:_UZR de`ad W]ZXYe `W F< gZcfd - Daily Pioneer

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A mid fears over the spread of a mutated strain of coronavirus — reportedly 70 per cent more infectious than the one that caused the Covid- 19 — India has joined over two dozen countries in sus- pending all flights from and to the United Kingdom from December 23 to December 31. Union Health Minister Dr Harshvardhan said the authorities are keeping a close watch and there is no need to panic as the Government is alert on the issue. The ban will start from Wednesday and passengers arriving from the UK in flights that will land in India by 11.59 pm on Tuesday will undergo mandatory RT-PCR test at the airports concerned. Those who test positive will be sent to institutional quaran- tine while the rest will be asked to home-isolate for seven days. Several major European countries including France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Ireland, Burgalia, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, in addition to countries like Canada, Kuwait, Colombia, Morocco, Iran, Israel, Turkey were among those that shut off travel ties after Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned that a high- ly infectious new strain of the virus was a danger to the country. Saudi Arabia, notably, has suspended all international flights over the fear of the new strain of coronavirus.According to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Government has decided that all flights originating from the UK to India will be suspended from 11.59 pm December 22 till 11.59 pm on December 31. Consequently, flights from India to the UK will also stand suspended dur- ing the period. “As a measure of abundant precaution, pas- sengers arriving from the UK in all transit flights (flights that have taken off or flights which are reaching India before December 22 at 23.59 hrs) should be subject to mandatory RT-PCR test on arrival at the airports con- cerned,” the Ministry said. Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Twitter that those passengers who are found Covid positive would be sent for institution- al quarantine set up by the States or Union Territories (UTs). “Those found negative should be advised to isolate at home for 7 days and will be medically monitored by the States/UTs,” Puri added. Till date, the rules stated that if an international pas- senger had a Covid negative certificate from a test done 72 hours prior to the journey, s/he need not undergo Covid- 19 test again on arrival at the Indian airport. The decision followed an expert meeting of the Health Ministry’s joint monitoring group (JMG) on Covid-19 which reasoned for abundant caution as the new strain is under review. The JMG met on Monday to study evidence from the UK which said the bee strain was out of the country and was 70 per cent more infec- tious than the original. A Parliamentary panel on Monday recommended to the Government that any vac- cine against Covid-19 should be granted emergency use authorisation only after prop- er consideration and conduct- ing its trials on a sufficient sample size. In a report submitted to Rajya Sabha chairman and Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs chaired by senior Congress leader Anand Sharma said there is a need for a comprehensive public health law to keep tabs on private hos- pitals and check black-mar- keting of medicines. The report comes even as the Government considers applications of at least three firms seeking emergency approval to roll out their vac- cines against the coronavirus in India. The Centre on last Tuesday said the applications — by Bharat Biotech, Serum Institute of India and Pfizer — filed with the Drugs Controller General of India are being examined by the Covid-19 subject expert committee of Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO). The Parliamentary com- mittee report noted that the CDSCO has given no emer- gency use authorisation in the past, and suggested that all necessary and mandatory requirements must be duly fulfilled and all trial phases completed. “Trials on small animals, human trials should be mandatorily undertaken on a sufficient sample size popula- tion…if at all emergency authorisation would be given, it should be given by Government with proper con- sideration and caution and this provision should be used in rarest of the rare cases,” the report reads. F armers sitting on Delhi’s borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh began their day- long “relay” hunger strike at all protest sites on chilling Monday. Meanwhile, the farmer leaders on Monday claimed that there is nothing new in the Centre’s latest letter to them seeking a date for the next round of talks and said they are ready for talks with the gov- ernment, if there is a clear solu- tion. Scores of farmers from Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Haryana continued to join the farmers protest sites at Singhu, Chilla, Tikri and Ghazipur borders across the National Capital. The farmers started a day- long relay hunger strike on Monday morning at all sites of protest against the new agri laws and at Singhu border, which has become the epic centre site of the protest, a team of 11 members sat on hunger strike in the first batch. Another batch of 11 members will sit on a hunger strike at 11 am on Tuesday. Meanwhile, several farm- ers also contributed to the hunger strike and stayed with- out food for the entire day. Reacting on the letter by Agriculture Ministry Joint Secretary Vivek Aggarwal, the farmers’ leaders said there is nothing new in the letter and the farmers have already rejected the Government’s proposal to amend the new farm laws. “In its letter, the Government has asked us to discuss its proposal and convey a date to it for another round of talks. Don’t they know our demand? We just want a com- plete repeal of the new agri- culture laws,” said Abhimanyu Kohar, the farmer leader. B ears were back on the Dalal Street with renewed feroc- ity and left a trail of bloodbath that eroded the investors’ wealth by 6.59 lakh crore on Monday as equities tanked after the UK reported a new strain of the Covid-19 virus. The new strain of the coron- avirus was up to 70 per cent more contagious. The market gave no corner to hide as the 30-share BSE Sensex plunged 1,406.73 points or 3 per cent to close at 45,553.96 after hitting an all-time high of 47,055.69 during the session. There was a sense of déjà vu as the equities saw the same free for all as was witnesses in March when indices lost nearly 30 per cent in a matter of days. Following the sharp sell- ing, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms plummeted by 6,59,313.65 crore to 1,78,79,323.05 crore. In the broader market, the BSE mid- cap and small-cap indices tanked up to 4.57 per cent. As it is the market was looking for an excuse to correct since the Indian equities have outperformed global markets by a wide margin in recent months. All BSE sectoral indices also closed lower, with metal, oil and gas, utilities, real- ty, basic materials, industrials, power and bankex falling as much as 6.05 per cent. At the BSE, 2,433 companies declined, while 592 advanced and 167 remained unchanged The brutal bloodbath came after the UK reported a new coronavirus strain on Sunday. The Dala street took a further cue from the European markets in the afternoon amid fear of fresh traveling lockdown restrictions across countries. The UK imposed a fresh lockdown in London and southeast England, warning that the potent new strain of the Covid-19 virus was “out of control”. A day after Union Home Minister Amit Shah staged the “biggest roadshow in Bengal”, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has promised to repeat the feat by the end of this year leading a counter rally at Bolpur along the same route. The rally is likely to be held on December 29, party leaders said. Hitting out at the BJP lead- ership (read Shah) for deliver- ing “a garbage of lies,” on Bengal’s development, the Chief Minister said, “Some people are coming from Delhi and discharging a garbage of lies in Bengal,” countering Shah’s claim that the State was lagging far behind in econom- ic development, industrial growth and employment gen- eration index. “Contrary to what they said Bengal is number one in many fields,” she said speaking about the Kanyashree, Sabuuj Saathi and other projects for which the State had won inter- national recognition. Shah had on Sunday attacked the TMC Government for taking Bengal backwards in every respect. “Why are they telling lies to the people of the State, what gain they will make by telling lies,” Mamata said adding her party was committed to unity and that it would not let people be divid- ed for narrow political gains. Saying the BJP was a “party of cheating baz (cheats)” Mamata said, “There is a nefar- ious design to spread commu- nal hatred in Bengal to win elec- tions which is not the culture of this State. We have always remained united and will con- tinue to do so in future.” The Chief Minister earlier thanked her counterparts and Opposition leaders from other States saying how “the Central Government is interfering with my Government by transfer- ring three IPS officers.” Thanking the Chief Minister’s of Punjab, Delhi, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan for voicing solidarity with Bengal, Mamata said federal ideas were under attack in the present situation and needed to be preserved. She also thanked Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) president MK Stalin who described the “unilateral trans- fer” of senior Bengal cops by the Centre as “autocratic and anti-federal.” New Delhi: A day after Facebook temporarily shut down a page on the ongoing farmers agitation against the Centre’s new farm laws, the protestors on Monday said social media was crucial for their movement as it allowed them to tell the “truth in their our own words”. The social media giant had Sunday evening shut down the page of ‘Kisan Ekta Morcha’ that shares “official updates” on the agitation, only to restore it three hours later following social media outrage. The Kisan Ekta Morcha’s Instagram page was also tem- porarily suspended. I n what will put a virtual stop to the Christmas and New Year-eve celebrations in Mumbai and other major cities in the State, the Maharashtra Government on Monday announced the imposition of 14-day-long night curfew from December 22 in the metropo- lis and other Municipal Corporation areas in the State from 11 pm to 6 am, following detection of a new strain of Covid in the United Kingdom. Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray reviewed the pandemic situation in the State. Detailed report on P5 T he cold wave conditions continued in the State with the minimum (night) temper- atures plummeting at several places. The IMD’s Regional office here said 10 stations in State recorded temperatures below 10 degree Celsius on Sunday. While Phulbani was the coldest place with minimum temperature of 4 degree Celsius, followed by Angul 6 degree, Jharsuguda 7.5, Bhawanipatna 7.8, Balangir 8.8 degree, Boudh 9 degree, Keonjhar 9.3 degree, Sonepur 9.4 degree and Titlagarh 10 degree. S tate Capital city Bhubaneswar on Monday registered 44 new Covid-19 positive cases, increasing its total tally to 31,414, including 376 active cases.Out of the new cases, 32 were local contacts and 12 quarantine cases. However, 36 persons recovered on the day, tak- ing the city’s total recov- eries to 30,785. In Cuttack, only six cases were reported on the day, taking the city’s total count to 16,136. W ith an aim to discourage corrupt practices among bureaucrats and politicians, Chief Minister and BJD presi- dent Naveen Patnaik on Monday announced that BJD’s people’s representatives and State Government officials would dis- close their property lists. Addressing a party State Council meeting via videoconferencing, Patnaik said all the people’s rep- resentatives from the party rang- ing from a Sarpanch to Chief Minister would furnish their property lists by end of every year. Similarly, the State Government officials from ground level up to Chief Secretary level would furnish their property lists by year-end, he said. Details of the property lists of BJD’s people’s represen- tatives and Government officials would be put up in the public domain, he said. A ddressing a BJD State Council meeting here on Monday, party supremo and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik sought significant suggestions from each council member for strengthening of the party and good governance. He said he would go through each suggestion and all the good ones would be imple- mented.Hailing a proposal of the party’s Mayurbhanj district com- mittee, Patnaik said, “I am happy to see the recommendation for renaming of the North Odisha University as Sriram Chandra Bhanja Deo University. Our Government will approve the suggestion. I want the district committees to be proactive. The Government and the party will take your suggestions seriously.” Besides, Patnaik suggested all Mministers to visit and interact with the party’s district func- tionaries and act on their con- structive suggestions. The council members from the 33 organisational districts submitted various suggestions, including focus on new voters, ensuring that various develop- mental projects reach out to peo- ple, strengthening of the party at the grassroots level, appoint- ment of observers for the 36 Zilla Parishad zones of Kalahandi and preparations for the upcom- ing panchayat elections, women empowerment, irrigation and systemisation of Covid-19 vac- cination. The council members also suggested strict action against leaders involved in anti- party activities. A s many as 363 persons were on Monday reported as Covid-19 positives in 27 districts and the State pool, with which the total caseload surged to 3,26,596. Of the new cases, 208 were from quarantine and 155 local contacts.Sundargarh and Khordha districts recorded the highest 50 fresh cases each followed by Sambalpur 35, Puri 27, Cuttack 22, Angul 23 and Baleswar 20. Besides, 12 cases were reported from the State pool.Three districts, Deogarh, Kandhamal and Rayagada, did not register any new cases. The corona death toll rose to 1,839 with three more fatalities on the day, the State Health and Family Welfare Department said. I n the ongoing probe into the murder of five-year-old girl Pari in Nayagarh district, the Crime Branch’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) chief IPS officer Arun Bothra on Monday revealed that sexual assault was the prime cause of the sensational killing. “Sexual assault was the prime motive of murder of the minor girl,” Bothra told media after the SIT arrested the key accused on Sunday.He asserted that the SIT has enough evidence against the accused and said the investigation is in progress. The SIT would submit its report before court, he said.When asked about the allegation of offering Rs 5 lakh to the accused, Bothra rubbished the charges. “Attempts have been made to malign my image,” he said. He assured to brief the media shortly in connection with the murder case. Meanwhile, the key accused Saroj Sethy, who was appre- hended by the SIT on Sunday, was produced before the POCSO court at Nayagarh on Monday. Earlier in the day, the SIT had taken the accused, a college student, to his village Jadupur to recreate the murder scene as part of the investigation. In another significant development in the case, a pond at Jadupur from where Pari’s skeletal remains were recovered will be dried out. The SIT has directed the Nayagarh police to make arrangements for emptying the pond for the purpose of collec- tion of evidence.

Transcript of :_UZR de`ad W]ZXYe `W F< gZcfd - Daily Pioneer

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Amid fears over the spreadof a mutated strain of

coronavirus — reportedly 70per cent more infectious thanthe one that caused the Covid-19 — India has joined overtwo dozen countries in sus-pending all flights from and tothe United Kingdom fromDecember 23 to December 31.

Union Health MinisterDr Harshvardhan said theauthorities are keeping a closewatch and there is no need topanic as the Government isalert on the issue.

The ban will start fromWednesday and passengersarriving from the UK in flightsthat will land in India by11.59 pm on Tuesday willundergo mandatory RT-PCRtest at the airports concerned.Those who test positive will besent to institutional quaran-tine while the rest will beasked to home-isolate forseven days.

Several major Europeancountries including France,Germany, Italy, Belgium, theNetherlands, Austria, Ireland,Burgalia, Denmark, Sweden,Switzerland, in addition tocountries like Canada, Kuwait,Colombia, Morocco, Iran,Israel, Turkey were amongthose that shut off travel tiesafter Prime Minister BorisJohnson warned that a high-ly infectious new strain of thevirus was a danger to thecountry.

Saudi Arabia, notably, hassuspended all internationalflights over the fear of the newstrain ofcoronavirus.According to theMinistry of Civil Aviation,the Government has decidedthat all flights originatingfrom the UK to India will besuspended from 11.59 pmDecember 22 till 11.59 pm onDecember 31. Consequently,flights from India to the UKwill also stand suspended dur-ing the period. “As a measure

of abundant precaution, pas-sengers arriving from the UKin all transit flights (flightsthat have taken off or flightswhich are reaching Indiabefore December 22 at 23.59hrs) should be subject tomandatory RT-PCR test onarrival at the airports con-cerned,” the Ministry said.

Civil Aviation MinisterHardeep Singh Puri said onTwitter that those passengerswho are found Covid positivewould be sent for institution-al quarantine set up by theStates or Union Territories(UTs).

“Those found negativeshould be advised to isolate athome for 7 days and will bemedically monitored by theStates/UTs,” Puri added.

Till date, the rules statedthat if an international pas-senger had a Covid negativecertificate from a test done 72hours prior to the journey,s/he need not undergo Covid-19 test again on arrival at theIndian airport.

The decision followed anexpert meeting of the HealthMinistry’s joint monitoringgroup (JMG) on Covid-19which reasoned for abundantcaution as the new strain isunder review.

The JMG met on Mondayto study evidence from theUK which said the bee strainwas out of the country andwas 70 per cent more infec-tious than the original.

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AParliamentary panel onMonday recommended to

the Government that any vac-cine against Covid-19 shouldbe granted emergency useauthorisation only after prop-

er consideration and conduct-ing its trials on a sufficientsample size.

In a report submitted toRajya Sabha chairman andVice President M VenkaiahNaidu, the ParliamentaryStanding Committee on HomeAffairs chaired by seniorCongress leader AnandSharma said there is a need fora comprehensive public healthlaw to keep tabs on private hos-pitals and check black-mar-keting of medicines.

The report comes even asthe Government considersapplications of at least threefirms seeking emergencyapproval to roll out their vac-cines against the coronavirus inIndia.

The Centre on last Tuesdaysaid the applications — by

Bharat Biotech, Serum Instituteof India and Pfizer — filed withthe Drugs Controller Generalof India are being examined bythe Covid-19 subject expertcommittee of Central DrugsStandard Control Organization(CDSCO).

The Parliamentary com-mittee report noted that theCDSCO has given no emer-gency use authorisation in thepast, and suggested that allnecessary and mandatoryrequirements must be dulyfulfilled and all trial phasescompleted.

“Trials on small animals,human trials should bemandatorily undertaken on asufficient sample size popula-tion…if at all emergencyauthorisation would be given,it should be given byGovernment with proper con-sideration and caution andthis provision should be usedin rarest of the rare cases,” thereport reads.

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Farmers sitting on Delhi’sborders with Haryana and

Uttar Pradesh began their day-long “relay” hunger strike at allprotest sites on chillingMonday.

Meanwhile, the farmerleaders on Monday claimedthat there is nothing new in theCentre’s latest letter to themseeking a date for the nextround of talks and said they areready for talks with the gov-ernment, if there is a clear solu-tion.

Scores of farmers fromHimachal Pradesh, Kerala,Tamil Nadu, Punjab,Uttarakhand, Rajasthan andHaryana continued to join thefarmers protest sites at Singhu,Chilla, Tikri and Ghazipurborders across the NationalCapital.

The farmers started a day-long relay hunger strike onMonday morning at all sites ofprotest against the new agrilaws and at Singhu border,which has become the epiccentre site of the protest, a team

of 11 members sat on hungerstrike in the first batch.Another batch of 11 memberswill sit on a hunger strike at 11am on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, several farm-ers also contributed to thehunger strike and stayed with-out food for the entire day.

Reacting on the letter byAgriculture Ministry JointSecretary Vivek Aggarwal, thefarmers’ leaders said there isnothing new in the letter andthe farmers have alreadyrejected the Government’sproposal to amend the newfarm laws.

“In its letter, theGovernment has asked us todiscuss its proposal and conveya date to it for another roundof talks.

Don’t they know ourdemand? We just want a com-plete repeal of the new agri-culture laws,” said AbhimanyuKohar, the farmer leader.

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Bears were back on the DalalStreet with renewed feroc-

ity and left a trail of bloodbaththat eroded the investors’wealth by �6.59 lakh crore onMonday as equities tankedafter the UK reported a newstrain of the Covid-19 virus.The new strain of the coron-avirus was up to 70 per centmore contagious.

The market gave no cornerto hide as the 30-share BSESensex plunged 1,406.73 pointsor 3 per cent to close at 45,553.96after hitting an all-time high of47,055.69 during the session.There was a sense of déjà vu asthe equities saw the same free forall as was witnesses in March

when indices lost nearly 30 percent in a matter of days.

Following the sharp sell-ing, the market capitalisation ofBSE-listed firms plummeted by

�6,59,313.65 crore to�1,78,79,323.05 crore. In thebroader market, the BSE mid-cap and small-cap indicestanked up to 4.57 per cent.

As it is the market waslooking for an excuse to correctsince the Indian equities haveoutperformed global marketsby a wide margin in recentmonths. All BSE sectoralindices also closed lower, withmetal, oil and gas, utilities, real-ty, basic materials, industrials,power and bankex falling asmuch as 6.05 per cent. At theBSE, 2,433 companies declined,while 592 advanced and 167remained unchanged

The brutal bloodbath cameafter the UK reported a newcoronavirus strain on Sunday.The Dala street took a furthercue from the European marketsin the afternoon amid fear offresh traveling lockdownrestrictions across countries.

The UK imposed a freshlockdown in London andsoutheast England, warningthat the potent new strain ofthe Covid-19 virus was “out ofcontrol”.

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Aday after Union HomeMinister Amit Shah staged

the “biggest roadshow inBengal”, Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee has promisedto repeat the feat by the end ofthis year leading a counterrally at Bolpur along the sameroute. The rally is likely to beheld on December 29, partyleaders said.

Hitting out at the BJP lead-ership (read Shah) for deliver-ing “a garbage of lies,” onBengal’s development, theChief Minister said, “Somepeople are coming from Delhiand discharging a garbage oflies in Bengal,” counteringShah’s claim that the State waslagging far behind in econom-ic development, industrialgrowth and employment gen-

eration index.“Contrary to what they

said Bengal is number one inmany fields,” she said speakingabout the Kanyashree, SabuujSaathi and other projects forwhich the State had won inter-national recognition.

Shah had on Sundayattacked the TMC Governmentfor taking Bengal backwards inevery respect.

“Why are they telling lies tothe people of the State, what gainthey will make by telling lies,”Mamata said adding her partywas committed to unity and thatit would not let people be divid-ed for narrow political gains.

Saying the BJP was a “partyof cheating baz (cheats)”Mamata said, “There is a nefar-ious design to spread commu-nal hatred in Bengal to win elec-tions which is not the culture of

this State. We have alwaysremained united and will con-tinue to do so in future.”

The Chief Minister earlierthanked her counterparts andOpposition leaders from otherStates saying how “the CentralGovernment is interfering withmy Government by transfer-ring three IPS officers.”

Thanking the ChiefMinister’s of Punjab, Delhi,Chhattisgarh and Rajasthanfor voicing solidarity withBengal, Mamata said federalideas were under attack in thepresent situation and needed tobe preserved.

She also thanked DravidaMunnetra Kazhagam (DMK)president MK Stalin whodescribed the “unilateral trans-fer” of senior Bengal cops bythe Centre as “autocratic andanti-federal.”

New Delhi: A day afterFacebook temporarily shutdown a page on the ongoingfarmers agitation against theCentre’s new farm laws, theprotestors on Monday saidsocial media was crucial fortheir movement as it allowedthem to tell the “truth intheir our own words”. Thesocial media giant hadSunday evening shut downthe page of ‘Kisan EktaMorcha’ that shares “officialupdates” on the agitation,only to restore it three hourslater following social mediaoutrage.

The Kisan Ekta Morcha’sInstagram page was also tem-porarily suspended.

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In what will put a virtual stopto the Christmas and New

Year-eve celebrations inMumbai and other major citiesin the State, the MaharashtraGovernment on Mondayannounced the imposition of14-day-long night curfew from

December 22 in the metropo-lis and other MunicipalCorporation areas in the Statefrom 11 pm to 6 am, followingdetection of a new strain ofCovid in the United Kingdom.

Maharashtra Chief MinisterUddhav Thackeray reviewed thepandemic situation in the State.

Detailed report on P5

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The cold wave conditionscontinued in the State with

the minimum (night) temper-atures plummeting at severalplaces. The IMD’s Regionaloffice here said 10 stations inState recorded temperaturesbelow 10 degree Celsius onSunday.

While Phulbani was thecoldest place with minimumtemperature of 4 degreeCelsius, followed by Angul 6degree, Jharsuguda 7.5,Bhawanipatna 7.8, Balangir 8.8degree, Boudh 9 degree,Keonjhar 9.3 degree, Sonepur9.4 degree and Titlagarh 10degree.

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State Capital cityBhubaneswar on

Monday registered 44new Covid-19 positivecases, increasing its total

tally to 31,414, including376 active cases.Out ofthe new cases, 32 werelocal contacts and 12quarantine cases.

However, 36 personsrecovered on the day, tak-ing the city’s total recov-eries to 30,785. InCuttack, only six caseswere reported on the day,taking the city’s totalcount to 16,136.

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With an aim to discouragecorrupt practices among

bureaucrats and politicians,Chief Minister and BJD presi-dent Naveen Patnaik on Monday

announced that BJD’s people’srepresentatives and StateGovernment officials would dis-close their property lists.Addressing a party State Councilmeeting via videoconferencing,Patnaik said all the people’s rep-resentatives from the party rang-ing from a Sarpanch to ChiefMinister would furnish their property lists by end of every

year. Similarly, the StateGovernment officials fromground level up to ChiefSecretary level would furnishtheir property lists by year-end,he said. Details of the propertylists of BJD’s people’s represen-tatives and Government officialswould be put up in the publicdomain, he said.

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Addressing a BJD StateCouncil meeting here on

Monday, party supremo andChief Minister Naveen Patnaiksought significant suggestionsfrom each council member forstrengthening of the party andgood governance.

He said he would gothrough each suggestion and allthe good ones would be imple-mented.Hailing a proposal of theparty’s Mayurbhanj district com-mittee, Patnaik said, “I am happyto see the recommendation forrenaming of the North OdishaUniversity as Sriram ChandraBhanja Deo University. OurGovernment will approve thesuggestion. I want the districtcommittees to be proactive. TheGovernment and the party will

take your suggestions seriously.”Besides, Patnaik suggested allMministers to visit and interactwith the party’s district func-tionaries and act on their con-structive suggestions.

The council members fromthe 33 organisational districtssubmitted various suggestions,including focus on new voters,ensuring that various develop-mental projects reach out to peo-ple, strengthening of the party atthe grassroots level, appoint-ment of observers for the 36 ZillaParishad zones of Kalahandiand preparations for the upcom-ing panchayat elections, womenempowerment, irrigation andsystemisation of Covid-19 vac-cination. The council membersalso suggested strict actionagainst leaders involved in anti-party activities.

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As many as 363 persons were onMonday reported as Covid-19

positives in 27 districts and the Statepool, with which the total caseloadsurged to 3,26,596. Of the newcases, 208 were from quarantine and

155 local contacts.Sundargarh andKhordha districts recorded thehighest 50 fresh cases each followedby Sambalpur 35, Puri 27, Cuttack22, Angul 23 and Baleswar 20.Besides, 12 cases were reported fromthe State pool.Three districts,Deogarh, Kandhamal andRayagada, did not register any newcases.

The corona death toll rose to1,839 with three more fatalities onthe day, the State Health and FamilyWelfare Department said.

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In the ongoing probe into themurder of five-year-old girl

Pari in Nayagarh district, theCrime Branch’s SpecialInvestigation Team (SIT) chiefIPS officer Arun Bothra onMonday revealed that sexualassault was the prime cause of thesensational killing.

“Sexual assault was theprime motive of murder of theminor girl,” Bothra told mediaafter the SIT arrested the keyaccused on Sunday.He assertedthat the SIT has enough evidenceagainst the accused and said theinvestigation is in progress. TheSIT would submit its reportbefore court, he said.When askedabout the allegation of offeringRs 5 lakh to the accused, Bothrarubbished the charges. “Attemptshave been made to malign myimage,” he said.

He assured to brief themedia shortly in connectionwith the murder case.Meanwhile, the key accusedSaroj Sethy, who was appre-hended by the SIT on Sunday,was produced before the POCSOcourt at Nayagarh on Monday.

Earlier in the day, the SIThad taken the accused, a collegestudent, to his village Jadupur torecreate the murder scene as partof the investigation. In anothersignificant development in thecase, a pond at Jadupur fromwhere Pari’s skeletal remainswere recovered will be dried out.The SIT has directed theNayagarh police to makearrangements for emptying thepond for the purpose of collec-tion of evidence.

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Ascion of the royal family ofAul, Pratap Keshari Deb is

the illustrious son of an equal-ly-illustrious father late SaratKumar Deb. He had his school-ing from the Rajkumar college,Raipur and graduation fromthe Ramdas College, NewDelhi.

He opened his innings tothe Odisha LegislativeAssembly in 2000 and wasthen consecutively elected from2004 and 2009 and inducted asa Minister in the NaveenPatnaik Government in 2012.He was a Rajya Sabha memberfrom 2017 to 2019. He also wasChairman of the OdishaHousing Board. In 2019, he waselected to the State Assemblyfrom Aul by a massive mandateof the people.

He has also headed manycommities of the OLA andpresently he is Chairperson ofthe Research Sub-Committee.Armed with a rare politicalacumen and perceptibility witha knack for pungent satire, hehas come to defend his party incrisis moments. He is widelyperceived as a Biju- Naveen loy-alist. In an interview to ThePioneer, this enterprising politi-cian spoke to SugyanChoudhury at his Bhubaneswarresidence.

Why political representa-tives are not allowed toremain in civic bodies;instead, bureaucrats are rul-ing the roost everywhere?

I think it is a wrong notion.Hon’ble Chief Minister hasposted political representativeswhereever it is required. I thinkyou are reading from the oldmindset that whatever posts arethere politicians should beappointed there and the seqealwould be that you would againcriticise the Government thatit is an adjustment programmedone.

But our Hon’ble ChiefMinister is very clear relatingto this. So, he chooses a polit-ical representative where apolitical hand is required andappoints a bureaucrat when itis needed.

People say the BJDGovernmen is a bureaucrats-driven regime. What’s yourresponse?

I think this is a very myopicview. Bureaucracy is basicallytrained to govern the country.Politicians come in democrat-ic processes; they are publicrepresentatives. The bureau-cracy is there to execute it.

This is the combination bywhich the Central Govt worksand all State Governmentswork. The criticism thatbureaucracy runs the showand not the politicians is noth-

ing but a misnomer. TheConstitution provides that thebureaucracy will implementthe vision of the political lead-ers. Let me give you an exam-ple. The concept of upliftmentof women in Odisha, the for-mation of WSHGs are thebrainchildren of our Hon’bleChief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

But then, who will imple-ment it? It is the bureaucracy.For example, the concept of“JAGA Mission” that certainamount of land shall be pro-vided to the urban landlesspoor or to the rural poor. Willthe MLAs implement it? Thebureaucracy is only to executeit. Hence, such type of opinionis highly untenable.

It seems BJD workers arenow a disenchanted lot. Orare they happy?

Yes, they are very muchhappy. How could you thinkthat they’re unhappy? Had theynot worked, had the leaders nottoiled, how could we come tothe power for the fifth time?Wehave faced five cyclones andnow Covid.

Dduring all these calami-ties, BJD rank and file workedhand in hand to keep theparty’s position intact. And wehave faced four by-electionsand recently have had aresounding victory at theBaleswar by-poll, where theincumbent was a BJP man.

Would you please makeyour stand clear regarding therecent water imbroglio ofriver Kharasrota in providingdrinking water to people ofBhadrak district?

I have made my standabsolutely clear in public. Waterand air are everyone’s proper-ty. Right to clean air and cleanwater is among the funda-mental human rights whichcannot be decided by thewhims and caprices of peoplein the manner in which theywant to decide on it.

As my opponent, the BJPand the Congress stageddemonstrations and held itthat this water is meant for theDhamra Port of AdaniCompany. This is totally con-cocted and highly misleading.This is a drinking water projectunder the BASUDHA schemeof the State Government.

You must know that all therivers of Bhadrak district aresaline and crocodile-infested.So, they want the source of thesweet water which is only avail-able from the river Kharasrotathat flows in Kendrapada dis-trict through my constituency.This is a mega project of Rs 870

crore; and who will be the ben-eficiaries? The masses.

Initially, the protest wasthat when water is going fromour area to three more blocksof Bhadrak district then whyAul and Kanika would be elim-inated? But the impasse nowstands resolved by a decisiveintervention of our ChiefMinister who was kind enoughto sanction Rs 268.11 crore forthe people of Aul and Kanikaarea by including them in thisproject. The protest was only apolitical ploy by the Congressand the BJP ahead of panchayatelections.

Do you think the BJDwill come to power in 2024again?

We are now in 2020. Youare talking of 2024, Anythingwhich will be told now shallsound hypothetical. Our ChiefMinister has said, “We are amovement now, not just apolitical bandwagon.

Work for the people of theState and they shall bless you.”Thus, we are not worried about2024, but we are trying to do allthe best we can for the people.The future shall take care ofitself. Given the present trend,we are confident we shall crossthe bridge when we come to itin 2024.

What’s your opinionregarding the Centre’s farmlaws?

Frankly, we have opposedit in Parliament. This law isleading to corporatisation offarms which the farmers areapprehensive of. Agriculture isa State subject.

No State was consultedbefore the Central Governmentpassed it arbitrarily. One man’smeat is another man’s poison.What is good for Punjab maynot be good for Odisha; andwhat is good for Odisha maynot be suitable for Tamil Nadu.We appeal to the Centre to havea second look at the law.

The grapevine is agogthat there is going to bechanges in the State Ministrywith some new faces beinginducted; are you aware of it?

Changes in the Ministryare absolutely the prerogative ofthe Chief Minister. Hence, letus leave it to him.

Are you hopeful of gettinga berth?

Every MLA aspires tobecome a Minister; why can’t I?But the prerogative lies with theHon’ble Chief Minister.

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The Puri district adminis-tration has drawn up a

Standard OperatingProcedure (SOP) for the dar-shan of the Holy Trinity whenthe Jagannath Temple reopensfrom Wednesday.

The Sevayats and theirfamily members would get thefirst chance to have darshanfor a period of three daysstarting from Wednesday.

Special arrangementswould be made to ensure thatno outsider or non-Sevayatenters the temple complexduring the allotted period.The residents of Puri town

would have the deities’ dar-shan in the second phasefrom December 26 to 31.

The temple would remainclosed for devotees onJanuary 1 and January 2,2021, said Puri CollectorBalwant Singh.

He said the Puri resi-dents would have darshan ina phased manner startingfrom 7:30 am till the gates areclosed in the evening.

They would be allowedinside temple ward-wise; andfor each ward, a four-hour slotwould be extended.TheCollector further said thetown residents would have tobring the allotted tokens,

Aadhaar or voter identitycards along with them for dis-play before entry. Special

counters would be set up toverify the documents andphotographs of the residents

clicked at the counters toensure that there is no con-fusion and entry of outsiderswould be stopped.

The Collector said thegeneral darshan by devoteesof other districts and outsidethe State would start fromJanuary 3, 2021. “Along withnecessary photo-ID proof,the devotees will have tobring Covid-19-negative cer-tificates to gain entry into thetemple.

There will be no specialarrangements for senior citi-zens as we are discouragingpeople of 65 years and aboveand children for darshan,”Singh added.

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An MoU was signedbetween the Government

ITI, Bhubaneswar and the IGDRONES, a company engagedin providing enterprise dronesolutions and pilot training,here.As per the MoU, the IGDRONES will be setting up aDrone Excellence Center withequipment for training.

It will set up a high-endworkstation engaged withindustry standard relevant soft-ware to facilitate the experienceof flying, providing safety gearsto be used while on-field train-ing. Besides, it will providemaintenance tools and ser-vices with the placement sup-port for the trained pilots. TheGovernment ITI, Bhubaneswarwould provide space of 2,000sqft with adequate furniture, airconditioning.

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After continuous exposureon massive corruption in

iron ore mining, the OdishaGovernment has suspendedthe mining operation ofMurgabeda Iron Ore Mines ofDR Pattanaik over 15.378hectares (ha), Jaribahal Mine ofKashvi International over107.440 ha and Deojhar Minesof Tarini Minerals over 34.365ha under Champua SubDivision of Keonjhar districtfor violation of MCDR 1988and the provision of Rule 10 (5)of OMPTS Rules 2007.

However, there is wide-spread resentment in minescorridor as the Governmenthas not intiated same action tothe new entrant in the mines

business in Odisha like the JSWand showed unprecedentedfavour to the company.

When many lessees whowere not maintaining properstacks for sampling were show-caused and their operationsclosed, the JSW mines evenafter continued violations areoperational.

The iron ore mines ofKashavvi , DR Patnaik andTarani Minerals have beenclosed and they were sent showcause for not maintainingstacking and/or suppressingthe grades but the JSW mineseven after repeated violationsstill continue to operate.

The Government has sentnotice to collect crores of addi-tional stamp duty as differen-tial stamp duty and differentialregistration fee due to enhance-ment of production as perapproved mining plan inrespect of Nuagaon mine ofJSW but hectic lobbies aregoing on to reduce the stampduty rates.

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The Amrit Dhara PalliativeCare (ADPC) Trust

resumed its services to cancerpatients with its president DrMami Parija inaugurating theservices at Patia here onMonday.

In Odisha, approximately1.5 lakh are living with cancer;and over 60 per cent of thesepatients will benefit wheneffective palliative care can bedelivered.Experienced doc-tors will give voluntary ser-vices. Nurses, paramedics andsupport staffs will be availablefor a holistic care of thepatients.

Initially, outpatient clinicand daycare will be the focus.The activities of ADPC Trustwill encompass outpatientclinic and daycare to patientsin need of palliative care.

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The Commissionerate policeand Cuttack Municipal

Corporation*(CMC) officialson Monday unearthed a facto-ry manufacturing spuriousghee products.The Badambadi

police and the CMC officialsseized huge quantities of labelsof reputed companies and rawmaterials used in manufactur-ing the adulterated ghee fromthe spot.

A huge stock of ghee storedin seven to eight rooms wasalso seized. The owner of theunit was detained and furtherinvestigation was on, policesaid. CMC officials said theseized products did not have

any manufacturing and expirydates mentioned. “We are ver-ifying whether the unit had anylicence or not. Appropriateaction would be taken in caseof any violation.

Earlier on November 29,police had busted a unit whichmanufactured adulterated gheeby blending certain oils, solu-ble powder and various chem-icals in the Sriram Bazaar areain Bayalis Mauja near Cuttack.

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In a first in Odisha, theParadip Port Trust (PPT)

brought in pre-paid smartenergy meters which wentlive from Monday.

As part of the Green Portinitiatives, PPT ChairmanRinkesh Roy inaugurated thesmart meter project with thefirst recharge of a three-phasesmart meter installed at theBPCL outlet in the port cityin the presence of PPTDeputy Chairman AK Bose,Chief Mechanical EngineerSaroj K Das and formerTrustee Antaryami Pattnaik.

The project has beenimplemented by the GramPower. The smart meters offercomplete transparency to thePPT electricity consumersalong with advantages likemonitoring of real-time ener-gy consumption data to an

hourly resolution, rechargethe smart meters by paymentthrough a mobile phone, seethe payment history, etc.,through a 24X7 consumermobile app.

The consumers are, thus,facilitated to analyse theirconsumption and, according-ly, help regulate the con-sumption by reducing thelosses. At the same time, thesmart meters offer the PPT

many advantages like reduc-tion in meter reading, billingand bill distribution cost,reatime meter parameterreading from a remote centrallocation thereby helpinganalysis of a consumer’s elec-tricity pattern,

providing insight forreduction of losses, regulatethe power supply demandbetter basing on the con-sumption pattern.

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The projects under theOdisha Mineral Bearing

Areas DevelopmentCorporation (OMBADC)being implemented by depart-ments were put on fast trackwith Chief Secretary AsitTripathy reviewing the projectshere on Monday.

Resolving the issues relat-ing to ground level implemen-tation of the projects, Tripathydirected the concerned admin-istrative departments to ensurequality monitoring of the pro-jects through third party super-vision.

Tripathy asked the depart-ments to undertake micro-level monitoring and manage-ment through independenttechnical professionals.Further,

he advised that the furnitures,classroom equipments andgeneral materials necessary formodernisation of educationaland technical institutions beprocured from local micro,small and medium enterprisespromoted under the Make inOdisha initiative. Target was setto complete infrastructurebuilding civil work projectsfor by first quarter of 2021.

Additional Chief SecretaryHealth and Family Welfare PKMohapatra appraised, “Fivecategories of projects like up-gradation of health infrastruc-ture estimated around Rs971.83 cr, improving access tohealth services estimatedaround Rs 95.31 cr, improve-ment in emergency care ser-vices estimated around Rs19.06 cr, telemedicine care pro-ject in health institutions esti-mated around Rs 4.75 cr, and,special public health pro-grammes estimated around Rs

207.90 cr” are being imple-mented in the OMBADC dis-tricts like Keonjhar,Sundargarh, Mayurbhanj andJajpur.

Apart from that a 150-bedmaternal and child care hospi-tal building in Jajpur have alsobeen taken up.

Secretary SkillDevelopment and TechnicalEducation Sanjay Kumar Singhsaid, “The projects for mod-ernisation of Government ITIsand engineering schools alongwith skill development of trib-al youths have been undertak-en under OMBADC funding.”

Principal Secretary Schooland Mass Education SatyabrtaSahu said, “The projects fordevelopment of critical infra-structure and other facilities inelementary, secondary. OdishaAdarsha Vidyalaya andKasturaba Gandhi BalikaVikash schools have been takenup under OMBADC funding.”

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An e-expert talk based onthe theme “Skill

Development: Issues,Challenges and Opportunities”was conducted by the DAVSchool of BusinessManagement (DSBM) throughonline platform ZOOM.Managing Director, Odisha

Knowledge CorporationLimited (OKCL) DrManoranjan Puthal graced theevent as the chief guest.Mentioning about three aspectsof the current skill ecosystem,such as changing nature ofjobs, diminishing jobs and lowfemale participation, he dis-cussed about various educa-tional factors, local self-

employment and economicscenario persisting acrossOdisha and India.Dr Puthalhighlighted about numerousopportunities available for thepresent youths in the areas ofboth physical and online free-lancing .An interactive sessionfollwed where the students putforward their questions and gotthem answered.

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Natural resources are stillsacrosanct; people can’t

be alienated, said eminent ecol-ogist Padmabhusan ProfMadhav Dhananjaya Gadgilwhile delivering the key noteaddress during the inauguralsession of the OdishaEnvironment Congress 2020here. The session was chairedby OEC chairman DK Ray.

The welcome address wasgiven by OEC secretarySudarsan Das. Former

Director, Chilika DevelopmentAuthority Dr Ajit KumarPattnaik introduced the chiefguest.

Padmashree Radhamohanmade a brief presentation of hisviews on biodiversity and itslayman’s interpretation.Presidential address was givenby Dr Ray.

In the beginning Prof(Dr)Gadgil talked about the impor-tance of democratic valuesneeded to empower peoplewho could consequently takethe onus of caring nature."Distrust between the peoplestaying within the forest andthe governance has aggravateddestruction of forest and loss ofbiodiversity.

Forest Departments haveexploited people and turnedthem as their enemies. Pushinginterest of the corporates abovethe people’s need has unsettledthe fragile balance of the peo-ple and their forest all over thecountry," he told. Dr Gadgilsaid during his visit to forestand his stay with the forest

dwellers, he discovered thatthere were rapid pace of defor-estation, even in those areaswhere forest were considered assacred groves and protected onreligious ground.

He further mentioned thatduring his forest trip to MP, hefound that 40 per cent of theforest have been handed to thecorporates. The recent dread ofpandemic has forced people toundertake an arduous journeyof hundreds of miles to reach

their village which they haveabandoned long ago. If forestsare preserved through betterpractices of forest manage-ment, livelihood of the com-munities earlier dependent onit can be secured sustainably, hemaintained.

The Children Environmentwas also held with 70 studentsfrom different schools acrossthe State participating in elo-cution and painting competi-tions.

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Tainted IFS officer AbhayPathak’s son Akash Pathak

on Monday said he has notagreed to any fraud allegationslevelled against him. On beingasked if he has agreed to alle-gation that he is not associatedwith the Tata Motors, Akashrefuted the allegation and saidhe has not agreed to any of theallegations levelled by the TataMotors and the Sky King trav-el agency before the police.

Akash told this to reportswhile being taken to the Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate(SDJM) Court here by theKharavel Nagar police. Thepolice produced him beforethe court as his four-day remandperiod ended. Later, he was sentto the Jharpada jail here.

The Sky King has registereda police complaint accusingAkash of defrauding it of overRs 65 lakh.

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The body of a youth identi-fied as Surya Kanta Swain

hailing from Mukundapur vil-lage under Jagatsinghpur block,who had succumbed to his ill-ness in New Delhi, reached hisvillage on Saturday with sup-port of the Mo Parivar. Thebody was later cremated in thevillage.

Reports said that the youthhad been pursuing higher studyat New Delhi. After his death,the Odia Samaj, New Delhi,had informed Odisha ChiefMinister’s Office seeking helpto transport the body.

Mo Parivar head ArupPatnaik took initiative in thisregard and the body was car-ried in a flight.

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Dusila Bag of Amguda vil-lage under Boden block of

Nuapada district has been des-perately running to the con-cerned labour broker since lasttwo weeks to enquire about herhusband Rahasa.

Her family members allegethat one Kumuda Bag ofBodlapada, who operates as alocal labour dalal for a labourcontractor called Rehman hadforcibly taken Rahasa onDecember 4 when Rahasa wasreturning home from a thresh-ing field.

"We heard from villagersabout him being forcibly takenby Kumuda in a jeep," saidDusila, who has difficulty inhearing. "Kumuda later con-firmed that he has sent Rahasato Vijayawada in AndhraPradesh to work in a con-struction site," added Rahasa's

father Charansing. Rahasa hadtaken a loan of Rs 5,000 fromKumuda during the Nuakhaifestival. Family members guessthat Kumuda might have

forced him to go to Vijayawadaas he could not repay theamount in time. Kailash,Rahasa's uncle, got a phone callfrom an unknown number on

December 6. "The caller, with-out introducing him, wantedme to hand over the phone tomy nephew, who informed mewith a trembling voice thatRahasa was in Vijayawada andhas been mercilessly beaten, forwhich his lower limbs are near-ly paralysed. The phone wasdisconnected and there is nofurther contact after that," saidKailash.

The family members askedKumuda to provide where-abouts of Rahasa. Kumudacalled back to an unknowncaller, who asked Kumuda tocontact the Mangalagiri policestation. Rahasa's fatherCharansing and another personrushed to the police station, 30km from Vijayawada, wherethe police informed that no onein such name had reported inthe PS. Returning fromVijayawada, Charansing haslodged a case in the Boden PS

alleging kidnap of his son byLabour dalal Kumuda Bag.The FIR is yet to be registered.

Notably, paying advancemoney is a regular strategy tolure this region’s labourers tomigrate.

The desperation of labourcontractors now, however, hasincreased as workers are notcoming out openly to migratefearing Covid-19 restrictions,thus using force to send labour-ers, who have taken advance, towork sites," says BJP leaderHitesh Bagartti. "The adminis-tration should remain alert tocurb such distress migration,"adds he.

Dusila is now helpless inthe absence of her husband.Her elder daughter Madhu isdeaf and dumb; younger onealso has physical disability."We have obtained disabilitycertificates, but there is nopension yet," she informs.

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Dr Mihir Kumar Panda, aJunior Engineer in the

State Government’s PanchayatiRaj and Drinking WaterDepartment has been selectedfor the Limca Book of Recordsfor his innovations to popu-larise science among commonpeople, especially children.

Panda, a PhD and DLitholder, has over 10,000 innov-ative models in his laboratorywhich he has made in hisrelentless efforts to take scienceto the common man.

A native of Bahanaga,Panda last year received theaward of the Indian ScienceCongress Association for hisdedication towards science forover 33 years.

He has also registered hisname in world records of asmany as 23 countries and beenfelicitated by over 150 organi-sations.

When he joinedGovernment service, he had adiploma in Civil Engineering.He later earned PhD and DLitbesides completing BTech inCivil Engineering.

Panda is popular inBalswar district as well as inOdisha as he goes aroundschools and colleges and teach-es students science through hisown simple means.Among his

several innovations, low-costhousing technology and earth-quake-resistance building havereceived international accla-mation. “Since 1997, I havebeen working on innovativeprojects. As many as over10,000 models have been madein these 33 years. While earli-er, my projects while were cen-tering around children’s sci-ence, currently my projectsare also for common people,‘people’ science.

Although I have beenreceiving appreciations yet theturning point in my passionwas when I came in contactwith Prof Dinesh KumarGupta, who, after learningabout my researches and inno-vations, registered my name inhis OMG Book of Records.

After receiving the IndianScience Congress award lastyear, now my name is regis-tered in the Limca Book ofRecords. I have been pursuingmy passion out of my ownresources and have dreamt tocarry out research to a newheight once I have adequatefunds,” said Dr Panda.

People of Baleswar, besideshailing Panda’s recognition,maintain that he is an asset forthe State and can be furtherencouraged with adequate sup-port to popularise science at atime when India is aspiring for‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’.

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An Anganwadi Worker,Namita Swain, a resident

of Chandapur village underNaugaon block inJagatsinghpur district, report-edly committed suicide byhanging self from a ceiling fanin her residence on Saturday.

Reports said that thedeceased’s husband, a farmer,and their two teenage chil-dren were not present in thehouse when Namita took the

extreme step. The reason ofher suicide was yet to beascertained. She had beensent to the Naugaon hospital,where doctors declared herbrought dead.

The Naugaon policeseized the body and registeredan unnatural death case.

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Of late, Brahmapur cityhas a manufacturing hub

of duplicate goods. A glaringexample was the unearthingof a spurious automobilelubricant oil factory in theNiladri Vihar area onSunday.Getting information,the Town police conducted a

raid and seized a huge quan-tity of duplicate lubricantsbearing the names of reputedcompanies. Besides, a largequantity of materials used

for manufacturing lubricantswere seized. Earlier, Policehad got information about theselling of duplicate lubricantin the city. While frisking

vehicles they intercepted a carof Md Izaz. which was car-rying 200 litres of lubricants.During interrogation ,thecops came to know theaddress of the factory wherethe lubricants were manu-factured. During raid , 1,000litres of lubricants wereseized. The police ascertainedthat Rs 100 was spent formanufacturing one litre of oilbut iwas sold for Rs 300 in themarkets in the city an otherparts of the State.

The cops are carrying outfurther investigation into whoothers are involved in racketsand which shops used tostock the duplicate lubricants.

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The Odisha Union ofJournalists (OUJ)

Jagatsinghpur branch held itsannual meet and office bear-ers nomination inDhartaranga Gada underRaghunathpur block onSaturday.

OUJ State presidentPrasanna Mohanty addressedthe meeting through virtualmode and discussed severalproblems affecting scribes inthe State. OUJ district headSubhankar Jena presided

while secretary Jyouti RanjanParida, senior scribes AjayaKumar Jena, Kahnu CharanNanda and Bijaya Swainspoke.While Subhanakr Jenawas nominated as OUJ dis-trict president, Jyouti RanjanParida was nominated as sec-retary.

Tapan Routray was nom-inated as vice president,Basanta Behera as organizingsecretary and Manas Swainwas nominated as adviser. 15executive body members wereselected as well.

An advisory committeewas formed. The members ofthe committee were KahnuCharan Nanda, PradiptaKishor Choudhury, BijayaKumar Swain, Ajaya KumarJena, Pinaki Mohanty,Artatrana Pati and SasankaSekhar Panda. A few seniorscribes working inJagatsinghpur district werefelicitated.

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With the objective ofempowering women

with skill development, theNTPC Talcher Kaniha inaugu-rated a training programme onnon-woven bag making toWomen Self-Help Groups onDecember 16.

Under its CSR initiative,the station will provide a 20days long training programmein association with M/s Jagaranfrom Bhubaneswar. The pro-gramme was inaugurated by

AGM (CSR) Rafiqul Islamalong with other NTPC offi-cials and staff. Over 20 womenfrom peripheral villages willbenefit from the initiativewhich will aid in providinglivelihood to women.

Following the training, theSHG women will begin pro-duction of these bags whichwill then be procured by NTPCto sell in the nearby shops. Inaddition to boosting incomegeneration of SHGs, these cot-ton bags will also reduce thedependence on polythene bags.

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The Puri-Surat Express trainderailed when it hit a tusker

between the Hatibari andManeswar railway stations inSambalpur district at 2.04 amon Monday. The elephant diedon the spot.

All wheels of the enginefront trolley derailed due to thecollision. The tusker got entan-gled with the engine. All pas-sengers and loco pilots weresafe.The train had a speed of 50kmph as the elephant cautionwas imposed in the route. Arelief train reached the spot

after the mishap for restorationwork. DRM, Sambalpur andother senior officials were pre-sent to supervise the operation.

Later, all coaches of thetrain were pulled back to theHatibari station with a newengine, after which the trainresumed its journey. ForestDepartment officials alsoreached the spot and initiatedan investigation into themishap.

DRM, Sambalpurinformed that a five-memberteam has been formed to inves-tigate the incident and submita report.

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Ameeting for the JharsugudaUtsav (Dulduli) was held at

the Collectorate here. CollectorSK Samal presided over themeeting. It was decided toobserve the festival and foun-dation day on January 1 adher-ing to Covid guidelines.

The puja will be held inboth Jhadeswari and KanakDurga temples along with apublic meeting at theManmohan school ground.Besides, a blood donation campwill be organised and plasmadonors will also be felicitatedon the occasion. Like earlier

years, responsibility was givento the souvenir committee forpublication of a district sou-venir. The district Collectorsought cooperation of all forobserving the festival success-fully.

Former MunicipalityChairman Tapas RayChoudhury presented incomeand expenditure details of 2020festival in the meeting.

DRDA Project DirectorTapiram Majhi, Addtional SPNrupa Charan Dandasena,Executive Officer ofJharsuguda Municipality RamaChandra Pradhan, WescoExecutive Engineer KalpataruNanda and officials of differentdepartments and members offestival organising committeewere present. DIPRO AjayKumar Jena gave vote ofthanks.

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Alarge number of caseswere disposed of at the

Rastriya lok Adalat held hereunder chairmanship ofGanjam District Judge RamShankar.

While settling 74 motorvehicle accident cases, theAdalat directed various insur-ance companies to disburse atotal of compensation of Rs3,49,54,000 to victims.

As many as 38 civil casesand 127 criminal cases were

also settled. Besides, 32 fam-ily disputes were resolved, 25of them were related to wed-ding Family Court JudgePragyan Panigrahi, first ADJDr Prasanna Panda, secondADJ Sanghamitra Sharma,third ADJ Niranjan KumarJena, Judge SoubhaginiMallick were present.

Civil Court RegistrarAmit Swarup Seth coordi-nated and. District LegalService Authority SecretaryArchana Swain managed theLok Adalats.

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Security forces and policewere on high alert in

Malkangiri district due tothe bandh call on Monday,protesting the encounterbetween the security forcesand the rebels in SwabhimanAnchal that claimed lives ofthree rebels.

However, the bandhfailed to evoke any responsein the district as there wasnormalcy in movement ofpeople and shops and busi-ness establishments remainedopen. However, Governmentoffices were closed and plying

of Government buses to andfrom the district was can-celled. Kailash, secretary ofAndhra Pradesh-OdishaBorder Special ZonalCommittee (AOBSZC) ofCPI-Maoist, had issued arelease terming policeencounter as ‘fake’. He urgedpeople to condemn the inci-dent and support the bandhcall.

He alleged that peopleare being illegally arrestedand tortured by police in thearea. The security forces areeliminating Maoist cadres inencounter after forcing themto surrender, he stated.

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Aday after Congress interimpresident Sonia Gandhi

reached out to dissenters with-in the party, senior party leaderand former CommerceMinister Anand Sharma onMonday praised the ModiGovernment saying India hadincreased its infrastructure inrecent years and congratulatedthe Centre and StateGovernments for workingtogether towards it.

“India has increased itsinfrastructure and I congratu-late central and state govern-ments for it as they workedtogether for it. The countrystood in the face of this crisis,”Sharma said.

India made a comeback inthe second quarter after thefirst quarter was the worst forthe economy as the GDP wasadversely hit, he said. “We

hope that in the remaining twoquarters as well, the balance ofrecovery will be maintained,”he added.

Sharma was a part of thegroup of 23 dissenters whowrote to party president SoniaGandhi seeking a completeoverhaul of the organisationwithin Congress. On Saturday,Sonia Gandhi held a meeting ofall dissenters, includingSharma, with an aim to end theongoing crisis.

Congress leaders includingRahul Gandhi have taken fre-quent jibes at Prime MinisterNarendra?Modi over the stateof the economy.

Last month, Sharma had toissue a clarification and amendhis tweet when it was construedas praise for PM NarendraModi. “Prime minister ShriNarendra Modi visit to SerumInstitute, Bharat Biotech andZydus Cadilla was a recogni-tion of Indian scientists andtheir work to produce the vac-cine for COVID-19 That alonewill lift morale of frontline war-riors and reassure the nation,’Sharma had tweeted after thePM’s visit to vaccine centres.

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India and Vietnam onMonday reviewed the entire

gamut of bilateral relations asPrime Minister Narendra Modisaid that Vietnam was animportant pillar of India’s ActEast policy and significance ofthis partnership will increasenext year when both the coun-tries will be members of theUnited Nations SecurityCouncil (UNSC).

Addressing the India-Vietnam Virtual Summit, Modisaid Vietnam is a vital partner ofits Indo-Pacific Vision.

“Next year both of us will bemembers of the UN SecurityCouncil. So the significance ofour cooperation in the globalcontext will increase. We willimplement a Joint VisionDocument 2021-23 which is aplan of action for bilateralengagement,” Prime Ministersaid as he held a virtual meetingwith his Vietnam counterpartNguyen Xuan Phuc on to dis-cuss the strategic partnershipbetween the two countries.

Both the leaders held dis-cussions on defence, energy,healthcare , development part-nership and economic revivalplan post-covid19.

India’s development andcapacity building assistance toVietnam through initiatives such

as Quick Impact Projects (QIPs),ITEC and e-ITEC initiatives,PhD fellowships, as well as pro-jects in water resource manage-ment in Vietnam’s Mekong Deltaregion, SDGs, digital connectiv-ity, and heritage conservation isalso understood to have beendiscussed.

The two leaders reviewedthe entire gamut of bilateralrelations, discussions on region-al and global issues of mutualinterest.

In his opening remarks,Modi said, Vietnam is an impor-tant pillar of India’s Act EastPolicy and vital partner of ourIndo-Pacific Vision.

He said, the relation betweenIndia and Vietnam are growingrapidly and spreading to newareas. The Prime Minister said,India looks at the ties withVietnam with long-term andstrategic perspective. He said,

Indo-Vietnam cooperation cancontribute to maintaining peaceand stability in the region.

Modi said, peace, stabilityand prosperity in Indo-Pacificregion is a common aim ofboth the nations.

Prime Minister expressedcondolences on the loss of livesand property in central Vietnamdue to floods and landslides. andexpressed hope that the aid sentby India will be helpful. He saidIndia and Vietnam have signedseven new agreements on areassuch as defence, scientificresearch, nuclear and renewableenergy, petrochemicals and otherdiverse .

Earlier in February, Vietnamvice president Dang Thi NgocThinh visited India on an officialvisit while Modi and Phuc hada telephone exchange in April todiscuss the COVID-19 pan-demic.

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With the Assembly elec-tions knocking at the

door, the political battle betweenMamata Banerjee Governmentand the Modi Government fur-ther intensified on the issue ofPM-KISAN scheme.

West Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee has written tothe Union Agriculture MinisterNarendra Singh Tomar seekingtransfer of funds to the Stateadministration for the imple-mentation of the PM KisanSamman Nidhi Scheme.Banerjee wants the funds to berouted to farmers through hergovernment. According toBanerjee, more than 73 lakhfarmers are to be benefittedunder the scheme.

“After disbursement offunds, a list of beneficiaries willbe sent to you (centre) for yourinformation,” said Banerjee inher letter.

The centre had alreadyrejected West Bengal’s request tonot pay famers directly underthe PM-Kisan scheme but rout-ing it through the state govern-ment saying the scheme is basedon idea of direct benefit trans-fer to farmers’ account and“routing money through stategovernment would be againstthe spirit of the scheme.”

Under this scheme, a totalincome support of �6,000 peryear is provided in three equalinstalments to farmers. In the

beginning the families of onlythe small and marginal farmers(those having a combined landholding/ownership of up to 2hectares) were eligible. Later,from June 2019, the scheme wasextended to all farmers irre-spective of the size of theirlandholding. The scheme, how-ever, is yet to be implemented inWest Bengal.

In a letter to Tomar,Banerjee emphasised that thedecision of the central govern-ment on implementation of thescheme in West Bengal andtransferring the requisite fund tothe state government for onwarddisbursement to the farmersthrough the state governmentmachinery is “still awaited”.

The letter further states,“Decision of the central gov-ernment on implementation ofthe scheme in West Bengal andtransferring the requisite fund tothe State Government foronward disbursement to thefarmers through the StateGovernment machinery is stillawaited. The State Governmentis already implementing ascheme of direct fund transfer tothe farmers including the share-croppers with death benefitscheme as had been enumerat-ed in my letter under reference”.

Banerjee has urged theGovernment to arrange transferthe requisite fund to the StateGovernment for onward dis-bursement with full responsi-bility to the farmer beneficiaries

of the State through state gov-ernment machinery. Banerjeefurther requested Tomar to“kindly recall” the letter writtenby her on September 9, 2020regarding PM Kisan SammanNidhi scheme in which, theTMC supremo had said that thescheme will be implemented inWest Bengal “if the funds arerouted through the state gov-ernment”.

On September 9, the chiefminister had wrote to theUnion agriculture ministerexpressing her desire to be anintermediary for the farmers asa condition to join the PM-KISAN. In West Bengal, 96 percent of these farmers fall underthe small and marginal cate-gories, much worse than thenational average of 86.2 percent according to the 10thagriculture census of 2015-16.

The Centre earlierappealed to her on a numberof occasions, including onewhen the Union agricultureminister, on February 24, 2020,made a public request to jointhe scheme on its first anniver-sary.

PM-KISAN was launchedby Prime Minister NarendraModi on February 24, 2019,when Rs 2021 crore was trans-ferred to bank accounts ofmore than 10 million benefi-ciaries. The Government so farhas disbursed �93,000 crore tofarmers since launch of thescheme in February 2019.

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Political leaders cuttingacross party lines condoled

the death of veteran Congressleader Motoilal Vora whopassed away on Monday.

Prime Minister NarendraModi said he was saddened byhis death and rememberedhim as a leader with vastadministrative and organisa-tional experience.

“Shri Motilal Vora Ji wasamong the senior-mostCongress leaders, who hadvast administrative and organ-isational experience in a polit-ical career that spanneddecades. Saddened by hisdemise. Condolences to hisfamily and well-wishers.OmShanti,” the PM tweeted.

Congress president SoniaGandhi, former Congress pres-ident Rahul Gandhi and partygeneral secretary PriyankaGandhi Vadra termed Vora atrue Congressman and a won-derful human being. “Vora jiwas a true congressman and awonderful human being. Wewill miss him very much. Mylove & condolences to his fam-ily and friends,” Rahul tweet-

ed.Deputy Chairperson Rajya

Sabha and several unionMinisters and Chief Ministersacross the country recalledtheir memories with Vora whospent more than six decades ofpolitical journey.

A former chief minister ofMadhya Pradesh and a formergovernor of Uttar Pradesh,Vora, a Gandhi family loyalist,was known for his relationsacross political spectrum.

In a party reshuffle carriedout by Congress presidentSonia Gandhi in Septemberthis year, Vora was not givenany party responsibility inview of his advancing age.

A journalist by profession,he worked with NavbharatTimes as its correspondent inBombay (now Mumbai), thenserved with Navbharat inNagpur and Raipur and laterwith Nagpur Times in Nagpur.

A two-term MadhyaPradesh chief minister – firstfrom 1985 to 1988 and later in1989, Vora also served as theunion health minister in thethen Prime Minister RajivGandhi’s cabinet in 1988-89.He retired as a Rajya Sabhamember from Chhattisgarh inApril this year.

During his four terms inthe Rajya Sabha, Vora wasappreciated for his attendanceand participation.

Congress leaders wouldoften quote Vora’s tips for dis-cretion which made him ideal

for the AICC treasurer’s post. As AICC treasurer, Vora

apart from managing thefinances of the grand old partywould also decide on allocat-ing the rooms at the partyheadquarters at Delhi’s 24,Akbar Road.

It was well-known in partycircles that Vora kept a strictvigil on the party functionar-ies at the Congress office.

Former Uttar Pradeshchief minister Mayawati madeit a point to greet the veteranCongress leader whenever shesaw him in the Rajya Sabha. Itwas Vora who had recom-mended removal of SamajwadiParty leader Mulayam SinghYadav from the chief minister’spost on June 3, 1995, a dayafter the infamous “GuestHouse” episode.

Armed SP leaders andworkers tried to assaultMayawati who locked herselfin a room in a bid to escape theattack.

On the same day,Mayawati took oath as thechief minister with the outsidesupport of the Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP) and the JanataDal.

Vora would often recall his“bumpy” car journey that ledto greater familiarity with for-mer Prime Minister Atal BihariVajpayee while on a tour fromLucknow to a remote village inthe state during his term as theUttar Pradesh Governor from1993-19

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The CBI has bookedGujarat-bssed Siddhi

Vinayak Logistics Ltd and itspromoters in a bank fraudcase for defrauding UnionBank to the tune of over �100crore.

The CBI registered thecase following a complaintfrom the Union Bank of Indiadated December 17 underIndian Penal Code Sectionsrelating to cheating, forgeryand presenting forged docu-ments as genuine among oth-ers besides provisions of thePrevention of Corruption Act.

Besides the firm, thosenamed in the FIR areRoopchand Baid, LaxmideviBaid, Rajkumar Baid, DeepakKumar Baid, unknown publicservants and unknown per-sons.

“Siddhi Vinayak LogisticsLtd. And other accused personsduring the period fromSeptember 2012 to October2015 were party to a criminalconspiracy to cheat the UnionBank of India and in pur-suance to the criminal con-spiracy, the accused direc-tors/guarantors of the firminduced Union Bank of Indiato sanction term loans to SVLLand disburse aggregate loanamount of �102 core for pur-chase of 337 commercial vehi-cles,” the reads the FIR.

The loan account of the

company became stressed dueto non-payment interest andinstalments during June 2014.

The period crime men-tioned in the FIR is September2012 to October 2015 and loanaccounts were subsequentlydeclared as Non-PerformingAssets.

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Union Minister of State(Independent Charge),

Development of North EasternRegion (DoNER), MoS PMO,Personnel, Public Grievances,Pensions, Atomic Energy andSpace, Dr. Jitendra Singh onMonday released revised CBICrime Manual in an officialevent. The event was attendedby CBI Director Rishi KumarShukla and others includingsenior officers of the agency.

Singh congratulated theCBI for bringing out the updat-ed CBI Crime Manual after fif-teen years by keeping sight oflatest developments in law,investigation techniques andprocedures.

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The National InvestigationAgency (NIA) on Monday

arrested 17 SDPI/PFI lead-ers/activists for their involve-ment in the violent attack andlarge scale rioting at KG HalliPolice Station, Bengaluru onAugust 11 after a controversialFacebook post by the nephewof Congress MLA of PulakeshiNagar, Bengaluru.

The case was originallyregistered as FIR No .229/2020, PS KG Halli, datedAugust 12 and was re- regis-tered as RC-35/ 2020/ NIA/DLI on September 21 by NIA.

“Investigation so far hasrevealed that the SDPI (SocialDemocratic Party of India)leaders, namely, Md. Sharieff,President, Bengaluru District,SDPI, Imran Ahmed,President, KG Halli Ward,along with other senior lead-ers l ike Rubah Waqas,Shabbar Khan and ShaikAjmal had conducted meet-ings at Thanissandra and KGHalli wards in Bengaluru inthe evening of 11.8.2020wherein they conspired,

mobilised and led the crowdgathered at KG Halli Policestation to attack the police per-sonnel, causing huge damageto the public and police stationvehicles,” the NIA said in astatement.

Likewise, accused Abbas,SDPI President of Nagwaraward had also mobilised largecrowds at the KG Halli policestation through his associatesAzil Pasha, Irfan Khan andAkbar Khan, the agency said.

Investigation also revealedthe use of social media chan-nels like Facebook, Instagram,WhatsApp to spread terroramong people and mobilisedpeople from far away places togather at KG Halli PoliceStation. Accused Saddam,Sayed Sohel, Kaleemulla aliasShahrukh Khan were activesocial media users who par-ticipated in riots as well asinstigated others to gather atthe police station, it said.

Till so far, as many as187accused persons have beenarrested in connection withthe case. Further investigationis continuing in the case, itadded.

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The population of leopards inIndia has increased from

7,910 to 12,852, up by 60 per-cent in four years since 2014,according to a report ‘Status ofLeopard in India 2018’, releasedby Union EnvironmentMinister Prakash Javadekar onMonday.

“India now has 12,852 leop-ards as compared to the previ-ous estimate of 7,910 conduct-ed 2014. The States of MadhyaPradesh, Karnataka andMaharashtra recorded the high-est leopard estimates at 3,421,1,783 and 1,690 respectively,”Javadekar said as he remarkedthat monitoring of the tiger inIndia has clearly shown itsumbrella role in the ecosystem,which has shed light on othercharismatic species like theleopard.

“India’s world record tigersurvey also estimated the pop-ulation of leopards and thetiger range was found the hometo 12,852 (12,172-13,535) leop-ards. They occur in prey richprotected areas as well as multi-use forests.

“A total of 5,240 adult indi-vidual leopards were identified

in a total of 51,337 leopard pho-tographs using pattern recog-nition software. The statisticalanalysis estimates the leopardpopulation at - 12,800 leopardswithin the tiger’s range,” said astatement issued by the UnionEnvironment Ministry later.

The ministry claimed thatthe tiger has not only served asan umbrella species but even itsmonitoring has helped evaluatethe status of other species, likethe leopard which are amongthe most adaptable carnivores,and are known to exist veryclose to human habitations.

A study earlier this year hadfound four distinct sub-popu-lations of leopards in Indiawith high genetic variations -leopards of the Western Ghats,the Deccan Plateau semi-aridregion, the Shivalik mountains,and the Terai region in NorthIndia.

As for region wise distrib-

ution, the highest number of8,071 leopards were found incentral India and eastern ghats,which include the states ofMadhya Pradesh, Maharashtra,Rajasthan, Odisha,Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand,Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

In the western ghat region,which comprises Karnataka,Tamil Nadu, Goa and Kerala,there are 3,387 leopards whilethere are 1,253 leopards inShivalik and Gangetic Plainswhich includes Uttar Pradesh,Uttarakhand and Bihar. In thenortheast hills, there are just141 leopards.

“The leopard was estimat-ed across forested habitats intiger range areas of the coun-try but other leopard occupiedareas such as non-forestedhabitats (coffee and tea plan-tations and other land usesfrom where leopards areknown to occur), higher ele-vations in the Himalayas, aridlandscapes and a majority ofNorth East landscape were notsampled and, therefore, thepopulation estimation shouldbe considered as the mini-mum number of leopards ineach of the landscapes,” theMinistry said.

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Abook ‘Meri Sangh Yatra’by Sangh Worker Om

Prakash Garg was released bySah Sarkaryavah DattatreyaHosbale and Akhil BharatiyaSah Sampark PramukhRamlal of RSS. DirectorGeneral of the Indian Instituteof Mass Communication(IIMC) Prof. Sanjay Dwivediwas also present.

On the occasion,Dattatreya Hosbale said thatseveral books in different lan-guages have been publishedabout the Sangh but everybook has its own importance.When a Sangh worker writesa book, that book not onlyencloses his experiences butalso his feelings.

He said that this book isa document of Sangh forfuture generations.

While Ramlal said thatRSS cannot be understoodmerely by listening about itbut by observing it, the authorOm Prakash Garg, said thatthis book is not an autobiography but is a com-pilation of the inspiration towork, which he got by joiningthe Sangh and the society.

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APIL seeking to establishspecial anti-corruption

courts in every district todecide cases related to variouseconomic offences like moneylaundering and tax evasionwithin one year has been filedin the Supreme Court.

The PIL filed by BJP leaderand advocate Ashwini KumarUpadhyay has also soughtdirections to high courts to takeappropriate steps to decidecases related economicoffences.

The petition has made theMinistry of Home Affairs, theMinistry of Law and Justice,and various states and Unionterritories parties in the case.

The PIL, filed throughadvocate Ashwani KumarDubey, contended that due tolong pendency and ineffectiveanti-corruption laws, India hasnever been ranked among thetop 50 in the CorruptionPerception Index. The Centreand state governments havealso not taken appropriate stepsin this regard, the petitionsaid.

None of the welfareschemes and governmentdepartments are corruption-free, it said.

“Due to long pendencyand ineffective anti-corrup-tion laws, even after 73 years ofindependence and 70 yearsafter becoming a socialist sec-ular democratic republic, noneof our districts are free fromcases related to black money,benami property, dispropor-tionate assets, bribery, moneylaundering, tax evasion andsimilar other economicoffences,” the petition said.

India’s anti-corruption lawsare very weak and ineffectiveand fail to control corruption,and even the BenamiTransactions Act, passed in1988, is gathering dust withoutaction, it said.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi will deliver the inau-

gural address at the IndiaInternational Science Festival(IISF) 2020 on December 22via video conferencing. TheMinistry of Science andTechnology and Ministry ofEarth Sciences in associationwith Vijnana Bharati(VIBHA)conceptualized the-mega science event to promotescientific temper in society.

“In the pandemic when alot of excitement seems to havecome to a halt, it is science andtechnology that is keeping thespirits high. One such liveexample is IISF 2020 where sci-ence can be experienced virtu-ally.

“We have events wherestudents can go for virtualtours, 3D exhibitions, virtualevents, panel discussions, lec-tures and many more. Thereare 41 events and everyone iswelcome in the event”, said DrRanjana Aggarwal, Director,CSIR-National Institute ofScience, Technology and

Development Studies(NISTADS), New Delhi.

She was addressing at J CBose University of Science andTechnology, YMCA during thecurtain raiser of the eventrecently.

Dr Aggarwal elaboratedon the various events and theirscopes and briefed about howstudents can be benefitted withthe programs at the ease of sit-ting at their homes but withoutmissing the real science.

“When the pandemic hap-pened, we thought it will getover in few months and we willbe able to conduct the programlike we did last year. But bySeptember it became clear thatit won’t be possible for us toconduct it physically, then wethought of conducting it at vir-tual platforms” said JayantSahasrabudhe, NationalOrganizing Secretary, VIBHA.

He explained that IISF isinvolving global and overseasIndian researchers and acad-emics, beyond the barriers oftime and borders. He saidthat despite the corona out-

break the number of eventshas been increased and thereis a plan to increase it in theconsecutive festivals.

Information on variousactivities related to the ScienceFestival and registration ofpartners is available on theIISF website www.sciencein-diafest.org, said an officialfrom the Science andTechnology sMinistry.

Launched in 2015, theIISF is a celebration to pro-mote science and technology.It aims to engage the publicwith science, celebrate the joyof science and show howScience, Technology,Engineering and Mathematics(STEM) can provide solutionsto improve lives, he said.

The goal of the IISF 2020is to help youth develop 21st-century skills, with a focus onscientific knowledge, creativ-ity, critical thinking, prob-lem-solving, and teamwork. Along-term objective is toencourage students to studyand work in scientific fields,the official added.

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The constituents of theDMK-led alliance in Tamil

Nadu are upset and shockedover the declaration made by MK Stalin, president, DMK, thathis party would not be contentwith even one seat less than 200in the upcoming Assemblyelection.

“Our goal is Mission-200.Though we can form the gov-ernment by winning 117 of the234 seats in the Assembly, weare contesting not to secure just117 seats. We cannot contentwith even one seat less than200. Our aim is to win 200 seatson our own and that’s why wehave this Mission-200 pro-

gramme,” declared whileaddressing the party workersacross the State on Sunday.

Stalin reminded the partyworkers that the DMK-ledalliance had won 38 out of the39 seats from the State in the2019 Lok Sabha election andthe party workers should repeatthe performance in the assem-bly election too.

Political commentatorKolahala Srenivasan told ThePioneer that Stalin may find theMission-2000 tough. “Since1996 Assembly election, theDMK has never crossed thethree-digit mark. It is going tobe a tough task for him to real-ize this dream,” said Srenivasan.

If Stalin is serious aboutMission-200 in the 2021 elec-

tion, his alliance partners thatinclude the Congress, CPI(M),CPI, VCK, MDMK, MMK andother fringe groups may haveto content with the remaining34 seats. There are reports thatthe DMK is in talks with theVanniyar dominated PMKwhich is right now with theAIADMK-led front.

In the last Assembly elec-tion the DMK had contested178 seats leaving 40 seats to theCongress, five seats to theMuslim League and nine seatsto fringe groups. Since then, theCPI(M), CPI, VCK andMDMK, have joined the DMKcamp and this would make itdifficult for the Dravidianmajor to contest even 178 seatswhich it had set apart for itself

in the last assembly election,points out a senior Congressleader. He said the Congresswould not settle for anythingless than 40 seats.

The DMK is launching the2021 election campaign onWednesday. Party’s ordinaryworkers will undertake vil-lages in their areas with the slo-gan “We reject the AIADMK”.Stalin himself would hit thecampaign trial from Januaryonwards. The DMK chief isupset over the possibility ofmatinee idol Rajinikanth play-ing spoilsport in the assemblyelection as he reportedly toldparty workers that the entry offilm stars into politics wasonly with the objective ofensuring that the DMK does

not win the election.This was in contrast to

what the DMK’s second incommand M K Kanimozhi,(Stalin’s step-sister and formerchief minister Karunanidhi’slone daughter by his third wifeRajathi) had told last week inCoimbatore. “The DMK is notat all ruffled.

The actor has announcedthe launch of his party forJanuary 2021. I can say that itwill not impact the DMK’svictory and you can be sure thatStalin will be the next chiefminister,” Kanimozhi had toldthe media during her campaignin Coimbatore on December 6.The volte-face by the partyleadership within a fortnight isinteresting.

� ����<<������������8 �� ������� &� �� ����Aligarh: The police adminis-tration has started their prepa-rations for Prime MinisterNarendra Modi's virtualaddress at AMU on centenarycelebration. Stringent arrange-ments are being made by coor-dinating with the AMUAdministration. Close moni-toring will also be done on theAMU campus and sensitiveplaces in the city to avoidinterference during the address.

SP City Kuldeep SinghGunawat told that the meetingis going on with the AMUadministration regarding theprogram. Systems are beingfinalized after discussing everypoint. During PM Modi's

address, special attention isbeing given to avoid the inter-net, screen and any other inter-ference. During the program, alarge number of police will bedeployed in the AMU campusand its surroundings, includingPAC and RAF. Police will alsodo patrolling in the city. Theintelligence department hasbeen activated and input isbeing collected for expectedprotest. Those who create dis-turbances will be strictly dealtwith.

The centenary programwill start on December 22 at 10am. Its link has been releasedon the virtual card from AMU. PNS

Aligarh: There is great enthu-siasm from elders to childrento celebrate the birth of LordJesus. Christmas is celebratedevery year on 25 December allover the world. The tune of Jingle Bell - JingleBell has started in the gift gal-leries of the markets with dif-ferent kinds of decorative itemsincluding Christmas tree dec-orations are also being pur-chased here. Santa Claus dress-es are also the center of attrac-tion. The bells will start ringing at 12night on 24th December on thebirth of Lord Jesus. People willgreet each other after cuttingthe cake. The next day prayerswill be held in the churches at10 am. PNS

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The girl's relatives, who havebeen saying not to leave

Boolgadhi, now want to leaveHathras. The family membershave felt that the accused will getsevere punishment after filing achargesheet in the Special Courtunder the Scheduled Castes andScheduled Tribes Act of Hathrasby the CBI.

The father of the deceasedsaid that CBI has found out thetruth. Now the accused will bepunished severely, but seeing theatmosphere of the village, theywant to leave Hathras and go toDelhi. They also want the trans-fer of the case from here toDelhi. They said that people

around the village were accus-ing them of killing their daugh-ter. The CBI found out thetruth by interrogating relativesother than the family.

The exercise began to get acopy of the charge sheet filed bythe CBI. Lawyers of both sideswere preparing for this. Theywant to know what chargeshave been mentioned in thecharge sheet and what evidenceshave been given. The CBI hasfiled a charge sheet of murderand gang rape against Sandeep,Ramu, Ravi and Lavkush of thefamous Bulgadhi case. All thefour accused are in Aligarh Jail.The charge sheet has been pre-pared based on the victim's laststatement.

Aligarh: We welcome thePrime Minister of India, ShriNarendra Modi Ji to be a partof Aligarh Muslim University(AMU) centenary celebrations,and sincerely hope that hispresence will help in the quan-tum jump in the overallprogress and development ofAKTC and the Faculty ofUnani Medicine.

“The Prime Minister haslaid special emphasis on tradi-tional medicine and we are surethat his participation in thecentenary programme as theChief Guest will go a long wayin the further improvement offacilities and infrastructure of theTibbiya College,” said Prof SaudAli Khan (Principal, AKTC).

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The weird poaching contestbetween the Bharatiya Janata

Party and Trinamool Congresshas reached the bedrooms ofpoliticians with Bishnupur BJPMP Soumitra Khan on Mondaythreatening to divorce his wifeSujanta Mondal Khan for join-ing the Bengal ruling outfitbarely two days after dozens ofTMC leaders led by ace MamataBanerjee aide and formerMinister Suvendu Adhikari join-ing the saffron fold.

Sujata who was instrumen-tal in her husband’s win fromBishnupur constituency earlierjoined the TMC in presence ofsenior leader Sougato Roy andKunal Ghosh explained hervolte face saying despite the hardwork she did for her party therewas no recognition coming herway. Besides she expressed herdislike for a situation where BJP

could put up no Chief Ministercandidate. She said, “it is diffi-cult for me to work for a partywhich has six probable namesfor the CM post and 13 othersfor that of deputy CM… Youcannot talk about NarendraModi all the time because he isyour Prime Minister and cannotcome to Bengal to works as theChief Minister.”

She had singlehandedlycrafted the victory of her hus-band a former TMC MP whohad then freshly joined the BJP.As his entry was barred inBishnupur for various reasons itwas Sujata who slogged it outensuring him get more than 6lakh votes. Minutes after wife shejoined the TMC her husbandsaid “she is doing a big mistake”and asked her to change herdecision or else he would sendher a divorce notice.

Khan, also State BJP youthwing president, said, “I concede

that you had worked hard toensure my victory but asking forposts in lieu of that is notacceptable as the BJP does notbelieve in kinship politics”reminding how the TMC hadvictimized her by taking her joband through other means whenshe was campaigning for him.

“This is my appeal to you toremove my surname ‘Khan’from your name,” he said sayinghow “when you lost your job dueto Mamata Banerjee orAbhishek Banerjee I transferred50% of my salary to youraccount every month… so thatyou don’t have to ask for it…Now you have joined hands withthose who had harmed you inpast.” Almost bursting into tearsthe MP said “every family has itsfights. But, you have chosen pol-itics over family to feed you highambitions… and in doing sothey have trapped you makingyou to do a big mistake.

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Actor Arjun Rampal wason Monday grilled for the

second time in five weeks inconnection with the ongoinginvestigations into theBollywood-drug mafia nexuscase.

Rampal, who had beenquestioned for eight-long hoursearlier by the NCB onNovember 13, was grilled onceagain by the investigatingagency, this time around overthe doctor’s prescription forpsychiatric medicines submit-ted by him to the investigatingagency.

The NCB is examining ifthe doctor’s prescription forpsychiatric medicines pro-duced by the actor is genuineor fake. Unconfirmed reportssaid that the actor had obtainedthe doctor’s prescriptionthrough a friend from a NewDelhi-based doctor. The inves-tigating agency had foundsome psychiatric medicinesduring the raids it had con-ducted on Rampal’s Bandra res-

idence in north-west Mumbaion November 9.

The NCB had earlier sum-moned Rampal for questioningon December 16. However,the actor had sought a week’stime from the NCB to appearbefore it for questioning.Rampal arrived at the NCB’soffice for questioning onMonday morning. The actormay be arrested, if the agencyfinds evidence to suggest thedoctor's prescription submit-ted by him is fake.

Among other things, 47-year-old Rampal is being inves-tigated for his links with SouthAfrican national AgisialosDemetriades, the brother ofactor’s live-in friend GabriellaDemetriades and Australian-architect friend Paul Bartel,both of whom were arrestedearlier with the Bollywood-drug mafia nexus case.

Agisialos was arrested bythe NCB from Lonavala nearPune on October 19. Agisilaosis alleged to be a part of a larg-er drug syndicate operating inBollywood, which is being

investigated after the death ofactor Sushant Singh Rajput.

Bartel, an architect by pro-fession who resides at Bandrain north-0west Mumbai, wasarrested on November 13. Theactor has known Bartel for along time. He used to be a reg-ular touch with AgisialosDemetriades, the brother ofactor’s live-in friend GabriellaDemetriades.

The NCB’s investigationshave revealed that Agisialoswas in touch with OmegaGodwin, a Nigerian nationalwho had earlier been arrestedfor supply of cocaine inMumbai. During his custodi-al interrogation, Godwin hadnamed Agisialos. Earlier, ex-

Dharma Productions employ-ee Kshitij Prasad had earlierbeen arrested by the NCB inconnection with the SushantSingh Rajput’s death-relateddrug case and expandedBollywood-drug nexus case.

Sushant, it may be recalled,was found hanging from aceiling fan in his closed roomof his duplex flat at MontBlanc building at Bandra’sCarter Road in north-westMumbai on June 14.

Incidentally, the raid onRampal’s residence came a dayafter the NCB officials carriedout searches at film producerFiroz A. Nadiadwala’s resi-dence along Gulmohar CrossRoad at Juhu Vile ParleDevelopment (JVPD) Schemein north-west Mumbai. Duringthe searches, the NCB sleuthsseized a total of 717.1 gm ofGanja, 74.1 gm charas and95.1 gm MD (CommercialQuantity) along with Rs3,58,610. They also seized 10gm of Ganja from anotheraccused Wahid Abdul kadirSheikh @ Sultan.

After the seizure of drugsand cash, the NCB officialsarrested five persons, includingFiroz A. Nadiadwala’s wifeShabana Saeed.

More than 25 persons–including Sushant’s girlfriendRhea Chakraborty and herbrother Showik --- have beenarrested and a large number ofpersons have been questionedin connection with a case reg-istered by the NCB on August28, two days after it registereda case suo moto. Subsequently,Rhea was granted conditionalbail by the Bombay High Courtin the Sushant death-relateddrug case on October 7, 2020.

As part of the investiga-tions, the NCB had earlierquestioned Bollywood’sprominent actresses DeepikaPadukone, Sara Ali Khan,Shraddha Kapoor and RakulPreet Singh.

The agency had also arrest-ed television comedian BhartiSingh and her husband HarshLimbachiya. It has also issuedsummons to film-maker KaranJohar.

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Thiruvananthapuram: Withcoronavirus case numbers onMonday seeing a lower trend asfewer samples get tested on aSunday, Kerala registered 3,423new infections from 34,847samples.

In a statement issued here,state Health MinisterK.K.Shailaja also said that theday saw 4,494 people turn neg-ative, taking the number ofcured to 6,45,779, while there

were 60,504 active cases.A total of 27 deaths were

reported taking the death tollto 2,843. Across the state,2,80,375 people were underobservation in various placeswhich included 13,610 peoplein hospitals. The statehad 457hotspots. IANS

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Patna: The Urban and HousingDevelopment Ministry of Biharhas claimed that it will providetap water to every household in30 cities in the next threemonths.

Providing tap water toevery household is an ambi-tious project of Chief MinisterNitish Kumar and it has alsobeen included in the 'SaatNishchay Progamme' of thestate government.

A senior official from theministry, on condition of

anonymity, told IANS thatconnecting pipelines to everyhousehold was part of the 'SaatNishchay Programme' during the previous tenure ofthe Nitish Kumar government.

“The deadline of the pro-ject was December 2020, how-ever, installation of pipelines insome of the cities is still under-way. It is expected that it will becompleted by March 2021,” hesaid.

The delay in connectingthe pipelines happened as it

was very difficult to replace theold pipelines with the newones in some cities like Patna,Muzaffarpur, Gaya as they areancient and developed in anunplanned way, the officialadded.

Citing the problem inMuzaffarpur, the official saidthat earlier the proposal was tocomplete the project in Rs 98crore but the amount was not adequate so the author-ity has released more fundsnow. IANS

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In what will put a virtual stopto the Christmas and New

Year-eve celebrations inMumbai and other major citiesin the state, the MaharashtraGovernment on Mondayannounced the imposition of14-day-long night curfew fromDecember 22 in the metropo-lis and other MunicipalCorporation areas in the state,following the detection of a newstrain of the SARS-CoV-2 in theUnited Kingdom.

Amid news reports that adistinct phylogenetic cluster ofSARS-CoV-2 that causesCovid-19 has been detected andit is spreading rapidly in theUnited Kingdom, Maharashtrachief minister UddhavThackeray reviewed the pan-demic situation in the state andannounced night curfewbetween 11 pm to 6 am, fromDecember 22 to January 5,2021.

At a high-level meetingchaired by the chief minister andattended among others by statechief secretary Sanjay Kumar,Mumbai police commissionerParam Bir Singh and other topofficials, the Maharashtra gov-ernment also decided to quar-antine compulsorily all passen-gers arriving in Maharashtra,particularly Mumbai, from UK,Europe and Middle East, as aprecaution.

“In view of the detection ofa new deadly virus in the UK,

we will have to be extremelyvigilant over the next 15 days.Accordingly, we have imposednight curfew in all municipalcorporation areas till January 5,”Uddhav said.

“The new strain of Covid-19 detected in Britain is spread-ing rapidly. Its severity will beknown in the coming days.Therefore,. Beginning today,we are taking extra-precau-tions. There will be a thoroughcheck-up of passengers arrivingin the state from internationalflights,” the chief minister said.

Uddhav said that the pas-sengers who have either arrivedor will arrive from all Europeancountries and Central-EastCountries will be quarantinedat various institutions for 14-days. These passengers willundergo an RT-PCR test on the5th or 7th day. They will beallowed to go home after their14-day period gets over.

The Chief Minister direct-ed the municipal commission-ers across the state to makearrangements of hotels andIndependent hospitals wherethe international flights arrivein municipal jurisdiction.

“Passengers arriving fromnon-European countries will bestamped on their hand andhome quarantined. All theworkers who will undertakecheck-up of passengers arrivingfrom European countries andCentral-East countries will beprovided PPE kits at the air-ports”, Uddhav said.

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The Allahabad High Courthas granted bail to Faisal

Khan, who was arrested foroffering namaaz on the premis-es of the Nand Baba temple inMathura district.

The court however, direct-ed Khan not to use the socialmedia till the conclusion of thetrial.

Justice Siddharth allowedthe bail application observingthat “having considered thematerial on record, larger man-date of the Article 21(Protection of life and person-al liberty) of the Constitutionof India and the dictum of apexcourt in the case of DataramSingh Vs. State of Uttar Pradeshand another, reported in (2018)3 SCC 22 and without express-ing any opinion on the meritsof the case, applicant can bereleased on bail”.

In Dataram Singh's case,the Supreme Court had heldthat “grant of bail is a generalrule and putting a person in jailor in a prison or in correctionhome during trial is an excep-tion and presumption of inno-cence, i.e. person is believed tobe innocent until found guilty,is fundamental postulate ofcriminal jurisprudence. It is notnecessary to go into the cor-rectness or otherwise of theallegations made against theaccused as this is a subject mat-ter to be dealt with by the trialjudge”.

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With COVID cases inIndia falling from apeak of 98,000 newcases per day last

September to below the 25,000mark, it can now be said that thecollective efforts of the UnionGovernment, the StateGovernments, health administra-tors and the entire healthcare sec-tor over the last eight months isfinally yielding the results.

Prime Minister NarendraModi has been leading from thefront and has taken 10 meetingsof Chief Ministers devoted whol-ly to the tackling of this pandem-ic. His hands-on approach, con-stant State-wise monitoring of thespread of the virus, interactionwith Chief Ministers of the worst-hit States, visits to pharmaceuti-cal companies to get an update onthe manufacture of the vaccinehave all contributed in a substan-tial way not only in controllingthe disease but in keeping themorale high among doctors, nurs-es, paramedical staff and admin-istrators and researchers in thefield of medicine.

Apart from the PrimeMinister, many Chief Ministershave put politics aside and workedtirelessly alongside the UnionGovernment to control COVID-19 in their respective States. At lastcount, there are over 40 politicalparties governing this country atthe national and State level. Thisincludes members of the NationalDemocratic Alliance (NDA) at theCentre, regional parties with hugemajorities in States like the BijuJanata Dal in Odisha, the AamAadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi, theAll India Trinamool Congress inWest Bengal, the YSR Congress inAndhra Pradesh and theTelangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS)in Telangana. There are also sev-eral States like Kerala, led by theCommunist Party of India(Marxist) and Bihar with theJanata Dal (United) at the helm,which are run by coalitionGovernments. Apart from theseparties, we have the national par-ties — the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) and the Congress party(INC) — running several bigStates like Uttar Pradesh, MadhyaPradesh, Karnataka, Haryana,Rajasthan, Punjab andChhattisgarh, to name a few.

This is indeed a mind-bog-gling kaleidoscope of politicalparties governing 1,400 millionpeople and this does not includeseveral dozen more sub-regionalpolitical entities in positions ofpower at the zila parishad and

municipal corporation levels.Yet, despite the fractious natureof our politics and high-decibelpolitical battles that have beenfought between the BJP-ledCentre and States run by otherparties in the recent years, theyhave by and large put aside theirpolitical differences and cometogether to fight the pandemic.This is the spirit of co-operativefederalism that Modi was keento usher in and it goes to thecredit of all the players that theyhave displayed a unity of pur-pose to fight COVID-19 whichis in contrast to the intense polit-ical battles that are fought on theground in normal times.

A good example of keepingpolitics out and putting in a jointeffort can be seen in the initia-tives taken by Union HomeMinister Amit Shah to reach outto Delhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal and to find ways toimprove Delhi’s infrastructure totackle COVID-19. Shah hadmore than a couple of meetingswith the Chief Minister and hisofficials when the COVID sit-uation in the Capital began tocause concern. He was joined byUnion Health Minister HarshVardhan, who has been work-ing vigorously over the last 10months to confront and containthe biggest challenge to publichealth in this country.

The meetings in Novemberresulted in Delhi getting moreICU beds and equipment. Afterthis meeting, the Delhi ChiefMinister thanked Union HomeMinister and said he had theassurance that all Central andState Government agencieswould work together to

tackle COVID-19.This is also the moment to

acknowledge the work of ourdoctors, nurses and paramed-ical staff, especially in theGovernment sector, who havebeen working relentlesslyagainst huge odds to treatCOVID-19 patients. On testingCOVID positive, this writerwas treated at the TraumaCentre at AIIMS, which hasbeen converted to a COVIDCentre. Several doctors and

nurses working there hadthemselves contracted COVIDin the course of duty. Yet, theywere back at work after recov-ery. There are many suchreports from other hospitals aswell. But the one disturbing fac-tor is the rapacity of some pri-vate hospitals and reports ofthem charging mind-bogglingsums just to provide a room forCOVID patients. TheGovernment has a responsibil-ity to identity these institutions,investigate their practices andpenalise them once the pan-demic is under control.

Meanwhile, Modi hasreviewed India’s vaccinationstrategy, the current status of theresearch and the distribution ofthe vaccine when it is available.Here again, consultations withthe States is already on.

This brings us to the lessonsthat we have learnt over the last10 months. If one reflects overthe situation when the crisis firsthit us and the UnionGovernment announced a lock-down and decided its extension,there was a nation-wide debateon the efficacy of the lockdownitself. Thereafter, many ChiefMinisters were highly critical ofthe Centre and the latter had alot of complaints about the non-response of States like WestBengal to the directions issuedby the Centre. It took some timefor all the stakeholders to realisethat the Union Government’sdirectives regarding the lock-down, social distancing, wearingof masks, closure of businesses,entertainment industry, educa-tional institutions and so onflowed from the powers vested

in it by the Constitution to dealwith national emergencies anddisasters. The States also realisedthat in the absence of unity ofaction, all States would bedoomed because the virusrespects no geographical bound-aries separating States.

Those who breathe nega-tivity are unable to see all this.They are the doomsayers, hop-ing that this diverse nation willcollapse like a house of cards.But all indicators show that thiscountry’s political leadership,both at the national level andin the States, is capable of ris-ing over petty politics to offera united challenge to this pan-demic and to win the battle.Just look at the situation in theUS and you will realise howblessed we are. Unfortunately,America has been unable toshow a unity of purpose andthe confidence to deal with thepandemic and this has result-ed in COVID-19 spiralling outof control in that country.

Hopefully, the new yearshould see COVID-19 casesdecline in India to the barestminimum, followed by a credi-ble, reliable vaccine. That day, wemust wholeheartedly acknowl-edge the integration that thepolitical leadership broughtabout and the heroic fight thatour doctors, nurses and every-one in the healthcare sector putup against COVID-19 whichenabled us to overcome thedeadliest health crisis this coun-try has faced in the recent times.

(The writer is an author specialising in democracy studies. The views expressed arepersonal.)

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������������ ����� �����Sir — It is truly delightful that theSports Ministry has approvedthe inclusion of four indigenousIndian sports which are verypopular and hail from differentregions — Gatka (Punjab),Kalaripayattu (Kerala), Thang-Ta(Manipur)and Mallakhamba(Madhya Pradesh andMaharashtra) — in the forth-coming Khelo India Youth Games2021, scheduled in Haryana.

Sports Minister Kiren Rijijuhas rightly said that India has arich heritage of indigenous sportsand it is a priority for the SportsMinistry to preserve, promoteand popularise these games.

The Khelo India Games is def-initely an excellent platform whereathletes of these games can com-pete and showcase their talent notonly in these sports but also bringnational and global attention tothese sports which are very pop-ular since the ancient times.

Rijiju stated that these fourdisciplines, along with yogasana,will get due attention among thesports enthusiasts and the youth.The Sports Ministry is planningto include more indigenoussports in Khelo India Games.

M Pradyu Kannur

������������ ����� Sir — This refers to the report‘Government plans breakthrough inkisan talks’ (December 21).Farmers have put themselves ingreat inconvenience by stagingprotests in cold weather conditions.

They are putting their lives indanger and, at the same time,unable to find a common meeting

ground with the Government intalks that have been held so far.One can understand the issuesraised by the farmers with theGovernment but to put up such amassive congregation at the bor-ders of the Capital is perhaps notthe best way to resolve the impasse.

The farmers’ concern is thatthe new farm laws initiated by theGovernment would facilitate the

involvement of corporates whomight later control the fortunes ofthe agriculture market, therebyputting farmers in the background.

But the laws do farmers afavour by eliminating the com-mission agents. So one does notknow as to where things areheaded with regards to the talks.

Devendra KhuranaBhopal

����������������������Sir —This refers to the editorial‘Congress deal for Rahul?’(December 21). Since the Gandhiscion and young Congress leaderquit as the party chief, taking moralresponsibility for his party’s embar-rassing drubbing at the BJP’ handsin the last parliamentary election,the grand old party has been at thereceiving end of one after anoth-er body blow as several dissentingleaders from both the new and theold guard have deserted theCongress with several heavy-weights even joining the rulingBJP’s juggernaut, either after sulk-ing over having no say with theparty leadership or for the sake ofseeking greener pastures on theother side of the fence.

I subscribe to the editorialview that this rapprochementbetween the Gandhi first familyand the dissenters is driven withthe dual purposes of keeping theCongress’s flock together andpaving the way for Rahul’s come-back at the helm simultaneously byconvincing the dissenters over theredressal of their grievances.

Azhar A KhanRampur

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The Government is expected to announce a�3,00,000 crore electricity distribution reformprogramme to reduce losses and improve the

efficiency of power distribution companies or dis-coms. Christened ‘Reforms-Linked, Result-BasedScheme for Distribution’, the move is aimed at help-ing discoms trim their electricity losses to 12-15 percent from the present level and gradually narrow thedeficit between the cost of electricity and the priceat which it is supplied, to ‘zero’ by March 2025. Thisis quite similar to the Ujwal DISCOM AssuranceYojana (UDAY) launched in 2015, wherein the tar-gets were missed by a huge margin. The Centre’splanned electricity distribution reform programmewill also meet the same fate as the real intent is notreform but to give money to the beleaguered dis-coms so that they can clear dues to power genera-tors and other suppliers.

Meanwhile, amid the cacophony of farmers’protest over the enactment of the three farm lawsby the Narendra Modi Government, a demand thatwent unnoticed relates to doing away with an amend-ment to the Electricity Act (2003) that requires farm-ers to pay tariff for electricity supply at the un-sub-sidised rate even as the State concerned providesDirect Benefit Transfer (DBT) of subsidy to theirbank account. Reportedly, the Centre has acceptedthis demand.

What it means is that the Centre will continuewith the existing dispensation of supplying powerat subsidised rates to farmers (in some States it iseven free of charge). If it is done for farmers thenlogically, other beneficiaries of subsidised power, suchas poor households should continue under the sub-sisting arrangement, too. You can’t have two differ-ent methods of delivering subsidy to different albeitvulnerable sections of society.

Do we then take it that the Government hasjunked its plan on DBT? A cursory glance at a spateof announcements coming from the top may helpus in unraveling the truth in regard to the DBT orfor that matter, fate of other reforms in this crucialsector. Under the special economic and comprehen-sive package for the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’announced in May, Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman had provided for a special loan of�90,000 crore from the Rural ElectrificationCorporation (REC) and the Power FinanceCorporation (PFC) to discoms. This was done toenable them to clear their dues to independent powerproducers (IPPs) and generators in the public sec-tor, such as the National Thermal Power Corporation(NTPC). But, this was conditional upon the discomsimplementing reforms such as DBT of power sub-sidy, “open access” i.e. allowing consumer to drawpower from a supplier of his/her choice and so on.

Sitharaman had linked the hike in the borrow-ing limit of States to the extent of 0.25 per cent ofthe State Gross Domestic Product (SGDP) (out ofan overall increase of two per cent allowed to them)to power sector reforms. Of this, 0.05 per cent is pred-icated on the State reducing aggregate technical andcommercial (AT&C) losses (a sophisticated nomen-clature for theft) of its discoms, another 0.05 per centto their reducing the gap between the average costof supply and average revenue realisation (ACS-ARRgap) from the sale of electricity and the remaining0.15 per cent to DBT.

Each State was required to formulate a schemeto roll out DBT to farmers in lieu of free electrici-ty from 2021-22. The scheme has to be implement-ed in at least one of its districts by December 31.Based on the progress on the above three parame-ters, the Power Ministry was required to recommend(to the Expenditure Department under the FinanceMinistry) the release of 0.25 per cent by January 31,2021. Even prior to this, power sector reforms have

been on top of the Central Government’sagenda. In November 2015, it launched theUDAY. The prime objective of the schemewhich ran for nearly four years was to cutthe losses of discoms by reducing AT&Closses and the ACS-ARR gap. These loss-es were a result of the increase in the costof power purchase on one hand and sup-ply to farmers at heavily subsidised rateson the other. They were required to reduceAT&C losses from 20.7 per cent during2015-16 to 15 per cent by 2018-19.Further, they were asked to reduce theACS-ARR gap from �0.59 per unit dur-ing 2015-16 to ‘zero’ by 2018-19.

Simultaneously, the Government gavethem a financial restructuring package(FRP). Put simply, this was nothing butcondoning their debt of about �4,00,000crore (while 75 per cent of this was takenover by the States, for the balance, discomswere allowed to issue bonds at a prefer-ential interest rate). The stated rationalebehind giving FRP was to enable themstart on a clean slate. In return, discomswere expected to set their house in orderby achieving the milestones as specifiedabove. But, they did not deliver.

During 2019-20, AT&C losses ofdiscoms were 18.9 per cent against the tar-get of 15 per cent for 2018-19. As regardsthe ACS-ARR gap during 2019-20, itstood at �0.42 per unit against target of‘zero’. This would mean that after initialreduction from �52,000 crore during2015-16 to �17,000 crore during 2017-18,the discoms’ loss increased to over �30,000crore during 2019-20. In turn, this has ledto a piling up of their dues to IPP/PSUsin excess of �1,30,000 crore.

Faced with the same predicament asin 2015, the Government is working ona �3,00,000 crore electricity distributionreform programme, which may beannounced in the ensuing Union Budget.It was approved by the Public InvestmentBoard (PIB) early this month.

The reforms are also aimed at improv-ing the reliability and quality of power sup-ply. It may also have a compulsory pre-paid and smart metering component to beimplemented across the power supplychain, including in about 250 millionhouseholds.

The Government is expected to con-tribute around �60,000 crore to thescheme’s corpus and the rest may be raisedfrom multilateral funding agencies suchas the Asian Development Bank (ADB)and the World Bank (WB). The Centre’scontribution will be met through the pre-vious commitment of the ongoingschemes viz. the Integrated PowerDevelopment Scheme (IPDS) and theDeen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojna(DDUGJY). The funds will be releasedsubject to their meeting reform-relatedmilestones.

The proposed electricity distributionreform programme is more or less simi-lar to UDAY but for the change of nameand insertion of some catchy phrases suchas Reforms-Linked, Result-Based and soon. One sees the typical syndrome of “oldwine in a new bottle.” Just as the real pur-pose of the UDAY scheme was to extin-guish the liabilities of discoms, the pro-posed electricity distribution reform pro-gramme, too, seeks to give them themoney on a platter. This will help themclear their dues to power generators andkeep some cushion to take care of futurelosses.

The talk of trimming AT&C losses orlowering the ACS-ARR gap to zero islaughable when seen in the backdrop ofsimilar target having been missed in thepast. Under UDAY, discoms were requiredto reduce AT&C loss to 15 per cent in2018-19; now the reformers want this fig-ure to be reached in March 2025. Similarly,the zero gap for ACS-ARR was targetedfor 2018-19; under the new scheme, thisgets shifted to 2025.

That the Government is not seriousabout the reforms agenda in the powersector, it has further vindicated by promis-ing farmers that DBT of power subsidywon’t be implemented. DBT is a transfor-mative reform. Under it, subsidy is givendirectly to the beneficiaries even as tariffis cost-based or market-determined. Thediscoms will set tariff in a manner as tofully recover their cost of purchase,wheeling and distribution thereby avoid-ing loss. They won’t also be saddled withpending subsidy dues from the State asthen, the latter will be dealing directly withbeneficiaries for subsidy transfer.

Under the DBT dispensation, discomsalso need not charge more from industriesand businesses which they have to dounder the present regime to offset the losssuffered on subsidised sale to farmers andpoor households. This in turn, will helpthe latter reduce their cost of operationsand stay competitive. The new regime willalso empower consumers as then, it willbe easier to implement the “open access”policy thereby enabling them to sourcepower directly from a supplier who offersthe lowest tariff.

In short, DBT will be a win-win forall stakeholders viz. agriculture, industry,businesses, exchequer (both Centre andStates) even as farmers have nothing tolose (as only the method of delivering sub-sidy changes).

However, the DBT’s launch is a pipedream as all political parties irrespectiveof their ideological moorings — whetherin the Government or in the Opposition— want themselves to be seen as supply-ing electricity to farmers free of charge.Hence they have a vested interest in con-tinuing with the status quo. Till there is nopolitical will to end this, there can be noreal power reforms in India.

(The writer is a New Delhi-based pol-icy analyst. The views expressed are person-al)

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In the early ’80s, buoyed by his bigvictory against the Congress thethen Andhra Pradesh Chief

Minister NT Rama Rao (NTR) talkedabout the formation of a Front forregional satraps called the BharatDesam. But, this did not materialisefor many years as NTR’s vision wasahead of his time. Finally, in 1989 theNational Front was born, of whichNTR became the chairman. TheNational Front came to power and VPSingh of the Janata Dal became thePrime Minister defeating the CongressPrime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

However, it wasted away soon, yield-ing space to another Front called theUnited Front in 1996, of which DeveGowda became the Prime Minister,followed by IK Gujral. This alliancetoo, was short-lived.

The next Front was the NationalDemocratic Alliance (NDA) led by ABVajpayee in 1998 and 2004. Soon after,Congress chief Sonia Gandhi formedthe United Progressive Alliance(UPA), which ruled for ten years. Theyear 2014 saw the grand return of theBJP-led NDA and its winning streakis still continuing. As the late Congressleader Ahmed Patel used to point out,the UPA was not a Front after the 2014elections. The Congress’ slide hasmade it easier for the regional satraps,who are growing in number, to cometogether. Several of them, with astrong base in their respective States,are now thinking of forming a non-BJP and pro-Congress alliance. Thisis necessary because of the vacuumcreated by a weak Congress on the one

side and the ambitious regional satrapswho are dreaming of national leader-ship, on the other.

The question is, can this alliance,when it is formed, survive? Theanswer to this can only come withtime. But there is no doubt that theregional leaders view this as an oppor-tune time to strengthen their positionsfurther and work towards an alliance.They are quietly sounding out theother regional strongmen and mobil-ising their support. They realise thatthe Congress Party has lost its sheenand there is also a leadership crisis inthe Grand Old Party. Moreover, in thelast six years, the Congress has failedto lead the Opposition, despite repeat-ed attempts to do so.

The purpose behind the bid toform a new alliance is to stall the BJP’sjuggernaut. They want to float it nowso that they will not be caught nappingin the next Lok Sabha polls. One mightrecall the Telangana Rashtra Samithi(TRS) chief Chandrashekhar Rao

announcing on the eve of the recentGreater Hyderabad MunicipalCorporation (GHMC) elections thathe plans to visit Delhi soon to discussa non-BJP alliance.

Second, leaders like the BijuJanata Dal (BJD) chief Naveen Patnaik,Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremoMamata Banerjee, NationalistCongress Party (NCP) head SharadPawar, Shiv Sena president UddhavThackeray are really worried about theway the BJP is growing in their back-yard and they have been unable tocheck its growth. Even neutral lead-ers like Rao and Patnaik are consid-ering joining this Front, as they werehesitant to part of any group in whichthe Congress was a partner.

Third, they are concerned aboutthe aggressive campaigning by the BJPfor even municipal polls, like it did inthe recent GHMC elections. The BJPhas jumped from two seats to 48 —just a few less than the TRS — whichwas ruling the roost for the last six

years. Fourth, the regional leaders donot mind taking issue-based help fromthe Congress, both in Parliament andoutside, as the alliance would beopposed to the BJP in their respectiveStates and also at the national level.The regional bigwigs are miffed withthe Centre as they feel that PrimeMinister Narendra Modi is not adher-ing to the dharma of federal cooper-ation on many issues, including theGoods and Services Tax (GST) and themoney due to them for dealing withthe COVID-19 outbreak.

Fifth, many senior leaders in theregional parties are reluctant to workunder the leadership of formerCongress president Rahul Gandhi.They would not mind, for instanceworking under the leadership ofSharad Pawar because, being a seniorboth in terms of age and political expe-rience, he is more acceptable to theother stalwarts. Last but not the least,the satraps think that the BJP does nothave any leader of stature in most

States. They hope that this powerfulalliance against the BJP would workin their favour. There is no doubt thatfor any democracy to function prop-erly, there is a need for a powerful andeffective Opposition. It is also clear thatthe splintered Opposition in thecountry has not been effective, evenwith a majority in the Rajya Sabha.The ruling NDA has been able to getmany controversial Bills passed in theHouse of Elders because of the disuni-ty in the Opposition ranks.

Hence, State leaders believe thatthey must emerge as an alternative tothe Congress and the ruling BJP fordemocracy to thrive in the country.Earlier efforts to form a Third Frontwere all short-lived because of the egoproblems among them. From theJanata Party days to the present times,every decade the idea of a Third Frontsurfaces. The present move is one ofthem.

(The writer is a senior journalist.The views expressed are personal)

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Beijing: China’s Government onMonday criticised PresidentDonald Trump’s suggestion thatChinese hackers, not Russia,might be behind a cyber espi-onage campaign against theUnited States.

Trump on Saturday scoffedat assertions by Secretary of StateMike Pompeo and other officialsthat the Kremlin was behindattempts to spy on federal agen-cies. Trump, without offeringevidence, said “it may” be China.The Foreign Ministry said Chinaopposes cyber spying and hascrackdown on cyber crime. AP

Washington: Top Capitol Hillnegotiators sealed a dealSunday on an almost $1 trillionCovid-19 economic relief pack-age, finally delivering long-overdue help to businesses andindividuals and providingmoney to deliver vaccines to anation eager for them.

The agreement, announcedby Senate leaders, would estab-lish a temporary $300 per weeksupplemental jobless benefitsand $600 direct stimulus pay-ments to most Americans,along with a new round of sub-sidies for hard-hit businessesand money for schools, healthcare providers and renters fac-ing eviction.

The House was expected tovote on the legislation very late

Sunday or Monday and Senateaction would follow.Lawmakers are eager to leaveWashington and close out atumultuous year.

A breakthrough came lateSaturday in a fight over FederalReserve emergency powers thatwas resolved by the Senate’s topDemocrat, Chuck Schumer ofNew York, and conservativeRepublican Pat Toomey ofPennsylvania. That led to afinal round of negotiations.

The final agreement is thelargest spending measure yet. Itcombines Covid-19 relief witha $1.4 trillion Government-wide funding plan and lots ofother unrelated measures ontaxes, health, infrastructure andeducation. AP

London: France became thelatest European country toclose all its borders with the UKafter Germany, Italy, Belgium,Denmark, Bulgaria, the IrishRepublic, Turkey and Canadasuspended flights amid grow-ing concerns of an “out ofcontrol” new variant of coron-avirus spreading at a muchfaster pace in parts of England.

India, so far, remains in thetravel bubble with the UK,with strict testing and self-iso-lation rules in place. But withmost of Britain now in thestrictest Tier 4 lockdown, allnon-essential travel remainsbanned for the majority.

Other countries and terri-tories to announce restrictionson UK travel include HongKong, Israel, Iran, Croatia,Argentina, Chile, Morocco andKuwait.

UK Prime Minister BorisJohnson will chair a meeting ofthe government’s emergencycommittee on Monday to takestock of the situation as a hugebacklog build up on the borderwith France after even trucksand ferries were blocked entry

at the ports.European Union (EU)

member states are also due for

a meeting in Brussels to discussa more coordinated response asthe number of coronavirus

infections in the UK jumped to35,928 on Sunday, down to themuch faster spreading new

mutation of the novel coron-avirus, with the country’s deathtoll rising by 326 to hit 67,401.

“Everybody, particularlypeople in Tier 4 areas, needs tobehave as if they might wellhave the virus – that is the onlyway we are going to get it undercontrol,” UK Health SecretaryMatt Hancock said, addingthat the situation is “deadlyserious” as the governmenttries to contain the rapid strainof an “out of control” virus.

“This is a deadly disease,we need to keep it under con-trol, and it has been made moredifficult by this new variant,” hesaid.

The new variant is said tobe 70 per cent more transmis-sible, though health experts saythere is no evidence that it ismore deadly or would react dif-ferently to vaccines.

“It is really too early totell… but from what we see sofar it is growing very quickly, itis growing faster than [a pre-vious variant] ever grew, but itis important to keep an eye onthis,” said Dr Erik Volz fromImperial College London.

“The amount of evidencein the public domain is woe-fully inadequate to draw strongor firm opinions on whetherthe virus has truly increasedtransmission,” added ProfessorJonathan Ball, a virologist at theUniversity of Nottingham.

It is thought the varianteither emerged in a patient inthe UK or has been importedfrom a country with a lowerability to monitor coronavirusmutations.

The variant can be foundacross the UK, except NorthernIreland, but it is heavily con-centrated in London, the SouthEast and eastern England.Cases elsewhere in the countrydo not seem to have shot up ina similar way so far.

The government’s New andEmerging Respiratory VirusThreats Advisory Group(Nervtag) estimates the variantcould increase the R number —or rate of infection — bybetween 0.4 and 0.9. The Rnumber is how many otherpeople one person will infect onaverage and an epidemic is ineffect if it rises above one. PTI

Dubai: Dozens of journalists atAl-Jazeera, the Qatari state-owned media company, havebeen targeted by advanced spy-ware in an attack likely linkedto the Governments of SaudiArabia and the United ArabEmirates, a cybersecuritywatchdog has said.

Citizen Lab at theUniversity of Toronto said onSunday it traced malware thatinfected the personal phones of36 journalists, producers,anchors and executives at Al-Jazeera back to the Israel-basedNSO Group, which has beenwidely condemned for selling

spyware to repressive govern-ments.

Most unnerving to theinvestigators was that iMessageswere infecting targeted cell-phones without the users tak-ing any action — what’s knownas a zero-click vulnerability.

Through push notificationsalone, the malware instructedthe phones to upload theircontent to servers linked to theNSO Group, Citizen Lab said,turning journalists’ iPhonesinto powerful surveillance toolswithout even luring users toclick on suspicious links orthreatening texts. AP

Bangkok: A well-knownactress who is one of the mosthigh-profile supporters ofThailand’s pro-democracyprotest movement answered apolice summons on Mondaycharging her with violatingthe country’s harsh law againstdefaming the monarchy, eventhough she is not known tohave spoken publicly aboutthe royal institution.

Inthira “Sai” Charoenpura,who is also a singer, has drawnboth praise and criticism forgiving material support andraising funds for the student-led movement.

Along with seven protest

leaders, she presented herself ata police station in Bangkok tohear charges that they hadviolated the country’s lesemajeste law, which calls for aprison term of three to 15years for defaming the king ormembers of his immediatefamily.

The law, known as Article112, has long drawn criticismfor its harshness and terms thatlet anyone file a complaint,allowing its use for partisanpolitical purposes.

Its use against Inthiraappeared to be unprecedentedsince she was not directly tiedto any comments about the

monarchy. She has helped pro-vide food, protective gear andother equipment for the protestrallies over several months thathave attracted thousands ofpeople.

Charging Inthira “sets avery disturbing precedent,”said Sunai Phasuk, aresearcher for New York-basedHuman Rights Watch, addingthat it now seems that being anaccessory to any actions thatThai authorities consider to beoffensive to the monarchy arepunishable. “So now the net isbeing cast very wide, muchwider than ever before,” hesaid. AP

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Amsterdam: The EuropeanMedicines Agency is meetingto consider approving a coro-navirus vaccine developedby BioNTech and Pfizer thatwould be the first to beauthorised for use in theEuropean Union.

The closed-doors meetingcomes weeks after the shot wasgranted permission underemergency provisions by regu-lators in Britain and the UnitedStates.

If EMA scientists concludethat the vaccine is safe, officialsat the Amsterdam-based agencyare expected to give condition-al approval for it to be usedacross the 27-nation bloc. TheEuropean Commission muststill rubber-stamp the decisionbefore the vaccine can be rolledout, a process German officialssay could begin Dec. 27. Thepharmaceutical companies willalso need to submit follow-up

data on their vaccine for the nextyear. The European regulatorcame under heavy pressure lastweek from countries calling forthe vaccine to be grantedapproval for use as quickly aspossible. EMA had originally setDec. 29 as the date for its eval-uation of the vaccine made byGermany-based BioNTech, butmoved the meeting forwardafter calls from Berlin and oth-ers to move quicker.

The vaccine has alreadybeen given some form of reg-ulatory OK in more than adozen countries.

Britain, Canada and the USauthorised the vaccine to beused according to emergencyprovisions, meaning the shot isan unlicensed product whosetemporary use is justified by thepandemic that has killed almost1.7 million people worldwide todate, according to JohnsHopkins University. AP

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Kathmandu: Nepal’s embattledPrime Minister KP SharmaOli on Monday defended hismove to abruptly dissolveParliament, saying he wasforced to seek a fresh mandatethrough elections as the riftwithin the ruling NepalCommunist Party severelyaffected his Government’sfunctioning.

Oli on Sunday sprang asurprise on his rivals and gotthe President to dissolveParliament, a controversialmove amidst a prolonged tus-sle for power between him

and former premier PushpaKamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ with-in the ruling dispensation.

In a special address to thenation, Prime Minister Oli saidthat he was forced to dissolveParliament and announce mid-term elections after he learntabout a plan to move a vote ofno-confidence against him.

“I was forced to seek a freshmandate through elections asattempts were made against mygovernment, not to allow it tofunction properly,” the primeminister said while defendinghis decision to dissolveParliament and announce datesfor mid-term elections.

Oli, who is also one of thetwo chairmen of the rulingparty, said that the intra-partyrift in the ruling NepalCommunist Party severely

affected the government’s func-tioning.

“The elected governmentwas pushed to a corner andpicketed against and was notallowed to work so I decided todissolve the house,” he said.

“Against the people’s man-date and their will, national pol-itics was dragged into an end-less and goalless direction bycreating controversy, makingParliament meaningless as theelected government could notreceive its support but alwaysfaced opposition and draggedinto the controversy,” Oli said.

He accused some of hisown party leaders of beingresponsible for forcing him totake this step.

“When the prime ministerof the majority government wasnot allowed to work, I did not

want to indulge in unfair prac-tices behind closed doors andreach a compromise withthem,” Oli said, adding that giv-ing a chance to the people fora fresh mandate is “the bestdemocratic alternative.”

“This move could be seenas an abrupt step for now, butsome of my party leadersshould be held responsible forcreating this situation who didnot cooperate with myGovernment,” Oli said.

Prime Minister Oli alsoinsisted that his governmenthad done well in terms of safe-guarding the country’s territo-rial integrity and sovereignty.

“I was victimised forenhancing national pride bypublishing a map with theinclusion of Kalapani andLipulekh,” Oli said. PTI

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Brussels: The European Unionon Monday warned Bosniathat thousands of migrantsface a winter without shelter,and it urged the country’s bick-ering political authorities to setaside their differences and takeaction.

“The migration situation inBosnia and Herzegovina isalarming,” the EU commis-sioners responsible for foreignpolicy, migration and enlarge-ment said in a joint statement.

Bosnia has been widelycriticized in recent years formishandling the arrival ofthousands of people, manyfleeing war and poverty. AP

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New York: Global sharesretreated Monday as worseningcoronavirus outbreaks over-shadowed news that US law-makers finally set a deal onmore support for Americanfamilies and businesses.

Markets fell in Paris,London, Frankfurt and Tokyobut rose in Shanghai. U.S.Futures were lower.

Concern about the coron-avirus outbreak grew, as sever-al European Union nationsbanned flights from the UKand others considered similarprecautions aimed at prevent-ing a new strain of the virusfrom gaining a strong footholdon the continent.

That overshadowed theexpected passage by the U.S.Congress of the nearly $1 tril-lion COVID-19 economicrelief package later Monday.

Most investors had alreadyfactored in expectations for thefresh stimulus, Jingyi Pan of IGsaid in a commentary.

"The tentative accord onthe approximate $900 billioncoronavirus stimulus deal, hav-ing been the talk of the townfor weeks, brought forth littlefresh enthusiasm for markets,"Pan said. Germany's DAX andthe CAC 40 in Paris fell 3.1%.In Britain, the FTSE 100 gaveup 2.5% to 6,436.30.

US futures also weakened,with the contract for the S&P500 down 1.7%. The futures forthe Dow industrials dropped1.6%.

The British pound, some-times called the pound sterling,fell 1.8% against the dollar, to$1.3274, down from $1.3522late Friday. "Combined withEuropean border closures and

the UK Health Secretary usingphrases such as 'out of control'to describe the new strain,Sterling is, unsurprisingly,under pressure today," JeffreyHalley of Oanda said in acommentary.

In Asia, flaring COVID-19outbreaks have led authoritiesto impose lockdowns or otherrestrictions in Australia andThailand.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 indexlost 0.2%, regaining some of itsearlier losses after the Cabinetapproved a record annual bud-get of 106.6 trillion yen ($1.03trillion) for the coming fiscalyear, which begins April 1.

In Hong Kong the HangSeng declined 0.7% and SouthKorea's Kospi recovered fromearly losses, gaining 0.2%. TheShanghai Composite indexgained 0.8%.

The US stimulus agree-ment is includes temporary$300 per week supplementaljobless benefits and $600 directstimulus payments to mostAmericans, along with a freshround of subsidies for hard-hitbusinesses and funding forschools, health care providers,and renters facing eviction.

The final agreement wasreached after a breakthroughover Federal Reserve emer-gency powers was resolved bythe Senate's top Democrat anda senior conservativeRepublican. Wall Street retreat-ed on Friday, with the S&P 500losing 0.4% a day after it andother major indexes breachedrecord highs.

The pandemic's chokeholdon the economy has wors-ened, with reports showinggrowing numbers of workers

applying for jobless benefitsand weaker than expected salesfor retailers. Wall Street's hopeis that the stimulus for theeconomy might help carry itthrough a tough winter, untilthe widespread rollout ofCOVID-19 vaccines mightbring relief.

But it will be months beforemost people can get the shots,and the pandemic is likely to doeven more damage in the inter-im. In the bond market, theyield on the 10-year Treasuryslipped to 0.91% from 0.94%late Friday.

US benchmark crude oillost $2.01, or 4.1% to $47.23 perbarrel in electronic trading onthe New York MercantileExchange. Brent crude, theinternational standard,declined $1.80 to $50.46 perbarrel. AP

-��#����"�'���(����'������'$��/��'�����'�"���(�0�����.$�$�New Delhi: Around 83 per centpeople in a survey in Indiashared that 5G is one of the fac-tors they consider while buyinga new phone and nearly threein every five existing premiumsmartphone users are lookingto upgrade their device to thenext generation technology,according to a report releasedby Cybermedia Research.

According to the survey, 81per cent respondents preferOppo for 5G smartphone and79 per cent opted for Samsung.

The global survey con-ducted in India, China andWest Europe found that 5Gusers, where the service isavailable, have experiencedbetter video calls, faster down-loads and ability to streamultra high definition videos

and satisfaction level from 5Gservices is around 80 per cent.

The technology is pushinggrowth of video content cre-ation in markets where it isavailable and the same isexpected to follow in India aswell, according to the report.

"In global markets, 5Gsmartphones are fuelling videocontent creation and con-sumption, video calling, aswell as use cases such as mobilegaming, among others. Ibelieve that when 5G becomesavailable in India within thenext two years, it will give aconsiderable thrust to theincreasing trend of short-formvideo creation and sharing,amongst millennials," CMRindustry intelligence grouphead Prabhu Ram said in astatement.

The survey conducted inNovember covered 5,000 con-sumers in the age groups of 18to 35, spread across India(3,000), China (1,000) andWestern Europe (1,000).

The survey found that 5Gin smartphones is a key pur-chase consideration every-where.

"In China, Huawei is themost preferred 5G smartphonebrand (91 per cent), followedby Apple (58 per cent) that isgaining ground.

Samsung scores the high-est in Western Europe (88 percent), followed by Huawei (65per cent). In India, amongstearly 5G smartphone adoptersand tech intenders, OPPOscores the highest (81 per cent),followed by Samsung (79 percent)," the report said. PTI

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New Delhi: The government'sdecision to suspend all flightsfrom and to the UK fromDecember 23 to December 31,in view of the emergence of anew COVID-19 strain, is notlikely to have much impact onthe tourist traffic, and the com-panies are monitoring the sit-uation, travel industry playerssaid on Monday.

"The impact of the currentflight suspension to the UK andfrom there will have a negligi-ble impact on tourist traffic.Due to the current environ-ment of COVID-19 and thequarantine rules and off season,tourism to the UK in any casehad not picked up,"EaseMyTrip co-founder andCEO Nishant Pitti told PTI.

This will lead to a fastergrowth and demand fordomestic tourism, especiallywhen the international optionis limited. Travellers are aspir-

ing to travel and take a break,and the focus will be on choos-ing Indian destinations, headded.

In a statement, aMakeMyTrip spokespersonsaid the sudden turn of devel-opments in the UK has creat-ed a sense of confusion andanxiety among travellers whowere planning to visit familyand friends during this winterholiday season.

"While we are yet to seeany impact on bookings fromIndia to the UK, we do expectinbound queries from cus-tomers who were planning toreturn home in the comingdays.

"We are closely monitoringthe situation and together withour partners, we will worktowards addressing travel con-cerns of home-bound trav-ellers as the situation evolves,"it added. PTI

New Delhi: Agriculture MinisterNarendra Singh Tomar onMonday said the government isfocusing on farm mechanisationand asked the industry to pro-vide small machines and equip-ment to farmers with less land-holding to boost their income.

The minister was speakingat the annual general meeting ofTractor and MechanizationAssociation on Monday.

Tomar talked about the gov-ernment's target to double farmmechanization per hectare in 10years and said it was only possi-ble with the support from indus-try, CII said in a statement.

The government's emphasisis on providing large advancedagricultural equipment to farm-ers for their field, the ministersaid. He urged the members ofthe association to provide smallutility machines to small acreagefarmers, so that 86 per cent ofthese farmers can acquiremachines easily and their incomecan increase. PTI

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/3A���$#���3�3&6%!�4� ##!5���$���$3��$��!;�����.!� �

0�"�$��&!���3�$5!��3�0!6$3���99!�%�4$%!���)�$���3 �! �$��0" ��! A$5!�#���! H����33��New Delhi: 63 MoonsTechnologies on Monday saidthe Securities Appellate Tribunalhas issued a notice to Sebi on anappeal filed by the companyagainst the order related toproviding Straight ThroughProcessing (STP) services.

On December 3, Sebi saidthat 63 Moons has been offer-ing STP services without itsapproval and allowed the com-pany to provide such servicesfor three more months to clientsin order to avoid any possibledisruptions for securities mar-ket participants.

Generally, financial firmsuse STP to pass informationelectronically in order to opti-mise the speed at which theyprocess transactions. This elim-inates the need for a hands-onre-entry of data that has alreadybeen completed at the source.

The watchdog's directionswere part of an order whereinit rejected 63 Moons' applicationseeking renewal of approval toprovide STP services on thebasis of 'fit and proper' criteria. PTI

New Delhi: The AsianDevelopment Bank on Mondaysaid it has signed a USD 40 mil-lion loan to Northern ArcCapital Limited (NACL) tosupport the livelihoods ofmicrofinance borrowers andMSMEs in India.

The loan is disbursed toNACL as part of ADB's ongo-ing COVID-19 response.

NACL will on-lend theloan proceeds and provideguarantees to financial institu-tions and individual borrowers.

NACL will also on-lend toaffordable housing financecompanies, ADB said in astatement.

"The pandemic has had adeep impact on the country'sinformal economy, especiallyamong microfinance borrow-ers and MSMEs”, said ADB'sPrivate Sector OperationsDepartment Director ChristineEngstrom. PTI

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New Delhi: Telecom serviceproviders could undertake thenext round of tariff hikes over thenext one or two quarters, whichis expected to fuel revenuegrowth in fiscal 2022, ICRA saidon Monday.

The industry topline isexpected to grow by 11-13 percent over the next two years, withoperating margins improvingto about 38 per cent for thefinancial year 2022 on the backof improved cash flows, moder-ate capex and limited borrow-ings, it said.

"Next round of tariff hikesare expected soon as the indus-try debt continues to remain ele-vated, likely to at Rs 4.7 lakhcrore as on March 31, 2022,"ICRA said in a release.

Given the higher fundingneeds arising from sizeable pay-outs towards statutory liabilities,spectrum purchase, regular rev-enue share with the governmentand auction instalments. PTI

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New Delhi: The FinanceMinistry on Monday released theeighth weekly instalment of Rs6,000 crore to the states to meetthe GST compensation shortfall,taking the total amount releasedso far under this window to Rs48,000 crore.

"The Ministry of Finance hasreleased the 8th weekly instal-ment of Rs 6,000 crore to theStates to meet the GST com-pensation shortfall. Out of this,an amount of Rs 5,516.60 crorehas been released to 23 states andan amount of Rs 483.40 crore hasbeen released to the 3 UnionTerritories (UT) with LegislativeAssembly (Delhi, Jammu &Kashmir & Puducherry)," it saidin a statement.

The remaining five states --Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur,Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim-- do not have a gap in revenueon account of GST implemen-

tation. The Centre had set up aspecial borrowing window inOctober, 2020 to meet the esti-mated shortfall of Rs 1.10 lakhcrore in revenue arising onaccount of implementation ofGST. The borrowings are beingdone through this window by theCentre on behalf of the States andUTs.

The amount borrowed sofar was released to the states onOctober 23, November 2,November 9, November 23,December 1, December 7,December, 14 and December 21,2020.

"The amount has been bor-rowed this week at an interestrate of 4.19 per cent So far, anamount of Rs 48,000 crore hasbeen borrowed by the CentralGovernment through the specialborrowing window at an aver-age interest rate of 4.69 percent," the statement added. PTI

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Mumbai: Foreign portfolioinvestors (FPIs), which ownmore than 24 per cent of thedomestic market, pumped in arecord USD 8.1 billion lastmonth, highest in 12 years, andat USD 5 billion to date,December also looks to getrecord inflows, says a foreignbrokerage report.

At USD 8.1 billion, Indiahas received the highest FPIinflows among the emergingmarket peers in November, asBrazil got only USD 6.2 billion,South Korea (USD 5.2 bil-lion), Taiwan (USD 4.5 billion)and Thailand at USD 1.1 bil-lion.

This inflow had the valua-tion premium of India to otheremerging markets in the MSCIIndex shooting up by 5 per-centage point to 46 per centand is 5 per cent above thelong-term average, says Bank ofAmerica Securities in a reporton Monday.

Meanwhile, with over USD2 billion pullout, the domesticfunds turned negative on themarket in November.

At over USD 8.1 billion,FPIs inflows are the highest in12 years in November, whilewith over USD 2 billionredemptions, domestic fundswere net sellers in the month.

The fund inflows were dri-ven by active funds, BofASecurities said. PTI

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Mumbai: Tata Motors onMonday said its commercialvehicle prices will be revisedupward from January next year.

The steady rise in materi-al and other input costs,impact of forex and transitionto BS-VI norms, have cumu-latively increased the cost ofmanufacturing vehicles,necessitating a price revisionto partially offset the impact,the company said in a statement.

"There will be a priceincrease across Tata Motorscommercial vehicle range,effective January 01, 2021,"the company said in the state-ment. It said the actualchange in price will dependon individual model, variantand fuel type.

The company had thusfar been absorbing the addi-tion in costs but with theirsteady rise in line with mar-ket trend, it has becomeimperative to pass at leastsome portion of the costincrease to customers viaappropriate price revisions, itadded.

The price increase isexpected across the portfolioof medium and heavy com-mercial vehicles, intermedi-ate and light commercialvehicles , small commercialvehicles as well as buses, TataMotors said. PTI

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Do you encounter problemslike nasal congestion? Isthat nagging cold givingyou a tough time by not

allowing you to do your real-world-activities with ease? To top it all, doyou encounter breathing issues con-stantly? Then, you will have to con-sult a doctor as it could be sinusitis.

Sinusitis, also known as sinus,affects people of all age groups.Winter, indoor and outdoor pollu-tion, allergies, and the common coldcan trigger this condition, and giveyou a tough time. One mayencounter a sinusitis problembecause of the inflammation of thetiny air pockets that are locatedaround the bones of one’s nose.Normally, the sinus, or the pocket,is filled with air, and then one willbe shocked to know that the area getsfilled with germs or fluids that caninvite infection. One with sinusitismay feel that he/she is getting cold.Seasonal allergies and pollen cantrigger this condition, and the symp-toms worsen during winter.

Know why winter can be harshon people with sinusitis

Winter season leads to a changein the air pressure. Moreover, it is thetime you get cozy in those blankets.But, make sure that it doesn’t carrydust as this can aggravate yoursinusitis pain. Moreover, carpetsand rugs at home that are filled withdust can also be problematic. Duringwinter, one also tends to opt forindoor heating. You will be shockedto know that the air will dry outowing to electric heaters and air con-ditioners causing irritation to yournasal passage. Furthermore, opting

for foods like alcohol, sugar, oreven dairy can lead to nasal conges-tion and lead to inflammation in thebody.

The symptoms can be aheadache, runny nose, and swellingof the sinuses, nasal congestion, nasaldischarge, and breathing problems.Furthermore, people having chron-ic sinusitis experience facial, upperjaw, and tooth pain. Postnasal drip,sore throat, loss of taste because ofthe congestion, and fatigue are someof the classic symptoms of this con-dition. You will have to take antibi-otics to manage pain and inflamma-tion. Remember to recognise thesinusitis problem on time, and takethe expert’s advice.

Here are a few tips to tacklesinusitis:� In order to generate more oxy-

gen, it is advisable to keep oxy-gen plants at home.

� Do not eat cold stuff and try todrink a lot of warm water.

� Taking steam on a daily basis willhelp you clean your nasal pas-sage. The excess mucus will becleared and you will be able tobreathe freely. So, just inhalingthe steam for merely 20 minutescan do the trick.

� Stay hydrated all the time. Drinka lot of water which will thin themucus and help manage sinusi-tis. Not only will this, drinkingenough water to ensure thatyour lungs are lubricated.

� Do not sit in a humid environ-ment. Avoid opting for a humid-ifier as it could lead to dry airand cause inflammation of thesinuses.

� Do not rub your nose too hardas it can lead to bleeding.

� Elevate your head while sleep-ing as it can help you manageyour congestion.

� Breathing exercises can helpyou clear your nasal passages.Also, take the medicationprescribed by the doctor ontime.

� Getting a flu shot in winter canhelp prevent sinusitis.

� Eat a well-balanced diet loadedwith fresh fruits, vegetables,and legumes. Do not go over-board on antibiotics and washyour hands frequently to keepgerms and bacteria at bay, andavoid getting cold or allergies.Say no to smoking as it may irri-tate your sinusitis.

� Keep your windows closed andprevent dust from entering thehouse. Also, clean your bedding,carpets, and rugs from time totime. Also, avoid swimmingduring those chilly days to keepsinusitis at bay.

� Change your air filters regular-ly. This will help get rid of dust,pet dander, and even pollen.

� Wear jackets and sweaters dur-ing those chilly days to avoidgetting sick as this can aggravatesinusitis.

� Avoid exercising in the coldweather. If you go out for morn-ing walks during those chillydays then you are doing it allwrong. The cold weather canwreck havoc on your health. So,be careful! Do not step out dur-ing winter.

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The winter time can be a dreaded season for asthmatics as dur-ing the colder seasons it is common for them to witness an

increase in asthma attacks. This is mainly because of two rea-sons, one is that people are more frequently exposed to certainindoor allergens during the winter and another is the cold tem-perature itself. The dry wintry air can irritate the inner liningof the throat. During the colder season, the heart also works dou-bly hard in order to keep the body warm and in asthmatics thelungs may find it difficult to keep up with any extra or strenu-ous activity. However, with careful self-observation and with theright tools on hand, the winter season can be enjoyable too! Thefollowing are some helpful tips on managing your asthma dur-ing the colder season:

Identify triggers and try to eliminate themSince we’re all spending most of our time indoors, identify

certain allergens that trigger your asthma. Dust mites, pet hair,pollution or construction site dust, mould, pollen etc can all con-tribute towards increasing asthma attacks. Indoor dust is one ofthe most common triggers, so make sure you keep your floorsand fans clean! Change your bed sheets often, fluff your pillowand remove dust from your blankets by shaking vigorously ona daily basis. Do this in an open area so as to not trigger anoth-er attack.

Keep your immunity highDuring the winter season you are at a greater risk of devel-

oping coughs, colds, flu orother chest infections whichcan worsen asthma. Take extracare to avoid unwanted expo-sure to viruses, focus on immu-nity boosting foods such asgreen leafy vegetables, fruits,whole grains and protein.Smoking and drinking are a bigno. Channel your energy inmore productive ways by exer-cising or find some other cre-ative outlet to keep your mindhealthy. Consider getting a fluvaccine if required.

Keep warmGet ample Vitamin D

whenever you can catch somesunlight, and go out and standon the balcony for 15-20 min-

utes daily even when the sun isn’t directly visible. Wear woolenclothes or thermals to help your body maintain a stable temper-ature. Consider investing in an indoor heater and humidifier ifyou stay in very cold regions. Keep a flask of warm water handyand preferably drink warm liquids throughout the day. Hot waterbags could also be used when you sleep at night to help keep thebody warm and ease congestion inside the lungs. Avoid too muchcaffeine.

Keep your medicines handyIf there is a change in asthma severity particularly during

winters or if you experience asthma only during the winters, yourdoctor may prescribe a different medicine for you apart fromthe standard inhaler. This can be a different strength or type ofinhaler or allergy control medications such as antihistamines,nasal sprays or eye drops. The doctor may also suggest nasal irri-gation or a saline rinse depending on the severity of your attacksand the condition of your airways.

The crux of preventing an asthmatic attack depends on suc-cessfully identifying and eliminating or finding the best ways tocope with a reaction. Exercise may trigger an attack in some peo-ple whereas in others it may be less obvious things such as insects,fragrances, smoke from fire, etc. Speak to your doctor for moredetailed advice on coping measures that are designed for yourparticular health background and you will understand if yourequire a vaccination, and if so what kinds, and the best type ofmedication suited for you.

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�:�� ������Brown rice isrich in proteins, thiamine,calcium, magnesium, fiber,and potassium. For thosetrying to lose weight or thosesuffering fromDiabetes, it canprove a healthfulstaple given itslow glycemicrating whichhelps reduceinsulin spikes.

It is alsorich in seleni-um whichreduces the risk fordeveloping commonillnesses such as cancer,heart disease and arthritis.One cup of it provides 80 percent of our daily manganeserequirements. Manganese helpsthe body synthesize fats. It

also benefits our nervous andreproductive systems.

The naturally occurringoils are beneficial for the bodyas these healthful fats help

normalise cholesterol lev-els. The fiber content

of brown ricekeeps bowel

function atit’s peaksince itmakes diges-tion that

much easier.It is the perfect

addition to thedaily diet for those

seeking bowel regularity. In addition, it also makes

the tummy feel full whichtranslates to smaller meal por-tions and thereby aiding inweight loss.

Getting a sore throat ishorrifying, especial-ly during the current

time. However, it is notonly COVID-19 that caus-es it, there are other factorstoo. Here are a few reme-dies that will helpyou.

G a r g l ewith salt andlukewarmwater. Takea cup oflukewarmwater, addhalf tsp ofsalt and gargletwice a day.

Drink hot water.While it doesn’t taste toogreat, but it is advisable tohave hot water at regularintervals. It will help calmdown your throat.

Honey can help. Mixedin tea or taken on its own,

honey is commonly used inrelieving a sore throat.

Use peppermint.Peppermint contains men-thol, which helps thinmucus and calm sore

throats and coughs.Peppermint also

has anti-inflammato-

ry, antibac-terial, andant iv ira lproperties,w h i c hm a y

encouragehealing.

B a k i n gsoda gargle. While

the saltwater gargle is morecommonly used, garglingbaking soda mixed withsalt water can help relieve asore throat as well. It can killbacteria and prevent thegrowth of yeast and fungi.

With the cold wave grippingmost parts of the country,

having a sore throat is common. ROSHANI DEVIshares easy home remedies

that can help relieve it

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It’s time we must be on guard to prevent our-selves from falling sick. The winter season

is known to bring along cold, cough and feverand aggravate respiratory and cardiac issues.People with low immunity are at a higher riskof falling ill. If you face high stress, frequentoccurrence of infections, tiredness, stomachdisorders, it implies that you need to workon your immunity levels. The rapid transmis-sion of the COVID-19 pandemic also under-scores the need to strengthen our immunesystem. The advent of globalisation, chang-ing lifestyle and food habits warrants the needfor a sound immune systemto keep pathogensat bay.

Yoga is a formidable natural immuni-ty booster for long life. Its key advantage isits simplicity of asanas, diversity of asanasto suit all age -groups and a time-tested nat-ural way of boosting immunity. It is a holis-tic and simple regime, and if followed cor-rectly, can yield good results. Here are a fewasanas that you must perform if you arelooking to boost immunity.

Pranayam: The word ‘prana’ refers tothe universal energy that sustains our life.This technique refers to the art of control-ling breath and regulating it in sync withvarious asanas. This body of knowledgebelieves that a high prana level indicates acontinuous flow of energy and a calm mind.However, lack of knowledge and inadequateattention to breath can block nadis andchakras, leading to tension, worries, fear andconflict. Bhramari pranayama refers to beebreathing to give a break to your hecticschedule and an occupied mind. It isimmensely beneficial for hypertensionpatients.

Vrikshasan: This asana denotes thesteady yet graceful pose of a tree. Unlikeother asanas, this asana is performed witheyes open to balance the body. Vrikshasanis best performed on an empty stomachwith at least four to six intervals betweenmeals and the asana. One must avoidputting the sole of the lifted foot beside theknee as it builds pressure on the latter. Thisasana helps in achieving concentration andmindfulness.

Surya Namaskar: This asana denotesthe salutation to the Sun and involves 12poses. It involves stretching of almost allparts of the body and serves as an excellentcardiovascular workout. It stimulates thenervous and cardiovascular system,strengthens the immune system andenhances cognitive abilities.

Vajrasan: This asana is also known asthe thunderbolt, involves sitting straight onthe kneeswith feet flat on the ground withsoles pointing upwards. It focuses onbreathing and holding the posture for atleast 30 seconds. It is the only asana that isperformed on a full stomach after havinga meal. It relieves constipation and servesas an exercise for the liver, stomach anduterus. The resting of feet over hips stretch-es and flexes quadriceps.

Anjaneyasan: This asana involvesbending a knee on the floor right above thehips. The arms are extended upwards withpalms facing each other. The lower back isextended, and hips are aligned in such a waythat it stretches the frontal region of the legand hip flexors. Those with hypertensionor knee injury should avoid this asana.

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YOGA TO THERESCUE

The Himalaya Drug Company,India’s leading wellnessbrand, shared the results of

the clinical study they commis-sioned to evaluate the role of theirwell-known herbal products (TabSeptilin and Tab Bresol in combi-nation) as an adjuvant treatment inmildly symptomatic and asympto-matic COVID-19–positive patients.The clinical trial was conductedunder the supervision of Dr CRJayanthi (MBBS, MD), Dean andDirector of the prestigious VictoriaHospital (BMCRI — BangaloreMedical College and ResearchInstitute), Bengaluru.

Septilin is a well-known propri-etary Ayurvedic formulation withtime-tested ingredients such asGuggulu, Yashtimadhu, andGuduchi, and possesses strongimmunomodulatory property. Thesafety and efficacy of Septilin hasbeen extensively evaluated in mul-tiple clinical and preclinical stud-ies.

The study was conducted witha strong rationale that both Septilinand Bresol have been proven, inpreclinical and clinical studies, toprovide support and have a positive,multifaceted influence on immuni-ty and respiratory functions. Theseadhere to stringent quality parame-ters, which makes them ideal to betested against COVID-19 withoutany concern whatsoever.

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The perfect season of warmcuddles and hot chocolate

has arrived along with thechilly air that can wreak havocon your skin — making it dry,itchy, and irritated. For all theseasonal highs that winterbrings and comforts of heaters,blowers and hot water, there isalso an unpleasant side thatmanifest in the form of dull anddry skin making it lack lustreand glow. And as health andhygiene takes precedence withthe constant washing and sani-tising of our hands, its essentialto take the right amount of careto ensure our hands stayhealthy, hydrated and soft.

Here are five easy tips totake care of your hands thiswinter season:

Too hot to handle: Whilewe all switch the hot water onto escape the cold weather out-side, make sure we don’t usesteaming hot water as it canstrip away the moisture of yourskin. Use lukewarm waterinstead to wash your handsbefore and after eating or com-

ing from outside. Don't forgetto tap your hands dry with asoft towel/napkin and not witha rough cloth to avoid rashes.

Cover it up: Our hands canbe the first to indicate dry skin.With more family members athome especially with WFHbecoming a norm, it alsoincreases the amount of clothesand dishes to be washed.Hence, invest in a good water-proof pair of gloves to save yourhands from being exposed towater a lot. Moreover, as thetemperature drops especially inregions like North India, it isadvised to wear gloves; howev-er, woolen fabric tends to beirritating on the skin and leavesrashes. Hence, you shouldalways apply a moisturisinghand cream to keep your handssoft under the gloves.

Nailing the look: Animportant yet unspoken factorabout hand care is also nail careas nails are an extension of theskin and hence require thesame tender loving care. Hence,give them some extra attention

by soaking them into lukewarmwater, cleansing and applying agood hand moisturiser to keepthem clean, strong and healthy.

The moisturiser mantra:Always consider a moisturecream that not only works insync with your skin but alsowith your daily routine. Whilethere are various types of skinswith different needs, it is essen-tial to have some ingredientsthat are vital to keep it soft andsupple. Hence, look out for adermatologically-approvedgood intensive hand creamenriched with Jojoba oil andVitamin E that is anti-greasyand can quickly absorb andrefresh the skin. You can alsoapply it regularly after yourcleansing ritual for smooth, softand supple hands.

And so, as we settle into thenew normal, keep these simplesteps in mind for the perfecthand care winter remedy at thefirst sign of chill and enjoy thisseason to the fullest!

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Carols, bells, lights, dec-orations, chilly wintersand rum cake — the

season of joy is here! Peopleare set to welcome Christmasand New Year with open arms.Considering the year we havehad, it is only wise and suitable for us to keep the cel-ebrations low-key. But withthe holiday season in fullswing, some things neverchange. So let’s find out howvarious cafes and restaurantsare safely celebratingChristmas this year.

2�3����A special menu, a live

saxophonist and food tap-ping music along with the fes-tive decor will make it anunforgettable Christmas expe-rience. They always believethat festivals should give onea lot of memories to cherishlater. Hence, they have care-fully crafted their menu andofferings keeping in mind thetaste and preferences of theclients.

Avantika Sinha Bahl atKampai says, “One has tomove on and accept the newnormal while taking all thenecessary precautions. We aremaking sure that we and ourteam adhere to social distancing norms and followhygiene protocols to stay safe.But we will also make sure togive you merrier times. Peopleare gradually stepping out and all they need is theassurance of safety. Withproper precautions in place,we are sure people will wantto step out.”

The chefs have curated themenu where people canchoose between the variety ofsoups, salads and dimsums.The appetizers available are —Tori no Kkarage, Yaki butabaraniku, Rock shrimp tem-pura and more. Sushi rolls likeAburi salmon roll, spicy tunaroll, Ebi tempura roll, crunchyvegetable roll are on the offer.The main course where thechef has some of his star dish-es includes Tori no teriyaki,Yasai teppan, Teppanyaki friedrice, Yaki soba noodles, Lambbulgogi and much more. Toend the meal on a sweet note,the chef has made a specialplum cake.

Right from Kampai Irishcoffee, Myth of Monarch to TheAuld alliance, there are somebest concoctions to make yourday. The exclusive Christmaspackages are priced at �2,999and �3,999 plus taxes.

3����Christmas at Molecule

will be a hearty affair. ManishSharma, founder of Molecule,says, “Those festivals atMolecule are complete fun,food and frolic as we arealways up for extravagant andmagnificent affairs, and thisyear is no different. Startingwith the performance ofcelebrity DJ ATIS onDecember 24, we are allprepped up. We have donesuccessful bashes post-COVID lockdown already andwe are lucky that we are get-ting love from our people,who are very well aware of ourconscious efforts to fight thepandemic. We will continue toact safely and with this, we aresure people will step out oftheir homes.”

Molecule will be dressedup in the theme of MoneyHeist. One can expect serversdressed up as Dali with livebands, rooftop brunch, wintercocktails and more. The ambi-ence will be decked up withfresh flower arrangements.Right from flea stalls, facepaintings to DIY cocktail cor-ners and edible flower icecubes in your drinks — onecan find the little things whichwill make you happier andmerrier. Along with these ele-ments, one can enjoy the spe-cially curated chef delightssuch as sushi, dimsums, sal-

ads, air breads, pizzas, pastasand more. Not only this,melange of different artists atdifferent time slots will be per-forming to make sure eachmusic lover gets to hear theirfavorite. The packages start at�1,800 plus taxes.

��3� 1� ���� ���Restauranteur Priyank

Sukhija says that the merryspirit of the holiday season isall set to arrive at Plum ByBent Chair. Witness thecharm of eccentricity and thequirk of colorful hues as youdwell in the season of festiv-ity with Santa and Plum overPan Asian delicacies. After allthat you’ve been through thisyear, they specially craftedexotic cocktailia, inspiredfrom the magic of Christmas,to turn your night#Plumazing. Priyank says,“Food and drinks are the

most exciting part of the fes-tival along with bright deco-rations and fares. Holidaymeals have a special feel whenpaired with great drinks. Plumby Bent Chair is coming upwith exciting handcraftedcocktails that one can sip onduring the festival.” The pack-ages start at �2,000.

��� �Make this Christmas all

about magnificent vibes andstellar music as Diablo invitesyou for a groovy night withDanza in the city. What makesit even more special is thatTechpanda X Kenzani will beshowcasing their album onChristmas eve. While yousway, they make sure you feelwelcomed with their modernMiddle Eastern delicacies.The true f lavour ofMediterranean cuisine pairedwith handcrafted artisanal

cocktails adds to the overallexperience and is a perfectway to make your Christmasmerrier.

)�����Christmas and New Year

are the most important cele-brations of the year in Franceand many other Europeancountries. Their day is special-ly dedicated to family, unityand friendship. It’s a time forsolidarity and, of course, atime to savour succulent, fes-tively baked and decorateddesserts.

“I have many great mem-ories of my childhood duringChristmas,” remembersLaurent Samandari, co-founder and MD of L’Opéra.“I particularly remember howmuch I used to love the warmsmell of baking of alpine nutcake. It used to be nice andcomforting. I wish to offer thesame feeling to L’Opera guestsand patrons. We are bringingback its classic selection ofproducts encompassing bûch-es (Yule log), chocolates,panettone, Christmas pud-ding, biscuits, plum cake,alpine nut cake, galette desrois as well as a signature tof-fee sauce to relish with theChristmas pudding. Bûche(Yule log) is a traditionaldessert served during pre-Christmas dinners and lun-cheons in France and in otherneighbouring countries. It ismade of a delicate spongecake to resemble a miniatureactual Yule log. A bark-liketexture is often produced bydragging a fork through theicing and powdered sugarsprinkled to resemble snow.Other cake decorations mayinclude actual tree branches,

Actor Amit Sadh findscomfort boring, and

says he constantly wants toexperiment with new gen-res and characters. “I wantto play characters that chal-lenge me. I constantly tellmyself to choose films andcharacters that help me tapinto a different side of me,”said Amit, who has featuredin the OTT-released filmsYaara and Shakuntala Devithis year, besides the webseries Avrodh: The SiegeWithin and Breathe: IntoThe Shadows. He is nowgearing up for the release ofthe web series Zidd.

“There are actually sev-eral things. I call it themagic box. They start withfive boxes, which are halvedin 10 to 20 boxes depend-ing on how complexed and

perplexed the character is.Comfort is boring. I wantto try my hand at newgenres and characters thatare completely differentfrom what I have done inthe past. I want to be partof films that shape me bothas a human being and as anactor. I want to do charac-ters with a never-dyinghuman spirit. Stories of theunderdog also fascinate me.But I don’t want to bore theaudience with my method,”he added.

Amit found his role inShakuntala Devi particular-ly interesting, as AjayAbhay Kumar, who is mar-ried to Sanya Malhotra’scharacter Anupama,daughter of the titular pro-tagonist played by VidyaBalan. Ajay becomes a pivot

as well as a victim in themother-daughter tensionplayed out in the story.

“Seldom is there a nicestory of a mother and adaughter, and when theyare Shankuntala Devi andAnu it becomes more spe-cial. I am always fascinatedwith real cinema. I wasfascinated to be on the setswith so many supremelytalented women, includingmy director, my DOP, andthe actors. When this filmcame out, my fans madethis outing even more spe-cial for me and gave ittheir love. Also, VidyaBalan was in the film andso I was happy to be a partof it,” he said about the filmthat will air on Sony MAXsoon.

C�;*5

6������ � ����!�8��+���

48:&��/3$��8$��.4��4//?Bfresh berries and mushroomsmade of meringue or marzi-pan. They are offering it infour variants: The traditionalcoffee bûche, much-lovedblack forest, the indispensablepassion fruit and chocolateand the youthful red velvetvariant.

Their Christmas puddingand plum cake are among themost sought-after Christmasspecialities, which are widelyanticipated during the wholeyear. Christmas and New-Yearcelebrations are also an occa-sion for them to remember

those in the society who areless fortunate. Says KazemSamandari, Laurent’s fatherand executive chairman of thebrand, “This year, we havedecided to dedicate five percent of the revenue generatedfrom our hamper sales to MainTendue, the charity which sup-ports 10 Indian NGOs.”

���G��� �� ��� ���Cafe Delhi Heights is cel-

ebrating the festival with thefamous ‘Fondue menu’.Fondue is melted cheeseserved in a ceramic pot over

a little stove with variousbreads or veggies to dip.While keeping the traditionalive, CDH has added anIndian twist in the menu.One can enjoy different vari-eties of it such as chocolatefondue, cheese fondue andspinach fondue, a northIndian winter delight.

���������� ������2��1�Tarun Hassija, owner of

the cafe, shares, “Christmas iscelebrated like any other bigfestival in India now. We aregetting ready with the right

decor including Christmastrees, starry decorations andaccessories that fit and getalong the merry making vibe.We are giving away amazingpackages for people to cele-brate the eve with us.”

They are set to celebratethe power of women with DJAkanksha Popli and DJ Gouri.The menu has varied offeringswhere you can entice yourtaste buds with different vari-eties of salads and soups. Letsspread the festive joy withenjoying the live counters ofpasta, pizza and roastedturkey. Cold cuts like pepper-oni, salami and sliced grilledchicken are just too perfect toresist. So, if you are looking toenjoy Christmas in the perfectway, Friction, The Drinkeryawaits you.

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London: South Africanlegend Jacques Kallis wason Monday appointed asthe batting consultant ofthe England team for nextmonth’s two-match Testtour of Sri Lanka.

The England andWales Cricket Board(ECB) said in a state-ment that the team willdepart for Sri Lanka onJanuary 2.

“Seven coaches willjoin the squad for thetwo-Test tour, with thetour party departing on 2January,” the ECB said.

“Former South Africaall-rounder Jacques Kallisjoins the England setupfor the first time as battingcoaching consultant,” itadded.

The 45-year-oldKallis worked in a similar

role with the Proteas lastyear in the Test seriesagainst England.

It is not yet known ifKallis’ appointment willextend to the marqueetour of India beginningFebruary next year.

Former Englandbatsman PaulCollingwood will be assis-tant to head coach ChrisSilverwood in Sri Lanka,while Jon Lewis will bethe bowling coach. JeetanPatel will be the spinbowling consultant andCarl Hopkinson will serveas the fielding coach.James Foster will be thewicketkeeper coachingconsultant.

Both the Tests will beplayed at Galle fromJanuary 14-18 andJanuary 22-26. PTI

����� �������

If opener Joe Burns’ views areany indication, another oner-ous task awaits an embattled

Indian team, as Australia areentering the second Test believ-ing that a favourable result forthem in Melbourne could “decidethe fate” of the four-match series.

Trailing 0-1 in the seriesafter the batting debacle inAdelaide and with Virat Kohligoing back to India for the birthof his first child, India will be ledby Ajinkya Rahane in the remain-der of the of the series.

“We have got some scars aswell, we just have to prepare well,start well and carry on themomentum from the last game,”Burns said during a virtual pressconference on Monday.

“We know that Indians aregoing to bounce back in thenext Test, which is going to playa crucial role in (deciding the)fate of the series.”

The absence of Kohli andMohammed Shami will be “biglosses” but Burns is expecting astrong comeback by the visitors.

“I think Shami and Virat areobviously big losses for India. Insaying that the Indian team doeshave very good depth as well. So,they are still going to be very chal-lenging,” Burns said.

“It is always hard to replaceworld class players like that, butwhen we look (at the guys) thatthey got to come in, we aregoing to prepare well for the nextgame. We know that Indians aregoing to bounce back strongly,”the opener added.

‘BEST TEAM IN THE WORLD’Woefully out of form in the

run-up to the series opener,Burns got his mojo back with ahalf-century in his team’s secondinnings at Adelaide Oval.

Burns said that a pull shot heplayed off pacer Umesh Yadavchanged the momentum for him.

“It is funny how in this gamehow often one shot can get youeverything that you are searchingfor as batters. Probably, the firstpull shot I hit off Umesh Yadav,I was on four and felt amazing,”said the opener, who has 1438Test runs.

The 31-year-old top-scored

in Australia’s second innings andhe said it felt nice to be backamong the runs.

“It is obviously nice to makesome runs myself again. In thelead up to the game I was shortof few runs but more than any-thing it just was nice get back therhythm.

“I felt fantastic out there andlooked to get the job done, (itwas) an amazing day forAustralian cricket to back up theirbowlers and finish the job reallyquickly.”

Pacers Josh Hazlewood (5-8)and Pat Cummins (4-21) demol-ished India with the pink ball asthe hosts won by eight wickets totake a 1-0 lead in the four Testseries.

“We are the best team in the

world, very confident againsteveryone in every venue. Ourbowlers are unbelievable, so Ithink they bowled well in the firstinnings and didn’t get therewards; in the second innings,they (Indians) just nicked every-thing.

“Our bowlers have done fora long time, so we know thatgame in and game out they aregoing to be doing that, puttingpressure on the opposition, it isa great luxury that our team has,”he added.

Burns took a blow on hiselbow off a Jasprit Bumrah deliv-ery in Adelaide but the openerhas been cleared for MCG afterscans.

The batsman has his sightsset on the remaining three Tests,

saying his goal was to get match-winning hundreds.

“We have got three moreTest matches to go, it is going tobe very tough and my job and mygoal is to go and get big match-winning hundreds in thosegames,” he signed off.

����� �������

The Indian team managementwill be keenly monitoring

Ravindra Jadeja’s progress leadingup to the Boxing Day Test againstAustralia this weekend as, if fit, theall-rounder could walk into theplaying XI in place of HanumaVihari.

Jadeja, who suffered a concus-sion during the first T20I, also sus-tained a hamstring injury whichruled him out of the first Test.

However, over the past fewdays when India were playing theTest match, Jadeja has slowlyreturned to the nets.

It has been learnt that thesenior all-rounder is recoveringwell but it can’t be said with cer-tainty that he will be 100 per centfit for the second Test inMelbourne starting onDecember 26.

But if fit, the axewill fall on AndhraPradesh batsmanVihari, not because ofhis low scores in theAdelaide Test butpurely based onthe best combina-tion that AjinkyaRahane andRavi Shastri canput on the field.

“If Jadejagets fit to bowl

long spells, then there is no debateat all. Jadeja replaces Vihari on thebasis of his all-round skills. Also itgives us an option to play fivebowlers at the MCG,” a seniorBCCI source told PTI.

Jadeja has 1869 runs in 49Tests at an average of 35 plus whichincludes a hundred and 14 fifties.He has struck half centuries inboth England Australia on previ-ous tours.

On the other hand, Vihari, inhis 10 Tests, has scored 576 runswith a hundred against West Indiesand four half-centuries at an aver-age of 33 plus.

There is a school of thoughtthat if pure batting skills are takeninto account, then there is notmuch of a difference between“specialist Vihari” and “all-rounderJadeja”.

With Mohammed Shamialready ruled out of the series

because of a wrist fracture,India might just be tempted togo in with five specialistbowlers instead of the usual

four, which has been their tem-plate for years.

PRACTICE CANCELLEDThe Indian team had

a scheduled practicesession at the AdelaideOval on Monday butdue to steady rain, ithad to be cancelled.

New Delhi: Legendary Indianbatsman Sunil Gavaskar wantsKL Rahul to open in place of anout-of-form Prithvi Shaw and thepromising Shubman Gill to play inmiddle order during the secondTest against Australia at the MCGfrom December 26.

“India will look at making 2changes. Firstly, maybe KL Rahulshould replace Prithvi Shaw as anopener. At No 5 or No 6,Shubman Gill should come in.His form has been good. Thingscan change if we start well,”

Gavaskar told Sports Tak on pos-sible changes in the line-up.

He did caution that if Indiacan’t stay positive, a 0-4 drubbingmight just be on cards. “India haveto believe that they can come backin the remainder of the Test series.If India don’t find the positivity,then 4-0 series loss can happen. Butif they have positivity, why not? Itcan happen (comeback),” Gavaskarsaid, sounding hopeful.

“India should start theMelbourne Test well, it’s necessaryfor them to step onto the ground

with a lot of positivity. Australia’sweak point is their batting,” he said.

Gavaskar also rued the missedcatches which also reduced the leadto a mere 53. “Had we held on toour catches well and had good fieldplacements, there might not havebeen any problem, Tim Paine andMarnus Labuschagne would havegotten out early. “We could havegot a lead of 120 runs. Australia gotahead in the Tests because ofthose dropped catches, they got thelead down to 50 runs,” Gavaskaradded. PTI

Melbourne: Former Australiawicketkeeper Brad Haddin reck-ons the opening day/night Testwas India’s best shot at winningin the ongoing series as it will bevery difficult for the visitors toscript a turnaround after demor-alizing eight-wicket loss inAdelaide.

India were bundled out fortheir lowest-ever Test score of 36in their second innings asAustralia claimed an eight-wick-et win in the pink-ball Test totake a 1-0 lead in the Border-Gavaskar trophy.

“I don’t think they will(recover from the loss),” Haddintold SEN Radio.

The 43-year-old, who fea-tured in 66 Tests for Australia,feels the conditions at theAdelaide Oval were conducive tothe Indian bowling attack.

“I thought their only oppor-tunity to win a Test match wasthe first Test at Adelaide. “Ithought the conditions suitedtheir bowling and I thoughtthey’d get enough runs. But Idon’t think they’ll be able to turnit around. “You’ve got one Testup at Brisbane where no onebeats Australia. These next twowickets will be suited to Indiancricket, but I don’t think they’llbe able to turn it around,”Haddin added.

India created history byregistering their maiden serieswin Down Under in 2018-19 onthe back of a lethal pace-bowl-ing attack.

However, the visitor’s arewithout the experienced IshantSharma and Shami, who suf-fered a fracture after being hit onthe elbow during India’s secondinnings on Saturday.

“They had a great bowlingattack the last time they comeout here, and now with Shamiout with a broken arm they don’thave enough depth to coverthat,” Haddin said.

Reflecting on the Indianbatting collapse Haddin said “Ithink it’s really concerning.”

“Yes India were driving thegame and we were talking at the

start of day three about howAustralia would get back into it,but the collapse they had has toleave some marks.”

With skipper Virat Kohlireturning home for the birth ofhis child, India are faced withselection dilemmas.

“There were a few perfor-mances from the Indian bats-men that will come under scruti-ny over the next week.

“Do they go in with(Wriddhiman) Saha? Who goesto the top order for PrithviShaw? Rohit Sharma comes outof quarantine, does he comeback into the side? “They havea lot of things they’re going tohave to tackle over this nextweek leading into this nextTest,” Haddin added. PTI

����� �� �+�

Pakistan captain Babar Azam and opener Imam-ul-Haq were on Monday ruled out of the upcom-

ing first Test against New Zealand with thumbinjuries, prompting the tour selection committee toinclude rookie Imran Butt in the 17-member squad.

The Boxing Day Test is scheduled to be playedin Mount Maunganui from December 26-30.

While Babar has fractured his right thumb,Imam has injured his left thumb during training ses-sions in Queenstown last week.

According to a statement issued by the PakistanCricket Board, both the batsmen are yet to returnto the nets and the team’s medical staff was closelymonitoring their progress.

“Decision on their participation in the secondTest, which commences in Christchurch on 3January, will be made closer to the time,” the PCBsaid. In Babar’s absence, wicketkeeper MohammadRizwan will lead Pakistan in the first Test and willbecome his country’s 33rd Test captain.

Also returning to the Pakistan Test side are AbidAli, Azhar Ali, Fawad Alam, Haris Sohail,Mohammad Abbas, Naseem Shah, Shan Masood,Sohail Khan and Yasir Shah.

They will replace Abdullah Shafiq, Haider Ali,Haris Rauf, Hussain Talat, Iftikhar Ahmed, KhushdilShah, Mohammad Hasnain, Musa Khan, UsmanQadir and Wahab Riaz, who will now join PakistanShaheens (A team) for five T20 matches against thelocal and New Zealand XI sides.

The PCB further said that Imad Wasim andMohammad Hafeez will no longer be seen in actionon the New Zealand tour. While Imad will travelto Australia to join Melbourne Renegades in theBBL, Hafeez will return to Pakistan.

����� ��('��

Afghanistan CricketBoard chief Farhan

Yusefzai is confident ofbringing internationalmatches to the country inthe near future after secur-ing land for a new stadiumin Kabul, having playedmost of their ‘home’games in India so far.Afghanistan PresidentMohammad Ashraf Ghanion Sunday allocated morethan two acres of land inAlokhail area of Kabul forthe construction of a state-of-the-art stadium.

“With the construc-tion of this ground, we willbe able to host internation-al cricket and our peoplewill watch internationalplayers playing at theirground in the centre of the

capital Kabul,” Yusefzaiwas quoted as saying byCricbuzz.

It is major break-through in the strife-torncountry’s quest to starthosting internationalcricket matches.

“Kabul will be hometo a standard state-of-the-art international cricketstadium. I express my spe-

cial thanks to MrPresident who has alwayssupported the develop-ment of cricket andencouraged our players.

“After initial formali-ties, the construction ofthe stadium will also com-mence and we will ensureit is done with best quali-ty,” he said.

According to the

report, the stadium willinclude “a five-star guesthouse, a standard swim-ming pool, indoor andoutdoor academies,canopies for crowd, healthclinic, mosque, car park-ing, administrative blockand other such facilities”.

The stadium will havea capacity to accommo-date 35,000 spectators.

����� +*�

Coach Gennaro Gattuso watchedfrom the sidelines with a black

patch over his right eye as an out-of-sorts Napoli fell to consecutive defeatsfor the first time this season follow-ing a 2-0 loss at Lazio in Serie A onSunday.

Fifth-placed Napoli sufferedagainst Lazio, in eighth, who are their

direct rivals for the ChampionsLeague places.

Napoli were playing withoutinjured Nigerian striker VictorOsimhen and club record scorerDries Mertens, with captain LorenzoInsigne suspended for insulting thereferee in their defeat at Inter Milanlast time out.

Napoli were never really in thegame with Lazio goalkeeper Pepe

Reina barely tested apart from aFabian Ruiz strike after 18 minutes.

Ciro Immobile headed homethe opener in the ninth minute, withthe Italian forward setting up LuisAlberto for the second on 55 minutesfollowing a blunder in the Napolidefence. “A step backwards comparedto many other games, it wasn’t us,lacklustre, ugly, light, soft,” blastedGattuso’s assistant Luigi Riccio.

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-����D�������������5,���,Adelaide: Senior batsmanRohit Sharma can start train-ing from January 3 ahead ofthe Sydney Test. He is current-ly locked in a hard quarantinein a two-room apartment inSydney.

Cricket Australia hasalready flown David Warnerand Sean Abbott from Sydneyto Melbourne due to restric-tions imposed by the NewSouth Wales state Governmentin the wake of another surgeof Covid-19 cases.

The BCCI, at the moment,can’t shift Rohit in the middleof quarantine.

The other aspect is thatCA is still confident of hostingthe third Test in Sydney fromJanuary 7 as per schedule andin that case, there is no needto shift the senior player toMelbourne as in any case he isnot playing the second game.

In case the situationchanges and the third Testmatch is shifted, the BCCI willdiscuss with CA and take nec-essary steps. PTI

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