Nodemocracywithout dissent:SConactivists - Newspaper Direct

THURSDAY

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today’sweather

Generally cloudy skywith intermittentrain

Badri Chatterjeen [email protected]

MUMBAI:Nine river stretches inPune including Bhima, Mula,Mutha, Mula-Mutha, andPawna, have ‘polluted’ water,according to a water qualityanalysisdonebytheMaharash-tra Pollution Control Board(MPCB) in May. The MPCB’s

findings were compiled aftermonitoringwaterqualityat 250locations in Pune, Mumbai,Thane and Nagpur, under theNationalwatermonitoringpro-gramme.Theseincludedrivers,sea coasts and creeks, drains,dams and wells . While 81%, or139 of these sites had ‘non-pol-luted’ water, 28 sites (16%) con-tained ‘polluted’water,andfive

(3%)were ‘heavilypolluted’.“The Punemunicipal corpo-

ration is working on treatingevery drop ofwater, be it at riv-ers or lakes, based on a projectawarded to the Japan Interna-tional Cooperation Agency(JICA),” YB Sontakke, jointdirector, water quality, MPCBsaid.

››DETAILED REPORT P4

MPCB WATER ANALYS IS

9 Pune river stretches polluted

HT Correspondentn [email protected]

MUMBAI: Travel time betweenMumbai and Pune is set toreduce by 25 minutes as theMaharashtragovernmentgavefinal approval for the 13.3-kmlinkbetweenKhalapurandKus-gaononMumbai-Puneexpress-way. The proposalwas clearedby cabinet infrastructure sub-committee onWednesday.

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State clearsKhalapurKusgaonexpressway link

ATHLETESBRINGDOUBLEDELIGHT

n Arpinder Singh onWednesday ended India’s48year wait for a gold medal in men’s triplejump, while Swapna Barman created historyby becoming the first Indian heptathlete towin an Asian Games gold. >>P1415 PTI/AFP

asiangames 2011 23

HTCorrespondentn [email protected]

NEWDELHI: The Reserve Bank ofIndia (RBI)hasconceded for thefirsttimethatalmostallthebank-notes invalidated in November2016 have returned to it in theform of deposits, handing theOppositionfreshammunitiontotargetthegovernmentaheadofastringofstatepollsleadingtothe2019LokSabhaelections.Prime Minister Narendra

Modi rendered invalid ₹500 and~1,000 notes worth ₹15.44 lakhcrorebyvaluefromthemidnightof November 8-9, 2016, in anunprecedentedmovetheBharat-iya Janata Party (BJP)-led gov-ernment described as a crack-down on black money, oruntaxed, unaccounted cashstashedaway bydishonest indi-viduals, terror financing andcounterfeitcurrency.

In its latest annual reportreleasedonWednesday,RBIsaidas much as 99.3% of the junkedbanknotesbyvalue,or₹15.3lakhcrore,hadreturned to thebank-ing system, confirming whathad been widely perceived byeconomistsandbankingexpertsa longtimeago: thatmuchof themoneyhadfounditswaybackorthatsome individualshadfoundways of laundering their blackmoney. PChidambaramfiredthe first shot in a new politicalslugfest.

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99.3%demonetisednotes cameback,concedesRBI

₹15.3 LAKHCRORERETURNEDTOBANKINGSYSTEM, CONFIRMINGTHATMUCHOF THEMONEYHADFOUND ITSWAYBACK


NEWDELHI:FinanceministerArunJaitley on Wednesday claimedtheNationalDemocraticAlliance(NDA) government negotiatedhard to keep the price of Rafalejetsdownbyatleast20%per air-craftinits2016deal,ascomparedwiththeUnitedProgressiveAlli-ance’s (UPA)dealof2007.Jaitleysaid inan interviewto

newsagencyANI that theseair-craftwerecoming“fullyloaded”andthedealwasbetweengovern-ments,withoutanyinbetweens.“Canyoucompareabasicair-

craft’s pricingwitha loadedair-craft?Canyoucompareasimpleaircraft with a weaponised air-craft,”Jaitleyasked.“If,in2012,theyhadcometoan

agreement, the first (aircraft)would have been delivered in2017.From2007 to2017, theesca-lationswouldhavegoneup,alongwith a foreign exchange varia-tion.IstheCongresspartyawarethat if you take the 2007 L1 offerandtheescalationclausewithouttheadd-ons,thepricenegotiatedin 2015-16 is cheaper?” L1 isabbreviationfor lowestbidder.Rahul Gandhi hit back on

socialmedia.“MrJaitley,thanksfor bringing the nation’s atten-tion back to the GREAT#RAFALE ROBBERY! Howabout a Joint ParliamentaryCommitteetosortitout?Problemis, your SupremeLeader is pro-tectinghis friend, so thismaybeinconvenient.Docheck&revertin 24 hrs. We’re waiting!” hetweeted.

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NDA Rafale dealbetter: Jaitley;Rahul hits back


NEWDELHI:Apanel of secretarieshastoldthegovernmentthatinci-dents of lynching are part of alarger problem of uncheckedmalicious content on websitesand socialmedia platforms thattarget children, women andminoritiesandthatIndianpoliceand security agencies need toincrease their presence in thecyberspace to check this kindofcontent.The government formed the

panel of secretaries, headed byUnion home secretary RajivGauba,toformulateitsresponseongrowingincidentsofmob-vio-lence. Around 34 people havebeen lynched across nine statesinthepastyearaccordingtopub-licallyavailabledata.ThepanelonWednesdaysub-

mitted its report to a group ofministersheadedbyUnionhomeministerRajnathSingh.

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LYNCHING DUE TOSOCIAL MEDIA:SECYS’ REPORT

warbetween theBritishandthePeshwas.“Therearewiderissuesraised

by them (petitioners). Concernraisedisthatyouarequellingdis-sent.Democracyisnotsafeifyouquelldissentandthatiswhattheyare worried about,” the courtsaid.In near-simultaneous Pune

police raidsacross five stateson

Tuesday,lawyerandtradeunionactivist SudhaBharadwaj, poetPVaravaraRao,activistGautamNavlakha, and lawyers ArunFerreiraandVernonGonsalveswere arrested and chargedwithcriminalconspiracy,creat-ing fear and enmity betweengroups, andunder theUnlawfulActivities (Prevention)Act.

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HTSPOTLIGHT

URBANMAOISTS,DALIT REDMISTWhat does the arrest ofactivists and court rulingsthereof tell us? Political linesare being sharply re-drawnand shock is in the air. ››P2

n The Shivajinagar court in Pune saw a huge crowd and an equal number of policemen in attendance onWednesday as the hearing for three arrested activists was held. PRATHAM GOKHALE/HT PHOTO

HTCorrespondentsn [email protected]

NEW DELHI/PUNE/MUMBAI: TheSupreme Court on WednesdaystoppedPunepolicefromtakingcustodyoffiveactivistswhowerearrestedadaybefore forallegedMaoist links, and placed themunder house arrest in theirrespectivehomesuntilthecaseisheardagainonSeptember6.A three-judge SC bench

headed by chief justice of IndiaDipakMisraalsoaskedtheMaha-rashtra government to file aresponsebySeptember5toapeti-tionbyhistorianRomilaThaparand others that alleged thearrestswere aimed atmuzzlingdissent.“Dissent is the safety valve of

democracy,thepressurecookerwill burst if you don’t allowthe safety valves,” justice DYChandrachud,apartofthebenchwith justice AM Khanwilkar,said.The SCbench questioned the

rationale behind the arrestnine months after violence onJanuary 1 left one person deadandfourothersinjuredinBhimaKoregaon, where hundreds ofthousands of Dalits were cele-brating the bicentennial of a

Nodemocracywithoutdissent:SConactivists‘SAFETY VALVE’ Top court issues notice to Maha govt; 5 to be under house arrest

TRUMP WARNS OF ‘VIOLENCE’ IF REPUBLICANSLOSE MIDTERM ELECTIONS >>htworldp12

MERGER BILL:₹1,626CRFROM AIRTELbusinessP13

COOL FEDERER THROUGH IN HOT NEW YORKBEATSNISHIOKA INSTRAIGHTSETSTOHUSTLE THROUGHFIRSTROUND >>htsportp16

Pune/METRO nVol. II No. 204 n Introductory Price ₹3.00 n 16Pages + 4Pages ofHTCafe. THURSDAY, AUGUST 30, 2018

www.facebook.com/hindustantimes www.twitter.com/htTweets n DOWNLOAD OUR iPAD APP www.hindustantimes.com/iPad n OUR EDITION ON KINDLE http://read.ht/JS4

02 hindustantimes HINDUSTAN TIMES, PUNETHURSDAY, AUGUST 30, 2018

htspotlightp g IN THE LINE OF DUTYSOCIALACTIVISMARRESTED

‘ElgarParishadwasa showofunity,hadno linkswithMaoists’Prominent Dalit leader PrakashAmbedkar onWednesday said thatthe arrests of five prominentintellectuals by Pune Policesignalled the rise of a fascist statealongwith smothering of allpolitical parties in the country bythe BJP-RSS regime. President ofthe Bharipa BahujanMahasang,Ambedkar said, with no politicalopposition left, the governmentwas targeting activists whowereoffering real opposition to theauthoritarian regime. “The countryis sliding into a nightmarishscenario signalling the consolida-tion and rise of a fascist state,” hesaid, alleging that the political

opposition had beenrendered obsoleteand paralysed bythe centralgovernment.Itwas theNGOsand the activists

whoweredoing

genuinework and functioning asthe real opposition to thegovernment, he said. A00mbedkar,whowas among the top speakersat the Elgar Parishad held in Puneon December 31 said that the arrestof the liberal activists has come ata timewhen the terror activities ofSanatan Sanstha and theHindutvarightwing have been exposed.While the Pune Policemaintainedthat the Elgar Parishadwas an“anti-fascist” front formed during ameetingwith the CentralCommittee of the banned CPI(Maoist) in December 2015,Ambedkar rejected the charge.Pointing out that it was organisedby former Supreme Court judge PBSawant and former Bombay HighCourt judge BG Kolse Patil,Ambedkar said, the Parishadwasbeing targeted because of the“unity and oneness demonstratedat the event.” “The government isdeliberately carrying out arrests todeflect attention from the SanatanSanstha’s involvement in the case,”he said.PRAKASHAMBEDKAR, presidentof the Bharipa BahujanMahasang

Andthus theyspoketheirmind...“A person like her, a professor, is being termed a naxalite. How can SudhaBharadwaj be even close toMaowad and Naxalism? This is apolitical action, beyond the legal purviewof the case. Monthsafter Elgar Parishad and Bhima Koregaon violence, they foundthese people to be naxalites. This happens days after arrestsweremade in Dabholkar murder case. There has to be aconnection. Are theymaking all the decisions whilelooking at 2019 (general elections) alone?”VIDYABAL, senior activist and author

“Police have arrested those relatedto naxalitemovement becausethey have proof of thembeinginvolved in anti-national activity.Though the Supreme Court hasgiven a stay on police arrest, theyhave not been given a clean chit.The arrested lot are related tonaxalitemovement and notAmbedkari movement. As far asElgar Parishad is concerned, I do

not think there is anyrelation between theBhima Koregaonviolence and Parishad.”RAMDASATHAWALE,president, RepublicanParty of India

“TheMaharashtra police is goingto places likeUttar Pradesh andGoa to arrest people but they didnot raise a finger against SanatanSansthawhen proof against themwas available. Why has there beena lag in the investigation ofDabholkar's murder case? RSSwasnever called a naxal organisationand their members have neverbeen arrested for their thoughts.The police is falling flat on theirfaces. This is like the timeof emergency. No onecan say anythingagainst thegovernment. This isutter stupidity.”BABAADHAV,Pune-based

Until someone commits anoffence, there is no need to arrestand put them in jail. These are allrespected people, professors,lawyers and former judges. Theyare not going to run away. If thepolice have proof, theyshould file cases andlet the law take itscourse in court. Whyput them in jail?ANILAWACHAT,prominentMarathiauthor and socialactivist

“Human rights work is not a topicof social work. It is always apolitical statement. Thegovernment wants to rulewithoutbeing questioned. These arrests areirrational and illegal. This is misuse

of police at the hands ofthe government. Thearrested activistsmust defendthemselves."ASEEMSARODE, a

human rightslawyer andactivist

PUNE:OnJune15,abooklaunchtookplaceattheNavalmalFiro-dia hall on the 5th floor of theMCCIATradeTowercomplexonPune’s Senapati Bapat Road.Withindaysof theevent,a teamfrom Pune Police and the CBIwasmeetingkeypeople,“want-ing to know whether the eventwaspro-governmentoranti-gov-ernment”.Matterscooleddownsubstan-

tially when told that ShreehariBorkar, a former national gen-eralsecretaryoftheAkhilBhar-atiya Vidyarthi Parishad(ABVP)wasthechiefguestattheevent “whichwas entirely pro-

government,” a source closelyassociatedwiththeeventtoldHTonconditionofanonymity.The event in question was a

paneldiscussionon“urbannax-alism” and the Pune launch ofUrban Naxals, a book by film-makerVivekAgnihotribasedonhisexpose’onthenexusbetweenan India-wide Maoist terrormovementandtheirsupportersinurbancentres suchas acade-miaandmedia”.Thedeepinteresttakenbythe

localandnationalsecurityagen-cies in this event resonatesstronglywithTuesday’sarrestsof fivecivilrightsactivists, law-yers andwriters fromdifferentpartsof thecountry.Allegedby thePunePolice to

be “Maoist sympathisers” andpart of a largerMaoist conspir-acy to de-stablise the govern-ment, those arrested includedlawyer and labour activist

Sudha Bhardwaj, poet P Vara-varaRao, activistGautamNav-lakha, and lawyers Arun Fer-reiraandVernonGonsalves.JointCommissionerofPolice,

ShivajiBodkhe,toldHTonTues-day that the police is probingtheir role in Elgar Parishad, a

conference organised byDalitsandLeftistsatPune’sShaniwar-wadaonDecember31.Incidentally, formerSupreme

Court judge, PB Sawant andex-Bombayhighcourt judgeBGKolsePatilwereamongtheorga-nisersof thisconferencetocom-

memoratethebicentenaryofthehistoric Bhima Koregaon vic-tory of the British against thePeshwas.This victory in January 1818

was possible because of theMahars (Dalits) in the Britishforces and this has been com-memoratedeveryyearasasym-bolofDalitprideatBhimaKore-gaon.According to Pune police,

ElgarParishadwasan“anti-fas-cist”frontformedbytheMaoistsand the decision to form it wastaken during a meeting of theCentral Committee of thebannedCPI (Maoist) in Decem-ber2015.Bhardwajandthe fourothersarrestedonTuesdaywerecloselyassociatedwiththeCen-tralCommittee, thepolicehavealleged.Significantly, this rally and

the events following the Dalit-Maratha caste riots that broke

out at Bhima Koregaon in thefirstweekofJanuary2018 ledtoDalitconsolidation,especiallyinMaharashtra.The alleged penetration of

Maoist ideologues and sympa-thisers intotheDalitmovementinMaharashtraand its consoli-dation post-Bhima Koregaonriots in the run-up to the 2019elections has emerged as one ofthe strongest undercurrents inthe latest roundofarrests.Within a week of the Bhima

Koregaonriots,thepoliceunder-took the first round of searchesin Mumbai, Nagpur and Delhiand Prof Shoma Sen fromNagppur university and fourDalit activists associated withtheElgarParishad,namely,Sur-endra Gadling, Rona Wilson,MaheshRautandSudhirDhaw-ale,memberofthepopularKabirKalaManch,aDalitgroupofper-formerswhohavebeencharged

withMaoist connections in thepast. ccording to joint policecommissioner, RavindraKadam, incriminating lettersrecoveredfromWilsonindicatedthat there was strong “primafacie evidence” to indicate the“participationandinspirationofMaoists” in the organisation oftheElgarParishad.Incidentally, theDalit-Mara-

tha riots at Bhima Koregaonwere triggered by the allegeddesecrationatthetombofaDalithero(GovindGopalMahar)whohad performed the last rites ofChhatrapatiSambhaji.ThepolicehadbookedShivja-

garPratisthanpresident,Samb-hajiBhide,andHinduJanjagrutiSamitipresident,MilindEkbote,inconnectionwith theclashes.That line of investigation by

the Pune Police has taken thebackseat with the entire focusshiftingto“urbanMaoism”, the

alleged penetration of Maoistsand“Maoistsympathisers”intotheDalitmovement inMaharashtra and coordinatedactionbyPunepolice in coordi-nationwithcentral intelligenceagencies headquartered inDelhi.

n [email protected]

Hunt for ‘urbanmaoists’ and penetration of Dalit movement by redmist

ABHAY VAIDYA

n Arun Ferreira being taken to the Faraskhana police station onWednesday. RAHUL RAUT/HT PHOTO

ACCORDING TOPUNEPOLICE, ELGARPARISHADWASAN“ANTIFASCIST” FRONTFORMEDBYMAOISTSANDDECISION TO FORMITWASTAKENDURINGAMEETINGOFCENTRALCOMMITTEEOF THEBANNEDCPI (MAOIST) INDECEMBER2015

theysay

›There are reports that certain outfits are linked tothese killings (of rationalists). If that is correct,then anybody can conclude that there is an attempt todivert attention (from that) by arresting these activists.SHARADPAWAR, Nationalist Congress Party chief

›The arrests were aploy to divertpeople’s attention fromthe failures of BJPgovernments... Thearrests depict BJP’smisuse of power whichneeds to be condemnedMAYAWATI, BSP chief

›6 innocent Dalits got killed inMadhya Pradesh on2nd April... no one is arrested. But human rightsactivists and ambedkarites who take up such causesare dubbed as ‘urban naxals’...JIGNESHMEVANI, GujaratMLA, on Twitter

›Modi is afraid thathewill bemurdered.It hardly sounds good ashe is the PM. Rightsactivists have beenarrested for suspectedthreat toModi. It is anattack on people’s rightsLALUYADAV, RJD chief

YogeshJoshin [email protected]

PUNE: AlmosteightmonthsafterthecasteriotsbrokeoutinBhimaKoregaon , 40 kilometres fromPune, the probe has taken tworoutes – one indicating involve-ment of Maoists and anotherabouttheroleofmembersassoci-ated with rightwing Hindutvaoutfits.While one probe is being car-

riedoutbyPuneurbanpolice tocheck on Maoist links to theDecember 31 Elgar Parishadevent in Pune, another probe isbeing carried out by the Punerural police inwhich SamasthaHindutvaAghadiMilindEkboteandShivChhatrapatiPratishanfounder Sambhaji Bhide havebeen booked for ‘orchestratingviolence’ inBhimaKoregaon.Following the first informa-

tion report (FIR) filed at Shikra-purpolicestationinJanuarythisyear,policearrestedEkbote.TheFIRagainstEkbotewasbasedonthecomplaintfromdalitactivistAnita Ravindra Salve. Two

months later, Ekbote wasreleasedbyacourtonconditionalbail.In the same FIR, rural police

alsobookedBhidewhowaslatergivenacleanchitbychiefminis-ter Devendra Fadnavis. In theFIR, Salve had alleged that shesawBhideandEkboteinstigating

themob.Later,Fadnavistoldtheassemblythatwomancomplain-ant“hadretractedherstatementsayingshedidnotseeBhideandEkboteat thespot”.Both Bhide and Ekbote have

beenbookedunderSections307,143,147,148,149,295-A,435and436of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)

andSection3(1)(10)oftheAtroci-tiesActbyShikrapurpolice,pur-suanttoSalve’scomplaint..In the Shikrapur case, police

havenotyetfiledachargesheet.In another case registered at

Pune’sVishrambaugpolice sta-tion,policeinitiallybookedmem-bersofKabirKalaManch,a left-orienteddalitoutfit, forprovoca-tive speeches during ElgarParishad.TheFIRwasbasedonacomplaint given by 35-year-oldTushar Damgude, a resident ofKatraj.Thelatestarrestoffivepromi-

nentactivistsaswellasthoseonJune6havebeenmadeunderthesameFIRwhichwas filed at theVishrambaugpolicestation.Damgude,thecomplainantin

thiscase,hasoftenpraisedBhideonhisFacebookpage.Withmorethan 13,000 followers, Damgudehas often criticisedmembers ofleftist parties on his Facebookpage.Despite repeated attempts,

Anita Salave could not becontacted as her phone wasswitchedoff.

Riot probe takes divergent routes

n Police try to detain a man protesting against the arrest of activistsin Hyderabad onWednesday. PTI

YogeshJoshin [email protected]

PUNE: A Pune sessions courtordered the city police onWednesday evening to makearrangement to send back theactivists, who were arrested inconnectionwiththeBhimaKore-gaon violence case, to theirrespectivehomes.Sessions judge KD Vadane’s

order came at 7.15pm after theSupremeCourtruledthatthefiveactivists arrested for allegedMaoist links were to be keptunder house arrest intheir respective homes till Sep-tember6.Thejudgealsoaskedthepolice

tofileanaffidavitbySeptember6,citingreasonsforthearrest.Thearrested persons were taken totheFaraskhanapolicestationforthenightwith the police statingthey would be taken to theirrespectivecitiesonThursday.Three of the five activists

arrestedbyPunepoliceonTues-day — lawyers Vernon Gon-salves, Arun Ferreira and poetVaravaraRao—wereproducedbefore the Pune court around3pm.TheprosecutionarguedtheactivistswerepartofthebannedCommunistPartyofIndia(Mao-ist) group, which was trying to“wageawar”againstcountryto“overthrow”thegovernment.The allegedplot came to light

after police analysed the elec-tronic devices, documents andother“highlyincriminatingevi-dences” seized from the fivearrestedpersons, showing theirlinkswith theCPI (Maoist), saidPune deputy commissioner ofpoliceShirishSardeshpande“Theyhaveshownintolerance

to the present political system,and decided to target organisa-tionsandtheirofficialsandeventhe highest political functiona-ries,”Sardesphandesaid.Public prosecutor Ujjawala

Pawar said an event held atPune’sShaniwarwadaonDecem-ber31,2017calledElgarParishadwasorganisedbymembersoftheCPI(Maoist),whowereallegedlyintheprocessofprocuring“armsfrom Nepal and Manipur”.According to the Pune (urban)police, this event stoked theviolencethatbrokeoutinBhimaKoregaon the next day, killingone person and injuring fourothers.Theactivists,accordingtothe

ArrestedactiviststoreturnhomeIN THE COURT Prosecution alleges activistspart of ‘Maoist plot to wage war against India’,defence lawyers question police crackdown

SmritiKakRamachandrann [email protected]

NEWDELHI: TheRashtriya Sway-amsevak Sangh (RSS) has wel-comed the police action againstactivists who were arrested onTuesdayfortheirallegedinvolve-mentintheviolencethatrockedBhima-Koregaon near Pune inMaharashtraonJanuary1.TheSangh,theideologicalmentorofthe ruling Bharatiya JanataParty(BJP), onWednesdaysaidtheactionagainstthe “ultraLeft”ideologueswas“awelcomestep.”“Itisagoodstepbythegovern-

ment to identify these elementsand investigate to bring facts tofore.Theultralefthasbeeninsti-gatingviolenceanditneedstobeprobed,”saidSunilAmbekar,thenationalorganisingsecretaryofthe Akhil Bharatiya VidyarthiParishad (ABVP), which is thestudents’wingof theRSS .TheABVPwill initiate apan-

IndiacontactprogrammeacrosscampusesonThursdaytoreachout to students, especially thosewhotheyfeelaremore“vulnera-ble”togravitatingtowardsideol-ogyof the“ultra left”.TheRSShas been raising red

flagsovertheprevalenceofleftistideologyacrosscampuses,blam-ing it for inciting students to“rebel against constitutionalinstitutions”. The contact pro-grammeisapartofthelargerbat-tle that the Sangh is wagingagainstLeftist ideology.Ambekar said the organisa-

tion will initiate a ‘SamvaadAbhiyan’ (dialogue campaign)for reachingout to students andaddressingtheirconcerns.“TheSamvaadAbhiyanwillhavestateandnational-level leadersof theABVPinteractingwithstudents,especially thosewhocome frommarginalsiedsections, tobridgethegapsthatexistbetweencom-munitiesandtopreventultraLeftactivistsfromrecruitingthem.”While RSS functionaries

hailed Tuesday’s arrest of fiveactivists as a “step in the rightdirection”, civil rights activistAnand Teltumbde, whose resi-dencewas also raided , said thepoliceactionisastepto“terrorisepeople into silence by targetingselectintellectualsandactivists.”

SANGH CALLSACTION AGAINST‘ULTRA LEFT’ AWELCOME STEP

prosecution, had allegedlyformedwhatwasdescribedasan“anti-fascist front” during aDecember 2015 meeting of theeastern bureau of the centralcommittee of the CPI (maoist).The prosecution said the policerecoveredharddisk,laptop,pendrive, and documents from thearrested activists, which hadbeen sent to forensicexamination.The prosecution produced a

numberof letters incourt.Pawarsubmittedtothecourta

purportedlyseizedletterwithanallegedreferencetopoetPVara-varaRao. “Asperourconversa-tion in April this year, I am intouch with our suppliers inNepal.OurcomradefromMani-purwill also assist us.OnlyVVRaohastheauthoritytocommu-nicatewiththemforpurchaseofarms,”theletterallegedlystated.The prosecution also showed apurportedcatalogueofweapons.In yet another letter, submit-

tedbyPawar,activistArunFer-reira was allegedly given theresponsibilityofrecruitingrebel-lious students from prominentorganisations such as the TataInstituteofSocialStudiestoprop-agateMaoistideology.“Ferreirawas given responsibility torecruit students and send themfortraining,”saidPawar.Prosecution said documents

seized fromarrestedpeoplealsoallegedly indicated their linkswith separatist elements inJammu and Kashmir and theNorth-east.Advocate Rohan Nahar,

appearingforthearrestedactiv-ists, said the police action wasinappropriate and the sectionsrelatedtotheUnlawfulActivitiesPrevention Act were incorrect.He argued that there was nointent to incite violence in any-thingtheactivistssaidandques-tionedwhat thepolicemeantby“wagingwar”against thestate.“Nowthattheprosecutionhas

claimed theyhave seized every-thing,whatistheneedforcusto-dial interrogation,” saidShahidAkhtar,adefence lawyer.

SESSIONS JUDGEASKSPOLICE TOSENDBACK3ARRESTEDACTIVISTS TOTHEIRHOMESAFTERSCORDERSHOUSEARREST

n Writer P Varavara Rao, after produced before a court in Pune onWednesday. Rao was among the fiveactivists arrested by police a day earlier. PTI

Press Trust of Indian [email protected]

NEW DELHI: The arrest of fiverights activists by the PunepoliceonallegedMaoist links isaimed at silencing dissent andinstillingfearinthemindsofthepeople, noted historian RomilaThaparandfourotheracademi-cianstoldtheSupremeCourtonWednesday.The petition filed by the five

intellectuals alleged that thePunepoliceactionwasthe“big-gestattack”onfreedomandlib-erty of citizens by resorting tohigh-handedness without anycredibleevidence.Italsoallegedthatnoactionwastakenagainstright-wing workers, againstwhomFIRswere lodgedas they“were behind” the Koregaon-Bhimaviolence.While observing that thedis-

sent was the “safety valve” ofdemocracy,theapexcourttodaykeptthefivehumanrightsactiv-istsarrestedinconnectionwiththe Bhima-Koregaon violencecaseunderhousearrestat theirhomes till September6.BesidesThapar,notedecono-

mist Prabhat Patnaik, PadmaBhushan awardee and notedeconomist Devaki Jain, Sociol-ogy professor in Delhi Univer-sitySatishDeshpandeandMaja

Daruwala who is barrister bytrainingandsenioradvisorwithCommonwealthHumanRightsInitiativehavefiledthepetitionintheSCchallengingthearrests.Thepetitionsought to“bring

on record the gross abuse ofpolice power in the countrywhich intended to stifle, if notkill, independentvoicesanddif-feringideologyfromthepartyinpower.”“The entire exercise is to

silencedissent,stoppeoplefromhelping the downtrodden andmarginalised people across thenationandtoinstill fearinmindsofpeople,” thepetitionsaid.“The timing of this action

leaves much to be desired andappears to be motivated todeflect people’s attention fromreal issues,” thepetitionsaid.The petition alleged that the

chargesagainst theactivistsonthe faceof it appears tobe indis-

criminate, unwarranted andpart of a campaign to threatenhuman rights defenders, inde-pendent journalist,writers andthinkersfromcriticisingthegov-ernment.“TheuseoftheUAPA(Unlaw-

fulActivities (Prevention)Act),meant for exceptional and vio-lent activity, against such per-sonswhen therehas been abso-lutelynoevidenceof actsof vio-lencebytheseactivists isdeeplydisconcerting and calls for anurgent intervention by thecourt,” thepleasaid.Thepleabytheacademicians

said thepolicehad filedFIRsonJanuary4thisyearagainstHin-dutvaleadersMilindEkboteandShambhaji Rao Bhide based oneyewitness accounts that theyand some fringe groups hadincited the violence against theDalit congregation.They alleged that the Maha-

rashtra government and itspolicedidnot takeanypurpose-ful and decisive action againstthe right-wing leaders “whowere behind” the Koregaon-Bhima violence and instigatedtheattacks.“Thepoliceinsteadembarked

onamotivatedprocessofarrest-ing a large number of humanrights activists, lawyers andjournalist...,” it said.

Arrests an attempt tomuzzledissent, says plea in top court

PLEASOUGHT TO ‘BRINGONRECORDABUSEOFPOLICE POWER,WHICHIS INTENDED TOSTIFLE,IF NOTKILL’ VOICESTHATARE INOPPOSITIONTO THEPARTY IN POWER

COPSONDUTY

n The Shivajinagar court was under heavy police bandobastfor most of Wednesday, as three of the arrested activistswere brought in for their hearing. PRATHAM GOKHALE/HT PHOTO

HINDUSTAN T IMES , PUNETHURSDAY, AUGUST 30, 2018 hindustantimes 03

Abhay Khairnarn [email protected]

PUNE: Finally, Nitin Gadkari,Unionminister for road trans-portandhighways, andDeven-dra Fadnavis, chief minister,have decided to provide afunding of ₹185 crore for theChandanichowkflyoverprojectgiving it the status of aspecial plan.Saurabh Rao, Pune munici-

palcommissioner, said, “Unionminister Nitin Gadkari took areviewmeetingof theChandanichowk project recently andrequested the chiefminister togive funds to Pune MunicipalCorporation (PMC) for acquir-ing the land.Thechiefministeractedon it

immediately and the urbandevelopmentdepartmentaskedthe PMC to submit a proposal.The PMC will receive Rs185crore for landacquisition fromthe state soon.”The National Highways

Authority of India (NHAI) andthePMCjointlydid theground-breaking ceremony of theproject on August 27 last year,but the project got stuck due toland acquisition issue.GadkariandNationalistCon-

gressparty (NCP)chiefSharadPawarwerepresentat thecere-mony.With the project yet to start

evenafteroneyear, theOpposi-tionhavebeentargetingtherul-ing Bharatiya Janata Party onthe issue.Byconsidering this,Gadkari

recently took a meeting withPMC and NHAI officials andinstructed thechiefminister toconsider theprojectasaspecialcase and allot funds for landacquisition.With traffic at Chandani

chowk becoming a nightmarefor residents and an accidentspot, thePMCproposedaplanto

shortstories

htmetro PUNE INNUMBERS

~1~3Cost of a kg of tomatoes at the wholesale market inthe city onWednesday.

CHANDAN I CHOWK FLYOVER

StateextendshelpinghandtocivicbodyinlandacquisitionDELAYMODE The project’s groundbreaking ceremony happened a year ago, but work is yet to start


PUNE:ThestandingcommitteeofthePunemunicipalcorporationhasgivenago-aheadtopay₹162crore to the irrigation depart-ment for gettingwater fromtheBhamaAskheddam. Theirriga-tion department had made thedemand for the amount, torecover the money spent onerectingthedamandalsotogivecompensationtothelandownerswhohadtogiveuptheir landfortheproject.Yogesh Mulik, chairman,

standingcommitteesaidthatthecommittee will make a budget-aryprovisionforthesame intheannual budget and will handovertheamounttotheirrigationdepartment.ThePunemunicipalcorpora-

tion isplanning tosourcewatertoPunecityfromBhamaAskheddam.Theworkontheprojectgotdelayed due to opposition fromlocal farmers,whoevenvandal-ised earth moving equipmentbrought to the site on severaloccasions.MulikrevealedthatPMChas

setadeadlineofJuly2019fortheproject completion. Once theprojectgetscompleted,thewaterscarcity in the eastern parts ofthe citymainly inAhmednagarroad,KharadiandVimannagarwillberesolved. Meanwhile, thestanding committee hasapproved ₹1croreasrelief tothepeopleofflood-hitKerala,assug-gested by the general body.MuktaTilak,mayorwill decideas how the amount should bechannelised. ThePuneMunici-pal Corporation had alsoextendedrelief fundtoChennaiin2015when itwas flood-hit.

PMC APPROVES₹162 CRORE FORBHAMA ASKHEDPROJECT

PMPMLplies on loss trackPublic transport facility is facing regular breakdown of buses, attracting fewer numberof passengers and has failed to generate profit in the current fiscal

₹204 crthe loss registered byPune MahanagarParivahan MahamandalLtd (PMPML) in thecurrent fiscal year.

₹61 crwas the fund that wasprovided more toPMPML by Pune andPimpri-Chinchwadmunicipal corporations ascompared to last year

₹11 crwas the non-operationalrevenue, a key element ofthe department’s profit,generated by PMPML thisyear as against Rs 16 croreearned in the precedingfiscal.

₹210 crfinancial assistance wasprovided to Pune andPimpri-Chinchwadmunicipal corporations

PMPML generates non-operational revenue throughadvertisements displayed on its buses. Also, it isearned by giving away spaces owned by PMPML forputting up hoardings and billboards. The transportutility also earns by displaying selective advertise-ments through its intelligent traffic managementsystem (ITMS) in the newly inducted midi-buses.

INPUT BY PARTH WELANKAR

“One of the major reasons for the lossin earnings is a significant decline inthe revenue generated fromnon-operational sources as comparedto the previous year. The issue will beraised in the PMPML board of director’smeeting on Thursday where we will beanalysing the declining revenue anddiscuss on finding solutions.”SUBHASH GAIKWAD, PMPML officialspokesperson

“Increasing number of breakdown ofbuses has led to less number of trips.Over 4,000 trips are getting cancelledowing to breakdowns every month.Consequently, less number ofpassengers use the service and severelyaffect the overall revenue of thedepartment.”Senior PMPML officials requestinganonymity said

erectmultilevel flyover.As thecivic body was requiring thepermissions from NationalHighwaysAuthorityof India, itapproached Gadkari to get theno objection certificate for theflyover.Surprisingly, Gadkari had

saidat that timethat the flyoverisgoing tocomeonthehighwayand it is the Central govern-

ment’sproperty. Insteadofpay-ing funds on the highwayproject,Gadkari assured the PMC

thatNHAIwill do the project.Despite opposing from

NationalHighwaysAuthorityofIndia officials, Gadkariapproved funds for the flyoverand instructed it to carry onworkasperthemasterplanpre-

paredby thePMC.Itwasarelief for thePMCbut

land acquisition was the civicbody’s responsibility. Most ofthe landrequiredfor theprojectwas falling under biodiversitypark.Even thePMCwouldneed to

demolishsomebuildings for theproject and give compensationto its owners.

The standing committee ofthePMCapprovedthe funds forgiving compensation to flatowners.With the land owners not

ready to accept the transfer ofdevelopment rights (TDR) fortheir lands and demanding thecash component, the PMCwasnot in a position to give cashcompensation.

Crucial junction and accident-prone spot

CHANDANICHOWK

Paud roadMulshi road

Mumbai-Pune bypass

Maratha

Pashanroad

PUNE

BDPISSUEMost of theland comingunder themultilevelflyover projectis falling underthe biodiversitypark (BDP). Itwas a big hurdlefor acquiringthe land as thecompensationpolicy for BDPwas notfinalised. Evenno constructionwas announcedon the BDPland. ChiefministerDevendraFadnavisrecently sortedout the BDPissue anddecided thecompensationpolicy and evenmade a specialprovision tocarry out thegovernmentand PMC projectin BDP land.

SPECIAL PROJECTAs per the law, the state government can only give50 percentage cost for land acquisition tomunicipal corporationS, the chief ministerconsidered the Chandani chowk plan as a specialcase and decided to give 100 percentage landacquisition cost for the project.

n Chandani chowk is a majorentry / exit point to Pune cityon NH-4.

n The traffic from NDA, Pashan,Kothrud, Mulshi converges atthe junction and disperses tovarious directions.

n Traffic jams are regular due toheavy traffic on all connectingroads.

n The surrounding areas arerapidly growing, causingtraffic snarls.

n The terrain of the area is hillythus the existing roadgradients are steep.

n Due to increase in traffic, thejunction has become anaccident-prone area.

nMany fatal accidents havetaken place at the junction.

n Residents and publicrepresentatives have beendemanding a permanentsolution for the junction.

n Pune Municipal Corporationgot a master plan preparedthrough their consultant.

n NHAI is going to execute thework and PMC would help togive land for the project.

ShrinivasDeshpanden [email protected]

PUNE: Tomato growers in thewesternMaharashtraareindis-tressaspriceshaveplummetedto as low as ~1-3 per kg due to aglut in arrivals of the crop. Sev-eral farmersinthesurroundingdistricts grow tomato as it hadfetched good prices in the past,buttheyarefindingitdifficult torecover even the input costbecauseoftheprevailingmarketrates.However, the common man

continuestopurchasetomatoesat Rs 10-15 per kgwith retailersnotprovidingthebenefit tocon-sumers.Vilas Bhujbal, president of

Chhatrapati Shivaji Market

Yard, said, “This is the secondtimeafterMarchandApril thatthe prices have hit such a low.Farmers in Satara, Sangli andSolapur districts have growntomatocroponalargescalethisseasonleadingtoglutandrecordlowrates.”Favourable weather condi-

tions giving good harvest andrecordproductionbroughthugequantityof tomatoestoAgricul-tural ProduceMarket Commit-tee (APMC) fromSatara,SangliandSolapur.With no storage facility in

Satara,SangliandSolapurforc-ing farmers to sell their cropimmediatelyafterharvestingforwhatever price available in themarket,APMCofficershavesug-gestedfarmerstotakeupmixed

cultivation of vegetables andavail its financialbenefit.On Wednesday, APMC wit-

nessed the arrival of around10,000 crates of tomatoes. As aresult of reduced rates, cattleowners in the nearby villageshavestartedpurchasingalargeamountof tomatoesandvegeta-bles to feed their cattle as itwascheaper than fodder.SatishSuryavanshi,afarmer

fromSatara district, is worriedaboutharvestingthecroponhisremaining two acres. “I havealready harvested two acres oftomatoesandsolditatRs3perkgonTuesday.With theprevalentrate, it will not be profitable toharvestandsell it at themarketby spending on the transporta-tioncost.”

Farmers in tears as tomato prices crash to record low

n Tomato growers in the western Maharashtra are in distress asprices have plummeted to ~13 per kg due to a glut in arrivals ofthe crop. HT PHOTO

REBIRTH FOUNDATION,MINISTRY TOHOLDORGANDONATIONAWARENESSDRIVEPUNE:Rebirth Foundation, alongwith theministry of highermedicaleducation, has organised an awareness drive for organ donation. Theannouncementwill bemade at Patrakar Bhavan between 2.30 pmand4.30pmon Thursday. The details for the organ donation drive to be held inthe future can be found onwww.mymedicalmantra.comor through helplinenumber, 18002747444, or through email on [email protected].

Bharati VidyapeethInstitute’s event of gems tofocus on IndiaPUNE:Bharati Vidyapeeth InstituteofManagement and Entrepreneur-ship Development (IMED) isorganising IMEDGEMS - event ofgems, on August 30 andAugust 31,informed Sachin Vernekar, dean,management faculty at BharatiVidyapeeth and director, IMED. Thetheme for all the events andcompetitions at IMEDGEMS thisyearwill be ‘Knowyour country’.The festwill be inaugurated onAugust 30 at 9:30 amand conclu-sion, alongwith prize distributionceremony,will be held on August 31at 4 pm in seminar hall of theorganisation.

Inamdar college celebratesRakha Bandhanwith PMC,MSRTC bus driversPUNE:The students of PA InamdarCollege of Visual Effects, Designand Art (Veda) celebrated thefestival of Raksha Bandhanby tying rakhis to the bus driversof PuneMunicipal Corporation(PMC) andMaharashtra StateRoad Transport Corporation(MSRTC). The Students of PAICollege of Veda visited the Swar-gate bus stand to celebrate thefestival. “The spirit of RakshaBandhan is to bring peopletogether just like the true spirit ofall other Indian festivals,” said RishiAacharya, the principal of PAICollege of Veda.

MUMBAI: A Mumbai sessionscourtonWednesdayrejectedanapplicationbyCentralBureauofInvestigation(CBI) inwhichtheagency had sought custody ofaccusedSharadKalaskarinNar-endraDabholkarmurdercase.The applicationwas rejected

by the court on the ground thattheCBI has applied for remandafter the accused was alreadyremanded to Anti-TerrorismSquad(ATS)custodytillSeptem-ber3.The CBI wanted to confront

Kalaskarwithanotheraccusedof Dabholkar murder case,Sachin Andure, who wasarrestedfromAurangabadaftera tipoff by ATS. Andure hasalready been sent in the CBI’scustody till August 30 by thePuneCBIcourt.Rejecting the CBI’s plea, the

courtsaidthatthesameaccusedwassenttoATScustodyinater-rorconspiracycaseonTuesdayand the court cannot remandthis accused from ATS to CBI

according toCrPC367.AccordingtotheCBIapplica-

tion, the investigating agencyhad sought Kalaskar’s custodyafter obtaining a productionwarrant from Pune court onAugust23.However,onWednes-day, the court slammed theCBIfor not approaching the courtbefore Tuesday, when it gavecustody of the said accused toATS,when theCBIhad thepro-ductionwarrantwiththemsinceAugust 23.The court also slammedATS

for its approach in giving its noobjectionto theCBIapplicationseeking remand. Question wasraised byKalaskar’s lawyer onATSapproach ingivingNOCtothe CBI custody of the accused.Defence lawyer Sanjiv Punal-ekar told the court that accord-ingtoitsownclaim,ATSisinves-tigatingaterrorconspiracycaseand it was astonishing that it isready to hand over its terroraccused to the CBI in amurdercaseof justoneperson. ANI

DABHOLKAR CASE

CBI plea for custodyof Kalaskar rejected

THEPUNEMUNICIPALCORPORATION ISPLANNING TOSOURCEWATER TOPUNECITY FROMBHAMAASKHEDDAM

›Nobody informedme about thecasewhich is so sensitive innature. Looking at the risingincidences of child abuse, agrievance redressal cell for childrenand parents will soon come up in thedistrict. I will expedite the plan.NAVALKISHORERAM, district collector


PUNE :Theupcomingnewtermi-nal building at the Lohegaoninternational airport in Punewillhaveagreenratingfor inte-grated habitat assessment - 4complaint(Griha)one,saidAjayKumar, airport director, Lohe-gaon internationalairport.Griha attemptstominimisea

building’s resource consump-tion,wastegenerationandkeepsin check the overall ecologicalimpactwithinnationallyaccept-able limitsandbenchmarks.“Wearepursuingmoreenvi-

ronmentfriendlyfeaturesforthefacility.Grihaisaratingtoolthathelps the developer assess theperformance of the buildingagainst certain nationallyacceptable benchmarks. Thiscanbedonewhenthebuildingisinthedesignandplanningstage.Whilethedesignforthenewter-minal building has beenapproved, thework is expectedto be started soon. The new ter-minalbuildingshouldbeopera-tional by 2021. It is a part of thePuneairport’sexpansionplans,”hesaid.Grihaevaluates theenviron-

mental performance of a build-ingholisticallyoveritsentirelifecycle,therebyprovidingadefini-tive standard for what consti-

tutesa ‘greenbuilding’.The rating system, based on

accepted energy and environ-mental principles, will seek tostrike a balance between theestablishedpracticesandemerg-ing concepts, bothnational andinternational.Meanwhile, a public hearing

on the environmental impactassessment (EIA) of the projectwas held at the airport onWednesday.Various issues like new inte-

gratedterminalbuilding,recon-struction of old terminal build-ing, modification of existingexpanded terminal building,expansionofapronandlinktaxi-way track, multilevel car parkand cargo terminal at the Punecivilenclave(Puneairport)pro-posed by the airports authorityofIndia(AAI)atthePuneairportwere discussed in the publichearing.

Lohegaon airportnew terminal to begreen compliant

THEUPCOMINGNEWTERMINALBUILDINGATTHE LOHEGAONINTERNATIONALAIRPORT IN PUNEWILLHAVEAGREENRATINGFOR INTEGRATEDHABITAT ASSESSMENT

Nozia Sayyedn [email protected]

PUNE:Thestudents,whoreport-edly faced sexual abuse at theKatraj-based madrassa JamiaArabiaDarulYatama,wereres-cued fromtheshelterhomeandhavemanaged tonot onlymeettheirparentsbuthavealsobeensenttotheirhomestateBiharonTuesday night by the localauthorities.The parents of the victims,

who were staying put in Punefor the past one month, werestruggling to get united withtheirchildrenwhowerekept inthecustodyof thechildwelfarecommittee (CWC).However,with the interven-

tion of Pune district collectorNaval Kishore Ram and par-ents’ firm stand to take backtheir children, won the lattertheir fight and the issue wasresolved.Around 25Muslim non-gov-

ernmental organisations(NGOs), includingMaharashtraActionCommittee, IndianMus-lim Front and Millat Founda-tion,havecomeforwardtohelpthe children and their parents.The representatives of theNGOswereseenfighting for therightsof thevictims for the lastfewdays.SomeNGOs,with thehelp of

advocate Anjali Pawar, anactivist working against childtrafficking, have decided toevenfile three first informationreports (FIR) against theauthorities.Pawar said, “The first FIR

will be filed against CWC fordelaying the FIR against theaccusedbythreedaysafter find-ing the victims of the Katrajmadrasa (FIR according to theProtection of Children fromSexual Offences (Pocso) Actshouldbe filedwithin48hours),secondagainst thedistrictchildprotection officer for keeping

the children in such a shelterhome which was alreadyordered by the high court to beshut down (the shelter homewas ill equipped and lackedproper facilities for the chil-dren), and third against thetrustees of the madrassa whowere running the centre with-out any registered licence andevennameditselfasanorphan-age whereas the children whowere studying there were notorphans.“Wehavemet thepolice offi-

cials, and in case they fail tocooperate with us and an FIRisn’t registeredwithin thenext48hours,wewill fileacomplaintprivately in the court.”TheNGOsalongwithPawar

have even demanded that reli-giousinstitutesshouldbeissuedguidelinesandaprovisionneedtobemadesothatsuchunfortu-nate incidences canbe avoidedin thenear future.Naval Kishore Ram, Pune

districtcollector, said,“Iwillbemeeting theMuslimNGOsandtheactivist again. It is a crucialdemand.Wewilldefinitelyplansomethingsoon in favourof thechildren. Security of the chil-drenstudying inreligious insti-

tutes isamustandondemand, Iwill be writing to the govern-ment so that provisions can bemade in this regard.”Ramappreciatedthecommu-

nity for coming forward togivejustice to thechildrenwhowerevictimised at themadrassa.About the delay caused in

sending the children to theirstate,Ramsaid, “Childwelfarecommitteeshouldhaveactedonhumanitarian grounds andsolved the issue much beforetime.“Also for verification of the

documents submitted by theparents, the CWC should havecome to us. I will be in touchwith the Bihar CWC andmakesure that the children arehanded over to the parentssoon.”The collector promised to

take a review of the case andmeet theCWCandotherpeopleconcerned.“Nobody informedmeabout

thecasewhich is sosensitive innature. Looking at the risingincidences of child abuse, agrievanceredressalcell forchil-drenandparentswillsooncomeupin thedistrict. Iwill expeditethe plan,” he said.

CH ILD ABUSE AT MADRASSA

Dist collector andNGOs helpvictimsmeet their parents

A 14-year-old child, hailing fromAraria district in Bihar and aninmate of themadarsa, wasunable to go to his hometown ashe has been admitted to SassoonGeneral Hospital for the past fewdays.He has suffered from severeadverse effect (SAD) due to amedicine given to himby the localdoctor at the shelter home that issaid to have affected one of hiskidneys and caused swelling.The child had complained of

suffering from skin rashes andhencewas given a drugwhichadversely affected his systemleading him to the hospital.However, he toowill be sent to hisstate and his father is still in Puneand attending to his ailing son,said Azhar Tamboli, social activist,who is one of the 25NGOsrepresentativeswhomet thedistrict collector on Tuesdaydemanding guidelines forreligious institutes likemadrasasand how they should be run.

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04 metro hindustantimes HINDUSTAN T IMES , PUNETHURSDAY, AUGUST 30, 2018

TheNDA’sdecisiontoenteran$8.7 billion deal with France tobuy36RafalewarplanesmadebyDassaultwasannouncedinApril2015,withanagreementsignedalittle over a year later. Thisreplaced the previousUPAgov-ernment’s decision to buy 126Rafaleaircraft,108ofwhichwereto bemade in India by the state-owned Hindustan AeronauticsLtd.The deal has become contro-

versial with theOpposition, ledby theCongress, saying that theprice at which India is buyingRafale aircraft now is R1,670crore for each, three times theR526croreinitialbidbythecom-panywhentheUPAadministra-tion was trying to buy the air-craft.Ithasalsosaidthatthepre-viousdealincludedatechnologytransferagreementwithHAL.“Let us first come to the pric-

ing.Myquestion, therefore, is ifyou are fully aware -- Mr (AK)Antony fully read the file andabandoned the contract -- hewould tell his party that the L1offerof2007hadabasic2007price,plus escalation, plus currencyvariation. In 2015 or ’16, thiswouldhavebeen9%costlierthanwhat the basic aircraft pricenegotiated was… Loaded tounloaded,youcomparethepriceagain. The 2016 price is 20%cheaperthanthe2007offer.Sowe

NDARafale deal

This is triggered by the long-pending report, released after apainstaking audit of the bank-notes thatwerereturnedbyciti-zenswhohadbeengivenuntiltheend of 2016 to deposit old high-valuenotes intheirpossession.“So,governmentandRBIactu-

ally demonetised only ~13,000croreandthecountrypaidahugeprice,” Chidambaram said in aTwitterpost.“Over100liveswerelost. 15croredailywageearnerslost their livelihood for severalweeks.ThousandsofSME(smalland medium enterprise) unitswere shut down. Lakhs of jobsweredestroyed.”Thereferencetoliveslostwas

tothepurporteddeathsofpeoplewho had to queue up at bankbranches for hours together inthe days following demonetisa-

Banned notes

At ameetingheldonWednes-day. The committee has alsogivenfinalapprovaltoVersova-Bandra Sea Link (VBSL) andthird bridge on Thane creek,whichwill be located alongsideof the existing bridges connect-ingMumbai andNaviMumbai.“Ihavedirectedtoensurethat

the construction work of allthreeprojectsshouldbestartedin the next onemonth,” Fadna-vis tweeted. “With cabinet sub-committeeapproval inplaceforall three projects, we can nowawards contract to the lowestbidders,” said RadheshyamMopalwar, managing director,MSRDC.The Khalapur and Kusgaon

link at Mumbai-Pune Express-wayaimstoreducesnarlsontheexpressway. The linkwill startat Khopoli through an inter-change toKusgaonat thePune-endoftheexpressway.Oncethelinkisbuilt,motoristsheadingtoPunecanavoidtheghatsection,the most critical part whereheavy vehicles slow down thetraffic.The work on the project is

expected to start after themon-soon, saidanMSRDCofficial.The MSRDC has selected

Afcons Infrastructure andHyderabad-based NavyugaEngineering as lowest biddersfor the project that has beendivided in twopackages.

Expressway...

With over half of its fleet eight-old ormore and the currentbreakdown rate at over one busper day, PMPML is rendering thecity’s target of being ‘smart’ andefficient useless.With BRTSroutes expanding the public

transport plan for the city, andnowaMetro on the horizon, isPMPML a tragic case of govern-ment apathy. Can Pune surviveand thrivewith a public transportsystem that is so poor?What istheway forward?

Write to us [email protected]. Have your say.

yourspaceTOPICOF THEWEEK

IS THEREANYHOPEFORPUBLICBUSTRANSPORT?

SOLUTIONS FOR 15066

PUZZLE 15067 ©Gemini Crosswords 2015 All rights reserved

Across1 Shun fallen woman bearing adaughter (5)8 Drunk male cuts drink (8)9 Set up before going to Connecticut (5)10 An order for freshly cooked beansoup (8)11 Legally of relative significance (2-3)12 A lot of water is found in theseareas (3)16 Stress it’s money on account (6)17 Company supported by a voucher (6)18 Nevertheless you expect theminitially (3)23 Fire about fifty for being lax (5)24 Fashionable writer will make hismark (8)25 Let in many in the entrance (5)26 Compromise though close torage (8)27 One turning over in bed (5)

Down2 Girl executed in the bullring (8)3 Made a customarystatement? (8)4 A tense time ahead (6)5 Compass shows latitude (5)6 Cattle drive (5)7 Acquit beyond any doubt (5)12Where the farmer willgo to sow? (3)13 A small court of law (3)14 Stopped when rebuked (6,2)15 Its religious education has beenguaranteed (8)19 In a gem blemishes affect thestandard (6)20 A man entitled to go along way? (5)21 A team competing away (5)22 Not just any type of injury (5)

Across1 Coincide awkwardly (5)8 Keep for future use (3,5)9 Sharply evident (5)10 Become established (4,4)11 Expressionless (5)12 A lively dance (3)16 Persuade (6)17 Attractiveness (6)18 Trite quotation (3)23 Point of view (5)24 Meditate on (4,4)25 Obstinately opinionatedperson (5)26 Headlong (4-4)27 Enlighten (5)

Down2 Leave undisturbed (3,5)3 Appear suddenly (6,2)4 Landlocked southernAfrican country (6)5 Falter (5)6 Comparativelyunimportant (5)7 Big and strong (5)12 Type of aircraft (3)13 Joke (3)14 Unprejudicedattitude (4,4)15 Impoverished (5,3)19 Ancient (3-3)20Opportunity for action (5)21 Answer (5)22 Capacious (5)

Cryptic Quick

CRYPTIC CLUES

QUICK CLUES

thetimescrosswords

The bronze medallist adds,“Secondly,beinganIndianandhaving the experience of play-ing in the Delhi heat, it didn’tbotherme thatmuch.”Raina was in the city on the

occasionofNational sportsdayto launchasportsnurseryat thePYC Hindu Gymkhana, alongwith Olympians Nikhil Kane-takar (badminton) and ManojPingale (boxing).

SPORTSNURSERIESAIMTOCATCHTHEMREALLYYOUNGThesportsnurseryconcept isaconcept developed by SundarIyer andMahendraGokhale.The age group targeted is

four and toddlers will beengagedinspecificallydesignedprogrammes to improvemotor skills, kicking, running,jumping and hand-eye coordi-

nation. “India’s failure to chal-lenge sporting superpowers inthe world stems from theabsenceofaconcentratedscien-tificapproachtowardsphysicaltraining anddata analysis.“This isbecausetheemphasis

is only on skills and not theproperdevelopmentof thephys-ical body,” said Sundar Iyer,secretary, Maharashtra statelawn tennis association .

AnanyaBaruan [email protected]

PUNE:StudentsofMITArt,Designand Technology (ADT) Univer-sity, Rajbaugh, Loni Kalbhor,hospitalised after consumingfood provided at themess, weredischarged onWednesday, saidinstituteauthorities.More than50studentswererushedtoVish-warajhospital,LoniKalbhor,onTuesdayeveningaftertheycom-plainedofstomachpainandvom-iting.After consulting the doctors,

the university authoritiesrevealed that the students hadfallensickaftereatingpackagedsweetsat themess.“Allourfoodundergoesproperchecksandthiscouldnothavehappenedbecauseof the food cooked at the mess.Doctors revealed that the prob-lemmayhavebeencausedduetothe consumption of the premixpackagedgulabjamunsservedatthemess.Outofthe1,600studentswhoateatthemess,around70fellsick, ofwhich five to sevenwerein a slightly serious conditionwith diarrhoea and vomiting.That is why the hospital hasdecidedtokeepthemin12hoursofobservationfornow,whiletherest have been discharged,”saidMangeshKarad, executivepresidentofMITADT.“Wewillnot tolerateanycase

ofnegligenceinthisregardandsoa thorough probe has beenordered into the matter. Theexpiry date of the packagedsweetswasthoroughlychecked.Despite this, the food caused ahazard, thus the samples havebeensent for analysis to the lab.Meanwhile,wewouldalso initi-ate an internal probe into thequalityoffoodhereandhavealsodecidedtoappointaspecialcom-mitteetodoso,”headded.

MIT students whofell sick due tomess food nowsafe, discharged

Ananya Baruan [email protected]

PUNE: Secularism also comeswithpeaceful tolerancetowardsall, saidRahulKarad,vice-pres-identof theMaharashtraAcad-emy of Engineering EducationandResearch’s (MAEER)MIT,after a press conference onWednesday to announce theWorld Parliament of Science,Religion andPhilosophy.The statement was made in

light of the recent incident ofstudent protests, at FergussonCollege,againstconductingsat-yanarayanpuja on campus.“Religion or faith is a peace-

fulaffairandsuchextremismbycertaingroups iswrong. If reli-gious practices have been inplace for so many years, thenwhy oppose it? Hinduism is amajority religion here, and somaybe there were more non-teaching staff coming up to

organisethesatyanarayanpuja.I am sure no one would haveopposedifChristmasorEidwasalso celebrated. We would notoppose if it were our institute.Secularism also comes withpeaceful tolerancetowardsall,”Karad added.During thepressconference,

Karad announced thatthe World Parliament of Sci-ence,ReligionandPhilosophy,to be organised by MIT WorldPeace University (MIT-WPU)

and World Peace Centre,Alandi,MAEER'sMITPuneandMIT ADT University, will beheld fromOctober2 to5at theirRajbaug campus at Loni Kal-bhor. The four-day conclavewhich is to commemorate the150thanniversaryofMahatmaGandhi isaimedatpropagatingthe confluence of science, reli-gion and philosophy and isexpected to have almost 10,000delegates this year.“This conclave is to bridge

the seeming gaps between thethree pillars; science, religionandphilosophy, toshowhowallof themtogether leadthepathtoa sustainable and peacefulfuture. In today’s world, adegree is not enough, becauseeducationisnotmaterialistic, itneeds tobeholisticwithvaluesof peace and humanitarianisminculcated in students,”saidMangeshKarad,executivepresident,MITADT.

Religion, faith are peaceful affairs,why oppose them: Rahul Karad

n Mangesh Karad (left),executive president, MIT ADT,and Rahul Karad, vicepresident, MIT. HT PHOTO


PUNE: India’s rising tennis star,25-year-old tennis player,AnkitaRaina, isallsmilesasherwinning a bronze medal at theongoing Asian Games in Indo-nesia is brought up.“What I learnt fromthis tour-

nament is thatyourbest comesout when you are put in toughconditions.Theweatherwashotand humid. Several athleteswerehavinghealth issues. Iwasplayinginthreeevents,”AnkitaRains says.“Many players warned me

that I will be dead tired andexhausted and won’t be ableto give my best. However, Idid perform well and foughtwell against players in theTop 50 in the world,” saysRaina.When asked how she man-

aged to cope up with theweather, Ankita Raina says, “Iknew therewill behotweatherin Jakarata.“So, Iwasplayinga fewtour-

naments before the AsianGames inSouthAsia.”

AnkitaRainabronzedinthe‘heat’ofAsianGamesTOUGH TALKWhy it was not a breeze for tennis star Raina at the games in Jakarta

n Ankita Raina, tennis player, who won the bronze medal in theongoing Asian Games at Jakarta. SANKETWANKHADE/HT PHOTO

›What I learnt fromthe tournament isthat your best comesout when you are put intough conditions.Weather was hot andhumid. Manywarnedme that I will be deadtired andwon’t be ableto givemy best.

BadriChatterjeen [email protected]

MUMBAI :Nine river stretches inPune, including Bhima, Mula,Mutha, Mula-Mutha, andPavana, have ‘polluted’ water,accordingtoawaterqualityanal-ysis done by the MaharashtraPollutionControlBoard(MPCB)inMay.According to the report, five

water bodies in Maharashtracontain‘heavilypolluted’water,andMumbai’sMithiRiverisoneof them. The MPCB’s findingswerecompiledaftermonitoringwater quality at 250 locations inPune,Mumbai,ThaneandNag-pur, under the National watermonitoringprogramme.These locations included riv-

ers,seacoastsandcreeks,drains,damsandwells.While81%,or139of these sites had ‘non-polluted’water, 28 sites (16%) contained‘polluted’ water, and five (3%)were ‘heavilypolluted’.Most sites where the MPCB

recordedpoorwaterqualitywerein the urban areas of Mumbai,Thane, Pune andNagpur. “ThePune municipal corporation isworkingontreatingeverydropofwater, be it in rivers or lakes,basedonaprojectawardedtotheJapanInternationalCooperationAgency (JICA),” YB Sontakke,joint director, water quality,MPCB said. In Mumbai, ninelocations,mostofwhicharepop-ular tourist spots, had ‘pollutedwater’. Eight water bodies inThanewhichreceivesewageandindustrial waste, had ‘heavilypolluted’ or ‘very bad’ water.

Thane’smajor issue isdomesticsewageenteringcreeks.“Itneedstobetreatedatthesourceandcol-lected before discharge,” Son-takke said. “In Nagpur, somelocationsarefacingproblemwithindustrialanddomesticsewage,

directionshavebeenissuedtothedistrictadministrationtoresolvethe pollution.” Meanwhile, theMPCBsaidthereasonmoreloca-tions inMumbaiwere identifiedas having polluted water wasbecauseitcollectedsamplesnear

marine outfalls, which releasesboth treatedanduntreatedsew-age into the sea, expertspointedouthowthisshowednotenoughwasbeingdonetostopindustriesfrom releasing untreatedwasteintothesea.

Nine river stretches inPunehavepollutedwater, saysMPCBreport

n According to MPCB, Mutha river too has ‘polluted’ water. RAHUL RAUT/HT

WATERQUALITY ANALYSIS IN THE STATEUnder the National Water Monitoring Programme, MPCB checked water quality in 155rivers, 34 sea coast/creeks, 10 drains, one dam and ground water across 24 bore wells,24 wells, one hand pump, and one tube well in the state.

n Five water bodies inMaharashtra were found tocontain ‘heavily polluted’waternWater analysis revealed thatfive water bodies in the statehave ‘heavily polluted’water.n The MPCB’s findings werecompiled after monitoring waterquality at 250 locations inMumbai, Thane, Pune andNagpur, under the NationalWater Monitoring Programme.n These included rivers, seacoasts and creeks, drains, damsand wells .

Some observationsMost sites where the MPCBrecorded poor water quality werein the urban areas of Mumbai,Thane, Pune and Nagpur.MUMBAI: Nine locations,most of which are populartourist spots, had ‘pollutedwater’.THANE: Eight water bodieswere found with pollutedwater. The major issue isdomestic sewage enteringcreeks which needs to betreated at the source andcollected before discharge.NAGPUR: Some locations arefacing issues with industrialand domestic sewage;directions have been issuedto the district administrationto resolve the pollution.

WHAT ABOUT PUNE?Nine river stretches in Pune,including Bhima, Mula,Mutha, Mula-Mutha, andPavana, were found to have‘polluted’ water

“The quality of water isaffected by various factors,like rate of monsoon,dilution during monsoon,high evaporation rateduring the summers,sporadic pollution loadsfrom various anthropogenicactivities, flow rate of waterand so on. Hence, therecould be varied fluctuationsin the quality of water atthe same monitoringlocation leading to seasonalvariations.”YB SONTAKKE, joint director,water quality, MPCB

PAVANARIVER

MUTHARIVER

MULA-MUTHARIVER

MULARIVER

frompageone

The group will take furthercall on the issueandpresent thefinal recommendations to thePrimeMinister.“Thepanelhastakentheview

that lynchingisbasicallypartoftheoverallissueofmaliciousandpornographiccontentfloatinginthecyberspace.Thecontenttar-getsvulnerablesectionslikechil-dren, women and minorities.There is need to remove to thiscontent from cyber space toaddressthelargerissue.Thegov-ernmenthasheldaseriesofmeet-ings with the social media plat-formsinthisregard,”saidahomeministryofficialwhospokeontheconditionofanonymity.India has beenpushingFace-

bookInc’sWhatsApptogettoughon fake messages that haveprompteda rashof lynchings inIndia. In a meeting with What-sApp executives earlier thismonth,ITministerRavi ShankarPrasadaskedthemtoformacor-porateentityinIndiaandappointagrievancesofficer.The home ministry official

added that Indian law enforce-ment agencies need to increasetheirpresenceinthecyberspaceaswelltodealwiththemaliciouscontent.“Itislikehavingmoresecurity

personnel on the ground but afine balance will have to main-tained consideringprivacy con-cerns,”saidtheofficial.

Lynching...The arrests were part of an

investigation into the BhimaKoregaonviolence.Navlakha’s transit remand

fromhis house inDelhi to Punewas stayed by the Delhi highcourtonTuesdayeveningandhewasputonhousearrest,andfol-lowing a late-night hearing,Bharadwaj’stransitwarrantwasalso recalled by the localmagis-trate. Rao, Gonsalves and Fer-reira had been arrested fromHyderabad,MumbaiandThanerespectively,andtakentoPune.LateonWednesdayevening,thePunedistrictcourtorderedthemtobesentbacktotheirresidenceswhere they will be kept under‘house arrest’. “Arrangementswill be made to send all theaccused to their respective cit-ies,”saidassistantcommissionerofpoliceShivajiPawar.According to Pune Police, an

event called Elgar Parishad onDecember31,2017inPune,wherevariousactivistsandDalitorga-nisations came together, wasresponsible for stoking the vio-lence the next day. In June, thepolice arrested activist SudhirDhawale,lawyerSurendraGad-ling, activist Rona Wilson,researcher Mahesh Raut andretiredprofessorShomaSen foralleged Maoist ties. A separateprobe by Pune (rural) police intheJanuary1violencehasnamedtwo Hindu right wing leaders,Milind Ekbote and ShambhajiBhide. The National HumanRights Commission served anotice to the Maharashtra gov-ernmentdemandingareportonthe arrests. It said the arrestsweremadeinviolationofthelaiddown procedure and so“amountedtohumanrightsvio-lation”.Itaskedforafactualreporton

the matter within four weeks.Union home ministry officialssaid theministryhasnothing todowiththearrests.“Law-and-orderandpoliceare

statesubjects,” saidahomemin-istry spokesperson. A seniorsecurityofficialontheconditionofanonymitysaidthestatepoliceshouldhaveprepareditscasebet-ter before acting against theseindividuals.Maharashtra government

said the police had strong evi-denceforthearrests.

SC on activiststion.The central bank tooknearly

two years to calculate anddestroy the banned notes. Thetediousprocessincludeddayandnight shifts, working 6 days aweekandusing15note-countingmachines.“The processing of SBNs

(SpecifiedBankNotes)hassincebeen completed at all centres oftheReserveBank.ThetotalSBNsreturned from circulation is`15,310.73 billion,” the RBIdeclaredinitsreport.The banking regulator men-

tionedasilverliningtodemoneti-sation, which the governmentlaterjustifiedasawayofpromot-ingcashless transactions.“Monetarytransmissionfrom

thepolicy rate to banks’ depositandlendingratesimproveddur-ing 2017-18, facilitated by thedemonetisation-inducedsloshofliquidity,”RBIsaid.

got itcheaper,”Jaitleysaid.Dismissing Congress presi-

dentRahulGandhi’schargethattheRafalejetbeingpurchasedbythepresentgovernment ismoreexpensive,Jaitelysaidthateverypoint made by the oppositionparty is “factually false”. Heasserted that no rules werebypassed and the Cabinet Com-mitteeonSecurityapprovalwastakenduringthedeal,andnegoti-ations took about 14 months tocomplete.Thedealhasalsobecomecon-

troversialbecauseoneof theoff-set deals signed by Dassault iswith theRelianceGroup ofAnilAmbani. The Congress allegestheearlierdealwasscrappedandanewone signed just to provideAmbani this opportunity for anoffsetdeal.Boththegovernmentand Reliance have repeatedlydeniedthis.

HINDUSTAN T IMES , PUNETHURSDAY, AUGUST 30, 2018 hindustantimes 05

Swapnil Rawaln [email protected]

MUMBAI: The Shiv Sena hasdemanded that the Election Com-mission of India (ECI) put an endto campaigning via social mediaplatforms and electronic mediaafter the 48-hour deadline beforevoting commences. Sena leaders,in a meeting with OP Rawat,Chief Election Commissioner ofIndia, asked what actions the ECIproposes against use of such plat-forms after the deadline for cam-paigning ends. According to Sena leaders,

political parties take advantage ofthe “loophole” and use socialmedia platforms such as Face-book, Twitter and WhatsApp to

continue their campaigning 48hours before polling begins. Rajya Sabha MP and Sena sec-

retary Anil Desai, who was part ofthe meeting with the CEC, saidthat as the print and electronicmedia is kept out of the 48-hourrule, there have been cases whereinterviews are aired after cam-paigning on the ground hasended. Desai said, “Most CMsand other ministers continue giv-ing interviews unabated on TVchannels, social media is also fol-lowing the same. We see adver-tisements in newspapers on theday of the polling. How is thevoter expected to make up hismind without any political influ-ence? That is the whole ideabehind the 48-hour silent period.”

‘End campaigns on social media, TV 48 hrs before polls’

Neha LM Tripathi n [email protected]

MUMBAI: Passengers seeking totravel from Mumbai to New Yorkin the United States and Frank-furt in Germany will now be ableto take non-stop flights to thesecities starting in October.National carrier Air India willnow operate four flights a week toFrankfurt using Boeing 787Dreamliners and three to John FKennedy (JFK) InternationalAirport, New York with Boeing777-300ER.The Frankfurt flights will

operate on Tuesdays, Wednes-days, Fridays and Sundays whilethe JFK flights will be operatedon Wednesdays, Fridays andSundays. Both flights will be apart of the winter schedule, said asenior Air India official who didnot wish to be named . Currently there are no direct

flights to JFK and Frankfurt fromMumbai, and both are connectedfrom Delhi by Air India and Luf-thansa, respectively. Thenational carrier used to fly toFrankfurt but the service hadbeen discontinued services eightyears ago. The announcement byAir India comes ahead of a majorUnited States airlines Delta’splans to relaunch its operationsafter almost a decade from Indiaby 2019 . The airline had with-drawn its direct flight operationsfrom Mumbai to New York. While Air India has direct con-

nectivity to Newark airport -which is also used by passengerstravelling to New York - fromMumbai, it currently operatesdirect flights to Washington, NewYork, San Francisco from NewDelhi and Chicago from Hydera-bad via Delhi. The airline willhave 36 weekly flights to the USfrom these three Indian cities.

MUMBAI TO GET FIRST DIRECT FLIGHTS TO NEW YORK, FRANKFURT

Vaishali Balajiwalen [email protected]

NASHIK: A tug of war seems set inthe Nashik municipal corpora-tion (NMC), with political partiespulling against TukaramMundhe, commissioner, NMC;with the commissioner holding tohis reins.The elected representatives

led by BJP have submitted a no-confidence motion proposal tothe corporation, a vote on whichis likely in the special generalbody meeting of the NMC on Sat-urday.Mundhe, an IAS officer with

some all-action history, tookcharge as the bureaucratic headof the NMC in early February2018. After six months of his post-ing the commissioner began witha series of cleansing works; clear-ing desks, systems and methods.While setting his agenda and

priority as the people’s interests,Mundhe saw to it that work in theRajiv Gandhi Bhawan, the NMChead office, began on time withutmost efficiency. He did receivesome flak on his changing ofmethods suddenly, but theresults were welcomed by citi-zens. Working on waste manage-

ment – particularly segregationof waste, water supply, streetlights, sewerage lines, health careand taking steps to make Nashika smart city, he did earn someground. However, not all wentwell on the political side. Elected representatives said

they were being ignored andinsulted and not allowed to workwith the people in their wards.

that as per law this right to fix therateable value is given to the com-missioner while the elected rep-resentatives maintain that if thegeneral body has decided not toaccept it, it can’t be done.After a lot of hue and cry on

this, the commissioner hasagreed to bring down the rise to 5paise from 40 paise now, however,the notification to this effect is yetto come. Sambhaji Moruskar, the BJP

corporator and leader of thehouse, said, “CommissionerTukaram Mundhe does notregard the elected body. Therehave been many instances whereeven the mayor has been insultedby his behaviour. He has noregard for the traditions of thiscity and calls meetings on hisown.”“The rateable value for proper-

ties increased by the commis-sioner is absolutely arbitrarilydone. He has not taken the stand-ing committee, nor the electedrepresentatives in consultationor confidence while doing this,”Moruskar added.The fall out to this standoff has

come in form the standing com-mittee members except for thechairman signing a letter to tablethe no confidence motion. The mayor, deputy mayor and

the BJP leader in the house havebeen vocal to protest against theworking style of the commis-sioner. The BJP has claimed thatall parties have supported theirmove. NCP even while question-ing the BJP has shown its supportfor the no confidence motion,however, Congress is not speak-ing about it.

htmaharashtraExPMPML chief, Mundhe, gets ‘no confidence’ in NashikPOINT OF VIEW The fall out of this standoff has come from standing committee members, except for the chairman, signing a letter to table a noconfidence motion

MUMBAI: A rare seabird, knownas the brown booby, indigenousto the coasts of the Atlantic andPacific oceans, was rescued bylocal fishermen in Vadrai, acoastal village in Palghar onTuesday morning. The bird was reportedly being

attacked by stray dogs, when thelocals spotted the scene andshooed the dogs away. The Brown Booby (Sula leuco-

gaster) is a large seabird hailingfrom the Sulidae family. It iscommonly found on Atlantic andPacific ocean coasts in Americaand Australia, said BhushanBhoir, assistant professor ofzoology, SDSM Dandekar Col-lege, Palghar.The bird was then taken to

Usrane coast in Palghar andreleased. RAM PARMAR

Seabird found in Pacific, Atlantic coasts rescued by Palghar locals

REBELS WITH A CLUE... AND A CAUSE

n Dhangar community people stage a protest rally against the government demanding reservation, in Karad on Wednesday. PTI

Aayushi Pratapn [email protected]

MUMBAI: The Indian Society ofCritical Care (ISCC), one of thelargest bodies of health care pro-fessionals in India, has recom-mended simplifications in theprocedure laid out by theSupreme Court (SC) on ‘passiveeuthanasia’ and living wills, stat-ing that the current procedure islong-drawn and bureaucratic. ‘Passive euthanasia’ refers to

the withdrawal of medical treat-ment with the intention to hastena terminally ill patient’s death. Aliving will, also known asadvanced directive, refers to a sit-uation where the patient givesconsent for withdrawal of lifesupport in the event that he or sheis reduced to a permanent vegeta-tive state with no real chance of

survival.On March 9, 2018, SC passed an

order legalising ‘passive eutha-nasia’ and the creation of livingwills.However, the ISCC hasstated that the procedure is “non-implementable” as doctorsrequire clearances from variouscommittees, which can take up toa month. In a statement released last, SC

recommended that a hospital-level committee, along with thepatient’s family, should beallowed to make decisionsregarding withdrawal of life-sup-porting treatments. “We are proposing a commit-

tee similar to one that takes deci-sions about organ transplants atthe hospital level,” said Dr YatinMehta, president, ISCC. ISCC has proposed a two-tier

system to allow decisions to be

jointly taken between authorisedrelative of the patient and thetreating team of ‘three’ seniordoctors.Doctors have said that in the

six months since the SC order,not many had created living wills.Roop Gurasahani, a neurologistat PD Hinduja and Research Cen-tre, who is part of the group advo-cating for living wills, said “Thejudgment has not translated intoanything workable because theprocedure is too complicated.”Other medical experts, along-

side groups such as Indian Asso-ciation of Palliative Care (IAPC),have also voiced their support forchanges in the procedures. “Wewould also like to point out seri-ous practical difficulties with theimplementation of the procedurelaid down by the SupremeCourt,” said IAPC last month.

E U T H A N A S I A

Iron will to live (and die): Activists seek simpler norms

With people complaints inNashik being addressed on anApp and not through the corpora-tors or the officials now, theelected representatives becameuncomfortable. Mundhe is alsosaid to have taken a stern andstraight stand with the politi-cians, not entertaining themunnecessarily.Working towards making the

system process driven, transpar-ent and result oriented, Mundhealso curbed the extra expenditureof the corporation. This includeda curb on the corporator’s fundsas now he allowed the funds asper the law and according to thebudget.Talking on the issue, Tukaram

Mundhe, said, “I believe that thisno-confidence motion is notagainst me but against good gov-ernance. Last six months I havebeen trying to put the systems inplace. I have been working withutmost transparency. This workis process driven and result ori-ented. “I think the objection to my

work is because it gives no scope

to be individually driven. What Iam implementing is only as perthe law and not outside its pur-view. If work becomes processdriven it will reduce the impor-tance of people and system andwill work efficiently, this is beingseen as harming some vestedinterests. The elected representa-tives getting together termedMundhe style of working as arbi-trary and alleged that he does nottake elected representatives inconfidence while taking deci-sions of the NMC.”The last straw came when the

commissioner increased the rate-able value for property tax from 3paise per sq foot to 40 paise per sqfootand likewise in differing cate-gories. This value was not increased

for many years in the past. Thisincrease now brought buildingsand open spaces which includedplaygrounds, parking, and agri-cultural land in the city under itspurview. The elected generalbody of the corporation reactedby not accepting the resolution.The commissioner maintained

› I have been charged with arbitrarydecisions in my work. However,

I have worked only as per law. Mysystem of work does not threatenanyone, but is based on prioritisation,

in addition, it is time bound and hence, result oriented.TUKARAM MUNDHE, commissioner,Nashik Muncipal Corporation


MUMBAI: Even as the BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP) attempts tomend ties and forge an alliancebefore the 2019 Lok Sabha polls,the Shiv Sena has already initi-ated its candidate selection, withparty chief Uddhav Thackerayconvening a meeting of seniorSena leaders and asking them togear up for the general elections.A senior Sena functionary said

that Thackeray, in a meeting atSena Bhavan on Tuesday, dis-cussed two Lok Sabha constitu-encies — south Mumbai andsouth central Mumbai — andasked the two sitting MPs to startpreparation. “The meeting wasone of many to finalise the strat-egy for Lok Sabha constituencies.The two sitting MPs Arvind Saw-ant (south Mumbai) and RahulShewale (south central Mumbai)would retain their candidature[for 2019],” said a senior Senaleader, who was part of the meet-ing. Thackeray is expected to dis-cuss 10 constituencies in Vidar-bha on Wednesday and with thehelp of his party, draw up a list ofprobable candidates, the seniorleader said. Thackeray’s move is viewed at

as an attempt to put pressure onthe BJP, which has been makingovertures to Sena for an alliancein Lok Sabha and MaharashtraAssembly polls. However, partysecretary and Rajya Sabha MP,Anil Desai, said, “As the electionsare approaching, the meeting wasa review meeting for prepara-tion.” Party spokesperson Man-isha Kayande said, “Uddhavjigave guidance to all leaders and other office-bearers on how to goahead with planning. On theorganisational front, he reviewedwhether any appoints wereremaining.”

Uddhav begins candidate selection for 2019 polls

‘PAWAR’S LS POLL REMARK HIS OPINION’MUMBAI: A day after Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar said the party with the highest number of seats among the opposition allies would claim for the prime minister’s (PM’s) post, senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said his party would strive to achieve that very goal for Rahul Gandhi. “Whatever Pawar said was his personal opinion. We are determined to make our party president [Gan-dhi] PM after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections,” he said.

Kharge, who is also the Congress in-charge for Maharashtra, said like-minded parties should join hands to keep the BJP away from power in the 2019 polls. HTC

n Sharad Pawar HT FILE


MUMBAI: Paving way for begin-ning trial in 2008 Malegaon blastcase, the special court set up tohear the case is likely to framecharges against five accusednamely Sadhvi Pragya SinghThakur, Major Ramesh Upad-hyay, Sameer Kulkarni, AjayRahirkar, Lt. Col Prasad Puro-hit, Sudhakar Dwivedi aliasSwami Amritanand andSudhakar Chaturvedi.The special judge VS Padalkar

has asked all the five accused toremain present on September 5,when the court is schedule toframe charges against theaccused to begin the trial.

The order came after the courton Wednesday rejected the appli-cation filed by Purohit seeking tostay the trial till his applicationfiled before the higher courts aredecided. The special court on Wednes-

day rejected Purohit’s plea hold-ing that there is no stay from any

higher court to commence thetrial in the case.Along with Purohit, Sadhvi

and other accused haveapproached the Bombay HighCourt for discharge. The special court had in

December 2017 rejected dis-charge plea of Sadhvi, Purohit,

Upadhyay and Kulkarni.In December 2017, the special

court had ordered to drop thecharges of Maharashtra Controlof Organised Crime Act(MCOCA) against all the accusedbooked in connection with 2008Malegaon blast case. Since the order of the court,

the case has been pending forframing of the charges and onlyafter that the court would beginthe trial in the case.Meanwhile the special judge

issued a non bailable warrantagainst Dwivedi as he failed toremain present before the court.The court observed that neitherdid he appear nor his lawyerwith an application seekingexemption from appearance.

2 0 0 8 M A L E G AO N B L A S T

Court to frame charges against five accused

n The blast had killed four persons and injured 79. HT FILE PHOTO


ASSAMTOREMAINUNDERAFSPA FORSIXMOREMONTHSGUWAHATI:TheAssamgovernmentonWednesday extended applica-tion of the controversial ArmedForces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 inthe state for sixmoremonths. TheAct gives special rights and immu-nity to security forces in carryingout operations in “disturbed” areas.“As per powers conferred underSection 3 of the (AFSPA), theGovernor of Assamhas declared theentire State of Assamas ‘DisturbedArea’ upto 6 (six)months beyond28th August 2018, unlesswithdrawnearlier,” an official release said.Many civil society groups andactivists have been demandingwithdrawal of theAct fromAssamclaiming violation of human rightsby the armed forces.

Former Odisha accountantgeneral joins ruling BJDBHUBANESWAR: Former account-ant general of Odisha,West Bengaland Kerala, Amar Patnaikwhoseaudit reports on land allotmentscamhad rubbed the bureaucratsand politicians of Odisha thewrongway today joined the ruling BJD.Patnaik, an 1990 batch officer ofIndian Audit and Accounts Sevice,would head the ITwing of BJD.“Amar Patnaik has a very richexperience ofworking inmanystates and his joiningwill definitelystrengthen the party. Hewill head

the ITwing of BJD,” said the chiefminister, welcoming him to theparty. The former accountantgeneral said he believed inNaveenPatnaik’s strong leadership. “I wasalso inspired bymy associationwithlateBiju Patnaik. These factorspropelledme to leave the serviceand join theparty,” he said.

NTR’s son Nandamuri diesin Telangana road accidentHYDERABAD:Nandamuri Hari-krishna, former TeluguDesamPartyMP and son of former AndhraPradesh chiefminister N TRamaRao, died in a road accident inTelangana’s Nalgonda district onWednesdaymorning. Nalgondapolice said Harikrishna (61)wasspeedingwhen he lost control overthe steering and rammed it into thedivider at Anaparthi village on theNarketpalli-Addanki state highway.His SUV hit another vehicle before itoverturned, causing severe headinjuries to him. He breathed his lastabout 7.45 amat the hospital, saidpolice. Amember of his family saidHarikrishnawas on hisway toattend themarriage of a TDPleader’s son. The funeral will takeplace at Harikrishna’s farmhouse inMoinabad on Thursday, the familymember added. Telangana chiefminister K Chandrasekhar Rao hasannounced a state funeral for him.Harikrishna is survivedby twowives Lakshmi and Shalini and twosonsNTRamaRao Jr andNandam-uri Kalyan Ram, both popular Teluguheroes and a daughter Suhasini.

shortstories

POLLOFTHEDAY

Will heritage city tag for Agra helpprotect the TajMahal?

60%Yes

29%No

11%Don’t know/ Can’t say

Total votes till 6.40 PM: 305

webpoll

ZiaHaqn [email protected]

NEWDELHI: Fast-track courts totryrape,nowthepreferredjudi-cial option, need backing infra-structureandallied facilities tomake a difference, studies anddata show.India has further toughened

rapelawsbyamendingitscrimi-nalcode.InthemonsoonsessionofParliamentendingAugust10,the government replaced TheCriminal Law (Amendment)Ordinance,2018withTheCrimi-nalLaw(Amendment)Bill,2018.The changes involve harsherpunishment for rape and willallowthegovernmenttodoublethenumberof fast-trackcourts.Thelawministryiscurrently

preparing a scheme to set upmore such fast-track courts,which are administered bystates, and augment theirresources,agovernment official

said.The latest changes follow a

sweeping overhaul initiated intheprosecutionofrapeoffencesfollowingthehorrificgangrapeandmurderofaDelhiwomaninDecember2012.Since the 2012 gang rape and

murder,rapecaseshavejumped60% till 2016, the latest year forwhich data are available.AccordingtotheNationalCrimeRecords Bureau, trials in over133,000rapecaseswerependingin2016.This year, the gang rape and

murderofaneight-year-oldgirlin Jammu and Kashmir’sKathuaandrapeofateenagerinUttar Pradesh’s Unnao districtsparked protests.The new changes in law

increased the punishment forrape of girls below 12 years toeither20yearsinjail, life impris-onmentordeath.Incaseofgang-rape of girls between 16 and 11

years,thehighestpunishmentisa life term.Tworeportsthatanalysedthe

functioningof fast-trackcourtsfoundtheyadheredtonormsbutalsopointedout weaknessesinpre-trial and trialphases.Fast-track courts were first

recommended by the 11thFinanceCommission(2000-2005),the constitutional body thatdivides financial resourcesbetween theCentreandstates.AftertheDecember2012gang

rape in Delhi, fast-track courtswere adopted as the preferredmeans for all rape cases for

speedy prosecution. There are727fast-trackcourtsfunctioningacrossIndia,accordingtoareplyby MoS for law and justice, PPChaudhury, in Lok Sabha onAugust 8, 2018 .The latest amendments

require that a probe into childrapemust be completedwithintwo months, down from threemonthsearlier.Also,allappealsagainstarapeverdictmustalsobe disposed of within sixmonths.Fast-track courts often face

the same structural hurdles asnormal courts. A study by thePartners for Law in Develop-ment(PLD),whichmonitored16casesof rape trials in fourof thesix fast-track courts in Delhifrom February 2014 to March2015, relies on interviews withthe survivors. Its accountsshowed“inconsistencyinimple-menting the law”, the reportstates.“Court practices vary,

showing a degree o finconsistency in the applica-tion,” it notes. Defence ques-tions are “inevitably hostile”,designed to “imply consent”.Guidelines therefore requirequestions during cross-exami-nation tobe routed to the survi-vor throughapresidingofficer.“This isnotanestablishedprac-tice,” it states.Gyanant Singh, a Supreme

Courtadvocate, said: “Remem-ber, fast-track courts are alsomeant to act as a deterrent. Inthe Indian context, fast-trackcourtsdon’tmeanaccuseddon’tgeta fair trial.”A review of 145 verdicts in

KarnatakabytheCentreforLawandPolicyResearchfoundfast-track courts didn’t have “suffi-cientresources”.Theywerealsonot able to deal with a key con-straint: theveryhigh incidenceof both complainants and wit-nesses turninghostile.

Fast-track courts for rape need infra push: StudiesSINCE THEDEC 16,2012 DELHI GANGRAPEANDMURDER , DATASHOWSTHATRAPECASES JUMPED60% TILL 2016

unearththeseweapons,”allegedstate foodandsuppliesministerJyotipriyoMullick.“Policecouldnotenterthevil-

lagesformorethantwohours.Atleast 16 to 17 persons wereinjured. They were admitted tohospitals and nursing homes inBarasat(headquartersofthedis-trict)andKolkata,”Mullick,whois also the party president ofNorth24Parganasdistrict,said.“Power connection was

severed to takeadvantageof thedarknessandmounttheattacks,”saidthelocalMLA.Mullick also alleged that

CPI(M) workers are smugglingfirearmsintoNorth24ParganasdistrictfromBangladeshwiththehelp of the BJP. The districtsharesaborderwiththecountry.Morethanhalfadozenpeople,

including CPI(M) district com-mittee member Ahmed Khan,havebeenarrestedinconnection

n Clashes broke out in two district of West Bengal on August 25 overthe formation of panchayat boards. PTI

soning. However, soon, he wasshifted to Mumbai, the stateadministration informed thatthe chief minister would be“unavailablefornexttwodaysashe has to undergo a routinehealthcheck-up inMumbai”.OnFebruary16, thestategov-

ernmentinformedthatthechiefminister “is well and underobservation. He is likely to bedischargedinadayortwo.It isacaseofmildpancreatitis”.Thenextday,however, itwas

reported that thechiefministerwas “under monitoring for hisinflamed pancreas” with theassumption that his treatmentwould be longer than initiallyanticipated and theGoa assem-bly’s budget session, initiallyplanned for three weeks, wascurtailed toonly fourdays.Parrikar was admitted to a

NewYork State-based hospitalon March 5 and he remainedthere for a period of threemonths. The chief ministerreturned on June 14 for theassembly’smonsoonsession.


PANAJI: Barely a week after hereturnedfromtheUS,GoachiefministerManoharParrikarwillreturn there for treatment.“His family wishes that he

shouldbecheckedbythedoctorswhotreatedhiminitially,whichiswhyheis travellingto theUS.I’ve spoken to him and he hassaid that he is feeling fine. I donot expect that he will be awayfortoolong,butwewillsee,”thechiefminister’spresssecretarysaidonWednesday.The decision to travel to the

USwas takenonTuesdaynightand the state cabinet wasinformed onWednesdaymorn-ing.Parrikar,whohadreturnedto

Goa from the US on August 22,was unexpectedly hospitalisedatMumbai’sLilavatiHospitaladaylaterafterhewenttherefor,what the chief minister’s officedescribedas, “routine tests”.Initially, he was expected to

returntothestateonAugust25,whichgotdelayed.ParrikarhadleftfortheUSfor

his second follow-up visit onAugust 10.Thechiefministerunderwent

a three-month-long treatmentforapancreaticailmentatahos-pital in theUnitedStates.Parrikar was first hospital-

isedonFebruary14forwhatwasreported tobeacaseof foodpoi-

Parrikar to fly backto US for check-up

n Manohar Parrikar

NEWDELHI: The government hasnotified an amendment to therulesforadmissiontoMPhilandPhDprogrammesinuniversitiesacross the country, lowering by5%themarkscut-offforstudentsfrom Scheduled Castes, Sched-uledTribesandOtherBackwardClasses to fill mounting vacan-cies inreservedseats.Called ‘Minimum Standards

and Procedure for Award ofMPhil/PhDDegrees(1stAmend-ment)Regulations2018’,thenoti-ficationissuedbytheUniversityGrants Commission says “arelaxation of 5%ofmarks, from50% to 45%, shall be allowed forthe candidates belonging toSC/ST/OBC (Non Creamy layers)/DifferentlyAbledcategoryintheexamination conducted by theUniversities”.HT had first reported on

August 23 that the governmentwasplanningtoissuesuchanoti-fication. The notification alsopermitsuniversitiestolaunchanadmissiondrive to fill seats thatremainvacantdespitetherelaxa-tion.“Providedfurtherthat, if inspiteoftheaboverelaxation,theseats allotted for SC/ST/OBC(NonCreamylayer)/Differently-Abledcategoriesremainunfilled,theconcernedUniversitiesshalllaunch a Special AdmissionDrive, for that particular cate-gorywithinonemonth fromthedate of closure of admissions ofGeneral Category. The con-cernedUniversitywilldeviseitsownadmissionprocedure,alongwith eligibility conditions toensure that most of the seatsunderthesecategoriesarefilled,”thenotificationreads.RSubrahmanyam,secretary,

highereducation,HRD,hadear-liersaidthegovernmentwashop-ing themovewouldhelp reducevacancies in courses. “The gov-ernment is concerned with thereducednumbersofPhDadmis-sionsfromSC/STcategoriesafterthe introduction of the two-stepadmissionprocess,”hesaid.HTC

CENTRE LOWERSPHD AND MPHILCUTOFFS FORSC/ST STUDENTS

PREPPINGFORGANESHCHATURTHI

n Preparations in full swing for Ganesh Chaturthi, which will be celebrated on September 13.An artist gives final touches to an idol of Ganesha, in Amritsar onWednesday. AFP


LAHORE: IndiaandPakistancom-mencedcrucialtalksonWednes-day on various aspects of theIndus Waters Treaty here, thefirstbilateralengagementsincePakistanPrimeMinisterImranKhantookoffice.Thefirstroundofthetwo-day

meeting is being held at theNationalEngineeringServices,Pakistan.The water commissioners of

PakistanandIndiaarerequiredtomeettwiceayearandarrangetechnical visits to project sitesand critical river head works,but Pakistan had been facing alot of problems in timely meet-ingsandvisits, a sourcesaid.TheIndiansideisbeingrepre-

sented by a delegation of theIndianWaterCommissionledbyCommissioner PK Saxenawhereas Pakistan Commis-sioner for Indus Waters SyedMeherAli Shah andhis delega-tionare representingPakistan,it said.Both the countries are

expectedtopresenttheirreportsduringthetalks.Afterthemeet-ing,ajointnotificationwouldbeissued.On Tuesday, Shah and addi-

tional commissioner SherazJamilreceivedthenine-memberIndiandelegationledbySaxenaon its arrival here via Wagahborder.The talkswillbe the firstoffi-

cial engagement between IndiaandPakistansinceKhanbecameprimeministeronAugust 18.The lastmeeting of the Paki-

stan-India Permanent IndusCommission was held in NewDelhi in March during whichboththesideshadshareddetailsof thewater flow and the quan-tum of water being used underthe1960 IndusWatersTreaty.IndiaandPakistansignedthe

treaty in1960afternineyearsofnegotiations, with the WorldBankbeingasignatory.The treaty sets out a mecha-

nism for cooperationand infor-

mation exchange between thetwo countries regarding theiruseoftherivers.However,therehave been disagreements anddifferences between India andPakistanover the treaty.Shah on Tuesday said Paki-

stan has raised objections on1000MW Pakal Dul and 48MWLowerKalnaihydroelectricpro-jects on River Chenab and adetailed discussionwill be heldduring the talks.“Wehadalsoraisedconcerns

over construction of dams onPakistani rivers and India didnot bother about it and contin-ueddoingthesame,”Shahsaid,adding Indiawill reply to Paki-stan’s queries on controversialwaterprojects.FormerPakistanIndusWater

CommissionerSyedJamaatAliShahtoldPTIthatthesuccessivePakistani governments hadgiven much importance to itswaterdisputeswith India.“India does not bother Paki-

stan in this regard. It beginswork on building hydro powerprojectsonthePakistani rivers

and the Pakistani governmentraises objections afterwards.Unless the Pakistani govern-ment seriously takes up thesematterswithIndiaitwillnotgetrelief,” he said and added thatPakistan also needs to plead itscase in theWorldBank.Accordingtoanofficialof the

Pakistan Water Commission,Pakistanhasbeenraisingreser-vations over the designs of thetwo projects —1000MW PakalDul and 48MW Lower KalnaihydroelectricprojectsonRiverChenab—andwould like Indiato either modify the designs tomake them compliant to 1960IndusWaters Treaty or put theprojectsonholduntilDelhisatis-fies Islamabad.“The two sides will in talks

also finalise the schedule offuture meetings of the Perma-nentIndusCommissionandvis-itsof theteamsoftheInduscom-missioners,” theofficial said.Pakistanhasalsochallenged

the discharge series of RiverLowerKalnaiatDunadiforwin-ter months and estimated per-missible pondage of 0.38 cubicmegametrescomparedtoIndiandesign pondage of 2.74 cubicmegametres.TheLowerKalnaiprojectisonaleftbanktributaryof Chenab and can have grossstorageofabout1,508acrefeetofwater.

India-Pak talks on IndusWatersTreaty commence

n India and Pakistan’s water commissioners are required to meettwice a year and arrange technical visits to project sites. REUTERS FILE

THE INDIANDELEGATIONIS LEDBYPKSAXENAANDSYEDMEHERALISHAH IS REPRESENTINGPAKISTAN IN THEMEET

PressTrustof Indian [email protected]

JAMMU:A special court here onWednesday remanded deputysuperintendentofAmphallajail,Feroz Ahmed Lone, who wasarrestedbytheNIAinanallegedterror conspiracy case, in ninedaysofpolicecustody.Hearingtheapplicationseek-

ing Lone’s police custody,National Investigation Agency(NIA) special judge HaqNawazsaid,“Iheardandperusedthefileasanapplicationfortheremand.TheprayermadebyNIAseemstobe genuine and as such, thepresentapplicationisallowed.”Feroz Lone was arrested by

theNIAonTuesdayforallegedlyhelping one IshaqPalla in send-

ing Kashmiri youths — SuhailAhmadBhatandDanishGhulamLone — to Pakistan-occupiedKashmir for“armstraining”.TheNIAsaidameetinginthis

regard tookplaceonOctober25,2017,attheCentraljail,Srinagar,where Feroz Lone was thenpostedasdeputyjailsuperintend-ent.“Palla,aresidentofShopian,waslodgedintheSrinagarjail inadifferentcaseandhewasinstru-mental in hatching the conspir-acy from there. Hewas activelyassisted by Feroz Lone,” theagencyalleged.Bhat and Danish Lone were

arrestedneartheLineofControlwhiletryingtocrossovertoPoKonOctober30,2017.“...They were motivated by

Palla,” theNIAsaid.

‘ T ERROR CONSP IRACY CASE ’

Dy jail chief sent to9-day police custody

MirEhsann [email protected]

SRINAGAR:JammuandKashmir’sbiggest indigenous militantgroup haswarned the people ofacidattacksiftheyparticipateinthe localbodies’polls scheduledto be held from September toDecember.The warning from Hizbul

Mujahideen (HM) on Tuesdaycameasofficialssaidtheprepara-tions for holding the electionswereinfinalstagesandthedatesfor them could be announcedsoon.Asmanyas 16 sarpanches(panchayat heads) and panchs(rural local bodies’ members)havebeenkilledoverthelastfouryears.Arecord75%voterturnoutwas recorded when Panchayatpollswerelastheld in2011.“Thosepeoplewhoare think-

ing about participating in thepolls should also get shroudsalongwithelectionforms,’’HM’soperational commander RiyazNaikoo warned in a purportedaudiomessage.Naikoo accused

the armed forces of harassing“innocentpeopleandransackingtheirproperties”astheypreparethe ground for holding the elec-tions. He said they have gothydrochloric and sulfuric acidand those participating in thepollsshouldremainprepared.Naikoo said the Armywould

guard the house of allegedinformer Shameema Bano inSouth Kashmir’s Pulwama toprotect her from them after tip-

ping the forces about HM com-mander Sameer Tiger’s where-abouts.“Howlongcouldthe for-ces manage to protect her,’’ hesaid,referringtoBano’smurderonAugust17.TigerwaskilledinApril.Naikoo claimed they can kill

anybodyatanyplace.“Wedonothave personal animosity withanybody,butthepeoplewhowillworkagainstourstruggleorsac-rificeswillbepunished.’’

Hecriticisedthemediaforfail-ing“tohighlighttheatrocitiesofthe forces”andblamedthemfor“working for the intelligenceagencies”.“Thenewsportrayingmilitantsnegativelygetspromi-nencewhile houses ofmilitantsandotherpeople,whichgetran-sacked, find very little space ontheinner(newspaper)pages.’’Militantshaveissuedpollboy-

cott calls since 1996 when firstelections were held in the statefollowing the beginning of thearmedinsurgencyin1980s.Authoritieshaveretainedover

16,000central forcesdeployedinKashmir for the Amarnath pil-grimage for security during thelocalbodies’polls.Theelectionswere due in January but theyweredeferredafterthe PDP-BJPcoalition government told theCentrethesituationwasnotcon-ducive forthem.Theelectoralprocesshasbeen

acceleratedsincetheimpositionof governor’s rule in June aftertheBJPwithdrewsupporttothecoalitiongovernment.

LOCAL BODY ELECT IONS

Hizb warns people over poll participation

n Security personnel take positions near the house where militantswere hiding during the encounter, which led to the killing of twoHizbul members, in Anantnag, Kashmir, onWednesday. PTI

picoftheday

n A cobbler fixes an umbrella at his roadside shack in Dharmsala,which is currently receiving heavy rains, onWednesday. AP


KOLKATA:Atleastfourpeoplewerekilled and 17 injured in two dis-trictsofWestBengallateonTues-day inclashes that eruptedoverthe formation of panchayatboardsfollowingtheelectionstotheruralbodiesinmid-May,tak-ing the death toll to ten sinceAugust 25, officials said onWednesday.Three men died in North 24

Parganas’Amdangablock,about35km from Kolkata, in clasheswhich broke out allegedlybetween twoparties.NasibHal-der, 25, and Kuddus Ghani, 33,were members of ruling Trina-mool Congress and MujaffarAhmed, 31, was a CommunistPartyofIndia(Marxist)worker.Trinamool Congress worker

Khairul Haque, a resident ofNorth Dinajpur district, wasadmittedtoahospitalinSiliguri’sNorthBengalMedicalCollegeonTuesday but succumbed to hisinjuries later inthenight.“CPI(M)-backed goons

launched the attacks inAmdanga. I was told they evenhaveassaultriflesintheirposses-sion.Wewillaskthepolicetocon-duct searches in every house to

with the violence. Khan wasarrestedfromthehospitalprem-ises in Barasat. Some localsclaimed they left their homesafter the clashes, which startedabout 7pm,andhad tospend thenight inthefields.Leaders of the CPI(M), how-

ever, alleged that the rulingparty’ssupportersattackedthemtopreventthemfromformingtheboardinTaraberiagrampancha-yat.Theformationofpanchayatboards in Taraberia, Bodai andMaricha under Amdanga werepostponedbytheadministration.Schools in the area remainedclosedonWednesday.A large number of policemen

were deployed in the areaWednesday and several crudebombswere recovered fromtheareainthemorning.

htnationFourmorekilledinBengalviolence,toll risesto10PANCHAYAT BOARDS STIR Deceased are identified as three TMC, one CPI(M) members

POLICEHAVEARRESTEDMORE THANHALFADOZENPEOPLE,INCLUDINGCPI(M)DISTRICT COMMITTEEMEMBERAHMEDKHAN,FROMTHEHOSPITALPREMISES INBARASAT

...THE RBI IN ITS ANNUAL REPORT HAS VINDICATED OUR APPREHENSION.99.3% OF THE MONEY HAS COME BACK... WHERE HAS THE BLACKMONEY GONE?

>MAMATABANERJEE, WestBengal chiefminister

HINDUSTAN T IMES , PUNETHURSDAY, AUGUST 30, 2018 hindustantimes nation 07

tion with the Centre.“We have been told that no

modern activity can take placeonce a city gets a heritage tag,”Bhatti said. But, the court askedUP government to submit theproposal before the next date ofhearing, which is September 25.Ahmedabad last year became

the first Indian city to get theworld heritage city status, joiningcities such as Paris, Vienna,Rome, Edinburgh and Brussels,entailing special measures for theprotection and conservation of itsheritage structures.Dhote was asked to address the

court on the vision document.She informed the bench that theteam entrusted with the task wastaking into account larger per-spective such as pollution andgreen cover to prepare the docu-ment. When asked whether thegovernment had give her the fig-ures on the number of industriesin the TTZ, an area of 10,400square metres around the Taj,Dhote said the data her teamreceived turned out to be incor-rect. “So we are awaiting freshfigures,” she informed the bench.“This is the problem. If you get

incorrect information then youvision document would also be

incorrect,” justice Lokur told thelawyers appearing for the Centreand UP government.Additional Solicitor General

(ASG) Tushar Mehta, also repre-senting UP government, assuredthe court that the SPA teamwould prepare a comprehensiveplan after taking into account thesuggestions from expert bodiessuch as the Aga Khan Founda-tion, the Indian National Trustfor Art and Cultural Heritage(INTACH) and the InternationalCouncil on Monuments and Sites.Nadkarni said the Archaeolog-

ical Survey of India’s (ASI) was inthe process of preparing a heri-tage plan for the Taj which wouldbe filed with UNESCO (UnitedNations Educational, Scientificand Cultural Organisation) inthree months.At the end of the hearing, the

court asked petitioner and envi-ronmentalist M C Mehta, to sub-mit his suggestion to the SPApanel within a week. Mehta, alawyer, had filed the petition twodecades ago. Justice Lokur told Dhote that

the restoration plan must includerevival of the Yamuna river andalso a green cover around the TajMahal.

HT Correspondent n [email protected]

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court onTuesday expressed its reserva-tions over the proposed standardoperating procedure (SOP) sug-gested by the union governmentto deal with the claims of four mil-lion persons excluded from theNational Register for Citizens(NRC) in Assam even as it sug-gested that the coordinator of theexercise Prateek Hajela explorethe possibility of reverifying 10%of the data to ensure it was error-free. The register was itself man-

dated by the court as part of aneffort to identify illegal migrantsin the state. A bench of justices Ranjan

Gogoi and RF Nariman said theCentre’s decision that claimantscan submit “additional admissi-ble legacy and linkage docu-ments” would lead to “undesira-ble consequences” and couldeffectively mean restarting thewhole process. Justice Gogoipointed out that a person whoselegacy document has been

rejected earlier can come backwith a fresh claim of legacy, per-haps even showing another per-son as a grandfather. This couldlead to anomalous situation asthe entire “family tree” would bechanged by a person if he isallowed to file additional docu-ments, Justice Gogoi remarked.The court also asked Hajela to

file in a sealed cover by Septem-ber 4, a note on the possible rami-fications if the Centre’s SOP is fol-lowed. The bench indicated thatthe process of filing claims andobjections will commence fromSeptember 7 instead of August 30.Hajela was also asked to look

into the possibility of reverifying10% of NRC data, district-wise, byan independent team to satisfyitself that no error has “crept into

the draft.” The court took onrecord the data filed before it byHajela on the district-wise per-centage of people left out of NRCexercise. The court suggestedthat the reverification could becarried out in a district by peoplemanning NRC Seva Kendras. Thebench said it would like Hajela tolet it know that, if possible, whensuch an exercise could be startedand how long it would take. Former Assam chief minister

Prafulla Kumar Mahanta said:“Proper verification should bedone in all those districts whichhave seen unusual growth in pop-ulation against the national aver-age. NRC revision should be doneto ensure foreigners are deletedand genuine Indian citizens whohave been left out are included.’

Samujjal Bhattacharya,advisor to All Assam StudentsUnion, which led the Assam Agi-tation, said the SC order willensure corrections in NRC. “Atleast 10 lakh Bangladeshis haveentered the NRC draft,” saidPalash Changmai, general secre-tary of Assam Jatiyatabadi YubaChhatra Parishad, another stu-dent’s body, who wanted that thepeople should be allowed to givenew legacy documents for theircitizenship claim. “Reverification of 10 percent

people is a big exercise. Ideallyverification should only be doneof those people against whomcomplaints have been filed,” saidAminul Islam, the General Secre-tary of All India United Demo-cratic Front.

Reverify 10% of NRC, suggests top court

n The process of filing claims and objections for NRC will commence from Sept 7HT Correspondent

n [email protected]

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Courtsuggested on Tuesday that Agrabe designated a heritage city toprotect the Taj Mahal, citing theexample of Ahmedabad, andurged experts preparing a visiondocument on the 17th centuryMughal monument to take intoaccount industries running in theTaj Trapezium Zone (TTZ) andthe impact of pollution.“If Taj Mahal goes once, you

will not get a second chance,” jus-tice MB Lokur told conservationexpert Meenakshi Dhote of theSchool of Planning and Architec-ture (SPA). Dhote heads the SPAteam that prepared a draft visiondocument to preserve Taj Mahalat the behest of the Uttar Pradeshgovernment.The judge told Dhote that she

must proceed with confidence onthe final vision document andcould approach the court for anyassistance if she felt she was notreceiving sufficient help fromgovernment officials. A finalvision document should be givento the court within a month, thebench said.Additional advocate general

(AAG) for Uttar Pradesh Aish-warya Bhatti said the stateneeded two months to place a pro-posal before the Centre, whichhas recently written to the stategovernment on the Taj Mahal.Justice Deepak Gupta ,who

was also a part of the bench hear-ing the case, along with JusticeSA Nazeer, found it surprisingthat the Uttar Pradesh govern-ment had so long to submit a pro-posal to the Centre to secure aheritage city tag for Agra.“Ahmedabad was recently

declared a heritage city, thenwhat is the problem in Agra get-ting the tag?. Ahmedabad is also amodern city, with modern ameni-ties,” said Justice Gupta. Additional solicitor general

AS Nadkarni informed the benchthat Centre had written to UPgovernment three days back andwas yet to receive a response onthe matter. Bhatti said the planwould be prepared in consulta-

SC seeks heritage city tag for Agra STRONG PITCH Apex court cites Ahmedabad as example to save Taj

WHAT DOES A WORLD HERITAGE CITY GET n Global recognition and attention, leading to increased tourism and business

n Funding for protection and conservation

n Protection under the Geneva Convention from destruction during war

n Participation in global heritageand preservation projects

Anonna Duttn [email protected]

NEW DELHI: The central govern-ment on Tuesday constituted anew 21-member advisory panelon science, technology and inno-vation under the chairmanshipof the principal scientific advisorProfessor K VijayRaghavan.The new council will also be

responsible for implementingvarious programmes throughgovernment bodies.“This is a whole new pro-

gramme and gives a fresh direc-tion to country’s science andtechnology sector. The councilwill advise the PM on science,technology, as well as innova-tion, but also coordinate theimplementation of the PM’svision,” said Raghavan. The council must “actively aid

in the formulation and timelyimplementation of major scienceand technology missions” and“evolve interdisciplinary tech-nology development pro-grammes,” the governmentorder stated.The new council has nine

members including Dr VK Sar-aswat, member of NITI Aayogand former director general ofDefence Research and Develop-ment Organisation, Dr AS KiranKumar, former chairman of

Indian Space Research Organi-sation, and Maj Gen MadhuriKanitkar, dean of Armed ForceMedical College, Pune. Manjul Bhargava, professor

at Princeton University and aFields medal winner, SubhashKak, professor from OklahomaState University, and Baba Kaly-ani, the managing director ofBharat Forge, an Indian multi-national corporation are alsomembers of the council.Apart from the nine members,

the council will also have twelvespecial invitees — eleven ex offi-cio secretaries of various depart-ments including healthresearch, atomic energy andhigher education and one mem-ber invited by the chair.“This is a good move because

the scientific advisory bodieshad been defunct for a whilenow. These bodies have a greatrole to play and ideally all gov-ernment decisions should bebased on their advise. In my

view, the composition of thecouncil should be such that thereare more practicing scientistsrather than bureaucrats and sci-entists who are now in adminis-trative roles,” said ProfessorSoumitro Banerjee, General Sec-retary of the Breakthrough Sci-ence Society that organisedMarch for Science in India.In the last year of its term, the

Modi-government has set up thenew body Prime Minister’s Sci-ence, Technology and Innova-tion Advisory Council(PM-STIAC). This will replace the two exist-

ing scientific advisory bodies --Scientific Advisory Committeeto the Prime Minister and to theCabinet. These committees, which had

been set up in 1999 under the Vaj-payee government, had a termsame as the elected governmentand had not been working afterthe Modi government decidednot to reconstitute it in 2014.“The new council will not go

out with the current govern-ment. This council is concernedwith the national effort and willremain in office till it is reconsti-tuted. This is being done nowbecause till about three monthsback there was no principal sci-entific advisor,” said VijayRa-ghavan.

F R E S H I M P E T U S

21-member panel to advise PM on science, technology

THE NEW COUNCIL, TO BE LED BY PRINCIPAL SCIENTIFIC ADVISOR PROFESSOR K VIJAYRAGHAVAN, HAS NINE MEMBERS

Paramita Ghoshn [email protected]

BENGALURU: There are many histo-ries — subaltern, institutional, todo with movements — that tellthe story of a nation, its crests,troughs, flows and stasis. Since2004, the New Indian Foundation(NIF), a Bangalore-based trust,has been sponsoring quality andoriginal research on differentaspects of independent India. Thefirst Kamaladevi ChattopadhyayNIF Book Prize to be announcedin the last week of October, dur-ing the Bangalore Literature Fes-tival, is out with its shortlist.The six books shortlisted for

the NIF’s prize this year areAbhinav Chandrachud’s TheRepublic of Rhetoric: Free Speechand the Constitution of India(Penguin Random House, India);Aanchal Malhotra’s Remnants ofa Separation: A History of Parti-tion Through Material Memory(HarperCollins); AnirudhKrishna’s The Broken Ladder:The Paradox and Potential ofIndia’s One Billion (Penguin Ran-dom House, India); SujathaGidla’s Ants Among Elephants:An Untouchable Family and theMaking of Modern India (Harper-Collins); Milan Vaishnav’s WhenCrime Pays: Money and Musclein Indian Politics (Yale Univer-sity Press); and Francesca R Jen-senius’s Social Justice ThroughInclusion: The Consequences ofElectoral Quotas in India (OxfordUniversity Press, New York).Open to scholars and writers of

all nationalities, the eligiblebooks were picked from thosepublished in 2017. The award car-ries a cash award of ₹15 lakh anda citation.Commenting on the shortlist,

the chairman of the jury, Rama-chandra Guha, said: “We werevery pleased with the range anddiversity of the submissions.With memoir, oral history, politi-cal theory and public policy allrepresented on it, the shortlistreflects the Foundation’s ecu-menical charter of recognisinghigh-quality non-fiction regard-less of genre and ideology.”Why has NIF always focused

on the history of modern/con-temporary India, consideringancient and medieval India is alsoa fertile ground for research andinterpretation? “The focus onpost-1947 India is deliberate,”says Manish Sabharwal, trustee,New India Foundation. “As our

fellow trustee, Ram Guha, oftenreminds us, in the many decadessince Independence there hasbeen a large body of work pro-duced by historians and socialscientists. Taken singly, many ofthese studies are impressive;viewed cumulatively, they add upto much less than what one mightexpect. Most historians do notlook beyond the attainment ofIndependence, while social scien-tists do not look back at all.”The foundation, says Sabhar-

wal, was set up to fill a gap. “Therewere not enough books beingwritten on post-1947 India. Fifteen years later, 55% of our

fellowships have converted into anumber of diverse history ofinstitutions (on the Gita Press,Tata Institute of FundamentalResearch), of cities (Ahmedabad),individuals (C Rajagopalachari,JC Kumarappa), and groups(post-reform entrepreneurs, ITindustry, Quraishi butchers, Adi-vasis, Chakmas) and movements(Hindu Code Bill, biodiversitypreservation, turtle conserva-tion) and much else,” Sabhar-wal said.The prize, named after Kama-

ladevi Chattopadhyay — a pio-neer in theatre and handicraft,and a social reformer — will notconsider books published by NIFfellows.

6 shortlisted for NIF book prizeto be given in Oct

IN THE RACE Abhinav Chandrachud’s The Republic of Rhetoric: Free Speech and the Constitution of India (Penguin Random House, India)Aanchal Malhotra’s Remnants of a Separation: A History of Partition Through Material Memory (HarperCollins)Anirudh Krishna’s The Broken Ladder: The Paradox and Potential of India’s One Billion (Penguin Random House, India)Sujatha Gidla’s Ants Among Elephants: An Untouchable Family and the Making of Modern India (HarperCollins)Milan Vaishnav’s When Crime Pays: Money and Muscle in Indian Politics (Yale University Press)Francesca R Jensenius’s Social Justice Through Inclusion: The Consequences of Electoral Quotas in India (Oxford Univer-sity Press, New York).

Sumanta Ray Chaudhurin [email protected]

KOLKATA: West Bengal chief minis-ter Mamata Banerjee turned heraddress at the foundation day ofher Trinamool Congress (TMC)’sstudent wing into a full-fledgedpolitical speech on Tuesday, urg-ing activists to respond “vigor-ously” on social media to mem-bers of the Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP)-led dispensation atthe Centre .“Are you on Facebook and

Twitter? Wield the cyber tools. Ifthere is one jibe, respond so vigor-ously that they run away,” shesaid at a public rally of more than100,000 students in Kolkata.“Never believe what BJP says

on Facebook and Twitter. Theyare constantly trying to spreadlies. Reply to every single false-hood propagated by them with atleast 10 fitting retorts,” said thechief minister.Banerjee’s comments come at

a time the TMC and other opposi-

tion parties are bracing for LokSabha elections in 2019 in whichsocial media is expected to be animportant campaign platform. Inpreparation for the elections, theTMC has revamped its cyber unitto take on the BJP, which hasbeen seeking to make inroads

into West Bengal. On June 20,TMC kicked off a series of work-shops for 200 master cyber train-ers who went back to their respec-tive areas to select volunteers andcoach them.The party announced the for-

mation of a 40,000-strong digital

unit headed by Trinamool LokSabha MP and the chief minis-ter’s nephew, Abhishek Banerjee “The ruling party of Bengal is

a symbol of falsehood and corrup-tion. The chief minister had to sayit (what she did) to inspire her fol-lowers,” BJP Bengal unit generalsecretary Sayantan Basu saidabout Banerjee’s speech.Mamata has frequently

alleged that the BJP’s IT cell wasconstantly spreading communalhatred in and misinformation.“Social media is going to play a

very big role in the 2019 electionsbecause opposition parties haverealised a while ago how well itwas executed by the BJP in 2014.They see it as one of the mostinfluential platforms to reachyoungsters...,” said BG Mahesh,founder of Oneindia.com, whichprovides content in regional lan-guages. “However, the intelligentvoter will ignore the noise. Thebiggest challenge that politicalparties are going to face is thefalse narrative on social

media.”Banerjee also dared theruling dispensation at the Centreto carry out a citizenship screen-ing exercise in Bengal like it did inAssam, where four million appli-cants were excluded from thefinal draft of the National Regis-ter of Citizens .“Let them try to conduct a sim-

ilar exercise here. They will befinished before that. Tigers arewaiting in Bengal to pounce onthem,” said the chief minister,who also alleged that the Centrewas employing central agenciesto harass opposition leaders.Speaking before her, Abhishek

Banerjee took a dig at BJP presi-dent Amit Shah’s target of win-ning at least 22 of the 42 Lok Sabhaseats in Bengal and asked him toprove the party’s support by mar-shalling people to oversee 22 elec-tion booths in the state.Tuesday’s meeting was orga-

nised in Mayo Road, the sameplace where Amit Shah held arally on August 11.

(With inputs from Vidhi Choudhary)

Wield cyber tools against BJP: Mamata

n West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee (center) at the foundation day of Trinamool Congress’s student wing in Kolkata. SAMIR JANA/HT PHOTO

NEW DELHI : The Union health min-istry on Tuesday issued an advi-sory to all States to ensure elec-tronic nicotine delivery systems(ENDS), including e-cigarettes,vape, e-sheesha, e-nicotine fla-voured hookah, heat-not-burndevices etc., are not sold, manu-factured, distributed, traded,imported and advertised in anymanner.Seven Indian states-Punjab,

Karnataka, Mizoram, Kerala,J&K, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh-already prohibit its sale, manu-facture, distribution and import,and the ministry wants others tofollow suit.The ministry had been deliber-

ating upon forming regulationson ENDS since 2014, when it con-ducted a discussion of eminentdoctors, specialists, scientistsand officers of health and drugdepartments.

HTC

Health ministry asks states to stop sale of ecigarettes

NEW DELHI: The parliamentarystanding committee on financesubmitted a record number of 69reports on different subjects butfailed to produce one on themuch-debated topic of demone-tisation. An agency report sug-gested that BJP MPs stalled the

adoption of the contentiousdraft report as it was critical ofthe Modi government’s deci-sion. BJP MP Nishikant Dubey,according to the report, wrote adissent note which was sup-ported by all other BJP mem-bers of the panel. HTC

House panel submits 69 reports

Applications are invited from Indian Nationals for the award of“DBT-ResearchAssociateship” for pursuing research in frontierareas of biotechnology and applied biology.TheAssociateship istenable in Research Institutions/Universities including non-profit R&D Institutions within India. The Associateships areawarded under a program sponsored by the Department ofBiotechnology, Ministry of Science & Technology, Govt. ofIndia.

Applications should be addressed to:Prof. Arun Kumar, Convener, DBT-Research Associateship Program,Department of Molecular Reproduction, Development & Genetics,

Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012Detailed information and relevant application format can bedownloaded from:http://www.mrdg.iisc.ernet.inThe last date for receiving the completed application at IndianInstitute of Science,Bangalore, isOctober6,2018.

BEFORE THE NATIONAL COMPANY LAWTRIBUNAL,PRINCIPAL BENCH, AT NEW DELHI

CP-393 (ND)/2017With CA-605(PB)/2018

In the matter of Section 66 of the Companies Act, 2013

And

In the matter of the Scheme of Reduction of Capital amongst IndiaEducation Services Private Limited and its shareholders u/s 66and other applicable provisions of the Companies Act, 2013

And

In the Matter of:

India Education Services Private Limited, a Company incorporatedunder the Companies Act, 1956 having its registered office atHindustan Times House, Second Floor, 18-20, Kasturba GandhiMarg, New Delhi 110001.

- Applicant Company

CONFIRMATION OF CAPITAL REDUCTION

Notice is hereby given that by an order dated 4th July, 2018 andrevised on 18th July, 2018, the Hon’ble National Company LawTribunal, Principal Bench at New Delhi has approved the capitalreduction of the Applicant Company from Rs.118,40,00,000/-divided into 11,84,00,000 equity shares of Rs. 10/- each to Rs.2,00,00,000/- divided into 20,00,000 equity shares of Rs. 10/- each.

For India Education Services Private Limited

Sd/-Date: 29.08.2018 (Dinesh Mittal)Place: New Delhi Director

Sukhdeep Kaurn [email protected]

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab assem-bly passed a resolution on Tues-day to take back investigationsinto incidents of sacrilege ofGuru Granth Sahib and subse-quent police firing at protestersfrom the Central Bureau ofInvestigation (CBI), with chiefminister Amarinder Singhannouncing a special investiga-tion team (SIT) for the probe.The resolution came after a

seven-hour debate during whichmembers of the Congress andAam Aadmi Party (AAP)demanded swift action againstthose indicted by the JusticeRanjit Singh (retd) Commissionreport, which was tabled in theHouse on Monday.The commission was formed

to probe the 2015 case of BargariGuru Granth Sahib sacrilegeand Kotkapura and BehbalKalan firing incidents that fol-lowed. The CM, in his concluding

speech, said he accepted the sen-timents of the House and askedrural minister Tript RajinderSingh Bajwa to move a resolu-

tion to withdraw the investiga-tion from the CBI. Amarinder said the SIT will be

set up to probe the incidents.The SIT probe will include the

first desecration case at Bargarion October 12, 2015, which theprevious Badal regime hadhanded over to the CBI inNovember 2015 amid massive

protests in the state. The CBI has not submitted its

report in the case so far. Amarinder had last monthtransferred the firing incidentsat Kotkapura, which injured oneperson, and Behbal Kalan,where two protesters were killedtoo, to the CBI. The move was opposed withinthe Congress rank and file. During the debate on Tues-

day, the ruling Congress and theAAP, the principal oppositionparty, attacked the ShiromaniAkali Dal (SAD). The Akalis boycotted the debate,calling it “bogus and orches-trated by government with helpof radical Sikhs to defame theparty”. Former Punjab chiefminister Parkash Singh Badalhas been indicted in the report. The chief minister, while con-

cluding the debate on the four-part report, said there was noquestion of going soft on his pre-decessor and SAD patriarchParkash Singh Badal, whom hesquarely blamed for the damagecaused to the state and its peoplewith his “grave acts of omissionand commission”.

Punjab CM announces SIT probe into sacrilege casesACTION PLAN Punjab House passes resolution to take back probe into 2015 case from CBI

n Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh speaks at the Vidhan Sabha in Chandigarh on Tuesday. PTI

08 nation hindustantimes HINDUSTAN T IMES , PUNETHURSDAY, AUGUST 30, 2018

Vikram Gopaln [email protected]

BENGALURU: The HD Kumaras-wamy government wants tomake it mandatory for state gov-ernment officials to send theirchildren to government schoolsin a bid raise the quality of edu-cation and facilities provided inthese institutions, according toKarnataka’s minister for pri-mary education.“We are considering bringing

in a policy on the basis of a reportto encourage enrolment in gov-ernment schools,” N Maheshsaid, adding that the governmentis looking at the legal implica-tions of such a proposal. “Bymaking government employeesenrol their wards in governmentschools, we hope to make themstakeholders in the bettermentof these schools,” he said. The move is based on a Sep-

tember 2017 report by the Kan-nada Development Authority(KDA) on strengthening govern-ment schools. The report suggests that

“those who draw a salary fromthe government have to manda-torily send their children to gov-ernment schools and not privateones. And there should be a pro-vision to punish those who floutthis rule”. The objective, according to

the report, is to ensure there arehigher standards of educationand better facilities in the gov-ernment schools.However, 24 other recommen-

K’taka might make it must for staff kids to study in govt schoolsNEW TAKE Wants employees to be stakeholder in schools’ betterment

dations made in the report —including allowing for 25% reser-vations for economically disad-vantaged students in privateschools — are not being taken upby the government at this time,according to KDA chairman SGSiddaramaiah.“This was one of 25 recom-

mendations we had made. But Isuppose a start has to be madesomewhere,” he said.Multiple reports in the state,

by government agencies andindependent researchers, havepointed out the poor condition ofgovernment schools. According to one survey con-

ducted by the Department ofPublic Instruction, which HThas accessed, there are 5,525 gov-ernment primary schools in thestate that have requested forfunds to completely reconstructtheir buildings.Additionally, as per data com-

piled by the Centre for Child andthe Law at the National Law Uni-versity of India University, therewas a steep decline in the enrol-ment of students in governmentschools and a corresponding risein enrolment in private schools.The data showed that while

the number of students studying

in government schools declinedby 793,584 between 2010-11 and2016-17, the enrolment inunaided schools increased by858,575 during this time.VP Nirajanaradhya, fellow at

the Centre for Child and the Law,said what the government is con-sidering could be a welcomemove if adopted, arguing that itwas necessary to make govern-ment employees “role models” inchanging the perception of gov-ernment schools.“In my opinion, it is required

to bring in such a law… becausegovernment servants or people’srepresentatives are primarilyresponsible for providing,improving and strengtheningpublic services. If they do not usethese services themselves, thenwhat moral right do they have toask the public to use such servi-ces,” Niranjanaradhya said.“They are our role models and

conscience. Therefore, it is a wel-come move by the state to make itmandatory. It echoes the obser-vations made by the Allahabadhigh court way back in 2015,”Niranjanaradhya added, refer-ring to a judgment by the court,which was also the basis of theKDA’s recommendation.

n The objective behind the move, based on a 2017 report by Karnataka Development Authority, is to ensure higher standards of education and better facilities in the government schools. MINT FILE

HT Correspondent n [email protected]

NEW DELHI: The Union law minis-try has started the process ofappointment of the new ChiefJustice of India (CJI) to replaceDipak Misra, who retires onOctober 2, according to peoplefamiliar with the matter whoasked not to be identified. Traditionally, the CJI recom-

mends the name of a successor tothe law ministry a month beforeretirement, and this is usuallythe second-senior most judge ofthe Supreme Court. If this practice is followed, jus-

tice Ranjan Gogoi will be the nextCJI, becoming the first judgefrom the Northeast of the coun-try to be elevated to the position.Justice Gogoi is to retire inNovember 2019.Justice Misra is expected to

send the recommendation bySeptember 2, exactly a monthbefore he retires.Hindustan Times couldn’t

immediately ascertain whetherthe law ministry has merelymoved a file on the appointmentinternally, as one of the personsfamiliar with the matter sug-gested, or actually sent a letter tojustice Misra, as anotherclaimed.When reached by HIndustan

Times, the office of the CJIrefused to comment on the mat-ter. Law minister Ravi ShankarPrasad couldn’t immediately bereached for comment because heis travelling in South America .And a spokesperson of the law

ministry declined to comment onthe issue. Justice Gogoi was one of the

four judges who, in January,went public in a move unprece-dented in Supreme Court his-tory, and said they had issueswith the way in which the CJIwas allocating cases and run-ning the court.He joined the bar in 1978 and

practised as an advocate in theGauhati high court before beingappointed as a judge. He was chief justice of the

Punjab and Haryana high courtbefore being elevated to theSupreme Court in 2012.

Govt starts process to appoint next CJI

n Dipak Misra

Faizan Haidarn [email protected]

NEW DELHI: Raebareli’s ModernCoach Factory (MCF) has builtthe railway’s first “smart coach”with advanced disc brake, firedetection, alarm and GPS-basedtracking systems. The coach has arrived in Delhi

and would be a part of the Delhi-Azamgarh Kaifiyat Express.MCF plans to build 100 suchcoaches with similar facilities.Officials said the coach has an

emergency talkback system forpassengers in distress.MCF general manager Rajesh

Aggarwal said the coach isequipped with state-of-the-artsensors and a centralised com-puter. “It has vibration-basedself-power harvesting sensor onthe axle box to predict defects on

the bearings, wheel defects andthe hard spot (defects) on thetracks. This will enable the rail-ways to plan maintenance onexactly need basis and will also

eliminate online failures.”The coach has a computing

unit to monitor maintenance andpassenger interface. “The secu-rity and surveillance system,

interface with other sub-systemslike air conditioning, disc brakesystem, fire detection and alarmsystem, water level indicator andGPS based passenger announce-ment and passenger informationsystem and digital destinationboard will be monitored throughit,’’ said northern railway spokes-man Nitin Chaudhary.The passenger information

system will inform passengersabout a train’s location and

expected time of arrival at a par-ticular station.“A water level indicator would

give advance information to themaintenance staff through SMSabout the requirement for refill-ing of water, said the railway’schief mechanical engineer ArunArora. “A CCTV, with artificialintelligence capability, willenhance the security of passen-gers and also monitor activities ofonboard railway staff,’’ he said.The coach will have advanced

air-conditioning system to moni-tor and adjust temperatures froma remote location. The advanced systems are also

capable of monitoring the brakesystem and any fault in the sys-tem can be communicated to themaintenance staff in advance.The coach will have Wi-Fi facili-ties, too, the official said.

Rlys first smart coach ready, 100 more to come

n The smart coach will be a part of Kaifiyat Express. BURHAAN KINU/HT

THE COACH IS EQUIPPED WITH STATEOFTHEART SENSORS, CENTRALISED COMPUTER, INTERFACE WITH SUBSYSTEMS LIKE AC, DISC BRAKE, ALARM, AND FIRE DETECTION

Sutirtho Patranobisn [email protected]

BEIJING: Lynchings are bad forIndia’s image, tourism ministerKJ Alphons has said in Beijing,indicating that the issue has thepotential to affect the country’sability to attract foreign tourists.“Well, it (lynching) shouldn’t

happen. Simple. And the PM(Narendra Modi) has called themcriminals. And he told the statesyou have to take action becauselaw and order is a state subject,”he said during an interactionwith Indian and Chinese report-ers late on Tuesday evening.Responding to a query from an

Indian journalist on whetherlynchings had impacted tourism,Alphons said: “Well, not on a bigtime basis…not really. But any-thing happening like that is badfor the reputation of the country.We won’t say it’s good for the rep-utation of the country.”The interaction followed

Alphons’ participation in a semi-nar promoting India as a touristdestination. Foreign touristarrivals in India showed robustgrowth in 2017 despite concernsamong travellers about women’ssafety, instances of mob lynching

and a ban on beef in most states.“Tourism is already doing

very well. If you take 2017, ourtourism (foreign tourist arrivals)grew by 14% and revenue grew by19.2%,” Alphons said.The sector generated $27 bil-

lion in revenues and contributedabout 7% to GDP. The ban on beefisn’t impacting tourism either, headded. “Not really. You see, thereare states like Kerala, Goa and thenortheast…these (states) whichare all beef-eating states. Theseare all big tourism destinations.So people would go whereverthey are comfortable,” he said. “I think we need to respect the

sentiment of the people any-where…that’s so fundamental.”Referring to women’s safety,

Alphons recalled foreign journal-ists asking him about the 2012gang-rape and murder case in

New Delhi that was widely cov-ered around the world and led toa string of legal reforms. “If you are asking me today

about an incident six years back,what does it mean? It means youdon’t have any other case to quoteto me. That means my country issafe. See, there is massive unfair-ness in this whole reporting proc-ess. I was about to use anotherword. There is huge bias inreporting. I don’t want to playwith numbers. Things shouldimprove anywhere in the world.”Alphons said maximum efforts

are being made to ensure thesecurity of tourists throughmeasures such as the 1363 help-line in 12 languages, includingMandarin. Last year, the helplinereceived close to 275,000 calls.Nearly 145 million Chinese

nationals travelled abroad lastyear, the largest in the world, butonly 240,000 visited India, whichAlphons termed as “minuscule”.The number of Chinese tour-

ists to India hasn’t gone upbecause the country never mar-keted itself in China, he said. “Weare starting the India tourismoffice in Beijing. We are going toappoint a strategy advisor and aPR agency for China.”

T O U R I S M M I N I S T E R I N C H I N A

Lynchings bad for India’s reputation, says Alphons

n KJ Alphons

› If they (governmentemployees) do not use

these services themselves, then what moral right do they have to ask the public to use such servicesVP NIRAJANARADHYA, fellow at the Centre for Child and the Law

Bhopal Smart City Development Corporation Ltd.Zone-14, Bhopal Municipal Corporation, BHEL, Govindpura, Bhopal-462023 (MP)

Phone: 0755-2477770, Email: [email protected]. No. 1224 /MPBSCDCL/2018 Bhopal, Date : 27/08/2018

Bhopal Smart City Development Corporation Limited I e AûS ÀFZ d³F¸³FFadI °F I F¹FÊ WZ°Fb MPBSCDCL/TENDER NO-64AFG³F»FFB³F d³Fd½FQFEa AF¸FadÂF°F I e ªFF°Fe W`:-S.no

Tender Name(MPBSCDCL/TENDER NO-64

TenderDocumentFee

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1 2 3 4 5 61 “Construction of Multistorey G, H and I typeGovernment Housing Phase III IncludingInternal Electrification, Plumbing and FireFighting under Smart City Area BasedDevelopment” (MPBSCDCL/TENDER NO.-64

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RFP QÀ°FF½FZªF E½Fa d³Fd½FQF ÀFa¶Fad²F°F d½FÀ°FÈ°F ªFF³FI FSe www.mpeproc.gov.in ´FS QZ£Fe ªFF ÀFI °Fe W`ÔÜC.E. (P)

·Fû´FF»F À¸FFMÊ dÀFMe OZ½F»F´F¸FZÔM I FG´FûÊSmVF³F d»Fd¸FMZO

MADHYA PRADESH URBAN DEVELOPMENT CO. LTD.(Urban Development and Housing Department, Government of Madhya Pradesh)

M.P. Rajya Sahkari Bank, Jail Road, Arera Hills, Bhopal (M.P.)-462011E-mail : [email protected], Telephone: 0755-2762825

MADHYA PRADESH URBAN DEVELOPMENT PROJECTWORLD BANK FUNDED

Invitation for Bids under National Competitive BiddingNIT No. MPUDC/WB/2018/4133 Dated 29 August 2018M.P. Urban Development Company Limited invites Bids (to be submitted in the e-ProcurementPortal) for the following works:Package WB 7: (i) Design and Build Sewage Treatment Plant of capacity 0.43, 0.22, 0.11

MLD; Packaged Treatment Plant of capacity 0.06 and 0.06 MLD and allAppurtenant Structures, Pumping Station and AlliedWorks (ii) Survey, Reviewthe Design, Redesign where necessary and Build New Sewerage Networkincluding Small Bore Solid Free System (iii) Operation and Maintenance ofSewage Treatment Plants, Sewage Pumping Station, Sewage Networks andSmall Bore Solid Free System and Septage Management for a period of 10years of Bhedaghat Nagar Parishad, District Jabalpur of Madhya Pradesh.

Package WB 8: (i) Design and Build Sewage Treatment Plant of capacity 11.10 MLD,Packaged Treatment Plant of capacity 0.15 MLD and all AppurtenantStructures, Pumping Stations and Allied Works (ii) Survey, Review theDesign, Redesign where necessary and Build New Sewerage Networkincluding Small Bore Solid Free System and Septage Management (iii)Operation and Maintenance of Sewage Treatment Plants, Sewage PumpingStations, Sewage Networks and Small Bore Solid Free System and SeptageManagement for a Period of 10 years of Shajapur Nagar Palika Parishad,District Shajapur of Madhya Pradesh.

Detailed Bid Document is available on http://mpeproc.gov.in(Madhya Pradesh UrbanDevelopment Co. Ltd.). NIT No. 162 and 163 respectively from 31.08.18 at 12:30 hours. Thedeadline for submission of bids online is 29.09.18 at 14:00 hours. Interested bidders mayparticipate in the bidding process as per instructions given in the bidding documents.M.P. Madhyam/91397/2018 ENGINEER IN CHIEF


Whydamscannot controlsuchdevastating floodsDams subsume low and mediumlevel floods, but duringhigh to very high ones, their safety cushions fall short

Devastating floods in Odisha (2011),Uttarakhand (2013), Tamil Nadu(2015),Bihar(2016)andnowinKeralaprovethatreservoirdamsonrivers,

contrarytoclaims,cannotpreventfloods.Infact, theycreatedevastatingfloods.Here’swhy: Oftendamsareclaimedtobe

multi-purpose projects, and prevention offloods iscitedasoneof thepurposesofdamsbecause they have something called a floodcushion,whichgetsfilledonlywhenariverisin spate. But floods don’t have any uniformdimension. There are low floods, mediumfloods, high and very high floods. Many ofthese are cyclical innaturewithhigh floodstakingplace in25, 50or100years.But in thiseraofclimatechange,thesecycleshavegoneawry:hightoveryhighfloodsvisitusfarmoreoftenthanbefore.Thankstotheirfloodcushions,damssub-

sumelowandmedium-levelfloods.Buttheseharmless floods should not be controlledbecausetheyreplenishfloodplainswithfreshnutrient-richsoil,boostfisheriesandrejuve-

natetheriparianfloraandfauna.Suchfloodsalsorechargeaquifers.Farmers,too,welcomefloodsforthesereasons.Thepreventionoflowandmedium-scalefloodsalsoprovidesafalsesenseofsecuritytotheStateandpeople,lead-ing to occupation of flood plains for raisinghousingcolonies,highways,schools,colleges,commercialestablishmentsandevenairportsashasbeendoneinmanycities inIndia.Butwhenhightoveryhighfloodscome,the

floodcushionprovesineffectiveandcounter-productive,necessitatingthedammanagertoreleaseasmuchwateraspossible inas littletime as possible to save the structure fromdamage. Such emergency releases from thedamresultinmayhemdownstream,sincethereal flood cushion— the flood plains— areoccupied.Unfortunately, rainfall, riverandnatureareblamedforthemess.Thepro-damlobbyoftencitestheexample

of Tehri dam inUttarakhand. They claim itsuccessfullycontrolledtheveryhighflowintheriverBhagirathiin2013.Yes,that’safact.ButitisalsoafactthattheeventtookplaceinJune, when the dam reservoir did not havemuchwater, andsocouldaccommodate thesudden high inflows. What if the extremeevent had taken place during themonsoonmonthsofJuly-Septemberwhenthereservoirwouldhavebeenfull?Iamyettogetaconvin-cinganswertothisquestion.

ManojMisra is convener, YamunaJiyeAbhiyaanThe views expressed are personal

n Rescue workers evacuate people from flooded areas after the opening of the Mullaperiyardam shutters following heavy rains, on the outskirts of Kochi, August 15, 2018 REUTERS

pivotalideas

NACHIKET MOR

UNSTOPPABLEFORCE

MANOJMISRA

Rahulmust reconsiderhis statementon 1984Instead of having others defend him on the issue, hemust show moral courage and own up to his mistake

theymayhaveactedintheirpersonalcapac-ity.IfIwereRahulGandhi,Iwouldbeembar-

rassed by both arguments. Age does notabsolveyouofthefactthatasthepresidentof the grand old party, you ought to knowyourhistory.Inthiscase,itiscontemporaryhistory. For example, let’s refer to all theJapaneseleaderswhohavehadtoapologisefor thehavoc their countrywreakedon itsneighboursduringWorldWar II.Theytoowere children at the time but they apolo-gisedeventhoughtheyhadnopersonalrole.Nor, for that matter, did Manmohan

Singh,buthemadeaforcefulspeechinPar-liament after the Nanavati report wastabled.“IhavenohesitationinapologisingtotheSikhcommunity.Iapologisenotonlyto the Sikh community, but to the wholeIndian nation because what took place in1984isthenegationoftheconceptofnation-hood enshrined in our Constitution,” hesaid.Hewentastepfurther,saying,“Ihangmyheadinshame.”Amarinder’s defence, too, crumbles

quickly. It is naive of him to suggest thatleaderssuchasSajjanKumar—henamedhim—acted inapersonal capacity,when,forthepast34years,hecontinuestobeapartof the Congress. Kumar and Tytler wereevennamedasLokSabha candidates, buttheir nameswerewithdrawnafter a hugeuproar in2009.Of late,RahulGandhihasbeenparticu-

larlyarticulate.Hehasaddressedburningissues, including those of hate and lynch-ings,andevenwenttotheextentofhuggingPrimeMinister NarendraModi in Parlia-ment.Inhisfavour,itmustalsobesaid,thatheiswillingtotakelivequestionsbutinthecurrentinstance,hecouldhardlyhavebeenunprepared for a question relating to the1984violence.Thequestionhasdoggedtheparty for 34 years andhismother, too, hasapologisedforthepainof thepogrom.Asheprepares for thebig battle of 2019,

RahulGandhimustreconsiderwhathesaid.SeniorCongressleaderssuchasTytlerandSajjanarestillbeingadjudicatedonincourt.InsteadofhavingChidambaramandothersdefend him, hemust showmoral courageand clarity and own up that he perhapsmadeamistake.Thatonestepalonewillgoalongway.Hemayevenbehailedforbeingapoliticianwhoiswillingtocorrecthimself.Justice lies at theheart of the 1984 riots,

whichwasnot only about thosewhodied,butisalsoabouttheliving,whocontinuetofight. Rahul Gandhi can help them—andhimself—byspeakingupagain.

n [email protected]

AddressingagatheringattheBuce-rius SummerSchool inGermanylast week, Congress president,Rahul Gandhi, told his audience

thathissister,PriyankaGandhi,andhehadforgivenLiberationTigersofTamilEelamchief,VelupillaiPrabhakaran,fororderingtheassassinationofhisfather,formerPrimeMinisterRajivGandhi,in1991.“ThereasonIwasn’thappywasbecauseIsawmyself inhis children. So I realised, him lying thereactuallymeans that therearekids likemewhoarecrying,”hesaid.Rahul has often spoken of pain andhas

alsobeencommendedforbeingabletodealwith the loss of a fatherwhodied aviolentdeath. Yet, for someonewhounderstandspain, it is surprising that he sought toabsolvetheCongressfortheworstpogrominwhichmorethan3,000SikhswerekilledintheCapitalinriotsthatfollowedtheassas-sinationof IndiraGandhi.ThirtyfouryearshavepassedsinceDelhi

burned. Several commissions of inquiryhavenamedCongressmenfortheirinvolve-mentinthekillingofSikhs.Amongthevari-ouscommissions,theoneheadedbyJusticeGT Nanavati expressly named leadersincludingJagdishTytlerandSajjanKumar.Thecasesagainstthemwerereopened,afterthe report said there was “credible evi-dence” and Rahul, who was aMember ofParliamentbythen,mustsurelyrememberthatPrimeMinisterManmohanSinghwasforcedtodropTytler fromhisCabinet.Severalleaders, includingformerhome

andfinanceministerPChidambaramandPunjab chief minister Amarinder Singh,havejumpedtoRahul’sdefence,sayinghewasonlyachild,barely13or14yearsofage,in1984.ThePunjabCM,infact,hasmadeitworsebynamingCongressmenandsaying

IT’S BEENALMOST 34 YEARSSINCEDELHI BURNED. SEVERALINQUIRYCOMMISSIONSHAVENAMEDSENIORCONGRESSMENFORTHEIR INVOLVEMENT IN THEKILLINGOFSIKHS.

established in 1924§ §

Ameetingof thePrimeMinister, theBJPpresident,some senior ministers, and chief ministers ofBJP-ruledstatesonTuesdaydiscussed thepossi-ble contours of the party’s campaign for 2019.First, it was decided at the meeting that the

BJP and the larger National Demo-craticAlliance, ofwhich theparty is apart, will fight 2019 under the leader-ship ofNarendraModi. This shouldn’t surprise anyonebut itisareflectionofModi’sstandingandstature,andalsoarebuttalof any suggestion that there could be an alternative.Second, thePMandtheCMsalsodiscussedthemeasures the

governmenthas takentoaddress theangstofkeyvotergroups— farmers ; people from the scheduled castes and tribes; andpeople from other backward classes. It is clear that the partywill tryandreachtheseconstituencieswith themessage that itdidsomething for them, justas itwill tryandhighlight thisgov-ernment’swelfare programmes.Also discussed were the upcoming elections in three keystatescurrentlyruledbytheBJP:Rajasthan,MadhyaPradesh,andChhattisgarh.TheBJPhasbeen inelectionmode forsometimenow—this

newspaper pointed out that party president Amit Shah hasvisitedmostof thestates inthepast fewmonths—andthemeet-ingonTuesdayshouldbeseen in thiscontext.Since2013, ithasalso become evident that the party has a better campaignmachine than theOpposition.TheOpposition,which is hoping to put up aunited front in

2019, needs to work on these three dimensions. The first con-cerns leadership,andnot justbecauseeveryonenowsees largeelections asmano-a-mano contests. The second concerns themessaging. A campaign focusing on the shortcomings of theincumbentwill work (as it did in 2014), but only if the latter isincapableof shapinganalternativenarrative.Theoppositionmustdevelopamessagearoundwhat itwill do toaddress spe-cific issues if it comes topower.The third is simplyhaving theresources to launchacampaign that is as intenseas theBJP’s.

BJPgetsoff theblocks for2019TheOppositionneedstodomoreif it wants tocountertheparty

§

StoriedinvestorWarrenBuffett’sBerkshireHathawayhasinvestedinOne97Communications, theparentofPaytm.CominginthewakeofWalMart’s investmentinFlipkart, this isahugeendorsementof thestart-upecosystemin India, especially itsprizedunicorns.

Established start-ups in the country should nowno longerhavetroubleraisingmoneyfromjustaboutanyone.GivenBuf-fett’s iconicstatus , it is likelythatother large investment fundsthathavesofar ignoredIndianunicornsnowstartseeingtheminnewlight. Indeed,givenhowthingswork, it is likely thatnotjustunicorns, but even lesser Indianstart-upswill benefit .Paytmitself isalsoawinner,althoughitalreadyhaspowerful

backers, includingSoftBankandAlibaba.This investmentreaf-firmsitspositionasthecompanytowatchinthepaymentsspace.Buffett, a die-hard value investor, is known to shun risk,although he can often be contrarian, and his firm follows thesameinvestmentphilosophy(BerkshireHathawayhassaidthatBuffettwasn’tdirectly involved in thePaytmdeal).Buffetthasinvestedintechnologyfirms,evenstart-ups,buthisbetsarefarless risky than thoseof traditionalventurecapital investors—whichisn’tsurprisingbecauseBerkshireHathawayisn’taven-turecapital firm.Giventhis, thefirm’sinvestmentinPaytmisanendorsementof the latter’sbusinessmodel.TheBuffett investment inPaytmisbadnews for traditional

banks and finance companies, though. Fin-tech, itwas alwaysknown,woulddisruptbanksandfinancecompanies,renderingtheirbusinessmodelsunviableandthefirmsthemselvesuncom-petitive.Banksandfinancecompanieshaveinvestedbillionsintechnology in thehope thatbydigitising theirbusinesses, theycanavoidbecomingirrelevantinthenewworld.Butit’s increas-inglybecomingclearthatthemarchof fin-techfirms—Paytm’sparent is one—isprettymuchunstoppable.

Buffet’smoney inPaytmisa ringingendorsementIt’sincreasinglybecomingclearthatthemarchoffin-techfirmsisunstoppable

ourtake

comment

nesdistributionsystem.Australiaisoneofthemost sparsely populated countries in theworld. Stocking products which are infre-quently ordered and delivering them toremoteruralpharmacies/clinicsmeansmini-mal ornoprofit for privatewholesalers anddistributors.Toremedythis incentiveprob-lem, the government of Australia runs anincentive pool which pays a small bonus towholesalerswhosupplythefullrangeofmedi-cines to pharmacies in designated remoteareas at or below the negotiated price. TheCommunityServiceObligation(CSO)Incen-tive pool is overseen by an independentagencywhichmonitorscomplianceandcon-ductsregularauditsofthedistributors.Man-

agingsuchanincentivepoolrequiresstronggovernmentoversightandenforcement,butnew digital technologies could also enablesuchstructuresinfragmentedmarketswithlowerenforcementcapacity.Theprivatedistributionnetworkformedi-

cinesinChina(notunlikeIndia)isacomplexmulti-tiernetworkwithmultiplemiddlemenbetweenthemanufacturerandtheendclinic.Some of the channel intermediaries chargeadditionalmarkupsaddingtooverallhealth-care costs. The multiple product handoffsfromoneintermediarytoanotherleadtothelack of transparency in the system andincreasedrisksforfakeproductsenteringthesupplychain.Modellingstudieshaveshownthemultiplebenefitsofreducingthenumberof tiers in the supply chain. Learning fromthem,Chinahasnowimplementeda“two-in-voicesystem”wherebyonlytwoinvoicescanexist between amanufacturer and a clinic.Eachmanufacturersellstoadistributorandthatdistributorsellsdirectlytohospitalsandclinics,eliminatingmulti-tiereddistribution.In its phased implementation, rural areaswhichrequire“finemeshdistribution”wouldbe allowed up to three invoices till nationaldistributors can expand their distributioncoveragetoallregions.Ascountriesaroundtheworld, including

India,attempttoensurethetimelyavailabil-ity of a full range of medicines to each andeveryoneoftheircitizens,theywouldbenefitgreatly from studying some of these newerapproachesthathavebeenimplemented,anddevelopingappropriatesolutionstotheirownchallenges.Prashant Yadav andNachiketMor are both employees

of theBill &MelindaGates FoundationThe views expressed are personal

Health systems around the worldarebenefittingfromrecentadvan-cesinsupplychaintechnologiestodeliver essential medicines topatientsmore effectively. Tradi-

tional lines betweenpublic, private, online,and physical are starting to blur and, as aresult,direct-to-homeandonlinepharmacymodels have developed more quickly inemergingmarkets likeIndiathanmanyhadexpected. A commonly used supply chainarchitectureforessentialmedicinesinmostdeveloping countries has historically beenbulk procurement by the national or state/provincialgovernmentandthendistributionto districts and health clinics owned by thegovernment.Thisapproach,evenwhenwellimplemented, may suffer frommany prob-lemswhicharelinkedto,amongotherthings,multiple levelsof complexity, longresupplyintervals,uncertaintiesinfinancing,anddif-fusedaccountabilities.Manycountrieshave,therefore,developedalternativesupplychainmodelsbasedonmoderndaysupplychainsci-enceandtechnologies.South Africa, for example, is now imple-

menting amodel in which the governmentnegotiatespricesandselectsuppliers,butthesuppliers deliver the medicines directly tohealthclinicsordistricthospitals.Inthepast,suchmodelswerenotfeasiblebecauseofthechallengesinverifyingwhetherthesupplierdeliveredtherightquantityofproductstotheclinic.InSouthAfrica,anewsupplychainvis-ibilityplatformenablessupplier-direct-deliv-

ery by providing government procurementmanagerswithunprecedentedvisibilityintostock, receipts, and consumption at eachhealthclinic.Oneofthemainsourcesofunderperform-

ancewithinsupplychainsstemsfromthelackofinformationcaptureandsharing.ModernsupplychainshaveadoptedinformationandcommunicationtechnologysuchastheElec-tronicVaccine IntelligenceNetwork, beingused in public sector in India, to improveinformationflowanddecisionmakingacrossthesesupplychains.In Senegal, the government has started

contractingprivate,third-party,logisticiansforlast-miledeliveriesofallessentialmedici-nes from district warehouses to individualhealthclinics.Healthcareworkersinclinicsnolongerhavetodetermineorderquantitiesformedicinesor travel todistrictheadquar-ters to collect medicines stock. The third-party logisticians deliver an assortment of100+medicine to each clinic and use tabletcomputerstocollectstockandconsumptiondata.Thisdata, coupledwithadvancedana-lytics,allowsformorepreciseforecastsofhowmuchtoshiptoeachclinicinthenextroundofdelivery.Asaresult,medicineshortageshavepracticallybeeneliminated inSenegal, thattooatareducedcost.Around theworld there is also a concern

thatdistributionreachoftheprivatesectorisconfined tomore concentratedurbanareaswhereas those living in rural and remoteregionsdependon thepublic-sectormedici-

Given the problems in the old system, manycountries have developed more scientific models

Overhaul themedicinesupplychain

n The distribution reach of the private sectoris confined to exclusive urban areas HT

ShreeprakashSharma

Humanlife isamysteryinwhichproblemskeeponbefallingatregularintervals.Somepeoplebracethemselvesforthechallengesoflifewhileothersbuckledownunderthepres-sure of what seem to be insurmountablehardshipsof life.However,givingintotheproblemswith-

outtryingtofightcanbeseenaslackofcour-ageandanescapistattitudefromtheessen-tial fulcrumsofabalancedandblissful life.Twoimportantquestionsarisehere:The

firstis,howtosolvetheproblemsoflifewith-outlosingpatience?Oneofthetimelesstrea-tisesonbravingchallengesistolivelifelikeanhourglassfromwhichgrainsofsanddroponebyone, over time. Itmeansyou shouldtakeupthechallengesonebyone.Tryingtosolve all the problems of life in one go is awasteoftime.Ithascorrectlybeensaidthatnoman ever sank under the burden of theday.Whentheburdenoftomorrowisaddedto today’s burden, only then the weight ismore than aman can bear. So, leaving thefuturetoGodandmindingonlywhatishap-

peningnowpreventsusfromfallingintothewhirlpoolofanxietiesandstresses.ThefamousGreekphilosopherandmath-

ematicianPythagorasusedtoteachhisdisci-ples to live for the day. Living myriadmoments at a time is the root of humanmiseries. Learning to avoid the rush of anavalancheofproblemsisatimelesssecrettogainemotionalpoiseandhappiness.

Inner Voice comprisescontributions fromour readers.The views expressed are personal

n [email protected]

DO PROBLEMS HAUNTYOU? TAKE UP THECHALLENGES ONE BY ONE

innervoice

HARINDERBAWEJA

RNI No. : MAHENG/2017/73011

PRINTED & PUBLISHED BY SHARAD SAXENA for and on behalf of HT Media Ltd., Office No. 505 & 506, 5th Floor, B-Wing, City Tower, S. No. 17, Boat Club Road, Pune - 411001 atHT Media Ltd. Press at Plot No. 6, MIDC, TTC Industrial Area, Near Digha Bus Stand, Thane Belapur Road, Navi Mumbai - 400708 and Lokmat Media Pvt. Ltd., 34/A, Wadgaon Khurd, Sinhgad Road, Pune - 411041

EDITOR, PUNE : ABHAY PREM VAIDYA

HINDUSTAN TIMES, PUNETHURSDAY, AUGUST 30, 2018 hindustantimes nation 11

AnilGirin [email protected]

KATHMANDU:Nepalhasputinplaceanextensivesecurityblanket inits capital Kathmandu ahead ofthe fourthBimstecSummit thatbegins on Thursday, deployingmore 10,000 security personnelledbyarmysoldiers.Following an assessment of

securitythreats,PrimeMinisterNarendraModi andhisBangla-deshicounterpartSheikhHasinawillbeprovided“Z-plus”securitycover, a senior home ministryofficialsaid.Another top official said the

security assessment hadincluded threats to the heads ofstateandgovernment fromIsla-mistmilitants,RohingyagroupsandtheLTTEofSriLanka.TheNepalArmywill lead the

overallsecuritydeploymentsfor

the visiting dignitaries and atvital installations, and itwill besupported by Nepal Police,Armed Police Force and theNational Investigation Depart-ment. Army commandos havebeen mobilised to protect theheadsofstateandgovernment.According to local media

reports,ateamfromIndia’sSpe-cialProtectionGroup(SPG)willaccompanyModithroughouthisstayinKathmandu.The27-mem-berSPGteamwillprovideroundtheclocksecuritytohim.TheBangladeshipremierwill

be protected by special forcesfromhercountryandaNepalesesecurityteam,saidofficials.“TheSriLankanpresidentmightbeatthreatfromtheLTTE,”asecurityofficial who did not want to benamedsaid.Nepalesesecurityofficialssaid

theywerekeepingaclosewatch

on Rohingya refugees living inKathmandu, fearing protestsagainstleadersfromBangladeshand Myanmar. Nepal hostsaround400Rohingyarefugees.

ODD-EVENPOLICYINEFFECTFORSUMMITNepal has introduced an odd-even number driving plan inKathmandu from Wednesdayeven as commuters faced hugedifficulties. People were seenqueuingforpublictransportandtourists were forced to walk atsomeplaces.MetropolitanTraf-ficPoliceDivisionchiefBasantaPanta said the systemwill be inplacetillAugust31.

SCHOOLSTOSTAYSHUTSchoolsintheKathmanduValleywill remain closed during thesummit,thefederalaffairsminis-trysaid inastatement.

Security rampedup inNepal HTCorrespondentn [email protected]

NEW DELHI: As the Union roadtransportandhighwaysministryisgettingreadytoauctionthesec-ondbundleofcompletedhighwaystretches,Australia-basedcapi-tal fundmanagerMacquarie onWednesdaymadeanupfrontpay-mentof~9,681.50croretothegov-ernmenttooperateninehighwaystretchesunderitsnewtolloper-ateandtransfer (TOT)policy.The National Highways

Authority of India (NHAI) hadfloatedIndia’sfirstTOTmodeltomonetise NHs by awarding tollcollectionoperationstoaprivateparty for30years.The firstbun-dle of nine highway stretchesmeasuringabout680kilometreinAndhraPradeshandGujaratwasauctionedearlier thisyear.Macquariewasamongthefour

bidderstowinthefirstbundleoftheTOTcontractofNHAI.

Govt inks ~9,681crdeal with Aus firmto run 9 toll plazas

facetoface

KATHMANDU:Nepal, thehostoftheBimstecsummit, isalsothecurrentchairof theSouthAsianAssociationofRegionalCooperation,andforeignministerPradeepKumarGyawalidoesn’tseethetwogroupingsas“rivalalternatives”. InaninterviewwithJayanthJacobandAnilGiri,hespokeaboutvarious issues.Excerpts:

Whatare your realistic expectations fromBimstec, consideringthe regional grouping,which istwodecadesold, hasn’t takenoff in termsof realising theobjectives it set out to achieve?Yes,20years isa longperiodforaregionalcooperationini-tiativeandwecouldhavebeenmoreefficientandpro-active.ForNepal,widercon-nectivityandaccess totheseaandmarketsof theBayofBengalcountriesareveryimportant.Bimstechadiden-tified16coreareastoworkon. Imustsay16areasmakeitvagueandnowwearefocusingonsixorsevenissuessuchasconnectivityandeconomicintegration.

Connectivity is abroadconcept.Yes. It isphysicalanddigital.Otherareassuchascustoms

facilitationare important,then(power)gridconnectiv-ityandsoon.Thisregionhashugepotential foreconomicdevelopment,andintegra-tionandconnectivity isakeyinstrument...But it is leastintegrated.Foreconomicandregional integration,weneedtoaccordtopprioritytocon-nectivity.

Fiveof the sevenBimstecmembers are inSouthAsia, perhapstheworld’s least integratedregion.Saarcwas for regionalintegration.NowsomewouldseeBimstecasan instrument tobypassSaarc.Doyousubscribeto this?Nepalgiveshighimportancetobothprocesses.Wedon’tseethemasrivalalterna-tives.Theyarecomplemen-tarytoeachother.Ouraimis,andwearedoingourbest, torevitaliseSaarcandmakeBimstecmoreefficient. It isamatterofdismaythatSaarc

leadershaven’tmet intwoyears.We, throughformalandinformalchannels,diplo-maticandotherchannels,aresendingstrongmessagesthatSaarcshouldbere-activatedandtheaspirationsof thepeo-pleofSouthAsiamet.Wearethechairofbothprocesses.

Doyousense that IndiaPakistan rivalry hasderailedSaarcprocess?Yes.Sometimeswefeel (so)andit issensible.However,Nepal feelsdialogue,negotia-tions...canmitigatedifferen-ces. It isnatural thatcoun-triesmayhavedifferenceonvariousissues.Buthumanityhasdevisedvariousoptionstoaddressthem.It isnot thebestoptiontosidelineregionalcooperation(duetoa)misunderstanding.ButsinceSaarc is laggingbehind,itdoesn’tmeanBimstecwillmeet thesamefate.Wearetryingforearlyorganising(ofthe)Saarc(summit).

Howfar hasBimsteccome intheareaof antiterror cooperation?Wearediscussingthis issueveryseriously.Peaceandsecurity isanimportantaspectofBimstec.

‘Access toBay of Bengal region is key’PRADEEPKUMARGYAWALI,Nepal foreignminister


NEWDELHI: The government hasissued an advisory to guardagainstthe‘Momochallenge’,anonline ‘game’ that is allegedlydrivingpeopletocommitsuicideinpartsof thecountry.The‘game’featurestheimage

ofagirlwithadistortedfaceandeyes bulging out called the“MotherBirdbyLinkFactory”,accordingtoreports.WestBengalpolicerecentlysaidthechallengeclaimed the lives of two people,monthsaftersimilarreportscon-nected to the ‘Blue whale chal-lenge’.“It went viral... especially on

WhatsApp,” theadvisorybytheministry of electronics and ITstated. The advisory has alsoaskedpeopletolookoutforsignsandsymptomsincluding‘becom-ingwithdrawnfromfriendsandfamily’and‘persistentlowmoodand unhappiness’. It also askedparents to check in with theirchildren and assess if therewas‘unusuallysecretivebehaviour’ontheirpart.

Centre issuesadvisory against‘Momo challenge’

THE ISSUES YOU FACEARE THE ISSUES WE RAISEHindustan Times My City My Voice campaign offers you a platformto highlight and share issues concerning you. Whether it’s bad roads,non-functional streetlights, ill-maintained parks or poor garbage disposal,we will put the spotlight on issues you report and voice out. We will bringyou the response of authorities concerned.

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n Army personnel wait in the rain to present the guard of honour to Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena, before he arrives to attend theBimstec summit in Kathmandu, Nepal, onWednesday. REUTERS

JayanthJacob&AnilGirin [email protected]

KATHMANDU:The seven Bimstecmember-states are expected toannounceaconnectivitymasterplan and step up counter-terrorcooperationduring a summit tobeheldhereonThursdayandFri-day, officials familiar with pre-paratorydiscussionssaid.An announcement about set-

tingupadevelopmentfundisalsoexpected during the summit ofthe Bay of Bengal Initiative forMulti-Sectoral Technical andEconomic Cooperation (Bim-stec), theofficialssaid.Prime Minister Narendra

Modiwill arrive here onThurs-daymorning, his fourth visit toNepal,toattendthesummitofthegrouping that has a combinedgross domestic product of $2.8trillionandwhichfitsthetwofor-eign policy priorities of his gov-ernment—neighbourhoodfirstandActEast.Of thesevenmem-bers, five – India, Bangladesh,Nepal,Bhutan,BangladeshandSriLanka–are fromSouthAsiaandtwo,ThailandandMyanmar,are fromSoutheastAsia.Myan-mar is theonlySoutheastAsiancountrythatsharesalandborderwithIndia.As Kathmandu geared up to

welcometheleaderswitharchesand cut-outs, the foreignminis-tersof thegroupinggavethe fin-

ishing touches to the agenda forthesummit.Theconnectivitymasterplan,

which includes apact for powergrid connectivity andrail, road,seaanddigitalconnectivity,hasbeen in theworks for some timeasthe21-year-oldgroupingtriestoleavebehindaneraofcoopera-tionatasluggishpace.An Indian official said the

Kathmandu declaration willreflect the “ambitious agenda”for connectivity. Other officialssaid institutions such as theAsian Development Bank hadevincedinterestintheconnectiv-ityplans.“After the summit, the coun-

trieswill get into the specifics ofthe master plan. Some of theseplans can be aligned withnational connectivity plans,”said Nepal’s foreign ministerPradeepKumarGyawali.A memorandum of under-

standing on grid connectivity issettobesignedafterthesummit.TheMoUenvisagestheestablish-ment of the Bimstec Grid Inter-

connection Coordination Com-mitteetoundertaketheBimstecGrid Interconnection MasterPlan Study, which will open upavenues for energy trade in theregion.TheplannedBimstecdevelop-

mentfundwillundertakespecificprojects in member countries.Officials saidmodalities for thefund,suchasraisingthecorpus,willbediscussedinduecourse.Thesummitwillalsofocuson

steppingupcounter-terrorcoop-eration, strengthening theBim-stec secretariat and putting inplace a charter, an agreed blue-printforitsfunctioninginamorecoordinatedmanner.Themembershavealsolooked

at narrowing focus areas to keyissuessuchasconnectivity,pov-erty alleviation, trade, invest-ment and tourism, climatechangeandsecurity.“BIMSTEC should focus on

fewer areas. Instead of 14, theyshouldbringitdowntoafewlikefour or five areas for detailedcoordination. Among others,FTAshouldbeconcludedfastandthestageshouldbesetforacom-prehensivetradeagreement,cov-eringnotonlygoodsbutservicesand investment,” said SachinChaturvedi, director of Delhi-based think tank Research andInformationSystemforDevelop-ingCountries (RIS).“TheflexibilityofBimstecisits

strength and it can move fast.ThisistheveryreasonthatSaarccannotmoveforward.Itscharterdoes not allow quick decision-making.”During the Bimstec ministe-

rialmeeting,ministerofstateforexternal affairs VK Singh saidIndiaaccordsutmostpriority tothe grouping as it fulfills NewDelhi’s foreignpolicypriorityof“neighbourhood first and ActEast”.Strategic affairs expert

BrahmaChellanyagreed:“Bim-stecfitswellwithIndia’sActEastpolicy. India is returning to itstraditional orientation to theeast. Bimstec, like India’s ActEast policy, will help to realignIndia’s foreign policy along thehistoricalaxis.”Modi is set to have bilateral

meetingswith leaders of the sixothercountriesonthesidelinesofthesummit.BeforehereturnstoDelhi onFriday,Modiwill inau-gurate the Nepal BharatMaitriPashupati Dharmashala builtwithIndianaid.The grouping formed in 1997

hasheldonlythreesummits—in2004, 2008 and 2014. PM invitedBimstecleaderstoaBRICS(Bra-zil,Russia,India,China,Russia)outreach forum in Goa in 2016,givingimpetustotheforumrep-resentingageographical regionthatishometo22%oftheworld’spopulation.

Bimstecmeet lookstoboostantiterrorties,connectivityON THE ANVIL PM to arrive today; members may announce plan to set up development fund

NARENDRAMODIWILL INAUGURATETHENEPALBHARATMAITRI PASHUPATIDHARMASHALABUILTWITH INDIANAID

12 hindustantimes HINDUSTAN TIMES , PUNETHURSDAY, AUGUST 30 , 2018

JULIA FLORES COLQUEBolivianwomanmight beworld’s oldest personwith a recorded age of 117 years and 10months

1 With a national identity cardwhich says shewas born onOctober 26, 1900, Flores Colquehaswitnessed twoworldwars, revolutions inBolivia and the transformation of her rural

town of Sacabawith 3,000 people to a bustlingcity ofmore than 175,000

2 Birth certificates did not exist in Bolivia until 1940, and birthspreviouslywere registeredwith baptism certificates provided byRoman Catholic priests. Flores Colque’s national identity card,however, has been certified by the Bolivian government

3 The previous oldest person, a 117-year-old Japanesewoman, diedearlier this year. A spokeswoman for GuinnessWorld Records saidshewas not aware of receiving any application for Flores Colque,who doesn’t seem to care that her record hasn’t been confirmed.

inthenews

n Fireworkers remove a fourmetre gold statue of TurkishPresident Recep Tayyip Erdogan fromWiesbaden, Germany, onTuesday after it provoked an angry response from locals. Thestatue was erected on August 26 as part of an art festival. AFP

photooftheday

shortstories

world I FEEL RESPONSIBLE BECAUSE I DIDN’T SEE THE PAIN IN MY BABY’S EYES. ISHOULD HAVE JUST KNOWN. IT’S MY FAULT, I DIDN’T KNOW.

> LEIAROCHELLEPIERCE , motherof JamelMyles,9,whokilledhimself overhomophobic bullying

Trudeau says Nafta dealpossible by FridayOTTAWA:Canadian PrimeMinisterJustin Trudeau said onWednes-day there is a chance of reachingagreement on a continental tradedealwith theUS andMexico bythe end of theweek. Just a dayafter Canadian trade officialsrejoined talks on theNorthAmerican Free Trade AgreementinWashington, Trudeau said,“There is a possibility of gettingto a good deal for Canada byFriday,” the day theUS has set tohave at least the broad accordcompleted. AFP

Russia’s Putin offerspension concessionsMOSCOW :Russian PresidentVladimir Putin onWednesdayscaled back plans to liftwomen’sretirement age by eight years to63 as he offered concessions to apackage of pension reforms thathave hit his approval ratings.Putin said the new retirement ageforwomenwill be raised to 60from the current 55, instead of the63 previously proposed. AP

India,Pakistan hold talkson IndusWaters TreatyLAHORE: India and Pakistan onWednesday commenced crucialtalks on various aspects of theIndusWaters Treaty, the firstbilateral engagement since PrimeMinister Imran Khan tookoffice. The first round of thetwo-daymeetingwas held at theNational Engineering ServicesPakistan. Thewater commission-ers of Pakistan and India arerequired tomeet twice a year andarrange technical visits to pro-jects’ sites and critical river headworks. PTI

Imran to skip UNmeet tofocus on Pak economyISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s newPrimeMinister Imran Khanwillskip nextmonth’s UnitedNationsGeneral Assembly session to focushis attention on the country’seconomy, said his foreignminis-ter. ForeignMinister ShahMeh-moodQureshiwill head thePakistani delegation at 73rdUNGeneral Assembly session set toopen on September 18.REUTERS

PAKISTANGOVT SAYS INTERPOLREJECTEDREQUEST FORMUSHARRAF’S ARRESTISLAMABAD: Interpol has rejected Pakistan’s request to issue a Red Cornernotice for former president PervezMusharraf as it does notwant to inter-fere in cases of a political nature, the government onWednesday informed aspecial court hearing the treason case against the formermilitary dictatorwho is now inDubai. The government’s reply came as the tribunal resumedhearing the case againstMusharraf for suspending the Constitution in 2007by imposing emergency.Musharraf, 75, was indicted in the case inMarch2014 after he appeared before the court and rejected all charges. Interiorsecretary Yousuf NaseemKhokhar informed the court that a letterwaswritten to Interpol to issue a RedWarrant. AGENCIES

n No Red Card for rhetoric? US President Donald Trump with FIFA president Gianni Infantino. REUTERS

Agenciesn [email protected]

WASHINGTON: The White Houseindicateditwill investigateGoo-gle after President DonaldTrumpaccusedthetechgiant,aswellasFacebookandTwitter,ofpromotingnegativenewscover-ageofhisadministration.Trump’s economic adviser

LarryKudlowtoldreportersonTuesday that the White Housewas “taking a look” at Google,sayingtheadministrationwoulddo“someinvestigationandsomeanalysis,” without providingfurtherdetails.

His comments came hoursafter Trump accused Google’ssearchengineofpromotingneg-ative news articles and hiding“fairmedia”coverageofhim.Trump’s attack against the

Alphabet Inc unit follows astringofgrievancesagainsttech-nology companies, includingsocial media Twitter Inc andFacebook Inc, which he hasaccused of silencing conserva-tive voices, and Amazon.comInc,whichhehassaidishurtingsmallbusinessesandbenefitingfroma favourable dealwith theUSPostalServices.Google denied any political

bias, saying in a statement thatits searchengine is “notused toset a political agenda and wedon’t bias our results towardsanypolitical ideology.”Trumpsaid in several tweets

on Tuesday that Google searchresults for“TrumpNews”were“rigged” against him becausetheyshowedonlycoveragefromoutlets like CNN and not con-servativepublications,suggest-ing the practice was illegal.“Google is really taking advan-tageofourpeople,”Trumpsaid .“Google, andTwitter andFace-book,theyarereallytreadingonvery,very troubled territory.”

White House to probe Googleafter Trump accuses it of bias

YashwantRajn [email protected]

WASHINGTON:USPresidentDonaldTrump has warned evangelicalleaders that Republicans losingcontrol of Congress in the mid-termelectionswillresultinDem-ocrats overturning his achieve-ments“quicklyandviolently”.Ataclosed-doormeetingwith

evangelist leaders at the WhiteHouse onMonday, Trump saideverythingonhisagendawouldbeatstakeifRepublicans lose inNovember, according to anaudiotape of the meetingobtainedbyTheNewYorkTimes.“They will overturn every-

thingthatwe’vedone,andthey’lldo it quickly and violently, andviolently,” Trump said, accord-ingtoaTimesreport.“There’s violence.When you

look at antifa, and you look atsomeofthesegroups—theseareviolentpeople,”hesaid,referringtoagroupofaggressiveanti-fas-cistactivists.WhencontactedbytheTimes,

a White House spokesmandeclined to elaborate on whatTrumpmeant.Thecontrolofbothchambers

ofCongressisatstakeinthemid-term elections, and there arefearsthatifDemocratstakebacktheHouseofRepresentativesandtheSenatefromtheRepublicans,they could not only stymieTrump’s legislative agenda butcould also move towardsimpeachinghim.Evangelicalsareakeyconstit-

uencyforTrumpandheappealedto them to use their pulpits to

urgecongregantstogovoteintheNovemberelections.“Ithinkwe’redoingverywell,

and I think we’re popular, butthere’s a real question as towhetherpeoplearegoingtovoteif I’mnotontheballot,”hesaid.“I just ask you to go out and

make sure all of your peoplevote,” Trump said. “Because iftheydon’t...we’regoingtohaveamiserable two years and we’regoing to have, frankly, a veryhardperiodoftimebecausethenit just gets to be one election—you’re one election away fromlosingeverythingyou’vegot.”

WHITEHOUSECOUNSELMCGAHNTOLEAVEPOSTWhite House counsel DonMcGahn, whose time servingPresident Donald Trump hasbeenmarkedbytensionrelatedtotheinvestigationofRussianelec-tion interference, will leave thejobinthecomingweeks.“White House Counsel Don

McGahnwillbeleavinghisposi-tion in the fall, shortly after theconfirmation (hopefully) ofJudge Brett Kavanaugh to theUnited States Supreme Court,”TrumptweetedonWednesday.“IhaveworkedwithDonforalongtimeandtrulyappreciatehisser-vice!”McGahn voluntarily cooper-

atedwithSpecialCounselRobertMuellerandhisteaminacontin-uing investigation that alreadyhas resulted in guilty pleas,indictments and cooperationdealsandoneconvictionforsev-eralTrumpinsiders.

(With inputs fromAgencies)

Trumpwarnsof‘violence’ ifRepublicanslosemidtermpollsSCAREMONGERING US prez tellsevangelical leaders that Democrats willreverse his achievements ‘overnight’

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan humanrightsministerShireenMazariisworking on a proposal for “con-flictresolution”inKashmirthatwill soon be presented to PrimeMinister Imran Khan and thecabinet forapproval.The minister is currently

workingontheproposalanditisyettobefinalised,saidapersoninIslamabad familiarwith the lat-estdevelopments inthematter.Mazari, who is considered a

hardliner on India and hasworkedondefenceandstrategicissuesforlong,toldthemediaonWednesdaythatsheis“workingonaconflictresolutionmodelforKashmir”. She did not givedetails.In a television interview ear-

lier this week, Mazari said thedraft proposal is expected to bereadybytheendofnextweekandwillthenbecirculatedamong“allthestakeholders”.“It will first be shown to the

cabinetandtheprimeminister.Ifit isapproved, thematterwillbetakenforward,”shesaid.However,itisunclearwhether

theproposalisbeingpreparedatthebehestoftherulingPakistanTehreek-e-Insaf(PTI)partyorisa personal initiative of Mazari.After the PTI won the generalelection, Mazari was tipped tobecomethedefenceministerbutshe did not get the portfolio,apparentlyduetoobjectionsfromthepowerfulmilitary.Observers said the proposal

couldbepartofeffortsbyMazaritoremainrelevantaftershewasgiven the relatively low profilehumanrightsportfolio.Theysaidtheproposalcouldcontainsomenew confidence-building meas-uresorhumanitarianmeasuresbut it was not clear how far itwouldgoinfindingalastingsolu-tiontotheKashmir issue. HTC

PAK MINISTERWORKING ONKASHMIRPROPOSAL

CHICAGO:ATexasmanonTuesdaybegansellingdigitalgun-makingblueprints, including for a3D-printed plastic handgun,despite a judge’s order barringthedistributionof thematerial.Cody Wilson initially pub-

lishedthefilesonhiswebsitefourweeks ago, after a deal struckwith theTrumpadministrationthat ended the federal govern-ment’sefforts toblockhim.Wilson’sactionscausedapolit-

ical firestorm, and evenprompted Trump to tweet thatmaking gun blueprints easilyavailableonline“doesn’tseemtomakemuchsense!”Multiple states filed a joint

lawsuit claimingWilsonendan-gered public safety. One of the

homemadeweaponscouldevademetal detectors and all lackedtraceableserialnumbers.Afederaljudgeissuedatempo-

raryorderonJuly31barringthedistribution of the digital blue-prints,andonMondayextendedthatorderuntilthestates’lawsuitisadjudicated.Wilsontoldanewsconference

on Tuesday that he interpretedthejudge’srulingasonlybarringthefreeonlinedistributionoftheblueprints. He instead began tooffer the files forsale,andprom-ised to send physical copies onflashdrivesorbyemail.Visitors tohis onlinemarket-

place,onceagainactiveonTues-day,couldnametheirownpricefortheinformation. AFP

Texan begins sellingplans for 3-D firearms


LAHORE:AnIslamistpartyinPak-istan called for the expulsion ofthe Dutch ambassador onWednesdayasit launchedapro-testagainstafar-rightDutchpol-itician’splan foracartooncom-petitionfeaturingcaricaturesofProphetMohammed.Several thousand activists

beganamarchinLahoreforthedemonstration organised byTehreek-e-Labbaik,apartythatamassedthefifthlargestnumberofvotesinageneralelectionlastmonth having campaigned as adefenderofthelawsandpunish-ments forcrimesofblasphemy.PartyleaderKhadimHussain

Rizvi set out fromLahore’s his-toric centreat theheadof apro-test which he aims will passthrough the towns of Punjabprovince to Islamabad, whereprotesters will stage a sit-in topressurePrimeMinister ImranKhantocutdiplomatictieswiththeNetherlands.“The Dutch ambassador

should be immediatelydeported,”LabbaikspokesmanEjaz Ashrafi told Reuters. “Wewill only stopwhen the govern-mentmeets thisdemand.”Pakistan has already com-

plainedtotheDutchgovernmentaboutfar-rightparliamentarianGeert Wilders’ plans for a car-toon contest thatwill upset andprovokeMuslims.Foreignminister ShahMeh-

moodQureshisaidheplannedtotake up the issue with theUN andseveralworld leaders.

Pakistani Islamistscall for Dutchenvoy’s expulsionover cartoons

HURR ICANEMAR IA

AssociatedPressn [email protected]

SANJUAN: PuertoRico’sgovernorraised theUS territory’s officialdeathtollfromHurricaneMariafrom64to2,975onTuesdayafteranindependentstudyfoundthatthe number of people who suc-cumbedinthedesperate,swelter-ingaftermathhadbeenseverelyundercounted.Thenewestimatewasmadeby

researchers with the MilkenInstituteSchoolofPublicHealthat George Washington Univer-sity.“We never anticipated a sce-

nario of zero communication,zero energy, zero highwayaccess,” governor Ricardo Ros-sello told reporters. “I think thelessonistoanticipatetheworst....Yes, I made mistakes. Yes, inhindsight, things could’ve beenhandleddifferently.”He said he is creating a com-

mission to study the hurricaneresponse,andaregistryofpeoplevulnerabletothenexthurricane,

suchastheelderly,thebedriddenandkidneydialysispatients.RosselloacknowledgedPuerto

Rico remains vulnerable toanothermajorstorm.Hesaidthegovernment has improved itscommunication systems andestablishedanetworktodistrib-ute food and medicine, but henotedtherearestill60,000homeswithoutaproperroofandthatthepowergrid isstillunstable.Tuesday’s finding is almost

twicethegovernment’spreviousestimate, included in a recentreport to Congress, that therewere1,427moredeathsthannor-malinthethreemonthsafterthestorm.The George Washington

researchers said the officialcountfromtheSeptember20hur-ricane was low in part becausedoctorswerenot trained inhowtoclassifydeathsafteradisaster.Thenumberofdeadhaspoliti-

cal implications for the Trumpadministration, which wasaccusedofrespondinghalf-heart-edlytothedisaster.

Puerto Rico deathtoll raised to 2,975

n Aftermath of Hurricane Maria in San Juan in October 2017. AP FILE

ingacamp in thearea.If true, the development

would have been worrying forIndia,which recently agreed tojointly implement a capacity-building project with China inAfghanistan.It was agreed on by Prime

Minister Narendra Modi andPresident Xi Jinping duringtheirinformalsummitatWuhaninApril.Citingsources,the reportsaid

thiswould be the first time thatChina would have a militarypresence in thearea, “anarrow

SutirthoPatranobisn [email protected]

BEIJING:Chinesemilitaryperson-nelwon’tbestationedattheBei-jing-funded counter-terrorismcampbeingbuilt inAfghanistan,the Afghan envoy to China,JananMosazai,saidonWednes-day.Themilitariesofthetwocoun-

triesareworkinginclosecoordi-nation on setting up a counter-terrormountain brigade in thenorthernBadakhshanregion.“TherewillbenoChineseper-

sonnel under any circumstan-ces,” Mosazai said in a state-ment.Hewasreacting toareport in

the Hong Kong-based SouthChinaMorningPost.The report said the People’s

LiberationArmy(PLA)is likelytosendhundredsofmilitaryper-sonneltoAfghanistan’s isolatedWakhan Corridor in Badakh-shan after they complete build-

stripof inhospitable andbarelyaccessible landextendingabout350 km from the northernAfghanprovinceofBadakhshantoChina’sMuslimregionofXin-jiang”.Sources told the newspaper

thattheAfghanistanbasewouldhaveadifferentrolethantheonein Djibouti – where China hasdeployed more engineers andbuilders than combatants –because the “training camp islocatedclosetoXinjiang,whichBeijingseesasthemainsourceofthe“three forces”–separatism,terrorism and extremism –behindaseriesofviolentattacksin theregion inrecentyears”.RejectingtheSCMPreportas

false and baseless, Mosazaisaid: “The Chinese side is pro-vidingassistancetoAfghanistansothatwecansetupamountainbrigade inthenorthofAfghani-stan in order to enhance ourcounter-terrorismoperationsintheregion.”

Chinanot to put boots onground atAfghanbase

THERE WILL BE NOCHINESE MILITARYPERSONNELOF ANYKIND INVOLVED INAFGHAN SOIL,SAIDMOSAZAI.CHINA ALSODENIED THEREPORT

andsecurityforces,”Haleysaid,referring to theUSreport.ShesaidtheSecurityCouncil

musthold thoseresponsible forthe violence to account andadded, “The whole world iswatchingwhatwedonextandifwewill act.”

Reutersn [email protected]

UNITEDNATIONS:FindingsofaUSstate department investigationintoMyanmar’sRohingyacrisisare “consistent”with those of areport by UN investigatorsreleasedthisweekthatcalledforMyanmar’scommander-in-chiefand other generals be tried forgenocide, theUSambassadortotheUnitedNationssaidonTues-day.Addressing the UN Security

Council, Nikki Haley said “theworld can no longer avoid thedifficult truth of what hap-pened.”Shedidnotusetheterm“gen-

ocide”andthestatedepartmenthassaidithadnotyetconcludedwhetheritsharedthedetermina-tion of “genocidal intent” thatMonday’sUNreportattachedtothe attacks on Rohingya Mus-lims.However, Haley said that of

the more than 1,000 randomlyselectedRohingyaMuslimssur-veyed in the state department’sownreport,“fullyone-fifth”wit-nessed more than 100 victimsbeingkilledor injured.Shesaid82%hadseenakilling,morethanhalf had witnessed sexual vio-lence and 45% had witnessed arape.“The report identifies one

group as the perpetrator of theoverwhelmingmajorityofthesecrimes: the Burmese military

‘US Rohingya reportconsistent with UN’

YANGON:MyanmaronWednesdayrejected thefindingsof aUNinvesti-gationalleginggenocideby itsmilitaryagainsttheRohingya inadefi-ant response toacrisisthathasheaped interna-tionalopprobriumonboth its leadership.“Wedidn’t allowthe

FFM(theUNFact-Find-ingMission) toenterintoMyanmar, that’swhywedon’t agreeandacceptanyresolutionsmadeby theHumanRightsCouncil,” saidgovernment spokesmanZawHtay. HesaidMyanmar’sown inde-pendentCommissionofEnquirywassetup torespond to“falseallega-tions. AGENCIES

MYANMARREJECTS UNREPORT

WASHINGTON:TheUSonTuesdayannounced itwas extending thesuspensionofpremiumprocess-ingofpetitions forH-1Bnon-im-migrant visas for highly skilledforeignworkers toFebruary 19,2019.The current suspension was

scheduled to end on September11.Premiumprocessions allows

thefast-trackingofH1-Bpetitionsagainst a fee that is higher thanthat fornormalvisas. It cuts theprocessingtimedrastically,help-ing companies fill vacanciesurgentlyandnotwaitformonthsintheordinaryprocess.The Trump administration

hasalsoexpandedthetemporarysuspension to include certainadditionalpetitions.When the US citizenship and

immigration services (USCIS)firstannouncedthefreezein2017,ithadsaiditneededtoinvesttimeandresourcesdealwithabacklogofpileduppetitions.ItreiteratedinitsannouncementonTuesdaythatthesuspensionwasto“proc-esslong-pendingpetitions,whichwe have been unable to processduetothehighvolumeofincom-ingpetitionsandpremiumproc-essingrequestsoverthepastfewmonths,(andto)beresponsivetopetitions with time-sensitivestartdates”. HTC

Suspension ofH1B premiumprocessingextended to Feb 19

DHAKA:ABangladeshtelevisionjournalist has been hacked todeath with a sharp-edgedweapon by unidentified assail-ants at her residence, mediareports said onWednesday.SubarnaNodi, 32, was a cor-

respondent forAnandaTVandalso worked for the DailyJagroto Bangla newspaper,bdnews24.com reported. Shelived in theRadhanagarareaofPabna district, 150 km fromDhaka.Around 10 to 12 assailants

rangthedoorbellofherhouseat10 .45 pm on Tuesday,bdnews24.comreported.Whenshe answered the door, theyhackedherandfled.AGENCIES

B’desh journalisthacked to deathat her residence TEHRAN: Iran’ssupremeleaderon

Wednesdaywarnedthecountrycould abandon its nuclear dealwithworldpowersif itnolongerserved its interests, evenaseco-nomic and political pressuremountedonthegovernment.“Naturally, if we reach the

conclusionthat(thenucleardeal)is no longer maintaining ournational interests,wewill put itaside,”AyatollahAliKhameneisaidinameetingwiththecabinet.He said Iranmustnot “pin its

hopes”onEurope,despiteEuro-pean efforts to salvage thenucleardeal following thewith-drawalof theUnitedStates.ThegovernmentofPresident

Hassan Rouhani has been bat-tered by the return of US sanc-tions,whichhastriggeredarapiddeparture of foreign firms and

ended his hopes of attractinglarge-scale investment.His political enemies are cir-

cling,withParliamentannounc-ing twomoreministerscouldbe

impeachedinthecomingdays.Thelabourandeconomymin-

istershavealreadybeen sackedby parliament this month andmotions have been accepted to

vote on impeaching his indus-triesandeducationministers inthecomingdays.Khamenei insisted the politi-

cal tumult was a sign of thestrengthof Iran’sdemocracy.Hepraisedthetoughquestion-

ing Rouhani received in Parlia-ment onTuesday as “a gloriousshowof thepowerof the Islamicrepublicandtheself-confidenceofofficials.”Tuesday’s grilling in parlia-

mentwasthefirstforRouhaniinfiveyearsaspresident, and law-makersslammedhishandlingoffive economic issues, rangingfrom unemployment to the col-lapsingvalueof thecurrency.Invotingat the endof the ses-

sion, they declared they wereunsatisfied with four of hisresponses. AFP

I RANNUCLEARAGREEMENT

Khamenei says ready to abandon deal

n Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. AFP

HINDUSTAN TIMES, PUNETHURSDAY, AUGUST 30, 2018 hindustantimes 13

Stressed Assets (S4A scheme),Strategic Debt Restructuringscheme (SDR), Corporate DebtRestructuring(CDR)schemeandJointLenders’Forum(JLF).

OnGDPfront,theRBIexpectseconomicgrowthratetoacceler-ate to 7.4% in the current finan-cial year owing to a pickup inindustrialactivityandgoodmon-soon. In its annual reportreleasedonWednesday, theRBIalsosaid itsmonetarypolicywillcontinue to be guided by theobjective of achieving themedi-um-term target for retail infla-tion of 4%, within a tolerancebandof+/- 2percent,whilesup-portinggrowth.ItcautionedthatIndia’sexter-

nal sector will have to confrontglobalheadwinds,butexpressedconfidence that the currentaccountdeficitwould largelybefinancedbyforeigndirectinvest-

ment.Severalexperts, includingIndia’s largest lenderStateBankof India, expects the CAD towiden this fiscal on account ofhigh oil prices and a large tradedeficit.TheCADwasestimatedat2% of the GDP in the financialyearendingMarch2018.

Thereportnotedthatagricul-tural production is likely toremainstrong,growth impulsesin industryarestrengthening—propelledbya sustainedpickupin manufacturing and miningactivity,corporatesarereportingrobust sales growth and animprovement in profitability,andservicessectoractivity issettogatherpace.

Also,revenue-earningfreighttrafficofrailwayshaspickedup,drivenbystepped-upmovementincoal, fertiliserandcement.

“Keeping inviewtheevolvingeconomic conditions, real GDP

n Gross nonperforming assets plus restructured standard advancesremained elevated at 12.1% of gross advances at end of March2018, the RBI Annual Report said MINT

NavadhaPandeyn [email protected]

NEWDELHI:Thedepartmentoftele-communications (DoT) has in aletter dated August 17 askedBhartiAirtel Ltd to pay in cashandthroughabankguaranteeatotalof₹1,626.89croretoclear itsmergerwithBhartiDigital Net-works (formerly known asTikonaDigitalNetworks).

Airtel has , however ,approached the Telecom Dis-putes Settlement andAppellateTribunal(TDSAT)seekingastayontheDoTdemand.

DoTaskedAirteltopay₹185.62crore in cash.This is the differ-encebetweentheentryfeepaya-ble for unified access servicelicenceinthefourtelecomcirclesofGujarat,Himachal,UttarPra-desh (east) and Uttar Pradesh(west) and the entry fee alreadypaid by Tikona under unifiedlicence inthe2300MHzband.

This payment would enableAirteltoalsoprovidevoiceservi-cesusingthespectruminthefourcircles.Tikonahas20MHzspec-trum in these circles and theRajasthancircle.

“BhartiAirtelshall(also)sub-mitbankguaranteetowardsone-time spectrum charges for₹1,441.27croretowardsspectrumholding beyond 4.4MHz (under

themergerandacquisitionguide-lines),” the lettersaid.Minthasseenacopyofthe let-

ter.One-timespectrumchargesare payable by companies thatwant to convert their adminis-tered spectrumor spectrumnotbought in an auction to liberal-isedorauctionedspectrum.Auc-tionedspectrumcanbedeployedflexibly for any purpose,unlikeadministeredspectrum.

Under thedepartmentof tele-communications’s merger andacquisitionguidelines, ifatrans-feror(Tikona)holdsapartofthespectrum,which(upto4.4MHz)has been assigned against theentry fee paid, the transferee(Airtel), at the time of merger,shallpaytothegovernment, thedifferentialbetweentheentryfeeandthemarket-determinedpriceof spectrum from the date ofapproval of such arrangementsby the National Company LawTribunal (NCLT) on a pro-ratabasisfortheremainingperiodofvalidityof the licence.Inrespectofspectrumholding

beyond4.4MHz,abankguaran-tee for an amount equal to thedemand raised by the DoT forone-timespectrumchargesshallbesubmittedbytransferee(Air-tel),pendingfinaloutcomeofthecourt case, according to theguidelines.

DoT seeks ₹1,626 crfromAirtel to clearmerger with Tikona

n Airtel has approached the Telecom Disputes Settlement andAppellate Tribunal seeking a stay on the DoT demand MINT

GireeshChandraPrasadn [email protected]

NEWDELHI:TheCentral Informa-tionCommission(CIC)hasaskedthe Union government and theReserve Bank of India (RBI) todisclose the names of wilfuldefaultersof₹50croreandaboveand the action taken againstthem,sayingeverytaxpayingcit-izenhasaright toknowabout it.

The direction came recentlyfrom central information com-missionerMSridharAcharyuluwhile hearing a plea seekinginformation.Acharyulupointedout that defaulters of smallamounts like farmers aredefamed inpublic,whiledefault-ersabove₹50croreweregivenalong rope, news agency PTIreportedonWednesdayquotingthewrittenorder.

Defaulters above ₹50 crorewere given high concessions inthenameofonetimesettlements,interest waivers and severalotherprivilegesandtheirnamesare hidden from exposure tosecuretheirreputation, thePTIreportsaidquotingtheorder.

RBIandbankshavebeenmak-ingseriouseffortstorecoverduesfrom wilful defaulters and tobringthemtobook.

The central bank has shownsomereluctanceindisclosingthenames of wilful defaulters , butbanks such as PunjabNationalBank(PNB)nameandshamewil-fuldefaultersaspartofrecoveryefforts.

Disclose namesand action takenagainst wilfuldefaulters: CIC

n UTI AMC chief executive Leo Puri MINT/FILE

n Sanjiv Singh, chairman,Indian Oil Corp. Ltd

OMCS TO EXPANDNETWORKAFTERFOURYEARGAPMUMBAI: IndianOil Corp. Ltd(IOCL), Bharat PetroleumCorp. Ltd(BPCL) andHindustan PetroleumCorp. Ltd (HPCL) are set to expandtheir fuel retail network after agap of nearly four years. Thethree state-run companies havean ambitious plan to open acombined nearly 50,000 fueloutlets over the next three years,said officials at IOCL. “With over50,000 new fuel stations andliquefied petroleumgas (LPG)distributorships coming up in thenext fewyears, benchmarking toglobal standards and generatingadditional revenue streams fromnon-fuel business is an ideaworthexploring by the oilmarketingcompanies (OMCs),” Sanjiv Singh,chairman, IOCL, told shareholdersat an AGM inMumbai.

Aditya Birla Capital tiesupwith Varde PartnersMUMBAI:Aditya Birla Capital Ltd(ABCL), the financial services armof Aditya Birla Group, has an-nounced a joint venturewithUS-based alternative assetsmanager Värde Partners to investin distressed assets in India.Aditya Birla Capital CEOAjaySrinivasan said that VardePartnerswill come on board as a50 :50 joint venture partner inABCL’s newly incorporated assetreconstruction company forwhich it received RBI nod inSeptember last year.

HC grants bail to BhushanSteel expromoterSingalNEWDELHI:TheDelhi high courtonWednesday directed thatBhushan Steel’s erstwhile pro-moter Neeraj Singal, arrested bythe SFIO for allegedly siphoningoff ₹2,000 crore, be released oninterimbail as the agency has notbeen able to justify the need forhis continued incarceration. Abench of justices SMuralidhar andVinodGoel said since Singal’schallenge to the constitutionalvalidity of the provisions forgrant of bail and powers of arrestof SFIOwere prima facie, notfrivolous, he should be able toseek interim relief.

Indiamaymiss fiscal deficittarget for201819:Moody’sNEWDELHI:The government islikely tomiss its fiscal deficittarget in its final year in office dueto higher than budgeted oil pricesand rising interest rate scenario,Moody’s Investors Service said.The government has set thetarget of reducing fiscal deficit to3.3%of gross domestic product(GDP) in 2018-19 from 3.5%of GDPin the previous financial year.

COMPILED FROMMINTREPORTERS AND AGENCIES

Bloombergn [email protected]

SANFRANCISCO: Justdaysafterhastilyabandoningashort-livedexplorationof takingTesla Inc.private,ElonMuskreturned toTwitter to show-case the impulsiveness thathasraised theeyebrowsofinvestorsandregulatorsalikelately.Inaseriesofposts lateon

Tuesday, theunpredictablechief executiveofficerdeniedthathecriedduringaNewYorkTimes interviewearlierthismonth.Musk thencouldn’t resist tradingbarbswitha followerwhocriticizedhimforcallingacaveexplorerinThailandapedophileback

inJuly.“For therecord,myvoicecrackedonceduring theNYTimesarticle.That’s it.Therewereno tears”.

Musk steeredclearofmak-inganyassertionsaboutTesla,akeydistinction fromhisposts thatare said tobeunder investigationby theSecuritiesandExchangeCommission.But themissivesservedas freshremindersofMusk’s erraticTwitter tend-enciesandreinforcedcon-cernsaboutwhetherhecanadhere to theSEC’s rules,nowthathe’sdecidedTeslawillstaypublicandcontinue tofallunder theagency’sover-sight.

“He’snotgoing tobecomeatypicalCEO, so thequestion is

whetherhe’sgoing tomakestatements that runafoulofsecurities laws,” saidKenBertsch,anexecutivedirectorat theCouncilof InstitutionalInvestors,a tradegroup thatrepresentspublicpension

funds thatownTeslashares.With theSEC,Musk is“goingtobeonashorter leash,”Bertschsaid.“And I’msurethecompany’s lawyersaretellinghimthat.”

Youdon’t think it’s strangehehasn’t suedme?Hewasoffered free legal services.Andyoucallyourself@yoda…

TheSEChasn’t acknowl-edged that it’s investigatingTesla,andRyanWhite,aspokesman for theagency,declined tocomment for thisstory.ATeslaspokesmanalsodeclined tocomment.

Musk started17daysofdramawhenhe tweetedonAugust 7 thathehad“fundingsecured” to takeTeslapri-

vate,without sharingevi-dence that investormoneywas indeed linedup.Gener-ally, theSECconsiders state-mentsbyexecutives tobematerial information thathave tobe true,and thecom-mentpromptedasubpoenafromtheregulator.

AfterMuskhaschangedcourseFridayandpledged tokeepTeslapublic,oneof thebiggest riskshe faces is thattheSECwill try tobarhimfrombeinganofficeroradirectorofapubliccompany.This levelofpunishmentoftenstingsmuchmore thanany fine,which iswhymostcompaniesaggressivelyresistit insettlementnegotiationswith theregulator.

Musk’s rants rekindle concern about troublesome tweetingTRADING BARBS

n Tesla Motors chief executiveofficer Elon Musk REUTERS

TanyaThomas andShayanGhoshn [email protected]

MUMBAI:Reliance InfrastructureLtd’schairmanAnilAmbanionWednesdaycompletedthesaleofitsMumbaicitypowerdistribu-tionbusinessto fellow industri-alist Gautam Adani for ₹18,800crore.

Though Reliance Infra hassoldoneof itsprofitablebusinessventures, itwillhelpbolster thecompany’s financials by repay-ingdebtof₹13,800crore fromanaccumulated debt of ₹22,000crore.

“For Reliance Infra, this istrulya transformative transac-tion.RInfra’s gross debtwill bereducedfromabout₹22,000croreto ₹7,500 crore, representing asteep debt reduction of 65% injustasingletransaction,”chair-manAmbani toldreportersat anews conference. “RInfra’sannual interest costwillalsobereducedby70%from₹2,600croreto₹800crore.”Thedealwillhelpto narrow RInfra’s debt-equityratioto0.3:1,amongthe lowest inthe industry.

Tofurtherparedebt,Ambanisaid he expects arbitrationawardsof₹6,000crore inongoingcasesofDelhiMetroRailCorpo-ration,GoaPowerandNationalHighways Authority of India,and a ₹5,000 crore inflow fromregulatoryassetsoftheMumbaiPowerdistributionbusinessthatareunderapproval.“Wehaveafurther cushion of ₹8,000 croreunder arbitration yet to bedecided. With these availablecash avenues, we expect to becompletelydebt-freeby2019.”

RINFRA SELLSMUMBAI POWERUTILITY TO ADANIFOR ₹18,800 CR

AnirudhLaskarn [email protected]

MUMBAI:TRowePrice,thelargestshareholder of UTIAsset Man-agementCo.(UTIAMC),calledatruce with the government andthemarkets regulator after thefinanceministryagreedtoissueano-objection(NOC)letterforUTIAMC’s initial share sale, anddirectstate-runfinancialinstitu-tions to cut their stakes in thelocal assetmanager, twopeopleawareof thedevelopmentsaid.

The US fund manager with-drew itswritpetitionagainstthegovernment, theSecurities andExchange Board of India andotherUTIAMCshareholdersonTuesday after it was satisfiedwith the assurances given byfinance ministry officials at ameetinginearlyAugust,thepeo-plecitedabovesaidonconditionofanonymity.

Accordingly,thegovernmentwill askLife Insurance Corp. ofIndia (LIC), State Bank of India(SBI), Punjab National Bank(PNB)andBankofBaroda(BoB)

to slash their stakes in UTIAMC from18.25% to 10%eachwithinadeadline.T RowePriceowns 26% in UTIAMC, but thefour government institutionstogethercommandamajorityonitsboard.

TRowePrice approached theBombayhighcourtonAugust8,seeking its intervention to forcethefourstate-run institutionstoreducetheirstakesasmandatedby the stockmarkets regulator,andorder the continuance of itschief executive Leo Puri. OnAugust 28, it withdrew the peti-tion.

“Thegovernmenthassaidthistime that it willwork out a planfavourable for all stakeholdersand the AMC. The governmentwilldirect the fourpublicsectorsponsor-cumshareholders(whohavetheirownseparatein-houseAMCbusinesses)toreducetheirstakes in UTI AMC in the nextthreemonths,definitelybyendofMarch2019,”saidthefirstperson.

According to the second per-son,UTIAMC is likely to comeoutwitha₹5,000-crore IPO.

Govt to give greensignal to ₹5,000 crUTI AMC share sale

shortstories

KomalGuptan [email protected]

NEWDELHI:Anappellate tribunalonWednesday admitted oustedTataSonsLtdchairmanCyrusPMistry’s plea challenging aNationalCompanyLawTribunal(NCLT) order that upheld hisremovalaschairman.

The National Company LawAppellateTribunal(NCLAT)hasissuedanoticetoTataSonsseek-ing a response on the matterwithin10days.

The petition,which has beenfiled by Mistry in his personalcapacity, requests the appellatetribunal to set aside the orderpassed by theMumbai bench of

NCLTonJuly 9.Mistryhasalsosaid that some words and com-mentswrittenagainsthim intheNCLTordershouldbeexpunged.

TheNCLTbenchhad,aspartof the same order, allowedTataSons to become a private firm,whichhasalsobeenchallengedinNCLATbytheMistryfamily.

Thetwo-judgeNCLATbench,headedbyJusticeSJMukhopad-hyay,onWednesdaysaidthatthepleafiledbyMistrywillbeheardon September 24 alongwith theother petition filed by Mistry’sfamily-run investment firm,Cyrus InvestmentsPvt.Ltd.Lastweek,theappellatetribu-

nal admitted the plea by CyrusInvestments seekingan interim

is likely to be decided. It alsorestrainedTata Sons from forc-ing theMistry family out of theholdingcompanytillthehearingonthematter isover.

“If the appellants (CyrusInvestments) are forced to selltheirshares,whichmayaffectthemerits of the appeal as theywillceasetobemember(s)ofthecom-pany,wedirect therespondents(Tata Sons)not take any step intermsofArticle75fortransferofsharesofminorityshareholderslikeappellantsandothersduringthependencyoftheappeal,”saidthe tribunal in its interimorderissuedonFriday.

Article 75 of the Articles ofAssociation relates to “com-

pany’spoweroftransfershares”.Iftheappellatetribunalallows

Tata Sons to become a privatefirm, it would insulate the com-pany from any threat of beingtakenoverbyanyentityina“hos-tilemanner”.

Thismeansanyshareholderofprivately held Tata Sons willhavetoseekpermissionfrom itsboard before sellinghis stake toanother entity, including onewithahostile intent.TheMistryfamily,whichhaddeeptieswiththeTatagroupbefore thepublicspat, owns 18.4% stake in TataSonsvaluedat$17billion.ShareholdersofTataSonson

September 22, 2017 voted infavouroftheTatagroupholding

firmbecomingaprivatecompanyat the firstannualgeneralmeet-ing (AGM)under thechairman-shipofNChandrasekaran.

ThemovewasopposedbytheMistry family, represented by aproxy,because itwould restrictthe ability of his family firms tosell their stake. Mistry, in hisappealfiledthroughafamilyruninvestmentfirm,hadalsoalleged“oppression and mismanage-ment”onthepartofTataSons.

Taking note of the issue, theNCLAT in its order said on Fri-day, “We have noticed the rivalcontentionoftheparties.Wearenot inclined to decide the afore-said issueat thestageofhearingforgrantof interimrelief.”

NCLATadmitsMistry’splea, issues notice toTata Sons

stay on the conversion of TataSonsintoaprivatecompanyfroma deemed public company andpostedthematterforhearingonSeptember24,afterwhichthefateofTataSonsasapubliccompany

n Tata Sons’ ousted chairmanCyrus Mistry MINT/FILE


MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank ofIndia (RBI) said onWednesdaythat banks willwitness furtherdeterioration in their non-per-forming assets (NPAs) or badloansduetothe“economicsitua-tionprevailing”inthecurrentfis-cal.

According to RBI’s AnnualReport 2017-18, gross non-per-forming assets (GNPAs) plusrestructuredstandardadvancesinthebankingsystemremainedelevatedat12.1%ofgrossadvan-cesat theendofMarch2018.

The combined impact of theincrease inprovisioningagainstNPAs and mark-to-market(MTM) treasury losses onaccountofthehardeningofyieldserodedtheprofitabilityofbanks,resulting innet losses, it said.In a pre-emptive response, it

said, the RBI allowed banks tospread their MTM losses overfourquartersstartingfromthirdquarter.

“Going forward, the stresstests carried out by theReserveBanksuggestthatunderthebase-line assumption of the currenteconomic situation prevailing,theGNPAratioofscheduledcom-mercial banks (SCBs) mayincrease further in 2018-19,” itsaid.

The aggregate grossNPAs ofSCBs increased primarily as aresult of this transparent recog-nitionofstressedassetsasNPAs,from₹3,23,464crore,asonMarch31,2015, to₹10,35,528crore,asonMarch31,2018.InordertocurbNPAs,theRBI

hasput inplacerevisedandhar-monised guidelines for resolu-tionofstressedassetsduringtheyear, replacing earlier schemeslike Sustainable Structuring of

growth for 2018-19 is expected toincreaseto7.4%from6.7% inthepreviousyear,withrisksevenlybalanced,”saidtheRBIreport.

Thereporthasmaintainedtheprojection regarding GDPgrowth for the current fiscal asestimatedinthethirdbi-monthlymonetary policy of 2018-19announcedearlierthismonth.

The RBI report also said thetransferofsurplustothegovern-ment rose by 63.08% to ₹50,000crore during the financial yearendingJune30,2018.Ithadtrans-ferredasurplusof₹30,659croretothegovernment infinancialyear2016-17.

Thecentralbanktransfersthesurplusgeneratedfrom its func-tionstothegovernmentattheendof each financial year, afteraccounting for any funds trans-ferredtothecontingencyreserveortheassetdevelopmentfund. ItfollowsJuly-Junefinancialyear.

Thecentralbankalsopointedout that India remains a pre-ferred destination for foreigndirect investment (FDI) asdomestic consumption remainsstrong.With manufacturing sector

gatheringmomentum,helpedbybothservicesandagriculturesec-tors, consumption demandremains robust in the countrymaking it an attractive invest-ment destination, the annualreportsaid.India received $37.3 billion

capital inflow in 2017-18 as com-paredto$36.3billion intheprevi-ousfiscal.Duringthe2015-16,thecountryreceived$36.06billion.GivingdetailsofFDI flow, the

report said, the increase in for-eigncapital flowwasmainlyduetohigherflowsintothecommuni-cationservices,retailandwhole-saletrade, financialservicesandcomputerservices.

RBI:Economymayclock7.4%growth;badloanslikelytoriseMOUNTING BURDEN RBI warns of deterioration in NPAs due to prevailing economic conditions

POWERED BY

Bloombergn [email protected]

NEWDELHI:The government hasaskedtheReserveBankof India(RBI) to prepare a list of candi-datesformergeramong21publicsectorbanks(PSBs)as itseekstostrengthen a banking systemladenwithbaddebt,peoplefamil-iarwiththemattersaid.In a meeting this month,

finance ministry officials alsoasked the RBI to suggest a timeframe for the consolidation, thepeoplesaid,askingnotbenamedas the information isn’t public.The move is aimed at creatingfewer,better-capitalized lendersand improvingregulatoryover-sight, theysaid.India has been battling for

yearstocleanupitsbanks,whichhave the highest bad-loan ratioafter Italy among theworld’s 10largesteconomies.PSBsareesti-mated to hold 90% of non-per-formingloans,and11ofthe21areoperating under an emergencyprogramme, supervised by theRBI,whichrestrictsnewlending.

Aphonecalltoafinanceminis-try spokesman and an email tothe RBI seeking commentweren’t immediatelyanswered.

PSBs need to consolidate toavoid losingmoremarket sharetopeers intheprivatesector,theoutgoing chairman of Bank ofBarodaRaviVenkatesansaid inJuly.

Prepare list ofPSBs that canbe merged, govttells central bank

It settled at a record closinglowof70.59-60againsttheUSdol-lar,weakerby49paisefromTues-day’scloseof70.10toaUSdollar.

“Weakness across emergingmarket currencies like Lira,Real, Ruble, Rand and Yuan,alongwithweakness inEurohascausedRupeetodepreciate.Ris-ingoilpricesisanaddedconcern.RBI may have been an activesellerondollarsinspotmarketaswellasderivativesmarket,”saidAnindyaBanerjee,deputy vice-presidentforCurrencyandInter-

IANSn [email protected]

MUMBAI: Caution ahead of keymacro-economic data, coupledwithvolatileglobalcrudeoilpri-ces and a rise in the demand forUS dollars pulled the Indianrupee to a fresh lowonWednes-day.

Accordingtoanalysts,contin-uous outflow of foreign fundsfrom the country’s equity mar-kets also dragged the rupeelower.

On an intra-day basis, theIndian rupee plunged to70.65-66—thelowestevermark—against the greenback after itopenedat the Interbank foreignexchangemarketat70.31-32andsoonsurpassed its record lowof70.40 to a greenback made onAugust16.

estRateswithKotakSecurities.“Overtheneartermweexpect

USD/INR to remain within arangeof70-71.20onspot.”

Apart from global cues, out-flow of foreign funds from theIndianequityandbondmarketshashadanadverseimpactontherupee.Investment-wise,provisional

datawithexchangesshowedthatforeign institutional investorssoldscripsworth₹1,415.87crorewhereas domestic institutionalinvestors bought stocks worth₹1,114.36crore.

Besides, caution prevailedahead of the release of India’sGDP and fiscal deficit data.Thekeymacro-economicdatapointswillbereleasedonFriday.

“Factors like month-end USdollar demand from importers,increase incrudeoilprices inthe

internationalmarketandcautionahead of key economic data onFriday pressurised the rupee,”Anand Rathi, Shares and StockBrokers research analyst Rus-habhMarutold IANS.

Meanwhile, the governmentonWednesday said the Indiancurrencywasexpectedtoremainintherangeof68to70duringtheyear.

Economic affairs secretarySubhashChandraGarg told themediathatthedepreciationintherupeewasduetosomesmallmis-matchinthedemandandsupply,whichmaygoeitherwaydepend-ingontheviewtakenbytheoper-ators.Hesaidwhileforeignport-folio investors took some $9 bil-lionfromthecountryduringthefirstthreemonthsofthecurrentfiscal,net flowwasatanequilib-rium inJuly.

Rupee falls to all-time closing low of 70.59ACCORDING TOANALYSTS,CONTINUOUSOUTFLOWOF FOREIGN FUNDS FROMTHECOUNTRY’S EQUITYMARKETSALSODRAGGEDTHECURRENCY LOWER

14 sport hindustantimes HINDUSTAN TIMES, PUNETHURSDAY, AUGUST 30, 2018

BAHRAIN’S ODIONGCOMPLETESSPRINTDOUBLEJAKARTA: Nigerian-born EdidiongOdiong of Bahrain pipped India’sDutee Chand for the second timein three days towin thewomen’s200metres gold and claim theprestigious sprint double at theAsian Games onWednesday.WeiYongli of China again came thirdto claimbronze in an exact repeatof the top three places in Sun-day’s 100m sprint final at theGelora Bung Karno Stadium.In theshorter sprint, the 21-year-oldOdiongwon in a photo-finishover India’s Chand butwas a clearwinner onWednesday, clocking22.96 seconds. She became thefourthwoman towin the sprintdouble in a single Asian Games.

Wrestlers Bajrang, Vineshin race for KhelRatnaNEWDELHI: ChampionwrestlersBajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogatare in contention for the RajivGandhi Khel Ratna award afternotching up goldmedals in thisyear’s Commonwealth Games andthe ongoing Asian Games. It hasbeen learnt that Bajrang hasalready filed his nominationthrough theWrestling Federationof India, Vinesh is likely to beconsidered by the SportsMinistry.SportsMinister RajyavardhanSingh Rathore is set to analysethe Indian athletes’ performancein the Asian Games in the firstweek of September. TheMinistryis then likelymake its recommen-dations for theNational SportsAwards to the selection commit-tee,whichwill be finalised in thenext fewdays. This year’s cere-monywill take place on Septem-ber 25.

Japan basketball playerssuspended for buying sexJAKARTA:Tottenham forward SonHeung-minwill get onemoreshot at an exemption frommilitary service after helpingSouth Korea reach the final at theAsian Games. Son took leave fromthe Premier League to join theSouth Korea squad in Indonesia inpursuit of an Asian Games title.He figured a short break nowcould save him two seasons onthe sidelines later. The SouthKorean government rewardsAsian Games goldmedals andOlympicmedals of any kindwithan exemption from the compul-sory 21-month national service.Failing that, the 26-year-old Sonwould have to report for dutywithin the next couple of years.Lee Seung-woo scored twice andHwangUi-jo added to his tourna-ment tally to give defendingchampion South Korea a 3-0 leadinWednesday’s semifinals atPakan Sari Stadiumbefore TranMinh Vuong pulled one back forVietnamwith awell-taken freekick in the 70thminute. Sonwasreplaced twominutes later andSouth Korea hung on for a 3-1winto advance to Saturday’s finalagainst Japan,which beat UnitedArab Emirates 1-0. “Nah, the gamewas too late ... was difficult towatch but Iwas very happy (for)my team,” he said. That goes forSpurs, and for South Korea. In aresponse to a question about anexemption frommilitary service,Son said only that hewas “happytomake the history” inwhatwould be awin-win for himselfand his country.

n Edidiong Odiong. AP

Country

ChinaG

102

S

67

B

50

Total

219Japan 52 47 63 162South Korea 37 42 50 129Indonesia 30 22 36 88Iran 19 16 17 52India (9th) 11 20 23 54G -Gold S - Silver B -BronzeMedals tally updated till end of Day 11of competitions.

medaltally

newstracker

TT dream run continues:Bronze for Sharath-ManikaPress Trust of Indian [email protected]

JAKARTA:ThedreamrunofIndiantable tennis contingent contin-ued when the mixed doublespairing of Sharath Kamal andManika Batra won a historicbronzemedalonWednesday.On Tuesday Sharath-led

men’s team had secured abronze, ending India’s 60-year-wait for a maiden table tennismedalat theAsianGames.Sharath andManika teamed

upinmixeddoublesonWednes-day and defeated some qualitypairs.Inthesemi-finals,theylostto China’s Yingsha Sun andWang Sun 9-11, 5-11, 13-11, 4-11,8-11.Thesemi-finalwasabestofseven games contest while theearlierroundswereplayedintheusualbestof five format.In the pre-quarterfinal they

defeated the strong a SouthKorean pair of Lee Sangsu andJeon Jihee 11-7, 7-11, 11-8, 10-12,11-4. They faced their toughestchallenge inNorthKoreanChaHyo Sim and An Ji Song for aplace in the semi-finals and aguaranteedmedal.Exuding confidence and

showinggoodskills the Indianspulled off a thrilling 11-4, 10-12,11-6, 6-11, 11-8victory.

Sharath’s power and Man-ika’s deceptive play from thepimpled rubber proved too hotfor theKoreans tohandle“Inmixeddoubles, theroleof

thefemaleplayer isveryimpor-tant.Moreoftenthannot, itactu-ally decideswho is going towinthematch,”Sharathsaid.“It has been an unbelievable

campaignsofar.NoteveninmywildestdreamsIthoughtofwin-ningamedalattheAsianGames.Now I have got too. I am stillpinchingmyself,”saidSharath.They will now compete in

individualcompetitionstartingThursday. India had won awhoppingeightmedalsatCWG.

n Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra in mixed doubles event. PTI

Swapna’s gold like balm onour journey of struggle: SomaHTCorrespondentn [email protected]

KOLKATA: Only fourheptathletesfromIndiahadbreachedthe6000-pointbarrierbeforeWednesday.SoitwasappropriatethatDrona-charyaaward-winningathleticscoach, Kuntal Roy, would rateSwapna Burman’s gold medalwinning performancewith 6026points as indicationofher entryintoanelitegroupamongAsians.“It is the equivalent of break-

ing the 8000 points barrier indecathlon,” said Roy whocoachedSomaBiswasandSush-mitaSinghaRoytomedalsattheAsianlevel.Biswasbaggedsilverinthe2002and2006AsianGames’heptathlonandSinghaRoytooksilverandbronzerespectivelyinthe2005and2007AsianChampi-onships.“Swapna’sgoldisavictoryfor

the entire fraternity of peopleassociatedwithheptathlon,”saidBiswas,whoisthefirstIndiantobreakthe6000-pointbarrier.“MysilverinBusanshowedpeoplewecould beworld class in heptath-lon.Swapna’sgold is likeabalm

onour journeyof struggle. I feelproud as a Bengali and an hep-tathlete,”addedBiswas.“ItwasSwapna’s effort in the

highjumpandjavelinthattippedthe scales,” saidRoy.Onway tobecoming the first Indian to bagtheheptathlongold,Burmanwonthe high jump with 1003 pointsandthejavelincompetitionwith872points.“Ifyoudoverywellintwoor threeevents, youmake itvery difficult for the rest of thefield tocatchup,”saidRoy.Given her mental resilience,

Roy said he was confident thatBurman would finish amongmedals. Like many athletes in

India, Burman comes from aneconomically challenged back-ground. Her father has been illand unemployable since Bur-man,21,wasachild.MotherBas-anaworkedatateagarden.“Mydaughterhasstruggledwithinju-riesrecently.Shehadahipprob-lem and then hurt her leg. Tohave overcome all that andwingold makes me immenselyproud,” said Basana, breakingdownwhilespeakingtoaBanglanews channel in Jalpaiguri innorthBengalwheretheystay.Add to that the fact that Bur-

manhas12toes,meaninggettingshoes for her posed an evenbig-ger challenge in a sport thatrequires different pairs for anumberofevents.BarringBiswas,GGPramilla,

JJShobhaandSinghaRoyscoredover6000beforeBurman.RoyalsofeltthatBurmanwas

helped by the legacy left by Bis-was andSinghaRay. “It helps ifsomeonehastrodthepathbeforeyou,” he said. “I wish the stateand the country will take com-bined events more seriouslynow.”

n Soma Biswas was the firstIndian to cross 6000 points.

‘Chocolate’ girlwith six toes,Swapna has facedstruggles of lifeAjaiMasandn [email protected]

JAKARTA:SwapnaBarman’scrav-ingforchocolatecouldwellhavecosthergoldattheAsianGames.Just before her competitionbegan on Tuesday, she startedwrithing from tooth pain, forc-ing her to competewith amedi-cated tape covering her rightjaw.“Ihadseverepaininmyright

jaw and couldn’t take medica-tion because of the stringentanti-doping rules. In fact, Iwasn’tevensureIwouldbeableto givemybestwith this killingpain. But, somehow, I got themotivationoverthelasttwodaysto win the Asian Games gold,”said the Jalpaiguri girl afterclinching theheptathlongold.“I toldmyself that if I have to

win, I’llhavetoforget thepain. Iwas also nursing a right kneeinjuryandthattoowastroublingme,”saidSwapnawhostartedasa high jumper in 2013 but latermoved toheptathlon.With6026points,Swapnawon

the gold by a massive margin,with China’s Wang Qinglingcoming secondwith 5954pointsand Yuki Yamasaki of Japannotchingapersonal best of 5873onway tobronze.Going into the final phase of

the gruelling event — 800m —she knew she had to just keeppacewith the Chinese to clinchgold. Though Swapna—whosemotherworksinateaestateandher father a rickshaw driverbefore a stroke left him bedrid-den in 2013— finished fourth in800m, shewasway ahead of thefield.No Indian had won gold in

heptathlonbeforeSwapna,withSomaBiswaswinning two con-secutivesilvermedalsatthe2002Busanandthe2006DohaGamesandKarnataka’sJJShobhawin-ning bronze at the 2006 Games.Pramila Aiyappa also had wonbronze in2010.Life has given Swapnamore

painthanjoy.Bornwithsixtoeson both feet, she has had toendure thepainofwearingnor-mal shoes as no shoe-manufac-turing company was ready tomakecustomisedshoes forher.“Youcanwell imaginethepainIgothroughwhenIcompetewithspiked shoeswhich are narrowinfront,”shesaid.Now hergripewill be takenmoreseriously.

INDIANS INACTIONTODAYATHLETICS4:30am:Men’s 50kmwalk (Sandeep Kumar)5:10pm:Women’s discusthrow final (SandeepKumari, Seema Punia)5:50pm:Women’s1500m final (MonikaChoudhary, PU Chitra)6:50pm:Women’s4x400m relay final6:30pm: Men’s 5000mfinal (GovindanLakshmanan)6:05pm:Men’s 1500mfinal (Jinson Johnson,Manjit Singh)7:10pm:Men’s 4x400mrelay final

BRIDGE8:30am:Men’s pairsemi-finals (PranabBardhan/ShibhnathSarkar, SumitMukher-jee/DebabrataMajumder, SubhashGupta/SapanDesai )8:30am:Women’s pairsemi-finals (MarianneKarmarkar/HemaDeora, AparnaSain/Feroza Chothia)8:30am:Mixed pairsemi-finals (BachirajuSatyanarayana/KiranNadar, RajeevKhandelwal/HimaniKhandelwal)

EQUESTRIANISM6:30am: Jumpingindividual final round(Kaevaan Kevic Setal-vad and Zahan KevicSetalvad)

HOCKEY4:00pm:Men’s tourna-ment semi-final (India vMalaysia)

JUDO7:30am:Men’s -81 kgelimination round of 32(Harshdeep Singh Brar vRajitha Pushpa KumaraUwarapaksha Gedara ofSri Lanka)

SQUASH11:00am:Women’s TeamPool B (India vHongKong)

TABLE TENNIS10:45am:Women’ssingles round of 32(MoumaDas v ChenSzuyu of Chinese Taipei)6:45pm:Manika Batra vNanthana Komwong ofThailand)2:00pm:Men’s singlesround of 32 (AchantaSharath Kamal v TBD)7:30pm: Men’s singlesround of 32 (SathiyanGnanasekaran v TBD)

JAKARTA 20181 8 AUGUST - 2 S EPT EMB ERasiangamee

Arpinder,SwapnabuoygoldhaulDOMINANCE Triple jumper breaks 48year jinx; Swapna becomes first Indian to win heptathlon gold with 6026 points

JAKARTA: Self-belief and a desireto do something on the biggestcontinentalstagewastheunify-ing factor as triple-jumperArpinder Singh, heptathleteSwapna Barman and sprinterDuteeChandshoneintheincan-descenceofthefloodlightsattheGBK Main Stadium here onWednesday.If onewas to look for inspira-

tion, he didn’t have to lookbeyondasturdySikh,a21-year-oldgirlwhohasovercomedebil-ityandaseasonedsprinterwhohad challenged destiny toemerge champion at the AsianGames.On a day when Arpinder

clinchedthetriplejumpgold,thedaughter of a rickshaw driver,Swapna,baggedthetoppodiumfinish in the most punishingwomen’s event and sprinterDuteeChandovercamecrampsto add to the 100m silver, it wasthemostproductivedayintrackand field, pushing India’s goldmedaltallyto11, thesameasthe2014 IncheonAsianGames andthe total tally to 54, just threeshortofthepreviouscontinentalGames.And with at least five more

medalsassured—twoinboxing,two in squash, and one inwomen’s hockey — afterWednesday’s performance,India is set to cross the Incheontallyof 57medals.Arpinder,whohailsfromSon-

epat inHaryana, was left dehy-drated by the extremely sultryconditions,unabletoevencomeclose to his personal best of17.17msetinLucknowfouryearsback.Buthisbest leapof16.77m— on the third attempt — wasenoughforgoldasotherswilted.The silver-medallist fromUzbekistan, Ruslan Kurbanov,had thebest jumpof 16.62.“I started getting cramps

because of the conditions afterthe third jump, which was mybest. I was not in a position toeven do the fifth and sixthattempts properly and failed,”said Arpinder, the son of anarmyman who played kabaddiandwantedhissontotakeupthemore glamorous track eventssuch as 100, 200 and 400m. But

AJAI MASAND

HT @ASIANGAMES

n Swapna Barman celebrates heptathlon gold. REUTERS

n Dipika Pallikal. AFP

Squash: Women’steam in semis,complains of noforeign coachAjaiMasandn [email protected]

JAKARTA:Simmering discontentintheIndiansquashcontingentcould not bemissed even as thewomen’s team thrashed China3-0—its fourthwinbythatmar-gin inPoolB—tosecureasemi-final berth and assure at least abronzehereonWednesday.The team gets ready for its

toughestchallenge inthegroupphase, against Hong Kong onThursday,whichwilldecidewhotops the6-teampool.There was complete discon-

nectbetweenIndiacoachCyrusPonchaandmanagerBhuvnesh-wari Kumari and the playersduringbreaks.Afterthematch,no niceties were seen beingexchangedandtheofficials left,followedbyJoshanaChinappaalittle later.Thecauseof discordhas been the “inability” of theSquash Rackets Federation ofIndia (SRFI) to find a coachaheadoftheAsianGames,whereIndiahavewonthreeindividualmedals andassuredof at least ateambronze.The foreign coach’s slot was

vacant after Egypt’s Achraf ElKararguiquitinahuffbecauseof“unprofessional”attitudeof thefederation. “Almost all of ushave trained abroad for AsianGameswithdifferentcoachesinthe absence of a good coach,”saidworldNo19DipikaPallikalafterbeatingChina’sDuanSiyu,11-1,11-4,11-5.However,Ponchasaid: “This (players raking upcontroversy) was in very badtaste, especiallyat thispoint.”

Arpinderhadmadeuphismindand he wanted to be a triplejumper.“Aftera16.77m,Iwasn’tconfi-

dentofamedal, leaveasidegold,but sometimes luck plays amajorrole,”saidthe25-year-oldwho became only the thirdIndiantowinatriple jumpgold,theothersbeingMohinderSinghRai (1958) andMohinder SinghGill (1970).SwapnaBarmanwas an out-

and-outwinnerevenbeforeshetook the field for her last hep-

tathlon event — the 800m. Sheonly had to finish ahead ofChina’sWangQingling,whowas63 points behind after the sixthand penultimate round of jave-lin.ThoughSwapnafinishedsec-ond-last in800m,shemadesuretheChinesefinishedbehindher.Swapna’s total of 6026 was 72pointsbetter thatofQingling.Swapna’s improvementover

thelast fouryearscanbegaugedfrom the fact that at the 2014IncheonAsianGamesshehadatotal of 5178points.

“I am happy I could achievethis feat despite terrible pain inmyrightjaw,theresultofeatingtoo many chocolates,” the Jal-paiguri girl chuckled.

DUTEE’SDOUBLEBhubaneswargirlDuteeChandcouldnotcomeupwithasimilarperformance as in the heats,whereshetimed23:00secondsin200m,butstillmanagedtoaddtothe 100m silver she won on theopeningdayofathletics.Hertim-ingof23:20waswaybehindBah-rain’s Edidiong Odiong, whoclocked22.96.ButtheOrissagirl,whohas foughtmanyabattle tocome back on track, said, “I amfinallyfeelingIambacktowhereIbelong.Bhagwanbahuttaqleefdiya, leking ab sab theek hai (Iwentthroughalotofhardships,butnoweverything isOK.”

n India's Arpinder Singh in action during final of the men's triple jump event in Jakarta onWednesday. He won gold medal with a jump of 16.77m. AFP

› I started getting cramps because of the conditionsafter the third jump, whichwasmy best. I was not ina position to even do the fifth and sixth attempts properlyand failed.ARPINDER SINGH, Triple jumpgoldmedallist

resultsATHLETICSMen’s 20kmwalk final:Manish Singh Rawat andIrfan KolothumThodiweredisqualified.Women’s 20kmwalkfinal:Khushbir Kaurfinished 4th (1:35.24)Soumya Baby disqualified.Women’s 200m:DuteeChand finished 2nd (23.20s)won a silvermedal.Men’s triple jump final:Arpinder Singhwongoldwith amark of 16.77, AVRakesh Babu finished 6thwith amark of 16.40.Men’s 1500mqualifica-tion: Jinson Johnsonfinished 2nd (3:46.50),Manjit Singh finished 7th(3:50.59); both qualified forthe final.Men’s 4 x 400mrelayqualification: Indiafinished 4th (3:06.48),qualified for the final.

Women’s heptathlon:Swapna Barmanwon gold(6026 pts), PurnimaHem-bram finished 4th (5837 pts)

BOXINGMen’s light fly 49kgquarterfinals:AmitPhangal beat Kim JangRyong ofNorth Korea 5-0.Men’smiddle 75kgquarterfinals:Vikas

Krishan beat TuohetaErbieke Tanglatihan ofChina 3-2.Women’s fly 51kgquar-terfinals: Sarjubala Devilost to Chang Yuan (China)0-5.

CYCLING TRACKMen’s sprint:Ranjit Singhlost in 1/16 finals and Esowlost in 1/8 finals.

Men’s 4000m individualpursuit qualification:Manjeet Singh finished 12thclocking 4:43.714, failed toqualify for the final.

HANDBALLMen’smain round: Indiabeat Indonesia 37-23.

JUDOMen’s -60kgeliminationroundof 16:Vijay KumarYadav lost toDiyorbekUrozboev of Uzbekistan0-10.Women’s -52kgelimina-tion roundof 16:KalpanaDevi lost to ZiyaevaGul-noza of Uzbekistan 0S3-10S2.

PENCAKSILATWomen’s double final:Simran and Sonia finished7thwith 527 points.

SAILING49er FXwomen race 14:Varsha GauthamandShweta Shervegar finishedsecondwith 30 points.

SQUASHWomen’s teamPool B:India beat China 3-0.

TABLE TENNISMixeddoubles roundof16:Anthony Amalraj/Mad-hurika Patkar lost to KKHo/HC Lee (HKG) 1-3.Mixeddoubles semi-fi-nal:A Sharath Kamal/Man-ika Batra lost to YingshaSun andWang Sun of China9-11, 5-11, 13-11, 4-11, 8-11;won a bronzemedal.

VOLLEYBALLWomen’s semi-final for 9– 12: India beat Hong Kong3-0.

n Dutee Chand on the podium in Jakarta. AP

HINDUSTAN TIMES, PUNETHURSDAY, AUGUST 30, 2018 hindustantimes sport 15

Reutersn [email protected]

JAKARTA:PusarlaSindhuseemstohavemadeanunfortunatehabitofwinningsilvermedalsatmajorbadmintoneventsbuttheIndianremains positive that lessonslearnedineachdefeatwill even-tuallyhelpinherquestforanelu-sivegold.The 23-year-old remains

India’s ‘silver girl’, having lostfinalsattheOlympics,Common-wealth Games and two worldchampionshipsbeforeTuesday’sAsian Games title showdowndefeattoworldNo1TaiTzuYingofTaiwan.“I think it’s not so easy to say

but you need to work hard oneverystrokeandeverytimeyouneedtobepositiveandkeepgoingforward,”shetoldreportersaftergoingdown21-13,21-16toTaiinaone-sidedfinal.“Matcheslikethismightmake

you feel bad. You know a silvermedalmakes you feel bad. But Ithink you keep learning a lotmorefromyourmistakes.”Sindhuhasplayedinfiveother

finalsthisyearwithoutwinninganyof them.

“At the end of the day, we alllovetowingold,”India’sbadmin-ton head coach Pullela Gopi-chandsaid.“Sindhuwouldhopeshewinsandpeoplestoptalkinglikethis.“Buttocomebackfromworld

championshipsandAsianGameswith silver is enough to be veryproud. The sceptics are alwaysthere, and they say what theyhaveto.”Gopichand also coaches

formerworldNo1SainaNehwal,whowonbronze in thewomen’ssinglesaftergoingdowntoTaiinthesemi-finals.The 44-year-old former All

Englandchampionwasconfidentthat Sindhu would return astrongerplayer. “Thereisaphys-ical side to recovery, and thenthereisamentalsidetoit,”Gopi-chand said. “After a loss, youshouldnotthinkabouteitherthematchyouhaveplayedoraboutwhathappenstomorrow. Asatopathlete, it’s fundamentaltokeepforgettingthingsandmovingon.Theplayershaveroutinesinpre-match preparation. If you areinvolved in them and are in thepresentmoment,itwilltakecareof theemotionalrecovery.”

Sindhu seeksgolden outcomeafter lost finals

n PV Sindhu went down to Taiwan’s Tai Tzu Ying in the women'ssingles final in Jakarta. AFP

AgenceFrancePressen [email protected]

JAKARTA:Badminton Asia presi-dent Anton Subowo deniesChina are in crisis after theirshuttlersmissedoutonasinglesmedalattheAsianGamesforthefirst time in38years.Top-seededChineseShiYuqi

crashedoutintheopeningroundin Jakarta to Indonesian goldwinnerJonatanChristie,whileanotherlocalfavouriteAnthonySinisuka Ginting took downOlympicchampionChenLonginthequarter-finals.TheBadmintonAsiachieftold

AFPinaninterviewthatChina’sdominanceof thesportwillcon-tinue because of their ability tochurn out young and talentedplayers regularly.“They are still the best. Chi-

nese will always have enoughplayersinthepooltobringthemupandmake themworldcham-pions,”saidSubowo,whoisfromIndonesia,andisalsovice-presi-dent of the Badminton WorldFederation (BWF).“Itwasjustunluckythatthey

did not have a good day in thisAsian Games. Otherwise they

areprettygood.ChenLong,ShiYuqiaretopplayers,”headded.Subowo played down com-

ments byChina’s singles coachXiaYuze,whocalledtheJakartabadminton arena a “devil’shome” due to the drift comingfromtheair conditioners.Subowo said the breeze that

theChineseare talkingabout is“not unusual” to badmintoncourtsaroundtheworldandtopplayersknowhowtohandle it.He was also impressed with

the new breed of Indonesiangiant-killerswhotooktheAsianGamesbystorm.WhileSubowosaidthatthecountrymaynever

seeanotherTaufikHidayat–theIndonesianlegendwhocapturedworld andOlympic gold – play-ersliketheGintingdemonstratethat the futurewasbright.The 21-year-old Ginting set-

tled forabronzeafterhisdreamrun ended in the semi-finals, togiveIndonesiatwosinglesmed-

als for the first time since the2002AsianGames.“IhopethisAsianGamescan

be the stepping stone for themen’s players tomove forwardto higher competitions andimprove their ranking,” saidSubowo. “IwasveryhappywithGintingandJonatan,thosewerethehighlights forme.“Jonatan beat Shi Yuqi and

thatwasabigsurpriseandthenGintingbeatChenLongandthatwasanothersurprise–sothis isabreakthrough for Indonesia.”Subowohasboldplanstoexpandtheglobal reachofbadminton.“In September for the first

time we are having the ArableaguechampionshipandalsoinLebanon we have West Asiachampionship,”hesaid.“Wehavealsospokento(Pul-

lela)Gopichand–theIndiacoach– to help us develop this newtrainingcentreinhisHyderabadacademy to help West Asianplayers practise and help thedevelopmentprogramme.”Subowobelieves thepopular

franchise-basedleaguesinIndiaand China will help attractyoung talent and bring inmoremoney forbadmintonplayers.

China still top dogs: Asian badminton boss

n China’s top seeded Shi Yuqi was sent packing in the men’s singles opening round by eventual gold medalwinner Jonatan Christie of Indonesia. REUTERS


JAKARTA: Seema Punia’s careerhasgotasecondwindafterrecu-perating from a nagging kneeinjuryandthe35-year-olddiscusthrower feels that her career isfar fromover as she gears up todefend her gold medal won atIncheon in2014.Therehasbeen talks in some

quarterabouthowlongthefour-time CWG medallist will con-tinuebut sheherself confirmedthat retirement is certainly notonhermind.“This isnotmylastbigevent.

Age is just a number. In discusthrow,thestrengthonlygetsbet-terwithageandexperience.Ifeelthe real careerwill beginnow,”an enthusiastic Seema told PTIbeforea trainingsession.“I am achieving the goals set

by my coach and the trainer. Ihave responded to the trainingthat’swhy I got amedal (silver)atGoldCoastCWG.Thetargetistogetagoldhere. It justhastobemyday.It’sagoodfieldwithChi-nese being my main competi-tors,” Seema, who trained at a

Newport beach in the UnitedStates ahead of theGameswithcoachAlexander, said.So what are the goals set by

her?“After theseAsianGames,we have the Asian Champion-ship,WorldChampionship andthe 2020 Olympics. The targetsthat once looked distant, now Ifind themcloser,” shesaid.When asked what makes

Seemaconfidentatanagewhenstrength and body reflexes gosouthwards, she replied: “Forthe last 10 years, my knee wastroublingme. It never got com-pletelyhealedandIwasmanag-

ingwith it. Itwas hard to ascer-tain the injury but ever since Igot treatment inMumbai, ithashealed.Now,Icanjumpwithoutproblem.“Leg strength ismost impor-

tant for us. You can run witharmsbutthrowwillbecomegoodonlywithstronglegs.NowIcanperform jumps, push-ups andeverythingthatmytrainertellsmetodo.Somyconfidencelevelisdifferentnow.”Asked to share her training

regime,Seemawasrelucant.“My training has changed

because my body mass index(BMI) has also changed in thelast two years. I can’t revealeverything but would say thatit’s like that the number ofthrows (during training) hasgonedownand focus ismoreonfitness,” saidSeema.She also spoke highly of new

track sensationHimaDas,whowon a silver in women’s 400mwithanational record.“Hima must be appreciated.

She did the unthinkable. She issomeone who has run just fivetimes and has broken nationalrecordevery time,” shesaid.

Feels like I have just startedmy career, says Seema Punia

n Seema Punia GETTY IMAGES

Agence FrancePressen [email protected]

TOKYO:FourJapanesebasketballplayers kicked out of theAsianGamesforpayingprostitutesforsexwillbesuspendedforayear,officials saidWednesday.Japan Basketball Associa-

tion chief Yuko Mitsuya toldreporters the playerswould bebarred from official tourna-ments for a year, adding thattheir action “damages thehon-our and trust of Japan’s sport-ingworld”.They would be allowed to

take part in training, however,Mitsuya added.Theplayerswerespotted ina

notorious red light district ofthe Indonesian capitalJakartawearing their national jerseysandwerepromptlysenthomeindisgrace.The expulsion of Yuya

Nagayoshi,TakuyaHashimoto,Takuma Sato andKeita Imam-uracameasamajorembarrass-ment for Japan, which isgearing up for the Tokyo 2020Olympics.“I deeply apologise for our

careless actions that havebrought disgrace on not onlybasketball fansbutalsoallJapa-nesepeople,”TakumaSato tolda news conference last weekafter the four players returnedtoTokyo.They were believed to have

beensolicitedbyapimptogo toa hotel with women but areporter for Japan’s AsahiShimbun newspaper spottedthemandbroke the story.At the last Asian Games in

2014,Japanofficialswere forcedto send home swimmer NaoyaTomita after he was caught onvideo stealing a journalist’scamera from thepool deck.It is far from the first case of

sexual misconduct at majormulti-sport events,which typi-cally draw thousands of ath-letes, officials and fans fromaround theworld.At the 2014 Asian Games,

an Iranian official was kickedout for the verbal sexualharassment of a female volun-teer, and a Palestinian footbal-ler was accused of groping afemale worker at the athletes’village.In April, at the Common-

wealth Games at Gold Coast inAustralia, a Mauritian officialwasaccusedofsexuallyassault-ing a female athlete during aphoto shoot.

Japan basketballplayers suspendedafter buying sex


JAKARTA:Uglyscufflesbrokeoutinthe arena between cornermenand security staff after an Iraqifighter lost a split decision to anIndonesian opponent in theirAsianGamesbantamweightbox-ingquarter-finalonWednesday.LocalfavouriteSunanAgung

Amoragamand Iraq’sJaafarAlSudani had gone toe-to-toe forthreepulsatingroundsinJakartabeforetheIndonesian’shandwasheldaloftona4-1decision.WhileAlSudanidroppedtohis

knees distraught at losing amedalandAmoragamcelebrateda guaranteed bronze, his coachandcornermanscreamedabuseat theofficials inan“unaccepta-ble”scene,complainingthedeci-sionwasrigged.When they tried to whip up

theirsupportersinthecrowdintoan angry frenzy with thumbs-downgestures,oneIraqifanleaptover thebarriers from themainstandandtriedtostormtheringasanuglymeleebrokeout.Security staff and volunteers

triedtoejecthimandthetwocor-

nermen ran over and gotinvolved in apushingand shov-ingmatch.When order was restored Al

Sudani’s seconds and an Iraqteam official were summonedinto a hastily arrangedmeetingwithInternationalBoxingAsso-ciation(AIBA)executivedirectorTomVirgets,whoreadthemtheriotact. “Wehadaconversationabout the behaviour of a coachand cornerman, regardless ofwhichwayadecisiongoes,”Vir-gets toldAFP.The Iraqisdidnotcommentastheyleftthemeeting.Virgets, 67, who is a former

amateurboxerandwaspresidentofUSABoxingfrom2006-10,saidthattherewasnoplanforfurthersanctionof theIraqi team.

Ugly scuffles afterIraqi boxer loses

n Jaafar Al Sudani AFP


JAKARTA: India’s silver medal inthe4x400mmixedrelaywillnotbeupgradedtogoldaftertheprotestagainstchampionsBahrainwasrejected by the Asian Games’JuryofAppealsonWednesday.Indiahadlodgedaprotest,stat-

ing that a Bahraini runner hadobstructedHimaDasduring therace inwhich India finishedsec-ondafterMRPoovammafritteredawayagood30mlead.TheIndianquartet of Muhammed Anas,Poovamma, Hima and ArokiaRajiv had clocked 3minute and15.71 seconds to finish behindBahrain(3:11.89) intheevent.

LOSSINKURASHJAKARTA:India’sMeghaTokaslost0-3 to Indonesia’s ShifaKhasaniNajmuinwomen63kgquarter-fi-nalofKurashevent.

ALBENCRASHESOUTJAKARTA:EsowAlbencrashedoutof the men’s sprint in the pre-quarterswhileMonoramaDevifailed to complete the women’somniumeventinadisappointingdayforIndiaincycling. EsowlosttoChaebinImofSouthKorea. Inmen’s sprint, Ranjit Singh wasunabletogobeyondtheRoundof32, losing to Puguh Admadi ofIndonesia. Inmen’s 4000m Indi-vidual Pursuit, Manjeet Singhfinished 12th, clocking 4:43.714,24.042 seconds behind leaderSanghoonParkofSouthKorea.

SIMRAN,SONIALASTJAKARTA: India’s Sonia finishedlastinthewomen’sdoubleseventofpencaksilat.Theduoscoredatotal of 527 points, 47 behind theIndonesianpairofNiMadeDwi-yanti and AyuWilantari Sidan,whoclinchedthegold.

VIJAY,KALPANAOUTJAKARTA: India judokas VijayKumarYadavandKalpanaDeviThoudamwereknockedoutafterlosing their bouts in the men’sandwomen’seliminationrounds.Vijay lost 0-10 toUzbekistan’s

UrozboevDiyorbekinthemen’s60kg.KalpanalosttoUzbekistan’sGulnozaZiyaevainthewomen’s52kgroundof16here.

I ND IA ROUNDUP

4x400m mixedrelay team’sappeal rejected

SharadDeepn [email protected]

JAKARTA:Aserious cut above thelefteyebrowjusttwodaysbeforeaboutcanshaketheconfidenceofanyboxer.NotVikasKrishan’s.Krishan’s ability to defend

himselfagainstrelentlessattackwasondisplayasheguaranteedhimself a hat-trick of AsianGamesmedalswithathrilling3-2win over China’s TuohetaErbiekeTanglatihaninthemen’smiddleweight (75kg) divi-sion.WhileKrishanhadtoworkhard, Amit Panghal brushedaside Kim Jang Ryong of NorthKoreawithaunanimous5-0ver-dict in themen’s light flyweight(49kg) category. With this win,Amit also assured himself of amedal.Gold medallist in the light-

weight category at the 2010GamesinGuangzhouandamid-dleweightbronzemedallistatthe2014IncheonGames,Vikasmadea solid start before finding him-self in trouble when a right jabfrom Tuoheta led to bleedingfromthecut.Thiscouldhaveeasilydamp-

enedthespiritofthe26-year-oldIndian, buthegatheredhimselfandshowedcourage.Thefansaswell as the support staff of theboxing team kept egging onVikas, who, despite thebleeding,stretchedtheChinese rival in thelastroundandeven-tuallyemergedvic-torious.“He (Tuoheta)

is a young oppo-nent and I havebeaten him 5-0several times.However, hemanaged tohurl an uppercut at theb e g i n n i n gitselfanditsplitopen my eye-brow,”saidVikas.

“I showed determination in thesecond round, playing aggres-sively, even though I felt somepain.”“Ididn’twanttogoalloutand

expose my injury further. So, Idecidedtodefendmyself.Ihadalltheexperience.I’mhappythatitworkedandamconfidentofmak-ing it to the finals with a bettershowing in the semis,” saidVikas, who faces Kazakhstan’sAmankulAbilkhaninthesemi-fi-nalonFriday.In his bout, Rohtak boyAmit

turnedouttobefarsuperiortohisopponent anddominated all thethree rounds. He kept hurlingpunches on his rival Kim rightfrom the start. “Such an attack-ingplaywaspartofourstrategy.Whateverwehadplannedcamehandy in the bout,” Amit said.“TheboxerwasaggressiveandIplanned await andwatch strat-egy and then released the

punches.”Meanwhile,SarjubalaDevilost 0-5 toChang Yuanof China inthe women’s51-kg quarter-finals.

Vikas bravesinjury to entersemi-final

n Vikas Krishan hadalso got gold at the2018 CWG. GETTY

ASIANGAMES JAKARTA 2018

JAKARTA: IndiaovercameagrittyChina1-0 toenter the finalof theAsian Games women’s hockeycompetitionafter20years.TheyplayJapan,whobeatKorea2-0inthe other semi-final, in the goldmedalmatchonFriday.Despitescoringbigwinsinthe

leaguestage,Indiawomenstrug-gled to dominate the three-timeAsian Games champions in thesemi-final.GurjitKaurscoredtheonlygoalinthelastquarterafterthegirlslookedintentonlyondis-playing individual stick-workandfailingtoplayasateam.Afterfacingatoughchallenge

fromtheChineseinthefirstquar-ter,Indiamanagedtocreateafewopeningsinthesubsequentthreequarters.However,lackofquickpassing and some shoddyattempts meant they couldn’tscore with the Chinese defenceparryingbothforwardsVandanaKatariyaandNavneetKaur.China relied on a defensive

strategy and did not venturemuch into the Indian citadel.Goalkeeper Savita Punia wastested by the Chinese forwardsonlyoncewhentheymanagedtogetapenaltycorner.At a time when the match

lookedsetforanothershootout—aftertheirAsiaCupfinallastyear—GurjitKaur’sperfecthitonthetoprightcornerof thenetoff theteam’sseventhpenaltycornerinthe 52ndminutebrought cheersonthefacesof Indianfans.The goal was a result of sus-

tained pressure on the Chinesegoal in the final quarter as theIndians managed to earn threeback-to-back penalty cornerswithin a period of twominutes,and Gurjit managed to convertthe lastoneintoagoal.With eight minutes to go,

China finally came out of their

citadel and tried their best todrawlevelbutIndiaprovedtobeatoughnuttocrack.CaptainRaniRampalwassur-

prisedwith her team’s poor dis-play in the first two quarters.“Yes,wedidn’tplaytoourpoten-tial inthefirst twoquarters,andIdon’tknowwhatwentwrong,”she said after the match. “Wecould have scoredmore goals ifwehadplayedwithbettercoordi-nationonthefrontline.”“Butanyway, this isabigwin

forusandwearejustastepawayfrom achieving the biggest suc-cessofourlives,andIamsurewewill win against Japan in thefinal,”saidRani.This is India’s third entry in

the final of thewomen’s hockeycompetition. They won in 1982andfinishedrunners-upin1998.

IndiawomenbeatChina,enterfinalafter20yearsGRITTY VICTORY Gurjit Kaur’s 52ndminute strike sets up hardearned 10 win; to face Japan in final

n India women hockey players exult after defeating China in their Asian Games semifinal onWednesday. PTI

HT@ASIANGAMES

SHARAD DEEP


JAKARTA:CaptainPRSreejeshhasbeenthemostconsistentmaninthe Indian hockey side. He notonlymansthegoalwithgritanddeterminationbutalsokeepstheboysmotivated.TimeandagainthishasprovedworthyforIndia.So far, Sreejeshhasconceded

just three goals in fivematcheshere.Heneedstoexcelonceagainon Thursday when defendingchampions India take on a spir-itedMalaysia inthesemi-final.GivenIndia’swinningrecord

of 70 out of 101matches againstMalaysia,Sreejesh’steamstarts

favourites.Intheirlastmeeting,Indiawon2-1againstanew-lookMalaysiansideattheGoldCoastCommonwealthGamesacoupleofmonthsback.IndiaareonarollattheAsian

Games, netting 76 goals againstfiveteams, includingarecord26againstHongKong.“Everygameisimportanttousandweprepareourselvesthatway.Ialwaysaskmy boys to play their naturalgame and that too according tothe situation.Wehavedoneourhomeworkwellandarereadytotake up the challenge,” saidteam’s chief coach HarendraSingh, who was handed theteam’s reins after India’s loss to

England in the bronze-medalmatch at the CommonwealthGamesthisyear.“Wemust continue the same

aggressive approach we haveshowninourattackfromtheveryfirstmatch,butwemustbedou-blycautiousinourdefendingandensurewe don’t give away pen-alty cornerswhichwill be criti-cal,”Sreejeshsaid.Sreejesh however warned it

won’t be easy against Malaysiawith an experienced S Kumarmanning their goal. “How weconverttheopportunitieswouldbemost important,” hesaid.Pakistan face Japan in the

day’sothersemi-final.

Aggressive India faceMalaysia


WE SHOULD HAVE A HEAT RULE, IT’S NOT HEALTHY TO BE OUTTHERE GETTING DIZZY AND POOR BALL KIDS OUT THERE.>NICKKYRGIOS, turnsheatonofficials to comeupwithextremeconditions rule atUSOpen

Theserieswastoutedasaheavy-weightclashbetweentwoequallymatched sides and while theopening two games presented aslightlydifferentstory,thenarra-tiveseemstohavechangedradi-callyafter the thirdTest. Indianbatting stood up at Nottinghamand the resultwent thevisitors’way. Indiahad issues toaddressbut the same was true forEngland.Let’sdoacomparativeanalysis toassesswherethetwoteamsstand.

OPENERSThere’s very little to choosebetweenthetwosides.Indiahavetried three different openingpairs in three Tests and whileEngland have stuck with thesamepair,thenumbersproducedby them aren’t painting a rosypicture. Alastair Cook is goingthroughoneof theworst phasesofhisillustriouscareerandKea-tonJennings is fightinghardforsurvival at the top level. Bothhave looked unconvincing.India’slatestopeningpairofShi-kharDhawanandKLRahulhasignitedhopeofsolvingtheopen-ing riddle but it’s still far fromaperfect solution. Dhawan hasfoughthardandRahulhasshownglimpsesofhispotentialbutbothareyettoscoreindividualfifties.

MIDDLEORDERInthefirsttwoTests,India’smid-dle ordermeantViratKohli, forbatsmen on either side of himweren’t contributing signifi-cantly. Joe Root at three forEngland, despite the failures inthelasttwoTests,willpipIndia’sCheteshwar Pujara to the post.Similarly,OliePopeisnocontest

forIndia’snumber4,Kohli.AtNumber5,AjinkyaRahane

hasplayedonlyoneknockofnoteandJonnyBairstowforEnglandhas offered a littlemore. In fact,England’s lower order scoresover that of most teams in theworld. Bairstow is followed byJosButtler,BenStokesandChrisWoakes, andmaybe,MoeenAliin Southampton. This providesEngland thedepthunheardandunseenof inrecent timesacrossthecricketingglobe.India,ontheotherhand, haveRishabhPant,HardikPandyaandRaviAshwintofollowRahane.ButaswefoundoutinthefirstinningsofthethirdTest,depthdoesn’talwaysguar-antee loadsofruns.

SPINDEPARTMENTIn 2014, the key differencebetween the two sides wasEnglandout-spinningIndiaoverthecourseoffiveTests.MoeenAlitookwicketsinalmostallgames,which includedalotof toporderbatsmen. That’s not the case in2018, for Ashwin has alreadyprovedthathe’salotmoreeffec-tivethanAdilRashidandevenifMoinwere toplay inSouthamp-ton, it’s quite likely that Indianspinnerswillbemoreeffective.

FASTBOWLERSIfweweretogobyonlypedigreeandpastperformances,Englishbowling attack will look milesahead of their Indian counter-parts. But if youwere to look athow the two bowling attacksfared in Nottingham, you’ll beforced to put the Indian pacequartet slightly ahead. EnglishattackhasalittlemoredisciplineandsharpnessbutIndianattackis a littlemore varied. The addi-tionofJaspritBumrahandAsh-win giving regular breathers tothepacedepartmenthasbroughtthetwoattackscloser.Ifmomentumisarealthingin

sport,IndiashouldstartthethirdTestasfavourites.Butifmomen-tumcouldswaytheeventualout-come,EnglandhadnobusinessoflosingthethirdTest.Bynow,it’sbecomequiteapparentthatbothteamshavetheirweaknessesandtheteamthat’sabletohidethembetteristheoneendingupontherightsideof theresult.Thewriter is a former Test batsman and

his views are personal

If momentum isanything, thenIndia favouritesBY INVITA

AAKASH CHOPRA

ATI

OPRA

SOUTHAMPTON: India will aim tostay on cruise control in thissouthern coastal city tied to thesinkingoftheTitanicwhentheytake on England in the fourthTest, starting at theAgeasBowlonThursday.The Titanic set sail from

Southampton inApril, 1912 andsankintheAtlantic,andthetrag-edystillechoeseverywhereinthecity. However, the number ofcruise ships,many trans-Atlan-tic,thatcallinregularlywillalsoremind Virat Kohli and Co ofrevival.Indiawent into the thirdTest

at Trent Bridge 2-0 down amidforecasts of a possible sweep inthe five-match series.However,theirresilienceledtoathumping203-runvictorythathasputpres-sureonthehosts.The venue is hosting only its

third Test. The last one was in2014,whenabatteredIndiacrum-bledagainstJamesAndersonandoff-spinnerMoeenAli.England’smaster swing bowler is sevenshort of surpassing Australia’sGlennMcGrath’s tally of 563 tobecome themost successful fastbowlerever.Moeenhasalsobeenincludedafterhis recentmatch-winningshowforWorcestershire(double centuryandeightwick-ets).Moeen,who tookeightwick-

ets in that 2014win,will replaceyoung batsman Ollie Pope andwillbatatNo7.All-rounderSamCurran will return in place ofChrisWoakes,whohassufferedarecurrence of a quad muscleproblem.

FOCUSONASHWINThe interest in the India campwillbeonRAshwin’s fitness fol-lowingagroin injurythat flaredupatTrentBridge.Theoff-spin-nerbowledandbattedinthenetson Tuesday and has beendeclaredfit,meaningIndiamightretaintheelevenforthefirsttimeunderKohli.“We don’t feel we need to

half-century stands they pro-videdatTrentBridge.Interestingly, 18-year-old

Prithvi Shaw, the U-19 WorldCup-winning skipper drafted inasthethirdopenerforthelasttwoTests,hashadlongbattingstintsin the last two days and comesinto the side after doingwell forIndiaAinEngland.

PACERSONTOPIndiahaveneverwonthreeTestsin an overseas series, but fastbowler Mohammed Shami hascautioned theywill have to takeonematchatatime.Indiapacershavestoodoutsofar,taking38ofthe 46 wickets in the first threeTests to match England in thedepartmentthis time.Thatmeansaspitefulpitchcan

hurtEnglandaswell.England’sworries are on opener Alastair

change anything,” Kohli, whowill be leading India in his 39thTest, saidonWednesday.WhileCheteshwarPujaraand

AjinkyaRahanefoundformwithvitalfiftiesinthethirdTest,IndiawillhopeopenersKLRahulandShikhar Dhawan build on the

Cook’spoorform.The33-year-oldscored 180 for England LionsagainstIndiaA,buthasscoresof13, 0, 21, 29, 17 in this serieswithIshant Sharma having had hisnumber.Wicketkeeper Jonny Bairs-

tow’s finger injury is likely toforcehimtoplayasabatsmanatNo4.At Tuesday’s training, Bairs-

towhadalongconversationwith

coachTrevorBayliss.HewillbatatNo.4asregularbatsman,skip-perJoeRootconfirmed.JosButtler,whoscoredacen-

tury in Trent Bridge and keptwickets after Bairstow wasinjured,will donthegloves.Victory will keep India on

course to recordhistory as onlyoneteam—DonBradman’sinthe1936-37 Ashes series at home—hasralliedtowinfrom0-2down.

Indiabankonaperfectteamgame,eyetitaniccomebackFOURTH TEST After Trent Bridge win, Virat Kohli’s men look to continue momentum at Southampton

HT@ENGLAND

N ANANTHANARAYANAN

n India skipper Virat Kohli and R Ashwin during a training session in Southampton onWednesday. The fourth Test begins today. REUTERS

England atRose Bowl

India atRose Bowl

2 75.00

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TESTMATCHESATROSEBOWL

IF YOUWERE TO LOOKATHOWTHE TWOATTACKSFARED INNOTTINGHAM,YOU’LL BE FORCED TOPUT THE INDIANPACEQUARTET AHEAD

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For latest in sports, go towww.hindustantimes.com/sport-news

mayer6-1,6-4and2017runner-upMadisonKeysdownedFrance’sPaulineParmentier6-4, 6-4.Maria Sharapova, who won

the last of her five Grand Slamtitlesin2014,advanced6-2,7-6(6)over Patty Schnyder, out ofretirement and at 39 the oldestplayertoqualifyforaGrandSlammaindraw.

BHAMBRIBOWSOUTMenawhile, India’s top singlesplayerYukiBhambrionceagainfailedtoclearthefirstroundhur-dle of a Grand Slam losing toFrenchmanPierreHuguesHer-bert instraightsets.Bhambri,who isworldNo96,

lost3-6,6-7(3), 5-7 inamatchthatlastednearlytwoandhalfhours.


NEW YORK:For Caroline Wozni-acki, itwaslike“drinkingamar-garitaonabeach”butfortearfulAlizeCornetitwasa“nightmare”astemperaturesnudgedtowardsthe 40-degree mark at the USOpenonTuesday.Fourofeightearlymen’s first

roundmatches ended in retire-ments. Temperatures wereexpected tosoar to38degreesbymid-afternoon, the effect madeworsebysuffocatinghumidity.That may be short of the 41

degrees which remains NewYork’s record temperaturerecordedin1936butthatwaslittlecomfort for ItalianqualifierSte-fano Travaglia who retired toPoland’sHubertHurkacz.“It was 36, 37 degrees but on

court it was more,” said the26-year-oldwhoquitwithcrampsbut admitted “the first problemwasthesun”.“Tohave25secondsbetweenpointsinthisweatherisnot possible. There was a lot ofhumidity, it was really tough. Ihopethatinmynexttournamentitwillbe lesshot.”French player Alize Cornet

(28)describedtheconditionsasa“nightmare”assheslumpedtoathree-setlosstoJohannaLarssonofSweden.Cornetweptasshesatcourtside,tellingdoctorsthatshewas ready tovomit and felt paininherheadandbones.Cornet had already been hit

withacodeviolationforchangingher shirt on the court after put-ting it on the wrong way roundduring the “heat rule” breakallowedbytheWTAaftertwosetswhen the temperature goesbeyond30.1degrees.In response to theconditions,

tournament organisers haveallowedthementooptforasimi-lar10-minuteoff-courtrestattwosetstoone.“Thetournamentref-eree, along with the medicalteam, will continue to monitoron-site conditions, to determinewhen the Extreme Heat Policywillnolongerbeineffect,”saidaspokesman.

SWELTERINGCONDITIONSLEAVE PLAYERSEXHAUSTED


MUNICH: Joachim Loew hasrejectedMesutOzil’saccusationsofracismwithintheGermanFAastheheadcoachgavehisanaly-sisofGermany’sWorldCupdeba-cleonWednesday.“Mesut made allegations of

racism,butIcanclearlysaythatintheDFB,therehaveneverbeenracist comments,” Loew said.“The players with an immigra-tion background have alwaysenjoyedplayingforusandnoth-inghaschanged.ArsenalmidfielderOzilretired

from international football onJuly22withastingingthree-pagestatement, in which he directlyaccusedDFBpresidentReinhardGrindelofracism.Thisisthefirst timeLoewhas

commentedontheOzilsaga.“Hisadvisor called me to informmethatMesutwouldissuethethirdpart of his statement,” addedLoew.“Theplayerhimselfdidnotcallme,whichnormallyplayershavedoneinthepast.MesuthasstillnotcalledandforthelasttwoweeksIhaveunsuccessfullytriedtoreachhim.

RONALDO’SSTRIKEADJUDGEDUEFA’SBESTMILAN:CristianoRonaldo’s stun-ning overhead bicycle kick forRealMadridagainstcurrentclubJuventushasbeenvotedUEFA’sgoalof theseason.The former Real Madrid

strikerbeatcompetitionfrom11nominees for the award in hon-our of his goal in last season’sChampionsLeaguequarter-finalfirst leg inTurin.

WESTHAMSURVIVESCARE,CARDIFFEXITLONDON:WestHamUnited dicedwithapotentiallyembarrassingLeagueCupsecondrounddefeatbyAFCWimbledonbeforefight-ing back towin 3-1 against their10-manopponents.However, Cardiff City were

dumpedout3-1by NorwichCity,while Southampton won 1-0againstBrighton&HoveAlbion.Inothergames,LeicesterCity

thumped Fleetwood Town 4-0,Stoke City beat HuddersfieldTown2-0, CrystalPalacewon1-0at Swansea City, BournemouthblankedMKDons3-0andFulhambeatExeterCity2-0.

AJAXSEALCHAMPIONSLEAGUESPOTPARIS:Four-timeEuropeancham-pionsAjaxbookedtheirplace inthe Champions League groupstage despite a goalless play-offsecondlegagainstDynamoKiev.TheDutchside’s3-1cushionfromthefirstlegprovedenoughintheUkrainiancapital.Ajax will be joined in Thurs-

day’s group stage draw byAEKAthens, whose 1-1 draw withMOL Vidi of Hungary wasenoughfora3-2winonaggregate.

BENGALURUFCSUFFER0-2LOSS,OUTOFAFCCUPASHGABAT, TURKMENISTAN:Benga-luru FC bowed out of AFC Cupaftersufferinga0-2defeatagainstAltynAsyrFKofTurkmenistanin the second leg of their Inter-Zone semifinal at the KopetdagStadiumhereonWednesday.Thewinners advanced to the

nextstagewitha5-2aggregate.

SHORT PASSES

Loew rejects Ozil’s racism allegations

n Germany head coach Joachim Loew (right) has denied Mesut Ozil’sclaims of racism in the country’s football federation. GETTY IMAGES


NEWYORK:WimbledonchampionNovakDjokovicsufferedinswel-tering US Open conditions onTuesday but battled through tothe second roundwith a 6-3, 3-6,6-4, 6-0 victory over HungarianMartonFucsovics.Itwasbrutalconditionsatthe

FlushingMeadowsSoaringtem-peratures and high humiditypromptedorganizerstoofferthemena10-minutemid-matchheatbreakforthefirst timeever.“Weboth struggled.Wewere

not the only ones today. Brutalconditions,” saidDjokovic,whocalledfortrainerswhoenvelopedhim in ice packed towels late inthesecondset.Ihadtofindawaytodigmyselfoutof thetrouble.”Until late in the third it was

“survivalmode” said Djokovic,whoenduredarockystarttotheseasonafterelbowsurgerybeforebreaking through for a 13thGrandSlamtitleatWimbledon.He certainly looked a con-

tenderashereeledoff the last 10gamesagainstFucsovics, show-ing signs of sharper focus evenbefore the 10-minuteheat breakbetweenthethirdandfourthsets.Federer escaped the worst of

theconditionsasheheadlinedthenightsessiononAshe.Nor did hemeetmuch resist-

ance from Japan’s YoshihitoNishiokawhohebeatinstraightsets ina6-2, 6-2, 6-4victory.Fourth-seededGermanAlex-

anderZverevkepthistimeinthesuntoaminimumwitha6-2,6-1,6-2 victoryoverCanadian luckyloserPeterPolanskywhileAus-tralianNickKyrgiosfired25acesand 48 totalwinners in a 7-5, 2-6,6-4, 6-2 victory over Moldova’sRaduAlbot.Women’ssecondseedCaroline

Wozniacki took the weather instride, trying to “think coolthoughts”asshedefeatedSaman-thaStosur6-3, 6-2.In other women’s matches,

reigningWimbledon championAngeliqueKerber beat RussianMargaritaGasparyan7-6(5),6-3.Two-timeWimbledonwinner

PetraKvitovabeatYaninaWick-

US OPEN

Federer, Zverev cruise asDjokovic survives scare

n Humid conditions troubled Novak Djokovic before he prevailedoverMarton Fucsovics 63, 36, 64, 60. AFP

MAYANKHELPSINDIA BWINQUADRANGULARFINAL VS AUSABENGALURU: India B onWednes-day defeated Australia A by ninewickets in the one-day quadran-gular series final atMChinnas-wamy Stadium. Sent in to bat, theAustralians lost their last sixwickets for 33 to be dismissed for225 in the 48th over. SpinnerShreyas Gopalwas thewrecker-in-chief picking threewickets. Inreply, India B reached the target inthe 37th over thanks to half-cen-turies fromMayank Agarwal (69),ShubmanGill (66*) andManishPandey (73*).Brief scores:Australia A 225 allout in 47.5 overs (D Short 72, ACarey 53, S Gopal 3/50) lost toIndia B 230/1 in 36.3 overs (MAgarwal 69, S Gill 66*,MPandey73*). India Bwonby 9wickets.

Bhuvneshwar fit forAsia Cup returnBENGALURU: India’s BhuvneshwarKumar onWednesdaymade animpressive comeback in competi-tive cricketwith a three-wickethaul for India A, giving clearindication that hewill be availablefor selection during the Asia Cupin theUnited Arab Emirates fromSeptember 15. Bhuvneshwar hadfigures of 9-1-33-3 against SouthAfrica A in a placingsmatch of theQuadrangular series, which IndiaAwonby 124 runs.

SL arrests two Indians onsuspicion ofmatchfixingCOLOMBO:Sri Lankan cricket’santi-corruption unit detained twoIndian spectators on suspicion ofmatch-fixing during a domesticTwenty20 league game, officialssaid onWednesday. Themenwere apprehended after officialsspotted thembehaving suspi-ciously andmaking repeated callson theirmobile phones during thematch betweenGalle andDam-bulla at Pallekele.

Jayarammakeswinningstart at BarcelonaMastersBARCELONA: Indian shuttler AjayJayaramadvanced to themen’ssingles second round afterbeating Spain’s Pablo Abian inthree games at the $150,000Barcelona SpainMasters BWFWorld Tour Super 300 tournamenthere onWednesday. FormerworldNo 13 Jayaramnotched up a 15-21,21-17, 21-8win over local playerPablo, seeded sixth, in theopening round to set up a clashwith Russia’s VladimirMalkov.

n Mayank Agarwal

shortstories

NAnanthanarayanann [email protected]

SOUTHAMPTON: India may retainthe same playing eleven for thefirst time after 38 Tests underViratKohliwiththeIndiaskipperdeclaringRAshwinfit toplay inthe fourthTest againstEnglandstarting at the Ageas Bowl onThursday.“We don’t feel we need to

change anything,” Kohli, whowill be leading India in his 39thTest, toldamediaconferenceonWednesday.WithIndiaopenersShikharDhawanandKLRahulmakingvitalcontributionstothe203-runwinatTrentBridge, thepossibility of changes hadreceded.Off-spinner Ashwin suffered

anadductormuscleproblem,butKohli said: “Everyone is fit tostart tomorrow. Ashwin has

recoverednicely.Hehada goodpracticesessionyesterdayandheisgoodtogo.”“It has not always been the

caseofchanges.Therehavebeeninjuries as well, which has notbeentakenintoconsideration.It

hasbeenamix.Seeingthingsthewaytheyarerightnow,wedon’tsee any need to change any-thing.”Kohli hoped India players

wouldcashinontheirexperienceandput inextrahandworkthantheydidatTrentBridge.“Maybefouryearsago,wedidn’tcapital-iseonthelead,”hesaid,referringtoIndiasquanderinga1-0leadin2014 after losing the next threegames,startingwiththedefeatinSouthamptoninthethirdTest.“We spoke about being ruth-

less, relentless and capitalisingon those important moments,which we did in Nottingham.We’ve todo that twomore timesto achieve the goal we want to,andnotbesatisfiedwithonevic-tory. If Nottingham was hardwork, this is going to be harderbecauseEnglandwouldwant tocomebackstrong.”

Kohli hints at unchanged side

› It has not always beenthe case of changes.There have been injuries aswell, which has not beentaken into consideration. Ithas been amix. Seeingthings theway they areright now, we don’t see anyneed to change anything.VIRATKOHLI, Team India skipper

KEYRESULTS (1STROUND)Men’s: 7-Marin Cilic btMariusCopil 7-5, 6-1, 1-1 retired; 21-KeiNishikori btMaximilianMarterer6-2, 6-2, 6-3; 10-David Goffin btFederico Gaio 6-2, 6-4, 7-6(5);2-Roger Federer bt YoshihitoNishioka 6-2, 6-2, 6-4; 30-NickKyrgios bt RaduAlbot 7-5, 2-6, 6-4,6-2; 13-Diego Schwartzman btFederico Del Bonis 6-2, 7-6(8), 6-2;MatthewEbden bt 32-FilipKrajinovic 7-6(1), 6-7(5), 4-6, 6-1,4-1 retired; 4-Alexander Zverev btPeter Polansky 6-2, 6-1, 6-2;17-Lucas Pouille bt YannickMaden7-6(6), 6-2, 7-5; 6-NovakDjokovicbtMarton Fucsovics 6-3, 3-6, 6-4,6-0; 26-Richard Gasquet bt YuichiSugita 6-3, 6-1, 6-3; 12-PabloCarreno-Busta btMalek Jaziri 7-5,6-2, 6-2; 14-Fabio Fognini btMichaelMmoh 4-6, 6-2, 6-4,7-6(4); 23-ChungHyeon btRicardas Berankis 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-0,2-0 retired

Women’s: 6-Caroline Garciabt Johanna Konta 6-2, 6-2;30-Carla Suarez btNicole Gibbs5-7, 6-3, 6-4; 22-Maria Sharapovabt Patty Schnyder 6-2, 7-6(6);10-JelenaOstapenko btAndrea Petkovic 6-4, 4-6, 7-5;14-Madison Keys bt PaulineParmentier 6-4, 6-4; KirstenFlipkens bt 24-CoCo Vandeweghe6-3, 7-6(3); 29-Dominika Cibulkovabt Arantxa Rus 4-6, 6-2, 6-3;4-Angelique Kerber btMargaritaGasparyan 7-6(5), 6-3; 5-PetraKvitova bt YaninaWickmayer 6-1,6-4; 26-Aryna Sabalenka btDanielle Collins 6-0, 4-6, 6-4;20-NaomiOsaka bt Laura Siege-mund 6-3, 6-2; 11-Darya Kasatkinabt Timea Babos 6-4, 5-7, 6-4;13-Kiki Bertens bt KristynaPliskova 6-0, 7-5; Katerina Siniak-ova bt 28-Anett Kontaveit 6-7(3),6-3, 7-5; 2-CarolineWozniacki btSamantha Stosur 6-3, 6-2

www.youtube.com/user/htwww.facebook.com/HTcitywww.hindustantimes.com twitter.com/htshowbiz instagram.com/htcity

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htcaféPUNE, THURSDAY, AUGUST 30, 2018, 4 PAGES I Entertainment & Promotional Features

PUNE

differentkinds of films,knowing that people arewillingtowatch avariety of stories andthat too, in theatres.”

BhushanandAdarshhave apoint, considering filmsbelonging to different genres—historical (Padmaavat), female-oriented (VDW andRaazi),action thrillers (Baaghi 2,Race3 andSJ), romcoms (SKTKSandDhadak),biopics/real lifeinspired films (Sanju andParmanu) aswell as sociallyrelevantmovies (Hichki andPadMan)havemade theirmark at the box office.

MONEYMATTERSWhile experts agree that it all“ultimatelyboils down to thequality of content”,movieshave to be executed inacommercially-viablemanneraswell. “This year,business

English edition cameout.But Iamsure theHindiversionwillcater to amuch largeraudience.At theheart, it’s aHindi story and that’swhyanycontent [based on it]was alsosupposed to be inHindi. So, Inever thought that anEnglishfilmcouldbemade on it.Also,I’veworkedvery closelyon theHindi translation. So, it’s agood feeling.

Wehave heard that you plan toturn your novel into a film or webseries. True?Yes,because Iwon’t be able totell the story inone film, andmakinga three-partmoviewillbe abit toomuch. So, the logicalthing is a two-part series, andeven the structure is conducivefor that as it’s about twogenerations of gangsters.Or,there canbe aweb series,wherein I canunravel the story

Prashant Singh

Whenhe isn’t calling theshots—as a film-maker—behind the camera,

chances are,he is busywritinghis stories and evennovels.That’s howNeeraj Pandeycameupwithhis first novel,GhalibDanger in2013.Andnow, theSpecial 26 (2013) andBaby (2015)directorhas comeoutwith theHindiversionofthe samebook. “Now, thenextlogical step is to either turn itinto aweb series or a two-partfilm,” reveals Pandey, ashetalks abouthis book,workingwithAjayDevgn, andhavinglivedwithGhalibDanger forthree-four years.

GhalibDanger is back in your life.How excited is the author in you?I amvery excited. It seems likeonlyyesterdaywhen the

Neeraj booked fora big screen outing!

So,what are the career tipsthat she has given toNupur?“There’s just one thing that Itold her, and thatwas frommyexperience.When I came toMumbai towork in films,therewere timeswhen I gotopportunities that kind ofluredme andmademe thinkwhether I should grab it or not.Such times are not easy to dealwith.One needs to have a lot ofpatience,” saysKriti. “I’ve toldNupur, ‘make sure thatwhatever you step into is goodenough for your debut’.Thefirst filmsets the graph andground for an actor.Beingvery sure ofwhat you take upis themost important and thehardest part. Letting go ofoffers is also very difficult,”adds the actor,who’ll be seennext in a bunch of Bollywoodfilms:Housefull 4, LukaChuppi,ArjunPatiala,Panipat andKalank.n [email protected]

Nupur and I confide ineach other; whenever Iwant to talk aboutanything, she’s there.We have the samegroup [of friends] inMumbai. But at thesame time, I try andmake sure that she’sdoing fine.KRITI SANON, ACTOR

(From left) Nora Fatehi,Diana Penty, MouniRoy, Shahid Kapoorand Jimmy SheirgillPHOTOS: PRODIP GUHA/HT,

YOGEN SHAH

wise,whathas alsoworked inabigwayare cost-effective andsensibly-priced films.Be it ourfilms (SKTKS,RaidorSJ), orevenRaazi, thesemoviesmadeabsolute sensewhen it comes toreturnon investment,”explainsBhushan.

Buthowhave the tablesturned in suchaprofitablemanner? Says trade expertKomalNahta: “2018 has beenasort of ground-breakingyear.Actually, the last three to fouryears didn’t turnout to be goodforBollywoodat all. In suchacase, everyone—actors,directors aswell aswriters—gets anxious and then, theyhavenooptionbut to pulluptheir socks.That’s exactlywhathashappened.”n [email protected]

MONEYSPINNERSSanju: ₹340 crPadmaavat: ₹300 crRace 3: ₹170 crBaaghi 2: ₹165 crRaazi: ₹125 crSKTKS: ₹110 crRaid: ₹100 cr(All the India nett. figuresare based on tradeestimates)

atmypace.But Iamyet to takea call.Wewill seehow thebookis received, and let’s seehowfar it reaches.

Many a times, things get lost intranslation. In that sense, did youface any challenge?Idon’t thinkwehad thatproblem.This is onematerialthat Ibreathed and lived for thelast four-fiveyears.Also, Hindiis a language that Iwritemyfilms inand since Iwas closelyassociatedwith it, Imade surethat nothinggets lost intranslation (smiles).

All your films have a realtouch.Does the same hold truefor your characters in the noveltoo?Yes, there is a bit of this andthat in it! It’s not inspiredbyanyoneparticular personbut itis rooted inreality.Everycharacter including theprotagonist is real.Onceyouhave that ‘real’ touch,yougivethemsomeunique traits. Inmybook, IhaveusedMirzaGhalib’s poetry,which acts as acornerstone formymainprotagonist. So,basically, it’s afictional character set in therealworld.

Coming to films, yournext is Chanakya, whichseems to be verychallenging. Also, youwill beworkingwithAjay Devgn for the firsttime…Of course, this film ischallenging andwe arecognizant of it. It’s aproject that has beenwithus for the last four-fiveyears. We have beenworking and preparingourselves for this filmsilently. So, it has been along journey andwe areaware that there is alonger journey ahead ofus. Yes, it will be veryexciting toworkwith Ajay,as he is very sharp. I feelhe is constantly pushingthe envelopewithdifferent kinds of contentthat he is part of— as anactor and as a director-producer. I have interactedwith him a few times andfind him to be very quickon the trigger.

Prashant Singh

OnMonday (August 27),whenGold entered the₹100-crore club, theAkshayKumar-starrer

became the eighthHindi filmtojoin themuch-coveted groupthis year.Other films thatmade over ₹100 crore at theIndianboxoffice in2018includePadmaavat, Sanju(both themovies earned over₹300 crore each), SonuKeTituKi Sweety (SKTKS),Raid,Baaghi 2,Raazi andRace 3.

FASCINATING TIMESApart from the filmsmentioned above, anumber ofotherHindi films, too,hit thebullseye at the box office.The

list includesHichki,VeereDiWedding,PadMan,October,Parmanu:TheStory ofPokhran,Dhadak andSatyamevaJayate (SJ; stillrunning). It’s interesting tonote that 2018 stillhas fourmonths to go—which istraditionally considered themost profitable timespan forHindi films.In fact, September-

Decemberwill also see someof the biggest potentialblockbusters, suchasZero,Thugs ofHindostan, Simmbaand 2.0,hitting the big screen.So, the question is: can 2018turn out to beBollywood’smostprofitable one in recent times?“Absolutely! To sum thingsup:tillnow, this yearhas beenan

eye-opener aswell as afascinatingone,” says tradeanalystTaranAdarsh.

CONTENT IS KINGExperts feel it’s “heartening” tosee audiencesmaking theirway to cinemahalls in suchbignumbers. “In2018,non-theatrical revenueshave shotupbutwhat’smore significantis that theatrical earningshaveincreased,whichmeanspeoplehave returned to theatres,”saysAdarsh, adding that“peoplehave connectedwithHindi filmsagain” inabigway.“When that happens,youhavewonmore thanhalf thebattle,”he says.

ProducerBhushanKumar,whobacked filmssuchasRaid,SKTKS andSJ, concurs. “In2018, audienceshavemade itcrystal clear that theywillbackgoodand entertaining content.Andas aproducer, it’sheartening toknow that I can

fearlesslyback

As Akshay Kumar’s latest hit becomes the eighthHindi film to enter the ₹100crore club this year, wetake a look at how 2018 could easily become themost profitable year, in recent times, for Bollywood

Stills from Satyameva Jayate (above), Raazi (right)and Gold (far right)

ALLSETFORAGOLDENYEAR!

s rom a yameva aya e a ove aaz r g

Stills from Sanju (above left), Zero (aboveright) and Padmaavat (below)

Akshay Kaushal

What’s seenon fashionrunways iswhat’s in thecelebrity closets.And if

youare a sucker for celebrityfashion,youknow thatwhat’sin the celeb closetwill soonmake it to everyone’s closet.Looks like this time, itwillbethe side stripes thatwillbefoundeverywhere.Whatwasuntilnow, considered fit onlyfor trackpants or athleisurewear, isnowseenon the sidesof trousers,denimsanddresses.

Actors suchasShahidKapoor,DianaPenty andNoraFatehihavebeen sporting it, andfashion experts are giving this“sporty vibe”abig thumbsup.

“The side stripe gives asporty vibe to the lookandatthe same time, looks perfect forcasualdressing.Theywere allover the global ramp lastseason, andwearenowseeingthemonourBollywoodfashionistas,” says designerJenjumGadi.

DesignerDhruvVaish saysthe trend is very ’70s. “With thereturnofeverything’70s,weshouldn’t be

surprised seeing this, sincedesignersare shifting their attention tothat era.”

This printhelps create ataller, leaner look. “Side-striped trousersmake yourlegs look longer.Theseverticalstripes also give an illusionofonebeing leaner,” says stylistSahil Gulati.

The trend is also versatile.“Youhave awide range ofchoiceswhen it comes to side-stripes.And thebest part is thatyou canwear them for a formaloccasionwith ablazer or teamitwith a roundneck tee for asporty look,”addsGulati.n [email protected]

Side stripes: BTown’s new fashion fad

Shreya Mukherjee

Being the elder sister,Bollywood actorKritiSanon doesn’tmindwhen

her beloved younger sister,Nupur Sanon, calls her“mummy” just to tease her.“It’s okaywhen sometimesNupur callsme ‘chhotimummy’.There’s a part ofmethat’s very protective and actslike amother to her, [whenI’m] inMumbai,” saysKriti,adding that though they aresisters, they’remore likebuddies.

“We confide in each other;whenever Iwant to talk aboutanything, she’s there.We havethe same group [of friends] inMumbai.But at the same time,I try andmake sure that she’s

doing fine. I check on her latenights,whether she’s eatingon time, restingwell, etc. Ican’t be chilled out about it.She hasmore friends than I do.I’ve been in this city for five-six years and she has beenhere for just a year-and-a-halfand she has like some 50friends.And I don’t think I cancount five onmy finger,” saystheDelhi girl,Kriti,with alaugh.

Over the past couple ofmonths, rumours have beenabuzz aboutNupur being keenon having a career in acting.Kriti shares that it’s a passionthat her sister has discoveredlately. “Initially, Iwasmodelling and I realised thatI’d like to become an actor.She, too, realised that shereally likes acting and enjoysit a lot. Nupur is yet to sign afilm. She’s taking her timeandweighing allher opportunitiesbefore saying yes tosomething.And I think this isthe rightway to go.Your firstproject is very important,”saysKriti, sounding like thewise elder sister even duringour conversation.Wementionthis, and she laughs again.

Mysister is takingtime to say yes to afilm:Kriti Sanon

Kriti Sanonand sister,Nupur Sanon(far right)PHOTO: PRODIP

GUHA/HT

NOTE TO READERS: Some of the coverage that appears on our pages is paid for by the concerned brands. No sponsored content does or shall appear in anypart of HTwithout it being declared as such to our valued readers.

STOP PRESS

HRITHIK ROSHANISSUES CLARIFICATIONAFTER BEING ACCUSEDOF CHEATINGRecently, Hrithik Roshanwas accused of duping thestockist of his clothingbrand of ₹21lakh. Now, theactor has clarified his stancewith a statement that saysthat hewas in nowayassociatedwith thematter.“Hrithik Roshan and HRXBrand have no associationwith thematter in questionin news. HRX Brand hasbeen licensed to GlobalFragrances for limitedpurposes. The licensewasterminated by HRX Brandbecause of defaults byGlobal,” reports Pinkvilla.

HTC

I won’t be able to tellthe story in one film,and making a threepart movie will be a bittoo much.NEERAJ PANDEY,FILMMAKER

PHOTO: PRAMOD THAKUR/HT

htcafé02 ENTERTAINMENT HINDUSTAN TIMES, PUNETHURSDAY, AUGUST 30, 2018

‘Dharamji had alwaysbeen my inspiration’

Pooja Sharma

Gurmeet Choudharywasexpected to have a certainphysique as he plays an

army officer from the ’60s -’70sin his upcomingmovie, Paltan.Apparently, Gurmeet askedhis trainer to help him acquirea physique like that of actorDharmendra during hisheyday.Gurmeet says, “I wanted a

natural physique for this film.It had to be sans the perfect absand sculpted body— the kindof physique thatmenhad inthe 1960s and ’70s, speciallyDharamji. The ideawas to looklike an army officer and not amodel. Also, Dharamji hadalways beenmy inspiration, afierce bodywith a handsomeface. So, to play an armyman,

I felt Dharamji’s was theperfect physique.”Talking about his fitness

regimen for the role, he adds,“I went all natural to achievethis kind of physique. Nosupplement or fancyworkout.I ate natural foodswithout anyprotein shakes. I followed atraditionalworkout of basicexercises, pull-ups and push-ups, which are natural and canbe donewithout equipments.”Gurmeet adds that this film

is close to his heart because itis based on theArmy.He says,“My fatherwas in theArmy.So, I have lived in thatenvironment. Secondly,I’m glad I got toworkwithlegendary director JPDutta.I have grownupwatching hisfilms innumerable times.”n [email protected]

I went all natural to achieve this kind of physique. Nosupplement or fancy workout.GURMEET CHOUDHRY, ACTOR

Sanjay is always upfor a challenge

Sanjay Kapoor

CELEB DIARIES

Perfect poserKaran Johar posted this image on Instagramwith thecaption, “Shoot life!!! #callingkaran styled by@nikitajaisinghani #always!”

QUOTE HANGER

I’VE SPOKEN TOSARA (ALI KHAN)AND ANANYA(PANDAY) ANDTHEY’RE SO FULLOF LIFE. I’MEXCITED TO SEETHEM ONSCREEN.JANHVIKAPOOR,ACTOR

I DON’T THINKWOMEN IN FILMSTODAY ARE IN APLACE WHERETHEY HAVE TOWAIT FOR ASTRONG FEMALEPART.DEEPIKAPADUKONE,ACTOR

TWITTER TWATTER

PHOTO: KARANJOHAR/ INSTAGRAM

Celebratingthe sportsmanspirit@akshaykumar: Todaybeing the birth anniversaryof one of India’s greatestsportsman,#MajorDhyanChand is alsomarked as#NationalSportsDay. Thebest tribute would be to notjust celebrate it for a daybutmake sports a way oflife.@AnupamPKher:“Everything heals. Yourbody heals. Your heart heals.Your mind heals. Your soulrepairs itself. Your happinessis always going to comeback. Bad times don’t last.”:)@geneliad: Rahyl acceptshis Baba’s #FitnessChallenge

... He further challenges theBachcha Gang.....#BachceFitTohDeshFit@MadhuriDixit: Life isbeautiful. Every day bringsits challenges and itslearnings. In the end it isabout living, learning andlovingwhat you do...#WednesdayWisdom@SunnyLeone: Finally inDubai! Mini vacation begins!Thanks@DanielWeber99 forsweeping us all away!

Actors John Abraham andJackie Shroff havewrappedup the shoot of their thriller,Romeo AkbarWalter (RAW)in Kashmir.John, who is a co-producer,says that the state will beshown in the right light,adding, “The place is calmand there is no tension here.I am in Gulmarg right nowand enjoying its beauty.”

IdreesBukhtiyar John Abraham

The nice guysActor Upen Patel shared an old picture with HrithikRoshan. “#tuesdaythrowback This pic will always bespecial. At #iifa awards taken just after I won bestdebutant and themost positive soul #HrithikRoshanmetme backstage and gaveme some kindwords andencouragement,” he captioned it.

SHOW BUZZ

PHOTO: INSTAGRAM/UPENPATELWORLD

LOOK BACK

Akshay Kumar

HAVE YOU HEARD?

John shoots in the valley

film and do a role that isnoticed. People lovedmycameo in Toilet. Directorswere impressed bymyperformances and now theyknow that I can act and carry afilm. Everybodywants to bepart of a big film andworkwith popular actors but it’s noteasy. I want to do roles that arechallenging, and not be part offilms that I would end uphating.”Sana, who recently shot for

aweb series co-starringSanaya Irani, saysworking ona showwhich isn’t aboutHindus andMuslimswasexciting. “The plot is aboutIndia and Pakistan, notHindus andMuslimswhich

appealed

tome. I was interested in doingtheweb series as not onlywasthe story thrilling, butmy roletoo, is character driven. I playan ISI agent in the series. Idon’t want to be an eye candyon screen. Once you star in anerotic thriller, people tend tooffer you similar roles. Butthankfully, that hasn’t beenthe casewithme. I amworkingon twomovieswhere I havepivotal and powerful roles.People are looking beyond theglamour factor and I too, amfocusing on performance-oriented roles,” she says.Being the fitness enthusiast

she is, Sana reveals that otherthan acting, one also has toalso look fit to get good roles.She lost eight kgs in the last

fewmonths. She says, “I havebeenworking hard to lookfitter than before becauselooking good is a prerequisitefor an actor. You shouldmaintain yourself and beready for the camera, always.”She feels grateful that theindustry has taught her to takecare of her health, appearanceand grooming. She says,“Moreover, nobody’s going towait for you to loseweightwhen they cast you. In theentertainment industry, youhave to survive on your own.Andwhen people see yourtalent, theywant to give youwork. You have to fight foryourself and get good roles, benoticed and be visible.”n [email protected]

Kavita Awaasthi

Actor SanaKhan shot tofame after participatingin the reality showBiggBoss season 6. After

that, she starred in the SalmanKhan-starrer Jai Ho (2014),followed by the erotic thriller,WajahTumHo (WTH; 2016),and a guest appearance inAkshayKumar’s, Toilet: EkPremKatha (2017). “I don’twant to be all over theplace,” says Sana, addingthat shewants towait forgood characters andfilms. “It tookme twoyears to getWTHafter

Jai Ho. I don’tmindwaiting if thewait isworth it.Youwant to be part of a good

‘IDON’TWANTTOBEANEYECANDY’Sana Khan talks about how people are looking beyond the glamourfactor and why she needs to be in a readytoshoot mode

PHOTO: FAIZI ALI

Sneha Mahadevan

RaniMukerji, recentlywon the award for BestActress at the Indian

FilmFestival ofMelbournefor her performance inHichki. She also bagged theaward for Excellence inCinema. During her stayinMelbourne, Australia,Rani spoke aboutwhy starkids shouldn’t get undueexposure in the publiceye at one of themasterclass

sessions at the film festival.Rani had taken her two-

year-old daughterAdira toAustraliawith her and thiswas the first time the twowent on a vacation togetherto the land downunder.Like husbandAditya Choprawho avoids the public eye,Adira too, is rarelyphotographed. Rani had,in earlier instances, saidshe respects that Adityadoesn’t want to be in thelimelight andwill do the

same for her daughter as shewants her to have a normalupbringing.In today’s time, star kids

are often caught in the fanfollowing that their famousparents garner and getintroduced into the spotlightat a very young age. Talkingabout it, Rani said, “I don’tunderstand the unnecessaryexposure a kid is forced tohavewhen they’re young. Idon’t wantmy daughter togrow to be entitled. Her only

entitlement today, is that shehas famous parents, butthat’s it. It’s not somethingshe has earned.When shegrows up, shewill need toearn her own status. Andthat’s why I feel it necessaryto keep her away from themedia glare. I havemanagedto go by all this timewithouta single picture ofmydaughter being published,I’m sure it’s possible forothers to do so too.”n [email protected]

I have managed to goby all this time withouta single picture of mydaughter beingpublished, I’m sure it’spossible for others todo so too.RANI MUKERJI, ACTOR

‘I don’t understand the unnecessary exposure’You should maintain yourself and be ready for thecamera, always...You have to fight for yourself and getgood roles, be noticed and be visible.SANA KHAN, ACTOR

onwatching it. On hearingthis predicament, one of theinfluential personalities fromChanderi decided to build atheatre in the town. So, atheatrewill nowbe open to thelocalswith the release of Stree.DirectorAmarKaushik

says, “The locals of Chanderiwould travel almost 50 to 70kilometres to towns in thenearing areas towatchmoviessince thosewere the closesttheatres for them.Whilewewere shooting for Stree there,the concept of having a theatrein their town came into being.The entire process of buildinga theatrewas hastened andnow the construction of thetheatre is in the last leg of itscompletion. It is going to beready in no time. It’s a greatdevelopment that the people ofChanderi would get to seefilms in their town and theycanwatch their owntown in Stree.”

Samarth Goyal

Considering he has beenin the entertainmentindustry for 23 years, hehasn’t donemany films,

but SanjayKapoor remainshighly enthusiastic aboutevery project that comes hisway, and is eager to challengehimself at each step.After a brief appearance

in theweb filmLust Series,Sanjaywill nowbe seen inThe Zoya Factor, directed byAbhishek Sharma.Interestingly, Sanjay playsfather to his real-life niece,SonamKAhuja in the film,and he says, “Of course, it’sexciting toworkwith Sonam.She’s family, andwhen youworkwith someonewho’sfrom the same family, it’sbetter. It’s great fun, yaar,” hebeams, talking about the kindofwork relationship the twoshare.However, Sanjay plays

down any connection betweenhis family linkwith Sonamandhis casting. “The onlything thatworks right now isthe chemistry between us. Asan actor, you have towork onyour character. Abhishekdidn’t signme because IwasSonam’s uncle. [He did so]because he saw the actor inme, and felt that I’d suitthe character,” he says.Talking about his few

and far betweenperformances aftermaking his Bollywooddebutwith the 1995 filmPrem, Sanjay says thathe is nevertheless proudof having done a numberof roles that challenged

himas an actor. “In the year2000, it was still a very hero-oriented industry, andeveryone kept doing the samething.WhenKoiMereDil SePooche (2002) came, theywanted to castme to as thehero, but I looked at the role ofthe negative character in it,and said that I wanted to dothat [role],” Sanjay says. “I cutmyhair, prepared for the role,and did it. I’ve always had thatidea and always beenwillingto challengemyself as anactor,” says the 52-year-old.His affinitywith negative

roles resurfacedwithQayamat: CityUnder Threat(2003). “That rolewascompletely different fromwhat I’d done in the past. ButIwouldn’t lie tomyself. Ihaven’t done 200 films, so Iwon’t say that I amverychoosy orwhatever,” he says.n samarth.goyal@htl

ive,com

Sonam KAhujaPHOTO:

YOGEN SHAH

Pooja Sharma

RajkummarRao andShraddhaKapoor arebusy promoting their

horror-comedy Stree, whichwas shot in Chanderi,MadhyaPradesh. During the shoot ofthe film, the locals sharedwith the unit that they didn’thave a theatre. They had to goto the nearest town, Bhopal,if they had towatch any film.Now, since Streewas shotin their city, theywere keen

RAJKUMMARSTARRERBECOMES FIRSTFILM RELEASEIN CHANDERI

Rajkummar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor in a still from the movie, Stree

htcaféHINDUSTAN TIMES, PUNETHURSDAY, AUGUST 30, 2018 TIMEOUT 03

CITY EVENTS

ENJOYAn evening of the blues withMagpie Hoofer featuringNikhil Bailur, Abhinav Kumar,Ashish Ambhore, Nikhil Negiand Samar Shinde. At ShishaCafe, Koregaon Park. OnAugust 30, from 8.30pm.

LISTENThe dynamic duo, DJ Sunnyand Harneet known for theirversatility and an impressivecollection of over 2000remixes with theirBollywood, Hip Hop andBhangramusic. At Baraza

Bars & Bites, Yerwada. OnSeptember 1, from 10pm.

CELEBRATEEnjoy International BaconDaywith dishes that includeMacaroni and SaffronCarbonara with oodles ofBacon to a classic Chargrilledtenderloin burger withBacon rashers and even aspecial cocktail called TheSouthern Old Fashioned. AtThe Sassy Spoon, KoregaonPark. On September 1, from12pm to12am.

Things are going fine and to your liking on boththe personal and professional fronts. Youwill benefit by befriending someoneimportant. Savingmoney can be on thetop of your agenda and youwill manageit without feeling the pinch. Youmayprovide emotional support to someoneclose.LuckyNumber: 5; Lucky Colour: Yellow

A good source of earningwill be found by thoselooking for financial security. Businesspersons will manage to turn the dayprofitable. Your hardwork is likely to getpositive results on the professionalfront. Differing opinions among familymembers may lead to arguments anddebates.LuckyNumber: 6; Lucky Colour: Green

Persistence on the business front will payhandsomely andwill get you recognitiontoo. Youwill manage to stick to yourbudget in a new venture. Your romanticfeelings will be readily reciprocated bythe one you love. So get ready for agreat day. Learning additional skills willadd to your knowledge, so go for it.LuckyNumber: 9; Lucky Colour: Brown

Reflect onwhat is transpiring, beforemakingany decision. Good foresight on your partwill make an event go smoothly.Neglecting to renew a contract threatensto put you in a tight corner. Your goodintentionsmay getmisinterpreted bysomeone close. An outstation travel is oncards for some.LuckyNumber: 3; Lucky Colour: Yellow

On the academic front, good preparationwillmake all the difference in whatever you aretrying to achieve. Your upbeatmood atwork will help boost your performance.Problem about finances will be resolvedby cutting down on expenses. You canexpect a helping hand from family inwhatever you are involved in.LuckyNumber: 2; Lucky Colour: Grey

Getting comfortably settled in a newenvironment is indicated. You yearn forrecognition at work and youmaymanipulate the situation to get it. Curbthis tendency, before it harms you. Onthe romantic front, youwill feel muchmore nearer to the one you love. Healthwill remain good by eating right.LuckyNumber: 8; Lucky Colour: Grey

An achievement on the academic frontmayhave you sitting on cloud nine. Your viewsand opinions regarding an issue at workwill be appreciated. Retailers may findnewer ways of promoting sales.Availability of money poses no problems,as earning rises. A promise kept is likelyto draw someone close to you.LuckyNumber: 22; Lucky Colour: Blue

Youwill excel professionally andmay climb upthe corporate ladder. Someone’s efforts willhelp you immensely on the academicfront. Your light and relaxed attitudetowards life will help you copewitheveryday tensions. Youwill need to curbyour lack of persistence at work andsharpen your focus to succeed.LuckyNumber: 15; Lucky Colour: Red

Your contention on the professional front willbe proven correct and add to yourreputation. Youwill be able to round offan exam or a competition in style on theacademic front. Those planning avacation are in for a thrilling time. Youwill be able tomeet people you have notmet for long in your social circle.LuckyNumber: 6; Lucky Colour: Green

There is much that comes your way at workand youwill be expected to complete ittoday. Your impetuosity andimpulsivenessmaymark a perfect outingwith your family. The raise you had beenexpectingmay take somemore time tomaterialise. Weight watchers will needto stick to routine.LuckyNumber: 11; Lucky Colour: Grey

There is a possibility of someone asking for aloan, so take your call. You have an intrinsicdesire to impress others not only bywords, but by deeds too. This is the daywhen you can become the toast of yourcircle. Your efforts on the professionalfront will get noticed and encourage youto put in your best.LuckyNumber: 7; Lucky Colour: Brown

Youwill go the length to see a task tocompletion andwin appreciation for it too.There will be no problem aboutmoney, asyou start to earn well. Paperworkmaybog you down in office today, as youdon’t leave anything pending. Your owninitiative will help you in proceedingtowards your goal on the academic front.LuckyNumber: 3; Lucky Colour: Yellow

LEO(JUlY 23 - AUG 23)

SAGITTARIUS(NOV 23 - DEC 21)

SCORPIO(OCT 24 - NOV 22)

VIRGO(AUG 24 - SEPT 23)

TAURUS(apr 21 - MaY 20)

ARIES(Mar 21 - apr 20)

AQUARIUS(JAN 22 - FEB 19)

CANCER(JUNE 22 - JUlY 22)

CAPRICORN(DEC 22 - JAN 21)

PISCES(fEB 20 - Mar 20)

LIBRA(SEPT 24 - OCT 23)

GEMINI(MaY 21 - Jun 21)

AstrologerPremKumarSharma canbe contactedat:Delhi: 91-11-26449898,26489899 (Sat toMon): Panchkula: 91-172-2562832, 2572874 (Tues toThurs);Mumbai: 91-22-26398641 (Lastweekofeverymonth)DAILY HOROSCOPE

THURSDAY,AUGUST 30,2018

CAMERONDIAZ: She is an American actor andproducer. She is best known for her roles in filmssuch as TheMask (1994), Charlie’s Angels (2000),The Holiday (2006) and Gambit (2012) .

Calvin and Hobbes BillWatterson

SOLUTIONSUDOKU

SOLUTIONMATHDUKU

sudoku

Fill in all the squares in the grid so that each row, column andeach of the 9X9 squares contains all the digits from 1 to 9.

DIFFICULTY LEVEL

MatHdokuPlace numbers into thepuzzle cells so that eachrow and column containseach of the digits from 1to 5. No number is to berepeated in any row orcolumn. Each bold-out-lined cells contain a hintof a number and one ofthe mathematicalsymbols + x - /. Thenumber is the result ofthe operation represent-ed by the symbol to thedigits contained.

sCraMble - 2829Solve the four anagrams and move one letter to eachsquare to form four ordinary words

csorstalksfhortuinopch

SCRAMBLESOLUTION:Cross,stalk,fourth,phonicANSWER:Therearenoshortcutsinevolution.-LouisD.Brandeis

did you know?

Now arrange the letters marked with anasterisk (*) to form the answer to the riddle orto fill in the missing words as indicated.

there are no ____ in evolution.- louis D. Brandeis(9)

Jackie shroff dropped out of school after 11th standard as hisfamily reportedly did not have much money. he then startedworking as a travel agent in a company called tradeWings.Jackie eventuallymade it big as an actor in Bollywood.

American rapper Cardi Bapologised to the family ofMartin LutherKing Jr.

after joking about hiscontributions to the CivilRightsMovement.Cardi raged a controversywhen she participated in a skitthat jested the civil rightsactivists as Real Housewives-esque reality stars on theWild‘NOut’s RipMichaels show,‘Off the Rip.Martin LutherKing’s

youngest child, Bernice, tookoffence to Cardi B’s parodyand revealed that the rappercontacted her to discuss theskit, confirmed a source. The‘BodakYellow’ singerrecently graced the 2018MTVVideoMusicAwardswith her first live performancesincewelcoming her daughter,KultureKiari.

ANI

CardiBapologisesforCivilRightsMovementparody

Cardi B PHOTO: AFP

Inher role as a goodwillambassador for theUNRefugeeAgency, actor CateBlanchett spoke in front oftheUNSecurity Council onTuesday. The two-timeAcademyAwardwinner saidthat nothing prepared her for“the extent and depth ofsuffering” she sawwhen shevisited camps inBangladeshfor RohingyaMuslim refugeeswho fled a violent crackdownbyMyanmar’smilitary.Blanchett said she heard

“gut-wrenching accounts” oftorture, rape, people seeingloved ones killed before theireyes, and children thrown intofire and burned alive”.“I amamother, and I saw

my children in the eyes of

every single refugee child Imet,” she said, adding, “I sawmyself in every parent. Howcan anymother endure seeingher child thrown into a fire?”TheRohingya have long

been treated as outsiders inBuddhist-majorityMyanmar,even though their familieshave lived in the country forgenerations. Nearly all havebeen denied citizenship since1982, effectively renderingthem stateless. They are alsodenied freedomofmovementand other basic rights.The latest crisis beganwith

attacks by an undergroundRohingya insurgent group onMyanmar security personnel,last August, in northernRakhine State.Myanmar’s

military respondedwithcounter-insurgency sweepsand has been accused of rightsviolations. This included rape,murder, torture, and theburning of Rohingya homesand villages— leading about7,00,000 Rohingya to flee toneighbouringBangladesh.Blanchett, who visited

refugee camps inBangladeshinMarch, said it wasimportant to recall that lastyearwasn’t the first attack ontheRohingya. She said thatwomenwhowere raped byMyanmar security forces arenow giving birth to childrenwho are not only stateless but“are likely to carry this stigmafor the rest of these lives”.She urged support for the

refugees andBangladeshi hostcommunities, and imploredthe Security Council to helpthe Rohingya returnwith “aclear pathway to fullcitizenship”. AP

Cate Blanchett is a UN goodwill ambassador PHOTO: CARLO ALLEGRI/REUTERS

‘NOTHINGPREPAREDMEFORROHINGYASUFFERING’In an emotional speech at the United NationsSecurity Council meeting, actor Cate Blanchettimplored the world body not to ‘fail the Rohingya’

CELEBS SPEAK ON THEROHINGYA ISSUEAcademy Award-winningactor Angelina Jolie, who is avocal humanitarian and amember of the UN,demanded thatMyanmargovernment take actionagainst the violence.

ActorMichelle Yeoh, whovisited refugee camps inBangladesh in January as a UNgoodwill ambassador, calledthe condition ‘despicable’.InMay, Bollywood actorPriyanka Chopra also visitedRohingya kids in refugeecamps and asked theworld tobemore ‘compassionate’

Washing Machine

htcafé04 LIFESTYLE HINDUSTAN TIMES, PUNETHURSDAY, AUGUST 30, 2018

Recently, I became friends witha guy frommy office. Post that,we have been chatting onWhatsApp; during breaks, wehang out at the office cafeteria.Last week, we went out forlunch. And, now after less thana month, he has proposed tome. I haven’t given him a reply,as I am not sure. Is it too earlyto get a proposal? SRLove has no definitemeantime thatmust be observed.You are going out alone forlunchwith him, soobviously you like him. Butplease don’t feel pressured.Suggest to him to take itslow. It’s goingwell for bothof you in any case. By theway, you are already sort ofin a relationship.

I have been in a relationship forfive years. But, my boyfriend isnot interested in marriage. Ihave even threatened him witha breakup. My parents, whodon’t know about him, arepressurising me to get married.I want to get married to him.What should I do? MTThe great Julius Caesarwasvery keen on crossing therubicon (the rubiconwas anOlympic size swimmingpool, which qualified as ariver for very poor Italians).It was onlywhen hewashalfway across that Caesarrealised he didn’t knowhowto swim.And, this onlybecame clear to himbecauseby then hewas 13 feetunderwaterwith his helmeton— those days helmetswere compulsory during allmodes of transport you see.My point is, how serious areyou aboutmarriage? If youare, then crack thewhip.Don’t wait till you aredrowning in anEuropeanriverwith your helmet on. Ifyou like, suspend therelationship for aweek.Thatwould be like a slap onhiswrist— so he knows youare serious. Youmight aswell dealwith themarriageissue now rather than later.Put your cards on the table.

But only if that’s what youreally, reallywant. And,also hear his point of view.

About a week back, I joined anew office. But, to my surprise,my exboyfriend is alsoworking here. I didn’t know thiswhen I joined the place. He hadbroken up with me two yearsback, and it took me a longtime to come out of it. But,now, the moment I see him, Istart thinking about my past. Idon’t want to leave this job as Igot it after a long search and Ilove my current boyfriend a lot.I amworried I may start likinghim again. Please help. NFSadly, you can’t useHenrytheVIII’s strategy. Henryabolished the concept of theex-lover. He did this byexecuting his present loverin order to enjoy a new one.In themodernworld, thingsare a little different. Besides,there aremany importantdifferences between you andHenryVIII. To list three,Henrywas 350 pounds, heplayed tennis and never hada boyfriend. Two years islong time. In two yearsyou’ve reached half acreOlympic games, or you’vecompleted 10%of ametroconstruction inMumbai(metro construction inMumbai is set to outlive thevery city ofMumbaicurrently). Show somemental strength. You have anew guy and a new job, so

get on

with it. Think of your future.It’s easier than you think.Maybe, try thinking ofsomething you detest everytime you see him. For e.g Idetest poha, if it helps.

I have been in a long distancerelationship for three years andthis time, I have cheated on mygirlfriend twice. I will bemarrying her in 2019. I don’twant to cheat on her aftermarriage. Should I tell her thetruth about my cheating ways?

CTSurely, youmean youcheated four times becausewe all knowwhen it comesto sins, the truth is doublethe confession.My advice isthe same that I gave amanwhowanted to pat a tiger. Itold him, “Even though thetiger is a cocker spaniel, heis sleeping now. So, don’tdisturb himplease.”Makepeacewith yourself andmove on. Honesty is neveras good as selective honesty.Don’t be a goody two shoes.Startwith a new state, andtry and stay on the straightand narrow.Or confessto her. And, even if sheforgivesme, she’ll havethat info on you for the restof her life. I say, leave thesleeping tigeralone.

‘Hearhispointofview’JUSTWRITETOUNCLECYAT [email protected] I’LL GIVE YOU SOMERELIEF…. ERR… THAT IS,PROVIDED, I’M NOTDOING A HEADSTANDAT THE TIME.

SERIOUSLY CYRUSCYRUS BROACHA

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK/USED FOR REPRESENTATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY

changes taking place in a childand they are constantlyshaping their identity andfiguring out new things. And,according to experts, if theyare not given adequateattention at this vulnerablepoint of life, they opt forshelter in the virtualworld,making thingsworse for all.Goenka says, “A little love andunderstanding fromparentscanmake them less prone tofalling prey towrongdoingsonline. Teensmaynot realisethe perils of the virtualworldormaynot knowhow to setrestrictions for themselves.But together, you canpositively navigate thedifficulties of life both onlineand offline.”n [email protected]

Anjali Shetty

Parents and guardians arealways conscious of thethreat of peer pressureand the impact it can

have on their teenagechildren. However, one has tobe careful about handling thesituationwithout letting itaffect your equationwith yourchild.Parenting is definitely a

tough job, especiallywhen youaremaking sure your childaccesses the right contentfroma barrage of socialnetworking sites or apps.Teens can easily formopinions, judge others and getinfluenced by their peers, whoare already present in thevirtualworld. And, theymayhave not evenmet some ofthese people in person. So,howdoes onemaintain abalance in such a situation?Experts share that keeping acoolmind, not resorting topunishments and having opendiscussions helps reducemostof the problems that teenagers

encounter.

PROPERCOMMUNICATIONDrManjiri Deshpande, childpsychiatrist, The PediatricNetwork, points out that it’simperative for parents to getacquaintedwith socialmediain order to help themkeep thelines of communication open.Deshpande says, “Parentsmust knowwho their kids arespending their time—onlineor offline. It is always a goodidea to talk openly to yourteens and explain to them thata person’s socialmedia profilemay not be an accuraterepresentation ofwho he/shereally is. You need tomakethemunderstand the fact that

just because someone likes topost pictures about their life’saccomplishments andadventures, it does notmeanthat he/she leads a picture-perfect life. Teens should bethought to value their livesinstead ofwasting time incomparing their own lives tothat of others online.”

BUILDING CONFIDENCEExperts suggest thatwhenteenagers’ thoughts arecoloured and they attempt tobring in an artificial change totheir original self, one can besure that the teen is a victim ofpeer pressure. ArchanaGoenka, academic director, CPGoenka International School,says, “The first stepwhile

working on this aspect is to beyour child’s best friend andfirst friend. Build somuchconfidence in the children thatthey share all their secrets andkeep their parents in the loop.”Deshpande adds that the

only solution to this issue is tokeep a closer eye on the child’speer group. She says, “Intoday’s tech-savvyworld, peerpressure seems to havebecome a virtual problem.However, this old-style ofsafeguarding your child canbecome quite perplexing forparents.More safetymeasuresinclude befriending your childon the social networking sitesto keep a tab on his/heractivities, setting limitationson screen time andencouraging your child toengross in the realworld’sextracurricular activities suchas sports.”

LOVE AND SUPPORTOne should understand thatthe teen phase of a child’s lifeis a very precarious timewhenthere are a lot of hormonal

Is your teenager living under virtual peer pressure and you don’t knowhow to deal with it? Experts try to make your life easy

CAUGHTINTHE

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK/USED FOR REPRESENTATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY

DOS FOR PARENTSn It is not possible to knowof your child’s everyvirtual move. However,keeping a tab on his/hertime of logging on theseapps/sites and talkingabout it will help.nBe curious, but notinquisitive: As parentsyou should knowwhichplatforms or apps he/sheis using. Have a chat onwhy they need to be onit.n It’s important thatparents knowwho theirteenage children arespending timewith—be it online or offline.- DrManjiri Deshpande,child psychiatrist and

Archana Goenka,academic director,

CP Goenka InternationalSchool

Build so much confidence in the children that theyshare their secrets and keep their parents in the loop.ARCHANA GOENKA, ACADEMIC DIRECTOR, CP GOENKAINTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

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