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MONEY 8FINMIN EYES DECRIMINALISINGSELECT ECONOMIC OFFENCES

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SPORTS 11BCCI FOLLOWING ‘WAIT AND WATCH’ POLICY FOR SL TOUR

VIJAYAWADA, THURSDAY JUNE 11, 2020; PAGES 12 `3

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RNI No. APENG/2018/764698

*Late City Vol. 2 Issue 219*Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable

Established 1864Published From

VIJAYAWADA DELHI LUCKNOW BHOPAL RAIPUR CHANDIGARH

BHUBANESWAR RANCHIDEHRADUN HYDERABAD

200 MS EMPLOYEES URGE NADELLATO SNAP CONTRACTS WITH POLICE

“Enough is enough", said West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo as heopened up on the raging issue of racism and called for "respect and

equality" for black people, who have faced discrimination for years. Bravojoined the likes of his former captain Darren Sammy and Chris Gayle indenouncing racism in the wake of African-American George Floyd'skilling at the hands of a white police officer in the USA. "It's sadto see what's going on around the world. As a black man, weknow the history of what black people have been through. Wenever ask for revenge, we ask for equality and respect. That'sit," Bravo told former Zimbabwe cricketer PommieMbangwa in an Instagram live chat on Tuesday.

GAINS FROM LOCKDOWN LOST INUNLOCK: HEALTH CARE EXPERT Gains from the lockdown period in the battle against COVID-19 have

possibly been lost in the unlock phase, a public health care expertwarned on Wednesday, calling for protecting the population in ruralareas ill- prepared to tackle any explosion in infection cases. Professor,Indian Institute of Public Health, Hyderabad, Public Health Foundation ofIndia, V Ramana Dhara, said the unlock has resulted in areturn to old habits of indiscipline in physicaldistancing and improper mask use. "Migrant labourhas to be taken care of and quarantined close to theirhomes in rural areas so the rural population isprotected without stigmatisation of the migrant labour.

Priests conducted special prayers at a Shiva shrine at the RamJanmabhoomi site here but stopped short of symbolically launching

the construction of a Ram temple, contrary to an announcement madeearlier this week. Mahant Kamal Nayan Das, who participated in the`rudrabhishek' ritual at the Kuber Tila shrine said he prayed for an earlybeginning of construction of the Ram temple. Kamal Nayan Das isdescribed as the spokesperson to MahantNritya Gopal Das, who heads the Ram Mandirtrust which has been charged with theconstruction of the temple after the historicSupreme Court verdict last year.

PRAYERS AT RAM JANMABHOOMI SITE FOR‘EARLY START' TO TEMPLE CONSTRUCTION

WE NEVER ASK FOR REVENGE,WE ASK FOR EQUALITY: BRAVO

Over 200 Microsoft employees have urged CEO Satya Nadella tocancel the company's contracts with the Seattle police department

and other law enforcement agencies amid widespread calls in the US todefund the police following the custodial killing of African-AmericanGeorge Floyd, according to a media report. There has been agrowing demand from a section of the Americans to defund thepolice after a white police officer knelt on Floyd's neck for overeight minutes despite his repeated pleas that he can't breathe onMay 25 in Minneapolis. The internal email, which includedmore than 250 employees, was sent on Monday, addressedto Nadella and executive Vice President Kurt DelBene.

3

Trai comes down heavily on‘Perverse' practiceof RWAs

8

Resolving inter-state waterdisputes: The wayforward

2

The challenge of unlocking public life

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated June 10, 2020 5:00 PM

ALMANAC TODAY

Month & Paksham:Jyeshtha & Krishna Paksha

PanchangamTithi : Shashthi: 09:10 pm

Nakshatram:Dhanishtha: 04:35 pm

Time to Avoid: (Bad time to start any important work)

Rahukalam: 01:53 pm – 03:31 pm

Yamagandam: 05:45 am – 07:22 am

Varjyam: 12:27 am – 02:12 am

Gulika: 09:00 am - 10:38 am

Good Time: (to start any important work)

Amritakalam: NIL

Abhijit Muhurtham: 11:49 am – 12:41 pm

VIJAYAWADAWEATHERFFoorreeccaasstt:: Scattered thunderstormsTemp: 34/26Humidity: 82%Sunrise: 05.41 amSunset: 06.50 pm

Supreme Court refuses to stay HC order on SEC

Covid-19: Number of recoveriesexceed active cases for first time PNS n NEW DELHI

The number of recoveredCovid-19 patients has exceed-ed the total active cases inIndia for the first time onWednesday, according to theUnion Health Ministry data.

India reported close to10,000 new instances of theinfection in the last 24 hourstill Wednesday 8 am, pushingthe country's cumulative case-load to over 2.7 lakh.

The country has recorded279 new fatalities due toCovid-19 in the last 24 hours,taking the death toll to 7,745.

The number of active casesin the country stands at1,33,632, while 1,35,205 peo-ple have recovered and onepatient has migrated, the min-istry said. "Thus, 48.99 per centof the patients have recoveredso far," an official said.

Dr Neeraj Gupta, professorin the Department ofPulmonary, Critical Care andSleep Medicine at theSafdarjung Hospital in Delhi,said the data shows that moreand more people are recover-ing which is as per globaltrends that 80 per cent are like-ly to have mild disease andmake 100 per cent recovery.

"This should provide hopeto the people of India at largewho are having a mortal fearof the disease. But then thisshould not make them com-placent and people should fol-low social distancing and sani-

tisation guidelines," Guptasaid. As per global evidence, 80per cent of Covid-19 cases aremild cases, while remaining 20

per cent may develop compli-cations which would requirehospitalisation.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The Supreme Court onWednesday refused to stay theAP High Court order reinstat-ing Nimmagadda RameshKumar as State ElectionCommissioner. A divisionbench headed by Chief Justiceof India SA Bobdeissued notices to therespondents andgave two weeks toreply.

The YSJ a g a n m o h a nReddy governmenthad filed a SpecialLeave Petition in theapex court challenging theHigh Court order removingJustice (Retd.) V Kanagaraj asthe SEC and reinstatingRamesh Kumar who tenurewas cut to three years by thegovernment following his deci-sion to postpone local bodyelections.

The Supreme Court issued

notice to the StateE l e c t i o n

Commission (SEC)and others on an

appeal by the StateGovernment against the

High Court order strikingdown the Ordinance curtailingthe tenure of the state pollpanel chief from five years tothree.

A bench of Chief Justice SABobde, Justice AS Bopannaand Justice Hrishikesh Royrefused to stay the order and

sought response from the SECand Ramesh Kumar, who wasrestored as state poll panelchief.

Earlier on May 29, the StateHigh Court had struck downthe Ordinance promulgatedon April 10 by the JaganmohanReddy government, curtailingthe tenure of the SEC from fiveto three years.

It also quashed aGovernment Order appointingKanagaraj as the new pollpanel chief and restoredRamesh Kumar to the post.

Justice Kanagaraj, a retiredjudge of the Madras HighCourt, had assumed charge asthe SEC on April 11, replacingN Ramesh Kumar.

The High Court had deliv-ered the judgment on a batchof writ petitions, including theone by Ramesh Kumar, chal-lenging the Ordinance andthe appointment of a new SEC.

The YSRCP government onApril 10 abruptly removed

Ramesh Kumar from the postby amending the AP PanchayatRaj Act, 1994, curtailing thetenure of the SEC to three yearsfrom five.

VIJAYAWADA: The Covid-19 tally in Andhra Pradesh touched 5,247on Wednesday with the addition of 218 new cases in the last 24hours, with foreign returnees causing a spurt in the virus infectionin the state. As many as 56 people who returned to the state fromvarious foreign countries tested positive for coronavirus. Besides,136 locals and 26 people from other states too contracted the virus,taking the state's gross to 5,247, the latest bulletin said. The grossnumber includes 4,126 local, 933 from other states and 188 foreignreturnees. One Covid-19 patient died in East Godavari district, takingthe overall toll to 78. On Wednesday, 94 Coronavirus patients weredeemed to be cured and discharged, taking the aggregate in thestate so far to 2,869. According to the bulletin, there are 2,300active coronavirus cases in the state. Meanwhile, Vijayawada city isgrowing into a hotbed of coronavirus with as many as 42 of the 64civic wards classified as containment zones. With this, there is norelief to the citizens from the lockdown as Krishna district CollectorA Md Imtiaz issued an order stating that all restrictions would be inplace till further orders.

218 new Coronavirus cases in AP; tally reaches 5,2471

Jagannanna Chedodu is a web of deception: NaiduPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Leader of the Opposition in theState Assembly N ChandrababuNaidu on Wednesday termedthe ‘Jagananna Chedodu'scheme as the latest of manyattempts to deceive people bymisleading them by the YSRCPgovernment. Addressing theTDP leaders on Wednesday,Naidu alleged that uttering lieshas now become a weapon forthe YSRCP.

“Earlier, the YSRCP claimedthat all sections of people will becovered under this scheme.However, they changed theirtune and said that only ownersof saloons would stand to ben-efit under the scheme,” Naidualleged. He continued: “When

the scheme is finally announced,the names of many beneficiarieshave been removed.”

He reeled off figures, sayingthat while there are more than5.50 lakh Nayee Brahminsacross the state, only 38,000found their name in the list ofbeneficiaries under the scheme.

“While there are 13 lakh tailorsin the state, only 1.25 lakh arebeing given the benefits underthe Jagananna Chedoduscheme. In the case of Rajakasthere are 15 lakh in the state buta mere 82,000 would get finan-cial benefits under the newgovernment scheme,” the TDPsupremo said.

Three pleaders that representthe state government in the

High Court put in their paperson Wednesday. The StateGovernment approved theirresignation immediately asverdicts in almost all casesthey pleaded were ruledagainst the Government. Thethree pleaders that resignedwere identified as PenumakaVenkat Rao, Gaddam SatishBabu and Shaik Habib.

3 Governmentpleaders in HC resign

Devotees back at Durga temple as darshan resumesPNS n VIJAYAWADA

After two days of trial run, theSri Durga Malleswara SwamyVarla Devasthanam authoritieson Wednesday allowed devoteesdarshan of the presiding deity.

The authorities had made allarrangements to follow Covid-19 guidelines by arranging facil-ities for thermal screening andalso sanitised the queue lines fre-quently.

Devotees started visiting thetemple from 6 am onwards anddarshan continued till 5 pm.

The temple administrationmade arrangements to issuetickets online and cancelled the

Sathagopam and Teerdham.Only devotees wearing maskswere allowed for the Darshan.

Temple staff wearing masksand gloves distributed Tamarindrice and Daddojanam to the

devotees. Slots were allotted tothe devotees for darshan tocheck heavy rush in the queuelines.

The officials made arrange-ments for 5,000 devotees tohave darshan each day.However, less than 2,000 devo-tees visited the temple on thefirst day since the beginning ofUnlock 1.0 two days ago anddevotees allowed for the dar-shan.

Authorities said that theybelieve that the lower thanexpected turnout was due to lackof transport facility and prevail-ing tension due to the numberof Covid-19 cases increasing in

the city particularly in the I-town area. Temple executiveofficer MV Suresh Babu super-vised the arrangements.

Meanwhile, 42 out of 64municipal divisions under theVMC limits were declared con-tainment zones on Tuesday.Consequently, Section 144 wasstrictly implemented in the citysince morning, forcing people tostay at homes in the contain-ment and red zones.

With the number of Covid-19cases increasing, the districtadministration decided torestrict the movement of peopleand implemented Section 144 in42 divisions of the city.

Sidda, sonjoin YSRCPPNS n VIJAYAWADA

In a major jolt to the TDP,former minister and strong-man from Prakasam districtSidda Raghava Rao joinedthe ruling YSRCP in thepresence of Chief MinisterYS Jaganmohan Reddy atthe camp office onWednesday.

PNS n HYDERABAD

BJP National general secre-tary V Ram Madhav onWednesday went hammerand tongs at the one-year ruleof the YSRCP Government inthe state, terming it “ReverseAdministration.”

Passing critical remarksagainst the JaganmohanReddy administration in thestate in connection as part ofa virtual rally on the occasionof Prime Minister NarendraModi completing the firstyear of his second term inoffice, Ram Madhav, whojoined KannaLakshminarayana, thus farthe the only critic of Jagan inthe state, said that greetingJagan on completing one yearin office does not meanabsolving him of his sins.

“Perhaps there would beno other state government inthe country whose head peri-odically gets a rap on hisknuckles from the courts

once a week,” the BJP gener-al secretary said, in an indi-rect reference to JaganmohanReddy.

Explaining his “reverseadministration” remarks, hesaid that the government APsuffered a series of reversalsin courts on issue like statecapital at Amaravati,Polavaram Project, auction-ing of lands of TTD andremoving the SEC fromoffice.

FinMin releasesRs 6,195 croreto 14 statesPNS n NEW DELHI

The Central governmenton Wednesday released Rs6,195 croreto 14 statesas monthlyinstalment ofthe postd e v o l u -tion rev-e n u ed e f i c i tgrant.

"The government on June10, 2020, released Rs6,195.08 crore to 14 states asthe third equated-monthlyinstalment of the post devo-lution revenue deficit grantas recommended by the15th Finance Commission.This would provide themadditional resources duringthe corona crisis," the Officeof Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman saidin a tweet.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

A sub-inspector of police,identified as oneRamanjaneyulu was suspend-ed for attempting to rape a girlin a lodge at Amaravati.

The S-I, attached to theAmaravati police station,allegedly tried to sexuallyassault the girl when she cameto the lodge in Amaravatiwith her boyfriend onMonday.

According to sources,Ramanjaneyulu with the dri-

ver of his personal vehicle hadcaught the duo in the roomand demanded Rs 10,000money to let them go withoutfiling a case.

Earlier, the YSRCP claimedthat all sections of people

will be covered under thisscheme. However, they changedtheir tune and said that only ownersof saloons would stand to benefitunder the scheme

— N CHANDRABABU NAIDULeader of the Opposition

Reverse administrationhurting AP: Ram Madhav

PNS n NEW DELHI

The EnforcementDirectorate (ED) onWednesday broughtback over 2,300 kg ofpolished diamonds andpearls worth Rs 1,350crore of firms belonging toNirav Modi and Mehul Choksifrom Hong Kong, officials said.

Out of the108 consignments that landed at

Mumbai, 32 belong to over-seas entities "controlled"by Modi while the restare of Mehul Choksifirms.

Both the businessmenare being probed by the

ED under the Preventionof Money Laundering Act

(PMLA) in connection with anover USD 2 billion alleged bank

fraud at a PNB branch inMumbai. The valuables includepolished diamonds, pearls andsilver jewellery, and is worth Rs1,350 crore.

The ED completed "all legalformalities" with authorities inHong Kong to bring back thesevaluables, the agency said.

These will formally seizedunder the PMLA now, it said.

ED brings back Choksi jewels worth Rs 1,350 cr

Suspended for attemptto rape, S-I on the run

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VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | JUNE 11, 2020 vijayawada 02

EGG RATES

` 48,980 (10 gm)

550

GOLD

` 48,300 (1kg)

` 1200

HYDERABAD 436VIJAYAWADA 434VISAKHAPATNAM 415RREETTAAIILL PPRRIICCEE `44..3344

SILVER

VIJAYAWADABULLION RATES

`//110000

CHICKEN RATES

Dressed/With Skin `225

Without Skin `256

Broiler at Farm `155

`//KKGG

(IN VIJAYAWADA)

Indian Bank to offerloans to businesseshit by lockdownPNS n VIJAYAWADA

During the Covid–19 lock-down imposed by both theState and CentralGovernments, farmers,MSMEs, small businessmenand others had faced immensehardships. To bring back themback on track, Indian Bankwould support them by givingloans, said the bank’s zonalmanager KV Rajasekhara Raoon Wednesday.

He took charge as the zonalmanager of the bank inVijayawada on Wednesday,where he told the media thatmany small business peopleand farmers have sufferedduring the past 70 days onaccount of lockdown.Rajasekhara Rao said that thebank would offer loans tosuch people so that they couldrevive their businesses withsimple customer-friendly pro-cedures.

He said that the bank has

given an amount of Rs 6,250crore as loan for various busi-nesses and agriculture loansabout 93 branches in Krishnaand West Godavari districtswith a turnover of Rs 9,930crore as on March.

Power utilities brace fordemand to peak in kharifPNS n VIJAYAWADA

The AP Government hasdirected power utilities tosubmit an action plan to meetpossible peak demand for theagriculture season by layingspecial focus on upgradingagriculture feeders to ensurefree power to 100 per cent offeeders by the beginning ofagriculture season.

During a teleconferencewith the officials of powerutilities Minister for EnergyBalineni Srinivasa Reddydirected them to prepare anaction plan to meet possiblepeak demand in Kharif season(starts in June).

Secretar y for EnergySrikant Nagulapalli directedall the chief engineers to sub-mit the completion certifi-cates of periodic and preven-tive pre-monsoon mainte-nance activities and theywould be made responsiblefor any abnormalities of elec-trical network equipment dueto negligence. “The failures ofelectrical network equipment

on account of poor mainte-nance will not be tolerated,”the secretary said.

Stating that the govern-ment was giving the highestpriority for 24x7 power sup-ply and 9- hours free powersupply to the agriculture sec-tor during day time, MinisterSrinivasa Reddy had empha-sised the need for submittingan action plan to meet thepossible peak demand in theKharif season.

He asked officials to be

cautious keeping the possibil-ity of increasing demand inpower supply to agriculture.He stated that State govern-ment considers the 9- hoursfree power will be a greatboon to agriculture sector,contribute to improving agri-culture productivity even inupland areas in the State.

Srikant directed to com-plete the upgrading of agricul-ture feeders by the beginningof agriculture season to ensurefree power to 100 per cent of

agriculture services. He fur-ther asked officials to ensureevery power transformer(PTR) and feeder work per-fectly and complete the othermaintenance works that wereunderway, including pre-monsoon inspection of lines,periodical testing and main-tenance of the equipment inthe sub-stations and treebranch cutting etc. should becompleted within this week.

Nine more involved ingroup clash arrestedPNS n VIJAYAWADA

The Police on Wednesdayarrested nine more personsinvolved in a group clash onMay 30 under Patamatapolice station limits that leftone person dead.

Five accused belonging toK Manikantha (Pandu) groupand four accused belonging tothe deceased Thota Sandeepgroup were arrested by thepolice on Wednesday.

The five accused belongingto Pandu group are identifiedas Shaik Hussain (26) work-ing in Hyderabad, PatanMahaboob Basha (19), YEswar Rao (21), N NaveenBabu (25) and Adbul Baqi(25), al l hail ing fromVijayawada.

The four accused belongingto Sandeep group are SVenkateswara Rao (23), BVenkata Ananda Krishna(24), G Durga Naga Prasad(22) and K Nagaraju (20) allfrom various parts ofVijayawada city.

Slider blades, snap blades

and two motorbikes wererecovered from the nineaccused. Two cases were filedand an investigation is on.

Earlier on June 5, 13 cul-prits belonging to the Pandu

group and on June 8, 11 cul-prits from the deceasedSandeep group were arrestedby the city police teams head-ed by DCP HarshavardhanRaju.

Kanaka Durga flyover to be ready by Aug 15: Collector PNS n VIJAYAWADA

An action plan has been pre-pared to bring the KanakaDurga Flyover into use byAugust 15, said district CollectorA Md Imtiaz on Wednesday.

The Collector instructed theofficials concerned to take mea-sures in this regard.

Imtiaz, along with officials ofthe National HighwaysAuthority of India and SomaConstruction Company pro-ject manager on Wednesdayinspected the ongoing flyoverworks at Krishnaveni Ghat nearBhavanipuram.

Speaking on the occasion, hesaid that Covid-19 guidelines arebeing strictly followed by theworkers at the construction site

and about 300 workers canwork simultaneously.

The flyover and other slabconstriction are almost complete

and the finishing works are to becompleted which will be com-pleted by August 15 as per theplan, he said. The Collector saidthe remaining constructionwork shall be done in coordina-tion with the National Highwayauthorities and the SomaConstruction Company.

NHAI SE John Moshe andSoma Construction Companyproject managerAnantharamulu said that about285 workers will be working tocomplete the final stretch of theflyover and the plan will behanded over to the Collector in48 hours.

Arrest accused S-I,demands Women'sCommission chiefPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Andhra Pradesh State WomenCommission chairpersonVasireddy Padma demandedimmediate arrest of suspend-ed sub-inspectorRamajaneyulu and his driver,who are on the run after beingaccused of attempting to rapea girl. Padma instructed theRural SP to complete thepreparation of the charge sheetin the case within a week.

Padma enquired about theincident and opined that whileDisha Act was brought toforce to protect women, it wasshocking that the police whoshould be duty bound to pro-tect women are resorting tosexual attacks. She demandedstern action be taken on the S-I and the driver.

During ateleconference with the officials ofpower utilitiesMinister for EnergyBalineni SrinivasaReddy directedthem to prepare anaction plan to meetpossible peakdemand in Kharifseason (starts in June)

Rajasekhara Raosaid that the bankwould offer loans tosuch people so thatthey could revivetheir businesseswith simplecustomer-friendlyprocedures

The five accused belonging to Pandu groupare identified as Shaik Hussain (26) workingin Hyderabad, Patan Mahaboob Basha (19), Y Eswar Rao (21), N Naveen Babu (25) andAdbul Baqi (25), all hailing from Vijayawada

SSC exams to go ahead asscheduled, confirms SureshPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Andhra Pradesh EducationMinister Adimulapu Sureshconfirmed that the SSC exam-inations in the state would beheld as per schedule.

Speaking to media personshere on Wednesday,Suresh said that the sit-uation in the statewas different whencompared to then e i g h b o u r i n gTelangana.

A n d h r aPradesh stands asa model in thecountry in contain-ing the spread of theCoronavirus, the Ministersaid. He emphasised that therewill be no compromise inensuring safety to teachers andstudents while conducting theexaminations. He also clarifiedthat the SSC exams which wereannounced to be held from July10 will go on as per schedule.

The SSC examinations thatwere originally scheduled to beheld from March 31, had beenpostponed due to the nation-wide lockdown imposed tocontain the spread ofCoronavirus.

On May24, the state

governmenthad released

the newtimetable for the

examinations. It was alsodecided to reduce the numberof examinations only to sixpapers instead of the originalschedule of 11 papers. Theexams will be conducted from9:30 am to 12:45 pm.

The minister earlier said thatthe norms such as wearing offace masks and maintainingphysical distance would be fol-lowed at the examination cen-tres and the number of studentsin every examination hallwould also be considerably

reduced. The government hasalready decided to promotestudents of Classes I to IXwithout holding annual exam-inations, in view of theCoronavirus pandemic.

In Telangana, the state gov-ernment had taken a majordecision to promote SSC stu-dents without examinations tothe next class, keeping in viewthe lurking dangers of thedreaded disease, whose spreadis significantly rampant withinthe Greater HyderabadMunicipal Corporation(GHMC) limits.

Telangana governmentgranted grades to the students,based on their internal assess-ment marks.

As major rivers andtheir important tribu-taries run across the

administrative boundaries ofstates in India, sharing ofriver water often leads to avery emotive issue of inter-state disputes.

The problem gets com-pounded due to very natureof monsoon rains resultinginto either excess or shortageof water in the basin states.During the lean periods, onehas to depend on storedwater. It is a matter of greatconcern that per capita waterstorage capacity in India isone of the least in the world.

Barring the states likeTelangana which has invest-ed heavily on the water sec-tor, there seems to be com-plete lack of required sensi-

tivity to build up water stor-age capacity in the country.This has by and large, com-promised capability of thecountry to face droughts andto provide requisite watersecurity.

The situation is likely to getaggravated with the immi-nent climate change, if imme-diate corrective actions arenot taken.

Growing demand for waterfurther results into claimsand counterclaims on riverwater by various basin statesand sometimes by the areasoutside the basin.

Unfortunately, existingnational mechanisms aregrossly inadequate andunable to respond to situa-tions in the quick time. Inorder to ensure optimum

utilisation of water, it is nec-essary to have a robust insti-tutional mechanism formajor rivers involving all thebasin states.

Lack of an appropriatemechanism to determine theshare and allocation of waterto various states on the basisof rationale factors includingseasonal availability, envi-ronmental flows etc., is amajor institutional gap inthe country.

As of now, various tri-

bunals, through their awardshave made water allocationsto basin states.

It is a fact that each river isunique and thus needs differ-ent approach. However, thereis no consistency in terms ofprinciples followed by varioustribunals. In addition to this,there is no sense of urgencyto make water allocations tothe states subsequentlyformed after tribunal awards.Thus, the newly formed stateshave to continue to struggle

to get their rightful share overriver waters. Such delays notonly weaken federal structurebut also lead to endless litiga-tion.

The national-level policy-makers need to come out

from their deep slumber toprovide an agile institution-al framework for interstaterivers. In addition to deter-mine inter-se allocation, theproposed system should alsobe capable of dealing withdeficiency of water.

There seems to be twinrequirements to be consid-ered. On the one hand, it isimportant to determine long-term availability of water inthe rivers, and on the otherhand to have a real-timewater allocation/ utilisationmechanism in the country.Wherever such interstateriver boards exist, they onlyhave ex-officio representa-tives without professionalsand interdisciplinary experts.

In order to prevent and ifneeded, to resolve interstate

water issues, a multidiscipli-nary board should be consti-tuted without any furtherdelay for major rivers in thecountry. The existing practiceof seeking legal recourse istime-consuming and by andlarge ineffective. Seeking legalintervention by the statesshould be the last resort onlyafter exhausting all otheravenues. What is, therefore, needed?

There should be a profes-sional body to look into var-ious aspects of sharing ofriver water consisting ofexperts in various fields andrepresentatives of the con-cerned basin states and thegovernment of India.

We also have to develop acadre of professionals in

water sector. Most of thestate governments have onlyengineers in their waterresources department whoare interested in creating andmanaging structures of watersector projects. The need ofhour is not only to augmentwater supply but also to takesteps for demand side man-agement. This requires tolook into water use efficien-cy in various sectors.

As the irrigation sectorconsumes more than 80 percent water, let us start ourjourney with improvingwater use efficiency for var-ious crops in different agro-climatic zones. On the occa-sion of the world environ-ment day let us take a pledgeto take action now before itis too late.

DR SK JOSHI, Former Chief Secretary of TelanganaAdvisor of Telangana government.

Resolving inter-state water disputes: The way forwardThe national-level policymakers needto come out from their deep slumber toprovide an agile institutionalframework for interstate rivers

Peddireddydefends leaseto SaraswatiPowerPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Minister for Mines andGeology, PeddireddyRamachandra Reddy onWednesday said that therestoration of lease to SaraswatiPower Industries Limited wasdone as per the establishednorms and the Opposition wasunnecessarily raising a hue andcry of a non-issue.

Speaking to the media hereon Wednesday, he said the Stategovernment has acted as perthe guidelines of Mines &Minerals Development andRegulation (MMDR) Actunder section 8A (3), anddone as per the orders given bythe High Court of AndhraPradesh. The Opposition lead-ers are creating controversiesover restoring lease of SaraswatiPower Industries by taggingalong with Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy,Ramachandra Reddy said.

“In undivided AP, the gov-ernment gave 613 hectares ofland for Saraswati Powers forlimestone mining but due topolitical reasons, during TDPrule in 2014, ChandrababuNaidu cancelled the lease. Thecompany approached court,which ordered the State gov-ernment on December 12,2019 to restore the lease.Following the court orders,the State government restoredthe lease and extended to 50years as per the MMDR Act.The opposition leaderChandrababu Naidu is makingunnecessary allegations on thegovernment, despite the factthat he extended the lease peri-od of 30 industries for over 50 years.” “Today Naidu isaccusing the State govern-ment of restoring lease of onesingle industry though prop-erly done but he has extend-ed leases just two monthsbefore his term expired,”Ramachandra Reddy said.

CPI hails SC’srefusal tostay HC order on SECPNS n VIJAYAWADA

The Communist Party of Indiaon Wednesday hailed theSupreme Court’s decision notto stay the AP High Court ver-dict on unceremoniousremoval of SEC NimmagaddaRamesh Kumar from his postthrough an ordinance.

In a statement here onWednesday, CPI national sec-retary Dr K Narayanaobserved that Chief MinisterYS Jaganmohan Reddy, ratherfoolishly, moved the SupremeCourt on the High Court ver-dict in spite of intelligentsiaand courts finding fault withthe government on the issue.

The SC Bench passed severeremarks against JaganmohanReddy Government for seek-ing stay on the HC verdict oncontinuing Ramesh Kumar asthe SEC. It cautioned the government against playinggimmicks with constitutionalbodies.

An action against the SECcan be originated only throughthe Parliament after deliberat-ing on the issue, but not oth-erwise, Narayana said, findingfault with the JaganmohanReddy turning a deaf ear to theHC verdict and moving the SCBench for stay order.

Besides the High Court,the Supreme Court too passedstrictures against theGovernment, he said addingdescribing the attitude ofJaganmohan Reddy as insult-ing to the people of the state.

VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | JUNE 11, 2020 vijayawada 03

PNS n AMARAVATI

The YS Jaganmohan Reddygovernment in AndhraPradesh launched yet anotherfreebie scheme on Wednesdaywith the Chief Minister distrib-uting Rs 247 crore to over 2.47lakh washermen, barbers andtailors.

This scheme is also namedafter the Chief Minister andcalled 'Jagananna Chedodu'(Jagans handholding), underwhich each beneficiary hasbeen given Rs 10,000.

Of the total 2.47 lakh bene-ficiaries, 82,347 are washer-men, 38,767 barbers and1,25,926 tailors.

Rythu Bharosa, Amma Vodi,Pension Kanuka, VidyaDevena, Vasathi Deevena,Vahana Mitra, NethannaNestham and MatsyakaraBharosa are some of the welfareschemes being implemented bythe government.

Speaking on the occasion,the Chief Minister said his gov-ernment had given away Rs42,465 crore in cash to 3.58crore people in the last oneyear.

"Never in history did thepoor get benefited in this fash-ion in the state," the ChiefMinister said.

He said those who felt leftout (of the scheme) need not

worry as they could apply forthe benefits any time throughthe respective village or wardsecretariats.

"Every eligible person shouldget the benefits, even if he orshe did not vote for me. I willensure that justice is done toevery eligible person," Jagansaid.

Deputy Chief Minister PSCBose, Ministers PR Reddy, K

Sankaranarayana, ChiefSecretary Nilam Sawhney andother officials attended.

The Chief Minister interact-ed with some of the beneficia-ries through videoconferenceon the occasion.

Meanwhile, industry leadersfrom the fashion and hair-styling industry lauded the

government's initiative.Renowned hair stylist Jawed

Habib, who runs over 800salons and 65 hair institutes inthe country, appreciated theChief Minister for not onlyrecognising the barbers' profes-sion for the first time ever, butalso providing financial assis-tance at a time when peoplebelonging to these professionsare facing huge losses due tothe lockdown.

Celebrity stylist HarmanKaur in a video message said,"As someone who hails froman industry which is directlydependent on both tailors aswell as stylists, I would like tothank and welcome this moveby the CM as it is the first timea government has come upwith a scheme catering specif-ically to these professions."

He hoped that more suchschemes benefiting peopleacross strata would be initiat-ed in the near future.

Freebie scheme for washermen,barbers and tailors launched

Rythu Bharosa,Amma Vodi, PensionKanuka, VidyaDevena, VasathiDeevena, VahanaMitra, NethannaNestham andMatsyakara Bharosaare some of thewelfare schemesbeing implementedby the government

PNS n AMARAVATI

The Andhra Pradesh govern-ment will soon bring in a newlegislation for effective enforce-ment of various environmentlaws, billed as the first of its kindin the country, in the aftermathof the LG Polymers Limitedvapour leak tragedy that left 13people dead last month inVisakhapatnam.

The main feature of the pro-posed Environment Improve-ment act will be the EnvironmentDamage Compensation (EDC)that will be imposed on industriesviolating environment laws.

In the existing environmentlaws, there is no concept of EDC.The AP government will intro-duce it for the first time in thecountry, which will enable recov-ery of damages from violatingindustries towards loss of humanlife, property, flora and fauna andalso the ecosystems, a top offi-cial of the Environment andForests Department said.

The state Council of Ministers,which will meet here onThursday, is expected to clear thedraft legislation for introductionin the coming Budget session ofthe Legislature.

As per the proposed legisla-tion, EDC would be levied onviolating industries in case of anyunauthorised activity, release ofpollutants exceeding permissiblelimits, degradation of air quali-ty, contamination of waterresources, soil and groundwater,adverse effect on human health,damages caused to property,natural assets and productive

assets, besides loss of ecosystemservices.

The amount realised throughlevy of EDC and other penaltieswould be credited to a GreenFund that would be utilised forprotection, improvement andmanagement of environment.

The AP EnvironmentImprovement Act is also intend-ed to improve compliance mech-anisms in all industries, intro-duce third-party audit, installreal-time pollution monitoringequipment and introduce amonetary penalty regime for vio-lation of pollution norms.

The existing laws primarily areno objection and clearance-ori-ented and do not have sufficientprovisions for ensuring compli-ance and environmental audit-ing. The proposed law willaddress that and ensure effectiveenforcement of various provi-sions of the environment acts,the official said.

The proposed act would applyto all industries, factories, min-

ing operations and all otheractivities governed by the WaterAct, Air Act and Environment(Protection) Act.

The move comes over amonth after styrene gas leakedfrom the LG Polymers Limited'splant at R R Venkatapuram vil-lage near Visakhapatnam onMay 7, leaving 13 people deadand affecting around 1,000 peo-ple, many of them collapsing tothe ground.

Under the proposed law, allmajor polluting industries in thered and orange categories willhave to mandatorily installContinuous Ambient Air QualityMonitoring Stations, ContinuousEffluent Quality MonitoringSystem and transmit the data tothe AP Pollution Control Boardfor monitoring. For minor vio-lations, monetary penalties willbe levied so that the industrieswill be spurred to ensure compli-ance with the pollution norms.The EDC will cover the majorviolations, the official added.

AP to bring Act for effectiveenforcement of eco laws

Closing (lockdown) andopening (unlock) ofpublic life is based on

two contrasting world views. In the first view, every life

matters, so in an epidemic,public activities should be com-pletely closed. The second viewholds that the ‘greater good’ ofthe largest number of peopleshould be ensured and com-plete closure of all public activ-ities is not required — in thetrade-off some lives will be lost.

India has followed these twoapproaches, one-after-another— lockdown followed byunlocking of public life.

The assumption was thatduring the lockdown a varietyof non-pharmaceutical policyinterventions (NPPIs; e.g. vol-untary quarantine of infectedhouseholds, closure of schools,ban on public gatherings)would be undertaken at thefield level so that the viruswould be completely wipedout.

The expectation was thatonce the virus was eliminatedthe lockdown would be with-

drawn. Some key actionsrequired at the field level were— all people at risk should betested, the person(s) passing onthe infection would be identi-fied and treated, all personsthey met while carrying theinfection would be traced andisolated for a fixed period oftime and disinfection carriedout in all the areas visited by allthe infected persons.

In other words, the completechain of persons whom theinfected person came in contactwith would be identified, locat-ed and treated over the courseof the lockdown.

These tactical interventionshad to be designed and imple-mented at the local level, keep-ing in view the particular andspecial needs and resources ofthe local areas. In order to suc-cessfully root out (or at leastdiminish) the Covid-19 virus,

the full range of non-pharma-ceutical policy interventionshad to be implemented at thesame time at all levels (e.g. state,district, taluqs, city/village).Now the Covid-19 cases havebeen rising and a new set of tac-tical interventions are required.

These would build on whathas already been accomplished,as well as make course correc-tions wherever required.

While the standard protocolof test, trace, isolate, treat, etc.would continue, attentionwould increasingly shift to

confining all pre-symptomatic,as well as less serious cases, tohomes.

Families would voluntarilyquarantine themselves andfamily members would onlyleave the house for their mostpressing needs.

In order to induce people tostay in their homes,Governments would provide arange of home delivery services,directly or by the private/third-sector.

For this digital means wouldbe extensively used. Some of

these are, (1) early diagnosis(e.g. body temperature, oxygenlevels, condition of lungs andthroat) and symptomatic treat-ment using digital means(including medicine delivery),(2) expand the existing Aarogya

Setu App to a personal elec-tronic diary (e.g. Singapore) for

users to track their ownchanges in temperature, cough,etc., (3) mandate Work FromHome for all governmentemployees.

The success of the use of e-office and teleconferencingholds much promise of main-taining high levels of efficien-cy in government operations,(4) recent use of organisingremote proctored tests foradmission to graduate pro-grammes, class teaching, tuto-rials, group activities and cor-rection of answer sheets bysome institutes (such as in theIndian Institute of CorporateAffairs) by combining

mobile-based learning man-agement systems (Blackboard- there are others too) with e-office show that near normalworking in educational insti-tutes is possible.

There are huge long-term

benefits too, such as allowingstudents to learn when free, giv-ing opportunities to instructorsto focus on slow learners, andso on. Of course, issues relatingto digital divide and facilities forthe differently-abled wouldhave to be addressed by theeducation departments, (5)home delivery of all require-ments by using electronic plat-forms (kirana stores will alsoparticipate), including homedelivery of provisions provid-ed by ration shops.

The purpose is to reducemovement of people by deliv-ering all items and services atthe household level.

For serious patients, publicfacilities (e.g. stadia, communi-ty halls) would be converted tohospitals. Local sources wouldprovide services, such as sup-ply of beds by tent companiesand food by local restaurants.

Importantly, privatedoctors/final year MBBS/MDstudents and the little usedAYUSH doctors (more than 7lakh) would be roped in to pro-vide medical services in thesetemporary hospitals.

The tactical plan outlinedabove draws upon the bestelements of the two world-views. The cornerstone is a shiftin attention to households. Allgoods and services would beprovided at the doorstep. Onlyserious cases would be taken totemporary hospitals. All med-ical personnel would bemobilised and deployed forCovid-19 related work. The keywould be usage of digitalmeans.

In the medium-run, this isexpected to lead to a new wayof doing things as well as a dif-ferent way of living.

(Author is a Ph.D. fromUSA and a D.Litt. from

Kanchi University. The articleis based on his research

and practice and views arepersonal)

SAMEER SHARMA, IAS

Some key actions required at the field levelwere — all people at risk should be tested,the person(s) passing on the infectionwould be identified and treated, all personsthey met while carrying the infection

The challenge of unlocking public life

JagannannaChedodu is a webof deception: Naidu

Continued from Page 1

“While the ground reality inthe State was different, ChiefMinister YS JaganmohanReddy is deceiving the peoplewith lies,” said Naidu.

He alleged that whileJagan was in theopposition, hedeceived the peo-ple with his liesafter and is con-tinuing the trendafter becomingthe ChiefMinister.

He reminded thatduring the TDP rule, freeelectricity was provided tosaloons. “Now, under theYSRCP government, powerbills are being inflated ten-fold,” the former chief minis-ter alleged.

Pointing to BC reserva-tions, Naidu said that the StateGovernment has cut the quotaby 50 per cent.

He alleged that unable tobear the harassment, threatsand allurement, some TDP

leaders are joining theruling party.

“Remember, ifone leader leavesthe party, theTDP will bounceback with 100new leaders.

TDP is a universi-ty for politics and

we will come back topower with a huge margin

and stay in power for thenext 40 years,” Naidu said.

He appealed to the partycadre to be always with thepeople and fight to solve theirproblems.

TS faces threat of locust attack againPNS n HYDERABAD

With swarms of locusts about200 km away at Ramtek inMaharashtra, and with expertssuggesting that they couldinvade Telangana in just about10 days, Chief Minister KChandrashekhar Rao has putalmost the entire administra-tion on its toes. The ChiefMinister has instructed officialsto take steps on a war-footingto prevent crop loss from pos-sible attacks by the locusts.

Last month, swarms oflocusts, which had entered thecountry in three phases, cameup to Maharashtra andMadhya Pradesh, but skirtedTelangana state. Presently, theswarms are at Azmi village,

near Ramtek in Maharashtrastate, about 200 km away fromTS. Should the locusts travelsouthward, they would reachour state shortly.

Against this background,the Chief Minister held areview on Wednesday atPragathi Bhavan on the mea-sures to be taken to tackle thelocusts. Experts pointed outthat there is a possibility of thelocusts hitting the state any-time between June 20 and July5. There could be large-scaleloss should they feed on theharvest-ready crops. Hence,the CM wanted the officials totake no chances. Alert in eight districts

In particular, the Chief

Minister has alerted officials ineight districts borderingMaharashtra and Chhattisgarh,as there is every possibility ofthe locusts entering TS fromthese states. The swarms oflocusts may enterBhadrachalam, Charla,Venkatapuram, Vajedu, Peruru,Mangampet, Eturu Naagaram,Chennuru, Vemanapalli,Koutala, Dharmabad, Bodhan,Jukkal, Banswada,Narayankhed and Zaheerabadareas. Bhadradri-Kothagudem,Mulugu, Mancherial, Adilabad,Nirmal, Asifabad, Nizamabad,Kamareddy and Sangareddydistrict Collectors should be onalert. They should review thesituation from time to time andact accordingly.

Sidda, son join YSRCPContinued from Page 1

The Ongole leader alongwith his son Sudheer metJagan and joined the YSRCP.

The Chief Minister wel-comed Sidda Raghava Raointo the party fold by offeringhim the YSRCP scarf.

Ministers Balineni SrinivasReddy, Adimulapu Suresh andVellampalli Srinivas were pre-sent on the occasion.

Speaking to media, SiddaRaghava Rao thanked theChief Minister for taking himinto the party fold and said thewelfare schemes implementedby the ruling party during thelast one year are very useful topoor and middle-class families.

"Everyone is looking at the

welfare schemes being imple-mented in the state and welook forward for more suchschemes in upcoming days,” hesaid.

Sidda Raghava Rao hailsfrom Ongole and is one of themost powerful leaders in thedistrict. He has been the back-bone of TDP in Prakasam dis-trict. In the last general elec-tions, he contested for theOngole Lok Sabha seat but lostto YSRCP’s MaguntaSreenivasulu Reddy. SiddaRaghava Rao also worked as aTDP politburo member.

His brothers are already inYSRCP, and there was tremen-dous speculation about hisjoining the YSRCP ever sinceTDP lost 2019 elections.

3 Governmentpleaders in HC resign

Continued from Page 1

The state government islikely to fill the vacanciescaused by their resignationthrough a notification to beissued soon.

It may be recalled that theHigh Court directed its angeragainst director of publichealth for not revealing factsthrough medical bulletinsissued by the state govern-ment.

The HC asked the govern-ment on the total number ofsamples collected, total numberof tests done and how manytested positive for the virus andhow many have been sent toquarantine facilities.

Also, the court asked thegovernment why the stategovernment did not imple-ment the HC order on pay-ment of Rs 1,500 to the rationcard holders who did not col-lect their free rations forthree months.

S-I suspended for rapeattempt, on the run

Continued from Page 1

The victim’s boyfriendagreed to pay Rs 5,000 andshelled out Rs 3,000 in cashthat he had with him.

The S-I then told him tobring the balance amount bydrawing it from a ATM andsent him with his driver andthen tried to rape the girl.

The boyfriend of the victim,who returned after 30 minuteswith money, witnessed the S-I’s actions and managed to savethe girl. He then lodged a com-

plaint with the police.The victim’s boyfriend

alleged that S-I’s driver inten-tionally took him to variousareas stating ATMs were notworking so that his returncould be delayed.

The duo lodged a complaintin the Amaravati police stationand also brought the issue tothe notice of higher authoritiesfor action against the S-I.

The higher officials orderedan inquiry and after scouringthrough the CCTV footage,the presence of the S-I in the

lodge for over 30 minutes wasconfirmed.

The police collected the evi-dence during the preliminaryinquiry and submitted thereport.

Guntur rural SP Ch VijayaRao said that S-IRamanjaneyulu misbehavedwith the girl hence the depart-ment issued suspension orders.He said that accused S-I man-aged to flee after the incident.

A manhunt has beenlaunched to nab the S-I and thedriver who remain at large.

Covid-19:Number ofrecoveries...

Continued from Page 1

Out of the hospitalisedcases of Covid-19 only 5 percent may require ICU care, anofficial said. According to theICMR, a total of 50,61,332samples have been tested till9 am on Wednesday, with1,45,216 samples been testedin the last 24 hours.

India currently is the fifthworst-hit nation by theCovid-19 pandemic after theUS, Brazil, Russia and theUK, according to data issuedby the Johns HopkinsUniversity.

Finance Minreleases Rs 6,195 croreto 14 states

Continued from Page 1

Earlier, on April 3 andMay 11, the ministryreleased a similar amount asthe first and second instal-ment of the post devolutionrevenue deficit grant to 14states — Andhra Pradesh,Assam, Himachal Pradesh,Kerala, Manipur, Meghalaya,Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab,Sikkim, Tamil Nadu,Tripura, Uttarakhand andWest Bengal.

Reverse administrationhurting AP: Ram Madhav

Continued from Page 1

“Further, the YSRCP gov-ernment promised to imple-ment prohibition in the statein case it was voted to power.But new brands of liquor areflooding the market,” RamMadhav observed.

The country, including AP,is progressing under theleadership of Narendra Modi

and forging ahead, heclaimed.

“The tax revenue in thestate did not increase thanksto the YSRCP administra-tion. On one hand it did notincrease and on the other thetax revenue nosedivedbecause of Covid-19 impacton sectors of economy,” hesaid.

In spite of that, the Centre

under var ious heads of accounts released Rs45,000 crore, Ram Madhavclaimed.

“In Andhra Pradesh, oneperson is out on bail whileanother person is trying forbail,” he said passing crucialremarks about AP withoutnaming any leaders, in anapparent hint at Jagan andChandrababu Naidu.

Almost half of India can't survive for a month sans incomePNS n NEW DELHI

Almost half of India's popula-tion will not be able to survivemore than a month without anyjob or income, just with the helpof savings or family support.

With a protracted lockdownand dismal economy, job loss-es are mounting and concernsare going up for families as tohow long they can hold out.

As per the latest IANSCVoter Economic Battery Wavesurvey, 28.2 per cent of malessaid they would survive less

than a month without income,while 20.7 per cent said theycould survive for a month. Atthe more comfortable end ofthe spectrum, 10.7 per cent saidthey could survive withoutincome for more than a year.

For 2 months, the number is10.2 per cent while for 3months it is 8.3 per cent. It is9.7 per cent for 4-6 months and5.7 per cent for less than a year.

The numbers are concen-trated for less than a monthand a month, which is almosthalf the respondents.

The sample date is first weekof June and the sample size is1,397 and covers more than500 Lok Sabha seats across thecountry. This is a weekly track-

er of 1,000 plus new respon-dents.

For females, the numbers aresimilar in less than a month toa month of survival withoutincome. However, in the caseof females, the survival is morefor a month as compared to lessthan a month.

For females, 19.9 per centsaid they would survive lessthan a month without a job orincome while 28.4 per cent saidthey could survive for a month.Broadly, this also adds up tohalf the numbers. A total of

11.5 per cent said they couldsurvive for more than a year.

From the survey, it is clearthat the senior citizens have thebest survival rate withoutincome and are leveraging theirsavings. For the senior citizens,60 and above, 19.2 per cent saidthey could survive more than ayear without any income.

The lowest survival rate isindicated by the young, in the25-40 years age group, wherethe highest percentage of 28.6said that they would surviveless than a month sans income.

VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | JUNE 11, 2020 nation 04SHORT READS

Cong wants specialteam to probe threatcalls to KhargeBENGALURU: The Congress onWednesday demanded that aspecial investigation team beset up immediately to investi-gate the "threat calls" made tothe party's Rajya Sabha candi-date Mallikarjun Kharge and hisMLA son Priyank Kharge. "Thethreat calls made to ShriMallikarjun Kharge and PriyankKharge is a serious securitymatter and should not be takenlightly by the government. Iurge CM of Karnataka & HomeMinister to setup a specialinvestigation team immediatelyto catch the culprits," the party'sKarnataka unit president D KShivakumar tweeted. PriyankKharge, a former minister, haslodged a complaint with theDirector General of PolicePraveen Sood stating that in theearly hours of Sunday, he andhis father received a threat call.While Mallikarjun Kharge,aformer union minister, receivedthe call on the landline.

Around 25 athletes getNADA whereaboutsnotice during lockdown

14 properties linked to4 govt officials raidedby ACBBENGALURU: The KarnatakaAnti-Corruption Bureau onWednesday conducted raids at14 places linked to fourgovernment officials in thestate. On receiving receivedcredible information about theofficials amassingdisproportionate assets, anillegal assets case wasregistered and raids are beingconducted at 14 places linkedto them, ACB said in a release.It said the raids are still on andinvestigation is being carriedout about their assets. Raidsare being conducted onproperties linked to L SathishKumar, Additional Commissio-ner,Department of CommercialTax; N Ramakrishna, DivisionalForest Officer, Srinivasapura,Kolar; Gopalshetty Mallikarjuna,Executive Engineer, DistrictDevelopment Cell, Raichur;Raghappa Lalappa Lamani,Krishna Bhagya Jala Nigam Ltdofficial in Almatti, Bagalkote,the release said.

NEW DELHI: The National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) hassent notices to around 25 of the110 athletes in its NationalRegistered Testing Pool (NRTP)for failing to disclose theirwhereabouts during the nationallockdown due to the COVID-19pandemic. There was nosample collection during thelockdown phase but NADA hadto follow the guidelines andsent notices to all those athleteswho failed to submit their'whereabouts' three months inadvance. The body did notdisclose the names of thosewho have been sent notices. "Allathletes in NRTP of NADA arerequired to submit theirwhereabouts every 3 months inadvance.

This is not time for disagreement,will implement LG's order: KejriwalPNS n NEW DELHI

Delhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal on Wednesday said hisgovernment will implementthe "Centre's decision" andLieutenant Governor AnilBaijal's order overturning thedecision on reservation of state-run and private hospitals in thenational capital for Delhiites as"this is not the time for dis-agreement and arguments".

Addressing an online mediabriefing, he said his govern-ment has "unprecedented chal-lenges" ahead as data showsthat COVID-19 cases willrapidly increase in Delhi in thecoming days.

Delhi will need 1.5 lakhbeds in healthcare facilities byJuly 31 once people start com-ing to the city for treatmentfrom other states, Kejriwalsaid, asserting that the AamAadmi Party (AAP) dispensa-tion will make an "honesteffort" to provide medicaltreatment to all.

The chief minister said of the1.5 lakh beds, it is estimatedthat 80,000 will be required forDelhiites, adding that the cal-culation is based on numbersthat show 50 per cent of thebeds in hospitals in the nation-al capital were occupied bythose from other states beforethe coronavirus pandemic.

Some people on televisionchannels are saying that theCentre and the LG do not haveany power to turn down the

decision of an elected govern-ment, which was formed fol-lowing a huge mandate,Kejriwal said.

"However, we will imple-ment the Centre's decisionand LG's order in letter andspirit because this is not thetime for disagreement andarguments. I want to send amessage to those sitting in thegovernment and political par-ties that it will be imple-mented.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The government had deniedvisa to USCIRF teams thatsought to visit India in connec-tion with issues related to reli-gious freedom, as a foreign enti-ty like it has no locus standi tomake a pronouncement onIndian citizens' constitutionallyprotected rights, External AffairsMinister S Jaishankar has said.

Jaishankar informed this in aletter written to BJP MPNishikant Dubey who had raisedthe issue of the US Commissionfor International ReligiousFreedom (USCIRF) seekingsanctions against Home MinisterAmit Shah in case CitizenAmendment Bill gets passed,during the Winter session of LokSabha last year. The USCIRF hasbeen known to make preju-diced, inaccurate, and mislead-ing observations regarding thestate of religious freedom in

India, the minister said.“We do not take cognizance of

these pronouncements and haverepudiated such attempts to mis-represent information related toIndia,” the minister said.

He said the MEA had reject-ed the body's remarks in thisregard as inaccurate and unwar-ranted.

“We have also denied visa to

USCIRF teams that have soughtto visit India in connection withissues related to religious free-dom, as we do not see the locusstandi of a foreign entity likeUSCIRF to pronounce on thestate of Indian citizens constitu-tionally protected rights,”Jaishankar wrote.

He also assured the BJP MPthat India will not accept any

external interference or pro-nouncement on its sovereigntyand fundamental rights of its cit-izens. Last year, the USCIRF hadsaid that the Citizenship(Amendment) Bill, 2019 wouldbe a "dangerous turn in wrongdirection" and sought Americansanctions against Shah if the billwould pass by both houses of theIndian Parliament.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Supreme CourtWednesday asked the Centre,Bihar and Rajasthan to respondto an NGO's plea seeking direc-tions to ensure that child work-ers, who have stepped out inopen while returning to theirnative places due to the lock-down, are rehabilitated nowand not re-trafficked into fac-tories.

A bench headed by ChiefJustice S A Bobde was hearinga fresh PIL filed by NGO‘Bachpan Bachao Andolan',run by Nobel laureate KailashSatayathi, which said thesechildren, mostly from Bihar,were employed in bangles' fac-tories in Rajasthan.

They have now stepped outof the factories to catch home-bound ‘Shramik' special trainsand this provided an opportu-nity to the authorities to ensuretheir rehabilitation, the NGOsaid.

The bench, also comprisingJustices A S Bopanna andHrishekesh Roy, took note of

the submissions of senior advo-cate H S Phoolka, appearing forthe NGO, and issued notices toUnion Ministries of HomeAffairs, Labour andEmpowerment and theRailways besides the two states.

The bench, conducting thehearings via video conferenc-ing, then ordered tagging of thePIL with the another one onwhich it had issued the noticesto the Centre and the NDMA.The other plea has sought

framing of a policy to preventchild trafficking which hasallegedly seen a sudden riseduring the COVID-19 lock-down.

The plea said the objective ofthe petition was to ensurerehabilitation of such children,who were forced to remainunidentified and work in fac-tories, under the law as theyhave now come out in open forgoing to native places due tothe loss of work.

“It is of utmost significanceto ensure that children whohave gone back to their homestates are not re-trafficked andthrown back into child labour.

In order to do so, it would beapposite that the data set of themigrant labourers who haveregistered themselves with theRajasthan Govt. and are givenpermission to repatriate totheir state Bihar, is shared with

the State of Bihar...in particu-lar the Bihar State Commissionof Child Rights,” the plea said.

The Bihar State Commissionof Child Rights should analysethe data of children below 18years and identify as to whomay have been trafficked or arenot with their natural families.

“This information be sharedby the Bihar State Commissionof Child Rights with the ChildWelfare Committee of KatiharDistrict, Bihar or such otherChild Welfare Committee inwhose jurisdiction the home ofthe child is located for furtherfollow up and action as perlaw,” the plea said.

The plea said that theRajasthan government beasked to share the data ofmigrant labour wanting toreturn to Bihar with the Bihargovernment which, in turn,would analyze the same andtake “appropriate action andrehabilitation in accordancewith law, along with a copy tothe Anti Human TraffickingUnit, Bihar Police for necessaryaction”.

SC seeks response of Centre, Bihar, Rajasthanon plea for rehabilitation of child workers

COVID-19: BJP questions C'garhgovt's anti-encroachment drivePNS n BILASPUR

Opposition BJP has slammedthe Congress government inChhattisgarh for carrying outan anti- encroachment drive inBilaspur district of the state asa part of a river beautificationproject amid the coronavirusoutbreak, and termed the moveas "inhuman and unjustified".

In a pre-dawn swoop on June8, revenue and police officialsdescended on Tilkanagar local-ity along Arpa river of Bilaspurtown and demolished around160 'pucca' and 'kuccha' hous-es to take up the constructionwork for beautification of theriverfront, locals said.

Before this action, the admin-istration evicted several families,mostly daily wage workers,from their homes built underIHSDP (Integrated Housingand Slum DevelopmentProgramme) scheme inImlibhata and Bahtarai areas ofthe town, citing they had "ille-gally" occupied tenementsmeant for the slum dwellers,including in Tilaknagar.

"Why was there so much of

hurry to demolish the housesduring the ongoing coron-avirus crisis and just before theonset of monsoon," said RajeshSingh Thakur, a BJP corpora-tor from Tilak Nagar ward.

"Notices to people to leavetheir houses were served fromJune 5 to 7 and the demolitiondrive was carried out on June8. In such a short span of timepeople were not prepared for it.Even when people tried toresist the demolition drive, theadministration and police usedforce against them," he said.

Although the families, over150 in number, were shifted to

Imlibhata and Bahtarai local-ities in the houses built undera government scheme, there isneither water and power sup-ply nor bathrooms have doors,Thakur claimed.

Even, the administrationhad earlier evicted severalpoor families who were livingin those houses in Bahtarai andImlibhata and they are nowhomeless, he said.

Seeking "justice" from thestate government, residents ofBahtarari and Imlibhata, whowere left without a roof overtheir heads, alleged they werenot given any notice.

PNS n BENGALURU

A day after the Karnataka gov-ernment denied permission toorganise an event for D KShivakumar's official take over asstate Congress Chief citingCOVID-19 guidelines, top partyleaders attacked ruling BJP bothat the state and Centre, accusingit of "doublestandard". They pointed out that BJP lead-ers including Union HomeMinister Amit Shah recentlyheld virtual rallies in poll boundBihar and West Bengal.

The event for formal takeoveras KPCC President was plannedfor June 14, after it was post-poned twice in the past on May31 and June 7, due to COVID-19 related restrictions in place.

The government has denied

permission for the June 14 event,citing COVID-19 related guide-lines that are in place, aimed atcontrolling the spread of virus.

The permission was sought toorganise an event to mark offi-cial take over at party's headquar-ters here in the presence ofaround 150 senior leaders, andit would be telecast live.

Also, party workers at over7,000 locations across the state

were to take an oath and read thepreamble of the Constitution.

Hitting out at the state BJPgovernment for denying permis-sion despite written assuranceabout following all precaution-ary measures and social distanc-ing norms, Shivakumar allegedpolitics behind the decision andsaid he would once again writeto the CM seeking permissionfor the event.

PNS n KOLKATA

Ashes of those who die ofCOVID-19 in the area underthe city's civic body and are cre-mated as per their religiouspractices will henceforth behanded over to their kin keep-ing in mind the emotions oftheir families, a top KMC offi-cial said on Wednesday.

The Kolkata MunicipalCorporation (KMC) has alsodecided to allow the familymembers and kin of the victimswho are buried to pay their lastrespect from a distance, he said.

However, KMC will nothand over the ashes of thepatients' navel after cremationfor fear of transmission of thecontagion, he said.

So far, the civic body was not

informing the families of coro-navirus victims where theirbodies were cremated or buried.We have been getting requestsfrom the kin of coronavirus vic-tims to allow them to be presentduring the last rites. We consult-ed specialists and have decidedto hand over the ashes to themafter the cremation of the vic-

tims. But not the ashes of thenavel (which are usuallyimmersed in rivers by Hindus)as it may cause the disease tospread," the official said. TheKMCs decision came after thestate health department decid-ed to allow relatives of COVID-19 victims see their bodies onfollowing strict protocols.

COVID-19: GPS trackersmay be used for homequarantined people in PunjabPNS n CHANDIGARH

The Punjab government ismulling procurement ofGlobal Positioning System(GPS) trackers for keeping acheck on those floutingCOVID-19 home quarantineguidelines.

The trackers fitted with aSIM card can be integratedwith the state government'sCOVA app for tracking thosehome quarantined peoplewho defy guidelines, puttingthe lives of others in danger,an of f ic ia l said onWednesday.

The COVA Punjab (CoronaVirus Alert) App has beendeveloped by the state govern-ment to provide people withpreventive care informationand other government advi-sories.

“This is a lockable GPS

based tracker put on wrists. Itwill send an alert if a homequarantined person violatesthe guidelines by going out-side,” Punjab Special Secretarycum Chief Executive Officer,E-Governance, Ravi Bhagatsaid on Wednesday.

“It is reusable after the com-pletion of 14 days of quaran-tined period,” he further said.

Bhagat said the issue ofprocuring GPS-based trackerswas at the discussion stage andthe health department is yet totake a decision on this.

Operationalise online RTIfacility: MP commissionPNS n BHOPAL

Madhya Pradesh InformationCommission chief ArvindKumar Shukla has asked thestate government to opera-tionalise an online facility for fil-ing RTI applications and appeals.

The state government has totake action for having an onlineRTI application and appeal facil-ity. While the commission hadalready given its recommenda-tion earlier, it has asked it again,Shukla said in a letter to RajyaSabha member Vivek Tankha,who had raised this issue.

Senior Congress leaderTankha had last week written toShukla seeking the online facil-ity for filing of applicationsunder the Right to Information(RTI) Act and also for submis-sion of fees and appeals.

"You are requested to actwithout delay on this seriousissue of public importance," hehad said.

Responding to Tankha's let-

ter, Shukla said the state govern-ment has to decide on thisonline RTI facility for all itsdepartments.

Shukla cited a letter written bythe Information Commission tothe state government inDecember 2018, recommendingoperationalisation of the onlinefacility.

Therefore, the state govern-ment has to act on an onlinefacility for RTI application andappeal for which the commis-sion has already recommendedit earlier and it is again doing it,Shukla said.

PNS n JAMMU

The Jammu and Kashmir unitof Congress on Wednesdaystaged a demonstration hereagainst the recent killing of aparty sarpanch by terrorists inthe valley and demanded ajudicial probe into the incident.

Led by Pradesh CongressCommittee president GhulamAhmad Mir, a group ofCongress leaders and activistscame out of the party head-quarters at Residency Roadand held a peaceful demon-stration to protest the killing ofsarpanch Ajay Pandit.

Pandit (40) was shot dead byterrorists in his native villageof Larkipora in southKashmir's Anantnag district onMonday. He was the sarpanchof the Lukbawan panchayathalqa in Larkipora area.

“Pandit was a basic memberof Congress and this is the sec-ond killing of a Congresssarpanch in this area in the

recent past which needs to belooked into. We wantLieutenant Governor G CMurmu to order a judicialprobe into the killing to unveilthe conspiracy and the negli-gence in protecting the pre-cious lives,” Mir told reporters.

Earlier in November lastyear, Congress sarpanch PeerMohammad Rafi and a gov-ernment official were killedby terrorists in an attack inHakoora area of Anantnagdistrict.

“We want to know why aparticular group is being tar-geted in a particular area andwhat is the motive behindsuch killings,” he asked andsaid the latest killing hascaused a fear among the elect-ed representatives.

The time demands that afresh security assessment ismade and those elected mem-bers be provided security whoare living in vulnerable areas orfacing threat to their lives,Mir further said.

KMC relaxes norms on disposalof bodies of covid victims

USCIRF has no locus standion rights of Indians: Minister

“We do not takecognizance ofthese pronou-ncements andhave repudiatedsuch attemptsto misrepresentinformationrelated to India,”the minister said

The bench, alsocomprising JusticesA S Bopanna andHrishekesh Roy, tooknote of the submiss-ions of senior advo-cate H S Phoolka,appearing for theNGO, and issuednotices to UnionMinistries of HomeAffairs, Labour andEmpowerment andthe Railways besidesthe two states

K'taka Cong accuses BJP of ‘doublestandard' for denying permission

KPCC PREZ CORONATION

PNS n NEW DELHI

A 35-year-old BorderSecurity Force (BSF) jawanhas succumbed to coron-avirus, taking the total num-ber of fatalities in the forcedue to the pandemic to three,a senior official said onWednesday.

This is the 14th COVID-19death among the paramilitaryor Central Armed PoliceForces (CAPFs). "ConstableVinod Kumar Prasadbreathed his last on June 9 atAIIMS in Delhi. "He wasdeployed for law and orderduty with the Delhi Police andadmitted to AIIMS on June 5with weakness and cough," aBSF spokesperson said.

J&K Congress holds protest againstsarpanch killing, demands judicial probe

BSF jawansuccumbs,14th death inCAPFs

VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | JUNE 11, 2020 nation 05SHORT READS

Maha: Tiger, leopardfound dead inChandrapur forestCHANDRAPUR: A tiger and aleopard were found dead inseparate incidents in the forestsof Maharashtra's Chandrapurdistrict, forest officials said onWednesday. The carcass of atiger was found in Sitarampethin Moharli forest range underthe buffer zone of TadobaAndhari Tiger Reserve (TATR)in the district on Wednesdayafternoon, chief conservator offorest at TATR, N R Pravin said.The tiger might have died somefour days ago, as its remainswere already decomposing, hesaid, adding that the death isbeing probed. Meanwhile, aleopard was found dead inSaoli forest range inChandrapur on Wednesday.The leopard had been caught ina net and wire trap meant forwild boars at compartment no.1534 under Saoli forest range,some 60 km from the districtheadquarters.

Four die after inhalingtoxic gas in well

Medical officerarrested for takingbribe in RajasthanJAIPUR: A medical officer inRajasthan's Jhalawar districtwas arrested on Wednesday forallegedly taking bribe of Rs12,000, an Anti-CorruptionBureau spokesperson said. Theaccused medical officer DrPradeep Sharma, who is postedat Harigarh primary healthcarecentre in the district, haddemanded the bribe from amale nurse for a transfer post-ing case. Sanjay Mehar, themale nurse, lodged a complaintwith the ACB, which was verifiedfollowing which a trap was laid,the spokesperson said. Theaccused medical officer wasarrested when he asked thecomplainant to leave the bribeamount at a place in his govern-ment residence, he added. Acase has been registered againstSharma and furtherinvestigation in the matter is on.

KORBA: Four people died afterinhaling a poisonous gas in anunder-construction well inChhattisgarh's Janjgir-Champadistrict on Wednesday, policesaid. The incident took place inthe morning at a farm inDhamni village under Hasaudpolice station limits, locatedaround 200 km from the statecapital Raipur. According topreliminary information, thefarm owner, Hemant Ratre,went inside the under-construction well to clean it andfell unconscious, a local policeofficial said. As he did notcome out, his wife, who waspresent at the farm, shouted forhelp following which threeother locals rushed there andentered the well to rescueRatre. When all the four mendid not come out, the womanalerted other villagers whoinformed the police. The fourvictims were later taken out ofthe well and rushed to ahospital in nearby Jaijaipurtown where doctors declaredthem dead, the official said.

DMK's articulate MLA ,Anbazhagan dies of COVID-19PNS n CHENNAI

After battling COVID-19 foreight days, DMK legislator andthe main opposition party'snoted articulate member in theTamil Nadu Assembly, JAnbazhagan died at a privatehospital here on Wednesday.

The 62-year old MLA, bornon June 10, 1958 incidentallydied on his 62nd birthdaytoday and he is the first legis-lator victim of COVID-19 inthe state and perhaps the firstelected representative to die ofthe virus induced illness in thecountry.

Anbazhagan battled severeCOVID-19 triggered pneumo-nia and his health conditionrapidly deteriorated early morn-ing today, Dr Rela Institute andMedical Centre, where he wastreated said in a statement.

"Inspite of full medical sup-port, including mechanical ven-tilation at our COVID-19 facil-ity, he succumbed to his illness,"the hospital said and condoledhis death.

The MLA, who had co-mor-bidities including chronic kid-ney disease was put on ventila-tor support on June 3 -a dayafter his admission- as his res-piratory distress worsened.

Subsequently, though heshowed improvement with his

oxygen requirement sliding tohalf, his health condition dete-riorated significantly onMonday.

His oxygen requirement wentup once again and his cardiacfunction and chronic kidneydisease also deteriorated and hewas declared critical.

Initially, on admission, he wasmanaged with high flow oxygentherapy through facemask. Hehad undergone liver transplantabout 15 years ago and he wason medication for that.

Later, his body, sealed in acasket was buried at a cremato-rium here in the presence ofscores of party workers and fam-ily members while police andcivic authorities had a toughtime regulating crowd.

Mourners lined up in front of

the crematorium as well hold-ing placards condoling theDMK man's death.

Corporation personnel cladin protective gear lowered thebody into the deep pit with thehelp of a customised apparatusequipped with belts to place themortal remains safely onground.

Governor Banwarilal Purohit,Chief Minister K Palaniswami,DMK chief M K Stalin, andleaders cutting across partylines including Congress veter-an P Chidambaram condoledthe death.

Son of PazhakadaiJayaraman, a veteran DMKleader, Anbazhagan is survivedby wife, a son and a daughter.

He served as party districtsecretary, a key post in

Dravidian parties in Tamil Nadufor 18 long years in Chennai.

A bold and senior party func-tionary here, he was theChennai West District Secretaryand he has successfully organ-ised a slew of party events andis close to party chief M K Stalin.

A backbencher in theAssembly, Anbazhagan isamong DMK's noted articulatemembers in the House and hehad often locked horns withministers and ruling AIADMKMLAs over several issues.

A vocal critic of theAIADMK government, he torea copy of Governor BanwarilalPurohit's address to theAssembly in January this yearand put it on the table ofSpeaker P Dhanapal and hewas briefly suspended.

"Inspite of fullmedical support,including mecha-nical ventilationat our COVID-19facility, hesuccumbed tohis illness," thehospital said andcondoled hisdeath

RS candidates clearscrutiny in MizoramPNS n AIZAWAL

Nomination papers filed by allthe three candidates for elec-tion to the lone Rajya Sabhaseat in Mizoram were found tobe valid in the scrutiny held onWednesday, an official said.

Candidate of the rulingMizo National Front (MNF) isK. Vanlalvena, while ZoramPeoples Movement (ZPM) hasfielded B Lalchhanzova andthe Congress nominee is Dr.Lallianchhunga.

Assembly commissioner andsecretary H Lalrinawma, whois also the returning officer toldPTI, the Election Commissionand the state chief electoral offi-cer have been informed that allpapers were found valid in thescrutiny.

Meanwhile, preparationsare on for the Rajya Sabhaelection on June 19, he said.

"In view of COVID-19, wehave prepared standard oper-ating procedure (SOP) for theelection and have sent thesame to the ECI. Polling willbe held under strict social dis-tancing norms and thermalscanners will be used," thereturning officer said.

Government to focus on domesticproduction of arms, ammunitionPNS n NEW DELHI

Union Minister G KishanReddy on Wednesday said theNDA government will focuson domestic manufacturingof arms, ammunition andother security products to pro-mote 'Atmanirbhar BharatAbhiyan'.

Addressing a webinar on'Atmanirbhar Bharat:Opportunities for HomelandSecurity Industry', Reddy said'Atmanirbharta' (self-reliance) isnot just a dream, but a wellthought out roadmap for afuture-ready India.

"Now the Government ofIndia has decided to soon ini-tiate procurement from localindustries to reduce importdependence," he said.

Reddy, the Union Ministerof State for Home, said formany years India was depen-dent on worldwide OriginalEquipment Manufacturers(OEMs) for procuring armsand ammunition.

"We will have to strengthenour presence in making a strongpublic-private-partnership cul-ture," he said.

The minister said a meetingwas held recently on facilitatingprocurement for arms andammunition by Central ArmedPolice Forces (CAPFs) fromdomestic private manufactures.

Urging the private industriesto come forward, Reddy said

the government was open tosolve the issues of the industry.

"There is a need for the pri-vate sector to be price compet-itive and focus on quality inproduction. It should not onlycater to domestic needs butalso be able to export products.Only then it will achieve thevision of 'Atmanirbhar BharatAbhiyan'," he said at the webi-nar organised by the FICCI.

The minister highlightedthe government was also in theprocess of upgrading varioustesting centres and laboratoriesin the country. He said the gov-ernment will also use GeM(Government-e-Marketplace)portal to promote domesticproducts.

Prime Minister NarendraModi had unveiled his visionfor an 'Atmanirbhar Bharat'

(self-reliant India) during hisaddress to the nation duringthe countrywide lockdownimposed to curb the spread ofcoronavirus.

Plea to declare PM CARES Fund as a ‘publicauthority' under RTI not maintainable: PMOPNS n NEW DELHI

The Prime Minister's Office(PMO) Wednesday raisedobjection in the Delhi HighCourt over maintainability ofa plea seeking to declare PMCARES Fund as a 'publicauthority' under the Right toInformation (RTI) Act.

Justice Navin Chawla, whoconducted the hearing throughvideo conferencing, was told bySolicitor General TusharMehta, who represented PMO,that he will file a responseexplaining why this petitionshould not be entertained.

The high court listed thematter for further hearing onAugust 28.

The high court was hearinga plea by Samyak Gangwalchallenging a June 2 order ofthe Central Public InformationOfficer (CPIO), PMO, refusingto provide documents soughtby him on the ground that PMCares Fund is not a public

authority under the RTI Act.The plea sought direction to

set aside the CPIO's order andto provide the documents assought by him in the RTI appli-cation. The petition, filedthrough advocates DebopriyoMoulik and Ayush Shrivastava,

said as a measure to combatCOVID 19 pandemic, the PMOon March 28, through a pressnote announced the creation ofa public charitable trust by thename of Prime Minister'sCitizen Assistance and Relief inEmergency Situations Fund

(PM CARES Fund).In the press release, the

PMO appealed to the citizensof the country to generouslydonate to the PM CARESFund in light of severe healthand economic ramificationsof the COVID 19 pandemic, itsaid, adding that the donationsin the fund would qualify asCSR and exemption from tax.

On May 1, the petitionerfiled an RTI application seek-ing a copy of trust deed of PMCARES Fund, document orletter vide which the fund wasconstituted and copy of theentire file including notesheets, letters, communica-tions office memos or orderswherein the decision to consti-tute the fund was taken.

However, on June 2, theCPIO of PMO refused theinformation on the groundthat PM CARES is not a pub-lic authority under the ambit ofRTI Act, the plea said whilechallenging this decision.

Use of santisers, change of stickgrip, Indian hockey new normalPNS n BENGALURU

Back on the turf after more thantwo-month lockdown, Indianmen's hockey captain ManpreetSingh and his men is slowlyadapting to the new normal intimes of COVID-19 pandemic,which includes using sanitisersduring every breakand drinkingwater from individual bottles.

After being confined to theirhostel rooms at the SAI Centrehere for over two months, thecore probables of men andwomen teams started outdoortraining 10 days back after fol-lowing strict guidelines andStandard Operating Procedures(SOP) of Hockey India andSports Authority of India.

"Since all of us had beendoing some basic fitness exercis-es in our hostel rooms in thesetwo months, we were not stiffwhen we returned to the pitchbut we are taking it slow andsteady. We are going about a verysimple routine without putting

too much pressure on our bod-ies," said Manpreet.

"Our sessions are conductedin small groups to ensure socialdistancing. Earlier, we neverused hand sanitisers in betweensessions and we would use thesame tumbler to drink water.

"But all that has changed nowwith players consciously rubbingtheir hands with sanitisers, notjust before entering the ground,but also every-time there is abreak and each one of us carry

our own bottles and ensure wedon't share."

As per safety norms, they arealso changing the grip of theirsticks regularly while there is atemperature check every day.

"We also change the grip onour stick regularly and our tem-perature is recorded after the ses-sion as well and it is monitoredclosely everyday to check for anyirregularities. This is the 'newnormal' for us and we need tofollow it," he added.

PNS n NEW DELHI/DEHRADUN

Prime Minister Narendra Modion Wednesday reviewed theKedarnath Dham developmentand reconstruction project, andsaid such works should stand thetest of time as well as be in har-mony with nature.

Portions of the Himalayanshrine in Uttarakhand weredamaged in flash floods in 2013.

Interacting with the state gov-ernment's top brass, includingChief Minister Trivendra SinghRawat, via a video link, Modiasked it to speed up work on theproject and assured there will beno dearth of funds. The founda-tion stone of the reconstructionproject at Kedarnath were laid in2017 by the prime minister.

The prime minister alsoissued directions for "further

development" of other heritageand religious spots in the stretchbetween Ramban andKedarnath, according to an offi-cial statement. The meditationcaves being built near the tem-ple should also be made attrac-tive for devotees, Modi said.

This work will be in additionto the redevelopment of themain shrine in Kedarnath, the

statement said. The prime min-ister said the state governmentshould "envision and designdevelopment projects for holysites like Kedarnath andBadrinath (another prominentHimalayan shrine) in a waythat (they) stand the test oftime and is yet eco-friendly andin harmony with nature and itssurroundings", it said.

People's Conference hits out at J-K admin over new media policyPNS n SRINAGAR

The People's Conference onWednesday hit out at the Jammuand Kashmir administrationover its new media policy,terming it the "lowest of the low".

Earlier this month, the UTadministration had approvedthe media policy-2020 for creat-ing a sustained narrative on thefunctioning of the governmentin the media.

According to a governmentspokesman, the policy attemptsto thwart misinformation, fakenews and tries to develop amechanism that will raise alarmagainst any attempt to use themedia to vitiate public peace,sovereignty and integrity of thecountry. People's Conferencespokesman Adnan Ashraf

claimed that with the new mediapolicy, India now joins the noto-rious club of the most repressiveregimes of the world, in terms offreedom of expression.

"The new media policy isplain censorship where the gov-ernment defines the ethics ofjournalism. (The) Government

wants to see reality not as it existsbut as it wants to see it exist. Thepolicy gives them the power todecide what is fake and unethi-cal. And no prizes for guessing,anything remotely true or criti-cal of the government will be cat-egorised as fake or anti-nationalnews," Ashraf said in a statement.

Furious overdaughter leavinghusband, manhacks 2 to deathPNS n JHUNJHUNU (RJ)

A 40-year-old man was arrest-ed in Rajasthan's Jhunjhunudistrict on Wednesday after heallegedly killed two people,including the brother of ayouth with whom his daugh-ter went missing after leavingher husband, police said.

Anil Jat was furious after hisdaughter Suman had alleged-ly left her husband and gonemissing with one Krishna, theysaid. He had threatenedKrishna's family of dire conse-quences if Suman did notreturn, police said.

When the two did not comeback, Anil reached Jhunjhunufrom his residence in Haryana'sMahendragarh and allegedlyhacked to death Krishna'sbrother Deepak (20) and hisfriend Naresh (19) during theintervening night of Mondayand Tuesday, they said.

"There is a need forthe private sector tobe price competitiveand focus on qualityin production. Itshould not only caterto domestic needsbut also be able toexport products. Onlythen it will achievethe vision of'Atmanirbhar BharatAbhiyan'," he said

COVID-19 threat stillpersists, follow guidelinesPNS n MUMBAI

Maharashtra Chief MinisterUddhav Thackeray on Wednes-day demanded resumption ofsuburban train services inMumbai for movement of staffon essential services duty andhinted that lockdown may con-tinue if guidelines are not strict-ly followed by people. He said theCOVID-19 threat still persistsand asked people to avoidcrowding and maintain physicaldistancing. Addressing a pressconference after a meeting of theBusiness Advisory Committee(BAC), Thackeray said lock-down has been partially easedbecause economic activities needto continue as "now we have tolearn to live with the virus."

The virus threat still persists

but we need to start economicactivities, he said.

"Outdoor physical activity hasbeen allowed for your goodhealth and not to spoil it," the CMsaid, referring to reports of peo-ple crowding on the roads afterthe restrictions were eased."Lockdown may continue if thishappens. But I am confident peo-ple will listen to the government'srules and guidelines since it is tak-ing care of their welfare," he said.

PNS n SHILLONG

Union Jal Shakti ministerGajendra Singh Shekhawat in aletter to Meghalaya ChiefMinister Conrad K Sangma hasexpressed concern over the "slowprogress" of Jal Jeevan Mission(JJM) in the state, officials saidon Wednesday. The northeasternstate was allocated Rs 86.02crore in 2019-20 but due to the"slow progress" of work, Rs43.01 crore was released, out ofwhich the state could utiliseonly Rs 26.35 crore, they said.

As announced by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi onAugust 15, 2019 the states areimplementing JJM with an aimto provide potable drinking

water to every rural householdthrough household tap connec-tions (FHTCs) by 2024.

The Union minister has urgedthe chief minister to "take upworks immediately in a cam-paign mode in 3,891 villages" in

the state reported to have pipedwater supply schemes.

There is a need for properplanning to achieve the goal ofJJM within the time frame withfocus on augmentation of theexisting water supply systems toprovide tap connections toremaining households, he said.

"Priority is to be given to sat-uration of villages in aspira-tional districts, SC/ ST dominantvillages/ habitations and villagescovered under the Sansad AdarshGram Yojana," Shekhawat said inthe letter. Under the Jal JeevanMission, funds are provided bythe Centre based on output interms of household tap connec-tions provided and the utilisationof available funds.

Jal Shakti minister concernedover slow progress of JJM

The high court washearing a plea bySamyak Gangwalchallenging a June2 order of theCentral PublicInformation Officer(CPIO, PMO,refusing to providedocuments soughtby him on theground that PMCares Fund is nota public authorityunder the RTI Act

PM reviews Kedarnath Dham project Villages go forself-imposedlockdown in GoaPNS n PANAJI

Fearing the spread of COVID-19 in rural areas of Goa, sever-al villages in Sattari andBicholim talukas have decidedto remain under lockdown forat least four days as a precaution-ary measure. Keri village inSattari, which borders withKarnataka, called for a lock-down on Tuesday and it was fol-lowed by Morlem where abandh was observed, saidLaxman Gawas, a member ofthe Keri village panchayat. Shopswere closed in Pale village inBicholim taluka and SankhalimAssembly constituency as well.Incidentally, Sankhalim con-stituency is represented by CMPramod Sawant.

Though just about 80 kilometresin length, the Galwan River ineast Ladakh is of immense strate-gic importance for India. It wasat the turn of the 19th century

and during the early years of the last onethat Ghulam Rasool Galwan, a young man,an adventurer and an explorer who was afrequent traveller to Tibet, along with a fewtraders, came in contact with Capt (laterCol) Reginald Younghusband. Those werethe days when the great game was at itspeak. At that time, the British Viceroy inIndia was far more worried about Russia’srapid expansion towards Tibet rather thanany other threat from China.

Capt Younghusband was specially cho-sen by the Viceroy to explore Tibet, gath-er intelligence and assess the possibility ofany Russian expansion that could pose athreat to British interests in India. GhulamRasool remained attached with the Britishexpeditions as a guide. In the later years, hestarted guiding other expeditions fromFrance and Italy into Tibet, too. It is under-stood that in order to cross the Kongka LaPass from Shyok, he frequently used a rivervalley route. Though this is quite unusual,this small torrent of a river was later namedafter Ghulam Rasool Galwan as theGallowan River

In order to better appreciate the currentscenario, it would be useful to know a bitof contemporary history about this river.Events moved rapidly after the Chineseoccupation of Tibet during 1950-51. Thatthe quiet cold of the high Himalayaswould get “noisier” and “hotter” wasrealised for the first time in 1957 with thediscovery of the Aksai Chin road, built inrecord time by China on Indian territory.The presence of this road was not discov-ered by any of our patrols for there werenone. However, the then IndianAmbassador in China had conveyed aboutthis when he read Press reports about thebuilding of this high altitude road inrecord time to be an “extraordinary feat.”This was just the beginning of the rapiddeterioration in India’s relations withChina. Subsequent events are all too wellknown to be recounted here.

The situation took a turn for the worstwhen a patrolling party of the CentralReserve Police Force (CRPF) was fired uponnear Kongka La on October 21, 1959. Eversince then, in order to commemorate thesacrifice of the 11 men who were killed dur-ing this skirmish, this day is observed as thePolice Commemoration Day. As this inci-dent made the aggressive designs of theChinese clearer, all checkposts in the areawere taken over by the Army. In the mean-time, frequent Chinese intrusions into ourterritory as also the building of roads start-ed receiving attention. Post this, it wasdecided to station posts in the forward areasthat had hitherto remained unpatrolled.

It was in response to this policy that on

September 26, 1961, the thenDeputy Director of IntelligenceBureau (IB), Shri Dave, sent adetailed note to the Ministry ofDefence. It was recommendedthat “...We should reconnoitrethe Galwan River valley andopen posts as far as eastwardsbecause this valley was connect-ed with the Shyok valleythrough which River Shyokprovided access to Indus andonwards to Pakistan-occupiedKashmir. It was further recom-mended that if the Chinesecommand the Galwan valley, itwould give them easy accesstowards Skardu and India’sroutes to Murgo, Daulat BegOldi and Panamic would be cut.Further, the unoccupied areabetween Pangong andSpanggur lakes was recom-mended to be covered by newposts.” At the time of imple-mentation of these recommen-dations, usual differences ofopinion erupted among thehigher echelons of the admin-istration. This delayed matters.

Finally, a platoon of 4/8Gurkhas was moved fromHotsprings. After trekking fora month, it came to a pointoverlooking the Galwan Riveron July 5, 1962. Our post wasestablished by this platoon closeto the Chinese post ofSamzungling in such a mannerthat it cut off their supplyroute. Not only that, it alsobriefly detained a small Chinesepatrol. The Galwan River, beingstrategically important for theChinese, their reaction was

almost instantaneous. Theirprotest note of July 8, 1962, wasfollowed up by a companystrength of troops, which sur-rounded our Galwan post onJuly 10. Subsequently, moretroops joined and ultimately wehad a situation where ourGalwan post of one platoon wascompletely surrounded by abattalion of Chinese with loud-speakers blaring all the time.

Among other things, theloudspeakers were exhortingthe Gurkhas to side with Tibetand the Chinese. Then camethe question of servicing ourGalwan post because all landlinks had got severed.Ultimately, this had to be doneby air. Later, an attempt wasmade to strengthen this postwith 5 Jat. When the hostilitiesbroke out in October 1962, thisGalwan post was the first oneto be attacked in the westernsector and was overwhelmed.

But over the decades, thesituation has undergone a vastchange. Today, we are not onlynumerically stronger in thearea but also have weaponrythat would be more than amatch for the Chinese.Accessibility to our borderposts used to be a serioushandicap. We also have airfieldsat DBO and Chushul, whichare capable of handling theheaviest of loads. Besides,minor airfields have come upat Nyoma and Fukche. Themost important point is theconstruction of a road fromDabruk to Shyok and then to

the northernmost point ofDBO. This road runs almostparallel to the Line of ActualControl (LAC) and is of a veryhigh strategic value. It alsovirtually acts as the lifeline forour border posts.

This road completely cutsoff future plans, if any, from theChinese side to intrude west-wards through the GalwanRiver valley. This situation hadbeen foreseen way back in 1961when a forward post was locat-ed in the Galwan valley buttoday we have a road. At thattime, the Chinese had reactedto the location of the Galwanpost; it is understood that nowthey are reacting to this road,which more or less blocks theirwestward passage through theRiver Galwan valley.

The geography of the areahas not changed since 1962 butthe high Himalayas are nolonger impregnable. TheGalwan River, which is locatedcentrally, connects to Shyok onthe road under construction.Lying in between the Chushulairport and DBO, it continuesto be of great strategic impor-tance, providing direct andconvenient access to Shyok andareas beyond. It is expected thatas earlier and even now, theevents around the Galwan Riverare going to be the main focusof the ongoing talks betweenIndia and China.

(The writer is a formerGovernor and a Senior Advisorat the Pranab MukherjeeFoundation)

How can Indians be racist? This might bea logical question. After all, even thefairest of them have a tinge of brown.

But Indian attitudes to those from other com-munities, with the notable exception of theArabs and Europeans, are not just borderlineracist but downright despicable at times. It maynot be correct to tar all Indians with the broadbrush of being biased but even if you go tothe homes of the well-heeled and highly edu-cated, pejorative terms like Habshi, Chinki, Kalluand other colourful casteist and racist slurs are

still used to describe others, including friends. While most people have becomecareful enough — thanks to the enactment of strict laws and the proliferation ofmobile phones — to not use such terms in the public discourse, many fromthe North-east and visitors from Africa continue to suffer on a regular basis. India’sobsession with the fair skin despite a Hindu revivalist culture of the mid-1800sthat celebrated darker skin tones is evident in the way we promote fairness creamsand bleaches to this day.

So should we be surprised that West Indian cricketer Darren Sammy is shockedthat the term Kallu used by his Indian teammates in Sunrisers Hyderabad wasan inappropriate one? Not at all. This is because we Indians lack cultural sensi-tivity or awareness towards those of other races. This is not to say that we can-not adapt. The Indian community has been trading to and from Africa for cen-turies — from the far Western shores to the nearer horn of Africa. That said,cultural assimilation, from cross-marriage to religious affinities, has been mini-mal, unlike say the Arab traders. Even in the US, while several high-profile peo-ple of Indian origin, such as Senator Kamala Harris, are great examples of blend-ing, many Indians tend to live in relatively insular communities, which one couldconsider ghettos. Is there a way to change this? Yes and an easy one. Childrenneed to be taught at schools about respecting other cultures and people at anearly age. Studies have shown that racism is often internalised at a very youngage. For example, the way adults treat a darker-skinned baby must be the sameas the way they treat a lighter-skinned one. If India aspires to be a global power,we have to change the way we think. In fact, it is possible to argue that race isa bigger problem in India than it is in the US. We have to change and the firststep towards this is to admit to ourselves that we are all indeed quite biased.

India seems to be taking a beating on allfronts. Our economy is down, just one rungshort of junk rating. We are in the top 10

worst-affected countries where the pandem-ic is concerned and now, our intellectual pridein the knowledge economy has plunged newlows in global ratings. Our Institutes ofEminence (IoEs), thus named enthusiastical-ly by the Narendra Modi Government, haveslipped in the QS World University Rankings.Though some of our big names are still in thetop 200 institutions of higher education (IHE),

the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) in Delhi and Bombay and the Indian Instituteof Science (IISc), Bengaluru, have failed to maintain the positions they held lastyear. While IIT Bombay continued to be the best ranked Indian institute at 172,it saw a sharp fall from its earlier position of 152. IIT Delhi, which was at 182last year, is now ranked 193 and IISc fell from 184 to 185 though it improvedits India position. The other IITs, Madras at 275, Kharagpur at 315 and Kanpurat 350, also registered a steep decline as did premier institutions like Delhi University,Jadavpur University and Hyderabad University. It does not stop at that. Even thenumber of Indian IHEs ranked in the top 1,000 fell from 24 to 21. And shock-ingly, Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) and Vellore Institute ofTechnology (VIT), two of the nation’s most prominent private institutions, failedto make the cut this year. It would be simplistic to wish away this slide to differ-ential standards set by pro-West rating systems but the QS Rankings are knownfor certain integrity and exacting norms. And while it would be easy, like China,to prop up a home rating system, fact is we need to subject ourselves to exter-nal assessment. Besides, this is not the only global list where we have fared poor-ly. Recently, we slipped on the Times Higher Education (THE) Asia Universityrankings, too. IISc, which was at number 29 in 2019, dropped to 36. The IITs,including Bombay and Roorkee, slid among Asian universities. IIT Delhi andKharagpur were the only Indian institutes to improve their positions. This meansthat we haven’t upgraded teaching modules and infrastructure or innovated enoughto compete against those who have stolen a march over us. This is worrisomesince IoEs were encouraged by the Government. Even select private institutionswere unshackled from regulators, given more autonomy and the public ones weregiven more funds. We have 993 universities, 51,649 IHEs and 14.16 lakh teach-ing staff for 37.4 million students. So, logically we should have more numbersin the top 200 but obviously that is not happening.

The IITs claim that for all talk of enabling IoEs, the pace of funding has beenslow to register significant improvement over the last year. Given the number ofour students in classes, the faculty-student ratio is far from ideal. Besides, thereare very few original research papers going around, except those co-authoredwith other prestigious universities. Research is a key denominator of internation-al worth and Indian varsities clearly fall short in the absence of path-breakingstudies that change the way we look at things. Despite a slew of innovations,seldom does IIT research find a place in rated international journals and papers.The UGC’s assessment of academicians through the Academic PerformanceIndicators (API) score has inflicted more damage to the overall quality of researchas scholars are focussed on scoring higher points than maintaining the qualityof work. And if we want to catch up indeed, then we need to roll out inter-disci-plinary courses. It’s a sad reflection on our pedagogy skills if less than one percent of the 1.5 million engineers, who enter the job market every year, are hiredby the top 100 companies. There are constant complaints from industries thatthere is a major gap between what is taught in our professional institutions andthe skills they require in the real world. Ninety per cent of academic activities inIndia focus on imparting bookish knowledge. So how do we ensure that our youthbecome worthy drivers of the global talent pool? We must globalise the curricu-lum and methods of instruction so that our students become well-armed to par-ticipate in the global discourse and future strategies. We also need to allocateGovernment spending in a better manner so that we can build a better infrastruc-ture, improve methods of research and hire world-class faculty, all of which wouldencourage higher-order thinking, innovation, problem-solving, critical thinking andclient handling. These are, after all, skills that are required in the real world.

Another great fall

Unwanted criticism

Sir — Bollywood actor SonuSood’s act of humanitarianismrightly earned him praise fromacross the country. But like somany good things that are boundto face criticism, his noble act,too, became a subject of politics.Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut, whoalso serves as the editor of theparty mouthpiece, Saamna,claimed that the actor must havea political backer and motive forhis act of helping the migrants.

At a time when our migrantworkers are still struggling tomake ends meet in difficult times,adding political colour to ahumanitarian cause reeks of nar-row mindedness. The goodsamaritan actor now has a new setof fans who are ready to back him.Sood has already declared that hewill not let such incidents get inthe way of his mission.

Javvadi Lakshmana Rao Visakhapatnam

Testing time

Sir — The TelanganaGovernment’s move to promoteall Class X students without

examination is welcome. Thedecision taken by theGovernment to declare gradesbased on internal evaluationcomes as a relief to both studentsand parents. Coronavirus fig-ures are still increasing. It is wiseto keep the young children awayfrom places where there is a pos-sibility of cluster formation.

Ravi Teja Kathuripalli Hyderabad

Better days ahead

Sir — With more than 85,000Coronavirus cases, Mumbai hassurpassed the Chinese province ofWuhan, which saw a total of84,000 positive cases. However,there’s a silver lining in a darkcloud for the city. While Wuhanrecorded 3,869 deaths, Mumbai’stotal is significantly lower, at

almost half, with 1,760 deaths. What’s more, the average rate

of doubling has increased from 11days to 23 days. Reports have alsoemerged that the growth curve ofthe infection is now flattening insome of Mumbai’s worst-affectedareas. These are signs that the virushas reached its peak and things aregoing to get better hereon.

ShambhaviVia email

Take a cue from Mumbai

Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “NCR needs a code” (June 10).Delhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal’s decision to restrictCOVID-19 treatment inGovernment as well as privatehospitals only to those with proofof residence in the city was in badtaste. Like Mumbai, Delhi, too, isin the grip of a viciousCoronavirus outbreak. And withmore than 27,000 cases, the city’shealthcare infrastructure is inshambles. Deputy Chief MinisterManish Sisodia has himselfclaimed that Delhi could expect5.5 lakh cases by July end forwhich, 80,000 beds would beneeded. Instead of exchangingbarbs, the focus of theGovernment must be on rampingup bed capacity to tackle a surgein the number of Coronaviruscases. Delhi must take a cuefrom Mumbai which has beenbuilding makeshift hospitals tomeet the challenges of risingcases of Coronavirus.

Bal GovindNoida

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

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

op nionVIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | JUNE 11, 2020

06

The strategic river

KK PAUL

The Galwan River in east Ladakh continues to be important, providing direct and convenient access to Shyok and areas beyond

When the BJP is not consider-ing unemployment and starva-tion as a problem, how will itsolve them? With Bihar pollsnearing, after some days starcampaigner will also start flying.

SP chief—Akhilesh Yadav

People are at home, anxiousabout their future. When wedon’t talk about our anxiety,we bottle it up and it keepsgetting bigger. There’s a hugestigma around mental health.

Actor—Huma Qureshi

Our position on racism iscrystal clear: This scourgeviolates the UN Charterand debases our core val-ues. A global fight againstracism is needed.

UN Secretary-General —Antonio Guterres

S O U N D B I T E

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

India must shore up health system

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO),India ranks 184th out of 191 in terms of GDP per-centage spend on healthcare. Including the private sec-

tor, the total health expenditure as a percentage of GDP isestimated at 3.9 per cent. Out of the total expenditure, effec-tively about one-third (30 per cent) is contributed by thepublic sector. It is quite clear that it is the private expen-diture which dominates. This is an indication of the elitistand costly nature of the healthcare system in our coun-try. No wonder then that healthcare services are thinlyspread in rural areas. With India yet to see the worst ofthe Coronavirus spiral, cracks are already beginning toshow. A shortage of hospital beds has been reported acrossthe country.

The inherent weaknesses in the healthcare systemhas come to the fore from time to time. Yet nothing wasdone by successive Governments to improve the sce-nario. There were only reams of promises in political man-ifestoes and gaseous loads of rhetoric in public platforms.

With even the most developed nations like the US andChina, which boast of superior healthcare systems, notspared by the virus, why should it be different for India?A change in the establishment’s heart must occur, elsethe poor may well end paying a heavy price due to thedeadly pandemic.

Kavya SinghVia email

EVER SINCE THE1962 WAR, THESITUATION HASUNDERGONE AVAST CHANGE

ALONG THEGALWAN POST.TODAY, WE ARE

NOT ONLYNUMERICALLY

STRONGER IN THEAREA BUT ALSO

HAVE WEAPONRYTHAT WOULD BE

MORE THAN AMATCH FOR THE

CHINESE.ACCESSIBILITY TO

OUR BORDERPOSTS USED TO

BE A SERIOUSHANDICAP

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

Sammy’s questionThe condition of our farm-ers is worsening thanks tothe unplanned #lockdown.Last harvest didn’t yieldgood monetary value sincethey were unable to sell.

Congress leader—Shashi Tharoor

Despite the Govt push on IoEs, IITs have slipped badly onthe QS World University Rankings in just one year

Yes, we are extraordinarily colour-conscious people. It’s time we come to terms with this and change attitudes

Who is to blame?

CHINESE INTRUDED LAND OF INDIA TILL 2012 DURINGCONGRESS REGIME. I HOPE RAHUL GANDHI AND THE INC

WILL AGREE WITH MY REPLY BASED ON FACTS. —BJP MP FROM LADAKH

JAMYANG TSERING NAMGYAL

THE CHINESE HAVE WALKED IN AND TAKEN OURTERRITORY IN LADAKH. THE PM IS ABSOLUTELY SILENTAND HAS VANISHED FROM THE SCENE. —CONGRESS LEADER RAHUL GANDHI

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

As the pandemic continues to rage, it is butnatural that it remains our primary focus ofattention. It would, however, be foolish and

shortsighted to lose sight of events unfolding onour northern borders as many within theGovernment and the security establishment prob-ably hoped we would. Despite the BJP’s formida-ble perception-management skills, invariably suchoccurrences tend to render Prime MinisterNarendra Modi dumbstruck, showing up hisGovernment’s utter lack of transparency. Especiallywhen caught flat-footed, as has been the case,because of the Chinese incursions in Ladakh.

As speculation over Chinese intrusions andoccupation of up to 60 sq kms in eastern Ladakhgained ground, the Government and the Armyresponded by resorting to prevarication and dis-simulation. They used subterfuge, dodgy satellitepictures and pliable analysts to bolster a patentlyfalse narrative. They could not hide the fact thatthese intrusions were along the Galwan River Valley,the Hot Springs Area and at Pangong lake instrength, along with supporting artillery andarmour.

While there are differing perceptions withregard to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) at thePangong lake, the same is not the case at either HotSprings or Galwan River Valley where the LAC isclearly demarcated and accepted by both sides. Weare now informed, again by Government proxiesand not formally, that based on the meetingbetween the Leh Corps Commander and his PLAcounterpart, the disengagement process has beenset in motion and the PLA has reportedly with-drawn approximately 2.5 km, except in thePangong lake area. We are once again left wonder-ing as to the credibility of this latest report and alsoas to whether the Government is being complete-ly honest about the manner in which it is handlingthe situation.

Thus, while the incursion at Pangong lake maybe explained away as arising out of differing per-ceptions, as the Defence Minister had suggested,the other two incursions were deliberately provoca-tive and hostile acts probably aimed at testing ouralertness and resolve. By occupying the heights, thePLA was in a position to easily interdict the Darbuk-Shyok–Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) Road in theGalwan area and deny us access to the Kongka Lapass, which is on our side, in the Hot Springs area.

While the PLA’s deployment at Pangong hasnow made it impossible for us to patrol areasclaimed by us up to “Finger 8”, it really has verylittle tactical significance. However, this ingress inGalwan also raises a far more serious question, per-taining to our ability to utilise the AdvancedLanding Ground (ALG) at DBO operationally. Forour military leadership, the PLA’s ingress shouldnot have come as a surprise. The Doklam stand-off led to the PLA’s public humiliation at the handsof the Indian Army. Clearly no country aspiringto global leadership could accept such humiliationwithout a fitting retaliation. Obviously our military’stop leadership must have been swayed by thosewithin the Modi Government into believing thatthe PM had done enough at Wuhan to adequate-ly assuage President Xi Jinping’s feelings. One mustremember that after Wuhan, Modi turned aNelson’s eye to the manner in which the Chinesesuccessfully took control of large parts of theDoklam plateau and constructed a road throughit till the base of the Zampheri Ridge, giving us anominal face-saver by keeping the alignment awayfrom where the stand-off had occurred. One sin-cerely hopes that we are not seeing a repetition ofthis false narrative in the sudden turnaround that

has now occurred.All of this could not have come at a

worse time for Modi. First, all ourattempts to ward off the spread ofCOVID-19 seem to have fallen flat,adversely impacting our economic recov-ery. More pertinently, not by accident butby design, our military finds itself in a par-ticularly poor shape. Wedded to hisRashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)ideology, Modi abhors the military for itsapolitical and secular institutional stance.He has been keen to make it more acqui-escent and in line with the political ide-ology his party embodies.

Moreover, he felt let down when hisattempt to woo the ex-servicementhrough the One Rank, One Pension(OROP) initiative ended in a fiasco.

He then turned his anger not just onthem, but against the military as a whole.As a result he has managed to demoralisethe rank and file, damage their credibil-ity and reduce the Service Chiefs and thesenior hierarchy to caricatures. He has leftthem with endemic shortages in man-power and material and with weaponrythat is largely obsolete.

Ironically, however, at the end of theday, Modi has only won a pyrrhic victo-ry. Like the US author and motivationalspeaker, HH Ziglar, once said, “You arefree to choose but you are not free fromthe consequences of your choice.”

In any case this turn of events mustbe quite a come-down for theGovernment and its ideological mentor,the RSS, elements within which havebecome increasingly vociferous indemanding that the Government freePakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK),including the Gilgit–Baltistan region,from Islamabad’s clutches. Indubitably, itshould be an even bigger embarrassmentfor the Army chief, General MMNaravane, who on assuming commandhad gone on record to affirm that theArmy was ready to recapture PoK if theGovernment so wanted it done.

Clearly, the Government has beenresponsible for once again putting us in

harm’s way, much in the same mannerthat its previous iteration under the lateAtal Bihari Vajpayee did at Kargil. It can-not be emphasised enough that while weultimately succeeded in throwing out theintruders then, it came at an extremelyheavy cost. The lives of young men weredeliberately sacrificed by the very peoplewhose apathy and disinterest wereresponsible for the fiasco in the first place,allowing them to get away from beingheld to account. If they had been, it wouldhave exposed politicians, bureaucratsand senior military leaders, who were sofocussed in the minutiae of their own per-sonal ambitions and agenda that they hadlittle time or inclination to devote to issuesof national importance.

In the interim, nothing seemed tohave changed as the Government, insteadof building military deterrent capabilities,focussed on opening up military canton-ments to civilians, notwithstanding itsadverse implications on security. At thattime, one was unable to understand theGovernment’s motives but they are nowbecoming increasingly crystal clear, as ithas put in motion steps that would allowit to monetise defence lands within can-tonments. This would ostensibly gotowards filling up Government coffers,but more importantly, fulfill the long-heldaspirations of the land mafia that has eyeddefence lands for its own use.Undoubtedly, they would make a killing,much of which will no doubt line partyand personal pockets.

Clearly not only have we not learntany lessons from the Kargil episode butare likely to see a repeat of the same play-book that got those responsible off thehook. Though, given that Modi never letshis reputation be tarnished, it must nowbe dawning on the military brass, whohave never hesitated to carry out his everywish, as to who will pay the price if thingsgo wrong.

However, that need not be so becauseeven in these difficult times, it is worthemphasising that positives far outweighthe negatives and we must not lack faith

in our own abilities. For one, there is avery real possibility that Xi, in his hasteto protect his own position within theCCP following the pandemic, may haveover played his hand and underestimat-ed Indian resolve. Just as General PervezMusharraf did during Kargil, he may wellhave bitten off more than he can chew.For all its talk, the PLA suffers from a lackof combat experience, at all levels, furtheraccentuated by its dependence on con-scripts who undergo just two months of recruit-training prior to joining theirunits.

Moreover, despite first-rate infra-structure, its forces have to travel great dis-tances along roads and railways, vulner-able to interdiction, to reach their deploy-ment areas, traversing through hostilepopulations where insurrection is justhidden below the surface.

In sharp contrast we have a proven,battle-hardened military that has exten-sive experience in high-altitude warfare,led by combat leaders who are not lack-ing in physical toughness, courage ordetermination, with many among themveterans of the Kargil campaign.

More importantly, at present, despiteinfrastructural constraints, terrain andforce ratios are greatly tilted in ourfavour, in addition to the tactical advan-tages that our Air Force and Navy enjoy.Finally, Modi’s resolve and fighting spir-it must never be underestimated becauseunlike Pandit Nehru he will never con-cede defeat when the chips are down.

Of course, “to jaw-jaw is preferableto war-war” and one hopes talks anddiplomacy will finally resolve the issueand we will be able to return to the sta-tus quo ante. However, have no doubt ifpush comes to a shove, we will emergevictorious but that would not even be nec-essary if Modi reversed course and gavethe military its due. There is much to besaid for deterrence when compared to dis-suasion.

(The writer, a military veteran is aConsultant with the ORF and SeniorVisiting Fellow with TPF, Chennai)

As speculation over Chinese intrusions and occupation of up to 60 sq km in eastern Ladakh gainedground, the Government and the Army responded by resorting to prevarication and dissimulation

analysis 07F I R S T C O L U M N

KOTA SRIRAJ

AT PRESENT, DESPITE

INFRASTRUCTURALCONSTRAINTS,

TERRAIN AND FORCE RATIOS ARE

GREATLY TILTED IN OUR

FAVOUR, INADDITION TO

THE TACTICALADVANTAGES

THAT OUR AIRFORCE AND NAVY

ENJOY. FINALLY,MODI’S RESOLVE

AND FIGHTINGSPIRIT MUST

NEVER BEUNDERESTIMATEDBECAUSE UNLIKE

PANDIT NEHRU HE WILL NEVER

CONCEDE DEFEATWHEN THE CHIPS

ARE DOWN

The worst fears of the people in upper Assam’s Baghjan,in Tinsukia district came true on June 9 when the Oil IndiaLimited (OIL) oil and gas well caught fire after leaking

for a fortnight. The sudden blow-out resulted in the tragic deathof two firefighters besides four people suffering injuries and50 houses getting burnt. As a safety measure, 2,500 fami-lies in the vicinity of the site have been evacuated.

Blow-outs are an uncontrollable discharge of gas froma gas production well and in this case, according to thespokesperson of OIL, the incident occurred as efforts werebeing made to tap a new reservoir.

The gas well, a part of 23 other drills was dug in 2006by OIL and produces about 80,000 standard cubic metres ofgas per day (SCMD) from a depth of 3,870 metres and is con-sidered as one of the most prolific gas reservoirs operatedby OIL. However, this asset of OIL is now making news forall the wrong reasons. Something which the Public SectorUndertaking (PSU) is undoubtedly not very proud of right nowand would like to put behind it as fast as possible. But, thefact remains that they should have foreseen something likethis before they decided to drill here.

The major risk to the delicate ecology of the region is quiteevident even to the layman by the fact that the gas well is sit-uated at an aerial distance of just 900 metres from the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park (DSNP). Taking this into account, theNational Wildlife Board (NWB) conducted site visits to the oiland gas wells in the proximity of the DSNP as early as 2013and observed that the wells were operating without prior per-missions and approvals were being sought only after begin-ning work on the projects.The NWB report clearly highlight-ed the inescapable consequences any disaster would haveon the delicate biosphere of DSNP.

The current disaster at Baghjan has put the specific gaswell under a spotlight but the need of the hour is to put allthose oil and gas wells in proximity of the DSNP under a scan-ner and examine and review their environmental clearancesand approvals. The gravity of the situation on the ground canbe understood by the fact that owing to this unfortunate inci-dent, the forest and wildlife department has decided to forma 14-member committee to assess the impact of the incidenton the environment.

This is also partly due to the discovery of a dead Gangeticriver dolphin, an endangered species and livestock on the wet-land, which forms a part of the Eco Sensitive Zone (ESZ) ofthe park. This raises the pertinent question of how a PSU, whichis supposed to set an example in following Government rules,ended up extracting oil and gas just 900 metres from theworld’s only riverine island wildlife reserve. There is some-thing not right here and this needs to be probed at the earli-est.

Especially because DSNP is a unique biosphere compris-ing wetlands, grassland and riverine forests. The park existsat the confluence of the Brahmaputra, Siang, Dibang and Lohitrivers. Spread over 764 sq km, the DSNP is flush with 40 mam-mals, 500 species of birds, 104 species of fish, including theendangered Gangetic dolphin and 680 varieties of plants.

The importance of this natural wealth seems to have beenlost on the top brass of OIL for whom it seems to be all aboutthe business of making money. The OIL website mentions itscommitment to safety, health and the environment as a partof its corporate vision but the actual situation on the ground,as demonstrated by the events at Baghjan, says otherwise.A PSU cannot set such a poor example for the industry. Therehave been numerous protests by the local population regard-ing the operations of OIL. It is time for these activists whohave been protesting about the plight of the environment atOIL sites to approach the National Green Tribunal so that theefforts to preserve DSNP can be taken to a new level.

The local Government in Assam, environmentalists andactivists must join hands for the sake of nature and take astand, so that the voice of the environment is heard and numer-ous voiceless animals and plants are saved from the onslaughtof development, which is in fact exploitation of nature’sresources. At a time when India is reeling from the impact ofCOVID-19, this disaster in Assam comes as a double wham-my for the people who have already weathered major loss-es during the lockdown. Now they have emerged from theshutdown, only to find their crops damaged, houses burnt,and livestock compromised, all thanks to this blow-out.

The people at ground zero must be rehabilitated imme-diately and the environment restored on a fast track basis. Ifthis is done by OIL, it will probably be the most meaningfulCSR initiative the PSU would have ever undertaken.

(The writer is an environmental journalist)

The word “migrant” in the termmigrant workers is not only dis-tressing but also exhibits the

hard reality and high level of uncertain-ty of their lives. Lack of skills in theseworkers for the kind of opportunitiesthat are available has been a primaryconcern. It has not only created but hassignificantly increased the gap betweenwork and the worker.

Irudaya Rajan, one of India’s lead-ing experts in population studies,says: “The one thing that the 2008global economic crisis taught us wasthat jobs matter.” As India is battling

COVID-19 and the widespread eco-nomic havoc caused by the outbreak,issues related to migrant workersremain to be addressed. Right from themovement to their respective villages,to generation of work opportunities forthem post the lockdown, are some ofthe big challenges that have emerged.

The Government of MadhyaPradesh, under the leadership of ChiefMinister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, hasbecome one of the first States toaddress the post-lockdown challengeswith respect to migrant workers. Helaunched the Shram Siddhi Abhiyanon a virtual platform while interactingwith sarpanches and labourers fromacross the State. Under this scheme, theworkers will be categorised into skilledand unskilled, depending upon whichthe State Government would providejob opportunities. Unskilled workerswould be provided with job opportu-nities under MNREGA whereas skilledlabourers would be provided with

work according to their ability.Elaborating upon the meaning of theword, sarpanch, Chauhan said, “‘Sa’means samandarshi (impartial), ‘ra’means ratna (gem), ‘pa’ means hard-working and ‘ch’ means watchman.The sarpanch plays an important rolein protecting the village.” According toChauhan, these local institutions andtheir representatives will play a majorrole in the effective execution of var-ious policies of the scheme and inreaching out to the last man in the vil-lage.

The State Government has alsodecided to provide five months’ freeration to people who don’t have rationcards. This will not only help the poorpeople tackle present-day challengesbut will significantly reduce the bur-den on supply in rural parts of theState, as the consumption in rural areaswould increase with the rise in thenumber of returnees.

According to the 2011 census, 72.3

per cent of the State’s population isfrom rural areas. Therefore, the returnof around five lakh migrant workersto the State would eventually increasethe pressure on the rural economy,which is largely dependent on agricul-ture. The only way to ease this burdenon the rural economy is by creatingmore jobs through increased invest-ment opportunities in the State.

The State Government recentlymade 32 amendments in four Statelaws and 13 Central laws, which notonly reduce the regular interference ofGovernment officials but also create ahealthy environment for investment inthe private sector. Though a part ofthese reforms have been criticised byvarious trade unions and associa-tions, the major focus should be on theoutput that would benefit the labour-ers as well. A reform does not neces-sarily mean complete scrapping of thelaw. Investment would help in creat-ing more job opportunities in the State.

As per data, out of 22,809 grampanchayats in the State, MNREGAprojects are going on in 22,695. So far21,01,600 labourers have foundemployment. This is almost twice ascompared to last year. Not only this,the State Government has also decid-ed to restart the Sambhal Yojna, whichwas scrapped by the Congress-ledGovernment.

This scheme primarily used tofocus on workers employed in theinformal sector but now it will beextended to migrant workers, too.Monetary help will be provided to theworkers, right from the birth of a childto the death of a labourer. This not onlyhighlights the proactive approach ofthe State Government in addressingfuturistic challenges but also underlinesthe importance of social develop-ment for the deprived classes.Therefore, recent amendments to thelabour laws and introduction ofschemes like Shram Siddhi Abhiyan

would collectively address the chal-lenges faced by the migrant workersand unemployed population of theState in the post-COVID phase.

Like the rest of the country,Madhya Pradesh, too, is at a veryimportant juncture where it has tofocus on the future and live throughthe present. So far, bringing themigrant workers home has proved tobe one of the greatest efforts by theState Government. But the majorchallenge lies in effective implemen-tation of policies. That depends on thesystematic coordination between theexecutives and the locally-elected rep-resentatives. It would not only bene-fit the migrant and unemployed work-ers but also provide a sense of socialsecurity to them. Eventually, it wouldalso revive the rural economy. As isoften said, “The greatest opportunitieslie in the most difficult challenge.”

(The writer is Research Fellow atIndia Foundation)

Creating opportunities in a crisisMadhya Pradesh is at a very crucial juncture where it has to focus on the future while living through the present

ROHIT KUMAR

VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | JUNE 11, 2020

www.dailypioneer.com

DEEPAK SINHA

Green lawsblown away

It is time for those who have been protesting aboutthe plight of the environment at OIL sites toapproach the NGT over the Baghjan incident

F O R E I G N E Y E

The harm from climate change isnot as immediately obvious asthat of the pandemic, but it isbigger. There are reports that theTreasury is looking at a “greenindustrial revolution” to createjobs. Leaving the lockdown willnot be inherently climate-friendlybut UK must make it so bydecoupling future economic activity from carbonemissions and ecologicaldestruction.(The Guardian editorial)

SAVE JOBS ANDTHE PLANET

VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | JUNE 11, 2020 money 08

CAPSULE

WayCool Foodsreceive $5.5 milliondebt financing fromIndusInd Bank

Infy headcount upby 166 per centBengaluru: Infosys Limitedhas said 44.3 per cent of totalelectricity across thecompany's campuses in Indiawas from renewable sourcesin 2019-2020. The Bengaluru-headquartered company said itlimited its absolute increase inelectricity consumption to 20per cent, while the employeestrength grew by 166 per centover the last decade.According to the company's13th Annual SustainabilityReport released recently,Infosys achieved a 33.5 MWreduction in connected loaddue to energy efficiencyretrofits over the last decade.Infosys commissioned anadditional 10 MW capacity inthe solar plant at Sira inKarnataka, to make it a 40 MWplant.

‘About 90 per centof retail networkresumes ops’NEW DELHI: Niche bike makerRoyal Enfield on Wednesdaysaid 90 per cent of its retailnetwork across India hasreopened and resumedoperations. As of Wednesday,more than 850 stores and 425studio stores across India areoperational for sales andservice, the company said in astatement. "While most ofthese stores are completelyoperational, the stores incertain cities are functioningpartially or on alternate daysas advised by local authorityguidelines," it added. RoyalEnfield said its facilities,offices and stores across Indiahad remained closed incompliance with governmentguidelines between March 22and May 5, 2020.

Finmin eyes decriminalisingselect economic offencesPNS n NEW DELHI

The Finance Ministry has pro-posed to decriminalise a hostof minor offences, includingthose relating to chequebounce and repayment ofloans, in as many as 19 legis-lations to help businesses tideover the crisis caused by thecoronavirus outbreak.

The 19 legislations includeNegotiable Instruments Act(cheque bounce), SARFAESIAct (repayment of bank loans),LIC Act, PFRDA Act, RBIAct, NHB Act, BankingRegulation Act and Chit FundsAct.

"Actions taken for decrim-inalisation of minor offencesare expected to go a long wayin improving ease of doingbusiness and helping unclogthe court system and prisons,"the Finance Ministry saidwhile inviting comments ofstakeholders by June 23 on 19legislations.

"It would also be a signifi-cant step in the Government ofIndia's objective of achieving'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas andSabka Vishwas'," it noted.

Based on the feedback, the

Department of FinancialServices will take a call as to aparticular section shouldremain a criminal offence orthat should be suitably modi-

fied to decriminalise toimprove ease of doing busi-ness.

The other legislations listedin the document for consulta-tion for suitable amendmentsto decriminalise minoroffences are Insurance Act,Payment and SettlementsSystems Act, NABARD Act,State Financial CorporationsAct, Credit InformationCompanies (Regulation) Act,and Factoring Regulation Act.

The Actuaries Act,the GeneralInsurance Business(Nationa lisation)Act, the Banningo f

U n r e g u l a t e dD e p o s i tSchemes Act,the DICGCAct and thePrize Chitsand Money

Circulation Sche mes (Banning) Act are also among the leg-islations.

Last month, FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharamanwhile announcing the fifthand final tranche of the Rs20.97-lakh crore stimuluspackage for the economy hit bythe coronavirus pandemic hadsaid that violations involvingminor technical and procedur-al defaults would be decrimi-nalised as effort to further ease

of doing business in thecountry. Taking a cue fromthe decriminalisation ofminor offences underCompanies Act, theDepartment of Financial

Services came out with alist of minor offencesunder various legislation

and said decrimi-nalisation of

minor offences isone of the thrustareas of the gov-ernment.

DRL completes acquisitionof Wockhardt's select PNS n HYDERABAD

Dr.Reddy's Laboratories Ltdon Wednesday announced thatit has completed the acquisitionof select divisions of WockhardtLimiteds branded generics busi-ness in India and a few otherinternational territories ofNepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan andMaldives.

The business comprises aportfolio of 62 brands in mul-tiple therapy areas such asRespiratory, Neurology, VMS,Dermatology, Gastroente rolo-gy, Pain and Vaccines, whichwould transfer to Dr Reddysalong with related sales andmarketing teams and a manu-facturing plant located in Baddi,Himachal Pradesh with allplant employees, a press release

from the drug maker said.On February 12, 2020,

Dr.Reddys signed a BusinessTransfer Agreement(BTA) withWockhardt to acquire theabove- referred business under-takingfor an upfront consider-ation of Rs 1,850 crorec. In viewof the COVID-19 pandemicand the consequent govern-ment restrictions, there hasbeen a reduction in the revenuefrom the sales of the productsforming part of the BusinessUndertaking during March andApril 2020, it said. Subsequently,through an amendment to theBTA, Dr.Reddys andWockhardt that 1,483 crorewould be paid on the date ofclosing the deal consideration,and the rest would be throughdifferent ways,the release said.

‘Frame policy foremployment of migrants’PNS n MUMBAI

The government should comeout with a policy for gainfulemployment of migrant labour-ers in their home states, espe-cially in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,Jharkhand and West Bengal, anSBI report suggested onWednesday. The report furthersaid that the government cancreate a comprehensive database on migrant workers on thebasis of travel history onShramik special trains, calldetail records and record ofsocial sector schemes. "Withapproximately 58 lakh migrantshaving gone back to homestates like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,Jharkhand, Odisha and WestBengal and more expected, weneed a properly crafted policyof gainfully employing suchmigrant labourers in home

states," said SBI Ecowrap.After the government

imposed nation-wide lockdownon March 25, 2020 to curb thespread of coronavirus, lakhs ofmigrant workers returned totheir home states. "...we need tobuild up a comprehensive data-base of migrant workers andformulate a policy for unorgan-ised sector workers. Trackingthe call detail records (CDRs)juxtaposed with travel historyof the migrant labourers fromShramik Trains could be thefirst starting point of construct-ing such database, suggested theSBI report.

‘Set up new bank to providelong-term low cost funds’PNS n NEW DELHI

The Association of PowerProducers (APP) has demand-ed setting up of a developmentbank to meet the long-term andlow cost funding needs of infra-structure sectors like powerreeling under stress due toCOVID-19 pandemic. In a let-ter to Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman earlier thismonth, the Association high-lighted many issues includinglow transmission of benefits ofreduced lending rates by RBI.

Last month, Sitharaman dida series of press conferences toexplain the benefits of the Rs 20lakh crore package for varioussegments including infrastruc-ture sector. "In spite of all theseefforts (package), a larger sec-tion of the economy includinginfrastructure sector has beenstruggling to keep up againstthe impact of extended lock-down," APP said in the letter.

It demanded establishmentof a development bank/ special-ized financial institutions forinfrastructure sector.

"With IDBI/ ICICI/ IDFCconverting to commercialbanks, there is a need for sep-arate and specialized develop-ment financing institutions andsupporting framework for long-term, low cost funding needs of

infra sector," it said.This will also enable achiev-

ing the investment target of Rs102 lakh crore over next 5 yearsas per National InfrastructurePlan, it added.

Between December 2018 toMay 2020, RBI has reducedrepo rate by 250 basis points(bps) but this has not beentransmitted to borrowers, itclaimed. Banks have not beenin line with RBI rate cuts inreducing their 1 year MCLR(lending rate). SBI has reducedits MCLR by 130 bps during theperiod despite support at poli-

cy level, it said.There is a need to have

seamless transmission of reporate reduction to reduction ofrate of interest, it demanded.

APP also noted that themood of the banking sectortowards infrastructure projectsneeds to change. RBI can giveflexibility to banks in dilutingsome of the stringent provision-in norms, to enable banks towork out new loan repaymentschedules for affected busi-nesses and mandatorily notclassify such running accountas NPA ( bad loans), it added.

Domesticpharma industryto grow 3-5 pcthis fiscalPNS n NEW DELHI

India Ratings and Research(Ind-Ra) on Wednesday saidthe country's pharmaceuticalsector is expected to grow 3-5per cent year-on-year in thecurrent financial year despitecoronavirus-led lockdown.

The domestic rating agencyalso expects monthly revenueimprovements of drug firmsfrom June. "Additionally, theseasonality in the Indiandomestic business will supportthe recovery. Also, the contin-uous rise in the number ofCOVID-19 cases in the coun-try will result in further volumegrowth in related therapies,"Ind-Ra noted. Besides, pharmacompanies' large cash balancesand sufficient headroom underdebt covenants along withdiversified funding sourceswill mitigate any impact of theongoing lockdown, it added.The COVID-19 impact onthe pharmaceutical sector hasbeen less pronounced thanobserved in other sectors, as itfalls under the essential servicecategory and is exempt fromrestrictions under the nation-wide lockdown, the ratingagency said.v

Validity ofcertain e-waybills extendedtill June-endPNS n NEW DELHI

The government has for thethird time extended the valid-ity of e-way bills generated onor before March 24 till June30.

"Provided that where an e-way bill has been generatedunder rule 138 of the CentralGoods and Services TaxRules, 2017 on or before the24th day of March, 2020 andwhose validity has expired onor after the 20th March, 2020,the validity period of such e-way bill shall be deemed tohave been extended till the30th day of June, 2020," theCentral Board of IndirectTaxes (CBIC) said in a noti-fication.

CBIC had in April extend-ed the validity of e-way billsgenerated on or before March24 and having expiry betweenMarch 20 and April 15 tillApril 30. Last month, it wasfurther extended till May 31.

In another notification, theCBIC has granted time tillJune 30 for rejecting refundswhere the time limit forissuance of order fallsbetween March 20 and June29, 2020. AMRG & AssociatesSenior Partner Rajat Mohansaid "this will give ampletime to tax officers for pass-ing quality orders and grantsuitable opportunity of beingheard to the taxpayers"Virus pummels

global economy,jobs - evenwithout 2nd wavePNS n PARIS

The virus crisis has triggeredthe worst global recession innearly a century -- and thepain is not over yet even ifthere is no second wave ofinfections, an internationaleconomic report warnedWednesday. Hundreds ofmillions of people have losttheir jobs, and the crisis is hit-ting the poor and youngpeople the hardest, worseninginequalities, Organization forEconomic Cooperation andDevelopment said in its lat-est analysis of global econom-ic data.

“It is probably the mostuncertain and dramatic out-look since the creation of theOECD,” Secretary GeneralAngel Gurria said.

It includes thoserelating to chequebounce andrepayment ofloans, in as manyas 19 legislationsto help businessestide over the crisiscaused by Covid

Last month, Sitharaman did a series ofpress conferences to explain thebenefits of the Rs 20 lakh crorepackage for various segments includinginfrastructure sector.

Sensex surges 290 pts;Nifty reclaims 10,100 levelPNS n MUMBAI

The BSE Sensex surged 290points on Wednesday follow-ing gains in index heavy-weights Reliance Industries,HDFC and ICICI Bank amidpersistent foreign fund inflows.

After hitting an intra-daypeak of 34,350.17, the 30-share benchmark settled290.36 points, or 0.86 per cent,higher at 34,247.05.

Similarly, the NSE Niftyclimbed 69.50 points, or 0.69per cent, to 10,116.15.

IndusInd Bank was the topgainer in the Sensex pack, ral-lying around 8 per cent, fol-lowed by Kotak Bank, RelianceIndustries, HDFC, Axis Bankand SBI.

On the other hand, HeroMotoCorp, Tata Steel, BajajAuto and ONGC were amongthe laggards.

On a net basis, foreign insti-tutional investors bought equi-ties worth Rs 490.81 crore onTuesday, provisional exchangedata showed.

Buying in financial stocksled benchmarks higher duringthe day, traders said.

Persistent foreign fundinflows too buoyed the market,

they added.On the global front, bours-

es in Shanghai and Hong Kongended in the red, while Seouland Tokyo settled with gains.

Stock exchanges in Europewere trading on a negative notein early deals.

Global investors are awaitingthe US Federal Reserve's latestpolicy outcome, which will be

the first since the US began toreopen and the first sinceFriday's blockbuster jobsreport

International oil benchmarkBrent crude futures tumbled2.26 per cent to USD 40.25 perbarrel.

On the currency front, therupee settled on a flat note at75.59 against the US dollar.

IndusInd Bank was the top gainer inthe Sensex pack, rallying around 8 percent, followed by Kotak Bank, RelianceIndustries, HDFC, Axis Bank and SBI

PNS n BANGALURU

Bangalore InternationalAirport Limited (BIAL) saidon Wednesday it is set tointroduce the Air CargoCommunity System (ACS),to streamline air logistics.BIAL said in a statement it hassigned an e-agreement withKale Logistics Solutions, an ITsolution provider focused onthe logistics and airportsindustry, to develop the ACSplatform. ACS is a digitalplatform that brings togetherall cargo stakeholders includ-ing Customs, customs brokers,shippers, airlines, truckingcompanies, ground & cargohandlers and freight for-warders under one roof, facil-itating seamless movement ofgoods and data across thelogistics ecosystem, it said.

Owing to multiple stake-holders involved in cargooperations, each shipment,on an average, requires over 30types of documents in multi-ple copies, resulting in signif-icant duplication of docu-

mentation. It also leads toincreased dwell time and sup-ply chain disruption. "Theimplementation of ACS willeliminate paperwork at BLRairport (KempegowdaInternational Airport), enable

faster processing of transac-tions, reducing duplication ofinformation and streamlineprocesses, making informa-tion available prior to cargoreaching the airport," thestatement added.

‘15,000 MW of wind-solar hybrid capacity soon’PNS n MUMBAI

As the government continuesto focus on increasing theshare of renewable energy inthe country, nearly 15,000 MWof wind-solar hybrid capacityis expected to come up over thenext five years, Crisil said.

Out of this 15,000 MW,works on nearly 10,000 MWare already either under con-struction or are being ten-dered and are expected to startfeeding the grid by fiscal 2024.

In the hybrid option, the sys-tem is designed using solarpanels and small wind turbinesgenerators for generating elec-tricity.

"We expect the hybrid mar-ket to grow and evolve as thenumber of projects and devel-opers who seek to unlock value

from the hybrid increases.Riding on strong support fromcentral public sector undertak-ing Solar Energy Corporation

of India and several state gov-ernments, we expect nearly15,000 MW of hybrid capaci-ty will come up over the nextfive years," Crisil DirectorRahul Prithiani said.

According to the ratingsagency, since generation ofsolar energy tends to peakduring the day and that of windenergy at night, the resultingintermittence in supply impactsgrid resilience, making dis-coms reluctant to buy power

from standalone wind andsolar projects.

"In the hybrid option, how-ever, these two energy sourcescomplement each other, whichcould help overcome the prob-lems of variability of generationand grid security, and therebydiscoms' reluctance," Crisilsaid.

As of March 2020, India had37,690 MW of standalone windenergy capacity and 35,000MW of solar capacity.

Chennai: WayCool Foods, anagriculture and technologyfirm engaged in fooddevelopment and distributionon Wednesday said it hasreceived USD 5.5 million debtfinancing from IndusInd Bank.U S International DevelopmentFinance Corporation hasextended a one hundredpercent guarantee to thecompany's latest round offundraising, a companystatement said. Early this year,the company raised a Series Cround of USD 32 million ledby Lightbox. It also raisedfrom LGT Lightstone Aspada,Caspian Impact Investmentand Northern Arc Capital Ltd,it said. Setuka Partners LLPwas the advisor to the currenttransaction, WayCool Foodssaid. The loan would bedeployed through IndusIndBank's Impact Investingdivision which would supportthe expansion plans ofWayCool Foods. The companyplans to use the funds toimplement strict hygienemeasures and increasetransportation efficiency toreduce food spoilage andimprove the yields to farmersamong others.

In hybrid option, system is designedusing solar panels and small windturbines generators for generating power

PNS n NEW DELHI

Regulator Trai onWednesday camedown heavily on the"perverse" practiceof RWAs chargingtelecom operatorsfor allowing entryinto housing com-plexes and coloniesand said it would like tosee connectivity infrastructurea pre-condition for grantingcompletion certificates for suchmulti-story buildings.

Trai Chairman R S Sharmasaid that while unfettered access

to buildings and com-plexes is given for pro-

viding electricity andwater, there is an"aberration" inextending a similartreatment for com-

munications infra-structure. The regula-

tor is engaging with theUrban Development Ministryon the issue, he informed. Wefind a trend where builders,actually Resident Welfare

Associations (RWAs), are charg-ing money from telecom serviceproviders to allow them toenter premises...," Sharma said.

"I don't know what kind ofsystem this is! telecom serviceproviders are providing servicein a non-discriminatory man-ner, they are not charging anypremium to those who are liv-ing in these complexes, they areproviding a service, but they arebeing told you are notallowed...You have to pay thismuch of money," the Trai chair-man said.

Trai comes down heavily on‘Perverse' practice of RWAs

B’luru airport to introduce ACS to streamline air logistics

group of young-sters, who had atone point in theirlife volunteered fora non-profit teach-ing organisation

that recruits individuals toserve as full-time teachers inlow-income schools for twoyears, who weren’t even fromthe same batch, have nowbeen brought together by thecommon aim of fighting thevirus and the devastation it isleaving behind.

Meet the team of ‘BharatDekho’, a coalition of youngactivists with a powerful con-science and a principle ofspeaking less and doingmore. The core teamincludes Romila Gillella,Abhijit Biswas, RuhiGidwani, and Asra Fatima, allfrom different batches of theNGO’s fellowship and 12other volunteers met eachother at various alumnimeets and turned friendsafter realising they felt thesame on different mattersrelating to the society.

This group of youngstersin their late 20s have workedtogether on so many otherprojects concerning socialwelfare, tribal welfare andmet via different workshops.“All of us who come fromdifferent professional back-grounds now work full-timein the education sector. Oncewe decided on working forthe COVID-19 relief, wecatch up for a quick meet at

around 9:30-10:30 pm everynight to discuss work for thenext day and divide ourwork,” says Romila Gillela, acore-team member.

The team shared a greatrapport because of the waythey felt about several issuesplaguing the country. “Wecame together to protestCAA and NRC last year, per-formed street plays too. Oncethe lockdown wasannounced, we, who workedwith differentorganisations,came togeth-er to work

as ateam,”Romila adds.

As a focus,the team catersto supplying food, gas, med-ical care to daily wage work-ers, migrant labourers, seniorcitizens, and pregnantwomen, stranded in andaround multiple localities inHyderabad. “We were able tocater to nearly 1,00,000 indi-

viduals since the last3 months by volun-

teering with variousorganisations, 971

directly throughMilaap’sfundraising plat-form,” informs

Abhijit Biswas.The team’s main areas of

work as a four-member teaminclude providing basicnecessities like dry ration,rice, sugar, soap, oil, dal, milkpowder, cerelac, medicines,and gas, which are taken careof by Romila and Abhijeet.Ruhi takes care of providingsupport with transportarrangements to travel backto their hometown and co-ordinates with other organi-

sations working on thesame. And Asra takes care ofa WhatsApp group of whichseveral migrant workers area part of. She sends themauthentic news articles tomake them aware of the cur-rent affairs, labour laws, andrights. She also providesthem with an employmentopportunity which they canstrongly rely on for survival.

A search with the hashtag#StoriesOfTruth on Facebookwill reveal some of theirexperiences that the team of‘Bharat Dekho’ has docu-mented.

So what’s next? “As a team,we have identified that manyof the labor will be sufferingfrom a lack of employment

opportunities. In order tobridge that gap, through aquick market research one ofour team members found outa seed manufacturing organi-zation in the city that wasready to hire from this groupof labour,” Abhijeet shares.

The teams leveraged tech-nology and facilitated ameeting between the employ-er and the prospectiveemployees, labour in thiscase. The meeting was heldon a video conference plat-form and the migrant group

was given adequate trainingby their team.

In the long term, as a team,they hope to be sourcingemployment opportunities forthe unemployed, especially theworking-class population. “Wehope to better the problem ofunorganised middlemenbetween the employer andemployee by making it moretransparent and organised,”Abhijeet adds. Those interestedin volunteering for the causecan contact the team at maz-doorzindabad@gmail.com.

A

ALUMNI TURNSCOVID-19 WARRIORS

A group of young activistsfrom development workturned frontline workers

during the COVID-19crisis providing impactful

responses ingrained indeep listening and

alternative thinking. Theteam of ‘Bharat Dekho' isworking round-the-clock

since the past few monthsto fight not just the virus

but its effects, reportsRACHEL DAMMALA

We identified that the laborwill be suffering from alack of employment. Inorder to bridge that gap,through a quick marketresearch one of ourteam members found outa seed manufacturingorganisation in Hyderabadthat was ready to hire fromthis group of labourABHIJEET

All of us who come fromdifferent professional

backgrounds now work full-time in the education

sector. Once we decidedon working for the

COVID-19 relief, wecatch up for a quick meet at

around 9:30-10:30 pm everynight to discuss work for thenext day and divide our work

ROMILA GILLELA

Sushmita Sen's powerful comeback with Aarya!t’s been a whilesince India hasseen somethinglike Arya, a storyabout organisedcrime being the

daily family business andbetrayal, a part of the fami-ly’s life. Co-produced byEndemol Shine, Aarya is anofficial adaptation of popu-lar Dutch crime-dramaPenoza. A hotstar Specials inassociation with RMF (RamMadhvani Films) is slated torelease on 19th June 2020only on Disney+ HotstarVIP.

The crime thriller showsthe story of Aarya (SushmitaSen) who is a loving wife toTej (Chandrachur Singh)and a doting mother to threebeautiful children. Her fami-ly owns one of the biggestpharmaceutical companieswhich is a front for an illegaldrug ring that is run by Tej,

Jawahar, and Sangram — herbrother. She, who once wasreluctant to be involved inthe illegal narcotics familybusiness, suddenly has herlife turned upside down, andin the quest to protect herfamily from criminals, endsup becoming one.

Former Miss Universe andactor Sushmita Sen afterstaying away from the spot-light for over a decade isback with a bang! The showmarks her digital debut asthe protagonist. The showfeatures an ensemble cast oftalented actors includingChandrachur Singh, NamitDas, Sikandar Kher, JayantKripalani, Sohaila Kapoor,Sugandha Garg, MayaSareen, Vishwajeet Pradhanand Manish Chaudhary inpivotal roles.

Sushmita Sen said, “Aaryarepresents strength, determi-nation and above all vulner-

ability in a world full ofcrime, a world run by men.For me, it is the story offamily, betrayal, and a moth-er who is willing to go toany length to protect herchildren. It took me adecade to find a role like thisto sink into and I’m thrilledto be a part of this incrediblestory. I am thankful toHotstar Specials, RamMadhvani, and his team forgiving me the role of a life-time.”

In a first for digital con-tent, directors RamMadhvani, Sandeep Modi,and Vinod Rawat shot theentire series in 360 degreessystem with natural lightingthat gives the show a real,believable look. WritersSandeep Srivastav and AnuSingh Choudhary highlight-ed the dichotomy of familialrelationships that are riddledwith betrayal and deceit.

Shot amidst the opulence ofRajasthan, Aarya showcasesa contemporary India with astrong take on women inpower roles.

“The world of Aarya is acomplex web of emotions,twisted family bonds, andbetrayal at the heart of it all.It’s a bold and strong narra-tive that takes it beyond thespectrum of a crime-drama.Every character has a pur-pose in Aarya’s journey asshe goes from being a home-maker to a hardened crimi-nal. I spent years trying tobuild this world brick-by-brick but I didn’t do it alone— 588 others from the castand crew have built thisshow from the ground up. Iam thankful to HotstarSpecials that have helped usbring this vision of Aarya tolife, and the immense talentsof both Sushmita Sen andChandrachur Singh and to

all our actors. It’s going to bean unpredictable butrefreshing watch,” directorRam Madhvani said.

Actor ChandrachurSingh, who also returned tothe screen after a long timewith the show said, “Thingsheat up quite fast in Aaryaas a web of lies and betrayalbegins to unravel itself —almost like a butterflyeffect. The beauty of digitalcontent is that there is abrave new form of story-telling and I am beyondexhilarated to make mydebut with this show. Thelevel of tension and intensi-ty fuelled by several plottwists and a mystery at itsvery core will keep theviewers guessing.”

With 13m views on itstrailer, Sushmita Sen’s per-formance will force youstand up & take notice ofher powerful comeback!

I

Beatboxing:A growing artform in India

eatboxing is per-ceived as a skillinspired byWestern coun-tries as it is oneamongst the five

elements of Hip Hop.But beatboxing is allabout rhythm and vocalpercussion. Indians havebeen exploring the limitsof vocal percussion withKonakkal for years, theoldest classical vocalpercussion technique,says Rajkamal, wellknown as Raka Vee,founder of BBXINDIA.

“Therefore, beatbox-ing/vocal percussion isnot something new inour country but thetechniques to learn beat-boxing is very unique,”he says.

In recent years, thenumber of beatboxers inthe country has beengrowing very fast wherekids and youngsters pickup the lessons fromYoutube. As per the pollconducted by BBXIN-DIA team in the year2019, there are morethan 800 beatboxers whoconsider themselves tobe a professional per-former, he points out.

“It is a wonderful feel-ing to see how the younggeneration is picking upthis artform just fromYoutube lessons andstart competing to a pro-fessional level in a veryshort period of time.You don’t need anythingelse other than love formusic, and some realconfidence in yourself.That is the beauty of thisart form.”

BBXINDIA aims toprovide an official plat-form to all the beatbox-ing artistes by creatingawareness about thegreatness, benefits, andvalue of this art form.The artiste further plansto provide the right edu-cation, the right direc-tion for all the beatbox-

ers who want to pursuethis art as a full-timeprofession.

Amid the lockdown, itrecently held an OnlineBeatbox Competition‘BBXINDIA ZonalCrusades’ on theDiscord voice server.

“Our team had thesure idea to motivatethem by creating healthycompetition amongst theartistes and rewardingthem for their creativespirit during tough times

such as now. HenceIndia was divided intofour zones as North,East, West & South withthree different categories— male solo, female soloand loopstation, whereartistes represented theirzone and showcasedtheir talent to put pointson the table,” he informs.

The current Worldchampion Alexinhofrom France judged themale solo, Vice WorldChampion; Inkie fromRussia judged the loop-station category and D-Nice from USA judgedthe female solo category.

The idea behind theevent was to introducethe new concept ofZonal team spirit, hesays.

“India having so manydifferent languages wefound that there was alot of division inside thestates and the smallbeatbox communitiesand we had a reason tounite them with thesame spirit,” says RakaVee.

B

IN RECENTYEARSYOUNGSTERSARE PICKING UPLESSONS FROMYOUTUBE

ThursdayJune 11, 2020

Follow us on@TheDailyPioneerfacebook.com/dailypioneer

10

Vijayawada Thursday June 11 2020 what’s brewing?

FUN

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK SPEED BUMP CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

CALVIN AND HOBBES

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

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

Yesterday’s solution

FOR CHILDREN LESS THAN 6 YEARS

If your child asks to watchvideos and cartoons, try toengage kids with toys or blocksrather than shifting to screen.Plan daily activities with themto and make them learn aboutthe basic of learning by showingreal things at home like A-Apple, B - ball etc.

FOR CHILDREN AGED 6-11

ACCOUNTS FOR CHIL-DREN: Create a separate pro-file/account on devices andplatforms for your children.This will help keep a track oftheir online activities, and alsokeep them safe from inappro-priate content.

YOUTUBE KIDS: Instead ofbrowsing videos on YouTube,use YouTube Kids, which showsonly curated age appropriatecontent. You can use the app oreven the desktop version.

MANAGING SCREENTIME: To keep a check onscreen time, one can use in-built features on your devices aswell as apps. You can also createa family agreement, and chartout terms like no devices at thedinner table, or no games formore than one hours, as agree-able to all.

TECHNOLOGY FORGOOD: Learn about a new appor website together that willbenefit all members of the fami-ly. This will help reinforce theidea of using technology pro-ductively, and not just for enter-tainment.

BUILDING TRUST: Engagein conversations with your childto understand what they doonline. Building confidence and

trust will help foster an envi-ronment, where they feel com-fortable sharing their experi-ences, both good and bad.

FOR CHILDREN AGED 12-17

AGE LIMITS: All apps andplatforms have set their ownage limits. Make sure your childuses only those that are appro-priate for their age. You can useparental controls to make surethey do not access inappropri-

ate apps and content.

KNOW THE RULES: If yourchild uses any social mediaplatform, sit together with themand go through the communitystandards/guidelines of the plat-form. This will help themunderstand what content andbehaviour is allowed on a plat-form and what is not.

Encourage them to reportanything that they may findinappropriate.

STRANGER DANGER:Remind your child about notaccepting friend requests frompeople they may not know buthave friends in common with.Also discuss that sometimespeople are not always who theysay they are online.

ONLINE THREATS: Talkabout risks that they may faceonline, like grooming, bullying,stalking, etc. Children are oftenunaware of behaviour that maybe wrong, let alone illegal.

Sensitization will help the childunderstand when to say no andwhat they should report.

BONDING ACTIVITIES:Watch movies, sports, news,web-series or gaming togetheras a family as a stress buster andan enjoyable bonding experi-ence. But it may also be a goodtime for parents to recall andshare almost lost traditions ofstorytelling, songs, word gamesor indoor games with children,who may be able to help them

build their technological skills.

FAMILY AGREEMENTS:Work on “family agreements”bb aass ee d od on nn negegoott ii aatt ioion on on tn t hheett imime e to be spent on entertain-ment (such as online games,watching movies, web series),advancing knowledge (revisingschool work, researching pro-jects, acquiring new skills) anddoing basic exercises (includingexercises to prevent physicalproblems associated with exces-sive use of digital devices).

The pandemicCOVID-19 hasbrought a lot of

changes with itselfthat we never

thought of. We allare stuck at home

and are dependenton each other

emotionallyleading to physical

activity andincreased screen

time. Childrencannot go out and

play and thedependence toentertain is allthrough TV or

internet. With thiscomes the concern

of securing kidsacross all age

groups on internet.Cyber Peace

Foundation inpartnership with

NCPCR,UNICEF sharestips with parentson how to keep

their kids safeonline

SECURING CHILDREN SAFETY ONLINE

sport 11VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | JUNE 11, 2020

PTI n NEW DELHI

The InternationalW e i g h t l i f t i n g

Federation has dropped thedoping charge againstIndian weightlifter K SanjitaChanu due to “non-confor-mities” in the handling ofher sample but theCommonwealth GamesGold-medallist has alsodemanded an apology andcompensation for the “trau-ma” she has endured.

The IWF made thedecision based on the rec-ommendation of the WorldAnti-Doping Agency(WADA). The 26-year-old,who claimed innocencesince the beginning, wasinformed about the finalverdict via an e-mail, signedby IWF’s legal counsel LillaSagi.

“I am happy in thesense that I am finally andofficially clear from the

doping charges. But, whatabout the chances I havelost? Who will take theresponsibility of the mentaltrauma I have been livingwith?” Chanu said.

Chanu won her CWGGolds in the 2014 and 2018editions of the mega-event.She holds theCommonwealth GamesSnatch record in the 53kg

weight category.“Who will take the

responsibility for the mis-takes that happened atevery possible level? Youput an athlete under sus-pension for years without afinal judgment, and onefine day you send an e-mailsaying that you are now freefrom charges?” she added.

Chanu said the IWF

has robbed her of thechance to qualify for theTokyo Olympics due to itscallous attitude and it mustissue an apology and com-pensate her for causing hermental harassment.

“Is this some kind ofjoke? Does IWF not careabout the career of an ath-lete? Was it the intention ofIWF to spoil my Olympicchances? Every athlete’s ulti-mate dream is to get amedal in the OlympicGames, and at least partic-ipating in the Games. Forme, that chance had beensnatched by IWF,” she said.

“This is not how IWF issupposed to function. IWFmust apologise and give agenuine explanation. Theresponsible body or organ-isation or individual mustbe penalised. I will go tohigher authority anddemand compensationfrom IWF,” she said.

AFP n LONDON

Twenty-time Grand Slam sin-gles champion Roger

Federer on Wednesday said hewill be sidelined until 2021 afterundergoing his second kneeoperation in a matter ofmonths. The 38-year-oldSwiss said he underwent fol-low-up arthroscopic surgery“a few weeks ago” afterundergoing a similarkeyhole procedure inFebruary.

Federer, whoselast Grand Slam winwas the 2018Australian Open, saidhe “experienced a set-

back during (his) initial rehabil-itation”. “I plan to take the nec-essary time to be 100 percentready to play at my highest level,”he said in a statement on Twitter.

“I will be missing my fansand the tour dearly but I willlook forward to seeing every-one back on tour at the startof the 2021 season.”

The announcement islikely to renew specula-

tion about retirementfor Federer, who holdsthe record for men’sGrand Slam singlestitles and last monthtopped Forbes’ list ofthe world’s highest

earning athletes.

AFP n VOLKLINGEN

Saarbruecken’s unprecedented German Cuprun came to an end at the semi-finals on

Tuesday after a 3-0 defeat at the hands ofBundesliga outfit Bayer Leverkusen.

The fourth-tier side, whose last competi-tive match was in March, beat top-flight clubsCologne and Fortuna Duesseldorf on their wayto becoming the first team from that level toreach the last four of the cup.

Saarbruecken coach Lukas Kwasniok hadsaid a place in the July final at Berlin’s OlympicStadium would be tantamount to the “rebirthof Jesus”, but there was no miracle on Tuesday.

The away side were quickly two aheadthanks to goals from Moussa Diaby and Lucas

Alario within the first 20 minutes.Both were set up by Kerem Demirbay,

whose pass for Diaby’s opener in particularhighlighted the gulf in class between the twoteams.

The hosts never recovered from those earlyblows, and just before the hour markLeverkusen struck a third, with Demirbay onceagain the man to lay on the decisive pass forBellarabi to smash home.

AFP n LIVERPOOL

Liverpool’s clash with Evertonon June 21 will be played at

Goodison Park after LiverpoolCity Council gave the go-aheadfor both sides to complete theirremaining Premier League fix-tures at home.

Victory at the home of theirMerseyside rivals would seeLiverpool clinch a first leaguetitle in 30 years if ManchesterCity lose at home to Arsenal onJune 17.

That had led to concernsthat fans could congregatearound both clubs’ grounds inthe city in breach of coronavirusrestrictions.

Goodison is less than amile from Liverpool’s Anfield

stadium.However, a meeting

between the council, police,clubs and fans’ groups onWednesday agreed to allow thematch to proceed in Liverpoolrather than at a neutral venue.

“We are satisfied that theconsiderable evidence and guid-ance provided by theGovernment, Everton and

Liverpool football clubs, publichealth colleagues andMerseyside Police will ensurethat the outstanding fixturesfor the 2019/20 Premier Leagueseason can be safely and secure-ly played at both GoodisonPark and Anfield,” said WendySimon, deputy mayor ofLiverpool, who chairs theGround Safety Advisory Group.

Liverpool said further dis-cussions this week will “provideclear and regular updates forsupporters throughout thisprocess”.

Should City not drop pointsagainst Arsenal or Burnley intheir first two games back,Liverpool could win the title onhome soil at Anfield againstCrystal Palace on June 24.

PTI n DUBAI

India batswoman Jemimah Rodrigues and NewZealand captain Sophie Devine believe that inno-

vations like the use of shorter pitches and smaller ballscan be tried out to boost popularity of women’s crick-et.

Shorter pitches, smaller balls and super-subs (sub-stitutes) were among the topics discussed by Rodriguesand Devine during a one-hour 100% Innovations ses-sion moderated by former Australia cricketer andleading commentator Mel Jones.

Devine, who was the top run-getter for NewZealand at this year’s ICC Women’s T20 World Cup,feels introduction of a smaller ball could change thedynamics of the women’s game.

“I think if we are stuck with traditional formats,we’d be missing out on a lot of new players, new kidsto the game. So, I think it’s really an exciting idea tosay that we might be able to encourage people alongthat make it tailored towards the female side of things,”she said.

“It’s always good to have a little trial and error andsee what works. I’m probably a big fan of looking ata smaller ball, but keeping the pitch the same size,where I think pacers are going to be able to bowlquicker, spinners are going be able to turn the ballmore.

“Hopefully, the ball should fly a bit further as wellwhereas still keeping the traditional length of thepitch,” the Kiwi added.

Rodrigues, who also played for India in the T20World Cup, was open to the idea of a shorter pitchif it could get in more fans.

The Indian, however, feels women’s cricketshouldn’t be compared with male’s game.

“To be very honest, I would go with, you know,like let’s not compare it (men’s and women’s cricket)that much. Because, you know, at the end, you havegot to accept the fact that there are slight differencesbetween the two,” Rodrigues said.

“But, yeah, I mean, we can also be open to (ashorter pitch), try it out. If that is going to help thegame improve and take it to the next level, then whynot? “You know, kind of get a thought to it, think aboutit, because at the end of it, we want to promote thegame. We want to get more people to watch the gameand more people to even join the game. So, yeah, Ithink it is a good idea. I think, you know, you can beopen to it,” she added.

During the session, both players also discussedthe importance of the Birmingham 2022Commonwealth Games for women’s cricket.

Rodrigues said she had always dreamt of winninga medal at a multi-discipline event while Devine indi-cated that just being at the games village would be awonderful experience.

MELBOURNE: Australia limited-overs skipper Aaron Finch feelsVirat Kohli and Steve Smith areplayers who can play well acrossthe globe in any condition andthat is what separates themfrom the rest.

“I think in Test cricket,Virat and Smith’s record at homeand in away games is unbeliev-able. Virat had a tough series afew years ago in England againstJames Anderson. But then hecame back to England in 2018and dominated the series,” Finchtold Sports Tak in a interview.

“Smith has never reallystruggled anywhere, to be fair.He is an unbelievable Test play-er. The most impressive thing

about both of them which prob-ably separates and puts themabove anyone else is how dom-inant they are all over the world,”he added.

“It’s one thing to dominatein your country, at wickets youare comfortable in. To do it allaround the world is extraordi-nary. Sometimes they get outearly, but that’s just cricket. Butthey very rarely miss out, andwhen they go, they go big,” Finchsaid.

Finch opined Smith has anedge when it comes to thelongest format of the game.

“I think Smith just has anedge in Test cricket. Virat prob-ably has played on wicketsthat have deteriorated a lotquicker when the ball startedspinning big, and going a littlebit lower a bit more often,” heexplained. IANS

LONDON: The England and Wales CricketBoard (ECB) is currently in talks with theirIndian and South African counterparts tohost a tri-series later this year.

Indian women’s team were suposed toplay a bilateral series comprising three ODIsand three T20Is against England whichremains postponed for the time being.

ECB Chief Executive Tom Harrison is

hoping there will be some internationalwomen’s cricket this year if everything goesas per planned.

“Ultimately, we will get some internation-al cricket, all being well. The plan is to getsome international cricket for the Englandteam later this summer. We’re talking to theBCCI and Cricket South Africa about bring-ing their women’s teams over to play a tri-series,” Harrison said.

However, Harrison said a decision oninviting India for the tri-series will dependon how the country combats the contagiousdisease which is raging in the subcontinent.

Confirming the talks, BCCI GM CricketOperations Saba Karim told IANS, “We weresupposed to travel to England in July for lim-ited-overs series. Now that has been post-poned and we are waiting for fresh dates.There are some talks going on as to when tohold the series.” PTI

PTI n KARACHI

Former Pakistan captain Younis Khan doesn’tbelieve in comparisons but feels young Babar

Azam has the potential to become a legend of thegame, like Virat Kohli in five years time.

Younis, the newly-appointed batting coachof Pakistan, described Kohli as the top batsmanof modern day cricket, but said Azam has thecapability of breaking many batting records.

“I don’t like these comparisons. Look at Kohlihe is at the top of his game right now. He is with-out any doubt the top batsman today and has per-formed in all formats,” the 42-year-old toldreporters on Wednesday.

“Babar has also performed in all formats inrecent times but the way I look at it, where Kohliis today, what he has achieved until now, Babarwill be there in five years time.

“I would say after four five years if we makecomparisons that would be more suitable,” headded.

Younis said at 25, Babar had achieved a lotfor his age.

“But I don’tthink we should cre-ate so many expecta-tions around him.We need to give himspace and time if heis to go ahead andmatch greats likeSachin Tendulkar orJaved Miandad,” hesaid.

As a battingcoach, Younis saidhe would like towork on the mentalside of Babar’s

game.“I would love

to see Babarachieve many

more great thingsand become a legend.I want to see himsurpass me and myrecords.”

IANS n NEW DELHI

The Board of Control for Cricket inIndia (BCCI) has said that they are

still following the ‘wait and watch’ pol-icy when it comes to the tour of SriLanka for a limited-overs series inAugust. With an eye on the coronaviruspandemic, the board is clear that it willabide by the directions issued by theGovernment as player safety is prior-ity.

A BCCI official said that it was tooearly to comment on the tour consid-ering that it is almost two months awayand the situation with regards to thepandemic keeps changing and theGovernment is constantly pushingout fresh directives with an eye onhuman lives.

“Wait and watch is what we are fol-lowing for the moment. It is still twomonths away and like we have said timeand again, safety is priority and we willabide by the directives issued by the

Government. Too early to answer thequestion whether the tour will happenor not. We have not taken any decisionas of now.

“Also, the situation with regards tothe pandemic is constantly changingand the Government has been on topin an effort to control the pandemic

and help normalcy return. So, we willtake a call when the time is appropri-ate,” the official said.

According to a report in TheIsland newspaper in Sri Lanka, BCCIhad confirmed to their Sri Lankancounterparts that the postponed seriesbetween the countries can go aheadprovided the Indian Government givesclearance.

The tour is supposed to consist ofthree ODIs and as many T20Is, previ-ously scheduled for June but had to bepostponed due to travel restrictions inboth the countries.

Asked whether the series will beplayed behind closed doors, an officialtold The Island that this is not what SrLanka Cricket wanted. “Ideally, wewould want to fill up 30 to 40 percentof the venues. Spectators can maintainthe one meter distance and watchgames. However, the final call will bemade by health officials. We will fol-low all their instructions,” he said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Adecision on the fate of thisyear's T20 World Cup inAustralia was on Wednesday

deferred until next month by theInternational Cricket Council, whichalso decided to give the BCCI anoth-er six months to obtain mandatory taxexemptions for hosting tournaments.

The three-hour meeting of the all-powerful ICC Board, held via videoconference, didn't spell out anything onthe nomination process to find outgo-ing chairman Shashank Manohar'ssuccessor.

However, the ICC decided to con-tinue investigations into the leak of clas-sified e-mails and all board memberswere made party to the inquiry.

For BCCI president SouravGanguly, it was a good day in office asthere was some headway, even thoughtemporary, into the long-standing tax-exemption feud which started with theWorld T20 in India back in 2016.

"A six month extension in deadlinemeans that there has been some head-way in discussions between BCCI andICC. Tax exemption is government'sprerogative. The Central governmentcannot overnight give an exemption for2021 World T20. Of all people ICCchairman would know it," a BCCI vet-eran told PTI on condition of anonymi-ty.

Already, the BCCI's case of payingUSD 23.7 million as tax exemption forthe 2016 World T20 is being heard byICC's Disputes Resolution Committee.

But no decision was taken withregards to T20 World Cup in Australiascheduled to be held in October-November but looking increasinglyuncertain because of the COVID-19pandemic.

It is understood that Australia'ssports minister Richard Colbeck's pos-itive message about the health situation

Down Under may have also played arole in ICC keeping the decision onhold while discussing "contingencyoptions".

"We will only get one chance tomake this decision and it needs to bethe right one and as such we will con-tinue to consult with our Members,broadcasters, partners, governmentsand players and to ensure that we makea well informed decision," ICC chiefexecutive Manu Sawhney said in astatement. Sawhney made it clear thatthe ICC will try its best to conduct theevent in Australia even though CricketAustralia hasn't shown as much keen-ness in organising the event this yearas it has for the high profile India seriesat the end of the year.

AFP n LOS ANGELES

Major League Soccer plansto return from its coron-

avirus pandemic shutdownwith a 26-team tournamentwithout spectators starting July8 at Orlando, Florida, the league announced onWednesday.

The MLS Is Back Tournament, which runsthrough August 11, will feature group-stagematches that will count in the North Americanleague’s regular season, which was halted after twoweeks due to the deadly virus outbreak in March.

The event, which will include 16 consecutivematch days in the group round, will be staged atESPN’s Wide World of Sports complex at WaltDisney World in Orlando and feature extensivemedical protocols for players, including COVID-19 tests on the day before each match.

Teams will begin arriving in Orlando as soonas June 24 for pre-season workouts, with clubs ableto arrive no later than seven days before theiropening match. The World Cup-style format willsee a continuous schedule of matches almost everyday with games kicking off at 9:00 am, 8:00 pmand 10:30 pm and each club playing three groupstage matches.

Jemi open to innovation topromote women’s cricket

T20 WC fate to be decided next month

PTI n MUMBAI

India’s white ball specialist DeepakChahar feels that ban on use of

saliva will not have an impact inwhite ball cricket, especially inT20Is, where he primarily plies histrade.

The Agra based 27-year-oldChahar, who played 3 ODIs and 10T20s for India, however admittedthat things will be different as faras red ball cricket is concerned.

Speaking on the issue,Chahar told Star Sportsshow Cricket Connected, “Idon’t think it will impactus so much because thewhite ball only swingsfor 2 overs. If we talkabout the T20 format,the wicket is good foronly 2-3 overs and theball swings for 3 overs,so it reduces the need toshine the ball.”

Babar has potential tobe like Kohli: Younis

Saliva ban won’t affect us,white ball specialist Chahar

ECB in talks with Ind,SA for women’s tri-series

Federer out until 2021after knee surgery

Merseyside derby at Goodison Virat & Smith are dominantall over the world: Finch

Leverkusen end Saarbruecken’s fairytaleFrench court suspendsrelegation from Ligue 1PARIS: France’s highest administrative courton Tuesday blocked the relegation of Amiensand Toulouse from Ligue 1 while rejectingLyon’s appeal against the decision to declarethe season over. The judge in the Council ofState “validates the end of the season and thestandings but suspends relegation”, read astatement summarising the ruling.

The judge also ordered the LFP to re-examine with the French football federationthe proposed format for the top division nextseason, which could feature 22 teams in Ligue1 — two more than usual. AFP

Chanu to seek damages over doping case MLS returns July 8with 26-team tourney

BCCI following ‘wait and watch’ policy for SL tour

nown to introduce fresh talentin the industry, Teja will becasting a host of newcomers forhis next, which will be a jointproduction venture betweenPeople Media Factory and

Abhishek Agarwal Arts. In this regard, thedirector has tied up with Helo app to zeroin on the talent. Interested talent can apply

on Helo for the live audition, which will be conducted by Teja. Only applicationsallowed on Helo will be considered for the

final audition.The untitled film is believed to beAlimelu Manga Venkata Ramana,

starring Gopichand. It is a familydrama and was announced on

Teja’s birthday sometime backin February. Teja has previ-

ously directed Gopichandin Jayam and Nijam

and in many wayswas instrumentalin giving theactor’s career aproper direc-tion, before he

s u c c e s s f u l l ybranched out to a

leading man from asupporting actor.

ctor Shashank is winning alot of plaudits for playingthe role of an aggressiveRanji bowler Wilson whohits the bottle after failing togo the long distance in the

game, before time mellows him, inLoser. He admits that he wasn’t expect-ing the kind of response he got.“Frankly speaking, I wasn’t anticipat-ing this kind of unanimous positiveresponse, as I thought we were justmaking a good show. The critics,viewers and industry have spokenabout the show and my work in greatawe. In fact, when it started streaminglast month, I was expecting apprecia-tive calls from friends a week later. Sowhen it dropped on Zee5, I watched allthe episodes and went to bed. As soonas I unlocked my phone the morning(May 16), I could see a flurry of con-gratulatory messages, raving mywork,” he tells us in an interview.

Continuing in the similar vein,he adds, “While it’s normal foryour family and friends to thinkthat you can achieve more, I was-n’t expecting viewers as well toecho a similar feeling. When I sawreactions like ‘Anna where haveyou been all this while’, I felt a senseof being owned by people who want-ed me to succeed as much as my fam-ily and friends. In fact from industrytoo, this is the highest number of callsI’ve received for a turn of my own.I'm now being addressed asWilson by my wife andfriends.”

He goes on toexplain that teamLoser ensuredthat the scripthas no leaks.“When youare mak-

ing a web show, it’s all the moreimportant that your script is watertightbecause you are at the mercy of view-ers. If you bore them, chances of themopting to watch other stuff are more.Even after you lock a script, you stillhave to take other’s opinion and fine-tune it as much as possible. Now, it’sheartening to see director Abhilash andthe writing team receiving a ton ofpraise,” he notes, adding that the showhas been a great learning curve for himand a

big boost to his career. “It is the reasonwhy I want to associate with contentwhich is superior to Loser up next thandoing anything that comes my way. Ialso want to do more work and I'mhopeful that I will get more challeng-ing roles now.”

After an impressive first three films— Aithe, Sye and Anukokunda OkaRoju early last decade — Shashank has-n’t got a role that justified his talent ashe continued to appear in more than20 films till now in a career spanning17 years. While he admits that it’s a nat-ural feeling to get distressed when youdon’t get opportunities that your talentdeserves, he doesn’t blame anyone forit. “I still don’t know whether I didn’tpick good roles or good roles eluded

me. I have no complaints on anyonethough. I always gave importanceto hope and patience, rather thanfeeling sad. I was sure that I wouldland a defining role one day and I

should be ready to do it. I’m gladit happened with Wilson,” he points

out, adding that his parents and wifestood by him during his testing times.

“The strength that they had my backwas enough for me.”

With Abhilash Reddy,this is Shashank’s

t h i r d

collaboration after short filmYadardham and web series Ekkadiki EeParugu and he foresees the directorgoing a long way in the industry.“Generally a debut director will beshort on confidence despite knowingthe craft because it’s the nature of thegame. But with Abhilash, I never sawhim deprived of confidence nor did heever lose his composure. Initially,when he started off, he was unhappywith little resources at his disposal. Yet,he did the best with what's available,with his talent and planning. Withmore resources, he can go about his jobbetter,” the actor suggests.

He believes OTT platforms willgive “actors like him more opportuni-ties”. “OTT will co-exist with cinema.At first, I though such platforms willtake at least four to five more years topick up here but with Covid-19 out-break, situation has improved signifi-cantly for them. In another couple ofyears, OTT business will boom,” hestates, adding that a couple of his unti-tled small films are lined up to releasenext. In one of the films, he will be seenin a negative role. “The director wasconfident that I'll do justice for the part,so I took it up as a challenge. He is

happy with my per-formance.”

outhern star Lavanya Tripathi has discovered a quirky way to choponions. The actress took to Instagram Stories, where she shared aboomerang video. In the clip she’s seen flipping her hair. She is dressedin a dark blue T-shirt, with sunglasses on. On the image she wrote:“When cutting onions... wear 3D glasses for better view!”

Lavanya shot to fame with her debut Telugu film Andala Rakshasiin 2012. She went onto star in Doosukeltha. She also worked in the Tamil filmsBramman and Bhale Bhale Magadivoy. She was also seen in films like SrirastuSubhamastu, Yuddham Sharanam and Antariksham 9000 KMPH among manyothers. The actress will next be seen in Telugu film, A1 Express, co-star-

ring Sundeep Kishan.The film, which isreportedly a remakeof the 2019 Tamilfilm Natpe Thunai,is directed byDennis JeevanKanukolanu.

12

Vijayawada Thursday June 11, 2020tollywood

A

s

k

Hopefully, I will get morechallenging roles from here on:

While it's normal foryour family and

friends to think thatyou can achieve

more, I wasn'texpecting viewers as

well to echo asimilar feeling, the

actor tellsNAGARAJ GOUD

day beforeN a n d a m u r iBalakrishna rung inhis 60th birthday;his fans got what

they were looking for: aglimpse of his look from hisuntitled next, action-drama,with Boyapati Sreenu. Whatis a signature Boyapati teas-er, it started with Balayyamaking a dashing entrysporting a dhoti-clad lookand twirling his moustache.A dialogue too followed,which has gone viral.Balayya occupied the topslot on the list on Twittertrends on Tuesday minutesafter the teaser’s release.

On Wednesday, the actorcut a cake with his familymembers at his residence inHyderabad. TDP supremoN Chandrababu Naidu, hiswife Bhuvaneswari and sonLokesh were a part of thecelebrations.

The actor’s children,sons-in-law and grandchil-dren sported tee shirtswhich had vintage NBK1960 written on them. Later,he drove to BasavatarakamCancer Hospital of whichhe is the chairman and cuta cake with cancer-affectedkids. In the evening, heinteracted with his fans onFacebook.

Wishes too poured in forthe actor from all quarters ofthe industry. MegastarChiranjeevi, who has beenfacing criticism fromBalayya for the past 20-25days over not being invitedto industry meetings andannual reunion of 1980sactors, extended his wisheson Twitter, so were VictoryVenkatesh and MaheshBabu. Top production hous-es like SP, VyjayanthiMovies, Mythri MovieMakers, SitharaEntertainments and 14 ReelsPlus among others too con-gratulated the actor on his60th birthday.

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BALAYYA celebrates his b'day with CBN and family

TEJA to conduct liveauditions on socialmedia for his next