Kashmir curbs eased for Friday prayers - Bigo.sg

BCCI FINALLY COMES UNDER NADA

HK CHIEF WARNSOF ECONOMICDOWNTURN

VICE PRESIDENTBATS FOR CODE OFCONDUCT FOR MPS

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SATURDAY10 AUGUST2019

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�UNCERTAINTY NOT GOOD FORCONGRESS�

P9 P12

THUMBNAILS

WEATHER

Jaitley in AIIMS ICU: Former Finance Minister

Arun Jaitley was admitted to the AIIMS in

Delhi on Friday after he complained of

breathlessness and restlessness. He is under-

going treatment in the Intensive Care Unit

under the supervision of a multidisciplinary

team of doctors. The AIIMS, in a statement,

said, �Arun Jaitley was admitted to AIIMS

today morning. He is currently undergoing

treatment in the Intensive Care Unit under

the supervision of a multidisciplinary team of

doctors. At present, he is haemodynamically

stable.� P6

Rahul speaks to PM: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi

on Friday spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi

on the flood situation in Kerala and sought assis-

tance for those affected in the State, including in

his constituency Wayanad. Gandhi called Modi and

asked for relief and assistance to those affected.

�Spoke to the Prime Minister seeking all possible

assistance for the people severely affected by

the floods and landslides in the state, especially in

Wayanad. The PM has assured to provide any

assistance required to mitigate the effects of the

disaster,� Gandhi tweeted from his Wayanad MP

twitter handle.

DMK wins Vellore LS seat: In a nail biting finish,

DMK's D M Kathir Anand on Friday won the Vel-

lore Lok Sabha segment defeating his nearest

rival, AIADMK's ally A C Shanmugam, by a nar-

row margin of 8,141 votes. The result came as

a setback to the AIADMK which was hoping to

retain the seat and prove a point after it

faced a near rout in the April Lok Sabha elec-

tions with the DMK-led alliance winning 37 of

the 38 constituencies then. The DMK candi-

date bagged 4,85,340 votes and garnered a

47.3 per cent vote share. P6

Prannoy Roy stopped from leaving country:

News television network NDTV's founders

Prannoy Roy and his wife Radhika, facing an

alleged corruption case, were prevented from

flying abroad on Friday on the basis of a

�preventive� lookout circular issued by the CBI. In

a statement, NDTV said Roy and his wife were

stopped from travelling abroad on the basis of

�a fake and wholly unsubstantiated corruption

case initiated by the CBI� two years ago. P6

SNS & PTISRINAGAR/JAMMU, 9 AUGUST

After being con-fined to theirhomes for days,people in Kash-

mir offered Friday prayersin their local mosques asrestrictions were eased forthe purpose, officials said,adding the Valley was large-ly peaceful barring minorincidents of stone peltingin the apple-town of Soporein north Kashmir.

People, who have beenvirtually been kept indoorsbecause of heavy securitydeployment in the wake ofremoval of special status forJammu and Kashmir andbifurcation of the state,were allowed to go tomosques in their localitieswithout being questionedby security personnel.

With no untoward inci-dent, the situation, as of now,was reported to be fine inSrinagar city and southKashmir, the officials said,but added that reports fromall areas are yet to arrive.

The Jammu districtadministration on Fridaywithdrew prohibitory ordersunder CrPC Section 144imposed here on August 5in view of the Centre abro-gating constitutional pro-visions that accorded spe-cial status to Jammu andKashmir.

According to the orderissued by Jammu DistrictMagistrate SushmaChauhan, all schools, col-leges and academic insti-tutions may resume theirfunctioning normally from

August 10.The officials said there

were minor incidents ofstone pelting in Soporetown of north Kashmir, 50

km from Srinagar, but wascontained immediatelyand the crowd dispersed.

Restrictions were easedto allow people in Kashmir

to offer Friday prayers inlocal mosques, the offi-cials said, as security forceswere put on high alertacross the Valley.

PRESS TRUST OF INDIANEW DELHI, 9 AUGUST

President Ram Nath Kovindon Friday gave assent to alegislation for bifurcationof Jammu and Kashmir, andtwo Union Territories ~Jammu and Kashmir, andLadakh ~ will come intoexistence on 31 October.

Parliament had earlierthis week given its nod tothe legislation for bifurcatingthe state, a bold and far-reaching decision thatseeks to redraw the map andfuture of a region at the cen-tre of a protracted militancymovement.

The President has givenassent to the Jammu andKashmir ReorganisationAct, 2019, a home ministryofficial said. “In exercise ofthe powers conferred byclause (a) of section 2 of theJammu and Kashmir Reor-ganisation Act, 2019 (34 of2019), the Central Gov-ernment hereby appointsthe 31st day of October,2019, as the appointedday for the purposes of thesaid Act,” a home ministrynotification said.

Three days after thefar-reaching decision toabrogate the special sta-tus given to Jammu andKashmir under Article 370and bifurcate the state,Prime Minister NarendraModi, in a televised addressto the nation on Thursday,sought to assuage con-cerns of the people sayingJammu and Kashmir willnot remain a Union Ter-ritory for long.

According to the legis-lation, the Union Territo-

ry of Jammu and Kashmirwill have a legislature likePuducherry and Ladakhwill be a UT like Chandi-garh, without legislature.

In both UTs, key sub-jects such as law and orderwill be with the Centre.

The UT of Jammu andKashmir will have a Lieu-tenant Governor and themaximum strength of itsassembly will be of 107which will be enhanced to114 after a delimitationexercise. Twenty-four seatsof the Assembly will con-tinue to remain vacant asthey fall under Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

The UT of Ladakh willhave Kargil and Leh districts.

STATESMAN NEWS SERVICET�PURAM, 9 AUGUST

Unabated heavy rains lashedKerala with a fury on Fridaytoo, triggering landslides andfloods in many parts of thestate. Kerala chief ministerPinarayi Vijayan said 28people have died over thepast three days in rain-related incidents in thestate, which is again at thereceiving end of the nature'sfury.

Four members of a fam-ily were killed when thetwo-storied house they hadmoved into a day before col-lapsed in Kunduthodu nearEdavanna in Malappuramdistrict following heavyrains on Friday morning.According to the police,the family shifted to theirnewly-built house afterheavy rains flooded their oldhouse, located nearby, last

night.Nearly 100 acres of tea

estate land, along with atemple, mosque, post officeand the plantation com-

pany's canteen, werewashed away on Thursdayevening in Puthumala, nearMeppadi in Wayanad dis-trict. The bodies of two

men, two women and twochildren were recoveredfrom the spot. NDRF per-sonnel rescued 54 peoplefrom Puthumala in Mep-

padi, Wayanad where ahuge landslide occurred,and one more team is onthe way to Wayanad. Thearea has been cut off as thereis no connectivity. Accord-ing to latest reports, threebodies have been recoveredfrom the area.

As many as 40 people arefeared trapped under debrisafter a massive landslideoccurred at Bhoodhanamnear Kavalappara in Nil-ambur in Malappuram dis-trict. An entire village hasreportedly been buried ina landslide that occurred onThursday evening

The rain that has batte-red Kozhikode district cla-imed five more lives. Thebodies of MakkoolMuha-mmed Haji and Shareef-Sakhafi, who went missingin the river at Valayannurnear Kuttiyadi, were recov-ered. (SEE ALSO P7)

STATESMAN NEWS SERVICEKOLKATA, 9 AUGUST

The Chief Election Commis-sioner (CEC), Mr Sunil Arora,on Friday categorically dis-missed the demand for doingaway with EVMs and bringingback ballot papers, citing orderspassed by the Supreme Courtin the past.

He also said assembly elec-tions in Jammu and Kashmirwill be held only after receiv-ing a formal communationfrom the union ministries ofhome, and law and justice tothat effect.

West Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee and a hostof other opposition leaders,including TDP's N Chan-drababu Naidu, Farooq Abdul-lah of the National Confer-ence and Maharashtra Navnir-man Sena (MNS) president

Raj Thackeray, have repeated-ly claimed that Electronic Vot-ing Machines could be tam-pered with and demanded areturn to ballot papers.

“We are not going back tothe era of ballot papers. TheSupreme Court has more thanonce said that ballot papers areour past,” Arora told reporters

at the Kolkata airport. Baner-jee has often said that EVMswere earlier used in developed countries like theUSA, UK, France and Germanybut they all reverted to ballotpapers.

Arora is in the city to attendevents organised by the WestBengal National University of

Juridical Sciences and IIM (Cal-cutta) on Friday and Saturday.

When asked about the pos-sibility of holding assemblyelections in Jammu and Kash-mir, where the House was dis-solved in November last year,Arora said it could happenonly after a formal communi-cation was received from theunion home ministry and theministry of law and justice.

“We are waiting for the for-mal communication from thehome and law ministries,” hesaid. The Centre had on Mon-day abrogated provisions of Arti-cle 370 of the Constitution thatgranted special status to Jammuand Kashmir and split the stateinto two Union Territories.

The UT comprising Jammuand Kashmir division will havea legislative assembly like Delhi,while Ladakh will not haveone like Chandigarh.

When asked whether theNational Register of Citizens(NRC), a hugely contentiousissue in Assam, will be imple-mented in West Bengal, Arorasaid the matter was beinglooked at by the Supreme Court.

“Let the Supreme Courtcome out with a verdict. At themoment it is for Assam. TheSupreme Court has not given the verdict. I cannot give a verdict and cannot forecast,”he said.

Addressing rallies duringthe Lok Sabha polls, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi and BJPchief Amit Shah had made astrong pitch for NRC in WestBengal. The purpose of theNRC, which is being updatedin Assam under the apex court'ssupervision, is to identifybonafide Indian citizens livingin the state and weed out ille-gal migrants.

STATESMAN NEWS SERVICENEW DELHI, 9 AUGUST

New Delhi on Friday saidPakistan was feeling nervoussince the abrogation ofArticle 370 of the Consti-tution in Jammu and Kash-mir and its bifurcationwould lead to the overalldevelopment of the region,thus nullifying its justifica-tion for cross-border ter-rorism.

“It’s time for Pakistan toaccept the reality (about thenew status of J & K) and stopinterfering in the internalaffairs of India,’’ ExternalAffairs Ministry spokesper-son Raveesh Kumar said ata media briefing. He saidIslamabad’s fear was that itwould no longer be able tomislead the people of J &K and promote its agenda.

Reiterating that Indiaregretted the ‘unilateral’steps taken by Pakistan likedowngrading diplomaticties, stopping bilateral tradeand suspending the‘Samjhauta’ Express, hereiterated that Islamabadhad resorted to these mea-sures to present an ‘alarm-ing picture’ of bilateral ties.‘’They (Pakistan) wanted togive an impression thatsomething big is going tohappen (in India-Pakistanrelations) which is not thecase,’’ he added.

On whether Indian HighCommissioner to PakistanAjay Bisaria has returned toNew Delhi following hisexpulsion by Islamabad,he said, "He is not in Delhi.We have asked Pakistan toreview their decision. Thetiming of his return will bedetermined later.’’ He alsodenied that Pakistan has

closed its air space. Only re-routing has been done.

On Pakistan taking upthe J & K issue with the UNSecurity Council, thespokesperson said Indiahad briefed almost all for-eign countries and inter-national organisations thatchanging the status of J &K was entirely an internalmatter of India. "We havetold them that the Consti-tution is a sovereign juris-diction…what we have donein J & K is an internal mat-ter of India.’’ However, if Pak-istan still continued to inter-nationalise the issue, Indiawould decide what it need-ed to do.

The spokesperson notedthat reactions have comefrom certain countries likethe UAE, the Maldives andSri Lanka which clearlysuggest that Pakistan hasnot succeeded in itsattempts to garner the sup-port of the internationalcommunity.

CEC rules out return to ballot papers

J&K, LadakhUTs to come into being on 31 Oct

Kashmir curbs easedfor Friday prayersProhibitory orders withdrawn in Jammu; schools, colleges to reopen

Rescue personnel evacuate families at Eloor, in Ernakulam district, in Kerala on Friday. AFP

STATESMAN NEWS SERVICEJAMMU, 9 AUGUST

Communist Party of India(Marxist) leader SitaramYechury and CPI leader DRaja were on Friday"detained" at the Srinagarairport when they landedthere amid security clam-pdown in the valley fol-lowing scrapping of theArticle 370. The authori-ties had on Thursday

stopped Congress leaderGhulam Nabi Azad at theSrinagar airport and senthim back to Delhi.

The CPI(M) said in atweet that Yechury hasbeing detained at SrinagarAirport and was notallowed to move anywheredespite “informing theadministration about hisvisit to meet CPI(M) for-mer MLA MohammadYousuf Tarigami who is

unwell”.The party strong-ly protested "this illegaldetention." It said deten-tion of its leader "showsthe authoritarian face ofthe Government”.

Prior to his departure,Yechury had tweeted thathe and Raja were flying onthe 9.55 am IndiGo flightto meet comrade YousufTarigami and other partymembers in Jammu andKashmir.

ISLAMABAD, 9 AUGUST

Pakistan on Friday anno-unced that it will sus-pend the Thar Expresstrain service with Indiawhich links the two coun-tries across the Rajasthanborder, a day after itstopped the SamjhautaExpress following its deci-sion to downgrade bilat-eral ties.

Minister for RailwaysSheikh Rashid Ahmed onFriday announced the deci-sion to suspend the servicesof Thar Express and said thatthe last train would leavefor India late Friday night,the official APP news agencyreported.

“As long as I am theRailways Minister, the ser-vices of Thar and Samjhau-ta Express would remainsuspended,” he was quot-ed as saying.

The Thar Express has be-en running between Jodh-pur's Bhagat ki Kothi stati-on to Karachi every Fridaynight since services res-umed on February 18, 2006after a 41-year suspension.

Ahmed said 133 kmnew track was built with thecost of Rs 13 billion forThar Express and now thetrack would be used for Tharcoal project.

Since its resumption, theThar Express has beenpopular with people visit-ing families across theRajasthan border, and forPakistani Hindus who planto migrate to India.

The Samjhauta Expresswas held up at Wagah onThursday for some time byPakistan authorities, citingsecurity concerns. An Indi-an locomotive then broughtthe train to its side of theborder. PTI

After Samjhauta,Pakistan tosuspend TharExpress service

Pakistan mustaccept newreality: India

LADAKH

JAMMU &KASHMIR

Yechury, D Raja detained at airport

Heavy rains lash Kerala; death toll at 28

Bollywood topsFilm AwardsNEW DELHI, 9 AUGUST

Gujarati film Hellaro baggedthe best film honour at the66th National Film Awardson Friday while Bollywoodfilms Andhadhun, Uri: TheSurgical Strike and BadhaaiHo bagged multiple reco-gnitions.

Directed by AbhishekShah, Hellaro is set in Gu-jarat's Kutch region andexplores the theme ofwomen empowerment.The film also bagged the spe-cial jury award shared byits 13 leading ladies. Uri wonAditya Dhar a best directoraward and Vicky Kaushal thebest actor prize, sharedwith Ayushmann Khuran-na for Andhadhun. KeerthySuresh was adjudged bestactress for her role in Maha-nati. PTI (SEE P6)

Pakistan PM ImranKhan accused Indiaof creating a �war-like� situation simi-lar to the post-Pul-wama terrorattack to divertthe world's atten-tion from Kashmir

We are not goingback to the era ofballot papers.The

Supreme Courthas more thanonce said that

ballot papers areour past.

- Sunil Arora

2ND BIRTH

� President RamNath Kovind on Fri-day gave assent tothe legislation forbifurcation ofJammu and Kashmir� Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, in atelevised address tothe nation on Thurs-day, sought to assu-age the concerns ofthe people sayingJammu and Kashmirwill not remain aUnion Territory forlong.

With no unto-ward incident,the situation,as of now, wasreported to befine in Srina-gar city andsouth Kash-mir, officialssaid. Minorincidents ofstone peltingwere reportedfrom Soporetown

‘SITUATION NORMAL’

� The decision toease the restrictionswas taken after NSAAjit Doval directedauthorities to ensurethat no Kashmiris areharassed

� On Friday, peoplewere allowed to go tomosques in their lo-calities without beingsubjected to question-ing by security per-sonnel

� The clampdown inKashmir was imposedon Monday, hoursbefore the Centrerevoked J&K's specialstatus and split it intotwo Union territories

Generally cloudy sky. Strong surface windsduring the day. The maximum andminimum temperatures would be around34 and 27 degrees Celsius respectively.

RAINFALL: 00.9 MM

RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max.84% Min.67%TEMPERATUREMax: 34.0°C (0) Min: 28.4°C (1)SUN RISES SUN SETS05:48 hrs 19:06 hrsMOON RISES MOON SETS15:12 hrs 01:56 hrs

02THUMBNAILS

Court sends lobbyist

Deepak Talwar to judicial

custody in aviation scam:

A Delhi court Friday sent

corporate lobbyist Deep-

ak Talwar to judicial cus-

tody in connection with an

aviation scam which

allegedly led to losses for

Air India. Special Judge

Arvind Kumar sent Talwar

to jail after CBI produced

him before court on expiry

of his custodial interroga-

tion. CBI told the court

that accused was not

required for further inter-

rogation. PTI

Vice President, M VenkaiahNaidu planting a sapling atthe premises of Parliament,on the occasion of comple-tion of two years in office, inthe Capital on Friday SNS

NEW DELHI, SATURDAY 10 AUGUST 2019

It is time for Pak to accept the reality (of revoking of Art 370)and stop interfering in the internal affairs of another country

RAVEESH KUMARMINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS SPOKESPERSON

PTINEW DELHI, 9 AUGUST

The Delhi High Court on Fri-day declined to entertain aPIL seeking to stop therelease of the film BatlaHouse, which is slated to hittheatres on IndependenceDay, as the petitioner hadnot seen the movie.

“What is so obnoxiousabout the film? You (peti-tioner, his lawyers) havenot seen the film. Out of trail-er nothing can be done.Then why should we hearyou,” a bench of Chief Jus-tice D N Patel and Justice CHari Shankar asked.

Taking note of the viewexpressed by the bench,the plea by a resident of Aza-mgarh in Uttar Pradesh waswithdrawn as not pressedat this stage.

Ariz Khan, facing trial inthe Batla House encountercase, and ShahzadAhmed, who has appealedagainst his conviction andlife sentence in the samematter, have already movedthe high court to postponethe film's release on theground that proceedingsin their cases would beaffected.

Both Khan and Ahmadare also facing trial in the2008 Delhi serial bomb blastcase and have contendedthat the movie would affectproceedings in that matteralso.

Their plea is being heardby a single judge who willcontinue to hear it on August13.

When the lawyers for

the PIL petitioner, AamirRashadi Madani, soughtliberty to move the singlejudge with their plea, thebench declined to grantany such relief.

“If you want to with-draw, you can. But we willnot grant you any libertywhatsoever,” the court said.

The PIL had alleged thatthe film raises a questionmark on Khan, who hailsfrom Azamgarh, and Ahmed,as well as others living in thatarea.

It had also claimed thatthe film was not based onreal and correct facts whichhave been allegedly “dis-torted and twisted” to gain“cheap publicity”.

It had also alleged thatthe film would hurt the reli-gious sentiments of Muslims.

The encounter took placeon September 19, 2008,when a team of the DelhiPolice Special Cell raided aflat in Batla House in southDelhi's Jamia Nagar on a tipoff that the alleged terror-ists involved in the Sep-tember 13, 2008 serial blastsin the national capital wereholed up there.

During the raid, a dec-orated police officer ~Inspector M C Sharma~was killed.

HC declines PIL onBatla House film


AMumbai-baseddelivery boy wasarrested yesterdayfor allegedly sending

multiple threat emails topolitical leaders, includingDelhi chief minister ArvindKejriwal, and parties.

The accused, AbhishekTiwari, 28, was arrested froma 'chawl' in Nala Sopara areaof Mumbai, police said. Tiwarihails from Unnao in UttarPradesh but has been livingin Nala Sopara since 2016. Heworks as a delivery boy of afurniture foam distributorthere.

Tiwari also allegedly senta bomb threat mail to the Indi-an National Congress's head-quarters in New Delhi, policesaid.

A complaint was recent-ly received at Delhi Police's

Cyber crime unit from theoffice of the Delhi CM regard-ing the threatening emails inwhich the sender was allege-ly giving life threats to Kejri-wal, said Anyesh Roy, deputycommissioner of police, CyberPrevention, Awareness andDetection Centre (CyPAD)of Delhi Police.

Three police teams of theCyber unit were immediate-ly formed for arresting theaccused. Based on technical

analysis of inputs collectedregarding origin of emails, con-nected mobile phone and IPlogs, the teams were rushedto Mumbai and Kanpur (UP)for locating the suspecteduser of the relevant email id,Roy said.

The suspect, however, hadgone underground and wasleaving very few digital foot-prints. With deep analysis oftechnical inputs, his loca-tion was traced to Nala Sopara,Mumbai, a densely populat-ed area, the DCP said.

The police team in Mum-bai searched hundreds ofchawls there until the accusedwas finally nabbed from achawl there, he said.

During interrogation,Tiwari disclosed that he want-ed to do "something big" todraw the attention of people.The first such email he sentto a Mumbai municipal office-bearer of a major political

party.When it did not make

waves as he had anticipated,he decided to send threatmails to senior political lead-ers, police said.

He sent another threat-ening mail of an impendingbomb blast to a nationalpolitical party's headquartersin New Delhi, the DCP said.

The mobile phone used bythe accused to send the emailshas been recovered and sub-jected to cyber forensic analy-sis. Further investigation wasin progress, the officer

added.In January this year, a 24-

year-old man was reported-ly arrested for allegedly send-ing an email to the DelhiCM's office, threatening toabduct his daughter. He want-ed to draw the attention of ahigh-profile person in orderto get better treatment for hispsychiatric issues.

Man held for sendingthreat mails to Kejri


Slamming AAP govern-ment, the Leader of Oppo-sition in Delhi Assembly,Vijender Gupta, todaysaid that Delhi govern-ment has not fulfilledeven a single promise intotality.

Dismissing AAP's claimthat it has fulfilled all itspromises, Gupta alleged:"The truth remains thatAAP Government has notfulfilled even a singlepromise in totality. AAP'smost cherished and pub-licized Delhi JanlokpalBill, swaraj bill, Mohallasabhas remained a distantdream," adding: "Also theprogress in much hypedhealth sector a lsoremained elusive duringthe last five years. Thepromised 900 new pri-mar y heal th centers(PHCs) and 30000 addi-tional beds never mate-rialized. No new hospitalor bed was added."

Gupta further allegedthat not a single extrabus has been added in thefleet.

"The AAP promised inits manifesto to set upwomen's security forcemade up of 10000 strongguards and 5000 bus mar-shals to prevent and detercrime on public trans-port remained a distantdream. The surksha but-ton in DTC buses is stilla dream."

AAP govt hasnot fulfilledpromises:Gupta


The Delhi BJP has decidedto intensify the party mem-bership drive in the finalphase of its "SangathanParv-Sadasyata Abhiyan"campaign.

Delhi BJP general secre-tary Kuljeet Singh Chahalsaid, "The people of Delhiare very happy with the

decision of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi to abolishArticles 370 and 35A, whichgave special status to Jammuand Kashmir, and as a resultof that bold decision by ourPrime Minister they arejoining the BJP in largenumbers".

He claimed, "Some peo-ple are also visiting theparty office with great enthu-siasm."

Chahal said: "The BJPworkers will also apprisethe people of Jammu andKashmir, who are residingin Delhi and the nationalcapital territory (NCR)region, about the benefitsof abolishing Articles 370 and35A."

The BJP launched theten-day membership driveon 2 August.

Senior BJP leaders,

including national vice pres-ident and state in-chargeShyam Jaju,

national secretary ArunSingh, state BJP presidentManoj Tiwari, state organ-isational secretary Sid-dharthan, and Leader ofthe Opposition in the DelhiAssembly Vijender Guptahad initiated the party mem-bership drive along withparty workers.

Delhi BJP intensifies membership drive

IN THE COURT OFSH. DHEERAJ MITTALARC/ACJ/CCJ, NDD,

Court No. 3, Ground Floor,Patiala House Courts,

New Delhi.Petition No. SC-83/2019.

Anjali Singhal & Anr.Versus

The State & Ors.FOR SUCCESSION

CERTIFICATE UNDER INDIANSUCCESSION ACT, 1925.

To,All Concerned.Whereas in the abovenoted

petition the applicant/peti-tioner has applied for Suc-cession Certificate to theHon'ble Court under Section372 of the Indian SuccessionAct, 1925 in respect of thedebts and securities any per-son having a claim againstor an interest in the Estateof the deceased Late AshokKumar Gupta, who died on16-03-2017 at All India Instituteof Medical Sciences, NewDelhi, are required to sendparticulars thereof in writingto the undersigned Court, tobe standing in the name ofdeceased.

Whereas the 31-10-2019 at 10O'clock in the forenoon hasbeen fixed for hearing of theapplication notice is herebygiven to all concerned.

Given under my hand andthe Seal of the Court on this7th day of June, 2019.

ARC/ACJ/CCJ, NDD,Patiala House Courts,

New Delhi.Seal of the Court

xyz-5430

NOTICE FOR PUBLICATION(ORDER 5, RULE 20 OF THE

CPC)SUMMONS FOR

SETTLEMENT OF ISSUESIn the Court of

Dr. Vijay Kumar DahiyaAdditional District Judge-01

Court No. 205, 2nd Floor,South West District, Dwarka

CourtNew Delhi-110075.CS No. 1849/2018

Corporation Bank— Plaintiff

VersusAyush Chauhan & Ors.

— DefendantsTo,

1. Mr. Ayush Chauhan, Sh.

Vinod Singh Chauhan, FlatNo. 143, Core-5, Block-B, San-skriti Apartments, Sector 19-B, Dwarka, New Delhi-110045.

Alternate Address : 1-A, 126,Awas Vikas Colony, Baraut,Distt. Baghpat, U.P.

2. Mr. Vinod Singh Chauhan,s/o Shri Rewa Singh, Propri-etor, M/s Rewa Traders, FlatNo. 143, Core-5, Block-B, San-skriti Apartments, Sector-19-B, Dwarka, New Delhi-110045.

Alternate Address : NearGaribdas Mandir, Chhawla,New Delhi-110071.

Whereas plaintiff has insti-tuted that above suit for recov-ery of Rs. 6,61,939/- against thedefendant. You are herebysummoned to appear in thisCourt in person or by apleader on the 16th day ofSeptember, 2019 at 10-00O'clock, to answer the same,failing which the suit will bedisposed of ex-parte.

Given under my hand andthe Seal of the Court, on this3rd day of July, 2019.

Additional District Judge-01

South West District, Dwarka Court

New Delhi-110075.Seal of the Court

xyz-5431

PUBLICATION NOTICEDEFENDANTS

(Order 5 Rule 20 of the Codeof Civil Procedure)IN THE COURT OF

SH. H.S. JAGGIADJ South-West-02

Court No. 310, 3rd FloorDistrict Court Complex

Dwarka, New Delhi.Suit No. GP No. 01/2018

S.K. SharmaVersus

Renu Sharma1. Smt. Renu Sharma, w/o

Shri Trilok Kachwaal, s/o ShriJagdish Kachwaal, r/o At PostOffice, Ramgarh Shekhawati,District Sikar, Tehsil Fathehpur,Pin-331024, Rajasthan.

Also at: 2. Smt. Renu Shar-ma, d/o Shri Mohan Lal Shar-ma, r/o 5-E/7, Kudi Bha-gatansani Houseing Board,District Jodhpur, Pin-342005,Rajasthan.

Whereas you are inten-tionally avoiding services ofsummons. It is hereby notifedthat if you shall not defend thecase on the day of 31-08-2019at 10.00 a.m. i.e. the day fixedin the matter, it will be heardand determined ex-parte.

Given udner my hand andthe Seal of the Court on this29th July, 2019.

ADJSouth-West-02

District Court ComplexDwarke, New Delhi.

Seal of the Courtxyz-5432

PROCLAMATION REQUIRINGATTENDANCE OF

DEFENDANT(Order 5, Rule 20 of the Code

of Civil Procedure)In the Court of

Sh. Balwant Rai BansalAddl. District Judge-05

Court No. 301, Third FloorSouth-West Distt.,

Dwarka CourtNew Delhi.

(CS/DJ/ADJ/248/2018)Ramesh Kumar Lakra

— PetitionerVersus

Alok Rai— Defendant

To,Alok Rai, s/o Kuldeep Narain

Rai, H. No. C-12/19, DLF Phase-I, Golf Course Road, Guru-gram (Haryana)-122001.

Also:1020, Tower-A2, Floor-10,

Spaze-I, I Tech. Park, SohnaRoad, Sector-49, Gurugram,Haryana-122002.

Also:Regus Office Centre, Level-

12, Building No. 8, Tower-C,DLF Cyber City, Phase-2, Guru-gram, Haryana-122002.

The Defendant AbovenamedWhereas plaintiff has insti-

tuted the abovesuit against

you for recovery of a sum ofRs.12,40,000/- you are here-by summoned to appear inthis Court in person or by apleader on the 11th day ofSeptember 2019 at 10-00O'clock, to answer the same,failing which the suit/appli-cation will be disposed of ex-parte.

Given under my hand andthe Seal of the Court, this20th day of July, 2019.

Addl. District Judge-05South-West Distt. Dwarka

CourtNew Delhi.


IN THE COURT OFSH. H.S. JAGGI

ADJ South-West-02Court No. 310, 3rd Floor,District Court Complex,

PC No. 18/2019Vijay Prakash Pandey

— PetitionerVersus

The State— Respondent

CITATION UNDER INDIANSUCCESSION ACT, 1925

Whereas an applicationunder Section 276 of the Indi-an Succession Act, 1925 forgrant of Probate/Letters ofAdminstration to the estate ofLate Smt. Chamela, w/o LateSh. R.B. Dubey, who died on 03-08-2018 has been made bySh. Vijay Prakash Pandey, s/oLate Shri Paras Nath Pandeyand Arvind Pandey, s/o LateShri Paras Nath Pandey, bothr/o RZF-724/B, Raj Nagar, Part-II, Palam Colony, New Delhi, inr/o the subject property inlast Will and Testament dated11-08-2018 bearing No. RZ-F-724-B, portion of Plot No. 13,area measuring 50 Sq. Yds., outof total 200 Sq. Yds., out ofKhasra No. 47/15/2, situated inthe area of Village-Palam,Delhi State Delhi Colonyknown as Raj Nagar-II, PalamColony, New Delhi (hereinaftercalled the property) by virtue

of Sale Deed duly registered asDoc. No. 11,650, in Addl. BookNo. I, Volume No. 3,102, onPages 159 to 163 dated 07-09-2006, in the office of theSub-Registrar-IX, New Delhi.

Whereas the 07-09-2019 hasbeen fixed for hearing of thecase. Notice is hereby giventhat any person having anyinterest in the Administra-tion of the Estate of the saiddeceased may if he/she desireappear in this court on thesaid 07-09-2019 and see theproceedings before the grantof Probate (or for Letters ofAdministration).

Given under my hand andthe Seal of this Court on this06-07-2019.

ADJ South-West-02District Court Complex,

Dwarka, New Delhi.Seal of the Court

xyz-5434

IN THE COURT OF SH. NARESH KUMAR LAKA

Addl. District Judge-03Room No. 316, 3rd Floor,

South East District,Saket Court Complex,

New Delhi.PC No. 48/2019

Prem Prakash Sharma— Petitioner

VersusState & Anr.

— RespondentSTo,

1. The State2. Kshitiz Mehta, r/o 107/6,

Juhu Tarang, New D.N. Nagar,Andheri (W), Mumbai-400053.

Whereas a petition U/S276/278 of the Indian Suc-cession Act, 1925, for grantof Probate/Letters of Admin-istration in respect of theimmovable/movable proper-ties left by Late Smt. PushpaRani Sharma, w/o Late Col.B.P. Sharma, r/o B-237, GreaterKailash-I, New Delhi-110048.

Notice is hereby given tothe General Public having any

interest in the Probate/Let-ters of Administration of theEstates of the abovenameddeceased persons and if anyperson desires, he/she canappear in this court on 16thSeptember, 2019 at 10 a.m.,and participate in the pro-ceedings before the grant ofLetters of Administration/Pro-bate.

Given under my hand andthe Seal of the Court, on thisthe 30th day of July, 2019.

Addl. District Judge-03South East District,

Saket Court Complex,New Delhi.


COURT NOTICEIN THE COURT OFMS. HARJOT KAUR

Civil JudgeJunior Division

Gurugram.Case No. CS/1791/2019

CNR No. HRGR02-002340-2019

Next Date : 11-09-2019 at 10-00 a.m.

KrishnaVersus

General PublicNotice to Defendant-1 Gen-

eral PublicIn above titled case the

defendant(s)/respondent(s)could not be served. It isordered that defendant(s)/respondent(s) should appearin person or through coun-sel on 11-09-2019 at 10 a.m.

For details logon to :https://highcourtchd.gov.in/?trs=district_notice&dis-trict=gurgaon

Given under my hand andthe Seal of the Court this 16-09-2019.


Gurugram.Seal of the Court

xyz-5438

IN THE COURT OFMS. APARNA CHOUDHARY


Gurgaon.CS/37/60/2018

Next date, purpose of case,Orders and Judgement as

well as other case information is available on

http://ecourts.gov.inPUBLICATION NOTICE

UNDER ORDER 5 RULE 20CPC

M/s. Jain Mini BazaarVersus

Veenit Kumar SharmaTo,

Veenit Kumar Sharma, r/o2198, Sector 7A, 2nd Floor,Faridabad, Haryan.

Whereas it has been provedto the satisfaction of thisCourt that the you cannot beserved in the ordinary wayof service. Hence this procla-mation under Order 5 Rule 20CPC is hereby issued againsthim/them and should appearpersonally or through theircounsel on 20-08-2019 at 10-00a.m.

Take notice that in default ofhis/their appearance on theday abovementioned, theabovesaid case will be heardand determined in his/theirabsence.

Given under my hand andthe Seal of this Court this08th day of August, 2019.


Gurgaon.Seal of the Court

xyz-5439

PROCLAMATION REQUIRINGATTENDANCE OF

DEFENDANT(Order 5, Rule 20 of the Code

of Civil Procedure)In the Court of

Medha AryaCivil Judge

Room No. 208,South-West District

Dwarka CourtsNew Delhi.

CS No. 1937/2018.Corporation Bank

— PlaintiffVersus

M/s. Ranjeet Enterprises &Anr.

— DefendantsTo,

Defendant No. 1: M/s. Ran-jeet Enterprises, Through itsProprietor, Sh. Davinder Singh,r/o A2/238, First Floor,Janakpuri, New Delhi.

Defendant No. 2: Sh. AvtarSingh, s/o Sh. Rajinder Singh,r/o RZ-17A, Dabri Mor, GaliNo. 5, Raghu Nagar, New Delhi-110045.

Whereas you are inten-tionally evading service ofsummons it is hereby noti-fied that if you shall notdefend the case on the 12thday of September, 2019 theday fixed for the final dis-posal, it will be heard anddetermined ex-parte.

Given under my hand andthe Seal of the Court, this 2ndday of August, 2019.

Civil JudgeDwarka Courts

South-West, DistrictNew Delhi.


COURT NOTICE(U/O 5 RULE 20 CPC)

IN THE COURT OFPardeep Choudhary

Additional Civil Judge(Senior Division),

Gurugram.CNR No. HRGR02-002076-

2019Next Date : 14-08-2019

Abhinav Munshi and Ors.Versus

State & Anr.PETITION U/S 372 OF THEINDIAN SUCCESSION ACT

READ WITH SECTION 151 OFCPC FOR GRANT OF

SUCCESSION CERTIFICATEIN FAVOUR OF PETITIONERS.

Notice to:General Public at LargeIn above titled case the

defendant(s)/respondent(s)could not be served. It isordered that defendant(s)/respondent(s) should appearin person or through coun-sel on 14-08-2019 at 10 a.m.

For details logon to :https://highcourtchd.gov.in/?trs=district_notice&dis-trict=gurugram

Given under my hand andthe Seal of the Court this 08-08-2019.

Additional Civil Judge(Senior Division),

Gurugram.Seal of the Court

xyz-5440

I, PRAMJEET Kaur, w/o Prab-hujeet Singh Bajwa, r/o B-47,Jhilmil Colony, Delhi-110095,have changed my name fromPramjeet Kaur to ParamjitKaur Bajwa for all future pur-poses as per affidavit swornbefore Notary Public Delhi on8th August, 2019.

xyz-5437

I, RAKHY Barua, W/o.Biswajit Barua, residing at 8,Banerjee Lane, P.O.:Ranaghat, Dist.: Nadia, Pin-741201, West Bengal, havechanged my name to RakhiBarua, vide Affidavit Num. -1464/19 dated 02.08.2019.

(B0375)

I, SHAISHTA Khan, W/o.Imran Khan, R/o. 44B, KarlMarx Sarani, C.G.R. Road,Kolkata-700023 herebyaffirm that my name haschanged from Shaishta toShaishta Khan, vide affi-davit sworn before the Ld.1st Class JudicialMagistrate Alipore No. 28628dated 12.06.19. HenceforthShaishta Khan and Shaishtaare same and identical per-son.

(B0380)

MR. ROOPAM Minocha, s/oLate Mr. Hans Kumar, r/o Udaypark, New Delhi-49, the solesurviving executor of the Willof Late Mrs. Maya Kumar, w/oLate Mr. Dhanwant Kumar, iscalled upon to accept/renounce the executorshipin respect of her Will dated 05-09-2002. Issued as per Sec-tion 229 of the Indian Suc-cession Act, 1925.

(Test Case No. 18/2016, nexthearing on 27-08-2019, beforeDelhi High Court.)

Ravi KumarW-155, Greater Kailash,

Part-INew Delhi.

xyz-5443

THIS is hereby informedthat Proposed ResidentialComplex by Akshay VinimayLLP at 12B, Beliaghata MainRoad, Ward No. 57 of K.M.C.,Kolkata-700015, WestBengal, have been accordedthe EnvironmentalClearance from State LevelEnvironmental ImpactAssessment Authority, WestBengal Vide Letter No.- 1539/ EN / T-II-I / 030 / 2016,dated 05.08.2019. The copyof the said clearance isavailable with WBPCB officeor SEAC / SEIAA website.

Akshay Vinimay LLP.1, Lu Shun Sarani

Todi Mansion9th Floor

Kolkata-700073(B0378)

VASTU Complaint 4 BHKready flat for sale atPanditia Road, Hazra Area,Kolkata-700029. Call:9051511111.

(B0381)

IN THE HIGH COURT OFDELHI AT NEW DELHIORIGINAL COMPANY

JURISDICTIONIn the matter of Scheme ofCompromise/Agreement,

C.A. (M) No. 135 of 2016Between

Iyogi Technical Services Pri-vate Limited

AndCreditorsPUBLIC NOTICE CONVENINGMEETINGS OF THE SECURED& UNSECURED CREDITORS

OF IYOGI TECHNICAL SERVICES PVT. LTD.

(HEREINAFTER REFERRED TOAS THE APPLICANT

COMPANY)Notice is hereby given that

by virtue of order dated 31-07-2019 passed in Company appli-cation (Main) No. 135/2016,the Hon'ble High Court ofDelhi has directed conveningseparate meetings of theSecured Creditors & Unse-cured Creditors of the appli-cant Company for the pur-pose of considering, and ifthough fit approving with orwithout modification(s), theArrangement embodied in

the Scheme of Arrangementbetween Iyogi Technical Ser-vices Pvt. Ltd. and its Creditors("Scheme").

In pursuance of the saidorders and as directed there-in, further notice is herebygiven that aforesaid meet-ings of the Secured & Unse-cured Creditors of the Appli-cant Company will be heldas under:

Sr. No., Class of Meeting,Date of Meeting, Time (IST),Place of Meeting

1. Secured Creditors Tues-day, the 10th Day of Septem-ber 2019, 10.00 a.m. AnandMangal Banquet, Sector 23,Dwarka Link Road, Dwarka,Delhi-110077.

2. Unsecured Creditors,Tuesday, the 10th Day of Sep-tember 2019, 12.00 noon,Anand Mangal Banquet, Sec-tor 23, Dwarka Link Road,Dwarka, Delhi-110077.

Copies of the said Scheme,the Explanatory Statementunder Sections 393 (1) (a) (b)and 173 of the CompaniesAct, 1956, read with Section 393(3) of the Companies Act, 1956and form of proxy can beobtained free of charge from25-08-2019 onwards on allworking days except Satur-days, Sundays & Public Holi-days on a requistion beingso made for the same by theCreditors of the ApplicantCompany to the Office of theAttorney of the ApplicantCompany or the registeredaddress of the Company men-tioned hereinbelow.

Persons entitled to attendand vote at the meetings mayvote in person or by proxy,provided that all proxies inthe prescribed form aredeposited at the registeredOffice of the Applicant Com-pany, not later than FortyEight (48) hours before thescheduled time of the com-mencement of the aforesaidmeeting. Forms of proxy canbe obtained from the Office ofthe Attorney of the ApplicantCompany mentioned herein-below.

The Court has appointedMr. Lalit Kumar Gupta as theChairman and Mr. GautamMehta as alternate Chairmanboth of whom are appointedfor the purposes of the afore-mentioned meeting. Theabovementioned compromiseor arrangement, if approvedby the meeting, will be subjectto the subsequent approval ofthe Court.

Registered Address of Appli-cant: Iyogi Technical ServicesPvt. Ltd. 2nd Floor, 16/1 Doc-tor's Lane, Gole Market, NewDelhi-110001.

Mr. Lalit Kumar Gupta &Mr. Gautam Mehta,

(Chairperson) &(Alternate Chairperson)

Seal of the CourtPlace : New Delhi

Dated : 08-08-2019xyz-5444

PHONEX LOGISTICSPVT. LTD. (CFS)

New Paharpur RoadKolkata-700066

Phonex CFS is organizingsale of Unclaimed /Uncleared Cargo Materialslying in 20 ft. & 40 ft. con-tainer under Section 48 ofCustoms Act., 1962, thru’online e-Auction on21.08.2019 (Wednesday).Inspection till 19.08.2019. Fordetails contact: MatexNetPvt. Ltd., Ph.: 4004 3578 /24660352, Visit: www.matexnetb2b.com E-mail:[email protected]

(B0377)

NOTICE Inviting e-Ten-der – Sealed tenders arehereby invited from theeligible contractors inconnection with the exe-cution of 25 Nos. ofworks. The details of theNIT No. 12 & NIeT No. 13 of19-20 will be available inthe Dist. Website & Office.Later will also be avail-able in the website:http://wbtenders.gov.in

Sd/-Addl. Executive Officer

MurshidabadZilla Parishad

(B0376)

e-TENDERS are herebyinvited from the eligiblecontactors / suppliers forthe InternalElectrification works asspecified in NIT No.: 671 /BPM / N- 31 / 2019; dated:08.08.2019 (Closing date:12.09.2019, 4.00 p.m.). Fordetails please contactthe office of theChairman, BuniadpurMunicipality, DakshinDinajpur.

ChairmanBuniadpur Municipality

(B0382)

THE UNIVERSITYOF BURDWAN

For Research Assistantof a ICSSR funded projectvisit: www.buruniv.ac.in

PI(B0379)

LEGAL NOTICES

KOLKATAStatesman House, 4, Chowringhee SquareKolkata-700 001 Tel: (033) 22127070-76, (033) 41071700Fax: (033) 2212-6181 / 7107-1780Email:[email protected]@[email protected]

DELHIStatesman House, 148, Barakhamba Road, New Delhi-110 001 Tel: (011) 2331 5911 3/10, INS Building (3rd floor) Rafi Marg, New Delhi-110 001, Tel: (011) 2371 8434

Ishan House (2nd floor) A-90, Sector II, NOIDA, UP 201 301 Tel: (0120) 3891800/810, Email: [email protected]@[email protected] Advertisement:[email protected]

BHUBANESWARPlot 3A, Zone B, Sector A,Mancheswar Industrial Estate,Bhubaneswar-751 010.Tel: (0674) 2588060/61/62/2586371, Telefax: 0674-2588061Email:[email protected]@gmail.com

SILIGURI13A, Dabgram IndustrialGrowth Centre, P.O. Satellite Township, Siliguri-734015Tel: 2568615, 2568063 and2568787. Fax: (0353) 2568296,Email: [email protected] Office: 3rd Floor, RinaBhawan, Opp. HDFC Bank,Panitanki More, Sevoke Rd.,Siliguri-734015.Ph.: 0353-2524077

SHIMLA

Cabin No. 305, P. C. ChambersNear Jodha NiwasThe Mall Shimla-171001, H.P.Tel: 0177-2815000Email:[email protected]

CHANDIGARH

SCO 56-57 (First Floor)Near G.P.O, Sectro-17DChandigarh-160017Tel: 0172-4184665/6Email:[email protected]

HYDERABAD

The Statesman Limited, 2ndFloor, UNI Building, A.C. Guards, Hyderabad-500004, Ph.: 040-2339 1739Email: [email protected]

BANGALORE

No. 68, First Floor, Gold Tower,

50 Residency Road, Bangalore-

560025.Tel.; 080-22229129, 080-22234813Email: [email protected]

MUMBAI

5, Kasturi Buildings, JamshedjiTata Road, Mumbai-400 020Tel: (022) 2202 1045,Email: [email protected]

[email protected]

CHENNAI

Fagun Mansion (4th floor), 26,Ethiraj Road, Chennai-600 008,Tel: (044) 28278037, 28224800Email:[email protected]

LUCKNOW

2/2, Butler Palace (Near JoplingRoad), Lucknow-226 001, Ph.: (0522) 2206705Email: [email protected]

RANCHI

11/C, Road#1, Ashoknagar,

Ranchi - 834 002

Fax: (0651) 2247054

Email: [email protected]

AIR-SURCHARGE; Kathmandu - Re. 2, Eastern Region - Re. 1All other stations in India - Re. 1

xyz-5442

xyz-5441

COMPANYNOTICES

NEW DELHI, SATURDAY 10 AUGUST 2019 03I suggest that political parties should have a code ofconduct for their MPs to monitor their behaviour

M VENKAIAH NAIDUVICE PRESIDENT

STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 9 AUGUST

Delhi chief ministerArvind Kejriwaland Union waterresources minis-

ter Gajendra SinghShekhawat today jointlyinaugurated the project ofunderground natural waterreservoirs to conserve rain-water in the Yamuna flood-plains here.

Kejriwal has been mon-itoring this pilot projectregularly, according to theDelhi government officials.It is the country's first pro-ject of its kind, which hasbeen conceived in order totackle water scarcity in thenational capital.

Speaking on the occasion,Shekhawat said: “This is a

unique experiment. I con-gratulate you and I want thispilot project to be a success.In the coming time, thispilot project can become aDelhi model to be showcasednot only in India but acrossthe world.”

In this monsoon rain-dependent pilot project,artificial reservoirs of one-metre depth are being cre-ated in which floodwater willbe collected. The water isexpected to be graduallyrecharged. It would then

come back to the Yamunariver through a naturalprocess.

The success of this pilotproject of the Delhi gov-ernment could prove to bea "milestone in water con-servation", the Union waterminister said.

Shekhawat laid stress onnot only the need for rain-water conservation but alsoon its "judicious use".

CM Kejriwal said thelaunch of the pilot projectwas a very big occasion forDelhi.

“I am an engineer and Ican say that science andtechnology can solve mostof the problems of society.But this will be possibleonly when all of us work withgood intentions", he said.

Kejriwal said that Delhi's

pilot project for naturalwater conservation wouldshow the way on how toresolve the major problemof depleting ground water.

Kejriwal said this pro-ject was not about reservoirsnear Yamuna. The Delhigovernment was creatingnatural underground reser-voirs and underground waterwould be recharged, notthe surface water.

He said a lot of researchhad already been done forthis project. Many presti-gious institutions, includingthe IIT-Delhi, had doneresearch on this subject,but it was never imple-mented.

“No serious effort wasever made, but now we havedecided to turn it into areality,” Kejriwal asserted.


The Delhi Pradesh CongressCommittee (DPCC) leaderstoday said that despiteattempts to divide secularforces and create fear psy-chosis by divisive forces, theCongress was still the "onlyparty which can fight againstthe communal agenda beingspread by the RSS and BJP inthe country".

Hoisting the national flagat Hauz Qazi Chowk here, for-mer DPCC president JaiPrakash Agarwal said, "Thetricolour symbolises the vic-tory of the Congress party overcommunal and divisive forces,who worked to create dishar-mony and divide the peopleof India on communal basis,at the time of the British ruleand such forces are at workeven now."

The DPCC working pres-idents, Haroon Yusuf andRajesh Lilothia, were pre-sent at the event.They said

the traders, farmers, labour-ers and other sections ofsociety were all "resentful"over the present situation.

"An attempt is being madeto create a fear psychosisamong them and the only wayto counter such a situationis to strengthen the Con-gress party, as this is the onlyparty which can fight againstthe communal agenda beingspread by the RSS and BJP inthe country," they said.

"The RSS and the BJP,through their divisive meth-ods, were trying to weakenand divide the Congress partyand the secular forces sothat the communal forcescould be strengthened," theCongress leaders charged.


The Jawaharlal Nehru Uni-versity (JNU) administrationissued a show cause noticeto the JNU Students Union(JNUSU) president N SaiBalaji today for allegedlyputting up posters on thewalls of some buildings onthe JNU campus.

The JNU administrationcharged the JNUSU presidentwith allegedly defacing theproperty of the varsity.

"Without giving anynotice for a preliminaryinquiry, JNU admin todaydirectly issued a show causenotice to me for resisting JNUadmin's attempts at curb-ing our freedom of expres-sion. It's ironical that I ambeing served a notice forputting a poster of Voltairewhich says I will defendyour right to free speech untilmy death," said the JNUSUpresident.

The notice issued by theJNU administration said:"The Chief Proctor's officereceived a complaint fromthe Chief Security Officerstating that Mr N Sai Bala-ji was involved in putting upposters on the walls of theacademic building, therebydefacing the property ofJNU. This is a deliberateact of indiscipline and agross violation of the rulesand regulations of the uni-versity."

Balaji hit back, charg-

ing that "JNU admin haddefaced our walls by remov-ing our posters." He accusedthe university administra-tion of "defacing" the librarythrough an 80% budget cut.

"If they want to punishus for resisting this deface-ment, they can! The Britishtook Bhagat Singh to the gal-lows for speaking truth topower. Today for wanting ourJNU walls to speak the verytruth of Bhagat Singh, JNUadmin wants to punish us,"he alleged.

Kejri, Shekhawat launch pilotproject in Yamuna floodplainsDelhi CM and Union water resources minister jointly inaugurate the rainwater conservation project

�Only Congress can fight BJP-RSS� communal agenda�

JNU admin issues notice to JNUSU prez over wall posters

A denuded tree against the backdrop of blue sky with white clouds , in the Capital on Friday. SUUBRATA DUTTA


In one of the most success-ful operations in recent timenine hard core criminalsbelonging to the NeerajBawana gang were todayarrested by the Delhi Police.This is one of the biggest suc-cess of the Delhi Police intackling these criminal gangsoperating in Delhi/NCR,police said.

The gang members wereapprehended in Village Jaun-ti, Delhi in the Kanjhawalaarea, where they had appar-ently gathered and wereplanning to carry outdacoities in Rohini and theadjoining areas, said thepolice.

Five pistols and 20 live car-tridges and two big battle axes(farsa) were recovered fromthe gang members. Three lux-

ury cars (Mercedes Benz,Mahindra Scorpio and Toy-ota Liva) were also confis-cated from their possession,police said.

The Neeraj Bawana gangis one of the oldest and mostnotorious gangs active inthe national capital and sur-rounding areas, and isinvolved in different types ofcrimes. The leader of thegang Neeraj Bawana is cur-rently lodged in Tihar jail.

Keeping in view the recenttrends wherein arms hadbeing used in the commis-sion of various crimes likesnatching and robberies inthe area of Kanjhawala, theDelhi police launched anextensive drive throughintense checking at pickets,aggressive patrolling in thearea, and intelligence gath-ering, which enabled us tokeep a track of this gangs

movements and we wereable to catch them today, saidDCP S D Mishra (Rohini dis-trict).

During their interroga-tion, the gang members toldthe police that they carriedout the assigned criminaltasks at the behest of theirgang leader Neeraj Bawana,who operates and monitorsall their criminal activitiesfrom his prison cell, the DCPsaid.

They were planning to roba few petrol pumps in the areain one go, so as to obtain somemoney and other resourcesand quickly move out of thearea, police said.

Efforts are being made tounearth details of their modusoperandi, details of othergang members and theiraccomplices and other plansof carrying out crimes, theDCP added.


Ahead of Independence Daycelebrations on 15 August,Delhi Transco Limited (DTL)and discom BSES have issuedan advisory for kite flyers. Theadvisory has been issued askites with metal coated man-jha often cause tripping oftransmission lines leadingto blackouts affecting largeareas.

Advising people to stayaway from the electricalinstallations while flying kites,DTL CMD Padmini Singlasaid, "People should fly kitesin open spaces such as parksand playgrounds and shouldnot use metal-coated man-jha for their own safety andto ensure that electrical wiresdo not get enmeshed with themetal manjhas while flyingthe kites. This will ensure

uninterrupted and smoothtransmission of power forthe city and prevent acci-dents."

"Sometimes this otherwiseinnocent & fun activity canbecome hazardous, and evenend up being fatal. Flyingkites is not the problem, it'sthe metal coated thread ormanjha which is the realthreat. The wide-spread useof metal coated manjha -which is a good conductor ofelectricity - poses a greatdanger not only to the per-son flying the kite, but can alsodisrupt electricity supply ofan area. Each year, there areseveral instances on thiscount," said a BSES official.

According to a BSESspokesperson, "People shouldenjoy kite flying, but theyshould do so responsibly. Weadvise residents not to fly kitesnear electricity installations,

including overhead cablesand certainly avoid usingmetal or metal-coated man-jha. These two simple mantraswill ensure a safe I-Day cel-ebrations."

In case of any emergencyBSES has issued an emergencynumber (BRPL- 1800 10 39707,BYPL- 41999808) or peoplecan make compaints throughits Mobile App or call its 24x 7 call centre numbers.

According to estimates,tripping of just one 33/66KV overhead line can disruptpower supply to over 10,000residents of an area and trip-ping of a single 11 KV line cando the same for over 2500 res-idents. Each year, there areseveral instances of trippingof electrical wires caused bykite-flying. Last year, therewere 12 instances of kite-flying related trippings inBSES' area.


All India Parents Association(AIPA) president AshokAgarwal has sent a letter toDelhi chief minister ArvindKejriwal, highlighting theissue of denial of admissionto a student by a Delhigovernment school.

In his letter, the AIPApresident stated that "14-year-old Ruby had been astudent in GovernmentUcch Prathamik Vidyalaya,Bharkuiya, Badaun, UttarPradesh from class I-VIII.She deregistered from theschool and obtained aTransfer Certificate (TC)from the school as sherecently shifted to Delhi".

Agarwal's letter to theDelhi CM further said:"She (Ruby) approached agovernment school inKapashera area for admis-sion to class IX for the aca-demic year 2019-20. Theschool at first asked her tochange her residentialaddress from Badaun toDelhi , which she didpromptly. Then the schoolasked her to open a bankaccount, which was alsoduly done by her. Finally,she was asked to get herschool leaving certificatecounter signed by the edu-cation authorities whichshe did l ikewise on29.07.2019. Thereafter,when Ruby approachedthe school for admission,she was denied admissionsaying that school has noseats left".

The AIPA presidentcomplained, "It appearsthat Delhi governmentauthorities are not awareof their uncompromisingconstitutional duties toprovide quality educationto each and every childthrough their schools andthat is why they are deny-ing admission to Ruby onsuch an unconstitutionaland flimsy grounds."


Delhi social welfare min-ister Rajendra Pal Gau-tam today visited home forleprosy and TB- affectedbeggars at Tahirpur Com-plex here to meet theinmates. He interactedwith them and discussedvarious issues concern-ing them.

The minister visitedthe entire complex tocheck their dining area,drinking water facility,kitchen, medical facility,etc. He also checked thequality of food being servedto them.

The renovation workwas continuing in thehome. Gautam asked thehome authorities to expe-dite the completion ofdining room and ensurethe installation of CCTVcameras in the homepremises at the earliest.

He also asked them todevelop green area fullythere as it would ensurefresh air and clean envi-ronment.

An eye camp for lep-rosy-affected personsresiding in HLTB Tahirpurwas also organised by thesocial welfare departmenttoday. About 96 inmatesavailed of the camp's ser-vices.

The minister saidinmates are the social wel-fare department's respon-sibility. The inmates havethe right to live life withdignity and pride, headded.

AIPA head seeksCM�s interventionin admission denialby govt school

VIGNETTE

Gautam visitshome for leprosy,TB-affectedbeggars

Discoms issue advisory on kite-flying

9 members of Neeraj Bawana gang arrested

04Though our country got independence in 1947, Kashmir remained some distance away from us all these years. This Article 370 was fuelling separatism in Kashmir, which is the crown of our country

VIJAY RUPANIGUJARAT CHIEF MINISTERNEW DELHI, SATURDAY 10 AUGUST 2019

THUMBNAILS

Cong opposes move to

shift SAI hostel from

Bilaspur to Jammu:

Himachal Pradesh Congress

Committee (HPCC) presi-

dent Kuldeep Singh

Rathore on Friday opposed

proposal of the Central

government to shift Vol-

leyball Sports Hostel run by

Sports Authority of India

(SAI) from present location

in Bilaspur district of

Himachal Pradesh to

Jammu. �This is yet anoth-

er dictatorial move by

Bharatiya Janata Party

(BJP) led NDA government

to assert its authority on a

state as has been done

time and again in recent

past,� said Rathore in a

release here. He said the

decision is against the sen-

timents of sportspersons

in Himachal Pradesh as vol-

leyball is a local sports and

will give jolt to sports facil-

ities in the state. �It was

established with the

relentless efforts of then

Chief Minister Virbhadra

Singh in 1986-87 by Sports

Authority of India in dis-

trict Bilaspur which was

first ever sports hostel to

be established anywhere in

India,� he said. Rathore

stated that it was estab-

lished to promote Volley-

ball in Himachal Pradesh.

Apart from this, sports

training in the field of

Kabaddi and athletics was

also being given there,

which has benefited rural

people and sports persons

of Himachal Pradesh in a

big way but due to

Himachal government�s

negligence there has been

no coach in this hostel for

last six months.Cong

opposes move to shift SAI

hostel from Bilaspur to

Jammu SNS

Chandigarh Commission for

Protection of Child Rights

releases its Annual Report

for Financial Year 2018-19

by VP Singh Badnore, Gover-

nor of Punjab & Administra-

tor at Punjab Raj Bhawan in

Chandigarh on Friday SNS

STATESMAN NEWS SERVICESHIMLA, 9 AUGUST

Post Graduate classes inEnglish and Hindi, Bache-lor of Business Administra-tion and Post Graduate inComputer Applicationscourses will be started at theCentre of Excellence Gov-ernment Degree CollegeSanjauli from next academicsession.

This was announced byChief Minister Jai RamThakur, while addressingthe Golden Jubilee Cele-bration of the Centre ofExcellence GovernmentDegree College on Friday.“The state government iscommitted to strengthenthis college and as soon asthe land was made available,girls’ hostel would be con-structed in the college,” hesaid.

The state governmenthas started a number of ini-tiatives to underscore theneed and importance of

research and innovation ininstitutions of higher learn-ing, he added. He said thathis government was com-mitted to provide qualityhigher education that pro-vides students access toworld-class teaching meth-ods and meets the dual chal-lenge of providing employ-ment while focusing oninclusive education.

“Education also neededto reflect and meet therequirements of contem-porary times. We shouldensure that the education-al institutions become potenttools of change that helps tomake our state as well asnation a more just, equitableand educated society,” hesaid. He said that Himachalis the second most literatestate of the country after Ker-ala and that the girls in par-ticular were doing com-mendable performance ineducation and have out-shined the boys in everycompetitive examination.

Thakur said that theteachers were the architectof the nation in real sense asthey not only impart edu-cation to the students but alsohelp in inculcating moral val-ues which were vital for theall-over development of thesociety.

He said that after parents,teachers were responsible forthe bright future of the stu-dents. He said that the teach-ers should also come forwardto inculcate moral valueamongst the students.

While expressing con-cern over the increase inci-dences of drug abuse amongthe students, CM exhortedthe teachers to come forwardto check this social evil.

The menace of drugs wasone of the most dreadedsocial evils which is damagingthe very fabric of the soci-ety, he added. The CM alsoreleased the Souvenir and e-Journal marking the Gold-en Jubilee of the College onthe occasion.


Former Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP) chief minister,Prem Kumar Dhumal on Fri-day said Defence Minister, Raj-nath Singh has replied himin writing that the ArmyTraining Command (ARTRAC)is not being shifted out fromShimla.

“The Union minister saidin his letter that the ministry

has not processed anythingin this regard,” Dhumal saidin a release here.

He said when the reportsregarding shifting of ARTRAChad come few months ago inmedia, he had taken up theissue with the central gov-ernment as the locals had alsoexpressed concern over this.“I had written a letter toDefence minister, RajnathSingh on 21 June, 2019 thatARTRAC should not be shift-ed out of Shimla as Himachalwill lose a prestigious insti-tution if it is done,” he said.


Congress leader and Shim-la (Rural) legislator Vikar-maditya Singh has sought agovernment resolution inthe forthcoming state Assem-bly session to ensure that thereis no dilution of Section 118of Himachal Pradesh Tenancy and Land ReformAct, 1972.

Addressing mediaper-sons on Friday, he appealedeven to all the member stateassembly of the ruling partyto rise above party lines towork towards bring about aresolution, which will also besupported by the opposi-tion Congress party.

“Resolution should bepassed in the monsoon ses-sion of the State Assembly bythe ruling state governmentunder appropriate motionthat no dilution acceptableby the state government inthe section 118 and even ifthere is any move is there bythe centre in this regard, itwill completely be objectedthe state government and thelegislators of the state,” hedemanded

He said that he has takenup the issue in the interestof the people of the state asa public representative anda General Secretary of StateCongress to raise certainsignificant issues.

Hailing the statement ofChief Minister Jai RamThakur, wherein he hadstated that there would notbe any dilution of section 118,

he charged that the non-agri-culturist BJP leader of thestate is in favour of weak-ening the same which theCongress will not tolerate atany cost.

He welcomed the recentdecision of the Prime Min-ister Narendra Modi leadNDA government for scrap-ping Article 370 and 35 A ofthe Indian Constitution inJammu and Kashmir.

Some decisions that havebeen taken in the nationalinterest should be welcomedby one and all, he reiterat-ed.

Referring to the state-ment of a BJP leader at thecentre and another leader ofa political party in the neigh-bouring state, he said thatthe Article 370 cannot beequated with section 118.

Pointing at the recentannouncement of the stategovernment for havingclaimed to set an ambitioustarget to attract investmentof Rs 85,000 crore includingthe Global investors Meet tobe held in Dharamshala inNovember, he sought forbring about transparencyand clarity.

He demanded white paperon signing of more than 253Memorandum of Under-standing (MoUs) worth Rs29,000 crore that have beensigned between the stategovernment and potentialentrepreneurs in differentsectors like industry, tourism,pharmaceuticals, agro-foodprocessing and other sectors.


The state governmentwill install CCTV cam-eras in the premisesof all the 18 bottling

plants situated in the state tocheck illegal transportationand sale of liquor, which iscausing loss of revenue tothe state exchequer.

This was decided in thereview meeting of State Exciseand Taxation Departmentheld here on Friday under thechairmanship of Chief Min-ister Jai Ram Thakur.

The Chief Minister said thatefforts should be made tobridge the GST revenue gapas this was the major area ofconcern that need to beredressed at the earliest by tak-ing proactive steps for taxcollections and checking theloopholes under it.

He said that state govern-ment has fixed target of taxcollection of Rs 8000 crore dur-ing the current financial yearwhich must be achieved at allcosts. Thakur said that the

department must study taxcollection procedure of bestperforming States and repli-cate the same in HimachalPradesh.

He said that investment inareas such as tourism, con-vention halls, shopping malletc. should be attracted so as

to increase consumption asper recommendations by theCommittee appointed by theGST Council to study revenuegap.

The Chief Minister said thatofficers of the departmentshould be provided trainingand imparted national/inter-

national exposure for capac-ity building. He said that inorder to facilitate the tax-payers Kardata SuvidhaKendras were being openedin every district headquarterout of which four have start-ed functioning and remain-ing would be made func-

tional by the next month. He said that mobile app for

payment of Passengers andGoods Tax (PGT) and CertainGoods Carried by Road (CGCR)would be developed byNovember, 2019 to facilitatesmall taxpayers and eliminateany physical interface.

The Chief Minister direct-ed the officers of the depart-ment to work with renewedzeal to eliminate revenue gapbesides enhancing excise rev-enue by ensuring effectiveimplementation of tax poli-cy for vibrant economy ofthe State.

Principal Secretary, Exciseand Taxation Sanjay Kunduassured the Chief Minister thatthe department would workwith missionary zeal to comeup to the expectations of theGovernment. He urged theChief Minister to change BioLiquor Policy of the state toearn more revenue underthis sector. He also request-ed that the state should bringproactive policies to attractinvestment in distilleries,brewing and bottling plants.

CCTV cameras to checkillegal sale of liquor in HP

Bring resolution to preventdilution of Sec 118 TenancyAct: Vikramaditya Singh

PG classes in English, Hindi to start inCentre of Excellence College: CM

ARTRAC not to be shifted out, Dhumal cites Rajnath�s letter

ENGLISH FILM

Dora and the LostCity of Gold

PVR Vasantkunj, Delhi -10am, 3:05pm, 8:25pm.Director's Cut, Delhi -12:40pm, 5:35pm.PVR Anupam, Saket -12:05pm, 5:10pm.PVR Select City Walk -9am, 1:55pm, 6:50pm.PVR Chanakya -10:05am,8:30pm.PVR Pacific Mall -9:15am, 5pm, 8:15pm.PVR Shalimar Bagh -12:45pm, 5:50pm.PVR Logix, Noida -9:30am, 2:45pm,7:50pm, 8:10pm.DT MOIN, Noida -9:45am, 2:50pm,5:15pm, 10:30pm.Wave Cinema, Noida -9.30am, 2pm, 6.30pm,11.05pm.Wave Cinema, Raja Gar-den -10am, 3.15pm,8.35pm.

Fast & Furious:Hobbs and Shaw

PVR Vasantkunj, Delhi -10am, 1:55pm, 4:50pm,7:45pm, 10:40pm,11:40pm.Director's Cut, Delhi -10:15am, 1:10pm,4:05pm, 7pm, 9:55pm,11:30pm.PVR Anupam, Saket -9:05am, 12noon,5:50pm, 8:45pm,11:40pm.PVR Select City Walk -9:05am, 2:40pm,8:15pm, 11:45pm.PVR Plaza -1:35pm,10:15pm.PVR Rivoli -6:50pm.PVR Chanakya -10:15am,1:10pm, 4:05pm, 7pm,9:55pm.DT MOIN, Noida -10am,12:55pm, 3:50pm,6:45pm, 9:40pm.Wave Cinema, Noida -9.15am, 12.05pm,5.40pm, 8.25pm,11.15pm.Wave Cinema, Raja Gar-den -9.15am, 12.05pm,2.50pm, 8pm, 10.45pm.

Scary Stories to Tellin the Dark

PVR Vasantkunj, Delhi -10:05am, 12:35pm,5:55pm, 11:10pm.Director's Cut, Delhi -3:05pm, 8pm.PVR Select City Walk -11:25am, 4:20pm,9:15pm.PVR Pacific Mall -11:40am, 7:25pm.PVR Logix, Noida -12:10pm, 5:20pm,

10:30pm.DT MOIN, Noida -9:30am, 2:40pm,7:50pm.PVR Ambience, Gurgaon-5:15pm, 10:10pm.PVR MGF, Gurgaon -11:25am, 6:45pm,11:40pm.

The Lion King

PVR Vasantkunj, Delhi -10:20am, 1pm, 3:40pm,6:20pm, 9pm.Director's Cut, Delhi -9:35am, 12:15pm,6:10pm, 8:50pm.PVR Anupam, Saket -9am, 2:40pm, 8:20pm.PVR Select City Walk -9am, 12noon, 5:35pm,8:30pm. PVR Plaza -4:30pm.PVR Rivoli -10am.PVR Chanakya -12:30pm,5:50pm, 10:55pm.PVR Pacific Mall -9:05am, 2:40pm,9:55pm.

HINDI FILM

Jabariya Jodi

PVR Vasantkunj, Delhi -10:15am, 1:20pm,4:25pm, 7:30pm,10:35pm.Director's Cut, Delhi -9:35am, 1:40pm,4:45pm, 7:50pm,10:55pm.PVR Anupam, Saket -9am, 1:45pm, 4:50pm,7:55pm, 11pm.PVR Select City Walk -11:40am, 5:25pm,11:10pm.PVR Plaza -10:30am,7:10pm.PVR Rivoli -12:40pm,9:45pm.PVR Chanakya -10am,1:05pm, 7:25pm,10:30pm.PVR Naraina -9am,1:45pm, 4:50pm,7:55pm, 11pm.PVR Pacific Mall -9am,3:10pm, 6:15pm,9:20pm.PVR Vikaspuri -10am,1:05pm, 7:15pm,10:20pm.PVR Logix, Noida -9:30am, 11am, 3:40pm,4:55pm, 6:45pm,9:50pm.DT MOIN, Noida -10am,1:05pm, 4:10pm,6:05pm, 7:15pm,10:20pm.PVR EDM -10am,1:05pm, 4:10pm,7:15pm, 10:20pm.Wave Cinema, Noida -10.15am, 11am, 2pm,4.15pm, 7.15pm,10.55pm.Wave Cinema, Kausham-

bi -

10am, 1.30pm, 4pm,7.30pm, 10.35pm.Wave Cinema, Raja Gar-den -9.15am, 1.30pm,5.35pm, 7.30pm,10.35pm, 11.20pm.

Chicken Curry Law

PVR Vasantkunj, Delhi -10:50pm.PVR Select City Walk -10:45pm.PVR Logix, Noida -9:55pm.DT MOIN, Noida -12:10pm.PVR Ambience,Gurgaon-9:45pm.PVR MGF, Gurgaon -6:05pm.Wave Cinema, Noida -12.15pm.Wave Cinema, Kausham-bi -10.45am.

Judgemental Hai Kya

PVR Vasantkunj, Delhi -10am, 5:30pm.Director's Cut, Delhi -11am.PVR Anupam, Saket -2:30pm.PVR Select City Walk -5pm.PVR Chanakya -3:10pm.PVR Pacific Mall -1:10pm.PVR Vikaspuri -11:40am.PVR Logix, Noida -9:30am, 2:40pm,7:50pm.DT MOIN, Noida -12noon, 5:10pm,10:20pm.Wave Cinema, Noida -2.45pm.

Super 30

PVR Vasantkunj, Delhi -12:55pm, 7pm.Director's Cut, Delhi -2:55pm.PVR Anupam, Saket -10:30am, 10:50pm.PVR Chanakya -4:10pm.PVR Pacific Mall -10:30am, 9:50pm.PVR Logix, Noida -10am,1:20pm, 4:40pm,9:55pm.DT MOIN, Noida -9:40am, 3:50pm,10:40pm. Wave Cinema, Noida -9.20am, 5.15pm,11.10pm.

PUNJABI FILM

Singham

PVR Vasantkunj, Delhi -9:55pm.Director's Cut, Delhi -10:30pm.PVR Anupam, Saket -10:55pm.PVR Rivoli -3:45pm.PVR Naraina -12noon,10:55pm.PVR Pacific Mall -9:30am, 4:50pm,7:55pm, 11pm.PVR Logix, Noida -9:35am, 12:40pm,6:50pm, 11pm.DT MOIN, Noida -3pm,9:10pm.

AROUND TOWN

TODAY IN DELHI

ENGAGEMENTS

India International Centrepresents The EternalTagore -- �Baishe Shravana�,Rabindranath Tagore�sdeath anniversary iscelebrated by Tagore loversas much as his birthday,�Ponachishe Baishakh�. Amonth of monsoon, whichwas the poet �s mostfavourite season, the poetviewed parting as a kindof transcendence into aworld which is beyondhuman knowledge Sanjatopresents a bouquet ofTagore �s agelesscompositions, at C. D.Deshmukh Auditorium,40 Max Mueller Marg,6.30 p.m.

MUSIC

Habitat Worldpresents A

Hindustani Classical vocalrecital by Sapna Kachroo,at Amaltas, India HabitatCentre, Lodhi Road, 7 p.m.

EXHIBITIONS

Jor Bagh Metro Station

presents "Habitat

Photosphere� The second

edition of Habitat

Photosphere (February

18-March 18, 2019), a

year-long photography

festival is conceptualised

and curated by Dr Alka

Pande. The sustainable

development is the meta-

narrative of the exhibition

with Bhu or Earth as its core

theme, at Jor Bagh Metro

Station, Sri Aurobindo

Marg, Safdarjung Airport

Area, 5.20 a.m. to 12

(midnight) (till 31 August)

India International Centre& Prabhat EducationFoundation present "LikeUs", a solo show ofphotographs by BindiSheth on children withspecial needs, atKamaladevi Complex, MainBuilding, 40 Max MuellerMarg, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. (till11 August)

Habitat World presents"IhleD in Perspective" a solophotography show byRajan Bhatt, at Delhi ODelhi Foyer, India HabitatCentre, Lodhi Road, 10 a.m.to 8 p.m. (till 31 August)

"Message from the Trees"a group show of paintingrelating to Trees, at 1AQ,Qutab Minar Roundabout,Mehrauli Road, 11 a.m. to7 p.m. (till 1 September)

A scene from Dora and TheLost City of Gold

BEETLE BAILEY/Mort Walker

RED EYE/Bill Yates & Mel Casson

DADDY DAZE/John Kovaleski

NEED TO KNOW

Srabble and Scrabble Tiles are registered trademarks.All rights in the game are owned in the U.S.A by HasbroInc., in Canada by Hasbro Canada Inc., and elsewhere byJ.W. Spear & Sons Limited, a subsidiary of Mattel, Inc.

Directions Make a 2 to7 letter word from theletters in each row.Add points of eachword, using scoringdirections at right, 7-letter words get 50-point bonus. "Blanks"used as any letterhave no point value.All Judd's words arein The OfficialScrabble PlayersDictionary(Merriam-Webster) and OSWOfficial ScrabbleWords(Chambers). Judd's solutiontomorrow.10-25-12

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LEISURE

Sudoku is a number-placingpuzzle based on a 9x9 grid with

several given numbers. Theobject is to place the numbers 1

to 9 in the empty squares sothat no row, no column and no

3x3 box contains the samenumber. The difficulty level

increases through the week.

SUDOKU

answer toprevious

puzzleBy arrangement with The Independent

Figures in parentheses denote the number of letters in the words required

10 MINUTE CROSSWORD

ACROSS

1 Pear drink (5)4 Steps over a wall (5)7 Throw carelessly (4)8 Mountain transport

(5,3)9 Plosive speech sound

(7,4)11 Waterway (6)13 Stringed instrument

(6)15 Equestrian footwear

(6,5)18 Begin to understand

(Informal) (6,2)20 Privy to (2,2)21 Secret rendezvous (5)22 Bundle of corn (5)

DOWN

1 Tine (5)2 Return (7)3 Sailor (9)4 Weep (3)5 Incompetent (5)6 Instance (7)10 Idle person (Informal)

(9)12 Eject (Informal) (4,3)14 Cheat on (Informal) (3-

4)16 Short simple song (5)17 Parody (5)19 Louse egg (3)

SOLUTIONS TO YESTERDAY’S CROSSWORD

ACROSS

1 Debtor, 5 Nation

(Detona-tion),

8 Open, 9 Tattered, 10 Spring

onions, 11 Adore, 13 Agile, 17 Steal the

show, 20 Southpaw,21 Vein, 22 Elixir, 23 Yonder.

DOWN

2 Exposed, 3 Tenor, 4 Rotund, 5 Notion, 6 Teeming, 7 Ocean, 12 Road tax,

14 Lowlife, 15 Stupor, 16 Leeway, 18 Troll, 19 Haven.

Denied Jaguar, Haryana

youth pushes BMW into

river: Gifted a BMW by his

parents instead of a Jaguar

that he was demanding, a

youth from Haryana's Yamu-

nanagar on Friday pushed his

new car into a swollen river

in a fit of anger, police said.

"When the youth was plung-

ing the high-end BMW car

into the river, he also made a

video and put it on social

media," a police official told

IANS. The car later got stuck

in the middle of the river

owing to a patch of tall

grass. IANS

05THUMBNAILS

Rare award takes top

police officer by surprise

in UP: Cash rewards for

gallantry is not uncom-

mon for those in uniform

but a senior Uttar Pradesh

cop was bowled over

when he received a

cheque of a princely sum

of Rs 500 and a letter of

appreciation, not from his

bosses but a common

man. Inspector General of

Police (Agra range) A

Satish Ganesh found an

envelope carrying the let-

ter, titled �Prashansha Pra-

man Patra� (letter of

appreciation), and the

cheque while going

through his routine mails

on Thursday. The letter,

sent by Vijay Pal Singh of

Etah, lauded the 1996-

batch IPS officer for his

style of work. It also cited

an incident when he posed

as a colonel and went to

the Highway police station

in Mathura to lodge an FIR

for laptop theft to check

police response. PTI

7-year-old raped by cousin

in UP's Fatehpur: A seven-

year-old girl has been

allegedly raped by her

cousin at a village in

Fatehpur district of Uttar

Pradesh, police said on Fri-

day. The incident took

place on Thursday when

the girl along with a friend

(6) had gone to a forest

area near her village, the

police said. The 27-year-old

cousin brother got hold of

her and allegedly raped

her there, they said. The

matter came to light

when the survivor's friend

informed her family mem-

bers and they reached the

spot to find her withering

in pain. The girl was rushed

to a nearby hospital,

where her condition was

stated to be stable. PTI

Cop suspended for taking

bribe in UP's Sambhal: A

police outpost incharge in

Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal

district was suspended on

Thursday for taking a

bribe, an official said on

Thursday. A video of Bair-

pur police outpost

incharge Sultan Singh tak-

ing the bribe had also

gone viral on social media,

prompting SP Yamuna

Prasad to order a probe

by Circle Officer of the

area. The action was

taken against Singh after

the charges against him

were found true, the SP

said. PTI

Bihar Chief Minister NitishKumar addresses a programme in Patna on Friday IANS


Barring West Bengal, all states are participating in the scheme. Theprogress so far is very good. We are targeting to reach out to 10 crorefarmers by end of the year

NARENDRA SINGH TOMARUNION AGRICULTURE MINISTER

IANSLUCKNOW, 9 AUGUST

The Samajwadi Party onFriday staged a statewideprotest against the YogiAdityanath-led governmentin Uttar Pradesh but with-out its leader Akhilesh Yadav.

SP activists took to streetsprotesting the poor law andorder situation, increase indiesel and petrol prices,harassment and fake casesagainst SP leaders, farmerissues, scrapping of EVMs,unemployment, and atroc-ities on minorities, fakeencounters and health ser-vices and victimisation of SPMP Mohd. Azam Khan andhis son SP MLA AbdullahAzam.

The protests were carriedout across district head-quarters in the state andeven turned violent in someareas, leaving many injuredafter police resorted to lathi-charge.

SP MLC and spokesman

Sunil Singh Sajan said, "TheUP government is sleep-ing, it needs to wake up. Thecrime graph is soaring."

On Thursday, AkhileshYadav's uncle Shivpal Yadav,too, staged a protest underthe banner of his newlyfounded political outfit,Pragatisheel SamajwadiParty (Lohia). However,unlike the SP chief, he waspresent and actively par-ticipated in the demon-

stration.Speaking on the condi-

tion of anonymity, an SPleader said, "Our party wasonce known for its protests,but with time and circum-stances that has becomerare now. However, in orderto revive the party and itsfrontal organisations, thisprotest was organised. Thiswould not just energise thecadre but also give a mes-sage to the party membersthat the party stands withthem at a time when theyare being targeted by the rul-ing party."

Asked to comment onAkhilesh Yadav's absence,the leader said, "He will beseen on ground, we have big-ger plans for him."

The state-wide protestsare also seen as a part of astrategy to revive the partycadre, especially the youthwings, ahead of crucial by-elections for 13 assemblyseats and the 2022 stateassembly polls.

PTIBHAGALPUR, 9 AUGUST

Scores of locals are staginga demonstration at Kahalgaonnear here, disrupting supplyof coal to the 2340 MW NTPCunit even as officials on Fri-day expressed concern overfast depleting stocks whichcould lead to a major powercrisis in Bihar if the situationremained unresolved forlong.

According to NTPC Kahal-gaon Public Relations Offi-cer Saurabh Kumar, the localsmainly villagers whose landwas acquired for setting upthe unit and who had beenpaid compensation besidesemployment through ad hocjobs have been squat-ting on the Kahalgaon-Lal-matia rail track for nearly 24hours.

This has prevented offload-ing of coal at the unit, whichreceives about 12-14 freightwagons of the same every day,he said adding that the pro-testers are demanding per-

manent jobs at the superthermal power unit.

He also said after theyhad announced their agita-tion, NTPC officials held sev-eral rounds of talks, assuringthem that their concernswould be duly addressedand urging them not to dis-rupt the coal supply. However,they have gone ahead withtheir agitation.

Since yesterday, fourrounds of tripartite talkshave been held whereinofficials from the localadministration as well asNTPC have tried to negoti-ate with representatives ofthe agitators. More roundswould take place today, headded.

NTPC Manager, CorporateCommunications, (East-1)Vishwanath Chandan said inPatna it is a grim situation.Our coal stocks are fast deplet-ing and we have reserves fornot more than three days.

If the crisis is not defusedby then, power generation atthe unit may get affected

which would have a seriousimpact on electricity supplyto many parts of Bihar.

We have sent an SOS toChief Secretary and the statesHome Secretary seeking theirurgent invitation in the mat-ter. We have also sought anappointment with them laterin the day, he added.

Security inside the NTPCunit is managed by the CISFand, hence, that may not bean issue. But if the coal sup-ply remains disrupted the unitwill not be able to function.The situation cannot be tack-led without active interven-tion of the state government,he said.

Kahalgaon Super Ther-mal Power Station is one ofthe coal based power plantsof the NTPC. The totalinstalled capacity of the plantis 2340 MW and Bihar gets 426MW out of this, Chandansaid.

The coal for the powerplant is sourced from Rajma-hal coalfield of Eastern Coal-fields Limited in Jharkhand.

Demonstrations at NTPC plant;power crisis feared in Bihar

PTILUCKNOW/NEW DELHI, 9AUGUST

In fresh trouble for SP leaderAzam Khan, the ED has initi-ated a money launderingprobe following allegationsthat a university run by him inUttar Pradesh's Rampur dis-trict has been built over a landtaken in violation of the enemyproperty law, official sourcessaid on Friday.

Enemy properties are theimmovable assets left behindby people who migrated to Pak-istan since the Partition andto China after the 1962 Sino-Indian war. According to data,there are about 9,280 suchproperties left behind by Pak-istani nationals and 126 by Chi-nese nationals. These are reg-ulated under the Enemy Prop-erty Act.

Khan, a Lok Sabha MPfrom Rampur and a former statecabinet minister under AkhileshYadav's rule, has already beenbooked by the central probeagency under the Preventionof Money Laundering Act(PMLA), based on at least 26criminal FIRs filed by the localpolice on charges of land graband extortion.

The university under the EDscanner is the Mohammad AliJauhar University which wasestablished in 2006 with Khanas its founder and chancellor.The university is said to haveover 3,000 students enrolledand is spread over an area of121 hectares.

According to sources, ifcharges of land grab and vio-lation of the Enemy PropertyAct are found to be true, theuniversity campus could besoon attached by the Enforce-ment Directorate (ED) underthe stringent provisions of theanti-money laundering law.

Sources in the Rampur dis-trict administration said theyhave received official queriesfrom the ED's zonal office inLucknow in this regard seek-ing all documents that were sub-mitted wile requesting per-mission to set up the univer-

sity. They said the ED has alsosummoned 25 entities, over thenext week, who had com-plained that the university, itsofficials and main promoterAzam Khan had flouted theEnemy Property Act to grab landand project it as a Waqf prop-erty to set up the university.

The district magistrate orthe collector is the deputycustodian of an 'enemy prop-erty' in a district. The 'enemyproperty' in this case is locat-ed in Singan Khera Tehsil of theRampur district and it belongsto Pakistani national Ima-muddin Qureshi.

The ED, sources said, hasalso launched a parallel probeunder the Foreign ExchangeManagement Act (FEMA) intothis instance and is looking intothe approvals, mutation ofland and funds sourced by theuniversity to allegedly grabthe 'enemy property' land inan illegal manner in purport-ed connivance of governmentofficials.

The central probe agencyhas recently also written to thehigher education departmentof the Uttar Pradesh govern-ment to share all documentsrelated to approvals and sanc-tions given to the university,to take forward its criminalprobe under PMLA and FEMA.This query also prompted theRampur district administrationto register an FIR into thisalleged illegal deal on Thurs-day.

The Naib Tehsildar hasstated in his complaint that theentire deal to categorise an'enemy prorerty' land as awaqf property and its alloca-tion to the Mohammad AliJauhar University was done inalleged connivance of gov-ernment staff in order to ben-efit the university and Khan.

Khan, the registrar of the uni-versity, the Waqf board Imamand the then official of the Ram-pur municipal corporation SM Tariq have been named inthe FIR. Khan's name wasalso put on an online list of “landmafias” by the district admin-istration recently.

Azam Khan�s varsityunder ED scanner

SP protest in UP sans Akhilesh

PTIBHOPAL, AUG 9

A 40-year-old man was sweptaway in a swollen nullah inAshoknagar district as raincontinued to lash MadhyaPradesh on Friday, sendingsome rivers and drains inspate and hitting normal lifein parts of the state.

Around 1,000 people wereevacuated to safer places inBarwani and Dhar districts inwestern MP following flood-ing caused by heavy down-pour in the last 24 hoursended 8.30 am on Friday,officials said.

A truck parked near theKhuj river was swept awayafter the water body swelledsuddenly in Dharmpuri tehsilof Dhar district.

“I got the truck retrievedfrom the river with the helpof a crane, its owner RakeshRathore said.

An officer of MPs Nar-mada Valley DevelopmentAuthority (NVDA) said theNarmada river was flowing 7metres above its danger markof 123.28 in Rajghat village in

Barwani district at 2 pm Fri-day.

Fifteen sluice gates of theBargi dam built on the riverNarmada in Jabalpur districtwere opened following inces-sant rain in eastern MadhyaPradesh, the officials said.

Three persons on a motor-bike were swept away in aswollen nullah at around11.30 pm on Thursday onMohri Road in Ashoknagar dis-trict, police said.

Two of them swam to safe-ty, but the third rider, Mahen-dra Singh (40), is still missing,they said.

Police officer P P Mudgilon Friday said efforts were onto search Singh.

Showers are lashing almostthe entire MP since the lasttwo days, India Meteorolog-ical Departments BhopalOffice Duty Officer P K Shahtold PTI.

He said heavy to veryheavy rainfall is likely to occurin 21 districts, including Raj-garh, Guna, Sehore, Harda andHoshangabad and in Ujjainand Indore divisions till 8.30am on Saturday.

Rain continues to lashMP; man swept away PTI

NEW DELHI, 9 AUGUST

The National Green Tribunalhas modified its order whichhad directed state-run NHID-CL to deposit Rs 2 crore aspenalty for dumping muck intothe Bhagirathi river in Uttarak-hand.

A bench headed by NGT

Chairperson Justice AdarshKumar Goel has now askedNational Highways & Infra-structure Development Cor-poration Limited (NHIDCL)to furnish a performanceguarantee within a month.

“We modify the order datedNovember 1, 2018 requiringdeposit of Rs 2 crore as com-pensation to the effect that

instead of depositing the saidamount, the NHIDCL may fur-nish a performance guaran-tee to the satisfaction of CPCBwithin one month undertak-ing to take the remedial mea-sures by March 31, 2020 fail-ing which the amount of per-formance guarantee will beforfeited,” the bench said ina recent order.

Dumping muck into Bhagirathi: NGT modifies order

School students participate in 'March for Science' organised to mark the 74th anniversary of atomic bombing on Nagasaki by theUS at the end of World War II in 1945; in Patna on Friday. IANS

MARCH FOR SCIENCE

Pak to ban cultural ties with IndiaPakistan terms Indian action as �unilateral and illegal�; says it will take the matter to the UNSC

PRESS TRSUT OF INDIAISLAMABAD, 9 AUGUST

Pakistan has decided toban all culturalexchanges with India,including all kinds of

joint ventures between theentertainment industry ofthe two countries after Indiarevoked the special status ofJammu and Kashmir, a mediareport said on Friday.

The Ministry of Informa-tion and Broadcasting onThursday launched a nation-al slogan 'Say No to India',Dawn newspaper reported.

“All kinds of Indian con-tent have been stopped andPemra [Pakistan ElectronicMedia Regulatory Authority]has been directed to step upits vigilance along with actionsagainst the sale of IndianDTH instruments,” said Spe-cial Assistant to Prime Min-ister on Information andBroadcasting Firdous AshiqAwan.

Earlier this week, Indiarevoked Article 370 to with-draw the special status toJammu and Kashmir andbifurcated the region intotwo Union Territories --Jammuand Kashmir, Ladakh.

Pakistan termed the Indi-an action as “unilateral andillegal”, and said it will takethe matter to the UN Secu-rity Council.Awan said thatthe deception of culturalexchange was polluting theminds of Pakistani youth.

She said that the Nation-al Security Council had decid-ed to establish a group andPakistan would fight the“Hindutva ideology” fromall fronts. The group will bethe cluster of all relevantministries to fight againstthe Indian designs at requiredforums.

“The external communi-cations will be dealt with bythe ministry of information,the Foreign Office and theInter-Service Public Rela-tions (ISPR) as per nature ofinformation,” Awan said.

She said in the current

situation, the clash betweenIndian and Pakistani cultur-al and social values wereimminent and it was themedia's responsibility tocome to the forefront to defeatIndian “cultural invasion”.

The government has alsobanned the screening of Indi-an films in the country's cin-emas.

“No Indian film will bescreened in any Pakistanicinema. Drama, films andIndian content of this kind willbe completely banned inPakistan,” Awan tweeted.

Films and cultural relationsare the first to get affectedwhen there is tension betweenthe two countries and it is notfor the first time that Pakistanhas banned Indian films.

Pakistan had taken a sim-ilar decision after Balakot airstrikes by India in Februarythis year.

The Hindi film industry hadannounced a similar move inthe wake of February 14 Pul-wama terror attack on a CRPFconvoy.

China calls on India, Pak toresolve disputes through talksPRESS TRUST OF INDIABEIJING, 9 AUGUST

China on Friday called onIndia and Pakistan to resolvetheir disputes through dia-logue and negotiation asPakistan foreign ministerarrived here to seek Beijing'ssupport after New Delhirevoked the special status toJammu and Kashmir.

Informed sources heresaid Shah Mahmood Qureshiis in Beijing to seek all-weath-er ally China's support for Pak-istan's efforts to ratchet-upthe Kashmir issue.

Lijian Zhao, a senior Chi-nese diplomat in Pakistan,wrote on Twitter that Qureshiwould meet State Counsel-lor and Foreign Minister ofChina Wang Yi and otherChinese leaders.

“The visit was arranged in

a very short time. That's whywe are called iron brothers,”he wrote.

Pakistan also decided todowngrade the diplomaticrelations by expelling theIndian High Commissionerand recalling its own topenvoy from India.

Reacting to questionsabout Pakistan's decision todowngrade the diplomatic tiesand approach the UNSC,the Chinese Foreign Min-istry said, “China has notedthe relevant statement byPakistan”.

End of Art 370harbinger ofhope to Jammu�sValmikisJAMMU, 9 AUGUST

The revocation of provisionsof Article 370 has given hopeto over 3,000 Valmiki com-munity members, who liveon the land allocated to theirancestors brought from Pun-jab by J&K government in1957 but were denied state's'subjectship' and entailingrights, that their plight willend soon.

“It should end the 62-year-long spell of injustice to us,”said Eklavya, an euphoricValmiki youth, celebrating therevocation of Jammu andKashmir's special status,which allowed only statesubjects to buy and ownland and take up governmentjobs.

Eklavya said his ancestorcame to Jammu from Pun-jab's Gurdaspur in 1957along with many other Valmi-ki community members onthe “invitation” of the thenstate government headedby chief minister BakshiGhulam Mohammad to takeup the job of sanitary work-ers in the Jammu munici-pality.

Nodding in agreement,Radhika, a young Valmikicommunity woman, added,“As the J&K governmentneeded sanitary workers forthe city, they even allocatedland to our an ancestorsand settled them on them.”Eklavya lamented, “We werenever made state's subject,never given the right to getthe state government's joband other rights.”

Eklavya, Radhika andaround 10 other members ofhis community have beenwaging a relentless legalbattle in various courts,including the SC of India, forending the discrimination.PTI

PRESS TRUST OFI NDIAJAMMU, 9 AUGUST

The BJP will celebrate “Jashn-e-Azadi” on the occasion ofIndependence Day on 15August at every panchayatacross Jammu and Kashmir,the state unit chief of the saf-

fron party, Ravinder Raina,said on Friday. He said this during an inter-action with village headshere, in which BJP state gen-eral secretary (organisation)Ashok Kaul and state generalsecretary Yudhvir Sethi alsotook part.

He also appreciated therole of the village heads inmaintaining democracy inthe region.

These bravehearts facedultimate threats in the pastto keep alive the spirit ofhumanity in the remotest ofthe regions, Raina said.

BJP to celebrate �Jashn-e-Azadi� across J&K

Securitypersonnel walkon a street inSrinagar on

Friday.AFP

The US has said thatthere is no change in itspolicy on Kashmir as itcalled on India and Pak-istan to maintainrestraint and hold directdialogue.


Money-laundering case: A

Delhi court on Friday sent

Hyderabad-based business-

man Sana Satish Babu,

arrested in connection

with the money-launder-

ing case involving meat

exporter Moin Qureshi, to

judicial custody. Special

Judge Bansal sent Babu to

jail till 23 August. PTI

6 rescued from flesh

trade: Six women and four

girls were rescued from

flesh trade in two sepa-

rate operations conducted

by the police in the dis-

trict, an official said on Fri-

day. In the second raid

conducted at Sativali, the

police rescued five women

and arrested three men

for pushing them into

flesh trade. PTI

Tadvi suicide case: The

Bombay HC granted bail

on Friday to the three

women doctors arrested

in the suicide case of their

junior colleague Payal

Tadvi in May, but imposed

a slew of restrictions on

them. The accused doc-

tors cannot leave the city

without the trial court's

permission. PTI

THUMBNAILS

Kashmiri students demandrestoration of telephoneand Internet services andcondemn the abrogationof Article 370 in Jammuand Kashmir, in the Capitalon Friday. SUBRATA DUTTA

06Maharashtra might also be disintegrated forcibly likeJ&K

MNS CHIEF RAJ THACKERAYLATCHING ONTO THE CLAMPDOWN IMPOSED IN KASHMIR AFTER THE ABROGATION OF ARTICLE 370

DMK wins VelloreLok Sabha seat Stalin-led DMK party defeats AIADMK by 8,141 votes

STATESMAN NEWS SERVICECHENNAI, 9 AUGUST

Giving signals of upcominglabour unrest in Indian Rail-ways, thousands of Southernrailway employees protest-ed against the administrationfor voluntarily retiring stationmaster R K Unnikrishnnan ofthe Palghat division using acolonial era rule.

The employees who arealready up in arms againstthe management for its pri-vatisation policy now says thatthey felt heat of it with out-ster of one of the promi-nent leader of the tradeunion in this way. On Fridayemployees held demon-strations in all divisionalheadquarters against thearbitrary usage of Rule 1802.

In a representation madeto the Southern Railway Gen-eral Manager on Thursday,the members of the All IndiaStation Masters’ Association(AISMA) expressed theiranguish at the arbitrary useof Rule 1802 to premature-ly retire the Station Master.In the representation, theyalso questioned the invok-ing of the rule which has beenused to abruptly retire

employees designated as‘inefficient’ or ‘corrupt’ inpublic interest.

The representation point-ed out that the Station Mas-ter, who is the also presidentof AISMA, had been gradedas ‘good’ by the same Depart-ment for the past 10 years. .Unnikrishnnan is also arecipient of few awards forhis exemplary works, says therepresentation.

The letter highlighted theDepartment’s haste in reject-ing his written request for tak-ing Voluntary RetirementScheme without giving himany show cause notice anddismissing him with threemonths pay and allowancearbitrarily. Employees citesthat even for dismissing anemployee on the basis of

railways desciplinary acts, athree months notice neces-sary. But Unnikrishnnan hasbeen victimised for hisstaunch opposition againstthe 100 day Action plan of thenew Modi government,alleges employees.

They points out that thenew Action Plan in which theGeneral Managers and Divi-sional Railway Managerscould also be ‘retired ongrounds of inefficiency anddishonesty’ is a draconian oneaimed at the privitisation ofthe railway.

They also alleged that themanagement is in a drive tofind out those employeeswho completed either 30year of service or 50 year ofage to axe out as per the actionplan.

Unnao case:Court framesrape chargesagainst MLAKuldeep

NEW DELHI, 9 AUGUST

A Delhi court on Fridayframed charges againstexpelled BJP MLA KuldeepSengar for allegedly rapinga minor in Unnao in 2017.

District Judge DharmeshSharma also framed chargesagainst Sengar's accom-plice Shashi Singh for alleged-ly kidnapping the minorgirl, who is presently admit-ted in AIIMS, Delhi.

The girl was criticallyinjured recently when atruck rammed into her car.

The court has framedcharges under Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 363(kidnapping), 366 (kidnap-ping or inducing a womanto compel for marriage),376 (rape) and various otherrelevant sections of the Pro-tection of Children fromSexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Sengar and Singh, how-ever, denied the allegationslevelled against them say-ing they have been falselyimplicated in the case andclaimed trial.

The Central Bureau ofInvestigation had on Thurs-day told the court that Sen-gar and his brother assault-ed the father of the girl andframed him in an Arms Actcase, in collusion with threestate police officials andfive others.

The agency had submit-ted reports saying that theMLA and his “accomplices”got an FIR lodged, accusingthe rape survivor's father ofpossessing a country-madepistol and four live car-tridges. PTI

Kuldeep Sengar andShashi Singh denyallegations sayingthey have been false-ly implicated in thecase and claim trial

Southern Railway workers onwarpath against Rule 1802

PRESS TRUST OF INDIAVELLORE, 9 AUGUST

In a nail-biting finish,DMK's D M Kathir Anandon Friday won the VelloreLok Sabha segment

defeating his closest rival,AIADMK's ally A C Shan-mugam, by a narrow marginof 8,141 votes.

The result came as a set-back to the AIADMK whichwas hoping to retain the seatand prove a point after itfaced a near rout in the AprilLok Sabha elections with theDMK-led alliance winning37 of the 38 constituenciesthen.

The DMK candidate andson of party TreasurerDuraimurugan, bagged4,85,340 votes and garnereda 47.3 per cent vote share asit wrested the Vellore seatfrom its arch rival AIADMKwhich had won it in 2014.Shanmugam of Puthiya Need-hi Katchi, who contested onthe AIADMK's ‘Two-Leaves’symbol, polled 4,77,199 votesand got 46.51 per cent share,the Election Commissionannounced. Thanking thevoters, DMK chief M K Stal-in said the victory was “excep-tional and unparalleled.”

Since the election was likea bypoll, trouncing a rulingparty candidate meant a“huge victory,” he toldreporters. Also, the win hascemented DMK's positionas the third biggest party inthe Lok Sabha, he said that hisparty's victory can be delayed,but cannot be prevented.

He was apparently refer-ring to the earlier cancellationof the election in Vellore in Aprilwhen the rest of the 38 seatsin Tamil Nadu went for polls.The EC had then cancelled thepoll in Vellore following seizureof huge cash. The election was

subsequently held on August5 and the counting of voteswas taken up on Friday morn-ing. The lead kept changingin initial rounds but the DMKcandidate later narrowed thegap steadily and then forgedahead, holding on to the lit-tle over 8,000 vote differencetill the end.

Reflecting the sea-saw bat-tle, the AIADMK cadresbrimmed with enthusiasminitially but once the trendchanged it was the turn ofDMK workers to break into cel-ebrations here and at theparty headquarters Anna Ari-valayam in Chennai. Distri-bution of sweets, bursting ofcrackers and dancing markedthe DMK's victory here andin other parts of Tamil Nadu.

Carrying party flags, DMKworkers lined up at the resi-dence of Stalin in Chennai tocelebrate the victory. DistrictElection Officer and Collec-tor A Shanmuga Sundaramgave away the election cer-tificate to Kathir Anand aftercounting and tallying votesrecorded in five Voter-Verifi-able Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT)devices for each of the sixassembly segments underthe Lok Sabha seat.

With this win, the DMK'stally in Lok Sabha has nowgone up to 24 and that of thealliance led by it to 38. Accord-ing to the provisional data pro-vided by the EC, the AIADMKpolled more votes in Anaicut,K V Kuppam and Gudiyattamassembly segments whileDMK was ahead in Vellore,Vaniyambadi and Ambur,which have a sizable Muslimpopulation.

The AIADMK whichstrained every nerve to retainthe seat and recover the lostpolitical ground.

CM K Palaniswami andDeputy CM O Panneersel-

vam had campaigned in theconstituency. The margin ofvictory in Vellore seat is how-ever the lowest for the DMKcompared to the April pollsthough the party's ally TholThirumavalavan of Vidutha-lai Chiruthaigal Katchi hadscraped home by just 3,219votes in Chidambaram’s seat.

“We consider the win aspeople's confidence on Stal-in,” Duraimurugan said. TamilNadu Congress Committeechief, K S Alagiri said DMK'svictory was expected.

AIADMK senior leader andMinister D Jayakumar said“only we have won,” andalleged the DMK emergedvictorious through “foulmeans”. He pointed out thatthe margin was only about8,000 votes.

In the end, Deepalakshmiof Naam Tamilar Katchi, whogot 26,995 votes and camethird, and NOTA (none of theabove) accounting for 9,417votes, appeared to have pouredcold water on the AIADMK'schances.

Though the result was a dis-appointment for AIADMK,party cadres were of the viewthat the narrow margin fur-ther validated the leadershipof Palaniswami and Pan-neerselvam after the win innine of the 22 assembly seatsin crucial bypolls in April thatensured stability of the gov-ernment.

Over 300 polling officialsconducted the counting exer-cise amidst a three-tier secu-rity which included about1,000 state police and para-military personnel and mon-itoring through 70 CCTV cam-eras.

The election held on 5August, recorded a pollingpercentage of 71.51in theconstituency which consistsof 14.32 lakh voters.

STATESMAN NEWS SERVICETHIRUVANANTHAPURAM,9 AUGUST

The Kerala unit of the Congresshas demanded a judicialenquiry into Kerala PSC intothe alleged malpractices in theconduct of PSC examinations.

In a memorandum sub-mitted to the Kerala governorJustice Sathasivam, KPCCpresident MullappallyRa-

machandran has requested thegovernor to recommend tothe president for a judicialenquiry into the malprac-tices in the conduct of PSCexaminations. Ramachan-dran visited the governorand submitted the memo-randum.

Ramachandran said theKPCC has not demanded atotal cancellation of the policeconstable rank list 9 (in which

malpractices were found), asit would adversely affect hun-dreds of candidates whoranked in the list throughhard work. Meanwhile,thespecial branch officers inves-tigating the PSC police con-stable examination fraud,suspect that the questionpaper was leaked from theThruvananthapuram Uni-versity College examinationcentre.


Mainstream Hindi cinemaemerged a major winner at the66th National Film Awards onFriday with multiple recogni-tions for "Andhadhun", "Uri:The Surgical Strike" and "Bad-haai Ho" while Gujarati film"Hellaro" bagged the best filmhonour.

Directed by Abhishek Shah,"Hellaro" is set in Gujarat'sKutch region and explores thetheme of women empower-ment. The film also bagged thespecial jury award shared by its13 leading ladies.

Of the top three NationalAwards, "Uri: The SurgicalStrike" won Aditya Dhar a bestdirector award for his debut filmand Vicky Kaushal the bestactor, a laurel he shared withAyushmann Khuranna for hisrole in "Andhadhun".

Keerthy Suresh won thebest actress award for her roleas yesteryear Telugu star Sav-itri in biopic "Mahanati". Thefilm was also recognised for itscostumes.

Ayushmann and Vicky,who shared the best actoraward, are known for theirunconventional choices. Ayush-mann plays a seemingly blindpianist in "Andhadhun", a crit-ically acclaimed thriller, while

Vicky portrays an Army officerin "Uri...", which recaps India'ssurgical strike in September 2016in the wake of a terror attackon an army base in Uri.

Dhar dedicated his bestdirector to "each and every bravesoldier" in the country. The filmalso won the best music direc-tor award (background music)for Shashwat Sachdev andsound design.

Acknowledging his bestactor award, Ayushmann said,"I have always tried to back dis-ruptive content that standsout for its quality content.Today's honour is a validationof my hard work, belief system,my journey in movies and myreason to be an actor in the firstplace." "Andhadhun" also wonawards for best Hindi film andbest adapted screenplay.

Director Sriram Raghavan,who is currently in Melbournefor the Indian Film Festival ofMelbourne, said he was"chuffed" to see his film getrecognised by the NationalFilm Award jury.

Ayushmann also expressedhappiness over the wins reg-istered by "Badhaai Ho", a filmabout a family dealing with anunexpected pregnancy, whichwas adjudged the best popu-lar film providing wholesomeentertainment. Veteran actorSurekha Sikri was named thebest supporting actress for herrole of a cantankerous but lov-able matriarch. Akshay Kumar-starrer "Padman" was namedbest film on social issues.

"Padmavaat", which facedmany hurdles during its release,walked away with best chore-ography for 'Ghoomer' andthe best music director award(Songs) for filmmaker SanjayLeela Bhansali. Arijit Singhwas named best male playbacksinger for "Binte Dil" from themovie.

Bhansali said it was a bigmoment for him as music hasalways been a huge part of hiscreative endeavours and some-thing that kept him sane dur-ing the many controversiesthat "Padmaavat" faced.

Kerala Cong seeks judicialinquiry into PSC exam fraud


Former finance ministerArun Jaitley was admitted tothe Intensive Care Unit of AllIndia Institute of Medical Sci-ences here on Friday after hecomplained of breathlessnessand restlessness but doctorssaid he is “haemodynamicallystable”.

A multidisciplinary teamof doctors is supervisingJaitley's treatment, AIIMSsaid.

He was admitted to thehospital this morning and “atpresent, he is haemody-namically stable,” it said ina statement.

A hemodynamically sta-ble patient has a stable heartpump and good blood cir-culation.

Prime Minister Naren-dra Modi, Home MinisterAmit Shah, Defence Minis-ter Rajnath Singh, Lok SabhaSpeaker Om Birla, UnionHealth Minister Harsh Vard-han, Finance Minister Nir-mala Sitharaman, MoS forHealth Ashwini Choubey,BJP working president J PNadda and Loktantrik Jana-ta Dal chief Sharad Yadav vis-ited the hospital to enquireabout Jaitley's health.

BJP leaders Rajyavard-han Singh Rathore and Sud-hanshu Trivedi, senior Con-gress leader Ghulam Nabi

Azad and yoga proponentRamdev also visited the for-mer Union minister at AIIMS.

Jaitley, 66, was admittedto the Cardio-Neuro-Centrearound 10 am, hospitalsources said.

“He is under observa-tion in ICU. A team of doc-tors, including endocrinol-ogists, cardiologists andnephrologists, is monitoringhis condition,” one of thesources said.

In May this year, Jaitleywas admitted to AIIMS fortreatment.

A lawyer by profession, hehad been an important partof Narendra Modi's Cabinetduring his first government.He held finance and defenceportfolios, and often actedas the government's chieftroubleshooter.

Jaitley did not contestthe 2019 Lok Sabha electionpresumably because of hisill-health.

He had undergone renaltransplant on May 14 last yearwith Piyush Goyal filling infor him in the finance min-istry at that time. Jaitley,who had stopped attendingoffice since early April 2018,was back in the finance min-istry on August 23, 2018.

In September 2014, heunderwent bariatric surgeryto correct the weight he hadgained because of a long-standing diabetic condition.


Vice President and RajyaSabha Chairman M VenkaiahNaidu today called upon allpolitical parties to incorpo-rate a code of conduct for peo-ple’s representatives, includ-ing MPs and MLAs, in theirelection manifestos.

The code of conduct shouldinclude stipulations that themembers would

not enter the well of thehouse, nor resort to sloga-neering and disruptions or anyother unruly behavior such astearing papers and throwingthem in the House.

Naidu, who hosted a lunchfor senior officials of RajyaSabha and mediapersons at

Upa-Rashtrapati Bhawan,expressed his happiness overthe productive session of thejust concluded session of Par-liament. He said that theRajya Sabha achieved histo-ry of sorts in the number ofquestions raised andanswered, special mentionsand zero hour mentions dur-ing the session.

“With 32 bills passed dur-ing the 35 sittings of therecently concluded RajyaSabha session, this has beenthe best in the last 17 years interms of legislative output,”he added.

The Vice President saidthat he was sure that theleadership and MPs of allpolitical parties would appre-ciate the significance of “func-

tional Parliament” and wouldmaintain the positive momen-tum of the just concludedsession.

The Rajya Sabha Chairmansaid he has always beenemphasising the need for

members to discuss, debateand decide and not resort todisruptions and obstructionsin Parliament and legisla-tures as people are becomingrestless over such behaviour.

Naidu also expressed con-

cern over the tendency ofthe Opposition parties toboycott the legislature insome States, while in certainother instances the Opposi-tion was “sent out”. In someStates, the assembly wasmeeting for very few days,while there was continuousdisruption in some others.

The Vice Presidentappealed to all political par-ties to see that Parliament andlegislatures function effec-tively and to ensure that thequality of debates was raised.He said “there is a feelingamong the people that the levelof public discourse is goingdown”.

Pointing out that politicalparties were only rivals andnot enemies, he was of the firm

opinion that the ruling and theopposition parties shouldinteract more frequently toensure smooth conduct ofboth Parliament and legisla-tures.

Observing that Parlia-mentary democracy was allabout ensuring governancethrough accountability to thepeople, Naidu described as“legislative, deliberative andaccountability” the threeimportant functions of leg-islatures.

“We are supposed to makenecessary legislations for thebetterment of the countryand the people, take up anddeliberate on issues of pub-lic importance and ensure theaccountability of the gov-ernment of the day,” he said.

Bollywood dominatesnational film awards

PTIMUMBAI, 9 AUGUST

News television networkNDTV's founders PrannoyRoy and his wife Radhika,facing an alleged corruptioncase, were prevented fromflying abroad on Friday onthe basis of a “preventive”lookout circular (LOC)issued by the CBI.

In a statement, the mediacompany said Roy and hiswife were stopped fromtravelling abroad on thebasis of “a fake and whollyunsubstantiated corrup-tion case initiated by theCBI” two years ago.

Central Bureau of Inves-tigation (CBI) officials in NewDelhi said a “preventive”LOC was issued against theduo in June in connectionwith an alleged fraud inrelation to ICICI Bank.

They were stopped fromleaving the country on thebasis of the LOC, they added.

A preventive LOC isaimed at stopping a personfrom leaving the country butdoes not warrant deten-tion by authorities.

The said LOC was onlyto prevent the duo fromleaving the country, not todetain them, the officials

said.Roy and his wife were on

their way to an undiscloseddestination and were sched-uled to return on August 16,NDTV said.

“Today's action is, alongwith events like raids onmedia owners, a warning tothe media to fall in line- orelse,” the company said,hinting at intimidation.This was “a complete sub-version of basic rights”, itadded. The statement alsodescribed the two foundersof the media network as“journalists” but did notspecify the reasons for theirtravel. The action comesmonths after Naresh Goyal,the promoter of bankruptcarrier Jet Airways, wasstopped from flying abroadfrom the city airport afterthe Enforcement Direc-torate (ED) registered amoney-laundering caseagainst him.

The development comesmore than two years afterthe premises of the Royswere searched by the CBI inconnection with the allegedbank fraud case.

After lodging an FIR onJune 2, 2017, the CBI, in astatement, had said it wasnot probing loan default

but alleged violations ofReserve Bank of India (RBI)r ules, Secur it ies andExchange Board of India(SEBI) guidelines and reduc-tion in the rate of interestby ICICI Bank, which causeda loss of Rs 48 crore to it.

The case pertained to aloan, which was already re-paid by NDTV in 2009, andthere was no complaintfrom the bank, the compa-ny had said.

The news network, whichis credited with pioneeringtelevision news in the coun-try, had then called theaction a “witch hunt”.

“We will not succumb tothese attempts to blatant-ly undermine democracyand free speech,” NDTVhad said in a statementthen.

The Editors Guild of Indiahad also expressed its con-cern in the matter.

The CBI had registeredan FIR on the basis of a com-plaint filed by a sharehold-er of NDTV and ICICI Bank.

The central agency'smove to proceed againstNDTV without conductinga preliminary enquiry wascriticised by the media fra-ternity as an attempt tomuzzle the press.

Naidu urges parties to include code ofconduct for MPs, MLAs in manifestos

Jaitley in AIIMS ICU,condition �stable�

Roys stopped from travellingabroad; NDTV cries foul

07NEW DELHI, SATURDAY 10 AUGUST 2019

I strongly urge @PMOIndia to declare the floods inKarnataka as National disaster of severe nature andextend additional support at the earliest

JD-S SUPREMO H D DEVE GOWDAIN A TWEET PRESSING PM MODI TO DECLARE KARNATAKA FLOODS AS NATIONAL DISASTER

PRESS TRUST OF INDIAKOLHAPUR, 9 AUGUST

Maharashtra minister GirishMahajan on Friday stokeda controversy after two self-ie videos surfaced pur-portedly showing him smil-ing and waving hands cheer-fully as he inspected partsof the flood-hit district.

This prompted theOpposition NCP, the Con-gress and the MNS to rebukeMahajan, who in turn, askedthem not to politicise floodrelief work.

Alleging the BJP minis-ter was on “disaster tourism”,the NCP also asked ChiefMinister Devendra Fad-navis to seek resignation ofthe “insensitive” waterresources minister. TheCongress launched ascathing attack on the rul-ing BJP, saying it shouldstart a “selfiewithdead”series declaring the minis-ter as its brand ambas-sador.

In one of the clips, anunidentified person accom-panying Mahajan is seentaking selfie video as theyrode through water in partsof Kolhapur in westernMaharashtra. The minis-ter can be seen smiling andwaving hands in this clip.In another clip, Mahajan isseen inspecting the flood sit-uation standing on a roadas the person filmed the self-ie video. Hitting out at the

government on the issue,NCP chief spokespersonNawab Malik alleged it wasnot into disaster manage-ment, but “disaster tourism”.

“Mahajan himself hasgiven the evidence of theirsuch tourism. This is aninsensitive government.They (ruling BJP) are onlybothered about cam-paigning. People of thestate are watching and willteach the BJP a lesson,”Malik said.

Maharashtra Congressspokesperson SachinSawant tweeted, “GirishMahajan is the face thatreflects the character, ide-ology and identity of thisgovernment.

PRESS TRUST OF INDIASANGLI/MUMBAI, 9 AUGUST

Ahelicopter is beingdeployed to droprelief material in theflood-ravaged areas

of Sangli district in Maha-rashtra and it may also be usedto evacuate stranded people,a senior official said on Friday.

Rescue measures are under-way in rural as well as urbanareas of the western Maha-rashtra district, he said.

“We have received onechopper and its trial landinghas been successfully con-ducted. We are now startingsorties to drop relief materi-al in the affected areas.

“The chopper may be usedto evacuate people from theflood-hit areas,” said AbhijitChoudhary, district collectorof Sangli.

As of Thursday, over twolakh people have been evac-uated to safer places due to thefloods that have wreakedhavoc in five districts of West-ern Maharashtra - Sangli,Pune, Kolhapur, Solapur andSatara, officials have said.

Among them, Sangli andKolhapur are the worst-hit.

As many as 97,102 peoplehave been shifted to saferplaces in Kolhapur followedby 80,319 in Sangli, they havesaid. The region has beenpummelled by heavy rainsover the last few days.

“Rescue measures are onin rural as well as in city areasand people are being evacu-ated from the affected areas.The number of evacuatedpeople will increase,” Choud-hary said. At least nine peo-ple drowned and four wentmissing after a boat engagedin rescue work overturnednear the flooded Brahmanalvillage in Palus tehsil of San-gli on Thursday. Meanwhile,a dozen rescue teams of theIndian Navy are being deployedin Sangli district, an official said.

The rescue teams left forSangli on Thursday night byroad in state transport vehi-cles after their airlift was abort-

ed due to unfavourable con-dition in Sangli and adjoiningKolhapur, another flood-hit dis-trict, a defence spokesper-son said in a statement inMumbai.

“These 12 Navy teams willbe deployed today in Sangliin addition to the teams alreadypresent in Kolhapur,” he added.The total number of deaths dueto rain or flood- related inci-dents in the five districts dur-ing this period stood at 27, offi-cials said.

Minister on flood surveycaught on camera smiling

Chopper to drop relief items in flood-hit SangliOver two lakh people have been evacuated ��Five western Maharashtra districts affected ~ Sangli, Pune, Kolhapur, Solapur and Satara �Total deaths 27

Opposition alliance in Biharheading for disintegration

STATESMAN NEWS SERVICEDEHRADUN, 9 AUGUST

Cloudburst wreaked havoc indifferent parts of Uttarakhandof Friday. Four persons werekilled, many other sufferedinjuries and damage to prop-erty were registered from Tehriand Chamoli districts.

In a tragic incident, twomembers of a family werekilled and one got injuredwhen their house collapsed dueto cloudburst triggering flash-flood at village Thela-Tharti indistrict Tehri.

Tharti’s village head DeepaDevi said: “The incident tookplace at wee hours at 1.40 a.m.Two persons were killed andone was injured. The cloudbursthas caused threat to four otherhouses in our village.”

In a similar incident in dis-trict Chamoli, two personslost their lives in cloudburstrelated incident. Pushpa Devi(29) and her seven-year-olddaughter Jyoti lost their lives

in the cloudburst at villageFaldia, near Deval.

The flash-flood, triggeredby cloudburst, caused damageto about one dozen houses,many pedestrian bridges gotwashed away and loss of live-stock was also recorded in theaffected areas.

At Thela-Tarthi, the incidenttook place early morning whenthe family was in deep sleep.Their house came in fold of theflash-flood.

Makani Devi (30) and herson Suraj (7) were killed andSapna (12) suffered injuries.Young Sapana was rushed tothe nearest health care centreat Pilkhi. Search and rescue teamrushed to the aff-ected Thar-ti and managed to find the bod-ies after condu-cting an exten-sive operation.

Uttarakhand chief minis-ter Trivendra Singh Rawat hasasked to take precaution in viewof the incidents of excessive rain-fall in the hill state. He hasinstructed all the District Mag-istrates to identify sensitive areasand to keep the DisasterManagement System active inall the districts. He has instruct-ed that arrangements shouldbe made to provide immedi-ate relief to any kind of loss oflife and property during the dis-aster.

HYDERABAD, 9 AUGUST

The Indian Navy rescued 31fisherfolk including 12women who were strandedon the upper coffer dam atPolavaram project after theirboats began to capsize in riverGodavari which is in a spatedue to incessant rain forthe past week.

A group of 31 fisherfolkfrom Dowleswaram wentfishing in the Godavari upst-ream of Polavaram few daysback. They started returningas the river was receivingheavy inflows due to rain.

However, this morningtheir boats started capsizingnear the upper coffer damand they somehow managedto climb atop the cofferdam. Locals near theGandipochamma templeheard their cries for help andtried to rescue them butfailed because of swirlingfloodwaters.

The locals then alerted theauthorities. The NDRF teamsdeployed in the area attempt-ed to rescue by using mech-anized boats but failed toreach them because of thegushing water of Godavari.

The state disaster man-agement authority con-tacted Indian Navy inVisakhapatnam. Three ofthe women had fallen uncon-scious due to hunger. A navyhelicopter reached Polava-ram at around 1 p.m. and air-llifted them by conductingtwo sorties.

The YSRCP governmenthas blamed the faulty designof the Polavaram dam pro-ject for flooding. Ever sincethe water level in Godavarihas risen, 19 villages inPolavaram have been underwater. The project spillwayis also under water. SNS

MANOJ CHAURASIAPATNA, 9 AUGUST

The RJD-led OppositionGrand Alliance appears tobe heading for disintegra-tion with the Lalu Prasadfamily taking no interest inthe party and political affairs.

While the RJD presidentPrasad is currently servingprison terms in Ranchi jail,his family members areslowly distancing them-selves from the party activ-ities, leaving the party rankand file confused and dis-heartened.

The result is that GA’spartners look to be on exitroutes one by one even asthe Assembly elections inBihar are scheduled onlynext year.

In a fresh development,Hindustani Awam Morcha(HAM) headed by formerchief minister Jitan RamManjhi is planning to go italone in the next Assemblypolls.

“Both the NDA and theGA have cheated our partyand hence, most likely wewould contest the 2020assembly elections alone,”Manjhi announced today,launching his party’s mem-bership drive. He said major-ity of the party men now feelthat HAM should go it alonein the next assembly polls.

This is the second timein quick succession that

Manjhi has snubbed theRJD.

Earlier in May too, Man-jhi had skipped the meetingof GA convened by RJDleader Tejashwi Yadav inMay end soon after theresults of the Lok Sabhaelections were announced.

The result brought seri-ous disaster to the Opposi-tion camp with the GA ableto win only one seat out ofBihar’s total 40 LS seats.

Except for the Congresswhich emerged victorious ononly one seat, no party,including the RJD, couldopen its account. Manjhi hasalready refused to accept theleadership of RJD leaderTejashwi Yadav, youngerson of jailed RJD presidentPrasad.

Quite like HAM, the Con-gress party too has beenmaintaining respectable

distance from the RJD inrecent months.

This comes amid the topparty leaders, especiallymajority of former partypresidents, seeking fordumping the RJD and goingit alone to revive the partybase.

They are of the opinionthat the Congress leadershipshould get off the crutchesof the RJD it used in the pastand go it alone in the Assem-bly elections which, theyfeel, will strengthen theparty base.

Trouble has begun rightsince the opposition campfaced embarrassing defeatin the recently-held LS polls.

However, the RJD is moreto blame for this situation.Post poll debacle, Prasad’sheir apparent Tejashwi hasliterally gone into hiding,leaving the party in the dol-

drums. For the past two months,

Tejashwi who was chosen byhis father to lead the party,has taken no interest in theparty affairs for the reasonsbest known to him. First heskipped the month-longmonsoon session of thestate Assembly and then hejumped party’s foundationday function organized on6 July, inviting bitter com-ments from the senior lead-ers.

Although he attendedthe RJD’s national executiveheld the very next day butsince then there has been notrace of Tejashwi. Todayagain he was skipped theparty function held in theRJD office at which he wasto kick off the party’s mem-bership drive.

What was further strange,no members from Prasadfamily, either former chiefminister Rabri Devi, herdaughter Misa Bharti or herelder son Tej Pratap Yadavremained present at thefunction too, causing furtherembarrassment to the seniorparty leaders and grass-rootworkers.

In the absence of anyinstruction from the top,the grass root workers arefeeling confused which isbadly damaging the party.The overall situation appearsreally tough for the RJD atpresent.

NDRF personnel rescue people stranded in flood waters on inflatable boats after heavy rains onthe outskirts of Sangli in Maharashtra on Friday. AFP

Navy rescues 31fisherfolkstranded atPolavaramcoffer dam

4 killed in Uttarakhand cloudburst

A cloudburst affected villagein district Chamoli. SNS

Karnataka tollgoes up to 12;CM announces`5 lakh to kin

BENGALURU, 9 AUGUST

Chief minister B S Yediyu-rappa on Friday ann-ounced Rs five lakh to nextto the kin of people killedin the flood and rain-related incidents in Kar-nataka, where 12 peoplehave lost their lives.

“I have directed theofficials that Rs five lakhshould be given to thefamily members of thosekilled in the flood with-in 24 hours,” Yediyurap-pa said in Mudhol andBagalkote, where hereviewed the flood situ-ation, conducted an aer-ial survey and visited thevictims.

“In the State, in all, 12people have died,” hesaid. Four helicoptersincluding three big oneshave been pressed intoservice and so far 71 peo-ple have been airlifted, thechief minister said. PTI

RESCUE OPERATION

CPM slams detention of Yechury, Raja by Kashmir administrationSTATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, 9 AUGUST

The CPI-M today condemnedthe detention of party’s gen-eral secretary Sitaram Yechuryand CPI chief D Raja by theKashmir administration whenthey went to meet the party’sMLA Tarigami Yousuf in Sri-nagar today.

“The administration hadbeen duly informed of thevisit plan, yet Sitaram Yechuryand D Raja were not allowed

to move to Srinagar. This isundeclared emergency. Thisis nothing but annihilationof human rights and con-stitutional morality,” theparty said.

The Left leaders had goneto Srinagar to meet CPI (M)leader Tarigami Yousuf andother party colleagues.

In a statement issued bythe CPI-M, the party hit outat the government over thedetention, saying it was an“anti-democratic” act, which

showed the ruling BJP's“authoritarian face”.

The CPI-M calls upon thepeople to protest this “anti-democratic” act of the BJPgovernment.

The party said earlierboth the leaders had writtento the Jammu and Kashmirgovernor Satya Pal Malikrequesting him that thereshould not be any hurdles totheir visit. Despite that theyhave been detained.

“They wanted to meet

ailing colleague and party’scomrades who are there. Westrongly protest the illegaldetention,” the party said.

CPI-M MLA Sujan Chakr-aborty said if it was a welcomemove in J&K by home min-ister Amit Shah, why arethey scared of SitaramYechury and D Raja. OnThursday, Congress leaderGhulam Nabi Azad wasdetained and sent back toDelhi from the Srinagar air-port.

In one of the clips, anunidentified personaccompanying Maha-jan is seen taking self-ie video as they rodethrough water inparts of Kolhapur inwestern Maharashtra.

PTILUCKNOW, 9 AUGUST

The Uttar Pradesh govern-ment has issued a directivefor setting up of two resi-dential schools for chil-dren belonging to ScheduledCastes and Scheduled Tribesin the state's Sonbhadradistrict, where 10 tribalswere killed last month overland conflict.

One of the residentialschools would be set up forgirls, while the other wouldbe for boys, said an officialstatement.

“State Chief SecretaryAnup Chandra Pandey hasissued directive for con-struction of two residentialschools for boys and girlsfor education of children ofScheduled Castes andScheduled Tribes inSonbhadra district,” thestatement said.

Chief Minister Yogi

Adityanath had announcethat his government wouldbe setting up the schoolsduring his visit to the dis-trict after the massacre.

The girls' school wouldbe constructed at Murtiyavillage in Ghorawal, ParganaBarhar; and the boys' schoolwould come up in ParganaSearia of Robertsganj, thestatement said, adding thatthe directives were issuedat a meeting chaired by thechief secretary on Thursday.

The schools would be onlines of centre-run Navo-daya schools.

On 17 July, 10 peoplewere killed and 28 othersinjured in Umbha village inSonbhadra over control ofland by the village headand his henchmen.

UP govt orders setting upof 2 schools for tribals,Dalits in Sonbhadra

The girls' schoolwould be construct-ed at Murtiya villagein Ghorawal, Par-gana Barhar; andthe boys' schoolwould come up inPargana Searia ofRobertsganj, thestatement said,adding that thedirectives wereissued at a meetingchaired by the chiefsecretary

SIR, Thank you for your editorial,‘Gubernatorial Caveat’ (31 July).The Governor has a duty to remindthe State government of his Oathof Office, as the keeper of its con-science instead of being a mutewitness to the gradual disintegra-tion of the State’s administrationand bringing the same to the edgeof the cliff. Mr Keshari Nath Tri-pathi’s timing of the caveat hasalso been appropriate. Spelling itout earlier might have robbed itmuch of its force and effect. Itmight then have been interpretedas unwarranted interference by ameddlesome protégé of the UnionGovernment. While taking the bow,

Mr Tripathi has articulated “hometruths” about the Chief Ministergoing out of her way to appease aparticular community, guidedsolely by its religious identity andthereby discriminating againstothers in the process. No wonderthe exercise not only “impinged”on the communal and societal har-mony, but has proved counter-pro-ductive.

Yours, etc., Sunrit Deb,Kolkata, 5 August.

BIG CITY, SMALL TOWN

SIR, This refers to the remarks ofthe former Governor, Mr KeshariNath Tripathi, regarding West Ben-

gal’s industrial scenario and divi-sive politics. There is not the slight-est inaccuracy or exaggeration inwhat he said; the reality is there foreveryone to see.

He made these remarks be-cause he cares for the people of thestate. He has spoken out of his lovefor Kolkata, once the second cityof the British Empire and nowdescribed as a big city with a smalltown by a foreign diplomat.

Yours, etc., Enakshi Ghosh,Kolkata, 1 August.

REAL ESTATE CRIME

SIR, I am a 64-year-old senior citi-zen and have for the past 25 yearsbeen a resident of Bansdroni in theNetaji Nagar police station area. Anelderly childless couple was mur-

dered inside their house in thisarea on the night of 30 July. Thisarea was very peaceful till recentlyand many people bought flats and land and built their housesyears ago to spend their retired life peacefully. Now, with the realestate boom there has been a spurt in anti-social activities. Theactivities of builders and develop-ers have unnerved old-time resi-dents. The local police station hasfailed to provide security. Nor is thelocality effectively patrolled atnight.

This has bolstered the anti-social elements and unscrupulouspromoters, many of whom havecome from outside West Bengal.Through these columns, I wouldlike to bring the malaise to the

notice of West Bengal’s Chief Min-ister, Mamata Banerjee, who inci-dentally is also in charge of Homeand police.

Bansdroni cries out for herintervention in order to curb theactivities of the unscrupulous realestate developers and builders.Real estate activity has spawnedanti-social depredations.

Yours, etc., Abanti Mukherjee,Kolkata, 5 August.

COAL-FIRED OVENS

SIR, According to a Food and Agri-culture Organisation (FAO) report,Kolkata has 30,000 food vendorswho use coal-fired ovens. Besides,there are numerous roadside iron-ing service providers who also usesuch ovens, which are the biggestsource of air pollution in the city.Kolkata Municipal Corporation isresponsible for improving the airquality.

It should immediately ensurethat coal ovens are replaced withelectric induction cookers andelectric irons are used for pressingclothes. The air quality level of thecity deteriorates during winter. Assuch, sustained action is necessaryto address this problem.

Yours, etc., Khokan Das,Kolkata, 7 August.

Nepalis have been enduringpoor air quality for years now.And every year, they look for-

ward to a few months of fresh andclean air during the monsoon whenthe rains wash down harmful sus-pended particulate matter in theatmosphere. Now, this little bit ofrespite too is disappearing. Prime Min-ister KP Oli claimed in late June thatKathmandu was ‘dust free’, and thatNepalis need not wear air pollutionmasks anymore. While those claimswere ridiculed outright, the situationhas barely improved even a monthlater, in the midst of the monsoon sea-son, with the particulate matter stillcausing air pollution. The governmentneeds to fix this issue, not by makingfalse claims and taking ad hoc mea-sures, but by getting at the cause ofsuch pollution ~ dust and emissions.The main causes of air pollution areozone in the lower atmosphere, nitro-gen and sulphur oxides, and particlessuspended in the air. While ozone andother pollutants go through seasonalvariations that are harder to under-stand, governments worldwide use AirQuality Index (AQI) levels for PM2.5(particulates that are smaller than 2.5micrometres in diameter) to check thebreathability of air.

The US Embassy’s air qualitymonitor at Phora Durbar, near theheart of Kathmandu, showed thePM2.5 level at 51 AQI at noon onAugust 8. In fact, the Nepali Times,using US Embassy data, tweeted yes-terday that the PM2.5 levels in Kath-mandu Valley for the period covering

August 2-8 has consistently rangedbetween the 50-100 range. What’sworse, AQI levels in parts of the Valleyduring the second and third week ofJuly, around the time of the heaviestrains this monsoon, ranged as high as165 AQI. Such high levels during themonsoon, when the rains typicallywash down particles in the air, do notbode well for the quality of the air thatwe breathe in the long run.

There are a number of aspects thathave contributed to the worsening airquality. One is that the country’s roadrepair systems are poorly planned. Roadsare dug up routinely for a myriad of rea-sons, only to be left as is for months,even as the sandy roads contribute dustto the air. The ever-expanding tradedeficit has also not stopped the increas-ing purchase of foreign-made privatevehicles; most of these are fossil fuel-guz-zling and are inefficient in terms of thenumber of passengers they carry asopposed to mass transport. Moreover,even with great potential for hydroelec-tricity and the availability of sunlightduring the winter months, Nepal contin-ues to rely on fossil fuel imports (sub-sidised for personal consumption) andon fossil fuel-powered electricity fromIndia.

The only way forward for the gov-ernment, both local and federal, is topromote measures that are long-lasting.Roads that are dug up have to be black-topped immediately after any publicwork is done. The adoption of mass tran-sit systems, so that people rely less onprivate vehicles, are also an importantstarting point. To promote this, the gov-ernment can provide fuel subsidies tocommercial operators while completelyrevoking all such provisions for personalconsumption. In the meantime, the gov-ernment has to promote the domesticproduction of clean electricity ~ fromsolar and hydropower sources.

The piquancy created byPresident Trump’s recentclaim that Prime Minis-ter Narendra Modi had

asked him to mediate or arbi-trate in Indo-Pak talks has less-ened a bit. He has changed thenarrative into his willingness toassist “if the two South Asianneighbours wanted him to helpin resolving the decades-oldissue”. Is Mr Trump seeking toscore political brownie points byseeking to ‘solve’ Kashmir, afterhis overture to North Korea, andthus be adjudged as the states-man of the century seeking pari-ty with some of his more illustri-ous predecessors such as Wash-ington, Adams, Jefferson? Sufficeit to submit that he is proving tobe increasingly difficult for India.The Modi government’s decisionto cut down drastically on oilimports from Iran has led Tehranro shift its position on Kashmir.The country’s supreme leader,Ayatollah Khamenei, and the for-eign ministry have issued state-ments on Kashmir that were crit-ical of the Indian governmentand its security forces. Indeed,Khamenei, for the first time inseven years, equated the situa-tion in Kashmir with that ofYemen and Bahrain as one thatrequired the support of “all Mus-lim nations”.

To be fair to Mr Modi, it isinconceivable that he made thatrequest. What lends hilarity tothe tale is that the Prime Ministercould not refute Trump in public,lest that should be tantamountto saying that the US Presidentis a liar. Trump’s motive to fabri-cate a lie on an issue that is fairlysensitive for India is a mootpoint, but his lie did conform tothe rich tradition of Presidentiallies that form the bedrock ofAmerican politics. While ama-teur analysts of Freudian slipshave had a field day with numer-ous examples of Bush’s gaffes,the Trumpian variety needs clos-er scrutiny.

Trump’s lie looks almostinnocuous when compared tofour key presidential lies listedby Eric Alterman in his bookWhen Presidents Lie: A History ofOfficial Deception and Its Conse-quences; Franklin Roosevelt and

the Yalta accords, John Kennedyand the Cuban Missile Crisis,Lyndon Johnson and the secondGulf of Tonkin incident, andRonald Reagan and CentralAmerica in the 1980s. Assumingthat Trump said this to ImranKhan in order to placate Pakistanin the attempt to wriggle out ofthe Afghan quagmire, it bearsrecall that during the Cold War,presidential deception for secu-rity purposes became entrenc-hed, defended in elite circles as adistasteful but necessary matterof realpolitik and, frequently, na-tional survival.

Roosevelt believed that hewould be ‘preserv-ing’ the postwarpeace. Kennedyunderstood his de-ception as neces-sary to ‘protect apolitically unpo-pular compromise’that had been nec-essary to prevent apotential war betw-een superpowers.Lyndon Johnson feltit was necessary todeceive in order to‘prevent the spreadof Communism inSouth-east Asia’, justas Reagan believed he was doingtwo decades later in CentralAmerica. Even George W. Bushbelieved that the spurious storieshe told the nation with regard toIraq were offered in the serviceof ‘national survival’.

Today, Pakistan is poised tocome out of its economic andstrategic isolation not onlybecause the Afghan peace talksbetween the US and the Talibanhave reached a critical phaserequiring Pakistan’s midwifery,but also because three big pow-ers on the world stage ~ China,Russia and the US ~ are courtingPakistan to hold talks to mediateon Afghanistan. Internationalis-ing Kashmir with Americanmediation is the pet fantasy thatPakistan harbours ever since Par-tition. Trump, who is aware ofthat, nudged a beleaguered andplacatory Pakistan. He is acutelyaware that this works wonderful-ly well in the subcontinent aselsewhere, but the only troubleis that the unseemly and desper-

ate hurry for an escape routefrom Afghanistan would causepermanent damage to the sub-continent. One recalls howbacked by President Eisenhow-er, Secretary of State John Dulleswanted to use leverage throughits economic assistance pro-grammes, to press for a solutionon Kashmir, but Prime MinisterNehru did not go along with theUS proposal.

Interestingly in 1993 whenRobin Raphel, as the AssistantSecretary of State for South Asia,said that the USA never accep-ted the accession of Kashmir inIndia, the Clinton administration

backtracked andendorsed the Shim-la agreement, say-ing that Pakistanand India have toresolve it by them-selves. If Trump hadchecked with someprimer on Indo-Pakrelationship hewould have knownthat following the1971 war India wasable to extractmajor concessionsfrom Pakistan at theShimla talks thatfollowed. Sub-para-

graph 1(ii) of the Shimla Agree-ment in 1972 stipulated that thetwo countries have resolved tosettle their differences by peace-ful means through bilateralnegotiations or any other peace-ful means mutually agreed uponbetween them. This meant thatIndia-Pakistan differences couldbe discussed outside a bilateralcontext only if both countriesagreed to do so. Prime MinistersNawaz Sharif and Atal BehariVajpayee agreed in 1999 to inten-sify efforts to resolve bilaterallyall issues including Kashmir inLahore. If historical precedentsare any guide, during the BushSr. administration, the USAfavoured bilateral negotiations toresolve the Kashmir problemsunder the framework of the 1972Shimla agreement. When Nara-simha Rao visited the USA inMay 1994, President Clintonendorsed bilateralism and theShimla agreement as a securitypolicy to resolve the Kashmirissue. Will Modi urge Trump to

mediate on India’s claim to PoKafter the scrapping of Article 370?Therefore, any move towardspolitical grandstanding withoutan effort to go deep into theissue will not help.

But the most important les-son to be drawn is that the mer-curial Trump's support cannotalways be taken for granted. Heis given to changing gears. Ana-lysts refer to the Holbrooke doc-trine which was a crucial movetowards curbing radicalism inPakistan and ease the Kashmirdispute. Richard Holbrooke, theinfluential American diplomatand author, was in favour ofexerting more pressure on Indiato achieve that.

But India must make it clearto the US that the success of itsAfghan policy might depend notonly on Pakistan but more cru-cially on the dismantling of itsterror infrastructure visibly andverifiably to India’s satisfactionand within a stipulated time-frame. And on that will dependthe resumption of Indo-Pak talkson all bilateral issues, includingKashmir. Kashmir’s resolutioncannot mean a sanction to Pak-istan’s encroachment onAfghanistan.

It was during the Kargil crisisin 1999, a fact confirmed byStephen Cohen, that the USAcame out in full support of Indiaagainst Pakistan for the first time,which grew even stronger underthe Bush Jr. administration. Itgained momentum during theadministrations of Bill Clinton,George W. Bush, and BarackObama. One hopes that with astrong institutional mechanismof Indo-US friendship, the Amer-ican President is just a cog in thewheel who cannot undo years ofgood work of the previous lead-ers of the two countries. Trumpshould surely be briefed that anyattempt to internationalise Kash-mir is a red line for India.

But that said, India musthave to understand that Kash-mir’s future as a democratic,inclusive, and pro-secular spaceis inextricably linked to howIndia and Pakistan conductthemselves. And the need for true bilateralism is necessaryin a Kashmir without its specialstatus.

Incorporating and directly descendedfrom THE FRIEND OF INDIA - Founded 1818

... To the edge of the cliff

08 NEW DELHI, SATURDAY 10 AUGUST 2019

A MEMBEROF THE

PRASENJITCHOWDHURY

The writer is a Kolkata-basedcommentator on politics,development and cultural

issues

ASIAN VOICES

Grim numbers

July 30, World Day against Trafficking in Persons,came and went and India showed that it was notoverly worried about a global movement to

arrest the rise in human trafficking (illegal trade ofhumans), which has assumed “horrific dimensions”.Hapless reports from the United Nations Office onDrugs and Crime (UNODC), drawing traffickingtrends and patterns from 142 countries, show asteady increase in victims since 2010 with Asia andthe Americas reporting the worst figures. Not all ofthis can be explained by improved detection,recording and reporting data on trafficking andsurely there is a real increase in the number of vic-tims. The Global Slavery Index bestows on India thedistinction of hosting an estimated eight millionvictims within its borders, out of a global trade of24.9 million. The prime motivations in this heinousgame are sexual slavery and forced labour. Womenand girls comprise around 72 per cent of detectedvictims and child victims have more than doubledfrom 2004 to 2016. They account for 30 per cent ofthe trafficked; girls outnumbering boys globally.Despite India’s attempt at implementing the Traf-ficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Reha-bilitation) Bill, 2018 the annual ‘Trafficking in Per-sons Report’, June 2019 by the USA’s Department ofState, places it amongst the 90 Tier 2 countries alongwith Pakistan, Nigeria, Nepal and Singapore. Thismeans that India is not satisfactorily meeting theTrafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA)standards, despite its attempts to comply.

India’s complicity and lax laws have encouragedtraffickers to use it as a hub for trading in victimsfrom neighbouring countries in a massive orga-nized crime. Nepal and Bangladesh are consideredthe source countries and a study by SashastraSeema Bal on “Human Trafficking on Indo-Nepalborder” alleges that the numbers entering Indiahave gone up by 500 per cent since 2013. The tricksof the trade and even the routes are known as aresome players, as girls are routinely trafficked fromvillages in Nepal’s Terai region and sold to brothelsin Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and other cities for up toRs 50,000. Year 2013 saw 108 girls/children rescuedat the Indo-Nepal border and the numbers haverisen to 607 in 2017, suggesting a bigger pool ofthose that evaded detection. In 2016, India reported8,132 cases, a 20 per cent increase from 2015, with23,117 rescues. Of them, children accounted for 60per cent, women and girls accounted for 55 percent; 33 per cent was trafficked for sexual servicesand 45 per cent for forced labour. Given that India isan aspiring global superpower and the transnation-al nature of the crime, certainly there is a case forthe country to have a comprehensive legislativeframework, with built-in non-criminalization of thevictim and effective rehabilitation clauses, withinwhich it can address the problem or else marketforces will continue to determine the contours ofthis ongoing assault.

Prisoner of Gender

It is deeply regrettable if gender equality hasbecome a casualty in one of the country’s pre-mier healthcare facilities ~ the All India Institute

of Medical Sciences in New Delhi. A report craftedby its doctors is explicit on the point that men out-number women in outpatient consultations andacross a range of specialisations. Not that all ail-ments are gender-specific; it is the attention accord-ed to men generally that must seem quirky. It iscause for concern that the report, advanced onWednesday, mentions fresh evidence of gender dis-crimination in terms of access to health care, indeedspecialised treatment. It devolves on the authori-ties and the Union health ministry no less to diag-nose the factors at the root of the skewed sex ratios.The doctors have analysed more than two millionOPD visits over the past year. The data can be aston-ishing, if not a contrived attempt to distort genderequality. It thus comes about that for cardiology, forinstance, 196 men were treated, against 100 women.The figures are no less skewed for the ENT, Medi-cine, Ophthalmology, skin and surgery depart-ments. Doctors connected with the survey haveadmitted that by and large, there can be no gen-der-based pattern in terms of diseases and illnesses.At the core of the discrepancy is gender discrimina-tion. It is hard not to wonder whether AIIMS isunwilling or whether women are loath to acceptsophisticated healthcare. “The size of the skewedratios ~ at times two-to-one ~ and their presence inevery medical facility points to gender discrimina-tion,” is the high-minded lament of a professor ofcardiology at AIIMS and a member of the studyteam. It is cause for alarm too that gender discrimi-nation in access to healthcare is extensive, if thefresh evidence is any indication. Acchhe Din mustbe a long way away if girls and elderly women haveto suffer the greatest neglect. The attitude can onlyprolong the suffering, the cruel irony being theantediluvian mores. The distance between homeand hospital may even militate against timely atten-tion and care for women. Which explains the con-sensus amongst doctors that the distance betweenAIIMS and the patients’ home states, as often as notexplains the seemingly distorted sex ratio. Genderdiscrimination can render the healthcare systemstill more sclerotic. The survey by doctors at AIIMShas furnished figures; it devolves on the hospitalauthorities and policy planners to sensitise the peo-ple about the prevalence of gender discriminationin healthcare. It is imperative for the Health min-istry to ensure that more and more women avail ofthe facilities at AIIMS. There is something wrongsomewhere if the man/woman ratio has been sothoroughly skewed as it has been for years. Itredounds to the credit of doctors at AIIMS that thegender bias has eventually been exposed. The Hip-pocratic oath warrants universal application.

The honest broker?

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Vol. CXXXXX 189

Clean air mustbe guaranteed

India must make it clear to the US that the success of its Afghan policy might depend

not only on Pakistan but more crucially on the dismantling of its terror infrastructure

visibly and verifiably to India�s satisfaction and within a stipulated timeframe. And on

that will depend the resumption of Indo-Pak talks on all bilateral issues, including Kashmir.

Kashmir�s resolution cannot mean a sanction to Pakistan�s encroachment on Afghanistan

[email protected]

PAGES FROM THE PAST

SIR, Leaders are born and not made. Time was when the grand old party was blessedwith leaders of the stature of Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru, Patel and thereafter, IndiraGandhi who helped the Indian National Congress to virtually rule the country formore than three decades from 1947 to 1984, with the Janata interregnum. Though Indi-ra’s son, Rajiv, came to the fore in the wake of her assassination, his tenure was briefand lacklustre and clouded by the Bofors controversy. Morarji Desai of the JanataDal, who assumed the mantle of the PM after the end of the Emergency could not lastlong, and he was followed by Charan Singh for a brief period and thereafter, he passedinto the pages of history till Indira’s comeback.

Yours, etc., Arun Kumar Bhaduri, Kolkata, 31 July.


ACROSS

1 Understood themeaning of over-acting in New York(6)

5 Serpent�s sex app-eal distinctly over-come by consider-able nerves (8)

9 Richard and Charlo-

tte perhaps in

audition for Big

Brother? (8)

10 Sign of saint

expunged from

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rectory�s walls (6)

11 Symbol intimately

associated with

Tutankhamen (4)

12 Spoke about indep-

endent spirit being

set in motion (10)13 Got tan after turn-

ing somewhatorange colour (6)

15 Prime position leftfirst mate in thenavy at sea (8)

17 Drug trial thatcould be decisive(4,4)

20 Occupation univer-sity dons enter at

work (6)22 Insurance pay-out

puts a claim in jeo-pardy (7,3)

24 Second-handshop�s facade dueto be revamped (4)

26 Quick work! (6)27 Even if wealth�s

lost we should cutback (8)

28 Slippery youngstercovering up deceitis about to get awake-up call (8)

29 Staid or stayed �which is misspelt?(6)

DOWN2 Judgement disre-

gards �good�reason for

waterworks (5)3 Expert�s recently-

taken photo (7)4 One marking time

paid for working incapital (9)

5 Time at school cutshort by child�ssocial worker? (7)

6 Religious leader up-set about westernborder of Israelicity (5)

7 Dread for examplehaving to changeand move toworse position (7)

8 Rent room close tothat silly bugger! (9)

14 Square containing

exposed area of

land for fruit (9)

16 European

countries divided

by case for interim

assessments (9)

18 First person

incarcerated by

judge is a killer (7)

19 Exam put away

with instructions

on passing (7)

21 Provider of

sensitive

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Central

Intelligence

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23 Everyone eats tips

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25 Promised to aban-

don place with bor-

ders (5)

SOLUTION FOR 09 AUGUST SOLUTION FOR 03 AUGUST

100 YEARS AGO

NOTE: Figures in parentheses denote the number of letters in the words required.(By arrangement with The Independent, London)

OCCASIONAL NOTEThe five great firms of meat packers againstwhich the American Department of Justiceis about to take proceedings under the Anti-Trust law are all located, to use the Americanexpression, in Chicago, namely Armour andCo., Cudahy Packing Co., Morris and Co.,Swift and Co., and Wilson and Co. The totalsales of these firms last year were upwards ofthree thousand million dollars, and theiraggregate profit amounted to more than 51million dollars. Of this sum 21 millions werenetted by Swift and Co., who are by far themost important of the group, althoughArmour and Co., are the best known, per-haps, to the outside world. It has beenclaimed, on behalf of the big packers, thatthey only handle 40 per cent of the totalmeat production of the United States. Inaddition to the five large houses, there aresaid to be 266 packing firms subject to Gov-ernment supervision - that is to say, whichhave inter-State businesses - and in addi-tion to these there are many hundreds ofsmaller packers which do a purely localtrade. The large packing houses do notrestrict their operations to butchers’ meat.Swift and Co., for example, are the largestsingle dealers in cattle, eggs and poultry inthe United States. The agitation against themethods of the packers has been growingin volume for many months, and althoughthey have endeavoured to show that theirmethods are essential if prices are not to gohigher than they are.

INDIAN INSTITUTEOF SCIENCEThe tenth annual report, that for 1918-19,of the Indian Institute of Science, Banga-lore, just issued, is an interesting record ofresearches made for industrial purposes.The Hon. Mr. H.V. Cobb, Resident, was theelected chairman for the year and threemeetings of the council of the institute wereheld during the period. The library blockwas practically completed by the end of theyear and it now remains to level and lay outthe grounds. As regards investigations madein the Institute, in the department of gener-al and organic chemistry, Mr. M.N. Mehta,M.A., B.Sc., a graduate of the Bombay Uni-versity, was engaged, with the help andunder the guidance of Dr. Sudborough, inan investigation into the deterioration ofpaper. This question has been taken up atthe request of the Government of India. Anexamination of certain perished books hasbeen made and proves that paper madefrom rags does deteriorate, although thishas been denied by certain cellulose experts.

CHOWRINGHEEEXTENSIONThe work of laying the new tram lines fromKyd Street corner to Esplanade for theKalighat cars, in connection with the widen-ing of Chowringhee on that frontage, hasalready begun. After the scheme was sanc-tioned there was some delay owing to ashortage of tram rails. These have sincearrived from abroad, thus enabling the workto be taken in hand. The track fromEsplanade to Kyd Street has been dug, butonly about a hundred feet near Esplanadeend have been laid with concrete. The railsare lying on the west side of the track readyto be put down as soon as the foundation ofthe track has been made secure. The newChowringhee line will meet the present Kid-derpore line on Ochterlony Road and willform part of the new track, and for this pur-pose a new track will be laid for the Kidder-pore cars to the west of the present Kidder-pore track, cutting through OchterlonyRoad.

DISTRESS IN BANKURASeventy-two relief-works were opened inBankura. The number of persons relievedon works was 6,492. The number of personsin receipt of gratuitous relief was 20,039, viz.,15,251 on cash doles in 114 Unions, 3,479on paddy husking advances, 782 weaversand 527 better class poor. The total numberof persons relieved was 26,531. The decreasein the number of persons on relief-workswas due to heavy rains and active agricul-tural operations, while the increase in num-bers on gratuitous relief was due to theopening of new relief centres. The numberof persons relieved on private works was2,000. Also four charitable societies relieved1,799 other persons by rice doles. Offencesagainst property are increasing. The physi-cal condition of workers and public healthare good. Fodder and water are sufficient.Cloth is being distributed to destitute. Therelief measures are adequate.

HOSTILE TRIBESMENReconnaissances from Dakka report smallbodies of the enemy still occupying theirusual positions about Girdi, a lashkar abouttwo thousand strong is said to be nearBasawal. The tribesmen followed up one ofour reconnaissance parties during its returnto Dakka on the 5th instant. They were dis-persed by shell fire and lost sixty to seventykilled. In Tochi there have been some minordisturbances. On the 8th a body of tribes-men took up commanding positions to pre-vent our road piquets reaching their posts inthe vicinity of Edak. The enemy were drivenoff but the road traffic was interrupted forseveral hours. These activities are locallyattributed to the instigation of Nadir Khan.Small raids are reported by villagers on theSeistan border, but these have been repelledby villagers themselves.

NEWS ITEMS

Two-time former chief ministerBhupinder Singh Hooda (71) isthe face of the Congress inHaryana. The son of freedom

fighter and constituent Assembly mem-ber Ranbir Singh Hooda, he is an alum-nus of Sainik School, Balachadi, Jam-nagar, Gujarat. Having started his polit-ical career as a block president in hisnative area of Kiloi in Rohtak, Hoodahas been Member of Parliament andMember of Legislative Assembly fourtimes each.

Ever since losing power to the BJPin the 2014 Assembly polls, the strong-man from Rohtak’s Jat bastion is fac-ing political as well as legal battleswith the party high command ignor-ing his demand for leadership changein the state unit and Central agenciesprobing corruption cases against him.In an interview to RANJEET JAMWAL,Hooda underlined the need toappoint a new president of the Con-gress at the earliest. Excerpts:

Q: What is your assessment of theCongress leadership crisis? Also,who should, in your view, be theCongress president?

A: The Congress Working Com-mittee (CWC) is meeting on 10 Augustto take a decision on this issue. We hadrequested Rahul Gandhi to continueas party president. But he didn't relentand resigned as president. So now theCWC is meeting and someone shouldbe made president. This uncertaintyover the party president should beover soon. Such uncertainty is notgood for the party.

Q: The BJP won all 10 Lok Sabhaseats in Haryana for the first timein the state’s history. How will youdescribe BJP’s surge in the statewhere the saffron party was aminor player till the 2014 LokSabha polls?

A: It was not an achievement of

the BJP government in Haryana. It wasbecause of pseudo-nationalism andModi wave that the party won. Thiswas the case not just in Haryana butentire northern India and the BJP wonLok Sabha seats because of these fac-tors.

Q:Will the Modi factor play a partin the Assembly polls too?

A: These factors (pseudo-nation-alism and Modi wave) will not bethere in Assembly polls as state pollsare fought on different issues. Forexample, in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls,the Congress won nine Lok Sabha

seats and one seat was won by the lateBhajan Lal's party (Haryana JanhitCongress). Thus, Om Prakash Chauta-la's Indian National Lok Dal (INLD)didn't win a seat in those Lok Sabhapolls in Haryana. But in Assemblypolls later, the INLD won 32 seats.Likewise, in Odisha people voted forNarendra Modi as Prime Minister atthe Centre but voted for Naveen Pat-naik as chief minister again. Therefore,Lok Sabha polls are fought on differentissues from the Assembly polls. InAssembly polls people assess the stategovernment's performance.

Q: Should the Congress forge analliance with any party for theHaryana Assembly polls?

A: There is no need for the Con-gress to have an alliance for theAssembly polls. But if like-mindedparties like Bahujan Samaj Party comeforward for an alliance and it workswell for both the parties, we are opento such an alliance.

Q: Should the Congress leader-ship project a CM candidate forthese polls?

A: It's a hypothetical question.The BJP too had not declared ML

Khattar as CM candidate in the 2014Assembly polls. Our first target is tooust the BJP. We can announce the CMcandidate later.

Q: Opposition parties accuse theBJP of creating a divide inHaryana between Jats and non-Jats. Do you agree with this? Howwill the Congress deal with it?

A: They (BJP) have made an effortbut not succeeded in it. Any develop-ment work like roads, schools or col-leges in the state is for all communi-ties and everyone benefits from them.Such things are not done for one par-ticular community. This is the men-tality of the BJP but people have fullyunderstood the issue and everyone isfor strengthening brotherhood amongall communities.

Q: You have been demandingleadership change in theHaryana unit. How will it help theCongress?

A: I have never demanded lead-ership change but Haryana PradeshCongress Committee in the presenceof Kamal Nath (then in-charge ofHaryana Congress) had passed a reso-lution authorising Rahul Gandhi toappoint a new president (replacingcurrent president Ashok Tanwar). Weare waiting for a decision on that reso-lution. It's for the party high com-mand to decide. But for the past fiveyears, there are no block or districtpresidents in the state unit. It for sureweakens the party organisation.

Q:The Congress appears divided onrevocation of Article 370. What isyour view?

A: In my individual capacity, I havesupported the revocation of Article 370.Even the Congress has not opposed it.The party has only questioned the man-ner in which it was done.

Q: How do you assess the perfor-mance of the BJP government inHaryana?

A: The BJP had made 154 pre-pollpromises but has not fulfilled a singlepromise. Since the formation of the statein 1966 till 2014, the per person debtstood at Rs 30,000. But in the past fiveyears, it has gone up to Rs 71,000. Noneof the promises made to poor, farmers,youth and employees have been ful-filled. The BJP can't win just on the basisof rhetoric. The failure of the Khattargovernment on all fronts will be ourmain poll issue.

TASLIMA YASMIN

In July last year, the draft NRC(National Register of Citizens) inAssam had primarily delisted morethan four million people from Indi-

an citizenship - a process that is nowpending for its final publication onAugust 31. NRC was meant to identifyand delist those who are considered “ille-gal migrants”, who entered Assam afterMarch 24, 1971. The draft NRC, whichraised concern for many in Bangladesh,was published when Bangladesh wasgoing through its own struggle of hav-ing to shelter more than a millionrefugees fleeing from Myanmar. The con-cern was rather valid as the possibilityof “deportation” of the alleged illegalmigrants to Bangladesh was beingemphasised time and again in politi-cal discourses and media debates in India.Since India has always refrained frombringing up the illegal migration issuein any official meeting with Bangladesh,Bangladesh did not officially express anyconcern over the NRC process.

However, in unofficial mediaexchanges, high-level governmentofficials did clarify Bangladesh’s posi-tion stating that there had been nounauthorised migration fromBangladesh to Assam after the coun-try’s independence in 1971. Reported-ly, however, through personal com-munications between the highest-

level state officials of both countries,Bangladesh had been reassured thatthis was simply an “internal issue”pertaining to India and that India hadno plans to deport those peopleexcluded from the NRC to Bangladesh.

However, all these informalexchanges, interviews and mediaanalyses took place in the pre-electioncontext of India. Although this hadnever been spelt out, for manyBangladeshis, this process of delistingcitizens prior to the Lok Sabha elec-tion was initially thought to be justpolitical rhetoric or a stance of BJP toinfluence the electoral landscape inAssam. However, the way the illegalmigration issue had been emphasisedin the pre-election campaigns and thepace with which the NRC process wasconducted after the election did raisean alarm that the promise to delist thealleged “illegal migrants” was perhapsnever only a political rhetoric. The lastelection manifesto of BJP had evenpromised to repeat the NRC processin future, in other parts of India.

As such, the essential post-elec-tion question for Bangladesh was if itshould rest assured, based on onlysome informal communications, thatthe entire process of NRC is simply an“internal issue” of India with zeroeffect on Bangladesh. The so-calledillegal Bangladeshis have always beenat the centre of all debates and discus-

sions surrounding the NRC in Assam.Even though there may have beendebates over whether or not theyshould be returned to Bangladesh,there had hardly been any disagree-ment in the public discourse regard-ing the status of the illegal migrantsas Bangladeshis. Even the decision ofthe Supreme Court of India, whichhad sanctioned the NRC process,clearly expressed that the illegalmigrants detected through the processshould eventually be deported toBangladesh. As such, there is hardlyany scope to regard the NRC processas a mere “internal issue” of India thathas no connotations for Bangladesh.

However, keeping in mind thefriendly diplomatic relations that thetwo countries share, this much can behoped that India would never sendback such large numbers of de-nationalised people to the borders ofBangladesh. It had been indicated sev-

eral times on behalf of the ruling BJPleaders and NRC officials that thosewho are finally delisted will have thechance to appeal to the Foreigner’sTribunals in Assam and the processcan go as far up as the Supreme Court.Thus, although there is no specificpolicy explaining what would be thefate of the people whose names willnot appear in the final NRC, the Indi-an government has from time to timeassured that the entire process willtake up a significantly long period oftime before any person’s citizenshipclaim can be finally settled by theSupreme Court. This implies that noone will probably be deported toBangladesh in the near future.

However, even if not deportedimmediately, throughout this poten-tially long process, millions of peoplewill, in effect, lose all their politicalrights for an indefinite period of timeand will probably end up in somedetention camps. The crucial questionthen is - for how long will these peo-ple, arbitrarily deprived of theirnationality and political freedom, feelsafe in Assam? The entire process ofdenationalisation will create anunprecedented number of statelesspersons in this region and it cannotbe assumed with certainty that theywill not be subjected to persecutionbased on their communal or linguisticidentity within Assam. This fear of

being persecuted and the indefinitestate of rights deprivation willinescapably drive these stateless peo-ple to seek refuge at the borders ofneighbouring countries. Thus, the waythis denationalisation process is draw-ing a dangerous polarisation in theregion, the possibility that Bangladeshmay have to face refugees crossingborders from India at some point can-not be negated.

Other than the potential refugeecrisis, it is also to be seen as to howfar this divisive political process,which may result in a state of commu-nal instability in Assam, will eventu-ally affect the existing communal har-mony in Bangladesh. In fact, it doesn’trequire much political foresight toinfer that this politically motivateddivision and the resulting communaldiscontent will not be limited withinthe borders of India alone. Deprivingsuch large numbers of people of citi-zenship will certainly have an adverseeffect on the overall regional peaceand security, and the country that willbe affected most, for understandablereasons, is Bangladesh. In the contextof the upcoming final NRC publica-tion on August 31, how far the diplo-matic effort from Bangladesh is pre-pared to effectively address the ensu-ing crisis remains to be seen.

The Daily Star/ANN.

THE SATURDAY INTERVIEW

NO 27676CROSSWORD

How Assam NRC affects Dhaka

�Uncertainty notgood for Congress�


Tributes to freedom fight-

ers: Maharashtra chief

minister Devendra Fad-

navis on Friday paid rich

tributes to freedom fight-

ers on the 76th anniver-

sary of the Quit India

movement.�My humble

tributes to those freedom

fighters who sounded the

bugle for India's indepen-

dence,� CM tweeted. PTI

Rahul allowed to skip hear-

ing: A court hearing a

criminal defamation case

against Rahul Gandhi over

his statement against

Union home minister Amit

Shah on Friday allowed the

Congress leader to remain

absent for the day. PTI

NBW against Ratul in chop-

per scam: A Delhi court on

Friday issued non-bailable

warrants against business-

man Ratul Puri, nephew of

Madhya Pradesh chief min-

ister Kamal Nath, in con-

nection with a money

laundering case related to

the AgustaWestland chop-

per scam. PTI

THUMBNAILS

A man checks t-shirtsdesigned with the IndianNational Flag colours at astore in Mumbai on Friday.

AFP

Any further delay in the selection of the new Congresschief is not an option

CONGRESS LEADER ABHISHEK SINGHVIAHEAD OF THE CRUCIAL CONGRESS WORKING COMMITTEE MEETING10


The Supreme Court onFriday rejected a pleaby a Muslim partyagainst five-days-a-

week hearings in Ayodhya'sRam Janmabhoomi-BabriMasjid land dispute case.

Reiterating that the day-to-day hearings will go on, aConstitution Bench headed byChief Justice Ranjan Gogoi toldthe Muslim party that it maybe allowed a break whenrequired or when its turncomes up for arguing thecase.

Soon after the hearing inthe case started in the morn-ing, senior advocate RajeevDhavan on behalf of his clientsaid it would be difficult forthe parties if the top court con-ducts hearings on all fiveworking days in a week.

"We don't get time forpreparation of arguments. Iwill have to leave the brief, ifthis court goes on in thismanner. This is not right. A

matter like this cannot berushed through," said Dhavan,adding that this was the begin-ning of the first appeal and thecurrent set-up of hearingswas "inhuman" and "practi-cally impossible".

He said, "Cannot go on likethis...will not be able to assist"the court if the hearing is"rushed through".

Usually, a ConstitutionBench conducts hearingsthrice a week and takes up fresh

and miscellaneous matters onthe remaining two days.

The Ayodhya dispute case-- pending for several decades-- was fast-tracked with dailyhearings after a SupremeCourt appointed mediation

committee failed to developa consensus among the par-ties to arrive at an amicableresolution.

The daily hearings alsoassume significance, as thehead of the Constitution benchChief Justice Ranjan Gogoi isscheduled to retire mid-November. The daily hear-ings involve a plethora of doc-uments running into severalthousand pages.

Breaking with the tradi-tion, the top court decided tohear the sensitive case on Fri-day which is kept for fresh casesonly, along with Monday. Asper the top court's proce-dures, on Mondays and Fridays,the registry lists before thebenches fresh and miscella-neous cases after notice cases.

The 16th century BabriMasjid in Ayodhya in Faiz-abad district was razed by a mobon 6 Decembe 1992 and amakeshift temple for LordRama was built at the site. SomeHindus say the mosque hadbeen built at the birthplace ofLord Ram.


The Delhi High Court on Fri-day asked rebel AAP leaderKapil Mishra (in photo)to filehis response to the findingsagainst him in the Speaker'sorder disqualifying him fromthe city's legislative Assembly.

Justice Vibhu Bakhru toldMishra that he has to show thathis disqualification was “pal-pably erroneous” and for thathe has to specifically deny thefindings or allegations againsthim in the 2 August order ofSpeaker Ram Niwas Goel.

“You (Mishra) have to showthat the order was palpably erro-neous. Are you contesting themerits of the order? Are youdenying any of the findings?Where have you said the alle-gations are not correct? Yourclaim of natural justice has no

meaning if you are not con-testing the facts,” the courtsaid.

“File an affidavit indicatingyour response to the merits ofthe findings recorded in theimpugned order,” it said and list-ed the matter for September 4.

Mishra's lawyers told thecourt that all the allegations orfindings against him were notdisputed, but it would notmean that he has voluntarilygiven up AAP's membership.

The speaker had disquali-fied Mishra for campaigning forthe Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP)and Prime Minister NarendraModi in the Lok Sabha polls andfor sharing the stage with otherleaders of that party at an event.

While Mishra has contendedthat he has not voluntarilygiven up his membership in theparty, the speaker had foundthat his actions amounted togiving up of his party mem-bership.

The rebel AAP leader, rep-resented by advocate AshwaniKumar Dubey, moved the highcourt on Tuesday against his dis-qualification from the Leg-islative Assembly under theanti-defection law.

The Karawal Nagar MLAwas disqualified with effectfrom January 27 when he hadshared the stage with BJP lead-ers at an election event organ-

ised by them. Seeking quash-ing of the Speaker's order,Mishra has contended that thedecision was “wholly illegal, arbi-trary, vague and mala fide” ashe was not provided any oppor-tunity to present his case.

The petition has claimed thatthe Speaker assumed thatMishra had voluntarily given uphis AAP membership when heattended the BJP event, with-out considering that he hadattended the budget session andalso followed all the whipsissued by the Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) as well as supported allthe bills, proposals and reso-lutions tabled by the govern-ment.

The Speaker's order hadcome on a complaint movedby AAP MLA Saurabh Bharad-waj seeking Mishra's disqual-ification from the Delhi Assem-bly under the anti-defection law.

STATESMAN NEWS SERVICECHANDIGARH, 9 AUGUST

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)on Friday said the Constitu-tion as well as the Represen-tation of Peoples Act wasbeing violated in Punjab withfour legislators who hadresigned from the primarymembership of Aam AadmiParty (AAP) months back notbeing disqualified anddebarred from contestingelections for the remainingterm of the 15th Assembly.

Addressing a Press con-ference here, former ministerBikram Singh Majithia saidsince all four Members ofLegislative Assembly (MLAs)had resigned as primary mem-bers of AAP, the constitutionalprovision was being subvert-ed.

Majithia said three legis-lators – Sukhpal Singh Khairarepresenting Bholath assem-bly segment, Nazar SinghManshahia from Mansa andBaldev Singh from Jaito hadresigned from AAP sevenmonths back in January 2019while Amarjit Singh Sandoahad resigned in May 2019. Hesaid Khaira and Baldev Singhhad formed a new politicalparty called Punjab Ekta Partywhile Manshahia and Sandoahad joined the Congress party

“There is no ambiguityabout the resignations or thesubsequent actions of thefour legislators”, he said whilepresenting photographic proofin all cases including Speak-er Rana KP Singh’s presenceduring AAP MLA Amarjit San-doa’s induction into the Con-gress party. The Akali leadersaid the delay in taking therequired action was a cruel joke

on the electorate of the fourconstituencies which wascurrently not being repre-sented in the Assembly. He saidit was imperative that all fourseats be declared vacant so thatfresh elections could be heldon them.

Majithia said the stateexchequer was also beingdefrauded with the legislatorsdrawing salaries and enjoyingvarious facilities, includingstaff and security personnelentitled only to legislators.

He said the average costincurred on a single legisla-tor alone was more than RsFive lakh per month and thetotal expenditure incurredby the State on extendingfacilities to all of them includ-ing HS Phoolka, who hadresigned ten months back, wasin crores of rupees.

The Akali leader said all thiswas being done to ensure afriendly Opposition as part ofa fixed match between the‘chhoti Congress’ (AAP) andthe parent party. He saidPhoolka’s resignation hasbeen accepted on Friday aftera ten month delay. Majithiasaid even the Leader of theOpposition was being kept inhis chair solely by the Congressparty as the effective strengthof AAP had been reduced toeleven legislators only.“WhilePhoolka’s resignation hasbeen accepted, the Speaker isyet to take a decision on fourlegislators even as anotherMLA, Kanwar Sandhu, hasbeen suspended from theparty and three other AAP leg-islators – Peermal Singh,Jagdev Singh Kamalu andJagtar Singh Jagga have open-ly gone against AAP,” the SADleader said.

NEW DELHI, 9 AUGUST

A Delhi court on Fridayextended the interim pro-tection from arrest grantedto former Union minister PChidambaram and his sonKarti in Aircel-Maxis casesfiled by the CBI and the ED.

Special Judge O P Sainiextended the relief, whichwas to end today, till 23August , saying the court wasnot available for argumentson the anticipatory bailapplications of the father-son duo in the cases by boththe agencies in the matter.

Senior advocate KapilSibal, appearing for the Chi-dambarams in the corrup-tion case lodged by the CBIand the money launderingcase filed by the ED, had on1 August termed the probein the Aircel-Maxis matteras “motivated” and said thatthe agencies had no groundfor their arrest.

The matter was thenadjourned for Friday after CBIand ED, represented bysenior advocate Sonia Math-ur and advocates N K Mattaand Nitesh Rana respec-tively, sought time to arguethe matter.

The agencies, also rep-resented by advocates NoorRampal and A R Aditya, hadearlier alleged before thecourt that Karti was destroy-ing the evidence wheneverhe went abroad.

Advocates P K Dubeyand Arshdeep Singh, appear-ing for Karti, had opposedthe contention made by theagencies.

The case relates to allegedirregularities in grant of For-eign Investment PromotionBoard (FIPB) approval inthe Aircel-Maxis deal.

The father-son duo weregiven interim protectionfrom arrest by the courtafter they filed anticipato-ry bail applications in thecase. The protection hasbeen extended from time totime.

Chidambaram and Kartiwere named in the chargesheet filed by the CBI in thecase on 19 July last year.PTI

STATESMAN NEWS SERVICECHANDIGARH, 9 AUGUST

Punjab Assembly Speaker RanaKP Singh on Friday acceptedthe resignation of former AamAadmi Party legislator HSPhoolka (in photo).

The Speaker said earlierPhoolka had not submitted hisresignation in a proper formatbut now since he has submit-ted in the required format, thesame has been accepted.

Phoolka had stepped downin October 2018 to press forimmediate action against thoseinvolved in desecrating theGuru Grant Sahib in the statein 2015.

While quitting as MLA, hehad claimed the Congress gov-ernment had not taken thedesired action against thosenamed in the Justice Ranjit SinghCommission's report on sac-rilege incidents.

But since his resignation wasnot accepted by the Speaker,senior lawyer Phoolka hadwritten wrote to the Speakeron Sunday saying that he willhave to move the SupremeCourt if his resignation is notaccepted.

The acceptance of resig-nation would pave the way for

by-elections to three Assem-bly seats -- Phagwara, Dakhaand Jalalabad.

Jalalabad and Phagwaraby-elections are necessitatedwith the election of ShiromaniAkali Dal president SukhbirSingh Badal and Union min-ister Som Parkash to the LokSabha respectively.

Meanwhile, AAP Punjabchief and Member of Parlia-mentarian (MP) BhagwantMann, Phoolka’s resignation adisgrace to the democraticvalues, besides being grossinjustice to the people who hadpinned high hopes on theelected representative likePhoolka. He said Phoolka, whocommanded immense respectin the party, was picked tolead the Opposition Party inPunjab Assembly by party’snational convener and Delhichief minister Arvind Kejriw-al. Mann accused the govern-ment and the speaker of adopt-

ing double-standards in termsof accepting resignations of AAPMLAs, adding that SpeakerRana KP had not been per-forming his constitutionalobligations with the way heshould. Mann added that ifSpeaker had not been adopt-ing double standards, he wouldhave simultaneously accept-ed the resignations of MansaMLA Nazar Singh Manshahiyaand Ropar MLA Amarjit SinghSandoa as he did in the caseof Phoolka.

He said no action was ini-tiated against Bolath MLASukhpal Singh Khaira, the MLAfrom Khulna, and Jaito MLABaldev Singh, who had notonly ditched the party but hadalso cheated on the people oftheir respective constituen-cies and stitched loyalties to theCongress party and the Badalsfor their petty political ends, stat-ing that the party had soughtaction against Khaira, butlamented that no action hadbeen taken in the matter whilethey were pocketing theirsalaries, vehicles, security andother political and financial ben-efits. He alleged that they werebeing given indirect benefitsby nominating them to vari-ous committees.

STATESMAN NEWS SERVICEBATHINDA/CHANDIGARH,9 AUGUST

Union food processing indus-tries minister Harsimrat KaurBadal on Friday accused Con-gress government in Punjabfor becoming a party whichhalted construction work onthe Kartarpur Corridor due togreed of party leaders who hadimposed ‘goonda tax’ ontransporters besides forminga sand mafia to indulge in ille-gal mining.

Addressing a Press con-ference, the Union ministersaid that it was shocking toknow that work on 4.5 kilo-meter-long Kartarpur corri-dor has been stopped for thepast 10 days due to an artifi-cial scarcity of mining mate-rial created by the sand mafia.

“The collecting of ‘goon-da tax’ at various points nearriverbeds by the front men ofCongress leaders has result-ed in skyrocketing of sand andgravel prices, making it impos-sible for the constructioncompany to complete theproject,” she added.

Harsimrat further said the

mining material for the cor-ridor project was being pro-cured from quarries in thevicinity of Pathankot.

“Levying of Rs 4,000 to Rs5,000 per truck as ‘goonda tax’has not only shot up the pric-es of mining material butalso made an adverse impacton their demand, subsequent-ly forcing a majority of crush-ers to reduce their productioncapacity”. This consequentlyled to shortage of the mate-rial in the area,” she said.

Demanding stern actionagainst the sand mafia whowere openly operating in thestate with the backing of Con-gress leaders and ministers,Harsimrat said the anti-Sikhmindset of the Congress lead-ers was exposed yet again.

“The Congress did not ev-en spare the pious project ofKartarpur corridor and haveeven endangered the entireproject by resorting to illegalmining as well as collectionof goonda tax,” she added.

Harsimrat said the CMshould immediately inter-vene in this matter and ensureresumption of work on theKartarpur corridor.

SC rejects plea against five-daysa week hearings in Ayodhya case

File response to disqualification order in 2 weeks: HC to Mishra

SAD questionsAssembly membershipof four AAP MLAs

Aircel-Maxis:Court extendsprotection fromarrest to Karti

Cong leaders collecting�goonda tax�: Harsimrat

MOMENTS OF JOY

Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath holds a certificate of the Guinness World Records for largestnumber of sapling distribution, at Parade Ground near Sangam, in Allahabad on Friday. AFP

Speaker accepts Phoolka�s resignation


In preparations for assem-bly polls in Haryana later thisyear and in Delhi in early2020, the BJP central lead-ership here on Friday entrust-ed Prakash Javadekar andNarendra Singh Tomar, bothUnion ministers, with theresponsibility of elections inthe two states respectively.In the national Capital ofDelhi, the BJP will lock hornswith the ruling Aaam AdmiParty (AAP).

The two parties have beenfighting a bitter battle for elec-toral supremacy in the Unionterritory.

In Haryana, where theBJP is in power, the partywould seek re-election tothe state assembly. Pollsamong other things wouldalso put to test the BJP work-ing president J P Naddaunder whose leadership theparty is likely to contest thecoming state elections.

Besides Haryana andDelhi, assembly electionsare also due in Maharashtra

and Jharkhand. Assembly polls in Maha-

rashtra and Jharkhand, wherethe BJP is in power, will takeplace sometime later this yearalong with Haryana.

The party has appointedits two senior leaders Bhupin-der Yadav and O P Mathuras in charge of assemblyelections in Maharashtraand Jharkhand respective-ly. In terms of outcome ofthese elections the BJP isunlikely to worry much. Butany adverse outcome is like-ly to be interpreted as fail-ure of its policy and devel-opment programme.

Hence, the party’s moveto gear up for these polls inright earnest, experts said. The BJP today alsoappointed Hardeep SinghPuri and Nityanand Rai as co-in-charges of the party elec-tions in Delhi.

Deputy chief minister ofUttar Pradesh Keshav PrasadMaurya and party’s leader inKarnataka Laxman Sevadiwill be as co-in-charges ofassembly polls in Maha-rashtra, according to a BJPpress note here.

BJP appoints in-chargesfor poll-bound states

STATESMAN NEWS SERVICELUCKNOW, 9 AUGUST

Uttar Pradesh has taken the leadin the country by taking stepsto declare trees over 100 yearsold as heritage trees.The statehas sought to increase its greencover and establish a newrecord through the plantationof 22 crore trees under the Vrik-sharopan Mahakumbh (tree-plantation mahakumbh) onFriday.

The Mahakumbh, held tomark the 77th anniversary ofthe Quit India Movement, waslaunched by Chief MinisterYogi Adityanath at the JayatiKheda , Development Block inSarojininagar at 8 a.m. by theplanting of a banyan tree sapling.The CM also distributed saplings.

Speaking on the occasion,the CM said the contours of theMahakumbh with the objective

of planting 22 crore trees hadtaken shape last year. Keepingthis target in mind the UP For-est department and also privatenurseries were tasked to plantthe required number of saplings.The CM said he was happy thatthe forest department and thenurseries had readied a bankof 35 crore saplings. The year2020 will see 25 crore saplingsbeing planted, the CM said.

Yogi Adityanath said he hasalso directed the forest officialsto identify all such trees whichwere over a hundred years oldin each district of the state andto declare them as heritagetrees. A book should be pub-lished on all such trees, headded.

The CM said the August 9Quit India Movement of 1942gives inspiration for the bet-terment of the state and the envi-ronment. He added parks

should be set up in the nameof freedom fighters such asChandra Shekhar Azad, RamPrasad Bismil, AshfaqullahKhan and others. The presentday martyrs should also behonoured in a similar way.Keeping in mind the 150thbirth anniversary of Mahat-ma Gandhi the state is settingup "Gandhi Upwan and Panch-wati" in each district.

The CM said that it wasimperative that each individ-ual be healthy, blessed with along life and move towardseconomic empowerment. Forthis a healthy environmentwas necessary. To achieve thisobjective, plantation of trees wasthe right step, he said.

In the evening the CM leftfor Prayagraj, to participate inthe Vriksharopan Mahakumbhheld at the Parade Groundthere.

The event at Prayagraj wasmarked by the distribution ofa record 33,000 saplings whichwas certified by the GuinnessWorld Records. In the certificateissued on the occasion, theorganisation has said "thelargest distribution of saplingswas achieved by Departmentof Environment-Forest andClimate Change, Departmentof Tourism, Govt. of UttarPradesh and district adminis-tration , Prayagraj (all India) atPrayagraj, India on 9th August2019".

Uttar Pradesh GovernorAnandiben Patel launched thedrive in Chandpur Ghatiyari,Soron in district Kasganganj byplanting a Parijat tree. A totalof 1.01 lakh saplings were plant-ed in Gangavan in 62.25 hectareof land in Kasganj. Around10,000 people including studentsparticipated in the programme.

Among the 51 types of saplingsplanted were those of Sahjan,Arjun,Aanwala, Kadam, She-sham, Sagaun, Mango and oth-ers.

To ensure the proper mon-itoring and growth of thetrees, the saplings will be geotagged. "Tree guardians" willalso be appointed to nurturethe plants and monitor theirgrowth.

Minister for Forest DaraSingh Chauhan had a dayearlier said the government hadroped in farmers registeredunder various governmentschemes such as the PradhanMantri Awas Yojana, the Prad-han Mamtri Kisan SammanNidhi Yojana and others for thisgreen drive.

The saplings zeroed uponfor plantation inclide those ofEucalyptus, Mahua, Berries,Guava, Mango and others.

Yogi launches tree plantation mahakumbh

AGENCIESNEW DELHI, 9 AUGUST

"At no point and on no score,do we want to make it diffi-cult for industry," stated theminister for finance and cor-porate affairs Nirmala Sithara-man at the CII National Coun-cil Session here today. Taxa-tion, infrastructure, RBI-gov-ernment relations, delayedpayments and corporate socialresponsibility (CSR) wereamong the key themes sheaddressed.

"It is our intent to reducetax on corporates," said MrsSitharaman, emphasising thatthere was "no second thought"on this matter.

The government wouldconsider a uniform 25 per centtax rate for all categories of cor-porates after there was com-fort that tax revenues were onthe upward trend. Mrs Sithara-man also touched upon twoother elements relating totaxation: simplification andharassment.

"We are looking at simpli-fication of taxes," said MrsSitharaman adding that thereport of the committee on

Direct Taxes Code is expect-ed to be released on 15 August.The government will imme-diately take this up for con-sideration.

She also informed the CIImembers present that shewill be travelling around the country, including theTier 2 cities, to hear andunderstand the tax harass-ment issues faced by the cor-porates.

In addition, a technology-driven platform will be set upwherein cases of harassmentcan be uploaded, either withor without disclosing identi-

ty. Mrs Sitharaman stated herintent to address the issuesrelating to harassment andensure powers are not mis-used.

The minister mentionedthe possibility of reviewingsome of the milestones inrelation to infrastructure. Inparticular, projects with abearing on the core sectors andjob creation may be broughtforward. For instance, incen-tivising affordable housingis likely given its impact on thecore sectors.

"We have an atmosphereof certainty and cordiality

between the RBI and the gov-ernment", said Mrs Sithara-man, adding that the currenthigh level of synergy betweenthe two is helping to incen-tivise investments.

Recognising that corporateshave significant outstand-ings from government depart-ments and agencies, she stat-ed that she is in the processof addressing this.

Delayed payments toMSMEs is estimated at aroundRs 48,000 crore. As the first step,out of the Rs 48,000 crore, thegovernment will be releasingamounts which are not under

litigation.On the matter of CSR, Mrs

Sitharaman mentioned that she would review theprovision on criminal penalprovisions. She said CSRnotices with retrospectiveeffect "were unacceptable" andshe will put a stop to thesenotices.

Meanwhile, leading for-eign institutional investors(FIIs) including JP Morgan,HSBC, Barclays, StandardChartered, Deutsche Bankand prominent Indian com-pany representatives met thefinance minister today to dis-cuss the controversial tax on FIIs.

Capital market partici-pants and foreign institu-tional investors presented acharter of demands to thefinance minister, which includ-ed rollback of surcharge onFPIs, review of dividend dis-tribution tax and lowering ofLTCG tax, in a bid to shore upinvestors' sentiments.

Sources said Sitharamangave a patient hearing tothem but restrained frommaking any firm commit-ments.


Turning profitable, SpiceJettoday reported its highest-everquarterly profit of Rs 261.7crore in the three monthsended June, even as ground-ing of Boeing 737 MAX planesimpacted the no-frills air-line.

Amid uncertainty overexact time when operationsof B737 MAX planes wouldstart, the airline plans toinduct 5-10 Boeing 737 NG air-craft and 3 Q400 aircraft dur-ing October 2019.

The carrier had a net lossof Rs 38.1 crore in the 2018 Junequarter.

In the latest June quarter,the airline posted a totalincome of Rs 3,145.3 crorecompared to Rs 2,253.3 crorein the corresponding perioda year ago, according to arelease.

About the latest results, theairline's chief financial offi-cer Kiran Koteshwar said it wasthe “highest ever profit inSpiceJet history” and that a keyfactor was the spectacularway in which 30 Boeing air-

craft were inducted.Operations “remained

stressed” for a large portionof the June quarter due to con-tinued grounding of B737MAX planes.

This limited the airline's“ability to take its yields up owing to passenger dis-ruptions and re-accommo-dation; while simultaneous-ly increasing its fixed costs onthis category of aircraft”, therelease said.

However, SpiceJet said theunprecedented situation wassalvaged by operating addi-tional flights with B737 NG andQ400 fleet. Further, 27 B737NGs were inducted during theperiod between 1 April and 15June.

Generally, yield refers toaverage fare paid per pas-senger.

Operating revenuesclimbed to Rs 3,002.1 crore inthe latest quarter, from Rs2,220.4 crore in the year-agoperiod.

According to Koteshwar,average fare has increasedby 11 per cent, while the faresituation is healthy and notdiscounted.

STATESMAN NEWS SERVICEMUMBAI, 9 AUGUST

Furious short-covering bymarket players ahead offinance minister NirmalaSitharaman meeting with rep-resentatives of financial sec-tor and industry sent equitybenchmarks of the BombayStock Exchange and theNational Stock Exchange soar-ing for the second straight ses-sion today.

The 30-share SensitiveIndex of BSE and the 50-scripNifty of NSE recovered sig-nificant ground from theirrecent lows. The Sensex addedmore than 1,100 points intwo sessions and the Niftyrecouped more than 300points. The sharp rise in thetop two benchmarks was trig-

gered by the finance minis-ter's readiness to reconsiderbudgetary proposal to imposeincome tax surcharge on HNIor high networth investors, inparticular foreign portfolioinvestors or FPIs.

FPIs are net sellers in DalalStreet, having pulled out Rs8,890.32 crore so far in August.On the contrary, DIIs or domes-tic institutional investors haveinvested a net amount of Rs8,357.11 crore. In view of longweekend ahead, market par-ticipants also booked profitat higher levels.

The Sensex today closed at37,581.91 points, registeringa gain of 254.55 points or0.68 per cent. In the Sensexpack, 15 stocks moved upwhile the remaining 15 shareswere down. The Nifty gained

0.70 per cent or 77.20 pointsto finish at 11,109.65 points.In the Nifty pack, 27 sharesended in green, 22 ended inred and one share remainedunchanged. The Nifty Bankcontributed to the rally with

1.14 per cent or 321.45 pointsrise settling at 28,431.90 points.

Gainers in the BSE bench-mark today included MarutiSuzuki at Rs 6,104, up 3.41 percent; Bajaj Finance at Rs 3,405,up 2.07 per cent; HDFC Bank

at Rs 2,279.30, up 1.96 per centand HUL at Rs 1,838, up 1.93per cent.

Dalal Street buzz suggeststhe finance minister is likelyto announce a package nextweek to boost economic recov-

ery with focus on arrestingslowdown in the automobilesector which contributes mostto manufacturing GDP growthand generates employ-ment/jobs. The recent slumpin auto sales has threatenedlakhs of jobs, which com-pelled the government towork on a package for the auto-mobile sector.

Analysts say if the gov-ernment scraps the super-richtax, the revenue loss would be$56.77 million or Rs 4 billion.The move is being credited toPMO's (prime minister office)initiative, which is believed tohave sought data from depart-ment of economic affairs.

Second, the finance min-istry came in for flaks afterReserve Bank of India's mon-etary policy committee or

MPC with its further-easedcredit policy on 7 August vir-tually set the agenda for revivalof economic growth.

The RBI announced relax-ation in lenders' exposure toNBFCs or non-banking financecompanies (shadow banks)from 15 per cent to 20 to 25per cent on case to case basis.Besides, it has permitted state-run banks to finance priori-ty lending via NBFCs.

Mr Deven Choksey of KRChoksey Investment Man-agers said the recovery instock market is happening asthe finance minister hasassured industry of "correc-tive action" by reviewing a fewBudget proposals that havehurt the sentiment. A Reuterspoll suggests the RBI-MPC isyet not done with rate cuts.

SpiceJet logshighest-everquarterly profit

Equity indices rise for second straight session

A technology-driven platform will be set up wherein cases of harassment can be uploaded

At no point do we want to makeit difficult for industry: FM

NEW DELHI, 9 AUGUST

Industry body Confedera-tion of Indian Industry (CII)today assured finance min-ister Nirmala Sitharaman thatthe industry body will supportinvestment activities in Jammuand Kashmir. The Centrerecently removed special sta-tus to Jammu and Kashmirunder Article 370 and hascarved out two Union Terri-tories (UTs) - Jammu & Kash-mir, and Ladakh.

“We would like to seeinvestment across sectors inJ&K. CII has stated to thegovernment and the financeminister that CII would sup-port initiative for investmentin the UT,” said Mr UdayKotak, CII president designateand MD and CEO of KotakMahindra Bank. PTI

CII to supportinvestmentin J&K

PRESS TRUST OF INDIAKOLKATA/NEW DELHI, 9 AUGUST

Britannia Industries Ltd todaysaid it is evaluating oppor-tunities to set up overseasmanufacturing units, includ-ing in Bangladesh and otherSouth-East Asian nations.

The FMCG major is alsomulling domestic expansionin the eastern part of thecountry, chairman Nusli NWadia said.

“We have already set upa plant in Nepal, and areseriously looking atBangladesh and other South-East Asian countries. We areevaluating opportunities inAfrica... and plan to step upour endeavour on the inter-national side,” Mr Wadia said

at the 100th AGM of the com-pany. Britannia Industriesexports products to 70 coun-tries.

He said West Bengal alsofeatures as one of the loca-tions for its new facility in theeast, but firming up plans inthe state depends on “the facil-ities Bengal gives us”.

The company todayreported a 3.64 per centdecline in consolidated netprofit at Rs 248.64 crore forthe quarter ended 30 June2019.

The company had posteda net profit of Rs 258.08 crorein the corresponding quar-ter of the previous fiscal.

Total income during theperiod under review stood atRs 2,767.8 crore, up 7.03 per

cent, as against Rs 2,585.84crore in the year-ago quarter,Britannia Industries said ina regulatory filing.

During the quarter, thecompany also posted excep-tional expense of Rs 15.61 croreon account of voluntary retire-ment cost incurred in one ofits subsidiaries.

Britannia Industries man-aging director Varun Berrysaid: “We outpaced the mar-ket and strengthened our

market position during thisphase of sluggish demand.Our journey to become atotal foods company is pro-gressing well with goodresponse to our new products”.

Mr Berry said, on the costfront, the company has wit-nessed moderate inflationin the prices of key raw mate-rials for the bakery business.

“However, the inordinateincrease in milk prices impact-ed profitability of our dairybusiness adversely. Westrengthened our brand equi-ty through focused cam-paigns and invested in build-ing capabilities and structuresfor both our base business andstrategic business units todrive future growth,” headded.

Britannia Industries plansmanufacturing units overseas


Home-grown auto majorsTata Motors and Mahindra &Mahindra (M&M) are sus-pending automobile manu-facturing in order to adjust production with marketdemand.

M&M today said it will besuspending production for 8-14 days in the ongoing quar-ter while Tata Motors also con-firmed taking steps to alignmanufacturing with taperingdemand.

In a regulatory filing, M&Msaid it would be observing "noproduction days" in variousplants for 8-14 days during thesecond quarter of 2019-20.

When contacted, a TataMotors spokesperson said, "asindicated earlier, externalenvironment remains chal-lenging, leading to demandcontraction. We have aligned

our production to actualdemand and adjusted thenumber of shifts and con-tractual manpower."

The companies areannouncing production sus-pension at a time when thedomestic auto industry hasbeen going through one of thelongest sales slumps.

In April-July, M&M's totaldomestic vehicles sales dipped8 per cent to 1,61,604 unitsas against 1,75,329 units in theyear-ago period.

Overall sales of the com-pany, including exports, werealso down 8 per cent duringthe period at 1,71,831 unitsas compared to 1,87,299 unitsin April-July period of thelast fiscal.

On Thursday, auto com-ponents maker Jamna Autosaid it may suspend produc-tion at all its manufacturingfacilities this month due topoor demand from customers.

The company is a leadingmanufacturer of tapered leaf and parabolic springsfor commercial vehicles and caters to companies such as General Motors Co,Toyota Motor Corp and TataMotors.

On Wednesday, MarutiSuzuki India said it has cut itsproduction in July ~ for thesixth month in a row ~ by 25.15per cent.

Similarly, auto compo-nents major Bosch said itwould temporarily stop pro-duction at its two plants sep-arately this month for a totalof 13 days to “avoid unnec-essary build-up of invento-ry.

The auto industry hasbeen going through a pro-longed slump. Passengervehicles segment has been theworst hit with sales contin-uing to decline for almost ayear now.

Automakers cut production toalign with falling demand


India's industrial produc-tion growth slipped to a four-month low of 2 per cent inJune, mainly due to poorperformance of mining andmanufacturing sectors,according to governmentdata released today.

Factory output, as mea-sured by the Index of Indus-trial Production (IIP), hadexpanded by 7 per cent in June2018.

The previous low in IIPgrowth was in February 2019,when it had inched up 0.2 percent. Thereafter, IIP grew at2.7 per cent in March, 4.3 percent in April and 4.6 per centin May this year.

According to data releasedby the ministry of statistics andprogramme implementation,industrial output grew at 3.6per cent in April-June quar-

ter this fiscal, down from 5.1per cent growth a year ago.

There was a slowdown inthe manufacturing sector,which grew at 1.2 per cent inJune 2019 as compared to 6.9per cent a year ago.

The capital goods seg-ment, which is a barometerof investment, saw a con-traction of 6.5 per cent in Junecompared to 9.7 per centgrowth a year ago.

Mining growth dropped to1.6 per cent in June from 6.5per cent in the correspond-ing month of the last fiscal.

The expansion in powergeneration sector stood at 8.2per cent, compared to 8.5 percent earlier.

As per use-based classifi-cation, primary goods seg-ment grew 0.5 per cent, inter-mediate goods 12.4 per centand infrastructure/con-struction goods (-)1.8 percent in June 2019.

The consumer durablesand non-durables sectorrecorded growth of (-)5.5 percent and 7.8 per cent, respec-tively.

In terms of industries, 8 outof 23 industry groups in themanufacturing sector haveshown positive growth dur-ing June.

The industry group 'Man-ufacture of basic metals'showed the highest growth of17.7 per cent, followed by16.5 per cent in food productsand 10.3 per cent in tobaccoproducts.

On the other hand, theindustry group 'Manufac-ture of paper and paper prod-ucts' witnessed the highestnegative growth of (-)19.9per cent, followed by (-)14.3per cent in 'Manufacture offurniture' and (-)13.9 percent in 'Manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers andsemi-trailers'.

IIP growth slows to 4-mth low of 2% in June

PRESS TRUST OF INDIAMUMBAI, 9 AUGUST

In a major setback to theauditors, the National Com-pany Law Tribunal todayrejected Deloitte's and BSR'sapplications challenging thetribunal's jurisdiction to banthem from business for fiveyears for their omissions andcommissions in the ILFSGroup scam.

This is the second setbackfor these foreign audit firmsas earlier the tribunal hadallowed the corporate affairsministry to prosecute themalong with 21 others in thesame case, though the imple-mentation of the same hasbeen stayed after they soughttime to challenge the order atthe appellate tribunal NCLAT.

The ministry had in Junemoved NLCT seeking a five-year ban on these auditors in

the IL&FS saga. However, thetribunal said it will hear theministry's application seek-ing a five-year ban on theseauditors afresh on 5 Sep-tember.

The auditors ~ the local armof the England-based DeloitteHaskins & Sells, which is oneof the big four accountingfirms, and BSR & Associates,which is the local affiliate ofanother big four, the US-based KPMG, had challengedthe jurisdiction of the NCLTto ban them under Sec 140(5)of Company's Act.

They had challenged thejurisdiction of the NCLT to banthem, saying section 140(5)of the Companies Act pertainsto auditors who are still audit-ing the company in ques-tion while they have alreadyresigned from the serviceand thus cannot be bannedunder the given provisions.

Setback for auditors

THUMBNAILS

CCI probe against Intel:

The Competition Commis-

sion of India has ordered

a probe against Intel

Corp for alleged �unfair

and discriminatory� provi-

sions in warranty policy

for boxed micro-proces-

sors sold in India. Boxed

micro-processor is a cen-

tral processing unit (CPU)

used for self-assembled

computers. The com-

plaint was filed by Matrix

Info Systems Pvt Ltd,

engaged in the business

of importing and supply-

ing various IT products,

against Intel Corporation

and its Indian subsidiary

Intel Technology India

Pvt Ltd. PTI

IndiGo strategy: Low-cost

carrier IndiGo is working

on the multilingual

approach in its digital

strategy for attracting

and retaining passengers

from small cities, a compa-

ny official said on Friday.

The airline is targeting

eight Indian languages,

including Bengali, as part

of their outreach pro-

gramme, the company's

VP digital Nitin Sethi said

here. PTI

Dineout acquisition:

Restaurant technology

solutions firm Dineout on

Friday said it has acquired

Binge Digital, a Delhi-based

food tech platform. The

acquisition is in line with

Dineout's latest product

announcement Dine-In,

the company said in a

statement. The financial

details of the deal were

not disclosed. PTI

Bajaj Finserv-RBL: Bajaj Fin-

serv and RBL Bank have

launched a first-of-its-kind

reward redemption pro-

gramme for its SuperCard

customers called "pay

with points" to deliver sav-

ings for customers,

according to a Press

release. SNS

Brand Factory: Brand Fac-

tory has announced the

launch of "4 Big Days" of

shopping starting from 8

August and closing on 11

August. During this period,

customers will get various

discounts on shopping

from Brand Factory out-

lets, said a release. SNS

Pine Labs: Merchant plat-

form company, Pine Labs,

has announced that it now

enables equated monthly

installment (EMI) offering

via credit and debit cards

for 85,000 merchants

across 1,20,000 stores in

India, says a company

statement. SNS

Oppo expansion: Chinese

phone maker Oppo on Fri-

day said it is expanding

smartphone manufactur-

ing unit to double produc-

tion capacity by 2020 in

India, and use it as export

base for South Asia, Mid-

dle East and African coun-

tries. PTI

BHEL loss: State-owned

BHEL on Friday reported a

consolidated net loss of Rs

218.93 crore for June

quarter of fiscal 2019-20,

mainly due to lower rev-

enues. The company had

reported a profit of Rs

39.98 crore in the year-

ago period. PTI

HYDERABAD, 9 AUGUST

Swedish home furnishingretailer Ikea is all set to launche-commerce operations inthe country, beginning with Mumbai followed byHyderabad and Pune, a top company official saidtoday.

Talking to reporters on thesidelines of first anniversarycelebrations of its store here,Ikea India chief executive offi-cer Peter Betzel said the out-let witnessed one million pur-chases from over four millionfootfalls. He also said thecompany was looking at var-ious channels, including small-er formats and customer meet-ing points, to reach customers.“India is a long-term com-mitment for Ikea and we willfocus on fast expansion multi-channel approach. In thecoming years, our goal is tomeet 100 million customers,”Mr Betzel said. PTI

Ikea to launche-commerce inMumbai soon

BENGALURU, 9 AUGUST

To pass on the benefit ofreduction in interest rateseffected by the RBI, CanaraBank has cut its marginal costof fund-based lending rate(MCLR) by 10 basis pointsacross all tenors, effectivefrom 7 August.

With this revision, CanaraBank has cumulatively reducedits MCLR by 20 bps during thelast six months and thus, one-year MCLR has come down to8.50 per cent per annum from8.70 per cent earlier.

The Bengaluru-head-quartered bank said it wouldbe announcing further reduction in lending ratessoon. PTI

Canara Bank cutslending rates by10 basis points

The company report-ed a 3.64 per centdecline in consolidat-ed net profit at Rs248.64 crore for theJune quarter

We have already set up a plant in Nepal, and are seriously lookingat Bangladesh and other South-East Asian countries

NUSLI N WADIACHAIRMAN OF BRITANNIA INDUSTRIES

SENSEX JUMPS 255 POINTS

� The sharp rise in the top two benchmarks was trig-gered by the finance minister's readiness to recon-sider budgetary proposal to impose income tax sur-charge on HNI or high networth investors, in par-ticular foreign portfolio investors or FPIs

�The Sensex on Friday closed at 37,581.91 points,registering a gain of 254.55 points or 0.68 percent

�The Nifty gained 0.70 per cent or 77.20 pointsto finish at 11,109.65 points

�There is an atmosphere of certaintyand cordiality between the RBI andthe government, the minister said

OFFICIAL ASSURANCE We are looking at

simplification of

taxes... It is our intent

to reduce tax

on corporates� The report ofthe committeeon Direct TaxesCode is expectedto be released on15 August. Thegovernment willimmediatelytake this up forconsideration

� The financeminister will betravelling aroundthe country,including the Tier2 cities, to hear andunderstand thetax harassmentissues faced bythe corporates

NIRMALA SITHARAMANMINISTER FOR FINANCE AND

CORPORATE AFFAIRS

NEW DELHI, SATURDAY 10 AUGUST 2019 11


Thai prime minister not

quitting: Thai Prime Minis-

ter Prayuth Chan-ocha

said Friday he is not quit-

ting despite facing mount-

ing criticism for failing to

properly take his oath of

office. Prayuth led the

inauguration of his Cabi-

net in a ceremony

presided over by the king

on 16 July. AP

Turkey explosions:

Turkey's state-run news

agency says a series of

explosions have occurred

at a military ammunition

depot near Turkey's bor-

der with Syria. No one was

hurt. Anadolu Agency says

the cause of the explo-

sions early Friday in the

town of Reyhanli, in Hatay

province, is not known.

Fire broke out in some

parts of the depot. AP

Typhoon Lekima: China

issued a red alert on

Friday for incoming Super

Typhoon Lekima, expected

to batter eastern Zhejiang

province early Saturday

morning with high winds

and torrential rainfall. The

ninth typhoon of the year

is projected to move

northwest up China's

coast on Saturday. AFP

Participants take part dur-ing the 54th National DayParade in Singapore onFriday. AFP

CITY MAX(°C) MIN(°C)

SINGAPORE 32 28 HHONG KONG 34 27 HTOKYO 33 27 HLONDON 25 19 HDUBAI 43 33 HSAN FRANCISCO 19 15 HNEW YORK 30 21 SMOSCOW 20 15 R

S= sunny, CL= clear,H=hazy, R= rainy...

WEATHER

THUMBNAILS

12 Google is a very good company, we are opento discuss with them

RICHARD YU, THE HEAD OF HUAWEI'S CONSUMER BUSINESSWHILE LAUNCHING HUAWEI�S OWN OPERATING SYSTEM TO RIVAL ANDROID

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSEHONG KONG, 9 AUGUST

Hong Kong’s leaderCarrie Lam warnedFriday that twomonths of pro-

democracy demonstrationswere causing economic chaosin the city but ruled out mak-ing concessions to "silence theviolent protesters".

The embattled leader metwith business leaders as thou-sands of pro-democracyactivists staged a sit-in atHong Kong airport, hoping towin international support fortheir movement.

Lam, whose support for abill to allow extradition tomainland China sparked thecrisis, warned that the eco-nomic impact of the unrestthreatened to be worse thanthe 2003 SARS outbreak in thefinancial hub.

“Compared to the eco-nomic downturn caused bySARS that we handled previ-ously, which caused an eco-nomic storm, the situation thistime is more severe,” she saidat an abruptly organised pressconference.

“In other words, the eco-nomic recovery will take a

very long time.”The private sector and the

tourism industry in particu-lar have raised concerns aboutthe economic impact of theongoing protests on the city,with travel agencies reportingdrops of up to 50 percent ingroup tour bookings and thetourism board warning of

double-digit declines in vis-itor arrivals in the second halfof July. Hong Kong carrierCathay Pacific has also warnedthat inbound bookings aredown.

Protesters have continuedto stage almost daily rallieswhich have seen increasing-ly violent confrontations withpolice, prompting countriesto issue Hong Kong travelwarnings for their citizens.

Lam has refused to cave into the demands, which includea call for the direct election ofthe city's chief executive, cur-rently chosen by Beijing.

On Friday, activists stageda sit-in at Hong Kong air-port's arrivals hall and held upsigns in Chinese and Englishcondemning police violence.

"No rioters, only tyranny,"the demonstrators chanted asthey began a three-day action.

“Save Hong Kong from

tyranny and police brutality!”read one sign.

Protesters have stagedincreasingly inventive ralliesacross Hong Kong, and broughtout supporters ranging fromfamilies to lawyers in a bid to

show the broad backing fortheir demands.

But the demonstrationshave also increasinglydescended into violence, withpolice firing tear gas and rub-ber bullets and protesters

hurling bricks and bottles.The airport sit-in is the

second time the demonstra-tors have brought their mes-sage to the busy travel hub,hoping to garner supportfrom international arrivals.

“Ask me about Hong Kong"read signs in different lan-guages attached to the sleevesof some of the protesters. “Wewant to tell the passengerswhat's happening in HongKong,” said Charlotte Au, a stu-dent among the protesters.

Some passengers arrivingat the airport stopped to takephotos or look at leaflets beinghanded out by the demon-strators. Others offered pro-testers a thumbs-up.

Further protests areplanned across Hong Kong overthe weekend, with fears thatnew confrontations betweenpolice and demonstrators arepossible.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSEBISHKEK, 9 AUGUST

A court in Kyrgyzstan hasordered former presidentAlmazbek Atambayev heldin custody until 26 August, aspokesman said Friday, afterhe was detained in a majorsecurity operation at his homethat sparked unrest by hissupporters.

The Central Asian state,which has seen two revolutionsin less than two decades, is onthe brink of crisis amid astandoff between Atambayevand his protege-turned-foePresident Sooronbai Jeen-bekov.

Atambayev was detainedby security services on Thurs-day at his residence in the vil-lage of Koi-Tash near the cap-ital Bishkek, capital of theMuslim-majority nation ofsix million people, in the sec-ond raid in two days on thecompound.

During the first operationon Wednesday, his support-ers clashed with securityforces leaving leaving oneofficer dead.

A spokesman for the Per-vomaiski District Court inBishkek said it had issued anorder late on Thursday thatAtambayev be held in custodyuntil 26 August. Thespokesman did not say onwhat charges he is being held.

Atambayev had ignoredthree police summonses forquestioning in connectionwith the release of a well-known underworld figureduring his presidency.

The state prosecutor saidThursday that Atambayev fig-ures in a total of five criminalcases. Critics say the investi-gations are politically moti-

vated.On Wednesday an already

tense political situation esca-lated when the national secu-rity service announced anoperation to take Atambayevfrom his residence outsideBishkek The first operationfailed and descended intoviolence.

On Thursday, securityforces rammed a militaryvehicle through the gates ofthe residence before usingtear gas and smoke grenadesto counter resistance from sup-porters.

A funeral service was heldon Friday for Usen Niyazbekov,

the special forces officer whodied from a gunshot woundsustained during the clashesat Atambayev's residence.

A provincial police chiefinjured during the clashes isin critical condition in hospital,the health ministry said.

Jeenbekov and Atambayevwere once friends, and the for-mer leader backed the incum-bent in 2017 elections thatmarked an unprecedentedpeaceful transfer of powerbetween heads of state.

But they fell out just monthsafter Jeenbekov's inaugurationas Atambayev publicly criti-cised his successor and secu-rity services arrested severalkey Atambayev allies.

A widely shared videoshowed Atambayev negotiatethe terms of his surrenderwith Deputy Interior Minis-ter Kursan Asanov Thursday,securing a guarantee thatpolice would not harm his sup-porters who have been holedup with him at his compound.

Supporters then took to thestreets of Bishkek, blocking akey thoroughfare and settingalight trash containers.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSEWASHINGTON, 9 AUGUST

The head of America's pow-erful gun lobby on Thursdaydismissed calls for tougherrestrictions on firearms, say-ing they would not havestopped the weekend massshootings in Texas and Ohio.

National Rifle Associationhead Wayne LaPierre impliedthat he had spoken to Presi-dent Donald Trump since theback-to-back massacres thatleft 31 dead.

“I'm not inclined to discussprivate conversations withPresident Trump or other keyleaders on this issue,” LaPierresaid in a statement.

“But I can confirm that theNRA opposes any legislationthat unfairly infringes uponthe rights of law-abiding cit-izens. The inconvenient truthis this: the proposals being dis-cussed by many would nothave prevented the horrifictragedies in El Paso and Day-

ton.” Trump has not publiclyacknowledged any conver-sation with LaPierre sincethe shootings.

But The Washington Post,citing unnamed sources, saidthe NRA boss warned thepresident in a telephone callon Tuesday against backingtougher background checks.It was not clear who initiat-ed the call.

There have been wide-ranging demands for toughergun laws following the massshootings in El Paso, Texas andDayton, Ohio.

On Thursday more than 200mayors urged the US Senateto approve legislation, alreadypassed by the lower House, that

would require backgroundchecks for all gun purchasesand regulate secondary sales.

But LaPierre said regula-tions under discussion, noneof which he identified specif-ically, would make millions ofAmericans “less safe and lessable to defend themselvesand their loved ones.” Trumpsaid this week he supportedproposed legislation thatwould block gun sales to peo-ple with mental health issues.

Shortly after taking office,however, the president rolledback a regulation introducedby his predecessor BarackObama that would have madeit harder for people with men-tal illness to buy guns.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSELONDON, 9 AUGUST

Britain's economy unex-pectedly shrank in the secondquarter of the year on Brexitturmoil, official data showedFriday, placing the country onthe verge of recession.

Gross domestic product(GDP) fell 0.2 percent in theApril-June period, the firsttime the economy has con-tracted in almost seven years,the Office for National Statistics(ONS) said in a statement.

The data, which was worsethan market expectations forzero growth and also reflectsglobal economic strains, sentthe pound sliding against theeuro and dollar.

Another contraction in thecurrent third quarter wouldput Britain in official recession,ahead of the nation's expect-ed withdrawal from the EU atthe end of October. “The lat-

est data reveal an economy indecline and skirting withrecession as headwinds fromslower global economic growthare exacerbated by Brexit-related paralysis,” said IHS

Markit economist ChrisWilliamson.

The result contrasted with0.5-percent expansion in thefirst quarter, when activitywas boosted by companies

stockpiling ahead of Brexit.Output was buoyed in the

first three months of 2019because Britain had initiallybeen scheduled to leave theEuropean Union at the end ofMarch.

“GDP contracted in thesecond quarter for the first timesince 2012 after robust growthin the first quarter,” said RobKent Smith, ONS head of GDP.

“Manufacturing outputfell back after a strong start tothe year, with productionbrought forward ahead of theUK's original departure datefrom the EU.

“The construction sectoralso weakened after a buoy-ant beginning to the year,while the often-dominantservice sector delivered vir-tually no growth at all,” headded. British Prime Minis-ter Boris Johnson replacedTheresa May in July after win-ning the governing Conserv-

atives' leadership contest ona pledge to take Britain out ofthe bloc on 31 October withor without a divorce deal.

New finance minister SajidJavid said that the global econ-omy was slowing, but high-lighted other recent positivedata for the UK.

“This is a challenging peri-od across the global econo-my, with growth slowing inmany countries,” said Javid.

“But the fundamentals ofthe British economy are strong-- wages are growing, employ-ment is at a record high andwe're forecast to grow fasterthan Germany, Italy and Japanthis year.

“The government is deter-mined to provide certainty topeople and businesses onBrexit, that's why we are clearthat the UK is leaving the EUon 31 October,” he added.

The government's officialforecaster last month warned

that Britain would slide intoa year-long recession shouldit leave the EU without a deal.

Bank of England gover-nor Mark Carney recentlywarned that a no-deal Brex-it could undermine entiresectors of the economy suchas the car industry and farm-ing. “The latest look at the UKeconomy makes for prettygrim viewing,” XTB analystDavid Cheetham said in ref-erence to Friday's data.

“Given the growing threatof a no-deal Brexit that loomsmenacingly overhead, it wouldnot be at all surprising if thecurrent quarter also shows acontraction, therefore meet-ing the standard definition ofa recession.”

Johnson's predecessor Maystepped down last monthafter failing to get her EU-divorce deal through parlia-ment and being forced todelay Brexit twice.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSESEOUL, 9 AUGUST

South Korean President MoonJae-in on Friday appointed anew ambassador to the USAwho has described DonaldTrump as “treacherous”, onlya month after Britain's envoyto Washington had to stepdown over his criticisms of theUS president.

In the early 2000s, LeeSoo-hyuck, a career diplomatbefore becoming a rulingparty lawmaker, was Seoul'schief negotiator in the six-partytalks on North Korea's nuclearprogramme.

Now he will be responsi-ble for guiding the relation-ship between Seoul and Wash-ington, who have not alwaysseen eye-to-eye over thenuclear-armed North or theirown ties.

But only last year theSouth's Chosun Ilbo news-paper cited him as criticisingTrump.

Lee had been asked aboutan incident at the WhiteHouse when the US presidentdeclined to have Moon'sanswer to a reporter's ques-tion translated, saying “I'msure I've heard it before”.

Lee told the paper: “That'sTrump's style. I don't thinkhe's only done that to Moon.He's treacherous,” addingthat as a former businessmanthe US leader had a tenden-cy to say insincere things.

His appointment comesonly a month after Britain'sambassador to Washingtonresigned after Trump target-ed him over highly criticalcomments that put Londonand Washington's relationshipon edge.

In a series of confidentialdiplomatic cables revealedby a British newspaper, KimDarroch described the USleader as “inept” and his WhiteHouse as “uniquely dysfunc-tional”, adding the presidentwas “radiating insecurity”.

DONGGUAN (CHINA), 9 AUGUST

Chinese telecom giant Huaweiunveiled its own operating sys-tem on Friday, as it faces thethreat of losing access toAndroid systems amid escalating US-China tradetensions.

Richard Yu, the head ofHuawei's consumer busi-ness, told a press conferencein the southern city of Dong-guan that the new system,called HarmonyOS or Hong-Meng in Chinese, would“bring more harmony andconvenience to the world”.

The highly-anticipatedsoftware is considered cru-cial for the tech group's sur-vival as it confronts a loom-ing White House ban on UScompanies selling technol-ogy products to Huawei whichcould remove its access toGoogle's Android operatingsystem. Yu said the new sys-tem was a “future oriented OS”to be “more smooth andsecure”, which he said was“completely different fromAndroid and iOS”.

Huawei said the first ver-sion of the operating systemwould launch later this yearin its smart screen products,before expanding across arange of smart devices includ-ing wearable technology over the nextthree years.

“If you're asking whenwill we apply this to thesmartphone, we can do it atany time,” said Yu, adding thatthey gave priority to usingGoogle's Android operatingsystem, which is compatiblewith Harmony.

“However, if we cannot useit (Android) in the future, wecan immediately switch to theHarmony OS,” he said.

In May the company wasswept into the deepeningtrade war between Beijing andWashington.

Huawei has been black-listed by US President Donald Trump amid suspi-cions it provides a backdoorfor Chinese intelligence services, something the firm denies. AGENCIES

WASHINGTON, 9 AUGUST

US President Donald Trumphas announced that hisrespected Deputy Directorof National Intelligence wasresigning, the latest chapterin a broad reshuffle at the topof the country's spy agencies.

Sue Gordon spent a quar-ter-century in the CIA beforebecoming second-in-com-mand to outgoing Directorof National Intelligence DanCoats and was in line toserve as acting director.

“Sue Gordon is a great pro-fessional with a long and dis-tinguished career. I havegotten to know Sue over thepast 2 years and have devel-oped great respect for her,”Trump said on Twitter onThursday.

“Sue has announced shewill be leaving on 15 August,which coincides with theretirement of Dan Coats,”Trump added.

Minutes later Trumptweeted that Joseph Maguire,a retired US Navy vice-admi-ral and the current Directorof the National Counterter-rorism Center (NCTC), wouldreplace Gordon.

“I have no doubt he willdo a great job!” Trump said.

Trump praised the 67-year-old's “long and distin-guished” military career,during which he served ascommanding officer of SEALTeam 2 and led the Naval Spe-cial Warfare Center. But thedeparture of Gordon, a sea-soned, independent-mind-ed senior official, will beseen as a blow to an intelli-gence community alreadyuneasy about Coats leaving.

Gordon enjoyed supporton both sides of the aisle onCapitol Hill, but critics sayTrump is suspicious of careerofficials in an establishmenthe has long hoped to reshapein his own image. AFP

Carrie Lam warns of economic downturnHong Kong chief executive rules out making concessions to protesters; activists stage sit-in at Hong Kong airport�s arrivals hall

ASSOCIATED PRESSHONG KONG, 9 AUGUST

Hong Kong sought Friday toreassure visitors to the cityafter several countries issuedtravel safety warnings relat-ed to ongoing prod-democ-racy protests, potentiallydevastating its crucial trav-el industry.

An email attributed to anunidentified government

spokesman conceded recentroad blockages and con-frontations between policeand protesters had causedinconveniences, but saidthey were confined to lim-ited areas. The statement saidthe government and thetravel industry were work-ing to minimise disrup-tions and “all stand ready towelcome and assist visitorsto Hong Kong any time.”

Visitors reassured of safety

US gun lobby head rejectstougher firearms laws

Brexit turmoil drives UK towards recession

Seoul appoints envoy to US who called Trump�treacherous�

Huawei plansoperatingsystem to rival Android

Gordon quits,Trump namesnew actingdirector

Buddhist monks stand around the pyre during the funeral procession of former Khmer Rouge �Brother Number Two� Nuon Cheain Pailin on Friday. Crowds gathered for the funeral, paying their final respects to a man considered the chief ideologue of Cambodia's murderous Khmer Rouge regime. AFP

HERO WORSHIP

Kyrgyz court orders detention of ex-president


We have a lot of engagement with India and Pakistan. We have a host ofissues that we work with India on quite closely and that we work withPakistan on quite closely

MORGAN ORTAGUSUS STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON

ASSOCIATED PRESSKABUL, 9 AUGUST

Afghanistan faces apresidential electionnext month but fewbelieve the vote will

take place as the United Statesand the Taliban inch closer toa deal that could end thenearly 18-year war but bringuncertainty about almosteverything else.

Few candidates, 18 arerunning for the country’s topjob, have openly campaignedafter the Taliban last weekattacked the office of Presi-dent Ashraf Ghani’s runningmate on opening day of thecampaign, killing at least 20people. Amrullah Saleh,known for his fierce anti-Tal-iban stance, was unharmed.

This week, the Talibandeclared the election a “sham”and warned fellow Afghans tostay away from campaignrallies and from the polls,saying such gatherings couldbe targeted. A day later, aTaliban car bomb aimed atAfghan security forces rippedthrough a Kabul neighbor-hood, killing 14 people andwounding 145, most of themwomen, children and othercivilians.

The developments cameeven as the Taliban and a USenvoy tasked with finding apeaceful resolution to thewar in Afghanistan, America’slongest conflict, reportedprogress on negotiations inQatar on an agreement for thewithdrawal of some 20,000 USand NATO troops, along withTaliban guarantees thatAfghanistan would not be abase for other extremistgroups.

The Taliban spokesman in

Qatar, Suhail Shaheen, saidon Friday that he expects anagreement “at the end of thisround of talks.”

The deal would include acease-fire and Taliban nego-tiations with other Afghanrepresentatives, he said. How-ever, it wasn’t clear whetherthat meant the Taliban wouldagree to talk to Kabul gov-ernment members in their offi-cial capacity or only as ordi-nary Afghans, as in the past.

President Donald Trumpand the Qatari leader, SheikhTamim bin Hamad Al Thani,spoke by phone on Thursdayabout the Gulf nation’s workto “support regional stabili-ty,” the White House said,and the U.S. and Taliban leadnegotiators have been trav-eling in recent days to briefseveral countries involved inthe process on the latestdevelopments.

The US envoy, ZalmayKhalilzad, said on Friday hehad been in Norway, which

would facilitate the intra-Afghan discussions that wouldfollow a deal.

But so far, the Taliban hasrefused to negotiate with thegovernment, dismissing it asa US puppet. And no oneknows whether the thou-sands of Taliban fightersacross Afghanistan will respectwhatever deal is made.

Scott Worden, director ofthe Afghanistan program atthe United States Instituteof Peace, wrote last week thatthe choice in the peace processis between “pursuing a nego-tiated solution with the Tal-iban that would lead to anew system that the Talibanagree to participate in, orseeking to renew the currentgovernment’s legitimacythrough elections and havingthe new government negoti-ate from what it hopes will bea position of greater strength.”

Neither is easy, he said.Speculation is high that a

US-Taliban peace agreement

might delay the 28 Septem-ber election, especially asKhalilzad has suggested thatthe vote could hinder peaceefforts. Analysts have saidhis 1 September target datefor a peace deal could belinked to Ghani’s insistenceon holding the vote nextmonth.

In Kabul, where few cam-paign posters are seen, someresidents appear to be fine witha delay. For many, memoriesof the Taliban chopping off theinked fingers of some votersduring the 2014 presidentialvote remain fresh.

Jamil, a 26-year-old law stu-dent who like many Afghanshas only one name, predict-ed that the election would bepostponed. Once there is a dealwith the Taliban, a transi-tional government wouldtake over.

Then the Taliban wouldenter a presidential candidate of their own, hespeculated.

Poll worry as US,Taliban near deal

KABUL, 9 AUGUST

The Taliban has hit out at Pak-istan for linking the situationin Afghanistan with Kashmirissue, saying that Kabulshould "not be turned intothe theatre of competition"between New Delhi andIslamabad.

"Linking the issue ofKashmir with that ofAfghanistan by some partieswill not aid in improvingthe crisis at hand because theissue of Afghanistan is notrelated nor shouldAfghanistan be turned intothe theatre of competitionbetween other countries," Tal-iban spokesman ZabihullahMujahed said in a state-ment cited by Anadolu newsagency on Thursday.

This comes after Pak-istan Muslim League-NawazPresident and oppositionleader Shehbaz Sharif whilespeaking in the Parliamentearlier this week comparedthe situation in Afghanistanwith that of Kashmir. IANS

Af not linked withKashmir issue:Taliban to Pakistan

IANS UNITED NATIONS, 9 AUGUST

United Nations SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterrescame out on Thursday againstchanging the status of Jammuand Kashmir and backedSecurity Council resolutions,of which the main onerequires Pakistan to with-draw all its nationals fromKashmir.

His SpokespersonStephane Dujarric said: "TheSecretary General calls on allparties to refrain from takingsteps that could affect the sta-tus of Jammu and Kashmir.

"The position of the Unit-ed Nations on this region isgoverned by the Charter ofthe United Nations andapplicable Security Councilresolutions."

The Council's Resolution47 adopted on April 21, 1948,said Pakistan should withdrawits nationals from Kashmirbefore a plebiscite can be held.Pakistan, however, continuesto occupy a significant partof Kashmir making a plebisciteimpossible.

Since then, India has saida plebiscite was moot becauseof Pakistan's continued occu-pation and because Kashmirishave had their say in state andnational elections.

"The Secretary Generalalso recalls the 1972 Agree-ment on bilateral relationsbetween India and Pakistan,also known as the SimlaAgreement, which states thatthe final status of Jammu andKashmir is to be settled bypeaceful means, in accor-dance with the Charter of theUnited Nations," Dujarricsaid. While calling for max-imum restraint, "the Secre-tary General is also con-cerned over reports of restric-tions on the Indian-side of

Kashmir, which could exac-erbate the human rights sit-uation in the region", headded.

The Charter provisionsdirectly applicable to theIndia-Pakistan situationrequire members to settletheir disputes by peacefulmeans and to refrain from thethreat or use of force againstthe territorial integrity ofany nation.

The Charter also says thatUN cannot "intervene inmatters which are essen-tially within the domesticjurisdiction of any state".

The Simla Agreementsigned in 1972 by then PrimeMinister Indira Gandhi andZulfikar Ali Bhutto, who wasPakistan's President at thattime, also said that Kashmirwas a bilateral issue, thus rul-ing out third party inter-vention.

The Secretary General'soffice circulated to mem-bers of the Security Councila letter written by Pakistan'sForeign Minister ShahMehmood Qureshi to Guter-res on August 1 expressingconcern about the situationin Kashmir. He also askedGuterres to set up a "fact-find-ing mission" for Kashmirand to appoint a special rep-resentative.

Dujarric said that the let-ter was being studied and nodecision has been taken onappointing a special repre-sentative.

He said that the Secretariatwas in contact with the Per-manent Missions of India andPakistan over the recentdevelopments.

Joanna Wronecka, thePresident of the SecurityCouncil, refused to answera reporter's question aboutQureshi's letter and if therewould any action on it.

Don't changeKashmir status, UNchief to both sides

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSEKUALA LUMPUR, 9 AUGUST

Malaysia filed criminal chargesFriday against 17 current andformer executives of threeGoldman Sachs subsidiaries,piling further pressure onthe Wall Street titan over themulti-billion-dollar 1MDBscandal.

They included RichardGnodde, chief executive ofGoldman Sachs International,and Michael Evans, formerchief of Goldman's Asia oper-ations who is now presidentof Chinese e-commerce giantAlibaba.

Huge sums were lootedfrom Malaysian sovereignwealth fund 1Malaysia Devel-opment Berhad in a globe-spanning fraud, which alleged-ly involved ex-prime minis-ter Najib Razak and his innercircle.

Goldman's role has beenunder scrutiny as it helpedarrange bond issues worth $6.5billion for 1MDB. Malaysia

claims large amounts weremisappropriated in theprocess, and is seeking heftycompensation from the bank.

Prime Minister MahathirMohamad re-opened inves-tigations into the 1MDB affairlast year after defeating Najibat the polls, in large part dueto public anger at the scan-dal, and pressure has beensteadily mounting on thebank since.

Announcing the latestcharges, Attorney GeneralTommy Thomas said: “Cus-todial sentences and crimi-nal fines will be sought againstthe accused... given the sever-ity of the scheme to defraud

and fraudulent misappro-priation of billions in bondproceeds.”

Goldman said in a state-ment it believed the chargeswere “misdirected” and wouldbe “vigorously defended”.

“Certain members of theformer Malaysian govern-ment and 1MDB lied to Gold-man Sachs, outside counseland others about the use ofproceeds from these trans-actions,” it said.

Thomas said the 17accused were directors of thethree Goldman subsidiariesin 2012 and 2013, when thefund raising took place.

In December, Malaysiafiled charges against the units,Goldman Sachs International,Goldman Sachs (Asia), andGoldman Sachs (Singapore),and two ex-employees.

They were accused of giv-ing false statements which ledto $2.7 billion being misap-propriated in relation to thebond issues. Goldman vowedto fight those charges.

Malaysia charges current, formerGoldman executives over 1MDB

TENDER

(H.P. GOVT ENERGY DEVELOPMENT AGENCY)SHIMLA-171009

CorrigendumLast date for receiving/opening of the tenders invited vide tender Noticepublished in the newspapers Dainik Jagran (H.P) edition and TheStatesman, Delhi edition on 21-07-2019, is extended as per schedulegiven below:-

Sale of bid documents/online availability up to 26-08-2019

Submission of bid documents : 27-08-2019 up to 2.00 PM

Opening of bid documents : 27-08-2019 at 3.00 PM

Other terms and conditions will remain unchanged. Details of tender isalso available on Himurja website i.e. himurja.hp.gov.in

Addl. S.E. (C),Himurja, Urja Bhawan,

8-A, S.D.A. Complex,Kasumpti, Shimla-9

Ph. 0177-2628074

HIMACHAL PRADESHPUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT

Office of the Executive Engineer, Outer Seraj Division, HP.PWD. NirmandWeb: www.hppwd.gov.in, Email: [email protected] No. 01904-255140, Fax No. 01904-255740

NOTICE INVITING TENDERSealed item rate tender on form 6 & 8 are hereby invited by the Executive Engineer Outer Seraj Division HP. PWD. Nirmand

on behalf of Governor of HP. from the approved eligible contractors enlisted in HP.PWD, for the following works, so as to reach this office on04.09.2019 up to 10.30 A.M. and same will be opened on the same day at 11.00 a.m. in presence of the interested contractors or their autho-rized representative. The tender form can be had from the office of Executive Engineer Outer Seraj Division HP.PWD, Nirmand on cash payment(Non- refundable) on or before 02.09.2019 during office hours till 1.30 p.m. The application must be accompanied with earnest money in shapeof NSD/FDR/Time deposit etc. of any post office of HP. or Nationalized Bank duly pledged in the name of Executive Engineer Outer Seraj DivisionHP.PWD. Nirmand cash order will not be entertained, it may be ensure that the earnest money shall have to be prepared work wise otherwiseforms will not be issued . The offer of tender shall be kept open for 90 days. The conditional tender or tender received by post will also be reject-ed .The undersigned reserves the right to reject any or all tenders without assigning any reason. All the approved eligible contractors should bringcopy of their valid enlistment /renewal/exemption from earnest money with them. The tender documents will be issued only to those who fulfillthe eligibility conditions. The contractor should be registered as dealer under HP. Sale Tax Act, 1968 and now should be registered underVAT Act, Valid Copy of Registration as required , Copy of GST , Copy of PAN Card, failing which no tender form will be issued to him.

Work No.:-1 A/R & M/O Wazir Bowali to Mohali road Km. 0/00 to 26/00. (SH:- Providing and laying thermoplastic compound edge line in Km.0/00 to 1/00, 12/910 to 16/880, 17/00 to 17/060, 17/675 to 17/855 and 18/00 to 18/490). Estimated cost: Rs. 4,52,723/- Earnest money Rs.:-9,100/- time fifteen days Cost of form:-350/-

Work No.:-2 Improvement of identified black spots on LDCK road Km. 0/00 to 11/00. (SH: - Improvement of formation deficiency in Km. 1/756 to1/915). Estimated cost: Rs. 1,93,841/- Earnest money Rs.:- 3,900/- time one month Cost of form:-350/-

Work No.:-3 Improvement of identified black spots on road from jn. of LDCK to jn. of NAS road Km. 0/00 to 32/00. (SH:- C/o R/wall at Rd. 18/675to 18/695 and 22/126 to 22/135). Estimated cost: Rs. 4,11,002/- Earnest money Rs.:- 8,300/- time two months Cost of form:-350/-

Work No.:-4 Construction of link road from Shano to Ghulat Km. 0/00 to 5/210 under BASP. (SH:- C/o RCC Hume Pipe Culvert at Rd 0/720).Estimated cost: Rs. 1,40,308/- Earnest money Rs.:- 2,900/- time one month Cost of form:-350/-

Work No.:-5 Restoration of rain damages on Luhri Dalash Chowai Khanag road Km. 0/00 to 53/00. (SH:- C/o wire crate R/wall at Rd. 0/505 to0/520 and 0/525 to 0/545). Estimated cost: Rs. 21,41,551/- Earnest money Rs.:- 2,900/- time one month Cost of form:-350/-

Work No.:-6 A/R & M/O link road to Village Moin Km. 0/00 to 1/945. (SH:- C/o B/wall at Rd. 0/360 to 0/385). Estimated cost: Rs. 3,52,268/-Earnest money Rs.:- 7,100/- time two months Cost of form:-350/-

Work No.:-7 A/R & M/O Kandagai to Neethar road Km 6/00 to 18/345. (SH:- C/o Hume Pipe culvert at Rd 10/045 with wing wall). Estimatedcost: Rs. 1,40,308/- Earnest money Rs.:- 2,900/- time one month Cost of form:-350/-

Work No.:-8 A/R & M/O Wazir Bowali to Mohali road Km. 0/00 to 26/00. (SH:- C/o Guide pillar with Delinator in Km. 15/700 to 16/435 & 17/00to 17/600). Estimated cost: Rs. 1,36,638/- Earnest money Rs.:- 2,800/- time two month Cost of form:-350/-

Work No.:-9 A/R & M/O link road Brow Poshna up to Chaklot road Km. 0/00 to 13/180. (SH:- C/o R/wall at Rd. 0/805 to 0/820 and R/wall at Rd0/850 to 0/864). Estimated cost: Rs. 4,71,756/- Earnest money Rs.:- 9,500/- time two months Cost of form:-350/-

Work No.:-10 Restoration of rain damages on Wazir Bowali Jhakri Byepass road Km. 0/00 to 15/00. (SH:- C/o B/wall at Rd. 3/155 to 3/170).Estimated cost: Rs. 1,79,459/- Earnest money Rs.:- 3,600/- time one month Cost of form:-350/-

Work No.:-11 A/R & M/O link road Brow Poshna up to Chaklot road Km. 0/00 to 13/180. (SH:- C/o Breast wall Rd 3/760 to 3/780). Estimatedcost: Rs. 2,42,585/- Earnest money Rs.:- 4,900/- time one month Cost of form:-350/-

Work No.:-12 A/R & M/O Wazir Bowali Nirmand Arsu Sarahan road Km. 0/00 to 34/00. (SH:- Balance work of annual surfacing in Km. 12/400 to13/00. Estimated cost: Rs. 4, 94,211/- Earnest money Rs.:- 10,000/- time one month Cost of form:-350/-

1436/2019-2020 HIM SUCHNA AVAM JAN SAMPARK

BHARAT NIRMAN THROUGH RURAL ROADSCHIEF ENGINEER (KANGRA ZONE) HPPWD DHARAMSHALA H.P., 176215

BHARAT NIRMAN

UNDER PRADHAN MANTRI GRAM SADAK YOJANA (PMGSY)e-Procurement Notice

The Government of India has received a loan/credit number "Ln 7995-IN/Cr.4848-IN/Cr.4849-IN" from the International Bank for Reconstruction andDevelopment/International Development Association towards the cost of Rural Roads Project (Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana) and intends to apply a part of thefunds to cover eligible payments under the contracts for construction of works. Bidding is open to all bidders from eligible source countries as defined in the bidding doc-ument.

The Chief Engineer (Kangra Zone) HPPWD Dharamshala-176215 on behalf of Governor Himachal Pradesh invites the item rate bids in electronictendering system for construction of roads under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana in the district of Kangra as detailed in the Table below from the eligible contractorsregistered with HPPWD/CPWD/P&T, Railways/other state govts/Central Govt agencies. Non-registered bidders may submit bids, however, the successful bidders mustget registered in appropriate class with appropriate authorities before signing the contract.Division Package No Name of the Work Estimated Cost Total Cost Period of Bid

(Rs. Lacs) (Rs. Lacs) Completion SecurityConstruction Maintenance (Months) (Rs. Lacs)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8Kangra HP-04-351 Upgradation of Sandhu to Kurela Road Km 0/0 to 1/70 68.80 10.24 79.04 9 1.58Kangra HP-04-352 Upgradation of uperla Dobh to jhikla Dobh Road Km 0/0 to 2/0 62.80 12.04 74.84 9 1.50

Other details can be seen in the bidding document. The Employer shall not be held liable for any delays due to system failure beyond its control.Even though the system will attempt to notify the bidders of any bid updates, the Employer shall not be liable for any information not received by the bidder. It is the bid-ders' responsibility to verify the website for the latest information related to the tender.

Submission of all physical documents will be accepted only up to or before the time and date of submission of bids. No physical documents will beaccepted after the closing date and time of submission of bids.

Last Date/ Time and place for receipt of bids through e-procurement:-

Bids can be submitted online from Date 16 Month 08 Year 2019 to Date 06 Month 09 Year 2019 upto 1700 Hours and will be opened on Date09 Month 09 Year 2019 at 11:30 Hours in the office of Superintending Engineer, 5th Circle, HPPWD, Palampur.

For further details please logon to https://pmgsytendershp.gov.inThe undersigned has right to extend or cancel the bids without declaring any reasons there-of.

Chief Engineer,Kangra Zone, H..P.P.W.D,

Dharamshala-176215 Fax: 011892-223100

1409/2019-2020 HIM SUCHNA AVAM JAN SAMPARK Tel: 011892-224948 PUNJAB STATE POWER CORPORATION LIMITEDRegd. Office: PSEB Head Office, The Mall Patiala-147001Corporate Identity Number: U40109PB2010SGC033813

Website: www.pspcl.in

E-Tender Enquiry No. 7144/P-3/EMP-11623 Dated: 05-08-19 & ID: 45825.

Scope of Work: Procurement of spares for weir make Condensate Extrac-tion Pumps (CEPs) model EN 6J 40 of Stage-ll & III Units at GGSSTP,Rupnagar.

Qty.: As per NIT. EMD: As per NIT.

Date & time up to which tender shall be received: 12-09-19 at 11-00 a.m.

Date & time of opening of tender: 12-09-19 at 11-30 a.m.

Tender specification can only be downloaded from PSPCL website:https://pspcl.abcprocure.com & no hard copy of the same will be issuedby this office.

Note:

1) In case any difficulty regarding uploading of the tender the prospectivebidders are requested to get clarification from this office and or M/s. e-Procurement Technologies Ltd. Contact No.: +91-(79)-40016866/40/38/18/21. lt is also requested to get their digital signature well in time soas to submit tenders through e-tendering only.

2) It is informed that in case tender process is not completed due to any reason, no corrigendum will be published in newspapers. Detailsregarding corrigendum may be seen on official PSPCL website:www.pspcl.in

Dy. CE / MonitoringRTP-59/19 GGSSTP, Rupnagar

NORTH BENGAL STATETRANSPORT CORPORATION

COOCHBEHARMemo No.: Date:

CORRIGENDUM NOTICENIT NO.

NBSTC/19/CSP-ET/COB/2019-20Dated: 22-07-2019

A Technical Bid Corrigendum inconnection with the e-Tender�New Oil Tankers To Be ProcuredIn The F.Y. 2019-20� has beenpublished. For details, Bidders are reques-ted to please visit athttp://wbtenders.gov.inQueries if any, may be sent [email protected]

Managing DirectorDate: N.B.S.T.C, Coochbehar


There was a mixed response to the Modi government's move to scrap Article 370 that provided a special status toJammu and Kashmir and bifurcate the state into two Union territories. While BJP supporters cheered the decisionswith firecrackers and slogan-shouting, Left parties and students held street protests slamming the government'sunilateral move. Photographs by SHAHNAWAZ KHAN, SUBRATA DUTTA, AMARJEET SINGH and AJAY KUMAR

TRIUMPH & DISMAY

14

THUMBNAILS


There is money available when the right players are available.It’s not about a quick fix, it is about a longer re-build

OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER MANCHESTER UNITED MANAGER ON TEAM

Brazil prosecutors ask judgeto close Neymar rape case:Prosecutors in Brazil said they

agree with a police finding

that there is not enough evi-

dence to prove rape allega-

tions against Neymar and have

asked a judge to close the

case. �What happened

between four walls is impossi-

ble to know, we have her

word against his,� prosecutor

Flavia Merlini told reporters on

Thursday. �We have decided to ask for the closure of the

case.� Neymar has denied the allegations he raped a Brazilian

woman in a Paris hotel in May. The ugly affair dominated

headlines and conversations in the soccer-mad country for

weeks. The scandal blew up on June 2 when Neymar pub-

lished a seven-minute video on Instagram, where he had first

been in contact with Najila Trindade, revealing that he had

been accused of rape. In an attempt to defend himself

against the allegations, Neymar's video was accompanied by

WhatsApp messages and images of his encounter with

Trindade.

Gundogan signs contract extension with Manchester City:

Ilkay Gundogan, Pep Guardiola's first signing as Manchester

City manager in 2016, signed a three year contract extension

with the Premier League champions on Friday the club

announced. The 28-year-old German international midfielder

who was entering the final year of his present contract and

will now be tied to the club to 2023 played a pivotal role in

City landing a domestic treble last term having also impressed

in their 2018 title winning campaign.

Dutee Chand granted visa: India's fastest woman Dutee

Chand was on Friday granted visa to travel to Europe and

participate in a couple of races in her bid to qualify for the

World Athletics Championships. On Thursday, the athlete

requested the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to help

her get visa so that she can participate in the competitions.

�Stand as a proud daughter with all who stood by me in the

time of need. Big shout out 2 all who made my voice heard.

Big thanks to @MEAIndia @DrSJaishankar @IndiaSports

@KirenRijiju for personally looking into my visa issue and

clearing it from their side. Thanks @Naveen_Odisha,� Dutee

wrote on her twitter handle. Dutee, who recently became

the first Indian woman track and field athlete to clinch a

gold medal in the World University Games, is slated to com-

pete in 100m dash in two IAAF-approved races -- one in Ire-

land on 13 August and another in Germany on 19 August.

AGENCIESTORONTO, 9 AUGUST

Serena Williams (in photo)and Japan's Naomi Osakabooked a rematch of lastyear's US Open final in

the WTA Toronto quarter-finalsafter straight-set triumphs here.

Reigning US and AustralianOpen champion Osaka brokeat love in the final game todefeat Polish teen Iga Swiatek7-6 (7/4) 6-4 after one hourand 51 minutes on Thursday.

World number 10 Williamswas broken twice and droppedthe first three games in 10 min-utes then battled back to defeatRussia's 48th-ranked EkaterinaAlexandrova 7-5 6-4 in 91 min-utes. That set the stage forWilliams, a 37-year-old Amer-ican who will try for a record-tying 24th Grand Slam singlestitle at the upcoming US Open,to again face Osaka after the con-troversial finish to their GrandSlam showdown last year in NewYork. It would be the first matchbetween Osaka and Williamssince the Japanese star defeat-ed her childhood idol 6-2, 6-4in last year's US Open final, amatch marred by an on-courtdispute between Williams andthe umpire that led to a gamepenalty against Williams.

Osaka was booed by somefans during the awards ceremonyand later dubbed what shouldhave been her moment of glory“a little bittersweet.”

Williams spoke after her

match but before she knewwho she would face in the quar-ter-finals, saying either Osakawho could return to the worldnumber one ranking next weekor Swiatek would be worthy foes.

“It will be a good match, who-ever wins,” Williams said. “Bothplayers are playing well in thistournament in particular, so I'llbe ready for her.”

Alexandrova broke Williamsthe 2001, 2011 and 2013 Cana-dian champion in the first andthird games for a 3-0 edge onlyto have Williams roll through thenext four games.

They held from there until

the final game of the first set, whenthe Russian's eighth doublefault handed Williams the set after46 minutes.

“(Alexandrova) hit really,really hard and she was hittinga lot of winners, so I was justhappy I was able to just fightthrough that,” Williams said.

Alexandrova broke Williamsagain to open the second set,but the US star pulled level inthe sixth game and broke againin the 12th to advance after 91minutes.

“I'm feeling good,” Williamssaid. “Just hopefully just beingable to stay in the rhythm and

playing this week and next weekwould be good.” Williams saidshe is struggling with the tran-sition from clay to grass to hard-courts more than usual thisyear. “I definitely feel like ittakes a while to get back into therhythm,” she said.

“So it definitely feels differ-ent, especially for me now. Usu-ally I don't feel that huge of adifference, but for whateverreason I do this year.”

Czech third seed KarolinaPliskova kept the pressure onOsaka in the battle to take theworld number one ranking byalso reaching the quarter-finals.

Pliskova eliminated Esto-nia's Anett Kontaveit 6-3 7-5 toset up a last-eight clash with ris-ing Canadian star BiancaAndreescu, who outlasted fifth-seeded Dutchwoman KikiBertens 6-1 6-7 (7/9) 6-4. Plisko-va, 27, must reach the final tohave any chance of taking thetop spot next week. Otherwise,Osaka will claim the number oneberth.

French Open championAshleigh Barty's stint as theworld's top-ranked player wasassured of ending after she wasknocked out on Tuesday.

Defending champion andfourth seed Simona Halep ofRomania, coming off a Wim-bledon title last month, beat Rus-sia's Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-2 6-1 to book a quarter-final againstCzech qualifier Marie Bouzko-va, who ousted Latvia's JelenaOstapenko 6-2 6-2.

Serena, Osaka book US Open finalrematch in Toronto quarter-final

AGENCIESMONTREAL, 9 AUGUST

World number two RafaelNadal(in photo left) said thathe and long-time rival RogerFederer(in photo right)madea joint decision to stand for theATP Player Council. The 33-year-old Spaniard, an 18-timeGrand Slam singles winner, con-firmed the choice by the pairof icons at the ATP MontrealMasters after reaching thequarter-finals by beatingArgentina's Guido Pella 6-3 6-4 on Thursday.

Federer, a 20-time Slamsingles champion, and Nadalwere elected by fellow playersto fill two of the vacanciescaused by the resignations ofRobin Haase, Jamie Murray andSergiy Stakhovsky prior toWimbledon.

“We decided to be togeth-er out there,” Nadal said. “I willnot be alone there. He will notbe alone there. “Both of us can(combine to) be a good power,good help for the sport insome way hopefully in a bet-ter way. “We are here to helpand to know a little bit betterwhat's going on. Last yearhave been some up and downsin a lot of things.”

Controversy has arisen overthe past months concerning

various issues, with ATP Coun-cil president Novak Djokovicoften on the opposite side ofdiscussions from Nadal andFederer. The world number oneSerb has clashed with many fel-low players with disagree-ments centered on the deci-sion to dispense with the ser-vices of ATP chief executiveChris Kermode, a popular fig-ure in tennis. Splits widenedat Wimbledon when Djokovicwas taken to task over his rela-tionship with the disgracedJustin Gimelstob. Former play-er Gimelstob, who has sat onthe player council, pleaded nocontest to assault charges inLos Angeles earlier this year forattacking a man in front of hiswife and children at Halloweenin 2018. Djokovic has comeunder fire for refusing to ruleout a possible return to theboard for Gimelstob.

“I have friendly relationshipwith Justin,” said Djokovic atWimbledon.

Nadal, Federer jointly decideto re-enter ATP politics

AGENCIESLONDON, 9 AUGUST

Kevin De Bruyne (in photo)can'twait to play a key role in Man-chester City's bid for a third suc-cessive Premier League title asthe Belgian star finally returnsto peak form and fitness.

Pep Guardiola's side starttheir title defence at West Hamon Saturday with De Bruyne pro-viding a reassuring presence forthe champions.

City have bolstered theirtreble-winning squad with thepound 62 million club recordsigning of Atletico Madrid mid-fielder Rodri, while also addingaccomplished Juventus full-back Joao Cancelo.

But the prospect of DeBruyne driving City forward frommidfield is a mouthwateringprospect for Guardiola.

The 28-year-old was aninfluential figure in City's 2017-18 Premier League title tri-umph, but he had only a bit-part role in last season's domes-tic dominance due to kneeand muscular injuries.

De Bruyne made just 22starts in all competitions beforereturning to prove he was still

a force to be reckoned with bywinning the man of the matchaward in City's FA Cup finalthrashing of Watford.

He is confident those injuryissues are behind him afterproving to be one of the stand-out players during City's pre-season tour.

“I'm fine. What happenedlast year happens to every-body. I have been a professionalfor 11 years now and had oneseason where I had some

injuries,” De Bruyne said.“I just get on with it. Now I

feel good. I'm happy I could playa whole pre-season.”

With De Bruyne back intheir line-up, City look more for-midable than ever quite a featafter they amassed 198 pointsover their last two PremierLeague title-winning seasons.

If they can retain the crown,City will become only the fifthteam in the history of Englishfootball to clinch three con-

secutive top-flight titles, afterHuddersfield, Arsenal, Liverpooland Manchester United (twice).

But Liverpool seem certainto push City all the way onceagain after they finished just onepoint behind Guardiola's teamlast term and then won theChampions League. And DeBruyne challenged City to main-tain the relentless consistencythat carried them to last season'stitle with 14 successive leaguewins.

“You don't need to be bet-ter, you need to be consistent,”De Bruyne said. “At the end ofthe year, with all the competi-tions, maybe you don't need 95or 100 points.

“Maybe teams get morepoints out of each other and youwin it with 85, just because thecompetition is that high.

“You need to be just one pointahead of the other ones andwhatever you need to do, youneed to do.

“I think Liverpool will be upthere, but they all will be there.We have to be consistent.”

De Bruyne's return givesGuardiola an embarrassmentof riches in midfield, with Spaininternational Rodri likely to fill

the holding role while the Bel-gian and David Silva swarm for-ward.

“I think he's the perfectdefensive midfielder for theway we want to play,” De Bruynesaid of Rodri.

Leroy Sane's long-termabsence with anterior cruciateligament damage suffered in lastweekend's Community Shieldagainst Liverpool is a blow, butCity have more than enoughdepth to prosper without theGermany winger.

Another benefit of DeBruyne's return is his ability tofill the void left by the close-sea-son departure of club captainVincent Kompany.

Kompany's decision to joinAnderlecht as player-manag-er stripped City of their mostexperienced leader.

David Silva started the Com-munity Shield as captain beforethe vocal De Bruyne took overwhen the Spaniard went off.

Guardiola has said the play-ers will decide who wears thecaptain's armband, but regard-less of whether De Bruyne getsthat honour he will make Citya better team simply by stay-ing fit this season.

De Bruyne back to drive City's title defence

PTIKOLKATA, 9 AUGUST

In a fresh ray of hope for thebeleaguered Indian archers,the World Archery on Fridaywrote to the Indian OlympicAssociation, stating theArchery Association of Indiasuspension might be lifted bythe end of this month if a clearroadmap is established.

The latest developmentcame following the DelhiHigh Court's order directingthe sports ministry to forma five-member transitorycommittee to look in thestate of affairs of the sus-pended AAI till fresh electionsare held. Following the order,the WA secretary generalTom Dielen wrote to IOAsecretary general RajeevMehta, nominating fourmembers of the committeewhich will be headed byretired Chief Justice of Jammuand Kashmir High Court Jus-tice B D Ahmad.

“If rapid progress is madeand a clear roadmap is estab-lished by the end of August,World Archery might condi-tionally lift the suspension bythe end of this month.

“We ask the IndianOlympic Association Secre-tary General to coordinatewith the chairman to get thecommittee established assoon as possible,” Dielenwrote in the letter to Mehta.

The WA further suggest-

ed four names for the tran-sitory committee -- Mehtafrom IOA, R Rajagopal fromthe sports ministry, while BV P Rao and Virendra Sachde-va from the two AAI fac-tions.

This transition commit-tee is tasked to prepare aroadmap for the AAI havinga new election as well as aConstitution that respectsboth the Indian Sports Codeand the World Archery Con-stitution.

“This roadmap will haveto be approved by WorldArchery for the suspensionto be lifted,” Dielen wrote.

The committee will alsoselect the teams for theOlympic qualifying AsianChampionships in Bangkokin November and prepare aselection process for theTokyo Olympics 2020.

Earlier in the day, hearinga PIL in the Rahul Mehra vsUnion of India & Ors, a DelhiHC Special Bench compris-ing Justice S Murlidhar andNajmi Waziri directed thatthe transitory committee willbe constituted latest by August23 and hold its first meetingon August 24. The committeewill be headed by retired ChiefJustice of Jammu and Kash-mir High Court Justice B DAhmad and will have onerepresentative each fromsports ministry, Indian OlympicAssociation, and the two AAIfactions, Mehra tweeted.

World Archery writes to IOA,gives hope to lift AAI suspension


Dabang Delhi escaped to anarrow but thrilling 8-7 vic-tory to steal a place in the finalof the Ultimate Table Tennishere on Friday.

India's Sathiyan G andRomania's petite BernadetteSzocs set the stage forDabang, with a grand displayof attacking TT. They wontheir respective Singles 2-1before combining to take 2more points in the MixedDoubles.

But Sweden's Jon Perssonunexpectedly lost 1-2 toManav Thakkar in a fast-paced encounter that broughtU Mumba back into thematch.

Needing just one point inthe last match of the tie,Krittwika Sinha Roy had tocalm her nerves and wait forSutirtha Mukherjee to makemistakes.

Her and Dabang'smoment came in the thirdand final set, that too atgolden point, to give herside an 8-7 win.

Bernadette Szocs (WorldNo. 14) began Dabang'smarch, downing a higher-ranked Doo Hoi Kem ofHong Kong (World No. 11)in the opening Women'sSingles match.

Dabang captain thenfought back from a set downto overcome Kazakhstan's

Kirill Gerassimenko, settingthe stage for an early finish.

Bernadette was at the topof her game all through,pounding in her forehandsto unsettle Doo Hoi in theopening set itself. She racedaway to a healthy 6-3 and 7-5 lead, before she collectedfour points to win it.

The second set went onpar till 7-7 although DooHoi didn't seem to be mov-ing fluently enough.Bernadette made the mostof that to claim this one too.

Doo Hoi showed glimpsesof her potent game in the thirdset, engaging Bernadette inlong rallies. She broke awayfor a 6-1 lead only to see theRomanian gain parity at 7-7. It was Bernadette's turn tomove ahead, even reachmatch point. Doo Hoi, how-ever, dug in and won the nextfour to clinch a crucial pointfor U Mumba.

In the first Men's Singles,Sathiyan slipped behind to3-7 in the first set and sur-rendered it 6-11. He was intop form in the secondthough, going 8-3 up. Thatwas enough to give him thesecond set.

Kirill Gerassimenko keptpace with the Indian in thethird till 6-6, but thereafterit was Sathiyan all over again.

Sathiyan and Bernadettecame back to down ManavThakkar and Doo Hoi in thecrucial Mixed Doubles.

Dabang Delhi win thrillervs Mumbai, enter UTT final

AGENCIESMEXICO CITY, 9 AUGUST

Mexico City has signed a dealwith the International Motor-ing Federation (FIA) to con-tinue hosting a Formula Onerace through 2022, aftermonths of uncertainty aboutthe future of the MexicanGrand Prix. The governmentof Mexican President AndresManuel Lopez Obrador, aleftist austerity crusader, hadbalked at shelling out tens ofmillions of dollars to renewits hosting rights for the race.Under the new contract, nogovernment money will bespent, officials said on Thurs-day. “This is an investment withnew rules, for the benefit ofthe city. We are seeking a newformula so that F1 can stay,without the need for publicresources,” Mexico City MayorClaudia Sheinbaum told apress conference. AlejandroSoberon, chief executive of thecompany that operates theMexican F1 race, CIE, said pri-vate investment and “newfinancing models” would beused to put on the 2020 to 2022editions of the event. Officialsdid not say who the investorswere. Mexican newspaperMilenio said they included tele-coms billionaire Carlos SlimMexico's richest man andcompanies such as Coca-Cola, Heineken andCitibanamex.

Mexico Citysigns dealwith F1

AGENCIESMADRID, 9 AUGUST

Real Madrid will rival Barcelonain the race to sign Paris Saint-Germain striker Neymar (inphoto)this summer, accordingto reports in the Spanish presson Friday.

Madrid have shifted focusto Neymar after the close of theEnglish Premier League's trans-fer window on Thursday endedtheir hopes of signing Man-chester United midfielder PaulPogba.

According to Marca, Ney-mar has “returned to the scene”with the club “believing for sometime that the team is lacking abig star up front”.

Sports newspaper AS claimsthe Brazilian has been offeredto Madrid by PSG, who are opento selling if they can eitherrecoup the 222 million eurosthey spent on him in 2017 orreceive half that amount, withplayers included in the deal.

It means La Liga's two great-est rivals are set to go head-to-head in the battle to sign Ney-mar before the Spanish trans-fer window closes on Septem-ber 2. Barcelona newspaperMundo Deportivo says the 27-

year-old will wait until August20 for Barcelona to make a deci-sive move, after which “PSG'snumber 10 does not rule outany option in order to leave theFrench champions, where it isclear he does not want to stayany longer.”

But Mundo adds that “it isclear Neymar wants to play forBarcelona” while Diario Sportagrees, writing that “the win-ning card Barca continues tohold is the will of the striker torunite with players like Leo Messiand Luis Suarez. With them hehas a great understanding onthe pitch and also a strongfriendship off it.”

Marca believes Madrid alsohave factors in their favour. “Ney-

mar's priority is not to go toBarcelona. His priority is to leavethe PSG,” wrote Marca, also cit-ing their “magnificent rela-tionship” with PSG, “quite theopposite” of how the French clubview Barcelona.

Luka Modric is mentionedas a possible makeweight whilePhilippe Coutinho, who report-edly rejected an offer from Tot-tenham this week, could beincluded in an offer fromBarcelona.

Sport admits whicheverteam signs Neymar will “inflicta blow on their rivals by snatch-ing a star player from the other'sgrasp”. “From now on, it will beNeymar that decides,” Sportadded.

Real Madrid go head-to-head with Barca for Neymar

AGENCIESROME, 9 AUGUST

Romelu Lukaku (in photo)saidon Friday that having thechance to play for AntonioConte drove him to join InterMilan, hailing the Italian asthe world's best coach afterarriving from ManchesterUnited.

Asked by club media howthe arrival of former Italyboss Conte at Inter this sum-mer had influenced his deci-sion to move to Serie A, hereplied “a lot... he's the bestmanager in the world” “He'ssomebody that can makeplayers better all the time. Youcan see his record,” saidLukaku.

Conte has been a long-timeadmirer of Lukaku and triedto sign him for Chelsea beforethe Belgian's move from Ever-ton to United in 2017.

The 26-year-old complet-ed his long-awaited move toInter on Thursday, joining aclub with ambitions of break-ing fierce rival Juventus' stran-glehold on domestic hon-ours. Belgium's all-time topscorer with 48 goals, he willbe at the centre of Inter'sattack, taking the number 9shirt away from former clubcaptain Mauro Icardi afterthe Argentina internationalwas frozen out last season fol-lowing a bitter and publiccontract row.

He hadn't played a singleminute in United's pre-sea-son campaign after beingsidelined by Ole Gunnar Sol-skjaer despite scoring 42 timesin all competitions while atOld Trafford.

“I think Inter is a club witha lot of upsides. I think for meit was something I needed,”Lukaku said.

“I needed a challengewhere I could help a team buildfor the future. For me, every-thing is present here to helpme and I wish I can help myteammates with my hardwork dedication to the game.”

Milan-based Gazzetta DelloSport reports that he will earn8.5 million euros a season atInter, and claims that Inter will

pay United an initial 65 mil-lion euros ($73 million) overfive years with a further 10 mil-lion in potential add-ons,contrasting with reports inBritain that the Premier Leagueclub brought in 80 millioneuros. They have strengtheneda squad that finished fourthin Serie A last season by sign-ing veteran Uruguayan inter-national defender Diego Godinand promising midfielderNicolo Barella.

Inter are also reportedlyclose to bringing in EdinDzeko, with the Bosnian inter-national pushing for the moveaway from the Italian capitaland Roma trying to retainhim after failing to find an ade-quate replacement.

Lukaku hails 'world's best'Conte after Inter move


Postal Reg. No. DL (ND)-II/6088/2018/-19-20www.thestatesman.comFor more updates

Printed and published by SHIVAJI SAMADDAR for THE STATESMAN LTD, Statesman House, 148 Barakhamba Road, New Delhi ��Editor: RAVINDRA KUMAR ��Executive Editor: USHA MAHADEVAN ��Printed at Vibha Publication Pvt Ltd, D-160 B, Sector 7, NOIDA 201301 (UP). ��The Statesman Ltd. RNB REG. No. M-8905,RNI No. 507/57

�IPL IS HELPFUL� Senior New Zealand player Ross Taylor has said that players from hiscountry have benefited immensely by rubbing shoulders with thebest players in world cricket and "picking the brains" in the IndianPremier League (IPL). "I have been fortunate to play for a few teams

(in the IPL) and play with great players. I think, there has been anaura around Australia, South Africa and a few of these teams. I think

IPL helped New Zealand cricket sort of bridge that gap a little bit(between players)," Taylor told PTI from Colombo in a special inter-

action. "Players who have played over there and (who will play in)years to come will benefit by rubbing shoulders with best playersin the world," elaborated Taylor.

Lanka recall Chandimal for

New Zealand Test squad: Sri

Lanka on Friday recalled for-

mer skipper Dinesh Chandi-

mal to the 15-member

squad for the first Test

against New Zealand, end-

ing a six-month exile for the

wicketkeeper-batsman. The

29-year-old was dropped

after a poor series against

Australia and missed the

South African tour of Sri

Lanka which the home side

won 2-0. Sri Lanka also

recalled Akila Dananjaya

who had been suspended

from international cricket

over a suspect bowling

action. He returns after

remodelling his action. The

first Test against New

Zealand starts Wednesday

at Galle. No squad has been

named yet for the second

Test starting August 22 in

Colombo. New Zealand will

also play T20s on August

31, September 2 and Sep-

tember 6 during their tour.

Legendary Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne hasbeen appointed as coachof Lord's-based Londonteam for next year's Hun-dred competition.

BCCI finally comes under NADAPTINEW DELHI, 9 AUGUST

Ending years of defi-ance, Indian cricket'sgoverning body, theBCCI, on Friday agreed

to come under the ambit ofthe National Anti-DopingAgency (NADA), becoming aNational Sports Federation inthe process despite beingfinancially autonomous.

Sports Secretary Rad-heshyam Jhulaniya, who alongwith NADA DG Navin Agar-wal met BCCI CEO RahulJohri (in photo)along with theBoard's GM (Cricket Opera-tions) Saba Karim here on Fri-day, said that the Board hasgiven in writing that it wouldadhere to the anti-dopingpolicy of NADA.

“All cricketers will now betested by NADA,” Jhulaniyasaid.

The implication of thisdevelopment is expected tobe massive as BCCI nowbecomes a designated NSF andwill face a more pressure tocome under the Right ToInformation (RTI) Act as pergovernment norms.

“The BCCI raised threeissues before us about the qual-ity of the dope testing kits, com-petence of pathologists andsample collection. We assuredthem that whatever facilitiesthey want, we will provide butthere will be some charge forit. But that higher facility willbe equal for all NSFs. BCCI isno different from others. Theyhave to follow the law of theland,” Jhulaniya said.

“The BCCI will agree to the

law of the land,” said Johri,adding, “We have raised quitea few issues which the sportsSecretary said will be addressedby them. We have agreed tobear the differential cost of highquality testing.”

The BCCI had been vehe-mently opposed to signing upwith NADA, claiming that itis an autonomous body, nota National Sports Federationand does not rely on govern-ment funding. The primaryconcern was the contentious'Whereabouts Clause' withregards to Out of CompetitionTesting, something that all starIndia players have been waryof as they considered it an inva-sion of their privacy.

The 'Whereabouts Clause'requires every athlete to fill upa declaration form whereinhe/she would have to men-tion three specific dates in ayear when they are not com-peting but are available forNADA's Dope Control Officer(DCO) for sample collection.

If any athlete fails to appearon all the specified dates, itinvites sanctions for breach

of the World Anti-dopingAgency (WADA) Code. The pre-mier example of this is WestIndies' all-rounder AndreRussell who was banned forone year by the JamaicanAnti-Doping Agency.

Till date, Sweden-basedInternational Dope TestingManagement (IDTM) hasbeen collecting the samplesand submitting them to theNational Dope Testing Lab-oratory (NDTL).

“IDTM IS no longer theauthorised agency,” Jhulaniyaasserted.

Earlier, the sports min-istry has steadfastly main-tained that the BCCI had tocome under the NADA ambit.

It recently held back clear-ances for the tours by SouthAfrica A and women's teamsand it was speculated that thiswas done to pressurise theBCCI into accepting anti-doping norms. The moveseems to have worked as Johriconfirmed that the cricketboard has now got clearancefor the A as well as the women'sseries after having waited for

close to six months.“We have received the

clearance,” Johri said.BCCI's fresh stance makes

it clear that Johri got the goahead from the SupremeCourt-appointed Commit-tee of Administrators (CoA),headed by Vinod Rai, to signthe agreement on dotted lines.

Earlier in March, the BCCIhad agreed to get into a con-ditional tri-partite agreementwith NADA and ICC. Jhu-laniya had, however, made itclear that the Board cannotsign any agreement with a gov-ernment body without theministry's consent.

NADA hadn't signed thatprevious agreement in whichthe BCCI stated that their“chaperons” will collect thesamples instead of NADA'sdesignated DCOs. The Boardsaid it didn't trust NADADCOs “due to stories of goof-ups that consistently appear”.

With the BCCI officially

coming under the NADAambit, the possibility of agree-ing to RTI is becoming moreand more real even thoughJohri sidestepped the query.

“The RTI issue is a differ-ent subject altogether. It wasnot in today's meeting agen-da,” Johri said.

NADA will test cricketerswhenever and whereverthey want: Sports secretary

The National Anti-DopingAgency will carry out tests oncricketers “whenever andwherever they want”, SportsSecretary Radheshyam Jhu-laniya said on Friday, assert-ing that the BCCI had nooption but to abide by the lawof the land. Ending years ofdefiance, the Indian crick-et's governing body has final-ly agreed to come under theambit of NADA, in the processbecoming a National SportsFederation despite being

financially autonomous.Till date, Sweden-based

International Dope TestingManagement (IDTM) hasbeen collecting the crick-eters' samples and submittingthem to the National DopeTesting Laboratory (NDTL).

“IDTM was an outsideagency hired by BCCI to takesamples. Now that agencywill be NADA. I explained toBCCI you don't have a dis-cretion to abide by law ornot. The law applies to every-one equally,” Jhulaniya saidafter the landmark develop-ment following a meetingwith the BCCI officials.

“Every federation is on thesame footing for enforce-ment of law. You don't haveto sign an agreement. We cat-egorically told them no MOUis required as law is applica-ble to everyone.”

The primary concern of theBoard was the contentious'Whereabouts Clause' withregards to Out of CompetitionTesting, something that all starIndia players have been waryof as they considered it an inva-sion of their privacy. On that,the top sports ministry offi-cial said, “Yes, NADA willcarry out the test wheneverand wherever they want.World Anti-Doping Agency(WADA) clause 5.2 gives theauthority to the national anti-doping agency to carry alltesting in its territory irre-spective of the athletes' coun-try. “All athletes irrespectiveof their country of origin orcountry of citizenship comeunder the jurisdiction of thenational anti doping agency,

that's the WADA's charterand we are a partner.”

The sports ministry hassteadfastly maintained that thecountry's richest sports bodyhad to come under NADA'sambit.

“BCCI have conveyed to usthey will abide by Indian law,rules and regulations andrespect the Government ofIndia's jurisdiction. Their firstconcern was the quality of thedope testing kits. We assuredthem the kits we are using areof international quality --WADA-approved kits.” “Thesecond issue was regarding thecompetence of pathologistsand sample collecting officers.We assured them our dopecontrol officers are well trainedbut if you require higher a high-er qualification then we haveno issues to enlist those butthey will be at a higher fee.

“This facility will not be justfor BCCI but all federations.”

The BCCI's concerns didnot end there. The third issuethey have was the timely deci-sion of cases. We explained tothem the WADA rules andcharter and clarified to themthat there is a three-monthwindow and 90 percent of thecases are being decided with-in that. If the athlete or his/heradvocate is not asking fortime, we are deciding thecase in less than 90 days,which is the mandated time.”The ministry recently held backclearances for the tours bySouth Africa A and women'steams and it was speculatedthat this was done to pressurisethe BCCI into accepting anti-doping norms.

Rain washes out first India-West Indies ODI PTIPROVIDENCE, 9 AUGUST

Rain played spoilsport as thefirst One-Day Internationalbetween India and the WestIndies was called off after thehome side scored 54 for onein 13 overs here.

The stop-start match,which was reduced to 34-over-a-side, was abandonedafter a second rain interrup-tion. After waiting for morethan an hour and a half, theumpires were forced to call offthe match on Thursday.

Opener Evin Lewis andShai Hope were batting on 40and 6 respectively when thematch was called off afterIndian captain Virat Kohliwon the toss and asked theWest Indies to bat.

The other opener ChrisGayle was out in the 11thover after scoring 4 off 31deliveries in an agonisinglyslow knock. He had comeinto the match 12 runs shortof Brian Lara's 10,405 ODIruns, the most by a WestIndies batsman.

The match was already

reduced to 43-over-a sidecontest even before a ballwas bowled as wet outfield dueto rains had forced the tossto be delayed. The matchbegan two hours later fromits scheduled start.

West Indies made a quietstart with Bhubaneswar Kumarand Mohammed Shamiexploiting the conditions wellto tie down Gayle and Lewisbefore the first rain inter-

ruption.India did not take the DRS

when Lewis looked plumbedin front of wicket in the fourthover off Shami's bowling.Replays showed the ball wouldhave gone on to hit the legstump but India did not optfor a review. Lewis was on 1then.

The home side had scored9 for no loss in 5.4 overs at thefirst rain break. The match was

about to be resumed 30 min-utes later but wet area nearthe bowlers' run-up led toanother delay of more thanhalf an hour.

The Indian fielders and thetwo West Indies batsmen --Gayle and Lewis -- came outto the ground but Kohli wasseen having a discussion withthe umpires.

Play did not start imme-diately as the umpires reck-

oned the ground staff needmore time to get it ready.Kohli and some other Indianplayers were seen shakingtheir legs for a while, movingto the tunes of the DJ at thevenue.

The players later walked offthe field and the ground staffwere seen spraying a lot of saw-dust on the wet areas.

The umpires made anoth-er inspection and after morethan an hour's interruption,the match resumed for a 34-over-a-side affair.

Gayle and Lewis picked upsteam after the long inter-ruption. Lewis hit KhaleelAhmed for 15 runs with a sixand two fours in the eighth overbut the introduction of wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav putsome brakes on West Indianbatsmen.

Kuldeep gave India thebreakthrough as he dismisseddangerman Gayle whodragged the ball onto hisstumps. Hope came in twoovers later, but rains alsocame back to force the play-ers to the dressing room onceagain.

Archer in line for Test debutas England drop MoeenAGENCIESLONDON, 9 AUGUST

World Cup-winner JofraArcher is in line to make hiseagerly-awaited Test debutafter being included in Eng-land's 12-man squad for nextweek's second Ashes Testagainst Australia at Lord's,while Moeen Ali was left outon Friday.

Fast bowler Archer couldreplace James Anderson afterEngland's all-time leadingwicket-taker was ruled outwith a calf injury that restrict-ed him to sending down justfour overs in a 251-run first-Test defeat by Ashes holdersAustralia at Edgbaston.

Archer missed that matchbecause of a side problem buthas since proved his fitnessin a second-team fixture forcounty side Sussex againstGloucestershire, taking 6-27and hitting a quick-fire cen-tury.

England also have anoth-er seam-bowling option inSurrey left-armer Sam Cur-ran.

Fast bowler Olly Stone,who was in the squad for thefirst Test but did not play, hasbeen ruled out with a backinjury.

Meanwhile, off-spinnerMoeen has been dropped,with left-armer Jack Leachrecalled into the squad aheadof Wednesday's start at Lord's.Moeen was omitted after amiserable match at Edgbas-ton.

The 32-year-old all-rounder only managedreturns of 1-42 and 2-130 withthe ball, while scoring just fourruns in the match -- includ-ing a first-innings duck.

His second-innings bowl-ing display was particularlyconcerning, with Moeenoffering neither control or per-sistent wicket-taking on awearing pitch favouring spin-ners and even bowling acouple of head-high beam-ers. And both times he bat-ted he was dismissed by Aus-tralia off-spinner NathanLyon, who has now claimedMoeen's wicket nine timesin 11 innings.

Solozano, King lead WestIndies A fight against India APTITAROUBA (TRINIDAD ANDTOBAGO), 9 AUGUST

Showing a stomach for fight,Jeremy Solozano and Barn-don King hit resolute half-cen-turies for West Indies as thethird unofficial Test againstIndia A headed for a draw onthe final day, here.

Chasing an improbable373-run target, West Indieswere 179 for two in the sec-ond session of the day withSolozano (63 batting) andSunil Ambris (10) at thecrease.

The hosts, who started at37 for none, lost MontcinHodge (25) when ShahbazNadeem had him caught byskipper Hanuma Vihari butnot before he added 68 runsfor the opening wicket withSolozano.

Next man in King ensuredthat Indian bowlers contin-ued to toil as he added 99 runsfor the second wicket withSolozano.

Again it was Nadeem whoprovided the breakthrough

by clean bowling King.With just under two ses-

sions remaining in the match,a result other than a draw isnot likely to emerge, con-sidering that the hosts are bat-ting well. Barring a batting col-lapse, the two teams willshare the honours.

On the third day of thegame, Shubman Gill becamethe youngest Indian cricketerto score a first-class doublecentury and combined withVihari to put India A in thedriver's seat.

The 19-year-old Gill, seenas the next big thing in Indi-an cricket, scored an unbeat-en 204 off 250 deliveries tobreak former India openerGautam Gambhir's record.

Gambhir was 20 when henotched up 218 for IndiaBoard President's XI againstthe Zimbabweans in a tourmatch in 2002.

India A resumed at anovernight score of 23 forthree, and Gill, starting at 2,reached his century at thestroke of lunch. His overnightpartner Shahbaz Nadeem

fell for 13, after resuming onfive, early in the day.

Captain Vihari (118 notout) then joined Gill in themiddle and the two resur-rected the Indian inningsafter a top-order collapse. Theduo produced an unbeaten315-run stand for the fifthwicket before India A declaredon 365 for 4 soon after Gillscored his double ton.

Gill bounced back strong-ly from his a first-ball duckin the first innings, and hisunbeaten knock of 204 waslaced with 19 fours and twosixes, with a strike rate of 82.25.

While Vihari, who hadearlier bailed out India in thefirst innings with a half cen-tury, continued in the samevein, hitting 10 boundariesand a maximum.Brief Scores:

India A: 201 and 365/4din 90 overs (Shubman Gill 204not out, Hanuma Vihari 118not out, Chemar K Holder2/88) West Indies A: 194and 179/2 in 60 overs (B King77, J Solozano 61 batting; SNadeem 2/57).

Zimbabwe boardreinstatedHARARE, 9 AUGUST

The Zimbabwe cricket boardhas been reinstated by a gov-ernment body but the coun-try remains suspended bythe International CricketCouncil because of outsideinterference.

Zimbabwe Cricket's lead-ership under chairmanTavengwa Mukuhlani will beallowed to return to their jobsafter a court settlement wasreached on Thursday withthe government-appointedSports and Recreation Com-mission. The SRC suspendedthe entire board in June,alleging corruption andelection irregularities. Thatled to the ICC suspendingZimbabwe from interna-tional competition for gov-ernment interference.

The ICC said it will onlyreconsider Zimbabwe's sus-pension at a meeting inOctober. The ban has comeat a high price for Zimbab-we's team, which has lostits place at the Twenty20World Cup qualifying com-petition. AGENCIES

BCCI under NADA: Prithvi dope case handling,CoA's decision questioned by BCCI membersPTINEW DELHI, 9 AUGUST

The “poor handling” of PrithviShaw's failed dope test andthe Committee of Adminis-trators “overstepping theirbrief” while taking a policydecision are the reasons whythe BCCI has been forced tocome under the NationalAnti-Doping Agency, seniorBoard members said on Fri-day.

With BCCI CEO RahulJohri agreeing to sign theagreement, the country'srichest sports body becamea NADA signatory and also adesignated National SportsFederation. Senior BCCImembers feel that the “deci-sion to buckle under gov-ernment pressure” may leadto the Board losing its auton-omy despite being finan-cially independent.

“The CEO (Rahul Johri) orthe COA has no authority totake any such policy decisionwhich is the prerogative of thegoverning body of the BCCI.They may write any sort of let-

ter as they are running theadministration and mayimplement an irregular deci-sion. But that does not makeit regular decision with author-ity,” a furious senior BCCI offi-cial told PTI on condition ofanonymity.

He accused the CEO of“taking the government fora ride”.

“Unfortunate that the CEOhas taken the Indian gov-ernment for a ride in order tohide his own failings,” headded.

A former working com-mittee member feels that themanner in which Shaw's casewas handled was like playinginto the sports ministry andNADA's hands. Shaw wasretrospectively banned foreight months after testingpositive for terbutaline.

“To keep NADA at bay, yourown system needed to berobust. Instead what did wesee? We saw that Shaw wasallowed to play IPL even aftera failed dope test. And onceeverything was on paper, hewas using NCA facilities.

“You don't call that com-petence. And now, WADAmay just close in as theymight want to reopen thecase with NADA gaining con-trol,” the senior state associ-ation official said.

A former BCCI legal com-mittee member feels thatCoA should have not bowedto the sports ministry's“strong-arm tactics”. Theministry kept the visa assis-tance letters of South AfricaA and women's teams for anupcoming tour of India onhold.

“This was not exactly CoAsdomain. They were supposedto run the administration. Apolicy decision should havebeen taken once the gener-al body took over after the elec-tions.

“I find Mr (Vinod) Rai tobe a sensible man but is hegetting sound advice frompeople like GM (Cricket Oper-ations) and the legal team? Ifan agreement is signed, it can'tbe revoked even after nor-malcy returns in BCCI,” themember questioned.

Sports Secretary Radheshyam Jhulaniya, whoalong with NADA DG Navin Agarwal met BCCICEO Rahul Johri along with the Board's GM(Cricket Operations) Saba Karim here on Fri-day, said that the Board has given in writingthat it would adhere to the anti-doping policyof NADA. The implication of this developmentis expected to be massive as BCCI nowbecomes a designated NSF and will face amore pressure to come under the Right ToInformation (RTI) Act as per governmentnorms.


Former New Zealand captainBrendon McCullum (inphoto) is returning to KolkataKnight Riders but this timein a coaching role after beingsigned by the IPL side asassistant coach, a mediareport has claimed.

McCullum, who retiredfrom all forms of competitivecricket recently, will alsotake over as the head coachof the Caribbean PremierLeague side Trinbago KnightRiders, according to ESPN-cricinfo.

Interestingly, he willreplace Simon Katich in boththe sides. With KKR he willbe associated as assistantcoach and at Trinbago KnightRiders he will replace the Aus-tralian as head coach. Thedasher from Canterbury hadretired from all forms ofinternational cricket in 2016but continued to ply histrade in various T20 leaguesacross the globe. The formerBlack Caps skipper has played

101 Test matches for NewZealand and scored 6453runs with a high score of302. He featured in 260 ODIsand amassed 6083 runs witha strike rate of 96.37.

KKR had announced thatthey were parting ways withJacques Kallis, their headcoach, and Katich. McCul-lum's association with KKRgoes back to the maidenseason when he set the stageon fire with a blistering 158-run unbeaten knock in thefirst ever match of IPL. Hewas an integral part of the KKRsquad for five seasons and alsoled them in the 2009 edition.

McCullum set to becomeKKR assistant coach

Kashmir curbs eased for Friday prayers - Bigo.sg

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