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MONEY 8NO PLAN UNDER CONSIDERATION FOR DISINVESTMENT OF BSNL: CHAUHAN

ANALYSIS 7POPULARISING PLANNED

ECOTOURISM IN INDIA

SPORTS 11NO ‘ADDED ADVANTAGE’ OF PLAYING

IN MUMBAI FOR MI, SAYS ROHIT

}I’M REALLY EXCIT-

ED ABOUT THISNEW CHAPTER INLIFE: AVIKA GOR

Page 12

{

ALMANAC

Updated: March 23, 2022 5:00 PM

Forecast: Partly cloudyTemp: 39

oc

Humidity: 52%Sunrise: 6:12 AMSunset: 6:22 PM

Month & Paksham:

Tithi: Saptami: Mar 24 02:16 AM

to Mar 25 12:10 AM

Ashtami: Mar 25 12:10 AM

to Mar 25 10:04 PM

Nakshatram:

Jyeshta: Mar 23 06:52 PM

to Mar 24 05:30 PM

Moola: Mar 24 05:30 PM

to Mar 25 04:07 PM

Rahukalam: 1:53 PM to 3:23 PM

Yamagandam: 6:20 AM to 7:51 AM

Varjyam: 02:37 PM to 04:07 PM

Gulika: 9:21 AM to 10:52 AM

Amritakalam: 09:12 AM to 10:42 AM

Abhijit Muhurtham: 11:58 AM

to 12:46 PM

TTOODDAAYY

VIJAYAWADA WEATHER

State competent to makechanges to OBC list: CentreSNV SUDHIRn VIJAYAWADA

Opening a Pandora’s box on thecontentious issue of reservations toKapus in Andhra Pradesh, theCentre on Wednesday said the Stategovernment was competent tomake amendments in the StateOBC list.

Kapus in the State have beendemanding reservations in educa-tional institutions and State govern-ment jobs by including them in theOBCs list.

However, the OBCs have beenvociferously opposing Kapus’demands.

Months before the 2019 polls,the then Opposition leader andYSRCP supremo YS Jagan MohanReddy, at a public meeting held atJaggampeta in East Godavari inJuly 2018, said he could not prom-

ise reservations to Kapus if votedto power as according reservationsto communities was outside thepurview of the State government.

He added that the issue was inthe hands of the Centre. “Therehave been instances in which reser-vation given by States was struck

down,” Jagan said in the Kapuheartland in 2018.

“The State government is com-petent to make amendments in theState OBC list following the dueprocess.

m Kapus in State have been demanding that they be included in OBC list

CM flags off Disha patrol vehiclesPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Chief Minister YS Jagan MohanReddy flagged off a fleet of 163Disha patrol vehicles and 18 cara-vans at the secretariat here onWednesday.

Speaking on the occasion, theChief Minister said that the vehi-cles were made available to adhereand improve the response time forprotecting women and children inemergency situations. He said that900 two-wheelers were alreadymade available for the purpose inthe State and 163 four-wheelers willjoin the fleet. Besides, 3,000 othervehicles that were in use will beequipped with GPS for protectingwomen in distress.

He said that 18 caravans, whichwere equipped with restrooms anddressing rooms, were brought spe-cially for the women police, keep-

ing their needs in view.Reiterating that the State govern-

ment was giving top priority to lawand order, safety and security ofwomen, the Chief Minister said thatthere should be no compromise onthe protection and safety of women.

About 1.16 crore women havedownloaded Disha App across theState and all the Disha patrol vehi-cles are connected to the controlroom through GPS, where thestaff will respond in 4-5 minutes intowns and 8-10 minutes in villages,

in case of an emergency.Legislative Council Chairman

Moshen Raju, MLA VundavalliSridevi, Chief Secretary SameerSarma, DGP Rajendranath Reddy,and other officials were present atthe event.

m 163 patrol vehicles, 18 caravans made available to help women and children in emergency situations

EAPCET-2022 in July PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The AP State government hasannounced the schedule for theEngineering, Agriculture andPharmacy Common EntranceTest (EAPCET -2022). As per theschedule, the engineeringentrance will be held from July 4to 8 while agriculture and phar-macy entrance tests will be heldon July 11 and 12, respectively, inonline mode, said EducationMinister Adimulapu Suresh onWednesday.

Welfare schemes brandof YSRCP Govt: JaganPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Asserting that welfare schemes arethe brands of the YSRCPGovernment, Chief Minister YSJagan Mohan Reddy said thatPresident Medal, Boom-Boombeer, Governor Reserve andPowerstar 999 are the brands ofTDP chief N Chandrababu Naiduand described them as ‘C and Lbrands’.

Rounding off the short discus-sion on liquor policy in theAssembly on Wednesday, the ChiefMinister dismissed the Opposition’sallegations, stating that the govern-ment had not given permission toany new distillery or brewery sinceit came to power in 2019.

He opined that the alleged J-brands were given permission dur-ing the tenure of the ChandrababuNaidu-led TDP government, where

almost 254 brands were brought.With regard to distilleries, out ofthe 20 existing distilleries in theState, 14 were given permissionduring the TDP rule and seven ofthem were permitted between2014-19, while Naidu was acting asinterim Chief Minister.

n Didn’t give permission to new distilleries after coming to power

TDP memberssuspended againas Assemblypasses 2 BillsPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Pandemonium continuedin the State Assembly onWednesday also as theTDP members were seenusing castanets and dis-turbing the House pro-ceedings while the rulingpar ty memb ers werespeaking.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

A delegation of YSRCP MPs urgedthe Centre to direct Telangana tosettle dues to the Andhra PradeshPower Generation Corporation(APGENCO) at the earliest. TheMPs, who met Union PowerMinister Raj Kumar Singh inDelhi on Wednesday, also request-ed him that in the event of non-compliance within the stipulatedtime, the pending amount bededucted from Telangana’s sharein the divisible pool of Centraltaxes and thereafter be madeavailable to APGENCO.

“At the time of the bifurcationof the State, Power SystemOperations Corporation of India(a wholly-owned subsidiary of

POWERGRID, Government ofIndia) directed the generating sta-tions of APGENCO for allocationof power to the TelanganaDISCOMs. For the supply ofpower for the period between

June 2, 2014 and June 10, 2017,a total amount of Rs. 6,111.88crore remains to be paid byTelangana to APGENCO.

Direct Telangana to settle APGENCO’s duesm YSRCP MPs urge Union Power Minister Raj Kumar Singh

11 migrant workers charred to deathPNS n HYDERABAD

Eleven workers from Bihar wereburnt to death in a huge fire thatbroke out at a timber and scrapshop in Secunderabad onWednesday early morning.

The fire occurred at a shop ataround 4 am in IDH Colony in theBhoiguda area of Secunderabad.The 12 workers of the shop wereasleep on the first floor of the G+1floor building.

The huge fire trapped 11 work-ers and they were charred to death.One of the workers managed toescape. It took three hours of firefighting by eight fire tenders to con-trol the fire. The bodies will beflown to Patna after post-mortem.

The victims were all aged

between 20 and 25 and were stay-ing in two rooms on the first floorof the godown.

MASSIVE FIRE ACCIDENT AT BHOIGUDA

o Short circuit has led

to the fire mishap

o PM announces Rs 2L,

CM announces Rs 5L

ex gratia

o All aged 20-25 from

Bihar’s Katiyar and

Chapra, 1 escaped

the mishap

23.8% of children usephones, 37.15% losingconcentration: StudyPNS n NEW DELHI

Around 23.8 per cent of children usesmartphones while they are in bedbefore going to sleep and 37.15 percent of children have experiencedreduced levels of concentration dueto smartphone use as per a study,Parliament was informed onWednesday.

Minister of State for Electronicsand IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar toldthe Lok Sabha in a written reply thatthe Meity does not have any specif-ic information on Internet addictionin children but cited data from a studydone by National Commission forProtection of Child Rights on "Effects(Physical, Behavioral and Psycho-Social) of using Mobile Phones andother devices with internet accessi-bility by children".

"As per the study, 23.80 per centof children use smart phones whilethey are in bed, before going to sleepwhich increase with age and 37.15percent of children, always or fre-quently, experience reduced levels ofconcentration due to smart phoneuse," Chandrasekhar said.He wasreplying to a question that increaseusage of cell phones among childrenduring the pandemic resulting ininternet addiction and its details.

Covid cases rise for 2nd

straight week: WHOPNS n GENEVA

The number of new coronaviruscases globally increased by 7percent in the last week, driven by ris-ing infections in the WesternPacific, even as reported deathsfrom COVID-19 fell, the WorldHealth Organization said.

There were more than 12 mil-lion new weekly cases and justunder 33,000 deaths, a 23per centdecline in mortality, according tothe U.N. health agency's report onthe pandemic issued late Tuesday.

Confirmed cases of the virushad been falling steadily worldwidesince January but rose again lastweek, due to the more infectiousomicron variant and the suspen-

sion of COVID-19 protocols innumerous countries in Europe,North America and elsewhere.

Health officials have said repeat-edly that omicron causes milderdisease than previous versions ofthe coronavirus and that vaccina-tion, including a booster, appearshighly protective.

The Western Pacific remainedthe only region in the world wherecoronavirus cases are rising, report-ing a 21per cent jump last week,continuing weeks of increase.

According to figures from lastweek, the number of new infec-tions in Europe remained stableand fell everywhere else.

No respite from hikem Fuel prices increased for second day in a rowPNS n NEW DELHI

Petrol and diesel prices onWednesday were hiked by 80 paisea litre each for the second day in arow since the ending of an overfour-and-half month election-relat-

ed hiatus. Petrol in Delhi will nowcost Rs 97.01 per litre as against Rs96.21 previously while the dieselrate has gone up from Rs 87.47 perlitre to Rs 88.27, according to aprice notification of state fuelretailers. In Mumbai, petrol price

has been increased by 85 paise toRs 111.67 while in Chennai priceswent up by 75 paise to Rs 102.91.In Kolkata, rates increased to Rs106.34 from Rs 105.51.

AP WC warns ofstringent action

if womenharassed atworkplace

India's drugs regulatorgives nod to phase-3trial of CovovaxPNS n NEW DELHI

The Drugs Controller General ofIndia (DCGI) granted permissionon Wednesday for conducting thephase-3 clinical trial of COVID-19vaccine Covovax as a booster dosein adults, official sources said. TheSubject Expert Committee (SEC)on COVID-19 of the Central DrugsStandard Control Organisation(CDSCO) had, on March 5, recom-mended permission for conductingthe phase-3 clinical trial forCovovax as a booster dose inadults who have been fully vacci-nated with either Covaxin orCovishield at least three monthsago.

GOVT NOT TO HIKE ANNUAL LIMITUNDER MPLAD SCHEME FOR MPs

The government is not considering any proposal to hike theannual limit for MPs under the Member of Parliament LocalArea Development (MPLAD) scheme, which was last

revised in 2011-12, Parliament was informed on Wednesday."The annual limit of MPLAD funds was last revised with effectfrom the Financial Year 2011-12," Minister of State for Statisticsand Programme Implementation Rao Inderjit Singh stated in awritten reply to the Lok Sabha. The minister also informed theHouse that the ministry has been receiving references/requestsfrom stakeholders for the enhancement of annual entitlement.

‘$400 BN... 1ST TIME EVER,’ SAYSPM AS INDIA SETS EXPORT RECORD

Hailing India's success in achieving its goods export targetof USD 400 billion this fiscal, Prime Minister NarendraModi asserted today that this is a key milestone in India's

'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' journey. The highest ever goods exporttarget was achieved nine days ahead of the March 31 deadline.Exports increased by 37 per cent to USD 400 billion duringApril-March 22, 2021-22 against USD 292 billion in 2020-21.For the first time ever, India's merchandise exports havecrossed USD 400 billion in a fiscal. In 2018-19, the outboundshipments had touched a record of USD 330.07 billion.

NO PROPOSAL AT PRESENT TO SUPPLYEDIBLE OILS AT SUBSIDISED RATES

The government on Wednesday said it currently has noproposal to supply edible oils at subsidised rates toconsumers. In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of

State for Food and Consumer Affairs Sadhvi Niranjan Jyotisaid: "At present, there is no proposal by the UnionGovernment to supply edible oils at subsidised rates toconsumers." The minister noted that the prices of essentialcommodities including edible oils are impacted by variousfactors such as demand-supply gap, weather conditions,logistics issues and international prices.

TOLL PLAZAS WITHIN 60 KM OF OTHERGATES TO BE CLOSED IN NEXT 3 MONTHS

Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkarihas announced that all toll collection booths, which are activewithin 60 kilometre distance of any other toll booth, will be shut

down in the next three months. Gadkari made this announcement atthe Lok Sabha while replying on the Demands for Grants for RoadTransport and Highways Ministry for 2022-23. The Union Ministersaid that there aren't supposed to be any toll collection points within60 kilometres of two toll booths on the National Highways. However,there are such toll booths that are currently active, and Gadkari hasassured that these illegal toll points will be shut down soon.

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Parliamentary panel recommends settingup of Indian missions in 48 countriesPNS n NEW DELHI

India should set up residentmissions in the remaining 48of the 193 UN member-nationsin a time-bound manner inline with its aspiration tobecome a permanent memberof the UN Security Council, aparliamentary committee sug-gested on Wednesday.

The committee, in a reporttabled in Parliament, also saidthat the budgetary allocationto the Ministry of ExternalAffairs (MEA) for 2022-23was insufficient keeping inview India's rising global pro-file. The parliamentary com-mittee on MEA recommend-ed to the government to set upresident missions in the UNmember countries whereIndia is yet to open suchpresence.

"India aspires to be a per-manent member of UnitedNations Security Council(UNSC) and to achieve thisobjective, our presence in allUN member countries is cru-

cial so as to coordinate ourefforts with their ForeignOffices," it said.

The total number of UN-member nations includingIndia is 193.

"The committee has notedthat out of 193 UN membercountries (including India),India doesn't have residentmissions in 48 countries,"the committee said in itsreport.

The panel, headed by PPChaudhary, said the MEAhas informed that it has iden-tified 11 countries where res-ident missions can be set up

after obtaining approval fromthe Union Cabinet.

Emphasising the need forhaving resident missions inall UN member countries, thecommittee has recommendedthat the MEA should chalkout a roadmap for setting upof Indian missions/posts inthe remaining 48 countries ina time-bound manner.

On the allocation to theMEA, the committeeobserved that the outlay for itin 2022-23 is Rs 17,250 crorewhich is 4.98 per cent lessthan the budget estimate ofthe current fiscal and 7.81 per

cent more than the revisedestimate.

"Despite an increase in theoverall budget of the govern-ment of India, the allocationmade to the MEA in percent-age terms has witnessed adownward turn during thelast four years," the panelsaid. It said keeping in mindIndia's rising global profile,engagement and footprint,the allocations made to theMEA are "evidently insuffi-cient".

The committee said it washopeful that with the subsid-ing of the COVID-19 pan-demic, regular activities of theministry will resume andmore funds will be needed topace up the delayed projectsand exchanges.

The committee recom-mended that the allocationsmade to the MEA should beincreased substantially and bebrought at least at the level ofone per cent of the govern-ment's overall budget everyyear.State competent to make changes to...

Continued from Page 1

The Andhra Pradesh Kapu(Reservation of Seats inEducational Institutions and ofAppointments or Posts in theServices under State) Bill,2017, was reserved by theGovernor of Andhra Pradesh,for assent of the President ofIndia.

xIn the meanwhile, the Stategovernment has provided fivepc reservation for the Kapucommunity through the ‘TheAndhra Pradesh EconomicallyWeaker Sections of Citizens(Reservation of seats inEducational institutions and ofappointments or Posts in theServices under the State) Act2019’. As such, the State gov-ernment has been advised towithdraw the reference forthe Presidential assent,” UnionMinister of State for SocialJustice and EmpowermentPratima Bhoumik told RajyaSabha in a written reply to BJPRajya Sabha member GVLNarasimha Rao on

Wednesday.Bhoumik also said that the

Maratha Reservation Bill, 2018in excess of 50pc was notreceived in the Ministry ofHome Affairs for obtaining theassent of the President.

In another reply onWednesday, Union Minister ofState for Home Affairs AjayKumar Mishra said that theTDP government led by NChandrababu Naidu in 2017had sent the Andhra PradeshKapu (Reservation of Seats inEducational Institutions and ofAppointments or Posts in theServices under the State) Bill,2017, to the Ministry of HomeAffairs (MHA) for assent ofthe President.

As per practice, the Bill wascirculated to the nodal min-istries/departments for theircomments. The commentsreceived from the Ministry ofSocial Justice andEmpowerment and theDepartment of Personnel andTraining were forwarded to theState government for com-

ments/clarifications.In the meantime, the Naidu

government provided five per-cent reservation to the Kapucommunity by dividing theUnion Government sop ofproviding 10 per cent reserva-tion to the economically-weaker sections (EWS) amongthe open category castesbetween them and the Kapusequally.

However, the Jagan govern-ment reversed the Naidu gov-ernment’s decision stating thatit was not legally tenable.

At that time, in July 2019,Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy said that the 10per cent EWS reservation wasearmarked for the poorest onthe basis of poverty. So, it wasnot possible to take half of itand apportion it to a commu-nity like the Naidu govern-ment did.

“The summary of theresponses received from thetwo ministries clearly show thatthe State government of AndhraPradesh had the authority to give

OBC reservations to Kapus inAndhra Pradesh State govern-ment jobs and educational insti-tutions by implementing theKapu OBC Reservations Bill byitself, without any need to referit to the Central government,”said GVL Narasimha Rao.

He added that both the TDPand YSRCP governments hadmisled and cheated the Kapucommunity over OBC reserva-tions by falsely claiming that theBill was pending approval of theCentral government and thePresident.

“Parliament replies clearlyshow that the matter is entirelyin the State government'sdomain. As all parties support-ed the Kapu OBC reservationsBill, 2017 in the State Assemblyback then, I demand that thepresent State government mustimmediately withdraw the Billfrom the Central governmentand make its position clear onOBC reservations for Kapuswho have long been waiting forsocial justice,” Narasimha Raoadded.

Direct Telangana to...Continued from Page 1

It is pertinent to note that thispower supply took place onlyat the insistence of the CentralGovernment despite the factthat Andhra Pradesh had cho-sen to discontinue the powersupply to Telangana. At thesame time, the TelanganaDISCOMs have recognisedthis amount as payable ontheir part, but have taken noefforts to clear the pendingdues,” said the YSRCP MPs’delegation led by its parliamen-tary party leader V VijaysaiReddy.

During the meeting heldbetween the Ministry of Powerand the representatives of theGovernment of AndhraPradesh and the Governmentof Telangana on November 8,2021, suggestions were madeby the ministry for both theStates to amicably resolve thisissue. However, given thatthese dues were incurred at thebehest of the Centre, it is alsothe responsibility of the Centreto ensure that they are clearedat the earliest, the MPs said.

“Since bifurcation, the suc-cessor State of Andhra Pradeshhas been in a tight fiscal space

due to the severe loss of rev-enue-generating resources.Hence, the release of thesepending dues is of utmostimportance to the State formeeting its financial obliga-tions.

We urge the Centre to directTelangana to settle these duesat the earliest. In the event ofnon-compliance within thestipulated time, we requestthat the pending amount bededucted from Telangana’sshare in the divisible pool ofCentral taxes and thereafter bemade available to APGENCO,”the MPs added.

EAPCET-2022 in July Continued from Page 1

The minister said that thenotification would bereleased on April 11 and theresults will be announcedafter August 15. The State-level entrance exam is con-ducted by JNTU, Kakinada,on behalf of APSCHE.

The minister said thatEAPCET was scheduledkeeping in view the othernational-level entranceexaminations. The ClassX and Intermediate exam-ination schedules havealready been released inaccordance wit h t henational entrance exami-nations.

The minister said thatthe results of EAPCET -2022 would be announcedafter August 15 and theclasses would commencein the second week ofSeptember. He made itclear that the examinationpattern and announcementof ranks remained thesame.

Suresh said that previ-ously, 136 centres were setup for conducting theentrance exam and for thecurrent year, the numberof exam centres would beincreased as per require-ment. Four exam centreswill be set up in Telanganaand the exams will be con-ducted following Covidguidelines.

Welfare schemes brand of...Continued from Page 1

He said that liquor brands likethe President Medal, GovernorReserve, 999 Powerstar, 999Legend, Boom Boom beer,ACB and Seventh Heaven wereall part of Chandranna’sKanuka.

Also, the Chief Ministerhighlighted the role of TDPleaders in liquor business.Vishka Distillery belongs toTDP leader Ayyanna Patrudu,PMK Distilleries is owned bya relative of former TDP min-ister YanamalaRamakrishnudu, Sri KrishnaDistilleries is owned by AdiKeshavulu Naidu and SPYDistilleries by SPY Reddy, whoall belong to the TDP. Heopined that backstabbing pol-itics was the trademark of

Chandrababu Naidu and thathe was acting the same wayeven on the liquor issue.

The Chief Minister affirmedthat there was no cheap liquorin the State and all the liquorthat was being supplied wasgetting processed and distilledfrom licensed distilleries aftergoing through various tests byboth the company and thegovernment.

“Chandrababu Naidu, TDPand their own media housesare the only cheap brands inthe State,” he added on a lighternote. Liquor rates have beenincreased to keep the poor peo-ple away from consumptionand the government has takenover retail trade through theAP State BeveragesCorporation. The governmentreduced the number of shops

from 4,380 to 2,934 and nochanges were made to theliquor manufacturing policy.While the current governmentis bringing 16 new medical col-leges and 16 new districts, theprevious government gave per-mission to 14 new distilleriesand 254 brands.

Speaking on the 18 deaths ofJangareddygudem, the ChiefMinister said that theOpposition had been deliber-ately trying to portray them asif they were due to consump-tion of illicit liquor, while thefact was that most of the deathswere due to natural reasons. Hesaid that the alleged hoochtragedy in West Godavari dis-trict was put up by OppositionTDP leaders with a sole agen-da to defame the government,despite the kin of the deceased

having rubbished the false pro-paganda.

Affirming that the State gov-ernment would never supporthooch trade, he said it wasmuch prevalent during TDPrule and that it was not new tothe State. “It was there duringthe TDP term and it is stillaround and to tackle thisSpecial Enforcement Bureau(SEB) was brought in. In fact,the government had neverpromoted illicit liquor andrather discouraged liquor con-sumption to ensure goodhealth of the people by shuttingdown belt shops and permitrooms across the State,” headded. The Chief Minister saidthat TDP leaders were trying tostop the implementation ofwelfare schemes that benefitedwomen because of jealousy.

Don’t understimate your strengthPNS n KOLKATA

Prime Minister NarendraModi, on the occasion ofShaheed Diwas on Wednesday,virtually inaugurated theBiplobi Bharat Gallery atVictoria Memorial Hall inKolkata.

He said that the gallery pro-vides a holistic view of theevents that led toIndependence, highlightingthe contributions of revolution-aries in the freedom struggle.

"Our past gives us directionfor the present. On this day in1931, Bhagat Singh, Sukhdevand Rajguru were hanged.Khudiram Bose was youngerthan them when he washanged on August 11, 1908,"Modi said.

Urging the youth of thecountry not to underestimate

their strength and potential,the prime minister assertedthat India will reach greatheights as a superpower dueto the hard work of today'syoungsters.

He said that the country isnow assessing its past gloriousheritage with new insight.

"We have set up DrAmbedkar NationalMemorial in Delhi andBhagwan Birsa MundaMemorial Park in Ranchiamong other such structuresto boost heritage tourism," hesaid.

The prime minister called

on the youth to respect theConstitution and be united inlove for the land despite dif-ferences in political views.

"Respect your fellow citi-zen, show compassion to allwomen," he said.

"Today, when we emulatethe ideals of the freedommovement, we must have self-belief of being able to take thenew India to greater heights.We must be sincere towardsour duty," he said.

The prime minister urgedyouth to not litter streets, getvaccinated on time, train oth-ers about digital payment andbecome 'atma nirbhar' (self-sufficient).

West Bengal GovernorJagdeep Dhankhar UnionTourism and Culture MinisterG Kishan Reddy were presentat the venue

Modi urges youth, inaugurates Biplobi Bharat Galley at Kolkata's Victoria Memorial

TDP members suspended...Continued from Page 1

Speaker Tammineni Sitharamsuspended all the TDP mem-bers from the House for thenext two days. He expressedanguish over the TDP membersdisrupting the House proceed-ings at the cost of public money.

He said that it cost at least Rs53.28 lakh per day and aroundRs 88,802 per minute. Sitharamlamented that public moneywas being wasted due to the

irresponsible behaviour of theTDP members, who had beendisrupting the House. It was forthe seventh straight day that theTDP members were suspend-ed from the House.

The ruling party membersobjected to the behaviour of theOpposition members. At theAssembly media point,Government Whip KapuRamachandra Reddy said thatthe TDP members were stoop-ing lower day by day.

11 migrant workers charred...Continued from Page 1

Stat ing that a ca l l wasreceived at 3:55 am, RegionalFire Officer V. Papaiah said,“We suspect that the victimswere asleep when the firestarted. In an attempt toescape they huddled into aroom on the first floor.”

Chief Secretary SomeshKumar, Hyderabad PoliceCommissioner CV Anand,Ministers Mahmood Ali andTalasani Srinivas Yadav vis-ited the spot to take stock ofthe situation.

Hyderabad Pol iceCommissioner CV Anandsaid that the incident was dueto negligence on the part ofthe timber depot manage-ment and violation of safetyregulations.

He said that the workersfrom Bihar were paid only Rs10,000 to Rs 12,000 permonth and since they couldnot afford rented homes theyhad made the shop theirhome.

Officials said that therewas a spiral staircase that ledto the first floor where theowners had also set up a

small office. The workerscooked food in a room andan LPG cylinder helped thefire to spread.

“A lot of fibre cable wirewas stored below the slab onthe ground floor while theremaining portion was filledwith empty liquor bottles,paper and plastic bottles,”Papaiah pointed out.

The firemen couldn’t getinside the building due to thefire and smoke. One of theworkers, Prem, (22), man-aged to jump out and wasrushed to Gandhi Hospitalwith serious injuries.

The bodies of the deadwere shifted to GandhiHospital with the help ofauthorities. Hospital author-ities said that 10 of the bod-ies were burnt beyond recog-nition and if Prem cannotidentify the bodies DNA testswill be conducted.

Gandhi HospitalSuperintendent Dr Raja Raosaid that a post-mortem isbeing conducted on the bod-ies.

“The smoke makes peopleunconscious and there is apossibility they couldn’t

escape due to that. Sincethey have been burnt beyondrecognition, DNA tests willbe conducted to identifythem,” the doctor added.

Meanwhile, a case hasbeen filed against Sampath,the owner of the godown,under Section 304A (causingdeath through negligence)and Section 337 (causinginjury by an act endangeringthe life or safety of others) ofIPC.

Prime Minister Modi andChief Minister K.Chandrasekhar R aoexpressed shock at the inci-dent.

While Prime MinisterModi announced an ex-gra-tia of Rs 2 lakh, the CMannounced a compensationof Rs 5 lakh each to the fam-ilies of those who had died inthe fire.

KCR also directed ChiefSecretary Somesh Kumar tosend the bodies to their vil-lages at the TS government'sexpense.

President Ramnath Kovindtermed the tragic death of theworkers as a tragedy beyondwords.

No respite from...Continued from Page 1

The diesel price hike inMumbai was 85 paise perlitre. Rates differ from state tostate depending on the inci-dence of local taxes. A record137-day hiatus in rate revi-sion ended on March 22 withan 80 paise per litre increasein rates. Prices had been ona freeze since November 4ahead of the assembly elec-tions in states like UttarPradesh and Punjab -- a peri-od during which the cost ofraw material (crude oil)soared by USD 30 per barrel.The rate revision was expect-ed soon after assembly elec-tions ended on March 10 butit was put off.

Oil companies are nowrecouping the losses.

They "will need to raisediesel prices by Rs 13.1-24.9per litre and Rs 10.6-22.3 alitre on gasoline (petrol) at anunderlying crude price ofUSD 100-120 per barrel,"Kotak Institutional Equitiessaid in a note.

If crude sustains aroundlevels of USD 120, oil market-ing companies will find it dif-ficult to be able to return toa normative marketing mar-gin without any support fromthe central government in theform of excise duty cuts, itsaid.

"Oil marketing companiesholding back on retail pricehikes following the conclu-sion of the elections was dis-appointing given the impacton margins, however, pricehikes should provide somemarginal respite if the trendsustains over the comingdays," it added.

India is 85 per cent depen-dent on imports to meet itsoil needs.

Dipti Deshpande,Principal Economist atCRISIL Ltd, said retail fuelprices of petrol and dieselhave been kept unchangedsince November 2021,whereas global crude oilprices rose by close to USD30 per barrel during thisperiod. "The pass through ofrising crude oil prices todomestic fuel prices is, there-fore, inevitable, and furtherhikes can also be expected."

Covid cases risefor 2nd straight...Continued from Page 1

WHO cautioned that withmany countries droppingwidespread testing programs,many infections are likelybeing missed and new casenumbers should be inter-preted cautiously.

In recent weeks, COVID-19 cases inched upwardacross Europe, prompted bythe more infectious BA.2subvariant of omicron andthe relaxation of nearly allpublic health measures.

WHO Europe chief Dr.Hans Kluge said restrictionsin numerous countries acrossthe continent had been lift-ed brutally - from too muchto too few, noting that inrecent days, cases were risingsignificantly in the U.K.,France, Italy and Germany.

Last week, British healthminister Sajid Javid said U.K.residents should brace for ajump in COVID-19 infec-tions but that the countrywas still in a very good posi-tion due to its high vaccina-tion levels.

Meanwhile, China's healthauthorities this week report-ed the first coronavirusdeaths in more than a year asthe country battles its worstoutbreak since the coron-avirus was detected inWuhan.

India's drugs regulatorgives nod to phase-3...Continued from Page 1

The D CGI approvedCovovax for restricted use inemergency situations inadults on December 28 lastyear and for inoculating thebeneficiaries in the 12-17years age group, subject tocertain conditions, on March9.

The vaccine has not beenincluded in the country'sinoculat ion programmeagainst COVID-19.

Director, Government andRegulatory Affairs at theSerum Institute of India(SII), Prakash Kumar Singh,submitted an application tothe DCGI in February, seek-ing permission to conduct aphase-3, observer-blind, ran-domised, controlled studyto evaluate the safety andimmunogenicity of Covovaxfor booster doses in adultswho had received primaryvaccination either withCovishield or Covaxin atleast three months ago, anofficial source had said.

Singh had stated thatmany countries were admin-istering booster doses totheir citizens, consideringthe uncertainties of the pan-demic.

"We are sure that yourapproval for conducting this

clinical trial will ensure anearly availability of Covovaxfor booster-dose use for thepeople of our country aswell as the world at large, inline with our prime minis-ter's vision of 'Making inIndia for the World'.

"Our firm is committed toproviding world-class life-saving vaccines at an afford-able price under the vision-ary leadership of our CEO,Dr Adar C Poonawalla. Werequest you to kindly grantus permission to conduct aphase-3 clinical trial forbooster dose of Covovax inIndian adults," he had stat-ed in the application.

Covovax is manufacturedby technology transfer fromNovavax and is approved bythe European MedicinesAgency for conditional mar-keting authorisation. It wasgranted emergency-use list-ing by the World HealthOrganization (WHO) inDecember 2020.

In August 2020, US-basedvaccine-maker Novavax Inc.had announced a licenceagreement with the SII forthe development and com-mercialisation of NVX-CoV2373, its COVID-19vaccine candidate, in low-and-middle-income coun-tries and in India

I-T dept raids HeroMotorcorp premisesPNS n NEW DELHI

The Income Tax Departmentis conducting raids on mul-tiple premises of HeroMotorcorp as part of a taxevasion investigation againstthe country's largest two-wheeler automobile manufac-turer, officials saidWednesday morning.

Offices and residentialpremises of the promotersincluding chairman and CEOof the group Pawan Munjal inGurugram, Haryana, Delhiand few other locations arebeing covered under the raid,they said.

A team of officials of thedepartment are looking atfinancial documents andother business transactions ofthe company and its promot-ers, they said.

vijayawada 03VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | MARCH 24, 2022

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

About 200 students ofPuchalapalli Sundarayya HighSchool, along with VijayawadaMunicipal Corporation(VMC) officials, took part inthe swachh survekshan aware-ness rally in the 62nd sanitarydivision here on Wednesday.The rally was flagged off byVMC Chief Medical OfficerDr G Geeta Bai.

Speaking on the occasion,Dr G Geeta Bai said that fol-lowing the instructions ofVMC Commissioner P RanjitBasha, steps were being takento achieve the best rank inswachh survekshan -2022 onissues such as cleanliness insanitary divisions, wet anddry garbage segregation, banon single use plastic etc. Megaawareness rallies would also be

organised. She appealed tothe people to cooperate withthe VMC in achieving a bet-ter rank in SwachhSurvekshan.

The students displayed ban-ners at the rally and chantedthe slogan ‘Our VijayawadaMunicipal Corporation will

participate in Swachh Bharat’.The rally proceeded throughLBS Nagar Main Road, LaxmiNagar, Andhra Bank area,Nuzvid Main Road, FireStation Road, Pakistan Colony,Rajiv Nagar main road,Prakash Nagar Centre,Hasanna Mandaram Road

and back to LBS Colony.Health Officer Dr Rama

Koteshwara Rao, SanitarySupervisor KRN Kishore, RKoteshwara Rao, Y Ramesh,Sanitary Inspector B KrishnaRao, and Sanitary Secretariesand others took part in therally.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The TDP MLAs and MLCstook out a protest rally outsidethe House on Wednesday,holding placards and raisingslogans against the ongoingliquor deaths in the State. TheTelugu Desam members heldCM Jagan Mohan Reddy total-ly responsible for the liquordeaths, which were nothing but'murders by the government'.

Addressing a press confer-ence, Nara Lokesh said whenthey were fighting on behalf ofthe people, the ruling partymembers were using abusivelanguage against them. TheDeputy Chief Minister did nottender any apology in theHouse. The media clearlyreported that the Deputy CMhad used unparliamentarywords in his allegations theother day.

MLCs Paruchuri AshokBabu, G Deepak Reddy,Bachula Arjunudu and otherswere also present. Theydescribed it as a 'huge misfor-tune' for the AP people to havean irresponsible and autocrat-ic government. CM JaganReddy was suppressing thevoice of the Opposition byusing marshals in theAssembly and police outsidethe House.

At a separate press confer-ence, TDP MLA and formerminister NimmakayalaChinarajappa said the CMhad no respect for the lives andfamilies of poor people. For thepast seven days, the TDP hadbeen asking for a debate on theJangareddygudem liquordeaths, but the ruling YCP wasadamant and ruthless. JaganReddy was throwing all demo-cratic norms to the winds.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

High drama took place nearthe Excise Office atPrasadampadu as TDP MLAsand party followers led byState president K Atchannaidureached in a bus to submit arepresentation to the ExciseCommissioner against liquordeaths.

The police stopped the TDPleaders and permitted only

the MLAs to enter the office.The bus in which the TDPMLAs came to the office wasstopped at a distance from theExcise Office as a huge num-ber of TDP leaders andactivists turned up. The TDPMLAs reached the office onfoot to submit the representa-tion.

A war of words between thepolice and the TDP leaders fol-lowed. To control the unruly

mob, the police had to arrestthe TDP MLAs.

On the other hand, DCPHarshavardhan Raju said thatas there was no permission, theMLAs were not allowed toenter the office and werearrested. He said that the infor-mation on the arrest was notinformed to the AssemblySpeaker and he would beinformed through radio mes-sage.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

A Core Processing Centre(CPC) is taking shape atMallavaram in Krishna dis-trict at an estimated cost of Rs86 crore in an extent of 7.48acres, said APIIC chairmanM Govinda Reddy here onWednesday.

He said that APIIC cameup with a plan for a megafood park in Mallavaram vil-lage that would be ready bythe mango season. As per thewish of Chief Minister YSJagan Mohan Reddy, stepswere being taken to make thefood park accessible to farm-

ers as soon as possible.He said the trial run of the

mega food processing centrewas successful and the APIICwas taking steps to make theprocessing centre available tothe farmers by April. TheAPIIC team led by the chair-man inspected the CPC lastweek to look into theprogress of the work of thefood park. “The APIIC hasset up another 'State FoodPark' in 42.55 acres. The unitwill utilise the services of theCPC and both the plantswill generate Rs 260 croreinvestment and about 6,000jobs,” said the chairman.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Andhra Pradesh State SadathCouncil (APSSC) presidentKSS Noorullah Hussaini aliasNoor Baba has lauded theefforts of Chief Minister JaganMohan Reddy for the develop-ment of Muslims in the State.A team of APSSC led byNoorullah visited the AP StateWaqf Board office inVijayawada and congratulatedand felicitated State WaqfBoard chairman V KhaderBasha.

Speaking on the occasion,Noorullah said that minoritieswere neglected by the earliergovernments as there was norepresentation to minorities inthe State Cabinet. He said thatCM Jagan gave preference tominorities and unanimouslyelected Khader Basha as thechairman of the Waqf Board,which was a good thing for the

minority community. He saidthat they were the hereditarypriests of Asthanas and theywere confident about protec-tion of Wakf properties. TheJagan government was usingthe same for the developmentof Muslim minorities.

Noorulllah and APSSC gen-eral secretary Syed ShahAkmal Peeran Muradi, vice-

president KSS ObaidullahHussaini Qadri, joint secretarySaeed Anwar Pasha Gutti, trea-surer Taher Peeran andMuslim deans from 13 districtsin the State performed dua andsaid that they would pray togive power and wealth to CMJagan to serve people in allaspects including welfareschemes.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

YSR-PKM Cup cricket tour-nament season-2 concludedon a grand note atMachilipatnam onWednesday. YSRCP MLARK Roja Selvamani was thechief guest at the closingceremony. On the occasion,MLA Roja lauded the lead-ership qualities of PerniKrishna Murthy, son ofMinister Perni Nani. Shesaid it was not a small thingto manage such a big crick-et tournament and it waspossible only because ofcommitment.

As many as 48 teams par-ticipated from across theState and the tournamentwas held for 12 days, in

which about 500 cricketersproved their mettle. CivilSupplies Minister KodaliNani and SAAP chairman

Byreddy Siddharth Reddywere also present.

In the final, the OrangeArmy team clinched the title

beating Husaine XI. OrangeArmy scored 187 runs in 20overs while Husaine XI man-aged to score only 153 in the

stipulated 20 overs.Later, the chief guests dis-

tributed the trophy to thewinning team.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The Department ofComputer Science,Siddhartha Arts and ScienceCollege, is organising a one-day State-level techno-cul-tural postgraduate students’meet called Vibhava-2022on Friday, said ComputerScience HoD Dr TS RaviKiran. He said that the main

objective of the meet was toprovide a common platformfor the students across theState to share knowledgeand exhibit their talents invarious technical and non-technical events . OnWednesday, a wall posterwas released by the collegeprincipal.Dr Ravi Kiran saidthat the chief patrons of thestudents’ meet would be Dr

C Nageswara Rap, presi-dent, SAGTE, P LakshmanR ao, secretar y and SVenkateswara Rao, collegeconvener.

He said that var iousevents like technical quiz,paper presentation, projectexpo, coding and decoding,e-waste management, Mr &Mrs Vibhava, videographyand group dance.

Hereditary priests welcomeCM’s initiatives for minorities

Orange Army win YSR-PKM Cup

Core Processing Centreto be ready by April

Police arrest TDP MLAs at Excise Office

Need to raise awarenesson TB stressedPNS n VIJAYAWADA

“The World TB Day isobserved on March 24 everyyear to raise public awarenessand understanding about oneof the world’s deadliest infec-tious diseases-- tuberculosis -- and its consequences. TBinfection can affect any organof the body, but most com-monly it affects the lungsand lymph nodes,” said pul-monologist Dr Kiran Kumar.He said that TB should be sus-pected in persons who havesymptoms of low grade fever,loss of appetite, loss of weight,night sweats, fatigue, etc.

The theme of the World TBday this year is ‘Invest to endTB, save lives’, aimed to focuson the people affected by TBand to call for acceleratedaction to end the sufferingand deaths due to tuberculo-

sis.“Each day, over 4,100 peo-

ple lose their lives to TB andclose to 280,000 people fall illwith tuberculosis despite TBbeing a preventable and treat-able disease. On the occasionof World TB Day, we hope toraise awareness about theseissues once again so that peo-ple take adequate care,” DrKiran said.

TB is an airborne diseasethat spreads to others when aperson with active TB coughs,sneezes or laughs, therebybreathing out the TB bacteriainto air and these are inhaledby others. It can be contract-ed by anyone, but manifests asdisease in only susceptibleindividuals, especially thosewith reduced immunity orwho have any kind of physi-cal or mental stress, added DrKiran.

Efforts on to secure better rank in swachh survekshan

TDP continues proteston liquor deaths

Leopard kills ninesheep, goatPNS n NAGARKURNOOL

A leopard killed nine sheep in thepen of Bala Yellaiah inRangapuram village in the weehours of Wednesday and disap-peared from the place catchinghold of a goat in its mouth. Thepeople of Mittasadagodu andRangapur villages in Vangurumandal of Atchampet Assemblyconstituency have been spendingsleepless nights for the past twomonths as the leopard strayed intothe fields near the villages from thenearby jungle.

Three days ago, leopard killeda calf in the cattle shed of a farmerin the fields. Striking at anotherplace, it bit a part of the head of acow, villagers complain.

Forest Department officialstook no action in spite of lodginga complaint about it with them, thevillagers said.

When Forest Official Renukawas approached for her clarifica-tion, she said that the forest offi-

cials have information about theleopard on the prowl and a cagehas been established to catch thewild cat, which she said is con-stantly on the move.

CCTV cameras have been setup at various places, but there wasno trace of the animal, she said.The leopard hides among thetree branches and bushes, she saidquoting the villagers, farmers andagriculture workers as saying.

Special teams are being consti-tuted to nab the wild cat, shesaid.Villagers expressed doubtswhether there is more than onewild cat that has been on the prowlexpressing apprehension over vis-iting their fields and nearby areas.

People of neighbouring vil-lagers are hesitating to go to theleopard affected villages. Similarly,students from the villages wherethe wild cat is on the prowl arehesitating to go to schools, the vil-lagers said fearing what wouldhappen in their villages once it wasdark.

Yadadri temple becomes symbol of spiritualityPNS nMULUGU

When one thinks about Hindutemples, we automaticallyremember the TirumalaTirupati Temple and theBhadradri Sri Ram Temple.

Now, the Yadadri Temple hasjoined this list. Yadadri hasbecome the symbol of Hinduspirituality in Telangana State.

TRS State Social Media con-vener Y Satish Reddy is cele-brating the glory of the YadadriTemple in an innovative man-ner. Satish Reddy has distrib-uted a 'mega pack' in his home-town Devagiri in Mulugu dis-trict. The mega pack containsladdu prasad, a door stickerand a brochure detailing thehistory of the millennial tem-ple.

Speaking on the occasion,Satish Reddy said, "Just asRamdas built Bhadradri, ourChief Minister KCR undertookthe renovation of the YadadriTemple with great devotionand has made it a huge suc-

cess."It is definitely Yadagiri

Narasimha Swamy who choseKCR to lead the Telanganamovement, get a separate State,make him the State's leader andthen get the Yadadri Templerenovated magnificently, Satish

said.The old temple of Patagutta

Narasimha Swamy once flour-ished as a pilgrimage site.Today it is the Yadadri NavaNarasimha Kshetra that isgoing to attract devotees.

KCR decided to renovate the

Yadadri Temple by spendingaround Rs 2,000 crore. It wasKCR's determination, and hiscommitment that enabled thetemple's renovation to be com-pleted efficiently, Satishsaid.The TRS government ren-ovated the Yadadri Temple,

which has a long history andhas made it accessible to devo-tees. Today, the magnificentleadership of KCR has trans-formed the Yadadri Templeinto a dazzling masterpiece.

The reconstruction of thetemple depicting Hindumythology and Agamasastraswithout any hindrance is a tes-tament to KCR's dream andcommitment, Satish said.

The surroundings of theYadadri Temple are beautiful-ly landscaped. After the addi-tion of around four more acresto the old temple, the new tem-ple is built with a huge'Prakaralu,' 'Mandapalu' andsub-temples.

The Yadadri Temple willsurely flourish as a spiritual cityin future and will be one of thebiggest spiritual assets ofTelangana. The temple willopen to all devotees on March28. Satish Reddy urged every-one to visit the Yadadri Templeand receive the blessings of theSwami.

Techno-cultural students’ meet tomorrow

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

City Mayor RayanaBhagyalakshmi inaugurated aChristian cemetery in Eastconstituency in Ramalingeswara Nagar, 15th division,built spending Rs 50 lakh, onWednesday. East constituencyin-charge Devineni Avinash,deputy mayors Bellam Durgaand Avutu Shailaja Reddy andothers were present.

On the occasion, MayorBhagyalakshmi said that

Christians had been facingproblems for a long time toperform the last rites of theirbeloved. She said that with theinitiative of constituency in-charge Avinash, their long-pending dream had come true.The cemetery was set up at anideal location accessible to theChristens in the city. She saidthat the people had been fac-ing problems due to lack ofspace in the cemetery for thelast 20 years.

Avinash said that the previ-

ous TDP government had allo-cated land, but did not allocatefunds. The ruling YSRCP gov-ernment was keen on develop-ment and welfare of the peo-ple.

Mayor inaugurates Christian cemetery

Health startupfrom cityraises fundsPNS n HYDERABAD

Hyderabad based health techstar tup Genepower x onWednesday raised a fundingof half a million dollars fromDr Vinayendra Tulla, a seri-al entrepreneur and an AngelInvestor. The startup also hascollaborations with NationalInst itutes of Health,American College of MedicalGenomics and Genetics andmany others. They exten-sively use artificial intelli-gence and deep technology togenerate accurate genomereports. Dr Kalyan Uppaluri,Founder of Genepowerx said,“Biotechno logy will give thepower into the hands of thepatients. The genetic reportwill help them in makinginformed choices about theirhealth. Personalized medi-cine is here to stay, manyphysicians recommend med-icines based on genetic make-up of the patient.

3-day OsmaniaTaksh tocommence today PNS n HYDERABAD

The Curtain Raiser andOsmania Walk was conductedon Wednesday morning at 7.00am . The programme beganwith the curtain raiser - releaseof colourful balloons from theramparts of the Arts College fol-lowed by Osmania Walk toNCC Gate. The programmewas attended by Prof DRavinder Vice-Chancellor, ProfP Laxmina rayana Registrar,Prof B Reddya Naik, OSD toVC, Prof C Ganesh PrincipalUniversity College of Arts andSocial Sciences, other principals,administrative officers, scholars,students and alumni.

3 drug peddlers held,140 kg ganja seizedPNS n HYDERABAD

SOT, LB Nagar Zone, alongwith Adibatla police, arrest-ed three interstate drug ped-dlers and seized 140 kg ofcontraband ganja , twoToyota innova cars, cash ofRs 5,00,000 and eight mobilephones. The accused areShaik Yaseen @ Feroz (33),Chunchu Ravinder(29) andManda Babu (29).

The accused Shaik Yaseen,known as Feroz is native ofKhammam, presently settledat NFC, Nacharam. He hasbeen into illegal Ganja trans-portation business since2016. He is having good con-

tacts with the ganja buyersfrom Karnataka, Delhi andMaharashtra. He is procuringganja from Agency areas ofAraku, Lambasingi area ofVizag at cheaper rates andselling the same to the needycustomers for huge price.He along with his associatesChunchu R avinder andManda Babu were involvedin the illegal transportationof ganja Business and earn-ing easy money. Shaik Yaseen@ Feroz earlier involved inseveral cases. He along withManda Babu and ChunchuRavinder were involved intransportation of 1,240 kgs ofganja under Medipalli ps.

04VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | MARCH 24, 2022

PNS n NELLORE

One woman passenger was killedand 34 others were injured, four ofthem critically, when an APSRTCbus rammed a stationary lorry andoverturned at Damaramadugu vil-lage in Buchireddypalem mandal onWednesday.

Police said that the PalleveluguRTC bus with 40 passengers onboard was going to Nellore fromAtmakur. It rammed a stationarylorry and later veered off the road

and fell in a field located 15 feetdownwards to the road.

A woman passenger was killedinstantaneously while 34 injured inthe accident. The injured wereshifted to the government hospitalin 108 ambulances. The conditionof four of the injured is said to becritical. The bus driver was drowsyat the steering wheel resulting in thebus ramming the stationary lorry,police said. SI Prasad Reddy visit-ed the scene of the accident and reg-istered a case.

PNS n ANANTAPUR

Former minister and TeluguDesam party leader ParitalaSunita alleged that the indus-tries are leaving AndhraPradesh due to the wrong andflawed policies of the JaganMohan Reddy headed stategovernment.

The TDP activists led byParitala Sunita and her sonParitala Sriram took out a rallyfrom Jockey industries to theTahsildar's office in Raptadu onWednesday in protest againstthe shifting of Jockey industriesfrom the district.

Addressing a gathering onthe occasion, the TDP leadersdemanded the government totake immediate steps to bringback the jockey industries andensure that the industry isestablished at Raptadu.

Sunita demanded the gov-ernment to show the industri-al development which they hadachieved during the last threeyears. She held YSRCP MLATopudurti Prakash Reddyresponsible for the Jockeyindustry going out of state.

“Instead of establishing newindustries in the state, theexisting industries are leavingthe state because of wrongpolicies of the state govern-

ment. If industries are notestablished and the existingindustries leave the state, howcan employment be generatedfor the youth?”, she asked.

The former minister allegedthat YSRCP MLA Topudurti

Prakash Reddy demanded theJockey industries managementRs 15 crore to provide infra-structure. She dared the MLAto bring back the industry, if hecould.

Paritala Sriram said thatduring the TDP regime, theChief Minister NChandrababu Naidu in 2017convinced the Jakie industriesmanagement to establish thecompany at Raptadu. Theindustry would generate 6000employment, he said. Healleged that MLA T PrakashReddy has become a hurdle forindustrial development of thearea.

PNS n ELURU

Andhra Pradesh Women’sCommission ChairpersonVasireddy Padma warned oftaking stringent action againstthose who harass womenemployees at workplace. Sheassured the working women ofextending all help to protectthem from being harassed andasked them to complain to thewhatsapp number.

A regional seminar "Sabhala"was organised here onWednesday, for which womenrepresentatives from three dis-tricts attended. CIDAdditional SPKVG Sarita andZP chairperson ShaikNoorjahan were among thosewho attended. Speaking onthe occasion, Vasireddy Padmaunderlined the need of settingup a complaint cell in all gov-ernment office to enablewomen to complain aboutharassment.

Speaking on the occasion,she said that regional seminarswere being organized in thestate to address the problemsof women employees in gov-ernment departments. Strictaction would be taken against

those found guilty of sexualharassment against women inthe workplace, she warned. Aspart of this, seminars were heldin Guntur district on March16, in Eluru on March 23. Aseminar would be held inRayalaseema district on March30 and another would be heldin north AP on April 16.

She informed that a Whatupnumber 63026 66254 waslaunched especially to receivecomplaints from womenagainst sexual harassment.Vasireddy Padma warned thatstringent action would be takenagainst those found guilty ofsexual harassment againstwomen in the workplace.

The chairperson informedthat as many as 200 com-plaints were received within aweek of the launch of theWhatsApp number. Everygovernment office would dis-play posters with a validWhatsApp number. Afterreceiving a complaint, adepartmental inquiry would

be held. If justice was notmeted out the issue would beresolved at the LCC commit-tee led by district Collector,she said.

Vasireddy Padma reiteratedthat the Women’sCommissioner would contin-ue to work with sincerity anddedication to provide securi-ty to the women and addresstheir grievances. She pointedout that the Disha App hascome as Brahmastra to thewomen in receiving policeprotection within minutes.

CID Additional SP KV G.Sarita stressed the need of set-ting up complaint cells in allpublic and private offices andan internal complaints com-mittee to oversee the process.Eluru city mayor SheikNoorjahan, Joint CollectorPadmavati, government advi-sor (employees welfare) NChandrasekhar Reddy,Spandana foundation chair-man Shyamul Reddy womencommission member BusiVinita and APNGO state pres-ident Bandi Srinivasa Raoand APNGO women chair-man V Nirmala Kumari wereamong those who attended.

PNS n ONGOLE

Former Joint Director of CBIJD Lakshminarayana demand-ed that Kandukur shouldremain in Prakasham district.The former Joint Director ofCBI visited the fasting campand extended solidarity withthose who have been observingrelay fast for the last 48 days onWednesday demanding thegovernment to retainKandukur in Prakasam district.

Addressing the gatheringon the occasion in Kandukur,he said the merging Kandukurin Nellore district would makethe people of the area to trav-el 120 km to reach the districtheadquarters, adding that itwas absurd to do away thelargest Kandukur revenue divi-sion in joint Andhra Pradesh.

Local legislator MahidharaReddy also told the JAC lead-ers that the government should

take an amicable decision tocontinue Kandukur inPrakasam district.Lakshminarayana urged thestate government to reconsid-er its decision of mergingKandukur division in Nelloredistrict.

JAC leaders BezwadaPrasad, Palleti KoteshwaraRao, PD Venkateshwarlu, BVenkateshwarlu, DamaMalleshwara Rao, ChilakapatiMadhubabu, NV Subbarao,Boosi and other leaders werepresent.

PNS n NELLORE

Large number of farmers tookout a huge rally from Nartakitheatre to the Collector’s officehere on Wednesday demand-ing the government to takesteps to provide remunerativeprices to the farmers for theirproduce.

The farmers assembled atNartaki theatre and took out ahuge rally to the Collector’soffice holding banners and plac-ards and they raised slogansdemanding MSP for their pro-duce and against the flawedfarm policies of the government.

Leaders of various politicalparties and farmers' associa-tions including the TDP tookpart in the rally and extendedsolidarity with the agitating

farmers. Talking to the mediaon the occasion former minis-ter for Agriculture SomireddyChandramohan Reddy saidthat the government had failedin purchasing paddy from thefarmers.

Demanding that remunera-tive prices should be providedto the agricultural products offarmers, he lashed out thatChief Minister Y S JaganMohan Reddy had disregard-ed the problems of farmers. He

said that about one crore met-ric tonnes of paddy was pro-duced in the state of which thegovernment had purchased 39metric tonnes.

He slammed that in the pur-chase of 39 metric tonnes of

paddy brokers and mediatorswere involved fleecing the farm-ers. The farmer agricultureminister criticised that theRythu Bharosa Kendra were inno way helpful to the farmers.

The government assured topurchase every grain of farmproduce from the farmers butthat materialized so far.Meanwhile, the farmers talkingto the media regretted that thefarming has become expensive.The costs of pesticides, fertil-izers, seeds and labour hadgone up and the farmers wereforced to spend huge amountsto raise crops but the farmerswere not getting remunerativeprices for the produce, helamented. The farmers submit-ted a memorandum to theCollector in this regard.

PNS n GUNTUR

Mayor Kavati Shiva NagaManohar Naidu asked thecoaches of NTR stadium toproduce talented players andassured of providing the need-ed infrastructure.

The coaches of NTR stadiummet the Mayor in his chamberon Wednesday and submitteda memorandum urging him tohike their wages. The coachestold the Mayor that they hadproduced many sportsmen butthey were being paid less salary.

Responding to their request,the Mayor assured them to takesteps to hike their wages.Coaches Sheik Anwar Basha,

Maqubal Sayyad, Sheik Khja,Ramakrishna, GVS Prasad andManikanta were among thosewho met the Mayor.

PNS n ELURU

The revenue and police offi-cials seized 25 tonnes of rationrice while being transported ina lorry illegally atKoyyalagudem on Wednesday.

Tahasildar T Srinivasa Raoin a statement said that on a tipoff the officials conductedchecking of vehicles. Theyfound 25 tonnes of Telanganaration rice, worth Rs 5.67lakh, being transported illegal-ly to Kakinada port in a lorry.

The police arrestedPasumarti Nageswara Rao in

this connection and regis-tered a case against him underSection 6A, 7(1). The officialsalso seized the lorry.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Janasena party chief K PawanKalyan expressed griefand shock over thedeath of 11migrant work-ers in a fireaccident whichtook place inHyderabad onWednesday.

In a statementhere onWednesday PawanKalyan said that itpained him immensely thedeath of 11 migrating work-

ers at a timber depot in theBoyiguda area inSecunderabad. “It is so

unfortunate that thedaily workers, who

migrated fromBihar for liveli-hood, have losttheir lives. Iextend mydeep sympa-thies to the

bereaved fami-lies on my behalf

and Janasena Party. Irequest the Telangana

government to help thesefamilies”, he said.

PNS n GUNTUR

Former minister and TeluguDesam party senior leaderAlapati Rajendra Prasadalleged that the YSRCP regimehad not done anything forPolavaram project after it cameto power.

Addressing a press confer-ence here on Wednesday, hesaid that most of the majorworks of the Polavaram projecthad been carried out duringthe Chandrababu Naiduregime.

“The Jagan Reddy govern-ment has not done anything inany field except criticisingChandrababu Naidu. People ofthe state are treating the YCPleaders as insanes after seeingugly laughs in the Assembly”,he lashed out.

The Jagan Reddy headedgovernment announces everyyear that the Polavaram pro-jects would be completed anddedicated to the nation in the

next year. The Jagan Reddy ledgovernment could not provideirrigation water to even oneacre. Jagan Mohan Reddy didnot know what farming wasand he did not have knowledgeon irrigation projects, he crit-icised.

The irrigation projectswhich are under constructionwere lifted to the wind by thegovernment as they did notknow the importance of theprojects. The crest gates of a

project washed away in floodswhich reflects the patheticstate of irrigation projects, helambasted.

“Because of the Pattiseemalift project, constructed by theChandrababu Naidu regime,the farmers are happy in theWest Godavari and Krishnadistrict as they get water fortheir farming activities. NowJagan Reddy regime is tryingto stop the operation of theproject”, he lashed out.

PNS n ELURU

Andhra Pradesh State MBCCorporation chairman PendraVeeranna appealed to ChiefMinister Y S Jagan MohanReddy to provide free powersupply free supply upto 150units to the MBCs.

The MBC Corporationchairman Veeranna met theChief Minister in theSecretariat in Amaravati onWednesday. He submitted amemorandum urging him toprovide free power supply tothe Migrating BackwardCommunities up to 150 units.

He told the Chief Minister thatthe previous TDP governmentissued a GO to provide free

power supply up to 100 unitsto the sanchara jatulu commu-nity people but that was notimplemented.

He also appealed to theChief Minister to extend Rs 1lakh additionally to the MBCsfor construction of houses.He also explained to the ChiefMinister the necessity of set-ting up a MBC wing in theYSRCP. He informed the ChiefMinister the problems beingfaced by the migrated back-ward communities. The ChiefMinister responded to therequest positively, Verrannasaid.

AP WC warns of stringent actionif women harassed at workplace

Industries leaving AP due towrong policies: Sunita

Addressing agathering on theoccasion, the TDPleaders demandedthe government totake immediatesteps to bringback the jockeyindustries andensure that theindustry isestablished atRaptadu.

One killed, 34 injured as RTC bus rams lorry

Farmers take out rally demanding MSP

YCP govt has not done anythingfor Polavaram: Ex-minister

MBC Corporation chairmanseeks free power supply to MBCs

25 tonnes ration riceseized, one arrested

Tangutur should be inPrakasam district: Ex-JD

Pawan Kalyan condoles deathof workers in fire mishap

NTR stadium coaches shouldproduce talented players: Mayor

Police officials asked to speed upinvestigation of pending casesPNS n WARANGAL

Warangal city police com-missioner Tarun Joshi hasasked the police officers inthe Commissionerate togather information of oldcriminals who peddled ganjaand property offenders,speed up investigation ofpending grave cases by con-stituting special teams togather evidence and submitthe same to court.

He also asked the policeauthorities to step on the gasin regard to investigation ofpending POCSO cases.

He was addressing amonthly review meetingwith Hanmakonda division-al police officers here on

Wednesday.Central zone DCP,

Hanmakonda ACP, inspec-tors and sub-inspectors tookpart in the programme. Hereviewed the progress of thepending cases police sta-tion-wise.The Commissionerhas asked the police author-ities to step up patrollingunder the limits of each andevery police station as part ofthe visible policing. He askedthe police station officials tomonitor the progress of thebluecolt and interceptorpolice personnel.He wantedthe authorities to sensitise thepeople on the adverse impactof inhaling ganja and con-suming adulterated ID arrackand indulging in gambling.

Miraculous forescape Sharmilafrom honeybeesPNS n YADADRI

BHUVANAGIRI

YSR Telangana party chiefY S Sharmila on Wednesdayhad a miraculous escapefrom the attack of honey-bees. A swarm of honeybeesappeared out of nowherewhen Sharmila, as part ofher Praja Prasthanampadayatra, was interactingwith people under the shadeof a tree at Durgasanipallyvillage in the district. Hersecurity guards led her awayto a safe place. Those, whogathered at the scene, werereportedly suffered simpleinjuries.

nation 05VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | MARCH 24, 2022

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Approximately 89 per cent of land required for Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train projecthas been acquired by the Centre, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said onWednesday. "The execution of Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed rail (MAHSR) has been

delayed especially due to delay in land acquisition in the state of Maharashtra and consequentdelays in finalisation of contracts as well as adverse impact of COVID-19," the minister said inhis written reply to a question in LokSabha. Out of total the 1,396 hectares ofland required for MAHSR project, about89 per cent, approximately 1,248hectares, has been acquired, he noted.In Mahrashtra, 68.65 per cent out oftotal 297.81 hectares needed for theproject has been acquired, he stated."Five villages in Palghar district inMaharashtra have passed theproposals in Gramsabhas...to opposethe land acquisition for the MAHSRproject," he said.

89 pc of land needed for bullet trainproject acquired: Rly Minister tells LS

ADelhi court on Wednesday deferred for tomorrow its order on the bail plea of formerJNU student Umar Khalid in a case of larger conspiracy in connection with Delhi riotsin February 2020. Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat, who was scheduled to

pronounce the order Wednesday, posted the matter for Thursday, saying it was not ready.The court had reserved the order on March 3 after hearing arguments from the counselappearing for Khalid and theprosecution. During the argument, theaccused had told the court that theprosecution lacked the evidence toprove its case against him. Khalid andseveral others, have been booked underthe anti-terror law UAPA in the case forbeing the "masterminds" of theFebruary 2020 riots, which had left 53people dead and over 700 injured. Theviolence had erupted during theprotests against the CAA and theNational Register of Citizens.

2020 Delhi riots: Court defers order on Umar Khalid's bail plea

Congress Lok Sabha member Gaurav Gogoi on Wednesday expressed concernover what he termed as a trend of youths in Assam joining the rebel group ULFAmainly due to unemployment and urged the government to take urgent steps to

check this. Making a Zero Hour reference, he said while it helps them make easymoney, it endangers their as well as their families' future. Gogoi said for the past fewyears, youths are joining theUnited Liberation Front of Asom(ULFA) largely due to lack ofemployment opportunities. He saidthe situation should be checkedand the Centre should send a teamof intelligence and security expertsto find a solution. He cautionedthat such trends should bechecked in states which shareinternational borders. Gogoi saidthe hard earned peace in the stateshould be preserved.

Cong MP claims youths in Assam joining ULFA

PNS n NEW DELHI

With Delhi being adjudged themost polluted capital in theworld for the fourth consecu-tive year in 2021, experts feelthat the lack of systematicimplementation of plans andpolicies to fight air pollution inthe entire airshed has beenkeeping the problem alive.

An airshed is the entire areaover which the pollutants dis-perse due to meteorological andgeographical factors. Delhi isthe world's most polluted cap-ital for the fourth consecutiveyear in 2021, with pollution ris-ing almost 15 per cent over the

previous year, according to theWorld Air Quality Reportreleased by IQAir, a Swiss firm.Air pollution levels (96.4

micrograms per cubic meter) inthe capital were around 20times above the WHO-pre-scribed safe limit of five micro-

grams per cubic meter. The rea-son why Delhi hasn't been ableto improve its air quality allthese years is the lack of a sys-tematic and comprehensivepolicy implementation target-ing absolute emission loadreduction, Sunil Dahiya fromthe Centre for Research onEnergy and Clean Air said.London and Beijing were morepolluted than Delhi at onetime but they improved theirair quality with the systematicand coordinated implementa-tion of policies, he said.

"In Delhi, we have a pletho-ra of policies and agencies,including the Commission for

Air Quality Management andthe National Clean AirProgramme. Several pollution-related cases are in courts andthe city government is alsomaking efforts. But, little hasbeen done keeping the largerairshed in mind. That's the rea-son the overall emission load,primarily due to fossil fuelburning, has not reduced,"Dahiya said. Despite trans-portation accounting for a largeshare in the overall emissionload in Delhi, the governmenthas shied away from cappingthe number of cars and settinga target to reduce the consump-tion of diesel and petrol.

‘Lack of policy keeps pollution issue alive in Delhi’

PNS n MADURAI

The Madras High Court benchhere on Wednesday said peoplewere "frustrated" with the VIPculture, especially in temples,and issued a slew of directionsregarding special darshan at awell-known shrine in TamilNadu.

VIP entry must be restrictedonly to themselves and theirfamily members, but not therelatives, Justice S MSubramaniam said while hear-ing a petition regarding thefamous Arulmigu SubramaniaSwamy Temple at Tiruchendurin Tuticorin district. "Therecan be no argument that some

people deserve special darshan.However, such treatment isreserved only for the specialoffices which the persons areholding, but not for the individ-ual per se. In most developed

countries, the state protectsonly few at the top position, thatis, constitutional dignitariesand the rest is to manage itssecurities. Certain special priv-ileges shall not come in the way

of equality of the citizens," thejudge noted.

"People are frustrated withVIP culture, more specifically inclosed premises like temple, asthe devotees are made to sufferon account of special darshanto VIPs and other importantpersons. People are lamentingand in fact cursing," he added.The temple administration wasduty bound to ensure VIP dar-shan is provided without caus-ing any inconvenience to thepublic darshan. The list of VIPsis already notified by theGovernment of Tamil Naduand the said list of VIPs mustbe maintained by the templeadministration, the court said.

PNS n JAMMU

PDP chief Mehbooba Muftialleged on Wednesday that theBJP is promoting "The KashmirFiles", a film on the plight of dis-placed Kashmiri Hindus, toincite people on religious linesand called for the setting up ofa panel to probe the circum-stances that led to the exodus ofPandits from the valley. Herdemand came a day afterNational Conference (NC) chiefFarooq Abdullah also called forsetting up a panel to investigatethe killings and the exodus ofKashmiri Pandits from the val-ley.

Asking people to watch thefilm but not harbour hatredtowards Muslims, Mufti said thecircumstances that led to the2020 Delhi riots and the com-

munal violence in Gujarat in2002 should also be probed.

"Of course, the governmentof India should take a decisionin this regard (probing the exo-dus of Kashmiri Pandits)," shetold reporters on the sidelinesof her party's convention here.

The former Jammu andKashmir chief minister said

the Centre should set up a"truth and reconciliation com-mission" to probe not only theexodus of Kashmiri Pandits, butalso the Gujarat and Delhiriots. "I have not seen 'TheKashmir Files'. I have heard thatthe film shows a lot of violenceand bloodshed and that it haspainful scenes.

PNS n KOLKATA

A BJP delegation led bySuvendu Adhikari was stoppedfrom visiting the spot in WestBengal's Birbhum district,where eight people werecharred to death, promptingthe state's principal oppositionparty to demand ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee'sresignation over the incident,alleging that attempts werebeing made to shield the cul-prits.

The BJP delegation led byAdhikari, the leader of theopposition in the stateAssembly, was stopped aspolice had put up barricades

just outside Bogtui village."We were stopped from visit-ing the spot, but the chief min-ister had said she would begoing there. She will be visit-ing the area to remove piecesof evidence and protect theculprits. We are against it. If weare not allowed, then no oneelse should also be permitted

to visit it," he said. "Only CBIand NIA probe can bring outthe truth," he said. Banerjee hasasserted that strict actionwould be taken against the per-petrators of violence. "Thechief minister is also the homeminister of the state. She hasfailed in discharging her dutiesas the home minister. Sheshould immediately resign,"Adhikari told reporters on hisway to Birbhum. BJP MP andthe party's state vice-presi-dent Arjun Singh stated thatthe CM must take moralresponsibility for the incidentand step down. "Earlier, it wasthe opposition workers whowere facing the heat.

HC decries VIP culture at temples

BJP delegation seeks Mamata's resignation

PNS n NEW DELHI

Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman on Wednesdayrebutted the Opposition'scharge that the BJP too sharedthe responsibility for the failureto check the exodus of KashmiriPandits in 1990 as it was sup-porting the then V P Singh-ledgovernment at the Centre.

Speaking in Rajya Sabha, theminister said that terror killingswere being carried out inKashmir before 1990 when theNational Conference was inpower in J-K in alliance with theCongress and recalled the thengovernor Jagmohan's warningabout dark clouds of terroroverpowering the Valley.

She listed out "seven majorevents" or killings of Hindus byterrorists in 1989 along with therelated FIR numbers.

The minister was replying toa discussion on the Budget2022-23 for the Union Territoryof Jammu and Kashmir (J-K) in

Rajya Sabha. The House laterreturned relevant bills com-pleting the process of passage ofthe Jammu and KashmirBudget which Lok Sabha hadapproved on March 14.

During the discussion, theCongress party had accused theBJP of supporting the V PSingh-led government at theCentre in 1990 when KashmiriPandits were forced to leave theValley after they were targetedby terrorists.

"I just want to put the facts onrecord. The NationalConference government withthe support of the IndianNational Congress was in powerin J&K from November 1986 toJanuary 18, 1990.

And Governor Jagmohanreached J&K (on January 20,1990) after the resignation ofthe then Chief Minister FarooqAbdullah....20th January 1990 iswhen the Governor reachesSrinagar," the minister said.

"...whatever happened in1990, we all know we listed outand we are all seeing it also.

But what happened in 1989when this (Farooq Abdullah)government was still in place,November 1986 onwards till 18January 1990. I will take just theexample of 1989 when thatgovernment of NationalConference and IndianNational Congress was stillthere, "Sitharaman said.

She listed out "seven majorevents" or killings of Hindus byterrorists in 1989 along with therelated FIR numbers.

The Finance Minister alsotold the opposition thatGovernor Jagmohan (in hisfirst tenure) in July 1989 hadwarned the then state govern-ment regarding the danger ofterrorism.

"Is it not true that evenJagmohan Ji, in his first phaseof being Governor when he wasasked to leave in July 1989, did-n't he warn authorities at that

time itself that the dark cloudof terrorists are really overpow-ering J&K, and necessary stepshave to be taken by the stategovernment," the minister said.While she was referring to thekillings of 1989, certain oppo-sition members asked her tofocus her reply on the Budget.To this Sitharaman said eventhe speeches of oppositionmembers too were focused onKashmir File' (movie) and noton the Budget, therefore, shehas every right to reply on allissues.

The minister also told theHouse that after the abrogationof Article 370 from Jammuand Kashmir, terror activitieshave significantly declined, anddevelopment works are happen-ing in the Union Territory.

After the removal of Article370, the Union Territories ofLadhak, and Jammu andKashmir, were carved out fromthe erstwhile state of Jammuand Kashmir.

FM Sitharaman corners Congress onkilling of Kashmiri Pandits in J&K

Special children, adolescentsmore likely to be school dropoutsPNS n NEW DELHI

Children and adolescents withdisabilities are 27 per centmore likely to drop out ofupper secondary school ascompared to their peers whohave no disabilities, accordingto UN data shared by PMNCH.

The number of children andadolescents with disabilitiesglobally is estimated at almost240 million (1 in 10 world-wide), according to the WHO'sPartnership for Maternal,Newborn and Child Health(PMNCH).

The PMNCH statement said41 per cent of children with dis-abilities are more likely to feeldiscriminated against and 51per cent more likely to feelunhappy as compared to theirpeers with no disabilities.

Despite the fact that childrenand adolescents with disabilitiesare among the most margin-alised and discriminatedagainst groups, their priority onthe general health agenda islow, the PMNCH noted."Compared to their peers who

have no disabilities, childrenand adolescents (0-17 agegroup) with disabilities are 27per cent more likely to be outof upper-secondary school, 41per cent more likely to feel dis-criminated against and 51 percent more likely to feel unhap-py," the statement said.

Helga Fogstad, ExecutiveDirector, PMNCH, said sys-temic barriers, coupled with thefailure to prioritise the collec-tion of data on the situation ofwomen and girls with disabil-

ities, have perpetuated their"invisibility" within societies.

"They experience multipleand intersecting forms of dis-crimination which excludethem from various aspects oflife, puts their health and well-being at risk, and increases theirlikelihood of experiencingsocio-economic inequities,such as a higher rate of pover-ty, lower education level andincreased rate of unemploy-ment, compared to their non-disabled peers," said Fogstad.

PNS n RAE BARELI

Describing the Congress as"directionless" with a "non-existent" work culture, RaeBareli MLA Aditi Singh saidshe couldn't see it coming topower for a long time.

The 34-year-old MLA hadswitched to the BJP ahead ofthe Uttar Pradesh Assemblypolls.

Singh, who defeatedSamajwadi Party's R P Yadavby 7,100 votes to register hersecond straight win, said herdecision to quit the Congressand join the BJP was borne outof her obligation to the con-stituency's people.

"Could not see the Congresscoming to power for a long

time," she said. "I couldn'tcoordinate with them, agree orunderstand their work cul-ture. It was non-existent. Sowhere do you grow? I was allof 29 years old when I last gotelected. These are years for meto learn as a professional and

to have the right kind of men-torship. What do I do with thatdirectionless party," Singh said.

"Whilst on the other hand,we have a party (BJP) whichhas such clear vision and direc-tion from the Centre to statesto assembly and such hard

working leaders," she said. Shetermed the BJP's win from theconstituency as "historic".

"My party had never wonfrom this constituency sinceIndependence. There was per-haps one time when the JanataDal won, which again waswon by my uncle. So, it was avery hard earned victory," shetold PTI.

"Rae Bareli is a Congressbastion. A lot of people still dofeel strongly about theCongress party. There was alsoa certain amount of anti-incumbency which one facesbecause I have been an MLAfor five years. So to win inthose circumstances, I am veryhappy about it and proud ofmyself," she said.

Congress ‘directionless'; can’t see itcoming to power for long time: Aditi Singh

‘BJP promoting ‘The Kashmir Files' toinstigate people on religious lines’

Kejriwal concedes ‘mistake' inDelhi govt ad on freedom fightersPNS n NEW DELHI

New Delhi, Mar 23 (PTI) TheBJP on Wednesday pointed outthat only Bhagat Singh's pic-ture was displayed in the Delhigovernment's advertisementsin newspapers on ShaheediDiwas and urged Delhi ChiefMinister Arvind Kejriwal thatmartyrs should "not be divid-ed".

The chief minister said thatit was indeed a mistake andassured that it will not berepeated after Leader ofOpposition Ramvir Singh

Bidhuri raised the matter dur-ing his address to pay homageto martyrs on the first day ofthe Budget session of the Delhi

Assembly. Only ShaheedBhagat Singh's photo is therein advertisements issued by theDelhi government in newspa-pers. It doesn't have picturesand names of martyrs Sukhdevand Rajguru. Martyrs of thecountry should not be divided,Bidhuri said in House.

The BJP leader urged thechief minister to rectify themistake and requested him toinstall a statue of martyrAshfaqulla Khan near the stat-ues of Shaheed Bhagat Singh,Sukhdev and Rajguru on theDelhi Assembly premises.

India, GreecediscussUkraine crisisPNS n NEW DELHI

External Affairs Minister SJaishankar on Wedne sdayheld extensive talks withhis Greek counterpart NikosDendias, covering the crisisin Ukraine, the situation inAfghanistan and exploringthe possibility of enhancingthe bilateral ties to the levelof strategic partnership.

Both sides noted theimportance of the move-ment of people in an order-ly and legal way and signeda declaration of intent onmigration and mobility.Dendias arrived in India onTuesday on a two-day visit.The Ministry of ExternalAffairs (MEA) said the twocountries agreed to worktogether to further enhancecollaboration in mutuallybeneficial sectors such as theshipping and maritime sec-tor, information technology,agriculture, new and renew-able energy, and pharma-ceuticals. It said detaileddiscussions were held on theimportance of keeping ouroceans free and open formovement and trade andboth sides underlined theneed to support and adhereto the Laws of the Seas(UNCLOS). The MEA saidboth sides shared views onregional and global issues ofmutual interest in the con-text of new geopolitical andgeo-economic realities."Developments pertainingto the European Union,Eastern Mediterranean,Afghanistan and Ukrainewere discussed," it said in astatement.

Getting laughedat for what youwear is verycommon. Weshould take it asa compliment.

Actor— Chunky Panday

dropped to one-third. Thisslump was attributed to theRevolution in Russia. Importsby this consumer had stoppedall together.

In due course, the SovietUnion resumed imports on alimited scale. A big enoughalternative home had nothowever been found for thesurplus tea even a decadelater. The annual imports bythis country in 1930 rangedaround 60 million poundswhen contrasted with thepre-war figure of 200. Toomuch was therefore beingshipped to Britain, causing acontinual indigestion there.Trade circles felt that to savethe industry from ruin, anurgent outlet for up to 100million pounds had to befound. The Capital of July 2,1937, reminded that theUSSR was the obvious homefor this surplus. And thiscountry was willing to importmore, provided it was grant-ed long-term credit. Apartfrom relieving the glut, theworry was of generationsgrowing up in Russia withoutthe tea-drinking habit.

The Ceylon Associationwas reported in October 1931to have turned down theproposal to extend two years’credit to Russia. The reason

was that a single Sovietagency bought all the tea. Inthe event of a default, the losswould be total. Meanwhile,negotiations between the pro-ducers and the SovietGovernment had been goingon. The purpose was toensure continuity of sales ofblack tea to Russia. The sup-ply was plentiful and theSoviets were keen to buy; themissing link was money. Itwas finally in July 1934 thata tentative scheme of creditwas reported. A trading com-pany was to be formed by theproducers of India, Ceylonand the Dutch Indies. Themain producers of thesecountries were to subscribe tothe share capital of the com-pany on the basis of £3,750per million pounds of teagrown. £938 were payable incash and £2,872 were to coverany default by the Soviets.

The joint company was tobe known as the Anglo-Russian Tea TradingCompany which would buytea for cash at the auctions inLondon, Colombo, Calcuttaand Amsterdam and sell it inRussia on 12 months’ credit.Those hopes dashed to theground when the negotia-tions were suddenly sus-pended. In June 1944, it was

reported that the SovietUnion had received morethan 35 million pounds ofIndian and Ceylon teathrough the British Ministryof Food. The trade thereforewondered whether theRussian market might bereopened. The ManchesterGuardian opined that therewas a bigger opportunityafter the war for re-develop-ing the Russian market.

On July 12, 1948, in NewDelhi, the first Indo-Russianfood agreement was signed.India would receive 50,000tonne of wheat. In return, itwould supply 11.5 millionpounds or 5,000 metric tonneof high-grade tea. Some inthe trade felt that this wouldput Indian tea at a disadvan-tage in the hard currencymarkets. This conflictbetween barter and hard cur-rency trade increased as thevolume of trade with theSoviet Union went up. In theagreement signed in 1949,200,000 tonne of wheat and100,000 tonne of food grainswere to be exchanged for tea,jute and castor oil.

(The writer is a well-known columnist, an authorand a former member of theRajya Sabha. The viewsexpressed are personal.)

THE NEED TO ‘INDIANISE’ INDIASir — Recently, Vice-President VenkaiahNaidu asserted the need for ‘Indianising’the nation’s education system. Similarly,in September last year, CJI NV Ramanastated that ‘Indianisation’ of the country’slegal system was the need of the hour.What is this ‘Indianisation’ and why havedemands for it cropped up across insti-tutional spaces? In simple terms,‘Indianisation’ is the process of chang-ing the character of an institution, pol-icy or practice to make it consonant withIndia’s social realities. It is neededbecause despite having been liberatedfrom colonial rule, India continues to fol-low their spirit which has only hinderedthe country’s development.

From our language policy to our legalsystem, everything continues to operatethe way it did under the British Raj. Theirobjective was to mould the colonised intothe worldview of the coloniser by radi-cally altering their indigenous systems.Even after India attained Independence,attempts were barely made to dilute thecolonial influence on indigenous prac-tices and institutions. As a consequence,the Indian mind was indoctrinated intoextolling western values. It will contin-ue to be the case as long as this colonialinfluence exists. Therefore, ‘Indianisation’is required to restore the self-esteem ofIndians and make India consistent withits social ethos.

Nissim Aggarwal | Chandigarh

BENGAL VIOLENCE NEEDS TO BE DOUSEDSir — It is unfortunate that at least eightpeople were charred to death in a polit-ical conflagration in Birbhum after thekilling of Trinamool leader BahadurSheikh. The heinous incident is a setbackto the State Government, which has oftenbeen blamed by the BJP for political may-hem in Bengal. The orchestrated violenceshows the deteriorating condition of lawand order in the State, which was hijackedby unruly elements in the TMC. It willmalign CM Mamata Banerjee’s image whois often faced with difficult situationsowing to political turf war and rivalries.

The recent skirmish has put GovernerJagdeep Dhankhar and the CM at logger-heads, indulging into scathing attacksagainst each other. The prompt action bythe State Government in arresting 11 peo-ple involved in the violence, murder andarson will send a strong message to thewrongdoers who take law in own handsthrough reckless violence and hooligan-ism with impunity. The suspension of theofficer in-charge and setting up an SITis the need of the hour to pacify the angerof the aggrieved families. It will be theonly way forward to restore peace in thetense village and restore people’s faith inthe Chief Minister.

Janga Bahadur Sunuwar | Jalpaiguri

HANDLE CUET WITH DUE DILIGENCESir — It refers to the editorial, ‘Shiftinggoalposts’. The proposed CUET has itsown advantages and disadvantages. It willdefinitely provide equal opportunitywhile marks given in board exams do nothave equal parameters across the coun-try. And it should also not be forgotten

that purely on the basis of marks in three-four subjects, admission is decided for aspecific course while the student may missout on that seat due to fewer marks in onesubject. For example, if a student wantsto pursue Physics (Hons), he may miss outon it due to poor marks in Chemistry.

As for disadvantages, it will surelyreduce the importance of the CBSEboard and students will have to addition-ally prepare for this entrance test. Asrightly mentioned in the editorial, a newkind of coaching industry will emerge.But in a nutshell, the CUET will definite-ly create a huge disadvantage for rural stu-dents. If it leads to more students drop-ping out after 12th Board exams, that willbe disastrous, to say the least. All effortsshould be made in the direction of ensur-ing that rural students go on to completetheir graduation or vocational courses soas to become independent.

Bal Govind | Noida

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Since the turn of the last century, the export volumes of Indian tea to theerstwhile USSR have experienced highs and lows on several occasions

THE USSR WAS

WILLING TO

IMPORT MORE,

PROVIDED IT

WAS GRANTED

LONG-TERM

CREDIT. APART

FROM RELIEVING

THE GLUT, THE

WORRY WAS OF

GENERATIONS

GROWING UP IN

RUSSIA WITHOUT

THE TEA-DRINKING

HABIT

LETTERS TO TTHE EDITOR

PRAFULL GORADIA

Perhaps in an apprehension of sorts,political heavyweights from every partydo occasionally file their nomination

papers from more than one constituency but,at times, those winning in Assembly pollswhile already holding parliamentary seatshave to put in their papers before beingsworn in as MLAs. Hence, SP chief and for-mer Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and hisparty’s Muslim face Mohammed AzamKhan have resigned from their parliamentaryposts. This strategic decision, coming in the

backdrop of the SP’s debacle in the Assemblypolls, obviously comes across as a shot inthe party’s arm and is being seen as anattempt to boost its morale ahead of the cru-cial 2024 parliamentary elections.

Interestingly, both UP Chief Minister YogiAdityanath and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav choseto face the Assembly polls rather than tak-ing the easier MLC route for the first time,and won. Hence, CM Yogi Adityanath has alsosent in his resignation to the Chairman of theLegislative Council so that he can becomethe Chief Minister again. However, politics issaid to be a game replete with myriad uncer-tainties, a lot of twists and turns, surprisesspringing upon the electorate and last-minutedecisions upsetting the political equations fol-lowing some last-minute calls leading to cha-grin for some and glee for the others. Let’swait and watch which way this political cook-ie in Uttar Pradesh crumbles again.

Azhar A Khan | Rampur

Akhilesh betting big on 2024

Looking back attrade with Russia

For nearly 30 years, Indianproducers enjoyed theincidental generosity ofthe Soviets. ‘Incidental’,

because the rouble was valuedlow. In 1991, the RBI treated therouble as worth `18 whereas itwas not worth even 28 paise.With the collapse of the USSRand the end of the rupee trade,Indian tea exports had declinedby one-third. The result was aslump in prices, hopefully to notlast long. It should be interest-ing to pursue this nostalgia fur-ther back and recount the high-lights of the Indo-Russian trade.

1897 was a year of anxiety inIndian tea exports to Russia.Plague had broken out in thecountry and import of Indiantea into Batoum, Georgia, wasprohibited. Calcutta made atimely intervention and persuaded Russians to recognisethat tea is no carrier of plague.In 1903-04, nearly 29,000pounds of tea were exportedfrom Bombay to Russia. Two years later, the quantity hadtrebled.

About this time, it was dis-covered that lately there was astrong bias in Russia in favourof land-borne teas and theyrealised higher prices than theirsea-borne counterparts.Nevertheless, the Indo-Russiantrade continued to grow. ABritish report from Odessa saidthe Russian tastes had under-gone an extraordinary change inthe last decade. His preferencehad swung from China toIndian and Ceylon tea.Purchases from China haddeclined by one-third.

The consular report went onto add that there had been asteep rise in the demand ofgreen tea between 1904 and1912; imports had grown bynearly 20 times. The CentralAsian provinces had taken togreen tea as a kind of substitutefor intoxicants, which were for-bidden by Islam. A whole newmarket, over and above that ofblack tea, had been created.When everything was hunky-dory, WWI ended and there wasa general recession, the crash intea prices was unprecedented.Between 1919 and 1920, theprice for common teas had

In Indian polity, it’s a classic example of being back to square one. Or re-invent-ing the wheel, if you please. To start at the beginning, the erstwhile MunicipalCorporation of Delhi (MCD) was in 2011 trifurcated into the South Delhi Municipal

Corporation, North Delhi Municipal Corporation and East Delhi MunicipalCorporation as per the Delhi Municipal Corporation Amendment Act, 1911. Now,all eyes were on the State Election Commission for the dates of polling, which waslast held in 2017. The exercise was to be completed by May 18, when the term

of the three civic bodies would expire, to elect 104councillors each to the NDMC and SDMC as wellas 64 councillors of EDMC. The commission onMarch 9 called a press conference to announce theschedule but, in a dramatic twist, deferred it say-ing it has received a communication from the Centrethat the latter intends to unify the corporations.According to rules, if the three bodies are mergedthen the election deadline will no longer apply. Itis also not known whether the number of existingwards will remain 272 or will change, requiring afresh delimitation exercise.

Amid this suspense, fresh from the boost to its electoral prospects in Punjab,the AAP has taken affront to the Centre’s unification move. Perhaps taking it a tadtoo personally, AAP national convener and Delhi Chief Minister first appealed toPrime Minister Narendra Modi to “not cancel” the corporation elections but it did-n’t bear any dividends. Now, a day after the Union Cabinet gave its nod to the DelhiMunicipal Corporation (Amendment) Act, 2022 — a Bill that proposes to mergethe three corporations, and likely to be tabled in the ongoing Budget session nextweek — a miffed Kejriwal threw down the gauntlet to the BJP, saying the AAP willquit politics if the saffron party gets these polls conducted on time and still man-ages to win. His frustration at the delay in the conduct of polls notwithstanding,this entire exercise of reuniting the corporations after an 11-year experiment rais-es questions. What was the need to unbundle the MCD, at significant cost to thetaxpayer, if it were to be remerged? The assets, staff and revenue earning poten-tial of the carved out corporations were not proportionate since the beginning, lead-ing to heartburn and the experiment’s failure.

How to interpret President Joe Biden terming India’s response to the Russianinvasion of Ukraine as “shaky”? His remarks came in the midst of him hail-ing the strong condemnation of Russia by Japan and Australia, with the excep-

tion of India “being somewhat shaky on some of this”. This is the second time thathe has singled out India. Last month he said “we haven’t resolved that completely”when asked why India’s stand is not in sync with his. Is there a note of caution inBiden’s latest statement? Or is it exasperation or a grudging recognition of India’sgeopolitical reality? It is not as if India has stuck out on its own on the matter ofRussia, doggedly pursuing a lone-star course of action. Yes, India did abstain fromthe votes on the Security Council and United Nations resolutions condemning Russia.Indian refiners have since floated tenders to buy discounted oil from Russia. But Indiahas also openly supported Ukraine, is sending medical and emergency aid to thatcountry, insisted on respecting territorial integrity and has pushed the cause of diplo-macy to end the conflict. India is simply trying to put its national interest first whiletrying to stay true to its long-standing relationships with both Russia and the United

States. It has done everything short of openly con-demning Russia. And that makes it stand out. It beganwith the recent Quad meeting when the Russian threatto Ukraine was raised.

On its part, India underlined that Quad must focuson its core objective of promoting peace and stabil-ity in the Indo-Pacific region. The Quad joint state-ment did not mention Russia at all, an indication thatunanimity eluded the members. Prime MinisterNarendra Modi subsequently had a virtual meetingwith his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison, whois said to have understood the reasons for India’s stand

on the conflict. Modi also met Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida who unequiv-ocally flayed Russia. At the same time, in a signed article, he linked Quad with Ukraine:“…we concurred that any attempt to unilaterally change the status quo by force, suchas this time, must not be tolerated in the Indo-Pacific region.” Did he also hint at Chinaand the Ladakh situation in the context of the Indo-Pacific? If so, it means there is anunlettered understanding between all Quad members on what the context is for Kishida’sphrase, to “change the status quo by force”. It applies as much to Ukraine as to Ladakh.It also underlines India’s empathy for Ukraine notwithstanding its singular stand onRussia. The US understands the importance of India for Quad in the Indo-Pacific andthat even if they do differ on Russia, their relationship is deep and resilient. Or else,someone would have asked by now where the world’s democracies were when Chinaentered Ladakh. For now, however, that does not mean the pressure has eased onIndia to take a stronger stand against Russia.

Between the lines

A conundrumThe unbundling and reunification of

MCD seems like an exercise in futility

PICTALK

People shopping at Narwal wholesale vegetable and fruit market, on the outskirts of Jammu PTI

Joe Biden’s remarks on India’s response to Ukraine’s invasion mask the complete truth

I’ve fulfilled mypromises… Mypen has signed insupport of theunemployed.

Punjab Chief Minister— Bhagwant Mann

It’s crazy, we justgot over the line.We probablyshouldn’t have.

England cricketer— Nat Sciver

SOUNDBITE

This is the time to talk, time to renewterritorial integri-ty and fairnessfor Ukraine.

Ukrainian President— Volodymyr Zelenskiy

I’d like to see a day in my lifetime whenIndians talk totheir fellow countrymen intheir mother tongue.

Vice-President— M Venkaiah Naidu

ecotourism it is essential to makeecotourism a key feature of forest conservation strategy. Letus examine some of these aspects in relations to some of the Stateswho had great potential to set an example.

In terms of ecotourismMadhya Pradesh and some otherTiger states are noticed by peoplequite often in national media butsome of the best features in NorthEastern states like Tripura hadremained neglected and underexploited. Indian landscape has tooffer much more than tigers andelephants. In Tripura the CloudedLeopard National Park, BisonNational Park, Rubber estates,Trishna Wildlife Sanctuary,Elephant Reserve, HornbillConservation Reserve combinedwith scenic undulating geographyand other cultural features likeUjjayanta Palace (an Indo-Saracenic structure made in1901), Unakoti rock templeandChabimura rock carvings arean ideal place to enjoy the seren-ity of the environment.

Chabimura is famous for itspanels of rock carvings on thesteep mountain wall on the bankof Gomati. These are 15 to 16centuries carvings.Home to thelargest bas relief sculptures inIndia, Unakoti is famous for itsmassive stone and rock-cut sculp-tures dedicated to Lord Shiva that

have been carved out from thehillside during 11th century. TheHeritage Park in Agartala is ofrecent making and it depicts thegeographic features of Tripura.There are several beautiful parkswith water bodies all over Tripurawhich can be developed as eco-tourism destinations. The bam-boo and wooden handicrafts ofTripura are very popular outside.The tourist flow in Tripura hasbeen picking up slowly. During2018-19, total 5, 29,879 touristsvisited Tripura including 1,12,955 foreign tourists.However,though the footfall is increasingsteadily during the last threeyears it is nowhere near its vastuntapped economic and ecolog-ical potential.

The state is one of the first inthe country to have announcedthe Ecotourism policy in theyear 2004 but nothing substantialwas done thereafter to promotethe ecotourism in terms of infra-structure. Excellent physicalinfrastructure in place, like anInternational swanky airport,good rail connections and betterroads have given the state’stourism potential a big boost. Inthe last few years as Agartala hasemerged as one of the fastestdeveloping statecapitals in theNorth Eastern part of the coun-try. Now the time is ripe for theState Government to issue

detailed guidelines for the eco-tourism activities inside and out-side the forest areas and also tocreate an independent body tomanage the ecotourism in thestate integrating the concept withlocal livelihoods, conservationand culture. The Joint ForestManagement (JFM) has beenquite successful in Tripura andelsewhere in the country in pro-moting forest-based livelihoods;the government must empowerthese JFM committees to overseethe ecotourism and make thepeople real stakeholders. Thereare 18 tribes in the state, theirfood items and culture should bepart of any tourist resorts anddestination. For achieving suc-cess,the local people especiallywomen should be trained in han-dling the tourist, preparinghygienic food and maintainingsanitation all around because it isthe clean drinking water, cleantoilets and beds are the basic fea-tures which attracts the people toa destination. A well-plannedecotourism shall also garner rev-enue for the Government and itis necessary that business sense isenthused in our national forestconservation programmes andpolicies for which the Ministry ofEnvironment, Forest and ClimateChange must act in a proactivemanner to encash the scenicbeauty of our landscapes.

Popularising plannedecotourism in India

EXCERPTS FROM THE RAMAYANA AND OTHEREPICS ARE ALREADY PART OF SCHOOL SYLLABUS.THERE IS NO NEED TO CHANGE THE CURRICULUM.— KARNATAKA CONGRESS CHIEFDK SHIVAKUMAR

IF THE BHAGWAD GITA IS INCORPORATED (IN TEXTBOOKS), IT WILL IMPROVE THE

CHILDREN’S INTELLIGENCE LEVELS.— KARNATAKA CHIEF MINISTER

BASAVARAJ BOMMAI

Ecotourism is responsible tourism and in tune with the ethos of living inharmony with nature

The news that the obscurely named Joint Comprehensive Planof Action (JCPOA) is back in force may reach you even beforethis article does, but the release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe on

Wednesday was a clear signal that the Iran nuclear accord is backin effect. Zaghari-Ratcliffe, an Iranian-born British citizen, was arrest-ed in Tehran in 2016 while visiting her mother and jailed as a spy.She was actually being taken hostage in an attempt to make the UnitedKingdom to pay the Islamic Republic a very large, very old debt.Thensuddenly, on Wednesday, she was on her way home, and anotherBritish hostage of Iranian descent was on the same plane. The newsleaked out that Britain had finally paid its $540 million debt after 45years of stalling. (The Shah had ordered British tanks before he wasoverthrown. Britain cancelled the order, but kept the money.) So, the

JCPOA is back on. In the 2015 deal, Iran agreed to do no work thatwould get it closer to building nuclear weapons for fifteen years inreturn for the lifting of international trade sanctions. It was BarackObama’s great foreign policy success - which may be why DonaldTrump, seeking to erase every achievement of America’s first blackpresident, cancelled the deal in 2018.

The other signatories of the JCPOA - China, France, Germany,Russia and the UK - promised to try to bring the Americans back,but effectively most obeyed the trade sanctions that Trump had uni-laterally slapped on Iran. Iran waited for a year, and then started ratch-eting up its nuclear research every three months, getting closer andcloser to a weapons capability. The JCPOA treaty said that Iran wouldnot enrich uranium higher than 3.67%. By last month it was up to60%. Trump and Netanyahu were both gone, and both Israeli and USsenior military officers had concluded the old deal was better thannothing. President Joe Biden was of the same mind, and he was alsoworried about a looming confrontation with Russia over Ukraine, solast autumn he instructed his diplomatic people to stop trying to screwextra concessions out of the Iranians. Just get on with it! Things movedquickly after that, and by late last month Josep Borrell, the EuropeanUnion’s foreign affairs chief, was saying that “a final text is essen-tially ready and on the table.” However, he added, “a pause in the Viennatalks is needed due to external factors.” The external factors were theRussian invasion of Ukraine and the Western sanctions on Russia thatfollowed. Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov demanded thatWashington pledge not to impose sanctions on any bilateral trade dealbetween Russia and Iran after the JCPOA comes back into effect. Atthe moment Iran exports less than a million barrels per day of crudeoil, almost all of it to China. It could sell at least another million anda half bpd internationally if sanctions are finally lifted, and that extrasupply would certainly drop the oil price sharply. Oil and gas salesare about the last remaining major source of foreign currency for Russia.The benchmark Brent oil price today is $95 a barrel, already downby more than $40 from last month’s panic-stricken peak. The extraIranian oil could knock it down another $20 or $30 bpd, cutting Russia’sincome further and letting Europe buy more of its oil from Iran, notRussia. There are so many moving parts to this deal that it couldstill fall apart at the last second, of course. But for now it looks good,and Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is already home with her family.

(Gwynne Dyer’s new book is ‘The Shortest History of War’.The views expressed are personal.)

VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | MARCH 24, 2022

07

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

FIRSTCOLUMNIRAN, NUKES,

ISRAEL, OIL, RUSSIA

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

VK BAHUGUNA

It’s a complex deal involving a very large, very old UK debt

FOR ACHIEVINGSUCCESS, THELOCAL PEOPLE

ESPECIALLYWOMEN SHOULD

BE TRAINED IN HANDLING

TOURISTS,PREPARING

HYGIENIC FOOD& MAINTAININGSANITATION ALL

AROUNDBECAUSE CLEAN

DRINKINGWATER, TOILETS

AND BEDS ARETHE BASICFEATURES

WHICH ATTRACTPEOPLE TO A

DESTINATION.WELL-PLANNED

ECOTOURISMSHALL ALSO

GARNERREVENUE FORGOVERNMENT

(The writer isChairman of Centre forResource Management

and Environment. The views expressed

are personal.)

The resounding victory ofAam Aadmi Party (AAP)defeating the two main-

stream parties, Congress andShrimani Akali Dal (SAD),in therecent Assembly elections inPunjab has created a history andkindled a new hope amongst thepeople of the state. BhagwantMann was sworn in as the 28thChief Minister at an impressiveceremony attended by thou-sands of his followers at BhagatSingh’s village Khatar Kalan.Addressing his supporters, thenew Chief Minister promised tofight widespread unemploy-ment and corruption in thestate and usher in reforms inagriculture. improve healthinfrastructure,transform theeducational system by introduc-ing quality education to suitinnovations in the job sector andprovide job security to the

youth. After the oath-takingceremony, Bhagwat Mann wasgreeted by hundreds of employ-ees gathered on the balconies ofPunjab Civil Secretariat withclaps and cries of joy as soon ashe reached the secretariat.

The people of Punjab haveextended whole-hearted supportto AAP which is an offshoot ofthe social movement launchedby Anna Hazare against corrup-tion in 2014. Fed up with themisrule of Congress and AkaliDal, the masses of Punjab “votedfor change”. Carried away by theDelhi Model of governance,hoping for better days, the peo-ple felt that they were investingin their own future by voting forAPP. Now, the pertinent ques-tion is: “Will the AAP party beable to come up to the expecta-tion of the people of Punjab?”.

It will take a while to get an

answer to this question. But themurmur of discontent hasalready started about the man-ner in which the swearing-in-ceremony was held. The 17-minute ceremony which includ-ed the signing of papers and 10-minute speech of Chief MinisterBhagat Mann cost the stateexchequer more than Rs 3 crore

which far exceeds the Rs 2 croreearmarked for the ceremony.Standing crops on acres of landwas destroyed for the event. Thefleet of Punjab Roadways buseswere used to transport people toAmritsar for the victory marchcausing inconvenience to thegeneral public as public trans-port services were hampered.

Spending crores from the stateexchequer for the victory rally,swearing -in-ceremony andprint and TV advertisements iscriminal misuse of taxpayer’smoney for personal and politi-cal purposes. What was theneed to stage all this drama fora party which has come topower because of genuine loveand affection of the masses andwith a thumping majority?

The vigilant public and theopposition parties are already upin arms asking questions:”Isthis the sign of change?” “Inwhat way the AAP party is dif-ferent from other political par-ties?”The leadership of AAPshould realise that the issues ofaccountability in public life,goodgovernance and appointment ofLok Pal to end corruption werethe hallmark of the Anna Hazaremovement out of which AAP

was born. So, it has to proveitself as a party with a difference.The new government in Punjabshould take positive steps to winthe hearts of the taxpayers whoare alreadyhard-pressed due toyears of mis-governance bychanging the style of working insharp contrast to the previousgovernments functioning in theState. The focus of the govern-ment should be in setting anexample by providing good,transparent governance,focussing on job creation byestablishing industries, settingup agro-food processing unitswhich will engage rural youth,eliminating the drug and min-ing mafia, controlling pollutionof rivers, resolving the problemof the water table going down,and dwindling forest cover. Thenew incumbent should not for-get that he has to take care of the

debt-ridden farmers and deplet-ed treasury.

AAP has attracted the com-mon man because its composi-tion is different from othercadre-based parties. The partyhas a people-centric character. Itprovides equal opportunities toone and all to organize andevolve in a spontaneous manner.The biggest regret of AAP whichhas been in power in Delhi hasbeen that they have not beenprovided full autonomy to rulethe state. In Punjab, they are getting this opportunity. Thepeople of Punjab have broughtthem to power with high hopesby providing an absolute majority and the electorate ofother states are also looking upto them as an alternative to themainstream parties. Now, is their chance to prove their worth.

What was the need to stage the (swearing-in) drama for a party that came to power because of genuine love and affection of the masses?

AAP should not fritter away Punjab people’s trust

(The writer is a senior journalist and Chairman,

Panwar Group ofInstitutions, Solan,Himachal Pradesh. The views expressed

are personal.)

BRIJENDER SINGHPANWAR

GWYNNE DYER The Indian landscape is endowedwith diversified scenic beautyhaving unmatched natural fea-tures ranging from hot desert to

cold deserts to verdant tropical and tem-perate forests to sea beaches andglaci-ers, all with rich in flora and fauna. Inthe modern life style, relaxation in themidst of scenic landscape is every glob-al citizen’s dream.

Many European countries with his-torical monuments and features haveexploited the business potentials oftheir landscape and making tourism astheir major source of revenue. Morethan 10 per cent of the world’s GDP andseven per cent of the world’s totalexports come from tourism. The indus-try is worth over $1.1 trillion. Themoney earned from expenditures by for-eigners is a key driver of economicdevelopment and important source ofearning foreign exchange. In 2018France led the world with 89.4 milliontourists’ footfalls followed by Spainand the USA.

Among Asian countries Thailandhad 38.2 million footfalls. India had in2018 received a little more than 17 mil-lion tourists with an annual growth rateof about 5 percent and is poised toleapfrog. However, tourism has a neg-ative streak of damaging the environ-ment and polluting land and waterresources and due to climatic vagariesbeing notices all over the world there ismore emphasis on promoting eco-tourism all over the world.

Ecotourism is responsible tourismand in tune with the ethos of living inharmony with nature. It is therefore,based on learning and enjoying the var-ied components of ecosystem and pro-moting the pristine environmentalattributes of an area. Ecotourism isdeeply entrenched with local culture anda great source of community livelihood.It is a win-win situation for the touristsas well as the local people and the envi-ronment. The global ecotourism marketis valued at $181 billion in 2019 and islikely to grow to $350 billion in 2027.The question resource managers are ask-ing whether India is prepared to give abig lift to ecotourism not merely on pol-icy front but concrete results in termsof revenue generated, conservation offorests and livelihood created. It createsemployment and jobs but not at the costof environment. With India’s risingmiddle class the potential of earningfrom ecotourism is huge provided wellthought out planning is done for creat-ing the infrastructure.

Around 24 percent of our landmassis under forests and tree cover out ofwhich around 4.8 million hectares iscovered by 103 National parks and 544wild life sanctuaries. We have innumer-able scenic spots integrated in the over-all landscape of the country. In order toexploit the multifaceted potentials of

VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | MARCH 24, 2022 Money 08

MO

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AT

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RS

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) on Wednesday said it has crossed thecumulative exports milestone of 30 lakh units in its 21st year of operations in thecountry. The company, which started exports from India started in 2001 with its debut

model Activa, said it crossed the first 15 lakh units mark in 2016 and doubled it in the last5 years. "Such milestones are a shining testimony of HMSI's sustained efforts in expandingHonda's footprint in global exports," HMSI Managing Director, President & CEO AtsushiOgata said in a statement. Last year, the company started its global engine production lineat Vithalapur plant in Gujarat, thus strengthening export capabilities further, he added. "Aswe make further inroads into developedmarkets, our reinstated focus on exportsexpansion takes HMSI one step closer tobecome a 'Manufacturing Hub for theWorld'," Ogata said. In 2021, HMSI hadestablished a new overseas businessexpansion vertical and also expanded itsglobal exports footprint to developedmarkets like the United States, Japan andEurope among others. The company saidit currently exports to 29 countries with aportfolio comprising 18 two-wheelermodels with scooter Dio being the mostpreferred model.

The Indian Railways plans to start manufacturing coaches for Vande Bharat trains atits two factories in Kapurthala and Raebareli during 2022-23, Railways MinisterAshwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday. Currently, coaches for Vande Bharat trains

are being manufactured in Integral Coach factory in Chennai, he said in a written replyin Lok Sabha. Vande Bharat trains, which were introduced in 2019, are self-propelledand do not require an engine. Theyalso run at semi-high speed ofaround 160 km per hour. "There is aplan to start manufacturing thesetrains at Rail CoachFactory/Kapurthala and ModernCoach Factory/Raebareli during2022-23," Vaishnaw said. Atpresent, two pairs of Vande Bharattrains -- first on New Delhi-Varanasiroute and second on Delhi-ShriMata Vaishno Devi Katra route -- arebeing operated by utilising theavailable rakes, he added.

Mumbai, Mar 23 (PTI) The Reserve Bank has assigned the lead bank responsibilityto Punjab National Bank (PNB) for the newly-created district of Meghalaya, thecentral bank said on Wednesday. The Meghalaya government in a notification on

November 9, 2021, had informed about formation of a new district, Eastern West KhasiHills.It has been decided to assign the lead bank responsibility of the new district toPunjab National Bank, the RBIsaid in a notification onWednesday. The newly-createddistrict has been carved out fromthe erstwhile West Khasi Hillsdistrict, it said.The allotted district working codefor Eastern West Khasi Hills is00U."There is no change in thelead bank responsibilities of theerstwhile district and of otherdistricts in the State ofMeghalaya," said the notification.

PNS n MUMBAI

The rupee pared initial gainsto settle 14 paise lower at76.32 (provisional) againstthe US dollar on Wednesdaydue to month-end dollardemand from importers andrising crude prices amidgeopolitical uncertainties.

At the interbank foreignexchange market, the rupeeopened strong at 76.08against the American curren-cy but could not hold themomentum and entered neg-ative territory during the ses-sion. The domestic unit final-ly settled at 76.32 against thegreenback, down 14 paisefrom the previous close.

On Tuesday, the rupee hadsettled flat at 76.18 against theAmerican currency.

"Indian rupee depreciatedfor the third day in a row fol-lowing dollar demands fromimporters ahead of themonth and financial year-endand rebound in crude oilprices," said Dilip Parmar,Research Analyst, HDFCSecurities.

Rupee settles 14paise down at 76.32against US dollar

HMSI exports cross 30 lakh unit milestone Rlys to manufacture coaches for VandeBharat trains at Kapurthala, Raebareli

PNB lead bank for newly-formeddistrict in Meghalaya

PNS n NEW DELHI

The cement industr y isexpected to record an 18-20per cent volume-basedgrowth and even surpass pre-COVID levels by 6 per cent inthe current fiscal, accordingto a report.

However, high input costson account of inflationarypressure are resulting in adecline in operating marginsby 440-480 basis points toaround 19.8-20.2 per cent inFY2022, ICRA said.

"For the full year, FY2022,ICRA expects 18-20 per centvolumetric growth to around355 million metric tonneswhich is expected to surpasspre-COVID levels by 6 percent, driven by continuedstrong rural housing demandand pick-up in infrastruc-ture activity," it said in thereport released onWednesday.

ICRA AVP & Sector Head,Corporate Ratings, AnupamaReddy said that despite theincrease in the net sales real-isations by 5 per cent, the

Operating Profit BeforeInterest, Taxes, Depreciationand Amortisation (OPBIT-DA) per metric tonnedeclined by 10 per cent Y-o-Y in the first 9 months ofFY2022 to Rs 1,124.

This is "primarily due toincrease in input prices - theraw material, power & fueland freight expenses whichare higher by 12 per cent, 31per cent and 5 per cent Y-o-Y respectively," she added.

For the full year, the con-

tinued elevated costs wouldpush down theOPBITDA/MT by 16-18 percent to Rs 1,030-1,050/MT,Reddy said.According to thereport, all-India cement pro-duction registered a growth of25 per cent at 290 millionmetric tonnes in the first 10months of FY2022 comparedto the year-ago period.

"It was higher by 4 per centwhen compared to pre-Covidlevels of 10M FY2020," itsaid.

Cement industry to record 18-20%volume growth in FY22: Report

PNS n HYDERABAD

India imported 651.24 tonnesof gold in financial year 2020-21 as compared to 719.94tonnes in the year-ago peri-od, the government said onWednesday.In a written replyto the Lok Sabha, Minister ofState for Commerce andIndustry Anupriya Patel saidthe imports stood at 982.71tonnes in FY 2018-19.Replying to another question,she informed that the importof toys, games, sports equip-ment from China is showinga declining trend. "The imports of these prod-ucts from China havereduced from USD 451.71million in 2018-19 to USD206.11 million in 2021 (fromApril 2021 to Jan 2022)," sheadded.

India imported651.24 tonnes ofgold in fiscal2020-21PNS n NEW DELHI

The government has no plansfor disinvestment of BharatSanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL),Parliament was informed onWednesday.

Minister of State forCommunications DevusinhChauhan in a written reply tothe Lok Sabha also assertedthat there is no delay or defi-ciency in services provided byBSNL due to the implementa-tion of voluntary retirementscheme (VRS) in early 2020.

The current strength ofemployees is sufficient for theoperation of the state-ownedtelecom corporation, Chauhansaid.

"There is no plan underconsideration for disinvest-ment of BSNL," Chauhan saidto a question related toimmovable assets of BSNL.

The value of immovableassets, including buildings,lands, towers, telecom equip-ment and non-telecom equip-ment as of March 31, 2021,adds to Rs 89,878 crore (totalnetblock), as per auditedfinancials.

As of December 31, 2021,

the all India market share ofBSNL stood at 9.90 per cent formobile subscribers, and 15.40per cent for wired broadbandsubscribers.

The government hadapproved a revival plan forBSNL in October 2019, whichincluded measures to reducethe staff cost through a VRSfor employees of 50 years ofage and above, administrativeallotment of spectrum for pro-viding 4G services with fund-ing through budgetary alloca-tion, monetisation of non-core and core assets to gener-

ate resources to retire debt,meet capital expenditure andother requirement and debtrestructuring by raising ofsovereign guarantee bonds.

"As a result of these mea-sures, BSNL has becomeEBITDA positive (operatingprofit) in 2020-21," Chauhansaid.

Responding to a separatequestion on national digitalcommunications policy,Chauhan said the said policywas launched in 2018 with avision to fulfil the informationand communication needs of

citizens and enterprisesthrough the establishment ofa ubiquitous, resilient, secure,accessible and affordable dig-ital communications infra-structure.

The implementation of theobjectives of the policy has notbeen divided into phases.

On whether the govern-ment intends to launch a fol-low-up policy with the com-pletion of the NDCP (NationalDigital CommunicationsPolicy) in 2022, the ministerreplied, "As of now, theGovernment has not thoughtof launching a follow-up pol-icy"

No plan under consideration fordisinvestment of BSNL: Chauhan

PNS n NEW DELHI

Under attack from the oppo-sition over the sale of AirIndia to Tata Group, CivilAviation Minister JyotiradityaScindia on Wednesday hitback and accused the UPAregime for saddling the thenprofit-making national carrierwith a huge debt burden.

Responding to the debate onthe Demands for Grants of theCivil Aviation Ministry in LokSabha, Scindia listed out themerger of Air India and IndianAirlines, purchase of 111 newaircraft and liberalisation ofbilateral rights as the reasonsfor the downfall of the nation-al carrier.

Earlier, opposition mem-bers had slammed Scindia fornot referring to the sale of AirIndia in his nearly hour-longreply to the eight-hour debateon the budgetary allocation tothe civil aviation ministry.

"Before 2005, Air India wasmaking a profit of Rs 15 croreper annum and Indian Airlineswas making profit of Rs 50crore. These airlines weremade to purchase 111 aircraftat a cost of Rs 50-55,000 crorewhich pushed the national

carrier into deep debts,"Scindia said.

As opposition membersstood up in protest, Scindiasaid he had not referred to AirIndia at all, but was forced tospeak after Trinamool leaderSudeep Bandyopadhya andCongress leader Adhir RanjanChowdhury raised the issue.

Scindia said the decision tomerge two airlines with com-pletely different work cultures,purchase of 111 aircraft, liber-alisation of bilateral rightswhen Indian air carriers didnot have the capacity to fulfillit pushed Air India to post adaily loss of Rs 20 crore.

He said the losses of 14 yearshad accumulated to Rs 85,000crore, the equity infusion hadcost the government Rs 54,000crore, grants to the airlinetotalling Rs 50,000 crore andnet debt of Rs 66,000 crore hadleft Air India staring at achasm of Rs 2.5 lakh crore.

"It is under these circum-stances the Prime Ministertook a decision to put an endto these losses. He decided ondisinvestment of Air India toprotect the money of 135 croreIndians and put it to good usethrough schemes such asUjjwala, Jal Jeevan Mission,"Scindia said.

The current

strength of

employees is

sufficient for the

operation of the

state-owned

telecom

corporation,

Chauhan said.

Air India disinvestment toprotect public money: Scindia

PNS n NEW DELHI

Home-grown consumer appli-ances brand Bajaj ElectricalsLtd (BEL) on Wednesdayannounced the extension of itstrademark agreement with theUnited Kingdom-basedMorphy Richards for a further15 years with effect from July1, 2022.

This licence extension willenable BEL to continue usingthe trademark MorphyRichards for producing, mar-keting and selling home appli-ances in India and neighbour-ing territories such as Nepal,Bhutan, Bangladesh, Maldivesand Sri Lanka, a joint state-ment said."With the licencerenewal, the company will beable to further strengthen itsmulti-brand offerings andposition in the Indian andneighbouring territories," itsaid.BEL has been offeringproducts under the MorphyRichards brand to Indian con-sumers since April 2002 in thepremium home appliances seg-ment.

Morphy Richards is part ofthe Irish international electri-cal appliances group Glen

Dimplex.BEL Executive Director

Anuj Poddar said: "As a markof our mutual commitment,the agreement is being extend-ed for 15 years for the firsttime. This will allow us to planand grow the Morphy Richardsbusiness with a long-termview, thereby enabling superi-or value creation."

"We are delighted to haveagreed on an extension of ourlong-standing licencing agree-ment for Morphy Richards inIndia for a significant 15-yearterm; which indicates ourcommitment to and trust inour partner Bajaj Electricals,"Glen Dimplex ExecutiveChairman Fergal Naughtonsaid.

Bajaj Electricals extends licence pactwith Morphy Richards for 15 years

PNS n MUMBAI

Power solutions providerExicom has completed theinstallation of 5,000 EV charg-ers across 200 cities, making itthe biggest EV charging facilita-tor in the country, the compa-ny claimed on Wednesday.

The installations include3,600 AC and 1,400 DC charg-ers.The company had installedits first EV charging facility atLodhi Estate, New Delhi, in2018.The 5,000th charger wasinstalled at a Delhi TransportCorporation (DTC) depot inDelhi for Tata Power, the com-pany said in a statement.

Deployed at convenient andstrategic locations, these charg-

ing facilities are spread across200 cities in 20 states withmajority of installations at busdepots, fleet operators, publiccharging stations, residentialcommunities and households,Exicom said.Exicom said itschargers are being used for elec-tric four-wheelers as well as forEV buses. "Deployment of 5,000EV chargers across the countryis just a stepping stone towardsachieving the bigger vision ofsupporting charging network forEVs in the country with prod-ucts that are future proof, reli-able and are industry leading interms of performance," saidAnant Nahata, ManagingDirector and Chief ExecutiveOfficer, Exicom Group.

Exicom completes installationof 5,000 EV chargers

PNS n NEW DELHI

A Parliamentary panel onWednesday suggested settingup of institutes of accountingsimilar to IITs and IIMs forfurther development of theaccounting and finance profes-sion in the country.

Multiple bodies on the linesof advanced countries arerequired to promote healthycompetition, raise the stan-dard and quality of auditingand accounting and improvethe credibility of financialreporting, the ParliamentaryStanding Committee onFinance said in its reporttabled in the Lok Sabha.

The suggestion is part of thereport on 'The CharteredAccountants, the Cost andWorks Accountants and theCompany Secretaries(Amendment) Bill, 2021'.

"The committee desires thatthe government should con-

sider setting up of Institutes ofAccounting (IIA) akin to IITsand IIMs for further develop-ment of the accounting andfinance profession in thecountry," it said.

The corporate affairs min-istry introduced the bill inParliament last Decemberwhereby changes have beenproposed to existing legisla-tions governing the apex insti-tutes of chartered accoun-tants, cost accountants andcompany secretaries.

Regarding the appointmentof members to the disciplinarycommittees of the apex bod-ies of chartered accountants,cost accountants and compa-ny secretaries, the panel said,"the members of the discipli-nary bodies may thus beappointed as proposed in thebill".

The bill has proposed tohave a non-CharteredAccountant (CA), non-cost

accountant and non-companysecretary as the presiding offi-cer of the disciplinary commit-tees of the respective apexinstitutes. Besides, the govern-ment has proposed that eachcommittee should have threenominated members who arenot a part of the particularinstitute concerned.

The Institute of CharteredAccountants of India (ICAI)had raised concerns about theproposal, while the Institute ofCost Accountants of India(ICAI) told the panel that ithad no reservations about themanner of constituting the dis-ciplinary committee.

The Institute of CompanySecretaries of India (ICSI) wasof the view that parameters forselecting the presiding officerand members of disciplinarycommittees and such restric-tions should be specifiedthrough rules rather thanthrough regulations.

RINL disinvestmentpaves way for capitalinfusion, capacityexpansion: GovtPNS n NEW DELHI

The strategic disinvestment ofgovernment's equity inRashtriya Ispat NigamLimited (RINL) would lead toinfusion of capital, expansionof capacity, infusion of tech-nology and better manage-ment practices, Union SteelMinister Ram ChandraPrasad Singh told theParliament on Wednesday.Singh said in the Lok Sabhathat the RINL has notincreased its profits during thelast ten years, and its cumu-lative losses were Rs 7,122.25crore. Cabinet Committee onEconomic Affairs (CCEA), inits meeting held on January27, 2021, had accorded 'in-principle' approval for 100 percent disinvestment of govern-ment's shareholding in RINLalong with RINL's stake in itssubsidiaries and joint venturesthrough strategic disinvest-ment by way of privatisation.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Private sector lenders HDFCBank, Kotak Mahindra Bankand Axis Bank have acquired7.84 per cent stake each in theopen public digital infrastruc-ture framework entity ONDC.

All the three banks haveinvested Rs 10 crore each inthe entity.

Post investment, HDFCBank holds 7.84 per cent of theequity share capital of ONDCby way of allotment of 10 lakhequity shares for Rs 10 crore,it said in a regulatory filing onWednesday.

"Kotak Mahindra Bank hassubscribed to 10,00,000 equi-ty shares of Open Network forDigital Commerce (ONDC)for a consideration of Rs 10crore, translating into an equi-ty shareholding of 7.84 percent in ONDC as on March22, 2022," the lender said inanother filing.

In a separate filing, AxisBank said ONDC on March22 allotted Axis Bank

10,00,000 equity shares of facevalue of Rs 100 each for a con-sideration of Rs 10 crore. Postallotment, the shareholding ofthe bank in ONDC is 7.84 percent.ONDC was incorporatedin India on December 30,2021 and is into creating anopen public digital infrastruc-ture to develop and transformthe Indian digital commerceecosystem for both goods andservices.

The lenders said the pur-pose of the investment inONDC is to help create aninfrastructure to develop andtransform Indian digital com-merce ecosystem.

HDFC Bank, Kotak, Axis acquirenearly 8 pc stake each in ONDC

PNS n NEW DELHI

Biocon Ltd ExecutiveChairperson KiranMazumdar-Shaw has beenelected as a fellow of the RoyalSociety of Edinburgh (RSE),Scotland's National Academy,the company said onWednesday.

Mazumdar-Shaw, who isalso the Executive Chairpersonof Biocon Biologics, will bejoining RSE's current fellow-ship of around 1,700 fellows,the company said in a state-ment."It is inspiring to join thisfellowship of luminaries fromdifferent walks of life, who arestriving for the economic andsocial well-being of the world.The fellowship will provide mean opportunity to work collec-tively and collaboratively withsome of the greatest minds tosolve the pressing issues of ourtimes through innovative solu-tions for the greater good ofmankind," she said.

Biocon ExecutiveChairperson KiranMazumdar-Shawelected as RSE fellow

Parl panel suggests settingup institutes of accounting PNS n NEW DELHI

The government on Wednesdayimposed curbs on exports ofhydrofluorocarbons, used inrefrigeration and air-condition-ing, to boost domestic availabil-ity of the chemical.Exporters willnow have to seek permissionfrom the government to exporthydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).

"Export policy of hydrofluo-rocarbons has been revisedfrom free to restricted categorywith immediate effect, andexport authorisations would beissued on NOC (No ObjectionCertificate) from MoEF andCC (Ministry of Environment,Forest and Climate Change)," theDirectorate General of ForeignTrade (DGFT) said in a notifi-cation.The move assumes signif-icance as the government hasextended a Rs 6,238-crore PLI(Production-Linked Incentive)scheme for white goods to boostthe manufacturing of compo-nents and sub-assemblies ofACs and LED lights.

Govt puts curbs on exports ofhydrofluorocarbons

hefali Shah says the indus-try perceives her as a “seri-ous actor” thanks to herroles in shows such as DelhiCrime and the recently

released film Jalsa, but she alsowants to explore projects in the com-edy genre.

Shah is looking forward to her twoupcoming feature films — Doctor Gand Darlings, which have a dash ofhumour.

The 49-year-old actor said she wasinstantly attracted to the “funny andhilarious” scripts of Doctor G andDarlings.

Featuring Ayushmann Khurranaand Rakul Preet Singh in lead roles,Doctor G is a campus comedy-drama directed by debutanteAnubhuti Kashyap, whereasDarlings is billed as a quirkymother-daughter story fronted byShah and Alia Bhatt, who turnsproducer with the film.

Doctor G is a commitment that Imade long ago, I am not playing oneof the leads, I am part of the ensem-ble cast. It is just like a guestappearance. I am not part of the

comedy. It is a funny and sensitivescript and that’swhy I wantedto do it,Shah toldPTI.

Darlings too has a first-time direc-tor at the helm in writer Jasmeet KReen. Also starring Vijay Varma andRoshan Mathew, the film is co-pro-duced by Shah Rukh Khan’s RedChillies Entertainment.

“As far as Darlings is concerned,it is one of the most hilarious

scripts that I have ever read. Itis a genre (comedy) that I

haven’t explored or peoplehaven’t offered me that

because they alwaysthink that I am a

serious actor andthat I do seriousroles, etc,” sheadded.

Speaking aboutDarlings, Shahfurther said it isan importantsubject present-

ed in a hilariousway. “It is a dark-

comedy, it iswicked, and it is

very funny. Andthe character that Iplay is a cracker of

a woman. I am really excited aboutit. I had a blast shooting for it,” shesaid.

Asked if it was a conscious moveto be part of light-hearted projects,the National Award winner said sheis always looking forward to widen-ing her horizons.

“I want to do all kinds of genresand films. It couldn’t have been aconscious decision until it came tome. I was very lucky that Jasmeetthought of me for the character. Thefirst time she had a chat with me, sherealised that I am perfect for thisbecause till then I carry this image ofbeing a serious person and actor. Sheoffered me the film and withoutblinking an eyelid I said yes. It is aterrific script,” she added.

The actor, whose directorial debutthe pandemic-set short film Somedaywas screened at Indian Film FestivalStuttgart and USA Film Festival lastyear, said she is open to the idea ofgoing behind the camera once again.

“I want to direct but I will do thatat my own time. Right now, I amfocusing on acting.” Jalsa is stream-ing on Amazon Prime Video.

Haven’t been offered comedy movies as peoplethink I am a serious actor, says Shefali Shah

9

Vijayawada | Thursday March 24, 2022 what’s brewingArshad Warsi plays double role in quirky

crime comedy Jeevan Bheema Yojanactor Arshad Warsi willbe seen playing a dou-ble role for the firsttime in his career in hisnext film titled Jeevan

Bheema Yojana.The film is a quirky crime

comedy and is helmed by DollyKi Doli director Abhishek Dogra,who is also making his debut asthe producer of the film.

Arshad confirmed all this as herevealed excitedly that he foundthe script insanely funny.

“I was cracking up every nowand then during the narration.And the cherry on cake was thedouble role. The director has hisvision and I am following that. Iam playing two individuals wholook the same, but are completelydifferent personalities. The scripthas a good balance of humourand drama.”

The actor will be seen playingtwo extremely different but samelooking people, Jeevan andBheema, in the film. While oneof them belongs to the world ofwhite-collared professionals, the

other is involved in the world ofcrime, and what happens whentheir paths cross forms the cruxof the story.

The film went on floors a few

days ago in Mumbai and will beshot at different locations in thecity. The actor goes on to talkabout how he has prepped forthese two different characters.

“As for the prep, the mind is avery powerful tool. Like I wasAjay Kumar in Sehar and Circuitin Munnabhai — now imaginethem in one film! It’s that simple.It has been about 10 days sincewe went on floors, and we’vebeen having a lot of fun. VijayRaaz, Sanjeeda Sheikh, PoojaChopra and Bijendra Kala are myco-stars and you can’t imaginethe kind of fun we have off cam-era. Improvisation toh apne aapho jaati hai,” he insists.

Abhishek is a happy directorwho is also loving working withthis wonderful team.

“Jeevan Bheema Yojana has alot of humour packed in withsome drama. Arshad is one actorwho can look innocent and cun-ning at the same time, he’s reallyunderrated and I have been anadmirer of his work. It's his firstever double role, with two con-trasting characters. As a directorwhen you have actors like Arshadand Vijay Raaz in the film, itmakes your work easy. Their tim-ing is impeccable.”

a

s

Dwayne Bravo to release newsong Number One on March 25

ricketerDwayneBravo, whoearlier creat-ed the

groovy hit trackChampion, is set torelease his new songtitled Number One onMarch 25.

The song, which hasbeen written byDwayne and ColinWedderburn, is pro-duced by BlackShadow music. Thecricketer has alsocalled India hissecond home.

The songalso hadits

poster release recently.It showcases Dwayne’ssilhouette celebratingwith hisuniquestyle. Italsoencap-sulateshisjour-neyprint-ed ona

hoodie which is wornby the star himself.

Commenting on thesame Dwayne

Bravo said, “I’mexcited aboutreleasing my sin-gle Number Onehere in India,my 2nd home!

It’s anotherdancing songfor my fans to

enjoy and hope-fully ppl can

like and

support it as they dofor all. My othersongs! Let’s keep danc-ing and I encourageeveryone to be thebest they can be!Number One.”

Apart from the songthe cricketer is also setto begin his IPLschedule with ChennaiSuper Kings (CSK)just a day after hissong release, March26. CSK will square offwith KKR in the open-ing match of their IPLseason.

c

aishali Dev, the upcoming namein music movies and entertain-ment company, has swept theworld with her 3 big releases in 3months.

Vaishali Dev, an Indo-American, haslaunched her own music label, Spark musikmovies, which is trending on all majorsocial media platforms!Vaishali Dev has produced andreleased 3 videos under theSpark musik movies label.. onebeing Vaishnav Janto, whichwas realised in January thisyear, along with Radha Romeo,which was released onValentine’s Day, and the thirdone, which is the most appreci-ated and is trending onYouTube, Instagram and otherleading portals. The album iscalled Bholi Bhali Holi! with a whopping 3million views in 3 days.

Being an entrepreneur and a visionary,Vaishali Dev wants to spread her wings bymaking short movies and commercial filmsalong with festival films and webseries onleading OTT platforms under Spark Mediaand Spark Media International.

In fact, she has been working on a fewgreat collabs with leading Bollywood pro-duction houses and studios and will soonhave the film announcements.

Vaishali Dev is passionate about herwork and wants to give a chance to allupcoming singers, actors, and musiciansaround the world! She states, “We at Spark

Musik Movies want to wel-come and give a platform tovarious talented artists toshow their work through ourassociation.”

As an entrepreneur, busi-ness woman, social activist,and entertainer, she empow-ers everyone and says,“Never give up on your pas-sion and your dreams. If youwork hard, your dreams docome true!”

She says the journey from San Antonioto the city of dreams, Mumbai, has been anexciting journey which she says is worthher struggle! She inspires many people bysaying, “Never give up on the fire thatburns inside you as an artist,” since we atSpark Musik movies will help you shineand sparkle like a diamond in the sky!

v

Vaishali Dev wants to spread her wingsby making short films and web series

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

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

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

Yesterday’s solution

CALVIN AND HOBBES

SPEED BUMP

FUN

WorldTuberc

ulosis Day isvery important— aiming toraise peopleawareness aboutthe burden oftuberculosis andthe status of pre-vention to spursocial and politicalstakeholders to

make furtherefforts and

work together instrong partnerships

to stop it at all levels.The impacts of tuber-culosis worldwide aredevastating bringingpoverty, stigma and dis-crimination. In India, ifthere is TB so there aremental health issues exist-ing on an epic scale too.They remain unrecognisedepidemics, often underdiag-nosed and highly stigma-tised. Those affected remainashamed to speak about it,hide their diagnosis andremain fearful of seeking care.Dr. Nilesh Shah, President andChief of Science & Innovation,Metropolis Healthcare Ltd. high-lights, “The honourable PrimeMinister’s goal should be on theroute of eradicating the worries oftuberculosis by 2025 in our coun-try. Can this be done with amoment of one signature? As anexpert in this medicinal field, I don’tthink so. He needs to bring in jointlyowned private players, corporates andNGOs out in the levelling field.Enough investment must go in formingpolicies to standardise TB managementprocess! It’s about time, screening oflatent tuberculosis along with its man-agement and creating awareness on TBirradication needs to be done. Theprescription control over TB tests anddrugs would help reach the goal andthis can be a good investment as well.We can do this!” Studies show a highprevalence of depression among those

affected by TB, especially in those bat-tling drug-resistant TB. The lived experi-

ences of TB communities and survivornarratives in India show how deeply linked

TB and mental health are! So, why aren't wepaying attention to this spectrum? "It's the

world’s deadliest infectious killer. Governmentlaunched various programs to create awarenessabout it and to recognise the people who haveworked for it. Do you know? Every year 1 lakhwomen are affected more in comparison with men,we feel that it is a hereditary disease but it is not. Itis transmitted from person to person by spitting,laughing, talking, coughing which leads to spreadingit in large numbers. We should maintain distance,wear masks, sanitize our hands for prevention. UnlikeCovid, for this disease, if treatment is started at theearliest there is a cure. So tuberculosis mainly affectslungs & the remaining can be affected to any organ ofthe body like lymph nodes, bones, joints, skin exceptnails and hair. If it’s more than two weeks, blood in thesputum should be investigated for Tuberculosis.Unfortunately, there is a lack of awareness among peopleincluding healthcare providers & hence there is a delay indiagnosis. In India, as per literature, the available personwith presumptive symptoms takes an average of threemonths. So the patient can be diagnosed with a simple testcalled sputum examination which is available free of costeverywhere! CBNAAT is a rapid diagnostic tool. Sometimeschest X-rays and other diagnostic tools to identify

Tuberculosis are also available free of cost. No matter howlong the treatment goes, never stop it mid-way. Stopping thetreatment in middle leads to a lot of complications and cre-ates multi drug resistance tuberculosis or extremely drugresistance tuberculosis which is more dangerous than nor-mal tuberculosis and needs prolonged treatment. Sobeware!,” informs Dr. Subhakar Kandi, SeniorPulmomologist from Kamineni Hospital. So, as mentionedabove, when in some cases, individuals are unable to complywith long treatment regimens and give up —this canincrease the possibility ofmaking them drug resistantand also spread infection inthe community. In fact, Dr.Ashutosh Niranjan, Dean &Professor of GeneralSurgery, NoidaInternational Institute ofMedical Sciences informs,“Tuberculosis is completelycurable and preventable.But it’s sad to learn that itkills three people everyminute. We so far have onlythree drugs in the world tocombat this disease! Thisclearly indicates that weneed more research andtools besides better diag-nostic facilities, effectivevaccinations and shorterregime of drugs. All thesecommitments need to bebacked up by financialinvestments truly. We needto increase the current bud-get of tuberculosis researchand innovation by twotimes so that we canachieve our target. Thoughthe WHO has released bet-ter recommendations of thetreatment, the proceduresneed to be rolled out widely.If we follow the above-men-tioned recommendations,we can break the strongholdof tuberculosis easily.”When left untreated, thiswill not only lead to nega-tive treatment outcomes,but also affect self-esteem,and the future quality oflife. Do we really need this?Nope. “Despite the avail-ability of an antibiotic regi-men, it has been an India-specific burden due to ourhuge below-the-poverty-line population. With theemergence of multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis, anincreasing need has beenfelt to find adjuvant thera-pies and herbal remediesthat can aid patient recov-ery and contain the toxiceffects of chemical-baseddrugs. Therefore, by investing time in practising specificalternative therapies and thus in a healthy lifestyle, it can bemore easily avoided than it can be treated. It is only througha strong immune system one can avoid getting sick even ifthe body harbours the it’s bacteria. People with a weakenedimmune system are at increased risk of getting infected withit. The alternative therapies like yoga, meditation, Pranayam,healthy diet-play plays an important role in boosting immu-nity and strengthening the body acting as a preventive bul-wark against tuberculosis. These practices clear the respira-tory passages, minimizing risks of infections and allergies inthe respiratory system which improves the lung functiontoo. Alternative therapy cannot cure tuberculosis but it candefinitely prevent it! With preventative treatments andAYUSH protocols integrated, hopefully, the over-burdenedIndian health care system can breathe a sigh of relief. Thereis a need for more awareness, training as well as cross talksbetween modern medical clinicians and alternative medicinepractitioners. The situation also needs reforms in medicaleducation and regulation,” there goes Dr. Deepak Mittal,Founder of Divine Soul Yoga.

rganic and floral waste when disposed inwater are broken down by bacterial actionin a series of stages that result in the forma-tion of methane and CO2. The globalwarming potential of methane is 72 times

stronger than CO2. According to WHO, this haspotentially serious adverse acute and chronic healtheffects! So, due to confidence in their initiativeAvacayam, they are able to intensify their efforts toclean surroundings. The conversion of floral offer-ings, collected by the Horticulture Department isconverted into consumer items like holi colors,incense sticks, seed bombs, seed paper and compostby NGOs working with people with disability.Prominently, the work is being done with NariNiketan, a shelter for homeless women with mentalillness managed by the Deva Foundation. OtherNGOs associated are SETU, Rotary Special Schooland Shree Foundation. “While industrial runoff isoften singularly blamed for the spike in pollutionlevel in our rivers especially the Yamuna, floral wastehardly gets the blame. In fact, flower pollution isoften overlooked while crafting policies towardscleaning the river. Temple offerings are considered tobe sacred, disposal in landfills is discouraged and mosttemples throw their waste into local water bodies likerivers, ponds and lakes. In fact, these offerings are dis-posed daily without segregation into biodegradable andnon-biodegradable components. There is no moni-toring system either. The need of the hour is toensure that this lifeline is kept environmentallysafe in a sustainable manner for the presentpopulation and future generations,” tells Dr.Madhumita Puri, the founder of thisthoughtful organization. Their teamalso travells to Pune once a month totrain the organisation personnel inproducts made from flowersand entrepreneurial develop-ment. “It has been a verygood experience to trans-fer our learning to anew group of organ-isations in a newlocation. Thevery basis ofour workwas test-ed,thatis, ourstrategy ofreaching outto people withdisability throughthe organisationsthey are associatedwith. Happy in the feelingthat we succeeded,” tells theelated founder. Driven by theirconviction that there is a way tocreate a world of equal opportunitiesfor people with disabilities, anotherventure Society for Child Developmentwas set-up as a non-profit organization in1992 with innovative programs and initiativesfor its actualisation. “These programmes addressthe needs of children with disabilities and their fam-ilies through the growing years, and then build capaci-ties to enter the world of work. Our work does not endhere, we work with our newly trained workforce withemployment and self-employment ventures using the cre-ative arts as our primary modality,” shared Dr. Madhumita.Their vision is that every person with disabilityshould have the same access to services like edu-cation, skill development and recreation. Theopportunity to utilize their inherentcapacities to their fullest potential andthus be respected for these capacitiesand be valued for their efforts in liv-ing as equal members of theircommunity. Moving ahead, shesays, “Many a times we comeacross situations where we arehumbled. Humbled due to thekindness of the situation, inamazement due to the timing.Such was our experience withAmerican Express. Our work inthe disability sector has takennew turns in the past couple ofyears. We have been engaged invarious recycling projects — fromwaste flowers, discarded paper toplastic bottles. However, we were ableto introduce new projects to our benefi-ciaries in order to expose them to differentaspects of life. We were able to do so throughorganic farming! Though the idea of workingwith your hands may seem rudimentary, it inherentlypossess therapeutic benefits. We accept their biological lim-itations but we also understand the psychological benefitsof a direction in life. How that empowers one's efforts toreach new heights. Our aim to incorporate such perspec-tive into the minds of people with disabilities has beenchallenging yet worth the effort. Today we can proudlysay that over 80% of our staff are people with disabili-ties, and some are even mentally challenged.” Since2001, the organisation has worked towards keepingtemples flowers out of the gutters. Resulting in recy-cling around 15 tons of flowers every month! They alsoupcycle multi-layered packaging waste, like chips pack-ets, chocolate wrappers etc. into creative products.Perfect size for storing away seasonal clothes or can beused for dirty laundry and all with the help of a disabledand mentally challenged people working effectively.“During the early years of the organization, our work solelyfocused on the education of the mentally challenged. Wetackled issues related to mental health and societal integra-tion through education and skill development. However,the reality of life echoed through the parents of the disabledthat what is the point of education and training when no

one will hire them? This state-ment rattled in my heartfor quite sometime.One day, as I wasstuck in a trafficjam near abridge, I sawpeople as well aspriests throwingplastic bagswith things in itinto the river. Itturned out to beflowers and otheritems of worshipand the banks ofYamuna were clutteredwith items that were meantto appease the gods. I was infuri-ated. I wanted to do somethingabout it. Thus our flower recy-cling work started. We startedapproaching temples in early2001 and started the very firstflower recycling drive inIndia. Though it was a suc-cessful initiative, concerns ofthe parents of the beneficia-ries resurfaced. Then anidea germinated in mymind and Avacayam, a

disability livelihood ini-tiative was born,” the

founder and CEOof Avacayam

concluded.

o

Bringing vibrancy inthe lives of disabled

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ThursdayMarch 24, 2022

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sports 11VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | MARCH 24, 2022

PTI n MUMBAI

Mumbai Indiansskipper RohitSharma onWednesday said

they will have no "addedadvantage" of playing their IPLmatches in the city's threegrounds as many in the "rela-tively new team" have notplayed a single game here inlast two years.

The IPL-15 begins at theWankhede Stadium with aclash between Chennai SuperKings and Kolkata KnightRiders on Saturday.

"I hope you saw the auc-tion, relatively new team, lot ofnew guys have come into theteam, so I don't believe inadded advantage because theseguys, like lot of the guys 70 (or)80 percent of the squad has notplayed in Bombay before,"Rohit said at a virtual pressconference.

"So there is no such thingas added advantage," the five-time IPL winning captainadded.

The league phase of the IPLwill be held in Mumbai andPune. Mumbai have been play-ing their home games at the

Wankhede Stadium since thestart of the tournament in2008.

"Only myself, Surya(Suryakumar Yadav), (Kieron)Pollard, Ishan (Kishan),(Jasprit) Bumrah have played inBombay a lot. Others have notplayed, so there is no such thingas added advantage," he reiter-ated.

"We all are playing inBombay after two years, wehave not played a single gamein Mumbai, in fact the otherfranchises have played inBombay last year, we didn't getto play, so no advantage," Rohitmaintained.

SKY TO JOIN AFTERGETTING CLEARANCE

Rohit also said that batterSuryakumar is still undergoingrehab at the National CricketAcademy in Bengaluru andwould join the team after get-ting clearance from there.

"Surya is at NCA at themoment, he is recovering well,he will be here soon and I can'tgive you his availability now,whether he will be available forfirst game or not, but we aretrying to get him as soon aspossible, once we have the

clearance from the NCA," saidRohit. Rohit also made it clearthat he and Ishan Kishan wouldopen the batting for the five-time champions.

"I will open the batting. (Ihave) been doing that in thepast, so I am looking forwardto open (the batting) withIshan (Kishan)," he said.

PTI n MUMBAI

Kolkata Knight Riders mentor DavidHussey feels new skipper Shreyas Iyer

has a good cricketing brain and has provedhis skills as a leader during his stint as DelhiCapitals captain.

Iyer, who led Delhi Capitals to the finalin 2020, was bought by KKR for `12.25crore at the mega auction last month.

He was named captain by KKR teammanagement ahead of pacer Pat Cummins,who leads the Australian Test side.

"Shreyas is a born leader, just the wayhe walks around, he commands respect.Knowing Pat (Cummins) really well, hewould be a good deputy and would also leadfrom the front," Hussey said during a vir-tual press conference on Wednesday.

"But the way Shreyas has captained inthe past for Delhi, he has a very good crick-et brain and a nice vision of how to play thegame and I think he will express himselfreally well. I think it's a smart move fromBrendon (McCullum) and KKR manage-

ment." Iyer has been in sensational formrecently for India.

Asked Hussey how he would go aboutcoaching the 27-year-old, he replied: "Thebest coaching is to just leave the good play-ers alone, let them go where they work.

"He is in rare form at the moment. Idon't know him, I'm getting to know himbut he comes across as true leader and a per-son who knows his game really really well."

KKR were dealt a blow after T20 spe-cialist Alex Hales withdrew from the tour-nament citing bubble fatigue.

Adding to KKR's misery is that theAustralian duo of Cummins and AaronFinch, who was roped in as Hales' replace-ment, are expected to miss the team's firstfew games as they are touring Pakistan.

"It is a concern to not have your bestplayers available but saying that internation-al cricket is paramount. They miss the firstfive games but they'll hit the ground run-ning, match fit. Both are quality players.Hopefully they can perform as per the gameplan," Hussey said.

PTI n MUMBAI

Rajasthan Royals wicket-keeper batter Jos Buttler on

Wednesday asserted they havethe requisite wherewithal andfirepower to end a 13-year-longtitle drought in the IndianPremier League, beginning hereon Saturday.

Buttler, who has beenretained by inaugural IPLchampions alongside skipperSanju Samson and YashasviJaiswal, said he is fresh, re-ener-gised after the injury-forcedbreak and is desperate to con-tribute to the team's goal thisyear. "It's a really exciting timefor the team you know, to starta new cycle and build a newteam. The aim here is to win theIPL, and I can't wait to con-tribute to that," Buttler said.

"We are delighted to haveso many great players in thesquad. Obviously,(Ravichandran) Ashwin and(Yuzvendra) Chahal are two ofthe best spinners in the world,and with a great pace attack, Ithink it's really exciting.

"Then we've got ourselves astrong batting line-up, alongwith great all-round options, soI think it's going to be a reallyexciting IPL for us," added the31-year-old.

Buttler said he was "quiteflattered" after he was retainedby RR. "There were only a cer-

tain number of players thatcould stay with the franchise soit was quite flattering to havebeen offered to be retained. I'vealways enjoyed playing for thisfranchise and have had somereally enjoyable memories.

"Obviously I knew the fran-chise had placed their trust inme, along with Sanju and Yash(Yashasvi Jaiswal). There werea lot of conversations that hap-pened before the auction, andwe were just focused on tryingto create a strong team, cover-

ing all bases that you need towin the tournament," he said.

With a lot of new faces inthe RR squad this year, Buttleris expecting to connect withsome special cricketers in theupcoming season.

"I'm also looking forward toconnecting with a lot of people,especially Chahal. I've playedagainst him a few times, and heseems to be that fun characterin the team. So, I'm looking for-ward to having him on myteam.

PTI n DUBAI

India's Ravindra Jadejareclaimed the top spot from

West Indies' Jason Holder inthe latest ICC Test rankingsfor all-rounders released onWednesday.

Jadeja had risen to No 1after his 175 not out and ninewickets in the first Test againstSri Lanka in Mohali earlierthis month.

However, he had lost theplace to Holder last week.But the two players have onceagain interchanged places withJadeja back on top with 385rating points.

Jadeja 's compatriotRavichandran Ashwin heldon to his third place amongall-rounders and continued tobe second in the bowlers'chart.

Indian pace spearheadJasprit Bumrah, who hadjumped six spots last week,remained static on fourth inthe bowling list.

India skipper Rohit, thecountry's top-ranked batter,fell a spot down to seventh inthe latest Test rankings forbatters.

While former India skip-per Virat Kohli and RishabhPant remained static on theninth and 10th place respec-tively.

Pakistan skipper BabarAzam, who was at his gloriousbest against Australia duringthe second Test of the series inKarachi, gained three spots tomove up to No 5 in the rank-ings chart.

Other star performerswith the bat from the samematch - Mohammad Rizwanand Usman Khawaja - havealso taken a massive leap.

Rizwan has moved up sixspots, to be joint No 11 along-side David Warner after hisunbeaten knock of 104 in thesecond innings. Khawaja, whoscored 160 and 44 in Karachi,moved up eleven spots to No13.

In the ODI chart, Kohliretained his second spot evenas Rohit moved down a rungto be fourth among batters.

PTI n NEW DELHI

The 15th edition of theIndian Premier League,

which is set to begin inMumbai on Saturday, willwitness 25 per cent crowdattendance in stadiums, theorganisers said onWednesday.

The lucrative league getsunderway at the WankhedeStadium on Saturday withdefending championsChennai Super Kings takingon Kolkata Knight Riders.

"This match will be amomentous occasion as the15th edition of the IPL willwelcome fans back to thestadiums after a brief hiatusowing to the pandemic," anIPL release stated.

"The matches will beplayed across stadiums inMumbai, Navi Mumbai &Pune with an audience occu-pancy rate of 25% as perCOVID-19 protocols," therelease added.

PTI n DUBAI

India's Smriti Mandhana andYastika Bhatia moved up to

the 10th and 39th spots respec-tively in the recently-releasedICC Women's ODI PlayerRankings, but skipper MithaliRaj's descent in the batters'chart continued as she droppedto eighth position.

Star opener Mandhana,who played modest knocksof 35, 10 and 30 in India'sprevious three matches inthe ongoing ICC Women'sWorld Cup, climbed upone place to enter thetop 10 with a rating of663.

Bhatia's impres-sive run was alsoreflected in the

rankings issued on Tuesday asshe moved up eight places tothe 39th spot. The left-handerhad scored back-to-back halfcenturies against Australia andBangladesh in India's previoustwo games.

Mithali, who has slippedfive places in the past two

weeks, has dropped onemore spot to be jointeighth alongside NewZealand's AmySatterthwaite.

In the bowlers'chart, India pacer

Pooja Vastrakar hasrisen 13 spots and is

currently placed56th while veteranJhulan Goswamidropped a rung tobe seventh.

PTI n NEW DELHI

Defending champions ChennaiSuper Kings will miss the services

of Moeen Ali for their IPL-opener asthe star England all-rounder is yet toreceive his India visa for competing inthe lucrative T20 tournament, begin-ning in Mumbai on Saturday.

CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan con-firmed the development

"It is almost certain that Moeen Aliwil miss the first game. He has still notgot the visa. We are on it as well asBCCI. Hope it is sorted in a day or two,"Viswanathan said.

"It is disappointing that he has notbeen able to join us. They follow set pro-cedures for players with Pakistandescent. That looks like the reason (fordelay)."His grandfather migrated to

England from Pakistan OccupiedKashmir but Moeen is born in Englandand is a frequent visitor to India.

CSK, four-time IPL champions, willtake on last edition's runner-up sideKolkata Knight Riders in the openingmatch of the this year's IPL at theWankhede Stadium in Mumbai onSaturday. Viswanathan said even if hemanages to reach India by Thursday, Aliwill be unavailable for the openerbecause of the quarantine protocol laiddown by the IPL organisers.

"There is three-day mandatoryquarantine which Moeen has to under-go before joining the IPL bio-bubble.So he will be out of the first game evenif he gets his visa today or tomorrow."

Because of his fine all-round showwhich helped the team lift its fourth IPLtitle, Moeen was retained by CSK

alongside inspirational captainMahendra Singh Dhoni, RavindraJadeja and Ruturaj Gaikwad.

Moeen scored 357 runs from 15innings for CSK in the IPL last year,while also taking six wickets from 15games with his off-spin bowling.

DEEPAK TO MISS A GOOD NO OFMATCHES

Besides Moeen, CSK will also misstheir star pacer Deepak Chahar, whohas been ruled out of the first half ofthe IPL due to a right quadriceps injurywhich he sustained during the third andfinal T20 match against the WestIndies in Kolkata last month. Askedabout Chahar's progress, Viswanathansaid: "He will remain in the NCA untilhe gets fitness clearance from the BCCI."

AP n LAHORE

Pakistan was 268 all out against thepersistent pace of Australia captain

Pat Cummins and impeccable reverseswing of Mitchell Starc to concede amassive 123-run lead on Wednesday inthe third and final Test.

In a sensational collapse after tea onDay 3, Pakistan lost seven wickets for41 runs - the last four wickets withoutadding a run - as Cummins finishedwith 5-56 and Starc took 4-36.

Australia had stretched its lead to134 runs by reaching 11-0 by stumpswith Usman Khawaja not out on 7 andDavid Warner unbeaten on 4.

In-form opening batter AbdullahShafique (81) and veteran Azhar Ali(78) had carried Pakistan to 170-1 anddenied Australia a breakthrough in thefirst session after resuming on 90-1before the visitors took control of theseries deciding test.

Nathan Lyon (1-95), who dried upthe runs with his marathon spell of 30

overs on Day 3, provided the openingwhen he found the outside edge ofShafique's bat after lunch to end apatient 150-run stand.

Shafique's prolific run in the serieshas seen the opening batter score hismaiden Test hundred in the drawn firstTest in Rawalpindi before his patient 96in Karachi led Pakistan to force adraw.

Shafique defied Australia with yetanother patient knock off 228 ballswhich featured 11 fours before Lyonstruck in the fifth over after lunch andsuccessfully overturned umpire AleemDar's not out decision through a tele-vision referral.

With the second new ball onlyseven overs old, Cummins took a spec-tacular return catch to dismiss Azhar inhis homecoming test match as Pakistanwas restricted at 227-3 at tea.

Azhar, playing in his 94th Testmatch but for the first time in his home-town of Lahore, became the fifthPakistani batter to complete 7,000 testruns when he reached 74 by sweepinghard at Lyon to deep square leg for asingle.

Former test captains Younis Khan(10,099), Javed Miandad (8,832),Inzamam-ul-Haq (8,829) andMohammad Yousuf (7,530) are theother Pakistan batters to score morethan 7,000 Test runs.

No ‘added advantage’ of playingin Mumbai for MI, says Rohit

25% crowdallowed insidestadiums

RR aim is to reclaim IPLtitle after 13 years: Buttler

Jadeja back to No 1 inICC Test all-rounders

Shreyas Iyer is a born leader: David HusseyMandhana, Bhatia risein rankings, Mithali slips

CSK to miss Moeen for IPL opener due to visa issues

Cummins, Starc give advantage to Aus

PTI n MUMBAI

Lucknow Super Giants have signedAndrew Tye as a replacement for

the injured England pacer MarkWood for the upcoming IndianPremier League, it was announcedon Wednesday

The announcement was madevia an IPL media advisory.

Wood suffered an elbow injuryduring England's first Test againstWest Indies earlier this month.

Tye has represented Australia in32 T20Is and picked 47 wickets. Theright-arm pacer, who has so farplayed 27 IPL matches and haspicked 40 wickets, will join LSG forthe price of `1 crore.

LSG - who will be making theirIPL debut this season - will begintheir IPL 2022 campaign on March28 when they take on Gujarat Titansat the Wankhede Stadium here.

The IPL-15 begins with a matchbetween Chennai Super Kings andKolkata Knight Riders on March 26.

Tye, who was with RajasthanRoyals earlier, had left the IPL midway last season due to personal reasons.

Andrew Tyejoins LucknowSuper Giants

AP n CENTURION

Taskin Ahmed and TamimIqbal starred as Bangladesh

sealed an historic series tri-umph with a nine-wicket winin the third one-day interna-tional against South Africa atSuperSport Park in Centurionon Wednesday.

Fast bowler Taskin tookfive for 35 as South Africa werebowled out for 154, their low-est total against Bangladesh.

Visiting captain Tamimthen scored 87 not out off 82balls to take Bangladesh to vic-tory with 23.3 overs to spare,sharing a century opening part-nership with Liton Das (48).

Bangladesh won the WorldCup Super League series by twomatches to one, consolidatingtheir place at the top of thetable.

South Africa were left lan-guishing in ninth place and indanger of missing one of theeight automatic qualifyingplaces for the 2023 CricketWorld Cup.

Bangladesh had lost all 19matches across all formatsagainst South Africa on theirhome soil before winning the

series opener by 38 runs at thesame venue on Friday.

South Africa won the sec-ond match by seven wickets inJohannesburg but Bangladeshdominated Wednesday's seriesdecider.

South Africa made a faststart, with Janneman Malanand Quinton de Kock puttingon 46 for the first wicket insideseven overs.

But Taskin bowledsuperbly after off-spinnerMehidy Hasan made the firstbreakthrough by dismissingDe Kock.

Taskin, 26, produced hisbest performance since takingfive for 28 on debut againstIndia on debut in Mirpur in2014. He bowled at a lively pacein three spells and troubled allthe batsmen.

With South Africa defend-ing a low total, Keshav Maharajdropped Litton Das at back-ward point off Kagiso Rabadain the first over of theBangladesh innings before Dashad scored.

Das and Tamim took fulladvantage of the let-off, puttingon 127 for the first wicket.

B’desh win ODI series in SA

Mass Maharaja RaviTeja’s uniqueaction thriller

Ramarao On Duty, beingdirected by debutantSarath Mandava underSudhakar Cherukuri’s SLVCinemas LLP and RTTeamworks, has finishedthe entire shooting part.Post-production work onthe movie is also pro-gressing at a brisk pace.

Meanwhile, the makershave come up with anupdate on the film’srelease date. Ramarao OnDuty will be releasedworldwide in a grandmanner on June 17. Themakers indeed chose aperfect release date, asthey would get enoughtime to promote themovie.

Ravi Teja looks intensein the poster, wherein wecan also observe someheavy transport vehiclespassing through the for-est.

While the posters creat-ed lots of interest, theteaser has set the bar highfor the movie. The makerswill opt for vigorous pro-motion in the comingdays. They will be comingup with updates on a reg-ular basis, so as to further

increase expectations forthe movie.

Sam CS has scored thesoundtracks and they willsoon begin the musicalpromotions for the movie.

Based on real incidents,Divyasha Kaushik andRajisha Vijayan played theheroines, while VenuThottempudi, in hiscomeback to films, will beseen in a vital role.

The cinematography ofthe movie is being han-dled by Sathyan SooryanISC, while Praveen KL isthe editor.

roducer KTKunjumon is mak-ing a comeback tofilm production instyle with the mas-sive project

Gentleman 2, which is goingto be the sequel to his block-buster movie Gentleman,which starred Arjun Sarjaand Madhoo.

NayantharaaChakravarthy, who is a pop-ular child artiste inMalayalam, is debuting as aheroine with Gentleman 2.This is a perfect launch forthe talented actress, whoalso played a cameo inNatasimha Nandamuri

Balakrishna’s magnum opus,NTR Biopic.

Another lead actress inthe movie will be revealedsoon.

“#NayantharaaChakravarthy has been cast as the leadactress in mega producer@kt_kunjumon’s #Gentlemen2 # 2 # 2 # 2@mmkeeravaani #GentlemanFilmInternational.Another lead actress will berevealed soon,” reads theannouncement.

MM Keeravani will bescoring the music forGentleman 2. More detailsabout this high-budgetentertainer are awaited.

e have earlierreported thatSamanthaRuth Prabhuhas joinedRusso

Brothers’ Citadel, whichis directed by Raj andDK also starring VarunDhawan. The actress haspreviously with Raj andDK for The Family Man2, for which she has wonmany accolades.According to reports,Varun and Samantha will

begin filming for Citadelin July. “If the pandemicdoes not pose any moreproblems, Citadel’s shootwill commence in July ofthis year. It will beginfilming in Mumbai andthen go to a few overseassites. The filmmakersplan to shoot in manyplaces of Europe, but theprecise sites will bedetermined after therecee, which is set tobegin soon. Meanwhile,casting for other sup-

porting parts is under-way,” says a source toldPinkvilla. In the mean-while, Dhawan will gothrough extensive prepa-ration for his role.“Varun will appear inseveral high-octaneaction sequences in theprogramme, and as partof his preparation, hewill train in martial arts.Before he begins filmingfor the show, he willbegin training,” theinsider continues.

p

12

Vijayawada | Thursday March 24, 2022 tollywood

w

I’m really excited about thisnew chapter in life: Avika GorBalika Vadhu fame Avika Gor

had a wonderful experienceshooting her debut

Kazakhstani film, I Go To School,in Turkey.

Happy with the response to thefilm, Avika reveals that she had tolearn the language and understandthe culture better to do justice toher character. And she saw this asyet another opportunity to learnrather than a challenge.

“When I first entered the Telugufilm industry, I was confrontedwith an unknown language andculture, but the kind of love Ireceived from the audience hasmade me more confident in thefact that I can do more. I am veryproud that because of BalikaVadhu and the TV work I havedone, people are giving me somuch love and respect. I feelblessed and am glad that this hashappened to me. I am alsohappy to have started thismovie journey and see alot happening in thefuture. I am going todefinitely collabo-rate with a lotof filmmak-ers in thecoming

months. I’m really excited aboutthis new chapter in life,” she says.

“When I Go To Schoolis an interestingtitle. It’s part of avery popularfranchise.The firstmovie ofthe serieswas basedon acharacterwhodoesn’tknowmuchEnglishandcanonlysay “I

go to school” and goes to the US.This statement became so funnyand memorable that they decided

to make this part. A lot oflocals caught on to this

particular line and itbecame famous,” shesaid.

“My character inthis second movie isvery interestingbecause I actuallyplay myself. I por-trayed the role ofan actor who is inTurkey shootingfor something, soit wasn’t very dif-ficult. In movies,an Indian isshown in a partic-ular way, so that ismy character. Ihave never donesomething like thisbefore, so it was an

interesting expe-rience.”

The actress feltglad that she got a

chance to go toKazakhstan and see

the response andreaction at the pre-

miere and meet thefans. Avika shares that ithelped her understandthe audience better. She

also feels grateful for allthe love the movie hasbeen receiving.

“I am very proud ofthe fact that this

happened. Themovie is actually

very funny becausewhen I watched it,it was in Russianand the subtitles

were in Kazakh, sothere was a huge lan-

guage barrier, but Istill got the feel. It

wasn’t very diffi-cult to under-

stand because,at the end of

the day,music, art,

and action are there, so a lot ofpeople understand these thingsbecause of expression and gestures.Also, what matters the most is theaudience’s reaction, and I amhappy with the reaction I am get-ting from them. They can’t wait forme to come back for anotherKazakh film,” adds Roli of SasuralSimar Ka.

The actor shares that it was amoment of pride for her when shegot to know that the audiencesthere were aware of her body ofwork.

“People have said this to me, andit’s crazy that after Raj Kapoor,Mithun Chakraborty, AmitabhBachchan and Shahrukh Khan, itis Avika Gor for them. It gives megoosebumps. These are the 4-5names. I am one of them and itmakes me proud. I feel lucky tohave gotten that space in theirhearts. I really hope that I do jus-tice to the love that I havereceived,” she says.

As an actor, there is a list ofmovies that she wants, ratheraspires, to do in the future.

“I am glad that the kind ofTelugu movies I am doing is exact-ly what I wanted to do, so I am liv-ing my dream. Yes, there are a lotof characters that I look forwardto, like an action film, somethingin the horror genre, and why notHindi films? I keep aspiring to domore. As an actor, it’s always niceto work in different languages. Forme, working in regional languageswas a feeling of pride, and nowwhen I get to do it with othercountries, I feel proud and luckyfor such opportunities. With fullhonesty and dedication, I try to domy best,” adds the actor.

Avika, who draws inspirationfrom many, shares that the peoplearound her inspire her to staygrounded.

“I have seen success at a veryearly age, and I believe that itwould have been very easy for meto become a different person alto-gether. The credit goes to thoseclosest to me, and I think that iswhat inspires me to do the workthat I am doing,” she signs off.

Nayantharaa Chakravarthy to play female

lead in KT Kunjumon’s Gentleman 2RamaraoOn Duty

releasing onJune 17.

Samantha to beginfilming for Citadel in July

Isha Koppikar felicitates the third genderr. Shagun Gupta’sShagun GuptaFoundation, a well-known cosmetics andpermanent makeupexpert, will now work

for the cause of equal rights forthe third gender. The Foundationhas placed a strong emphasis formany years on encouraging edu-cation, women’s empowerment,and helping cancer survivors andacid attack survivors. It hasalready given hope to thousandsof people and is now taking onthe challenge of working for thethird gender, which is usually themost marginalised in society.

The organisation recently helda felicitation event with actressIsha Koppikar, where they helpedthe less fortunate by distributing100 sarees. “I’ve worked with anumber of foundations that focuson women’s empowerment, can-cer survivors, and acid attacks,but this is the first time I’m join-ing forces with the Shagun GuptaFoundation to help, and not justhelp, but to do everything possi-ble to ensure that the third gen-der has the freedom to live theirlives as they wish. It saddens me

that they are unable to live thelife they desire. After all, we areall human beings. Nonetheless,I'm quite proud of Shagun andher foundation for initiating thiseffort and taking a step forwardin the direction of change.”

“The foundation will focus itsefforts on increasing awarenessof the third gender’s fundamentalright to equality. We will also

provide the required assistanceand support to causes relating tothe welfare of the third gender;creating awareness about perma-nent makeup took me six yearsof nonstop work and persever-ance. We have restored their lostoptimism, and this is what weaspire to achieve with our workfor the third gender,” Dr. ShagunGupta agreed.

d

The motion poster for Padava, the firststory from director Vegesna Satish’sweb anthology Kathalu (Meevi

Maavi), has been unveiled.Vegesna Satish, the filmmaker behind the

national-award-winning family dramaShatamanam Bhavati, is all set to make hispresence felt in the OTT space with a webshow titled Kathalu (Meevi Maavi). Thefirst story from the web anthology is titledPadava. The motion poster for Padava waslaunched by director Harish Shankar today.The latter wished the best for the lead actor,Sam Vegesna, the director, Vegesna Satish,and the entire team behind the story. In thisemotional love story, Sam Vegesna is pairedalongside Eesha Rebba. Three stories fromKathalu (Meevi Maavi) have wrapped theirshoot already, and the filming of the otherstories is progressing at a brisk pace.Kathalu will be streaming on a leading OTTplatform soon.

Vegesna Satish's Kathalu

motion poster out