lucknow-english-edition-2021-12-03.pdf - Daily Pioneer

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NOTICE

Notify that I have changedmy son's name from TejashGupta to Tejas Gupta for Allpurposes. Amit Gupta 253/51Tedhi Bazar Rakabganj,Lucknow.

NOTICE

Notify that I have changedmy name from Saeed ShakeelHamid to Syed Shakeel for allpurposes & records. SyedShakeel S/o Hamid Shamim546/PN/009, Sarfarazganj,near Dady Cool, Lucknow. UP

NOTICE

I, Krishnan SuryanarayananResident Of House No. 199AOfficers Mess Enclave, AFStation Bakshi Ka Talab,Lucknow 226201 HaveChanged My Name FromSuryanarayanan To KrishnanSuryanarayanan Vide AffidevitDated 24/11/2021 BeforeLucknow Court.

NOTICE

I have changed my namefrom Syed Mahboob HaiderRizvi to MEHBUB Rizvii for allfuture purpose, MEHBUB RizviiS/o Sultan Rizvi R/o 7/208Aaiya House Swaroop NagarKanpur.

NOTICE

I Gaurav Singh Legal fatherof Samridhi (Minor) Residing atvillage & post office GauriyaKalan District Unnao (UP)have changed the name of mydaughter to Samriddhi Singhvide Affidavit No. IN-UP47999704738689T DTD.27.11.2021 before NotaryKanpur courts.

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Security has been beefed up in Ayodhya districtafter an anonymous call on the emergency num-

ber 112 threatened to carry out a series of blasts inAyodhya city and trigger a blast at the under con-struction Ram temple. The local police are alreadyon alert in the temple town due to the anniversaryof demolition of the disputed structure on December6. Confirming the threat call, a senior Ayodhya dis-trict police officer said that the caller was identifiedas a youth from Gujarat's Ahmedabad and effortswere on to trace his identity.

A senior officer in Dial-112, however, deniedhaving received any call claiming that security wasbeefed up only due to the anniversary of demolitionof Babri Mosque on December 6.

Soon after receiving the call, security deployment

in Ayodhya, especially on all strategic points acrossthe city, was reviewed by top officials and necessarymeasures were being taken to prevent any untowardincident.

“We reviewed the security arrangements after anunknown caller on Thursday afternoon called theemergency service number 112 and threatened tocarry out a series of blasts in Ram JanmabhoomiAyodhya. Security has been beefed up at all entryand exit points of Ayodhya district. Additional forceshave been deployed at railway and bus stations. Thelocal police have been directed to keep an eye on allvisitors staying in hotels and dharamsala in the dis-trict and carry out search operations in hotels.Besides, all vehicles entering the city are being thor-oughly checked by the police. Bomb squads and dogsquads have been kept on high alert," disclosed a toppolice officer at DGP Headquarters in Lucknow.

The police officer further added that Black Catcommandos had taken positions in RamJanmabhoomi Complex to prevent any untowardincident. The Ayodhya police along with CentralArmed Police Force (CAPF) carried out a routemarch in the Yellow Zone and the senior superin-tendent of police of Ayodhya is monitoring all secu-rity arrangements across the city.

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Launching a frontal attack on theprevious Samajwadi Party govern-

ment in the state, Chief Minister YogiAdityanath said that development ofa single family used to be the only cri-terion of development for the thengovernment.

“The previous regime was run-ning without any agenda with dynas-tic politics and protection to crimi-nals was the order of the day,” Yogisaid while speaking at the foundationstone laying ceremony of the Rs 92crore Maa Shakumbhari Universityin Saharanpur in the presence ofUnion Home Minister Amit Shah onThursday.

Without mincing words, thechief minister said that during theprevious government, people had tomigrate due to frequent riots andanarchical rule, daughters could notgo to school fearing criminals and thestate, which was leading at the timeof Independence, lagged behind andgot tagged as a ‘BIMARU’ state.

Lashing out at Samajwadi Partyand its leader Akhilesh Yadav, Yogisaid that it was for everyone to seehow Uttar Pradesh had progressed in

the last four and a half years.“Corruption was so rampant

that the previous governments usedto make money in the name ofdevelopment. In the previous govern-ment, our faith was under attack. Inthe months of Sawan, the govern-ment used to prohibit taking out ofKanwar yatra. Rioters ofMuzaffarnagar were honoured atthe then chief minister's residence inLucknow. Shops owned by Sikhs inSaharanpur were also set on fire bythe rioters."

“In 2017, as soon as the BharatiyaJanata Party government replaced theprevious regime, Kanwar yatra wastaken out with great enthusiasmand since then, the state has not seen

a single riot in the state.Deepawali, Holi and all festivalsare now being celebrated with-out fear,” the chief ministeradded.

“Besides, development hasbeen given impetus in westernUttar Pradesh. Before 2017, itused to take seven to eight

hours to reach Delhi fromSaharanpur.

But now after the con-struction of the highway, Delhican be reached in only twohours. Payment of sugarcane isbeing made to the farmers in atime bound manner. In ourgovernment of four and a halfyears, payment to the tune ofRs 1.44 lakh crore has beenmade to cane farmers. Sugarmills are being expanded,expressways, air connectivity,universities, roads, medicalcolleges and other develop-ment works are taking place ina seamless manner," Yogi said.

The new ShakumbhariUniversity will have affiliationof about 200 colleges and thedegree of the pass-outs will

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�� have the photo of MaaShakumbhari. The academic

session in this university willstart from 2022.

INDIA TO GET 9 NUCLEARREACTORS BY 2024New Delhi: The nation will havenine nuclear reactors by 2024and a new nuclear project, thefirst in northern India, will comeup 150 km away from Delhi inGorakhpur of Haryana, theGovernment informed the RS.

INDIA SLAMS OHCHRFOR COMMENTS ON J&KNew Delhi: India on Thursdayhit out at the UN human rightsbody for its baseless allegationsagainst it over the arrest of anactivist in Jammu & Kashmir,and asserted that the commentsbetray a complete lack ofunderstanding of the securitychallenges in the region in viewof cross-border terrorism.

PM CHAIRS MEETINGON CYCLONE JAWADNew Delhi: Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on Thursdayreviewed the preparedness todeal with the situation arisingout of the likely formation ofCyclone Jawad that is expectedto hit the North AndhraPradesh-Odisha coast anddirected officials to take everypossible measure to ensure thatpeople are safely evacuated.

REBEL AAP MLA NOT TOCONTEST PUNJAB POLL Chandigarh: Rebel AAP MLAKanwar Sandhu on Thursdaysaid he will not contest theupcoming Punjab Assemblypolls. Sandhu, an MLA fromKharar Assembly constituencyin Mohali, was suspended bythe AAP in 2018.

CHINA CLEARS BOEING737 MAX TO FLY AGAINBeijing: China�s aviationregulator cleared the Boeing 737 Max on Thursday to returnto flying with technical upgradesmore than two years after theplane was grounded worldwidefollowing two fatal crashes.

CAPSULE

PNS n NEW DELHI

Covid-19 Omicron varianthas reached India with two

cases detected in Karnataka,while samples of six peoplewho flew into Delhi from “at-risk” countries and tested pos-itive have been sent to theNational Centre for DiseaseControl for genome sequenc-ing to ascertain if they have thenew variant.

Of the two persons whotested positive for Omicron inKarnataka, one has already leftfor his hometown in SouthAfrica. The 66-year-old man,who had arrived in India onNovember 20 and tested posi-tive for Covid-19, reportedlytook a flight to Dubai sevendays later. He had been vacci-nated with both doses of thecoronavirus vaccine.

The other infected personis a 46-year-old fully vaccinat-ed doctor from Bengaluru,who has no travel history butdeveloped fever and body acheon November 21.

Five contacts of the doctorhave turned out to be Covidpositive, Karnataka announced

on Thursday. On Thursday, the Union

Health Ministry said that con-tact tracing is being done andthere is no need to panic.

Joint Secretary of theUnion Home Ministry LavAgarwal told reporters here ata press conference that bothcases have been identified inKarnataka. “No severe symptoms of the Omicronvariant of Covid-19 reported sofar,” Agarwal said.

“All Omicron-related casesare found to have mild symp-toms so far. In all such cases inthe country and across theworld so far, no severe symp-tom has been noted. WHO hassaid that its emerging evidenceis being studied,” he added.

This is in line with dataemerging from other coun-tries that while Omicron isfound to be more transmissible,the patients have mild symp-toms, he pointed out.

Meanwhile, six people whoflew into Delhi from “at-risk”countries have been admittedto LNJP after four of them test-ed positive for Covid-19 andtwo “showed symptoms”.

TN RAGHUNATHA n MUMBAI

Afortnight after a Mumbaicourt declared him as a

“proclaimed offender” in anextortion case, the MaharashtraGovernment suspended mostsenior IPS officer andMumbai’s former PoliceCommissioner Param BirSingh from service onThursday evening, in view ofserious offences registeredagainst him and the discipli-nary proceedings launched into“certain irregularities and laps-es” committed by him, includ-ing his unauthorised absencefrom duty.

In a development that

came on expected lines,Maharashtra Chief MinisterUddhav Thackeray gave a go-ahead for Singh’s suspensionimmediately after his returnfrom three weeks hospitalisa-tion.

Singh — who had createda sensation on March 20 thisyear by alleging that StateHome Minister AnilDeshmukh had asked now

arrested and dismissed policeofficer Sachin Vaze to “collect”a staggering `100 crore permonth from bars, restaurantsand other sources in Mumbai— has been booked for sever-al serious offences registeredagainst him in four differentpolice stations in Mumbai andneighbouring Thane district.

Among other things,Singh’s suspension order listedthe cases registered againsthim at Marine Drive PoliceStation in Mumbai, and inThane district at BazarpethPolice Station, Kalyan, KopariPolice Station and Thane NagarPolice Station, both in Thanecity.

PTI n MUMBAI

Actor BramhaswaroopMishra (36) who had

appeared in the web series“Mirzapur”, was found dead inhis flat in suburban Versova onThursday afternoon, policesaid. Mishra was living alone ina rented flat in Inlex NagarSociety for the last four years,said an official.

Neighbours complained topolice on Thursday morningabout a foul smell comingfrom the flat, he said.

A police team reached thespot and entered the flat aftergetting made a duplicate key.

They found Mishra’s par-tially decomposed body in thetoilet, the official said.

South African traveller,Bengaluru doc with notravel history positive

PTI n JOHANNESBURG

South Africa’s new cases ofcoronavirus doubled in a

day, mounting pressure on theGovernment to review the lim-itations on public gatherings forunvaccinated people.

The National Institute forCommunicable Diseasesannounced on Wednesdayevening that the infections forthe preceding 24 hours were8,561, up from 4,373 a day ear-lier.

Experts pointed out thatthe projection by leading epi-demiologist Dr Salim AbdoolKarim on Monday that SouthAfrica was likely to have 10,000cases daily by Sunday in thefourth wave would be reachedby Thursday.

The economic hub ofGauteng province accounts for72 per cent of the currentinfections.

As organisers of a numberof events continue to either calloff or postpone their functionsindefinitely, calls are mountingfor the Government to reviewthe limitations on public gath-

erings for unvaccinated people.President Cyril Ramaphosa

announced last Sunday thatthere would be no change tothe current lowest Level One ofthe country’s five-level lock-down strategy.

This still allows substantialnumbers at both indoor andoutdoor gatherings, whichneeded to be reduced, analystssuggested.

Ramaphosa made theannouncement in the wake ofthe discovery of the newOmicron variant, which hasnow been discovered in a num-ber of other countries as well.

The president said thedecision would be reviewedafter a week, with some sayingthat an increase in lockdownrestriction levels is unavoidabledespite the risk to the economywhich had just started to recov-er. South African has also beenhit with a travel ban by over 20countries, which Ramaphosasaid was an unfair and dis-criminatory action merelybecause the country’s expertshad been first to identify thenew variant.

S Africa�s newCovid-19 casesdouble in 1 day

Delhi shuts schools,colleges, coachingafter snub by SCSTAFF REPORTER n NEW DELHI

After the Supreme Courtsnub, the Delhi

Government has decided toclose all schools, colleges,coaching, libraries and othereducational and training insti-tutions in Delhi fromDecember 3 onwards due tovery poor air quality.

The AQI approached analmost severe category in manyparts of the national Capital.

However, institutionswhere exams are being con-ducted will be exempted,Environment Minister GopalRai said on Thursday.

“The Delhi Governmenthas consistently been workingaccording to its action plan totackle vehicle pollution, dustpollution. But as for theschools, we have decided toclose them from Friday. Allschools, colleges, educationalcoaching institutes, skill devel-opment & training institutes,other training institutes,libraries (except where examsare being conducted) shall beclosed with immediate effect tillfurther review,” Rai said.

As for the Central Vistaproject, Rai said the Central

Government has informed theSupreme Court that the workis of national importance and“We are currently awaitingreports based on which we willproceed”.

He said the DelhiGovernment will further checkreports about violation of anti-dust norms at the constructionsites as well.

“All construction-demoli-tion work is already suspend-ed in Delhi, trucks from outsideDelhi are also banned fromentering Delhi,” he said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Congress-TMC face-off is likely tointensify with the grand old party

making up its mind to launch an all-outattack on the Mamata Banerjee-led partyafter the latter questioned the very exis-tence of the UPA.

Mamata’s “there is no UPA” remarkafter her meeting in Mumbai with NCPchief Sharad Pawar, an ally of the Congressin Maharashtra, has not gone down wellwith the Congress.

Senior Congress leader and Leader ofOpposition (LoP) in the Rajya Sabha,Mallikarjuna Kharge, said, “Some peopleare only helping the ruling party at theCentre.

“We have tried to include them in var-ious socio-political issues where the

Congress made its name. The Oppositionshould not get divided and fight amongstthemselves,” he said.

The AICC sources said the decision toattack Mamata was taken at a meeting heldon Wednesday night. “There were dis-cussions among the top leaders of theCongress late Wednesday night in whichit was decided to go all out againstMamata,” said the source.

A day after AICC General Secretary(Organisation) KC Venugopal said defeat-ing BJP without Congress was only adream, Leader of Congress in Lok SabhaAdhir Ranjan Chowdhury termed themeeting between Mamata and Pawar as a“pre-meditated conspiracy” to weakenthe grand old party and alleged the TMC chief had become “BJP’s oxygensupplier.”

Mirzapur actorfound dead

Delhi Govt collectsover `181 cr as finebetween April & NovNew Delhi: The DelhiGovernment has collected over`181 crore as fine betweenApril and November for vio-lating Covid guidelines, accord-ing to official data. Nearly 156enforcement teams with 129enforcement vehicles are inplace in the city. BetweenNovember 1 and November 25,93,583 challans were issuedand `17,60,99,346 croreimposed as fine with 2,078 FIRsbeing registered.

Maha suspends formerMumbai CP Param Bir

Cong-TMC face-off to intensifyafter Didi poured scorn on UPA

Passengers arrive from Singapore at Indira Gandhi International Airport, amid the Covid-19 pandemic in New Delhi onThursday PTI

Travel details of the passenger (who has tested positive and leftthe country) as released by the Bengaluru Municipal Corporation:

1Travelled from South Africa on20/11/2021 with a negative

report from South Africa and hewas screened and tested at KIABangalore.

2Upon his arrival, he checkedinto a hotel on 20/11/2021 and

the test reports were POSITIVE

3The UPI-IC doctor visited thehotel for Physical Triage and

found him asymptomatic. He wasadvised to self-isolate at the hotel

4On 22/11/2021, his testsamples were collected and sent

for Genomic Sequencing throughBEMP

5The patient took a self-investigation at a private lab on

23/11/2021. The report was

NEGATIVE

6There were 24 primary contactsall are asymptomatic, tested and

all reported negative.

7On 22/11/2021 and 23/11/2021,UPHC team collected samples

from 240 secondary contacts, alltested negative.

8The above person checked outon 27/11/2021 at 00:12:34

midnight. Took a cab to airport andtravelled to Dubai.

New Delhi: Six more trav-ellers from “at-risk” countries,including one with travel his-tory to South Africa, testedpositive for Covid-19 on arrivalat the Indira GandhiInternational Airport here onThursday, officials said.

Three out of 243 people onan Air France flight that land-ed at the airport around 12midnight tested positive forCovid.

6 internationaltravellers testpositive atDelhi airport

A woman selling snacks sits at the Baragwanath taxi rank in Soweto, South Africa,on Thursday AP

OMICRON ENTERS INDIA

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Late City Vol.157 Issue 323*Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable

Published From DELHI LUCKNOW BHOPAL BHUBANESWAR

RANCHI RAIPUR CHANDIGARH DEHRADUN HYDERABAD VIJAYWADA

Established 1864RNI No. 2016/1957, REGD No. SSP/LW/NP-34/2019-21

LUCKNOW, FRIDAY DECEMBER 3, 2021; PAGES 14 `3

SPORT 14SINDHU JOINS LAKSHYA

INTO KNOCKOUTS

}}WORLD 12

OMICRON AND DELTA SPELL RETURNOF UNPOPULAR RESTRICTIONS

BIG CHUNKYPANDEY FAN:MALAIKA13 VIVACITY

OPINION 8INDIAN POLITICS HAS

NO PLACE FOR FASCISM

PNS n LUCKNOW

Union Home Amit Shahsaid Prime Minister

Narendra Modi had earnedrespect for India globallythrough his vision and hardwork while Yogi Adityanathhad rid Uttar Pradesh of cor-ruption and led the state on thepath of development.

“Today I want to congrat-ulate the UP chief minister ashe has freed the state fromgoonda raj, mafia and anti-social elements, who once ruledwestern Uttar Pradesh,” Shahsaid while addressing a publicgathering after laying the foun-dation stone for MaaShakumbhari State Universityin Saharanpur on Thursday.

Union Education Ministerand Bharatiya Janata Party’s UPelection in-charge DharmendraPradhan and Chief MinisterYogi Adityanath along withother ministers were present inthe function.

The Union home ministersaid that the previous regime inUttar Pradesh used to declaresugar mills sick and then sellthem off after pocketing hugecommissions.

“Now, whether it is westernor eastern UP, not a single sugarmill has been sold or closeddown anywhere after the for-mation of BJP’s Yogi govern-ment. During the BJP regime,cane farmers have been paid 90per cent of their dues and theremaining 10 per cent would be

paid soon. The UP governmenthas paid Rs 1.44 lakh crore tothe cane farmers so far,” he said.

Shah further said: “I waslistening to Akhilesh ji’s speechon the television sometimeback where he questioned thelaw and order situation duringthe BJP regime in UttarPradesh. I would like to askhim what type of lens he usesto see such things. I havebrought a comparison ofAkhilesh’s five years and Yogiji’s five years. Cases of dacoityhave decreased by 70 per cent,robbery by 69 per cent, murderby 30 per cent, riots by 33 percent and dowry killings by22.5 per cent under Yogi ji'srule as compared to Akhilesh’sregime. Akhilesh ji, under your

rule there was a mafia raj in UPbut today the BJP governmentof Yogi ji has done the work ofrestoring the rule of law here."

Talking about the devel-opment of the western regionof UP, the Union home minis-ter said that earlier it used totake eight hours to reachSaharanpur from Delhi, butnow it took only three hours.

“The distance has reduceddue to good roads. Not only thedistance of the road hasdecreased, because of Modi ji,the distance of the heart hasalso decreased,” he comment-ed.

“When I came toSaharanpur in 2017, the peoplehere used to complain aboutmigration because of criminal

activities. Then I told them thatonce you form the BJP gov-ernment, these forces willmigrate and leave the area. Thisis the truth. It is a matter ofgreat fortune and joy for methat Yogi ji invited me to lay thefoundation stone of a univer-sity named after MaaShakumbhari Devi on thisholy and historical land,” hesaid.

Before ending his speech,Shah said: “Today I request thepeople of western UttarPradesh that once again yourblessings are needed and yoursupport is needed for the BJP.This time again the 300- markhas to be crossed in the UPassembly, which is only possi-ble with your blessings.”

Yogi has led UP on path of development: Shah

Home Minister Amit Shah, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and other party leaders at a foundation stone laying ceremonyfor Maa Shakumbhari State University in Saharanpur on Thursday.

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● The Rate adopted in the BOQ are excluding GST. ● All works shall be executed after adopting safety measures for infection of COVID-19.

Bids can be downloaded online from date 03.12.2021 at 9:00 AM to 09.12.2021 at12:00 Noon and bid can be submitted online on or before 09.12.2021 at 12:00 Noon. Thetechnical bids will be opened online on date 10.12.2021 at 12:30 PM. According to the pro-visions of Government Order no. 1/2018/3070/78-2-2018/42 IT/2017(22) Date03-01-2018 after opening of the technical and financial bids, the bidder has to submit orig-inal documents personally in the office of Executive Engineer, Provincial Division, PWD,Lucknow. In the event of non submission of original documents by the bidder, the legalaction in the form of cancellation of registration and Black listing of the firm will be takenin accordance with the provisions of G.O.

Technical evaluation of tenders is to be done by Prahari Software, the details of whichare available in NIT enclosed with Bid Document.

All terms & conditions can be seen on website http:/etender.up.nic.co.in (Er. Maneesh Verma)

Executive Engineer Provincial Division

UP 170422 Dt. 1-12-2021 PWD. Lucknow �� www.upgov.nic.in �� For on behalf of Governor of UP

OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER PROVINCIAL DIVISION, PWD, LUCKNOW

E-Tender Notice No. : 6329 /E-tender / 2021-22 Dated :26 .11.2021

The EXECUTIVE ENGINEER, PROVINCIAL DIVISION , PWD, LUCKNOW. on behalfof Governor of Uttar Pradesh invites the percentage rate bids online from the eligible andapproved Contractors registered with UP PWD for Road work , class 'A' 'B' 'C' 'D' & 'E'and Contractor with UP PWD for Signage Work (Class- A & B) Sl No. 1 to 3 Bidders areadvised to note the minimum qualification criteria specified in Clause 4 of the Instructionsto Bidders to qualify for the award of the contract.

Office of Superintending Engineer VII Circle Irrigation Works,

Irrigation & Water Resources Department, Sarojini Naidu Marg, Lucknow.

Short Term e-tender Notice No. 04/SE-VII/2021-22 On behalf of Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Bids are invited online on website http://etender.up.nic.in for

the following work upto 14/12/2021 at 12:00 noon, whose Technical Bids shall be opened online on 14/12/2021at 04:00 PM in the office of the Superintending Engineer, VII Circle Irrigation Works, Lucknow, in the pres-ence of authorized representatives/bidders, who wish to present. Bid Document can be downloaded/uploadedfrom 03/12/2021 at 02:00 PM. In case of Government holiday on 14/12/2021, the bid shall be opened onnext working day. The details of Bid Document will be available on http://idup.gov.in .

Sl. Name of Work Approx cost of work No (Excluding GST)

(Rs. In Lac)

1 Reconstruction of Box Culvert at Km 1.500 of Koriani Drain. 45.00

Superintending Engineer, VII Circle Irrigation Works,

Lucknow

UP - 170399 Dt. 1.12.21�� www.upgov.nic.in ��

OFFICE OF THE SUPRINTENDING ENGINEERRURAL ENGINEERING, DEPARTMENT

Circle Chitrakootdham-BANDA

e-Procurement Notice (call-II)Letter No. 822 /RED/SE/B.V.N./Road-MHB/Banda/2021-22 Dated: - 18.11.2021

The Superintending Engineer, rural engineering department Circle-Chirakootdham- BANDA on behalf of governor of Uttar Pradesh invites thePercentage rate bid through e-tendering system from the eligible and approvedcontractors registered with UP RED, in appropriate class A as the case maybe, the bidder may submit bids for any or all of the works. S. Name of Name of work Total Bid Cost of Period ofNo. District Estimat- Secu- Bid Completion

ed cost rity in docu of includingincluding Lakh ment rainy GST (in including seasonLakh) GST (in

Rupees)1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 MAHOBA Construction of road 367.26 7.35 5000.00 12 Monthfrom village Patha to village Bari via Barmdev Baba.

2- Date of Availability of Bid documents on website from -03-12-.2021 3- Pre bid meeting date and Time -05-12-2021 at 11.00 am. 4- Start date and time for received for bid for e-procurement

04.12.2021 at 10.00 am. 5- Last Date/ Time for receipt of bids through e-procurement -15-12-.2021 up

to 12.00 Noon. 6- Date of opening of bids through e-procurement -15-12-2021 at 12.30 pm.

Website for uploading bid document and availability is https://etender.up.nic.in

Contractors are required to get valid DSC form authorised authorityThe employer has right to issue addendum/ corrigendum as per ITB

Clause-10 on line which will not be published in any news paper. All prospec-tive bidders are advised to keep regular watch and visit e-tender portal reg-ularly. for further details please log on https:// etender.up.nic.in and download the bid document. (Suresh chandra)

Superintending Engineer Rural Engineering Department Circle Chitrakootdham-BANDA

UP - 170401 Dt. 1.12.21�� www.upgov.nic.in ��

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In a bizarre case, a bride accusedher groom and his friends of

gang-raping her on her ̀ suhagraat’(first conjugal night), causing seri-ous injuries to her in the process inEtawah.

The newlywed had to be admit-ted to a local hospital for treatment.

Superintendent of Police(Rural) in Etawah, Omvir Singh,said that the police were informedthat a newly married woman wasundergoing treatment after beinggang-raped by her husband and hisfriends late Wednesday evening,after which a case was registeredagainst the husband and his twofriends and a probe was underway.He said efforts were on to nab theaccused who were absconding.

As per reports, a spinster fromValmiki community living in a vil-lage in Ikdil was married to ayouth from Parali Raman village ofChaubia area of Etawah onNovember 28. The newly wed’s

mother alleged that on the first con-jugal night of the couple, the son-in-law along with two of his friendsintoxicated her daughter and latertook turns with her.

While resisting the outrageousassault, the newly-wed woman suf-fered injuries. Her in-laws admittedher to a private hospital in the citybut after her condition deteriorat-ed, they informed her family andfled the hospital.

The victim’s mother furthersaid that when they rushed to thehospital and found her daughter’scondition critical, they shifted herto Dr Bhimrao AmbedkarGovernment Hospital onWednesday evening and alsoinformed the police about the sex-ual assault.

Subsequently, a case of gangrape was registered against thehusband and his two friends atChaubia police station The victim’sstatement was also recorded inwhich she confirmed of being givensome intoxicant by her in-laws

after which her husband and hisfriends gang-raped her.

Meanwhile in a case of suspect-ed rape and murder in Agra, aseven-year-old girl, who went miss-ing from a wedding on Wednesdaynight, was found dead in a nearbyfield the next morning in Malpurapolice station area.

The victim’s parents noticed thegirl missing a few hours after reach-ing the wedding venue. Believingthat she might have slept some-where at the venue, they looked forher. It was only after she could notbe found till Thursday morning thatthey approached the police.

The girl was later found dead ina mustard field, about 250 metresaway from the marriage venue.

The police suspect that theassailants might have barged intothe venue and lured the girl away.The investigators have got someclues from the spot and expect tonab the culprits soon.

The victim's body was sent forpost-mortem.

+�-�� .�/01�

Bahujan Samaj Party supre-mo Mayawati on

Thursday cautioned the peo-ple to be wary of "Hindu-Muslim politics" of theBharatiya Janata Party, sayingit was the "last tactic" of theruling party to ward off itsimpending defeat in the forth-coming Uttar Pradesh assem-bly polls.

The former chief minis-ter of Uttar Pradesh made thisremark while reacting toDeputy Chief MinisterKeshav Prasad Maurya's state-ment that preparations are on(for a temple) in Mathura as

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In a shocking incident inAligarh, a leopard strayed into

a school and attacked a studentbefore being locked up in aclassroom. This incident tookplace at Chaudhary NihalSingh Inter College inAligarh's Chharra area onWednesday.

The incident caused a hugecommotion among people whogathered outside the school inlarge numbers as college staffwaited for forest officers to arriveand rescue the leopard.

Describing the moment hewas attacked by the leopard, thestudent, Lucky Raj Singh, saidthat he saw the animal just as heentered the classroom. Singhsaid when he tried to run afterseeing the wild animal, itattacked him, biting him on theback and arms.

According to reports, Singhhas suffered minor injuries dueto the attack and is now out ofhospital too. He is recovering athis home.

Meanwhile, Yogesh Yadav,principal of Chaudhary NihalSingh Inter College, claimed thatthe leopard came on the campuswhen the students were enteringthe college in the morning. Hesaid when a student tried to runafter seeing the leopard strollingaround, he was attacked by theanimal.

Further giving an update onthe student’s health, Yadav saidthat the boy was now fine andrecovering at home.

Describing how the animalwas locked up, the principalsaid that the big cat was in roomnumber 10 of the college, whereit was locked up before theauthorities were informed of itspresence.

All students were ordered toreturn home following the inci-dent. However, visuals capturedby CCTV showed the animalprowling around the closed class-room.

The leopard was later res-cued with the help of WildlifeSOS, a non-governmental organ-isation, in an operation that last-ed over nine hours.

+�-�� .�/01�

Congress general secretary andparty’s UP in-charge Priyanka

Gandhi Vadra exhorted the peopleof the state to take a lesson from thefarmers on how they fought united-ly, forcing the Central governmentto bow before them.

“Like the farmers, you should beunited to get your rights and makethe people’s representatives moreresponsible for their works. Thefarmers' agitation against the threefarm laws has added a new dimen-sion to people’s rights in the coun-try. It is, however, unfortunate thatPrime Minister Narendra Modi hasrefused to take cognisance of thedeaths of over 700 farmers duringthe protest and has yet to take

action against Minister of State forHome Ajay Mishra Teni, who con-spired in the killing of farmers inLakhimpur Kheri. People shouldteach this government a lesson forignoring them and the vote shouldbe entirely cast on developmentrather than on caste or communalbasis. The people should have the

power in their own hand then onlytheir rights will be protected and therequired development in their areawill be done,” Priyanka said whilespeaking at a ‘Pratigya Rally’ attend-ed by a huge crowd in Moradabadon Thursday.

Chhattisgarh Chief MinisterBhupesh Baghel and senior UPCongress leaders were also presentin the rally at Moradabad, whichhappens to be the native place ofPriyanka Vadra’s husband and in-laws. The top Congress leader saidthat sugarcane farmers were yet toget Rs 4,000 crore against theirdues. "The prime minister can pur-chase a new aircraft for Rs 8,000crore and a new Parliament can beconstructed at a cost of Rs 24,000crore, but Rs 4,000 crore of the farm-

ers cannot be paid by this BharatiyaJanata Party government," she said.

Priyanka Vadra promised that ifthe Congress came to power in UttarPradesh then the minimum supportprice (MSP) of paddy and wheatwould be hiked to Rs 2,500 per quin-tal and Rs 400 per quintal for sug-arcane.

She also announced full loanwaiver for farmers and reduction oftheir power bills by 50 per cent. Shealso appealed to women to come tothe forefront and engage in politicsin order to save the nation.

"Only women can give honestand efficient governance. TheCongress has already announced togive 40 per cent seats to women can-didates besides smartphones andscooty to girl students," she added.

+�-�� .�/01�

Samajwadi Party presidentAkhilesh Yadav made it clear that

his party's government in futurewould work for all castes and com-munities without any discrimination.

Addressing a huge public rallyduring his Samajwadi Vijay RathYatra in Lalitpur, the former chiefminister of UP said, "You will finda new Samajwadi Party govern-ment in 2022 and it will work for allof you without any bias. The presentBharatiya Janata Party regime is onlytrying to create confusion in theminds of people that the SP worksfor only one caste. If my party

comes to power in the state, it willcarry out a caste based census andensure that all castes get their shareas per their population. The SP gov-ernment will also reveal the conspir-acy hatched by the BJP in denyinga caste census."

Claiming that the people of thestate had made up their minds tooust the BJP from Uttar Pradesh,Akhilesh said the countdown for BJPhad started. Alleging that the rulingBJP was a party which was onlyinaugurating the works and projectsconceptualised and initiated byother parties, Yadav said that the BJPregime had pushed the state intobackwardness.

+�#� % �.�"!� Seven students were selected by Intellect Design

Arena Ltd in a campus placement drive organised bythe Training and Placement Cell of Faculty ofEngineering, Lucknow University. Seven ComputerScience engineering students — Shreya Kushwaha,Utkarsha Yadav, Madhur Jaiswal, Rajveer Singh,Durgesh Kumari, David Kumar and Mohd MonishYameen —have been recruited as fintech engineers bypassing the online technical test, group discussion andtechnical interview. The company offered a package ofRs 5 lakh per annum to them. The placement drive wasorganised by Himanshu Pandey from the Faculty ofEngineering.

� &�#!Women’s welfare is the responsibility of the entire

community and there is consent and responsibility thatcomes with the implications of sexual actions, Childlinedirector Dr Sangeeta Sharma said while speaking at awebinar organised by Amity Institute of Biotechnology,Amity University. She spoke about the contribution ofyouth to the overall development and empowermentof women. The topic of the webinar was ‘It’s time tochange: Advancing sexual and reproductive health andrights of women in the new global era. The webinarwas organised with the collaboration of the NationalCommission of Women, and Sahyog Society. More than100 students and faculty members joined in.

�#+"#�&#��The district administration and Nagar Nigam have

started a unique initiative of ‘Kapda Bank’ for the poorand underprivileged from Thursday. It was officially

inaugurated at the Collectorate on Thursday. DistrictMagistrate Abhishek Prakash said people can donateclothes for the poor. The DM said that the poor cancome without any hesitation and take clothes from thebank free of cost. Those who want to donate clothescan contact the zonal officers or send them throughcourier, the DM said.

#�#!"Aadya, a student

of City MontessoriSchool, Kanpur RoadCampus, won theglobally acclaimedInternational Awardfor Young People.Aadya received thisaward for making apositive contributionin the social sector asa responsible, awareand active citizen,showing courage andability to face chal-lenges, and for spreading awareness with her creativeideas. The International Award for Young People is aself-development programme for all young people aged14-25 years worldwide. Since 1956, the award pro-gramme has successfully equipped over a million youngpeople in over 144 countries with life skills, built theirconfidence, and engaged them with their communi-ties. The award concept is one of individual challengeand it encourages young people to develop into respon-sible active citizens.

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construction of temples in Ayodhyaand Kashi is underway.

“The statement given by UPDeputy Chief Minister Maurya aheadof the upcoming assembly electionsthat temple construction is going on inAyodhya and Kashi and now there arepreparations for Mathura, reinforcesthe general perception of BJP's defeat.People should beware of this akhirihatkande (last tactic) that is Hindu-Muslim politics," Mayawati said in atweet in Hindi.

Assembly polls are due in UPearly next year. The construction ofgrand temples is on in Ayodhya andKashi, and preparations are on for onein Mathura (Ayodhya Kashi bhavyamandir nirmaan jaari hai Mathura kitaiyari hai), Maurya had said in a tweeton Wednesday he posted in Hindi.

Mathura is considered to be thebirthplace of Lord Krishna.

The Mathura district administra-tion on November 28 imposed pro-hibitory orders under Section 144 ofthe Criminal Procedure Code follow-ing an announcement by Akhil BharatHindu Mahasabha to install a LordKrishna idol at the deity's actual birth-place.

Samajwadi Party chief AkhileshYadav has also criticised Maurya, say-ing the comment shows that BJP issensing its defeat.

"This (Maurya's tweet) indicatesthat the BJP has sensed a sure defeat inthe upcoming UP assembly elections,"Yadav said to a news channel.

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Attacking the SamajwadiParty, Chief Minister Yogi

Adityanath revealed that underthe Akhilesh government,scholarships of Scheduled caste,Scheduled Tribe students andchildren were stopped.

“The previous governmentused to discriminate beforeproviding scholarships to chil-dren and students. Theystopped providing scholar-ships, particularly to the chil-dren belonging to the SC/STcommunity. When we came topower in 2017, we learnt thatin 2016-17, only scholarships ofSC, ST children were stopped.Our government immediatelyrestored scholarships to thesestudents,” asserted Yogi whiletransferring scholarships of Rs458.66 crore to more than12.17 lakh students online inLucknow on Thursday.

Attacking SP chiefAkhilesh Yadav, the chief min-ister said that the previousregime played with the livesand future of children to satis-fy their political interests.

“In the last four and a halfyears, our government hasenrolled more than 40 lakhchildren in schools across thestate,” he said.

While interacting with stu-

dents from different districts,Yogi congratulated them andsaid, “Due to the COVID-19pandemic, a large number ofschools, colleges, polytechnicscould not start their sessions.

Due to the late admission ofstudents, the scholarship isbeing delayed. On October 2also, the state government hadsent the scholarship install-ments to about 57 lakh students.” The chief ministerasked officials to complete theadmission process in variouseducational institutions acrossthe state by December 30 andsend scholarship amounts tothe accounts of eligible stu-dents. He said that the studentsshould not face any hindrancein reimbursement of fees or inpurchasing any kind of coursematerial for themselves.

Yogi also announced thatthe government was workingon an action plan for the dis-tribution of smartphones andtablets to students in variousuniversities, engineering insti-tutes, polytechnics, ITIs, nurs-ing, para-medical and variousother courses of undergraduate

and post-graduate levels.The chief minister said

that a large number of childrenwho trained under AbhyudayaCoaching had secured places invarious competitive examina-tions. “The government isworking to provide equal andimmense opportunities to thestudents in the state itself, as aresult of which several studentswho got themselves enrolledfor Abhyudaya Coaching hadachieved great results in com-petitive examinations,” the chiefminister said.

Speaking on theAbhyudaya Coaching scheme,Yogi said that there was a needto take it forward in all 75 dis-tricts. “There is a need to con-nect education with technolo-gy to prepare the students forcompetitive examinations ofthe state. Abhyudaya Coachingscheme must cater to the needsof every child,” he said.

Lucknow (PNS): A group ofmen thrashed an LLB studentover an old enmity inMahanagar and opened aburst of fire in the air aroundmidnight on Wednesday. Thevictim, identified as PankajSharma of Madiaon, sustainedinjuries in the attack.

Police registered a case ofattempt to murder and dacoityagainst some of the accusedidentified as Naseeruddin akaNasir, Rishabh Rai,Mohammed Yusuf, Faisal,Asif, Prateek, Chintu and Atif.The police said they were try-ing to identify five otheraccused and raids were beingconducted.

In his complaint, Pankajalleged that Naseeruddinextorts money from studentswhile threatening to framethem in fake cases.

“He extorted money frommy friends but I stopped themfrom bowing beforeNaseeruddin when I came toknow of the same. I advisedthem to lodge a case againstNaseeruddin,” he said.

Pankaj said Naseeruddin

nursed a grudge against himover that and planned to teachhim a lesson. “My friendshad told me that Naseeruddinwas looking for me for the lastcouple of days, but I was notafraid of him,” he said.

Pankaj said he was return-ing home from a weddingwhen he stopped his car nearVivekanand hospital for somework. “Naseeruddin and hismen reached there andattacked me. Someone mayhave tipped them off about mypresence there,” he alleged.

Pankaj told the police thatNaseeruddin was accompa-nied by Rishabh Rai ofMadiaon Yusuf of Indiranagar,Arif, Faisal, Prateek, Chintuand Atif (all of Kalyanpur inGudamba) and f ive unidentified men.

“The hospital staff andattendants of patients rushedto my rescue. The accused alsofired several shots in the air,” he alleged, claimingthat there was a stampede-likesituation. Pankaj alleged thatthe attackers also looted Rs3,000 and a gold chain from

him. The police recovered bul-

let shells from the crime scene.The victim was sent to a hos-pital for a medical test whilefurther investigation wasunderway. The DCP, North,said it would be too early tocomment on the incident.

Meanwhile, a 21-year-oldgirl missing since early morn-ing was found hanging from atree on the outer fringes of hervillage in Banthra on Thursday.Police claimed that the girlcommitted suicide and sentthe body for autopsy. As perreports, some of the villagersspotted the girl hanging from atree with a saree tied around herneck and the news ran thickand fast. Consequently, a hugenumber of villagers flocked tothe scene. The family of the girlalso reached there and identi-fied the body.

He said his daughter hadisolated herself from her friendsin the last two months. “Wewanted to know the reason butshe never shared it with us. I donot know what happened to mydaughter,” he said.

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With elections round thecorner, the government

has initiated the process to clearcane dues and therefore haspaved the way for the Co-oper-ative Sugar Mills to take loanfrom UP Co-operative BankLimited for which the govern-ment has decided to stand as aguarantor.

Besides, the governmenthas also decided to implementthe Atmanirbhar KrishakSamanvit Yojana to increase theincome of farmers. These deci-sions were taken in the cabinetmeeting, which was held by cir-culation here on Thursday.

Highly placed sources saidthat the cane dues of the state-run sugar mills were around Rs300 crore and the UP SugarMills Federation had sought aloan of Rs 400 crore from theUP Co-operative Bank.

“The government hasagreed to stand as a guarantorfor that loan,” the source said.

The decision of non-pay-ment of cane dues was alsoraised in Lok Sabha onWednesday where the Uniongovernment claimed that the

total due was Rs 3,752 crore.The government said thatagainst the total due of Rs33,014 crore the governmenthas cleared Rs 29,262 crore.

The government has alsoapproved the AtmanirbharKrishak Samanvit Yojana (Self-reliant Farmers IntegratedDevelopment Scheme 2021)under which a scheme wouldbe launched to increase theincome of the farmers. A bud-get of Rs 100 crore has been setaside by the state governmentfor the implementation of thescheme to benefit the farmers.

“With the goal of makingthe farmers self-reliant anddoubling their incomes, it hasbeen resolved by the UttarPradesh government that bythe year 2022, a new changewill be made in the economiccondition of the farmers,” theofficial said.

He said in order toincrease the income of farmers,emphasis would be given onmaking payment to themimmediately after purchase ofcrops. Wheat, maize, jowar,mustard and sugarcane aremainly produced by the farm-ers and the focus would be on

that crop which is area-specif-ic and is produced in largequantities. “Along with this,farmer producer organisations(FPOs) will also be establishedby the UP government to pro-mote farmers. These organisa-tions will be set up at blocklevel,” the official said.

In another decision, thecabinet has approved the set-ting up of four fuel stations atBundelkhand Expressway forwhich a process has started toidentify the oil companies.Besides, the construction com-panies of BundelkhandExpressway and GorakhpurLink Expressway have beengiven relaxation till December31, 2021 in view of COVID-19.

The cabinet has alsoapproved installation ofCCTVs in all the police sta-tions and has revised the UPPolice Radio ServicesCommission Rules. It has alsoapproved the proposal to pro-vide land free of cost for set-ting up ATS (Anti TerroristsSquad) in Deoband. Besides, aproposal to improve publicamenities in Ayodhya has alsobeen approved.

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,��5��6� ��+5��Lucknow (PNS): Adani Enterprises Limitedwill construct three-fourths of the GangaExpressway while the remaining one-fourthwill be constructed by IRB InfrastructuresLimited. The construction of the expresswaywill be carried out in four packages. The tech-nical and financial bids for the expressway wereinvited separately for these packages.

After the financial bids for the construc-tion of Ganga Expressway were opened onThursday, the Uttar Pradesh ExpresswaysIndustrial Development Authority (UPEIDA)decided to give contracts to the firms whosebids were the lowest in respective packages.

The IRB Infrastructure Limited will con-struct the first package while Adani EnterprisesLimited will construct the remaining threepackages. The estimated cost for the first pack-age is Rs 5,039.85 crore, the second packageRs 5,647.71 crore, the third package Rs5,810.99 crore and the fourth package Rs5,828.84 crore.

+�-�� .�/01�

SUV-borne unidentifiedmiscreants stole one of

the tyres of fighter jet Miragebeing ferried by a trailer inAshiyana police station areaon November 27. A case wasregistered in this connectionon Thursday. It was said thatthe tyre was stolen when thetrai ler was stuck in traffic jam at Shaheed Path.Airforce is also investigatingthe case.

Five tyres of the fighter jetwere being taken to Jodhpurfrom BKT airbase inLucknow. Trailer driver HemSingh Rawat of Ajmer inRajsthan had lodged a case inthis connection. However, hewas taken into custody by airforce officials and his inves-tigation was underway.

As per reports, five tyresof the fighter jet were being

transported by the trailer toJodhpur airbase. Around 2 amon November 27, the trailerattached with the army left forits destination. The trailerdriver said there was trafficjam near SR Hotel at ShaheedPath and a black Scorpio wasbehind the trailer. He claimedthat two men from the SUVgot down, cut the rope withwhich the tyres were tied andmade off with one of thetyres. He also claimed thatdue to traffic jam, he couldnot stop the trailer on theroadside to catch hold of thethieves.

He further said he dialledpolice control room and ateam took him along with thetrailer to the police station.The police worked on the caseas the issue was sensitive.Later, Hem Singh reachedJodhpur airbase with fourtyres of the fighter jet and was

detained there. It surfacedthat the trailer was engaged intransportation of the spareparts of fighter aircraft. It wassuspected that the tyres mighthave been stolen under someconspiracy.

The trailer belongs toHem Singh who isattached/engaged with thearmy for many years. HemSingh is in the know of thestaff and he used to go to visitthe offices of the army andairforce. Sources said the tyrecould not be used for otherpurpose and it was highlyunlikely that someone wouldsteal it for any other motivethan some mischief.

+�-�� .�/01�

The traders have prepareda14-point demand letter,

saying that they will supportonly that party in the forthcom-ing assembly elections whichwill solve their problems.

President of Uttar PradeshAdarsh Vyapar Mandal, SanjayGupta, said their associationwould send the 14-pointdemand letters to all parties andwait for their response andthen take a call on supportingthe party in the coming election.The Uttar Pradesh AdarshVyapar Mandal is affiliated tothe Confederation of All IndiaTraders. Addressing a pressconference here on Thursday,Gupta said that the traders’demands include announce-ment of an ‘e-commerce policy’and formation of ‘Traders Policy

Commission’ and alsoannouncement of ‘TradersHealth Insurance’. He issued the14-point open "demand letter"which includes the demands oftraders. “We demand that polit-ical parties should include thesedemands in their election man-ifesto,” he said.

“Time has come for thepolitical parties to solve theproblems of the traders so thatthey do not feel neglected. Votesof traders will play a decisiverole in this election as there aremore than one crore traders inUttar Pradesh,” Gupta said andadded that major political par-ties should not neglect tradersany more. Gupta said that afterassurance from the party theAdarsh Vyapar Mandal wouldstart an awareness campaign toeducate traders as to whom to vote.

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In a very rare case operated byCardio Thoracic and

Vascular Surgery Departmentin Institute of Medical Sciences,Banaras Hindu University (IMSBHU), cardio thoracic sur-geons led by Prof SiddharthLakhotia, removed a piece ofround sharp metal from thelung. This metallic piece wentinside the patient’s body acci-dentally while he was firing acracker from a country madeequipment.

According to ProfLakhotia, the incident hap-pened on the day of Deepawaliin village Mathmahamadpur inMau district. The victim, an 18-year old boy, suffered the graveinjury while exploding thecracker from the equipmentholding it in his hand but thecracker probably malfunc-tioned and the metallic piece ofthe equipment backfired andwent inside the patient’s rightchest, badly injuring his rightlung. ‘The boy developedsevere pain and when hebecame breathless, he wastaken to the hospital in Mau,from where he was referred tothe Sir Sunderlal (SSH)Hospital, BHU,’ said Prof

Lakhotia.After arriving in the BHU

Hospital, the patient under-went emergency operation forremoval of the metal inside hislung and drainage of the col-lected blood in his right tho-racic cavity. ‘Due to severity ofthe injury his upper part ofright lung was severely injuredand this resulted in loss of largeamounts of blood in his rightpleural cavity,’ said the surgeon,adding that the boy was luckythat his heart was not injured.‘Surgery lasted for around threehours. After removal of themetallic piece, the lung wasrepaired and the bleedingpoints were controlled. Thepatient is now fine and will bedischarged today from the hos-pital,’ said Prof Lakhotia whooperated this rare surgery alongwith his team members includ-ing Dr Narendra Nath Das andProf SK Mathur (anaesthetist).

P HA R M AC I S T S T OSTAGE DHARNA: Under it’sphase wise agitation, theDiploma PharmacistAssociation will stage a daylongdharna on Saturday to draw theattention of the governmentregarding it’s demands pendingfor long time. The associationthreatened to go on an indefi-

nite strike from December 20if the government fails in meet-ing it’s demands by then.

The Secretary of the asso-ciation Abhijay KumarSrivastava informed that thestate executive committee ofthe association held a meetingand decided to launch phasewise agitation to draw theattention of the governmentregarding it’s demands whichare pending for long time andunder which, a daylong dhar-na will be staged on December4 at the office of Chief MedicalOfficer.

The discussion was takenin the high level meetingsbetween the representatives ofthe association and the seniorofficers sitting in the govern-ment on the demands regard-ing the irregularities in payscale of pharmacist category,standard determination of cat-egory, creation of senior posts,reconstitution of posts, creationof the post of pharmacists intrauma centres, promotion,appointment, etc but despitethis, the government order wasnot issued regarding the imple-mentation of these demands,blamed Srivastava and saidthat the association has nooption except to follow the path

of agitation to draw the atten-tion towards this. He demand-ed the government to imple-ment these demands at the ear-liest.

The executive committeeof the association decided tolaunch phase wise agitation todraw the attention of the gov-ernment under which the daylong dharna will be staged onDecember 4 at the CMO officein the state including Varanasiand a memorandum will besubmitted addressing to theChief Minister, informed headding, the employees of thepharmacist category will puttheir protest by tying black rib-bon on their hands fromDecember 5 to 8 while they willboycott the medical servicesbarring emergency and post-mortem work for two hoursfrom December 9 to 16.

There will be completeboycott of the work exceptemergency services fromDecember 17 to 19 and the offi-cers and employees if this cat-egory will go on an indefinitestrike remaining away from allthe services from December 20including the emergency ser-vice and postmortem work ifthe demands are not met bythen, he informed.

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The grand Kashi VishwanathCorridor (KVC) Project

has neared completion in atime-bound manner withutmost transparency as perthe directives issued by ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath torealise the vision of the PrimeMinister Narendra Modi ofrestoring the ancient glory ofKashi, said the DivisionalCommissioner (DC) DeepakAgarwal. ‘Built over a sprawl-ing area of 5,000 hectares, thecorridor has decongested thetemple complex, which wasearlier surrounded by buildingson three sides. The projectwill connect the two thingsVaranasi is well known for, oneis the Kashi VishwanathTemple (KVT) and the Gangariver,’ he said.

Agarwal further explainedthat when the project was con-ceptualised it was consideredan impossible thing consider-ing the dense structure of thetemple premises, however, withthe organised and dedicatedefforts of both the central andthe state governments, despitetwo waves of the COVID-19pandemic, the entire process isbeing completed in record timewith utmost transparency. ‘Tostart with, the KashiVishwanath Special AreaDevelopment Board(KVSADB) was entrusted withthe task of planning and execu-tion of the project. The projectwas taken forward on a war-footing basis right from gettingthe properties vacated to com-pensating the owners,’ said theDC, highlighting that, ‘the exe-cution of the project was done

in the most transparent man-ner, as a result of which the pro-ject faced no litigations.’

According to him, thedemolition of buildings aroundthe temple led to the recoveryof at least 40 very ancient tem-ples. All those ancient templeswere buried under other con-struction around them andpeople had built kitchens, bath-rooms and much more atopthose temples. ‘Centuries-oldancient temples, earlier hidden,are now visible, they will bepreserved and will be openedto the public. Another area ofconcern was a direct linkbetween KVT and the Gangariver. Now with a direct linkbetween the temple and theriver, one can reach the templepremises within minutes, with-

out going around in the lanes,’he said, adding that the KVTcomplex would now give abrand-new look and morespace.

The DC informed that atotal of nearly Rs 800 crore hasbeen spent on the entire pro-ject which includes Rs 70 crorewhich was spent on the reha-bilitation of people living in thesaid area.

The architect of the projectBimal Patel informed that with-out tampering with the origi-nal structure of the temple,apart from the beautification,the facilities for the touristshave been increased. ‘The workincludes construction ofTemple Chowk, Varanasi citygallery, museum, multipur-pose auditoriums, hall, devotee

facilitation centre, public con-venience, salvation home,Godowlia gate, Bhogshala,shelter for priests and sevadars,spiritual book space, and oth-ers. About 70 per cent of the5.50 lakh sqft area of the pro-ject would be kept open for thegreen cover,’ informed Patel,and added, ‘We worked to ful-fill the PM’s vision of reorgan-ising the temple premises torestore its grandeur.’ The PMlaid the foundation of the KVCProject in March 2019 and thenover 300 buildings were pur-chased and demolished to cre-ate the space for the project.Later, the state governmentconstituted the board to expe-dite the work on it and the CMhas inspected the work on itthree dozen times.

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MLA from Gyanpur VijayMishra was on Thursday

produced before the court ofCivil Judge (Junior Division),here amidst tight securityarrangement. He was takenback to the jail in Agra after thecourt accepted his judicialremand.

In connection with threat-ening to life of rape victims andmounting pressure to with-draw the case against him, thejailed MLA was brought fromAgra jail and produced beforethe court of the Civil Judge(Junior Division) amidst tightsecurity arrangement. Thecourt accepted his judicialremand and thereafter he wastaken back to Agra jail.

It is learnt that a girl ofVaranasi had lodged a com-plaint of gang rape at Gopiganjpolice station against Mishraand others. On September 13last, the victim lodged namedcomplaint against 13 personsincluding Mishra, his son anddaughter that the family mem-bers of the MLA entered herhome forcibly and mountedpressure to withdraw the rapecase and also issued life threatagainst her if she denied follow-ing their instruction.

The persons against whomthe victim had lodged com-

plaint, they had submitted anapplication for the anticipato-ry bail before the district courtthat cancelled their plea of theanticipatory bail. Mishra wasproduced in the court for thejudicial remand in connectionwith that matter.

AWARENESS CAMPSTO BE HELD IN 15 SLUMS:With the aim of makingwomen empowered and self-reliant through the schemesand programmes being run bythe Department of UrbanDevelopment and UrbanEmployment and PovertyAlleviation Program, 'UDAN-UP programme' was launchedin the district from Wednesday.For the uplift of women andchildren in the slums of urbanareas, public awareness activi-ties and camps were organisedin Bauliya in Lahartara arearegarding cleanliness, health,

nutrition etc. During this, ben-eficial information was given tothe beneficiaries of theschemes.

On the instructions of thegovernment, public awarenessactivities will be organised in 15slums/wards of the districtunder the 'UDAN-UP pro-gramme' on behalf of theMunicipal Commissioner. Theother awareness camps of these15 slums will be organised atHela Basti of Chandua,Primary Schools of Khojwan,Chuppepur of Shivpur, SonaTalab Harijan Basti ofDaniyalpur, Harijan Basti ofSarsauli, ChintamaniAnganwadi Centre ofSarainandan Shukulpura,Anganwadi Centre of TulsipurHarijan Basti, CommunityCentre of Sunderpur, Batapur,Bind Basti of Ranipur, PrimarySchool Daniyalpur in

Pulkohna, Kanshiram Awas inIndupur, Shriram NagarColony of Lakhraon,Vishwanathpuri Colony ofMirpur Basahi and Dihbabatemple of Paigambarpur.

Under the UDAN UP pro-gramme, in the first week ofthis month, in addition tocleanliness, health and nutri-tion, information will be givenin various identified wardsabout Pradhan Mantri AwasYojana, introduction ofPradhan Mantri SvanidhiYojana, identification of bene-ficiaries, etc.

Along with this, free healthcamps will also be organised inthese slums. MunicipalCorporation, DUDA, ICDS,Health Department andUNICEF and other alliedorganisations will cooperatein making this programme asuccess.

At Bauliya camp, DrVijender Kumar Singh fromHealth department, NitishChoubey, Gaurav Singh fromDUDA, Seema Rani and BabitaMishra from ICDSDepartment, Dr Brijesh fromVigyan Foundation, urbanhealth coordinator of NationalHealth Mission (NHM), dis-trict coordinator of PradhanMantri Awas Yojana, division-al coordinator from UNICEFand others were present.

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Uttar Pradesh Deputy ChiefMinister Keshav Prasad

Maurya said that the copyingand education mafia wouldnot be spared in the state. Inconnection with the UPTET-2021 paper leak, he issuedstern instructions and said noone would be spared.

“Strictest action will betaken against those foundguilty in the investigation.Because of these people, thecandidates who appeared in theexamination had to face a lot oftrouble,” he said. On Thursday,the Deputy CM performedBhoomi Pujan and laid thefoundation stone of projectsworth Rs 965.87 lakh for theconstruction of houses in theUttar Pradesh Public ServiceCommission premises.

Maurya left for Kaushambifrom Prayagraj and reachedMaa Sheetla guest house atSayaran at 12:30 am where MPVinod Sonkar, BJP DistrictPresident Anita Tripathi, MLASheetla Patel, DistrictPanchayat President Kalpana

Sonkar welcomed him withflowers. He reviewed law andorder with the DM and the SP.He also warned the departmen-tal officers that all the projectsshould be completed on time.No laxity is to be taken. Afterthe night stay, Keshav will bejoining in many programs on

Friday.During his stay in

Prayagraj, the Deputy CM saidthat the BJP would run a greatcampaign against educationand the copying mafia. “Its pur-pose is to make Uttar Pradeshfree from education and thecopying mafia,” he said. He

assured the candidates appear-ing in the examination thatthey should not get disturbed.The state government hasdecided to conduct the exam-ination on December 26.

Apart from this, theDeputy CM said that soon thecity of tents would also be setup at Sangam. The preparationsfor Magh Mela are also almostcomplete and the governmentis continuously monitoring it.Amidst Omicron threat, MaghMela will be conducted withCovid protocol.

Maurya said that theNational Law University inJhalwa would also be readysoon. For this the process oftender etc has been started.

Referring to the upcomingassembly elections, the DeputyCM said that now the prepara-tions for the elections havestarted. Lotus will bloom againin Uttar Pradesh. He also tar-geted the opposition. Keshavsaid that the previous govern-ments in Uttar Pradesh were faraway from development.Prayagraj is continuously onthe path of development underthe BJP government.

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The District Court has sen-tenced two accused

Roopchand Pal and Dakkhi LalPal to life imprisonment andslapped a fine of Rs 25,000 eachon them after they were foundguilty of murder due to suspi-cion of immoral relations.Additional District andSessions Judge MithaliGovindrao pronounced theverdict after hearing the argu-ments of ADGC Ashok KumarMaurya and defense counsel.The court has ordered half the

amount of the fine to be givento the family of the deceased.

Radheshyam Tiwari, a res-ident of Loko Railway Colonyof Civil Lines police station,had filed a report on October26, 2015 that his son VinodKumar Tiwari had marriedGayatri Pal in 2012 at AryaSamaj Mandir. Both were liv-ing together. With these theaccused Roopchand Pal livedwith his wife. Roopchand Palsuspected that Vinod had animmoral relationship with hiswife. Due to which VinodKumar was murdered with a

sharp-edged weapon. His bodywas recovered from inside theroom and both the severedhands were recovered by thepolice from the bathroom. Theprosecution produced six wit-nesses to prove the charge.

The District Court, on thebasis of the confession of thecrime, on proving the charge ofbomb recovery, has punishedthe accused with three years'imprisonment and a fine of fivethousand rupees. The accusedhas been in jail since April 16,2019. He accepted his crimebefore the court and said that

he was very poor. Due to whichhe could not even get his bail.This decision has been given byAdditional District andSessions Judge Bharat SinghYadav after listening to ADGCTN Dixit.

The incident is ofDhumanganj police station onApril 16, 2019. Plaintiff Sub-Inspector Rituraj Singh hadfiled a report that he was onpatrol along with other police-men. On information, theaccused was arrested and fivebombs were recovered fromhim.

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Police claimed to havenabbed one of the accused

involved in the murder of acontractor who was shot late onWednesday evening inPrayagraj. Only two of his(deceased’s) accomplices havebeen named as accused in thecase of shooting contractorBachcha Yadav, living inAttarsuiya outside the modelshop near medical intersectionon Wednesday night.

The police nabbed one ofthe accused, Rajesh Yadav, on

Thursday afternoon while theother accused Mahendra Yadavis still absconding. The incidenttook place over a money dis-pute. The trio were consumingalcohol at the time of the inci-dent and they got into a brawlunder the influence of liquor.

In the investigation so far,it has been found that BachchaYadav (40), who was a residentof Babaji Ka Bagh in Attarsuiyaarea, was friends withMahendra Yadav of ChandpurSalori and Rajesh Yadav ofAshok Nagar. All three hadformed a firm and would take

up contracts in the municipalcorporation. They had beenfrequenting the said modelshop for the last three years.They would later sit in themedical store next to it. Themedical store operator knewthe trio. At 8 pm onWednesday, Bachcha,Mahendra and Rajesh reachedthe model shop. After sometime, they reached the medicalstore. A dispute broke outamong them and Bachcha wasshot five times. A few minuteslater, when the Georgetownpolice reached the spot,

Bachcha Yadav was found lyingin a pool of blood. He wasrushed to SRN Hospital wheredoctors declared him broughtdead. Many officers, includingSSP Sarvshresth Tripathi, andSP City, reached there. SP, City,Dinesh Singh said all threewere friends and there wassome dispute among themunder the influence of alcohol.Mahendra and Rajesh havelicenced pistols, which bothwhipped out and opened fire atBachcha. The police conduct-ed raids and arrested RajeshYadav on Thursday afternoon.

//2�%�� 3�� ALLAHABAD (PNS): Evenas the tally of dengue casescrossed the 1,087 mark inPrayagraj district on Thursday,around 77% beds reserved indengue wards in the three gov-ernment hospitals are lyingvacant. Health officials claimedthat the winter season or dropin temperature sees the lowestreproduction rate among mos-quitoes, and they also becomeinactive in this season. As aresult, the larva which turnsinto a mature mosquito inseven days takes at least threeweeks to become a maturemale or female, if it survives.

District health authoritiesalso claimed that the graph ofthe dengue cases is showing adeclining trend in the city aswell as in trans-Ganga andYamuna pockets. As per the lat-est trend, on an average, sevenor eight cases were reporteddaily in the district in the pastone week while the figure wasmore than 25 or above in thepeak season. Till now, the cityhas reported a total of 1,087dengue cases, including 804 inurban and 283 in rural areas.

District malaria officer(Prayagraj) AK Singh said,“There are a total of 110 denguebeds reserved in three govern-ment hospitals: SRN (25), TBSapri/Beli (60), Colvin (25).

Similarly, 84 are currently lyingvacant at SRN Hospital (22),Beli hospital (42) and Colvinhospital (20). He further addedthat private nursinghomes/hospitals have hardlyreported one or two cases,indicating that the situation hasimproved in the district.“Dengue cases will witness afurther dip as the temperaturehas been decreasing.Mosquitoes usually turn inac-tive with the onset of winters.However, the health depart-ment is not taking any chanceand has intensified anti-larvalmeasures to keep the denguesituation in check,” the DMOsaid. “At present, there are 19active cases, including 13admitted in hospitals and six inhomes in the district and thesituation is completely undercontrol,” he added.

Senior medical officer(SMO) Dr Anupam Dwivedisaid, “Dengue cases are seeinga dip with the onset of winter.Mosquitoes usually breed inwarm weather conditions. Thetemperature is falling which isnot conducive for mosquitobreeding. But people shouldtake precaution and not letwater stagnate in their homes.”

Dr Dwivedi also advisedthe citizens to take all precau-tions to be safe from contract-

ing the disease. “People shouldregularly clean areas and pre-vent mosquito breeding. Theyshould wear full sleeve shirtsand full pants. They should alsoconsult doctors if they sufferfrom symptoms of fever, bodyache, joint pain and skin rash-es, among others,” he added.

Officials claimed that anti-larva spraying has still beenintensified in colonies whichreported frequent cases. Thelocalities are: Rajapur, MLNmedical college campus,Colonelganj, SRN Hospitalcampus, Mumfordganj, KailashPuri Colony, Manmohan Park,Teliyarganj, Shivkuti,Rasoolabad, Kutchehary andDhoomanganj area. Besides,fogging has also been done incity, trans-Ganga and trans-Yamuna pockets.

SPICMACAY ORGANIS-ES CULTURAL PRO-GRAMME: Society for thePromotion of Indian ClassicalMusic and Culture AmongstYouth (SPICMACAY) organ-ised a cultural programme atDPS Prayagraj on Thursday.The Society seriously intends toexpand awareness on differentaspects of Indian heritage viavarious classical art forms, andto inspire the young mind toimbibe the values embedded init. To assist the Society in its

mission of promoting the richand heterogenous culturaltapestry of India, DPS,Prayagraj comes forward everyyear. Globally eminent artistesgave spellbinding performancesas all the students, parents andstaff watched them with raptattention. The artistes whonurture and catalyse Indianclassical folk dance and musicto global level included thefamous Rajasthani folk singers

Mehboob Khan and SabirKhan, dholak playerNizamuddin, alguja playerSikandar Khan, RajasthaniKalbeliya folk dancers ArtiSapera and Mithu Sapera andpungi player Suram Nath. Thevocal and instrumental recitalscombined with the rare folkdances offered an insight intothe rich Indian heritage, its val-ues and ethos. The programmestarted with the traditionallighting of lamp by therenowned artists together withPrincipal Dr Sujata Singh andPresident of the school SonuSingh. The seasoned maestrosaside from cultural signifi-cance also elaborated on thetechnical aspects to Indian folkdance and music. They famil-iarised the audience too withvarious rare musical instru-ments (some hand-crafted)they had.

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Atotal of 42 personnel, including eight offi-cers and 34 employees, retired from

Northern Coalfields Limited (NCL) at the endof November. Among them mason Pappi Singhretired from NCL headquarters. In the ceremonyorganised at the headquarters in honour of

retired employees NCL General Manager(Personnel/ Administration) Ramesh Singh, whowas the chief guest, while prasing them for theirservices for the progress of the companythanked them and wished them a happy life.

AWARDED: In the 37th foundation dayfunction in Northern Coalfields Limited (NCL),

a mini ratna company of the Government ofIndia (GoI), outstanding coal areas were award-ed in various categories recently. In the centralprogramme organised at NCL headquartersrecently former NCL CMD U Kumar, VK Singh,TK Nag, BR Reddy, AK Das, Shanti Lata Sahu,NCL CMD Prabhat Kumar Sinha, CollectorSingrauli RR Meena, Director (Technical/Operations) Dr Anindya Sinha, Director (Financeand Personnel) Ram Narayan Dubey, ChiefVigilance Officer (CVO/NCL) Amit KumarSrivastava, company JCC members, representa-tive of officers’ association and chairperson ofKriti Mahila Mandal (KMM) Sangeeta Sinha andothers were present. The awards on the occa-sion were divided into two categories whichincluded projects with production of more than10 million tonnes and less than that. For thehighest percentage utilisation of budget allocatedfor CSR works — NCL headquarters and for suc-cessfully completing most CSR projects —Dudhichua were honoured. For maximumutilisation of dragline capacity Khadia (morethan 10 MT) and Bina (in less than 10 MT) andfor best performance in shovel dumper combi-nation Krishnashila Area were awarded. Formaking the most profit Amalori and Kakari werethe first in their respective categories. Alongwith coal areas, outstanding workers were alsoawarded. On the occasion of the 37thFoundation Day of the company a total of 463employees have been promoted in various cadres.

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District Magitrate PraveenKumar Laxkar has direct-

ed the officials to hold chaupalin villages for early completionof the consolidation process.Such direction was issued bythe DM while reviewing con-solidation cases at Collectorateon Wednesday. During thereview Laxkar was apprised bythe officials that against thepost of six consolidation offi-cers six were working andonly 11 assistant consolida-tion officers were postedagainst the sanctioned 17posts. He was apprised thatagainst the required strengthof 140 lekhpals only 89 wereposted and against therequired staff of 34 only 19were posted in the district.While reviewing all pointsrelated to consolidationprocess the DM directed theofficials concerned to inten-sify it. The meeting wasattended by SOC SanjaySrivastava, all consolidationofficer (COs) and assistantconsolidation officers (ACOs)along with the other officialsconcerned.

EX GRATIA: ChiefSecretary Government of UttarPradesh (UP), Rajendra KumarTiwari while addressing alldistrict magistrates of the statethrough video conferencingon Wednesday directed tomake available ex gratia tillDecember 4 positively to fam-ilies of those who died due toCovid. He said that all the eli-gible persons were expected to

sent application on the portalcompleting all formalities withrequired papers. He said thatthe applications could bereceived at tehsil level officestoo during office hours. Hemade it clear that the guidelineshad been issued already sothere was no problem to iden-tify the eligible persons. Duringthe video conferencing DistrictMagistrate Praveen KumarLaxkar and Additional DistrictMagistrate (Finance &Revenue) Shiv Pratap Shuklawere present at NIC Mirzapur.

TRAFFIC MONTH: Theconcluding ceremony of TrafficMonth was organised at PoliceLines on Wednesday.Addressing the programmeDeputy Inspector General(DIG) RK Bharadwaj who was

the chief guest stressed on fourEs — the first was educationunder which the awarenessdrive went on throughoutNovember, second wasenforcement under whichtraffic authorities punishthose breaking the trafficrules, third was engineeringunder which precautions in

road construction were takenand fourth E was emergencyunder which help was givento accident victims like ambu-lance and first aid. On theoccasion cloth was given bythe DIG to auto drivers foruniform. Three constables oftraffic police branch wererewarded for their outstand-ing performance. The schoolchildren and other partici-pants of essay and art compe-tition, nukkad natak etc. werehonoured with mementoesfor their appreciable perfor-mance during the trafficawareness drive. The pro-gramme started with the wel-come of the chief guest byAdditional Superintendent ofPolice (ASP/City) SanjayKumar, ASP (Operation)

Mahesh Singh Atri, CircleOfficer (Sadar) ShailendraTripathi, Circle Officer (City)Prabhat Rai and reserveinspector Police Lines. It wasfollowed by the lighting of cer-emonial lamp by the chiefguest. RTO Sanjay Tiwariaddressed the programme asthe guest of honour.

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Banaras Locomotive Works (BLW) GeneralManager Anjali Goyal on Wednesday did an

intensive inspection of its new block shop. It maybe pointed out here that the bogie of electriclocomotives is manufactured in the new blockshop of BLW. During the inspection the GMreviewed the works related to the manufactureof bogie and gave necessary suggestions to the

officers and employees concerned for furtherimprovement in its quality, Public RelationsOfficer (PRO) Rajesh Kumar said. Prominentamong those present during inspection wereChief Design Engineer/Electrical Sujit Mishra,Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME)/Production,Neeraj Jain, Chief Mechanical Engineer(CME)/SE, Sunil Kumar, Deputy GeneralManager (DGM) Vijay, and Deputy ChiefMechanical Engineer (DCME)/Plant SK Singh.

� ��+�%�� % "The office-bearers of Banaras Locomotive

Works OBC Railway Employees’ WelfareAssociation warmly welcomed and greeted thenewly appointed Principal Chief MedicalOfficer (PCMO) of BLW Dr Devesh Kumar onTuesday. On this occasion general secretaryHari Shankar Yadav expressed the hope that DrDevesh Kumar would extend his full cooper-ation in setting up the proposed multi super-speciality hospital in BLW. Dr Devesh Kumar saidin view of the possible third wave of Covid-19there is a need to be careful and alert along withmaking adequate preparations. He also talkedabout seeking cooperation of Employees’Council, OBC and SC/ST Association. On theoccasion OBC Railway Employees’ Welfare

Association president Ram Narayan, formerjoint secretary Ramayana Singh Yadav, workingpresident Arvind Kumar Yadav, vice- presidentDinesh Pratap, general secretary Hari ShankarYadav along with Ratan Prabhakar, RajkumarSaav, Suresh Pal, Ajay Kumar, Ramesh KumarPrajapati, Suryanath Prasad, Vivek, RakeshKumar Singh including a large number of offi-cers and employees were present.

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Scoutmasters of District Association,Varanasi, North Eastern Railway (NER),

Ajit Kumar Srivastava and Rajkishore, receivedthe Himalayan Wood Badge by successfullyparticipating in the Himalayan Wood Badgecourse at the high level national training cen-tre of Scouts and Guides, National TrainingCentre (NTC), Pachmarhi, from November 19to 25. In the said centre after passing severallevels of scouting training in various types ofcomplex scout skills is given which is con-sidered a matter of great prestige for the ScoutGuide members. A total of 110 participantsfrom 23 states from all over India participat-ed in which two scouters of NER took part andon being successful in various types of test-ing skills got the Himalayan Wood Badge. Ajithad also received the President’s Award in1993. On this success of the employees ChiefDistrict Commissioner (NER Scouts andGuides District Association, Varanasi) andAdditional Divisional Railway Manager (Infra)Gyanesh Tripathi and District Commissioner(NER Scouts and Guides District Association,Varanasi) and Senior Divisional MechanicalEngineer (Carriage & Wagon) SatyaprakashSrivastava while extending their best wishessaid that other members of NER Scouts andGuides District Association, Varanasi, will alsobe benefitted by it.

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Union Bank of IndiaRegional Head Piyush

Pandey while addressing a one-day MSME mega loan distrib-ution camp on Thursday saidMSME loans came with greatbenefits for small businesses,like no collateral, fast process-ing cycle and online accountaccess, that met the exact needsof small businesses at any stageof their growth.

He said these loansstrengthen the Indian economyalong with proper governance,finance and service deliverysystems as there was an imper-ative need to organise such loandistribution camps.

He said the United Bank ofIndia was always in the fore-front to extend all possiblehelp to give momentum to theIndian economy.

The bank sanctioned loansto the tune of Rs 100 crore.

Pandey said additionalfinancial liquidity was requiredfor the upkeep of the businessesof micro, small and mediumenterprises. He said thus to

bridge the gap, many financialinstitutions and banks offeredMSME loans.

He said this loan was toexpand the MSME businessand entailed purchasingmachinery and equipment orraw materials, meeting workingcapital requirements, invest-ment in fixed assets,payment of rent, salaries

and other daily or monthlyexpenses, management of cashflows and any other financialprovision for operational pur-pose.

Pandey said these loanswere offered at competentinterest rates for flexibletenures. He said simplifiedSME loans meant that theenterprises eligible were part-

nership, sole proprietorship,manufacturing units or servicebased micro and small enter-prises.

He said micro enterprisesthe investment should notexceed Rs 1 crore and turnovershould not exceed Rs 5 crore,for small enterprises invest-ment should not exceed Rs 10crore and turnover Rs 50 crorewhile in medium category itshould not exceed Rs 20 croreand annual turnover shouldnot exceed Rs 100 crore.

It may be mentioned herethat banks offer interest rates aslow as 7.65 per cent with theloan sanction amounts as lowas Rs. 50,000 and repaymenttenure up to 15 years.

He said one shouldremember that every bank orfinancial institutioncurated the interest rates,tenures and loan sanctionamounts in a different andspecific manner. Others presentduring the loan distributionwere Kanpur Chief ManagerYogendra Dhangadh, MRMishra, DV Verma and a largenumber of the bank's clientele.

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December 3 is observed asInternational Day of

Persons with Disabilities toacknowledge the issues facedby persons with disabilitiesaround the world. The day aimsat promoting awareness of dis-ability issues and the funda-mental rights of persons withdisabilities. This year the themeis ‘Not All Disabilities areVisible’. Quite a number ofdisabilities, like mental healthdisorders, chronic pain andfatigue, are invisible but thatdoes not make them any lessdevastating to someone’s qual-ity of life.

This was stated by DrVeena George, paediatricoccupational therapist fromKerala, while addressing avirtual session at the schoolfor physically challenged chil-dren run by Regency onThursday.

She said in the currenttimes disability was not con-sidered as a state of inabilityand the day was observedwith the aim to inculcate asense of compassion amongall human beings on earth.She said it was a matter ofconcern that over 21 millionpeople in India were sufferingfrom one or the other kind ofdisability which was equiva-lent to 2.1 per cent of the pop-ulation, She said another causeof concern was that among thetotal disabled in the country,over 9.3 million were females.

Dr George said todayacross the globe the focuswas being laid on ‘socialmodel of disability’ and as perindividual/medical model,some physiological or chem-ical system might be missingor atrophied, or might havebeen damaged through illness,accident or some other trau-ma. She said the absence ormalfunctioning of such a sys-tem resulted in the personhaving impaired abilities tocope with life.

She said a malfunctioningauditory system caused thedisability of sound impair-ment similarly the malfunc-tioning of the visual systemled to sight impairment. Shesaid similarly a stroke that dis-rupted systems involved inspeech or movement causedcorresponding disability.

Dr George said such amodel established a causalconnection between individ-ual impairment, seen asdeparture from human nor-mality, and disability, seen asrestriction in abilities to per-form tasks. She said the socialmodel broke this causal con-nection between body impair-ment and disability as dis-ability was not physical, it wassocial. She said disablementwas caused by the oppressionof social and economic struc-ture on the disabled individ-uals who were, consequently,an oppressed group in society.She said as per this approach,disability resided principally

in the socio-structural barri-ers that served to disadvantageand exclude people withimpairments.

She said it was a matter ofgreat concern that the abilitiesand potentials of differentlyabled persons had not yetbeen fully explored and tack-led. She said practically it wasa great loss of humanresources which, if discovered,matured, appropriately chan-nelised and utilised, couldadd a new force to the pro-gression of the society. Shesaid empowerment of the dif-ferently abled was very nec-essary in today’s fast compet-ing and changing scenario ofsociety which had forced indi-viduals to concentrate theirefforts on different dimen-sions of life.

Dr George, who is also onthe special panel of UN, saidthere was a larger socialresponse to empower the dif-ferently abled and by impart-ing proper skills and thougheducation and other necessarysupport, the differently abledpersons could join hands withthe mainstream and con-tribute his or her potential.She said empowering the dif-ferently abled was a greatchallenge, partly because peo-ple with disabilities were scat-tered throughout communi-ties and rarely had a chance toidentify with one another,and also because many ofthem stayed at home becauseof mobility problems.

Explaining empowerment,she said it referred to increas-ing the social, political oreconomic strength of indi-viduals and communities. Shesaid it often involved thedeveloping confidence in theirown capacities and sociolog-ical empowerment oftenaddressed members of groupsthat social discriminationprocesses had excluded fromdecision-making processesthrough, discrimination basedon race, ethnicity, religion,gender, caste and physicalattributes. Dr George addedthere had been a conflictingtrend against the empower-ment of the differently abled.She said on the one hand,there was growing influence ofpolicies clustered around therhetoric of economic ratio-nality within the government,both at the Central and statelevels, and on the other, themarketisation and bureau-cratisation of several institu-tions such as the academia,which meant that mainstreaminstitutions and agencies hadnot much interest to take careof the disadvantaged section.

She said the civil societywas a broader term that wasbeing widely used in the cur-rent discourse of social sci-ence. She said the neo-liber-als differed on the composi-tion and role of civil society inthe overall development of thesociety. The vote of thanks wasproposed by Dr BhavanaPapnai.

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In view of the large-scaleconversion of land use of

agricultural land for plottingthese days, KanpurDevelopment Authority ViceChairman Arvind Singh hasobjected to this practice.

He has asked the respectiveSDMs to allow land use con-version only after getting aNOC from the KDA. The NOCwill be required only for those85 villages which have beenincluded in the developmentlimit of the KDA.

Usually, some people applyfor land use conversion to takeloans on their property. Theyare required to submit theirapplication for land use con-version in the court of SDMwho, after hearing the partiesconcerned, allows it. The appli-cant is also required to depositthe requisite fee with the pre-scribed authority according tothe prevailing circle rates.

It may be recalled that inview of the rapid developmentof housing societies in areasadjacent to the city, peoplehave been purchasing agricul-tural land on a large scalefrom farmers for plotting andselling the plots at higher rates.Prior to start plotting on agri-cultural land, these people file

applications for conversion ofland use under the relevantlaws in the courts of SDMs ofSadar, Narval and other tehsilsconcerned.

As prior to granting per-mission for conversion of landuse the SDM is not required tocollect NOC from any depart-ment, this has proved to be aboon for those who, after ascer-taining the future projects ofthe KDA and other govern-ment departments, file appli-cation for land use conversion

in advance to get higheramount of compensationagainst acquisition of theirproperty.

Now, with a view to exer-cising effective checks on theprevailing practice, the KDAvice chairman has asked deputycollectors (SDMs) to collectNOC from the KDA beforegranting any permission forland use conversion. This willfacilitate the KDA to ascertainwhether a farmer or any otherperson has applied for land use

conversion in areas of its futureprojects, only to get a higheramount of compensation or forany other purpose.

MID-TERM EXAMS: DrAmar Srivastava, Principal,Harsahai PG College, in a pressstatement issued on Thursday,said the mid-term exams ofBSc/BCom (first year) wouldbe held from December 4 to 9while the examinations forMCom (first and second year)would be conducted onDecember 10.

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Awoman was strangled todeath after tying her limbs

in Khadepur locality underNaubasta police station onThursday morning.

On failing to get anyresponse to his phone call,when the woman’s brotherrushed to her house and foundhis sister's body lying facedown in the backside room ofher house.

ADCP Govind Nagaralong with a forensic team andsniffer dog squad reached thespot and carried out investiga-tions. It is apprehended thatafter rape and loot, the womanwas killed.

Anod Kumar Maurya ofArra village is employed in afactory in Raipurwa. His fam-ily consists of wife Laxmi Devi(45) and daughter AkankshaMaurya (14). Anod is not men-tally fit.

Around 8 am on Thursday,Anod went for duty while hisdaughter went to her school.Laxmi's brother Rama Shankerof Baudh Nagar told the policethat two days ago, his sister hadinformed him on phone aboutsome pain in her chest and hehad asked her to consult doc-tors in the Cardiology Hospitalon Thursday.

When her mobile phonefailed to respond on Thursdaymorning, he rushed to herplace and found the housefilled with smoke. There was afire in the bathroom on the firstfloor. After extinguishing thefire when he called his sister,there was no response. Onreaching the backside room onthe ground floor, he found herbody lying face down there.Her limbs were tied and adupatta was tied around herthroat and blood was oozingfrom her nose and mouth.

He informed his brother-in-law and the police controlroom.

Immediately, ADCPGovind Nagar Vikas Pandeyalong with a force fromNaubasta police station andforensic team reached the spotand carried out investigation.After some time, a sniffer dogsquad also reached the spot.The dogs, after going up to theroad, returned to the house.

Police have taken threepersons, including an inter-mediate college teacher, intocustody for quizzing. The localresidents said the teacher oftenvisited the woman's house.

��8��9� �� KANPUR (PNS): AdditionalDistrict Magistrate (City) AtulKumar while flagging off the‘Collection and Storage Van’ onWednesday cautioned hotelsand restaurants to refrain fromheating cooking oil more thanthree times as it became toxicand harmful for human con-sumption. He said the vanwould move in the city andthey could sell their thriceheated oil at a fixed price to beused for biodiesel. He said thisvan would campaign also andcollected over heated oil as well.He said oil was a major ingre-dient in most Indian cookingtraditions and several studiespointed out that reheatingcooking oil could release harm-ful toxins, increase the per-centage of trans-fats in it, whichthen became rancid, givingrise to free radicals and increas-ing harmful reactions. He saidconsumption of repeatedlyheated cooking oil (RHCO)had been a regular practice ofrestaurants, hotels and ediblevends without knowing theharmful effects of its use. Hesaid heating of edible oils totheir boiling point resulted inthe formation of free radicalsthat caused oxidative stressand induced damage at the cel-lular and molecular levels. Hesaid peroxide value of heatedoil, histopathological alter-ations, antioxidant enzyme lev-els and blood biochemistrywere altered when treated withthe RHCO. He said RHCOrevealed higher peroxide valuein comparison to oil that hadbeen unheated or heated once.He said histopathologicalobservation depicted signifi-cant damage and alteredantioxidant status whichreflected an adaptive responseto oxidative stress.

Wherever possible, theemployers and workers in eachindustry, trade or professionwere organised together insyndical associations. Where itwas not possible to form suchsyndicates, the unions and theemployers’ associationsremained but cooperated toform guilds to coordinate andensure cordiality. If collectivebargaining could not end sat-isfactorily, the disputes werereferred to law courts assistedby professional experts. This ishow class collaboration wasconceptualised by the FascistParty.

In practice, the economywas toned up by rearmamentand expenditure on publicworks. Soldiers were recruitedin large numbers and so wereworkers in factories to producearms. This would bring prof-its to the bourgeoisie whocould then pay the proletariatwell. Urban prosperity wouldincrease demand for agricul-tural produce. What was left ofthe under-employed youth wasabsorbed by the armed forces.The promise to the wholenation were frequent attemptsat foreign conquests whichwould bring booty.

Another example of thepractice of fascism or class col-laboration, albeit on a muchmore limited scale, was inSpain under General Franco.

Neither the Italian nor theSpanish experience is widelyknown in any great detail espe-cially in India. However, whatthe members of the intelli-gentsia are familiar with are theexploits of Adolf Hitler and hisNazi Party whose full namewas National Socialist GermanWorkingmen’s Party. It wasfounded by Adolf Hitler andhis six comrades in Munich in1920. The economic depriva-tion in Germany was muchgreater than that witnessed inItaly, mainly due to reparationpayments under the Treaty ofVersailles 1919 after WorldWar I. The country paid anexorbitant price for its defeat inWorld War I. The runawayinflation as well as the worlddepression ignited by the crashin share prices on the WallStreet in New York in 1929made matters worse forGermany. It was widelybelieved that the charismaticquality of Hitler and his pro-gramme of class collaborationmore or less on the lines ofMussolini’s Italian ideologyalthough, on a far granderscale, saved the country fromutter collapse and a communisttakeover in the 1930s.

Unlike the Italian andSpanish examples, the NaziParty proposed to exclude Jewsfrom German life. They allegedthat the Jewish leadership had

betrayed the State duringWorld War I and were, to alarge extent, responsible for thedire German defeat. In theirbid to exterminate the Jews, notonly from Germany but alsofrom the rest of Europe, theNazis were estimated to havekilled six million Jews by 1945.While General Franco con-fined himself to Spain, BenitoMussolini did attempt foreignconquests of Albania andEthiopia but his plans werenowhere as grandiose as AdolfHitler’s. Which is why he iswell-known not only in Indiabut all over the world. Japanwas another country, althougha monarchy, that practicedclass collaboration especially inthe 1930s and 1940s.

So much for fascism and itssmaller as well as grander(Spanish, and German) varia-tions. But what is its ugly con-nection with politics in India?India is not Europe nor do wehave class stratificationsalthough communist tradeunions did try to introducethem. The nineteen-ninetiesare not the thirties. Socialismis on its deathbed, and there isno fear of a communist take-over.

The writer is a well-knowncolumnist, an author and a former member of the RajyaSabha. The views expressed arepersonal.)

�� Sir — On the face of it, making otherslaugh in these acrimonious times actu-ally passes for an art notwithstanding,the comedian fraternity should neverforget that ours is a religion-dominantnation despite being a democracy and,hence, our comedians better keep offthe religion while attempting at raisinga laugh among their audiences. Whyshould one choose-deliberately or chal-lengingly-any subject they alreadyknow will stoke up a religious contro-versy, instead of making people amuse,smile and laugh?

One cannot afford to lacerate anycommunity's religious sentiments in thename of the 'Freedom of Expressionand Speech'. These bloomers see com-mission only because the perpetratorsare well aware that controversies sellfaster and, in turn, benefit them eco-nomically, besides fetching popularityas well. As regards the professionalaspect of the comedy, there are a largenumber of subjects and objects otherthan religion that can be sincerelytapped for keeping people in goodhumour. Simultaneously, this will sim-ply be like making an omelette withoutbreaking eggs — leaving people amusedas well as keeping our age-old traditionsof communal harmony that has earnedour country the 'Unity in diversity' epi-thet across the globe, intact!

Azhar A Khan | Rampur

�� Sir — People are entitled to have theirown opinion that Prime MinisterNarendra Modi is a true democrat, butto consider the ‘mann ki baat’ as some-thing resembling direct democracy istaking credulity a little too far. Tobelieve that the questions asked to PMModi in the ‘mann ki baat’ are spon-taneous and not rehearsed is somethingwhich even a hard core BJP supporterfinds hard to believe.

Regarding disruptions inParliament, one must remember thetimes when the BJP leaders did so whenin Opposition. This, however, does not

justify the behaviour of the Oppositionmembers and it is imperative thatnormal working commences and pre-vails. For many, anything and every-thing that PM Modi does is a master-stroke. Imposing the farm laws first andrepealing them later are both beingpraised. Perhaps it's time for the likesof such people to take off their blink-ered glasses.

Anthony Henriques | Mumbai

�� Sir — Soccer legend Lionel Messi haswon the Ballon d’Or, football’s mostprestigious award, for a record-stretch-ing seventh time, which puts himahead of his eternal rival ChristianoRonaldo in all-time standings. Theaward reaffirms the fact that Messi isunquestionably the king of modern era'sfootball. Perhaps what separates Messifrom other greats is that he has an inher-

ent advantage over every other player,thanks to his superior technical abilitywhich gives him an immediate edgebecause he can manipulate the ball inways that others simply cannot.

For the Argentine super star, lifeturned a full circle at a very young ageof 13 when he was offered the chanceto train at FC Barcelona's youth acad-emy, La Masia. Had not Messi grabbedthat opportunity gleefully with bothhands, today we would not be witness-ing the world’s greatest footballer in themodern era, whose name and fame havereached dizzying heights. But more thananything else, winning the CopaAmerica for Argentina in July this yearmust rank as the biggest moment so farin Messi’s glittering football career.

Ranganathan Sivakumar | Chennai

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Speech with knowledge is asermon and withoutknowledge is a pulpit.Leaders in Indian politics

frequently use the word ‘fascism’to abuse an Opposition party orits members without the slightestidea of what the word fascismmeans or signifies. To them it isan abusive alternative of despot.

Benito Mussolini, who initi-ated the fascist movement inMarch 1919, at Milan and found-ed the party called PartitoNazional Fascista in November1921, is farfetched to have beenabusive. Or, does the very word“fascist” connote political deroga-tion? Perhaps it does to at leastsome members of the Indianintelligentsia. This is reasonenough to recapitulate what fas-cism really means.

The word “fascio” means abundle or a bunch implyingunity. The movement was inresponse to the corruption, unem-ployment and the virtual econom-ic collapse in Italy after World WarI. The socio-economic condi-tions appeared to be ripe for acommunist revolution and fas-cism was a nationalist answer topreempt such a take-over.Marxism was looked upon asdepicting “class conflict”.Capitalism still carried the stigmaof “class exploitation” and was,therefore, a non-starter as a pop-ular programme. To be effective,the answer had to be somethingthat would prove attractive to thepeasants, workers as well as theirunions and generally acceptableto all classes of people. This wasdiscovered in “class collaboration”as represented by fascism.

Prof Alfredo Rocco, theMinister of Justice in theMussolini cabinet, set forth thegist of this new ideology in thecourse of a speech at Perugia in1925. According to him, the soci-ety does not exist for the individ-ual, but the individual for the soci-ety. Economic progress is a socialinterest and all classes of peopleshould collaborate to maximiseproduction. The interests of theemployers and the employed areidentical. To ensure that this ispracticed, there must be a systemof State discipline over class con-flicts. Strikes and lockouts wereillegal and punishable by heavyfines and other punishments.

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The COP26 has concluded witha final resolution that has beenhailed by some and considerednot enough by others. However,

the deliberations did bring out the cru-cial impact that greenhouse gas emis-sions are having on our planet and thatnobody is immune to the effects of this.For at least a month, the attention of theentire world was focused on the likelytemperature rise over the pre industri-al era and its impact on climate changeand correspondingly on livelihood andthe future of our planet. It is clear thatclimate change is a reality which cannotbe brushed under the carpet because ithas already started impacting humanlives and threatens a potentially disas-trous future.

There was a lot of debate aboutcountries committing themselves to anet zero target on a particular date in thefuture. Many countries like the Nordiccountries were talking about reachingnet zero before 2050 and there was pres-sure on India to also promise net zeroby 2050. This was raising issues of devel-opment versus environment for a grow-ing economy like India. It was pointedout that per capita emissions of green-house gases in India is far below thanthat which is prevailing in the developedeconomies. The issue of climate equitywas raised. Was it not imperative on thedeveloped countries to contribute moresignificantly to reduction of green-house gases as they were responsible forthe same to a larger extent?

The developed countries were point-ing towards India and China by sayingthat these countries are the largestemitters of greenhouse gases and, hence,it is obligatory for them to take steps formitigation of emission of greenhousegases.

India took the lead. It pointed outthat it has been honoring its commit-ments made in the nationally deter-mined contributions (NDC) after theParis agreement. The Prime Minister inhis speech outlined a very positiveaction plan for the future of India. Hepromised that India would seek toattain net zero by 2070. India alsoassured that by 2030 the installedrenewable energy capacity would beraised to a level of 500 GW and that 50percent of the country’s electricityrequirement would be met from renew-able sources.

We also projected reducing cumu-lative carbon emissions by 1 billion tonesbetween 2020 and 2030 and reducingcarbon intensity of GDP by 45 percentcompared to 2005 level. The rest of thecountries also came out with theircommitments but the experience hasbeen that in the absence of an enforce-ment mechanism the promises made byvarious countries have not been honoredin practice. A classic example has beenthat the promised climate finance by the

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developed nations to the extent of$100 billion every year by 2020 isyet to be realized. Climate changemitigation and adaptation wouldonly be possible with accountabil-ity on the concerned nations andthere should be a sense of credi-bility to their pronouncements.

As it is, it has been reported,that if all NDCs are implement-ed then the greenhouse gaseslevel in 2030 would be 15.9 per-cent above 2000 level. In order toachieve the goal of limiting tem-perature rise to 1.5 percent of preindustrial level, scientists havecalculated carbon dioxide emis-sions need to be 45 percent below2010 level by 2030. Climatechange is definitely a seriousaffair which needs much morethan pious intentions to mitigate.

India would also have tostrive hard to achieve the goals ithas identified for itself in COP 26.India is a developing economyand its focus has to be on provid-ing higher per capita incomeand better quality of life to its cit-izens. At the same time India isa responsible nation aware of itsglobal commitments and its rolein saving the future of humani-ty. Sustainable development is thekey word. India has to create anenabling environment to attractglobal investments. It has toinvest in infrastructure to makethis happen.

The energy sector requiresserious reforms of the discoms.We need to strengthen our gridinfrastructure and massivelyincrease battery storage capacityto usher in clean energy. All thiswould require a huge skilled

work force which requires invest-ment in education and re-skilling.The focus on renewal energywould have a geographic elementalso as it is the western andsouthern states which wouldbecome the main provider ofrenewal energy but eastern Indiawhere the coal belt exists wouldsee job losses. India would needa plan taking all aspects intoaccount for ensuring a “just”energy transition. All this wouldraise questions about the sustain-ability of renewal energy gener-ation goals.

All the options have socialcosts. Nuclear energy has thesocial cost of possible radiationwhile hydro-electric projects havehuge environmental issues ofrehabilitation and relocation. Evensolar and wind energy have aproblem of requiring enormousamount of land. Even otherwiseIndian declaration implies thatfossil fuels will continue to con-tribute 50 percent of the energyrequirement leading to increasedemissions.

India would be required toprepare a detailed strategy andaction plan to ensure that it ful-fills its commitments. All this can-not be done at the CentralGovernment level and the Stateswould have to be fully involved.In fact, a culture of carbon neu-trality will have to be built in allprojects. I recently attended a con-ference on climate change wherethey claimed that the conferencewas carbon neutral as they haveplanted trees in a designated areato set off all the carbon emissionscreated by the conference. This is

the approach which will have tobe followed. Every event andevery project will have to aim forcarbon neutrality. This requires ahigh degree of awareness and con-sciousnessin all sections of thesociety. Implementation is notgoing to be easy. Even today wesee that Delhi and NCR are fac-ing a high level of air pollutiondue to stubble burning, vehicleemissions and other factors andthe Supreme Court has lamentedthat despite this problem occur-ring every year in winter theCenter and State Governmentshave not been able to sit downtogether to resolve it. Then recent-ly we saw on the TV screens thefrothing waters of the riverYamuna in Delhi have becomeunfit for human use. If these prob-lems have not been tackled foryears, then one wonders how thepromises made regarding climatechange mitigation would be met.

A high-level monitoringcommittee will have to be setupto monitor on regular basis andpolicy making will have to bedovetailed to the commitmentsmade regarding greenhouse gasmitigation. Policy makers havean unenviable task before themas they also have to see thatdevelopment is not adverselyimpacted and the poor of thecountry are not made to carry theburden. In a similar vein, at theinternational level also, a moni-toring and enforcement mecha-nism would need to be evolved.Climate change cannot beignored but it requires urgent andconcrete action for mitigationand adaption.

(The writer is formerChief Secretary,

Government of UttarPradesh. The views

expressed are personal.)

The HaryanaGovernment hasinformed that the

Employment of LocalCandidates Act, 2020, will beimplemented in the state fromJanuary 15, 2022. The act willpave the way for a 75 per centreservation for local candi-dates in private jobs in thestate.

Haryana has the highestunemployment rate in thecountry, at 26.4 per centaccording to CMIE data forFebruary. The national rate is6.9 per cent.When there ishuge unemployment, it maycreate restlessness among thepopulation and the govern-ment may have to tackle theserious issue that is brewingup.

The GDP of Haryana is�8.31 lakh crore (2019-20).

The GDP per capita positionis a reasonable fifth national-ly. When there is economicgrowth, it must translate intojob creation also. If that is nothappening, then the reasonsshould be analysed, instead ofmaking a quick fix by jobreservation for locals that willbe counterproductive.

The theory of providingjobs to local people is nothingbut favouritism and regional-ism. Instead of nurturing tal-ent and capability, it willencourage quota system basedon domicile. Such recruit-ment will result in poor exe-cution by the work force andthe companies employingthem will find it difficult tosurvive in a competitive world.

The country is one andthe country is divided into dif-ferent states for convenience of

administration only. Just asfree mobility of all physicalresources is essential, humanresource should also be freelyemployable anywhere in thecountry. The recruiting com-panies will always look forproper talent and skills for anyjob locally. Only when it is notavailable or when it is notcompetitive, the company willlook elsewhere. Restrictingthe companies to recruit onlylocal people will cripple thefunctioning of the company.Companies may migrate toother states which will be

counterproductive for thestate.

Article 16(1) of theConstitution states that thereshall be equal opportunityfor the citizens in the matterof employment or appoint-ment to any office under theState. Article 16(2) lays downthe grounds on which the cit-izens should not be discrimi-nated against for the purposeof employment or appoint-ment to any office under theState.

However, Article 16(3)provides an exception to theselaws. It states thatparliamentmay make any laws prescrib-ing a requirement for any par-ticular place of residence with-in the state or union territoryin which the public office oremployment may be in.

In the case of Pradeep Jain

vs Union of India, theSupreme Court found thepolicies of reserving jobs forsons of the soil as violative ofthe Constitution and said asfollows: “…every citizen has aright to move freely through-out the territory of India andto reside and settle in any partof India…. it is difficult to seehow a citizen having his per-manent home in Tamil Naduor speaking Tamil languagecan be regarded as an outsiderin Uttar Pradesh….To regardhim as an outsider would beto deny him his constitution-al rights and to de-recognisethe essential unity and integri-ty of the country by treating itas if it were a mere conglom-eration of independent States”.

Job reservation for localsshould not be confused withaffirmative action which

comes under Article 15(4)and 16(4) of the Constitution.They allow the State to makespecial provisions for reserva-tion of admissions in higheracademic places and appoint-ments, for those communitieswhich are socially, education-ally backwards classes or arefrom scheduled castes orscheduled tribes and in theopinion of the state are notadequately represented in theservices under the state.

The initiative to reservejobs for locals may backfire. Itis reported that the start-upcommunity based in Haryana,particularly Gurugram, hasbeen unnerved by the newlaw. As per a survey ofXpheno, around 11,000employees are working inGurugram’s unicorns andsoonicorns. Half of them may

not be locals with salaries ofRs.50,000 per month. Thenew dispensation will makethe existing entrepreneurs toleave Gurugram and migrateto Delhi or Noida in UP.Future entrepreneurs mayeven go for Bengaluru toestablish new ventures. Insteadof addressing the problem ofunemployment, the new lawwill drive away industries andthus create more unemploy-ment in the state.

Instead of reserving jobsfor local population, the gov-ernment must ensure skilldevelopment and industryready work force, which willautomatically make thememployable. This will alsoencourage new companies tomigrate to the state whenthey are assured about talent-ed and skilled workforce.

�� !�"��#$%$&'�(�)*��+�,-+*�$*�&��$&'�).��!-#�.�$�$*/�-&%��'$�&-+$*/��&*��-%��!�&.��.�$&'��-+�&��$��0$++��&,�.�-'��-�1.��-�* *��/�)-*�%��&�%�/$,$+�

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Taking exception to the UNstatement regarding the

arrest of an activist in Jammu& Kashmir and violation ofhuman rights, India onThursday said these were“baseless” allegations and thecomments “betray” a completelack of understanding of thesecurity challenges in the

region in view of cross-borderterrorism.

Making India’s stand clear,ministry of external affairsspokesperson Arindam Bagchisaid here authorities in Indiaact against violations of law andnot against legitimate exerciseof rights.

His comments came inresponse to a statement madeby the Spokesperson of theOffice of the High

Commissioner for HumanRights (OHCHR) over thearrest of Kashmiri rightsactivist Khurram Parvez.

"We have seen the state-ment made by the spokesper-son of the Office of the HighCommissioner for HumanRights (OHCHR) on specificincidents in Jammu andKashmir. The statement makesbaseless and unfounded alle-gations against law enforce-

ment authorities and securityforces of India," he said.

On Wednesday, Office ofthe High Commissioner forHuman Rights spokespersonRupert Colville expressed deepconcern over the arrest ofParvez and even called for"prompt, thorough, transpar-ent" investigations" into therecent incidents of killings ofcivilians in Jammu andKashmir.

"We are deeply concernedat the arrest of Kashmirihuman rights defenderKhurram Parvez under Indiancounter-terrorism legislation,the Unlawful ActivitiesPrevention Act (UAPA),"Colville said in a statement.

Rejecting the commentsby the UN official, Bagchi saidas a democratic country, withan abiding commitment topromote and protect the

human rights of its citizens,India takes all necessary stepsto counter cross-border ter-rorism.

"It also betrays a completelack of understanding on thepart of the OHCHR of thesecurity challenges faced byIndia from cross-border ter-rorism and its impact on themost fundamental humanright, 'the right to life' of ourcitizens including in Jammu

and Kashmir," he said."Referring to proscribed

terrorist organisations as'armed groups' demonstrates aclear bias on the part ofOHCHR," the spokespersonsaid.

Bagchi said national secu-rity legislations, like theUnlawful Activities(Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA)were enacted by Parliament toprotect the sovereignty of India

and ensure the security of itscitizens.

"The arrest and subsequentdetention of the individualreferred to in the statement wasdone entirely as per provisionsof law," he said.

"Authorities in India actagainst violations of law andnot against legitimate exerciseof rights. All such actions arestrictly in accordance with thelaw," Bagchi said.

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The Government is keen topromote nuclear energy

and India will have ninenuclear reactors by 2024,Minister of State for personnel,public grievances and pen-sions Jitendra Singh said in theRajya Sabha on Thursday.

He also said the presentgovernment has also decided tohave reactors in different partsof the country and a nuclearplant will come up in Haryanaabout 150 kms from thenational capital. Earlier, theplants were located in southand some other parts of thecountry.

"By 2024 you will havenine nuclear reactors plus 12new additional ones whichwere approved during theCovid times with a capacity of9000 MW. Five new sites arealso being identified," in dif-ferent parts of the country, hesaid during the Question Hour.

Asked whether the gov-ernment is thinking of phasingout nuclear power plants onaccount of safety, the ministersaid, "We have not onlyincreased the number but arealso trying to make a pan-Indiageneration project."

The Minister said thatnuclear energy will soonemerge as one of the most

important sources of alternativeor clean energy for the increas-ing power demand of the coun-try. As far as the cost is con-cerned, though it varies fromplant to plant and on the age ofthe plant, Singh said on anaverage it comes to about Rs 3per unit and while theKudankulam plant has aboutRs 4 per unit and Tarapur haslesser cost. But in the times tocome, with more plants the costwould reduce, he said.

On the expansion ofKudankulan nuclear plant, theMinister also said that "hope-fully in 2021, we plan to startthe construction of unit 5 andunit 6 as well."

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After India was allowed totransport humanitarian aid

to Afghanistan through theland route in Pakistan, the twocountries are still working outthe modalities about ferryingthe aid including 50,000 tonnesof wheat and life saving medicines.

Pakistan Prime MinisterImran Khan in November endannounced the decision toallow India to transport goodsthrough Attari-Wagh border.However, reports suggestPakistan is insisting that thewheat from India-Pakistanborder in Punjab will be carriedto Afghanistan in Pakistanitrucks.

However, India has so farmaintained this will result inwaste of time and money andthe two sides are now engagedin working out the finer modalities.

Explaining India’s positionon the issue, ministry of exter-nal affairs spokespersonArindam Bagchi also said hereon Thursday no conditionsshould be attached to the ship-ment of relief materials. At thesame time, India continues tobe part of discussions on

Afghanistan with various coun-tries in different formats, hesaid.

Pakistan has linked itsdecision to allow India to trans-port the wheat and medicinesas humanitarian aid toAfghanistan to the conditionthat relief materials be movedonly by Pakistani trucks. Thetwo sides have been engaged indiscussions since last week tofind a solution to the impassein view of the looming human-itarian crisis in Afghanistan.

India made the proposalfor shipping the wheat andmedicines to the Afghan peo-ple via Pakistani soil onOctober 7, and received aresponse from the Pakistangovernment only on November24, Bagchi said.

“Since then, we have haddiscussions with Pakistan onthe modalities of this supply.These discussions are ongoing.Let me reiterate our belief thathumanitarian assistance shouldnot be subject to conditional-ities,” he said. The modalitiesbeing worked out by the twosides will cover various issues,Bagchi said without going intodetails.

The Indian side is keen onusing its own trucks as it wants

to ensure the relief materialsdirectly reach the Afghan peo-ple without being diverted.The Indian side also envisagesthe aid will be distributed onlythrough the UN, people famil-iar with the matter said on con-dition of anonymity.

Bagchi said the meeting ofsenior security officials ofregional countries, includingIran and Russia, that was host-ed by India last month hadoffered an opportunity fornations with similar perspec-tives to share views, exchangeideas and “identify from asecurity perspective what is theway forward” inAfghanistan.“Issues were iden-tified and India continues to bea part of discussions onAfghanistan with various coun-tries in different formats,” headded.

India and the world com-munity’s expectations regard-ing Afghanistan are clearlyoutlined in UN SecurityCouncil resolution 2593, hesaid. This resolution, adoptedin August, states that effortsshould be made to form aninclusive government in Kabuland that Afghan soil should notbe used to plan or execute ter-ror attacks against any country

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Journalists from various mediaorganisations on Thursday held a

protest against certain restrictionsimposed on the entry of scribes andcamera persons into Parliament, alleg-ing the move is a precursor to a "com-plete ban" on the spot coverage of par-liamentary sessions by the media inthe coming days.

They demanded that all restric-tions imposed on their entry intoParliament premises and the PressGallery must "immediately" be lifted,and media persons be allowed to per-form their professional duty.

The Editors Guild of India (EGI),Press Association, Indian WomenPress Corps (IWPC), Press Club ofIndia (PCI), Working NewsCameraman Association and variousother organisations of journalistsextended their support to the protest.A limited number of scribes, photo-journalists and camera people work-ing with the print and electronicmedia are being allowed to enterParliament premises during sessionssince the outbreak of the COVID-19pandemic last year.

"This (restriction on the entry ofmedia persons into Parliament) wasstarted in the name of Covid in 2020

but now it has gone too far. I think ifit is not protested now, it will becomea tradition. Media is going to be keptout in the name of Covid," seniorjournalist Rajdeep Sardesai said,addressing a protest meet of the jour-nalists organised on the premises ofthe PCI.

He said that a lottery system beingfollowed at present to issue passes tojournalists for entry into Parliamentis giving "no access" to the scribesworking with smaller newspapers.Press Association president JaishankarGupta said the issue needs to be seenfrom "a larger perspective" as it is notjust about restrictions on the numberof journalists entering the Parliamentpremises during the sessions.

PCI president Umakant Lakherasaid that he had raised the issue withthe authorities, requesting them to liftall restrictions on the entry of mediapersons into Parliament but all wentin vein. "Democracy cannot functionwithout media," he said.

"If the Government can allow theopening of cinema halls, malls,tourism, and other things, why is therea restriction on the media's entry intoParliament? It is not sending out agood message. Pandemic is a concernbut issues can be resolved," IWPCpresident Vineeta Pandey said.

+�-�� " �2

Searches by the Income TaxDepartment against a real

estate group in Mumbai hasyielded unaccounted cashtransactions of �100 crore andthe group did not deduct tax atsource to the tune of �300crore. Likewise, the IT depart-ment identified unaccountedincome of �400 crore of aPune-based dairy firm.

The IT Department initi-ated search and seizure opera-tions on a real estate group,engaged in the construction ofresidential and commercialprojects, in Mumbai and NaviMumbai Region. The group ismainly carrying out develop-ment of slum rehabilitation

projects. The search actioncovered around 30 premises,the IT department said.

“The search actionunearthed various methods oftax evasion adopted by thegroup. Several documentaryand digital evidences have beenfound and seized demonstrat-ing receipt of cash to the tuneof Rs 100 crore, as part of con-sideration on sale of flats,which is not accounted for inthe regular books of account,”it said.

The fact of receipt of on-money on such transactions isalso corroborated in the state-ments recorded during thesearch proceedings. The modusoperandi adopted by the groupincludes issuing of promissory

notes equivalent to the on-money component to the cus-tomers and these promissorynotes are destroyed after regis-tration of the flat, it said.

Incriminating evidenceregarding unaccounted cashpayments made not only to theoriginal tenants of the slums forvacating the dwelling unit butalso to some other persons forfacilitating vacation of theproperties by slum dwellers hasbeen found and seized. Furtherevidence suggesting irregular-ities and violation of guidelinesof Slum RehabilitationAuthority (SRA) have also beendetected, it further said.

“The preliminary analysisof evidence revealed that thegroup has acquired a control-

ling stake in a company by pay-ing consideration in cash.Defaults on compliances tothe provisions of tax deductionat source have also been found.The assessee group did notdeduct tax at source on certainpayments claimed by it whichaggregate to more than Rs 300crore,” it said, adding unac-counted cash exceeding Rs. 6crore has been seized duringthe searches.

The Department’s search-es against a leading group ofPune, engaged in dairy farm-ing and milk products at morethan 30 premises spread in sixcities several incriminatingdocuments and evidence of taxevasion have been found andseized.

“The preliminary analysisof this evidence clearly showsevasion of taxable income byadopting various malpracticessuch as claim of bogus pur-chases, unaccounted cash sales,cash loan transactions andtheir repayment, unexplainedcash credits, etc. Instances ofincorrect claim of loss onaccount of sale or death of live-stock, etc. have also beennoticed, it said

The searches led to theseizure of unaccounted cashand unexplained jewellery ofabout Rs 2.50 crore while somebank lockers are yet to beoperated. The search action, sofar, has led to the detection ofunaccounted income of morethan Rs 400 crore, it added.

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The Ministry of Housing and UrbanAffairs on Thursday informed the

Lok Sabha that nearly 60 per cent workof Central Vista Avenue and 35 per centwork of the new Parliament Building hasbeen completed till now. The Ministrysaid that Rs 340.58 crore has so far beenutilised out of the Rs 971 crore estimat-ed for the construction of the newParliament building.

The government, however, hasplanned to hold the 2022 Republic Dayparade on the newly-developed Rajpaththat comes under the Central VistaAvenue Redevelopment Project.

In a written reply to a question byCongress MP Manish Tewari, Ministerof State for Housing and Urban AffairsKaushal Kishore said ss for the redevel-opment of Central Vista Avenue, 60 percent of the work had been completed tillnow at the cost of Rs 190.76 crore againstan estimated Rs 608 crore. Resources arebeing mobilised and site preparation isin progress with regard to the plan toconstruct common Central Secretariatbuildings 1,2 and 3 and the VicePresident’s residence.

The minister of State, KaushalKishore informed that while Rs 7.85 crorehad been spent on the work related to thecommon Central Secretariat buildings1,2 and 3 (estimated cost Rs 3690 crore),Rs 15 crore had been spent so far on theproject related to the new Vice President's

residence against the estimated cost Rs208.48 crore.

At the inaugural ceremony of twooffice complexes for the employees of theDefence Ministry and the armed forceshere on September 16, Union Housingand Urban Affairs Minister HardeepSingh Puri had said the Winter Sessionof Parliament next year would takeplace in the new Parliament building.

Addressing Prime Minister NarendraModi at the event, he had said, "I wouldlike to assure you that the redevelopmentwork of Central Vista Avenue will becompleted in two-and-a-half months,where the Republic Day parade will beheld."

The redevelopment project of theCentral Vista -- the nation's power cor-ridor -- envisages a new triangularParliament building, a common centralsecretariat, revamping of the three-kilo-meter-long Rajpath from RashtrapatiBhavan to India Gate, a new prime min-ister's residence and prime minister'soffice, and a new Vice President's enclave.In his written reply to Tewari, Kishoresaid Rs 1,289 crore has been allocated forthe development/redevelopment worksof Central Vista in the ongoing financialyear.

The minister said these works haveprovided direct livelihood opportunitiesto more than 10,000 skilled, semi-skilledand unskilled workers on site and off siteand generated more than 24.12 lakh mandays of employment.

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Congress on Thursday alleged that theModi Government has been cutting the

MNREGA budget day by day, with the inten-tion that the poor should not stand on theirfeet, and are unable to live with dignity.

The budget 2020-21 budget of Rs 1.10Lakh crore has now been reduced to Rs83,000 crore, the party alleged at a Press con-ference addressed by senior party leadersMallikarjun Kharge, Adhir RanjanChowdhury and Randeep Surjewala.

“During the pandemic, when people werereturning from all over the country back totheir homes and villages, they needed work,which was not available while the moneyunder NREGA was reduced. In the past,when I raised the issues of NREGA as aLeader of Opposition in the Lower House, thePrime Minister mocked the oppositionbenches and said that NREGA will not bestopped because it is a living example of theirfailures. Yet, this same scheme was useful toso many people. But today they are bent oneliminating it," said Kharge, Leader ofOpposition in Rajya Sabha.

Kharge termed the move to allegedly doaway with the NREGA as an attempt to“enslave” the poor and take away their self-respect and dignity. He said that those whowork under this scheme are mainly ScheduledCastes and Scheduled Tribes.

Kharge said the rural employmentscheme started by the Congress-led UPA gov-ernment achieved a lot of developmentalwork and employment through this act.

Surjewala termed the Modi government“fascist” and supported the protest by jour-nalists who are being debarred from cover-ing the Parliament. Surjewala said that thevoices of farmers, youth, parliament and itsmembers, and now journalists, is not beingheard in the country.

“This is the first time In 75 years that ourjournalists had to protest, which is a shame-ful thing… we condemn this act by the gov-ernment in the strongest terms. TheGovernment should wake up”, he said.

+�-�� 0��

With the Rajya Sabha witnessing dinfor the fourth consecutive day on

Thursday, Chairman M Venkaiah Naiduurged the agitating members to talk tothe Treasury Benches to break theimpasse. He, however, rejected thedemand for revoking suspension of 12MPs and said "disapproval of unde-mocratic conduct in the House cannotbe decried as undemocratic."

Naidu’s assertion came as theOpposition described the suspension ofthe 12 MPs on Monday as “undemoc-ratic and in violation of the rules” of thehouse. The Chairman also reiterated hehad followed all the rules before takingaction against the concerned MPs fortheir “unruly conduct.” They also didnot show any remorse after the sus-pension, Naidu lamented adding thehouse had seen 11 suspensions in thepast with the first one in 1962.

Even as he made these observations,the Opposition members continued toshout slogans and came into the well ofthe house. Naidu appealed to them tolet the proceedings go on smoothly butthe agitated members did not relent. Headjourned the house for about 50 min-utes in the pre-lunch session. TheOpposition later walked out during theQuestion Hour.

He said some of the leaders andRajya Sabha members "in their wisdom,chose to describe the suspension of 12members as undemocratic".

"I have struggled to understand ifthere was any justification in that kindof a narrative being propagated butcould not." This was not the first timethat such a suspension has happened.

Starting in 1962 till 2010, members weresuspended on 11 occasions in further-ance to motions moved by the govern-ments of the day. "Were all of themundemocratic? If so, why was it resort-ed to so many times?" Naidu asked.

Responding to the Oppositioncharge of his action being undemocra-tic, Naidu said "not even a word is beingsaid about the reasons given for the sus-pension, the disdainful conduct ofsome members during the last session,which I have categorically called as 'actsof sacrilege' on the last day of the lastsession", he said.

As opposition members, includingfrom Congress, kept protesting, Naidusaid the Rules of Procedure andConduct of Business in the Council ofStates (Rajya Sabha) clearly provide forthe suspension of members for dis-rupting the proceedings of the Houseand for misconduct lowering its digni-ty, under Rules 255 and 256.

The reasons for the latest suspen-sions were in the public domain andMinister of Parliamentary AffairsPralhad Joshi gave the reasons whilemoving the Motion for suspension onthe first day of this session, he said.

"Unfortunately, a message is soughtto be sent out that 'sacrilege' of theHouse is democratic but action againstsuch sacrilege is undemocratic. I amsure people of the country would notbuy these new norms of democracy,"Naidu said.

He also pointed out there were sus-pensions in the past and some of themwere revoked prematurely because theerrant members regretted their acts ofmisconduct in the House.

"I am deeply pained to know from

media reports of categorical refusals to express any regret for the acts of

misconduct during the last sessionthat led to this round of suspensions.Then what is the way forward?

"You don't want to regret your mis-conduct but insist on revoking the deci-sion of this House taken as per due pro-cedure laid under the Rules of theHouse. Does this amount to upholdingthe principles of democracy?" Naidusaid. "It is human to err and it is alsohuman to make amendments. Onecannot refuse to amend and insist onglossing over the wrongdoings.

"Suspensions, either in the past ornow, are only the expression of disap-proval of the acts of misconduct of some

members by the House. Disapproval of undemocratic con-

duct in the House can't be decried asundemocratic, for sure," he added.

Naidu urged both the treasury andopposition benches to resolve theimpasse. "I urge both the sides of thisaugust House please talk it out and thenfind a way to do the mandated job ofthis house. This is my appeal to theentire House," he said.

However, the protest by oppositionparties continued with Congress MPsinsisting that Leader of OppositionMallikarjun Kharge be allowed tospeak. Naidu did not agree, sayingKharge has already spoken on thematter.

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Aday after the Union Health Ministry conveyedto it that its revised guidelines for international

travellers were at variance with the Central guide-lines and advised it align them for uniform imple-mentation of new SOPs, the MaharashtraGovernment on Thursday issued fresh guidelineson air travel for domestic and international flyersamid the threat of an outbreak of the new variantof Covid-19 “Omicron”.

Superseding its earlier guidelines issued onNovember 30, the Maharashtra government’s newguidelines stated: “The restrictions imposed by theGovernment of India guidelines from time to timeshall act as minimum restrictions to be imposedon all international and domestic air passengers”.

Categorising South Africa, Botswana andZimbabwe as "High Risk Countries" where“Omicron” has been detected, the guidelinesissued by the state government declared the pas-sengers who are coming from "High-RiskCountries" to Maharashtra or those who havevisited any of the "High-Risk Countries" in past15 days before arrival in the state, as "High-Risk”air Passengers.

“The `High-Risk’ air passengers may bedeplaned on priority and separate counters willbe arranged by respective airport managementauthorities at all international airports ofMaharashtra for their screening and verification,”the guidelines stated.

“Such all “High-Risk Air Passengers” shallhave to undergo RT-PCR Test immediately onarrival at their respective international airport andshall undergo mandatory 7-day “InstitutionalQuarantine” with a second RTPCR Test to be car-ried out on the 7th day. If any of the RTPCR Testis found to be positive, then such “High Risk AirPassenger” shall be shifted to a Hospital withCovid Treatment Facilities. In case the result ofthe RTPCR Test of 7th day comes negative, such“High Risk Air Passenger” will have to undergoa further 7 days of Home Quarantine,” the freshguidelines added.

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Script Open High Low LTPGLAND 3625.00 3658.00 3574.80 3644.50IDEA 12.38 13.40 12.38 12.81REDINGTON 148.25 153.65 147.75 150.50TATAPOWER 231.90 231.90 221.25 226.35BHARTIARTL 726.90 735.65 714.10 732.15VEDL 344.55 347.15 334.00 338.10IBULHSGFIN 251.20 259.90 245.55 256.25TATAMOTORS 479.85 480.20 471.75 479.00TCS 3585.00 3648.00 3573.20 3641.15RELIANCE 2466.90 2496.00 2461.20 2483.80INFY 1715.00 1750.00 1713.00 1748.25ICICIBANK 726.00 727.10 715.25 722.55TCIEXP 2309.90 2379.00 2234.00 2317.60SUNPHARMA 748.50 771.00 746.25 766.15INDUSINDBK 934.25 949.40 925.65 945.50TATASTEEL 1082.00 1115.50 1074.00 1112.80WIPRO 637.70 648.20 629.00 646.75MARUTI 7238.95 7355.60 7238.95 7325.00ADANIPORTS 710.50 741.95 702.20 738.85BAJFINANCE 7050.00 7210.00 7026.00 7179.80IRCTC 811.95 825.20 803.05 820.85M&M 831.50 860.00 831.50 848.90BEML 1835.00 2048.00 1835.00 1893.20SBIN 475.20 477.90 471.00 477.05APOLLOHOSP 5617.00 5805.00 5577.60 5594.00IEX 720.00 734.00 703.70 729.70AXISBANK 678.00 678.75 668.05 676.05ITC 223.45 226.15 221.35 225.45MINDTREE 4433.00 4534.95 4344.00 4518.00DEEPAKNI 2151.60 2229.50 2128.70 2219.55BPCL 371.80 380.00 369.70 378.90SAIL 102.45 104.80 101.75 104.55TECHM 1594.40 1632.00 1580.00 1629.65HDFC 2709.10 2815.50 2704.45 2809.15FLUOROCHEM 2125.00 2388.45 2087.95 2316.60ZEEL 337.00 343.70 331.40 342.15COALINDIA 156.25 159.50 155.40 159.25POWERGRID 207.95 215.90 206.75 214.65HINDUNILVR 2350.00 2386.00 2345.65 2382.50GMRINFRA 38.45 41.70 38.25 41.30SBICARD 972.00 985.00 962.30 981.05ASHOKLEY 121.45 122.55 118.30 120.00BANKBARODA 87.50 88.40 86.45 88.10DMART 4741.05 4795.00 4713.70 4785.55PERSISTENT 4215.00 4430.00 4201.00 4390.35HDFCBANK 1515.00 1528.95 1501.05 1525.65ADANIENT 1699.90 1734.95 1687.60 1732.60DIXON 5060.05 5125.30 5042.00 5094.45CANBK 207.95 208.00 203.60 207.10IBREALEST 172.35 174.35 168.30 172.15GREAVESCOT 143.60 160.60 142.85 158.90LT 1786.00 1793.30 1763.00 1788.95BAJAJFINSV 17500.00 17888.80 17327.95 17752.95AARTIIND 954.90 978.50 947.45 976.70FEDERALBNK 88.55 89.30 87.50 88.80CUMMINSIND 915.00 922.95 907.80 919.85GUJGAS 662.20 696.00 662.20 686.55JINDALSTEL 349.10 356.70 342.95 353.65NMDC 138.00 142.20 135.85 141.45GPPL 98.95 101.00 97.25 99.30GODREJPROP 1971.25 2030.70 1944.35 2020.05HAVELLS 1353.45 1384.75 1335.65 1378.25SCI 152.00 160.20 150.25 157.15INDHOTEL 182.80 185.75 179.55 184.05HINDPETRO 300.00 303.75 295.00 300.50DCAL 239.00 254.50 236.10 252.95HCLTECH 1163.00 1186.70 1153.25 1184.80NESTLEIND 19440.00 19640.00 19230.15 19503.95NATIONALUM 89.90 91.60 88.80 91.25BIOCON 373.60 378.40 363.00 367.25UNIONBANK 45.70 46.65 45.30 46.25MCX 1598.00 1670.00 1553.00 1645.45COFORGE 5419.55 5430.00 5310.95 5411.15CIPLA 940.00 940.00 916.85 921.45BHEL 59.90 60.80 59.45 60.55HEROMOTOCO 2430.00 2483.85 2409.00 2469.90DELTACORP 252.95 255.70 246.00 253.55KOTAKBANK 1950.00 1980.05 1947.00 1964.20IRB 222.00 226.85 217.90 226.85IOC 118.00 121.10 118.00 120.55SUZLON 7.35 7.37 7.00 7.08LTI 6908.00 6972.00 6790.30 6942.65IFCI 11.97 14.37 11.87 14.37KPITTECH 519.00 519.00 483.75 488.90TRIDENT 47.15 47.75 46.95 46.95ASIANPAINT 3159.40 3194.00 3153.15 3183.45PNB 38.35 38.60 37.95 38.50JSWSTEEL 638.00 648.50 631.00 647.00SPICEJET 70.90 72.40 70.20 71.40TITAN 2380.00 2422.65 2360.30 2387.00HDFCLIFE 693.10 706.50 693.10 705.10GRASIM 1680.00 1748.00 1677.20 1725.20DLF 384.70 387.00 377.80 384.95BANDHANBNK 278.45 279.50 274.00 278.75CADILAHC 456.45 463.50 456.00 460.40GAIL 130.50 132.70 130.15 131.80PIDILITIND 2225.00 2244.00 2198.00 2236.35RBLBANK 193.00 194.15 189.00 191.95CHAMBLFERT 395.00 401.45 387.45 397.00LTTS 5353.05 5545.00 5317.80 5513.95LALPATHLAB 3722.00 3871.85 3722.00 3792.80SRF 2038.00 2093.95 2012.25 2089.05SUPREMEIND 2313.70 2465.00 2303.70 2395.85MUTHOOTFIN 1461.70 1499.00 1456.35 1494.45CENTURYTEX 770.00 837.90 770.00 830.65ONGC 140.85 144.55 140.40 143.95NAUKRI 5988.80 5988.80 5848.00 5882.40BRITANNIA 3521.40 3607.60 3520.00 3578.35

MPHASIS 3019.00 3120.00 2975.95 3103.00LUPIN 882.00 883.35 867.60 875.70BOSCHLTD 16312.35 16780.00 16289.90 16657.45INDUSTOWER 285.90 289.20 277.05 278.90BSOFT 490.00 493.05 481.30 488.65JUBLFOOD 3709.00 3770.80 3684.30 3762.60ULTRACEMCO 7350.00 7386.35 7263.80 7322.25APLAPOLLO 930.00 956.00 917.10 945.65COROMANDEL 743.75 751.05 737.90 745.75HINDALCO 430.00 433.55 421.10 432.00NTPC 127.70 130.25 126.60 128.80TATACONSUM 778.00 780.40 763.60 773.55BAJAJ-AUTO 3250.00 3338.75 3236.05 3326.20ACC 2260.00 2276.20 2230.05 2262.65TATACHEM 887.00 904.45 878.35 900.30PVR 1351.00 1409.00 1346.00 1399.85RAJESHEXPO 784.80 793.80 753.90 778.95MRF 74299.00 74299.00 73250.00 73895.80DIVISLAB 4760.00 4825.40 4755.00 4778.00PIIND 2923.85 3043.45 2894.90 2950.40VENKYS 2524.00 2699.00 2492.35 2662.40PEL 2477.10 2529.00 2453.90 2516.90LAURUSLABS 508.00 522.70 507.85 516.90ESCORTS 1859.00 1861.05 1836.40 1848.50IDBI 45.95 48.20 45.75 47.15LINDEINDIA 2568.00 2646.95 2454.05 2475.25DRREDDY 4590.00 4668.95 4590.00 4662.45WELCORP 167.50 171.00 162.80 170.00INDIGO 1874.40 1921.00 1865.00 1912.95HDFCAMC 2550.00 2567.00 2541.80 2555.05FORTIS 289.90 293.80 284.65 288.95IDFCFIRSTB 46.50 47.15 45.75 46.95BERGEPAINT 744.60 752.75 733.70 743.90PNBHOUSING 585.95 602.05 563.35 587.45SUNTV 525.65 534.75 523.35 533.05BEL 205.30 206.80 202.40 205.90DABUR 577.00 583.35 575.20 578.60JSWENERGY 300.00 317.20 300.00 317.15

TATAMTRDVR 264.90 265.55 260.30 261.95VOLTAS 1225.00 1239.50 1218.75 1229.35CONCOR 635.00 645.30 631.65 640.55GRAPHITE 405.60 419.70 405.00 417.15TATAELXSI 5884.00 5999.80 5850.00 5982.30AMARAJABAT 627.50 628.85 621.00 626.90BALAMINES 2980.00 3089.65 2970.00 3039.70BATAINDIA 1902.00 1921.20 1884.00 1913.05BAJAJHLDNG 5248.75 5394.35 5187.05 5349.45L&TFH 77.75 79.35 77.15 79.05HFCL 71.15 73.10 70.70 71.95PFC 119.00 121.80 118.75 121.50GLENMARK 505.00 506.90 500.70 505.40SONATSOFTW 855.00 864.45 835.30 843.90EXIDEIND 163.85 166.90 163.25 166.25LICHSGFIN 373.55 380.00 373.55 379.10MARICO 529.00 534.50 520.45 532.55BHARATFORG 707.00 708.25 692.00 706.35SRTRANSFIN 1430.00 1460.00 1425.85 1449.30ADANIPOWER 101.20 102.00 100.45 101.70METROPOLIS 3174.00 3235.75 3154.85 3206.85MAHLOG 680.00 728.85 680.00 703.45RECLTD 134.25 136.40 133.60 134.65RAYMOND 643.00 644.80 610.00 615.20EICHERMOT 2457.10 2463.25 2429.40 2450.60INOXLEISUR 382.00 382.85 362.55 364.70TORNTPOWER 551.85 567.00 546.00 561.90M&MFIN 159.20 163.70 157.25 162.40TIMKEN 2006.35 2150.00 1991.50 2126.85SIEMENS 2158.00 2210.65 2136.00 2194.30HAPPSTMNDS 1215.00 1230.00 1196.00 1217.65TATACOMM 1277.00 1305.45 1270.60 1275.65SBILIFE 1165.00 1190.85 1157.50 1188.60FSL 167.00 174.40 167.00 173.50MOTHERSUMI 216.00 217.45 213.25 216.50UPL 699.75 700.15 687.90 698.20OBEROIRLTY 840.00 854.80 830.45 849.35JUSTDIAL 683.00 715.00 682.55 706.30ICICIPRULI 598.95 611.00 594.55 608.75ABB 2020.05 2130.00 2020.05 2113.25TVSMOTOR 678.45 682.80 669.20 680.60CAMS 3050.00 3057.45 2972.00 2975.20KEI 1127.60 1170.00 1114.25 1145.80INDIAMART 7416.55 7441.50 7331.30 7365.30BANKINDIA 54.50 54.70 53.60 54.35

SHREECEM 26199.00 26732.10 26055.05 26298.35GODFRYPHLP 1222.25 1287.00 1222.25 1279.00ABCAPITAL 110.50 111.65 108.65 111.25ZENSARTECH 449.00 449.00 437.25 440.35POLYCAB 2330.00 2370.00 2305.55 2362.50ADANIGREEN 1338.00 1367.25 1318.20 1339.60SWSOLAR 397.00 401.25 393.50 396.20MANAPPURAM 169.55 170.60 166.15 170.15THERMAX 1733.65 1823.95 1731.25 1783.30NLCINDIA 58.30 59.25 57.40 58.90AUROPHARMA 662.90 674.20 661.45 673.35RAIN 209.90 216.20 208.55 214.15OIL 215.00 219.85 211.15 218.95NOCIL 230.00 245.50 230.00 243.95PHILIPCARB 222.35 231.90 220.85 230.50GODREJCP 946.50 946.50 914.50 923.75SOBHA 857.00 860.35 839.05 844.80TTKPRESTIG 10027.85 10432.70 10027.85 10383.90NHPC 31.90 32.40 31.70 32.25HINDCOPPER 115.50 119.15 114.55 118.15ASTRAL 2208.00 2247.35 2204.55 2234.75NAVINFLUOR 3720.35 3799.00 3712.25 3778.35COLPAL 1436.00 1444.10 1429.50 1440.65LEMONTREE 45.35 46.15 44.60 45.60INDIANB 144.00 144.45 142.50 143.65WELSPUNIND 138.50 142.40 138.50 141.75ALKEM 3439.70 3492.15 3414.55 3470.65SPANDANA 479.00 479.50 439.30 447.15STAR 496.00 502.35 484.60 489.85TATACOFFEE 204.35 205.85 203.35 205.20HEG 1790.00 1811.45 1771.00 1791.45GNFC 429.00 430.15 422.85 425.85POWERINDIA 2698.55 2852.00 2679.10 2749.40HSCL 44.50 45.45 44.50 45.25MINDAIND 892.00 930.15 892.00 915.40AMBUJACEM 374.50 378.50 368.10 377.75IGL 489.00 499.00 485.75 498.10GODREJAGRO 524.50 529.10 511.75 514.65GRANULES 300.40 306.30 298.25 302.05CHOLAFIN 563.95 568.35 557.45 566.95PAGEIND 38200.00 38358.50 37827.70 38221.70BAJAJCON 183.00 184.15 178.85 182.65AUBANK 1117.15 1134.50 1113.05 1130.55SEQUENT 154.05 158.35 151.55 153.05AFFLE 1127.00 1139.35 1111.10 1114.35TANLA 1467.00 1489.35 1433.05 1449.70TRENT 1039.00 1044.70 1013.00 1031.40CROMPTON 436.20 440.15 432.50 433.75IPCALAB 2054.00 2100.65 2051.15 2071.10IDFC 52.40 52.45 51.30 51.80NBCC 41.90 42.65 41.55 42.35GLAXO 1689.00 1730.25 1646.40 1694.30SUNTECK 430.00 439.60 425.35 435.20APLLTD 810.65 821.20 796.95 803.35APOLLOTYRE 208.00 210.40 206.75 209.85ALOKTEXT 21.35 21.60 21.25 21.40AMBER 3065.55 3098.65 3026.30 3035.05MAZDOCK 264.70 270.85 262.40 267.75ALKYLAMINE 3150.00 3246.00 3091.30 3227.60CAPPL 778.50 818.00 769.60 802.15LUXIND 3929.00 3987.95 3868.50 3906.40BRIGADE 501.90 501.90 484.30 491.95CENTURYPLY 579.10 605.85 579.10 595.90JKTYRE 135.95 137.75 132.10 137.10ABFRL 260.85 263.95 258.20 262.15VBL 886.00 917.35 884.80 905.95CANFINHOME 588.15 596.40 584.00 588.55HONAUT 38808.25 38808.25 38303.00 38399.55PRESTIGE 435.30 449.95 433.70 447.35JKCEMENT 3318.15 3363.75 3212.10 3323.00SKFINDIA 3819.95 3950.00 3784.90 3815.30OFSS 4150.00 4202.00 4141.00 4184.80BALRAMCHIN 332.35 334.95 326.45 330.85J&KBANK 36.90 37.40 36.70 37.05TORNTPHARM 2955.25 3003.80 2955.25 2972.45INDOCO 380.55 402.00 379.85 397.25BALKRISIND 2197.75 2215.35 2159.25 2202.15KANSAINER 593.55 604.35 592.10 600.80ADANITRANS 1795.00 1890.00 1765.00 1885.10JSL 164.40 166.30 161.50 163.60RADICO 1104.00 1110.05 1077.80 1088.50SOUTHBANK 8.81 9.06 8.81 8.93WOCKPHARMA 433.55 438.00 429.00 431.10NATCOPHARM 834.20 862.10 830.55 840.00SYNGENE 590.00 592.60 583.45 589.15HAL 1309.00 1310.05 1294.15 1301.00AARTIDRUGS 515.00 519.75 506.40 511.90INDIACEM 184.75 186.60 182.30 185.80DBL 541.15 550.15 526.80 545.60INFIBEAM 40.50 41.40 40.05 40.90TV18BRDCST 41.90 41.90 40.70 40.95SOLARINDS 2819.00 2824.75 2742.40 2799.45EIHOTEL 122.50 124.65 121.00 123.40NETWORK18 72.25 72.70 71.00 72.30IIFL 320.90 320.90 311.45 317.90FINEORG 3750.80 3823.30 3670.00 3686.10NCC 71.75 72.70 71.45 72.45UTIAMC 1023.00 1060.65 1023.00 1043.30GUJALKALI 604.00 610.90 600.05 604.55ISEC 746.90 754.25 743.25 747.70TRITURBINE 189.85 189.85 181.20 182.55JAICORPLTD 122.70 124.05 120.45 121.25AEGISLOG 234.10 238.95 231.80 234.95KPRMILL 511.25 519.20 502.85 509.65EMAMILTD 511.50 539.10 511.50 535.00GSPL 305.00 310.00 302.60 305.10CENTRALBK 21.55 21.80 21.25 21.60CARBORUNIV 905.00 915.00 890.70 896.10IOLCP 437.50 460.00 437.50 454.55

ATUL 8750.30 8817.45 8678.20 8801.80PFIZER 5030.00 5057.15 4925.55 4933.55VAIBHAVGBL 511.00 528.35 503.45 524.75MAHINDCIE 238.00 248.20 237.50 247.35ITDC 386.30 415.45 378.65 399.20RVNL 34.40 34.50 34.10 34.35VIPIND 550.00 555.00 542.25 546.40WHIRLPOOL 2042.55 2063.45 2024.15 2044.55ATGL 1613.05 1669.00 1613.05 1655.60ASTRAZEN 3053.50 3150.00 3053.50 3104.90ROUTE 1800.00 1817.35 1792.00 1800.05RALLIS 252.00 254.35 247.15 253.05KTKBANK 64.80 66.00 64.55 65.90HATHWAY 20.15 20.85 20.05 20.75NAM-INDIA 370.00 374.00 367.40 372.05BDL 413.00 429.50 408.00 421.55AVANTI 537.00 543.85 518.05 524.40BLUESTARCO 943.80 1002.00 943.75 988.00MAXHEALTH 382.00 382.00 372.55 375.55CRISIL 3115.00 3159.95 3087.20 3101.70INTELLECT 636.55 649.40 630.95 637.45RELAXO 1297.25 1297.40 1271.10 1279.95ICICIGI 1450.10 1472.50 1440.30 1464.30PETRONET 220.75 224.65 220.55 224.25SCHAEFFLER 7685.95 7892.90 7670.00 7841.85FCONSUMER 6.88 6.91 6.80 6.83MFSL 963.20 970.35 959.45 966.45JYOTHYLAB 152.05 153.65 150.50 152.95UBL 1504.00 1519.90 1502.15 1513.25DCBBANK 83.65 85.05 81.80 83.90RCF 73.00 73.65 72.45 73.20DALBHARAT 1847.95 1861.25 1838.70 1848.55PHOENIXLTD 962.00 998.00 962.00 990.90IRCON 46.25 46.25 45.25 45.40HINDZINC 332.90 334.65 329.30 333.15KEC 432.00 435.60 424.55 431.75FINCABLES 568.00 579.20 566.00 570.00FORCEMOT 1294.00 1326.55 1273.05 1282.55BIRLACORPN 1313.00 1343.15 1295.45 1333.10MAHABANK 19.40 19.40 19.05 19.10HAWKINCOOK 6200.05 6327.00 6066.00 6083.65SFL 3282.90 3382.25 3258.05 3329.25GSFC 116.45 116.45 112.75 113.90MINDACORP 165.90 166.00 161.00 163.10DEEPAKFERT 378.80 379.45 368.80 371.60CYIENT 1009.85 1012.45 998.30 1000.75IOB 21.00 21.10 20.80 20.95BASF 2720.00 2833.85 2719.65 2798.50SPARC 243.85 251.65 243.15 248.50AJANTPHARM 2065.55 2138.70 2032.90 2118.85FINOLEXIND 206.50 206.50 201.60 204.55MGL 915.00 923.85 913.60 921.20RAMCOCEM 945.00 955.60 938.85 950.15CASTROLIND 129.25 129.25 126.25 126.45ENDURANCE 1732.00 1743.00 1677.00 1724.10FRETAIL 48.85 49.25 48.25 48.90ASHOKA 98.10 98.10 95.75 96.50ABBOTINDIA 18996.20 19173.00 18841.60 19031.90VGUARD 239.00 242.40 234.80 238.05VTL 1969.95 1999.00 1953.85 1962.30CGCL 525.50 525.50 511.50 512.65VAKRANGEE 34.15 34.85 34.15 34.65SUMICHEM 367.00 374.50 365.55 372.55TATAMETALI 898.55 898.55 852.00 861.90GRSE 234.00 239.50 232.65 236.15SJVN 28.00 28.30 27.75 27.90GICRE 145.00 145.00 141.45 142.65CESC 86.40 88.65 86.40 88.25ZYDUSWELL 1955.00 1971.20 1935.00 1947.00TASTYBIT 13300.00 13577.30 13231.00 13388.80ECLERX 2139.30 2183.25 2105.00 2134.00HUDCO 40.00 40.05 39.50 39.90JBCHEPHARM 1603.95 1612.90 1567.10 1588.85ASTERDM 195.00 195.00 192.20 193.70UJJIVAN 136.55 137.05 135.30 136.15GULFOILLUB 520.00 523.70 516.90 519.45MRPL 44.15 44.95 44.15 44.55BAJAJELEC 1043.80 1047.15 1020.80 1034.65KSCL 499.85 503.65 492.15 495.60GEPIL 236.00 252.55 236.00 249.65MMTC 39.90 39.90 39.15 39.55SOLARA 1203.00 1203.00 1159.75 1180.30SHILPAMED 556.00 566.25 555.10 562.55ORIENTCEM 155.00 159.60 155.00 156.90CEATLTD 1168.50 1168.50 1134.50 1140.05MOIL 168.85 169.35 167.25 168.25CSBBANK 273.50 275.00 262.65 266.25PNCINFRA 301.30 301.65 293.50 294.80VARROC 291.25 299.10 291.25 298.25JAMNAAUTO 101.70 101.70 99.70 101.00VINATIORGA 1839.00 1931.00 1839.00 1927.40JMFINANCIL 72.90 72.90 69.80 70.20CCL 390.30 398.75 388.95 390.35POLYMED 1051.85 1059.35 1031.45 1050.45UCOBANK 13.03 13.12 13.00 13.09SCHNEIDER 105.30 106.25 103.45 105.15MOTILALOFS 984.95 984.95 958.50 961.90KNRCON 274.00 276.50 272.00 274.20BURGERKING 148.00 149.00 147.50 148.80NH 580.00 587.90 575.45 579.85UJJIVANSFB 18.40 18.65 18.40 18.60KRBL 243.85 244.55 238.95 242.80GHCL 425.00 428.20 405.30 410.05COCHINSHIP 340.00 346.00 339.65 343.45ENGINERSIN 70.60 71.65 70.60 71.35GODREJIND 568.20 583.75 568.20 577.05PRSMJOHNSN 121.20 129.40 121.20 128.05BLUEDART 6545.10 6789.40 6520.70 6708.65MIDHANI 185.30 188.35 183.00 187.25

EQUITASBNK 62.30 62.65 60.70 62.35CHALET 228.40 233.60 227.25 228.85EDELWEISS 69.90 69.90 68.55 69.50CREDITACC 511.00 527.05 509.00 519.15SHRIRAMCIT 2118.85 2165.90 2105.05 2115.60STLTECH 273.60 275.20 270.10 272.00LAOPALA 331.00 345.00 331.00 342.40THYROCARE 1110.95 1110.95 1079.80 1089.10LAXMIMACH 8905.40 9350.00 8804.05 8842.15MHRIL 216.20 216.20 207.00 209.00PTC 112.40 112.40 110.15 111.90JKPAPER 215.00 215.00 209.85 212.00ORIENTELEC 377.00 379.40 370.75 373.80SUVENPHAR 485.00 508.10 485.00 496.65

SHK 145.05 148.00 145.05 146.55TATAINVEST 1425.00 1443.40 1412.85 1441.85KALPATPOWR 394.00 394.00 376.75 379.75GRINDWELL 1700.00 1700.00 1664.40 1676.80PGHH 15142.25 15363.00 15142.25 15267.75TIINDIA 1640.10 1706.00 1618.50 1676.55SIS 473.65 498.00 473.00 493.50ITI 111.20 111.75 109.00 110.05KAJARIACER 1122.95 1144.00 1122.80 1135.60RITES 272.55 276.05 272.55 274.15ALLCARGO 340.00 343.70 335.65 339.90JINDALSAW 102.00 102.95 100.95 102.15MASFIN 705.00 729.00 701.00 712.45SANOFI 7949.80 7949.80 7850.00 7893.95BALMLAWRIE 117.95 117.95 115.65 116.85SYMPHONY 949.80 973.95 946.25 971.00VRLLOG 476.70 481.45 472.85 479.65CUB 146.00 146.35 144.65 145.60GMM 4539.00 4539.00 4472.45 4499.55BAYERCROP 4650.00 4731.05 4650.00 4687.65GMDCLTD 65.95 66.75 65.75 66.30UFLEX 497.40 505.00 494.15 502.50JSLHISAR 298.50 299.10 292.70 295.20BBTC 1014.75 1033.95 1004.35 1018.50SUDARSCHEM 559.95 564.35 551.30 561.25GARFIBRES 3221.00 3248.35 3212.00 3231.70IFBIND 1110.85 1164.00 1090.45 1147.05EQUITAS 124.05 124.05 119.80 121.25MAHSEAMLES 497.00 508.85 497.00 502.80PGHL 5313.75 5366.85 5236.05 5295.50JKLAKSHMI 621.00 634.00 617.80 626.95JTEKTINDIA 91.05 92.00 90.65 91.00RHIM 333.55 341.15 332.15 338.45RATNAMANI 2204.25 2204.25 2106.40 2118.35VMART 3869.70 3999.90 3869.70 3958.15BLISSGVS 97.30 99.55 97.30 98.65QUESS 867.55 872.85 850.00 854.80GESHIP 299.30 304.75 298.60 300.60GALAXYSURF 2869.35 2878.75 2800.00 2829.45CERA 5049.95 5049.95 4876.65 4933.55VSTIND 3200.00 3200.00 3048.40 3167.80WESTLIFE 546.00 554.25 545.25 552.20FDC 287.60 289.45 284.45 288.70AAVAS 2827.70 2827.70 2754.10 2813.85RESPONIND 99.00 101.70 99.00 100.50MAHSCOOTER 4281.15 4309.50 4223.70 4281.15ROSSARI 1304.50 1304.50 1280.00 1293.55GDL 270.50 272.70 268.00 269.65GILLETTE 5436.45 5548.30 5422.15 5521.90ERIS 748.00 748.00 722.05 727.85SHOPERSTOP 339.00 339.85 325.00 337.05TEAMLEASE 4200.00 4268.80 4150.00 4178.05SUNDRMFAST 849.90 871.10 849.90 860.50MAHLIFE 248.00 248.15 239.00 241.80NIACL 144.70 146.00 144.00 145.10ADVENZYMES 326.75 327.70 323.40 326.40EIDPARRY 468.00 472.00 463.20 468.15EPL 205.00 205.00 200.80 202.40NAVNETEDUL* 97.10 100.80 97.10 99.95AIAENG 1890.00 1890.00 1855.10 1860.75INDOSTAR 256.10 256.20 249.45 252.153MINDIA 24999.70 25050.00 24640.00 25000.00ESABINDIA 2849.40 2931.30 2823.80 2892.55NESCO 594.70 610.00 592.85 603.80KSB 1256.10 1298.90 1248.05 1272.70AKZOINDIA 2061.00 2098.00 2061.00 2082.50TCNSBRANDS 809.00 824.35 807.75 815.70DISHTV 18.05 18.05 18.05 18.05DCMSHRIRAM 996.40 997.85 975.00 983.85IIFLWAM 1478.35 1535.45 1476.05 1524.30STARCEMENT 95.75 97.25 95.50 96.15JCHAC 1900.35 1907.55 1892.45 1900.90DHANUKA 756.95 760.35 745.00 751.05WABCOINDIA 8136.50 8153.95 8001.00 8038.65HEIDELBERG 228.00 228.50 224.50 227.25NILKAMAL 2295.95 2336.95 2295.95 2325.50CHOLAHLDNG 700.00 705.75 698.55 700.60SWANENERGY 121.40 121.40 119.00 120.65

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SCRIP OPEN HIgh LOW LTP CHANGENIFTY 50 17183.20 17420.35 17149.30 17401.65 234.75ADANIPORTS 710.00 742.30 702.30 740.00 32.05POWERGRID 209.00 216.00 206.50 215.00 7.80HDFC 2701.05 2814.95 2701.05 2805.00 101.35SUNPHARMA 753.00 770.75 746.10 770.20 24.85GRASIM 1676.60 1750.05 1673.45 1733.15 53.55BPCL 370.00 379.95 369.05 379.75 11.00TATASTEEL 1083.00 1116.00 1074.00 1112.95 30.40IOC 118.00 121.10 117.90 120.90 3.20TECHM 1590.00 1632.50 1580.00 1627.75 40.15BAJAJ-AUTO 3259.95 3337.35 3236.50 3328.00 78.45BAJAJFINSV 17400.00 17890.00 17273.45 17800.00 417.05COALINDIA 156.90 159.55 155.15 159.25 3.70HCLTECH 1161.90 1186.40 1153.00 1183.00 26.30BAJFINANCE 7090.00 7210.00 7022.40 7190.00 151.30INFY 1715.00 1750.50 1711.35 1748.00 33.10HINDALCO 428.00 433.90 421.00 432.80 7.90WIPRO 636.90 648.10 629.00 646.50 11.70HINDUNILVR 2357.00 2388.00 2345.00 2388.00 43.15M&M 835.80 859.95 835.05 849.40 14.70TCS 3589.20 3648.00 3574.10 3637.00 59.20SBILIFE 1170.65 1190.00 1157.05 1184.00 19.15ITC 221.90 226.15 221.30 225.40 3.50HDFCLIFE 696.00 706.75 694.00 704.05 10.20INDUSINDBK 935.00 950.00 925.65 947.00 13.35HDFCBANK 1504.50 1528.80 1500.00 1526.00 21.35JSWSTEEL 638.00 648.75 630.80 646.25 9.05BHARTIARTL 723.90 735.70 714.15 732.00 9.75HEROMOTOCO 2428.00 2483.20 2408.90 2481.00 32.80ONGC 140.50 144.65 140.40 144.00 1.75BRITANNIA 3540.00 3607.30 3530.00 3578.25 43.00ASIANPAINT 3160.00 3194.00 3152.25 3175.55 37.40UPL 691.50 700.45 687.25 698.00 7.50TITAN 2369.00 2422.50 2360.05 2384.00 23.80DRREDDY 4609.90 4669.00 4609.05 4652.70 46.35SHREECEM 26092.00 26749.00 26020.15 26280.55 188.55NTPC 127.70 130.30 126.60 128.60 0.90TATAMOTORS 479.40 480.45 471.70 478.50 3.25KOTAKBANK 1947.55 1980.95 1945.60 1966.30 12.95RELIANCE 2469.70 2496.20 2461.60 2481.95 14.95DIVISLAB 4776.00 4824.90 4754.10 4780.50 28.30EICHERMOT 2440.00 2463.55 2426.80 2450.00 11.70SBIN 474.50 478.15 470.95 477.60 2.30MARUTI 7285.00 7355.45 7245.65 7306.45 33.20NESTLEIND 19397.80 19650.00 19226.75 19485.20 87.40LT 1785.95 1794.00 1763.00 1793.00 7.00ULTRACEMCO 7360.00 7389.00 7262.00 7332.80 10.20TATACONSUM 772.80 780.90 763.55 773.75 0.95AXISBANK 675.00 678.80 668.05 676.45 -3.15ICICIBANK 724.60 727.10 715.20 723.50 -4.20CIPLA 937.95 937.95 917.50 920.80 -7.35

SE 500B

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SCRIP OPEN HIgh LOW LTP CHANGENIFTY NEXT 50 42131.00 42495.45 42003.95 42438.70 416.15ADANITRANS 1795.10 1887.00 1760.00 1861.40 64.25NMDC 137.75 142.30 135.80 142.30 4.70IGL 488.00 499.00 485.70 498.30 13.55BAJAJHLDNG 5220.00 5394.90 5188.00 5319.00 132.55JINDALSTEL 346.60 357.00 343.05 356.10 8.90SIEMENS 2143.00 2210.00 2135.05 2195.95 53.45MUTHOOTFIN 1462.80 1497.85 1455.60 1496.20 35.60ADANIENT 1692.50 1735.00 1687.65 1733.00 39.70BOSCHLTD 16308.00 16700.00 16219.70 16699.00 372.55PEL 2479.95 2538.95 2452.05 2529.35 52.50SBICARD 968.95 984.70 965.00 980.20 20.35ICICIPRULI 594.80 611.40 594.35 609.15 12.10SAIL 102.70 104.90 101.70 104.60 2.05AMBUJACEM 371.90 379.40 368.00 378.40 7.00DMART 4750.00 4794.55 4718.45 4780.00 86.30ICICIGI 1440.00 1472.45 1437.00 1465.20 24.70PIDILITIND 2232.00 2245.00 2198.00 2241.55 37.10MARICO 529.70 534.95 520.50 533.80 8.75MCDOWELL-N 877.85 889.90 867.85 888.55 14.50JUBLFOOD 3680.00 3770.00 3680.00 3762.00 61.35YESBANK 12.60 12.70 12.50 12.65 0.20ADANIGREEN 1338.00 1370.00 1317.00 1349.45 20.85AUROPHARMA 662.00 674.70 661.25 673.00 10.40GAIL 130.60 132.60 130.10 132.40 1.85HAVELLS 1361.00 1385.00 1335.00 1379.00 18.00CADILAHC 456.00 463.60 455.80 460.00 5.80CHOLAFIN 560.05 568.65 556.90 566.35 7.05HINDPETRO 297.80 303.95 292.55 300.60 2.85BANDHANBNK 276.40 279.25 274.00 278.80 2.60COLPAL 1436.90 1444.00 1425.55 1441.00 12.55LTI 6920.00 6977.80 6784.00 6971.40 59.20ACC 2248.15 2278.75 2229.60 2267.10 13.65DLF 382.95 387.00 377.60 385.30 2.20APOLLOHOSP 5625.75 5809.00 5578.85 5600.00 29.00BANKBARODA 87.10 88.40 86.45 88.00 0.45DABUR 577.00 583.00 575.10 579.00 2.90INDIGO 1861.35 1935.00 1861.35 1912.00 9.20HDFCAMC 2545.00 2567.45 2540.90 2561.60 10.40LUPIN 878.00 883.60 867.70 875.00 3.60PNB 38.30 38.60 37.95 38.50 0.15BERGEPAINT 748.00 752.90 733.55 743.00 2.05PIIND 2944.45 3044.95 2893.20 2950.00 6.90GLAND 3645.00 3662.00 3571.05 3628.00 7.40PGHH 15200.00 15395.00 15100.00 15151.60 26.65TORNTPHARM 2976.10 3005.85 2952.00 2970.00 -5.65BIOCON 374.90 378.60 363.00 367.00 -3.70NAUKRI 5980.00 5988.70 5847.00 5884.00 -64.45GODREJCP 939.90 944.30 914.00 923.60 -14.80INDUSTOWER 284.10 289.00 277.25 279.40 -5.00VEDL 347.00 347.20 334.00 339.95 -7.30

Mumbai: Equity benchmarkSensex rallied 777 points onThursday, tracking gains inindex majors HDFC twins,Infosys and TCS despite large-ly negative cues from globalpeers.

Rising for the second con-secutive session, the 30-shareindex ended 776.50 points or1.35 per cent higher at58,461.29.

Similarly, the NSE Niftysurged 234.75 points or 1.37per cent to 17,401.65.

HDFC was the top gainerin the Sensex pack, climbingnearly 4 per cent, followed byPowerGrid, Sun Pharma, TataSteel, Tech Mahindra and BajajFinserv.

On the other hand, ICICIBank and Axis Bank were thelosers.

"Irrespective of the weaksentiments in the internation-al markets, domestic indicescontinued to rise due to gainsin IT, financials and metalstocks amid strong domesticmacroeconomic data," saidVinod Nair, Head of Researchat Geojit Financial Services.

The Union government'sfiscal deficit of 36.3 per cent ofbudget estimates in October, isbetter owing to improved rev-enue collection, he noted.

On the global front, FedChair's remarks stating a pos-

sibility of a faster end to thebond-buying programmeand interest rate hike alongwith the first confirmed caseof the Omicron variant inthe US, triggered a freshglobal sell-off.

New Delhi: Markets regulatorSebi on Thursday asked stockbrokers to disclose investorscharter as well as data pertain-ing to complaints they receivedon their websites.

The new guidelines willcome into effect from January1, 2022, the Securities andExchange Board of India (Sebi)said in a circular.

In order to facilitateinvestor awareness about severalactivities which an investordeals with such as opening ofaccount, KYC and in-personverification, process for dema-terialisation and complaint res-olution, Sebi, in consultationwith the market participants,has prepared an investor char-ter for stock brokers.

This charter specifiedabout rights of investors, vari-ous activities of stock brokerswith timelines, dos and don'tsfor investors and grievanceredressal mechanism.

In this regard, exchangeshave been directed to advisestock brokers to bring the

investor charter for stock bro-kers to the notice of their clients-- existing as well as new ones-- through disclosing theinvestor charter on their respec-tive websites, making themavailable at prominent places inthe office, provide a copy of thecharter as a part of accountopening kit to the clients,through e-mails or letters etc.

Additionally, in a bid tobring about transparency inthe investor grievance redressalmechanism, Sebi has asked bro-kers to disclose on their respec-tive websites, the data on com-plaints received against themand redressal thereof.

The data needs to be dis-closed latest by 7th of succeed-ing month, Sebi said.In addition, the regulator hasalso prescribed a format for dis-closing data of complaints ontheir websites.

Under the disclosure, bro-kers will have to disclose aboutcomplaints received during themonth, those carried forwardfrom previous month, com-

plaints pending for more thanthree months, complaintsresolved and average time takenin resolution of a complaint,among others.

Earlier, Sebi had askeddepositories, Registrar and sharetransfer agents (RTAs) and mer-chant bankers to disclose ontheir websites, the investor char-ter for a bunch of categories.

Besides, it had directedexchanges, depositories andclearing corporations to discloseon their websites, the data oncomplaints received againstthem and redressal thereof.

This came after Sebi regu-lator came out with investorcharter in November. This char-ter includes the rights andresponsibilities of investors, anddos and don'ts of investing inthe securities market.

The charter is aimed at pro-tecting the "interests of investorsby enabling them to understandthe risks involved and invest ina fair, transparent, secure mar-ket, and to get services in a time-ly and efficient manner".

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Mumbai: The rupee on Thursday slipped 12paise to close at 75.03 against the US dollar,weighed by uncertainties over the Omicronvariant of the coronavirus.

At the interbank foreign exchange mar-ket, the local currency opened at 75.06 andwitnessed an intra-day high of 74.90 and a lowof 75.07 against the US dollar.

The local unit finally settled at 75.03,down 12 paise over its previous close of 74.91.

The dollar index, which gauges thegreenback's strength against a basket of six cur-rencies, was trading 0.01 per cent up at 96.03.

Meanwhile, Brent crude futures, the glob-al oil benchmark, advanced 2.99 per cent toUSD 70.45 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market front, theBSE Sensex ended 776.50 points or 1.35 percent higher at 58,461.29, while the broaderNSE Nifty jumped 234.75 points or 1.37 per

cent to 17,401.65.Foreign institutional investors remained

net sellers in the capital market on Wednesday,as they offloaded shares worth �2,765.84 crore,as per exchange data.

On the macro-economic front, India'smerchandise exports rose 26.49 per centyear-on-year to USD 29.88 billion inNovember on better performance by key sec-tors, while the trade deficit hit a record highof USD 23.27 billion as imports of crude oiland gold spiked.

"Rupee depreciated against US dollar fol-lowing weakness in Asian currencies and wor-ries over higher trade deficit numbers," saidDilip Parmar, Research Analyst, HDFCSecurities.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell's recent hawk-ish comment on accelerating its taper of bondpurchases has surprised markets, Parmaradded.

New Delhi: Gold in the nationalcapital on Thursday declined by�280 to �46,657 per 10 gram inline with a decline in internationalprecious metal prices, accordingto HDFC Securities.

In the previous trade, the pre-cious metal had settled at �46,937per 10 gram.

Silver, however, jumped �212to �61,337 per kilogram from�61,125 per kilogram in the pre-vious trade.

In the international market,gold was trading lower at USD1,775 per ounce and silver was flatat USD 22.33 per ounce.

"Gold prices traded weakwith spot gold prices at COMEXtrading 0.28 per cent down at USD1,775 per ounce on Thursday. Afirm dollar has kept bullion priceslower," according to HDFCSecurities, Senior Analyst(Commodities), Tapan Patel. PTI

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Beijing: Playing down the like-ly challenge from the EuropeanUnion's ambitious USD 340 bil-lion Global Gateway infrastruc-ture programme to its BRI, awary China on Thursday extend-

ed a guarded response, saying thetwo initiatives can complementeach other to enhance global con-nectivity. On Wednesday, theEuropean Commission PresidentUrsula von der Leyen unveiled

the EU's long-awaited infra-structure drive, which officialssaid will offer a “true alternative”to China's Belt and RoadInitiative (BRI).

The plan, known as the

Global Gateway, promises tomobilise up to USD 340 billionbetween 2021 and 2027 for mod-ern infrastructure projects out-side the EU, covering items suchas fibre optic cables, clean trans-

port corridors and clean powertransmission. “China welcomesall initiatives that help develop-ing countries improve infra-structure and promote commondevelopment,” Chinese Foreign

Ministry spokesman WangWenbin said in a media briefingwhile reacting to the EU's GlobalGateway project. “We alsobelieve that different initiativesshould not replace or exclude

each other. Instead, we advocateinclusiveness, communicationand coordination for greatersynergy”, he noted. “China andthe EU have much in commonin the overall direction of con-

nectivity. There is every reasonfor us to complement each otherand jointly enhance the connec-tivity between countries andglobal sustainable development”,he explained. PTI

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London:The UK's medicinesregulator on Thursdayapproved a new antibody treat-ment against Covid-19, whichit believes will also be effectiveagainst new variants such asOmicron.

The Medicines andHealthcare products RegulatoryAgency (MHRA) said Xevudyor sotrovimab is for peoplewith mild to moderate Covid-19 who are at high risk ofdeveloping severe disease.

Developed by GSK andVir Biotechnology, sotrovimabis a single monoclonal antibodyand the drug works by bindingto the spike protein on the out-side of the COVID-19 virus.This in turn prevents the virusfrom attaching to and enteringhuman cells, so that it cannotreplicate in the body.

“I am pleased to say that wenow have another safe andeffective COVID-19 treatment,Xevudy (sotrovimab), for thoseat risk of developing severe ill-ness,” said Dr June Raine,MHRA Chief Executive.

“This is yet another thera-peutic that has been shown tobe effective at protecting thosemost vulnerable to COVID-19,and signals another signifi-cant step forward in our fightagainst this devastating dis-ease,” she said. PTI

K a t h m a n d u : N e p a l ' sSudurpaschim province bor-dering India has launched pre-ventive measures against thepossible spread of the'Omicron' variant of Covid-19.

The World HealthOrganization (WHO) haswarned that the new variantposes a very high risk global-ly, declaring it as the ' variantof concern'.

Sudurpaschim HealthDirectorate said surveillancehas been enhanced along India-Nepal border points in theprovince taking into consider-ation the high risk posed byCOVID-19 latest strain classi-fied as B.1.1.529.

“The risk from the newvariant prevails high in theprovince as it shares the borderwith India,” the Directorate said.

If the new variant is spreadin neighbouring India,Suduraschim will have highrisk, it said, adding healthdesks have been set up alongthe border points.

Gaddachauki, Srinagar,Jhulaghat, and Pulghat remainas the major points along theIndia-Nepal border in theprovince and people's move-ment via these points is rela-tively higher than other entrypoints. PTI

Washington: Biden hasbrought steady leadership afterthe chaotic Donald Trumpyears, but the mutating coron-avirus continues to defy him,helping drive his approval rat-ings deep underwater.

In a speech from theNational Institutes of Healthresearch center outsideWashington, Biden is set to lista raft of actions designed totamp down Covid-19 duringthe winter as the latest Omicronvariant spreads worldwide.Thefirst US case was detected onWednesday. Top of the list willbe an announcement thattoughened rules on testing fortravelers will take effect withindays, a senior administrationofficial said.

Biden will "announce thatwe are further strengthening ourtesting requirements so thatstarting early next week, allinternational travelers will berequired to test negative withinone day of their departure to theUnited States," the official toldreporters. This will apply to alltravelers, both US and foreign,regardless of whether they havebeen vaccinated, the official aid.

For domestic travelers, Bidenwill announce he is extending amask mandate on airplanes,trains and other public transportthrough mid-March. PTI

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Greeks who are over age 60and refuse coronavirus

vaccinations could be hit withmonthly fines of more thanone-quarter of their pensions— a get-tough policy that thecountry's politicians say willcost votes but save lives.

In Israel, potential carriersof the new omicron variantcould be tracked by the nation'sdomestic security agency inseeming defiance of a SupremeCourt ruling from the last go-round.

Weekly protests in theNetherlands over the country's5 pm lockdown and other new

restrictions have descendedinto violence, despite whatappears to be overwhelmingacceptance of the rules.

With the delta variant ofCOVID-19 pushing up cases inEurope and growing fears overthe omicron variant, govern-ments around the world areweighing new measures forpopulations tired of hearingabout restrictions and vac-cines.

It's a thorny calculus mademore difficult by the prospectof backlash, increased socialdivisions and, for many politi-cians, the fear of being votedout of office.

“I know the frustration

that we all feel with this omi-cron variant, the sense ofexhaustion that we could begoing through this all overagain,” British Prime MinisterBoris Johnson said Tuesday,two days after the governmentannounced that masks wouldbe mandatory again in storesand on public transportationand required all visitors fromabroad to undergo a COVID-19 test and quarantine.

“We're trying to take abalanced and proportionedapproach.”

New restrictions, or varia-tions on the old ones, are crop-ping up around the world,especially in Europe, where

leaders are at pains to explainwhat looks like a failedpromise: that mass vaccinationswould mean an end to widelyloathed limitations.

“People need normality.They need families, they need

to see people, obviously safely,socially distancing, but I real-ly think, this Christmas now,people have had enough,” saidBelinda Storey, who runs a stallat a Christmas market inNottingham, England.

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1%��P�-��(-��&�*&,�-��"&&-��'�&�!�&�� ,�- ��&*��&'New York (AP): OPEC andallied oil-producing countriesdecided Thursday to maintainthe amount of oil they pump tothe world even as the new omi-cron variant casts a shadow ofuncertainty over the globaleconomic recovery from thecoronavirus pandemic.

Officials from OPEC coun-tries, led by Saudi Arabia, andtheir allies, led by Russia, votedto stick with a pre-omicron pat-tern of steady, modest month-ly increases in oil releases apace that has frustrated theUnited States and other oil-consuming nations as gasolineprices rise.

The OPEC+ allianceapproved an increase in pro-duction of 400,000 barrels per

day for the month of January.The fast-mutating variant

led countries to impose travelrestrictions when it emergedlate last week.

In a worst-case scenario,lockdowns triggered by omicroncould cut oil demand by nearly3 million barrels per day in early2022, according to projectionsby Rystad Energy.

Positive news about drugs totreat the variant or the vaccines’effectiveness against it couldimprove that outlook.

But even with positive news,a decrease in oil demand is like-ly because the distribution ofthese remedies may not actual-ly reach all markets with extremeimmediacy, which would stillnecessitate the lockdowns in

much of the developing world,said Louise Dickson, senior oilmarkets analyst for Rystad.

The price of a barrel of USbenchmark crude fell with newsof the variant and then fell fur-ther as OPEC+ revealed it was-n’t going to curtail production.

It was about 78 a barrel aweek ago and was trading atabout 66 a barrel Thursday.International benchmark Brentcrude followed a similar path,falling from 79 a barrel a weekago to about 69 on Thursday.

The decision by OPEC+ tostay the course sends a signalthat the group does what it saysand that they will continue theirpolicy on their own terms,Dickson said.

It also really signals that

OPEC+ needs a bit more timeto really dig into the numbers onthe omicron variant.

Saudi Energy MinisterAbdulaziz bin Salman earlierthis week played down anyimpact the little-understoodvariant would have on oildemand, telling the kingdom’sAsharq al-Awsat newspaper:“We are not worried.”

But OPEC ministers brieflypostponed one of their meetingsthis week, hoping for moreinsight into whether the variantis likely to push the world backtoward pandemic lockdownsor leave markets relativelyunscathed.

Some analysts had predict-ed that the OPEC+ alliancemade up of OPEC members and

allied non-members like Russiawould act cautiously Thursday,pending more clarity from med-ical experts on the new variant.

Before omicron’s appear-ance, the OPEC+ meeting hadbeen shaping up as a potential-ly fraught moment in a growingdispute between oil-supplyingnations and oil-consuming ones,as the global economy reboundsfrom the worst of the pandem-ic downturn and demand for oilsurged.

Angering the US and itsallies, OPEC+ has stuck to a planto open the petroleum taps bitby bit even as oil prices surgedto seven-year highs until deepproduction cuts made duringthe depths of the pandemic arerestored.

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The Supreme Court onThursday once again casti-

gated Delhi and CentralGovernments for their failureto take effective measure tocontrol air pollution in the city.

Observing that nothing ishappening on ground to con-trol the deteriorating air qual-ity in Delhi-NCR, the SupremeCourt on Thursday directedthe Centre and the DelhiGovernment to come out withsuggestions to control pollutionwithin 24 hours.

“You cannot fire bulletsfrom our shoulders,” said theapex court saying it wouldpass orders if Governments arenot coming with suggestions.

Stating that “We can-not...infuse creativity in yourbureaucracy,” the apex courtwarned it will have to do some-thing extraordinary if theauthorities failed to controlpollution.

A special bench headed byChief Justice NV Ramana saidit expected serious action onthe ground to bring down pol-lution levels.

“We think that nothing ishappening as the pollutionlevel is increasing. We thinkthat we are wasting our time...We are giving you 24 hours. We

want you to take a hard look atthis and come up with a solu-tion with seriousness,” said thebench, also comprising JusticesDY Chandrachud and SuryaKant.

Solicitor General of IndiaTushar Mehta requested thebench for one more day torespond to the concernsexpressed by the court. “Mehta,

we expect serious action if youcan’t take, then we will take, Weare giving you 24 hours,” thebench said.

The SC expressed dissatis-faction over the steps taken tocontrol pollution and askedabout the powers of theCommission for Air QualityManagement in NationalCapital Region and adjoining

areas to enforce compliancewith its directions.

“We are not able to controlthe pollution in spite of takingmeasures. You tell us howmany members in this com-mission,” the bench asked.Mehta told the bench thatthere are 16 members in thecommission. He then soughttime to take instructions.

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Bengal unit of the BJP hasmoved the Supreme Court

seeking directions for the StateElection Commission to deployCentral forces in the KolkataMunicipal Corporation.

Backing its plea the BJP islikely to furnish evidences oframpant violence in the Statepost Assembly elections apartfrom citing adverse observa-tions made by the NationalHuman Rights Commission,State BJP chief Sukanto

Majumdar on Thursday said. “Our demand is justified

on the grounds that the Statewitnessed massive violenceafter the Assembly electionswhen thousands of our work-ers and leaders had to flee theirhouses and dozens of our menwere murdered and hundredsof houses were put on fire …their fault was that they hadcampaigned for the BJP … Wehad approached the SEC seek-ing deployment of centralforces but our appeal fell ondeaf ears,” said Majumdar

adding “like the BJP mostother opposition parties are ofthe view that no free and fairelections will be possible inBengal without the deploy-ment of central forces.”

State Opposition LeaderSuvendu Adhikari too attackedthe SEC saying “theCommission is acting like aparty office of the TrinamoolCongress … by its action itseems that the Commission istaking directions from the TMCas though its officers are mem-bers of theTrinamool Congress.”

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There is a larger conspiracy"orchestrated" by social

activist Teesta Setalvad todefame Gujarat for almost twodecades, the State Governmenttold the Supreme Court onThursday while arguing onZakia Jafri's appeal relating tothe 2002 riots there.

Solicitor General TusharMehta, appearing for Gujarat,told a bench headed by JusticeA M Khanwilkar that he hasnothing to say against ZakiaJafri as she has lost her near anddear ones but there has to be a"limit of exploiting" the mis-eries of a widow.

Zakia Jafri, the wife ofslain Congress leader EhsanJafri who was killed at GulbergSociety in Ahmedabad onFebruary 28, 2002, during theviolence, has challenged theSIT's clean chit to 64 peopleincluding Narendra Modi, the

then Gujarat chief ministerduring the riots. Senior advo-cate Mukul Rohatgi, appearingfor the Special InvestigationTeam (SIT), argued in the topcourt that the allegations abouta larger conspiracy during theriots is being "driven" bySetalvad who is the petitionernumber two in the plea filed byZakia Jafri in the apex court.

"My respectful submissionis, that there is a larger con-spiracy orchestrated by thepetitioner number two (TeestaSetalvad) to defame one entirestate for almost 20 years,"Mehta told the bench, alsocomprising Justices DineshMaheshwari and C TRavikumar. "I have nothingagainst petitioner number one(Zakia Jafri), she is wounded,she has lost her near and dearones. I can have nothing to sayagainst her. But, and I amchoosing my words very care-fully, there has to be a limit of

exploiting the miseries of awidow," he said.

Mehta told the bench thatthe SIT had periodically filedstatus reports before the apexcourt and in the last one, it was"at pains" to point out thatSetalvad was "tutoring wit-nesses, was preparing pre-typed computerised statementsand sending them". TheSolicitor General Mehta saidthis is nothing but fabricationof evidence to involve "inno-cent persons" into the offence.

He also referred to theGujarat High Court orderpassed in a separate matter inwhich allegation of misappro-priation of funds received bythe NGOs of Setalvad for the2002 riot victims was levelled.Rohatgi said that allowingZakia Jafri's plea would lead togreat injustice as there is noerror in the orders passed bythe courts below. "I submit it isonly being driven by petition-

er number two (Setalvad). It isnot being driven by this ladyand it is evident from herstatement that she said what-ever petitioner two had toldher," Rohatgi said.

On February 8, 2012, theSIT had filed a closure reportgiving a clean chit to Modi,now the Prime Minister, and63 others including seniorgovernment officials, sayingthere was "no prosecutableevidence" against them. ZakiaJafri had filed a petition in theapex court in 2018 challeng-ing the Gujarat High Court'sOctober 5, 2017 order reject-ing her plea against the SITdecision.

The plea also maintainedthat after the SIT gave a cleanchit in its closure report beforea trial judge, Zakia Jafri filed aprotest petition which was dis-missed by the magistrate with-out considering "substantiatedmerits".

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Delhi Metro has failed toachieve the ridership tar-

get as projected in thedetai led project reports(DPR) under Phase I, II andIII. The total ridership of theentire Delhi Metro network(Phase-I, II and III) in theyear 2019-20 was estimated as53.47 lakh but the actual rid-ership was 27.79 lakh only51.97 per cent of projectedridership.

"In case of Phase-IIIspecifically, as against the pro-jected ridership of 20.89 lakhin 2019-20 from initially sanc-tioned four corridors, the

actual ridership was only 4.38lakh, which is 79.02 per centlower than projected ridershipas per detailed project report.Similarly, in case of NCR/other extension, the actualridership on these corridorswas 15.12 per cent to 87.63 percent lower than projected rid-ership," the Comptroller andAuditor General of India's(CAG) said in a performanceaudit report onImplementation of Phase-IIIDelhi Mass Rapid TransitSystem by the DMRC. Thereport was presented inParliament on Thursday.

The report said there weredeficiencies in operation and

maintenance and shortfall inachievement of planned ben-efits after commercial opera-tion and Delhi Metro did notprepare line-wise operationalprofit/ loss statements andnot claiming operational loss-es, if any from the respectiveState Governments till March2020.

"As per the DPRs ofPhase-III and NCR exten-sions, the total ridership ofentire Delhi Metro network(Phase-I, Phase-II and Phase-III) after completion of theproject in the year 2016 wasestimated as 43.79 lakh (53.47lakh in 2019-20). Whereas,after completion of entire

Phase-III and NCR exten-sions, except for a small por-tion of Dwarka-Dhansa BusStand (1.2 km), the actualridership of DMRC was 27.79lakh (2019-20) only i.e., 51.97per cent of projected rider-ship," the CAG said in itsreport.

The ridership of Dwarka-Najafgarh (Line-9) sectionwas 11,972 (November 2019)after its opening in October2019 whereas the ridership inthe existing Dwarka Mor andDwarka station reduced by11,074 from September toNovember 2019 indicatingthat only 898 new passengers(0.92 per cent as per DPR

projected ridership of 97,070)were added after incurring anestimated expenditure of Rs1,065 crore and recurringsignificant operation andmaintenance expenditure.

Similarly, after the open-ing of Mundka-Bahdurgarhsection in June 2018 andactual ridership was 17,304,there was a reduction of 5,762in r idership of exist ingMundka station during Mayand July 2018. Thus, only11,542 new passengers (i.e.,10.93 per cent of projectedridership of 1,05,6,00) wereadded after incurring an esti-mated expenditure of Rs1,991 crore.

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Bhopal: They were not born atthe time but hundreds of childrenlive the horrors of that interven-ing night of December 2-3, 1984,every minute of every day -- theirbodies trapped forever in con-genital disabilities such as blind-ness and cerebral palsy.

Thirty-seven years and somethree generations later, the dark-ness of that night when 40 tonnesof lethal methyl isocyanate leakedout of the Union Carbide planthangs like an impenetrable cloudover the lives of untold thou-sands, including children asyoung as three whose parentswere exposed to the toxin whenthey themselves were children.

What did help was therapyand special education lessons.That has been impacted with theCovid pandemic and the monthsof lockdown that followed. As theworld marks another anniversary,those that were left behind count

their losses.The official number of

deaths from what has come to beknown as the Bhopal GasTragedy, among the world's worstindustrial disasters ever, was2,259 but activists estimate thenumber could be well over20,000, maybe double that.

The effects were devastatingfor those who survived, and forthe generations that followed.Adding to the long-term effectsof those who inhaled the gas wasthe slow poisoning of the ground-water. Those exposed passed theeffects on, leading to many chil-dren born with disabilities,including Down's syndrome,muscular dystrophy and atten-tion-deficit disorders.

Alfez is 10, Umair 12, Isha 18,Mohsin 24… Just some of the

many who live their lives con-fined to their beds and insidetheir homes, helpless and total-ly dependent for their everydayneeds. While studies continueand much is still to be known, thechain from that night 37 yearsago is clear, said experts. And itis going on still.

Azaan is only three years old.He has cerebral palsy, a debili-tating, genetic condition thatprobably goes back to his grand-parents who were exposed toMIC.

“I was eight months preg-nant when the gas tragedy hap-pened. My daughter was bornwith nasal related complicationsthough not severe,” said hisgrandmother.

Azaan's seizures haveincreased in the last six months,

probably because he didn't getregular therapy due to the lock-down. Help has come in the formof therapists from the ChingariTrust, a rehab centre, doingweekly home visits and videocalls.

Ten-year-old Alfez, who suf-fers from attention deficit hyper-activity disorder (ADHD), leadsa lonely life with few people tounderstand him. His motherTarannum recalls taking him toa doctor when he wasn't even ayear old and being asked whetheranyone in the family was affect-ed in the gas tragedy.

It finally turned out that hisfather Sajid, who was then just ayear-and-a-half, had inhaled thegas. Decades down the line,when he had a child, the impactwas passed on. And the doctortold Tarannum, “Alfez's medicalcondition is congenital.”

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About 4 million people stay-ing in the four districts of

Idukki, Kottayam, Ernakulamand Alappuzha in Kerala live inperpetual fear as the possibil-ities of the 126-year-oldMullaperiyar Dam burstingany time became stronger withthe north east monsoon of2021 bringing in bountifulrain.

Wednesday night saw TamilNadu Government which owns

and operates the dam situatedin Kerala opening the sevenshutters without any warningand this led to unexpected raisein water level in Periyar Riverthat flows through Idukki,Kottayam, Ernakulam districts.

“The Central Governmentshould immediately interveneand save the people of Keralafrom a deluge. It is timeMullaperiyar Dam is eitherdemolished or decommis-sioned,” seven-time MLA ofKerala Legislative Assembly P C

George told The Pioneer.George, a veteran farmers’leader in the State said theDam is ticking time bomb andpeople like him who stay down-stream live in perpetual fear.

“I as the chairman of thepetition committee of KeralaLegislature had recommendedthrice the decommission of thisdam and cancellation of the1886 Mullaperiyar Agreementsigned between the then BritishGovernment and theTravancore Maharaja. The

agreement has become null andvoid as all agreements signedbetween the British colonialmasters and the princely Statesin India got cancelled by thenight of August 14, 1947 withthe implementation of the IndiaIndependence Act 1947,” saidGeorge.

The controversial dam, builtwith lime and surki (beforecement and concrete mixturecame into vogue) is 53.66 meter(176 ft) heigh, 1200 ft in lengthand has a depth of 142 ft.

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With today’s new nor-mal, the basic senseand need of dressing

has completely changed. Peoplewant to feel more comfortableand yet be trendy. One canmake his/her basics lookextremely luxe and wear themon repeat by styling them differ-ently each time. If you investsensibly and on timeless piecesyou should go for elevated basicsthat are of good quality, havegreat functionality and areeffortless.

My top essential would be aclassic white shirt, a tailorednude/black blazer and a pair ofwell-fitted jeans. These are sta-ple pieces one must have in thewardrobe. These classic neutraltones are timeless and can beelevated by teaming them withaccessories like sneakers, heels,boots, bags, jewellery and beltsdepending on the occasion andseason. They create a look ofminimalist luxury.

Athleisure has become ahuge part of today's elevatedfashion wardrobe, as it can beworn formally during the nightor casually during the day. Itserves as a great utility outfit.Once should invest in a niceribbed co-ord set in neutralcolours and fun printed track-sets in comfortable pure fabrics.These are wearable all day andall season.

My personal favourite lookswould be:�A white cotton crop top withbaggy denim jeans, styled withclassic black pumps and a beltbag.�Another no-brainer is a whiteshirt with an oversized blackblazer and skinny jeans. This canbe teamed up with minimalisticclassic gold earnings and achain.�The little black dress is themost versatile piece one can ownin their closet. It can be worn in

the day or night and can beteamed with sneakers, stilettosor boots depending on the sea-son or occasion.�A great ribbed well fittedtrack-set in a neutral tone likesalmon pink, beige, brown orblack can be go to piece that iscomfortable and luxurious.

�A white crisp well-fitted shirtcan be worn with pants, jeans ora skirt depending on one’s moodand occasion. This can also belayered with a blazer, jacket orsweater that makes it versatileand extremely wearable.�A black t- shirt is very versa-tile and can be teamed with neu-

tral bottoms like denims,black/beige pants. This can alsobe teamed with fun printedbottoms to add an element.

Elevated basics make fash-ion more sustainable and youenjoy the pieces more as you getvalue from them and can keepthem in your wardrobe over sev-

eral years to come as well as playwith them in terms of mood andstyling. It is better to spend a lit-tle more on good quality time-less pieces than splurge onmindless quantities of clothesthat are fast fashion, impulsive-bought and not long-lasting.When choosing your pieces,

make sure the fabric is of premi-um quality, the fit and cut is con-temporary depending on yourbody type, the colour tones areversatile and can be teamedwith multiple things.

(The author is the founderof MellowDrama, a one-stop

solution for prêt wear.)

Actor Ranveer Singh is overwhelmed by the glob-al appreciation that the trailer of 83 has been get-

ting since it was released yesterday. Ranveer plays therole of the legendary Indian cricket team captain KapilDev, who led the underdog unit to the coveted WorldCup glory in 1983 as they beat the mighty West Indiesteam in the finals at Lord’s cricket ground. This wasIndia’s maiden World Cup win and it catapulted Indiaas a country to the world stage. Ranveer, who is knownfor getting into the skin of any character, has wowedeveryone as he has truly become Kapil Dev in bodyand spirit through sheer single-minded prep that sawhim visit the former cricket captain’s hometown andalso stay at his home.

In a heartfelt note posted on his social media,Ranveer says, “Thank you to movie fans all over thecountry and beyond, our film fraternity, the press…people from all walks of life and generations haveappreciated the movie's trailer, and we are filled withgratitude and gladness. This is not just a movie -- it’sa glorious tribute to that moment in Indian historythat changed it all!”

He adds, “It’s about the great achievement of theIndian Cricket Team of 1983 — ‘Kapil’s Devils’ ! Thesemen are legends, and it’s an honour to be a part ofthe cinematic telling of their iconic story on the bigscreen! Once again, thank you from the bottom of myheart for your generous and loving messages! KaptaanKabir Khan, it’s everything you dreamed of! Take abow!”

Directed by Kabir Khan, 83 is set to release onDecember 24.

After several collaborations, ZeeTV and Balaji Telefilms recently

presented a story about life, love,karma, and destiny. Set against thebackdrop of Mumbai, BhagyaLakshmi follows the journey ofLakshmi, a selfless girl of limitedmeans, who despite her humble back-ground and the curveballs life hasthrown at her, always puts others’needs before hers. The show hasalready impressed the audience cour-tesy of its intriguing storyline andrelatable characters. While viewershave been hooked due to the intrigu-ing twists and turns, they’ll be hap-pier to know that the Bhagya Lakshmiteam recently clocked a big milestone.The show completed 100 episodes andthe whole crew is ecstatic aboutachieving this milestone.

With the show achieving its firstmilestone, both the lead stars —Aishwarya Khare and Rohit Suchantihave been thanking their fans, castmembers and the whole team whohave contributed to this success.

Expressing her gratitude,Aishwarya Khare said, “It feels sogood to receive so much love from theviewers of Bhagya Lakshmi and all ourfans. We all are very thankful to ouraudience for giving so much love andappreciation to the show in such ashort time. It feels like it was yester-day when I met everybody and now,we all have turned out to be like afamily.”

Adding to the excitement, RohitSuchanti said, “I am overwhelmedwith the kind of response BhagyaLakshmi has received. Our entireteam has been working diligently and

it feels great to achieve what we’velonged for, love and lots of love. I hopethey keep showering their blessings inthe days to come. We promise to giveour best to entertain you throughoutthis journey. Completing 100 episodesis a great feeling and I hope this is thefirst of many feats we achieve in theyears to come.”

While the whole team of BhagyaLakshmi is basking in their success,there’s some high voltage dramaawaiting in Lakshmi's life.

(Tune into Bhagya Lakshmi,every Monday to Friday, at 8:30 pm

only on Zee TV.)

Get ready for full on entertain-ment as special guests

Chunky Pandey and NeelamKothari grace the sets of SonyEntertainment Television’s dancereality show — India’s BestDancer Season 2. All set to leaveeverybody in awe, the talentedcontestants along with theirchoreographers will present somepraise-worthy performances oniconic songs of Bollywood.

From Pandey and Kotharilighting up the stage with their

spectacular dance moves to theactors sharing some beautifulmemories from their good olddays in the 80’s, the episode

promises to be a delightful treatto watch for all the Bollywoodlovers out there.

However, one of the most

interesting moment that willleave everybody startled is whenMalaika Arora revealed thatwhile growing up she was thebiggest Chunky Pandey fan! Somuch so that she had the biggestposter of Pandey inside her cup-board and she, along with heryounger sister Amrita, used tomake blank calls at his house.Well, it doesn’t end here. Uponhearing this, judge Terence Lewisconfessed how he had the biggestcrush on Kothari during hisschool days and her movie Love86 really struck a chord in hisheart.

Leaving no stone unturned,host Manish Paul immediatelyasked Arora and Pandey alongwith Lewis and Kothari, to recre-ate the iconic song from the 80’s— Main Se Meena Se. Needlessto say; the actors set the stage onfire with their performance andsizzling chemistry proving thatmagic of the 80’s is evergreen.

(Tune in to India’s BestDancer Season 2 this weekend at8 PM only on Sony EntertainmentTelevision.)

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Bollywood actor Arjun Kapoor is sport-ing a sharp new look these days for his

film Kuttey, a dark comedy. He has trimmedhis hair considerably and is sporting a mous-tache and a stubble for Vishal Bhardwaj’sson, Aasmaan’s, directorial debut. Arjunrecently uploaded the images of his lookfrom the film and it has been widely well-received.

Arjun says, “As much as I am missingmy long hair, it is part of an actor's journeyto let go and begin again and in that milieu,a film like Kuttey comes where you have tolet go of all inhibitions and really go deepinto playing the character.”

He adds, “I love my directors' clarity thathe wanted me to have a particular look andlook like a person that blends in and is inevery man. the character really needed that

so I am really happy and excited that thelook has come together and my director isvery happy. Now, I leave the rest to whenthe film comes out.”

Written by Aasmaan and Vishal, Kutteyalso stars Naseeruddin Shah, Konkona SenSharma, Tabu and Radhika Madan. Apartfrom Kuttey, the other films in Arjun’s kittyinclude Lady Killer with Ajay Bahl and theyet-untitled Jagan Shakti directorial co-star-ring John Abraham.

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Virat Kohli’s return aftera well-earned breakcouldn’t have come in a

more unenvious setting as heneeds to tread the fine linebetween tough and prudent inhis selection calls when Indiatake on New Zealand in thesecond and final Test at therain-soaked ‘Maximum City’from Friday.

After an anti-climactic endto the first Test where NewZealand escaped with a cred-itable draw defying the Indianspinners on a slow turner, thehome team under its regularcaptain would certainly go fora slight rejig in the combination.

Also, at the Wankhede, thehosts may only get four days toenforce a positive result due toheavy rains that could be adampener on day one and theunderlying moisture which willalso bring an extra Black Caps pacer Neil Wagner intothe equation.

Historically, Indian cricketteams have never believed in ashake-up of the status quo andtherein lies the problem thatKohli and new coach RahulDravid face with the current set-up. Two of the team’s playershave not been scoring runs.

Despite that Shreyas Iyer,who scored 105 and 65 underpressure in Kanpur, is notassured of a place despite adream start to his career.

It happened with Karun

Nair after a triple ton but onecould argue that it came in aninconsequential fifth Testagainst a tired attack and theteam wasn’t under any pressure.

While the spotlight is onAjinkya Rahane for all thewrong reasons after 12 succes-sive failures in 2021, it is unlike-ly that the man, who was cap-tain in the last match, will bedropped in the very next gamedue to lack of form. And thattoo on his home turf.

But every extra chancegiven to him effectively meansthat criticism about not send-ing a strong signal would get

louder. The second cause ofconcern is Cheteshwar Pujara,who has time and again forgot-ten that cricket is not merelyabout survival. Every Test athome or abroad, every bowling

attack — formidable or run ofthe mill — has been puttinghim in a spot.

He looked to have achanged mindset briefly inEngland but in Kanpur, he

again got himself into a rut.However, when the team

travels to South Africa, Kohliknows that he has only oneman, who can blunt the newKookaburra against KagisoRabada and Anrich Nortje.

So, Pujara and Rahanebackers can rejoice as theirfavourite players aren’t goinganywhere for this game unlessthey are injured.

The Kohli baiters wouldthen say that it’s not justRahane who hasn’t been scor-ing for two years, even theIndian skipper hasn’t had athree-figure mark against his

name in any form for morethan two years now.

And now with Dravid forcompany, someone famous fortaking a middle of the roadapproach, one can certainlyexpect that Mayank Agarwalwill be disposed off for perhapsbeing a low hanging fruit.

Shubman Gill scored anattacking fifty in the firstinnings and despite his not sogreat defensive technique witha yawning gap between bat andpad, he will be persisted withas he is being looked as a long-term middle-order solution.

Kohli will be a straight

replacement for Agarwal. Thequestion then arises on whowill open alongside Gill.

It either has to beCheteshwar Pujara or wicket-keeper batsman K S Bharat.

Pujara could turn out to bea poor choice given his currentform, while Andhra manBharat has the requisite expe-rience at the first-class levelwith a highest score of 308.

Bharat replacingWriddhiman Saha, who hasbeen suffering from stiff neck,could actually save the teammanagement from actually tak-ing tough calls for the match.

For the Kane Williamson-led New Zealand, they missedWagner badly in Kanpur wherehis presence could have speltmore trouble for India in thesecond innings.

The rain and a pitch devoidof sunlight could mean thatboth pacers and spinners wouldbe in equation.

New Zealand’s three-pronged attack could spell trou-ble for India on a spiced uptrack and Will Somerville, whoplayed a gutsy knock in Kanpur,might have to sit out.

India may bring inMohammed Siraj into the equa-tion with Ishant Sharma look-ing completely out of rhythmbut with turn expected, threespinners may be persisted with.

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The iconic WankhedeStadium, which has host-

ed several high-profile match-es, including the 2011 ODIWorld Cup final, will host aTest after almost five yearswhen India take on NewZealand in the second matchof the series.

The last Test, which theSouth Mumbai ground host-ed was against England fromDecember 8-12, 2016 againstEngland, which the hosts wonby an innings and 36 runs.

The venue has hosted 25Test matches and India havewon 11 of them while losingseven and rest of the sevenwere drawn games.

The first Test at thisground was played againstthe West Indies, in January1975 and the visitors had thenthrashed the hosts by 201runs. India had recorded its

first Test win at the Wankhedeagainst New Zealand in 1976by 162 runs and SunilGavaskar had scored 119 inthe first innings.

For the record, the visitorsNew Zealand last played a Testhere in November 1988 andhad won that game by 136runs. The Mumbai CricketAssociation (MCA) is takingall precautions on its part andis adhering to the Covid-19protocols laid down by theMaharashtra Governmentwith only 25 per cent specta-tors allowed on each of the five days.

Last time, when Indiaplayed here, skipper ViratKohli has scored a monu-mental 235, so come Friday itremains to be seen where theskipper, who had taken breakfor the first test, can scoreanother daddy hundred,which has been missing forpast two years.

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Legendary Indian long jumper Anju Bobby Georgehas been bestowed with the Woman of the Year

Award by World Athletics for grooming talent in thecountry and advocating gender equality.

The 44-year-old Anju, the only Indian to have wona medal in the World Championships with a long jumpbronze in the 2003 edition, was named for the awardin the world body’s annual awards night held virtu-ally on Wednesday.

The award is given to recognise a woman who hasdedicated her life to the sport of athletics. Anju is thesecond recipient of the prestigious award, which wasstarted in 2019, after Ethiopia’s Derartu Tulu.

Tulu is the first black African woman to becomean Olympic champion, with 10,000m gold medals in1992 Barcelona and 2000 Sydney Games. No womanwas named for the award in 2020.

From 2014 to 2018, a similar honour called‘Women in Athletics Award’, which recognised out-standing achievements and contributions made to

develop, encouraged and strengthened the participa-tion of women and girls at all levels of the sport, wasgiven. “The former international long jump star fromIndia is still actively involved in the sport. In 2016 sheopened a training academy for young girls, which hasalready helped to produce a world U20 medallist,”

World Athletics said in a release.“A constant voice for gender equality in her role

as Senior Vice President of the Indian AthleticsFederation, Bobby George also mentors schoolgirlsfor future leadership positions within the sport.”

One of India’s most illustrious track and field ath-letes, Anju said she was “truly humbled and honouredto be awarded Woman of the Year by World Athletics”.

“There is no better feeling than to wake up every-day and give back to the sport, allowing it to enableand empower young girls! Thank you for recognis-ing my efforts,” she tweeted.

World Athletics added that her efforts in advanc-ing the sport in India as well as inspiring more womento follow in her footsteps make her “more than a wor-thy recipient” of this year’s award.

“I am really, really happy to learn that this year’sWoman of the Year Award is considering my name.As an athlete it was a hard journey but I still believeI could reach the level which I deserve. And now it’smy turn to give back to our sport,” Anju said in a videouploaded on Twitter by World Athletics.

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Double Olympic medallist P V Sindhuon Thursday joined compatriot

Lakshya Sen into the knockout stage ofthe BWF World Tour Finals, whileKidambi Srikanth’s fate hung in balanceafter suffering defeat in his second groupmatch, here.

The 26-year-old Sindhu, the onlyIndian to win the prestigious title in 2018and a finalist a year before, outplayedGermany’s world number 23 Yvonne Li21-10 21-13 in 31 minutes in her secondgroup A match to ensure a place in thetop two.

The reigning world champion willsquare off against top seed PornpaweeChochuwong of Thailand next in her lastgroup match.

Lakshya, who was guaranteed a placein the semifinal after two of his oppo-nents in group A -- Japan’s KentoMomota and Denmark’s Rasmus Gemke-- pulled out due to injuries, lost 15-2114-21 to Olympic champion ViktorAxelsen.

Following the loss, the 20-year-oldfrom Almora finished at the second spotin the group.

Earlier, world number 14 KidambiSrikanth, who had reached the knockoutstage in the 2014 edition of the year-end-ing event, jeopardised his chances ofmaking it to the next stage after going

down 18-21 7-21 to three-time juniorworld champion Thailand’s KunlavutVitidsarn in his second men’s singlesgroup B match. Indian women’s doublespair of Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki

Reddy too suffered a defeat, going downfighting 19-21 20-22 to Bulgaria’sGabriela Stoeva and Stefani Stoeva to bowout of contention.

The Indian duo will face England’sChloe Birch and Lauren Smith in theirlast Group B match.

The top men’s doubles pair ofSatwiksairaj Rankireddy and ChiragShetty handed a walkover to top seededIndonesian pair of Marcus FernaldiGideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljoafter the former complained of knee pain.The duo will not take further participa-tion in the tournament.

Sindhu looked in good rhythm andplayed at a good pace, engaging her rivalin short rallies and soon jumped to a 5-1 lead before entering the mid-gameinterval with a six-point advantage.

The Indian took the initiative andproduced some good angled returns totrouble her opponent.

Soon Sindhu moved to 10 gamepoints with a precise down-the-linesmash and then pocketed the openinggame with a deceptive net shot.

After the change of sides, Li produceda better show but Sindhu ensured she hadher nose ahead at the interval as she led11-8.

Sindhu ruled the roost after resump-tion, unleashing her smashes to gatherwinners.

The Indian eventually grabbed sevenmatch points when Li went wide andsealed it after her opponent again sent theshuttle long.

For Srikanth, it was his third defeatto Vitidsarn, having lost to him at theSudirman Cup in September and AsiaTeam Championships last year.

In Group B, Malaysian second seedLee Zii Jia is at the top with two points,while Srikanth and Vitidsarn shared apoint each after registering one victoryand one loss.

While Srikanth will face Lee Zii Jiain his third match, Vitidsarn will meetFrance’s Toma Junior Popov.

The winner will finish in the top 2and qualify for the knockout stage, andif both win their respective matches, itwill boil down to the number of gameswon and lost.

The fast-rising world number 23Vitidsarn was rewarded for his industryand immaculate defence as he didn’tallow Srikanth to mount his attack.There was never a lack of commitmentfrom Srikanth but his younger rival wasway better on the day.

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Cricket South Africa haspostponed a round of

domestic games after some ofthe team members testedCOVID-19 positive on arrival,raising fresh concerns for theIndia tour later this month.

The BCCI will soon takea call on the tour, which isscheduled to begin with the first Test here fromDecember 17.

The detection of newCOVID-19 variant Omicron inSouth Africa has stoked fearsaround the world and cast ashadow on the India series.

“Cricket South Africa canconfirm that all three, Round4, Division Two CSA 4-DayDomestic Series matchesscheduled to take placebetween 02-05 December havebeen postponed,” the boardsaid in a statement.

“The competition is notbeing held in a Bio-SecureEnvironment (BSE) and in thelast couple of days, some pos-itive COVID-19 test resultshave emerged following teampre-arrival testing sessions.

“Activating the precaution-ary and preventative measuresstipulated in the organisation’sCOVID-19 protocols to ensurethe health, safety and well-being of all involved is a toppriority for CSA.”

The India series, if it takesplace, will be held in a strictbio-secure environment.

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The Indian women’s footballteam went down 1-2 to

Venezuela at the Arena daAmazonia and ended its cam-paign in the four-nation tour-nament, where they played higher-ranked teams,including heavyweights Brazil,without a win.

Ranked a place belowVenezuela in the FIFA rankingsat 57th, India entered their finalgame of the tour aiming for apositive result.

However, that was not to beas the women from Venezuela came out tri-umphant after falling behind inthe first half.

India took an early leadthrough Grace Dangmei andended the first half with aone-goal lead.

But the Venezuelans madea fine comeback in the secondhalf and ran out 2-1 winnersafter Mariana and Barbarascored for the South Americanside in a hard-fought game.

Mariana, especially, hasmade a lot of difference in thesecond half with her speed.

Barbara struck in the 80thminute to put the Venezuelansin lead, which they maintaineduntil the final whistle.

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After having to play in anempty arena in the group

stage, Novak Djokovic relishedbeing in front of Davis Cup fansagain.

Djokovic fed off the ener-getic crowd from the start onWednesday, leading Serbia intothe semifinals with a 2-1 come-from-behind win overKazakhstan at the MadridArena.

The top-ranked Djokovickept Serbia alive in the quarter-final by defeating AlexanderBublik in straight sets in his sin-gles match, then teamed upwith Nikola Cacic in the decid-ing doubles for a 6-2, 2-6, 6-3win over Andrey Golubev andAleksandr Nedovyesov.

Serbia had played its group-stage matches without fans inAustria, because of the coron-avirus pandemic.

“It makes a huge differ-ence,” said Djokovic, who wasconstantly turning to the crowd to celebrate during hismatches.

“Fans are one of the reasonswhy professional tennis exists.Playing in front of the fans isvery important. They give usgreat energy, they give us a lotof motivation to try to play ourbest on the court.

In Innsbruck we didn’t havefans so it was a completely dif-ferent atmosphere.”

Serbia reached the last fourfor the first time since 2017 andwill face Croatia, which got pastItaly on Monday.

Serbia broke serve at 2-2and 5-3 in the third set of thedoubles to seal its fifth semifi-nal appearance in the teamevent.

Serbia made it to the lasteight as one of the top two sec-ond-place finishers from the sixgroups. It was second toGermany in a group that alsoincluded Austria.

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Shortly after Karim Benzemascored again for Real Madrid,

the “Ballon d’Or” chants beganechoing from the SantiagoBernabéu crowd.

Madrid fans made it clearwho they felt deserved the play-er of the year award that waswon by Lionel Messi onMonday.

They had just witnessedanother decisive performanceby the France striker, who net-ted a first-half winner that gaveMadrid a hard-fought 1-0 winover Athletic Bilbao in theSpanish league.

Benzema’s league-leading12th goal allowed Madrid toextend its winning streak toseven matches in all competi-tions and increase its lead at thetop of the league standings.

Benzema finished fourth inthe Ballon d’Or vote, upsettingmany Madrid fans and someplayers.

“He deserves it,” Madridgoalkeeper Thibaut Courtoissaid. “But in the end this is aweird award. They don’t look atwhat happened the entire year.It’s tough to win it.”

The win extended Madrid’sunbeaten streak to 10 matchesin all competitions.

“We played well in the firsthalf but they improved in thesecond and it was tough in thefinal 15 minutes,” Courtois said.

Madrid opened a seven-point lead over both AtléticoMadrid and Real Sociedad. Ithas 36 points from 15 matches.Atlético has a game in handcompared to its city rival.

The game had been post-poned from the ninth round.

Benzema found the netfrom close range in the 40thminute after Athletic goalkeep-er Unai Simon partially saved ashot by Marco Asensio.

It was Benzema’s eighthgoal in his last seven matcheswith club and country.

Athletic, sitting in eighthplace with 20 points from 15matches, hasn’t won in sixstraight league matches.

“We have been playing wellbut can’t come up with the vic-tories,” Athletic midfielder DaniGarcía said. “We have to keepworking hard to change thisdynamic.”

Athletic next visits Getafe,while Madrid plays at Sociedad.

COPA DEL REYFirst-division clubs

Sociedad, Mallorca, Espanyol,Sevilla and Real Betis all wontheir Copa del Rey matchesagainst lower-division clubs toadvance to the next round.

Sevilla struggled the most,needing a goal by LucasOcampos in the second half ofextra time to defeat fourth-division club Córdoba 1-0 in amatch between southernSpanish clubs.

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