telangana LorryOwners Association support-ed the bandh call.

The association claimed that

nearly one lakh transport vehi-cles will remain off roads dur-ing the day.

They demanded that theCentral taxes on diesel beslashed to ensure uniformity inthe price across the country.

Truck operators have threat-

ened to launch indefinite strikeif the Centre failed to respondpositively to their demands.

A section of traders includ-ing Kirana merchants and steelmerchants in Hyderabad tookout a rally to the Collector'soffice to submit a memoran-dum of demands.

They demanded the author-ities to simplify GST process.The traders alleged that sever-al new clauses and rules werebeing used to harass them.

Left parties and trade unionsaffiliated to organised protestsin Hyderabad. CPI state secre-tary Chada Venkat Reddy ledthe protest. He demanded thatthe fuel prices should be uni-form across the country andGST should be simplified.

CPI-M also backed the

bandh call. The party organiseda dharna at LB Nagar cross-roads in Hyderabad. The pro-testors alleged that the steephike in prices of petrol, dieseland cooking gas has made thelife of common man miserable.

Holding banners and plac-ards denouncing the price hike,the protestors raised slogansagainst the government. Policedetained the protestors andshifted them to a police station.

Party's state secretary TVeerabhadram said the hike infuel prices has imposed heavyburden on common man. Hesaid taxes on fuel were addingthe burden. The CPI-M leaderdemanded that the Centre andstates take initiative to cut thetaxes to provide some relief topeople.

CM directs officials to...Continued from page 1

KCR called for efforts tostrengthen the HorticultureUniversity. He announced theallocation of 300 acres in theAgriculture University for set-ting up a Centre of Excellencein respect of horticulturecrops.

The Chief Minister alsodecided to increase the num-ber of seats in Ontimamidi,Ramagiri Khilla agriculturepolytechnic colleges, andappoint four senior officialsespecially for cultivation offruits, vegetables, green vegeta-bles and oil palm.

Addressing a high-levelreview meeting on a compre-hensive and integrated plan fordevelopment of horticulturecrops at Pragathi Bhavan hereon Friday, KCR said that agri-culture sector was doing well,thanks to the irrigation pro-jects and schemes like RythuBandhu investment assistanceschemes. In the undividedState, horticulture crops likevegetables and fruits did notget due importance. It wastime for encouraging farmers

to profitably cultivate horticul-ture crops that were not water-intensive, he said.

Agriculture andHorticulture departmentsshould formulate a plan to givespecial incentives, along withRythu Bandhu, to farmerswilling to set up horticulturenurseries or cultivate horticul-ture crops, including flowers.

The Chief Minister saidthat by promoting horticulturecrops around municipalitiesand towns in the State, therequirement to source largequantities of vegetables andfruits can be brought down.Eventually the State would bein a position to export vegeta-bles and fruits.

The HorticultureDepartment officials explainedthat horticulture farmers couldearn more profits by going forshort-tenure crops that utilizeless water.

The Chief Minister appreci-ated the use of technology toguide farmers in agricultureand horticulture. He suggest-ed that, to the extent possible,cotton cultivation should beextended.

Covid jab in pvt hospitals: How...Continued from page 1

Meanwhile, the Centre is busyupdating and patching upthe glitches-prone CoWINmobile application and is try-ing to bring out an updatedversion of the mobile applica-tion with certain changes.Private hospitals may berequired to record vaccinestock details via the applica-tion. Since people can get vac-cinated only after registering

via the mobile application,details such as how manydoses have been used and thestocks remaining should berecorded via the application.

Government officials claimthat the vaccination pro-gramme can be continued in afool-proof manner even in pri-vate hospitals. So, some officialswould be appointed to moni-tor the programme, they said.

Dr Srinivasa Rao said thatthe vaccine would be admin-

istered in private hospitalscharging some fees, thoughthe vaccine is given free ofcost in government hospitals.Therefore, he advised peopleto take the vaccine free ofcost. In all, 1,250 hospitals,including major hospitals likeGandhi and Osmania as wellas PHCs will administer thevaccine free of cost. The vac-cine will be made available infuture in over 4,500 healthsub-centres.

India exits recession, GDP raises at + 0.4%Continued from page 1

In its second advance esti-mates of national accounts, theNSO has projected 8 per centcontraction in 2020-21, show-ing the pandemic impact. In itsfirst advance estimates releasedin January, it had projected acontraction of 7.7 per cent forthe current fiscal as against agrowth of four per cent in2019-20.

"Real GDP or GrossDomestic Product (GDP) atConstant (2011-12) Prices inthe year 2020-21 is estimated toattain a level of Rs 134.09 lakhcrore, as against the FirstRevised Estimate of GDP forthe year 2019-20 of Rs 145.69lakh crore, released on 29thJanuary 2021. The growth inGDP during 2020-21 is estimat-ed at (-) 8.0 per cent as com-pared to 4.0 per cent in 2019-

20," it stated.The economy had shrunk by

an unprecedented 24.4 per centin the first quarter this fiscal fol-lowing the coronavirus pan-demic and resultant lockdowns.In the second quarter, the GDPdeclined 7.3 per cent amid aperk up in economic activitiesafter the easing of the lock-down.

The first and second-quarterGDP growth figures are revisedfrom (-) 24.9 per cent and (-)7.5 per cent provisional esti-mates, respectively, released inNovember 2020.

The per capita income in realterms (at 2011-12 prices) dur-ing 2020-21 is estimated toattain a level of Rs 85,929 ascompared to Rs 94,566 in 2019-20 -- showing a contraction of9.1 per cent in 2019-20 asagainst 2.5 per cent growth inthe previous fiscal, it stated.

The per capita income at cur-rent prices during 2020-21 isestimated to be at Rs 1,27,768,a decline of 4.8 per cent as com-pared to Rs 1,34,186 during2019-20.

"The measures taken by theGovernment to contain thespread of the COVID-19 pan-demic have had an impact onthe economic activities as wellas on the data collection mech-anisms.

"The data challenges in thecase of other underlying macro-economic indicators like IIP(industrial production) andCPI (retail inflation), used inthe estimation of NationalAccounts aggregates and specif-ic measures, if any, taken by thegovernment in the followingmonths with a view to addressthe pandemic led economic sit-uation will have implications onthe subsequent revision of these

estimates," the NSO said.Estimates are, therefore, like-

ly to undergo sharp revisionsfor the aforesaid causes in duecourse, as per the release calen-dar. Users should take this intoconsideration when interpret-ing the figures, it added.

The 0.4 per cent growth inthe December quarter showsthat the economy has returnedto pre-pandemic times andreflects a further strengtheningof V-shaped recovery, thefinance ministry said on Friday.

"Real GDP growth of 0.4 percent in Q3 of 2020-21 hasreturned the economy to thepre-pandemic times of positivegrowth rates. It is also a reflec-tion of a further strengtheningof V-shaped recovery thatbegan in Q2 of 2020-21 after alarge GDP contraction in Q1followed one of the most strin-gent lockdowns imposed by

Government relative to othercountries," the ministry said ina statement.

"With a growth re-emergingin both GDP and GVA in Q3FY2021, the pandemic-inducedtechnical recession in Indiahas ended, in line with ourexpectations," Icra PrincipalEconomist Aditi Nayar said.

The NSO has pegged thepace of growth in Q3 FY2021at 0.4 per cent for GDP, and ahigher 1.0 per cent for the GVA,whereas Icra had projectedboth at 0.7 per cent, she added.

"The YoY (year-on-year) per-formance of the components ofGDP indicates a welcomegrowth of 2.6 per cent in grossfixed capital formation, juxta-posed with mild de-growth of1.1 per cent in government con-sumption expenditure and 2.4per cent in private consumptionexpenditure," Nayar said.

Fuel prices will come down: PradhanContinued from page 1

"Increase in petroleum price ininternational market has affect-ed consumers too. Prices willcome down a little as winter

goes away. It is an internation-al matter, price is high due toincrease in demand, it happensin winter. It will come down asthe season ends," UnionMinister Dharmendra Pradhan.

AP pitches...Continued from page 1

The catch, however, is thatneighbouring Telangana isalso said to be pitching for thesame academy. Telangana issaid to have already identifiedrequired land for theAcademy while the AP gov-ernment is yet to do so.

"We are in the process ofzeroing in on a suitable loca-tion for the Academy and theland required will also be ear-marked soon," the bureaucrathere said.

The AP government wouldsubmit a comprehensive pro-posal to the Centre forapproval, he added. TheChief Minister is expected topersonally take up the issuewith the Union HomeMinister during the SouthernZonal Council meeting.

State to promote...Continued from page 1

When the 'branding concept'materializes, the consumerwill get details on the pack-age such as animal's age,gender, date of slaughter,shelf life of the processedproduct, etc.

The Animal Husbandryand Fisheries Department,according to sources, is con-templating to devote the nextf inancial year 2021-22towards this goal. It propos-es to set up a second modernabattoir unit with interna-tional standards atChengicherla for hygienicprocessing, value additionand packaging.

Of 65 acres of land allottedfor abattoirs in Chengicherla,one unit has been operatingfrom 2008 in 33 acres and thegovernment has transferred24 acres to the TelanganaIndustrial and InfrastructureCorporation for setting upanother major facility.

The Animal HusbandryDepartment will also scoutfor lands available with theRevenue Department andTSIIC to set up sheep andfish markets as well as basicmeat processing units in allthe districts to help the localsheep and goat rearing com-munities to sell their live-stock.

"The goal is to make prop-erly processed meat available

to consumers and discourageunauthorized and temporaryfacilities", they said.

About 2,500 meat outletsoperate in the organizedsector under the GreaterHyderabad MunicipalCorporation limits, apartfrom 150 mobile meat andfish units. Besides, another5,000 to 6,000 temporaryunits operate in the citylimits.

After promoting sheeprearing through sheep distri-bution scheme, the sourcingof sheep from other Stateshad reduced drastically,sources said. Post-Covid,there is demand from entre-preneurs too to set up inten-sive sheep farming units,value addition to give 'pre-ferred cuts' to the consumersand invest on marketingfacilities.

After the sheep distribu-tion scheme was launched inthe State in 2017, a total of3.66 lakh sheep farmersbecame members of PrimarySheep Breeding CooperativeSocieties at the village leveland each family earned anaverage income of aboutRs.60,000 a year by produc-ing over 77,000 tonnes ofmeat till 2020.

The meat consumptionpattern in the State is differ-ent as people here prefersheep meat (mutton) thangoat meat, sources said.

Five Assembly polls to beginMar 27, counting on May 2Continued from page 1

The Election Commission willappoint two special observersfor West Bengal and a third canalso be sent if required, Arorasaid in response to queries onwhether enough arrangementsare in place for the polls in thestate, where many have beenraising questions about polit-ical violence.

Arora also said everyone onelection duty for the upcomingpolls will be vaccinated againstCOVID-19 before polling day.

Voting will take place for126 seats in Assam, 234 inTamil Nadu, 294 in WestBengal, 140 in Kerala and 30in Puducherry.

Arrangements will be put in

place for candidates to filetheir nominations online.Voting will be allowed for anadditional hour, keeping inmind COVID-19 safety guide-lines, he said.

Also, webcasting arrange-ments will be in place atpolling stations in critical andvulnerable areas, while ade-quate CAPF (Central ArmedPolice Forces) deployment willbe ensured, Arora said. All crit-ical and vulnerable areas havebeen identified and advanceteams have been alreadydeployed across the four statesand one union territory, headded.

He said door-to-door cam-paigning will be restricted tofive persons, including the

candidate, while roadshowswill be allowed with a maxi-mum of five vehicles.

According to Arora, thenationwide vaccination drivehas made the situation moreconducive for conducting elec-tions and the Health Ministryhas declared everyone on pollduty as frontline workers forvaccination purposes.

All poll officials will be vac-cinated before the elections,Arora said.

Arora, who will demit officeon April 13, also said all mustbe congratulated for the suc-cessful conduct of elections inBihar last year despite theCOVID-19 challenges and heis confident of success onceagain.

Continued from page 1

Sunder Singh and VinayKuma for the entire Budgetsession till March 20 on amotion moved byParliamentary Affairs MinisterSuresh Bhardwaj.

Earlier, the Congress MLAscreated a ruckus in the Houseduring the Governor'saddress. He then skipped tothe last sentence after readinginitial few pages and statedthat the entire speech shouldbe deemed as read.

Suspended Congress MLAHarsh Vardhan Chauhan toldPTI that they were waitingoutside the Speaker's officeand just wanted to ask theGovernor why he cut short hisaddress but they were notallowed to do so.

He alleged that it wasDeputy Speaker Hans Rajwho manhandled the MLAs,a charge denied byParliamentary AffairsMinister Suresh Bhardwaj,who said the Congress legis-lators had planned to create ascene. Chauhan also said theydid not have any intention ofmanhandling the governor.

"If any FIR is registeredagainst us, we will not go tothe court for bail, rather wewill prefer to be arrested," hesaid, adding that the sus-pended Congress MLAs willsit outside the Assembly dur-ing the Budget session.

Dattatreya‘manhandled’...

PNS n HYDERABAD

The water supply to theJalamandali pumping stationat Nasarlapally was disruptedfor more than two hours dueto technical issues inNasarlapalli feeder, causingdifficulties in the movementof fresh water throughKrishna phase I, II and III.

The power outrage causedproblems in the water supplythrough the pumps. Therewill be a partial interruptionin the fresh water supply inthe Division No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,7, 10, 13, 14, 16, ORRDivision No 18, 19 and 20.

Technical issues at Nasarlapalli feeder disrupts water supply

HYDERABAD | SATURDAY | FEBRUARY 27, 2021hyderabad 03

Telangana High Court has directed the TS Labour Commissionerto submit an action taken report on Vijay Gopal's complaintagainst Amazon which includes issues raised in 2019 complaint

as well and many other such points that arise after a termination ofservices. Vijay Gopal who worked with Amazon was terminated onNovember, 2020 after complaining against illegal working hours.Vijay gopal, a Hyderabad based activist said, "The LabourDepartment of TS has been suspiciously silent on the issuespertaining to IT & ITES and negligent about implementing theLabour Laws. The complaints filed are taking years to be resolved,while as per citizen charter, it should not take more than 15 -30days. Currently Labour Commissioners' office is behaving like postoffice, where they forward your complaint to the employer and theirresponse to you, and never say as to who is right or wrong."He further added, "I am hoping atleast HC orders will be respectedand the Commissioner will take an action against Amazon as per therules and submit an action taken report to me. This issue ispertaining to more than a million IT based employees in TS."

CITY LIGHTSAfter a series of

requests to restorethe decades-old'Mushk Mahal’ atAttapur named

after Khaja Mushkan eunuch of

Sultan AbdullahQutub Shah VII,

Principal Secretaryof Urban

DevelopmentArvind Kumar hasmade a step and

directed the GHMCofficials to ensure

that the area iscleaned. Neglected

for years, thispalace today lies in

a dilapidatedcondition and hasbecome a den for

alcoholics.

RESTORED IN VAIN

PNS n HYDERABAD

Commuting is no doubt a nec-essary part of many people'sdaily routine. However, thestrain associated with com-muting can have a negativeimpact on academic and workperformance.

Residents commuting oncity buses, who wait endlesslyat bus stops, have been forcedto take cabs or auto-rickshawsas the buses fail to turn up ontime.

This happened to be the sit-uation in many city bus routes.Those who travel by the citybuses have been growing impa-tient as the buses on one dayarrives punctually and fails tokeep it up the next day.

Employees and others whoare out to attend some urgentwork were annoyed at the citybuses not being punctual.

The route number 279 busplying between SecunderabadJubilee Station -Ibrahimpatnam has been mak-ing the commuters wishing totravel by it, wait for hours alto-

gether. The city bus number300 plying between Chandra-yanagutta - Attapur route isanother bus service that is cre-ating trouble for the com-muters. At least four or fivebuses start simultaneously with

having commuters in one ortwo buses, while the rest of thethree buses have to travelempty.

Not only these two routes,but also the punctualitybecame a casualty in many city

bus routes under the GreaterHyderabad MunicipalCorporation (GHMC) limits.

The Telangana State RoadTransport Corporation(TSRTC) is not running busesin tune with the demand of the

commuters. Daily, at least 2,500 city

buses ply on 1,150 routes. But,there are no bus timings any-where except the main bus sta-tion. Earlier, some LED displayunits have been installed atsome important bus stationsdisplaying the bus timings.However, after the lockdown,the curbs on city buses havebeen relaxed. The city buseshave been restored in phasesbut the punctuality is still acasualty.

Earlier, daily the RTC usedto run 40,000 trips. The reduc-tion of bus services led toreduced frequency of the busservices. It seems there is nocoordination between depotmanagers and top officials inpreparing the bus schedules. Asa result, buses from two orthree RTC bus depots aredeployed on the same route.

The tracking of city busesusing GPS seems to have beenshelved. The Metro Rail on onehand and the private vehicleson the other have been posinga threat to the RTC.

Commuters hit as TSRTC buses incity throw punctuality to the wind

PNS n HYDERABAD

Governor Dr TamilisaiSoundararajan on Fridayequated learning in mothertongue in initial years of child-hood to giving mother's milkto the new born baby. Sinceboth will have immense posi-tive and vibrating effect on thewell being of the children intheir entire life.

She stated that respecting,loving and promoting motherlanguage is nothing butrespecting and loving our ownmother.

The Governor was partici-pating as the chief guest at theInternational MotherLanguage Day, organised bythe Bharathidasan University,Tiruchirapally, and DesiyaChintanai Kaghagam.

Highlighting the importanceof learning in the mothertongue in the childhood, shesaid that research has con-cluded that a child's brain hastremendous scope for absorp-tion in its formative years andlearning through the mother

tongue will immensely helpchildren to grasp imagine,retain better.

"In case of mother tongue,first we develop the compe-tence by listening and expressour feelings through ownwords. Afterwards we learn toread and write. This idealsequence is not possible tomaintain while learning theother language, wherein wefirst learn to read and writeand their other things", shesaid.

She declared that there is noalternative to mother tongue.

"It is paining me to know

that some youngsters are notable to speak correctly either intheir mother tongue or inEnglish. The precise reason forthis is non-importing of learn-ing in mother tongue in theinitial years. If children aretaught in their mother tongueduring the initial years, theycould be able to learn theother languages quite easily."

She said that the languagesare the most powerful instru-ment of preserving and devel-oping tangible and intangibleheritage and the effort to pro-mote the dissemination ofmother tongues will contributeto linguistic diversity and mul-tilingual education.

She appreciated the organ-isers for celebratingInternational MotherLanguage Day like this as thecelebrations like this will helpin reducing the extinction oflanguages and promote theutility and spread of linguisticdiversity and in turn has animmense potential to con-tribute for the Atma NirbharBharat.

PNS n HYDERABAD

The number of active Covid-19 cases continues to be onrise in Telangana as it rankedsixth amongst all the stateswith the highest jump in activecases during the past 24 hours.

The Ministry of Health andFamily Welfare data on Fridayshows that Telangana added58 active cases since Thursday.The state ranks sixth afterMaharashtra (4,902), Punjab(272), Madhya Pradesh (165),Gujarat (122) and Haryana(99).

The cumulative active casesin Telangana rose to 1,910.

The data also shows 129people recovered during thelast 24 hours. The cumulativerecoveries jumped to 2,94,911.

The period also saw twodeaths, pushing the death tollto 1,632.

The active cases in the statehad dropped to below 2,000early this month. It camedown to 1,640 on February 17before it started rising again.In less than 10 days, the stateadded about 300 active cases.

The number of active caseswas 1,701 on February 22, thelast day when the state healthauthorities issued its dailyCovid bulletin. They stoppedthe practice from the next daywith director of public healthG Srinivasa Rao announcingthat a weekly bulletin will beissued instead of daily.

However, Telangana HighCourt on Thursday directedthe state government toresume issuing the daily bul-letin, saying this was impor-tant to provide information topeople at a time when thereare chances of a second waveof the pandemic.

Governor equates mothertongue with mother’s milk

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Banjara Hills police on Fridayarrested a four-member gang,including a lawyer from TamilNadu, who allegedly kidnapped amakeup artist and rescued the vic-tim.

The arrested persons were iden-tified as Kumara Guru, 32, a lawyer,Lokesh Kumar, 31, Jagadish, 32 andGanesh Kumar, 30, a junior artiste.The prime suspect in the casePradeep, 30, a production manag-er and Keerthana, 25, a juniorartiste are absconding.

According to the police, the vic-tim K Amarnath Reddy, a make-upartist and production manager,had earlier approac-hed Natarajan,Guru and Lokesh Kumar inChennai to settle a financial mat-ter of Rs 13.5 lakh he had with threeothers. He promised Rs 4 lakh ascommission.

“Recently, with the help of theBengaluru police, Rs 10 lakh wasrecovered and the amount wasdeposited in court by the police.Amarnath Reddy received the

money from court, but did not givethe commission and left Bengal-uruand was avoiding the suspectssince then,” Hyderabad PoliceCommissioner Anjani Kumar said.The suspects contacted Reddy sev-eral times for their commission, buthe gave evasive replies. OnThursday morning, Madhu con-tacted Reddy and telling him thatthey were in the city, asked him tomeet her at Kavuri Hills inMadhapur.

“The moment he met Madhu,the others caught him and strippedhim. They also shot a video of himthreatening to post it on socialmedia. They then took him in a carto the Mahavir Harina Vanasthali

National Park and calling his wifeKalpana, demanded Rs 4 lakh asransom,” the CP said.

Based on a complaint fromKalpana, the Banjara Hills policebooked a kidnap case. The policethen arranged cash and sent photosof the money from Kalpana’s phoneto the kidnappers, who asked her tocome to a secluded location atSrinagar Colony with the cash.

There, the police caught one ofthe suspects, and on interrogatinghim, learned that Reddy was beingtaken in a car to Chennai viaNalgonda. The City Police thenalerted the Nalgonda police, whointercepted the car and rescuedReddy.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Rachakonda Police on Fridayarrested a woman on chargesof duping NRI men seekingsuitable alliances on matri-monial sites. Police seized Rs5.1 lakh, four mobile phonesand other material from her.

The accused identified as KSwathi, 30, a native of Nellorein Andhra Pradesh, was anMBA graduate and marriedto a lecturer in Nellore.

Swathi started cheatingpeople by posting fake pro-files on matrimony sites withpictures downloaded fromGoogle, seeking foreignalliances only.

She gains their trust withsweet talk and would collectmoney from them and thenstop responding. The policebooked a case and was pro-duced before court and rem-anded in judicial custody.

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Kulsumpura policearrested three persons of aninter-state drug peddlinggang and seized 16 kg of mar-ijuana from them on Friday.

The arrested persons wereidentified Vikas Jadav, 22,Manikanta, 27 and Satish, 24.Two suspects, Satya Vishuand Anand were absconding.

“Vikas, who was involvedin such offences previously,met the other gang members.They procured marijuanafrom Satya and Anand atlower rates and sold them tocustomers in Hyderabad forhigher rates," Anjani Kumarsaid.

A few days ago, the gangprocured 16 kg of marijuanaand packed it into three bagsto sell it to customers at dif-ferent locations in the city.They started on their bikes tosell drugs at Puranapul area,when they were caught by theKulsumpura police atJiyaguda. They were handedover to the Mangalhat police,who produced them beforecourt.

4-member TN gang held for kidnap

PNS n HYDERABAD

Woman conductors in Telang-ana State Road TransportCorporation (TSRTC) will soonbe seen in new cherry red ormaroon coloured uniforms, achoice which they had made atthe end of 2019 to the ChiefMinister K ChandrasekharaRao. Women conductors willperform duties on RTC buseswearing the maroon aprons. Asper the reports, TSRTC hasrecently purchased 30,000meters of fabric fromRaymonds Company for the4,800 women conductorsworking in the department.Each conductor is suppliedwith a cloth suitable for mak-ing two aprons. They have tosew it according to their mea-surements and wear it while onduty. Earlier, the RTC used togive them stitching charges.Now, it has asked the womanconductors to spend from theirpockets as the finances of theRTC are in a poor shape.

However, during the pastone week, the RTC occupan-cy ratio has increased andalso its finances have got bet-ter. The daily income of theRTC has increased to Rs 2

crore. The RTC officials pur-chased the cloth at a cost of Rs60 lakh. The uniforms how-ever, are not likely to be givento male conductors this year.

Soon after the RTC workerscalled off their strike, CMKCR spoke to the RTCemployees at Pragati Bhavan atan interaction meeting. Someof the demands of the employ-ees included giving specialapron to women conductors.KCR constituted a committeewhich interacted with womenconductors across the stateand zeroed in on marooncoloured aprons. The lossesinduced by the Covid andpoor financial position of theRTC delayed the purchase ofthe cloth for uniform.

In RTC, the practice is togive two pairs of uniforms tothe conductors once in threeyears. But for the past sixyears, the uniforms were notgiven. Some of the RTCemployees were purchasingthe uniforms at their ownexpense and wearing those,while others were making doby wearing old uniforms.

Earlier, surplus uniformcloth stored in some of thedepots was distributed amongsome of the employees.

The RTC officials take dis-ciplinary action against theemployees reporting for workwithout wearing uniform.Therefore, the employees wereforced to spend from theirpockets.

WOMEN IN RED

Conductors get new uniform

PNS n HYDERABAD

The South Zone Task Force along with theFalaknuma police on Friday arrested twopersons for indulging in illegal manufac-turing and selling of gun powder. Police saidthey seized 34 bags of gun powder weigh-ing about 1.3 tonnes and other materialfrom them.

The arrested persons were Shabbir, 57and Hameed Khan, 49. Shabbir’s father hasbeen running a gun powder business for along time with a valid license. Due to fam-ily disputes, Shabbir started his own busi-ness with Nazeer Ahmed Khan. Theystarted making gun powder and sold it forRs 45 per kg to Satish and Vishnuvardhan.

Following a tip-off, the police raided thecoal depot in Falaknuma and caught theduo late on Thursday.

Rachakonda copsarrest woman for matrimony fraud

HC tells Labour Dept to submit report on action against Amazon

Surgeons at AwareGlobal Hospitals, LBNagar have removed a

tumour of the size of acricket ball from the right-side kidney of a 55-year-old man, usinglaparoscopic surgicalprocedure. To avoid majorincision and ensurepatient's speedy recovery, the surgeons decided to take-up theminimally invasive keyhole surgery to remove the large tumour fromthe kidney. Kidney tumours and cancers can be treated by removingthe entire tumour and usually this is performed in a variety ofapproaches including a more traditional open incision, or throughthe advanced laparoscopic surgical procedure. In the interest of thepatient, the hospital surgeons decided to take-up keyhole surgery.Senior Urologist, Aware Global Hospitals, Dr Aman Chandra, alongwith Dr. Mervin Leo, Cluster, COO at Gleneagles Global Hospitals ledthe procedure. "There are many ways to remove a tumour. However,removing the tumour with little pain with the best possible approachwas the route taken by us. Due to the keyhole procedure, patient gotdischarged after three-days, which could not have been possible inthe traditional approach," Dr. Chandra said.

Cops bust drug peddling gang;nab 3 peddlers

Corona active casescontinue to rise in TS

Two held for illegal sale of gun powder

In view of the works beingtaken up for the constructionof a RoB) parallel to the

existing RoB at Falaknuma onSecunderabad-Falaknuma broadgauge line, Hyderabad CityPolice have announced certaintraffic restrictions here for aperiod of six months effectiveMarch 1. Accordingly, trafficcoming from MBNR X-road towards Enginebowli will be diverted viaold Chandrayangutta, Suahana function hall, grave yard, KM LukcyStar hotel, Kandikalgate flyover, Ramaswamy gunj, Lal Darwazatemple, Venkat Rao Memorial School, Nagulchinta X-road, ShahGhouse restaurant, Aliabad, Shamsheergunj and Enginebowli. Heavyvehicles however will not be allowed. Traffic from MBNR X-road willalso be diverted via Hashamabad, Bandlaguda, Pallecheruvu,Mailardevpally X-road, My Feel hotel, Vattepally road, Railway gate,Vattepally X-road, Railway gate and Enginebowli junction.Heavyvehicle will be diverted from MBNR X-road towards Enginebowli viaHashamabad, Bandlaguda X-road, Moghal college, Pallecheruv X-road, Mailardevpally X-road, Durga Nagar X-road, Aramgarh X-road,Shivarampally X-road, Hasan Nagar X-road, Shastripuram X-road,Tadban X-road, Shamsheergunj and Enginebowli. Restrictions havealso been imposed for traffic from Enginebowli junction towardsMBNR X-road. Accordingly, vehicles will be diverted via Shamsh-eergunj, Aliabad, Shah Ghouse restaurant, Nagulchinta X-road, LalDarwaza temple, Venkat Rao Memorial School, Ramaswamygunj,Kandikalgate flyover, KM Lukcy Hotel, graveyard, Suhana functionhall, old Chandrayangutta junction, DLRL and MBNR X-road.

Docs remove cricket ball sized tumour from man's kidney

Traffic diversions in view of construction works

HYDERABAD | SATURDAY | FEBRUARY 27, 2021 hyderabad 04

ML MELLY MAITREYI

n HYDERABAD

Even as pilgrims thronged theongoing four-day Mini-Medaram fair in Mulugu districtto worship tribal deitiesSammakka and Saralamma thereis disappointment among peo-ple’s representatives from thescheduled tribes about the indif-ference of the Centre to theirlong pending demand to declareit as the national festival.

Telangana government offi-cially organises the biennialMedaram fair while the templepriests conduct the mini-jatara ayear prior to the official event tosatisfy the sentiments of devotees.

This year the mini-festival

conducted as per the aboriginaltraditions commenced onFebruary 24 with the templecleaning, worship rituals. Thedevotees from various villagesacross the state made a beelineto the mini-jatara to offer wor-ship on February 26 and 27reflecting the popularity of thefestival.

A Sitaram Naik, former LokSabha MP, who attended theMini- Medaram Jatara said onFriday that as per governmentstatistics over one crore tribalsand non-tribal devotees come tothe biennial festival and offer jag-gery to the presiding deities.

Sammakka and Saralamma ,who fought for the protection oftribals, are worshipped as deities

from the days of Kakatiya kings.The Telangana government hadbeen organising the biennialfestival in a befitting manner bysanctioning Rs 100 crore for pro-viding facilities for lakhs ofdevotees, who came to the MegaMedaram festival.

“When Gods were being usedas a sentiment to run nationalpolitics, why can’t Medaram fes-tival that became world-famousas tribals’ festival be accorded thestatus of the national festival,” hesought to know. It made onewonder if it had anything to dowith discrimination betweenregions and communities, hesaid.

The Union governmentagreed to organise National

Tribal Festival ‘Vanaj” every yearin February in Delhi for the trib-als of north India while it con-tinued to ignore the requestfrom tribals of south India, hepointed out.

The Central governmentshould at least initiate measuresto declare the Medaram festivalto be celebrated next year as anational festival, he demanded.

The biennial Medaram festi-val is compared to Kumbh Melain terms of the congregation ofpilgrims. “I spoke several timesas an ST MP representing theregion in Parliament explainingthe prominence of the tribal fes-tival and requested it be declaredas national festival, but in vain,”he said.

Rare snakefound inNallamalaforestPNS n NAGAR KURNOOL

Rare snake was found in theNallamala forest on Friday.There are about 53 species ofsnakes in the forest, of whichonly 11 are venomous andfour are highly venomous.This is a special one and thereptile is said to be a 25-30cm long that inhabits in bur-rows and roams for foodduring the night. Accordingto forest officials, rare animalssuch as Honey Bedgar hasbeen found in the forest.Although it has been estab-lished for many years, the cli-mate here is favorable forthem, and migratory birdsand animals are flockinghere, giving the forest area anew lease of life, officialssaid.

PNS n PATANCHERU

The government was strivingfor the empowerment ofwomen, said MLC BhupalReddy and Patancheru MLAGoodem Mahipal Reddy.They inaugurated the DwcraBazaar, an exhibition of prod-ucts organised by theIshwarambha Mahila Societyat Bharathi Nagar Division inPatancheru constituency onFriday in collaboration withthe NABARD.

Speaking on the occasion,they said that women's asso-

ciations would be set upthrough the Indira KrantiPatham to empower them andprovide loans at very low-interest rates. He said thattraining is being imparted invarious fields in line with thenew trend. The event wasattended by corporatorsSindhu Adarsh Reddy, PushpaNagesh, former corporatorAnjaiah, society organisersSatyavathi, Jyothi, Srilatha,TRS senior leaders DevendraChari, Satyanarayana, activists,members of women's unionsand many others.

‘Government striving forwomen empowerment’

MLC Bhupal Reddy and Patancheru MLA Goodem Mahipal Reddy going aroundthe Dwcra Bazar after inaugurating it in Patancheru on Friday

PNS n MEDCHEL

Medchal-Malkajgiri District CollectorShwetha Mohanty instructed officials to pro-vide adequate facilities for the Army recruit-ment rally in Hakimpet Sports School fromMarch 5 to 24.

She paid a visit to the Sports School atHakimpet in Shamirpet mandal in the dis-trict here on Friday, along with the recruit-ment director Colonel Manoj. She inspect-ed the school and arrangements for the walk-ing track and rally.

She asked officials concerned to ensure bet-ter facilities and accommodation. In all, 4,000will be allowed a day for the recruitment rallyand arrangements have to be made accord-ingly avoiding any inconvenience, she said.

She further stated that the government isconducting the rally in a prestigious manneras thousands of youths come for the selec-tions. Effective coordination with otherwings like police and others for traffic reg-ulation, parking and sanitation will give bet-ter results, she said.

Asking them to plan out in advance forsmooth conduct of the event she instructedfor better arrangements for the rally. TheCollector planted saplings on the schoolpremises. Additional collector Vidyasagarand other officials were present.

Collector inspectsamenities for Armyrecruitment rally

PNS n HYDERABAD

A delegation of Congress lead-ers led by TPCC President andMP N Uttam Kumar Reddymet Governor TamilisaiSoundararajan at the RajBhavan on Friday and request-ed her to order a court-moni-tored CBI investigation into thebrutal murder of lawyer coupleGattu Vaman Rao andNagamani.

Uttam Kumar Reddy told theGovernor that the brutal andhorrific murder of the advocatecouple in broad daylight and infull public view proved thatthere was a total collapse of lawand order in Telangana. "We orthe general public do notbelieve that the local policewould carry out a fair or neu-tral investigation into the dou-ble murder," he said while urg-ing the Governor to order acourt-monitored CBI investiga-tion into the matter.

Later, speaking to the media,Uttam Kumar Reddy allegedthat the local police were tryingto shield the TRS leaders, whowere involved in the brutalmurders. He said there was aconspiracy behind the murders,which needed to be exposed."The lawyer couple murder isdirectly linked to the Manthani

custodial death, which is againlinked to sand mafia backed bytop TRS leaders. However, local

police are trying to suppress thefacts to protect the TRS leaders,who are involved in the mur-ders," he alleged.

Uttam Kumar Reddy saidthat though the High Court haddirected the Telangana Police tosubmit a report on March 1, yetthe local police could not betrusted as they were beingpressured by the ruling party tohush up the case. "CM KCR didnot issue (even) a single-linestatement condemning the bru-tal murders. This clearly showsthat the Chief Minister is giv-ing a free hand to ‘sand, landand mines mafia' to establishtheir control using murder as atool to instil fear among com-mon people,” he said.

ADVOCATE COUPLE MURDER

Cong leaders submit memo to Guv, seek CBI investigation

TPCC President and MP N Uttam Kumar Reddy submits a memorandum toGovernor Tamilisai Soundararajan at the Raj Bhavan in Hyderabad on Friday

“We or thegeneral publicdo not believethat the localpolice wouldcarry out a fairor neutralinvestigationinto the doublemurder," saidTPCC President

PNS n MEDAK

Tension prevailed at theCollectorate when the policedenied entry to the BJP leadersto submit a memorandum tothe District Collector ondemands of Golla and Kurumacommunity members. Thepolice had to resort to mildlathi-charge and whisk them tothe police station.

Taking part in ChaloCollectorate Ranabheri stir byGolla and Kuruma communi-ty here on Friday, BJP OBCMorcha national president KLaxman said that injustice isbeing meted out to SCs and STsand other downtrodden sec-tions of the state.

He charged the governmentcollecting demand drafts for Rs31,250 from each of 28,500families and rendering theminjustice to them by not allot-ting sheep units. He calledupon all castes in the state,especially the BCs, to unite andwrest power from the TRS.

Dubbaka MLARaghunandan said that thestate is applying the principle

divide and rule while dealingwith people of 33 castes andpredicted that they would soonspell doom for KCR. He desiredthat the Bahujans should growpolitically and should capturepower in the state.

He accused the governmentof denying educational oppor-tunities to BC students, whilethe Centre took BC studentsunder its wings by setting up of

Central and Sainik Universities.He blamed the State govern-ment for reducing the localbodies from 33 per cent to 18per cent.

Tension prevailed as part ofthe BJP protest programme asthe police denied entry to theBJP leaders entering the collec-torate to submit a memoran-dum to the District Collectoron demands of Golla andKuruma community members.The police had to resort to mildlathi-charge and whisk them tothe police station.

BJP OBC Morcha state pres-ident Ale Bhaskar Raju, formerMLA Sasidhar Reddy and oth-ers took part in the pro-gramme.

BJP OBC Morcha national president K Laxman addressing a gathering at the Collectorate in Medak on Friday (Right) A massive rally being taken out by BJP workers

Police resort to lathicharge,arrest BJP leaders in Medak

PNS n HYDERABAD

BJP senior leader GudurNarayana Reddy celebratedhis 59th birthday at BhoodanPochampally in YadadriBhuvanagiri district a novelway by distributing weavingmachines to the poor weaversin the presence of BJP nation-al vice-president DK Arunaand former minister MNarasimhulu.

Speaking on the occasion,DK Aruna appreciated GudurNarayana Reddy for not beingpompous and instead choosingthe path of helping the weak-er sections i.e; weaving com-munity.

She lauded Gudur for help-ing the 30 poor families by dis-tributing ‘Aasu Yantram’ (weav-ing machines). She also com-mended the party cadre for

attending the programme andmaking the function a grandsuccess and appealed to thecadre to work for the victory ofMLC candidate G PremendarReddy.

She exuded confidence thatGudur Narayana Reddy would

strengthen the party inBhuvanagiri Assembly con-stituency. M Narsimhulu saidthat KCR has no value for thepeople of Telangana thoughthey have elected him for thetop post.

Gudur Narayana Reddy stat-

ed that he was lucky to takebirth in this area, which hasgiven him a chance to serve thepoor.

Leaders and workers of RSS,BJP, Yuva Morcha, ABVP, VHPand Hindu Vahini have attend-ed in big numbers and felici-tated Gudur Narayana Reddy.

Leaders of the weaving com-munity of Pochampalli andsurrounding villages haveappreciated Narayana Reddyfor his gesture of distributingthe ‘Aasu Yantrams’ to theweavers.

Aruna lauds Gudur for his gesture

n He called uponall castes in thestate, especiallythe BCs, to uniteand wrest powerfrom the TRS

n BJP OBC Morcha nationalpresident K Laxman charged withthe government collectingdemand drafts for Rs 31,250from each of 28,500 families andrendering them injustice to themby not allotting sheep units

BJP national vice-president DK Aruna hands over the ‘Aasu Yantram’ giftcertificate to a woman weaver at Bhoodan Pochampally in Yadadri Bhuvanagirion Friday. Former Minister M Narsimhulu and Gudur Narayana Reddy look on

n BJP senior leaderGudur NarayanaReddy distributedweaving machines topoor weavers to mark his birthday

PNS n HYDERABAD

AICC spokesperson SravanDasoju took a dig at KT RamaRao, Minister for Industries, ITand Municipal Administration,on Friday for avoiding an invi-tation to attend the open debateorganised by the Congress atthe Telangana MartyrsMemorial, Gun Park, to discussthe issues of ‘employment’ inTelangana. The Congressspokesperson did not sparethe CM as well. Sravan Dasojunot only categorically stated thatKTR’s statement on the recruit-ment numbers given during ameeting at Telangana Bhavanwas wrong, but also pointed outthat during the tenure of TRS

jobs were actually lost than get-ting created.

While ridiculing KTR’s state-ments on job offers, heexplained that while there were4.19 lakh sanctioned jobs in2014, 3.12 lakh employees used

to work in the government sec-tor and there were 1.07 lakhvacant jobs at that time.

He asked KTR if he wasright, how could the currentvacancies had gone up to 1.91lakh and why the total numberof existing government employ-ees reduced to 2.28 lakh? Withthe formation of new districtsand gram panchayats, the num-ber of sanctioned jobs shouldhave been increased to 5.19lakh. As per the BiswalCommission, the state had only2.28 lakh employees, while 4.19lakh sanctioned jobs were avail-able, which meant 47 per centof sanctioned jobs were cur-rently vacant in Telangana, hesaid.

‘TS govt claims on creating 1.32lakh jobs ‘fake and fabricated’

PNS n SANGAREDDY

Minister for Finance T HarishRao on Friday asked theSangareddy District CollectorHanumantha Rao and otherofficials to take steps to con-duct Mahashivaratri celebra-tions at the famous KetakiSangameshwara temple inSangareddy district fromMarch 8 to 16.

In a meeting to review thearrangements held at AranyaBhavan in Hyderabad onFriday, officials told the min-ister that over five lakh devo-tees from Andhra Pradesh,Telangana, Maharashtra andKarnataka is expected to takepart in the festival.

The minister asked offi-cials to conduct all rituals asper the tradition on all ninedays and take all precautionsto rule out any inconvenienceto the devotees. He askedthem to provide all amenitiesto the devotees and also pro-

vide annadanam and presen-tation of art forms to entertainthe public.

He asked officials to usefour mobile toilets in the dis-trict. He advised officials toensure that the drinking waterand temple pond water not getpolluted. He asked them toset up labs then and there totest the water quality.

He asked officials to ensurethat round-the-clock sanita-tion programme should con-tinue deploying workers in

three shifts. He enquiredabout transportation ameni-ties for the festival. Electricitydepartment personnel wereasked to ensure that there areno hiccups in the power sup-ply. Furthermore, he askedofficials to make arrange-ments for providing toilets,bathing ghats, dress changingsheds and so on. He alsoasked them to provide med-ical camps, besides keepingambulances and fire tendersready.

KETAKI SANGAMESHWARA TEMPLE

Harish reviews arrangementsfor Mahashivaratri festival

Minister for Finance T Harish Rao reviewing the arrangements for Mahashivaratricelebrations with officials on Friday at the famous Ketaki Sangameshwara templein Sangareddy

Two LI schemes

proposed on Manjira

PNS n ZAHEERABAD

Construction of two majorlift irrigation schemes onthe Manjira River--Sangameshwara andBasaweswara LI schemes--will irrigate 2.30 lakh acresin Z aheerabad andNarayanakhed Assemblyconstituencies.

The LI schemes will irri-gate one lakh acres inZaheerabad and 80,000 inNarayanakhed and the restof the 50,000 would be irri-gated in other backwardareas of Andole andSangareddy Assembly con-stituencies.

According to reports,irrigation department offi-cials have drawn up plans inthis regard.

Former MP Sitaram Naik alleges discriminationDENYING NATIONAL FEST STATUS TO MEDARAM JATARA

AICC spokesperson Sravan Dasojugestures while addressing the media atTelangana Martyrs’ memorial at GunPark in Hyderabad on Friday

HYDERABAD | SATURDAY | FEBRUARY 27, 2021 nation 05

The West Bengal CID hasarrested two persons inconnection with the blast

in Murshidabad'sNimtita Railway Station inwhich state minister JakirHossain and over 20 otherswere injured, a senior officialsaid on Friday. Both have beenbooked under Section 3 of the Explosive Substances Act, 1908, andother sections of the IPC, including attempt to murder, he said. "Thetwo will be produced in court for further legal action," the officialsaid. Sleuths of the CID have been conducting raids at different placesin the state as part of the probe. Hossain, Trinamool Congress MLAand the minister of state for labour, was waiting at platform number 2to catch a train to Kolkata around 10 pm on February 17 when theblast occurred, seriously injuring him and the others. The senior TMCleader and the other injured persons are undergoing treatment at astate-run hospital in the city.

INDIA CORNER

PNS n BHUBANESWAR

Odisha Assembly was Fridayadjourned till post-lunch ses-sion after a BJP lawmakerthreatened suicide and theCongress Legislature partyleader sat on dharna in thewell of the House demandingimmediate procurement ofpaddy from farmers in differ-ent mandis of the state.

The issue was raised duringthe question hour when BJPMLA from Deogarh, SubashChandra Panigrahi announcedthat he will not hesitate toimmolate himself to protestagainst the sufferings of thefarmers who are not able to selltheir paddy in the mandis fol-lowing the introduction ofthe centralised token system.

Farmers are given tokens tosell their paddy before it is har-vested. By the time the paddyis ready for sale, the tenure ofthe tokens are found to haveelapsed causing harassmentto them.

This has led to hundreds offarmers to protest and put up

road blocakdes in the state, hesaid.

Sitting on a dharna in thewell of the House, Panigrahisaid: I will immolate myselfif the procurement process isnot streamlined and the pro-duce of the farmers are pro-cured at the earliest.

He said, "The farmers in my

constituency are threatening tocommit sucide as they arenot being able to sell theirpaddy. Therefore, when thefarmers are getting prepared togo for self-immolation, I astheir representative have nochoice but to adopt the sameprocedure to protest againstthe governments inability to

procure paddy.Panigrahi, however,

returned to his seat afterSpeaker S N Patro asured himthat he will be given opportu-nity to raise the issue durinmgthe zero hour. As soon as thezero hour began, CongressLegislature Party leaderNarasingha Mishra sat on

dharna under the Speakerspodium in the well and madethe same demand. He said thatthe government must give jus-tice to farmers and shouldrefrain from cheating them.

''We want specific replyfrom the government. Let theSpeaker convene an all partymeeting and resolve the issueimmediately," Mishra said.

Unable to run the Housedue to the ruckus, Speaker S NPatro adjourned the proceed-ing till 4 pm.

The House also witnessedmembers cutting across partylines expressing concern oversand smuggling across thestate during the question hour.The opposition BJP andCongress members createdruckus demanding formula-tion of a policy to curb illegalsand mining across the state.

The speaker too expressedconcern and asked theRevenue and Disaster MinisterSudam Marandi why the gov-ernment has no specific poli-cy for lifting sand from differ-ent rivers.

Odisha Assembly adjourned afterBJP lawmaker threatens suicide PNS n KOLKATA

Taking a dig at the BJP for pitch-ing that governments formed bythe same party both at theCentra and the state will accel-erate development in WestBengal, the Trinamool CongressFriday said the double-engineanalogy by the saffron party willbe a non-starter in the state.

Senior party leader and min-ister Bratya Basu told reportersat a press meet here here thatwhile campaigning for theupcoming assembly polls in thestate, BJP leaders are highlight-ing the need for same party'sgovernment both at the Centreand the state.

"This double-engine train willnot have bogies for the commonman to ride. These engines mustbe driven at a very slow pace onchord lines, if you take intoaccount the number of killings,attacks on dalits and women inBJP-ruled states,"he said.

"....they are not saying howtheir government(BJP) is work-ing on the agenda to hand overrailways to private parties. Thesaffron party wants to do some-thing similar for Bengal. Theyonly work to fulfill the interest ofbig corporate," the minister said.

BJP's double-engine analogy willbe non-starter in Bengal: TMC

PNS n SONARPUR (WB)

Riding a scooter, Union ministerSmriti Irani led a rally of the BJP onFriday as she campaigned for theupcoming West Bengal elections inthe South 24 Parganas district.Taking part in the BJP's state-wide'Poriborton Yatra', Irani along withBJP MP Roopa Ganguly andAgnimitra Paul began the campaignin Gangajoara near Garia on theparty's 'rath' -- a bus decked up withslogans and photos of the leaders.After covering a short distance, theminister got down from the 'rath'

and took to a scooter, wearing ablack helmet and a mask. "When webegan the 'rath yatra' today, theadministration deliberately tried todelay it. We will ride two-wheelers,walk on foot because West Bengalis on the march towards change,"Irani said.Enthused by the minister'sspontanity, scores of BJPworkers followed Irani on two-wheelers, chanting "Jai Shri Ram"and "Khela Hobey", meaning 'gameon' -- a slogan first raised by theTrinamool Congress, which has nowbecome the catchphrase of thiselection season.

On scooter, Smriti Irani leadsBJP rally for Bengal polls

PNS n JAMMU

The announcement by Indiaand Pakistan to strict lyobserve all agreements onceasefire along the Line ofControl (LoC) and other sec-tors has rekindled hope for apeaceful future among borderresidents in Jammu andKashmir who have been liv-ing under constant fear of fir-ing and shelling.

"We are joyous over thenews of a fresh agreementbetween the two countries toobserve complete ceasefirealong the borderline. It hasrekindled hope among us,"Kalal-resident MohmmadIsaaq said.

Isaaq hoped that Pakistanwould keep its promise ofcomplete observance of theceasefire agreement.

"We hope Pakistan keeps

the promise of not firing onus. We do not feel that theywill religiously observe cease-fire. They have made suchpromises in the past as well,only to violate them," hesaid.

For the past few years,

Pakistan has engaged inshelling and firing along theLoC and the InternationalBorder (IB) resulting in casu-alties, damage to houses,schools, health centres andreligious places.

"We have suffered a lot to

due Pakistani firing andshelling.... Education of kidswas affected. Houses weredamaged. There were casual-ties. The fresh agreement ofmaintaining complete cease-fire is a happy news for us.Hope it stays," SarpanchBhawani in Rajouri districtSunil Kumar said.

Subash Chander, a Panch,said although they are veryhappy over the news, but it isdifficult to trust Pakistan.

Similar apprehension wasraised by Kerni-resudent

Mohmmad Ashraf who wel-comed the fresh agreementbut raised question over theintention of Pakistan.

Kiran Kumar, a KathuaDistr ic t DevelopmentCouncil (DDC) member, saysthat it is a happy news forborder residents. "We thankthe central government forthis decis ion. We wantPakistan to behave as a goodneighbour by ensuring zerof ir ing f rom their s ide.Farmers will fearlessly culti-vate their lands on border.

Life will be better," he said.India and Pakistan on

Thursday announced thatthey have agreed to strictlyobserve all agreements onceasefire along the Line ofControl (LoC) in Jammu andKashmir and other sectors.

A joint statement issued inIslamabad and New Delhisaid the Director Generals ofMilitary Operations of thetwo countries held discus-sions over the establishedmechanism of hotline contactand reviewed the situationalong the LoC and all othersectors in a "free, frank andcordial" atmosphere.

India and Pakistan signeda ceasefire agreement in 2003,but it has hardly been fol-lowed in letter and spiritover past several years withmore violations than obser-vance of the pact.

India-Pak pace on ceasefire rekindles hope for peaceIndia and Pakistan signed a ceasefireagreement in 2003, but it has hardly beenfollowed in letter and spirit over past severalyears with more violations than observance of the pact

Bomb attack on Bengal minister:Two arrested by CID

B'desh High Commissioner meets Assam Chief Minister Sonowal

Bangladesh High Commissionerto India Muhammad Imrancalled on Assam Chief Minister

Sarbananda Sonowal here on Fridayand discussed a wide range of issuesof bilateral interest. The chiefminister highlighted issuesconcerning bilateral trade andcommerce of mutual interest of bothBangladesh and Assam, an officialrelease said. Sonowal said that bothAssam and Bangladesh should workto explore markets in their respective territories for mutualbenefit, particularly in areas of agriculture, agricultural products,information technology and textiles. Since Assam is animmediate neighbour of Bangladesh, there should be frequentexchange programmes between both the geographical entities, hesaid. The chief minister also called for improvement ofconnectivity between Assam and Bangladesh throughwaterways,airways and roadways.

The Indian Space ResearchOrganisation is lining up thelaunch of its geo imaging satellite

GISAT-1 close on the heels of theFebruary 28 PSLV- C51 mission. Thelaunch of GISAT-1 onboard GSLV-F10rocket was originally planned forMarch five last year, but waspostponed a day before the blast-offdue to technical reasons. Secretaryin the Department of Space and ISRO Chairman K Sivan told PTI that thetechnical issues have been resolved and the delay in the launch was due toCOVID-19-induced lockdown which affected normal work. Sources in theBengaluru-headquartered space agency said ISRO is now looking atMarch-end-early-April timeframe for the mission from Sriharikotaspaceport, about 100 km from Chennai. According to ISRO, GISAT-1will facilitate near real-time observation of the Indian sub-continent, undercloud-free condition, at frequent intervals. Geosynchronous SatelliteLaunch Vehicle (GSLV-F10) will launch GISAT-1 from the Second LaunchPad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota.

ISRO lining up launch of India'sgeo imaging satellite GISAT-1

BJP MLA Atul Bhatkhalkaron Friday said the partywill not allow the Budget

session of the Maharashtralegislature to run smoothlyunless Forest Minister SanjayRathod stepped down. Theopposition party has beendemanding the resignation ofRathod, a Shiv Sena leaderfrom Yavatmal, sincehis name was linked to the death of a 23-year-old woman inPune. Rathod has denied that he had anything to do with thecase. In a video message, Bhatkhalkar alleged that ChiefMinister Uddhav Thackeray was "planting" stories of Rathodlikely to resign before the session begins on March 1."It is a shameless attempt to maintain image. UnlessRathod steps down or is removed from his post, the BJP willnot allow the budget session to run smoothly," the MLA said."The chief minister can remove Rathod from the cabinetany time, but he is trying to protect the minister by delayingit," Bhatkhalkar further said.

Will not allow smooth sessionunless Rathod quits, says BJP

PNS n NEW DELHI

The NIA on Friday filed acharge sheet against 11 mem-bers of the banned terroristgroup al-Qaeda in the IndianSubcontinent for allegedly plan-ning to carry out attacks inIndia on the instructions oftheir Pakistan- and Bangladesh-based handlers, an official said.

Murshid Hasan, MosarafHoseen, Mainul Mandal, LeaYean Ahmed, Najmus Sakib,Iyakub Biswas, Samim Ansari,Abu Sufian, Atiur Rahman, AlMamun Kamal and AbdulMomin Mandal have beennamed in the charge sheetunder sections of the IPC, theUnlawful Activities(Prevention) Act and the ArmsAct, the NIA official said.

The case was registered bythe NIA based on informationabout an al-Qaeda-inspiredmodule sprouting and operat-ing in West Bengal and Keralaunder the leadership of Hasan,the spokesperson of the premierinvestigation agency said.

The members of this module

were in advanced stage of con-spiracy to execute terroristattacks in different parts of thecountry, the NIA official said.

In raids conducted onSeptember 19 last year in WestBengal and Kerala, nine terror-ists were arrested. Subsequently,two more terror operatives

were arrested from West Bengalon August 26 and November 1last year.

Hasan was in touch with al-Qaeda handlers based inPakistan and Bangladesh andhad received instructions alongwith radical propaganda mate-rial through encrypted socialmedia platforms from them, theNIA official said.

Hasan along with his otherassociates conspired to radi-calise and recruit more individ-uals into al-Qaeda, he said.

They disseminated radicalmaterial through social mediaand encrypted chat platformswith an intention to radicaliseand recruit others for establish-ing an Islamic State by waginga violent jihad in India, the NIAspokesperson said.

NIA files charge sheet against 11terrorists in al-Qaeda conspiracy case

PNS n MUMBAI

The vehicle with explosives,which was found near industri-alist Mukesh Ambani's resi-dence here in south Mumbaion Thursday, had been stolenlast week and its owner hadeven lodged a complaint aboutit, police said on Friday.

The vehicle with gelatinsticks and apparently a fakenumber plate was found parkedon Carmichael Road near'Antilia', the multi-storey resi-dence of Ambani, the chairmanof Reliance Industries, onThursday evening.

"The owner of the vehicle,Hiren Mansukh, visited the

police commissioner office insouth Mumbai this afternoonafter he saw visuals of the SUVfound near Ambani's house,

which was similar to his vehi-cle," an official said.

"His statement will berecorded by the Crime

Intelligence Unit (CIU) of theMumbai crime branch," hesaid.

Mansukh, who is a residentof Thane, later told reportersthat he had parked his SUVnear Airoli Mulund bridge onFebruary 17 after its steeringgot jammed while he was on hisway to attend a family function.

"The next day, when I wentto get my car, it could not befound at the spot. After asearch of about four hours, Irealised that it had been stolen,following which I lodged acomplaint at Vikhroli policestation and an offence wasregistered in that connection,"he said.

SUV found near Ambani's house was stolen last week

PNS n NEW DELHI

Senior BJP leader and UnionHome Minister Amit Shahwill address public meet-ings in poll-bound TamilNadu and Puducherry onSunday. Party leaders saidShah will also take organisa-tional meetings in both

Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.Shah will leave for TamilNadu on Saturday and isscheduled to hold a publicmeet ing in Karaikal inPuducherr y on Sundaymorning, followed by a 'VijaySankalp R al ly ' inJanakipuram in Villupuramdistrict in Tamil Nadu,

according to the schedulereleased by his office. Besidesthis, Shah will also holdorganisational meetings ofthe party's units of the stateand the Union Territory.

The BJP is contestingassembly elections in TamilNadu in alliance with rulingAIADMK.

Shah to address meetings in TN, Puducherry

PNS n CHANDIGARH

The Punjab and HaryanaHigh Court granted bail tolabour rights activist NaudeepKaur on Friday in a case filedunder attempt to murder andsome other charges, morethan six weeks after she wasarrested in Haryana's Sonipatfor allegedly gheraoing anindustrial unit and demand-ing money from the compa-ny. "The court accepted thebail application of NaudeepKaur. She has been grantedbail by the high court," hercounsel Arshdeep SinghCheema said.

Bail granted tolabour rights activist

PNS n NEW DELHI

Various markets in the nation-al capital remained open onFriday during the 'BharatVyapar Bandh' called bytraders' union with many say-ing that despite supporting thecause, they did not want to suf-fer another day of losses.

The Confederation of AllIndia Traders (CAIT) onThursday had said all commer-cial markets across the countrywill remain closed on February26 in view of its 'Bharat Bandh'call demanding a review of theprovisions of the goods and ser-vices tax (GST) regime.

The CAIT said dharnas(protests) will be held nation-wide at 1,500 places to urge theCentre, state governments andthe GST Council to keep inabeyance the "draconian" pro-visions of GST.

Brijesh Goyal, president ofChamber of Trade andIndustry (CTI), said most ofthe markets in Delhi haveopened but the associationshave extended their support tothe 'bandh'.

"Around 98 per cent mar-kets, hotels, restaurants andindustrial areas were openexcept in some parts of ChawriBazaar and Karol Bagh.However, they have extendedtheir support. We also held aprotest at Kashmiri Gatearound 12.30 pm," Goyal said.

Although various marketbodies said they support thecause for which the 'bandh' wascalled, they however, could notshut down their shops or out-lets due to multiple reasons.The bandh was not enforced atConnaught Place market.

"We are completely in sup-port of the cause. However, itwas not practically feasible toenforce the 'bandh' in the mar-ket this time.

The traders are already reel-ing under the losses theyincurred during the lockdownand they have heavy burden ofrents. We completely supportthe cause and feel the demandsare right," said Atul Bhargava,president, New Delhi TradersAssociation.

Echoing his views, SanjeevMehra, president, KhanMarket Association, said, theissue is very genuine but thetraders are already sufferingand we did not want to addanother day of losses so wedid not participate in the'bandh'.

Many assns ‘support’ Bharatbandh but keep shops open

PNS n NAGPUR

Noted social worker andRamonMagsaysay awardrecipient Prakash Am tehas tested positive forcoronavirus and is under-going treatment at a pri-vate hospital inMaharashtra's Nagpurcity.

Amte (73) had beenexperiencing symptomsof coronavirus for thelast seven days, but histest in Gadchiroli hadcome out negative forthe infection, the PadmaShri recipient's sonAniket told PTI. Amtesuffered from fever andwas taken to Chandrapur,before being admitted toa private hospital inNagpur after he testedpositive for coronaviruson Thursday evening, hesaid. Maharashtra HomeMinister Anil Deshmukhwished Amte a speedyrecovery.

Prakash Amtetests COVIDpositive

We have all heard the term,the “new normal”, things likeworking from home, fewerpeople commuting and theneed for hygiene. But otherthan everyone wearing facemasks and the CentralIndustrial Security Force(CISF) staff wearing shieldsand attaching a handle to theirmetal detector “wands”, flyingin 2021 was not very differentfrom flying in 2019 and before.Though I did sanitise myhands after going throughsecurity which I feel is thebiggest congregation point ofthe entire flying process, it feltthe same as before. I must state,at no point did I feel unsafe andwhile I would not go as far asto claim that there was a lais-sez faire attitude, you reallywould not have guessed thatthere was a pandemic going on.

Now part of this can beexplained by India’s caseload,something that was wellexplained by oncologist andaward-winning medical writerSiddhartha Mukherjee in TheNew Yorker recently. It eluci-dated on the concept thatbecause we live in India andhave been exposed to so manypathogens before, maybe wehad been exposed to a “rela-tive” of the COVID-19 virusand that gave our bodies theB-cells and the T-cells needed

to deal with the virus. Whatelse could explain the lowdeath toll in India, many partsof sub-Saharan Africa andSouth-East Asia? One couldargue that the “true” death tollhas been suppressed but thereis no way to hide hundreds ofthousands of deaths; peoplewould be talking about it,and that clearly isn’t the case.

That said, we should still becareful, particularly since thereis in all likelihood a more vir-ulent strain doing the rounds.It may (or may not) be moredeadly, but it would be stupidto find that out the hard way.I was flying on Vistara andwhile mask compliance wasfollowed, the flight was packedwith families travelling to Goato get away from the boredom,one presumes. Some passen-gers stuck in the middle seatswere covered in their woven-fibre protective suits and mostpeople kept their face-shieldson during the flight.

But it was not so much theflying experience, but what Isaw in Goa which was scary.My hosts had organised din-ner at a popular nightspot andit was crowded. There werefew precautions being takenand while the bouncers weretaking temperatures using aninfra-red scanner, it was quiteevident that the public at large

had travelled to the partyState to leave theirCoronavirus worries behind.‘Thalassa’ on Vagator beachwas packed to the rafters andnobody appeared to care.

With the Goa airport see-ing flights from every cornerof the country even if someStates ask for the returnees tobe tested, the crowds at restau-rants and bars were back topre-COVID levels, just thatthey were almost completelyIndian with very few foreign-ers. That said, there were someexpats around; those who hadbusiness and diplomatic visasand they were praising theGovernment and Indians fortaking such a “Zen” attitude tothe pandemic.

It was really incredible.Either people were not worriedor they had reverted to theirusual “dekha jayega” (we willsee) attitude. Or maybe thiswas another example of Goan“susegad”, the chilled-out laid-back attitude. I still don’t knowwhether it is the attitude toadopt, but being constantlystressed about the virus isclearly not the way to be. Butthe “new normal” doesn’t real-ly seem very different from the“old normal”.

(The author is ManagingEditor, The Pioneer. The viewsexpressed are personal.)

Arguing in the Supreme Court, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi termed him “asmall fry”. However, anyone who knows even a little about don-turned-politi-cian Mukhtar Ansari and his deadly gang war in the badlands of Uttar Pradesh

(UP), is aware that the name is enough to send a chill down the spine of many politi-cians, bureaucrats, police officers and, especially, businessmen. Ansari, an MLA from

UP’s Mau Sadar, is currently lodged in the Ropar Jailof Punjab in connection with an extortion case. ThePunjab and UP Governments are at loggerheads for hiscustody, with the former trying every trick up its sleeveto keep him from the UP Police’s hands on healthgrounds. A natural question to ask would be as to whatmakes a dreaded criminal so important that UP’s BJP-led Government and Punjab’s Congress Governmentare fighting over his custody in the Supreme Court. Well,there is nothing new in Ansari’s name being associat-ed with heinous crimes like murder, extortion and kid-napping, but what actually has pitted him against the

saffron party is the chilling murder of then BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai in 2005, whoand six associates were gunned down by assailants armed with AK-47 rifles. Themurder was more than sensational as 400 rounds were fired. Ansari, the main accused,was acquitted by the CBI court in 2019.

Recently, the BJP’s Mohammadabad MLA Alka Rai, the slain MLA’s widow, wroteto Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accusing the party Governments in Punjaband Rajasthan of shielding Ansari. However, the story is not as simple as it appears.The UP Police has of late become “trigger-happy” and several criminals have beengunned down in encounters that the Opposition terms “extra-judicial killings”. Lastyear, wanted criminal Vikas Dubey was shot by the State police after the vehicle car-rying him “overturned” on a highway and Dubey “tried to escape after snatching agun” from a policeman. There is no denying that Ansari must be fearful of meetingthe same fate if Punjab jail authorities hand him over to the UP Police. But there isanother side to the story: The criminal-politician-bureaucrat-police nexus is nothingnew and Ansari must have been part of many such connections at the interstate andintrastate level, and it is only in the interest of such corrupt elements to exterminatethe voices that can reveal their dark secrets. Now, who is giving patronage to Ansariand who is out to get him, and why, is the moot question.

The first-phase lockdown of last year’s pandemic outbreak spawned newfound atten-tion and increased popularity for a number of web series as cinema halls had beenordered shut and people were forced to remain closeted inside their residences. Several

big-budget and multi-starrer movies, which had been slated for theatrical release in thelast week of March 2020 and beyond, fell to the Government’s social distancing orderand, to make up for the imminent financial losses in light of the prevailing uncertain con-ditions, chose the new fad of releasing the films online. As days gave way to weeks andmonths wore on, the average Indian family — already reeling under fear psychosis andbored to death by now — rediscovered the panacea of entertainment in various web

series streaming on Over-The-Top (OTT) platforms.So far, so good. Mirzapur aired, made a splash, butthere was no hue and cry. Along came Saif Ali Khan-starrer Tandav, focusing on how politics affects col-legial environment, and all hell broke loose. Everybodyseems to have conveniently forgotten Haasil (releasedin 2003, starring Jimmy Sheirgill, Irrfan Khan andAshutosh Rana, directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia) whichwas a gripping narrative based on the same subject.As avid watchers of the series among the OTT view-ers point out, the ostensible objection — “hurting reli-gious sentiments” by taking umbrage to the Shivascene in the first episode — was just a ruse to express

anger against the way the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019, and the NationalRegister of Citizens issues had been projected in the series.

The “religious sentiments” angle, coupled with allegations of the earlier series brim-ming with sexually explicit scenes and foul language, brought the spotlight back on Mirzapur,too, though there had been no protests during its run earlier. The tepid response of Twitterofficials to the Centre’s recent earnest entreaty to suspend the handles of certain “rumour-mongering members” during the ongoing farmers’ agitation, especially in the wake ofthe January 26 violence at Red Fort, seems to have added fuel to the authorities’ dis-pleasure and, therefore, today we find both the OTT platforms and social media facinga barrage of directives. The question now arises: Are the Government guidelines regu-lating the two media correct, or could it lead to pressure or censorship on them? Expertsopine that the 29 pages of rules raise concerns over several factors, including the pri-vacy of users and censorship of digital news media, which will ultimately affect citizens’rights. It seems the Government just does not like us to have fun and make personalchoices. It had better heed common sense and allow its adult population, those who areeligible to vote and can take learned decisions in all other spheres of life, to decide foritself whether it wants to watch a particular show or series. Of course, cracking downon the creators and propagators of fake news is a different ball game altogether.

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

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HYDERABAD | SATURDAY | FEBRUARY 27, 2021

06

Dark secretsWho is giving patronage to Mukhtar Ansari?

Who is gunning for him, and why?

As an air trip to Goa for an event after a year-long hiatus revealed, beingconstantly stressed about the virus is clearly not the way to be

PICTALK

Sam Bennet celebrates after winning the sixth stage of the UAE tour cycling race in Dubai on Friday AP

THAT SAID, WESHOULD STILL BE

CAREFUL,PARTICULARLY

SINCE THERE IS INALL LIKELIHOOD A

MORE VIRULENTSTRAIN DOING THE

ROUNDS. IT MAY(OR MAY NOT) BE

MORE DEADLY, BUTIT WOULD BE

STUPID TO FINDTHAT OUT THE

HARD WAY

KUSHAN MITRA

The Government’s guidelines regulating OTT platforms and social media raise a few questions

A flight and travelafter one year

It is not good form to writecolumns in the first personbut since this column talks ofa personal experience, I will

be writing it as such. The expe-rience in question was catching aflight for the first time in 350 days.Part of my work involves evalu-ating and reviewing motor vehi-cles and that invariably involvesa lot of travel, although theCOVID-19 pandemic ensuredthat the few drives we did in 2020all occurred in the Delhi-NCRand were fairly well-managed.Car companies don’t do events inplaces like Goa because of the sunand sand or because folks like meenjoy flying, there are hundredsof decent hotel properties in Goaand the State is connected byflight to almost every major cityin India. So, to do a media drivein Goa makes immense sense; infact it is probably cheaper thanorganising individual drives indifferent cities and is definitelylogistically easier.

I had promised myself thatI would not fly in 2020, even afterflights resumed and a few isolat-ed automotive events took place.But as the new year rolledaround and the first eventsbegan to be planned, one couldnot put off travel much longer.After all, working in a newspa-per, I had been reading first-hand how the Government hasmore or less brought the pan-demic in check. Of course, by thetime I did eventually fly that hadactually changed a bit with thenew strain emerging inMaharashtra. However, my tick-ets were booked and I was tak-ing a flight after 350 days.

A drive that once seemed likea weekly commute to Terminal3 from my house appearedstrange, not least because this wasmy first time in a taxi after almosta year. Traffic to and from the air-port seemed normal and the fewjams were more to do with theconstruction of the new flyovertaxiways. Since my flight was inthe afternoon, there was lesschaos at the drop-off area.Airlines are running at a restrict-ed domestic schedule at aboutthree-quarters capacity and withvery few international flights,India’s largest airport terminal didnot feel crowded.

SOUNDBITEBJP SCARED OF RAHUL GANDHISir — This refers to the editorial ‘Slip ofthe tongue?’ (February 26). Congressleader Rahul Gandhi has yet again provedthat he is suitable for politics and canmake the BJP and its leaders uncomfort-able. The BJP leaders, including the topbrass, fear the popularity that Rahulenjoys among people and miss no oppor-tunity to project the Gandhi scion in badlight or poke fun at him.

They know that only he can changepolitical equations and has the ability tolead the country. On the other hand,knowingly or otherwise, Rahul makessuch statements or speeches which givegood fodder to the BJP to keep attackinghim, his family and also the Congress.Attacking Rahul gives the ruling party anopportunity to cover up its own failures.All the BJP leaders talk about 70 years ofCongress rule alleging that the ‘Grand OldParty’ did nothing for the nation butrather looted it. However, they fail tocount the achievements of the Congressagainst which the seven years of the BJP’srule stand nowhere.

Fuel prices are at an all-time high, theeconomy is at all-time low, unemploymentrates are high and there are no jobs in theGovernment sector. The ModiGovernment is doing rampant privatisationto benefit its corporate friends and is leastconcerned about the plight of the poor andthe have-nots. Only a Government underRahul’s leadership can save the nation andput the economy back on tracks.

N Nagarajan | Secunderabad

EXTRADITE ALL FUGITIVE INDIANSSir — There is finally the good news thatfugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi,wanted in India on charges of fraud andmoney laundering in Punjab NationalBank (PNB) scam case, will be extradit-ed from the UK. Mumbai’s Arthur Roadjail has kept a special cell ready to lodgehim. It is like a win-win situation for theIndian Government and authorities.Further, the UK judge ruled that there isno evidence to suggest that Nirav would

not receive a fair trial in India. With this,Nirav lost his nearly two-year-long legalbattle against extradition on all grounds.

The 49-year-old fugitive businessmanhas been repeatedly denied bail due to theseriousness of the allegations againsthim and remains behind bars in a Londonprison since his arrest in March 2019. Itwill also set an example for other crimi-nals who flee the country after commit-ting financial and other crimes and thinkthey can get away with it. Such criminalsand fugitives can afford big lawyers, butthey must remember that law is above alland it’s not easy to hide or escape its longhands. All fugitives should be extraditedand punished as per the law of India.

CK Ramani | Chennai

SHAMEFUL ACT BY POLICE OFFICERSir — It is really shocking that Rajesh Das,the Special Director General of Police,Tamil Nadu, has turned out to be a blacksheep as he is accused of misbehavingwith a female IPS officer on duty and sex-

ually harassing her. This is what happenswhen officers are promoted to seniorpositions, particularly in the policedepartment, without taking into accounttheir past records but rather on variousother considerations. It is also unwarrant-ed that posts such as Special DGP are cre-ated with the intention of accommodat-ing blue-eyed officers.

Suspension would not be sufficientin his case and he should be summarilydismissed from service as the female IPSofficer has come forward to lodge a com-plaint against him.

It is expected that the panel to probethe harassment charge would do a fair joband submit its final report in record time.If women police officers are not safe andare vulnerable to such crimes at the handsof their own colleagues, the plight of com-mon women is not hard to understand.

Tharcius S Fernando | Chennai

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

An unnecessary controversy is being creat-ed for having the Motera stadium namedafter Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Those

making the hue and cry must understand thatModi isn’t the first living person to have a stadi-um named after him. Many stadiums in India havebeen named after leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru,Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and so on. Even air-ports and railway stations have been named aftergreat leaders and personalities. Narendra Modi,during his tenure as the Chief Minister of Gujarat,

had developed the State quite a lot. After all, itwas Modi's dream to create a stadium meetingthe global standards with state-of-the-art facili-ties and he played an instrumental role in the rede-velopment of the sports facility.

We must understand that renaming the sta-dium after Modi in no way belittles or insults otherleaders. In the past, Mumbai’s Brabourne andWankhede stadiums were named after individ-uals who were then alive. Similar is the case withNavi Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium, Bengaluru’s MChinnaswamy Stadium and Chennai’s MAChidambaram Stadium. Mohali’s PCA Stadiumwas renamed after former BCCI and PunjabCricket Association president IS Bindra. However,this outcry reeks of dirty politics and a sectionof people who have developed a sort of phobiaagainst the name of the Prime Minister. However,we should not lend our ears to such people whocriticise him for the sake of criticism only.

M Pradyu | Kannur

Nothing wrong with renaming stadiumOne after the othersteps have beentaken to pull thecountry out of thenon-transparentcredit culture. NowNPAs cannot be swept under the carpet; even an NPA for one day needsto be reported.

Prime Minister — Narendra Modi

Russia is confrontedwith a highlyaggressive policyaimed at disruptingits development andcreating problemsalong our perimeter.

Russian President —Vladimir Putin

An actor can onlychoose what is offeredto him. There is noth-ing by intent but I amjust fortunate that Iget parts which most actors will beenvious of.

Actor—Avinash Tiwari

Today in 2019, theIndian Air Force (IAF)had responded to thePulwama terror attackand reiterated the coun-try’s policy against ter-rorism in “New India”.

Union Home Minister

—Amit Shah

I officially announceretirement from allforms of the game. Ithank my family,friends, fans, teams,coaches and the whole

country wholeheartedly for all the support and love.

Cricketer

—Yusuf Pathan

LETTERS TO TTHE EDITOR

Time for an eco-friendlydevelopment model

NICE OF THE ENGLAND BOYS TO GET THIS

TEST MATCH FINISHED JUST BEFORE ENGLAND

WOMEN PLAY TONIGHT.

—ENGLAND CRICKETER

ALEX HARTLEY

VERY DISAPPOINTING ATTITUDE CONSIDERING

ALL THE BOYS DO TO SUPPORT

THE WOMEN’S GAME.

—ENGLAND CRICKETER

RORY BURNS

The recent havoc in the Chamoli district ofUttarakhand — where a large part of theNanda Devi glacier fell into the Alaknanda

stream near Joshimath and caused severe flood-ing that resulted in the hydropower projects of RishiGanga and NTPC Tapovan Vishnugad plus manybuildings being destroyed and scores of peoplebeing killed — has raised the pertinent question:Is this development or the destruction of the envi-ronment and people? The Chamoli incident hasbrought back the traumatic memories of the June2013 tragedy when the Mandakini river was sud-denly flooded after a cloudburst and the flow ofwater killed more than 5,000 people and left mil-lions stranded in floodwater for days. The factremains that though Uttarakhand is blessed withnatural beauty and invaluable resources such asdense forests, rivers and mountains, it has a veryfragile ecosystem. Hence, the State is prone to nat-ural disasters. An earthquake of the magnitude 6.8on the Richter scale hit the district of Uttarkashiin 1991, killing hundreds of people and destroy-ing thousands of houses. Another earthquake in1999 in Chamoli killed hundreds, too. The entireMalpa village of Pithoragarh was devastated by amassive landslide in 1999 and 250 people lost theirlives.

Though earthquakes, cloudbursts, landslides,massive avalanches and other natural disasters havebeen a part of natural processes in Uttarakhandfor centuries, the increase in their frequency anddepth of intensity is due to human activities. Thenatives of Uttarakhand are acutely aware and havewidespread knowledge about the fragility and eco-sensitivity of their environment. For centuries theyhave lived in harmony with the environment, butnow, this stability is being threatened by indiscrim-inate development and flagrant violation of envi-ronmental rules. They have been trying to save theirState for a long time.

As early as June 1950, Mira Behn, an environ-mental activist of Garhwal, published an articletitled ‘Something is wrong in the Himalayas’ doc-umenting that the flash floods in Uttarakhand arebound to wreak havoc as the sensitivity of the envi-ronment is being overlooked during the econom-ic development process. Later, she also wrote toPrime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on the issue. It is per-tinent to note that the site of the recent mishap isthe cradle of the Chipko Movement that was ini-tiated to save trees from commercial lumber firms.The first protest occurred near the village of Mandalin the upper Alaknanda valley in April 1973. Alas,governments past and present have neither listenedto the cries of locals and environmental activistsnor learnt any lessons from the tragedy of 2013.Still, more than 50 hydroelectric projects are under-way on the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi rivers, eventhough a committee of experts warned that suchprojects were a threat to the State and its frail ecol-ogy.

In fact, Uma Bharti, a senior BJP leader andformer Water Resources Minister, in her time hadrequested the Centre not to build power projectson the Ganga river and its major tributaries sincethe Himalayas are a fragile area. Following therecent catastrophe in Uttarakhand, theGovernment needs to seriously reconsider its stanceon building hydroelectric dams in the region. Itshould no longer ignore the advice and warnings

of experts. Magsaysay Award win-ner Chandi Prasad said that he hadwritten a letter to the thenEnvironment Minister in 2010warning about the adverse effects ofhydropower project on Rishi Ganga.His worst fears were realised in 2021.He claimed that if his warning hadbeen heeded in 2010, the catastro-phe would have been prevented.Rising temperatures are meltingthe glaciers rapidly and, accordingto a report by the InternationalCentre for Integrated MountainDevelopment (ICIMOD), this melt-ing doubled between 1980-2005.Even if the Government cuts green-house gas (GHG) emissions inaccordance with the Paris ClimateAgreement, one-third of the glaci-ers of the Himalayan and HinduKush mountain ranges will melt bythe end of the 21st century. Hence,urgent action needs to be takensooner as natural disasters are like-ly to increase with temperaturerise.

An increase in natural disastersin India is a result of climate change,but an increase in their impact is dueto overexploitation of naturalresources. The Centre and StateGovernments have been pursuingpro-corporate development byignoring environmental norms.

Uttarakhand is inviting climat-ic tragedies and destroying its beau-ty by regularly flouting theEnvironmental Impact AssessmentLaws to build a 900-km-long stretchof the Char Dham route. Shockingly,

these roads pass through an environ-mentally-sensitive zone. The con-struction of this 900 km stretch wasdone by dividing it into 53 small sec-tions.

The Environmental ImpactAssessment Department’s permis-sion has to be sought to constructmore than 100 km of a road that ispassing through environmentallysensitive areas. This road’s width isbeing kept at 12 metres, for whichland with a width of 24 metreswould be required. Significantly,most European countries have keptthe width of their roads in themountains to eight metres.

In the aftermath of the February7 catastrophe, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi had said that thecountry stands by Uttarakhand. Healso announced financial assistanceto the families of the victims. Butsuch promises and financial aid areof no use for Uttarakhandis as con-tinuous negligence of environmen-tal regulations by successive govern-ments has led to repeated naturaldisasters. A few lakhs in assistancefrom the Centre and State won’t helppeople rebuild their houses or bringback their loved ones. To preventsuch emotional and financial loss-es to the people, the Governmentshould mend its pro-corporate eco-nomic development methods.

The massive loss of life andproperty resulting from natural dis-asters should serve as a warning sig-nal to the Central Government andmake it realise that it must strictly

abide by environmental norms.However, the Government seems tobe in no mood to hear the alarmbells as the Central Government isplanning to relax environmentalstandards for Mopa Airport in Goa,sand mining in Uttar Pradesh,Sterlite Copper in Tamil Nadu andconstruction activities in and aroundDelhi, which have been blocked bythe Supreme Court and the NationalGreen Tribunal. Meanwhile, theNITI Aayog — the Government’sapex think tank — has commis-sioned a study that seeks to exam-ine the “unintended economic con-sequences” of judicial decisions thathave hindered and stalled big pro-jects on environmental pretexts.

If mountainous areas of thecountry, including Uttarakhand andtheir people, are to be saved, then itis incumbent upon the CentralGovernment not to carry out devel-opment work in these areas withoutseeking the opinions of geologistsand the locals.

The Government should imme-diately ban unsustainable develop-ment projects in the hilly regions, beit the Char Dham route orhydropower projects. If this does nothappen, the people of these areas willbe forced to endure frequent natur-al disasters in the future. The peo-ple living in the hilly regions and thecountry at large demand that theCentral Government adopt a pro-people and pro-nature develop-ment model instead of a pro-corpo-rate economic development one.

The people living in hilly regions and the country at large demand that the Govt adopt apro-people and pro-nature development model instead of a pro-corporate one

VIPIN KUMAR

EVEN IF THEGOVERNMENT

CUTSGREENHOUSE

GAS EMISSIONS INACCORDANCE

WITH THE PARISCLIMATE

AGREEMENT, ONE-THIRD OF THEGLACIERS OF THEHIMALAYAN AND

HINDU KUSHMOUNTAIN

RANGES WILL MELT BY THE

END OF THE 21ST CENTURY.

HENCE, URGENTACTION NEEDS TOBE TAKEN SOONER

AS NATURALDISASTERS ARE

LIKELY TOINCREASE WITHTEMPERATURE

RISE

American industrialist Henry Ford famously said: “Anyone who stopslearning is old - whether this happens at 20 or at 80. Anyone whokeeps on learning not only remains young but becomes constant-

ly more valuable - regardless of physical capacity.” This is true eventoday, particularly for illiterate adults. Adult Education (AE) extends school-ing options to those who are 15 years of age or above and have missedthe opportunity of formal tutoring earlier but now want to pursue edu-cation. Though the literacy rate in India has increased from 12 per centin 1947 to 73 per cent in 2011, however, adult illiteracy is still a chal-lenge for the Government because the absolute number of illiterates inIndia was 25.76 crore, the largest in the world, as per the 2011 cen-sus. Successive Central governments took major initiatives to improvethe adult literacy rate in the country. For instance, under the NationalEducation Policy (NEP), 1986, the National Literacy Mission Authority(NLMA) was founded to impart functional literacy to non-literates in theage group of 15-35 years in a time-bound manner. Subsequently, theSaakshar Bharat Programme continued till March 2018.

A major paradigm shift in the programme could help in impartingfunctional literacy to 7.63 crore non-literates, including 5.38 crore women,with four broader objectives namely: Basic literacy and numeracy, basiceducation, vocational education and continuing education. In this pro-gramme, the Government introduced new components of literacy andunder the financial literacy component, one crore bank accounts of adultilliterates or neo-literates were opened under the Pradhan Mantri Jan DhanYojana. With regard to legal literacy, a new curriculum was designedand developed for neo-literates to create awareness of their rights andduties. These components have been included in the critical life sectionof AE and the lifelong learning chapter of the NEP, 2020. The new cur-riculum will be developed by the National Council of Educational Researchand Training (NCERT) and includes five components: Foundational lit-eracy and numeracy; critical life skills (including financial literacy, digi-tal literacy, commercial skills, healthcare and awareness, child care andeducation, and family welfare); vocational skills development; basic edu-cation and continuing education (including holistic adult education cours-es in arts, science, technology, culture, sports, recreation and moreadvanced material on critical life skills).

The NEP-2020 recommends a strong and innovative Governmentinitiative for AE to facilitate community involvement and the smooth andbeneficial integration of technology to expedite the aim of achieving 100per cent literacy. These resources are a must to achieve the SustainableDevelopment Goal (SDG) 4.6 of the United Nations. Giving impetus toadult literacy, the Union Budget 2021-22, states that “to enable increasedaccess of resources, online modules covering the entire gamut of adulteducation will be introduced.” Hence, for the improvement of the AEprogramme, free access to adult learning in States and Union Territories(UTs) through online mode backed by extensive usage of Informationand Communications Technology (ICT) has been emphasised. An onlineteaching and learning system will be developed in which a learner mayregister with essential information like name, date of birth, gender, Aadhaarnumber (not mandatory), mobile number and so on and attend the classthrough online mode by using a mobile or any Common Service Centre(CSC) or digital booth or cybercafé. At the national level the NCERT, NIOS,National Informatics Centre and the DAE will facilitate ICT support in design-ing and developing central modules, portal, apps, while States and UTsmay explore partnerships with stakeholders for a vibrant adult educa-tion programme. As Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Mass illiteracy is India’ssin and shame and must be liquidated.”

(The writer is Joint Secretary, Ministry of Education. The viewsexpressed are personal.)

The farmers’ protestreflects their approachtowards securing their

future, and soon there would bea solution to that. But there stilllooms a larger crisis for Indiaand its people, including thefarmers. One of the most fer-tile lands on Earth today standsas the most water challengednations in the world. India hasthe highest number of peoplein the world without access tosafe water. Over 80 million peo-ple — a majority from impov-erished communities — livingon less than $4 a day, areforced to collect dirty waterfrom open ponds and rivers orspend most of what they earnbuying water from tankers.

A report by the NITIAayog in 2018 revealed that 75per cent of households do nothave drinking water on thepremises; 84 per cent of ruralhouseholds do not have piped

water access; 70 per cent of thewater is contaminated andwastewater treatment remainsstuck at the national average ofover 33 per cent, leading to thehigh burden of waterbornediseases.

More than 600 millionpeople in India face high toextreme water stress and 21cities, including New Delhi,Bengaluru and Chennai, willrun out of groundwater soon,affecting 100 million people.Critical groundwater resources,which account for 40 per centof our water supply, are beingexploited at unsustainable rates.India is already plagued withgroundwater contaminatedwith iron, nitrate, chlorine,along with the predominantarsenic and fluoride, both pos-ing human health risks.

A study published by DukeUniversity in 2018 found ura-nium contamination in aquifer-

drawn groundwater in 16Indian States.Water Indexscores vary widely, but mostStates have achieved a scorebelow 50 per cent and couldsignificantly improve theirwater resource managementpractices.

Because of this, food secu-rity is at a risk as the low per-formers on the Water Index arehome to over 50 per cent of thecountry’s population and itsagricultural baskets. The lowperformers, worryingly, com-prise the populous northernStates of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,Rajasthan, Haryana and others,and are home to over 600 mil-lion people. Given the combina-tion of rapidly declining ground-water levels and limited policyaction this is also likely to be asignificant food security risk forthe country going forward.

Critical groundwaterresources, which account for 40

per cent of our water supply, arebeing depleted at unsustainablerates. Droughts are becomingmore frequent, creating severeproblems for India’s rain-dependent farmers (over 53 percent of agriculture is rainfed).When water is available, it islikely to be contaminated,resulting in nearly 2,00,000deaths each year. Interstatedisagreements are on the rise,with seven major disputes cur-rently raging, pointing to thefact that limited frameworksand institutions are in place for

national water governance.By 2030, the country’s water

demand is projected to be twicethan the available supply, imply-ing severe water scarcity forhundreds of millions of peopleand an eventual over six per centloss in the country’s GDP. As perthe report of the NationalCommission for IntegratedWater Resource Developmentof MoWR, water requirementby 2050 in a high use scenariois likely to be a milder 1,180BCM, whereas the present-dayavailability is 695 BCM.

The total availability ofwater possible in country is stilllower than this projecteddemand, at 1,137 BCM. Thus,there is an imminent need todeepen our understanding ofwater resources and usage andput in place interventions thatmake water use efficient andsustainable. Israel is the worldleader in water governance.

And India has partnered withthem to share methods andtechnology. There is a need formore such partnerships, knowl-edge transfer but more thanthat, it is awareness that isneeded by common users aboutthe impending water crisis.

With nearly 70 per cent ofthe water being contaminated,India ranks 120 out of 122countries on the water qualityindex. Policymakers face a dif-ficult situation because there isnot enough data available onhow households and industriesuse and manage water.

There is an urgent need todeepen understanding of ourwater resources and usage andput in place interventions thatmake water use efficient andsustainable. Consumers andindustries need to look at the4Rs with renewed rigour.“Reduce, Reuse, Recycle,Recharge.” India has an

extremely low rainwater har-vesting percentage, varyingfrom three-six per cent ofannual rainfall. Large-scalewatershed management isimperative for holistic manage-ment of ecosystems. Coupledwith stronger implementationpolicies and regulations, anecosystem managementapproach will bring in adoptionof newer conservation tech-nologies.

The agriculture sector willevolve further to improve irri-gation and water use efficien-cy. All this is not possible with-out investment in educationand awareness. Communitygovernance and partnerships,water pricing a strong waste-water recycling ecosystem andincreasing rainwater, stormwa-ter harvesting will make peo-ple realise the importance ofevery drop of water and pro-mote sustainable use.

India has an extremely low rainwater harvesting percentage, varying from three-six per cent of the annual rainfall. Hence, watershed management is imperative

HYDERABAD | SATURDAY | FEBRUARY 27, 2021

07

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FIRSTCOLUMN

ADULT EDUCATIONSET TO TURN A PAGE

Free access to adult learning through online modebacked by extensive usage of ICT has been emphasised

GURINDER KAUR

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

Kaur is professor,Department of Geography,

Punjabi University,Patiala, and Visiting

Professor, IMPRI, whileKumar is Director, IMPRI.

The views expressed are personal.

A bleak future without sustainable water resources

SASHIDHAR VEMPALA

The writer is a conservationist,

wildlife photographer,documentary film-maker

and sustainability professional. The views

expressed arepersonal.

ARJUNKUMAR

HYDERABAD | SATURDAY | FEBRUARY 27, 2021 Money 08

MONEY MATTERS

Gold prices on Fridaydeclined by Rs 342

to Rs 45,599 per 10grams and silverplummeted by Rs 2,007to Rs 67,419 per kg inthe national capital, dueto selling in theinternational market,according to HDFC

Securities. The precious metal had closed at Rs 45,941 per 10 gramson Thursday. Silver plummeted by Rs 2,007 to Rs 67,419 per kg,compared with the previous close of Rs 69,426 per kg. HDFCSecurities Senior Analyst (Commodities) Tapan Patel said, "Spotprices for 24 karat gold at Delhi fell for the third day by Rs 342, inline with selling in global gold prices despite of sharp rupeedepreciation." In the international market, gold was trading lower atUSD 1,760 an ounce, while silver was down at USD 26.78 an ounce.

Gold declines Rs 342; silver plummets by Rs 2,007

Wisdom Capital, a Wisdom Group flagship company, has recentlytaken over a start-up, Imagine Sales - a customer relationship

management (CRM) company, and launched Wisdom CRM. CRM is amassive industry and is likely to grow at double digit growth rates inthe coming decade; however, it is very sporadically distributed inIndia. "The idea is to provide CRM software, cloud telephony, ArtificialIntelligence(AI) enabled chatbots with voice command functionality,encrypted data transfer, Whatsapp messaging services, bulk emailing,social media embedded tools, and helpdesk services under one roof.It will be similar to an all-encompassing modern departmental store",said Founder and Group CEO, Deb Mukherjee. Wisdom Group wasalready in the process of developing CRM software under the flagshipof its group IT company, Wisdom Tree Ventures with a brand name of'Wisdom CRM'. Apart from the tangible assets, both sides havebrought their intellectual worth on the table and hope to create valuein the long run with the launch of the new product. Wisdom CRMwas being developed with the eventual intention of penetrating andservicing the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) sector when anopportunity presented itself after the Covid-19 era.

Wisdom Capital Acquires ImagineSales, launches Wisdom CRM

Godrej & Boyce, the flagship companyof the Godrej Group announced that

its business, Godrej PrecisionEngineering received the covetedLicensing Agreement for Transfer ofTechnology (LAToT) for the MechanicalMine Layer - Self Propelled (MML - SP)from the Ministry of Defence's DRDOLaboratories at the 'Bandhan' ceremonyat Aero India 2021. Raksha Mantri Shri

Rajnath Singh, Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, threeServices Chiefs, Secretary Department of Defence R&D andChairman DRDO Dr G Satheesh Reddy and Secretary (DefenceProduction) Shri Raj Kumar along with other senior officials fromMinistry of Defence and Karnataka Government and industrialistsfrom the entire country were present.

Godrej Precision Engg handsover LAToT to Godrej & Boyce

South Asia, a leadingcertification, testing, auditing,

inspection and training companyand the wholly owned subsidiaryof TÜV SÜD Group, Germany, hassigned a Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MOU) with AnsysSoftware Pvt. Ltd. (Ansys) inorder to improve the overalllearning experience of theparticipants of AutomotiveFunctional Safety ISO 26262

training programme. The MOU was signed at a virtual event by Mr.Rafiq Somani, Area Vice President - India and South Asia Pacific,Ansys and Mr. Vishal Nerurkar, Vice President of BusinessAssurance, TÜV SÜD South Asia. With this MOU signing, TÜV SÜDin India is poised to offer its participants of Automotive FunctionalSafety ISO 26262 training, access to Ansys medini analyze, a worldclass simulation software tool.

Ansys, TÜV SÜD sign MOU toaugment learning experience

PM asks banks to come out withinnovative products for startupsPNS n NEW DELHI

Prime Minister Narendra Modion Friday stressed on increas-ing credit to businesses tomeet the needs of a fast reflat-ing economy and said financialproducts will have to be tailor-made for fintech and startups.

He said that although thegovernment's endeavour is topromote the private sector, thepublic sector still needs tohave their presence in bankingand insurance to support thepoor.

Speaking at a webinar onBudget announcements onFinancial Services, Modi said tohelp medium and small busi-nesses during the COVID pan-demic, 90 lakh Micro, Smalland Medium Enterprises(MSMEs) were given creditworth Rs 2.4 trillion.

"Supporting MSME and star-tups and expanding credit flowto them is necessary. The govern-ment has undertaken reformsand opened up sectors like farm,coal and space. Now it's theresponsibility of the financial sec-tor to understand the aspirations

of rural and smaller cities andmake them the strength ofAatmanirbhar Bharat.

"As our economy is growing,and growing fast, credit flowhas also become equally impor-tant. You have to see howcredit reaches new sectors,new entrepreneurs. Now youwill have to focus on creationof new and better financialproducts for Startups andFintech," Modi said.

Stating that Kisan Credithas helped small farmers andthose involved in animal hus-bandry to come out with thegrasp of informal lending,Modi said the private sectornow will have to think of inno-vative financial products forthis section of the society.

He said the government hasa clear vision for the financialservices sector and is takingsteps to make it vibrant, proac-

tive and strong."The pace at which we have

to take the country forward inthe 21st century, proactive par-ticipation of the private sectoris important. The government'svision is clear about the finan-cial sector, no place for ifs andbuts. The government's highestpriority is that every depositorand investor experience trustand transparency," he said.

The trust is based on safetyand security of deposit andeconomic growth. There is aneed to change the old policiesrelating to the banking andnon-banking sector.

"The financial sector washurt 10-12 years back due toaggressive lending. Steps havebeen taken to take the countryout of non-transparent creditculture. Today instead ofbrushing NPAs under the car-pet, we have made it mandato-ry to report even NPA of 1 day,"he said.

He said the government isaware of the ups and downsfaced by businesses and doesnot foster a thinking that allbusiness decisions are taken in

bad intent."The government's respon-

sibility is to stand with allsuch business decisions takenwith good intent and I want tosay this to all those in the finan-cial sector that I will stand byyou for all decisions takenwith honest intent," Modiadded.

In the 2021-22 Budget, thegovernment has proposed pri-vatisation of two public sectorbanks, allowed 74 per cent for-eign direct investment in theinsurance sector andannounced the initial publicoffering of Life Insurance Corpof India.

Elaborating on the Budgetproposal of setting up of anAsset ReconstructionCompany (ARC), Modi saidthe ARC will address the badloans in a "focussed manner"and this will help strengthenPSBs and increase their lend-ing capability.

He said 130 crore peoplehave Aadhaar cards and 41crore have JanDhan Accountholders, of which 55 per centare women.

PNS n MUMBAI

Despite the nationwide pan-demic and the economicuncertainty and rising stockmarket volatility that camewith it, there has been asequential growth of 51% in theresidential sales during the lastquarter of 2020, according tothe recent report 'India RealEstate Outlook - A new growthcycle' by JLL. While there is stilla long way to go, the worst isbehind for the residential sec-tor.

The evolving COVID-19pandemic has influencedshort-term decision makingwith job security cited as thebiggest concern when con-templating the purchase of a

home. "In the second quarter ofFY 2020-21 when the GDPshowed higher than expectedrecovery, the housing marketshowed some initial signs ofrecovery, with sales increasingby 34% on a sequential basis.In Q4 2020, uncertaintiesaround the economy and jobsstarted reducing, which led toan increase in the pace ofrecovery in residential realestate. New launches and salesacross the seven key marketsunder review witnessed a sig-nificant jump," Dr. SamantakDas, Chief Economist andHead Research & REIS, JLL.

Expectations from 2021The challenges faced by res-

idential real estate in 2020

have become the catalyst inproviding stimuli to the indus-try for sustained growth. Withpeople spending an inordinateamount of time at home, the

lockdown re-established theimportance of owning a house.Simultaneously, governmentinitiatives to support the recov-ery by holding policy rates at

historically low levels to initi-ate a cycle of consumption ledgrowth. This has resulted inextremely low mortgage rates.And, prices have also beenstagnant for the past few years.This affordable synergy makesit a great time to purchase ahome. Furthermore, the mar-ket is also witnessing renewedinterest from Non-ResidentIndians (NRIs) impacted byeconomic uncertainties inEurope and the Middle East.

Changing homebuyer pref-erences and product metrics

A healthy lifestyle hasbecome a key criterion forhomebuyers, resultantly, pref-erences have tilted towardslarger homes in self-contained

complexes with facilities likegym, green open spaces, andaccess to daily necessities.Moreover, with work fromhome becoming a reality, prod-uct metrics are likely to change.

Increased importance ofstudy rooms, good networkand broadband speed as well asacoustics. Also, remote work-ing practices are expected toincrease the attractiveness ofsuburban markets. Suburbanmarkets offer lower densityenvironments and more spa-cious apartments at affordablerates. Since, travel to office mayno longer be an everyday activ-ity, the importance of connec-tivity to office hubs will nolonger dictate home purchas-es.

Home affordability to improve further in 2021: JLL

PNS n MUMBAI

India's largest non-profit edu-cation network - Teach ForIndia, which is also a part ofthe global Teach For AllNetwork is collaborating withthe Right To Protein initiativeto commemorate themacronutrient protein onIndia's second annual ProteinDay. In association with nutri-tionist Pooja Makhija, Right ToProtein and Teach For Indiawill educate children and theirparents about the importanceof consuming adequate proteinin their daily diets for overallbetter health and nutrition.

The educational session willbe conducted over an onlinewebinar, where children fromaround the country, especial-ly those that are a part of theTeach For India network inMumbai, Pune, New Delhi,Chennai, Ahmedabad,Hyderabad and Bangalore willparticipate along with theirparents in the online session.Led by Makhija, topics such asprotein consumption for thedevelopment of the humanbody, common errors with

protein consumption, identi-fication of easily affordableand accessible plant and ani-mal protein sources, andmethods of including all typesof protein in daily diets, willbe the focus on Protein Day2021.

Abhik Bhattacherji, NationalDirector of Marketing &Communications at Teach ForIndia said, “Teach For Indiahas always believed that anexcellent education is a balance

of academics, holistic develop-ment, strengthening valuesand mindsets and overall well-being of children. Through thiscollaboration with Right ToProtein, we were presentedwith the opportunity to edu-cate our students about theimportance of nutrition intheir development. Childrenand parents understanding therole of nutrition is a great steptowards raising leaders withhealthy bodies.”

PROTEIN DAY 2021

Teach For India collaborateswith Right to Protein

PNS n WASHINGTON

The number of Americansseeking unemployment bene-fits fell sharply last week in asign that layoffs may haveeased, though applications foraid remain at a historicallyhigh level. Jobless claimsdeclined by 111,000 from theprevious week to a seasonallyadjusted 730,000, the LaborDepartment said Thursday.

It is the lowest figure sincelate November and thesharpest one-week declinesince August.

Still, before the virus erupt-ed in the United States lastMarch, weekly applicationsfor unemployment benefitshad never topped 700,000.

The latest figures coincidewith a weakened job market

that has made scant progress inthe past three months. Hiringaveraged just 29,000 a monthfrom November throughJanuary. Though the unem-ployment rate was 6.3 per centin January, a broader measurethat includes people who havegiven up on their job search-es is closer to 10 per cent.

All told, 19 million peoplewere receiving unemploymentaid as of February 6, up from18.3 million the previous week.About three-quarters of thoserecipients are receiving checksfrom federal benefit programs,including programs that pro-vide jobless aid beyond the 26weeks given by most states.

Last week's drop in applica-tions was concentrated in twostates, California and Ohio,where they fell by a combined

96,000. Ohio officials had saidearlier this month that a surgein new applications was drivenin part by a jump in potential-ly fraudulent claims. That nowappears to have faded.

California's system operateson a biweekly bases, which canmake its weekly data choppy.

This month's devastatingwinter storms and power out-ages in Texas and some neigh-bouring states might have alsodisrupted the filing or process-ing of some claims.Applications for jobless aidfell by one-sixth in Texas toabout 35,000.

Yet last week's decline inapplications was broad-based,with 36 states and the Districtof Columbia reporting fewerpeople seeking unemploymentbenefits.

US jobless claims at 730K, high but fewest in 3 months

PNS n GURUGRAM

In their latest outlook report for2021, Colliers estimates thatinstitutional investments inIndian real estate will grow by14.6% to INR 396 billion (USD5.5 billion) from INR 346 billion(USD4.8 billion) in 2020. Forcomparison, 2020 had wit-nessed a drop of 23% from2019. Colliers believes that insti-tutional investors continue to bebullish on Indian real estateasset classes such as offices, datacenters and warehouses andthey are looking to deploy their

existing dry powder."The investment climate in

India is very buoyant withglobal investors' interest in realassets getting stronger. Withglobal interest rates at historic

lows and positive net yields inIndia, the country has emergedamong the preferred destina-tions for investments in realestate. Further, the resilience ofthe Indian market is also evi-dent from continued goodhousing sales performanceacross various markets, thelarge institutional investmentsin commercial office andindustrial parks, and the listingof two REITs in the past sixmonths," says Piyush Gupta,Managing Director, CapitalMarkets & Investment Services(India) at Colliers.

Institutional investments in Indianreal estate to increase by 14.6%

PNS n SHANGHAI

China retained its position asthe largest trade partner ofGermany for the fifth consec-utive year in 2020, according toa report recently released bythe Federal Statistical Office ofGermany. Statistics show thatdespite COVID-19, the bilat-eral trade volume betweenChina and Germany rose by 3percent year-on-year to about212.1 billion euros ($258 bil-lion). China was the secondlargest export destination ofGerman goods in 2020, withthe value of exports fromGermany to China hittingaround 95.9 billion euros lastyear. China was alsoGermany's largest destination

for exports of electric andelectrical products, accordingto a news release by theGerman Electrical andElectronic Manufacturers'Association (ZVEI) on Feb22. Industry experts have saidthat these achievements arepartly due to the ChinaInternational Import Expo.

Clas Neumann, Chairmanof the Board of the GermanChamber of Commerce inChina, said that the CIIE is agood opportunity for German

enterprises to showcase theircutting-edge products in tech-nology, innovation and lifestyle. By participating in theCIIE, German enterprises canexpand their brand influenceand promote "Made inGermany", Neumann added.Germany, which has a numberof large enterprises specializedin equipment manufacturing,automobiles and heath care,has been an important partic-ipant of the annual expo. It wasalso the guest-of-honor coun-try for the first CIIE. About170 German firms attendedthe third edition of the expolast year, with their combinedexhibition area surpassing18,000 square meters, highestamong European countries.

German firms find success at CIIE

“The investmentclimate in India is very buoyant withglobal investors'interest in real assetsgetting stronger”

PNS n MUMBAI

The rupee dived 104 paise tosettle at 73.47 (provisional)against the US dollar onFriday, following a heavyselloff in domestic equitiesand strong American cur-rency in the overseas mar-ket. At the interbank forexmarket, the local unitopened at 72.43 against thegreenback, then lost fur-ther ground to touch anintra-day low of 73.51. Itfinally ended at 73.47 againstthe American currency, reg-istering a massive fall of104 paise over its previousclose. On Thursday, therupee had settled at 72.43against the American cur-rency. The dollar index,which gauges the green-back's strength against abasket of six currencies,advanced 0.43 per cent to90.52. "US bond yields havesurged on worries aboutinflationary pressures due tounprecedented liquidityinfusion in the system and aseries of economic data,which is indicating that theeconomy is on the path tonormalcy. This has in-turnled to a rebound in the dol-lar index and prompted aselloff in risk assets.

Rupee tanks104 paise toclose at 73.47against USD

PNS n WASHINGTON

The Biden administration hasindicated that the issue of restor-ing the GSP status to India is ontop of its radar, as several law-makers have raised the issue ofretaliatory tariffs imposed byNew Delhi on American agri-cultural products after the pre-vious Trump regime terminat-ed it.

In 2019, former presidentDonald Trump terminatedIndia's designation as a benefi-ciary developing nation underthe Generalised System ofPreference (GSP) trade pro-gramme after determining thatNew Delhi has not assured theUS that it will provide "equitableand reasonable access" to itsmarkets.

The GSP is the largest andoldest US trade preference pro-gramme and is designed topromote economic develop-ment by allowing duty-freeentry for thousands of productsfrom designated beneficiarycountries. The issue was raisedby several members of theSenate Finance Committee onThursday during the confirma-tion hearing of Katherine C Taior the position of United StatesTrade Representative.

“On your question on GSP in

India, let me just say that if con-firmed, this is very high on myradar,” Tai said, responding to aquestion from Senator MariaCantwell who raised the issue ofhigh retaliatory tariffs imposedby India on several Americanproducts after US terminatedGSP privileges of India.

“What can we do to open upthe Indian market to US applesand reduce the horrific tariffsthat are on those apples, partic-ularly with the Trump admin-istration terminating the GSPprogramme? When would theBiden administration restoreIndia's GSP status and help uswith apple exports?” SenatorCantwell asked.

India was the largest benefi-ciary of the GSP programme in2017 when it exported USD 5.7billion worth of goods to the USunder this scheme.

‘Question on GSPin India is veryhigh on my radar’

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SaturdayFebruary 27, 2021

For someone who hails fromGod's own country — Kerala,

to fall in love with anyother place is next to

impossible, butHyderabad did sweepher off her feet, says

actress Nitya Naresh.The Malayali beauty

talks to The Pioneer's

SHIKHA DUGGALabout what she loves,cherishes and dislikes

about the city.

TO A PERMANENT HAVENFROM A VACAY-SPOT

oming from a stateknown for its palm-lined backwaters,Tollywood actress NityaNaresh can’t stop gush-ing about this Nizami

city she now calls home. “For menow, Hyderabad is my home. Ibelieve in the saying about homenot being a place but people whomake you feel belonged, and it fitsso well in my life too. Wherevermy beautiful family is, that’s myhome. Moreover, some of my bestfriends in my life today, who areso precious to me, have been liv-ing in this very city for more thana decade and have always beenthere with me through thick andthin,” the Operation Gold Fishactress tells us.

Nitya, who has made a name forherself in Hyderabad says that shehas always lived by the ocean, andnot getting to see blue waters asoften is a drastic change for her.“Earlier, I had apprehensionsabout the air being dry and miss-ing water bodies, but eventually, Ifell in love with the city because of

its denizens and the experiencesthat I encountered. One of myfavourite things that I always willhave to say about Hyderabad ishow one, despite the hustle andthe bustle, can still find solitudehere. Mumbai is so fast-paced andKochi is so laid back but in thiscity, you have your own luxuriesand choices to make,” she adds.

With a lot of commitment andhard work, Nithya stepped intothe Tollywood industry adorningthe craft as if she was born to bein it. She never knew a vacay spotwill one day turn out to be a per-manent haven for her! The SodaGoli Soda girl says, “I learnt dri-ving here, what has always stayedwith me are the moments of goingfor a ride with my friends on myvehicle. I felt so independent!Geographically too, this cityalways makes you feel at ease. Ifyou’re driving from Paradise toBanjara Hills, nobody can ever getlost on their way. Hyderabad mademe feel safe, I always knew myroutes.”

Destiny played a very important

role in this artiste’s life! A pre-determined and unchanging eventtook shape in Nitya’s life whilelooking for a job in the city ofdreams, also known as theBollywood hub, Mumbai — shegets a call from the Telugu filmindustry! It made her feel some-thing is calling her back to the cityand she must go! “I wasn’t in themindset of becoming an actress atfirst, the auditions were an experi-ment for me to tell my childrensomeday: “hey, your mother alsodid a movie in her life!” I chose topay heed to the calling and whowould’ve known I’d come this far?Of course, my parents did believein me. Today, I am not just anactor from Tollywood but also anartist, content creator and influ-encer, who is self-made. Currently,I am making my career in art-therapy too! So, Hyderabad gaveme the chance to don more thanjust a single hat. I am exploring somany things here. I haven’t grownup idolising Telugu actors but theindustry is getting better at what itdoes with talent, post-production,

cinematography, and concepts.This city’s cinema is evolving withbetter ideas, passionate actors, andfocussed storytellers,” narrated the31-year-old actress.

Describing her immense lovefor the cuisine here in the city,whenever somebody mentionsHyderabadi food, it brightens upher face with glee! Mentioning thekind of food platter that the cityhas to offer, she also tells us that ittook her years to get used to thekind of spice Hyderabadis eatevery day. The variety that it offersincluding the royal cuisine,Telangana bhojanam and Andhradelicacies — all this fills her heartand tummy! Add to that, the dif-ferent cuisines from across theglobe that the city has managed tomaster! Whenever she goes out fora fine-dining, it’s always a burst ofrelishing flavours on her tastebuds, shares the actress of NandiniNursing Home fame.

Having talked about all thegood things Hyderabad has, theone thing that she dislikes is thetraffic. Although, when she visited

Mumbai recently, she says it madeher feel that the traffic here inHyderabad is much better andshe’s never going to complainagain.

“My great grandfather was theadvisor to the Nizams in his daysand then my grandfather joinedthe police force here. My dad wasvery clear that when he had toreturn to his roots, he’s going tochoose Telangana and invest here.So whenever I was here in the cityfor a vacation, we would go to theNehru Nehru Zoological Park,Ramoji Film City and SnowWorld. Though the city has trans-formed tremendously, there are somany things that still take onedown the nostalgia trip and that’sjust beautiful. My grandmotheralways narrates to me about howBanjara Hills was a deserted placeonce and today, when I drivethrough the lanes of Banjara Hills,it’s fully commercialised.Nevertheless, Hyderabad is a placewhere I feel encouraged andaccepted by all means,” she con-cludes on a heart-warming note.

hile a number ofsocio-economicissues hound ustoday, our right tobasic nutritionand health is one

that should be demandedacross the globe, especiallyin India. It is, therefore, notsurprising that the secondgoal in the 17 SustainableDevelopment Goals is ‘Zero

Hunger’, which aims toreduce malnutrition ininfants and address thenutritional needs of adoles-cent girls, pregnant and lac-tating women and olderpeople.

While India continuestowards its commitment tobecoming a malnutrition-free country, a number ofhurdles, further exacerbatedby the pandemic, continueto hinder and slowdown theprogress. It is estimated thatthe pandemic will lead to arise in hunger, with approxi-mately 270 million peoplefacing food insecurity asopposed to the 149 millionduring pre-COVID times.These findings are not onlygrave but a serious cause foralarm — India ranks 94 outof 107 countries on theGlobal Hunger Index 2020.

It is, therefore, important— nay critical — to tacklethe pressing issue of malnu-trition and protein deficien-cy in specific head-on by notonly creating awareness ofprotein-rich food sourcesbut also dispelling miscon-ceptions around accessibility,affordability, culturalnuances, and inherenthyperlocal habits. And thisProtein Day, celebrated on

February 27, with its themeof Powering With PlantProtein, let’s delve intoeverything protein.

Why plant protein?

We are perhaps the coun-try with the single largest

vegetarian population in theworld with also a sizablepopulation of flexitarians i.e.those who prefer a vegetari-an diet while still enjoyingmeat (animal protein) inmoderation. One of the keymyths affecting the protein

deficiency debate in India isthe perception that not onlyare protein-rich foodsexpensive but that there islimited variety for those whodon’t eat meat — over 76 percent recently surveyedshared this sentiment.

Moreover, when presentedwith a number of protein-rich sources, a large segmentof Indian mothers couldonly identify three out of 11protein-rich foods correctly;thereby eliminating severalkey protein-rich sourcescompletely.

This lack of knowledgecoupled with the misconcep-tions that plant-protein isnutritionally inferior is mythto dispel as we continue inour quest to educate Indiansabout the role of proteins,especially plant-based pro-tein rich diets that will helpbridge the protein basednutrition and affordabilitygap.

Is it for everyone?

The quantity, quality andtiming of protein consumedthroughout the day acrossone's life span together playa role in determining thehealth benefits of dietaryprotein. While one needsdifferent levels of proteinacross different phases oflife, the underlying key factremains — protein is a keymicronutrient that is essen-tial for one’s growth anddevelopment throughoutlife.

It begins with pregnant

women and lactating moth-ers. A woman’s diet duringand immediately after preg-nancy is pivotal for both,mother, and child, with pro-teins playing a key role inoverall health and the baby’sdevelopment. Theimmunoglobulin of thebreast milk derived from thecolostrums adds to the bene-fits accrued from exclusivebreast feeding of a baby for aminimum of six monthswhich needs to be empha-sised to all lactating moth-ers. The good quality proteinbased weaning foods withplant protein diversityshould be an integral part ofan infant’s weaning foods.

For growing children, theneed for protein intake iseven more augmented as itnot only helps in muscle andbone growth but also addssignificantly to strengthen-ing their immunity. Be it theusual routine at school,extra-curricular activitiesand cognitive development,protein plays an importantrole.

For healthy adults, who goabout their day-to-day life, itis much required to continueto build immunity, maintaina healthy gut and repair ofmuscle wear and tear. In

fact, it is believed that wemay begin to naturally loseas much as eight per cent ofoverall muscle mass everydecade after we turn 40,making it more importantthan ever to consume moreprotein as we age.

And while one maybelieve that protein’s rolewith age might diminish, itis quite the contrary: Withreports suggesting that onein three adults over the ageof 50 experiences advancedmuscle and strength loss,and thus, adequate proteinintake is recommended foraging adults to support mus-cle and strength require-ments.

Even as we recognise andact this Protein Day, it isimportant to make note thatthis cannot be a one-time orone-day discourse. Protein-related issues are very muchan ongoing concern thatneed constant discussion,dialogue and education tocontinue on India's journeyin becoming a healthynation with sustainable well-being at its core.

(The writer is the NationalPresident of Indian DieteticAssociation and supporter ofthe Right To Protein initia-tive.)

On WorldProtein Daytoday, nutritionexpert DrJagmeet Madanshares thatissues aroundthis importantnutrient need tobe constantlydiscussed andpropagated You are

what you eat!

ev DD Season 1set the stage butseason 2 of itsdrama shatteredthe glass ceiling. Itbrought with it a

never-before-seen version ofDevika Dharam Dwivedi!Season 2 finds a chink in thearmour of Devika DharamDwivedi opening up her vul-nerable side, making her veryrelatable to audiences every-where — a very beautiful,vulnerable, feminine versionof Devika that captureshearts. There are switchesbetween her reality and innerself filled with monologuesfrom the protagonist describ-ing her innermost thoughtsbut externally her agonydoesn’t let her act on it.

This is part of the charmof Dev DD 2! Season 1 showsus how totally badass DevikaDharam Dwivedi is and howshe makes a life for herself onher terms, setting herself upfor epic love and heartbreak.Season 2 shows us DevikaDharam Dwivedi at a com-plete loss.

She is a jilted lover andforgotten friend, her hope-lessness takes her home backinto the arms of her parents.At home, she starts to buildherself up once again againstall odds and society’s crueltaunts. There are, of course,new twists and turns in thestory, blasts from the pastand new friendships, alladding to the attraction ofthe story. The best friendChandni and her lover bat-tling all odds to be together,Anurag and Aditi fighting ascam together and Devika’shumorous way of fending offsociety aunties and evil rela-tives all make for a verydelightful watch.

Actress Asheema Vardaanwho plays the role of Devika,spills some more beans aboutthe role, she says, “The showfocuses more on the majorissues of LGBTQIA+ andfemale foeticide. The conceptrevolves around queer mar-riage which equally needsrelevant awareness in oursurroundings as queer peopledon’t enjoy marriage rights asmuch as their straight coun-terparts do. It’s saddening tosee that our law doesn’t seestraight and queer couples asthe same, which in turn leadsto social stigma and ostraci-sation. One shouldn’t misswatching this show because itis a take on Sarat ChandraChattopadhyay’s Devdasstory but with a female per-spective! As you progressthrough the show, you get toknow how Devika comesacross as a rebel yet is a sim-ple girl at heart who onlywants someone to love. Myrole in the new show chal-lenges stereotypes and touch-es topics like feminism, sex-ism and homophobia - onesthat are usually brushedunder the carpet.”

The series is extremelyempowering, not just forwomen but it championspeople of every gender, race,religion and sexual orienta-tion. The flawless acting, theclever lines, the screenplay,the dialogues, the story, thecomic moments are just afew of the many reasons towatch the show.

The series is filled withmagical moments that giveyou goosebumps and alsoones that tickle you till youfall off your chair laughing,making the series both lovelyand heartbreaking at thesame time.

Badass Devikawins hearts inDev DD 2

C

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Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK SPEED BUMP CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

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

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

Yesterday’s solution

CALVIN AND HOBBES

10

Hyderabad Saturday February 27 2021

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l Jawed Habib

l Pallavi

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l Komall Nanda Priya

l Ranisreel Dhruv Sayanil Nandinil Vani Sree

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what’s brewing?

HAIRCARE FARE

Ccigmaa Lifestyle announced celebrity

hairstylist Jawed Habib as their newspokesperson. Their popular luxury

brand KT Professional coducted aninformative seminar recently, at LemonTree Hotel, Banjara Hills. Several talks

were held and new productslaunched at the the event.

aisshnav Tej, who is basking in the glory ofUppena, is understood to have signed histhird film. While his second film, Kondapolam(tentative title), with Krish has been wrappedup last year itself, his third, according to

reports, will be with Nagarjuna's ManamEntertainments.

Prudhvi, who is an alumnus of Annapurna Collegeof Film and Media, is attached to the project as adirector. The project is reportedly a love story lacedwith action and family emotions. Supriya, wholooks after Annapurna Studios, will execute theproject, it is being said.Vaisshnav has also agreed to do a film forBVSN Prasad, with whom his brother SaiTej has already done Solo BrathukeSo Better and will becollaborating again for amystical thriller.

aria Abdullah was analumnus of LoyolaCollege, Hyderabadwhen Mahanati directorNag Ashwin graced it asa chief guest for a fest in

early 2019. “I wanted to listen to him and

maybe if I get a chance, even asksome questions. He overheard mespeaking to my juniors about mystint with the theatre. Then he said,“Oh! You are an actor?' That’s how

my association with him began.Sometime later, he spoke to meabout the female lead slot openingin Jathi Ratnalu. I auditioned forthe role and after a look test withNaveen Polishetty, I was picked forthe project,” the newbie tells us.

Born and bred in Hyderabad,Faria never thought she would starther film career with the Teluguindustry. “To be honest, I neverthought I would do Telugu movies.In fact, many people advised me to

try Telugu industry before going toBollywood. I started watchingTelugu cinema a couple of yearsago. I’ve been to Mumbai multipletimes and gave auditions. To beginwith, language barrier was an issuefor me to think of Bollywood butI’m past that. The Telugu industryhas been very welcoming. Now, I’mopen to exploring other south lan-guages as well. In the last twoyears, I’ve realised that our cinemais changing rapidly in tune with theaudience’s taste. I want to be a partof the new wave,” she points out,adding that she learnt 80 percent ofTelugu on the sets of Jathi Ratnalu.

While she is tight-lipped abouther part despite some reports stat-ing that she plays a lawyer in thefilm, she adds that it is integral tothe narrative. A light-hearteddrama, Jathi Ratnalu, directed byPittagoda fame Anudeep KV, fol-lows three good-for-nothing guys(played by Naveen, Priyadarshi andRahul) who are trapped in a seriouscrime. It’s set in Jogipet, Telangana.“It’s a clean comedy and every rolehas its own essence and plays out inthe story beautifully. It’s a sarcastictake on society and is also about

love and friendship,” Fariainforms.

Effusive in herpraise for

Ashwin, whois debuting

as a pro-ducer withthe film,which willhave atheatricalbow onMarch 11,

she says,“Every time

I felt nervousor a little

unsure, he wouldsay, ‘Hey you know

what? You should trythis’ and it worked like magic forme. He is a simple, quiet andhappy-go-lucky kind of person.Somehow, all of us — Naveen,Priyadarshi and Rahul — are likeeach other. So we got along welleasily.”

She admits to having been atouch nervous on the first day ofher shoot. “I wanted to make surethat I got my lines right and didn’twant to be a burden on anyone. Iwas keen on leaving a good

impression on the first day, so I’verehearsed my lines thoroughly toget the accent and pronunciationright. I was a little worried aboutthe language but I gave my firstshot in a single take,” she chortles,adding that she even dubbed forher role. “Nag Ashwin told me, ‘Ifyou don’t dub for yourselves, itwould only be half of a perfor-mance’. So I dubbed for the part.”

Faria is ecstatic with the responseChitti nee navvante from the film’ssoundtrack has garnered. It crossed10 million views of YouTube, and isstill counting.

Smiling, she observes, “I didn’texpect it to go this viral. It’sexciting to see so manypeople coming up withtheir own versions of it. Infact, people around mestarted addressing me asChitti and I love it. (Singer)Ram got the pulse of thesong so well and he took itto the next level with hisrendition.”

— NG

F

11

tollywoodHyderabad Saturday February 27 2021

Never thought

In aconversation

with ThePioneer, the

debutante, who is a

Hyderabadi,speaks on how

she landed JathiRatnalu, why

she wanted todebut in Hindi

and how NagAshwin eased

her nerveswhenever she

was a tadnervous on sets

I WOULD DO TELUGUMOVIES: FARIA

fter the enjoyable light-hearted drama MiddleClass Melodies, whichmarked his directorialdebut last year, VinodAnantoju is set for his

sophomore venture. Premier pro-duction house MatineeEntertainment signed him imme-diately after the release of his

maiden film and he is right nowworking on the story. Once again,he will be directing it from ascript by dear friend JanardhanPasumarthi.

Vinod tells us, “The project willbe an adventure comedy. Portionsof it will be shot in a fictional vil-lage. The writing will be complet-ed in a month’s time after which I

will initiate the casting process.The production house gave acomplete free hand; they justwant us to come up with a goodstory.”

Vinod joins a long list of direc-tors- Swaroop RSJ, Ravi KiranKola, Teja Marni and UdayGurrala — who are making theirsecond films for Matinee.

Dil Raju: Shaadi Mubarakoffers non-stop entertainment

eading producerDil Raju promisesthat ShaadiMubarak, featur-ing featuringMogalirekulu fame

Sagar and newbie DrishyaRaghunath in the leadroles, will offer out-and-out entertainment when itgraces the big screen onMarch 5th. “After themakers completed thefilm’s shoot, Sagar showedme the trailer. I found itinteresting and told himthat I will watch the com-plete film. Except for someproblems at places, Ifound it to be a hilariousentertainer. The makersattended to the problems Iexpressed, after which

they asked

me to release it as well. It’sa good film so I wasn’t intwo minds to accept their

proposal. I evenacquired it. It’s

a two-hourfifteen

minutes film with non-stop entertainment,” theproducer said. He wasspeaking at the trailerlaunch of the film inHyderabad on Thursdayevening.

Sagar said it’s been hiseight-year dream toachieve success in theindustry and Dil Raju’sstep to join the project asa producer was to encour-age him. He pointed outthat after listening to thefirst half of the narrationfrom writer SrinivasReddy, he wrote a cheque.“After the second half, Ihanded it over to him. Ididn’t take much time. Myfriends too endorsed thestory later,” the actor

recalled.

Middle Class Melodies director'snext with Matinee Entertainment

ctress Adah Sharma took toInstagram to announce that shehas signed five new Telugu films.

In her post, the actress, whosefilm Kshanam completed five yearson Friday, thanked the makers for

encouraging her to experiment with projects.The actress posted a clip from the film and

wrote: “On 5 yrs of Kshanam I want to announcethat I have signed 5 Telugu films ! Everytime I’vedone something experimental in any language uguys have always given me sooo much love andsupport.The films I’m doing now are all stuff that’snot done before. Thank you for Shweta @adivisesh@raviperepu @pvpcinemaoffl.”

The 2016 thriller film Kshanam starred AdiviSesh, Anasuya Bharadwaj, Vennela Kishore, SatyamRajesh and Satyadev Kancharana. In fact, the filmwas also remade in Tamil and titled Sathya. ItsHindi version was called Baaghi 2and Aadyaa in Kannada.

Adah is presentlyawaiting the releaseof a mysterythriller titledQuestion Markwith directorVipra.

It fea-turesSanjay,BhanuSreeMehra,Abhay,HariTeja,AkshathaSrinivasand Ajay inother keyroles.

Adah says she has

signed 5 Telugu films

L

A

A

It's exciting to seeso many people coming up

with their own versions of Chitti

nee navvante. In fact, peoplearound me startedaddressing me as

Chitti and I loveit

VAISSHNAV TO COLLABORATE WITH

MANAM ENTERTAINMENTS

V

sport 12HYDERABAD | SATURDAY | FEBRUARY 27, 2021

WOMEN'S CRICKET SEASON FROM MARCH 11New Delhi: The women's domestic cricket season willbegin with a 50-over tourney from March 11, the BCCIhas informed its affiliated units. The tourney will be heldacross six venues — Surat, Rajkot, Jaipur, Indore,Chennai and Bengaluru. The teams will have toassemble by March 4 and will need to have three Covid-19 negative before entering the respective bio-bubbles.Each of the five elite groups will have six teams each,while the plate group has seven. The quarter-finals willbe held on March 29, and semi-finals on April 1. Thefinal will be played on April 4.

CCAASS RREEDDUUCCEE UUMMAARR AAKKMMAALL BBAANN TTOO 1122 MMOONNTTHHSS Karachi: Pakistan batsman Umar Akmal will be able toresume his cricket career after the Court of Arbitrationfor Sports (CAS) reduced his suspension to 12 monthsand imposed a fine of 42.50 lakh Pakistani Rupees onhim for breaching the Anti-Corruption Code. The CASannounced its decision in a consolidated order on theappeals filed by Umar and the PCB. Umar was initiallysuspended from all cricket activities on February 20 lastyear for not reporting approaches made to him for spot-fixing in the PSL. On Friday, the PCB said that Umar willnow be eligible to reintegrate into competitive cricketsubject to deposits of fine, which adds up to `19.62lakh in Indian currency, and undergoing the program ofrehabilitation under the PCB Anti-Corruption Code.

YUSUF PATHAN ANNOUNCES RETIREMENTNew Delhi: Out-of-favour India all-rounder YusufPathan, who made a name for himself as a power-hitter,on Friday announced retirement from all forms ofcricket, saying time has come “to put a full stop to thisinnings of my life.” The 38-year-old Pathan was part ofthe inaugural T20 World Cup-winning Indian team in2007 and also the one that triumphed in the 2011 ODIWorld Cup at home.

PIETERSEN TO CAPTAIN ENGLAND LEGENDS Mumbai: Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen willlead the England Legends while Khaled Mahmud willcaptain the Bangladesh Legends in the UnacademyRoad Safety World Series, starting in Raipur fromMarch 5. Former cricketers Matthew Hoggard, OwaisShah, Monty Panesar, Nick Crompton are some of theother key members in the England side. TheBangladesh Legends squad comprises players likeNafees Iqbal, Abdur Razzaq and Mohammed Rafique.

HENDERSON SIDELINED AFTER SURGERY Liverpool: Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson facesa long spell on the sidelines after undergoing anoperation on the groin injury he sustained in lastweekend's Merseyside derby loss against Everton.Liverpool has not put a timescale on the midfielder'srecovery but said he will be out until at least April inanother blow to its fading Premier League title defense.

SWIATEK VS BENCIC IN ADELAIDE FINAL Adelaide: Second seed Belinda Bencic battled foralmost three hours before seeing off 16-year-old CocoGauff in three sets on Friday to reach the final of theAdelaide International. Bencic set up a final showdownagainst French Open champion Iga Swiatek with her 7-6 (7/2), 6-7 (4/7), 6-2 win. Swiatek had a much easierpassage to the final, beating Jil Teichmann 6-3, 6-2.

DISCOVERY BECOMES HOME OF GIRO D'ITALIA New Delhi: Discovery has secured the exclusive globalrights to show the Giro d'Italia until at least 2025. Thelong-term deal means Discovery retains its status asthe Giro's multi-platform rights holder, providing Liveand uninterrupted coverage of every stage from theyear's first Grand Tour. For the Indian audience, Girod'Italia can be viewed on Eurosport as well as ondiscovery+ app from 8th — 30th May 2021. AGENCIES

SINGLES

AFP n BERLIN

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyangscored twice including a late

winner as Arsenal qualified forthe last 16 of the Europa Leagueon Thursday with a 3-2 victo-ry over Benfica in Greece,while Manchester United andRangers cruised through tothe next round.

The Gabon striker putArsenal ahead at theKaraiskakis stadium in Piraeusin their home leg of a tie relo-cated due to Covid-19 travelrestrictions.

Diogo Goncalves levelledthe contest with a magnificentfree-kick and Rafa Silva gaveBenfica a 2-1 lead on the nightwhen he took advantage of anerror from Dani Ceballos onthe hour.

Kieran Tierney rifled in anequaliser and Aubameyangheaded in the decisive goalfrom Bukayo Saka’s cross on 87minutes, earning the Gunnersa 4-3 aggregate victory and sav-ing them from an unusualaway goals exit following a 1-1 draw in the first leg in Rome.

“Everyone is happy tonight.This is what gives me powerevery day, take errors from thepast and transform to strength,”Aubameyang told BT Sport.

“The team showed a lot ofcharacter and we deserved thewin. It was a hard game. Whatwe showed tonight will be anexample for the future.”

United cemented theirplace in Friday’s draw with a 0-0 draw at home to RealSociedad, having effectivelyclinched the tie last week withan emphatic 4-0 win on neutralground in Italy.

Mikel Oyarzabal’s awfulpenalty miss represented thebest chance at Old Trafford forLa Real, while BrunoFernandes rattled the crossbarand Axel Tuanzebe’s headerwas disallowed for a foul.

Leicester City, who arebehind second-placed Unitedin the Premier League only on

goal difference, were knockedout after sliding to a 2-0 loss athome to Czech championsSlavia Prague.

Lukas Provod fired Slaviain front just after half-time fol-lowing a goalless draw in thefirst leg, and Senegalese teenag-er Abdallah Sima ensured thevisitors extended their run inthe competition.

‘OUTSTANDING’ RANGERSSteven Gerrard’s Rangers

progressed following their 5-2win over Belgian side Antwerpat Ibrox, with five differentplayers on target for theScottish league leaders.

After a dramatic 4-3 win inthe first leg last week, goalsfrom Alfredo Morelos, NathanPatterson and Ryan Kent putRangers in control before latepenalties from Borna Barisicand Cedric Itten wrapped upthe tie 9-5 on aggregate.

“I’m very satisfied, the per-formance was outstanding in alot of areas,” said Gerrard.

AC Milan squeezed pastRed Star Belgrade on awaygoals after a 1-1 draw in a clashof former European championsat the San Siro.

Franck Kessie’s early penal-ty was enough to book Milan’splace in the last 16 despite ElFardou Ben Nabouhane equal-ising as the tie finished 3-3 overthe two legs.

Napoli’s dismal run contin-

ued as they were knocked out3-2 on aggregate by Granadadespite winning 2-1 in thereturn fixture in Italy.

Ajax eliminated FrenchLigue 1 leaders Lille with a 2-1 victory in Amsterdam tocomplete a 4-2 overall win,

while Gerard Moreno nettedboth goals as Villarreal dumpedout Salzburg 4-1 on aggregate.

Egyptian forward AhmedHassan’s 88th-minute strike inEindhoven sent Olymiapkosthrough at the expense of PSV5-4 on aggregate, while Romaand Young Boys brushed asideBraga and Bayer Leverkusenrespectively.

Former winners ShakhtarDonetsk completed a 3-0aggregate victory over MaccabiTel-Aviv, while NorwegiansMolde dumped outHoffenheim 5-3 on aggregatefollowing a 2-0 win inGermany.

Dinamo Zagreb andDynamo Kiev complete theline-up for the last 16, withTottenham Hotspur also in themix after destroying Wolfsbergof Austria by an aggregatescore of 8-1 on Wednesday.

PTI n NEW DELHI

The BCCI is looking at fourto five venues for conduct-

ing the next edition of theIndian Premier League withMumbai as a single host notlooking feasible anymore fol-lowing a surge in Covid-19cases in and around the city.

Earlier, there were discus-sions that Mumbai, with fourstadiums — Wankhede,Brabourne, DY Patil andReliance Stadium, will be agood option to create a singlebio-secure bubble and holdthe eight-week long tourna-ment.

However,the Covid-19 sit-uation in Maharashtra hasworsened with a spike in cases.

“There is still a month leftfor the IPL to start but obvious-ly some decisions need to be

taken. It will be risky to have asingle city IPL in Mumbai ifthere is steady rise in casesthat’s happening right now,” asenior BCCI official said.

“So cities like Hyderabad,Bengaluru, and Kolkata will beready to host matches.Ahmedabad, in all likelihood,will host the play-off and finalmatch of the IPL,” he said.

The IPL is scheduled tostart in the second week ofApril.

PTI n BENGALURU

Young opener Devdutt Padikkal contin-ued his sensational form, smashing a

second successive century to lead defend-ing champions Karnataka to a nine-wick-et win over Kerala in the Vijay HazareTrophy here on Friday.

Chasing Kerala’s 278, Karnataka can-tered home with 27 balls to spare with theRoyal Challengers Bangalore opener hitting13 fours and two sixes in an unbeaten knockof 126 from 138 balls.

He got a fine support fromKrishnamurthy Siddharth (84-ball 86 notout; 5x4, 3x6) as they toyed with the Kerala

attack in their match-winning 180-runundefeated stand. Fresh from his 152against Odisha, Padikkal carried on fromwhere he left and put on a 99-run openingstand with skipper Ravikumar Samarth(62).

The 20-year-old, who also has two half-centuries, now leads the Vijay Hazare runchart with 427 runs from four matches atan astounding average of 142.33.

The big win took Karnataka to the topof the Group E table ahead of UttarPradesh, who beat Railways by 70 runs inAlur and Kerala on net run-rate.

FOUR FOR BARODA In Group A game in Surat, skipper

Krunal Pandya’s unbeaten 133 formed thecornerstone of Baroda’s 13-run win overChhattisgarh in an Elite Group A game,even as Atit Sheth blazed away to a 16-ball51.

Opting to bat, Baroda rode on Pandya’s

hundred and Sheth’s big-hitting to post332/6 after a top-order failure, and thenrestricted the opposition to 319/9 to recordtheir fourth win on the trot. The left-han-der smashed 20 fours and three sixes in hiswhirlwind 100-ball knock while forging a139-run stand for the fifth wicket withVishnu Solanki (78 off 99 balls, 8x4).

JHARKHAND LOSEIn Group B matches in Indore, Tamil

Nadu ended Jharkhand’s three-match win-ning streak with a convincing 67-run win.

At Holkar Stadium, Prabhsimran Singhhammered 167 (140 balls, 13 fours, 9 sixes)to power Punjab to a four-wicket win overVidarbha. While Madhya Pradesh handedAndhra a 98-run defeat.

Jharkhand is on top of the standingswith 12 points, followed by Punjab, Andhra,Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh with eightpoints. Vidarbha lies in last place with 4points.

PTI n AHMEDABAD

It was a long wait for AxarPatel and it didn’t help thateveryone around him had

just one question for the pastthree years — “Why aren’t youin the Indian team?”

But Patel was unfazed as heknew, his time would come.

“I think it’s all about confi-dence,” said the 27-year-oldfrom Anand in Gujarat whowanted to be a mechanicalengineer growing up but wasprodded into trying his hand atcricket by a school friend.

With his record 11 wicketsin the Day-Night third Testagainst England, the left-armspinner finally found his bigmoment in International crick-et, seven years after he made hisIndia debut in an ODI againstBangladesh.

Since that day, he has beenin and out of the team with thespin all-rounder’s spot firmlywith Ravindra Jadeja.

In this series too, he madeit because Jadeja was outinjured. He hadn’t been in thenational team since 2018 andmade his Test debut in the sec-ond game against England lastweek in Chennai.

“I have been out of the teamfor three years and at that time,I used to think about the areasof my game which need to beworked upon. So, I was work-ing on my bowling and batting,”he told Hardik Pandya in abcci.Tv interview, thoroughlyenjoying his good time.

“When you are out of the

team, many people, friendskeep asking you ‘why aren’t youin the team despite doing well?’These things keep coming inthe mind,” said the bowler whohas 152 wickets in 41 first-classgame at an impressive averageof 25.25.

“So, I told myself ‘just waitfor the right time and whenev-

er I get an opportunity I willgive my 100 per cent’.”

Asked by Pandya if he findsTest cricket easy, Axar replied:“Everybody asked me thatquestion. When it goes yourway then you think it’s easy butwhen you miss a full toss, youactually realise how easy it is.”

Patel said he would aim to

continue in the same manner infront of his home crowd in thefourth and final Test againstEngland, starting here onMarch 4.

“(The Day-Night Test) wasmy second Test and first inMotera. It’s a special feeling toplay and perform before thehome crowd. My efforts wouldbe to do the same,” Patel said.

Towards the end of thelight-hearted interview, Indiaskipper Virat Kohli also madean appearance and appreciatedPatel’s performance in Gujarati.

“Ae Bapu taari bowlingkamaal chhe! (Bapu, your bowl-ing is wonderful!),” Kohli said.

EXPECTED WICKET TOHOLD UP LITTLE LONGER

England head coach ChrisSilverwood on Friday playeddown talks of lodging any for-mal complaint to the ICCregarding the Motera pitch butsaid he had expected the sur-face to hold up a little longerafter his team lost the third Testagainst India inside two days.

“First and foremost, just tofollow up from what Joe (Root)said yesterday, he got five for 8,but at the same time whateverthe pitch did or didn’t do,India ultimately played betterthan us on that surface, prob-ably pushed us to the extremesof which our players haven’texperienced before,” he saidduring a virtual press confer-ence.

“We did expect the wicketto hold up a little longer thanit did,” he added.

PTI n AHMEDABAD

Called a modern day legend byhis captain Virat Kohli, aceIndian off-spinner

Ravichandran Ashwin says he isactually an accidental cricketer,who is living a dream with over 400Test wickets under his belt.

Ashwin reached the milestonein the Day-Night third Test againstEngland, which ended here onThursday with India winning by 10wickets inside two days. Ashwinpicked up seven in the match totake his overall tally to 401.

“I accidentally became a crick-eter. I am actually a cricket loverwho went on to become a cricketer.I am living my dream here, I neverimagined that I will wear the Indianjersey one day and I will play,”Ashwin told bcci.Tv in an interviewbut did not elaborate on the remark.

According to Ashwin, being inthe Covid-19 lockdown made himrealise just how lucky he was to playfor India.

“And every time I finish play-ing a game and if I give that win-ning result for the team, I just feelI am being given a blessing, but theCovid times made me feel howlucky I am to actually play for India.

“Even when I came back afterthe IPL, I never thought I will playin Australia, so that is what I said,everything has been a gift, for thelove with which I play the game, thegame is giving me back enough andmore laurels,” he added.

Ashwin, who also became thesecond fastest bowler to reach the400 Test wicket-mark after SriLankan spin legend MuttiahMuralitharan, said that he watcheda lot of old videos of great individ-

ual performances in the lock-downhelped improve his understandingof the game.

“I used to watch a lot of footageeven before, but the understandingof the game has gone one notchhigher...During the lockdown, Iwas watching a lot of cricket fromthe past, especially Sachin’s hundredin Chepauk, all sort of stuff onYoutube,” recalled the 34-year-oldChennai-born player.

Jofra Archer became Ashwin’s400th wicket during the second dayof the third Test here, which Indiawon by 10 wickets and he said it wasonly when the batsman had optedfor DRS, he realised that he hadreached the landmark.

“Initial feeling is quite empty tobe honest, because we were underimmense pressure...For me I wasactually in the moment, only afterhe (Archer) had taken the DRS, Irealised the 400th that happened,”he said.

“...After they flashed 400 Testwickets on the board, the entire sta-dium was up, everybody was clap-ping, I don’t know, I cannot put afinger and say how I feel about it,the last three months have been acomplete fairy-tale,” he added.

PTI n LONDON

Former batsman Ian Bell hasslammed England’s much-

debated rotation policy, sayingthey were guilty of thinking toofar ahead and have gone wrongwith the constant choppingand changing in a “big” Testseries like India.

England fell to an embar-rassing 10-wicket defeat in thethird Test to go down 1-2 in thefour-match series against India,while also getting knocked outof contention from the ICCWorld Test Championship

(WTC) final in June.“I think England have been

guilty of thinking too far ahead

of having a squad for the Asheswhen actually this is biggerthan the Ashes, this is proba-bly as big as the Ashes,” Belltold ESPNcricinfo.

“Why are we rotating in thebiggest Test series you are play-ing in? For me that’s whereEngland have gone a bitwrong,” he added.

The 38-year-old, who fea-tured in 118 Tests for England,feels for the English players forwhom the tours to India andAustralia can make or breakcareers.

“These tours, certainly for

Englishmen coming to India orgoing to Australia are the pin-nacle. They make your careers,you look back and if you winin those conditions they areremembered for a long longtime,” Bell said.

“For me, India are going tocome to England in the sum-mer. If they are 2-0 or 1-0 upwill they rotate? I know for afact that when India come inthe summer they won’t berotating their best bowlers ortheir best players or leavesomebody out. They want towin.”

I became a cricketeraccidentally: Ashwin

I am actually acricket lover who

went on to become acricketer. I am living

my dream here, Inever imagined thatI will wear the Indianjersey one day and I

will play

Eng guilty of thinking too far ahead: Bell

New Delhi: Asian Silver-winnerDeepak Kumar (52kg) on Fridaystunned Olympic and worldchampion Shakhobiddin Zoirovof Uzbekistan to storm into thefinals of the 72nd StrandjaMemorial Boxing Tournamentin Sofia, Bulgaria.

Deepak clinched one of themost memorable wins of hiscareer with a 4-1 win over more

fancied Zoirov, who had claimedthe 2019 world championshiptitle beating India’s AmitPanghal. Zoirov is also a Silver-medallist from the Asian Gamesand the championships.

However, former youthworld champion Jyoti Gulia(51kg) and Bhagyabati Kachari(75kg) bowed out of the women’scompetition. PNS

It’s all about confidence, Axar on Test outings

Arsenal, Man Utd, Rangers in last 16Leicester, Napoli, Germans exit Europa League after shock defeats in R32

Padikkal scores another ton in Karnataka’s win

Red Devils faceAC Milan in last 16AFP n NYON

Manchester United and ACMilan will face off in the

last 16 of the Europa Leagueafter being paired together inFriday’s draw in Nyon.

United, who beat RealSociedad 4-0 in the previousround, will face the seven-time European champions in atwo-legged encounter afterthey squeezed past Red StarBelgrade on away goals.

The tie will pit ZlatanIbrahimovic against his formerclub in United, where he wonthe 2017 edition of the EuropaLeague.

United will be consideredfavourites for the tie howeveras they sit second in thePremier League having lost justonce in the English top flightsince the start of November.

Milan meanwhile have

surrendered top spot in Serie Ato neighbours Inter Milan aftera run of three defeats in fiveleague matches.

Ajax will fancy theirchances against Switzerland'sYoung Boys after the four-time European championseliminated Ligue 1 leaders Lilleon Thursday.

Granada were rewardedfor making the last 16 in theirfirst ever European campaignwith a tie against Norway’sMolde, while Roma coachPaulo Fonseca will be reunitedwith his old team ShakhtarDonetsk.

United’s fellow PremierLeague teams TottenhamHotspur and Arsenal will faceDinamo Zagreb andOlympiakos respectively.Rangers take on Slavia Pragueafter dumping out RoyalAntwerp 9-5 on aggregate.

Delhi to host Vijay Hazare knockoutMumbai: The knockoutmatches of the ongoingVijay Hazare Trophy willbe held in Delhi fromMarch 7.

The matches will beorganised at the ArunJaitley Stadium and thePalam Ground.

“...Kindly note that the

knock-out stage of theVijay Hazare Trophy 2020-21 will be played at NewDelhi from March 7,” stat-ed a mail sent from theBCCI secretary’s office toall the affiliated state unitson February 25.

As per the BCCI web-site, the pre-quarter final

(Eliminator) will be playedon March 7, while thequarter-finals will beplayed on March 8 andMarch 9.

The two semi-finalswill be staged on March 11while the summit clashwill be played on March14.

Deepak upstages world champ Zoirov

BCCI considers 4-5 IPL venues