AVINASH DEEPAK PULIn MAHABUBNAGAR

With the Krishna River inspate since Saturday, severalvillages surrounding Juralaproject areas are facing sub-mergence due to heavy inflows.

Heavy inflows over the pastfew days from the upper reach-es of the riparian states ofMaharashtra and Karnatakaresulted in inundation or sub-mergence of several low-lyingareas in the region.

The Jurala project is receiv-ing inflows at the rate of morethan eight lakh cusecs and 61spillway gates were lifted inorder to release 8.3 lakh cusecsto the Srisailam project.Officials in the region alertedinhabitants of vulnerable vil-lages in the Krishna river basineven as flood waters weregushing.

Flood waters have inundat-ed Beerelli village in Gadwaldistrict, forcing many villagersto move to safer zones. TheShivalaya in Beechupalli villageof Itikyala Mandal is sub-merged. Inundation has affect-ed crops in several fields.

The famous Jogulamba tem-ple in Alampur, which was sub-merged during the 2009 floods,is once again facing threat.

Officials have advised scaredvillagers to vacate the villages

and join rehabilitation campsbeing set by the authorities.

Apart from Beerelli, severalother villages are hit, includingGondimalla, Mulamalla andKyathur. People in these vil-lagers are being asked to moveto safer destinations.

Observers say flood watershave inundated some parts forthe first time after a gap ofabout two decades, causingtension.

Beerelli residents said theyhad not been given any kind ofsupport subsequent to the exe-cution of the Jurala project. So,they demanded immediate res-cue operations in the region.

AP Irrigation Minister Anil Kumar Yadav and Telangana Education MinisterG Jagadish Reddy releasing water from Nagarjuna Sagar Project on Sunday

Water released fromNagarjuna SagarPNS n HYDERABAD

With the water level risingamid increasing inflows andwith no respite in sight duringthe coming days, additionalwater was released from theNagarjuna Sagar Project formeeting irrigation and otherneeds on Sunday.

AP Irrigation Minister AnilKumar Yadav and Telangana

Education Minister G JagadishReddy jointly released thewater, reflecting bonhomiebetween the Telugu states.

According to IrrigationDepartment data, NagarjunaSagar Project received morethan 3 lakh cusecs in the last24 hours as of Sunday morn-ing and the water level rose to532 ft.

Continued on Page 3

n Several villages, templessubmerged in Mahabubnagardistrict

n Alampur Jogulamba templefaces flood threat

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HYDERABADWEATHER

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated August 11, 2019 5:00 PM

ALMANACTODAY

Month & Paksham:Shravana & Shukla PakshaPanchangamTithi : Dwadashi 12:06 pmNakshatram: Purva Ashadha 2:52 am

(Next Day)Time to Avoid: (Bad time to start

any important work)Rahukalam: 07:36 am – 09:11 amYamagandam: 10:46 am – 12:21 amVarjyam: 11:12 am - 12:56 am

01:55 pm - 03:30 pmGulika: 01:55 pm - 03:30 pmGood Time: (to start any important work)Amritakalam: 09:39 pm - 11:23 pmAbhijit Muhurtham: 11:55 am - 12:46 pm

Forecast: Partly CloudyTemp: 31/22Humidity: 77%Sunrise: 05.58Sunset: 06.43

Krishna in spate, raisesspectre of 2009 floods

Over 8.50 lakh cusecs released from Jurala Water inflows reach dangerous level in Srisailam

PNS n HYDERABAD

Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao has saidthat the state government willsoon unveil a policy for devel-oping Telugu film industry. Hethen sprang a surprise, saying hehimself would produce a film ifit is going to be a classic direct-ed by 'Kalatapasvi' KVishwanath. KCR visited the acedirector and Dadasaheb Phalkeawardee "Kalatapasvi" KVishwanth at his residence inFilm Nagar here on Sunday.

The Chief Minister said thatthere was a lot scope for the filmindustry to develop further inHyderabad. The upcoming pol-icy would be framed to spur thegrowth of the industry.

KCR expressed his desirethat K Vishwanth, who hasdirected several classic Telugumovies highlighting values andculture, should make anotherclassic film which will be usefulto society. To cap it all, KCRoffered to produce the filmshould Vishwanath direct it.

K Viswanath, his wifeJayalakshmi, his sonRavindranath, daughter-in-lawGowri, director N Shankaraccorded a warm welcome tothe Chief Minister.

KCR felicitated Viswanathand his wife with shawls.Viswanath's family membersthen honoured the CM in likemanner.

PNS n KOLKATA

Chief Election CommissionerSunil Arora has said allega-tions of EVM tampering are"more than unfair" and madewith a "criminal intent".

The machines might mal-function occasionally, as doesthe equipment used for otherpurposes, but it cannot betampered with, Arora said atthe annual business conclaveat IIM-Calcutta on Saturday.

"Malfunctioning is very dif-ferent from tampering. Theelectronic voting machines(EVM) cannot be tinkeredwith. If you say otherwise, youhave a criminal intent, whichwe deeply resent," he main-tained.

Noting that two "highlyreputed" public firms havedesigned the EVMs, Arorasaid, "The EVMs were made ina secure environment and dis-tinguished emeritus profes-sors of reputed institutes havesupervised the entire process."

Arora was in the city toattend events organised bythe West Bengal NationalUniversity of Juridical Sciencesand IIM (Calcutta).

Pointing out that opposition

parties, including theTrinamool Congress (TMC)and the Congress, levelledcharges of EVM tinkeringonly after the declaration ofLok Sabha election results,the CEC said, "This is morethan unfair. When you losewhy make the machine a flog-ging object?

"The charges hurt theintegrity of the ElectionCommission (EC) and thoseinvolved in the process ofmaking the voting machines.EVMs cannot be tamperedwith, but they can malfunc-tion just like the equipmentused by you in everyday life,"he said.

West Bengal Chief Minister

Mamata Banerjee and a hostof other opposition leaders,including TDP's NChandrababu Naidu, FarooqAbdullah of the NationalConference and MaharashtraNavnirman Sena (MNS) pres-ident Raj Thackeray, haverepeatedly claimed thatElectronic Voting Machinescould be tampered with anddemanded a return to ballotpapers.

Talking about the roleplayed by the EC in conduct-ing polls, Arora said, "Electionis all about law andConstitution on one hand,and administration and man-agement on the other. Everyorgan has its own impor-tance."

Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao with ‘Kalatapasvi’ K Vishwanth at the latter’sresidence in Film Nagar on Sunday

PNS n SANGAREDDY

Three persons, includingtwo school-going students,were electrocuted in as manyseparate incidents in erst-while Medak district onSunday.

A Class IX student waselectrocuted when he camein contact with electric wiresat Islampur village ofToopran Mandal. Thedeceased, identified as AkulaPrem Sai (14), was carryinga wire, which accidentallycame in contact with livewires in his agriculturefields.

In Siddipet district, a 54-year-old farmer was electro-cuted when he came in con-tact with a live electric wirewhile cutting grass for cattleat his field at Dharmajipetvillage of Dubbak Mandal.The deceased was identi-fied as Yerrolla Nagaiah.

In another incident, aClass VIII student, Nithin(13), was electrocuted atTalelama village of Andolemandal on Sunday when heaccidentally touched a livewire at home. Separate caseswere registered at the policestations concerned.

Two studentsamong threeelectrocuted

PNS n NEW DELHI

People in the Kashmir Valleywill be allowed to offer prayersin mosques during Eid-ul-Azha on Monday and restric-tions on mobile and landlinephones will be lifted as earlyas possible, a top governmentofficial said on Sunday.

The top priority of thegovernment is to maintainpeace and prevent any casu-alty and mischief in Jammuand Kashmir.

The district administra-tions are constantly reviewingthe situation in Jammu andKashmir, and they will facil-itate people to offer prayers inmosques during Eid, the offi-cial told PTI, requestinganonymity.

Last Friday, people wereallowed to visit neighbor-hood mosques and offerprayers there. However, largegatherings were not allowedin any part of the Valley.

Asked about the restric-tions imposed on communi-cation links, the official saidthese were "temporary" mea-sures taken to maintain peaceand prevent circulation ofmisinformation andrumours.

People will beallowed tooffer prayers

WARANGAL: In a revoltingincident -- close on theheels of the much-publi-cised death penalty awardedon fast-track mode of justicehere to a youth for rape-murder of an infant -- aninth class girl was gang-raped by five persons inSammayyanagar area ofHanamkonda city onSunday. The victim latercommitted suicide by con-suming pesticide at herhome.

According to policesources, the girl was whiskedaway by the gang to the out-skirts of the city and molest-ed by them.

Continued on Page 4

Minor girlgang-raped,kills self

CHENNAI: Union HomeMinister Amit Shah onSunday asserted that removalof special status to Jammuand Kashmir under Article370 of the Constitution willput an end to terrorism andlead to progress of theregion. Speaking at thelaunch of a book on VicePresident M Venkiah Naidu'stwo years in office here,Shah said he firmly believedArt 370 that gave the specialstatus to Jammu andKashmir should be removedas it was not beneficial to thecountry.

"I was firm that Article 370should be removed.... after(scrapping) Article 370, ter-rorism in Kashmir will endand it will progress on thepath of development," hesaid adding there was not aniota of confusion in his mindon what will happen post thepath-breaking move.

Art 370 willend terror inKashmir: Shah

NEW DELHI: A Delhi Policeconstable was robbed of hisservice pistol and left injuredafter being dragged for a fewmetres by a car in Rohini'sSector-20 allegedly when hewas chasing a murderaccused, officials said onSunday.

The constable, Kavinder,was on patrolling duty on theintervening night ofSaturday-Sunday when theincident took place, policesaid.

The murder accused, SonuDabas, who is a moneylender,and his accomplice Ashokwere arrested while a juvenile,who accompanied them, wasapprehended in connectionwith the incident, they said,adding that the pistol was alsorecovered.

Delhi policeconstabledragged by car

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Central Board ofSecondary Education (CBSE)has increased the fees of Class10 and 12 board examinationsfor SC and ST students fromRs 50 to Rs 1,200, while theamount has been doubled forthose from the general cate-gory, who will now haveto pay Rs 1,500.

The studentsappearing for theClass 10 board examsare registered for itwhen in Class 9, andthose appearing for Class12 are registered when inClass 11. The board notifiedthe changes in the fees lastweek and has asked theschools who had alreadybegun the registration processand charged students as perthe old fee structure, to now

collect the difference inamount.

According to the revisednorms, the Scheduled Casteand Scheduled Tribe studentswill have to pay Rs 1,200 forfive subjects, while earlier theywere supposed to pay Rs 50 forthe same, a hike of 24 times.The general category students

who were paying Rs 750earlier, will now pay Rs1,500 for five sub-jects.

"The fees is applic-able for both Class 10

and 12 examinations," asenior CBSE official said.

For appearing for an addi-tional subject in Class 12board examination, the SCand ST students who were ear-lier not supposed to pay anyextra fee, will now have to payRs 300.

Continued on Page 3

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Centre will be in directcontrol of law and order andpolice in the Union Territory ofJammu and Kashmir throughthe Lieutenant Governor (L-G),while land will be a subjectunder the elected governmentthere, officials said on Sunday.

President Ram Nath Kovindon Friday gave assent to a leg-islation for bifurcation ofJammu and Kashmir underwhich two Union Territories -- Jammu and Kashmir, andLadakh -- will come into exis-tence on October 31.

Land -- the rights in or overit -- will be with the electedgovernment of the UnionTerritory of Jammu andKashmir, unlike in Delhiwhere the L-G exercises con-trol through the DelhiDevelopment Authority(DDA), a central governmententity.The UT of Jammu andKashmir will have aLieutenant Governor and themaximum strength of itsassembly will be 107, whichwill be enhanced to 114 aftera delimitation exercise.Twenty-four seats of theAssembly will continue to

remain vacant as they fallunder PoK. As per J&KReorganisation Act, 2019, theLegislative Assembly of the UTof J&K may make laws for thewhole or any part of the unionterritory with respect to any ofthe matters enumerated inthe state list of theConstitution except the sub-jects mentioned in entries oneand two -- 'public order' and'police' respectively -- or theConcurrent List in the SeventhSchedule of the Constitution.

The UT of Jammu andKashmir will have aLieutenant Governorand the maximumstrength of itsassembly will be 107,which will be enhancedto 114 after adelimitation exercise

Hefty hikes in CBSEboard exam fees

Police to be underCentre in UT of J-K

KCR to script growth ofTelugu film industry

L VENKAT RAM REDDYn HYDERABAD

With the Bharatiya JanataParty's central and state unitsgoing ballistic to position thesaffron party as the only alter-native political force inTelangana that can take on theTelangana Rashtra Samiti, TRSsupremo and Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao is under-stood to have crafted a counterstrategy to check the growth ofBJP in Telangana.

Central to this strategy is thedecision to not have any truckwith the Majlis-e-IttehaulMuslimeen (MIM) for theupcoming municipal polls.

According to sources, KCRand his son KTR, who is theworking president of TRS, areyet to get over the devastatingdefeat of Kalvakuntla Kavithaand B Vinod Kumar at thehands of BJP in Nizamabad andKarimangar Lok Sabha seatsrespectively in the GeneralElection held in May.

Rubbing salt into thesewounds, the BJP is going over-board to expand its base inTelangana by luring party lead-ers and cadre from other par-ties. BJP's hubris stems from itssignificant performance in theGeneral Election. For, the BJPbagged four Lok Sabha seats,thus relegating Congress --principal opposition inTelangana-- to the third place,as the grand old party won threeLS seats.

The post-mortem that KCRand company did on the LSresults revealed that BJP couldwin four Lok Sabha seats main-ly due to polarisation of votescaused by the unseemly friend-ship between TRS and MIM.For, it created an impressionthat both TRS and MIM are oneand the same and that they areup to 'minority appeasement'politics.

So, KCR wants TRS andMIM to contest the upcoming

municipal polls separately. Thiswill ensure that BJP gets nochance to polarise voters by pro-jecting "TRS-MIM friendship".

Furthermore, it is felt in thepink party's inner circles thatthe recent developments inKashmir have boosted theimages of BJP and PrimeMinister Narendra Modi acrossthe country, with Telanganabeing no exception.

The writing on the wall is thatthe leadership of the BJP, at cen-tral and state levels, is going tobank heavily on politicalmileage that the saffron partycan draw from the "Kashmirissue", to polarise voters duringthe upcoming municipal polls.

BJP top guns Amit Shah andJP Nadda are going to addresshuge public meetings in TS overthe next one week, reflecting theBJP's political ambitions in thestate. The two leaders are com-ing mainly to attack the TRSgovernment for not celebratingthe "Telangana Liberation Day"officially on September 17. The

BJP is going to project the lackof official celebration as the con-sequence of TRS' friendshipwith MIM. This will openanother window to polarisevoters.

The TRS had been support-ing BJP on all important deci-sions and pieces of legislationmade at national-level of late.Further, the pink party did nothurt MIM on any issue.

So, KCR's counter strategy isaimed at giving 'issue-basedsupport' to either BJP or MIMin the next four years and to seeto it that both the parties do nottake TRS for granted.

In the just-concludedParliament session, TRS backedBJP by either voting for the Billsor facilitating their approval bystaging a walk-out. TRS notonly openly supported BJP onthe scrapping of Article 370, butalso staged a walk-out from theRajya Sabha during voting onthe Bill to criminalise tripletalaq, thus helping the govern-ment to have a smooth sailing.

n TRS won't havepact with MIM formunicipal polls;they will contestseparately

n Pink party toblockpolarisation ofvotes by saffronparty

n TRS hadunderstaningwith MIM inAssembly andLok Sabha polls

KCR chalking out strategy to counter BJP expansion

Mutual admirationDuring the meeting, inter-

esting discussions tookplace on films, Telugu lan-guage and literature, with theCM and Viswanath inter-acting for about half an hour.

"I am your fan. I haveloved your films since mychildhood. I saw each andevery film that you havemade. I watchedShankarabharanam filmabout 25 times. I saw yourfilm repeatedly. Every time Iwatched your film I felt likemeeting you personally. Mydesire has been fulfilledtoday. Each film that youmake is like a poem. Youmake films with dedicationand like tapasya. Every

department, whether it isselecting the actors, dia-logues, language that used,every scene, songs, picturi-sation, art excel in all aspects.Your films can be watched bythe entire family sittingtogether. This is preciselythe reason why I watch yourfilms even today whenever Ifind the time. My affectiontowards you has brought mehere.

Continued on Page 4

n KCR meets "Kalatapasvi" KVishwanath

n Offers to produce a classicfilm, if Vishwanath directs

"The EVMs were madein a secure environment

and distinguished emeritusprofessors of reputedinstitutes have supervised theentire process."

— SUNIL ARORAChief Election Commissioner

Allegations of EVM tamperingmade with criminal intent: CEC

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HYDERABAD | MONDAY | AUGUST 12, 2019 hyderabad 02

Every once in a while, publicrepresentatives happen to pre-sent their humane side that

comes as a welcome relief and isremembered fondly. Recently dur-ing heavy rains in Nalgonda dis-trict, minister GuntakandlaJagadeeshwar Reddy personallyhelped out two youths stuck insidetheir vehicle on a highway in themiddle of nowhere. The ministerwas himself travelling in a convoyon the highway near Suryapetwhen he saw a car upturned andtwo men inside struggling to getout. They were not injured luckily.He stopped his car and helped theyouth get out safely and asked hisstaff in the convoy to escort the duoto their destination. Minister Reddyeven stayed back for about thirtyminutes to regulate the trafficwhich was affected due to theaccident. Then, last Friday local leg-islator of Nalgonda, KancharlaBhupal Reddy, was seen taking upa similar rescue act near Sarvaram

village in Thipparthi mandal. Whileon his way, the MLA saw 10 pas-sengers of an auto-rickshaw sufferinjuries after it met with an acci-dent. He took the injured personsto hospital for treatment in his ownvehicles, and stayed there till theywere given first-aid.

BJP eyes bigger turf

The PJP seems to be becomingthe primary opposition party to theTRS in the Karimnagar district withmany members of the ruling partyjumping onto the saffron band-wagon. Recent developments indi-cate the TRS knows this and is gear-ing to take the fight back and tell thepeople a thing or two about BJP'spurported 'failures'. BoyinapalliVinod Kumar -- former MP andnephew of Maharashtra GovernorCh Vidyasagar Rao -- is one of the

first from TRS to train guns on theBJP from these parts, particularlyafter ex-MP Gaddam Vivek joinedthe saffron party. Vinod Kumar wasKarimnagar MP when Telanganastatehood was realised in 2014, butlost to BJP's Bandi Sanjay in therecent parliamentary polls. With thescenario changed, the BJP senses theopportunity to weaken the TRS fur-ther. Vinod Kumar had had enoughof it and therefore went on theoffensive against the BJP to stem thetide in time.

Water-induced tourism

Jurala project turned into a touristspot yet again when inflows andoutflows from the project increasedowing to rains over the past oneweek. The site has seen a steady flowof enthusiastic tourists, which hasthrilled the locals. The Bheema,

Nettempadu, Kalwakurthi andKoyilsagar lift schemes also receivedgood inflows and are recharged withgood rains in the upper parts.Mahabubnagar, however, has notbeen so lucky. It has received lessrain in the form of drizzles and somost of the water in the region isfrom river inflows. The irrigationwing released water to downstreamand Minister Niranjan Reddy evenopened the spill gates of Srisailamproject to ease the situation forfarming. Rains and water in lift pro-jects are opening up the prospects

of boosting tourism at project sites.Locals have been over-eager andquick to seize the moment bycharging tourist vehicles a 'toll' tovisit scenic spots. This, however,didn't go down well with local leg-islators after tourists brought theactivity to their notice.

Pleasant change in weather

August started with heavy rainsin Telangana. Southern parts of thestate and capital Hyderabad, in par-ticular, witnessed incessant rains,resulting in both joy and agony forpeople. Krishna River is brimmingbecause of heavy rains inKarnataka. Srisailam and

Jurala projects have turned intotourist destinations for peoplewanting to see the magic of watergushing out of the dams' gates. Evenwaterfall sites in the state like

Bogatha, Umamaheshwarm andothers have been attracting visitorsin large numbers after the pleasantchange in the weather. Agriculturalactivity too has picked up pace.Suddenly, the drought-like condi-tions in Telangana have turned intobountiful rains and water.

Membership drive or poaching?

The BJP's state unit launched anambitious membership drive tostrengthen its base at the grassrootslevel. Select leaders, roped in by theleadership, laid out strategies todraw people to the party with thepromise of good governance in thecountry and Andhra Pradesh.While that is fair game, the party hasalso been poaching on disgruntledleaders from other parties in recenttimes. BJP members began negoti-

ating with TDP leaders who lost theelections recently. The same goes fortop leaders of Congress and JanaSena. Lately, there was talk of ex-CBI officer and Jana Sena man, VVLakshminarayana, joining the party.The former officer lost the electionsbut not his spirit for a battle. Aftercertain speculations did the rounds,he issued a statement saying:"Rumors are carried by haters,spread by fools, and accepted byidiots. Decide which category youbelong. I will be with Jana Sena tillthe president feels that I'm useful tothe party." However, stories aboundof Lakshminarayana being treatedlike an ordinary worker and madeto wait for hours to meet the partypresident.

(Contributed by Bakka Tennyson,

Ramakrishna Perala, Avinash Deepak Puli,

Deepthi Nandan, K Murali Prasad Patnaik

REPORTERS’

D ARY

SOFTER SIDE COMES TO FORE

J&K conundrum: Himalayan blunder rectifiedHC UPADHYAY n HYDERABAD

Last week proved to be histor-ical for the country as thelong-pending cancerous issueof Jammu and Kashmir gotresolved at one stoke. The peo-ple in general and of Jammuand Kashmir in particular areawestruck with this suddendevelopment, while the rest ofthe world is looking with batedbreath and astonishment atIndia.

The protagonists of theHimalayan State are obvious-ly beleaguered at the abruptending of the much-hypedissue of right of self-determi-nation of the J &K people. Sofar, most of the people all overthe world were made to believeby assiduous propaganda thatJ&K had nothing to do withrest of the country and it wasan independent entity.

Some educated, confusedand sycophantic voices areraising irrelevant questions of

legality and Constitutionalimpropriety. They convenient-ly forget that the Deed ofAccession signed by the erst-while ruler of J&K, Hari Singh,was unconditional andabsolute. Subsequently, the'temporarily' Article 370 wasinserted into the Constitutionof India at the behest of PanditJawaharlal Nehru much againstthe spirit of the Deed ofAccession and wish of thepeople of India, including J&K. Similarly, Article 35Ato was inserted subse-quently as a result ofthe arm-twisting tac-tics of some self-pro-claimed Muslimsleaders with anoblique view to ben-efit the latter and per-petuate their familyrule.

Therefore, there isno weight in the argu-ment that the people of J&Kdid not want the completemerger of their State with

India. On the other hand, withthe enactment of law recog-nising merger of the hitherto

neglected and isolated State,the first step towardsunification and integra-tion of that State has

been successfully taken.Further, therecannot beany compari-

son between carv-ing out a new state

and doing away withthe 'temporary'Constitutional provi-sion, called Article 370.Hence, there is no ques-tion of following the

procedure prescribed underthe Constitution for creating anew State.

Thus, the Himalayan blun-der committed seven decadesago has been undone. Indeed,this is the time for rejoicing,exultation and celebrations,notwithstanding the oppositionby vested interests within thecountry and breast-beating byPakistan. This is also the timefor the countrymen to standfirm and united like a rock andsend a strong message to theworld at large that India is andwill remain united forever.

HC FINDS PRIMA FACIECASE OF SEDITIONAGAINST TRIBALS

Justice RongonMukhopadhyay of theJharkhand High Court, whilerejecting to quash an FIR

against four tribals for alleged-ly posting seditious post onFacebook supporting 'Pathalgadi' movement,observed that it is a prima faciecase of sedition and waging waragainst India. ' Pathalgadi' is atribal tradition of erectingstone slabs to demarcate thearea of their village's jurisdic-tion.

The allegation against thepetitioners' was that they hadincited Munda tribals inKhunti village to attack policeon June 26, 2017. In the meleethat ensued, four police menposted as security guards of anMLA were abducted by vil-lagers.

FINALLY, SECRETRIATBUILDING TO BE DEMOLISHED

With the last-ditch efforts bythe petitioner in the PIL pleapending before the TelanganaHigh Court having failed, nowthe demolition of theSecretariat building is certain.

It will be razed in due course.Already the process of shiftingvarious departments has begunand is expected to be over in ashort period.

JUDGE WHO ORDEREDSTRIPPING OF A COPTRANSFERED

A 58-year old constable ofAgra police was allegedlyforced by a Judge to take off hiskhaki shirt, belt and beret,and stand in his courtroom forover half an hour. This hap-pened because the cop, whoworks as a driver, failed to givepass to the judge's car! After UPDGP tweeted in support of thecop and Agra SSP wrote to theRegistrar General of theAllahabad High Court, theJudge was transferred.

After the incident, thehumiliated constable, GhureLal, met Agra SSP and handedhim his resignation letter, seek-ing voluntary retirement citingtrauma of 'public humiliation"he suffered.

LEGALROUNDUP

Some educated, confused andsycophantic voices are raisingirrelevant questions of legality andconstitutional impropriety

Gold remainsbuoyant inhigher bracketsPNS n HYDERABAD

Although US President saidthat he was 'positive' about theoutcome of the next round oftalks with North Korean pre-mier, the markets were scepti-cal about the outcome of talksin view of the previous bitterexperience. Further, other con-tentious issues like Mexico,Iran and China too contributedtowards volatility in markets.The yellow metal like aTsunami breached all records oflast six years, so also the whitemetal which faithfully followedthe former. Therefore, goldremained buoyant in higherbrackets and closed at US $1,498.45 (per ounce) while sil-ver, followed suit and closed at$ 17.04 (per Ounce). Platinumand palladium also marchedforward and closed at $.864.51(per 10 gms) and $. 1,498.45(per 10 gms) respectively.

Other economic parameters,except Brent oil, moved north-ward. Brent closed at US$ 58.53(per barrel) while Crude oil wasquoted at Rs.3,892 (per barrel).Gold MCX stood at Rs.37,992(per 10 gms) and Silver MCX atRs.43,324 (per kg). Sensexand Nifty 50 closed at37,581.91 and 11109.65points respectively.Leading foreign cur-rencies' exchangerates were: US $:Rs.70.80, BritishPound: Rs.83.52, Euro :Rs. 79.52,Singapore $ :Rs.50.05, Canadian $: Rs.52.31,Swiss Franc : Rs.71.12, Australian$: Rs.47.02, Saudi Rial : Rs.18.10, Kuwaiti Dinar : Rs.225.38,Omani Rial : Rs. 177.63 and UAEDinar : Rs.18.53.

At home, due to higherprices, the trading was dull.However, both the yellow andwhite metals zoomed andclosed at phenomenally higherlevels as compared to the pre-vious week. Standard gold (24carats) appreciated by Rs.2,040and closed at Rs.37,500 (per 10gms). Ornamental gold too,moved up in tandem and wasquoted in the range of Rs.35,620- 35,720 on the closing day.

Silver (0.999), too, appreciatedby Rs.2,000 and closed atRs.43,300 (per kg).The senti-ment in gold and silver havingreached the peak levels is like-ly to cool down during a cou-ple of weeks from now.

COMMODITIES

The sentiment in principalwholesale commodity marketsin the twin cities was moderate.Rythu Bazars and the variouscommodity markets located inBegum Bazar, Kishangunj,Mukthyargunj, Risala Abdullah,Mir Alam Mandi,Dilsukhnagar, Kukatpally,Bowenpally, General Bazar wasfrom moderate to strong.

The inflow of supplies fromother states, particularlyMaharashtra, Kerala,Tamilnadu , Karnataka, Gujarat

and Madhya Pradesh, hasbeen obstructed due to

heavy rains and floodsituation in thesestates.

During the week,common pulsessuch as tuar dal,moong dal, uraddal and masoor

dal recorded a marginal appre-ciation, while staple food grainsand common edible oilsremained steady at the previousweek's closing levels.

The prices of common veg-etables eased further consid-erably during this week alsothanks to good rains in thevegetable growing areas.Common vegetables such ascabbage, cauliflower, ribbedguard, snake guard, lady fin-gers, cucumber, potatoes,onions, tomatoes and Frenchbeans, along with other leafyvegetables recorded a declinein prices in the range of 27 percent to 42 per cent.

The yellow metallike a Tsunamibreached allrecords of last sixyears, so also thewhite metal whichfaithfully followedthe former

WEEKLY MARKET REVIEW

WILL CONGRESS REGAIN LOST GLORY?PNS n HYDERABAD

Several senior leaders fromTelangana Congress expressedtheir happiness over theappointment of Sonia Gandhi asinterim chief of the party hop-ing that the party may regainlost sheen not only across thenation but also in Telangana.The party's condition inTelangana is worsening day byday with the defections and in-discipline activities. The partyfaced a major blow in Telanganawhen its 12 MLAs defected toTRS. Presently, party MLAfrom Munugodu KomatireddyRajagopal Reddy is in the queueto join BJP. Several DCC pres-

idents too are in line to join theBJP, it is learned.

Whether the appointment ofSonia Gandhi will stop thesedefections or not is a big ques-tion in Telangana. On the otherhand, the senior leaders, whowere themselves branding asCongress loyalists are hopingthat the party will regain lostsheen as Sonia took the reins ofthe party. But some leaders areexpressing doubts saying thathow the party will get its lostsheen in the States likeTelangana with the same lead-ership. One of the TPCC lead-ers on the condition ofanonymity said that changeswill take place only when

changes take place in stateleadership similar to AICC.

The party status is worseningfurther in Telangana with thepresent leadership, the leaderopined echoing the allegation ofCongress senior leader VHanumantha Rao.Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddytoo indulged in severe criticismagainst AICC as well as TPCCleadership making his plansopen clearly. Helashed out atTPCC leadershipsaying that theparty will notregain its lost sheenat any cost. He alsopraised the BJP leaders

Prime Minister Narendra Modiand Union Home MinisterAmit Shah. He also made itclear that BJP will come topower even in Telangana in thefuture.

The AICC leaders clearlyannounced that Sonia Gandhiwill restructure the party dur-ing her interim period as chiefof the party. TelanganaCongress senior leaders MarriShashidhar Reddy and others

too hoped that Sonia Gandhiwill do "thorough intro-spection and undertake acomplete overhaul anddetailed restructuring atall levels of the party" intune with the CWC. Several

second-grade leaders of theTPCC too aree x p e c t i n gchanges inthe TPCCto regainthe lostsheen ofthe partyin the

State.

n Some leaders expect Sonia's appointment to bring changes in Telangana Congress

Rahul strengthenedparty, says UttamPNS n HYDERABAD

TPCC Chief N Uttam KumarReddy has expressed his hap-piness over Sonia Gandhi'selection as AICC Chief onceagain. He said that the deci-sion of Congress WorkingCommittee (CWC) at thisjuncture is correct. Extendinggreetings to Sonia Gandhi,Uttam said that Sonia willsucceed in bringing back thelost sheen of the party. Soniahas special place in the heartsof Telugu people, he exhort-ed. He reminded that RahulGandhi took the reins of theparty when it was in criti-cal conditions. He praisedthat Rahul Gandhi's ser-vices to the party helped instrengthening it.

On Sunday, Uttam spoketo media at Delhi along

with several state party lead-ers. Taking serious exception

at Union Home MinisterAmit Shah's criti-

cism, Uttam

said that it was not proper toAmit Shah to say that thethen Centre passedTelangana Bill by closing thedoors of the Parliament.

He said "Amit Shah citedTelangana Bill for times whilespeaking on Kashmir Bill.Amit Shah said that the thengovernment accordedTelangana by closing thedoors of the Parliament. It isnot proper to the UnionHome Minister to say likethat. It is well known fact thatvoting will be taken up byclosing the doors of theHouse on every Bill.

T-Congress welcomes CWC decisionPNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana Congress leadershave welcomed the unanimousdecision of the CWC to nameSonia Gandhi as the interimpresident of the party. With theresignation of Rahul Gandhi asthe Congress president in May2019, owning the responsibil-ity for the defeat in the LokSabha elections, the partycadres were in a state of disar-

ray, they said. With the delay innaming an interim president ashis successor, they were gettingfurther restless. Now that thisimpasse has ended, the cadreswill gear up to make the partymore effective to face the chal-lenges, they said.

Telangana Congress seniorleaders Marri ShashidharReddy, S Chandrasekhar, MKodanda Reddy, G Niranjanand A Shyam Mohan have said

in a statement that win-ning and losing elec-tions is a part of thepolitics. But the mostimportant thing is tolearn from experiences.Rahul Gandhi subjectedhimself to the test ofaccountability andannounced his resignation,as a matter of principle, inthe CWC meeting on May25, 2019.

Will stop uraniummining project: VHPNS n HYDERABAD

Senior Congress leader VHanumantha Rao stated thathe would stand by the tribalsand see that the Governmentstops uranium mining pro-ject, which will not only causecancer and other diseases to thepeople but will also affect theTigers, which are hardly 12 to15 in this Reserve Tiger area.

On Sunday, VH along withAchampet former MLA Dr.Vamshi Krishna, PCC GeneralSecretary Bollu Kishan,Chenchu Tribal LeaderNagaiah, Youth CongressLeader SP Kranthi Kumar andlocal Congress leaders visitedthe Nallamalla forest inAmrabad Tiger Reserve areawhere state and central gov-ernments have permittedexploration of Uranium.

On this occasion, VH metChenchus and discussed var-ious issues with them. VHargued that Chief Minister KChandrashekhar Rao shouldrethink about the permissionsgiven to take-up Uraniumexplorations and immediate-ly stop the exploration of

Uranium and reminded thewords of KCR daughter KKavitha, who assured that noUranium mining explorations,will be done in this area. Hesaid Andhra Pradesh ChiefMinister YS JaganmohanReddy should also take up thismatter as this will also causehealth issues to the people ofOngole, Guntur, Krishna andother parts of Andhra Pradeshin future.

Chanchu community,which was around 12,000 hasnow come down to around6,000 people and is a matter ofworry, he said. On this occa-sion, VH discussed with theChenchu Tribal people aboutthe Uranium mining projectfor which the Chenchus werenot happy and worried as itwill harm their lives.

VH assured that he wouldstand by the Chenchus andtake up the issue with theMinistry of Environment,Forest and Atomic energy. Hesaid that he would also takeup this serious issue to thenotice of Congress presidentSonia Gandhi in the comingdays.

PNS n HYDERABAD

BJP national executive memberN Indrasena Reddy camedown heavily on TRS workingpresident KT Rama Rao. Hesaid the TRS working presidentspeaking about democracy andright to question is absolutelyridiculous.

"KTR is saying there is nospace for discussion and dis-sent in BJP's rule. This isabsolutely ridiculous to hearsuch comments from KTR,who represents a party whichdoes not allow oppositionparty MLAs to speak even inAssembly. TRS governmenthas been completely unde-mocratic and run in a dicta-torial way, with scant regard topeople's opinions and oppo-

sition parties views. TRS gov-ernment has been so auto-cratic that it has even removedDharna Chowk, which offersa space to people to raisetheir issues and hold protests.Now its working presidentKTR is talking about freedomto discuss, differ and democ-racy which is extremelyabsurd," said Indrasena Reddy

speaking in Hyderabad onSunday.

"Chief Minister KChandrashekhar Rao has beenmaking efforts to demolishAssembly and Secretariatbuildings. Though people,opposition parties and activistsbelonging to different groupshave been opposing it, he didnot even take opinions of

MLAs or hold an all-partymeeting. Where is the scopefor discussion and democracyin TRS rule? TRS governmenthas been bulldozing oppositionand crushing people's protestsin an undemocratic way. NowKTR is speaking of 'democra-cy' as BJP is gaining populari-ty and posing threat to TRSexistence," Indrasena furthersaid.

Unable to digest the masssupport being received by BJPin Telangana after Article 370issue, KTR has been makingbaseless statements, he said.Indrasena Reddy expressedconfidence that riding on thepopularity of PM Modi andAmit Shah's initiatives, BJP willsweep Municipal polls inTelangana.

KTR talking on democracy ridiculous: BJP

Congress leader V Hanumantha Rao intreacts with tribals on Sunday

KCR has been makingefforts to demolishAssembly and

Secretariat buildings. Thoughpeople, opposition parties andactivists have been opposing it,he did not anyones opinions

—N INDRASENA REDDYBJP national executive member

RIMEORNERC

HYDERABAD | MONDAY | AUGUST 12, 2019 hyderabad 03

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n ‘Owners of property’ on lake beds question the veryexistence of lakes, stake claim on land

n Traffic police conducted checks against drunkdriving at various places on Saturday night

DE-WATERING OF LAKESBACKFIRES DRAMATICALLY

PNS n HYDERABAD

De-watering of lakes taken upby GHMC backfired after pri-vate owners of property ontank beds raised objectionsand questioned the very exis-tence of the lakes that thestructures stand on.

Legal issues emerged onlyafter water was drained out ofthe lakes -- all cases pertainingto property located inside thelakes' fenced areas. The stale-mate has been on since Juneand there has been no inter-vention from the government.As the city gears up for Ganeshimmersion, the dried-up stateof lakes has triggered alarmamong citizens.

Residents of Kapra on Sundaypressed the panic button andreached out to TRS governmentto solve the issue immediatelyand save the city's lakes. The res-idents created videos and sharedthem on twitter, asking imme-diate intervention of ChiefMinister K Chandrashekar Raoand TRS working president KTRama Rao. They claim buildersare usurping expensive land inlakes.

People, especially builders,have come up with courtinjunctions stating that they

own land in the lake. Some ofthese have also been hinderingIrrigation Department offi-cials from carrying out lake-beautification works.According to residents, abuilder, Bal Reddy, claimedownership on Kapra lake.Some people have staked own-ership of even Nalla Cheruvuand Rama Krishnapuram lake.The purported 'lake owners'have issued threats to officialsand intend to go ahead withconstructions on the lakes.

Oficials, on their part, haveexplained to them the optionsof compensation and the TDRprocess.

It may be mentioned herethat the TRS governmentdirected the GHMC toimprove the condition of lakesand strengthen bunds at 20lakes for an estimated cost ofRs 279.78 crore in the firstphase of the project. Residentssay that the claimants did notcome forward when the FTLlimits were defined, but start-

ed staking claim when thebund-making and dredgingbegan. Some of the lands havebeen lakes for the last 150years.

With people declaring own-ership of lake land, theIrrigation wing will need to co-ordinate with the Revenue andTown Planning wings of theGHMC. Revival of lakes fornow depends on getting landhanded over from the GHMC'sTown Planning wing. Eventhe government is aware thatwhen things are in the TPwing's ambit, it can take foreverto resolve the issue.

A GHMC official said thatnot a single property has beenprocessed for acquisitiondespite the TP and Revenuewings told to hand over theentire FTL and buffer zonelands for execution of devel-opment work.

The senior GHMC officialconfirmed that certain indi-viduals have alreadyapproached the civic bodywith pattas in the full tank levellakes.

As if the corporation does-n't have its hands full with lit-igation, the de-watering oflakes makes its troubles brimover.

247 caught drivingdrunk in twin cities

PNS n HYDERABAD

A total of 247 persons werecaught by the Cyberabad andHyderabad traffic police dur-ing checks against drunk dri-ving conducted at variousplaces in the city on Saturdaynight.

Police booked cases against162 two-wheeler riders, 61 cardrivers, 16 auto-rickshaw dri-vers and eight truck drivers fordriving in an inebriated con-dition. All those caught wereasked to attend counseling atTraffic Training Institute cen-tres located in both the com-missionerates. They will alsohave to appear in court.

On Friday, 14 people werearrested at Jubilee Hills for dri-ving under the influence ofalcohol. The police who con-ducted the weekend driveagainst drunk driving at JubileeHills registered cases against 14people and seized seven carsand seven bikes.

In July alone, charge-sheetswere filed 2,815 persons founddriving under influence ofalcohol. As many as 480 per-sons were found driving drunkin Hyderabad in July and havebeen sentenced to imprison-ment by 3rd and 4thMetropolitan Magistrate'scourts, Nampally. The court

also imposed a fine of Rs61,35,400 on traffic violators.Those sentenced to imprison-ment were sent toChanchalguda jail.

The persons convicted indrunken driving and othercases may face difficulties ingetting government jobs, pass-port, etc. According to theMotor Vehicle Act 1988, aperson can be punished ifover 30 mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood is detected in theBreath Alcohol Content (BAC)test. But in Hyderabad, it hasbeen raised to 35 mg of alco-hol per 100 ml of blood to fac-tor in minor errors in breath-analysers.

Two nabbed for cheating

The Task Force team ofEast Zone nabbed two'attention-diversion'

offenders who were involvedin four cases, and recoveredRs 1.60 lakh from their pos-session.The arrested wereidentified as MohammedSameeruddin, 39, and AdbulRizwan, 21, police said. Twoothers, Mohd Arif, 18, andMujaid alias Mujju werereportedly absconding. TheMO involved one person fromthe gang approaching moneytransfer agencies whoexchange dirhams for Indiancurrency and another personwaiting outside the premiseson a bike ready to flee away,Additional DCP of Task Force,S Chaitanya Kumar, said.Police said the accused wouldhand over a black pouch con-taining original dirhams to thevictim on the pretext ofexchanging them with Indiancurrency. After counting the currency,the accused would dispute theexchange amount with thevictim and take back thepouch. Later after divertingthe victim's attention, theaccused would give back asimilar pouch containingphotocopies of dirhams andtake Indian rupees. The TaskForce team arrested theaccused following a tip offand recovered Rs 1.60 lakhcash from them, five mobilephones and other incriminat-ing material.

Cases of DrunkenDriving booked in first half of 2019

Number of drunkdriving cases bookedin Hyderabad

Hyderabad 12,184Cyberabad 5,761Rachakonda 2,627Total 20,572

2017 18,9522018 26,779

Tolichowki to be rid of mosquitoes, hyacinth-clearing onPNS n HYDERABAD

The GHMC has cleared theLanger House lake of hyacinthgrowth that had been the majorcause of massive breeding ofmosquitoes in its waters. Thelake-clearing work took abouta year to complete.

Personnel of GHMC's ento-mology wing worked at thelake for months together to col-lect leaves floating on the waterwith bare hands. Subsequentlythe corporation also deployeda mechanical floating trashcollector that cleared the lakeof waste in two weeks.

Khairatabad ZonalCommissioner, Musharraf AliFarooqi, said GHMC was able

to clear hyacinth growing in thelake owing to the use of thefloating trash collector. Hesaid, "We will soon clearhyacinth floating on Shah

Hatim Talab too in Tolichowkiwhich is also a mosquito breed-ing spot."

Rains provide ideal condi-tions for mosquito popula-tions to proliferate. Tolichowkiarea is particularly prone to themenace because there are manylakes in the vicinity, includingthe Langer House lake.Clearing hyacinth will reducethe growth of mosquitoes to agreat extent, a GHMC ento-mologist said.

For now, areas likeTolichowki, Golconda, LangerHouse and Company Bagh areteeming with swarms of mos-quitoes, but things will ease assoon as the hyacinth is clearedfrom the lakes.

Personnel ofGHMC'sentomologywing worked atthe lake formonths togetherto collectleaves floatingon the waterwith bare hands

Police get forensic evidencein Hajipur rape casesPNS n HYDERABAD

Forensic evidence collected byRachakonda police furtherincriminates serial killer MarriSrinivas Reddy for rapes andmurder of three minor girls.Police have received technicaland forensic reports from var-ious institutions which will besubmitted in court.

Bhongir police investigatingthe case that occurred inHajipur village had earlierfiled charge-sheets before thePOCSO court in Nalgondalast week.

The latest forensic evidencecollected by the police alsoconfirmed that Srinivas Reddyhad raped and murdered thethree girls. He is currentlylodged in Warangal Central Jailand is being tried in a SpecialCourt where the case is beingheard on a regular basis. So far,

the police have questionedabout 300 witnesses in the case.They also recovered messagesand videos from the accused'sphone which suggested that hewas allegedly a sex addict anda pedophile.

Bhongir ACP Bhujanga Rao,who investigated the cases ina stipulated 90-day limit, filedthe charge-sheets in the threecases, DCP K Narayana Reddysaid in a press release. Thepolice firmed up their belief

that Srinivas Reddy murderedthe three girls, before sexual-ly assaulting them, afterobtaining crime scene detailsand forensic evaluation.

Meanwhile, with theWarangal fast-track courtawarding the death sentence toaccused K Praveen in the caseof rape and murder of a nine-month old girl, netizens in theTelugu states and across thenation expressed outrage in theHajipur village case too.

‘ISB hotbed fortech, innovation'PNS n HYDERABAD

ISB's Business TechnologyClub organised a two-day'Product Conclave 2019' at itscampus which culminated onSunday evening. The eventcentered on technology andinnovation in product man-agement.

The theme for conclave was'Product for the Next BillionUsers', which brought togeth-er industry heads to discussemerging trends in technolo-gy for product development.Sessions were held focusingon, besides the theme, hyper-personalisation and AI prod-ucts for transforming indus-tries and society.

Professor RambhadranThirumalai, associate dean ofIndian School of Business,said: "ISB is growing as ahotbed for technology andinnovation in product man-agement, as many companiesannually visit it to pick upvaluable talent."

Senthil Kanthaswamy, ofFreshworks spoke about thecompany's journey to join theUnicorn club (at a valuation of$1.5 billion) and its plan for anIPO. Senthil is credited withenabling Freshworks' growthfrom zero to $100 million injust eight years.

An panel discussion on'Hyder-personalisation ofProducts: The good and thebad' was also held, which sawthe participation of Ajay Dattaof LinkedIn India, Rohan Sahufrom Paysafe India, ManishMittal from Microsoft andShreshta Chowdary of

StalkBuyLove. Product work-shops, product case competi-tion and a product master-class were also held at theevent spread across two days.

ISB is known for giving aperfect launch-pad for dis-ruptive innovators and prod-uct managers.

From technology pioneerssuch as Google and Microsoftto the latest unicorns such asUber and Freshworks, com-panies have regularly visitedISB to hunt for the best talentto improve their ranks.Product Management is theone of the most sought-aftercourse at ISB.

From technologypioneers such asGoogle andMicrosoft to thelatest unicornssuch as Uberand Freshworks,companies haveregularly visitedISB to hunt forthe best talentto improve their ranks

PNS n HYDERABAD

TPCC Campaign Committeechairperson Vijayashanthi saidon Sunday that TRS workingpresident KT Ramarao, whorecently said that BJP wasbehaving as if those who arewith it are patriots and the restare traitors, realised only nowthe true colours of the BPJ.

She said Opposition partiesin Telangana have expe-rienced the BJP in thesame way that KTR isexperiencing now.Targeting TRS too,she said the state'sruling party itselftreated peoplewho wereopposed to itas betrayersof Telanganaand thosewhich sided

with it as Telangana protag-onists.

Vijayashanthi said shehoped TRS leaders, after

having realised theirmistake now,

c h a n g etheir atti-t u d et o w a r d sOppositionparties.

J&K students in UoH rejectgovernment’s Eid invitePNS n HYDERABAD

Days after Jammu andKashmir Governor reportedlysanctioned Rs 1 lakh each todesignated liaison officers fororganising Eid festivities forKashmiri students studying inother states, students fromUniversity of Hyderabad haveexpressed their dismay andrejected the government's invi-tation to lunch.

Following the abrogation ofArticles 370 and 35 (A) by BJP-led government, and amidstthe communication blackoutin J&K, there are reports ofseveral protests in the regionwith hundreds of people hit-ting the streets.

Jammu and KashmirStudents' Association (JKSA) ofUniversity of Hyderabad issueda statement in response to aninvitation for Eid lunch from aliaison officer of the central gov-ernment. The students saidthat the invitation was conveyedthrough DSW's (Dean StudentsWelfare) office to them.

In a strongly worded state-

ment, the students said, "Wewould like to take this oppor-tunity to register our protestagainst the onslaught on J&K'sspecial status and the clamp-down of all communicationchannels in the Valley."

Condemning the curfewand alleged use of force, JKSAexpressed its support withKashmir residents.

Internet facility at BRKRBhavan in two daysPNS n HYDERABAD

As the Secretariat staff is busyshifting their offices to the newbuilding at BRKR Bhavan, theinternet connectivity will befully established at the tem-porary secretariat by Mondayevening. The IT department isat work to establish LAN,WI-FI connectivity over thepast two days. According to ITSecretary Jayesh Ranjan, theinternet and WI-FI connec-tivity will be operational byMonday evening.

Over the past three days, theIT Department has put up itsinfrastructure team on thejob to ensure the seamless con-nectivity of the internet.Principal Secretaries will bereceiving the details of inter-net connectivity like proce-dures and passwords byMonday evening. It may bementioned here that, whenChief Secretary S K Joshi

occupied his chamber onFriday, there was no internetfacility. With Saturday, Sundayand Monday being holidays,the Secretariat staff wouldjoin the office at the newbuilding from Tuesday.

The Secretariat houses themost critical IT Infrastructureat D-Block 1st floor such as T-State Secretariat Campus AreaNetwork (T-SCAN), T-SWAN(Telangana State Wide AreaNetwork) and VideoConferencing on which allthe departments are highlydependent. The movement ofthis infrastructure has not yetbeen approved as the depart-ment needs about Rs17.15crore and 60 days tomove the infrastructure.Currently, computers, printers,and other basic applicationshave been readied. The samevendor who maintains thesecretariat network is han-dling this.

Water released from SagarContinued From Page 1

With inflows expected to rise,water has been released toNSP Left Canal and RightCanal. While the Left Canalirrigates Nalgonda andKhammam districts inTelangana, the Right Canalserves ayacut in Guntur andPrakasam districts in AP. Withthe release of water from NSP,agricultural works have pickedup under its ayacut.

With copious inflows fromupstream reservoirs, SrisailamProject and Jurala projects arebrimming and the water levelsare constantly rising due toheavy rains in the upper reach-es of Karnataka. As of Sundayevening, Srisailam Project had190 TMC with water level upto 882 ft (FRL 885ft). Srisailam

Project received inflows ofmore than 8 lakh cusecs onSunday. Jurala Project had5.18 TMC with water level upto 1036 ft. It received inflow of7.76 lakh cusces on Sunday.

With inflows in the KrishnaRiver predicted to rise furtherdue to heavy floods fromKarnataka, officials of bothSrisailam and Jurala Projects

have been on alert. They aretaking steps to ensure thatthere are no incidents of sub-mergence of villages. Water isbeing released to all lift irriga-tion schemes dependent onboth the projects.

Meanwhile, people throngedJurala, Srisailam andNagarjuna Sagar Project siteson Sunday to witness the pro-jects brimming with water.

Water from the Left Canalunder the Nagarjuna Sagarwas released to cater to theneeds of 10 lakhs acres of landin Nalgonda, Khammam andSuryapet districts. Water fromthe Right Canal was released tomeet irrigation needs of 11lakh acres. The ministersreleased waters to Low-levelcanal, AMRP and SLBC pro-jects.

Hefty hike inCBSE boardexam feesContinued From Page 1

General category students willalso have to pay Rs 300 for anadditional subject, instead ofRs 150 earlier. "100 per centvisually impaired students areexempted from paying CBSEexamination fees. The student,who fails to deposit the dif-ference in CBSE examina-tion fee before the last date,will not be registered andwill not be allowed to appearin the 2019-20 examination,"the official added.

The migration fees whichwas Rs 150 earlier, has alsobeen increased to Rs 350.

The students enrolled inCBSE schools abroad willhave to pay Rs 10,000 for fivesubjects for both Class 10 and12. Earlier it was Rs 5000. Forthem, the fees for an addi-tional subject in Class 12 hasbeen fixed at Rs 2,000, asagainst Rs 1,000 earlier

The latest forensicevidence collectedby the police alsoconfirmed thataccused SrinivasReddy had raped and murdered the three girlsAccused Srinivas Reddy

She said thestate's rulingparty itself alsotreated peoplewho wereopposed to it asbetrayers ofTelangana

TRS realises mistakenow: Vijayashanthi

HYDERABAD | MONDAY | AUGUST 12, 2019 hyderabad 04

CAPSULE

Cops’ warning toslaughterhousesMEDAK: Medak, Sangareddy andSiddipet districts police officialshave warned the slaughterhousemanagement in the districts notto take to cow slaughtering onthe eve of Bakrid, which falls onMonday. Responding tocomplaints lodged in thisconnection by certainorganizations, the police saidstringent action would be takenagainst those who violate rules.Some Hindu organisations inSangareddy and Medak districtshave been campaigning for theprotection of cows and they saythe slaughterhouses in theregion have previously indulgedin slaughtering cows.

‘Banjara Teej Mela'on Aug 20HYDERABAD: Tourism MinisterV Srinivas Goud has released aposter of Banjara Teej Mela-2019here at Ravindra Bharathi onSunday. All India Banjara SevaSangh State president AjmeraShyam Naik and membersMohan Singh, J Mohan Naik,Narayana Naik Vamshi Naik,Mohan Das Singh, DevenderNaik and others participated inthe event. Speaking on theoccasion, the Minister said, TheTelangana State government iscelebrating Banjara Teej mela ona grand scale at Ravindra Bharatifrom 2015 and added that themela would be held on August20 at Ravindra Bharathi from 11am to 2pm.

Maharashtra Governorto visit MetpalliKARIMNAGAR: MaharashtraGovernor Ch Vidyasagar Rao willvisit Metpalli town here onMonday. On the occasion, he willparticipate in a skill developmentprogramme held under the aegisof 'Prime Minister KaushalyaVikas Yojana' and addresses theyouth. Nizamabad MPDharmapuri Aravind would alsoparticipate in the programme.The PMKVY programme inMetpalli would be a boon for theyouth as they are likely to get thebenefit of orientation andtraining on various aspects.

Sujana Chowdaryslams AP govt fortaking hasty steps NEW DELHI: BJP's Rajya SabhaMP Sujana Chowdary on Sundaycriticised the Government ofAndhra Pradesh stating that theinvestors are shying away fromthe state because of thegovernment's decisions. Hefound fault with the clause thatthe 75 per cent of the jobs inlocal industries should be filledwith locals. The decision isagainst the Constitution, heopined. He suggested the stategovernment to set up skilldevelopment centers to enhanceskills of the unemployed youth.Because of the decisions of thestate government, the investorsare not able to give jobs to thelocals and not able to float theindustries, he felt. He alsomentioned about the sandshortage, delay in execution ofAmaravati works. He called thedecision of the state governmentto go in for reverse tendering inthe Polavaram project as a hastystep. In the execution ofPolavaram, what is important isto ensure that the project worksare continued and who thecontractor is not at all important.He said the Center has beenthinking about it and take adecision about AP projectswithin a week. During theprevious regime, the Polavaramproject was delayed because ofseveral reasons. Now, it is theduty of one and all to ensure thatthere are no hiccups in itsexecution, he opined.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Retired Civil servants, includ-ing K Padmanabhaiah,Umapathi Rao and othersreleased a book "With Tonguein Cheek - A Civil ServantRecalls" at PVRK Prasad Hall,Dr MCR HRD Institute, onSunday. About 100 civil ser-vants, including KSwaminathan, SV Prasad, KPradeep Chandra, AK Goel,and many other serving andretired Civil Servants werepresent on the occasion.

The book, authored byShripad Bhalerao, IAS (Retd.)proved beyond an iota of doubtthat the ever-busy civil servantscan be witty and humorous tooand that humor in Bobudomcan always co-exist. Dr S KJoshi, IAS, Chief Secretary of

Telangana, who spoke on theoccasion, said that manyhumorous incidents happenduring the tenure of a civil ser-vant. He congratulated ShripadBhalerao for writing a bookbased on his witty experiencesaimed at making his readersenjoy and also feel mightyhappy. "Such incidents are not

only a source of feeling goodbut also provide opportunitiesto learn about life and profes-sion", he added.

A number of eminent civilservants, including KPadmanabhaiah, UmapathiRao and others also spoke onthe occasion. They unani-mously said that people outside

'Babudom' do not know that alot of humour takes place in theGovernment files and in theday-to-day conduct of work byofficials and politicians. "Thebook, which narrates thesehumorous stories, need to beread for the sake of both enjoy-ment and learning", theyadded.

BP Acharya, IAS, Spl ChiefSecretary and DG, Dr MCRHRD Institute said that theability to laugh at oneself andhis colleagues in a non - offen-sive way is a challenging taskand added that Bhalerao is thebest at this craft. The bookcontains a caricature ofBhalerao drawn by SriAcharya. The artists of LittleTheatre, Hyderabad read outsome of the interesting eventsfrom the book. ShripadBhalerao explained the contextof the book. He served for 37years, between 1975 and 2012in the combined AndhraPradesh, and retired as SpecialChief Secretary to Government.Supriya Bhalerao published thebook. She not only welcomedthe gathering but also pro-posed a vote of thanks.

Civil servants' ‘tongue in cheek' momentsThe book, ‘WithTongue in Cheek - ACivil Servant Recalls’narrates civil servantshumorous stories andexperience during their tenures

SUSHMA NAGARAJUn HYDERABAD

Artificial intelligence (AI) israpidly growing and is makingits presence felt in today'sworld. From streamliningoperations to informing betterdecision making, it hasbecome clear that this tech-nology has the potential to rev-olutionise how the everydayworld works. The technologiesare creating new opportunitiesbut are the students capableenough to fit the changingglobal market? The answer is,only a few of them are havingthe functional skills set totackle the industry revolution4.0. At present, the study onartificial intelligence hasbecome mandatory for anygraduate when one's aim is toenter the IT industry.

The IT industry is movingtowards automation at a fastlightning pace. The time willsoon come when the IT indus-try only picks up the talentequipped with evolving skillssets especially, artificial intel-

ligence. In the current scenario,the study on artificial intelli-gence is being offered in IITs.What about State Universitiesand its affiliated colleges? Theanswer is again no. For it, tohire the faculty for teaching the

course is also a challenge."In the current scenario, the

students are still relying on oldtechnical skills set and not insync with the growing techni-cal world. Because of which,not many can find a place in

the IT industry. In the State,only 20% of them are beingplaced through placementsdrive on campus. Giving stu-dents training on ArtificialIntelligence is a costly affair.Students who are doing trialsoff-campus cannot enter theindustry without having learntabout artificial intelligence,"said M Sundeep Kumar, pres-ident, Telangana InformationTechnology Association, TITA.

He further said that artificialintelligence has become a keycomponent in every sectorright from admin jobs to cod-ing. Previously, the codingused to be done manually, butnow artificial intelligence isbeing used for it. Like thatmany applications that includetwo cameras fixed to the doorcan record attendance insteadof biometric system or accesscards. One of the major typesof automation is lens kart,where in the photos of the facecan be given and the frame forthe lens can be automaticallymade with facial recognitionconcept.

Now AI skills must for techies

Even in the current scenario, studentsare still relying on old technical skillsand are not in sync with the growingtechnology, because of which notmany can find a place in the ITindustry, say experts

Irregularities in construction ofcheck dams on Jampannavagu?PNS n MULUGU

The Vigilance andEnforcement Department offi-cials have suspected some-thing fishy in the constructionof check dams onJampannavagu. Therefore, theyhave called for relevant recordsfrom the executive engineer ofthe Irrigation Department.

The State government sanc-tioned Rs 12 crore for the con-struction of four check damson Jampannavagu. It gaveadministrative clearance forthe same on April 7, 2016. Theworks were executed until lastyear. The VigilanceDepartment is particularlyseeking official records aboutthe check dams built atUrattam at a cost of

Rs 3.21 crore, atReddygudem at Rs 2.68 crore,Medaram at Rs 2.58 crore.

It wants all records includ-ing the administrative andtechnical sanction, tender noti-fication, tender evaluation,supplementary agreement,revised estimates, M books, LFBooks and sanction Books,maintenance registers, labora-tory, and quality control certi-fications. The objective of con-structing four check-dams

across Jampannavagu is toprevent water flowing wasteand to turn parched landsinto green.

Further, the objective is toirrigate the lands belonging totribals and to ensure that thecheck-dams are useful to caterto drinking water needs of thedevotees visiting theSammakka-Sarakka festival.Moreover, the devotees cantake a holy dip intoJampannavagu.

Allegations were rife that

allocations were made overand above the Rs 12 crore toconstruct the check-damsacross Jampannavagu.Estimates were prepared sev-eral times more than the real-istic estimates to defraud thegovernment. The check-damswere built deviating from theoriginal plans. Since the check-dams are under a thick sheetof water, they will not be ableto be assessed and hence thevigilance sleuths called for rel-evant office records.

PNS n HYDERABAD

A Unesco team, responding to aletter from Government of Indiain 2017, will be visiting theRamappa temple here onSeptember 25 to find outwhether the temple is eligible forworld heritage structure status.

Nearly two years after sub-mission of the dossier high-lighting the specialties of thetemple and its mystic aspects,finally, a UNESCO team is vis-iting the temple in Warangal dis-trict. No structure has beenaccorded the world heritagestructure status in Telugu states.

When the state was not bifur-cated, proposals have been sentto the UNESCO for world her-itage structure status forCharminar, Qutub Shahi Tombs,and Golkonda Fort. TheUNESCO team visited the struc-tures and was aghast at theencroachment of these structuresby private builders, plying ofvehicles very close to these struc-tures on the road, mushroominggrowth of shops and establish-ments everywhere in the vicin-ity without a rule or rhyme.Therefore, it expressed the inabil-ity to accord world heritagestructure status to these struc-tures.

Earlier, the UNESCO reject-ed the dossier on Ramappatemple citing the details of thetemple's specialties are not com-prehensive. The governmentenlisting the services of a classi-cal dancer, architect, andUNESCO consultant professor

has submitted the details soughtby the UNESCO. Accepting thedetails, the UNESCO has deput-ed a team to verify whether thedetails are true or false.

During the era of Kakatiyaruler Ganapati Devudu, his armycommander Recharla RudraDevudu built it and named thetemple after sculptor Ramappabewildered at his skill. The pre-siding deity is LordRamalingeswara. Nowhere elsewe can come across a templenamed after its master sculptor.According to the temple rockedict, the temple was built in1213. The temple is located atPalampeta in Mulugu district ofthe undivided Warangal dis-trict.

Very close to the temple,there is a huge tank calledRamappa tank. There are manysub-temple around the mainstructure, but they are in a dilap-idated condition for want ofmaintenance. There are 38structures recognized as the

world heritage structures in thecountry. The sculptures of thetemple are so natural that theycreate the illusion as though adancer is dancing in front of thepeople's eyes. Temple's pillars,roof are featured with impressivedesigns and images.

Chudamani Nandagopalcompared the Ramappa templewith that of the temples inHampi and Halebed inKarnataka and Thanjavur inTamil Nadu - recognised as theworld heritage structures. Thestone used for sculpting theHampi, Halebed and Tanjavurtemples is a cyst variety of stone,while the stone used to sculpt theRamappa temple is the hardeststone of dolomite variety.Designs featuring fine holes inthe images are the specialty of thesculptures. If one touches theLord Venugopalaswamy templein the sanctum-sanctorum of thetemple one can hear music. Thestones used to build the templefloat in water.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Awestruck by the beauty ofKrishna water gushing throughSrisailam Project, TRS workingpresident K T Rama Raomooted the idea of developingtourism on Krishna River. OnSunday, KTR in a tweetrequested the TourismMinister V Srinivas Goud "toexplore possibilities of Eco orCruise or Wildlife tourism inPPP mode on Krishna riverbetween Srisailam andNagarjunasagar and alsobetween Jurala andSrisailam(sic)". He made this

suggestion as the projects arejust about 2 hours away fromHyderabad and could serve asa fabulous weekend getaway.

Minister Goud in responseto the tweet said, "Sure KTRAnna, very soon will visit andexamine the potential possi-bilities(sic)". KTR termed thewater gushing out of Srisailamproject as "A sight to behold"and "a relief to the farmers ofTelangana and AndhraPradesh". Meanwhile neti-zens were quick to point outhow Hyderabad has alreadyembarked a trip to Srisailamand the drive is no longer a 2-

hour journey. TheHyderabad- Srisailam roadwitnesses heavy traffic overthe weekend.

A citizen Srinivas said,"Yesterday (Saturday) it took9hours to reach Srisailam fromHyderabad. It's been 3 hours intraffic in Srisailam today(Sunday), we don't know whenwe will reach Hyderabad".Netizens also requested theTourism Minister to look intoBogatha waterfalls andBeemuipadam waterfalls inerstwhile Warangal but aredeprived of proper trans-portation facilities.

Telangana plans to developtourism on Krishna river

Vigilance sleuths call for recordspertaining to construction of fourcheck dams on Jampanna stream

Unesco team to visitRamappa temple in Sept

Continued from Page 1

I think I am fortunate to havemet you personally and talkedto you.

You have not made any filmfor the past ten years. Nowadayswe are not getting good filmswhich are message-oriented.You have to make a film again.If you agree to make the filmwith the help of your assistants,I am ready to take care of theproduction part of it. Pleasemake a plan for this," KCRrequested Viswanath.

"With your visit our househas become consecrated. It isour good fortune. When youcalled me up yesterday nightand said you will be visiting my

house, I thought that somebodywas mimicking your voice. Butlater when I found that you havespoken to me I did not sleep till12 midnight. I have been watch-ing your good work and aboutyour basic nature of workinghard for the people, I came toknow through reports in news-papers on TVs. I am personal-ly meeting you for the first time.Once Tamil Nadu CM MGRcame to my house and now youhave graced my house, forwhich I am happy," Viswanathsaid.

When KCR enquired aboutthe director's health, Viswanathsaid: "My health is fine. But Ihave knee joints pain. Doctorssay they will perform replace-

ment surgery, but I am scaredof operation. I am scared of hos-pitals. Even in my films I neverput hospital scenes. I am scaredof watching blood. Then howwill I undergo operation? I willcontinue and manage like this,"Viswanath said.

Viswanath complimented theCM by saying," You have a won-derful grip over Telugu languageand literature. You have organ-ised the World TeluguConference on a grand scale.You are a great orator and haveliking for the Arts." On beingasked from when the CMacquired a taste for Telugu lan-guage and literature, KCRreplied that he got it from thecompany of his great teachers.

Mutual admiration Minor girlgang-raped,kills self

Continued from Page 1

The rapists, after indulgingin the heinous crime, tried toflee the spot, but some localpeople caught hold of three ofthe gang members. Theywere handed over to theKakatiya University police.The body of the rape victimwas sent to MGM hospitalhere for post-mortem. Thepolice have registered a caseagainst the culprits. The fam-ily members of the victimlodged a complaint with theKU police and sought strin-gent action against the culprits.

PNS n HYDERABAD

AICC official spokespersonSravan Dasoju has questionedthe TRS working president KTRama Rao as to why the TRShas extended its uncondition-al support to theDemonetisation, GST,President and Vice-Presidentelection, NITI Aayog, TripleTalaq, RTI Act amendmentand abrogation of Article 370Bills in case TRS feels that theBJP-led NDA government isindulging in dangerous com-munal politics.

On Sunday, in a statement,Sravan alleged that KTR has'double tongue'. He said thatKTR, who is criticising BJP'salleged attitude of consideringthe people as patriots if theyare with BJP and others arenot, also did the same con-sidering the people who joinedTRS as Telangana protagonistsif not Telangana betrayers.He also said that KTR con-sidered those who supportedthe wrong decisions of theTRS government as Telanganaprotagonists if not asTelangana betrayers. "DidKTR forgot this attitude ofTRS?", Sravan slammed.

Sravan asked KTR to tellwhether TRS leaders didn'tremember the democracywhen they purchased theMLAs, MLCs, and MPs ofother parties in a way farmerspurchased domestic animalsin the market. "KTR didn'tremember democracy whenthe TRS government kept the

other party leaders in jails byfiling false cases when theyquestioned about shifting ofDharna Chowk at Indira Park.Is it not your hypocrisy forspeaking about democracy byforgetting the fact that TRSmade the opposition partieszero in Assembly and Councilby encouraging defections?",he questioned.

Finding fault with KTRfor stating that there is noplace for communal politicsin Telangana, Sravan ques-tioned KTR to explain as towhy TRS allied with AIMIM.Will TRS cancel the alliancewith AIMIM now by stickingto their words? Sravan asked.He said that it is not possibleto camouflage people always.He suggested KTR not tounderestimate the wisdomof people and stop the atti-tude of two tongue politics.Sravan further alleged thatBJP and TRS are doing secretpolitics to destroy Congress.There is no place for BJP inTelangana. Sravan made itclear that Congress is the onlyalternative to the ruling TRS.

Cong slams KTR over‘double standard'

KCR, Governorextend BakridgreetingsPNS n HYDERABAD

Chief Minister KChandrashekhar Rao andGovernor ESL Narasimhan onSunday extended greetings tothe the Muslim community onthe eve of Bakrid (Id-Ul-Zuha).In a message, the ChiefMinister has stated that it's afestival of sacrifice and remindseveryone to follow the nobleteachings of the prophet andimbibe the spirit of sacrifice,compassion and tolerance forfellow beings. "On the solemnoccasion of Bakrid (Id-ul-Zuha), I extend my cordialgreetings and good wishes to allmy Muslim brethren in state.Bakrid holds immense signif-icance in the Islamic faith andis celebrated with great rever-ence. Bakrid symbolises sacri-fice, absolute devotion to Godand compassion for the poor.It also emphasises the principleof sharing. Let this spirit ofcharity and goodwill towards allbe cherished and nourished,"Governor said in a statement.

IPS officersand kin plantsaplingsPNS n HYDERABAD

As part of the ongoing'Telanganaku HarithaHaram', senior IPS offi-cers along with their fam-ily members plantedsaplings here on Sunday.The plantation drive,organised by SSatyanarayana, DFOExcise in coordinationwith Greater HyderabadMunicipal Corporation(GHMC) was held atPleasant Valley OfficersQuarters.

Around 300 varieties ofsaplings, including,Tabubia rosia, neem,pogada, Jamun, sithaphal,etc have been planted.Senior officers includingT. Krishna Prasad, DGP,

Rajeev Trivedi., DGP, VK Singh, DGP, CVAnand, ADG, ShikhaGoel, ADGP,

Swathi Lakra, IGP, AnilKumar, IGP, MadhusudanReddy, IGP, Vijay Kumar,IGP, Amith Gargh, IGP,Akunsabharwal, IGP, andothers participated in theplantation drive. Duringthe four phases ofTelangana ku HarithaHaram afforestation drivesince its launch in 2015,Rs 3,350 crore has beenspent to plant 113.58crore saplings. The ForestDepartment has claimedthat the survival rate ofsaplings stands at 91 percent.

PNS n AHMEDABAD

In a heartwarming gesture, apolice constable carried twochildren on his shoulders andwaded through knee-deepwater in order to move themto safety from floodedKalyanpur village in Morbidistrict of Gujarat.

A video of the constable'sbrave act has gone viral onsocial media, earning himpraise from many, includingGujarat Chief Minister VijayRupani.

Constable PruthvirajsinhJadeja, who is attached toTankara police station, rushedto Kalyanpur village onSaturday along with otherpolicemen after coming toknow that 42 people, including17 children, were strandedthere due to flooding as a resultof incessant downpour in theregion.

When the policemen foundthat the water level was rising,they launched a rescue opera-tion along with local swim-mers and villagers.

In order to shift the strand-

ed people from the place, theyeven constructed a makeshiftboat.

However, Jadeja decided tocarry two of the stranded chil-dren on his shoulders to movethem to safety.

Carrying them on his shoul-ders, he waded through knee-deep water for around 800metres and moved them to asafer place.

Jadeja, who hurt his leg inthe process, said one of his col-leagues helped him by admin-istering first aid to him.

The police team finallymoved all the stranded vil-lagers to safety.

"What we have done is justperform our duty. The firstthing that came to my mind ishow to save around 42 vil-lagers, including 17 children,stranded at a shelter inKalyanpur village in the districtas the water level was rising,"Jadeja said.

"We reached the site anddecided to save them. We evenconstructed a boat on the spotto help shift them," he added.

Jadeja said this could nothave been possible withoutthe assistance of others, includ-ing policemen and locals, whowere present there and tookpart in the rescue operation.

Chief minister Rupani evencalled him on Saturday eveningand praised him for his act.

"The chief minister spoke tome in the evening and saidwhat you and your team hasdone is praiseworthy. Keepdoing the good job...I receiveda minor injury, for which mycolleague Firozkhan Pathanhelped me," he said.

HYDERABAD | MONDAY | AUGUST 12, 2019 nation 05SHORT READS

Mamata slams Centrefor issuing I-T noticeto puja committeesKOLKATA: West Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee onSunday criticised the Centre forissuing income tax notices toseveral Durga Puja committeeshere, saying festivals should beexempt from levies. Banerjeesaid Trinamool Congress (TMC)would sit on a dharna in the cityon August 13 in protest againstthe move of the BJP-ledgovernment at the Centre. "TheIncome Tax Dept has issuednotices to many committees whoorganize Durga pujos, askingthem to pay taxes. We are proudof all our national festivals. Thesefestivals are for all and we do notwant any pujo festival to betaxed. This will be a burden onthe organizers," she tweeted.Referring to the Ganga Sagarmela, the chief minister said hergovernment had withdrawn taxon the annual festival.

Statue of MaharajaRanjit Singhvandalised in PakistanLAHORE: A statue of MaharajaRanjit Singh, who ruled overPunjab for close to 40 years inthe early 19th century, wasvandalised by two men in thisPakistani city on Saturday. Thenine-feet statue, made of coldbronze, was unveiled at theLahore Fort in June on the180th death anniversary ofMaharaja. Singh, the firstMaharaja of the Sikh Empire,died in 1839. Police havearrested two men andregistered a case against themunder the country's blasphemylaws. The two men were angryafter India revoked the specialstatus to Jammu and Kashmirlast week. The suspectsbelonged to Tehreek-LabbaikPakistan of radical clericMaulana Khadim Rizvi.

Rahul arrives inKerala to review floodsituation in WayanadKOZHIKODE (KER): Congressleader Rahul Gandhi Sundaybegan his Kerala visit to reviewsituation in his Wayanad LokSabha constituency ravaged byfloods and landslides.Accompanied by Congressgeneral secretary K CVenugopal, Gandhi arrived atthe Karipur airport near here onSunday afternoon.He would later visit some rain-hit places in neighbourigMallapuram district threeassembly segments of whichform part of Wayanadconstituency, party sourcessaid. Gandhi, who won with arecord margin from the hillconstituency in the April LokSabha elections, said during hisstay he would visit relief campsacross Wayanad and reviewrelief measures with stategovernment officials.

PNS n BENGALURU

Congress leaders in KarnatakaSunday hailed appointment ofSonia Gandhi as the partyinterim president. Former chiefminister Siddaramaiah con-gratulated her for accepting thedecision of the CongressWorking Committee onSaturday. Talking to reportershere, he said though CWCmembers tried to persuadeRahul Gandhi to continue asparty chief, he was adamant onhis decision to quit on moralgrounds. Rahul Gandhi hadresigned as Congress presi-dent after the party's debacle inthe April Lok Sabha elections.State Congress presidentDinesh Gundu Rao welcomedthe CWCs decision.

Excellent choice by theCWC. No better person thanSonia Gandhi to take overCongress President. At thiscrucial juncture, her sage andmature leadership is the needof the hour. Im sure the entirerank and file will welcomethis decision," he tweeted.

Happy to see SoniaGandhi back in thesaddle: Amarinder SinghChandigarh:Punjab ChiefMinister Amarinder Singh haswelcomed Sonia Gandhi'sappointment as interim pres-ident of the Congress as thebest decision in the currentcircumstances and said herexperience and understandingwill help guide the party.

Other Congress leadersfrom Punjab and Haryanaalso hailed her appointment asinterim president and saidSonia Gandhi has the rightexperience to guide the party

in the present circumstances."Happy to see Smt. Sonia

Gandhiji back in the saddle. Itwas the best decision in thecurrent circumstances. Herexperience and understandingwill help guide@INCInida.

"I wish her and the party allthe best," Singh said in atweet.

Sonia Gandhi was onSaturday appointed as interimpresident of the Congress at acrucial meeting of the party'sworking committee in NewDelhi, after Rahul Gandhirefused pleas by partymen totake back his resignation.

The announcement wasmade Saturday night afterCongress Working Committee(CWC) accepted RahulGandhi's resignation at itssecond meeting of the day.

The party's highest deci-sion-making body banked onthe experience and tested lead-ership of Sonia Gandhi, to leadit in what the CWC describedas "trying times".

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Jannayak Janata Partyand Bahujan Samaj Party onSunday announced that theywould contest the upcomingassembly elections in Haryanain alliance.

The BSP will contest on 50seats while the JJP on 40 in the90 member state assemblypolls due later this year, JJPleader Dushyant Chautalaalong with BSP GeneralSecretary Satish ChandraMishra announced the allianceat a press conference.

In the recently held LokSabha elections, the JJP had analliance with the Aam AadmiParty (AAP) while the IndianNational Lok Dal (INLD) hada pact with the BSP.

"After several meetings oftop leaders of both parties, itwas decided that JJP and BSPwill contest next HaryanaAssembly elections inalliance," Chautala said

Mishra said this alliancehas blessings of party supremoMayawati. He further said thealliance will create a history inthe state.

Talking about prospects ofthe alliance in Haryana,Dushyant said the social fab-

ric of the state has been tornby the current BJP govern-ment in the state. This alliancewill ensure that it take all sec-tions of society together foroverall development of thestate Jannayak Janata Party(JJP) a breakaway faction ofINLD was formed by AjayChautala following differenceswith his younger brotherAbhay Chautala.

After both Ajay and formerchief minister and party'spatriarch Om PrakashChautala were in jail, it wasAbhay who was running theshow in the INLD.

Till last year, INLD was theprincipal opposition party inthe state, but with theannouncement of Lok Sabhaelections many party MLAsand other leaders jumped theship and joined ruling BJP.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Having earned the distinctionof being the longest servingCongress president, SoniaGandhi is once again at thehelm to steer her party out oftroubled waters.

Sonia Gandhi, 72, has beenmade interim president bare-ly 20 months after she volun-tarily relinquished the top postin favour of son Rahul Gandhiwho refused to continue on asCongress chief after a humili-ating 2019 general electiondefeat.

For the Congress WorkingCommittee (CWC) the natur-al choice was Sonia Gandhi,who has been the party's sav-iour-in-chief in times of crisisand a binding force.

Critics say the developmenthas once again highlightedhow the Congress is unable tolook beyond the Gandhi fam-ily when it comes to leadership.With no time line set for partyelections, Sonia is likely tocontinue in the top post incoming months.

In her 19-year stint asCongress chief, Sonia Gandhiwas hailed for deft handling of

party intrigues and judgmentthat gave the party two con-secutive wins at the Centre andseveral in states.

In her decision to accept theCWC's unanimous request tolead the 134-year-old party,Sonia Gandhi has displayedcourage given her continuingfrail health, sources said.

Once considered an unlike-ly heir to the grand politicallegacy of the Gandhi family,Sonia went on to create histo-ry as the longest serving pres-ident from 1998 to 2017.

In her political inningsdefined by a successful coali-tion experiment in the form of

UPA, Sonia Gandhi has alwayscredited mother-in-law andformer prime minister IndiraGandhi for her achievements.

Bringing disparate politicalgroupings together on oneplatform in a pre-poll coalitionto stump the BJP out of powerin 2004, was one of her biggestsuccesses.

Though the UPA flounderedin its second innings starting2009, Sonia Gandhi helmed thecoalition from the shadows,often inviting the criticism ofrunning a cabinet parallel tothat of former prime ministerManmohan Singh who led theCongress-led alliance govern-

ment. Sonia Gandhi lost no time to

resign from the Lok Sabhawhen the office of profit con-troversy gripped her over herrole as chairperson of theNational Advisory Councilduring UPA-1. She returned tothe Lok Sabha with a highermargin in a re-election.

But in the 2019 general elec-tions, Sonia Gandhi's victorymargin in her traditional RaeBareli seat plummeted to 1lakh, like never before, sig-nalling changing contours ofpolitics under an aggressiveBJP.

Gradual decline in Congress

electoral fortunes under RahulGandhi, desertions fromCongress to BJP, deepeningdivision in opposition ranksand a surging BJP were somefactors that seemed to haveweighed on Sonia Gandhi'smind when she accepted theCWC suggestion on Saturday.

Her return coincides with acritical election season withpolls in Haryana, Jharkhandand Maharashtra due later thisyear. Her first challenge wouldbe to fight the BJP in thesestates having seen Congressgetting reduced to just fourstates under her son.

After Congress' lacklusterperformance in the first sessionof the new Parliament, partyleaders hope Sonia Gandhi'sleadership will reinvigorate thecadre and bind the ranks thathave reeled in a leadershipvacuum after Rahul Gandhiresigned as party president onMay 25.

It is also felt Sonia Gandhi'sreturn will give reason for adivided opposition to cometogether to fight the BJP.

This is exactly how thingsunfolded starting 1998 after shetook charge as Congress chief.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Rahul Gandhi as Congresspresident was seen as a bul-wark against the forces ofhate, bigotry and intolerance,and he set new standards ofaccountability by takingresponsibility for the party'sLok Sabha polls defeat, theCongress' top decision-mak-ing body said on Saturday.

The effusive praise forRahul Gandhi came in a res-olution passed by the CongressWorking Committee (CWC)in which the party placed onrecord its profound sense ofappreciation and gratitude forthe "exceptional leadership"provided by him as Congresspresident.

Rahul Gandhi was appoint-ed as Congress president onDecember 16, 2017 and histenure ended on Saturday afterhis resignation tendered onMay 25 this year was accept-ed by the CWC and his moth-er Sonia Gandhi was named asthe interim chief.

"Rahul Gandhi led the partywith unbounded drive, fiercedetermination and dedica-tion. He campaigned in theassembly and national elec-tions with indefatigable ener-gy," the resolution said.

It said that Rahul Gandhigave a new sense of "aggres-sion and modernity" to theparty organization and openedup numerous opportunitiesto the younger generation.

He inspired every Congressworker through his never-say-die attitude and earnedtheir admiration and respect,the resolution said.

"Rahul Gandhi's instinctivemoral compass is evident fromthe manner in

he has taken personal

responsibility for the disap-pointing performance of theparty in the 2019 Lok Sabhaelections, thereby setting newstandards of accountability inpublic life," the CWC said.

The party's top decision-making body also applaudedhis courage, commitment andconviction in stepping downas Congress president whichwas a deeply personal decisionbut is encouraged that hisservices, inputs and advicewill continue to be available tothe party, the resolution said.

The party said that each andevery Congressman andwoman looks up to him forcontinued support and guid-ance, it said.

"Rahul Gandhi emerged asa beacon of hope for the verylarge number of people whocherish the idea of India onwhich India's freedom move-ment and the Constitutionwas anchored," it said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Delhi High Court hasdirected a man to plant 50 treesas community service whileagreeing to close criminal pro-ceedings against him in apower theft case.

The court said trees shall beplanted within a month andasked him to report to theDeputy Conservator of Forest(West), who shall assign himthe duty to plant 50 trees inCentral Ridge Reserve Forest,Budha Jayanti Park,Vandemataram Marg here.

"The plants/trees shall be ofdeciduous indigenous varietywith a nursery age of three anda half years, and a height of atleast six feet. Depending uponthe soil type and topography,the DCF may consider the fol-lowing types of trees for plan-tation...," Justice SanjeevSachdeva said.

The type of trees mentionedin the order are Gular (ClusterFig), Kadamba (BurflowerTree), Pilkhan (White Fig),Jaamun (Black Plum), Bargad

(Banyan Tree), Mango,Amaltas (Golden Shower),Mahua (Butter Tree) ,Putranjiva, Badh, Sagwan(Teak Wood), Safed Siris(Albizia Procera), Kala Siris,Anjeer, Kathal- Jackfruit,Palash, Arni, Bistendu, Rohida,Medshingi.

The court asked the manand DCF to file an affidavit ofcompliance of its order, failingwhich the registry shall list thecase for directions.

It said aerial pictures, priorto and after the plantation,

shall be obtained by the DCFand be filed along with his affi-davit.

The officer will have tomonitor and ensure upkeep ofthe plantation and he will filea report six weeks after theplantation with fresh pho-tographs to show thehealth/status of the trees.

The court, which said acopy of the order be commu-nicated to the DCF (West) con-cerned, passed the order on aman's plea challenging framingof charges against him for the

offence of electricity theft.The electricity department

had lodged a complaint thattheft of electricity was found inthe premises of the man,whereby a wire was connecteddirectly to the public pole out-side his shop.

The high court set aside thetrial court's order framingcharges against the man anddischarged him of the offenceunder the Electricity Act.

HC asks man to plant 50 trees,agrees to close electricity theft case

PNS n CHANDIGARH

Punjab Chief MinisterAmarinder Singh hasexpressed concern over reportsof "discernible slowdown" inactivities for the developmentof the Kartarpur corridor byPakistan, an official statementsaid on Sunday.

The chief minister has urgedthe neighbouring country notto back out of their commit-ment on the vital project.

The chief minister's state-ment came in the backdrop ofreports that India was forced tosend a reminder to Islamabadto hold meetings to finalise thekey Kartarpur decisions, thestatement further read.

With the 550th birthanniversary of Sikhismfounder Guru Nanak Dev justthree months away, any slow-down in the project would leadto its non-completion in time,said Amarinder Singh.

He added that such a movewould serve a big blow to theaspirations of Sikhs, who wereeager for the 'darshan' of theholy place where the theirfirst Guru spent last years of hislife.

On Wednesday, Singh had

expressed concern overPakistan's decision to down-grade diplomatic ties withIndia over the scrapping of thespecial status for Jammu andKashmir by Indian Parliament.

He, however, hoped that itwould not impact the con-struction of the Kartarpur cor-ridor.

Amarinder Singh had onWednesday urged the Centreto take up the matter withIslamabad on a priority andensure that the construction ofthe Kartarpur corridor, whichwould enable pilgrims to payobeisance at the historic gur-dwara in Kartarpur Sahib inPakistan, remained on track.

Last November, both India

and Pakistan had agreed to setup the Kartarpur corridor tolink the historic GurdwaraDarbar Sahib -- the final rest-ing place of Sikh faith's founderGuru Nanak Dev -- to DeraBaba Nanak in Gurdaspur.

Kartarpur Sahib is located inPakistan's Narowal districtacross the Ravi river, aboutfour kilometres from the DeraBaba Nanak shrine.

The corridor will facilitate avisa-free travel for pilgrimsfrom the Indian side to theGurdwara Darbar Sahib inKartarpur.

Pakistan had committed toopen the corridor inNovember this year on the550th birth anniversary ofGuru Nanak.

On the issue of the severingof trade ties by Pakistan, thePunjab chief minister said themove would inflict heavy eco-nomic losses on the poor inPakistan.

The suspension of tradewould lead to the loss of jobsand livelihood for thousands ofporters, truck/train driversand the staff deployed as partof the trade infrastructure onboth sides of the border, headded.

Sonia Gandhi

Critics say thedevelopmenthas once againhighlighted howthe Congress isunable to lookbeyond theGandhi familywhen it comesto leadership

The officer willhave to monitorand ensureupkeep of theplantation and hewill file a reportsix weeks afterthe plantationwith freshphotographs toshow thehealth/status ofthe trees

CONGRESS' SAVIOUR-IN-CHIEF SONIA GANDHI RETURNS TO HELM

Dinesh Gundu Rao

‘Rahul as party prezwas bulwark againstforces of hate’

PNS n BENGALURU

Union Home Minister AmitShah on Sunday undertookan aerial survey of the floodaffected areas of Karnataka,where 31 people have losttheir lives and more than fourlakh have been displaced.

Shah, also the BJP presi-dent, arrived by a specialaircraft from Chennai at theSambra Airport in Belagaviand set out on the survey ofsome of the affected areasonboard an army helicopter,official sources said. He isaccompanied by ChiefMinister B S Yediyurappa,union ministers Pralhad Joshiand Suresh Angadi, RajyaSabha member PrabhakarKore and Hukkeri BJP MLAUmesh Katti. An official ear-lier in the day said the homeminister will assess the floodsituation in Belagavi district.

The unprecedented floodssince last week have claimed31 lives and forced morethan 4 lakh people to leavetheir homes in 80 Taluks of17 districts in Karnataka.

Siddaramiah, Gundu Raohail Sonia's appointmentas party chief

Amarinder Singh

Dushyant Chautala

Amarinder urges Pak not to backdown on Kartarpur corridor

Gorkhas welcome move on Article 370PNS n JAMMU

The Gorkha community livingin Jammu is upbeat since thegovernment scrapped provi-sions of Article 370 as they feelthey will now get permanentresident certificates which willallow their children to apply forjobs and seats in professionalcourses of their choice.

Their ancestors had shiftedto Jammu and Kashmir fromNepal decades ago to fightalongside the erstwhile DograArmy and even now most fam-ilies boasted of at least one warveteran, but they say they hadbeen facing several challenges.

While the members areallowed to vote in assembly andlocal bodies elections, since

three decades they have beendemanding permanent resi-dentship, representation in leg-islative council by nomination,scheduled tribe status and fiveper cent reservation in Sainikschools for their children.

"The decision of the centralgovernment came as a bigrelief for us as our dream isfinally getting fulfilled after a

long and painful wait," SherBahadur Rana, 81, a war vet-eran, told PTI at his residencein the thickly populatedGorkha colony near Bahu Forthere.

Over 2,000 communitymembers are living in thiscolony where the houses arebuilt close to each other, onlyseparated by narrow lanes.

Shah on aerialsurvey offloot-hit areas

JJP, BSP will fight HaryanaAssembly polls together

Guj cop carries 2 kids on shouldersin flood water, earns praise

“Rahul Gandhi led theparty with unboundeddrive, fierce

determination and dedication.He campaigned in theassembly and nationalelections with indefatigableenergy,” the resolution said.

At this crucialjuncture, her sageand mature

leadership is the need of thehour. Im sure the entire rankand file will welcome thisdecision

— DINESH GUNDU RAO,STATE CONGRESS PRESIDENT

HYDERABAD | MONDAY | AUGUST 12, 2019 nation 06SHORT READS

10 devotees hurt inhoneybee attackJAIPUR: Ten devotees wereinjured on Sunday afterhoneybees attacked themduring a religious ceremony inRajasthan's Sriganganagardistrict, police said. Honeybeesattacked the devotees whenthey were taking part in areligious ceremony at anashram Sunday morning. Theywere admitted to a primaryhealth care centre for treatment,Kesrisinghpur police station in-charge Surendra Kumar said.Honeybees apparently attackedthem due to smoke emanatingnear their hives.

9 held in UP forthrashing woman onsuspicion of child theft

Husband consumespoison in policestation duringmediation with wife

Indians contributing toBalochistan's freedomstruggle: Hind BalochForum

MUZAFFARNAGAR: A man hasconsumed poison in womenpolice station here when hiswife refused to live with himduring mediation, police saidon Sunday. Panka Kumar (26)was rushed to a hospital inserious condition on Saturday,they said. According to StationHouse Officer (SHO) PreetiRani, Kumar was summonedby the police to attend themediation in women policestation. "During hot argumentsbetween husband and wife, heconsumed poison after sherefused to live with him," theSHO said. According to subinspector Mahipal Singh, thewoman had filed a complaintagainst Pankaj for harassingher over dowry demand.

NEW DELHI: Indians areactively contributing to thefreedom struggle ofBalochistan, the Hind BalochForum said on Sunday. Thebody celebrated 'BalochistanDiwas' on Sunday to mark itsindependence. "But laterPakistan merged Balochistanwith it in March 1948," saidJitendranand Saraswati,founder of Hind Baloch Forum."Indian citizens are activelycontributing to the freedomstruggle of Balochistan. Peopleof Balochistan have immenserespect for their identity andculture," he said.

GONDA: Nine persons havebeen arrested for allegedlythrashing a woman suspectingher to a child lifter, police saidon Sunday. AdditionalSuperintendent of PoliceMahendra Kumar said, "Theincident took place onSaturday evening in Rahelivillage, when villagers caughta woman hiding in asugarcane field." Suspectingthat the woman was there tosteal children, they tied her toa tree and beat her up, Kumaradded. During questioning, itcame to light that she is aresident of Shahpur village.The officer said that on thecomplaint registered by thefather of the woman, a casehas been registered againstthe nine persons.

PNS n KORBA

Two persons, including a woman,were trampled to death by a wildelephant at separate places inChhattisgarh's Surajpur district,an official said on Sunday.Somnath Kodku (45), a native ofPratappur village, came face-to-face with the pachyderm onFriday in Pratappur forest range,located around 200 km fromKorba, when he went there alongwith his cattle, divisional forestofficer (DFO) Bhanu PratapSingh said. The jumbo caughthold of the villager, smashedhim on the ground with its trunkbefore trampling him to death, hesaid. When Kodku did not returnhome, some locals approachedthe forest department whichlaunched a search. His body wasfound in the forest on Saturdaymorning, Singh said.

The same elephant attacked agroup of villagers while they werecollecting mushrooms in the for-est area near Sarhari village onSaturday. While the others fromthe group managed to escape, thetusker caught hold of RukminCherwa (50) and stomped her todeath, the DFO said. The kin ofdeceased were provided an imme-

diate relief of Rs 25,000 each, hesaid, adding the remaining com-pensation will be disbursed soon.A number of incidents of human-elephant conflict have beenreported in the past from the thickforested northern Chhattisgarh,consisting of Surguja, Surajpur,Korba, Raigarh, Jashpur,Balrampur and Koriya districts.

Woman among 2 trampled to death by elephant

PNS n MUMBAI

A day after MNS chief RajThackeray demanded post-ponement of the forthcomingMaharashtra Assembly electionsin view of the flood situation inthe state, Shiv Sena presidentUddhav Thackeray on Sundaywondered how could peoplethink of polls at such a "critical"time. Raj Thackeray on Saturdaysought the ElectionCommission's intervention topostpone the state Assemblypolls, due in September-October,saying it would take time torestore normalcy in the flood-hitdistricts. When asked about theMNS chief 's comments, UddhavThackeray told reporters here, "Idon't understand how can onethink of elections in such a crit-ical situation."

The Sena chief, while flagging-off his party's vehicles carryingrelief material to some areas ofwestern Maharashtra andKonkan region, said his focuswas on providing all support tothose affected by the rain fury,and refused to comment on anycontroversy over floods.

Notably, state minister andsenior BJP leader Girish Mahajanon Friday stoked a controversy

after two selfie videos surfacedpurportedly showing him smil-ing and waving hands cheerful-ly as he inspected parts of theflood-hit Kolhapur district. OnSaturday, the oppositionCongress, NCP and MNSaccused the BJP-led state gov-

ernment of "shamelessly adver-tising" itself, after it emerged thatgrain bags for flood victims inparts of Sangli district carriedstickers with images of ChiefMinister Devendra Fadnavis anda BJP MLA.

When asked to comment on

these issues, Uddhav Thackeraysaid, "I am not going into anycontroversy right now as thefocus is on providing support tothe flood-hit people." "I am notgoing into whatever has hap-pened so far; I am focusing onarranging aid for the flood vic-tims," added the Sena chief,whose party is an ally of the rul-ing BJP in the state and at theCentre. When Fadnavis was onSaturday asked about the flakfaced by Mahajan, he said theminister managed to reach theremotest village, and while on theway back someone shot thevideo and pictures which werecirculated as selfie. "Everybodyshould stick to a protocol," headded. About criticism of stick-ers bearing pictures of him anda local BJP legislator on bags ofrice and wheat meant for floodvictims, Fadnavis said there wasno need for pictures, only theMaharashtra government shouldhave been mentioned.

On Raj Thackeray's demandfor postponement of theAssembly polls, the chief minis-ter said the state government hasno role in deciding this, and theElection Commission will takean appropriate decision afterreviewing the situation.

PNS n PATIALA

Three Assistant Sub-Inspectorsof Police (ASIs) are among fourPunjab policemen dismissedfrom service, over four monthsafter they raided a priest's housein Jalandhar without anyapproval, a senior official said.

SSP Patiala Mandeep SinghSidhu on Saturday dismissed thefour policemen, who are cur-rently lodged in the PatialaCentral Jail. The four were partof a police party which con-ducted a raid at a priest's housein Jalandhar without anyapproval in April this year. Hesaid the policemen were dis-missed under Section 311(2) (B)of the Constitution following

departmental inquiries. Sidhusaid the dismissed policemeninclude ASIs Joginder Singh,Rajpreet Singh, Dilbagh Singhand Head Constable AmrikSingh. The Khanna Police had inMarch initially claimed to haverecovered Rs 9.66 crore from sixmen including a church priest.However, the priest had taken upthe issue with the police and theIncome Tax Department andsought that the entire Rs 16.65crore 'seized' money be releasedforthwith. The priest had claimedthat the money was part of thebusiness proceeds and accusedthe police of allegedly misap-propriating some amount fromthe money they had seized fromthe premises.

PNS n NEW DELHI

An employee of the Delhi MetroRail Corporation allegedly com-mitted suicide on Sunday byhanging himself in his rentedhouse here and streamed the actlive on Facebook, police said.

The victim, ShubhankarChakraborty (27), hailed from

North 24 Parganas district ofWest Bengal, they said.

No suicide note was foundfrom his room at East Delhi'sShahdara where he was foundhanging from a hook in the ceil-ing with a plastic wire around hisneck, they said.

The Facebook live streampurportedly showed him climb-ing atop a cooler, wearing theDMRC uniform. He looked into

the camera a couple of times,kissed his company identity cardtwice before taking his life.

A mobile phone kept buzzingin the background as he alleged-ly committed the act.

"He had joined DMRC inJune and was a staffer in theElectrical and MaintenanceDepartment," a source said.

Metro employee commits suicide; live-streams it on FB

PNS n KOLKATA

The Film Federation of India,an apex body of film produc-ers and distributors, will organ-ise a 'Global Cinema Festival2019' from August 21-25 inSiliguri. To give people ofNorth Bengal and Hills aglimpse of the recent changesin world and Indian cinema,the festival will screen 36 fea-ture and 24 short films, underboth National andInternational categories, FilmFederation of India presidentFirdausul Hasan said here onSunday.

The films will be screened inin three auditoriums, -Dinabandhu Mancha,Rabindra Bhavan, NewCinema in Siliguri, he said.

"We have decided that wewill be bringing GlobalCinema Festival to tier 2 andtier 3 cities across India, so thatthe people from these townsand cities can also be a part ofsuch international film festivalsand get a chance to watch qual-ity movies coming from acrossthe globe," Hasan told PTI.

The festival will also pro-mote Si l iguri as a f i lmtourism destination as it issurrounded by picturesqueplaces in hills and plains, he

said adding the participantsand delegates will be taken tovarious destinations duringthe festival which is being

supported by West Bengaltourism department.

The films that would beshown, both full length andshorts, have been carefullycurated to cater to all cross sec-tion of people. Italian film DiTutti I Colori, A ThousandPieces from France, The Songof Sway Lake in English, SuiDhaga in Hindi, Satta fromBangladesh, Thakceray inMarathi, Nepalese film Bulbul,Sangharsh in Bhojpuri besidesAhaa Re and Jeyshthoputro inBengali will be screened in thefestival.

Tollywood diva RituparnaSengupta will be the face of thefestival. The FFI is a 65-yearold organisation working topromote cinema industry inthe country.

West Bengal to host GlobalCinema Festival from Aug 21

PNS n WASHINGTON

Aiming at promoting Hindi inthe US, the Indian embassy inWashington will impart freeHindi classes to the students ofthe prestigious GeorgeWashington University hereon popular demand.

The six-week non-creditIntroductory Hindi Languagecourse, beginning August 28,will be conducted by DrMoxraj, a teacher of IndianCulture at the embassy.

Earlier this year, the embassyhad conducted free weekly

Hindi classes of one hourduration in its premises. Thecourse generated an impressiveinterest, with 87 candidatesfrom seven countries register-ing for the classes on shortnotice.

"This indicates that there isa strong interest in Hindi lan-guage learning... and encour-ages us to build on the suc-cessful introductory course,"said Benjamin D Hopkins,Director, Sigur Centre forAsian Studies and Deepa MOllapally, Associate Director,Sigur Centre for Asian Studiesat the University in a recent let-ter to the Indian Ambassadorto the US.

In the Introductory HindiLanguage course, students willbe familiarised with the vari-ous basic aspects of the lan-

guage, including alphabet, andwill be taught to speak inHindi.

"As the Sigur Centre has inthe past and continues to sup-port language learning andengagement, we were quiteexcited to be able to offer anopportunity for students to beintroduced to Hindi, a criticallanguage and one that is lesscommonly taught," Hopkinsand Ollapally said.

They hope that the coursewill help lay the foundation forfull credit Hindi classes in theuniversity.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Plight of war, corruption in thesociety, and lynching in thename of religion will be someof the burning topics exploredin an upcoming theatre festivalstarting August 23.

The 3rd edition of SanhitaManch, organised by Mumbai-based theatre group BeingAssociation, will kick off fromPL Deshpande auditorium,Dadar, Mumbai.

While the three Hindi plays,to be showcased in the festival,were selected by a panel ofjudges from the world of the-atre and films including RanjitKapoor, Ratna Pathak Shahand Atul Tiwari; the onlyMarathi play was shortlised bya team including Marathi play-wright and theatre critic SatishAlekar, Jayant Pawar andIrawati Karnik.

The event will open with"Radhey", a play inspired byHindi poet Ramdhari Singh

Dinkar's timeless classic"Rashmirathi", produced bythe group headed by theatre-film actors Rasika Agashe andZeeshan Ayyub.

It is set on Karna's last twodays of life during theMahabharata war. It will alsoexplore the impact of war onpeople from different sectionsof society, their take on war,their desires, dreams, anger and

changing relationships witheach other during the war.

The group, founded by the-atre director Rasika Agasheand her husband actor ZeeshanAayub, aims to revive originalwriting through the initiative.

"Theatre is a therapeuticprocess and it helps in person-ality development. but to behonest it's an opportunity tomeet old, new friends in a com-

mon space, exploring new con-tent, reading new plays, mak-ing, remaking and fighting anddiscussing and relearning, forme. "So, we are here with the3rd edition of Sanhitamanch...let's relive," Ayyub said.

While Flying Fathers ArtAssociation's "Kabab", direct-ed by Rajesh Singh, will see asingle mother struggle to raisea child under the weight ofgreed and corruption, VihaanDrama Works' "Romeo Juliet inSmart Cities of ContemporaryIndia" will witness a youngcouple standing against theworld for their love.

A Marathi play "Adhyat Mi,

Sadhyat Tu, Madhyat Ma KuniNahi" will also be staged byMaharashtra Culture Centre.

After concluding the showsin Mumbai on August 25, thegroup will travel to Pune fromAugust 26-29, Bhopal fromSeptember 13-15, and finally toDelhi from October 4-6.

The plays are also compiledin a book, which will bereleased in the festival itself.

The festival will also seeseminars and discussion on thecraft of theatre by theare andfilm actors Rajendra Gupta,Himani Shivpuri, RamuRamanathan and playwrightVijay Kenkre.

Theatre festival to explore topics of war, lynching

Abrogation of370 is theneed of thehour: VP Naidu

PNS n CHENNAI

Vice President M VenkaiahNaidu on Sunday backed thescrapping of special statusunder Article 370 to Jammuand Kashmir, saying it was theneed of the hour. The issueshould also be seen from thenational perspective and peo-ple of the country should standwith their counterparts in J andK, he said here at the launch ofhis book, a chronicle of his twoyears in office.

"Abrogation of Article 370 isthe need of the hour... it is in theinterest of the nation for its safe-ty and security," Naidu said.

Union Home Minister AmitShah, who was also present atthe book launch, assertedremoval of special status willlead to end of terrorism andprogress of the region.

Prez greetspeople on eveof Idu'l ZuhaPNS n NEW DELHI

President Ram Nath Kovindon Sunday greeted the peo-ple on the eve of Idu'l Zuhasaying the festival symbol-ises "love, fraternity andservice to humanity".

In his message, thePresident said on the occa-sion of Idu'l Zuha, he offershis greetings and goodwishes to all fellow citizens,especial ly the "Muslimbrothers and sisters in Indiaand abroad".

"Idu'l Zuha symboliseslove, fraternity and serviceto humanity. Let us commitourselves to these universalvalues that represent ourcomposite culture," he said.

The event will open with “Radhey”, a playinspired by Hindi poet Ramdhari SinghDinkar's timeless classic “Rashmirathi”,produced by the group headed by theatre-filmactors Rasika Agashe and Zeeshan Ayyub

On Saturday, the opposition Congress, NCP andMNS accused the BJP-led state government of"shamelessly advertising" itself, after it emergedthat grain bags for flood victims in parts of Sanglidistrict carried stickers with images of ChiefMinister Devendra Fadnavis and a BJP MLA

“We have decided thatwe will be bringingGlobal Cinema Festivalto tier 2 and tier 3 citiesacross India, so thatthe people from thesetowns and cities canalso be a part of suchinternational filmfestivals and get achance to watch qualitymovies coming fromacross the globe”

Four Punjab cops sackedfor raiding priest's housewithout approval

Indian embassy to impart free Hindi classes at US university

Railways waive freight charges forrelief materials to floot-hit statesPNS n BENGALURU

The Indian Railways hasannounced waiver of freightcharges for transportation ofrelief materials to Karnataka,Maharashtra and Kerala, whichhave been badly hit by floods.

Relief materials for these statescan be booked on goods trainand parcel vans by all govern-ment organisations across thecountry free of cost, DeputyDirector (Traffic Commercial) ofthe Railway Board MahendarSingh said.

"All the government organi-sations across the country canbook relief material free of costto Karnataka, Kerala andMaharashtra as of now. Otherorganisations, as deemed fit by

the divisional Railway manager,may also avail of this provision,"he said in a letter to all Railwaygeneral managers. However, itmay be ensured that consignoror consignee was the districtmagistrate or deputy commis-sioner in whose jurisdiction the

dispatching or receiving stationwas located, he said in the letter.

The heavy monsoon rainshave triggered floods in Kerala,Karnataka and Maharashtraamong other states claimingover 80 lives and displacinglakhs of people since last week.

PNS n MATHURA (UP)

A man was charred to death inhis car on Sunday while twoother occupants receivedminor burns after their carrammed into a divider andcaught fire on YamunaExpressway, police said.

The incident took place onSunday morning in the areafalling under the Surir policestation in Mathura district

while the speeding car wasgoing towards Agra from Loniin Ghaziabad, DSP Vinay

Singh Chauhan said.The car rammed into the

divider, overturned and caughtfire, killing the driver Imtiaz(45) and injuring Nadeem andLilu, who managed to comeout of the car, Chauhan said.

The injured were taken to aprivate hospital, the DSP said.The body has been sent for apost-mortem, he added. Allmen were residents of Loni inGhaziabad, the officer said.

Man dies as car catches fireon Yamuna Expressway

How can one think of pollsduring flood!

UDDHAV ON RAJ'S REMARK

HYDERABAD | MONDAY | AUGUST 12, 2019 world 07

TROTTINGTROTTINGGLOBE

CAR BOMB KILLS TWO UNOFFICIALS IN LIBYATripoli: A car bomb explosion has killedtwo UN officials in the eastern Libyancity of Benghazi, according to a source."Two of the staff of the UN Missionwere killed and another was injured in acar bomb explosion, as a convoy of UNvehicles was passing in front of a localmall in Hawari neighbourhood ofBenghazi," the source told Xinhua newsagency.

CANADA CABLE CAR CORD SEVEREDOttawa: Police in Canada havelaunched an investigation into anincident where someone deliberatelycut the cord of cable car gondola inBritish Columbia, felling the 2-kmroute, the media reported on Sunday.

FBI, US JUSTICE DEPT PROBEEPSTEIN SUICIDEWashington: The FBI and the USJustice Department have launchedinvestigations into the death of jailedNew York billionaire financier JeffreyEpstein, who was found dead in hisfederal prison cell.

UK POWER CUT: NT’L GRIDRULES OUT CYBER-ATTACKLondon: British National Grid has saidthat it does not believe a cyber-attackwas to blame for the Friday masspower cuts, in which nearly one millionpeople across England and Wales lostpower.

Mawlamyine: Myanmar troopsdeployed to flood-hit parts ofthe country on Sunday to helpwith relief efforts after risingwaters left thousands strandedand the death toll from a land-slide jumped to 51.

Every year monsoon rainshammer Myanmar and othercountries across SoutheastAsia, submerging homes, dis-placing residents and triggeringlandslides.

But this year's deluge hastested the government's abili-ty to respond after a fatal land-slide on Friday in southeasternMon state was followed byheavy flooding that reached theroofs of houses and the tops ofstreet signs in nearby towns.

Hundreds of emergencyresponse workers were stillpulling victims out of themuddy wreckage in Paungtownship on Sunday.

"Three more dead bodies

were found at 11:50 am. Thetotal death toll has reached 51people," the Myanmar fire ser-vices department said on itsFacebook page.

Heavy rains pounded otherparts of Mon, Karen andKachin states, flooding roads,destroying bridges and forcingpeople to flee by boat.

As the rainy season reach-es its peak, the country's armedforces are pitching in.

"Our regional militarycommands are working to helpwith the search and rescueprocess in disaster areas,"Brigadier General Zaw MinTun told AFP.

"Helicopters will be used tosupply food." The bulk of theeffort is focused on hard-hitMon state, which sits on thecoast of the Andaman sea.

"This year is the worst," aresident of Ye township toldAFP.

AP n HONG KONG

Police fired tear gas on lateSunday afternoon to try to

disperse a demonstration inHong Kong as protesters tookover streets in two parts of theAsian financial capital, blockingtraffic and setting up anothernight of likely showdowns withriot police.

Protesters hurled bricks atofficers and ignored warnings toleave the Sham Shui Po areabefore tear gas was deployed,police said, calling the march an"unauthorized assembly."

Nearby, protesters wearinggas masks gathered outside apolice station in Cheung ShaWan, as officers wearing theirown protective gear looked downat them from a tall wall aroundthe station.

Across Victoria Harbour, alarge group of mostly young pro-testers marched down the mid-dle of Hennessey Road, a mainshopping drag in the Causeway

Bay area, as a rally was held innearby Victoria Park.

Many wore face masks toshield their identities, and a fewhad helmets.

Others just carried back-packs over the black T-shirts thathave become their uniform.

"We hope the world knowsthat Hong Kong is not the HongKong it used to be," said one pro-tester, Louisa Ho. "China isdoing more and more to pressureHong Kong, its people and itsorganizations."

Hong Kong has seen nineweeks of protests with no end insight. The movement's demandsinclude the resignation of thecity's leader, democratic elec-tions, the release of those arrest-ed in earlier protests and aninvestigation into police use offorce against the protestersBanners at the rally in VictoriaPark read "Give Hong Kong backto us" and "Withdraw the evillaw," the latter a reference to anextradition bill that was theoriginal spark for the protests.

Karachi/Peshawar: Heavymonsoon rains have wreakedhavoc in Pakistan, killing atleast 28 people, includingwomen and children, and trig-gering flash floods and land-slides in several parts of thecountry, officials said onSunday.

At least 12 people werekilled and over 22 othersinjured in different parts ofKhyber Pakhtunkhwa due toflash floods, landslides andrain-related accidents, said aspokesman for the ProvincialDisaster ManagementAuthority (PDMA).

Three people were killedeach in Bajaur and Swat dis-trict. One person was killedeach in Dir Lower, Buner,

Malakand, Shangla, Aurakzaiand Torghar districts, thespokesman said, adding thatthe deceased included twowomen and two children.

In Chitral district, thecolony setup for Chinese engi-neers working on Lawari tun-nel was also inundated by flashfloods, the official said.

However, the engineerswere evacuated to safer places.

At least six people werekilled when their vehicle fell inthe Indus river in Kohistan dis-trict.

The passengers were trav-elling from Gilgit to lower dirdistrict for Eid vacations whenthey met the accident tookplace at Janchal area.

Torrential rains in Karachi

since late Saturday have killedaround 10 people and causedwidespread damage and heavyflooding on roads and in neigh-borhoods, an official said.

The heavy monsoon show-ers for the second day alsocaused widespread electricitybreakdown in half of Karachi.

According to the PakistanMeteorological Department(PMD), a total of 150 millime-tres of rain has been recordedin Karachi so far and there isforecast for more rain forSunday night.

"These are the heaviestmonsoon rains in Karachi since1992 due to heavy cover overthe Arabian sea but it will passby Monday," Hanif Rajput anofficial of the PMD said. PTI

Oslo: The shooting at amosque near Oslo is beingtreated as an "attempted act ofterror", Norwegian police saidSunday, with the suspectappearing to harbour far-right, anti-immigrant views.

"We are looking at anattempted act of terror," act-ing chief of the police opera-tion Rune Skjold told a pressconference after Saturday'sincident left one man injured.

Skjold said the investiga-tion had shown that the manappeared to hold "far-right"and "anti-immigrant" views.

The suspect, armed withmultiple weapons, opened fire

in the mosque in Baerum, asuburb of Oslo, on Saturdayafternoon, before being over-powered by a man who suf-fered "minor injuries" in theprocess.

Hours after the attack,the body of a young womanrelated to the suspect wasfound in a home also inBaerum.

Police said earlier Sundaythey had tried to question thesuspect, described as a "youngman" with a "Norwegian back-ground" who was living in thevicinity but he did not want to"give an explanation to police".

AFP

PTI n KATHMANDU

Two Nepalese men havebeen arrested on charges of

trafficking a girl to India on thepretext of providing her a job,police said.

Bhuwan Tamang, 31 andAite Lepcha, 29 fromNagdhunga were arrested fromThankot in the outskirt ofKathmandu, they added.

The duo were taking the20-year-old girl towards Indiaborder from Kakarbhitta in asuspicious manner by hidingher real identity on the pretextof providing her a job, policeadded.

Both of them have beentaken into custody and fur-ther investigation into thematter has been initiated,police said.

IANS n KABUL

The President of Afghanistanhas ruled out postponing

the country's upcoming elec-tions because of ongoing peacetalks between the US and theTaliban.

Ashraf Ghani said the voteon September 28 will go aheadas planned, in his address to thenation on Sunday to mark theIslamic festival of Eid al-Azha,Efe news reported.

"Election is vital... for tak-ing strong and difficult deci-sions in peace process.Afghanistan needs to elect apresident and to have a newgovernment so it can makepowerful and difficult peacedecisions with full authorityand dignity," he said.

According to Efe news,Ghani has cleared doubts aboutany delays in holding the elec-

tions on account of the nego-tiation underway in Doha,something highlighted by sev-eral Afghan politicians inrecent days.

"Rumours are circulatingthat the foreigners want this orthat. Our future fate will not bedecided in foreign countries...the future and fate of thiscountry will be decided here inAfghanistan," he added.

Ghani, who is seeking re-election, will lock horns withhis Chief Executive AbdullahAbdullah, and 16 other candi-dates in the vote.

Peace negotiations betweenthe US and the Taliban are inthe eighth round. The talks areworking towards an agreementon the withdrawal of foreigntroops and assurances thatAfghanistan will not be used byterrorist groups to attackanother country.

AFP n SHANGHAI

The death toll fromTyphoon Lekima rose to 33

in eastern China, local author-ities said Sunday, as rescueteams worked to find morethan a dozen missing after thestorm triggered a landslideand forced more than a millionpeople to evacuate.

The monster stormarrived in Wenling city in theearly hours of Saturday, pack-ing winds of 187 kilometresper hour (116 miles per hour),with waves several metreshigh hitting the coastline.

At least 18 people were

killed in a landslide triggeredby torrential downpours in themunicipality of Wenzhou,around 400 kilometres (250miles) south of Shanghai,national broadcaster CCTVsaid Saturday.

A further 12 deaths wereannounced Sunday but it wasunclear if they were from thesame incident.

Eighteen people were stillmissing, according to Zhejiangprovincial authorities."Currently, search and rescuework from various regions isstill ongoing," they said onsocial media platform Weibo.

More than a million peo-

ple were evacuated from theirhomes ahead of the typhoon,the official Xinhua newsagency reported. Some110,000 people were housed inshelters.

According to Zhejiangauthorities, the natural disas-ter has incurred economiclosses of more than 15.8 billionyuan (USD 2.2 billion).

On Sunday, footage fromCCTV showed rescue workerson boats navigating throughLinhai city, where streets werecompletely submerged inmuddy water.

Local Chinese mediareports also showed teams

pulling stranded people frombright orange inflatable boats,with skies starting to clear asthe storm moved further upthe coast.

Lekima had crossed intoJiangsu province north ofShanghai and was expected tohit Shandong province later onSunday, CCTV reported.

Both provinces havealready issued a red alert fortorrential rain.

More than 3,200 flightshave been cancelled due to thetyphoon, the state broadcast-er reported, as Shanghai,Beijing, and other citiesgrounded planes.

Aden: A Saudi-led coalition saidSunday it launched a strikeapparently against southern sep-aratists in Yemen after theyseized the presidential palace inthe second city Aden.

The seizure, decried by theRiyadh-backed Yemeni govern-ment as a UAE-supported coup,reflects deep divisions betweensecessionists and loyalist forces,both of whom have fought ShiiteHuthi rebels.

"The coalition targeted anarea that poses a direct threat toone of the important sites of thelegitimate government," a coali-tion statement said, calling on theseparatist Southern TransitionalCouncil to withdraw from posi-tions seized in Aden or face fur-ther attacks.

Riyadh-based YemeniPresident Abedrabbo MansourHadi is backed by the coalition— led by Saudi Arabia and itsally. AFP

Mina: Around 2.5 million pil-grims took part in a symbolicstoning of the devil onSaturday, marking the finaldays of the hajj pilgrimage inSaudi Arabia and the start ofthe Eid al-Adha celebrations forMuslims around the world.

To mark the completion ofthe hajj, male pilgrims shavetheir hair and women trimtheirs to represent a spiritual

renewal and rebirth. Male pil-grims will also remove thewhite terrycloth garments wornon the hajj and return to theirusual attire.

The five-day hajj pilgrim-age is required of all Muslimsonce in their lifetime, if they arefinancially and physically ableto make the journey.

Muslims around the worldcommemorate the end of hajj

with Eid celebrations, includ-ing distributing meat to thepoor.

"I came from Sudan toMecca where I performed thepilgrimage," Mohammed Salehsaid as he performed the finalrites of hajj in Mina. "We hopeall pilgrims will be successful intheir hajj." Others tooexpressed a sense of gratitudeto have performed the hajj.

Saudi Arabia said 1.85 mil-lion pilgrims from more than160 different countries traveledto the kingdom for the hajj thisyear. Another 634,000 joinedfrom within Saudi Arabia,nearly 70 per cent of them non-Saudi residents of the kingdom.

The hajj is one of thelargest religious gatherings onearth and a massive logisticalchallenge for the Saudi gov-

ernment to oversee each year.The kingdom provides pil-grims with health care andbuses for transportation, aswell as meals, snacks and wateralong the routes of hajj.

Mina is a sprawling valleynear Mecca where thousands ofair-conditioned tents are erect-ed to house pilgrims for thefinal leg of the hajj.

AP

AFP n SEOUL

North Korean leader KimJong Un supervised a "new

weapon" test, state media report-ed Sunday, the latest in a seriesof launches that US PresidentDonald Trump has played downas Washington seeks to restartnuclear talks with Pyongyang.

The report carried by theKorean Central News Agencyfollowed Trump's commentsthat Kim had expressed a will-ingness to meet once the US-South Korean exercises are overand apologised for the slew ofmissile tests.

Saturday's launch was theNorth's fifth test in two weeks asit protests the annual militarydrills under way between Seouland Washington which alwaysinfuriates Pyongyang.

Defence officials in Seoulsaid Pyongyang fired whatappeared to be two short-rangeballistic missiles Saturday, flying400 kilometres (250 miles) beforesplashing down in the seabetween the Korean peninsulaand Japan.

KCNA provided no techni-cal specifications but said Sundaythey were a "new weapon" devel-oped to suit the country's "terraincondition".

The official Rodong Sinmunnewspaper carried several pho-tos showing a broadly grinningKim surrounded by his aides ashe observed the test.

Kim Dong-yub, a researcherat the Institute for Far EasternStudies, said the weapons werelikely to be new short-range bal-

listic missiles that are part ofPyongyang's modernisation of itsmilitary capabilities.

They were the "NorthKorean version of a low-cost,high-efficiency retaliation sys-tem" aimed at "incapacitatingmissile defence systems" in theSouth, Kim added.

In a statement issued byKCNA on Sunday, the North'sforeign ministry said the South'srefusal to cancel its joint drillswith the US had effectively scup-pered any prospect of future talkswith Seoul.

"They had better keep inmind that this dialogue would beheld strictly between (NorthKorea) and the US, not betweenthe North and the South," it said.

Trump has appeared deter-mined to secure a denuclearisa-tion agreement with NorthKorea ahead of next year's USpresidential elections, despite abreakdown in talks since hefirst met Kim in a historic sum-mit in Singapore in June 2018.

Even after their abortivesecond summit in February --and as Pyongyang has continuedto test short-range missiles --Trump has been reluctant to crit-icise the North Korean leader.

On Friday the US presidentsaid he agreed with Kim's oppo-sition to the war games -- albeitfor financial rather than militaryreasons -- and indicated themissile launches were not impor-tant.

"I'll say it again. There havebeen no nuclear tests. The mis-sile tests have all been short-range. No ballistic missile tests,

no long-range missiles," Trumpsaid.

Then on Saturday, Trumpsaid Kim had expressed in a let-ter his willingness to meet andresume negotiations once theUS-South Korean exercises areover.

Kim also offered a "smallapology for testing the shortrange missiles," the US leadernoted, and said the tests wouldend once the military drills wrapup on August 20.

The pair last met in late Junefor brief talks in theDemilitarised Zone separatingthe two Koreas -- and Trumpbecame the first sitting US pres-ident ever to step inside theNorth.

Shin Beom-chul, an analystat the Asan Institute for PolicyStudies in Seoul, said Trump'sdownplaying of the launcheswere equvalent to endorsing themissile tests.

"If Kim felt the missile testscould jeopardise the dialoguemomentum, he would refrain.But right now, it's as if NorthKorea has a licence to fire short-range missiles," Shin told AFP.

The foreign ministry inPyongyang said Trump's com-ments effectively recognised theNorth's "self-defensive rights"as a sovereign state to conduct"small" missile tests.

Leif-Eric Easley, a professorat Ewha University in Seoul, saidby appealing directly to Trump,Kim was "trying to drive awedge between Washington andSeoul" as Pyongyang seeks tobreak the alliance.

Washington: A federal judgeon Friday awarded more than$700,000 to a former AmericanUniversity student governmentpresident who accused thefounder of a well-known neo-Nazi website of directing hisfollowers to threaten her withracist online messages.

Taylor Dumpson, the firstblack woman to serve as stu-dent government president atAU, in 2017 sued AndrewAnglin, the founder and editorof the Daily Stormer, alleginghe initiated a racist "troll storm"against her that made her fearfor her life and disrupted herability to pursue her education.

Friday's decision, in the

U.S. District Court for theDistrict of Columbia, maymark the first time a court hasruled that racist online trollingactivity can interfere with one'sequal access to a public accom-modation, according to KristenClarke, president and executivedirector of the Lawyers'Committee for Civil RightsUnder Law, which representedDumpson.

"We think that this essen-tially opens up a new avenueto attack the dangerous activ-ities of white supremacists inour country," Clarke said inan interview. "I would expectthat other litigators will beable to use the ruling in this

case to seek justice on behalfof other victims of hatecrimes."

According to Dumpson'slawsuit, the barrage of hate-ful messages began in May2017, amid news reports thata masked man had hungnooses with bananasinscribed with racist mes-sages near the AU studentgovernment offices. Thebananas, which were found aday after Dumpson's inaugu-ration as student governmentpresident, included referencesto her sorority, Alpha KappaAlpha, whose membership ispredominant ly Afr icanAmerican.

Colombo: GotabhayaRajapaksa, former Sri Lankandefence secretary, was onSunday named as the presi-dential candidate of the SriLanka Podujana Peramuna(SLPP) party for the electionscheduled for later this year.

Brother of former strong-man President MahindaRajapaksa, Gotabhaya, 70,headed Rajapaksa's militarycampaign against the theLiberation Tigers of TamilEelam (LTTE) between 2006and 2009.

He attained super hero sta-tus among the SinhalaBuddhist majority of the coun-try for ending the three-decades-long civil war withthe LTTE.

Ending months of specu-lation, Rajapaksa on Sundaynamed his younger brotherGotabhaya as the presidentialcandidate and additionally tookover the leadership of the newpolitical party formed by theRajapaksa family, the SLPP.

Rajapaksa thus ended hislong association with the SriLanka Freedom Party (SLFP) ofwhich he had been a membersince the mid 1960s, and elect-ed twice as the president fromthe SLFP. PTI

North Korea says latesttest was ‘new weapon'

2 held on chargesof girl trafficking in Nepal

Typhoon Lekima death toll in China rises to 33

After racist troll storm, US Universitygraduate awarded over $7,00,000

Palestinains celebrate the Islamic holiday of Eid-ul-Azha in front of the Dome of then Rock shrine in Jerusalem on Sunday AP

28 people killed inheavy rains in Pakistan

Saudi-led coalitionlaunches strikeafter Aden 'coup'

Af rules out suspendingpresidential elections

Muslims mark Eid and final days of hajj in Saudi

Norway mosqueshooting ‘attemptedact of terror'

Myanmar troops helpflood rescue afterlandslide kills 51

Tear gas fired in Hong Kongwith no end in sight to protests

Islamabad: The Pakistan MediaRegulatory Authority has askedmedia outlets not to air "pre-recorded or live special pro-grammes on Eid-ul-Azhabecause it "may hurt sentimentsof not only our nation but alsothe Kashmiri brethren", themedia reported.

In a notification on Saturday,the regulatory authority said: "Inobservance of solidarity withKashmir, Eid-ul- Azha is beingcelebrated with simplicity as areligious event. Therefore, it isrequested that no special pro-gramme be aired as Eid cele-brations as the same may hurtsentiments of not only our nationbut also the Kashmir brethren."

IANS

Pak channels barredfrom airing spl Eidprogrammes

Rajapaksanames brotherfor Lankapresidency

The Indian subcontinent, particu-larly India, has had a history thatis littered with instances of bring-ing light to the world using thetorch of science. Right from

Aryabhata, the genius mathematician whogave the world an approximation of pi, to therecent launch of Chandrayaan-2, scientificthought is as much a part of our history asdiversity. The manner in which science doesnot limit itself to the corners of our imagi-nation but extends itself to the mainstreamlife is evident by the love and affection Indianshave for former President APJ Abdul Kalam,who himself was a scientist of great acclaimand repute. In fact, it was Kalam, who hadsaid, “Science is a beautiful gift to humani-ty; we should not distort it.”

As a doctor by training and education, Iparticularly take keen interest in the scientif-ic progress made by our country. This is pre-cisely why I fear that India risks falling behindthe rest of the world. Such issues are not newand have been a cause for concern for quitesome time now. In 2007, for example, NRNarayana Murthy, one of India’s most wide-ly recognised exponents of scientific thought,wrote in a popular Indian newspaper abouthow despite having a strong intellectual cap-ital base, we still had a long way to go in util-ising the resources towards creating a strongknowledge economy.

While commenting about the preceding10 years (1997-2007), Murthy wrote abouthow India is in the bottom third of the glob-al knowledge economy, according to theWorld Bank. He went on to explain the natureof the problem by citing the example ofCanada — with a population less than threeper cent as that of India’s — had roughly thesame number of people engaged in researchand development (R&D). He also took theexample of China, which in terms of expen-diture on R&D, spent close to 1.5 per cent ofits Gross Domestic Product (GDP) whileIndia spent close to 0.85 per cent of its GDPon R&D. Fast forward to 2017, a full decadelater, India’s position is not much better. Wenow spend only 0.83 per cent of the GDP onR&D. This is among the lowest in the world.

Why can this become a problem? Indiahas not addressed the problem of a lack ofinvestment and attention to scientific researchfor over two decades now and the negativeeffects of this are starting to show, especiallyin healthcare. The marked lack of break-through in scientific research for healthcareis extremely disconcerting. In the past, Indiarelied on the generic drugs industry to cre-ate its niche, to provide employment andcheap drugs to its citizens.

However, now the scientific landscape hasundergone a significant change. Generic drugsare typically limited to small-molecule med-ications that are made from synthesised chem-icals, which have a fixed chemical structureand this makes them easy to replicate at alower cost. Aspirin, for example, is one suchmedication whose active ingredient has only

21 atoms (very limited from amedicine’s perspective). Thismakes the drug easy to copy andmanufacture. A number ofIndian companies have, therefore,been able to do so to great effect.However, the paradigm has nowshifted from cheap generic drugs,which are easy to replicate, to“biosimilars.” These are largermolecules that are derived fromliving cells. This makes it morechallenging for firms to developand manufacture. This, becausedrugs made from living cells,often consist complex proteinsand chemicals, which can haveup to 20,000 atoms.

It is for this reason that reg-ulatory bodies have establisheddetailed guidelines, which requirecomplex clinical trials to ultimate-ly develop these type of drugs.This is also why the cost of devel-oping such drugs can reach hun-dreds of millions of dollars.

Since India has not focussedenough on R&D, new medicineslike biosimilars and other med-ical devices, diagnostics, patientaids and monitoring tools haveto be imported to the country.This has in turn made them moreexpensive. Therefore, there isnow a serious risk that India willbe left behind in the field of sci-entific progress.

However, there’s still time toarrest this decline. In 2016,PwC released a report titled,‘Unlocking India’s Potential for

Leadership in PharmaceuticalInnovation’. It underlined fourkey areas, which India needed tofocus on to provide an environ-ment that encourages innova-tion and scientific discovery.These four areas are: Humanresources, finance, infrastructureand legal/regulatory framework.Owing to spatial restrictions, Iwill, for the purpose of this arti-cle, restrict my focus to develop-ing human resources and a bet-ter legal/regulatory framework.

From a human resourcepoint of view, it is important forus to encourage scientificresearch. Since it typically bearsfruits only after years of effort,one key step can be to make thispursuit a livelihood worth pur-suing. This can be done by sub-sidising such scientific pursuitsand creating incentives for stu-dents to publish their research.

While we often believe thatscientific research is limited tohigh-tech labs of large companies,the reality is often different. Alarge number of significantbreakthroughs in science —whether in medicine or other-wise — is often borne out of thelabour of researchers in libraries.The most recent example is thatof “CRISPR-Cas9”, a technologythat is being used to change thegenetic makeup of organisms.This could be one of the most sig-nificant scientific discoveries ofour age. It is, therefore, crucial

that we create an environmentwhere such scientific rigour isencouraged and developed.

Another crucial pillar is alegal system, which provides anenvironment to incentivisecompanies both in India andabroad to develop products inour country. A strong patentsystem is crucial for this. It isno coincidence that the twocountries, who are pioneers inthe field of scientific research,the United States and Israel,also boast of a robust environ-ment for intellectual propertyrights. With a clear majority inthe Lok Sabha, I would encour-age this Government to bringchanges to India’s regulatoryenvironment that can allow usto compete with the rest of theworld on this aspect.

While none of these pillarscan be developed overnight, withthe right sort of push and impe-tus, India may soon be able toproudly stake its claim as a sci-entific hub for the rest of theworld. If not, we as Indians maysoon have no option other thanto look back at scientific behe-moths like Aryabhata, CVRaman and Homi J Bhabha withbitter regret that the rich historythey left behind and the pathsthat they illuminated could notbe explored further.

(The author is former president of Jharkhand PradeshCongress Committee)

Since 1982, cricket in India has alwaysbeen considered special and rules thatapplied to other sports never applied to

it or the Board of Control for Cricket in India(BCCI). But now it appears that the BCCI hasgiven in to the Sports Ministry and the WorldAnti-Doping Agency (WADA) and will allow theNational Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) to testcricketers during BCCI-organised events.Was this in response to the curious case ofPrithvi Shaw being taken off for a year becausehe took a banned substance, even though it

was in a cough syrup? Or was it because of governmental pressure? Or was itbecause the BCCI’s hard stance would have jeopardised the participation of thewomen’s team at the next Commonwealth Games? Most likely it was a com-bination of all three cases, and while this should be celebrated, it has left manyin the BCCI angry and fearful of governmental interference in everyday affairs.Although how that could be any worse than the farcical situation of today withthe Committee of Administrators is a moot point.

One reason cricketers were upset at WADA and NADA was that inspectorscan take samples from them whenever and wherever they wished and the crick-eters would have to share their exact whereabouts well in advance. This, manycricketers claimed, would be a violation of their privacy and a potential dangerto personal safety. This was a facile argument as top sportspersons and ath-letes in a whole variety of disciplines, including truly global superstars in foot-ball, tennis and athletics, have been subjected to tests for years. And while sev-eral athletes have complained about the supposedly random tests picking onthem too often, there have been no complaints of authorities leaking their where-abouts to the paparazzi. This acquiescence to be tested by NADA will cruciallymean that the Indian Premier League (IPL), which in its early years was notori-ous for its party culture, will come under testing. However, as cricket has becomemore professional over the years, it is unlikely that it has a performance-enhanc-ing drug problem. But the presence of steroids in many common pharmaceu-tical formulations is, as Prithvi Shaw discovered, a slippery situation. That said,it’s vital that top athletes in cricket and other sports are made aware, may bedoubly so, of the dangers of self-medication and the presence of banned sub-stances in the most innocuous of medicines. It is also clear that the NADA hasa greater problem than cricket on its hands with drug abuse common in somesports, as athletes, who win competitions, often get government jobs. This is

a problem that has to be tackled fast.

There’s something inherently reassuringabout the return of normalcy in the dailyrhythms of life, people moving about in

the streets, shopping for rations, visiting placesof worship, children going to schools and theelderly taking their walks. Life, as it happensaround us in its mundane beats, gives a strangesense of continuity and status quo. The Valley,which was traumatised into silence after heavysecurity deployment, the abrogation of Article370 and its declaration as Union Territory, cameout on the streets despite the overturning of

what had so far underpinned its political existence. At least, people attempted toresume their social life as they knew it with the relaxation of restrictions, albeitunder strict vigilance. Some of them even managed to speak to the Press despitethe presence of security personnel, even sharing their repressed views and fears.Others lamented the lockdown had thrown life out of gear. Yet others went aboutshopping for Bakr-Id, hoping their sincere prayers would be heard and blood-shed would stop in the Valley. This is an uneasy truce, something they have livedwith for years, but the inevitability of a changed status is new to them. And theydo not quite know how to react. This is where Naya Bharat’s Kashmir doctrinewill be put to test, whether the healing touch of socio-economics will win overthe people’s hearts or not, whether the muscularity of a bold move will be com-plemented by an empathetic understanding of people’s needs, where majoritar-ians understand that yielding space and listening may deliver greater returns thanexpected and that a tectonic policy shift also entails a mindset change.

Of course, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s outreach does talk about issuesthat matter to the ordinary Kashmiri — boosting growth, powering MSMEs, devel-oping a tourism hub, opening institutions of excellence, marketing Kashmir’s her-itage crafts, creating jobs and so on. Now translating them on the ground mustbe done judiciously. While Jammu might feel that it has been denied resourcesbecause of the special status to Kashmir for too long, it shouldn’t be seen asbeing rewarded so much that Kashmir feels the integration was just a politicalpunishment. As a State, which was undoubtedly under-served economically andinfrastructure wise, it still had been able to maintain some healthy growth indices.Because, though buying land as promised may seem like a whole new world,the fact is the 99-year lease model has worked for setting up existing business-es. While the nature of industries may be limited given the region’s Himalayanterrain and climate concerns, it can become a major pharmaceutical, medicaland research hub with more knowledge-based units. The educated Kashmiri youthcould become a national asset as they have proved their excellence, particular-ly in scientific disciplines, in the rest of India and abroad. Harnessing them prop-erly and absorbing them in jobs could undoubtedly give us a talent pool but it’sa tough act considering there is joblessness in the rest of the country. It is diffi-cult to demonstrate short-term gains in Kashmir where reclaiming peace willundoubtedly be a long journey. And without that stability, investment will just notcome in. For starters, the re-organisation has pushed the civil society further awayfrom us. And tainting politically-elected leaders as the nation’s disruptors andarresting them have distanced any hope of a return to consultative and consen-sual dialogue. They need to be coopted, not distanced, considering they havealways chosen to side with democracy. Even the educated elite have throughgenerations invested their faith in the idea of India than separatism, and so theGovernment must take care to ensure that trust is not misplaced. For the senseof betrayal could result in unimagined hitbacks. This requires a velvet glove approachconsidering the abolition of statehood has also meant a denial of their identityas they knew it. The mass protests by ethnic Muslims from Kargil are warningbells that bifurcation could trigger demands for further division and autonomy,resulting in unrest. The Government needs to have its ear stuck to the ground toanticipate implications and have a redressal mechanism in place. The panchay-at model of devolution of power should now be systematically built up to localgovernance structures. Unrealistic imposition can never transplant realistic grace.

Healing Kashmir

Big mistake

Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Pakistan hits back” (August9). Before it rushed ahead withsnapping trade ties with India,debt-ridden Pakistan should haveunderstood that trade is a basicneed for employment and incomegeneration for its people. Also,reorganising its own State isIndia’s internal matter.

Even on the diplomatic front,the rest of the subcontinent hasrecognised this as a fact. Pakistanmust shun its policy of state-sponsored terrorism as it isalready on the grey list of inter-national donor agencies for ter-ror-financing. It should continueto engage in talks with India at thebilateral level and resolve allpending issues.

Harvinder Singh ChughJalandhar City

Time to mend ways

Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Pakistan hits back” (August9). The Government’s decision tonullify Article 370 and 35A of theConstitution has, in fact, fulfillednational desire and ambition.

Incorporation of these Articleswere meant to act as a deterrentforce towards the integration ofJammu & Kashmir with the restof India. But such was not the caseas powers were confined to theMinistries of External Affairsand Defence. Communicationand other matters came under thejurisdiction of Jammu & Kashmir.

Despite fierce oppositionfrom the likes of Sardar Patel and

others in the ConstituentAssembly, the will of the thenPrime Minister Jawaharlal Nehruprevailed and the Articles wereincorporated in the Constitutionas a temporary provision.

When the Pakistan Armypublicly termed the two Articlesas a “sham”, which were also neverrecognised by Rawalpindi, whydoes it have to protest the IndianParliament’s decision? Why did it

expel our High Commissionerfrom their country?

Moreover, the UN as alsomost countries have rejectedPakistan Government’s com-plaints regarding Kashmir, statingthat it is a bilateral issue and mustbe resolved in accordance withthe Simla Agreement. Their timehas finally come.

Nimai Charan SwainBhubaneswar

Erratic nature

Sir — The UN’s IntergovernmentalPanel on Climate Change (IPCC)had warned that efforts to limitglobal warming, while feeding abooming population, could bewrecked without swift changes tohow we use the land. The IPCC’sreport offered a sobering take onthe hope that reforestation and bio-fuel schemes alone could offset thedamage done to the environment.

Land is intimately linked toclimate. With its forests, plantsand soil, it sucks up and storesaround one-third of all man-made emissions. Overexploitationof resources produces hugeamounts of planet-warming CO2,methane and nitrous oxide.Retention of fresh water in theinner recess of the land is possi-ble only through the protection ofthe trees and plants. Intenseexploitation of resources, man’sunsatisfying greed for amassingwealth and uncaring for the envi-ronment are the root causes forthe natural disasters that befall us.

TK NandananChennai

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

www.dailypioneer.comfacebook.com/dailypioneer | @TheDailyPioneer | instagram.com/dailypioneer/

op nionHYDERABAD | MONDAY | AUGUST 12, 2019

08

Take the scientific plunge

AJOY KUMAR

It is essential for India to invest in R&D to boost scientific rigour so that we can competewith the rest of the world. Else we may just look back at our pioneers and sigh

Today it is 370, tomorrowthey will rake up the RamMandir issue and then theUCC. This is being done todivert your attention.

MNS chief—Raj Thackeray

I work out least fourtimes a week and eat simple and healthy food. I don’t diet. That’s my fitness mantra.

Actor—Shamita Shetty

China wants to settle this deal.They’ve had the worst year thatthey’ve had in many, many decades.It’s getting only worse. Thousandsof companies are leaving.

US President—Donald Trump

S O U N D B I T E

L E T T E R S T O TT H E E D I T O R

Pakistan must re-think on its decision

This refers to the editorial, “Pakistan hits back”(August 9). Pakistan’s decisions to suspend bilat-eral trade, observe August 15 as a black day and

expel the Indian envoy over the Kashmir issue is noth-ing but a knee-jerk reaction to internationalise the mat-ter. Well, is it for the first time that Islamabad has actedin such a matter? After the 2001 Parliament attack, whileIndia withdrew its High Commissioner to Pakistan, itchose not to send back the Pakistani envoy at the time.Besides, hostilities against Indian diplomats in Islamabadhave always been there. According to a diplomat, “onehas to live in Islamabad and have the Inter-ServicesIntelligence looking at your family constantly to knowwhat it is all about.”

A continuation of this trend is unlikely to lead to achange on the ground, especially when Pakistan enjoyslittle support globally because of its continued use ofterrorism as a state ploy. India is well placed to deal with

Pakistan at any international forum. By ending trade anddiplomatic relations with us, it is doing more harm toitself. It is clear that with these actions, Pakistan is des-perately trying to keep its morale high. It must recon-sider its decision to downgrade diplomatic ties with India.

JS AcharyaHyderabad

IT IS NOCOINCIDENCE

THAT THE TWOCOUNTRIES, WHOARE PIONEERS IN

THE FIELD OF SCIENTIFIC

RESEARCH, THE USAND ISRAEL, BOAST

OF A ROBUSTENVIRONMENT FOR

INTELLECTUALPROPERTY RIGHTS.

WITH A CLEARMAJORITY IN THELOK SABHA, THE

GOVERNMENT MUSTBRING CHANGES

TO INDIA’SREGULATORY

ENVIRONMENT

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

Get off the high horse

Focus on science and technolo-gy may give the child a suc-cessful career and a job but lit-erature can help them earn asuccessful and meaningful life.

NBT chairman—Govind Prasad Sharma

The Govt’s tonal approach and response to ground realitywill make all the difference between conflict and peace

BCCI agrees to dope tests of players after Prithvi Shaw’s case of consuming a banned substance

A genuine problem

THE THREAT IS VERY REAL. WE WILL HAVE TORESPOND TO SUCH A SCENARIO AND THIS IS HOW

WE HAVE SEEN WARS STARTING BETWEEN NATIONS.—PAKISTAN PRIME MINISTER

IMRAN KHAN

THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY DOES NOT THINKTHERE IS A WAR-LIKE SITUATION. IT IS A PLOY TODEFLECT ATTENTION.—MEA SPOKESPERSONRAVEESH KUMAR

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

It is no secret that India’s economy has seenweak growth and that this slowdown startedfrom the second quarter of the previous finan-

cial year. There are reasons behind this slump andone of them is to do with the Reserve Bank ofIndia’s (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).Recently, the MPC reduced the repo rates by 35-odd basis points. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Daswas of the view that cutting the repo rate by 25basis points would be “inadequate” while a 50 bpscut would be “excessive”, therefore, they settledfor 35. But the present cut isn’t impressive to meand neither will it impress anyone. In econom-ics 101 nominal variables do not matter and,therefore, we adjust them according to inflation.This is precisely why we talk about real GrossDomestic Product (GDP), real investments and,of course, real interest rates.

So, with this 35-basis point cut, India’s realrepo rate stands at 2.22 per cent this month. This,at a time when real interest rates across the worldare between zero and one while in select coun-tries, they’re even negative. Having such a highrate of real interest only increases cost of capitaland, thus, makes Indian firms less competitive.One does not need need a PhD in economics toknow that low real interest rates are importantfor sustaining economic growth. Moreover, we’refar more globally integrated today than ever beforeand, therefore, we need to look at the happen-ings across the globe and formulate our policies,including the monetary policy, accordingly.

Recently, the Fed, too, cut interest rates by 25basis points and concerns have been raisedregarding a slowdown in global growth. No sur-prises that world over, we have witnessed centralbankers reduce interest rates but while their realinterest rates are low, our real interest rates arehigher, despite the rate cuts.

At a time when we are towards the end of abanking crisis as we struggle with credit-offtake,high policy rates are only going to prolong therecovery. An immediate reduction in cost of cap-ital is only going to benefit the economy as cor-porate India is looking for ways to deleverage.Perhaps, lower real interest rates, combined withthe Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, may haveaccelerated the process of NPA resolution or evenif it did not, there was no downside in havinglower rates. Yet, the MPC has erred in terms oftaking a comprehensive view of our economy andit seems to be taking policy decisions in isolationeven as it ignores the happenings in the real econ-omy.

While low interest rates may not automati-cally kickstart growth and bring investments butthey are a necessary condition for growth (andnot a sufficient condition). Therefore, the effec-tiveness of any policy instrument used by theGovernment to kickstart the economy woulddepend on the cost of capital. India’s own expe-rience shows that GDP and industrial growthhave both taken off after a period of low real inter-est rates.

It is interesting to note that the MPC has cutinterest rates by 110 basis points since Januarythis year — three cuts of 25 basis points each fol-lowed by the recent 35 basis points. Despite thesecuts, real interest rates have gone up. Comparingthe period between May and December 2018,with the period since January 2019, one will find

that the average real repo rate went up from 2.8per cent to 3.3 per cent. This despite the 110 basispoints cut should alarm those responsible forshaping the monetary policy and must ring alarmbells for the RBI.

A reason behind the increase in average realrepo rates is lower inflation this year comparedto the previous year. Governor Das himself men-tioned that inflation is likely to remain benign tillthe third quarter of financial year 2019-20 andmay breach the four per cent mark in the fourthquarter. So, there was some room for a moreaggressive rate cut. The fact that inflation hasdropped faster than the repo rates suggests thatwe are way too slow in terms of cutting interestrates.

Since 2016, inflation has largely circledaround four per cent as mandated in the mon-etary policy framework; yet the repo rates werenot reduced and this is a major reason why India’scost of capital is one of the highest in the world.Perhaps, the MPC did not observe that just as thereal interest rates shot up in 2018, growth start-ed to falter from the second quarter onwards.Therefore, it is important to start questioningthose responsible for the monetary policy toexplain the reasons behind their reluctance tobring down the real interest rates to a level that’scomparable to the global standard.

It is a separate issue that these rate cuts arenot being reflected in the EMIs and that’sbecause banks are reluctant to cut their depositrates and subsequently lending rates. This reluc-tance comes due to the Government’s extensivesmall savings schemes that provides much high-er interest rates on deposits. Therefore, to com-pete, banks have to offer comparable deposit rates,which hinders the process of monetary transmis-sion.

So, on the one hand our monetary policy istoo tight, on the other, transmission issues ensurethat lending rates remain high. The Governmentmust link deposit rates for small savings schemes

with repo rates so as to ensure that transmissionof monetary policy improves. This will ensure thatthe prime lending rates come down, therebyreducing the cost of capital.

But there is a larger issue with the monetarypolicy and the decisions taken by the MPC, whichneeds to be addressed adequately. There isabsolutely no justification for high real interestrates at a time when there’s a slowdown in growthalong with the NBFC crisis.

The question is more about MPC’s account-ability rather than of the central bank’s indepen-dence. While the RBI is independent, just as theMPC is, these institutions must be held account-able. Even in the US, Fed’s chairman frequentlyanswers and addresses all questions that their law-makers have regarding the state of the economy.Therefore, it would be prudent for us to evalu-ate a similar mechanism whereby the MPC isasked to testify, explain and defend its decisionsin front of a parliamentary committee. Doing sowill strengthen the institution of the MPC andfacilitate greater insights into its understanding.

As far as the issue of inflation targetting isconcerned, in India, we usually experience costpush inflation in which case, monetary policy isof little use. One would have to wait for a peri-od of cost push inflation to see whether the MPCis any better than the previous regime but for now,there’s a need to give it a growth target just as ithas an inflation target.

Make no mistakes, our growth has slowed,and India continues to have one of the highestreal interest rates in the world. 110 was too lit-tle, we may well need another 100-basis point cutsoon to move towards a realistic level of real inter-est rates. Therefore, a major share of responsibil-ity of economic revival is now on the monetarybosses. Let’s hope that finally, they rise to the occa-sion and take a good look at our real rates alongwith what’s happening across the globe.

(The writer is a New Delhi-based policyresearcher)

For the revival of economic growth, our monetary bosses need to take a good look at what'shappening all over the world and bring down our real rates to a comparable level

analysis 09F I R S T C O L U M N

A roadmap for progress

AJOY KHANDHERIA

Despite the launch of many schemes, majorconcerns in the area of women’s reproductive

health remain. We need to stand up for their rights

KARAN BHASIN

With this year’s World Population Day being on thetheme of reproductive health and gender equality,which is essential to achieve the UN-mandated sus-

tainable development goals, the focus has once again shift-ed towards the need to women’s sexual and reproductivehealth. Numerous surveys have shown how women lackknowledge on sex, contraception, pregnancy and abortion.The lack of it has been affecting their reproductive health.

Reproductive health implies that apart from the absenceof disease or infirmity, people have the ability to reproduce,to regulate their fertility; women must be able to undergo preg-nancy and childbir th safely and that the outcome of preg-nancy must be successful in terms of both maternal and childhealth and well-being. Reproductive health is affected dueto a number of socio-cultural and biological factors as alsothe quality of healthcare delivery system. A woman-basedapproach to reproductive health is one which responds tothe needs of adult women and adolescent girls.

Current scenario: Even after four decades since the incep-tion of family planning programmes, nothing much haschanged in terms of population growth rate, which continues to grow at over two per cent per year. Currently,almost 18 million people are added to India’s population annually, of which, 40 per cent comprises children under theage of 14.

Life expectancy has now reached 61 years — up fromabout 44 in 1960. And crude death rate has fallen dramati-cally from 27 per 1,000 population at the time of indepen-dence in 1947 to 9.8 per 1,000 (1991). In Kerala, which reg-istered the longest life-expectancy, the average life span amongmales is 67.2 years and for females it is 72.4. Whereas inUttar Pradesh, which ranks among those States with the low-est life expectancies, there is a reversal of the gender pat-tern: While males are expected to live a total of 57.1 years,female life expectancy is only 52.8.

Gender disparity is the biggest roadblock towards equalaccess to healthcare. Unequal access to resources for women— be it in healthcare or education — is the harsh reality.Even economically, despite a majority of the rural women inIndia being active, their work largely goes unrecognised. Theyare poorly remunerated, too. Where women work, they earnlower wages, including lower cash-to-kind ratio than thosethat are awarded to men.

When it comes to household, women have little decision-making power and freedom of movement. Many behaviour-al norms further reinforce women’s lack of freedom of move-ment, self-confidence and their acceptance of self-denial,including in matters relating to health-seeking and food intake.Violence against women and rape have almost become partof their lives. Poor reproductive health among women canbe attributed to various socio-cultural and biological factors.Thus, ef for ts to improve thei r educat ion are fundamental — be it raising the enrolment and attendancerates of girls in school, reducing drop-out rates or enhanc-ing their income autonomy.

Loopholes in the reproductive health programmes:India’s family welfare programmes are basically focussed

on achieving demographic targets by increasing contracep-tive prevalence and notably, female sterilisation. However,Indian family planning schemes have also evolved througha number of stages. It has changed its focus. In the earlyyears, the programme came with loads of caution and itsimpact was hardly felt. Then during 1960s, it was strength-ened with the integration of family planning with maternal andchild health services. It was also during this decade that abor-tion was legalised. Despite all these effor ts, India’s mater-nal mortality ratio is estimated at 555 per 100,000 live births,which is about 50 times higher than that of many industri-alised nations and six times higher than our neighboring coun-try, Sri Lanka.

The following sub-sections highlight major concerns inthe area of reproductive health: Focus must be on reproduc-tive morbidity and maternal health; improving access to safeabortion; more should be done to spread information regard-ing sexually transmitted diseases; ensure the provision of com-prehensive sexuality education; eliminate coercive practicesand safeguard women’s informed consent and decision-mak-ing in sexual and reproductive health care contexts andimprove the quality of reproductive system.

(The writer is founder of Gramin Healthcare)

The subject of Pakistan Studieswas introduced in the early1970s. It was first made com-

pulsory in schools and from the late1970s onwards, in colleges anduniversities. Over the years, it hasoften been lambasted for promot-ing half truths and — from the1980s — even religious and racialbigotry.

Various Pakistani scholars suchas Dr AH Nayyar, Ahmad Salimand Rubina Saigol, have substanti-ated these claims through detailedstudies of Pakistani textbooks.Indeed, the content in these tomes,especially in Pakistan Studies books,is rather alarming.

The overlying consensus in thisregard is that the subject of PakistanStudies was concocted as a reactionto the rising sentiment of ethnicregionalism in the country; andlargely as a response to the violentmanner in which the former EastPakistan broke away in 1971 tobecome Bangladesh.

According to a desperate andbruised state and a new populistGovernment headed by ZA Bhutto,this happened because a cohesiveideology of Pakistan, based on ashared Muslim faith which tran-scended ethnic identities, had notbeen properly formulated andingrained among the people.

So, Pakistan Studies set out todo just that, even if it had to distortand omit certain inconvenienttruths. But as a project, it was ini-tially not really in the hands of bel-ligerent politico-religious scribes,even though it would become justthat during the Zia dictatorship inthe 1980s.

Initially, as an intellectual pur-suit, it was formed by some noted,rationalist historians and intro-

duced by a “modernist” state and apopulist left-leaning Government.

But here’s the interesting bit:Those, who came up with thissubject, eventually became its vic-tims. Let me explain. The creationof Pakistan Studies in the 1970s wasrelated to what was emerging in cer-tain prominent segments of theacademia in the US and Europe atthe time.

In 1961, the French philosopherMichel Foucault published Madnessand Civilisation. In 1962, theAmerican philosopher ThomasKhun published The Structure ofScientific Revolutions. In 1966, twoAmerican sociologists, Peter Bergerand Thomas Luckmann, pennedThe Social Construction of Reality.In 1968, the American anthropol-ogist, Carlos Castaneda, publishedThe Teachings of Don Juan.

These books made a hugeimpact on the evolution of psychi-atry, sociology and anthropology.Each one of them was authored by“progressive” men, who were edu-cated in some of the finest Westerneducational institutions which, for

years, had upheld the core princi-ples of the Age of Enlightenment:Reason, rationality, science andempiricism.

Yet, these books are all vehe-ment attacks on these principles.They claimed that truths, even scientific truths, were all con-structions of power elites. Mentalillness was a concept, not a truth.Reality was a social construction.Superstitions and “magical think-ing” can be as legitimate as scien-tific truths because truth was “relative.”

Noted American journalist andauthor Kurt Andersen, in his 2017book, Fantasyland, demonstratedhow an attack on rationalism andscience by Left-leaning academicsromanticised and then legitimisedirrationalism as an “anti-establish-ment” pursuit, which then began toinfluence subjects such as sociolo-gy and anthropology.

Anderson quotes the famousauthor and intel lectual PaulGoodman, lamenting that collegestudents were no more interested ingathering evidence to tell sociolog-

ical truths because they believed allsuch truths were created to empow-er the ruling elites.

In 1947, two Left-leaningGerman philosophers and sociolo-gists, Theodore Adorno and MaxHorkheimer, got the ball rollingwith their book, Dialectic ofEnlightenment, in which they cri-tiqued the “Enlightenment pro-ject” as one of the reasons behind the rise of Nazism inGermany. This meant that 19th cen-tury racist and anti-rationalist ideasthat had evolved into becomingmajor fascist ideologies in the 20thcentury were now absolved of allblame.

Therefore, it was only a matterof time till what began as an anti-rationalist onslaught by the acade-mic left would eventually beembraced by their rightist counter-parts. Since truth was now relative,and no amount of evidence couldprove otherwise, one could spoutanything and call it the truth with-out being challenged.

But those on the Right becamebetter at using this mindset. The

Left and the liberal, now entirelyengulfed by concepts such as post-modernism, post-structural-ism and relativism, among otherswere caught in an intellectual quag-mire.

The result: A dialogue betweenthe Left and the Right, which pro-duces zero synthesis because itlargely constitutes monologues,rebounded by echo chambers, con-tradictions and anger, that havebecome a parody of itself.

Pakistan Studies was born inthe 1970s in an intellectual environ-ment that had become dominatedby former rationalists turned anti-rationalists. It offered “truths” con-cocted to appease Pakistan’s post-1971 existentialist crises. “Truths”formed by respected historians anda leftist regime but then whole-heartedly embraced by the rightists,who then went on to concoctanother “truth”: The Left/liberalsbroke Pakistan. As modern anthropology would suggest, it’s‘their truth’ and you’ll be a spoil-sport to deny it.

(Courtesy: The Dawn)

The truth about Pakistan StudiesThe subject may have been formulated and promoted by Leftists and liberals in the 1970s as a response to the

country’s existential crises but they themselves became its victims

NADEEM PARACHA

HYDERABAD | MONDAY | AUGUST 12, 2019

www.dailypioneer.com

F O R E I G N E Y E

The penny is not what itwas. Who in 2019 canremember when 1p wouldhave been enough toenable you to spend theproverbial penny? Nor domany give a tuppence forthe twopence piece: Evenif they recall Anita Harris’s1968 hit Tuppenny BusRide, where could such afare take you now? Whatwe lose as we march toour cashless society isnot so much weight asbeauty. (The Guardian editorial)

TAKE CARE OF THE PENNIES

WHILE THE RBI ISINDEPENDENT,

JUST AS THE MPCIS, THESE

INSTITUTIONSMUST BE HELDACCOUNTABLE.

EVEN IN THE US,THE FED

CHAIRMANFREQUENTLY

ANSWERS ANDADDRESSES ALL

QUESTIONSTHAT THEIR

LAWMAKERS HAVEREGARDING THE

STATE OF THEECONOMY

PNS n HYDERABAD

The government on Sundaysaid it will soon address issuesaffecting the real estate sectorafter industry bodies andhomebuyers met FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharamanto flag their concerns regard-ing liquidity crunch, demandslowdown and stalled projects.

The finance minister onSunday held two separate meet-ings -- the first with the twoapex realtors' industry bodiesCREDAI and NAREDCO, andthe second with homebuyerassociations, to discuss theissues concerning the real estatesector and steps to be taken tostrengthen the industry.

Housing and Urban AffairsMinister Hardeep Singh Puri,Minister of State for FinanceAnurag Thakur and top offi-cials from the departments ofeconomic affairs, revenue,housing, CBDT, corporateaffairs and RERA were alsopresent in the meetings.

According to sources, rep-resentatives of CREDAI andNAREDCO said that there is"unrest" in the sector becauseof liquidity crunch and poorsales, and demanded thatbanks and NBFCs should beencouraged to fund projects.

They also expressed concernthat the situation could wors-en during the coming festiveseason when generally demandis higher.

There would be a separatehigh level meeting, under thechairmanship of the cabinetsecretary, in next few weeks todiscuss setting up of a stressfund to deal with stalled pro-

jects and bail out lakhs of stuckhomebuyers, sources added.

Briefing the media after themeeting, Puri said: "Lot ofuseful discussions happened atthe meeting with the real estateindustry. We looked at a num-ber of issues, clarified a num-ber of issues and the govern-ment will be addressing theseissues in the days to come."

With these discussions, hesaid, the process of findingsolutions to some of the prob-lems that have affected the realestate industry has started.

"Whatever problems arethere of the homebuyers, stalledprojects etc we are exploringways to move forward on this.Many homebuyers have movedthe Supreme Court and thereare judgements too. So it's avery complicated arena. But

given the goodwill within thegovernment, amongst thehomebuyers and industry, sowhatever problems are there wewill find solutions for them,"Puri asserted.

When asked about creationof a stress fund, he said a num-ber of issues were discussed,but declined to give details.

CREDAI Chairman JaxayShah said, "We had a great pos-itive, patient hearing fromfinance minister. Government

is cognisant about the matteraffecting real estate industryincluding the liquidity crunchand taxation issues. We arevery hopeful to have somegood and tangible results incoming weeks."

CREDAI President SatishMagar said the governmentwanted to know about all theissues affecting the industry.

NAREDCO PresidentNiranjan Hiranandani said:"As you know, the real estate

industry is going through a cri-sis, as is rest of the whole econ-omy. So we are very glad thatthe finance minister and hous-ing minister met us on aSunday morning to under-stand the situation."

"The positive part is that thegovernment understood thatwe need to take this thing for-ward and we need to do itquickly," he said.

Asked about the govern-ment's response, Hiranandanisaid, "No response in terms ofwhat actions the governmentwants to take, we are not awareand nor was anything com-mitted on behalf of the gov-ernment."

NAREDCO Vice ChairmanParveen Jain said the issue ofstalled projects in the NCRregion was also discussed.

HYDERABAD | MONDAY | AUGUST 12, 2019 money 10

According to sources, representativesof CREDAI and NAREDCO said thatthere is "unrest" in the sector becauseof liquidity crunch and poor sales, and demanded that banks and NBFCsshould be encouraged to fund projects

CAPSULE

Facing headwinds inUS, Natco Pharmalooks to scale up biz in ChinaNEW DELHI: Natco Pharma isfocusing on filing of cancertreatment drugs in China, theworld's second largestpharmaceutical market, as partof its strategy to diversifybusiness in various emergingmarkets amid headwinds inthe US. Addressingshareholders in the company'sAnnual Report for 2018-19,Natco Pharma Chairman andManaging Director V CNannapaneni said thecompany had foreseenimminent headwinds in the USmarket and had begandiversifying its resourcestowards building businessesin new markets. Thoseinvestments are now reapingrewards, he added. "We arecurrently investing to furtherestablish our presence inAustralia, Singapore, Chinaand South East Asiancountries and are confidentthat our businesses in thesemarkets will propel growth inthe future," Nannapaneni said.

NEW DELHI: Following someinitial surge in demand duringthe ICC World Cup, TV panelsales have again witnessed adecline and manufacturers arenow asking the government tolower GST and exempt theimport duty on open celltelevision panels to boost sales.Manufacturers are attributingthe fall in demand to overalllow consumer sentiments, assales of other home applianceslike washing machine andrefrigerators have alsowitnessed flat growth in July.According to the ConsumerElectronics and AppliancesManufacturers Association(CEAMA) President KamalNandi, the overall industry "wasflat in July with no growth indemand".

TV panel sales dip;manufacturers askgovt to lower GST

‘Govt may permit100% FDI in contractmanufacturing’NEW DELHI: The governmentis working on a proposal toallow 100 per cent FDI incontract manufacturing with aview to attract overseasinvestments, sources said.According to the existingforeign investment policy, 100per cent foreign direct invest-ment (FDI) is permitted in themanufacturing sector under theautomatic route. A manu-facturer is also allowed to sellproducts manufactured in Indiathrough wholesale and retailchannels, including through e-commerce, withoutgovernment's approval. "Thecurrent policy does not talkabout contract manufacturingand it is not clearly defined inthe policy. Big technologycompanies across the world aregoing for this, so there is aneed for a clarification on thematter which govt is consi-dering positively," they said.

The Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman, and the Minister of State for Housing & Urban Affairs, Civil Aviation (Independent Charge)and Commerce & Industry, Hardeep Singh Puri chairing the meeting with the representatives of homebuyers, in New Delhi on Sunday. The Minister of State for Financeand Corporate Affairs, Anurag Singh Thakur, and other dignitaries are also seen

India's real estate sectoron growth trajectory:CREDAI-CBRE reportPNS n TEL AVIV

India's economic transition,workforce expansion andurbanisation will boost invest-ment opportunities in realestate sector in the nextdecade, leading to significantgrowth in housing, office,retail and warehousing space,says a CREDAI and CBREreport.

In its joint report released ata real estate conference heldhere, property consultantCBRE said the sector wouldexpand tremendously by 2030,led by new asset classes suchas coworking, coliving, studenthousing and real estate invest-ment trusts (REITs).

The report estimated thatoffice space stock will touch onebillion sq ft by 2030, with flex-ible workspace accounting for8-10 per cent of the total stock.

The retail shopping centrestock is estimated to cross 120million sq ft by 2030, whilewarehousing stock could touch500 million sq ft by then.

By 2030, residential realestate has the potential toalmost double from the cur-rent stock of 1.5 million unitsin key cities, the report said.

"As the Indian economytransitions and its workforceexpands, it will offer vastdevelopment and investment

opportunities for the realestate sector," CREDAI-CBREreport said.

The growth of cities is goingto further influence the coun-try's built environment, whiletechnology, demographics andenvironmental issues willbecome the new value drivers,it added.

Commenting on the report,CREDAI President SatishMagar said, "India continuesto remain a high-priority mar-ket for long term growthpotential as is evident from theincreased investment flows inthe last few years.

"In the wake of positivepolicy reforms and emergenceof a strong workforce, themomentum of India's eco-nomic growth is steady and itwill only grow stronger in thenext 10 years," said AnshumanMagazine, Chairman andCEO, India, South East Asia,Middle East and Africa,CBRE.

The factors which will fur-ther facilitate this growth tra-jectory are investment,improved governance, humancapital upgrade, improvedconnectivity, infrastructureenhancement, strengthenedinstitutions, policy reformsand integrated sustainability ofthe entire ecosystem, headded.

Hiking income tax appeal limit to reduce litigation: ExpertsPNS n NEW DELHI

The finance ministry's decisionto significantly increase thelimit for the income tax depart-ment to appeal disputes inhigher forums will reduce lit-igation and ensure smoothertransition to the proposeddirect tax code, say experts.

The monetary limit for anappeal before the Income TaxAppellate Tribunal has beenincreased to Rs 50 lakh from Rs20 lakh by the Central Board ofDirect Taxes (CBDT).

In case of high courts, thelimit has been doubled to Rs1 crore and in case ofSupreme Court, the revisedlimit for filing appeal hasbeen increased from Rs 1crore to Rs 2 crore.

It is for the second time that

the limit has been raised with-in a year.

"The CBDT has once againincreased the monetary limitsfor the filing of income-tax

appeals by the Tax Departmentbefore the Tribunal, HighCourts and Supreme Court.

"This will further help in de-clogging the courts and also

help the Department infocussing its resources on highvalue/complex appeals.Reducing the pending litigationunder the existing income-taxlaw would also ensuresmoother transition into thenew Direct Tax Code," said SVasudevan, Partner,Lakshmikumaran andSridharan Attorneys.

Experts opined that one ofthe reasons to raise the mone-tary limits could be that therevenue department has fared

poorly in the appeals filed byit, which is evident from theEconomic Survey of 2017-18.

Vasudevan said the surveyhad stated that while thedepartmental appeals accountfor 85 per cent of the totalnumber of appeals, thedepartment was found to havea failure rate of more than 65per cent.

Frank D'Souza, Partner &Leader - Corporate andInternational Tax, PwC India,said the tax administration's

step to increase the thresholdsfor filing of appeals by the rev-enue department continues onits series of similar measuresthat it has been undertakingover the past 4-5 years.

"This is a welcome move.However, the administrationshould put some seriousthought behind a litigationwithdrawal scheme along thelines that has been recentlyintroduced in relation to indi-rect taxes," D'Souza said.

S R Patnaik, Partner andHead-Taxation, CyrilAmarchand Mangaldas, saidthat with this decision, thenumber of outstanding litiga-tion cases is expected to comedown which will enable thegovernment to focus its limit-ed resources on more revenueaccretive cases.

The monetary limit for an appealbefore the Income Tax AppellateTribunal has been increased to Rs 50lakh from Rs 20 lakh by the CentralBoard of Direct Taxes (CBDT)

Cash-strapped BSNL chasing duesof Rs 3,000 cr from biz clientsPNS n HYDERABAD

Battling severe liquiditycrunch, BSNL plans to aggres-sively chase outstanding duesfrom its enterprise clients andis hoping to recover the bulk ofover Rs 3,000 crore receivablesin the next two-three months,its chairman said.

The move comes at a timewhen Bharat Sanchar NigamLtd (BSNL) is facing mountingpressure on its financials, andit even delayed payment ofemployee salaries for the sec-ond time this year. BSNL onAugust 5 had released Julysalaries of employees.

"There are outstandingsfrom our enterprise customers,which is more than Rs 3,000crore. We are following up withthem aggressively and on aday-to-day basis ... there is suc-cess coming to us," BSNLChairman and ManagingDirector P K Purwar told PTI.

Purwar said that while it is dif-

ficult to give a definite timelinefor recovery of the full amountwhich is due, BSNL hopes torecover a "substantial" portion ofits receivables from clients in thenext two-three months.

The corporation is also eye-ing increased earnings fromrenting out its premises at var-ious locations - the target forrental income has been set atabout Rs 1,000 crore this year,from the previous level of Rs200 crore. As part of this plan,BSNL plans to increase utili-sation of its existing buildings,and lease out more space.

The troubled telecom PSU

has also embarked on an exer-cise to 'streamline' outsourcedfunctions for saving up to Rs200 crore a year, and hopes torationalise power bills to derive15 per cent additional cost sav-ings.

That said, it faces a gap ofabout Rs 800 crore between itsmonthly revenue and expens-es (operational expenditureand wages).

The telecom department ispreparing a rescue plan forBSNL as well as MahanagarTelephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL)in the form of a revival pack-age that entails components

like voluntary retirementscheme, asset monetisation,and allocation of 4G spec-trum.

The department is also saidto be "working on" a proposalfor merger of the two PSUs aspart of efforts to revive theembattled state-owned tele-com firms.

BSNL's loss is estimated tobe around Rs 14,000 crorewith a decline in revenue to Rs19,308 crore during 2018-19.Its losses have risen steadilyfrom Rs 4,793 crore in 2016-17to Rs 7,993 crore in 2017-18and are estimated to haveswollen to Rs 14,202 crore in2018-19.

The number of employees ofBSNL stands at 1,65,179 andthe total employee cost is astaggering 75 per cent of thetotal income of the company.In contrast, private sector tel-cos have very low employeecost ranging between 3-5.5per cent.

There are outstandings fromour enterprise customers,which is more than Rs 3,000

crore. We are following up with themaggressively and on a day-to-day basis... there is success coming to us

—P K PURWAR, BSNL Chairman and Managing Director

PNS n HYDERABAD

Walmart-owned Flipkart onSunday said it has partneredwith National SkillDevelopment Corporation'sLogistics Sector Skill Council(LSC) to train 20,000 of itsdelivery executives across thecountry.

As part of the partnership,the trained supply chain work-force will be certified in allaspects of product deliveryand customer experience.

"This is the first ever part-nership between an e-com-merce company andLSC...Flipkart envisions tohave a robust training pro-gramme along with LSC for itsadditional 30,000-strong sup-ply chain workforce," Flipkartsaid in a statement.

As part of the training pro-gramme, Flipkart in conjunc-tion with LSC is conductingeight-hour training modulesfor its delivery executives to

impart them with the knowl-edge on the finer nuances ofdelivery mechanism.

This includes preparing fordelivery, understanding localtransportation laws and regu-lations and getting knowledgeof end-to-end supply chain.

The training started in Mayand more than 4,000 peoplehave been trained so far.

The workforce is also beingtrained on necessary soft skillsto interact with customers bet-ter through behaviour-focusedsessions.

Upon successful comple-tion of the training, the exec-utives will be awarded with'Recognition of Prior Learning'certification as per NationalSkill Qualification Framework(NSFQ).

Issued by the UnionMinistry of Skill Developmentand Entrepreneurship, this co-branded certificate is recog-nised across seven countriesincluding Germany, Denmark,Australia and Saudi Arabia,besides India, the statementsaid.

Flipkart, which currentlydelivers over one million ship-ments daily, has co-developedthis training module alongwith the LSSC.

As part of thepartnership, thetrained supplychain workforcewill be certifiedin all aspects ofproduct deliveryand customerexperience

GSP ROLL-BACK

PNS n HYDERABAD

Exports of Indian goods, whichwere enjoying benefits underthe preferential tariff systemGSP, to the US registered agrowth of 32 per cent in June,according to Trade PromotionCouncil of India (TPCI).

The US rolled back exportbenefits to over 1,900 Indiangoods from June 5. Theseincentives were provided byAmerica under its GeneralisedSystem of Preference (GSP)programme.

Citing the data from theUnited States InternationalTrade Commission (USITC),it said the Indian exports tothe US of those goods whichwere getting GSP benefitsstood at USD 657.42 million inJune as compared to USD495.67 million in the sameperiod last year.

"India's exports to the US onGSP withdrawn products hasregistered 32 per cent growthin June 2019 as compared tothe same month last year,"TPCI Chairman Mohit Singlasaid in a statement.

This is a very interestingtrend as out of USD 190 millionvalue of GSP benefit claimedearlier, the growth has alreadycovered USD 161.74 million,

month on month for June 2019compared to last year, leavinga thin margin of US USD 28.26million only, he said.

The major products whichhave shown increase inexports include plastics rub-ber, base metals (aluminum),machines and equipments,transport equipment, hidesand leather, Pearls and pre-cious stones.

This is a clear indicationthat Indian products have thefull potential to compete glob-ally and not solely dependenton support, contrary to theperception, Singla said.

TPCI is a strong advocate ofthe phasing of subsidies andreducing government support.

He said the need is to incen-tivise new sunrise sectors likefurniture and electrical, bycreating a cluster-based megaecosystem, which can churnexport growth completely.

Exports of goodsunder tariff systemto US up 32 pc

Steps likely to remove friction points in economy to boost growthPNS n NEW DELHI

The government is working ona set of measures to removefriction points in the economywith a view to ensuring easyavailability of funds to pro-ductive sectors and stimulateoverall growth, sources said.

However, the strategy beingworked out does not includeproposal for reduction of GSTrates as the government believesthat taxes are already lower thanin the past, they added.

The set of measures beingfirmed up by the finance min-

istry is based on the feedbackreceived by Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman duringher interactions with differentstakeholders, including indus-try chambers, bankers and for-eign and domestic investors.

The sectoral meetings withthe representatives of varioussectors, including banking,MSME and auto, over the lastfew days have highlightedsome of the pain points,sources said.

"These friction points willsoon be removed with a viewto accelerate growth momen-

tum," an official said, addingthese would address variouscommon concerns of theindustry.

The industry has pressed forsteps to ensure availability of

credit, lower borrowing costand simplification of some ofthe policies which could spurgrowth.

The government has set 7per cent growth target for thecurrent fiscal and data pointsof the first quarter are in linewith that direction.

Despite being an electionperiod, Goods and ServicesTax (GST) collection jumped9 per cent in the first quarterwhile direct taxes rose by 12.9per cent, close to the growthin the same period last fiscal.

Corporate tax collection

has also remained stable dur-ing the quarter, with a growthrate of 13.3 per cent.

As far as GST revenue col-lection is concerned, the aver-age mop-up has been over Rs 1lakh crore during the quarterdespite slowdown in industrialactivities. GST collection soaredto Rs 1.13 lakh crore in themonth of April, the highest eversince the indirect tax regime wasrolled out on July 1, 2017.

Gross GST collectionsstood at Rs 1.02 lakh crore inJuly, marginally up from theprevious month.

Flipkart partners with NSDC totrain supply chain workforce

FM MEETS REALTORS, HOMEBUYERS

Govt assures steps to boost liquidity, demand

yderabad-based gui-tarist DavidPrabhaker Bandi,who entered variousrecord books thanksto his skills with a

guitar, has been raising funds forunderprivileged kids throughhis music. He holds variousrecords including ‘playing 32notes per second’ on guitar,‘playing guitar at a tempo of1,708 beat per minute (BPM)’,‘played 768 notes at a tempo of1708 BPM in a minute on gui-tar’, and ‘Flight of the Bumblebeeplayed in 28 seconds’.

He has entered the HighRange Book of World Records,Incredible Book of Records,International Wonder Book ofRecords, India Book of Records,and Bravo International Book ofRecords thank to his attempts. Infact, he has also sent all his

attempts to Guinness WorldRecords as well. About his recentrecord of playing 32 notes persecond, he shares, “The previousbest was 27 notes per second bya Russian guitarist. It is not aneasy task to play more than 20notes per second.”

Speaking to The Pioneer,Prabhaker says, “I was interest-ed to learn to play the guitar eversince I was in class X. Unable towait any longer I learnt it myself.I didn’t stop there. I also learntkeyboard and drums. I used toplay guitar at my church, butnow I am working as a musicteacher in a city school.”

Prabhaker said that he regular-ly conducts music workshops inthe city to encourage youngstersto learn music. “Being a musicteacher, I have worked in manyschools in Hyderabad. I haveobserved that many students

divert from their studies as theyare addicted to video games andmobiles. In an attempt to getthem to focus on their education,I am encouraging them to takeup music.”

He also raises funds for vari-ous organisations by conductingmusic shows. He explains,“Many organisations are doinga great job to help underprivi-leged children. I have organisedmany music shows with mygroup to raise funds for theseagencies. I also helped the kids

to learn music. Once, we collect-ed over `5 lakh for studentsfrom a village in Medak district.”

When asked about whetherhe tried to play for movies,Prabhaker says, “I did try dab-bling in movie songs but could-n’t succeed. Now, someof my students areplaying for ARRahman whileothers playf o rTollywoodmovies.”

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Being a music teacher, I have worked in many schools inHyderabad. I have observed that many students divert fromtheir studies as they are addicted to video games andmobiles. In an attempt to get them to focus on theireducation, I am encouraging them to take up music

DAVID PRABHAKER BANDI

MondayAugust 12, 2019

Guitarist,David Prabhaker

Bandi, who created many recordsis also helping to raise

funds forunderprivileged children

with his live shows, finds

V SATEESH REDDY

H

HELPING KIDS BYSTRUMMING THE GUITAR

he nearly three-hour-long free workshop onknife painting held at

Lamakaan over the weekend,which was presented by thecity-based Creative Connect,was an overwhelming success.

It was a pleasant surprise forthe organisers to see peoplefrom almost all walks of lifedabbling in this exciting form— from school and college-goers to elders, includinghousewives, working womenand professionals from thecorporate world. To the twowomen who founded CreativeConnect, it was a good augurythat a majority of the partici-pants were women and girls.

Although the space couldonly comfortably accommo-date around 30 people, the

turnout was 40. However, thepassion for getting to know theintricacies of the mesmerisingart form from two artisteswas apparently more on theminds of the participants, whoappeared oblivious of the tightseating arrangement.

The workshop began withthe two founders of CreativeConnect, Suman Krishna andNandini R Penna, delivering apep talk on painting on can-

vas using knife-painting tech-niques, especially to the unini-tiated budding talents. Thetempo changed dramaticallywhen the participants weregiven canvases, paints and allother material for them toindulge and come up withtheir creative best. The ambi-ence propelled their imagina-tion levels to newer heights.

What they produced wasremarkable, opined Suman

Krishna, while Penna chippedin that the rich variety the par-ticipants came up with wastruly indicative of the artistictalent that is waiting to betapped. They said that theyintended to organise moresuch shows and workshops sothat youngsters can get plat-forms to explore their latenttalent.

Meanwhile, CreativeConnect is open to explor-ing opportunities for con-ducting workshops bytying up with institutionsthat are keen to ignite theartistic streak amongtheir employees and edu-cational institutions fortheir students.

Photos: SV Chary

T

23-year-old city-basedyouth has come upwith an innovative

solution in the form of a‘smart’ bangle to help womeprotect themselves from dan-ger. Gadi Harish, along withhis friend, Sai Teja, invented abangle that generates shockand sends live location andwarnings to relatives andpolice if a woman is in danger.

Harish, the brain behind thedevice, said, “If someoneattacks a woman wearing thebangle, she will have to tilt herhand in a certain angle whichwill automatically activate thedevice and give an electricshock to the attacker.”

The tilt action gives an elec-tric shock to the aggressorholding the woman’s arm andat the same time, sends its live

location, alerting relatives andnearby police stations. The 23-year-old says that he designedthe device to protect womenafter learning about the manyatrocities happening to them.

With the prototype ready,the youngster is now request-ing assistance from the gov-ernment to complete his pro-ject and fulfil his objective ofmaking women safer.

If someone attacks a woman wearing the bangle, shewill have to tilt her hand in a certain angle which will

automatically activate the device and give an electricshock to the attacker

GADI HARISH

A

A bangle towomen's aid

Organised by Creative Connect, thefree workshop on knife paintingwas attended by people from all

walks of life

Knife painting gets a‘CREATIVE CONNECT'

Suman Nandini

12

STORELAUNCHFormer Mrs India and

fashion designerShilpa Reddy

inaugurated a make-upstudio in Hyderabad.The launch was attendedby many city socialiteswho took their time toexplore the variousfacilities the store has tooffer. Designer AnamMirza also graced theevent.

l Anam Mirza l Tamanna

Photos bby SV Chary

Hyderabad Monday August 12, 2019

CITY GUIDE

TAKE A CHANCElThis Hindi and Englishcomedy show featuresSonali Thakker willpresent her latest materialinspired by the recentevents in her life.August 15, 7 pm, HeartCup Coffee, Jubilee Hills.

COMEDY NATIONl On Independence Day, two city-based stand-up comedians — Vivek Muralidharan and RohitSwain — will tickle your funny bones with theirlatest materials.August 15, 7 pm, Phoenix Arena, HITEC City.

COMEDY

GET YOUR EVENT LISTED: To get your events listed, please send your detailsalong with a poster and contact number to pioneer.features@gmail.com

JAB SHEHAR HAMARA SOTA HAIl This Hindi play is a well-knitted plot of manylives and small stories leading to one. Gang wars,love at first sight, desire to be the best, revenge,failed administrations, a gang war backed by thesocio-political society, and innocent lives fallinginto the so-called "power" trap and humanitylosing its case at every step of the way.August 15, 8 pm, Phoenix Arena, HITEC City.

THEATRE

KASTURBAl Set in Pune's AgaKhan Palace whereMahatma Gandhi andKasturba Gandhi wereconfined, the play is anemotional and dramaticaccount of two years of captivity of the world'smost iconic couple. The play is in the truetradition of Qadir Ali Baig Theatre Foundation'sglobally celebrated Heritage Theatre.August 16, 7 pm, Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel,Banjara Hills.

PARTY

what’s brewing?

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK SPEED BUMP CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

Yesterday’s solution

CALVIN AND HOBBES

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

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

FUN TIME

lSh

ilpa

Redd

y

lZa

inab

l Simeen lDi

vya

lKo

mal

lRi

ya

l Dhriti

The ‘Cookery Kings’ of Hydhe second editionof the CookeryKing Contestorganised byFreedom HealthyCooking Oil

Range concluded at LemonTree Hotel, HITEC City witha glittering ceremony. Thegrand finale featured ninewinners from the preliminaryround, cooking their best dish-es live in front of the juryincluding Chef Deepak, ChefRoy, Chef Majandar, Chef

Prabhakar Reddy and ChefSambhav.

The grand finale was atight contest betweenPrashanth Sahoo, Gandhi andAnil Pingale in the vegetariansection, and Imtiaz Rehman,Md Abdul Muqsith and SaiSwaroop in the non-vegetar-ian section. In the desserts sec-tion, Pramod Kumar Srivastav,Avinash Naik, N Prashanthfought it out to be the best.While Sai Swaroop emergedas the winner from his section,

Avinash and Pramod wereselected from the dessertsleaving no winners from thevegetarian part.

The judges carefully scru-tinised and decided theCookery Kings of Hyderabad2019. The finalists werejudged on their culinaryskills, creativity, taste andpresentation. The event pro-vided loads of fun and excite-ment to the contestants whowere seen bubbling withenthusiasm.

T

CITY DIARY

Director Trivikram Srinivas hasplanned a luxurious and aestheticallypleasing house set for his next project with Allu Arjun

nown to mount hisfilms on a lavishscale, TrivikramSrinivas is doingsomething similarwith his on-sets film

with Allu Arjun. The wizard ofwords has told his productiondesigner to come up with amajestic house set that willstand out for its aesthetics. Thesaid set will house Tabu, herfamily and since a major part ofthe film will be shot in this placein the second half of the film,

the director has asked the pro-duction designer to go com-pletely creative. “Close to `4crore is being spent on just thishouse. The set design is goingon at Annapurna Studios,Hyderabad. The art director isdesigning the interior with theutmost care and attention todetail, while the exterior willbe matched with an affluenthouse outside the country,”informed a source close to theunit.

That’s not all. Even for

Bunny’s house in the film, theproducer loosened his pursestrings. “It has been built atAluminium Factory,Hyderabad. It will be small yetvisually striking work. Antiquefurniture was sourced for theinteriors for `25 lakh whileTanjavur paintings of differentGods needed `5 lakh. Overall,it cost the producer nearly acrore but he felt it was worthafter seeing the work. Bothhouses will be a visual treat forthe audience,” added the source.

espite the mixed reactions, superstar Nagarjuna-star-rer Manmadhudu 2 minted `5.03 crore on openingday and figures on the second day are good as well.The actor is all smiles with the revenue. He reckonsthat the “mixed reactions is with in the industry lim-its and not amongst general audience”. “If the talk was

divided, the numbers would’ve reflected it, but it isn’t the case.It is a new-age cinema and as time passes by, the mixed reviewsin the industry will fade away. I’m getting a lot of enquires fromfamilies for tickets. It’s a good Sunday morning for me,” told theactor, armed with a smile. He was speaking at a promotional eventof the film in Hyderabad on Sunday.

Speaking on the film taking time, he reminded that his ever-green hit Annamayya was on the brink of being removed fromcinema halls on the ninth day, failing to accumulate theatrerent when it rebounds. “I went on a promotional tour on theinsistence of Raghavendra Rao garu (director) and DoraswamyRaju (producer) to boost collections but it didn’t work as well.However, out of the blue, from the 11th day noon shows, foot-falls witnessed a massive jump and it didn’t stop from then.It took time for the audience to picture me in the titular roleof Annamayya as my previous release was Ninne Pelladata(where he played a lover boy),” the actor mentioned. — NG

The actor

mentions that

mixed reactions

surrounding his

Manmadhudu 2is in the

industry limits

and not

amongst

general

audience

lready a part ofinteresting projectsalongside Dhanush(with DuraiSenthilkumar) andKeerthy Suresh

(with debutant NarendraNath), actor Naveen Chandrais the latest addition to ManchuVishnu and Kajal Aggarwal-starrer trilingual (Hindi,Telugu and English) withdirector Jeffrey Chin, ThePioneer has exclusively learnt.

His role has equal importanceto that of Vishnu in the filminspired by `2,800-crore heist,which led to tremors in theentire IT world some sevenyears ago in Mumbai.

“Naveen will be seen as aspoiled-brat who is into smug-gling. His part also battlesdrug addiction. The layers ofthe role drove the actor, whohas turned extremely choosy oflate, to green light it. He hasalready shot for some scenes in

Hyderabad and will berequired for the next leg offilming in Tirupati, which willcommence later this month,”informed a highly placedsource close to the develop-ment. The source furtheradded that actor Navdeep isalso on board to play a key rolein the drama.

The untitled film mark’sVishnu’s wife Viranica’s maid-en shot at film production. Itis a joint production venturebetween Via MarEntertainment, AVAEntertainment and 24 FramesFactory. The shooting will bewrapped up by next month-end.

— NG

ith Brochevarevaru Raa doingphenomenally well at ticketcounters, the buzz around SreeVishnu’s next career move is ata high. While The Pioneer wasthe first one to break the news

that he will be donning khaki for his nextto be directed by debutant Pradeep Varma(February 5), there’s an interesting update on

the project. Sources tell us exclusively thatVishnu and the director have approachedMalayalam sensation Aishwarya Lekshmi tobe the female face four months ago. Oursources confirmed that the MBBS graduatefrom Cochin, who is treading a careful path

on the career front, has nodded inthe positive.

Adds sources, “Vishnu andPradeep watched some ofLekshmi’s earlierMalayalam films anddecided to consider herfor the project. They feltshe has the looks andacting chops to carry for-ward the role in the copdrama. The part might besmall but her presencewill be felt throughout, asit is strong. She liked whatshe heard and told themshe is in.”

However, there’s a catch.“Lekshmi has becomepopular all of a suddenafter Karthik Subbaraj casther in his next film withDhanush. Multipleenquires are being made by

other producers as well.Vishnu is anxious about

whether she will have a change of mind, buthe is also optimistic of the promise she made.”

Inspired from the lives of some eminentcops, Pradeep is planning to shoot the still-untitled film like a tense-filled thriller,though it won’t boast of any heavy-dutyaction sequences. To flag off in September,it will be shot in Hyderabad, Visakhapatnamand forests of AP over 75 days. GovindVasantha, who composed the soundtrack ofthe widely popular Tamil movie ‘96, has beenroped in to render tunes, while senior cam-eraman Shekar V Joseph will be the cine-matographer.

The actor isanxious aboutwhether theMalayalamactress willchange hermind, but heis alsooptimistic ofher honouringthe promiseshe made,findsNAGARAJGOUD

Hyderabad Monday August 12, 2019

KD

A

W

13

tollywoodAISHWARYA LEKSHMIboards Sree Vishnu's

police story NAVEEN CHANDRAgoing great guns

The actor will joindirector JeffreyChin's trilingual

project with KajalAggarwal and

Manchu Vishnu

Nag is all smilesA costly affair!

The actress will turn producerfor the Tamil version of hernext project with debutant

director Anoop Panicker, while theTelugu version will be produced by

Phanindra Kumar and PrabhuVenkatachalem

hile her Aame might nothave set the cash registersringing upon release lastmonth, Amala Paul waspraised for her portrayalof Kamini in the female-

centric film besides the content shechose to narrate. Continuing toassociate with new-age content, theactress has now signed debutantAnoop Panicker’s Tamil-Teluguforensic thriller, the muhurat ofwhich was held in Hyderabad overthe weekend. Rakshasudu directorRamesh Varma switched on thecamera for the first shot, whileTelangana Film Chamber presidentP Rammohan Rao sounded the clap-board.

Interestingly, Amala will be seenin pixie haircut for this film. TheTamil version has been titledCadaver, which means a dead

human body used by medical

students for research purposes. Theactress shares, “Writer AbhilashPillai penned the film’s story, inspiredby real incidents that happened inChennai. I play a forensic surgeon init, while Adith Arun will be seen ina very realistic part. It will be a turn-ing point in his career.”

Another interesting aspect of theas-yet-untitled film is that theMalayalam beauty is turning produc-er with it. She has partnered withAjay Panicker to pool in resources forthe Tamil version, while Telugu ver-sion will be produced by PhanindraKumar and Prabhu Venkatachalem,with Thammareddy Bharadwaj act-ing as a presenter.

Also featuring Harish Uthaman,Ramesh Khanna, Riythvika and RaviPrakash in supporting roles, thefilm has music by Jakes Bejoy, cine-matography by Aravinnd Singh, andediting by San Lokesh.

Amala moveson to her next

W

ega power star Ram Charan on Sunday unveiledthe brand new trailer of his good friendSharwanand-starrer Ranarangam at his office inHyderabad. The unique feature of the trailer isthat it doesn’t feature any dialogues and onlyhighlights the importance of sound effects of the

film, making the narrative more dramatic. Film’s directorSudheer Varma is known to be one of the technically smartfilmmakers around Tollywood and it was his idea, we hear.

MRanarangam getsa Charan boost

Kurukshetra beats KGF’sfirst day collections

annada star Darshan’s Kurukshetra 3D broke the firstday collections of Yash’s KGF Chapter 1. Kurukshetrais the first movie to portray the mythologicalMahabharata into a 3D version. Senior actor Arjunportrayed Karna and Sonu Sood as Arjuna in themovie that is doing well at the Tollywood box office

as well. Trade analysts are confident that the movie will set morerecords in Kannada. Directed by Naganna, produced byRockline Venkatesh, the movie was released in five languages.The film was trimmed 15 minutes for the Telugu audience.

K

LEONARDODICAPRIO

The directors are theones who have an acuteunderstanding of film

history, and Quentin Tarantinonot only understands thehistory of the classic cinemabut the history of B-films andpulp fiction that I'd neverheard of, films that are a lostart form. Healso knowsaboutmusic thatI've neverheard of.

sk a class full ofmoony-eyed chil-dren about whatthey want to bewhen they grow upand “doctor” is the

most likely answer. But whilethe profession has its exhila-rating moments, the every dayrealities are tedious. Of course,there is the fact that they areoften the subject of both admi-ration and pity. And then thereare unspoken but ever-presentissues in the life of any doctorwhich are completely non-medical concerns — ‘Are doc-tors boring people?’ ‘We neverknow what they’re even think-ing?’ ‘How do they function?’This has never been addressed,not at the start, middle oreven at the end of their careerbecause their personal livesare always hidden behind thecurtains of OT rooms or emer-gency centres. A show likeSanjivani parted the curtain,just a bit, in 2002.

Actor Mohnish Bahl, who isset to make his comeback as DrShashank Gupta in the reboot ofthe show, Sanjivani: A MedicalBoon, believes just that. He feelsthat doctors, as humans, feel themost number of emotions in thecourse of a day. “Hospitals areemotionally-draining places.There’s birth, death and acci-dents, worried people, severalemergencies happening all atthe same time — which is a lotfor any ordinary person toabsorb in one go. A hospital is anerve centre for all kinds of emo-tions,” says he and goes on to addthat we never know the backstory of what the doctor goesthrough in his life while handlingstressful situations.

Indian television history is evi-

dence that shows have neverbeen rebooted like this aftermore than a decade of beingaired. And there’s a reason whythe team decided to bringSanjivani back on Indian TVafter 15 years. “We saw thepotential in a product like thisbased upon the success of its firstpart. Second, the concept itself.We, as citizens, interact with doc-tors at some point in our lives.All of us. And we tend to seedoctors not as human beings butas the people who are supposedto put their patients first by allmeans and at all times,” he says.“When I visit a doctor, even Idon’t expect him to care abouthimself but my problems(laughs). So the show aims tohighlight how the humans inwhite coats with stethoscopesaround their collars deal withtheir insecurities,” he adds.

With the #ThankYouDoctorcampaign, he says, “it is not thedoctor whom we are thankingthrough this hashtag, but theindividuals that they are whohave made this profession theway it is.”

So what made him return tothis reboot? He says that thereason remains the same whichmade him join the show in thefirst place 15 years ago. “I amvery particular about the thingsthat I want to work upon. AndSanjivani was always on my listas something that I would doagain if it is ever remade,” saysthe actor, who reminds me ofhis numerous roles, be it of adoctor, an obedient son, a loyalhusband, or even a deceptive

villain in Kaho Na Pyaar Haiand Sandwich.

Talking about the newness inthis version, he says that it’sconceptualised in the currentcontext of doctor-patient rela-tionships. “The structure haschanged. There’s modernisa-tion in the hospital. We willalso see commercialisation tak-ing place in the healthcareindustry and how the modelcode of Sanjivani deals withsuch commercialisation. Also,I am re-exploring Dr Shashankafter 15 years, so a certainmaturity and timeline isinvolved here. There have beenfailures and successes in his life.And these have honed him asan older man,” explains theactor, who also played a doctorin another show and a film.Hint: Kuch Toh Log Kahenge(2011) and Vivah (2006).

Of course, there have beena lot of changes in a decade,especially with the advent ofdigital technology and ourhigh dependence on it. Bahlsees getting equal amount ofpublicity on TV and OTTplatforms as an advantagebecause in the end, the levelof popularity depends uponthe content. He says, “And asfar as the digital platform isconcerned, it is an excellentfactor. I see it this way. In2002, when the show firstwent on air, people had to bepresent in front of their TVsto watch the show. They hadto watch a re-run of the showthe next day in case theymissed the telecast. In that

sense, the advantage of thedigital platform and today’sTV systems is that they canrecord their favourite showsand even catch them lateronline at their own conve-nience. If the following of aTV show is 50 per cent (anarbitrary figure), then becauseof these platforms, you willget much more penetrationand it might reach up to 80per cent.”

At the same time, he alsomakes us realise the fact thatwhile talking about the popu-larity, the content and the creware the first in line of respon-sibility. “This show would havevery high expectations becauseof its huge following. We haveto live up to those expectationsas well,” says he.

For the actor, identifyingwith his characters is veryimportant. He says, “I putmyself into other’s shoes andbeing an actor can itself beemotionally draining. Whilepositive roles are fine, I havealso done many negative char-acters. How can you put your-self into someone’s shoeswhom you don’t always agreewith? So, it’s all a part of thehuman psyche — negative orpositive. And hence, I try tomake it live inside me or iden-tify with it.”

Mohnish has seen theindustry evolve and changehaving been a part of itthrough the 80s, 90s, 2000s,and then now... He laughs andinterrupts me, “Precisely, it’s

been 38 years, my friend! It’sbeen a lifetime of acting.”Well, yes, experience definesthe difference. He adds that alot has changed, both for thegood and bad and explains tome in bullet points. “One: dueto technological advance-ments, the content is beingeasily available and has a highreach. Two: budgets have cer-tainly gone up. During the80s-90s, a producer couldwork on three films, but today,three producers are workingon one film. It’s because thefilmmaking costs have risenwith time. Three: people,today, are much more techni-cally prepared. Earlier, thesetting-up process would con-sume a lot of time. However,today the process has speed-ed up. When you reach thesets, it’s all ready. Four: young-sters are way more brilliantthan us than what we were attheir age. They are very smartand quick. Five: today there’sno scope to make mistakesand finally for attaining suc-cess. There are no retakes. It’stougher for kids today tomake their mark as opportu-nities are less and there ismore competition. It’s cer-tainly not easy for them ascompared to us,” he says andlaughs at referring to the peo-ple from the younger gener-ation as “kids” since he callshimself an older man now.

Well, I disagree. Not now,not ever. Certainly, he will bea charmer, throughout.

melangeHyderabad Monday August 12, 2019

WE, AS CITIZENS,INTERACT WITHDOCTORS AT SOMEPOINT IN OUR LIVES.ALL OF US. AND WETEND TO SEEDOCTORS NOT ASHUMAN BEINGS BUTAS THE PEOPLE WHOARE SUPPOSED TOPUT THEIR PATIENTSFIRST BY ALL MEANSAND AT ALL TIMES

A

14

ow does Callenconvince Sam tocome back towork afterMichelle’s death?

Callen and Samare the best partners and arevery close to each other. So, heshared the pain with Samwhen his wife was dying whowas very close to Callen aswell. But they need to moveon in life and Callen knowsthat the best thing for Sam isto get back to work and startliving his life again for his kids.

How does Hetty’s absence atthe start of Season 9 affectCallen?

Callen and Hetty havealways shared a strong bond,especially because of the wayshe loved him. She alwaystalked in a way as if sheknows more than she is speak-ing. She used to watch himfrom behind the curtain. Thefact that she is gone with noexplanation was like losing afamily member for him.

How does new assistantdirector Shay Mosley fit intothe team?

With Granger and Hettyout of the picture, Callentried to get Sam back to workand figure out what has hap-pened to Hetty. All of a sud-den, comes a new sheriff intown that is ruffling somefeathers, to say the least. AndI don’t think that Callen iswarming up to her very quick-ly. But it gives us some inter-esting things to work with.

Tell us about Mosley joiningthe team.

She does things in a littlemore traditional way. My teamhas some unconventional waysto get things done. And ulti-

mately, we work as a team andface all the hurdles togetherwhen the stakes are high. So, sheis seeing that spark within us.

What was Callen’s initialreaction to Mosley?

I don’t think Callen has aproblem with somebody whotells him and his team what todo. There was only a certainlevel of frustration that he wasexperiencing.

Tell us more on Callen’s takeon Mosley.

As far as he is concerned, heis very efficient and hard work-ing. And we don’t need some-one to come in and take overthe work or slow us down. Wewant people to either help us orstay out of the way.

What are the advantages ofhaving guest stars on the show?

We have to remember to seta pace with the new or guestactors on set because we are socomfortable in our roles that wemove very quickly. Generally,the actors get our pace andrealise how quickly we work,but occasionally we also getactors who doubt if they wouldbe able to work with us or notin the very first place.

What was it like to shoot theunderwater scenes in episode195, Party Crashers?

We were in the water in theLong Beach and then we’reon the set. We had flooded atank with the ambulance inwater. They have these littleeme rgency re-breatherswhich make you think that ifthis thing gets stuck downhere, I would be swimmingout of here quickly. You haveno idea. I don’t mind thewater, I like it. The only timeI got uncomfortable was

when we were doing theshark episode. I am actuallyterrified of sharks but thank-fully, we were out of there inthe Long Beach, which unfor-tunately would be more pol-luted than the sharks proba-bly want their habitat to be.So maybe there weren’t anysharks in there. But I was like,I need a diver down there justto kind of peek around beforeI jump in. And you’ve neverseen someone get out of thewater as quickly as me.Precisely, as soon as they usedto call out for cut, I was outof that water.

How does Callen feel aboutJoelle’s return in episode201, Fool Me Twice?

What was interesting wasthat I did not see that going thatway. They kind of ended thatrelationship and I thought thatwas the last we were going to seeof Joelle. And then, all of a sud-den, they came up with the sto-ryline last season, they broughther back again this year. She isa really talented actress so it hasbeen fun to have her back andshe is just so pleasant to bearound. But, yeah, it’s someonewho burned him. He had noidea what the reality was. Andnow he is in a situation wherehe has no choice but to help her.So, he is constantly torn overand has been burned by heronce. He doesn’t know if heshould trust her but there arenot a lot of other options.

Will Callen be luckier inlove this season?

I think so and we might seemore of Anna and Callentogether at some point. Iknow Callen was interested inher. He told me. We’ll see.There are still a lot of episodesto do this year.

BEHIND THEWARDS

Actor MohnishBahl tells

CHAHAKMITTAL that

there is anotherface of doctors

which we aspatients and

humans fail tonotice. And

their emotionalvulnerability is

just whatSanjivani

reboot aims tohighlight

Chris O’Donnell saysthat NCIS: Los Angeles

made him test hiscomfort zone as the

shooting locations andsituations were

highly uncertain

No idea about the reality

H

SHRADDHA KAPOOR

Saaho is my first multi lingual filmand it has been such a privilege tohave worked in it, especially

because of the talents that cametogether. Whether it is the creativeteam, stunt team, director, producersor the entire cast, it was amazing.Prabhas, my co-actor, is the loveliestperson I have come across.

SONU SOOD

I’m really looking forward to be theGrand Marshal for the New Jerseyparade. It’s considered to be one of

the most prestigious things when youget a lot of Indians who have beenliving there for all these years. Peoplecome from all the neighbouring states.It’s going to be amazing. It’s a proudmoment, I would say.

KARTIK AARYANMy YouTube channel will be a newhome for my fans and well-wishersto watch the real Kartik Aaryan, livein action. There will be original,behind the scenes and unfilteredcontent from my day-to-day andwork life. I have put a lot of thoughtto this page. I am excited to sharemy unfiltered life with my fans.

KANGANARANAUT

Iam shooting point blank in the filmDhaakad. The gun that was used forthe teaser was real and very heavy. It

took all my strength to lift it. My directorhad a great time seeing me struggle with

the machines, having a good laugh.Hopefully, he will let me usedummy guns for the shoot

of the film.

circuitsSHORT

espite the cur-rent sales envi-ronment forthe Indiana u t o m o t i v eindustry, there

has not been a lack ofenthusiasm by new carmanufacturers and brandsto enter India. Earlier thisyear, French carmakergroup PSA said that itwould enter India withCitröen. The Chinese car-maker, SAIC, justlaunched the MG Hectorand now Korean carmak-er Kia is coming to Indiawith Seltos later thismonth and that is the sub-ject of our review today.

But before I start, thesedecisions and the fact thattwo new large factoriesare adding a lot moremanufacturing capacityinto India is a sign oflong-term optimism forthe Indian industry. This isdespite the cuckoo-brained electric push bythe Niti Aayog. And as faras market launch productsgo, the Kia Seltos is an out-standing product.

Many folks have criti-cised Kia for being just aglammed-up Hyundai andthat the Seltos a Creta.Well, indeed, but a coupleof things. The Seltos hassome pretty good swagand certainly looks thepart, and the make-up israther functional too. Also,this is the next-genera-tion Creta platform andthe Hyundai bestseller isbeing updated in Indiaonly in April next year.The new platform alsomeans new engines, theSeltos has three. A 1.4 tur-bocharged petrol GDIwith 140PS optionallymated to a seven-speed

Dual-Clutch Automatic,the same platform (biggerengine) as the HyundaiVenue. There is also astandard 1.5 petrol and 1.5diesel, both new enginesfrom the company pro-ducing 115PS. The petrolhas a constantly variabletransmission option andthe diesel — a six-speedtorque converter automat-ic option. I drove the man-ual variant of the diesel inthe top trim level with allthe toys such as the BOSEaudio, sunroof and also theGDI engined Seltos withthe DCT.

The diesel is a peppyengine with a lot of get-upand go. Gearshifts aresmooth, the car never feelslike it is gasping. The DCTthough, much like on theVenue, is like a smallpuppy of an engine, enthu-siastic and always wantingto perform. The gearboxbrings out the best in it. Insport and even in normaldrive modes, it wants youdrive it enthusiastically,which while not great forfuel economy, allows youto smile. And even ifyou’re keen with the SeltosDCT, you will still getaround 10 km per litre.The only gripe I have withthis model is the lack offlappy paddle shifters. Butthis is a smart transmis-

sion and it was a rareoccasion when it got puz-zled about what to do.

The car’s ride and han-dling is excellent, the steer-ing might feel a bit artifi-cially ‘hefty’ on the sportmode but it’s easy to movethe car around obstaclesand it doesn’t lose the plotwith sudden steeringinputs.

We were driving theSeltos in Goa, not myfavourite driving destina-tion in the world with itsnarrow roads and evenmore dicey in the pouringrain, with far too manylocals on motorcycles. ButGoa does offer, if youknow your way around, awhole buffet of roads. Youhave your twisty hill sec-tions and undulatingstraights. You have yourfour-lane highways andnarrow village roads witha truly insane amount oftraffic, almost every dri-ving condition you couldimagine. On top of that,the poor road conditionson some village roads andthe fact that several Goapanchayats have builtspeedbreakers but not

marked them properlymeant that one could givethe Seltos suspension aworkout. The Seltos han-dles, rides and drives well.It makes the next part abonus really because theSeltos has possibly the bestinteriors particularly withthe level of kit of any carin its class and even someabove it. The 10.25 inchhigh-resolution screen isactually good and whenyou’re playing around withsetting and even music, itis not laggy in any form.The screen leads into theinstrument cluster the cen-tre of which has a full-colour information dis-play. The top variants alsohave a heads-up display(HUD), which while beingamazing and an awesomegimmick, is slightly redun-dant. The seating posi-tion, both front and rear, isgood as is the luggagecapacity. The Seltos alsocomes with an integratedair purifier, which you cancontrol from the front orrear. Like almost everyother car manufacturer,there is also an applicationcalled UVO. It allows you

to control aspects of thecar, including remotelystarting it and setting theair-conditioning beforeyou even step inside it.

Many people havefound the exterior of theSeltos to be quite appeal-ing but it was the interiorsthat sold me. Everythingworks with the car, it looksgood, it drives well and thecabin is a great place to be,even if you’re stuck in atraffic jam, the moodlighting should help yourmood after all. I’m prettysure that we will end upseeing many of them onthe road, so it would helpif we could work out theplural form just. Giventhe Greek root of thename, I’d think it shouldbe Seltosii.

DA bestseller on the cards

The Kia Seltosis a solid

vehicle for theKorean brand’s

market entry

KUSHAN MITRA

sport 15HYDERABAD | MONDAY | AUGUST 12, 2019

HARSHIT BISHT n NEW DELHI

Player turned coach RakeshKumar is not very happy with

the performance of the Pro KabaddiLeague side Haryana Steelers in thisyear's edition of the tournament sofar, where the side has just managedto win two out of the five games theyplayed up till now.

The team started the campaignon winning note when they beatRakesh's fellow Indian teammateand newly appointed Puneri Paltan'scoach Ajay Kumar's side 34-24 inthe first game of the season but thenlose the momentum and suffer ahat-trick of defeats in the nextthree games.

Talking about what went wrongfor the side, the former Indian all-rounder, who isn't very happy withthe team's performance, said thatthe side has failed to replicate thepractice form in the mat and poordefensive errors have cost themmatches.

"I'm not very happy with thekind of performance we delivered sofar. We have failed to performaccording to the planmade during the prac-tice sessions."

The coach particu-larly is not very happywith the team's defenseand feels that theunsettled combi-nation is theprime reasonwhy the teamsuffered threeback to backdefeats.

" O u rdefense hasnot been ableto set up prop-erly because ofwhich we suf-fered two defeats.But we are tryingto work on it, aswell as trying toimprove the mis-takes that we com-mitted in the lastfew matches."

"We need toavoid repeating thesame mistakes overand over again andthe focus should be onplaying according to

the match situation and not takeunnecessary risks by going foradvanced tackles."

However, he refused to blameany particular player and said thatit's the combined responsibility ofthe entire team to put up a match-winning performance.

The tournament is still in theinitial stage and with a lot to beplayed for; the coach isn't muchworried about the results and ishopeful that once the combinationgets settled the team will get backinto winnings ways and things willchange.

Rakesh is also excited by thereturn of star raider Vikash Kandola,who he thinks will be the key com-ponent in the raiding unit and hispresence in the line-up will also bol-ster defense confidence.

"Vikash is fit to play again andhis return will boost the side. He willprovide support to Naveen in theraiding and his presence will alsogive confidence to the defense, as hisperformance can eclipse small mis-takes by the defenders."

Discussing his new role ofcoaching, Rakesh who previouslyhas represented Patna Pirates, UMumba and Telugu Titans in theleague as a player says that it(coaching) is a lot more responsiblejob now that what it was before

when he used to feature as aplayer.

"As a player, myjob was to perform,

rest and plan howto play in the

u p c o m i n gm a t c h e s .There wasnot much

pressure onme then. But

now, this is amore responsi-

ble job. I am sup-posed to dig perfor-

mance from the estab-lished players as well as

motivate and preser veyoungsters at the sametime."

"A lot of responsibilitieshave come up and I am try-ing to do justice as much asI can. It's a new start for meand I am learning everytincture bit of this new role,"he signed off.

AFP n MONTREAL

Rafael Nadal is homingin on a second straight

ATP title in Canada afterreaching the MontrealMasters final without hit-ting a shot on Saturday.

The top-seeded worldnumber two was handedan extra day of rest whenGael Monfils withdrewfrom their semi-final —scheduled to start justhours after the Frenchplayer defeated Spain’sRoberto Bautista Agut 6-4,3-6, 7-6 (7/2) in a rain-delayed quarter-final.

Nadal will aim for hisfifth Canadian trophy onSunday when he facesDaniil Medvedev, whodominated Russian compa-triot Karen Khachanov 6-1, 7-6 (8/6).

Monfils and Bautista,rained out on Friday night,were delayed a further twoand a half hours by rain onSaturday.

Although 16th-seededMonfils out-lasted theSpaniard, he rolled hisankle in the process. Afew hours to prepare forNadal was too much for theFrench showman — espe-cially with the US Opencoming up at Flushing

Meadows this month.Medvedev won the

first Masters 1000 semi-final ever played between apair of Russians to line upa first career meeting withNadal.

“It’s extra special, butthere is some extra pres-sure,” Medvedev said, not-

ing that he’s played match-es against Nadal’s fellowsuperstars Novak Djokovicand Roger Federer.

“But this is what I havebeen working for all mylife. I would never expectto play against them (theATP elite), especially in thefinals of a Masters 1000.

“I won’t be intimidat-ed. I want to win everymatch I play. Hopefully Ican do it.”

AFP n TORONTO

Serena Williams withstood thedetermined challenge of

Czech qualifier Marie BouzkovaSaturday, rallying for a 1-6, 6-3,6-3 victory to reach the WTAToronto final.

Williams, seeded eighth in atournament she has won threetimes, will take on home hopeBianca Andreescu in the cham-pionship match on Sunday.

Williams willbe seeking her firsttitle since she wonher 23rd GrandSlam title at the2017 Australian Open — and herfirst since the birth of her daugh-ter Olympia on September 1 ofthat year.

Meanwhile 19-year-oldAndreescu will be trying tobecome the first Canadian in 50years to lift the trophy.

Bouzkova, 21 and ranked91st in the world, had said it wasa dream come true to take on 37-year-old US superstar Williams,and she made a dream start—breaking Williams three timesto take the first set in less thanhalf an hour.

But Williams rallied, slashingher unforced errors in a secondset that saw her win the last fourgames to force the decider.

“I just needed tobe more consistentand not make somany errors and just

mentally be ready to hit a thou-sand balls if I needed to,” Williamssaid. “In the first set, I was goingfor a little too much, so I just hadto just play a different game.”

Bouzkova departs Torontohaving beaten three straightGrand Slam winners in SloaneStephens, Jelena Ostapenko and,in the quarter-finals, reigningWimbledon champion SimonaHalep — who retired injured afterdropping the first to Bouzkova onFriday night.

Andreescu shot to promi-nence with a victory at IndianWells in March, but this weekmarks her first tournament sinceshe was forced out of the FrenchOpen with a shoulder injury.

AFP n CINCINNATI

Novak Djokovic and RogerFederer will make late summer

hardcourt starts next week as the ATPand WTA Cincinnati Masters getsunderway with all major names setto compete.

Along to give his resurfacedright hip a test after seven months ofsingles inactivity will be two-timechampion Andy Murray, with theworld number 325 entered on a wildcard.

British three-time Grand Slamchampion Murray’s most recent sin-gles match was a January first-roundAustralian Open loss, after which theScotsman tearfully said his careermight be over after playing and los-ing in severe hip pain.

He then underwent a successful

hip surgery that has given his careera second chance at age 32.

Murray, a 2008 and 2011Cincinnati champion, will open in thefirst round against France’s RichardGasquet, whom he leads 8-3 in theirpersonal rivalry, taking their pastthree meetings dating to 2015 and2016.

Federer, who turned 38 onThursday, will need to lift his gameimmediately as he prepares for the USOpen.

Federer has claimed theCincinnati trophy seven times, mostrecently in 2015.

Top seed Djokovic and numberthree Federer will both be playing forthe first time since their Wimbledonfinal, won by the Serb after Federerheld two match points.

Nadal takes the second seeding

IANS n ANN ARBOR

Uruguayan forward Luis Suarez once againled the attack for FC Barcelona, scoring

two goals in the Spanish team’s 4-0 drubbingof Napoli in a friendly that was part of theteams’ pre-season tour of the US.

In the first half on Saturday, Barcelona hadseveral clear scoring opportunities, especiallyone involving the club’s new signing, Frenchstriker Antoine Griezmann. But the Catalansquad initially seemed to suffer from theabsence of star player Lionel Messi, who didnot set foot on the pitch due to a calf injury sus-tained during training earlier in the week.

Napoli also came close to going one up inthe 45th minute as Fabian Ruiz went withininches of finding the net just before the half-time whistle saw the teams walk off with a levelscoreboard displaying 0-0 at the MichiganStadium.

However,the secondhalf was ashow of dom-inance and amasterclass inoffensive playby the Spanishleague cham-pions.

Barcelonakick-startedtheir goalscor-ing exhibitionin the 47thminute withSuarez mak-ing the mostof aG r i e z m a n nshot thatrebounded off the Italian squad’s keeper, AlexMeret.

Then, much to the delight of the Barcelonafans present at the stadium, Griezmann scoredhis first goal for his new club in the 55th minute,taking the lead to 2-0.

The frenzy intensified two minutes laterwhen Suarez found the back of the net for thesecond time following an assist by FrenchmanOusmane Dembele as Meret looked on help-lessly.

A few minutes later, it was Dembele’s turnto join the party in the 63rd minute as he scoredBarcelona's fourth goal, thus crowning aninspired and tireless performance.

After the 65th minute, Barcelona coachErnesto Valverde brought in Brazilian playersPhilippe Coutinho and Arthur Melo, as well asChilean winger Arturo Vidal, in order to givethem game time in the pre-season friendly afterthey joined the squad late owing to their par-ticipation in the Copa America.

AP n NEWCASTLE

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang firedArsenal to a 1-0 win at Newcastle intheir Premier League opener on

Sunday, providing hope of an improved runthis season for Unai Emery’s side.

The Gunners finished last season inturmoil after blowing their bid for a top-four place with a disastrous spell in the finalweeks.

But Arsenal have enjoyed a profitableclose-season, with a host of new signingsraising morale around the EmiratesStadium.

And Aubameyang gave Arsenal fansrenewed belief they can get back in the topfour this term with a typically predatorysecond-half finish to give the northLondoners a winning start.

Arsenal had a wretched away recordlast season, keeping just one clean sheet ontheir travels, so taking three points with-out conceding was the perfect way to turnover a new leaf.

Their often-criticised defence heldfirm, with centre-backs Calum Chambersand Sokratis keeping Newcastle at bay.

Aubameyang’s strike ruined Newcastlemanager Steve Bruce’s first match incharge of the club he supported as a boy.

Emery’s decision to leave new signingsDavid Luiz, Dani Ceballos and NicolasPepe on the bench was rewarded by a deter-mined, if only sporadically cohesive, dis-play from his team.

There were starts for 19-year-oldacademy graduates Reiss Nelson and JoeWillock, but Mesut Ozil and Sead Kolasinacwere absent after two men were arrestedfollowing a fresh incident after the pair werethe victims of an attempted car-jacking inJuly.

Joelinton made his first Newcastle startafter his club-record 40 million switch fromHoffenheim and the Brazilian strikerneeded to impress to lift the gloomymood on a rainy day in the north-east.

He had his first sights of goal when heflicked a header just wide from MattRitchie’s cross and then blasted straight atArsenal keeper Bernd Leno.

Jonjo Shelvey went even closer forNewcastle as the midfielder hit the outsideof a post with a stinging strike.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan squandered agolden chance to give Arsenal the lead, theunmarked midfielder firing wildly over thebar from 10 yards.

After a quiet start, Arsenal starAubameyang, the joint top-scorer in thePremier League last season, sprang to life

when he tested Martin Dubravka with apowerful strike after superbly controllingMkhitaryan’s long pass.

It was a warning that Newcastle failedto heed as Aubameyang put Arsenal aheadin the 58th minute.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles was theprovider, making a timely interception of

Paul Dummett’s under-hit pass to JetroWillems and surging away from inside hisown half.

Unfurling a pin-point pass that curledover the back-tracking Newcastle defence,Maitland-Niles found Aubameyang inspace and the Gabon striker took a touchbefore clipping his cool finish past

Dubravka.Ivory Coast winger Pepe, Arsenal’s 72

million pound club-record signing, andSpanish midfielder Ceballos, on loan fromReal Madrid, came off the bench for thelast 20 minutes.

The new boys didn’t make much of animpact as Arsenal’s much-maligned

defence took the plaudits.

VAR DENIES WOLVESWolverhampton Wanderers had to set-

tle for a 0-0 draw at Leicester City after VARintervened to disallow LeanderDendoncker’s strike.

The visitors thought they’d taken thelead six minutes into the second half butvideo replays showed Dendoncker’s initialheader struck teammate Willy Boly’s armbefore coming back to the Belgian.

Both sides struggled to create chancesof note, though Wolves might have wonwith better finishing from Portugueseforward Diogo Jota.

Leicester coach Brendan Rodgersopted for Caglar Soyuncu to fill the gap leftby Harry Maguire's 80-million pound ($97million) departure for Manchester United.Soyuncu had little trouble as both sides nul-lified each other.

Leicester dominated possession butJamie Vardy had little involvement untilYouri Tielemans' cross shot across the six-yard box in the 38th. The former Englandstriker failed to get a touch.

PEA leads Gunners showAubameyang scores in his 50th Premier League appearance to help Arsenal beat Newcastle 1-0

AFP n LONDON

Jose Mourinho claimsManchester City are so

strong the PremierLeague champions couldeven win the title withtheir second-string side.

Mourinho, workingas a pundit for Sky Sportson Sunday, was askedwho can win the titlethis season and the for-

mer Manchester Unitedboss was quick to high-light City’s strength indepth.

Pep Guardiola’s menkicked off their bid for athird successive title bythrashing West HamUnited 5-0 on Saturdaythanks to RaheemSterling’s hat-trick andstrikes from Gabriel Jesusand Sergio Aguero.

Against West Ham,two times defendingchampion had a substi-tutes bench includingnew signing JoaoCancelo, Bernardo Silva,Ilkay Gundogan andAguero, who scored apenalty after his second-half introduction.

“Man City,Tottenham, Liverpooland the Man City ‘B’

team,” Mourinho said ofthe potential title chal-lengers.

“When I looked atthe bench yesterday (onSaturday), the players notinvolved, I think eventhe ‘B’ team could fightfor the title.”

Former Chelsea andReal Madrid managerMourinho also admittedhe did not believe United

could win the title lastseason before he wassacked in December.

“When I said thatsecond position the pre-vious season (2017-18)was one of my biggestachievements in footballI was not having fun withthe words,” he said.

“I just was just tellingyou what I was feeling.

“I didn’t feel last sea-

son we did enough in thetransfer window to allowus to compete for thefirst position becausethough we finished sec-ond the distance to firstwas very considerable.

“So I don’t feel thisseason they can win butI hope they feel they canbecause that will be animportant motivationalpush for them.”

Man City’s reserves could win title: Mourinho

Griezmannopens Barcaaccount

Defense has let usdown: Rakesh

Nadal eyes Canadian crown

Daniil Medvedevcelebrates his victory over compatriot Karen Khachanovduring semifinal play at the Rogers Cup tournament on Saturday AP

MONTREAL: India’s RohanBopanna and his partnerDenis Shapovalov crashedout of the ATP MontrealMasters after going down instraight sets in the semi-finals of the men’s doublesevent here.The unseeded duo ofBopanna and Shapovalovlost 6-7 (3-7), 6-7 to theDutch combination of RobinHaase and Wesley Koolhofin a hard-fought contest.Haase and Koolhof will nowface the Spanish-Argentinepair of Marcel Granollersand Horacio Zeballos in thetitle clash.The pair had earlier got awalkover in their quarterfinalclash against Benoit Paireand Stan Wawrinka.Bopanna and Shapovalovhad knocked out the fourthseed French pair of NicholaMahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin before defeatingKyle Edmund and TaylorFritz in straight sets in theround of 16. PTI

Bopanna-Denislose in semis

Serena up againstAndreescu in final

DJOKOVIC, FEDERER BACK IN CINCINNATI

Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic pose for photo AP

after a standout week inMontreal.

Fourth seed DominicThiem will hope to keep liftinghis hardcourt form after reach-ing the Montreal quarter-finals.Greek fifth seed StefanosTsitsipas will need to quicklyimprove after losing early inCanada.

Japan’s Kei Nishikori takethe fifth seeding ahead ofMontreal quarter-finalistAlexander Zverev and RussianKaren Khachanov.

On the women’s side,Australian Ashleigh Barty, wholost the top ranking with a first-match exit in Toronto, is seed-ed atop the table followed bydouble Grand Slam championNaomi Osaka of Japan.

Czech Karolina Pliskova,the 2016 winner, is third aheadof Romania’s Simona Halep andholder Kiki Bertens of theNetherlands.

Serena Williams, a 23-timeGrand Slam singkes winner,hopes to continue her fightbackto match fitness, which was onsolid display in a victory Fridayover Osaka in a rematch of their2018 US Open final.

The 37-year-old Americanwill begin her campaign againsta qualifier.

After losing the Wimbledonfinal against Halep, Williams iskeeping her hopes toned down.

Bertens could play VenusWilliams in the second round ifthe veteran gets past a qualifierin her opening match.

Serena Williams returns the ball againstMarie Bouzkova during semis AP

sport 16HYDERABAD | MONDAY | AUGUST 12, 2019

AFP n LONDON

Jos Buttler believes Jofra Archer’s “X factor”can re-energise England’s Ashes challenge,

with the paceman in line to make a much-anticipated Test debut at Lord’s this week.

Australia took a 1-0 lead in the five-matchseries after winning the first Test at Edgbastonearlier this month by the thumping marginof 251 runs.

Archer is likely to play in the match start-ing on Wednesday in place of England’srecord wicket-taker James Anderson, who issidelined by a calf injury.

“He’s got the X factor,” Buttler said of hisfellow World Cup winner.

“In his short international career so farwe’ve seen what an impact he’s had. He’s gotamazing skills with the white ball, but talk-ing to him he prefers bowling with the redone.

“That’s exciting for us, and it’s exciting forthe world to see him in the Test arena.

“He tends to cope with expectation well,he’s a pretty laid-back character who has animmense trust in his game. So if he gets hischance I expect him to perform really well.”

Australia won the Ashes opener despitestumbling to 122 for eight on the opening day,with man-of-the-match Steve Smith hittingtwo centuries.

“We played some good cricket atEdgbaston, but we didn’t play well enough forlong enough,” Buttler said.

“The challenge is still the same. Everytime you come and play at Lord’s is special,especially in an Ashes Test.

“There’s no need to panic. We’re 1-0 downbut there’s four matches to go in this series.”

The key to England’s hopes of victory isfinding a way to dismiss Smith, who nowaverages nearly 63 in Test cricket.

Buttler knows Smith well as the two menwere teammates at the Rajasthan Royals inthe Indian Premier League this year.

“He’s pretty good, isn’t he?” Buttler said.“What he does is put you under pressure fora long period of time and puts demands onyou.

“He’s a fantastic player who can takeadvantage of that. He’s been one of the bestplayers for a while now and that’s the chal-lenge of playing Test cricket against Australia.”

AFP n LONDON

Jack Leach admitted onSunday that he has “noth-

ing to lose” after the Englandspinner was called up for thesecond Ashes Test againstAustralia at Lord’s.

Leach is in contentionto start in the clash onWednesday afterreplacing fellow spinbowler Moeen Aliin the squad fol-lowing his team’sfirst Test thrash-ing at Edgbaston,and he is ready to playwith no fear after his earlierthan expected role in theseries.

“It feels like I’ve got noth-ing to lose and a lot to gain,”Leach said on BBC radio pro-gramme Sportsweek.

“I just want to go and domy thing.”

Leach will be key to thetask of containing battingstar Steve Smith, who scoreda century in both Aussieinnings last time out to helphis side to a 251-run victoryover England.

The 28-year-old’s lastappearance at Lord’s earlierthis summer saw him score92 as a nightwatchman asEngland overcame a dismalfirst innings to beat Ireland in

an Ashes warm-up.But this week all the

focus will be on his bowlingas England hope he can bethe man to crack Smith.

“There has been a focuson his supposed weaknessagainst left-arm spin,” hesaid.

“I suppose those stats are

there but I've just got to — ifI’m in the 11 — I’ve got to domy thing and bowl as well asI can and see what happens.

“It’s the same for everybatter. I want to get every bat-ter out. Yes, there’s SteveSmith but there’s 10 otherguys as well and I'll be focus-ing on all of them.”

PTI n PORT-OF-SPAIN

Shreyas Iyer says he is “flexible” bat-ting at any position as the Indian

team management continues itssearch for a reliable number four bats-man.

Iyer, who is part of the team tour-ing the Caribbean islands, could be incompetition with the likes of K LRahul and Rishabh Pant over the nexttwo ODIs against the West Indies.

“We have got no idea. It’s totallythe management’s decision. I can’t goand say that I want to bat at numberfour and they would put me in thatspot. It’s not like that,” Iyer said whenasked about the problematic position.

India could not find an answer totheir number four conundrumthrough the World Cup and thesearch will continue in the remainingtwo games of the three-match ODIseries.

“It’s going to be a vacant spot andthey are going to definitely try andgive chances to all the players in thatposition. Currently, no one is con-vinced with that position,” the play-er said at the pre-match press confer-ence.

“Personally, I am not thinkingabout batting only at No 4. I want tobe someone who is very flexible bat-ting at any number or if you go intoany situation you should be able tograb that opportunity and make thebest use of it.”

Iyer, who has a couple of half-cen-turies in the five ODI innings he hasplayed so far, is coming into the teamafter an year and is eager to make themost of the opportunities.

Rain interrupted the team’s train-ing session on the eve of the secondODI on Saturday. But despite the lackof practice, Iyer drew confidencefrom his India A stint in the

Caribbean, where he was the third-highest run-getter in the one-dayerswith 187 runs in four innings.

“It’s going to be another twoopportunities for me to make the bestuse of it. Hopefully this also doesn’train off. We are hardly getting any netpractice. I am eager to go out thereand carry forward the momentumwhich I got from my India A match-es. Looking forward to a good seriesfinish.”

Asked about switching to ODIs

from T20Is, Iyer said India have themomentum going into this seriescoming off a 3-0 sweep in the short-est format.

“The momentum is always on ourside. The way the team is playing cur-rently, it’s totally amazing,” he said.

“If one doesn’t perform, the nextone raises his hand and he takes theresponsibility to take the teamthrough and this is what has beenhappening throughout the year.”

PTI n PORT-OF-SPAIN

West Indies skipper JasonHolder expects ‘UniverseBoss’ Chris Gayle to come

good against India in the secondODI which will be his 300th match,the most by a West Indian.

The 39-year-old Gayle will gopast legendary Brian Lara, whoplayed 299 ODIs between 1990 and2007, in the match at the Queen’sPark Oval.

Gayle can also overtake Lara’srecord for the most ODI runs(10,405) by a West Indies batsman.He requires just nine runs to over-haul Lara’s total runs.

“Three hundred games is a lotof games. Some of us in the dress-ing room can’t even imagine that.We just hope he can get us off to areally good start on Sunday,” Holdersaid.

Gayle struggled in the aban-doned first ODI, scoring 4 from 31deliveries but his opening partnerEvin Lewis put up a good show,scoring an unbeaten 40 off 36 ballsbefore the match was called off dueto rains.

“Definitely happy to see Evinget some time in the middle,”Holder said.

“He didn’t get the runs he waslooking for in the T20 format butit’s good to see him get into form inGuyana and hopefully he can trans-fer that performance here as well.”

Early wickets affected WestIndies’ campaign during their 0-3loss against India in the T20Is.

“I think in the past we have let

ourselves down in having a foun-dation,” Holder said.

“It’s just a matter for us to takea few balls at first and get ourselvesset and then we take it as the inningsgoes on.”

Holder said his bowlers willhave to be consistent as they lookto challenge India’s famed battingline-up.

“We got to put pressure (on thebatsmen) and try to get as deep into

their batting line-up (as possible),”he said.

“The wickets nowadays arevery good for batting. It tends toplay a little bit more in the batsmen’sfavour, (but) we’ve been doing areally good job, especially in theWorld Cup I thought our bowlersdid a great job, and (we’ll look to)just continue from there and just tryto be consistent.”

Talking about pitch at the

Queen’s Park Oval, Holder said: “It’snormally pretty humid. The wick-et is a decent one, hopefully the rainstays away and it doesn’t get toosoggy. The pitch normally is a verygood pitch here.

The conditions should be real-ly good on Sunday. We’ve got to seehow the pitch plays, but ideally inone-day cricket, 300 runs is thebenchmark. We’ll see how it allplays out.”

AGENCIES n LONDON

Michael Kasprowiczbelieves Australia's surg-

ing self-belief and pace depthwill help them keep the footdown on this Ashes tour aftertaking a 1-0 series lead.

Justin Langer andKasprowicz both played in the2005 contest between Australiaand England, widely regardedas one of the greatest Testseries ever.

England dropped the open-ing Test of the 2005 Ashes butwere undefeated from thatpoint on, holding on for a dra-matic 2-1 triumph.

Kasprowicz feels the natureof Australia 's win inBirmingham, in which they ral-

lied from 8-122 on day onethen again when in troubleduring their second innings,

will be a big boost when thesecond Test starts at Lord's onWednesday.

"It's an amazing feelingwhen a team has that belief,when you believe you can winfrom anywhere," Kasprowicztold reporters.

"It's strong and I reallythink Justin has put that inthere.

"They'll all realise that'sthe case ... and you'll find theplayers will be ready for thisgame."

Kasprowicz, a long-termCricket Australia board mem-ber, also highlighted how SteveSmith's Bradman-like aurawould help teammates walktaller as they pursue a 2-0 leadand Australia's first Test serieswin in England since 2001.

"The way he played ... that'sgoing to instill belief in the

team," the former pacer said."It's so infectious."Kasprowicz was reluctant

to offer an opinion aboutwhether Mitchell Starc or JoshHazlewood should be recalled,suggesting the incumbent pace-men's performance wouldmake it hard to make a change.

"One of the most excitingthings is the depth of fastbowling in Australia rightnow," he said.

"There's a lot of great play-ers who weren't able to makethe side."

Australia's 17-man tour-ing party will have their firstlook at the Lord's pitch onSunday, having enjoyed somesightseeing and football inLondon on Saturday.

PTI n KARACHI

Former Pakistan batsman Mohsin KhanSaturday threw his hat into the ring for

the national team head coach's job left vacantafter the cricket board decided not torenew South African Mickey Arthur's con-tract.

Mohsin, who has remained a chiefselector and also the interim head coach ofthe national team, said at a function here thatthe PCB could easily find a capable personfrom the country to coach the national team.

"I have been offered positions twicethrice by the previous board set-up but I didnot accept because I could not work with acorrupt set-up. But I am willing to work withthis set-up provided they show respect totheir own players," he said.

Asked if he has applied for the headcoach's job, Mohsin said since it was arequirement he will do it but insisted theprocess was not necessary when appointinglocal coaches.

He said Pakistan team does not need aforeign coach and foreign support staff.

"What have these foreign coachesachieved when the board has hired them.What did Arthur achieve," he questioned.

Mohsin said if he is offered any positionby the Board, he would make it clear hewould not compromise on discipline.

"Sometimes, I feel those people have notutilised my expertise as they know I am notcorrupt and will not do any hanky panky,"said Mohsin who played 48 Tests between1978 and 1986.

Former Pakistan opener Aamir Sohail,who has also served as chief selector in thepast, said the Cricket Committee headed byWasim Khan had taken the right decisionto give marching orders to Arthur and hissupport staff.

"Yes, it was the right thing to do afterthree years but what is important is to seewhat happens now. I think we have enoughcapable people in our own country who cando a good job with the team," Sohail said.

He also noted that the PCB needed tochange its priorities.

"They have asked for coaches qualifiedto run so many software programmes toapply for the coaching positions and thefunny thing is that what steps does the boardtake to educate its own local coaches in suchprogrammes," he said.

PTI n KARACHI

Former Pakistan head coach MickeyArthur was assured by an influen-

tial group of cricketers that he would beretained for another two years after theWorld Cup but Prime Minister ImranKhan rejected giving extensions to thecoaching staff.

According to a highly reliablesource, an influential member of thePakistan Cricket Board's CricketCommittee and some other officials inthe board had assured Arthur he wouldbe getting an extension as head coachdespite Pakistan's failure to reach theknockout stage of the World Cup.

"Arthur was very confident afterthese assurances that is why he camedown to Lahore and spent quite a fewdays in anticipation of an extension buthe was also disappointed and shockedwhen the PCB announced they were notretaining him or the support staff," the

source said.According to the source, PCB

chairman Ehsan Mani had spoken toImran Khan who is patron-in-chief ofthe PCB on the matter and the formerskipper made it clear that a new teammanagement set-up must be brought inafter the World Cup.

Arthur also got a shock when thelocal media started reporting that whenhe appeared before the cricket commit-tee he had suggested appointing ShadabKhan and Babar Azam as captains forwhite and red-ball cricket.

Arthur has now apparently con-veyed to skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed thathe never said anything against him nordid he give any suggestions to the com-mittee on appointing new captains forall formats.

"Arthur has communicated toSarfaraz that media reports about himtalking about changing the captainwere not correct," the source said.

PTI n HYDERABAD

Reigning National cham-pion Sourabh Verma

capped an impressive weekat the Hyderabad Open witha thrill ing win overSingapore’s Loh Kean Yew inthe summit clash to claimthe men's singles title hereSunday.

The 26-year-old fromMadhya Pradesh, who hadwon the SlovenianInternational in May thisyear, showed great compo-sure as he outwitted WorldNo 44 Kean Yew 21-13, 14-21, 21-16 in a 52-minutefinal clash at the GachibowliIndoor Stadium here.

“I am extremely pleasedwith my performance thisweek. I pulled out somecrucial matches in the pre-vious rounds and in thefinal as well I played well,”Sourabh said.

“I was leading in the sec-ond game after winning the

first but I lost focus a bit andtried to quickly complete thematch. My opponent alsochanged his game and it wasdifficult to come back. In thethird game, I changed mystrategy and it worked.Overall I am happy with theway I performed this week.”

Top seeds AshwiniPonnappa and N SikkiReddy, however, squanderedan opportunity to register amaiden women’s doublestitle, losing 17-21, 17-21 toKorean combination of BaekHa Na and Jung Kyung Eunin the summit clash.

Sourabh, who had wontwo Super 100 titles lastyear at the Dutch Open andRussian Open, doesn’t haveany financial support andhas been playing tourna-ments on his own.

He reached the semifi-nals at US Open and quar-terfinals at Canada Open,besides winning the SloveniaOpen earlier this year.

“I still don’t have anysponsor or any help fromanybody. Nothing haschanged since the Nationals,I still pay for the tourna-ments. But I don't want tothink about things which Ican’t control. I want to stayfit and focus on my game,”said Sourabh, who had anankle issue at AzerbaijanInternational in June.

Asked about his futureevents, Sourabh said: “I willplay Chinese Taipei Open(Super 300) and VietnamOpen (Super 100) next inSeptember.”

Iyer flexible to bat at any position

Shreyas Iyer trains during Delhi Capitals training session IPLT20/Twitter

Jofra Archer celebrates after taking Aaron Finch’s wicket AP

England’s spin all-rounder Jack Leach Opta Joe/Twitter

West Indies' Chris Gayle, left, and Evin Lewis talk during a training session ahead their second ODI match against India in Port of Spain AP

300 IS LOT OF GAMES:HOLDER ON GAYLE’S RECORD

Archer’s ‘X factor’ canignite Eng Ashes bid

Leach has ‘nothing to lose’

Aussies can ‘win from anywhere'

Mohsin in line forPakistan’s headcoach job

Imran rejected Arthur’s extension: Sources

Sourabh wins Hyderabad Open