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JOURNALISM OF COURAGESINCE 1932

DA ILY FROM: AHMEDABAD , CHAND IGARH , DELH I , JA IPUR , KOLKATA , LUCKNOW, MUMBAI , NAGPUR , PUNE , VADODARA

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2020, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES `6.00 (`8 BIHAR & RAIPUR, `12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMJOURNALISM OF COURAGE

SINCE 1932

MALABAREXERCISENEXTMONTH

India,US, Japan&Australia in jointexercise;BECAbeingreadied for talks

Uptick inrural jobsbut losses inurbanareas, supplychaindisruptions

SHUBHAJITROY&KRISHNKAUSHIKNEWDELHI,OCTOBER19

AMID THE Sino-IndianmilitarystandoffalongtheLineofActualControlinLadakhandrisingten-sionsintheSouthChinaSea,theQuadrilateral grouping of US,Japan, India and Australia aresending their warships for theMalabarExercisenextmonth.NewDelhi andWashington

are also stepping up efforts toconcludetheBasicExchangeandCooperationAgreement (BECA)aheadoftheIndo-US2+2minis-terialmeetingonOctober26-27–defence and foreignministersof the twocountrieswill be in ahuddleat the2+2.A key military pact, BECA

will allow India to use USgeospatial intelligence and en-hance accuracy of automatedsystemsandweapons likemis-siles and armed drones. InFebruary, US President DonaldTrump and Prime MinisterNarendra Modi had called forearly conclusionof BECA.On Monday, India an-

nounced that Australia will bepart of theMalabar Exercise inNovember, making it the firstmilitary exercise between all

countries that make theQuadrilateral grouping, betterknownasQuad.

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BUSINESS AS USUAL

BYUNNY

DEEPTIMANTIWARY&BASHAARATMASOODNEWDELHI, SRINAGAR,OCTOBER19

THEENFORCEMENTDirectorate(ED) on Monday questionedNational Conference presidentFarooq Abdullah in connectionwithacaseofallegedmoneylaun-dering. The case is related to al-

legedirregularitiesingrantsgivenby BCCI to JammuandKashmirCricketAssociation(JKCA).The ED action, which came

days after political parties ofJammu and Kashmir came to-gether to announce a unitedstruggle for the restoration ofArticle 370, evoked angry reac-tions in theValley.The People's Alliance for

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BACK TO SCHOOLAClass9studentat theRajkiya InterCollege inNoidaonMonday.Schools reopenedfor theseniorclasses for the first timesincetheCovid-enforced lockdown.AbhinavSaha

Signal to China: Quadnavies to sail together,Indo-US pact on table

Pompeo to visit Sri Lanka,Maldives after Delhi talksNIRUPAMASUBRAMANIANMUMBAI,OCTOBER19

INTHE finalweekbefore theUSpresidential elections onNovember 3, Secretary of StateMichaelRPompeoplans tovisitIndia's twoIndianOceanneigh-bours, Sri Lanka and the

Maldives,afterattendingthe2+2talks inDelhi,The IndianExpresshas learnt.

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Duringthe2017MalabarExercise intheBayofBengal. File

KRISHNKAUSHIKNEWDELHI,OCTOBER19

A CHINESE soldier was appre-hended Monday in theDemchok sector of easternLadakh amid tensions over theborder standoff. The IndianArmy said the soldier hadstrayedacrosstheLineofActualControl and would soon behandedover to thePLA.Inastatement,theArmysaid,

"A PLA soldier, identified asCorporalWangYaLong,wasap-prehendedintheDemchoksec-tor of Eastern Ladakh on 19October 2020 after he hadstrayedacross theLAC."TheArmysaid,"arequesthas

also been received from thePLA”on“thewhereaboutsof themissingsoldier”,and"asperes-tablished protocols, he will bereturned back to Chinese offi-cials at the Chushul-Moldomeetingpointaftercompletionof formalities".The Chinese soldier, the

Army said, "has been providedmedical assistance includingoxygen, food andwarm clothestoprotecthimfromthevagariesof extreme altitude and harshclimatic conditions".A statement from the

National Defence Ministry ofChinaquotedPLA spokespersonColonel Zhang Shuili saying thesoldierlosthiswaywhilelookingforayakthathadgonemissing.It saidherdershadaskedthe

soldier to trace theyak. Chineseborder guards, Zhang said, in-formedtheIndiansideaboutthe

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PLA soldierstrays acrossLAC, Armysays willreturn him

KAUNAINSHERIFFMNEWDELHI,OCTOBER19

TWO MONTHS after he an-nounced that auniquehealth IDwill beprovided to every citizenundertheNationalDigitalHealthMission,PrimeMinisterNarendraModi on Tuesday indicated thatthe“digitalhealthIDwillbeusedtoensureimmunisation”.Addressing the inaugural

functionoftheGrandChallengesAnnualMeeting2020,thePrimeMinister said, “...India is now at

theforefrontofvaccinedevelop-ment for Covid-19. Some ofthemareinadvancedstages.Wearenotstoppinghere;Indiaisal-readyworkingonputtingawell-establishedvaccinedeliverysys-tem in place. This digitisednetwork, alongwith the digital

health ID,willbeusedtoensureimmunisationof ourcitizens.”Inhis IndependenceDayad-

dress, the PMhad said that theUnique Health ID provided toeverycitizenwouldhavedetailsof diseases, diagnosis, report,medication, etc. in a commondatabase.As reported by The Indian

Express,ahigh-levelexpertgroupon vaccine administration islooking atmechanisms to trackrecipients as andwhen the vac-cineisreadytobeadministered;

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New digital health ID will be usedin Covid immunisation, says PM

ED quizzes Farooq, NCand PDP say vendetta

AANCHALMAGAZINE&ANILSASINEWDELHI,OCTOBER19

WITHECONOMICactivitypick-ingpaceaftertheeasingof lock-downmeasures, the recoveryhasthrownupsomeparadoxes:revival in employment amid afall in labourforceparticipation,surging inflation rate despitedisinflationary impact fromweak demand, and improve-ment in future outlook surveysevenasthesituationworsensinhouseholds.In September, as lockdowns

wereprogressivelyeased,anun-usual labourmarket phenome-non was observed in India --while several workers got jobs,many who did not went on toleave the labour force, data col-lated by the Centre forMonitoring Indian Economy(CMIE)showed.Typically,when

more people find jobs, as hadhappened during September, agreater number should havecomeinlookingfor jobs.There-verse seems to have happened,theCMIEestimates suggest.The unusual trend is ex-

plained by a rural-urban disag-gregationof thedata:ruralIndiais seeing an increase in jobs

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Covid puzzles: jobsback, labour shrinks,demand low butinflation still high

Datasuggestsmigrationbacktocitiesnothappeningasexpected

Tejashwi attacks Nitishover Chirag; RJD says onCM, both ‘on same page’SANTOSHSINGHPATNA,OCTOBER19

FISHING in NDAwaters mud-died by the LJP's grow-ing ambition, the RJDMonday appeared toreach out to ChiragPaswan, with TejashwiYadav accusing JD(U)chief Nitish Kumar oftreatinghimbadly.Talking to reporters

whilecampaigning,RJDchiefministerial candi-date Tejashwi said, “It is ChiragPaswanwhowould be needinghis fathermost now.We are allsadthatRamVilasPaswanisnotamong us. But the way Nitish

KumartreatedChirag, it is injus-tice tohim.”Tejashwiwastheonlysenior

BiharOpposition leader tohavemet Chirag to offer his condo-

lences after Paswan'smortal remainsarrivedatPatnaairport.Earlier, in an inter-

view to The IndianExpress, Chirag haddodged a questionabout Tejashwi's abili-ties as a leader, saying,“He is the Leader of theOpposition and has

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HisLankavisitcomesamidconcernsoverChina

GEOSPATIALSPECIFICSsharedunder theBECAwillhelpenhance theac-curacyof Indianmissiles,andwill bekey toplansforarmeddrones. Itwillcomplete the troikaoffoundationalpacts–COMCASAandLEMOAbeing theother two--with theUS forgreatermilitarycooperation.

ThetroikaofpactsE●EX

PLAINED

DECISION2020BIHAR

DECISION2020PAGE6

Modihadannouncedhealth ID inI-Dayspeech

DEVENDRAPANDEYMUMBAI,OCTOBER19

THE IPL that you see is beingplayed inDubai, AbuDhabi andSharjah. Butwhat about the IPLthatyouhear?With teams playing in front

of empty stands due to Covidcurbs, the answer lies2,000kmaway from the UAE, where a“sound bank” compiled in aMumbai studio has recreatedthemood and buzz of a throb-bing stadium — be it theWankhede in Mumbai,

Chinnaswamy in Bengaluru orChepauk inChennai.Getting this right, says the

broadcaster, involved threemonths of preparation and re-search.

“Wewent back and studiedthe sounds of over 100 IPLmatchesstartingfrom2018.Westudied the sounds associatedwithaspecificteam,andalsotheteam they are playing against.For example, if Chennai SuperKings andMumbai Indians areplaying, thedecibel level is verydifferent from a game betweenKings XI Punjab and DelhiCapitals,” says Star India's head(Sports) SanjogGupta.“Wehadtoarriveataframe-

work of sound that is unique toevery player and every team.WhenMSDhoni, Rohit SharmaorViratKohlihitsasix,thecheerisdifferentcomparedtoaplayerwho is unknown or an upcom-ingyoungster,” saysGupta.

And so, whenMumbai cap-tain Sharma or Bangalore skip-perKohliwalk in tobat, a soundengineerinLowerParelgetsintothemix.WhenDhoni connectsthose sixes, there is applausefromChepauk, with a vuvuzelaplayingalongandthetrademarkfan whistles. There are roarsfrom the Chinnaswamy for ABde Villierswhile the Kotla rootsfor Delhi Capitals' captainwithchantsof“Shreyas,Shreyas”—alldubbed inside thestudio.“Thereactionfromthecrowd

toacatchdroppedsoundsdiffer-ent from the onewhen aplayermissesahit,”saysGupta,pointingout that everydipof disappoint-menthasitsbespokedecibel,and

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PAGE1ANCHOR

WhenRohitSharmahitsasix, thecheersaredifferent. File

To bring empty IPL stands alive in UAE, engineersin a Mumbai studio cut-paste audio from archives

THE WORLD

CONFIRMEDCOVID-19CASESCROSS40MNTHAI GOVTSEEKS TOCRACKDOWNONMEDIA COVERAGEOFPROTESTSPAGE15

Zee News argues to protectsource, HC says you areno prosecuting agency

SOFIAHSANNEWDELHI,OCTOBER19

THE DELHI High Court onMondayquestionedZeeNewsformaking public the purported“disclosure statement” of an ac-cused in a case related to theNortheast Delhi riots, saying itwasnotaprosecutingagencyandthe document,which has “littleevidentiary value” in a trial, hasbeenportrayedassomethingthat“completely indictsaperson”.“It is amisrepresentation of

facts of a different level,” ob-served Justice Vibhu Bakhru.Sayingthatthedocuments“werenotsupposedtobetakenoutandpublished,” the court asked Zee

News to file anaffidavit anddis-close the source of the allegedconfessionbytheaccused.The court also rejected the

channel's request to be allowedtodisclosethenameof thejour-nalist,whogotthestatement, inasealedcover. “Youmake(pub-lic) documents which are notsupposed to be taken out andyouwant your name to be con-cealed,” thecourt toldAdvocateVijay Aggarwal, who appearedforZeeNews.The single-judge Benchwas

hearingapetition filedby JamiaMillia Islamia studentAsif IqbalTanha against his “disclosurestatement” being allegedlyleakedbypolice to themedia.

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

KARISHMAMEHROTRASANFRANCISCO,OCTOBER19

WITH A fortnight left for theNovember3ElectionDayintheUS, Democrat nominee JoeBiden's once-encouraging leadover incumbent Republican

Donald Trump has narrowed,leavingbothcampaignsonedge.BidencampaignmanagerJen

O'MalleyDillon said in amemoto donors, reported by Reuters,“WecannotbecomecomplacentbecausetheverysearingtruthisthatDonaldTrumpcanstillwinthis race, and every indicationwehaveshowsthat this thing isgoingtocomedowntothewire.”“New polling shows this

election isgoing tocomedowntoa fewswingstates likeNorthCarolina, Minnesota, Arizona,Florida, Pennsylvania, andWisconsin... Simplyput,we canwin this but we've got to rampupourcampaign,” saidTrump'scampaignmanager Bill Stepien

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RACE FORTHEWHITE

HOUSE

EXPRESS INTHEUS

THEEDITORIAL PAGE

INDIA-CHINA:ALONGWAYFROM1962BY SANJAYABARUPAGE10

Two weeks to go for polls,Trump narrows gap, butBiden still has the edge

New Delhi

PompeoIn Delhi, the talkswill involve Pompeo,

USDefence SecretaryMark Esper and theirIndian counterparts, External AffairsMinister S Jaishankar andDefenceMinisterRajnath Singh. Pompeo's stop in ColombolatercomesamidUSandIndianconcernsatChina's stepped-up engagement with thegovernment of recently elected PrimeMinisterMahindaRajapaksaandhisbrother,PresidentGotabayaRajapaksa.Earlierthismonth,ahigh-profileChinese

delegationledbyYangJeichi, formerforeignminister,CommunistPartyPolitburomem-ber and head of the Central Foreign AffairsCommission, had visited Colombo.Following discussionswith the delegation,Gotabaya Rajapaksa had said that the twosides would restart negotiations for a freetrade agreement, and aim to complete theColomboPortCityandotherprojectsquickly.HealsosaidhewantedaChina-styledevel-opment forSri Lanka.Meanwhile, a $480millionUS develop-

mentassistance fund forSri Lanka, throughMilleniumChallengeCorporation(MCC),anaidagencysetupbytheUSCongress,isgath-ering dust. The funding was meant for atransport project and an agricultural proj-ect,butnevergotoff thegroundamidpolit-icaloppositiontothepreviousgovernment'splan to renew a 1995 Status of ForcesAgreement (SOFA)with theUS.Pompeo,who lashedout atChina at the

recentQuadmeetinginJapan,blamingitforthe tensions in the Indo-Pacific and at theLACwith India, aswell for the coronavirus,will aimtorevive thestalledprojectsundertheMCC, sources said. But theremay be apushback, theysaid.Pompeo'svisittoMaldiveswillbeeasier.

The two countries recently signed a“Framework for a Defence and SecurityRelationship”. The US Department ofDefence said the agreementwas intended“todeepenengagementandcooperation insupport of maintaining peace and securityin the Indian Ocean, andmarks an impor-tant step forward" in the partnership be-tweenthe twocountries.Maldives DefenceMinisterMariya Didi

said the agreement would add “immensevaluetotheexcellentUS-Maldivespartner-shipdefinedbysharedprinciples&interestsinpeace&securityof theIndo-Pacific&IORamid rising threats likepiracy&terrorism”.India, competingwith China to keep its in-fluenceinitsneighbourhood,hadsaiditsup-ports defence cooperation between theMaldivesandtheUS.

Covid puzzleswhile employment in urban India is on aslide.Forpolicymakers,therecouldbetwosig-

nificanttakeaways:whilelabourdatashowsarecoveryinemployment,thequalityof re-coveryisaproblem—inotherwords,betterqualityandhigherpayingjobsinurbanareasarebeinglostandsubstitutedbylower-paidrural jobs. And this points to the fact that a

reversalofmigrationbacktothecitiesisnothappeningtotheextentthat itshouldhave.In September, according to CMIE, while

overallemploymentincreasedby5.1millionfrom392.5million to 397.6million, unem-ploymentdeclinedby7.3million from35.7million to 28.4million. The greatermarginof the fall indicates thatwhilemanyunem-ployedpersonsfoundjobs,othersexitedthemarket, leading to the labour force shrink-ing by 2.2 million from 428.3 million inAugust to426million inSeptember.Disaggregated data show that in rural

India, employment increasedby7.4millionandunemploymentdeclinedbyalittleover5million,pointing toapost-harvest-led in-crease in economic activity. At the sametime, employment in urban India declinedby 2.3 million and unemployment by 2.3million.As a result, the labour forcewas re-duced by 4.6million in towns and cities inSeptember — amonthly fall in the labourforceof3.3percent that is thehighestsincethemeltdownmonthofApril 2020.ThisisqualifiedbysurveysdonebyCMIE

up to August, which have shown that thebiggest losses inemploymentare inqualityjobs— salaried employment. Salaried jobstypically offer better terms of employmentandwages, and households with salariedjobs are better placed to build savings andplan a sustained improvement in standardof living. Such households are also betterplaced toborrowandservice their borrow-ing because of the steady nature of theirearnings.Going forward, this couldhaveanimpact on consumption trends and the re-coveryprocess in India.Thereareothereconomicparadoxesthat

thepandemichas thrownup.For instance, as against the general ex-

pectationgloballythatthemassivedemandshock from the pandemic would over-shadowanysupplyshockandwouldthere-forebedisinflationary,theoppositehashap-pened in India. While CPI inflation hasconsistentlysurgedfromjustover6percentin in June tonearly 7per cent in eachof thethreemonthsbetweenJulyandSeptember,some of it led by food inflation, the unex-pected trend is the rise in core inflation --non-food,nofuelinflation--duringaperiodwhenGDPgrowth is set to register a recordcontraction.Whilemuch of theworld is seeing be-

nign inflation trends, India is a clear excep-tion.Amongthedriversofheadlineinflationin India in recent months has been foodprices, especially those of vegetables. Also,thefrequentroundsofhikesinexcisedutieson fuel, thrice in the last one year, coupledwithincreaseinstateleviesofsalestax/VAT,are having a pass-through effect on the re-tail inflation.But,thecollapseindemandsinceMarch

shouldhave ideally triggeredadrop in coreinflation--pricelevelsinnon-foodandnon-fuel items. In the latestprint forSeptember,thoughcoreinflationsoftenedmarginallyto5.67 per cent from5.77 per cent in August,it continued to stayabove5per cent for thefifthconsecutivemonth.

Themostcompellingexplana-tion offered by economists is thedisruption in supply chains post-March. Even after the nationallockdownwaslifted,thelocallock-downs have impacted the supplychainsthatensuregoodsaretrans-ported throughout the country.The severed links created short-ages, adding to prices across theboard. The repeated local lock-downs in states added to uncer-tainties for business and forcedcurtailmentsintheirsupplychains-- impacting rawmaterials, inter-mediategoods, finalproducts.While realGDP in India is pro-

jected to contract in 2020-21 un-der the baseline scenario, reflect-ing both demand and supplyshocks, consumer price inflationremaining elevated points to thefact that supply bottlenecks areoutweighingthesofteningimpactexpected fromweaker demand.These “counterintuitive inflationdynamics”, the Reserve Bank ofIndia said in its latestMPC report,“havecomplicatedthemacroeco-nomicoutlook”.

Digital health IDthis isbecausetherecouldbetwoor three doses, and populationgroups must be followed accu-rately.ThePrimeMinisterunderlined

India’s global reputation on vac-cine manufacturing. “BeyondCovid too, India is known for itsproven capacity to produce vac-cines at a low cost. More than 60per cent of the vaccines for global

immunisation are beingmanufactured inIndia.WeincludedtheindigenousRotavirusvaccineinourIndradhanushimmunisationprogramme.This is a successful exampleofastrongpartnershipforlong-lastingresults.The Gates Foundation has also been a partof thiseffort,”hesaid.“With India’s experience and research

talent, we will be at the centre of globalhealth care efforts.Wewant to help othernations, enhance their capacities, in thesesectors.”Disease, Modi said, does not discrimi-

nateongroundsof religionor race, and theglobalcommunitymustfightittogether.“..Ithas takenaglobalpandemictomakeusre-alise, yet again, the importance of team-work. After all, disease does not have geo-graphic boundaries; disease does notdiscriminate on the grounds of faith, race,gender, or colour,” he said.

Tejashwibeendoinghis job.Myentire focus isonthecurrent CM and to ensure that he does notreturn to thepost.”Asked about Tejashwi's remarks, RJD

spokespersonMrityunjay Tewari said theywere on the same side against the JD(U).“Tejashwiji and Chiragji are young leadersand have been raising valid points againstthe Nitish government. Our leader has ex-pressedsolidaritywiththeLJPleaderastheyare on the same page on attacking the cur-rentgovernment.”RJD leaders said that while Chirag

Paswan's support base is limited, he hasgiven the Opposition a handle to targetNitish.LJP principal general secretary Abdul

Khalique,however,dismissedanychanceofthepartycoming togetherwith theRJD.“Since Tejashwi is sensing upper-caste

consolidation in our favour, he is trying tocreate confusion in the minds of voters,”Khalique said. “Letme clarify that there iszero per cent chance of the LJP goingwiththeRJDunderanycondition.”Whilewelcomingthefactthat“Tejashwi

stands by us in time of our grief”, Khaliqueadded,“Howabouthisparty'sbehaviourto-wardsour leader in thepast? Itwas theRJDthat had used the pejorative adjective‘weather vane’ for our leader Ram VilasPaswan...Tejashwi'sfakesympathycanhurtusandhelpNitish.”

JKCA caseGupkar Declaration condemned the

Centre's “vindictive politics” and “witchhunt”, andsaid that ithadbeen“unnerved”bythecomingtogetherofKashmir'sparties.Itallegedtheactionwasintended“tokilldis-sent” across the country and to “silence thegenuine demand for reversal of unilateraland unconstitutional decisions of 5th

August, 2019”.This is the second time that Farooq

Abdullahhasbeenquestionedinthiscase–thefirst timewasinChandigarh,before J&Kwasstrippedof itsspecialstatusandFarooqwashimself putunderdetention.Farooqhaddeniedtheallegationsagainst

himatthetime.“Ihavedonenowrong. Iamopen to investigation. I have recordedmystatement today. Thematter is sub judiceand I have full faith in the judiciary of thecountry,”hehadsaid.The ED's case is based on an FIR by the

CBI,whichhasalreadychargesheetedFarooqfor allegedly siphoningoff Rs43crore fromgrantsgivenbyBCCItoJKCA.Thefundswereallegedly diverted between 2002 and2011,whenFarooqwas JKCApresident.In February, ED had attached assets

worthRs2.6crorebelongingtotwoaccusedin the case, Ahsan AhmadMirza andMirManzoorGazanffer. Inastatementthen,theEDhadsaid that its investigationhad foundthat during 2005-06 to 2011-12 (up toDecember 2011) JKCA received Rs 94.06crore fromBCCI in its three bank accounts,but the fundswere transferred into severalother accounts that were opened in thenameofJKCA.Theseaccountsalongwiththeexisting bank accounts, were later used forlaundering funds, theEDhadalleged.“...AhsanAhmadMirzatransferredhuge

amountintohispersonalbankaccountsandthentheseamountswerefurthertransferred/paidorwithdrawnincash.Outof thelaun-dered amounts, Rs. 1.31 crorewas receivedbyMirManzoorGazanffer,whowasmem-berofaFinanceCommitteeofJKCA,betweenyear 2006 to 2009, which was arbitrarilyconstitutedbyDrFarooqAbdullah,thethenPresidentof JKCA,” theEDsaid.AccordingtotheED,MirzaandGazanffer

“opened a personal bank account in theirjointnameswithJammuandKashmirBankLtd.andcroresof rupeesof fundsbelongingtoJKCAweretransferredintothisjointbankaccount and these fundswere eitherwith-drawn in cash or transferred to other bankaccounts... In... 2009, Mirzawas elected asTreasurer of JKCAwith Dr Farooq AbdullahandSaleemKhan,wereelectedasPresidentandGeneralSecretaryof JKCA, respectively.In the JKCA elections held in year 2011,‘Ahsan AhmadMirza’ was elected as theGeneral Secretary of JKCA and Dr. FarooqAbdullahwas elected as President of JKCA.InvestigationunderPMLArevealedthatdur-ing this entire period, funds of JKCAwerecontinuously laundered,” the ED said in itsstatement.InachargesheetfiledinJuly2018,theCBI

had alleged that Farooq had connivedwiththe treasurer of JKCA andothers formisap-propriation of funds. The CBI had chargedFarooqandthreeothers underprovisionsofthe Ranbir Penal Code related to criminal

conspiracyandcriminalbreachof trust.The CBI chargesheet cameweeks after

the BJP pulled its support to the PDP-ledcoalition government in the state. The CBIhadtakenoverthecasefromthestatepolicein2015onordersoftheJammuandKashmirHighCourt.In a tweet on Monday, PDP chief

MehboobaMufti said: “ED’s sudden sum-mon to Farooq sahab displays the extent ofGOI's nervousness aboutmainstream par-ties in J&Kfightingasoneunit.Alsoreeksofpolitical vendetta&won't in the least bluntourcollectiveresolvetofightforourrights.”FormerBJPallyandPeople'sConference

leader Sajjad Lone tweeted: “What a sorrystate of affairs. Dr Farooq sahib summonedby ED. Reeks of vendetta. Contrary towhattheywanttocoercivelyachievethiswillcer-tainlyhave theopposite impact.”Farooq's son and former Chief Minister

Omar Abdullah tweeted: “...This is nothingless thenpolitical vendetta comingdaysaf-tertheformationof thePeople’sAllianceforGupkar Declaration. To set the recordstraight no raids are being conducted at DrSahib’s residence.”

US electionin amemosharedwithhis party campaignmailing listonSunday.Republicans have attempted to keep the

narrative on “law and order”, painting thissummer'sBlackLivesMattersprotests asvi-olence endorsedbyBiden.More recently, inthedebatesandtownhalls,thecampaignhasemphasised Biden's tax plans. “Hello...,” aTrump campaignmass textmessage read.“Bidenwillraisetaxes.That'sit,that'sthetext.”Democrats have tried to focus on the

pandemic and a need for amoral and fairleader. “I feel so deeply that this countryneedstobeaplacetorepresentopportunityin theworld,” said Biden's Chief FinancialOfficerSaloniMultanitoTheIndianExpress.“I lookatmyyounggirlsandIhopethatthatfoundationalpartofAmerica remains. Thatis on the ballot. We need a functioningdemocracy forgenerations tocome.”With Biden's leads in national polls, all

conventional political understanding sayshe shouldwin. But, the landscape feels likedeja vu for punditswho remember formerDemocratic nomineeHillaryClinton's poll-lead in the run-up to the 2016 election. AnNBC News/Wall Street Journal poll hadClintonat+10percentagepointsoverTrumpback then. The same poll has +11 for Bidennow. Poll aggregation done by data analyt-icsoutletFiveThirtyEighthasBidenat+10.6.“Still,Trumphasameaningfulchanceper

ourforecast—alittleworsethanthechancesof rolling a 1 on a six-sided die and a littlebetter than the chances that it's raining indowntown Los Angeles. And remember, itdoes rain there,” reads an analysis by

FiveThirtyEight.In American political punditry, national

pollshavetobeunderstoodalongsidestate-leveldynamics.TheElectoralCollegesystemgiveseachstateadesignatednumberofelec-toralvotesthatgotothecandidatewhowinsthepopularvote in that state.

Zee NewsLastweek,thecourthadaskedZeeNews

to disclose its source after the Delhi Policesaid none of its personnel had leaked thepurportedstatement.Aggarwal submitted that the journalist

may not be asked to disclose his source asthe question of privilege is involved, andjournalistsgetinformationonthebasisofanunderstanding with their sources. He re-ferred to Section 15 (2) of the Press CouncilAct, which protects “any newspaper, newsagency,editororjournalist”fromdisclosureof “the source of any news or informationpublishedbythatnewspaperorreceivedorreportedbythatnewsagency,editororjour-nalist” during proceedings before the PressCouncil of India.He also referred to a “proposed” provi-

sion of a 1983 Law Commission report.However,thecourtobservedthatsomethingwhich is not in the statute book cannot bereliedupon.Saying that the court has to weigh be-

tween the constitutional rights of two per-sons,Aggarwalsaidthepetitionerhadearlier“confessed”thathe“didnothaveregardfortheConstitutionof India”.“I thinkyouare crossing a linehere. You

have nomaterial whatsoever tomake thisallegation. You are not the prosecutionagency.We have found that your conduct,primafacie,hasbeenremiss…thepolice it-self has institutedavigilanceenquiry (into)how you accessed the documents whichshouldnothavebeenleakedinthefirstplace.Please refrain frommaking any allegationsagainst thepetitioner,” thecourt said.Saying that the documents “were not

supposed to be taken out and published”,the court said Article 19 (1) (a) was not an“untrammelled right” that can expand andhas no limitations. “There seems to be nodoubtaboutit(publishingofthedocument).Theofficersthathavetaken(it)out…arego-ingtofacevigilanceenquiry,” itsaid. “Primafacie,wethinkyouhavegotnoargument…butwewill give it the consideration it de-serves,” it said.Questioning the rightof thenewschan-

nel tomakepublic thedocumentwhen thechargesheetwas not filed and even the ac-cuseddidnothaveaccesstoit,thecourtsaiditwouldexaminewhetherArticle19 (1) (a)(righttofreedomofspeechandexpression)allowspublicationof thecasediariesatthatstageof investigation.The court said if it finds there is no right

whichallowspublicationofsuchdocuments“at aparticular point of time”, itwould alsoexaminewhatstepsarerequiredtobetaken.“Wouldanacknowledgmentthattheyhavebeen remiss suffice… theremust be some-thingeffective,” it said.The court asked the counsel represent-

ing the petitioner to assist it regarding thenext steps required, in case it accepts thecontentionthattherewas“irresponsiblebe-haviouronthepartofthejournalist”,andex-aminewhetheranyfurtherorderswouldberequired to be passed— “... if they are to beprosecuted, underwhat provision…whatare the remedies thatwouldbeavailable toanyonewhowouldbeaggrievedby this.”

IPLeveryhighadifferentecho.“DuringtheCSKvsSRHmatch,weintro-

duced the 'Go Ravindra Jadeja' chant. Theideaistokeepcreatingchantsaswegoalongandplayers start todowell,”hesays.After the Mumbai vs Chennai game,

AustralianstarShaneWatsonhadthistosay:“as close tonormal aspossible... Somethingassimpleashowthespeakersinthestadiumwereabletohavethewhitenoise.Thecheer-ing and chanting, forMumbai andCSK andparticular players. It really did createmoreof an atmosphere compared towhat I wasexpecting.”AccordingtoGupta,thebroadcastershad

to build a library of ambient score fromscratch.“Weformedasoundbank.Werecorded

thesoundagaininastudio.Wecouldnotusethe actual game sound because it has toomany things like fireworks, cheerleaders,songsplayinginthestadium.Therearevar-ious layersof sound, the first is the stadiumambience. There is another sound,which isadded to themoment, like for a six or four.Themostinterestingsoundisinteractiveau-dio, likewhenDhoni hits a six andweheartheDhonichant. It'stodowiththesituationof thematch,”hesays.

FULLREPORTSONwww.indianexpress.com

Signal to China, Quad navies to sail together

PLA soldier strays across LAC, Army says will return him

Since2017, the yearQuadwas revived,Malabarhadbeenatrilateralexerciseinvolv-ing thenavies of US, India and Japan. It in-cludes simulatedwar games and combatmanoeuvres. Last year, it was held inSeptember off the coast of Japan, and in-cludedcomplexmaritimeoperationsinsur-face,sub-surfaceandairdomains,withfocuson anti-submarinewarfare, anti-air andanti-surface firings,maritime interdictionoperations (MIO) including Visit BoardSearchandSeizure(VBSS)andtactical sce-nario-basedexercisesatsea.The fast-trackingofworkonBECAand

thedecisionof the fourQuad countries toparticipateintheMalabarExerciseareper-ceivedtobeastrategicsignaltoanaggressiveChinawhich External AffairsMinister SJaishankardescribedlastweekasa“criticalsecuritychallenge”attheborder.IndianandChinese troops have been in a militarystandoff along the Ladakh frontier sinceearlyMay.USSecretaryofStateMichaelRPompeo

andSecretaryof DefenseMarkTEsper areexpectedtocometoIndia for the2+2min-isterialmeetingwithJaishankarandDefenceMinisterRajnathSinghonOctober26-27.Sources said that ever since February,

when Trump visited India and the jointstatementunderlined“earlyconclusion”ofBECA,negotiators fromthe twosideshave

beenworkingtofinalisethepact.Thisisoneofthelastofthefoundational

agreements,andlargelypertainstogeo-spa-tial intelligence, sharing information onmapsandsatellite images fordefencepur-poses. TheUShad submitted a draft pact,andIndiahadsoughtmoredetailsontheex-tentofinformationneededtobesharedun-der this arrangement. “It’s comedown todotting the i’s and crossing the t’s now,” asourcetoldTheIndianExpressMonday.EvenifBECAisnotsigned,thetwosides

are likely to announce conclusion of theagreementduringthevisit, thesourcesaid.InSeptember2018,afterthefirst2+2di-

aloguebetweenthetwocountries–thethenExternalAffairsMinisterSushmaSwarajandDefenceMinisterNirmalaSitharamanmetvisitingUScounterparts Secretaryof StateMichaelRPompeoandSecretaryofDefenceJamesMattis--thetwosideshadsignedtheCommunicationsCompatibilityandSecurityAgreement (COMCASA)whichpaved thewayfortransferofcommunicationsecurityequipmentfromtheUStoIndiatofacilitate“interoperability”betweentheirforces--andpotentiallywithothermilitariesthatuseUS-originsystemsforsecureddatalinks.Earlier, inAugust2016,IndiaandtheUS

signed the Logistics ExchangeMemorandum of Agreement (LEMOA),which allows themilitary of each country

toreplenishfromtheother’sbases.ThesepactstieinwellwiththeMalabar

Exercise, since Indiahas signedversionsofLEMOAwithallQuadcountries.Confirming the Malabar Exercise, a

MinistryofDefencestatementMondaysaid:“AsIndiaSeekstoincreasecooperationwithothercountriesinthemaritimesecuritydo-main and in the light of increaseddefencecooperationwithAustralia,Malabar 2020will see theparticipationof theAustralianNavy.”“Thisyear,theexercisehasbeenplanned

ona ‘non-contact-at sea’ format. Theexer-cisewill strengthen the coordination be-tweentheNaviesoftheparticipatingcoun-tries,”thestatementsaid.“The participants of ExerciseMalabar

2020areengagingtoenhancesafetyandse-curityinthemaritimedomain.Theycollec-tivelysupportfree,openandinclusiveIndo-Pacific and remain committed to arules-based internationalorder,” thestate-mentsaid.Responding to this announcement,

Australian ForeignMinisterMarise Paynesaid, “Following an invitation from India,AustraliawillparticipateinExerciseMalabar2020. Theexercisewill bring together fourkey regional defence partners: India, theUnited States, Japan and Australia inNovember2020,”shesaid.

missingsoldier “andhopedthat the Indiansidewouldassistinsearchandrescue”.India, the PLA said, “notified the

Chinese side that amissing person fromthe Chinese side had been found andwouldbehandedovertotheChineseside

aftermedical examination”.The incident comes at a time when

India and China have stationed around50,000 soldiers each along the Ladakhfrontieraspartof themilitarystandoff.Seven rounds of Corps Commander-

level talks andmultiple rounds of diplo-matic talks have been held as part of ef-forts to resolve the situation. With themercury plunging, troops on either sideare bracing for extended deploymentthroughtheharshwintermonths.

THESECONDPAGE2 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY,OCTOBER20,2020

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23276901, 23282028 (M): 9212008155, 9212665841.

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FROMPAGEONE

New Delhi

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,OCTOBER19

FORTHEfirsttimeinyears,DurgaPujawill bedevoidofmajor fes-tivitiesasofficials appeal topeo-pletogopandalhoppingonline.In ameeting held at CR Park

KaliMandirMonday,convenedbyGreater Kailash MLA SaurabhBhardwaj,12DurgaPujacommit-tees, including those inGreaterKailash, Alaknanda andKalkaji,unanimously decided to havesmall kalash pujas attended byonly a fewcommitteemembersandrequestedpolicetosetupbar-ricadestokeepvisitorsatbay.Theeventswillbestreamedonline.“Most of the population of

CR Park andmembers of PujaCommittees are senior citizensand it is important that they re-main indoors and avoid contactwith unknown people in pan-dals,”saidBhardwaj.

CR Park, which is home toninePujapandalseveryyear,hasonlyonesmallpandal inside theKaliMandirthistimearound.SreebashBhatacharjee,secre-

tary of the CR Park KaliMandirSociety, said, "Wedonotwanttoopen it to visitors because oncewedo, itmight becomedifficult

to contain it... People can streamthepujasonline."S Sen, treasurer of the

AlaknandaPujaSamiti,said,“Wehadinanycasedecidedtohaveasmallpujainourcommunityhall.Onlya fewcommitteememberswillbepresentinsidetoassistthepriestasthepujatakesplace."

AMILBHATNAGARNOIDA,OCTOBER19

MOSTPRIVATE schools inNoidaandGreaterNoidaremainedshutonMonday as parents decidednot to send children to attendclasses despite comprehensiveCovid protocols in place. A fewprivate schools, which openedMonday, reported low turnout.Schools in Noida and GreaterNoidahadshut inMarch."We concluded our inspec-

tions and preparations bySaturday.Wehad askedparentstogiveusinwritingtoallowtheirchildrentoattendschool.Onourend,wehave laid out social dis-tancingmeasures and the class-roomstrengthhasbeenreduced.In the coming twodays,wewillbe holding trial classeswith ap-proximately 20 students in eachbatch.Wewillevaluatefurtheraf-

ter those classes," said KaminiBhasin, principal of DPS, NoidaSector 30,which remained shutonMonday. Apeejay School inSector16Aalsoremainedshut.As part of Covidmeasures in

schools,securityguardshavebeenpositionedattheentranceofeachgatetochecktemperatureofstu-dents and sanitise their hands.Classes for students in 9th and10tharebeingheldfrom8-11amwhilefor11thand12thstudents,classesareheldfrom12-3pm.At DPS, the school authority

saiditwillsendanSMStothepar-entsassoonastheirchildarrivesandanothernotificationoncetheclassgetsover."As schools open up in the

comingdays,weare likely toseeincreased participation fromboardstudentssincetheyhavetoattend laboratory sessions. Thetheoreticalpartisbeingtaughtal-ready in online classes," said an

official fromApeejaySchool.Most school authoritieswill

notprovideschooltransportandthechildrenwill have tousepri-vateorpublictransport.Meanwhile, around 60 stu-

dents turned up for classes in agovernment school in Sector 12though somewere turned away

fornotwearinguniform."The childrenare excitedbut

also a little afraid. In the comingdays,we arehoping to seemorestudentsaspeopleovercomethefear.Thebestwecandoissanitiseclassrooms at regular intervalsand ensure distancing," said anofficial at theGovernment Inter

CollegesituatedinSector12.Someparents said schooling

willhavetoresumewithduepre-caution."Mychildstudiesinapri-vate school. They recently sentoutaGoogleformregardingpref-erenceofclasses.Itisduetoopennextweek and I amconsideringsendingmychild.Thefact is thatthis diseasemightnot go for an-other two years.We have to becareful and carry onwith thingssinceBoardyearsarecrucial,"saidKapilSharma,aNoidaresident.Atseveralschools,circleshave

been marked at the gates tomaintain social distancing.Benches inside classroomshavebeen set up in such away thatthere isampledistancebetweeneachstudent.Inmostschools,thecapacity of classes has been re-duced to 50% tomaintain Covidprotocol.Further,schoolswillnothold sports classes or any othergroupactivity.

3THEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY,OCTOBER20,2020

THECITYWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

WILLBEPROCESSED,CLEANED, LABELLED

SOURAVROYBARMANNEWDELHI,OCTOBER19

THEDELHIgovernment’s rationatdoorstepschemewill involvepacking“processedandcleaned”wheatandriceintobagslabelledwithmanufacturing and expirydates,anddeliverythroughfieldagents after biometric verifica-tionof beneficiaries.Three months after Chief

Minister Arvind Kejriwal an-nounced the scheme, the DelhiState Civil Supplies Corporation(DSCCC) has taken the first steptowards its implementation byfloatingatendertoengageagen-cies for transportation,process-ing, packaging and delivery ofpackedrice fordistribution.A separate tender is likely to

be issued to rope in agencies todeliver wheat flour instead ofwheat, which requiresmilling.Once launched,all17.54 lakhra-tion card holding families— to-talling 71.6 lakh PDS beneficiar-ies—inDelhiwillhavetheoptionofavailingthedoorstepscheme,whichhasbeennamedMukhyaMantriGhar-GharRationYojana.Accordingto theplandrawn

up by the government, anagencywill be taskedwith lift-ing wheat and rice from thegodowns of the FoodCorporation of India (FCI). Thewheat will be processed intowheat flour before distribution,while the ricewill be cleanedofstraws, stones, jute bag thread,mudorotherimpuritiesandfor-eignsubstances.TherearesevenFCIgodowns

acrossDelhithatstore75,114.24quintal of rice for PDS benefici-aries in thecity.Apart fromrice,2.91 lakh quintal wheat and684.68quintal sugararestored.“The scheme is aimed to

make quality ration available atthedoorstepofthebeneficiaryina packaged form to ensure thatthe right quality and quantity isbeing received. The packagedquantitywillhaveallkindsof in-formationrelatedtotheprocess-ing/manufacturingandexpiryofthe commodity mentioned inthe packet. This scheme is ex-pected tobe launched forall thedistricts of Delhi simultane-ously,” thetendersays.Thecleanedandpackedfood

grainswill then be delivered to

the agency which will be inchargeof homedelivery “asperthe agreed schedule” betweenthe twoagencies.“The packagedwheat flour

andricewill thenbedistributedat thedoorstep(direct tohome)of the beneficiary by a DHDagent appointed by the depart-ment.Thebeneficiarywillbein-formed24hours in advance forconvenience, and the distribu-tionwill takeplacebasedonthebiometricverificationoftheben-eficiary,”accordingtothetenderdocument.The distribution of ration in

Delhi is currentlymanagedbya

networkof2,014fairpriceshops.The doorstep scheme was

one of themajor poll promisesof the AAP in the run up to thisyear’s assemblypolls.To prevent theft and pilfer-

age,theagencyinchargeofpro-cessingandpackagingwillhaveto transport the food grains todeliveryagentsinvehiclesfittedwithCCTVsandGPS for record-ing andmonitoring. CCTVswillalso have to be installed at theprocessing and packaging cen-tres and the government willhaveaccess to the live feed.Thebagswillcomeinsizesof

1 kg, 2 kg, 3 kg and 5 kg in fourvarious colours. They will bestampedwithdetailssuchasnu-tritional information, date ofmanufacture, expiry date, dateofpackaging,andcustomercarenumbersamongothers.The AAP government’s at-

tempt to launch the scheme in2018wasstalledbyLt-GovernorAnilBaijal,whohadadvisedtheelectedgovernmenttoreferthematter to the Union govern-ment with full details beforetaking a final decision, sayingdue diligence was needed be-forerollingoutaschemethatdi-rectly impacts theweakest sec-tionsof the society.TheFinanceDepartmenthad

alsoraisedredflags,sayinghomedeliveryofrationwillonlyreplaceone set of human interventionwithanotherintheformofserv-iceprovidersandtheiragents.Later,Kejriwal,alongwithhis

Cabinet colleagues, had led anine-daysit-ininsideBaijal’sof-ficeoverahostof issues, includ-ing the L-G’s position on the ra-tion issue.

SUKRITABARUAHNEWDELHI,OCTOBER19

AMONTH after the Delhi HighCourtorderedprivateschoolsandgovernment schools likeKendriyaVidyalayas in the capi-tal to provide devices and inter-net free of cost to students fromeconomically weaker sections(EWS)anddisadvantagedgroups(DG),thecourt'sdirectionsareyettounfoldinpractice.On September 18, the court

had also ordered constitution ofa three-member committeewithin aweek, comprising theUnion Secretary of Education ortheirnominee,Delhi'sEducationSecretaryortheirnominee,andarepresentativeforprivateschools.The panelwas to frame a stan-dardoperatingprotocolforiden-tificationofstandardgadgets,themanufacturerorsupplier,andtheinternetpackages.However,suchacommitteehasnotmetyet."To ensure level playing field

andtoremedythisdigitaldivide...

if theprivateunaidedschoolhastobearanyadditionalcost,itmustbear it inthefirst instancewitharight to claim reimbursementfromtheState...,"adivisionbenchof Justices Manmohan andSanjeevNarulahadsaid.Schools in the city said they

will notmake anypurchases tillthey get clear guidelines. "Low-cost schools likemine have nosurplusfundsandarestillcollect-ingonlytuitionfees,andthattoofromabout 30-35%of parents. Ifthegovernmentwillpayforit,we

don'thaveaproblemimplement-ing the order," said SushilDhankaroftheSouthDelhiPublicSchools Association, who alsorunsaschool inSangamVihar.SKBhattacharya,presidentof

the Action Committee UnaidedRecognisedPrivateSchools,whohas been nominated by privateschoolsastheirrepresentativeinthe three-member committee,

saidschoolsrequiredclarity."Aclearprocedureneedstobe

drawnupwhichcanonlybedoneif ameeting of the committee isconvened.Apartfromidentifyingthenatureofdevices,italsoneedstobedeterminedif thesedevicesare to be purchased or taken onlease.Schoolsinthecitywillbere-opening,atmostinafewmonths,whichmeansthegadgetswillberequired only for a short timewhiletheinvestmentinpurchas-ingthemwillbehuge.Andthere-imbursementtoschoolswillhave

tobeguaranteed...,"hesaid.The Delhi government is in

the process of filing a SpecialLeave Petition in the SupremeCourtagainsttheHighCourt'sor-der. "This order will open aPandora's Box. The reimburse-mentdonebythegovernmenttoschools for EWS/students wasgovernedbysection12oftheRTEAct and the court has redefinedtheambitofit.Wearechallengingtheimplementationofthisorderonvariousgrounds,"saidanedu-cationdepartmentofficial.


AIR QUALITY in the capital re-mainedinthe'poor'range—AQIof 246—onMondaybut it is ex-pectedtodeterioratetothe 'verypoor' category onWednesdayandThursday.AccordingtotheSystemofAir

QualityandWeatherForecastingandResearch(SAFAR),whilesur-face winds in the city arepresently favourable for disper-sion of pollutants, calm condi-tionsareexpectedonWednesdayandThursday.“The overall AQI inDelhi has

marginallyimprovedandisinthe'poor'category…owingtoslightincrease in surface winds. Airquality is expected to stay in the'poor' category for Tuesday. Achangeinsurfacewinddirectionisforecast,whichislikelytobringcalm surfacewind conditions,leading to deterioration of AQI.'Very poor' AQI is forecast onWednesdayandThursday,”anof-ficialsaid.OnMonday,with thesurface

wind speed increasing, the con-tribution of stubble burning toPM2.5inthecitywasreducedto10percent.Delhi Chief Minister Arvind

Kejriwal,meanwhile,appealedtotheUnionEnvironmentMinister

Prakash Javadekar to hold amonthlymeetingof chiefminis-ters of Punjab, Haryana, UttarPradesh andDelhi to tackle theproblemof farm fires in the re-gion.“Tillnow,theCentralgovern-

mentisconveningmeetingswiththeenvironmentministersofthestatesofnorthIndia. Iwanttore-quest the Union EnvironmentMinister to call ameeting of thechiefministers of Uttar Pradesh,Punjab,HaryanaandDelhieverymonthbecausethis isabig issueand it can’t bemanaged only attheleveloftheenvironmentmin-isters of these states. We allshouldmeetwithanopenmindanddiscusstheproblemtofindasolution...Theenvironmentmin-isters, seniorofficialsandtheex-perts from these states shouldalsobepresent inthesemonthlymeetings.We should continuethesemonthlymeetings till thetimewe find a solution to stopstubble burning,” Kejriwal saidduring a virtual address onMonday.He listed out innovations for

moreeffectivedisposal of paddystubble, such as the PUSADecomposer, which is beingsprayedinDelhithisyear;thefac-tory in Karnalwhere stubble isconverted into compressedbio-gas;andfactorieswhicharemak-ingcoalandcokefromtheresidue.

Thedistributionof ration inDelhi iscurrentlymanagedbyanetworkof2,014fairpriceshopsthatsee longqueues.Archive

Atthegovtschool inNoidaSector12.AbhinavSaha

0-50 Good

ANANDVIHARPoor

0 500

268AQIPM: 10

SIRIFORTPoor

0 500

SHADIPURPoor

0 500 500

51-100 Satisfactory 101-200 Moderate 201-300 Poor 301-400 VeryPoor 401-500 Severe

DWARKA- SECTOR8Poor

0

284AQIPM:10

237AQIPM:10

231AQIPM: 2.5

Soon, packed ration toreach 17.5 lakh homes

CBI officerdeniesassaultingprosecutor,initiateslegal action

APWDworkersprayswaterontreesaspartofdustcontrolmeasuresnearRajghatMonday.PraveenKhanna

Mid-week pollutionwoes expected, CMseeks monthly meet

UNDERTHENationalFoodSecurityAct, 2013,whichgoverns thepub-licdistributionsystem,the17.54 lakhrationcards inDelhi aredi-vided into threecate-gories—15.12 lakhpri-orityhouseholds,1.73lakhpriority statehouseholds, and68,468AntyodayaAnnaYojanafamilies. Thebeneficiar-ies comingunder thePRandPRScategoriesareentitled to5kgof food-grainspermonthwhileAAYhouseholds receive25kgwheat, 10kgriceand1kgsugar.

Thebeneficiaries

SCHOOL BODIES AWAIT CLARITY

Month after court order, gadgets and internet still elude EWS students

ANANDMOHANJNEWDELHI,OCTOBER19

APPEARING BEFORE a Delhicourt,aDIG-rankofficerwiththeCBIhassaidallegationsthatheas-saulted a CBI prosecutor werefalse and that he has taken legalactionagainsthim.CBI prosecutor Sunil Kumar

Verma had accused DIGRaghavendraVatsofallegedlyas-saulting him inside his office onOctober 9 when he visited at10.30 am. He told the court onOctober12thathewas“punchedand strangulated” inside theCBIheadquarters,allegedlyoverade-lay in framing charges againstRajendra Kumar, former princi-pal secretary to Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal, who is facingtrial inacorruptioncase.Vermahadalso filed apolice

complaint at Lodhi Road policestation.Thecourthadissuedsum-monstoVatsobservingthatitwasa seriousmatter, and asked theDIGtoexplainhisallegedconduct.OnMonday, Vats appeared

before Special Judge RakeshKumarSharmaandcalledtheal-legations“absolutelyfalse”.Thecourtwasinformedthat

priortothehearing,bothpartieshad taken legal action againsteachother.Thecourtsaidnofur-therordersarerequired.“Thein-cident did not appear in thepresence of the court. Hence, Iam of the concerned view thatexcept for observing that PP isanofficerof thecourt,nofurtherorders are required,” the courtsaid in its order.CBI bookedRajendraKumar,

a 1989-batch IAS officer, for al-legedcriminalconspiracy,cheat-ingandforgeryunderIPCbesidesprovisions of the Prevention ofCorruptionAct alongwith eightothers and Endeavour SystemsPrivateLimited.IthasbeenallegedbytheCBI

in the FIR that the accused per-sonsenteredintoacriminalcon-spiracyandcausedalossofRs12croretotheDelhigovernmentinawardofcontractsbetween2007and2015.TheCBI, intheFIR,alsoallegedthattheofficialshadtaken“unduebenefit”ofoverRs3crorewhileawardingthecontract.

HCorderedconstitutionofthecommitteeonSep18

Committeeshaveappealedtopeople toattendpujaonline

No visitors allowed for DurgaPuja celebrations at CR Park

Schools open in Noida but Covid fear andwary parents mean thin attendance on day 1

‘Introducetheatreeducationin schools’

SI suspendedfor ‘beating’beggar inAshok Vihar


ACTORMANOJBajpayeeMondayadvisedtheDelhigovernmenttointroduce theatre education inschoolsandgetchildrenlivinginslums andhomeless children totake up this art form to drawthemtothemainstream.Bajpayee placed his recom-

mendationsbeforeDeputyChiefMinisterManish Sisodia duringthe firstmeeting of the advisorycommitteetaskedwithformulat-ingaculturalpolicyforthecapital.Theactoralsosuggestedthat

more public spaces should bemadeavailable toartists tostageperformances along the lines ofEuropeancitiessuchasParis.Sisodia said the policy being

drawnupwill be an instrumentin “transforming themindset ofsociety”, adding that its rolewillnot just be limited to hostingevents. “Art and culture shouldplay its part inmaking societystandagainsthatredandviolence.Today, violence andhatred is in-creasing and an all-round col-lapse of themoral fabric is evi-dent. In such a situation, theculturalpolicyisbeingdraftedtoensuremeaningful contributionof artandculture towards trans-forming themindsetof the soci-ety,”Sisodiasaid.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, OCTOBER 19

A DELHI Police sub-inspectorhas been suspended for al-legedly thrashing a beggar innorthwest Delhi's Ashok Vihararea.According to police, the in-

cident tookplace last Thursdaynear Deep Market in AshokVihar.An official said that a video

of themisconductbySI JitenderSingh, who is posted in districtlines in northwest Delhi, hasbeenfoundcirculatingonsocialmedia.In the video, the person,

who filmed it, canbe seencon-frontingSinghandallegingthathe had assaulted a poor manwho asked the officer formoney to buy food.Deputy Commissioner of

Police (Northwest) VijayantaAryaannouncedonTwitterthatSI Jitenderhasbeensuspended.He will also be subjected to anenquiry, she said."AvideoofSI Jitenderposted

in District Line of NorthwestDistricthasbeenfoundcirculat-ing on social media. He hasbeen placed under suspensionandadepartmentalenquiryhasbeeninitiatedagainsthim,”saidArya.

New Delhi

THECITY4 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY,OCTOBER20,2020

Commissioner,Madurai City Municipal CorporationDIPR/3886 /TENDER/ 2020

GOVERNMENT OF TAMIL NADU

Arinagar Anna Maligai, Tallakulam, Madurai, Tamil Nadu.MADURAI CITY MUNICIPAL CORPORATION

INVITATION FOR BIDSDate

Deadline forSubmission of Bids

th19 October 2020

03.12.2020, upto 15.00 Hrs.

Loan No. and TitleContract No. andTitle

Tamil Nadu Urban Flagship Investment Program (TNUFIP): Tranche 2Tender Notice No. Ma.Po. 2/12276/AMRUT(WS) 4/2020-2021Dedicated Water Supply Scheme for Madurai City Municipal Corporation from MullaiPeriyar River at Lower Camp - Construction of Distribution Network System (DI &HDPE), House Service Connections, and Instrumentation for Madurai City MunicipalCorporation Added Area - Package 4 – Phase II

1. India has applied for financing from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) towards the cost of Tamil NaduUrban Flagship Investment Program (TNUFIP) – Tranche 2. Part of this financing will be used for paymentsunder theContract namedabove. Bidding is open toBidders fromeligible source countries of theADB.

2. “The Commissioner, Madurai City Municipal Corporation” (“the Employer”) invites sealed bids fromeligible Bidders for the followingworks.

Dedicated Water Supply Scheme for Madurai City Municipal Corporation from Mullai Periyar River at LowerCamp - Construction of Distribution Network System (DI & HDPE), House Service Connections, andInstrumentation forMadurai CityMunicipal CorporationAddedArea -Package 4 –Phase II (“the Works”).3. National competitive bidding will be conducted in accordance with ADB's Single-Stage: Two-Envelope

bidding procedure and is open to all Bidders fromeligible countries as described in theBiddingDocument.4. Only eligible Bidderswith the following key qualifications should participate in this bidding:

Minimumaverage annual construction turnover of INR.114.55 Crores, calculated as total certified receivedpayments for contracts in progress or completed,within the last three (3) years;Financial resources, less its financial obligations for its current contract commitments defined, meet orexceed the total requirement for theSubject Contract of INR.19.10 CroresParticipation in at least one contract that has been successfully or substantially completed within the lastfive years and that is similar to the proposed works, where the value of the Bidder's participation exceedsINR.183.29 Crores.The similarity of the Bidder's participation shall be based on the physical size, nature ofworks, complexity, methods, technology, or other characteristics as described in Section 6 (Employer'sRequirements).Meets other Personnel andEquipment requirements as stipulated in theBiddingDocument.

However, for complete eligibility and qualification requirements, refer to the bid document.5. To obtain further information and inspect the bidding documents, Bidders should contact:

THECOMMISSIONER,Madurai CityMunicipal Corporation.AringarAnnaMaligai, Tallakulam,Alagar KovilMainRoad,Madurai – 625002.E.mail : [email protected]&[email protected]: 0452 – 2531116, FAX: 0452 – 2530965

6. APre-bidmeeting shall take place on 10.11.2020 at 16.30 Hrs (IST),at the address stated above.7. To purchase the bidding documents inEnglish language, eligible Bidders should:

Visit the office of the City Engineer, Madurai City Municipal Corporation, Madurai at address stated aboveand pay a non refundable fee of INR 5000 towards the cost of bidding document in the form of BankDemandDraft in favor of theCommissioner,Madurai CityMunicipal Corporation,Madurai.In case of written request, the document will be sent by post / courier. The Bidders who wish to receive thebidding document by post/courier shall have to pay an additional amount of INR 1000 for delivery withinIndia, or USD 16 for delivery outside India.The method of payment will be through bank demand draft infavor of the Commissioner, Madurai City Municipal Corporation, Madurai. No liability will be accepted forloss or late delivery.Eligible bidders may otherwise download the bidding document in English language from the websitehttp://www.tenders.tn.gov.in from 19.10.2020 to 03.12.2020 upto 15.00 Hours.Eligible bidders who download the bidding document from above website shall inform The Commissioner,Madurai City Municipal Corporation in writing (and provide the contact details) at the address given above,failing which The Commissioner, Madurai City Municipal Corporation shall not be responsible if the bidderdoes not receive clarifications and amendments, if any.

8. Bids should be submittedto the address aboveon or before the deadline 03.12.2020 upto 15.00 Hrs. (IST)Togetherwith aBidSecurity as described in theBiddingDocument.Electronic submission is not allowed.

Bids will be opened on 03.12.2020 at 15.30 Hrs (IST) in the presence of Bidder's representatives who chooseto attend, whereas the Financial Bids shall remain sealed and unopened and shall be placed locked. TheFinancial Bids of only Technically Responsive and Qualified Bidders shall be opened after technical bidsevaluation, whereas, the financial bids of those Bidders whose technical bids are not responsive and qualifiedshall be returned unopened after the contract is awarded.

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GREATER CHENNAI CORPORATIONSolid Waste Management Department

DIPR/3891/Tender/2020 Superintending Engineer /SWM

S.W.M.C.No.A7/3041/2020 No�ce Invi�ng Tendere- Tenders are invited for the following work in Single Stage Two Cover system as detailed below.The Superintending Engineer (SWM), Greater Chennai Corpora�on (GCC), invites on-line tenderfor available in online www.tntenders.gov.in towards on 06.11.2020

File Name of the Work Value of Work Cost of Tender Document and EMD(1) SWM.C.No.A7/3041/2020Reclama�on of Perungudi Dumping Groundthrough Biomining (Package 1)

5797.93 lakhs Rs.20,000/- +12% GST EMDRs.57.98 lakhs

(2) SWM.C.No.A7/3042/2020Reclama�on of Perungudi Dumping Groundthrough Biomining (Package 2)








(6) SWM.C.No.A7/3046/2020Reclama�on of Perungudi Dumping Groundthrough Biomining and Construc�on ofInterim Landfill site (Package 6)


Pre Bid Mee�ng 12th November 2020, 11.00 A.MLast Date and Time of Submission of Bid 25th November 2020, 03.00 P.MBid Opening Date and Time 26th November 2020, 04.00 P.M

DELHI JAL BOARD: DELHI SARKAROFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER (SOUTH) IV

O.H.T O.I.A Ph-II: OPFOSITE GOVIND PURI: NEW DELHI - 20.e-mail: [email protected]/Tel. 011-26388976

Press N.I.T. NO: 21 S-IV (2020-21)

Further details in this regard may be seen at (https://govtprocurement.delhi.gov.in)

Sd/-ISSUED BY P.R.O. (WATER) (Rajeev Kumar Gupta)Advt. No. J.S.V. 190 (2020-21) EXECUTIVE ENGINEER (SOUTH)

S.No.

Name of workEstimated

Cost (In Rs.)Date of release of tender in e-

procurement solutionLast date/time of receipt of tenderthrough e-procurement solution

1.Providing laying internal D.I. water distributionsystem in Abul Fazal Enclave Block E to N inOkhla Constituency AC-54 under EE (South)IV

3,54,94,067/-2020_ DJB_ 195675_1

16.10.202017.11.2020

up to 3.00 pm

"STOP CORONA; Wear Mask, Follow Physical Distancing, Maintain Hand Hygiene"

GOVERNMENT OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR

SHER-l-KASHMIR INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL SCIENCES, SOURAEXECUTIVE ENGINEER, MECHANICAL, SKIMS MC & H,

BEMINA & SKIMS, SOURA, SRINAGARTel.: 0194-2402617, Ext.: 2159, E-mail: [email protected]

RE-01NOTICE INVITING E-TENDERS

Gist of NIT No. 49 of 2020-21 Dated. 15.10.2020For and on behalf of Lt. Governor of Jammu & Kashmir, Executive Engineer, Mechanical, SKIMS, SouraMC&H Bemina Srinagar, invites online e-bids in two (02) cover system from Lift Manufactures or theirAuthorized Dealers/ Authorized Representatives/Registered and Reputed Firms having experience inInstallation of lifts in Govt. Institutions/Departments, detailed in the tender document for the following works:

The complete tender document is available at website http://jktenders.gov.in. lnterested Bidders/Tenderersmay view, download the e-bid document, seek clarifications and submit their bids online upto the date and timementioned in the table below. Tender Document contains qualifying criteria for bidders. Specifications, Bills ofQuantities & Terms and conditions of the contract and other relevant details.

i) Date and Time of Downloading/Sale of Tender Documents 17.10.2020 (11.00 Hour)(Starting Date)

ii) Date & Time of Bidding Queries/Clarification/Pre-bid meet 20.10.2020 at 14.00 Hours

iii) Last Date & Time of Bid Uploading 23.10.2020 upto 11.00 Hour

iv) Date of Submission of Hard Copies (only Original EMD/DD for 27.10.2020 upto 14.00 HourDocument Fee)

v) Date & Time of Commercial/Technical Bid (Cover-I) Opening 28.10.2020, 11.00 Hours (ornext convenient day)

vi) Date & Time of Financial Bid (Cover-lInd) Opening of Shall be intimated separatelyQualifying Bidders

vii) Cost of e-Bid Document Rs. 1500/- (Rupees One Thousand &Five Hundred only)

viii) Amount of Earnest Money Deposit (CDR/FDR) Rs. 44000/- (Rupees Forty FourThousand only)

ix) Completion Time Six (06) Months from the Date of issueof LOI or Allotment Order

x) Budget Head CAPEX Budget for the Year 2020-21

Sr. Name of the Work Estimated CostNo. (in Lacs)1. 22.00

Sd/-Executive Engineer,Mechanical, SKIMS

No. SIMS 139 EX/MECH/2020-21/439-II/2413-23-3497-500Dated: 15.10.2020SIMS-5500

Design, Supply, Installation, Testing, Inspection and Commissioning of Fifteen(15) Passenger Elevator with Three Years comprehensive Maintenance forNursing College at SKIMS, Soura.

T TAMILNADU MEDICAL SERVICES CORPORATION LTD.

DIPR/3887/Tender/2020 General Manager (Services)For details visit www.tenders.tn.gov.in and TNMSC website www.tnmsc.tn.gov.in.

No.417, Pantheon Road, Egmore, Chennai-600 008.Phone : 28191890 / 28190259; Fax: 044 –28190636 E-Mail: [email protected]

1. The Tender due date is extended as follows:INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIVE BIDDING – TENDER EXTENSION NOTICE

1) Tender No.PKG6/ICB/TNUHP/JICA/C2/OPE-I/TNMSC/ENGG/2020, dt.04.02.2020 –Mul�para Monitor (4),Mul�para Monitor with IBP (4), Mul�para Monitor with EtCO2 (18), Defibrillator (15), Anesthesia Worksta�on withMonitor (18), AnesthesiaWorksta�on (20), Opera�on Theatre Fracture Table (17) and Opera�on Theatre Table (10)Sl. No. Sale period Submission of Bids Opening of Bids1 Upto 09.11.2020 10.11.2020, 03.00 PM 10.11.2020, 04.00 PM

ANANDMOHANJNEWDELHI,OCTOBER19

TIHAR JAIL authorities have tolda Delhi court that JamiaMilliaIslamia studentGulfisha Fatima,arrestedunderUAPA in connec-tionwith theNortheastDelhi ri-ots, was “aggressive” and hadmisbehavedwithprisonstaff onseveral occasions, followingwhich she was given “correc-tionalpunishments”thrice.The submissionsweremade

beforeAdditionalSessionsJudgeAmitabhRawatduringthehear-ing of an application filed byFatima, alleging shewas beingsubjectedtocommunalslursandmentalharassmentbyjailstaff.TiharJailsuperintendent,ina

reply,saidshewasgiven“correc-tionalpunishment” tomendherbehaviour formisbehavingwithstaff. “The female inmate is alsotryingtooverpowerjailstaff,cre-atenuisanceinjail;herbehaviouris also aggressive and trouble-some. Staff has been directed tobehave politely and not arguewith inmates. As per record, thepetitionerhasbeengivencorrec-tionalpunishmentstomendherbehaviour,” the reply stated. Ontwo occasions, shewaswarnedandoncehercanteenfacilitywas

stoppedfor10days, itsaid.The superintendent further

saidthatinviewofrepeatedcom-plaints by Fatima, and to avoidanyfurtherunpleasantness,dutyof thestaffagainstwhomallega-tions were raised have beenchangedfromtheward“fortimebeingtoresolvethematter”.Itwasfurthersubmittedthat

48Muslimwomen inmates arelodged inCentral Jail number 6,whereFatimais,andnonemadeany such complaint. “The courtis informed that there is no dis-criminationonthebasisofcasteandcreed.Inmatesbelongingtodifferent religions, states, caste,and foreigners, are treatedequally...,” the replystated.Itstatedthatoninquiry,itwas

revealedthatFatimaandstaffhadmade complaints against eachother. Both parties were heardandcounselledtofollowjailrulesandmaintaindiscipline, itsaid.Itsaidtwootherinmates,who

werepresentatthetimeofthein-cident, had stated there was aheated argument betweenFatimaandjailstaffbutthelatterdidnotuseanycommunalslurs.The argumentwas over the factthat the outing time for wardnumber 6was over but Fatimawas still outside taking waterfromthecooler.

Gulfisha aggressive,punished thrice,Tihar jail tells court

Accused and lawyerin touch during crime,court raises red flagEXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,OCTOBER19

DISMISSING THE bail plea of aman accused in themurder ofheadconstableRatanLalduringtheNortheastDelhiriots,aDelhicourt noted it was strange thataround the time the policemanwasmurdered, theaccusedwasin touch with his lawyer.AdditionalSessionsJudgeVinodYadav said call detail records(CDR)ofaccusedShadabAhmadshowed he was in constanttouchwith proclaimed offend-ers and co-accused in the case,SulemanSiddiquiandRavish.Thecourtsaidastrangething

has beennoticed fromAhmad’sCDR— that around the time oftheheadconstable’smurder,hislocationwas around the spot oftheincidentandhehadreceivedthreecallsfromthecounselwhois now representing him in thematter. Without naming thelawyer whowas in touchwiththe accused, the court said, “Itcould be a coincidence, but notwithoutsignificance.Iwillrefrain

fromcommenting as to if itwasmorally or ethically appropriateforlearnedcounseltohaverepre-sentedtheapplicant(Ahmad)inthematter.”It furthersaidaperusalofhis

CDRs from January31-February24revealedhewasintouchwithsome of the co-accused in themurdercaseaswellinthematterrelated to the larger “pre-medi-tated”conspiracyintheriots,be-ing probed by the Special Cell.“Chargesagainstapplicantarese-rious...ApplicantisnotaresidentofDelhiandassuch,hewouldbeaflightrisk,” thecourtsaid.It noted that thoughAhmad

has not been seen in CCTVfootage collected by police, hehasbeenidentifiedbyindepend-ent publicwitnesses and policeofficials in their statementsrecordedunderCrPCSection161.Ahmad’s counsel Seema

Misra, Shivam Sharma andKartikMurukutla told the courtduring the hearing that hewas“maliciously implicated... by in-vestigating agency just becausehe belongs to a particular com-munity”.

Hospitalstold to keepeye out forco-infections

WaqfboardelectiondeferredNewDelhi:TheDelhigov-ernmentMondaytoldtheDelhi HC it will defer theelection meeting for thepost of Delhi WaqfBoard’s chairperson toNovember 19after a pleachallenging the processwas filed. The electionwas scheduled tobeheldMonday evening.ENS

‘ProvidesecuritytoUmarKhalid’NewDelhi:ADelhicourtdi-rectedTiharjailauthoritiestoprovideadequatesafetyto former JNU studentUmarKhalid, arrestedun-derUAPA, inprison.

Salesexecutiveheldforsending‘obscenetexts’NewDelhi:A sales execu-tive fromGujaratwas ar-restedforallegedlyharass-ing awoman by sendingher obscene texts onWhatsApp.ENS

BRIEFLY FACTORYOWNERHELD

SOMYALAKHANINEWDELHI,OCTOBER19

ONSUNDAY evening, twomen,bothaged45,diedwhilecleaninga“safetytank”insideagold chainfactory inNorthwest Delhi’s GTKarnalRoadindustrialarea.DelhiPolice,DelhiFireServicesandrel-atives of themen alleged theywere not equippedwith protec-tive gear such asmasks, safetybelt andboots, anddiedafter in-halingpoisonousgases.The men, Idris and Salim,

were cousins, who hailed fromUP’s Khurja, and routinely vis-itedDelhito“collectresidueleftfrom cleaning gold in safetytanks of gold factories”. Fourother labourersfellsickafter in-haling the toxic gas, and weretreated and discharged, whileone is undergoing treatment.The labourers were being paidRs400adayforthejob,saidDCP(Northwest)VijayantaArya.She said they received a PCR

callat6.45pmaboutthreepeoplelosingconsciousnesswhileclean-ingthetank:“Thefirmmanufac-turesgoldchains;chemicalsusedtocleantheornamentsarestoredin this tank. The job for cleaningthe tank was given by factoryownerRajender Soni (63) topri-vate contractor PramodDangi(35).Bothhavebeenarrested.”A caseunder sections of The

Prohibition of Employment asManual Scavengers and theirRehabilitation Act, and IPC sec-tions304(culpablehomicidenotamounting tomurder) and 337(causing hurt by endangeringlife) has been registered atAdarshNagarpolice station.AssistantDivisionalOfficerof

DFS, C LMeena,whowas oneofthefirefightersatthespot,saidit’satwo-storeyfactorywithabase-ment and the tank is located ontheground floor: “Itmustbe15-20feetdeep.Thelabourerswerenot given proper safety gear.Therewasabamboostaircaseonwhichtheystood,theyhadatinybulb hanging inside instead ofheadlights. First, one labourerfainted inside after inhaling the

gases,thenanotherjumpedin,hetoofainted.Wegotadistresscall.By the time we reached, theworkers had removed everyonefromthetankexceptoneperson.”Meena said the “smell ema-

nating from the tankwas verystrong”, and one firefighterjumpedinafterwearingabreath-ing apparatus, which comesequippedwith anoxygen cylin-der,andpulledoutthelabourer.“This was not a septic tank

withhumanwaste;thiswasallin-dustrialwaste,”hesaid.Idris is survived by his wife

and their eight-year-old son,while his cousin Salim has fivechildrenagedbetween10and23years. Their brother Rashid toldThe Indian Express, “Salim’sdaughterisabouttogetmarried,that’swhyhewenttoDelhiwithIdrisforthejob.Theyusedtobuyresidue from cleaning gold, thiswaytanksalsogotcleaned...thatwas their business. The twocalledusat4pmtosaytheyhadcollected thematerial... I don’tknowwhytheywentbackin...At6pm,Igotacallthattheyfaintedinside.We have lost twomainbreadwinners... Theywere notgivenanysafetyequipment...Wearepoorsoour life ischeap.”

Thetankis locatedonthegroundfloorof thegoldchain factoryonGTKarnalRoadindustrialarea. Express

2die cleaningtankwithoutsafety gear

ASTHASAXENANEWDELHI,OCTOBER19

THEDELHI health departmenthas, ina letter issuedonOctober19, asked all hospitals and dis-tricts towatch out for co-infec-tionsofCovidwithotherseasonaldiseases and implement proto-cols issued by theUnionHealthMinistry.“Thisistheseasonwhencasesofdengue,malaria,seasonalinfluenza are expected to rise. Itisimportantforhospitalsanddis-trictofficialstobeawareofco-in-fections...Wehave requestedof-ficials to follow the Unionministry’sguidelines,”saidasen-iorhealthdepartmentofficial.“Seasonal epidemic prone

diseasesmayallpresentasfebrileillness, with symptoms thatmimic Covid-19. If there is a co-infection,thenapartfromfebrileillness,theremaybeconstellationof signsandsymptomsthatmayleadtodifficultyindiagnosis,”theministryhadsaid.Seasonaldiseasescannotonly

presentadiagnosticdilemmabutmay co-exist with Covid. “Thisposes challenges in diagnosis ofCovidandhasabearingonclini-calmanagementandpatientout-comes,” itsaid.

New Delhi

5WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY,OCTOBER20,2020

ADVERTORIAL

Please tell us something about theSmolensk State Medical University.The Smolensk State Medical University is a RussianGovernment Medical University recognised byWHO and by all countries of the world includingUSA,UK, India etc.SSMU was founded in 1920 andso is celebrating its 100 years in 2020.

SSMU is very popular among Indian students.Since 2002 SSMU has been giving admission to In-dian students. Since then more than 3000 Indianstudents have taken admission and more than 2000Indians have received a Medical degree from theSSMU.Right now,1350 Indian students are studyinghere,out of whom about 600 are girls.

We have 3 separate hostels for our Indian stu-dents;one of them is for Indian girls.We have an In-dian mess running on a no-profit-no-loss systemand 3 Indian cooks are working in it. This mess isserving Pure-Vegetarian and Non-Vegetarian In-dian food. Very high standards of hygiene aremaintained at the mess.

In 2020 again,342 seats have been reserved forIndian students and admissions are going on.Theduration of Medical education is 6 years and In-dian students are taught in the English medium.

The popularity of SSMU is rising among Indianstudents every year because of the top results itsgraduates are getting in the FMGE or ScreeningTest in India. I am proud to say that the passingpercentage of SSMU graduates in FMGE is thehighest among all foreign medical colleges andthis fact is confirmed by the National Board of Ex-amination which conducts this exam. Actually,FMGE was never a target for our students;we pre-pare them for Pre-PG exam and for real challengesin a doctor’s professional life. I am again very proudto say that our graduates have got a 100% passingresult in USMLE also. Our graduates are workingin almost all developed countries of the world.

Your graduates are very proud to bealumni of SSMU;why so?Well, we don’t make just doctors, we first of all

make good human beings.A doctor who is not hu-mane enough cannot be a doctor.We don’t want tobe ashamed of having produced a bad doctor,so wealways keep our quality standards very high.

What are the required qualifications foradmission?■ 17 years of age.■ Minimum 50% marks in 12th in PCB and a pass

in English.■ Should have qualified NEET in 2018, 2019 or

2020.

What is ‘Cosmos Educational Consultants’?We at the SSMU understood that we need a firm towork in India.So,Cosmos Educational Consultantswas designed and it works for the assistance of In-dian students seeking admission to the SSMU only.

CEC does not give admissions to any other med-ical college. I am the Director of CEC.We are helpingstudents in documentation for admission proce-dure,visa and air-tickets.CEC continues to help thecandidates even after they graduate.All assistanceand documentation after getting admission andafter graduation is provided free of cost. Becausethese students and then graduates become like myown children. Actually, I also offer them differentscholarships.

For granting admissions, have you ap-pointed agents in India?No, we do not appoint agents; we don’t want ourstudents to pay any agent’s fee.

From where can a desiring candidate getinformation about SSMU?It’s very easy; the candidate has to visit our sitewww.sgmu.info. All information in detail can befound there.

What is the procedure for taking admis-sion in SSMU?On the site in the menu there is a list of InformationCentres in India. Click on it. A list of Indian infor-mation centres with their mobile numbers willopen. On this list find the nearest possible infor-mation centre and give them a call.

Who runs these information centres?These information centres are actually our gradu-ates or parents of students currently studying inSSMU. Because they have first hand informationso they can explain you everything in detail.Actu-ally, this works in 4 ways:

A new candidate does not have to go to anyagent who will be interested only in his commis-sion.Commission agents usually don’t have full in-formation about universities abroad.

The new candidate and his parents can meet anactual student or graduate of SSMU and can un-derstand the system of education in SSMU and,

further,what to do after getting the degree.The graduate or student of SSMU will assess the

candidate and can judge if this candidate will bea good student for SSMU or not and accordinglycan recommend or not recommend that candidateto us.

The Information Centre will then provide an ap-plication form and related documents, and help infilling and then sending them to the head-office ofCEC.The rest is done by the CEC head office.

What is the fee structure of SSMU for In-dian students in 2020?The per year fee is USA $6000 which has to be paidin Russia only and there’s a one-time payment in In-dia of Rs. 1,50,000 which includes Admissionprocess,Visa,Air-Ticket,GST etc.

Please tell us about the scholarships yougive to Indian students at SSMU.Well, actually, I have been giving these scholar-ships since 2002 to deserving and hardworkingstudents.These scholarships are in memory of myparents and are open to all Indian students ofSSMU.After the completion of every year, I give anamount equivalent to the tuition fee to the studentwho secures the highest marks among Indian stu-dents of his class for every year of education.Everyyear, I provide approximately Rs 25 lakh as scholar-ship to Indian students.

These scholarships have been motivating mystudents for the last 18 years now.

I always tell them that this scholarship is like aloan they have been given; they will have to doubleit and repay it when they start earning, not to me,but to any deserving and hardworking person whois not a relative or friend.

This year, that is 2020, because our Universityhas completed 100 years, I have announced inaddition to the aforementioned scholarships,one more scholarship of approximatelyRs 37000 per year to every Indian student takingadmission in 2020.

MESSAGEEsteemed Ladies and Gentlemen, the Smolensk State Medical University,which is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its foundation, is very proud towelcome you to our beautiful city of Smolensk. Historically, Russia and Indiahave enjoyed very friendly relations. Smolensk is one of the oldest cities ofRussia and has a tradition of adapting to its guests. Smolensk is one of thesafest cities of Russia and has residents of about 100 nationalities. Smolenskis also the birthplace of Yuri Gagarin.

I am delighted that more and more deserving Indian students are choosingour Medical University as their Alma-Mater. Currently, 1350 Indian studentsare studying here. We are very proud that our Indian graduates are working indifferent countries of the world and we are extremely proud that a majority ofour Indian graduates are not only passing the screening test in India but alsogetting top PG specialties in the Pre PG exam in India.

Since 2002, for recruiting Indian students for admission in SSMU, we havehad exclusive ties with Cosmos Educational Consultants of India, whose di-rector is Dr. Alok Aeron, who himself is an Indian citizen and and has been liv-ing in Russia for 31 years. He is my foreign advisor and has helped us to createfor our Indian students a small India inside our campus.

We have a specially designed foreign department to meet the needs of ourforeign guests. We have specifically devoted faculty and staff for foreign stu-dents. The Motto of our University is ‘Docendo Discimus’; it’s a Latin proverbmeaning ‘By teaching, we learn’. We are providing the best opportunities tofulfil educational, scientific, sports and arts needs.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we know that you have different names to choosefrom as far as medical colleges are concerned and it makes me extremelyproud that you are choosing SSMU. See you soon!

Official website of Smolensk State Medical University: www.sgmu.info

Dr. Roman S. KozlovChancellor, SSMU

THE doctors graduating from SSMU have astuteclinical skills, flamboyant personalities and go onfor higher specialisation in all surgical & non-surgi-cal disciplines across the world.They are clinicallysound and have a unique and immersive culturalexposure not only to Russia but also to places allaround the globe, that brings about an everlastingchange in their personality and helps them exceedexpectations in their careers and personal lives.

DR. PRIYANK PATEL(SSMU graduate 2008, Gold Medalist)MD, D.M. Cancer Specialist, USA

SSMU Is a wonderful university that offers both acad-emic as well as clinical training. It gave me an unprece-dented international health experience,which helpedme achieve my residency goals in the USA.The sixyears of exposure facilitated not only the accumulationof medical knowledge but also the honing of interper-sonal and communication skills essential to the effec-tive practice of medicine.The Dean of the foreign de-partment sees it as his mission to aid medical studentsin pursuit of these long-term goals.Good luck!

DR. JAI BHATT(SSMU Graduate 2011) M.D. Physician, New Jersey, US

I AM highly indebted to SSMU. I was frustrated af-ter my board results. When I came to know aboutSSMU, I found a ray of hope. I find no words to ex-press my gratitude towards this reputed medicaluniversity. I graduated from this university in 2011with flying colours. I confidently cracked the MCIScreening test in the1st attempt.Today I am enjoy-ing my professional career as a neurology residentat Erfurt, Germany.

DR. KUNAL PATEL(SSMU Graduate 2011)M.D (Neurology), Erfurt, Germany

IT gives me immense pleasure and pride to statethat SSMU has created a generation of doctors andits alumni are serving patients and participating inresearch work in virtually all the continents of theplanet. I am proud to say that I’m a valedictorian ofSSMU. My experience at the University was simplygratifying.The professors are clinically and peda-gogically accomplished and have impeccable skillsin basic as well as clinical sciences. I am really fortu-nate to have had SSMU as my alma mater becauseit gave me the required zest and the motivation onerequires in medical school.The training that I re-ceived in my undergraduate studies helped me inmy quest to develop astute clinical skills. I have justcleared the USMLE and will be pursuing a speciali-sation in the United States ofAmerica.

DR. NEHAL B. NEUREKAR(SSMU Graduate 2018, Gold Medalist)

IN

the world. I found that medical education in Russia wasthe best and SSMU was the top-most for MBBS.Throughout my admission process Dr. Alok Aeron, Di-rector of Cosmos Educational Consultants,and his teamhelped me and they made it feel very simple.When mystudies started, I understood that my decision was ab-solutely correct, because firstly education is entirely inEnglish medium and secondly relations between theProfessors and Indian students were so nice that Pro-fessors became like our local guardians. The practical

and theoretical knowledge which I gained at this univer-sity has proved very helpful in my career. Apart fromthis, Dr.Alok Aeron, in memory of his parents, providesscholarships to Indian students. I proudly say that I wasa scholarship holder throughout my education (2011-2017) and got a degree with GOLD MEDAL from SSMU.At present I am pursuing my PG degree inAnesthesiol-ogy. SSMU has played a crucial role in making me agood doctor who can serve patients and the Nation.

DR.AKSHAY BHUMKAR(SSMU Graduate 2017, Gold Medalist)

A doctor has to be humane first : Dr Alok Aeron

Dr. Roman S. Kozlov and Dr.Alok Aeron

100 years of SMOLENSK STATE MEDICAL UNIVERSITY:Indian Students’ Favourite Foreign Medical University

Testimonials from distinguished Alumni

Hostel Buildings

The Chancellor of the SSMU isProfessor Dr. Roman S. Kozlov.Though only 49 years of age, he iswell known as a scientist all overthe world. He is a Fellow of theEuropean Society for ClinicalMicrobiology and InfectiousDiseases; a member of the American Society forMicrobiology; the European Respiratory Society;and the Federation of European Societies forChemotherapy

New Delhi

THEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY,OCTOBER20,2020

6 DECISION 2020BIHAR

●KEYPLAYERS

AKHTAR-ULIMAN:NURSINGAIMIMHOPESINBIHAR

WHATISLUV-KUSH?

●WHO’SWHERETODAYTEJASHWIYADAVINBHOJPUR,AURANGABAD,GAYA, JEHANABAD;SUSHILMODIINDHORAIYA,BANKA

P O L I T I C SH A S H T A G P O L I T I C SH A S H T A G FORMORELOGONTOINDIANEXPRESS.COM/ELECTIONS

Operated by his office, RJD supremo’shandle @laluprasadrjd tweeted: “Removethose who forced Biharis to migrate andchoose the government that speaks of‘rozi-roti’ in Bihar.” On Sunday, it tookpotshots at the CM: “You want IndianOcean to come to Bihar? Why hide 15years of inefficiency with tall tales? Hey,Nitish! You are tired, take rest now!”

@iChiragPaswan tweeted“LJP will win more seats than JD(U)”and embark on a “young Bihar” with his#BiharFirstBihariFirst campaign. Withthe hashtag #AsambhavNitish, he alsotweeted about the failure of ‘SaatNischay’, Bihar’s “destruction” by@NitishKumar, and announced that the#BiharFirstBihariFirst Vision Documentwill be released on October 21

RLSP presidentand ‘CMcontender’@UpendraRLSPposted acampaign videoand tweeted:

“Only when the emphasis is oneducation can Bihar progress.Shiksha-rozgaar wali sarkar abki baar,#badliye_sarkar_ badlega_Bihar”

●Lalu back on Twitter

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RAJENDRAPRASADSINGHLJP candidate, Dinara; Ex-BJP leader

TOTALASSETS

`1.4 CRORE

**Total assets Rs 1.15 crore in 2015

MOVABLE ASSETS

`11 LAKHAAsssseettss 22001155 22002200

Cash inhand 1.36lakh 71,000

Bankbalance 2.82lakh 2.51 lakh

Stocks&bonds 2.46lakh 3.70lakh

Other Investment 25lakh 34.3 lakh

Jewellery - 4.06lakh

TOTAL 36lakh 11.7 lakh

IMMOVABLEASSETS

` 1.29 CROREAAsssseettss 22001155 22002200

Agri land 45lakh 45lakh

Non-agri land - -

Commercial - -

Residential 34.19 lakh 84.14lakh

Total 79.19lakh 1.29 cr

LIABILITIES`21LAKH

CRIMINALCASESNopendingcriminalcases

I Hereby Declare

L U D H I A N AB I H A R O U T S I D E B I H A R

WALIAHMADKOCHADHAMAN,BAHADURGANJ,OCT19

THERE IS anearlymorning rushover a smallbridgethatservesasasingle-lanelinkbetweendistrict headquartersKishanganj and its fourVidhanSabhaconstituencies inthisnorthernpartoftheSeemanchalregion.Smallvanscar-rying vegetables, to heavy trucks and dailycommuters,allarejostlingtocrossthebridge.Severalricketybridgeslikethismakecom-

municationalittleeasierinmostofthe802vil-lages of thedistrict. But floods everyyear cutoff and sweepaway roads. The soil embank-mentoftheMahanandariverisnotenoughtocontaintheravagingwaters,says60-year-oldJogiRai,whorunsasmallteastallattheMaujaBariGhatof theriver.Rai,whoseleftlegwasamputatedafteran

accidentlastyear,sayslandlesspeoplelikehimareatthemercyof theriver.Oncefloodwaterenters,wearepushedontotheroad,hesays.InBahadurganjtownofKishanganjdistrict,

apaan stall ownerwhodeclines to reveal hisnamesays floods shouldbe an important is-sueinthiselectiongiventhescaleofdevasta-tiontheyleaveeveryyear.“Butnooneisboth-eredtotalkaboutthis.Electionsherearefoughtonotheremotiveissues,”hesays.Floodsearlierthisyearhadsubmergedthe

paddy fields on either side of the road fromKishanganj to Thakurganj.MujiburRahman,47,ofTengarmarivillage,sayshehasseenthishappenmanytimes. “Thosewholosehomestakerefugeonthisroad.”AccordingtoanAugust27bulletinreleased

by the stateWater Resources Department,83.62lakhpeoplewereaffectedin16districtsofthestateinthefloods,includingKishanganj.Tithya village in Amour Assembly con-

stituency,representedbyCongressMLAJaleelMastan,hasover40Mallah(fishermen)fami-lies.HemanKumarDas,45,saysthevillagehadbeenuprootedbytheMahanandariver.“Mostofthevillagershavenowshiftedtosaferareas,”saysDas,whoteachesatagovernmentschool.“Floodshaveincreasedinthesepartsafter

2016whenabarrageon theTeesta riverwasbuilt. The Farakka barrage in neighbouringWestBengal also contributes,while siltationhasreducedthedepthof theriver, increasingchancesoffloods,”saysHajiAbdusSubhan,theRJDMLAfromBaisiseat.Since2000,thefiveVidhanSabhaseatsun-

derKishanganj LokSabha constituencyhavebeenrepresentedeitherbytheCongress,RJDorJD(U).TheBJPhadwontheBahadurganjandThakurganj seats in the post-BabriMasjiddemolitionelectionof1995.SanjayJha,BiharMinisterforWaterResour-

ces,saysthetotalareaaffectedbyannualfloodsintheSeemanchalregionis5.20lakhhectares.“Every year, heavy rains inNepal andWestBengalinnundatethelowlandofSeemanchal.The rainwater flowsdown through varioustributaries likeBalson, Chenga,Mechi, Donk,

Kankai,Noona, Bakra, Khadam,Kisley, Burhi,RajaiandLohendra,”saysJha.In2010,CMNitishKumarhadinaugurated

theMahanandaBasin Project at Paranpur inKatihardistrict,anotherregioninSeemanchalaffectedbyfloods.Theriverandotherrivuletscriss-cross the district. Fortification of theMahanandawas the focusof theproject, andJhasaysthiswillhelpcontainthefloods.“Thework of theMahananda river flood

managementschemewillbecompletedinfivephases. The first phasework initiatedby the

CMwasstartedintheyear2010andcompletedin2013.Thelandacquisitionis inprogressforthesecondphase,”Jhasays.However,CongressMLAMastan,whoar-

gues that floods alsohelp enrich the soil andimprovecropyield,saystheywon’tlettheproj-ectbeimplementedintheregion.Accusingthegovernmentofhaving“noplanatall”,Mastanadds, “TheMahananda project proposes tobuild the embankment1km fromthe river-bank.Itwilluprootatleast50villagesandap-proximately1lakhpeople.”

SANTOSHSINGHPATNA,OCTOBER19

MUCHBEFOREtheRJD-ledGrandAlliancean-nounceditsseat-sharing,seniorBJPleaderandDeputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi had said,“More thenumberof seats theRJD contests,thekeenerthefight.”TheBJP’swishappearstohavebeengrant-

ed, inwaysmorethanone.TheRJD,thatcon-tested101seatsintheNitishKumar-ledMaha-gathbandhaninthe2015Assemblypollsandwon80,isfightingon144constituenciesinthecoming election. Not only that, the RJD, thestrongestoftheGrandAllianceparties,isfight-ingonmostof itsseatsagainsttheJD(U).On asmany as 77 of its seats, RJD candi-

datesareupagainsttheNitish-ledJD(U),whichhadbargainedhardtoensureitgotmorecon-stituencies(115)thantheBJP(110)intheNDAseat-sharing.Inotherwords,injustabout30%of its seats (38 inall), the JD(U)canexpectaneasierfight.Incontrast,theRJDcandidatesareupaga-

inst theBJPon51of its 110 seats, leaving thelatterwithprospects of an easierwinon theremaining59.FiveRJDnomineesareupaga-inst formerchiefminister JitanRamManjhi’sHindustani AwamMorcha (Secular), and11willtakeontheVikassheelInsaanParty(VIP).The RJD says the social realities on the

grounddictateditsseatchoices,andthatitisamere coincidence that theBJPmight endupbeingthegainer—bothinitsbidtoemergeasthedominant party in theNDA, andevenasthesingle-largestpartypost-polls.AnRJDleadersays,“TejashwiYadavisthe

CMcandidate of theGrandAlliance andhastakenon the incumbent CM. Plus, each seathasitssocialarithmetic.Therewouldbeakeen

contest this time,withvictorymargins2,000to5,000onseveralseats.”WithLJPchiefChiragPaswanopenlysup-

portingBJPcandidatesandtakingonNitish,itcouldfurtherdenttheJD(U)’sprospects.NitishhasexpressedhisdispleasureoverseveralBJPleaderswhoweredeniedseatscontestingonLJPtickets.Oneof them,RajendraSingh,whoiscontesting fromDinara,enjoys thebackingof BJP cadre. “Theymaybedoing soon theirown.Ihavenotluredanyone,”Singhsays.TheBJPhasbeentryingtoassuageNitish,

assuring thathewill remainCMirrespectiveof thenumberof seats thepartieswin. It hasalsobeencriticisingPaswanforlatchingontoit,accusinghimoftryingtocreateconfusion.JD(U)nationalspokespersonKCTyagisays

theyarenotworriedabouttheRJDgameplan.“Thefactthatitistreatingusasitsmainoppo-nent showswearemoving towards apresi-dentialformofgovernmentinthestateaswell.People have to decide if theywant NitishKumarornot.Therestis irrelevant.”

SABARAHMANNEWDELHI,OCTOBER19

THECONGRESScandidateaccusedbytheBJPof being a “Jinnah sympathiser” says hehaswritten to its ally and JD(U) leader NitishKumar, sayinghis governmentwouldbe re-sponsibleincaseofany“attack”onhimduringthecampaign.FieldedbytheCongressfromJaleAssembly

seat inDarbhangadistrict,MaskoorUsmani,26, said the BJP’s “unwarranted” campaignagainsthimwasnotsurprising.“Iamastrong,fearlessMuslimvoice raising anti-people is-sues, and theydon’t like that,”Usmani, a for-merpresidentoftheAMUstudents’union,toldTheIndianExpress.Whywas“thedjinnofJinnah”beingraked

up,headded,when“nobodyonthissideoftheborderhasanyfaithinhisideology”.SeniorBJPleaders, includingUnionmin-

ister of state Giriraj Singh, have accusedUsmani of supporting the “ideology” ofPakistan’s founderMohammad Ali Jinnah.In2018,Usmani,headedtheunionwhenlo-calBJPMPhad ledaprotestdemanding theremoval of Jinnah’s portrait hanging in theuniversity’s students’ union building since1938.AMUhaddefendeditpointingoutthatJinnahhadbeen granted lifetimemember-shipof theunion.Adentalsurgeon,Usmanisaidthesaffron

partyhadfoundinhimtheir“bestbettoplaypolarisedpolitics”.However, he said, hewascanvassing on the plank of development,healthandeducation.Onwhy the Congress nominated him,

makinghimoneof the youngest candidatesinthefray,the26-year-oldsaid:“TheCongressis fighting fascist forces. The top leadershipsupportsyouthandwantstogiveproportionalrepresentationtoallsectionsof thesociety.”TheCongress has nominated12Muslim

candidatesfortheelections.TheBJP,likeintherecentpast,hasfieldednone.

RAAKHIJAGGALUDHIANA,OCTOBER19

ITWAS themid-’80s when Ganga PrasadThakur (55), a resident of Jaypatti village inDarbhanga, came to Ludhiana, the citywiththe largestmigrant population in Punjab, insearchofwork. Thakurwas19andgotworkinoneofthecity’smanyindustrialunits.Now,heownsajewelleryshopandamedicalstore,isthepresidentofthe‘BiharGoldsmithSamiti’that has about 1,700members, andhis son,whohasdoneapharmacycourse,isplanningtoopenanursinghomebackinBihar.Ithasbeenmorethanthreedecadessince

heleft,but,forThakur,Jaypattiremainshome.“Every time there are Vidhan Sabha or LokSabhaelections, Igoandvote.Thistime,elec-tions inDarbhangaareonNovember3, and Iand400-500othersfromherewillgotovote.”Themembersof theSamiti belong to the

Sunar (goldsmith) community inBihar. “Weformedthegrouptoremainintouch.Mostofus are doingwell here,wehavehouses, ourchildrenaregettingagoodeducation.Ween-

joyaqualityof life thatwecouldnothavegotinBihar.Wewouldstillbemarginalfarmers.”Thakuriswell-versedwiththeissuesback

home,andhencetheplansforanursinghome.“Jaypattihas ahospitalwheredoctorshardlycome, people travel 30kmtoDarbhanga for

medicalhelp.”Hissix-bighalandinthevillageislookedafterbyhisbrother.ThakurhopeshissonwillsettleinJaypatti

oncethenursinghomeisupandrunning.“Heis a pharmacist, we can appoint doctors.”Several among themigrant population in

Ludhianahavereturnedafterturningaroundtheirlives,toopenventuresbackhome.AlsogoingtovoteintheelectionsinBihar

areAnil Jha,48, andBhola Jha,40.Anilworksinafactoryaswellasrunsasmallhosieryunit.Bholahasaunitmakingpolybags. “Therearemanyformalitiestogettingvotercardsmadein Ludhiana, and thenwewill have lose voteinBihar.ButourheartliesinBihar,”saysBhola.Noone can liveon freebies fromthegov-

ernmentalone,Bholaadds. “Wecanperhapssurvive just sitting at ourhome inBihar. But,wecannotgrow.IfBiharstartsgivingusthoseopportunities,whatistheneedtodoso?”MohdGhulam, Chairmanof the ‘Punjab

ParvasiCell’whoisalsooriginally fromBihar,says, “Punjabhas70 lakhmigrants fromout-side, ofwhomnot less than30 lakhare fromBihar.AlargechunkcontinuestovoteinBihar.”Amember of theCongress, Ghulamsays

the party will soon start canvassing inLudhiana for votes. BipinGupta, president oftheRJD in Ludhianadistrict, says, “Fifteenofouryoungstershavegonetodifferentdistrictsof Bihar to campaign.” TheCongress andRJDarepartof theMahagathbandhaninBihar.

GuptasaystheRJDwillhighlightproblemswithNDAschemessuchastheSwachhBharatandBihar’sNal-Jal Yojana. “I think therewillbeachangeinBiharthistime.”However, Thakur remains a supporter of

Nitish Kumar. “During the lockdown,morethan3lakhmigrantsreturnedtoBihar.Initially,peoplewere angry, but in Bihar, they got ra-tionsregularly.”Helistsotherbenefits,includ-ing freeLPGandmoneyunder thePM-Kisanscheme.“Becauseofthis,onehasforgottenthepainofwalkingonfoot,”Thakursmiles.TRMishra,thechairmanofafederationof

Ludhiana’s dyeingunitswhich employ over40,000migrants,hasrelativesinBihar.Hesayscandidates often come to campaign amongmigrantsinthecity,andthistimetheBJPissaidtohave linedup somevirtual rallies.MishrasayshewantsgoodcandidateswhocanhelpchangetheimageofBihar.“Wefeelbadwhenpeoplesaycriminalscontestpollsthere.”Thakur agrees. “When it comes to Bihar,

the image that comes tomind is of a poorlabourer insoiledclothes.Butanumberofushaveworkedveryhard,andaredoingwell.WewantpeopletochangetheirpictureofBihar.”

‘Image of Bihar is of a worker, in rags... But we’ve done well’

KISHANGANJ

Who is talkingabout the floods?

Everyyear, thewaterswreakdestruction inSeemanchal; thisyear, thegovtwasaccusedof being ill-prepared.But, “electionsare foughtonother issues”

LivingalonganunusedrailwaytrackatFocalPoint inLudhiana.Thecityhas thehighestmigrantnumbers inPunjab;manyaregoingtoBihar tovote.GurmeetSingh

(Above)Ata flood-relief campinPatna.Thisyear’s floods left83.62 lakhpeoplein16districtsaffected; JogiRaiathisteastall.ANI,WaliAhmad

Nitishatarally inGaya,Monday.ANI

Jinnah jibe: Congcandidate saysonus on Nitish ifhe faces an ‘attack’

KISHANGANJ

Bahadurganj

Tengarmari

Baisi

Thakurganj

AmourPATNA

Bahadurganj

MahanandaBasinProject

A plus for BJP in the maths:JDU faces RJD on most seats

CongresscandidateMaskoorUsmani

PHASE I CRIMEPATROL: BIHARBAHUBALIS

INTHERACESEATS

71

Candidateswithpendingcriminalcases

Candidatesfromleadingparties

AnantSingh (aka‘ChhoteSarkar’) Party: RJDConstituency:Mokama Criminalcasespending:38

Win:2005,2010onJD(U)ticket,2015asIndependent,beatingRJD-JD(U)-Congressalliance.ElderbrotherDilipSinghendedINC'sShyamSunderSinghDhiraj's influenceinthe1990s

TOPGUN

CANDIDATE PARTY CONSTITUENCY CRIMINALCASESPENDINGSudhirKumarVerma JAP Gurua 37(aliasVinodMarandi)

AjayYadav RJD Atri 17AbhaySinha JD(U) Belaganj 14LalanKumar INC Sultanganj 10

353 164

CANDIDATES

1,065

■Candidatesfielded■Candidateswithpendingcriminalcases

RJD 29 42BJP 21 29LJP 21 42JAP 21 32RLSP 17 42JD(U) 14 35INC 12 21

Source:ElectionCommissionof India

New Delhi


GOVT& POLITICSWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

DELHICONFIDENTIAL

PULLED UPLEADEROFOpposition inMadhya Pradesh Kamal Nath hasbeenpulledbytheNationalCommissionforWomen(NCW)for“makingoffensiveandderogatory remarksagainst awomanminister’’.AvideoofKamalNath,callingImartiDevi,thestateMinister forWomen andChildDevelopment and formerly amember of the Congress, an “item”, has nowgone viral. TheNCWhas soughtanexplanation fromtheveteran leaderandalsoraisedthematterwiththeElectionCommission.

BACK IN ACTIONUNIONMINISTERPiyushGoyal,whoonFridaytweetedabouthis kidney stone surgery, has recovered. Officials got the in-dication onMonday that Goyal, who recently got the addi-tionalportfolioofFoodandConsumerAffairs, isalreadybackinactionandwillholdareviewoftheRailwaysMinistrywithseniorofficialsonTuesdayovervideo-conferencing.

NO CLARITYIN JULY, theMinistryof Educationhadwritten toall the IIMsanddirected themtostopdegrees for theone-yearmanage-mentprogrammeforworkingprofessionals,asitviolatedtheUGC norms . Following the order, IIM directors had held ameeting to discuss theway forward.However, nothing con-cretehashappenedsincethen.Therehasbeennocommuni-cation from the IIMs to the government to discuss themat-ter. Interestingly, inthemeantime,theolderIIMshavestartedthe admission process for their executive programmes for2021-22 academic year.Most admission advertisements donot clarifywhether students, at part of the programme,willget a degree or a diploma. It is learnt that the government iswatchingtheinstitutescloselyandisseeingthisassomesortof veileddefianceof itsorders.

DEBRAJDEBAGARTALA,OCTOBER19

A DAY after Tripura stood itsgroundoveradministrativecon-trol at Phuldungsei village inNorth Tripura district,MizoramonSundaywithdrewprohibitoryorders restricting publicmove-ment inthebordervillage.ThestandoffbetweenTripura

andMizoram over Phuldungsevillage started in August, whenTripura authorities found that130residentsof theJampuiHillshamlet were registered in theelectoral rollsof bothstates, andhad ration cards and enjoyedpublicwelfarebenefitsfrombothsidesof theborder.TheNorthTripuradistrictad-

ministrationalsofoundthatapartofPhuldungseiwasshownasbe-ing inMizoram’s territorial area.Subsequently,alocaltribalorgan-izationcalledSONGRONGMAan-nounceditwouldconstructaShivtemple,followingwhichMizoramopposed themove and issuedprohibitoryordersinthevillage.On Saturday, Tripura

AdditionalHomeSecretarySAKBhattacharyawrotetohiscoun-terpart inMizoram, requestingthewithdrawalof theorders.On Sunday, Mizoramwith-

drew theprohibitory orders fol-lowingdialoguebetweenthetwostate governments. “Prohibitoryorder… issued by the under-signed…hereby stands revokedwith immediate effect...,” an or-der by Mizoram's Mamir DMDrLalrozamaonSundayreads.

Mizoram rollsback prohibitoryorders fromvillage onTripura border

ABHISHEKSAHA&DEEPTIMANTIWARYGUWAHATI,NEWDELHI,OCTOBER19

TWO DAYS after Assam-Mizoram border witnessed ar-sonoveraterritorydispute,offi-cials on Monday said thesituation has calmed down.Assam Chief MinisterSarbanandaSonowalspokeoverthe phonewith PrimeMinisterNarendraModi, HomeMinisterAmit Shah, and his MizoramcounterpartZoramthanga.In Delhi, Home Secretary

Ajay Bhalla held a virtualmeet-ing with chief ministers andchief secretariesof bothstates.Sourcesinthetwostatesand

the Ministry of Home Affairs(MHA) said theMHA has con-veyed to Sonowal andZoramthanga that the first pri-ority should be to stop violenceandmaintaincalmattheborder,and that anyborderdisputebe-tween the two stateswould beresolved induecourse.Sources said bothwere also

informed about a committee offour joint secretaries,whichwasformedthreemonthsagobytheMHA to resolve border disputesamong states in the Northeast.Thejointsecretaries,sourcessaid,will visit all inter-state bordersandtalktostakeholderstoresolvedisputesandsettletheissues.The bureaucrats have been

drawnfromvariousdivisionsof

theMHA,includingtheKashmirdivision, LeftWing ExtremismdivisionandthePolicedivision.“The situation is currently

under control and violence hasabated. Both states areworkingtowardsmaintaining calm andwearehopefulthiswon'trecur,"anMHAofficial said.Violence broke out Saturday

betweenresidentsofLailapurvil-lage in Assam’s Cachar districtand residents of localities nearVairengte inMizoram’s Kolasibdistrict.Thiswasthesecondsuchclash between residents of thetwo states this month — onOctober9,thereweretensionsontheborderofAssam'sKarimganjandMizoram'sMamitdistricts.“No incident of violence has

been reported since yesterday(Sunday). We are in constanttouchwiththeconcernedofficialsinMizoram,”KeerthiJalli,DeputyCommissionerofCachar,toldTheIndianExpressMonday.“Vehicles

carryingfoodandotheressentials,whosedriverswereapprehensiveyesterday,willgotoday.Theyhavebeen assured by both sides thatthereisnothingtoworry.”“Officials on both sides have

spokenandresolvedtheissueofthe roadblock. If necessary, po-lice escort will be provided byAssam on their side and byMizoram police on our side,”KolasibDeputyCommissionerHLalthanglianasaid.According to officials in

Mizoram,whichsharesa165-kmboundarywith Assam, the vio-lencebrokeoutonSaturdayaftersome people from Lailapurstarted throwing stones atMizoram police personnel de-ployednear the border. “In turn,Mizoramresidentsmobilisedandwent after them,” LalthanglianahadsaidonSunday.According toMizoram offi-

cials,atleastsevenpersonsontheMizoram side suffered injuries,

and one of them is admitted tohospital.OnAssamside,oneper-son sufferedminor injuries, anAssamPoliceofficersaid.Mizoram officials said the

two states had agreed someyearsagotomaintainstatusquoin theno-man’s land in thebor-der area, but people fromLailapur allegedly built sometemporary huts, which pro-voked people on theMizoramside. Jalli,however,saidthecon-tested landbelongs toAssamasper thestate’s records.In an official statement,

Sonowal said he had apprisedModi about the latest situationand informed the PM about his

discussionwithZoramthanga,aswell as the steps taken by theAssam government to defusetension. Shah assured Sonowalofallsupporttorestorepeaceontheborderbetweenthestates.After speaking with his

Mizoram counterpart, Sonowaltweeted,“Weagreedtomaintainthelawandordersituationoftheareasothatpeacereturnsimme-diately.We resolve towork to-gether formaintainingbrother-hoodbetweenboth thestates.”Zoramthanga'sofficetweeted:

“Home Minister @AmitShah,DoNER Minister@DrJitendraSingh, HomeSecretary & others have tele-phonedHCM@ZoramthangaCMregarding the situation inMizoram'sborder.Theyexpressedsupport of the CM's wish forpeacefulresolveofthesituation.”"Theissuehasbeenfestering

sincetheBritishRaj,wheninnerlineswere demarcated accord-ing their administrative needs.Unfortunately, it could not besettledonceandforallwhenthestatewas created in independ-entIndia.Theresultisbothstatescontinuetohaveadifferingper-ception of the border,” a sourceprivy to the issuesaid.

Securitypersonnelandofficialsat thesiteSunday.Twitter

THEBOUNDARYdisputebetweenthe twostateshasbeensimmeringsince the formationofMizoramasaseparatestate in the1980s.According toanagree-mentbetweengovern-mentsofAssamandMizoramsomeyearsago,statusquoshouldbemaintained inno-man’sland in theborderarea.However, clasheshaveerupted fromtimetotimeover the issue.

LongstandingdisputeE●EX

PLAINED

Assam-Mizoramborder calm;Sonowaltalks toPM,ShahandZoramthanga

AVANEESHMISHRALUCKNOW,OCTOBER19

The Uttar Pradesh VigilanceDepartmenthasnamedsixpeo-ple, including at least two stategovernment officials, in its firstchargesheet in connectionwithalleged financial irregularitiesinto construction of memorialsundertaken by the BSP govern-ment between 2007 and 2012.Thechargesheetwassubmittedto a special Lucknow court forMembers of Parliament, andMembers of LegislativeAssemblyandCouncil.The investigation was or-

dered by the SP government in2014. The six people named inthe FIRwere then Geology andMining Joint Director SuhailAhmadFarooqui,thenUPRajkiyaNirman Nigam unit in-chargeAjay Kumar, consortium headPannalalYadav,AshokSingh,SKTyagi andHoshiyarSingh, saidaVigilanceDepartmentofficial.“We will keep filing more

chargesheetsastheinvestigationproceeds.Around30-40peoplewill be chargesheeted in the

coming days. As of now, thechargesheet is against govern-ment officials and someprivatepeople only, and the investiga-tionagainstpoliticians involvedis still in the process,” said an-othervigilanceofficial.The Vigilance Department

has been investigating fiveme-morials in Lucknow andNoida,where statues of BSP founderKanshiRamandtheparty’selec-tionsymbol, theelephant,werebuilt. Someof thememorialsThe second official quoted

above said the investigationmostly revolved around finan-cial irregularities in transporta-tion and carving of stones. Thedepartmenthas foundthat sev-eral registrationnumbersmen-tioned in official records werethatof two-wheelers.The Akhilesh Yadav govern-

ment had initially handed overthe probe to the Lokayukta overcorruption allegations. TheVigilanceDepartmentregisteredanFIRon thebasisof a reportbytheLokayukta,who,inMay2013,allegedthatRs1,400croreofpub-lic moneywas siphoned off inconstructionof thememorials.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEKOLKATA,OCTOBER19

BJP PRESIDENT J P NaddaMonday said the implementa-tionofCitizenship(Amendment)Act(CAA)wasdelayedduetothepandemicandthelawwillbeim-plementedsoon.Naddawas addressing party

workersatameetinginSiliguriinnorth Bengal where he alsoslammed theWest Bengal gov-ernment for adopting a “divideand rule policy” and stoppingbenefitsofCentre’sschemesfromreachingthepeopleof thestate.“Due toCovid-19pandemic,

theimplementationofCAAwasdelayed.However,astheoverallsituation is improving slowly,rulesarenowbeingframed.CAAwill be implemented very soonand all of youwill get the bene-fits of the law.We are commit-ted to it,” saidNadda.The BJP president was on a

day-longvisittothestatetotakestock of the party’s organisa-tionalpreparationsandstrengthahead of the 2021 Assemblypolls. During the visit, he heldseparate meetings with partyleaders, MPs, MLAs and socialandreligiousgroups.Targeting the state govern-

ment, Nadda said, “PrimeMinisterModiji’spolicyisinclu-siveandforeveryone’sdevelop-ment.OursloganisSabkaSaath,SabkaVikas.On theotherhand,MamataBanerjee’sgovernmentbelievesintheideaofdivideand

rule....Whenelectioncomes,thestategovernmentmakeseffortsto unite them all by providingdoles. But only NarendraModihas the ability to take everyonealong with him. The BJP doeswhat itpromises to thepeople.“Mamata didi stopped the

benefits of Centre’s AyushmanBharat from reaching out to thepoor people in the state.Unfortunately, the MamataBanerjeegovernmenthasnotal-lowedPM-KISANSammanNidhiYojana inWestBengal,”hesaid.“We assure you that if we

cometopowerinBengal,wewillprovidetheschemeforall farm-ersinthestate. IfyouvotefortheBJP inApril, thenwewill imple-ment the schemes in onemonth,”Naddasaid.Healsoexpressedconfidence

that the BJP will form the nextgovernment in thestate.Earlierintheday,Naddapaid

floral tributes at the statue ofPanchananBarmaatNoukaghatMore near Siliguri. He also of-fered prayers at AnandamoyeeKalibari temple.Responding strongly to

Nadda’s remarks, TrinamoolCongressMPDerekO’Briensaidin a statement, “The irony is notlost when the President of theBJP talksabout ‘divideandrule’.‘Divide and rule’ is a ploy learntfrom the colonial past andplayed out deviously every dayby your party. Over the last sixyears, your party has doneeverything it can to ‘divide andrule’ thepeopleof thisgreatna-tion. Also, we did a factcheck ofyourspeechtoday.Likeyourtwoother ‘senior’ colleagues, therewere gaping holes in it. But no,wewillnotdefilethisauspiciousoccasion.Thisisaspecialtimeforall of us in Bengal. Let’s keep itthatway.”

BJPchief JPNaddaonavisit toSiligurionMonday. PTI

‘CAA delayed by Covid,implementation soon’


UNION HOME Minister AmitShahonMondayexpressedcon-fidence that the NDAwill wintwo-thirdsmajority in the up-coming Bihar Assembly elec-tions and Nitish Kumarwill beChiefMinister.“We will win with a two-

thirdmajorityandNitishKumarwill be our Chief Minister…Resultswill beverygood,” Shahtold Zee News in an interviewtelecastedonMonday.Criticising the Opposition,

Shah said, “On one hand, thereareblankpromisesandfrighten-ing backgrounds; on the otherhand, there is concrete work,whichhasbeendoneinthepast,and a robust strategy forfuture.“I think the people

ofBiharwouldliketheconcreteworkdonebythe NDA government.Therefore,wewillwintheBiharelectionwitha very goodmajority,”hesaid.Shah said that people

of Biharwill certainly comparethe10yearsofCongress rule,15yearsofLaluPrasadand15yearsofNitishKumar.“25yearsofrule— 10 years under Congress and15yearsunderRJD—hasruinedBihar,”hesaid.On a question about the LJP

being part of the NDA at theCentre,butnotcontestingaspartoftheallianceinBihar,Shahsaid,“There are only four parties --HAM, JD(U), VIP and BJP -- inNDAinBihar,” Shahsaid.On a question about rela-

tions between India and China,Shah said one must try to im-prove relationswith the neigh-

bour, but we cannot sacri-ficeourinterestsinorderto improve the relation-ship.“Wetriedtoimprove

(the relationship), butwheneverwefeltthatanattemptwasbeingmadeto encroach our border,we gave a befitting re-

ply,” Shahsaid.He expressed hope that the

standoff will be resolvedthroughdialogue.“Iwanttosaythatnoonewill

beabletoencroachonaninchofland in India. This is a firmdeci-sionofthegovernmentof India,”Shahsaid.


THE CBI onMonday conductedsearches at premises linked toBSP MLA from Chillupar inGorakhpurVinayShankarTiwariand his wife Rita Tiwari afterbookingtheminacaseofallegedbank fraudof overRs750crore.The searches were carried

outatLucknowandNoidaatthepremises of the couple and acompanyassociatedwiththem,CBI sources said.VinayTiwariisthesonof for-

mer minister and strongmanfrom Gorakhpur Hari ShankarTiwari.“The Central Bureau of

Investigation has registered acase on a complaint from BankofIndiaagainsttwoprivatecom-paniesbasedatLucknow/Noida(UttarPradesh),itsDirectorsandunknown others on the allega-tions of committingmisappro-

priation, cheating and causinglossof Rs754.24crore (approx.)to the consortium of banks,” astatement issuedbyCBI said.Apart from the Tiwaris, the

FIR has named companiesGangotri Enterprises and RoyalMarketingPvtLtd,andoneAjeetPandey. “It was alleged that theprivate company (GangotriEnterprises)havingitscorporateoffice at Mahanagar, Lucknowwasengagedintheconstructionofroad,bridgesandflyoversetc,”CBIspokespersonRKGaursaid.The FIR said the company

availedof loanstothetuneofRs1129.44crorebetween2007and2012 through a consortium ledby Bank of India. In 2015, theloan was declared NPA. Thebanksgotaforensicauditdoneofcompanies’ accounts and founddiversion of loan funds throughinvestments or unsecured loanstorelatedpartiesandentities.TheaccountwasthendeclaredafraudandreportedtotheCBI.


THE UNION government onMonday amended the electionrules to increase the campaignexpenditurelimitby10percentforall futureelections.Candidates contesting elec-

tions in Biharwill be the first tobenefitfromthedevelopmentasthe expenditure ceiling for thestatepollsisnowincreasedfromRs28 lakhtoRs30.8 lakh.The notification camemore

than amonth after the ElectionCommission (EC) hadproposedthe hike, given the constraintsposedbytheCovid-19pandemic.The lasthike in theexpendi-

ture ceilingwas effected beforethe2014LokSabhaelections.As reported by The Indian

Express on September 10, thecommission,initsproposaltotheLawMinistry, argued that cam-paigningduringapandemicwillbe challenging for candidates.InordertofollowtheCommission’srestrictions on rallies andmeet-ings,candidateswillendupwithmore small gatherings to avoidcrowding, which will lead toaddedexpenditure.The LawMinistry'sMonday

notificationissilentonwhetherthe increasewill bewithdrawnonce thepandemic isover.The expenditure limit for

state and Parliament electionsdiffers fromstate tostate.

LIZMATHEWNEWDELHI,OCTOBER19

BJPMPNishikantDubey,whoear-lier sought removal of CongressMPShashiTharooraschairmanofthe Parliamentary StandingCommittee on InformationTechnology over the Facebookrow,hasnowwritten to SpeakerOmBirla,accusingTharoorof“vi-olating theconfidentiality clauseagain”andappealedto“considernominatinghim(Dubey)tosomeothercommittee”.Citing Tharoor’s tweets in

whichhequestionedcorporatesabout the funding to televisionchannels, Dubey said theCongress MP has “compro-mised” the ‘Confidentiality

Clause’intheSpeaker’sdirectionfor theparliamentarypanels.The Standing Committee on

IT,whichwas recently reconsti-tuted and Tharoor was re-ap-pointedas its chairman, is look-ing into the alleged TRP fraudcase after Mumbai Police saidtheir investigationhadrevealedthree news channels manipu-latednumbers in their favour.“Since the conduct of

Tharoorhasnowbecomeincor-rigible I – being a public repre-sentative for the third consecu-tive term – feel pained andtherefore, torequestyourgood-self tokindlyconsidernominat-ingme to some other commit-teesothatIwouldonceagainbeable to participate in the delib-erations of the Parliamentary

Committee inaneffectiveman-ner,”Dubeywrote.In a series of tweets, Tharoor

hasquestionedcorporatesforgiv-ing advertisements to certainchannels. “It is alsoanabjectdis-playoftruantbehavioronthepartofDrTharoortoabusivelycalltheRepublic TVasRepulsiveTVandalsomakingunsubstantiated in-sinuations and rant against vari-ous reputable Companies /Entities…,”theBJPMPwrote.Oppositionsourcesfromthe

standing committee have toldThe Indian Express that Dubeyhasnotattendedmeetingsofthepanel since itwas reconstitutedand that this issuewas not dis-cussed in the committee andhence, there is no question ofconfidentialityviolation.

Centrehikes pollexpenditurelimit by 10%

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICECHENNAI,OCTOBER19

FOLLOWING OUTRAGE fromTamil nationalists and a sectionof film personalities and politi-cians in Tamil Nadu, actor VijaySethupathi has decided to optout of a biopic of Sri LankancricketerMuttiahMuralitharan.The film, titled 800, was

caught up in a controversy overSethupathi’s decision toplay thetitlerole,givenwhatmanyTamilsinSriLankaandinTamilNadube-lievewasMuralitharan’ssupportoftheLankangovernmentduringthecivilwarwiththeLTTE.Even thoughMuralitharan

himself tried to explain his case,andarguedthathenevertreatedEelamTamilswithdisrespectcit-ing his own Tamil origin,many

point out there is footage andnews reports suggesting thecricketer’sseeminglysupportivestandforGotabayaRajapaksa,theisland-nation’s President whowasthewar-timedefencesecre-tary,andotherremarksmadeto-wardstheendof thecivilwar.InTamilNadu,filmpersonal-

itiessuchasBharathiraja,Ameer,Thamarai and Cheran and evena state minister, Kadambur CRaju,hadmadestatementsurg-ingSethupathitowithdrawfrom

theproject“consideringthesen-timentsof Tamilpeople.”OnMonday,Muralitharanis-

sued a statement askingSethupathi to backout from theproject. Thanking the cricketer,Sethupathisharedthestatement.Talkingaboutasectionthatis

“imposingpressureonactorVijaySethupathi towithdrawhimselffromthemovieduetothewrongnotions surrounding me,”Muralitharan said he doesn’twantanartiste fromTamilNadutosufferbecauseofhim.The former international

spinnersaidthemovie,plannedas an inspiration for future gen-erations, will materialise andthattheproducershaveassuredhimthatfurtherinformationre-garding the project will be an-nouncedsoon."Iwillstandwiththem,”Muralitharanstated.

Actor withdraws from Muralibiopic after request from cricketer

MuttiahMuralitharanandVijaySethupathi

NDA will return topower with two-thirdsmajority, says Shah

AmitShah

UP govt officials amongsix named in memorial‘scam’ chargesheet

BJPMPASKSTOBENOMINATEDTODIFFERENTHOUSECOMMITTEE

TRP case: Dubey writes toSpeaker on Tharoor tweets

DECISION2020BIHAR

CBI searches BSP MLAin Rs 750 cr fraud case

ASSAM-MIZORAM,ANDTHEOTHERBOUNDARYISSUES INN-EPAGE 14

EXPLAINED

HomeSecyalsocallsup;MHAtellsbothstates thatpanelof officerswill resolveborderdispute

New Delhi

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EXPRESSNETWORK

Saysgovt’smeasures ‘well-intentioned’butmayremain ‘piouswishonpaper’

Durga Puja pandals in Bengalout of bounds for visitors: HCSANTANUCHOWDHURYKOLKATA,OCTOBER19

EXPRESSING APPREHENSIONthatovercrowdingduringthefes-tive season could lead to an “un-controllable” rise in thenumberof Covid-19 cases, the CalcuttaHigh Court onMonday orderedthatDurgaPujapandals inWestBengalwill be out of bounds forthevisitors“inpublicinterest”.Hearing apublic interest liti-

gation (PIL), a Division Bench oftheHighCourt,comprisingJusticeSanjibBanerjee and JusticeArijitBanerjee,saidnoone,barringse-lectmembers of thepuja organ-ising committee, would be al-lowed to entermarquee of thepandals. TheBench said, “Whenstudents... have beenpreventedfromattendingeducationalinsti-tutionsformorethansixmonthsandseveralstudentsstandtoloseayear,itisratherincongruousthatPujafestivitieswouldcontinueasinthepreviousyears.”“Lifehasnotbeennormal for

thehumanspeciessinceoraboutMarch2020anditmayhavebeenbetter if restrictionswere put inplaceastohowtheDurgaPujafes-tivitieswouldbe celebrated thisyear,”thebenchsaid,addingthat

thoughthemeasuresannouncedby the state governmentwere“well-intentioned”, “theymayonly remain apiouswishonpa-perwithout anyblueprint beingchalkedout for their implemen-tationontheground”.TheHighCourtinitsorderlaid

downadetailedplanon limitingentryofpeopletoPujapandals.

Directing puja organisers tobarricade entrances to pandals,theHighCourtsaidthatareawitharadiusof5metresforsmallpan-dalsand10metresforbigpandalswillbeoutofboundsforrevellers.“...for the smaller pandals, a

five-metre zone beyond the ex-tremities of the pandals on allsidesand,forthelargerpandals,a

10-metre zone beyond the ex-tremitiesofthepandalonallsideswillbeapartoftheno-entryzone.In otherwords, the area coveredbythepandalsandtheadditionalareaaround thepandals extend-ing5mfromthesmallerpandalsand10mfromthebiggerpandalswillhavetobebarricadedasano-entryzone,”readthejudgment.Also, theHigh Court limited

theentryofPujaorganisingcom-mitteemembers–15forsmallerpandals,25forbiggerones.Alistofnamesoftheorganiserswillhavetobeputupoutside thepandalsandonly theycanenter forpuja-relatedwork,thecourtruled.“Theonlyexceptionwouldbe

forthenamedpersonnel, includ-ingthepriest,whowillbeidenti-fiedby thepujaorganisers inad-vance andwhose nameswouldbe displayed for checks to bemadeatanypointof time.At thesmaller pandals, 15personswillbe named in the list whomayhaveaccess to theno-entryzoneatalltimes.Thenumberwillbe25to30inrespectofthebiggertothebiggestpandals.Thesedirectionswill apply to all public puja pan-dals all over the state, includingthe34,000pujas,whichhaveob-tainedgrantsfromthestate(gov-ernment),” itadded.

Atapandal inKolkataonMonday.ParthaPaul

231DAYSSINCEPANDEMICBEGAN

KEYSTATESTOWATCH■Maharashtra■Andhra■Karnataka■TamilNadu■Kerala

7 DAYS EARLIER:

1.53NOW:

1.52

7 DAYS EARLIER:

8.10NOW:

7.94

DETECTED TODAY

55,722RECOVERED TODAY:

66,399

TOTALCASES

15,95,3817,83,1327,65,5866,87,4003,41,859

DOUBLINGTIME**116.84141.1366.89108.8029.77

SURGEIN24HOURS9,0603,9867,0123,9147,631

7-DAYAVGGROWTH*0.62%0.51%1.08%0.66%2.42%

TRACKING INDIA’SCOVIDCURVE

CASES:75,50,273TESTS: 9,50,83,976 | DOUBLING RATE: 85.65**

RECOVERED:66,63,608DEATHS: 1,14,610

*CompoundedDailyGrowthRateover last 7days **Calculatedover7-daygrowth

DataasonOctober18, releasedbyUnionMinistryofHealth, ICMRandstates.Oftendailynumbersincludedatafrompreviousdays.Assuch, trendsbasedondailynumbersare indicative,notdefinitive

CASE FATALITY RATIO

Deaths as a ratio ofpositive cases (in %);indicator of progressin averting deaths

Positives againstnumber tested

(in %); indicator ofthe spread of disease

Becoming sick vsrecovering; more

recoveries for 14 daysmay signal the peak

POSITIVITY RATE DAILY IN, DAILYOUT

MAHARASHTRA

SC asks SDMA to decideon Nanded gurdwaraDussehra processionEXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,OCTOBER19

THESUPREMECourtonMondayasked the Maharashtra StateDisasterManagementAuthority(SDMA) to take a call on theNanded gurudwara manage-mentboard’srequestforpermis-sion to conduct the annualDussehra celebrations and theGuruGranthSahibprocession.A special bench of Justices L

Nageswara Rao, Hemant GuptaandAjayRastogiaskedtheboardtofilearepresentationinthisre-gardwith the SDMA and said itcould approach the BombayHigh Court if it is not satisfiedwith thedecision.It asked the Authority to ex-

amineif theprocessioncouldbeallowedtobeheldearlyinmorn-ingwith limitedgatheringTheNandedSikhGurudwara

Sachkhand Shri HazurAbchalnagar Sahib Board hadapproachedtheSupremeCourt,seeking itsnodfor the ‘Dushera,Takht Isnan, Deepmala andGurta Gaddi’ which it said hasbeen organised for about threecenturies.The state government in an

affidavit told the court that al-lowingitwillnotbea“practicallyfeasibleoption”giventheCovid-

19situationandthat ithadcon-sciouslydecidednottoallowanyreligious function to check thespreadof thevirus.The board’s counsel pointed

outthatitcouldbeallowedwith40-50 people in attendancegiventhatthestategovernmenthas already allowedmarriageceremonieswith50guests.As concernswereexpressed

on the number of people whowouldjointheprocessionalongtheway if it is conductedsome-time in afternoon, SolicitorGeneral TusharMehta, appear-ing for the Centre, pointed outthattheprocessionwouldcover1.5kmand“theycouldconsiderholding it between 7-9 am sothatonlythepersonsparticipat-ing in the ritual are there andpassers-byarenot involved”.The bench referred to the

Jagannath Puri Yatra being heldwith a curfew in place andsoughttoknowifthesamecouldbedone in theNandedcase.ButtheMaharashtragovern-

ment said it is not about curfeworbarricadesandthathundredsofpeoplewill comefromacrossthe country and crowd controlwillnotbepossible.TheSupremeCourtthensaid

it is somethingwhere the courtcannot interferewhen the stateis saying it isdifficult.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEAHMEDABAD,OCTOBER19

GUJARATONMonday reportedless than a 1,000 fresh Covid-19cases in a day for the first timesince the thirdweekof July, evenas themunicipal corporation ar-easofJunagadhandJamnagarareemerging as newhostpots, rais-ing concerns,Unionhealthmin-istryofficialssaid.Atameetingwithstatehealth

functionaries onMonday,severalissueswereflaggedbytheCentre,includingaobservationaboutdis-tricts of Gandhinagar, VadodaraandRajkot—wherehalf thepa-tientswhodiedofCovid-19,suc-cumbedtotheinfectionwithin48hoursofdetectionorhospitalisa-tion.PresidedoverbyUnionhealth

minister Harsh Vardhan, themeeting was attended byNational Centre for DiseaseControl (NCDC) director SujeetKumar Singh and the Unionhealthsecretary.Singh,who gave a presenta-

tionhighlighting theCovid con-cerns inGujarat, said, “Ourmainconcernsonthebasisof testspermillionandsamplepositivityrateare Junagadh MunicipalCorporation and JamnagarMunicipal Corporation that areemergingashotspotsandmaybe-come areas of continued trans-mission in future. Surat rural,VadodaraMunicipalCorporationand Gandhinagar MunicipalCorporationare inborderlinear-eas... Jamnagarsees80-100casesa day and Junagadh sees 30-40cases a day... wemust focus ontestinghereandstrategiseaccord-

ingly...Timingoftestingisalsoim-portant."Pointing out that Covid-re-

lated deaths have come downacrossthestate,Singhsaid,“Fortypercentof our3,600deathswasin the age range of 15-60 years,which is an active age group(workingdemography)...”HeaddedthatinGandhinagar,

Vadodara and Rajkot, there is aneed topayattentiononsurveil-lanceorearlydetectiontoreducefatality.UnionhealthsecretaryRajesh

Bhushansaidstateshavetomon-itor the situation closely at leastforthenextthreemonths.“It is important to retest 100

percentofthesymptomaticrapidantigen negative test sampleswithRT-PCRtests.Secondly,oncea person tests positive trackingshouldbecompletedwithinthree

days.Thirdly,withthefestivesea-son,wesuggestthecollectorscon-duct ameetingwith SPs (in re-spective districts) so that in casefestivities arepermitted,writtenpermissionmustalsoincludecon-ditions related to Covid norms...withpenaltymentioned...”

‘Can’t neglectH1NI’Bhushanaddedthattimelyre-

porting of H1N1 cases to theCentreshouldnotbeaffectedduetoCovid-19. “This is the time forseasonal influenza (swine flu orH1N1)andhadCovid-19notbeenthere, reporting would havestarted... Butwehave found thatsome states are sending reports,whileothersaren’tandsomeoth-ers are sending incomplete re-ports.” he said, directingGujaratprincipal health secretary to en-sureaccuratereporting.

Daily Covid cases in Gujarat fall below1,000; Junagadh, Jamnagar new hotspots

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEBENGALURU,OCTOBER19

WITHA technical advisorycommittee advising theKarnataka government tomakeDasara festivitiesasafeaffaironaccountofCovid-19,the government has issuedguidelines to conduct festivi-ties in amutedmanner, en-suringprecautionssuchasso-cial distancing and use ofmasks.Thestategovernment

has advised that senior citi-zens and children be keptawayfromgatherings.In a circular, the govern-

menthas stated that crowdsshould be regulated “to en-surephysicaldistanceandfre-quentsanitization”.“Eventsplannedtolastfor

manydays orweeks shouldhave adequatemeasures toensureacaponphysicalnum-bers,”saysthecircular issuedon October 14 by commis-sioner of health and familywelfarePankajPandey.

Atechnicaladvisorycom-mittee constituted by thehealthdepartmenthadearlierrecommendedvirtualDasaracelebrations for the public –especiallywith regard to thetraditional festivities inMysuru.Thecelebrationsbeganin

a scaled down manner onOctober17.According to the norms

prescribe, only 300 peopleshould participate in theJumbo Savari event at theMysorePalaceonOctober26.

Karnataka issues advisory onfestivities during pandemic

TORAAGARWALAGUWAHATI,OCTOBER19

HESPENTmostof hisyouth imi-tatingthedancemovesofhisidol,Hrithik Roshan. On Monday,RoshanhimselfhadamessageforDrArupSenapati—“TellDrArupI’m gonna learn his steps anddanceasgoodashimsomedayinAssam. Terrific spirit” the actortweeted.“Impossible!” said Senapati,

34,whohasjustfinishedaseven-day stint at a Covid-19ward inAssam’s SilcharMedical CollegeandHospital (SMCH). “Imaginemeteachinghim!”Senapati, a first year post-

graduate ENT student, shot intothe limelight on Sunday after avideoemergedofhimdonningaPPE kit anddancing to the song‘Ghungroo’ fromthe2019movie‘War’, which stars Roshan. Thevideo,whichwas tweetedbyhis

colleagueDrSyedFaizanAhmad,quicklywent viral anddrew theattentionofmanypublic figures,includingRoshan.“It was the last of the seven

daysofgruellingdutyattheCovidward,”saidSenapati.“Weweretostart ourmandatory quarantinethenextday—mycolleagueshadalreadytoldmethatImustdanceonthelastdayofmyduty.”His dance on Sunday,which

enthralled an audience of a fewnearly-recoveredpatients,ward

boys,sweepersandateamofdoc-torsandnurses,wasperformedintherecoveryroomatSMCH.Senapatisaid,“Theywerevery

happyandsowasI. I justwantedtokeepthemoraleup.Theweekhadbeentough,thePPEisdifficulttoworkin.Whiletherecoveryratehas improved in Assam, andthingsarelookingbetter, thewarisfarfromover,wearestillwork-ingeverydaytobeatthis.”Senapati’s reputation as a

skilled dancer is well-known

around thehospital. In fact, rightfrom his college days at theGauhati Medical College andHospital,hehastakenpartinsev-eral dance competitions, evenwinningafew.“IdancewheneverI am feeling low or wheneversomeoneelse is feeling low—tocheerthemup,”hesaid.This remedy has seen him

throughpandemicdutyaswell—firstinGoalparadistrict,andnowinSilchar.“Thisisadisease, fullofups anddowns.Many times, pa-tients in the ICUare lowandde-pressed,” he said, “Of course, Idon’tstartdancingforthemrighttherebut Idotrytoengagetheminconversation,counselthemandreassurethemthatthingswillbeokay.”Senapati’sseven-dayquaran-

tine startedonMonday,withhisphoneconstantlybuzzingafterhissocialmediafame.Hehopesthatover the rest of theweek, hewillhavesomequiettime.

AvideoemergedonSundayof first-yearPG studentArupSenapatidancing inaPPEkit inAssam.

Just wanted to keep morale up, saysAssam’s PPE-clad dancing doctor

CSIR to set up Covid test centres,hospitals in Ladakh, J&K, HimachalPune: The Council of Scientificand Industrial Research (CSIR)willextendsupporttoHimachalPradesh and theUTs of J&K andLadakh for ramping up infra-structure in the ongoing fightagainstCovid-19.CSIRdirectorgeneralShekhar

MandesaidtheagencywillsetuptwotestingfacilitiesinLadakhandworkforthreemakeshifthospitalsinHimachalwillbeginthisweek.Mande said, “Onan immedi-

ate basis, CSIRwill be settinguptwo testing centres in Ladakh—

oneeachatLehandKargil.Wewillprovidemanpower training re-quiredforcarryingouttests.”TwoCSIRinstituteshaddevel-

opedaninstantlydeployableon-sitehospitalsetupinAugust.Theadvantageisthatitcanbe

readiedwithin5-7days,withca-pacitiesrangingfrom10,20,50or100bedsat anysite.Mandesaidworkfor50-bed-

dedhospitalsetupsatthreeloca-tions inHimachal Pradesh,willcommencethisweek.

ANJALIMARAR

New Delhi: UnionMinister forMinorityAffairsMukhtarAbbasNaqvionMondaysaidthatwhileHaj 2021 is scheduled for June-July,thefinalcallonpreparationsfor Indian pilgrimswill dependonguidelinesissuedbytheSaudiArabianandIndiangovernmentsinlightof thepandemic.Hesaidthere may be significantchanges, in accommodation,transport, amongothers. ENS

Haj final call dependson India, Saudi Covidnorms: Naqvi

Audio clip points to‘negligence behinddeaths’, Keralaofficial suspendedSHAJUPHILIPTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM,OCTOBER19

ANURSINGofficer at a govern-mentmedicalcollegeinKochihasbeen suspended after an audioclip—sentbytheofficertohercol-leagues ahead of the Centralteam’svisit—revealedthatapa-tientdiedgaspingforoxygenandseveral others could have beenkilledduetonegligenceinsidetheCovidwardof thehospital.Afterthe audioclipwascircu-

latedon socialmedia, the familyof the patient, T K Haris, ap-proached the police seeking ac-tion against alleged negligencethat led to thepatient’s deathonJuly30.Themedicaleducationdi-rectorprobed the incident at thebehest of KeralaHealthMinisterKKShailaja,andsuspendednurs-ingofficerJalajaDevi.KeralaChiefMinisterPinarayi

Vijayansaidtheissueisa“seriousone”and“woulddent the imageof thestate’shealthsector”.OnSaturday,Devisentavoice

message in aWhatsApp groupcomprising her nursing staffaheadof theCentral team’s visit.“Today, some doctors reportedthat oxygen masks were notfoundproperlyfittedonmanypa-tients. Masks were found dis-placed, not fitted to the face.Ventilator tubes should be seenwhether properly inserted intonostrils. Doctors have reportedthatduetoournegligence,manypatients have lost their lives.Unluckily, if we are caught, thatwould become amajor issue. Apatient, Haris…ventilator tubewas foundnot inserted into hisnostril. In fact, hehadbeen fit tobe shifted out of ventilator sup-port...His relatives have com-plainedaboutdeath.Butdoctorshave not disclosed anything to

protect us. Otherwise, thingswouldhavebecomeabigissue.”However,medicalcollegesu-

perintendent Dr Peter Vazhayilsaid the nursing officer’s state-mentwas baseless. The patientwasonnon-invasiveventilatorinwhich thebreathing tubewouldnotgetdisconnected,hesaid.Inanother incidentof alleged

negligence, information about aCovidpatient’s death took threedaystoreachhisfamilymembersinKollamdistrict.Sulaiman Kunju (82) of

Kollam’s Thalavur village wastakentoaCovidtreatmentcentreafterhetestedpositivelastmonth.His familywas later told that hewasshiftedtothemedicalcollegehospital— the family thought itwasat thehospital inKollambutKunju was actually shifted toThiruvananthapuram. They re-ceivedacallonOctober16,sayingthepatientwillbedischarged,butwhenKunju’s sonNoushad vis-ited thehospital he found that itwas another personbearing thesamename. The family’s searchfor Kunju then led them to themorgue at the Thiruvananthap-uram hospital, where he wastaggedasanunidentifiedbodyaf-terhisdeathonOctober13.KollamDistrictMedicalOfficer

VVSherly saidKunjuwas takento Thiruvananthapuram for bet-ter care and authorities had in-formed his family, whomighthavemisunderstoodthelocation.However,Noushadsaid.“Ihad

deliveredfoodforhiminKollam.StaffcollectedthefoodbutIneverknewthatmyfatherwasnotbe-ingtreatedthere.Theyalwaysin-formedme thatmy fatherwasgettingbetter,”hesaid.TheDMOsaid,“If thatistrue,

itwasreallysadandpainful.Butofficials at themedical collegehave denied having collectedfoodfromhim.”

New Delhi


EXPRESSNETWORKWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

9

HIMACHALPRADESH

Minister:StateattainingherdimmunityShimla:HealthMinisterRajiv Saizal onMondaysaidthestate’spopulationisonitswaytoattainherdimmunity against Covid-19. The number of activecases isdecliningand60-70 per cent of the state’spopulationisprojectedtobe affected by Covid-19,he said during a pressconference.Thestate cur-rently has 2,630 activecasesandhas reportedatotalof263Covid-relateddeathssofar.Saizal saida“mild” level of commu-nity spread of the coron-avirushasbeenobservedinthestate. ENS

RajivSaizal

BRIEFLY

GUJARAT

FIRagainst3teachers forliquorpartyVadodara:Threeprimaryschoolteachersareontherunafterbeingbookedina prohibition case inChhotaUdepurdistrictonSaturday, following viralvideosthatshowedthemin an inebriated condi-tion, partying inside aclassroomof theGunderprimary school inSankheda. The FIR wasfiled after a complaintfromthetalukaeducationofficer. Among the ac-cused are the head anddeputy head teacher ofthe Gunder primaryschoolwhilethethirdac-cused is said to be at-tached to another pri-maryschool inAjitpura.

ENS

CHHATTISGARH

Elephantcalfdiesaftertigerattack:OfficialsRaipur:An elephant calfdiedofinjuriesfromatigerattack inside theUdanti-Sitanadi Tiger Reserve inGariabanddistrict,officialssaidMonday.Anelephanttracking team inKulhadighat Range re-portedthedeathofthecalf,aged between 4 and 6months, inKukrar villageon Saturday, they said.“Hind limbs of the ele-phant calf had multiplebitemarksandonexami-nationof thenearbyarea,pugmarks and scat of atiger were found. Somesigns of a fight or tusslewerevisible,”forestofficialssaidinastatement. ENS

OMKARGOKHALEMUMBAI,OCTOBER19

THE BOMBAY High Court onMondaytoldtheMumbaiPolicethat if it proposes to arraignRepublic TV Editor-in-ChiefArnabGoswami in the TRP (tel-evision rating points) case, itshould first issue summons tohim. It said that if summons areissued,Goswami should appearbefore the police and cooperatewiththe investigation.TheDivisionBenchofJustices

SSShindeandMSKarnikalsotoldtheMumbai Police to submit itsinvestigationpapersrelatedtothecase in a sealed cover byNovember4.TheBenchwashearingapeti-

tion filed byARGOutlierMediaPvt Ltd,which runsRepublic TV,seekingquashingof theMumbaiPoliceFIRinthecaseandthesum-monstoitsseniorofficials.Alleging a racket to “spike

TRPs”byRepublicTVandtwore-gionalchannels,BoxCinemasandFaktMarathi, theMumbaiPolicelast week issued summons toeightpersons,includingthechief

financialofficer(CFO)ofRepublicMediaNetwork.Thepetition,filedlastweekaftertheSupremeCourtasked Republic TV to first ap-proachtheHighCourt,soughtaninterimstayontheinvestigation.ItalsoaskedthecourttodirecttheMumbaiPolicenottotakeanyco-ercivestepsagainstthechanneloritsemployees, includingtheir in-vestigationandquestioning.Whilethepetitionsoughtin-

terimprotection fromarrest forGoswami, the Bench notedthat he was not an accused atthis stage.SayingthattheMumbaiPolice

was“determinedtofalselyimpli-cate” the channel and “silencenewsreporting”donebyit,thepe-tition asked for the case to betransferredtotheCBI.ItsaidthepoliceFIRwasavio-

lationofthefundamentalrighttofreedomof speech and expres-sion,andsoughtdisciplinarypro-ceedings againstMumbai PoliceCommissioner ParamBir Singhfor “grossderelictionofdutyandabuseofpower”.Appearingforthepetitioners,

senior counselHarish Salve andMilind Sathe told the court on

Monday that no offence wasmade out by the police, andclaimedmala fideactionwithanattempttosuppressthepetition-ers’voice.Salvesaidthatifaprobehasto

be conducted, it should not bedonebytheMumbaiPolice,who,hesaid,wasbiasedagainstthepe-titioners.He also submitted thatthepetitionerswould cooperatewiththeinvestigation.Opposing the plea, Senior

CounselKapilSibalandDevadattKamat,appearingforthestateandMumbai Police Commissioner,saidthepetitionwas“entirelypre-mature”. The investigation is stillon and Goswami is not evennamedas an accused in the FIR,Sibalsaid.Therighttofreedomofspeech grants protection to airyour viewsbutnot from investi-gation,hesaid.

TheBenchalsoreferredtothepetitioners’contentionregardingthe press conference and inter-viewsgivenbytheMumbaiPoliceCommissioner in the case andsaid“thereisatendencybyinves-tigatingofficers todiscloseabouttheongoinginvestigationsinsen-sitivecases”.“We do not know if it is the

correctmethodtogiveinterviewstothemediabypoliceofficersanddiscloseongoing investigation. Itisnotonlyhappeninginthepres-entcase,buthasbeenhappeninginothermatterswheretheinves-tigationisinprogress.Wearenotattributingthistoanyone,butof-ficersarenotsupposedtogivein-criminatingmaterial to theme-dia,”saidJusticeShinde.Sibalsaidhewasinagreement

andhadearlierspokenoutagainstsuchpractice. “Whenan investi-gationbyCBI,NIAetc.isbeingcon-ducted, the officers continuallygivemedia statements to preju-dicethetrial,”hesaid.“Thereisan-othersidetothestory.MediatrialisgoingononTVchannels,includ-ing Republic TV. This has evenbeendeprecatedbytheSupremeCourt.Itisaviciouscircle,”hesaid.

Afterhearingthesubmissions,theBenchnotedthatif theinves-tigation officer issues summonstoGoswami, as per Salve’s sub-mission,Goswamiwouldhonouritandappearbeforethepolicetocooperatewith the probe. TheBenchalsosaid that if suchsum-monsareissued,GoswamicouldmovetheCourtforrelief.The next hearing has been

scheduledforNovember5.Earlier,theMumbaiPolicehad

clarified thatwhile the FIR, filedon October 6, did not nameRepublic TV, the names of thethreechannelscameupduringin-terrogationof thesuspects inthecase. A senior police officer saidtheFIRwasonlythebeginningoftheinvestigation.“In the FIR, thenameof India

Today ismentioned; however, itisnotsubstantiatedbyanyof theaccusedorwitnesses.Onthecon-trary, the accusedandwitnessesare specificallymentioning thenames of Republic TV, FaktMarathi and Box Cinema.Thorough investigations are go-ing on,” Joint Commissioner ofPolice (Crime)MilindBharambehadsaid.

AISHWARYAMOHANTYBHUBANESHWAR,OCTOBER19

A DAY after after BJDMP fromKeonjhar,ChandraniMurmu,ac-cused a regional TV channel ofdefaming her, she moved abreach of privilege proceedingagainst thechannelonMonday.Alleging that reporters from

OTV had circulated amorphedand obscene video of herswithmalicious intent, and that thechannel is now trying to shieldtheallegedperpetrators,Murmusaidthishas“grievouslyaffectedand violated” her privilege as aLokSabhaMP.In a letter to Lok Sabha

Speaker OmBirla, she stated: “Iamtendering thisnotice toyou,seeking your protection to en-sure that OTV channel be re-strained from airing such fakeandfalsestorieswithamaliciousintent to save the reporterRameshRath.”Thechannel'soperatingoffi-

cer, LitishaMangat, said, “OTVvehementlydeniestheseallega-tions. It is aone-and-a-half yearold case and I am told that thetrial ison,sothelawshouldtakeits course.”Accordingtopolice,Rathhad

allegedlyinstructedhissubordi-nate,SimanchalPatra,toforwardthepurportedvideo.“During investigation, we

learnt about Rath's involve-ment in thecase,” investigatingofficer Jaynarayan Khandeisaid. “SimanchalPatra,arrestedearlier, confessed that he hadforwarded the video on Rath'sinstructions.HealsostatedthatRath still had some video evi-dence with him. His (Rath's)role is being investigated, buthe will be liable under allSectionsmentioned in the FIR.More names are likely tocome out in the course ofinvestigation.”Murmuwrote: “Strong and

strict action should be takenagainst OTV and its promotersforusingthemediatofalsifyanddisseminate lies in the public,withanobjectivetodenyingmejusticebymisleading thepublicfrom the core issue of police in-vestigating the morphed, ob-scene viral video of mine andidentifyingtheculpritswithev-idence,"Murmuwrote.Reactingtothedevelopment,

OTV's Mangat said, “Since thematter is sub judice, it is notproper forustocomment.But itis surprising that they havewokenuptoitonlynow,onedayafter RameshRath reportedRTIactivists' findings regarding theCM'schopperreviewof theaer-ial surveyof floods.”Rath was picked up by the

policeonThursdayandservedanotice for his alleged involve-ment in the viral video case of2019. He has been served a no-ticetoappearatKeonjharpolicestationonWednesday.Simanchal Patra, who

workedasajuniorreporterwiththe channel, was arrested onApril 19, 2019. Patra had al-legedly provided the video toPrashantMishra,awebjournal-istwhopurportedlycirculateditamong his friends, according topolice said.Patra isoutonbail.After thevideoemergedon-

line before last year's GeneralElection, Murmu's uncle hadfiled a case against unknownpeople under different IPC sec-tions and relevant sections of ITAct, 2000.Keonjhar SP Mitrabhanu

Mahapatra said: “Apreliminarychargesheet was filed and fivepersons were booked. All fivehadcirculatedthevideo,andoneof theaccusedhadprovidedthecontent.We informedthecourtthat investigationwas pendingandafterthechargesheet, inves-tigationwas carried out underCrPC 178 (3). A notice has beenserved to Ramesh Rath andfurther investigations areunderway.”Following the notice, the

channelhadallegedthatthede-velopment came “a day afterOTVtelecastanexposeonChiefMinisterNaveenPatnaik'sclaimsofanaerialsurveyofflood-hitar-easofthestate,whichwasbasedonRTI revelations."The RTI-based report, as

mentioned by the channel, hadstated thatonAugust31“only1helicopter of OSS AirManagementhadtakenoff fromBhubaneswarairport.Thechop-per tookoff and returned to theairport in19minutes,which in-cludeda flight timeof onlynineandahalfminutes.”Inastatement,airportdirec-

tor Suresh Chandra Hota said:“The CM's flight departed on31.8.2020 at 1542 IST fromBhubaneswar and landed backat Bhubaneswar at 1601 IST. Alltimings with respect to flightmovements are in UTC only asper ICAO standards...actual fly-ing time is 19minutes, exclud-ingwarm-uptime,start-uptimeand apron and taxi time to therunway and return to apron af-ter landing.”The CM's Office told The

IndianExpress, "Thereisnothingmore to clarify. Photographs oftheaerialsurveywerecirculatedthesameday, and following thesurvey, the CM conducted a re-viewmeeting.Thetechnicalpartwasalso clarifiedby theAirportDirector.... the allegations arebaseless.”


INAproposaltoCabinetSecretaryRajivGauba,theFinanceMinistryhas recommended that theMinistry of Environment Forests(MoEF)andClimateChange“dis-engage”fromfiveautonomousin-stitutionsworking under it andmerge twoothers, thus reducingthe16autonomousbodiesundertheministrytonine.Amonginstitutionsproposed

tobedisengaged fromMoEFarethe Wildlife Institute of India(WII), Dehradun, and IndianInstitute of ForestManagement(IIFM),Bhopal.Therecommendationisapart

of an exercise carried out by theFinanceMinistry for rationalisa-tion of autonomous institutionsthatfunctionunderdifferentmin-istries,andwassenttotheCabinetSecretaryonSeptember30.It recommended that the

Society of Integrated CoastalManagementbemergedwiththeNational Centre for SustainableCoastal Management, as both“performsimilarrolesofpromot-ingcoastalmanagement...toavoidduplicationofactivitiesandattaineconomiesofscale’’.It recommendedmerging of

SalimAli Centre forOrnithologyandNatural History, which re-

ceivesRs14 crore annually fromMoEF,tomergewiththeministry.Italsorecommendedthatthe

Indian Council for Forest andResearch Education, GB PantNational Institute of HimalayanEnvironment and SustainableDevelopmentandstatutorybod-ies such as Central PollutionControl Board, Central ZooAuthority (CZA), National Tiger

ConservationAuthority (NTCA),National Biodiversity Authoritycontinue to functionunder andwiththefinancialsupportofMoEF.“ThisisnotaCabinetdecision;

itissimplyarecommendationandan exercise which takes placeeverycoupleofyears.ForstatutorybodieslikeNTCA,itisnotevenpos-sible to disengage since ProjectTigerissuchabigprojectinwhichNTCAgivesfundstostatestocarryout thework.Beinganactof law,thesebodiescannotbeabolished,’’NTCA member-secretary andheadofCZA,SPYadav,said.WII director Dhananjai

Mohansaid,“Wearenotyetclearabouttheexactnatureandstatusof these recommendations.Wewillactoncewereceivesomeclar-ity...weareintouchwithourmin-istryandwillwaitforthemtotakea final call... if the recommenda-tion is implemented, then it is amatterofconcernforus.”

FULLREPORTONwww.indianexpress.com

SREENIVASJANYALAHYDERABAD,OCTOBER19

BRIEFSPELLSofraininHyderabadhaveputthecityontheedge,evenas Telangana Chief Minister KChandrashekar Rao MondayeveningannouncedRs10,000asimmediaterelieftoflood-hitpoorfamiliesinlow-lyingareas.“Hyderabadhasexperienced

heavy rain that it hasnot experi-encedinthelast100years.Duetoheavy rain and flash floods, peo-ple, especially thepoor, have suf-feredalot.Itistheprimaryrespon-sibilityof thegovernmenttohelpthem.Hence,wehavedecidedtoextendRs10,000help toeachaf-fectedhousehold of the poor inlow-lyingareas,”theCMsaid.Rao saidpeople lost essential

commodities and the cashassis-tancewouldhelpthemmakeim-mediatepurchases.HeinstructedtheHyderabad,RangaReddyandMedchal–Malkajgiri district col-lectorstosendofficialstostartdis-

tributingthefundsfromTuesdaymorning.HealsoinstructedChiefSecretarySomeshKumartomon-itor thedistributionprogrammebysettingup200-250teams.TheCMalso announced that

all thehouseswhichwere com-pletelydamaged in therainsandfloodswould be given an assis-tanceofRs1lakheach,whilepar-tially damagedhouseswouldbegivenRs50,000each.Tohelpthepoor,thegovernmentisreleasingRs 550 crore immediately to theMunicipal AdministrationDepartment,heannounced.Raoalsodirectedallministers,

MLAs,corporators,alongwiththeHyderabadmayor and deputymayorandTRSleaderstoactivelyparticipateinthereliefefforts.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEHYDERABAD,OCTOBER19

TELANGANA CHIEFMinister KChandrashekar Rao’s adopteddaughter C Pratyusha got en-gaged inHyderabadonSunday.Photosof Pratyushawithher fi-ancéCharanReddyemergedonsocialmediaMonday.Officials at theWomen and

ChildWelfare Department saidPratyusha andCharanare set tobemarriedsoon.

In 2015, Pratyushawas res-cued from her home after shewasbrutallytorturedbyherstep-mother.Weakandfamished,shewas treated at a hospital fornearly 15 days, during whichtime Rao visited andmoved byherplight,adoptedher.After she recovered,

Pratyushawassenttoawomen’shome run by theWomen andChildWelfare Department. Sherecently completedhernursingcourse and is working at a pri-vatehospital.

PARTHASARATHIBISWASPUNE,OCTOBER19

ONIONPRICESacrosswholesalemarkets in Nashik recorded asteepriseasreportsofextensivedamage to the standing crop inthe district started coming in.Marketsourcessaidthepricerisewillcontinueasthearrivalofthenext kharif cropwill be signifi-cantlydelayed.OnMonday, onionmarkets

across Nashikwitnessed a bullrunwiththeaveragetradedpriceof the bulb inmostmarkets ataroundRs 5,600 to Rs 5,700 perquintal. Suresh Deshmukh, acommissionagentoperatingoutof Dindorimandi inNashik dis-trict, said farmerswere holdingonto stored onions hoping forfurtherpriceescalation.“Arrivalshave tanked and the demand-supplymismatchhaspushedupprices,”hesaid.TradersfromLasalgaon,who

hinted at indefinite closure oftheirmarket following raids byincometaxofficials,werebackinbusinessonMonday.Intherun-uptoDiwali,onion

prices are expected to rally fur-ther as demand from northIndianmarketsisexpectedtorisefurther.“Weexpectonionpricesto cross Rs 100 per kgmark insometime," traderssaid.Unavailability of imported

onions has also hit domesticmarkets.Escalating onion prices have

caught the government’s atten-tionwithseveralmeasuresbeingput in place, including a ban onexport.However,pricescontinueto risewithmarket sources say-ingthedestructionofkharifcropinKarnatakaduetoheavyraininSeptemberwasthemainreasonfor thepricerise.

CMalsoannouncedfinancialaidfordamagedhouses

KeonjarMPChandraniMurmu

ArnabGoswami

BJD MP seeksbreach of privilegeproceedings againstOdiya TV channel

Telangana CM’s adopteddaughter gets engaged

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEPUNE,MUMBAI,OCTOBER19

CHIEF MINISTER UddhavThackerayandOppositionleaderDevendraFadnaviswereengagedin a war of words on Mondaywhile touring areas inwesternMaharashtra that were hit byheavyrainlastweek.Fadnavis claimed that NCP

chiefSharadPawarhastodefendthe “inefficient” Maha VikasAghadi government led byThackeray,promptingthelattertohit back, saying the BJP leadershould prioritise the people ofMaharashtra insteadof campinginBihar.Fadnavis, who is the BJP in-

chargeforBiharpolls,rushedbackto Maharashtra on Monday.“There is a lot of unrest amongpublic.Thestategovernmentisin-efficientandtheNCPchiefhas todefend it,” said the former CMduring his visit to Pune district.“Thegovernment should imme-diately provide financial assis-

tancetofarmers...insteadofwait-ingforthepanchnamatobecom-pleted,”hesaid.OnThackerayandPawarsay-

ingthestatewillseekfinancialas-sistancefromtheCentre,Fadnavissaid,“Itisimpropertoalwaysputtheball inthecourtof theCentre,whichwilldefinitelyprovidehelpaftercompletingtheprocedure.”Thackeray, who visited

Solapur, hit back, saying, “Theleader of Opposition is a respon-sibleleader.Heshouldgiveprior-itytothecrisisinstateratherthantheBihar elections. In this situa-tion,weshouldallreachouttotheUnion government for financialhelpforthefarmers.”Saying that he was “con-

vinced” that PMNarendraModiwillextendallpossiblesupportforthe flood-affected people,Thackeraysaid,“Wehavealreadystarted providing assistance tothosewholosttheirfamilymem-bers in the torrential rain. The fi-nancial assistance for crop losswould be given as soon as thepanchnamaiscompleted...”

TRP case: Issue summons to Arnabbefore arraigning him, HC tells police

Rain damage to Nashik cropcauses rise in onion prices

CMUddhavThackeray inSolapuronMonday.Express

Murmuasks for restraintagainst‘false’ reports;OTVdeniesallegations

Fadnavis, Uddhav in war ofwords over aid to farmers

Will give Rs 10,000 aidto flood-hit poor inlow-lying areas: KCR

E●EXPLAINED

Panel rationalisesgovtexpenditure

THEEXPENDITUREManagementCommissionwassetupin2014torecommendwaystorationalisegovernmentexpen-diture,oneof its functionsbeingreviewofallautonomousbodies—therearenow679of them.Oneof itsaimsistolookat“maximumgovernancethroughminimumgovern-ment”. Intwophases, theCommissionhasreviewed194or-ganisationsacross18ministries, recommendingmergingof109into26,absorptionof five intothegovernment,shuttingdownfiveanddisengagementfrom23autonomousbodies.

Govt suggests ‘disengaging’ WII, IIFM,three other premier green institutions

DIVYAA&DEEPTIMANTIWARYNEWDELHI, OCTOBER19

INWHATcouldbeseenasanat-tempttoreposethenarrativeonKashmirfromtheperspectiveofraids by Pakistan, the atrocitiescommitted by the raiders andcircumstances under whichKashmir chose India, the gov-ernment is planning a string ofcultural activities to markOctober22—thedayof the raidin1947.Thekeyamongthemwillbe

establishment of amuseum toshowcasehistoryof theraidandatrocities committed by theraiders supported by Pakistanarmy.Therewill alsobeanexhibi-

tionanda two-day symposiumon the events of October 22 inSrinagar.“Themuseum,likelytocome

upwithin Lal Quila (Red Fort inDelhi) in the next six months,may be announced on October22. It is important that peopleunderstandthattheKashmiris-sue has not been created byIndia, rather by Pakistan, andthat too back in 1947,” a seniorgovernmentofficial said.The entire exercise is being

organised by the NationalMuseumInstitute (NMI)underthe Ministry of Culture. In anattempt tocapture the“horrors

which continue to affectKashmir and the rest of India”,it will present a month-longexhibition to mark 73 years ofthe attack by Pakistan army-aided Pashtun militia, whichhad advanced towardsSrinagarnearly twomonthsaf-ter Partition.Titled “Memories of 22 Oct

1947”, theexhibitionwill be in-augurated at Srinagar’s Sher-i-Kashmir InternationalConference Centre on October22.Theexhibition,accompaniedbyasymposiumonOctober22-23,willbeinauguratedbyUnionCultureMinister Prahlad Patel,with J&K Lieutenant-GovernorManoj Sinhaas chief guest.RaghvendraSingh,NMIvice-

chancellor and Secretary,Culture Ministry, said, “It is astart — a first step towards col-lating, documenting, archivingand representing thehistory…of valour and horrors

which continue to affectKashmirandtherestof Indiatilldate.”HesaidtheexhibitionwillcapturethePakistan-backedin-vasion throughvisuals, archivaldocuments, audio and videofootageandgraphics.Sources in theministry said

the government’s “objective inorganisinganeventof thismag-nitude tomark the day for thefirst time is to refresh publicmemory about Pakistan’s de-signs to occupy Kashmir afterPartition,andtochangethepop-ular perception that a chunk ofthe Muslim population of theValley sideswithPakistan”.Aspecialsectionintheexhi-

bition has been dedicated toMaqbool Sherwani, a 19-year-oldNationalConferenceworkerwho is credited with single-handedlystallingadvanceof thetribals to Srinagar.

FULLREPORTONwww.indianexpress.com

Govt plans cultural activities to markPak-backed militia’s Kashmir invasion

IndianforcesairliftedtoSrinagaronOct27,1947

New Delhi

10WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

HOPE AND CAUTIONReportsofCOVID-19beingpastitspeakareheartening.

Buttherecanbenoloweringofguard

INDIAMAYBEenteringthefestivalseasononanoteofhope.ApanelappointedbytheUnionMinistryofScienceandTechnology(MST)hasreportedasteadydeclineinCOVID-19casessinceSeptember17,whenthecountryrecordednearly98,000cases—thehighest spike inaday.Thegraph, in fact,has fallensharply in the firstfortnightofOctober—thenumberof activecases fellbyabout18percent in this

period.OnSunday,thesenumberswentbelowtheeight-lakhmarkforthefirsttimeinsixweeks.Themortalityrateisalsofallingappreciably. If thecurrenttrendpersists,accordingto the panel, the contagion could run its course in the country by February. The past 10months have, however, shown that the virus defies prediction. There ismuch about thepathogenthatremainsintherealmoftheunknown—infact,westilldonothaveaconclu-sivereasonfortheslowingdownoftheinfectionrate.Thehopegeneratedbyreportsofthediseasebeingpast itspeak, therefore,needstobetemperedwithcaution.While the jury isouton theprecise impactof thedipping temperatureon thecoro-

navirus, the recent upsurge of cases in Europe suggests that the comingwinterwill becritical in the battle against the health crisis. As epidemiologist and amember of theMSTpanel,GagandeepKang,toldthisnewspaper,“thereisaseasonalityassociatedwiththe spreadof virusesandbasedon that experience, itwouldnotbeoutof place to sug-gest that the coronavirusmight spread inwinter”. Thehigh level of particulatematterin theair of several Indiancitiesduringearlywinter could increase thevulnerabilityofthosewithrespiratoryailments.ANationalCentreofDiseaseControlreporthaswarnedthe Delhi government of a sharp uptick in COVID-19 cases during thewinter. The re-port’ssuggestiontotheDelhigovernmentforthefestiveseason—engagewithreligiousleaders to ensure that celebrations likeDurga Puja, Dussehra and Chhath Puja remainlow-key affairs— is pertinent for governments inmost parts of the country. The spikeinKerala’s caseload after theweek-longOnam festivities inAugust is awarning— fes-tivals canbe super-spreaders.TheMSTpanelreportshouldbeseeninconjunctionwiththerecentserologicalstud-

ies inseveralpartsof thecountry.Theyindicatethatabout30percentpeoplehavebeenexposedtothevirus inurbanareas—anICMRstudyconductedacross70districts inthecountryinSeptember, infact,pointsoutthatthisfigurecouldbeaslowassevenpercentattheall-Indialevel.Byallaccounts,therefore, itwouldbeprematuretosaythatthevirushasexhausted its supplyof vulnerablepeople. The receding rateof infectionshouldnotbringa loweringof guard.

TOLL ON HERVirusmightnotdiscriminate in itsvictims,butpandemic

hasstrengthenedsystemic inequalities

THESIGNSAREworrying,andtheyallpointtoanintensifyingcrisis ingen-der inequality. For one, the pandemic appears to have set back youngwomenaimingtoget intomedicalschoolmorethanthemen.Analysisofnumbersof thosewhoappearedfortheNationalEligibilitycumEntranceTest (NEET) from2017showsasharp fall in theattendance rateof girls in

2020—afirst in fouryears.Onlyabout85percentof thegirlswhoregisteredforthetestwroteiteventually,ascomparedto86percentof theboys.In2019,thecorrespondingfig-ureswere93percentand92percentrespectively.Thiscouldbeoneindexofwhatteach-ers andexperts havebeenwarningof: As education goes into a tailspindue to thepan-demic, the disproportionate burden of consequences will fall on girls andwomen inhighereducation,undoing thegainsof decades.The virusmight not discriminate in its victims, but the pandemic appears to have

strengthenedallsystemicinequalities. IthasbeenextremelyhardonIndianwomen,es-peciallythoseatthebottomof India’scasteandclasshierarchies. It isnoteducationalone.Evidence is also trickling in of howwomen are being edged out of the post-lockdowneconomicscenario.Forinstance,asmigrantsreturnedtovillagesinthegreatexodus,theshareofwomenintheworkgeneratedundertheMGNREGAdippedtoaneight-yearlowduring the first fivemonths of this financial year. The labour force participation rate ofIndianwomenhasbeenappallingeveningoodyears.Butasanalysisofreal-timeemploy-mentdata in Juneby researchers showed,womenwhohad jobsbefore thevirus struckwere23.5percentagepointslesslikelytoretainthemthanmen.Inaworseningeconomicscenario, this leaves them to fight for only themost precarious, ill-paidwork— if theyhavenotalreadyoptedoutof theworkplacebecauseof the increasedresponsibilitiesofdomestic work and childcare during the pandemic. The home, itself, is hardly an ide-alisedsafehaven,withseveralstudiesflaggingwomen’sincreasedvulnerabilitytodomes-ticviolenceduring the lockdowns.Fordecades, Indianwomenhavemountedachallengetothe inequalityhard-wired

into families, societal structuresand institutions througheducationandaspiration.Asthe pandemic eats into those precious reservoirs of resilience, the implications fortheir autonomy, health, nutrition and general well-being are bound to be dire.Governmentsandpolicymakersmust findawaytoaddressandmitigate this silentbutsnowballing crisis.

KIM’S TEARSSince theonlydramaavailableonNorthKoreanmedia is the

KimJong-Unshow,anold trick looksnew

SPAREATHOUGHTforKimJong-Un.NorthKorea’sthird-generationdictator—largerthanlifetohispeople,thebuttof jokesandanobjectof fearinmuchof theworld—wasforcedtoshedatear.Lastweek,carefullyeditedfootageof amilitary parade celebrating the 75th anniversary of NorthKorea’s rul-ingparty(onOctober10), featuringwhatappearedtobeamongthelargest

contemporaryballisticmissiles,madeglobalheadlines.Thetalkingpoint,though,isn’tthevolatilenation’sbig stickbut thehithertounseenemotionalKim.This year has been tough onNorth Koreans. In addition to the hardships caused by

COVID-19,thecountryhasbeendevastatedbytyphoonsandeconomicsanctionshavere-portedlydrivenmany topovertyanddestitution.Kim’smeaculpa—the tears streamingdownhis face accompanied an apology for not fulfilling the promise to take care of hispeople—may appear to be unexpected. But it is of a piecewith strategies employed by“strongleaders”—thevulnerabilityofthepaternalfigure,theguardatthegate,whowieldsthethreatof forcebothtoprotecthispeopleandtodisciplinethem.Unlikehis fatherandpredecessor, Kim Jong-Il, Kimoften does public events— interactingwithworkers, sol-diers, teachersandparty loyalists.Clearly,heseeshimself asa“dictatorof thepeople”.Political leadersoftenuselessonsfromfilmandtelevisiontohelpthemwinoverpeo-

ple. Inmelodramasandrealityshows, theeasiestwaytomakeanotherwisemacho,un-likeablecharactermoresympatheticistoeitherhavethemgothroughatrauma(usuallyforwomen)orgetthemtocry(mostlyformen).SincetheonlydramaavailableonNorthKoreanmedia is theKimshow, theold trick looksnew.But remember, if the tearsdon’twork, there’s alwaysaballisticmissile.

A long way from 1962

Sanjaya Baru

Fifty-eightyearslater, India-Chinarelationshiphaschanged. Inequalityhasgrown

FIFTY-EIGHTYEARSAGO,Chinesetroopsen-tered the Indian territory tomake a point.Historiansandinternationalrelationsschol-arshavespenthalfacenturytryingtoexplainthatunexpectedandfirst-everwarbetweenthe twoAsian giants. The simple point thatMao Zedong tried to make at the time toJawaharlalNehruwasthatChinadidnotre-gard India an equal. Fifty-eight years later,that ispreciselythepoint thatXi JinpinghasbeentryingtomaketoNarendraModi.Thereis,however, one fundamentaldifference.Inthe1950s,objectivecircumstancesand

materialrealityofferedadequatereasonsforNehru to imagine that India was China’sequalandhe,Mao’s. In2020,Modiwouldbelivinginamake-believeworldincasehehar-boured any such illusions. Xi wants him toget themessage.Inthe1950s,andindeedtilltheturnofthe

century, therewere good reasons for IndianleaderstoviewChinaasanequal.Apartfromcivilisationallegaciesandculturalfactors,theperformance of both economies allowedthem to feel so. Indeed, before the two be-cameindependentnations,Indianrepresen-tativesfoughthardattheBrettonWoodscon-ference, where the InternationalMonetaryFund (IMF) and the International Bank forReconstruction andDevelopment (IBRD)—nowtheWorldBank—werecreated,forpar-itywith China. Itwas theUnited States thatvotedinfavourofChinabeinggivenahighervote share than India, and JohnMaynardKeynes, the intellectual architect of the IMFandWB,wasdeployedtochastisehisformerstudents,whowerenowIndiangovernmentofficials, to fall in line.Independent India, however, insisted on

viewingChinaasanequal.Tworecentlypub-lished books showclearlyNehru’s thinkingalong these lines. Francine Frankel’sWhenNehruLookedEast:OriginsofIndia-USSuspicionand India-China Rivalry and TanviMadan’sFateful Triangle: HowChina ShapedUS-IndiaRelationsDuring the ColdWaroffer adequateevidencetosuggestthatIndianhubriswasasresponsible for the 1962 border war asChineseduplicity. Inthetwodecadesfollow-ingthe1962clash, Indiaemergedstrongerat

least inpart due to thedestructive impact ofthe Cultural Revolution onChina’s economyandthebeneficialconsequencesoftheGreenRevolutionfortheIndianeconomy.China bolstered its position over the last

quarterofthe20thcenturyfirstbybuildingastrong alliancewith the United States and,second,bycarryingoutsweepinginternalre-formsthatcontributedtoamassiveboost towhat Chinese scholars have called itsComprehensiveNationalPower(CNP).India,too, began topickupand, thanks to the suc-cessive leadership of PrimeMinisters P VNarasimha Rao, Atal Bihari Vajpayee andManmohan Singh, the Indian economy be-gangainingmomentum.Theso-called“Indiastory”wasdefinedin

simplenumbers—anannual average rateofgrowth of 3.5 per cent in 1950-80 (close toChina’s own rates of around4per cent), 5.5per cent in 1980-2000 and 7.5 per cent in2000-2015. China’s greatmoderniser DengXiaopingwaswilling to tell PrimeMinisterRajivGandhi in1988 that “OnlywhenChinaandIndiahavedevelopedwillarealAsiancen-turyemerge”.ItwasthisnarrativethatfedthepopulardiscoursebestcapturedinSingapore’sfounder-leader’smetaphorof Asiabeing thejetplanethatwastakingoff,poweredbytwoengines—ChinaandIndia.TheChinesewereamusedbythisnarrative,giventherapidpaceof their own rise post-1980 and the slowerpaceofIndia’s.However,tillaround2015,theywerewillingtotoleratethisview.PrimeMinister Modi clearly hoped to

build on this foundation. However, thema-terialbasisandtheinternationalenvironmentfor the bilateral relationship had inexorablychangedafterthe2008trans-Atlantic finan-cialcrisis.TheChineseeconomyenteredwhatthe economist Walt Rostow would havecalled stage four— “the drive tomaturity”,havingsuccessfullystayedatthewheeldur-ingstagethree, “pre-conditions for take-off”phasefrom1990to2008. India,ontheotherhand, has faltered, especially after 2012, re-mainingfirmly instagethree.Tocutalongstoryshort,Nehru’shubrisin

the 1950s had somehistorical andmaterialbasis. However, it was not backed either by

militarycapabilityordiplomaticeffort.Ontheotherhand, IndiaunderModi finds itself inabettermilitaryanddiplomaticspace.Indeed,Indiandiplomacytodayhasbeensuperiortothat in the run-up to 1962. Nehru paid theprice for heeding KrishnaMenon’s advice.Modi is benefitting fromS Jaishankar’sma-tureadviceandRajnathSingh’squiet leader-ship.India’srelationswiththeQuadcountrieshave added diplomaticmuscle to an ade-quatelycompetentmilitaryframe.However, themajor power differential is

economicandtechnological. In1960,China’sgross domestic product (GDP), valued inUSdollarsat2010prices,wasestimatedtohavebeen$128.3billion,while India’swas$148.8billion.Evenas lateas1978,China’sGDPwasestimated to be $293.6 billion, compared toIndia’s$293.2billion.Today,theChineseecon-omy is nearly five times the size of India’s inUS dollar terms and almost two-and-a-halftimes India’s in purchasing power parityterms.Moreover, in terms of CNP,which in-corporatesscientificandtechnologicalpowerandhumancapitalformation,Chinaout-ranksIndiamanytimesover.Xi’s confidence is based on thematerial

foundationsofChinesepower,requiringModitoadoptamorecautiousapproach.ForallthebravadoofModi’sdomesticpolitics,hehassofarwalkedacautiousdiplomaticpath,whilekeeping thepowderdry.Modi cannotaffordNehru’spretenceforhecaneasilypayNehru’sprice.Toregainglobalstature,Indiahastocon-tinuetofocusonitsdomesticeconomiccapa-bility andhuman capital. There are no shortcutstoglobalpowerandinfluence.Modimay have sat on the same swing

withXi inAhmedabad anddrawnattentiontoIndia’sgloriouspastatMahabalipuram,buthe and his advisors would know that Ximerelyplayedalong,likeMaodidwithNehru.Good fences, they say,make for goodneigh-bours.AmoreimpressiveCNP,alongwithbet-terrelationswithotherneighboursandwithotherpowers, is thereal fencetokeep.

Thewriter isDistinguishedFellow,UnitedService Institutionof India

andtheInstituteofDefenceStudies&Analysis

India under Modi finds itselfin a better military anddiplomatic space. Indeed,Indian diplomacy today hasbeen superior to that in therun-up to 1962. Nehru paidthe price for heeding KrishnaMenon’s advice. Modiis benefitting fromS Jaishankar’s mature adviceand Rajnath Singh’s quietleadership. India’s relationswith the Quad countrieshave added diplomaticmuscle to an adequatelycompetent military frame

FOUNDED BY

RAMNATH GOENKA

B E C A U S E T H E T R U T H I N V O L V E S U S A L L

§ §

THEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY,OCTOBER20,2020WORDLYWISE

Theonly placewhereyoucanbeadictatorandstill be loved isonthemovie set.

— FEDERICO FELLINITHEEDITORIALPAGE

UmaMahadevanDasgupta

THEIR QUEST FOR FREEDOMIsherAhluwaliaandDevaki Jainfashionedfeminismoutof livedexperience

TWORECENTAUTOBIOGRAPHIESby Indianwomeneconomistsdescribehowtheymadetheirway in a discipline and aworld domi-natedbymen.But theyalso saymuchmore.In Breaking Through, the late Isher JudgeAhluwaliarecountsinthoughtful,understatedprose howher childhood— as a young girlfroma conservative,middle-class Sikh fam-ily, attending a Marwari girls’ school inCalcutta—wasthestartingpointforherfem-inism.InTheBrassNotebook,DevakiJainshowshowherapproachtoeconomicquestionswasshapedbyher struggle for freedom fromanaffluentbutrestrictiveupbringing.Thoughthetwowomen’schildhoodscouldnothavebeenmoredifferent,bothknewthateducationwastheirpathtofreedom.Reading their stories, I was reminded of

another deeply felt autobiography by anIndianwoman,BreakingOut(2012)byPadmaDesai.Thebookdescribesherdifficultpassagefromchildhood in a traditionalmiddle-classfamily in Surat, through a painful firstmar-riage, tobecomingasuccessful economist intheUS.Inareflectiveaccount,shewritesabouthercomplicatedrelationshipwithherparentsaswell asher evolvingunderstandingof herdaughter’schoicesinaculturedifferentfromtheoneinwhichshehadgrownup.All threewomenwere born before India

attainedIndependence:Desai in1931, Jainin1933, andAhluwalia in1945, ayearafter thePresidency College first started admittingwomen students. Their fatherswere familypatriarchs.Theirmothershadmarriedyoung,withlittleornoeducation,whichmadethem

ensure that their daughterswent to school.Thoseweredifficulttimes.Childrenwerevul-nerable to infections; somedid not survive.The girls grew up seeing the stoicism ofwomen,andthehelplessnessofwidowsandunmarriedwomen. Jain describes her auntAndal as the “living example of unpaid fam-ily labour,andthiswasthepatternforallun-married daughters and relatives— stigma-tisedandenslaved”.DesaidedicatesherbooktoKaki,heruncle’swidow,asad,silentfigurewhostayedwiththem,caredforthechildren,and did the cooking. “Were I to chargeGodwith a case,” shewrites, “I would bringmyKakiasmyfirstwitness.”Intheirownlives, thewomendiscovered

thatacademicsuccesswasonlythefirststep;therewere other hurdles. A flasher on theDelhibus; apredator atOxford; anoffensiveeveningonanIMFtour;beingpassedoverforpromotion because aman needed itmore.Therewere alsomoments of agonising self-doubtorthenecessityofaruefulcompromise.But theypersisted. “Sometimes themostwecando is to learnnot tobebrokenbyourex-periences,torebuildourliveswithwhatma-terials are at hand, bit by bit, slowly andpa-tiently,”writes Jain.Asambitiousyounggirls,theyrealisedthat

educationwasthewaytofreedom.Highered-ucationwasabravenewworldof independ-ent living, and freedom of movement andchoices.Theybuiltnetworksofcareandsoli-daritywithotherwomen.Notleastofall,theymarriedmenwhoregardedthemasequals.Thetitlesof all threebooksreflect theau-

thors’ quest for freedom. The narratives de-scribetheirintellectualandemotionalgrowth.Thesearewomenwhofashionedtheir femi-nismoutof livedexperience.What is themeasure of a lifewell-lived?

Ratherthanspeakingonlyaboutthemselvesand their individual accomplishments, thewritersofthesespare,reflectivelifestoriesalsoinclude their families, friendships and con-nectionsand theirowngrowth in relation tothosewithwhomtheyinteracted.Thereare lessons tobedrawnfromthese

thoughtfully narrated life stories. For acade-mia,historicallyshapedatatimewhenitcon-sistedmainly ofmen, it is time to findmoreegalitarianwaysofworking.Foramoreequalsociety,womenandmenbothneedfulfillingand decently paid jobs, supportive parentalleave,organisedchildcare,andwaystosharedomestic and family responsibilities. Careergraphs need not be straight lines.Workingconditionscanbemoreflexible.Women’sac-complishments often depend onhelp fromotherwomenwhocarefortheirchildrenanddothedomesticwork.Theworkofallwomenshouldberecognisedandpaidfor.Finally, for young girlswithout privilege,

educationcanbethewaytofulfillingtheirpo-tential. The arc of opportunity must bewidenedthroughqualityeducation,mentor-ingandsupport.AsAhluwalianotes,reflectingonherownexperience:“Scholarshipsarethebest investmentthatasocietycanmake.”

Thewriter is intheIndianAdministrativeService,andisbasedinBengaluru

There are lessons to bedrawn from thesethoughtfully narrated lifestories. For academia,historically shaped at atime when it consistedmainly of men, it is time tofind more egalitarian waysof working. For a more equalsociety, women and menboth need fulfilling anddecently paid jobs

CABINET EXPANSION.PRIMEMINISTERINDIRAGandhi todayex-panded and reshuffled her Council ofMinisters. Among the 11 new entrants, SBChavan, former Maharashtra chief minis-ter, alone gets cabinet rank and has beengiven charge of the education portfolio. BShankaranand, who was in charge of twoportfolios—educationaswellashealthandfamilywelfare—willnowlookafterhealthand family welfare. Bhagwat Jha Azadmakesa re-entry into thecouncil ofminis-ters. Bhishma Narain Singh, minister forparliamentaryaffairs,will lookafterworksand housing also. Maternal aunt of theprimeminister, SheilaKaul, findsaplace in

theministry.Sodoes formerspeakerof theMaharashtra assembly, Shivraj Patil.

MANIPUR BANDHTHEALLMANIPURStudentsUnionandtheAll Manipur Students CoordinatingCommittee, thetwogroupsthatare leadingthe agitation in the state, against the for-eign nationals’ issue have called a bandhon October 22 against the government’sdecision to go ahead with the matricula-tionexamination.Thetwogroupssaid thatthegovernmenthadnotpaidheedto theirdemandsovertheforeigners’ issueandalsoignored the plight of the flood-affectedpeople in the state.

PEACE PLANS FOR GULFIRANANDIRAQignoredappeals fora four-dayceasefire,pressingthePersianGulfwarinto its28thday. IranhasrejectedPakistaniPresidentGeneral Zia’s appeal for a cease-fire during the Haj season. Palestinianleader Yasser Arafat has also reportedlydrawnup a truce plan.

SOVIET ATTACKABOUT200MEN,womenandchildrenwerekilledand50percenthousesweredestroyedinFarza,atinyvalleynorthofKabul,asSovietMIG-21s pounded the place for shelteringrebels. The fruit orchards and the standingcropweredestroyed.

OCTOBER 20, 1980, FORTYYEARSAGO

New Delhi

11THEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY,OCTOBER20,2020 WHATTHEOTHERSSAY

“The comprehensive achievements of the COVID-19 fight have greatlyimproved Chinese people’s confidence in their country. It is believed that manypeople are inclined to follow their government’s guidance about when thevaccination can be universally available.” —GLOBALTIMES,CHINATHE IDEASPAGE

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

The positive dynamicsurrounding the bilateralrelationship in Modi’s firstterm has, unfortunately,acquired a negative tone inthe second amidst thepoisonous rhetoric in Indiaaround the CitizenshipAmendment Act. There ismuch room for coursecorrection in Delhi and toshift the focus from legacyissues to future possibilities

WHILE COVID-19 continues its assault onhuman lives, the Indianeconomy,after thedevastationinthewakeof thelockdown,isshowingsignsofrecovering.Datafromava-rietyofsources,suchasexportsandcarsales,as well as data from NCAER’s BusinessExpectationsSurvey,pointtotheonsetofarecovery.AnewemploymentsurveyintheDelhi-NCR region, fielded byNCAER, addstothischorus.However,italsopointstotheunevennessofthisrecoveryandthecontin-uedvulnerabilityof specificpopulations.NCAER’s National Data Innovation

Centre initiatedamonthly telephone sur-veyofmenandwomenintheagegroupof21-59inMarch2019toimprovethemeas-urementofwomen’swork.Thesampleforthesurveywasdrawntoberepresentativeof the31districtsfallingwithinDelhi-NCR.This includes both urban and rural areas,some as far away as Bharatpur and Jind.ThissurveywouldhaveendedinAprilthisyear,butwiththeonsetof lockdown,afterabrief hiatus, itwas extended tomeasurethe impact of the lockdown and its grad-ual relaxation. Telephone interviewswithabout2,200adults,whowereinterviewedmonthly between March 2019 andSeptember2020, paint an interestingpic-ture. While every individual did not re-spondtoeachmonthlysurvey,contrastingemployment in the second quarter of thecalendaryear (April-June) and thirdquar-ter (July-Sept) for 2019 and 2020 for thesame population, allows for robust year-on-yearcomparison.Four observations from this study are

noteworthy. First, the employment datashows definite signs of a recovery.Comparingemploymentpatternsofindivid-uals in 2019 and 2020 over the April toSeptemberperiodshowsthatasharpdeclinein employment took place in the secondquarterduetothelockdownaswellassignsofarecoverysincetherelaxationofthelock-downrestrictions. Formen, theworker-to-populationratio (WPR) inthesecondquar-terfellfrom88percentin2019to62percentin 2020—a fall of 26percentagepoints. Incontrast, in the third quarter of 2020, theWPRwas only 5 percentage points belowthatin2019.Forwomen,thecomparablede-clinewas16percentagepointsinthesecondquarter,regainingmostofthislostgroundinthethirdquarter,andremainingonly2per-centagepointsbelowits2019level.Second,self-employmenthasemerged

asaprotectiveforce.Individualsengagedinfarming and small household businesseshaveweathered the employment slow-downbetterthanthoseengagedinsalariedemployment or those employed as casuallabourers. Self-employment in the secondquarterof2020wasdownby12percentagepoints formenandninepercentagepoints

forwomen,but, by the thirdquarter, ithadreturned nearly to its 2019 levels for bothmenandwomen.Microbusinessesexperi-enced considerable distress in the earlyphaseof thelockdownbuttheyseemtobeeasing. In contrast, wage employment formendeclinedby19percentagepointsdur-ingthelockdownandremainsabout7per-centagepointslowerinthethirdquarter;forwomen,comparablefiguresare10andtwopercentage points below the 2019 figuresfor second and third quarters respectively,thoughwomen start from amuch lowerlevelofparticipationinwagework.Third, the immediateandlingering im-

pactof thelockdownhasbeenuneven,andlarger employment declines are observedin urban areas. The year-on-yearWPRdif-ference for urbanmenwas 35 percentagepointsinthesecondquarterand10percent-agepointsinthethirdquarter.Whileforru-ralmen,thedeficitwas15percentagepointsinthesecondquarter,downtotwopercent-agepoints in the thirdquarter—analmostcompleterecovery.Fourth, individuals at thebottomof the

incomepyramidhavebeenaffectedby joblosses farmore than the individuals at thetopof the incomepyramid and this differ-ence is striking in cities. TheWPRdroppedbyawhopping44percentagepoints in thesecondquarter and remains13percentagepointsbelowits2019levelsinthethirdquar-ter forurbanmenwhowere in thebottomthreequintilesof thehouseholdassetown-ershipbefore thepandemic. Incontrast, forthetoptwoquintiles,thedeclinewas27per-centagepoints in the secondquarter, risingthereaftertoremainonly8percentagepointsbelowtheir2019levelsinthethirdquarter.Even as the threat of the disease per-

sists, Delhi-NCR, significantly affected byCOVID-19 early on, is showing signs of aneconomic recovery. However, this recov-ery isunevenandthemostvulnerableur-banresidentsseemtobethelasttorecover.Theywerealsotheonesmostaffecteddur-ing the lockdown. As the Delhi-NCRCoronavirus Telephone Surveys (DCVTS)show, the urban poor, particularly the ur-ban informal sectorworkers, showed thegreatest signs of distress during the lock-downandreportedgreaterhunger,indebt-ednessandan inability topayrent.The virulence and spread of COVID-19

have justified the early preventive actionstakenby thegovernment.As largepartsofthe country struggle to contain the pan-demic, the experience of Delhi-NCRholdsimportant lessons. Social safety nets likeMGNREGAandPMKisanhavehistoricallybeen targeted towards rural residents.Whilea ruralbiasmakessenseundernor-mal conditions, the lockdownhas dispro-portionately affected urbanworkers, par-ticularlywageworkerswhohadfewassetsto beginwith. The urban poor is still find-ing it difficult to return towork. Targetingsocialsafetynetstowardsthemisnecessaryastheeconomystrugglestorecover.Thesefindings add to the urgency of thinkingabout an urban employment programmeanalogoustoMGNREGA.

Desai isprofessor,UniversityofMarylandanddirector,NCAERNationalDataInnovationCentre,Deshmukhand

PramanikareresearchassociateanddeputydirectoratNCAERNDIC,respectively.

Viewsarepersonal

THE INTERNATIONALMONETARY Fund’slatestWorld Economic Outlook publishedlast week has triggered much outrage inIndia.TheprovocationwastheIMF’spredic-tion that Bangladesh’s per capita GDPwillovertakethatof Indiathisyear.Theprojecteddifferenceisrathersmall—$1,888to$1,877—andunlikely to last beyond this year. Butit offered enough ammunition for a politi-cal attack on the NDA government’s eco-nomic record.Therearemanyreasonsforanxietyabout

India’seconomicslowdowninrecentyears.But in using Dhaka’s impressive economicperformancetoattackDelhi’s, India ismiss-ing thebigger storyabout the strategic con-sequencesof Bangladesh’seconomic rise.International development institutions

are convinced that the rest of the subconti-nent and developing countries around theworldcan learnmuch fromDhaka’s experi-ence — the so-called “Bangladeshmodel”.Our focushere isdifferent. It isabout there-gional implications of Bangladesh’s eco-nomicsuccess—fiveof themstandout.First, rapid and sustained economic

growthinBangladeshhasbeguntoaltertheworld’s mental maps of the subcontinent.Over the last five decades andmore, SouthAsia,formostpurposes,hasmeantIndiaandPakistan.Theothercountriesweregenerallydescribed as the “smaller” states of the re-gion. Bangladeshwasnever really small; itspopulation today stands at about 160mil-lion. It isdemographicallytheeighth-largestnation in theworld.But it did not seem tomatter. The global

interest,of course,wasrivetedonPakistan—itsnuclearweapons,claimsonKashmir,warswithIndia,roleinAfghanistananditscosyre-lationshipwith international terrorism. TheeconomicriseofBangladeshischangingsomeof that. If there is no end to bad news fromPakistan,Bangladeshprovidesapositivenar-rativeaboutthesubcontinent’sprospects.The second implication is about the

changing economicweights of Bangladeshand Pakistan in South Asia. This year,Bangladesh’sGDPisexpectedtoreachabout$320 billion; the IMFdid not have the 2020numbersfromPakistantoreportbutin2019,Pakistan’seconomywasat$275billion.Even more consequently, while

Bangladeshcontinues togrow, the IMFsug-gests that Pakistan’s economywill contractfurther this year. A decade ago, Pakistan’seconomy was $60 billion larger thanBangladesh. Today, Bangladesh’s weight isbigger thanPakistanby thesamemargin.AUSdollartodaygetsyou85Bangladeshi

takaand119Pakistanirupees.Thetrendlineisunlikely tochange inthenear future—forBangladesh has controlled its populationgrowth and Pakistan has not. Dhaka has agripoveritsinflationandIslamabaddoesnot.There isnoquestionthatPakistan’sneg-

ativegeopoliticalweightintheworldwillen-dure, thanks to itsmuscular foreignpoliciesdriven by the army. Bangladesh does nothaveanatomicarsenallikePakistannordoesit weaponise violent religious extremism;but its growing economicmusclewill helpDhaka steadily accumulate geopolitical

salience in theyearsahead.Third, Bangladesh’s economic growth

can accelerate regional integration in theeastern subcontinent.Whether one likes itornot, theregion’sprospects foracollectiveeconomic advance are rather dim. ThankstoPakistan’s opposition to economic coop-erationwith Indiaand its support forcross-border terror, themain regional forum forthe subcontinent, the South AsianAssociation for Regional Cooperation(Saarc), is in a coma.Insteadofmerelypraying for the revival

of Saarc, Delhi could usefully focus on pro-moting regionalism among Bangladesh,Bhutan, India and Nepal. The BBIN sub-re-gional forum—involving the four, activatedin themiddle of last decade — has not ad-vanced fast enough. It is time for Delhi andDhaka to take a fresh look at the forumandfind ways to widen the scope and pace ofBBIN activity. Meanwhile, there is growinginterest in Bhutan andNepal for economicintegrationwithBangladesh.Fourth, the economic success of

Bangladeshisdrawingattentionfromarangeof countries in East Asia, including China,Japan, South Korea, and Singapore. The US,which traditionally focused on India andPakistan,haswokenuptothepossibilitiesinBangladesh.ThattheUSDeputySecretaryofState, Stephen Biegun, travelled last weekfromDelhitoDhakaratherthanRawalpindi,sayssomethingaboutWashington’schang-ing South Asian perspective. Bangladeshdoes notwant to get into the fight betweenBeijingandWashington,butthegreatpowerwooingofDhakaisboundtointensifyinthenewgeopoliticsof the Indo-Pacific.Finally, theeconomicriseofBangladesh

could boost India’s national plans to accel-erate the development of its eastern andnortheastern states. Consider this:Bangladesh’s economy is now one-and-a-half times as large as that of West Bengal;better integration between the twowouldprovide a huge boost for eastern India. Sowould connectivity between India’s land-lockedNortheast andBangladesh.Undoubtedly, there has been some

progressinstrengtheningeconomictiesandconnectivity between eastern India andBangladesh in recent years. But so muchmoreispossible—thoseprospectsareover-shadowedbynegativepolitics in India.In Punjab, the chief ministers of both

CongressandAkaliDalhaveoftendemandedgreater economic engagement withWestPunjab.This sentimentwasreciprocatedbytheSharifbrothersinLahore,butcrushedbyRawalpindi’s strong resistance. In the east,Delhi and Dhaka are eager to promotegreater cooperation; but there has been lit-tlepoliticalenthusiasminKolkata. InAssam,the issue of migration continues to imposemajorpolitical constraints.PrimeMinisterNarendraModideserves

muchpolitical credit for gettingparliamen-taryapprovalof theboundarysettlement in2015,despitetheoppositioninhisownparty.TheUPAgovernment,whichnegotiatedtheboundarypactin2011,couldnotmustersuf-ficientpolitical support.Modialsoacceptedthe2014 international arbitrationawardonthemaritime boundary dispute betweenIndiaandBangladesh.But the very positive dynamic sur-

rounding the bilateral relationship inModi’s first term has, unfortunately, ac-quiredanegativetone inthesecondamidstthepoisonous rhetoric in India around theCitizenshipAmendmentAct.There ismuchroom for course correction inDelhi and toshift the focus from legacy issues to futurepossibilities.Bangladesh is getting ready to celebrate

the golden jubilee of its liberation fromPakistaninMarchnextyear.Modi,whoplanstojointhecelebrations,mustusethespecialoccasiontojointlydevelopandpursuewithDhaka an ambitious framework for sharedprosperity. That would help India consoli-datethegoldenchapterinIndia-Banglarela-tions that Modi has sought to script withPrimeMinisterSheikhHasina.

Thewriter isdirector, Instituteof SouthAsianStudies,NationalUniversityof Singapore,andcontributingeditoron international

affairs forThe IndianExpressUNDEMOCRATIC POLL

THISREFERSTO the editorial, ‘A begin-ning’ (IE,October19).Thedistrictdevel-opment council elections in J&Kcannotbetermedasafairelection.Infact,itshallbe a fixedmatchwith the candidatesproppedupby theBJPwithout any realcompetition frommainstreamparties.This election is a pretext to belittle thePDPandNCand toestablish thatmain-streampartieshavebeenwrittenoffwiththerescindingofArticle370.

DeepakSinghal,Noida

STILL IDENTITYTHIS REFERS TO the article, ‘A broaderimagination’(IE,October16).Itisthenon-Dalitpolitics thatpushedDalits into theentrapmentofidentitypolitics,aswedidnotcreateenoughspacefor theminthemainstream. Indianpolitics isnotaboutideology. It is identity-based.

AnupDev,Amravati

JACINDA’S CHALLENGETHIS REFERS TO the report, ‘JacindaArdernwinslandslidere-electioninNewZealand vote’ (IE, October 18). JacindaArdern’s phenomenal performance inthegeneralelectionisattributabletohergovernment’s success in eliminatingcommunity transmissionof the coron-avirus,decisiveactiononguncontrolfol-lowingtheChristchurchterroristattacksandswiftmanagingofaneruptionattheWhite Islandvolcano in lastDecember.ThecoredecisionthatArdernfacesishowfar shewill pushherprogressiveprom-

ises at a time when the economy isthreatenedbythepandemic.

SSPaul,Nadia

FINALLY, A DIPLOMATTHISREFERSTOthe report ‘PeacealongLACdeeplydisturbed. Impacting India-China ties: Jaishankar’ (IE, October 18).Diplomat-turned-politician ForeignMinisterSJaishankarhascalledaspadeaspade.Atlast,thediplomatinhimseemstohaveasserteditself.Diplomacyallowsstakeholderstobecourteousbutnotdu-plicitous.Ridesindecoratedswingscan-not make supremos forget the su-premacyof their core interests, nor cansabre-rattlingmakethemturntail.Nowletuswaitforaflickerofhopefortheces-sationofhostilitiesacrosstheborder.

TarsemSingh,Mahilpur

LETTERS TO THEEDITOR

THE TRPWAR is on, with all guns blazing.Speakingfortherulingparty,asoftenasIdo,Ifeelthesearingheat.AsaformerTVanchor,I understand the significance of TRPs (tele-visionratingpoints) forchannels,whichareconstantlystrivingtooutperformeachotherandmaximise viewership. As I look back, Islip into nostalgia and discomfort in equalmeasure,knowingtheunpredictablestakesof thegame.I was the debut anchor for Star News

whenPrannoyRoy’sNDTVofficially partedways with the Star Network and RupertMurdochlaunchedaslick24/7newschannelinHindi in 2003. The ideawas to challengethemonopolyof Aaj Tak,whichhad turned24/7 in2001, in theHindi newsuniverse. InSeptember 2005, when Star News edgedpastAajTakforagoodspell,onashowbasedonthelivedepictionofhowanashramalien-ated children from their parents, it was bignews. Then, again, Star News got ahead bybroadcastingthefootageofgangsterDawoodIbrahim’s family wedding. Star News hadmanagedacoupbyexposingthelinksof theD-Family/CompanytoBollywoodandpoliti-cians. I remember the sense of jubilation atbecomingnumerouno in thenewsgame.

TRPs do not always spike on sensation-alism;theyrespondtoauthenticnews-wor-thycontent. Ironically, itwasnotsomuchasaTVanchorbutmoreasanactivistthatIcon-tributedtomakingnewsrelevant.Anumberof my former TV colleagues told me theywerehappytoseetheendof thetabloidisa-tion of news and a return of real newswiththeAnnaHazareAndolan.Thiswasonegoodreason formetomoveon.WhileIfirmlybelievethatameterortwo

inMumbai cannot push one channel to thenumberonepositionacross thecountry fornineconsecutiveweeks,thefactisthatthenTAM,andnowBARC,calltheshotswiththeirmeters. The 45,000 householdswhich hadthesemetersinstalledhavebecomethecov-etedinfluencersofTVnews—its form,con-tentandtranslationintoadvertisers’money.Themootquestioninthisseasonofopen

mudslingingbetweenTVchannelsisthis: Isthis justa fight foreyeballs, ordoes it reflecta genuine desire of millions of viewers forquality, firepower and accountability fromchannels? Arewe ignoring the existence ofthe elephant in the newsroom— the audi-ence? This audience — or viewership —drivesTRPs.Itisthisecosystemofkids,teens,

students,wage-earners,tenuredemployees,farmers, the self-employed, businessmenand shopkeepers, teeming with politicalviewsand leanings, that allowsmedia tobewhatit is.Televisioncannotbeblindtotheirdynamicrolesasvoters,democraticactivists,andnationalists.Istheassertionofanewaggressivechan-

nelseeminglyaboutrightingthehistoricandcurrentwrongsof theLeftistecosystemthatis out of syncwith the pulse of the people?Beyondbigprofitsandadvertisingmoney, itis now a battle of ideas and ideologies, andeventually, thebattle forBharat and its pul-satingcollectivesubconscious, significantlyrepresentedby theHindiheartland.Thefightisbetweenthebrawlingcamps

of Leftists who rule the roost in universityclassroomsandnewsrooms,andothers,whoareunforgivingandunapologetic, andwishto assert their presence. Call it an overreac-tiontoanoverdose.Orperhapsanover-cor-rection towhat was being served as newsthroughtheprismof theself-anointed,self-righteous intellectual pundits, who talkeddown to others on predictable lines. PastmastersknewtospintheagendaonAkhtar-Junaid-Pehlulynchings,buttheyweresadly

silentwhennon-Dalitsandnon-Muslimsgotkilled.Thoseaggrievedbythearbitrarinessofthe Leftists found an amplification in thosewhoopenlyvowedtoexposethedeliberatedevianceandgavespacetoChandans,AnkitsandRahuls intheairwavesthatreachedoutto theheartland.BariWeiss, theNewYork Times journal-

istwhoresignedinprotestagainsttheortho-dox Left, wrote: “The lessons that ought tohave followed the election— lessons aboutthe importance of understanding otherAmericans, thenecessity of resisting tribal-ism, and the centrality of the free exchangeof ideas to a democratic society—have notbeen learned. Instead, anewconsensushasemergedinthepress,butperhapsespeciallyatthispaper:thattruthisn’taprocessofcol-lective discovery, but an orthodoxy alreadyknown to an enlightened fewwhose job isto informeveryoneelse.”This is a battle in which the viewers

willhavethefinalword.Thepointisthecowbeltmatters.BARC’smeteristheEVMofthenewsworld.

Thewriter,a formerjournalist,isamemberoftheBJP

TheTRPwar isabattleof ideasand ideologies

The rest is noiseIDEASONLINE

ONLY IN THE EXPRESS

●●JANANDOLANFORNUTRITION:

KMADANGOPAL

●● INDIANSCHOOLS—ASYSTEMOFHIERARCHY:

YUVRAJSINGH

www.indianexpress.com

The good neighbour

CR Sasikumar

Shazia Ilmi

RAJA MANDALA

by CRajaMohan

TheeconomicriseofBangladeshisalsoanopportunityforIndia.Butthoseprospectsareovershadowedbynegativedomesticpolitics

SonaldeDesai,NeeradDeshmukhandSantanuPramanik

An urban safety netAseconomystrugglestorecover,policyneedstoaddress—andhelp—thosewhohaveseenthe

greatestdistressduringlockdown

New Delhi

12 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY,OCTOBER20,2020

OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER, MECHANICAL HOSPITAL AND CENTRALHEATING DIVISION, GOVT. MEDICAL COLLEGE & HOSPITAL, JAMMU

E-mail: [email protected] OF NIT(Short Term)

Executive Engineer, MHCH Division GMCH Jammu for and on behalf of The President of India invites sealed tendersduly affixed with Rs. 6/- revenue stamps are invited from Registered / Reputed firms, Workshops having PAN/TIN/Saletax clearance certificate and registered with DIC/SSI/Labour Department and having sufficient experience for the workmentioned below:

The Complete tender documents containing the detailed specifications, terms and conditions can be had from theoffice of the undersigned on any working day as per the sale date mentioned above during office hours against paymentof Rs. 200/- (Rupees Two hundred only) in shape of J&K Govt. treasury challan indicating treasury voucher no. anddate and also indicating the NIT No. and Name of Work duly crediting to 0059-PWD (Revenue) non-refundable for eachtender. The complete tender documents should reach this office on or before the due date up to 12 Noon.

Sd/-(Er. Bodhraj Bhagat)Executive Engineer

Mech. Hospital & Central Heating Division GMC Jammu

Sr.No.

1.

2.

3.

Description of Job

Complete Cleaning and Servicing of Airhandling unit for (winter season) installedin convention Centre, Canal Road Jammu.

Complete Servicing/repairing to the monoblock centrifugal pumps 02 no. for(upcoming winter season) installed inconvention Centre, Canal Road Jammu.

Repair/servicing to damaged 500 KVA Oilcooled Automatic Voltage controlledservo stabilizer no.II installed in conven-tion Centre, Canal Road Jammu.

NIT No.& Date

MHDJ/NIT/42of 2020-21

Dt 15.10.2020


Dt 15.10.2020


Dt 15.10.2020

Sale Date& Due Date

Sale DateUpto 22.10.2020

Due On 23.10.2020


Due On 23.10.2020


Due On 23.10.2020

EarnestMoney

2%

2%

2%

Tender ReceivingAuthority

Executive EngineerMH & CH Div.

GMCH, Jammu.


GMCH, Jammu.


GMCH, Jammu.

DIPJ-5973

GOVERNMENT OF JAMMU & KASHMIR

OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEERMECHANICAL HOSPITAL AND CENTRAL HEATING DIVISION SRINAGAR

Telefax: 0194-2496089, E-mail ID: [email protected] of e-tender

NIT No: MHCHD/TS/2020-21/168/e-TenderingDated: 16.10.2020

For and on behalf of the Lt. Governor of Jammu and Kashmir UT, e-Tenders, valid for 180 days,are invited from the Registered, reputed & experienced Firms as detailed in the NIT for belowmentioned works:

1. Downloading of Bids: The NIT Consisting of qualifying information, eligibility criteria, spec-ifications, Bill of quantities (B.O.Q), Set of terms and conditions of contract and other detailscan be seen from the departmental website www.jktenders.gov.in from 16.10.2020 (18.00hrs) and can be downloaded from 16.10.2020 (18.00 hrs).

2. Uploading: The bidders shall deposit their bids in electronic format on the above websitefrom 17.10.2020 (10.00 hrs) to 01.11.2020 (18.55 hrs) in two (02) covers.

3. Opening of Bids: The bids received upto due date and time shall be opened on 02.11.2020at 14:00 hrs or any date convenient to the department in the office of Executive Engineer,MHCHD, Srinagar. Sd/-

Executive Engineer,MHCHD, Srinagar

Name of Work Est. Cost. Cost of Earnest Time of Position(Rs. in Lacs) T/Doc. Money Completion of Fund

(in Rupees) (Rs.) (in Days)

1 2 3 4 5 6

7.00 500 14000 30 AvailableSupply, installation, testing andcommissioning of 4 Lac Kcal/hrhot water generator etc forCentral Heating System of SDAComplex, Bemina Srinagar.

DIPK-7637

HAFFKINE BIO PHARMACEUTICALCORPORATION LIMITED

(Procurement Cell)Tel No. 022-24100478

E-mail- [email protected] Donde Marg, Parel, Mumbai 400012 (INDIA)

TENDER NOTICEDate : 16.10.2020

MANAGING Director, (Procurement Cell), Haffkine Bio Pharmaceutical Corporation Ltd.,Mumbai invites tenders in two envelope systems from eligible bidders for following items for variousHealth Institutions in Maharashtra.

For detailed information, the interested bidders may visit the website https://mahatenders.gov.inFor e-tenering help/ information, please contact.Contact No. 1800-233-7315, 91-7878107985, +91-7878107986, +91-7878007972 and +91-7878007973Email- [email protected]

Sd/-(Dr. R. M. Kumbhar)General Manager-1

Haffkine Bio Pharmaceutical Corporation Ltd.,DGIPR/2020-21/980 (Procurement Cell), Mumbai.

Sr.No.

Tender No. Name ofDescription

Pre Bid Meeting Period of Sale andPreparation of bid &

bid submission

Bid Opening

1 E-2308 Tender forX-Ray

Materials

Bidders should send theirqueries by email or hard

copy before 26.10.2020 at11.00 a.m.)

From 21.10.202010.00 a.m. To

04.11.2020 up to1400 hrs

06.11.2020 at1405 hrs.

GOVERNMENT OF MAHARASHTRAPUBLIC WORK DEPARTMENT

INVITATION FOR TENDERTender Notice No. 8 Year 2020-21.

Date of E-Tender Downloading 19.10.2020 to 12.11.2020Time 10.30 to 17.30 PMDate of Pre-bid 05.11.2020 Time 2.30 PMDate of E-Tender Opening 16.11.2020 Time 12.30 PM (IfPossible)1. Tender form Condition of Contract Specification and

Contract drawing can be downloaded from e-tenderingportal of public work Department of Maharashtra i.e.https//mahatenders.gov.in

2. Tender Notice can be seen also on websitehttps//mahatenders.gov.in & www.Mahapwd.com

Sd/-No./TD/Tender Executive EngineerOffice of the Executive P.W. Division No. 1, ThaneEngineer, P.W. Division No. 1,Thane, Station Road,Date-

DGIPR- 2020-21/975

Sr. No. Name of work Estimated Cost1 SDR 2059 REPAIRS TO

GOVERNMENT POLYTECHNICBUILDING AT MUMBRA THANE

32900220

PPEERRSSOONNAALL

ClassifiedsWWee,, VijayPal SinghandMotherAnjumaSingh, inform that theNameof ourChild isArnavSingh ,HisDate of Birth is22/09/2004 . Pleaseuseall thisinformation for futurereferences. 0070717431-1

I, TARSEMBHAVRAS/OCHAINRAMR/OAB-117,SHALIMARBAGH,DELHI-110088.HAVECHANGEDMYNAMETOTARSEMLAL. 0040551890-3

PPaawwaannChauhan&PawanKumarbothnamesbelong tome.,For all futurepurposes,I,shall be known-asPawanKumar S/oBhanwar SinghVill-&Post-Chherat Suthal Aligarh.

0040551888-5

II,,hhiitthheerrttoo knownasRiyasatAliChaudhary alias RiyasatAliChoudhary aliasR. A.Chaudhary,S/o Late.MubarakAli,Residingat,3-A,Vishwas-Nagar,18Quarter-Chowk,Shahdara,Delhi-110032,havechangedmynameand I shallhereafter be knownasRiyasatAli Chaudhary. 0040551916-6

II,,hhiitthheerrttoo knownasRaisaPraveenaliasRaisaChoudhary,W/oSh.RiyasatAliChaudhary,Residingat,3-A,Vishwas-Nagar,18Quarter-Chowk,Shahdara,Delhi-110032,have changedmynameand I shall hereafter beknownasRaisaPraveen.

0040551916-5

II,,SSUUSSAAMMMMAATHOMASW/OSH.K.T. THOMASR/O-21-G,POCKET-A-3,MAYURVIHAR-3,DELHI-110096,HAVECHANGEDMYNAMETOSOOSAMMATHOMASW/OSH.KALLUKALAYIL THOMASTHOMASFORALLPURPOSES.

0040551890-8

II,,MMuummttaazz ShekhS/O-AbdulHakimShekhR/o- B-1/11A,SewakPark-ExtnUttamNagar,NewDelhi-110059havechangedmyname toSaleemSaikh. 0040551897-3

II,,MMaannoojj S/O-BishanSinghRawatR/O-GaonBehbalpur,FatehpurBiloch,Faridabad,Haryana-121004,HaveChangedMyNameToManoj Rawat ForAll,FuturePurposes.

0040551916-4

II,,LLMeiteileimakom,w/o L/NKLSamanandaKomArmy/No.4427955KR/o-RZF-1/176,st.no-1B,Mahavirenclave, palam,New-Delhi-110045,have changedmyname,fromLMeiteileimakomtoLeishangthemMeiteileima,for all-purposes.

0040551893-4

II,,KKiisshhaann Singh&VishanSinghRawat S/O-RamSharanRawatR/O-6216/A,HousingBoardColony,Sec-3, Ballabgarh,FaridabadHR-121004, HaveChangedMyNameToBishanSinghRawat ForAll,FuturePurpose. 0040551916-3

II,,DDAAVVIINNDDEERRKUMAR,SonOFSHRI. GHANSHAMDASS,R/oHo.No.11C, Sector-04,DIZAREA, RAJA-BAZAR,NEWDELHI-110001,have changedmyname toDAVINDERKUMARAGGARWAL,for all,futurepurposes. 0040551890-5

II,,BBiimmllaaDevi,W/oShri.Jai PalSinghR/o-J-1/148,DDA-Flats,Kalkaji,NewDelhi-110019,havechangedmyname toBimlaDevi singh,for all futurepurposes.

0040551897-6

II,, RadhaKishan@RadhaKishanGupta,S/o-LaxmiNarain@LaxmiNarain [email protected],R/o,9362,Gaushala-Road,KishanGanj,Delhi-110006,have changed,myname,toRadhaKishanGuptafor,all purposes in,future.

0040551897-5

II,,BBAABBIITTAAalso knownasBABITAGHILDIYAL(beforemarriage)spouseofShri.RAJEEVBADOLA,presently,Residingat,C-505,Satisar-Apartments,Plot.No.6, Sector-7,Dwarka,New-Delhi-110075,have changedmyname,fromBABITA toBABITABADOLA in the service-documents ofmyspouse,vide-Affidavit dated-10-October-2020.

0040551897-7

IInn,,mmyySon’sAdityaRahul BhartiSchool-recordmyandmy,wifenamewronglymentioned-asRahul Bharti & Laxmiwhich-iswrong.Correct nameofmine isRahul SangpriyaBharti andmy,wife is LaxmiBharti. RahulSangpriyaBharti,S/oChottaiPrasadR/o-16/246, third floor,Gali.No.9, Joshi Road, Karolbagh,New.Delhi.

0040551888-2

II,, VibhaAryaW/o JatinAryaR/o-D-85,MansarovarGarden,NewDelhi-110015havechangedmyname toVebhaAryapermanently.

0040551893-2

II,, ShikshaRani D/oPremSinghW/oAjay SinghR/oVPOSilani,District&Tehsil Jhajjar,Haryana-124103, informthatShikshaRani&ShikshaDevi bothareone& the sameperson.

0040550551-2

II,, Devi Dayal Jaiswal,S/oGokulPrasadR/o-21/215, TrilokPuri,Delhi-110091,havechangedmyname fromDeviDayal&Devi Dyal toDevi DayalJaiswal for,all futurepurposes.

0040551888-6

II,, Shaina/SainaPraveenW/oMohammadMamnoonR/oMohalla LeekdaPatti, VillageSoojdu,Muzaffarnagar, havechangedmyname toSainaPrvin. 0040551891-2

II,, SantraD/oMangej SinghR/o-MunKa JohadWard.No-13,Raghunathpura, JhunjhunvRajasthan-333022, Presently-E-131, Ground-Floor, Hardev-Nagar, Delhi-110084, havechangedmyname toVaishali

0040551875-2

II,, SanjaySinghS/o Inder BhatiR/oD-196/8, NewAshokNagar,Delhi-110096, have changedmyminor daughter’s namefromNAINA toNAINABHATIfor all purposes.

0040551853-1

II,, SAHAJADALI,S/OBUDDHUR/O-A-11/E, BLOCK-A, BABAFARID-PURI, PATELNAGAR,DELHI-110008,have changemydate-of-birth-19/07/1988 to01/01/1991, permanently---.

0040551897-8

II,, Ravinder Singh,S/oSantokhSingh, H.No.104,HousingBoard-Colony,Jharsa-Road,Gurgaon(Haryana)-122001,have changedmyname toRavinder Pal Singh.

0040551897-2

II,, RajniWadheraD/oPal KumarWadheraR/oA-30,, SanwalNagar, SadiqNagar,Andrewsganj SouthDelhi-110049. have changedmynameandshall hereafterbeKnownAsNishaWadhera.

0070717416-1

II,, Preeti Agrawal alias PreetiAgarwal,W/oAtul agrawal R/o-J-601, Supertec-ECOCITI,Sector-137, Noida, Distt.-GautamBudhNagar, UP-201301,have changedmyname to Priti Agrawal for,allfuturepurposes.

0040551888-3

II,, PraveshKumar Tripathi S/oAshokKumarTripathi R/o1089, VivekanandNagar,Ghaziabadhave changedmyname toAadarshTripathi forall Futurepurposes.

0040551918-1

II,, Pankaj GuptaD/oBharatBhushanGupta,W/O JagMohanGupta ,R/o 44ChanduPark, KrishnaNagar, Delhi -110051, have changedmynameandshall hereafter beKnownAsParul Gupta.

0070717422-1

II,, POOJA,D/OMAHENDRA,H.NO.313, GALI.NO.1, SECTOR-9,OLDVIJAY-NAGAR,GHAZIABAD,U-P.201009,changedmyname to POOJASINGH. 0040551916-2

II,, PHOOLCHANDRAs/oGAJIJAISWAL r/oVillage-BIKARGARH, Post-Ganghera,Distt. Rarbareli, UP-229406,have changedmyname toPHOOLCHANDRAJAISWAL. 0040551893-1

II,, NAFEES,S/OMOHDHANIFADD-25, C-POCKET-A, D.D.A.-FLATSNEWJAFARABADSHAHDARA,NORTHEAST-DELHI-110032,changedmyname toMOHAMMADNAFEES,permanently.

0040551897-1

II,,MohdShahalamS/oMohammadMamnoonR/o-17-D, SilverHeightApartment,Jalandhar, Punjab,havechangedmyname toShahalamQureshi.

0040551891-1

II,, SUMANBHAVRAW/OTARSEMLALR/OAB-117, SHALIMARBAGH,DELHI-110088.HAVECHANGEDMYNAMETOSUMAN. 0040551890-2

II,,MohammadSameer,S/oNafeesUlHasanR/o-65, AavasVikasColony, BulandshahrRoad,Hapur, UP.have changedmyname toSameerZaidi.

0040551891-6

II,,MohammadMamoon/HaziMamnoonS/oMohammadAyyubR/o 267, Sujdu-2, Sujru,Muzaffarnagar,have changedmyname toMohammadMamnoon. 0040551891-3

II,,MohammadAzamS/oMohammadMamnoonR/o-17-D, SilverHeightApartment,Jalandhar,Punjab,have changedmyname toAzamQureshi.

0040551891-4

II,,MandeepKaurd/oAmrikSinghw/oVikasKumar r/oM-33,MohanGarden, Delhi-110059have changedmynametoDivyaKumari.

0040551887-1

II,,MANISHBHAVRAS/OTARSEMLALR/OAB-117, SHALIMARBAGH,DELHI-110088.HAVECHANGEDMYNAMETOMANISH. 0040551890-4

II,, Kuldip Singh,S/o-GurcharanSingh,R/o-68,3rd floor BharatNagarDelhi-110052,havechangednameKuldeepSinghfor future. 0040551916-1

II,, Jasvinder kourW/oBhupinderSinghR/o-7/16A, Second-floorVijayNagarDouble-storeyDr.MukherjeeNagarDelhi,have changedmynameto JaswinderKaur

0040551875-1

II,, HajiMamnoonS/oMohammadAyyubR/o-267,Sujdu-2, Sujru,Muzaffarnagar,have changedmyname toMohammadMamnoon. 0040551891-5

II,, JahanvYadavD/oShri AnoopYadavR/oHouseNo- 62, Type-V, Lodhi RoadComplex, SouthWestDelhi, NewDelhi 110003,have correctedmyname toJahanvi Yadav For all purposesand for all futurepurposes.

0040551914-1

II,, BabyD/oSardar SinghW/oManoj R/oHouseN.-190SultanpurMazraNorthWestDelhi-110086. have changedmynameandshall hereafterbeKnownAsManju.

0070717415-1

II,, Ashwani SharmaS/o,KailashChandSharmaR/o-H-33,H.No.86,MIG-Flats, Sector-3,Rohini, Delhi-85,havechangedmyname toAshwaniKumar Sharma. 0040551893-3

II,, AshaKumari D/oShri R.SharmaR/o FlatNo.29/857,DDAFlats, Kalkaji, NewDelhi-110019have changedmynamefromAshaKumari toAshaK.Sharma for all futurepurposes. 0040551871-1

II,, Ankit AmarSingh s/oAmarSinghKachhwah r/oMahrajNagar, Kandar, Satna,MadhyaPradesh-485331havechangedmyname toANKIT SINGHKACHHWAH.

0040551886-1

II,, AnjnaD/oLachhmanDassR/oVill. KanshiNagar,Mehtan,Teh. Phagwara, Kapurthala,Punjab-144402, have changedmyname toAnjnaGaught

0070717450-1

II,, AkashKumar S/o-Sh. SureshKumarR/o-H.No.-B-103/UG-5,NitinApartment,ShalimarGarden-Ext-2,Sahibabad,Ghaziabad-201005(U.P.),haveChangedmynametoAkashKumarAwasthifor,all futurepurposes.

0040551888-1

II,, AbhisekKasyapS/oMukeshKumar JhaR/oPost-GamastipurGram-AlampurAlampurGarhsisaiSamastipurBihar-848503. havechangedmynameandshallhereafter beKnownAsAbhishekKashyap.

0070717428-1

II,, Anil Arora s/oSatpal R/o-B1529-30B-block Jahangir PuriDelhi-33,changemyname toAnil KumarArora.

0040551890-6

II hitherto known-asAnjuBalaTrehan,W/oRajeshTrehanR/o-B-2/32, OM-1Apartment,RadheyShyamPark, Sahibabad,Ghaziabad,U.P.-201005,have changed,mynameandshall hereafter beknown-asAnjuBala.

0040551888-4

II RishabhBhatt S/oRajnathBhatR/o.B-278, Gali.No-11,AshokNagar, Shahdara, NandNagri, Delhi-110093 havechangedmyname toRishabhBhat.

0040551890-7

II PriyankaMalhotraW/O-PrashantVasudevaR/OBU-207,PitamPuraDelhi-110034have changedmyname toPriyankaVasudeva.

0040551890-1

II AkramKhanS/o-SaleemSaikhR/o-B-1/11A,SewakPark-ExtnUttam-NagarNewDelhi-110059,have changedmyname toAkramSaikh.

0040551897-4

WWeeMohammadWasim&SaraWasimR/o 1204, Tower 1,OmaxeNile, Sector-49.Gurgaon- 122018 havechangedOurMinor Son’snameFromArshWasim toArshMohammadWasimasper documents.

0070717412-1

I, SoniyaW/oKarambirMalikR/o F-2550BPalamviharGurgaonHaryanahavechangedmyname toSoniaMalik, permanently.

0040551751-8

IItt is notified,for theinformation,thatmyoriginal-qualifying-examination-certificate ofmain-secondaryyear-2017,Roll.No-5389068 andsenior-secondary,year-2019Roll.No-9187918, issuedbyCBSE,has-beenactuallylost.Candidatename:-NamanTyagiMobile-No-9811111130.

0040551916-7

PPUUBBLLIICCNNOOTTIICCEE

PUBLIC NOTICEPublic at large is hereby informed thatmy client(s) Shri Sheo ShankarPrasad Singh & Smt. Moti Rani Singhare the joint absolute owners andpresent in possession of the FreeholdDDA Built up Flat No. 144, ThirdFloor, Pocket - 3, Sector-11, Dwarka,New Delhi - 110075 by virtue ofConveyance Deed ,duly Registeredvide Regd. No. 17,026, dated07.10.2014.It is submitted that my client declare andconfirm that they had been lost originalAllotment Letter dated 20.11.199530.11.1995 issued by DDA in favor ofmy client Shri Sheo Shankar PrasadSingh in respect of captioned propertyand did not found inspite of all sincereefforts. An online Lost Report also filedby my client(s) vide LR No.663900/2020 dated 16.10.2020It is hereby notified that any person orentity, firm/company, Bank, financialinstitution having claim any charge,interest or lien or claim on the basis ofdocuments mentioned above orotherwise and / or objection to thereof,he/she/ they may lodge/ notify the sameto the undersigned with documentaryproof/ court judgment within 15 daysfrom the day of publication, failing whichthe title shall be deemed to be clear andmarketable without any defect,encumbrance, flaw and impediment

Sd/- NIRMAL KUMAR (ADVOCATE)Chamber No. 561, 5th Floor,

Saket Courts, New Delhi

PUBLIC NOTICEMy Client Smt. Pushpa Sharma W/o LateShri P. K. Sharma Resident of C- 12/231,2nd Floor, Yamuna Vihar, Delhi - 110053,has disclaimed, disowned and debarredher elder son Shri Manish Kumar Sharmafrom all sorts of her movable andimmovable properties and assets andalso severed the blood relations from himsince 17.10.2020, due to hisuncompromising, disobedient and badattitude and shall not be held liable forany offence or mischief, if any, committedby him at any stage in future. Anyoneentering into any sort of transactions, ifany, with him, shall do the same at his/herown risk, cost and consequences.

Sd/- BRAJESH DWIVEDI(ADVOCATE) D/5136/2017

PUBLIC NOTICEI ASHA BHARGAVA W/O SH.D. N. BHARGAV R/O B1A/13-B, JANAK PURI, NEW DELHI-110058 have lost OriginalAllotment Cum DemandLetter, Possession Letter,N.O.C For Electric WaterConnection, Site PossessionSlip, & Executed Conveyancedeed of MIG FLAT B1A/13-B,JANAK PURI, NEW DELHI-110058 Finder may pleasecontact at M No.9829016166or inform to D. D. L. A. B.(MIG-G) Housing, VikasSadan, New Delhi 23 at phoneNo. 24690431

''IMPORTANT''Whilst care is taken prior toacceptance of advertisingcopy, it isnotpossible toverifyits contents. The IndianExpress (P) Limited cannot beheld responsible for suchcontents, nor for any loss ordamage incurredasaresultoftransactions with companies,associations or individualsadvertising in its newspapersor Publications. We thereforerecommend that readersmake necessary inquiriesbefore sending any monies orentering into any agreementswith advertisers or otherwiseacting on an advertisement inany manner whatsoever.

PUBLIC NOTICEBE IT KNOWN TO ALL, THAT MY CLIENTS MR.SANJEEV SIROHI, S/O LATE SH. RAVINDERSIROHI, AGED ABOUT 48 YEARS AND MRS.SAPNA SIROHI, W/O MR. SANJEEV SIROHI, BOTHR/O HOUSE NO. 286 (OLD NO.E/16), CHANDERLOK (OLD NAME: SIKDARPUR) STREET NO.1 & 9,MANDOLI ROAD, SHAHDARA DELHI-110093 ANDHAVE SEVERED ALL THEIR RELATIONS WITHTHEIR SON ABHISHEK SIROHI, AND HEREBYDISOWN HIM FROM THEIR ALL MOVEABLE ANDIMMOVABLE PROPERTIES, BANK BALANCE ETC.AND HE WILL NOT ENTITLED AND CLAIM ANYSHARE WHATSOEVER IN THE PROPERTY OF MYCLIENTS DUE TO HIS MISCONDUCT ANDMISBEHAVE AND ANYBODY DEALING WITH HIMSHALL BE AT THEIR OWN RISK, COST ANDCONSEQUENCES AND MY CLIENTS SHALL NOTBE RESPONSIBLE FOR HIS MISDEED, ACTS OROMISSIONS IN FUTURE IN ANY MANNER.

Sd/-RAHUL CHAUHAN

(ADVOCATE) D/918/2015D/4 4th Floor, Building No. 83 Gyan Khand-1,Indira Puram Mob. 9953001220 / 9971424742

PUBLIC NOTICE"My clients Sh. Robin S/o Sh. Shyam Lal, (AadharCard no. 514226658288) and Smt. Rekha w/o Sh.Robin (Aadhar Card no. 672795135999), both R/oH.No.- 70, PRAYOG VIHAR, HARI NAGAR, SouthWest Delhi, Delhi-110064 ; have severed allrelationships with their son namely Kuldeep(Aadhar Card no. 733768644692) and havedisowned/ debarred him and the future legal heirsof their Son, from all the movable and immovableproperties, for all times to come. My clients shallnot be responsible for the acts, deeds and things,if any done by their son namely Kuldeep, as myclients have nothing to do with his businesses,liabilities, deeds and acts what so ever, and anypersons dealing with him will be responsible andaccountable and will do at their own risk, cost andconsequences for the same".

Sd/-(Neeraj Rana)

AdvocatesChamber no. 429, Rohini Court, Delhi

Contact No. - 9810310944

PUBLIC NOTICEKNOW ALL MEN that my clients Sh.Bhupinder Singh S/o S. Gurcharan Singhand his wife Manjeet Kaur have severedall their relations with their son Sh.Parvinder Singh and his wife Smt. ParmjithKaur D/o Harjeet Singh because of theunwarrantable behaviour of Smt. ParmjithKaur and have debarred them both fromall their movable and immovableproperties. Any one dealing with them bothin any way or manner whatsoever shall bedoing at his own risks and consequences.

Sd/-J. S. KalraAdvocate

(D-660/1990)Chamber No. 298, Western Wing,

Tis Hazari courts, Delhi-110054

PUBLIC NOTICEJournal public is hereby informed thatone Sh. Prabhakar Pandey S/oAvdhesh Pandey Prop. Of MahimaPrint Solution K-99, DSIDC, IndustrialArea, Sector-5, Delhi-110039, hadobtained some signed blank cheques,promissory notes and blank printedand unprinted papers from my client-ess Smt Preeti Sabharwal W/o AnuragSabharwal by fraud and now he is mis-using the said documents if anyone ishaving any such documents includingcheques or promissory notes etc. thanHe/She may entertain claim before mewithin 15 days of the publication of thisnotice failing which no such claim shallbe entertain by my clientess in future.

Sd/- ANIL SHARMA (ADVOCATE)OFF: 6B, Block AD, First Floor,

(Power Apartment)Outer Ring Road, Pitampura.

NEW DELHI-110034

PUBLIC NOTICEGeneral public is hereby informed thatmy clients (1) SH. KULDEEP SINGHS/O SH. RATTAN SINGH and (2) SMT.SURINDER KAUR W/o Sh. kuldeepSingh R/o Residence of 59 Nagin LakeAppartment Paschim Vihar New Delhi-110087, with my client family 02daughter's Rinkle kaur Nagi and Dimplekaur Nagi and Son in law (DeepakKumar Nishant) have disowned TheirSon-Raja Singh and daughter in law-Priyanka along with her family from alltheir movable and immovableproperties.they don't have any familyrelations with them.They are notresponsible for their activities.

PARKASH CHAND (Advocate)EnrI.No.D-9065/2019.

PUBLIC NOTICEMy clientess Smt. Vimal Kanta W/o lateSh. Tulsi Singh Lamyan R/o C-131, IIndFloor, Mansarover Garden, Kirti Nagar,New Delhi- 15, permanently R/o H. No. 6,New Friends Colony, Ajab Pur Kalan,Haridwar Bye-Pass Road, Dehradun(Uttara Khand)- 248121 has disowned /debarred his son Gagan Kumar Lamyanand his wife Jyotishna Kumari Notyal, D/oNarendra Kumar Notyal, from her movableand immovable properties and otherassets due to their ill, unlawful and illegalbehaviours and attitudes and also myother family members have norelations/concerned with them of any kindof their acts and deeds in the future.

Sd/- PRASHANT CHAUHAN(ADVOCATE)

CHAMBER NO P-2 NEAR POSTOFFICE, TIS HAZARI COURT

DELHI- 110054

LLOOSSTT&&FFOOUUNNDDLLoosstt Original-Registry ofProperty.No.128/130,Karkari-Road,Vishwas-Nagar,Shahdara,Delhi-110032(Regn.No.13699,in-BookNo.1,V.L.No.4,796-onPage-7to12,Dated-12/07/2010)foundermay inform,ManojSharma, S/o-Late.SheeshpalSharma, R/o-545/1B,Gali.No.1,60-Feet-Road,VishwasNagar,S hahdara,Delhi-110032, PH:-9711780000.

0040551897-11

II,, DEEPAKSHARMA,S/o Late.S.Ksharma,R/o-1/9564,st.no-3,partap-pura,Shahdara,Delhi-32,have lostmyoriginal-certificate/marksheeet,class-10th (2000)Rollno-6107695,class-12th(2002)Rollno-6205384,CBSE-DELHI,andGraduation-degree(2005) Rollno-39/DABCM/2002GGSI-University,Delhi.

0040551891-11

II,, Vibhor S/o-PradeepKumarR/o-A1-901,M3MWoodshire,Sector-107,Gurugram - 122006,have lostmyoriginal-certificateClass-XII Year-2000Rollno-6227657CBSE-DELHI.

0040551891-9

LLoosstt Allotment Letter ofDDAflat no. 62 E/DB2nd floorRajouri GardenNewDelhi-64 inthenameofV.B.Mathur S/o Lt.M.KMathur. 0040551861-1

II,, Raminder SinghAnand, S/oRaghubir SinghAnand R/o-WZ-199,G-block jail-road,st.no-17, delhi-58,have lostmyoriginal-certificateClass-10th(1991) Rollno-6111348,class-12th(1993) Rollno-6208077CBSE-DELHI.

0040551891-10

CLASSIFIEDS&TENDERS

New Delhi

EXPRESSNETWORK 13WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY,OCTOBER20,2020

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICESRINAGAR,OCTOBER19

MILITANTSONMondayeveningshotdeadapoliceofficerinsouthKashmir’s Anantnag districtwhen hewas returning home,policesaid.Police saidmilitants fired at

Mohammad Ashraf Bhat at hisvillageChandpora, Kanelwan, inAnantnag district. The police of-ficerwas rushed to the hospital,but the doctors declared himbroughtdead.“Today at about 1830 hours,

terrorists fired upon a police in-spector identified as InspectorMohammadAshraf Bhat, a resi-dent of Chandpora Kanelwannearhisresidence,”policesaidin

anofficialstatement.“Theofficerreceived gunshot injuries andwas evacuated to nearby hospi-tal.However,hesuccumbedtohisinjuries and attained martyr-dom”.Policesourcessaidtheofficer

was posted at the CommandoTrainingCentre(CTC)Lethpora.Soonaftertheincident,ajoint

teamof police, Army and para-military personnel cordonedoffthe area and launched a searchoperation to trace themilitantsbehind the attack. However, tilllateevening,noarrestshadbeenmade. Senior officers reachedAnantnag to attend thewreath-layingceremonyatDistrictPoliceLines. It was attended by IGP,Kashmir, VijayKumar andotherseniorofficers.

J&K L-G rules outcut in honorarium

Policeman shotdead in Anantnag

Army chief visitsAmbala Cantt toreview readiness

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICESRINAGAR,OCTOBER19

JAMMU AND KashmirLieutenant Governor ManojSinha on Monday denied ru-mours regarding any reductionor scrapping of the honorariumof PanchayatiRaj orUrbanLocalBodyrepresentatives.Suchconcernswereraisedby

the removal of Section 10of theamendedJ&KPanchayatiRajAct,which stated the remunerationfor sarpanch and panches. TheRuralDevelopmentDepartmenthadearlierclarifiedthatirrespec-tiveoftheomissionofSection10,thePRIswill continue tobepaidtheirhonorarium.ButthePRIshaveraisedother

concernsregardingtheamendedAct,statingthatthecreationofthe

District Development Councils“leavesthemdisempowered.”“BlockDevelopmentCouncils

are electedbodies.Nowtheyarecreatingterritorialconstituencieswhichwillhaveelectedrepresen-tatives.What this does is that ifBlockDevelopmentChairpersonsformulate plans, they canbe re-jectedbytheseelectedrepresen-tatives,” ShafiqMir, chairmanofAllJ&KPanchayatConferencesaid.Meanwhile, speaking at an

event in Baramulla, LG Sinhastatedthat theUTgovernment isnot imposingproperty taxasbe-ing “misrepresented” by somepeople.However, he said that the

UrbanLocalBodiesarecompetenttodecideonsuchissuesinconsul-tationwiththepublicandforthedevelopment of theULBs them-selves.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEVADODARA,OCTOBER19

THE SARDAR Sarovar NarmadaNigam Ltd (SSNNL) has startedemptying the Narmada maincanal at the request of the stateCrime InvestigationDepartment(CID), which suspects that thebody of 65-year-old Telanganamigrant Babu SheikhNisarwasdumped there after his allegedcustodial death at the Fatehgunjpolice station in Vadodara onDecember10,2019.This will lead to nearly five

lakhpeopleresidingintwozonesof Vadodara city goingwithoutwater for 24 hours beginningTuesday.The Vadodara Fire and

Emergency Services (VFES) de-partment isonstandbytosearchfor thebodyafter the state CID'srequest,whichcomesamonthaf-terthelocalcourtinVadodaraonSeptember 11 rejected the CIDplea for extension of remandofthe sixpolicemen, thenattachedto the Fatehgunj police station.

Theyhadrefusedtocooperate intheinvestigationaftersurrender-ingonSeptember2.Officialssaidthatbasedonthe

cellphonelocationoftheaccusedatthattime,theCIDhasnarroweddown on the canal near Gorwaarea in Vadodara as the spotwhere the accused could have

possiblydumpedNisar’sbody.Nisar allegedlywentmissing

onDecember 10, 2019, after hewas apprehended by theFatehgunjpoliceonsuspicionofatheft. The first FIR filed by theVadodarapolice in July this yearreliedheavilyonthestatementofAssistant Head ConstableShaktisinh,whohas said that hesawNisartiedtoachairwithabeltandropeinthecomputerroomofthe police station to "restrict hismovement",whilethesixaccusedtorturedhimtoextract a confes-sionof thetheft.Shaktisinh has said that he

saw the accused inserting a penbetweenNisar’s fingers until hebled and “his voice faded away”and he “did not appear that hecouldbealive”,theFIRstated.

Narmada canal to be emptied tofind body of ‘custodial death’ victim

TheGorwacanal inVadodara isbeingemptied.BhupendraRana

NewDelhi: Army Chief GeneralMM Naravane visited theAmbalaCantonmentonMondayto“reviewthesecurityandoper-ational preparedness of KhargaCorps”.HewasbriefedbytheGeneral

OfficerCommanding,LtGeneralSS Mahal and later interactedwith formation commanders.TheArmysaidinastatementthathe “commended the formationforhighlevelofoperationalpre-paredness and appreciated theprotectionmeasurestakenbytheformation and units in the fightagainstCOVID-19”and“exhortedall ranks to continue workingwithzealandbepreparedforanyfutureoperationalchallenges”.Naravane also “visited

Ambala Air Force Base andlaudedthesynergyamongsttheforces,” theArmysaid. ENS

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,OCTOBER19

In the second such case thismonth,ababygirlwasdeliveredonboardanaircraft–thistimeaPawan Hans helicopter, whichwasoperatingasamedicalevac-uation flight from Agati inLakshadweeptoKochi,Kerala.In a statement, the state-

ownedhelicopter operator saidthat the baby was deliveredwhile its aircraft was at an alti-tudeof 2,000 feet.Earlier this month, a baby

was delivered on board anIndiGo flight operating on theDelhi-Bengaluru sector. “Themoment is added to a truly re-markable journey of PawanHans,acivilhelicoptercompanyserving the nation since 1985havingmorethanmillionof fly-

inghoursintheskyandover2.5million landings since incep-tion,” thecompanystated.Pawan Hans, in which up-

streamoilcompanyONGCowns

49 per cent stake and the re-mainingiswiththeGovernmentof India, is currently underprocess of being disinvested bytheCentre.

Thehelicopterwasonanevacuationflight fromLakshadweeptoKerala. Courtesy:PawanHans

Aligarh:Minor bookedfor ‘sexualassault’ onsix-year-oldEXPRESSNEWSSERVICELUCKNOW,OCTOBER19

Aminorboyhasbeenbookedforrape and under the sections ofthe Protection of Children fromSexualOffences(POCSO)Actforallegedly sexually assaulting asix-year-oldgirl fromhisneigh-bourhood at Aligarh in UttarPradeshonSunday.According to police, the FIR

wasregisteredonthecomplaintof thegirl’sparentswhoallegedthatonOctober12, theboysex-uallyassaultedherafter sheen-teredhishouse togetaball.Police have questioned the

boy in this connection.“We are not yet sure about

theactualageof theboy,butwecanconfirmheisbelow10years.For now,we have left himwithhisparentsandwillpresenthimata juvenilecourtanddowhat-ever the court directs us. Thecase is sensitive and everythingwill be done as per the JuvenileJustice law,” SP (Aligarh City)Abhisheksaid,addingthatasperthe law, “the rape has a verycomplexdefinitionandanysex-ual activity can comeunder thesectionof rape”.The girl’s parents have al-

leged that on October 12whentheirdaughterwasplayingout-sidethehome,herballwentintothehouseof aneighbour.“When the girl entered the

house, the boy caught her andsexuallyassaultedher,” thepar-entsalleged.The local station house offi-

cer said that both the accusedand victim family belongtothesamecommunityandarefrom a financially weakbackground.

MANISHSAHULUCKNOW,OCTOBER19

ACOURT in Bijnor has refused to take cognizanceof apolicechargesheet filedagainst five local jour-nalistsonthegroundthat there is “insufficientev-idence”againstthem.Thejournalistswerebookedlast year on several charges, including promotingenmity,forallegedlyrunning“fakenews”regardingallegeddenialofwatertoaScheduledTribefamilyfromahandpumpandalsoforallegedlyputtinguppostersclaimingthatthefamily'shousewasonsale.Thepolicerecentlyfiledachargesheetagainstthe

journalists—AshishTomar, ShakeelAhmed,Moin,AmirandLakhan.AshishandShakeelwerenamedin the FIR andpolice said thenamesofMoin,AmirandLakhancroppedupduringinvestigation.“The court refused to take cognizance of the

chargesheetbecauseofinsufficientevidenceagainstthe journalists,” said government counsel, Bijnor,NeerajKumar. Thecourt alsodirected that theSup-erintendentof Police,Bijnor,be informed inwritingaboutthe“erroneousinvestigationdoneinthecase”.

ThecasedatestoAugustlastyearwhentwofam-ilies clashedoverwater at Titarwala Basi village inMandawarpolice station area.Oneof the families,belongingtotheDalitcommunity,allegedlyrefusedtoallowtheother,fromtheSTcommunity,tocollectwaterfromahandpump.Onbeinginformed,apo-lice teamreached the village and resolved thedis-pute.Afterthepoliceleft,thefamiliesagainclashed.OnSeptember6,apoliceteamvisitedthevillage

after sections of themedia reported that ST familyputuppostersonan“exodus” fromthevillage.Thepolice said afamily mem-ber had toldthem that onSeptember 5,four-five jour-nalists put upthe poster,whichalsosaidthe housewasforsale,despiteher raising anobjection.

UP: Court refuses to take cognizanceof chargesheet against five journalists

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Baby delivered on board Pawan Hanschopper on medical evacuation flight

Srinagar officeof KashmirTimes sealed bythe Estates dept

BASHAARATMASOODSRINAGAR,OCTOBER19

THE JAMMU and Kashmir ad-ministrationhaslockedoneofthetwopropertiesallottedtoKashmirTimes inSrinagar.Anuradha Bhasin, executive

editor of the newspaper, one ofthe oldest in J&K, was evictedfrom her official residence inJammutwomonthsago.Bhasin had earlier filed a pe-

tition in SupremeCourt againstthecommunicationblackoutaf-terabrogationofJ&K’sspecialsta-tus lastAugust seekingdirectionto the Centre for immediate re-laxation on communicationblackout intheValley.“Today, Estates Deptt locked

our office without any dueprocessof cancellationandevic-tion, sameway as Iwas evictedfroma flat in Jammuwhere mybelongings including valuableswere handedover to ‘newallot-tee’...No dueprocess followed...”Bhasintweeted,sharingapictureof Estates officials locking atKashmirTimesofficeatSrinagar’sMushtaqMemorialPressEnclave.Estatesofficialssaidtheyonly

“took possession” of a house al-lotted to the newspaper’s latefounderVedBhasin.“Theyhavebeenallottedtwo

buildings—one is office and theotherwasallottedasaresidenceto Ved Bhasin sahib,” DeputyDirector, Estates, MohammadAslam told The Indian Express.“Since Bhasin-sahib died someyearsago,weissuedthemnoticesto vacate thehouse. They them-selves handed over the buildingtousandtodayourofficialswenttotakepossession.”Bhasin, however, questioned

theveracityoftheofficialversion.“Wehavenotreceivedanyorderoranynotice,”shesaid.

New Delhi

CORONAVIRUSDASHBOARD

A PATIENT recoveringfromCovid-19mayhavedeveloped antibodies,but this does not reallytell themhowmuch im-munity they have devel-oped. Some antibodiesmight protect the body,some might not be so,while some antibodiesmight even cause harmtothebody.Scientists at the Ohio State

Universityhavedevelopedanewlabtestingprocedureforthedetectionofantibodies,onethatspecificallyiden-tifies the “neutralising” antibodiesthatprotectagainst infectionof cells.“Withmany assays currently in

use,wecandetectantibodies,butthatdoesn’t tell us if they’re neutralizingantibodies.Weonlyknowthelevelofantibodies someone has,” the OhioStateUniversity’sDrShan-LuLiusaidinastatement.Liuistheseniorauthorofaresearchpaperdescribingthenew

methodinthejournal JCIInsight.“Ourassayexam-ineswhether antibodiesarepotentiallyprotective,whichmeans they pre-ventapatient fromrein-fection and block viralreplication,”hesaid.Tests with this new

assayshowedthat,over-all, ICUpatientshadpro-duced the highest con-

centrationofneutralisingantibodies,andconvalescentplasmadonorsandhealthcare workers had the lowestantibody levels.“So themore severe the disease,

the higher the antibody levels pro-duced.Andwhat this tells us is thereis awide spectrum of different anti-body levels after infection,” said Liu.“... Our assay could be used to tellwhetherantibodieshavebeendevel-oped in individuals who have hadcontactswithSARS-CoV-2.”

Source:OhioStateUniversity

PAPERCLIP

NEWRESEARCH

Identifying the antibodies thatreally help fight coronavirus

INDIAACTIVECASES 772,055

WORLDTOTALCASES40,155,883

Source:JohnsHopkinsUniversity,updatedat11pmonOct19

INDIATOTALCASES7,550,273

Source:MinistryofHealth&FamilyWelfare,updatedat11pmonOct19

Note: TheOct18 figure in this graph isbasedon thegovernmentupdateonOct19

950,000

850,000

750,000

HARISHDAMODARANNEWDELHI,OCTOBER19

THECENTRE isworkingonaplan to restrictthenumberof fertiliserbagsthat individualfarmerscanbuyduringanycroppingseason.What are the implications, including for itsfertiliser subsidybill?

What is fertilisersubsidy?Farmers buy fertilisers at MRPs (maxi-

mum retail price) below their normal sup-ply-and-demand-based market rates orwhat it costs toproduce/import them.TheMRP of neem-coated urea, for in-

stance, is fixed by the government at Rs5,922.22pertonne,whereasitsaveragecost-pluspricepayabletodomesticmanufactur-ersandimporterscomestoaroundRs17,000and Rs 23,000 per tonne, respectively. Thedifference,whichvaries according toplant-wise production cost and import price, isfootedby theCentreas subsidy.TheMRPs of non-urea fertilisers are de-

controlled or fixed by the companies. TheCentre, however, pays a flat per-tonne sub-sidy on these nutrients to ensure they arepriced at “reasonable levels”. The per-tonnesubsidy is currentlyRs10,231 fordi-ammo-niumphosphate(DAP),Rs6,070formuriateofpotash(MOP)andRs8,380forthepopular‘10:26:26’complexfertiliser,withtheircorre-sponding average MRPs at Rs 24,000, Rs17,500andRs23,500pertonne,respectively.Decontrolled fertilisers, thus, retailway

above urea, while they also attract lowersubsidy.

Howisthesubsidypaidandwhogets it?Thesubsidygoestofertilisercompanies,

although its ultimate beneficiary is thefarmerwhopaysMRPslessthanthemarket-determinedrates.Companies,untilrecently,were paid after their baggedmaterial hadbeen dispatched and received at a district’srailheadpointorapprovedgodown.FromMarch2018,anewso-calleddirect

benefit transfer (DBT) systemwas intro-duced, wherein subsidy payment to thecompanieswouldhappenonly after actual

sales to farmersbyretailers. Eachretailer—there areover2.3 lakhof themacross India— now has a point-of-sale (PoS) machinelinked to the Department of Fertilisers’ e-Urvarak DBT portal. Anybody buying sub-sidised fertilisers is required to furnishhis/her Aadhaar unique identity or KisanCredit Card number. The quantities of theindividual fertiliserspurchased, alongwiththe buyer’s name and biometric authenti-cation, have to be captured on the PoS de-vice. Only upon the sale getting registeredon the e-Urvarak platform can a companyclaim subsidy, with these being processedon aweekly basis and payments remittedelectronically to its bankaccount.

Whatwasthenewpaymentsystem’sunderlyingpurpose?Themainmotiveistocurbdiversion.This

is natural with any under-priced product,moresoinurea,whosebasicMRP(excludingtaxes and neem-coating cost) has beenraised by hardly 11% from Rs 4,830 to Rs5,360 per tonne since April 2010. The sameperiod—fromwhenallotherfertilisersweredecontrolled—hasseentheper-tonneMRPofDAPrisefromRs9,350toRs24,000,whilesimilarly going up forMOP (Rs 4,455 to Rs17,500)and‘10:26:26’(Rs7,197toRs23,500).Being super-subsidised, urea is always

prone todiversion fornon-agriculturaluse— as a binder by plywood/particle boardmakers, cheap protein source by animalfeedmanufacturers or adulterant bymilkvendors — apart from being smuggled toNepal and Bangladesh. The scope for leak-age was more in the earlier system, rightfrom the point of dispatch till the retailerend. With DBT, pilferage happens only attheretailer level,as there isnosubsidypay-ment till sales are made through POSma-chinesandsubject to thebuyers’biometricauthentication.

What is thenextstepbeingproposed?At present, the Centre is following a “no

denial” policy. Anybody, non-farmers in-cluded,canpurchaseanyquantityof fertilis-ers through the PoSmachines. That obvi-ouslyallows forbulkbuyingbyunintendedbeneficiaries,whoarenotgenuineordeserv-ingfarmers.Whilethereisalimitof100bagsthatan individualcanpurchaseatonetime,it does not stop anyone from buying anynumberof times.Oneplanunderdiscussionis to cap the total numberof subsidised fer-tiliser bags that any person can buy duringanentirekhariforrabicroppingseason.This,it isexpected,wouldendevenretail-leveldi-versionandpurchasesby largebuyersmas-queradingas farmers.

What is thefertiliserrequirementof atypical farmer?Itdependsonthecrop.Afarmergrowing

irrigated wheat or paddy may use aboutthree 45-kg bags of urea, one 50-kg bag ofDAPandhalf-a-bag(25kg)ofMOPperacre.Atotalof100bagswouldeasilycoverthesea-sonal requirement of a 20-acre farmer. Andthatcouldpossiblybeareasonablecaptoim-pose;thosewantingmorecanwellaffordtopaytheunsubsidisedratesfortheextrabags.

Howmuchsubsidydoesafarmerreallygetperacre?Forthreebagsurea,onebagDAPandhalf-

a-bagMOPperacre,thefarmerwouldspendatotalof Rs2,437atexistingMRPs.Thecor-responding subsidyvalue–at anaverageofRs13,000pertonne(Rs585/bag)forurea,Rs511.55/bagforDAPandRs303.5/bagforMOP–will adduptoRs2,418.3peracre.Butthen, farmersarealsotaxedonother

inputs. Take diesel, where the incidence ofexcise and value added tax is Rs 42.19 on alitreretailingatRs70.46inDelhi.On30litresof average per-acre consumption for paddyorwheat, thatwillbenearlyRs1,266.So, forevery Re 1 spent on fertiliser subsidy,morethanhalf is recoveredasdiesel tax.Inaddition, farmerspaygoodsandserv-

icetax(GST)oninputs, rangingfrom12%ontractors, agricultural implements, pumpsanddrip/sprinkler irrigationsystemsto18%on crop protection chemicals. Fertiliser it-self is taxed at 5%. And since there’s noGSTon farmproduce, theycannot claimany in-put tax credit on their sales, unlike otherbusinessmen.

What’s thewayforward?The timehas come to seriously consider

paying farmers a flat per-acre cash subsidythat they can use to purchase any fertiliser.The amount could vary, depending on thenumberofcropsgrownandwhetherthelandis irrigated or not. This is, perhaps, the onlysustainablesolutiontopreventdiversionandalso encourage judicious application of fer-tilisers, with the right nutrient (macro andmicro)combinationbasedonpropersoiltest-ingandcrop-specific requirements.

14WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

NIRUPAMASUBRAMANIANMUMBAI,OCTOBER19

TWOBACK-TO-BACKjointoppositionralliesinPakistanwithtensofthousandstakingpartdespitethepandemic,thefirstinGujranwalaonOctober16and the second inKarachi onSunday, have set the stage for anewseasonofagameof thronesinthatcountry.Fourbigoppositionparties,thePakistan

MuslimLeague(Nawaz),PakistanPeople'sParty, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazlur),and the PakhtunkhwaMilli Awami Party,and some smaller ones, including theBaloch National Party and the PashtunTahaffuzMovement,havecometogethertochannelisepublicdiscontentatrisingprices,powercuts,closureofbusinessesandothereconomicmisery. Their alliance is calledPakistanDemocraticMovement (PDM).The PDMhas also launched Gen Next

leadersofpoliticaldynasties:NawazSharif’sdaughter Maryam Nawaz, and Asif AliZardari’s son Bilawal Bhutto. The counter-intuitivechoiceofMaulanaFazlurRahman,headoftheJUI(F)aspresidentofPDM,side-stepped a possible leadership tussle be-tween theSharifs and theBhutto-Zardaris.TheIslamistmaulanaalsobringstothePDMa sizeable Pashtun following, a substantialhardlinerightwingelement,andanational

character, pre-empting government criti-cismofa foreignhandintheseprotests.

WhatdoesthePDMwant?ItsmaindemandisthattheImranKhan

governmentmustgo. Ithasallegedhewasnot so much elected as “selected” in the2018electionby thePakistanArmy.Althoughthepandemicappearstohave

tapered down, the report card on ImranKhan's 27months in office is dismal: ac-cording to the World Bank, Pakistan'sgrowth rate has contracted from 1.9% inFY2019to–1.5% in2020;and inflation isat10.7% this year, four points higher than in2019.What has kept Pakistan afloat is theinfusionof financial aid.ButitisnotjustImranKhanwhoisbeing

targeted.ForatleastthePML(N),thetargetisclearly the Pakistan Army. From London,wherehe is under treatment after securingbail fromhis imprisonment in a corruptioncase,NawazSharifhasmadetwothunderingattacks against theArmy's role inpolitics inPakistan, singling out Army chief GeneralQamar JavedBajwabyname toblamehimforPakistan'sills.Onbothoccasions,heaccu-sedtheArmyandGenBajwaofoustinghim,thejudiciaryofcolludinginthis,andtheArmyofhavingbecome“astateaboveastate”.

Whatthissoremarkableaboutthis

attackontheArmy?Sharif's speeches are unprecedented,

andtakehislongbattlewiththeArmytothenext level. No politician, particularly onehailing fromPunjab, of Sharif’s stature hasopenlychallengedthecountry'smostpow-erful institutioninthismanner.Mostof theArmy,fromgeneraltosoldier,isdrawnfromthePunjabprovince.Thisisalsothefirsttimesuch an attack has come from the opposi-tionwhenanelectedciviliangovernmentisin office. But the Imran Khan governmenthas declaredmany times that it is “on thesame page” as the Pakistan Army. The op-positionalliance is thustargetingboth.

HowhasImranresponded?Imran has hit out at the opposition for

playing India andPrimeMinisterNarendra

Modi's game, in trying toweaken Pakistanbytryingtotopplehisgovernment,achargethePDMhasrefutedatbothralliesbyheap-ingscornonModiandhisactionsinKashmir,andtalkingupcommunalisminIndia.TheKashmirissue,andImran'sinaction,

as perceived in Pakistan, is one of the bigthemes of the protest — “Imran Khan didnothing to protect Kashmir or Kashmiris,he did a deal on Kashmir, the Army did adeal on Kashmir” —was a recurring tropeinspeechesat the tworallies.The2013SharifgovernmentwasIndia's

best chance for rapprochement withPakistan. Sharif's overtures to Indiamadethe Pakistan Army jumpy. While his re-moval as PM was a setback for India-Pakistan relations, howhemight have re-acted to the changes in Kashmir had he

been inpower remainsanopenquestion.

Howwill theArmyrespond?Bajwa and the ISI chief, Lt Gen Faiz

Hameed, are reported tohavehadameet-ing with key opposition leaders inSeptember, and asked themnot to drag inthe Army. Sharif has indicated, in asmanywords, thathe“willnolongerbesilenced”.TheArmy's reactionwill dependon the

momentumtheopposition isable togather.As the final arbiter, itwill decidehowmuchleewaytoallowtheprotestors.Itwillundoubt-edly factor in thepolitical fallout of a crack-downto itself, against thecostsofmakingadealwithpartsorthewholeoftheopposition.If theArmygetsnervyaboutbeingchal-

lengedpolitically, itmayreviewitsrelation-shipwithImranKhan.Therearemanycon-tenderswithinImran’spartywaitinginthewings for the topslot.

Butdoesn't theArmyoweImranforthethree-yearextensiontoGenBajwa?That is part of the problem, but could

alsobe thekey to Imran's survival. The ex-tensionhad tobeapprovedbyParliament,and was not popular within the Army.Sharif’s repeatednamingofBajwaseemedto be signalling that he held no grievanceagainst others in the Army. In Karachi,MaryamNawaz showered praise on the

Army,andsaid“oneortwopersonalitiesarenot the entire institution, but one or twopeoplecandefametheentireinstitution…”ThePakistanArmycravespublic legiti-

macy. Itwouldbeworried at being identi-fiedtoocloselywithagovernmentthathasprovedineptfromthegetgo.Itwouldrathersacrifice individuals than the institution.Duringtheelection,Bajwawastheface

of the Army's plan to have Imran Khanelected. His fate is inextricably linked toImran's. Before Bajwa retires in 2022, hewouldwanttolineuptheducksforhischo-sensuccessor. Thatperson, it isbelieved, isISIheadLtGenFaizHameed,but itwillnotbesmooth, as thereareothercontenders.JettisoningImrancouldtorpedotheplan,

asitwouldweakenBajwahimself.Butfirst,LtGenHameedhas tocommandacorps tobe considered for the top slot, for whichtherehastobeafull reshuffle.PostingoutatrustedintelligencechiefwilldepriveBajwaof apowerful ally. All in all, this is a still de-velopingcomplexthreewayhandshake.

Whatnext?The eventual plan is for a longmarch in

JanuarytoculminateinIslamabadinashowof strength.More rallies are planned in thebuild-up to that. Thenext one is inQuetta,onOctober25.How it goes couldprovide aclueastowhattheArmyintendstodonext.

How fertiliser subsidy worksSIMPLYPUTQUESTION&ANSWER

Thegovernmentproposesto limit theamountof fertiliserseachfarmercanbuyduringacroppingseason.What is theobjectiveof thismove,andwhatwill its implicationsbe, includingonthesubsidybill?

Assam-Mizoram, and the other boundary issues in N-EABHISHEKSAHAGUWAHATI,OCTOBER19

OVERTHE last oneweek, residents of AssamandMizoramhave clashed twice over terri-tory, injuring at least eight people and torch-ingafewhutsandsmallshops.Itspotlightsthelong-standing inter-state boundary issues intheNortheast,particularlybetweenAssamandthestatesthatwerecarvedoutof it.

Whatweretherecentclashesabout?OnSaturday, residentsof Lailapurvillage

inAssam’sCachardistrict clashedwith resi-dentsoflocalitiesnearVairengteinMizoram’sKolasibdistrict.OnOctober9,asimilarclashtook place on the border of Karimganj(Assam)andMamit (Mizoram)districts.OnOctober9, a farmhut andabetel nut

plantation belonging to twoMizoram resi-dents were set on fire. On Saturday, somepeoplefromLailapurstartedpeltingstonesatMizorampolicepersonnelandMizoramres-idents.“Inturn,Mizoramresidentsmobilised

and went after them,” Kolasib DeputyCommissionerHLalthanglianasaid.

What ledtothis?“According to an agreement between

governments of AssamandMizoram someyears ago, status quo should bemaintainedinnoman’slandintheborderarea.However,people from Lailapur broke the status quoand allegedly constructed some temporaryhuts. People fromMizoram sidewent andset fireon them,”Lalthanglianasaid.On theother hand, Keerthi Jalli, the DC of Cachar,told The Indian Express that the contestedlandbelongstoAssamasperstate’srecords.In the October 9 incident, according to

Mizoram officials, the land claimed byAssamisbeingcultivatedfora longtimebyresidents of Mizoram. The DC of Mamit,Lalrozama, has urged that status quo bemaintained. The Karimganj DC,Anbamuthan MP, said that although thecontested land was historically cultivatedby Mizoram residents, on paper it fellwithin theSinglaForestReserve that isun-

der Karimganj’s jurisdiction. Anbamuthantold The Indian Express that the issue wasbeing resolved.Mizoramborders Assam’s Barak Valley;

bothborderBangladesh.Mizoramcivilsocietygroupsblame“illegalBangladeshis” (allegedmigrantsfromBangladesh)ontheAssamside.“IllegalBangladeshisarecreatingallthistrou-ble. Theycomeanddestroyourhuts, cutourplantsandthistimepeltedstonesonourpo-licemen,” said BVanlaltana, president of thestudents’unionMZP(MizoZirlaiPawl).

Howcomplex is theboundarydispute?In the Northeast’s complex boundary

equations,showdownsbetweenAssamandMizoram residents are less frequent thantheyarebetween, say,AssamandNagalandresidents. Nevertheless, the boundary be-tweenpresent-dayAssamandMizoram,165kmlongtoday,datesbacktothecolonialera,whenMizoramwas known as Lushai Hills,adistrictofAssam.Thedispute stems fromanotification of

1875thatdifferentiatedLushaiHillsfromthe

plainsofCachar,andanotherof1933thatde-marcates a boundary between Lushai HillsandManipur.A Mizoram minister told The Indian

ExpressthatMizorambelievestheboundaryshould be demarcated on the basis of the1875notification,which isderivedfromtheBengal Eastern Frontier Regulation (BEFR)Act, 1873.Mizo leaders have argued in the

past argued against the demarcation noti-fied in 1933 becauseMizo society was notconsulted.MZP’sVanlaltanasaidtheAssamgovernment follows the1933demarcation,and thatwas thepointof conflict.Thelast timetheboundarysawviolence

was in February 2018. TheMZP had built abuilt a wooden rest house in a forest, itsstatedpurposebeingtoserveasarestingforfarmers.Assampoliceandforestdepartmentofficials demolished it saying this was inAssamterritory.MZPmembersclashedwithAssampersonnel,whoalsothrashedagroupof Mizoram journalists who had gone tocover the incident.

Whataretheotherboundary issues intheNortheast?DuringBritishrule,Assamincludedpres-

ent-day Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh andMeghalayabesidesMizoram,whichbecameseparatestateonebyone.Today,Assamhasboundaryproblemswitheachof them.Nagaland shares a 500-km boundary

with Assam. According to a 2008 research

paper from theManohar Parrikar Institutefor Defence Studies and Analyses, violentclashes and armed conflicts, marked bykillings, have occurred on the Assam-Nagalandbordersince1965.Intwomajorin-cidentsofviolencein1979and1985,atleast100 personswere killed, The Indian Expresshas reported earlier. The boundary disputeisnowin theSupremeCourt.On the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh

boundary (over 800 km), clasheswere firstreported in 1992, according to the same re-search paper. Since then, there have beenseveral accusationsof illegal encroachmentfrom both sides, and intermittent clashes.ThisboundaryissuetooisbeingheardbytheSupremeCourt.The 884-kmAssam-Meghalaya bound-

ary, too, witnesses flare-ups frequently. AsperMeghalayagovernment statements, to-daythereare12areasofdisputebetweenthetwo states. In February this year, the ChiefMinisters of the two states spoke to eachotherabout theneed tomaintain statusquoandpeace.

@ieExplained#ExpressExplainedIf there are questions of current or contemporary relevance that youwould likeexplained, pleasewrite to [email protected] EXPLAINED


Oct9 Oct18LAST 10 DAYS

883,185

772,055

Farmers loadfertiliseronatruck inUttarPradesh. Filephoto

Oppositionsupportersat theKarachirallyonSunday.Reuters

Bangladesh

KarimganjHailakandiCachar

AizawlKolasibMamit

A S S A M NAGALAND

MANIPUR

MEGHALAYA

M I Z O R A MVairengte

Lailapur

What joint opposition rallies signal to Imran Khan govt and Pak Army

New Delhi


THEWORLDWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

FINLAND

NokiatobuildmobilenetworkonthemoonSTRUGGLING TO get aphone signal at home onplanet Earth? Perhapsyou’ll have better luck onthemoon. Nokia has beenselected byNASA to buildthefirstcellularnetworkonthemoon,theFinnishcom-pany said onMonday, astheUS space agency plansforafuturewherehumansreturn there and establishlunar settlements. NASAaims to return humans tothemoonby2024 anddiginforalong-termpresencethere under its Artemisprogramme.Nokiasaidthefirst wireless broadbandcommunicationssysteminspacewouldbebuiltonthelunar surface in late 2022,before humans make itbackthere.REUTERS

Nokiasaidawirelessbroadbandsystemwillbebulitonthe lunarsurface in late2022

TOPOFTHEWORLD

USA

RapperheldafterbraggingaboutunemploymentfraudinvideoARAPPERwhoboastedinamusic video about gettingrich by fraudulently apply-ing for unemploymentmeant for thoseaffectedbyCovid-19 lockdowns hasbeenaccusedofusingstolenidentities to obtain morethan $1.2million in joblessbenefits, the authoritiessaid. Fontrell AntonioBaines,31,whoperformsasNukeBizzle,wasarrestedonFriday. In amusic video forthe song EDD that wasposted to YouTube on Sept11, Baines andanother rap-per, Fat Wizza, boastedabout getting “rich off ofEDD,”anapparentreferenceto the EmploymentDevelopmentDepartment.

NYT

AUSTRALIA

WWFdronestodropseedsforkoalagumtreesSPECIALISEDDRONESwerebeingused inaprogrammeto boost koala numbers onAustralia’s east coast, drop-ping seeds of gum trees aspart of a World WildlifeFund (WWF) scheme to re-generate bushland torchedin the country’s historicbushfires. Gum tree leavesarekoala’smainfoodsource,andrestoringbushlandandforest habitat razed in the2019-2020 fires is key totheir long-term survival inNewSouthWalesstate.Thefireskilledordisplaced3bil-lionanimals.REUTERS

MUJIBMASHAL,NAJIMRAHIM&FATIMAFAIZIKABUL,OCTOBER19

INAlongconflictwagedbymen,she has been a rare femalewar-lord, defendingher fief innorth-ern Afghanistan against theTaliban, her own relatives andevenagainsttheUS-backedcen-tralgovernmentshealliedwith.Asshegrewintoher70s,ail-

ing and bedridden with badknees, thewarlord, Bibi Ayesha,took pride in having an unde-feated record indecadesofwar.Sheispopularlyknownbyanomde guerre: Commander Kaftar,whichmeans “pigeon” in Farsi,

“because shemoved and killedwith the elegance of a bird,” asoneprofileput it.OnThursday,theTalibande-

claredtheendofherhigh-flyingdays:Kaftar,alongwithhermen,had surrendered to them, theysaid inastatement.“TheofficialsofourInviteand

GuidanceCommissionwelcomedthem,”thestatementsaid.Local officials in restive

Baghlan province,where she isbased,andherrelativesconfirmedthe commander’s surrender andsaid itwas anact of survival.Hervalleywas so surrounded,withotherneighboringmilitiasswitch-ing sides to the Taliban, that shehadnochoice.

MohammadHanifKohgadai,amemberoftheBaghlanprovin-cialcouncilrepresentingKaftar’sdistrict, said she had reached adeal through a Taliban com-manderrelatedtoherfamily.“TheTalibanspentthenightat

CommanderKaftar’shouse, theyatethere,”Kohgadaisaidinanin-terviewFriday. “Today, they leftthehouseandtookwiththem13weaponsandothermilitarygear.”One of Kaftar’s sons played

downtheepisode, saying itwasmorea truce thanasurrender.“It is just a rumour. My

mother is sick,” said RazMohammad,oneofherthreere-mainingsons.(Threeotherswerekilled in years of fighting.) “She

hasn’t joined the Taliban. Wedon’t fighttheTalibananymore;wehaveweaponstoprotectour-selves fromourenemies.”

Foragroupthatkeptwomenconfined to their homes whentheywereinpowerinthe1990s,a Talibanalliancewitha female

commandercouldprove tricky.The Taliban have yet to provideany detailed positions in ongo-ing peace talks on the role ofwomeninafuturegovernment.But what makes Kaftar’s shifteasier is that she commandshundreds of men in a deeplyconservative society.Thesurrenderexposesalarger

vulnerability of theAfghan gov-ernment: Its defences are partlyreliantonthousandsofunreliablemilitias with track records ofabuseandlocalfeuding,andahis-toryofswitchingsides.Kaftar’s experience speaks to

the complicated reality uponwhichtheUS-bankrolleddemoc-racyhasbeenbuilt—onthelegacy

ofapreviousinvasionandyearsofanarchyandwarlordrule.Her reputation began to

growwith the killing of Sovietcommandoswhohadswarmedher valley during an invasionstarting in1979.Shehasnotputdownarmssince, raisingamili-tia that protected her valley asher little kingdom. EvenwhentheTalibansweptthroughmostof Afghanistan in the1990s, shefendedthemoff.Shehasoftenrecountedhow

she taunted the Taliban com-mander for her provincewith alose-lose offer: If she arrestedhim, she would parade himaround town on a donkey andpeople would laugh at him for

beingdefeatedbyawoman.Andif he arrested her? The townwould scold the Taliban com-mander forarrestingawoman.AftertheUSinvasionin2001,

the new Afghan governmentmoved to disarmmilitias likehers.Sheandmanyothermilitiacommanders resisted. Askedabout the governmentwantingto disarm her, she said, “If theycome,youwillseewhatIwilldoto thegovernment.”Even in Kabul shewas cele-

bratedasananti-Talibanheroandinspiration forwomen,with thecountry’s former human rightschief attending a celebration ofherhostedbyAfghanistan’s vicepresident.NYT

SHE WAS UNDEFEATED IN DECADES OF WAR, BUT HER DECISION WAS AN ACT OF SURVIVAL

A storied woman warlord surrenders to Taliban, exposing Afghan weakness

Afghanspecial forcesat thesiteof anattack inBaghlanProvince lastyear.Baghlan iswhereKaftar isbased.Reuters

AP&REUTERSLONDON,OCTOBER19

THE NUMBER of confirmedCovid-19casesacrosstheplanethassurpassed40million,butex-perts say that is only the tip oftheicebergwhenitcomestothetrueimpactofthepandemicthathas upended life and workaroundtheworld.ThemilestonewashitMonday

morning, according to JohnsHopkinsUniversity,whichcollatesreportsfromaroundtheworld.Theactualworldwidetallyof

Covid-19 cases is thought to befar higher, as testing has beenunevenorlimited,manypeoplehave had no symptoms andsome governments have con-cealedthetruenumberofcases.To date, more than 1.1 millionconfirmed virus deaths havebeenreported,althoughexpertsalso believe that number is anundercount.The US, India and Brazil are

reporting by far the highestnumbers of cases, although theglobal increase in recentweekshas been driven by a surge inEurope, which has seen over240,000confirmedvirusdeathsin thepandemicso far.There were an average of

around 347,000 cases globallyeach day over the past week,comparedwith 292,000 in thefirstweekofOctober.In theUS, newcases per day

wereontherisein44states,withmanyofthebiggestsurgesintheMidwestandGreatPlains,where

resistancetowearingmasksandtaking other precautions hasbeenhighandthevirushasoftenbeenseenasabig-cityproblem.TheWHOsaid lastweek that

Europe had a reported a record

weekly high of nearly 700,000casesandsaid theregionwasre-sponsibleforaboutathirdofcasesglobally.Britain,France,RussiaandSpainaccountforabouthalfofallnewcasesintheregion.

GRANTPECK&CHRISBLAKEBANGKOK,OCTOBER19

THAI AUTHORITIES workedMondaytostemagrowingtideofprotestscallingfortheprimemin-ister to resign by threatening tocensor news coverage, raiding apublishinghouseandattemptingtoblocktheTelegrammessagingappusedbydemonstrators.TheeffortsbyPrimeMinister

PrayuthChan-ocha’sgovernmenttodrain the student-ledprotestsof support and the ability to or-ganise comesasdemonstrationshave grown in the capital andspread around the country, de-spiteanemergencydecree,whichbans public gatherings ofmore

thanfourpeopleinBangkok,out-lawsnews said to affect nationalsecurity and gives authoritiesbroadpowertodetainpeople.Thousands of mostly young

protesters massed in northernBangkokonMondayevening,astheyhaveinvariouslocationsinthecapitaloverthepastsixdaysto push their demands, includ-ingacontroversialcallforreformof themonarchy.Authorities arenow increas-

inglyturningtocensorship.AtopNational Broadcasting andTelecommunicationsCommissionofficial confirmed reports that ithadbeenorderedtoblockaccesstothemessagingappTelegram.Policealsosearchedtheoffice

ofapublishinghousethathandlesbooksbyThaiandforeignscholars

withsometimescontroversialper-spectives. Same Sky publishinghousesaidpolicetookawaycopiesofthreetitlesthathadbeensoldatarecentbookfairinabundle.Deputy police spokesman

Kissana Phataracharoen alsoconfirmed an order signed bythe chief of police that could al-low officials to block access tonews sites that give what hecalled“distorted information”.Kissana spoke after a leaked

copyofthecensorshiprequestcir-culatedonsocialmedia.Theordercallsforblockingaccesstotheon-line sites of Voice TV, TheReporters, The Standard,Prachatai,andFreeYouth,andre-moving their existing content. ItalsoproposesabanonVoiceTV’sover-the-airdigitalbroadcasts.AP

Averageof347,000Covid-19caseseachdayinthepastweek

Demonstrators fromthehospitality industryprotestagainstreimposedCovidrestrictions, inLondononMonday.Reuters

Vaccine storageissues may leave3 billion peoplewithout accessGampela: From factory to sy-ringe, the world’s most prom-ising coronavirus vaccine can-didates need non-stop sterilerefrigeration tostaypotentandsafe. But despite enormousstrides inequippingdevelopingcountries to maintain the vac-cine “cold chain”, nearly 3 bil-lion of the world’s 7.8 billionpeople live where tempera-ture-controlledstorage is insuf-ficient for an immunisationcampaigntobringCovid-19un-der control.The vaccine cold chain hur-

dle is just the latest disparity ofthepandemicweightedagainstthe poor, whomore often liveandworkincrowdedconditionsthat allow the virus to spread,andwhose health systems lacklabs, supplies or technicians tocarryout large-scale testing.The result: Poor people

around the world who wereamong the hardest hit by theviruspandemicarealsolikelytobe the last to recover fromit.Withthepandemicnowinits

eighthmonth, logistics expertswarnthatvastpartsof theworldlacktherefrigerationtoadminis-ter an effective vaccination pro-gramme. This includes CentralAsia, much of South andSoutheastAsia,LatinAmericaex-ceptforthelargestcountries,andallbutatinycornerofAfrica.AP

Thousandsofpro-democracyactivistsataprotest inBangkokonMonday.AP

Thailand to probe media outlets asthousands again defy protest ban

JILLCOLVIN,WILLWEISSERT&ZEKEMILLERLASVEGAS,OCTOBER19

US PRESIDENT Donald TrumpsoughtMonday to buck up hiscampaign staffers two weeksfromElectionDay,dismissingthecautionary coronavirusadviceofhis scientific experts aswell aspolling showing him trailingDemocraticrivalJoeBidenacrosskeybattlegroundstates.Trump was facing intense

pressuretoturnaroundhiscam-paign,hopingforthetypeof last-minutesurgethatrevivedhiscan-didacy four years ago andplungingintoanaggressivetravelschedule despite the pandemic.But his lack of a consistentmes-sage, the surgingvirus cases andhis attacks on experts like DrAnthonyFauci couldunderminefinal efforts to appeal to votersoutsideofhismostloyalbase.Speaking to campaign aides

on a conference call, Trumpsaidhebelieveshe’s going towin, al-lowing that he didn’t have thatsame sense of confidence twoweeks agowhen hewas hospi-talisedwithCovid-19.Oneweeksince returning to the campaigntrail, where his handling of thepandemicisacentralissuetovot-ers, Trump blasted his govern-ment’s own scientists for theircriticismofhisperformance.“People are tired of hearing

Fauciandall these idiots,”Trump

saidofFauci,declaringthegovern-ment’s top infectiousdiseaseex-pert“adisaster”.ButFauci isbothrespectedandpopular,andTrumpsuggestedfiringthedoctorwouldonly create greater controversy.Trump’srejectionofscientificad-viceonthepandemichasalreadydrawnbipartisancondemnation.Trumpheldhiscallwithcam-

paign staffers from Las Vegas,wherehewasonthethirddayofawesterncampaignswing.HewastoholdArizona rallies inPrescottandTucsonlaterinthedaybeforereturningtotheWhiteHouse.AP

RACE FORTHEWHITE

HOUSE

People are tired ofhearing Fauci, Trumptells campaign team

Trumpattendschurch inLasVegasonSunday.AP

Morales’ partyclaims victoryin high-stakesBolivian election

CARLOSVALDEZLAPAZ,OCTOBER19

EVO MORALES’ party hasclaimedvictoryinapresidentialelection that appears to sharplyshiftBolivia away fromthecon-servative policies of the US-backedinterimgovernmentthattook power after the leftistleader resigned and fled thecountryayearago.TheleadingrivalofMorales’s

handpickedsuccessor,LuisArce,concededdefeat onMonday, asdid interim President JeanineÁñez, abitter foeofMorales.Officials released no formal,

comprehensive quick count ofresults from Sunday’s vote, buttwo independent surveys of se-lected polling places showedArce with a lead of roughly 20percentagepointsoverhis clos-estrival—farmorethanneededtoavoida runoff.Áñez askedArce “to govern

with Bolivia and democracy inmind.”Arce, meanwhile, appealed

for calm in the bitterly dividednation saying hewould seek toform a government of nationalunity under his MovementTowardSocialismparty.“I think the Bolivian people

wanttoretakethepathwewereon,” Arce declared aroundmid-night surrounded by a smallgroup of supporters, some ofthemintraditionalAndeandressin honour of the country’sIndigenous roots.AP

French policeconduct raids incrackdown afterteacher’s killing

REUTERSPARIS,OCTOBER19

FRENCH POLICE on Mondayraided Islamic associations andforeignerssuspectedofextrem-ist religious beliefs, policesources said, three days after asuspected Islamist beheaded aschool teacher.HistoryteacherSamuelPaty,

47, wasmurdered on Friday inbroaddaylightoutsidehisschoolinamiddle-classParissuburbbyan 18-year-old of Chechen ori-gin.Policeshottheattackerdead.Theteenageassassinsoughtto

avengehis victim’suseof carica-turesoftheProphetMohammadin a class on freedomof expres-sionto13-year-olds.Public figures called the

killinganattackontheRepublicandonFrenchvalues.Interior Minister Gerald

Darmaninsaidthereweresome80 investigations being con-ductedintoonlinehateandthathewas looking intowhether todisband about 50 associationswithin theMuslimcommunity.“Policeoperationshavetaken

placeandmorewill follow,con-cerning tensof individuals,” theminister toldEurope1.A police source on Sunday

said France was preparing todeport 213 foreigners whowere on a government watch-list and suspected of holdingextreme religious beliefs,among whom about 150 areserving jail sentences.

AtaprotestinKarachiorganisedbythePakistanDemocraticMovement,anallianceofoppositionparties,Sunday.Reuters

InUS&Europe,shift in lockdownstrategy

INTHEUSandEurope,thefirstsurgeofCovid-19casessawtheadop-tionofabroadlock-downstrategy,withcurbsaffectingwholecountriesorstates.Whenthatsurgesub-sided,mostoftheserestrictionswerelifted.Butsoonafter,asecondsurgebroughtnewrecordsindailycases.Authorities,however,werewaryofapplyingbroadlock-downsonalreadystrugglingeconomies.Thishasprompted

achangeinstrategy,withmostEuropeanna-tionsandmanyUSstateslockingdownspecificareasthathave

themostcases.Whilemorecurbsinhotspotshasnotbeenanewconcept,earliersuchextracurbswereputinplaceontopofalreadyexistingbroadlock-downs.Butnow,hotspotsareincreasinglyisolatedislandsofrestrictions,causing,inmanycases,complaintsofunequaltreatmentandprotests.

AnikaChebrolu. Facebook/3M

US-Indian teenwins $25,000 forwork on potentialCovid treatmentSEEMAHAKHUKACHRUHOUSTON,OCTOBER19

A 14-YEAR-OLD Indian-Americangirlhaswona$25,000young scientist challenge for adiscovery that could provide apotentialtreatmentforCovid-19.Anika Chebrolu, an eighth

grader fromFrisco inTexas,wonthe3MYoungScientistChallenge,regardedastheUS’premiermid-dleschoolsciencecompetition,forherworkusingin-silicomethod-ology fordrugdiscoveryto findamoleculethatcanselectivelybindtothespikeproteinofSARS-CoV-2virusinanattempttofindacureforCovid-19,accordingtothe3MChallengewebsite.3MisanAmericanmanufac-

turing company based inMinnesota.Chebroludecidedtotakepart

in theYoungScientist Challengeaftershebattledasevereinfluenzainfectionlastyear.Shewantedtofindacureforinfluenza.However,that all changed after theCovid-19pandemichit,thewebsitesaid.“I would like to learnmore

from3Mscientiststopursuemydrug development and... wouldlike to conduct in-vitro and in-vivotestingofmyleaddrugcan-didate,” shesaid.PTI

Sharif’s son-in-lawarrested in Pak a dayafter Opposition rallyPRESSTRUSTOFINDIAKARACHI,OCTOBER19

CAPT (RETD) MuhammadSafdar, son-in-law of formerPakistan primeminister NawazSharif,wasonMondaybrieflyar-rested from his hotel room inKarachi, a day after he staged aprotestat the tombof thecoun-try’s founder and attended ajointOpposition rally.“Police brokemy roomdoor

at the hotel I was staying at inKarachi and arrested CaptSafdar,” said Safdar’s wifeMaryam, who addressed thelarge anti-government rally intheport cityonSunday.She said she was asleep

whenthepolice “barged in”herhotel roomwhere hewas stay-ingwithherhusband.Safdarwasarrestedadayafter

he raised slogans at Pakistan’sfounderMohammadAli Jinnah’s(Quaid)mausoleum just beforethe second rally of the PakistanDemocraticMovement’s(PDM)—

anallianceof11oppositionparties.With the Pakistan People’s

Party-ruled Sindh governmentdistancing itself fromthearrest,Safdarwasreleasedbyajudicialmagistrateagainstsuretybondsof Rs100,000.Maryam told reporters that

she would leave Karachi withher husband as he had been re-leasedonbail.“Aboard the flight to Lahore.

ThankyouKarachi!Youwonmeover,” she tweeted.MaryamsaidOppositionpar-

tieswouldcontinuetheirprotestsuntil PrimeMinister ImranKhanwasremovedfrompower.Safdarwas arrested after an

FIRwas registered against him,Maryamand200others forvio-latingthesanctityof theQuaid’smausoleum.Meanwhile,theSindhgovern-

ment,which hosted the PDM’srally, distanced itself fromthear-rest,withPPPchairpersonBilawalBhuttoZardari also condemningthe arrest. Bilawal said hewasshockedtohearabouttheincident.

Confirmedcasesgopast40mn,actualnumbers likelymuchmore

New Delhi

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ECONOMYWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

GOLD`51,740

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OIL$42.71

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Note:Gold,silverratesatDelhispotmarket;goldper10g,silverper1kg;Brentcrudeasof2330IST

Internationalmarketdatatill1900IST

GEORGEMATHEWMUMBAI,OCTOBER19

BIGCONSTRUCTIONandinfrastr-uctureprojectsmaysoonwitnessthe concept of suretybondas anoptionandalternatetobankguar-antees.AWorkingGroupofinsur-ance regulator Irdai has alreadyrecommendedissuanceofsuretybonds by insurance companieswhichwill function as the per-formanceordeliveryobligationtocompleteaninsuredproject.Thepanel, headedby former

NewIndiaAssuranceChairmanGSrinivasan,hasproposedthattheInsuranceRegulatoryandDevelo-pmentAuthority of India (Irdai)may allow insurers to enter thesurety bond insurance businesswithsolvencymarginaboveacer-tain threshold as the experienceof suretybondinsuranceisyettodevelopintheIndianmarketandtheriskexposureunderthisbusi-nessisquitesignificant.The performance bonds is-

suedmay cover up to 10-20percentorsometimesguarantee100per cent of theproject value, thepanelhasproposed.Suretybondsare typically conditional, whilebankguaranteesareondemand,andareofferedasinsuranceprod-

uctsintheglobalmarket.Thoughinmanynationsoriginallybanksissued bonds, the security pro-vided by an insurer has provenequally acceptable. InsurancecompaniesinmarketssuchastheUS, Brazil, Mexico, Germany,AustraliaandthePhilippinesissuesurety bond andmany leadingcompanies in these countrieshavesetupseparatelinesofcreditandbondswithsuretyofinsurers.Theneed for surety bond for

roadandcivilinfrastructureproj-ectswas felt since Indian banks

arenotprovidinganywaiversoncollateralsforgrantingbankguar-antees. Big corporate failures re-sulting innon-performingassetshave driven banks to exercisetighter controls in issuing bankguarantees.TheNationalHighw-aysAuthorityofIndia(NHAI)rece-ivedrepresentationsfromcontra-ctorsanddevelopersasobtainingbankguaranteeswerebecomingverydifficult, thepanelsaid.In 2016, the Department of

Financial Serviceshadwritten toIrdai to explore thepossibility ofintroducing surety bonds infavour of the Central Board ofIndirectTaxesandCustoms(CBIC)to facilitate tradeby substitutingbankguarantees.In thewake of the Covid-19

pandemic and consequent eco-nomic impact on liquidity andcash flow issues in the bankingsector, the Ministry of RoadTransportandHighwaysadvisedIrdaitoexaminepossibleofferingof surety bond being issued bygeneral insurancecompanies.Theproposalunderconsider-

ationisthatSuretyBondsbusinessmaybe revivedwith offering ofsuretybondsinitiallytoconstruc-tion companies including roadprojects, housing/ commercialbuildingsandotherprojects.

Wadhawan offers‘`43K cr’ of assets torepay DHFL creditorsENSECONOMICBUREAUMUMBAI,OCTOBER19

ATLEAST fourbidders, includingthe Adani group, PiramalEnterprises, US-based OaktreeandSCLowyofHongKonghaveevincedinterestintakingovertheassetsoftroubledDewanHousingFinanceCorporationLtd(DHFL).In aparallelmove,DHFLpro-

moterKapilWadhawan,whoisinjudicial custody, haswritten toRSubramaniakumar, the RBI-ap-pointed administrator, offeringfamilyassets“valuedatRs43,000crore” to facilitate the resolutionprocessofDHFL.Thelargestbidhascomefrom

Oaktree,whichofferedaroundRs20,000-28,000croreforDHFLas-setswhilethetotalclaimsareover

Rs95,000crore.AdanihasbidforDHFL’s wholesale and SlumRehabilitation Authority (SRA)portfolio. Piramalhas reportedlybid forDHFL’s retail portfolio foraroundRs12,000crore.Meanwhile, Wadhawan

claimed that theRs43,000 croreoffer to lenders is to ensure thatmaximumvalue is obtained fortheassetswhicharebeingputontheblockandmaximumamountispaidtothelender.In a letter datedOctober 17,

2020 sent from the Taloja jail,Wadhawan has stated that thevaluationofpropertiesandassets,carried out by Knight Frank,would be Rs 43,040 crore.Wadhawan, in his letter, has of-fered his personal and familypropertiestobemonitoredtoen-surerepaymentofDHFLlenders.

BRIEFLYSebisetsupmktdatapanelMumbai:TheSecuritiesandExchange Board of India(Sebi) has set up aMarketDataAdvisory Committee(MDAC) to recommendanappropriate policy for ac-cess to securitiesmarketdata, among other func-tions. Thepanelwill be ledby Madhabi Puri Buch,Whole-timeMember,Sebi.

‘5Grolloutmayneed`2.3tn’NewDelhi:Total capital in-vestmentneededtorollout5Gservicespan-IndiacouldbeintherangeofRs1.3tril-liontoRs2.3trillion,areportby research firm MotilalOswalsaid. ENS

Fed’sPowellondigitalcurrencyLondon: In any develop-mentofacross-borderdig-ital currency, it ismore im-portantfortheUnitedStates“togetitrightthanbefirst,”the United States FederalReserve Chair JeromePowell said on Mondayduring a panel discussionondigitalpaymentshostedby the InternationalMonetaryFund. REUTERS

ExecutiveVCofIL&FSquitsNewDelhi: InfrastructureLeasingandFinancialServi-ces(IL&FS)GrouponMon-dayannouncedresignationof its executive vice chair-manVineetNayyar. PTI

Thiruvananthapuramairport leasing: HCrejects state govt pleaEXPRESSNEWSSERVICETHIRUVANANTHAPURAM,OCTOBER19

THE KERALA High Court onMondayrejectedapetitionoftheKerala government challengingtheCentre’sdecisiontoleaseoutthe international airport here toAdani Group. Hours after thehighcourtverdict,ChiefMinisterPinarayi Vijayan told themediathat the state is against handingover theairport toAdanigroup.“Ourstandisagainstthelease

out of the airport. The matterdoesnotendwiththehighcourtverdict. Furtheractionwouldbetakenin it,” theCMsaid.Dismissing the state’s peti-

tion, a Benchof JusticesKVinodChandranandCSDiassaid, “The

writ petitions filed by the Stateand the case set upby them, ac-cordingtous,isaclassicexampleof theproverbial ‘sourgrapes.’”“Interference to a policy fra-

medbytheelectedGovernmentit is trite, is difficult, and the fee-ble challenge raised hereinagainst the policy is devoid ofmerit.’’The statehad argued that by

awardingthetendertoAdani,thecentralgovernmenthadviolatedthepromisethatthestatewouldbe allowed in themanagementoftheairport.Itsaidtheawardofthe tender toAdaniwasvitiatedby arbitrariness because thegrouphadnopriorexperienceindevelopingandmanaginganair-port. The state alleged that thetender was tailor-made to suitAdaniGroup.

Cox & Kings loaned out `6,071 cr to atleast 20 related parties sans board nodKHUSHBOONARAYANMUMBAI,OCTOBER19

AFORENSICauditof Cox&KingsLtd, the listedtravel firmthathascome under the scanner of theEnforcementDirectorate(ED)andthe Economic OffenceWing ofMumbaiPolice(EOW),hasfoundthe companydidnot takeboardapprovalsforRs6,071croreloansextendedtoatleast20relatedpar-tiesbetween2014and2019.The audit conducted by

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC)hasfoundthatthecompanyreco-rded relatedparty loans andad-vances of Rs 9,494 crore duringthe sameperiod, ofwhichaboutRs 4,008 crorewas loaned to 11overseasentitiesconnectedtoCox&Kings.Aspertheauditreportre-viewedbyTheIndianExpress,outof these offshore transactions,transfers of Rs 581 crorewas al-legedly done in violation of theReserveBankofIndia(RBI)norms.

Further, thePWCaudit foundthatrecoverablesofatleastRs589crore from11 disclosed relatedparties are based on a “generic”memorandumofunderstandingwhich cannot be “legally en-forced”incaseofadefault.The audit has alleged that in-

ter-corporatedepositsofRs2,565

crore transferred from Cox &Kingstoafewconnectedentitieswere never “discussed in any ofthe board/finance committeemeetings”ofthelistedtravelfirm.Theforensicauditalsoalleged

apotential conflict of interest oftheboardandfinancecommitteeofCox&Kingsinapprovingtrans-

actions to related parties. It saidsome of the boardmembers ofCox&Kingshad“professionalre-lationships”withrelatedentities.Cox & Kings, promoted and

controlled by Ajay Ajit PeterKerkarandhisfamily,wassenttobankruptcycourtinOctober2019,after it defaulted on payments.While thepromotergroupowns12.20percentsharesinthecom-pany,thepublicownstheremain-ing 87.80 per cent. Cox &KingsowesRs5,500croretobanksandfinancialinstitutions,anditisoneof the topborrowersof YesBankLtd when co-founder RanaKapoorwas in charge. Yes Bankhasanexposureof overRs2,267croretotheCox&KingsGroup.The travel firm came under

the lens after the ED initiated aprobeintoallegationsofkickbackstakenbyKapoor in lieuof grant-ingloanstoseveralfirmsthathavenowdefaultedonrepayments.

Full report onwww.indianexpress.com

7.9million: Totalwireline broadbandsubscriberswithBharatSancharNigamLtd (BSNL),making it the largestincumbent player

20million: Totalsubscribers in India’swirelinebroadbandmarket so far thisyear, as per Trai data

1million: Newconnections added towirelinebroadbandmarket amid thepandemic and lockdowns—more than in FY17-20combined as per Trai data

GROWINGSHAREOFFIBRE:Withinwirelinebroadband,shareoffibreisgrowingfasteryetitislimitedat15percent/3millionof

thetotal,andoverallbroadbandpenetrationisstillabysmalat7percentofall-Indiahouseholds

WALLETSHARE:Walletshareorshareofwallet isamarketingtermusedtodenoteportionofcustomer’sspendonaparticular item,orservice

WHYISITIMPORTANT:Theadditionthisyearsofar, ishigherthancumulative0.9millionsubscriberadditionoverFY17-20,aspertheCLSAreport,whichalsopointedthat Indiawirelinebroadbandmarkethadstagnatedatmere0.3millionan-nualaddsoverpastthreeyears

Source:CLSA/PTI

‘Fibre broadbandmarket sharegrowing, but penetration limited’India’s fibre broadband is an underservedmarket atabout 3million subscribers, and renewed efforts will helpoperators gain ‘wallet share’ among top-end ofconsumption class, a CLSA report said

● 3MILLION: NUMBER OFSUBSCRIBERS CURRENTLYBEING SERVED BY FIBREBROADBAND IN INDIA

● ~1.2 MILLION: NEWSUBSCRIBERS ADDED BYRELIANCE JIO DURINGLOCKDOWN

INLARGEconstructionorinfrastructureprojects,bankguaranteeorsuretybondisacontractualreq-uirementorpreconditionof theprojectownerforawardinganordertothecontractor. If thecontractisnothonoured,thebankorinsurancefirmiscalledupontopaythebondorassurefinalisationof thecontractualobligation.

ActsascontractualobligationE●EX

PLAINED

Insurers’ entry in surety bondbiz for infra projects proposed

Mumbai: Sagar Deshpande,38, the financemanager ofCox&Kings,whosewasfounddeadontherailwaytracks inKalyanonOctober12,wastheofficialsignatoryofanalleged“undisclosed”bankaccountofEzeegoOne Travel and TourLtd, a subsidiary of Cox &Kings, officials familiarwiththe ongoing probe into thebankrupttravelcompanysaid.Sourcessaidthisbankac-

countwas used to transferfunds from Ezeego One toRedkite Capital Pvt Ltd,owned by four firms con-trolled by Anil Khandelwal,chieffinancialofficer(CFO)ofCox&Kings andNaresh Jain,the internal auditor of Cox&Kings. BothKhandelwal andJainhavebeenarrestedbytheED under the Prevention ofMoney Laundering Act(PMLA). ENS

A/c of one arm that got funds haddeceased manager as signatory

Meet 75% of FY21 capex target byDec: FM to oil & gas, coal CPSEs

BULLETTRAINPROJECT

ENSECONOMICBUREAUMUMBAI/NEWDELHI,OCTOBER19

LARSEN & Toubro (L&T) hasemerged as the lowest bidder atRs 24,985 crore for constructingthe237.1kmunderPackageC4ofthe 508.17 km Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail,also calledMAHSR Bullet Trainproject, the country’s biggest in-frastructureprojecttodate.The National High-Speed

Rail Corporation (NHSRCL)openedfinancialbidssubmitted

bythreeinfrastructuredevelop-ment firms.Package C4 is the largest

among all as it represents 46.66percentof themain-line.Threebiddersinvolvingseven

majorinfrastructuralcompanies,including the Tatas, had partici-patedinthecompetitivebidding,theNHSRCLsaid.Others bidderswere “Afcons

Infrastructure Limited IRCONInternational Limited JMCProjects India Ltd-ConsortiumandNCCLimited TataProjectLtd-J.KumarInfraProjectsLtd.-HSRConsortium,”NHSRCLsaid.


DURINGAvideo conference onMonday,FinanceMinisterNirmalaSitharamanasked fourteen cen-tral public sector enterprises(CPSEs)inthepetroleumandcoalsectors toaccelerate spending toachieve75percentoftheirannual(FY21)capextargetsbytheendofDecemberquarter.The elevenCPSEs,which at-

tendedthemeeting,includeONGC,IndianOil, BPCL,GAIL (India) andCoal India.Asreportedearlier, thefinance ministry has told

CPSEs/undertakingswithanan-nualcapexbudgetofRs500croreandmorethat theymustachieve150percentof initialcapextargetofRs4.9lakhcroreinFY21.Monday’s video conference

wasthefourthbytheFMthisyearrelatedtoCPSEcapex.Sitharamanasked theCMDsof the14CPSEs,secretariesofadministrativemin-istries of petroleumand coal tocloselymonitor the capex per-formance. FE

China’s recovery quickensas consumption picks upREUTERSBEIJING, OCTOBER 19

CHINA’S ECONOMIC recoveryaccelerated in the thirdquarteras consumers shook off theircoronavirus caution, althoughthe weaker-than-expectedheadlinegrowthsuggestedper-sistent risks for one of the fewdrivers of global demand.Gross domestic product

(GDP)grew4.9percent in July-September from a year earlier,official data showed onMonday. It was faster than the

second quarter’s 3.2 per centgrowth.“Theweaker-than-expected

headline figures weighed onChina’s yuan and mainlandstock benchmarks and cappedbroader market gains inAsia.Theworld’ssecond-largesteconomy grew 0.7 per cent inthe first nine months from ayearearlier, theNationalBureauof Statistics (NBS) said.

Edelweiss AAAraises `6,600 crENSECONOMICBUREAUMUMBAI,OCTOBER19

EDELWEISSALTERNATIVEAssetAdvisors (EAAA) has raised Rs6,600crorethroughitsalternativeinvestment fund, ESOF III, thelargest fundmobilisation in theprivatecreditspacein2020amidsubduedeconomicclimate.“This fund raise, amidst the

subdued economic climate, is astrongendorsementoftheoppor-tunities in the Indianalternativeassetmanagementspace,aswellas the robust anduniqueprivatedebtplatformof EdelweissAssetManagement (EAM),” EdelweissFinancialServicessaid.ItsaidtheESOFIIIstrategyhas

generatedstronginvestorinterestandhas received commitmentsfrommarqueeglobalinstitutionalinvestors,whichincluderecentin-vestments by the CanadianOntario Teachers’ Pension PlanBoard, Florida’s State Board ofAdministration,SwedishPensionFund-AP4 and a EuropeanInsuranceInvestor,amongothers.


UNEMPLOYMENT RATE in ur-ban areasmoderated to 8.4 percent in July-September 2019from 8.9 per cent in April-June2019 and 9.7 per cent in July-September 2018, the quarterlyPeriodic Labour Force Survey(PLFS) released by theMinistryof Statistics and ProgrammeImplementation (MoSPI)showed.Urbanunemploymentinthe

agegroup15-29yearswas20.6percentinJuly-September2019,lower than 21.6 per cent in theprevious quarter and 23.1 percent in the same period previ-ousyear.Female unemployment rate

eased to 9.7 per cent in July-September, lower than 11.3 per

cent inApril-June2019and12.7percentinJuly-September2018,while unemployment rate formales stood at 8.0 per cent inJuly-September, as against 8.7per cent in the previous quarterand 8.9 per cent in July-September2018.Labour force participation

rate rose to 36.8 per cent from36.2 per cent in the previous

quarter and 36.1 per cent in thesameperiodinthepreviousyear,thedatashowed.State-wise breakup showed

that urban unemployment ratewashigherthanthenationalav-erage in Uttar Pradesh, Kerala,Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh,Delhi, Bihar, Chhattisgarh andMadhyaPradesh.Unemployment data for ur-

ban areas is released quarterly.This dataset differs from theAnnualReportofPeriodicLabourForceSurvey,whichcoversbothrural and urban areas and givesestimates of employment andunemployment in both usualstatus(ps+ss)andCWS.The sample size for this sur-

veywaslowercovering1.76lakhpeopleand44,471householdsinJuly-September 2019 comparedwith1.79lakhpeopleand45,288households inApril-June2019.

Retailsalesgrew3.3%inSeptfromayearearlier

L&T lowest bidder forPackage C4 at `24,985 cr

FourthmeetbyFMthisyearaboutCPSEcapex

■Femaleunemployment rateeased to9.7percent inJuly-September, from11.3percent inApril-June2019, asperMinistryof StatisticsandProgrammeImplementationdata.

FEMALEJOBLESSNESS

Unemployment rate in urbanareas at 8.4% in July-Sept 2019

GDPGROWSAT4.9%ASAGAINST3.2%INQ2

‘Govt asks at least 8state-run firms toconsider buybacks’NewDelhi:Indiahasaskedatleasteightstate-runcompaniestocon-sider sharebuybacks in the fiscalyear that runs through March2021, two government officialssaid.ThefirmsincludeminerCoalIndia,powerutilityNTPC,mineralsproducerNMDCandEngineersIndiaLtd,saidoneofthesources.“Buybackisanimportanttool

inourstrategyandithelpsinbuild-ingmarketprice,” addedthesec-ondofficial.REUTERS

‘INDIANEEDSTOMOVEAWAYFROMTHESOCIALISTICBAGGAGE’


FINANCE MINISTER NirmalaSitharamanonMonday said thegovernmenthasnotclosedtheop-tionofonemorestimulustosup-port the economy. The FinanceMinistryhasstarteditsassessmentof thelikelyeconomicgrowthforthe current year andwill releasetheestimateswhentheyareready.Speakingat anonline confer-

encetolaunchtheautobiographyof 15th Finance CommissionChairmanNKSingh—PortraitsofPower: Half a Century of Being atRingside—Sitharamanhoped forimprovement in the educationsector and furtheropeningupoftheeconomytotheprivatesector.“I havenot closed theoption

for another stimulus. Every timewehaveannouncedone,itisafteralotofconsultationswithvarioussections of society and thenweworkwithministries, the PMO

(PrimeMinister’sOffice)andthentake a final call. Yes, I have notclosedtheoptiontocomeoutwithonemore stimulus,” Sitharamansaid to responding to a query.Amidthegovernmentplanningtocomeoutwithapublicsectoren-terprisepolicy toopenupall sec-torsfortheprivatesector,shesaidIndia needs tomove away from“thesocialisticbaggage”.Stressingtheneedforarobust

federal structure in the country,shesaid:“Federalismisneededtomake our country stronger.Weneedgreaterrobustnessinfederalengagementasevenifonestateisleft behind, it can slowdownIndia’sgrowthpotential.”Singh,whohashada longca-

reerasatopbureaucratandafor-merMP,saidhisbooktriestolookatthebrightersideof societyandeconomyintermsofwhatispos-

sible tobedonewithin thegivenconstraints. Quoting Plutarch,Singhsaid:“Tofindfaultiseasy;todo bettermay be difficult”. Thebookalsotriestoaddresswhetherthe Covid-19 pandemic is like a“1991moment in our history”whereweare forced topush theresetbutton,Singhsaid.Reliance Industries CMD

Mukesh Ambani, who partici-patedinthediscussion,saidsomeofthemostsecondgenerationre-formshavebeen taken in last sixmonthsinagriculture,labourandeducationsectors.Hesaidthereisneed to support small andmediumenterprisesandordertocreate an ecosystem entrepre-neurship grows. Someof that ishappeningalready in thebatter-iesandsolarmanufacturingareas.Toaqueryonwhathewished

to be remembered for, Ambanisaid it “shouldnot be abouthimbuthiscontributiontothesociety”andhewished toworkon threethings—transformationof India

intoadigital society; transforma-tion in education sector tostrengthen the skill base in Indiathrough linkages amongeduca-tion, skill training and employ-ment; and lastly a movementaway from fossil fuels towardscompletelyrenewableenergyoverthenextthreedecades.Ambani saidhis first impres-

sion of Singhwas that “the IASguyshavestyle”andhewasstruckbyhisunendingcuriosityandabil-itytodeliveroneconomicreforms.Speaking at the event,

Singapore’sSeniorMinisterandCoordinatingMinisterforSocialPolicies Tharman Shanmu-garatnamsaidIndia’schallengesexceed those of most societiesfacing Covid-19 but the pan-demic also represents a “hugeopportunity” for the country astheglobalsupplychainischang-ing. This presents an opportu-nity to become a major pro-ducer of goods and services fortheworld.

“EVERYTIMEwehaveannouncedone, it isafteralotof consultationswithvarioussectionsofsociety,” saidFinanceMinisterNirmalaSitharamanatanonlineconferenceto launchtheautobiographyof15thFinanceCommissionChairmanNKSingh.

‘ANNOUNCEMENTAFTERCONSULTATIONS’

Have not closed the option foranother stimulus: Sitharaman

New Delhi

CALENDAR17 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY,OCTOBER20,2020

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ARIES (Mar21 -Apr20)TheMoon is in acombustiblemood,soyoumayexpectsocial plans to flare

up. There's a gooddeal ofromance in theair today, andit's all a questionof finding theright circumstances—and therightperson. Plus, youmaybeattracted to agoodcauserather thanadream lover.

TAURUS (Apr21 -May21)Your stars aregenerally favourableand it's unlikely thatyou'll bepushed in

anyone singledirection. Bepositive andcolleagues andemployerswill bemore likelyto seeyourpoint of viewandoffer assistance. But listencarefully topartners—orthey'll hold it against you.

GEMINI (May22 - June21)Domestic plans arenowbecomingurgent, and it's clearthat there areoneor

twovital improvements tomake. Youmay, however, befeelingover-burdenedbyyourobligations, sodoyourbest toshift thebacklognow.Hardworkwillwin respect—asyouknow.

CANCER (June22 - July23)TheSunmergeswithpositiveplanets in adelightfulmanner,

andwill slowlybut surelyhaveahealing effect onpartnershipswhichhavesuffered in thepast. Romancewill be stirringdeep inyoursensitive soul, so I hope thatotherpeoplewill be in asimilarmood.

LEO (July24 -Aug23)Once again, theMoon issues anemotionalchallenge, so other

people's interestswill comefirst. Youhave so far onlyglimpsed thedepths of thecommitmentwhichsomeone is prepared to offer.Give themanother chance.After all, partners have givenyou second chances inthepast.

VIRGO(Aug24 - Sep23)If youwant to avoidtedious chores,you'll have tomakea completebreak

with routine. If, as seems likely,there are responsibilities youcan't cancel, youmust take lifeat a careful pace. Plus, youmust also consider letting afriend into a secret—whenyou're ready.

LIBRA (Sep24 -Oct23)Keepyour eyesopenforhiddendevelopmentswhich couldaffect

your long-term future. There'smuchgoingonofwhichyouare still onlyhalf aware, butwhichwill have incredibleconsequencesonyour life overthenext sixmonths. And that'squite a thought.

SCORPIO (Oct24 -Nov23)Colourful socialevents are coming.However, youmayreceive an

important itemof newswhichrequires a serious andwell-considered response. You'retempted to rushdecisions, butyou should feel free to takeyour time.After all,morehaste,less speed, as they say.

SAGITTARIUS(Nov24-Dec22)It's auseful day toconsider seriouslong-termquestions. Anynews

whicharrives today is likely tohave consequenceswhichgobeyond thepurelypersonal,whatever seems tobe thecase at first sight. Somehow,evencomplete strangersmaybe involved in theunfoldingpattern.

CAPRICORN(Dec23 - Jan20)Closepartners arebeginning to layoff—andyoumighthaveaneasier ride

in future. You'dbetter take alookat your financialcommitments,mainlybecausetodayyou seemtohaveabetter thanaverage chanceof hittinguponwhatneedstobedone toguaranteefuture security.

AQUARIUS (Jan21-Feb19)The tide is definitelyflowing inyourdirection, althoughfinancial

complications are inevitable,mainlybecauseyouare abouttohit anextravagantphase.Small precautionswill help:keep spare cashavailable anddon't bite offmore thanyoucanchew.

PISCES (Feb20 -Mar20)Colleagueswill bein a livelymood,althoughagreementmaynot

be easily reached. Themostdifficult phase of the currentcycle is over and, if you'veprepared the ground,promised improvementswillarrive sooner than expected.You'll breathe a sigh ofrelief soon.

SUDOKU4267

DifficultyLevel5sInstructionsTosolveaSudokupuzzle,everydigitfrom1to9mustappear ineachofthenineverticalcolumns, ineachoftheninehorizontalrowsandineachofthenineboxes.

DifficultyLevel1s=Veryeasy;2s=Easy;3s=Medium;4s=Hard;5s=VeryHard;6s=Genius S

OLU

TIONSUDOKU4268

Givenbelowarefour jumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemtotherespectivesquaresbelow.Selecttheletters intheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtogettheanswerforthegivenquip.Departfrom_____whenitinterfereswith__.-HannahMore (10,..,4)

SOLUTION:OSIER,STILT,JOCUND,ODDITYAnswer:Departfromdiscretionwhenitinterfereswithduty.-HannahMore

SEIOR DJOCNU

TILTS IOTDDY

SolutionsCrossword4253:Across:1Monks,8Roentgen,9Sinew,10Editions,11Essay,12Spa,16Forage,17Scythe,18Ark,23Spire,24Hardtack,25Stamp,26Cowslips,27Hyena.Down:2Omission,3Keepaway,4Hold-up,5Units,6Aglow,7Gnash,12Sea,13Ask,14Sympathy,15Thirdman,19Recipe,20Check,21Drawn,22Stall.

JUMBLEDWORDS

OVERTHEHEDGE byMichael Fry&TLewis

CALVIN&HOBBES byBillWatterson

MARVIN byTomArmstrong

DAYTODAY BYPETERVIDAL

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5040207 NK RAN BAHADUR PUN, SM, 20 OCT

On this day 5040207 Nk Ran Bahadur Pun, SM of 5/1 Gorkha Rifles made

the supreme sacrifice during 'OP PAWAN' Srilanka in Oct 1987 in a true act

of valour. The brave soldier will always be remembered for his enthusiasm.

To this brave heart we pledge that we shall always be guided by his

immortal spirit and make his name proud.

CO AND ALL RANKS, 5/1 GORKHA RIFLES

SALUTE THE SOLDIER

New Delhi

VolLXXXVIIINo.295Regd.No.DL-21046/03-05R.N.I.No.506/57. PrintedandPublishedbyR.C.Malhotraonbehalf of The IndianExpress (P) LimitedandPrintedatThe IndianExpress (P)LimitedPress,A-8, Sector-7,Noida -201301andPublishedatThe IndianExpress (P) Limited,MezzanineFloor, ExpressBuilding,9&10,BahadurShahZafarMarg, NewDelhi-110002.Editorialoffice: The IndianExpress (P) Limited,MezzanineFloor, ExpressBuilding,9&10,BahadurShahZafarMarg, NewDelhi-110002.Phone:0120-6651500.Advertisingoffice: The IndianExpress (P)Limited,B1/B, Sector -10,Noida -201301.Phone:0120-

6651291.Chairmanof theBoard:ViveckGoenka,Chief Editor:RajKamal Jha,Editor:UnniRajenShanker, Editor (Delhi):RakeshSinha** **Responsible for selectionofNewsunder thePRBAct.Copyright: The IndianExpress (P)Limited.All rights reserved.Reproduction inanymanner, electronicorotherwise, inwholeor inpart,withoutpriorwrittenpermission isprohibited. The IndianExpress®

TottenhamcollapseonBale’sreturnTottenhamwastransformedbyGarethBale'shomecoming,justnotinthewaythatJoseMourinhohadimagined.Cruising 3-0whenBale cameoff thebenchinthe72ndminuteagainstWestHam,Tottenham incredibly collapsedin a game it hadbeen in control of todraw 3-3 in the Premier League onSunday.Itwaswithalmostthelastkickof the game that Manuel Lanziniblasted a shot fromdistance into theroof of the net to snatch a point thatseemedextremelyunlikelywhenSonHeung-min scored in the firstminuteandHarry Kane netted twice by the16thminute.“It'sdifficulttobelieve,welost two points, threw them away,"Mourinhosaid.

NationalthrowseventpostponedThe inaugural National ThrowsChampionships, the only senior leveleventslatedthisyear,wasonMondaypostponedindefinitelybytheAthleticsFederationof India(AFI)duetotheris-ing cases of COVID-19 in the country.Thetwo-daymeetwasscheduledtobeheld in Patiala onOctober 26 and27."Weconsulted chief coach, high-per-formancedirector andother coachesand they expressed their concern onriskof exposureof athletes toCOVID-19.Afterconsultationwithall,wehavedecided topostpone the throwscom-petitionuntil furthernotice,"AFIpres-identAdilleJSumariwalasaidinastate-ment. "Wefeeltheconditionsarestillnot conducive to hold a competitiondue toCOVID-19pandemic situation.Sinceitwasanopencompetition,therewas a risk for athletes travelling fromoutside. "AsIhaverepeatedlysaidear-lierthatforusthewell-beingofourath-letesisofutmostimportanceandcom-petitionswill be held onlywhen thesituation is conducive,"headded. Lastmonth,theAFIhadcancelledthisyear'sallnationalchampionships,barringthethrowsevent,inviewofthe pandemic,virtuallybringingtheseasontoanendwithoutanycompetition. AGENCIES

BRIEFLY Shami’s block-hole blockbuster overWith just fiveruns todefend inthe firstSuperOveronSundaynight, fastbowlerexcelledwithyorkers


SPORTWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

FOUR POSITIVEATBRUGGEAHEADOFCLTIEBelgium’sClubBruggearrivedinRussia forTuesday’sChampionsLeaguegroupstagetieatZenitStPetersburgwithoutthreeplayersandtheirCEOwhohaveall testedpositive forthenovelcoronavirus, includingtheir firstchoice-goalkeeper. REUTERS

CSK’s hopesseem all butover afterRR defeat

Conquering mind to rule court: Swiatek’s secret to French Open triumph

SHAMIKCHAKRABARTYKOLKATA,OCTOBER19

BOWLINGASuperOvermust feel differentfromdelivering the20thover of a chase in aT20. It has thequality of a set-piece about it.Cutofffromtherestofthegame,adriftinapar-allel universewith its ownset of rules, it hasthewhiffofaFastDrawaboutit.Somebowlersjustseembetterequippedtohandleit.And so, whenMohammad Shami lin-

geredat the topof his run-up,with just fiverunstodefend,notmanywouldhavefelthewould be able to do it, as Kings XI Punjab’ssurvivalwasatstakeintheIPL,andMumbaiIndians’QuintondeKockandRohit Sharmawere at the crease. Jasprit Bumrah’s bril-liance, whenMI bowled in the first SuperOver, had restricted the victory target to averychaseableone.Unsurprisingly,Bumrahhadgonewithyorkers.Shamihas the yorker but doesn’t rely on

it. He likes tomix themup, often choosingback-of-lengthballs,bouncersorslowerones.Inthistournament,hehasevenshownachild-like joyous obsessionwith his knuckle-ballslower ones. He took out Virat Kohliwith aknuckle-ballbouncer, avarietyheusesspar-ingly. He held his arms aloft, a smile rapidlyfilled his face, and had a look of joy as heglancedatKohli,beforehiseyesjerkedaway.Subsequently, in that game and in the onesthat followed, the knuckle ball has bledboundariestoo.Shami’sreluctancetogoall-yorkersinthe

past has beenunderstandable as he doesn’thavethecontrolofaBumrah.Ithas,everynowandthen,slippedoutasafulltoss,underpres-sure. Typically, he goes for an assortment ofdeliveries in the endovers, in the belief thatvarietywouldwork inT20s. And tobe fair, ithasworked, even if a bit inconsistently. Andthe batsmenwith their ramp shots and re-verse laps rack up the pressure to get theyorkerinch-perfect,resultinginmostbowlerslosingtheirnerve.

Clear plan, great execution“He (Shami)wasvery clearhewanted to

gosixyorkers,”KXIPcaptainKLRahulsaidaf-terthematch.That’sasurprise,apleasantone.Hehasn’talwaysshownthatsortof clarity inthepast.Withoutaclearfocus,theSuperOver

mustfeel likeanuntameablebeast.Lastyear, inasuccessfulSuperOver face-

off against Kolkata Knight Riders, DelhiCapitals’KagisoRabadahad talkedabouthischoice of yorkers. “In the regular 20 overs,yorkerswas PlanB. In the SuperOver, itwasPlanA. (Somedays)youcanbepositivewithtwo things youwant to do, today itwas justyorkers.”Rabadaalsomade itclear thathehadde-

cided on yorkers before he took the field forthat SuperOver. As did Shami,with his pre-determinedclarity.The choice of weaponwas perhaps dic-

tatedby thebatsmen -SharmaanddeKock.

Both don’t move around their crease toomuch;theycertainlydon’tramptoowellandaren’t known for their lap shots. Theymighttry, as theydid, but it doesn’thave the threatofa JosButtler.

DifferentmindsetBothareexplosivebatsmenbutareessen-

tiallyopenersanddon’tcarrytheauraofama-rauding big hitter. In the bowler’smind, thethreatisdifferent.Especially,whenShamihaddecidedhewas goingwith yorkers. The twoopenersmightbebestequippedskill-wisetoput away a seaming or swinging delivery totherope,butyorkersaredifferent.Thesetwo

batsmen also don’t use the crease fully. APollardwouldhave either gonewell outsidethecreaseorretreatedbacktotrygettingun-der the ball.With just five runs to overhaul,these twodidn’t feel the necessity to extendthemselves thus. Theyperhaps thought thiscouldbedonethetraditionalway.“Whenyou are nailing them (yorkers), it

seemstobehappeningautomatically.Whenyouarenot, it’s acompletelydifferent story,”Rabadaagain, fromlastyear.Inthehereandnow,Shamiranintobowl.Hisfirstballwasanattemptedyorkerout-

sideoff.Itendedupasalowfull-toss,whichdeKocktriedtoramp,unsuccessfully.Rohitfacedthenext ball, another attemptedyorker, andscoredanothersingle,tryingtoplayitinside-out. The third ball was awide yorker. Onceagain,deKockcouldn’t forcethepace.Shami'sfourthballwasadot,acopybook

yorkerthatRohittriedtoplayopeningthefaceof thebat to trybeating short thirdmanandbackward point but couldn’t pierce the gap.Fifth ball, and Shaminailedhis yorker again.Rohit attemptedaramp,gotanoutsideedgeand scampered a single. Two runs to get offthefinaldelivery,andanotherexcellentyorkerrestricted the scoring to one, as deKockwasrunout,goingforthesecond.Perhaps,sinceitwasShami,thetwobats-

menwerealsounsureifhewouldgoall-york-ersonthem.Thatmighthaveinfluencedsomeof their decision-making and reflected insomeof theweak shots they played. Shamihaddonetheunthinkable.

TUSHARBHADURINEWDELHI, OCTOBER 19

Europe’sbiggest clubsbegin theirquest forthe Holy Grail, the UEFA ChampionsLeague, on Tuesday, but though the pres-tige and glory associated with it remainsintact, the competition has introducedsome regulations in light of the ‘newnor-mal’ that theworld is facing.Bayern Munich were crowned cham-

pions of the continent less than twomonths ago.They haven’t had too long to celebrate

as they open their title defence againstAtletico Madrid on Wednesday. The latefinish to last season has not only reducedthe gap with the new season, ithas also curtailed the time be-tween two ties in this campaign.

What happened last season?After football resumed after

months of hiatus, UEFA wasforced to stage the tournament,quarterfinals onwards, behindclosed doors in Lisbon.The last-eight and last-four stage

matches were one-off affairs and notplayed on home-and-away basis as wasusually the case.The competition finishedalmost three

months behind schedule.

How is the scheduling this season?UEFA says the season “will be played

out in its entirety, in its existing (tradi-tional) format with the final in Istanbul”onMay29next year. The Turkish citywasdue to host the showpiece game last sea-son before the pandemic intervened.

Is itmore hectic than ever?The six rounds of group games – that

begin on Tuesday – are scheduled to beoveronDecember9, i.e. in eightweeks. Incontrast, last season’s group stage ran foraweek short of threemonths.The Round of 16 ties will be held in

February-Marchwith the quarterfinals inthe first half of April and the semifinals inlate April and earlyMay.

Will there be spectators atvenues?UEFA will allow fans at

stadiums “at a maximum of30 per cent of capacity”, butwhether spectators are al-lowed is dependent on localadministrations.

What donew regulations state on theminimumnumber of players ?With coronavirus cases on the rise in

the football world, including one of thebiggest stars Cristiano Ronaldo, UEFA hasput measures in place to ensure that its

premier club competition canproceed onschedule. Matches can go ahead if eachteamhasat least 13 fit players, includingagoalkeeper.

What’s theway out if the host city for amatchdoesn’t allowvisitors?

If there are travel restrictions in placefor a host city, a gamecanbeplayed at theaway venue or even a neutral venue.

What if a teamrefuses to take to thepitch?If a team refuses to play or is consid-

ered responsible for thematch not takingplace, they will be deemed to have for-feited the game.If this applies to both the teams in

question, bothwill be disqualified.

What if infections render a teamunable to play?If a team has players and/or officials

testing positive for COVID-19 and as a re-sult, unable to play the match before thedeadline setbyUEFA, theywill bedeemedto have forfeited the game.Even if postponements are unavoid-

able, the group stage has to be completedlatest by January 28.

Howmany substitutes are allowed ?Aswas thecasewith ‘ProjectRestart’ at

the end of last season, five substitutionswill be allowed per team in a match. Asixth will be allowed if a knockout gamegoes into extra-time.But there will be only three opportu-

nities tomakesubstitutions (four if there’sextra-time). There can be a maximum of12 players on the substitutes’ bench.

How Champions League will change during the pandemic

VISHALMENONOCTOBER 19

THEREISasenseof impendingdoomeverytime MS Dhoni gets run out. A lacklustrebatting performance notwithstanding,Chennai Super Kings seamers provided aglimmerof hopewhentheyhadRajasthanRoyals in strife at 28/3.Ultimately, itwas JosButtler’smasterful

unbeaten 48-ball 70 that steered themthrough choppywaters.The 7-wicket win catapulted Steve

Smith’s team to fifth spot in the pointstable, andwithachanceof clinchingaspotintheplayoffs. Forbottom-placedCSK, theycould dowith a bit of soul-searching.

CSK’s muddled batting approachRarely does one see bowlers exerting

complete control over batsmen in an IPLgame.That’sexactlywhat transpiredwhenChennai Super Kings batsmen were upagainst Rajasthan Royals in Abu Dhabi onMonday evening. Theywere facing a fieryJofra Archer and twodisciplined leg-spin-ners in Shreyas Gopal and Rahul Tewatia,on a slow, gripping surface.Despite these challenges, therewas no

excuse for their shoddy batting perform-ance. A scoreof 125/5waspretty abysmal,one that hardly gave their bowlers achance. The real issuewas theutter lackofintent from their batsmen. Chennai losttheir two in-formbatsmen - Faf du Plessisand ShaneWatson - inside the Powerplay.In theeightoversafter the fieldrestrictions,CSKchokedunder thepressureappliedbythe Royals’ spinners.Bowling in tandem,Gopal and Tewatia

conceded just 32 runs and removed SamCurran andAmbati Rayudu. From43/2 af-ter six overs, Chennai stuttered to 85/4 inthe 14th over. The only crumb of comfortcame during a 51-run fifth-wicket standbetween Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja. Buteventhispartnershipdid little todragthemtoapositionof respectability. TheCSKcap-tain,whohas lookedapaleshadowofhim-self in this tournament, not only struggledwithhis timing,as thebighitsalsodesertedhim.Dhoni’sgambleof keepingwickets in-tact for a potential blitzkrieg in the endneverpaidoff ashewasrunout in the18thover for a run-a-ball 28.

Buttler takes Royals homeShaneWarne calls JosButtler his crick-

eting crush. For good reason. Over theyears, thewicketkeeper-batsmanhasbeenan irresistible force in the shorter formatsfor England and Rajasthan Royals. Barringthat 70 in the lost cause against MumbaiIndians, this season had been a grind forthe30-year-old.Buthecamewitha typicalcounter-attacking knock that eased histeam to victory onMonday.Whatmadetheknockmore impressive

werethecircumstancesunderwhich itwasorchestrated.In pursuit of 126, the Royals had lost

threewicketsupfront forprecious littleonthe boardwhenButtlerwalked out to bat.Butheabsorbedthepressureandtookcon-trol of proceedings to ace the chase.Theunbeaten98-runstandwithSmith

took Royals past the finish line with thecaptain playing second fiddle.BRIEFSCORES:RR126/3 in17.3overs (JosButtler 70 not out) beat CSK 125/5(Ravindra Jadeja 35 not out, Jofra Archer1/20, ShreyasGopal 1/14) by 7wickets.

SHAMI IN 1STSUPEROVER0.1 (1RUN):Awide-lowyorker,deKocktries toramponthefull.0.2 (1RUN):Sharmaattemptsaninside-out toa fullball.0.3 (1RUN):Wideyorker todeKock,hits todeepcover0.4 (NORUN):Ayorker toSharma.0.5 (1RUN):Anotheryorker,Sharmatries therampshot0.6 (1RUN,WICKET/RUNOUT):WideYorkeragain,deKockhits toextracover.

E●EXPLAINED

MohammedShamidefendedsixrunsagainstMumbai’sRohitSharmaandQuintondeKockduringthefirstSuperOver. BCCI

GAURAVBHATTNEWDELHI,OCTOBER19

WHENROLANDGarros announced thenewdate forwomen's singles final, October 10,sportspsychologistDariaAbramoviczturnedto then-unheralded Iga Swiatek and said:"Okay,nowyoucangivemethebestbirthdaygift." Her ward responded by becomingPoland'sfirstGrandSlamsingleschampiononAbramovicz'sbirthday—also,incidentally,theWorldMentalHealthDay.“Thepsychologicalwork is very complex

andcontinuesallthetime.Dariaunderstandsmeverywellandwetalka lot. She justmademesmarter,”Swiatektoldreportersafterwin-ningtheFrenchOpenwithoutdroppingaset.“Youshouldnotthinkthatapsychologistisforpeoplewithproblems,Ithinkheisalsoforpeo-plewhowanttodevelop.TheworkthatwedowithDariamaynotbeideal foreveryone,be-causenoteveryonewouldbereadytoallowateammember into their lives, butmyadviceistotryandseehowitworks."It'snoteverydaythata19-year-oldathlete

realises the importance of having amental

healthprofessionalbyherside,letaloneadvo-cating for others to do the same. AndAbramoviczcouldn'tbeprouder."I respect that a lot,"Abramovicz tellsThe

IndianExpress. "I appreciate that she'swillingto talk about it. And itwon't be anexaggera-tiontosaythatI'mproudofherbecauseit'snotaneasy topic tospeakabout.But Idobelieve,as a coach, andas anathlete formany,manyyears,thatit isveryimportant."Abramowicz, 33, took up sailing at five

andcompetedintheOlympicsingle-handeddinghyclassbeforeaninjuryforcedhertore-tire. It was during her time as a competitorthat she realised that a high-performanceathlete's struggles could bemore than justphysicalor technical."Iwas15andcompeting in theEuropean

tournament.AndIrememberthatIwassailingabsolutely perfectly during training sessionsjust before the competition, and then some-thinghappened.Ididn'tknowwhatitwas,andthecoachcouldn'texplainittome.Otherpeo-plecouldn'texplainittome.Theinternetwas-n'tsopopular,wedidn'thavemanysourcesofknowledgeorexperience. I didn't knowbut Iwantedtoknow."

ShecoachedPoland'snationalsailingteamfor tenyears, studiedpsychology and transi-tioned intoworkingwith cyclists and swim-mers.TheassociationwithSwiatekbeganlastyear.

Covid-19 impactAbramovicz believes a similar desire to

learnandknowmoreaboutmentalhealthhasbeenthesilverliningof theCovid-19."The pandemic has shownnot only the

sportsenvironmentbutthesociety,thatmen-talhealthisimportantintermsofasatisfying,secure life. Inmyexperience, a lotof athletes,teams, coaches, parents havedecided that itmightbeagoodtimetostartworkingonthissideofsportsdevelopment,notonlyhighper-formance,"shesays.The pandemic break also worked for

Swiatek. "Inher secondprofessional season,therewere the finals at school, the TokyoOlympics... thatwouldbe a lot for Iga in oneyear.Itisalittlebitfortunateforhersomeways,butontheotherhand,weworkedalottocopewithotherfactors,"Abramoviczadds.Likegettingusedtothetennisbubbleand

thelackofcrowd,"strangeanduncomfortable"

forSwiatek"becauseshe loves those interac-tions." For Swiatek, Abramovicz channelledtheyoungster'sloveforAC/DC,PinkFloydandGunsN'Rosesandadvancedmathematicsintotools. Throughout the FrenchOpen, Swiatekwouldmarchontothecourtwith'Welcometothe Jungle' pumping throughher earphones.ForthefinalagainstAustralianOpenchampionSofiaKenin,AbramoviczchangedittosoothingjazzbecausetheGnRnumberwas"alittlebittooloudandenergeticandtoofastforthat.""Wehavealotof researchintermsofmu-

sic'sinfluenceontheperformance,butit'sevensimplerbecauseshelovesmusic,it'sanimpor-tantpartofourlife.Ithought,let'suseitinourwork. The samewaswithmathswhen I firstsawher solvingproblemsbefore a competi-tion.Usethesethingsforhertraininganditbe-comesanenjoyableapproach."It'sbeenlittleoveraweeksincethatdayof

doublecelebrationinParis,andTeamSwiatekisonalittlevacationtogether."The other day, I asked her, 'after nine

weeks on the road together, if we're still notfedupwitheachotherandwanttospendmoretime together,wemust bedoing somethingright,"Abramoviczlaughs.

ManUnited’sEdisonCavanicouldgetachanceto facehis formerclubPSG.

ManUnited vs PSGChelsea vs SevillaBarcelona vs FerencvárosiTC

KEYCLASHES

TVGUIDE:LiveSonyTen2andSonyTen2HDfrom12:30am(Wed)

SportspsychologistDariaAbramowicz (extremeleft)hasplayedaprominentroleinFrenchOpenchampionIgaSwiatek's rise. Instagram

SYNOPSISButtler takesRoyalshomeafterCSK’smuddledbattingapproach

Withcoronaviruscasesontherise inthefootballworld, includingoneof thebiggeststarsCristianoRonaldo,UEFAhasputmeasures inplacetoensurethat itspremierclubcompetitioncanproceedonschedule.Matchescangoaheadif eachteamhasat least13fitplayers, includingagoalkeeper.

New Delhi

The lockdown to contain the coronavirus outbreak has - AWS

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