2 ˛# 3ˆ(34$56˚ $0 ˛˚ˆ˚ˆ˜ !˚˙ˇ˙#$ˆ%˚˙ˇ &’ˆ(ˇ(˚)ˇ* 4 ˙ ˆ ˜ ˘˜ ed a bus...
16
Cairo: At least 235 worshippers were killed and 109 others injured when heavily-armed militants bombed a mosque and opened fire on people attending Friday prayers in Egypt’s restive North Sinai region, in the deadliest terror attack in the country. The ISIS terrorists launched a targeted bomb and gun attack on the al-Rowda mosque in Al- Arish city during the Friday prayers, the state-run MENA news agency reported. After the bomb ripped through the mosque, the gun- men on four off-road vehicles opened fire on the worshippers who tried to escape from the site after the explosion, it said. At least 235 worshippers were killed and 109 others injured in the attack, Ahram Online said. Pictures from the scene show rows of bloodied victims inside the mosque. Detailed report on P12 A week after Moody’s upgraded India’s sovereign ratings, global credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) on Friday maintained its status quo, saying the country’s outlook is stable. The credit rat- ings major, however, kept its sovereign rating for India unchanged at ‘BBB-minus’, cit- ing sizeable fiscal deficit, high general Government debt and low per capita income. As rating upgrade will enhance India’s position as an investment destination for for- eign investors, S&P’s ratings indicates India’s risk profile, showing a likely disappoint- ment among investors — both domestic as well as global — which pushed the country’s stock markets for the seventh consecutive trading session on Friday on hopes of another rat- ing upgrade. On the other hand, the rat- ing agency extolled Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s key reforms such as insolvency and bankruptcy code and bad loan resolution framework for PSU banks as well, saying the recapitalisation of public sector lenders will spur new lending within the economy. Besides, it also comple- mented the country’s biggest tax reform Goods and Service Tax (GST) for simplifying indi- rect taxes. Detailed report on P10 V oicing “deep concern” over the release of 26/11 mas- termind Hafiz Saeed from house arrest, the United States on Friday asked Pakistan to arrest and charge the Lashkar- e-Tayyeba chief who for years has been carrying a US boun- ty of $10 million on his head. “The United States is deeply concerned that Lashkar-e-Tayyiba leader Hafiz Saeed has been released from house arrest in Pakistan,” State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said in a statement on Friday, stressing, “The Pakistan Government should make sure that he is arrested and charged for his crimes.” The US statement came hours after Saeed walked free and lost little time in making yet another incendiary speech, slamming India and renewing his vow to continue the ‘jehad’ for Kashmir’s “Independence”. Reminding Islamabad that the US had specially designat- ed Saeed as a “global terrorist” way back in May 2008, Nauert also pointed out that the LeT chief was separately designat- ed by the United Nations in December the same year fol- lowing the Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people, includ- ing six Americans. “LeT is a designated Foreign Terrorist Organisation responsi- ble for the death of hun- dreds of innocent civil- ians in terrorist attacks, including a number of American citizens,” the statement said, noting: “LeT and several of its front organisations, leaders, and operatives remain under both State Department and Treasury Department sanctions.” Continued on Page 4 I n an alleged case of mobile snatching going wrong, a group of five teenagers in school uniform stabbed a man to death inside a moving bus on Mathura Road in South Delhi on Thursday afternoon after he tried to frisk them on suspicion they had stolen his mobile phone. Police said they have appre- hended four juveniles in the case and one juvenile is absconding. Deputy Commissioner of Police (South-East) Romil Baaniya said the deceased has been identified as Mohammed Anas (25) and his snatched mobile phone has been recovered. “Four of them who have been apprehended are pursuing studies in eighth to 10th stan- dard in Government schools. The interrogation of the juve- niles revealed that they assem- bled in the afternoon and board- ed a bus route number 479 from near Ashram Chowk and they snatched the mobile phone of victim and in the due course, one of them stabbed the victim on the neck and deboarded the bus,” said the DCP. The conductor of the bus carrying about 40 passengers at the time of incident said the boys, as well as the victim, boarded the bus from a bus stop in Ashram and soon the man began frisking the students. The man alleged that they had stolen his mobile phone, according to the conductor. “This led to a scuffle in which one boy stabbed the man in his neck with a knife while the other boys restrained him,” the conductor said. Continued on Page 4 T he Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) was expected to mop up addition- al revenue after it increased fares twice in 2017. However, the steep hike resulted in com- muters opting for cheaper modes of transport and in the process the Delhi Metro lost over three lakh commuters a day after the second fare hike came into effect on October 10. This was revealed in an RTI query filed by a PTI corre- spondent. The Metro’s daily average ridership came down to 24.2 lakh in October from 27.4 lakh in September, translating to a fall of around 11 per cent. On October 10, the DMRC effected the fare hike, leading to a rise of around 10 for every distance slab. This came bare- ly five months after a hike of up to 100 per cent. The metro cur- rently has a 218-km network across Delhi-NCR. The Blue Line, considered the metro’s busiest, lost over 30 lakh commuters in October, according to data shared by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). The fall, in terms of absolute numbers, was over 19 lakh on the Yellow Line in October, another busy corridor which connects Gurgaon to North Delhi’s Samaipur Badli, the DMRC said. Ridership on the Violet Line, which connects ITO to Faridabad, plunged by 11.9 lakh in October. The number of riders on the Red Line, from Dilshad Garden to Rithala, came down by 7.5 lakh. Ridership has come down several notches from the num- bers observed in recent years, bucking a trend of rise on the back of the launch of newer sections. In fact, in October 2016, the metro’s daily average rid- ership was 27.2 lakh, despite a comparatively shorter opera- tional route. The revised fare structure is: up to 2 km — 10; 2 to 5 km — 20; 5 to 12 km — 30; 12 to 21 km — 40; 21 to 32 km — 50; and for journeys beyond 32 km — 60. Till May, the Metro trans- ported around 28 lakh passen- gers daily. After the first phase of the hike in May, the metro lost nearly 1.5 lakh passengers per day in June as ridership dropped to 25.7 lakh. However, ridership picked up from around July. In July and August this year, the Delhi Metro witnessed daily average ridership of 26.6 lakh and 27 lakh respectively. Last year, in July, August and September, the Metro’s daily average ridership figures were 26.9 lakh, 28.5 lakh and 28.4 lakh, respectively, reflecting a trajectory of sus- tained growth. The Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP Government had mount- ed stiff opposition to the hike, leading to a confrontation with the Centre. “That many passengers have taken to other means of transport, thus increasing pol- lution and congestion on roads. Metro fare hike has not bene- fited anyone,” Kejriwal tweeted on Friday. Kejriwal, who along with his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), had opposed the fare hike and called it anti-people. “Delhi Metro admits in its RTI response to PTI that its rid- ership decreased by 11 per cent following a steep fare hike in October. Result of misplaced priorities by an unaccountable Board!” Kejriwal’s media advis- er Nagendar Sharma added. It may be noted that the Delhi Assembly had passed a resolution to oppose the fare increase by the Delhi Metro with Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, alleging that it was a “conspiracy” to benefit private cab companies. Asked to comment on the drop in number of passengers, Union Minister Vijay Goel said efforts would be made to increase the number of pas- sengers. “If need be I will raise the issue of fare hike with the Centre,” he said. His colleague Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri had said earlier that the Centre was in no position to disregard the recommendations of a Fare Fixation Committee which had drawn up the revised fare list. Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken also weighed in with his view and said both the Kejriwal Government and the Centre were responsible for the fall in ridership. “The Delhi chief secretary was a part of the fare fixation panel. The Kejriwal Gover- nment gave DMRC chief Mangu Singh an extension of four years. The panel’s report had come on September 2016. Was the Kejriwal Government sleeping all this while?” Maken tweeted. Jaipur: The body of a 40-year- old man was found hanging from the boundary wall of the Nahargarh Fort near the Rajasthan capital on Friday, with messages referring to the Bollywood epic drama Padmavati scribbled on near- by stones, a police official said. DCP North Satyendra Singh said the body of Chetan Kumar Saini, a resident of Shastri Nagar here and a hand- icraft worker, was found hang- ing from the boundary wall of the fort. He said messages were found scribbled on stones, but it was premature to connect the incident with Padmavati protests. One of the messages read, “Padmavati ka virodh karne walo, hum kile par sirf putle nahi latkate... Hum mein hai dum (Padmavati protesters should know we don’t only hang effigies... We are strong)”. The body has been sent for post-mortem and further investigation into it is on, the police said. Detailed report on P7 A s the negotiations are on to resolve the contentious issue of building Ram temple at the disputed Ayodhya site, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has reiterated that the temple will be built at the same spot. “Ram Janmabhoomi per Ram Mandir hi banega aur usi pathher se banega” (Only Ram Mandir will be built at Ram Janmabhoomi using the same stones), said RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat. He was addressing a con- gregation of Hindu saints in the “Dharma Sansad” at temple town of Udupi in Karnataka on Friday. “Dharma Sansad” is a con- gregation of 2,000 Hindu saints, mutt heads and VHP leaders from across the country. Detailed report on P6 New Delhi: The DMRC, which had maintained the fare hike was essential to maintain finan- cial as well as operational health, said in a statement on Friday that the drop in rider- ship is not solely because of increase in fares. Variations in ridership are due to vacations, holidays and festivals, it added Reacting to the report, it said the month of October had holidays owing to festivals such as Diwali, Chhath Pooja and Bhai Duj. “In the month of October there were five Sundays in comparison to four in September and ridership remains less on holidays than on weekdays. Continued on Page 4
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Cairo: At least 235 worshipperswere killed and 109 othersinjured when heavily-armedmilitants bombed a mosqueand opened fire on peopleattending Friday prayers inEgypt’s restive North Sinairegion, in the deadliest terrorattack in the country.
The ISIS terrorists launcheda targeted bomb and gun attackon the al-Rowda mosque in Al-Arish city during the Fridayprayers, the state-run MENAnews agency reported.
After the bomb rippedthrough the mosque, the gun-men on four off-road vehiclesopened fire on the worshipperswho tried to escape from thesite after the explosion, it said.
At least 235 worshipperswere killed and 109 othersinjured in the attack, AhramOnline said. Pictures from thescene show rows of bloodiedvictims inside the mosque.
Detailed report on P12
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Aweek after Moody’supgraded India’s sovereign
ratings, global credit ratingagency Standard & Poor’s(S&P) on Friday maintained itsstatus quo, saying the country’soutlook is stable. The credit rat-ings major, however, kept itssovereign rating for Indiaunchanged at ‘BBB-minus’, cit-ing sizeable fiscal deficit, highgeneral Government debt andlow per capita income.
As rating upgrade willenhance India’s position as aninvestment destination for for-eign investors, S&P’s ratingsindicates India’s risk profile,showing a likely disappoint-ment among investors — both
domestic as well as global —which pushed the country’sstock markets for the seventhconsecutive trading session onFriday on hopes of another rat-ing upgrade.
On the other hand, the rat-ing agency extolled PrimeMinister Narendra Modi’s keyreforms such as insolvencyand bankruptcy code and badloan resolution framework forPSU banks as well, saying therecapitalisation of public sectorlenders will spur new lendingwithin the economy.
Besides, it also comple-mented the country’s biggesttax reform Goods and ServiceTax (GST) for simplifying indi-rect taxes.
Detailed report on P10
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Voicing “deep concern” overthe release of 26/11 mas-
termind Hafiz Saeed fromhouse arrest, the United Stateson Friday asked Pakistan toarrest and charge the Lashkar-e-Tayyeba chief who for yearshas been carrying a US boun-ty of $10 million on his head.
“The UnitedStates is deeplyconcerned thatLashkar-e-Tayyibaleader Hafiz Saeedhas been releasedfrom house arrestin Pakistan,” State Departmentspokesperson Heather Nauertsaid in a statement on Friday,stressing, “The PakistanGovernment should make surethat he is arrested and chargedfor his crimes.”
The US statement camehours after Saeed walked freeand lost little time in makingyet another incendiary speech,slamming India and renewinghis vow to continue the ‘jehad’for Kashmir’s “Independence”.
Reminding Islamabad thatthe US had specially designat-ed Saeed as a “global terrorist”way back in May 2008, Nauertalso pointed out that the LeTchief was separately designat-ed by the United Nations inDecember the same year fol-lowing the Mumbai attacksthat killed 166 people, includ-ing six Americans.
“LeT is a designatedForeign TerroristOrganisation responsi-ble for the death of hun-dreds of innocent civil-ians in terrorist attacks,including a number ofAmerican citizens,” thestatement said, noting:
“LeT and several of its frontorganisations, leaders, andoperatives remain under bothState Department and TreasuryDepartment sanctions.”
Continued on Page 4
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In an alleged case of mobilesnatching going wrong, a
group of five teenagers inschool uniform stabbed a manto death inside a moving bus onMathura Road in South Delhi on Thursday afternoonafter he tried to frisk them onsuspicion they had stolen hismobile phone.
Police said they have appre-hended four juveniles in thecase and one juvenile isabsconding.
Deputy Commissioner ofPolice (South-East) RomilBaaniya said the deceased has been identified asMohammed Anas (25) and hissnatched mobile phone hasbeen recovered.
“Four of them who havebeen apprehended are pursuingstudies in eighth to 10th stan-dard in Government schools.The interrogation of the juve-niles revealed that they assem-
bled in the afternoon and board-ed a bus route number 479 fromnear Ashram Chowk and theysnatched the mobile phone ofvictim and in the due course,one of them stabbed the victimon the neck and deboarded thebus,” said the DCP.
The conductor of the buscarrying about 40 passengers atthe time of incident said theboys, as well as the victim,boarded the bus from a bus stopin Ashram and soon the manbegan frisking the students.The man alleged that they hadstolen his mobile phone,according to the conductor.
“This led to a scuffle inwhich one boy stabbed the manin his neck with a knife whilethe other boys restrained him,”the conductor said.
Continued on Page 4
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The Delhi Metro RailCorporation (DMRC) was
expected to mop up addition-al revenue after it increasedfares twice in 2017. However,the steep hike resulted in com-muters opting for cheapermodes of transport and in theprocess the Delhi Metro lostover three lakh commuters aday after the second fare hikecame into effect on October 10.
This was revealed in an RTIquery filed by a PTI corre-spondent. The Metro’s dailyaverage ridership came down to24.2 lakh in October from 27.4lakh in September, translatingto a fall of around 11 per cent.
On October 10, the DMRCeffected the fare hike, leadingto a rise of around �10 for everydistance slab. This came bare-ly five months after a hike of upto 100 per cent. The metro cur-rently has a 218-km networkacross Delhi-NCR.
The Blue Line, consideredthe metro’s busiest, lost over 30lakh commuters in October,according to data shared by the Delhi Metro RailCorporation (DMRC).
The fall, in terms ofabsolute numbers, was over 19lakh on the Yellow Line inOctober, another busy corridorwhich connects Gurgaon toNorth Delhi’s Samaipur Badli,the DMRC said.
Ridership on the VioletLine, which connects ITO toFaridabad, plunged by 11.9
lakh in October. The number of riders on the Red Line, fromDilshad Garden to Rithala,came down by 7.5 lakh.
Ridership has come downseveral notches from the num-bers observed in recent years, bucking a trend of rise on the back of the launchof newer sections.
In fact, in October 2016,the metro’s daily average rid-ership was 27.2 lakh, despite acomparatively shorter opera-tional route.
The revised fare structureis: up to 2 km — �10; 2 to 5 km— �20; 5 to 12 km — �30; 12
to 21 km — �40; 21 to 32 km— �50; and for journeysbeyond 32 km — �60.
Till May, the Metro trans-ported around 28 lakh passen-gers daily. After the first phaseof the hike in May, the metrolost nearly 1.5 lakh passengersper day in June as ridershipdropped to 25.7 lakh. However,ridership picked up fromaround July.
In July and August this year,the Delhi Metro witnessed dailyaverage ridership of 26.6 lakhand 27 lakh respectively.
Last year, in July, Augustand September, the Metro’s
daily average ridership figureswere 26.9 lakh, 28.5 lakh and28.4 lakh, respectively, reflecting a trajectory of sus-tained growth.
The Arvind Kejriwal-ledAAP Government had mount-ed stiff opposition to the hike,leading to a confrontation withthe Centre.
“That many passengershave taken to other means oftransport, thus increasing pol-lution and congestion on roads.Metro fare hike has not bene-fited anyone,” Kejriwal tweetedon Friday.
Kejriwal, who along withhis Aam Aadmi Party (AAP),had opposed the fare hike andcalled it anti-people.
“Delhi Metro admits in itsRTI response to PTI that its rid-ership decreased by 11 percent following a steep fare hikein October. Result of misplacedpriorities by an unaccountableBoard!” Kejriwal’s media advis-er Nagendar Sharma added.
It may be noted that theDelhi Assembly had passed aresolution to oppose the fareincrease by the Delhi Metrowith Deputy Chief MinisterManish Sisodia, alleging that itwas a “conspiracy” to benefitprivate cab companies.
Asked to comment on thedrop in number of passengers,Union Minister Vijay Goel saidefforts would be made toincrease the number of pas-sengers. “If need be I will raisethe issue of fare hike with theCentre,” he said.
His colleague UnionMinister of Housing and UrbanAffairs Hardeep Singh Purihad said earlier that the Centrewas in no position to disregardthe recommendations of a FareFixation Committee which haddrawn up the revised fare list.
Delhi Congress chief AjayMaken also weighed in with his view and said both theKejriwal Government and the Centre were responsible for thefall in ridership.
“The Delhi chief secretarywas a part of the fare fixationpanel. The Kejriwal Gover-nment gave DMRC chiefMangu Singh an extension offour years. The panel’s reporthad come on September 2016. Was the KejriwalGovernment sleeping all thiswhile?” Maken tweeted.
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Jaipur: The body of a 40-year-old man was found hangingfrom the boundary wall of theNahargarh Fort near theRajasthan capital on Friday,with messages referring to theBollywood epic dramaPadmavati scribbled on near-by stones, a police official said.
DCP North SatyendraSingh said the body of ChetanKumar Saini, a resident ofShastri Nagar here and a hand-icraft worker, was found hang-ing from the boundary wall ofthe fort. He said messages werefound scribbled on stones, but it was premature to connect the incident withPadmavati protests.
One of the messages read,“Padmavati ka virodh karnewalo, hum kile par sirf putlenahi latkate... Hum mein haidum (Padmavati protestersshould know we don’t onlyhang effigies... We are strong)”.
The body has been sent forpost-mortem and furtherinvestigation into it is on, thepolice said.
Detailed report on P7
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As the negotiations are on toresolve the contentious
issue of building Ram temple atthe disputed Ayodhya site, theRashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh(RSS) has reiterated that thetemple will be built at thesame spot.
“Ram Janmabhoomi perRam Mandir hi banega aur usipathher se banega” (Only RamMandir will be built at RamJanmabhoomi using the same stones), said RSS chiefMohan Bhagwat.
He was addressing a con-gregation of Hindu saints in the “Dharma Sansad” attemple town of Udupi inKarnataka on Friday.
“Dharma Sansad” is a con-gregation of 2,000 Hindu saints,mutt heads and VHP leadersfrom across the country.
Detailed report on P6
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��(5� ������ ����������������������� ���� �New Delhi: The DMRC, whichhad maintained the fare hikewas essential to maintain finan-cial as well as operationalhealth, said in a statement onFriday that the drop in rider-ship is not solely because ofincrease in fares. Variations inridership are due to vacations,holidays and festivals, it added
Reacting to the report, itsaid the month of Octoberhad holidays owing to festivalssuch as Diwali, Chhath Poojaand Bhai Duj. “In the month ofOctober there were fiveSundays in comparison to fourin September and ridershipremains less on holidays thanon weekdays.
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Afive-year-old male leop-ard was found dead under
mysterious circumstances inTaoru forest area in Nuh dis-trict on Friday afternoon.
Acting on the information,a rescue team reached the spotand found the animal dead. Theteam noticed injuries on the ani-mal’s head and face suggestingthat it could have fallen from themountain in search of water.
“The body of the animalshas been sent for the post-mortem examination and reportis awaited to ascertain the exact
cause of death,” said DistrictForest Officer Shyam SunderKaushik.
“We have constituted a teamof experts to investigate and a pa-nel of three doctors for the post-mortem examination,” he said.
The Wildlife Department isyet to reach any conclusionwhether the leopard wasinvolved in a fight or he fellfrom the mountain area insearch of water.
Meanwhile, the forestdepartment has ordered a probeto find out if the leopard wasbeaten to death or was injuredin a fight with another animalin the adjoining forest area.
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Fifty-year-old Assistant SubInspector (ASI) with the Har-
yana Police allegedly committedsuicide by hanging himself witha selling fan in Shiokpur villageon Thursday. Family disputeswere stated to be the cause wh-ich prompted the officer to takethe extreme step, the police said.
The deceased has been iden-tified as Sant Kumar, who wasposted at Faridabad police line.Policemen recovered the bodyon Friday morning from his res-idence after receiving informa-tion from his family members.
According to the police, atthe time of the incident, the fam-ily members of the deceasedwere not present in the home.“Kumar had attended a familyfunction in Faridabad onThursday evening and when hereturned to Gurugram he tookthe extreme step. However, nosuicide note found on the spot,the police said.
An autopsy of the body hasbeen conducted and it has beenhanded over to the family. “Weare investigating the matter. Asper the initial investigation, itseems like a suicide,” SandeepKumar, the investigation officerof the case said.
Gurugram: A man working with a securitycompany responsible for cash movementfrom banks to ATMs ran away with �1 croreon Friday evening in DLF Phase-II area.
The accused was identified as Hemant ofRohtak district in Haryana. Police said insteadof filling the ATM, he fled with the cash.
On Friday evening, the four employeesincluding Hemant, van driver, guard and oneanother employee of the company went to theDLF Phase-II to fill the ATM of the city bank.
Around 4 pm they parked their vehicle inthe parking and Hemant took the bag con-taining �1 crore to fill the ATM.
When he didn’t return for a long time the
guard called him on the phone which wasswitched off.
Finding it suspicious he stepped towardsthe ATM but he was not there and later theemployee informed the company. The firmthen reported the matter to the police.
An FIR was registered under relevantSections of the Indian Panel Code (IPC) at theDLF Phase-II police station.
“The co-workers of the accused were alsobeing questioned. The CCTV footage of thenearby area is also being scanned. The inves-tigation is underway. The accused will bearrested soon, Sudeep Kumar, SHO of DLFPhase-II, police station said. Staff Reporter
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Two persons — a retiredGovernment employee and
a labourer — were buried aliveon Friday after a 50-year-oldhouse caved in on them duringrenovation work in TaimurNagar area of Okhla on Fridaymorning.
The owner of the building,Dhruv Kumar and a worker,Kishan Mandal died, whileanother worker Mintu Mandal,was rescued from the debris.
Local police along withthe Delhi DisasterManagement Authority(DDMA), the NationalDisaster Response Force(NDRF) and municipal cor-poration staff rushed to thespot and started the rescueoperation after receiving acall at 9.45 am.
“The walls had becomeweaker due to rains in the lastseason. They were planning torenovate the entire compound,”said Shakir Malik, a friend ofthe owner.
An official of NationalDisaster Response Force
(NDRF) said they received acall about the collapse around9.30am. A team of firemenand three fire tenders, policeand Distr ict DisasterManagement Authority(DDMA) officials rushed tothe spot for rescue operations.
“The labourer was traced at11.20 am and the other victimwas found at 12.10pm,” said anNDRF official who led therescue operation.
“We were hired to bringdown the inner walls of thebuilding. The owner had cometo inspect the progress. I sawthe bricks coming down andstayed trapped for a few min-utes before people rescued me.The owner and Kishan were inthe other side of the room andgot trapped badly,” said MintuMandal, who suffered minorinjuries.
Officials of South DelhiMunicipal Corporation saidthat the building was old butnot dangerous.
“It was a 50 -year-old housewhich was being renovated bythe owner,” a municipality offi-cial said.
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In a bid to curb noise pollution at IGIairport, the National Green Tribunal
(NGT) on Friday directed the Ministryof Civil Aviation to ensure judgement-based use of reverse thrust by aircraft,building of sound barriers and erectionof a green belt around the airport’sboundary wall.
Thrust reversal, also called reversethrust, is the temporary diversion of anaircraft engine’s exhaust so that it isdirected forward, rather than backwards,to reduce speed and noise. A benchheaded by NGT Chairperson Justice
Swatanter Kumar passed a slew of direc-tions to minimise the noise generatedduring take-offs and landings of aircraftat the airport.
The tribunal directed the Ministryand other authorities to take all miti-gating measures for reducing noise pol-lution in terms of the report submittedby the Environment Ministry.
“The respondents may issue anadvisory to all airlines whose aircraftland at the runway of the IGI anddomestic airport, New Delhi to ensure‘judgement based’ use of reversethrust keeping in view weather, lengthof runway, wind and other attendant
circumstances to reduce the noiselevel, particularly at the time of land-ing of aircraft,” it ordered. The greenpanel also directed that all coaches,buses and other vehicles plying at theairport here should be CNG-operat-ed and must comply with the pre-scribed emission standards.
“Non-CNG buses/coaches or othervehicles plying at the airport, should beconverted to CNG within six monthsfrom today,” the bench, also compris-ing Justice Jawad Rahim, said.
The NGT declined to impose nightcurfew on landing or take-off of aircraftat the airport and making the housesnear the airport sound-proof.
It noted that nearly 80 to 82 flightstake-off or land every hour at the Delhidomestic/international airport and toprohibit or impose a night curfewwould neither be rational, nor would itbe in line with the doctrine of sustain-able development.
“To say that the airport should beshut for the entire night would neitherbe in consonance with the Principle ofSustainable Development, nor would itbe an option open to the State in the
peculiar circumstances prevailing inter-nationally.
“Rather every effort should bemade by the State and other stake-holders and they must take all mitiga-tion measures to ensure that the noiselevels are brought to the possible min-imum extent,” the bench said.
The green panel’s judgement cameon a batch of pleas filed by the resi-dents of South Delhi’s Vasant Kunj,Bijwasan and Indian Spinal InjuriesCentre (ISIC), a super-specialty hos-pital, seeking directions to reducenoise level in the residential areas nearthe airport.
New Delhi: A 47-year-old manwhose motorcycle brushedagainst another man’s two-wheeler was shot at followinga heated argument, in an appar-ent case of road rage in south-east Delhi’s Shrinivaspuri, lateon Thursday evening. Theman, however, survived withinjuries, but the police are yetto make any arrest.
The injured has been iden-tified as Mohammad Zaki whowas hit by the bullet in his thigh.
DCP south east RomilBaaniya said the police wereinformed about the incident
near Okhla sabzi mandithrough a PCR call at 9: 50 pmon Thursday.
The accused, police said,opened fire as he was alleged-ly outraged when the victim’sbike hit his two-wheeler.
A senior police officer saidthat Zaki himself had made thePCR call but by the time thepolice arrived, the shooter hadleft the scene of crime.
Zaki told the police thatafter their motor cycles brushedagainst, the other person turnedaggressive and started an argu-ment. He in his statement to the
police said that even as he triedto calm the other biker down,the latter turned more aggres-sive and within a few minutestook out a firearm and shot himon the thigh.
The police rushed Zaki tothe hospital from where he wasdischarged on Friday.
“A case against the uniden-tified person for attempt tomurder (Section 307-IPC) hasbeen registered at AmarColony police station. Somesuspects have been detainedand are being questioned,” saidBaaniya. Staff Reporter
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In a horrific incident, a two-year-old child was brutally
smashed against floor by awoman until he died, inSouthwest Delhi’s Uttam Nagararea on Thursday evening.
The accused woman livesin the same building and killedthe child following a heatedargument with his mother, ina fit of rage. She was caughtwhen she had hidden the boy’sbody in a sack to dispose it off.
According to the seniorpolice officers, an argumenttook place three days agobetween the accused woman,who was later identified asMadhu Bala, and the child’smother. It was on Thursdaythat Bala got a chance torevenge her insult and spottedthe child roaming aroundalone.
“As told by the accusedwhen questioned, since the vic-tim’s family lives on the first
floor, the accused woman tookthe child to her room on thesecond floor of the building.There, as the child tried to raisealarm and started crying, thewoman in order to silence him,hit him multiple times againstthe floor, until the child died,”said a senior police officer.
Meanwhile, the child’s fam-ily started searching for himand after about an hour his
father also reached the accusedwoman’s house to check for hischild.
“Seeing the child’s fatherthe accused woman resisted thefamily from letting in but theybarged in forcefully with thehelp of neighbours and foundthe child’s blood drenchedbody wrapped in a sack. It wasthen they rushed him to DeenDayal Upadhyay (DDU)Hospital where he was declaredbrought dead,” the officer said.
Hospital staff then report-ed the matter to the police andthe victim’s family gave a writ-ten complaint against theaccused woman and an FIR wasregistered. Police said that thechild’s body was handed over tothe police after a post mortemexamination. “We are also try-ing to probe if some otherangle is involved in the murder.Prima facie, rage has appearedas the motive behind murder,however all angles are beinglooked into. The woman hasbeen arrested,” the officer said.
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A23-year-old man, wantedfor his alleged involve-
ment in a dacoity and killing ofa 53-year-old woman inSoutheast Delhi was arrested byDelhi Police. In July, Sarita wasfound dead inside her housewith valuables worth over acrore being stolen.
Three men, including thefamily’s domestic help Roshan,Sonu Paswan and Shiv Narayanwere arrested in the case buttwo accused, accused ArvindPaswan and Beni Prasad wereevading arrest, the police said.
Paswan and Prasad weredeclared proclaimed offendersby a Delhi court and a rewardof �50,000 was declared oneach of them by the DelhiPolice, they added.
The Inter State Cell ofCrime Branch was tasked togather information about theaccused. The team gatheredinformation about the possible
hideouts of the accused andtheir relatives.
It was found that Paswanwas hiding in Baghaiya villagein eastern UP’s Bahraich dis-trict near Nepal border.
A team camped on the wayleading to the village fromNovember 21 and kept a watchon the movement of local per-sons and relatives of Paswan.
Subsequently, Paswan wasnabbed on November 23 whilehe was moving towards the vil-lage. After the dacoity-cumkilling incident, the accusedwas hiding at a relative’s housein eastern UP and Nepal.
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Prime Minister NarendraModi’s agenda is not only
for reform, but also for bring-ing transformation, said RamMadhav, national general sec-retary of Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) in a talk on “VisionIndia-New India” at DelhiUniversity (DU). He said thePrime Minister envisioned atransformed India by 2022 andcommon men to be ‘stake-holder’ in this development.
Explaining that vision ofinclusive development in whicheach citizen will have somecontribution, he said, “Janta ispart and parcel of our growthstory.” He also explained thatreform is mere tinkering withthe existing system whereas thetransformation requires holis-tic change in the system.
While praising severalschemes of the ModiGovernment like SwachchhBharat Abhiyan, Direct BenefitTransfer, demonetisation, GSTetc, Madhav also tried to dispelthe apprehensions regardingleakage of one’s personal infor-mation in Aadhaar scheme,saying that there is no danger toprivacy in the system. “It is not
even one-tenth of the dangerwhich your privacy had whileusing Gmail,” said Madhav.
The programme wasorganised by NationalDemocratic Teachers Front(NDTF), the right alignedteacher body which claims thatafter the formation of BJP-ledGovernment at the Centrethere has been an increase inthe number of right-wing pro-grammes at DU. “Before 2014,there was only one-sided ide-ology prevailing in the univer-sity but now we have started analternate narrative,” said AKBhagi, president NDTF.
Ram Madhav assured theteaching community that trans-formation in higher educationwould soon be a reality andmore autonomy would be given.
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Acity court has sent a bak-ery unit owner to jail for
two years and slapped a totalfine of �3.5 lakh on him for dis-charging untreated waste intothe Yamuna River, saying suchan insensitive approach hasled to pollution in the river.
It is only because of theinsensitivity of the people likethe bakery unit owner that “thecurrent generation is unable tohave a pure and clean Yamunaand thus is deprived of the useof natural resources,” the courtsaid, adding that the appellanthad “not cared for the princi-
ple of intergenerational equity.”Awarding the jail term to
Vikas Bansal and imposing�2.5 lakh as environment com-pensation on him to be paid tothe Prime Minister’s relief fundon Vikash Bansal, Special JudgeSanjay Kumar Aggarwal saidthe Delhi-based bakery unitHaryana Paneer Bhandar, inwhich he was a partner, hadpolluted Yamuna by discharg-ing untreated waste in it.
The court additionallyimposed a fine of Rs one lakhon Bansal, holding him guiltyunder various provisions of theWater (Prevention and Controlof Pollution) Act 1974.
Highlighting the principleof intergenerational equity, thecourt said it was the onerousduty of citizens to pass on thenatural resources to their nextgenerations.
“Rivers are considered assources of life in this agrariancountry. The rivers have cul-
tural, spiritual and religiousconnotations. However, it isalso a fact that we are unable toensure the physical protection ofrivers owing to industrialisation,urbanisation etc,” the court in its44-page judgment said.
The victims of pollution ofsacred water bodies are not
individuals but collective mem-bers of the society at large, it said.
“Since the society has suf-fered due to polluting thestream and consequently theRiver Yamuna..., it would beappropriate to consider theaspect of compensation in addi-tion to sentence of imprison-ment and fine,” the court said.
The Sessions Court, how-ever, reduced the jail term totwo years from three yearsawarded to Bansal earlier by themagisterial court.
A vigilance squad of theDelhi Government had onJune 5, 2000, inspected the bak-ery unit of Bansal which was
used to prepare sweets andnamkeens and found that it wasdischarging all untreated efflu-ents generated during theprocess into the public sewer.
Bansal had questioned theinspection and claimed thatwhen the standards for properdischarge of effluents wereissued on June 21, 2000, howhis unit could commit anoffence when the inspectionhad been carried out on an ear-lier date of June 5.
The court dismissed hisclaim and said that the apexcourt has time and again for sev-eral years sensitised such unitsabout the rise in pollution.
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The controversy around therenaming of Delhi
University’s Dyal Singh College(Evening) as “Vande MataramMahavidyalaya” has refused tosubside with Amitabh Sinha,Chairman of the GoverningBody (GB) of the college, onFriday alleged that theOpposition parties with the helpof a lobby inside the college ismisleading all, including theteachers and students, by prop-ping up Shiromani Akali Dal inorder to make it appear like anissue concerning the Sikh com-munity.
The GB of Dyal SinghCollege on November 17, decid-ed to change the evening col-lege’s name to Vande MataramMahavidyalaya after turning itinto a day college. Set up in1958, the college was namedafter Dyal Singh Majithia, whoestablished The Tribune news-paper in Lahore in 1881, andwas also the founder chairmanof the Punjab National Bankestablished in 1894.
Sinha cited rules, prece-dents and orders of the DelhiUniversity to establish his pointthat it was not the first occasionwhen an evening college wasgiven the morning slot andrenamed.
He also dismissed theopposition to the renaming ofDyal Singh College (Evening)saying that there wasn’t any-thing illegal about it and thatthere couldn’t be a better namethan Vande Mataram.
“This decision of renamingthe college was passed unani-mously by the whole govern-ing body. There is nothinglegally or ethically wrong aboutit... Couldn’t be a better namethan Vande Mataram,” saidAmitabh Sinha .
“There have been attemptsto create a misunderstandingbetween different communitiesin addressing Dyal Singh as aSikh or Punjabi,” said Sinha,adding that he was a nationalist.
“Vande Mataram is not justany other name. It’s a clarion callto nationalism. I am ready to sac-rifice anything for it. If anybodyhas any problem with it, comespeak with me individually.Convince me I am wrong oth-erwise why I should change thedecision,” he said.
Noting that ShiromaniAkali Dal (SAD) presidentSukhbir Singh Badal asked forPrime Minister NarendraModi’s intervention in the mat-ter, Sinha invited the politicianfor a debate on the issue on anyneutral forum.
Delhi Bharatiya Janata Partylegislator Manjinder Singh Sirsaon Monday filed a police com-plaint against the college’sPrincipal and Chairman overthe name change. The Congress’student wing NSUI criticisedthe move, saying the governingboard should have focused onimproving the college infra-structure rather than changingits name while ABVP support-ed it saying that there is no harm in renaming it after India’snational song.
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Parents of children studying inDelhi Government schools
will cast their votes for the can-didates of their choice in SchoolManagement Committees(SMCs) on Saturday.
Deputy Chief MinisterManish Sisodia said,“Community and parentinvolvement in keepingGovernment schools account-able, has proved to be the mosteffective reform in DelhiGovernment schools.”, “Parentsof children are naturally themost invested stakeholders inthe schools and they have suc-cessfully used the SMC platformto improve the condition ofschools from within,” he added
“These elections will notonly elect the new parent rep-resentatives in SMCs, but willalso cement the culture of com-munity participation in themanagement of public schoolsin Delhi,” said the EducationMinister.
The Delhi Government’sEducation department has
pulled out all stops for smoothelections.
For the first time, theGovernment has deployed adhoc DANICS officers andSuperintendents as observersto ensure free and fair electionsin all 1,029 schools.
Parents have been invited byevery school to take part in thevoting process on Saturday. Inmorning shift schools, parentswill be able to vote from 8 am to11.30 am while in evening shiftschools the voting will takeplace from 1 pm to 4.30 pm.
The revival of RTE-man-dated School ManagementCommittees has been the cor-nerstone of the DelhiGovernment’s education reformsover the last two years. The bod-ies used to exist on paper earli-er as well, but have becomeactive and effective over thecourse of the last two years.Empowering parents throughSMCs has significantly improvedthe state of cleanliness in schoolsand also helped forge teacher-parent partnerships to takeschool reforms forward.
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The odd-even scheme, ifimplemented next, will
have the NCR towns ofGurugram, Noida, Ghaziabadand Faridabad under its ambit,in addition to Delhi, theSupreme Court-appointedEPCA said on Friday.
The Centre-notifiedGraded Response Action(GRAP), of which the odd-even is a part, says that the car-rationing scheme is to beimplemented across Delhi-National Capital Region, but ithas not been done yet due tologistical concerns.
In a meeting, where theEnvironment Pollution(Prevention and Control)Authority (EPCA) reviewed theongoing implementation of theGRAP here on Friday, the pol-lution watchdog also said that itwill study the implementation ofthe scheme in cities such asBeijing and Paris and bring nec-essary modifications.
“The EPCA will work outa manual for odd-even. Therecent National GreenTribunal (NGT) order on the
scheme will also be lookedinto. We will come up with ashort note,” environmentalistSunita Narain, an EPCA
member, said.Meanwhile, the air quality
slipped back to the ‘very poor’category from ‘poor’ on Friday,
the Central Pollution ControlBoard (CPCB) said.
Earlier this month, whenpollution had breached emer-gency levels, the DelhiGovernment had decided toimplement the scheme basedon odd and even number platesof cars, but had to call it off atthe last moment as the NGThad struck down the exemp-tions given to women and two-wheelers.
Subsequently, theGovernment had expressed itsinability to do so, citing inad-equacies in the city’s publictransport system.
A senior official of theDelhi Transport Department(DTC), who was present in thereview meeting, said exemp-tions should be on “function-al requirements” and not onindividual basis.
Narain also reminded theDelhi Government that it hadgone ahead with its plan with-out the EPCA’s approval.
The EPCA was not infavour of its implementation aspollution levels were expectedto dip and secondly, it wasagainst exemptions.
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Ministry of Home Affairs(MHA) has ordered the
transfer of Delhi’s Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB)chief Mukesh Kumar Meena toMizoram. Meena,who was investigat-ing sensitive casespertaining to DelhiGovernment, wason Friday trans-ferred to Mizoramas AdditionalDirector General ofPolice (ADGP), anofficial order said.
As per the orderof the Ministry ofHome Affairs (MHA), Meena,a 1989-batch IPS officer, wastransferred to Mizoram withimmediate effect. It has beenlearnt that Meena has overshothis six year stint in the nation-al Capital but had managed tostay put on much to chagrin ofhis peers who were sent toother States and UnionTerritories.
Meena was appointed tothe ACB in 2015, a move that
had led to a tussle between thenDelhi Lieutenant-GovernorNajeeb Jung and Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal. Meena washanded over the charge ofACB along with his responsi-bilities as Joint Commissioner
of Police New Delhirange.
The ACB wasinvestigating thePublic WorksDepartment (PWD)scam, in which oneof the FIRs was reg-istered against afirm, belonging toKejriwal’s late rela-tive Surender KumarBansal.
The ACB was also probingan alleged recruitment scam inthe Delhi Commission forWomen (DCW) and an allegedRs 400 crore water tanker scaminto the irregularities in procur-ing 385 stainless steel watertankers by the Delhi Jal Board(DJB) during the Congress’ rule.
In July, Meena was relievedfrom the Delhi Police andappointed as the SpecialCommissioner of Police, ACB.
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New Delhi: The ElectionCommission on Fridayannounced December 21 as thedate of bypolls to five Assemblyconstituencies in four States,including RadhakrishnanNagar (RK Nagar) Assemblyconstituency in Tamil Nadu.The other four constituenciesare Sikandara (Uttar Pradesh),Pakke-Kasang and Likbali(Arunachal Pradesh) andSabang (West Bengal). Thecounting of votes will be heldon December 24 and the elec-tion process will be completed
before 26th of next month.The RK Nagar Assembly
constituency fell vacant fol-lowing the death of formerChief Minister Jayalalithaa.The EC had announced by-election to RK Nagar on April10, though it was cancelledafter reports of widespreadcash distribution. Also, thecancellation of bypoll camedays after the Income-Taxdepartment held searches inpremises of Tamil Nadu HealthMinister C Vijayabaskar.
The announcement comes
days after the Madras HighCourt said it expected the ECto hold by-election in RKNagar by December 31.
"The Commission hasdecided to use EVMs andVVPATs in the by-elections inall the polling stations.Adequate numbers of EVMsand VVPATs have been madeavailable and all steps havebeen taken to ensure that thepolls are conducted smoothlywith the help of thesemachines," the EC commu-nique' said. PNS
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India has sent 3,000 familybags containing food mate-
rial and other daily use items toMyanmar's Rakhine state thathas witness high level of dis-placement of people due tolarge scale violence.
The family bag, contains 5kilograms of rice, 2kg MasoorDal, 1 kg sugar, 1 litre cookingoil, 1 kg salt, 500 gm of tealeaves, 2 bathing soaps, 2 mos-quito nets, 1 kg milk power, 12
packets of biscuits and 4 pack-ets of instant noodles.
India had earlier sent reliefmaterial to Bangladesh to helpit tide over the crisis created bythe influx of huge number ofRohingya refugees who havefled the Rakhine state to escapeviolence. Meanwhile, India haswelcomed the refugee repatri-ation agreement signedbetween Bangladesh andMyanmar on Thursday. "It is awelcome and encouragingdevelopment," India's ambas-sador to Myanmar VikramMisri said on Friday in Yangon.
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Afirst-of-its-kind multi-statemega mock exercise on
tsunami preparedness was car-ried out on Friday along theentire eastern coastline of India.
The simulation exerciseswere conducted in 35 coastaldistricts of West Bengal,Odisha, Andhra Pradesh andTamil Nadu and the UnionTerritory of Puducherry toassess and improve the earlywarning and response mecha-nism to mitigate the impact ofa high-intensity tsunami, aHome Ministry statement said.
Representatives from 11Pacific Island countries observedthe exercise for key lessons andbest practices to be adoptedwhile preparing for and respond-ing to a disaster situation.
The exercise was conduct-ed by the home ministrythrough National DisasterManagement Authority andthe Indian National Centre forOcean Information Services.
The exercise scenario
depicted a high intensity quakenear the Andaman and NicobarIslands at around 09:30 hoursand within moments, the IndianTsunami Early Warning Centre(ITEWC), INCOIS, issued amassive tsunami threat notifi-cation for the eastern coastthrough e-mails, fax and SMSs.It also put out detailed bulletinson its website as part of the mock
exercise. A two-hour reactiontime was notified within whichthe entire state machinery need-ed to be mobilised so as to effi-ciently respond to the situationin a manner which reduces theimpact of the tsunami.
As part of the exercise, inless than half an hour, theState emergency operation cen-tres (SEOCs) were activated.
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Delhiites woke up to a coldmorning on Friday as the
minimum temperatureplunged to 7.6 degrees Celsius,the lowest recorded this season.
According to the MeTdepartment, this was the low-est minimum temperaturerecorded in the month ofNovember in the last 11 years.
However, as the day pro-gressed, the mercury rose andthe maximum temperature wasrecorded at at 26.5 degrees,normal for this time of the year.
"The minimum tempera-ture was recorded at 7.6
degrees, four notches below theseason's average, which is thelowest in the season so far," theMeT department official said.
The humidity levels oscil-lated between 86 and 27 percent. The weatherman has fore-cast clear skies and mist in themorning for Saturday.
"The maximum and min-imum temperatures are expect-ed to hover at around 26 and8 degrees Celsius respectively,"an MeT department officialsaid. On Thursday, the maxi-mum and minimum tempera-tures were registered at 25.6degrees Celsius and 9.4 degreesCelsius respectively.
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From Page 1It was in 2012 that the US
announced its offer of $10million reward “for informa-tion that brings Saeed to jus-tice”, Nauert mentioned.
President Donald Trumphad, in August, warnedPakistan that the US “can nolonger be silent aboutPakistan’s safe havens for ter-rorist organisations, theTaliban and other groups thatpose a threat to the region andbeyond”.
“We have been payingPakistan billions and billionsof dollars at the same timethey are housing the very ter-rorists that we are fighting,”Trump had said at that time ashe unveiled his new Afghanstrategy, adding: “No part-nership can survive a coun-try’s harbouring of militantsand terrorists who target USservice members and offi-
cials. It is time for Pakistan todemonstrate its commitmentto civilization, order, and topeace.”
Last month, however, theTrump administrationappeared to revise its hard lineagainst Islamabad. That cameabout after Pakistani mili-tary’s purported rescue ofAmerican hostage CaitlanColeman and her family afterfive years of Taliban captivity.
The family’s release,prompted President Trump tocomment, “This is a positivemoment for our country’srelationship with Pakistan.”He went on to say thatIslamabad’s cooperation was“a sign that it is honoringAmerica’s wishes for it to domore to provide security inthe region”.
Soon thereafter, USSecretary of State RexTillerson visited Islamabad
as well as part of his SouthAsia visit that took him toNew Delhi and Kabul.
Washington is also seen tohave let Pakistan off the hookwith the US Senate recentlydropping a provision that had hitherto tied US fundingto Islamabad’s concreteactions to curb LeT operationsas well.
Congressman Ted Poetermed military aid toPakistan a continuing sourceof tension between thePentagon and the USCongress. “It astounds methat we keep giving Pakistanmoney - military and foreignaid - and they’re a haven forterror groups, from theTaliban to Lashkar-e-Taiba,”Poe told The New York Timeslast week, adding, “We can’tbuy Pakistan’s loyalty. Theyplay everyone, whether it’sChina or the terrorists or us.”
From Page 1This monthly variation in rider-
ship is dependent on multiple factorslike seasons, vacations, holidays, fes-tivals etc,” it said.
“The month also has five Sundayswhereas in comparison to Septembermonth when ridership was around 60-70 per cent of the working days,”DMRC said in its official statement.
Elaborating more about Octobermonth’s ridership data, DMRC saidthat October 2017 started with a longweekend and extended holidays dueto Dussehra falling on September 30followed by Gandhi Jayanti onOctober 2, a national holiday, adding,“The month also witnessed extendedweekends/holidays due to festivals ofDiwali, Chhath Pooja, Bhai Duj,Goverdhan.”
DMRC further said that it is per-tinent to mention that in the year 2016also, the ridership dip by 1.3 Lakhfrom September to October in spiteof no change in the fare structure.Ridership in the month of November2017 has shown rising trend.
From Page 1Police said the boys
were wearing white shirtsand navy blue trousers sug-gesting they were students ofa Government school. Asthe victim collapsed insidethe bus, the boys managedto jump out of the vehicleunchallenged after the mur-der.
“The bus was movingslowly because of the traffic,so they managed to jumpout and escape,” the driverof the bus, Jai Bhagwan, said.
Police said despite thearrest there has been nobreakthrough in the caseuntil Friday afternoon.
Police are further inter-rogating the juveniles inorder to trace the fifth oneand to ascertain if theaccused boys are a part of agang that hires boys in uni-form to pickpocket passen-gers, so that suspicion can beavoided.
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Want to breathe long anddeep? Longing for that
whiff of fresh air, so elusive inDelhi-NCR? Just head to theOxygen Chamber that offers youoodles of clean air – and it’s free.
That the Oxygen Chamberis next to the Huda City Metrostation, crowded and chaoticwith lots of people inside andlots of traffic outside, makes thecontrast starker.
Built by Nurturing Green,the Oxygen Chamber is a wel-come break in a city wheremasks and air purifiers areincreasingly the norm as air pol-lution levels fluctuate betweensevere, very poor and poor.
Equipped with an air puri-fier and NASA approved airpurifying plants such as arecapalm, peace lily and sansevieriatrifasciata (also known as
mother-in-law’s tongue orsnake plant), the place, spreadover 13,000 sq ft, is a treat forthe eyes – and, more important,for the lungs.
“The NASA approved airpurifying plants available in theOxygen Chamber absorbharmful gases like xylene, ben-zene, formaldehyde and CO2to bring freshness indoors,”Nurture Green Founder AnnuGrover said. “We are practicallybreathing poison," she said.
So, enter the chamber andlevels of PM (particulate mat-ter) 2.5 and 10 — microscop-ic particles that can enter andembed deep into the lungsand subsequently the blood-stream – get into a free-fall,making a safe and pollution-free landing at 8-10 from thehazardous 300-400.
There’s a catch, however.The chamber also has an elec-
tronic air purifier. “These airpurifying plants are not thereto replace the air purifiers.No. We are saying that bothcomplement each other.
“It works like this. The airpurifying plants absorb theharmful gases, while the elec-tronic air purifier takes care ofyour PM level,” said NikhilGrover, senior marketing man-ager of the company.
Using medical analogy, hesaid an electronic air purifierworks like “allopathy”, and theair purifying plants are some-what close to “homeopathy”.
According to him, it wouldcost Rs 15,000-20,000 to buildan oxygen chamber in a home.
The place also sells allkinds of green plants – indoorand outdoor – as well as themebased garden and balcony fur-niture, among a host of otherthings.
New Delhi: India has made"impressive" progress on themetrics of child development inthe last decade, but there is a sec-tion of children who have been"left out" due to inequality or lackof access to resources, says a topUNICEF official.
According to Justin Forsyth,deputy executive director of theUnited Nation's Children Fund,India can address the issuesinvolved and become a "modelfor development" for the rest ofthe world.
"We are impressed by thecountry's progress made on somany issues related to childdevelopment. There has been a67 per cent reduction in under-five mortality, stunting rateshave reduced," Forsyth toldreporters on Thursday. Povertyreduction and extreme povertyreduction had also come down,he added.
A UNICEF India officialsaid data quoted by Forsyth wastaken from the National FamilyHealth Survey (NFHS). The fig-ures he cited were from the sur-veys of 2006 to 2016, she said.
Forsyth, who is on his firstvisit to India, was accompaniedby Unicef 's India representativeYasmin Ali Haque, during theinteraction at the ForeignCorrespondents' Club.
Forsyth, who is based inNew York, said he has met withWomen and Child DevelopmentMinister Maneka Gandhi,Jharkhand Chief Minister
Raghubar Das and representa-tives of various private compa-nies.
"India has made progress onvarious metrics but in someareas of the country like inJharkhand recently, we saw,many children have been left outof the progress cycle, eitherbecause of caste discriminationor lack of access to resources dueto remoteness of the area.
"India has a dynamic envi-ronment and the Centre, stategovernments, corporates, civilsociety must work together andset an example for the world tofollow," Forsyth said.
Haque said it was also heart-ening that in many parts of thecountry, children were taking alead in becoming part of mis-sions like the Swachh Bharatmission.
The senior UNICEF officialadded that a global report will bereleased on the impact of tech-nology on children on December11. Haque and Forsyth con-curred that child marriage wasanother problem that needed tobe addressed. "In few areas ofJharkhand rates of such marriagewere very high," he said.
The issue of online childpornography and child traffick-ing were affecting societies glob-ally, Forsyth said.
"Criminals are using e-trans-action in trafficking of children.So, technology has helped us andso has social media, but there isa flip side," he said. PTI
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Madhya Pradesh ChiefMinister Shivraj Singh
Chouhan on Friday mockedpeople's love for English, refer-ring to the growing use ofwords like mummy-papa anddad.
"Nowadays,instead of`mata-pita', theuse of mummy-papa has gainedcurrency," hesaid during afunction wherehundreds ofschool childrensang Vande Mataram.
"With our love for English,we call pita `dad'," he added.
"One of my friends lost hisfather. The friend, with his lovefor English, told me that hispita has become ̀ dead' (whichsounds closer to `dad'),"Chouhan said. "This is a weirddistortion that has crept intoour thinking," he said.
Talking to reporters later,Chouhan referred to Rajputqueen Padmavati as "Rajmata"and said great personalitieswho laid down their lives forthe country should always berespected.
A film made onPadmavati's legend by SanjayLeela Bhansali is caught up ina controversy at present.
Asked about the installa-tion of a bust of NathuramGodse, assassin of MahatmaGandhi, in Gwalior, Chouhansaid it has been removed.
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Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal on Friday again
blamed stubble-burning inPunjab and Haryana for dete-riorating air quality in Delhiand said the solution to theproblem lies in addressing theissue in the neighbouring States.
He, however, acknowl-edged that Delhi also con-tributes to pollution, but thepresence of toxic particles inthe air spikes several times dur-
ing October and November,when farmers in Punjab andHaryana burn crop residue.
On an average, Kejriwalsaid, PM2.5 level remains at100 microgrammes per cubicmetres and PM10 at 300 inDelhi.
"These two parametersshould be less than 100. But,between October 28 andNovember 12 stubble-burningis done in Haryana and Punjab.And in those 15 days, thePM2.5 level reached 750 and
PM10 900," he said.This was also the time
when the air quality levelplunged to alarming levels inDelhi-NCR.
The pollution level increased
due to stubble-burning and asolution to this will come fromthe two States, he said.
On the criticism his gov-ernment faced in dealing withair pollution, Kejriwal said: "Ifthe pollution level goes down bybadmouthing me, I say all twocrore Delhiities should do that.We have to reduce our share ofpollution, which we are doing."
Referring to his meetingwith Haryana Chief MinisterManohar Lal Khattar on thematter earlier this month,
Kejriwal said the neighbouringstate has been taking steps toaddress the issue.
Both Haryana and Punjabhave asked for �1,600 crore and�3,000 crore respectively fromthe Centre to address stubble-burning using technology. Healso said that the Delhi gov-ernment was in the process ofprocuring 2,000 buses toimprove the public transportsystem.
Earlier this month, whenpollution breached emergency
levels, the Delhi Governmenthad decided to ration privatevehicles on roads based ontheir number plates - odd andeven - but had to call it off atthe last moment after theNational Green Tribunalrefused to grant exemption forwomen, two-wheelers andGovernment servants.
The NGT had ruled thatonly emergency vehicles will beexempted during the time the"odd-even" scheme was imple-mented.
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With the objective of pro-tecting its strategic inter-
ests in the Indian Ocean regionand Bay of Bengal against thebackdrop of China's growingmaritime prowess, the ArmedForces carried out a five-dayexercise in Andaman andNicobar Islands. It was namedDefence of Andaman andNicobar Islands Exercise(DANX) and ended on Friday.
The two islands are criticalfor India's defence and econo-my as more than 75 per cent oftrade including export andimport is conducted throughthe sea lanes close to Andamanand Nicobar Islands. In fact,Strait of Malacca is also veryclose to the two islands andmost merchant ships use it.India has to maintain vigil therefor its overall strategic goals.
Given the location ofAndaman and Nicobar Islands,the Government formed a tri-Service command 15 yearsback with the Army, Navy andIAF jointly working there. Toensure synergy in operationsfor the exercise, joint planningand integrated approach wasadopted from the planningstage onwards.
Main objective of the exer-
cise was to practice and validateprocedures and drills of all theCommand forces aimed atdefending Andaman andNicobar Islands. Additionalforces from the main landincluding fighter jets, SpecialForces, naval ships and heavylift transport aircraft partici-pated in the exercise, officialssaid here.
The highlights of the exer-
cise were fighter jet opera-tions, night para jumps at sea,slithering of troops from heli-copters and amphibious land-ings of troops by ships in per-fect synergy. After the exercisethe Commander-in-ChiefAndaman and NicobarCommand applauded all thefour components for their plan-ning and precise execution ofthe plans.
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Seven people were killed andover 11 injured in four dif-
ferent train accidents across thecountry within a span of 12hours from Thursday to Friday.While three accidents werereported from Uttar Pradesh,one was from Odisha.
There were two derail-ments — one in Chitrakoot dis-trict that killed three people onFriday early morning, one of anengine decoupling from thewagon and a train hitting a carat an unmanned crossing.Railway Ministry has orderedenquiries into all the accidentsand called a meeting onSaturday of all the stakeholders.
The spate of accidentsbegan at 7.19 pm when a localtrain hit a Bolero vehicle at anunmanned crossing near
Amethi in Uttar Pradesh,killing four people and injuringtwo. The vehicle, packed withpeople belonging to a marriageparty, was hit at MathaBhusunda village under theMusafirkhana police station,
Then, at 4.18 am, 13 coach-es of the Vasco Da Gama-PatnaExpress derailed near Manikpurin Uttar Pradesh, killing threepeople, including a six-year-oldboy and his father, and injuringnine. The Patna-bound pas-
senger train, which derailedsoon after leaving the ManikpurRailway Station in Chitrakootdistrict, was moving slowly as aresult of which casualties wereless. Chairman Railway BoardAshwani Lohani who was atAllahabad for an inspectionrushed to the spot to assess thesituation.
According to ADG (Lawand Order), Anand Kumar,prima facie, a fractured railwaytrack led to the accident "as perlocal assessment". The rail-ways announced compensa-tion of �5 lakh for the kin of thedead, �1 lakh for those withgrievous injuries and �50,000for those with simple injuries.
Chief Minister YogiAdityanath also declared �2lakh for the families of thosekilled, �50,000 to each of theseriously injured and �25,000
to those who suffered minorinjuries, an official release said.
Less than two hours afterthe Manikpur derailment, aParadeep-Cuttack goods trainjumped the rails betweenGoraknath and Raghunathpurin Odisha at 5.55 am. While nodeaths were reported, the downline is expected to remain dis-rupted till Saturday morning.
In the fourth incident, theengine of Jammu-Patna ArchanaExpress separated from the trainnear Saharanpur in UttarPradesh. This happened twice.The engine decoupled at around2.35 am and was recoupled andcleared by 3.17 am. However, theengine and the first coach (sameas earlier) separated at around5.25 am and was reattached at6.05 am. The train finally depart-ed at 7.25 am after all securityclearances were received.
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Seeking to put a lid on thecontroversy surrounding the
elevation of IPS officer RakeshAsthana as Special Director,CBI, the Centre on Fridayshowed the minutes of themeeting regarding his promo-tion to the Supreme Courtwhich confirmed that the CBIDirector did share an"unsigned" note with theSelection Committee pointingto Asthana's role in a pendingcase being probed by theagency. However, theCommittee unanimouslyrejected it by saying this infor-mation could pertain to someother Asthana and not theofficer in question.
The court has reservedorders on the PIL filed byNGO Common Cause and willpronounce its decision onNovember 28. The petitionerhad claimed that such a personwho is facing probe in a case,and that too by the CBI, wasnot fit to remain at the seniorpost as it affects institutionalintegrity of the country's pre-mier investigating agency.
Besides, the petitioner'scounsel Prashant Bhushan sub-mitted that in a case where CBIDirector gave a note of dissent
against Asthana's elevation, hisview had a binding effect on theselection as he apprehendedthat the decision will impactfurther probe.
Asthana, a 1984 Gujaratcadre IPS officer who ispresently serving as AdditionalDirector with CBI was elevat-ed as Special Director onOctober 22 this year after aSelection Committee compris-ing CVC, the two VigilanceCommissioners, HomeSecretary and Secretary,Department of Personnel andTraining (DoPT) unanimous-ly stamped approval on hisname at a meeting held onOctober 21.
Attorney General KKVenugopal who presented thecopy of minutes to the Courttermed it as the "single mostimportant" document to dis-count the charges leveled by thepetitioner.
He said there was no doc-ument to show that DirectorCBI dissented as it was the CBIwhich proposed the name ofAsthana on July 7, 2017 as an"outstanding officer" who iseminently suitable.
The minutes of theOctober 21 meeting disclosedabout a confidential lettershared by the Director enclos-ing an unsigned note giving
details of FIR against SterlingBiotech. The note referred toAsthana who was named in adiary seized from the compa-ny showing details of pay-ments made to him. TheCommittee discussed the notewith Director CBI and held,"there is nothing about theveracity of the contents of thedocument."
The minutes concluded,"There is no finding in thesepapers that the person men-tioned therein is the same per-son under consideration forappointment." The Committeeunanimously agreed that com-plaints received "just on theverge of appointments or pro-motions" are not to be consid-ered unless it is proven mis-conduct. Venugopal stated thatthe FIR investigation can stillgo on but till it is proved, hisAsthana's appointment can-not be blocked.
Bhushan wondered howAsthana could be empanelledfor selection to the senior postas he did not submit details ofimmovable property last year.According to DoPT Guidelinesof 2011, an officer who doesnot furnish annual propertyreturns will be denied vigilanceclearance that will disentitlehim from empanelment fortop posts.
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New Delhi: Parliament'sWinter Session, which maysee introduction of key Billspertaining to triple talaq, motorvehicles and backward classcommission, will begin fromDecember 15, a day after thesecond phase of the GujaratAssembly elections, and con-clude on January 5.
Putting an end to theuncertainty triggered by theCongress that accused theModi Government of sabotag-ing the Winter Session, theParliamentary Affairs MinisterAnanth Kumar announcedhere on Friday that the sessionwill be held from December 15to January 5. The session wouldhave 14 working days.
The Minister spoke tonewspersons after the UnionHome Minister Rajnath Singh-headed Cabinet Committee onParliamentary Affairs (CCPA)met here to decide the dates ofthe Session. Kumar said sum-moning of the winter sessionafter the assembly polls hashappened in the past too dur-ing the Congress regimes ofIndira Gandhi, PV NarsimhaRao and Manmohan Singh.
"We request and seek cooper-ation from all parties, includ-ing the Opposition, for smoothfunctioning of both Houses tomake this session fruitful," hesaid.
Asked whether MPs wouldbe asked to be present onJanuary 1, Kumar saidParliamentarians were sup-posed to be present on allworking days, including onnew year's day.
Some important Bills areexpected to be introduced inthe session, including one ontriple talaq, and the NationalCommission for BackwardClasses, Kumar said. TheMotor Vehicle Bill which seeksto introduce major reforms ontraffic management is alsoexpected to be introduced inthe session.
Three Bills that will betaken up in the upcoming ses-sion to replace Ordinances are— The Goods and Services Tax(Compensation to States),2017, The Insolvency andBankruptcy Code(Amendment) and The IndianForest (Amendment), Kumarsaid. PNS
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Can herbal medicineimprove the quality of life
of patients with genetic bleed-ing disorders? Seeking ananswer, the Union AyushMinistry, for the first time, is setto assess the safety and poten-tial benefits of alternative tra-ditional medicine interven-tions in the context ofhaemophilia care.
Dr Pradeep Kumar Dua,research officer with theMinistry said that a definitivecure of haemophilia as of nowtill date is Factor only.
"But at the same time, it hasbeen noticed the patients of thegenetic bleeding disorder suf-fer from many disabilities andmany other complicationswhich can be very well takencare with the help of Ayushintervention and certain alter-nate medicine along with suit-able diet and modification oflifestyle."
For instance, the patients ofhaemophilia have tendency ofjoint problems, overweight,osteoporosis and a few othermedical problems. In this con-text, amla (gooseberry) can bea herbal remedy as we all knowthat it is good for calciumabsorption and rich source ofVitamin C that helps improveblood, said Dua at an event tocommemorate Founder's Dayof the Haemophilia Federation,India (HFI) here on Friday.
The Ministry's move toharness the power of medicinalplants and certain other naturalingredients to manage thebleeding disorder came fol-lowing representation from theHFI, a voluntary organisationhaving a large network of chap-ters across the country.
Dua said, “We may con-duct ayush-based researches inthe medical health facilitieswhere haemophilic patientsare being treated to study theeffectiveness of the herbal med-icine therapies.”
It is to be seen if herbalintervention may help thepatients manage the disorderbetter, HFI President, VikashGoyal said, adding that theremore than one lakh patientsbut just 19,000 are registered.
"We need to reach out to themand adopt holistic approacheslike early intervention anddetection to lessen their agony,"he added.
SS Roychaudhary, CEO ofHFI, spoke about how with thehelp of the World Federation ofHaemophilia, the patients inthe country have been provid-ed one million units of Factorsin the last three years, savingthe national exchequer of aboutbillions of rupees while MukeshGarodia, vice-president(Finance) called for more treat-ment centres in every districtsto cover beneficiaries whosenumber is all to increase inview of increasing awarenessabout the disorder.
Sanjay Kant Prasad, DeputyChief Commissioner for
Persons with Disabilities spokein detail about the Personswith Disabilities Act passedlast December which hasexpanded its ambit from theseven disabilities to 21 disabil-ities including the bleedingdisorder like haemophilia. Hesuggested that since hemophil-ia has not been given disabili-ty benchmark status, the sectorcan approach funds from theNational Fund for treatment.
Dr GN Singh, DrugController General of India(DCGI) said that it is high timethat rare diseases and blooddisorders are given adequatefocus. More research work isneeded. He also assured thesector of ensuring quality drugsso that patient's life is notcompromised.
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The national drug priceregulator on Friday fixed
the ceiling price of 51 drugformulations that include vac-cines and medicines to treathepatitis-C, kidney diseases,hemophilia B, cardiac prob-lems and cancers makingthem much cheaper than theprevailing market prices.
The NationalPharmaceutical PricingAuthority (NPPA), whichbrought 51 scheduled formu-lations of Schedule-I underDrugs (Prices Control) Order,2013, asked manufacturersthat are selling the branded orgeneric drugs at a price high-er than the ceiling price toimmediately comply with thenotification. The new pricecaps are likely to hit manyIndian drug makers' domesticformulation businesses.
The 51 formulationsinclude Velpatasvir-Sofosbuvir — the latest two-drug combination used totreat chronic hepatitis C - aviral infection that damagesthe liver. Velpatasvir-
Sofosbuvir sold by NatcoPharma, Hetero Labs, CadilaHealthcare,Dr Reddy's, Mylanand Strides Shasun in India atmaximum retail price of�18,500 is now capped at�15,625 for a pack of 28tablets.
Alteplase Powder forInjection - used as clot busterto prevent strokes and heartattacks — is now capped at�17,235 for a 20 mg pack and�35,985 for a 50 mg pack.
The drug is sold by ZydusCadila under brand nameActilyse for �19,800 for a 20mg pack and for �39,375 fora 50 mg pack.
Oxaliplatin 100 mg — achemotherapy drug used totreat cancer — is now cappedat �4,055, while the popularbrands sold by Glenmark,Sun Pharma and Dr Reddy'srange between �4,500 and�7,500.
Coagulation factor IXPowder for Injection 600 IUused in treatment of bleedingdisorders such as haemophil-ia B is now capped at �11,180.The US-based Baxter sellsthe drug at �12,000.
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More than a year after theylost their elected repre-
sentative J Jayalalithaa, votersof RK Nagar constituency, aChennai suburb, will queue upin front of the polling boothson December 21 to elect a newmember to the Tamil NaduLegislative Assembly.
Though the ElectionCommission of India hadannounced the by-electionschedule for the RK Nagarconstituency and had fixedApril 12 as the date of polling,the entire process was can-celled 48 hours before thepolling because of large scaledistribution of cash and giftsby some of the candidates. TheIncome Tax raids in the resi-dences and business premisedof health minister VijayaBhaskar, just days before theelection, reportedly yielded abig bounty of �80 crore meantfor distribution in the con-stituency from where TTVDinakaran, nephew of thejailed V K Sasikala was seek-ing election. Had the electionbeen held and Dinakaranemerged winner, Tamil Naduwould have seen the fourthchief minister in as manymonths because that was whyhe decided to contest the elec-tion.
Since the cancellation ofthe by-election, political land-scape in Tamil Nadu under-went major changes. Sasikala,the jailed general secretary ofthe party and her nephewDinakaran were eased out ofthe AIADMK by the factionheaded by chief ministerEdappadi Palaniswamy and
they merged with the factionheaded by the ousted chiefminister O Panneerselvam.Leaders belonging to theDMK, Congress and the Leftsallege that the ouster of theSasikala clan and merger withOPS camp were held as per thedirectives of the BJP’s centralleadership.
The ECI which had frozenthe Two Leaves symbol andthe name AIADMK allottedthe same to the faction led byOPS and EPS on Thursday.The RK Nagar assembly byelection to be held onDecember 21 is, thus a litmustest for chief ministerPalanisamy and his deputyPanneerselvam. It will alsoshow the kind of acceptabili-ty and popularity enjoyed bythe Sasikala clan, which islikely to field Dinakaran him-self for the replay.
RK Nagar shot intonational prominence in June2015 when Jayalalithaa whowas acquitted by theKarnataka High Court in theDisproportionate Asset casechose this constituency to getelected into the Assembly. Sheceased to be a member of theHouse when the Special Courtin Bangalore had convictedand sentenced her and threeassociates including Sasikala tofour years imprisonment inSeptember 2014. Followingher acquittal, the AIADMKmember Vetrivel represent-ing the constituency resignedhis membership to facilitateJayalaithaa to contest the elec-tion. It was a cake walk forAmma as she polled 1,60, 432out of the 1,81,420 votes polledin the by-poll. In the 2016assembly election also
Jayalalithaa won from thesame constituency but withreduced majority. She couldpoll only 97,218 out of the1,90,061votes while her near-est DMK rival polled 57,673votes.
Since then Tamil Nadusaw the untimely demise ofJayalalithaa on December 5 ,2016 and the ouster ofPanneerselvam who succeed-ed her as chief minister andthe coronation of Palaniswamyby default. Sasikala had beenelected as the legislature partyleader of the AIADMK andwas to be sworn in as chiefminister at the MadrasUniversity Centenary Hall onFebruary 15, 2017. But theSupreme Court which washearing the appeal filed by theKarnataka Governmentagainst the Karnataka HighCourt’s acquittal of Jayalalithaaand others , upheld the SpecialCourt verdict. On February15, Sasikala had to rush toParappana Agrahara Prisonin Bangalore instead of theUniversity CentenaryAuditorium and is coolingher heels in the cell sincethen.
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As the negotiations are on toresolve the contentious
issue of building Ram temple atthe disputed Ayodhya site, theRashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh(RSS) has reiterated that thetemple will be built at thesame spot. “Ram Janmabhoomiper Ram Mandir hi banega aurusi pathher se banega” (OnlyRam Mandir will be built atRam Janmabhoomi using thesame stones), said RSS chiefMohan Bhagwat. He wasaddressing a congregation ofHindu saints in the ‘DharmaSansad’ at temple town ofUdupi in Karnataka on Friday.
‘Dharma Sansad’ is a con-gregation of 2,000 Hindu saints,mutt heads and VHP leadersfrom across the country.
Bhagwat said there shouldbe no ambiguity that Ram tem-ple will be built in Ayodhya. Thecongregation in coastal town ofUdupi is hosted by Pejawarseer Vishvesha Teertha Swamiji.
“We will construct it. It isnot a populist declaration buta matter of our faith. It will notchange,” Bhagwat said.
The RSS chief said that
after years of efforts and sacri-fice, it (building the Ram tem-ple) seemed possible now,while also noting that the mat-ter was in the court.
“Only Ram Mandir will beconstructed and nothing else.It will be constructed thereonly” (at the site that is believedto be the birthplace of LordRam), Bhagwat said.
Construction of Ram tem-ple, prevention of religious con-versions and cow protection areamong the key issues discussedat the VHP’s three-day DharmaSansad. The meet will also dis-cuss issues of discrimination onthe basis of caste and gender andexplore ways to ensure harmo-ny within Hindu society.
RSS chief reiterated that thetemple would be constructed inthe same grandeur as it existedbefore, using the “same stones”under the guidance of thosewho were the flag-bearers of theRam Janmabhoomi movementfor the last 25 years. “We areclose to achieving our goal butat this juncture, we should beextra cautious,” added Bhagwat.
“The strength of the soci-ety lies in its unity. When it isdestroyed, anti-national forces
gain foothold. We need tounderstand the consequencesof religious conversion. Weneed to reach out to thosewho are prone to conver-sion,” he said touching on reli-gious conversions.
“The need for equality isstill elusive in our deeds andpractices though we all under-stand its significance. Weshould rise above the barriers ofcaste, creed and religion in ourspeech and action while treat-ing people and embrace every-body wholeheartedly. Thereshould not be any discrimina-tion on the issues of sharingwater, religious places and cre-mation grounds,” Bhagwat said.This he said about protectingDalits and backward commu-nities and the duties of the seersgathered there.
“The society is carelessabout the status of cows. Thosewho have concern for the cowsstand up to protect the cattle.This leads to conflict in thesociety resulting in bad nameto the ‘cow protectors’,” saidBhagwat.
Vishvesha Teertha Swamijiof Pejavar Math of Udupi, whochairs the reception committee,
said the Ram temple will bebuilt well before 2019. Hedemanded that theGovernment amend theConstitution to do away withspecial provisions for minori-ties in order for equality in thesociety.
Addressing the meet earli-er, VHP leader Pravin Togadiareiterated the VHP’s affirma-tion to build Ram temple anda ban on cow slaughter. Togadiaalso demanded that theGovernment should not regu-late Hindu temples.
Udupi located on the west-ern coast known for propaga-tion of Madhwa philosophy by13th century saintMadhwacharya, who foundedthe Dwaitha school of philos-ophy.
This is the second timeafter 1985 that the saints aremeeting at Udupi. It was inUdupi when the DharmaSansad in 1985 made the firstformal announcement of Ramtemple at Rama Janmabhoomiin Ayodhya. UP CM YogiAdityanath and Art of Livingspiritual leader Sri Sri RaviShankar are also expected toattend this event.
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Alarge crowd belonging toone particular community
protested in front of a mediahouse in the busy Richmondroad in Bengaluru on Friday.The crowd under the banner ofAnjuman-e-Imamia gatheredoutside India Today and AajTak office shouting slogansagainst tweet by a journalist.They came in a march fromMasjid-e-Askari to Aaj Tak’soffice allegedly to protestagainst Aaj Tak anchor RohitSardana’s comments againstBibi Fatima, the daughter of theHoly Prophet, the wife of theHoly Prophet and ImmaculateMary, the mother of JesusChrist.”
A Shia Muslim group hadearlier put out a statement thatRohit Sardana had to apologiseon camera within 48 hours.Sardana had tweeted an apol-ogy earlier.
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With ruling BJP released alist of 13 more candidates
for Gujarat Assembly polls,total 148 names out of 182 con-stituencies decided.
In the next couple of days,lists of remaining 34 candidatesare expected to be released. Thethink tank of the saffronbrigade has given importanceto winnability of candidatesafter detailed study of all 182constituency and also consid-ered caste factors too. ThreePatidars have been given tick-ets in the fifth list of BJP can-didates.
Veteran MLA from NorthGujarat town Unjha, NarayanPatel has been repeated.Besides Patel, Gujarati filmstar Hitu Kanodia found hisname in the list from Idarassembly constituency in NorthGujarat. The seat is reserved forSC. His father Naresh anduncle Mahesh, both are actorsin Gujarati films had remainedMLA and MP respectively
from BJP. In the 2012 Assemblypolls Hitu contested from Kadiconstituency, but he lost fromthere. Amit Chaudhary wholeft the Congress ahead of theelections of three Rajya Sabhaseats of Gujarat and joined BJPgot ticket from Manasa con-
stituency. He is considered asclose aide of former GujaratChief Minister ShankersinhVaghela.
Minister of State in VijayRupani Government VallabhKakadia and BJP’s chief whip inGujarat Assembly Pankaj Desaihave been repeated from theirrespective constituencies.Other key candidates in the listare Sumanben Chauhan fromKalol. She is daughter-in-law ofParliamentarian fromPanchmahals PrabhatsinhChauhan. Her father-in-lawhad threatened to revolt if noone from his family was givencandidacy. Among others, whohave been made candidatesfrom BJP include, VijayChakraborty from Vadgam,Ranchhod Rabari from PAtan,Ramanlal Patel from Vijapur,Karsan Solanki from Kadi inNorth Gujarat and PiyushDesai from Navsari, DushyantPatel from Bharuch, ArvindChaudhari from Vyara andVivek Patel from Udhna inSouth Gujarat.
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Although Assam Health Minister HimantaBiswa Sarma’s statement linking cancer and
sins of past life drew nationwide outrage, yet theMinister on Friday got a sympathiser in Yoga guruBaba Ramdev.
“What Himanta Biswa Sarmaji has said onkarmic action is correct if you see it in totality.However, his statements have been distorted.People had to bear what they do in life,” said theYoga guru while interacting with a section ofnewsmen at Tezpur in Assam.
The Yoga guru said genetics as one of the rea-sons for diseases and said that genetics is basicallyrelated to Karmafal of individual. “Whatever a per-son gets in life—good or bad depends onKarmafal. Diseases occur basically due to threefactors. First genetics, which is again Karmafal,second habits of the individual and environment,”said the Yoga guru.
“Hamare jiban me job hi hota hai…jaise kigutkha khana…gutkha khana bhi to ek karma hihai— are all karmas and due to this karma dis-eases takes place,” said Baba Ramdev.
“Everything is related to karma… evenMrityu is due to Karma,” said the Yoga guru.
It may be mentioned here that nationwide out-rage followed particularly in the social network-ing sites after the Assam Health Minister recent-ly linked cancer and accidental death of youngpeople to sins committed in past life.
The political circle across the nation wentabuzz in the social media criticising the statementsof the Health Minister particularly in the presentage of science and technology and the oppositionCongress even demanded immediate terminationof the Minister from health portfolio.
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The tech savy Chief Minister,Chandra Babu Naidu, has
almost achieved his target toconvert Andhra Pradesh asfirst e-State in the Country as100% in governance. With asingle click, every officer in theState including Chief Ministerand Chief Secretary will deliv-er their services and supervisetheir wings through a ControlRoom which will control totalgovernance with support of lat-est technologies.
The Chief Minister, onFriday, reviewed the progress ofthe different services underIT department including Real-time Governance (RTG), E-Pragathi, Land Hub (Bhu Seva),Cloud, Surveillance Cameras,Digital Class Rooms, Bio-Metric, E-Files, Drones andFibernet.
He announced that thecontrol room to be establishedin the Secretariat will consist ofa cohesive system of comput-ers that will track the real-timeprogress of all districts.Officials demonstrated the dif-ferent features of the controlroom that will be in full oper-ations from Monday.
“I will spend an hour everymorning on reviewing RTG”,said Chief MinisterChandrababu Naidu, addingthat Chief Secretary DineshKumar, Special Chief SecretaryB. Rajasekhar and CEO ofRTG Ahmed Babu must coop-erate and give him detailedreports every day.
E-office and BiometricThe Chief Minister
reviewed the number of HoDsthat have registered and comeonboard for the e-office andbiometric system for employ-
ees. By the end of December, allHoDs are expected to have fin-ished implementation.
The Chief Minister askedofficials to also find out aboutthe important documents thatneed to be kept archived, andstart working towards makingthe offices paperless.
E-PragathiAll services in e-Pragathi
will be in English and Telugu,including all sectors, depart-ments and schemes of the gov-ernment.
The Chief Minister wasvery impressed with thisupdate, and said that digitizinggovernment procedures is notenough. “The people ofAndhra Pradesh will be able toaccess all websites in either lan-guage. Even Wikipedia and allour handles on social mediashould be available in Telugu”,he said.
He insisted that all key per-formance indicators, importantdeclarations and campaigns bythe government must be acces-sible from the dashboard inboth languages.
The Chief Minister alsoinstructed officials to find a
way to integrate the APFibergrid Corporation, DroneCorporation and ContentCorporation in order to be ableto coordinate with all depart-ments of the Government.
He said that the CCTV sys-tem, drones, virtual classrooms,bio-metrics and technologybeing used for RTG, must besynchronised with one plat-form, and officials must finaliseon one custodian of all mobileapps, and report on their devel-opment next week.
The AP mobile app storewill be ready for release on 31stDecember.
The Chief Ministerinstructed them to upgradethe research and developmentteam, to investigate the quali-ty of services supplied till thelast mile.
Bhu SevaFollowing the Chief
Minister’s guidance, officialspresented the Bhu seva, an inte-grated platform for land-relat-ed services. The platformincludes the creation of aunique identifier for each par-cel of land or property, whichwill function similar to the
Aadhar identification system.Advisor J. Satyanarayana
explained that the pilot projecthas started in the mandal,Jaggiahpet, in 22 villages andwill be completed by December31st. The project includes theregistering of 2.84 crore agri-cultural parcels, 0.5 crore urbanproperties and 0.85 crore ruralproperties.
Officials demonstrated the8 out of 20 services that havebeen completely implementedin the pilot project, whichincludes identification, auto-updation, geo-referencing andelimination of frauds amongothers.
The entire Krishna dis-trict will be covered by March31 2018, and the target tocomplete all districts is October31 2018.
Once the implementationin the state crosses 80%,Bhudhaar (a Special Card oflands) will be mandated for alltransactions on land and prop-erty in a phased manner.
Bhu Seva is being devel-oped by Microsoft, and a sur-vey to find the best practices inthe world is being conducted byWipro.
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Ateam of Enforcement Directorateofficials on Friday questioned
incarcerated Indrani Mukerjea, primeaccused in the Sheena Bora murdercase, in connection with a money-laundering case.
A day after the Bombay HighCourt allowed ED to question herinside the Byaculla where she islodged, the ED officials grilledIndrani, who along with her husbandand co-accused in the Sheena Bora
murder Peter Mukerjea had ‘alleged-ly siphoned off 90 million GBP(Great Britain Pounds)’ to foreignaccounts using hawala transactions.
Sheena will be questioned onceagain by ED on December 6.
In its plea made before the highcourt seeking permission to questionIndrani, the ED had stated that PeterMukerjea and Indrani had “alleged-ly siphoned off 90 million GBP(Great Britain Pounds) and thismoney is suspected to have gone tooverseas countries through unau-
thorised route of hawala etc”.According to the plea, the
Foreign Investment PromotionBoard (FIPB) permitted INX Mediato receive FDI for �46.2 million,however, it received foreign invest-ment totalling to �3,053.6 millionduring August 2007 to May 2008.
“Thus excess foreign exchangeequivalent to �3004.4 million beyondthe disclosed and permitted foreigninvestment was received by INXmedia from three Mauritius-based for-eign investors,” the ED stated.
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The ruling Shiv Sena suffereda setback on Friday, as the
Bombay High Court annulledthe election of its senior MLAArjun Panditrao Khotkar, whois currently a Minister in theBJP-led saffron allianceGovernment in Maharashtra,on the ground that he had filedhis nomination after the dead-line expired.
Hearing two petitions –one filed by Kailash KishanraoGorantyal and another by VijayChaudhary challengingKhotkar’s election from Jalnaconstituency in the October2014 Assembly polls, JusticeTV Nalawade of theAurangabad bench of the HighCourt held Khotkar’s electionas ‘null and void’.
“The election Petition No.6/2014 (filed by Gorantyal) isallowed and election PetitionNo. 9/2014 ( filed by Caudhary)is partly allowed. The electionof RC - Arjun PanditraoKhotkar from 101-JalnaLegislative AssemblyConstituency is herebydeclared as void,” the Judgestated in his order.
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The body of a man wasfound hanging at Jaipur’s
Nahargarh Fort on Friday withmessages denouncingPadmavati scribbled on rocksnearby even as passions for andagainst the controversial filmcontinued to rage.
While National Awardwinning actor ProsenjitChatterjee and actress RaniMukerji voiced distress over theviolent rant against the film’sproducer-director and actors,some people in New Delhiburnt filmmaker Sanjay LeelaBhansali’s effigy outside ametro station.
However, there was somemuch-needed relief for Bhansaliand Viacom18 Motion Pictures.
The Delhi High Court dis-missed a PIL seeking an expertcommittee of historians andsocial activists to examinePadmavati to ensure there wereno ‘distortions’, saying such‘hopeless and misconceived’pleas were “encouraging” thoseagitating against the film.
Also, West Bengal’sMamata Banerjee became thefirst Chief Minister to say shewas ready to welcome the film
and its crew — at a time whenChief Ministers of at least fourother states have opposed themovie’s release.
Hindu groups backed bythe BJP are up in arms againstthe movie over conjecturesthat it distorts history aboutRajput queen Padmavati andRajput culture.
Police in Jaipur said theywere finding out whether the40-year-old man’s death — hisbody was found on the outerwalls of the Nahargarh Fort —had anything to do with thePadmavati row.
The message, scrawled onrocks nearby, read, “Hum putlenahin jalate... latkate hain”(Wedon’t burn effigies, we hangthem).
“’Padmavati’ ka virodhkarne walon... Hum main haidum.” (Those protestingagainst Padmavati ... We haveguts)
Deputy Commissioner of
Police Satyendra Singh toldthat the dead man had beenidentified as Chetan Saini, aresident of Jaipur’s ShastriNagar who ran a jewellery andhandicrafts business.
Singh said it was not clearif it was murder or suicide andthat it would be too early torelate the messages on therocks to Padmavati.
The Rajput Karni Sena,which is most vocal against themovie, denied any involve-ment in the case.
“We express complete dis-approval of it and deny ourinvolvement in any manner,”Vivek Singh Shekhawat, theRajasthan General Secretary ofthe group said.
The release of the Hindifilm, earlier scheduled forDecember 1, has been deferred.
Bhansali continued to get thesupport of the film fraternity.
Prosenjit Chatterjee said“directors will stop doing his-torical films the way it has beenhandled”. Rani Mukerji said shestood by Bhansali: “He knowsthat I back him, love him. Heis my darling and Sanjay trulybelieves how much I love himand he knows how I stand byhim.”
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With no love lost betweenKolkata and Delhi,
Bengal Chief Minister MamataBanerjee on Friday furtherraised the animosity barlaunching her fiercest attackhitherto, on the Narendra ModiGovernment for perpetratingin India a ‘Super Emergency’ ofthe ‘Tughlaq’ brand.
Addressing her audienceat the India Today (East) con-clave, Banerjee went hammerand tong at the saffronGovernment for meeting outstep-motherly treatment tomost States save Gujarat andaccused the Centre for tryingto gag the Opposition parties.
She said, “If I say some-thing against him (read thePrime Minister) then someCentral Minister will definite-ly call me up to ask as to whyI spoke against him. I want toreiterate that I have the right tospeak against any one in ademocratic country so I spokeagainst him. Is it wrong tospeak against someone!”
Attacking the ModiGovernment she wonderedwhether cooperative federalismwas under threat in India andsaid investors were encouragedto go to Gujarat and discour-aged from coming to Bengal. “Ilove Gujarat and its people.
They are nice people but thisdoes not mean that everythinggood is taking place in that Stateand all other States are doingnothing,” Banerjee, who hadbeen vainly flying all over Indiaand the world to draw invest-ment, iterated.
Banerjee literally yelled tounderscore: “Super Emergencyis going on in this country.Democracy is under threat. Ihave also been an MP for 25years but never seen such aGovernment at the Centre,”reminding “in a democracy theCentre is like a parent. But hereit is different. Can they tell theinvestors to go to this State andnot that State.”
Attacking GST anddemonetisation, she said, “askthe industrialists and they willtell you” why they were fleeingIndia.
Vouching for ‘collective
leadership’ she said in thegiven circumstances all par-ties were working togetherand “it is the best policy,”reminding she shared a goodchemistry with the DMK, SP,BSP, BJD and even theCongress with which she wasworking inside Parliament.
Notwithstanding Banerjeewas quick to guard the rearsaying in Bengal though theBJP, Congress and the Leftwere working together to dis-lodge her regime in Delhi allwere one against the saffronregime.
When asked whether thiswas an indication of her effortsto raise a national coalition sheoffered to work with all anti-BJP parties to overthrow thesaffron regime in the next LokSabha elections.
On whether the BJP hademerged as a real threat
against her in Bengal, she saidher State would never acceptthe ‘divide and rule’ policy ofthe BJP and added the saffronoutfit was only in the mediaand social media and nowherein her State.
On whether directorSanjay Leela Bhansali’sPadmavati could smoothly sailin Bengal, Banerjee said, “wewill make special arrangementsfor the movie’s release.” Thefilm was ‘welcome in Bengal’which would be “proud to hostthe premiere,” she said adding“some 4-5 men tried to createsome nuisance but such peoplewill be tackled in a matter offew minutes.”
Meanwhile, the TrinamoolCongress on Friday moved theCalcutta High Court againstthe Centre’s granting of Y+ cat-egory security for formerUnion Minister and BJP leaderMukul Roy.
Debraj Chakrabarty aTMC councilor moved theCourt seeking to quash thedecision to provide 12 CPFjawans for Roy a formerTrinamool leader’s securitywithin two days of his joiningthe saffron outfit at a timewhen the Centre had with-drawn security forces fromDarjeeling which remainedfairly tensed on account ofrecent political turmoil.
Kolkata: There are at leasttwo more Bangladeshi terror-ists of the Ansarullah Bangla-Al Qaida brand roamingfreely in Bengal, Special TaskForce of the Kolkata Policethat on Tuesday arrested threetop ABT terror modules, said.
Based on their statementsthe STF on Friday arrested yetanother terror mole SadaqatHussein for helping the arrest-ed ABT terrorists cross border.He would charge �5,000 foreach person he is known tohave said. He was arrestednear Sealdah Station.
The STF officials who sub-jected the terrorists to sustainedinterrogation on Friday said atleast two more gang membersNayan Gazi and Tamim aliasSwapan Biswas had crossedthe border along with Samsadalias Tanvir alias Tushar andRiyaz alias Suman who werearrested earlier.
ABT a new incarnation ofJamatul MujahideenBangladesh is a dreaded terroroutfit responsible for perpetrat-ing blogger hacking and polit-ical killings in that country hadcurrently left the ISIS bandwag-on and associated itself with theAl Qaida and was trying toorchestrate a big strike to earnpublicity, sources said. PNS
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Expressing confidence forhis party’s Government in
Gujarat after the results of theState Assembly polls, Congressvice-president Rahul Gandhihit out at BJP claiming that thepresent Government in theState is only working for thehandful of industrialists but ifCongress will be voted topower it would be people’sGovernment.
The Congress vice-presi-dent who started 2-day tour tothe poll bound State on Fridaymorning from MahatmaGandhi’s birthplace Porbandartook a jibe at Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s ‘Man Ki Bat’radio programme and saidthat Modi Government wasnot listening anybody andonly telling its ‘Maan Ki Baat’,but when Congress wouldform the Government after theresults of Gujarat polls, itwould listen people’s problemand work for them.
Addressing fishermencommunity in the coastal townhe went on to say that unlikeruling BJP, the new CongressChief Minister would be avail-able for all meet everyone.The 47-year-old leader alsopromised the fishermen to setup independent fisheries min-istry if his party would come topower at Centre.
BJP Governments atCentre as well as in Gujaratwould give freebies to indus-
trialists worth lakhs of croresbut they wouldn’t even consid-er to give even �300 crore sub-sidy to poor fishermen, hesaid. The scion of Gandhi-Nehru family also took a digat Modi Government overabrupt implementation of GSTand demonetisation. Aheadof the rally, Gandhi paid visitto Mahatma Gandhi’s birth-place – Kirti Mandir and paidtribute to the Father of Nation.
From Porbandar he flewdown to Sanand on the out-skirts of Ahmedabad where heraised the issue of RohithVemula’s death while address-ing ‘Dalit Swabhiman Sabha’ atDalit Shakti Kendra (DSK), avocational training instituterun for Dalits. He blamedcentral government for thedeath of the HyderabadUniversity’s Dalit student.Vemula didn’t commit sui-cide, he was murdered, said
Gandhi adding that a letter ofMinister spoiled his careerand was forced to commitsuicide. The 28-year-old sec-ond-year research scholar wasfound hanging in his friend’shostel room a year ago. Hissuicide had triggered a hugepolitical furore with the thenHRD Minister Smriti Iranicoming under attack alongwith Labour Minister BandaruDattatreya for having writtena letter related to the matter.
The Congress leader alsoreceived a giant national flagmeasuring 125 feet x 83 feetwoven by Dalit artisans. It isworth mentioning the flagwas to be given to GujaratChief Minister Vijay Rupanibut the State Governmentallegedly turned down therequest of artisans citing a rea-son that it was too huge andthere was no proper space tokeep.
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Talented players fromJammu & Kashmir are
making big ininternational/national sport-ing events but it is the sportsadministrators who are takingthese young players for a ‘dirty’ride by depriving them of evenclean toilet facilities.
For last couple of monthsthe players training insideIndoor sports complex MAstadium in Jammu have beendemanding better toilet facil-ities but instead of payingattention to their pleas thesports administrators are busyshoring up their own image inthe eyes of the State ChiefMinister.
For photo-ops theseadministrators have been par-ticipating and organising dif-ferent events to provide cleanstadiums to the players andsports persons but their ownreport cards paint a dirtypicture.
In the absence of muchneeded repair/renovation workthe players who want to relievethemselves are left with noother option but to use ‘unhy-gienic’ toilet facilities after toil-
ing hard during practice ses-sions.
When this correspondentaccompanied some players andinspected the toilet facilities theplayers showed broken toiletseats and running taps. Eventhe main doors were foundmissing in some toilets. Electricbulbs and taps were missingtoo in these toilets used by maleplayers. In some places smallpipes and wooden pieces wereused to block flow of waterfrom main supply line.
To provide better trainingand modern sports infrastruc-ture facilities a special package of�200 crore was sanctioned by theUnion government in favour ofJammu and Kashmir in 2015.
Out of this amount, �88crore were provided for reno-vation/upgradation of BakshiStadium at Srinagar, MAStadium at Jammu and otherworks.
However, the work on theproject is yet to begin onground zero in Jammu.
Senior functionaries of theJ&K State Sports council toldThe Pioneer, "project DPR’s areready and very soon the upgra-dation/renovation work wouldbegin in MA Stadium Jammu".
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Adivision bench of the KeralaHigh Court on Friday said
that the jury could take a deci-sion on whether controversialMalayalam movie ‘S Durga’ wasworth screening in the Panoramasection of the ongoing 48thInternational Film Festival ofIndia (IFFI) in Goa after view-ing its censored version.However, the bench refused tostay an earlier order to screen themovie at the festival.
In an interim order, thedivision bench said a specialjury could take appropriatedecision in this regard after theCentre told it that a newly con-stituted jury would evaluate theworthiness of the movie forscreening in the festival thathad begun in Goa on Monday.The festival will conclude onNovember 28.
The division bench com-prising Acting Chief JusticeAntony Dominic and JusticeMuhammad Mustaque, whichadmitted the appeal filed by theCentre against the order of thesingle-judge bench of JusticeVinod Chandran that clearedthe screening of S Durga at theGoa Festival, the Informationand Broadcasting Ministry toexplain the reason for its objec-tion to the screening.
Informing the court that themovie contained factors that
might hurt religious sentiments,the Centre said that a new com-mittee of jury members had to beconstituted to watch the movie asits worthiness to be screened hadnot been evaluated after makingchanges to it including in the title– from the original ‘Sexy Durga’to ‘S Durga’. The single-judgebench had cleared S Durga forscreening at the Goa film festivalon the basis of a petition filed byits director Sanal KumarSasidharan who contended thatthe exclusion of his movie, whichhad already been selected by thejury for screening, from the Goaevent was illegal.
In the appeal, the CentralGovernment reiterated thatthough the Sasidharan film,which was excluded from thefestival along with Marathimovie ‘Nude’, had been select-ed by the jury, it had notsecured the exemption requiredby the Panorama regulations inthe absence of certificationfrom the Central Board ofFilm Certification (CBFC).
The Union I&B Ministryalso contended that the inclusionof the film in the Panorama sec-tion after the start of the festivalcould disturb its conduct byupsetting the schedule.Supporters of director Sasidharanare of the view that the Centre istrying to find excuses for notscreening the film in the festivalbecause of its prejudices.
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Pro-quota stir leader andconvener of Patidar Anamat
Andolan Samiti (PAAS) HardikPatel has been given Y catego-ry security following securitythreat on him.
A Central security team hasalso conducted survey at hisresidence in Ahmedabad’s Shilajarea. The security experts car-ried out inspection around the24-year-old Patidar leader’shouse who has declared supportto the Opposition Congressparty just two days back.
Initially Hardik had deniedtaking security, but later on heagreed on taking Y categorysecurity after insistence from
his family and friends. Basedon report of CentralIntelligence Bureau (CBI), hewas given security from CentralGovernment. According to
sources, the inspection sur-rounding his house was a rou-tine process as whoever wouldbe given Y category security,such procedure conducted.
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Blaming the media and a few‘political desperado’ for blow-
ing his statements linking sins ofpast life and cancer out of pro-portion, Assam Health MinisterHimanta Biswa Sarma on Fridayapologised to those who werehurt by these ‘absolutely mind-less controversy’.
Sarma today said that hisspeech on divine justice andKarmic deficiency was quotedout of context. “In their bid totrivialize and sensationalise, noone is looking at content of mywhole speech and intent. It wassaid in the context of helpingpoor students of governmentschools and request to teachersnot to neglect them. It was alsoa message to instruct districteducation officers not to harassteachers,” said the Minister in astatement issued today.
The statements of Sarmawhere he had stated that youngpeople suffering from of can-cer and dying of road mishapare actually divine justice forsins committed in past lifedrew flakes from different sec-tions nationwide and severalpolitical leaders commentednegatively on this especially thesocial media went abuzz overthis throughout the day.
“But the way a section ofnational media, local mediaand few in congress party isnow playing the story, I ampained to say, will cause agonyamong cancer patients andtheir relatives. I lost my father,best friends and relatives tocancer,” he said.
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According to the report ‘India:Health of the Nation’s States 2017’,recently released by the Union
Home Ministry, suicides accounted formore deaths than illness or any othercause in the 15-39 year age group the lastyear. Prepared by the Ministry’s depart-ment of health research, in associationwith the Indian Council of MedicalResearch (ICMR), Public HealthFoundation of India and the Institute ofHealth Metrics and Evaluation, it foundthat “self-harm”, which includes suicidesand other non-fatal outcomes, was oneof the leading contributors to India’s“injury burden.”
The report ranks States according tothe percentage of total deaths suicideaccounts for in the age group. Tripuratops the list with 25.2 per cent. SuchState-wise ranking, however, is importantonly to the extent to which it points tothe local factors that aggravate theimpact of the fundamental causes affect-ing the whole country. These relate to thesocial, intellectual, cultural and psycho-logical impact of the market capitalism-oriented path of development that Indiahas been following since the launch of theprocess of liberalisaton in 1991.
This will become clear if we view thecauses of suicide alongside the conse-quences of the course of development wehave chosen. An important cause of sui-cide is severe erosion of one’s sense of self-esteem driving one to such an intensehatred of one’s self that one is preparedto destroy the latter, or to severe depres-sion and despair, which makes one feelthat life is not worth living any more. Animportant reason for one getting intoeither state is failure to achieve theobjectives one has set for oneself. Erosionof a sense of self-esteem stemming fromthis can be compounded by the feeling ofbeing looked down upon by one’s peers.
The question is: What kind of failurein terms of achieving one’s goals can leadto such a steep fall in self-esteem that oneis led to kill oneself? Equally, what kindof lack achievement can make one anobject of such ridicule that plays havocwith one’s self-esteem? It is here that theethos of market capitalism comes in. Itobtains its surplus essentially from sales,the volume of which depends on a num-ber of factors ranging from packaging tosales and distribution networks manage-ment. Its cutting edge is advertising,whose main goal is persuading people tobuy specific items. To this end, thegoods and services advertised are not justprojected as being desirable andadmirable by themselves but their pos-session is shown as indicative of a per-son’s worth. Thus, a particular brand ofwatch is not just an outstanding and ele-
gant precision instrument but its posses-sion indicates that the owner is a personof substance. Cars, motor bikes, scootersare special objects of such projection.Their possession, through advertising,makes a man irresistible to women or, atleast, makes him a recipient of adoringlooks. Such looks can also follow from theuse of items like deodorants, toothpastes, after shave lotions, perfumes,cameras — indeed, the entire range ofconsumer goods.
Their projection in advertisements isbacked by display in glittering shops anddistribution outlets. People, particularlyadolescents, who are able to see and readwhat advertisements convey but are notmature enough to realise that one needsto cut one’s coat according to the size ofone’s cloth, get intensely frustrated andangry if they do not get what they covet.Their frustration increases if they findothers driving a car or a motor bike theywant but cannot afford. Many of thesemen and women are not poor in theabsolute sense of having to scroungearound for the essentials of life. It is nota question of deprivation but of relativedeprivation compared to others, and it isfelt mostly in terms of goods.
It is a process that is very difficult toreverse. For, after having come to possesssomething one had been desperatelylonging for, and perhaps a brief intervalof quietude when one primarily enjoys
what one has acquired, one can begin tocrave for something new which, one feels,one must absolutely have. The feeling ofdeprivation intensifies if that remainsindefinitely elusive.
Failure to satisfy one’s consumptionurges over a long period spawns despairas to whether one will ever be able to getwhat one longs for. Despair leads todepression which in turn can trigger thebelief that it is better to be through withit all rather than continue to rot in a hostile world.
An important cause of suicide is inse-curity. In Fear of Freedom (also issued asEscape from Freedom), Erich Frommpoints out that during infancy, a child isvery much a part of its mother’s worldand wrapped in the security it provides,unaware of the many serious dangers thatthreaten an adult as he or she makes hisor her way through the world. The childbecomes increasingly aware of these asit grows up and becomes an individual,a process that Fromm calls individuation.The result is a feeling of insecuritywhich is made acute by the dynamics ofmarket capitalism with its glorification ofsuccess and of fear of failure which islooked down upon, and its many otherfears including that of periodic recessionscausing job losses.
But two questions loom before one.The ideal way of dealing with this feelingof insecurity is to relate to the world
through love and creative work, findingsolace and support in the collective warmthof humanity. Not all, however, are capableof doing that. Those that cannot, frequent-ly sink into what Fromm calls Sadism andMasochism. A person who practices theformer, overcomes his feeling of insecuri-ty by the feeling of power he or she derivesby total domination — it can be both phys-ical or mental or either — over the lives ofothers. In Masochism, people gain a feel-ing of security by totally surrenderingthemselves to an all-powerful entity — acharismatic leader, an inclusive organiza-tion, or a deity — and feeling protected byhim/it. Particularly important is the role oforganizations the people may join. Theygain a sense of security and belonging frombeing a part of a collective whole.
Those who cannot relate to the worldthrough love and creative work or throughsadistic action or masochistic submission,are vulnerable to taking their own lives.Their number is increasing as market cap-italism waxes and society becomesincreasingly impersonal. Of course, somepeople can cope with intense disappoint-ment better than others as a result ofgenetic inheritance, societal surroundingsand family environment and support. Butquestions loom: Is survival through cop-ing with adversity happiness? Do peoplehave a right to the latter?
(The writer is Consultant Editor, ThePioneer, and an author)(
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Sir — This refers to the report,“Dalveer wins his spurs at theinternational court” (November22). Union Minister for ExternalAffairs Sushma Swaraj and herteam deserve full appreciationfor getting Indian candidateJustice Dalveer Bhandariselected as a judge in theInternational Court of Justice(ICJ) against the Britishnominee. If there were a prize forbest Unionministry in India, theMinistry of External Affairsunder Sushma Swaraj wouldcertainly be the runaway winner.
Perhaps very few may beaware that even though theIndian Government put in allits efforts for the success of theIndian candidate, it hasabsolutely no say in decidingthe Indian candidate. Rather,the candidate mooted by IndianGovernment was at the lastminute turned down by thePermanent Court ofArbitration (PCA). It is againstthe principle of sovereignty thatIndia has no say in matters ofthe PCA which is the sole bodyauthorized to finalize theIndiancandidate for ICJ.
Nimai Charan SwainBhubaneswar
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Sir—This refers to the editorial,"A parity of reasoning?"(November 23). It rightlyquestioned the legitimacy andpropriety of Congress leaders'repeated jibe of 'chaiwala'against Prime Minister
Narendra Modi. It correctly heldthat 'chaiwala Modi' is a modelof meritocracy in Indian politicswho trounced the Congress in2014 General Election. Recently,when the Youth Congress madefun of Modi on its Twitterhandle, sharing a memeimplying he was only fit to selltea, there was a nationwideoutcry forcing Congress leadersto promptly disapprove of thistype of entitled "humour". But,sadly, next day, some Congressleaders tried to justify the anti-Modi jibe, accusing the BJP ITCell head of maligning PanditJawaharlal Nehru for which henever apologized. Be that as itmay, two wrongs don't make aright. Congress leaders shouldlearn to respect their PrimeMinister.health are not on hisside. Thus, he should betreading lightly. But then, it’s hischoice.
M RatanVia email
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Sir — Women are, perhaps, themore perfectionist species —whatever they do, they involvethemselves truly and aresuccessfull. Once a womandecides to achieve any object or aperson, no one can stop herbecause she is determined. Butunless women are recognized fortheir achievements, no countrycan make progress. They needmore recognition.
Mahesh KumarVia email
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Zimbabwe has finally seen a“new era” with the resig-
nation of the country’s longestserving ruler this week, RobertMugabe. It was not an easy taskfor both his colleagues and thearmy to peacefully convincehim to make way for the nextruler. Sordidly, it was evendifficult for him to step downas he has never planned for hisretirement. That is why hecontinued to rule this impov-erished African nation for thelast 37 years — setting a recordas the oldest serving head ofthe world. Once he famouslyproclaimed, “Only God whoappointed me will remove me.”
Mugabe laid the founda-tion for poverty, misrule andcronyism in Zimbabwe. In thislong saga of his misrule, hissecond and the current wife,Grace, has risen from nowhere.Indeed she was known for herspendthrift nature as “GucciGrace” among the commonpeople. Her highly ambitiousnature has made many enemiesfor Mugabe within and outsidethe ruling party, called ZANU-PF. In the last few days, whathappened in Harare is all aboutan open power strugglebetween Grace and EmmersonMnangagwa, who is the cur-rent President of Zimbabwe.The crisis began when 93-year-old patriarch Mugabewanted to install Grace as thenext leader of Zimbabwe andsacked his deputy, EmmersonMnangagwa, from the post ofVice-President.
Mugabe was the man wholed the country to freedom.Thus many of the locals hailhim as a revolutionary hero.Therefore, many of his coun-trymen want him to continuefor his strong anti-imperialistrhetoric of the past, by over-looking his competence of astatesman. Also his long andarduous journey to spearheadthe revolution and making thenation’s transition possiblefrom Rhodesia to Zimbabwemay deter the generals and thenew Government to take anystrong action against him. But,the ordinary Zimbabweans cel-ebrated Mugabe’s departurefrom power as the “beginningof new era” in their country.
When Mugabe came topower in 1980, he took part ina legitimate election. Instead offighting out the powerful whiteminority of the country, hereconciled with them. Thismade him very popular figure
and thus he quietly made hisstature to the level of a charis-matic leader. He was alsoblessed by global goodwill anda buoyed economy for a fewyears. The positive develop-ments over years helped himconsolidate power around him.And he got overwhelming sup-port from a huge group of sup-porters who always wantedhim to stay in power.
However, his long rule sawZimbabwe receding furtherwith severe political repression,economic collapse and massiveemigration of nearly 3-5 mil-lion people from the country.
Like so many other revolu-tionary socialist leaders, hecould not tolerate any kind ofopposition or challenge to hisauthority. This was very muchevident when he started a mas-sive insurrection against thecountry’s second largest ethnicgroup, known as the Ndebele,thinking they all are either achallenge or disloyal to him. In1983, he ordered his specialforces, trained by North Korea,to unleash a reign of terror in theNdebele-inhabited areas. Thewhole world was shocked whenhis army asked the survivors ofthe massacre to sing and danceover thousand of graves of theirkin, praising the ruling Zanu-PF,in the language of the Shonamajority people of Zimbabwe.
However, like many otherdictators — including SaddamHussein, Idi Amin, Gaddafi —he was not very fond of usingviolent tactics all the time, butnever hesitated to use force asand when required to maintainhis hold over both the partyand the country. He was notonly a maverick in breakingrules, but he also tried to bendeach and every single law to hisadvantage throughout hisentire course of stay in power.
This is not all. His veryimage of a revolutionary leaderhelped him to exploit the com-
mon people in the name ofsocialism. He used theGovernment treasury to sup-port all his activities, but some-how he was inclined to spenda good amount on the devel-opment of the education sec-tor of Zimbabwe. His madnessover money and muscle powerdrove the country into a com-plete financial mess. That iswhy whenever there was dearthof money, he started seizingwhite-owned huge firms andhanding them over to his loy-alists. This created a reign ofterror and dissuaded manyforeign investors, includingthe multi-national corpora-tions, from staying put in theresource rich Zimbabwe. Attimes, when there was nomoney to pay to his army,policemen and the civil ser-vants, he printed money on hisown which eventually led tohyperinflation in the country.Top of all these, his wife, Grace,who started running a parallelGovernment made life difficultfor all, including the seniorparty leaders.
Now, Mugabe has gone.Will this be a permanentrespite for the millions of poorZimbabweans who have suf-fered for almost four decades?Surely not, as Mnangagwa is noless than a thug. He was verymuch part of the grubby sys-tem that Mugabe created forlong. Though the army hastrusted him for now to simplyoust Mugabe, he may not be apermanent solution forZimbabwe. The 75-year oldformer Intelligence chief maytake full advantage of the cur-rent disillusionment prevalentin Zimbabwe. He may soonface charges. When he wasSecurity Minister, the masskilling of the Ndebele tookright under his nose. He is along time Mugabe loyalist andcan play the same old tactics toretain power in the comingdays. It is very natural that allthe crew plotters may plan fora very stable administration soas to hoodwink the ordinarypeople about the real crisis.This will help them bring backnormalcy to Zimbabwe fornow. But Mnangagwa and hisgang will undoubtedly leadthe nation to a new crisis.
However, Mnangawaseemed to be a pragmaticleader in comparison toMugabe. At least, unlikeMugabe, he should not losetouch with the ordinary citi-
zens of the country. He mustimprove his past image so as toinstill faith in internationalorganisations such as theInternational Monetary Fundto feed millions of his poorcountrymen. He must bringimmediate change to Mugabe’sarchaic and populist policiessuch as the law requiring allcompanies above a certain sizeto be majority owned by blackZimbabweans. This kind ofpolicies may ruin the entireeconomy of the country. Andthis long process has alreadyengulfed Zimbabwe and madethe ruling party supporters,bosses and sympathisers uberrich in the past.
What Zimbabwe demandstoday is a free and fair electionwith a strong presence of theOpposition parties. As thecountry is heading for a generalelection in the middle of thenext year, this must be a freshbeginning for ushering in a realdemocracy in Zimbabwe. Onlywhen the global neutral watch-dogs such as the UN and theEuropean Union supervise thiselection, it may see an end tolong held cronyism. The com-mon people must get a chanceto register their protest.
And they all should get achance to choose their leaders.Will it happen? Or Zimbabwewill once again fall into thesame ditch that Mugabe haslong prepared just to plunderthe nation. Above all, the oust-ed President and his First Ladymust be punished for ruiningthe country. If it happens, therest of Africa and its hated lead-ers will get a lesson for the firsttime. It is time now to send awarning signal to all the dicta-tors in Africa. Simply put,Mugabe like figures must beserved notice without any rea-son as they are the only reasonfor death, disaster and despairin the country. But that is notto happen as he and his wife hasgot immunity under a new deal.
(The writer is an expert oninternational affairs)
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While it is definite thatASEAN has been
evolved to play a central role inthe regional affairs in SoutheastAsia, the other side of thestory implies that SoutheastAsia has always been a hotspotfor the global affairs and thusit is worthwhile to watch howthe regional organisation ismanaging its relations withthe existing greats as well as theemerging powers, especiallywhen the new buzz word isIndo-Pacific and the centre ofthe world politics is graduallyshifting to this part of theworld from the US and Europe.
In fact, US PresidentDonald Trump and WhiteHouse officials have replacedthe term Asia-Pacific withIndo-Pacific and it becameclear in the ASEAN Summitthat they will now use Indo-Pacific to describe the region.
The latest ASEAN Summithas been unique in many ways.In simpler words, the summithas highlighted the weakness-es as well as achievements ofASEAN as a regional organi-sation, especially with regard toits relations with the regionaland extra-regional powers,who are eager to play substan-tial roles in the region so far.
First, China-ASEAN rela-tions need to be factored in anyanalysis on ASEAN’s evolutionas a regional mechanism.Despite China’s assertivenesson the South China Sea (SCS)in the recent past, just like itspredecessors, the Philippines,in its capacity of ASEAN Chair,did not make any effort tomention China in the SCSdisputes in the statement,released after the summit.
In fact, before the summit,President Rodrigo Duterte ofthe Philippines mentioned thatthe SCS should be “leftuntouched”. Clearly this was apolite reminder to the US andother extra-regional powersthat ASEAN has chosen thepath of negotiation with Chinaas far as disputes in the SCS areconcerned. Duterte and mostof his fellow ASEAN leadersseem to be right as they preferto negotiate with China ratherthan confronting it vigorouslyfor various reasons. One of thereasons is ASEAN’s rigorouseconomic partnerships withChina. In 2016, China-ASEANtrade stood at $368 billion,thereby making China thelargest trading partner of theASEAN. China is alsoASEAN’s fourth largest FDIsource. On the other hand,ASEAN is China’s third largesttrading partner as well as thirdlargest source of FDIs.
In Manila, China andASEAN celebrated the 20thASEAN-China Summit and15 years of the signing of theDeclaration of the Code ofConduct in the SCS. At the lat-est ASEAN-China summit
meeting, they signed threedocuments namely ;Declaration for a Decade ofCoastal and MaritimeEnvironmental Protection(2017-2017), ASEAN-ChinaJoint Statement onC o m p r e h e n s i v e l yStrengthening Effective Anti-Corruption Cooperation andJoint Statement betweenASEAN and China on FurtherDeepening the Cooperationon Infrastructure Connectivity.
While these documentsportray the significant devel-opment in ASEAN-China rela-tions, not mentioning China’sstakes in the territorial disputesin the summit statement alsodemonstrates ASEAN’s weak-ness. It actually reiterates thevulnerability of ASEAN as aregional institution and show-cases the internal divisionsprevalent within its members.
Second, apart from China,in any discussion on ASEAN’sexternal relations, the UScomes invariably. PresidentDonald Trump had to leave forthe US without attending theEast Asia Summit, and defi-nitely it has given rise to onequestion: Does this non-atten-dance show Trump’s disinter-est in the East Asian securityarchitecture?
As far as Trump’s Asia pol-icy is concerned, despite hispro-protectionist view in econ-omy, he emphasised on reci-procity and fairness of tradewith the countries in Asia andat the same time, his speechesin the summit invariably showthat the US wants the partnersin the region to depend on theirown resources and capabilities;rather than depending on theUS and this change in the US’spolicy towards the region hashappened following Trump’s“America First” approach.
In addition, Trumpfocused on the concept ofASEAN centrality to upholdcooperation, which he findsnecessary for advancing thesecurity and prosperity of theAmericans and the ASEANcountries. In this Asia trip,which ended in Manila onNovember 14, Trump has cho-sen to nurture bilateral tradewith partner countries.Additionally, US’ withdrawalfrom the Trans PacificPartnership (TPP) had earlierput the reliability of Trump onquestion, especially with regardto his interest in the region.
Interestingly, the elevenmembers of the TPP havedecided to move ahead withthe mega-trade deal withoutthe US. What is, therefore,interesting to note that ASEANas a regional organisation hasgiven platform to both theRCEP and the TPP and it is tobe seen, how the commonmembers of these two group-ings deal with the emergence ofthe mega-trade blocs in the
future.Third, as far as India is
concerned, the latest summitoffered her a chance to demon-strate its positivity towards theLook/Act East Policy(LEP/AEP) and strengthenedrelations with ASEAN coun-tries. For Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, Manila was anexcellent venue to speak abouthis Make in India, DigitalIndia and other initiativesfocusing on start-ups andentrepreneurship.
Connectivity remained animportant focus of PrimeMinister Narendra Modi as headdressed the business com-munity and the IndianDiaspora during his Manilatrip. In his speeches, Modihighlighted the issue of region-al tourism and maritime trans-portation. India and ASEANare, in fact, working towardsthe early conclusion of theAgreement on MaritimeTransport. However, the focusof India-ASEAN relations asreflected through this summitwas India’s bilateral relationswith the Southeast Asian coun-tries as well as the Quad part-ners and ASEAN-IndiaSummit level meeting.
Modi separately met theheads of the States from the US,Japan, Australia, New Zealand,Vietnam, Philippines andBrunei and discussed in greatdetail issues of mutual con-cerns. With the host, Indiasigned five MoUs in the areasof Defence industry and logis-tics cooperation, agriculture,MSMEs, cooperation betweenICWA and FSI and establish-ment of ICAR Chair in theUniversity of Philippines.
In his opening statement atthe 15th ASEAN-IndiaSummit, Modi assured ASEANof India’s “steady supporttowards achieving a rules-based regional security archi-tecture that best attests to theregion’s interests and its peace-ful development”.
Clearly, India, which aspiresto play a significant role in theIndo-Pacific — reflectedthrough its participation in theQuadrilateral dialogue alsoinvolving US, Japan, Australia —has made it a point to express itswillingness to keep ASEAN at itscentre of its Act East Policy.
Fourth, as an institution ofregional cooperation, ASEANhas also failed to address theviolation of human rights inMyanmar’s Rakhine. The prin-ciple of non-interference in thedomestic affairs of other coun-tries have forced ASEAN totake an ambiguous policy onthe issue of illegal immigrationand refugee influx fromMyanmar to Bangladesh.
Within ASEAN, onlyMalaysia and, to an extentIndonesia had previously urgedNay Pyi Taw to stop the vio-lence in Rakhine state. As a col-
lective, the failure of ASEAN toaddress the Rohingya refugeeissue has, however, not been asurprise. So far, the under-standing is that law and secu-rity situation in Rakhine stateis primarily an internal issue ofMyanmar which has takenshape of a humanitarian crisisfacing Bangladesh due to therefugee inflows. Hence, assis-tance to tackle the crisis relat-ed to the large-scale refugeeinflows in Bangladesh has beenoffered by many countries;however, this approach leavesthe root of the problemuntouched in Rakhine, givingcomfort to Myanmar.
In conclusion, it can besaid the summit in Manila hasreflected on a few of the weak-nesses as well as achievementsof ASEAN as a regional organ-isation. The most apparentweaknesses include ASEAN’sinability to address issues ofsevere national as well asregional cruciality in regard toterritorial disputes in the SCSas well as the humanitarian cri-sis in Myanmar. On the otherhand, it can be argued thatASEAN has not lost its rele-vance; in fact, for an emergingregional power like India,ASEAN still plays an importantrole in shaping its own exter-nal policy in the region.
For countries like the US,ASEAN may cease to be a vitalorganisation with the changesin leadership’s outlook; how-ever, bilateral relations withselect Southeast Asian coun-tries are likely to be promotedbased on the national interestsof both the parties. Having saidthat, with a combination ofopportunities and challenges,ASEAN stands as a symbol ofstatus quo in the region and itwill continue to remain so.
(Dr Sampa Kundu is aresearcher at Institute forDefence Studies and Analyses,New Delhi; and Dr Arenla is anindependent analyst based inNew Delhi)
D����0��#��������������$�,�����������- �������������"��������President Xi Jinping’s 19th CPC
speech surprisingly ignored tomention the single most importantpolicy term in Chinese foreign pol-icy — the “core national interests” —which refers to very specific issuesthat China considers non-negotiablewhen conducting relations withother nations.
The “interests” are contested asthey impinge on other sovereignstates’ interests. The absence of theterm may also indicate a positionpast terminology, which is “wellunderstood” by the internationalcommunity.
Even though the term “coreinterests” was not employed toexplain China’s position, the speechreferred to China’s major concernswith all the more assertion andresolve. Xi viewed Chinese nation-al power as growing and gaininginfluence in the world. Such a per-ception of increased Chinesestrength also flows into its under-standing of the sovereignty and ter-ritorial disputes, obstacles in fur-thering Chinese power and nation-al rejuvenation in the “New Era”.
Xi referred to separation fromTaiwan as a “historical tragedy” to be“met with resolute opposition”. Hegoes further, saying, China has theconfidence, resolve and “ability todefeat… attempts for Taiwan inde-pendence”. And that “China will
never allow anyone, any organisation,or any political party, at any time orin any form, to separate any part ofChinese territory from China!”. Thestatement is a clear indication ofChina’s red line and its tenacitytowards reunification. Xi warnedTaiwan that recognition of the 1992Consensus — both sides belong toone China — is a prerequisite for anydialogue to start.
In case of Hong Kong, Xi upheld“One country, two systems principle”,and at the same time demandedmaintenance of the central authori-ty in Hong Kong, while also guar-anteeing Hong Kong’s autonomy.
In Xi’s China Dream of nation-al rejuvenation, the year 2049 is goalmarked as China entering the phaseof fully developed socialist society,coinciding with the 100th anniver-sary of the People’s Republic.Enshrined in the Basic Law of HongKong, the city is to be formallymerged with China in 2047, ineffect scrapping the autonomy pro-vided under the Basic Law. Thiswould mean the implementation ofthe Chinese economic and politicalmodel in Hong Kong.
Even though, Xi maintainedthat Hong Kong will continue toenjoy certain autonomy, it is specu-lated Xi or CCP would like to reuni-fy Hong Kong with mainland with-out any conditions.
Though the Government did notclarify what degree of autonomy willbe enjoyed by Hong Kong, pastevents suggest it is unlikely that thejudicial and political structure willremain the same.
With the increase in awarenessamong the younger generationtowards political freedom, anddemocracy, protests against ChineseGovernment for its restrictive activ-ities in Hong Kong also increased.The pro-democracy protests in HongKong, following the 20th anniversaryof the return of Hong Kong toBeijing, drew strong reactions fromPresident Xi during his visit to thecity. Referring to the return of thecity, he said, “It is…important for usto firmly uphold China’s sovereign-ty, security and development inter-ests.” Drawing the red line, Xi madeit clear that any attempt to endangerChina’s sovereignty and security,activities against the mainland, chal-lenge to the authority of theGovernment under the Basic Law isabsolutely impermissible. If in thepast Chinese policies towards theseregions were seen as compromising,the paramount leader, Xi, defined hislast five years through assertion ofChinese non-negotiable interests.In April 2017, then Chief Executiveof Hong Kong Leung Chun-ying,while commenting on the debateover autonomy, said Hong Kong
enjoys autonomy as authorised byBeijing, not full autonomy.
Chinese views on sovereignty areshaped by Chinese identity and his-tory. Since, separation of Taiwan andoccupation of Hong Kong andMacau under foreign powers areconsidered tragedy, continued main-tenance of sovereignty over con-cerned regions will be the highlightof PLA’s activities. It is to be notedthat the references made to PLAurged it to prepare to win the nation-al security challenges. Xi said “(wemust) build a powerful and mod-ernised army, navy, air force, rocketforce, and strategic support force” toconfront the changes in nationalsecurity environs. He also said that“a military is built to fight” andshould “focus on how to win whenit is called on”. The speech suggest-ed China’s willingness to employ mil-itary measures in order to solve dis-putes, internal or external, and PLA’srole in putting the issues of sover-eignty and territorial disputes to rest.
Once the core issues are dealtwith, China will automaticallyassume the status of a regionalpower. Though Xi said China is nothegemonic, he celebrated the mod-ernisations achieved by the PLA andthe plans of a fully modernised andcapable military. Xi also mentionedprogress made in the South ChinaSea, the construction of the artificial
islands, exhibiting Chinese power,and reaffirming Chinese claims onthe South China Sea. From publicpoint of view the construction onSpratly Islands is an achievement bythe CCP, ensuring Chinese positionof strength in regional affairs.
Since, China adheres to a singleparty system, the leaders mightchange but the party has to outlivepersonalities. To ensure eternal sur-vival of the party, overcomingnational security concerns will beparamount. The East Asia sawincrease in China’s military assertive-ness, threats of use of force, coercivediplomacy, economic debt trap, andterritorial claims. Given the case ofTaiwan and Hong Kong, ChineseGovernment (with extension theparty) cannot be seen as concedingits rightful claims.
President Xi’s speech featuredlessons for other nations with whichChina has territorial disputes asChina clarifies that it will protect itsinterests with whatever means nec-essary. In an earlier speech, onArmy Day, August 2017, Xi made itabundantly clear that China will notrelinquish any piece of Chinese ter-ritory.
India, which has the longestdisputed border with China, mustobserve caution as the same assertivebehaviour, with the new perceptionof Chinese power, will translate into
tough, unilateral actions to consol-idate boundary. Nations such asJapan, Vietnam, Philippines, Indiaand Taiwan are more likely to face abelligerent and powerful China,with increased indications of mili-tarisation in Indo-Pacific region.
In this context, the new thought“Socialism with ChineseCharacteristics in New Era” can beunderstood as a strategy for the nextthree decades. According to Xi, inthese years China will achievenational rejuvenation where it willhave a world’s best military, and a“military is built to fight”. China cer-tainly has made its departure from“keeping low profile to striving forachievement”, but as Deng Xiaopinghad mentioned, “We will onlybecome a big political power if wekeep a low profile (Tao Guan YangHui) and work hard for some years;and we will then have more weightin international affairs”. The “NewEra” symbolises the next phase inChina’s rise, where China has moreweight in international affairs, apower that it ought to use to achieveits core interests. Since these inter-ests clash with other sovereign state,a conflict is due in the region.
(The writer is a researcher atIDSA and PhD scholar at Center for East Asian Studies, JNU,New Delhi).
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MUMBAI: Promoters of steel com-panies undergoing resolution underthe bankruptcy code were keen to bidfor assets but will not be able to do sonow after the amendments to the law,which will result in larger losses forbanks, says a report.
“Promoters of most large steelcompanies were quite intent to regaincontrol and did appear to offer themost competitive bid during the res-olution process but are barred fromdoing so now,” domestic brokerageKotak Securities said in a report onFriday.
The report comes a day afterGovernment promulgated anOrdinance amending the Insolvencyand Banking Code that bars promot-ers of companies which have default-ed for over a year from bidding for theassets being sold by the banks toreclaim their dues.
“Absence of promoter bids canpotentially increase losses for banks
during the recovery process as com-petition will lessen,” the report saidwithout quantifying it.
It also said the policy is retro-spective in nature and can hit busi-nesses coping with down-cycles orunexpected policy changes, whichwould make the one-year period tooonerous even for honest promoters.
Stating that promoters of steelcompanies were keen to bid, it said theprobability of a higher bid during theresolution process “now needs to betempered”.
It said most of the initial dozenresolutions being carried out underthe IBC provisions involve companieswho have defaulted for over a year andhence, it is “highly unlikely” that pro-moters in any of these companies canbid for their assets.
The day the Ordinance wasissued, Rajnish Kumar, Chairman ofSBI, which tops the list of NPAs hadsaid though he does not mind a hair-
cut (to resolve the bad loan issue), thatdoes not mean he wants to go bald”.But he was quick to defend the newlaw saying valuation of these assetswon't be affected due to the promot-ers not bidding.
The Ordinance aims at putting inplace safeguards to prevent unscrupu-lous persons from misusing or vitiat-ing the provisions of the IBC, theCorporate Affairs Ministry had said,adding the amendments would be
applicable to cases where the resolu-tions are yet to be approved.
The amendments to the insol-vency law need to be approved byParliament in its next session begin-ning December 15. The changesessentially mean that certain pro-moters would not be allowed to bidfor their own assets under the insol-vency proceedings initiated to recov-er overdue loans.
In the first phase, as many as 12companies which collectively owe�2.5 trillion or a quarter of the totalbad loan mess of �10 trillion, areunder bankruptcy resolution. Thesecompanies include Bhushan Steel,Essar Steel, Bhushan Power & Steel,Lanco Infratech, Monnet Ispat andElectrosteel, Amtek Auto among oth-ers were referred by the RBI for res-olution under this law.
In several of these cases, the orig-inal promoters themselves are amongthe bidders. PTI
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Aweek after Moody’s upgradedIndia’s sovereign ratings, globalcredit rating agency Standard &
Poor’s (S&P) on Friday maintained its sta-tus quo, saying the country’s outlook is sta-ble. The credit rating major, however, keptits sovereign ratings for India unchangedat ‘BBB-minus’, citing sizeable fiscal deficit,high general Government debt and low percapita income.
As the ratings upgrade will enhanceIndia’s position as an investment destina-tion for foreign investors, S&P’s ratingsindicates India’s risk profile, showing a like-ly disappointment among investors - bothdomestic as well as global - who pushedthe country’s stock markets for the seventhconsecutive trading session on Friday onhopes of another rating upgrade.
On the other hand, the rating agencyextolled the Prime Minister NarendraModi's key reforms such as insolvencyand bankruptcy code and bad loan res-olution framework for PSU banks as well,saying that the recapitalisation of publicsector lenders will spur new lending with-in the economy. Besides, it also comple-mented the country’s biggest tax reformGoods and Service Tax (GST) for sim-plifying indirect taxes.
With the S&P’s ratings, theGovernment quickly termed the actionas 'unfair.' The rating stance taken by S&PGlobal Ratings comes days after Moody'sInvestors Service raised India's sovereignrating for the first time in over 13 yearson growth prospects boosted by contin-ued economic and institutional reforms.
However, industry giants and eco-nomic experts are bracing themselves forboth positive and negative outcome of theratings. An upgrade for India's ratings willbe highly positive for the bond marketand also reduce interest costs for both theGovernment as well as companies rais-ing funds from abroad.
In a statement, S&P said India's rat-ings reflects its strong gross domesticproduct or GDP growth, sound externalprofile and improving monetary credi-bility. “These are balanced against vul-nerabilities stemming from the country'slow per capita income and relatively highgeneral Government debt stock,” it said.
Sanjeev Sanyal, Principal EconomicAdviser, termed the rating unchanged asa bit 'unfair' saying the low per capitaincome is neither a reflection on our abil-ity or our willingness to pay debt.
Economic Affairs Secretary SubhashChandra Garg said S&P chose to playcautious and hoped that the reforms willreflect in a ratings upgrade next year. “Weare not disappointed but our expectationwould be that S&P also takes intoaccount what the Government has done,”he said adding S&P has said everythingthat Moody's also stated in its ratingupgrade.
S&P has reaffirmed India story, hesaid. He went on to add that theGovernment will stick to the fiscal con-solidation path. On the other hand,Railways and Coal Minister PiyushGoyal said S&P has been historicallymore conservative and follows Moody's.“We are extremely happy that S&P hascontinued to affirm 'BBB-minus' with a
long term sovereign rating with stableoutlook,” Goyal said. He further addedthat the rating agency is known world-wide to be far more conservative whencompared with Moody's or Fitch.
However, Soumya Kanti Ghosh,Group Chief Economic Adviser of SBIdid not agree with the argument on S&P'slow per capita income. “It is fallacious, asIndonesia which was upgraded seventimes between 2002 and 2011 had a lowper-capita GDP of $1,066 in 2003 when
its credit ratings was upgraded andIndia's GDP per-capita is now $1,709.4,”Ghosh said.
Given the fact that the Government,Ghosh added, is on the path of fiscal con-solidation and serious about resolutionof the bank asset quality problem throughthe insolvency code, a positive ratingaction seems most likely in 2018.
In January 2007, S&P had raised sov-ereign credit ratings on India to 'BBB-'with a stable outlook, from 'BB+'. 'BBB'
rating is a notch above junk status.“Upward pressure on the ratings couldbuild if the Government's reformsmarkedly improve its net general gov-ernment fiscal out-turns and so reducethe level of net general governmentdebt,” S&P said.
The upward pressure could alsobuild if India's external accounts strength-en significantly. On the other side, a dis-appointing GDP growth, rise in theGovernment deficit or political will tomaintain reform agenda losing momen-tum will create downward pressure on theratings.
“One-off factors like demonetisationand the imposition of a goods and ser-vices tax (GST) had led to some quarterlycooling in India's high growth figures butthe medium-term outlook for growthremains favourable,” it added.
The growth outlook is supported byrising private consumption, an ambitiouspublic infrastructure investment pro-gramme and a bank restructuring planthat should help revive investment.
When Moody's on November 17upgraded India's sovereign rating toBaa2 -- the highest since 1988, theGovernment was quick to seize themoment to state that the move was “belat-ed recognition” of reforms undertaken.That rating upgrade was the first sinceJanuary 2004, putting India in the leagueof the Philippines and Italy.
In August 2006 Fitch Ratings alsoupgraded India to investment grade at'BBB-', with a stable outlook, from BB+.Moody's had in 2015 changed rating out-look to 'positive' from 'stable'.
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NEW DELHI: India can easily achieve200 GW of renewable energy capacityby 2022 as against the “conservative tar-get” of 175 GW, Power Minister RKSingh said on Friday while unveiling theroadmap for clean energy.
Buoyed by the success of reverseauction of renewables, which resultedin tariffs dropping to all time lowrates, Singh also unveiled the plan toauction up to 21 GW solar and windcapacity by March 2018.
On the RE capacity addition, hesaid: “175 GW of Renewable Energy by2022 is a very conservative target.India can easily achieve 200 GW ofrenewable capacity by 2022.”
There was a long pending demandfrom the industry to declare the renew-able energy roadmap, he said at a pressconference to unveil solar and windenergy capacity addition plan of theministry of new and renewable energy(MNRE).
“Hence, today, with the declarationof this trajectory, the government hasclearly spelt out its plan of speeding upof RE installation in country andstrengthening the RE manufacturingbase in India,” he added.
Singh said that in order to encour-age 'Make in India' in the RE sector, theMNRE is working on a scheme and willissue Expression of Interest (EoI) forestablishing domestic manufacturingfacilities for up to 20 GW.
He further said that MNRE isexploring innovative ways to achieveadditional installed RE capacity throughfloating solar power plants (FSPP) overdams, offshore wind energy systems(OWES) and hybrid solar-wind powersystems (HSWPS), which may provideover 10GW additional capacity.
The MNRE team of experts hasalready surveyed the Bhakra Nangal damfor FSPPs and Gujarat and Tamil Nadu forwind power plants, Singh said.
Talking about the issues in PowerPurchase Agreements, he said the sanc-tity of the PPAs have to be ensured andthey would have to be mandatorily hon-oured.
The ministry is in constant discus-sions with state governments, includingAndhra Pradesh and Karnataka, to
ensure that, he said. Talking about theRenewable Purchase Obligations(RPOs), the minister said that theseobligations are mandatory and need tobe adhered to strictly.
Elaborating the RE Developmentroad map, MNRE Secretary AnandKumar said that for achieving 100 GWsolar power target by 2022, the ministry,along with states, would lay out bids forground mounted solar parks for 20 GWin 2017-18, of which 3.6 GW hasalready been bid out.
He said 3GW of solar energy capac-ities will be bid out next month, 3 GWin January, 5 GW in February and 6 GWin March. As much as 30 GW each willbe bid out in 2018-19 and 2019-20 toadd 60 GW solar capacities.
Kumar said that as against the tar-get of 60 GW for wind power, 32 GWhas already been commissioned. Thecentral government, along with states,intends to issue bids of cumulativecapacity of about 8 GW of wind capac-ities this year.
Of this, 5 GW (including present 2GW) has already been bid out and 1,500to 2,000 MW will be bid out in Januaryand as much in March.
He also informed that 10 GW willbe bid out each fiscal in 2018-19 and10 GW in 2019-20, leaving a margin of2 years for commissioning of projects.Kumar said that the ministry soon issuethe Wind Bidding Guidelines. PTI
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NEW DELHI: Steel MinisterChaudhary Birender Singh onFriday assured all possible sup-port to secondary steel sector,which uses eco-friendly electricfurnace to produce the com-modity.
Electric arc furnace routeemits less Co2 and cost of pro-duction is also reduced com-pared to the blast furnace route.
The minister was speakingat ‘All India Induction FurnacesAssociation Conference (AIIFA)on Strengthening Green GreenSteel Production’ here.
AIIFA Secretary GeneralKamal Agarwal enumerated theproblems being faced by the sec-tor including lack of financialsupport from banks, varyingpower tariffs in states, and nonacceptance of the products byGovernment bodies such asNHAI, CPWD, Railways.
Besides, there is shortage ofscrap which is required formaking steel through electricfurnace route. Duty on importof scrap is another issue.
Responding to this, Singhsaid his ministry will take stepsto address all issues of the sec-tor which has the potential tocreate employment for 3 crorepeople.
“There are certain pointswhich need attention of ourministry and also we can takesome with other ministries.”
He also urged the industryto work on technology. “We areway behind in technology. Youwill have to think out of the box.The ministry has alsoannounced a competition toencourage innovative ideas.”
The minister said he seespotential in the industry interms of production and job cre-ation and therefore he will pro-vide all support to it.
Steel Secretary Aruna Sharmainformed the members of theindustry that the duty on nickelhas already been removed and theministry has requested theRevenue Department to removethe duty on ferro-nickel andstainless steel scrap. PTI
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NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley onFriday said India is at present passing through astage that will in future be recognised as a phase offast formalisation of the economy.
Speaking at a State Bank of India (SBI) eventhere, he said India is seeing “the replacement of acash dominated economy with a more formal anddigitised economy. One of the great changes will bethe way India spends its money”.
The move towards digitisation was expeditedpost demonetisation of higher denomination cur-rency notes, he said.
“Today we are passing through a changingprocess for the Indian economy. Ten to twenty yearslater when the era is written about, it will be talkedof as a phase with much faster formalisation of theeconomy,” he said.
In the last one year, he said, money flow intoinsurance, mutual fund and IPOs has increased.
“Anonymous cash is becoming a greater part ofthe formal economy. It is important that we nudgepeople into how they spend their money,” he said.
On SBI, he said the lender accounts for 20-25per cent of all banking activity and is one of thelargest banks in world after amalgamation with sub-sidiaries.
“It has managed to retain its performance as ahighly professional institution,” he added. PTI
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At least 235 worshipperswere killed and 109 others
injured when heavily-armedmilitants bombed a mosqueand opened fire on peopleattending Friday prayers inEgypt’s restive North Sinairegion, in the deadliest terrorattack in the country.
The terrorists launched atargeted bomb and gun attackon the al-Rowda mosque in Al-Arish city during the Fridayprayers, the state-run MENAnews agency reported.
After the bomb rippedthrough the mosque, the gun-men on four off-road vehiclesopened fire on the worshipperswho tried to escape from thesite after the explosion, it said.
At least 235 worshipperswere killed and 109 othersinjured in the attack, AhramOnline said.
Pictures from the sceneshow rows of bloodied victimsinside the mosque.
The blasts from impro-vised explosive devices causedconsiderable damage to themosque, the website said.
Speaking to state-runMasriya TV station, Egyptianhealth ministry spokesmanKhalid Mujahid described theincident as a “terrorist attack.”
One report said the targetappeared to be supporters ofthe security forces who werepraying at the mosque.
Local people are also quot-ed as saying that followers ofSufism, or Islamic mysticism,regularly gathered at themosque. Islamist jehadistgroups, including so-calledISIS, see Sufis as heretics.
About 50 ambulances wererushed to the attack site to shiftthe injured to hospitals.
No one has yet claimedresponsibility for the attackand there is no word yet onwhat happened to the militantsinvolved. However, it bears the
hallmarks of an attack by ISIS,reports said.
There have been regularattacks blamed on militants onthe Sinai peninsula since theJanuary 2011 revolution thattoppled former president HosniMubarak, but this is the dead-liest assault of its kind.
The attacks targeting policeand military increased after theouster of Islamist ex-presidentMohamed Morsi in 2013 bymilitary following massiveprotests against his rule.
Over 700 security person-nel have been reported killedsince then. The military haslaunched security campaigns inthe area, arrested suspects anddemolished houses thatbelonged to terrorists, includ-ing those facilitating tunnelsleading to the Gaza Strip.
The Egypt Governmenthas announced three days ofmourning, even as PresidentAbdel Fattah el-Sisi chaired anemergency meeting with offi-cials to review security situationafter the deadly attack.
Egypt has witnessed aseries of terror attacks thisyear claiming scores of lives.
On May 26, gunmenattacked a bus carrying CopticChristians in central Egypt,killing at least 28 people andwounding 25 others.
On April 9, two suicidebombings at Palm Sunday ser-vices at churches in the northern cities ofAlexandria and Tanta left 46people dead.
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Saudi Arabia’s Crown PrinceMohammed bin Salman has
called Iran’s supreme leaderAyatollah Ali Khamenei as the“new Hitler of the Middle East”amid heightened tensionsbetween the two countries.
In an interview to the NewYork Times, Salman said Irancould not be allowed to spreadits influence and that it wasimportant to avoid a repeat “ofwhat happened in Europe inthe Middle East”.
“We learnt from Europe
that appeasement doesn’t work.We don’t want the new Hitler inIran to repeat what happened inEurope in the Middle East,” thepaper quoted him as saying.
He said Saudi Arabia wasslowly building a coalition withits allies to “stand up to Iran”.
Saudi Arabia — a SunniMuslim-majority country —and Shia Muslim-led Iran areat loggerheads across theMiddle East and increasinglyaccuse each other of fuellinginstability across the region.
There was no officialIranian reaction to the latest
remarks.Salman has taken a hard
line towards Iran since comingto prominence in the past twoyears. Earlier this month, heaccused Iran of what he said was“tantamount to an act of war”,blaming it for a missile attackaimed at the Saudi capital byrebels in neighbouring Yemen.Iran denied its involvement.
The crown prince also dis-missed claims in the interviewthat the anti-corruption drivein his country that led to thearrest of several prominentroyals was a “power grab”, say-
ing such comments were “ludi-crous”, the New York Timesreported on Thursday.
He said that many of thosebeing held in the Riyadh Ritz-Carlton had pledged allegianceto him and the proposedreforms. Adding he also hadthe support of most key royals,he said, “Our country has suf-fered a lot from corruptionfrom the 1980s until today.”
He said when his father,King Salman came to power, they decided it wastime to put an end to theproblems tarnishing the coun-
try’s reputation.The crown prince said each
of the billionaires and princesaccused of corruption wasarrested, presented with theevidence and given the choiceto come clean.
He said about 95 per centagreed to settle, signing overcash or shares in their busi-nesses to the Saudi StateTreasury.
Mohammed bin Salmanalso praised US PresidentDonald Trump and describedhim as the “the right person atthe right time”.
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Lahore: Mumbai attack mas-termind and Jamaat-ud-Dawahchief Hafiz Saeed on Fridaysaid ousted Pakistan PMNawaz Sharif had committed“treason” by seeking friendshipwith India and ignoring the“Kashmir cause”, hours after hisrelease from house arrest.
Saeed gave an hour-longFriday sermon at the JuD headquarters here, for which a large number of JuDactivists had gathered at theJamia Masjid Al-Qadsia atChauburji here.
After Friday prayers, thecharged workers greeted Saeedon his release and renewed theirpledge for “Kashmir Jehad”.Saeed in his speech also target-ed the Pakistani Government for“taking dictation from foreignmasters” and spoke of “Indianatrocities” in Kashmir.
He told his supporters the“reasons” behind his 10-month detention, and also as towhy Sharif was ousted as thePrime Minister. PTI
Dublin: Ireland’s main opposi-tion party on Friday submitteda motion of no-confidence in thedeputy prime minister over herhandling of a police whistle-blower controversy, warning thatelections loomed if she did notstep down.
Irish Prime Minister LeoVaradkar, leader of the Fine
Gael party that heads the minor-ity government, has ruled out theresignation of his deputy FrancesFitzgerald. But opposition FiannaFail leader Micheal Martin saidthere would be an election if shedid not step down.
Fianna Fail props up theminority government, and theprospect of a snap election before
Christmas looms if it removes itssupport. Fitzgerald “should stepaside in our view and that wouldavoid a general election,” Martintold RTE public radio.
The motion will be voted onnext Tuesday, pushing Varadkar’sminority Government to thebrink of collapse ahead of a keysummit next month with EU
leaders where the issue ofIreland’s post-Brexit border withBritain will be on the agenda.
Ireland is pushing EU lead-ers to ensure its concerns aboutthe border with British-ruledNorthern Ireland are taken intoaccount before Brexit talks cancontinue, adding an unexpectedhurdle to Britain’s plans. AFP
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Adog wouldn’t come outafter chasing a cat into a
tunnel dug by a giant tortoisein the backyard of a home in aPhoenix suburb, so homeown-
er Toby Passmore called forhelp.
Chandler firefightersresponded Wednesday withpeople and shovels and, withthe help of a city backhoe,began unearthing the 6-foot-
deep tunnel dug by Passmore’stortoise. That allowed Passmoreto squirm head-first into thehole and see that his ScottishSchnauzer “was willfully insidethe hole” where it had corneredthe cat.
With his ankles held byfirefighters, Passmore was ableto pull the dog out. It emergeddirty but unharmed.
The rescuers left the holeopen to allow the cat to leavewhen it felt safe.
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Seoul: North Korea hasreplaced dozens of guards andfortified a section of its borderwith South Korea following thedramatic defection of one of itssoldiers last week, a reportsaid on Friday. The 24-year-oldsoldier, identified only by hissurname, Oh, is recovering ina South Korean hospital afterbeing shot at least four times byhis comrades as he dashedacross the border.
“We’ve detected signs that
all North Korean guards at theJoint Security Area (JSA) werereplaced immediately after thedefection,” South Korea’s mass-circulated Chosun Ilbo dailysaid, citing Governmentsources. The report said around35 to 40 North Koreans nor-mally stand guard at the JSA,which is located at thePanmunjom truce village —the only portion of the borderwhere forces from the twosides stand face-to-face. AFP
Washington: Overhauling wel-fare was one of the defininggoals of Bill Clinton’s presi-dency, starting with a campaignpromise to “end welfare as weknow it,” continuing with a bit-ter policy fight and producingchange that remains hotlydebated 20 years later.
Now, President DonaldTrump wants to put his stampon the welfare system, appar-ently in favour of a more
restrictive policy. He says “people are taking
advantage of the system.”Trump, who has been sig-
naling interest in the issue forsome time, said this past weekthat he wants to tackle the issueafter the tax overhaul he isseeking by the end of the year.He said changes were “desper-ately needed in our country”and that his administrationwould soon offer plans. AP
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Washington: US PresidentDonald Trump condemned as“horrible and cowardly” a dev-astating bomb and gun attackon Friday that killed more than200 people at a mosque inEgypt. “The world cannot tol-erate terrorism, we must defeatthem militarily and discredit theextremist ideology that formsthe basis of their existence!” hesaid on Twitter. AFP
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Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi has con-
demned the extremist attack ona mosque in the troubled SinaiPeninsula, calling it “criminal”and “cowardly” and expressingcondolences to the victims andtheir families.
In a televised statementFriday evening, el-Sissi said thatthe attack “will not go unpunished” and that Egyptwill persevere with its war onterrorism.
The suffering of the victimswas not in vain, he added, andwill only “add to our insistence”to combat terrorism.
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If the IIFA awards are held in Russia in 2018, then we would have much to thankHema Malini for. For she has gone on from being dream girl to dream-maker
as head of the Indo-Russian Friendship Committee and is exploring an oppor-tunity to resume the vibrant cultural exchanges between the two countries. Beit organising film festivals, film markets or cultural showcases, Hema has takenon the role of culture czarina rather well. So while she is working on a film exchangeprogramme, she is also promoting different cultures and dance forms from coun-tries of the old Soviet bloc. “We recently had a maiden edition of Synergy wherewe had 40 dancers from Georgia along with Indian artists from our troop per-forming Kathak and Bharatnatyam. I am now planning to bring in Russian dancersfor classical jugalbandi.”
But multi-tasking and managing arts disciplines is not difficult for Hema,who was groomed by her mother Jaya Lakshmi Chakravarti, an ace film produc-er of her time who recognised the artiste in her. “It was my mother who was verykeen to put me in the industry at a time when parents never thought about act-ing as a profession.
She encouraged my skills when I was studying in Delhi at Madrasi HigherSecondary School. Her interest first took me to Chennai to attend a few work-shops and thereafter in the mainstream Hindi film space. Therefore, it’s becauseof her that I have achieved success,” she asserts.
The veteran actress has penned her journey of relationships, stardom andher career in her autobiographies — Hema Malini by Bhawna Somaiya and HemaMalini: Beyond the Dream Girl by Ram Kamal Mukherjee. “My books talk aboutthe numerous rejections I faced before getting my first break in the industry. Thefeeling of being rejected at the age of 14 did not come easy. I was considered amisfit in the industry and that is when I hit rock bottom in my life.” However,she did not give up easily. “More so, my parents were always there to supportme and encouraged me to overlook these failures. But one thing about failures
is when you experience them, everything seems sodark that you feel zapped. That time spiritualityopened its door to me because of which I was ableto stand again with the zeal to pursue my dreamthat made me the dream girl. This is something Iwould have never achieved had I not encouragedmyself to give myself a chance. I strongly believethat opportunity comes to the person who has pas-sion and the urge to become someone,” sharesHema, who debuted with the role of a supportingartiste in Idhu Sathiyam (1963) and portrayed adanseuse in Pandava Vanavasam (1965). In 1968,she debuted in Raj Kapoor’s Sapno Ka Saudagar andthere was no looking back ever since. And for allthe glamorous or classical roles that came her way,she carried them through with an unmatched grace.
She never decided the roles for herself and optedfrom the ones that came along her way. She men-tions, “I was offered roles on the basis of the likesof the audience. Seeta Aur Gita was a huge hit, whichwas followed by numerous producers queuing upto take me on board for similar characters. Thosedays, refusal didn’t come easy as we didn’t have therange that we have today.” She worked in seven filmsbased on double roles like Seeta aur Geeta (1972),including Janeman (1975) alongside other notablemale protagonists.
It was Gulzar who offered her a unique andchallenging role in Khushboo (1975) alongsideJeetendra, based on the Bengali novel Panditmashaiby Sharatchandra Chattopadhyay. “I take pride inworking for projects, especially with Gulzar sahab,who gave me challenging characters which not
everyone gets to perform. Though the movie was nota commercial success, it has always been remembered and talked about. Anda role that I will always cherish.”
Second in line was Razia Sultan (1983), “I was shooting for Meera andRazia Sultan simultaneously.
While Meera was a Hindu saint-poet who renounced princely comfortsin pursuit of her love for Lord Krishna, Razia was the empress of India.Shooting the two films were simultaneous and involved immersing myselfin two extreme ends of the spectrum of rasas, Meera with her ethereal calmand stasis and Razia, with her aggressive emotions. Those days one couldnot shift schedules. Producers weren’t very rich unlike today where theyspend �100 crore on a film. It was a time when I took up roles based onthe screenplay and the intensity of a character, unlike calculating my
economics,” she says. Though the current generation might feel that there has been an
overnight transition in the industry in terms of women-orientedroles, the fact is Hema Malini did the groundwork in the main-
stream space, often choosing deglam looks and real characters.Recalls she, “Women-oriented roles existed even then. I could
develop myself as an artiste with Kinaara, Ek Chadar MailiSi, Khushboo and Lal Pathar. None of the leads was docile
or subservient but struck out on their own terms.”Talking about the accessibility and the overnight
stardom in the industry today, she shares, “Duringour time, stardom was about mystery. To catch
a glimpse of any of the artistes like Rekha andothers was a moment to be remembered.
That charisma has gone with stars nowbecoming interactive on social media
and rubbing shoulders in publicspaces. But then there is toomuch competition to stay rele-vant.”
Hema feels that there are veryfew producers left in the industry who
focus on the classic style of Hindi main-stream cinema. “Except Sanjay Leela Bhansali, everyone is try-
ing to make films in a modern style.” So she still likes watching softand light-hearted films. She is dearly fond of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan,
Deepika Padukone and Katrina Kaif for the way they have held them-selves despite the pulls and pressures of changed times.
A karmayogi, Hema’s hands are full this December as she gets busywith her Durga ballet in Delhi, Kurukshetra and Ambala. “I recent-ly finished two shows in October and then I did not accept any showbecause my daughter was going to deliver a baby. But now that thebaby is born, my roll will start again.”
Zooey Deschanel plays a scullery maidcalled Bridget in the animated musical
Trolls. It revolves around two trolls— Poppy(voiced by Anna Kendrick) and Branch(voiced by Justin Timberlake ) who are ona quest to save their village from destruc-tion by the Bergens, the creatures who eatTrolls.
�What is the story of Trolls about?The movie is about a long standing con-
flict between two different species, the Trollsand the Bergens. They are bigger and liketo eat Trolls and they’ve been abusing themfor years. Finally, the Trolls escape and livepeacefully for a long time. Then, theBergens rediscover them and one of themgets captured and the other friends go to res-cue the captured one. My character Bridgetis a servant of Bergen and she ends up help-ing the Trolls to survive.
�Tell us about your character?Bridget is a guileless character. She works for the main chief — the king
and he is very mean and cruel. He kicks Bridget around, bosses her and is alittle abusive towards her also. But, she has a big crush on the king.
Bridget is in love with him and that’s her main moti-vation. She has the spark of love and happiness inside
her that none of the other Bergens have and isscholarly.
�How does Bridget help the Trolls in thestory?
Basically, there is an agreement betweenPoppy who is one of the main Trolls whooffers to help Bridget win the king over bydressing her up and making her into a moresophisticated lady named Lady Glitter
Sparkles and it’s a kind of a Cinderellamicro story within the broad story.
�What is the relationship betweenyour character Bridget and KingGristle?
Bridget and King Gristle(voiced by Christopher Mintz-Plasse) meet officially when she’sdressed up as Lady Glitter Sparklesand he believes that she is thesophisticated lady and falls in lovewith her. They go on a roller skat-ing date and eat pizza and connecton a lot of things but then she hasto leave right away because she’spretending to be somebody she’snot.
�How was the experience ofcreating the voice of Bridget?
I just visualised in my headwhat her voice would soundlike. As in animated movies,you don’t usually sound likeyourself. Well, this was a bit dif-ferent and I don’t sound likemyself so we really played a lotin the room and I thought a lotabout it beforehand. We exper-imented with how Bridget’svoice should sound and then
how later Lady Glitter Sparkles’voice should sound. How it changes
when she’s trying to appear more sophis-ticated and how much of a change that wasand we went far and then dialled it back andthen found a really good, happy medium.
�What are your thoughts about thedirectors of the film?
Mike and Wall are really talented andgreat directors to work with. It was great towork with them because even though I was-
n’t getting to work with the other actors whenI was recording my voice parts, they are the
kind of directors that can create the world foryou without the other actors there. They’d
switch off reading the other parts there and theyallowed me to explore the character and find thatthe character’s voice because some peoplemight just say that “do your own voice!” they
really let me play with it. So, I’m grateful to them.
�How important is music to the film Trolls?Music makes everyone happy. It is the key to
the Trolls’ happiness and when the Bergen’s join in,that’s where they’re finding their own happiness.
�How was your experience of working with Justin Timberlake?It was great working with Justin! He was a supportive producer and is also
a great actor so he was able to have a perfect mix to guide the vocal perfor-mance from both a musical and a dramatic perspective and I really think thatthere are things I did out of my comfort zone, like the rap, and he was defi-nitely able to poke something out of me that was way out of my comfort zoneand by the end it was something really fun and cool, so I really thought he wasan amazing producer and person to work with.
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Walk into the gallery and the first thing thatcatches the eye are artist Nobina Gupta’sarchival boxes called Dharohar. Walk a lit-
tle further and one is transported into the vibrantworld of Madina Bhawan through Sandeep Dhopte’svisionary fine-art photography. Step out in the sunand walk through contemporarised wooden furni-ture crafted by Lenny Rubennovitch out of local andwaste materials. Adding a musical touch to theevening were the Maihar folk tunes.
All this and more can be seen and experiencedat Bikaner House, where Disappearing Dialogues, aseries of interactions with nature, people, culture, prac-tices and objects that are knocking on the doors ofextinction has been put up. It was conceived andcurated by artist Nobina Gupta who researched fora year in Baghelkhand and Bundelkhand region andsurrounding areas of Madhya Pradesh. She, along with14 Indian and international craftsmen developedcross-cultural and trans disciplinary research,exchanging and co-creating within the local commu-nity with contributions of skilled artists.
I met warm and friendly Clare ElizabethKennedy, an Australian architect, who spoke at lengthabout the innovative architectural designs of Ichol vil-lage in Madhya Pradesh, which she has coopted inher eco-hut. Artist Sandeep Dhopte created a seriesof interpretation of ragas through photographs, doc-umenting Madina Bhawan, the seat of the Maihar gha-rana of Hindustani classical music, Baba AllauddinKhan and the vibrant history of Maihar region. Hedid not know then that Disappearing Dialogues fea-turing his research would elicit such a reaction. “Ichose Madina Bhawan as the focus of my researchdue to sheer inquisitiveness. And to unravel the bril-liance of Indian classical music through legends,including Baba Alauudin Khan, Pt Ravi Shankar andUstad Ali Akbar Khan who, I feel, the millennials areunaware about. My purpose was to restore the gloryof this monument which once resonated with theirmelodious voice through my skill. At present, thereare no musical lessons being organised at that placewhich once brimmed with the sound of riyaaz. I feltas if one day people decided to leave and abandonthe place. However, Madina Bhavan stands still, wit-nessing the changing times and unperturbed by ourignorance. I did my research in order to representmusic visually which led me to raagmala paintingswhere each sur has a colour code. It came into placeas each colour evokes a certain emotion. Combiningthese sur creates a raag which encompasses the tonalrange of colours used and depicts a mood. Like RaagMalhaar represents green colour as it’s about rain-fall and the resultant lushness,” added Dhopte, aMumbai-based fine art photographer. He took thecolour coding from certain ragas and incorporatedit into photographs suiting Madina Bhawan’s interi-ors using his sensibility.
Kennedy, who studied traditional Indian vernac-ular architecture understanding the techniques ofcraftsmanship and mud houses around Maihar, said,“My focus is on building with earth in the settlementstyle of Ichol . I found fantastic examples of tradition-al earthern architecture that are slowly being replacedby concrete homes. I closely observed their buildingtechniques and researched on the shift from mudhouses to contemporary material. I am designing a
small eco building, using local material and fusingthem with sustainable Australian techniques. It’s sim-ple and cost-effective building and will hopefullyinspire localities to continue their traditions. The pro-ject is under process and 60 per cent of it is done.”For this exhibit, she showcased architectural proto-types of eco-hut created as 3D models on paperthrough a guide of architecture in Ichol. She hopesthat it will motivate budding architects to movetowards sustainable architecture.
Canadian Lenny Rubennovitch has createdwood furniture out of local and waste material torevive the refined craftsmanship of wood-carving, an
enriched tradition under the patronage of rulers androyal families of Maihar. German social activist UlrikeReinhard spearheaded collaboration between Janwaarkids (an award winning charity project in MP) andIchol kids to create beautifully designed skateboardswith patterns that reflect rural life.
Gupta’s archival boxes are located in the vernac-ular language of Bagheli which is gradually losing itsrelevance through generations within the region. “Itis interesting how from the Bagheli folk songs andpoetry emerges an excellent vision of the land, its his-tory, mythology, bio-diversity, dynamics of socio-cul-tural practices, reflecting a vivid picture that craves
for authentic documentation and archiving. I also con-ducted a series of art connect workshops on paperkandas — inspired by the gobar kandas which is anintegral part of rural life. Paper mache was fabricat-ed in the form of kandas on which children drewabout their dreams and aspirations and designs onhandmade local khaprels — in villages people local-ly make and bake them and use it on their roofs. Thechildren drew the design patterns on these khaprels.”
“Madhya Pradesh has a bundle of resources wait-ing to be extracted and transformed into a piece ofart. It’s a state of lost histories, cultures, musical lega-cies and traditions that are hidden deep within thearea. The heritage and culture of indigenous com-munities should be valued and preserved before it dis-appears. Traditional practices of organic farming,brick making and forest rejuvenation are excellentexamples of alternate techniques for modern man tolearn about sustainable living. For this reason,Ambica Beri, the founder of a multi-disciplinary artscentre — Art Ichol — and I collaborated to invitenational and international artists, practisng in differ-ent fields to come together for a research and collab-orative residency focusing on environment, culture,heritage and the indigenous community at Art Ichol,arts centre in Maihar. The artists used their creativ-ity and research abilities to first study disappearingpractices and then developed thought-provoking art-work and material in response to their findings,” saidGupta.
She added that this exhibit will create collectiveconsciousness, awareness and impact in the long run.“To take notice of fading cultures and traditional prac-tices around you and preserve it for the future. In ear-lier times we had a holistic approach and people wereskilled in various departments whereas in contem-porary times each of us has specialised skills.Sustainability will emerge by including diverse ele-ments present in the environment which we have triedthrough Disappearing Dialogues.” They have givenshape to a multi-dimensional exhibition throughinteractive platforms such as haats, card games on
mythology, videos, calendars, seals and scrolls.Australian textile designers Trish Bygott and
Nathan Crotty explored the meditative aspect of stitchand cloth working with locals of Maihar. They havetrained local women and girls around the Ichol vil-lages to develop a line of products — clothes, jew-ellery and furnishings along with designer Payal Nath,who has created bags from empty cement sacks. Thevillage women were reportedly asked to listen to folkmusic of their choice and their colourful threadworkwas the result of their state of mind, happy and buoy-ant. Said Payal Nath, “We were asked to ensurewomen empowerment in Maihar through commu-nity engagement. The women knew no craft and usedto make bidis. So, we picked up cement sacks, theydid running stitch on it listening to folk music andused colours that inspired them. The co-creators feltthe beauty in their own products and its effect madethem feel empowered which was sole objective.”
Sculptor Ramesh Chandra carved out fourfaces, each depicting varied emotions from thenavarasas. Rita Banerji’s video short films co-creat-ed with the local youth and AbhishekhaKrishnagopal’s books on ecological issues are somecollaborative works from the grassroots that meritattention. And time.
Said Ambica Beri of Art Ichol, “My vision is notmerely to provide inspiring and world class-facilitiesfor artists to work in, but also to bring art out of thelimiting white-cube structure of a gallery space.Working with the community, enhancing theirskills and being able to support them in finding alter-nate means of livelihood have always been an impor-tant vertical of my arts centre and through theresearch-based Disappearing Dialogues project, wehave been able to reach out to many collaborators,government, artists, local communities and otherimportant stakeholders.” She added that they spon-sor five underprivileged artists every year and con-tribute towards honing their skill.
The exhibition will be on until November 29 atBikaner House.
If there was anything that heldback the weekend shopper at
Dilli Haat so far, it was theabsence of digital transactions.But tribal artisans and crafts-men at the ongoing AadiMahotsav, held under the aegisof the Tribal CooperativeMarketing DevelopmentFederation of India Limited(TRIFED), have taken the con-cept of a digital and cashlessIndia seriously, each of themoffering you a swipe option.The result? They have notchedup big business in Delhi as partof an initiative to strengthentheir retail and marketing net-works.
Till November 30, the trib-al product bouquet will also bepresenting tribal cuisine, minorforest produce and the coun-try’s cereal and millet her-itage. For the first time again atDilli Haat, there’s a fixed fairprice with the Government fix-ing a minimum support pricefor minor forest produce,which has been done after apainstaking research in 12,000tribal villages. “Tribal honey isthe best. Now we have diversi-fied the use of mahua into can-dies in combination withtamarind and sauces and chut-neys in combination withtamarind and amla. We are set-ting up procurement hubs in5,000 tribal haat bazaars acrossthe country and setting upvalue addition centres, where-by we are fixing the cost of eachvalue addition to the forest pro-duce. In this respect, we areworking with self-help groupsand private partners too. Justlike agriculture, the supportpricing of forest produce is notonly encouraging innovation inusage but enhancing tribalincomes and preserving localheritage. Consider its impacton the socio-economic life oftribal clusters in the Bastar andthe Northeast,” says PravirKrishna, Managing Director,TRIFED.
Ever since he has takenover, he has pushed foraggressive marketing of tribal
products, signing MoUs witheven online shopping plat-forms like Flipkart andAmazon, ensuring qualitybenchmarks and providingloans to tribal craftsmen (4 percent for women and 6 per centfor men.) ‘‘Tribals are mastercraftsmen, they produce someof the finest handicrafts in theworld. But what they lack aremarketing skills. Therefore,TRIFED is providing the mar-keting support to the tribalpeople to promote their crafts-manship and a medium to givethem a platform for com-merce,’’ he adds.
Approximately 600 mastercraftsmen from across India arerepresented in the fortnightshowcase. According toKrishna, the fifth day of the fes-tival saw �70 lakh generatedthrough sales of tribal textiles,jewellery, woodwork, bambooarticrafts, metal work and otherofferings. ‘‘Each stall has twoartists from various parts of thecountry selling the best fromtheir land in terms of jewellery,handicrafts, fabrics and more.The ultimate idea is to work intandem with the state govern-ments, find the finest talent in
tribal handicrafts and get themto a good market,’’ he adds.
Working with tribals wasnot an easy task for the govern-ment. In the last one year,TRIFED has trained about60,000 tribals to tailor theirwares for contemporary useand comply with standards. ‘‘E-commerce platforms neverwork on charity. They seekprofits. Therefore, we have avery strong quality controlwhile we train a panel of 2,500suppliers all over the country,’’he says.
Since TRIFED has signedan MoU with e-commerceplayers, through which thedemand of the products islikely to multiply in the nextfew months, the collective isworking on expanding up to5,000 suppliers and training 10lakh tribals. Consultants fromNIFT and JJ School of Artshave been roped in. They havealso signed a MoU with all stategovernments except Punjaband Haryana that do not havetribal populations. So all trib-al products will be additional-ly sold in 42 shops under 165franchises all over the country.
If you’ve tired yourself outshopping, then just prepareyourself for delicacies likeBanjara biryani fromTelangana, which has no oil,dhebra with green chutneyfrom a tribal part of Vadodara,fish slathered with localTsingpo spices, herbs andcooked in bamboo and stickyrice wrapped in banana leaffrom Tinsukia in Assam.
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Kerala Blasters FC played outtheir second goalless draw asJamshedpur FC frustrated
the home side in a Hero IndianSuper League (ISL) game here onFriday.
The Blasters were playing theirsecond game at home but failed totake an advantage. Their openingmatch against ATK had also endedin a 0-0 draw.
Former Manchester United starDimitar Berbatov lasted the full 90minutes again and had an acrobat-ic effort go waste at the near post butthe best chance for the Blasters fellto CK Vineeth after Canadian IainHume dug out a cross to pick himfrom the right wing.
Vineeth's heading opportunitywent abegging as did so manyother half chances, which didn'tmaterialise due to the lack of a qual-
ity final ball in the attacking third.The Blasters started the match
in typical fashion with a quicktempo and feeding off the energy ofthe crowd, but Jamshedpur didwell to weather the initial storm andcountered a few times.
Their best effort though waspalmed away not once but twice inquick succession by Paul Rachubka.
It all started with Memo's sting-ing effort from a free kick, and oncethat was seen away by a divingRachubka, he got back up and keptthe rebound effort from JerryMawihmingthanga out as well.
Rachubka was alert in addedtime as well and Jamshedpur fin-ished the game as a stronger team.
Trindad Goncalves's brilliantcross found Kervens Belfort, but hisheader was incredibly saved by the36-year- old goalkeeper.
The first half had its fair shareof entertainment with Blasters'
Courage Pekuson's shot narrowlymissing the target.
In a way, it was a roundup of the
match itself, which will be remem-bered more for the goalkeepingheroics of Rachubka than the missed
efforts from all the attackers on thepitch.
���#������2�������#���� Hosts Mumbai City FCwould look to shrug off their defeatagainst Bengaluru FC and chasetheir first win of the season whenthey take on FC Goa in anISL matchhere on Saturday.
Bottom-placed Mumbai, whowill miss services of injured LeoCosta, were unable to score againstBengaluru, who thrashed them 2-0.
The hosts have some good for-wards in Balwant Singh, Rafa Jorda,Everton Santos who need to fire andconvert chances. Mumbai City headcoach Alexandre Guimaraies wouldalso be keen that his defenders andmid-fielders put up a spirited showand don't concede any goals.
Their hopes also depend on theperformance of their star goal-keeper Amrinder Singh, who would
look to repeat his last year's hero-ics, when he earned the GoldenGlove award.
Guimaraies today admitted thathis side was more prepared forSaturday's game then the openingone. "We have a tough game. Goadid very well against Chennayin. Wehave to improve our performancefrom the first game. For tomorrow,we are more complete in our squadcompared to first game and we areprepared," the Costa Rican toldreporters ahead of the game.
"So we are prepared and arehoping that it's going to be a goodgame and we go for a win,"Guimaraies added.
Mumbai had only a shot on tar-get in the last game. When askedabout it, the coach said, "We had keyplayers like Balwant (Singh) injuredafter 12 minutes of the game. LeoCosta got injured."
Goa, who are at number four in
the table, on the other hand start-ed on a winning note by defeatingChennayin FC 3-2. And they willlook to continue the winning streak.
With forwards like AdrianColunga Perez, Ferran Telechea,Manvir Singh and a host of goodmid-fielders and defenders, theircoach Sergio Lobero would expecta complete performance at theAndheri Sports Complex. "We didhave a very good start in the lastgame, but as it is in football livingin the past will not get you any-where, so all of us are thinking of thenext game, and we are all on tomor-row, We don't want to focus on pastresults," Spaniard Lobero said.
The FC coach also said thatstriker Collunga is injured.
"The only injury we have isCollunga. He failed to recover fromthe injury he was carrying lastweek but beyond that the teamremains the same," he said.
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Oscar Pistorius' prison sentencewas more than doubled to 13
years and five months on Friday, asurprisingly dramatic interventionby South Africa's Supreme Court ofAppeal in the Olympic athlete's fateafter the murder of girlfriend ReevaSteenkamp.
In an announcement that tooka matter of minutes, Supreme CourtJustice Willie Seriti said a panel ofjudges unanimously upheld anappeal by prosecutors againstPistorius' original six-year sentencefor shooting Steenkamp.
The ruling could finally bringan end to the near five-year legalsaga surrounding Pistorius.
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Skipper Virat Kohli's decision toplay only four specialist bowlerswas vindicated as India bundled
out a defensive Sri Lanka for a pal-try 205 on the opening day of thesecond cricket Test, here on Friday.
At stumps, India were 11 for 1with KL Rahul (7) back in the pavil-ion, being played on to a LahiruGamage delivery.
With no demons on a sportingtrack where stroke-play wasn't toodifficult, the visitors never got goingas spinners Ravichandran Ashwin(4/67) and Ravindra Jadeja (3/56)along with comeback-man IshantSharma (3/37) shared the spoils.
After the completion of firstinnings, Ashwin now has 296 wick-ets in his 54th Test. He will getanother innings in this game plusthe Delhi Test to get the remainingfour scalps and break Dennis Lillee's(56 Test) record fastest to 300 wick-ets.
Sri Lanka were 160 for four atone stage during the final sessionlooking good enough to stage afightback before a batting collapsesaw them lose six wickets for only45 runs. Their batsmen were ultra-defensive in their approach duringthe first session on a Jamtha trackwhich had good bounce and carrybut was far from the menacinggreen-top that was on offer at theEden Gardens during the first Testmatch.
The lack of intent to get goingin the second and third sessionsaffected their performance withonly skipper Dinesh Chandimal (57)looked like in control till he was atthe crease.
The other batsman with notablecontribution was opener DimuthKarunaratne, who was twice luckyin the first session — being droppedonce and stumped off a no-ball
another time, but still he could notfully capitalize on the reprieves get-ting out for 51 in the post-lunch ses-sion. The immensely talentedNiroshan Dickwella (24) committedhara-kiri when things were startingto look up during the post tea-ses-sion. He tried to whip Jadeja throughmid-wicket and the ball balloonedup for Ishant to take a simple catchat mid-off.
The trio of Ishant, Ashwin andJadeja did not bowl anything excep-tional but their unwavering consis-tency saw the Lankans buckle underpressure.
The best delivery undoubtedlywas the one that Ashwin got DasunShanaka (2) with. Ashwin had pre-vious bowled an off- break thatmade him uncomfortable and thenfired an angular delivery that lookedmore like a leg-break clipping theoff- stump. Ishant, who normallybowls back of the length mixed it upwith good full length deliveries
that got him the wickets whileJadeja's armers proved to be veryeffective. He was instrumental indislodging the stodgy Karunaratne,who had by then already played 147deliveries, hitting six boundaries.
His skipper Chandimal wouldhave expected Karunaratne to helphim in conjure a bigger partnershipthan the 62 runs that they added forthe fourth wicket.
Ishant finally sent the doggedKarunaratne back with a deliverythat looked to have straightenedafter pitching. Karunaratne went forDRS but the replays showed that thedelivery would have hit the off-stump. Chandimal showed moreintent than his teammates to get thescoreboard moving, hitting fourboundaries and a down the groundsix off Jadeja.
Courtesy Chandimal, Sri Lankamanaged to score 104 runs in 32overs during the post-lunch session,losing a couple of wickets. All thehardwork was undone in the posttea session after Dickwella's dis-missal. It also affected Chandimal'sconfidence as he was not the sameplayer again.
Opting to bat, opener SadeeraSamarawickrama (13) and onedown Lahiru Thirimanne (9) wereout during the first session, wherethe visiting team went into a shellwith a safety-first ploy in the 27overs bowled during the period.
Ishant, playing his first Testsince the home series againstAustralia, bowled his customaryback of the length stuff with an occa-sional fuller delivery. He set upSamarawickrama with a deliverythat was on fifth stump. The righthanded opener rightly left it but thevery next delivery was fuller, angledin at a drivable length and the bats-man took the bait and the thick out-side edge was pouched byCheteshwar Pujara at first slip.
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India are most likely to field only one spinner in theTest matches in South Africa but left-arm spinner
Ravindra Jadeja is not worried if he would be ableto get that spot by beating Ravichandran Ashwin.
Jadeja (3/51) along with Ashwin (4/67) played amajor role in bowling out Sri Lanka for just 205 onthe first day of the second Test.
When asked if he was the captain, then who hewould have chosen between him and Ashwin in theplaying XI for South Africa Tests, the jovial Jadejareplied: "Yeh bhi koi puchne ki baat hain (Is this a ques-tion that you even need to ask?)," his reply had every-one laughing. "If I am the captain, I will not evengive the ball to anyone (laughs). I will keep bowlingfrom one end."
Then on a serious note, he said: "It all dependson team's balance and what it wants. At times on over-seas tours, we assess if there are more left-handersor right-handers in the opposition and accordingly,the team's composition is set."
Aware that one among him, Ashwin and KuldeepYadav will feature in the playing XI, Jadeja said that
he can only controlthing which is in hishands - performance.
"I can only controlthe controllable. WhenI get an opportunity, Iwill try to do well.What is not in my con-trol, there is no pointthinking about it.When I get a chance toplay in South Africa, Iwill try to do well.
"When I got achance the last time, Iplayed the second Testafter Ashwin playedthe first. That's why Isaid that team's combi-nation will depend oncomposition of theopposition."
Jadeja was satisfiedthat he could bowl dis-ciplined line on a stripwhere there was notmuch help for thebowlers. "There was alot of help from the
wicket there (Kolkata) so you guys must have felt thatevery ball will yield a wicket but that was not the casehere because this wicket had grass but not the bounceor swing or the overcast conditions of Kolkata. That'swhy we did not get much help but the two (Ishantand Yadav) bowled well in the first session."
Ashwin was seen bowling round the wicket andthat's how he got Dinesh Chandimal leg before try-ing to reverse sweep and Dasun Shanaka with anangular delivery. "If there is nothing in the wicket forspinners, then it's good to try something different.Over the wicket or round the wicket, just try and cre-ate chances. That's what he was doing."
On his own bowling, Jadeja said: "I was veryhappy as to how I bowled today. There was no helpfrom the wicket and I was looking to bowl in right areas. The five-bowler combination means if weneed to get 20 wickets, then you need bowlers to dothat. Even if you score 700 or 800 runs, if you can'ttake 20 wickets, you won't win the match. It's impor-tant that you have all options — like all-rounders,bowlers, to utilize them as per conditions."
���� 1���%)�
Sri Lanka coach Nic Pothas on Friday clarifiedthat there were "no demons" in the VCA sta-
dium track and rued the manner in which six ofhis batsmen got out to straight deliveries on thefirst day of the second Test against India here.
"The wicket has got no demons. It hasn't spun,it hasn't seamed. There were six straight ball dis-missals. At the international level it's no surprisethat Ravindra Jadeja bowls straight balls.Ravichandran Ashwin and Jadeja got wicketsbowling stump to stump.
"At this level, you can't be missing straightballs," Pothas said at the end of the first day's playwhen his team skittled out for a meagre 205.
Pothas said that at best, the ball was skiddingat the Jamtha strip.
"In the last series, the wickets spun. You aretalking of the two top spinners (Ashwin andJadeja) of the world. It was a different kettle offish. Here the wicket didn't do anything. All whatit has done was to skid on a bit. On a wicket thathasn't done much, we lost seven wickets to spin.
"It is a disappointing change room as the guys
have set themselves high standards. They aregoing to be disappointed. In any process, you aregoing to have those disappointments."
Pothas conceded that the timing of skipperDinesh Chandimal's decision to play a reversesweep to Ashwin was "not the best", even thoughthere was a need to show positive intent.
"The captain made a decision at that point oftime. We empower the batsmen to make decisionsin the middle. He (Chandimal) obviously felt that(reverse sweep) was the way to score runs at thatpoint but it didn't come off. I probably would saythat may be the timing of that shot was perhapsnot at his best."
Ashwin came round the wicket to get wick-ets of Chandimal and Shanaka. Quizzed on theoff-spinner's strategy, the Lanka coach said: "It'sa change of angle. Ashwin is an intelligent bowlerwith some subtle variations. He is going to behandful on any wicket he is going to play. Butthat's not the first time that we have faced right-arm off-spin from round the wicket. At the time,you are asking batsmen to adapt and be flexiblefor conditions."
The coach however shielded Niroshan
Dickwella, whose irresponsible shot selection ledto a batting collapse with Sri Lanka losing sixwickets for 45 runs.
"In hindsight, that's what the numbers tellyou. We let ourselves down from that pointonwards.
“You can't say that because NiroshanDickwella got out, the rest can also get out!Dickwella is a positive batter and that's a shot(whip through mid-wicket) he plays well.
"I don't want to stop him from being himself.I want people to bat the way they bat and he iskind of player who transfers pressure back to thebowlers."
Pothas' defence about scoring only 47 runsin 27 overs during the first session of Day onewas however a bit weak.
"First session of a Test match, you try to seta base and try to bat for a long time.
You try and bat for a day if you win the toss,new ball spells are always tough and you try toblunt that.
I thought India bowled well, I don't thinkthere were too many free balls going that wemissed out on, but we adapted after lunch."
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Skipper Steve Smith led a rescue mission torevive Australia's fortunes after a top-order bat-
ting collapse in the Ashes Test against Englandin Brisbane on Friday.
Home hopes rested on Smith to mount afighting rearguard after the loss of four wickets.
At the close on the second day, the Australianswere 165 for four and trailing by 137 runs, withSmith unbeaten on 64 and Shaun Marsh not out44. It left the match intriguingly poised once againafter England ended day one in a similar positionbefore collapsing before lunch on Friday.
Smith was then thrust into another high pres-sure situation after Australia suffered a now-famil-iar batting malfunction.
England had done their homework, encirclingSmith with fielders and trying to frustrate the fid-gety Australian captain into playing a rash shot.
But Smith, Test cricket's top-rated batsman, stepped up to the chal-lenge with a defiant knock off 148balls.
Marsh, 34, recalled for an eighthtime to the Test team, provided stout support tohis skipper off 122 balls to share in an unbroken89-run stand.
The tourists had the Australians on the ropeswith three batsmen out in the middle session,including the prized scalp of David Warner.
Warner attempted to pull newcomer Jake Ballthrough the leg-side only to find Dawid Malanat short mid-wicket for 26 off 43 balls.
That left the Australians on a shaky 59 forthree after the dismissals of debutant openerCameron Bancroft and the misfiring UsmanKhawaja.
Bancroft lasted 19 balls in his first Test beforehe edged a Stuart Broad lifter outside off-stumpfor five in the fourth over.
Khawaja was deceived by Moeen Ali's spinplaying forward, and fell leg before wicket for 11.It was the 17th time Khawaja has been dismissedby spin in 42 Test innings.
Peter Handscomb joined them after tea
when he was struck on theback pad and given out legbefore wicket to JamesAnderson for 14 on review.
Earlier, England losttheir last six wickets for 56 to fold for 302 all outin their first innings at lunch. The tourists werelooking solid in an 83-run partnership betweenMalan and Moeen Ali before Malan's dismissaltriggered a clatter of wickets. Root's team tum-bled from 246 for four to be all out with fastbowlers Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins each tak-ing three wickets and spinner Nathan Lyon two.
Ashes debutant Malan top-edged Starc andwas caught by Marsh at deep square leg for 56.
Seven balls later, in the 104th over, Lyonremoved all-rounder Moeen leg before wicket andstruck again with the first ball of his next over,bowling Chris Woakes for a duck.
Wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow followed short-ly afterwards for nine, as he dollied Cummins toTim Paine for the gloveman's first catch after sevenyears in the Test wilderness.
Starc finished with bowling figures of threefor 77, Cummins took three for 85 and Lyon twofor 78.
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Former India captain Sourav Gangulyon Friday backed current skipper
Virat Kohli on the issue of crampedscheduling and said that the team needsmore time to prepare for tough assign-ments like the upcoming South Africatour.
Kohli on Thursday complained thatcramped schedules are getting in the wayof proper preparation for a big series suchas the upcoming tour to South Africa, acriticism that the BCCI promised toaddress with "utmost seriousness".
Echoing Kohli's concerns, Gangulysaid, "He (Kohli) was talking aboutscheduling of cricket which is so correct.You got to give teams time to preparewhen they go to South Africa."
Ganguly was speaking at the IndiaToday Conclave East 2017 here.
Ganguly also lavished praise onKohli who has notched up 50 interna-tional century at the Eden Test against SriLanka.
He said Kohli can challenge SachinTendulkar's 49 ODI hundreds but thechallenge would be to match the LittleMaster's 51 hundreds in Test.
"Virat will get very close to Sachin'sODI hundreds which is 49. He is already32. He will get close to that. He has gotto stay fit. When I was playing, from1996-2003, I had 22 ODI hundreds in 7years," Ganguly said.
"I see that with Kohli as well. He hasgot 30 odd in about nine years. It getstougher with age. It got tougher forSachin, it got tougher for me, it will gettougher for Virat Kohli," said Ganguly,who has 22 centuries in 311 ODIs and16 Test tons in 113 games.
"He (Kohli) plays a lot of cricket. Ipersonally feel he will get there to 50international hundreds with the amountof ODIs that are played. The challengewill be in Test matches to get that far. It'sa terrific feeling to have seen Sachin and
now you are seeing this boy," Gangulyadded.
Asked to compare Tendulkar andKohli, Ganguly said they are from dif-ferent generations. He said Kohli ismore expressive and proactive as captainthan Tendulkar.
"It's not right to compare becausethese are two cricketers who are from twodifferent generations. I have seenTendulkar very very closely. An unbe-lievable cricketer. Some of the runs he hasgot, match-winning innings he hasplayed is fantastic.
"Kohli, a hundred a couple of daysago at Eden Gardens on that pitch, andyou could see his expression when he fin-ished. He is a lot more expressive thanTendulkar. He is a lot more proactive thanTendulkar as captain. Tendulkar was dif-ferent, maybe the generation was differ-ent," he said.
Ganguly said he's like an averageBengali man at home but he had to
change the attitude of the team when heled because some of the players neededto be pushed to develop an aggressiveIndian side.
@"��������������#� ���� �� ��Former India captain Sourav
Ganguly on Friday said that he was"desperate" to become the nationalcoach but ended up being an adminis-trator.
"You should do what you can andnot thinking about the outcome. Younever know where life goes, you neverknow where life will take you. I went toAustralia in 1999, I wasn't even the vice-captain. Sachin (Tendulkar) was thecaptain and in three months I becamethe captain of India," he said.
"When I got into administration, Iwas desperate to be the coach of thenational side. (Jagmohan) Dalmiya calledme and said 'why you don't you try forsix months'. He passed away and nonewas around, so I became the CAB pres-ident. People take 20 years to becomepresident. You have to live for the day,"Ganguly said while speaking at theIndia Today Conclave East 2017.
He also spoke why he called it quits."As I announced retirement in 2008,
Sachin came at lunch and asked me 'whydid you take such a decision?' I saidbecause I don't want to play any more.He then said 'this is the best time to seeyou play in such flow. Last three years hadbeen your best'. I retired because at somepoint you've had enough. The reason isnot because you have had enough of play-ing the sport but because you've hadenough of getting selected all the time. Iremember those days and think indi-vidual sports is a lot better when you arenot dependent on team."
Ganguly said the biggest problem ina team sport is the fact that one getsselected by others, so even if one workswell, he/she may not get a place in the side.
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