VIJAYAWADA, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2022; PAGES 12 `3

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ALMANAC

Updated: AUGUST 9, 2022 5:00 PM

Forecast: Mostly cloudy

Temp: 32oc

Humidity: 70%

Sunrise: 5:50 AM

Sunset: 6:35 PM

Month & Paksham:

Tithi: Trayodashi: Aug 09 05:46 PMto Aug 10 02:15 PM

Chaturdashi: Aug 10 02:15 PMto Aug 11 10:38 AM

Nakshatram: Purva Ashadha: Aug 09 12:18 PM

to Aug 10 09:39 AMUttara Ashadha: Aug 10 09:40 AM

to Aug 11 06:53 AM

Rahukalam: 12:21 PM to 1:56 PM

Yamagandam: 7:36 AM to 9:11 AM

Varjyam: 04:44 PM to 06:09 PM

Gulika: 10:46 AM to 12:21 PM

Amritakalam: 01:13 AM to 02:38 AM

Abhijit Muhurtham: NIL

TODAY

VIJAYAWADA WEATHER

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

On account of heavy rain in theupper catchment areas, the floodwa-ter level has been increasing in RiverKrishna, resulting in the flow of over1,25,369 cusecs of water to thePrakasam Barrage.

Officials of the Vijayawada Circleof Water Resources Department(WRD), lifted all the 70 crest gatesby 2 feet and released the surpluswater of 1,00,590 cusecs into the Bayof Bengal on Tuesday.

The floodwater, which is comingfrom Telangana, has graduallyincreased from morning to eveningand later continued steadily. Withheavy rain lashing Telangana'sKhammam district, much of thefloodwater has been coming fromPaleru, Kattaleru, and Wyra tribu-taries of River Krishna. As of now,River Krishna has been receiving54,052 cusecs of floodwater fromKeesara and 10,595 cusecs from thePaleru tributary. Meanwhile, thePulichintala Project has been receiv-ing much water from the NagarjunaSagar Project and the NSP officersare releasing floodwater down-stream. Hence, the PulichintalaProject officers are releasing excesswater towards Prakasam Barrageand the barrage has been receiving60,742 cusecs through Wazenapalli.

According to irrigation CircleSuperintending Engineer (SE)Sesham Tirumala Rao, floodwater isbeing released into the sea by liftingall the 70 gates by 2 feet of thePrakasam Barrage. This is the firsttime in this season that all the 70gates were lifted by a height of 2 feet,he said. "We maintain the water levelof 12 feet at Prakasam Barrage and

release 7,375 cusecs of water intocanals. The department is on highalert as there is a possibility of receiv-ing more inflows at the barrage," headded.

He said the average surplus waterreleased through Prakasam Barragein July 2022 was 35.02 TMC, he said.Up to August 7, more than 6.94TMC water was released into thesea, he added.

Also, he said the total releasedexcess water downstream of thePrakasam Barrage was about 15TMC, he added.

Due to an increase in the inflows,the SE alerted all officials con-cerned to take steps to avoid unto-ward incidents downstream of thePrakasam Barrage.

1,00,590 cusecs beingdischarged fromPrakasam Barrage

70Crest gates of the barragelifted by two feet

River Krishna receiving more than

1,25,369cusecs offloodwater

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

On the occasion of InternationalTribals Day, Andhra Pradesh ChiefMinister YS Jagan Mohan Reddygreeted the tribals across the State.

Taking to Twitter, CM Jagan wishedthe tribals of the AP State who he termedthe children of forests living in the hillsand protecting nature. He said that theAP government was striving for thedevelopment and welfare of the tribes,while protecting their indigenous lifestyle.CM Jagan also brought to the fore thattwo new districts of Parvathipuram

Manyam and Alluri Sitharama Raju dis-tricts were created giving importance tothe tribals in the region.

In a separate programme, YSRCongress MLCs Janga Krishnamurthy,Dokka Manikyavaraprasad and LellaAppi Reddy said that the YSRCP gov-ernment was led by Chief Minister YSJagan Mohan Reddy working for thedevelopment of tribal communities inthe State and further gave uncondition-al support to Ms Droupadi Murmu inthe Presidential elections.

Floodwater level rises in KrishnaPNS n NEW DELHI

The video involving YSRCP MP,Gorantla Madhav, has generated abig political heat with the TeluguDesam Party (TDP) lodging a com-plaint with Lok Sabha Speakeragainst Madhav, demanding strin-gent action against him.

TDP MPs, Kinjarapu Ram MohanNaidu and Kanakamedala RavindraKumar, told media persons in NewDelhi that the YSRCP is only tryingto divert the issue of its party MPand the party has become a masterin diversionary politics.

The YSRCP is always interestedonly in bailing out the party leaders,including Gorantla Madhav, fromthe criminal cases and thus, theyfiled a complaint against the YSRCPMP with the Lok SabhaSpeaker. "We are confi-dent that the Lok SabhaSpeaker will act on ourletter," they added.

The ruling YSRCP isnot taking any initiativein the interest of theState and is not makingany effort to wage afight either for specialcategory status or for

Kadapa Steel Plant, Ram MohanNaidu said. Since the safety of womenin Andhra Pradesh is under threat,particularly Madhav's issue hasproved it beyond doubt, the YSRCPshould initiate immediate measuresfor women's protection, he said.

Ram Mohan Naidu is of thefirm belief that the YSRCP ismaking every effort to save

Madhav from thismess as the party is ofthe strong opinionthat if action is initiat-ed against the MP, nota single leader will besafe. Almost all theleaders are e itherinvolved in videos oraudios, he felt.

Ram Mohan Naidu isof the firm beliefthat the YSRCP is

making every effortto save Madhav from

this mess as theparty is of the strongopinion that if action

is initiated againstthe MP, not a singleleader will be safe.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

YSR Congress MP andParliamentary Party Chief WhipMargani Bharat has said that theCentral government has made itclear in Parliament that there was nomisappropriation of funds in thePolavaram project. MP Bharat spoketo the media in Delhi on Tuesdayand alleged that the TDP MPs arecreating obstacles by not gettingfunds for the Polavaram project.

Speaking further, he said that theTDP does not care about the peo-ple of the State and was only inter-ested in politics. The Polavaramproject was getting delayed due toerroneous planning by the previousgovernment headed by

Chandrababu Naidu which hadbuilt the ECRF dam first instead ofthe cofferdam, he alleged.

The YSRC MP said that stepswere being taken to promote alter-native energy sources and that 76per cent of the people should begiven rice under the National FoodSecurity Act. He also said that thepropaganda that loans were being

taken beyond the FRBM limit wasfalse. He said that Rs 6,600 crore inelectricity dues were to be receivedfrom Telangana.

The Central government shouldtake the initiative on this and ensurethat AP receives its dues. He alsourged the Centre to provide sanc-tions for the 13 medical colleges inAP, MP Bharat said.

TDP MPs’ actions ruinous toPolavaram project: MP Bharat

The TDP MPs are creating obstacles by not getting funds forthe Polavaram project. The TDP does not care about the

people of the State and was only interested in politics. The Polavaramproject is getting delayed due to erroneous planning by theprevious government headed by Chandrababu Naidu which hadbuilt the ECRF dam first instead of the cofferdam.

}

YSRCP committed to tribal development: CMCM Jagan wished thetribals of the State who hetermed the children offorests living in the hillsand protecting nature. Hesaid that the APgovernment is striving forthe development andwelfare of thetribes, whileprotecting theirindigenouslifestyle.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The Department of Tourism is likely tocome up with a mega tourism complex onthe coast of the port city Visakhapatnam.A total of 24 different tourism projects willtake shape at one place at an estimated costof Rs 700 crore in an extent of 25 acres.The Tourism Department is preparing toarrange a meeting with the stakeholderssoon and start the project works, accord-

ing to sources. Visakhapatnam is a touristattraction and Chief Minister YS JaganMohan Reddy has issued guidelines to theTourism Department officials to boosttourism in the city. Preparations arebeing made to develop an EntertainmentCity on the lines of Sentosa Islands(Singapore), in Visakhapatnam.Mangamaripet beach, which is about 16km from Visakhapatnam and five kmfrom Bhimili, has been selected for the

project. This Entertainment City hasbeen designed in an area of 25 acres onMangamaripet beach. A total of 24 differ-ent types of tourism projects are comingup in this mega tourism complex. It is esti-mated that Rs 700 crore will be spent forthe project. This Entertainment City will come up inconnection with the currently proposedBhimili-Bhogapuram six-line greenfieldcorridor, sources say.

The tourism authorities havedesigned the project with aspects suchas developing state-of-the-art tourismprojects to attract national and interna-tional tourists, providing basic infra-structure etc. It is expected that the costof the project will be reduced by pro-viding parking, food courts and otherinfrastructure in a single complex.

Entertainment City to come up on Mangamaripet beachFacility, coming up in 25 acres, is planned on the lines of Sentosa Islands

The Godavari in spate again

PNS n ELURU

River Godavari is in spate again fol-lowing heavy rain in the catchmentareas and the first warning has beenissued as the water level reached to43 feet at Bhadrachalam.

The heavy f lood to RiverGodavari created havoc last month.The river has been receiving heavyinflow since Monday and the waterlevel is growing gradually.

Official sources said that 8,56,949cusecs of water was flowing atBhadrachalam in the river Godavariand the water level stood at 43 forcingthe officials to issue the first warning.

Moreover, the Sebhari, the trib-utary of Godavari is also in spatewith heavy inflows. The CWC

officials asked the people living inthe low-lying areas to be alert. Theflood victims in the flood-hit areasreached their homes a few days agofrom the relief centres and theywere recovering from the loss.Within a few days, the Godavari hasswollen with heavy inflows.

Eluru district Collector VPrasanna Venkatesh directed theofficials to be on high alert follow-ing heavy inflows to the riverGodavari. He said that the firstwarning had been issued atBhadrachalam and the third warn-ing was likely to be issued onWednesday as the inflows grewconsiderably.

1st warning issued as level reaches 43 feet at B'chalam

PNS n HYDERABAD

The TRS is rejoicing over thechange of guard in Bihar asTejashwi Yadav had spoken aboutthe very same idea of upholdingthe ‘federal spirit’ aired by ChiefMinister K. Chandrasekhar Rao.

During his nationwide tour,KCR had met Uddhav Thackerayand Tejashwi Yadav had comedown to Pragathi Bhavan. TRSsources said that India has react-ed and is giving back to the BJPwhich wanted to wipe out region-al parties.

“What worked for the BJP inMaharashtra through EknathShinde didn’t in Bihar. This provesthe fact that regional partiesstrongly believe that the federalspirit is paramount. The RJD is alike-minded party and Tejashwi iswell aware that this is not a battleof power but a battle against theBJP. Despite not so high numbers,Nitish is probably the CM, whichagain reinforces the spirit ofdemocracy and for regional partiesdemocracy is paramount,” thesources said.

Both Uddhav and Tejashwi faceda different battle. While one won,the other lost. Recently, KCR hadmet Tejashwi and the idea to keepup the federal spirit seems to haveworked well.

Speaking to reporters, Tejashwiechoed KCR’s statements.

“Everyone knows what is happen-ing. The disorder in the country,the state of the economy, defence,or Chinese aggression. From Bihar,we are giving the message to thenation. Those who are fighting forthe people strongly will be accept-ed by the people.”

Both KCR and Tejashwi strong-ly objection to Nadda’s statementthat he will wipe out regionalparties.

KCR had attacked Nadda’s state-ment. Likewise, Tejashwi said,“You are coming to the birthplaceof democracy and telling that in ademocracy you will eliminate theopposition. You are challenging thevery spirit of democracy.”

‘Federal spirit isparamount’mTRS terms Bihar developments as ‘a

victory of federalism’

PNS n HYDERABAD

Senior film actress Jayasudha saidthat she is ready to join the BJP ifthe BJP accepts her proposals.However, Jayasudha made it clearthat she is not joining the BJP onAugust 21.

Reacting to the news that shewill join the BJP along withKomatireddy Rajagopal Reddy onAugust 21 in the presence of UnionHome Minister Amit Shah,Jayasudha said that she was notthinking of contesting electionsagain. However, she placed a fewproposals before the BJP regardingher joining the party.

Ready to join BJP,but conditionsapply: Jayasudha

MAHA VILLAGE SETS UP 15 LOUDSPEAKERS

TO PLAY NATIONAL ANTHEM EVERY DAYAIRLINES ASKED TO SHARE PNR DETAILSOF INTERNATIONAL PASSENGERS

Airlines will have to mandatorily share PNR details of passengers withcustoms authorities 24 hours prior to departure of internationalflights, a move which will help prevent law offenders from fleeing

the country. The information, which shall include name, contact detailsand payment details, will be used by the customs department forimproved surveillance and risk assessment of passengers entering orleaving the country, The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs(CBIC) notified the 'Passenger Name Record Information Regulations,2022', which aims at "risk analysis" of passengers to prevent economicand other offenders from fleeing the country.

SERENA WILLIAMS SAYS SHE IS"EVOLVING AWAY FROM TENNIS"

Serena Williams says she is ready to step away from tennis after winning23 Grand Slam titles, turning her focus to having another child and herbusiness interests. "I'm turning 41 this month, and something's got to

give," Williams wrote in an essay released Tuesday by Vogue magazine.Williams, one of the greatest and most accomplished athletes in the historyof her or any other sport, said she does not like the word retirement andprefers to think of this stage of her life as "evolving away from tennis, towardother things that are important to me." Williams is playing this week inToronto, at a hard-court tournament that leads into the U.S. Open, the year'slast Grand Slam event, which begins in New York on Aug. 29.

NEPAL BARS ENTRY OF COVID-INFECTED TOURISTS FROM INDIA

Nepal has stopped the entry of people coming from India whotest positive for COVID-19 after four Indian tourists werediagnosed with fatal coronavirus infection and were sent

back, amid a sharp surge in the number of cases in the Himalayannation. The four Indian tourists had entered Nepal via theJhulaghat border point in the Baitadi district in Western Nepal.Bipin Lekhak, Information officer at the Health Office in Baitadi,said the four Indian nationals tested positive for COVID-19 andwere told to return to India. "We have also ramped up COVID-19testing on Indians," said Lekhak.

Avillage in Maharashtra's Aurangabad district has set up 15loudspeakers to play the national anthem every day, as part of aninitiative to mark the 75th year of India's independence. The step

was taken by the authorities in Patoda village to celebrate 75 years ofthe country's independence and the practice will continuepermanently, former sarpanch Bhaskar Pere said. The nationalanthem will be played on the loudspeakers from the grampanchayatevery morning, he said. The village located in Aurangabad tehsil has apopulation of 4,000. "We have so far installed 10 loudspeakers inPatoda using grampanchayat funds.

Majority of PMAYhomes owned bywomen: Report

PNS n MUMBAI

Home ownership has undergone aradical shift since PM's housingscheme launch in 2015, as 94 lakhof 123 lakh houses under thescheme are either in women'sname or jointly owned, says areport.

The Prime Minister's AwasYojana (PMAY) was launched in2015 with a view to help ensurehome for all the needy. Since then123 such houses have been sanc-tioned. Of them, work on 101 lakhunits has started as of FY22 and 61lakh houses have been completed.Of these 123 lakh homes sanc-tioned, as much as 94 lakh are inthe name of women or are jointlyowned by them, shows an SBIResearch study of the scheme.

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TDP complains to LSSpeaker against Madhav

Nitish splitswith ally BJP

for second timeP5

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vijayawada 02VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | AUGUST 10, 2022

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(IN VIJAYAWADA)

The imminent bypolls tothe MunugodeAssembly seat in

Telangana State, necessi-tated by the decision ofsitting Congress MLA(younger brother of LokSabha memberK o m a t i r e d d yV e n k a t a r e d d y )Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddyto part ways with the Congressparty over his long-standingdifferences with TelanganaPCC president and MP A.Revanth Reddy, may helpdetermine the TelanganaRashtra Samiti's main rival forthe 2023 Assembly polls.Popular as Komatireddybrothers, they had pitchedhard for assuming PCC lead-ership ahead of the GeneralElection and both still believethat they are better placed tounseat the TRS and stop K.Chandrasekhar Rao's allegedfamily rule in the state. AfterRevanth took over as PCC

chief, at one point oftime, the brothers

had dropped hintstriggering speculationsthat they could evenjoin TRS, with their

henchmen boast-ing that Venkat

would become a Ministerin the KCR cabinet. At last,

the brothers, also business-men, seem to have clinched adeal with the Bharatiya JanataParty. Rajagopal Reddy hasresigned as MLA and withinno time TSLA SpeakerPocharam (Parigi) SrinivasReddy accepted the papers.

Now announcement ofbypolls to the MungodeAssembly constituency is onlymatter of formality in thecombined Nalgonda district.Komatireddy Venkata Reddygot elected to the LegislativeAssembly of the combinedState of Andhra Pradesh in1999 with the support extend-ed by Dr. YS Rajasekhara

Reddy. He served as a memberof the Congress LegislatureParty(CLP) under the leader-ship of Dr.YSR and laterbecame a Minister in KiranKumar Reddy's team. Thebrothers seem to have decid-ed jointly to veer towards theBJP.

The Congress party haslinked Rajagopal Reddy's exitto his securing civil contractworks in the state ofChhattisgarh. Noticeably, thebrothers have not denied the

charge, but mentioned theywere after all businessmen.

In any case, the Munugodubypolls would be a litmus testfor the principal political play-ers in the state. There could bea triangular contest involvingthe TRS, BJP and theCongress, with party winningthe bypolls better placed forthe larger poll battle in 2023.The political atmosphere couldheat up if it becomes a multi-cornered contest involvingTDP and Left parties as well.

The Congress party can nolonger be sure of retaining theseat, considering that its MLAhas shifted his loyalties to BJP.The situation is akin to the onepeople witnessed in theHuzurabad bypolls some timeback. TRS legislator EatalaRajendar quit the party afterraising his voice against hisleader and Chief Minister K

Chandrasekhar Rao, and con-tested on BJP ticket. The BJP'swinning spree in the bypolls inTS will possibly continue.After getting only one seat(Gosha Mahal) in the 2018elections, the BJP started toexpand its political base. Theparty has won two Assemblybypolls -- Dubbak andHuzurabad -- in TS after that.The Dubbak Assembly seatwas captured by BJP in thebypolls necessitated by thedemise of TRS legislatorSolipeta Ramalinga Reddy. Inthis case, voters sympathisedmore with BJP candidateRaghunandan Rao (who hadlost the election to RamalingaReddy of TRS) than with thewife of Ramalinga Reddy. So,in both cases the individualscounted more than the party.

In the bypolls to theMunugode seat tomorrow, thepersonal image of BJP candi-date (possibly KomatireddyRajagopal Reddy) would work

and influence voters ratherthan party's standing. As he isalso a contractor, there may beno dearth of money to bepumped for luring voters.Venkata Reddy will have tojoin BJP to work for hisyounger brother.

The Congress party seemsto have lost its sheen followingthe desertion by the two broth-ers. Earlier former ministerand ex- Rajya Sabha memberPalvai Govardhan Reddy rep-resented Munugode severaltimes. Dr. YS RajasekharaReddy's political game withGovardhan Reddy had nega-tively impacted the latter'spolitical fortune twice. Despitebeing a sitting member,Govardhan had to lose theopportunity to contest in 1985and 2004 due to the politicaldistance he maintained withYSR. Govardhan's daughterPalvai Rajani had made a vainbid to get the Congress ticketto contest from Munugode,

following the influence ofKomatireddy brothers.

The Munugodu bypolls maytake place at the end of thisyear, probably along with theAssembly elections of Gujarat.

Earlier Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao was think-ing of going for early polls in TSagain, as he had done in 2018with the rapport he had withthe Narendra Modi govern-ment at the Centre. Now KCRis having strained relationswith Modi. Moreover, KCR isseriously thinking about takinga plunge into national politicsand has vowed to unite 'anti-Modi forces across the country'.Even if KCR decides to go forearly polls, the ElectionCommission of India may notrespond positively without theconcurrence of Modi.

All told, the outcome of theMunugode bypolls will deter-mine the two main contestantsat the state level poll battle in2023.

M D RATNA KUMAR

Senior Journalist

In any case, the Munugodu bypollswould be a litmus test for the principalpolitical players in the state. Therecould be a triangular contest involvingthe TRS, BJP and the Congress, withparty winning the bypolls better placedfor the larger poll battle in 2023. Thepolitical atmosphere could heat up if itbecomes a multi-cornered contestinvolving TDP and Left parties as well.

PIN

POINT

Munugodu bypolls will determine TRS' main rival for battle of 2023

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

TDP chief N ChandrababuNaidu, said here on Tuesdaythat the development tookplace in agency areas onlyduring the TDP regime.Greeting all the tribals on theoccasion of Adivasi Divas,Naidu said that the rulingdispensations should treatthe tribals living in agencyareas and those having theirhabitations on the mainlandon an equal basis. Prominentdays like Adivasi Divas arecelebrated only to protectthe rights of the tribals, toinstil confidence amongthem and to bring awarenessto the community, he added.

Recalling when TDP was inpower, Naidu said that theparty organised several pro-grammes and World TribalDay was celebrated at Arakuby mobilising all sections ofthe tribal community to bringawareness among them.Schools were set up in theagency belts only when NTRama Rao was the chief min-ister and a 14-point plan wasbrought in for the overallprogress of the community.

Naidu said that the TDPgovernment introducedgurukuls in the tribal areas,and CM Jagan Mohan Reddyas the Chief Minister is shut-ting down all the institu-tions. The TDP governmentfulf il led the promise ofupgrading the tribal tandas

having a population of 500and above as panchayats.

Naidu promised toupgrade any remaining suchtandas into panchayats oncethe TDP comes back topower. Irrigation water wassupplied to tandas by build-ing check-dams and Rs

50,000 each was sanctionedto tribal married womenunder the 'Giri PutrikaKalyanam' scheme. CM JaganMohan Reddy, who promisedRs 1 lakh each for suchwomen, failed to extend eventhe Rs 50,000 that the TDPhad given.

TDP govt developed Agencyareas in State, claims Naidu

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Union health ministry isexpected to soon approveBiological E's Corbevax as aprecaution dose for peopleabove 18 years who are dou-ble vaccinated with eitherCovishield or Covaxin, officialsources said on Tuesday.

The approval will be basedon the recommendationsmade by the COVID-19Working Group of theNational Technical AdvisoryGroup on Immunisation(NTAGI) last week, thesources told PTI.

If approved by the govern-ment, this would be the firsttime a booster dose of a Covidvaccine different from the

one used for primary vaccina-tion would be allowed in thecountry.

"Corbevax will be consid-ered as a precaution doseafter completion of 6 monthsor 26 weeks from the date ofadministration of the seconddose of either Covaxin orCovishield vaccines for thoseaged above 18 years enablinguse of Corbevax as a heterol-ogous COVID-19 vaccine forprecaution dose administra-tion in this age group," asource said.

This will be in addition tothe existing guidelines forhomologous precaution doseadministration of Covaxinand Covishield vaccines.

India's first indigenously

developed RBD protein sub-unit vaccine Corbevax is cur-rently being used to inoculatechildren in the age group of 12to 14 years under the COVID-19 immunisation programme.

The COVID-19 WorkingGroup (CWG), in its July 20meeting, reviewed data of thedouble-blind randomizedphase-3 clinical study whichevaluated the immunogenic-

ity and safety of booster doseof Corbevax vaccine whenadministered to COVID-19-negative adult volunteers ofage 18-80 years previouslyvaccinated with two doses ofeither Covishield or Covaxin.

"Following the examinationof the data, the CWG observedthat Corbevax vaccine caninduce significant increase inantibody titers when given tothose who have received eitherCovaxin or Covishield, whichis likely to be protective as perthe neutralization data also,"the source said.

The Drugs ControllerGeneral of India (DCGI) onJune 4 approved Corbevax asa precaution dose for thoseaged 18 and above.

Govt nod for Corbevax as booster for adults soon

PNS n NELLORE

The three-day 'RottelaPanduga' began on Tuesdaywith religious fervour as thou-sands of people thronged theBara Shaheed Dargah here onTuesday.

Agriculture Minister KakaniGovardhan Reddy and SPVijaya Rao personally moni-tored the movements of crowds

from the command controlroom.

The police installed 76CCTV cameras and twodrones are being used tomonitor the movements ofcrowds. The police held onepickpocket suspect andrecovered a bag from him.Official sources said that onthe f irst day of RottelaPanduga over 2,000 vehicles

were parked in the area with-out any hassle.

The police allow boat ridesonly to those who put on life jack-ets. The officials were directed toensure that the people standingin queue lines moved quickly sothat many people could enter theDargah. Thousands of peoplevisited the graves of prophetsand exchanged 'rottelu' on theoccasion.

‘Rottela Panduga’ beginswith religious fervour

Continued from Page 1

He told the officials that if theinflow exceeds 14 lakh cusecs,the people from the low-lyingarea should be alerted. Heasked them to alert the peopleat vulnerable areas through apublic announcement system.

In West Godavari district,Collector P Prashanthi visitedthe Erra Kaluva stream as it isreceiving heavy inflows. TheCollector along with the offi-cials visited Garagaparru inPalakoderu mandal and Duvvain Tanuku mandal and theNandamuri regulator.

She inquired with the offi-cials how much inflow theYerrakaluvu would receive inthe next 24 hours and if itwould cause the inundation ofvillages. She directed the offi-cials to identify where the

embankments were weak. Theofficials should constantlyexamine the embankments tillthe flood water recedes, sheinstructed the officials. If need-ed, the people living in the low-lying areas of the Yerrakalvashould be evacuated, she toldthem.

Meanwhile, the river Krishnais also in spate with heavyinflow. Seven crest gates of theSrisailam project have beenlifted to release 1.95 lakh cusecsof water to the downstream NSproject.

The Srisailam project wasreceiving 2.02 lakh cusecs ofwater from the upstream. Atpresent, the water level stood at884.7 feet and 213.88 TMC ofwater is impounded in thereservoir. 62,584 cusecs of wateris being released through gen-erating hydel power.

Continued from Page 1

Instead of taking actionagainst the MP, the YSRCPleaders are shamelessly blam-ing the TDP, Ram MohanNaidu said and is of the opin-ion that if an MP is sparedthen tomorrow even a com-mon man will resort to suchactivities and action can notbe initiated against them. Theparty is utilising all kinds ofweapons to safeguard the MPand Government Advisor,Sajjala Ram Krishna Reddy,has been changing tack everyminute on this, he added.

Kanakamedala RavindraKumar said that even woman

leaders in the YSRCP arefeeling ashamed of GorantlaMadhav. "Why are you main-taining silence on this?" heasked.

Kanakamedala said thatnot only the MPs fromAndhra Pradesh but all theMembers of Parliament areseriously discussing the issueof Gorantla Madhav. "Howmuch time does it take forgetting the forensic labreport on Madhav's video?"he asked.

He asked as to how thevideo involving Madhav andthe issue of TDP chiefChandrababu Naidu arelinked. "Where is the con-

nection between the two?Not even an FIR is bookedagainst Chandrababu Naiduand the High Court dis-missed the case but the gov-ernment went in an appealagainst it. The YSRCP has noethics," he maintained.

"In politics, there are noenemies but only rivals. Butafter the YSRCP came topower, the party has all theenemies but no rivals," heobserved.

The TDP MPs demandedstringent action against theYSRCP MP and are confi-dent that the Lok SabhaSpeaker will act on theircomplaint.

Continued from Page 1

International Tribal Day wascelebrated at Tadepalli onTuesday with traditional tribalrituals. YSRCP tribal wing statepresident MerajyotHanumanthu Naik unanimous-ly thanked the chief minister forsupporting tribal womanDraupadi Murmu as the presi-dential candidate.

MLC Krishnamurthy saidthat after YS Jagan became theChief Minister, there have beenmany progressive changes in thelifestyle of the tribals. He saidthat the differences between for-est and plain areas have alsoreduced significantly.

MLC DokkaManikyavaraprasad said that

Chief Minister Jagan has fullysucceeded in providing educa-tion and medicine to the trib-als while preserving their cul-ture. He said that CM Jagan iscredited with providing themost important health securi-ty to remote tribal areas by pro-viding advanced medical ser-vices. He said that not only inthe forest areas, but also in theplains, all the Adivasis haveunanimously supported theYSR Congress party.

MLC Lella Appi Reddy saidthat CM Jagan is working sin-cerely for the welfare develop-ment of the Giriputrulu (tribals)and stated that the establish-ment of two new districts withthe highest priority for tribals inall fields is proof of that.

Ready to joinBJP, but...

Continued from Page 1

She made it clear that sheis ready to join the BJP if theBJP accepts her proposals.She said that she will join theBJP if the BJP’s leadersassure her regarding herproposals.

The BJP’s Joining andCoordination Committeeheld talks with Jayasudha,who played an importantrole in the Congress duringthe YSR government andinvited her to join the BJP.Cine actress Khushbu ofTamil Nadu andVijayashanthi of Telanganahave joined the BJP.

However, Jayasudha hasbeen staying away from theCongress after getting elect-ed as an MLA fromSecunderabad in the 2009elections, after the death ofYS Rajashekar Reddy.

She joined the BJP in2016. She had quit the TDPand joined YSRCP earlier.However, she had beenmaintaining silence in theYSRCP.

The Godavari in spate... TDP complains to LS Speakeragainst YSRCP MP Madhav

Entertainment City...Continued from Page 1

The AP TourismDevelopment Corporation,in collaboration with theAndhra Pradesh UrbanInfrastructure AssetManagement Limited(APUIAML), will executethe project.

The special attractions ofthe Entertainment City willbe the Tunnel Aquarium,Giant Wheel, Sky Tower andSnow World. Ice SculpturePark, Outdoor Sky Diving,Tethered Gas Balloon, WaveSurfing, Elevated TrackedTrain, Dinosaur Park,Dinosaur 5D Indoor Show,Glow Garden, Miniature

World, Glass Viewing Deck,Event Dome, Outdoor MovieSystem, PerformanceTheater, Glass Deck restaccommodation, floatingrestaurant, beach rant, waterbus as well as innovativegames, children's park, chil-dren's adventure games,indoor family entertainmentcentre, star hotels, conven-tion centres and food courtsare planned.

The DPRs for the projectshave already been completedwith a few changes and addi-tions. The department hasbeen preparing guidelinesfor investors and soon theywill hold an investors' meetand explain about the pro-

ject. Many people are alreadyshowing interest in investingin the Entertainment City.

Andhra Pradesh TourismAuthority CEO K KannaBabu said that there was aproposal of developingMangamaripet beach as anEntertainment City whichhad been pending since long.

He said that there was ashort fall of about six acres ofland due to soil erosion onaccount of the cyclone.Efforts were being made toprocure land for the project.The CEO made it clear thatthey wanted to developMangamaripet beach, but itwas too early to say when theproject would be launched.

YSRCP committed totribal development: CM

Doctor gets10-yr jail termfor assaultinga womanPNS n HYDERABAD

A doctor from Hyderabadwas scentenced to 10 yearsimprisonment by the addi-tional metropolitan sessionsjudge.

In the month of October2016, a woman lodged acomplaint stating that whenshe, in the the month ofMay, the same year, went toconsult Dr Vijay Bhaskar athis clinic in Somajiguda, thedoctor misbehaved with herby touching her private partsand also inserting two fingersin her vagina. When sheobjected to that, the doctorsaid that it is part of the treat-ment.

She had gone to the doctorfor consultation as she wasfacing problem in her lungssince many years.

After the treatment, thewoman left for the UnitedStates. She returned backafter a few months and oneday she went back to the doc-tor for a medical review.

As she was waiting outside,she noticed that there was awoman aged 25 years in thedoctor's chamber.

vijayawada 03VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | AUGUST 10, 2022

PNS n ELURU

American Consulate CitizenServices (ACCS) Deputy ChiefWilliam Robertson called onDistrict Collector V PrasannaVenkatesh here on Tuesday.William Robertson explainedto the Collector the servicesprovided by the AmericanConsulate to the Americancitizens visiting India.

William Robertson appealedto the Collector to informthem about the Americanswho visit India on variousoccasions by phone and they

would immediately respondand serve in emergency situa-tions. Collector PrasannaVenkatesh told William

Robertson that all needed facil-ities would be provided to theAmericans who visit the dis-trict.

Self-flagellation marks Muharram

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The Muslim community,mainly the members of theShia sect, observed Muharramwith chest-beating and self-fla-gellation at Koneru Centre inMachilipatnam of Krishna dis-trict on Tuesday. TheMuharram self-flagellation isobserved only inMachilipatnam where the Shiapopulation is higher than inother parts of the State.

The Koneru centre turnedred with the blood of chest-beating people attired in blackdresses. Interestingly, thereare two groups in the Shiacommunity in Machilipatnamknown as Chinna party andPedda party and both groupsobserved Muharram. Two

Maatham processions wereconducted by two Shia groupsin the streets ofMachilipatnam rememberingthe sacrifice of Hussain, thegrandson of ProphetMohammad and his compan-ions in the battle of Karbala inIraq. The Shia communityelders said that their commu-nity used to observe 'YoumAshura' from the time ofMoghuls which continuedduring the British rule andnow the present generationsare continuing the tradition.

They said that chest-beatingunder Muharram self-flagella-tion would be conducted onlyin Hyderabad in TelanganaState and Machilipatnam as amass programme in AP State.They said that Shia communi-

ty people from different partsof the State joined the Maatamprocession and the chest-beat-ing programme.

Later, a meeting was held inremembrance of the sacrificesof Hussain and his compan-ions and Dua was performed.The leaders of the ruling YSRCongress, Opposition TeluguDesam, Congress and JanaSena joined the procession inlarge numbers and paid trib-utes to Hussain and his com-panions. Meanwhile, specialprayers and meetings wereheld in various mosques inVijayawada and Guntur citiesand Muharram processionwas held in the Panja Centrein Vijayawada in whichMuslims participated in largenumbers.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Tasila Vinay Reddy student ofAakash Byju's Kurnool hasmade the institute and the cityproud by scoring an impres-sive 99.94 percentile in the sec-ond session of the JEE Mains2022 Examination. The resultswere announced by theNational Testing Agency onMonday. This was the last ofthe two Joint entrance examsfor engineering scheduled tobe held this year.

The student joined the orga-nization in a two-year class-room programme to crackIIT JEE, considered the world’stoughest entrance exam. He

attributed his entry into theelite list of top percentiles inJEE to his efforts in under-standing the concepts, andhis strict adherence to theirlearning schedule.

Congratulating Tasila VinayReddy, Aakash Chaudhry,MD said, “We congratulateTasila Vinay Reddy for hisexemplary feat. Around 7 lakhstudents appeared for the sec-ond session of JEE Main 2022from across the country. Histop percentile score speaksvolumes of his hard work anddedication as well as the sup-port of his parents. We wishthem all the best with theirfuture endeavours.”

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The 24th party Congress of theCommunist Party of India(CPI) will be held atVijayawada from October 14 to18, said party State secretaryand former MLA KRamakrishna. “Vijayawada isset to host the party congressafter a gap of 47 years,” he said.The sixth and the 10th partycongresses were held here in1961 and 1975, respectively, headded.

K Ramakrishna, formerMLC Jalli Wilson, party secre-tariat members G Obulesu andAkkineni Vanaja released theposter of the party congress atthe party State office DasariBhavan in Vijayawada onTuesday.

Speaking on the occasion,Ramakrishna said that around1,000 delegates would take

part in the five-day congressand discuss the present politi-cal scenario and the BJP-ledNDA government's rule andother issues, he said.

He further said that onOctober 14, a big rally wouldbe organised in Vijayawada,followed by a public meeting.

Representatives of theCommunist Party, WorkersParty, and Socialist Party from25 countries would partici-pate in the CPI party congress,he said.

Besides, CPM general secre-tary Sitaram Yechuri andnational leaders of CPI(ML)

Liberation, RSP and ForwardBloc would participate in theinaugural meeting, he said. Areception committee wasformed under the chairman-ship of CPI national secretaryDr. K Narayana, he added.

He alleged that PrimeMinister Narendra Modi had

been acting like a dictator forthe past eight years. Under therule of the BJP-led NDA gov-ernment, democracy is facingthreats. PM Modi uses theCBI, Enforcement Directorateand the Income TaxDepartment to torture anyonewho questions the govern-ment, he alleged.

He said that the Centralgovernment debilitated all gov-ernment systems for politicalgains. Modi is suppressing agi-tations organised byOpposition parties using theNIA, ED, and CBI, who harassthe leaders. The Central gov-ernment agencies have arrest-ed several professors, intellec-tuals, and Civil Rights leaders.They are not even getting bails,he said.

Ramakrishna also allegedthat the NDA governmenttried to sell 26 Public Sector

Undertaking companies to pri-vate and corporate companies.“He has not set up a singleindustry in the country afterforming the government in2014. If BJP comes to poweragain, then the party maychange the Constitution,”Ramakrishna said.

“The ruling YSRCP and theOpposition TDP are compro-mising Telugu people's self-esteem in Delhi,” he alleged.“Both the parties have surren-dered before the BJP. ChiefMinister YS Jagan MohanReddy never raised the SpecialCategory Status, State bifurca-tion assurances, Kadapa SteelPlant, Ports and other develop-ment activities, with theCentre,” he alleged.

CPI State leaders KRamanjaneyulu, DonepudiSankar, G Koteswara Rao, andothers were present.

City to host 24th all-India CPI meet from Oct 14 to18PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Andhra Pradesh BadmintonAssociation president MDwarakanadh and generalsecretary P AnkammaChowdary have congratulatedthe medal winners in bad-minton in the CommonwealthGames.

International shuttlers PVSindhu, Lakshya Sen, SatwikSairaj, Chirag Shetty won goldmedals in the CommonwealthGames-2022 held inBirmingham. Also, KidambiSrikant, Gayatri Gopichandand Treesa Jolly won bronzemedals in the Games.

“It’s a very proud momentfor us that out of the total fivemedals for badminton, threewere won by Andhra PradeshState players PV Sindhu, R

Satwik Sai Raj and KidambiSrikanth. Their dedicationand hard work have madeIndia proud,” they said.

The APBA also congratulat-ed their parents and coachesfor their support and dedica-tion.

APBA congratulates CWGbadminton medallists

US official calls on Collector ‘Mandalabhishekam' performedPNS n VIJAYAWADA

'Mandalabhishekam' was per-formed in Vakulamata templelocated at Peruru Banda onTuesday. Both the presiding deityand 'utsava murty' was rendered'Abhishekam'. Later,'Punyahavachanam', 'ViswaksenaAradhana', 'Sankalpam' and spe-cial Pujas were performed underthe supervision of Agama AdvisorVishnu Bhattacharyulu.

The Minister of AP PeddireddiRamachandra Reddy, board mem-ber P Ashok Kumar, Special GrDyEO Varalakshmi and otherswere present.

Byju’s student scores99.94 percentile inJEE Mains 2022

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Former minister and MLAfrom Machilipatnam con-stituency PerniVenkataramaiah (Nani) hasinstructed the officials con-cerned to complete the con-struction of pending works ofthe Medical college inMachilipatnam to ensure that350 first year MBBS studentsstudy Medicine fromSeptember 2023 academic year.

On Tuesday evening, ChiefMinister YS Jagan MohanReddy called Nani who wassuffering from ill health for thepast four days. The CMenquired about Nani’s healthand asked him to take care of

his health and wished him toget well soon. The CMenquired with MLA Naniabout the progress in the con-

struction work of the newly-constructed medical collegein Machilipatnam. The CMadvised Nani to monitor the

construction activities andensure that all facilities are setup appropriately for the acad-emic year 2023 and also handover the medical college fromthe respective constructioncompany as soon as possible.The CM told Nani to engage inMedical college activities assoon as his health improves.

CM Jagan stressed thatunder all circumstances theMachilipatnam MedicalCollege construction and otherfacilities should be ready by thenext academic year. ChiefMinister Jaganmohan Reddyhas suggested Nani to bring tohis notice if there is any tech-nical delay in the constructionof the medical college.

‘Dignity walk' by women on Aug 14

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

A meeting of the AndhraPradesh Women Associations’Joint Action Committee (JAC)has unanimously passed a res-olution to organise a DignityWalk for Women inVijayawada on August 14, aspart of the Azadi Ka AmritMahotsav.

The Andhra Pradesh All-Women Associations’ wingorganised a round table meet-ing on ‘Increase inHarassments against Womenin Andhra Pradesh’, at a hotelin Vijayawada on Tuesday. Themeeting was chaired byVasavya Mahila Mandali pres-ident Dr. Keerthi.

The women leaders formeda Joint Action Committee tofight against the attacks andharassment of women in theState, which passed 10 resolu-tions to protect women andtheir rights. The JAC willorganise a Dignity Walk forWomen in Vijayawada onAugust 14. Before that the JACwill submit a representation toDirector General of Police(DGP) KV RajendranathReddy. Also, the JAC passed

resolutions to urge the govern-ment to give training onGender Sensitivity to people’srepresentatives and also tomeet President of IndiaDroupadi Murmu and Vice-President Jagadeep Dhankarand submit a memorandum tothem. JAC has passed anotherresolution to fight againstattacks, sexual harassment, andabuse.

The meeting decided toinvite the attention of theCentral government to theanti-women policies of the

Andhra Pradesh government.Further, the JAC resolved toorganise a signature campaignand meet the women ministersand MPs in New Delhi.

Speaking on the occasion,Vasavya Mahila Mandali pres-ident Dr. Keerthi said that theSupreme Court had taken suomotu cognisance of severalincidents, and she urged theChief Justice of India to takesimilar action on MPMadhav’s nude video call. Thewomen's associations wouldform a common platform to

fight and protect the victims,she said. “We will organise agi-tations not only in the State,but also in the national capi-tal, and will approach Centralministers and seek their sup-port. The AP All-WomenAssociations’ JAC isnon–political,” she said.

Telugu Mahila State presi-dent V Anitha said that attacks,harassment, and sexual harass-ment of women had beenincreasing in the State. Even ifthe victims lodge complaintswith the police, the culprits

escape with the help of rulingparty leaders. The Central andthe State Women’sCommission chairperson postsare constitutional and hencethe governments should nom-inate non-political persons tothem. Then only the victimswould get justice, she added.

Congress leader SunkaraPadma Shri said that the fightagainst the attacks and harass-ment of women nationwidewas for self-protection. Sheflayed the State governmentand ministers’ statements thatno one had given a complaintabout MP Madhav’s nudevideo call. When PrimeMinister Narendra Modi cameto Vijayawada, there was ablack flag in the sky. The Stategovernment ordered the DGPto arrest Padma Shri. “Whogave the complaint, PM Modior CM Jagan,” she asked.

Andhra Pradesh MahilaSangham general secretary PDurga Bhavani, Loksatta Partyleader Malathi, RTI activistNori Naga Pallavi, TeluguMahila State general secre-tary Mulpuri Sai Kalyani, CPIState leader Akkineni Vanajaand others were present.

AP Women's JAC leaders will go to New Delhi and meet President,

Vice-President, women ministers and MPs

CM asks Perni to complete medical college works

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Housing Minister Jogi Rameshcame down heavily on theTDP and said that the TDP,which is looking for an oppor-tunity to criticise the YSRCP, ismaking a mountain out of amolehill with its no-holds-barred criticism against MPGorantla Madhav's nude videoissue. The minister spoke to themedia persons on Tuesday aspart of the 'Gadapa Gadapaku'programme in Gudur mandalPolavaram village and saidTDP chief Chandrababu Naidudid not find any issue exceptfor that of MP Madhav's in theState. The minister said that ifthe video turns out to be MPMadhav's, the Chief Ministerwill initiate action against theMP without showing any dis-crimination. The minister crit-icised Chandrababu Naidu fortaking MP Madhav's issue as ifthere are no other issues in theState. He said that if the womanseen in the video has lodged acomplaint against the MP thenthe CM would have takenaction against the MP.

The minister said that theyhave waited if anyone wouldcome and lodge a complaint.As no one turned up the casewas entrusted to the police to

inquire into it. ChandrababuNaidu was moving heaven andearth on the issue like a mon-key jumping after finding apiece of coconut.

He said that the oppositionparty had become incapable inthe State. Chandrababu is pro-jecting MP Madhav video issueas a national and internation-al problem and trying to por-tray it in a negative way for theYSRCP.

The minister said, "We don'tknow what actually happenedwithin the four walls. Thetruth will come out soonwhether Gorantla Madhav wastrapped by ChandrababuNaidu or Lokesh orAyyannapatrudu."

If the video is genuine andMadhav is found guilty, actionwill be taken. "If the trap is laidby Chandrababu Naidu orLokesh or Ayyannapatrudu,are they ready to go to jail?" theminister challenged.

GORANTLA MADHAV VIDEO ROW

TDP making a mountainout of a molehill: Minister

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Freedom Fighters HeirsAssociation of India national sec-retary Rampilla Jaya Prakash,along with NCC Air Wing cadets,visited the place where his fatherand freedom fighter RampillaSuryanarayana, and motherNarasayamm made bombs onthe hill opposite the Milk Projectin Vijayawada on Tuesday. As partof the 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav',where he unveiled the IndianNational Flag. Speaking on the

occasion, Jaya Prakash said thatwith the struggle of the great free-dom fighters, Britishers left India.“My father RampillaSuryanarayana and motherNarasayamma have made bombssecretly at a top of the hill. Withthe inspiration of Netaji SubhashChandra Bose, freedom fightersfought against the Britishers forIndependence,” he said.

Before going to the hill, JayaPrakash, anointed the statues ofMahatma Gandhi and his fatherSuryanarayana with milk.

Rampilla visits freedomfighters' hilltop hideout

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

NTR Police CommissionerKanti Rana Tata congratulat-ed the State-level Rif leShooting gold medallist I SatyaVenkata Murari, who is theson of Nandigama InspectorNagendra Kumar, at his officein Vijayawada on Tuesday.

Murari participated in theState-level competition con-ducted by the National RifleShooting Association of Indiaon the Central UniversityCampus in Hyderabad from

August 4 to 7. He took part inthe Sub Youth Men’s 10 m Riflecompetition and won a goldmedal. Also, he bagged threesilver medals in Youth Men,Junior Men, and Men individ-ual categories.

After winning four medalsin the Rifle ShootingChampionship, Murari, alongwith his father NagendraKumar, met the PoliceCommissioner and showedhis medals. TheCommissioner was all praisefor the champ.

CP compliments rifle shooting champ

04VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | AUGUST 10, 2022

Govt will protect rights of Adivasis: MinistersPNS n BAPATLA

Minister for Endowment KottuSatyanarayana and SocialWelfare Minister MerugaNagarjuna have said that theJagan Mohan Reddy govern-ment is committed to protect-ing the rights of Adivasis.

The minister participatedin a programme organised inthe DRC conference hall hereon the occasion of‘International Day for theWorld’s Indigenous people’here on Tuesday. Speaking onthe occasion, minister KottuSatyanarayana said that theAdivasi Diwas is observedevery year on August 9 as theUnited Nations recognizedAdivasis who eke out liveli-

hood depend on the forestwealth. He reminded theUnited Nations passed a reso-lution that the governmentsshould take measures for thedevelopment of tribals. It isgratifying that these programsare happening all over theworld today. Providing equal

rights to those living in theforests and hilly areas, Dr BRAmbedkar had drafted theconstitution of the country, hesaid. The minister lauded thatAmbedkar had demonstratedthe greatness of Indian democ-racy before the world. All peo-ple should follow his path, he

added. Implementing theambitions of Ambedkar, theChief Minister of the State Y SJagan Mohan Reddy is follow-ing social justice. He alsounderstood the plight of thetribal people during his paday-atra, after voting to power, theChief Minister started imple-menting various welfareschemes for their uplift, theminister asserted. TheEndowment Minister said thateducation and medical treat-ment were made available intribal Tandas and ChenchuGudems. The Chief Minister’sdecision for the establishmentof a super speciality hospitaland a medical college in thetribal areas was laudable; hesaid, adding that the govern-

ment is providing nutritiousfood, especially for the preg-nant women in STs Colonies.

Speaking on the occasion,Social Welfare ministerMeruga Nagarjuna said thatthe government is taking stepsto protect the rights of tribalpeople and uplift them as perthe advice of the UN. ChiefMinister Jagan Mohan Reddyis striving to eradicate socialdisparity in society and takingsteps to ensure that the fruitsof the Indian constitutionreach every person of unpriv-ileged sections. The late ChiefMinister Y S Rajasekhar Reddyenacted the Forest Rights Actand provided rights on the for-est wealth to the tribal people,the minister recollected.

Seminars mooted to enhanceawareness of cybercrimePNS n GUNTUR

Superintendent of Police ArifHafeej has directed the policeofficials to organise seminarsand meetings to create aware-ness among people on cyber-crimes and how to protectthemselves from such frauds.

Emphasising creatingawareness among the peopleto protect themselves fromcybercrimes, the SP directedthe officials to hold variousprogrammes across the dis-trict to educate people onhow to protect themselvesfrom falling in the hands ofcybercriminals.

On the occasion, the SP saidthat the victims of fake loanapps should call the cyber-crime phone number8688831520 to avoid fallinginto the trap of cybercrimi-nals. The SP advised the peo-ple not to reveal ATM cards or

PIN Numbers under any cir-cumstances to strangers roam-ing around ATM centres. He

said that it is better not to talkto strangers on mobile phonesor give phones to such people.

SP Arif Hafeez said thateveryone should be carefulabout loan apps to be vigilantagainst cyber criminals asthey are using the latest tech-nology to commit cyber-crimes.

All the police officers whoare doing visible policing inthe Guntur district shouldhold awareness seminars andmeetings with the publicabout cybercrimes and cyber-criminals and inform the pub-lic to be careful about fakeloan apps, the SP told thepolice officers. SP Arif Hafeezsaid that there are frequentincidents of people asking formoney on Facebook,WhatsApp and Instagram inthe name of someone theyknow. He asked the public tobe careful in such matters.

The SP said that the

victims of fake loan

apps should call the

cybercrime phone

number 8688831520

to avoid falling into the

trap of cybercriminals

PNS n BAPATLA

The vehicular traffic will bediverted to various routes onAugust 11 due to ChiefMinister Y S Jagan MohanReddy’s programme.

SP Vakul Jindal said thatvehicles going fromKarlapalem, Cherukupalli andRepalle via Bapatla towardsChirala are being divertedfrom the newly constructedhighway from theNandirajuthota Hero motorcy-cle showroom.

Vehicles entering Bapatlatown from the direction ofKarlapalem, Cherukupalli andRepalle cannot enter the towndirectly, they are diverted tothe newly constructed high-way from NandirajuthotaHero motorcycle showroomand entered into town viaSuryalanka road. Vehiclesgoing from Chirala via Bapatlatowards Karlapalem,Cherukupalli and Repalle arebeing diverted from the newly

constructed highway fromVedullapalli bridge. From thedirection of Karlapalem,Cherukupalli and Repallethrough Bapatla towardsGuntur, vehicles should not

enter Bapatla town directly,they are diverted to the newlyconstructed highway from theNandirajuthota Hero motorcy-cle showroom and enteredinto town via Suryalanka road.

Vehicles going towardsPonnur and Guntur viaBapatla from the Chirala sidecan proceed as usual. Vehiclesgoing from the Ponnur side viaBapatla towards Chirala can

proceed as usual. Those whocome to the Chief Minister’smeeting have been informedthat parking arrangementshave been made for their vehi-cles at the following places.Parking arrangements havebeen made for VIP/VVIPvehicles in front of BapatlaArts and Science college.Parking arrangements have

been made for the 4-wheelersand heavy vehicles coming tothe Chirala, Addanki andParchur constituencies at theABM compound on the wayfrom Bapatla Cheelu roadtowards Guntur.Arrangements have beenmade to park the two-wheel-ers of those coming to themeeting place from Chirala,Addanki, and Parchur con-stituencies at ABM HighSchool and Municipal HighSchool in Bapatla town.

Parking arrangements havebeen made for the 4-wheelersand heavy vehicles coming tothe meeting place fromGuntur and Appikatla side atthe ABM compound on theway from Bapatla Cheelu roadtowards Guntur. Parkingarrangements have been madefor the vehicles of those com-ing from Karlapalem,Cherukupalli and Repalle sidesat the AgriculturalEngineering College and AMCMarket Yard.

Traffic curbs in Bapatla for CM’s programmeSP Vakul Jindal

said that vehicles

going from

Karlapalem,

Cherukupalli and

Repalle via Bapatla

towards Chirala are

being diverted from

the newly-built

highway from the

Nandirajuthota

Hero motorcycle

showroom

PNS n ELURU

The harassment of SpecialEnforcement Bureau officialsallegedly forced a jaggery trad-er to commit suicide by jump-ing before a running train.

The jaggary traders toldthe media that the police areregistering cases against thetraders for selling jaggery stat-ing that jaggery is being usedto brew illicit liquor.

The deceased KolluruDurga Rao belonged toPonguturu village inKoyyalagudem mandal. Hisfamily members told the

media that the SEB officialsdetained the deceased on thecharge that he was selling jag-gery. He was taken to thepolice station. However, hewas found dead on the railwaytrack here on Tuesday. Therailway police registered acase and shifted the body tothe government hospital forpostmortem. The familymembers lodged a complaintwith the Koyyalagudem policestation. The traders associationleaders alleged that DurgaRao committed suicide unableto bear the harassment of SEBofficials.

‘Harassed' by SEB,jaggery trader ends life

PNS n NARASARAOPET

Telugu Desam party seniorleader and former MLA GVAnjaneyulu has alleged that thegovernment has meted outinjustice to the tribal people bynot releasing the SC/ST planfunds for the welfare.

On the occasion ofInternational Adiwasi Diwas onTuesday, the TDP leaders gar-landed the statue of tribal leaderSevalal Maharaj portrait andpaid tributes in the VinukondaTDP office.

Speaking on this occasion,GV Anjaneyu said that during theTDP regime, welfare schemesand subsidies were provided tothe tribal people. During theChandrababu Naidu led regimeevery tribal Tanda, with a popu-lation of 500, was made as a pan-chayat. He said that during theTDP regime funds were allocat-ed for the welfare of tribal peo-ple.

The TDP leader said that byallocating special funds for trib-al development through ITDA,thousands of tribal people were

given job opportunities and trib-al families were provided withcredit facilities for economicgrowth during the TDP rule.

Anjaneyulu alleged that theJagan Mohan Reddy-headed gov-ernment oppressed the tribalswithout allocating funds to thetribals. Attacks and harassmentagainst the STs had gone up dur-ing the YSRCP regime, healleged. The Jagan Reddy regimedone away with the Pelli Kanukascheme doing injustice to theSC/ST families, he slammed. Hesaid that higher education wasprovided to the tribals throughthe Ambedkar Education Schemeduring the TDP regime and TDPgot the honour of allotting seats

to ST students in private schoolsand colleges, he claimed.

The TDP former MLA criti-cized the YCP government forrestricting to one person in thefamily while providingChandranna Bima facility.Anjaneyulu said that the YCPgovernment is putting an addi-tional burden on the farmers byfixing meters to the agriculturepump sets. The act would ruinthe prospects of farmers inBollapally mandal as they culti-vate crops depending on theagricultural bores. TDP leadersDupati Yesubabu, PemmasaniNageswara Rao and HanumaNaik were among those whowere present.

No Sub-Plan funds for STs: TDP

Three crest gates ofSrisailam project liftedPNS n NAGARKURNOOL

Irrigation DepartmentEngineers of the SrisailamProject in Andhra Pradeshhave been releasing flood waterdownstream by lifting threecrest gates of the multi-pur-pose project to a height of 10meters. The inflows into theproject have increased mani-fold. Currently, the projectreceives 1,24,017 cusecs anddischarges 1,46,593 cusecs.

Against the full reservoirlevel (FRL) of the project of885 feet, the water level in the

project reached 884.40 feet. The project right and left

canal bank hydel power stationis producing electricity to itsinstalled capacity. The projectauthorities have soundedwarnings to the people livingdownstream project villages toremain alert because of thepossible flooding of the vil-lages. Meanwhile, water inNagarjunasagar reservoirreached its maximum level.The inflow into the reservoiris 1,24,341 cusecs as against theoutflow of 1,19,061 cusecs.The water stored in the reser-

voir is put at 281.03 tmcftagainst the full capacity of312.04 tmcft. The water levelin the reservoir is 612 feet asagainst the full reservoir levelof 645 feet.

Owing to heavy inflows intoPriyadarsini Jurala Project, theproject authorities have liftedeight crest gates of the projectto a height of 10 meters to dis-charge flood waters down-stream below. The inflows intothe project are 58.017 cusecsagainst the outflow of 73.717cusecs. The storage capacity ofthe project is 9.657 tmcft.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

All India NewspaperEmployees Federation(AINEF) appealed to theUnion Transport minister fortoll gate tax exemption to thevehicles of journalists.

In a letter to the UnionTransport Minister, AINEFvice-president ChaladiPurnachandra Rao urged himto extend toll gate tax exemp-tion to the vehicles of accred-ited journalists.

Purnachandra Rao said thatthe journalists in the countryhad been urging the Centre for

toll gate tax exemptions to thevehicles of accredited jour-nalists for a long time. He saidthat the journalists have to visitvarious places to attend pressmeets, collect news and attend

various programmes. The pay-ment of toll gate tax hasbecome a big burden to thejournalists. Moreover, severalmedia houses suffered hugelosses due to the Coronaviruspandemic and some of themare facing difficulty even pay-ing salaries to the journalists.

Purnachandra Rao cited thatthe Punjab state governmentissued orders giving toll gatetax exemption to the vehiclesof journalists and he thankedthe Punjab Chief Minister.Purnachandra Rao appealedfor toll gate exemption to jour-nalists in all states.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

On the orders of Minister forWater Resources AmbatiRambabu, water from RiverGodavari was released toPolavaram Right Main Canalfrom the Tadipudi LiftIrrigation Scheme to cater tothe needs of the farmers, whoare cultivating paddy underminor irrigation tanks ofKrishna, Eluru, and NTR dis-tricts.

Indira Sagar Right MainCanal (ISRMC)Superintending Engineer (SE)Syam released the water fromthe Tadipudi Lift Irrigationscheme on Monday evening.As per the requirement, theISRMC authorities have beenreleasing 175 cusecs per day.

About 35,000 acres of ayacutis depending upon thePolavaram canal water to cul-tivate paddy in the Kharif sea-son. But, due to insufficientrainfall, most of the minor irri-gation tanks dried up and thefarmers are worried.

In this situation, VijayawadaRural Agriculture AdvisoryBoard Chairman YarkareddyNagireddy, along with farmers,met Minister Ambati Rambabu

and urged him to release waterfrom the Pattiseema LiftIrrigation scheme. More than15,000 acres of ayacut can usethe Godavari water from thePolavaram Right Main Canal.

Similarly, the farmers inDenduluru assembly con-stituency also approachedMinister Rambabu andappealed to him to release thewater to the Polavaram canal.Meanwhile, the minister dis-cussed the issue with the offi-cers concerned, and later gave

them directions to release theRiver Godavari water to thePolavaram Right Main Canalfrom the Tatipudi LiftIrrigation Scheme instead ofthe Pattiseema Lift IrrigationScheme.

According to the sources,ISRMC officers have approvedthe release of 175 cusecs ofwater into the Polavaram canal.The water would reach down-stream of the canal withinthree days, sources said. Thequantity of water released

would be increased as per therequirement, one of the officerssaid. Farming is taken up in35,000 acres of ayacut underthe minor irrigation tanks.

“We used the Godavariwater from the Polavaramcanal to fill the minor irrigationtanks, using motors. For thepast five years, farming inmore than 35,000 acres ofcombined Krishna and WestGodavari upland areas hasbeen taken up using theGodavari water,” said

Vijayawada Rural AgricultureAdvisory Board ChairmanYarkareddy Nagireddy.

He said that the farmersthanked Minister AmbatiRambabu for releasing thewater to the Polavaram canal.Crops are being cultivated inabout 15,000 acres of ayacutunder minor irrigation tanks,which were dried up due tolack of water, he said. Farmersare lifting stagnated rainwaterfrom the canal and filling thetanks now, he added.

Water released from Tadipudi LI scheme to Polavaram canal

Indira Sagar Right

Main Canal (ISRMC)

Superintending

Engineer (SE) Syam

released the water

from the Tadipudi

Lift Irrigation

scheme on Monday

evening. As per the

requirement, the

ISRMC authorities

have been releasing

175 cusecs per day

AINEF seeks toll gate taxexemption for journalists

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

NTR District Collector S DilliRao inaugurated a photo exhi-bition on the freedom struggle,organised by the Informationand Public RelationsDepartment and the AndhraPradesh Public TransportDepartment as part of theAzadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, atthe Pandit Nehru Bus Stationin Vijayawada on Tuesday. Theexhibition features variousphotographs of freedom fight-ers, national leaders and sever-

al incidents. Speaking on theoccasion, Collector Dilli Raosaid people should take part inthe national integration pro-grammes taking inspirationfrom freedom fighters. Hepraised the organisers forarranging the photo exhibitionat PNBS, which was construct-ed in memory of former PrimeMinister Jawaharlal Nehru.“Many great men sacrificedtheir lives for the freedom ofthe nation and now the peopleare enjoying a free life,” headded.

Collector inaugurates photoexpo on freedom struggle

nation 05VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | AUGUST 10, 2022

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Atraders' body on Tuesday handed over 1,500 Indian flags to the Indo-Tibetan BorderPolice and sought its assistance in ensuring that the tricolour is hoisted at maximumplaces as part of the 'Har Ghar Tiranga' campaign. The Confederation of All India

Traders (CAIT) handed over the consignment to ITBP commandant Ajay Singh here. Thecentral government has launched the 'Har Ghar Tiranga' campaign under which people arebeing encouraged to hoist the tricolourat their houses to mark 75 years ofIndia's independence. CAIT secretarygeneral Praveen Khandelwal said thetraders' body will organise a series ofevents to make the campaign a success.A 'tiranga rally' will be held from RedFort to India Gate on Wednesday.Traders from across Delhi will take partin the rally, he said. Khandelwal saidmore than 8 crore traders of thecountry are doing their best to make the'Har Ghar Tiranga' campaign successful.

‘Har Ghar Tiranga' drive: Traders handover 1,500 national flags to ITBP

Members of two communities hurled stones at each other in a fracas over the use ofsound system during a Muharram procession here on Tuesday. Police said somepeople from the Hindu community in Majhoua village under Bhojipura police

station area complained about the use of a DJ in the procession, saying a new traditionwas being set. They allegedly hurled stones and those participating in the processionretaliated. Some people were hurt inthe brickbatting, police said. Theofficials rushed to the spot andsomehow pacified the locals assuringthem of strict action against those whocreated ruckus, and the processionwas taken out, police said. No newtradition will be allowed, BareillySuperintendent of Police (Crime) SPSingh said, adding police and PAChave been deployed in the village. Ifanyone tries to start a new tradition,strict action will be taken against him.

Brickbatting during Muharramprocession in Bareilly village

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday advocated for making free education,world-class healthcare and employment for all fundamental rights, saying these arenot freebies but the duty of a responsible government. Unfurling the 500th high-

mast tricolour in the capital, Kejriwal rued that many countries that got independence afterIndia have "surpassed us". Kejriwal noted that there is a need to eradicate 'Pariwarwaad'(dynastic politics) and 'Dostwaad' (tofavour friends), and also slammed theCongress and the BJP, saying oneparty exploited its power by spendingpublic money on its family membersand the other did so on its "friends"."On the 75th Independence Day, we allmust pledge to make India thenumber one country of the world.There are several such nations thatattained independence after us yetsurpassed our growth despite all thepotential and hardwork of our people.

Free education, healthcare notfreebies: Kejriwal

Amit Shah pitches for morereforms in cooperative societiesPNS n NEW DELHI

Home and CooperationMinister Amit Shah onTuesday pitched for reforms incooperative societies, sayingthe same person cannot beelected year after year and theelection process has to becomemore transparent.

The minister was addressingan event here after the onlinelaunch of the onboarding ofcooperatives on the govern-ment's e-marketplace (GeM)platform.

Shah stressed the need toexpand and modernise thecooperative sector, which hesaid, has been a "neglected" sec-tor. "There is a need to bringchanges in the cooperative sec-tor at a fast pace," he said.

"We will have to change, elsepeople will change us," he toldtop officials of cooperativespresent at the event. Shahemphasised bringing trans-parency in all spheres of thecooperative sector, particular-ly in three areas, including the

election process. "Electionprocess should be transparent.We would like to bring changein this".

Shah said an election systemon the lines of the ElectionCommission of India will beset up to hold transparent elec-tions for the cooperative bod-ies. "It is not right for the same

person to get elected year afteryear. This arrangement is notgood," the minister said. Shahsaid he himself is a chairmanof PACS for the last 25 yearsand it will be changed this year.

Moreover, he said there is aneed to bring transparency inthe recruitment process andthe ministry is framing rules

for this. Shah also spoke aboutthe need to bring transparen-cy in purchases and for thatthere is no better mediumthan the Government e-mar-ketplace (GeM). On its part,the minister listed out steps thegovernment is taking to bringreform in the cooperative sec-tor through a holistic approach.

He said the ministry is com-ing up with a new cooperativepolicy, preparing a database,setting up a university for con-ducting training purposes andalso establishing an exporthouse to boost overseas ship-ments.

In June, the CabinetCommittee on EconomicAffairs approved theComputerization of PrimaryAgricultural Credit Societies(PACS) with the objective ofincreasing the efficiency ofPACS, bringing transparencyand accountability in theiroperations; facilitating PACS todiversify their business andundertake multiple activities/services.

This project proposes thecomputerisation of about63,000 functional PACS over aperiod of 5 years with a totalbudget outlay of Rs 2516 crore,with a central governmentshare of Rs 1,528 crore.

Shah said the ministry willalso bring changes to the Multi-State Co-operatives Act.

PNS n PATNA

In a day of fast-moving polit-ical developments, Bihar's mer-curial leader Nitish Kumartwice met Governor PhaguChauhan, first to hand in hisresignation as NDA chief min-ister and then after being elect-ed leader of the RJD-led`Mahagathbandhan' (grandalliance) to stake claim for thetop job in the state once again.

His move which was a rever-sal of what happened in 2017when he left the Mahagathbandhan to rejoin the NDA,left ally BJP out in the cold forthe second time in nine years.During the first meeting withChauhan, he informed himthat the decision to sever tieswith the NDA was taken by hisparty, the JD(U).

After meeting Chauhan,Kumar went to the residence offormer chief minister RabriDevi to confabulate with RJDleader Tejashwi Yadav.

Later, he called on the gov-ernor again and staked claim to

form the government after get-ting the support ofMahagathbandhan con-stituents - the RJD, Left partiesand the Congress. He haddeserted the NDA for the firsttime in 2013 after NarendraModi became the coalition'sPrime Ministerial candidate.

Earlier in the day, when ameeting a JD(U) meeting wasgoing on, senior leaderUpendra Kushwaha in a tweetcongratulated Kumar for lead-ing a "new coalition in newform," implicitly acknowledg-ing the split and embracing the

RJD-led `Mahagathbandhan'(Grand Alliance) to continue inoffice. A meeting of the RJD-led Grand Alliance, also com-prising the Left and theCongress, took place at RabriDevi's house, across the streetfrom the chief minister's resi-dence. The CM is understoodto have told party legislatorsand MPs that he had been dri-ven against the wall by the BJPwhich tried to weaken hisJD(U), first by propping upChirag Paswan's rebellion andlater through the party's formernational president RCP Singh.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Students of Jawaharlal NehruUniversity have understood themessage that the university is aplace for a free exchange of ideasbut it cannot be used for activ-ities that are 'anti-national' oragainst the 'interest of thenation's sovereignty, its chancel-lor V K Saraswat has said.

Saraswat, who is also a mem-ber of NITI Aayog, further saidthat in the Jawaharlal NehruUniversity (JNU), people haveenough freedom to exercisetheir thinking processes andthey are very vigilant aboutwhat is happening in India andglobally.

"It is a free-thinking societythere. So, you will find a lot ofcontradictory thought process-es, and a lot of contradictory ide-ologies, which people will nur-

ture. So at times, there was aclash of ideologies, that is whyyou used to hear that there areproblems," he told PTI.

In recent years, the universi-ty has witnessed several

instances of violence involvingLeft-affiliated student outfitsand RSS' student body AkhilBhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad(ABVP). In April this year, twogroups of students clashed at the

varsity's Kaveri Hostel alleged-ly over the serving of non-veg-etarian food on Ram Navami inthe mess.

"But we have now given totalshape to this that you (stu-

dents) have the freedom toexpress yourself, except that anyactivity which is anti-national,any activity which is against theinterest of the nation's sovereign-ty, such things should be dis-suaded.

"And that message has beendelivered to all concerned. Ithink, by and large, people haveunderstood," Saraswat said.

He noted that the COVID-19pandemic also helped to a largeextent because people startedworking from home and thenthey realised that the ecosystemof JNU is required for them tobe more creative and productiverather than sitting at home.

"And, hence you see somepositive outcomes," Saraswatadded. Several JNU studentsand alumni, including SharjeelImam, Umar Khalid, NatashaNarwal and Devangana Kalita,

were arrested under the strin-gent Unlawful Activities(Prevention) Act (UAPA) fortheir alleged involvement in the2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case.Natasha Narwal and DevanganaKalita were later released on bailwhile Umar Khalid and SharjeelImam are still in jail. KanhaiyaKumar and Khalid, who werethen studying at JNU, werearrested by the Delhi Police fortheir alleged involvement in thesedition case in 2016 over a cam-pus protest. They were laterreleased on bail. Kumar is nowin the Congress party.

On January 5, 2020, a mob ofmasked men stormed the cam-pus and targeted students inthree hostels, unleashing may-hem with sticks, stones andiron rods, hitting inmates andbreaking windows, furnitureand personal belongings.

PNS n PUNE

Rights activists have expresseddisappointment over the EknathShinde government inMaharashtra failing to inductwomen into the cabinet whichwas expanded on Tuesday after41 days.

Eighteen MLAs, includingstate Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) president ChandrakantPatil, were sworn in as cabinetministers at Raj Bhavan insouth Mumbai. The list doesn'tinclude women, a move beingpanned by politicians andwomen's rights activists.Nationalist Congress Party(NCP) MP Supriya Sule said notinducting women shows the

"BJP's mindset". Maharashtrawas the first state in the coun-try to give the reservation forwomen. When 50 per cent ofIndia's population is women,they are not represented in thestate cabinet. This shows the

BJP's mindset, said Sule. As thecontroversy raged, Deputy ChiefMinister Devendra Fadnavissaid women will get appropri-ate representation in the nextround of cabinet expansion.The objection that there is no

woman minister in the newly-formed cabinet will beaddressed soon. Women mem-bers will be inducted in the nextcabinet expansion for sure.Earlier, people were criticalover (the delay) in expandingthe cabinet government, nowthey have come up with some-thing new. Women representa-tives will get appropriate repre-sentation in our cabinet,"Fadnavis said. Activist TruptiDesai of Bhumata Brigade, whohad spearheaded a protest forwomen's entry at the Shanitemple in the Ahmednagar dis-trict in 2016, expressed disap-pointment over not a singlewoman legislator finding a placein the Shinde cabinet.

PNS n BHOPAL/GWALIOR

Self-styled godman SwamiVairagyanand Giri alias MirchiBaba has been arrested forallegedly raping a womandevotee in Madhya Pradesh'scapital Bhopal, police said onTuesday.

The accused godman wasarrested from a hotel inGwalior in the morning,Gwalior superintendent ofpolice Amit Sanghi said.

Based on a complaint lodgedby a woman devotee, a case hasbeen registered against Giri

under section 376 (rape) of theIndian Penal Code, additionalcommissioner of police (ACP)

Richa Choubey said. The god-man was produced in court inBhopal and has been remand-

ed to judicial custody tillAugust 22. According to thecomplaint lodged on Monday,the accused godman had rapedthe woman in Bhopal on July17, she said.

The complainant said thatshe had been childless for along time after marriage andhad come in contact with Giri,who promised that she wouldconceive through some rituals,the official said. The womanhas alleged that the godmanraped her when she faintedafter consuming an offeringgiven by him, she said. The vic-

tim has claimed that she couldnot lodge a complaint imme-diately after the incident out offear of social stigma, the offi-cial said.

Notably, Giri had supportedthe Congress in the last stateAssembly and Lok Sabha elec-tions.

The godman had organiseda yagna for the victory ofCongress veteran DigvijayaSingh in the Lok Sabha pollsand had announced to take"samadhi" (entombment) fol-lowing a failed prediction of hisvictory.

Self-styled godman arrested for raping devotee in Bhopal

PNS n SRINAGAR

A Srinagar woman, attackedwith acid for rejecting a mar-riage proposal on February 1,has identified the mainaccused in the case SajjadAhmed Rather in a court hereand recorded her statement,officials and her lawyer said onTuesday.

Accompanied by her par-ents and friends, the womanappeared before the court onMonday at 11.30 am and wassubjected to exhaustive cross-examination by the defencelawyers which continued till4.30 pm, her lawyer MirNaveed Gul said.

The woman was undergo-ing treatment at an eye hos-pital in Chennai. Sheappeared before the court torecorded her statement as awitness and identify Ratheras the person who threwacid on her face, the officialssaid. Gul said the woman wasone of the prosecution wit-nesses mentioned in thecharge sheet, filed by the

police within three weeks ofthe incident that took placein downtown Srinagar city.

"We plan to get some morewitnesses mentioned in thecharge sheet, after which theprosecution will place itsfinal argument. We have beenhoping for speedy justice,"the lawyer said.

The Jammu and KashmirPolice had filed a 1,000-pagecharge sheet against threepeople -- Rather andMohammad Saleem Kumar,alias Tota, and a juvenile. Thepolice have prayed for thejuvenile to be treated as anadult as per the amendedJuvenile Justice (Care andProtection of Children) Act,wherein youngsters in the agegroup of 16-18 can be triedunder the Indian Penal Code(IPC) if they are accused ofheinous crimes.

The accused were chargedunder sections 120-B (crim-inal conspiracy) and 326-A(voluntarily causing grievoushurt by use of acid) of theIPC.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Vice President M VenkaiahNaidu on Tuesday cautionedagainst populist measures togarner votes by various polit-ical parties and said the "free-bie culture" has led to deteri-orating financial health ofmany states.

The government should def-initely support the poor andneedy, but at the same timeshould prioritise health, edu-cation and infrastructuredevelopment, he said. Hisremarks come against thebackdrop of Prime Minister

Narendra Modi cautioningpeople against 'revdi culture'where votes were sought bypromising electoral freebies.PM Modi said this could bedangerous for the develop-

ment of the country. Naidualso expressed concern over"erosion" of journalistic normsand ethos due to the growingtrend of instant journalism'triggered by the emergence ofInternet and social mediaexpansion.

He emphasised the impor-tance of neutrality and objec-tivity in media reporting andsaid news should not be mixedwith views. Media is the fourthpillar of democracy and itsneutrality, objectivity and fair-ness is crucial for survival ofIndia's democratic ethos, hestressed.

‘Freebie culture bad for states' finanances’

Teen, boyfriend kill her parentswith hammer, pressure cookerPNS n JAMSHEDPUR

A teenage girl along with her37-year-old boyfriend killedher parents with a hammerand a pressure cooker inJamshedpur after they stoppedher from leaving the houseand marrying him, police saidon Tuesday. The couple wasfound in a pool of blood attheir house in Manifit in Telcopolice station area on Mondaywith their 15-year-old daugh-ter missing, they said.

Claiming to crack the casein less than 24 hours,Superintendent of Police(City) K Vijay Shankar said

that the girl and her boyfriendwere nabbed from his rentedhouse in Omnagar inBirsanagar police station areaon Tuesday morning.

The girl was about to elopefrom her house with herboyfriend on Sunday nightand get married, but her par-ents woke up, he said.

As her father, 42, and moth-er, 35, stopped them fromleaving, the accused duothrashed them with a hammerand a pressure cooker to death,the officer added.

The girl then escaped withher boyfriend on his scooter,and went to his house.

Activists sore as no woman in expanded Maha cabinet

Students know JNU not a place for ‘anti-national' activities: VC

Acid attack survivoridentifies accused

Nitish splits with allyBJP for second time

Stakes claim as grand alliance govt CM

The Supreme Court granted interim protection from arrest to Navika Kumar, TimesNow anchor on whose show the BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma had made cer-tain remarks about the prophet which led to widespread unrest and many human

lives were lost. While after the uproar an FIR was filed against the BJP spokespersonon June 8, under IPC Sections 153/153A/153B/295A, the TV anchor wasn’t touched.However, a week later complaint was lodged by a Muslim cleric who accused Sharmaand Kumar of intending to outrage the religious feelings of the community. Subsequently,an FIR was registered at Nanalpeth police station, Maharashtra. Navika Kumar and Nupur

Sharma were booked under section 295-A (Deliberateand malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feel-ings of any class by insulting its religion or religiousbeliefs) of the IPC.The Supreme court protection istimely as Nupur Sharma has already been given thatprotection. It would have been absurd to arrest theanchor on whose show controversial remarks weremade while the person who made those remarksenjoys impunity. Sharma's remark on the Prophet dur-ing a TV debate had triggered protests across thecountry. Many innocent lives were lost in the after-math. Now the big question is who is responsiblefor it? Was it Nupur Sharma alone responsible? Or

the TV channel that gave her the platform to speak or the moderator who did not stopher (by muting her) from speaking up or all of them should own the responsibility?

Not everything can pass under the garb of freedom of speech and expression. Thefreedom of the press is also not absolute but it is often taken for granted. If a case isfiled against a published story in the newspaper the case is filed not only against thejournalist alone but also against the editor and publisher. Going by that logic the anchor,program producer, and channel should be held responsible along with Nupur. The SC hasitself said that TV is now all about TRPs. TV journalism as practiced by a plethora of TVchannels is irresponsible to the hilt and harps upon theatrics. The choice of the topicof a TV debate, selection of speakers, and timing of the program are carefully chosento push an agenda and harvest TRPs. The result is most debates on TV are about HinduMuslim rift rather than on real issues confronting the nation like growth, development,price rise, unemployment, etc. Self-censorship is best but if that doesn't happen thenthe SC and the government should step in to reign the errant media organisation.

Soon after parting ways with the Bharatiya Janata Party (for the second time),Nitish Kumar resigned as Bihar Chief Minister. The resignation, however, is justa brief halt; he will soon take charge, holding the same office, but this time in

alliance with the BJP’s rival party, the RJD. His relations with both parties have beengoverned strictly by the imperatives of realpolitik; pretexts have been found, andsophistry employed, to befriend one party or the other. The bottom-line, however,has remained unchanged: Chief Ministership of Bihar. This time, the pretext is RCPSingh, a former leader from Kumar’s JD(U), who has been accused of being UnionHome Minister Amit Shah’s man. The JD(U) accused Singh of corruption, leadingto his ouster from the party. But tensions between Kumar and the BJP have beengrowing for some time. Earlier there was Chirag Paswan, son of the later prominentDalit leader Ram Vilas Paswan. Chirag Paswan’s party contested seats in the 2020Assembly elections polls wherever JD(U) was fighting. While Chirag Paswan’s party

did not gain much, the JD(U) suffered a great deal,with its earlier tally of 70 coming down to below45. JD(U) president called it the “Chirag model.”And, of course, there is the issue of caste census.This is something the BJP dislikes intensely, see-ing in it a ruse to divide Hindu society, which isthe potential vote base of the saffron party.

The BJP’s detractors say that breach with theJD(U) was a matter of when, not if; it was partand parcel of the saffron party’s strategy: to weak-en its regional allies in states, sow seeds of dis-sension in them. See what happened in Punjaband Maharashtra, they say. That may be true butit is also a fact that the senior leaders like Sushil

Kumar Modi, who played a key role in running the alliance, were sidelined in thelast few years. Whatever may be the case, Nitish Kumar joining hands with theRJD and the Congress is not good news for the BJP. A grand alliance in a majorstate—and that too in the Hindi heartland which is the BJP’s stronghold—maygive a badly needed impetus to the disunited, fractious, and confused Opposition.At present, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the tallest politician in the country,and nobody is even near him. And the BJP election machine is sturdy, well-oiled,and efficacious. But such favourable conditions also induce complacency. So, theBJP has to watch how Opposition politics unfolds. Can Nitish Kumar emerge asa challenger to the BJP in the 2024 general polls? Well, perhaps not as a ‘secu-lar’ challenger, for he has been pally with the BJP for too long to be seen as such.Still, he has experience and the right background (being an OBC) to take on Modi.It is premature to speculate on that possibility, but if that happens, the 2024 elec-tions will become interesting.

New friends

WHO CARES FOR CITIZENS?

Sir — A state which has the lowest per capi-ta income has the highest political activi-ties without caring for the problems of thecommon man. Can such activities stop theexodus of workers to other parts of thecountry? Can industrialists be ready toestablish the industries in the state? will theemployment opportunities be enhanced? Acommon citizen is least interested to knowwhich party is in power and which partyis in opposition. The citizen wants theprogress of the state as well as the genera-tion of employment opportunities. A largenumber of people have to go to other statesin search of their livelihood and we knowwhen there were targeted killings inKashmir people from Bihar were targeted.Now a big question arises whether the lead-ers of Bihar will remain busy in petty pol-itics without caring for the development ofthe citizens of Bihar. The JP movement wasstarted in Bihar for the all-round develop-ment of the state but not for the dirty pol-itics as is happening now in the state. Biharleaders such as Karpoori Thakur andRajinder Prasad had set examples for thepeople and they had never thought of suchof politics that is happening.

Yash Pal Ralhan | Jalandhar

CHINESE AGGRESSION CONTINUES

Sir — It's been a continuous 4th day thatChina is hitting Taiwan with back-to-backdrills. The world knows actually whatChina wants to message out from all this.China wanted to clear again and again thatTaiwan is not at all a separate country,instead it is a part of China. China & Taiwanseparated with the Communist andNationalistic feelings back in the 1950s.Today the world has changed its approachto Taiwan in specific. And now that Taiwanwants to have its own open and liberal rela-tions with the rest of the world then whatis the problem with this all? It's time forChina to quit the aggressive and expansio-nist attitude towards its neighbors. China

must come out of its Two State Principle andmust clear out of the Two State policy, whereTaiwan had a liberal status itself. It is the righttime for China to stop its aggressive attitudeand support the cause of nations like Indiaand Taiwan on the global platform. Chinamust support us to set regional peace anddelight between the Diaspora.

Kirti Wadhawan | Kanpur

LAW AS AN INSTRUMENT OF SOCIAL CHANGE

Sir — Laws are a set of rules and regulationsenforced by legal institutions. Justice, on theother hand, is much more than an esotericpolitical construct couched in jargon andconventions. The ultimate aim of laws is toprovide justice but most often falls short ofpursuing justice as society is ever evolving.The relation between law and justice wasrecently rightly highlighted by SupremeCourt Judge, Justice Chandrachud.Changing existing laws and dismantlingcolonial legacies from time to time that werehitherto left untouched is a strong tool toadvance justice.

In its 2018 judgment that decriminalizedgay consensual sex between adults justice,Chandrachud maintained that section 377of the I.P.C. provided for rule by lawinstead of the rule of law. In the same year,sitting on another constitutional bench heannulled the colonial-era law criminalizingadultery under section 497 of I.P.C. Similarly,an age-old practice legalized by state rule wasdeclared unconstitutional in the Sabarimalatemple case too when the order underlinedthat stopping a class of women on thegrounds of celibacy and menstruation indi-cates how patriarchal. society works. Suchpractices must be stopped. Achieving jus-tice through social movements and shapingpolitical and cultural understanding is theneed of the hour. The message is loud andclear: Criticism, debates, and discussions oflaws governing social issues must take prece-dence if true justice is to be realized.

Vijay Singh Adhikari | Nainital

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

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VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | AUGUST 10, 2022

06

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No distressing debates, please!TV channels must own the content broadcast by

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PICTALK

Tribal women perform a cultural dance as they celebrate the World Tribal Day in Nadia, West Bengal PTI

LETTERS TO TTHE EDITOR

Nitish has joined hands with RJD and Congress, but itremains to be seen if it can have national ramifications

It has been reported that the Supreme Courthas dismissed a plea filed by an advocateBrajesh Singh seeking contempt proceedings

against heads of parties including SoniaGandhi, Arvind Kejriwal, and Akhilesh Yadav.The rallying point is that it is the direction toprevent the criminalization of politics in the UttarPradesh Assembly polls held earlier this year.The crux of the matter is that the three parties— Congress-AAP and SP did not comply withthe August 21 judgment to declare criminalantecedents of UP assembly poll candidates.

The SC had directed the parties to uploadon their websites and social media platformsthe details of pending criminal cases againsttheir candidates and the reason for fielding suchcandidates. It is of little concern to the votersif a candidate without criminal antecedents isnot given a ticket. Because it is the preroga-tive of the party to or to not give the ticket. For

any party, the winnability of a candidate mat-ters. But if the SC directive is not complied with,it gives the wrong message that the directionof courts including the top court can be takenfor granted. If the leaders cannot proceed withthe Contempt of Court case, at least they shouldbe issued a notice to comply with the August21, 2021 court order. The respectability andsanctity of the courts must be protected at allcosts. For justice, courts are only the last resort.

KV Seetharamaiah | Bengaluru

CRIMINALISATION OF POLITICS

SOUNDBITE

some 1000 km of territory toChina by its threat to reclaimAksai Chin and the reorgani-zation of the J&K Act. Initiallyjubilant. The Ladakhis are dis-appointed as under UnionTerritory status, they are gov-erned by bureaucrats and nottheir people. Corruption hascrept in and central laws areapplicable with no administra-tive accountability.

Security has been a toppriority. The strength of secu-rity forces in the hinterland hasalmost doubled since 2019.The situation is ‘almost nor-mal’ going by statistics. But byno stretch of the imaginationhas terrorism been eliminated.When asked in Srinagarrecently, Defence MinisterRajnath Singh said: “It is an oldproblem and will take time tobe eradicated”. Of the 690militants killed since 2019,135 have been eliminated thisyear. In addition 136 civilians,146 security forces, and 57state officials have also losttheir lives. More significantly,while the administration callsmilitancy Pakistan’s proxy war,it has changed tactics.Militancy goes by differentnames like hybrid terrorism,and faceless militancy…anonymity is key and the newrecruit – 572 joined since2019 – is put to use immedi-ately in distant and randomacts like hurling grenades, etc.Many of these are lone wolf

acts. Targeted killings ofHindus, Pandits, and migrantshave kept the fear of guns alive.

There is no denying thatthe security situation hasimproved significantly – nostone pelting, few calls for har-tals, no overground workernetworks, and top comman-ders eliminated. This has beenachieved by the drastic use ofPSA, UAPA, and tax raids.This year alone, NIA carriedout 83 raids so far. Dead bod-ies of terrorists continue not tobe returned to families, panditsare in lockdown and do not goto work. Similarly, ‘panches’ areconfined to their homes,Mirwaiz Omar Farooqremains under house arrest,Farooq and Omar Abdullah,and Mehbooba Mufti say theyare under house arrest, and allparty meetings are not permit-ted. Though militancy hasspilled over to Chenab and PirPanjal valleys the Multi-Agency Terror MonitoringGroup has done well thoughnew challenges could materi-alize after Al Jawahiri’s killingin Kabul and the activation ofAl Qaeda and ISIS sleeper cellsin the region. The ResistanceFront, consisting of jihadisfrom Jaish e Mohammad ispicking up courage andstrength.

In the fourth year of theGovernor’s Rule, Manoj Sinhahas made big claims about theadministration’s achievements

in security, development, andoutreach to the people. Thestatistics rolled out are veryimpressive akin to Amrit Kaal.Nearly 51000 projects werecompleted in 2021-22 aloneand Rs 1 lakh crore is to bespent on connectivity. Thereare other developmentschemes in the pipeline – inhealth, education, hydropow-er, agriculture, jobs, andtourism. Despite these achieve-ments, alienation has grown.The carrot of restoration ofstatehood is essential but notsufficient to redress their griev-ances. There is no political out-reach as elections are a distantdream following theDelimitation Commissionwhich has only widened thecommunal chasm. There is nodialogue either internal orexternal except for a backchannel between NSA AjitDoval and COAS Gen Bajwawhich led to the 2021 cease-fire. This Express Tribune said6Aug has reached a dead end.

How long can elections beput off? Restoration of state-hood to J&K is an essential firststep and should be announcedon the 75th year of Azadi KaAmrit Mahotsav on 15 August.

(The writer, a retired LtGen, was Commander, IPKFSouth, Sri Lanka, and foundermember of the DefencePlanning Staff, currently theIntegrated Defence Staff. Theviews expressed are personal.)

After abrogating Article 370, the next step was to restore normalcy inKashmir but three years hence that is still a far cry

BUT BY NOSTRETCH OF

IMAGINATION HASTERRORISM BEEN

ELIMINATED.WHEN ASKED IN SRINAGAR

RECENTLY,DEFENCE

MINISTERRAJNATH SINGH

SAID, ‘IT IS ANOLD PROBLEM

AND WILL TAKETIME TO BE

ERADICATED’

ASHOK K MEHTA

Peace in J&K isstill a pipe dream

Three years after readingdown Article 370 of theconstitution the govern-ment has not achieved its

stated objectives of eradicatingterrorism from J&K, winningthe hearts and minds of theKashmiris, integrating Kashmirwith the mainstream, and usher-ing in development. Inter-nationalizing the Kashmir issuehas not isolated Pakistan diplo-matically. Instead, China hasbeen brought into the bilateralissue. GoI cannot wish awayissues that have festered for 75years. The book Hamin Ast ?, abiography of Article 370, pub-lished by the Vidhi Centre forLegal Policy has argued that nul-lification of Article 370 is legallyunsound. The matter is languish-ing in Supreme Court and thoughChief Justice Ramanna indicatedit will be listed shortly, the peti-tioners are not hopeful – such isthe political climate in the coun-try.

The Forum for HumanRights, in its annual report, ThreeYears as Union Territory: HumanRights in J&K (August 2021-July2022) has documented thebasic infirmities and unabatedgross human rights violations.Although it has not had any effecton state policy, it had noted theabnormalities in J&K.

Last Friday, China said thatIndia and Pakistan peacefullyresolve their differences on thethird anniversary of revokingthe special status of J&K . It reit-erated its call to parties to avoidtaking unilateral actions to changethe status quo or escalate tension.In 2019, China was incensed bythe new map of the UnionTerritory of Ladakh and HomeMinister Amit Shah’s boast inParliament of taking back AksaiChin. China was not satisfied byForeign Minister S Jaishankar’splea that it will have no bearingon the boundary dispute and heeven traveled to Beijing to placatethe Chinese. PLA aggression inLadakh opened a second activefront in May 2020 and it is nowconstructing a new road, G695parallel to the existing G219from Xinjiang to Tibet, 20 to 25km from the border. India has lost

These peoplewaived off the loansof Rs10 lakh croreof their friends.Such people shouldbe called traitorsand investigation carried out againstthem.

Delhi Chief Minister—Arvind Kejriwal

You know you’regetting old whenthe candles costmore than thecake. Thanks forall the amazing

birthday wishes. Tennis player—Roger Federer

I would like to tellyou, no matterwhich industry itis, be it the cloth-ing industry, filmindustry or any-thing else, all of these help theeconomy. But doing things likeboycotting movies, it doesn'tmake sense.

Actor—Akshay Kumar

This day, the sloganof 'Angrezo BharatChhodo' was givenand now the sloganof ‘BJP Bhagaon' iscoming from Bihar.

Samajwadi Party chief —Akhilesh Yadav

As the climate crisis gets worse,extreme weatherwill pose a rapidlygrowing danger.we are investing

more than $1 billion to fund climate resilience projects.UK Prime Minister—Boris Johnson

Legislature reform ismust in New India

MR NAIDU WOULD HAVE TRIED HARD TO GET THEPRIME MINISTER TO PERHAPS ANSWER ONE QUESTIONIN HIS FULL TENURE BUT THAT DID NOT HAPPEN.—TMC MPDEREK O'BRIEN

I SEE THE MATURITY OF DEMOCRACY INYOUR (NAIDU) STANDARDS. YOU NEVER

CONSIDERED WORK A BURDEN. —PRIME MINISTER

NARENDRA MODI

Suddenly there is a spurt in issuing bonus shares by Indian com-panies. This year so far 73 companies have announced bonusissues and this is the second highest since 2010. In 2018, 78

companies had issued bonus shares. More than 90 companies issuedbonus shares in 2010.

It is widely believed that there has been an explosive growth incorporate profits and this confidence has manifested in bonus issues.Generally market participants welcome bonus issue of shares, thoughon a closer look, one will understand that there cannot be any mate-rial change in the intrinsic value of a share due to bonus issue.

Bonus issue is nothing but a book entry of transferring funds fromreserve account to share capital account to the extent required to issuebonus shares. It does not change the net worth of the company.

A bonus issue, also known as a scrip issue or a capitalisationissue, is an offer of free additional shares to existing shareholders.A company may indulge in issuing bonus shares instead of increas-ing the dividend payout. While paying a dividend, there is dividenddistribution tax, whereas for the issue of bonus there is no such taxation.

For issue of bonus shares, the company will transfer funds fromits reserve account to share capital account and hence there is nooutflow of funds from the company. The shareholder who gets bonusshares may sell his original number of shares or the bonus sharesor both as he pleases.

For the purpose, the SEBI guidelines mandate that for issuing bonusshares, if the company is having any fully convertible debentures orpartly convertible debentures, proportionate reserve of shares to suchholders should be extended/reserved, while the bonus issue shall bemade out of free reserves built out of the genuine profits or share pre-mium collected in cash only.

Additionally, the reserves created by revaluation of fixed assetscannot be capitalised, while the bonus issue cannot be made unlessthe partly paid shares, if any, are fully paid up. Also, the companyshould not have defaulted in payment of interest or principal in respectof fixed deposits and interest on existing debentures or principal onredemption thereof.

The company should not have defaulted in payment of statutorydues like employees’ provident fund, gratuity, bonus, etc., while anybonus announced should be implemented within a period of six months.

While selling shares, the losses arising from such transactionswill be ignored for the purpose of calculation of income for capitalgain tax if investors who buy the units within a period of three monthsprior to the record date (date on which bonus is allotted).

If such investor sells or transfers all or any of the original unitswithin the period of nine months after the record date, the loss willbe considered as the cost of acquisition for bonus shares.

However, stock split and bonus shares are different, though theyhave some similarities. For example a face value of Rs 10 can bechanged as face value of Re 1. So, if a shareholder is having 100shares with face value of Rs 10, his holding will be changed as 1000shares of face value of Re 1.

Though the number of shares is changed, there is no change inthe capital or reserve of the company. Earnings per share will comedown proportionately and per share market price may also come down.

(The author is a retired banker)

VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | AUGUST 10, 2022

07

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FIRSTCOLUMNUNDERSTANDING BONUSSHARES, STOCK SPLIT

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

SUMEET BHASIN

Bonus shares don’t change fundamentals of companies

PARLIAMENTARYCOMMITTEE

SHOULD HAVESUBJECT

EXPERTS, WITHNO VOTINGRIGHTS, TO

ALLOW SPACEFOR THE DOMAIN

EXPERTISEWHILE

SCRUTINISINGTHE LEGISLATIVEBILLS AND ALSO

TO HELPCAPACITY

BUILDING OF THE MPS

The Monsoon session of Parliamentwas washed out for all the practi-cal purposes. The lawmakers havetaken creating pandemonium as

their principal vocation. The public issuesthat the lawmakers of the country shouldhave been representing in Parliamentand state Assemblies are hardly being takenup by the elected representatives.

At a time when India commemorates75 years of independence, it’s worthwhileto examine the functioning of Parliamentand the state legislatures. While Parliamentsessions are disrupted at the will of theOpposition leaders on the call of their akason grounds which are largely seen drivenby vested interests, the state Assemblies toohave become distanced from the people,with their annual average sittings being justabout 23 days.

There needs to be hard-nosed reformsin the rule books of both the Houses ofParliament and the state Assemblies,while also carrying out tough and deeperreform measures in the electoral system ofIndia. The next few decades warrantexpeditious reforms in the legislature, elsethe opportunities emerging out of the fast-changing global order and the consequentshift in the global supply chain would skipIndia.

Both the Houses of Parliament could-n’t function in the Monsoon sessionmerely because the EnforcementDirectorate is going ahead with the probein the National Herald case, and sum-moned the Congress interim presidentSonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi,besides carrying out raids at the NationalHerald headquarters. This amounts toinfluencing the functioning of the inves-tigative agency, which was given much ofthe powers by the Congress-led UPA government in 2005 only.

This needs examination since thevaluable time of the Parliament has beenwasted by the Congress. Therefore, the pre-siding officers of the two Houses ofParliament, the Lok Sabha Speaker OmBirla and the Rajya Sabha Chairman M.Venkaiah Naidu and his successor JagdeepDhankar, should sit together and decideto call a meeting of leaders of all the political parties and urgently adopt theagenda to reform the rule books of theconduct of the business.

The Biju Janata Dal never troops intothe well of the House. The MPs of thisparty never raise slogans in Parliament.Even the Congress MP Shashi Tharoornever rushes into the well of the House;he also doesn’t indulge in slogan shouting.That makes it incumbent that the ruckuscreated by the Congress has no supportfrom some sections of the Opposition also.

There should be ‘No adjournment’ policy for both Houses of Parliament, andthe MPs who shout and raise slogansshould be named and sent out by the mar-shals and their salaries and allowances bealso cut. There should be severe punish-ment for holding placards and trooping

New India cannot be shaped by existing legislature, and it requires radical reform

(The author is Director, Public Policy

Research Centre)

into the well of the House, while TVbroadcast by Sansad TV shouldn’tshow agitating members.

Erring MPs are first suspendedfor one day, and if they gain threesuspensions, their allowances arecut, while they shouldn’t getchances to speak for the next twoto three sessions. Let there be a ceil-ing on the number of incidents thatthe MPs can violate the norms ofthe two Houses. If that ceiling isbreached, the erring MPs will bebarred from contesting next polls.

At the same time, the electoralreforms should make it clear thatan MP can have only two contin-uous terms and after that thereshould be a break for one term,while the minimum age be loweredfrom 25 years to 21 years. This willgive the millennial a better sense ofparticipation in Indian democra-cy. Equally important is to have theprovision of vote of non-confidenceto be brought only with a vote ofconfidence to ensure that theHouse is not dissolved before its fullterm. Such provisions should alsoapply to the Assemblies.

Also, the Lok Sabha polls canbe contested only by those who arein Assemblies or the legislativeCouncils to help the better integra-tion of the three-tier democracy inthe country. This needs to belooked into closely with suitableamendments in the Representationof the Peoples Act to ensure thatpeople do not just parachute intothe Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha,and rather they go through the fulllength grinding of the democratic

institutions, beginning from thebasic unit of the Panchayati RajInstitutions in the rural areas andthe local bodies in the urban cen-tres. This is most needed to ensurethat the elected representativeshave genuine and broader under-standing of the functioning of theIndian democracy at all levels.

Parliamentary committeesshould have subject experts, withno voting rights, to allow space forthe domain expertise while scru-tinizing the legislative bills and alsoto help the capacity building of theMPs. This will address the anom-aly of the MPs who have question-able understanding of Defencebeing members of theParliamentary standing committeeon defence.

It is equally important thatthere be a sharp eye on the assetsof the members of the legislatures.Any disproportionate growth in theassets of the lawmakers should beprobed by the competent agenciesand the outcomes be revealed inthe public domain within a fixedtimeframe. The assets of MPs andthe MLAs, besides the members ofthe Zila Panchayat and Parishad,should be tracked closely by appro-priate agencies so that neitherthey nor their near and dear onesabnormally grow their assets bytaking the benefits of the positionsand the status.

The democratic institutionsfunction on conventions and rules.There is a growing need to accordgreater importance to the conven-tion of the good practices as had

been the part of the legislatures inthe early days of the formation.Now the trend seems that theOpposition parties believe thatthey come to the Houses only tospeak and they stage walk outswhen the ministers reply to theissues that they had raised. This isquite undemocratic in nature, andshows intolerance on the parts ofthe Opposition parties to debateand discourse.

The Opposition approach of‘My way or No Way’ is totally unde-mocratic in nature. Additionally,the records set in the Houses of theParliament and the Assembliesare for the posterity. The next gen-eration will learn that theParliament and the legislativeAssemblies are not the places tohold serious discussions on lawmaking or in-depth debate onissues that may shape the future ofthe country but to indulge in slo-gan shouting and engaging in ran-cor. This is not democracy, and thefuture generation may be deprivedof healthy conventions to emulatefrom to further excel.

This makes it incumbent uponthe presiding officers to evolve con-ventions, while sensitizing the law-makers, about preserving the goodpractices, and avoid playing to thegalleries to capture the camera'sattention. If the need be even therules can be amended for thebusiness of the legislative Housesto codify the good practices.

New India cannot function inold ways, and the deep legislativereforms are unavoidable.

In its 47th meeting, the GST(Goods and Services Tax)Council held on June 28/29,

2022, at least a dozen financeministers and other ministers ofthe states demanded that com-pensation for losses due toimplementation of the GSTshould be extended.

In the follow up to theunveiling of the GST by theModi government, ‘TheConstitution (One Hundredand First Amendment) Act,2016’, that introduced the GSTfrom July 1, 2017, the Uniongovernment also introduced‘The GST Compensation Act,2017’.

It provides for compensa-tion to the States for five years(2017-18 to 2021-22) for the lossof revenue. The Centre alsopassed an amendment to theGST Compensation Act (2018)

to levy a cess on the so-calleddemerit goods (those which fallin the highest tax slab of 28 per-cent – other slabs being five per-cent, 12 percent and 18 percentbesides the exempt category)such as automobiles, tobacco,drinks and so on with a provi-so to use the proceeds for com-pensating States.

As laid down in the Act, thecompensation ended on June 30,2022. But the majority of thestates want this to be continuedarguing (i) the Covid pandem-ic has severely impacted revenue- their own tax collection, as wellas transfer from the Centre,pushing them behind the curve;(ii) they continue to face short-fall in tax revenue. These argu-ments need close scrutiny.

During the 2020-21, thedevastating effect of Covid pan-demic on economic activity and

resultant dip in tax collection ofboth the States and the centreresulted in a shortfall in tax rev-enue of the states of about Rs300,000 crore. The cess proceedsbeing only Rs 65,000 crore, thisresulted in an unmet deficit ofRs 235,000 crore.

Meanwhile, during 2019-20also, there was imbalancethough not on a scale seen dur-ing 2020-21. In that year, the cessproceeds were Rs 95,000 croreagainst shortfall in tax revenueof Rs 165,000 crore, resulting inunmet deficit of Rs 70,000 crore.After drawing down the surplusfrom previous two years (2017-18/2018-19) when cess pro-ceeds were higher than theshortfall, the net amount comesto Rs 35,000 crore.

For the two years 2019-20and 2020-21 put together, thetotal unmet deficit was Rs

270,000 crore. To make up forthis, the Centre, in consultationwith the Reserve Bank of India(RBI) set up a special windowfor borrowings at “low” rate ofinterest and transferred thefunds to states as back-to-backloans. Under this window, Rs110,000 crore was borrowedduring 2020-21 and Rs 160,000crore during 2021-22.

During FY 2021-22 also, theshortfall in tax revenue of statesabout Rs 150,000 crore washigher than the cess collection

of Rs 100,000 crore, resulting inunmet deficit of Rs 50,000 crore.This plus additional amountneeded to accommodate themismatch during the threemonth period ending June 30,2022 will also have to be pluggedby borrowings under the ‘specialwindow’.

In view of above, even ifthere is no extension of the com-pensation arrangement, the cesson demerit products will have tocontinue beyond June 30, 2022if only to service the loan tillsuch time all loan-related liabil-ities are fully extinguished. TheGST Council has already takena decision in this regard.

In the context of decidingwhether the compensationshould be continued or other-wise, a niggling question is:why despite waning Covid, andFY 2021-22 posting a sharp

rebound in tax collection [grosstax revenue (GTR) of the Centreexceeded the budget estimate(BE) by an unprecedented aboutRs 500,000 crore and even thestates got more], there was a rev-enue shortfall. This anomalymay have to do with the formu-la for determining the shortfall.

Under it, protected revenue(PR) is arrived at by applyingannual growth at 14 percent overthe 2015-16 level of tax revenueunder the erstwhile regime. PRgets unduly inflated due to (a)the base itself being high (thatregime was characterized byhigh tax rate); (b) compoundingeffect of the percentage growthwhich is maximum in the fifthyear (for instance, @14 percent,Rs 100 will become Rs 193).

The crucial point to notehere is: if the erstwhile dispen-sation were to continue, the

states would not have got rev-enue as extrapolated on thebasis of the formula. In fact, dur-ing 2021-22, by artificially boost-ing the PR, the formula hasenabled them to garner morethan what they deserved.

To conclude, none of thetwo arguments given by thestates in support of continuingthe compensation mechanismare tenable. The disruptioncaused by the pandemic is athing of the past as tax collectionrebounded during 2021-22 andthe buoyancy is being main-tained during the current FY—as reflected in 35 per centincrease in GST collection dur-ing the first quarter.

The claim of ‘continuedshortfall in revenue’ too doesn’tcut ice as it is based on compar-ison of actual revenue with a the-oretical figure.

The disruption caused by the pandemic is a thing of the past as tax collection rebounded during 2021-22

GST compensation can’t be perpetual; States must be prudent

(The author is a policy analyst)

UTTAM GUPTA

S KALYANASUNDARAM

VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | AUGUST 10, 2022 Money 08

MO

NE

Y M

AT

TE

RS

ABB India on Tuesday said its net profit more than doubled to Rs 147 crore in the Junequarter, mainly on the back of higher revenues.The company had reported a profit ofRs 68 crore in the quarter ended June 30, 2021, according to a company

statement.Its total revenues rose to Rs 2,053 crore in the quarter from Rs 1,425 crore ayear ago.The company follows January to December financial year."Consistent focus onexecution, value-added volume mix, andconsistent, assured deliveries to ourcustomers have led to our overall growth.Our proactive engagement across highgrowth market segments have reapedbenefits even as uncertainties of inflationand a tight supply chain persist," ABB IndiaMD Sanjeev Sharma said. In an ongoinghigh-demand environment, while thecommodity cycles look at some easing, ABBIndia's well-balanced portfolio for diversecustomers across market segments willcontinue to act as a catalyst for growth, henoted.

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) and Honda Motor have joined handsto set up battery swapping stations for electric vehicles at the state-owned oilfirm's petrol pumps.HPCL and Honda Power Pack Energy India Pvt Ltd, a

subsidiary of Honda Motor Co Ltd (Honda), launched their first 'e:swap' station atHPCL's petrol pump in Bengaluru on August 6, the state-owned firm said in astatement on Tuesday.With the fastadoption of environment-friendly EVsthat run batteries charged byelectricity, infrastructure to eithercharge such vehicles or providefacilities to replace dischargedbatteries with fully charged ones arebeing set up across the country.hilecharging the EV battery is not as fastas filling petrol or diesel, batteryswapping offers a quick alternative."Customers can exchange the depletedbatteries with fully charged ones in 2minutes at e:swap stations," it said.

Mortgage major HDFC has received approval from the National Housing Bank (NHB) forits merger with subsidiary HDFC Bank, a regulatory filing said on Tuesday.The NHBhas also approved the merger of two wholly-owned subsidiaries -- HDFC Investments

and HDFC Holdings Limited -- of the housing finance company with HDFC, the filing said."Wewish to inform you that the NHB vide its letter dated August 8, 2022, has granted its no-objection to the scheme, as requiredpursuant to the refinance facilities availedby HDFC Ltd from NHB," HDFC said in thefiling.The country's largest mortgagelender by asset size has already receivedapproval from the Reserve Bank, Sebi andthe stock exchanges (NSE and BSE) for theproposed merger between HDFC andHDFC Bank.The merger scheme remainssubject to various statutory and regulatoryapprovals including approvals from theCompetition Commission of lndia, theNCLT and the respective shareholders andcreditors of the two companies.

ABB India net profit more thandoubles to Rs 147 cr in Jun qtr

HPCL, Honda join hands to boost electric mobility

HDFC gets NHB nod for proposedmerger with subsidiary bank

PNS n NEW DELHI

Negotiations for the proposedfree trade agreement betweenIndia and the UK is progress-ing at a faster pace, commerceand industry minister PiyushGoyal said on Tuesday.

The agreement is aimed atboosting bilateral trade andinvestments between the twocountries.

India has signed a tradepact with the UAE in a "record"time and "now our talks withthe UK is moving at a fasterpace", Goyal said.

In such pacts, two or morecountries significantly reduceor eliminate customs duties onmaximum number of goodstraded between them. Besides,they ease norms for promotingtrade in goods and invest-ments.

In January, India and the UKformally launched talks for afree trade agreement. Theyhave set the deadline for con-cluding talks by Diwali.

India is also negotiatingsimilar pacts with Canada,

European Union (EU) andIsrael, he said, adding thatseveral other nations haveshown keen interest in nego-tiating trade agreements withIndia.

The Gulf CooperationCouncil (GCC), EurasianEconomic Union (EAEU) andEuropean Free TradeAssociation (EFTA) want tonegotiate these pacts, he said.

However, he added that thecommerce ministry does nothave enough resources to

simultaneously negotiate freetrade pact with more nations.

GCC is a union of six coun-tries in the Gulf region, name-ly, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman,Qatar, Saudi Arabia and theUAE. EFTA members areSwitzerland, Norway, Icelandand Liechtenstein. Five-nationEAEU comprises Russia,Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstanand Kyrgyzstan.

The minister was speakingat Vyapari Udyami Sammelanhere.

PNS n NEW DELHI

GAIL (India) Ltd wants todouble its share capital as wellas add specialty chemicals andclean energy to its line ofbusiness as it looks to diversi-fy business beyond naturalgas transmission and distrib-ution.

GAIL has sought sharehold-er approval to increase theauthorised share capital of thecompany to Rs 10,000 crorefrom the current Rs 5,000crore to help raise finance forits expansion plans over thenext 3-4 years.

The firm is laying naturalgas truck pipelines to create anational gas grid as well asexpand city gas distribution as

part of the government's targetof more than doubling theshare of natural gas in the pri-mary energy basket to 15 percent by 2030.

"GAIL is having a capex planof approximately Rs 30,000crores in next 3-4 years. Theseprojects will be funded partly

through internal resources andpartly through debt, whichmay also include the equityroute," the firm said in a noticeto shareholders.

Further, the company mayalso look at issuing bonusequity shares to its sharehold-ers, it said.

PNS n MUMBAI

The number of Indian visitorsto Dubai rose more thantwofold to 8.58 lakh duringJanuary-June 2022 comparedto the year-ago period, accord-ing to the Dubai's Departmentof Economy and Tourism(DET).

In the first half of 2021, over4.09 lakh people from Indiavisited Dubai, the DET datashowed.

Overall, Dubai attracted 71.2lakh international overnightvisitors between January andJune 2022, recording close tothree-fold growth in visitors

compared to 25.2 lakh touristsin the same period in 2021.

"The growth in touristsreflects the resilience anddynamism of the emirate'seconomy. The rapid rise ininternational tourist arrivalsputs Dubai on track to achieveits ambitious target of becom-ing the world's most visiteddestination.

"In the years ahead, Dubaiwill continue to develop itselffurther as a destination thatoffers compelling value tointernational travellers," SheikhHamdan bin Mohammed binRashid Al Maktoum, CrownPrince of Dubai and Chairman

of The Executive Council ofDubai, said in a statement onTuesday.

A total of 83.6 lakh interna-tional tourists had visitedDubai during the first six

months of 2019, DET datastated.

From a regional perspective,Western Europe accounted fora significant share of touristarrivals, comprising 22 percent of total international vis-itors in the first six months of2022.

Middle East and NorthAfrica (MENA) and the GulfCooperation Council (GCC)continued to make an impact,collectively contributing 34per cent of total internationalvisitors and highlightingDubai's strong appeal to visi-tors from surrounding mar-kets, the statement said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

All four public sector insurersincurred losses of Rs 26,364crore in the health insuranceportfolio for the last five yearsdue to higher claims in grouppolicies, a CAG report said.

"The losses of the healthinsurance business of PSUinsurers either wiped out/decreased the profits of otherlines of business or increased theoverall losses," an audit reportby CAG tabled in Parliamentrecently said.The aggregate lossof the four PSU insurers -- NewIndia Assurance CompanyLimited (NIACL), United IndiaInsurance Company Limited(UIICL), Oriental InsuranceCompany Limited (OICL) and

National Insurance CompanyLimited (NICL) -- was Rs26,364 crore during 2016-17 to2020-21.

The health insurance busi-ness is the second largest line ofbusiness of the PSU insurers(the first being motor insur-ance), having a gross direct pre-mium of Rs 1,16,551 crore dur-ing the five years from 2016-17to 2020-21.PSU insurers' mar-ket share in the health insurancebusiness is also reducing contin-uously vis-a-vis the stand-alonehealth insurers and privateinsurers, the report observed.

The Comptroller and AuditorGeneral of India (CAG) reportsaid the finance ministry laiddown (September 2012/May2013) guidelines for the under-

writing of group policies as perwhich the combined ratio ofstandalone group policies shallnot exceed 95 per cent and forgroup policies involving cross-subsidy, the combined ratioshall not exceed 100 per cent.

"Audit noticed that the min-istry guidelines were not com-plied with by the PSU insurersand the combined ratio ofgroup health insurance seg-ment as reported by PSU insur-ers ranged from 125 165 percent," it said.

With regard to claim man-agement, the report said, the ITsystems in PSU insurers lackedappropriate validation checksand controls, undermining thesmooth functioning and report-ing system.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Sebi has barred SecurekloudTechnologies Ltd and threeindividuals from the securitiesmarket for alleged manipula-tion of financial statements aswell as siphoning off funds ofthe company.

The three individuals --Suresh Venkatachari, R SRamani and GurumurthiJayaraman -- have also beenrestrained from associatingthemselves with any Sebi-reg-istered intermediary till fur-ther orders.Further, they have

been barred from acting asdirectors or key managerialpersonnel of any listed publiccompany or as promoters ofany public company whichintends to raise money fromthe public, according to a 76-page order passed by Sebi.

Sebi started a probe pur-suant to certain complaintsalleging irregularities by pro-moters and management inthe company and the resigna-tion of its statutory auditor,Deloitte Haskins and Sells, cit-ing various corporate gover-nance lapses.The regulator

initiated the investigation intothe company's affairs for theperiod 2017-18 to 2020-21and found there manipulationof financial statements."I notethat the facts of the caseprima facie show that therehas been a massive falsifica-tion of the books of accountsof the company and that thecompany has been publishingfalse and manipulated finan-cial statements showing inflat-ed revenue/profitability," SebiWhole Time MemberAshwani Bhatia said in theorder passed on Thursday.

GAIL to double share capital; addspecialty chemicals, clean energy PNS n NEW DELHI

Telecom operator Bharti Airtelwill start rolling out 5G ser-vices this month and cover alltowns and key rural areas ofthe country by March 2024, asenior company official saidon Tuesday.

Bharti Airtel managingdirector and CEO Gopal Vittalalso said that the price ofmobile services in India is verylow and needs to go up.

"We intend to launch 5Gstarting August and extend toa Pan India roll out very soon.By March 2024 we believe wewill be able to cover everytown and key rural areas aswell with 5G.

"In fact, detailed networkrollout plans for 5,000 townsin India are completely in

place. This will be one of thebiggest rollouts in our histo-ry," Vittal said during thecompany's earning call.

Bharti Airtel in the recent-ly-concluded spectrum auc-tion acquired 19,867.8 MHzfrequencies by securing a pan-India footprint of 3.5 GHz and26 GHz bands and select pur-chase of radiowaves in the low

and mid-band spectrum for atotal consideration of Rs43,040 crore.

Vittal said the company'scapital expenditure willremain around the existinglevels and played down theneed for buying premiumspectrum in the 700 mega-hertz band, which requires lessnumber of mobile towers for

coverage compared to otherbands that telecom operatorscurrently have.

"Our competition does nothave such a large mid-bandspectrum. Do remember thatif we did not have this largechunk of precious mid-bandspectrum we would have hadno choice but to buy expensive700 Mhz spectrum.

"And once we had bought itwe would have had to deploylarge power guzzling radios onthis band. Not only would thecost have been higher, but itwould also have led to morecarbon emissions," Vittal said.

He said that the networkdeployment in the 700 Mhzband gives no additional cov-erage compared to the 900Mhz spectrum band that thecompany has.

Airtel set to launch 5G services,cover every town

PNS n NEW DELHI

The government will certain-ly re-evaluate the fare cap inplace for domestic airlinesonce there is a healthier envi-ronment in terms of jet fuelprices, according to CivilAviation Minister JyotiradityaScindia.

After the coronavirus pan-demic rattled the country'scivil aviation space, the sectoris now in recovery mode, espe-cially in terms of the numberof air travellers and Akasa Airhas also started services,becoming the first domesticcarrier to launch operations inthe last eight years.

Against the backdrop of lin-gering pandemic blues, theministry has put in the fare cap

system for the local airlines.Currently, the fare capping isapplicable on a rolling basis fora 15-day cycle.

In an interview to PTI,Scindia said that as it standstoday, the fares of airlines arenot close enough to the lowportion of the fare cap and arevery far away from the highportion of the fare cap.

"I have seen stabilisationhappen and at an appropriatetime, we will certainly look atthat. I am looking at ATFprices also coming off and asthat becomes a more healthi-er environment, we will cer-tainly re-evaluate that," theminister said.

In May, Scindia had said thatthe fare cap acts as a protectorfor air travellers as well as air-

lines.The Aviation Turbine Fuel(ATF) or jet fuel prices havebeen on an upward trajectoryin recent months, especially inthe wake of the ongoingRussia-Ukraine conflict.Recently, the prices in the

country were cut but remainmuch higher than the levelseen during the pre-pandem-ic time.While acknowledgingthat airlines are facing manystructural issues, Scindia saidthe ATF price has gone up

because of the Russia-Ukrainewar from Rs 53,000 per kilolitre in 2019-20 to almost Rs1,41,000 per kilo litre till lastweek.The price has beenreduced by almost 16 per centor around Rs 21,000 per kilolitre but it is still double thanit used to be, he noted.

"If you are an airline, 39 percent of your cost structureused to be ATF at Rs 53,000 perkilo litre. Now, the ATF pricehas gone to Rs 1,20,000 per kilolitre. Therefore, from a struc-tural point of view, that is thechallenge they are facing," theminister said.Meanwhile,Scindia has been urging vari-ous states and UnionTerritories (UTs) to reduce theValue Added Tax (VAT) leviedby them on jet fuel.

Govt will re-evaluate airfarecap depending on ATF price

Indian visitors to Dubai more than double to 8.58 lakhSebi bars Securekloud Technologies,3 individuals from securities markets

Talks on Free Trade Agreement withUK moving at faster pace: Goyal

PNS n NEW DELHI

The government has start-ed the search for a succes-sor to Pension FundRegulator y andDevelopment Authority(PFRDA) chairmanSupratim Bandyopadhyaywhose term is ending inJanuary next year.

PFRDA chairpersonholds office for five years ortill the age of 65 years.

The chairperson is enti-tled to a consolidated salaryof Rs 4.50 lakh per monthwithout facility of houseand car, the finance min-istry said while invitingapplication for the post.

Finance Ministryinvites applicationsfor PFRDAchairperson post

PNS n KOLKATA

Exports of tea during thefirst five months of the cur-rent calendar from Januaryto May 2022 increasedaround seven per cent at78.64 million kg as comparedto 73.19 million kg in thesimilar previous period,according to Tea Board data.

For the first time, UAE lift-ed 13.17 million kg duringthe current five-month peri-od, more than RussianFederation which stood11.52 million kg during con-cerned period. It was 5.80million kg in the comparablesimilar period.

During the period, Russialifted 11.52 million kg dur-ing the current five-month

period as against 13.52 mil-lion kg in the previous peri-od.

Sources in Indian TeaAssociation (ITA) said thishas been possible due to

present Russia-Ukraine con-flict which restricted offloadby the CIS country andexporters are finding newavenues in the UAE to exporttea.Total offtake by the CIS

block also declined margin-ally to 16.41 million kg dur-ing the current five-monthperiod as compared to 18.01million kg in the previoussimilar period, according to

the data.Iran, another majorbuyer, imported 8.91 millionkg during January to May2022 as compared to 7.58million kg in previous simi-lar period. Exports to Iranhad been suffering due topayments issues after sanc-tions by the US and manyother countries.Total value ofexports during the period ofthe current quarter stood atRs 2,037.78 crore, higherthan Rs 1,901.63 crore in thecomparable similar period,the data showed.

The other major importersare USA at 4.81 million kg,followed by Germany at 2.95million kg during the periodconcerned in the currentcalendar period of f ivemonths.

Tea exports in first five months increase seven per cent PSU general insurers record Rs 26,364 crloss in health portfolio over 5 years

India hassigned a tradepact with theUAE in a"record" timeand "now ourtalks with theUK is moving ata faster pace",Goyal said.

DOMESTIC AIRLINES

9

Vijayawada | Wednesday August 10, 2022 what’s brewing?

Pete Davidson has been in‘trauma therapy’ largely due toKanye West’s attacks on social

media, several sources confirmed toPage Six.

Beginning in April, The King ofStaten Island star, 28, has been seek-ing help following his feud with therapper for dating his ex-wife, KimKardashian.

“The attention and negativitycoming from Kanye and his anticsis a trigger for [Pete], and he’s hadto seek out help,” an insider toldPeople, who first reported the story,Monday.

The source stressed that, despitecalling it quits last week, Davidson“has no regrets for dating Kim andwants it to be made very clear thatshe’s been nothing but supportive ofhim throughout their relationship.”

Reps for Davidson and West didnot reply for comment.

On Friday, an insider confirmedto Page Six that Davidson andKardashian, 41, had called quitsafter nine months of dating.

“Kim and Pete have decided tojust be friends,” the source shared.“They have a lot of love and respectfor each other, but found that thelong distance and their demandingschedules made it really difficult tomaintain a relationship.”

Another source also told Page sixthat their age difference contributedto the decision.

The “Golddigger” rapper, 45, hascontinuously criticised the “SNL”alum who he dubbed Skete eversince he was first linked toKardashian in October 2021.

Earlier this year, West released avideo for “Eazy” that had him liter-ally kidnapping and burying a car-toon version of Davidson. He alsorapped about “beating PeteDavidson’s ass.”

West also attacked Davidson in asecond video for the same tune, this

time while the actor wore a “Skete”hoodie. In March, the two men gotinto a heated text exchange.

“Yo it’s Skete. Can you please takea second and calm down. It’s 8amand it don’t gotta be like this,” thecomedian texted West, according toscreenshots shared by “SNL” guestwriter Dave Sirus.

“Kim is literally the best motherI’ve ever met. What she does forthose kids is amazing and you areso f–king lucky that she’s your kidsmom,” he continued. “I’ve decidedim not gonna let you treat us thisway anymore and I’m done being

quiet. Grow the f–k up.”Davidson went on to ask West if

they wanted to meet up and talk.“I’m in LA for the day if you

wanna stop being a little internetbitch boy and talk,” he wrote.

“You don’t scare me bro. Youractions are so p—y and embarrass-ing. It’s so sad to watch you ruin urlegacy on the daily.”

Despite Davidson’s attempts, theYeezy designer didn’t stop hisattacks.

On Monday, West shared a doc-tored New York Times front pageon Instagram that declared, “SketeDavidson dead at age 28.”

Hours later, he took it down afterKardashian was revealed to be“livid” about the post.

“Kim is livid and incredibly upset… Kanye is back to his old waysand Kim will not tolerate his bully-ing behavior towards the people sheloves and cares about,” a sourceclose to the Skims founder toldPage Six.

A second source explained thatthe reality star will “always protectPete,” no matter their dating status.

Kardashian and West officiallydivorced in June 2022 after a judgedubbed the makeup mogul legallysingle. The two were married since2014 and share four kids together.

Pete Davidson in ‘trauma therapy’ following

Kanye West’s attacks on social media

Bollywood sibling starsArjun Kapoor andSonam Kapoor are all

set to delight the funny boneof many viewers when theyappear in the new chat showKoffee with Karan.

In the latest commercial,Karan is seen asking Sonamabout Arjun, “How manyFriends of yours have he hada sleep with?”

To which Sonam who waslooping in her real-brotherHarshvardhan Kapoor,responded, “I am not dis-

cussing it, but between mybrothers, there’s nobody left”

Karan exclaimed withlaughter and asked, “Whatkind of brothers do youhave?”

Then, pat came theresponse to Arjun, “Whatkind of sister are you? Whatdo you think about us.Whatmakes me feel like I’ve beencalled by this show as beingharassed by Sonam.”

While talking about hislove for his lady Malaika,Karan asked what he has

saved her name as on hisphone.

In response, Arjunreplied, “I really like hername.Malaika.”

In the Trailer, Sonam isalso seen asking Arjunabout something she findsannoying about him. Heresponds, “You don’t waitfor anyone else to compli-ment you. You simply giveyourself an acknowledg-ment.”

Koffee with Karan is onDisney+ Hotstar.

KJo, Sonam joke about bro Arjun

‘sleeping’ with her friends

Producer and directorKiran Rao, who startedher film journey as one

of the assistants on the sets ofthe iconic film Lagaan, is setto return to direction afterover a decade since her direc-torial debut of Dhobi Ghat.

Her upcoming feature filmis titled Laapataa Ladies.

Although the makers havebeen tight-lipped about thestory, the film is set in 2001,somewhere in rural India. Itfollows the mess that ensueswhen two young brides getlost from a train.

The main cast of the filmincludes Sparsh Shrivastava,Ravi Kishan and ChhayaKadam. In addition, it willalso introduce two newactresses who play the brides.

The makers have refrainedfrom revealing the names ofthe actresses.

The first teaser ofLaapataa Ladies will bereleased along with AamirKhan's Laal Singh Chaddhain theatres worldwide onAugust 11.

Laapataa Ladies has beenjointly produced by AamirKhan and Kiran Rao.

While the film has beenmade under the banner ofAamir Khan Productions andKindling Productions, thescript is based on a story byBiplab Goswami.

The screenplay and dia-logue is written by SnehaDesai, and additional dia-logues are written byDivyanidhi Sharma.

Kiran Rao returns to direction after

11 years with Laapataa Ladies

Demi Lovato has a new musicianboyfriend, People reported onMonday. “It’s a really happy and

healthy relationship,” an insider close to thesinger told the outlet. “He’s a super greatguy.”

However, they didn’t reveal the musi-cian’s identity and Lovato’s rep did notimmediately respond to Page Six’s requestfor comment. This will be the singer’s firstserious relationship since she ended herengagement with Max Ehrich in September2020. Lovato, 29, and Ehrich, 31, firstbegan dating in March 2020 before gettingengaged just four months later. However,by September, a source told Page Six thatthe singer had ended their relationshipafter finding out he was only dating her forpublicity. The singer who recently changedher pronouns back to she/her is about todrop her eighth studio album Holy Fvckwhich seemingly talks about her relation-ship with ex Wilmer Valderrama. In thesingle titled 29, Lovato disses Valderrama,42, over their 12-year age gap. The twobegan dating when the actor was 29 andshe was 17.

“Finally 29 Funny, just like you were you

at the time,” the actress sings. “Thought itwas a teenage dream / Just a fantasy / Butwas it yours or was it mine?”

In addition to repeating “17, 29” in thesong, Lovato talks about being “too youngto drink wine.” She continues, “Just fiveyears of bleeders, student and a teacher /Far from innocent / What the f–k’s con-sent? / Numbers told you not to / But thatdidn’t stop you.” The actress, who dated the“That ’70s Show” star from 2010 to 2016,has yet to confirm that the song is abouttheir relationship.

Following their breakup, Lovato went onto have several other high-profile relation-ships. In 2016, she dated UFC fighter LukeRockhold and MMA’s Guilherme “Bomba”Vasconcelos.

Three years later, she went on to datedesigner Henry Levy for four months andhad a few more short flings before herengagement to Ehrich.

Demi Lovato has newmusician boyfriend

FUN

ARCHIE

GARFIELDREALITY CHECK CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

Yesterday’s solution

CALVIN AND HOBBES

SPEED BUMP

SUDOKU

Rulesl Each row and column can

contain each number (1 to 9)exactly once.

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

SHIKHA DUGGAL

It’s been five years sincethis genial actor, SohumShah, made an electrifyingimpact on the audience

with a movie calledTumbbad. However,

he soon brokeaway from thatimpression andmoved on to

play a mysteriousrole in Bard

of

Blood opposite Emraan Hashmi. He gave amemorable performance even in that series.So, over the years, he continues to experimentand, after grabbing an opportunity to play acharacter in the political drama Maharani. Hegoes on to throw darts at the stinging satire ofpolitics in the country.

Back with a bang and with season two inhis kitty, he is ready for a face-off with hiswife, played by Huma Qureshi, now.

He’s not ready to feel the sense of wallsclosing in on him. In an exclusive conversa-tion with us, he reveals, “Season two is awholesome package, yes there is spousaldrama, but the political atmosphere is gang-ing up on you and taking you along the linesof a dewdrop of purity to a ditch of corrup-tion. When I look back at my journey, it is sosurreal. It has not been easy, and I come froma place where we have been fans of actorsand their work. There was a time when

Manoj Bajpayee Sir was shooting in SriGanganagar, so I travelled 30-40 km just

to have a glimpse of him. And, today, Iam grabbing lead roles, just like adream come true.”

Trying to push the envelope a bitmore, he desires, “My character isgoing to get even more complexnow. Hence, I wasn't giving twocents about what's happeningaround me. In an acting course,

we learn about ‘navrasa, andmy character will pos-

sess six of them.So, it was my

responsibility to evoke those emotionsproperly without getting distracted on set. I,quite frankly, feel like I have been living outof my suitcase for the last few months. Afterwrapping up the shoot of this series inBhopal, Hoshangabad, and Jammu, I imme-diately started filming for Sanaa then. It’s anexciting time and an invigorating feeling tobe part of such great content.”

Staying out of commercial cinemas, his fil-mography is a testimony to how the heroes infilms or series are breaking away from thestereotype. He continues, “Cracking thespeech was the biggest challenge, I didn'thave a co-star helping me out. It was an out-and-out solo performance that I had to give.The oration was five pages long, and this wasmy first time ever playing a politician. Let mealso tell you, that I do not follow politics somuch in my real life. Bheema Bharti has got amassive amount of love for season one.”

People have praised the character and relat-ed to it. But yet, the lead actor thinks that ifyou take pressure as an actor, then howwould you be able to do your work and givejustice to the character?

He also mentions to us, “There is no wayseason two is going to flop. Take it from mein writing. Moreover, we have a boss lady onthe sets; that’s Huma Qureshi. There's arumour in the industry that you should nevertake a 'panga' with an actress; this is rarelytrue. On one fine day, it was my birthdayduring the shoot, and I took the risk of apply-ing the cake on Huma's face, the next secondshe was behind me like a cracking nut and

drenched me in my ownbirthday cake.

That's HumaQureshi for youguys. How canwe miss watch-ing her?” (Heended uplaughing).

‘There is no way Maharani 2

is going to flop; take it from

me in writing’

K. RAMYA SREE

Her name speaks for heractions. We are talkingabout one of the world’s

finest and most inspirationalinstrumentalists, Kala Ramnath,where ‘KALA’, her forename, lit-erally means ‘ART’ in Sanskrit,that art which manifests happi-ness or God, ‘the SupremeTruth’.

Born into a dynasty of prodi-gious musical talent, one which hasgiven Indian music such violin leg-ends as her paternal uncle Prof.T.N. Krishnan and paternal auntDr. N. Rajam, Kala’s violinisticvision beganmanifesting early.

A fourth-gen-eration violinistand seventh-gen-eration per-former, KalaRamnath repre-sents the Mewatigharana, whichhas roots in theHolkar Courts ofthe 19th century.

“I guess since Icome from afamily of musi-cians, I didn’thave to decideabout my future.My family hadalready decidedit. I started train-ing for classical music at the age oftwo and by seven, my interest inmusic grew,” informs Kala, whobelongs to a violin dynasty fromIndia, a unique musical lineage ofseven generations which straddlesboth the classical systems of thesubcontinent. She is also the pre-eminent disciple of the legendaryvocalist Pandit Jasraj.

She is now on a mission to pre-serve Indian music and pass this artform to generations to come. Shecreated the websiteIndianclassicalmusic.com in orderto preserve glorious Indian music.

She shares, “The website wasstarted last year and since ourmusic has never been documentedproperly, I thought that we shoulddocument it and let the worldknow what our music is and so inIndia. It still exists without docu-mentation. That means this speaksa lot about music. I have started

documenting ragas there in videoformat so that this will be an onlinelibrary for anybody who wants toknow about Indian music. It haseverything about Indian music.”

In her experience, she felt peoplewere afraid to try out Indian classi-cal music, and Kala wanted toremove that notion and let themknow that classical music is veryeasy to learn. “I want to explain ina way that people should feel this isnot that difficult and anybody canlearn this. I want to encourage peo-ple to understand our music andthat is the reason I have createdthis,” further adds Kala, who wasthe first Indian violinist ever to be

featured in the violin Bible, TheStrad”

Another main reason for docu-menting this art form is that, so far,it has been done by none. There areapparently 4840 ragas, of whichonly 500 ragas have been docu-mented. She wants to save these forcoming generations, and Kala felt ifthis is done online, it will be acces-sible to people across the world.

Her playing has been featured onthe Grammy-nominated Milesfrom India project. Compositionsof hers have appeared on theGrammy-winning album In 27Pieces and the Kronos Quartet’s 50For The Future.

Kala is now collaborating withlegendary tabla virtuoso ZakirHussain and Jayanthi Kumaresh ona project called Triveni. “Of all thecollaborations I have done so far,this one is very special. I enjoyedthis collaboration thoroughly,” saysKala, who is also called the singingviolin.

Dismissing notions among peo-ple that consumption of classicalmusic is higher abroad than inIndia, she says, “I feel Bollywood isso popular that it overshadows clas-sical music. Even after the pandem-ic, when we perform concerts, clas-sical music has a niche for itself. It’sfor people who have a taste for it,so expect it to be as popular asBollywood is. I would say it is ask-ing for too much, but it does haveits listeners. They come to listen tous. We do fill auditoriums. Thevery fact that this music, withoutbeing documented, is the oldestform of classical music.”

On a lighter note, explaining herrelationship with her instrumentand giving her definition of music,she informs us, “Violin is me, I amthe violin. If I am known today, it isbecause of this instrument. It’s myeverything, it’s my life and it’s whatI do. It’s a part of me. Music issomething which completes me asa person. It is also my bread andbutter, so it’s kind of interlinkedwith every aspect of my life. It hasdifferent dimensions at every pointof my life so I am able to expressthrough music.”

She is so madly in love with thiscraft that in the next five years, shewants to become an even bettermusician and then spread thismusic far and wide as much as pos-sible. “I want to teach students andgive them good technique becausein India we lack good techniques,and spread the popularity of theinstrument. I want to give back tomusic what it has given to me bybeing able to document and pro-vide the same to people.”

In a candidinterview withThe Pioneer,

Kala Ramnathtakes us through

her journey,mission and

experience so faron being the

fourth-genviolinist

Singing violin upholdsthe classical music

Rekha Reddy, FirstMaster, OharaIkebana, has been

honoured with the presti-gious Foreign Minister’sCommendation Award,announced by theGovernment of Japan onAugust 4, 2022, for her ded-ication to Ikebana and forcontributing to the culturalexchange and friendshipbetween India and Japan.

Gavva Rekha Reddy hasbeen practising and teach-ing Ikebana for the last two-and-a-half decades. Havingstudied under GrandmasterHoryu MeenaAnantnarayan and hermother, Shamala YR Reddy,she has taught Ikebana andheld workshops anddemonstrations for 27 yearsnow. Rekha Reddy is pas-sionate about spreadingIkebana, promoting under-standing of Japanese cultureand friendship betweenJapan and India.

She has been the

President, of Ohara Chapterand Ikebana InternationalHyderabad Chapters #250;Chairperson, FICCI LadiesOrganization, Hyderabad;and President, TheWednesday Club.

She has also been invitedand given Ikebana demon-strations in several cities inIndia and several countriesacross the globe. Apart fromthis, she has several soloexhibitions to her credit andhas authored Petals &Palette, its pages juxtaposingIkebana with MF Husain'spaintings. she also has con-ceived and co-ordinatedbooks for IkebanaInternational HyderabadChapter.

Rekha, along with 75other Ikebana enthusiasts,has brought out a booktitled Mishrana-Ikebana ofJapan meets Recipes of Indiacommemorating the 70thyear of Japan-India diplo-matic relations and 75 yearsof Indian Independence.

First Master RekhaReddy presented witha prestigious award

Some say travel isexpensive butthere’s always ways

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hotel stays cheaper by40-50 per cent.Bestprice guarantee optionsthat offer the assuranceof booking at the bestavailable rates. Let's askyou this. What’s moreimportant? The assur-ance of best-guaranteedrates or the doing awaywith a convenience feefor an overpriced holi-day package? We betthat you will go for thefirst option. And that,we say, is the rightchoice. When lookingfor travel deals, do keepa watch on once-in-a-lifetime deals that guar-antee the best price forevery booking and thepromise of a 2X refundin case of counter pric-ing on another travelplatform.Planning trav-el on these three dayswill do the trick too. Atip that we’d ratherwhisper to you, but heregoes. You can save any-where from 10 to 40percent on your flighttickets if you travel on aTuesday, Wednesday, orSaturday. Usually, peo-ple prefer to travel onFridays or Mondays toget an extended week-end. Traveling in themiddle of the weekwon’t get you anextended break, but itmight help you savemonies on your planeticket. Also, choose tofly later in the day ifyou have the luxury tobe flexible on dates. Redeyes (literally and figu-ratively) are a phenom-enon for a reason.

PLANNING YOUR

NEXT VACATION?

In an exclusiveinterview with ThePioneer, actor SohumShah gets candidabout Maharani, itssecond season, hischaracter and a lotmore.

Follow us on

@TheDailyPioneer

facebook.com/dailypioneer

WednesdayAugust 10, 2022

sports 11VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | AUGUST 10, 2022

AP n LONDON

Lisa Keightley is to leave herro.le as coach of the

England women's team at theend of the home season, theEngland and Wales CricketBoard announced on Tuesday.

An ECB statement saidthe former Australia interna-tional, 50, had informed theboard she would not be seek-ing a contract extension.

Keightley has been in therole since January 2020.

But on her watch England— one of the best resourcedwomen's teams in world crick-et — surrendered the 50-overWorld Cup title they had wonon home soil five years agowith a crushing 71-run defeatby Australia, now the dominantforce in the women's game, inthis year's final in Christchurch.

Australia also over-whelmed England 12-4 in themost recent multi-formatAshes series.

Keightley took England tothe semi-finals of the 2020T20 World Cup.

But only last week theteam suffered the disappoint-

ment of missing out on a podi-um finish in the inauguralwomen's CommonwealthGames T20 competition, withthe hosts narrowly defeated byIndia in the semi-finals beforea heavy loss to New Zealand inthe Bronze medal play-off atEdgbaston.

However, it is understoodKeightley and the ECB came toan agreement prior to theCommonwealth Games.

Keightley's last series incharge will be the visit of Indiain September, with her succes-sor to be appointed ahead ofthe 2023 T20 World Cup inFebruary.

PTI n MAMALLAPURAM

The India 'B' team settled fora bronze medal in the Open

section while the India 'A'women's side also finished thirdin the 44th Chess Olympiad hereon Tuesday.

India 'B' defeated Germany3-1 in their final round match toend at third position.

Uzbekistan sprung a sur-prise by bagging the gold medalwith a 2-1 win over theNetherlands ahead of a strongArmenian team, which beatSpain 2.5-1.5 in the final round,in the Open section.

Uzbekistan and Armeniansecured 19 match points eachwhile India scored 18.

The top-seeded India 'A'women's team crashed to a 1-3defeat in the 11th and finalround to USA to see it's goldmedal hopes evaporate. TheKoneru Humpy-led team fin-

ished third. It was India's first-ever medal at the Olympiad inthe women's section.

India 'A', USA andKazakhstan tied for third placebut the home team clinched thebronze.

War-torn Ukraine won anemotional gold in the women'sevent, pipping Georgia to the topprize.

In the Open section,Uzbekistan beat the Netherlandsin the final round thanks toJakhongir Vakhidov's win onboard 4. They edged outArmenia on the basis of a bet-ter tie-break score. The Uzbeksremained unbeaten through the11 rounds and finished with 19match points.

India 'A' took the fourthspot.

It was the second bronzemedal for India in the Open sec-tion in the Olympiad, replicat-ing its feat in the 2014 edition.

The experienced BAdhiban, who was part of theteam in 2014, added to hismedal collection while it was thefirst for young stars D Gukesh,who was in spectacular formduring the tournament, RPraggnanandhaa, Nihal Sarinand Raunak Sadhwani.

Speaking after winning thebronze medal, Gukesh, whoplayed all 11 games and talliednine points, said, "Overall, it hasbeen a very enjoyable event. Ididn't expect us to perform sowell but it could have been bet-ter.

"We could have had a greatchance at a gold medal if I hadwon or drawn my game yester-day (on Monday).

"But these things happen.Immediately after the game Iwas devastated and our mentor(Viswanathan) Anand put me ina better frame of mind by say-ing that these things happen in

sport and he too was at thereceiving end himself," he added.

In the women's section, topplayer Koneru Humpy and RVaishali drew their gamesagainst Gulrukhba Tokhirjonovaand Irina Krush respectively.The defeats for Tania Sachdev atthe hands of Carissa Yip andBhakthi Kulkarni to TatevAbrahamyan hurt the India 'A'team's chances of a gold medal.

India 'A' team coach AbhijitKunte was all praise for the team.

"The team has worked real-ly hard in the last three or fourmonths and this is India's first-ever medal in the history of theOlympics, this should be thebeginning of much better daysfor women's chess in India."

MEDALS GALORE FOR INDBesides medals in the team

events, it rained medals forIndia in individual section withas many as seven Indians win-

ning medals -- two gold, one sil-ver and four bronze.

Gukesh and Sarin won goldon top and second board respec-tively while Arjun Erigaisisecured silver medal on thirdboard. R Praggnanandhaa (thirdboard), R Vaishali (third board),Tania Sachdev (third board)and Divya Deshmukh (reserveboard) claimed individualbronze medals.

India also won the presti-gious Gaprindashvili Cup. It isgiven to the nation for their col-lective performance in bothopen and women's sections. Itwas also for the first time Indiahosted the world's biggest chesstournament.

ARJUN ERIGAISI CROSSES2700 ELO RATING

Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisibecame the seventh Indian tocross the 2700 ELO rating. The18-year old achieved the feat

when he defeated GMDominguez Perez in India 'A'sclash against USA in the finalround.

Playing with the whitepieces, Erigiasi made quick workof Perez with white pieces to takehis live rating to 2702.2

RESULTSOpen: India's matches: India'B' beat Germany 3-1. India 'A'drew with USA 2-2. India 'C'drew with Kazakhstan 2-2.Women: India 'A' lost to USA1-3. India 'C' lost to Kazakhstan1.5-2/5. India 'B' drew withSlovakia 2-2.Other important results:Open: Armenia beat Spain 2.5-1.5, Uzbekistan beat theNetherlands 2.5-1.5, Azerbaijanbeat England 2.5-1.5, Polandbeat Turkey 2.5-1.5, Lithuaniabeat Ukraine 3-1, Hungarybeat Iran 2.5-1.5, Greece drewFrance 2-2.

PTI n NEW DELHI

Behind Shikhar Dhawan'scheerful exterior lies an

intensely "spiritual man" whohas made peace with represent-ing India in only one format.

Approaching his 37thbirthday, Dhawan has made apledge to himself.

"Till the time I am playingfor India, I would like to be anasset and not a liability,"Dhawan said after leading Indiato an ODI series victory in theWest Indies.

From the start of 2020 tillthe end of West Indies series,Dhawan has played 22 ODIsand scored 975 runs with 10half-centuries, the highest by anIndian batter by a distance.

"I am a calm, matured per-son. The performance is areflection of my experience,"Dhawan said when he wasreminded of his phenomenalnumbers.

"My basics have been pret-ty strong and I have put in a lotof work to improve my tech-nique. Understanding a formatis also very important. I under-stand the dynamics of ODI for-mat and that has helped me alot," he added when probedfurther.

So what is the process toremain consistent in ODIs at atime when bilateral T20Is aregaining precedence. Besides,there is also considerable gap

between two 50-over series?"I never let this feeling

creep into my system that "OhGod, I am playing only one for-mat or I am playing an ODIseries after a long time. Will mybody respond well to therigours of international crick-et or will it not? Frankly speak-ing, I don't like entertainingthese thoughts," the senioropener gave a peek into histhought process.

"I view it like this. If I am

playing a format after a gap oftwo months or three months,it always gives me a chance toremain fresh and come intobattle fully fit, and with enoughtime to work on my game."

For Dhawan, it is impor-tant to value what he has ratherthan cribbing about what hedoesn't.

"I am always counting myblessings and if I am playingone format for India, I shouldtry and make the most of it and

give it my all. I am a very pos-itive person. You won't find anegative bone in my body," hesmiled.

'AS A LEADER…'Dhawan will soon be lead-

ing India in an away series inZimbabwe, and is also likely tolead against South Africa athome in October, when thefirst team will be off toAustralia for the T20 WorldCup.

While he completelyunderstands that it is amakeshift role, the veteran of155 ODIs with nearly 6500runs is enjoying every momentof it.

"As a leader, my firstinstinct is to go with a bowler'splan. I ask them what's the planand what exactly would theywant in the fielding set-up. Atthe highest level, everyone is ahardcore professional, who arethere because they know theirjob well."

He comes into the picture,

with his plan B, only when thebowlers have failed to executetheir plans.

"But yes, if their plan does-n't work, obviously there needsto be a Plan 'B' and me cominginto the picture.

"If a bowler is hit for a fewboundaries, he is bound to beunder pressure and that's thetime the captain needs to putan arm around his shoulder.

"But then also politelynudge him that 'listen your planisn't working, so why don't youtry my plan for a change?'"

PTI n DUBAI

Indian pacer RenukaSingh, the leading wick-

et-taker at theCommonwealth Games,reached a career-best rank-ing of 18 in the latest ICCT20 women's rankingsreleased on Tuesday.

The 11 scalps at ther e c e n t l y - c o n c l u d e dBirmingham Games, whereIndia finished with a silvermedal, helped Renukajump 10 places and enterthe top 20 for the firsttime.

Jemimah Rodrigues'sreturn to form saw herscore 146 runs inBirmingham, helping hergain seven spots and returnto the top 10 batters list forthe first time since October2021. She is ranked 10th.

Smriti Mandhanadropped two spots to fourthwhile Shafali Verma slippedto sixth.

Deepti Sharma gainedtwo slots to reach the 36thposition in the batters list.

Among bowlers, left-arm spinners Radha Yadavmoved up to 14th.

PTI n NEW DELHI

Former India all-round-er Manoj Prabhakar has

been appointed head coachof the Nepal cricket team.

Prabhakar succeedsPubudu Dassanayake, whostepped down from theposition in July to take uphead coach's role withCanada. Prabhakar has fea-tured in 39 Tests and 130ODIs for India between1984 to 1996.

"Seeing the interest forcricket in Nepal, their tal-ent & skill level, I'm reallylooking forward to workingwith the Nepal cricket teamto make them into a crick-eting force to be reckonedwith," Prabhakar was quot-ed as saying in a statementby Cricket Association ofNepal.

AGENCIES n NEW DELHI

Former Indian skipper andex-chairman of the selection

committee KrishnamachariSrikkanth said that had hebeen the chairman of selectorscurrently, pacer MohammedShami would have been a partof Men in Blue's squad forupcoming Asia Cup 2022,which will take place fromAugust 27 onwards.

The All-India SeniorSelection Committee onMonday announced the 15-members squad for the upcom-ing Asia Cup which will takeplace from August 27 this year.

"In my team, Shami was lit-erally there. If I was theChairman of the selection com-mittee, I think Shami wouldhave been there and probably,I would not have gone withRavi Bishnoi. But I still believethat Axar Patel was a seriouscontender in my team. It wouldhave been a big toss-upbetween Axar Patel andAshwin," said Srikkanth duringthe show 'Follow The Blues' on

Star Sports.Srikkanth opines that the

squad is good but needs onemore medium pacer. He feelsbad for Axar Patel, who couldnot make it to the squad.

"I am very happy forDeepak Hooda - he can bowla bit, he is a good hitter and he'sa good striker of the ball. WhatI like about Deepak Hooda isthat he is a good striker of theball, he is a flirter. Otherwise,

this squad is a fantastic squad,only feel bad for Axar Patel. Istill believe that he's a goodbowling all-rounder, may be inAustralia conditions. I am notgoing for just the Asia Cup, butyes, this must be a blueprint forthe ICC T20 World Cup also,"he added.

Former Indian wicketkeep-er and ex-chief of selectorsKiran More also said that theevent will be special for Virat

Kohli since he needs to makea comeback. "It has been toomany innings. The other bats-men also have been perform-ing really well. Overall, thesquad looks good, and well-bal-anced. There are good all-rounders too - R Ashwin hasbeen batting well. Definitely,Axar Patel has been perform-ing well throughout the yeartoo."

"I like the team combina-tion and I was really happy withRavi Bishnoi's selection. Itbrought a variation to the team.According to me, this is agood team. I am also happy forArshdeep Singh. He has beenperforming well in the IPLagainst West Indies, where hewas the Player of the Series andbowled well. We were in searchof a left-arm bowler, who wehave found in Arshdeep Singh,"he added.

Asia Cup will start fromAugust 27 and end onSeptember 11. The much-anticipated match betweenIndia and Pakistan will takeplace on August 28.

AGENCIES n LONDON

Former West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollardbecame the first cricketer

to play 600 T20 matches onMonday.

The hard-hitting batterachieved this landmark duringhis side's London Spirit's matchagainst Manchester Originalsduring ongoing The Hundredtournament at Lord's. Pollardmade sure to make the occa-sion memorable. He smashedan unbeaten 34 runs off just 11balls consisting of one four andfour big sixes.

Pollard has some brilliantT20I stats. He has scored11,723 runs across 600 gamesat an average of 31.34. He hasthe best individual perform-ance of 104. Pollard has scoredone century and 56 half-cen-turies in the format. He hasalso captured 309 wickets withbest bowling figures of 4/15.Behind him are playersDwayne Bravo (543 matches),Shoaib Malik (472), ChrisGayle (463) and Ravi Bopara(426).

Pollard firstcricketer toplay 600 T20s

AP n LONDON

Tottenham Hotspur strikerHarry Kane is a huge crick-

et fan and shares a very healthyrapport with some of the lead-ing cricketers around the world,including the Indian battinggreat Virat Kohli.

On Monday (August 9),Harry Kane made an appear-ance at the Mecca of Cricket -Lord's Cricket Ground. Hecame to the iconic stadium toattend The Hundred clashbetween London Spirit andManchester Originals and alsoperformed the toss.

Moreover, the Englandfootballer took part in a six-hit-ting challenge and performedcommentary duties alongsideIndia legend Ravi Shastri as well.

Harry Kane's Spurs team-mate Matt Doherty was alsopresent at the venue. Ahead ofthe game, the two took part ina six-hitting challenge againsteach other.

Doherty outperformedKane in the six-hitting challengeas he found distance and heightin his shots. Both the footballersdonned London Spirit's jersey tomake it clear where their loyal-ties are.

Chess Olympiad: India ‘B’ team wins Bronze PTI n CAPE TOWN

Former South Africaninternational umpire

Rudi Koertzen was killed ina car crash on Tuesdaymorning near a town calledRiversdale, a local websitereported.

He was 73.Koertzen is survived by

his wife and four children.One of the most respect-

ed umpires in world cricketfrom the late 1990s till 2010,Koertzen had officiated innearly 400 internationalgames.

"The world-famouscricket umpire, RudiKoertzen, and three otherpeople were killed in a head-on collision near Riversdaleon Tuesday morning. The73-year-old Koertzen fromDespatch in NelsonMandela Bay was on his wayback home from Cape Townafter a golf weekend," AlgoaFM News reported.

The former umpire'sson, Rudi Koertzen Jr, con-

firmed the tragic news."He went on a golf tour-

nament with some of hisfriends, and they wereexpected to come back onMonday, but it seems theydecided to play anotherround of golf," Koertzen Jrtold the website.

Koertzen was inductedinto the ICC's Elite Panel in2002 and was a part of it foreight years.

During his tenure, heofficiated as on-field and TVumpire in as many as 397games, including 128 Testmatches, a record 250 ODIs,and 19 T20 Internationals.

He had his share of con-troversies too, includingcontinuing with the 2007ODI World Cup finalbetween Sri Lanka andAustralia in near darknessdue to a wrong interpreta-tion of rule, which forced theICC to not give him anyassignment during the inau-gural World T20, which washeld in his own country, in2007.

Former SA umpire RudiKoertzen killed in car crash

Harry Kane takes partin six-hitting challenge

Would like to be an asset not liability: DhawanRenuka surges tocareer-best ranking

Keightley to stand down asEngland women's coach

PrabhakarappointedNepal coach

Would have picked Shami forAsia Cup, says Kris Srikkanth

12

Vijayawada | Wednesday August 10, 2022 tollywood

PNS| HYDERABAD

Nandamuri Kalyan Ram starrerBimbisara, produced by HarikrishnaK under the direction of Vashishtha

was released on August 5 and became ablockbuster hit.

Hero Nandamuri Kalyan Ram said, “Westarted this movie in March 2020. It waslocked down for a few days due to the pan-demic. It continued for three and a halfmonths. An unknown tension started withthis. After that we started shooting again.And, then the second wave hit again, wewere locked again. I felt nervous. This wasa whole new genre that I was entering in.We were making a big film by concentrat-ing on the visuals. I was tensed about whatwould happen. Luckily everything wasopen then. But listening to the words ofsome people is scary. Although, I believethat if you make a film with good contentand put it in front of the audience, theywill sing the song of success. That is true.Thanks to our Nandamuri fans for the suc-cess. Keeravanigaru brought life to themovie with his background score. ChhotaK. Naidugaru took care of me. Also manythanks to our technicians. After the releaseof the movie, many movie celebrities havebeen calling me and appreciating my per-formance.”

Director Vashishta said, “Thanks toKalyan Ramgaru and producer Harigarufor believing in my story and giving me achance. Thank you to our Chotanna andour team for showing the movie brilliantly.I am speechless with happiness. Thank youto the Telugu audience for supporting themovie.”

Dil Raju said, “Major and Vikram moviereleased on June 3 and saw good success.

After that, for two months, none of thefilms were as successful as expected. Thisis how the industry is going to be at thispoint. We have been discussing what to dothrough stories. On August 5, two morefilms released and breathed life into thefilm industry. Bimbisara and Sita Ramamfilms were loved by the Telugu audience.The entire industry is a family. Art comeswhen movies are playing. Thanks inadvance to the producers who brought thatart to the industry after two months. Todaythe industry is struggling. We are doing alot of homework to take the film industryforward after the pandemic. Coming toBimbisara, the movie was a big success.The reason why a movie is successful is thecast of the movie especially.”

He further continues, “The producer ismaking the film on a limited budget andgiving it to his distributors as a reason.Producer Harikrishna has done his home-work on this film for two and a half years,talked to the director and technician,planned it properly and set an example forall of us. It is not common for a new direc-tor to get such a good reputation. A movieis successful because of its cast. The pro-ducer is making the film on a limited bud-get and giving it to his distributors as areason. Producer Harikrishna has done hishomework on this film for two and a halfyears, talked to the director and technician,planned it properly and set an example forall of us. It is not common for a new direc-tor to get such a good reputation. There isa lot of hard work behind it. ProducerHariki and director Hariki Kalyan Ramjoined. This proved that not only budgetsbut also success can be achieved. KalyanRamgaru's performance was amazing. ButI have seen till the release that if you want

to know in which range it will hit,you have to wait till the moviegoes to the theaters. ProducerHarigaru put it in my handand released it. After themorning show, super duperhit talk came and everyone'seyes were happy. The filmsPatas, Shatamanam Bhavatiand F3 broke even for thedistributors within threedays. It is a rare thing to getprofits on the fourth dayitself. Bimbisara joinedthis line. Keeravanigarutied for backgroundscore for three months.”

CinematographerChhota K. Naidu said,“When we came toknow that Dil Rajugaru has taken ourfilm, we thought thatthe film would be asuper hit. The moneydeposited by the dis-tributors came backwithin three days.Banni called andtalked this morningtoo. If a good movie ismade, people willcome to the theaterand Kalyan Ram hasbeen appreciated say-ing that he has actedbrilliantly. Also, firstof all congratulationsto Harigaru, the pro-ducer who made thefilm with confidence, andKalyan Ram, who acted in the film.”

‘Audience will makethe film a success if ithas a good content’

Naga Chaitanyastarrer Thankyou

to stream onAmazon Prime

Mass Maharaja RaviTeja is one of thetop stars in

Tollywood Now, hisnephew, Madhav BhupathiRaju is all set to make hisdebut as an actor. His debutproject has been officiallyannounced today.

Madhav is the son of RaviTeja’s brother, and well-known actor, Raghu and heis making his debut with alove drama. Madhav’s debutfilm has been titled Ey Pillaand it will be produced byNallamalupu Bujji underLakshmi NarasimhaProductions. Bhavya is pre-senting the film.

“Ey Pilla is a feel-goodlove drama. It is near toheart love story which will

leave the audience thrilled inthe theaters. It is a vintage90s love drama. The regularshooting will start thisSeptember. Top techniciansare associated with the pro-ject,” the producer, Bujji said.

Miss India runner-upRuben Shekhawat is playingthe female lead. Noted direc-tor Ramesh Varma is provid-ing the story for this film.Ludheer Baireddy is makinghis directorial debut with thelove drama. Mickey J Meyeris composing the musicwhile Shyam K Naidu ishandling the cinematogra-phy. Anwar is writing dia-logues, Chinna is handlingthe art department andGanesh Muppaneni is theexecutive producer.

Ravi Teja’s nephew makes his debut

under Nallamalupu Bujji’s Production

NamrataShirodkar,the wife of

Telugu superstarMahesh Babu, onTuesday wishedher husband ahappy birthdaysaying that he litup her world likenobody else.

Taking toInstagram, the for-mer actress, post-ing a picture of herhusband, said,“You light up myworld like nobodyelse! Happy birth-day MB!! Here’s tomany more crazyyears together!!Love you, now andalways.”

Birthday wisheshave been pouringin for MaheshBabu from variousparts of the coun-try and the world

on social media.On the occasion

of his birthday,over 200 specialshows of his block-buster film, Pokirihave been organ-ised in theatresaround the world.Industry sourcessay that this is anever beforerecord for anIndian film.

Fans of actorMahesh Babu haveorganised thesespecial screeningsto mark the actor’sbirthday.

The proceedsfrom the screen-ings will gotowards fundingthe education andheart operations ofchildren being car-ried out by theMahesh BabuFoundation.

Nam

rata

to M

ahesh

Bab

u o

n b

’day:

You li

ght up

my

world

like

nob

od

y els

e

HanuRaghavapudigot the tag of a

sensible filmmakerwho can handle lovestories well.

He made his come-back with Sita Ramamand the film receivedcritical acclaim and isminting money at thebox-office. Hanu isrushed with offers andduring his recent

media interactions,the talented directorrevealed that he is intalks with a topBollywood productionhouse for a Hindifilm.

Top productionhouse Mythri MovieMakers locked HanuRaghavapudi and thetalented director willwork for the produc-tion house for his

next. A star hero willbe a part of this filmand the discussionsare currently goingon. HanuRaghavapudi is readywith two scriptsalready and he willpick up the script asper the lead actor hegets. An officialannouncement aboutthe film is expected tobe made very soon.

Mythri Movie Makers ropes

in Hanu Raghavapudi

Clarifying that he was notagainst temples and that hehimself was a big devotee of

Goddess Meenakshi, actor Soori saidthat his statement that providingeducation to the poor was better thanbuilding a 1000 temples had beenmisconstrued by some.

Participating in a press conferencecalled by the Viruman team, Soorisaid, “I am a big devotee of Amman(Goddess Meenakshi). In fact, when-ever I speak at any public function, Ibegin by starting off from GoddessMeenakshi.”

At the Viruman audio launch eventthat was held in Madurai, I said,“Providing a poor person with edu-cation is better than building a 1000temples or anna chettrams (Placesthat offer free food)”.

“Some people seem to have misun-derstood it,” said the actor, whosereal name is RamalakshmananMuthuchamy.

Urging people to not get offendedby the statement, the 44-year-oldactor said, “I am not against any tem-ple. I did not intend to hurt anyone. Iam someone who prays to God. Infact, I am a devout devotee ofMeenakshi amman.”

“All my hotels in Madurai arecalled Amman. Please don't mistakeme. I am someone who does nothave an education and thereforeunderstands its significance. Therehave been occasions when I havebeen broken hearted because of nothaving an education.

“Therefore, I believe everybodymust have access to education. Theother day, several fans had turned upat the venue. I thought that was thebest platform to emphasise on theneed to provide education. In fact,this is not even my statement. This iswhat Mahakavi Bharathiyar said. Hewanted to emphasise the impor-tance of providing education andmade such a statement and I, realis-ing its significance, recalled it.

I did not have any ulterior motivein making that statement. Even now,I say, everybody needs education.Goddess Meenakshi will granteverybody education and I pray forit,” he signed off.

Soori rose to fame after his role inthe film Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu in2009, in which the scene involving aparotta eating challenge earned himthe nickname Parotta Soori.

He gained the spotlight for hisoutstanding performance in filmlike Porali, Sundarapandian,Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam,Pandiya Naadu, Jilla,RajiniMurugan and Sangili BungiliKadhavaThorae.

Soori will next be seen inViruman and Viduthalai.

I am not against temples, says actor SooriY

oung and promisinghero Sharwanand’smilestone 30th film

Oke Oka Jeevitham underthe direction of debutantShree Karthick is gearing upfor its release. Popular pro-ductionhouseDreamWarriorPicturesthatalwaysenter-tains fanswithuniqueand dif-ferent storylines is taking itsfirst huge step in Telugu filmindustry. The film’s teaserand Amma song havealready gained appreciationon social media. Producedby SR Prakash Babu and SRPrabhu, the film's post pro-duction works are in fullswing.

Since it is a sci-fi genre,the crew is going the extramail to ensure that the VFXscenes are stellar. The teamhas decided to release thefilm grandly on September9. The release glimpse showsSharwanand as a musicianwho’s in despair and isunable to concentrate on hiswork. Nasser who’s a scien-

tist does experiments toinvent the time machine.The final visuals showSharwanand in his schooldays taking a photographwith his mother and theAmma song as the back-

groundgives emo-tional touchto thesequence.

The filmalso starsAmalaAkkineniplaying

Sharwanand’s mother, RituVarma as his love interest.Sujith Sarang is the cine-matographer, while JakesBejoy is the music director.Sreejith Sarang has handledthe editing and SatheeshKumar has headed the artdepartment. TharunBhascker has penned dia-logues for the film billed tobe a family drama with sci-fielements. The film has beenshot as a Telugu and Tamilbi-lingual.

The film will have simul-taneous release in Tamil asKanam. It is said that moresurprise announcementsabout the movie are plannedin in its road to release.

Sharwanand's Oke Oka Jeevitham

releasing on September 9

Ori Devuda, starringVishwak Sen andMithila Papkar as the

lead pair, is directed byAshwath Marimuthu.Produced jointly by DilRaju's Sri VenkateswaraCreations and PVP Cinema,

the film has got VictoryVenkatesh on board.

The F3 actor will be seenin the role of God in therom-com. In the Tamil origi-nal Oh My Kadavule, it wasVijay Sethupathi who playedthe role. The Uppena actor

was seen indulging in philo-sophical banter in thatmovie. Venkatesh, who has aspiritual bent of mind in reallife, is expected to enjoyplaying the role. In GopalaGopala, he played a devoteeand this time, he is getting to

fill the shoes of God.With music by Leon

James, the film has dialoguesby Tharun Bhascker (recent-ly seen in the box office hitSita Ramam). Edited byGarry BH, its cinematogra-phy is by Vidhu Ayyana.

Venkatesh to join Vishwak Sen's Ori Devuda

Starring NagaChaitanya and RaashiKhanna in lead along

with Malavika Nair andAvika Gor in pivotal roles,the Telugu romanticdrama Thank You isdirected by Vikram KKumar and produced bySri VenkateswaraCreations

Prime Video announcedthe exclusive streamingpremiere of Telugu roman-tic drama Thank You.Produced by Vikram KKumar and Sireesh of SriVenkateswara Creations,the film stars NagaChaitanya and RaashiKhanna in the lead withMalavika Nair and AvikaGor in pivotal roles. ThankYou is a feel-good, com-ing-of-age film whichrevolves around a success-ful businessman who iscompelled to pause andreflect upon his life after alife-altering incident.Prime members in Indiaand across 240 countriesand territories can streamthe film starting August11, 2022 in Telugu on theservice.

“Thank You is very closeto my heart and I thinkthat the audience willrelate to the emotionaljourney. The film shedslight on the importance of

showing gratitude, andhow one should be thank-ful for every good and badthing in life. We have toexpress ourselves fully. Ithink that will be thebiggest takeaway for theaudience from the movie. Iam very delighted to bringthis romantic drama closerto home with the digitalrelease and hope to con-tinue receiving all the ado-ration from audiencesworldwide,” actorChaitanya Akkineni said.

“Teaming up with thebest in the industry; rightfrom the production, thetechnicians and cast hasbeen a heartwarmingexperience. After I readthe script and sat with itthrough the pandemic, Iempathized with this emo-tion and it was so powerfulthat it was a blessing tohave such a powerful teamcome together to tell thisstory with me. I resonatedwith this idea so much thatI felt like everybodyshould live this story andexperience it. With PrimeVideo backing it - I’m con-fident that it’s such a glob-al platform which allowsthe kind of reach I havehoped for, with such a per-sonal yet universally rele-vant story,”says directorVikram K Kumar.