VIJAYAWADA, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2021; PAGES 12 `3

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MONEY 8SENSEX RALLIES 663 POINTS TO CLOSEABOVE 57K-MARK; NIFTY SCALES 17K

ANALYSIS 7SELF-RELIANCE IN GAS IS THE WAY FORWARD

SPORTS 11COULDN’T GIVE MY BEST DUE

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{HISTORY MADE IN SC, 9 NEW JUDGESTOOK OATH OF OFFICE AT ONE GO

History was created in the Supreme Court on Tuesdayas for the first time nine new judges took oath of off-ice at one go, taking the working strength to 33. The

new judges who were administered oath of office includeJustices Abhay Shreeniwas Oka, Vikram Nath, JitendraKumar Maheshwari, Hima Kohli and B V Nagarathna.Besides, Chief Justice of India (CJI) N V Ramana alsoadministered oath of office to Justices C T Ravikumar, M MSundresh, Bela M Trivedi and P S Narasimha, who was asenior advocate and former Additional Solicitor General.

SPECIAL COMMEMORATIVE COIN TOMARK ISKCON FOUNDER BIRTH ANNIV

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release a specialcommemorative coin of Rs 125 and also address agathering on the occasion of the 125th birth anniversary

of Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada on Wednesdaythrough video conference, the PMO said. Prabhupadafounded the International Society for Krishna Consciousnesscommonly known as the "Hare Krishna movement". ISKCONhas translated the Shrimad Bhagvad Geeta and other Vedicliterature in 89 languages, playing a stellar role in dissemi-nation of Vedic literature across the world, the PMO noted.

GADKARI: AUTO MAKERS MUST OFFERBIOFUEL VEHICLES IN SIX MONTHS

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said India willmake it mandatory for auto manufacturers to offervehicles running 100 percent on bio-fuels in the next

six months. Such a move will be cost-effective for consum-ers, who are hassled by the high petrol prices, Gadkarisaid, pointing out that a litre of bioethanol costs Rs 65 asagainst Rs 110 paid for petrol. The alternative fuel is alsoless polluting and saves forex. "We have taken a decision,we will make it mandatory by which there will be a flex-engine," Gadkari said.

SC REJECTS ASARAM BAPU'S PLEA TOSUSPEND SENTENCE FOR TREATMENT

The Supreme Court Tuesday dismissed the plea of self-styled godman Asaram Bapu, facing varying jail termsincluding life sentence in sexual assault cases, that his

sentence be suspended for few months for undergoingayurvedic treatment, saying the offence was not anordinary crime at all. A bench comprising justices IndiraBanerjee, V Ramasubramanian and Bela M Trivedi tooknote of the response of the Rajasthan government that theconvict has been provided requisite treatment anddismissed the plea.

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Abhijit Muhurtham : Nil

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The Andhra Pradesh High Courton Tuesday gave the State govern-ment four weeks to remove allRythu Bharosa Kendras and villagesecretariats from the premises ofgovernment schools across theState and posted the next date ofhearing to October 1.

Present in the court were sevenIAS officers including GopalaKrishna Dwivedi, Girija Shankar, BRajasekhar, V Chinaveerabhadra,Shyamala Rao and others for thehearing.

Counsel for the governmentinformed the court that a total of1,160 RBKs and secretariats havebeen constructed on school prem-ises across the State. The govern-ment filed an affidavit that 450 ofthese structures have been relocat-ed. The High Court ordered theremoval of the remaining structures

within four weeks and posted thecase to October 1.

Earlier in the month, the HighCourt expressed dissatisfaction atfour IAS officers - Gopal KrishnaDwivedi, M Girija Shankar, YSrilakshmi and GSRKR Vijay

Kumar - who appeared in personbefore the court, for not complyingwith an order passed earlier againstconstruction of RBKs and villagesecretariats on the premises ofgovernment schools.

During the hearing on a suo

motu case registered against thesenior government officials for notfollowing his order, the judge saidsuch facilities on school premiseswould disturb the peaceful environ-ment required by students andwondered if they knew the conse-quences of their inaction in thematter.

The court had ordered RBKs,offices of Panchayat Raj & RuralDevelopment Department andother such government buildingsshould not be constructed on thepremises of schools.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Chief Minister YS JaganmohanReddy reached Tadepalli onTuesday after a five-day vacationto Shimla to celebrate the silverjubilee of his marriage.

SNCN ACHARYULUn HYDERABAD

Senior IAS officers in AndhraPradesh aspiring for the ChiefSecretary post will have to wait tillthe New Year for their wish tobe fulfilled.

According to sources,the Union governmenthas accepted therequest of ChiefMinister YSJaganmohan Reddy toextend the service ofincumbent ChiefSecretary Aditya Nath Dasfor another three months.

After his superannuation, theAndhra Pradesh governmentextended the tenure of AdityaNath Das for three months whichwas approved by the Centre.

This extended period of threemonths will be till

September-end andnow, with the

Centre approvinga fresh extensionof service, Daswill continue asChief Secretary

till the end ofDecember.

ML MELLY MAITREYI n HYDERABAD

At last, the much-delayed jointmeeting of Krishna and GodavariRiver Management Boards will beheld on Wednesday with both theTelugu States in attendance to dis-cuss the gazette notification issuedby the Jal Shakti Ministry on thejurisdiction of the Boards.

Ahead of the joint meeting of theBoards, the KRMB will hold its fullboard meeting on Wednesdaymorning at 11 am with Telangana

and Andhra Pradesh officials toresolve contentious issues that havecropped up between the two Stateson the utilization of Krishna watersfor power generation as well as irri-gation and drinking water purpos-es.

In the context of both the Statesdashing off missives to the KRMBcomplaining against each otheron the Krishna water utilization, TSChief Minister K ChandrasekharRao, who is leaving for Delhi onWednesday, gave instructions toIrrigation Department officials to

put up a strong case seeking for TSits rightful share in the Krishnawater.

Soon after reorganization of theState, Telangana State requested theUnion Government for separateallocation of Krishna waters as perthe allocation previously made bythe Tribunal for the combinedState of Andhra Pradesh.

Telangana has been demandingthat till the reallocation ofTelangana's rightful share ofKrishna waters was made by thenew Tribunal award, the 811 tmc of

water allocated to the combinedState should be shared on 50:50basis between the two States, insteadof the present 299 tmc allocated toTelangana and 512 tmc to AP.

Andhra Pradesh has been object-ing to power generation from theSrisailam project by Telangana,saying it would impact its owndrawal of water for Rayalaseemaand drinking water supply toChennai under the Telugu Gangaproject.

India talks evacuationof citizens with Taliban

HC give 4 weeks to remove RBKs from schools Present in the courtwere seven IAS officersincluding GK Dwivedi,Girija Shankar, B Rajase-khar, V Chinaveerabha-dra, Shyamala Rao andothers for the hearing.

All eyes on KRMB meeting todayn TS for equal sharing of 811 tmc of Krishna water allocated to combined APn To take up objections over Gazette notification on jurisdiction of boards

Aditya Nath Das getsextension till year-end

Jagan inIdupulapayatoday for 2-day visit

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The Andhra Pradesh High Courton Tuesday refused to grant astay on the shifting of judicialoffices like the Lokayukta andState Human Rights Commission(SHRC).

The High Court gave the rul-ing in response to a batch of peti-tions questioning the shifting ofjudicial offices to Kurnool,instead of Amaravati, where allthe executive, judicial and leg-islative offices are located atpresent.

However, the High Court clar-ified that the shifting of thejudicial offices to Kurnool wassubject to the final judgement onthe three capitals decision of the

State government. If the verdictis against the three capitals andfor retention of the capital city atAmaravati, all the judicial officesshould be relocated toAmaravati, it asserted and post-ed the hearing to five weeks later.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Indian economy grew by arecord 20.1 percent in the April-June quarter, helped by a very weakbase of last year and a sharprebound in the manufacturing andservices sectors in spite of a devas-tating second wave of Covid-19cases.

India is now on track to achiev-ing the world's fastest growth thisyear.

While there was a sharp year-on-year expansion, sequentially theeconomy slowed down by 16.9 per-cent over the January-March quar-ter and was 9.2 percent short of pre-Covid levels of April-June 2019,according to the first quarter GDPdata released by the NationalStatistical Office (NSO) Tuesday.

The economy had contracted bya massive 24.4 percent in April-June2020 after one of the world's moststringent lockdowns was imposedto curb the spread of coronavirusinfections, crippling economicactivity. GDP had grown by 1.6 per-cent in the January-March 2021quarter.

The sequential contraction inGDP in Q1 of the current fiscalcame after three consecutive quar-

ters of expansion.GVA expanded by 18.8 percent

year-on-year in Q1 but sequential-ly it recorded a double-digit con-traction of 13.3 percent given thedisruptions in April-May due to thelockdown restrictions imposed inthe wake of the second wave ofCovid-19.

The rebound in the first quarterof the current fiscal was led by abetter-than-expected manufactur-ing performance and a milder hitto services, combined with a robustpace of vaccinations. Vaccinationcoverage has risen from 4.7 percentof the total population in January-

March to 24.5 percent in Q1.The rebound was led by a near

50 percent year-on-year jump inmanufacturing, 68.3 percent rise inconstruction activity and 34.3 per-cent growth in services such astrade, hotels and communications.

Agriculture, which was the onlysector that showed growth amid thestringent lockdown in April-Junelast year, posted an impressive 4.5percent growth over the previousyear. Last year, it had expanded by3.5 percent.

Government consumption andexports also picked up.

PNS n UNITED NATIONS

The United Nations Security Co-uncil, under India's Presidency,adopted a resolution demandingthat the Afghanistan territory sho-uld not be used to threaten orattack any country or to shelter andtrain terrorists.

The resolution said that it exp-ects that the Taliban will adhere tocommitments made by it regardingthe safe, secure, and orderly depar-

ture from Afghanistan of Afghansand foreign nationals.

The Council adopted the reso-lution proposed by France, the UKand the US with 13 Council mem-bers voting in favour and Russiaand China abstaining.

This was the first resolutionadopted by the Council on the sit-uation in Afghanistan following thetakeover of Kabul by the Talibanand came on the penultimate dayof India's Presidency of the Security

Council for the month of August.Reaffirming its strong commit-

ment to the sovereignty, inde-pendence, territorial integrity andnational unity of Afghanistan, theresolution "condemns in thestrongest terms the deplorableattacks" of August 26 near theHamid Karzai InternationalAirport in Kabul for which theIslamic State in Khorasan Province,claimed responsibility.

PNS n NEW DELHI

National parties collected Rs3,377.41 crore from unknownsources in the 2019-20 financialyear, which was 70.98 per cent ofthe total income of these parties,according to poll rights groupAssociation for DemocraticReforms (ADR).

In a new report, the ADR saidthat the BJP declared Rs 2,642.63crore as income from unknownsources, the highest among thenational parties, which also includeCongress, NCP, CPI, CPI(M), TMCand BSP.

"During the financial year 2019-20, the BJP declared Rs 2,642.63crore as income from unknown

sources which is 78.24 per cent ofthe total income of national partiesfrom unknown sources (Rs3,377.41 crore)," the report said.

The Congress declared Rs 526crore as income from unknownsources which is 15.57 per cent of thetotal income of the national partiesfrom unknown sources, the ADR said.

"National parties collected Rs

3,377.41 crore from unknownsources in the financial year 2019-20, which is 70.98 per cent of thetotal income of the parties. Out ofthe Rs 3,377.41 crore as incomefrom unknown sources, share ofincome from Electoral Bonds wasRs 2,993.826 crore or 88.643 percent," the report said.

India’s GDP zooms by 20.1%, toremain fastest growing economy

HC refuses to stayshifting of SHRC

New Delhi: India's macroeco-nomic fundamentals are muchstronger, and the country is allset for robust growth on theback of structural reforms,the government's capex pushand rapid vaccination, ChiefEconomic Advisor KCSubramanian said on Tuesday.

Briefing media on thegrowth number, he said theGDP data for the first quarterreaffirms the government's pre-diction of an imminent V-shaped recovery made last year.

India's economic growthsurged to 20.1 percent in theApril-June quarter of this fis-cal, helped by a low base in theyear-ago period, amid a dev-astating second wave of theCovid-19.

India poisedfor strongergrowth,asserts CEA

‘Unknown’ Rs 3,370 cr windfall for national parties

PNS n NEW DELHI

In the first formal and publiclyacknowledged contact, IndianAmbassador to Qatar DeepakMittal met senior Taliban leaderSher Mohammad AbbasStanekzai on Tuesday and con-veyed India's concerns thatAfghanistan's soil should not beused for anti-Indian activitiesand terrorism.

The Ministry of ExternalAffairs (MEA) said the discus-sions also focused on the safety,security and early return of Indiannationals stranded in Afghanistanand the travel of Afghan nation-als, especially members of minor-ity communities to India.

The meeting took place at theIndian embassy in Doha at therequest of the Taliban side andcame two weeks after the outfitseized control of Kabul.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Celebratory gunfire resoundedacross Kabul on Tuesday asTaliban fighters took control ofthe airport before dawn, follow-ing the withdrawal of the lastU.S. troops, marking the end ofa 20-year war that left theIslamist militia stronger than itwas in 2001.

Shaky video footage distrib-uted by the Taliban showedfighters entering the airportafter the last U.S. troops flew outon a C-17 aircraft a minutebefore midnight, ending a hastyand humiliating exit forWashington and its NATOallies.

"It is a historical day and a

historical moment," Talibanspokesman Zabihullah Mujahidtold a news conference at theairport after the departure. "Weare proud of these moments,that we liberated our countryfrom a great power."

An image from the Pentagontaken with night-vision opticsshowed the last U.S. soldier tostep aboard the final evacuationflight out of Kabul - MajorGeneral Chris Donahue, com-mander of the 82nd AirborneDivision.

America's longest war tookthe lives of nearly 2,500 U.S.troops and an estimated 240,000Afghans, and cost some $2 tril-lion.

Taliban celebrate victory as lastUS troops leave Afghanistan

UNSC resolution tells Afghanisnot to use territory for terrorism

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(IN VIJAYAWADA)

In the context of the man-ifest as well as probableconsequences of the

bifurcation of combinedAndhra Pradesh, the mootquestion for the Congressis: Will the people of resid-ual Andhra Pradesh everforgive us?

The grand old party, due its'misguided' strategy, is yet tocome out of the clutches of the'Frankenstein' monster it hadunleashed by way of bifurcation.There is no doubt that the peo-ple of Telangana benefited morefrom bifurcation than those ofresidual AP, considering thatbifurcation per se was carried outby flouting all democratic normsand without even a proper dis-cussion in Parliament.

Of course, the Congress wasaware that it would lose thegoodwill of voters in the Andhraregion, considering that the verydea of bifurcation was initiallyrejected by the legislature of theundivided AP by voice vote.

The Congress hadforged post-poll alliancewith the YSR Congressparty headed by YSJaganmohan Reddy. The

Congress thoughtthat there would be no polit-

ical harm for itself in the 2014elections due to AP's bifurcationshould it fail to get a single seat.It was confident of getting sup-port from the eventual winnerwith a good number of seats.With this reading, the Congresslooked confident of getting max-imum Lok Sabha seats inTelangana, ahead of the UPAgovernment granting the newstate. This was on top of the pos-sible support coming fromAndhra with its arrangementwith YSRC should it emerge vic-torious.

Now, the Congress is planningto restart its political journey inAndhra Pradesh with it new-found promise of SpecialCategory Status (SCS) that wasassured by then Prime Minister

Dr. Manmohan Singh on thefloor of the Rajya Sabha. Later,it was denounced by the BJPgovernment, though argumentsin favour of the residuary stateof Andhra Pradesh were thenmade by none other than M.Venkaiah Naidu in the UpperHouse. In fact, Venkaiah Naiduhad suggested that SCS shouldbe given for 10 years, instead ofthe five-year period assured bythe Prime Minister. TheCongress picked up the sloganof SCS that was rejected by the

BJP government, though it hadpreviously backed SCS.

The Congress got political lifeand life support from the peo-ple of undivided AP twice. TheCongress got 41 Lok Sabhaseats out of 42 in AP in the 1977elections, after it faced a humil-iating defeat all over the coun-try in the post-Emergency peri-od that turned the destiny ofCongress. People of AP hadgiven 30-plus Lok Sabha seats intwo consecutive elections --2004 & 2009 that literally helped

the UPA rule the country for 10years as there was no other statein the rest of the country that hadgiven the party such huge num-ber of seats. The Congress' plightthen can be understood from thefact that in Uttar Pradesh, theCongress got only two seats(Sonia Gandhi and RahulGandhi).

Hence, the Congress is trying

woo Andhra Pradesh withouttreading on the tender toes ofTelangana people. Its USP is thatit granted T-State knowing fullywell the fact that it would badlyaffect its political prospects in theresiduary state of AP. It is OK ifit is seen as having had a hiddenunderstanding with the YSRCPof Jaganmohan Reddy on pos-sible post-poll support.

Considering the negativeimplications of taking up SCS,especially in the context ofTelangana Rashtra Samiti's oft-repeated assertion that 'Andhra'leaders had given a short shriftto Telangana region in the com-bined AP, the Congress hasstarted making it clear that itssupport for SCS to AP would notbe at the cost of the interests ofpeople of Telangana.

Former president of AICCRahul Gandhi had a series ofmeetings with Andhra leaderson the possibilities left for reach-ing out to people of AP.Naturally, it was pointed out that

the grand old party had deceivedthe people of Andhra in theprocess of bifurcation. Nobodyhad a clear answer when RahulGandhi reportedly asked: "Willthe people of Andhra Pradeshever forgive us?"

However, all of them under-lined that a committed approachtowards realisation of SCS wouldenable the party to win back theconfidence of AP people tosome extent so that the party canregain lost ground in the not-so-distant future. The leaders alsodrove home their point thatproximity with ChandrababuNaidu of TDP would be detri-mental to the interests of theparty. According to them, theCongress can bank on 7-8 percent of the voters in AP. But forits truck with TDP, its votebank would have been 10% ofvoters.

Political strategist andpsephologist Prashant Kishor(PK) has been asked to look intothe ways in which the party can

reach out to people of AP afterovercoming the minus pointsrelated to bifurcation. PK hadworked with YSRCP, whichemerged victorious in the 2019polls winning 151 Assemblyseats out of 175, creating histo-ry. Despite being asked to workfor YSRCP again in 2024 bynone other than Jagan at athanksgiving programme,Prasanth did not agree this time.

Congress had to first chooseone person to head the party inthe state in place of P. Sailajanath.The name of former ChiefMinister N.Kiran Kumar Reddysurfaced. Despite Kiran's reluc-tance to helm the Congressover its questionable role in thebifurcation episode, he is beingpressurized to accept the respon-sibility. Will this high-profileman accept the offer made by theparty's high command is a bigquestion? Before Kiran gives ananswer, the Congress per se hasa long troublesome journeyahead.

M D RATNA KUMAR

Senior Journalist

There is no doubt that the people of

Telangana benefited more from

bifurcation than those of residual

Andhra Pradesh, considering that

bifurcation per se was carried out by

flouting all democratic norms and

without even a proper discussion in

Parliament.

PIN

POINT

Moot question for Cong: Will Andhra people ever forgive us?

August was a month full ofjoy, happiness for the State PNS n VIJAYAWADA

It was not just theIndependence Day celebrationsthat were colourful in the State,the month of August witnesseddecked-up schools and happychildren with Jagananna VidyaDevena kits in their hands.

The launch of the secondphase of Mana Badi NaduNedu was a memorable event,and so was the function organ-ised to felicitate the Olympiansfrom the State. The monthsaw the government giving thegreen signal for the StateHuman Rights Commissionheadquarters to come up atKurnool and the State goinggreen with Paccha Thoranamand investments coming inbesides the visit of Britishdiplomats and other digni-taries.

The month saw the comple-tion of Mana Badi Nadu Nedufirst phase and Chief MinisterYS Jaganmohan Reddy inaugu-rating the renovated ZillaParishad High School at P

Gannavaram in East Godavaridistrict. The dais was also theplatform to distributeJagananna Vidya Kanuka kits,which included a dictionary aswell as its earlier contents,besides the inauguration ofworks for the second phase ofMana Badi.

A total of 15,715 schools werespruced up in the first phase ata cost of Rs 3,669 crore. Theremaining educational institu-tions will be revamped in thenext two phases. Vidya Deevenakits costing Rs 731 crore in allwere distributed to 47.32 lakh

students on the day schoolsreopened across the State. Theschools will be run strictlyadhering to Covid protocols.

Ace shuttler PV Sindhu cameto town flashing the Bronzemedal she won at the TokyoOlympics 2020. She was warm-ly welcomed and felicitated bythe Chief Minister and acheque of Rs 30 lakh was pre-sented to her.

She was also given land inVisakhapatnam for starting aBadminton Academy. E Rajaniwho was the reserve goalkeep-er of the Indian Women's

Hockey team that played inTokyo Olympics was also felic-itated by the Chief Minister anda cheque of Rs 25 lakh given toher, besides other incentives.

The month has also seen theprocess of Lokayukta and StateHuman Rights Commission(SHRC) moving to Kurnool.

On the investments front,Century Plyboards India Ltd.,has come in to invest Rs 1,000crore by setting up a factory atBudvel which will provideemployment to nearly 9,000people. CMD of the companySajjan Bhajanka along with histeam met the Chief Ministerand presented a blueprint ofinvestment plans.

British Deputy HighCommissioner for AndhraPradesh and Telangana, DrAndrew Fleming along withHead of British Trade andInvestment Varun Mali met theChief Minister and expressedinterest in investing in health,energy, electric vehicles, agri-cultural technology and climatechange sector.

RTC set to delivercargo at doorstep PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Shifting from offering only pas-senger services, the AndhraPradesh State Road TransportCorporation (RTC) will be offer-ing door-to-door courier ser-vices from September 1.

According to senior officialsof the Corporation, all arrange-ments have been made to startthis service in all the main citiesacross the State.

The idea first took concreteshape during the Covid-19 lock-down when the Corporationused its fleet of vehicles to offercargo services. The idea was sim-ple, brilliant and most effective.The Corporation made somegood money, accounting for 75percent of its revenue fromcargo services.

The RTC continued with theservice, ferrying bulk and pri-vate cargo from all its points.However, the customer had todeposit and receive the parcelsfrom its points.

This was the only drawback,and the Corporation officialsbegan efforts to resolve it. TheCorporation has inked an MoUwith outsourcing agencies todeliver and pick up the cargodoor-to-door from September 1.

The Corporation has alsoconverted a number of passen-ger buses into cargo transportvehicles.

The door-to-door cargo/ par-cel services would be started at

all district headquarters, allmajor cities and towns in theState. The RTC has also set upCC cameras at all parcel andcargo service points to ensureaccountability.

A tracking system will be putin place to keep tabs on all par-cel and cargo delivery services.This will also enable the cus-tomer to know the exact loca-tion of his or her cargo in realtime.

"The Corporation has a goodname and responsibility. Allthe parcel and cargo itemswould be insured. There ishuge potential across the Statefor cargo services. Not only inthe State, the APSRTC is alsooffering inter-state services toBengaluru, Hyderabad,Chennai and Bhubaneswar, thenew service would boost thedepartment," said a senior offi-cial of APSRTC.

The department has fixed thetariff at Rs 15 for cargo weigh-ing between 1 kg and 5 kg, Rs25 for 6 kg to 9 kg and cargoweighing 10 kg and above Rs 30as delivery charges. There wouldbe GST on the delivery charges.

During the first phase ofdoor-to-door delivery and pick-up parcel services, the RTC hasmade arrangements within a 10km radius from the main sta-tions. After assessing the reportsin the first phase of services, theservice may be extended further,the official said.

India’s GDP zooms by....Continued from Page 1

Despite the record growth in thefirst quarter, the Indian econo-my is yet to reach pre-Covid lev-els.

The size of the Indian econo-my in April-June 2019 was Rs35.66 lakh-crore, which shrankto Rs 26.95 lakh-crore a year later.In the first quarter of the currentfiscal, it stood at Rs 32.38 lakh-crore.

Barring agriculture, the size ofall other sectors is below pre-COVID levels. Manufacturing atRs 5.43 lakh-crore is lower thanRs 5.67 lakh-crore in April-June2019, while services at Rs 4.63

lakh-crore is way short of the pre-pandemic levels of Rs 6.64 lakh-crore.

Agriculture at Rs 4.86 lakh-crore is higher than the pre-Covid level of Rs 4.49 lakh-crore.

Asia's third-largest economycontracted 7.3 percent in 2020-21 fiscal (April 2020 to March2021) after a nationwide lock-down early last year crippled eco-nomic activity.

The economy started toemerge from the deep slumptowards end of 2020 but wasagain hit by the second wave inApril-May.

However this time the impactwas not so severe because of less

stringent localised lockdowns.The momentum has further

picked after the second wave sub-sided. But some analysts havewarned of risks posed by spikinginfections from the Delta variantand the slow pace of vaccinationsin some states that could delaythe economy from reaching itspre-pandemic level of aboutUSD 2.9 trillion to the middle ofnext fiscal.

While Reserve Bank of India(RBI), IMF and S&P GlobalRatings have forecast annualgrowth of 9.5 percent in the cur-rent fiscal, Moody's InvestorsService sees the economyexpanding by 9.3 percent. World

Bank has estimated the GDPgrowth at 8.3 percent in the fis-cal to March 2022 and FitchRatings has put GDP growthforecast at 10 percent.

Those projections are thehighest among major economies,surpassing China's 8.5 percent.

Suman Chowdhury, ChiefAnalytical Officer, Acuite Ratings& Research, said the economy isexpected to be provided momen-tum by the approaching festiveseason, accommodative fiscaland monetary policy backdrop,vaccination progress along withbetter global growth outlookwhich will continue to befavourable for exports.

India poisedfor strongergrowth...Continued from Page 1

The gross domestic prod-uct (GDP) had contractedby 24.4 percent in thecorresponding April-Juneq u a r t e r o f 2 0 2 0 - 2 1 ,according to data releasedby the National StatisticalOffice (NSO) on Tuesday.

On the inflation, he saidit has witnessed a moder-ation in July compared tothe previous month.

"Our expectation is thatthe inflation in the nextfew months should bew i t h i n t h at r a n g e ,between 5-6 percent, butl e s s t h a n 6 p e rc e nt "despite hardening globalcommo dity pr ices , hesaid.

‘Unknown’ Rs 3,370 crwindfall for national parties...Continued from Page 1

Between 2004-05 and 2019-20,the national parties collectedRs 14,651.53 crore fromunknown sources, it said.

According to the donationsreports, containing details ofdonations above Rs 20,000 ofthe 2019-20 fiscal, Rs 3.18 lakhwas received in cash by thenational parties.

The poll rights body alsosaid that the combined incomeof the Congress and the NCPfrom sale of coupons betweenthe financial years 2004-05and 2019-20 stands at Rs4,096.725 crore.

Unknown sources areincome declared in income taxreturns, but without givingsource of income for dona-tions below Rs 20,000. Suchunknown sources include'donations through ElectoralBonds', 'sale of coupons', 'relieffund', 'miscellaneous income','voluntary contributions', 'con-tribution from meetings/mor-

chas'.The details of donors of

such as voluntary contribu-tions are not available in thepublic domain.

The ADR recommendedthat scrutiny of financial doc-uments submitted by politicalparties should be conductedannually by a body approvedby the Comptroller andAuditor General of India andthe Election Commission ofIndai to increase transparen-cy and accountability of polit-ical parties with respect totheir funding.

National and regional polit-ical parties must provide allinformation under the Rightto Information (RTI) Act, theADR said.

"This will only strengthenpolitical parties, elections anddemocracy. However, RTI ornot, political parties shouldvoluntarily account for everyrupee that they get or spend,”the poll rights body recom-mended.

Continued from Page 1

The MEA said the Talibanrepresentative assured theambassador that "these issues"would be positively addressed.

"Today, Ambassador of Indiato Qatar, Deepak Mittal, metSher Mohammad AbbasStanekzai, the head of Taliban'sPolitical Office in Doha. Themeeting took place at theEmbassy of India, Doha, on therequest of the Taliban side," theMEA said in a statement.

It said the discussionsfocused on safety, security andearly return of Indian nation-als stranded in Afghanistan andthe travel of Afghan nationals,especially minorities, who wishto visit India also came up.

"Ambassador Mittal raisedIndia's concern thatAfghanistan's soil should notbe used for anti-Indian activi-ties and terrorism in any man-ner.

People familiar with India'sties in Afghanistan said it wasthe first publicly acknowledgedcontact between the two sides

in over at least two decades.External Affairs Ministry

Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi,replying to questions during hisweekly briefing in the last fewmonths on whether India hasreached out to the Taliban, hasbeen maintaining that NewDelhi is in touch with all stake-holders.

It was learnt that India hadopened a channel of commu-nication with the Taliban but itwas never acknowledged offi-cially.

The meeting between Mittaland Stanekzai took place hoursafter the US completed thewithdrawal of its troops fromAfghanistan, ending its 20-year-long military campaign inthe country.

The last American aircraftleft the Kabul airport in theearly hours of Tuesday.

On Saturday, Stanekzai, in aclear overture, described Indiaas an important country in theregion and said the Talibanwants to maintainAfghanistan's trade, econom-ic and political relations with

it."We attach great impor-

tance to our trade, economicand political relations withIndia and want to maintainthat relation," he had said.

"We also need to keep the airtrade open," the Taliban leaderwas quoted as saying byPakistani media outletIndependent Urdu.

He was referring to the air cor-ridor between India andAfghanistan that was establishedto boost trade between the twocountries in view of Pakistan'sdenial to allow transit access.

External Affairs Minister SJaishankar on August 20 heldtalks with his Qatari counter-part Sheikh Mohammed binAbdulrahman Al-Thani onthe Afghan crisis during astopover in Doha on his wayback home from a four-dayvisit to the US.

Doha has been the venue forthe intra-Afghan peace talksand the Gulf country hasemerged as a crucial player infacilitating the Afghan peaceprocess.

Aditya NathDas gets...Continued from Page 1

The Union government isexpected to make a formalannouncement in the nextfew days.

Meanwhile there are sever-al senior IAS officers aspiringfor Chief Secretary post. Thenext in line is senior IAS offi-cer Ajay Sawhney who is inCentral government serviceon deputation. AjaySawhney's wife NilamSawhney served as ChiefSecretary and after retire-ment, she was appointed asAP State ElectionCommissioner. If the APgovernment favours him withthe Chief Secretary post, AjaySawhney is willing to comeback to the State govern-ment services, as per sources.

After Ajay Sawhney, seniorIAS officers Sameer Sharma,Reddy Subramanyam, SatishChandra, Neerab Kumar, SriLakshmi and others are in thequeue for the post.

Jagan inIdupulapayatoday for... Continued from Page 1

On Wednesday, Jagan willvisit YSR Kadapa district fortwo days during which he willpay tribute to his father andformer chief minister late YSRajasekhara Reddy on hisdeath anniversary onSeptember 2. As part of hisschedule, the Chief Ministerwill depart from Vijayawadaairport for Kadapa at 3.30pm.

The Chief Minister willarrive at Idupulapaya at 4.50pm in a helicopter, where hewill conduct a meeting withthe YSRCP leaders and spendthe night at the guesthouse onYSR Estate.

On September 2, the ChiefMinister will pay respects tothe late leader at YSR Ghat inIdupulapaya at 9.30 am. Hewill be joined by his familymembers and local leadersand will pay tributes to thelate leader. Jagan is slated tomeet the local party leadersand return to Tadepalli thesame day. He will leaveKadapa Airport at 11.30 amand reach Tadepalli at 12.45pm.

YSR Kadapa districtCollector V Vijay Rama Rajuon Saturday held a reviewmeeting with officials on thearrangements to be made forthe Chief Minister's visit.The Collector directed theofficials to strictly adhere tothe standard operating proce-dures under the Covid-19protocols during the ChiefMinister's visit toIdupulapaya.

India talks evacuation of ...Taliban celebrate victory as last...Continued from Page 1

Although it succeeded in dri-ving the Taliban from powerand stopped Afghanistan beingused as a base by al Qaeda toattack the United States, itended with the hardlineIslamist militants controllingmore territory than duringtheir previous rule.

Those years from 1996 to2001 saw the Taliban's brutalenforcement of their strictinterpretation of Islamic law,and the world watches now tosee if the movement forms amore moderate and inclusivegovernment in the monthsahead.

Thousands of Afghans havealready fled, fearing Talibanreprisals. More than 123,000people were evacuated fromKabul in a massive but chaot-ic airlift by the United Statesand its allies over the past twoweeks, but tens of thousandswho helped Western nationsduring the war were leftbehind.

A contingent of Americans,

estimated by U.S. Secretary ofState Antony Blinken as fewerthan 200, and possibly closer to100, wanted to leave but wereunable to get on the last flights.

British Foreign SecretaryDominic Raab put the numberof UK nationals in Afghanistanin the low hundreds, followingthe evacuation of some 5,000.

General Frank McKenzie,commander of the U.S. CentralCommand, told a Pentagonbriefing that the chief U.S.diplomat in Afghanistan, RossWilson, was on the last C-17flight out.

"There's a lot of heartbreakassociated with this depar-ture," McKenzie told reporters."We did not get everybody outthat we wanted to get out. ButI think if we'd stayed another10 days, we wouldn't have got-ten everybody out."

The leaving U.S. troopsdestroyed more than 70 air-craft, dozens of armoured vehi-cles and disabled air defencesthat had thwarted an attempt-ed Islamic State rocket attackon the eve of their departure.

UNSC resolution

tells Afghanis not to

use territory for...Continued from Page 1

The blast resulted in deathsand injuries of over 300 civ-ilians and 28 military per-sonnel. The UNSC resolu-tion took note of the Talib-an's condemnation of theattack.

The resolution said itstrongly "demands thatAfghan territory not beused to threaten or attackany country or to shelter ortrain terrorists, or to plan orto finance terrorist acts,and reiterates the impor-tance of combating terror-ism in Afghanistan, includ-ing those individuals andentities designated pursuantto resolution 1267 (1999),and notes the Taliban's rel-evant commitments."

All eyes on KRMB meeting ...Continued from Page 1

The Telugu States have differ-ing perspectives on the gener-ation of power from theSrisailam project. Telangana has already repre-sented to the KRMB theantecedents of Srisailam pro-ject, highlighting that it wasmainly meant for power gen-eration. However, AP has been arguing

that power generation wasnot a priority and that theSrisailam project shouldrelease water mainly for irri-gation and drinking waterpurposes.

The water released down-stream after power generationcould not be stored inNagarjuna Sagar as the projectwas already full and as a resultthe water was going waste intothe sea.

vijayawada 03VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 1, 2021

In a humanitarian gesture, Jaipur artificial limbs were distributed to 300 differently-abled people in Vijayawada on Tuesday. Endowments Minister Velampalli SrinivasaRao, Vijayawada Mayor R Bhagya Lakshmi, Krishna District Collector J Nivas andKanaka Durga Temple chairman Pyla Sominaidu were present at the distributionprogramme organised by an NGO - The Change Makers.

LENDING AA HHELPING HHAND

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

TDP national general secretaryand MLC Nara Lokesh onTuesday demanded that ChiefMinister YS Jaganmohan Reddyexplain to the people of AndhraPradesh why his governmenthad failed to fulfil his promise tocomplete the Polavaram Project,the lifeline of the State, by June,2021.

Lokesh said the Chief Ministercould not even get one singlehouse constructed for the projectevacuees in the past two-and-a-half years of his rule. This CMmade many promises to paycompensation of Rs 19 lakh peracre in 2016 and Rs 10 lakh dur-ing his Padayatra. After comingto power, Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy forgot aboutall his promises.

Nara Lokesh made a whirl-wind visit to Polavaram ousteesat various places in East Godavaridistrict and interacted with thetribals. Some evacuees' familiesnarrated their woes under thepresent regime and threatened tohold protests. They even said thatthey were ready to attack thePolavaram dam if theJaganmohan Reddy governmentdid not honour the R & R pack-

age payments transparently.Speaking on the occasion,

Lokesh recalled that CMJaganmohan Reddy promisedcompensation as per the LandAcquisition Act – 2013 and alsopayment of Rs 5 lakh per acre forlands acquired during the YSRregime. None of these promiseswere fulfilled. Even the Rs 555crore compensation amounts ofevacuees were looted by theYSRCP leaders through falsebank accounts.

Lokesh visited the Polavaramevacuees in Kunavaram, VRPuram and Chintoor mandals.He had a brief halt at evacuees'places at Sarapaka inBurgampahad mandal earlier.He enquired the displaced fam-ilies about their problems andwhether the government wasfulfilling its commitments underthe resettlement programme.

PNS n ONGOLE

Telugu Desam Party (TDP)MLAs and other senior leadersmet Union Jal Shakti MinisterGajendra Singh Shekhawat inNew Delhi on Tuesday andappealed to him to include thePula Subbaiah Veligonda pro-ject in the 'GazetteNotification'.

TDP MLAs Gottipati RaviKumar, Yeluri Sambasiva Rao,Dola Balaveeranjaneya Swamy,former MLAs KandulaNarayana Reddy, Dr. MUgranarasimha Reddy and DJanardhan Rao met Union JalShakti Minister GajendraSingh Shekawat and submitteda memorandum urging him toinclude the Pula SubbaiahVeligonda project in the'Gazette Notification'.

The TDP leaders explainedto the Union Minister theimportance of the VeligondaProject to the people of theregion. They informed theUnion Minister thatPrakasam district in AndhraPradesh is one of the mostbackward districts in thecountry. People of the district

face scarcity for drinkingwater and irrigation waterand the Veligonda project is alifeline to the district.

The TDP leaders apprisedthe Union Minister that theVeligonda project was not list-ed in the Gazette Notification.They also explained to him theproblems which would arise by

the non-inclusion of the pro-ject in Gazette Notification.

The Opposition party lead-ers told the media that theUnion Minister had respond-ed positively to their requestand assured them of justice.Shekhawat appreciated theTDP leaders for their respon-sible attitude over the

Veligonda project.Ongole Parliamentary con-

stituency president NukasaniBalaji, former Udayagiri MLABollineni Rama Rao, B N VijayKumar, M Ashok Reddy,Guduri Babu and DamacharlaSatya were among the TDPleaders who met the UnionMinister.

PNS n AMARAVATI

TDP AP president KAtchannaidu on Tuesdayaccused the JaganmohanReddy Government of perse-cuting the party TDP leadersby foisting cases against themjust for holding rallies, paday-atras and dharna programmesin protest against the risingprices of fuels, gas and essen-tial commodities.

Atchannaidu condemnedthe 'fake cases' filed against for-mer ministers, former MLAsand other TDP leaders.

Leaders Kalva Srinivasulu,B.Tech Ravi, ChintamaneniPrabhakar, Ram Gopal Reddyand others were implicated infalse cases. CM JaganmohanReddy was getting terrified atthe mention of protests byTDP leaders.

In a statement here, the TDP

leader said that going by theway in which the police werebeing misused to harass theOpposition, it was clear thatJaganmohan Reddy was themost cowardly Chief Ministerin the country. The rulingYSRCP leaders were shiveringwith fear the moment the TDPactivists were stepping out oftheir houses on the protestdays. The past two years of theJaganmohan Reddy rulemarked only anti-people poli-cies, increased taxes and prices.

Atchannaidu questioned the

propriety behind filing casesagainst the TDP protesters onthe charges of violating Covidregulations when they actual-ly protested against skyrocket-ing prices of petrol, diesel andcommodities. The officialswere discriminating alongpolitical lines. Not a single casewas filed even though the rul-ing YSRCP leaders violatedCorona guidelines during theirpadayatras and at the 'YS vard-hanti' meetings.

The TDP leader deploredthat the Opposition leaderswere being harassed at everystep while the ruling partyleaders were holding meet-ings and even recording danceswithout any problems. TheCM was perpetrating a rulethat was more lawless than thereigns of even Hitler, Gaddafiand other dictators in theworld. The people of AP were

suffering under the chaoticregime which was imposingunbearable financial burdensthrough hiked taxes and prices.

Atchannaidu objected to themanner in which a suo motucase was filed against formerminister Kalva Srinivasulu.The DGP should clarify whyhe was not filing such suomotu cases though the rulingYSRCP leaders were violatingCovid guidelines at their meet-ings. The State police wereimplementing the atrociousRaja Reddy constitution aftersetting aside the people-friend-ly Ambedkar constitution.

The TDP leader warned thatthe police should not forget thefact that they were wearingkhaki dress but not the YSRCPparty uniforms. If the officerswould not abide by the laws ofthe land, then they would haveto face the consequences.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

In a significant achievement, theCommercial department of theVijayawada Railway Division hassuccessfully obtained the ‘Consentfor Operation’ (CFO) for its 28goods sheds from the AndhraPradesh Pollution Control Board

(APPCB) with a validity period ofthree years. Vijayawada Divisionis the first Division in the SCRZone to obtain CFO for all thegood sheds in a short span of time.

Vijayawada Division recentlydeveloped the goods sheds suitingthe existing needs of freight cus-tomers. Concrete cement loading

platforms, merchants’ rooms,drinking water facilities, labour restrooms, lighting facilities to carryon round-the-clock operations,and approach roads are beingarranged. As a part of it, Eluru andDwarapudi goods sheds weredeveloped on similar lines recent-ly with upgraded facilities.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Federation of Andhra PradeshWater Users’ Associations Statepresident Alla Gopala KrishnaRao has demanded that theKrishna River ManagementBoard (KRMB) take steps tocheck illegal construction ofirrigation projects by Telanganagovernment upstream ofSrisailam reservoir on KrishnaRiver. He has alleged that theTelangana government is ille-gally constructing irrigationprojects without taking theapproval from the CentralWater Commission (CWC).

He sent an e-mail to KRMBChairman MP Singh onTuesday ahead of the boardmeeting to be held inHyderabad on Wednesday.

Disclosing details of his e-

mail at a press conference hereon Tuesday, Gopala KrishnaRao said the Telangana govern-ment was illegally constructingirrigation projects to divert255 TMC water. He said theirrigation projects like BhaktaRamadasu, Tummella MissionBhagiratha and Palamuru-Rangareddy were taken upwithout the permission of the

CWC apart from expansion ofNettempadu and Kalvakurthyprojects.

Gopala Krishna Raoexpressed apprehensions thatabout 30 lakh acres of ayacutunder Nagarjuna Sagar inAndhra Pradesh wouldbecome barren if the Telanganagovernment completed theseirrigation projects.

He alleged that theTelangana government isreleasing waters into Sagar,Srisailam and Pulichintala pro-jects indiscriminately for powergeneration and causing hugeloss to Andhra Pradesh. Heunderlined the need to checkthe illegal activities of the TSgovernment on Krishna river.

He recalled that the Brijesh

Kumar tribunal had allocated512 TMC water to AndhraPradesh and 299 TMC water toTS and stated that AndhraPradesh had the right to get 70percent of its share. He said theTelangana government wasarguing for 50 percent share inKrishna river water, which, hesaid, was unacceptable.

He requested the KRMB

Chairman to delete PrakasamBarrage from the GazetteNotification issued as it was inAndhra Pradesh totally. Hedemanded that the KRMBoffice be shifted fromHyderabad to Krishna riverbasin area of Vijayawada.

Nagarjuna Sagar Left CanalProject Committee formerchairman N PullaiahChowdary, Krishna WesternDelta Project Committee for-mer chairman Myneni MuraliKrishna, Krishna EasternDelta Project Committee for-mer chairman Gutta SivaramaKrishna, executive committeemembers G Srinivasa Rao,Tummala Lakshmana Rao, BAshok Kumar and other lead-ers from Prakasam and WestGodavari districts were pre-sent.

Include Veligonda in Gazettenotification, TDP urges Centre

Govt framing TDP men: Atchannaidu

Lokesh flays govt over Polavaram delay

WUAs urge KRMB to stop ‘illegal’ projects of Telangana govt

28 goods sheds obtain CFO from APPCB

‘Azadi Ka Amrit’celebrationsbegin at VPTPNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

As part of the 75 years ofIndian Independence, ‘AzadiKa Amrit Mahotsav’, theVisakhapatnam Port Trust(VPT) conducted an aware-ness campaign on careerguidance, nutrition and yogafor the employees at theresource development centre.

Prominent speakers fromvarious reputed oganisationsattended the campaign andinteracted with the employ-ees. Various programmeslined up as part of the cele-brations will conclude onSeptember 4.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Left party leaders staged aprotest in front of the VidyutSoudha, headquarters here onTuesday demanding cancella-tion of an extra financial bur-den of Rs 3,669 crore in thename of adjustment charges tothe power consumers in AP.The leaders burned the copiesof the AP ElectricityRegulatory Commission(APERC) order giving permis-sions to collect additional ‘true-up’ charges expressing theiranguish.

CPM State executive com-mittee member Ch Babu Raoalleged that the AP govern-ment, which promised not toincrease electricity charges,had gone back on its promiseby imposing Rs 1.27 fueladjustment charge per unit.

He alleged that surrenderingto the conditions of the BJP-ledUnion Government, the Stategovernment had decided tocollect true-up charges whichwould be a huge financial bur-den to people who werealready indulged in financialdifficulties due to the Coronacrisis. He deplored that thepeople had to pay the true-upcharges for the next eightmonths.

Babu Rao recalled that ear-

lier YSRC, while in theOpposition, had severelyobjected to the collection ofadditional charges on elec-tricity during the TDP govern-ment and Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy promisednot to put any additional bur-den on electricity consumers.

He alleged that the YSRCPgovernment got Rs 2,500 croreadditional loans surrendering

to the Central government byaccepting electricity reformsand further to privatise powerdistribution companies.

Babu Rao and other leadersdemanded that the State gov-ernment immediately cancelthe orders on collection ofadditional charges and threat-ened to intensify the agitationif the government failed toconcede their demand.

Left parties protest ‘true-up’ burden

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Agriculture Minister KurasalaKannababu has come downheavily on TDP leader NaraLokesh for venting his frustra-tion on the State government byusing abusive language againstChief Minister YS Jagan MohanReddy during his visit toPolavaram project affectedmandals. Addressing a pressconference on Tuesday, theMinister said Lokesh speaks ofdignity, but does not conducthimself in a dignified manner.He said the permissions forPolavaram project were takenby late Chief Minister YSRajashekara Reddy and con-struction works started duringhis regime. The subsequentgovernments had neglected theproject and the progress wasstalled. Chandrababu Naidu hadused the project as a money-vending machine and it wasChief Minister YS JaganmohanReddy who has been committedto complete the project, he said.Lokesh was trying to instigate

people in the Polavaram regionthough people were in no posi-tion to believe him.He criticised Lokesh for speak-ing for Polavaram Project dis-placed victims and said theproblem existed even during theprevious government and addedthat Naidu was silent regardingthe project till 2017 only for hiscommissions. He said the StateCabinet had already decided toprovide Rs 10 lakh to each dis-placed family of the project andthe State government was mov-ing forward with a definite planto solve the issue. He remindedthat Prime Minister NarendraModi had given certificate toNaidu that he had been usingthe project as an ATM and saidNaidu built only 3010 housesfor displaced persons. He saidthe State government had allot-ted Rs 1,900 crore for the pro-ject though pending arrearswere not released by the Centralgovernment and it showed thecommitment of the ChiefMinister to complete the pro-ject.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The e-KYC verification process isnot to cancel rice cards of the eli-gible beneficiaries in the State,said Minister for Civil SuppliesKodali Sri Venkateswara Rao.The minister said that the e-KYCverification is to ensure that thecardholder can get ration any-where in the country.

The minister on Tuesday spoketo the media persons in Gudivadaand said that the Central govern-ment had made it mandatory foreveryone named in the rice cardto undergo e-KYC process inorder to get the right to takeessential commodities anywherein the country as per the FoodSecurity Act. He made it clear inview of the rice card holders rush-

ing to Aadhaar centres for e-KYCprocess in the State as rice cardholders are standing in serpentinequeue lines to update their per-sonal details.

Minister Nani said the villageand ward volunteers appointed bythe State government can easilydo the e-KYC either through thebiometric machine at the ward orthrough the e-Pos machine at theration shop dealer. He said rice

cardholders can complete the e-KYC process at ration shopsusing the Fusion Finger facilitythrough the e-Pos machine.Children under the age of five donot need e-KYC and said that thegovernment has no intention ofcancelling the ration card if the e-KYC process was not made.

He said there rumours aredoing the rounds that the govern-ment would stop the distributionof ration to the card holders if thee-KYC process was not madebefore September 1. The govern-ment distributes 5 kg rice to eachfamily member. The Ministermade it clear that there is nodeadline for the e-KYC processand cardholders can update thedetails for the verification throughAadhaar.

Kannababu tears into Lokesh for using abusive language

e-KYC mandatory for rationanywhere in the country: Kodali

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Andhra Pradesh MaritimeBoard Chairman K VenkatReddy has said that the Stategovernment is keen to promotecargo service through bluewaters by using harbours in theState. The government hasalso decided to promote seatransport by giving incentivesto the cargo handlers, headded. Addressing the mediahere on Tuesday, Reddy saidthat in order to attend to theindustrial needs and cargodelivery services the govern-

ment specially designing pack-ages to promote the cargo ser-vices through blue waters.

As a part of the programme,the government has evolved anaction plan to promote the bluewater cargo services betweenBhavanapadu-Kakinada-Machilipatnam and

Ramayampadu harbours. TheNizampatnam phase-2,Machilipatnam phase-2,Uppada and Juvvaladinne fish-ing harbours are under con-struction at a cost of Rs 1,221crore. Action plans are undervarious stages to constructmini-harbours atBudagatlapalem, Pudimadaka,Biyyaputippa and also atVadarevu, Reddy said.

Though the State has about1,000 km of coastline, the pre-vious governments grosslyneglected development of thecoastline business.

Plans in place to populariseblue water cargo service

PNS n KAKINADA

Minister for BC Welfare Ch. Venugopala Krishna inspected vac-cination centres at various places in East Godavari district onTuesday. Speaking on the occasion, the minister said that vacci-nation is being administered to 18+ people and appealed to themto get vaccinated. The minister inspected secretariats inRamachandrapuram constituency. He lauded the ward secretari-at staff and volunteers for playing a key role in the prevention ofCovid-19 pandemic.

Minister inspects vax centre

vijayawada 04VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 1, 2021

2 bike lifters held, 34vehicles recoveredKADAPA: The police arrested two inter-district bike lifters and recovered34 bikes from them in Rayachoti town. Superintendent of Police KKNAnburajan told the media here on Tuesday that the police arrested twointer-district bike lifters Kattubadi Ratnam and Jangala Murali andseized 34 two-wheelers worth Rs 30 lakh from them. The duo used totarget Pulsar bikes to steal as they could be sold easily. They stole thebikes in Kadapa and Chittoor districts. The SP appreciated RayachotiDSP Sridhar, CI Raju, ASIs Narasimha Reddy and Mohammad Rafi forarresting the inter-district bike lifters.

Woman held for murder of mother-in-lawGUNTUR: The police unravelled the mystery shrouding the murder ofa 53-year-old woman with the arrest of her daughter-in-law.DSP Sravanthi Rai told the media in Tenali on Tuesday that T BadriNarayana and his wife, the deceased woman T Mythili (53) wereresiding at Flat No. 306 in the Paradise Apartment in Tenali. Since the couple had no children, they adopted a boy and performedtheir son’s marriage with the accused Radhika Priyanka.The DSP said that the deceased woman and the accused used toquarrel over certain issues too often. On August 28, after analtercation, the accused stabbed her mother-in-law Mythili with aknife and later bludgeoned her with a chapati rolling pin. The neighbours complained to the police that they heard screamsfrom the flat. The police rushed there and found the woman in a poolof blood. The police arrested the accused Radhika Priyanka andseized the knife and chapati rolling pin from her.

300 kg ganja seized, 2 heldONGOLE: The police seized 300 kg ganja while being transported in agoods auto rickshaw at Inkollu in Prakasam district and arrested twopersons in this connection.SP Malika Garg told the media here onTuesday that on a tip off, Chirala DSP and Inkollu CI and TahsildarGitarani conducted checking of vehicles. They noticed that a goodsauto with a load of mattresses was moving suspiciously. Theyinspected the vehicle and found 300 kg ganja concealed under themattresses and being transported illegally. The police arrested twopersons U Manikantha and Poralla Venkatesarulu and seized the con-traband, a car, 10 mattresses and a mobile phone – all worth Rs 24lakh. Three more ganja smugglers were at large, the SP said.The SP appreciated CI P Subba Rao, SIs Prasad, M Srinivasa Raoand constables for arresting the ganja smugglers and seizure of ganjaand announced cash rewards for them.

Minor girl raped by singlemom's live-in partnerHYDERABAD: A man was booked for allegedly raping the 15-year-olddaughter of the woman, with whom he is into a live-in relationship, atBanjara Hills. The 35-year-old suspect, who is a construction workerand the girl's mother, who is a divorcee, developed an extra-maritalaffair. The couple started living together with the woman's children.Police said for the last few months, the suspect had been harassingthe girl who stayed with them, in the absence of her mother. He hadmade sexual advances too. However, due to fear of stigma, the girlremained silent. About ten days ago, the suspect overpowered andraped the girl in the house, when her mother and brother were away.The girl informed her mother about it and she lodged a complaint.Based on her complaint, the Banjara Hills police booked a case and areinvestigating. Officials said the suspect was absconding.

PNS n ONGOLE

The Special EnforcementBureau (SEB) officials seized510 bags of ration rice worthRs 9 lakh at Chinarikatla inKonakanamitla mandal ofPrakasam district while beingillegally transported in a lorryon Sunday.

SEB Officer SRamanarayana Reddy saidthat on a tipoff the officialsconducted checking of vehiclesin the wee hours. They foundabout 510 bags of ration ricebeing transported illegally toPiduguralla.

The officials took into cus-tody lorry driver A SubbaRao and another person BVenkateswarlu and seizedrice worth Rs 9 lakh.

PNS n KAKINADA

As there is a lot of improve-ment in the Covid situationand the district is limpingback to normal, the APSRTCofficials have decided to allowhire buses to be operated fromSeptember 1.

Officials of the State-ownedtransport company said thatthey had suspended the plyingof RTC buses on all routes inthe last week of March due tothe second wave ofCoronavirus. However, theRTC resumed services twomonths ago.

As many as 821 buses areoperated on all routes of thedistrict from nine depots.Though the RTC officials per-mitted 660 buses belonging tothe corporation, they did notallow 161 hired buses to beoperated.

Since normalcy has almostreturned and the impact of theCoronavirus pandemic is onthe wane, the passenger rushhas gone up considerablyacross the district. Opening of

educational institutions, cine-ma theatres and rise in mar-riage ceremonies have led tothe increase in the number ofcommuters in the district.

In order to provide requiredtransport facilities for the peo-ple, the RTC officials havedecided to operate all the 821buses, including 161 hiredbuses, from September 1onwards in the district.

Moreover, the APSRTCincurred huge losses due to

suspension of services duringthe Coronavirus crisis. Now,the RTC officials look to aug-ment their income to cover thelosses to at least some extent byoperating all the 821 buses,RTC officials said.

The RTC officials directedthe bus conductors and driversto ensure that the OccupancyRate (OR) in all the buses goesup. Apart from this, theAPSRTC has its own courierservice and the organisation

has now launched the doordelivery service aiming toenhance their income.

The RTC has started a doordelivery system inRajahmundry as a pilot project.If it is successful, the doordelivery system would beimplemented across the State,officials said.

Depot manager P BhaskaraRao said that the Kakinada-Chennai bus services were alsoresumed.

PNS n KAKINADA

Agriculture Minister KKannababu has made it clearthat there are adequate stocksof fertilisers and pesticides tobe supplied to the farmers inEast Godavari district.

The minister held a reviewmeeting with the officials onthe sowing operations andKharif agriculture activity inthe East Godavari district onTuesday.

The minister said that thereis no need for the farmers toworry about availability of fer-tilisers and pesticides as thereare sufficient stocks in theRythu Bharosa Kendra (RBK)godowns. The minister warnedof stringent action if the tradersresort to black marketing offertilisers.

“Out of the 13,847 tonnes offertilisers stored in the RythuBharosa Kendras, 8,377 tonnesof stock has been sold so far tothe farmers. There are 5,470tonnes of fertilisers in theRBK including 3,761 tonnes ofUrea, 430 tonnes of DAP, 266tonnes of Potash and 1,011tonnes of Complex fertilisers,to be supplied to the farmers,”

the minister said.Joint Collector (Rythu

Bharosa, Revenue) Dr.Lakshmi Shah directed theofficials to assess the availabil-ity of fertilisers on a day-to-daybasis. Agriculture JointDirector N Vijaya Kumar saidthat six squads were set up inthe district to inspect the fer-tiliser shops.

“The officials have seized73.41 tonnes of fertilisersworth Rs 13.06 lakh from theshops,” he said, and advised thepaddy farmers to use Complexfertilisers in the initial stage.

Agriculture deputy directorV T Rama Rao, Markfed man-ager Manju and ADAPadmasri were among thosewho attended.

RTC hire buses to be backon road in EG from today

No shortage of fertilisers inEast Godavari: Kannababu

“The officials have seized 73.41tonnes of fertilisers worth Rs 13.06lakh from the shops. The paddyfarmers should use Complex fertilisers in the initial stage”

510 bags ofration riceseized

PNS n ONGOLE

Pakasam District CollectorPravin Kumar has asked theteachers and students to becautious on the third wave ofCoronavirus.

Participating in a pro-gramme organised to mark theNational Deworming Day hereon Tuesday, he Collector saidthat the deworming initiativewould be taken up tillSeptember 6. Dewormingtablets would be distributed to4,93,436 students studying at4,425 schools and 1,79,822students studying at 4,244

Anganwadi centres across thedistrict.

“In view of the reports onthe threat of a 3rd wave of theCoronavirus pandemic, thestudents and teachers shouldtake all precautions. All shouldfollow the Covid guidelines.Wearing a face mask andmaintaining physical distanceare mandatory on the premis-es of schools,” he said.

Pravin Kumar said that thegovernment schools werebeing renovated under theNadu-Nedu programme.

Mayor Sujata exhorted thestudents to excel in studies and

avail the welfare schemes beingimplemented for them by thegovernment. The Collectoralong with Mayor G Sujata,planted saplings on the schoolpremises.

Earlier, Pravin Kumar gar-landed the statue of SaraswatiDevi on the school premisesand distributed deworm tabletsto the students.

DMHO Dr. P Ratnavali,DEO S Subba Rao, Women’sWelfare department PD GLakshmidevi and MunicipalCommissioner KBhagyalakshmi were amongthose present.

PNS n ONGOLE

Responding to a Disha callfrom five stranded persons,including women, the policerushed there and broughtthem safely in a vehicle.

A girl named Vaishnavi,18,belonging to Cheemakurthi inPrakasam district and four ofher family members, werereturning fromSingarayakonda temple onMonday night. Their car hada f lat tyre on the theVellampalli-Maddipadu roadduring the heavy rain.

They called a mechanic tofix the problem but he said hecould not help them as thetyre was damaged beyondrepair.

The girl immediatelypressed the SOS button on theDisha app at 10:47 p.m.

Responding promptly,Maddipadu SI Y Nagraj andhis staff reached there withinthree minutes of receivingthe Disha call.

The police found out theirdetails and immediatelypicked up an auto anddropped them at the OngoleRTC bus stand. Later, theywent to Cheemakurthi safely.The girl's family members

thanked the police forresponding to the Disha callimmediately.

Prakasam district SPMalika Garg appreciated SI YNagraj, Venkateshwarlu, con-stables K Ravi andVenkateswarlu.

She called upon the peopleto download the Disha appwhich comes in handy forwomen in danger.

Swift response to Disha call saves stranded family

Collector cautions teachers, students on Covid 3rd wave

SHORT TAKES

PNS n ONGOLE

In a case of fence eating thefield, a retired Tahsildar ofMarkapur in Prakasam dis-trict, shortly before hissuperannuation, allegedlytried to mutate lands ille-gally with the help of hissub-ordinate staff.

G ene r a l ly, mut at iontakes time. If revenue staffwant to delay it, they maytake months. But surpris-ingly, this Tahsildar didnearly 723 acres of landmutation within a month.

According to sources, somany charges were levelledagainst this Tahsildar whilehe was in service, but sur-prisingly the higher offi-cials did not take anyaction against him.

After his retirement,

they realised that he wasresponsible for a big scaminquired into the allega-tions which revealed aston-ishing facts.

As p er t he Sp ec ia lC ol l ec tor Vel igondaProject, P Vidya Sagarudu,t he t hen Ta hs i ldar,Markapur (now retired)has mutated certain landsin Markapur mandal dur-ing the period from June 1to 30 this year.

He received a total 465mutation applications forland to an extent of 702acres. After the inquiry,they identified that muta-tion of nearly 379 acres wasdone in an irregular man-ner, which is more thanhalf the total mutation oflands.

These lands are worth

crores of rupees as eachacre of land i s wor tharound Rs 10 lakh. Itshows how much corrup-tion has taken place inMarkapur.

As p er t he Sp ec ia lCollector, some other staffwere also involved in this.Additional revenue inspec-tor N Gopi and villagelevel employees includingdata entry operator wereinvolved in it. Now, thegovernment is going to filea criminal case against theretired Tahsildhar.

At the same time thegover nment d i rec te dMarkapur Re venueDivisional Officer to takeimmediate action to ensurecorrection of governmentlands in Webland whichmutated irregularly.

Mutation scam: Ex-Tahsildartransfers 723 acres in a month

PNS n HYDERABAD

Well-known Telugu film direc-tor Puri Jagannadh on Tuesdayappeared before theEnforcement Directorate (ED)in connection with a moneylaundering probe linked to afour-year-old drug case.

The ED last week issuednotices to 10 persons connect-ed to Tollywood and two oth-ers, including a private clubmanager, as part of its investi-gation.The questioning is like-ly to bring to light new factsabout the racket which wasbusted with the arrest of drugpeddlers in 2017.

Before beginning the ques-tioning of Tollywood person-alities, the ED gathered detailsof the investigations conduct-ed by SIT of excise department.The questioning by the ED has

brought the focus back on thecase, which was in cold storageand was even considered deadby many due to the clean chitgiven by SIT to the film per-sonalities.

Sources said that theTelugu Film directorhas submitted thebank statements ofhis three accountsfrom the last six yearsto the ED, as per theirinstruction. They have ques-tioned him regarding the pur-chase of drugs, money trans-actions with peddlers and oth-ers. The ED has questionedJagannadh for 10 hours from10.30 am to 8.45 pm, with alunch break. They have verifiedthe bank accounts of PuriJagannadh and sought clarityon some transactions from2015 to 2017. As per the

sources, the director hasexplained that some of theamount was transferred fromproducer Bandla Ganesh and

auditor Sridhar.In the afternoon, the

ED has called BandlaGanesh and theauditor Sridhar.They have alsoquestioned them on

the concerned trans-actions.

However, BandlaGanesh denied all the reportsand said, "As Puri was held upfor more time, I came to the EDoffice to know what is going on.Nothing is related to me in thiscase. I didn't get any noticesfrom them." "When the officialshave allowed me inside, whereis the question of inquiring me,"added Ganesh, who workedwith Jagannadh for two films.

Puri Jagannadh appears before ED

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Chatrinaka Police underHyderabad PoliceCommissionerate on Tuesdayarrested two persons forkilling their 33-year-old friendon Sunday. The accused iden-tified as Abboju Ravi and EdlaVenkateswarlu murdered the

victim, Umakanth, on theearly hours of Sunday, becausehe was threatening and intim-idating the accused Ravi wholived alone, demanding moneyfrom him to consume alcohol..

According to the police,the accused as per their planinvited the Umakanth to Ravi'sresidence at Rajiv Gandhi

Nagar in Uppuguda onSaturday night.

In the early hours of Sunday,Ravi stabbed him two times onhis chest, twisted his head andmurdered him while hisaccomplice Venkateswarlu waswaiting outside the house tocheck whether anyone wascoming or not.

Two held for murder of 33-year-old man

PNS n HYDERABAD

Tollywood actor K Nagababuon Tuesday visited the NehruZoological Park here andoffered to donate a pair ofSenegal parrots to the zoo.

He presented a cheque of Rs35,000 towards the purchasecharges to Curator VVLSubhadra Devi, and DeputyCurator, A Nagamani, onbehalf of his sister Vijaya.

Vijaya is mother of SaiDharam Tej and Vaishnav Tej,both young film actors.

Subhadra Devi thankedNagababu for showing keeninterest in improving the ani-mal collection of the zoo andhelping in ex-situ conservation

of wildlife. Noting that hiscommitment in conservationof wild animals will be aninspiration to many, she hopedthat more and more citizenswill come forward to adoptanimals in the NehruZoological Park as he will berole model to his followers.

Nagababu said that his visitto the Nehru Zoological Parkwill be a memorable experi-ence. He noted that the Zoo isblessed with majestic animalsand the care taken by the man-agement is remarkable.

Nagababu, who is brother ofmegastar Chiranjeevi, appre-ciated the Zoo managementand staff for maintaining aclean and green Zoo.

Nagababu offers to donate Senegal parrots to Hyd Zoo

5 women heldfor hittingwoman withsticks, stones HYDERABAD: Five women, whoallegedly beat up a 36-year-oldwoman, an accused in a murdercase, with sticks and stones anddisrobed her at a hamlet inSuryapet District were arrestedon Monday, police said here onTuesday. The woman in acomplaint to police said onAugust 28, 10 people, most ofthem women, trespassed intothe house of her paternal uncleand beat her with sticks andstones, removed her clothes andinsulted her modesty and tookaway some gold ornaments.Based on the complaint a casewas registered under relevantsections of the IPC and fivewomen of the group werearrested, police said.Efforts wereon to nab other accused, whoare absconding. The woman isone of the accused in a murdercase of a man of the hamlet inJune this year and recently cameout from jail on bail, police said,adding the group of people whoassaulted her are relatives of thedeceased. In a relateddevelopment, the TelanganaState Human RightsCommission on its own tookcognisance of media reportsabout the incident and directedpolice to investigate the matter.

nation 05VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 1, 2021

Repeal farm laws, apologise to farmers: Gehlot tells Centre

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday asked the Centre to repeal its three farmlaws and apologise to farmers for the violence against them in Haryana's Karnal. "The man-

ner in which farmers were attacked in Karnal of Haryana is condemnable. With such brutalactions, an atmosphere is being created to instigate farmers across the country," Gehlot tweet-ed. Around 10 people were injured on Saturday as police allegedly lathi-charged a group offarmers disrupting traffic movement on a national highway while heading towards Karnal to

protest against a BJP meeting. Gehlot said HaryanaChief Minister M L Khattar and Deputy Chief MinisterDushyant Chautala are giving statements that do notmake any sense. He said the Haryana governmentofficials are giving instructions for violent actionsagainst farmers and the entire country is condemningthe police lathi-charge at farmers but the Haryanagovernment is taking no action against such officers."The Modi government should not test the farmers'patience and immediately repeal the agricultural lawsand apologise to the farmers," Gehlot said.

Over 64.36 cr Covid vaccine doses provided to states, UTs

Over 64.36 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses have been provided to states and union territoriesso far through the Centre's free of cost channel and the direct state procurement category,

the health ministry said on Tuesday. Further, 14,94,040 doses will be supplied to states andunion territories (UTs), it said. The ministry said that 5,42,30,546 COVID-19 vaccine doses --balance and unutilised -- are still available with states and UTs. The central government iscommitted to accelerating the pace and expanding the scope of COVID-19 vaccination

throughout the country, it said. The inoculation drive has beenramped up through availability of more vaccines, advancevisibility of vaccine availability to states and UTs for enablingbetter planning by them and streamlining the vaccine supplychain, the ministry said. It said that as part of the nationwidevaccination drive, the government has been supporting statesand UTs by providing them COVID-19 vaccines free of cost.Under the universalisation of the COVID-19 vaccination drive,the central government procures and supplies free of cost 75per cent of the vaccines being produced by vaccinemanufacturers in the country to states and UTs.

The Ayush Ministry has developed a yoga protocol that can integrate seamlessly withwork routine and help professionals de-stress and refocus. The five-minute protocol

encompassing asanas, pranayama and dhyana will be available through an app, which will belaunched by Ayush Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Wednesday. The yoga protocol can inte-grate with work routine seamlessly and effortlessly and help professionals refresh, de-stressand refocus, a ministry official said. "The protocol has been prepared on the basis of a deep andevaluative research and several studies.... Several yoga experts and researchers have effectivelyused modern technology to bring yoga to corporate employees...and within five minutes, one

can have the benefit of many years," the official said. TheMorarji Desai National Institute of Yoga (MDNIY), anautonomous body under the Ayush Ministry, and severalother reputed institutes such as Krishnamacharya YogaMandiram-Chennai, Ramakrishna Mission VivekanandaEducational and Research Institute-Belur Math, NIMHANS-Bengaluru and the Kaivalyadhama Health and YogaResearch Centre-Lonavla have played a prominent role indeveloping this app, called 'Y-Break'.

PNS n NEW DELHI

In a setback to SupertechLimited, the Supreme Courton Tuesday directed demoli-tion of twin 40-storey towersof the realty major's EmeraldCourt project in Noida for vio-lation of building by-laws "incollusion" with the authorityofficials.

Both the towers - Apex andCeyane-were under construc-tion when the Allahabad HighCourt had ordered theirdemolition. After SupertechLimited approached the apexcourt against the High Courtorder, a status quo wasordered.

The top court said the caserecord is replete withinstances, which highlight thecollusion between officers ofNoida with Supertech Limitedand its management andinvolvement of the planningauthority with the developer inviolation of laws.

The apex court directedthat the entire amount ofhome buyers be refunded with12 per cent interest from thetime of the booking and theResidents Welfare Associationbe paid Rs 2 crore for the harassmentcaused due to the constructionof the twin towers.

A bench of Justices

DY Chandrachud and MRShah said the April 11, 2014High Court verdict, whichdirected demolition of the twintowers, does not deserve anyinterference. It said the con-struction of Supertech's twin40 storey towers having 915flats and shops was done in col-lusion with Noida authorityand the High Court was cor-rect in holding that view.

The bench said that demo-lition exercise of the twin tow-ers be carried out within threemonths under the supervisionof Noida and an expert agencyand the cost of the entire exer-cise has to be borne bySupertech Limited.

The top court said thatrecently it has seen rampantunauthorised construction inmetropolitan areas in collusion

with planning authorities andit has to be dealt with sternly.

The top court said the com-plicity of Noida is revealedfrom the following -- the sanc-tioning of second revised planof the project on November 26,2009 in clear breach of buildingregulations, the refusal of Noidato disclose the plan to theResident Welfare Association,Noida writing to the Supertechseeking permission to sharethe sanctioned plan with RWAand on refusal by the builder,declining to share the plan.

It said that when the ChiefFire Officer wrote to Noidaabout violation of minimum dis-tance requirement in betweenthe two towers, no action wastaken by the planning authori-ties. The High Court had dealtwith the collusion of Noidawith the builder, which emergedwrit large from facts before thecourt, the bench said, addingthat it had correctly came to theconclusion that there was collu-sion between the planningauthority and the developer.

“The rampant increase inunauthorised constructionsacross urban areas, particularlyin metropolitan cities has beennoticed in several decisions ofthis court and this takes place incollusion between planningauthorities and the developers,”the bench said.

SC orders demolition of 40-storeytwin towers for violation of laws

HC to hear plea on appointment of Asthana as Delhi Police Chief PNS n NEW DELHI

The Delhi High Court Tuesdaysaid it will hear on Wednesdaya petition challenging theappointment of Gujarat-cadreIPS officer Rakesh Asthana asDelhi Police Commissionerand an intervention applicationfiled in the matter by an NGO.

“We are keeping the mattertomorrow. Intervention appli-cation (by the NGO) will belisted tomorrow along withthe writ petition,” said a benchof Chief Justice DN Patel andJustice Jyoti Singh.

On August 25, the SupremeCourt had asked the high courtto decide within two weeks theplea pending before it againstthe appointment of senior IPSofficer as Delhi PoliceCommissioner.

The apex court had then alsopermitted NGO, 'Centre forPublic Interest Litigation'(CPIL) -– which has chal-lenged the appointment beforethe Supreme Court, to movethe high court to intervene inthe pending plea by one SadreAlam.

Appearing for the NGO,advocate Prashant Bhushanargued that the petition beforethe high court was a “copy-paste” of CPIL's plea before theSupreme Court.

“We have filed an interven-tion on behalf of CPIL.Something extraordinary hashappened in the matter. The

petition is a total copy-paste.Full stop, comma, exclamationmark. The court may list ittomorrow or whenever. See thekind of abuse of process of lawthat is done,” Bhushan stated.

He informed the court thatNGO's challenge to Asthana'sappointment was adjournedby the Supreme Court on thelast occasion and that he doesnot intend to "file anotherpetition here".

In the intervention applica-tion, the NGO has contendedthat filing an identical writ peti-tion without mentioning thependency of the issue beforethe apex court seems to havebeen filed to “defeat publicinterest by scuttling the gen-uine, bona fide and well-researched and deliberated PIL(pending before SupremeCourt)”.

Alam stated that his petitionwas an outcome of his hard

work. Additional SolicitorGeneral Chetan Sharma saidthat the peresent instance wasa “case of competitive PIL”.

The 1984-batch IPS officer,serving as the director gener-al of Border Security Force,was appointed Delhi PoliceCommissioner on July 27, fourdays before his superannuationon July 31.

In his petition before thehigh court, Alam has soughtquashing of the July 27 orderissued by the Ministry ofHome Affairs appointingAsthana as the Delhi PoliceCommissioner and also theorder granting inter-cadre dep-utation and extension of ser-vice to him.

The plea, filed throughadvocate B S Bagga, alsosought initiation of steps forappointing Delhi PoliceCommissioner strictly inaccordance with the directionissued by the Supreme Courtearlier.

“The impugned orders (ofMHA) are in clear and blatantbreach of the directions passedby the Supreme Court of Indiain Prakash Singh case as (i)respondent no.2 (Asthana) didnot have a minimum residualtenure of six months; (ii) noUPSC panel was formed forappointment of Delhi PoliceCommissioner; and (iii) thecriteria of having a minimumtenure of two years has beenignored,” the plea said.

PNS n LUCKNOW

Uttar Pradesh Chief MinisterYogi Adityanath on Tuesdayalleged that a big riot tookplace almost every third dayunder the previous regime,hindering the state's develop-ment and pushing it back-wards.

The UP CM further accusedthe previous governments oflack of vision for progress andfailing to provide the commonman a platform for businessand employment.

Between 2003 and 2107, nofestival was held peacefully,lacking security from the gov-ernment, he claimed.

“UP was hit by anarchy,hooliganism and mismanage-ment. An identity crisis rosebefore the youth of the state,"the CM said addressing anevent organised to launch

developmental projects here. "In UP, from 2012-17, there

was on an average a big riotevery third day. People of notonly one side died but loss oflife and money was faced byboth sides. Ultimately, it was anational loss, which pushed thestate backwards and hindered

its development," he said with-out mentioning the name ofthe Samajwadi Party that ruledUP for the five years.

Adityanath also claimed thatthe state has improved in easeof doing business, jumpingfrom the 14th place in the pre-vious government to the sec-

ond spot under the BJP rule. The state is now among the

top three choices for foreigninvestors when it comes toinvesting in the country, heclaimed.

In coronavirus period, whenChina was losing on invest-ments, Rs 66,000 crore wasinvested in the state, he said,claiming that the economy ofUP is headed for becomingnumber two in the country.

The work on infrastructuredevelopment, including inter-state connectivity from Nepal,Bihar, Uttrakahand, MP,Chhattisgarh and Delhi, hasbeen initiated, he said.

“We are constructing a net-work of expressways that willbecome a backbone of thestate's economy," he said.

"We will fufil the dream ofmaking the state a trillion dol-lar economy," he added.

Riot took place almost every third dayin previous regime, claims Adityanath

PNS n BENGALURU

Seven people, including a TamilNadu DMK MLA's son, werekilled when the high end SUVthey were travelling in crashedinto a boundary wall and turnedturtle at Koramangala here earlyon Tuesday. "The accidentoccurred at about 2 am. Sevenpeople, including three women,were killed," DeputyCommissioner of Police ofBengaluru East Division (Traffic)K M Shantharaju told PTI. Policesources confirmed that HosurMLA Y Prakaash's only son YKarunaa Sagar died. Tamil NaduChief Minister and DMK presidentM K Stalin condoled the death ofhis party legislator's son in themishap. He expressed shock andanguish over the incident. "I don'tknow how to console Prakaash,

who has lost his dear son," Stalinsaid in a statement in Chennai.He extended his sympathies tothe family and friends of thedeceased. The DCP said thespeeding car ran over the foot-path and crashed into a boundarywall before it turned turtle. Sixpeople died on the spot, whileone succumbed to injuries on theway to hospital, sources added.The high-end SUV was allegedlydriven in a reckless manner, theysaid, adding that CCTV footage

showed the vehicle going at greatspeed moments before crashing.The impact of the crash was suchthat the front portion of the SUVwas completely mangled, theysaid. The DCP said an investiga-tion was on to ascertain whetherit was a case of drunken driving.Soon after getting information,the relatives of the deceasedrushed to the spot.The MLA wasin Chennai when he learnt aboutthe accident and left for Hosur,some 40 km from here, inKrishnagiri district. His elderbrother Chandrappa came to theSt John's Hospital here to receivethe body after the post-mortem."A big tragedy has befallen us. Iam not in a position to say any-thing," he told reporters. Awoman, who too died in the acci-dent, was reportedly pursuing amedical course in the UK.

TN DMK MLA's son among 7 killed in car mishap in B’luru

PNS n JAIPUR

Twelve pilgrims were killed andsix others injured in a collisionbetween a multi utility vehicleand a truck in Rajasthan's Nagaurdistrict on Tuesday, police said.

The accident occurred nearthe Shri Balaji temple on theBikaner-Jodhpur Highway, theysaid, adding eight women andtwo minors were among thosekilled.

The victims, who hailed fromMadhya Pradesh's Ujjain district,were returning home after offer-ing prayers at Ramdevra andKarni Mata temples.

Additional SP Rajesh Meenasaid prima facie, over speedingappears to be the cause of theaccident.

“The accident occurred at 7am. Eight persons were killed onthe spot and four succumbed toinjuries during treatment," hesaid, adding, the "passenger vehi-cle crashed into the truck in thehead on collision".

The official said pilgrims fromMadhya Pradesh were travel-ling in two vehicles and had halt-ed at a roadside restaurant for tea.

“After the brief halt at therestaurant, both the vehiclesstarted their onward journey.One of them went ahead whilethe other one, which met with theaccident, was behind and the dri-ver increased speed. Soon afterthat, the incident occurred,” hesaid.

Hearing the sound of the col-lision, the villagers rushed to the

site and rescued the passengers. SHO, Shri Balaji police station,

Lalchand Meena, said the namesand other details of the deceasedwere being ascertained. Prime Minister Narendra Modi,Rajasthan Governor KalrajMishra, Rajasthan Chief MinisterAshok Gehlot, Madhya PradeshChief Minister Shivraj SinghChouhan, Congress leaderSachin Pilot, Nagaur MPHanuman Beniwal, BJP statepresident Satish Poonia and otherleaders expressed grief over theaccident.

The prime minister hasapproved an ex-gratia of Rs. 2lakh each from the PrimeMinister's National Relief Fund(PMNRF) for the next of kin ofthose who lost their lives in theaccident.

“I express my condolences tothe families of all those who havelost their lives in this accident.Also I wish the injured a speedyrecovery: PM,” the PMO tweet-ed.

“The Prime Minister hasapproved an ex-gratia of Rs. 2lakh each from PMNRF for thenext of kin of those who lost theirlives due to the accident atNagaur, Rajasthan. The injuredwould be given Rs. 50,000,” thePMO said in another tweet.

In a tweet, Gehlot said, "Mycondolences to the bereavedfamily, may God give themstrength in this difficult time andmay the soul of the departed restin peace. Praying for speedyrecovery of the injured".

Road accident in Nagaur leaves 12 dead

Rijiju congratulatesnewly-appointedSC judgesPNS n NEW DELHI

Minister for Law Kiren Rijijuon Tuesday congratulated thenewly-appointed judges of theSupreme Court, saying it is ahistoric moment for genderrepresentation as three womentook oath as judges of theapex court. Earlier, history wascreated in the Supreme Courtas for the first time nine newjudges took oath of office at onego, taking the working strengthto 33.

The new judges who wereadministered oath of office asapex court judges includeJustices Abhay ShreeniwasOka, Vikram Nath, JitendraKumar Maheshwari, HimaKohli and BV Nagarathna."Congratulations to the ninenewly appointed SupremeCourt Judges. It's also a historicmoment as three women tookoath as judges,” Rijiju wrote onTwitter.

NC will win nextAssembly polls inJ&K, says FarooqPNS n SRINAGAR

National Conference presi-dent Farooq AbdullahTuesday asserted his partywill win the next assemblyelections in Jammu andKashmir, indicating for thefirst time since the abrogationof Article 370 that his partywould participate in the polls.

"We will win and I amtelling you this with authori-ty that if they conduct polls ina free and fair manner, thenthe National Conference willbe the biggest party here," hetold reporters on the sidelinesof an event tit led'Parliamentary outreach pro-gramme for the empower-ment Panchayati Raj institu-tions in Jammu and Kashmir'.

The National Conference(NC) chief, who represents theSrinagar parliamentary con-stituency, however, regrettedhis party's non-participationin the 2018 panchayat pollsand the 2019 BlockDevelopment Council elec-tions.

"Our party did not contestthe polls and I regret it. Weshould have (contested) andwe will in the future God will-ing," the veteran politiciansaid. Advising sarpanchesand panches, with Lok SabhaSpeaker Om Birla and LtGovernor Manoj Sinha alsopresent on the dais, Abdullahasked them to remain intouch with people and listento their problems, and notbehave like bureaucrats who,he said, do not come to therescue of people.

Expressing anguish overgovernment officials of theJammu and Kashmir admin-istration not responding tophone calls of people,Abdullah requested Sinha toinstruct them to answer calls.

"I have this complaint withthe government officials thatthey do not pick up their

phones as if some ghost ishanging upon them," he said.

Abdullah said he picks upanybody's call because as adoctor he feels that the callermay be in some kind of dis-tress. "I do not ask him whichreligion or party he belongsto. I think of him as a humanin whose heart God resides,"he said.

Abdullah added soon agovernment will be formed inJ&K which will make theofficers accountable. Lateron, talking to the reporters,he said the bureaucrats wouldbe held accountable.

"They will be accountabletomorrow for what they havedone. Today, they think ofthemselves as kings, but theyare not kings, they are theservants of people who haveto work for the people," hesaid.

Abdullah said hepicks upanybody's callbecause as adoctor he feelsthat the callermay be in somekind of distress."I do not askhim whichreligion or partyhe belongs to”

Ayush Ministry prepares 5-minuteyoga protocol for professionals IN

DIA

CORNER

PNS n NEW DELHI

Realty firm Supertech Ltd onTuesday said it wil l file a reviewpetition against the SupremeCourt order to demolish the com-pany's twin 40-storey towers inNoida for violation of building by-laws. Supertech ManagingDirector Mohit Arora said thecompany will file a review petitionin the Supreme Court. The twin40-storey towers are part of thecompany's Emerald Court project,which is located in Noida, UttarPradesh. On Tuesday, the apexcourt also said that the entireamount of home buyers berefunded with 12 per cent interestfrom the time of the booking andthe Residents Welfare Associationbe paid Rs 2 crore for the harass-ment caused due to the construc-tion of the twin towers. A bench ofJustices D Y Chandrachud and MR Shah said the April 11, 2014verdict of the Allahabad highcourt, which directed demolitionof twin towers, does not deserveany interference.

Supertech tofile reviewpetition againstSC order

The Indian polity has notmitigated the caste system. Ithas politicised castes and viceversa. For their number, allpolitical parties seek their votebut none their hearts. TheCongress wooed them with acarrot but the condition ofDalits did not improve. Nowthe BJP is doing what wasn’ttried before — tame themwith a stick. The quantum ofDalit atrocities is a shocker.There were around 46,000crimes against SCs in 2019.While Uttar Pradesh had thehighest number of such cases,Rajasthan had the highest rateof crimes against Dalits.

The story is the samealmost everywhere. The homeof a Dalit couple was attackedby a mob in Gujarat. A manhad put up a Facebook postsaying the Government doesnot permit the village templefor Dalit weddings. Equality invoting rights is yet to perco-late to the social realm andreflect in parity.

The BJP has tried to playon symbolism — a post here,a sop there, a change of namesomewhere. All this whileinstilling a sense of insecurityin them and creating a fear psy-chosis to mop them up. Theyhave been pretty successful.The BJP won 46 of 84 reservedseats for the SCs in 2019. But

this number did not makeSCs secure by any chance.

There have been manytriggers for Dalit atrocities,ranging from absurd to bizarre;a procession, a bridegroomriding a horse, or even a bark-ing dog! The latest one is cowsafety. Mohan Bhagwat’s con-tention that the RSS has noth-ing to do with lynch attacks,and contrarily it prevents themis far from the truth. Lynchingsare not spontaneous. Therehas not been a single incidentin which RSS members tried toprevent it. The vigilantes makeno bones about being Hinduhardliners; rather they flaunt it.It is a badge they proudly wear.It is impossible to establish theRSS affiliation of cow vigilantesso it is difficult to nail the lie.Nathuram Godse was not a for-mal member of the RSS whenhe shot Mahatma Gandhi.

The 200 million Dalitsconstitute a strong politicalforce. But that can happenwhen Dalits vote en bloc.Mayawati achieved this tobecome the CM. That markedthe turning point. In Sanskrit,Dalit means lowest. Dalit havechosen this nomenclature overMahatma Gandhi’s ‘Harijan’ toconnote rebellion. Dalit politicshas emboldened them. Youmay criticise Mayawati for herlove for statues but a Dalit now

has a leader who is larger thanlife. The big sandstone statuesare a massive upgrade from theAmbedkar statues in Dalitcolonies.

Before Mayawati,Ambedkar, Jagjivan Ram andKanshi Ram set the stage forDalit emancipation. Theyinstilled a sense of dignity inDalits. With that springs outwill to fight and claim a right-ful place in the society. Now themovement has reached a cross-roads. Though the vote bank ofMayawati’s BSP in UP remainsintact, her charisma is waning.

Even the vote bank may begone sooner than later. In2019, the BJP won 15 of the 17reserved seats for the SCs.Corruption charges, quirkylifestyle and personality draw-backs could be her undoing. Ithas led Dalit voters to look else-where. Would it be the dynam-ic young ChandrashekharAzad Ravan, or someone else?For that, we need to wait till theUP elections. Chandrshekahr’sBhim Army may not be fight-ing it but would be playing therole of an ‘influencer’, in thenew lingo, something agingMayawati should be waryabout!

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

LETTERS FROM PRISONSSir — Literature written in prisonsoccupies a special place in Indian histo-ry. Some of the most compelling writingsof Indian leaders, especially during thepre-Independence era, came from theirexperiences in prison. Leaders and free-dom fighters like Mahatma Gandhi,Jawaharlal Nehru and Bhagat Singhconveyed their messages through letterswritten in the confines of prison walls.Mahatma Gandhi’s ‘My Experimentswith Truth’ and Jawaharlal Nehru’s ‘TheDiscovery of India’ were part of a glori-ous prison-literature tradition.

Jawaharlal Nehru’s letters which hewrote to Indira from the Naini jail dur-ing the freedom struggle were probablythe best words of advice a father could giveto his daughter. Similarly, letters writtenby Bhagat Singh became part of thenational folklore because they were jot-ted on foolscap sheets and were publishedas The Jail Notebook, running into around400 pages. Mahatma Gandhi was sen-tenced to a six-year jail term on chargesof sedition and he wrote the first part ofhis autobiography — The Story of MyExperiments with Truth in prison only.The writings of these leaders boosted themorale of freedom fighters and added fuelto the freedom struggle and are an inspi-ration to many even today.

Ranganathan Sivakumar | Cuttack

HERE GOES THE KABUL AIRPORTSir — The United States completed itstroops’ withdrawal from Afghanistan,ending its longest war and closing a sadtwo-decade long chapter in its militaryhistory. The Afghan war is likely to beremembered for US’s colossal failures,unfulfilled promises and a frantic finalexit. The last US Air Force evacuationflight from Kabul airport on August 30marked the end of a frantic effort to getthe Americans evacuated. In these twodecades, more than 2,400 US soldiers andofficials lost their lives and over $3 tril-lion dollars were spent.

Kenneth McKenzie, Commander ofUS Central Command, said that the US

believes it was able to evacuate the "vastmajority" of Americans in Afghanistanwho wanted to leave and is aware thatsome Americans could still be strandedthere. Earlier this month, President JoeBiden had pledged that the US wouldremain in Afghanistan until it extracts allits citizens. With this, the Kabul airporthas been taken over by the Taliban andthey opened celebratory gunfire at the air-port on Monday and said, “After twodecades, we have defeated the Americans”.

Bhagwan Thadani | Mumbai

HOW REFRIGERATORS WARM THE EARTHSir — The Central Government must becommended for making a momentousdecision to ratify the amendment to theMontreal accord on phasing out ozone-depleting and environmentally harmfulsubstances used in the refrigerationindustry. The decision was made at anappropriate time as the United Nations26th summit (COP26) on climate changeis scheduled to be held in November atGlasgow (UK). This move is significant

because it complies with the assurancegiven by India to the UK, the host of theCOP26, to play a significant role in theforthcoming meet.

India has adopted the amendmentcalled for gradual elimination of theharmful chemicals used as coolingagents. They belong to the category ofhydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) that causedepletion of the ozone layer that protectsthe earth from the harmful UV radia-tions. All these chemicals need to bereplaced with safer substances. India hasadopted a national strategy of a four-phased cutback schedule. It is expectedthat the next generation of refrigerationtechnology would involve the use of saferchemicals like hydrofluoroolefins(HFOs). However, the energy efficien-cy of the refrigerants needs to beimproved to reduce operational cost andmake them environment-friendly.

Venu GS | Kollam

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The Constitution, tall leaders and decades past Independence, thenation still looks at the Dalit population as its second-rung citizens

LYNCHINGS ARE NOT

SPONTANEOUS.THERE HAS NOTBEEN A SINGLE

INCIDENT IN WHICHTHE RSS MEMBERSTRIED TO PREVENTIT. THE VIGILANTES

MAKE NO BONES ABOUTBEING HINDUHARDLINERS;RATHER THEY

FLAUNT IT. IT IS ABADGE THEY

PROUDLY WEAR

LETTERS TO TTHE EDITOR

GYANESHWAR DAYAL

The Jallianwala Bagh monument was firstopened in April 1961 by the thenPresident Dr Rajendra Prasad as a

grateful nation’s tribute to the victims of theJallianwala Bagh massacre. The massacreled to the death of 488 civilians when ColReginald Edward Harry Dye ordered histroops to open fire on an unarmed crowdon April 13, 1919. Just 60 years after it wasopened, the Narendra Modi government has

hurt the sentiments of millions by trying toglorify it by putting a sound and light showon the scene which appears like a fancymusic show.

The renovation has tampered many ofits historical elements. For example, thefamous ‘Shahidi Khu’ or Martyrs Well, intowhich people jumped to escape the hail ofbullets, is now enclosed in a glass shield.The original entrance of the Jallianwala Bagh,from where General Dyer entered beforeordering the massacre, has now been ren-ovated with various Krishnanagar murals inthe name of preservation. It appears that theGovernment has forgotten that JallianwalaBagh isn’t a place of celebration, but a placeof mourning and of deep, abiding grief. Theattempt to create it a tourist place at the costof tampering its essence is a baffling attemptto snazz up a very sombre and moving placeof memory.

Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee | Faridabad

Homage or mockery?

Being born a Dalit is crime in India?

After India lost a hockeymatch in TokyoOlympics and her fam-ily faced a casteist slur,

Vandana tweeted: “I am Dalit.Because of the Buddha’s enlight-enment, Ambedkar’s immortali-ty, Kanshi Ram’s mettle, theessence of humaneness runsthrough me.”

You got to be a Dalit to knowthat there is no guarantee that youwould not be targeted for yourcaste even if you excel. While thenation heartily celebrated the‘Chak de’ moment for Indianwomen’s achievement, the neigh-bours of Vandana Kataria werebusy castigating her. They abusedand accused her for the defeat.

Don’t waste your time reiter-ating that our Constitution guar-antees equality. We have the mostadvanced system of jurispru-dence, thanks to Ambedkar andother luminaries of theConstituent Assembly. Its imple-mentation is a different matter,though. The mindset hasn’tchanged with the Constitution.

The National Crime RecordBureau data since 2016 shows thatcrimes against Dalits haveincreased 25 per cent. Atrocitiesand discrimination against themare rampant. It happens at all lev-els, under the very nose of thegovernments which are supposedto be the custodian of theConstitution. Dalits were turnedaway from a Government shelterwhen they took refuge fromcyclone Fani in Eastern India.

It is still Manu Smriti beingenacted, like it or not. Recently ahorrific incident took place in theCapital when two daughters wereraped in front of the haplessmother and made to drink pes-ticide. One girl died, the other bat-tles for life. Not that it happens toonly the Dalits but, let’s face it,Dalits are soft targets.

The police, the politics, thejudiciary and the society are stillheavily loaded against them.Getting justice is cumbersomeeven for those high on the socialhierarchy. It is difficult for thepoor and next to impossible forthe poor Dalit. The NCRB datashows that the conviction rate inoffenses under the SC/STAtrocities Act was 32 per cent.The rate of pending cases was awhopping 94 per cent.

SOUNDBITEIf Nitish Kumar is dreaming aboutthe post of PrimeMinister, he shouldleave the NDA andchallenge Narendra Modi.

Bihar Congress chief — Madan Mohan Jha

I'm here toannounce the completion of ourwithdrawal fromAfghanistan and

the end of the mission to evacuate Americans...and vulnerable Afghans.

Commander US CENTCOM— Kenneth McKenzie

Babur was a verycomplex and chal-lenging character andit was very interest-ing to explore the dif-ferent layers of his personality.

Actor— Kunal Kapoor

There will be nothreat to Kannada or any other regionallanguage with theimplementation of NEP.

Karnataka Education Minister— CN Ashwath Narayana

I wanted to hit the70-metre mark butit didn't happen. It'sokay, I am happy thatI broke the world

record thrice on my way to gold.

Para javelin thrower

— Sumit Antil

Water, water, every where / Nor any drop to drink” would sum up the first 100days of the Pinarayi Vijayan Government. The CPI(M)-led LDF was voted backto power with an enhanced majority in April 2021. Vijayan and his team were

sworn in on May 20 amid big festivities because it was the first time in the last fourdecades a ruling front was returned to power and, that too, with increased vote share

and seats. But the first 100 days of the second term,usually described as the “honeymoon phase” of theadministration, was not smooth for Vijayan and hiscomrades. Controversies were haunting theGovernment from day one. The State was in a lock-down mode because of unabated hike in COVID-19cases when the Government assumed office. Sincethen, the number of cases is on an upswing with theState contributing more than 50 per cent of the nation-al tally. Even at this time, the Government doctors arestaging a protest to highlight their grievances whichshould be addressed without delay. There is a short-

age of 1,000 doctors in Government hospitals to attend to COVID cases.The exodus of entrepreneurs is a serious issue. An industrial group employing more

than 12,000 workers was forced to pull down shutters. This happens at a time whenthe employment exchanges in Kerala have a backlog of 45 lakh educated unemployed.This Government’s second term began on a sour note as hundreds of unemployedyouth who have been listed in the rank lists of Public Service Commission took to thestreets demanding they be appointed at the earliest lest the lists lose validity. But themost embarrassing issues haunting the Government in days to come would be thescams associated with cooperative banks and the massive deforestation that happenedduring the final stages of the previous administration. According to bank auditors, thesector has been drained off `75,000 crore with political patronage. Environmentalistsallege that exquisite and rare trees worth `1 lakh crore have been smuggled out ofreserve forests during the LDF rule. There were some controversies from which theGovernment could have stayed off. The move to withdraw the case against MLAs forthe indecent behaviour in 2015 and the Chief Minister’s attempt to whitewash the MappilaRebellion of 1921 could be described at the best as self-goals.

The country is being pulled in as many directions as there are authorities andagencies involved in managing the COVID-19 situation. Individually, they all makesense but collectively they are mind-boggling. Here are some developments in

the last one week. The first is a laudable achievement by Himachal Pradesh whichbecame the first State in India to give the first dose of the pandemic vaccine to 100per cent of its adult population. What is more, the State claims it is well on its wayto giving the second jab to the same population by November-end. The second oneis also a record achievement: One crore doses in the country in a day on August27. Then comes the decision by some States that schools will reopen on September1. The Telangana High Court, however, puts a stay on the Government order.Maharashtra is yet to formalise the ban on public gatherings during Ganesh Puja.

Andhra Pradesh and Mizoram join Kerala in regis-tering a spurt, even though small, in fresh cases.And Karnataka mandates a seven-day quarantinefor people coming in from Kerala. Amid this hus-tle and bustle, the Union Government is determinedto complete the task of giving the first dose to theadult population in the country by the end of October.A dozen States, which are in the lead in adminis-tering doses, expect to complete the first dose taskby September end.

So much is happening on the reopening andvaccination front but it is yet to gel into a seam-

less national initiative. The States and the Centre, however, appear to be on the samepage about the risk of the forthcoming festival season becoming a superspreader,ringing in the third wave of the pandemic. The helplessness in making people fol-low the safety protocols shows in the urgency to see that as many people as pos-sible get the first dose before festival time. The other worry for the Government isthat even if vaccine supplies are aplenty, it is difficult to speed up the process ofgiving the second dose to the population because Covishield that accounts for over80 per cent of the jabs to date has a long gap of 12 weeks or 84 days betweendoses. The Government is not considering reducing this gap. On the other hand,the Government can focus on completing the task of giving the second dose ofCovaxin, which has a relatively smaller gap, at a faster pace. The decision of theGovernment to extend the restriction on foreign air travel till September end is wel-come, considering a wave-like rise in new COVID-19 cases in the United Statesand Europe. The World Health Organisation has already warned of a high rate ofdeaths by December if people refuse to get vaccinated or continue to defy safetyprotocols. India is relatively in a safer situation and a seamless Centre-States coor-dination is necessary to keep it that way.

Laser view

God’s own?The Kerala Govt would do well to address

certain pressing issues, and not add any more

PICTALK

A boy works with a sledge hammer as labourers seek respite in the noon, in Delhi Neeraj KKumar/Pioneer

What India needs is a concerted vaccinationcampaign in its fight against COVID-19

Self-reliance in gas is the way forward

FARMERS OF YOUR OWN STATE ARE ANGRY

WITH YOU FOR YOUR PARTY'S STUBBORN

REFUSAL TO REPEAL THE FARM LAWS.

— PUNJAB CHIEF MINISTER

CAPT AMARINDER SINGH

YOU CAN COUNT THE PEOPLE SITTING ON DELHI'S

BORDERS. THEY ARE MOSTLY FROM PUNJAB, NOT FROM

HARYANA. FARMERS OF HARYANA ARE SATISFIED.

— HARYANA CHIEF MINISTER

MANOHAR LAL KHATTAR

Delivering the 75th IndependenceDay address, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi set the countrya targetto achieve self-reliance in

energy production through a mix of elec-tric mobility, gas-based economy andmaking the country a hub for hydrogenproduction by 2047.

Electric mobility and hydrogen arefuturistic areas. Aboutgas-based economy,pursuit of this goalwill involve increase ingas consumption to meet additional ener-gy needs for sustaining high growth andreplacing polluting fuels such as coal. Thiscould result in increased dependence ongas import which is already high at 50 percent.So, there is need for a massive pushto domestic production of gas.

India has 26 sedimentary basins (SBs)covering an area of 3.14 million squarekilometres. Only six of these are undercommercial exploitation but are sub-opti-mally utilized.

An overwhelming share of throughputcomes from fields discovered over fourdecades ago in the 1970s, namely BombayHigh and the South Bassein fields and soon, with no major discoveries in recenttimes. The only exception wasthe find inthe Krishna Godavari (KG) basin in early2000s, touted as ones that would contributenearly 50 per cent of the country’s total gasproduction. Even that turned out to be adamp squib with the high-profile KG-D6operated by Reliance Industries Limited(RIL) ending up with meager reserves ofabout two trillion cubic feet (Tcf) againstan initial estimate of 10 Tcf.The currentproduction is 28.6 billion cubic metres(BCM) (2020-21).

While two-thirds of this is contributedby State-owned Oil and Natural GasCorporation (ONGC) and Oil India Ltd(OIL) from blocks or areas given to themon ‘nomination’ basis,the remaining one-thirdcomes from blocks given under theNew Exploration and Licensing Policy orNELP (the policy was launched in 1999;since then, nine bidding rounds have beenheld to assign blocks) and pre-NELPblocksgiven to private entities before 1999.

The production sharing contracts(PSCs) under NELP offered lucrativeterms including among others allowingoperators to fully recover the cost incurredinexploration and development of the fieldbefore they start sharing profits with theUnion Government. Yet, global firmsdidnot come forward and Indian privatefirms such as RIL who came in have notdelivered. The domestic gas productiondeclined from a high of about 52 BCMduring 2010-11 to 28.6 BCM during2020-21 (the reduction was mainly due toKG-D6 exhausting almost all of its reserveswithin 5 years of starting production in2009-10).

In March 2016, the Modi Governmentgavea special package for deep/ultra-deepand high-pressure/high-temperature(D/UD/HP/HT) fields (KG-D6 and neigh-boring KG-DWN-98/2 operated by

The objective of gas-based economy is laudable but the existing regime ofgas allocation and administered prices has to be dismantled first

THE GOVERNMENTSHOULD GO FOR

MAJOR REFORMSBY DISMANTLING

THE EXISTINGREGIME OF GAS

ALLOCATION ANDADMINISTERED

PRICES. THESUPPLIERS

SHOULD BE FREETO DECIDE THEIRMARKETING AND

PRICINGSTRATEGIES. GASIMPORT SHOULD

BE DEREGULATED &INFRASTRUCTUREFOR HANDLING &

TRANSPORTATIONHIVED OFF FROM

PSUS SUCH ASGAIL AND

VESTED IN ANINDEPENDENT

ENTITY

The footage of a giant USAF transport taking off from Kabul air-port with desperate Afghans clinging to its fuselage - and thendropping off - will find a place alongside the iconic shot of

Americans queueing for the last helicopter on the roof of the USembassy in Saigon in 1975. Humiliation can be very painful, andAmericans who are aware of foreign events will be feeling very hurtat the moment. It is rarely fatal even for individuals, however, andalmost never for countries. They should take solace from Adam Smith’sremark on the occasion of another military debacle. The economistwas replying to a friend who feared that the British defeat in the Battleof Saratoga in 1777 — the decisive turning point in the AmericanRevolutionary War — meant that Britain was ruined. Smith told him:“There is a great deal of ruin in a nation.” He was right, of course.What really lay ahead for Britain was a century and a half as the world’sgreatest empire and its dominant economic power. There is certain-

ly no guarantee that a similar future awaits the United States, but his-tory is capricious and almost all outcomes are imaginable - so panicand despair are inappropriate responses. The Afghanistan war wasa huge and long-lasting US mistake, but America’s humiliation theredoes not significantly diminish the country’s economic, military andstrategic advantages. The problem that has led to repeated US mil-itary fiascos like Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, in the view of DrGeorge Friedman, founder of Stratfor and later of ‘Geopolitical Futures’,is that the United States has become addicted to what he calls ‘non-strategic wars’. Or ‘wars of choice’, in the common usage.

The first use of that phrase was by Israel’s then prime minister,Menachem Begin, about the invasion of Lebanon in 1982. I was inIsrael for that war, and Begin sounded proud, almost arrogant, ashe contrasted it with the wars of 'no alternative’ (1948, 1973) whenIsrael fought to defend its vital interests or its very existence. His arro-gance came from the fact that by the 1980s Israel was the MiddleEast’s dwarf superpower, no longer seriously vulnerable to attackand free to make punitive attacks on its neighbours whenever it feltlike it. There were dead Syrian tanks all over the Beka’a valley buthardly any Israeli ones, and the kill ratio in the air was 86-0 for theIsraelis. The United States is still cautious when there is a risk ofwar with another great power. However, it has been so dominant mil-itarily for so long that wars with lesser powers are seen as an optionto be exercised or not according to the political fashion or even themoral mood of the moment. Hence Vietnam (anti-Communist para-noia and the ‘domino theory’); Grenada and Panama (old-fashionedimperialism); Serbia and Kosovo (moral mood); Afghanistan (panicabout terrorism plus moral mood); and Iraq (broad-spectrum igno-rance). Plus a dozen lesser military interventions from the Bay ofPigs to Libya. The United States has fallen into the habit of fritteringits strength away in non-strategic wars against countries that do notreally threaten it. This ultimately undermines American power, andin the country’s own interest it should change its ways. The humil-iation in Afghanistan is a chance for Americans to reconsider theircountry’s behaviour. As Rudyard Kipling wrote at the end of the sec-ond Boer War in 1901, “We have had no end of a lesson: it will dous no end of good.” Of course, the British didn’t really change theirways. Old habits die hard.

(Gwynne Dyer's new book is ‘The Shortest History of War’. Theviews expressed are personal.)

In the world we live in,intelligence is measured inmultiple metrics.

Competence, quality, efficien-cy and result orientation aresome essential outcomes ofintelligence. I strongly believe‘active-learning’ is at the core ofall competencies that oneacquires across many phases inlife. I hence propose that‘Receptive Intelligence’ is thecritical factor for all active-learning in human beings.

The natural or nurturedcapability of an individual toacutely focus on receptionfrom one’s immediate andremote environment, can-celling out all interference is‘Active Reception’. All knowl-edge compounded as intelli-gence acquired through thismethod is ‘ReceptiveIntelligence’.

The human species is theonly one to evolve rapidly intoa ‘thinking’ species from a‘feeling’ species. Being on topof the food-chain is no randomcoincidence. It is the outcomeof a prolonged period of evo-lution centred around superi-or ‘Reception’.

All reception is essentiallythe function of sensory percep-tion. The species which utilisedits sensory perception for out-comes bigger than fulfillingbare minimum physicalinstincts has evolved into asuperior thinking species. Therest remained ‘feeling’ species.

As Homo Sapiens evolvedinto a complex thinking specieswith aspirations beyond fulfill-ing their menial physical needs,‘Reception’ became critical toits constant and consistent rise.The contemporary human

world today has evolvedthrough stages of intelligenceover centuries where thehuman enterprise has movedaway from caves to social habi-tats, built machines for massproduction and automation,and is today on its way toachieving inter-planetaryexploration and artificial intel-ligence. All this was only pos-sible with ‘Reception’ as thecore, for all acquisition of intel-ligence to survive and thrive.

This column is just a briefoutline of the vast subject,which deals with ancienthuman competence. I willhighlight few important factorswhich explain the massiveimpact ‘Receptive Intelligence’has on human excellence.

It will sound quite cruel tosay, ‘Listen or Die’. However,that is an evolutionary fact.Those who adapted evolved,those who resisted perished. Itis not very hard to understandand imply that those whoadapted had better ‘Reception’capabilities to assess changes inthe immediate and remoteenvironment, than those whoperished.

Listening is not just anauditory function. It is a sen-sory competence for survivaland development. We ashumans have come so far,

because we listened. When westop listening, we are bound todie (need not be literal).

Look at the national andpolitical scenarios of any nationand assess if listening as a col-lective and individual humanfunction is valued or devaluedover years. Look at the socialconditions around you andassess for yourself if listening asa human competence is grow-ing or declining gradually inthe society you live.

Look at your family andassess, how much time is spentinto listening by any memberof your family. Finally assessyour own personal conditionand measure the importanceand value you attach to thiscore human function ‘listening’.I am sure, you will be quiteshocked at the outcome of yourhonest assessment.

Death need not be literal. Ifthe sheer spirit of human devel-opment and its core functionsdeteriorate, it is no differentfrom actual death. This is a seri-ous challenge, though not veryconspicuous, that is evolvinggradually and poses a seriousthreat to human development.

As a human regresses intoself-inflicted sensory deterio-ration through multiple envi-ronmental interferences, thecapabilities which have evolvedthis species can dissipate. Thereis already lot of medical evi-dence and scientific data point-ing to lowered sensory acuityacross the world, especially inmodern urban societies.

Lowered sensory acuitydirectly results in low levelreception and thereby reducedlearnings and applicableknowledge from the immedi-

ate environment. I am foresee-ing the deterioration of ‘natur-al intelligence’, as the humanenterprise is racing towards‘artificial intelligence’.

The lack of sensory focusin majority young adults, dan-gerously low listening apti-tude, serious electronic addic-tion, unusually low compre-hension, is reflective of toughtimes ahead. Social competi-tion, mediocrity, insecurity,comparison, identity rush,indebtedness with unviablelifestyles have already stressedthe sensory perception inhuman adults.

The next 20 years willshowcase massive disruption insocietal framework, institutionsof marriage and family, work-place dynamics, competitive-ness, and of course in the qual-ity of ‘Receptive Intelligence’.

‘Receptive Intelligence' is the critical factor for all active learning in human beings

VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 1, 2021

07

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FIRSTCOLUMNHUMILIATION CAN BE GOOD FOR YOU

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

(The writer is a policyanalyst. The views

expressed are personal.)

Receptive intelligence

K KRISHNA SAAGAR RAO

(The writer is ChiefSpokesperson of BJP,Telangana State and

Organizational Strategist.The views expressed

are personal.)

GWYNNE DYER

ONGC fall in this category).Supplies from these fields areallowed a ‘premium’ price linked tothe prices of alternate fuels, viz., fueloil, naphtha and imported LNG.This is almost double the ‘normal’price (effective from Nov 1, 2014,normal price is a weighted averageof the costs at four global locations-the UK, the US, Russia andCanada).

Even this special dispensationhas not helped in reversing thedeclining trend in production. TheHydrocarbon Exploration andLicensing Policy (HELP) alsoknown as the Open AcreageLicensing Policy (OALP) launchedin July 2017 (under it, operatorshave freedom to choose new areas;they also enjoy freedom of pricingand marketing) has not lifted thesentiment either.

As per the Exploration &Production Action Plan preparedby Directorate General ofHydrocarbons (DGH) - the tech-nical arm of Ministry of Petroleumand Natural Gas (MPNG) monitor-ing production of oil and gas - Indiawill be able to reach 50 BCM by2023-24 only which is even short ofwhat it achieved in 2010-11.

The logjam has to do with reg-ulatory hurdles,multiplicity ofprices, and controls on supply anddistribution.

Till date, as many as 37 process-es and procedures were required tobe followed by a firm exploring oiland gas in a block awarded underNELP or pre-NELP rounds. Thesecovered almost every stage —declaring a discovery (albeit com-mercially viable), annual work pro-

gram (AWP), appraisal, field devel-opment plan (FDP) including itsrevision, and extension of the con-tract. No wonder that work in theassigned fields got stuck for years.For instance, KG-DWN-98/2 wasdiscovered in 2004/05 but produc-tion from this fieldhas com-mencedin this year.

Only recently, these procedureshave been cut to 18. The DGHclaims certain approvals such asdeclaring a discovery, submission ofquarterly reports, insurance &indemnity and bank guarantees,etc.,are now allowed on self-certi-fication where asappraisal, FDP orits revision are allowed on ‘deemed’approval basis.

As for multiplicity of prices,there are at least half-a-dozenprices. Apart from normal price forfields given on nomination toONGC and OILunder pre-NELPand NELP; premium price for socalled D/UD/HP/HT fields; mar-ket-based price for fields underHELP/OALP; special price forunconventional stuff like shalegas, coal bed methane (CBM); yetanother for small and marginalfields recently transferred fromONGC/OIL to private firms. Thisis an open invitation to discretionand bureaucratic red tape.

With regard to controls on sup-ply and distribution, who getshow much gas and from whichfield is decided by an inter-minis-terial committee. It creates a fertileground for intense lobbying byinterest groups from both the sup-pliers and users. For instance, aurea manufacturer tries to get allof hisneeds at the lowest price

whereas, a supplier firm is everkeen to sell all of its output at muchhigher premium price. While thelatter has little interest in maximiz-ing production, there is no compul-sion on the formertousegas effi-ciently.

To conclude, the objective ofgas-based economy supported bydomestic production is laudable.However, an ‘incremental’approach (some relaxations orincentives here and there) will notget us there. Instead, theGovernment should go in formajor reforms by dismantling theexisting regime of gas allocationand administered prices. The sup-pliers should be free to decide theirmarketing and pricing strategies.Gas import should be deregulatedand infrastructure for handling andtransportation hived off from PSUssuch as GAIL and vested in anindependent entity. The entityshould make the infrastructureaccessible to all suppliers in a‘transparent’ and ‘non-discrimina-tory’ manner.

These changes will create a‘stable’ and ‘conducive’ policyenvironment for private compa-nies including global energygiants to take long-term bet inIndian gas sector thereby increas-ing domestic supply to meet thegrowing demand. Efforts on thedemand side can also help inachieving better balance. Forinstance, if we can achieve 450MW power capacity based onrenewable, this can take pressureoff gas. Likewise, reduction inexcess urea use will help in moderatingthe demand for gas.

UTTAM GUPTA

The United States has become addicted to ‘non-strategic' wars

VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 1, 2021 Money 08

MONEY MATTERS

Honda Cars India Ltd(HCIL) on Tuesday said ithas tied up with IndusInd

Bank to offer a gamut offinance schemes to itscustomers, addressing theirvaried financing and paymentneeds. The partnership willfacilitate customers to availcustom-built financingsolutions on purchase of Honda Amaze and Honda City such as lowEMI, flexi term, up to 100 per cent ex-showroom funding andcustomised schemes for specific customer groups. "The partnershipwith IndusInd Bank is an extension of our efforts towards makingpersonal mobility more accessible and affordable to a diverse set ofcustomers, both salaried and self-employed. "We anticipateincreased demand during the festive period, and with thispartnership we will be offering easy, hassle-free and personalisedfinancing solutions designed to encourage purchase and elevate carownership experience," HCIL Senior Vice President & Director(Market & Sales) Rajesh Goel said in a statement.

Hero Electric has partneredwith two-wheeler life cyclemanagement company

Wheels EMI for offering easyfinancing options to customersbuying electric two-wheelers, arelease said on Tuesday. Besidesvehicle financing, the partnershipalso offers extra benefits to Hero Electric customers such asattractive interest rates, flexible tenure options and affordableequal monthly instalments (EMIs) as per customer eligibility, itsaid. As a preferred financial partner, Wheels EMI will provideHero Electric customers with simple and fast disbursals withminimum documentation, it added. Wheels EMI, with presence inover 100 cities across 13 states, offers a range solutions alongthe two-wheeler ownership-ridership lifecycle, driving mobility forworking families including financing to purchase new and pre-owned two wheelers, access to electric bikes, insurance,servicing, spare parts management and a transparent marketplacefor pre-owned two wheeler.

Hero Electric, Wheels EMI tooffer easy financing options

Donear Group on Tuesday announcedthe acquisition of Mayur Fabrics andPV Suiting Global distribution

network from RSWM, in a move to solidifyits comprehensive product basket andglobal augmented geographical footprint.The textile firm, however, did not disclosethe terms of the transaction. Thisacquisition, which is the third by thegroup in the last three years, will helpDonear in scaling up the Mayur brandexponentially by focusing on the group's inherent strength ofmanufacturing and distribution of premium quality branded fabrics,said a release. Besides, the brand's strong presence in theinstitutional and uniform supplies will complement Donear Group'sagile manufacturing facilities and robust distribution network, therelease said. Moreover, PV Suiting distribution network fromRSWM's presence in overseas markets will help expand theproportionate market share of Donear as a group, it said.

Donear acquires Mayur Fabrics,PV Suiting distribution network

Pharma major Dr Reddy'sLaboratories on Tuesdaysaid it has launched generic

Chlordiazepoxide Hydrochlorideand Clidinium Bromide capsulesused for treatment of stomachulcers, irritable bowel syndromeand inflammation of the colon,in the US market. The companyhas launched Chlordiazepoxide Hydrochloride and ClidiniumBromide capsules USP, 5 mg/2.5 mg in the US market, Dr Reddy'sLaboratories said in a regulatory filing. The product is a genericversion of Librax capsules, it added. According to IQVIA Healthdata, Librax brand and generic had US sales of approximately USD105.9 million moving annual total (MAT) for the most recent twelvemonths ending in July 2021, Dr Reddy's said. The company'scapsules, USP, are available in one strength of 5 mg/2.5 mgcapsules in bottle count sizes of 100, it added. Shares of DrReddy's Laboratories were trading at Rs 4,705.80 per scrip on BSE,up 0.59 percent from its previous close.

Dr Reddy's launches genericstomach ulcer drug in US mkt

Honda Cars joins hands withIndusInd for vehicle financing

Sensex rallies 663 points to closeabove 57k-mark; Nifty scales 17kPNS n MUMBAI

Extending their record-settingstreak, the Sensex rallied 663points to close above 57,000 forthe first time while the Niftyscaled the 17,000-mark onTuesday, driven by gains inBharti Airtel, Bajaj Financeand TCS amid positive globalcues.

After touching a lifetimehigh of 57,625.26 during thesession, the 30-share BSESensex ended 662.63 points or1.16 per cent higher at itsrecord close of 57,552.39.

Similarly, the broader NSENifty soared 201.15 points or1.19 per cent to an all-timeclosing peak of 17,132.20. Ittouched an intra-day record of17,153.50.

Bharti Airtel was the topgainer in the Sensex pack, ral-lying nearly 7 per cent, fol-lowed by Bajaj Finance, BajajFinserv, Asian Paints, Titan,TCS and Tech Mahindra.

On the other hand, NestleIndia, IndusInd Bank and

Reliance Industries were thelaggards.

Domestic equities extend-ed gains with Nifty surpassing17,000 levels within a month,said Binod Modi, Head -Strategy at Reliance Securities.

"Sustained buying momen-tum across all sectors andfavourable global cues aidedmarkets. All key sectoral

indices traded in green withmetals, financials (excludingbanks) and pharma witness-ing stronger recovery," henoted.

Bharti Airtel was in focusagain due to clarity over fundraising and indication of tar-iff hike. However, midcapand smallcap stocks under-performed on profit-book-

ing, he said.Elsewhere in Asia, bourses

in Shanghai, Hong Kong,Tokyo and Seoul ended on apositive note. Equities inEurope were also trading withgains in mid-session deals.

Meanwhile, internationaloil benchmark Brent crudefell 0.83 per cent to USD71.63 per barrel.

After touching a

lifetime high of

57,625.26 during

the session, the

30-share BSE

Sensex ended

662.63 points or

1.16 per cent

higher at its

record close of

57,552.39.

Economic activity picking pace,further upside to growth likelyPNS n NEW DELHI

Moody's Investors Service onTuesday said the economicactivity in India is picking upwith the gradual easing ofCOVID restrictions and therecould be further upside togrowth as economies aroundthe world gradually reopen.

In its August update to'Global Macro Outlook 2021-22', Moody's retained India'sgrowth forecast for the 2021calendar year at 9.6 per centand 7 per cent for 2022.

"In India, economic activi-ty is picking up alongside agradual easing of restrictionsthat were implemented inresponse to the second wave.And there is further upside togrowth as economies aroundthe world progressivelyreopen," Moody's said.

The rating agency said itexpects the Reserve Bank tomaintain an accommodativepolicy stance until economicgrowth prospects "durablyimprove". "We expect the RBI.... to maintain the status quo

until the end of this year. Weexpect to see an increasingnumber of emerging marketcentral banks shift to a neutralpolicy stance amid their gath-ering growth momentum laterthis year and early next year,"Moody's said.

Indian economy contracted7.3 per cent in 2020-21 fiscal.GDP growth in the current fis-cal was estimated to be in dou-ble digits initially, but a severesecond wave of the pandemichas led to various agencies cutgrowth projections.

Moody's had in June pro-jected a 9.3 per cent growth forthe current fiscal endingMarch 2022. It said the rapidglobal spread of the highly

contagious delta variant of thecoronavirus is a stark reminderthat the global pandemic is farfrom over, although some vac-cines appear to be highly effec-tive at suppressing the severedisease, reducing the need forhospitalisations and loweringthe incidence of fatalities.

Vaccination rates, the extentof serious infections andmobility restrictions remainthe key determinants of wherecountries find themselves intheir economic recovery cycle,it said, adding while the spreadof the delta variant hasprompted mobility restrictionsin Asia, renewed lockdownsare far less likely in otherregions of the world.

BBNL defers BharatNet tender bid date to Sep 14PNS n NEW DELHI

State-run Bharat BroadbandNetwork Limited has deferredbid dates for Rs 19,041 croreBharatNet broadband tender toSeptember 14 after potentialbidders raised more than 2,000queries on the project.

An official source told PTIthat the bid dates are likely tobe extended further as thequeries need to be vetted by theDepartment of Telecom aswell and the entire process maytake a few weeks.

According to the informa-tion published on BBNL, thebid date has been deferredfrom August 24 to September14 as of now.

Bharat Broadband NetworkLimited (BBNL) has invited

global bids for the development(creation, upgradation, opera-tion and maintenance and util-isation) of BharatNet througha public-private partnership

model in nine separate pack-ages across 16 states for a con-cession period of 30 years.

The government has ear-marked Rs 19,041 crore viabil-

ity gap fund for the project.Under the project, the gov-

ernment plans to cover anestimated 3.61 lakh villages(including gram panchayats)across Kerala, Karnataka,Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh,Punjab, Haryana, UttarPradesh, Madhya Pradesh,West Bengal, Assam,Meghalaya, Manipur,Mizoram, Tripura, Nagalandand Arunachal Pradesh.

The existing BharatNet wasconnecting all the gram pan-chayats (GPs) of the country bylaying OFC (primarily)between Block and GPs.

The scope of BharatNet hasnow been enhanced to connectall inhabited villages, approx-imately 6.43 lakhs, of the coun-try.

Jio brings newprepaid plans withHotstar subscriptionPNS n NEW DELHI

Reliance Jio is rolling out anew range of prepaid plansthat come bundled with unre-stricted access to all content onDisney+ Hotstar, starting fromRs 499, according to compa-ny sources.

Jio was earlier bundlingDisney+ Hotstar VIP sub-scription (access to live sports,Hotstar specials, movies andTV shows and dubbed contentin 3 Indian languages) in its

plans that started from Rs401.

The new plans will nowoffer unrestricted access toentire content on Disney+Hotstar from starting pricepoint of Rs 499, companysources said.

While the new price pointsare higher in most cases, thanthe previous such plans,notably the new Jio plansalso pack-in more, that is,unrestricted access to the fullcontent on Disney+ Hotstar.

BoI announces closure ofQIP issue; raises Rs 2,550 cr PNS n NEW DELHI

Bank of India on Tuesdayannounced the closure of itsQIP issue and said that it hasraised Rs 2,550 crore by issu-ing more than 40.5 crore sharesto the qualified institutionalbuyers.

The capital issue committeeat its meeting held on August31, 2021 has approved theissue and allotment of40,54,71,866 equity shares toeligible qualified institutionalbuyers (QIBs) at an issue priceof Rs 62.89 per share, aggregat-ing to Rs 2,550.01 crore, Bankof India said in a regulatory fil-ing on Tuesday.

The issue had opened onAugust 25, and closed onAugust 30, 2021, and the bankhad targeted to raise up to Rs3,000 crore equity capitalthrough this issue.

LIC, ICICI Prudential LifeInsurance Company and BajajAllianz Life InsuranceCompany are the three

investors who subscribed tomore than 5 per cent of theequity offered in the qualifiedinstitutional placement (QIP)issue.

Life Insurance Corporation(LIC) has been allotted15,90,07,791 shares (39.22 percent), while ICICI Pru Life andBajaj Allianz Life subscribed to3,18,01,558 shares (7.84 percent) each under the QIP offer,Bank of India said.

With this QIP, governmentshareholding in the bank has

come down to 82.50 per centfrom 90.34 per cent earlier.

"Pursuant to the allotment ofequity shares in the issue, thepaid-up equity share capital ofthe bank stands increased fromRs 3,698.09 crore to Rs4,103.57 crore comprising of410,35,66,070 number of equi-ty shares," the state-ownedlender said.

The bank scrip was tradingat Rs 66.75 apiece on BSE,down 1.84 per cent over itsprevious close.

MEAI raises concernover unemployment PNS n NEW DELHI

The Mining Engineers 'Association of India onTuesday raised concerns overrising unemployment of min-ing professionals in Goa andthe lost job opportunitiesdue to the delay in arriving ata solution to restart mining inthe state.

The Mining Engineers'Association of India (MEAI)-Goa Chapter also appealedfor immediate resurrection ofmining in the state to over-come the unemployment cri-sis across the state and tomake the most of the currentsituation, wherein interna-tional demand for iron ore ishigh.

"Goa is losing not only onemployment opportunitiesbut also on earning higherState revenue which is direct-ly proportional to the inter-national prices. Miningindustry has been halted in

Goa for more than 3.5 yearsnow which is in an utterrequirement of a tangiblesolution.

"The once self-resilientstate of India, Goa is current-ly indebted over Rs 22,000crore and is roughly averagedto be over Rs 5 to 6 lakh pernuclear family," it said.

Goa's mining sector isarguably considered to bethe backbone of Goa's econ-omy and is estimated to be byfar the largest employmentgenerating sector. It has thepotential to be the highestrevenue generator in thestate.

The evolution of Goa'siron ore industry and itsmanifold impact on thestate's socio-economic milieuhas been well publicised inthe past. The mining profes-sionals from Goa have noother source of livelihoodespecially those who at themidst of their career, it said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Drug major Abbott on Tuesdaysaid it has launched room-tem-perature-stable, single-doseformulation of carbetocin inIndia to help in the preventionof postpartum haemorrhage(PPH).

PPH refers to excessiveblood loss of 500 ml or moreafter vaginal delivery and 1,000ml or more after a caesareanprocedure, within 24 hours ofchildbirth.

Although preventable, PPHis associated with almost 20per cent maternal mortality inthe country.

PPH, if left untreated, canresult in complications likeanaemia in the postpartumperiod or aggravate mentalhealth problems includingpostnatal depression and post-traumatic stress disorder apartfrom other issues.

The current prevention andtreatment protocol for PPHrequires cold-chain storageand distribution, as well ascontinual administration of

medicines via intravenous dripinfusion, Abbott said in astatement.

This can impede access toquality healthcare for pregnantwomen in care settings wherethese requirements may not befeasible, it added.

"The room-temperature-sta-ble formulation addresses thechallenge of maintaining cold-chain storage or transporta-tion, which helps increaseaccess to preventive treatmentfor PPH, across geographies,"it added.

Abbott has launched thisformulation for the privatemarket under its own brandthrough an in-licensing andco-marketing agreement withFerring Pharmaceuticals PvtLtd India (Ferring), a sub-sidiary of the Switzerland-based global biopharmaceuti-cals company.

“With the introduction ofthis room-temperature- stablecarbetocin formulation in col-laboration with Ferring, we arereiterating our commitment toimprove maternal care,enabling both mothers andchildren to live through betterhealth.

"This formulation hasproven efficacy, a convenientformulation that addresses theneeds for heat stability and canhelp with better health out-comes for mothers who justdelivered a baby," Abbott IndiaMedical Director Srirupa Dassaid.

Abbott initiated operationsin India in 1910 and has over12,000 employees in the coun-try.

Rupee rises 29 paise toclose at 73 against USD PNS n MUMBAI

The rupee strengthened fur-ther by 29 paise to close at73.00 (provisional) against theUS dollar on Tuesday, mark-ing the fourth straight sessionof gain following a firm trendin domestic equities and for-eign fund inflows.

At the interbank forex mar-ket, the local unit opened at73.26 against the greenbackand later gained strength tosettle at 73.00, higher by 29paise over its previous close of73.29. The local unit moved ina range of 72.99 to 73.29 in theday trade.

The rupee has spurted by124 paise against the dollar infour straight sessions toTuesday.

Meanwhile, the dollarindex, which gauges the green-back's strength against a bas-ket of six currencies, was trad-ing down 0.12 at 92.54.

"Rupee appreciation contin-ues for the fourth day in rowand became the best perform-ing currency among Asian

currencies following reboundin economic activities alongwith huge foreign fundinflows," Dilip Parmar,Research Analyst, HDFCSecurities, said.

Markets are pricing contin-uation of inflows from foreign-ers after regulatory curb by theChinese government. Apartfrom speculative inflows, FDIinflows are also supporting thelocal currency, Parmar said.

"Spot USDINR is expectedhead towards June low of72.32 once the level of 72.74breaches while on higher side73.64 becomes the strongresistance," he added.

On the domestic equitymarket front, the BSE Sensexended 662.63 points or 1.16per cent higher at a lifetimehigh of 57,552.39, while thebroader NSE Nifty advanced201.15 points or 1.19 per centto a record closing of17,132.20.

Brent crude futures, theglobal oil benchmark, fell 0.83per cent to USD 72.80 per bar-rel.

Rs 13K-crorereleased to 25 States asgrant to RLBsPNS n NEW DELHI

The Finance Ministry onTuesday said it has releasedabout Rs 13,386 crore to 25states for providing grants torural local bodies (RLBs).

Tied grants are released tothe rural local bodies (RLBs)for improving two services --Sanitation and maintenanceof ODF status and supply ofdrinking water, rainwater har-vesting and water recycling.

“The Ministry of Finance,has on Monday released anamount of Rs 13,385.70 croreto 25 States for providing grantsto the Rural Local Bodies,” theministry said in a statement.

This grant-in-aid is the firstinstalment of Tied grants of theyear 2021-22. Tied grants aremeant to ensure the availabil-ity of additional funds to therural local bodies over andabove the funds allocated bythe Centre and states for san-itation and drinking waterunder the Centrally SponsoredSchemes.

Everstone snapsup CalibreChemicals forabout $100 mnPNS n MUMBAI

Singapore-headquartered pri-vate equity major EverstoneCapital on Tuesday announcedacquisition of a controllingstake in Calibre Chemicals,which is a specialty ingredientsplayer focused on the pharma-ceutical, nutritional and per-sonal care segments, for areported USD 100 million.

The city-based, privately-held Calibre was establishedin 1984 and manufactures arange of specialty chemicalsfalling into two product lines--mineral derivatives and per-oxygens. Though Everstonedid not disclose deal value,sources said it is around USD100 million. dCalibre alsooffers various packaging solu-tions including paper cartons,HDPE drums, LDPE bags,steel drums and fibre drumsapart from manufacturingvarious custom chemicals atits Sarigam plant in Gujarat.

OTO Capitalraises $ 6 mnin Series AfundingPNS n MUMBAI

Auto finance company OTOCapital on Tuesday said it hasraised USD 6 million (aboutRs 43 crore) in Series Afunding round.

The investment round wasled by Matrix Partners Indiaand participated by both theexisting and new investors,the Bengaluru-based startupsaid. Besides Matrix Partners,the other investors includePrime Venture Partners,9Unicorns and Better Capitaland marquee angel investorslike, Asish Mohapatra of OfBusiness, Ramakant Sharmaof Livspace, Kunal Shah, KGanesh, Ashneer and Suhailof BharatPe, the startup said.

Founded in 2006, MatrixPartners India with approx-imately USD 1-billion undermanagement, invests in com-panies in the domestic con-sumer and enterprise marketat the seed, early and earlygrowth stages.

MINING PROFESSIONALS IN GOA

Abbott introduces single-doseformulation of carbetocin

PAR

TY

9

Vijayawada | Wednesday September 1, 2021what’s brewing?

l Allola Indrakaran Reddy

The engagement party of MP Balashowry Vallabhaneni's son

Anudeep with Snikitha saw the attendance of the Telugu

states' politicians and the city's most popular celebs! The

creme of the film industry — Chiranjeevi and Ali, many senior

politicians, along with socialites, were seen congratulating the new

couple at the gorgeous event at Hitex, Hyderabad.

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

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

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

Yesterday’s solution

CALVIN AND HOBBES

SPEED BUMP

FUN

Photos by SV Chary

JUSTENGAGED

l Anjani Kumarl Gautam Sawang and Shilloil Ambati Rambabul Buggana Rajendranathl YV Subba Reddy

l Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddyl Chiranjeevi, Surekha, with Anudeep&Snikitha and Anudeep’s parents Balashowry Vallabhaneni, and Bhanumathi l N. Uttam Kumar Reddy and Mallu Batti Vikramarka

l Kodali Sri Venkateswara Rao l Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy l Sridevil Shruthi and Akishitha l Raj Takur and Manalil Mopidevi Venkata Ramana

l Subbirami Reddy and Komatireddy Venkat Reddy l Ali

recent study onmicro-simulation,published inCirculation,revealed that cut-ting 20% of sugar

from packaged foods and 40%from beverages could prevent2.48 million cardiovascular dis-ease events (such as strokes,heart attacks, cardiac arrests),

490,000 cardiovascular deaths,and 750,000 diabetes cases inthe U.S. over the lifetime of theadult population!

A team of researchers fromMassachusetts GeneralHospital (MGH), the FriedmanSchool of Nutrition Science &Policy at Tufts University,Harvard T.H. Chan School ofPublic Health, and New York

City Department of Health andMental Hygiene (NYC DOH)created a model to simulateand quantify the health, eco-nomic, and equity impacts of apragmatic sugar-reduction pol-icy proposed by the U.S.National Salt and SugarReduction Initiative (NSSRI).A partnership of more than100 local, state, and nationalhealth organizations convenedby the NYC DOH, the NSSRIreleased draft sugar-reductiontargets for packaged foods andbeverages in 15 categories in2018. This February, NSSRIfinalised the policy with thegoal of the industry voluntarilycommitting to gradually refor-mulate their sugary products.

Implementing a nationalpolicy, however, will requiregovernment support to moni-tor companies as they worktoward the targets and to pub-licly report on their progress.

The researchers hope theirmodel will build consensus onthe need for a national-sugarreformulation policy in the US.“We hope that this study willhelp push the reformulationinitiative forward in the nextfew years,” says Siyi Shangguan,MD, MPH, lead author, andattending physician at MGH.“Reducing the sugar content ofcommercially prepared foodsand beverages will have a largerimpact on the health ofAmericans than other initia-tives to cut sugar, such asimposing a sugar tax, labelingadded sugar content, or ban-ning sugary drinks in schools.”

Ten years after the NSSRIpolicy goes into effect, the U.S.could expect to save $4.28 bil-lion in total net healthcarecosts, and $118.04 billion overthe lifetime of the current adultpopulation (ages 35 to 79),according to the model.Adding the societal costs of lostproductivity of Americansdeveloping diseases fromexcessive sugar consumption,the total cost savings of theNSSRI policy rises to $160.88billion over the adult popula-tion’s lifetime. These benefitsare likely to be an underestima-tion since the calculations wereconservative. The study alsodemonstrated that even partialindustry compliance with thepolicy could generate signifi-cant health and economicgains. The findings suggest it’stime to implement a nationalprogram with voluntary sugarreduction targets, which cangenerate major improvementsin health, health disparities,and healthcare spending in lessthan a decade.”

(Source: MassachusettsGeneral Hospital)

K RAMYA SREE

any of us who havegiven eco-friendly atry, many a time, donot understandwhat to do with thekitchen waste or the

plastic that enters our house-holds.

But Hyderabad-basedPadmini Rangarajan, an educa-tional puppeteer, is trying toeducate people on waste man-agement, reducing plasticusage, and choosing an eco-friendly living. She is alsoknown for making incensecones out of kitchen waste, nowimagine that!

She engages in all kinds ofstorytelling for children. Mostof them being awareness build-ing about our environment,nature, and mother earth.

The Pioneer catches up withthis stellar storyteller to knowfurther about her mission, pro-jects, and more.

The idea of practicing what-ever she preaches through herstorytelling as a puppeteerstruck her after a young girlquestioned her the same.

“There is a small storybehind this. In, 2014-2015, dur-ing one of the puppet play onWorld Environment Day, I wasnarrating a story about plasticwaste and other wastes andhow we’re abusing motherearth. After the show, a childstood up and asked me — mypuppet — “are you practisingall that you want us to practiceto protect the earth?” This wasa direct slap to me, not to mypuppets. Though I was con-scious of this, I had not madeany significant change, exceptthat I was using cloth bags. Butthe child’s words kept ringingin my ears. I started to followsome people who were workingin waste management missions.My exploration and search arestill on. Though I was re-usingmost of the plastic bottles andboxes to train teachers, to makethe best-out-of-waste puppets, Ifelt I had to do somethingmore. I started reading articlesand came to know that 16% ofdomestic wastage contributes tolandfills. This was triggering.That’s when I began convertingmy kitchen waste into com-post,” Padmini shares about herjourney to building a healthyatmosphere.

She further goes on to talkabout a friend who introducedher to DIY solutions. “Duringmy trip to Sri Lanka in 2016, Imet a lovely friend who doesmultiple Do-It-Yourself thingsright from her kitchen —homemade kumkum, creams,and dhoop cones (incensecones). I took inspiration fromher to utilise kitchen waste tomake dhoop cones. I starteddrying flowers used for pujaand powdering them. Slowly I

then started with fruit peels likelemon and orange. Now I’mmaking them with everydayvegetable peels right fromonion, garlic, other fruits andvegetable peels, to dried curry,and mint leaves, and the stalkof coriander leaves. Not all theof vegetables do we peel off theskin, but for some vegetables,we cut their ends like bhindi(okra), Kunduru (dondakaya),and others, I dry them all.”

Dhoop cones are anotherversion of agarbatti making, butwith the shape being conical.Most of the market-availableagarbatti-incense sticks arechemical-based with the com-position of charcoal and otherchemicals used for ignition.Padmini avoids using chemi-cals in what she does andmakes them using naturalproducts along with sawdust

and coconut fibres that act asbinding and igniting agents.For the aroma, she says sheadds some essential oils, whichare optional. Everything shedoes is purely handmade.

Apart from incense cones,Padmini also uses coconutshells to make puppets.

“I recycle plastic water bot-tles/any kind of plastic bottles,cardboards, thermocol thatcomes along with the packag-ing, cartons (these days toomany from Amazon), multi-layered plastic wrappers —MLP that come with Mariegold biscuits/washing powderpackets, etc., to make my pup-pets,” says she.

When asked what inspiredher to become a puppeteer, shesays, “My son Anirudh is myinspiration behind taking uppuppetry. He once participated

in a puppet show performanceduring his kindergarten withhis favourite Mallu the Monkeyand the Cap seller, back in2003. It was from there that myjourney started. I have not beentrained in puppetry, I learnt itall from trial and error. Fromtime to time, I sought guidancefrom my father, T. Rangarajan,a theatre artist, and Vedanticscholar.”

With the idea of preserving,practicing, and promoting vari-ous art forms, Padmini prac-tices puppetry, a culturally richart, which encompasses all theart forms within it.

“Waste management aware-ness is still at an infancy stagein our country, not all areaware or sensitive about it.With regard to my puppet-making, I work on waste mate-rials recycling and the use ofpaper mache to a great extent.My mission is to reduce domes-tic kitchen waste going intolandfill and recycling it. In thisjourney, my immediate neigh-bours are my source of inspira-tion, apart from my own family.They too are very conscious ofnot throwing away kitchenwaste, and help me in my activ-ity. Our flower seller Vasantha,in fact, makes it a point to notthrow away her unsold flowers.

She donates them to me. Imake these cones and sharethem with my neighbours,maids, and flower sellers. Theyalso told me that my cones actas anti repellent mosquito coils!It has been very encouraging. Iwant to take this up as a com-mercial product by engagingself-help groups, and women’sgroups,” she asserts.

She is now on a plastic recy-cling task among residentialapartments which would be anincome-generator for the asso-ciation.

On a concluding note,Padmini, who is also the direc-tor of Sphoorthi Theatre forEducational Puppetry, Art &Craft-STEPARC, shares sometips to convert kitchen wasteinto something useful: “Thebest way is to segregate drywaste from wet waste. The sec-ond is to use the dry kitchenwaste directly for the kitchengarden. Turn the remainingwaste to make compost athome. It works out well whencollectively done as a commu-nity work towards communitydevelopment. Many today areinto terrace and kitchen gar-dening, so this works as a goodcompost mixture. While mak-ing this compost, a kind of liq-uid is generated — amrit jal, itcan be mixed with water andsprayed onto plants as it is richin nutrients. This jal can beused once a week or once in afortnight, it helps in loweringthe chance of pest infestation. Itis also an excellent foliar spray.”

TIMELESSWISDOM FOR THE

MODERN AGE

M

SHIKHA DUGGAL

or millennia,mankind has beengrappling with eter-nal questions aboutthere being a god, iflife holds any mean-

ing, and compare these answersto many other religious texts!When we look at such ques-tions, and how they areanswered in the Bhagavad Gita,we find different approaches.Celebrated writer RichaTilokani's new launch Theteachings of Bhagavad Gita:Timeless wisdom for the modernage examines the liberal,humanist and inclusive appeal,bringing out its significance forthe present times and novelapplications.

“Every time I read the Gita, Ilearnt something new from its.But the most surprising thingfor me was why haven't morepeople read it? For the reader,the most surprising takeawaywould be to realise that it canbe as simple or as complex asthey want it to be! So, whetherthey are young or old, they canapproach it on their own leveland implement the teachingsinto their life. There are basicmessages that inspire one tokeep the faith, strive for self-empowerment, and to be agood person,” shares the authorwho is also well-known forwriting on topics of wellness,travel, etc.

The Gita is one of the mostsacred books in the world andwith a good reason, she feels.Many of its commentaries werewritten by great saints and fea-tured complex philosophicaldiscussions which the readersare not able to comprehend orrelate to at times. Her version ofthe spiritual text is completelyunique because it introducestimeless teachings through avery modernistic approach. “It’salso a perspective written by awoman which many haven'tread about it. Also, this bookwill help everyone managethese unprecedented times bet-ter with the messages of hope,peace, and love offering com-fort, positivity, and solace! Ipersonally really liked chaptereleven when Lord Krishna takesthe cosmic form and Arjunfinally sees everything in himand him in everything! Theopulence is so different anddetailed,” she adds.

The author says she finds init a moral focus and metaphysi-cal assurance to understand thetroubled times we are living inand she rightly does so, in thebook. Writer’s block was a con-stant companion, she didn’t

know how to proceed for thelongest time and neither had apublisher when she finished.“One of the biggest uncertaintythat was surrounding me waswhether I would be able tocomplete it or not, at one go.But then I reassured myself thatI was a student of the book anda devotee! The book clearly saysthat only a devotee can under-stand its message and that he orshe will always be supported intheir journey. So, I approachedit with humility and gratitude, ithelped me face the challenges,and then, things started fallingin place,” she talks about herinitial approach towards writingthe book.

It is the abstract universalconcept emanating from theGita that the author wanted topursue in the most contempo-rary way. She identified theprinciple of difference is soughtto be transformed into the ethi-cal struggle between the selfand the other, within oneself aswell as in the external world. Itis this ethical dimension of thefight between self and other,where the other one is not theabsolute evil that is made outeven in the polarised politics ofthis world. “Along the way, Iwanted to address some mythsaround it like it is only for seri-ous people, or it is not imple-mentable. But whether one is abeginner or an advanced reader,anyone can approach it andgreatly benefit from its wealthof wisdom. For example — itinspires us to practise medita-tion and yoga regularly,” sheceased.

F

a

Watch your sugarconsumption from

packaged foods

WASTE TO

WEALTH

t’s the season of celebra-tions, an energy and joie devivre is in the air. StyleJunkiie presents its latestline titled “festive fusion”which is an apt dedication

for clothing that is both celebratoryand also, free-spirited. Easy glam, thatgoes from a cocktail party to intimatewedding functions. A perfect fusionof festive and play!

The collection plays around withdraped silhouettes, cowl necklines,and overlays in lush deep colours.Our signature of a free-spirited, bornin Bombay style is found in the ode tothe beautiful women that fuse westernand Indian elements is a muse for thisline. Hues of blue, grey, pink, andochre with embroidered sequin motifsand mirror work fill the collectionwith a little more oomph. Fabrics likeorganza, velvet, crepes, and sequinnedsheers make each outfit effortless,light and flowy. A perfect mix ofensembles for the holiday season

that’s also easy to pack for that quickgetaway.

Each style compliments the otherallowing interplay or mix and matchto create a new outfit altogether.Timeless pieces when put togetherwith details like tassels, fringes, beltsto tie up to finish that perfect look forintimate gatherings during the festiveseason.

Kiran Khanna; founder of StyleJunkiie says, “being at home constant-ly and in confined spaces has madethe love for dressing up and steppingout with friends even stronger.Missing the life before the pandemicmade us put our thoughts togetherand we worked on the collectionwhich will make us feel alive againand make the festive season evenmore glamorous and colorful.”

So with this line Style, Junkiiehopes that all women get to unveiland give expression to their innerglam goddess, one who is comfortableboth at lounge or play.

Go the fusion waythis festive season

I

WednesdaySeptember 1, 2021

Follow us on

@TheDailyPioneer

facebook.com/dailypioneer

sport 11VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 1, 2021

AFP n JOHANNESBURG

Dale Steyn, South Africa’sall-time leading Test wick-

et-taker, announced his retire-ment from all cricket onTuesday.

Steyn, 38, made theannouncement on socialmedia, saying he was “bitter-sweet but grateful.”

“It’s been 20 years of train-ing, matches, travel, wins, loss-es, strapped feet, jetlag, joy andbrotherhood.

“Thank you to everyone,from family to team-mates,journalists to fans, it’s been anincredible journey together,” headded.

Steyn took 439 wickets in93 Test matches beforeannouncing his retirementfrom the five-day format in2019.

He said at the time that hewanted to continue playingwhite-ball international crick-et and was selected for the 2019World Cup in England.

But he had to withdrawfrom the tournament withoutplaying a match because of ashoulder injury and failed toadd to his 196 ODI wickets.

He played in a T20 inter-

national series against Australiain February 2020 and wasexpected to play in the T20World Cup later that yearbefore it was postponedbecause of Covid-19. He took64 wickets in the short format.

He had not played anycricket since March this yearwhen he made the last of threeappearances for the QuettaGladiators in the PakistanSuper League in Karachi.

At his peak, Steyn was amaster of late away swing withthe new ball and reverse swingwith the old ball, delivered athigh pace.

He spent six years as thenumber one bowler in Testcricket.

AFP nMANCHESTER

Cristiano Ronaldo said he hasa “never ending love” for

Manchester United after sealinghis return to Old Trafford fromJuventus on Tuesday.

United have secured thefive-time Ballon d’Or winner fora initial fee of 15 million eurosthat could rise to 23 millioneuros ($27 million, £20 million)according to figures released bythe Italian club.

The 36-year-old has signeda two-year contract with anoption to extend that deal by afurther season.

Ronaldo made his name onthe world stage in six years atUnited between 2003 and 2009before moving to Real Madridfor a then world record transferfee of £80 million.

The Portugal captain scored118 goals in 292 games duringhis first spell at United, winninghis first Ballon d’Or and

Champions League title, as wellas three Premier League titles,one FA Cup and two LeagueCups.

“This is absolutely 100% thestuff that dreams are made of,”Ronaldo posted on Instagram.

“Everyone who knows me,knows about my never endinglove for Manchester United.The years I spent in this club

were absolutely amazing and thepath we’ve made together iswritten in gold letters in the his-tory of this great and amazinginstitution.

“I can’t even start to explainmy feelings right now, as I seemy return to Old Traffordannounced worldwide.

“It’s like a dream come true,after all the times that I wentback to play against Man United,and even as an opponent, tohave always felt such love andrespect from the supporters inthe stands.”

Ronaldo is expected tomake his second United debutat home to Newcastle onSeptember 11.

“History has been written inthe past and history will be writ-ten once again!” Ronaldo added.“You have my word! I’m righthere! I’m back where I belong!Let’s make it happen onceagain!"

United manager Ole

Gunnar Solskjaer played along-side his new star during his pre-vious spell in England, but it washis former boss Alex Fergusonwho played a big part in con-vincing Ronaldo to return to theclub despite interest fromPremier League championsManchester City.

“Sir Alex, this one is foryou,” said Ronaldo.

JAMES JOINS LEEDSLeeds signed Wales winger

Dan James from ManchesterUnited in a deal worth a report-ed £25 million ($34 million) onTuesday.

James agreed a five-yearcontract with Leeds after thearrival of Cristiano Ronaldoreduced his already limited firstteam opportunities.

The 23-year-old moves toElland Road two years afterLeeds’ bid to sign him from hisformer club Swansea collapsedat the last minute.

PTI n TOKYO

Mariyappan Thangaveluon Tuesday rued thatrain foiled his bid for a

second consecutive Gold medalat the Paralympics, saying thewet sock did not let him give hisbest in the T42 event.

After clearing 1.86m,Mariyappan and Sam Grewetwice struggled to clear 1.88mheight but the American final-ly bagged Gold medal by soar-ing over the mark in the finalattempt while the Indian couldnot and settled for Silver.

Mariyappan, who hails from

Periavadagampatti village inSalem district of Tamil Nadu,had cleared 1.89m when hewon the Gold in 2016 RioParalympics.

He said he could not achievethe target he had set for himself.

“I could have won Gold andclaimed the world record(1.96m). I came here with thataim. But the rain played spoil-sport. It was a drizzle initially butafter the 1.80m mark, it becameheavy,” Mariyappan said after hisevent.

“The sock on my other leg(the impaired right leg) got wetand it was difficult to jump,” said

the athlete who suffered perma-nent disability in his right legafter it was crushed under a buswhen he was only five.

Mariyappan said the weath-er in Rio in 2016 was great andsimilar to India but it was not soin Tokyo.

“I could not execute my planhere. I could have cleared 1.90mhad it not been the weather con-ditions. I will try for Gold andworld record in Paris 2024,” hesaid. A top of the podium fin-ish would have madeMariyappan the first Indian towin back-to-back Gold medalsin Paralympics.

PTI n LONDON

Skipper Joe Root, who led England to aseries-levelling win at the Headingley,

expects an Indian backlash in the penul-timate Test and said they’re ready for allcombinations including facing the “world-class” R Ashwin at Oval.

“A world class team like India, led byVirat (Kohli) I expect nothing less than aresponse and we’d be naive to think oth-erwise,” Root said on Tuesday.

“That’s why I think it’s really impor-tant that we don’t get too comfortable, wedon’t think that we’ve achieved anythingat this point, we’ve just got ourselves backto level playing.”

Trusting Ravindra Jadeja’s battingability more than Ashwin, India skipperVirat Kohli had ignored the ace offspin-ner for the first three Tests but heading intothe Oval Test from Thursday, the call forhis inclusion has once again gained voice.

“His record speaks for itself, he’s aworld class player. We’ve seen him scoreruns and take wickets against us, we knowwhat he’s capable of in Test arena,” Rootsaid of Ashwin.

Ashwin, who is four wickets shy ofjoining Harbhajan Singh as the second bestIndian spinner in Tests behind AnilKumble, last month took a six-wicket haulin a County Championship game forSurrey at the Oval.

He was also India’s best bowler in the

World Test Championship final againstNew Zealand in Southampton in June.

“We will certainly be making sure thatwe’re prepared for the challenges that heposes coming into this Test match, alongwith other combinations that they mightthrow at us,” Root said.

New Delhi: There was no endto Vinesh Phogat’s woes as thestruggling wrestler withdrewmid-way from the WorldChampionship trials even as hercousin sister Sangeeta (62kg)made a stupendous comebackto mat after three years by seal-ing her spot in the Indian team,here on Tuesday.

All eyes were on Vinesh,who was suspended by the WFIearlier this month for indisci-pline before being let off with awarning, but she looked vulner-able from the beginning.

Vinesh was far from herdominant self in her 10-5 winin the opening bout againstAnju in the 55kg category anddid not take mat against Pinki,who eventually sealed her placefor the Championships, sched-uled to be held from October2-10.

Anju employed the same

head-lock technique thatBelarus’ Vanesa had appliedagainst Vinesh in the TokyoOlympics, never allowing theAsian champion play her game.

Sangeet Phogat, who mar-ried Olympic Bronze medallistBajrang Punia last year,returned to the mat after twoknee surgeries and surprisedherself with confident victories.

She first beat junior worldchampionship Silver medallistSanju Devi by technical superi-ority and then overcameManisha 9-5 in the fast-pacedfinal to claim her spot in Indianteam in the 62kg category.

Her counter moves resem-bled that of Bajrang, who was inher coach corner during thebouts.

In the same 62kg category,Rio Bronze medallist SakshiMalik was knocked out byManisha. PTI

New Delhi: The Indian crick-et board could soon get rich-er by at least `5000 crorewith the addition of two newfranchises during the 2022edition of Indian PremierLeague.

The IPL, which is current-ly an eight-team tournament,will become a 10-team affairfrom the next edition andduring a recent governingcouncil meeting, the modali-ties of the bidding processwere chalked out.

The BCCI on Tuesdayalso invited bids to own anIPL franchise with ‘Invitationto Tender’ available for pur-chase till October 5.

“Any company can buythe bid document paying `10lakh. Earlier top brass wasthinking about keeping thebase price for two new teamsat `1700 crore but later it wasdecided to keep the base priceat `2000 crore,” a senior BCCIsource said.

The source, who has dealtwith the financial side of IPLin the past, said that the BCCIstands to gain at least `5000crore if the bids go as per planwith plenty of large businessconglomerates showing activeinterest in bidding.

“The BCCI is expectinganything in the range of 5000crore if not more. There willbe 74 IPL games next seasonand it’s a win-win situation foreveryone.”

The BCCI statementadded: “The GoverningCouncil of the IPL invitesbids to acquire the right toown and operate 1 (one) of the2 (two) new teams proposed tobe introduced to take part inthe Indian Premier Leaguefrom the IPL 2022 season,through a tender process.

It is learnt that only com-panies with an annualturnover of `3000 crore will beallowed to bid for the teams.

Among the venues wherethe teams could be basedinclude Amedabad, Lucknowand Pune.

The Narendra ModiStadium in Ahmedabad andEkana Stadium in Lucknow,with bigger capacities, couldbe the choice for franchises.

Some of the names thatare doing the rounds includethe Adani group, RPG SanjeevGoenka group, noted pharmacompany Torrent and aprominent banker who hasshown active interest in buy-ing teams. PTI

Mumbai: Talismanic raiderPardeep Narwal smashed anall-time record by becomingthe highest-ever boughtkabaddi player in the historyof the Pro Kabaddi League(PKL), after being bought bythe UP Yoddha for `1.65crore.

“Pardeep continues to re-write history books, with hisprice tag now quashing that ofanother star raider MonuGoyat, who was bought by theHaryana Steelers for `1.51crore in Season 6,” stated amedia release issued by thePKL.

Narwal now finds himselfa new home after spendingfive seasons with the PatnaPirates.

Meanwhile, SiddharthDesai was retained by theTelugu Titans via the Final BidMatch (FBM) card for `1.30crore from his base price of`30 lakh. PNS

AFP n NEW YORK

Defending champion NaomiOsaka stretched her Grand

Slam win streak to 16 matcheson Monday at the US Open toadvance into the second round.

Osaka, seeking her thirdUS Open crown in four years,defeated 87th-ranked CzechMarie Bouzkova 6-4, 6-1 at apacked Arthur Ashe Stadium tobook a second-round matchupwith Serbian qualifier OlgaDanilovic.

“It feels kind of crazy toplay in front of everyone again,”Osaka said. “I feel really com-fortable here. I’m just glad Iwon.”

Osaka beat Bouzkova intheir only prior meeting in thefirst round of this year’sAustralian Open on the way toher fourth Grand Slam title.

The 23-year-old Japanesestar could become the firstback-to-back US Openwomen’s champi-on since SerenaWilliams, outthis year with atorn hamstring,won her third ina row in 2014.

Osaka’s majorwin streakincludes her mostrecent US andAustralian Openwins and a first-round win at thisyear’s FrenchOpen beforew i t h d r a w i n gover mentalhealth issues.

Osaka, wholit the cauldronat the TokyoOlympics, gavean Olympic pinto a young girl inthe same venuewhere she wonlast year’s titlewhen fans werebanned due toCovid-19.

“It feltquite lonelyfor me,” shesaid. “So I’mquite glad tosee little kids in the audi-ence and grown ups too.

The energy hereis unmatched.”

Osaka saved abreak point in the ninth

game on a service win-ner and captured the first

set by breaking Bouzkovain the 10th game when theCzech netted a backhand.In the second set, Osakabroke for a 2-0 lead, then

saved three break pointswith winners and held in aneight-minute third gameon the way to victory in 93

minutes.Spectators had to show

proof of vaccination to attend

but they brought energy back toAshe.

“Playing without fans herewas brutal,” 2017 US Openwinner Sloane Stephens said.“Having these fans out and theenergy, the atmosphere, itbrings a lot back to tennis.”

The former champion beatMadison Keys 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(9/7) in a rematch of the 2017final.

Women’s second seedAryna Sabalenka of Belarusoutlasted Serbia’s NinaStojanovic 6-4, 6-7 (4/7), 6-0 toadvance.

COULDN’T GIVE MY BEST DUE TO RAIN: MARIYAPPAN

Tokyo: Covid-19 came in theway of him going to the rangebefore the Tokyo Paralympics.So, Indian shooter SinghrajAdana simply built the range athome after drawing its layout injust one night.

At the Asaka ShootingRange in Tokyo on Tuesday, themonumental effort paid off asthe 39-year-old, only four yearsafter taking to the sport, won theParalympics Bronze medal in theP1 men’s 10m air pistol SH1event.

However, for someone whocould only watch helplessly as hiswife once sold her jewelery tosupport his shooting dream, heknew the move was a huge gam-ble and so did his mother.

But during the lockdown,the polio-afflicted shooter’s des-peration to resume training hadreached a point where he wasnot able to even get a goodnight’s sleep.

“As I was not able to train,I started thinking that my dreamof winning a medal is over. That’s

when my coaches suggestedwhy not try building a range athome,” Adana said in a mediainteraction.

“I was getting desperate andwas not able to sleep at allbecause of the absence of train-ing. So I approached my familywith the idea and they weretaken aback at first as it involvedlakhs of rupees.

“My mother only asked meto ensure that we are able to feedourselves later on if somethingwent wrong. But thanks to myfamily and coaches’ support, thegreen signal and help from theParalympic Committee of Indiaand NRAI, we succeeded in mymission and the range was soonup and running,” he added.

He designed it himself.“I drew the layout overnight

and my coaches told me that ifat all we are building a rangethen it has to be of internation-al level as it would then help mefor not just Tokyo but also ParisGames.” “That’s why I am heretoday.” PTI

Singhraj built range athome, prepared its layout

Was on verge of pulling out due to knee problem: SharadTokyo: Sharad Kumar was onthe verge of pulling out fromParalympics T42 high jumpfinal due to a knee problembut dialling his family backin India and readingBhagavad Gita a nightbefore the event helpedhim overcome theanxiety for a Bronze-winning effort.

The 29-year-oldPatna-born athlete,who jumped to 1.83m to

win the Bronze, sufferedmeniscus dislocation (a type ofknee injury) on Monday andwept all through the night.

“I felt great to have wona Bronze because I had an

injury on my leg (sus-tained during trainingon Monday), mymeniscus dislocatedlast night. I the criedwhole night and

thought of pulling outof the event,” Kumar

said after the event.“I spoke to my family back

home (last night) and myfather asked me to readBhagavad Gita and focus onwhat I can do and not on whatI have no control over,” he said.

“So, I put the injury asidebut every jump I took was awar. The medal is the icing onthe cake,” said Kumar who is aMasters degree holder inInternational Relations fromJawaharlal Nehru University.

Osaka off the mark

AFP n NEW YORK

Greek third seed StefanosTsitsipas outlasted three-

time Grand Slam championAndy Murray in a five-set USOpen first-round thriller onMonday at Arthur AsheStadium.

Tsitsipas defeated the112th-ranked British star 2-6,7-6 (9/7), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in anatmosphere more like anintense second-week show-down than a curtain-raiser forthe fortnight.

“It didn’t come easy,”Tsitsipas said. “Lots of sacrificesI had to make on the court toget back.” Murray, a three-timeGrand Slam champion, wouldhave been the lowest-rankedplayer to beat a top-three rival

at the US Open since therankings began in1973.

Two-time Olympicchampion Murray, the

2012 USOpen and2013 and2 0 1 6Wimbledon

winner, lostfor the first

time in 15 first-round US Open

matches despite cheersin a nearly full venue.“To have an electricatmosphere out

here is something we’ve beenwaiting for for almost a year,”Tsitsipas said.

Tsitsipas, this year’s FrenchOpen runner-up, took a longbreak before the final set, frus-trating Murray, who surren-dered a break in the openinggame.

Murray forced a break-point in the fourth game butTsitsipas saved it with a fore-hand winner and held to lead3-1.

Tsitsipas held at love in thefinal game to end Murray’svaliant effort after four hoursand 49 minutes and advance toa second-round match againstFrance’s Adrian Mannarino.

“I hope I can keep mygame at the same level I hadtoday,” Tsitsipas said.

Elsewhere, Russian fifthseed Andrey Rublev advancedby ousting 221st-ranked IvoKarlovic 6-3, 7-6 (7/3), 6-3. The42-year-old Croatian was theoldest US Open qualifier in theOpen Era (since 1968).

Tsitsipas outlasts Murrayin five-set US Open thriller

Steyn announcesretirement

We’re preparing ourselves forIndian fightback: CollingwoodLondon: England assistant coach PaulCollingwood feels India’s batsmen arecoping too much criticism for their failurein the third Test at Leeds and his team isbracing up for a strong fightback from thevisitors in the fourth game starting here onThursday. “I thought we bowled tremen-dously well. It is easy to criticise theIndian batsmen when you are an Indiansupporter but there was a lot of movementon the pitch on the first day,” Colingwoodsaid.

“...It was kind of conditions with a bitof moisture in the pitch and it was tricky forthe batsman, the way we bowled againstthem. Virat (Kohli) said in his post-matchconference, the accuracy and relentness ofour bowlers was something that they strug-gled against and accuracy I thought was fan-tastic,” he added.England made a stunningcomeback in that game after being thrashedin the second Test at Lord’s by 151 runs.

“Can they (India) bounce back? I amsure we are certainly preparing ourselvesfor an Indian bounce back. We know thatthey are a high-quality team and we havealways prepared ourselves that they aregoing to be 100 percent ready for the nextbattle in new set conditions at the Oval,”added the 45-year-old. PTI

BCCI puts `2000 crore asbase price for new IPL teams

Pardeep smashesall-time PKL record

Vinesh out, Sangeetain for World C’ship

Ronaldo eyes more Man Utd history after ‘dream’ returnKean joins Juve

Turin: Moise Kean will be thefinal piece of Juventus’post-Cristiano Ronaldoattack after the Italy for-ward completed hismove from Everton onTuesday.

Kean, 21, returns tothe club where he began his

professional career as an acad-emy graduate on atwo-year loan whichwill then turn into apermanent sale for areported fee of 20 mil-lion euros ($23.6 mil-lion), subject to certain

conditions being met. AFP

Eng ready to face worldclass Ashwin: Root

12

tollywoodVijayawada | Wednesday September 1, 2021

K RAMYA SREE

ecently released Sridevi SodaCenter is currently the talkof the town and has openedto positive reviews. Directedby Palasa 1978 fame KarunaKumar, the film starring

Sudhir Babu and Anandi, also hassenior actor Naresh playing the role ofthe heroine’s father, one of the major

characters in the film.Speaking to the media post the suc-

cess of the film, an elated Naresh said,“I am very happy that this movie was agreat success. The experience of por-traying a father in this film is com-pletely different from what I have donepreviously. Krishna garu(Ghattamaneni) called me after watch-ing the film and said that my charactermoved him to tears. I was overjoyed

when everyone said I did very well inthe film.”

What makes this film more specialto Naresh is the tweet by MaheshBabu. He says Mahesh doesn’t tweetabout any film if he doesn’t like it.

Sharing one of the incidents fromthe shoot with Sudhir, Naresh said,“Sudhir Babu is a very hard-workingactor in this generation. While shoot-ing for the climax scene, where Sudhirhad to spit on my face, he felt extreme-ly uncomfortable. He clearly said hecannot do it and we had to make otherarrangements for this scene.”

Like many others, even Naresh saidthat the music by Manisharma was anadded benefit for the film’s success.

Giving insights about his future pro-jects, he said, “I have some goodweightage roles in Tuck Jagadish, andNithiin’s Maestro. I am doing anotherfilm with Ashok Galla, and am in talkswith a few others.”

Produced by Vijay Chilla and ShashiDevi Reddy, the film tells a love storywhile looking at how caste issues pre-vail even today.

con star AlluArjun is defi-nitely one of thepopular actorsof India andother South

Asian countries, thanks tohis movies being dubbedin multiple languages. Theactor, who is an activesocial media user andcommands a massive fanfollowing from all over the

world, hit 13 millionmilestone on Instagram.

To thank his followersfor the same, AlluArjun posted a stun-ning picture of himselfin an all-black outfitamid the scenic beau-ty of rocks in thebackground.

With this, he hasnow become the firstmost followed maleSouth Indian actor,followed by VijayDeverakonda who is

at the second with 12.9million followers onInstagram. ActressSamantha Ruth is current-ly the highest followedSouth Indian actor on

Instagram, with 18.4 mil-lion followers.

Not just the common,the actor has fans from hisindustry as well.Previously, Bollywoodactors like Tiger Shroff,Shilpa Shetty, HrithikRoshan, and cricketerDavid Warner hadexpressed their love andadmiration for Allu Arjun.

On the work front, AlluArjun will be next seen inthe upcoming film Pushpa,directed by Sukumar. Thefilm is based on the redsanders smuggling mafiaprevalent in the Chittoordistrict. RashmikaMandanna is the leadinglady and Malayalam actorFahadh Faasil plays theantagonist of the film. Thepan Indian will be releasedin two parts — the firstpart is scheduled to releasein theatres for Christmasin Hindi, Tamil,Malayalam, and Kannadalanguages. He also has afilm lined up with directorKoratala Siva, which istentatively referred to as#AA21.

Naresh elatedover applause for

his role in SSC

ctress JyotikaSaravanan, who isranked among the bestactress of South cine-ma on Tuesday, for-ayed into social media

through Instagram.The 43-year-old actor, who pre-

dominantly appears in Tamilfilms, shared a series of photosfrom Kashmir in her first post.

“Hello everyone! On socialmedia for the very first time! Alot of positivity to share from mylockdown diaries,” Jyotika cap-tioned the pictures.

The actor, known for her spec-tacular roles in films likeChandramukhi, Tagore, and Mass,said that she went on a 70km trekin the Himalayas on theIndependence Day weekend.

“At the Himalayas onIndependence Day, The beautifulKashmir Great Lakes, 70 km trekWith the awesome team of Bikatadventures — Rahul, Sachin, Rauland Ashwin, n the Kashmir teamMushtaq n Riyaz bhai. Thank u(sic). Life is only an existence,unless we start living it!! India is

gorgeous! Jai hind!” she furtherwrote in the post. Meanwhile, herhusband and superstar Suriyashared her first post on hisInstagram stories and welcomedher, callinger her his strongestgirl!

It is to be noted that she hasgarnered a staggering 1.5 mil-lion+ followers in no time and ispoised to break more than a fewrecords soon.

She was last seen in the Tamillegal drama Ponmagal Vandhal,which was released on AmazonPrime Video in May 2020.

Jyotika will next appear in thefamily drama Udanpirappe,backed by 2D Entertainmentwhich is headed by her husbandand South star Suriya.

The project is part of a four-film deal with Amazon underwhich the movies will be releaseddirectly on the streaming plat-form this year.

Other films in the line-up areJai Bhim, a legal drama starringSuriya and Prakash Raj, children'sfilm Oh My doG and the satiricaldrama Raman Aandalum.

he trailer of young actorsNaga Shaurya and RituVarma-starrer VaruduKaavalenu was released to agood response on Tuesday.Directed by LakshmiSowjanya, under the banner

of Sitara Entertainments, the trailerreveals that it is a story of how twoopposites come together.

The characters, thought processes,the mindset of lead actors, comedy, andmusic, are what make the film standout in the genre of love stories. Thecontrasting couple is sure to keep youglued to the screen. The teaser givesyou the vibes of a feel-good familymovie.

The songs Kola Kale Ilaa and thecontroversial Digu Digu Naga from thefilm, have already scored well with

audiences. Currently, we’re told, that the movie

is in its post-production works and isin the last phase of completion. Themakers of the film are pretty confidentthat Varudu Kaavalenu’s story, dia-logues, songs, emotions, and artists’performances will surely strike a chordwith the audience.

Varudu Kaavalenu also stars Nadiya,Murali Sharma, Vennela Kishore,Praveen, Ananth, Pammi Sai, KireeriDaamaraju, Rangasthalam Mahesh,Arjun Kalyan, Vaishnavi Chaitanya,and Sidduque Sha in key roles.

Dialogues have been penned byGanesh Kumar Ravuri, while cine-matography is by Vamsi Patchipulusu,music by Vishal Chandrashekhar, andediting by National Award winnerNavin Nooli.

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Varudu Kavalenu dropsinteresting trailer

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Jyotika makes forayinto Instagram

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head of the film’s release, actor RamPothini released the trailer of Seetimarr onTuesday. The Gopichand and TamannaahBhatia-starrer is all set to release in the-atres on September 10, on the occasion ofVinayaka Chavithi.

Wishing luck and success to the team ofSeetimaarr, Ram Pothineni wrote,“@YoursGopichand & @tamannaahspeaks lookFantastic! A BIG Screen experience for sure! # Goodluck @IamSampathNandi (sic).”

The trailer is loaded with power-packed scenesthat narrate the struggle of Gopichand, trainer of awomen’s kabaddi coach, in achieving the team’sgoals.

He faces challenges from powerful people anddeals them with brain and brawny ways. Tamannaahtoo is seen playing Kabaddi coach Jwala Reddy inthe film. Since the trailer’s release, #Seetimaarr hasbeen trending on social media at the #1 spot.

Directed by Sampath Nandi, the film is producedby Srinivasaa Chitturi under Srinivasaa Silver Screen.The film will clash with Naga Chaitanya and SaiPallavi’s Love Story at the box office.

This is the second time Gopichand and SampathNandi have come together, after the 2017 filmGoutham Nanda.

Seetimaarr’s music is composed by Mani Sharmaand it is bankrolled by Srinivasaa Chhitturi.

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Seetimaarr

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