%ˆˆ˚ ˙ )Bˆ+*˝)ˇ4, 7C5D &’ˇ!ˇ&!( *& +, ˜ˆ @ )˝0$9 0 /A8 -$A 0 ......2021/02/09  ·...

12
R eaching out to the protest- ing farmers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday assured them Minimum Support Price (MSP) will remain in place and reiterated the Government’s willingness to hold talks. Urging them to end their ongoing agitation, he also questioned the Opposition, especially the Congress, for taking a “U-turn” on farm reforms. Making these asser- tions in the Rajya Sabha, Modi also referred to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s backing to reforms in agricul- ture sector.Explaining his Government’s stance on the farm laws while replying to a discussion on the President’s address, the Prime Minister also expressed concern over foreign elements trying to foment trouble. He said a new phenome- non has emerged over the past few years wherein “Foreign Destructive Ideology” was evi- dent in the country. He quipped this was the new kind of FDI in obvious reference to singer Rihanna, activist Greta Thunberg and lawyer-author Meena Harris, niece of US Vice President Kamala Harris, back- ing the farmers’ stir. “The nation is making progress and we are talking about FDI but I see that a new FDI has come to the fore. We have to protect the nation from this new FDI. We need Foreign Direct Investment but the new FDI is ‘Foreign Destructive Ideology’, we have to protect ourselves from it,” the Prime Minister said. He also criticised a section of people seen in every agita- tion in the country and said, “In the last few years, we have witnessed a new category of protesters, “Andolan Jeevi”, who one can witness in every agitation. We need to protect this country from these Andolan Jeevi, who are actu- ally “parjeevi”. They don’t have their own strength, but they join all agitations.” Observing that the farm- ers’ agitation figured promi- nently during the 15-hour dis- cussion on the President’s address, Modi said the Opposition, however, did not mention about the basic facts of the laws and roots of the problem. Urging the farmers to end their protest, he said, “We will all sit together and talk. We are ready for talks and I am invit- ing you again for dialogue from this House.” In an effort to allay the apprehension of the farmers about the MSP, Modi said “MSP tha, MSP hai aur MSP rahega. No one should spread misinformation.” Highlighting the need for new farm laws to improve the income and living standard of the farmers, the Prime Minister said he was willing to take the brunt if it meant pushing reforms that were long overdue.He said, “We need to move forwards, not backwards. We need to give these reforms a chance.” Stressing the fact that the number of marginal farmers had increased over the years and the country had a respon- sibility to better their lot, Modi said every Government had spoken in favour of reforms in the agriculture sector. However, they have now taken a “U-turn”, said Modi, appar- ently referring to the Congress and Sharad Pawar, who was Agriculture Minister during the Congress-led UPA rule. A day after disaster struck at Reni near Joshimath in Chamoli district, the authori- ties have been able to recover 26 bodies while at least 197 people were reported missing till Monday evening. Of the bodies recovered, only two could be identified till the evening. According to the status report of the State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC), the 197 missing people include 12 people of Reni and three other villages, along with 185 workers of the companies involved in the two hydropow- er projects damaged in the disaster. Further, between 25 and 35 persons — included in the missing persons’ list — are stuck in a tunnel with efforts underway to reach them clear- ing the debris in the tunnel. While six persons are injured, 12 persons were rescued safe- ly from the NTPC project downstream. Personnel of the NDRF, SDRF, ITBP, SSB and armed forces along with State police are undertaking rescue and relief works. Meanwhile, apart from Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, Union Power Minister RK Singh, Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, Garhwal MP Tirath Singh Rawat and State Minister Dhan Singh Rawat visited the Tapovan and other affected areas where they viewed the efforts underway and interact- ed with the locals. Even as rescue operations continued throughout the day, ration, medical supplies and other daily use items were sup- plied by helicopter to the 13 vil- lages in the Niti valley which have lost road link due to the disaster. Chamoli District Magistrate Swati Bhadauriya informed that supplies will be provided by helicopters in these villages till an alternative arrangement is made. In addition to the disaster affected area, the district administration team is also searching for the missing per- sons along the banks of the Alaknanda river. T he Centre has asked social media platform Twitter to remove 1,178 anti-India pro- paganda handles managed by Pakistan and Khalistani users. The list was sent to Twitter on February 4. Twitter has not complied with the January 31 directive of the Indian Government to block 257 tweets and accounts for tweeting inflammatory pro- farmers messages. The Information and Technology Ministry issued the fresh directive after the Ministry of Home furnished inputs about anti-India propa- ganda unleashed by these accounts. According to sources, Twitter responded to the Government that the company is respecting local laws even while “protecting its founda- tional principle of free expres- sion”. “Many of these accounts were also automated bots that were used for sharing and amplifying misinformation and provocative contents on farm- ers’ protests,” said an official. According to officials, Twitter has to comply with the orders of the Government of India and if there is any resis- tance to the order, the social media company would face charges of flouting various laws. “Twitter’s stand on free- dom of expression is an excuse. They are just a platform and must obey the laws and if they violate they will face prosecu- tion,” said officials. At a time when the microblogging site is sur- rounded by controversy and has received a notice from the Government for “violating Indian law” by not taking down tweets related to “farmers geno- cide”, Twitter India’s public pol- icy head Mahima Kaul has resigned from her post citing personal reasons. Kaul had submitted her resignation in the first week of January and will be continuing at the firm till March. Twitter has also listed the job opening on its website. “At the start of this year, Mahima decided to step down from her role as Twitter Public Policy Director for India and South Asia to take a well- deserved break. It’s a loss for all of us at Twitter, but after more than five years in the role we respect her desire to focus on the most important people and relationships in her personal life. Mahima will continue in her role till the end of March and will support the transition,” Twitter global policy head Monique Meche said. T here is no clarity so far on the reasons for the glacier burst and the resultant avalanche and flash floods that wreaked havoc in the upper reaches of the Himalayas in Uttarakhand on Sunday, but experts have zeroed in global warming or Western distur- bance as the possible causes for the melting of the snow and breaking of the glacier that could have triggered the inun- dation in Chamoli district. The Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE) of the Defence Research and Development Organisation is investigating the tragedy, but there are no clear answers yet for a glacier to have melted in the winter. It is not clear whether the flood is a typical Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) or some temporary damming due to a landslide and avalanche that might have blocked the mainstream to form a tempo- rary lake which burst, said Ranjit Rath, Director General of the Geological Survey of India (GSI). A GLOF is a type of out- burst flood that occurs when the dam containing a glacial lake fails. “Once the water level recedes a team of experts will assess the damage as well as the triggering factor responsible for the outburst,” Rath told reporters here. As the nightmare envis- aged by numerous environ- mentalists warning against untrammelled development in the mountains came true on Sunday, glaciologist Farooq Azam said a glacial burst is very rare. “We have been trying to understand the event since yesterday. Right now what we can tell is a glacier slipped from around 500-600 metres, which started a landslide with an ice- fall that triggered this disaster,” Azam, Assistant Professor, Glaciology & Hydrology, Indian Institute of Technology, Indore, told a news agency. “For sure there was no glacial lake outburst flood, for sure there is no cloud burst because there is no lake avail- able in the region at this par- ticular time. Even if there are lakes, they are frozen and they don’t have any activity. The dis- aster happened because of an icefall and landslide.” he added. Satellite and Google Earth images, Azam added, do not show a glacial lake near the region, but there’s a possibility there may be a water pocket in the region. “Water pockets are lakes inside the glaciers, which may have erupted leading to this event,” he said. He suggested further analysis of weather reports and data to confirm if this indeed was the case. Climate scientist Roxy Mathew Koll agreed and also said more data are needed. S oon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged agi- tating farmers to end their stir and resume the dialogue, farm- ers’ unions on Monday asked the Government to fix a date for the next round of talks. Farmer leader Shiv Kumar Kakka, who is a senior mem- ber of the Samkyukta Kisan Morcha which is spearheading the ongoing stir, said they are ready for the next round of talks and the Government should tell them the date and time of the meeting. “We have never refused to hold talks with the govern- ment. Whenever it has called us for dialogue, we held dis- cussions with Union ministers. We are ready for talks with them (government),” Kakka told PTI. To Modi’s address in the Rajya Sabha during which he assured minimum support price (MSP), Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait said there is no law on MSP and the Government should repeal these farms laws. The farmers leaders sitting across the borders of the city also objected to Modi’s remarks that a new “breed” of agitators called “andolan jivi” has emerged in the country, and said agitation has an important role in a democra- cy. Talking to media person on Monday, Tikait said business over hunger will not be allowed in the country and the laws should be repealed. T he State registered 72 new Covid-19 cases on Monday in 19 districts and from the State pool, with which the total tally increased to 3,35,692.Of the new cases, 44 were from quarantine centres and 28 were local contacts. Sundargarh district record- ed the day’s highest 11 cases. The rest 18 districts registered below 10 cases.Besides, one case was reported from the State pool. Currently, the active cases stood at 781 and the cumulative tested were 7,88,4,898. Meanwhile, one more per- son succumbed to the disease on the day in Baleswar district, taking the State’s total death toll to 1,908. F ollowing widespread protests, the Union Ministry of Culture on Monday withdrew the con- troversial draft bylaws framed by the National Monuments Authority (NMA) prohibiting construction works around the Jagannath Temple in Puri. The move came after a delegation of BJD and BJP MPs from the State met Union Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patel demand- ing repeal of the bylaws. Patel assured the BJD delegation led by MPs Pinaki Misra and Bhartruhari Mahtab to roll back the proposed bylaws. Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik dur- ing his visit to the Jagannath Temple said he had spoken to the Centre for removal of the bylaws. Patnaik said the Centre can never create hindrance in the development projects in Puri.“Nobody can stop the work of Lord Jagannath,” Patnaik told people after pay- ing obeisance to Lord Jagannath at the temple. Notably, Patnaik visited the temple for the first time after the Covid-19 breakout. He landed at Talabania heli- pad in Puri by a special chop- per and headed for the tem- ple amid tight security. The servitors welcomed him with the customary ‘Khandua’. Accompanied by 5T Secretary VK Pandian and other officials, including Puri Collector Samarth Verma, Patnaik entered the shrine in the morning.“This is the first time I am visiting the temple in the time of pandemic. I prayed for prosperity and peace of people of Odisha. I thank people who sacri- ficed for the temple and their sacrifices will not go in vain,” Patnaik told people at the Singhadwar of the temple. On the controversial NMA bylaws, he said, “I have spo- ken to the NMA. The Centre should remove the new bylaws and nobody can stop the good work for the Lord.”

Transcript of %ˆˆ˚ ˙ )Bˆ+*˝)ˇ4, 7C5D &’ˇ!ˇ&!( *& +, ˜ˆ @ )˝0$9 0 /A8 -$A 0 ......2021/02/09  ·...

Page 1: %ˆˆ˚ ˙ )Bˆ+*˝)ˇ4, 7C5D &’ˇ!ˇ&!( *& +, ˜ˆ @ )˝0$9 0 /A8 -$A 0 ......2021/02/09  · about FDI but I see that a new FDI has come to the fore. We have to protect the nation

���������� ���������� ����� � ����������������� ���!"����#��$%������������� ���� � ������� �� ��������������� ������������ ������ �������������������������� ������� ��������������!����� ��� ����� ���������������� �� � ����"����������� � ����� �#

�����&�� &������'���&��� ��(�� ��%�� ������)*�!�+�,%������������������ ��������� ��� ���$ ����� �� ��� ����% �������� ������������ � ��������������� ������� ���������� ����%������� ������� � ��� ���� !����� �������� ������� �������� ����������������!������� ��������������������������&���� ����������� ������� ��#

���- &���� �&���� �������&.� �������/0123%�'�����������$ ������������������ ����� ����������� ����� � ���� ������ ����������� ������������ �������((�)��� ����� �������������������� �������� �*��!������ ������&���� ����������� ��� �����+� ,�� ���� �-��� ���. �� ����#

��������&����� ��������&& �����'���'��41"�*���% '����� ������������- ����������� ����/������%��0�� ��� �������� �������� ������������������� ������������������������������,)1&2#

56785���� �����&��� ��������&���

��!+��%�������������������������������3!453 ����� ��! �������� ���!������ ��� ���������� ������������ ��� ������6����� ��!���&�����7����� ����� ����������#

�������

��&�� "�8�)�0$9

Reaching out to the protest-ing farmers, Prime

Minister Narendra Modi onMonday assured themMinimum Support Price(MSP) will remain in place andreiterated the Government’swillingness to hold talks.

Urging them to end theirongoing agitation, he alsoquestioned the Opposition,especially the Congress, fortaking a “U-turn” on farmreforms. Making these asser-tions in the Rajya Sabha, Modialso referred to former PrimeMinister Manmohan Singh’sbacking to reforms in agricul-ture sector.Explaining hisGovernment’s stance on thefarm laws while replying to adiscussion on the President’saddress, the Prime Ministeralso expressed concern overforeign elements trying tofoment trouble.

He said a new phenome-non has emerged over the pastfew years wherein “ForeignDestructive Ideology” was evi-dent in the country. Hequipped this was the new kindof FDI in obvious reference tosinger Rihanna, activist GretaThunberg and lawyer-authorMeena Harris, niece of US VicePresident Kamala Harris, back-ing the farmers’ stir.

“The nation is makingprogress and we are talkingabout FDI but I see that a newFDI has come to the fore. Wehave to protect the nationfrom this new FDI. We needForeign Direct Investment butthe new FDI is ‘ForeignDestructive Ideology’, we haveto protect ourselves from it,”the Prime Minister said.

He also criticised a sectionof people seen in every agita-tion in the country and said,“In the last few years, we have

witnessed a new category ofprotesters, “Andolan Jeevi”,who one can witness in everyagitation. We need to protectthis country from theseAndolan Jeevi, who are actu-ally “parjeevi”. They don’t havetheir own strength, but theyjoin all agitations.”

Observing that the farm-ers’ agitation figured promi-nently during the 15-hour dis-cussion on the President’saddress, Modi said theOpposition, however, did notmention about the basic factsof the laws and roots of theproblem.

Urging the farmers to endtheir protest, he said, “We willall sit together and talk. We areready for talks and I am invit-ing you again for dialoguefrom this House.”

In an effort to allay theapprehension of the farmersabout the MSP, Modi said“MSP tha, MSP hai aur MSPrahega. No one should spreadmisinformation.”

Highlighting the need fornew farm laws to improve theincome and living standard ofthe farmers, the PrimeMinister said he was willing totake the brunt if it meantpushing reforms that werelong overdue.He said, “Weneed to move forwards, notbackwards. We need to givethese reforms a chance.”Stressing the fact that thenumber of marginal farmershad increased over the yearsand the country had a respon-sibility to better their lot, Modisaid every Government hadspoken in favour of reforms inthe agriculture sector.However, they have now takena “U-turn”, said Modi, appar-ently referring to the Congressand Sharad Pawar, who wasAgriculture Minister duringthe Congress-led UPA rule.

������������ ��������������������� ����� ���������� ��� �������������������������������������������������������������� �� �������������� ����������� ������� �� ������������

����������������������� ���������� ����������������

��&�� )�$+�)�"

Aday after disaster struck atReni near Joshimath in

Chamoli district, the authori-ties have been able to recover26 bodies while at least 197people were reported missingtill Monday evening. Of thebodies recovered, only twocould be identified till theevening.

According to the statusreport of the State EmergencyOperations Centre (SEOC),the 197 missing people include12 people of Reni and threeother villages, along with 185workers of the companiesinvolved in the two hydropow-er projects damaged in thedisaster.

Further, between 25 and 35

persons — included in themissing persons’ list — arestuck in a tunnel with effortsunderway to reach them clear-ing the debris in the tunnel.While six persons are injured,12 persons were rescued safe-ly from the NTPC projectdownstream.

Personnel of the NDRF,SDRF, ITBP, SSB and armedforces along with State policeare undertaking rescue andrelief works.

Meanwhile, apart fromChief Minister Trivendra SinghRawat, Union Power MinisterRK Singh, Union EducationMinister Ramesh Pokhriyal‘Nishank’, Garhwal MP TirathSingh Rawat and State MinisterDhan Singh Rawat visited theTapovan and other affected

areas where they viewed theefforts underway and interact-ed with the locals.

Even as rescue operationscontinued throughout the day,ration, medical supplies andother daily use items were sup-plied by helicopter to the 13 vil-lages in the Niti valley whichhave lost road link due to thedisaster.

Chamoli DistrictMagistrate Swati Bhadauriyainformed that supplies will beprovided by helicopters in thesevillages till an alternativearrangement is made.

In addition to the disasteraffected area, the districtadministration team is alsosearching for the missing per-sons along the banks of theAlaknanda river.

!"�������#$%�������� ��� ��������

����������� ����������������������������������������� ����������� ������ ��������� ��������� ��������� ���������� ������ ��� �������� �� �� �������������������� ������ !�"

#������� ����������� ������������ ������������������������$��% ��&���� ��'������� ���� ������ !�"

��&�� "�8�)�0$9�

The Centre has asked socialmedia platform Twitter to

remove 1,178 anti-India pro-paganda handles managed byPakistan and Khalistani users.The list was sent to Twitter onFebruary 4.

Twitter has not compliedwith the January 31 directive ofthe Indian Government toblock 257 tweets and accountsfor tweeting inflammatory pro-farmers messages.

The Information andTechnology Ministry issuedthe fresh directive after theMinistry of Home furnishedinputs about anti-India propa-ganda unleashed by theseaccounts. According to sources,

Twitter responded to theGovernment that the companyis respecting local laws evenwhile “protecting its founda-tional principle of free expres-sion”.

“Many of these accountswere also automated bots thatwere used for sharing andamplifying misinformation andprovocative contents on farm-ers’ protests,” said an official.

According to officials,Twitter has to comply with the

orders of the Government ofIndia and if there is any resis-tance to the order, the socialmedia company would facecharges of flouting variouslaws.

“Twitter’s stand on free-dom of expression is an excuse.They are just a platform andmust obey the laws and if theyviolate they will face prosecu-tion,” said officials.

At a time when themicroblogging site is sur-

rounded by controversy and hasreceived a notice from theGovernment for “violatingIndian law” by not taking downtweets related to “farmers geno-cide”, Twitter India’s public pol-icy head Mahima Kaul hasresigned from her post citingpersonal reasons. Kaul hadsubmitted her resignation in thefirst week of January and will becontinuing at the firm tillMarch. Twitter has also listedthe job opening on its website.

“At the start of this year,Mahima decided to step downfrom her role as Twitter PublicPolicy Director for India andSouth Asia to take a well-deserved break. It’s a loss for allof us at Twitter, but after morethan five years in the role werespect her desire to focus onthe most important people andrelationships in her personallife. Mahima will continue inher role till the end of Marchand will support the transition,”Twitter global policy headMonique Meche said.

���������������������������������������������

��&�� "�8�)�0$9

There is no clarity so far onthe reasons for the glacier

burst and the resultantavalanche and flash floods thatwreaked havoc in the upperreaches of the Himalayas inUttarakhand on Sunday, butexperts have zeroed in globalwarming or Western distur-bance as the possible causes forthe melting of the snow andbreaking of the glacier thatcould have triggered the inun-dation in Chamoli district.

The Snow and AvalancheStudy Establishment (SASE)of the Defence Research andDevelopment Organisation isinvestigating the tragedy, butthere are no clear answers yetfor a glacier to have melted inthe winter.

It is not clear whether theflood is a typical Glacial LakeOutburst Flood (GLOF) orsome temporary damming dueto a landslide and avalanchethat might have blocked themainstream to form a tempo-rary lake which burst, saidRanjit Rath, Director General

of the Geological Survey ofIndia (GSI).

A GLOF is a type of out-burst flood that occurs whenthe dam containing a glaciallake fails.

“Once the water levelrecedes a team of experts willassess the damage as well as the

triggering factor responsible forthe outburst,” Rath toldreporters here.

As the nightmare envis-aged by numerous environ-mentalists warning againstuntrammelled development inthe mountains came true onSunday, glaciologist FarooqAzam said a glacial burst is veryrare.

“We have been trying tounderstand the event sinceyesterday. Right now what wecan tell is a glacier slipped fromaround 500-600 metres, whichstarted a landslide with an ice-fall that triggered this disaster,”Azam, Assistant Professor,Glaciology & Hydrology,Indian Institute of Technology,Indore, told a news agency.

“For sure there was noglacial lake outburst flood, for

sure there is no cloud burstbecause there is no lake avail-able in the region at this par-ticular time. Even if there arelakes, they are frozen and theydon’t have any activity. The dis-aster happened because of anicefall and landslide.” he added.

Satellite and Google Earthimages, Azam added, do notshow a glacial lake near theregion, but there’s a possibilitythere may be a water pocket inthe region.

“Water pockets are lakesinside the glaciers, which mayhave erupted leading to thisevent,” he said. He suggestedfurther analysis of weatherreports and data to confirm ifthis indeed was the case.Climate scientist Roxy MathewKoll agreed and also said moredata are needed.

�������������� ������� ��� ����� ������ �����

& '���&��� �����"�8�)�0$9

Soon after Prime MinisterNarendra Modi urged agi-

tating farmers to end their stirand resume the dialogue, farm-ers’ unions on Monday askedthe Government to fix a datefor the next round of talks.

Farmer leader Shiv KumarKakka, who is a senior mem-ber of the Samkyukta KisanMorcha which is spearheadingthe ongoing stir, said they areready for the next round of

talks and the Governmentshould tell them the date andtime of the meeting.

“We have never refused tohold talks with the govern-ment. Whenever it has calledus for dialogue, we held dis-cussions with Union ministers.We are ready for talks withthem (government),” Kakkatold PTI.

To Modi’s address in theRajya Sabha during which heassured minimum supportprice (MSP), Bharatiya KisanUnion (BKU) leader Rakesh

Tikait said there is no law onMSP and the Governmentshould repeal these farms laws.

The farmers leaders sittingacross the borders of the cityalso objected to Modi’sremarks that a new “breed” ofagitators called “andolan jivi”has emerged in the country,and said agitation has animportant role in a democra-cy. Talking to media person onMonday, Tikait said businessover hunger will not be allowedin the country and the lawsshould be repealed.

����������������������������������!�� ���� ����(��� ���� �����

��&�� -$�-�"�&8�+

The State registered 72 newCovid-19 cases on Monday

in 19 districts and from theState pool, with which the totaltally increased to 3,35,692.Ofthe new cases, 44 were fromquarantine centres and 28 werelocal contacts.

Sundargarh district record-ed the day’s highest 11 cases.The rest 18 districts registeredbelow 10 cases.Besides, one

case was reported from theState pool. Currently, the activecases stood at 781 and thecumulative tested were7,88,4,898.

Meanwhile, one more per-son succumbed to the diseaseon the day in Baleswar district,taking the State’s total death tollto 1,908.

�������������������� ����������& &����769:9

;8�� ��<� =������>6>?6598

��&�� -$�-�"�&8�+:���+9

Following widespreadprotests , the Union

Ministr y of Culture onMonday withdrew the con-troversial draft bylaws framedby the National MonumentsAuthority (NMA) prohibitingconstruction works aroundthe Jagannath Temple in Puri.

The move came after adelegation of BJD and BJPMPs from the State metUnion Culture MinisterPrahlad Singh Patel demand-

ing repeal of the bylaws. Patelassured the BJD delegationled by MPs Pinaki Misra andBhartruhari Mahtab to rollback the proposed bylaws.Earlier in the day, ChiefMinister Naveen Patnaik dur-ing his visit to the JagannathTemple said he had spoken tothe Centre for removal of thebylaws.

Patnaik said the Centrecan never create hindrance inthe development projects inPuri.“Nobody can stop thework of Lord Jagannath,”Patnaik told people after pay-ing obeisance to LordJagannath at the temple.

Notably, Patnaik visitedthe temple for the first timeafter the Covid-19 breakout.He landed at Talabania heli-pad in Puri by a special chop-per and headed for the tem-

ple amid tight security. Theservitors welcomed him withthe customary ‘Khandua’.

Accompanied by 5TSecretary VK Pandian andother officials, including PuriCollector Samarth Verma,Patnaik entered the shrine inthe morning.“This is the firsttime I am visiting the templein the time of pandemic. Iprayed for prosperity andpeace of people of Odisha.

I thank people who sacri-ficed for the temple and theirsacrifices will not go in vain,”Patnaik told people at theSinghadwar of the temple.On the controversial NMAbylaws, he said, “I have spo-ken to the NMA.

The Centre shouldremove the new bylaws andnobody can stop the goodwork for the Lord.”

!�"�#$������� ����������������������������&������'��(�����@�������%���� �

����&��&�� ��� �(��&���� ��(� ����������� �'

;'�)� ��� ����� �������%#�� :�� ��� �����%������ �����

������������� �����

������ #�� :�� ��� �����:

<0����� �� �2*A�4=��))�4 >?<� ��&�������������� ������ �����

���� ���@�� ��)�0$9��0��/"A8 -$A��0��-$�-�"�&8�+

+�"�$9�+�9��+ �$�")97�+$�)�$+�)�" $�)�+�-�)�B9,��8�)�

)B�+*�)�4,�7C5D���������������� �����������

����� &���6��� &����( ������ 96�8:87=���� &�78��D

&'�!�&!�(�'+�79��A��)��9"�'$�����9'�0

'&����)��/�8$9'�8�&$&A�'$��@+9��

��*&�+,��

��+'9�0�0�8�)��0�+�)9"���+'&�A@����"��+

��������� ������ ����������������� � �����

Page 2: %ˆˆ˚ ˙ )Bˆ+*˝)ˇ4, 7C5D &’ˇ!ˇ&!( *& +, ˜ˆ @ )˝0$9 0 /A8 -$A 0 ......2021/02/09  · about FDI but I see that a new FDI has come to the fore. We have to protect the nation

�� ���������� !"�#$%� !&�' $( �#��#' )*�+)+,

����������� ������ ������������������� ������������������������� !��������"�� ���#�$!%���&�'��(� !)$&% �&!&�*+(� !)$&% �,%%��$-��(������������./-�����-���������01"�2�1�3$&4�5�������$6�7���$3�������#�2��������1�����"�� ���#�$!%�����1�����(����������8�������1�����(��������8�28�/�����9821�:4&��!4&&)!%�628�;8�<68:1��8������1��(�������8����������(���0���(��- �=6�-�� ������("�/����=�������������(��>�����3����9�����(��� �"�����:�� "�#��"�������7����/���#3����$�����&������(���$)����)%%���--��������9�����(*$,�������� ��9236�:��-"����/�$&��,���;�������(��&�$)?!5?��=)?!55������@��#9�����()��*���������������/�������*�A �8������@��#&& �� �'���������(�%&&$&,) )),�&,) )))�&,) ))%�

���������� �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������� ��������������� �� ���������������������������������������������������������� ������������ ����� ��������������� ��������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� �������� �!����������������"���������� ���������������������������� �������������������� ���� ��������������������������������� �����������������������������#��������������������������� ���� ����$����%����&�������������������������� ��������������� �����������������������'����������������������������������� ���������������"��������������������(�����������������������������

Adoctor’s profession ispainstaking, arduous but

healing and full of love. DrSailesh Mishra is one with a dif-ference who has archivedexpertise and excellence in arare field of intensive care,pain management and anaes-thesia. He had his MBBSdegree from the MKCGMedical College, Brahmapur.He went to the All IndiaInstitute of Medical Sciences,New Delhi, wherefrom heobtained his MD.

In the year 2003, he movedto the United Kingdom, wherehe undertook intensive trainingfor seven years till he becamea consultant in the UK NationalHealth Services (NHS) in thefield of pain management,anaesthesia and intensive care.Dr Mishra keeps coming to hismotherland to bring joy to thelacerated hearts by promotingunderstanding in pain man-agement.

He is the first Indian andOdia to have been vaccinatedin London against Covid-19and appreciates the efforts ofthe Government of India andthe Odisha Government inushering in an era of vaccina-tion with an enviable positionat the global level. In an inter-view to The Pioneer, DrMishra, who is currently inOdisha, spoke to SugyanChoudhury at his residence atIRC Village, Bhubaneswar.

What’s your experienceas the first Odia to have beenvaccinated in London?

There were many vaccinestoday, but the first licensed oneis the Pfizer biometrics vaccine.The first country to use thiswas the UK. And the first datein which it was used wasDecember 8, 2020.

Among many people vac-cinated on the day, I had thesingular opportunity as anOdia. I got the second doseafter three weeks on December30, 2020. It so happened that Iwas the first Indian and the firstOdia to have been vaccinatedin the UK.

Could you please tellabout the UK Government’smode of vaccination?

There are four vaccines inused in the UK. The first oneis Pfizer biometrics. Then,Oxford AstraZeneca, Modernaand another one also producedin the UK. The UK has its ownplans to vaccinate people of themost vulnerable groups over 80years and people who are in

care homes. They are going tovaccinate doctors, nurses andothers in the healthcare sector.

Then, they are going tovaccinate those who have car-diac problems, bad asthma,cancer and such other vulner-able groups.

Subsequently, they willadminister vaccines to peopleof 70-year age group, 60-yearage group, 50-year age group.This way, they are going to givevaccines to all the young pop-ulation and have plans to vac-cinate 15 million people byFebruary 14, 2021.

It is only yesterday that theUK Government announcedthat by the end of May, all peo-ple over 50 years would havebeen vaccinated. Hence, theyoung people will get vacci-nated a bit later. Now, differentvaccines are coming in. Insteadof two injections, one newvaccine will be given. Theoptions are many.

You are an Indian. Thereare also other ethnic groups inLondon. Have you noticedany discriminatory practicesthere during the time of vac-cination?

Not at all, not at all! Thereis a term called “Bame”, i.e.,black Asian, a minority ethniccommunity. They are the mostvulnerable ones and their rateof death is more as they are

found to be more susceptible tothe pandemic. Hence, the UKGovernment of UK, after care-ful consideration, is preferen-tially administrating them vac-cines first.

More Asians are workingin the NHS and there are morehealth workers, key workers;and like others, they are giventhe vaccine at the first consid-eration. So, you can say thereis a positive discrimination inthe larger benefit of the vul-nerable ethnic groups. The UKGovernment is making surethat these ethnic groups areadequately protected as theirdeath rates are found to bemore.

As an overseas Indiandoctor, what is your observa-tion regarding the vaccinationprogramme here in Indiaboth by the UnionGovernment and the StateGovernment of Odisha?

India has done great thingsand has taken a giant leap inthis regard. There are two typesof vaccines available here. Oneis Covaxin by the BharatBiotech and the other isCovishield produced by theSerum Institute of India. Bothare administered in two phas-es. First, they are giving to allthe health workers, doctors

and nurses. They are observingthe safety data from them.There has not been any directdeath or any severe reaction outof that. They are indeed safe.

In a few days, there will bea massive rollout and the com-mon man would receive it verysoon. Actually, India has thecapacity now to produce morevaccines. And India is nowexporting these vaccines toother parts of the world whichcan very safely be told that it isa sanguine success for the sci-entific of community of India.

Well, Dr Mishra, what’syour observation of theNaveen Patnaik Government’sprogramme of vaccination inyour homeland?

One thing I would like tosay and appreciate very muchthat the Patnaik Governmentstarted the lockdown early.And this has worked heretremendously. Numbers ofdeaths are coming down hereand life is quickly coming backto normal.

I have been here for the lastthree weeks and I noticed thatschools and colleges have start-ed opening; market complex-es are slowly and steadily andtheatre and movie houses areopening of gradually. After agreat deal of suffering over thelast 11 months, people are nowopened up to their new leasesof life. I am very happy that theGovernment here at my homeState has done a commendablejob.

As an expert overseasIndian doctor, are you appre-hensive of a second Covidwave hitting India and yourhomeland Odisha?

In the UK, we are having afar more debilitating secondwave and there are more deathsnow. According an ICMRstudy, possibly, there has beenherd immunity and more than20% of Indians might havedeveloped it in the meanwhile.Hence, hopefully, a secondwave here might not be moredelirious and debilitating as Ihope so. And now with the vac-cination rolling out to themasses, we can hopefully keepit under control.

As a medical scientist, doyou consider that the pan-demic is nothing but nature’srevenge on mankind?

The answer lies in historyin every century in its Twenties.There have occurred somekinds of pandemic. In 1720,there was plague in the globalscenario. In 1820, there wascholera; and in 1920, therewas Spanish flu.

In 2020, there is coron-avirus pandemic. Hence, naturein its fury has cleansed a largepart of population from ourplanate.

So, this pandemic hasgiven us time for honest intro-spection and analysis as tohow man, the homosapien,should lead his life in conso-nance with nature.

interview of the weekpioneer

&���������� �������� ������'������� ��������� ��������� ��������� �����(��� ���(�� ����)�� ���

��&�� -$�-�"�&8�+

The ongoing inter-State dis-pute over jurisdiction of

many villages in Kotia pan-chayat on the Andhra Pradesh-Odisha border would beresolved through discussionsbetween the Governments ofboth States.

Andhra Pradesh LegislativeCouncil ChairmanMohammed Ahmed Shariffinformed this after a high-level meeting held inBhubaneswar on Monday.

Odisha School & MassEducation Minister SamirRanjan Dash raised the issueduring the meeting attended byShariff and senior officials ofthe Andhra PradeshGovernment.He informed theAndhra delegation about thejurisdiction dispute of Kotiapanchayat under Pottangi blockin Koraput district where thepeople have been facing iden-tity crisis since decades. Heappealed to the Andhra

Government through the del-egation to sort out the grave sit-uation. Besides, a discussionwas also held between twoState Governments on the lan-guage-based education issue inthe bordering villages ofRayagada, Gajapati,Malkangiri, Nabarangpur,Ganjam and Koraput districts.

Around 80 lakh Telugupeople are residing in these dis-tricts. Even as a teacher train-ing centre has been set up inthese districts, language teach-ers could not be appointed dueto technical snags. Similarly,there are many Odia people inSrikakulam and Vizianagaramin Andhra Pradesh. Around4,000 children are studying in

the neighbouring State wherethey face the same situation inschools. Total 230 Odia schoolsare in Andhra Pradesh where130 Odia teachers are yet to beappointed.Sharriff assuredDash that the AndhraGovernment would take care ofOdia students in his State.

“I am confident that all theissues between the two Stateswill be resolved,” Shariff saidafter the meeting.“The discus-sion was held on student issuesof both the States.

Before the discussion, theAndhra Pradesh delegationhad visited many districts toreview the ground-level situa-tions. The discussion will con-tinue further,” Dash told media.

������������������ ������������� �����������������

��&�� -$�-�"�&8�+

Students of Classes-IX and XIin the State on Monday

resumed attending physicalclasses after a break of over 10months due to the Covid-19situation.

The physical learningwould continue till April 30.The duration of teaching is fortwo hours from 8:30 am to10:30 am from Monday toSaturday. There would be noteaching on Sundays.

Three periods would betaken up daily. There would beno recess. The sitting arrange-ments in classrooms have beenmade keeping the size of aroom in view so as to ensurethat the required social dis-

tancing as per the Covid-19protocol is maintained. ForClasses-IX and X1, there wouldbe one unit test in secondweek of March 2021. Theannual class examinationwould be conducted in the lastweek of April 2021. Notably,earlier, physical learning forClasses-X and XII studentshad resumed in the schools ofthe State from January 8.

�������������� ���� ��������������

�� ������������� ��

�������������� ���� �������� ��������� ����

��&�� -$�-�"�&8�+

When there is requirementto pump more funds into

the hands of the people, spend-ing by the State Governmenthas gone down drastically,which is a major cause of con-cern. Instead of spending moreas compared to last year, theState Government has spentover Rs 13,000 crore less dur-ing last nine months. The lessspending by the Government isattributed to the Covid-19 pan-demic and it has slowed downthe growth.

A detailed analysis onexpenditure during April-December 2020 reveals thatduring this period the totalexpenditure by theGovernment was Rs 72,968crore. As compared to lastyear, the Government spentlesser funds worth Rs 13,144crore. The Fiscal MonitorReport of Odisha has revealedthat while during April-December 2020 the expendi-ture of the Government was Rs

86,112 crore, it later camedown heavily. The overallspending was 15 per cent lessas compared to last year.During 2019 (April-December), the Governmenthad spent more than 14 percent compared to the corre-sponding period of 2018.

This is a cause of concernas the State is heavily depen-dent on Government spendingas all developmental expendi-tures spur growth and releasefunds in the hands of the peo-ple, pointed out an analyst.

The Government allocatedRs 1,14,791 crore of revenueexpenditure during fiscal 2020-21. However, the revenueexpenditure has also gonedown with spending of Rs60,897 crore, which is less 15per cent as compared to last fis-cal.The spending in the rev-enue sector during 2019 (April-December) was Rs 71,697crore, which was more than 23per cent as compared to 2018.

The Annual Budget for2020-21 accounted higher cap-ital spending with Rs 35,209crore. However, capital expen-diture has gone down by 16 percent, resulting in less spendingon infrastructure developmentand asset creation.

��&�� -$�-�"�&8�+

Tainted IFS officer AbhayKant Pathak and his son

Akash Kumar Pathak, whowere recently granted bail bythe Bhubaneswar SpecialVigilance Court, have beenbooked in three more fraudcases lodged at the Golantharapolice station in Ganjam dis-trict. Police on Monday includ-ed the two in the three fraudcases that were earlier regis-tered against Gopalpur MLAand former BJD leader PradeepPanigrahi, who was arrestedlast year on the charge ofdefrauding youths on the pre-text of jobs in the Tata Motors.Earlier on January 27, the

Bhubaneswar Special VigilanceCourt had granted them bail inconnection with a graft caseafter police failed to submitcharge-sheet against the twoaccused in 60 days.

The court had directed theduo to furnish bail bond of Rs2 lakh each and two guarantors.The father-son duo was arrest-ed on November 27 in cor-ruption cases.

��&�� ,�7�'&9"7$��+

The Covid-19 vaccinationdrive for the frontline

workers including Governmentemployees, police and otherhealth workers was launched inthree different places inJagatsinghpur district onSaturday.

As per the StateGovernment's instruction, thevaccination exercise was orga-nized in the district Collectoroffice, Jagatsinghpur police sta-tion and Paradip Port hospitalin Paradip.At Jagatsingpur,ADM Satchidananda Sahooinaugurated the vaccinationdrive. About 100 frontline

workers were targeted to begiven the Covid 19 vaccine herebut only 83 Governmentemployees turned up. InJagatsinghpur police station, SPPrakash R first was shot Covid-19 vaccine and then other copswere administered the Covidjab. 161 police personnel tookthe Covid -19 jab.

Paradip ADM KanhuCharan Dhir inaugurated thevaccination drive at port trusthospital in Paradip, where asmany as 121 persons belongingto the selective categoriesreceived Covid 19 jab.

���� �������������� ��� ���� � ������������

��&�� -$�-�"�&8�+

Motorists would now haveto pay more money

towards parking fee inBhubaneswar during peakhours as the BhubaneswarMunicipal Corporation (BMC)is all set to issue an order in thisregard soon. Higher parking feeon hourly basis would becharged from 9 am to 11 amand 4 pm to 7 pm in the city.A BMC officials said a surveywas conducted for improve-ment of parking facility in thecity. On the basis of the surveyreport, it was decided to adopt

‘Smart Parking’ system, underwhich more parking fee wouldbe collected from vehicle usersduring the aforesaid peakhours. The motive behinddecision is to encourage peo-ple to use public transportationinstead of private vehicles,ensure smooth movement oftraffic on city roads, and reduceair pollution. The new parkingsystem is likely to be imple-mented in the next two to threemonths.As per existing parkingfee tariff, two-wheeler owners

are paying Rs 5 for upto 0 totwo hours, Rs 15 for two tothree hours, Rs 25 for three tofour hours, and Rs 35 for fourto five hours.

Similarly, for auto-rick-shaw, four wheeler (light) andfour wheeler (heavy) vehicles,the parking charges are �5, � 20and �25 for parking for twohours, �20, �40 and �50 for twoto three hours, �35, �60 and�75 for three to four hours and�50, �80 and �100 for four tofive hours, respectively.

��&�� -$�-�"�&8�+

In an era when reading habitof books is in a declining

trend, a public library insideIntegrated Public ServiceCentre (IPSC) Saheed Nagar,started functioning on Mondayas a collaborative effort of theBhubaneswar Smart CityLimited and the BhubaneswarMunicipal Corporation.Currently, 20 newspapers and15 periodicals and magazinesare available for the readers atthe library of IPSC SaheedNagar.

Books on Odia/English lit-erature, various competitiveand entrance examinations,health, wellbeing, fitness, his-tory, contemporary Indian lit-erature, religion, poetry andother subjects are available.

More and more titles will alsobe added and more space willalso be provided to the libraryin near future.

With opening of thelibrary, local residents, stu-dents, senior citizens and aspi-rants of competitive examsand people from the nearbyslums will be greatly benefittedas the facility will remain openbetween 10 am and 2 pm. Innear future it will also remainopen from 4 pm to 7 pm.

)��������������������������������� ����������������������������� �� ����*���*��� ��������!� � ������������������*������������ �����������*���������������������������� ��������+���� � ����������������������������� ����� � ������,���$������! ������

��&�� ��+�0�/$���")9

The territorial claim ofAndhra Pradesh in Odisha

was foiled after two candi-dates from Odisha border vil-lages supported by two leadingparties of the neighbouringState in fray for panchayatpolls under Mandasa mandal ofSrikakulam district were suc-cessfully convinced by Gajapatidistrict administration to stayaway from election process.The YSR party had supporteda candidate in Gangabada tostand in fray for Laxmi Sabar,but after marathon check andpersuasion by Sub-CollectorSangram Sekhar Panda, shewithdrew her candidature. TheSub-Collector too rushed toManikpatna and persuadedanother candidate, DraupadiSabar, to refrain from polls. Shewas a TDP-supported candi-date in the elections.

*���� ���(�������

����������������������������

��&�� -$�-�"�&8�+

The Board of SecondaryEducation (BSE) on

Monday announced dates forHigh School Certificate (HSC)Examinations scheduled to beheld from May 3, 2021. Theexaminations would begin onMay 3 and continue till May 15.Besides, examination forMadhyama Sanskrit would beheld from May 3 to 12.

As per official notifica-tion, students would appear forFirst Language (MIL Odia) onMay 3. Similarly, examinationfor Second Language (English)would be held on May 5, ThirdLanguage (Hindi) on May 7,Third Language (Sanskrit) onMay 8, Mathematics on May10, Science on May 12 andSocial Sciences on May 15.

�� ���-��������� ������ ���./������������ ��������������

��&�� -$�-�"�&8�+

It is the only university inOdisha till now dedicated to

women’s education. It carriesthe vision of Maa Rama Devifor the education and empow-erment of women in the State,said Chief Minister NaveenPatnaik inaugurating four newbuildings of the Rama DeviWomen’s University here onMonday.

“Therefore, its responsibilityis also unique. How you go

ahead with your opportunitiesand how you face the chal-lenges that come in your waywill define the future of this

university,” said Patnaik. Thefour buildings include a newlibrary hall named after therenowned poetess KuntalaKumari Sabat, a new Arts blockand a Science block and a newhostel for the research scholars.

Besides, the Chief Ministersanctioned a project worth Rs18 crore for the institutionwhich would be spent in ren-ovation of the old academicbuilding, hostel building andopen air stage.

Higher Education MinisterArun Sahoo said that withoutwomen’s education develop-ment of the State and the coun-try is not possible. UniversityVice-Chancellor AparajitaChaudhury presided over thefunction and RegistrarShyamali Mohapatra deliveredthe welcome address andNavnit Kaur offered a vote ofthanks.

��������������������������� ������

0���1�� ��2������ � � ��� ���� +��2

3�����!����������������� ��.����������

� �� �������� � ������������ ���� ���

�� ��� !����"��� ��#���!��������!���� �

���� ��� �������������&�����"����

��&�� &��-�0��+

Dr Chandan Bagh, a dentistin the District

Headquarters Hospital (DHH)here, has been missing sinceJanuary 30. Dr Bagh was livingseparately from his parents dueto family disputes.

While his parents are live inSakhipara in Sambalpur town,Dr Bagh was staying inShantinagar with his wife. Onearly morning of January 30, heleft his home but did not return.Getting no news of his son fora week, his father PradeepBagh lodged an FIR inAinthapali police station andaccused his father-in-law’s fam-ily and wife in particular of hav-ing a role in missing of his son.

@� ������C�&D������� �� �� ����,���>E

��$���$�� ���#���������%��� ����

����� ���� �� ��������� �� ��� ������ �

0������ ������7�����������������&����

Page 3: %ˆˆ˚ ˙ )Bˆ+*˝)ˇ4, 7C5D &’ˇ!ˇ&!( *& +, ˜ˆ @ )˝0$9 0 /A8 -$A 0 ......2021/02/09  · about FDI but I see that a new FDI has come to the fore. We have to protect the nation

�� ���&������ !"�#$%� !&�' $( �#��#' )*�+)+,

�'()��* -�&������ ����&�� �������� ��-��������C� '�� A� �� B��������� -����� )����(� ���� ��� �����(��� �� ��� ��� ������� �������� ����� ������ ����� ��� �� �� ����� ���&�����-�����'����� �������� �� 1&-'�2�� �������)��0�%����$�� #����� �� �����������) �� ��)��� ��� ����������������������� �����������4E���������� �����&����!����&-'�������� �������)�$�� � ��� �� � �� � ������#� A�� � �� �����!� ���� ���������� ���������� ����� ����������� �����&��������������������������������� ������� �������#�)��� ���������� �������������������� �����)��$�� #�

�����������&�������&�������� �� � �,�.���C� -,)� ������� ���� ��� ��@ ������ � � ���� ��������� ������7��� � ��� � ������ "����� / ��������� ���� ���������� %����� �F"����� �(� ������ ������������ ���� ��� �� &� #� 7��� � � �!G"�����& �� ������ ������&�% ��������%#����� ��������/��� ���� �����������&�% �������%�����,�.����� �� ��!������������������������ �&� �������+����� ��)������� ������ ��� ������� ������������������� ��#'� �������������������� �� ����������������������������������� ��������������������������#����������������� ����������������� ������������ ������ ������������������������ ����� ��� ����������� ������� %��������#

�E������ �������&��������'� ��(��������� -��&������%� ��� C�7�.���� �) �� ��������� ���A�� ����1)�A2����� ��/� ��"�������%�������� � � �� ������������������ ����������4E��$&�-�������� ��� ��� ��5E54#������%��� ���H��� %���)�����H����� ��������������� �� ��������� ������ � ��������� �������� � ���� ����?!>=5�����������������#�"�������������������������� �������������#$������������������������������%������ � � �� ��������� ��� �������%�������� � � ��#�' �� ��������%����������!��� ��5E4I�5E!����� �� ���� � ���� ��� ������� �����5E� ����� �������� ������� ������ ��� �� ��� ��� ��%!��������� ����%���������%����7�.���� �� �� ������!��� ���������� ��������������������#

7��� &6�8���������������� ������������������%� ��� C������������% ����� �������� �������������-����������� ���������� � �� ������ ��� ��� - ��� � � � &� ����� �������� ������ �������%� ��� ������� ��� ��� ��� ������������� #� '������������ ���� � ��������� %��� ����7�����7� ��������,�.� ���� �����#�$ � ����� ������� ����A !������������� �� ���� ����������� � ����� �.����#���� ������������������-�������� ���!�'���������(������������ ��� ��� ) �� ��� $���*������� $�� ���� ���� ��� ���� � ���� �� �.������������ ������������� ���#�

D7�'�����@��& �F �=�8� ������'�������������� C���� ���� 6���J4#4�%�����.������ �������� ������ ���������@�9���%� ������� � ���������� � �� �� ��/���� ���� �� ��#�'��������������������� ��� �������� ������������������������������������������� ���������")�&����##�-� ��!������������� ����� %�������� ������������������ ����������������#�

&�����'���������

Sardar Patel once rightlyinferred, “We take a short

range view while he (Gandhiji)takes a long range view.”Gandhiji, the great visionary,had warned about perils andpitfalls of industrialisation aswell as its resultant environ-mental hazards.

Almost six decades beforehuman society could draw sys-tematic scientific inferencesabout vagaries of green houseeffect due to reckless industri-

alisation which this saint of thesoil had remarkably sensed. Inone of his writings in the ‘HindSwaraj’ in 1909, Gandhiji hadwarned about the danger ofimpetuous industrialisation.Last year, several regions ofIndia were burdened withunprecedented water crisis.

This prompted the PrimeMinister Narendra Modi tospeak on water conservation inhis radio talk “Man Ki Baat”.Most youngsters of 21st cen-tury will find it astonishing thatin a prayer meeting in NewDelhi way back in 1947, theMahatma had advised for rainwater harvesting. It was longbefore anyone could thinkabout it.

To address the issue ofacute water shortage in PrincelyStates of Kathiwar region,Gandhiji had advised all rulersof the area to form a confed-eration and take long-termmeasures for planting of treeson vast stretches which couldrecharge ground water thatmost of the water resourceexperts today advise for.

Gandhiji described the civili-sation driven by endless mul-tiplication of wants as satanic.He had defined civilisation interms of performances of dutiesin adherence of morality andexercise of restrains.

Though his ‘Hind Swaraj’article did not refer to nature orenvironment, it exposed thepredatory instincts of moderncivilisation. Prophetically, itstated that modern urbanindustrial civilisation encom-passed the seeds of its owndestruction.

He wrote in 1938 that,“the incessant search for mate-rial comfort and their multi-plication is such, an evil and Imake bold to say that theEuropeans themselves will haveto remodel their outlook, ifthey are not to perish under theweight of the comforts to whichthey are becoming slaves.”

What he stated in theEuropean context has becomea reality for the whole mankindto-day. The unprecedentedCorona pandemic is also one ofthe outcomes of the hedonistic

mould of lifestyle. According toMahatma, mother earth hasenough to fulfil needs of all butnot anybody’s greed. The 21stcentury is reaping adverse con-sequences of industrialisationjuggernaut that was set tomotion by western countriesafter industrial revolution.

Gandhiji had perhapsrightly warned, “God forbidthat India should ever take toindustrialisation, after the man-ners of the west. The econom-ic imperialism of a single tinyisland kingdom is today keep-ing the world in chains. If anentire nation of 300 millionstook to similar economicexploitation, it would strip theworld bare like locusts.”

Air pollution is causinghavoc in all parts of the world.It has become egregious inIndia. UN’s call for ‘WorldEnvironment Day’ last yearwas to beat air pollution. It maysound unbelievable, yet in 1913Gandhiji had raised the alarmon the same. In one of his writ-ings “Key to Health” he hadstated that, the structure of

body needed three kinds ofnourishment: air, water andfood. He further stressed that,one of the three, air constitut-ed the most essential aspect.He observed further that,“Nature has provided it to suchan extent that we can have it atno cost”. He, therefore, statedwith anguish that: “..... moderncivilisation has put a priceeven on air”.

He was surely prophetic, asour present generation has tospend much to travel to far offplaces in search of pure air.Fresh oxygenated air is beingsold in cans as a marketablecommodity. In 21st century, itis hard to get respiratory respiteas air pollution has blanketedevery nook and corner.

In ‘Indian opinion’ datedMarch 5 1906, Gandhiji aptlyremarked that , “A man can dowithout food for several daysand live a day altogether with-out water but it is impossible tocarry on without air even for aminute. If a thing that is so veryvital to life is not pure, the resultcannot but be deleterious”.

The actual concern for abalanced environment took anew turn in 1960s convertingthe same in to a mass move-ment. As a result, several envi-ronmentalists and activists ofenvironmental protectionturned Gandhiji’s life andwords into inspiration for theyouths. Gandhiji was a natur-al environmentalist.

His exemplary simple per-sonal life is a matter of study forenvironmentalists till now. Hehad presciently stated that, ifIndia followed western modelof development, she wouldrequire more than one planetto achieve the prosperities theyhad attained.

Noted EnvironmentalPhilosopher Prof Arne Naess,the founding father of DeepEcology and Ms Patra Kelly,one of the founders of GreenParty of Germany that pursuespolicies consistent with natureand ecology, have alsoacknowledged Gandhiji as theirsource of inspiration.

Several environmentalistsof India including Sundarlal

Bahuguna, Baba Amte andMedha Patekar have tried totread the track laid by Gandhiji.Time Magazine in its 29thApril issue of 2007 published 51Global Warming Guides. The51st Guide earnestly suggests‘sharing more and consumingless’ for a simplified life in con-sonance with Gandhianthoughts which still holds goodfor the contemporary society.The western psyche and culturehas prompted humans to aspireto rule over and exploit nature.Humans of western world pre-ferred to use nature as a com-modity.

In contrast, culture andsociety of ancient Indiaremained integrated withnature. Indian scriptures alwaysexhorted to be one with nature.Gandhiji had firm faith in thefirst sloka of the ‘Ishopanishad’that speaks of omnipresence ofGod and insists everyone not toaccumulate or steal.

Since ages, Indian philos-ophy has laid emphasis onsimple living. Unbridled con-sumption-oriented modern life

style is the root cause of greedand multiplied desires for com-fort and luxury to a dispro-portionate extent.

It has resulted depletion ofearth’s resources at an acceler-ating pace with much highercarbon footprint aggravatingglobal warming. Ironically,India after independence didnot follow Gandhiji in a mag-nitude it ought to.

To-day the mankind is fac-ing the danger of annihilationwhich is loudly and clearly fore-boded by Corona pandemiccoupled with alarming gallop ofglobal warming. It is, therefore,important to rediscoverGandhiji’s vision and ideas toput them into practice.

(The writer is a physicistand lover of environment. He ischairperson of AryabhattaFoundation, Brahmapur. He isa winner of Prakruti Mitraaward, Green AmbassadorAward and Kalinga GouravA w a r d [email protected];Mob:.9437498885)

+����������!���� �� �� ��� ��"���$� ��,��

��&�� -$�-�"�&8�+

With an objective to bringmore and more fish

farmers to scientific aquacul-ture and promoting ornamen-tal fish farming, the IndianCouncil for AgriculturalResources (ICAR)-promotedBhubaneswar-based CentralInstitute of FreshwaterAquaculture (CIFA) has start-ed an Ornamental Fish FarmerField School at the fish farm ofBhagirath Roy of Prabhuparavillage under Sadar block inJaipaiguri, West Bengal.

Inaugurating the schoolremotely, Joint Secretary,Ministry of Fisheries,Government of India SagarMehera appreciated the effortsin helping farmers of remoteNorth Bengal for adopting sci-entific aqua farming system.

ICAR-CIFA DirectorDr.Saroj Kumar Swain urgedthe farmers and farm womento take up ornamental fishfarming and assured themtechnical support from theICAR-CIFA. Swain said theAFFs piloted by the institute in

Odisha, West Bengal andChhattisgarh have beenextremely popular. This uniquefield school meant for farmer-farmer learning and dissemi-nation of ornamental fish cul-ture techniques is a first of itskind initiative in India beingestablished by a group of ICAR-CIFA scientists Dr BN Paul, DrSS Giri, Dr S Adhikari, Dr RNMandal, Dr HK De and Dr SKSwain.

The school envisagesempowering over 500 orna-mental fish farmers in 20 near-by villages of North Bengalcontributing greatly to exten-sion and advisory servicesdelivery. The ICAR-CIFADirector felicitated BhagirathRoy, the operator farmer, beingthe role model for the orna-mental fish farming commu-nity in North Bengal.

To mark the inaugurationof field school, a daylong train-ing programme on ornamentalfish farming was organised forfarmers, Government officialsand other stakeholders. Thetraining was attended by 120farmers and farm women.

�"#3��������������������� ��������� ��4����&�����

��&�� '�0�$�+

The 54th Power House Day(Foundation Day) of NTPC

Talcher Thermal Power Station(TTPS) was celebrated onSunday. Group GeneralManager (TTPS) DevendraNath Tiwari hoisted the NTPCflag on the occasion.

Addressing the gathering,Tiwari said the TTPS com-pleted 53 years since its com-missioning and recently com-pleted its 25th years of opera-tion at NTPC.

In terms of rankings, dur-ing April 2020-January 2021,the station secured 5th positionamong all NTPC thermalpower plants, Tiwari added. Hestated the NTPC TalcherThermal has generated 2,964MU power with 87.76% PLFduring April 2020-January2021 period. The station alsoreceived the 4th level NSCISafety Award Prasansa Patra by

National Safety Council,Mumbai and the Kalinga GoldSafety Award by IQEMSBhubaneswar, he told.

“The NTPC TalcherThermal in continuation tofurther stop the spread of coro-navirus joins the nationwideimmunization campaign, saidTiwari, adding that recently thefirst dose of the vaccination wasgiven to the frontline warriorsat TTPS. For periphery com-munity development, thepower station has been under-taking various CSR initiatives.

In this regard, 10Government middle schoolswere identified for the imple-mentation of RashtriyaAvishkar Abhiyan (RAA) activ-ities with the objective toimprove qualitative learningin the classrooms. Also, underthe policy of CSR, donations ofreusable clothes were encour-aged for distribution to theneedy people, he told.

--����,� ���. ��#�� �'-��� ���

��& � -$�-�"�&8�+

The Utkal Chamber ofCommerce and Industry

(UCCI) has requested theUnion Government toannounce a stimulus packagefor MSME sector to help itcome out of the pandemicshock. UCCI president BrahmaMishra submitting a memo-randum to Union Minister ofState for MSME, PratapSarangi, said due to the Covid19 pandemic, which has affect-ed all facets of trade and com-merce, it is imperative thatMSME deserves special con-siderations and fiscal stimulus.

The budget allocation hasincreased from Rs 7,552 croreto almost Rs 15,700 crore.However, what is lamented isthe poor implementations byfinancial institutions in carry-ing out the guidelines and

there by defeating the basicobjective of protecting MSMEs,he said. The UCCI team led byMishra suggested to theMinister to consider extendingthe moratorium till March 31,2022, restoring rating of unitsas pre Covid rankings, restruc-turing of NPAs if any duringCovid pandemic, simplifica-tions of credit sanctions toMSME including ECLGS, fac-toring services for MSME toimprove cash flow and interestsubvention.

The 6.4 million MSMEs inIndia generate employment of11 crore of people.Contributing to almost 45 percent of GDP and 44 percent ofexports. They have a signifi-cant and decisive role in eco-nomic growth and revival ofthe economy, Mishra said. TheUnion Minister on Mondayvisited the headquarters ofUCCI in the city and interact-ed with the newly elected officebearers.

������ ����� ��������������!�

��&�� -�0�"79+

In an instance that has raisedserious questions over the

safety of jail inmates in theState, an under-trial prisoner(UTP) allegedly cheated awoman inmate after develop-ing physical intimacy with herat the Titilagarh Sub-Jail inBalangir district.

As per a police complaintlodged by the victim, who wasimprisoned in connection witha domestic violence case andlater released on bail about 45days ago, accused TirthankarPatel alias Papu had managedto come to the women’s cell ofthe jail with the help of somestaffs of the prison. Papu, anaccused in a GST fraud case,had established physical rela-tion with the woman on thepromise of marrying her, shehas mentioned in the FIR,adding that two staffs of the jailand a person working at theADJ Court were aware aboutthe matter. The complainantfurther alleged that she wastalking to Papu over mobilephone after her release fromthe jail and has the call record-ings in her possession.

The woman was also vis-iting him in the jail at regularintervals. However, the accusedsuddenly started avoiding thewoman contrary to his promiseof marrying her.

+ �,��� ���

�"#������������������ ����������$%-������������+.������ ���� ���������!�"

��&�� -$�-�"�&8�+

Chief Minister NaveenPatnaik on Monday con-

doled the demises of eminentcine journalist and writerRanadhir Das, who passedaway at his residence atDagarpada in Cuttack onSunday.

Patnaik said that besidesbooks like ‘Lohita Sandhya’and ‘Galpa Aji O’ Kali’, Das’contribution to the film indus-try would always be remem-bered. The 82-year-old writerwas suffering from prolongedillness and undergoing treat-ment at his residence.Condolences poured in fromdifferent quarters soon after hisdemise. Born on September 23,1938, Ranadhir was a studentof the Ravenshaw CollegiateSchool and had done his high-er studies in the RavenshawCollege before pursuing civilengineering in Madras (nowknown as Chennai).

During his later days, hehad opened a school to providetraining on acting to youths. Hewas the editor of Odia maga-zine “Jibana Ranag’ for around45 years.

�����&����� ���'��������(��������������/�����������

��& � /�,�"7:���+�)9�

The 9th death anniversary ofthe late Bibhuti Bhushan

Patnaik, a well-known students-loving teacher, senior farmerand teacher leader of THEKujang-Paradip area was heldon Sunday with hosts of activ-ities. An Asta PrahariNamayajna had started at hishouse in village Balrampurfrom Saturday. Fruits andclothes were distributed topatients under treatment atKujang and Paradip

Government Hospitals onSunday morning. Shraddha rit-uals, Gita recitation, NamaSankirtana and Prasad Sevanwere held at his house, where amemorial meeting was alsoheld in afternoon in his mem-ory under aegis of BibhutiBhushan Pattnaik SmrutiSansad. The meeting was

chaired by BBPSS presidentSaroj Kumar Patnaik,Jagatsinghpur MLA PrashantKumar Muduli attended as chiefguest and Paradip MLA SambitRoutray as guest of honour,Former MP Dr Kulmani Samal,President awardee HeadmasterManoranjan Das, SeniorCitizens’ Forum presidentBaburam Chowdhury, educa-tionalist Prabhakar Bhatta,journalist Chitta Swain,Hrushikesh Nath, RabindraSamal, Ramesh ChandraMuduli and Abhiram Samal

�0�������� ��������- ��� ������ %��&�� -�0�&8�+

The Industrial Area police onMonday, with help of district

Cyber Cell, arrested five cyber-criminals, who were involved ina number of ATM fraud cases inBaleswar district. All accused arenatives of UP, who had come toOdisha to loot cash through ille-gal transactions at ATMkiosks.Reports said these cyber-criminals used a method calledtransaction reversal fraud (TRF)or reversal cash trapping, tosteal cash from ATMs in district.

������� -$�-�"�&8�+

Odisha girls shone in the36th National Junior

Athletics Championships 2021currently underway in Guwahti.Odisha track and field athletesSabita Toppo and Manisha Merelbrought laurels for the Stateunder 16 and Under 20 longjumps category. While SabitaToppo, clinched gold in the U-16 long jumps (5.59m), ManishaMerel bagged silver in U-20long jump (5.63m).‘Both athletes

are very promising and they havea wonderful sporting future”,said an Expertin field.TheChampionships for under 14, 16,18 and under-20 boys and girlskick started on Saturday will con-clude on February 10.

��& � -+�$����+

Ameeting of the Sahar TaliAnchala Kriyanustan

Committee was held at Guruntipanchayat on the outskirts of thecity on Sunday. In the meeting,Dr Siba Prasad Mishra wasunanimously chosen as the gen-eral secretary of the committee.The members decided that thedemand for merger of suburbanareas into the BerhampurMunicipal Corporation (BeMC)fold would be expedited.Discussion were also held on

how to intensify the agitation ifthe talks with the BrahmapurMP and MLA on February 15fail. Committee vice-presidentProfessor Ranganath Mishrasaid lack of political will and thestep-motherly attitude of theState Government is the rootcause of lack of basic amenitiesand dilapidated infrastructure ofthe peripheral areas of the city.

���) ��*�������+�� ���$����������������5� ����� ������������� ������ ���������

+ �,��������

��#� #�� ��/�,� �� �� ��(�0����,����

��&�� ��+9

Arelief distribution pro-gramme was organised by

the Red Cross at Brahmapadavillage under Brahmagiri area ofPuri district. Hygiene kit, masksand soaps were distributed to theneedy villagers to fight againstCovid-19. Laxman Swain(JRCO) gave a demonstrationon proper hand washing toavoid getting sick and spreadinggerms.

Dr Ajay Kumar Tripathy(YRCO) coordinated the pro-gramme. JRCO Puri districtBidyadhar Mishra, YRC coun-sellor BJB Degree College,Gadaradanga Puri ItishreeSundara, YRC Counsellor

Hariswaradev Vocational ScienceHigher Secondary SchoolPanasapada College JRCCounsellor Laxmidhar Jena, JRCCounsellor Puri Zilla SchioolArun Kumar Bhattacharyaamong others were present.District Education Officer PuriNiranjan Sahoo and DistrictSecretary Mahendra KumarPradhan thanked honorary sec-retary Indian Red Cross SocietyOdisha State Branch for provingsupport to the needy villagers.

.�������������������������� �����

�'�������C�K����� �������� ��-(���

��& � -$�-�"�&8�+

Union MSME MinisterPratap Sarangi on Sunday

asserted that the Budget pro-posals for 2021-22 as present-ed in the Parliament byFinance Minister NirmalaSitharaman is a reiteration ofthe determination of theNarendra Modi Governmentfrom the ruins of coronavirusscare across the globe.

Addressing a Press con-ference here, Sarangi said theBudget is also a reflection ofthe aspirations of 130 crorepeople in the country as it isbased on six pillars to reviveeconomy that suffered a severejolt due to the pandemic thatgripped the entire globe.Those pillars were health andwelfare, investment and infra-structure, inclusive develop-

ment, appropriate utilisation ofhuman resource development,research & development andmaximum governance, he said.“It is like a pitcher of nectar”,he remarked.

He said the Budget hasemphasised on development ofdairy, animal resource devel-opment, fishery, Covid vaccine,railways and highways amonga host of other developmentactivities. “A whooping Rs15,700 crore has been ear-

marked for the micro, smalland medium enterprises thatwill spur development,” heasserted.

Further, a provision of Rs2,23,846 crore has been madein the Budget for the healthcare sector which is notewor-thy, he said adding, “Covidvaccination will be done onevery person in the country forwhich the Government hasearmarked Rs 35,000 crore.” AtRs 2,23, 846 crore, the alloca-tion for health and welfare sec-tor is 137 per cent more overthe allocation in 2020-21financial year, he said.

Sarangi said theGovernment has made a pro-vision of Rs 1,10,055 crore forthe railways and Rs 3.3 lakhcrore for 13,000 km of newroads across the country.“Odisha has been allocated Rs

6,995.58 crore for develop-ment of railway infrastruc-ture,” he said. “The Budget pro-posals will instil faith in indi-viduals, investors, industryand infrastructure,” he said.Sarangi said the UnionGovernment would launch a‘Mission Poshan’ in the 112Aspirational Districts acrossthe country to improve nutri-tion through a coordinatedscheme.

Further, the Governmentintends to spend Rs 2,87,000crore in the Jal Jeevan Missionin 4378 urban areas to supplydrinking water to 2.86 crorefamilies. Five hundred AmritMission cities would be madefree of garbage and pollutiondue to construction and demo-lition activities would be con-trolled during the year, Sarangiasserted.

�� ���&��������� ����������� 6 )�7�6���� ������������������������#�������������

Page 4: %ˆˆ˚ ˙ )Bˆ+*˝)ˇ4, 7C5D &’ˇ!ˇ&!( *& +, ˜ˆ @ )˝0$9 0 /A8 -$A 0 ......2021/02/09  · about FDI but I see that a new FDI has come to the fore. We have to protect the nation

� �����1������ !"�#$%� !&�' $( �#��#' *�+)+,

���� ��� �&�& ��� ��"�8�)�0$9

Scientists have found the firstgeological evidence of an

earthquake at HimebastiVillage on the border of Assamand Arunachal Pradesh, docu-mented by historians as theSadiya earthquake in historyand recorded to have causedmassive destruction in theregion almost destroying thetown in 1697 CE.

This finding by the scien-tists from Wadia Institute ofHimalayan Geology (WIHG),a research institute under theDepartment of Science andTechnology (DST), could con-tribute to a seismic hazardmap of the eastern Himalaya,which can facilitate construc-tion and planning in the region.This work has been recentlypublished in the journal‘Scientific Report’.

Historical archives refer tooften recurring earthquakesalong the Eastern Himalaya forwhich geological evidence islacking, raising the question of

whether these events rupturedthe surface or remained blindand how they contribute to theseismic budget of the region,which is home to millions ofinhabitants.

Scientists Arjun Pandey, RJayangondaperumal, GyörgyHetényi, Rao Singh Priyanka,Ishwar Singh, PradeepSrivastava and Hari B Srivastavafrom the Dehradun based insti-tute carried out a mega trench

excavation at Himebasti vil-lage, Arunachal Pradesh, India,where the most recent eventrecords the imprints of the1697 Sadiya earthquake andanalysed it with modern geo-logical techniques.

They found the first geo-logical surface rupture signa-tures in the form of exposeddeposits associated with riversand streams deformed by athrust fault along a Northeast

dipping fault zone. In order toconstrain the causative faultingevent at this site, the team datedtwenty-one radiocarbon sam-ples from the trench exposure.

The scientists also foundlarge tree trunks embedded inthe youngest flood deposits atthe exit of the Subansiri River(Sadiya town is located rough-ly 145 km southeast ofSubansiri river), suggesting thepost-seismic aggradation ofthe river following an array ofaftershocks till six months in anabortive fashion.

The study of the earth-quake at Sadiya standing on agrassy plain, almost surround-ed by forested EasternHimalayas on the right bank ofLohit River, adds an importantsite to the seismic hazardassessment of the easternHimalaya, which will benefitthe inhabitants and help in pro-viding better infrastructureacross the Eastern Himalayanfoothills which is one of themost densely populated regionsin the world, said the study.

#��� �� ���$�����,��� �%���-�����

.������� ������ ������� (����0�����1#23!������.������

��&�� "�8�)�0$9

The CBI on Monday arrest-ed a junior engineer of

Military Engineer Service forallegedly demanding andaccepting a bribe of �32,000from the complainant.

A case was registeredagainst the JE, MES (ND),Visakhapatnam on the allega-tions that the complainant wasawarded a contract with certainworks worth �20,92,470 and hecompleted the said works, theCBI said in a statement.

It was further alleged thatthe complainant received �6lakh against the first bill andsubmitted remaining bills tothe office of AGE, B/R-II, MES,Visakhapatnam.

The complainant met theJunior Engineer to enquireabout pending bills, underwhose supervision, the com-plainant executed the work of�4 lakh. The JE allegedly

demanded �32,000 for certify-ing the bills and asked the com-plainant to pay the amount athis office, it said.

It was also alleged that theaccused told the complainantthat if he failed to pay theamount, his remaining billamount would be stopped bysending adverse observations.CBI laid a trap and caught theaccused red handed whiledemanding and accepting abribe of �32,000 from the com-plainant, it said.

Searches were conducted atthe office and residentialpremises of accused atVisakhapatnam and Kovilpatty(Tamil Nadu) which led torecovery of incriminating doc-

uments.The arrested accusedSankar Narayana was producedbefore the Competent Court atVisakhapatnam and remandedto judicial custody for 14 days

The agency on Monday fileda chargesheet against seven

accused including thenCommandant, BSF, SatishKumar and private personsMd. Enamul Haque, AnarulSeikh, Md. Golam Mustafa,Taniya Sanyal, Badal KrishnaSanyal and Rashida Bibi beforethe Special Court, Asansol(West Bengal) in a case relat-ed to alleged illegal cross-bor-der trade of cattle.

���������� ������ ���=����� �����������������������������

�&"������� )6�,�� ����� ��������������������� ��������� ���� ��� New Delhi:An estimated 6-10

million people in India live withactive epilepsy (Seizure) but alarge magnitude of treatmentgap, ranging from about 22 percent in the urban middle classpopulation and more so in vil-lages, about 90 per cent hauntsthe patients.

“This is because of a stringof reasons such as inadequateaccess to or awareness of anti-epilepsy medications, poverty,stigma/ cultural beliefs associat-ed with epilepsy, insufficienthealth infrastructure, shortage ofprofessionals trained in epilep-tology, inequitable distributionsof available resources in ruralareas and high cost of treatment,”experts pointed out on the occa-sion of the World Epilepsy Daybeing marked on every secondMonday of February.

Dr RK Dhamija, HOD ofthe Neurology at Delhi-basedpremier hospital Dr LadyHardinge Medical College saidthat, “Seizures can be controlled.An estimated 25% of epilepsycases are preventable.

Up to 70 per cent of people

living with the condition couldbecome seizure free with appro-priate use of antiseizure medi-cines. Low-cost treatment isavailable.”He called for urgent

strengthening of the healthcarein the rural areas which has high-er rates of epilepsy cases withhuge gap in treatment. “Epilepsycan result in significant injury as

well as death, if left untreated.Also, status epilepticus (SE) canbe a potentially lethal situation,”added Dr Dhamija.

Dr Nilesh Kurwale, EpilepsySurgeon, Coordinator for BajajAllianz Centre for Epilepsy,Deenanath MangeshkarHospital, Pune was of the opin-ion that if treatment with anti-epileptic medication fails to pro-vide adequate seizure relief, anindividual may be considered fora surgical work up. “There is alarge amount of data to suggest

that some epilepsy syndromesmay be especially amenable tohigh rates of seizure freedomthrough a surgical procedure;temporal lobe epilepsy, being themost common candidate,” hesaid, according to a report.

However, it is the stigmawhich is more fatal than theepilepsy itself. “The stigma of thedisease can discourage peoplefrom seeking treatment forsymptoms, so as to avoid becom-ing identified with the disease,”said the WHO. PNS

������������ ����������������������������

��&�� "�8�)�0$9�

The Left parties on Monday urged theCentre to stop the privatization of

Navratna PSU Visakhapatnam SteelPlant (RINL).

CPI general secretary D Raja said theprivate operators in the steel sector areeyeing on the 23,000 acres of the PSUsteel plant and urged the CabinetCommittee on Economic Affairs towithdraw the 100 percent disinvestmentdecision. CITU general secretary TapanSen welcomed the state wide protestagainst the Centre’s decision to sell offRINL.

“Over 50 years ago, 23,000 acres offarm land were acquired to set up thesteel plant. Farmers were not paid theirmoney properly. Now the land is worthlakhs of crores of rupees. If the presentmove is allowed, a private company willtake over the steel plant and grab theland. The Government has made noeffort to explore all possibilities to runthe steel plant. No iron-ore mine hasbeen allotted to the Visakhapatnam

Steel Plant. All private steel plants getiron-ore mines. Lakhs of people aredirectly and indirectly working for thesteel plant. Even the state governmentheaded by Jagan Mohan Reddy, point-ing out that the plant stands as a testi-mony to the will of the Telugu people hasasked the Union government to recon-sider its decision,” said Raja.

“Centre of Indian Trade Unions(CITU) congratulates the workers andpeople for their collective initiative toresist the disastrous move of theGovernment to privatise VisakhapatnamSteel Plant, RINL through strategic sale.CITU extends solidarity to such unitedstruggle of the people and workers toresist the nefarious move to hand overRINL to private hands and calls upon theworking people in general to express sol-idarity to the ongoing struggle atVisakhapatnam. Everywhere privatiza-tion move must be resisted and must notbe allowed to materialize through peo-ples’ collective action and interventionin order to defend the nation and thenational economy,” said Sen.

����������������������������������������������������

��&�� "�8�)�0$9

The India-US joint militaryexercise ‘Yudh Abhyas 20’

commenced on Monday inMahajan Field Firing Range ofBikaner district in Rajasthan.This is the 16th edition ofannual bilateral joint exercise ofboth the armies and will con-tinue till the 21st of this month.The previous version of thejoint exercise was held at Seattlein the United States.

Brigadier MukeshBhanwala, Commander of the170 Infantry Brigade of theIndian Army, welcomed the UScontingent at the firing rangeand impressed upon both thearmies to achieve optimumcohesion and interoperabilityduring the exercise.

He laid stress on theimportance of free exchange ofideas, concepts and best prac-tices between the troops andthe necessity to learn from

each other’s operational expe-riences, defence spokespersonLt Col Amitabh Sharma said.

“The exercise will enrichboth the contingents from eachother’s rich experience in

counter-insurgency operations.Besides counter-insurgencyoperations, exchange of expe-riences in humanitarian assis-tance and disaster relief willalso be a part of the exercise,”the spokesperson said in a

statement.The official said a number

of aerial platforms, includingthe newly inducted indigenousAdvance Light Helicopter WSI‘RUDRA’, MI-17, Chinooks,Stryker Vehicles of the USArmy and BMP-II MechanisedInfantry Combat Vehicles ofthe Indian Army, will beutilised in the exercise, whichwill go on till February 21.

The drill comes days afterthe air forces of India andFrance held a five-day jointexercise in Rajasthan inJanuary.

About 250 soldiers fromeach side are participating inthe exercise. The two armieswill share their war-relatedtechniques, skills and experi-ence with each other duringthis exercise. The exercise isone of the largest militarytraining and defense coopera-tion efforts between India andthe United States.

"�� �*�6�,� ���� � �����-�� ������ ����&��"�8�)�0$9

Drones may soon bringcricket even closer to the

fans, with the DirectorateGeneral of Civil Aviation(DGCA) allowing the Board ofControl for Cricket in India(BCCI) to use the live aerialcinematography to cover crick-et matches in 2021.

The Ministry of CivilAviation (MoCA) had receivedrequests from BCCI and M/sQuidich pertaining to grantingof request and other corre-spondences regarding permis-sion to use Remotely PilotedAircraft Systems (RPAS) forlive aerial filming.

It is yet unclear how earlydrones will be used in cricketmatches, or if they will beused for the next matches in theongoing India-England series.

Aerial cameras, hangingby a cable, known as

Spidercam, Skycam have beencommon in cricket matchesnow. Drones, too, have beenused before, in the 2017Champions Trophy. But thiswas limited to analysing thepitch before the start of thematch.

“The Ministry of CivilAviation (MoCA) andDirectorate General of CivilAviation (DGCA) have grant-ed a conditional exemption tothe Board of Control forCricket in India (BCCI) for thedeployment of drones for liveaerial cinematography of theIndia Cricket Season in 2021,”the Ministry said on Monday.The exemption is valid tillDecember 31, 2021.

According to the MOCA,

the BCCI has to obtain neces-sary clearances from (a) LocalAdministration (b) Ministry ofDefence (c) Ministry of HomeAffairs (d) Air DefenceClearance from Indian AirForce and (e) Airport Authorityof India (AAI) [as applicable]prior to operation of RemotelyPiloted Aircraft System (RPAS).

Moreover, M/s Quidichengaged by BCCI as RPASoperator shall only operate theRPAS models specified in theapproved standard operatingprocedures (SOP) dated 8thJanuary 2021. The operationsof the RPAS having valid DroneAcknowledgement Number(DAN) [specified in the SOP]shall be operated as per theabove-mentioned SOP in thearea specified therein.

Any change in theapproved SOP for e.g. changein procedures or RPAS or usecase or personnel or area spec-ified in the approved SOP shall

be included in the SOP andsubmitted to DGCA forapproval.

Also, the BCCI has to takenecessary permission regardingaerial photography fromDirectorate of Regulations andInformation, DGCA orMinistry of Defence (as applic-able).

"The drone ecosystem isevolving rapidly in our coun-try. Its utilization is expandingfrom agriculture, mining,healthcare and disaster man-agement to sports and enter-tainment. The granting of thispermission is in line with theobjectives of the Governmentof India to promote the com-mercial use of drones in thecountry," said Amber Dubey,Joint Secretary, Ministry ofCivil Aviation said.

"The Drone Rules 2021 arein the final stages of discussionwith the law ministry. We arehoping to receive the approvalsby March 2021," he added.

�� �"��,�����"� �!� �, ��������

������������8����9�� ���� �� ����������������� �����������������������4���) ������������ ������ ! ���������

� ��'�'���� ����� "�8�)�0$9

After a week-long derailmentby the Opposition, as the

Lok Sabha on Monday resumednormal functioning following anappeal by Defence MinisterRajnath Singh, Congress leaderAdhir Ranjan Chowdhurylaunched a scathing attack on theModi-Government, demandingto know who "leaked" informa-tion on the Balakot-air-strike for"election benefit" and describedit as a case of "treason", He soughtthe Government to constitute aJPC on the "TRP scam" andwanted government to provideinformation on the allegedChinese occupation of "1000 Sqkm of land" on the Line ofControl (LAC) along Ladakh.

Earlier, Singh said that it wasa duty of every member tomaintain the tradition of passingthe Motion of Thanks toPresident's address. He also saidthat Rajya Sabha has alreadypassed the Motion of Thanksafter Prime Minister Narendra

Modi's reply and "I appeal tomembers not to break this tra-dition in the Lok Sabha".

While Speaker Om Birlaalso appealed to the members toallow the House to function andnot indulge in sloganeering,Chowdhury too said that thistradition has been continuingsince 1921 and should not bebroken. "Our demand was to dis-cuss the issue of farmers whohave been sitting in the cold onthe borders of Delhi in protestagainst farm laws. It is regrettablethat they are being stopped fromentering the capital by sharp nailsand barbed wires," he said refer-ring to the reinforced barricad-ing at the farmers' protest sites.

In the backdrop of farmers’agitation, Chowdhury allegedthat government has created a"narrative" first again Muslimsand now vis-a-vis farmers that"they are enemies of the country".

"Why can't prime Ministertalk with farmers? Why is thisarrogance ?," he asked.

He accused that hoisting of

flag in the Red Fort was not car-ried out by farmers but "planned"by the government. "Truth is thatyou wanted this to happen..it isa well-thought out conspiracy ofyours..you reached them there",said Chowdhury and demand-ed a Joint ParliamentaryCommittee (JPC) on it .

The opposition MP criti-cised the government for strik-ing at 18-year-old environmen-tal activist Greta Thunberg forsupporting 'kisan movement'when PM himself had, he said,extended support in the USA bysaying " ab ki baar TrumpSarkar".

Initiating discussion fromhis party on the Vote of thankson the President''s address, theCongress leader said merelyquoting great people likeRabindranath Tagore, SwamiVivekanand or Netaji SubhashChandra Bose does not amountto following their ideas.

He said Prime Ministertalked about great people buttheir ideas need to be imple-

mented too.For the BJP, its MP Locket

Chatterjee initiated the debateaccusing West Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee andher party TMC of "politicising"and "insulting Ram-Sita".

She charged the state gov-ernment with blocking centralschemes and pursuing "appease-ment polices". Opening theDiscussion on the Vote of thankson the President''s address for theBJP, the MP from Hoogly wentall out in accusing TMC leadersof "pocketing money" meant forthe common public.

She said central schemes forfarmers' are blocked by the TMCgovernment.Chatterjee said:“2021 is a historic year whenIndia enters the 75th year of itsindependence and I pay homageto those who lost their lives forour freedom.The Modi govern-ment has taken many big deci-sions for the betterment of thecountry like GST and handlingthe coronavirus pandemic prop-erly.”

��&�� "�8�)�0$9

India has become the fastestcountry to vaccinate 6 million

beneficiaries against Covid-19countrywide, said the UnionHealth Ministry as it termed it asa feat achieved in just 24 days. Incontrast, it said that the USAtook 26 days to reach this markwhereas the UK achieved this in46 days. The nationwide Covidvaccination program waslaunched by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on January 16while vaccination of the frontlineworkers commenced from February 2.

At least 60,35,660 benefi-ciaries were vaccinated through1,24,744 sessions, as per theprovisional report till 6 pm onMonday.These include 54,12,270HCWs and 6,23,390 FLWs. TheMinistry said that 35 States/UTsconducted the Covid vaccina-tions on Monday with elevenStates/UT vaccinating more than65 per cent of the registeredHCWs.

At least 11 States/UTs havereported less than 40% coverageof vaccinating HCWs. Theseare- Delhi, J&K, Ladakh, Punjab,D&NH, Chandigarh, TamilNadu, Meghalaya, Nagaland,Manipur, and Puducherry while10 States account for 75.12 percent of the total beneficiaries vac-cinated on Monday.

Total 29 persons have beenhospitalized so far. This com-prises 0.0005% of the total vac-cinations.

“Of the 29 cases of hospital-ization, 19 were discharged aftertreatment, while nine personsdied. In the last 24 hours, oneperson who is suffering from B/LFacial Palsy has been hospitalizedat Kerala Institute of MedicalSciences, Thiruvananathpuram,Kerala and is stable.

“Total 23 deaths have beenrecorded till date. These com-prise 0.0004% of the total vacci-nations. Of the 23, nine personsdied in the hospital while 14deaths are recorded outside thehospital”.

9�� ���������������������� �����3� �� ��� ��5J���C��� ���$������ � ���

�� ����� ���0����� �4�5����� �,�������������������������������6���� �).�����

��&�� "�8�)�0$9

The induction ceremony of thefirst five Rafale fighter jets into

the IAF at the Ambala airbase inSeptember last year cost the exche-quer �41.32 lakhs, the Governmentinformed the Rajya Sabha onMonday.

Elaborating upon the expensesincurred, Defence Minister RajnathSingh said the armed forces have atradition for such inductions andsuch ceremonies were also heldwhile inducting the Apace andChinook helicopters.

Moreover, this money was spentas India and France held bilateraldelegation level meetings duringthe ceremony, Rajnath said in thehouse. The talks were held betweenthe French and India defence min-isters, Rajnath said.

“All new aircraft types in IAF aretraditionally inducted through abefitting ceremony... The arrange-ments for this event were mademostly through local resources ofIAF,” the Defence Ministry said in a

written reply in the Rajya Sabha.The first five Rafale jets of IAF

were formally inducted into serviceon September 10 last year.

India has contracted 36 Rafalejets in fly away condition under a�7.87 bn Inter GovernmentalAgreement with France in 2016.

The entire lot of 36 will beinducted by next year, Rajnathinformed the House.

F����� ���� ���� ��� ����������0��!���%�� ������� �� ��������(Pakistan has always resorted to an increase in ceasefire violations after

major terrorist attacks like the one in Pathankot and Uri in the last fewyears, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said here on Monday. However, theIndian security forces were giving a befitting reply he said.

Making these points in the Rajya Sabha while responding to questionson spike in ceasefire violations, he said 5,133 incidents took place last yearin which 46 security men were killed. Replying to leader of opposition GhulamNabi Azad’s question that such violations were more during the NDA regimeas compared to the UPA stint, Singh said the number of violations hadincreased from 2011 onwards.

��)4)% -�� ���� ������� ��������������� �����������1�#�#���������������������� ����� ��� ��!������ ����� ��2:������� �������� �� � ���������� ������ � ��� ����� �������� � ����� �� ��:����������� �.���:���%���������� ������� ����������������������� �:���� ����� ����������� ������� �� �� � !������� � ����������� ����� :����� ������� ������ �:��� ���� ���

��4G41B�21% ������� ������� �.��� ���� ��������� ������������������������� �� ���� ����:���*�������� ����������:�������������������� ����������������������� ������������������� � ����������������������������� ���� 6���:�������� ������� �������� ������ �����%�� �������������� ���������� %������������� ��:���� ������������������������ ������������:������������������ � ����� ��

�����L�������� ��

)A����"'�)��&�'$��&�)9�����+'$M��/�9"�$9&'A+���")�+��A+)�)�'A�$�B�����&�)��&&9B��)�&'+��'9A"�9"�43I=���

Page 5: %ˆˆ˚ ˙ )Bˆ+*˝)ˇ4, 7C5D &’ˇ!ˇ&!( *& +, ˜ˆ @ )˝0$9 0 /A8 -$A 0 ......2021/02/09  · about FDI but I see that a new FDI has come to the fore. We have to protect the nation

� �����.������ !"�#$%� !&�' $( �#��#' *�+)+,

Lucknow/Ghazipur/Azamgarh(UP): Uttar Pradesh ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath onMonday said the construction ofthe six-lane PurvanchalExpressway will be completed byMarch and it will be inaugurat-ed by Prime Minister NarendraModi in April.

Adityanath was on a visit toGhazipur and Azamgarh toinspect the construction work ofthe expressway. “Once thePurvanchal Expressway is com-plete, people from Ghazipurcan reach Lucknow in threehours and Delhi in 10 hours,”Adityanath said at a programmein Ghazipur.

“The mafia had obstructedthe pace of development inUttar Pradesh (in the past) andnow, the government is seizingtheir illegal properties,” headded.

The campaign initiated

against the mafia will continueand they will not be allowed tostay in Uttar Pradesh, the chiefminister said. He also appealedto the people''s representatives totake the welfare programmes ofthe government to the public.

At Azamgarh, Adityanathsaid, “The construction work ofthe expressway is moving at afast pace. By March, the express-way will be completed andPrime Minister Narendra Modiwill inaugurate it in April.”

He said the expressway willbe built in three years despiteCOVID-19, adding, “Thismodel of development hasbecome a centre of attraction forthe country and the world.”

“Azamgarh had a bad repu-tation till four years ago. Peoplefrom here found it difficult to getrented accommodation in othercities, but the situation haschanged in four years and

Azamgarh is now becoming amodel of development,”Adityanath said.

Speaking at Lucknow later,the chief minister rued thatearlier, even small projects thatwere supposed to be completedin a year took 10 to 12 years tocomplete.

“When the BJP govern-ment came to power in 2017, theBaan Sagar irrigation project wascompleted and dedicated to thenation. This project was plannedin 1973 by the PlanningCommission and the foundationwas laid in 1978 by the thenprime minister Morarji Desai,but it kept lying for almost 40years,” he said, adding that sev-eral schemes were announcedbut the works could not be car-ried out in a time-bound man-ner and the estimates wererevised with the government notgiving funds. PTI

#�����$�� ��.�%�����$��� �����%����$�/�0���7��������� ������������� �*����

Jammu: A Pakistani intruder, believedto be a local guide of Pakistan based ter-ror outfit, was gunned down by the alertjawans of the Border Security Forcewhile he was 'aggressively' attemptingto breach the barbed border fencenear BoP (border outpost) ChakFaquira in the Samba sector on Monday.

According to official sources, thesuspicious movement of the intruderwas spotted by the BSF jawans around2.30 a.m and a tight vigil was main-tained to prevent any infiltration bid.After a seven hour long wait, theintruder emerged from the hiding and

started approaching the barbed wirefence very aggressively. The BSF sen-tires present in the border outpost

warned him and also fired warningshots.Instead of retreating the intrud-er approached the barbed wire fencevery 'aggressively' in a bid to breach thesame.

Briefing media persons about theincident, IG BSF Jammu Frontier, N SJamwal told reporters at the border out-post, “at around 9:45 am, alert BSFtroops saw Pakistani Intruder headingtowards border fence near border out-post (BOP) 64 along the internationalborder in Chak Faquira area”.

“Despite repeated warnings, theintruder kept moving under suspi-cious circumstances and approached the

border fence in an aggressive manner.That was the time when BSF personnelopened fire, killing him on the spot,” IGBSF, Jammu frontier said.

Earlier on November 23, 2020another intruder was shot dead by theBSF in the same border belt. Officialsources claimed, the Pak intruder mayhave been acting as a guide and was senton a recce mission ahead of pushing agroup of armed infiltrators inside theIndian territory to launch a terrorstrike.

BSF had also detected a cross bor-der tunnel in the same area in themonth of August 2020. PNS

�!������ ����������"��#�������

���� �����������6������ ��!�����,�� �� ������ ����� !�"

'����� ����������$�""�9

As she was welcomed bythousands of party workers

who had thronged theBangalore-Chennai highwaysince morning, V K Sasikala, theformer aide to late J Jayalalithaa,gave enough hints to theAIADMK leadership that shewould not be cowed down byrestrictions and suppression.

“I’ll engage myself in activepolitics in days to come for partyworkers,” Sasikala told mediapersons in a brief interaction atThirupathur where she wasaccorded a rousing reception bythe cadres of AIADMK andAMMK.

She said she was not thetype who could be enslaved bythe powers that be. This was inresponse to the queries byreporters whether she will bevisiting the AIADMK headquarters and the JayalalithaaMemorial at Chennai’s MarinaBeach.

If the crowd which hadgathered to welcome her back toTamil Nadu is any indication,Chief Minister EdappadiPalaniswamy and his deputy OPanneerselvam may have torework their strategies tocounter “Chinnamma”, as she isaddressed even by party leaders.Sasikala (66) was released fromParappana Agrahara CentralJail on January 27 as she com-pleted the four year jail term inconnection with the dispro-portionate asset case.

“This could not be a mobi-lized crowd as it is difficult tobring this many people byorganisers. I am sure most of theparty cadres came to welcomeher on their own,” said a StateIntelligence Officer who wasmonitoring the journey ofSasikala from Bangalore.

Veteran scribe Sam Rajappasaid the turn out of the peopleto welcome Sasikala was his-

toric. “I don't think any politi-cal leaders, both State andNational, were accorded suchwelcome in Tamil Nadu's his-tory,” said Sam Rajappa.

Even as Sasikala set on herjourney to Chennai, what stoodout was the wordy duel betweenher nephew TTV Dhinakaranand D Jayakumar, minister offisheries in EdappadiPalaniswamy Government.

Jayakumar, who had playeda key role in easing out Sasikalaand her family members fromthe AIADMK in September2017, alleged on Sunday thatDhinakaran has taken all moneyowned by Sasikala. “Dhinakaranis afraid that Sasikala would askhim for accounts. Till the otherday he was claiming thatAIADMK was a closed chapter.He had insulted the party sym-bol of Two Leaves by claimingthat with the demise ofJayalalithaa, the party symboltoo has lost relevance,” saidJayakumar.

He said Dhinakaran madea vault face by declaring that theAmma Makkal MunnetraKazhakam was launched withthe intention of retrieving theAIADMK and the Two Leavessymbol. Whatever possibilitiesof patch-up between theAIADMK and the AMMK werethere look bleak as on Mondayas Sasikala accompanied byhundreds of cars was on her wayto the MGR Memorial atRamavaram in a Chennai sub-urb. She had called onRamavaram Gardens, MGR’spersonal residence, while on herway to the Bangalore Prison forsurrendering before the author-ities in 2017.

But what is of interest iswhether she would visitJayalalithaa Memorial at Marinabeach to pay her respects to herAmma (as Jayalalithaa wasaddressed by her) whom sheserved with devotion for morethan three decades.

���������������������������� ����)8������������

KOCHI: The fag end of thePinarayi Vijayan-led KeralaGovernment is witnessingunprecedented agitations byunemployed youth demandingjobs even as various groupshave started submitting mem-orandums to the Governorlisting how the State adminis-tration subverts rank lists pre-pared by Public ServiceCommission and appoints rel-atives of CPI(M) leaders.

Monday saw the ignominyof two youths, disappointedover the Government ignoringtheir plea to appoint themthough they figure the rank listprepared by the PSC, settingthemselves ablaze in front ofthe State Secretariat atThiruvananthapuram. Timelyintervention by Police andonlookers saved their lives.This is the first time in its his-tory an incident like this is hap-

pening in Kerala.Priju and Praveen were

among the youths who havebeen staging a sit-in in front ofthe State Secretariat sinceJanuary 26 demanding they beappointed in GovernmentService as they figure in therank list of last grade employ-ees prepared by the PSC. Butthe Kerala Government hasbeen busy appointing personswho do not figure in the list,demolishing the employmentdreams of these youths.

Meanwhile an organisa-tion by name Save UniversityCampaign Committee based atthe capital city submitted amemorandum to the Governorof Kerala, who is also theChancellor of all theUniversities in the State, listinginstances of impropriety inappointing assistant professorsto various universities.

The committee has given adetailed account of how thewife of M B Rajesh, former MPrepresenting the CPI(M), wasappointed in Sree SankaraSanskrit University allegedlyviolating all norms. “Politicalconsideration looms large allthrough the preparation of therank-list for the Asst. Professorappointment in theMalayalam dept so as toappoint first rank holderNinitha Kanicherry who wasonly a poor 212th rank hold-er in an earlier selectionprocess made by the KPSCfor appointment of Asst:Professors in the GovernmentColleges, overlooking highlyqualified candidates who gothigher position in the PSCrank list over the candidate,”reads the Memorandum, acopy of which is with ThePioneer. PNS

(������! ���������������� ��� ��$����,������� �����

6������� ���������������� �� ��������� ��� ��'�������� ����� �������� ����������� ������ !�"

Amaravati: Village and wardvolunteers, who have becomea vital cog in implementingdecentralised governance inAndhra Pradesh, have protest-ed at various places in the Stateon Monday, demanding a payhike.

A few hundred volunteersprotested in Vijayawadademanding a pay rise.

“We are only asking for ourrights. We are not able to runour families...please increaseour salaries. We are protestinghere peacefully. Even duringCoronavirus time, we did a lotof work,” said a woman volun-teer at Vijayawada.

She alleged that even asthey are protesting peacefully,the police are resorting to vio-lence. Another woman volun-teer said that the governmenttook them under the villagesecretariat system on August15, 2019 and Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy said vol-unteers are like his two eyes butnow things are different now.

“Now see the injustice hap-pening to volunteers. Who istaking care of us? See how thepolice are beating us andpulling our hair. When we aredoing so much work for thegovernment, is this how theybeat us?” she questioned.

They appealed to the gov-ernment to think about themat least now.

Likewise, another volun-teer questioned Reddy as tohow the volunteers could liveon a salary of Rs 5,000 andhighlighted the various expens-es such as rents and others.

The sudden protest seemsto be a fallout of the pay hikethe government gave recentlyto workers operating the newly

launched rice door deliveryvehicles.

“We go door to door anddo a lot of work but are paidonly Rs 5,000 while the justappointed rice door deliveryworkers are being paid Rs21,000. The government shouldalso think about us,” a ward vol-unteer told IANS from WestGodavari district.

He said that the peoplewho are entering data whichthe volunteers bring are beingpaid Rs 15,000 salary permonth and observed that theydo not go out in the sun butcomfortably sit under the fanand enter data.

He said that officials expectvolunteers to finish work in just10 minutes but are being paida pittance.

Currently the volunteersare on leave as they have beentaken off Panchayat electionduty by a diktat from the StateElection CommissionerNimmagadda Ramesh Kumar.They are expected to return towork on Wednesday.

Widely praised by severalpeople, including PrimeMinister Narendra Modi, whoappreciated Reddy and toldhim that the Central govern-ment was also thinking ofreplicating volunteer systemacross the country during avideo conference with chiefministers once.

In fact, senior officials fromKarnataka had also visitedneighbouring Anantapur dis-trict in AP to study the volun-teer system and praised itsmodel.

Each volunteer is entrust-ed with the responsibility ofcatering to the governanceneeds of 50 families. IANS

Shillong/Aizawl: In a bid tocontain spread of coronavirus,officials in Meghalaya said thatthe night curfew would remainin force in Shillong and otheradjoining areas under the EastKhasi Hills district for the nextseven days from Monday.

Besides Shillong, the nightcurfew is being extended inMizoram capital Aizawl.

East Khasi Hills' DistrictMagistrate Isawanda Lalooissued a notification extendingthe curfew in Shillong, whichis also the district headquarters,

until February 14.Health officials, security

personnel, officials and per-sonnel of essential servicesincluding media and the vehi-cles carrying essential goods areexcluded from the purview ofthe night curfew which wouldremain in force for five hoursfrom 11 p.m.

Meghalaya has so farreported 13,885 Covid-19 caseswhile 147 people have suc-cumbed. On Monday, thenumber of active cases stood at137, while 13,601 people haverecovered.

Its recovery and mortalityratio are 97.95 per cent and1.06 per cent, respectively.

In Mizoram, an official ofthe Aizawl DeputyCommissioner's office said thatthe night curfew will beenforced in the capital cityfrom 8.30 p.m. to 4.30 a.m.

Mizoram has the distinc-tion of having the lowest deathrate of 0.21 per cent among the28 states in India. Its recoveryrate is 99.25 per cent.

Mizoram was the lone statein India where there was noCovid-19 related death until

October 28 last year even as thefirst death was reported inIndia on January 30, 2020.

According to the datareleased by the Union Ministryof Health and Family Welfareon Monday, Mizoram has so farreported 4,383 Covid-19 caseswith nine people have died.While 4,353 people have recov-ered from the infectious virus,there are 21 active cases as onMonday evening.

According to state healthofficials, all the deaths were intwo -- Aizawl and Serchhip --of the state's 11 districts. IANS

Ghazipur (UP):Uttar PradeshChief Minister Yogi Adityanathon Monday reiterated that thereis no place for any mafia in theState and said that he hasvowed to eliminate such ele-ments.

The Chief Minister, whileaddressing a programme inGhazipur, said, “Our govern-ment is constantly movingtowards wiping out the entiremafia culture which hinderedthe development of Purvanchalfor long. Previous governmentspatronised mafia and criminalsin the state due to which thedevelopment of the statereceived a massive setback.”

Adityanath was here toreview the progress of the 340-km Purvanchal Expressway.

He said, “There is no placefor those who give patronage tothe mafias, criminal and otherrogue elements in the newUttar Pradesh of 'Ek BharatShrestha Bharat'. While we areworking towards the welfare of

villages, farmers, youth, anddevelopment, on the otherhand, it is also very importantto destroy the mafia culturethat has become a hindrance tothe development ofPurvanchal.”

The Yogi Government hasalready seized illegal assetsworth about �1,000 crore ofmore than 40 mafia elementsincluding Mukhtar Ansari,Ateeq Ahmad, Vijay Mishra,Sundar Bhati and others.

The state government isalso demolishing illegal prop-erties of mafia dons and theirclose aides. Cases have beenregistered against 800gangsters and their close asso-ciates. IANS

Gandhinagar: A BJP legislatorfrom Waghodia in Gujarat,Madhu Shrivastav, on Mondayagain courted controversy as hewas caught on camera whileopenly issuing death threat to anelectronic media reporter whenthe latter asked uncomfortablequestions.

“Ask questions in a straightmanner. Why are you actingsmart? I am telling you I'll getyou killed by my men,”Shrivastav threatened Gujaratinews channel 'Mantavya News'reporter Amit Thakor on cam-era.Shrivastav, known as'dabang' politician, has in thepast also allegedly misbehavedwith journalists a couple oftimes and issued similar deaththreats, but got away as nocomplaints were lodged againsthim.Gujarat BJP chief CR Patilsaid: “We will check what hap-pened and confirm it first(before reacting).”

Shrivastav was also accusedof threatening Vadodara votersat a rally in Waghodia area in Vadodara on April 3,2019 if they didn't vote for the BJP in the Lok Sabhaelections.

The election authoritieshad even issued a show-causenotice to him for alleged viola-tion of the Model Code ofConduct. IANS

���&�� 7�")$9"�7�+

Congress MLA ImranKhedawala said on

Monday that he had submittedhis resignation as legislator toGujarat Congress chief AmitChavda to protest over theticket distribution for the localbody elections in Behrampuraarea of Ahmedabad.

“I tendered my resignationto the Gujarat PradeshCongress Committee chief onMonday. My constituencyJamalpur Khadia consists ofJamalpur, Khadia andBehrampura wards of theAhmedabad MunicipalCorporation. After the highcommand selected four nom-inees for Behrampura, I con-veyed it to them. After thesefour filed their nominations, Icame to know that two othercandidates had also filed papers

on Congress tickets,”Khedawala alleged.

“I confirmed this newsfrom the Collector's office andthereafter questioned theGujarat leadership over theissue. My question is -- oncethe high command has decid-ed and given its mandate tofour candidates, why have twoothers been given the same?”asked the legislator.

Dissatisfied with the replyfrom state leadership,Khedawala said, he tenderedhis resignation to the GPCCPresident.

“Initially they refused toaccept my resignation. Butwhen I threatened that I willtender my resignation to theAssembly Speaker, it wasaccepted. Now, the party highcommand will take a decisionon my resignation,” he added.

Baghpat: In a shocking inci-dent, a 30-year-old man killedhis pregnant wife and minordaughter in Baghpat district onMonday following an argu-ment.

The man, who worked as abarber, later went to the policestation and admitted his crime.

The incident took place atthe Gayatri Puram locality hereunder the Kotwali police sta-tion area.

Circle officer M S Rawatsaid the accused Gulfam wassuffering from cancer. IANS

���� ������������ ���� ����������� ���!

Varanasi: The 'Mera Ghar MeraVidyalaya' (mohalla class)scheme introduced in Varanasiin Uttar Pradesh is now becom-ing a role model for the wholecountry.

This scheme by the UttarPradesh Basic EducationDepartment was started fromthe Sewapuri block in PrimeMinister Narendra Modi's con-stituency and is proving to be sopopular that parents are givingit preference over conventschools. The scheme waslaunched in 2020 during theCovid-19 pandemic when allschools and educational insti-tutions were shut.

The state government cameup with an initiative of 'MeraGhar Mera Vidyalaya' as anattempt to facilitate learningthrough ancient 'Gurukul' res-idential style of teaching.

Varanasi Basic ShikshaAdhikari, Rakesh Kumar Singh,said, “The scheme was startedwith an aim to provide a school-like environment at homethrough digital means. Since thelaunching the scheme, teachersand staffers of the schools havebeen delivering books and studymaterial to the children. It isbeing received well by the stu-dents and parents alike.”IANS

8������������� (������� ���9�:���

��4��2"���2G4�1!41B���)�*�4�,H�)4��4,��**4"�*��))4B)32�B���+2�B��76:::�/�2�4�2I

!2�4�B��1�D:�!�I���4*4!41B)6�1/*�,�1"���0�B����1)���6��B44J��!�,6���K�H���)���6�&�1,��

���B���1,�2B�4�)

��� �7�' ����������������� ���� �� ���������� %������ ����

-����������������� ������������ �* �������� �� ����(����Amaravati: The Andhra

Pradesh Government has set upa panel to investigate the deathof Tejaswini, an engineeringstudent who committed sui-cide as she could not pay her col-lege fee.

Education MinisterAdimulapu Suresh expressedsadness over the death ofTejaswini, 20, who was studyingin a private engineering collegein Prakasam district.

Incidentally, the collegemanagement harassed the stu-dent over delay in paying hertuition fee. According to Suresh,Chief Minister Y. S. JaganMohan Reddy took up the issueseriously and ordered a detailedinquiry.

Similarly, students unionshave also demanded a thoroughinquiry into the incident.

Reacting to the student'sdeath, Telugu Desam Party(TDP) national president NaraChandrababu Naidu questionedwhat the government was doingwhen the girl was not in a posi-tion to pay fees. IANS

$����������������3!�������:���� � ���������*��������������

�� �����4*���������� ���� ����0������������������������������

7�.����D�8���� ��0�� ���F���������D����.������ �

�!�$���:��0 ��$���� ��1 �������:������� ����� ���

Page 6: %ˆˆ˚ ˙ )Bˆ+*˝)ˇ4, 7C5D &’ˇ!ˇ&!( *& +, ˜ˆ @ )˝0$9 0 /A8 -$A 0 ......2021/02/09  · about FDI but I see that a new FDI has come to the fore. We have to protect the nation

letter of the Bengal Governorto the Secretary of State:

“The scale of rioting wasunprecedented. It was apogrom between two rivalarmies of the Calcutta under-world. The fact that over2,000 persons of the goondatype who had been confinedunder the Defence of IndiaRules during the war werereleased the previous year isof great significance. The onlything which prevented a com-plete collapse of the adminis-tration was the three battal-ions of British troops, whowere readily available for thissort of emergency. Thoughthe occasion and nature of theemergency could not be fore-seen, the Army Commanderand I had long agreed on thenecessity of such a dispositionof troops. I could not possi-bly have held Calcutta withthe police alone, and I amdoubtful if Indian troopswould have inspired suffi-cient confidence. That theinfection did not spreadimmediately to the districts isa fact for which we cannot betoo thankful. We had to takea big chance in denudingHowrah and the mill areas oftroops on the 17th.

The obligations of theConstitution made my task farharder. My special responsi-

bility for law and order is nota ‘discretionary’ matter and, inhandling the situation, partic-ularly at the outset, I hadalways to consider the suscep-tibilities of my Ministry. Thedual personality ofSuhrawardy, as Chief Minister(in charge of the Home port-folio) and as the most influ-ential member of the MuslimLeague in Bengal, was a con-stant embarrassment.Yours sincerely,FJ BurrowsCC: Lord Wavell, Viceroy”

What was an even moretragic event, although blood-lessly, was the partition ofBengal in 1905. The idea wasnot new, it was bubblingsince, say, 1875. By dividingBengal on communal linesand encouraging Muslimascendancy in the east, theGovernment was, in Risley’swords, weakening “a solidbody of opponents” to theRaj. Viceroy Curzon was pre-sented with hundreds of peti-tions, which he chose toignore. Bengal united is apower; Bengal divided willpull several different ways.The summer of 1905 was along, hot one in Bengal andthe atmosphere was chargedwith tension. The editor of aleading daily had condemnedthe partition. Overnight,

emotions had risen to feverpitch. People refused to par-ticipate in festivities whereforeign salt or sugar wasused. The giant was stirringand even the Viceroy wasforced to admit “the specta-cle that has been presented bythe streets of Calcutta duringthe past fortnight has not inmy opinion been creditable tothe Capital of a great Empire”.

October 16, the day of thetragedy, became a turningpoint in British India’s histo-ry. The announcement ofpartition shattered the long,legendary belief in the even-tual fairness of the British. Itbecame a day of nationalmourning. No food wascooked in Calcutta’s homes,the domestic hearthsremained unlit. Shops andoffices were closed and, inseveral places, newspaperswere not distributed. PoetRabindranath’s song,“Banglar mati Banglar jal”,thrilled patriotic sentimentsto an all-time high and theball had been set rolling fora mass Raksha Bandhan cer-emony. Virtual strangersstopped each other on thestreets to tie the rakhi thread,symbolising brotherhood.

(The writer is a well-knowncolumnist and an author. Theviews expressed are personal.)

)���������������������������������������������*�������������������+���� ���������������������������������������#������������������ �������������������"������������������������(

�� ����������� ������������������� �������������������������� ���(����������������������������������������������������������������,�&���������������-�����������.������������������������ ��������(��������������������)� ������� ������������������������������(���������������������/)����������������� �� ����������������

������������������������0123��������������������������4�411�����������������(��� ��� ������� ������ ��������� ,� �� �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������#���������������������������������������������������������������������(�������������� ������������������������������������������������ ����������������(����)���������������������������� ���������,����������������������������� �������� ���������������������������������������������������

#����������� ����������������������������������������������������� �#�����!����������������5������������������������������������������������������������������������������������!������������6���������������,��������������(������������������������ ������(������������!����%����� �����(��������������������%����� ���������������010���������������������������������������27������������+��������������8�����������������������������������������������+������ ��9����������:�������6�����6����;+�9:'66<�����������=�������%����������(��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������6������������������6������ �65>,�(2?��������������������� ���������������������������������(�����*�����������,���������� ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������+�� �� ���������������������� ������������������������� ����� �������)���������������������� �������������(� �������

#�����9�����$������8��� @��������� ����6������������ ��������������������������� ��0111���� � ������ ������������������ �� ��������)�� ���������-�������.����������������������� �� �� �������:�������A���; :A<��,����������������������������������-���(��.�������������������������������� �B����������-�����������(����.������� �������C������������� ���������������������������������B���� �������������������������&������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������������������������

������������������������������D������������������������������������� ���������������������������� ����D������� ������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������������� ����������������������#�D���8�����������&���������������E,������������������������������� �� �������������������������������������������������������������������������;��������<���������� ����������������

#��8��� ���������������01 �����������������������������������D���

8����������������21���������������������&��������������������(�������������������� �������������#��������������������������� ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ���������������������������������������������� ������������ :A������������������������"��(���������������������������������������"��������������9���������������������������9������$����A������D����&�A�A����B���������� ��������������#��8��� �) ,�������� ��� ������ �� :A������ ������������������������FF�����������������������������������������#��8��� ;��G#820&�����������<�����������-%�����5����#��.��%5�#������������������������������B��#��8��� ������������������������������������������������8��� ����������������������������������������������������� �������� :A����� ������8��� &������������ ���������

�����������

������������������������ ��Sir— This refers to the editorial‘Reconnected’ (February 8). Truly speak-ing, curtailing the high-speed internet inJammu and Kashmir is like paralysing theUnion Territory and widening the riftbetween people and the Government. Theadministration has done the right thingby restoring 4G services across the UT asit will prove to be a milestone in reinstat-ing confidence among the residents whowill start believing that the Governmentcares about its people.

The people of the valley have alwaysbeen at the receiving end in theGovernment’s fight against terrorism.Their lives have been ruined, businessesdemolished, studies interrupted and theyhave been thrown into gloom and dark-ness. However, the recent step of theGovernment will help in healing theirwounds up to some extent, if not fully. Thepeople of J&K have witnessed violenceand bloodshed due to the cross-borderterrorism and the presence of boots on theground.

The Government must also makeattempts to develop the tourism sector inthe UT. The tourism industry in J&K hasfaced a severe blow after the erstwhileState was scrapped of its special status andtwo UTs were carved out of it—J&K andLadakh. Further, Coronavirus pandemicalso delivered a deadly blow to it. J&K isnow on the path of development andprogress.

Azhar A Khan | Rampur

����������������������������������Sir — Scientists across the world are try-ing their best to come up with more vac-cines against Coronavirus. The good thingis that an inoculation drive has started allover the world, with India supplying itsindigenous vaccines to many countriesacross the globe. India has emerged as aleader in the true sense. However, the threatfrom the pandemic is not over yet as thevirus is coming up with new strainsagainst which there are no vaccines devel-oped yet.

It’s not hard to imagine the plight theworld will go through if the virus startsmutating fast into new virulent strains. It’shard to develop vaccines against every newmutant. The World Health Organisation(WHO) has already cautioned the nationsto beware of more such deadly pandemicscrossing the path of humanity in the future.The health problems faced by people whoare cured of COVID are another issue thatneeds our attention. The complex forms ofillness and its psychological impact isenough to ruin not only individual life butthe life of generations to come. Early diag-nostics, care and treatment are essential tofight such psychological illness. Further,long-term effects of COVID-19 are stillunknown as the symptoms of post-COVIDsyndrome are diverse.

M Pradyu | Kannur

��������������������������������Sir — The recent calamity inUttarakhand, in which many peoplehave died, points out towards our lack-

adaisical approach in dealing with the cli-mate crisis. If the Governments across theworld and organisations of global reputeare serious about the damages that areinflicted on environment, they must takesome concrete action rather than justchalking out five or 10-year plans whichare of no use.

Huge amounts are wasted almostevery year in organising big conferencesand seminars to discuss global warmingand ill effects of climate change but thesituation has largely remainedunchanged. Private organisations andNGOs make huge money working for theenvironment and climate change. It ispublic money and Governments shouldbe very careful about how and where itis spent. Merely levying the carbon taxon poor nations will not serve any pur-pose. It’s time to make concerted efforts.

P Senthil | Mumbai

# + # ! ' � 1 � " , � # + � � � � �

���$ ���������$���������%#�� :�� ��� �������N ;'�)� ��� �������N ������ #�� :�� ��� �����:

������ !"�#$%� !&�' $( �#��#' *�+)+,

�2

6����������������������7*4BB4�)B2��2144�L"!��*A/2!�

�������2;����������� ��������� ��������������������������(��� ���������� ����������� ������������������ �����

'����� ��(�������������������������������+����� ��)����� ��������� ������ ������ ��� ��-�����!����� ����� ���������9���������������

���%&�'

3�� � ������������������������������������%��� ��1 ������3��� �� 3!

@A+�'$��@�+��+&!'$��'+��'A+

+�00��8�&�'$�0A8��A9"'�A@

'$�9+�'8A��A"'$&'+�770��@A+'$�����&���&

)��A"&'+�'�)A"�'$���$900�

$97$8��&�+A�")�)�0$9#

@A+�'$�7AB�+"��"'!�9'

8�&��"�"�O���'�)-A"�"P�#

��--�)� -3�--4���5�-3)

(&)*���+3)�5��+ ��� ���(� ��� ��������������*������ �

��������)���,���(2�)��(������

B/�&� %���!������������������'� ��"����������� ���� �� �����������������,������5=�����������������.� ����� ������������ ��!

� �����.����������������� ���� ��#�9�� �� ����� ��� � ��� ����� ���� ���� ��� �����������������&����!�� ������9�)�/������������������ �����������D����� ������ ��� ����������� � ���!��������������������������������������� ���������� ��#�"�������!�� ��

� � ����������� �/������������ �� ����� �������A������������ �������� � �����������Q����&� %���!��� �������� ���������� ��������������� ������������ � ���� �������� �������������������,������ ���!����������������� ��������� ���������������������#�

'�������� ������� ��������������������� �������������������,������ ���D� � ��� ��� ���� G���� �R� �� �� ��� ������� ��� ���&� %���� �������� ���� �� ���������� �� ���� ��������� ��#�A��������������������������� � �������� ��������� �������&� %���D�������� ������ �� ���� ��� ��� ��� �9�)�/(� ����� ���%#'����������������������������9�)�/������ ���������G���������R�� ���!�������� �� ��� ��������%������ ����#�'���� ��������� � � �������� ���� ���������% �� �%������������% ��� ������������ ����� � ������ �� ������������������������� ���#�$����������������������%������������ ��� ����� � �#�'"��������������������������� �� ���������������� �������� ��#

��1���B������B N������

����������� �!"���#�$"��%� #"&��

)����������(�� ������������

The agitators had askedfor a tractor rally onRepublic Day lastmonth. Most govern-

ments would have refused per-mission (as it was a day of con-stitutional celebration) and, per-haps, offered a date before orafter January 26. To the delightof some agitators and to the sur-prise of others, the Governmentaccepted the idea, subject topolice discipline. No one, itwould seem, suspected the dan-gers pregnant in the tractortamasha, namely the hooliganbabies and the enormity of thedamage they could lead to thecause. The day witnessed theworst rioting one could haveseen or imagined except that nota drop of blood was shed; onedeath was of a tractor driverinvolved in an accident. For thefarmers, the rally was the lowpoint of their two-month strug-gle for the cause as demonstrat-ed on the chilly highways aroundDelhi. For the Government, itwas an unexpected bonanza.

Only the Left Front couldenact comedy on the streets ofCalcutta (now Kolkata) whenev-er its ruling Government calleda protest bandh, against whomno one knew, although it wasimpeccably enforced. Not a birdflew near any of the many streetsin the city. Press was free tomove, so I moved about; the boysat street corners guarding thebandh were often keen to beinterviewed and photographed.

It was a comedy for all thosecitizens who enjoyed a holidaybut a sarco-comedy for the poorin the unorganised sector. Therickshawalas, taxi drivers, busoperators, mutias or coolies et alhad to go without wages. WhenI asked a boy at a street cornerabout it, his reply was that thesemen do not belong to ourunions, what do we owe them?Working class was an expressiontoo distant for the boy.

The most tragic rioting thatCalcutta ever witnessed wasbetween August 16 and 18,1946. It was an attempt by MAJinnah to convince London thatHindus and Muslims could notcoexist, hence the Partition. Iquote briefly from the official

SOUNDBITE�� ���� ����� ���������� ����������� ��� �� ���������!� ���� ���G������� ���R#������� � �� �� � ������������������������������������������� ��!���� ��������� ��#�

���!4���1�)B4���S�"����������� ��

9���������������� ���������"�����9�� �� �� �� �� ���� �� �����!������� ���� ��� ��� ��� ������%� ��� 9�� �#� A��

����� ��� ������ ����� ���� ��� ������� ������ ��� ���� ���� ����������� ������#��������������������

�4��*�������S/��&�� ��A� �

�� �� ������ 9� � ����� ������ � ���������� �����#� 9� ��������� ��� � �� �� �������� ���� ���� �!����� ��� �������� ������ ����������������#������������������������������������

�/B2�S����� �7�����

'�� � ������������������� ���� ���� ��*��� ��� �������� ����� ��� ���� ���� ���� ��&���� �������"��� ���� ����������� ��� ��$��������������.��#�

�1�21� 1G��21!41B���1�)B4�S���%��,�����%��

)�������� ���������������� ��� �������%���#�8����� %������������ � ��������������

��������������������������� ���������������������#

��/04B4��S+ ���������

Page 7: %ˆˆ˚ ˙ )Bˆ+*˝)ˇ4, 7C5D &’ˇ!ˇ&!( *& +, ˜ˆ @ )˝0$9 0 /A8 -$A 0 ......2021/02/09  · about FDI but I see that a new FDI has come to the fore. We have to protect the nation

<������������ � ��� ����������(=

����� &��(�� ������ �&��������� ��& � ���� ������ �������&����� &6���� ���@�� �� �&��� ��&����(���&�(���(�� ��������&A�

M����� �� ������ &�����'�

� ���� ������&��� ���& � &&A�����&������� �������� ���������������� ����� ��(��@����� ����&AM� ����@���� &�� ��������� &������

In the Union Budget for 2021-22, FinanceMinister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman has givena pleasant surprise. This has to do with the

Government’s decision to discontinue with thedecades-old practice of so-called “off-Budget lia-bilities” this time around. “Off-Budget liabilities”is a fancy nomenclature used by governments todenote transfer of certain expenses incurred bythe Union Government to the books of its agen-cies tasked with the implementation of its wel-fare schemes. This helps the former show lowerexpenses on its own books, thereby, helping itbring down fiscal deficit to the desired level. Atypical case relates to the Food Corporation ofIndia (FCI) through which the Centre adminis-ters its mammoth programme of delivering foodsubsidy. Under the National Food Security Act(NFSA), over 800 million beneficiaries receivefood grains, primarily wheat, rice and coarse cere-als, at the heavily subsidised price of �2, �3 and�1 per kg, respectively, which is a fraction of thecost of procurement, handling and distribution.

The task is performed by the FCI on behalfof the Government, which reimburses the short-fall in realisation from sale vis-à-vis the cost tothe former. Termed as food subsidy, reimburse-ment to the FCI is solely the liability of the Centreand is paid from the Union Budget.

If any given year the reimbursement amountdue to the FCI is say “X”, the Government decidesnot to release a portion of this and merely keepsit pending (the extant method of accounting oncash basis i.e. expenses are recorded when actu-al payments are made helps it to do this). To keepits operations going, the agency borrows the“unpaid amount” from the banks or any othersource. These borrowings plus interest accruedremain on the books of the FCI.

This disingenuous mechanism may help theCentre show that it is sticking to the fiscal con-solidation road map. But this gives a misleadingpicture of the Government’s finances and makesit complacent with regard to the dire need forbringing about genuine and sustainable reduc-tion in expenses. It also affects the financial healthof the agency implementing welfare schemes. Inrecent years, ballooning unpaid dues forced theFCI to borrow from the National Small SavingsFund (NSSF). In 2016-17, when the former start-ed borrowing from the latter, the Centre had com-mitted to releasing subsidy arrears to enable theFCI to pay back the loans in subsequent years.But that was not to be, as subsidy arrears keptmounting and the FCI continued borrowingincreasingly from the NSSF. As on March 31,2020, it owed a staggering �3,00,000 crore to thefund.

In the Budget for 2020-21, Sitharaman hadestimated the requirement of food subsidy to be�2,53,000 crore. Add to this the cost of free foodgiven (in the wake of the pandemic) to 800 mil-lion beneficiaries under the NFSA as also tomigrant labour during April-November, 2020.The total requirement comes to �4,22,000 crore.Against this, the Budget support was only�1,26,000 crore (Budgetary Expenditure�1,16,000 crore plus �10,000 crore given by wayof supplementary grant). This would have led toan uncovered gap of close to �3,00,000 crore.Under a business as usual scenario, the FCI would

have borrowed �3,00,000 crorefrom the NSSF. However, doing aturnaround, in the RevisedEstimate (RE) for 2020-21, the FMhas paid all of the food subsidydues �4,22,000 crore from theBudget. In other words, theGovernment has taken all of theexpenses under this head on its bal-ance sheet. The allocation for2021-22 at �2,42,000 crore is alsomore or less close to the likelyrequirement.

This means that even duringnext year, there won’t be anyunpaid dues. Furthermore, consid-ering that the FM has substantial-ly relaxed the Fiscal Deficit trajec-tory to reach 4.5 per cent by 2025-26 (instead of 2.5 per cent in2022-23 as per the NK SinghCommittee on review of FiscalResponsibility and BudgetManagement), thereby implying agood cushion, one would expectthe Government to maintain itsaltered stance even beyond 2021-22. This is welcome as it will bringtransparency and bolster the cred-ibility of Budget numbers. But, thisalone won’t suffice.

There is an urgent need to tack-le the fundamental factors behindthe ballooning food subsidy, likethe ridiculously low price of food—almost scratching the surface —supplied to beneficiaries underthe NFSA; the disproportionatelyhigh number of beneficiaries thatis pegged at a whopping 800 mil-lion (who will believe India hassuch a large number of poor); inef-

ficiency in the Public DistributionSystem (PDS) and rampant misuseof subsidy. This is where almostevery Government has failed.

In early 2015, a committeeunder senior BJP leader ShantaKumar had recommended a cut inthe number of those eligible forsubsidised food from 67 per centto 40 per cent and restricting thebenefit of �1/2/3 per kg only to thepoorest of the poor under the‘Antyodaya Anna Yojana’, whileincreasing the supply to seven kgper person. Others should pay 50per cent of the Minimum SupportPrice (MSP) paid to farmers. Thoserecommendations were quietlyignored.

The NFSA that came into forcein 2013 provided for the sale priceat �1/2/3 per kg to continue for aperiod of three years only.Thereafter, even as there was no baron increasing the price, theGovernment decided not to go forit. Far from that, in 2017, Ram VilasPaswan the then Union Ministerfor Consumer Affairs had declaredthat there would not be anyincrease in the price for threeyears.

In the Economic Survey for2019-20, the Chief EconomicAdviser (CEA), KrishnamurthyVenkata Subramanian had rec-ommended some reduction infood subsidy by limiting thescheme’s coverage and increasingthe issue price of food grainswhich he has reiterated in theEconomic Survey for 2020-21. The

Government has not paid heed tohis advise.

The Direct Benefit Transfer(DBT) of subsidy is a foolproofmechanism for helping poor con-sumers as was amply demonstrat-ed in the case of LPG. It involvesputting money in the account ofbeneficiaries who in turn, can useit to buy food from wherever theychoose. The DBT has been on theGovernment’s radar since 2012-13;yet all that we see are a few pilotprojects being run in some districts.

Now, in view of the farmersdemanding a law on guaranteeingthe MSP and if it is enacted, thiswill dash whatever little hoperemains for launching DBT. This isbecause then the Government willbe legally bound to purchase allcrops (for which the MSP is noti-fied) and the entire quantity thatfarmers offer to sell. In otherwords, the current system of pro-curement albeit at MSP and sellingto beneficiaries at the subsidisedprice will stay. This implies, thatDBT will be off the table as a sub-sidy can’t be given twice over, firstby supplying food at a subsidisedprice and then by transferring thecash to the beneficiary’s account.

To conclude, even as theGovernment has mustered courageto give a truthful account of themoney it spends on food subsidy,there is nothing on the horizon toindicate that this will be reined-in.There is no dearth of prescriptions;but the irony is no one in the polit-ical class has the gumption to act.

>�� �������0����������������������������������������������� ����������� �(������ �� ����������(���������� ���� ��� ���������?� ����� ��������������������������� ����

'&�+&,� �4�'6�)

"A8!�9"�B9�8�A@�'$�@�+��+&

)���")9"7���0�8�A"

7��+�"'��9"7'$���&��

�")�9@�9'�9&�"��'�)!�'$9&8900�)�&$

8$�'�B�+�09''0�$A���+���9"&@A+�0��"�$9"7

)-'#�'$9&�9&-����&��'$�"�'$�

7AB�+"��"'8900�-��

0�7�00��-A�")'A���+�$�&��

�00��+A�&�1@A+8$9�$�'$���&��9&

"A'9@9�)2��")�'$���"'9+�M��"'9'��'$�'

@�+��+&�A@@�+�'A�&�00

$������@�8������������������,�����������������*D�������������������������������� �:����� ,���������(����� ��������,����������#������� ;,#<���������������

��*D���������������5������������������������� ��������,����������8�������������������������������������������������������#������������������������ ���������������,����������������*D������������������������������ ���������������������������������������#������������������������������������������������������#������$����������������������������������������*D�����������������������������������������=�����,���(*D���������������������������#�������������������

5����������������������������������������8�����������������,����������8�������*D6������������������ ��������#�*D6���F���������0102��������������������(����(�� ���������(���������������������������������#�8���������������������������������������������F������������22�������������������������������������2�H�������,�������#������������������*D�������������������%�������+����������������� ,#����������������,�����

#���8������������������������������������������(�� ��� ������� �� �� D����� #������� � 9�������� ���+���������;D#9+<����������� ������ ����*D�,�����������(���������� ����������������44�111�������71�111�� ����������������D����8�����8�������������������,���������������9����������������D���:�����!�������6���������������>��($�������8����������� ������=������������,���I*D �����8�����0117�,��� ����������������������(�������,������������!���������������������9����������������������������������65>,�(2? ���(��������������������(�� ���8��������������,�����

8����������������������������������,���(��������������� �6��������������������������������������������8��������-5��%������������������������� ����*D���,������������������������������������������������������������������������.=�����������������"������ ������,�������������������������� ����������������������#��������������8��������������������01����������,���������������������23�������� ����������������������������� ������������������������������������ ����������������������������� ������������������

J *D�����������������������������,�������������������������������9�������������+������D@�����������������*DD����� ��D�������� @8�������������������������������(����������������#�*D��������������������,����������(�����6���������+������!������D��������������*D����D����� A�� ������������������������������ ����#��������������������������� ����������������������������������� �� �������� ��������������� ����,���($������������)�����8���������������������������������������������������� �����������+���%�������&�����������������������(�������J��������������������������������������=������������ ������������������ ��������������������8��������������������� ������������������������������ ���������������������������� �����������������������,���������(� �D����8�������������,���I*D��������������������(�����������8������������������

;����������������� ��� �������������������������������� ����<

On a calm Sunday morn-ing, the sound of gush-ing water stirred fear in

the minds and hearts of the peo-ple of Chamoli district inUttarakhand as it remindedthem of the fateful day in 2013when a deluge took hundreds oflives, rendered many homelessand devastated the State.

The huge volume of waterand mud flowing towards theunder-construction Rishi GangaHydel Project confirmed theworst fears of the local peoplewho watched helplessly as near-ly 40 labourers at the RishiGanga and Dhauli Ganga damsites came under the swathe ofthe colossal deluge consisting ofwater, muck and debris.

The death toll by Mondayevening climbed to 18, while 27were rescued and over 200were feared missing or dead,with 30-35 feared trapped in atunnel at the Tapovan-Vishnugad project.

These figures would havebeen much more had the inci-dent not taken place on aSunday, which is a weekend andthe number of labourers inattendance is thin.

The magnitude of the dis-aster can be gauged by the factthat the glacial burst caused sud-den flood and avalanche in theDhauli Ganga, Rishi Gangaand Alaknanda rivers totallydevastating the NationalThermal Power Corporation’s(NTPC’s) Tapovan-Vishnugadhydel project and the RishiGanga Hydel Project. It’s unfor-tunate that scientists failed topredict the catastrophe eventhough it was a disaster waitingto happen.

The people of Chamolidistrict and environmentalistshad long been protesting againstthe setting up of the two hydelprojects which has severelycompromised the ecology of theregion.

In 2019 the people of Rainivillage, who have been deeplyimpacted by the latest tragedyhad filed a Public InterestLitigation (PIL) in theUttarakhand High Courtagainst the construction of thehydel project, citing damage tothe environment as the mainreason. The project site in Rainivillage area falls under theNanda Devi Biosphere Reserve,just a few kilometres from theNanda Devi National Park.

Considering its impact onthe environment and the localcommunity owing to the blast-ing and stone crushing activities,the High Court stayed blastingin the project area till furtherorders and constituted a panelunder the Chamoli DistrictMagistrate and MemberSecretary of the State PollutionControl Board to inspect theRishi Ganga HydroelectricProject site.

However, as the project

progressed, the huge pile ofmuck was not disposed as perenvironmental norms and, as aresult, it came gushing downwith the flood waters creatinghavoc.

The Government andcourts must realise that appoint-ing committees and delaying theenvironmental impact assess-ment report of any project isnothing short of playing withthe environment and people’slives. Sunday’s disaster has

proved the same beyond doubt.Apart from scant regard

shown for environmentalnorms and laws by theGovernment, climate changetoo, had a major role to play inthe recent disaster.

The IntergovernmentalPanel on Climate Change’s(IPCC) Special Report onOceans and Cryosphere in aChanging Climate (SROCC)reveals that climate change hastriggered global warming whichin turn has altered the fre-quency and magnitude of nat-ural hazards leading to adverseevents such as the breaking offof a portion of the Nanda Deviglacier on Sunday.

According to the HIMAPassessment report facilitated bythe International Centre forIntegrated MountainDevelopment (ICIMOD), tem-peratures are rising in the HinduKush Himalayan (HKH) regionand the rise in global tempera-

ture will have more impact inthe Himalayan region due toelevation-dependent warming.If the world can keep the tem-perature rise to below1.5°Celsius, in the HKH regionit would translate to at least a riseof 1.8°C, and in some places,above 2.2°C.

The Himalayan region,which has an ultra-delicate ecol-ogy, is least monitored given thedifficult geographical terrainand is susceptible to the increas-es risk of unforeseen extremeweather events such as glacialbursts. As per estimates there are8,000 lakes in the Himalayas, ofwhich 200 are classified as dan-gerous, and as mountain slopesare impacted by glacier retreatand permafrost thaw due to ris-ing temperatures, the lakesbecome unstable and populat-ed regions in the foothillsbecome highly vulnerable toextreme weather events.

The rising heat in the

Himalayas is also attributable tothe excess use of concrete instructures such as dams and res-idential buildings. These struc-ture radiate heat and contributeto the spike in ambient temper-atures. There is an urgent needto make a shift to traditionalbuilding materials such as stoneand wood in order to dial downthe vulnerability to climatechange and also put hydelpower projects under restrictedcategory. In addition to this theGovernment must also set upmore high altitude monitoringstations so that the health of theHimalayas is correctly gauged.This in turn will enable betteradaptation practices.

The Uttarakhand glacierburst has revealed the conse-quences of human apathytowards the environment andclimate change. The end resultis loss of human lives, ruinednature and, as usual, no lessonslearnt.

������������������ �������� ��������� ������������������������� ������ ������������ ����������������������������� ������������������� ������������������������� ��

������ !"�#$%� !&�' $( �#��#' *�+)+,

�7���$ ���������$�� �������%#�� :�� ��� �������N ;'�)� ��� �������N ������ #�� :�� ��� �����:

FIRSTCOLUMN+��!1��,+#"!'

,+��3!4��&����-���%���� ��������9�����&������ ���� ������������������������� �����- ������ � ���� ��

*%%&- +��-�

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

The writer is a New Delhi-based policy

analyst. The viewsexpressed

are personal.

����������� ����0���������(�������������������������

'.%& �)�)�%

The writer is an environmental journalist. The views expressed

are personal.

Page 8: %ˆˆ˚ ˙ )Bˆ+*˝)ˇ4, 7C5D &’ˇ!ˇ&!( *& +, ˜ˆ @ )˝0$9 0 /A8 -$A 0 ......2021/02/09  · about FDI but I see that a new FDI has come to the fore. We have to protect the nation

�� ����8������ !"�#$%� !&�' $( �#��#' *�+)+,

Canberra (Australia): China has formallyarrested a Chinese-born Australian journalistfor CGTN, the English-language channel ofChina Central Television, on suspicion of ille-gally supplying state secrets overseas, Australia’sforeign minister said Monday.

The arrest of Cheng Lei last Friday startsan official criminal investigation and came sixmonths after she was detained.

“The Australian government has raised itsserious concerns about Ms. Cheng’s detentionregularly at senior levels, including about herwelfare and conditions of detention,” ForeignMinister Marise Payne said.

“We expect basic standards of justice, pro-cedural fairness and humane treatment to bemet, in accordance with international norms,”she added.

China’s Foreign Ministry confirmedCheng’s arrest and said her legal rights werebeing “fully guaranteed.”

“We hope that Australia will earnestlyrespect China’s judicial sovereignty and refrainfrom interfering in China’s law-based handlingof cases in any way,” ministry spokespersonWang Wenbin said at a daily briefing. AP

���� $A�&'A"

For nearly 17 months, the Trumpadministration tried to deport

the mother and daughter from ElSalvador. The Biden administrationmay finish the job.

They are being held at a familydetention center in remote Dilley,Texas, but have repeatedly been onthe verge of deportation. The Fridaybefore Christmas, both were drivento the San Antonio airport and puton a plane, only to be pulled offwhen attorneys working for immi-grant advocacy groups filed newappeals.

“I have faith first in God and inthe new president who has taken

office, that he’ll give us a chance,”said the mother, who goes by thenickname “Barbi.”

She left behind two other chil-dren in El Salvador and asked not toreveal her real name so as not todraw the attention of criminal gangsthere.

Barbi’s daughter was 8 whenthey crossed the US Border inAugust 2019 and will turn 10 in afew weeks. “It’s not been easy,” shesaid.

It’s unlikely to get easier anytimesoon.

President Joe Biden rushed tosend the most ambitious overhaul ofthe nation’s immigration system ina generation to Congress and signed

nine executive actions to wipe outsome of his predecessor’s toughestmeasures to fortify the U.S.-Mexicoborder.

But a federal court in Texas suspended his 100-day moratoriumon deportations, and the immigra-tion bill is likely to be watered down as lawmakers grapple withmajor coronavirus pandemic reliefbill as well a second impeachmenttrial for former President DonaldTrump.

Even if Biden gets most of whathe wants on immigration, fullyimplementing the kind of sweepingchanges he’s promised will takeweeks, months — perhaps evenyears.

Washington: Donald Trump’shistoric second impeachmenttrial is opening this week witha sense of urgency — byDemocrats who want to hold theformer president accountable forthe violent US Capitol siege andRepublicans who want it over asfast as possible.

Scheduled to begin Tuesday,just over a month since thedeadly riot, the proceedings areexpected to diverge from thelengthy, complicated trial that

resulted in Trump’s acquittal ayear ago on charges that he pri-vately pressured Ukraine to digup dirt on a Democratic rival,Joe Biden, now the president.

This time, Trump’s Jan. 6rally cry to “fight like hell” and

the storming of the Capitolplayed out for the world to see.While Trump very well could beacquitted again, the trial couldbe over in half the time.

Details of the proceedingsare still being negotiated by theSenate leaders, with the durationof opening arguments, senators’questions and deliberations allup for debate.

So far, it appears there willbe few witnesses called, as theprosecutors and defense attor-

neys speak directly to senatorswho have been sworn to deliv-er “impartial justice” as jurors.Most are also witnesses to thesiege, having fled for safety thatday as the rioters broke into theCapitol and temporarily haltedthe electoral count certifyingBiden’s victory.

Defense attorneys forTrump declined a request forhim to testify. Holed up at hisMar-a-Lago club, the formerpresident has been silenced on

social media by Twitter withoutpublic comments since leavingthe White House. Instead,House managers prosecutingthe case are expected to rely onthe trove of videos from thesiege, along with Trump’s incen-diary rhetoric refusing to con-cede the election, to make theircase. His new defense team hassaid it plans to counter with itsown cache of videos ofDemocratic politicians makingfiery speeches. AP

Washington: The Bidenadministration haswarned Yemen’s Houthirebels against ongoingattacks against civiliansjust 48 hours after mov-ing to strike the groupfrom a terrorism black-list.

The StateDepartment on Sundaycalled on the Iran-backedrebel group to immedi-ately stop attacks on civil-ians and new militaryoperations in Yemen.The demand came only

two days after the admin-istration notifiedCongress that it wouldremove the Houthis fromits list of “foreign terror-ist organisations,” a des-ignation that comes withsevere U.S. Sanctions. Italso came just three daysafter President Joe Bidenordered an end to U.S.Support for the Saudi-ledoffensive military opera-tions against the rebels.

“As the president istaking steps to end thewar in Yemen and Saudi

Arabia has endorsed anegotiated settlement,the United States isdeeply troubled by con-tinued Houthi attacks,”State Departmentspokesman Ned Pricesaid in a statement. “Wecall on the Houthis toimmediately ceaseattacks impacting civilianareas inside Saudi Arabiaand to halt any new mil-itary offensives insideYemen, which only bringmore suffering to theYemeni people.” AP

Johannesburg: South Africahas suspended plans to inocu-late its front-line health careworkers with the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine after asmall clinical trial suggestedthat it isn’t effective in pre-venting mild to moderate ill-ness from the variant dominantin the country.

South Africa received itsfirst 1 million doses of theAstraZeneca vaccine last weekand was expected to begingiving jabs to health care work-ers in mid-February.

The disappointing earlyresults indicate that an inocu-lation drive using theAstraZeneca vaccine may notbe useful.

Preliminary data from asmall study suggested that theAstraZeneca vaccine offersonly “minimal protectionagainst mild-moderate disease”caused by the variant in South

Africa. The variant appears more

infectious and is driving adeadly resurgence of the dis-ease in the country, currentlyaccounting for more than 90per cent of the Covid-19 cases,health minister Zweli Mkhizesaid Sunday night.

“The AstraZeneca vaccineappeared effective against theoriginal strain, but not againstthe variant,” Mkhize said.

“We have decided to put atemporary hold on the rolloutof the vaccine ... More workneeds to be done.”

The study, which hasn’t yetbeen peer-reviewed, involved2,000 people, most of whomwere young and healthy. Thevolunteers’ average age was 31.

“Protection against mod-erate-severe disease, hospital-isation or death could not beassessed in this study as the tar-get population were at such low

risk,” said a statement issued byOxford University and theUniversity of theWitwatersrand inJohannesburg.

Scientists will be studyingwhether or not theAstraZeneca vaccine is effectivein preventing severe diseaseand death against the variant,Mkhize said.

Other vaccines have shownreduced efficacy against thevariant, but have providedgood protection from seriousdisease and death.

Public health officials areconcerned about the SouthAfrica variant because it con-tains a mutation of the virus’characteristic spike protein,which is targeted by existingvaccines. South African offi-cials say the variant is morecontagious and evidence isemerging that it may be morevirulent. AP

Yangon: Martial law wasdeclared in parts of Myanmar’ssecond largest city MandalayMonday, after hundreds ofthousands rallied across thecountry against the coup andthe military issued a sternwarning against furtherprotests.

The orders cover seventownships in Mandalay, ban-ning people from protesting orgathering in groups of morethan five, and a curfew will runfrom 8 pm until 4 am, the gen-eral administration depart-ment said in a statement.

A similar declaration hasbeen made in a township inAyeyarwaddy further southand announcements concern-ing other localities are expect-ed to trickle out tonight.

“This order is applied until

further notice,” one Mandalaytownship statement said.

“Some people... are behav-ing in a worrying way that can harm the safety of publicand law enforcement. Such behaviours can affect sta-bility, safety of people, lawenforcement, and peaceful exis-tence of villages and couldcreate riots, that’s why thisorder bans gathering, speakingin public, protest by usingvehicles, rallies,” the statementsaid.

The junta has so farrefrained from using deadlyforce against the demonstra-tions sweeping most of thecountry, but with pressurebuilding riot police fired watercannon in an attempt to dis-perse thousands gathered inNaypyidaw.

The military last weekdetained Suu Kyi and dozens ofother members of her NationalLeague for Democracy party,ending a decade of partialcivilian rule and triggering

international condemnation.In the face of an increas-

ingly bold wave of defiance,state broadcaster MRTVwarned that opposition to thejunta was unlawful and sig-nalled a potential crackdown.

“Action must be takenaccording to the law with effec-tive steps against offenceswhich disturb, prevent anddestroy the state’s stability, pub-lic safety and the rule of law,”said a statement read by anannouncer on the channel.

Tens of thousands of peo-ple overcame a nationwideinternet blockade to rally overthe weekend in the first majoroutpourings of opposition tothe coup.

The movement built onMonday, with protests acrossthe country and the start of anationwide strike. In Yangon,the nation’s commercial capital,crowds spilt onto the city’s mainroads, immobilising traffic anddwarfing the previous day’s rally.

AFP3��� ��������������������������������������� ��'��� ����� ��������� ������ 3!

������ � ����$ �������������� ��%������;���������������������� ������������������

Canberra: Australia hasdemanded Myanmar immedi-ately release an Australianadviser to Aung San Suu Kyi’sgovernment who was detainedin a military coup, an officialsaid on Monday.

Economic policy adviserSean Turnell had told friendsvia social media that he wasdetained but he has been out ofcontact in recent days.

“We have called for theimmediate release of Australiancitizen Prof. Sean Turnell fromdetention,” Foreign MinisterMarise Payne said.

The Australian Embassy inMyanmar had been providingTurnell with “extensive supportduring this ordeal,” she said.

Turnell’s friend and fellowMyanmar expert MoniqueSkidmore said she believed theMacquarie University eco-nomics professor had beendetained because of his closerelationships with ousted leaderSuu Kyi and other senior mem-bers of her National League forDemocracy party. AP

+�����������%������� �������������+����� ���

���� ����������� ����������� ������������������������ ��*��������� ��&/����*���@� ��������� �������

������ �:��� �<�������������������������������� �

�������.+����� �������������$$������ ������������$����

Jerusalem: Israeli PrimeMinister Benjamin Netanyahupleaded not guilty on Monday ashis trial on corruption chargesresumed in a Jerusalem court-room just weeks before nation-al elections in which he hopes toextend his 12-year rule.

Netanyahu was indicted lastyear for fraud, breach of trustand accepting bribes in threeseparate cases. In recent months,Israelis have held weekly protestscalling on him to resign over thecharges and criticising his gov-ernment’s response to the coro-navirus crisis. AP

����� ��#�� ������������ �%���$������������� ��������

+������ ���������������(�,��� �� ��� ��)������������

Tokyo: A Japanese navy sub-marine and a commercial shipcollided off Japan’s southerncoast on Monday, causingminor injuries to threecrewmembers of the submarineand damage to its mast, defenseofficials said.

The submarine Soryu wasin the process of surfacingabout 27 nautical miles (50kilometers) south of CapeAshizuri on Japan’s southwest-ern island of Shikoku when itcollided with the commercialship, the Maritime Self-DefenseForce said in a statement.

There was slight damage tothe submarine’s mast but it wasable to continue sailing on itsown, it said. The navy did notidentify the commercial ship,but NHK public television saidit was the Hong Kong-registeredbulk carrier Ocean Artemis. Itwas transporting 90,000 tons ofiron to Okayama in westernJapan after leaving the Chineseport of Qingdao last Fridaywith 21 Chinese crewmem-bers, it said. Defense MinisterNobuo Kishi told reporters thatthe collision was “extremelyregrettable.” AP

*��������%��������5�,������$� ����� *�����$����

Page 9: %ˆˆ˚ ˙ )Bˆ+*˝)ˇ4, 7C5D &’ˇ!ˇ&!( *& +, ˜ˆ @ )˝0$9 0 /A8 -$A 0 ......2021/02/09  · about FDI but I see that a new FDI has come to the fore. We have to protect the nation

,������9������ !"�#$%� !&�' $( �#��#' *�+)+,

()��*�

��������������(( �&����� �����������������!+��% ��������7��������) � ������ ������������������������������������ ����*��� ����������������� �������������� ����� � ��#�G'�������� ������� ������������������������ �������!��� ����� �� �� � ����������� �� �� ���� ������������� ������� ��������������#���������7��������) � ��������������������������� ������� ������ ��������� ����� �� ���� � �.������%� ������������!R�� ����������7������� � ������� ��#�

����&������� ���� �����������(��� �&��43��4*��% B+&�@���(������)� ��������!� ������������ ���� ����������������8���������� ��@��� (������������ ������&�������!�������������� ������ ��% ������������� ����������� ������� � ���� �������� ������ �������� ��� ���G �����R#�G����������������������� �������� ������� ���������� �� ��� ����� ��#�8����� ������������������� ���� �� �% ������������� ������������������������������ ������ ������ ��������� �� ��� �!R�� �"��������"����!���)!�B+&�@���#���

����� "�8�)�0$9

The Govt’s paddy procure-ment at minimum support

price (MSP) has increased17.52% to 616.43 lakh tonne sofar in the 2020-21 kharif mar-keting year, with maximumbeen purchased from Punjab,

according to the Food Ministry.The Centre’s nodal agency

Food Corporation of India(FCI) and state agencies under-take procurement of food-grains to meet the food secu-rity needs under various wel-fare schemes and exigencies aswell as to ensure MSP to farm-

ers.Procurement of paddygrown during the kharif seasonof 2020-21 crop year is under-way. In a statement, the min-istry said paddy procurementis continuing “smoothly” in theprocuring states with a pur-chase of 616.43 lakh tonne ofpaddy up to February 7 this

year.”This is an increase of17.52 per cent against the lastyear corresponding purchase of524.52 lakh tonne,” it said.

Out of the total purchase,Punjab alone has contributed202.82 lakh tonne which is32.90 per cent of the total pro-curement, it added.

Besides, the governmenthas procured through its nodalagencies about 3,08,783.12tonne of moong, urad, tur,groundnut pods and soybean atan MSP value of Rs 1,662.68crores benefitting 1,67,362farmers in Tamil Nadu,Karnataka, Maharashtra.

����� "�8�)�0$9

The Centre on Mondayasked State Governments

to submit their proposals seek-ing additional funds for theration card portability scheme,called ‘One Nation-One Ration

Card’ (ONORC), by

February 15.Under the ONORC plan,

beneficiaries can lift their enti-tled foodgrains from any elec-tronic point of sale device(ePoS)-enabled fair price shopsof their choice by using theirexisting ration cards with bio-metric authentication.

����� ���-�9

Domestic air travel demandcontracted by 41 per cent

year-on-year to around 76 lakhpassengers in January withsequential growth also slowingdown to 3.5 per cent during themonth over December 2020, areport said on Monday.

Indian carriers had flowna total of 1.27 crore passengerson domestic routes in January2020.

Indian aviation industryhas witnessed a continuedrecovery in domestic passengertraffic in January 2021.However, the pace of growthslowed down in the reportingmonth, with a sequentialgrowth (over December 2020)of around 3.5 per cent toaround 76 lakh passengers,rating agency Icra said in arelease.

On a y-o-y basis, however,domestic passenger trafficdeclined by around 41 percent in January over the samemonth of 2020, it added.

The capacity deploymentin the previous month ataround 71 per cent is a signif-

icant increase over the 59 percent capacity deployed inNovember last year andaround 67 per cent inDecember, Icra said.

The number of flightsdeparting has also graduallyincreased from 416 on May 25,2020, when commercial airpassenger services resumed,to 2,294 till January 18, 2021,said Kinjal Shah, Vice Presidentat Icra.

For January 2021, theaverage daily departures werearound 2,190, significantlylower than the average dailydepartures of 3,080 in January2020, though better thanaround 2,048 in December2020, she said.

“The average number ofpassengers per flight duringJanuary 2021 was 111, againstan average of 134 passengersper flight in January 2020.Thus, it is expected that thedomestic aviation industryoperated at a passenger loadfactor (PLF) of around 72 percent in the previous monthagainst 86 per cent in January2020, that too on a low capac-ity,” she added.

New Delhi:The Indian phar-maceutical industry has provedto be a dependable supplier ofquality drugs in a time of glob-al need on account of theCovid-19 pandemic, and isexpected to reach a size of USD130 billion by 2030, Chemicaland Fertiliser

Minister D V SadanandaGowda said on Monday.

Following the onset of thepandemic, the Indian pharmaindustry has shown its role asa reliable supplier of drugsand medical devices in a timeof need, he added.

“The total market size ofthe Indian pharma industry isexpected to reach USD 130 bil-lion by 2030.

The medical devices indus-try in India has the potential togrow at 28 per cent per annumto reach USD 50 billion by2025,” Gowda said.

He was addressing thecurtain raiser press conferenceon the 6th edition of ‘IndianPharma & India MedicalDevice 2021’. “India has beenserving more than 200 coun-tries with its pharma productsand will continue to dischargeits responsibilities.

���& � "�8�)�0$9

India’s risk-based internalaudit requirement for non-

banking finance companies iscredit positive, MoodysInvestors Service said.

The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) issued guidelines for thecountry’s largest non-bankingfinance companies (NBFCs)to implement a risk-basedinternal audit framework, inline with banks. The frame-work requires an NBFC’s inter-nal audit function to assessrisks independently of its exist-ing risk-management func-tions.

The requirement is creditpositive because it adds anoth-er layer of risk monitoring andimproves the companies’resilience to unexpectedshocks, Moody’s said.

The guidelines will apply toall deposit-taking NBFCs orNBFCs with assets of morethan Rs 500 billion as of March31, 2022. The framework’sapplication to the largestNBFCs reflects the RBI’s ongo-ing efforts to strengthen and

harmonise regulatory normsbetween NBFCs and banks.The NBFC sector has beenincreasingly important to cred-it growth in India.

NBFCs’ total balance sheetmore than doubled to Rs 49trillion in 2020 from around Rs20 trillion in 2015. At the sametime, banks’ exposures toNBFCs have also increased,and according to RBI data,8.5% of gross bank credit wasto NBFCs as of December2020, compared with 4.8% inDecember 2016.

Banks have traditionallybeen subject to stricter regula-tions and risk controls thanNBFCs, creating regulatoryarbitrage for NBFCs, eventhough they provide similarfinancial services.

����� ���-�9

Extending its winning streakto the sixth session, equity

benchmark Sensex rallied 617points to end above the 51,000-mark for the first time onMonday, tracking strong gainsin Infosys, ICICI Bank andReliance Industries amid apositive trend in global mar-kets.After touching a lifetimehigh of 51,523.38 during theday, the 30-share BSE indexended 617.14 points or 1.22 percent higher at its record clos-ing peak of 51,348.77.

Similarly, the broader NSENifty surged 191.55 points or1.28 per cent to its lifetime clos-ing high of 15,115.80. Ittouched an intra-day record of15,159.90.

Mahindra and Mahindra(M&M) was the top gainer inthe Sensex pack, soaring

around 7 per cent, followed byBajaj Finserv, Bharti Airtel,

PowerGrid, Infosys andICICI Bank., Kotak Bank, BajajFinance and ITC were amongthe laggards. According toBinod Modi, Head-Strategy atReliance Securities, domesticequities remained in the grip ofbulls with benchmark indicesextending gains for the sixthconsecutive day.“Improvedprospects of sustained eco-nomic recovery on the back-drop of sharp increase in cap-ital expenditures and boldreform measures have embold-ened investors. “While globalequities remained favourabletoday, benchmark index Niftyand Sensex recorded fresh all-time highs,” he said. Elsewherein Asia, bourses in Shanghai,Hong Kong and Tokyo endedwith significant gains, whileSeoul was in the red.

����� "�8�)�0$9

Markets regulator Sebi onMonday barred

Capitalaim Financial AdvisoryPvt Ltd and five individualsfrom accessing securities mar-ket for selling services to clientswithout consideration of theirfinancial position, investmentobjective and risk profiling.

The individuals who havebeen barred are the company’spresent and former directors-- Abhijeet Bajpai, Anant Tiwari,Debabrata Bhattacharjee,Sheetal Foujdar and AbhilashaVerma.As per an interim orderof Sebi, Capitalaim and its pre-sent directors Bajpai and Tiwariare directed to cease and desistfrom acting as an investmentadvisor.

Besides, they have beendirected not to divert any fundsraised from the investors.

Also, the regulator hasdirected them to immediatelywithdraw and remove alladvertisements, representa-tions, communications in rela-tion to its investment advisoryactivity or any other activity inthe securities market.

The interim direc-tion comes after the regulatorprima facie found Capitalaimand individuals in violations ofPFUTP (Prohibition ofFraudulent and Unfair TradePractices) norms as well asInvestment Advisor (IA) regu-lations.

A probe by the Securitiesand Exchange Board of India(Sebi) found that Capitalaimwas selling products and ser-vices to its clients withoutcommunicating the risk profileto them. Further it wasobserved that Capitalaim wascharging fees from clientswhich is disproportionate oftheir annual income and sell-ing same services or packagesto same clients on multipleoccasion at different arbitraryprice for future period / over-lapping period, while an exist-ing subscription is still active,which has the effect of lockingin the client to the InvestmentAdvisor, as IA has “no refundand cancellation” policy. It hadcharged different arbitraryadvisory fees from the sameand different clients, Sebinoted.

���������$� � ����������Sensex rallies 617 pts toclose above 51k-mark

.,+������� � ���������� ����������8,�����������(��������������9�����(

"�#��#�������������)��������& �����/�0������������������������!��

"�� ��������������-��������� ���6��;.<������=<.<7 $����

)� �� ��� ������������������J4T� ��,��

+�� �������������� � ����� �C&������%������������������������ � �������������@���4K

'�������� �����������������12������$34�������������

Page 10: %ˆˆ˚ ˙ )Bˆ+*˝)ˇ4, 7C5D &’ˇ!ˇ&!( *& +, ˜ˆ @ )˝0$9 0 /A8 -$A 0 ......2021/02/09  · about FDI but I see that a new FDI has come to the fore. We have to protect the nation

How often do we switch tohealthy snacking while

watching our favourite web seriesor for that matter to satisfy thoselate night hunger pangs? Theanswer is very rarely. And even ifwe try to do so we don’t findmuch tasty options.

Here comes CaliforniaPistachios to your rescue.

“Pistachios are a great sourceof healthy fats, fiber, protein,Vitamin B6, potassium, thiamine,copper, phosphorous and power-ful antioxidants like lutein andzeaxanthin. They are also the low-est calorie nut so you can havemore pistachios in a single serv-ing as compared to any othercommonly consumed nuts. Theresults from the largest ran-domised clinical trial to date onnuts and Diabetes showed thateating about 2 ounces of nuts aday for three months, as a replace-ment for carbohydrate foods,may improve long-term bloodsugar control and LDL cholesterolin people with Type II Diabetes,”Luke Coutinho , Holistic LifestyleCoach — Integrative Medicine &Founder — Luke CoutinhoHolistic Healing Systems Pvt Ltd,tells you.

He adds that the researchshows that adding pistachios todifferent common carbohydratefoods, such as rice and pasta, waslinked to reduced relative bloodsugar response of the meal.

However, there are variousbeliefs associated with eatingnuts. Eating them only in wintersis one. But that is, of course, nottrue. “Eating a handful of nuts likepistachios should be a part ofeveryone’s daily and balanceddiet,” Coutinho, who was recent-

ly announced as the AmericanPistachio Growers (APG)Lifestyle Ambassador in Indiaduring a virtual press conference,says.

For those who are alwaysangsting about not putting extrakgs, pistachios can help them too.“Researchers recently discoveredthat eating as much as 20 per centof calories from American pista-chios may not lead to weight gain,but it may provide the added ben-efit of improving health.American pistachios are also oneof the lowest-calorie nuts with just160 calories in a single ouncewhich is equivalent to 49 pista-chios. Also the act of openingeach pistachio shell to get out thenut slows down the eatingprocess, which lead to greater sat-isfaction and fullness after eating,”Coutinho explains.

He adds that it’s time we stopfearing good fats and blame themfor making us put on weight. “We

need good fats for so many bod-ily functions. It is a poor lifestyle,sedentary day, overeating junk,toxic emotions, poor sleep pat-terns, that actually lead to weightgain,” Coutinho asserts.

Now many of us would won-der how to select the best varietyof pistachios, Coutinho shareswords of wisdom to help them.

“Not many know that main-ly only two countries generate thebiggest yields of pistachios: the USand Iran. In the US, pistachios areprimarily grown in California.What makes these two kinds dif-ferent is the fat content. Californiapistachios are lower in saturatedfats (1.5 grams per serving) andhigh in protein (6 grams), mak-ing them a healthier choice thantheir counterparts from othercountries, giving you yet anoth-er reason to include it into yourdaily diet and open up one moreavenue for healthful snacking,”Coutinho explains.

�����%� Bathua orchenopodium leaves arefilled with many nutritionalqualities which can dowonders for your overallhealth. It is loaded withessential minerals andantioxidants.

It is a powerhouse ofVitamin A, C and B complex.The leaves are a good source ofamino acids too. Amino acidsplay a significant role incell function andcell repair. Alarge propor-tion of our cells,muscles and tis-sues are made up ofamino acids.

Minerals likeiron, potassium, phos-phorus and calcium arealso present in abundance

in Bathua. Rich in fibre andwater content, bathua alsocures constipation(due to itslaxative properties) and a hostof your tummy problems byaiding digestion and boostingintestinal activity too. Bathua’srole in keeping your liverhealthy has also made theselovely greens a hit in the healthand nutritioncircuit.

With fading hopes, butwith a stern decisionof not giving in to thecircumstances, Ali

Hamad’s parents thought of reach-ing out to HCMT ManipalHospitals after hearing ‘no’ frommany big hospitals in Delhi.

It was their strong will tosave their baby that even fortunefavoured them, so much so thatsuch a complicated surgery wassuccessfully done in nine-monthold Hamad.

Liver transplants are oftentricky. Sometimes it is too late fora transplant, while the other timesthe body doesn’t accept the donor’sliver at all. However, the most riskyof all is the transplant in babies lessthat one year of age and 10 kg ofweight. So was the case withHamad who suffered from liverfailure due to a rare disorder.

Dr Sailendra Lalwani, Head ofthe Department of LiverTransplant and Hepato-Pancreatic-Bil iar y Surger y,HCMCT Manipal Hospitals per-formed the surgery that makesHamad one of the youngest babiesundergoing a very complex livertransplant procedure. Dr SailendraLalwani’s team was supported byDr Lalit Sehgal HOD — GeneralAnesthesia, Liver TransplantAnesthesia, Liver Critical Care, DrVikas Taneja, HOD — Pediatricsand Dr Sufla Saxena, Consultant— Paediatric Gastroenterologistand Hepatologist.

Hamad was a known case ofProgressive Familial IntrahepaticCholestasis Type II (PFIC TYPE2). He had jaundice since birth.

The patient had multiple hospital-isations in Iraq for jaundice andrecurrent cholangitis. “He wasevaluated for jaundice and a liverbiopsy done in Iraq was suggestiveof progressive familial intrahepat-ic cholestasis Type 2. Three othersiblings of the patient died becauseof jaundice and they remainedundiagnosed. Given the history,clinical condition, and patholog-ical diagnosis patient was referredfor a liver transplant,” Dr Lalwanitells you.

This is not all. Hamad washaving infection with cholangitisfor which he was admitted andtreated. “Apart from recurrentcholangitis, the patient was havingmarked ascites and growth failurewith a bodyweight of 6.1 kg. Heunderwent evaluation for a livingdonor liver transplant and hismother was evaluated as aprospective donor. During anevaluation, CT scan showed cir-rhotic changes,hepatosplenomegaly with attenu-ated portal vein with no portalflow with significant ascites andsignificant portosystemic collater-als,” Dr Lalawani says.

He adds that no supply ofblood to the liver or clinicallyspeaking attenuated portal vein isa big challenge to any liver trans-plant team as vascular complica-tions are high in paediatric trans-plant patients. The reconstructionof the portal vein with graft isalways a challenge as it increasesthe risk of thrombotic complica-tions.

“To overcome this challenge,we planned to use an iliac vein

graft procured during cadavericliver transplant,” Dr Lalwaniexplains.

Hamad underwent a trans-plant on January 3, 2021. “Therewas no flow in the portal vein. Weplaced the interposition vein graftto give inflow to the liver. It tookaround nine hours to complete thetransplant and baby was shifted toICU on a ventilator,” Dr Lalwanielaborates.

The baby was off the ventila-tor the next morning and gradu-ally in the next few days, he start-ed accepting oral feed, toleratingwell, and gaining weight. “Finally,after 20 days of surgery baby was

discharged from the hospital. Thefamily plans to go back to Iraqnow,” Dr Lalwani adds. The baby,however, was given 80 per cent ofsuccessful surgery with a 20 percent of risk.

“There are no complications inHamad right now, but since hisimmunity is almost zero, he needsextra care, especially during thepandemic. However, the donor ishealthy and has nothing to worryabout. She was on medication forabout five days post the surgery,but is now completely fine,” DrLalwani explains.

Dr Saxena says that it has beenpossible because the parentsbrought the baby right in timewhich contributed to the success-ful surgery. “There are three phas-es of liver failure. Phase I is themost treatable, while in Phase IIand III it is comparitively difficultto treat the patient. Hamad wasbrought to the hospital in thebeginning of Phase II, hence wetook the chance and with God’sgrace completed the surgery,” DrSaxena tells you.

Hamad’s mother, who alsobecame the donor, says that shewas extremely afraid about losingher child again. “He is my fourthson, earlier three died perhaps suf-fering from the same liver disease.I was very afraid about Hamad’ssurvival, but the doctors heresaved the life of my son. Weexpress since gratitude towards alldoctors of Manipal Hospitals.From day one they assured me thateverything will be right and I willgo back to Iraq with a healthychild,” she says.

53�'�#&)+�/���)�/���+�)$9'�0

����������� �� ����� ��������������

��&�����&�����&

Over five decades, since the first successful heart transplantwas carried out by Christiaan Barnard in Cape Town, South

Africa, this procedure remains the most effective proven ther-apy to alleviate symptoms, improve quality of life and confer sur-vival benefit for a selection of end-stage heart failure (HF) patientswho have no further medical or non-transplant surgical optionsavailable to them. Typically, these patients will have less than 50per cent chance of surviving the next two years without the sur-gical intervention.

The following are indications for heart transplantation:Idiopathic Dilated Cardiomyopathy: This is a disease of

unknown cause that affects the heart muscle such that one orboth ventricles, or main pumping chambers of the heart, tendto dilate and cause reduced function, The heart is then unableto pump sufficient blood around the body, particularly when itdemands more oxygen and nutrients during exertion.

Ischaemic Cardiomyopathy: This is caused by disease ofthe arteries of the heart whereby the arteries are either narrowedor blocked by local deposition and collection of fatty materialthrough a process called atherosclerosis. Many patients will havehad intervention by way of stents placed inside the diseased arter-ies, or have had bypass surgery. Some patients with ischaemic

heart disease can also haverefractory chest pain, or angi-na, that is not amenable to per-cutaneous or surgical treat-ment. They also benefit fromheart transplantation.

Valvular Heart Disease:A condition where disease ofone or more heart valves leadsto damage of the heart musclewith enlargement of the heartand poor function.

Hypertrophic cardiomy-opathy: Characterised byabnormal thickening of theheart muscle, typically the leftventricle, such that it becomesstiff and unable to perform thenecessary pumping action. Thiscondition is often linked to aninherited genetic defect.

Infiltrative cardiomyopa-thy: Both genetic and acquired causes lead to the depositionof abnormal material within the tissues of the heart leading toheart failure. Some of these diseases are Amyloidosis, Sarcoidosis,Haemochromatosis, Fabry disease, Danon disease and Friedreich’sataxia.

Congenital Heart Disease (CHD): Some complex congen-ital heart diseases are not amenable to surgical correction or repairand require neonatal heart transplantation. However, many con-ditions can be corrected or repaired in childhood and over thatover 80 per cent of patients with CHD now survive to adulthood.A proportion of patients who have had one or more surgical pro-cedure will develop heart failure later in life. Some of these con-ditions will eventually result in damage to the lungs also withthe requirement of a combined heart and lung transplant.

Persistent Ventricular Arrhythmia: Intermittent malignantheart rhythms can become intractable with damage to the heartmuscle and eventual heart failure.

Primary Cardiac Tumour: Rarely, a primary cardiac can-cer without risk of metastasis may also be amenable to heart trans-plantation.

Other conditions: Heart muscle can also be damaged byalcohol, drugs, viral infection (viral myocarditis), following child-birth (post-partum cardiomyopathy) and also in the context ofthyroid disease or Diabetes.

��,���,���:������ ���� �������� ����

,��#��� ���� ���� � ����� � ��� ��� �;�� ������ ����

����� ���<4���$� ��,��

���� �������#�� � ���� � ��� ������������������$� � �

�$� �8���� ��� ��"� ��� ���� ���45����

�� $�$�� ����� ����

������� %� -./� #������ !"�#$%� !&�' $( �#��#' *�+)+,=�

# � ���� ���� � ��� ��� �� ��������0�� � � �1 ���0��������23���4,*

������� ������ � ���� ���������� �����1 �� ������5� 2��������1���0������2

� ��� �����1�.�� � ���� ���� � ��� ��� �������� ��� ���������2

����� ����6 �������� 5 ����� ������� ��� � ������� ����

��5���

Flu season is starting.While catching coldand cough may not be

that big of a deal, but dur-ing the pandemic it candefinitely give you a miniheart attack.

Here are a fewtips that canhelp.

D r i n kwarm water.D r i n k i n gwarm watertwice a day,with or with-out having aflu is beneficial.It not only helpsrelieve sore throat but

also helps to detoxifyyour body.

Salt water gargle.Add one tsp of salt to

lukewarm water and gargletwice daily. It will help killthe bacteria in throat and

will relieve pain and dis-comfort.

Take steam. Boil waterin a pan, cover your headwith a towel and inhale thesteam for at least 15 min-

utes. Do this twice daily.This will help relieve

stuffy nose, sorethroat and even

reduce headaches.

D r i n kginger tea.Ginger isknown for its

anti-inf lam-matory proper-

ties. Drinking gin-ger tea once a day will

help reduce cold.Vitamin C helps. Mix

lemon in lukewarm waterand drink it daily. VitaminC is rich in antioxidantswhich help improve immu-nity and fight cold and flu.

Seasonal flus are annoying.and threatening too, espe-

cially during this pandemic.ROSHANI DEVI shares easyhome remedies that can helptreat the flu without having

to put too much efforts

����������

#��$%��!�

Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin.Our body stores and uses it as need-ed. Vitamin E in food is found in

vegetable oils, margarine, nuts, seeds, cere-als and leafy greens. People usually getenough vitamin E from the foods they eat.People with certain disorders may needextra Vitamin E from supplements.Vitamin E is an antioxidant, it plays animportant role in the immune systembuilding and metabolic processes.

Here are seven reasons to add VitaminE in your daily diet

Boosts immune systemVitamin E is a powerful antioxidant

which protects cells from oxidative dam-age when cells are exposed to free radicals.It slows down the ageing process of yourcells. It helps people with higher environ-mental lifestyle risk factors to fight againstinfections by boosting the immune system.

Enhances muscle healthVitamin E plays a very important role

in preparing and growing muscle tissue.After exercising, the cells and tissuesbecome torn and it helps to restore themquickly and build them up stronger.

Keeps heart healthyGetting more Vitamin E into the diet

from healthy foods helps to protect theheart muscle from cramping and bloodclotting. People who have cardiovascularproblems are usually advised to have moreof a Vitamin E rich diet as well as a sup-plement.

Supports eye healthIf you suffer from eye problems then

taking Vitamin E daily can help to preventfurther damage. It supports the health ofthe small muscles surrounding the retinaand protects it against damage from highblood sugar regimen and also protects theeye from free radical damage.

Maintains hair growthAs Vitamin E is a natural antioxidant,

it also helps to maintain healthy hairgrowth. This can lower the risk of thin-ning hair as we get older by reducingoxidative stress and damage to the hair fol-licles.

Protects nerve health & hormonalhealth

Vitamin E is a fat-soluble nutrient, ithelps to protect the cover of the body’snerve endings called the myelin sheath.Hormones in the body are made using fatand cholesterol as their raw material.Being an antioxidant and fat-solublenutrient, it also protects exposures fromfree radical damage especially duringmenopause, Pms and stressful times.

Maintains healthy skinVitamin E is a powerful antioxidant

which helps you in giving healthy skin asit repairs the skin damage caused due toexposure to air pollution and ultravioletrays of the sun.

To conclude, Vitamin E is sensitive toheat so it must be consumed from raw anduncooked foods to protect its nutritionalvalue. Add Vitamin E to your daily diet toattain its health benefits.����� ��� ��� �� � ���>�������� ��'�� � �� ��

����#�������� �������� ��

���������� ����� ��(���������� ����������������������

���������� ���(

� ��������� �����-����� �>�� ��������������(�.+)��A<*8>6*�

UP YOUR VITAMIN INTAKE

6���!��������4�A>��&�)+8<&���������,*�<*�<�+������ ������������ ��*������ ����������� ������������������� ���������� ����� ��� ���������������������������������(�������������

����������������)���������$��'���� ����$�� �������������������� ������������ ����� ������ ����� ���� �������������������������� ��� �������#���&-��$�&$�9��� ���������������

-�� �� �����,��� �������4,�� ��� �����

#� ����������,,��� ����

�,�� �>� ������������: � ������������� ��� �������,�<4���$� �� ��

���� ������� ���������� ���� ���� ��#��

?�5 ������� �������4�5����$� �- ����� �

0�����4���� ��

��66�� ������88����� ��99����88 �������������� �� ��9�� �������������� ����� �������������??*�������������� ����33� 9�����>>��� ����������������!!��������������� ��''�������� �

6 ��������������2�� ����

Page 11: %ˆˆ˚ ˙ )Bˆ+*˝)ˇ4, 7C5D &’ˇ!ˇ&!( *& +, ˜ˆ @ )˝0$9 0 /A8 -$A 0 ......2021/02/09  · about FDI but I see that a new FDI has come to the fore. We have to protect the nation

������ !"�#$%� !&�' $( �#��#' *�+)+,

==���������� ��������������2��� �7!0���8 ��

������99������������� �����9������9

���������

�����������&��� ����������� ���% ������ �����������%���� ��� ��� �� �#�

����� ��!��������������������� ������������������� ������� ��������������������9������ #G7� ��� ���� ������������� � ����

�����#�-��� ��������������!����% ���������������������D�������� ���� �������� �������#�'���� � �������������#�& ������������ ���������!R�� �������� ����

9������ ����#�

& ������������' �&��' ������������!���� ����������������������� ���� �+����!���������������������������� ����� �� ���� ��� ���������#G0��%����� ���������� ������������������#�9���� ���� %���������� ��������� ��� �#�9���D�����������%���������������%������� �D������ %��9D ����� ��������������%!R��� ����� �#

78.,9%�" :,8�".�-*�5%�-:�.,��,%:(,:%;

�&-���&/��5(�":< :�%�,=�)�("%��5��8

F����������9�� ������ ������� � ����������������#�9�������������� ���� �����������!����� �!����� ��� �������� ���� ����������������!����� � ��� ������������������ �#�-�������9�������� ������� ����9����������� ������� � � ������������ ��!�9�����������.������ ��#����� �������9�� ������������������� ��!�9�������� �����(

-)�'5(��@�)����� �

����������

F+ ������ ������� �� ��!*���� ����������������� �� �������9�������������������� ��9���! �������� ����������������������������� �������������������� �#�&�!�9���D��� �%�9������������������������#�������������!��������� ���� �������������������� ��� �������� ��!�����9� �%�������������� � ���� ����� �(

��� ��� ������ � ��� �

Valentine’s Day marks thecelebration of love. It isthat time of the year

when love and romance blossomin every heart and in everycorner of the world. The couplesexplore new ways to expresstheir emotions and make theirpartner feel special. There aremany things that you can do tomake someone feel special, yetthere are some people who wantto wear their hearts, literally, ontheir sleeves by getting a perma-nent tattoo on their skin!

Couple tattoos have gainedtremendous popularity in thelast few years. Getting a beauti-ful piece of art tattooed on yourbody to dedicate it to yourspouse/partner is somethingthoughtful and cherishable.Both ink and love require life-long commitments as they neverfade, regardless of how muchtime passes. So if you want toshow your partner that you’re

pretty serious about the relation-ship and it’s a ‘forever’ kind oflove, then matching tattoos arethe new, modern way to revealhow much this bond matters toyou!

There are a variety of tattoostyles that are trending thesedays. People have become cre-ative and are finding differentways of inking their love. Somedesigns include, king and queencrowns, connecting puzzle tat-too, partner’s name, name ini-tials, zodiac symbols, infinitysign, or wedding date etc.

An award-winning tattooartist, Lokesh Verma who is thefounder of Devil’z Tattooz, haslisted down some trends that arepopular among couples:

Name or date: Many couplestend to get too romantic on thisspecific day and get each other’snames inked to show how muchthey love each other. The most

popular example of this was SaifAli Khan’s tattoo for his ladylove, Kareena Kapoor Khan.One can also get special datesinked, such as wedding anniver-sary or the first time you met.These are special memories andmoments to cherish.

Identical ones: For an everlast-ing bond, a lot of people preferto find that one common thingwhich both the partners canconnect with such as word orphrase, musical notes or anysymbol. Having the same tattoolinks you together for life. Even,Priyanka Chopra Jonas and NickJonas marked their first anniver-sary of their engagement by get-ting matching tattoos to cele-brate that.

Connecting tattoos: Connectingor half and half tattoo is com-plete only when the couple istogether. Thus, depicting thatthey are incomplete withouteach other. One example is theheartbeat tattoo that runs fromone to the other. Couples whoare in a long-distance relation-ship also get connecting tattoosto represent how you and yourpartner may be miles apart butstill connected.

Minimalistic designs: To makea big impact, go small! A lot ofpeople like to keep things per-sonal, super discreet, nothing toelaborate, visible, flashy or bold.For such private and simplepeople, the minimalistic tat-toos are the best options —small tattoos to define the largeamount of love you feel. Want toconvey a powerful message in asubtle way? Then small tattooscharacterised with clean linesare the way to go!

Ink the fingerprint: This issomething quirky and unique —getting the fingerprint of yourpartner printed on yourself. It’slike a signature of love inked onyou, which is the ultimate sealof love.

Flowers Bloom, Flowers Wither Away,Flowers Bloom AgainSomewhere between reality and fan-

tasy, between experience and memory,Chameli Ramachandran creates a visualsymphony in a twilight realm. This is anode to nature a reflection as soothing asa requiem to life and the living.

Evanescent and evocativeThe walls of Vadehras in Delhi are

replete with a suffusion of flowers, leavesand branches, an arcadia includingorchids, sthalapadma (Hibiscus muta-bilis), simul (silk cotton) and various kindsof lilies, chrysanthemums, carnations andcrotons.

Shantiniketan born Chameli’s poeticbrushstrokes quiver and fold in a quies-cent mood across sheets of paper, witha quickly fading yet evocative sense ofenergy. The contemplative Chameli is atthe peak of her powers here in 97 worksthat grace one floor. With technical virtu-osity, she varies the gradation of ink strokesfrom lush bloomed foliage to pale, silverygrey/ash tones in the distance.

Flowers have been a central theme ofher work since the 1970s. Sometimes asmall sprig would appear as fresh, decora-tive punctuation to a blank sheet of paper,other times a humble arrangement ofblooms would become the sole focus of hercomposition, advancing from the orna-mental to the central subject, and lookingfor veracity in simple everyday subjects.

An organic odysseyWhether single or a bunch, each study

reveals a deep desire to tell the visual truthby exposing the processes involved. It isindicated by the soft suffusion of layersreferring to the colour separations involved

in the revelation of nature’s organic odyssey.In deliberately creating with tranquil tonesof colour and using only ink, she ensuresthat we are not distracted from the moreformal elements of the composition. Thedense intricacies and the precise lines con-trast with the fluidity of the crayon-likehandling of the small petalled flowers.Different painterly techniques demand dif-ferent skills of draughtsmanship: precisionand perfection of detail versus fluidity andspontaneity of line are her recurrenttheme.

The monochrome minimalism in herworks have the ability to stimulate senso-ry moods. The bold, recessive leaves add

a vibrancy to otherwise traditional com-positions.

An idealised, imaginary landscapeopens out with a sense of recession builton an understanding of deeply studied spa-tial concepts. The entire composition isunified through a perspective that suggestsfamiliarity with nature studies.

Chameli’s love for poetic forms unrav-el like a sumptuous bouquet — interpos-ing her own long, rhythmic dashesdesigned to indicate short pauses. As sub-jects, flowers are parts of the topographyof her own psyche; she explores her ownfeelings with painstaking and painful hon-esty but never loses sight of the poeticapplication. This is one of her greatest tech-niques — to reflect her own serenity. Theseworks record thoughts and feelings expe-rienced naturally over the course of a life-time devoted to reflection and creativity:the powerful mind represented in theserecords is reflective, compelling, moving,thought-provoking and emerges like anorchestration of moorings. Memory andimagination lead Chameli into an islandof her own navigation.

Maya Anelou had said, “There is no greater agonythan bearing an untold story inside you.” So if

you want to be a writer, you must do two things aboveall others: read a lot and write a lot. But how can bur-geoning writers take their idea to a book-length real-ity? Well, Wattpad’s author, Neil D’Silva shares a fewtips on how to get started.

Write what you like to readDo not make the mistake of emulating market

trends and getting influenced by the latest bestsellingbooks. Stay true to your conviction. Even if your storyis unconventional and of a kind that has never beenwritten before, go ahead and write it if you are con-vinced. In fact, you must definitely write stories ofthe kind that have never been written.

Dedicate yourself to a writing regimenIf you dream to get published, you need to stop

thinking of writing as a hobby and give it seriousattention. Allot a couple of hours per day or morewhen you will only write, without distractions. Keepthe phone off and don’t check your social media whenyou write. Writing every day is absolutely essential.You have to keep writing till it becomes second natureto you.

Join writing groups and communities online andoffline

Writers who are starting out can reap great ben-efits by being part of a community where they canshare their writing and get feedback. It also makesyou less lonely and motivates you to see that thereare many others sharing the same passion as you.Writing groups on various social media platformsare wonderful places to mingle with fellow writers.

Bollywood star AyushmannKhurrana had announced his next,

Anek, directed by filmmaker AnubhavSinha. In the first look, the actor isseen sporting an eyebrow slit and theactor reveals how he took this idea tohis director.

Ayushmann, who plays the char-acter of Joshua in the film, says, “I havebeen fortunate enough to collaboratewith filmmakers who have alwaysencouraged my creative inputs totheir vision of storytelling. The eye-brow slit that I’m sporting in the filmwas an idea that I discussed withAnubhav sir. It was about creating adistinct look that audiences havenever seen me in and I’m glad thatpeople have taken notice of this andare discussing it.”

He adds, “I have to thank mydirector for being open to my sugges-tion and that’s what makes our creativepartnership so exciting. I have alwaysbeen an eager artist who wants to con-tribute towards building my charac-ter.”

Ayushmann has been vocalisinghis ideas to his directors in the recentpast. He says, “I always make thesemental notes and discuss them withmy director. Like in Shubh MangalZyada Saavdhan, my character wearsa nose ring. I had bounced this ideawith Hitesh (Kewalya) and Anand Raisir and I’m glad they took this inputon board. Similarly, Shoojit sir washappy with the idea that I wanted tohave a lisp in Gulabo Sitabo.”

Ayushmann adds, “I like to be anactive voice when I team up withsomeone, discussing everything underthe sun about my character and thefilm. I feel invested if I openly speakmy mind and thankfully I have alwayshad filmmakers who have appreciat-ed what I bring to the table.”

5:&(%�.,�+.*(�"�::�:����������������������� ������� �������������(�� ������������(���2�<�����������������������������/����(����������(������ ��� ���������������-��� �� � �B�(2�,(�)>*� -+-*

"��������)�������$��������������������� � ������������������U�$��������������� ��

�������������3� ����93 )8"��3 3�93'��3' ��������������������������� ����������������� ����������������������������������� ���������������������������������@�&��� 3 '3"�

6�������#������� ���>�&���������

Page 12: %ˆˆ˚ ˙ )Bˆ+*˝)ˇ4, 7C5D &’ˇ!ˇ&!( *& +, ˜ˆ @ )˝0$9 0 /A8 -$A 0 ......2021/02/09  · about FDI but I see that a new FDI has come to the fore. We have to protect the nation

����� �$�""�9

India were left with the her-culean task of chasing aworld record 420 after

England refused to declare inan unfocussed second essay,cut short by RavichandranAshwin’s brilliance on a sharplyturning fourth day strip in theopening Test here on Monday.

At stumps, India were 39for one, requiring another 381runs to set a new record andtake a 1-0 lead in the four-match series. The previousbest is 418, chased by WestIndies against Australia in2003.

Relishing bowling on aresponsive pitch, the seasonedAshwin returned excellent fig-ures of 6/61 to snap England’ssecond innings at 178 after thehome team conceded a mas-sive first-innings lead of 241runs.

With opener Rohit Sharma(12) back in the hut, ShubmanGill (15) and CheteshwarPujara (12) will begin the pro-ceedings for India on the fifthand final day at the MAChidambaram pitch, whichhas started to play tricks.

India would have been ina bigger hole had it not beenfor a seventh-wicket partner-ship of 80 runs between new-comer Washington Sundar(85) and Ashwin, who alsocontributed a 31 with the batbefore picking his career’s 28thfive-wicket haul.

But despite the duo’s bestefforts, the hosts still fell wayshort of the follow-on targetafter being bowled out for337. India resumed the day at257 for six.

Hoping to give theirbowlers some respite from thesweltering heat, Englanddecided against enforcing thefollow-on and batted again.

But the start wasn’t the onethey wanted as Ashwin bowledhis off-spinners to deadly effectwith the new ball, the bounceaiding him in his endeavour.

Ashwin removed RoryBurns with the very first ball ofthe second innings when heinduced an edge for AjinkyaRahane to take an easy catch in

the first slip.Having ambled to 16 off 37

balls, Dominic Sibley wasshown the door by Ashwin,with the bounce again helpingthe off-spinner.

Veteran pacer IshantSharma was rewarded for bowl-ing with a lot of hearth through-out the match when he hadDaniel Lawrence trapped infront of the wicket with the onethat snaked in.

That was wicket number300 for Ishant, making him thesixth Indian and third pacerfrom the country to reach thelandmark.

Ben Stokes could not repli-cate the form of his first inningsas he played away from his bodyto give Rishabh Pant a catch offAshwin.

As wickets kept falling atone end, skipper Joe Root (40off 32 balls) looked like he wasbatting on a pitch differentfrom the one where the ball wasturning from one end to the

other, scoring runs withoutmuch ado.

With all the confidence inthe world, first-innings doublecenturion Root swept andreverse swept the India spinners,including Ashwin, as runs cameat a fast clip when he was in hiselement in the second session.

He not just negated but alsoattacked the spinners withaplomb but what Root could nottackle was a delivery that keptlow on landing before thuddingagainst the English run-machine’s pads.

The umpire had no hesita-tion in raising his finger asJasprit Bumrah appealed for anLBW.

Ollie Pope (28), Jos Buttler(24) and Dom Bess (25) madeuseful contributions, butEngland strangely kept on bat-

ting even after the lead crossed350 and then 400 on a trackwhich is expected to give thebowlers a lot of purchase on thefinal day.

While 16 wickets fell on thefirst three days, a staggering 15fell by the wayside on Mondayand the Chepauk pitch playeda major part.

While Ashwin did anadmirable job, India captainVirat Kohli may have missed atrick or two by not trying outWashington’s off-breaks whenleft-arm spinner ShahbazNadeem was leaking runs,including overstepping on afew occasions and adding to hisfirst innings no balls.

When India came out to batagain, left-arm spinner JackLeach bowled Rohit with apeach of delivery that landed onthe leg-stump before hittingthe off-stump, the turn leavingthe home team with plenty toworry about going into thefinal day’s play.

��� �=������� !"�#$%� !&�' $( �#��#' *�+)+,

��(�+��!!(�678�"��1��

��� ��������3��� ������������� ���"�� ������������������������������� ��� ��*� ������������� ����)������� ��=���"�� ���� ���������

�(��� +�8�0�9")9

Medium pacer Hasan Alitook a maiden ten-wick-

et haul to help Pakistan win itsfirst series against South Africasince 2003 with a 95-run vic-tory in the second Test on thefifth and final day inRawalpindi on Monday.

Hasan finished with 5-60to record his best match fig-ures of 10-114 and help dis-miss South Africa — whowere set a daunting 370 tochase — for 274 before the teabreak.

Hasan’s new-ball partnerShaheen Shah Afridi finishedwith 4-51, while spinner YasirShah took the last wicket tospark jubilation among thePakistan players.

Opener Aiden Markramscored a fighting 108 andTemba Bavuma 61.

They put on a 106-runstand for the fourth wicket togive Pakistan a scare.

Markram took a single offthe last ball before lunch asSouth Africa reached the breakon 219-3, needing 151 for a win.

But Hasan ripped throughthe tourists’ batting order,which lost seven wickets for

just 33 runs with the secondnew ball.

Hasan struck with the sec-ond over of the new ball to endMarkram’s resistance by get-ting the opener caught in theslip and end his 335-minutefight.

Markram’s fifth Test cen-tury — the first outside SouthAfrica — included 13 bound-aries and three sixes.

Next ball, Hasan hadQuinton de Kock caught in theslip for nought, ending SouthAfrican skipper’s miserableseries with just 46 runs.

Hasan dismissed George

Linde for four to record histhird five-wicket haul as heimproved upon his previousbest match figures of 7-83against New Zealand in AbuDhabi in 2018.

This is Pakistan’s only sec-ond Test series win over SouthAfrica in 12 attempts, havinglost eight and drawn three.

Pakistan last beat SouthAfrica 1-0 in a two-matchseries at home in 2003.

The series win also liftsPakistan to fifth in internation-al Test rankings — the firsttime they have placed in thetop five since January 2017.

����%���$�8���0���������?>4�����"%�"+'��#�'"��8��!"1�'�

!����� �������6�����3� ��

����� �$�""�9

Ishant Sharma’s work ethic hasbeen exemplary over the last 14

years, feels Ravichandran Ashwin,who wishes to see his India team-mate enter the 400-wicket cluband set a bench mark for theemerging quicks of this country.

Ishant, the most-capped Testplayer in this current line-up, onMonday, became the third Indianpacer after Kapil Dev (434 wick-ets) and Zaheer Khan (311) toreach the 300-wicket milestone.

“Look, Ishant has been one ofthe most hard-working crick-eters, that I have seen in thatIndian team dressing room.

“He has worked extremelyhard, for more than just one rea-

son, because being that tall (6 ft4 inch) itself requires a lot of facetsto be managed through a careerwhich is spanned out throughalmost 14 years now,” saidAshwin.

Ishant is only two short of 100Test appearances and will only bethe second pace bowler fromIndia to achieve that covetedlandmark.

For Ashwin, that itself is ameasure of his achievement.

“Ishant, who went toAustralia and got Ricky Pontingout (in 2007-08), and then hasgone through so many othertours, had his fair share of injuries,for a fast bowler to get close to 100Tests in India is not a joke and itis fantastic fantastic achievement,”

said thewily off-spinner.

“I cankeep goingon and keepcompliment-ing Ishant, but Ireally wish to seehim get to 400 andprobably 500 wickets, whichshould be sort of road map for alot of Indian quicks going for-ward.”

So what’s it that makes IshantSharma special as a person?

“If I have to say somethingabout Ishant, his biggest plus isthe smile. He is ever smiling.Even if he is very tired, he issmiling.

AB���� ���������� ��� 1���-�� ���!� �/

�(��� &�B900�

Lionel Messi came off thebench to inspire Barcelona

to a 3-2 victory over Real Betison Sunday, as Ronald Koeman’srotation gamble just about paidoff.

Messi was among severalkey players rested, withKoeman seemingly prioritisingWednesday’s Copa del Reysemi-final against Sevilla aheadof Barca’s fading title challengein La Liga.

Defeat would have calledthat decision into question butMessi drove in an equaliser twominutes after coming on in thesecond half and then helped setup Francisco Trincao to scorea late winner and his firstBarcelona goal. Koeman’s sidesit seven points behind LaLiga’s leaders Atletico Madrid,who have played two gamesfewer and face Celta Vigo athome on Monday night.Success also came at a cost asBarca’s best available centraldefender Ronald Araujo wasforced off with an ankle injuryearly on.

With Gerard Pique alreadya long-term absentee, Araujo’sfitness will be a huge concern,especially with a ChampionsLeague last 16 first leg at hometo Paris Saint-Germain tocome, a week after the testagainst Sevilla.

6��*���� ��� �������&������������