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

TUESDAY, MAY 17, 2022, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES `7.00 (`8 BIHAR & RAIPUR, `12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

ADITIRAJAVADODARA,MAY16

FIRSTCAMEthemetalballs, fiveof them, one after the other.Then came bits and pieces ofmetal, one that looked like a“ruler”.Across a clutch of villages in

centralGujarat, thesky is falling—literally.It started with three metal

balls that fell on Bhalej,Khambholaj and Rampura vil-lagesonThursdayevening.Theywere followed by fragments ofmetal, one of which apparently

fell on a sheep pen in a farm,killinga lamb.No one’s yet got a grip on

what’sbeenhappening.Gujaratofficials said an ISRO team hascollected samples but the pre-mier space organisation de-clinedcomment.The only possible clue so far

hascomefromanastronomerattheHarvardSmithsonianCenterfor Astrophysics who tweetedthis could possibly be debrisfrom the “re-entry of the thirdstage”ofaChineselaunchrocket.It was around 4.45 pm on

May 12 that the first chunk— alarge,blackballweighingaround

5kg— fell in Bhalej followed bytwomore in Khambholaj andRampura—all locatedwithin15km from each other in Ananddistrict.Evenasthe localpolicewere

called in, a similar ball fell inChaklasivillageinneighbouringKheda district, followed by an-other in Vadodara’s Savli talukaonMay 13. A day later, villagersfrom Kasor in Sojitra taluka ofAnandreportedthatafragment“resembling a ruler” fell on afarm, killing a lamb. And onMonday, the police received asimilar call fromKhodiyarpurain thesametaluka.

According to police, the ob-jects fell mostly in empty areas—someonheapsofmud.Andinall cases, they have begunprobes, roping in forensic ex-perts.On May 12, astronomer

Jonathan McDowell tweetedthatthedebriscouldpossiblybethe “re-entry of the third stagefrom the Chang Zheng 3B serialY86 launch rocket”. The rockethad lifted off on September 9,2021, carrying a 5,500-kg com-munication satellite to geosta-tionary transitorbit.Speaking to The Indian

Express, McDowell said hewas

identifying the debris based ontracking data, which showedthat this object was “the onlyreentry that day (May 12) thatwentanywherenear India”.He said “the predicted path

was a few 100 kmnorth of thevillages in question, but that’swithintheuncertainties for thisparticular object since its orbitwasmoreuncertainthanusual”.The orbit was rapidly changingduetoatmosphericdrag,whichmay cause a change in the pre-dictedground location,hesaid.AnandDistrictCollector,MY

Daxini, said: “We have sent allthe items, including themetal

spheresthatfell lastweek,tothePhysical Research Laboratory(PRL) of ISRO. They have col-lectedallthepartsandareexam-ining it.”When contacted, ISRO PRL

director Anil Bharadwaj said hewasoutof stationandwouldbeable to comment on Tuesday.ISRO Space Applications Centre(SAC) director Nilesh Desai wasnotavailable for comment.But in the villageswhere the

“debris” have fallen, local resi-dents have a lot to say — eventhoughpolicesuspecttherecouldbemoretoit thanspacedebris.

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PAGE1ANCHOR Skyfall in Gujarat, expert says likely debris of a Chinese rocket

JOURNALISM OF COURAGESINCE 1932

THEWORLD

SRI LANKADOWNTOLASTDAYOFPETROL,SAYS ITSPMPUTINAPPEARSTOBACKOFFTHREATSASSWEDENDECIDESTOJOINNATO P12

VIDEOGRAPHYSURVEYCOMPLETED,REPORT INCOURTTODAY

ASADREHMANLUCKNOW,MAY16

RETURNINGTHEspotlighttotheKashi Vishwanath temple-Gyanvapimosquecontroversy,aVaranasicourtMondaydirectedthedistrictadministrationtosealthespotinthemosquecomplexwhereaShivlingwasclaimedtohavebeenfoundduringacourt-mandated videography survey

that just concluded.The Anjuman Intezamia

MasjidCommitteesaiditwould

challenge the order in theSupreme Court where it had

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Probe intoJ&K bus firelooks at use of‘sticky bomb’

DEEPTIMANTIWARYNEWDELHI,MAY16

THEINVESTIGATIONintothefirein a passenger bus near Katratown, in Jammu and Kashmir(J&K), onMay 13 that claimedfourlivesandleftover20injuredisveeringtowardsaterrorprobe,sources said.According to sources, cir-

cumstantial evidence suggeststhat the firewas an act of sabo-tageandtheuseofanIEDtotrig-geranexplosioninthebus’sfueltank cannot be ruled out.Investigating officials suspectthat a “stickybomb”,which canbestuck toavehicleusingmag-nets,wasused.Thebus,mostlycarryingpil-

grims, had just left for JammuwhenitcaughtfirenearKhanak,about 1.5 km fromKatra town.Katra is the base camp for pil-grimsgoing to theVaishnoDevishrine.Accordingtopreliminaryin-

vestigations, the fire started inthe engine of the bus, and soonengulfed the vehicle. The initialpolice probe termed it as a caseoftheenginecatchingfireduetoa technical fault. However,

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SC’s Ayodhya verdict faces Kashitest: Mosque plea hearing todaySurveyviolatesPlacesofWorshipAct, sayspetition

ANANTHAKRISHNANGNEWDELHI,MAY16

THE SUPREMECourt is likely tohear Tuesday a plea by theCommittee of Management ofAnjuman Intezamia Masjid,Varanasi, challenging thevideography survey ordered byalocalcourtof theMaaShringarGauri Sthal in the KashiVishwanath temple-Gyanvapimosque complex. TheMuslim

bodycontendsthatit iscontraryto provisions of the Places ofWorshipAct(SpecialProvisions)Act1991.TheActstatesthatthenature

of all places of worship, exceptRam Janmabhoomi–BabriMasjid in Ayodhya, shall bemaintained as itwas onAugust15,1947andthatnosuitshall liein any courtwith respect to theconversionof thereligiouschar-acterofaplaceofworship,asex-istingonthatdate.Incidentally, the Act itself

is under challenge before thetopcourtwithatleasttwopend-ing petitions questioning its

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ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,MAY16

THE CENTRE is taking a relookat the Pawan Hans disinvest-ment process on account thatAlmasGlobalOpportunityFund,one of the three entities part ofthe winning consortium, has acourt orderpassed against it bythe National Company LawTribunal (NCLT), governmentsources told The Indian Express.The government is studyingwhether the NCLT verdictamounts to an “adverse order”

— something that may lead todisqualificationof thebid,asperguidelines on strategic disin-vestment.The consortium entity that

placed andwon the bid for thestate-owned helicopter serviceproviderisStar9MobilityPvtLtd.Cayman Islands-based AlmasGlobalOpportunityFund,whichis managed by Dubai-basedAlmasCapitalowns49%ofStar9Mobility, with the remainingheld by Mumbai-based BigCharterPvtLtdandDelhi-basedMaharajaAviation.

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YUBARAJGHIMIRELUMBINI,MAY16

MARKINGHIS first official visitto thebirthplaceof theBuddha,PrimeMinister NarendraModion Monday marked BuddhaPurnima by laying the founda-tion stone of a centre forBuddhistcultureandheritageinNepal’sLumbini—thefirstsuchfacilitytobesetupbyIndiathere.Modilatersaidthetwocoun-

tries of “Buddha’s birth and en-lightenment together have anobligationtoworkfor theentirehumanity”—andsaid that rela-

tions between India and Nepalare “asancientas theoceanandasstableas theHimalayas”.“The growing and strength-

ening friendship between IndiaandNepalwillworkfortheben-efitof theentirehumanityamidthe kind of global situation thatisemergingtoday.Thedevotionto Lord Buddha binds us to-gether, andmakes usmembersof one family,”Modi said, refer-ring to Nepal and India as “thecountries of Buddha’s birth andenlightenment”.“The energy of the place,

where Lord Buddhawas born,CONTINUEDONPAGE2

HARIKISHANSHARMANEWDELHI,MAY16

AMID THE veg/non-veg debatethat periodically convulses thecountry is a reality check:morepeople are eating non-vegetar-ian food than ever before, andthe proportion of Indian menwho do so has gone up sharplyin the six years between be-tween 2015-16 and 2019-21,shows an analysis by The IndianExpress of the National Family

HealthSurvey (NFHS)data.Data from the recently re-

leasedNFHS-5,whichwas con-

ductedin2019-21,showthattheproportion of men aged 15-49yearswhohaveneverconsumed

non-vegetarian food— listed as‘fish,chickenormeat’ inthesur-vey — stood at 16.6 per cent in2019-21. That’s a 5-percentage-pointdropfromthe21.6percentreported in the previous roundof the survey, NFHS-4, con-ducted in 2015-16. There is,however, a gender skew here:theproportionofwomen in thesame age group (15-49) whohave never consumed ‘fish,chicken or meat’ stood at 29.4per cent in 2019-21, only a

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HARIKISHANSHARMANEWDELHI,MAY16

INDIA’S BAN onwheat exportsSaturday fuelled internationalprices by almost 6 per cent abushel(60poundsoronemillionkernelsor27.21kg)whenglobalmarkets opened Monday.Locally, prices dropped sharplyby4-8percentindifferentstates— Rs 200-250 a quintal inRajasthan, Rs 100-150 a quintalin Punjab, and about Rs 100 aquintal inUttarPradesh.With the February 24 inva-

sionofUkrainebyRussiaandthesupplydisruptionthatfollowed,globalwheatpricesjumpedover60 per cent in 2022; just RussiaandUkrainetogetheraccountforalmost a third of world wheatexports.TheunexpectedbanbyIndia,

which accounts for about 5 percent of world wheat exports,stokedpricesfurther. InChicago,futures rose 5.9 per cent to$12.47 abushel onMonday, the

highestintwomonths.Theclos-ingprice intheprevioustrading

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BUSINESS AS USUAL

BYUNNY

Export ban shakesworld markets,wheat prices up 6%

GOPALKATESHIYA&AVINASHNAIRRAJKOT,AHMEDABAD,MAY16

OUTSIDE,THEREareover4,000wheat-laden trucks stuck in aqueue tonowhere. Inside, thereare four ships, half loadedwithwheatandnoorder tosail.The snap announcement of

thebanonwheatexportshasledtochaosattheDeendayalportinGujarat'sKutchdistrict,withex-portersandtradersunsureofthefateof their cargo.According to officials, close

to 4 lakhmetric tonnes (MT) ofwheatstrandedoutsidetheport

belong to merchants fromMadhya Pradesh alone— somestill in trucks, some ingodownsalready overflowing withwheat. Among the held-upcargo is 60,000MT of wheat toEgypt — the first ever consign-ment thatwas to leave theportaftertheUkraine-Russiaconflictbegan.Last Friday, a day before the

ban was announced, the portwas hummingwith loading ac-tivity.

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Chaos in Kandla afterban: 4,000 wheat trucksin queue, 4 ships half-full

PrimeMinisterModiwithNepalcounterpartSherBahadurDeubaat theLumbini site thatmarksBuddha’sbirthplace.PTI

Securitypersonnelat thesite inVaranasiMonday.AnandSingh

BUDDHIST CULTURE CENTRE TOCOMEUP

India-Nepal ties are asstable as the Himalayas,says Modi in Lumbini

Masjidpanel saysobject ispartoffountain,willchallengesealingorder in topcourt

Varanasi court orders sealing of Gyanvapimosque spot after Shivling discovery claim

‘Metalballs’ fellonBhalej,KhambholajandRampuravillagesonThursdayevening

EXPRESSNETWORK

PLEA INMATHURACOURTFORSURVEYOFSHAHI IDGAHPAGE6

Year Daily Weekly Occasionally NeverWomen 2015-16 6.1 36.6 27.3 29.9

2019-21 5.9 39.3 25.4 29.4Men 2015-16 5.7 43.2 29.5 21.6

2019-21 8 49.3 26.1 16.6(figures in%) Source:NFHS-4andNFHS-5

15-49YRS:WHO IS EATINGNON-VEG, HOWMUCH

More men eating non-veg than before: NFHS data

NIRUPAMASUBRAMANIANNEWDELHI,MAY16

INDIAISexploringthepossibilityof reopening its embassy inAfghanistan soon, but withouttopleveldiplomaticrepresenta-tion, according tosources.The Indian Expresshas learnt

that a team of security officialsflew to Kabul in February to as-sess thegroundsituation.The plan for reopening does

notincludesendingdiplomatsatseniorlevels—theembassywilllikelyfunctiononlywithperson-nelforliaisonpurposesthatmay

extend to consular services, thesources said. Itwouldnotmeana recognition of the Talibanregime.Indiashutdownitsembassy

inKabul onAugust 17, twodaysafter the Taliban takeover ofAfghanistan. Since then, Delhihas debatedwhether that wastherightdecision.Somesectionsof the security establishmentandMinistry of External Affairshavemaintained that continu-ing there would have put thelivesof Indianpersonnel at risk,pointing to the1998 incident inwhichIraniandiplomatsatIran’sMazar-i-Sharif consulate were

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DOMESTICPRICESDROPSHARPLY

NCLT ruling in way, soGovt takes another lookat sale of Pawan Hans

WHILE IThasnotgrantedrecognition to theTalibanregime,Delhihasbeencalling foran inclusivegovernment inAfghanistan,one thaten-sures thatAfghansoil isnotused forany terrorac-tivity. Indiahasmuchatstake inAfghanistan,hav-ingparticipated ina rangeof developmentprojects.

MuchatstakeE●EX

PLAINED

Trucks loadedwithwheatatKandlaport. Express

RELATEDREPORTPAGE5

India looks at reopening missionin Kabul minus senior diplomats

INDIA’SWHEAT EXPORTS

Source: Government of India

Year WheatExport(lakhtonnes)

2020-21 21.552021-22 72.15

New Delhi

Gyanvapialreadymovedapleaagainstthevideography survey. It said theobject being described as aShivlingwaspartof thefountaininthewuzu(ablution)area.Civil Judge (Senior Division)

Ravi Kumar Diwakar, hearing apleabyfivewomenseekingper-mission fordailyprayers atMaaShringarGauriSthalontheouterwall of the mosque complex,said, "District Magistrate,Varanasi, is directed to immedi-ately seal the place where theShivlinghasbeenfound.Noper-son should be allowed to entertheplacewhichwillbesealed.""Theresponsibilityforthese-

curity and custodianship of theplacewhichwillbesealedwillbeconsidered personally ofVaranasi district magistrate,Varanasi police commissionerand the CRPF commandant,Varanasi," the judgesaid.Advocate Hari Shankar Jain,

representingthefivewomenpe-titioners, filed an applicationMonday, saying a "Shivling isfound inmasjid complex at theplace where wuzu khana isthere".A commission tasked by the

court to conduct a survey willsubmititsreportandfindingsonTuesday. It concluded its surveyMonday and officials said thefindingswere"confidential".According to thecourtorder,

the application filed by Jainstated that a Shivlingwas foundinside themosque complex bythe survey commission onMay16."This is very important evi-

dence. Hence, the CRPF com-mandant should be directed toseal it. Varanasi DistrictMagistrateshouldbedirectedtostop the entry ofMuslims. Only20Muslimsshouldbeallowedtopray at the mosque and theyshouldnotbeallowedtoperformwuzu (ablution)," the orderstated.SMYasin, general secretary

of the Anjuman IntezamiaMasjidCommittee,said,"Wewillchallenge today's order for seal-ing in the writ petition beingheard in the HonourableSupremeCourt. The structure ispart of the fountain in thewuzuarea. In all oldmosques, thereused to be a hauz (basin), and afountaininthecentre.Thisispartof the fountain, which they arecallingShivling.Wearesurprisedhow the court passed the orderin ahurry.Wewillmention it intheSupremeCourt."District Magistrate Kaushal

RajSharmasaid,"Thecourtcom-missionerhadgivendirectionstoallparties thatuntil thereport issubmittedincourtonMay17,noone should disclose what wasfoundinside.Butstill if someoneof theirownwillhasgivensomeinformation,thenitcan'tbever-ifiedbyanyone.Onlythecourtisthecustodianofthisinformation.If someone has told you some-thing, it is a personal thought. Ithasnothingtodowiththecourtcommission'saction."Police Commissioner Satish

Ganesh toldmediapersons thattheactionofthecourt-appointedcommission was completedMonday."Itwasdoneinanidealatmospherewhere no incidentof law and order happened.Wethank the people of Kashi fortheir cooperation."Heappealedto themedia to "notpayheed toanyunofficial statement".Soonafterthecourtorder,UP

Deputy Chief Minister KeshavPrasadMaurya,inaTwitterpost,said, "Nomatter howmuchyouhide'truth', itcomesoutonedaybecause 'truth is Shiv'. Baba ji kijai, har har Mahadev.#GyanvapiTruthNow.#Gyanvapitemple."Inanothertweet,hewrotein

Hindi, "On theoccasionof BudhPurnima, themanifestation ofBabaMahadev at Gyanvapi is amythological message toSanatanHindutradition."Meanwhile, the All India

MuslimPersonal LawBoard, re-spondingtothecourtorder,saidthe “Gyanvapi mosque inVaranasiisamosqueandwillre-mainone”.“Toconvertthemosqueintoa

temple, then it isnothingbutanattempt at a conspiracy to givebirth to communal hatred. Thisisagainstthehistoricalfacts,andagainstthelaw,”saidastatementissued by AIMPLB secretaryMaulana Khalid SaifullahRahmani.“In1937,thecourthadestab-

lished in the Din Mohd vs.Secretary of State case matterthatthepremisesisapropertyofMuslimWaqfandMuslimshavea right tooffernamaz there. Thecourt had also determined howmuch of the disputed land ismosque’s and temple’s…Then,theParliamentpassedthePacesofWorshipAct,1991whichsaysthatthestatusofreligiousplacesas in 1947will remain. Then in2019, the Supreme Court in theBabri mosquematter also said

clearly thatallplacesofworshipwill remain under this Act,” theAIMPLBsaid.

Mosque pleaConstitutional validity on theground that it bars judicial re-view,which is a basic feature ofthe Constitution, and abridgesthe right to religion of Hindus,Jains,BuddhistsandSikhs.AlthoughtheSCissuednotice

on one of them inMarch 2021,theCentre isyet to file its reply.The appeal by the Masjid

Committee, which challengestheApril21,2022AllahabadHighCourt ruling dismissing its peti-tion against the order of aVaranasi court ordering thevideographic survey of the dis-puted side, is listed Tuesday be-fore a Supreme Court bench ofJustices DYChandrachud and PSNarasimha.Significantly, a five-judge

Constitution bench of the thenChief Justice of India RanjanGogoiandJusticesSABobde,DYChandrachud, Ashok Bhushanand S Abdul Nazeer had, in theAyodhyajudgmentofNovember9, 2019, lauded the Places ofWorship Act as “a legislative in-strumentdesignedtoprotectthesecular features of the Indianpolity, which is one of the basicfeaturesof theConstitution”.Inthat5-0unanimousverdict

—on the title suit— in thewakeof the BabriMasjid demolition,theSupremeCourtruledthatthe2.77 acres of disputed land inAyodhyawould be handedovertoatrustfortheconstructionofaRamMandiranda5-acreplotal-lottedtotheSunniWaqfBoardatanalternatesite.TheMasjid Committee’s ap-

pealcontendsthatanearliersuitfiledin1991bysomedevoteesal-legingthattheGyanvapimosquewas built after demolishing atemple had been stayed by theHCandthepresentproceedingswhichwere instituted in 2021,were an attempt to get aroundthestay.It also said that theproceed-

ings are “an attempt to disturbthe communal peace and har-monyandincontraventiontothePlacesofWorshipAct”.The local court, said the

MosqueCommittee,shouldhavefirsthearditsapplicationseekingrejection of demand for beingbarred by the Act, before goingahead.Hearing a petition by five

Hinduwomen seeking round-the-year access to pray at “ashrine behind thewesternwallof themosque complex”, a civilcourt inVaranasi hadonApril 8,2022, appointed AdvocateCommissioner Ajay KumarMishratocarryoutaninspectionof the disputed site — and di-rectedhimto“preparevideogra-phy of the action” and submit areport.On April 21, the Allahabad

High Court dismissed a petitionfiled by themosque committeechallenging this local court’s or-der. On April 26, the Varanasicourtagainorderedvideographyof thedisputedsite.Thoughtheinspectionbegan,

it was halted after themosquecommitteefiledanapplicationinthecourt,allegingbias,andseek-ingreplacementofthecourt-ap-pointedAdvocateCommissioner.OnMay12,theVaranasicourtre-jected the prayer to changeAdvocateCommissionerMishraand ordered resumption of thevideo survey— even if itmeantgetting “locks opened/ broken”.The inspection report shouldbesubmittedonMay17, it said.Thetwopetitionschallenging

the Places ofWorship Act havebeen filed by Lucknow-basedtrust ‘Vishwa Bhadra PujariPurohitMahasangh’ alongwithsomefollowersofSanatanVedicReligion, andAdvocate AshwiniUpadhyay.OnMarch 12, 2021, a bench

headedbythethenChief Justiceof India SABobde issuednoticeonUpadhyay’s plea. The Centrehasnotfiledareplyandthemat-terhasnotcomeupforhearing.Upadhyay’spetitioncontends

that the Act “has created arbi-traryirrationalretrospectivecut-off date” and “has barred theremedies against illegal en-croachment on the places ofworship and pilgrimages andnowHindus, Jains, Buddhists,SikhscannotfilesuitorapproachHighCourtunderArticle226”.It said theAct is “unconstitu-

tional and beyond its(Parliament’s) law makingpower”as it has “frustrated” theprinciple of law ‘ubi jus ibiremedium (where there is aright,thereisaremedy),“thusvi-olatingtheconceptofjusticeandRule of Law, which is core ofArticle14”.Besides, Article 13(2) also

prohibitsStatefrommakinganylawwhichtakesawayorabridgesfundamental rights conferredunderPart-IIIoftheConstitutionandanylawmadeincontraven-tion to basic rights is void, it

pointedout.Thepetitionby theLucknow

trust has put forth similar argu-ments and questioned howanylaw can bar the right to seek ju-dicial reviewofagrievance.SoonaftertheLucknowtrust

approached the court in June2020, the Jamiat Ulema-I-Hindfiledanimpleadmentapplicationopposing it.Urging the court not to even

issue anotice claiming that that“will create fear in theminds oftheMuslim community,” it saidthatif thepetitionisentertained,“itwill open floodgatesof litiga-tion against countlessmosquesin the country and the religiousdividefromwhichthecountryisrecovering in the aftermath oftheAyodhyadisputewillonlybewidened”.

Modi in Nepalgives a different feeling. I washappytoseethattheMahabodhisapling I had gifted in 2014 forthisplace, isnowgrowing intoatree,”Modisaid.Hewasreferringto his first visit abroad after be-comingprimeministerwhenhehadgiftedasaplingbroughtfromBodhGaya.The PrimeMinisterwas ad-

dressing a gathering after thefoundation stone-laying cere-mony of the India InternationalCentre for Buddhist Culture andHeritage.Itisthefirstcentretobeestablishedby India in Lumbini,whereseveraloftheworld'sma-jor countries, including the USand China, have centres dedi-catedtoBuddhism.Reiterating a Ramayana ref-

erence he hadmade during hisprevious visit, Modi referred toIndia-Nepal ties and said LordRamwas incomplete withoutSita. “The teachings of theBuddhahaduniversal relevancewhich, assisted by technology,wouldenrichtheworld,”hesaid.Sharing the daiswithModi,

Deubaendorsedtheproposal tobuild a Buddhist circuit, linkingSarnath, Bodhgaya, Kushinagarand Lumbini. “The constructionof thecircuit,apartfrombindingthetwocountriesculturally,willpromote tourism,” Deuba saidwhile thankingModi for India’shelp in post-earthquake recon-structionanddevelopment.According to the Prime

Minister'sOffice,theIndiancen-trewill bea 'NetZero' compliantcomplex intermsofenergy,wa-ter andwaste handling, whichwill house prayer halls,medita-tion centers, library, exhibitionhall, cafeteria, offices and otheramenities.On Monday, Modi was ac-

companiedduring theday-longvisit, which included a stopoverat the seventh-century MayaDevi temple, byNepalesePrimeMinister Sher Bahadur Deubaand his wife Arzu Rana Deuba.Thetwoleadersalsoheldameet-ingtodiscussthe“fullrangeofbi-lateral relations".The twosidesalsosignedsix

MoUs, includingaDrAmbedkarChair for Buddhist Studies inLumbini Buddhist University;ICCR Chairs of Indian Studies inTribhuvan University andKathmandu University; and, ajoint master's degree pro-gramme between IIT-MadrasandKathmanduUniversity.There was also anMoU be-

tween Sutlej Jala VidyutNigam,a Himachal government sub-sidiary, and Nepal ElectricityAuthority for a 695MWArun-4power project under whichNepal will receive 152MW offree electricity under a sharingarrangement."Today's meeting with PM

@SherBDeubawasexcellent.Wediscussed the full range of rela-tions between India andNepal.KeyMoUs were signed whichwill diversify and deepen coop-eration,"Modi tweeted."PM@narendramodi holds

bilateral talks with PM@SherBDeuba in Lumbini.Opportunitytostrengthenongo-ingcooperationanddevelopnewareas in ourmultifaceted part-nership," Ministry of ExternalAffairs (MEA) spokespersonArindamBagchi tweeted at thestartof themeeting.This is Modi's fifth visit to

Nepal after becoming PrimeMinister. Monday's foundationceremony was conducted bymonksbelongingtothreemajorBuddhisttraditions--Theravada,Mahayana and Vajrayana. Thetwo prime ministers also un-veiledamodelof thecentre.AttheMayaDevitemple, the

twoleaderspaidtheirrespectsatthe marker stone inside thepremises, which is said to pin-point the birth spot of theBuddha. They also attended thepuja conducted according toBuddhist rituals and lit lampsnear the Ashoka Pillar adjacenttothetemple.Deubaalsohostedaluncheon

inhonourofModi. “Today'svisithas provided furthermomen-tumtothemultifacetedpartner-ship between the two countries

andadvancedcooperationinkeyareas, particularly in education,culture, energy and people topeopleexchanges,”theMEAsaid.“Thank you, Shree @naren-

dramodiJee,forvisitingLumbinion#BuddhaPurnimatoday.Ibe-lieve your special pilgrimage tothe Birthplace of Lord Buddhahas further strengthened ourfriendship and cultural ties,”Deubatweeted.

(WITHDIVYAAINNEWDELHI)

Mission in Kabulabducted by the Taliban duringits previous stint in power, andnever found.Others havemade the case

that shutting down themissionhas left India alone among re-gional countrieswith no repre-sentation in Kabul. OnMonday,as the Shanghai CooperationOrganisation's Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure groupmet inDelhi, with Afghanistan top onthe agenda, host India was theonlycountryatthetablethathadnot yet reopened itsmission inKabul.ThisisakeyfactorforDelhiin

its consideration of a return toKabul. Asmany as 16 countrieshave reopened their embassiesthere,includingtheEUwhichhasasmallpresencetooverseeworkrelating to its humanitarian as-sistance. The view is that Indianeeds to do so too in its own in-terests.The Pakistan, Chinese and

RussianandIranianmissionsdidnot shutdownduring the chaosof the Taliban takeover. Thesecountriesseekeyrolesforthem-selves in Taliban-ruledAfghanistan,andbeganposition-ing themselves early. All fiveCentral Asian countries havediplomatic relations with theTalibanregime.TheUSsignedanagreement with Qatar in Aprilmakingitthe“protectingpower”for its interests. The UAE andSaudiArabiahavealsoreturned.Butnonehasyet recognised theTaliban as the government ofAfghanistan.Developmentsontheground

also seem to be influencing theview in Delhi that India needssomepresence inKabulquickly.Asidefromtheemergenceofvar-ious Taliban factions, and theHaqqani network working to-wards repairing their interna-tionalimage,ToloNewsreportedearlierthismonththataloyajirgawould be held, though no dateshaveyetbeenmentioned.

Pawan Hans saleOnApril29,agroupofminis-

ters, comprisingRoadTransport& Highways Minister NitinGadkari, Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman and CivilAviationMinister JyotiradityaScindia, approved Star9Mobility's bid for sale of theCentre's51%stakeinPawanHansforRs211.14crore.However, nine days prior to

the approval on April 20, theKolkata bench of the NCLT hadpassed an order against AlmasGlobalOpportunityFundsayingthat the entitywas in "knowingandwilful contravention of theapprovedresolutionplan"."Wewill do legal examina-

tionoftheNCLTorderbeforepro-ceeding further. The letter ofaward (for the PawanHans dis-investment)hasnotbeenissuedyet,"aDepartmentofInvestmentand Public AssetManagement(DIPAM) official involved in thePawan Hans disinvestmentprocess toldThe IndianExpress.As per guidelines issued by

the DIPAM in September 2017,"anyconvictionbyaCourtofLawor indictment/adverse order bya regulatoryauthority that castsadoubtontheabilityof thebid-der tomanage the public sectorunit when it is disinvested, orwhich relates to a grave offencewould constitute disqualifica-tion".The resolution plan in ques-

tionpertains to aKolkata-basedpower distribution companyEMCLtdforwhichAlmasGlobalOpportunity Fundwasdeclaredthesuccessfulbidder.Butdespitehaving its resolution plan forEMC Ltd approved by theNCLT,the fund did not deposit themoney required for the resolu-tionprocess."The SRA (Successful

ResolutionApplicant)hasnotex-hibited any intention by takingsomeconcretestepsthatcanin-stilsomedegreeofconfidenceinthe earnestness of the SRA. It isplain for anyonewilling to seethat the SRA is not likely to partwiththefundsintheforeseeablefuture.TheSRAhastakentheen-tire process for a ride, andnoth-ingcanreallyexcuse thisaudac-ity.Theattitudeof theSRAreallywilltickeveryparameterthatcanbe applied to satisfy the 'know-ingandwilfulcontravention'testlaid down in section 74(3)46 ofthe Code on a reasonable con-struction," theNCLT noted in itsApril20order."TheSRAhasbeenpussyfoot-

ing around with regard to thepayments tobemadeunder theapproved Resolution Plan, formore than one-and-a-quarteryears. It is futile towait indefi-nitelyfortheSRAtofulfilitscom-mitments...Therepeatedexhor-tationsmade during the courseofhearingstotheSRAthroughitslearned senior counsel tomakeat least somepayments inordertoshowitsbonafides,&earnest-ness have gone completely un-heeded.Thereisnopointinchas-ing the chimera of the SRAfulfillingitscommitmentsundertheResolutionPlan," it said.The bankruptcy court had

also ordered action againstAlmasGlobalOpportunityFundand its officersunder Section74(3) readwith Section 236 of theInsolvency & Bankruptcy Code,2016. These sections stipulatethatthepartycanbeimprisonedfor aminimumof one year andmaximumof five years, in addi-tion to facing a maximumpenaltyofuptoRs1crore.

NFHS datamarginal dip from the 29.9 percentof2015-16.Thus, anoverwhelming83.4

percentofmenand70.6percentofwomeninthe15-49agegroupeat non-vegetarian food daily,weeklyoroccasionally. That fig-urestoodat78.4percentformenand 70 per cent for women inNHFS-4.The proportion of weekly

meateaterstoohasrisensharply:57.3 per centmen and 45.1 percentwomenreportedeatingfish,chicken ormeat at least once aweek during NHFS-5, higherthan the figures reported in2015-16:48.9per centmenand42.8percentwomen.Amongmen, thiscategoryof

non-vegetarian eaters is thehighest in Lakshadweep (98.4percent)andthelowest(14.1percent) in Rajasthan in 2019-21.Apart from Lakshadweep,Andaman & Nicobar Islands(96.1%), Goa (93.8%), Kerala(90.1%) and Puducherry (89.9%)account for the Top 5 states andUnion Territories where non-vegetarian food is eatenbymenat leastonceaweek.AlongwithRajasthan, Haryana (13.4%),Punjab(17%),Gujarat(17.9%)andHimachal Pradesh (21.1%) ac-countforthestatesatthebottomof this list.In the six-year period be-

tween2015-16and2019-21, theproportion of men who con-sumed fish, chicken ormeat atleast once in aweek increasedmost in Sikkim (from 49.1 percent to 76.8 per cent) and de-clinedmost in Tripura (94.8 percent to76.1percent).Among religious groups,

Christianmen andwomen ac-counted for the highest con-sumptionofnon-vegetarianfoodatleastonceaweek–80percentmen and 78% forwomen in the15-49agegroup.Thecorrespon-dingnumbersforotherreligiousgroups stood at: Hindu men:52.5%, women: 40.7%;Muslimmen:79.5%,women:70.2%;Sikhmen: 19.5%, women: 7.9%;Buddhist/Neo-Buddhist men:74.1%, women: 62.2%; and Jainmen14.9%,women:4.3%.TheNFHSfindingsshowthat

morepeopleconsumeeggsthan‘fish,chickenormeat’.While84.7per cent men reported eatingeggsdaily,weeklyoroccasionallyduring2019-21--over4percent-age points higher than the 80.3per cent reported in 2015-16 --thatnumberstoodat72percentforwomen,upfrom70.8percentin2015-16.Data also show that the pro-

portionofmenandwomencon-sumingaerateddrinkshascomedownovertheyears. In2019-21,86.4 per centmen and 84.3 percentwomen reported consum-ing aerated drinks, down from88.3 per cent formen and 83.5percentforwomensixyearsago.Thedataalsoshowthatthree

items–pulses/beans;fruits;andgreen, leafy vegetables —wereconsumeddaily,weeklyorocca-sionally by almost all men andwomenduring2019-20.Also,96.2percentofmenand

94.2 per cent of women con-sumedmilkandcurdeitherdaily,weeklyoroccasionally,whiletheproportionofthosewhoatefriedfood stood at 95.6 per cent forwomen and 92.6 per cent formen.The fifth round of the NFHS

wasconductedintwophasesbe-tweenJune17,2019,andApril30,2021, covering 707 districtsdrawnfrom29StatesandsevenUnionTerritories.

J&K bus firefollowing examination of thespot and the bus, security agen-ciessuspectedanIEDattackbyaterrorgroup."There is a hole near the fuel

tankswiththemetalsheetsbentinwards. Had it been an explo-sionduetoatechnicalglitchfrominside the engine, the metalsheetswould have turned out-wards near the hole. Also, sam-ples picked up from the clothesofoneofthevictimssuggeststheuseofsomekindofexplosive,al-though it is not clearwhat it is,"saidasecurityestablishmentof-ficial.Sources said the suspicion is

on the use of a "sticky bomb"."Thereisnomaterialevidencetoprove this, since by the time theforensic teams reached the site,the crime scene had been com-pletelywashedoutinanattempttodousethefire.Butcircumstan-tialevidencepointstothepossi-bility of a sticky bomb beingused," said an officer from theNational Investigation Agency(NIA)whichisconductingapar-allelprobe.The development casts a

shadowovertheAmarnathYatrawhich is scheduled to begin onJune30.Therehasbeenconsider-ableconcernwithinthegovern-ment over security for theAmarnath Yatra, whichwill beheld after twoyears. It comes inthebackdropof targetedkillingsofcivilians,particularlymigrants,in theValley."Katra has rarely been tar-

geted.But,of late,weseeincreas-ing attacks in Jammu targetingHindu-dominated areas. Therehave been six IED blasts inJammu this year alone. Therehavebeenincreasinginputsfromintelligence agencies about im-pending attacks inHindu areas.Manyhavebeenprevented,withmultiple IEDs being recoveredfrompopulatedareasandmanyoperatives being arrested in thepast few months," said a J&KPoliceofficer.While the Jammu and

Kashmir Freedom Fighters onSaturday claimed responsibilityfor the Katra bus fire, sourcesplayed this down, saying thelesser known group had earlierclaimedcredit forattackswhichwerelatertracedtoothergroups."Atthemoment,thesuspicionison operatives of the Jaish-e-Mohammed since they havebeen using IEDs for some time.Butthereisnoevidenceyet,"saidanofficer.Meanwhile, J&K Lieutenant-

Governor Manoj Sinha, whoreached Delhi late on Sundaynight, held a meeting withDefenceMinister Rajnath SinghonMonday.HewillmeetHomeMinisterAmitShahonTuesday.Accordingtosources,Shahis

scheduled to hold ameeting toreview the security in J&K andarrangements for theAmarnathYatrawithchiefsoftheBSF,CRPFand Intelligence Bureau onTuesday. Sinhawill attend thismeeting.

Skyfall in Gujarat“There was a huge sound

fromtheskyandblindinglight. Icould not see anything but al-most thenext instant, therewasa loud noise and I saw that ametalpiecehadfallenonalamb.Itwashotandkilledthelambin-stantly,” said Nathi Rabari inKasor'sBhemaliTalavdiarea.According to the localpolice,

when they reached the spot,Rabari told themthe lamb'scar-casswastakenawaybydogsandcouldnotbe found.“We have registered a note

case based on information re-

ceived from the owner of thehouse that a domestic animalwaskilledfromtheimpactofthefallingmetal fragment.Noothercasualtyhasbeenreportedfromany other place,” Anand SP AjitRajiaansaid.“Theyprimarilyappear tobe

objects made of high-densitymetal alloys used for rocketlaunch.Theywerealsoburntoutand had hints of vapourisation,which is what happens whentheywithstand high tempera-tures andmake theirway to theearth...theymostlyfellinmuddyareas,”Rajiaansaid.

(WITHSOHINIGHOSHINAHMEDABAD)

Wheat export bansession on May 13 — the dayIndia imposed the ban —was$11.77abushel.According to the Indian gov-

ernment’s Department ofCommerce portal, the countryexported 66.41 lakh tonnes ofwheat in the first 11 months(April2021toFebruary2022)offinancial year 2021-22 (1 tonneis 1,000 kgs or 2,204.6 pounds).Thisdataconformswith the lat-est US Department ofAgriculture’sMay 2022 report,which estimateswheat exportsfromIndiainthe12monthsfromJuly2021toJune2022at10mil-lionmetric tons (1 ton is 2,000pounds). The totalworldwheatexportsduringtheperiodarees-timated at 201.5millionmetrictons.Inthecurrentfinancialyear–

April 2022 toMarch 2023, theIndian government estimatesabout 45 lakhmetric tonnes ofwheat to have been contractedfor exports. Of this, 14.63 lakhmetric tonnes have been ex-ported inApril 2022 alone, sub-stantially higher than 2.43 lakhmetrictonnesinthesamemonthlast year. Besides, 95,167metrictonnes atta have been exportedin April this year, almost fourtimesmore than 25,566MT inApril2021.The Group of Seven (G-7)

countries too expressed disap-pointment on India’s decision.After ameeting of G-7 agricul-ture ministers in Germany,German Agriculture MinisterCemOzdemirsaidtheexportre-strictionwould “worsen thecri-sis”.“Ifeveryonestartstoimposeexport restrictions or to closemarkets, thatwouldworsenthecrisis,” Ozdemir said at a pressconference in Stuttgart onSaturday.India defended the decision.

Thebanwas“essentially inviewof the price rise”, Union FoodSecretary Sudhanshu Pandeysaid Saturday during a mediabriefing.Retailinflationhasbeenruling over 6 per cent for fourstraightmonthsincalendaryear2022, with the print for Aprilsoaring to 7.79 per cent, muchhigher than the upper band ofRBI inflation targetof 6percent.In the Consumer Price Index,wheat/ atta from PDS has aweight of 0.17 andwheat/ attafromother sourceshasaweightof2.56.Researchanalystssaidtheim-

pactof India’sexportbanwouldbefeltdisproportionatelybylowincomedevelopingcountries. Ina note after the ban, NomuraGlobalMarketsResearchpointedout that except India andAustralia,mostAsianeconomiesdepend on importedwheat fordomestic consumption and areat risk fromhigherwheatpricesglobally, even if they do not di-rectly import fromIndia.Bangladesh especially will

feel the brunt, Nomura noted.Indeed, Bangladesh was thebiggest buyer of Indianwheat,importing 38.04 lakh tonnes in2021-22. Sri Lanka (5.48 lakhtonnes),UAE (4.24 lakh tonnes),Indonesia(3.66lakhtonnes),thePhilippines (3.52 lakh tonnes)and Nepal (2.90 lakh tonnes)were the other big importers ofIndianwheat.Nomura further said the im-

pactonIndia’sdomesticfoodin-flationwouldbemuted.“Thisex-port ban is a pre-emptive stepand may prevent local wheat

prices from rising substantially;however, with domesticwheatproduction likely limited by theheatwave, local wheat pricesmay notmoderatematerially. IfIndia’swheatbanleadstohigherpriceofsubstituteslikerice,thenthere couldbeupwardpressureonother foodprices,” it said.Commerce Secretary BVR

Subrahmanyam said the banserves three purposes: i)main-taining the country’s food secu-rity, ii) helping those indistress;if countriesmake a specific re-quest, the Indian governmentwill takeacall, andiii) India’s re-liability as a supplier is beingmaintained by not reneging onany existing contract. “So, if wesaythatroughly1.6or1.7milliontonneshas goneout,weare stillprepared to allow another 2.5million(tonnes)togoif therearepriorbookvalidorderswithalet-ter of credit,” he said at theme-diabriefingonSaturday.

Chaos in KandlaOfficialsfromEgypt’sCentral

Administration of PlantQuarantinewere there to over-see theshipment.Andadelega-tion fromMadhya Pradesh hadreachedGandhidhamtownnearthe port to flag off a cereal con-signment to Egypt the nextevening.OnMonday, SanjayMehta,

chairman,DeendayalPortTrust,told The Indian Express: “Therewasalreadyalotofwheatinsidethe port. After the banwas im-posed,truckscarryingwheatareinlineoutside.Manyrepresenta-tions have come tous in this re-gard. Within the port, there isover1 lakhMTofwheat.”Theportreceiveswheatfrom

Punjab, UP andMP for exportmainly to themiddle-east andEuropean countries. “There areover32largegodownswithintheport.Manyof themare fullwithwheatconsignments.Therentalsofgodownorstoragechargesim-posed at the port have also shotup -- from Rs 10 per day pertonnetoRs25.There isnospaceand wheat is now lying in theopen,”saidanofficialatthefacil-ity, formerly known as theKandlaport.Thetransportbusinessisalso

indisarray.“It seems like there was no

planningbeforetheGovernmentcame upwith the notificationprohibiting wheat export.Transporters give truck driversand cleaners allowances andmoney for fuel estimating thetransportation time. But thou-sandsofdriversandcleanersarestuck as cargo from their trucksare not being offloaded. Vesselsare berthed at the port butCustomsisnotallowingloading,”said Teja Kangad, president,Gandhidham Chamber ofCommerceandIndustry.“About4,000truckscarrying

3.75 lakhMT of wheat left forKandla before the Governmentimposed the ban. These truckshavebeenstrandedforthelast7-8 days, unable to unload. Apartfrom this, we had sent somewheat earlier, which is lying ingodownsneartheport.TheseareconsignmentsbelongingtosmalltradersinMadhyaPradesh,”saidGopal Das Agarwal, president,Indore-basedSakalAnajDalhan-Tilhan Vyapari MahasanghSamiti, an association of grainmerchants inMP.According toDeendayal Port

Authority (DPA)officials,44,340MT of wheat sourced fromMPhas already been loaded on theLiberian-flagged vessel Mana,whichwastosetsailforEgyptonMay16.“Wearepleadingwiththeau-

thorities to allow us to load atleast 5,000MTmore so that thevessel achieves balance and isready to sail. Around500 trucksloadedwithourwheatarewait-ing in theport todischarge theircargoonthewharf, tobe loadedonthevessel.Infact,somewheatisalreadylyingonthewharfbutwe are not able to load that, ei-ther,” said sources associatedwiththeshipment.

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Shri Bhupender YadavMinister of Labour & Employment andEnvironment, Forest and Climate Change

Keynote Speaker

Eighth Edition

Migrant workers and the promise of e-Shram

Pane

lists Chandan

KumarNational Organising SecretaryWorking Peoples' Coalition

DivyaVarma

Programme Manager, Centre forMigration & Labour SolutionsAajeevika Bureau

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India Head of OfficeInternational Organizationfor Migration

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GovindrajEthiraj

Senior Journalist &Founder, IndiaSpend

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MAY 6.00 PM

migrationinindia.com

The reverse migration that India experienced as the nation went into lockdown mode in 2020 brought out anoverwhelming overlap between the most vulnerable migrant workers and those that worked in the country’sinformal sector. As such, any policy that aims to alleviate the economic hardships among informal sector workerswould also have a significant bearing on India’s most vulnerable migrant workers.

The e-Shram portal, which was launched with a far-reaching mandate of registering millions ofunorganised workers, is one such policy.

But can the e-Shram portal be leveraged to help India’s internal migrants? Can it be used toprovide social security to migrant workers? What are the kind of policy enhancements requiredto get around the issues of bridging the digital divide and gender divide? What can be done toreduce possible exclusions?

Scan to registerJoin us as we delve into these questions and more.

27DEAD INMUNDKAFIRE

JIGNASASINHANEWDELHI,MAY16

THE FORENSIC ScienceLaboratoryinDelhihascollectedDNA samples from27 bodies—most of them charred beyondrecognition—sincetheMundkafire, and isnowintheprocessofmatchingthosewithbloodsam-plescollectedfromfamilymem-bers. So far, onlyeightoutof the27 bodies have been identifiedand the rest are not just “highlycharred”, but also have no jew-ellery or clothes that can helpwith identification.The fire broke out at a four-

storey commercial building inOuterDelhi’sMundkaonFriday,killing27persons,mostof themwomen. The next day, familieswere called to themortuary totryandidentifytheirlovedones.The eight — Tania Chauhan,Ranju Devi, Amit Jyani, KailashJyani, Drishti, Yashoda Devi,VishalandMohini—wereiden-

tified with the help of theirclothes or pieces of jewellerysuch as a bracelet, gold chain orearrings, said their families.“A total of 26 DNA samples

weretakenfrombloodrelatives.Foronemissingwoman,abloodrelative has not been found tillnow,” said DCP (Outer) Sameer

Sharma.Officials on Monday said

DNA testing and profiling cantakedaysorevenweeksbecauseof the number of the test sam-plesandthe lengthyprocedure.DeepaVerma,thedirectorat

FSL Rohini, said, “Seeing thegravityofthesituation,weexpe-dited the process and have al-ready collected all samples, in-cludingbloodsamplesof familymembers, for DNA testing. Theprocess could take some timebecause the biological tests aredone individually in labs andthenwehave tomatch theDNArecovered from the families.Also, some tests are repeated tore-confirmthereports.”Police said they submitted

samplesofall27bodies—includ-ingeventhoseidentified—tore-confirmandmakesuretherewasnomisidentification. In the caseofbodies insuchacondition,of-ficials say they first look for anyskinormusclegrafts.If thatisnotavailable, teethorbonesamples

arecollected.“It’s ideal if somepart of the

skinormuscle tissue is availablefor testing. It’s easier to performtestsonsuchsamples.Otherwise,wewillhavetolookforteethandbonetissuesforthetests.Thiscantake some time as extraction is-n’teasy,”saidanofficer.Labexpertssaidmanyof the

deceaseddon’thaveimmediatefamily members who can giveblood samples, which poses achallenge for DNA testing. “Inmany cases, we had to takeblood samples from uncles,auntsorcousins.TheDNAwon’tcompletelymatchbutmajorel-ements will. In such cases, were-run tests to confirm the re-sults,” said theofficer.DCP Sharma said police are

workingcloselywithforensicex-perts.“Wehavesentallsamplesin time and identified the gen-der of nearly a dozen bodies.Soon, DNA tests will be per-formed and results will comeout,”hesaid.

Many bodies ‘highly charred’,FSL has tough task at hand

Policesaid26DNAsamplesweretakenfrombloodrelatives. PraveenKhanna

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,MAY16

■Asonwaitstoseehismother’sbodyasonly that canbringhimsomepeaceofmind.■ Two sisters still hope theirmother will return and cookthemdinner.■Ahusbanddoesnotknowifhiswife is aliveordead.Family members of many

feared dead in the fire whichbrokeoutata four-storeybuild-inginMundkaareyettofindclo-sure. This is because four dayslater, they are yet to receive theremains of their loved onespending a report from theForensic Science Laboratory(FSL).Of the27dead, eightbod-ieshavebeen identifiedso far.BhartiDevi(42)wasworking

in the canteen of the CCTV androutermanufacturing companyearning Rs 5,000-7,000 permonthforthepasttwoyears.Herson Suraj, in his early 20s, spentthedaypleadingwithofficers atMundka police station to expe-ditehismother’s forensic report.“They(authorities)saythatitwilltake 10-15days. Iwork at AIIMSand I knowreports canbeexpe-dited.We can get peace ofmindonly afterwe conduct her final

rites. How canwe spend dayswithoutanyanswers?”Surajsaid.MadhuDevi (29)waswork-

ingasapackerearningRs5,000-6,000 and had been employedforthepastthreeyears.Amotherof twogirls,shehadpromisedtocomehomefordinner.Her nephew, Vikram (20),

saidMadhu’s phonewas confis-catedbyheremployersanddur-inglunchtime,whenshewasal-lowed access to it, she brieflyspoketoherdaughters,whosaidtheywanted to eatMaggi noo-dles.“Shepromisedthemshewillcome back home and cook aproper dinner.MygrandmotherhasgivenhersamplefortheDNA

test.Allwecandoiswait,”hesaid.For Soni Kumari’s (35) hus-

bandManoj Thakur (39), theirlast call still haunts him. “Shecalledmecrying and saidbahutbhayanakaag lagihai (it isahor-rible fire). She said that twowomen had escaped with thehelpof arope... andshewastry-ing tosurvive,”Thakursaid.Sonihadbeenworkingatthe

officeforthepasttwoyearsearn-ing Rs 6,500. She had just got araiseofRs1,000twomonthsago.The family has deposited bloodsamplesinhopesofgettingbackthe body. “Thewomenwho es-caped say the rope she tried touseburntoff, that she felldown.

If she fell downwhat happenedtothebody?”Thakursaid.At Sanjay Gandhi hospital’s

mortuary, the familymembersofNarender(26)waitedinhopesof receiving a DNA test report.His job at the office, where heworked for two years, involvedassemblingvariouspartsusedinCCTV cameras. His family saidtheywantedhimtogetmarried.But hewanted to be financiallysecure first considering hewasnotpaidforthelasttwomonths,theyclaimed.His brother Gopal (26) is

scared of leaving themortuary:“Whatifheissuddenlyidentifiedandwearenothere to claimthebody? There are somany ques-tionsthatnooneiswillingtoan-swer.Howcanwehavepeaceofmindsittingathome?....”Outsidethecharredremains

of the building stood familymembersofParveenKumar(33).Theymanaged to spot his bike,nowbroken, at theentrance.Heused towork in themarketingsectionand is the fatherof threechildren, includingtwins.His relative Sandeep said,

“Werunfrompillartoposteverydayhoping fornewsof theDNAtest report. They promised tohand his body every day, thentheyaskus formore time.”

Manyfamilymembersareyettoreceivetheremainsof theirlovedones,pendingareport fromtheforensic lab.AbhinavSaha

For many families, an endless wait

ABHINAVRAJPUTNEWDELHI,MAY16

THE MUNDKA ward, where 27people died in a fire at an officecomplex,hadthepostof licensinginspector lyingvacant for10daysleadingup to the incident.Sushil Gautamwas posted as

inspectoronFriday, thesamedaythe fire broke out. His predeces-sor Sandeep Kumar KaushikwasrelievedonMay4, and fromthentillMay13, thepostwasvacant.Area councillor Anil Lakra

claimed that after the fire, orderswere issued inahurrybyauthor-ities toappointGautamaslicens-inginspector. “It is thedutyof thelicensinginspectortoseesuchvi-olations,whetherthecommercialestablishments operating in theareahavea licenceornot.”North Delhi Municipal

CorporationstandingcommitteechairpersonJogiRamJainsaidhewill get this looked into. A seniorofficialof theNorthMCDsaid:“Itis a smallwindowwhenthepostwasvacant; for therestof thepe-riod, therewerepeople inthepo-sition.”As reported by The Indian

Express, it has also come to lightearlier that theownerof thefour-storeycommercialbuildinggotafactory licence for the premises

under a self-assessment schemein2016.However, theNorthMCDcancelleditafter itwasfoundthatthebuildingdidnotmeetspecificcriteria.In2019,a liquorstorewasalso

openedonthegroundfloor,whichwas sealed by the monitoringcommittee formed by theSupremeCourt to act against ille-gal construction in the nationalcapital forviolations.SourcesintheNorthMCDsaid

that the owner closed the shopand paid a penalty, followingwhich the space was de-sealedin 2020.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,MAY16

A 55-YEAR-OLDworker diedand two otherswere injuredafter a portion of a concreteslab of a sewer they werecleaning fell on them. PolicesaidtheincidenttookplaceonSunday evening near AugustKrantiMarg inSouthDelhi.The deceased, Ramesh

Kumar, lived near the PublicWorks Department officeand was hired on a contractbasis towork for the depart-ment. The other two labour-ers, Pankaj Singh (26) andJitender Mangal (35), werealso hired to clean the sewernearMoolchand flyover.Around 5.47 pm Sunday,

doctors at AIIMS TraumaCentrecalledpoliceaboutthethreemen.DCP (South) BenitaMary

Jaiker said, “We received anMLCandsentstaff tothehos-pital. Kumar died while hisassociates are undergoingtreatment. Theywere not fitto give a statement earlier.We conducted an enquiryand found that they werelabourersworkingunder thePWD and were hired forsewercleaning.Theyentered

the sewer in the afternoonbutduringtheprocess,apor-tion of the concrete slab fellon them.”TheDelhiFireServiceswas

called, and locals helped res-cue themen.A case under IPC sections

304A(causingdeathbyneg-ligence) and 337 (causinghurt by act endangering life)was registered against un-known persons. Police saidthey are looking for the con-tractororsupervisortoascer-tain their involvement in al-legednegligence.Meanwhile, Singh, who

sustained severe injuries onhisleg,allegedthattheyweretrapped inside forawhile.“Thecleaningworkstarted

aroundtwodaysago.Weweregetting paid around Rs 300-400 a day. On Sunday, westepped in to remove plasticfromthesewerbutaportionofthe lintel fell... and we gottrapped. We screamed forhelp. After 20-30 minutes,someone removed the con-creteandpulledusout,”heal-leged.“Theconcretefellonmyleg and it is badly injured. Ihope I get work after this...,”saidSingh.Police said they have in-

formed Kumar’s family wholive inGhaziabad.

Man cleaning sewerdies after concreteslab falls on him

Thebuildingownergotafactory licence in2016whichwas latercancelledbytheNorthMCD.AbhinavSaha

At time of fire, post oflicensing inspector inMundka was vacant

0-50 Good

ANANDVIHARVeryPoor

0 500

309AQIPM10

SHADIPURPoor

0 500

SIRIFORTVeryPoor

0 500 500

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

IT0Poor

0

273AQIPM10

344AQIPM10

245AQIPM10

FORECAST:May17Partlycloudyskywithpossibilityofduststorm/thunderstorm

S K Y WA T C H

MAX: 410.8°Cabove normal

MIN:281.6°Cabovenormal

New Delhi

4THEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY,MAY17,2022

THECITYWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

DJB RAISES ISSUEWITHHARYANA, ITSAYSSUPPLYBEINGMAINTAINED

Gurgaon: Employee at five-starhotel, live-in partner found dead

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,MAY16

WATER PRODUCTION at theChandrawal, Wazirabad andOkhla water treatment plants(WTPs)hadfallenbyaround25%onMonday on account of de-pleting water levels in theYamuna, according to the DelhiJalBoard (DJB).A statement from the DJB

stated that the water level attheWazirabadpondhad fallento 669.40 ft, against a normallevel of around 674.50 ft. Thelevel at thepondhas fallen fur-ther from 671.80 ft onMay 12.The release of raw water fromHaryana had also reduced, ac-cording to the statement.Water supply is likely to be af-fected from Tuesday morningonwards till thepond level im-proves.The three WTPs together

producearound230MGD(mil-lion gallons per day)—90MGDfrom Chandrawal, 120 MGDfromWazirabad and 20 MGDfromOkhla—out of the total ofaround 921MGDof water as ofMarch 2021, according to theEconomicSurveyofDelhi.Adisruptioninproductionat

these three plants means thatsupplytoseveralpartsof thecitywill be disrupted. Supply islikelytobehitinareasundertheNew Delhi Municipal Council,Delhi Cantt, Patel Nagar, KarolBagh, Civil Lines, Paharganj,

Tughlakabad, Model Town,Punjabi Bagh, Burari, GreaterKailash, Kamla Nagar, ShaktiNagar, Prahladpur, JahangirpuriandMoolchand.“The river is dry and water

production at Chandrawal,WazirabadandOkhlahas fallenbyaround25%-30%.Thecurrentlevel of the Wazirabad pond,which is around 669 ft, is thelowest so far this year. Thewa-

ter being released fromHaryanais less,”aseniorofficialof theDJB said.“Thequantityofwaterbeing

releasedisless,bothdirectlyintothe river and through the othersources.Demandishigherinthesummer,andsupply isnowlowwiththeriverdryingup,”theof-ficial added.The DJB had written to the

Haryana IrrigationDepartment

onMay 12, requesting an addi-tional 150 cusecs ofwater tobereleased into the river. TheCarrierLinedChannel(CLC)andDelhi Sub-Branch (DSB) bringwater toDelhi fromHaryana.When the DJB wrote to the

Haryana Irrigation DepartmentonMay 3, it had noted that theflow in the CLCwas 563 cusecsagainst a required flow of 683cusecs. “We should be getting

683cusecs throughtheCLCand330 cusecs through the DSB,which is a total of around 1,013cusecs. Butwe are now gettingonlyaround950cusecs,” theof-ficial said.The DJB has written to the

Haryana Irrigation Departmentthrice fromApril30onwards. Inresponsetotherequestforaddi-tional water, the DJB was in-formed that the city’s share ofwater is being released fromHaryana, theofficial added.A senior official of the

HaryanaIrrigationDepartmentsaid that temporary fluctua-tions in the CLC and DSB couldbe likely, but the required sup-ply is being maintained. “Thefluctuation is only for a fewminutes before it is restored.The issue is that demand hasgrown in Delhi, but the sharedecided by the Upper YamunaRiver Board has remained thesame. We don’t supply waterdirectly throughtheriver routenow, we supply through theCLC andDSB,” he said.In 1994, a memorandum of

understanding was signedamong the states of Delhi,Haryana, Uttar Pradesh,Rajasthan, and HimachalPradeshonallocationof surfaceflowof the river to these states.In addition to the CLC and

DSB, the DJB depends on draw-ing120 cusecs fromthe river it-self, which it can no longer use,since the river ismostlydry, theofficial said.

MCD’s bulldozers will runover 63 lakh people: Kejriwal

FINISHING TOUCHESFinalworkunderwayat the1.36-km-longPragatiMaidanunderpass,which is tobe inauguratedbyMay-end.Thetunnel isbeingbuiltbeneathPragatiMaidan, starting fromPuranaQila till theRingRoad.AmitMehra

In some DU colleges, temporary switchto online classes for first-year students

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,MAY16

TARGETINGTHEanti-encroach-ment drives held by the BJP-ledMCDs, Chief Minister ArvindKejriwalMonday said the civicbodywas planning to run bull-dozersover63lakhpeopleinthecity,makingitthe“biggestdem-olition in Independent India”.Kejriwalsaidhehadtoldlegisla-torsfromtheAAPtostandbythepeople, and protest against this“gundagardi (hooliganism)”.“In the last few weeks, we

have seen that theBJP-ledMCDisrunningbulldozersandit’sbe-ing said it will continue for thenext months. They’re sayingtheywill remove all encroach-ments,andillegalconstructionsinDelhi.Wearealsoagainsten-croachments, we don’t want il-legalconstructions,”hesaiddur-ingavirtualpressconference.“Inthelast75years,Delhihas

notbeenmadeinaplannedway.More than 80% of Delhi willcome under the bracket of ille-gal construction or encroach-ment. The question then arises,will 80% of Delhi be demol-ished?” saidKejriwal.The Chief Minister said he

held a meeting of his party’sMLAs onMonday: “I told themevenifwehavetogotojail,don’tbe scared. You need to stand bythe people. Running bulldozerslikethisisnotright.Doingdada-giri, gundagardi is not okay.Abusingyourpowerisnotokay.”“Why are you running bull-

dozers over people?Wewill fixDelhi. Likewe haveworked oneducation, health, water, andelectricity, similarly, wewill fixencroachments too. But to de-molishhomesandshopsbyrun-ningbulldozersoverthemisnotright,” saidKejriwal.TheAAPchief said therewas

also the question of how theseencroachmentswere being re-moved: “Papers are not beingshown, nobody is being given achance.Theyjusttakebulldozersand reach any colony, and startbreaking anybody’s home orshop.Thatman is standingwithpapers in his hand, screaming,pleading formercy and askingthat his papers be considered.But nobody is checking his pa-pers, only bulldozers are beingrun.This isnotright.”“Their plan is to break all

unauthorised colonies in Delhi

where around 50 lakh peoplestay. They also plan to breakdown all jhuggis (slums)wherearound 10 lakh people stay.Apartfromthis,theyhavemadea list of 3 lakhpropertieswherepeople have gone beyond themap, andaddedabalconyor anextra room. Bulldozerswill runover63 lakhpeople... This isnotright,” saidKejriwal.LashingoutattheBJP,hesaid

that before the elections, theyhad said they will give owner-ship rights to those staying inunauthorised colonies. “Beforetheelections, theysaidtheywillmake houses where there arejhuggis. Now after elections,they have come to demolishthem all,” he said, adding that“noonewouldtolerate”thelivesandlivelihoodsof63lakhbeingruined.“In the last 15 years, the BJP

hasruledtheMCD. Inthelast15years,theymademoreillegalen-croachmentsandbuildings,andthere are allegations they tookmoney for these. Now whentheir term is over — their termends onMay 18, it’s May 16 to-day, and only two days are left.Do they have the constitutionaland legal power to take such abigdecision?”hesaid.Kejriwal said elections

should be held and the newMCD should take the decision.“We give assurance to the peo-ple that wewill solve the issueof encroachments, regulariseunauthorisedcoloniesandmakethem clean... We are makinghousesforthoselivingin jhuggis.It’s taking time,” saidKejriwal.Hesaidthosewhohadmade

“alterations”totheirhomesandshopswould be given a chancetoclear it.

ANONNADUTTNEWDELHI,MAY16

THEREHAS been an increase inthenumberofpeopletakingthethird Covid precaution dose inDelhiafterthegovernmentmadeit available for free across agegroups,withthenumberofpre-cautiondosesadministeredoverthelastoneweekcrossingdosesoneandtwofor the first time.Therewere3,036precaution

doses administered till 7 pmonMonday, which accounted forover73%of totaldosesadminis-teredontheday.(Thenumberofshots administered is usually

loweronSundaysandholidays.)The city administered just

under 87,000 precaution dosesover the last seven days, ac-countingforoverhalfofalldosesadministered in Delhi over thisperiod. “There has definitelybeenan increase in thenumberof people taking the precautiondose and there are two reasonsfor it—one, it becameavailableto the younger group of thosebetween 18 and 45 years andtwo, the Delhi governmentmadeitfreeforall.Thenumbers,of course, increased drasticallyonce it was made free,” said asenior official from the NewDelhidistrict.

So far, 9.65 lakh precautiondoseshavebeenadministeredinDelhi since it was started at thebeginningoftheyear.This,how-ever, still accounts for a verysmall proportion, only 6.4%, ofDelhi’s total1.5croreadultpop-ulation. “Not all the people areeligibletogettheshotsyet.Therehas to be a minimum ninemonthsgapbetweentheseconddose and the precaution dose.Thenumberswill keep increas-ingasmoreandmorepeoplebe-come eligible to get the thirddose,” said an official from theWestdistrict.The precaution dose was

opened for doctors, frontline

workers,andthoseovertheageof 60yearswithco-morbiditieson January 10. It was later ex-tended to all above 60 years ofageonMarch16. Itwasopenedfurther for all adults, albeit onpayment, from April 10 on-wards.ByApril21,theDelhigov-ernment made the precautiondoses free.The highest number of vac-

cination,overthelastweek,wasamong thosebetween theagesof18to45years,accounting fornearly38%of thetotal shotsad-ministered. “The number ofshots has increased in this agegroup mainly because of theprecaution dose; vaccination

had reached a saturation pointamongthisgroupbecauseover90%ofadults inDelhihavebeenfully immunised,” said theoffi-cial from theWest district.The NewDelhi official said,

“The numbers have remainedlow in theyoungest population— thosebetween the ages of 12and14years.Vaccinationatgov-ernment schools has been suc-cessful, with nearly 90% of theeligible children in the schoolswhere camps are held gettingthe shot. However, the privateschools have been reluctant toorganise vaccination campseven though the district doeseverything.”

WTPSGETTINGWATERFROMYAMUNA*

(APPROX PRODUCTION )Chandrawal 90MGDWazirabad 120MGDOkhla 20MGDHaiderpur 200MGDNangloi 40MGDDwarka 50MGDBawana 20MGD(*fromWazirabadpondandWesternYamunaCanal)

■AccordingtotheEconomicSurveyofDelhi,theproductionasofMarch2021wasaround921MGD.Estimateddemandis1,380MGD,attherateof60gallonspercapitaperday■TheDJB’ssummeractionplanhopestoachievepeakproductionofaround998MGDthisyearAdriedupYamunainthecapital. PraveenKhanna

Yamuna runs dry,water supplyin capital to be hit from today

SUKRITABARUAHNEWDELHI,MAY16

MORETHANthreemonthsafterclasses went offline in DelhiUniversity, some colleges havemoved classes back online forfirst-year students as a ‘tempo-rarymeasure’whiletheyconductofflineclassesfortheirfourthandsixthsemesterstudents.Because of the delay in ad-

missions for the last two yearsowing to the pandemic, the ac-ademic calendar in Delhi

University has been upset. As aresult,whilesecond-andthird-yearstudentsarecurrentlywrit-ingtheirfourthandsixthsemes-ter examinations respectively,first-year students are only amonthintotheirsecondsemes-ter.Withcollegesinthemidstofconducting their first fully of-fline examinations since thestart of the pandemic, they areconducting examinations andclasses in their premises at thesame time, a circumstance thathasnotarisenbeforeastheaca-demic calendar for all three

years isnormally in sync.WhiletheUniversityhasnot

takenanydecisiononthesame,somecollegeshavetakenthede-cision at their ownend tomoveclasses for the second semesterstudentsonlinetilltheexamina-tions are completed. Offlineclasses had begun for all yearsthisFebruary.Stating that the college

wouldbeconductingofflineex-amination for its own studentsas well as a large number ofSchool of Open Learning stu-dents, Dyal Singh College had

notified that “considering theCovid-19 precautions and tomaintainthenecessaryenviron-ment and sanctity for smoothconductof examinations, itwasdecided unanimously in an ur-gentmeetingof all the Teacher-In-Charges, held on 6th May,2022 through Google meet,that the classes (Theory andTutorials/Practicals)ofsemesterII(first-year)studentsshouldbeconducted through onlinemode/means during the entireperiodofexaminationsfrom9thMay-7th June,2022.”

May9 May10 May11 May12 May13 May14 May15 May16

Source:CoWIN

34,099 31,141 18,246 26,273 16,811 41,025 5,720 4,148

3,517

3,005

14,367

13,13016,215

15,006

2,216

8,528

2,640

12,938

1,484 5,9399,388

4,142

15,80821,075

452 1,5733,695

246866 3,0367,502 10,695

25,000

20,000

15,000

10,000

5,000

0

■Dose1 ■Dose2■PrecautionDose ■ Total

OVER THE PAST8DAYS

CM: KashmiriPandits notsafe in Kashmireven todayEXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,MAY16

CHIEFMINISTERArvindKejriwalcondemned the police actionagainst Kashmiri Pandits whowere protesting against thekilling of Rahul Bhat (35) inKashmir’s Budgam district anddemanded that the officers re-sponsiblebesuspended.Demandingthatadequatese-

curityarrangementsbemadesothatKashmiriPandits,whowishto return to thevalley, cando so,Kejriwal said, “A fewdays ago, agovernment official, Rahul Bhat,was killed. Some terroristswenttohis office, askedhisnameandshothimdead.Itseemstheyhaddecidedthat theywantedto tar-get aKashmiri Pandit.OurArmytraced and killed two terroristswithin 24 hours. But thewholecountry is worried that whyKashmiri Pandits are not safe inKashmir even today. ManyKashmiriPandityouthweresenttoKashmirunderaspecialpack-age.Theywantedtoliveandworkthere peacefully... After this inci-dent, theyare scared. Theywereprotesting toexpress theirangerat the killing but they werestopped.Teargasshellswerefiredandalathichargewascarriedoutonprotesters...This isnotright.”Bhat, a revenue department

official at the tehsil office inChadoora, was killed onThursday. He was staying in agovernment accommodation atSheikhpora village in Budgamdistrict with his wife and six-year-olddaughter.Kejriwalhadcomeunderfire

fromtheBJPinMarchafterheal-leged that BJP leaders weremadetoputupthepostersofthefilm, ‘’The Kashmir Files, acrossthe country. He had called thefilm‘false’andhadsaidthefilm-makers had exploited thetragedy of the Kashmiri Panditexodustomintmoneyinsteadofhelping the community. TheDelhi government had refusedtomakethemovie free inDelhi,andhad instead asked the film-makers tomake it available forfreeonYouTube.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEGURGAON,MAY16

AMANandawoman,bothaged28, were found dead inside arented house in Gurgaon’sSushant Lok onMonday. Policesaid no suicide notewas recov-ered, and inquest proceedingsunder CrPC Section 174 havebeen initiated.Police said they were still

probing if both had committedsuicide or the man had mur-dered the woman and thenkilled himself. Police said themanworked as a chef at a five-star hotel in Delhi, while thewomanworkedwitha foodde-liverychain inGurgaon.Police said the two, believed

tobeliving-intogether,hadbeenstaying there for the past 15months,andhail fromthesamelocality in Delhi. Themanwasmarried and his wife had goneto Bhutan, where she hailedfrom,during thepandemic. Shehadreturnedto India recently.

Police said the incidentwasreportedto themat11.30ambytheman’sbrother.Poonam Hooda, SHO,

Sushant Lokpolice station, said,“Prima facie, it is suspected thatthemankilledthewoman—ei-ther by strangulation or givingherapoisonoussubstance—andthen hanged himself. The exactcircumstanceswillbeknownaf-ter thepost-mortem.”Policesaidafter themandid

not report for work for twodays, his employer contactedhis family toenquire. “Thefam-ily tried contacting him on hisphone, but there was no re-sponse. The family was awarehe was staying in Gurgaon but

didnotknowtheexact addressor that he was living with awoman,” said a police officer,requesting anonymity.Police said his brother took

the address fromhis colleaguesand reached Gurgaon. “Hisbrothergot in throughthemaindoor after a neighbour enteredtheaccess code. Thedoor to thehouse was not locked. Hepushed the door and saw hisbrother hanging from a ceilingfan,whilethewomanwasfoundlyingonthebedintheroom.Hethenreportedtheincidenttopo-lice,” saidSHOHooda.Police said the bodies ap-

peared to have been there for awhile.“Theneighboursreportedthat they had seen the victimstwodaysago,” said theSHO.DCP(East)VirenderVij said,

“No suicide note has been re-coveredandtherespectivefam-ilies have not filed any com-plaint. The reason is yet to beascertained. The bodies havebeen sent to themortuary for apost-mortem.”

GurgaonPolicesaidthecouplehadbeenstaying inarentedhouse inSushantLokforthepast15months

CMsaidhetoldAAPMLAstostandbythepeople,even iftheyhavetogoto jail. PTI

CitingSCseditionorder,SharjeelmovesHCforbailNewDelhi: JNU PhD stu-dent Sharjeel Imam hasapproached the DelhiHigh Courtwith applica-tionsseekinginterimbailin two sedition casespendingagainsthimsince2019and2020, citing therecentSupremeCourtor-der on Section 124A IPC.Hearing a challengeagainst theprovision, theapex court on May 11stayed thepending trials,appeals and proceedingsunder124AIPC.

FireatsheltersnearnewParliamentBuildingNewDelhi:Afirebrokeoutin two-three temporaryshelter rooms near thenew Parliament HouseMonday afternoon. Fireofficials said labourersworking on the CentralVistaredevelopmentproj-ect lived there. They saidthey sent 5 fire tendersandtheblazewasdousedin an hour. No casualtieshavebeenreported.

Manwhodemolishedneighbour’swallgets45daysin jailNewDelhi:Observingthatthe“democraticfabric”ofsociety will suffer if re-spect for judiciary is un-dermined,theDelhiHighCourt has sentenced acontemnor to 45 days ofsimpleimprisonmentfordemolishing the bound-arywall of a property inBurariinviolationofcourtorders.TheboundarywallofthepropertybelongingtoNirmal Jindal in BurarivillagewasconstructedinDecember 2020 on thebasis of a court orderin a property disputecase. The contemnor,Shyam Sunder Tyagi, onJanuary3demolishedthewall.ENS

BRIEFLY

Total VacantHOSPITAL BEDS 9,581 9,443ICU BEDS 2,222 2,171

CORONAVIRUSIN THECAPITAL

VACCINATIONS INLAST24HOURS5,776

NOIDAMay 15 May16

Cases 72 70Deaths 0 0GURGAONCases 241 166Deaths 0 0

PATIENTS INHOSPITAL: 135OXYGENSUPPORT 48VENTILATORSUPPORT 6

DELHI TOTALCASES19,00,735

Cases Recoveries Deaths TestsMay15 613 784 3 22,366May16 377 910 1 11,198Total 3,228* 18,71,311 26,196 3,82,35,766*Total active cases inDelhi

More people opting for third Covid dose since it was made free

New Delhi

GOVT&POLITICS 5WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY,MAY17,2022

INSTITUTE OF HOTEL MANAGEMENT,CATERING TECHNOLOGY &

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RECRUITMENT

PUBLIC NOTICEIt is to bring to the notice of all concerned that S.Kuldip Singh, S. Swinder Singh, SardarGursharan Singh all S/o Sh. Mohan Singh(recorded lessee) R/o property No. III/5/51, Sy.No. 52/2 Shastri Bazar, Delhi Cantt haverequested to the office of Delhi CantonmentBoard for mutation & transfer of lease hold rightsin respect of property No. III/5/51 comprising ofSurvey No. 52/2 Shastri Bazar, Delhi Cantt, beinglegal heirs of the recorded lessee, to the extenedof the rights of the recorded lessee. Theownership of the land vests in Govt. of India,Ministry of Defence. If any person has objectionto the mutation of above property/transfer oflease hold rights in favour of above applications,may file his/her objections within 30 days of thepublication of this notice to the undersigned withdocumentary proof in support of his/her objection,failing which the matter shall be referred to thecompetent authorities for consideration andtaking appropriate decision as per law.

Sd/-Chief Executive officer

Delhi Contonment BoardTele:- 011-25693837, 011-25695450

"5-/"00 >OBBOP

DELHICONFIDENTIAL

TALENTED MR CMLASTWEEK,aParliamentarycommitteevisitingTripurawasinnewsoverallegedmisbehaviourofthesonofaleadingstateministerwith a fewmembers of thepanel at a local five-starhotel.Butthetripproducedsomememorablemoments, too.In fact, the state government had organised a cultural eventfortheMPsatthesamehotel.Theeventwasattendedbystateministers and seniorBJP leaders, includingManikSaha,whowentontotakeoathasthenewchiefministerfourdayslater.Saha, it is learnt, regaled thevisitingMPswithBengali songs."LittledidweknowthatafutureCMwassittinginourmidst,"quippedoneMP.

GOOD GESTURETHELAWDepartmentofKeralaUniversityhasreceivedado-nation—amulti-volumetreatiseonthelawofpatents,whichcostsfourtimesthedepartment’sbudgetforbooks.“ChisumonPatents”,authoredbyDonaldChisum,isa54-volumetrea-tisefirstpublishedin1978,andcostsmorethan$15,000(ap-proximately Rs 12 lakh). The donation came fromAttorneyGeneralof IndiaKKVenugopal.Venugopalalsohasacollec-tionofrarebooksonawiderangeofsubjects—fromreligionandmythology to travel — that he digitised two years ago,grantingaccess toeveryone throughawebsite..

LITTLE REPRESENTATIONWHILE THECongress has criticised theNDAgovernment attheCentreovertherecentkillingsofKashmiriPanditsbymil-itantsintheValley,thepartydidnotinviteanyCongressleaderfromthecommunitytotheChitanShivirinUdaipur.TheonlyrepresentativesfromJ&KwereTariqHameedKarra,whoisapermanent invitee to CWC, and state Congress presidentGhulamAhmedMir.GhulamNabiAzadwaspresentasaCWCmember, andVivekTankhaasaRajyaSabhaMP.Onegets tohear thatAICC in-chargeof J&K, Rajni Patil,wanted to inviteoneKashmiri Pandit leader andhad forwarded thenameofDeepikaSinghRajawat,whorepresentedthevictim's familyin Kathua rape case, but the proposal was not accepted.Rajawat recently joined theCongress.

Biological Eslashes price forits Covid vaccine

UttarPradeshChiefMinisterYogiAdityanathandGovernorAnandibenPatel welcomePrimeMinisterNarendraModi uponhisarrival inLucknowonMonday.Vishal Srivastav

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICETHIRUVANANTHAPURAM,MAY16

AFTERA streak of clasheswithpeople andOpposition partiesover the last several months,CPI(M)-led LDF government inKerala onMonday abandonedlaying of boundary stones usingcoercivemeasures for social im-pact assessment (SIA) survey forthe proposed semi-high-speedcorridor(Silverlineproject).Instead, Kerala Rail

Development CorporationLimited (KRDCL)was told tode-marcatetheboundariesusingGPSsurvey,erectstonesonlywithlandowners’ consent or fix the align-mentbymarkingonpermanentstructures.Thisisamajordeparturefrom

the earlier stand of the govern-ment,whichwasdetermined tofix boundary stonesusingpoliceforce. Inmanyplaces, theKRDCLofficialshadbyforcesteppedintoprivate properties to demarcatetheboundaries.InKannur,CPI(M)workers had flexed theirmuscleagainstlandownerswhoobjectedto erecting boundary stones intheirproperty.Experts inthecivil infrastruc-

ture sector had also pointed outthatboundarystonesneednotbeerectedforSIAsurvey.With hindsight, the govern-

menthasclimbeddownfromtheadamantstand.Thatshiftinstandcameatatimeabypollwassched-

uled at Thrikkakara Assemblyconstituency in Ernakulamdis-trict. Both ruling CPI(M) andOpposition Congress have de-claredthattheoutcomeoftheby-poll,whichwouldbeheldonMay31, is a referendumon the pro-posedproject,especiallysinceitsalignment passes through theconstituency.Infact,sincethebypollwasan-

nounced earlier thismonth, thegovernment had not venturedwiththeyellowstonesanywhereinKerala,letaloneatThrikkakara.The concern of the govern-

ment is tangible in thewordsofCPI(M)centralcommitteemem-ber and LDF convener E PJayarajan, who told themediathat the government did notwant to create tension over thesurvey. “The project would beimplemented, only the surveymethodhasbeenchanged.”However, Opposition Leader

VDSatheesan dubbed the gov-ernmentdecisionas a success oftheir protest. “The governmentshouldadmititsmistake.Allcasesregistered against innocentpeo-pleshouldbewithdrawn...’’BJPleaderandUnionMinister

of State for External Affairs VMuraleedharan, who has beenleadingpartyprotest against theproject, said: “The governmenthas recoiled from laying theboundarystonesrealisingthattheprojectwouldnotgetthefinalnodfromtheCentre...Thisisastrategicretreatof thegovernmentat thetimeof thebyelection.’’

SREENIVASJANYALAHYDERABAD,MAY16

AMIDSTAwarofwordswiththeTeluguDesamPartyandtheJanaSena Party over farm issues,AndhraPradeshChiefMinisterYSJaganMohanReddyreleasedRs3,758 crore as the first tranchethis year of the financial assis-tance under the ‘YSR RythuBharosa’schemeforfarmers.Benefitting over 50 lakh

farmers in the state, thewelfareschemeoffersRs13,500peryearin three installments to eachfarmer,withRs6,000borneoutof the central government’s PMKisanSammanNidhi.Releasingthefirstinstallment

of Rs 5,500 per farmer, Reddysaiditshowedhisgovernment’scommitmenttofarmers'welfareasthepaymentwasmade“evenbeforetheKharif seasonstarts”.The remaining portion (Rs

2,000)will be disbursedby the

Centre byMay end, he added.TheCMsaidwhileanotherpay-mentwillbemade inOctober,Rs2,000will be credited into theiraccountsinJanuary.SlammingNaidu,hesaidTDP

leadersandallieshadno“moralright” to talk on farmer issues.CounteringReddy,TDPleader,NLokeshNaidu saidpeoplewerefedup: “TheCMisnot inaposi-tion to tellwhat hehas done tomeet the growing irrigationneedsof farmers...”

Jagan releases first tranche of farmwelfare scheme, lashes out at rivals

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,MAY16

AFTERCOVAXINandCovishield,the Hyderabad-based vaccinemanufacturer Biological Edropped the prices of its Covid-19vaccinetoRs250perdose(in-cluding GST). After accountingfor Rs 150 to be charged by thehealth centres for their services,theenduserswillpayRs400perdose of Corbevax, the companysaid.Themarketprice(includingGSTandhospital charges) stoodat990perdose.“BE has lowered the price of

its vaccinewith the aimofmak-ingitmoreaffordableandhelpin-creasethereachtoprotectmaxi-mumnumberofchildrenagainstthe virus. The decision comeswithin weeks of Biological E.LimitedreceivedEmergencyUseAuthorization(EUA) forchildrenbetween 5 and 12 years of age,”thecompanysaidinastatement.This is the cost to people

when administered at privatecentres.Thevaccineisstillavail-able free of cost at governmentcentres through the Centre’svaccination programme. It iscurrently being used for chil-drenbetweentheagesof12and14years.

IRAMSIDDIQUEBHOPAL,MAY16

REELINGUNDER the impact of abanonwheatexportimposedbytheCentre,traders’associationsinMadhya Pradesh have called atwo-daybandhofmandis,duringwhichtradersacrossthestatewillnot participate in the auctioningprocessofwheat.This comes a day after

GopaldasAggarwal, president ofSakhalAnajDalhanTilhanVyapariMahasanghSamittee, stated in alettertoPrimeMinisterNarendraModi that around 7,000 trucksloadedwithwheathad linedupoutside theKandla andMumbaiportsoverthepast10days.Aggarwal pointed out that

from these 7,000 trucks, at least4,000 trucksbelonged to tradersfromMPwhohavebeenhitbadlybytheban.Madhya Pradesh is the only

statewherewheatproductionhasnot been affected by the heat-wave,whichhasleftfarmerswithshrivelledgrainsinotherstates.TheCentre,throughanotifica-

tion onMay13, hadbanned ex-portofwheat,movingallkindsofwheatfrom“free”to“prohibited”category. Ithasonlyallowedtwokinds of export: those grantedpermissionforexporttocountriestomeettheirfoodsecurityneeds,and contracted exports againstwhichirrevocableletterofcredits

wereissuedonorbeforeMay13.Aggarwal saidmany traders

whose trucks were stuck atKandlaportinGujaratweremeet-ingdemandsraisedbyexporters.“The traders hadno knowledgewhether theexporterconcernedhad the Letter of Credit,” he said.“Thissuddenbanwillbeacrush-ing blow to them.Wewant thegovernment tomake arrange-mentsforsuchtraders.”Adelegationof traders’ asso-

ciationheadedbyAggarwal,metstateAgricultureMinisterKamalPatelonMondayandraisedtheirdemands.NimishAggarwal,presidentof

traders' association at Ujjainmandi,said:“Notraderacrossthestatewillparticipateinauctioningfor the next twodays.Wewantfarmerstorealisethatthesuddenbanisacrushingblowtotraders,asaresultofwhichwecan'taffordto give themhigh rates.WewillfacelossestothetuneofnealyRs1lakhpertruck.”Farmers,meanwhile,arebrac-

ingforasteepdropinwheatratesoncemandis start operations.RatesdroppingmuchbelowMSPwill leave farmerswith little op-tions but to sell their produce tothestategovernmentatMSPofRs2,015.MukeshBangdwa,whohadsownwheatover20acres, is stillleftwith200quintals of the400quintalsfromhistotalproductionthis year. Bangdwahad sold200quintalsatRs2,125perquintalat

themandisoonafterharvest.Butafterthebanimposedbythegov-ernment, he said the rate is Rs1,850perquintalforthesametypeofwheat.“WheatwhichIsoldforRs 2,125was of relatively poorqualitywithhighmoisture con-tent.Ihadstockeduptheremain-ing200quintalsandgotitcleanedanddried,hopingtogetatleastRs2,500perquintalwith improvedqualitybutthatseemsimpossible.Iwillsufferalossofanywherebe-tweenRs75,000 andRs1.5 lakhduetotheban,”Bangdwasaid.AgricultureMinister Kamal

Patel said about 40 lakhmetrictonnesofwheatwereprocuredinthenameof exportsbutonly10-12 lakh metric tonnes havereachedtheportforexport.“Thisshows there is hoardingbymid-dlemen.It’snotacompletebanonwheat export; traders can con-tinuetosupplytocountries (thatneedtoimport)tomeettheirfoodsecuritydemandswithproperap-provalandletterofcredit,”hesaid.He also hinted at a possible

implementationofastocklimittoavoidhoarding.Farm leader Shiv Kumar

Sharma'Kakkaji'accusedthegov-ernmentofchangingitspolicytosuit privateplayers and said that“the government has twoyears'worth of stock and still hasbannedexport.”AnilYadav, statepresident, BhartiyaKisanUnion,accused the government of in-dulginginvotebankpolitics.

Hit bywheatexport ban,traderscallmandi strike

No police force, GPS todemarcate boundaries forK-Rail survey: Kerala govt

MAULSHREESETHLUCKNOW,MAY16

AS PRIME Minister NarendraModi made a stopover inLucknow onMondaywhile re-turning from Lumbini in Nepal,hemettheministersof theUttarPradeshgovernmentandheldafree-wheelingconversationwiththem,according tosources.A month into his second

term, Chief Minister YogiAdityanathwelcomedPMModiat his official residence inLucknow,where hewas joinedbyhisentirecouncilofministers.During his three and a half-

hour-long discussion with the

ministers,thePMgavethemles-sons in governance and timemanagement. Sources saidModi asked them to differenti-atebetween“karya”(work)and“karyakaram” (events and pro-grammes), tellingthemtofocuson “karya” first and then on“karyakaram”.“It was a very informal dis-

cussion.ThePrimeMinisterwasgiving us lessons on better gov-ernance. At first, theministerswere seated at a distance fromthe PMandCMAdityanath. Butafterhearrived,thePMaskedustopullourchairscloser.Thedis-cussion began and he asked usabout our experiences duringfieldvisits,” saidaminister.

Sources said the PrimeMinisteralsotoldtheministerstonot indulge themselves in trans-fer and postings of officers, andadvisedthemtodevelopabetterrelationship with officials byholdinginformaldiscussionsforabetterunderstandingof issues.Sources said while talking

aboutmanaging time properly,thePrimeMinisteradvisedthemtoreadaboutBenjaminFranklin.Later in the evening, the PM

tweeted: “Had an extensive in-teraction with the Council ofMinisters of the Uttar Pradeshgovernment. We discussed awiderangeofsubjectsrelatingtofurtheringgoodgovernanceand‘Easeof Living’ for thecitizens.”

PM to Yogi ministers: Managetime better, focus on ‘karya’ first

4,000WHEATTRUCKSSTUCKATPORTFROMMP

New Delhi

THEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY,MAY17,2022

GOVT& POLITICSWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

6

ARUNSHARMAJAMMU,MAY16

RAHULBHAT,whowasshotdeadbymilitants in BudgamonMay11, wasworking under a PrimeMinister employment packageformigrantKashmiri Pandits.Ofthetotal6,000postsprovidedforPandit migrants under thescheme,atotalof5,928arefilledup. Nomore than1,037 of themliveinsecureaccommodations.Theremainingarecompelled

to rent quarters outside the se-curezonesmeantforthem.Theyalsotravellongdistanceswithoutsecurity,onadailybasis,forwork.The Valley has been seeing

protestsbyKashmiriPanditsre-garding their security followingBhat's killing. A Revenue

Department employee, Bhatlivedinasecureaccommodationat Sheikhpora, Budgam –Kashmir's oldest and biggestsuch colony for Pandits — butwas shot at his office, somedis-tanceaway.Posts such as the one Bhat

heldwereannouncedin2008bythenPrimeMinisterManmohanSingh, with the aim of drawingPandit migrants back to theValleyandtheireventual returnand rehabilitation there. Thesalariesof theseofficialsweretocomefromtheMinistryofHomeAffairs. While initially 3,000posts were announced, 3,000morewere added later,with al-mostall getting filledup.Incidentally, while the

Narendra Modi governmentswearsbythecauseofKashmiri

Pandits,andsaysstepslikeabro-gationofArticle370areameansto ensure their reintegration intheValley, it hasnot introducedanyschemepersemeantforthecommunity.The2008jobpackagewasit-

selfpartofanearlierschemeforreturn and rehabilitation ofKashmiri Pandits formulated in2002-04, when the Atal BehariVajpayee-led NDA governmentwas in office at the Centre andMufti Mohammad Sayeedwasheadingacoalitiongovernmentwith the Congress in the erst-whileJammuandKashmirstate.As per the policy, eachmi-

grant Kashmiri Pandit familywanting to return to the Valleywas tobepaidRs7.5 lakh for re-building their houses. TheSheikhpora accommodation,

along with one at Vessu inKulgam,hadcomeupunderthisscheme. The familieswere alsopromisedfinancialassistanceforagricultural land if theywantedto do farming, says Relief andRehabilitation Commissioner

Ashok Pandita. However, thatparticular scheme had failed,with only three families optingforitandmovingtoSheikhpora.Later, after the PM employ-

ment packagewas announced,thesameaccommodationswere

roped in formigrantswho tookuptheofferedjobs,Panditasays.The72ofthe6,000poststhat

remainvacantunderthisschemeare entangled in litigation, headds. The Relief andRehabilitationCommissionisthenodalagencytakingcareoftheaf-fairsofmigrantKashmiriPanditsstayingacrossthecountry.Apartfromsafety,theprotest-

erswhohit thestreets followingBhat's killing also raised ques-tions regarding the low salariesthey are paid (which are in linewithwhattheothergovernmentstaff get), particularly given therisk.KashmiriPanditleaderKingC Bharti also questions the un-dertaking Pandits have to givethat theywillwork in theValleyand not seek posting outsideKashmir, accusing the govern-

mentof sendingpeopledesper-ate for jobs into risky positionsforsuchmeagreamounts.Pandita says thegovernment

is cognizantof theproblemsandat least 5,000morequarters arebeingreadiedforKashmiriPanditsin securezones “tohouseall em-ployees”. “This July,wewill handoversomeofthem.ByDecember,wewillhaveallthe6,700quartersready and accommodate all themigrantemployees.”In the interim, Pandita adds,

theywanttheauthoritiestopostthe Class IV employees toJammu.Atameetingwithpolit-icalparties inSrinagarSaturday,Lieutenant Governor ManojSinharuledoutsuchapossibility.On Monday, protests by

Kashmiri Pandits over Bhat'skillingcontinuedinGanderbaland

Anatnag districts. In Anantnag,protesterssetfiretoeffigiesdepict-ingthepresentgovernment.With Bhat's family accusing

the government of makingKashmiri Pandits “scapegoats”,J&KBJPvice-presidentYudvirSethiinsists that their security ispara-mount for theparty... “morethantakingthembacktotheValley”.A resident, whowas part of

the protests at Sheikhpora, saidthey feltcaged,withnofreedomtomovefreely,orwithoutfear."Attimes,thereseemsnopurposetothese gated colonies. Every day,we have tomove out for work,without any security. Our chil-drenhavetogotoschool.Wemaybe safe during the night, butwearevulnerableduringtheday.”

FULLREPORTONwww.indianexpress.com

Less than one-fifth of Pandits under PM employment package live in secure areas

MANISHSAHULUCKNOW,MAY16

WHILEALLeyesareontheKashiVishwanath Temple-GyanvapiMosque complex in Varanasi, asimilar petition seeking videog-raphy of the Shahi IdgahMasjidadjacenttoKrishnajanmabhoomiwas recently moved in a localMathuracourt.Theapplicationseeksanad-

vocatecommissionerforassess-ment of the site “on the lines of(the) Gyanvapimosque”, to de-termine “existence of Hinduartefacts and ancient religiousinscriptions on the mosquepremises”.The applicationwas filed in

the court of Civil Judge (SeniorDivision), Mathura, a day afterthe Allahabad High Court di-rectedittodisposeofallcasesre-lated to the Shri KrishnaJanmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah

Masjid dispute within fourmonths.OnMay 12, while disposing

of a petition filed by BhagwanShri Krishna Virajman AndAnother, the High Court said:“The Civil Judge (SeniorDivision),Mathura, isdirectedtodecidetheaforesaidapplicationsexpeditiously,preferablywithinaperiodof fourmonthsfromthedateacertifiedcopyofthisorderisproducedbeforehim,andaftergivinganopportunityofhearingto theaffectedparties....”TheHighCourtalsostatedin

its order: “It is clarified that thecourt has not expressed anyopinion either regarding themaintainabilityofthecaseorthemeritsof claimmadebythepe-titioner.”Thenextday,May13, anap-

plicationwasmovedinthecourtof Civil Judge (Senior Division),Mathura, seeking appointmentof anadvocatecommissionerto

carryoutinspectionof theShahiIdgahMasjid.Petitioner Manish Yadav,

whohadearlierfiledanapplica-tion in the High Court for earlydisposal of petitions connectedwith thedisputedMathura site,told The Indian Express: “I re-questedtheMathuracourttoap-point a senior advocate, an ad-vocate commissioner, and get avideosurveydoneofShahiIdgah

immediately, because there arestillremainsofHindureligionin-side themosque. These are im-portantfacts,andtheOppositioncan removeordelete them. Thecourt is likely to take upmyap-plicationon July1.”Nationalpresidentofanout-

fit called the Narayani Sena,Yadav said he had moved thehigh court as petitions werepending, includingonesseeking

a survey of the site by theArcheological Survey of Indiaand a direction to stop any con-structionat thesite.Earlier, an advocate named

MahendraPratapSinghhadfiledan application in the same civilcourtseekingthatacommissionbe appointed to survey themosque.AdvocateTanveerKhan,who

is representing the Shahi IdgahMasjid, said theywerewaitingfor the July1hearingof the fourpetitionspendinginconnectionwith thedisputedsite.Meanwhile, the District

JudgeCourt,Mathura, islikelytosoonpronounceitsjudgmentonthemaintainabilityofacivilsuitseekingremovalof themosque,claiming itwasbuilt onKrishnaJanmabhoomi, thebirthplaceofLord Krishna. The suit was filedtwo years ago by the 'Deity andtheJanmasthan(birthplace)'and'next friend' Ranjana Agnihotri,

a Lucknowresident, andothers.The petitioners have also

soughtcancellationofacompro-mise decree between the gov-erningbodyof the temple com-plex and themanagement trustof themosquein1968.Thepeti-tionersclaimthattheagreementbetween the Shree KrishnaJanmasthan Seva Sangh,Mathura, and themosque trustwas“illegalandvoidabinitio(notlegallybinding)”asthelandwasvested in another trust, ShreeKrishnaJanmabhoomiTrust,andthe Seva Sanghwas not autho-risedtoacton itsbehalf.Advocate Tanveer Khan said

the civil court had rejected thispleain2020,afterwhichthepe-titioners had filed an appeal. “Iargued that the petitioners areneither the Shri KrishnaJanmabhoomi Trust nor ShriKrishna Janambhoomi SewaSangh, so their petition shouldberejected.”

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEAHMEDABAD,MAY16

IN PREPARATION to theAssembly elections scheduledlater this year, the Gujarat BJPwill focus on seats where theparty lost or won with a thinmargininthepreviouselections.The decisionwas taken at a

two-day Chintan Shivir of theGujarat BJP that concluded at aprivate golf club on the Bavla-Nalsarovar road in AhmedabaddistrictonMonday.Union HomeMinister Amit

Shah, Gujarat CM BhupendraPatel and party state presidentCR Paatil attended the conclavealong with a select group ofaround 35-40 party leaders, in-cluding party general secretary(organisation) BL Santhosh,Gujarat co-incharge SudhirGuptaandparty'sgeneralsecre-tary (organisation) in GujaratRatnakar. Former CM VijayRupani and former Deputy CMNitinPatelwerealsopresent.Addressing a press confer-

ence after the Shivir, party gen-eral secretary PradipsinhVaghela said that themeetingwasorganisedtolayfoundationfor a “huge victory” in the 2022assembly elections and later in2024LokSabhaelections.

Withoutdivulgingthedetailsof thediscussions anddecisionstaken,Vaghelasaid,“Anunprece-dented victory is certain (in theassemblyelections) for theBJP.”Party sources said that the

GujaratBJPhasbeenquitewaryof the rise of the Aam AadmiParty (AAP) in the state and theincreased frequency of visits ofits national convener ArvindKejriwaltothestate.AskedifBJPconsiders AAP as a challenge inGujarat, Vaghela said that after2017elections,BJPhaswonnineassembly by-elections and allthe localbodies.“Our strength is the hard

work of our workers. And wehave full confidence in thepower of our workers. And so,we do not dwelve into estimat-inganyotheroppositionparty’spower,”Vaghela said.Education Minister and

spokespersonofGujaratgovern-ment Jitu Vaghani also ad-dressed the press conferenceand said detailed discussionswere held on earlier assemblyelections.Headdedthatdiscus-sionswere also held onmakingthepartystrongerinseatswhereit faredweak in checking “falsepropaganda”by theopposition.Bothleadersparriedquestions

onthenumberof seats thepartyistargetingforthecomingpolls.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,MAY16

ITISTIMEtheCongressreconciledwith the reality that it no longerdominatestheOppositionspace,politicalpartiessaidMondayinasharpreactiontoCongressleaderRahulGandhi's statement, at theparty Chintan Shivir thedaybe-fore, that regional counterparts“lacktheideology”totakeontheBJPandRSS.Ata timewhenregionalpar-

tieshaveheldtheBJPbackinsev-eral states, even as theCongresshas failed, one of its own allies,the JMM, said: “It is RahulGandhi'sself-assessmentandheisentitledtohisopinion,butwhogave him the authority to com-ment on ideology?Howarewerunning the partywithout anyideology?”The JMMandCongress runa

coalition government inJharkhand. Party spokespersonSupriyoBhattacharyasaid: “Thefact remains that it is these re-gional parties on which theCongressisdependentforafightor a win, be it the JMM inJharkhandortheRJDinBihar.”The RJD, another Congress

ally,alsocalledRahul'sstatement“unfortunate”. Leaders of allyDMKpreferrednottocomment.The TMC and AAP, which

havedealttheBJPmorethanonedefeat, weremore blunt. TMCRajya SabhaMP Sushmita Devsaid: “We are not contestingevery seat, but the BJP is strongwherevertheCongressisthepri-mary opposition...in that sense,the BJP is happy to have theCongress as a national party,”Dev, who quit the Congress inAugust lastyear, said.FormerallySamajwadiParty

saiditwasworthponderingthat

if the Congresswas the alterna-tivetotheBJP,whywasn'titbeingseenasone.“Thefactisthatwith-out regional parties, no govern-ment is possible even at theCentre,” SP leader RajendraChaudhary said told The IndianExpress.National Conference vice-

president Omar Abdullah said:“At a timewhen the Congressneeds regional parties, it shouldnot attack them. It should focusonattackingtheBJP.”“What is national and re-

gional? For years, the Congresshasbeenajuniorpartnertopar-ties like theSP,DMK,"AAPRajyaSabhaMPSanjaySinghsaid.BJD spokesperson Lenin

Mohanty said: "The results thatregionalpartieshavebeenshow-ingintheirrespectivestatesisev-idence enoughof the efficacy oftheseparties.”FULLREPORTONwww.indianexpress.com

Jaipur: Inhis firstpublic addressafter the three-day ChintanShivir in Udaipur, CongressleaderRahulGandhionMondayreiterated that it is a fight be-tween two ideologies with BJPworking to divide India whileCongress takeseveryonealong.“It isafightbetweentwoide-

ologies. On one hand, there isCongress ideology, which saysthat you have to take everyonealong,torespecteveryone,andtoprotect everyone’s history andculture.Ontheotherhand,BJPdi-videspeople,andcrushesandsti-fles;anditstiflesanderasesadiva-sis'historyandculture.ThisbattleisgoingoninIndia,”Rahulsaidatarally inBanswara,Rajasthan.“Wehelptheweak,theyhelp

the select big industrialists,” hesaid,adding,“BJPwantstocreatetwoIndias.Onefortherich,for2-3bigindustrialists,andotherforthepoor,adivasis,dalits, andthebackwards.We don’t want twoIndias, wewant a single nationwhere everyone gets an oppor-tunityto fulfil theirdream.”He said that BJP has de-

stroyed the economy with itspolicies. “BJP has attacked oureconomy. The PrimeMinisterimplemented demonetisation,and imposed the wrong GST.This destroyed our economy,whileUPAhadstrengthenedit,”hesaid.“You know the situation of

today’sIndia.Everyyouthknowsthat they can’t get employmentinIndia.Youallcanseethepricerise and it keeps on increasing,”hesaid. ENS

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEBENGALURU,MAY16

HIS RISEmay have been quickenoughforhimtobeseenashisfather’spoliticalsuccessor,butBY Vijayendramay have to waitfora stint in theLegislature.Vijayendra’snamewasamong

the15discussedat theBJP’s corecommitteemeeting lastweekaspossiblecandidatesfortheJune3Legislative Council polls. Themeeting was chaired by BJPKarnataka inchargeArun Singh.Vijayendra’s father, formerCMBSYediyurappawasalsopresent.However, The Indian Express

has learnt, the stateunit is likelynot to deliberate further on hiscandidature as they expect thecentral leadershiptoreject it.SinceYediyurappa’sousterin

2021,Vijayendra, the vice-presi-dent of the BJP’s state unit, haswidely been seen as his father’spoliticalheir;withspeculationoflate he will stake claim to theLingayat strongman’s legacy. Hehas, however, never been givena ticketby theBJP.

ProposingVijayendra’snameas anMLC candidate is seen bymany as an effort byYediyurappaloyaliststobringhisson into the state cabinet. That,however,maynotexactlyproveto be a boon. A source told TheIndian Express: “Although thenamewas proposed itmay notbepressed for, given theparty’sstandon issues likeparivarvaad(dynastic politics) which hasbeen raised by PM Modi andothercentral leaders.”Another source saidmany in

theBJPalsofeargivingVijayendraanMLCberthandthenpossiblyaministry could create a newpowercentreinKarnatakaunit.

TORAAGARWALA,GUWAHATI,MAY16

DAYSAFTERaForeigners’Tribunal(FT) member wrote to theNationalRegisterofCitizens(NRC)Assam coordinator HD Sarmaaskinghimnot to interferewiththe functioning of the tribunalswhile insisting the finalNRChadalreadybeenpublished,thelatterdoubleddownonhisstance.SpeakingtoTheIndianExpress,

Sarma said he has not receivedthe letter yet andwill respondaccordinglywhenhedoes.He, however, reiterated his

stance that only the RegistrarGeneral of India’s officewas au-thorisedtopublishthe finalNRCand that it had not done so yet.“The FTs’ duty is to examine theevidence and then pass theiropinion, but sometimes if theyfind the name on theNRC thenthey declare the person as‘Indian’.Theyshouldlookatitin-dependently(ofNRC),”hesaid.InSeptember2021,anFTde-

clared aman Indian, while ob-servingthathisfamilymemberswerepartoftheNRC,whichitre-ferred toas the“finalNRC”.OnApril 18, Sarmahadwrit-

ten to the FTs in the state urgingthemnottorelyontheNRCtoad-judicatecitizenshipcasesas“thefinalNRCisyettobepublished”.“It may be noted here that

therearelargenumberoferrorsduetowrongdataentryander-roneous process adopted in theNRC updation which has been

mentioned in the lA filedby theundersigned before theSupremeCourtandthematterisyet tobeheard,”hewrote.On May 10, an FT member,

whodidnotwanttobeidentified,wrote to Sarma asking him towithdrawtheletterasit“amountsto interference inadministrationofjustice”.TheclaimthattheNRCwasnotfinal,theFTmembersaid,was in “direct contrastwith theavailablerecordsandordersoftheSupremeCourtwhichmayattractcontemptofcourt.”Thememberalso cited a 2019press commu-niqueby formerstatecoordina-tor Prateek Hajela which de-scribedtheNRCasthefinalNRC.

PleaseeksMathuramosquesurvey ‘onGyanvapi lines’

TheShriKrishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi IdgahMasjidcomplex inMathura. ExpressArchives

UnionHomeMinisterAmitShahduring theChintanShivirheldbyGujaratBJPatBavla,onMonday. Express

EVERSINCEitwaspub-lishedonAugust31,2019,Assam’sNRC—whichleftout19lakhpeople—hasbeeninlimbo. In2021,statecoordinatorHDSarmasubmittedanaffi-davit totheGauhatiHighCourt, referringtotheAugust31listasa ‘supple-mentary’ listandnotthe‘finalNRC’andsoughtare-verification.TheAssamgovernment, too,hasnotacceptedthelistas final,andiscurrentlypushingfora“corrected”NRC.

ThecuriouscaseofNRCE●EX

PLAINED

Assam coordinatoron NRC: Final listnot published yet

BYVijayendra

BJP’s ‘parivarvaad’ veto may thwartBSY son’s chance of becoming MLC

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,MAY16

OPPOSINGANapplicationseek-inglivestreamingofproceedingsinthepetitionsseekinglegalisa-tion of same-sex marriages inIndia, the Centre has told theDelhi High Court that the pleawas “aimedat creationof adra-matic impression of the pro-ceedingsandtowinsympathy”.Thegovernmentalsosaidthat

neither there is violation of anyfundamentalrightinvolvedinthecasenor it is amatterof nationalimportance.MajorityoftheIndianpopulation is “not verymuchaf-

fected” by the case, it said. “Thepurposeof theapplicantappearstobemalafideasheistryingtogetunnecessarypublicity,”theCentresaidinitsreply.The court inNovember2021

had soughtCentre’s responseonthepleaforlivestreamingofpro-ceedingsinthecase.Atleasteightpetitionsarepending,seekingle-galisationofsame-sexmarriagesundertheHinduMarriageAct,theSpecialMarriageAct, theForeignMarriage Act, and a declarationthattheright to legal recognitionofasame-sexmarriageisthefun-damentalrightunderArticles14,15,19and21irrespectiveofaper-son’sgender, sexorsexualorien-

tation.SeniorAdvocateNeerajKishan

Kaul, representingpetitioners inone of the pleas, had submittedthattheissueconcernsabout7-8percentofthepopulationandlivestreamingshouldbepermitted.Seekingdismissalofthepeti-

tions seeking legalisation ofsame-sexmarriages, theCentrein February 2021 had arguedthat amarriage in India neces-sarily depends upon “age-oldcustoms, rituals, practices, cul-tural ethos and societal values”.Italsosaidthatthereexistsa“le-gitimate state interest” in limit-ing the recognition of marriagetopersonsofoppositesexesonly.

Centre to HC: Plea seeking live relay ofsame-sex case hearings for sympathy

RahulGandhioffersprayersatHariMandir inBeneshwarDham,alongwithRajasthanChiefMinisterAshokGehlot (right),nearBanswaraonMonday.PTI

How are we without any ideology,regional parties question Rahul

BJP is dividingIndia, Congresstaking everyonealong: Rahul

At own Chintan Shivir,Gujarat BJP resolves tofocus on weak, lost seats

PRESSTRUSTOFINDIAGUWAHATI,MAY16

CHINA’S PEOPLE'S LiberationArmy (PLA) is engaged in infra-structurecapacityenhancementacross the international borderinArunachalPradesh,theIndianArmy’s EasternCommandchiefsaidMonday.GeneralOfficerCommanding-

in-ChiefoftheEasternCommand,LtGeneralRPKalita,however,saidtheIndiansideisalsocontinuouslyupgradingitsinfrastructureandca-pabilitiestodealwithanysituationthatmayarisealongtheborder.“Across the Line of Actual

Control(LAC)intheTibetregion,a lot of infrastructure develop-ment isgoingon.Theother sideis constantly upgrading theirroad, rail andair connectivityaswell as 5Gmobile network sothat theyare inabetterpositionto respond toa situationormo-bilise forces,” he said at a pressconference.TheChineseauthoritieshave

builtbordervillagesclose to theLAC that can be used for dualpurposes, LtGeneralKalita said.“Wearecontinuouslymoni-

toring thesituation.Wearealsoupgradingourinfrastructureandcapabilitiesaswellasthemech-

anism to handle the situation.Thesehaveputusinarobustpo-sition,”headded.Lt General Kalita, however,

denied any intrusion is takingplacealongtheborderwithChina.Therehas beenno case of intru-sion since the 1962 India-Chinawar,headded.LtGeneralKalitaalsosaid the

IndianArmyandotherstakehold-ers are analysing implications ofthe recent LandBorders Lawen-actedbyChinagivingmorepowertothePLAtoprotectthecountry’ssovereigntyandboundary.Meanwhile, LtGeneralKalita

saidinsurgentgroupsinNortheastIndiahave lost their “ideologicalmoorings” and are sustainingthroughextortionaswellasarmsanddrugssmuggling.“Atimewillcome when they will join themainstream,”headded.Expressingconcernover the

recruitmentbythebannedULFA(Independent)outfitinAssaminthepastoneyear,heappealedtothe youths not to join themili-tantgroup.Regarding theArmedForces

(SpecialPowers)Act (AFSPA), theArmyCommandersaidthatafterthelawwaswithdrawnfromvar-iouspartsof theNortheast, someforces have been “de-inducted”andshiftedtothenorthernareas.

China building infranear Arunachalborder, says Army

KashmiriPanditsprotestagainst thekillingofRahulBhat, inJammuonMonday. PTI

New Delhi

7THEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY,MAY17,2022

EXPRESSNETWORKWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

DGCA noticeto IndiGo for‘inappropriatehandling’

ANONNADUTT&SANTANUCHOWDHURYNEWDELHI, KOLKATA,MAY16

INWHATcouldbecomeanotherCentre-Stateflashpoint,theWestBengal governmenthas allottedseats to second- and third-yearmedical students fromUkraineevenasthecountry'sapexmed-ical education regulatormain-tainedthat it isnotallowed.Studentswhocompletetheir

educationinsuchamannercan-not apply for the screening testthateveryforeignmedicalgrad-uate has to take before practic-ing in India, officials from theNational Medical Commission(NMC) and theHealthMinistrytoldThe IndianExpress.On April 28, West Bengal

ChiefMinisterMamataBanerjeehadannouncedthathergovern-mentwould accommodate 412studentswhowereforcedtore-turn to the state from Ukrainefollowing the Russian invasion.ShealsolashedoutattheCentrefor "not taking any responsibil-ity" for thesestudents.Ofthe412returnees,172stu-

dents, whowere in second andthird year of theirmedical edu-cation inUkraine, have been al-lowedtoattendpracticalclassesatdifferentgovernmentmedicalcolleges in thestate.This announcement, Union

governmentofficials said, is notin line with the current guide-lines of NMC, which state thatforeign medical graduatesshould have completed theirtheoryandpracticalmedicaled-ucationanda12-month intern-shipat thesamecollege.NMCisIndia'sapexregulatory

authorityformedicaleducation.“Anydecisionaboutmedical

students from Ukraine has tocome from NMC. The currentguidelines are very clear. Thesestudents (from Bengal whochoosetoattendpracticalclassesingovernmentcolleges)willnotbe eligible for FMGE (ForeignMedical Graduates Exam)," an

NMCofficial said.A senior HealthMinistry of-

ficial agreed: “We have askedstatesnottomakeanyirrespon-sible comments about the situ-ationwithUkrainestudents.The(Union) government is lookingat ways to get the students ad-mitted to equivalent courses inotherEuropeancountries.”TheNMCofficial said Bengal

hadsoughtnopermissionforthis.Asked whether the an-

nouncementonaccommodatingmedical students fromUkrainewentagainsttheNMCguidelines,WestBengal'sdirectorofmedicaleducation (DME), DebasisBhattacharyya, argued, "Wefirst

increasedthenumberof seats inourmedicalcollegesandthende-cided to accommodate the stu-dents. So there should not be aproblem(inthemattendingprac-tical classes) oncewe have in-creasedthe(numberof)seats."On May 10, Bhattacharyya

hadpromised toget backon thespecifics of violation of NMCguidelines.Hehadnotrespondeduntil lateMondayevening.In addition to the 172 stu-

dentsinBengal,another135stu-dents in fourth and fifth yearhave been allotted "observingseats"ingovernmentcollegestocompletepractical training.DrRohanKrishnan,president

of the Federation of All IndiaMedical Association (FAIMA),said: “There isnothingcalledob-servingseatsinIndia.SometimesMBBSdoctorsworkundervariousspecialistsfortraininginthatpar-ticulararea,whichisreferredtoasobservership. But that certainlycannothappenforsomeonewhohasn'tevencompletedMBBS.”Nearly 18,000medical stu-

dentswere forced to leave theireducationmidwayandfleeafterRussiainvadedUkraine.NMCof-ficialshadearliertoldTheIndianExpressthattherewasnowayofincorporatingsuchalargenum-berofpeopleinIndia,whichhasaround90,000MBBSseatsavail-able for 2021, with around 16lakhapplicants."Apart from the students

fromUkraine, there are nearly65,000otherswhoare enrolledin countries such as China, thePhilippines, and Georgia whohaven't been able to receivepracticaleducationduetotravelrestrictions. We have to thinkabout those students, too," theHealthMinistryofficial said.Meanwhile,atthebehestofa

studentfromChina,theSupremeCourt has directed NMC to for-mulateapolicyoverthenexttwomonths togrant temporary reg-istrationtothosewhohavecom-pleted medical education inothercountriesbuthaven'tbeenabletodopractical training.

AMILBHATNAGARBULANDSHAHR,MAY16

FORTY-YEAR-OLDKAMLESHsitsunder the shade of a tree in thescorching sun looking at threeplastic tents on an unevenmuddygroundinBulandshahr'sAwasVikas2colony.Adjacenttoawatertank,theplothadnearlyeighthousesbelongingtodiffer-ent familymembers of Rohtas(45),Kamlesh'shusband.Everyfewminutes,Kamlesh

breaksdown, recallinghowshelost her husbandandher houseduring an anti-encroachmentdriveearlier thismonth.As per the family, and their

neighbours, Rohtaswas not al-lowed tomove out of the houseasthebulldozermovedinonMay2.Thedailywagersuccumbedtohis injuries10dayslater.

"When the wall collapsed,more than 50 people rushed toremove the debris from atophim.Wetookhimtothenearest

government hospital, and itasked us to take care of him athome.Henevergotupandeven-tually succumbed to his in-

juries,” a family member says,adding that Rohtas had beenhurton the legandspine.Officials deny this, saying

Rohtas had been ailing and thefamilycameupwiththeclaimofhis injuries later. The contractorwho carried out the demolitionandhisaideshavebeenbooked,for culpable homicide notamounting tomurder. No casehasbeenbroughtagainstanyof-ficial asof now."The contractor came and

told us 'Samadhi banane aayahoon(I amhere toprepareyourtomb)'. I told himmy husbandwas sleeping inside the houseand to give us a fewminutes towake him up. The driver didn'tlisten and ploughed into awall,which collapsed onto Rohtas,"says Kamlesh. The family sayssince the hospital didn't admithim, they don't have anymed-

icalpapers to show.TheextendedfamilyofRohtas

and his brothers say they havebeenlivingontheapproximately4,000sqftland,ineightseparatehalf-pucca huts for decades,much before the nearby AwasVikas2colonywasdeveloped."This is probably our sixth

generation livinghere.Wehaveseen the city comeup. They aresaying we don't belong here,wheninfactwehavebeenlivinghereforyears. If theyhaveanis-sue, they should discuss it withus.Gettingbulldozersisnosolu-tion," says one of the relatives,SumitKumarLodhi.Another relative, Deepak,

says the women of the familywent down on their knees be-fore the contractor, MohitChaudhary, whowas hired forthedemolition. "Hekept sayingwewill end up on pyres. They

evenbrokeanearbyhandpumpout of spite. In this heat, we aresleeping under a plastic sheet.Wehavebeenleftwithnothing.”Locals in the area back the

family, saying the bulldozerbroke awall andRohtas did notgetenoughtimetoescape.The Nagar Palika, which

ownsthe landwhere the familylived, says that far fromcausingany injuryordeath, thedemoli-tion exercise had been carriedoutamicably.Officials said some portions

of thehouseshadbeenbroughtdownonApril14,andtheactiononMay 2was carried out withthe family's consent. "In April,walls had been brought downandthedebriswasremoved.OnMay 2, the family themselvessaid we should get a bulldozerand bring down the remainingstructure," says Manoj Garg,

Chairman,NagarPalika.Healsoclaimsthatinthe'Jan

Sunwai' session held after thedemolition, the family nevertalked about a person being in-jured and rather insisted that aroute formovement be openedup. “The family never gave any-thing inwritingabout thedem-olition,”Gargsays.District administration offi-

cialsclaimRohtashadbeenailingandclaimsofinjurieswerewrong.Muzaffarnagar District

Magistrate Chandra BhushanSinghsaid: "Wehave filedanFIRand an investigation is takingplace.Asperinitialfact-finding,wewereinformedthatnopersonwasinjuredduringtheantiencroach-ment.Furtherdetailswillbeascer-tainedduringtheprobeandactionwillbetakenaccordingly.”Asthematterisunderprobe,

there is statusquoonthe land.

PRANAVMUKULNEWDELHI,MAY16

SAYINGTHAT the findings of itsthree-membercommittee"primafacie indicate inappropriatehan-dling of passengers" and "non-conformanceswiththeapplicableregulations", the DirectorateGeneral of Civil Aviation (DGCA)has issuedashowcausenotice toIndiGo fordenyingboarding toaspecially-abledchildattheRanchiairportonMay7."Theproceedingsofthecom-

mittee were partly held in theopenandpartlyincameraasperthe request of the affected fam-ily. The findings of the commit-teeprimafacieindicateinappro-priatehandlingofpassengersbythe IndiGo staff thereby result-ingincertainnon-conformanceswiththeapplicableregulations,"theDGCAsaidonMonday."Inviewofthis,ithasbeende-

cidedtoissueashowcausenoticetotheconcernedairlinethroughits authorised representative toexplain as to why suitable en-forcement action should not betaken against them for the non-conformances,"itsaid.TheDGCAhasgivenIndiGotimetillMay26torespondtotheshowcauseno-tice."Afterhearingtheirsubmis-sions, appropriate action as perlawwouldbetaken," itsaid."Wehave received the com-

munication fromDGCA on thematter andwill respond in duecourse,"IndiGosaidonMonday.OnMay7,anIndiGostafferde-

niedboardingtoaspecially-abledchild for a Ranchi-Hyderabadflight.Twodaysaftertheincident,the airline's CEO, RonojoyDutta,hadsaidthecompanywasof theview"thatwemadethebestpos-sible decisionunderdifficult cir-cumstances". "Throughout thecheck-inandboardingprocessourintent of coursewas to carry the

family.However, at theboardingarea the teenagerwas visibly inpanic,"hehadsaid.The national aviation safety

regulatorhadsetupathree-mem-ber team, comprisingmembersfromtheDGCA'sdepartmentsofairsafety,aircraftengineeringandlegal, to probe the incident. Thecommittee,which lookedat theairportvideofootage,andspoketopassengersandairportstaffaspartof itsprobe,has submitted its re-porttotheDGCA.The Indian Express reported

last week that the teamwouldlookintotheoperationalandle-gal aspects, including the appli-cability of the "regulations forcarriageofpersonswithdisabil-itiesandreducedmobility".Theregulationbeingreferred

to is part of the Civil AviationRequirements (CAR) (Section 3,Series 'M', Part I), which lays"regulations for carriage of per-sons with disabilities and re-ducedmobility by air to protectthemagainstdiscriminationandtoensurethattheyreceiveallas-sistanceduring their travel"."Noairlineshallrefusetocarry

personswithdisabilityorreducedmobility and their assistive aids/devices,escortsandguidedogsin-cluding their presence in thecabin, provided suchpersons ortheir representatives, at the timeof booking, inform the airline oftheirrequirement(s)," itstates.However, it also states that

"before refusing carriage to anypersonon thebasis of disability,theairlineshallspecifyinwritingthebasis of such refusal indicat-ingitsopinionthattransportationof suchpersonswould ormightbeinimicaltothesafetyofflight".This CAR defines a personwithdisability as "any individualwhohas aphysical ormental impair-ment"onapermanentortempo-rarybasisthatsubstantiallylimitsoneormoremajorlifeactivities.

RANCHIAIRPORTROWMAHARASHTRA

ActorbookedagainforFBpostonPawarPune:Yet another FIRhasbeenregisteredagainstac-tressKetaki Chitale for al-legedlymisusingthenameof Saint Tukaram in the“objectionable” post onNCP'sSharadPawaronherFacebookpage.NitinMore(57),anoffice-beareroftheSant Tukaram DehuSansthan, lodged FIR onSaturday. The postmen-tionswords“TukaMhane(says Tukaram)”. Moresaid “Tuka Mhane” wasthe“naammudra”(signa-ture)ofSaintTukaramandusing it in a defamatorypost hurt sentiments ofWarkaris. ENS

NEWDELHI

SJVNtodevelopRs4,900croreprojectinNepalNewDelhi: State-ownedSatluj Jal Vidyut Nigam(SJVN)Ltdwilldevelopan-otherhydropowerprojectArun-4 worth Rs 4,900crore inNepal. AMoU forthe 490-MWprojectwassigned inLumbini,Nepal,in the presence of PMNarendra Modi and hisNepalese counterpartSher BahadurDeuba, thecompany said in a state-ment on Monday. SJVNChairman andManagingDirectorNandLalSharmasaid itwill be company'sthird mega project inNepal.Theconstructionof900MWArun-3projectisin progress and the 669-MWLowerArunprojectisat the survey and investi-gationstage,hesaid. PTI

KARNATAKA

Manfleeswithcaronpretextoftestdrive,heldBengaluru:Debt-ridden36-year-oldbusinessman,who stole a car tomain-tainhis“socialstatus”,hasbeen arrested after 100days of police hunt. MGVenkateshNaikofAmruthNagar in Bengaluru ap-proachedRavindra Elluri(47)afterthelatterplacedanadvertisementonOLXin January to sell hisMarutiBrezza.Venkateshsaid hewould take a testdrivebeforebuyingthecarandneverreturned.Ellurihad filed a cheating caseagainsthim. ENS

RAJASTHAN

RamgarhsanctuarynowatigerreserveNewDelhi: The RamgarhVishdhari Sanctuary inRajasthanwasnotified asIndia’s 52nd tiger reserveonMonday,EnvironmentMinister BhupenderYadav said. This isRajasthan'sfourthtigerre-serve afterRanthambore,SariskaandMukundra.“Itwillconservebiodiversityand bring in ecotourismand development to thearea,”Yadavtweeted. PTI

BRIEFLY

CALL OF FAITHDevoteeswait for their turntoofferprayersatamonastery inLehontheoccasionofBuddhaPurnimaonMonday.UNI

ONBOARD INBENGAL

YEAR NUMBEROFSTUDENTS WHATHASHAPPENED

Sixth 23 Internshipatgovernmentmedicalcolleges

Fourth 135 Observingseatsallottedsothat thestudentscanand Fifth continuetheirclassesonlinefromrespective

colleges inUkrainewhilereceivingpracticaltraining in India

Second 172 Havebeenallowedtoattendpractical classes inandThird governmentmedicalcolleges

First 78 ThosewhohavequalifiedNEETwereallowedtoundergocounselling for themanagementquotaseats inprivatemedicalcolleges.Collegeshavebeenrequestedtoofferconcessiononfees

Central officials raise red flag as Bengalallots medical seats to Ukraine returnees

Thecontractorwhocarriedout thedemolitionandhisaideshavebeenbooked.Express

Bengaluru:Arowhaseruptedaf-terphotosofyouthswithairgunsandtridentsfromaworkshopor-ganised recently by BajrangDalsurfacedonsocialmedia.Accordingtoinformation,116

activists fromacross Karnatakaparticipatedinthefreeworkshop—ShauryaPrashikshanaVarga—organisedbetweenMay5and11ataschoolinPonnampettownofcommunally-sensitive Kodagudistrict. Kodagu SPMAAiyappasaid, “BajarangDal andVishwaHinduParishadorganisethecampeveryyearandnopermissionwassought this year.Wegot toknowof theworkshoponly fromsocialmedia. No complaint has beenfiled. According to theArmsAct,airgunsdon't require licence, butwearelookingintothematter.”Kodagu Deputy Director of

Public InstructionVedhamurthysaid,“Nopermissionwassought.Usually workshops are held inschools and colleges, but not toteach shooting. An explanationhasbeensoughtfromtheauthor-ities.”BajrangDal'sregionalcon-venor Raghu Sakleshpur saidtherewasnoneedforpermissionasonlyairgunswereused. ENS

‘Death during demolition’: Kin say 50 of them tried to get man out of debris

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEPUNE,MAY16

THEIMDonMondayannouncedthe onset of monsoon over theAndamanSea, sixdaysaheadofitsnormal schedule.Thisyear, theearlymonsoon

has been attributed to CycloneAsani, which brought inmois-ture over the region in plenty.Recently, the cross-equatorialflow too had picked up, aidingthe monsoon currents toprogressovertheAndamanSea.The IMD has said the

SouthwestmonsoononMondayadvanced into the south Bay ofBengal, most part of AndamanNicobar Islands and AndamanSea."Conditionsarefavourableforfurther advance of southwestmonsoonintosomemorepartsofsouth Bay of Bengal, entireAndamanSea&AndamanIslandsandsomepartsofeast-centralBayof Bengal duringnext 2-3days,”theIMDsaidinastatement.

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■Greenlinedenotesactualprogressso farthisyear

■Redlinesdenotenormalprogressofsouthwestmonsoon

25 JUNE

Monsoon reaches Andamans Row over BajrangDal using airgunsat workshop

Panaji:Withthestategovernmentseekinglegalopinionovertheim-plementationofthetripletestcri-teriamandatedby the SupremeCourtforOBCreservationinelec-tionwards,electionto186villagepanchayatsmaybedeferred,min-isterforPanchayatsaid.MauvinGodinho,stateminis-

terforPanchayat,said,“ThereisanSCrulingsayingwehavetofollowthe triple test. OBC seats have tobeidentified,(it)hastobedonebytheOBCCommission.Once theyundergothetriple test, thenonlythe (State)ECor thegovernmentcandeclaretheelection.” ENS

Goa panchayatpolls may bedeferred: minister

TORAAGARWALAGUWAHATI,MAY16

INCESSANTRAINS since FridayhaveravagedpartsofAssam,trig-geringfloodsandlandslidesin20out of the state’s 35 districts.According toabulletin issuedbyAssam State DisasterManagementAuthority(ASDMA)onMonday,twopersonsdrownedinCachardistrict. FivepersonsinneighbouringArunachalPradeshwerekilledinalandslide.In Assam, 1,97,248 people

across652villagesin20districts(Bajali,Baksa,Biswanath,Cachar,Charaideo, Darrang, Dhemaji,Dibrugarh, Dima Hasao, Hojai,Kamrup, Karbi AnglongWest,Kokrajhar, Lakhimpur, Majuli,Nagaon, Nalbari, Sonitpur,Tamulpur, Udalguri) have beenaffectedbyfloodsandlandslides.DimaHasao,inparticular,has

beenravagedbyflashfloodsand

landslides at several places. OnMonday, connectivity to districtheadquarters Haflong wassnappedasamajorroadcavedinalongtheGuwahati-Haflonglink.“It has been raining relentlesslysinceMay 12. A cave-inwas re-portedinthemainhighwaythatlinks Guwahati Haflong, aswellas the other linking Haflong toSilchar,” said a district adminis-trationofficial.OnMonday,JogenMohan, state Revenue andDisasterManagementMinister,visitedDimaHasaototakestock

of thesituation.Earlier, afamilyofthreewasburiedaliveafteranRCCbuildingcollapsedinaland-slide inHaflong.OnMonday,severalcoachesof

the Guwahati-Silchar Express,whichhadbeen stationedat theNewHaflong station, derailed,owingtowater-loggingandland-slides, said an official from theNortheast FrontierRailways. Thetrain was stuck at the NewHaflong station, andpassengerswereevacuatedearlieronSunday.Apartfromthat,hugedamagestorailway tracks andbridges alongthe Lumding-Badarpur hill sec-tion of the Lumding divisionhavebeendamaged.Adistrictadministrationoffi-

cial said repairwork hadbegun,butthecontinuousrains,frequentpower cuts and lack of networkconnectivitystalledprogress.Meanwhile,fivepersonsdied

in landslides in neighbouringArunachalPradeshonSunday.

AwomanatGarukhundavillage,Assam,Monday. PTI

Rain: Five killed in Arunachallandslide, two drown in Assam

New Delhi

8WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

WALK THE CHINTANChintanShivir focussedonstructuralchangesinCongress

butignoredthekeyquestionof leadership

T HETHREE-DAYCHINTANShiviroftheCongressinUdaipurdidn'tofferanysur-prises. Itplottedapathtogiveayouthfulmakeover to thepartyandpromiseshavebeenmadethatticketswillberestrictedtoonepersoninafamily,withex-ceptions,ofcourse,thathelpmostexistingfamilies.Theseproposedstructural

changesintheorganisationarenecessaryfortheCongress,whichhasbeeninafreefallsincethe2014generalelection.Successiveelectoraldefeatshaveturnedmanyleadersrestive.TheemergenceoftheG-23,aninformalgroupofdissidents,hasputthespotlightontheleader-shiprecordoftheGandhifamily.TheUdaipurconclave,anadmissionofthecrisisintheparty,sawtheinvitedcrowdofseniorleaders,parliamentariansandlegislatorsdeliberatingonor-ganisationalandpolicyissues,butdecidedlysteeringclearofquestionsconcerningleader-ship.Acleartakeawayfromtheconclaveis thattheGandhiscontinuetoexercisetotalcon-trolovertheparty.TheG-23fellsilent.RahulGandhispokeatlengthinUdaipurandadmittedthatthepartyhaslostitsconnect

withthemasses.Thisplaintruth,self-evidenttomostpeople,hasmanifestedrepeatedlyintheparty's inability towin electionsbut seems tohave eluded theGandhis all thiswhile.RahulGandhiblamedapoorcommunicationstrategyforthedisconnectandpromisedare-vamp.However, the loss of touchwith themassesmaynotnecessarily be theoutcomeofstrategy.Theproblemalsolieswiththemessageandthemessenger.Despitebeingoutofof-fice at theCentre for over eight years, theCongress is yet to reinvent itself as apartyof theOpposition. Itspoliticshasbeenmorereactivethanaproactiveoneofsettingtheagendaorbuildingitsownnarrative.Theincapacitytoarticulateinacoherentmannerwhatthepartystands for is curious since there is nodearth of articulate leaders in that party.While theparty'smessageisincoherentandoftencontradictory,themessengerhasbeenafailureinam-plifyingitorbringingclaritytothemessage.RahulGandhi,thepartyfaceforsomeyears,willneedtoshouldermorethanalittleblameforthis.Thepartyhasnowannouncedtwocam-paigns—aBharatJodoYatraandRozgarDoYatra—torebuilditstieswiththepeople.Thein-stitutional arrangementsproposed–aSocial JusticeAdvisoryCouncil toupdate thepartychiefonissuespertinenttothebackwardclassesanddisadvantagedsocialgroups,aPublicInsight Committee to conduct surveys onvarious issues andgenerate feedback from thepublic, aNational Training Institute for ideological training, andanElectionManagementCommittee—willbetestedontheground.However, at a timewhenelectionshavealsobecomeabout leaders and their imageas

muchastheirmessage,aparty'sprospectswillbeshapedmorebythecommitmentandvi-sionof its leadershipthanbulletpointsfromitscommittees. Ideologicalclaritywouldhelp,buta leadershipthatcanwork24X7andremainaccessible isnecessaryto inspireworkersandrevivetheCongress.TheUdaipurconclavekickedthiscrucialcandowntheparty’sbumpy,lonelyroad.

DOUSE THE FIREMundkaaccidentdriveshometheneedtocreatesafeworking

conditionsinfactories,endthecultureof impunity

L ASTWEEK'SBLAZEatafactoryinouterDelhi'sMundkaareathatsnuffedoutatleast27lives,21of themwomen,addstothelonglistofavoidablefiretragediesthat showthe country's urbanisation story inpoor light. The failings thathavecome to light in the four days since the incident evoke a senseof deja vu: The

buildingdidnothaveanoobjectioncertificatefromthefiredepartment—moreworryingly,theownershadnotevenappliedforone—andithadonlyoneescaperoute.Themanufac-turingunit'slicencehadlapsed.ThoughtheNorthDelhiMunicipalityhadcancelledtheper-missionafteritwasfoundthatthebuildingdidnotmeettherequiredcriteria,theindustrialactivitieswentonwithimpunityevenafteraSupremeCourtmonitoringcommitteeraisedred flags. Suchomissions invite questions about themunicipality's enforcementmecha-nisms.It'salsoapparentthattheauthoritieshavenotlearntanylessonfromtheAnajMandifirethatkilledmorethan40peopleinDecember2019—aswellasseveralothermishapsdat-ingbacktotheUphaarCinemaTragedyof1997.LocalitiessuchasMundkaandAnajMandihavebecomeaprominent featureofDelhi's

economiclandscape—andthatofseveralotherpartsofthecountry—intheaftermathoflib-eralisation.Factoriesexistcheek-by-jowlwithwarehouses, shopssellingconstructionma-terials, banquethalls, andothermulti-floor establishments. Largelyunregulated, they aresourcesof livelihoodforasubstantialsectionof thecity'spopulation,manyofwhomliveatitsmargins.Atatimethepandemic-inducedeconomicdownturnhasshrunkhouseholdin-comesandtheabsenceof socialsecurityhasaggravatedthedifficultiesof theworkingandlower-middle classes,many suchmanufacturingunits offer hopeof a semblanceof relieffrompoverty.Theyalsoseemtobuckthepost-pandemictrendofalargenumberofwomenfallingoutofthelabourforce—asrevealedbytheCMIEdata.However,withemployersplay-ingshortshrifttobasicsafetycodes,theseworkplacesturnouttobenotonlyexploitative,theyalsoaddto thehardships facedbytheiremployees—andtheirdearones. Several families,forinstance, losttheirsolebreadwinnerinlastweek'sfiretragedy.Delhi'sLtGovernorAnilBaijalhasorderedamagisterial investigation intotheaccident.

Theprobemust,of course, fixaccountabilityatmultiple levels.Butmuchmoreneedstobedone.Forfartoolong,anetworkofcomplicityhasledtosafetycodesbeingfloutedandbuild-ingby-lawsbeinginfringed.It'stimesuchnetworksaretakenapart.

Yubaraj Ghimire

Withoutaccountabilityforemployers,improvingworkingconditions,tragedieslikeMundkafirewillrecur

BRIDGE TO THE BUDDHAPMModi’sLumbinivisitattemptstomakeupforDelhi’spastindifferencetoNepal

THEFIREatDelhi’sMundka,withadeathtollof27personssofar—amajorityofwhomarewomenworkers in informalmanufacturingunits—underscoresyetagaintheinvisibilitiesandinsecuritiesofinformalworkersinthecity.Thefactthattheantecedentsofthosewhodiedarestillunknownpointstotheinvisibilityandlackof identityof informalsectorworkers.Reportsonbuildingscatching fire leading

tofatalities, followedbydiscussionsonillegalconstructions andunplanned infrastructuraldevelopmentinurbancentres,havebecomeasomewhatrepetitivesubject.Witheverysuchmishap,reportsonhowthesebuildingsdonothaverequiredfireclearanceandno-objectioncertificates fromconcerned authorities sur-face.Yet,suchincidentskeeponrepeating;theharrowingstoriesofthosewholosttheirdearonesaremattersofpublicattentiononlyforafewdays,till theheadlinesshift.Incidentsofthissortarealsoopportunities

forpoliticalleaderstodisplaytheirconcernforthosewholosttheirdearoneswithcompen-sation and promises coming one after theother.Enquirycommissionsandassurancesoftighteningprocedures are all part of a largerscript,withnosubstantialchangeatthegroundlevel.Bynow,itisunderstoodthattherootcause

oftheMundkamishapisaseriouslapseinfol-lowingthenormsinconstructionasthewholebuildinghadonlyonestaircase.Whilethisac-cidentsharessimilaritieswithearlierincidents,thesiteandthevictimsthistimedeservespe-cialmention.Of the27who lost their lives tothismassivefire,21werewomenworkers,em-ployed ina company thatmanufacturedandassembledCCTVsandWiFirouters.Asperre-ports,themanufacturingunitatMundkaem-ployedabout100people,halfofthemwomen.Manyofthemareyoungwomenandthesoleor primary earners in their households. Thepredicamentofwomenworkersherehassim-ilarities to those in the garment units ofBangladesh— includingdisturbingparallelswiththevictimsof theRanaPlazacollapse.Therearethousandsofunregistered/infor-

malindustrialunitsincitieslikeDelhiwithoutanydataonthenumberofworkersemployed

andtheconditionsoftheiremployment.Theseworkplacesareknowntoviolateallnorms,in-cludingbasiclabourlaws.Informalityandpre-caritydefinesuchworkplaceswherethequal-ity of jobs is not a concern for thosewhoarelookingforemployment.Women’sworkpar-ticipation rates have declined sharply overtime,withDelhihavingoneofthelowest(14.5percent forage15andaboveascomparedto28.7per cent all-India in 2019-20). Thepan-demic has added towomen’s difficulties infinding jobs and suchworkplaces reveal theconditionsunderwhichwomenworkersgetemployed. Theprofile ofworkers shows thatmanyareyoung in their20sor30s—theagecategories that suffuse our discourse onwomen’s development andempowerment.They are forced to join the labourmarket inlow-paidandhighly-informaljobsbecauseoftheirmigrant statusandpooreconomiccon-ditions.Thereisoftenaclearseparationoftasksformen andwomen.Womenworkers aremostlyintopackingorarehelpers—categoriesthatarethelowestskilledasperthejobclassi-ficationsinsuchunits.Owing to the perception that workers

employed in packing or as helpers under-take jobs that do not require much skill,wages are kept very lowwhile the labourpool remainsmassive.With the pandemicand the resultant decline inwork opportu-nities and household income, women arecompelledto joinemploymenttocompen-sate for the lossof employmentordeclinedincomeofmalehouseholdmembers.Manyof theworkerswhodied joined the factoryafter thepandemic,pointing to thedesper-ationthatmanypoorhouseholdsarefacing.Working conditions, in general, are not of-tendefinedinsuchunitswithlowandvary-ingwages, longworking hours, absence ofany leave, includingmaternity leave and alack of other basic facilities. In a citywherelivingexpenseshavesoared,withamonthlywageofRs6,500-7,500,adignifiedlife isbe-yond imagination. It is important to notethat many women workers are often thesole earners or primary earners of theirhouseholds.Workingincontestedspacesin

dusty,shadyandstingyrooms,withoutanysafetyprecautions,glovesormasksisacom-monsceneinthesesweatshops.Basicwork-placerequirementssuchastheprovisionofdrinkingwaterandtoilet facilitiesareoftendenied toworkers.Exposure to such employment provides

limitedopportunitiesforpersonaloreconomicadvancement,withmonotonous repetitivework filling the day. The large turnover andwomen’swithdrawalfromthelabourmarketaresignsofextremelypoorworkingconditionsthatmanywomen cannot sustain for long.Absence of leave, includingmaternity leaveand longworkinghours, are important con-cerns forwomenworkerswho also have toshoulderthehouseworkandcareresponsibil-itiesof their families, forcingthemtoeventu-allyleavesuchworkplaces.Poorly ventilatedworkplaces, operating

fromdilapidatedbuildingsareaplenty in thecityandevenbybasicnormsof occupationalsafetyrequirements,theseworkplacesarenottobe“operational”.Suchworkplacesareoftenasourceofadditionalincomefortheenforce-mentmachinery,withemployersandthead-ministration leastbotheredabout the livesofworkers. There are anxieties about how thenewlabourcodeswilladdtothevulnerabilityofinformalworkers.TheOccupationalSafety,Health andWorkingConditions Code, 2020(OSHWC)would replaceexisting regulationssoonandthiswouldworsentheconditionsofinformalworkersasmanyofthesesmallunitswould be left to themselves to follow pre-scribed safety conditions and can go unac-countable.These sweatshops,which are part of our

understandingofeconomicdevelopmentaretraps forwomenworkers. The fact that it of-ferssomerespite frompovertyandalso fromcultural restrictionsonwomenalsoneeds tobeunderstood.Butwithoutanyaccountabil-ity of employers anda lackof politicalwill toimproveworkingconditions,wemightendupallowingmanymoresuchhorrificaccidents.

Thewriterisprofessor,CentreforWomen’sDevelopmentStudies,NewDelhi

FOR LONG, Lumbini and its people felt un-comfortable,evenangry,overtheprojectionof theBuddhaas Indian. Therewasalso thefeeling that itwasbeing treatedunfairly byIndian tour handlers. Package deals fortourists andpilgrims fromacross theworldwould only make a fleeting visit to theBuddha’s birth place, before being herdedback to Buddhist shrines in India, denyingNepal itsdueeconomicgain.Nearly eight years ago, PrimeMinister

NarendraModi tried to address this issuewhenhetoldNepal'sConstituentAssemblythat the Buddha was born in Nepal. OnBuddhaPoornimaonMonday,Modimadeatrip to Lumbini, becoming the first IndianPM to do so. He offered prayers at theMayadevi temple, believed to be theBuddha’s birthplace, in the company ofhighly-respected Buddhist masters, andthenlaidthefoundationfortheInternationalBuddhistConferenceandMeditationCentre.The trip, a month after Nepali Prime

Minister Sher BahadurDeubavisited India,is being projected as a "cultural visit" buttherearemanywhocall it India’s lateawak-eningfromadeepdiplomaticslumber.Delhihas been indifferent to the deep inroadsChina has been making in Nepal. Modilandedat anewly-built helipadclose to theMayadevi temple, avoiding the GautamBuddha International Airport, built with asoft loanfromChinaandco-incidentally in-auguratedbyhishostearlierinthemorningontheauspiciousday.China firstoffered tospend$3billion to

buildupLumbiniastheworldpeacecityun-der the aegis of its NGO — Asia PacificExchange and Foundation — co-optingMaoistleaderPrachandaasitsvicechairman.Chinahasalsobuilt amonastery in thecorearea of the Lumbini Development Project.China'soffertodevelopitastheWorldPeaceCentreandconstructarailwaylineconnect-ing Tibet and Kathmandu is as yet inabeyance,butnotcompletelygivenup.Theincreasedpresenceandinfluenceof

theUSand theEuropeanUnion, alongwithIndia, has become more pronounced inNepal's domestic politics — especially fol-lowing the political changes of 2005-06.China retaliatedwith amatching presenceandeconomic investments. Thishashadanimpacton internalpoliticsandpolicy-mak-ing in Nepal. But unlike its competitors,China'soutlookhaddepthandtook intoac-countmultipledimensions.Lumbini,thankslargely to China, has now become sort of amicrocosm of the competing internationalforces in thecountry.India first reacted to the Chinese pres-

enceinLumbinionNovember8,2011, inthewakeofenthusiasticpublicitybytheChineseabout theWorld City initiative. At a dinnertable,DrKaranSingh'sdiscomfortwaspalpa-ble. The senior Congress leaderwas then inNepal. “How far is Lumbini from the Indianborder?” he asked. “Not even 10 kmaway,”former King Gyanendra Shah had re-sponded. Singh, apparently under instruc-tionsfromthegovernmentinDelhi, toldthemedia the next day that India was keen to

undertake the project with the promise ofbestowing upon Lumbini the status it de-served.HowmuchModi’s visit to Lumbini will

makeup forDelhi's indifference is yet to begauged. The two sides agreed to develop aBuddhist circuit, linking shrines located inthe two countrieswith Lumbini occupyingaprimeposition. India alsoagreed to setupthe Dr B R Ambedkar Chair in LumbiniUniversity, with around 1,000 students, in-cluding fromChina, enrolled.Modi, bybefriendingDeuba, hasmade

an effective attempt to repair the damagein bilateral ties that took place between2016and2021whenheandhisthenNepalicounterpart K P Oli fell out. India not onlyrefused to welcome Nepal’s constitutionpromulgated in September 2015, but alsolaunched an economic blockade for 134days. Deuba, who is also the chairman ofthe Nepali Congress, recently acceptedModi’s invitation for his party and the BJPtoestablishfraternalrelations—somethingthe Chinese Communist Party tried withthe unified Communist party of Nepal.Modi’svisit toLumbiniandthelayingof themonastery’s foundation may give India afoothold and cultural space. But that pro-vides zero guarantee that it will be able tooutdo its competitors, including theWestand China, who are already deeply en-trenched inNepal.

Thewriter isa senior journalistbased inKathmandu

Exposure to suchemployment provideslimited opportunities forpersonal or economicadvancement, withmonotonous repetitive workfilling the day. The largeturnover and women’swithdrawal from the labourmarket are signs ofextremely poor workingconditions that manywomen cannot sustain forlong. Absence of leave,including maternity leaveand long working hours, areimportant concerns forwomen workers who alsohave to shoulder thehousework and careresponsibilities of theirfamilies, forcing them toeventually leave suchworkplaces.

The trip, a month afterNepali Prime Minister SherBahadur Deuba visitedIndia, is being projected as a‘cultural visit’ but there aremany who call it a India’s latewake up from a deepdiplomatic slumber. Delhihas been indifferent to thedeep inroads China has beenmaking in Nepal. Modilanded at a newly builthelipad close to theMayadevi temple, avoidingthe Gautam BuddhaInternational Airport, builtwith a soft loan from China.

FOUNDED BY

RAMNATH GOENKA

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

§ §

THEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY,MAY17,2022WORDLYWISE

Failure comes onlywhenwe forget ourideals andobjectives and principles.

—JawaharlalNehruTHEEDITORIALPAGE

PRELIMINARY TALKSA 30-MINUTE PRELIMINARY exchange ofviewsbetweentheleaderof theIndiandel-egation,EricGonsalves,andtheleaderof theChinesedelegation, FuHao, and theconcil-iatory speeches they made at the dinnerGonsalves hosted in honour of the visitorsset the tone for the tone for theSino-Indiantalks opening thenext day. BothGonsalvesandFu, intheircarefullypreparedspeecheswarmly expressed their governments’ de-sire to improve relations. And significantly,bothof themunderscored theunderstand-ing the two governments have already ar-rived at that the border dispute is the cen-tral issue the resolution of which isimportantforthenormalisationof relationsbetweenIndiaandChina.Theproblemsthat

India and China faced in today’s world canbebetterfacedif theydevisedabasis forco-operation and fully normal relations,Gonsalves said.

MINISTRY GUIDELINESTHEUNIONHOMEMinistryhasaskedmin-isters of state governments not to makestatements on communal disturbances intheirareas.TheHomeMinistryhasrecentlysent “exhaustiveguidelines”onpreventionandcontrolof communaldisturbancesandforpromotionofcommunalharmonytothestatesandunionterritoryadministration.”Ithas suggested that ministers should notcomment on any agitation likely to lead tocommunal dissatisfaction. Once distur-

bances start, ministers should not expresstheirviewsonthecauseof thedisturbancesandtheywaytheywerebeingdealtwithbe-cause this was bound to affect steps takenby the local administration.

MISSING CANDIDATESWESTBENGALCHIEFministerJyotiBasuhasasked police to intensify the search for thetwo election candidates and an agent whohave been missing since May 14. KashiKanto Moitra, a Janata candidate, GopalChandraSarkar,aCongress(J)nomineeandMoitra’s election agent, Shibu Choudhury,did not return home after election cam-paigns.PolicehavemeanwhilefoundthecarinwhichSarkarwas reportedly abducted.

MAY 17, 1982, FORTYYEARSAGO

1983 IN BADMINTONThomasCupwinistestimonytoIndiasriseasapowerinthesport.

Thechallengeistobuildonthistriumph

N OTTHEONE for hyperbole, PullelaGopichand, thenational coach and themanlargelyresponsibleforIndia’sriseasabadmintonpower,calledSunday’sThomasCuptriumphthecountry’sgreatestteamsportachievementoutsidecricket.VimalKumar,thesoft-spokenplayer-turned-coach,wasquicktopro-

claimthatthismomentcanbetoIndianbadmintonwhatthe1983WorldCupwastoIndiancricket.It’shardtodisputebothclaims.Thereareshadesof ’83in’22:Thestoriesofpersonalstrugglesandredemptions, theunderdogelement,andbeatingthemostsuccessfulnationinthetournament’shistory,14-timechampionsIndonesia,toreachthetop.Writinginthesepages,Gopichandrecalledhowduringhisplayingdays,Indialosttothe

likesofSriLankaandPakistan,andwerehappymerelybyqualifyingfortheThomasCup.Togoonandwinitthen—onlythesixthnationtodoso,showinghowcompetitivethetourna-ment is— is special. And this is no fluke. The title comeson thebackof years of relentlesshardworkandanoutcomeofasystemthathasconstantlychurnedoutplayerswho,ontheirday, couldupset thebest in theworld. That evenplayers likeBSai Praneeth, a 2019WorldChampionshipmedalist,couldnotevenmaketheteam,coupledwiththefactthatIndiahassevenplayersintheworld’stop50,pointstothedepthinmen’sbadmintonrightnow.Thechallengegoingaheadistobuildonthistriumphandnot let themomentumslip.

Badmintonisoneof thefewmasssportsthat’splayedalmostineverycornerof thecoun-try. So, even thoughHyderabadandBangalorewill continue to remain thehubs, it’s im-portanttoestablishacademiesthatcanspotandharnessplayersfromotherregionsinthecountry.Like1983, this title isn’taculminationof a journey. It shouldbethebeginningofanewchapter.

NeethaN

Capital fire

New Delhi

9THEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY,MAY17,2022 WHATTHEOTHERSSAY

‘‘Most Asian countries wish the US can contribute more to the region ratherthan engage in moves to weaken the region. Washington should listen toASEAN instead of indulging in a zero-sum game and regarding its relationswith ASEAN as playing a seesaw.’’ — GLOBALTIMES,CHINATHE IDEASPAGE

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

Religion and culture aredeeply interconnected inSouth Asia. Developing allreligious pilgrimage sitesacross the region, andimproving the transborderaccess to them could notonly improve touristrevenues of all the SouthAsian nations, but could alsohave a calming effect on thetroubled political relationsbetween nations.

IT IS rare that the primeminister himselfconveys,inapendingproceedingbeforetheapexcourt,hisclearandunequivocalviewsaboutrespectinghumanrights,protectingcivil liberties and further respecting thefreedomsgranted to thepeopleof India. Itwasrefreshingtofindthecategoricalasser-tionbythePMinanaffidavit:“OneofIndia’sstrengths is the diverse thought streamsthatbeautifully flourished inourcountry.”Inthe75thyearofourIndependence,asournation is marking “Azadi ka AmritMahotsav”, PM Modi has appealed toIndianstoworkhardertoshedourcolonialbaggage,which includescolonial lawsandpractices.These arenot emptywordsonly for an

affidavit.Underhisleadership,nearly1,500old colonial-era laws have been scrapped.About25,000complianceruleswhichwerecreating hurdles, have been removed andmanyoffencesthatwereahindrancetode-velopment have been decriminalised.Therewas also in the affidavit a profoundstatementof great intent: “Lawsandcom-plianceswhichreekedofacolonialmindsethavenoplace in today’s India.”Withthisbackground,itwasconveyed,

thattheGovernmentof Indiahasdecidedtore-examine and reconsider the provisionsof Section 124A of the Indian Penal Codewhich deals with sedition. The history ofthe sedition law in India is inmanywaysunique. During the British Raj, it was partof the penal law from the very beginning.The British government in India not onlyframed the law, defining various offences,but alsomade sedition a very serious of-fence, punishablewith imprisonment forlifeandafine.Thedefinitionofseditionwasalittlevague,wherebyanyattempttobringhatredorcontemptorattempttoexcitedis-affection towards the government consti-tutedsedition.Disaffectionincludesdisloy-alty and feeling of enmity. Sedition wasdesigned to perpetuate the hold of theBritish on the people of India, and any at-tempt at disloyalty was enough for theoffence.Great leaders of the freedommove-

ment became the targets of the law. BalGangadharTilakwas the first person tobeconvicted of sedition in colonial India be-causetheBritishgovernmentthoughtthathiswritingsinhiscelebratedMarathinews-paper, Kesari, were causing disaffectionagainst theBritishRaj.Hewas imprisonedfor18months.EvenGandhiji, in1922,wassentencedtosixyearsforhisarticleinYoungIndiaonthechargeof“attemptingtoexcitedisaffection towards his majesty’sGovernment established by law in BritishIndia”. Many otherswere also prosecutedandconvicted.Significantly,duringthemakingof the

Constitution, December 1, 1948, K MMunshi moved an amendment in theConstituent Assembly proposing seditionbe dropped “as constituting a restrictiononright to freedomof speechandexpres-sion particularly in the context of thepainfulexperiencetopunishIndiansbytheBritish authorities for even innocuous ex-pressionsandcriticismofcolonialgovern-ment.”Article19(1)(a)(g)providesforvar-iousfreedomsincludingfreedomofspeechand expression while clause 19 (2) to (6)enumerates provisions for constitutingreasonable restrictions on the exercise ofsuch rights.Itmustbenotedthatinnoneofthesaid

clausesistheoffenceofseditionmentionedas grounds for “reasonable restriction”.Thereareexpressions like “interestof sov-ereignty and integrity of India”, and secu-rity of state public order but not sedition.Sedition simplymeans “deshdroh”. Yet, ithas continued in the IPC. There have beenjudgmentsfromvarioushighcourts inthisregard but a constitution bench of theSupreme Court delivered a judgment in1962 (KedarnathSinghvsTheStateofBihar)whereitheldthat“unlessaccompaniedbyincitement or call for violence criticism ofgovernmentcannotbe labelledSedition”.Therehasbeengenuinecriticismabout

why this colonial-era provision should bea part of our statute. The Congress party,whichclaimstobetheinheritorof thefree-dommovement, never tried to scrap thislawthoughitruledIndiafornearly60years.Certain freedoms are fundamental underourconstitutional scheme.Therehavebeencasesoframpantabuse

andthe latest isahilarious instance fromaparticular state where singing theHanuman Chalisa amounted to sedition.Surely, there is a need for a review of thelaw. India, inthe75thyearof its independ-ence, isstrongandstableenoughtodecideinafree,fairandobjectivemannerwhethertheoffenceofseditionisneededornot,andif so underwhat formwith strong guide-lines to prevent its misuse, and clearlyenunciatethecircumstancesinwhichitcanbeinvoked.ThePMhastrustedtheprocessbywhich somany old laws have been re-pealed, offencesdecriminalisedand thou-sandsof complianceburdensremoved.Allthis was done in a peacefulmannerwithdue consultation. This is the institutionalstrengthof India. I amquite sure the sameprocesswillentaila relookat thewhole is-sueofseditiontothesatisfactionofallcon-cernedwhere a healthy balance ismain-tained between respect for human rightsandcivil libertiesandthecompellingneedto fight terrorism, and separatism andwhoseclearagenda is tobreak India.I must concludewith aword of grati-

tudeforthePMfordemonstratingextraor-dinary leadership in amatter that has di-videdthecountryforthelastfewyears.Let’shopetheinnerstrengthof thecountrywillhelp us arrive at a healthy conclusion.Equally, the SupremeCourt has shown ju-dicial statesmanship by agreeingwith thegovernment's request to give time for thereviewandbypassingappropriateinterimprotections in themeantime.

Thewriter isaBJPMPand formerUnionLawMinister

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS — in Sri Lanka,Nepal, and Pakistan— underline the geo-graphicimperativethatbindsIndiatoitsneigh-bours in the Subcontinent. Together, theyshouldremindtheregion’sleadersthatwork-ingwiththelogicofgeographyhasbecomeanunavoidablenecessity amidst thedeepeningregional and global crises accentuated byRussia’swarinUkraine.Ashigheroilandfoodprices trigger infla-

tionandpopularunrestacrosstheregion,moreintensive regional cooperation is one of thetools formanaging thenewdangers. The lastfewweekshaveseensomepositive trends inthatdirectionaswellasenduringnegativepoli-ciesthatdefythelogicofgeography.Lastweek,theIndianHighCommissionin

Colombowasquicktoscotchwildspeculationthat the formerstrongmanprimeministerofSri LankaMahindaRajapaksawas fleeing toIndia.Wedon’t know ifMahindaRajapaka, atarget of thepeople’s outrage for the terriblemismanagement of the economy,was actu-allyplanningtotakeashortflightoutofLanka.Ifhedid,Indiawouldbethenaturalfirstdesti-nationgiventhegeographicproximity.Now put on the exit control list in

Colombo,Mahindamight not be travellingany time soon to India and pay his regularobeisance to his favourite deity, LordVenkateswaraintheTirumalahills.But Indiahashadalongtraditionofhostingpoliticalex-ilesfromtheregion.WhetheritwastheDalaiLama fromTibet or Prachanda fromNepal,Delhihaswelcomedleaders fromtheneigh-bourhoodtakingshelter inIndia.Thereisadangerousflipsidetothispositive

traditionintheSubcontinent.Indiahaspaidahighprice for thedecision in the early 1980stotrainandarmSriLankanTamilrebels.That,hopefully, isanexceptionratherthantheruleinIndia’semergingneighbourhoodpolicy.WhileIndia’smuscularmeddlinginthein-

ternalaffairsofSriLankadidnotsucceedinre-alising the Tamil demands, it unfortunatelycontributedtothedeepdistrustbetweenDelhiandtheSinhalanationalists.Asaconsequence,thegeographicimperativebecameacasualtyinColombo.But the current crisis in Sri Lanka raised

hopesfortranscendingtheinternalethnicdi-videintheislandnationandrebuildingpolit-ical confidencebetweenColomboandDelhi.Tobesure,positivesentimentsdrivenbycrisesdonotalwayslast.ButDelhi’sunstintingsup-port — both material and financial — forColomboduringthisunprecedentedeconomicandpoliticalcrisishasgeneratedmuchgood-will inSri Lanka.Thisoffersamajoropportu-nitytoreframeDelhi’stieswithColombo.IfIndia’srelationswithSriLankaunderline

theimportanceofcontinuoustendingofpolit-icalgeography,PrimeMinisterNarendraModi’svisitthisweektoLumbini,thebirthplaceofLordBuddhainNepal,highlightstheimmensepos-sibilitiesofculturalgeographyinreshapingtheSubcontinent’sregionalrelations.Theideaofa“Buddhistcircuit”connecting

thevariouspilgrimage sites across the India-Nepalborderhasbeenaroundforalongtime.Giventhemassivesizeof theglobalBuddhist

population—estimatedtobemorethan500million—andthewiderinternationalinterestinthehistoricsites, it issurprisinghowlongithas takenDelhi andKathmandu to come to-getherindevelopingtheBuddhistcircuit.That China has built a newairport near

LumbiniandModi isavoiding itpoints to theturbulenttriangulardynamicbetweenDelhi,Kathmandu, andBeijing. Evenmore conse-quential has been the deep discomfort of alargesectionofNepal’spoliticalclass—espe-cially the communists that havedominatedKathmanduinthelasttwodecades—withtheIndiarelationship.The return of theNepal Congress to the

helm and its readiness to deepen tieswithIndiahasalsoopenedthedoorforarecalibra-tion of Delhi’s ties with Kathmandu.Revitalisingthesharedculturalgeographyin-evitably involvesbettermanagementof eco-nomicgeography.ThelastfewyearshaveseentheModi government stepupon infrastruc-turedevelopmenton the Indian side andac-celeratetransbordertransportandenergycon-nectivityintheeasternsubcontinent.Religionandculture aredeeply intercon-

nected inSouthAsia.Developingall religiouspilgrimagesitesacrosstheregion,andimprov-ing the transborder access to themcouldnotonlyimprovetouristrevenuesofalltheSouthAsiannations, but could alsohave a calmingeffect on the troubledpolitical relations be-tweennations.Despitetheirfrozenbilateralpoliticalrela-

tionship,Delhi and Islamabadhadagreed toopentheKartarpurcorridorattheendof2019acrosstheirmilitarisedPunjabborder.Thecor-ridormakes it easier for Sikhpilgrims tovisittheshrineinKartarpurinPakistan,whereGuruNanak founded theSikh faith. There ismuchmore to be done on reconnecting theSubcontinent’ssacredgeographies—includingtheRamayanatrailandSufishrines.Whilepartsoftheregionarealigningtheir

policies with the geographic imperative,Pakistanwouldseemtobeanexception.Somewouldsay,Islamabad'spoliciesaredeliberatelyanti-geographic.Consider,forexample,there-cent controversy inPakistanover the routineappointment of a “trade officer” in its highcommissioninDelhi.Facing a barrage ofmedia criticism, the

newgovernmentledbyShehbazSharifhadtoclarifythatitwasnotplanningtoimprovetradetieswith India. Given thedepthof itsmacroeconomic crisis andmassive inflation, one

mighthave thought Pakistanwouldwant toexpand trade tieswith India in its owneco-nomicinterest.ButPakistan'spoliticsarehard-wiredagainstthelogicofgeography.Anattemptat limited trade liberalisation

with India after the two countries signed aceasefireagreementinFebruarylastyearwasoverruled at the last moment by PrimeMinister ImranKhan. TheMuslim League’sNawazSharifandthePakistanPeople’sParty’sAsif Ali Zardari—whoback thepresent gov-ernmentinIslamabad—have,inthepast,sup-portednormal traderelationswith India,butcouldnotgetthearmy’sconsent.While General Qamar Javed Bajwa, the

currentChiefofArmyStaff,hadcalledforare-setofrelationswithIndia,ImranKhanpulledtheplugontradeliberalisation.Hisargumentwas that Pakistan can’t tradewith India un-less Delhi reversed its 2019 constitutionalchangesinKashmir.NowImranisonthestreetscampaigning

againstthe“importedgovernment”(fromtheUSwhich, according to the former PM, con-spired to oust him from power). He couldchewthegovernmentupifitopensuptotradewith India. The army, long viewed as a deci-sive arbiter in Pakistan’s political andpolicydisputes,seemsdividedonhowbesttoman-agethecurrentcrisis.ThisleavesShehbazlittleroomforcreative

policymakingthatcaneasesomeofPakistan'scurrent economicproblems.Meanwhile, theyoungBilawalBhuttoZardari,whohas takenchargeofPakistan'sForeignOffice,istieddownbyhisbureaucracy’sstapleofKashmircliches.Delhi had little reason to believe that

Pakistan’s newgovernment canalter its self-defeatingpolicytowardsIndia.Butitmustcon-tinuetobetthatthegeographicimperativewilleventually prevail over Islamabad’s policies.PessimistsinDelhiwillsaytheword“eventu-ally”meansnothingforpolicy-makingtoday.Butoptimistswouldsay IndiamustcontinuetofindwaystoworkwithPakistan.Realistsmightwant toargue that current

trends in the Subcontinent point to India’sgrowingagencyinshapingitsneighbourhoodand that Pakistanwill not forever remain anexception. For Delhi, the policy question iswhetherIndiacandosomethingtohastentheinevitablechangeinPakistan.

ThewriterisSeniorFellow,AsiaSocietyPolicyInstitute,DelhiandacontributingeditoroninternationalaffairsforTheIndianExpress

On sedition, abeginning

LOSING THE WARTHISREFERSTOtheeditorial, 'Blame itonPutin'(IE,May16).WithnoswiftendtotheRussia-UkraineWarasPutin,theaggressor,expected,alliancesarebeingdrawnandredrawn.Russia'saggressiveposturing ismaking the hitherto neu-tral nations like Sweden and Finlandworried for their safety. The twocoun-tries are thinking of joining NATO,whichmaynot strengthen the organi-sation, butwill, definitely, help in pro-jecting it, and, in consequence, theUS,as a force to be reckonedwith. Russiamay bewinning the battles in the on-goingcrisis, but it is losing thewar.

VijaiPant,Hempur

DATA QUALITYTHIS REFERS TO the article. 'Whatnumber hide' (IE, May 14 ). The avail-abilityof reliableandtransparentdatahas been a serious issue in India for along time.Well before the Covid datacontroversy, there were questionsraised over GDP calculation accuracy,expenditure survey data quality andothers. These disputes over the accu-racy of numbers arise largely on ac-count of a paucity of quality and reli-able information, which results inwidely differing estimates andmeas-urements. Unless a credible and con-sistent quality data infrastructure isbuilt, these unseemly debates willkeeprecurring,andworsestill, leadto

wrong inferences andpolicies.HemantContractor,Pune

KNEE-JERK RESPONSETHIS REFERS TO the editorial, 'Caughtwith chaff' (IE, May 16). Strangely un-aware of ground reality, Minister ofCommercePiyushGoyalcameupwithsweeping statements painting a rosypicture ofwheat output in the currentseason, despite indications to the con-trary. Now, taking food security as thereason,ablanketbanonwheatexportshasbeenhurriedlyimposed,adverselyaffecting not only the exporters andgraintradersbutalsothefarmers.Abet-ter solution could have been to gradu-ally cap the exports so that the globalsupplychaindoesnotgetabruptlydis-rupted.Suchknee-jerkreactionsspeakofagovernmentnotwillingtotakethearduous route of assuredlymanagingfarm production and hurting its ownimageasaglobal supplierof grains.

KamnaChhabra,Gurgaon

A GREAT WINTHIS REFERS TO the report, 'IndiaThomasCupchamps:Whowouldhavethought? The Team'(IE, May 16). Ourbadminton team’s winning of theThomasCupis inaclassbyitself. Itwasthe result of laudable teamwork andcoordination.

YGChouksey,Pune

LETTERS TO THEEDITOR

ONAPRIL28,theIndianComputerEmergencyResponseTeam(CERT-In) issued“directions”under Section 70-B(6) of the InformationTechnologyAct2000(ITAct)relatingtoinfor-mationsecuritypractices,procedure,preven-tion,responseandreportingofcyberincidents.Thesedirectionshavebroughtaboutawide-rangingexpansioninthescopeofobligationsof the above requirements compared to theInformationTechnology(TheIndianComputerEmergency Response TeamandManner ofperformingfunctionsandduties)Rules,2013(Rules).Amongtheactivitiesinwhichcompli-anceissoughtbyserviceproviders,intermedi-aries,datacentresandbodycorporatesarethesynchronisationofcomputerclockstothenet-worktimeprotocolsetattheNationalPhysicalLaboratory andNational Informatics Centre(NIC),mandatory reporting of all cyber inci-dentswithin six hours of noticing or beingbrought to their notice in theprescribed for-mat,designatingpointofcontactandnotifyingCERT-Inandundertakingtoperformsuchac-tionsforcybersecuritymitigationwhennoti-fiedbyCERT-IN,maintainingall logsofall ICTsystemsupto180dayswithinIndianjurisdic-tion and for data centres, virtual privatenet-workserviceproviders,cloudserviceprovidersandvirtual private serverproviders tomain-tain all records of their users andusage for aminimumoffiveyears.While theoverall thrust towardsa robust

cyber incident reportingandsecurity regimeis prudent, someof theprovisions in the ab-senceofclarificationfromCERT-Inhaveraisedconcernsamongstindustryobserversandcy-bersecurityexperts.Forsometimenow,CERT-INhasbeenstrugglingtogetinformationandincidentreportingfromserviceproviders, in-termediariesaswellasbodycorporatesaspertherulesanditsmandateundersection70B(4)of the ITAct.Thiswas impacting its responsi-bilityasacollector,analyseranddisseminatorof informationon cyber incidents aswell ascoordinating incident responses and emer-gencymeasures.So,ittookrecoursetothedi-rections,whichstrangelydonotdifferentiatebetweenthescalesandnatureoftheincident.Somecyber incidents are farmore commonandoccurregularly.Anorganisationmightre-ceivehundredsofphishingemailsandtheef-fort tonotify eachwoulddrastically increasetheir compliance cost. Itwould alsobe inter-estingtoknowwhatCERT-In’sstrategywillbefordealingwithcommonplacecyberincidentsanditsowncapacityenhancementintermsofhandlingthecompliancesought.Awindowof 60days has beenprovided

beforeimplementationof thesecompliancesbegins. Given the scale of the revamp, thismightbetooshortawindow.Thegovernmentmustlookattheconcernsthatarisefromsuchdirectionsandworkoutarealistic timescale.The ugly episode of the Twitter incident

around compliancewith the InformationTechnology (Intermediary Guidelines andDigitalMediaEthicsCode)Rules,2021,lastyearisastarkreminderof thepitfallsof rushingincomplianceswithoutfactoringinconcerns.Inthis case, therewill bemultiple companiesevenfromtheMSMEsectorthatwilltaketimetosetupsystemsforcompliances.Allcoveredentitiesalsohavetomandato-

rilyenablelogsandmaintainthemfor180dayswithintheIndianjurisdiction.Atpresent,mostentitiesmaintainlogsforaround30days,andinordertomaintainlogsfor180days, thead-ditional data storage device costwould behuge. Similarly, data centres, virtual privateserverproviders, cloudserviceprovidersandvirtualprivatenetworkserviceproviderswillneed to retainadditional information for fiveyears ormore after the cancellationorwith-drawalofregistration.Thevirtualassetindus-try toowill have tomaintain all KYC recordsanddetailsofallfinancialtransactionsforfiveyears.Thecompliancecost ineachcase isgo-ingtorisesubstantially.Manyoftheentitieswillhavetoshifttheir

servers geographically aswell as add excessstoragecapacity.Mostimportantly,therecruit-mentofadditionalmanpowerforcompliancemaytakefarlonger.Arealistictimelinewouldbesixmonths,whichwouldallowtheentitiestoeffectivelymigrate to thenewregime.Thepenaltyfornon-complianceisstiff (including

uptooneyearofimprisonmentandmonetaryfines).But it isalsounfair tocreateunrealisticdeadlinesforindustry.Thisisalsogoingtosignificantlyaffector-

ganisationsthathavemaintainedtheirserversoffshore,althoughthemoveisinlinewiththegovernment's stated objective of localisingdata storage. Butwhat cannot be denied areprivacy concerns.WithVPNs andvirtual as-setwalletsbeingaskedtostoreandshareKYCandtransactiondata,theseconcernsbecomeevident. VPNs have been successful for cor-poratesaswellasindividualsbecausetheyad-dressprivacyconcerns.Therehavebeenveryfewinstanceswherethesetunnelshavebeenusedforcriminalactivitiesandsupport fromthe providerswas not obtained by law en-forcement authorities. In theabsenceof leg-islativebackingfordataprotection,whichhasbeenontheanvilformorethantwoyears,thequestionis:Howwilltheuserhaveanysayonwhich information canbeheld back or howhis sensitive personal information is beingprotected?WhileCERT-Inhasbeenproactiveinrecog-

nisingthechangingfrontiersoftechnologyandtrying todealwithhithertounknowncyberthreats, it iswanting in termsof agradedap-proachtoensuringcompliance.

Thewriter isadefenceandcybersecurityanalyst

The cybersecurity burdenCERT-Indirectionsoncybersecuritycompliancearerushed

Bound by geographyCentrehasdonewell todisplay leadership

inamatter thathasdividedthecountry inrecentyears

DevelopmentsinSriLanka,NepalandPakistanunderlineneedforIndiatoreframeregionalties,workwithitsneighbourhood

Ravi ShankarPrasad

Subimal Bhattacharjee

CR Sasikumar

RAJA-MANDALAby CRajaMohan

New Delhi

EXPRESSNETWORK10 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY,MAY17,2022

Phone No.- 0761-2672230 FAX No.- 0761-2673732, E-mail: cerablsp@yahoo.co.in

Memo No. 11/G/G-2/CE/2022-23 Date 06-05-2022

NOTICE INVITING TENDER (1st Call)NIT No. 12/G/CE/2022-23 Date : 06-05-2022

Online tenders on basis of Turn key contract for following works are invitied onportal http://www.mptenders.gov.in brief information to tender is given below:-

Tender document can be purchased online only from above website afterpaying required amount through credit card or intrerest banking. For detailedinformation of tender visit the above website.

Sd/-(D.S. Thakur)

Chief EngineerRani Avanti Bal Lodhi Sagar Project

Bargi Hills, Jabalpur

Notice Inviting TenderGovernment of Madhya Pradesh

Narmada Valley Development DepartmentOFFICE OF THE CHIEF ENGINEER

RANI AVANTI BAI LODHI SAGAR PROJECT BARGI HILLS, JABALPUR(M. P.)

IYûSXû³ff ÀfZ ¶f¨f³fZ IYe °fe³f ¶ff°fZÔZ¶fWbX°f ªføYSXe,

MXeIYf »f¦f½ff³ff, ¸ffÀIY ´fWX³f³ffAüSX A´f³ff³ff Qû ¦fªf QcSXeÜ

Description of work : Construction of Shakkar microirrigation project on turn keybasis including construction ofdam on Shakkar river and95839ha. pressurized pipemicro irrigation system upto2.5 ha. chak with duty 0.35Ips/ha in Narsinghpur andChhindwara district includingSCADA work as per detailscope of work.

Probable Amount of tender (In Rs. Crore) : Rs. 3824.40 CroreEarnest Money ( Rs. In Lakh) : Rs. 50.00 LakhsCost of Tender Document : Rs. 50000.00 (Non refundable)On Line Tender Document Sale Date : Dated 06-05-2022, 17:30 to

10-06-2022, 17:30On line Bid Submission Start/Closing date : Dated 06-05-2022, 17:30 to

10-06-2022, 17:30EMD & Technical Bid opening Date : Dated 13-06-2022, 10:30 Onward

G-12831/22

Online Bids (E-Auction) are invited on behalf of Defence Estates Officer, Agra Circle from the eligibleIndividuals/Agencies/Organization/Firms etc. for Awarding the Contract for the disposal of scrapmaterial (old disused material) at DEO Agra Circle. Terms of contract is ten days from date of issue ofwork order. Manual bids/offers will not be accepted. The interested contractors/firms may look up thewebsite (https://eauction.gov.in/eauction) No conditional tenders will be accepted. The Defence Estatesofficer reserves the right to cancel or withdraw the tender without any notice and the Defence Estatesofficer decision in the regard will be final. Terms/Conditions, eligibility criteria and connected details canbe seen in the website - (https://eauction.gov.in/eauction). Clarification needed, if any may be enquired/clarified in pre-bid meeting or from the office on any working day from technical section o/o DEO Agratelephonically 0562-2225457.

DEFENCE ESTATES OFFICER,AGRA CIRCLE,AGRA CANTT.

-sd-Defence Estates OfficerAgra Circle, Agra Cantt.

NOTICE INVITING E-AUCTION

Sl. No. Activityi) Date of Publication 17.05.2022 At 10:00 HRSii) Start Date and Time for downloading of auction documents

from http://eauction.gov.in/eAuction/app.

iv) Submission End date and timev) Technical Evaluation Start Date and timevi)vii)

The bidder may download the “Auction Document” and other terms and conditions as available onthe website ofhttps://eauction.gov.in/eauction.

Technical Evaluation End Date and timeAuction Start Date

Date Time in IST

E-auction for the disposal of scrap material (old disused material) at DEOAgra Circle

17.05.2022 At 10:00 HRS

Auction End Date

Submission Start date and timeiii)

viii)

17.05.2022 At 16:00 HRS06.06.2022 At 13:00 HRS06.06.2022 At 14:00 HRS07.06.2022 At 17:00 HRS08.06.2022 At 10:00 HRS08.06.2022 At 17:00 HRS

Government of Madhya PradeshOffice of the Engineer-in-Chief Water Resources Department,

Jal Sansadhan Bhawan, Tulsi Nagar, Bhopal (M.P.)Email Id: ceproc.encwrd.bpl@nic.in Tel: 0755-2767635 Fax: 0755-2552406

N.I.T. No. 905/2022-23/E-in-C/e-tendering Bhopal, Dated 11.05.2022Bids for following works are invited on website https://www.mptenders.gov.in Last Date ofpurchase/ download of Bid Document and submission of bid is 31.05.2022, 17:30 hrs. Anyamendment/modification can be seen only on the website. Detailed N.I.T. and other details canbe viewed on above mentioned website.

S.No.

Tender No. Work District Amount(Lakhs)

1. 2022_WRD_202668

On Turnkey Basis:- Construction of Banyani stopdam, as per detailed scope of work but not limitedto that.

Shivpuri 346.26

2. 2022_WRD_202669

On Turnkey Basis:- Construction of Khadoy stopdam, as per detailed scope of work but not limitedto that.

Shivpuri 336.36

3. 2022_WRD_202671

On Turnkey Basis:- Construction of Nichroli StopDam, as per detailed scope of work but not limitedto that.

Shivpuri 273.12

4. 2022_WRD_202674

On Turnkey Basis:- Construction of Fulipurra StopDam, as per detailed scope of work but not limitedto that.

Shivpuri 243.88

IYûSXû³ff ÀfZ ¶f¨f³fZ IYe °fe³f ¶ff°fZÔZ ¶fWbX°f ªføYSXe,MXeIYf »f¦f½ff³ff, ¸ffÀIY ´fWX³f³ff AüSX A´f³ff³ff Qû ¦fªf QcSXeÜ G-12832/22

Sd/-Chief Engineer (Procurement)

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICECHANDIGARH,MAY16

FIVEMENwere feared drowned in the YamunariveratYamunanagarastheyreportedly jumpedinto the water to save their lives after being at-tackedby a rival grouponSunday evening.The Haryana Police was conducting search

operationswith thehelp of divers.The police identified the missing youths as

Sunny, Suleman, Allaudin, Sahil and Nikhil, allaged between 19-21 and natives of Jagadhari.Their fiveotherfriendsescapedwhentheallegedattack happened. The car, in which they hadcome to the river bank for swimming, was alsobadly damaged by the assailants, also hailingfrom Jagadhari, the police added.Thetwogroupsof youngmenhadamurder-

ous clash two years ago. “Allaudin and otherswereattackedby the rival groupwithweapons,bricks and stones. To save their lives, theywentdeeper into the river and are suspected to bedrowned. Despite all the efforts beingmade bypolice, theyhavenotbeenable to findanyof thebodies yet," said Ibrahim,Allaudin's uncle.Deputy Superintendent of Police Subhash,

who is supervising the rescue operation, said:“We got information that a few young mendrownedintheYamunariver.Whenwereachedthespot,welearnt that itwasacaseof anolden-mity and theywere attacked by the rival group.We are investigating thematter. The search op-eration is still going on.”

In bid to flee attack byrival group, 5 men feareddrowned in Yamuna

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,MAY16

MONEYHAS a pervasive influ-enceonpeople,aDelhicourthassaid, using lyrics of a BobDylansonginitsdetailedorderdenyingbailtoNSE’sformermanagingdi-rectorChitraRamkrishnaandfor-mer group operating officerAnand Subramanian in a 2018caseofboursemanipulation.“BobDylanoncesaid ‘money

doesn’t talk, it swears’,which isasongof1964album‘It’sAlrightMaI'mOnlyBleeding’”Special JudgeSanjeevAggarwalwroteinthe42-pageorder.“...meansthatmoneynot onlyhas influence, but it hasgreat influence, even aperverseinfluenceonpeople.”The judge said Ramakrishna

primafacieappearedtohavebeenrunning the affairs of the NSE“akintothatofaprivateclub”.Spelling out the reasons for

denying bail, the court said thatsincetheduohadheldapolepo-sitionattheNSE,theirchancesoftamperingwithevidenceandin-fluencingwitnesses cannot beruledout.While commenting on the

country’sleadingstockexchange,thejudgesaidthefinancialworld,including Foreign InstitutionalInvestors(FIIs), “arewaitingwithbated breath for the NSE to re-deemitself,sothattheycanflytothis country for investment in

droves,whichisatpresent,abril-liantdestinationforinvestment.”“WithregardtoaffairsofNSE

at therelevant time, itwouldnotbeoutof place toobservehereinthat there comes a time in a life-time of an institution, where itfinds itself at crossroads, then itshouldtakeapathwhichisarightpath to restore its glory, ratherthanburyingtheskeletons,whichmay later turn into Frankensteinmonsters,”courtsaid.The 2018 case pertains to

charges of preferential access tothe trading system to somebro-kersthroughtheco-locationfacil-ity,wherebrokers canbuy “rackspace” for their servers at NSE,earlyloginand“darkfibre”,whichcan allow a trader split-secondfasteraccesstothedatafeedoftheexchange. Even a split-secondedge is considered capable ofbringinghugegainstoatrader.According to the Securities

andExchangeBoardofIndia,sev-eral key decisions taken byRamkrishnaduringhertenureasNSE'sMDandCEO from2013 to2016, including Subramanian’sappointment,wereguidedbyanunidentified yogi “whomay belargelydwellingintheHimalayanRanges”.Ramkrishnaisallegedtohavesharedconfidentialinforma-tion about the boursewith the“HimalayanYogi”.TheCBIhastoldthecourt the

“HimalayanYogi”was nonebutSubramanianhimself.

LIZMATHEWNEWDELHI,MAY16

AMIDFOREIGNdignitaries flag-ging someunpleasant happen-ings in India, BJP President J PNadda onMonday said that thegovernmentshelmedbythepartyattheCentreandinstateswillfol-lowthe“sabkasaath,sabkavikas”theme,whiletheelectionswillbefought ondevelopmental activi-ties andwelfare programmesoftheNarendraModigovernment.Nadda,whowas interacting

with heads of missions of 14countriesattheBJPheadquartersonMondayaspartof thesecondlegofthe'KnowBJP'initiative,toldthedignitaries that theUniformCivil Codewasnoton theparty'selection agenda even as “somestatesareexploring”theprospectsofalegislationonit.“The event (Know BJP) is

aimedattomaketheexternalau-dienceawareofBJP'shistory,pro-grammes, struggle and successstories... Thedignitarieshaveap-preciated the initiative. Therewere suggestions for party-to-

partyinteractionstowhichNaddaji agreed,” Vijay Chauthaiwale,convenor of BJP's Overseas Cell,toldTheIndianExpress.“TherewerequestionsonBJP's

ideology, its functioning, legisla-tive agenda, its relationwith theRSSandtheparty'sprogrammes.Nadda insisted that his partyworks on 'sabka saath, sabkavikas'slogan,which,hesaid,isthemodern day elaboration of theparty'sfundamentalideaofanty-odaya,”saidasource.Someofthedignitaries hadquestions on the

reported incidents of communalclashes, towhichNaddamain-tained that the “partywants de-velopmentandwelfareofall.”Envoys of US, Australia,

Canada,Israel,Denmark,Bhutan,Fiji, Indonesia, New Zealand,Philippines, Sri Lanka, Kenya,Suriname and DominicanRepublic attended the eventhostedbytheBJP'sOverseasCell.In his address, Nadda said

the day marked the 8th an-niversary of the BJP first com-ing to power in 2014.

BJPpresident JPNaddaat thepartyheadquarters inNewDelhionMonday.PTI

Bengaluru: Amid the Gyanvapimosque row in Varanasi,mem-bers of a forumnamedafter PMNarendraModihaveapproachedtheMandyadistrict administra-tion in Karnataka, seeking per-mission for Hindus to offerprayersatamosque,whichtheyclaimedstandsover the ruinsofaHanumantemple.Builtaround1782duringthe

ruleofTipuSultan, JamiaMasjidinSrirangapatnaisaheritagesitebeing maintained byArchaeologicalSurveyof India.Italso runs aMadrassa. NarendraModi VicharManch state secre-taryCTManjunath,whowaspartof the delegation, met theMandyaDeputy Commissionerandsubmittedamemorandum,seeking permission to allowHindustoofferprayers there.“Documentary evidence of

Tipu Sultanwriting to a ruler inPersia, admittingthat therewasa Hanuman temple before themosque was built; along withHinduinscriptionsonthepillarsandwallssupportourstand.Werequesttheadministrationtoal-low Hindus to offer prayers atthemosque.” ENS

KNOWBJP EVENT

Nadda to envoys: UCC not onpoll agenda, development is

2018NSEMANIPULATIONCASE

In order against bail, aDylan refrain: moneydoesn’t talk… it swears

Now, demand forletting Hindus topray at mosquein Karnataka

DIVYAANEWDELHI,MAY16

JUSTSIXdaysago,asthecontro-versy over the 22 locked roomsinthebasementof theTajMahalwas raging — inside the court-room and outside — theArchaeological Survey of India(ASI) released some photo-graphsof thesecells.On May 12, the Lucknow

bench of the Allahabad HighCourt had rejected a petitionseeking a fact-finding inquiryinto the “history” of the TajMahal and also opening of thedoors of its “22 rooms” to see“the truth,whatever it is”.Thewritpetitionwasfiledin

theLucknowbenchbyRajneeshSingh, media in-charge of theBJP’s Ayodhya unit, contendingthat the Taj Mahal was a ShivaTempleknownasTejoMahalaya,asking for the government to

constitute a fact-finding com-mittee to publish the “real his-tory”of themonument.After the court order, ASI of-

ficialshadmaintainedthatthereisnosecret inthoserooms, theyarejustpartof thestructure,andarenot unique to the TajMahal.“Theworkofmaintenanceofun-dergroundcellsontheriversidewas takenup.Decayed anddis-integrated lime plaster was re-movedandreplacedbylayingoflimeplasterandtraditionallimeprocessing before application,”said accompanying text, whilefour photographs of the base-ment cells, “before and after”conversation, were publishedalongside in the organisation’snewsletter.EvenasASIofficialsinsistthe

“Januarynewsletterhasbeen inthepublicdomaineversince”, itwasreleasedbytheagencyonitswebsite onMay 5 and tweetedon itsofficialhandleonMay9.

Ahead of court order onTaj, ASI released photosof underground cells

PhotographsofTajMahal’sundergroundcellsasshared intheASInewsletter. CourtesyASI

New Delhi

ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION among bothmenandwomenishigherinruralIndiathanin urban India, theNational FamilyHealthSurvey-5 (NFHS-5), 2019-21 has found.Overall,1%ofwomenaged15andoverdrinkalcohol, compared to 19% of men in thesameagegroup.Thisbreaksupinto1.6%(ru-ral) and 0.6% (urban) amongwomen, and19.9%and16.5%respectivelyamongmen.Ofall states,ArunachalPradeshhasthe

highest proportionof bothmen (53%) andwomen (24%)who drink alcohol. Amongwomen,Arunachal Pradesh is followedbySikkim(16%);amongmen,it isfollowedbyTelangana (43%). Besides Arunachal andTelangana, alcohol consumption amongmen is higher (40% and above) in upperBrahmaputra region of Assam, districts inJharkhand and Bastar region ofChhattisgarh, and the Chhota Nagpur re-gionof JharkhandandOdisha.The level of alcohol consumption

among men is 30-40% in parts ofChhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Manipur,Meghalaya, Tripura, and a few districts ofOdisha. It is below 30% in the remainingparts of India, and the lowest inLakshadweep(0.4%).Alcohol consumption ismorecommon

among those from the Scheduled Tribesthanfromanyothercaste/tribegroups;thisis true of bothwomen (6% consumptionamongSTs)andmen(33%).Amongreligiousgroups, the proportion of menwho drinkalcoholishigheramongthosebelongingto“other religions” (47%) than among thosebelongingtotheHindu(20%),Muslim(5%),Christian(28%),Sikh(23.5%),Buddhist/Neo-Buddhist (24.5%)andJain(5.9%)religions.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE

TELLINGNUMBERS

Urban0.6%

Rural1.6%

Arunachal

Telangana

Sikkim

A&NIslands

Manipur

Goa

Chhattisgarh

52.6%

43.4%

39.9%

38.8%

37.2%

36.8%

34.7%

ALL-INDIA1.3%

WOMEN

Urban16.5%

Rural19.9%

ALL-INDIA18.7%

MEN

%of population aged 15and over who currentlydrink alcohol, as reported

Lowestconsumption:Lakshadweep0.4%,Gujarat5.8%,J&K8.7%,Rajasthan11.0%,Maharashtra13.9%,UP14.5%

Arunachal

Sikkim

Assam

Telangana

Jharkhand

A&NIslands

Chhattisgarh

24.2%

16.2%

7.3%

6.7%

6.1%

5.0%

4.9%

Lowestconsumption:Kerala0.2%,J&K0.2%.In9states/UTs,alcoholconsumptionamongwomenis0.3%.

Source:NFHS-5

ArmyhasfloatedanRFI forsuchvehicles.Whatprotectiondotheyprovide,andwherewill theybedeployed?

PROTECTEDMOBILITYVEHICLES

THEARMY last floated a request for infor-mation(RFI)topurchaseProtectedMobilityVehicles (PMV) for high-altitude areasabove4,000m,and fordeserts andplains.After getting responses, it is expected tofloat a request for proposal (RFP) inNovember, followedbytrials.PURPOSE: The PMV is awheeled ar-

moured personnel carrier. It providestroops protection frommine blasts andsuddenattackswithsmall arms.WHATARMYWANTS:TheRFI speci-

fies that the RMVs should be able to carrytenpersonnel inadditiontothedriverandco-driverwitheachpersoncarryingacom-bat load of not less than 30 kg. The PMVsshould have ballistic protection and pro-vide protection from grenade andmineblasts.Theyshouldhaveamaximumspeedof 90 kph on road and 40 kph on cross-country terrain, and be able to operate intemperaturerangeof40°Cto–15°Cinhigh-altitudeareas, andbeable to ford inwaterat a depth of 1,000mm, it said. The Armywants theRMVs tohave aweaponmountto enable a 7.62mm Light Machine Gun(LMG)tobefitted,and11firingports—fiveoneither sideandoneat the rear.

WHERE IT’SMADE: India has the ca-pabilityofproducingPMVs.Lastmonth,theTata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL)handed over the first Infantry ProtectedMobility Vehicle (IPMV) to then Chief ofArmy Staff, GenMMNaravane. TASL, thefirst Indianprivatesectorcompanytopro-ducesuchcarriers,hasdevelopedtheIPMVincollaborationwith theDRDO.TheseareproducedattheTASL’sPuneestablishment.

MANAMANSINGHCHHINA

THISWORDMEANS

AnInfantryProtectedMobilityVehicle jointlydevelopedbyTASLandDRDO. IndianArmy

ANANTHAKRISHNANG.NEWDELHI,MAY16

THESUPREMECourtwillonTuesdayhearachallenge to the order of a civil court inVaranasidirectingavideographic surveyoftheMaa Shringar Gauri Sthal in the KashiVishwanath temple-Gyanvapi mosquecomplex.The principal contention of the

Committee of Management of AnjumanIntezamiaMasjid, theorganisation thathasfiled the appeal, is that the order of theVaranasi court — which was upheld byAllahabadHighCourtonApril21—is“clearlyinterdicted” by The Places of Worship(SpecialProvisions)Act, 1991.

What is thePlacesofWorshipAct,andwhatare itsprovisions?The long title describes it as “An Act to

prohibit conversionof anyplaceofworshipandtoprovideforthemaintenanceofthere-ligiouscharacterofanyplaceofworshipasitexistedonthe15thdayofAugust,1947,andformattersconnectedtherewithorinciden-tal thereto.”Section3of theAct bars the conversion,

infullorpart,ofaplaceofworshipofanyre-ligiousdenominationintoaplaceofworshipof a different religious denomination— oreven a different segment of the same reli-giousdenomination.Section 4(1) declares that the religious

character of a place of worship “shall con-tinuetobethesameasitexisted”onAugust15, 1947. Section 4(2) says any suit or legalproceedingwith respect to the conversionofthereligiouscharacterofanyplaceofwor-shipexistingonAugust15,1947,pendingbe-foreanycourt,shallabate—andnofreshsuitor legalproceedings shall be instituted.Theprovisotothissubsectionsavessuits,

appealsandlegalproceedingsthatarepend-ingonthedateofcommencementoftheAct,if they pertain to the conversion of the reli-gious character of a place of worship afterthecut-off date.Section5stipulatesthattheActshallnot

applytotheRamjanmabhoomi-BabriMasjidcase, and to any suit, appeal or proceedingrelating to it.AtleasttwopetitionschallengingtheAct

— filed by Lucknow-based Vishwa Bhadra

PujariPurohitMahasanghandsomefollow-ers of SanatanVedic Religion, and advocateAshwiniUpadhyay—arependingbeforetheSupremeCourt.Thelawhasbeenchallengedon the ground that it bars judicial review,which is a basic feature of the Constitution,imposes an “arbitrary irrational retrospec-tivecutoffdate”,andabridgestherighttore-ligionofHindus, Jains,BuddhistsandSikhs.The court issued notice on Upadhyay’s

petition inMarch2021,but theCentre isyetto file its reply.

Underwhatcircumstanceswasthe1991lawenacted,andhowdidthegovernment justify it?TheActwasbroughtbytheCongressgov-

ernment of PrimeMinister P VNarasimhaRao at a timewhen the Ram templemove-mentwas at its peak. The BabriMasjidwasstill standing, but LKAdvani’s rath yatra, hisarrest inBihar,andthefiringonkarsevaks inUttarPradeshhadraisedcommunaltensions.MovingtheBillinParliament,thenHome

Minister S B Chavan said: “It is considerednecessary to adopt thesemeasures in viewofthecontroversiesarisingfromtimetotimewith regard to conversion of places of wor-shipwhichtendtovitiatethecommunalat-mosphere... Adoption of this Bill will effec-

tively prevent any new controversies fromarising in respectof conversionof anyplaceofworship...”

WhathastheBJPsaidaboutthePlacesofWorshipActandtheKashiVishwanathtemple-Gyanvapimosquedispute?ThemainoppositionBJPopposedtheBill.

ThenMPUma Bharti said “maintenance ofstatus quo as in 1947 in respect of religiousplaces is like closing eyes similar to that ofpigeons against advancement of cats.This...willmeanpreservationof tensionsforthecominggenerations”.ShereferredtotheKashiVishwanathtemple-Gyanvapimosquedispute:“WasnottheintentionofAurangzebbehind leaving remnants of the temple (hedestroyed)at thesiteofmosque, tokeepre-minding Hindus of their historical fate andtoremindcominggenerationsofMuslimsoftheirpastgloryandpower?”During the movement for the Ram

TempleinAyodhya,theVHP-BJPoftenspokeof “liberating” the temples at Varanasi andMathuraaswell.Apopularsloganofthetimewas, “Ayodhya toh bas jhaanki hai, KashiMathurabaakihai(Ayodhyaisjustapreview,Kashi andMathuraareyet tocome).”After the Supreme Court’s unanimous

2019 verdict giving the disputed land in

AyodhyatoHindus,however,theRSSsoughtto distance itself fromdemands for similarmovements in Varanasi and Mathura.Ayodhyawasan“exception”, it said.Respondingtospecificquestionsontheis-

sue,RSSchiefMohanBhagwattoldreporters:“TheSanghisnotassociatedwithanymove-ment, it is associatedwith humandevelop-ment. Because of a historical backdrop, theSangh got associated with this(Ramjanmabhoomi)movementasanorgan-isation.Itisanexception.Nowwewillagainbeassociatedwithhumandevelopmentandthismovementwillnotremainofconcerntous.”

WhatdidtheSupremeCourtsayaboutthePlacesofWorshipAct in itsAyodhyajudgment?Theconstitutionalvalidityofthe1991Act

wasnotunderchallenge,norhaditbeenex-amined before the Supreme Court Benchthat heard the Ramjanmaboomi-BabriMasjidtitlesuit.Evenso,thecourt,whiledis-agreeingwithcertainconclusionsdrawnbythe Allahabad High Court about the Act,madespecificobservations in its support.“Inproviding a guarantee for thepreser-

vation of the religious character of places ofpublicworshipas theyexistedon15August1947andagainst theconversionof placesofpublicworship,Parliamentdeterminedthatindependencefromcolonialrulefurnishesaconstitutionalbasisforhealingtheinjusticesof the past by providing the confidence toevery religious community that theirplacesof worshipwill be preserved and that theircharacterwillnotbealtered,” thecourtsaid."The law addresses itself to the State as

muchas to every citizen of thenation... TheState, has by enacting the law, enforced aconstitutional commitment and opera-tionaliseditsconstitutionalobligationstoup-holdtheequalityofallreligionsandsecular-ismwhich is a part of the basic features oftheConstitution. The Places ofWorshipActimposesanon-derogableobligationtowardsenforcing our commitment to secularismunder the Indian Constitution. The law ishence a legislative instrument designed toprotect the secular features of the Indianpolity, which is one of the basic features oftheConstitution...ThePlacesofWorshipActis...alegislativeinterventionwhichpreservesnon-retrogression as an essential feature ofour secularvalues.”

11WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

NIRUPAMASUBRAMANIANNEWDELHI,MAY16

BILAWAL BHUTTO ZARDARI, ForeignMinisterofPakistaninthenew“unitygov-ernment” of Prime Minister ShehbazSharif, is scheduledMonday to leave on avisit totheUnitedStates. It isexpectedthatthe visit will repair ties between the twocountries, which have been in limbo forover ayear, andwhich reacheda lowwithformerPrimeMinister ImranKhan’saccu-sationsthat theBidenAdministrationwasbehindhisouster.

Pakistan and USGiven themilitary-security establish-

ment’s stakes in Pakistan’s foreign rela-tions, the spadework for the33-year-old’sfirst solo official visit abroad as ForeignMinisterwasdoneby ISIDirector-GeneralLt General Nadeem Anjum, who was inWashington last week and heldmeetingswith US National Security Adviser JakeSullivanandCIAheadWilliam JBurns.The two visits are the first high-level

contact between the two sides since last

September,whenPakistan’sthenNationalSecurityAdviserMoeedYusufandISIchiefFaizHameedgotacoldreceptionwhilevis-itingWashington following Imran Khan'srhetoric, especially his description of UStroops’ departure from Afghanistan asAfghans“breakingtheshacklesof slavery”.Anurgent reset in the ties is important

fromPakistan’spointofview.Themilitary-securityestablishmenthasdeephistoricaltieswith its counterparts in theUS. Itdoesnot want to lose this. Also, repairing tieswith theUScouldhelpPakistan regain in-fluence over the Taliban inAfghanistan asits interlocutorwith theWest.The new civilian regime needs assis-

tancefromWestern-ledlendersas it looksto repair a crumbling economy. Pakistanhas now seen thatmoney is no longer ontap from the Gulf countries. The Chinesetoo have been reluctant to lend anymoretoPakistanforfearthat itwillnotbeabletorepay, reportedlyrefusinga$6-bn loanforaCPECpowerproject recently.For the US, the new government in

Islamabad provides an opportunity to getback into a region that it exited in August2021afterhandingoverAfghanistantothe

Taliban. Concern has grown that IS-K isnowestablishedinthemixof terrorgroupsoperating in Afghanistan, and the term“Afpak” is back in vogue in the US.Pakistan’sholdover theTalibanwasnevercomplete,andislesssonow.ButtheUSbe-lieves that Pakistan could still provide es-sentialhelptostabilise thecountry,whichin turnwouldhelp theUS secure its inter-ests at a timewhenWashington’s focus isonUkraine.Afterfouryearswithoutone,the

US named an Ambassador inIslamabad in February this year.Pakistan’s controversial appointee,Sardar Masood Khan, tookcharge only a couple ofmonths agowhen the BidenAdministration greenlightedtheappointmentaftera four-monthwait.

Coming of ageBhutto is travelling to NewYork at the

invitation of Secretary of State AnthonyBlinkenforaforeignministers’meetingonworldfoodsecuritybeinghostedbytheUSandUNinthecontextof thewarinUkraine,but the two are expected to hold bilateral

discussionson the sidelines.While the Pakistan establishment ex-

pects the young Oxford-educated foreignminister to make an impression inWashington, the visit is also an opportu-nity for Bhutto, who has to lead thePakistanPeople’sParty(PPP)intoageneralelectionwithinmonths, todemonstratetoboth the jiyalas (as loyal PPPworkers arecalled) and the sceptics that he canwear

the mantle of Benazir Bhutto andZulfikarAli Bhutto.Ever since Zulfikar Ali Bhutto

turnedhisstintsas foreignminister(to President Ayub Khan, and later,

from1971to1977)intograndinternationaltheatretunedtodomesticpoliticalconstituen-cies, the ForeignMinistry is

whereambitiouspoliticianshavehopedtogrow as they cut their teeth on Pakistan’strickycivil-militaryequations.Bhutto’s charge as Foreign Minister

comes at a time when Pakistan’s diplo-macy,notjustwiththeUS,butwiththeen-tireWesternworld, is indisarray.ImranKhan’s ill-timedvisit toMoscow

on the day Russian President Vladimir

Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine, hishectoring of Islamabad-based Europeandiplomats, his ire atUAEandSaudiArabiafornotbackinghis condemnationof IndiaoverKashmir,andhisproposal foranalter-native Islamic alliance with Turkey andMalaysia,haveallrupturedoldfriendships—andleft theworldopenforBhuttotoputhis stampon, even if under the tutelageofthemilitary-civilianestablishment.Keeping the Kashmir issue alive is an

acidtestforeveryPakistanipolitician,espe-cially foreignministers.Bhuttohasmadeakickstart by presenting a “policy state-ment” in Parliament against thedelimita-tionawardinJ&Kasonethatwouldenabledemographic change, and presenting ajoint resolution against India’s “efforts tounderminetheinternationallyrecogniseddisputed status” of J&K. He has also writ-ten to theUNSecurityCouncil.Interestingly, the statements came af-

ter Pakistan decided to fill a long vacantpost in the Pakistan High Commission inDelhi for adiplomatdealingwith trade is-sues.Thistriggeredcriticismonsocialme-dia, compelling Pakistan to clarify thattherewasnochange in tradepolicy

The China equationEven as it gets on with resetting ties

withtheUS,PakistaniskeennottogiveanywrongsignalstoChina.Bhuttohaspledgednot to allow anyone to harm Pakistan’s“iron-clad friendship” with China, andpromisedthatthosebehindthesuicideat-tack at Karachi University, which killedthreeChinesenationalsandtheirPakistaniassistant,wouldbebrought tobook.According toa report inDawn, quoting

a statement from the Prime Minister’sOffice, PM Sharif held a “comprehensive”telephone call with Chinese Premier LiKeqiang onMonday during which he af-firmed thegovernment’s “firmresolve” tofast-track China-Pakistan EconomicCorridor (CPEC) projects. “He also reiter-atedthatPakistanattachedthehighestim-portancetothesafety,securityandprotec-tion of all Chinese nationals working inPakistanoneconomicprojectsandinstitu-tions...,”Dawn said.Somereportssuggestthatimmediately

afterreturningfromhisUStrip,Bhuttowilltravel to Beijing on the invitation ofWangYi, with whom he has already held a vir-tualmeeting.

The Places of Worship ActSIMPLYPUTQUESTION&ANSWER

Today,theSupremeCourtwillhearanappealagainstthevideosurveyofVaranasi’sGyanvapimosque.AMuslimbodysaysthesurveyviolatesa1991law.Whatisthis law,andwhathastheSCsaidaboutitearlier?

ANJUAGNIHOTRICHABAJALANDHARMAY16

THECENTREonSundayrelaxedtheFairandAverage Quality (FAQ) norms for wheat intheongoingrabimarketingseasoninPunjab,Haryana,andChandigarhbyafactorofthree,raising the permissible limit of “shrivelledandbrokengrains” to18% fromtheexisting6%.UnseasonalheatinMarch,whentherabicropgoes through itsgrain-fillingstage,hasled to shrivelling,making thegrainunfit forprocurementaspertheusualqualitynorms.

Procurement normsEveryyear,beforeprocurementbeginsin

thisregioninApril, theStorageandResearchdivisionof theDepartmentof Food&PublicDistribution in the Union Ministry ofConsumerAffairs,Food&PublicDistribution,notifies specifications to ensure the qualityof theprocuredwheat.Thisyear,wheatcon-

tainingupto0.75%foreignmatter,2% dam-aged grain, 4% slightly damaged grain, 6%shrivelled and broken grain, and 12%mois-turewascleared forprocurement.The specifications are implemented at

thetimeofprocurementbypersonnel fromthe quality control wing of the FoodCorporationof India (FCI).

Grain that looks goodFAQwheat is fully developed, and has a

properlustre.Themainvarietiesaregoldenorpaleyellow, thegrain isnotdark, and itdoesnot have any streaks. It is properly dry, andmeetsallnutritionalconditions,thevaluesofwhicharetested inthe lab incaseofdoubt.“Ifalaymantakesahandfulofwheatand

findsthegrainisshinyandbeautiful, itwouldusuallymeanthatthewheatmeetsFAQ,”anFCI quality control inspector said. The QCwingconductsphysicalandchemicalanaly-sesduringtheprocurementprocess,andonthestoredcrop, the inspector said.

Previous relaxationsThe government has in the past relaxed

normsformoisturecontentandlossof lustrefollowingheavyrainduringtheharvestingsea-son,when ripe cropswere flattened, and thegrain turned blackish. This is the first time,however,thatsuchamajorrelaxationhasbeen

allowed for shrivelledgrain, FCI officials said.Theycouldnotrecallapreviousrelaxationforshrivelledgrainofmorethanperhaps1-2%.

Is thewheat bad?The relaxationof procurementparame-

ters to “reduce the hardship of farmers andavoiddistress saleofwheat”doesnotmeanthequalityof thegrainisbad.“Thegrainsaresmaller insize,butthereisnolossofquality.ThequalitycontrolwingsofbothFCIandthegovernmenthavecarriedoutseveraltestsonthe shrivelled grain, and found onlyweightloss,notalossofquality,”aseniorFCIofficersaid, adding that this wheat will now becalled “Under Relaxed Specifications (URS)wheat” insteadof FAQ.Several senior scientists at Punjab

Agricultural University, Ludhiana, also saidthe shrivelling has caused only loss of yieldandlowermillingrecovery,notdeteriorationof quality or nutritional value, and the pro-teincontentof thegrain remains intact.

Fair & average quality wheat: norms, relaxation

WhatBilawal’s US visitmeans for Pakistan’s relationswith theWest

@ieExplained#ExpressExplainedIf there are questions of current or contemporary relevance that youwould likeexplained, pleasewrite to explained@indianexpress.comE EXPLAINED

THEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY,MAY17,2022

TheGyanvapimosque inVaranasi. In theforegroundis the shikharof theKashiVishwanathtemple.RenukaPuri/ExpressArchive

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EVERYDAY AGRICULTURE

IN FACT

Alcohol consumption in India:trends across states, age groups

FAQspecifies texture, colourandcontentofwheatgrain. ExpressArchive

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12THEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY,MAY17,2022

THEWORLDWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

FRANCE

MACRONPICKSELISABETHBORNEASPMFrench President Emmanuel Macron picked Labour Minister Elisabeth Borne as hisnew prime minister on Monday as he prepares for legislative elections in June -onlythe second time in 30 years that a woman has got the job. Earlier in the day, PrimeMinister Jean Castex handed in his resignation, paving the way for a cabinet over-haul after Macron's re-election in April.

USA

Bidenacts todeploy troopstoSomaliaWashington:President JoeBiden signed an order onMonday to redeployhun-dreds of US troops toSomalia to counter theIslamic extremist rebelgroupal-Shabab.UStroopswill be repositioned fromelsewhereinAfricatotrainandprovideothersupportto Somali forces in theirfight against al-Shabab,which is considered thelargest andwealthiest af-filiate of the al-Qaida ex-tremist organisation. Thedecision to station forcesagain in Somalia, ratherthan rotate them in andout, is intended “tomax-imisethesafetyandeffec-tiveness of our forces andenable them to providemore efficient support toour partners,” NationalSecurity Councilspokesperson AdrienneWatson said in announc-ingtheredeployment.AP

USPresidentJoeBiden.

TOPOFTHEWORLD

LEBANON

Earlyresults:HezbollahseeselectionlossesBeirut:Lebanon’smilitantHezbollah group and itsallies appear to have suf-feredlosses inthisweek-end’sparliamentaryelec-tions with preliminaryresultsMonday showingtheirstrongestopponentspicking up more seatsand some of their tradi-tionalpartnersroutedoutof thelegislature.Despitethe apparent setback,Hezbollah and its mainShia ally, the Amal groupof Parliament SpeakerNabih Berri, are likely toretain the 27 seats allo-catedtothesect.Itwasnotclear, however, whethertheIran-backedgroupanditsallieswouldhangontothe majority they haveheldsince2018. AP

UK

4meninfectedwithmonkeypoxinLondonLondon:Britishhealthau-thorities say they haveidentified four “rare andunusual” cases of thedis-easemonkeypox amongmenwhoappear to havebeen infected in Londonandhadnohistoryoftravelto the African countrieswhere the smallpox-likedisease is endemic. In astatement Monday, theUK's Health SecurityAgency said an investiga-tion had begun into howthemenbecame infectedandwhethertheyhadanylinks to each other. Threeof themenare in Londonand one is in northeastEngland.Lastweek,Britainreported three earliercasesofmonkeypox. AP

NEPAL

Inafirst,BritisherscalesEverestfor16thtimeKathmandu:KentonCool,a 48-year-old British na-tional, has scaled theworld's highest peakMountEverestforthe16thtime, becoming the firstnon-Nepalese to do so, amedia report said onMonday. Cool, who hailsfrom Gloucestershire, acounty in South WestEngland, reached the topofMount Everest for the16thtimeearlyonSundaymorning,TheGuardianre-ported, citing the insta-grampageofCool. PTI

NICKPERRYWELLINGTON,MAY16

NEW ZEALAND’S governmentsaid onMonday itwill help payfor lower-income families toscrap their old gas guzzlers andreplace themwith cleaner hy-brid or electric cars as part of asweepingplan to reducegreen-housegasemissions.Thegovernmentsaid itplans

to spend 569 million NewZealanddollars($357million)onthe trial programmeas part of alargerplanthatincludessubsidiesfor businesses to reduce emis-sions,aswitchtoanentirelygreenbus fleet by 2035 and curbside

food-waste collection formosthomesbytheendof thedecade.“Thisisalandmarkdayinour

transition toa lowemissions fu-ture,” Prime Minister JacindaArdern said in a statement.“We’veallseentherecentreportson sea level rise and its impactright here in New Zealand.Wecannotleavetheissueofclimatechangeuntil it’s too late to fix.”Theplanrepresentsastepto-

ward the pledges the nationmade under the 2016 ParisAgreement on climate changeandNewZealand’sstatedgoalofachievingnet-zerocarbonemis-sionsby2050.Ardern,whowas scheduled

to launch theplan but cancelled

aftertestingpositiveforCovid-19latelastweek,saideverycommu-nityandsectorhadarole toplayandthatreducingrelianceonfos-silfuelswouldhelpshieldhouse-holdsfromvolatilepricehikes.The plan also sets a target of

reducing total car travel by 20%over the next 13 years by offer-ingbettertransportationoptionsincitiesaswell as improvedop-tions for cyclists andwalkers.Theprogrammeswillbepaid

forfroma 4.5billionNewZealanddollar($2.8billion)climateemer-gency response fund. Officialssaid over time,money collectedfrompolluterswouldpayfortheprogrammes rather than taxesfromhouseholds.

Themost significant emis-sions reductions for the periodendingDecember 31, 2025willcomeintheenergy,industrialandtransport sectors, governmentdocuments said, adding everysectorwillhave toplaya role.But theplan remained short

onsomedetails,includingforthegas guzzler replacement planwhich the government saidwouldbefinalisedoverthecom-ing months. And some criticssaid it continued togiveaneasyridetothenation’shugeagricul-ture industry, which createsabout half of the nation’s totalgreenhousegasemissionsbutisalso vital to the economyas thenation’sbiggestexportearner.

“Some of the policies an-nounced, like the cash-for-clunkers system, are proven tobedogsandhavebeentriedandfailed overseas,” said DavidSeymour, leader of the libertar-ianACTParty.Seymoursaidcon-sumersshouldbeabletochoosehow they reduce emissionsthroughthemarket-basedemis-sions tradingscheme.According to Reuters report,

the new Emissions ReductionPlan "delivers the greatest op-portunitywe've had in decadesto address climate change butalso move to a high wage, lowemissions economy that pro-videsgreatereconomicsecuritybycreatingjobs,”Ardernsaid.AP

PLAN REPRESENTS STEP TOWARD COUNTRY’S GOAL OF ACHIEVING NET-ZERO CARBON EMISSIONS BY 2050

New Zealand to help pay for cleaner cars to reduce emissions

Anelectricvehiclechargingstationandcarshareparking inAuckland.AP

REUTERS&APCOLOMBO,MAY16

SRI LANKA’S newprimeminis-tersaidonMondaythecrisis-hitnationwas down to its last dayofpetrol,asthecountry’spowerminister toldcitizensnot to jointhelengthyfuelqueuesthathavegalvanised weeks of anti-gov-ernmentprotests.RanilWickremesinghesaidin

his first televised address to thenation the country urgentlyneeded$75millioninforeignex-change to pay for essential im-ports. “At themoment,weonlyhavepetrolstocksforasingleday.Thenextcoupleofmonthswillbethemostdifficultonesofourlives,”he said. “Wemust prepare our-selvestomakesomesacrificesandfacethechallengesofthisperiod.”Twoshipmentsofpetroland

two of diesel using an Indiancredit linecouldproviderelief inthenextfewdays,headded,butthecountryisalsofacingashort-ageof 14essentialmedicines.“Request the public not to

queue up or top up in the nextthreedaysuntilthe1,190fuelsta-tion deliveries have been com-pleted,”PowerMinisterKanchana

WijesekerasaidonMonday.Wickremesinghesaid“Ihave

no desire to hide the truth andto lie to the public. Althoughthese facts are unpleasant andterrifying, this is the true situa-tion. For a short period, our fu-turewill be evenmore difficultthan the tough times that wehavepassed.”“Wewill facecon-siderablechallengesandadver-sity. However, this period willnotbelong,”hesaid,addingthatcountries with which he hasspoken have pledged to help inthenext fewmonths.

Peoplewait inaqueuetobuypetrolataclosedfuel station inColomboonMonday.Reuters

Putin appears to back off threatsas Sweden decides to join NATO

ERDOGANOPPOSESNORDICMOVE,MACRONSHOWSSUPPORT

A residentnext toa floodedareaafterUkrainianmilitaryforcesopenedadamtofloodanresidentialareatostopadvanceofRussianforces toKyivonSunday.Reuters

AGENCIESSTOCKHOLM/KYIV,MAY16

VLADIMIR PUTIN appeared toclimb down on Monday fromRussia’s objections to SwedenandFinlandjoiningNATO,sayingMoscowhadnoissueswiththementering theUS-ledmilitary al-liancetheynowaimtojoininre-actiontohis invasionofUkraine.Though the Russian leader

saidMoscowwould take actionif NATO were to move moretroopsorhardwareontotheter-ritoryofitsnewmembers-stepsFinland and Sweden have bothalreadyruledout-hesaidNATO'sexpansionitselfwasnotathreat.“Asfarasexpansiongoes, in-

cluding newmembers FinlandandSweden,Russiahasnoprob-lems with these states - none.And so in this sense there is noimmediatethreattoRussiafroman expansion to include thesecountries,”Putin said.The comments came after

Sweden onMonday decided tojoin Finland in seeking NATOmembership.“Russiahassaidthatthatitwilltakecountermeasuresif we joinNATO,” she said. “Wecannotruleout thatSwedenwillbeexposedto,forinstance,disin-formationandattemptstointim-idateanddivideus,”thePMsaid.Putin, however, had stated

that, “The expansionofmilitaryinfrastructure into this territorywouldcertainlyprovokeourre-sponse. What that (response)willbe-wewillseewhatthreatsarecreatedforus.”“Problemsarebeingcreatedfornoreasonatall.Weshall reactaccordingly.”Turkish President Tayyip

Erdogan said on Monday thatSwedishandFinnishdelegationsshould not bother coming toAnkara to convince it to approvetheir NATO bid. PresidentEmmanuelMacronofFrancewel-comedFinlandandSweden’sde-cisiontoapplyforNATOmember-ship, saying in a statement thattheir accessionwould reinforcesecurityfor“Europeasawhole.”

REUTERSRUSKALOZOVA,MAY16

UKRAINIAN TROOPS havepushedRussianforcesbackfromthenortheastern city of KharkivandsomehaveadvancedasfarastheborderwithRussia,UkrainianofficialssaidonMonday.The developments, if con-

firmed, would signal a furthershift inmomentum in favour ofUkraine.AndinanothersetbackforPutin,McDonald's Corp , theworld's largest fast food chain,said itwas pulling out of Russiabecause of the conflict. Theworld's largest burger chain,which owns about 84% of itsnearly850restaurantsinRussia,will take a related non-cashcharge of up to $1.4 billion fol-lowing its sale.On the battlefields near

Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largestcity, interiorministryad-viser Vadym Denisenko said

Ukrainian troopsweremount-ing a counter-offensive. “It cannolongerbestopped...Thankstothis,wecango to the rearof theRussiangroupof forces,”hesaid.Ukraine's defence ministry

said on Monday the 227thBattalion of the 127th BrigadeofUkraine'sTerritorialDefenceForces had reached the borderwith Russia. The governor ofthe Luhansk region inDonbas,Serhiy Gaidai, said the situa-tion “remains difficult”, withRussian forces trying tocapturethe town of Sieverodonetsk.Russia said onMonday that

it had agreed to evacuatewounded Ukrainian soldiersfromthebunkersbelowthebe-sieged Azovstal steel works inMariupol to a medical facilityin theRussian-controlled townofNovoazovsk. "Anagreementhas been reached on the re-moval of the wounded," theMoscowdefenceministry saidin a statement.

MCDONALD’SRETREATSFROMMOSCOW

EU to offerKyiv newloans to plugurgent needsFRANCESCOGUARASCIOBRUSSELS,MAY16

THE EUROPEANCommission isset to propose onWednesday anewpackage of financial aid toUkraine, including new loans toprovide immediate liquidity toKyiv and commitments for thelong-termfinancingofthecoun-try'sreconstruction,officialssaid.Thesizeof theshort-termfi-

nancial support is stillbeingde-fined but two officials familiarwiththediscussionstoldReuterstheyexpectedittoroughlycoverUkraine'sfinancialneedsfortwomonths, largely through loans.Athirdofficialsaidthemoney

wouldcomefromtheEUbudgetand fromEU governments, dis-missingearliertalkthatthefundscould be raised in the marketwith the issuanceof jointbondsbackedbytheEUbudget.The InternationalMonetary

Fund (IMF) estimated in Aprilthat Ukraine needed around $5billion dollars a month for atleast threemonths to plug theimmediate financial shortfallcausedbyRussia's invasion.The Fund’s chief, Kristalina

Georgieva, has called for thissupport to come in the form ofgrants rather than loans.The scale of EU supportwill

depend also on howmuch G7countries are willing to con-tribute. A meeting of financeministers of theGroupof Sevenmajoreconomiesisscheduledinthesecondhalfof thisweek,justafter the Commission is ex-pected tounveil itsproposals.A spokesperson for the EU

declinedtocommentonthenewpackage. REUTERS

N Korea’s Kimorders military tostabilise supplyof Covid drugsSeoul: Leader Kim Jong Un hasordered North Korea’smilitaryto stabilise distribution ofCovid-19medicine in the capi-tal,Pyongyang,statemediasaid.Drugs procured by the state

were not reaching peoplequickly, Kim told an emergencypolitburo meeting on Sunday,beforevisitingpharmaciesnearthecapital'sTaedongRiver,statenewsagencyKCNAsaid.Kimordered immediate de-

ploymentofthe“powerfulforces”of the army’smedical corps to“stabilisethesupplyofmedicinesinPyongyangCity”, itadded.Amongshortcomingswerea

lack of adequate drug storage,salespeople unequipped withthepropersanitaryclothingandhygiene falling short of stan-dards,Kimsaid.Hecriticisedthe“irresponsible” work attitude,organisation and execution bythecabinetandthepublichealthsector, it added. REUTERS

POLICESAYWOULD-BE BOMBERARRESTED

ASIFSHAHZADISLAMABAD,MAY16

PAKISTANI POLICE arrested awould-be suicide bomberwhoplannedtoblowherself upneara convoy of Chinese nationalsalong the China PakistanEconomicCorridor(CPEC),apo-lice statement said.Monday’s arrest came two

weeks after a woman suicidebomber blew herself up on auniversitycampusinthesouth-ern port city of Karachi, killingthree Chinese teachers andtheir Pakistani driver Police ar-rested the militant in south-western Balochistan provincethat borders Afghanistan andIran, the statement said.Shebelongstotheseparatist

Baloch Liberation Army (BLA),whichhasstartedusingwomenmilitants as suicide bombers,policesaid,anewphenomenonfor counter-terrorism policewho are more used to dealingwith such attacks by Islamistmilitants. “Thewomanwanted

to target a convoy of Chinesenationals,” police said, addingthe attackwas planned along aroute of China PakistanEconomic-Corridor (CPEC).Police recovered explosives

anddetonatorsfromthewomanand investigated her, revealingher plans to target Chinese na-tionals. No other evidencewasproducedtosupport theiraccu-sation. REUTERS

Imran’s securitybeefed up after‘assassination’plot claimsIslamabad:ThePakistangovern-mentonMondaybeefedupsecu-rity for former PM ImranKhan,two days after he claimed thattherewas a plot to assassinatehim,accordingtoamediareport.Khan claimed on Saturday

thata“conspiracy”toassassinatehim was being hatched inPakistanandabroad,warningthatif anything happens to him, thepeoplewill come toknowabouttheperpetrators throughavideomessagehehasrecentlyrecordedandplacedinasafeplace.At Khan’s residence in Bani

Gala, 94securityofficerswill bedeployed,ofwhich,22menwillbe from the Islamabad policeand 72 from the FrontierConstabulary, the report said,quotingthespokespersonof theinteriorministry. PTI

Pak: Foiled suicide attack againstChinese nationals along CPEC

Shehbaz assuresmore security forChinese citizens

Islamabad:PrimeMinisterShehbazSharifonMondayassuredChinathathisgov-ernment is determined totake all necessary meas-ures for the enhanced se-curityandsafetyofChinesenationals in Pakistan andaffirmedhis“firmresolve”tofasttrackprojectsunderthe$60billionCPEC.PTI

Russian forces fall backin northeast Ukraine

INHISADDRESS,thePMsaidthecountry’sfinancialhealthissopoorthatthegovernmenthasbeenforcedtoprintmoneytopaythesalaries.Hesaidabout$75billionisneededurgentlytohelpprovidepeoplewithessentialitems,butthecountry’streasuryisstrugglingtofindeven$1billion.

Crisis innationE●EX

PLAINED

Theeclipsewasvisible fora largeportionof theworld, includingthose intheUS,muchofEuropeandAfrica,andpartsof thePacific. ‘Bloodmoon’happenswhentheEarth’smoonis inatotal lunareclipse.Anassociateastronomerat theHaydenPlanetariuminNewYorkestimatedthat2.7billionpeoplecouldcatchat leastpartof theeclipse, includingviewers inDresden,Germany,wherethemooncouldbeseensetting behindthedomeof theKunstakedmieonMonday. AP

CORONAVIRUS CASES arespreading at an alarming rateacrosstheUS,particularlyintheNortheast and theMidwest, asthecountry’sdeathtollnearstheonemillionmark.An average of over 90,000

newcasesarenowbeing identi-fied eachday in theUS, a 60 percent increase from twoweeksago.AndinmuchoftheNortheastandMidwest,dailynew-casere-portshavealreadysurpassedthepeakoflastsummer’sDeltasurge.Hospitalisations are increas-

ing across the country, thoughmoreslowlythannewcases.Thenumber of patientswith coron-avirusinAmericanhospitalssur-passed21,000overthepastweek,but still a 23 per cent rise fromtwoweeks ago. Health officialsacrosstheMidwestarebeginningtowarnhigh-riskpeopletoonceagainwearmasksindoorsandtoget booster shots, as counties inseveralstatesmovetohigher-riskCovid-19communitylevels.NYT

US deaths fromCovid hit 1 mn

BLOOD MOON DAZZLES NIGHT SKIES

Sri Lanka downto last day ofpetrol, says PMIn first televisedaddress,hesaysnationneeds$75millionforextopayforimports

New Delhi

13SENSEX: 52,973.84 ▲ 180.22 (0.34%) NIFTY: 15,842.30 ▲ 60.15 (0.38%) NIKKEI: 26,547.05 ▲ 119.40 HANG SENG: 19,950.21 ▲ 51.44 FTSE: 7,410.64 ▼ 7.51 DAX: 13,926.59 ▼ 101.34

THEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY,MAY17,2022

ECONOMYWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

Note:Rupee figureasof Fridaysince forexmarketwasshutonMondayonaccountofBuddhaPurnima; internationalmarketdatatill1900IST

GOLD`49,754

RUPEE` 77.44/USD

OIL$104.29

SILVER`59,452

Note:Gold, silverratesatDelhi spotmarket,goldper10g, silverper1kg;Crudeoil (Indianbasket)asofMay12

GEORGEMATHEWMUMBAI,MAY16

INAsurprisemove,theinsur-anceregulatorhasrelaxedthedisclosurerequirementsoffor-eign reinsurance branches(FRBs)andLloyd’sIndiaaspartof “rationalisationof compli-ance”standards.TheregulatorsaidFRBsand

Lloyd’s India are now ex-emptedfromdisclosingfinan-cial details andunderwritingperformance throughNL40format.However,accordingtoexperts, the latestmeasureswill leadtoopaqueness inthefunctioning of reinsurancebranchesinIndia.Irdai saidFRBsandLloyd’s

Indianeednotpublishthehalfyearlyandannualrevenueac-count,profit&lossaccount,bal-ancesheetandanalyticalratiosasmandated inthecaptionedcircular in the newspapers.“However, theymaycontinuetopublisha trueandaccurateabstractof thevariousreturnsforthepurposeofpublicityonavoluntarybasispursuant toprovisionsofSection25of theInsuranceAct, 1938,” it said.FRBsandLloyd’sIndiaprovidereinsurancesupport to thedi-rect insurersand the insurersdoconducttheirduediligenceon the FRBs while enteringreinsurance contracts withthem,Irdaisaid.“Thenecessaryinformationonfinancialsisalsomadeavailablethroughpublicdisclosureson the respectivewebsite of the FRBs.Reinsurancebusiness is B2Bsegmentandthepolicyholdersdonotdealwith the reinsur-ers,” it said inacircular to theCEOsofinsurancecompanies.“Transparency is equally

important.Discontinuingup-loadingNL40appears tobearetrograde step in this era oftransparency.Whether theFRBs in India have providedany significant advantage tothemarketascomparedtotheservices renderedby interna-tional reinsurerswhodonothaveabranchIndiaisamatterthat requires frank studyandanalysis,” said former IrdaiWhole-time Member KKSrinivasan.Traditionally,theFRBsand

Lloyd’s India donot invest inequity instruments and theymainly invest in government

securities anddebtmarkets.Basedontheinvestmentexpo-suresofthebranchesofforeignreinsurers and Llyod’s India,Irdaihasgrantedexemptiontoentities, whose investmentpolicydoesnotpermit thein-vestment in equity, from theapplicationofcommonstew-ardship code, disclosure re-quirementsandreturns.Theentities,whoseinvest-

mentpolicyallowsequity in-vestmentbuthavenotmadeany investment inequity, thecodeisapplicable.However,aNIL returnwill bea sufficientcomplianceforthesame,Irdaisaid. “Other entities have tocomplywiththeprescribedre-quirements.”Irdai has dispensedwith

theFormNL40ondisclosureofunderwritingperformancebutadvisedinsurerstofilethesaidformattotheAuthority.“In any case FRBs don’t

bring inanysignificant FDI intoIndiaunlikejointventurein-suranceor reinsurance com-paniesincorporatedinIndia.IftheUkrainewarescalates,thethreat of FRBs clampingup ifIndia does not yield to thepressure of joining Americaand the western powersagainst Russia, is quite high.The role played by FRBs andthe extent of ourmarket de-pendence on them requiresstudyandmorecriticalmoni-toring,”Srinivasansaid.“NL40gives someimpor-

tant ratios line of businesswise.ForFRBspreparationanduploading of NL 40 in theirwebsite is simpleandeasy. Inthiseraofdisclosureandtrans-parencyexemptingFRBsfromuploadingNL40seemsahastystep,”hesaid.“The Authority has re-

ceivedrepresentationsontherationalizationof compliancerequirementsof FRBsas theyarenot directly dealingwiththeretailcustomers,”Irdaisaid.

SECTORWATCHINSURANCE

Holcim CEO rules out capitalgains tax on sale proceedsRAJESHKURUPMUMBAI,MAY16

HOLCIM CEO Jan Jenisch onMondaysaidthecompany’s$10.5-billionsaleof itsstakesinAmbujaCements and ACC to the AdaniGroupwill not attract anycapitalgainstax.“Accordingtoouranaly-sis,itisatax-freetransaction...thereisnocapitalgainsoranyothertaxforthistransaction.Idon’tknowifanycomplicationarises,butweas-sumethatwewillget this6.4bil-lion (Swiss francs) as net pro-ceeds,”Jenischsaidinananalysts’callonMonday.Taxexperts saidHolcimmay

nothavetopaycapitalgainstaxforthebulk,ifnotall,ofthe$10.5-bil-

lionproceeds from the sale as itwill sell the shares in the Indiancompanies to theAdani family’soffshore special purposevehicle(SPV) throughaMauritius-incor-poratedentity.Thiswilllikelygivethe Swiss company the cover ofIndia’s tax treatywith the islandnation. The India-Mauritiusdou-bletaxationavoidanceagreement(DTAA)was revisedbilaterally inMay 2016 to remove the taxwaiversprospectively,makeitonaparwithotherDTAAsandcheckits rampantusefor taxavoidancein India.However, a carve-out isstill available for investmentsmadepriortoApril1,2017.HolcimacquiredthecementassetsinIndia17yearsago.Holcimanditssubsidiariesex-

ecutedthesharepurchaseagree-mentwithAdani’sSPVEndeavourTradeandInvestmentsforthesaleof its shareholding inMauritius-based Holderind Investments,which in turnholds63.19%stakeinAmbujaCements. TheHolcimentity also agreed to sell 54.53%stake inACC, ofwhich50.05% isheld throughAmbuja Cements.Capitalgainsfromthesaleofthesestakes to theoverseas SPVwon’tbetaxedinIndia.However,itisnotclear if the sale of 4.5% stakewillalsoberoutedthroughHoldreindInvestments or anyother entitybased in either Mauritius orSingapore. The benefit is nowavailable only for investors fromthesetwocountries,subjecttothecut-offdateofApril1,2017. FE

LIC to listtoday: GMPin negativeENSECONOMICBUREAUMUMBAI,MAY16

SHARES OF Life InsuranceCorporation(LIC)willbelistedonthe stockexchangesonTuesday,slatedtobethecountry’s largest,amid worries about marketvolatilityandlistingperformanceof thecorporation.Despitegloomysentiment,the

offer got better-than-expectedsubscriptions figures. “Unofficialgreymarket premium (GMP) istradingdownintothenegativeter-ritorymainly on theback of de-pressedglobalmarketswhicharein the bearish zone sinceRussia–Ukraine war,” saidPrashanth Tapse, vice president(research),MehtaEquitiesLtd.“Everythingdependsonmar-

ketconditions…marketdiscountindicates that the stockmay belistedatamoderatetodiscountedprice.However,weexpectalistingwith a7per centdiscount to a3per cent premium,” said RaviSinghal,vicechairman,GCLsecu-ritiesLtd. Full report on

www.indianexpress.com

AANCHALMAGAZINENEWDELHI,MAY16

ASRETAILinflationsurgedtoan8-yearhighof7.79percentinApril,individualstatesrecordedadiver-genttrendwithsouthernstatesofKerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karna-taka,TamilNadu,alongsidePunjabandDelhi, seeing a perceptiblylower-than-nationallevelinflationrate,whilestatessuchasMadhyaPradesh, Maharashtra, WestBengal,Telangana,Haryana,UttarPradesh,GujaratandAssamtrend-ingmostlyabovethenationallevel.Retail inflationhas persisted

abovetheReserveBankof India’s(RBI’s) inflation target for thefourthstraightmonth,withpricelevels rising to an8-year highof8.38percentinruralareasinAprilwhileurbaninflationwasata18-month high of 7.09 per cent.Incidentally, a number of statesrecordinghigherinflationrateoverthenational levelaredisplayingahigher inflation trend in rural ar-easasagainsttheurbanareas.Consumer Price Index (CPI)-

basedinflationdataforthelast11months showsKeralaas theonlystate that has consistently re-mainedbelowtheall-India infla-tion level, while Telangana,Madhya Pradesh, Haryana andJammu&Kashmir have stayedabove the national level all

throughout. States/UT such asAndhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu,Karnataka, Punjab and Delhi,which had remained above thenational inflation level in at leastfiveoutof the lastelevenmonthshavenowtrendedbelowthena-tionallevelatleastforthelastthreemonths. States such as WestBengal, Assam, Jharkhand,Rajasthanwhichhad remainedbelow the all-India inflation tillDecember2021havenowpickeduppacetoriseabovethenationallevelinthelastthreemonths(fourmonthsforJharkhand).Possible reasons include the

cushion of subsidies routedthrough the public distributionsystemacross income levels insomeof thesouthernstates.Also,stateswith lower urbanisationrates endup spendingmore onfood and fuel,while thosewithmoreurbanareasendupspend-ingahighershareonservices.Thedisaggregateddatareveals

thatmost of these states,whichhave ahigher inflation rate overthenationallevel,aredisplayingahigher inflation trend in rural ar-eas as against the urban areas.WestBengalhasseendouble-digitrural inflation over the last twomonthswhile rural inflation inAssamhas also topped the na-tional level over the last threemonthsevenasurbaninflationre-mains below thenational level.

Madhya Pradesh, Telangana,Haryana, Gujarat,Maharashtraand Jammu&Kashmir toohaverecordedahigherruralthanurbaninflationinlast3monthsatleast.Inflation rates for April-May

2021werenotconsidered, as the

governmentonlyprovidedstate-wiseindicesandnotinflationratessinceall-Indiaindicesforthesetwomonthswere imputed in 2020due to the Covid-19 pandemic.Amongstates,thehighestweightinCPIisofMaharashtra(13.18per

cent), followedbyUttar Pradesh(12.37percent),TamilNadu(7.25per cent) andWest Bengal (7.09percent).“Thefirstsetofshockstoinflation have beenbroadly feltthrough foodand fuel. Typically,poorerpartshaveahigherpropor-tionate spendingon food.About60-80percentof thetotalspend-inginstateswithlessurbanareasor lower incomeswould be onfood,fuel,healthandeducation.Atthemargin, therecouldalsohavebeen logistics-related shocks.SouthernIndia,whichhasahigherper capita income than the na-tional averagecouldbespendingmoreonservices,”RahulBajoria,chiefeconomist,Barclays,said.The decision to not reduce

ValueAddedTaxon fuel in someofthesestatescouldalsobeanad-ditionalfactorforhigherfuelinfla-tion.Services,asperthelatestCPIdata, have gained sharplywithmiscellaneousgoodsandservicesjumping to a115-monthhighof8.03per cent inApril andhouse-holdgoodsandservicesrisingtoa105-monthhighof7.97percent.There couldalsobe thecush-

ionofsubsidiesroutedthroughthepublic distribution systemseenacrossincomelevelsinsomeofthesouthernstates,especiallyonfooditems that constituteabig chunkofCPIinflationweightage.“Statessuch as Kerala and Tamil Naduhavea strongpublicdistribution

system,wherein subsidised foodmaybehelping cushion the im-pact of higher food prices,”DevendraKumarPant,chiefecon-omist,IndiaRatings,said.“Itemswhichhaveprice sen-

sitivitiestosubstitutesaregainingsuchasgheepricesthathavebeenmovingup,withupwardmove-mentinpricesofcookingoil.Also,chickenpriceshavegainedasfeed-stockpriceshavegoneupgloballyandafterasupply-scarewasseeninAndhra Pradesh,which is thehubformeat,poultryandpiscicul-ture.Fruitpricesalsogainedto8.4percentinAprilasagainstourex-pectation of 7.4 per cent,whichcouldbeseenasaresultoftheheatwave,”Bajoriasaid.Wheat,proteinitems(chicken

inparticular),milk,lemon,cookedmeal, chillies, refinedoil, potato,chillies, kerosene, firewood, goldandLPGarecontributingtoover-all inflationinasubstantiveman-ner,anSBIResearchreportsaid.“Kerosene has seen a sharp

spike, almost 35-40 per centmonth-on-month increase.Hou-seholduse is limitedandmainlyusedforindustrialpurposes.Therehas been a massive drop inkeroseneconsumptionoverlast10yearsbutsinceit isnotsubsidisedinmostparts,anypricemovementgetsreflectedsubstantiallyininfla-tion,”Bajoriasaid. Full report on

www.indianexpress.com

BROADLY,SOUTHERNSTATES,EXCEPTTELANGANA,SEELOWER-THAN-NATIONALLEVELRATE

2

4

6

8

10

Karnataka

West Bengal

MadhyaPradesh

Telangana

AllIndia

Kerala

TamilNadu

June

July

Aug

Sept

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

Higher-than-national level inApril 2022 (in decreasing order)

Lower-than-nationallevel in April 2022(in increasing order)

HOW IT PANSOUT

Ruralpinchesmoreinhighinflationstates

SALMANSHBENGALURU,MAY16

ZILINGO’S CO-FOUNDERAnkitiBose, who was recently sus-pended fromherposition at theB2Be-commerce start-up, is ex-ploring recompensing the com-pany’s entire outstanding debtworth$40million.Thiswouldpro-vide herwith an option to gainmoreequityinthefirm,twopeo-pleawareofthediscussionssaid.However, according to an in-

vestorinaventuredebtfirmbasedinAsia, Bose’s endeavour to ac-quiremoresharesinthecompanycould bemet with a pushbackfrom the board, and eventuallyleadtoalegaltussleifthewarrantsweretobesoldtoher.SourcessaidBosehadalready

reachedouttoVardePartnersandIndiesCapitalwithatermsheettopayback theentirepending loanamount. Varde and Indies pro-videda$40millionloantoZilingounderherleadershipinJuly2021,whichisvalidtillJuly2023.FE

Bose proposes to repayZilingo’s $40-mn debt

FOREIGNREINSURANCEbranches(FRBs)andLloyd’sIndiadonotinvestinequityinstrumentsandtheymainlyinvestingovernmentsecuri-tiesanddebtmarkets.

WheredotheyinvestE●EX

PLAINED

Disclosure normseased for foreignreinsurancebranches, Lloyd’s

Terra backerto compensatesome usersHong Kong: Luna FoundationGuard (LFG), a Singapore-basednon-profit organisation de-signed tomaintain TerraUSD’sprice, saidMonday it spent thebulkof its reserves trying tode-fenditsdollarpeglastweekandwouldusewhat little remainedtocompensate someuserswhohad lostout.The token’s crash last week

sent cryptocurrencies crashing,asbitcointradedbelow$30,000onMonday. REUTERS

Adani makes open offer for 26%each in Ambuja Cements, ACCMumbai:AdanigrouponMondaymadeanopenoffertoacquirea26per cent stake each in AmbujaCements andACCLtd frompub-licshareholdersafterannouncinga $10.5-billion deal to acquireHolcim’sIndiabusiness.Through itsMauritius-based

subsidiary Endeavour Trade andInvestment, the grouphasmadeanopenofferatRs385persharefor Ambuja Cements Ltd andRs

2,300pershareforACCLtd.For Ambuja Cements, the

openoffertoitspublicsharehold-ers is for acquiring up to 51.63croreequityshares, representing26percentoftheexpandedsharecapital,aggregatingtoatotalcon-sideration of Rs 19,879.57 crore.While for ACC, the offer is to ac-quireupto4.89croresharesheldbypublicshareholders,represent-ing 26per cent of the expanded

sharecapital,aggregatingtoato-tal considerationof Rs 11,259.97crore. Thiswould be “subject tothereceiptoftheRequiredStatut-oryApproval,”Adanigroupsaid.Theopenofferhasbeentrigg-

ered after the execution of thesharepurchaseagreementbetw-een Adani group andHolcim tobuycontrollingstakeinthelatter’sIndiabusiness. Fullreporton

www.indianexpress.com

ENSECONOMICBUREAUMUMBAI,MAY16

ADITYABIRLACapitalLtd(ABCL)onMonday saidAjay Srinivasanhasdecided to stepdownasMDandCEOofthecompanyashehad“expressedhisdesiretotakeonanewrolewithinthegroup”.According to amedia report,

serious allegations of corruptionandmismanagement, includingfront-runningandinsidertrading,havebeen levelledby awhistle-blower against ABCL andAdityaBirlaSunLifeAMC.Inanexchangefiling, ABCL said, “The companyreceivedacomplaintinwhichcer-tainallegationsweremadeaboutAdityaBirla SunLifeAMCand itsemployees.AspertheAdityaBirlagroup policy, an independentCommitteewasformedtoinves-tigatetheallegations.”“The committee did not find

anymeritintheallegations.Therewas no allegationwhatsoever,madeagainstAjaySrinivasan,bythe said employee,” a companyspokespersonsaid.“In so far as Srinivasan step-

pingdownisconcerned,itisclar-ifiedthathehadexpressedhisde-sire to takeonanewrolewithinthegroup, afterhaving servedaschiefexecutiveforover14years,”thepersonsaid,adding,“Arole isbeingcraftedatthegrouplevelinconsultationwithhim.”“A story has appeared, this

morning,basedoninsinuationsofvested interests. These insinua-tions/ allegations are bereft offacts,” the company said. TheboardofABCLrecentlyappointedVishakhaMulyeasthenextCEO.ABCL is theholdingcompany

for the financial services busi-nesses of theAditya Birla group.ItsoverallAUMacrossassetman-agement,lifeinsuranceandhealthinsurancebusinessesgrew16percenton-year toRs3,72,423croreasofDecember2021.OnMonday, ABCL fell 5 per

centtoRs95.05whileAdityaBirlaSunLifeAMCdove7.44per centtoRs452.30ontheBSE.ABCL further stated, “There

have beenno employee exits atAditya Birla Capital and AdityaBirla SunLifeAMC, as a fallout ofthesemaliciousallegations.GirishPatil left the company topursuebetter prospects outside thegroup.VineetMaloomovedinter-nallywithinAdityaBirlaGroup,inlinewiththegroup’spolicyofca-reerprogression.”“Thereferenceinthearticleas-

sociating his new rolewith theAMCbusiness is not correct andmischievous.Further,itisalsonotcorrect asmentioned in thearti-cle that Girish Patil is related toMaheshPatil.GirishPatilandMa-heshPatil arenot related to eachotherinanymanner,” itadded.

Fullreportonwww.indianexpress.com

GOLDIMPORTSINFY22 rose33.34%to$46.14billioninFY22to837tonnes,or:

1.5timesabovepandemiclowinFY21

Goldimportsinpandemic-hitFY21wereonlyworth$34.62billion

FY22tradedeficitroseto$192.41billion,asagainst$102.62billioninFY21,duetosurgeininwardgoldshipments

GolddemandinFY23GolddemandinFY23Source:UBSSecurities India/PTI

12%morethanpre-pandemicaverageofFY16-20

Gold demandmay risemore thanprojected ashouseholdsmay snapup themetal as a hedge againstspiralling inflation, aUBS Securities India report said

ENSECONOMICBUREAUMUMBAI,MAY16

THECONFEDERATIONof IndianIndustry (CII)onMondaysaidanimmediatemeasuretoeaseinfla-tion could be tomoderate taxesonfuelproducts,whichconstitutea large share of the retail pumppricesofpetrolanddiesel.“CIIwould encourageCentre

andstategovernmentstocollab-orateinreducingtheseduties,”CIIpresident Sanjiv Bajaj said. TheReserve Bank decision to raisebenchmarkinterestratesandthelikelihoodofagoodmonsoonwillhelp incontaining inflation,Bajajsaid,addressinghismaidenpressconferenceaftertakingoverastheindustrybody’schief.“I dobelieve thatwearenow

in anera of higher interest rates.Thiswillhelpusinbringingdowninflation,atleastapartofthatgo-ingforward,”hesaid,addingthatvariousfactorscombinedwiththehopeofastrongmonsoon“shouldputusinabetterplace”bythesec-ondhalfoftheyearforpolicymak-ers todecidewhere inflationandinterestratesmove.Bajaj said the rise of inflation

has two aspects—demand andsupply side. “RBI has alreadystartedthecycleoftakinginterestratesupandweshouldexpectin-terestratestocontinuemovingup

inthecomingyear.Wewouldex-pectfromtheRBIacleardirectiontohowtheyaregoing toaddressinterest rates. Hopefully in thenextmonetarypolicy reviewweshouldbeabletohearfromthemsomethingtothatextent,”hesaid.“Globalheadwindsandinfla-

tionwill have to be counteredwith robust policy reforms, bothdomestic andexternal sector re-forms, to unlock the growthpo-tentialof theeconomy.“CIIexpectstheGDPgrowthin

arangeof7.4-8.2percentin2022-23, with the outlook criticallyhingingonthetrajectoryofglobalcrudeoilprices.“Globalheadwindsandinfla-

tionwill have to be counteredwith robust policy reforms, bothdomestic andexternal sector re-forms, to unlock the growthpo-tentialof theeconomy,”hesaid.

Fullreportonwww.indianexpress.com

Era of higher interestrates; encourage cutin duties on fuel: CII

CIIpresidentSanjivBajaj File

‘Spiraling inflationmay boost golddemand among households as a hedge’

TOTAKEUPNEWROLEWITHINGROUP,SAYSCO

Srinivasan quits as MDof Aditya Birla Capital

BRIEFLYSolarglassdutyNewDelhi: TheCommerceMinistry’sinvestigationarmDirectorateGeneralofTradeRemedies (DGTR) recom-mended continuation ofanti-dumping duty onChinese solar glass, alsoknown as ‘textured tem-peredcoatedandun-coatedglass’, fortwoyears.

AnnualreportsNewDelhi:TheSecuritiesandExchangeBoardof Indiahasrelaxedcompliancerulesforentitieswithlistednon-con-vertible securities fromdis-patchingphysical copiesofannual report todebentureholderstillDecember-end.

BoEmemberLondon:UK-basedacademicDr SwatiDhingrahas beennamed the first Indian-ori-ginwomantobeappointedexternal member of theBank of England's interestrate-settingpanel.PTI

PGCILdealNewDelhi:PowerGridCorp-orationof India Ltd (PGCIL)hasacquiredtheprojectspe-cial purposevehicle (SPV) -KhetriNarela TransmissionLtdafteremergingsuccess-ful in the Tariff BasedCompetitiveBidding(TBCB)bythegovernment. ENS

AjaySrinivasanhassteppeddownamidreportedwhistle-blowerallegationsofcorruption. viacompany

New Delhi

CLASSIFIEDS&TENDERS14 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY,MAY17,2022

(Paban Terang)Chief Engineer, (EAP) PWRD

Assam, Fatasil Ambari, Guwahati-25Janasanyog/CF/564/22

GOVERNMENT OF ASSAM, PUBLIC WORKS ROADS DEPARTMENTOFFICE OF THE CHIEF ENGINEER (EAP)

ARR&TI COMPLEX FATASIL AMBARI GUWAHATI-25 ASSAM Email: cea.apwd@nic.inRFB No.: CE/APART/49/2022/15 Dated: 16.05.2022

REQUEST FOR BIDS (RFB)E-PROCUREMENT NOTICE

(Two-Envelope Bidding Process with e-Procurement) The Government of Assam through Government of India has received financing from the World Bank towards the cost ofthe APART Project and intends to apply part of the proceeds to the eligible payment under the contract. Bids are invited online from the eligible bidders from India for thefollowing works as detailed in the table below.

TABLE

Shri Rohini Chandra Roy, SFA (Vety)

17.05.2010

Sashastra Seema Bal fondly remembers and cher-

ishes the valiant act of brave heart Shri Rohini

Chandra Roy, SFA (Vety) who made supreme sac-

rifice of his life on the line of duty for Nation. Shri

Rohini Chandra Roy, SFA (Vety) was deployed at

E coy, Dronapal of 41st Battalion, SSB in

Dantewada, Chhattisgarh. Shri Rohini Chandra Roy, SFA (Vety)

attained martyrdom in an IED blast triggered by the Naxals on

Dantewada-Sukma highway Chhattisgarh on 17.05.2010.

We salute the supreme sacrifice of the brave soldier.

SASHASTRA SEEMA BAL

ClassifiedsPPEERRSSOONNAALL

IItt is forGeneral information thatI,AMRIKSINGHS/o-MOHANSINGH,R/o:WZ-502, Second-Floor,Gali.No-26, Shiv-Nagar,Janakpuri,New-Delhi -110058,Declare thatNameofMyMother hasbeenwrongly-writtenasBEERKAUR inmyEducational-DocumentsClass-10th.TheactualNameofMyMother is RAGHBIRKAURRespectivelywhichmaybeamendedaccordingly.

0040613952-7

II,,YYaasshhiikkaa,,DD//OOsanjay,R/Oshubhamsareeemporium,mainbazar,baniyawara, Faridabad,Haryana-121004,HaveChangedMyNameToYashikaGargpermanently. 0040613952-2

II,,WWAAKKIILL AHMED,S/OHAJRATALIRESIDENT-333,VILLAGE-BADHMALIK,SONIPAT,HARYANAHAVECHANGEDMYNAMETOVAKILAHAMED. 0040613949-6

II,,VViinnaayy Sugla S/o LateNiranjanLal SuglaR/oE-54, Sector-40,Noida, G.B.Nagar(U.P.) havechangedmyname fromVinaySugla toVinayKumar Sugla forall futurepurposes.

0040613945-1

II,,SSiiddhhaarrtt S/OMukeshSharmaR/O.D10,shanti kunjvasant kunj near church-road,newdelhi-110070,HaveChangedmyname toSidharthbhardwaj. 0040613949-5

II,,SSaattoo Saho,S/oHari Sahu,R/o-108/48, SilverOanApts.DLF-1,Gurgaon-122002,havechangedmynameSatoSaho toSantoshSahu,for all,FuturePurposes. 0040613949-4

II,,RRaajjuu aliasRadhikaAggarwal,D/oDilbaghSinghW/O JatinAggarwal R/OHouseNo-5075,Parkar Residency,Near-ParkarMall, Sector 62,Kundli(55) ,SonipatHaryana-131028,haveChangedMyNameToRadhikaAggarwal.

0040613954-10

II,,RRaajjiinnddeerr Singh,S/OFoujaSingh,R/O-Village -Jalalpur,Hoshiarpur,Punjab-144202,inform that bymistakemy father namehasbeenwronglywritten inmy ‘CISFSERVICERECORDS’ as FazalSingh insteadof Fouja Singh.

0040613951-4

II,,PPrraanneeyyAneja,S/oHarishAneja,R/o.B-34 Soami-Nagar,NewDelhi-110017,Havechangemydaughter nameGunnyAneja ToGunniAneja,for all purposes.

0040613954-4

II,,IInnddrraaDevVashist S/O,RamNiwasSharmaR/O,A-69,KewalPark EXTNAdarsh-NagarDelhi-110033,have changedmynameto InderDev. 0040613949-1

II,,PPoooojjaa Rani D/o-OmPrakashR/o-FlatNo.149, Block-C4H,NearKadimiMarket, JanakpuriC-4,WestDelhi, Delhi-110058have changedmyname toPooja for,all futurepurposes.

0040613891-1

II,,PPaannkkaajj Adlakha,S/o-MunshiLal Adlakha,R/o.Flat.No.CTB-003,Tower-BGround-FloorDLF-Crest Phase-5,Gurgaon.122011,have changedmySon’s name,fromSamarAdlakha toSamarthAdlakha.

0040613954-5

II,,OOmmPrakashGosain S/o Late ShDurgaDassR/o-53,NewTphase-II,UttamNagar,NewDelhi-110059,declare thatmywife’s actual-name isRashpalKaur asper 10th-CertificateandAdhar-card,butwronglyher namementionedasRachhpal Kaur in someof thedocuments. Rashpal Kaur andRachhpal Kaur is bothoneandthe sameperson. I amgivingaffidavit-Dt.14-May-2022.

0040613949-10

II,,NNaarreesshhKumarAggarwal,S/o-Shri KishanAggarwal,R/o-B-34,Sector-30,Noida, G.B.Nagar,U.P.-201301,havechangedmyname toNareshAggarwal for all futurepurposes. 0040613951-6

II,,NNAAZZMMAAAIJAZSHAMSIW/OAIJAZAHMAD,R/O-390/6,STREET.NO.6, ZAKIR-NAGAR,JAMIA-NAGAR,NEW-DELHI 110025,CHANGEDMYNAMENAZMAAIJAZSHAMSITONAJMA.A.SHAMSI,PERMANANTY. 0040613949-7

II,,NNAAZZIISSHHW/OATIQURREHMAN,R/O3542WARDXIKUCHATARACHAND,DARYAGANJ,NEWDELHI-110002,HAVETOCHANGEDMYNAMETONAZISHATIQ. 0040613954-7

II,,JJaannvveedd S/O-Prabhudayal,H.no.b-277,gali.no-10,RajeevGandhi road swroop-nager,Delhi,libaspur.northwest delhi-110042,HaveChangedMyName to janveddiwakar. 0040613949-2

II,,JJAASSWWIINNDDEERRSINGH,S/oGURCHARANSINGH isJASWINDERSINGHPRUTHI andmyson’s name isHARMEETSINGHPRUTHI. House. No.58/365,Flat.No-A-1, UGF,Near-Dr Jagpal-Health-Centre,Sultan-Pur, South-Delhi,Delhi-110030 .0040613949-3

II,,GGeeeettaaManak,D/oSurenderSinghGrover,R/o-B-24 plot.no-4, golf-View’ApartmentsSector-19B,Dwarka,Delhi110075,HaveChangedmyname toGeetaGrover,for allpurposes. 0040613954-2

II BhaveshSaraogi s/o ShivBhagwanSaraogi r/oD-323,Vivek vihar,Delhi-110095have changedmyname toBHAVESHKUMARSARAOGI.

0040613951-1

II,,GGUULLSSHHAANNVERMAS/oCHANDERBHANR/o-RZ-70AGALINo.9,KAMALPARK,PALAMCOLONY,DELHI-110045,HAVECHANGEDMYNAMETOGULSHANKUMAR

0040613952-1

II,,DDhhaarrmmeennddrraaHKumar,S/o-HaridayShankarGupta,R/o-D-276,D-Block,GaneshNagar,PandavNagar, Complex,Delhi-110092,have changedmyname toDharmendraKumarfor all purposes. 0040613951-5

II,,DDeevvaannaannddMani S/o-DineshMani Tripathi,R/o 1801,Tower-G1,Supertech ECOVillage-1,Noida,Uttar Pradesh-201301,have changedmynameDevanandMani Tripathi,Permanently. 0040613954-9

II,,AAyyuusshh S/o-ArjunSinghresiding-H.No.-H-20, GaliNo.19,ParwanaRoad,Jagatpuri,KrishnaNagar,Delhi,have changedmynametoAyushRathore,for allpurposes. 0040613954-1

II,,AAppaarrnnaaKaushik,D/oSharvanKaushikR/o.B-61,ShivMandir-RoadSwaroopNagar,NewDelhi-110042,Have changedmyname,fromAparna toAparnaKaushik,for all,futurepurposes

0040613954-8

II,,AAmmiitt Chaudhari S/o-BrahamPal SinghR/o.A-225,Block-ABaaghwali-Colony, Shastri-Nagar,Ghaziabad,UttarPradesh-201002,have changedmyNameAmit Chaudhary,forall purposes. 0040613954-3

II,,AAbbhhiinnaavv S/o-RajeshKumarPoonia,R/oP-80/2 SMQ,13BRD,AF,NewPintoPark,Delhi-110010,changedmynamIAbhinav,S/oRajeshKumarPoonia,R/oP-80/2 SMQ13BRD,AF, NewPinto-Park,Delhi-110010,changedmyname toAbhinavPooniae toAbhinavPoonia. 0040613952-3

II,,AATTIIQQURREHMAN,S/OATAURREHMANQURESHI,R/O-3542WARDXIKUCHATARACHANDDARYAGANJ,NEWDELHI-110002,HAVETOCHANGEDMYNAMETOATIQURREHMANQURESHI. 0040613954-6

II,,AANNJJAANNPUTATUNDA,S/OADHIRKUMARPUTATUNDA,R/o,FLAT.NO-11,FIRST-FLOOR,JAIPURIA-ENCLAVE,KAUSHAMBI,GHAZIABAD,UP-201010 changedmyname toANJANKUMARPUTATUNDA,Permanently. 0040613949-8

II,, TarunPaul Sethi s/oYashPaulSethi r/oPU-110,VishakhaEnclave,Pitampura,Delhi-110034have changedmynametoTARUNPALSETHI.

0040613951-3

II,, TalibAhmedS/o.HabibAhmadR/o. 69, Shahpur JatVillage, Andrewsganj, SouthDelhi - 49 have changedmyname toTalibAhmad

0040613927-1

II,, SamiQureshi S/oMohdShahidR/o 2060, NaherKhanStreetKuchaChelanDaryaGanj,Delhi-110002have changedmyname fromMohdSami to SamiQureshi for all futurepurposes.

0040613889-1

II,, Pushkar S/oSushil KumarR/oHouseNo.-63, Sector-10B,VasundharaGhaziabad (U.P)201012have changedmynametoPushkarKumar for all futurepurposes 0040613898-1

II,, Prashant Bhardwaj S/oKaushal KishoreR/oA-33,34FlatNo-10ParyavaranComplexMehrauli, SouthDelhi-110030have changedmyname fromPrasant Pandey toPrashantBhardwaj for all futurepurposes. 0040613901-1

II,, ParveenKumar S/oSitaRamR/o-48G.F ExecutiveHomeZOmaxe-City,Bahadurgarh,JhajjarHaryana, have changemyname toParveenAggarwal

0040613905-1

II,, Nikhil S/o Sushil KumarR/o1506, Sector-16A, EktaKunj,Vasundhara, Ghaziabad (U.P)201012have changedmynametoNikhil Kumar for all futurepurposes. 0040613900-1

II,, KhajanChandraaliasKhajanChandraPant, S/oBrijMohanPant, R/oB-22, GarjiyaApartments, AbhayKhand-3,Indirapuram, Ghaziabad, UP-201014, have changedmynametoKhajanPant for all futurepurposes. 0070785579-1

II,, DEVENDERYADAV, S/oYOGRAJYADAV, R/oPOST-WAZIRPUR,DHANAWAS (119), GURGAON,HARYANA-122505, havechangedmyminor Son’s namefromKUNAL, aged14 years toKUNALYADAV forever.

0070785542-1

II,, AshishMishra, S/o SatishKumarMishra, R/oB1-704, TulipPurple, Sector-69, Gurgaon,Haryana-122001, have changedmyminorDaughter’s namefromKHUSHIMISHRA, aged 13years to TANYAKHUSHIMISHRA forever. 0070785541-1

II,, AsadKhan, S/o Jamil Husain,R/o- E-T 18 102, RPSSavana,Faridabad-121002, havechangedmyname toAsadHusain. 0070785582-1

II Satyavir Singh s/oDayaRamr/oHouseNo.1849/A,Sector-13,Huda,Bhiwani,Haryana-127021have changedmynametoSATYAVIRSINGHSANGWAN.

0040613951-2

II KrishnamurtysastryAnnapurnaW/O, BViswanathanR/o 132-a, DdaFlats,dg2Vikaspuri, NewDelhi -110018have changedmynametoKrishnamurtyAnnapurnafor all purposes. 0040613946-1

II GulnaazBanoD/O,MaqsoodKhanChouhanR/oHouseNo-4/231, FlatNo 402, ShivajiNagar, NearKhandsaRoad,Gurgoan 122001have changedmyname toGulnaazKhan forall purposes. 0040613947-1

II,,PPaarrvveezzAkthar S/oBashirAhmedR/oG-1/264, DalMillRoad,UttamNagar, Delhi-110059,changedname toParvezAkhtar. 0040613949-9

I,MOHAMMADMASUDLASKAR,MOHDMASUDLASKARANDMDMASUDLASKARS/OMOHAMMEDMUJIBARRAHMANR/O53-ADDAFLATSNEARBULANDMASJID SHASTRI PARKDELHI-110053HAVECHANGEMYNAMETOMOHAMMEDMASUDLASKAR. 0040608620

I, KamlaRaniW/oNarenderMohanR/o FlatNo-220-C, JantaFlats, PaschimVihar Extn. Delhi-110063hereby solemnly informthatKamlaRani andChhayaMohanbothareoneand thesameperson. 0040613874

IIGurcharanSinghS/oSh.MohanSinghR/oQU-251C,NorthPitampura, Delhi-110088have lostmyOriginal DDAPossession Letter in thenameofMadanLal S/oKishan Lal FileNo.NOL019(432)85/PT/HBM/NPdated 19.10.1985 ofQU-251C,NorthPitampura, Delhi-110088.Findersmaycontact ataboveaddress.

0040613890-1

II SureshKumarBhatia S/oSh.S.L.BhatiaR/o FlatNo. C-18,SuvidhaCGHS, PlotNo.25,Sector-13, Rohini, Delhi-110085have lostmyOriginalAllotment Letter issuedbySuvidhaCGHSLtd.of abovesaidproperty. Findersmaycontact at aboveaddress.

0040613890-2

II,, Dr. UmberAgarwal, S/oDr. B.K.Agarwal, R/o 88-S, Sector-7,JasolaVihar, NewDelhi, havelostmyoriginal possessionletter, allotment letter, andoffice order (name transferletter), ofmyPlotNo.13/9,Sector-13, Vasundhara,Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, ifanyoneuses themthen itwillbe considered illegal, Finderplease inform/contact:-9811152551. 0070785578-1

II,,CChheettaann SwaroopKanodia S/oShri KeshavDevKanodiaR/o-A-213,Kewal Park,Azadpur,Delhi-33,have lostHandingOverPossessionandSitePossessionSlippapers(F.16(12548)/2012/RHN)of PlotNo.733,Block&PocketC-5,Sector-34,Rohini,Delhi-42.FinderContact-9205341655

0040613952-9

II,,NNeeeerruu Puri D/oSh.PurshotamLal Satija R/oAO-28,ShalimarBaghDelhi-110088have lostmy70Shares,Certificatebearing.No.6691,DistinctiveNo.4013098 to 4013167,of C&SElectric Ltd.FinderContact-9868504238. 0040613952-8

LLoosstt 5Chains ofOriginal Sale-Deedsof Property.No.A-52,Rajouri Garden,NewDelhi-110027 in favour of last 2 chainsnameof Shrimati SubashKumari, Smt.Saroj Talwar&Shri AshokKumarTalwar andSecondChain Shrimati SitaDevi&Shrimati KailashKumari,foundermaycontactAtul Talwar,S/oSh.MadanLalTalwarR/o 185,Sukhdev-Vihar,NewDelhi.M-9711002154.

0040613952-10

LLoosstt all original Documents ofmyOfficeNo.103, AnsalChamber-II, 6, Bhikaji CamaPlace, NewDelhi. FindermayContact-RameshKumarSharmaat abovenotedaddress. 0040613897-1

PUBLIC NOTICEBe it known that my clients (1) Suraj PalNagar S/o Shankar Lal Nagar (2)Rambeti W/o Suraj Pal Nagar R/o Plotno. 5, Sainik Enclave Ansari chowkSector-5 near Hanuman mandir, murtiwall gali, Mohan garden Uttam NagarNew Delhi -110059 have disowned andsevered all their relations with theirson's Akash Nagar and his wife MonikaKumari, debarred them from theirmoveable and immovable properties/assets and their personal life. Anybodydealing with them in civil and criminalmatter shall be doing at his/her/theirown risk, cost and responsibility.

ABHAY RAJ VERMA(Advocate)

Enrl.No.D-366/2011

PUBLIC NOTICENotified to the public that our clients Mr. RaviKumar Son of Late Sh. Tek Chand Mangal &Miss Vidya Mangla and Miss Veena Manglaboth Daughters of Late Sh. Tek ChandMangal All R/o Apt. 0405, IREO GRANDARCH, Tower B, Sector-58, Gurugram-122011, have got no connection ofwhatsoever nature with their brother Mr.Subhash Chand Mangal R/O 14/9, SubhashNagar, Delhi-27, and his family mambers i.e.his wife Mrs. Vimla Mangla, elder son AnkurMangla, younger son Amrit Mangla & his wifeMrs. Rajshree Verma, Our aforesaid clients &their family mebmers have severed all theirrelations, connections of whatsoever naturewith their aforesaid brother Subhash ChandMangal & his aforesaid family members for allpurposes. Any person dealing with them shalldo so on his own risks and consequences.

Sd/-(R.D. Vats)

AdvocateEnrl. No. 423/83

Ch. No. 668, Western Wing,Tis Hazari Courts, Delhi-110054

PUBLIC NOTICEBe it known to all that my client Shri RajKumar Mishra S/o Shri Shivkant Mishra,Aged-53 years and Smt. Indu Devi W/oShri Raj Kumar Mishra aged 50 years, bothR/o A-2/1799, J.J. Colony, MadanpurKhadar, Sarita Vihar, South Delhi, Delhi-110076, due to some unavoidablecircumstances & daily harassment hassevered all his relations and disown /debartheir son namely Deepak Kumar Mishraand daughter-in-law namely Durga, fromall my client's moveable and immoveableproperties/ assets with effect from16.05.2022 and all moveable andimmoveable properties/ assets which myclient inherits in future from his ancestorsand parents through the law of inheritance.My client has no relation with the above-named persons in any manner whatsoever.Anyone dealing with him/her, shall bedoing at his/her/their own risks/costs/consequences and my client shallnot be responsible for their son namelyDeepak Kumar Mishra and daughter-in-lawnamely Durga (his/her/ their) acts, deedsand dealings or caused to be done withpublic at large in any manner whatsoever.

Sd/-Ashwini Kumar (Advocate)

Enrollment no D/3670/16

Àff½fʪfd³fIY Àfc¨f³ff¸fZSm ¸fb½fd¢I »f ßfe S¸fZVf ¨f³Qi ´fbÂf ¦fû½f²fʳf ½f ßfe¸f°fed¶f¸f»ff QZ½fe ´f}e S¸fZVf ¨f³Qi d³f½ffÀfe ¶fe-331, ¦f»fe³fa. 16, Vfd³f ¸fadQS, °fû¸fS I fg»ffZ³fe, I ¸ff»f´fbS,¶fbSfOÞe, dQ»»fe-110084 ³fZ A´f³fZ ´fbÂffZÔ ½f ´fbÂf½f²fbAfaZ´fiQe´f Ib ¸ffS ½f CÀfI e ´f}e ³f`³ff AüS ªf¦fQeVf ½fCÀfI e ´f}e Àfûd³f¹ff Vf¸ffÊ I û C³fIZ Qb½¹fʽfWfS ½fQbSf¨fS¯f °f±ff A½fÄffI fSe Af¨fS¯f IZ I fS¯f C³fÀfZA´f³fZ Àf·fe Àf¸¶f³²f d½f¨LZQ I S C³WZ a A´f³fe Àf¸fÀ°f¨f»f-A¨f»f Àf¸´fdØf ÀfZ ¶fZQ£f»f I S dQ¹ff W`Ü·fd½f¿¹f ¸fZÔ ½fZ A´f³fZ Àf·fe I f³fc³fe ½f ¦f`SI f³fc³fe I f¹fûÔÊIZ d»f¹fZ À½f¹fa CØfSQf¹fe Wû¦fZÔ, BÀf¸fZÔ ¸fZSm¸fb½fd¢I »ff³f I e I ûBÊ dªf¸¸fZQfSe ³fWeÔ Wû¦feÜ

WXÀ°ff/-EÀf.IZY.Óff (Ad²f½f¢°ff)

Enrl. No. D-1522/01

PUBLIC NOTICENotified that my client jyoti Dhawan, w/oR.K. Dhawan, resident of House No.9,Block-8, Spring Field Colony, Sector- 31-32, Faridabad, Haryana-121001, hassevere relation from her son VarunDhawan his wife Ruchika Kakkar and theirson Manav Dhawan. Due to his cruel andharassing behavior towards my abovenamed client. Now she has no domesticrelations with him and has disowned himfrom all movable & immovable properties.Any person dealing with him will do at hisown cost & risk and my client should notbe responsible for them, if any.

Sd/-SAURABH GUPTA

ADVOCATE(Enrl No.D/369/2011)

LLOOSSTT&&FFOOUUNNDD

RREECCRRUUIITTMMEENNTT

SSIITTUUAATTIIOONNVVAACCAANNTT

MMUULLTTIIPPLLEEVVAACCAANNCCIIEESSFFiinnaanncceeCompanyRequiredManager,AccountantKnowing(Tally/G.S.T), ComputerOperator#8882507112,8595783037 0040613258-3

PPUUBBLLIICCNNOOTTIICCEE

CCOOUURRTTNNOOTTIICCEE

This is to inform the Public at largethat Sh. Rakesh Sherawat S/o Sh.B.S. Sherawat is the “Title Holder”in possession of “DDA Built UpFreehold Property Bearing Flat No.L-1B, Ground Floor, Category-Janta,Malviya Nagar, Residential Scheme,Saket, New Delhi”, hereinafterreferred to as ‘Schedule Property’vide Conveyance Deed dated13.03.2020, registered as Regn.No.2881, Book 1, Vol. No. 7597, pp-188-192 on 19.03.2020 in the Officeof Sub. Registrar-VII, New Delhi.That the original documents w.r.t.the Schedule Property, (i) AllotmentLetter dated 24.11.1977, (ii) Offerto possession Letter dated 15.02.78,(iii) NOC for water and electricitydated 15.02.78 and (v) PossessionSlip all issued by DDA in favour ofSh. Nand Kishore (Original Allottee)have been lost/ misplaced and areuntraceable, hence unavailable forverification in original, in lieu ofwhich Information Report dated13.05.2022 is filed with Delhi Policebearing LR No. 399157/2022. Thisnotice is issued to Public at Largei.e. any Person(s), Financial Institu-tion(s), Bank(s), HUFs etc., havingany knowledge, custody or possess-ion of the lost/ misplaced/ untracea-ble documents as mentioned hereinabove or otherwise having any claimright, title, interest, possession inthe Schedule Property, by way ofOwnership, Succession, Inheritance,Sale, Mortgage, Exchange, Charge.Lien, Gift, Trust, Encumbrance etc,or objection to the sale of theSchedule Property, may comeforward with supporting documents,to be delivered to the undersignedwithin 15 days from the date of thisPublication, post expiration of which, any claim (s) or objection (s), ifraised or received, shall be treatedas null & void and such claims orobjection shall be treated as waived,and the Title Holder shall be treatedas waived, and the Title Holder shallproceed to sell the ScheduleProperty as per presently intended.

PUBLIC NOTICE

G.A. Khan (Advocate)

Ch. no. 171, Chamber Block IIDelhi High Court, New Delhi-03

Whilst care is taken prior to acceptance ofadvertising copy, it is not possible to verify itscontants. The Indian Express (P) Limited cannotbe held responsible for such contents, nor for anyloss or damage incurred as a result oftransactions with companies, associations orindividuals adversing in its newspapers orPublications. We therefore recommend thatreaders make necessary inquiries before sendingany monies or entering into any agreements withadvertisers or otherwise acting on anadvertisement in any manner whatsoever.

“IMPORTANT”

New Delhi

SPORT/CALENDAR 15WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY,MAY17,2022

WORLDBOXINGCHAMPIONSHIP

NITINSHARMACHANDIGARH,MAY16

AS A youngster, ManishaMounwould ac-companyherelderbrother to thevolleyballground at the RKSD College Stadium inKaithalwithouttellingfather KrishanMoun.Whileher fatheronlyknewaboutherprac-tising judo at the venue apart fromplayingvolleyball,ManishawouldbetrainingunderboxingcoachRajinderSingh.Itwasaroundthis timethatKrishansuf-

fered the first of his heart attacks and thefarmer-cum-tractormechanichadtoworryabout themedical expenses apart from theneedsof his threechildren.Those tough times were recalled on

Mondaywhen24-year-oldManishasecuredhermaidenworldchampionshipmedalwitha 4:1 split decision win over Mongolia’sNamuunMankhor in the 57 Kg category atthe IBA Women’s World BoxingChampionship in Istanbul, Turkey.“Our familywantedManisha to go out-

side so she would often accompany herbrothertothevolleyballstadium.ButwedidnotknowthatshewasapproachedbycoachRajinder Singh, who got her enrolled intoboxing.Whenshebecamedistrictchampionwithin twoyears,wegot toknowaboutherfeat, and Ipraisedher in frontof allmyrela-tives and neighbours. So far, she has wonmorethan40medalsbutthisone,whatevercolour she brings home, will be special forus. She toldme that amedal in Turkeywillbe no less than anOlympics for us and I amglad that she has proved herself,” an emo-tionalKrishan toldThe IndianExpress.While her father owned a 1.5-acre farm

apart fromworkingasatractormechanic intheir village, Manisha’s interest in boxingmeantthatthefamilyhadtolookforfundstosupporthertraining.WhileayoungManishawould often bring some prizemoney fromlocal boxing tournaments tomother UshaRani, the family faced a tough time in thoseyearswhen Krishan suffered his first heartattack and spentmore than amonth at thePGIMER in Chandigarh. “Shewas a child atthattimeandwouldnotunderstandmycon-dition. Shewould tell us that she is going totraining but would always ask hermotheraboutmyhealth.Whateverprizemoneyshewon,shewouldgivetohermother,”remem-bersKrishan.Coach Gurmeeet Singh, a trainee of

Rajinder Singh, who has been trainingManisha since 2014 remembers her earlydaysinboxing.“Is ladkimainzunoonhaikuchseekhneka(Thisgirlhasthepassiontolearn).At that time,wehad fewer femaleboxersattheacademyandwouldtrainherwithboys.It also meant that she would take part incross-countryrunseveryweekinwhichshewould finish in the top three in the 21-kmcountryrun.Ithelpedherbuildstaminaandshemaintains the habit of running cross-country events even now. She has alwaysbeen a fan of 2006 Commonwealth GameschampionAkhilKumarandherleftpunchisjust like Akhil with a bit of an open guard,”saysSingh.

Steady progressA silver at the junior Haryana boxing

championshipsin2013wasfollowedbysuc-cessiveAllIndiaInter-Universitytitlesin2016and 2017 beforeManishawon three inter-national medals in 2018. It was the yearwhen shewouldwin the trials for the 2018World Championships in Delhi, where shewouldreachthequarter-finalsbeforelosingto 2016world championship silvermedal-list Stoyko Petrova of Bulgaria. During hercampaign,Manishawould scorewins overtwo-time world championship medallist

ChristinaCruzofUSAand2017worldcham-pion Dina Zhalaman of Kazakhstan. Shewould win a bronze at the Asian BoxingChampionships in2019.Thencamethesetbackofanelbowinjury

in2019before shedecided to shift to the57Kg category, where she would competeagainst the likes of former world youthchampion Sakshi Chaudhary, formerworldmedallist Sonia Lather and Sonia Chahal.“Shewouldstarthercareer in the50kgcat-egoryandonceshefeltconfident, shechose54Kgasherbestweight. The2018Nationalssilvermedal gave her confidence ahead oftheworld championship trials in 2018 andshecouldhavewonamedalinDelhi.Sheof-ten watches videos of her bouts againstChristina and Dina andwould observe hermistakesduringtherehabilitationperiodaf-terherelbowinjury.WhenshewasdroppedfromtheTOPSschemerecently,shewasabitdisappointedasherfamily’sfinancialcondi-tionisnotthatgoodbutthismedalwillhope-fully ensure that she gets back into thescheme,” says coach Satvir Kaur, who hasbeen in several national camps withManisha.The pugilist will now face Irma Testa of

ItalyintheWorldChampionshipsemi-finalsandherfatherwillbewatchingtheboutwiththe family at their village. “Sometimes, Iwouldspendextrahoursat thetractorshopto earnmoremoney even thoughManishawouldoftenaskmetocomehomeearly.Butthenwehadloanstorepay.Shealwayshandsherprizemoneytomeorhermothertillnowbutforusthebiggestprizeishermedals.Theonly thing she is fond of while at home iscleaningthehouseandmakingspaceforhermedals. Thismedal will be the brightest ofall of hermedals till date,”her father says.

FamilycametoknowaboutManisha’sboxingtalentonlyafter shegotgoldatdistrictmeet

Manisha,24, securedhermaidenworldchampionshipmedal inthe57kgclass.

TigerWoodswillbe teeingoff inhissecondMajorchampionshipsof theyear.

Woods back in spotlight,Mickelson still in shadowsREUTERSTULSA (USA),MAY16

TIGERWOODSwillbebackintheglobalgolfspotlightwhenthePGAChampionshipgetsunderway this week but defending cham-pion PhilMickelson, his great rival and theplayer he has been tethered to throughoutmuchof his career,willnot.WoodsandMickelsonaretogolfwhatRogerFedererandRafaNadalaretotennis,athletesin the twilight of their careers but still themost compelling figures in their sport andguaranteedratingsgrabbers.The PGA Championship, which begins onThursday in Tulsa, Oklahoma, had all themakingsofoneof thosespecialsportingoc-casionswhenold rivals collide.Afternearly losinghisright leg inacarcrash15months ago,Woodsmade his return tocompetitionat theMasters inApril andwilltakethenextstepinhisextraordinarycome-backatSouthernHillsCountryClub.Mickelson,whohaskept a lowprofile sincehis controversial comments about a Saudi-backedglobalgolfcircuit,hasnotplayedany-where since February but looked like hemight return in Tulsa when his name ap-pearedonthe field list.ButMickelson,whobecamegolf'soldestma-jorwinner last yearwhen hewon the PGAChampionship just shy of his 51st birthday,saidonFridayhewouldnotplay, becomingjust the third PGA champion not to defendhistitleafterWoodsin2008andBenHoganin1949,bothofwhombowedoutduetoin-jury. TherewillbeplentyofotherstorylinesandgreatgolfplayedatSouthernHills,mostof it from a pack of hard-charging twenty-somethings, includingMasters championandworldnumberoneScottieScheffler,butWoods is unlikely to be pushed from the

spotlight.The46-year-oldwonthePGAChampionshipthe last time itwasstagedatSouthernHills,hoistingtheWanamakertrophyforafourthtime in2007.WhileWoods always plays towin, few ex-pecthimtoadd tohis tallyof 15majors thisweek.WoodsworkedthegolfworldintoafrenzyattheMasterswhenhecardedaone-underpar71inhisfirstroundofcompetitivegolf sincehishorror car crash.Hewouldmake the cut but four rounds onAugustaNational'sundulatinglayoutprovedtoo much as the 15-times major winnerclosed with six-over 78s on Saturday andSunday,hisworst-everscoresattheMasters.Woodswill hogmuch of the spotlight butwillnotcarry thesamepressureas the likesof world number one Scheffler and JordanSpieth,whohasanopportunitytocompletethecareerGrandSlam.Spiethmissed the cut at theMasters for thefirst time in his career but has been golf'shottestplayersince,winningatHiltonHeadIslandandfinishingsecondathisPGAtune-up.If the28-year-oldcantriumphatthePGAChampionship, where his best result wasrunner-up in 2015, he would join GeneSarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, JackNicklaus andWoods in golf's elite club ofGrand Slamwinners. The pressure is alsobuildingonScheffler,whoheads toa layouthehas toutedashis favourite course.Whenthe year began Schefflerwas still chasing afirstPGATourwin.Henowhasfour,aGreenJacket, theworldnumberoneranking.AwinatthePGAwouldsaddlehimwithtalkofarareGrandSlamsweepingallfourmajorsinasingleseason. "For Jordantowintheca-reerGrandSlamatstill ayoungage,he’sgotto throttle that back," said twice US OpenchampionCurtisStrange

WhileManishawouldoftenbringsomeprizemoneyfromlocal tournaments tomotherUshaRani, thefamily facedtoughtimeswhenherfathersufferedaheartattack.

Nikhat, Parveenalso advance tosemi-finals,secure medalsPRESSTRUSTOFINDIANEWDELHI,MAY16

NIKHATZAREEN(52kg),Manisha(57kg)andParveen(63kg)continuedtheir stellar runatthe IBA Women's World BoxingChampionshipsinIstanbulonMondaybyad-vancingtothesemifinalsbutfiveotherIndiansbowedoutaftersufferingquarterfinal losses.Confirmingtheir firstWorldChampionshipsmedalswithaplaceinthesemifinals,Nikhatout-punchedEngland'sCharley-SianDavison5-0while young Parveen got the better offShoira Zulkaynarova of Tajikistanwith anidenticalmargin.Manisha, on the other hand, dispatched

Mongolia's NamuunMonkhor in a hard-foughtquarterfinalbya4-1splitdecision.However, it was the end of the road for

Nitu(48kg),seasonedcampaignerPoojaRani(81kg),Anamika(50kg), Jaismine(60kg)andNandini(+81kg).Continuingherstellarrunfromthepres-

tigiousStrandjaMemorialtournamentwhereshewon the gold earlier this year, NikhathandedIndiaitsfirstmedalatthisyear'stour-namentwithanimpressivevictory."Myopponentwas taller thanmetoday,

somy strategywas to block her right handwhich is her strength. I amdelighted to giveIndiathefirstmedal,hopeIcanwinthegold,"Nikhatsaidafterthebout.The former juniorworld championwill

next square off against CarolineDeAlmeidaof Brazil, who thrashed the 2018CommonwealthGames silverwinner CarlyMcNaulof Irelandbyunanimousdecision.In the fourth Indian bout of the day,

Parveeninitiallyseemedhesitanttoattackandlookedoutofdepthbutasthesecondstickedaway and coachBhaskar Bhatt and the sup-port staff encouragedher to go forward andattack from the sideline, theHaryana boxergainedconfidence tonotchupamemorablewin. Shewill be up against Ireland's AmyBroadhurst in the semifinal. Anamika andJaisminefellshortofsecuringmedalsontheirdebutappearanceattheworldeventafteren-during 0-5 and 1-4 losses respectively.Anamika lost to RioOlympic bronzemedal-list Colombia's Ingrit Valencia and Jaisminesuccumbed to Rashida Ellis of USA.Nandiniwashanded a0-5 loss byMorocco's KhadijaMardiin inheropeningbout.

Famous victory for the secretive boxer

CROSSWORD4742

ACROSS1 Gameforanoldschoolget-together(5,5)

6 Itemsgivenforstorageinabank(4)

10 Lieaboutshowingtruegrit(5)11 Theyworkwithawill(9)12 Instrumentputsoldmaninconfusion(8)

13 UnusualRomandwellinghouse(5)

15 It’snearbreakingupandshowingdistress(2,5)

17 HideatonetimefoundinCalifornia(7)

19 They’retoldtogotoblazes(7)21 WineforcedonsomeIrishmen(7)

22 Onewhogetsuppartof thestairs(5)

24 DeterminedtogivepoorRoseaninstrument(8)

27 Afterwork,quietormusicistimely(9)

28 Gotanordertodance(5)

29 HowBeethovenfinishedasetoffournotes(4)

30 Prettinessinaconstantlyrecurringform(10)

DOWN1 Birdmakingharshsound(4)2 Tribalragturnsouttoberock(9)3 Returnandsurrender(5)4 Withonepointeach,onemorebecomesredundant(7)

5 Cocainedistilledfromthesea(7)7 Lendbeautytopartofaheadornament(5)

8 Pacificislander(10)9 Askedtoappearatcourt?(8)14 Seekearthlyriches?(3,3,4)16 Errsamidwaywardlovers(8)18 Beinginthewrongscene,exit(9)20 Fostermayruntruetoform(7)21 Getsbetterof teachers(7)23 Brownmonkeysclimballaroundone(5)

25 AdealwithAmericaforplant(5)26 Placeappointedforapicket(4)

ARIES (Mar21 -Apr 20)Please don't sitaround thinkinghowunfair life canbe.Mars, the planet

of excess energy, has passedon, and that imaginative andawkward squad,Uranus,Neptune andPluto,will nowleave you inpeace for a littlelonger.Meawhile, Saturnwillcontinue to keep you inyour place.

TAURUS (Apr 21 -May21)The Sun is stillmaintaining yoursocial profile,reminding you that

it is important to get otherpeople to see that yourwayofdoing things is best.With acharm like yours, howcanyoufail?Only bynot taking care ofevery single detail, that's how.

GEMINI (May22 - June21)The first thing to sayis that there is ashortage of epoch-makingplanetary

aspects at themoment. Theresult is that youmaybegin tosee yourself asmore in controlof your life than youhave beenfor quite some time. If youdo,that's a sign that youmaycomeunstuck very soon.

CANCER (June22 - July 23)There's one thingyouwantmore thananything else inyour life, and

recently it has seemed thatyouhave been about toachieve it. However, if youhave fallen at the last hurdle,can youwait for another twomonths?Currentdevelopmentsmayopenyoureyes to the broader picture.

LEO (July 24 -Aug23)Don't back awayfromproblems atwork. People in allareas of your life are

waiting for you tomakeyourself clear anddemonstrate that you are ableto copewith any amount ofpractical difficulty. People youlivewith could get intense,so don't let anythingsurprise you.

VIRGO (Aug24 - Sep23)You seem tobequite preoccupiedwithpersonnelchanges on the

work front. Seeing as thatradical signAquarius isinvolved, youmaybeconcerned to increase yourindependence and sense ofpersonal responsibility. And itmeans youmayhave to strikeout on your own.

LIBRA (Sep24 -Oct 23)A series of powerfulplanetary aspectshas beenkeepingyour personal

affairs in a state of flux.However, Venus, the planet oflove is bringinghelp fromnearat hand. And that helpmaybemorepractical than you think.In themeantime, sort out cashquestionswhile you can.

SCORPIO (Oct 24 -Nov23)If you are absolutelydetermined toassert yourauthority, there

seems to be little to stand inyourway. TheMoon combineswith the Sun to strengthen analready solid personalposition,much to your relief.The best advice is to take acreative approach, but keepother people on your side.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov24-Dec22)The Sun andMercury are castingtheir benevolentrays over your

family affairs. You are nevercertain about yourfoundations—emotional andotherwise. Yet, really, youhavelittle toworry about. Probablythe best area to focus on is theeffect your publiccommitments have onyourprivate affairs.

CAPRICORN (Dec23 - Jan20)Have you realisedthat the obstacleyou faced lastweekwas ahurdle to leap

over, not a brickwall to stopyour progress? Bynow, youmust bewell on yourway toestablishing your life on anentirely fresh footing. Today'sVenusian alignments shouldhelp balance your emotions.

AQUARIUS (Jan21- Feb19)Thismaywell be achallenging andupsetting time, butgraceful Venuswill

bring support and sympathyfromclose friends. The bestthing you canbe told is thatyour fears andworries areillusory. And thebest thingyou cando iswait until youhave a clearer picture.

PISCES (Feb20 -Mar20)Pisceanshave areputation for beingtoo sensitive byhalf.The onlyway to get

themost out of your currentsituation is to lay yourself onthe line and learn to acceptcriticism in the spirit inwhichit ismeant. In otherwords,theremaybe somethinggenuine for you to learn.

SUDOKU4837

DifficultyLevel5sInstructionsTosolveaSudokupuzzle,everydigitfrom1to9mustappear ineachofthenineverticalcolumns, ineachoftheninehorizontalrowsandineachofthenineboxes.

DifficultyLevel1s=Veryeasy;2s=Easy;3s=Medium;4s=Hard;5s=VeryHard;6s=Genius S

OLU

TIONSUDOKU4836

Givenbelowarefour jumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemtotherespectivesquaresbelow.Selecttheletters intheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtogettheanswerforthegivenquip.Ifmencouldonlyknoweachother,theywouldneither___nor__-ElbertHubbard(7,.,4)

SOLUTION:ENEMA,IDIOT,DELETE,HAZILYAnswer:Ifmencouldonlyknoweachother,theywouldneitheridolizenorhate-ElbertHubbard

MNAEE EEEDLT

DTIIO AILYHZ

SolutionsCrossword4741:Across:1Tanning,5Which,8Stringent,9Car,10Each,12Unchaste,14Callow,15Harass,17Nominate,18Stir,21Out,22Reeledoff,24Mused,25Melange.Down:1Taste,2Nor,3Inns,4Greens,5Watchman,6Incessant,7Harness,11Cellmates,13Cornered,14Conform,16Stream,19Rifle,20Seal,23Own.

JUMBLEDWORDS

OVERTHEHEDGE byMichael Fry&TLewis

CALVIN&HOBBES byBillWatterson

MARVIN byTomArmstrong

DAYTODAY BYPETERVIDAL

New Delhi

VolXCNo.160 Regd.No.DL-21046/03-05 R.N.I.No.506/57. PrintedandPublishedbyR.C.MalhotraonbehalfofTheIndianExpress(P)LimitedandPrintedatTheIndianExpress(P)LimitedPress,A-8,Sector-7,Noida-201301andDBCorpLtd,DainikBhaskarVillageUnanTola,NearDanapurCantt,ShivylyaRoad,PostKhagaul,Shahpur,Patna(Bihar)andPublishedatTheIndianExpress(P)Limited,MezzanineFloor,ExpressBuilding,9&10,BahadurShahZafarMarg,NewDelhi110002.Editorialoffice:TheIndianExpress(P)Limited,MezzanineFloor,ExpressBuilding,9&10,BahadurShahZafarMarg,NewDelhi-110002.Phone:0120-6651500.Advertisingoffice:TheIndianExpress(P)Limited,B1/B,Sector-10,Noida-201301.Phone:01206651291.ChairmanoftheBoard:ViveckGoenka,ChiefEditor:RajKamalJha,Editor:UnniRajenShanker,Editor(Delhi):RakeshSinha****

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20MAY2022 06:00PM

Inflation:Howbad is it for you,

and India’s growth story?

AssociatePartner

In the growth-inflation trade-off, the focus has clearly shifted to reining in prices.

A fortnight ago, the RBI hiked the key policy rate by 40 basis points, the first in four years.

Given the worries about domestic food prices, India has already banned wheat exports.

With the Russia-Ukraine war still unravelling, fuel prices may remain elevated.

Tough measures like more interest rate hikes and liquidity absorption in coming months will killwhatever little demand India is seeing now.

Is stagflation - low growth, high inflation - looming large?

In conversationwith

Anil SasiNational Business Editor

The Indian Express

NeelkanthMishraPart-time Member Economic Advisory Council to

PM and Co-Head of Equity Strategy,Asia Pacific and India Equity Strategist,Securities Research, Credit Suisse

Shock, anger and grudging respect for Indian shuttlersWatchingtheunheraldedteamlift theThomasCup,badmintonpowerhouses Indonesians,MalaysiansandDaneswonderwhatwentwrong for theirmen

SHIVANINAIKMAY16

INDIA’STHOMASCupvictorysentsomeseis-micwavesthroughSouth-EastAsianpower-houses and European big daddies of bad-minton. India can chuckle a tad andwink abitthisweek,orhavetheproverbiallastlaugh.But therewas a hint of a scoff and grudgingrespectasMalaysia,DenmarkandIndonesiacame to termswith being handed losses bythefirst-timefinalists in the2022edition.Herearesomesnatchesofthefalloutthat

erupted in two proud shuttle nations fromthe straits, and the Scandinavian behemothboastingofOlympicchampViktorAxelsen.

Taufik lets it ripIndonesian legend and universal

favouriteTaufikHidayat, couldn’tholdbackanalmightyrantwhenhetookto Instagramtoposthis thoughtsunderavideoof aglumlooking team clutching their silvers onthe podium.The2000&2002ThomasCupchamphad

foundascapegoat in the singles coach -withtheclassicgripe:Whereisthecoach!?Hispost read (translated): “TeamThomas

Cup.Thankyoufor reachingthebestpossiblepositionofafinal.Surely,theyaredisappointedwiththisdefeat,butonethingistobenotedal-ways:it’samental,physicalbattle...andwhereis the Indonesianmen’s singles coach?DoesIndonesianothaveabetterandmorequalifiedcoach?Howlongdoyouwantthistolast,PBSI?”Addressing the federation, Indonesia’s lastOlympicsingleschampiontoreintotheincum-bent, after Anthony Ginting and JonatanChristiehadlosttheirmatches.Thissoonturnedintoa‘Who’swiser?’scrap

asasocialmediafollowercomparedhisbruis-ing tone to themorerestrainedreaction fromMalaysianLeeChongWei,whobasicallyurgedpatiencewhiletheMalaysiansrebuilttheirside.Notunlike India andPakistanwhoboth loseandthensnipeateachotherwhileathirdcoun-trywinsat cricket, IndonesianandMalaysianfansstartedventingagainsteachother,much

likethefamousrivalryofthe1970s.

Indonesiacoachunder fireIndonesia’ssinglescoachIrwansyahdidcop

criticismthedayafter,thoughmovingimagesofhimconsolingGintingandChristie,andhiseffortstohelpmakethefinalsseemedtohaveearnedhima longer rope.DetikSportquotedhimassaying,“Theplayersinthefuturewillbegivenmoreopportunitiestoappearininterna-tionalchampionships.Thisispartoftheregen-erationprocess.”DoublescoachHerryImanhadamorerous-

ingdefenceof his troops: “Wehave toacceptthisdefeataspartof thelearningprocess.Lastyearwewon,wearehappy.Thistimewelost,sowehavetoacceptit,”DetikquotedthecoachnicknamedtheFireDragon.“Defeatshouldnotmakeusdissolveinsadness.Butwemustriseagaintolooktothefuture.Whatevertheresult,Indiadeservetobecongratulated,”saidHerry.

TheKingmournsLiem Swie King, a contemporary of

PrakashPadukonewithmanystoriedbattles,lamentedthelosstoIndia, inwhatwasadis-

believingtone.Detikquotedhimwondering:“Three Indonesian playerswere ranked be-lowAnthonyGinting&Co. In fact, based onthe track recordof the two countries’meet-ings, Indonesiawas supposed to have beenquitedominating.Butthatadvantagewasnotutilised by the defending champions. Yes, itmustbeevaluatedwhywelost.Theperform-anceuntilthefinalwasextraordinary.Ididn’tthinkthatIwouldlosetoIndia!”the1976,’79and’84ThomasCupchampexclaimed.“Yes,that’s right, India is also good, I just didn’tthink itwas...with thishistory, that theycan

win in the Thomas Cup. Physically(Indonesianplayersmust)improve(because)everytimetheyplaythreegames,theylosealot,”saidLiem.“(So)youcan’tjusthaveskills,itmustbecompleteplay,”hestressed.

Nasty nicknameChiragShetty,whowasathornintheflesh

of Mohammad Ahsan and Kevin SanjayaSukamuljo, foundhimself on the dartboardof Indonesiannetizens,afterhispumped-upfacewascapturedinaphotograph,staringatthe soleMinion.Manning the netwith ag-gressiveenergy,Shettyhadclearlyrattledthefanciedpairingasitwilted-orsoIndonesianfanswereconvinced.His swivel serve came in formore carp-

ing: they nicknamed him ‘Kang Delay’, theservedelayer.A loss indoubles foracountrythat boasts three pairings in the Top 10, in-cludingNos.1and2,wasawhiplashondazedIndonesianfaces.Kevinhadearlierremarkedabout those tensemoments: “In the secondgame,whentheywereleading19-13,Indiansplayed like they had nothing to lose. Theyweresohardtoputdown.”

Malaysia in soul-searchingmodeLeeChongWeididask foraccountability

though,speakingtoStraitsTimes.Butfirstwasa compliment for Kidambi Srikanth andHSPrannoy,whohandedMalaysia a3-2 loss inthe quarters. “I don’t thinkwewould havestood a chance even if we fielded Daren(Liew).Srikanthwasoozingwithconfidence,hewas untouchable. Neither (Ng) Tze YongorDarencouldbeathim.“JunHaofaredpoorlyagainstamore-ex-

periencedPrannoy.TowintheThomasCup,it takes a collective effort from everyone inthe team.Wecertainlyneedto improveour

singlesdepthifwewanttochallengeforthetitle.Havingbeenthesinglescoachingdirec-tor for a few years now, (Wong) ChoongHann has to be held accountable and ex-plain,” Lee toldST.He proceeded to suggest an Indian style

trial: “Perhaps, it’s timewe looked intohav-ingaselectiontrialforthemen’ssinglesinor-dertomakeitfairtoall,especiallywithmanyindependent players outside the nationalteam.”Malaysia’steameventspecialistChongWei Feng added to ST: “India developed ahuge pool of singles players, you got to givethem credit. They have five singles in theworld top 30 andmore than 10 in the top100.”

Boe hero; Hoi on backfootDenmark’s only bright spot in the finals

wasIndia’sdoublescoachMathiasBoe,whotold TV2 Sport: “I have to find my danceshoes and see if I can show them how tomake a quiet and calm charming Viennesewaltz.”ClearlytheDanecouldn’tmatchstepwith thewild Bhangra and freestylemovesof Chirag&Co.Elsewhere,nationalcoachJakobHøi,was

left defending his decision to field RasmusGemke ahead of seasoned HK Vittinghus.“We’vebeenindreamland,andwhenyouare,and it’s bursting, it’s hard to get up again.Respect for theboysonandoff the field, butwewere not good enough today,” he wasquoted by TV2 Sport, adding that India hadnegotiatedconditionsbetter.“No,Idonotre-gretanything,”hestressed.Gemke spoke of feeling wretched as

IndiansrushedontothecourttohugPrannoy.“It was hard to stand in there when theIndiansstormedontothefield,andIknewitwasover,”hesaid.

ABHISHEKPUROHITMUMBAI, MAY 16

Shardul Thakur’s four strikes first broughtDelhi Capitals back into the game and thencut short a late fightbackbyPunjabKings todeliveracrucial17-runwinthattookhisteamtofourthpositiononthetable,with14pointsandthefourth-bestnetrun-rateso far.

Marsh carries DC againIn DC’s previous match at the same

ground four nights ago against RajasthanRoyals,MitchellMarshhadpoweredsevensixes in a match-winning 89 off 62. Thatknock, though,hadcomein thechasewiththeball comingonbetter than ithad in thefirst innings. Against PK, Marsh had tocome in the secondball of thematch afterDavidWarner’s golden duck.With a 6-3 field set to protect the

shorter boundary, Marsh still took on thelonger sidewhen the bowling became toopredictable, seeking to force thebiggerhit.He first lofted Kagiso Rabada over the far-thercow-cornerrope.Laterwhenthespin-ners too continued to bowl wider to thelongeroff side,he rockedback,waitedandmade sure he beat the sweeper with hiscut. And whenMarsh gets the power andtimingright, thesizeof theboundaryrarelymatters.Marsh can get tied downby spin,but to his credit, he didn’t let the dot ballspileup, running23singles, andhence,did-n’t have to take large risks to break free.He had his couple of moments of good

fortune, though. A mishit off ArshdeepSingh just cleared a jumping long-on, andanother off the left-armer tickled into thewide long-off boundary despite a valiantdash-and-dive to attempt to catch it fromShikharDhawan.Howdifficult it could be, and howwell

Marsh had played, was evident when hefailed to clear deep midwicket on theshortersideoff aRabadaslotdelivery inthe19thover.SoshortMarshhadfallenthatthefielder had to run in to complete the catch.Marsh’s exitmeantDC took just tenoff

the last twoovers,but they’dstillmanagedto set a competitive target of 160.Panic after powerplayCourtesy swift bursts from Sarfaraz

Khan - opening for the first time in the IPL- and Jonny Bairstow, the powerplay hadgone almost equivalent for both sides. DChad scored 59 for 2, PK were on 53 for1with three deliveries remaining in their

powerplay. However, Shardul Thakur firstsent back Bhanuka Rajapaksa; two ballslater, he bowled one that was close to cut,but Shikhar Dhawan tried to and wentcaught behind.Threeballs later, theDCspinners struck

with their tricks.Onadrypitchwhere turnwas available, Axar Patel foxed MayankAgarwalwithastraighterone; the linewason the stumps,MayankAgarwal stillwentfor a late steer andhadhis stumps rattled.In the next over, Kuldeep Yadav slid it

straight past an advancing LiamLivingstonetohavehimstumpedbya longway.

Thakur intervenes decisivelyAt 61 for 5, the bulk of the PK batting

was gonebut the asking ratewasn’t steep,and wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma wouldtake his side closewith a 34-ball 44.With39neededoff the last threeovers,

RovmanPowellmadeacritical saveon thestraight boundary.He leaped to catchwhatwas an other-

wise certain six from Jitesh and hurled itback in time as he went over the rope tokeep the damage to just a single.Jitesh went for another six in the over

but this time, Thakur had got the knuckleball right, andWarnersurgedforwardfromlong-off to take a sharp, low catch.PK would go down swinging. Now

Rabada mowed Thakur over the shorterdeep-midwicket rope. Next ball, Thakursent the wide bouncer wider towards thelonger side, andRabadaswatted it straightto long-off. Down to 131 for 9 after 18, PKwere finally out of the game.

BRIEF SCORES: Delhi Capitals 159 for 7(Marsh63, Sarfaraz32, Livingstone3-27)beat Punjab Kings 142 for 9 (Jitesh 44,Thakur4-36,Axar2-14,Kuldeep2-14) by17 runs

SYNOPSIS: Mitchell Marsh steers hisside to a competitive score, and ShardulThakur's slower ones hold off a fightingPK to takeDC toNo 4 in the table

Late charge by Delhi Capitalstakes them to the top four

Road gets toughfor BangaloreSHAMIKCHAKRABARTY

ONE PLAYOFF spot is officially taken byGujarat Titans. The next two positions areRajasthanRoyalsandLucknowSuperGiants’to lose. Battle is intense for theone remain-ingplace.

RAJASTHANROYALSM:13,PTS:16,NRR:0.304Awinagainst LSGhaveall but secureda

playoff place for Royals. Only two moreteamscannowgetto16points.Oneofthem,RCB,haveanegativenet runrate.

LUCKNOWSUPERGIANTSM:13,PTS:16,NRR:0.262Successive losses by big margins have

pulled Super Giants’ net run rate down to0.262from0.703.Andyet,KLRahul’stroopssitprettybecauseoftheirfarsuperiornetrunrate.

DELHICAPITALSM:13,PTS:14,NRR:0.255Onthe faceof it,DCnoware inastraight

fight with RCB. If theywin their last gameagainst Mumbai Indians, they will bethrough,thankstotheirveryimpressivenetrun rate. If they lose and RCBwin againstTitans,DCwill beknockedout.

ROYALCHALLENGERSBANGALOREM:13,PTS:14,NRR:-0.323Despite being on 14 points, the final

groupleaguefixtureisawin-or-bustforRCB.Still, theywillnotgetthereifDCsecureavic-tory.Intheplayoffsscrap,RCBhavetheworstnet runrateamongall theaspirants.

KOLKATAKNIGHTRIDERSM:13,PTS:12,NRR:0.160KKRwillhavetohopethatnootherteam

reaches16points.

PUNJABKINGSM:13,PTS:12,NRR:-0.043DefeattoDCsortofputpaidtotheirplay-

offshopes.PunjabKings’ chancenowlies inDC,RCBandKKRlosingtheirrespectivefinalleague fixtures,while theybeatingSRH.

SUNRISERSHYDERABADM:12,PTS:10,NRR:-0.270Sunrisersarehopingagainsthopethatno

other team gets to 16 points and theywinmassiveagainstMIandPunjabKings.Forex-ample, even if theybeat the twoby30 runseach,theywon’thaveapositivenetrunrate.

As Indianssavouredthehistoricwin, IndonesianandMalaysianfansstartedventingagainsteachother,muchlikethefamousrivalryof the1970s. AP

IPL TABLE

TEAM M W L PT NRRGT 13 10 3 20 0.391

RR 13 8 5 16 0.304

LSG 13 8 5 16 0.262

DC 13 7 6 14 -0.255

RCB 13 7 6 14 -0.323

KKR 13 6 7 12 0.160

PK 13 6 7 12 0.043

SRH 12 5 7 10 -0.270

CSK 13 4 9 8 -0.206

MI 12 3 9 6 -0.613

ChiragShetty,whowasathorninthefleshofMohammadAhsanandKevinSanjayaSukamuljo, foundhimselfonthedartboardofIndonesiannetizens,afterhispumped-upfacewascapturedinaphotograph,staringat thesoleMinion.

New Delhi