14 VIVACITY Death halts tigers’ translocationon Sabarimala ... · “The death of the male ......

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EC REMOVES MIZORAMCEO AFTER PROTESTSNew Delhi: Accepting thedemand of some civil societygroups, the Election Commissionon Thursday removed SBShashank as chief electoralofficer of poll-bound Mizoramand appointed IAS officer AshishKundra in his place.

‘SUPER-EARTH’ FOUNDORBITING A STARLondon: Astronomers havediscovered a frozen ‘super Earth’orbiting the closest solitary starto the Sun, a breakthrough thatcould shine light on our nearestplanetary neighbours.

DELHI AIR QUALITYIMPROVES AFTER RAINNew Delhi: Delhi’s air quality fellin the ‘poor’ category improvingslightly from severe on Thursdayas light showers brought downthe pollution level slightly,authorities said. The overall airquality index was recorded inpoor category, according toCentral Pollution ControlAuthority (CPCB) data.

KHASHOGGI MURDER: 5OFFICIALS FACE DEATHRiyadh: Five Saudi officials facethe death penalty for the murderof journalist Jamal Khashoggi,who was dismembered inside thekingdom’s Istanbul consulate,but Crown Prince Mohammedbin Salman was not involved, theprosecutor said on Thursday.

ARCHANA JYOTI n NEW DELHI

The ambitious project torepopulate Odisha’s Satkosia

Tiger Reserve by translocatingbig cats from outside the Statehas gone haywire after one ofthe relocated tigers died, mostprobably due to poaching, whilethe other, a Royal Bengal tigress,has been kept in captivity fol-lowing public outrage that itkilled two people.

Unhappy at the StateGovernment’s failure to protectthe big cats and sensitise thecommunity towards wildlife,the National TigerConservation Authority(NTCA) has now kept thetranslocation plan in abeyancetill the “environment becomesconducive for the big cats” inthe tiger reserve spread overfour districts — Angul,Cuttack, Nayagarh and Boudh.

NTCA ADG Anup Nayaktold The Pioneer, “Followingthe mishappening at thereserve we are reviewing thesafety situation in the tigerreserve. We cannot allow thebig cats to be translocatedfrom other States and meet thefatal end.

“The death of the maletiger shows that sufficient stepswere not taken to protect theanimal. Also, the StateGovernment must answer whythe tigress had strayed outsidethe forest even though she wasunder constant observation ofthe forest officials.”

The tigress had to be tran-quillised and kept in a zoo afterthe villagers in the vicinityalleged that she had mauled

locals and their cattle.Nayak said there are

reports that the move to bringthe big cats has met with vio-lent protests from members oflocal communities on the out-skirts of the reserve as theyapprehend their safety and thatof their livestock.

The body of MB2, themale big cat which was shiftedfrom Madhya Pradesh’s Kanhatiger reserve in June this year,was found in Raiguda range onHindol-Narsinghpur border —the core area of Satkosia TigerReserve (STR) in Angul districta few days ago.

Nayak said the exact reasonof radio-collared MB2’s deathis yet to be ascertained, but pre-liminary report suggests that itcould have died of infectionsafter it was caught in a snaretrap laid by poachers.

The body was found byofficials who were searching forMB2 after there were no signalsfrom his radio collar for days.The tiger’s death came just afew weeks after the tigresswhich was brought fromBandhavgarh Tiger reserve inMP in August was tranquilisedand kept under observation inan enclosure. This was after vil-lagers in the vicinity of thereserve alleged that she hadkilled two persons.

The tigers’ fate has put aquestion mark on the NTCAplan to translocate three pairsof tigers from Madhya Pradeshto Odisha. This was the firstever inter-state tiger translo-cation in India. So far thetigers have been shifted fromone reserve to another within

the State itself, like for instancein Rajasthan where big catswere translocated fromRanthambore tiger reserve toSariska tiger reserve.

Odisha has three tigerreserve — Satkosia, Sunabedaand Simplipal. According to the2016 tiger census, Odisha has40 Royal Bengal Tigers — 13males, 24 females and threecalves. The relocation is part ofa tiger recovery programme toshore up the floundering pop-ulation of tigers in Satkosiawhere tigers vanished due tobiotic pressure.

Conservationist BiswajitMohanty, who had been oppos-ing the relocation plan sincebeginning, feel it is bound tohappen as though the poorprey base in Satkosia has showna recovery in the core area, itis not enough to sustain a sig-nificant tiger population.

Continued on Page 7

KUMAR CHELLAPPAN n KOCHI

The all-party meeting con-vened by Kerala Chief

Minister Pinarayi Vijayan atThiruvananthapuram onThursday to sort out imbroglioover the entry of women inchild-bearing age to SabarimalaTemple in Kerala’s WesternGhats ended in failure. A meet-ing the Chief Minister heldlater in the day with the repre-sentatives of the PandhalamRoyal Family — the customaryowners of the temple whoenjoys certain privileges aspart of traditions — and thechief priest (Thanthri) toofailed to break the deadlock.

Thanthri Rajeevaru, thechief priest, while speaking tothe media after the meetingmade use of the opportunity toplead with the women in the10-50 age group not to come toSabarimala and stay off thetemple. Later, speaking to ThePioneer, the Thanthri said heenjoys certain privileges as thechief priest of the temple. “I amnot a paid employee of theGovernment. I am reporting toLord Ayyappa and has theauthority to order purification

ceremonies and atonements,”said the Thanthri.

Ramesh Chennaithala,Leader of Opposition in KeralaLegislative Assembly, walkedout of the meeting alleging thatthe CM’s intransigent stance onthe issue led to the failure of thetalks. BJP’s Kerala chief PSSreedharan Pillai, who hasbeen spearheading the agita-tion against the entry of womenin the 10-50 age group, latertold reporters that the NDAwould go ahead with the agi-tation from Friday againstwomen devotees making it tothe temple.

“We just pleaded with theGovernment to keep theSupreme Court order inabeyance till the court dispos-es of the review and writ peti-tions filed against theSeptember 28 verdict. TheSupreme Court Bench whichheard the petition on Tuesdaywas not an appellate authorityand that is the reason why theSeptember 28 verdict was notstayed,” said Pillai, himself aleading lawyer in Kerala.

The breakdown of the all-party meeting has created awar-like atmosphere in the holyshrine as the police have pre-vented the entry of mediaper-sons to the temple premises.The temple reopens on Fridayevening as a prelude to the 41-day Mandala Pooja, whichbegins on Saturday morning.

Continued on Page 7

STAFF REPORTER n NEW DELHI

Annoyed at unpaid wages,three men allegedly killed

a fashion designer and herdomestic help in South Delhi’sVasant Kunj Enclave onWednesday night. After mur-dering her and her servant,they ransacked the entire houseand looted cash and jewellery,and fled the spot. However,around 2.45am they them-selves went to Vasant KunjSouth police station to surren-der. They reportedly told thepolice that they feared that thepolice will trouble their fami-ly if they ran away.

They confessed to theircrime and told the police thatthe bodies were lying in a flatof Vasant Enclave, followingwhich officials rushed to thespot to verify the details.

Police recovered the bod-ies of 53-year-old MayaLakhani, who ran a boutiquecalled Tulsi Creations in GreenPark, and her domestic help,50-year-old Bahadur, aNepalese national, with multi-ple stab wounds in the bunga-low. The bodies were lying ina pool of blood.

“The accused looted jew-ellery and ransacked the houseafter killing the two. It is esti-mated that the incident took

place between 10 pm and 11.30pm on Wednesday,” DeputyCommissioner of Police (DCP)Southwest district DevendraArya said. Identified as RahulAnwar (24), the master tailorwho worked with Lakhani, hiscousin Rahmat (24) and hisfriend Wasim (25) have beenarrested for murders, said Arya.

The tailor, with the help oftwo of his relatives, killedLakhani as she had not clearedhis dues. When she cried forhelp, her servant came to herrescue but he too was stabbedto death.

“One of the accused RahulAnwar was working as a tailorat the deceased fashion design-

er’s workshop and was stayingin her home for the last threeyears. He committed the crimewith two of his relatives in anattempt to loot,” Joint CP AjayChaudhary said.

A case has been registeredand the three accused havebeen arrested, the DCP added.

Continued on Page 7

STAFF REPORTER n NEW DELHI

Delhi University Students’Union (DUSU) president

Ankiv Baisoya on Thursdaytendered his resignation fromthe post on the advice of theAkhil Bharatiya VidyarthiParishad (ABVP), which sus-pended him from the organi-sation over his fake degreecontroversy.

The ABVP has suspendedBaisoya from the organisationtill enquiry in the “fake degreecase” is complete. The rivalNational Students’ Union ofIndia has criticised the ABVPclaiming that the decision wastaken under pressure ahead ofthe High Court hearing.

After Baisoya’s election asthe DUSU president, theOpposition party claimed thathe submitted a fake bachelor’sdegree to fight elections.

“The moment ABVP wonDUSU elections by 3:1, NSUIand other student organisationsstarted raising questions on theauthenticity of Baisoya’s previ-ous degree and his admissionto the DU. Keeping in mindstudents’ struggle, emotionsand expectations and in order

to maintain the genuineness,the ABVP asked Baisoya toresign from his post and alsoremoved him from all theresponsibilities of the organi-sation till DU completes its ver-ification process,” said ABVPspokesperson MonikaChaudhary.

The High Court is hearingthe case on a plea of NSUI stu-dent leader Sunny Chillar, whohas sought from the court thatBaisoya’s election be set asideafter news reports said theregistrar of ThiruvalluvarUniversity had “unambigu-ously and unequivocally”declared Baisoya’s certificate“fake and forged”.

Continued on Page 7

SAUGAR SENGUPTA n KOLKATA

Weeks after senior BJPleaders demanded an

Assam-like National Registerfor Citizens (NRC) in Bengaland in the wake of an intensi-fied political campaign by ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjeehighlighting the anti-Bengalivenom that laces the NRCregime, the State BJP unit hasasked its national leadership totone down the NRC rhetoric, atleast till the next year’s gener-al elections, sources say.

According to insidesources, the State BJP has writ-ten to party president AmitShah to go slow on NRC as theidea was creating large-scaleapprehensions among the peo-ple. In fact, State BJP president

Dilip Ghosh on Thursdayclearly said the State leadershipwas more in favour of theCitizenship Bill than the NRC.

“I think once theCitizenship Bill is tabled andenacted, the NRC will not berequired because that will pro-vide enough evidence of a per-son’s citizenship credentials,”Ghosh said.

Continued on Page 7

KESTUR VASUKI n BENGALURU

The politics of statue hasinfected Karnataka as the

JD(S)-Congress coalitionGovernment is mulling a pro-posal to build 125-feet highstatue of Mother Cauvery atworld famous BrindavanGardens, adjoining the KrishnaRaja Sagara (KRS) that too willbe developed on the lines ofDisney land.

The whopping `1,200crore project includes increas-ing the height of the KRS damto around a 12-storey building,while the Goddess Cauvery willstand atop a museum complexon the “amusement park”spread in 300-400 acres.

However, the StateGovernment will not spend anymoney on the public-privatepartnership project and thecost would be borne by theconstruction company.

According to WaterResources Minister DKShivakumar, the proposal wastabled in the Assembly duringthe Budget Session and waspassed in the Budget Bill. OnWednesday Shivakumar alongwith Tourism Minister SaRaMahesh held a meeting withofficials from the waterresources and the tourismdepartments to discuss theblueprint. A certain fixedamount will be paid to theGovernment on yearly basis as

revenue generated from theearning from tourists.

Shivakumar said, “It is nota statue per se, it is an amuse-ment park. We want to show-case the heritage and culture of

Mysore to rest of the country.It is still in planning stage andfeatures can be changed.”

The BJP criticised theGovernment for calling it anamusement park. BJP

Spokesperson S Prakash said,“We welcome the statue, butone can’t call it an amusementpark. It’s an insult to GoddessCauvery. Congress attackedBJP over statue of Unity, now

their duplicity is seen,hypocrisy is in their DNA.”

At present, theGovernment earns `6 crorefrom the KRS dam annually.After development, the incomemay rise up to `300 crore, andthe State Government’s sharewill be `30 crore a year.

Chief Minister HDKumaraswamy in his first-everBudget presented on July 5 hadproposed to bring back thegrandeur of BrindavanGardens and KRS dam bydeveloping it on the model ofAmerica’s Disneyland withpublic-private participation.Global industrialists are eagerto invest in the project,Kumaraswamy, who also holdsFinance portfolio, had said inhis Budget speech, while pro-viding `5 crore to prepare thedetailed project report.

Upset at newly-shifted big cat’s death by poaching, NTCA reviews safety in tiger reserve

No consensus

on women entry;

Cong, BJP slam

CM for obduracy

Wages of sin: Fashion designer killed by stafferTailor and two accomplices surrender at police station at night

Bengal BJP urges Shah

to subdue NRC rhetoric

K’taka jumps on statue bandwagon for Mother Cauvery

All-party meeton Sabarimalarow abortive

Three accused Rahul Anwar (24), Rahmat (24) and his friend Wasim (25) arrested in connection with the killing of fashiondesigner Maya Lakhani (inset) at Vasant Kunj on Thursday Pioneer photo

Suspended by ABVPon fake degree, Ankiv quits as DUSU chief

AGENCIES n NEW DELHI

The orphaned cubs of aman-eating tiger killed in a

State-sanctioned hunt havebeen spotted ina forest inMaharashtra

and could be rescued and reha-bilitated, officials said onThursday.

The mother was shot deadin early November after beingaccused of killing more than a

dozen villagers, capping offone of the country’s most high-profile tiger hunts and anger-ing conservation activists.

The months-long searchdeployed 200 hunters usingparagliders, infrared cameras,sharpshooters on elephantback, and even Calvin Kleinfragrance to lure the big cat.

Maharashtra forestrydepartment’s AK Mishra saidthe cubs are “healthy and aresurviving”.

PTI n NAGPUR

Three tiger cubs were foundkilled after being hit by a

train in Maharashtra’sChandrapur district onThursday, officials said.

Chief Conservator ofForests SV Ramarao said whiletwo cubs were found dead inthe morning, another deadtiger cub was found half a kilo-metre away in the evening.

The cubs, around six

months old, were apparently hitby Balharshah-Gondia trainbetween Chandrapur andNagbhid stations around 7.30am, said Rishikesh Ranjan,general managerof the State-runF o r e s tDevelopment Corporation ofMaharashtra.

Pug marks of a tigress,which could be the cub’s moth-er, were found in the vicinity,said Ramarao.

3 tiger cubs mowed down

by train in Chandrapur

Cubs of murdered Avni spottedalive in Maharashtra forest

LOST & FOUND

Carcass of tiger MB2 inside Satkosia Tiger Reserve

`1,200 crore 125-feet statue of Goddess

Cauvery aimed to boost tourism in State

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14 VIVACITY

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LUCKNOW, FRIDAY NOVEMBER 16, 2018; PAGES 16 `3

PNS n LUCKNOW

In an adminis-trative reshuf-

fle in theI n f o r m a t i o ndepartment, theUttar Pradeshgovernment hast r a n s f e r r e dDirector, Information and theadditional director with imme-diate effect. Special Secretary(Bhasha) Shishir Singh hasbeen given additional charge ofDirector, Information.

According to the govern-ment spokesman, Director,Information Ujjawal Kumarhas been posted as municipalcommissioner of Allahabad(Prayagraj). AdditionalDirector, Information,Gyaneshwar Tripathi has alsobeen transferred and kept onwaiting.

Incidentally, the newincumbent to the post ofDirector, Information, ShishirSingh, is a 1997 batch PCS offi-cer and his elevation to IASrank is due next year. ShishirSingh is considered to be a veryhonest officer. Earlier, he wasposted in Greater Noida asDCO and later as ADM inNoida. He was also posted inCulture department.

Shishir Singh givenadditional charge of Dir, Information

Death halts tigers’ translocation

city 02LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | NOVEMBER 16, 2018

PNS n LUCKNOW

With the aim to make theproposed dharma sabha

of Vishwa Hindu Parishad atAyodhya on November 25 abig success, RashtriyaSwayam-sevak Sangh hasstarted meeting people, partic-ularly youths, and is exhortingthem to come to the meetingin large number.

“The success of any pro-gramme depends on the youthsof the country. The dharmasabha to be held in Ayodhya onNovember 25 is expected tochart out a new path for theconstruction of Ram temple inAyodhya and in this, the youths

will play a decisive role,” RSSprantiya pracharak Kaushalsaid at Karsewakpuram inAyodhya on Thursday.

He said that youths shouldremember 1990 and 1992 andhow youths sacrificed theirlives for protecting the cultur-al identity of India.

“Time has come to repli-cate that success because theapex court of India is not readyto give an early verdict infavour of constriction of Ramtemple in Ayodhya. The youthsshould remember that peo-ple’s court is the biggest courtin democracy and we are seek-ing support in favour of con-struction of Ram temple,” he

said.Addressing the activists of

Akhil Bharatiya VidhyarthiParishad, the youth wing ofthe Bharatiya Janata Party,Kaushal said that they shouldgalvanise people in favour ofRam temple.

Earlier in the day, the VHPreleased a sankalp patra (pledgeform), asking people to sign it.

The sankalp patra talksabout construction of Ramtemple in Ayodhya.

Meanwhile, VHPspokesman Sharad Sharma hasdemanded that the ghat whereParamhans Ram Chandra Daswas cremated be named afterthe departed saint.

PNS n LUCKNOW

Bahraich zila panchayatmember and senior leader

of Samajwadi Party, SanjayValmiki alias Shibu, died inmysterious circumstances.

The family membersclaimed that Shibu died in afreak mishap when his pistolwent off while he was cleaningit late Wednesday night.

Senior police officials con-firmed on Thursday morningthat Shibu (54) was hit by a bul-let when his pistol suddenlywent off while he was cleaningit on Wednesday night. He wasrushed to the district hospitalin serious condition where hesuccumbed to his injuries.

The deceased was fromthe most powerful politicalfamily of the district. He was

the elder brother of Bahraichzila panchayat chairmanNadeem Manna and eldest sonof four-time SP MLA ShabbirValmiki. This was his secondterm as member of the zilapanchayat.

All the three sons of the for-mer MLA were elected mem-bers of the district panchayatthis time while his daughter waselected pramukh of Jamunaahblock in Shravasti district.

The local police registereda case and sent the body forpost-mortem. They are waitingfor the autopsy report beforeclosing the investigation.

In a separate incidentreported from Ballia, a 17-year-old girl was allegedlyraped by two men of her villagewhen she went out of herhouse to attend nature’s call.

According to the reportlodged by the victim’s motheron Thursday morning, the girlwas raped by Bechan Singh (20)and Akash Singh (22) onTuesday night while she hadgone out to attend nature’s call.

The accused also threat-ened the victim with her life ifshe dared to report the matterto anyone.

Superintendent of Police inBallia, Sriparna Ganguly, saidthat she got a case registeredand the matter was underinvestigation. The girl was sentfor medical examination. Thepolice are waiting for the reportbefore going ahead with thearrest of the accused.

Meanwhile, two personswere killed when their motor-cycle was hit by an unidentifiedvehicle in Farenda area of

Mahrajganj, police saidThursday.

The incident took place onWednesday night whenKrishna Kumar (55) and RamShewak (48) were going ontheir bike,. Both died on thespot, police said. Bodies havebeen sent for post-mortem.

In Bareilly, a revenue clerkwas held for allegedly taking abribe of ̀ 15,000 from a villager,police said on Thursday.

Naresh Chand of Labhedavillage had complained to ananti-corruption team that lekh-pal Bhanu Pratap Singh of theConsolidation department hadallegedly demanded bribe fromhim for some work and a trapwas laid to nab him. Singh wasnabbed as soon as he alleged-ly accepted the bribe, policesaid.

PNS n LUCKNOW

Hitting out at the BharatiyaJanata Party governments

at the Centre and in UttarPradesh, Patidar AnamatAndolan Samiti leader HardikPatel said that both govern-ments were busy in changingnames while the people werecraving for basic necessities.

He said if changing namescould solve problems, all thepeople would have prefixedRam before their names.

Talking to reporters inShahjahanpur after attendingthe Kalki Mahotsava, Patel said,“Agar is desh mein sirf sheharonke naam badalne se desh ko soneki chidiya bana sakte toh mainmaanta hun ki 125 croreHindustaniyon ka naam Ramrakh dena chahiye (If changingthe names of cities can make thiscountry rich, then all 125 croreIndians must be named Ram).”

“Is desh mein berozgari,kisanon ka prashna bada hai auryeh naam aur murtiyon kechakkar mein hain (the issues ofunemployment and of farmersare big in this country, but theyare only interested in names andidols),” Patel further said.

The leader from Gujaratalso announced that now hewould camp in UP and launchan agitation against the BJPgovernment to highlight themisrule of the Yogi Adityanathgovernment. “UP decides thecourse of the country’s politicshence I would like to have astrong organisation in this state,”he said. Claiming that Ramtemple construction was a polit-ical issue of the BJP in the com-ing Lok Sabha elections, Patelsaid that the Centre as well as theUP government were raking upthe Ram temple issue only todivert the attention of the peo-ple from CBI mess, Rafale andthe state of economy.“Unemployment problem in thestate has increased several notch-es and the Patidar AnamatAndolan Samiti would like towork on this issue,” he said.

PNS n LUCKNOW

State InformationCommissioner of Uttar

Pradesh has taken a toughstand against officials ofLucknow DevelopmentAuthority (LDA) and BabuBanarasi Das BadmintonAcademy for not providingnecessary information to initi-ate legal action against thoseinvolved in large-scale irregu-larities in giving the sport facil-ity on rent for private functionsat the prime location in GomtiNagar.

SIC Hafiz Usman hasdirected the district police chiefof Lucknow, KalanidhiNaithani, to ensure the pres-ence of the officials concernedduring the next hearing in hiscourt on November 22 so thataction may be taken against theerring persons.

Usman said the officials ofthe LDA and Sports direc-torate were trying to pass onthe responsibility on each otherto conceal the large-scale irreg-ularities in letting BBDBadminton Academy facilityfor commercial and privateevents.

With the officials con-cerned not coming to his courtor providing necessary infor-mation to initiate legal action,Usman issued an order onTuesday to SeniorSuperintendent of Police ofLucknow, directing him toensure that all the officialsconcerned were present in hiscourt so that further proceed-ings could be initiated againstthe guilty.

Usman has alreadyimposed cash fine on theaccused officials but they haveso far not complied with hisorder.

The SIC said that if the offi-cials did not turn up for thenext hearing, he would recom-mend their suspension anddepartmental proceedings forignoring the order of the court.

He would also ask the SSPof Lucknow to register a caseand initiate legal proceedingsalong with recovery of losses tothe government.

It may be mentioned thatan application filed under Rightto Information (RTI) Actexposed how the SportsDirectorate and officials ofLDA ignored commercial

activities going on in BBDBadminton Academy in openviolation of the lease agree-ment.

The land was given on 90-year lease to BBD BadmintonAcademy for peanuts with arider that it would be used onlyfor promotion of sports and nocommercial activity would beallowed on the campus.

But in flagrant violation ofthe terms, the BBDBA is open-ly using the land mostly forpersonal gains by letting thecampus for marriages andother functions.

When this came to light,Usman not only summoned allrecords but also asked the gov-ernment to conduct a high-level probe to pinpoint respon-sibility of officials.

Bharatiya Janata PartyMLA from Faizabad, RamChander Yadav, had earlierapprised Chief Minister YogiAdityanath of this irregularityand had also written a letter toSports Director RP Singh inthis regard. However, no actionwas taken.

When the RTI applicantwanted to know whether theSports directorate knew about

the commercial activities goingon in BBDBA, and what actionwas taken so far, then DeputyDirector (Sports) AK Singhrefused to give any details.

The complainant had sub-sequently filed an appeal onwhich the SIC had soughtdetails.

The SIC also summonedLDA officials but they alsoignored the summon initially.After being warned of action,the LDA informed the SICthat a notice was sent to theBBDBA.

Usman said that as per thelease agreement signed in 2000,more than Rs 1.02 crore wasgiven by the government toSports directorate to make pay-ment to LDA for the 10-acreland in Vipin Khand at GomtiNagar.

Para four of the agreementsaid that the land would beused for promotion of sports bythe BBDBA and no commercialactivity would be allowed.Despite the agreement, theBBDBA has been utilising theland for commercial activitiesand even renting it out for mar-riage and other private func-tions.

PNS n LUCKNOW

Director General of PoliceOP Singh on Thursday

issued 7-point administrativeguideline for the Prison depart-ment which is hit by manpow-er shortage and absence ofproper infrastructure.

Principal Secretary(Home), who chaired a reviewmeeting, asked the officials tostrengthen administrative con-trol and also ensure completionof modernisation work in thePrison department on priority.

After the cold-bloodedmurder of gangster MunnaBajrangi inside Baghpat Jail, thestate government had constitut-ed a three-member committeeunder retired DGP SulkhanSingh, but so far nothing hasbeen done on ground toimprove the deteriorating con-dition of UP jails.

An official communiquéconfirmed that in the meetingwith jail superintendents,senior officers of the Prisondepartment and ADG (Prison)Chandra Prakash, the DGPon Thursday directed them tostrictly restrict the visits ofunauthorised persons in pris-ons and their meetings withinmates and to follow the jailmanual.

He asked the officials to

maintain full personal records,along with identities, of the vis-itors to the jails and ensure thatno prohibited item or eatableswere allowed to enter theprison and if necessary, installjammers to prevent use ofmobile phones or any otherwireless device i the prison.

Singh also directed theofficials to prepare a data baseof all inmates released onparole or bail, and provide it tothe respective district policechiefs so that a vigil on theiractivities could be ensured.

The DGP asked the jailsuperintendents to ensure thatall security and safety measureswere at place and to verifywhether the Close CircuitTelevisions (CCTVs) wereworking properly or not.

Singh also asked the jailsuperintendents to prepare alist of all hardened criminalslodged in the prisons and tokeep a tab on their day-to-dayactivities.

He also ordered monthlychecking of all prisons bysenior officers and also audit ofsecurity measures.

It may be mentioned herethat a few days back, PrincipalSecretary (Home) ArvindKumar had confirmed over 50per cent shortage of manpow-er in the Prison department in

the state. He had claimed thatat present, against 6,490 postsof male constables in Prisondepartment, 3,514 posts werelying vacant while against 721posts of females staff, only 96were filled while the remainingposts were lying vacant.

According to sources, thePrison department is workingwith just 4,350 personnelagainst the required strength of9,000 needed to man the state’s71 prisons. The staff shortagehas worsened over the years.

The sources maintainedthat besides being understaffed,the jails were overcrowdedwith prisoners. The total capac-ity of 71 prisons is 58,000inmates but sources maintainthat about 97,000 inmates arelodged in jails.

The sources also maintainthat only 65 of 71 prisons havejail superintendent and evensome Central jails did not haveprison superintendent. A seniorofficer said on condition ofanonymity that in the absenceof staff, they relied on prison-ers having good record to man-age jails. “This makes prisonsusceptible to all kinds of activ-ities that are not in accordancewith the jail manual,” the offi-cer added while showing thehelplessness of jail officials tocontrol the situation.

PNS n LUCKNOW

Putting his foot down,Chief Minister YogiAdityanath has cancelled

transfers or attachment of offi-cials in various departments,saying such exercise shouldnot be carried out after thetransfer session is over and, ifneeded, permission should betaken from the Chief Minister’soffice.

The decision has sentshock wave in the administra-tion as earlier Yogi had declaredthat files relating to transfer ofchief medical officers (CMOs)in Health department shouldbe routed through the CM’soffice.

A senior official told ‘ThePioneer’ here on Thursday thatthe Chief Minister has can-celled attachment of 27 officersof the Irrigation department in

Lucknow. The official said that

Irrigation Minister DharampalSingh had transferred 27 offi-cers and posted them inLucknow on attachment posts.“When the Chief Minister

came to know about this, hesought an explanation from theminister as to why so manysenior officers of the rank ofexecutive engineer wereattached to different projectsand posted in Lucknow. Later,he ordered that the attachmentbe cancelled,” the official said.

Similarly, the ChiefMinister cancelled the transfersof 203 rangers whose file wasput up before him for approvalas Forest Minister Dara SinghChauhan had recently lost hisfather and was not attendingoffice.

“In the absence of the min-ister, the Forest officials sent thefile to the Chief Minister forapproval but it was summari-ly rejected,” the official said.

He said in both the cases,the Chief Minister said that notransfer should be made in offseason and if urgently required,

permission had to be takenfrom the Chief Minister.

A couple of months back,Yogi Adityanath had stoppedthe transfers of CMOs andhad asked Health MinisterSidharth Nath Singh to routethe files through the CM’soffice. Once this order wasissued, the spurt in transfer ofCMOs stopped.

The Chief Minister hasasked Chief Secretary AnupChandra Pandey to issue anadministrative order askingofficers not to transfer employ-ees in the off season.

The Chief Minister hasalso asked his secretaryMritunjay Kumar to issueorders restricting movement ofpeople in Lok Bhawan.

An order regarding thiswas issued, specifying which liftthe ministers and officersshould use.

Printed and Published by Vijay Prakash Singh for and on behalf of CMYK Printech Ltd., 4th Floor, Sahara Shopping Centre, Faizabad Road, Lucknow-226016 and Printed at Tin Tin Printech Pvt Ltd., C-33 Amausi Industrial Area, Nadarganj, Lucknow. Editor: Chandan Mitra. Resident

Editor: Vijay Prakash Singh. RNI No. 2016/57. Lucknow Telephones: EPABX: 4036600 Fax: 2345582. Allahabad Office: (0532) 2420818, 2421018, 3290460. Kanpur Office: (0512) 2304006, 2304416. Varanasi Office: (0542) 2414294, 2414295. Delhi Office: No. 6, Behind Gulab Bhawan,

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CM puts his foot down on

transfers, attachments

DGP asks prison officials to

strengthen admin control

SIC takes tough stand against LDA, BBDBA

Zila panchayat member killed as pistol goes off

RSS mobilising youths

for VHP dharma sabha PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n ALLAHABAD

In the matter involving non-payment of compensation

to the 1984 riot victims, theAllahabad High Court onThursday asked the Centraland state governments to filetheir replies within a month.

The bench comprisingJustice Bharati Sapru and JayantBanerji passed the above orderon the writ petitions filed byPyara Singh of Pilibhit andHarpal Singh of Bareilly.

The petitioners’ contentionwas that in the 1984 riots thewife and daughter of PyaraSingh and father of HarpalSingh was brutally killed by amob in connection with whichan FIR was also lodged. Aninterim relief of `20,000 foreach deceased was given but nofinal compensation was giventill date as announced by thegovernment under its rehabil-itation policy.

Appearing for the peti-tioners, the advocate, DineshRai, submitted that in January2006 the Central governmenthad brought a rehabilitationpolicy under which a sum of`3.5 lakh was decided to begiven to the dependant of eachdeceased and `1.25 lakh to theinjured.

This compensation wasenhanced to `8.5 lakh inFebruary 2015. It was submit-ted before the court that about34 years had elapsed sincethen but no final compensationhad been given to the petition-ers till date.

In the riots they not onlylost their family members buttheir property was also dam-aged. The case will be listed forhearing after a month.

HC directs Centre,state govt to file replies on 1984 riot compensation

Nandi inaugurates IndiGo

flight to Bengaluru

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n ALLAHABAD

Uttar Pradesh Minister forStamp and Civil Aviation,

Nand Gopal Gupta ‘Nandi’inaugurated the first service ofIndiGo Airlines from Prayagrajto Bengaluru by lighting theceremonial lamp and cuttingthe cake at the BamrauliAirport here on Thursday.

On the occasion the min-ister also got a photographclicked with the first passengergoing to Bengaluru by theIndiGo flight and wished hima pleasurable journey.

The minister said thatPrayagraj had received onemore gift with the starting ofthe air service from here toBengaluru. He appreciated theresponse and feedback given by

the people and said that IndiGoAirlines would also start flightsto other cities as well in future.

He said the dream of thePrime Minister to see a slipper-wearing person flying in planesseemed to be coming true onthe ground today. He said withthe beginning of this air ser-vice, at least six flights hadcommenced from Prayagraj

and the flights for other citieswould also begin from heresoon. Air travel facilities werebeing provided to the people onthe same fare being charged forAC buses, he added.

The minister said with theair connectivity, people ofPrayagraj could reach theirdestinations by paying a lesserfare and within minimum pos-sible time.

It may be pointed out herethat Jet Airways has alreadystarted its air services fromPrayagraj to Lucknow, Patna,Nagpur and Indore. Air ser-vices are also to be launchedfrom Prayagraj to Bhopal,Bhubaneshwar, Mumbai,Dehradun, Gorakhpur,Kolkata, Pune and Raipur byIndiGo.

Hardik hits out at Centre, UP govt

Rescued leoparddies in Agra

Agra (PTI): An injuredleopard, which was rescuedfrom a canal near Agra Fort,has passed away, officials saidThursday. The leopard was hitby a vehicle while crossing aroad near the fort and wastrapped in the dry canal aroundit. A team of forest officials andNGO personnel had rescuedhim on Tuesday.

WhatApp groupadmin arrested

Baghpat (PTI): Admin of aWhatsApp group, Naeem, wasarrested on a complaint fromDipak Kumar of Bamnauli vil-lage in Baraut, for circulation ofalleged “anti-national” messagesin the social media group.


Selfie facility

at Mahotsav

Lucknow (PNS): Visitors cantake selfies with former PrimeMinister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’scutouts on Lucknow Mahotsavgrounds. Mahotsav Samiti secre-tary RP Yadav, while talking toThe Pioneer, said that the cutoutswould be placed at Atal Gram. Aprivate firm is being roped in forthe exercise.

He added that an Atal Galleryhad also been planned to show-case pictures of the former PrimeMinister in various postures andhis speeches. “We are also likely tocreate counters for the sale of hisbooks. His speeches will be relayedthrough various screens across theMahotsav, he pointed out.

Yadav said that preparationshad already begun at theMahotsav sthal with swings beinginstalled for the same. Amongnames which they have proposedfor the cultural evenings are singerJaved Ali, Guru Randhawa forBollywood night and Pawan Singhfor the Bhojpuri night. A decisionon the same is likely to be takensoon.

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

The Traffic department announcedtraffic diversions for the Chup

Tazia processions to be taken out by theShia community as per the moonsighting on November 16 or 17. Thediversions will remain in force till theprocessions are over.

Vehicle will not be allowed to

move from the Kamla Nehru crossingto Nakkhas and Akbari Gate andthey will be diverted towards the KGMedical University and Koneshwarcrossing.

Vehicle will not be allowed tomove from Nakkhas to Tudiaganj andthey will be diverted to Yahiyaganj andRakabganj. Traffic will also not beallowed to move from Akbari Gate tri-

crossing to Victoria Street.Vehicles will not be allowed to move

from Tudiaganj to Girdhari Lal InterCollege and they will be divertedtowards Bazarkhala. Similarly, no traf-fic will be allowed to move from theManzoor Nagar tri-crossing towardsTudiaganj and this will be divertedtowards Kashmiri Mohalla.

Traffic will not be allowed to move

from the Roza-e-Kazmain crossing toManzoor tri-crossing and they will bediverted to Campbell road. Vehicles willnot be allowed to move to Lal Madhavcrossing and they will be divertedtowards Aishbagh and Naka.

Traffic will not be allowed to movefrom Rakabganj to Nakkhas throughYahiyaganj and this traffic will bediverted to KGMU and Naka.

PNS n LUCKNOW

The Lucknow LiteratureFestival being organised by

the Lucknow ExpressionsSociety kicks off on Friday. Thefirst day will showcase a film onGomti river and the event willbe inaugurated by PrincipalSecretary, Information,Awaneesh Awasthi.

“The Lucknow LiteratureFestival brings its 6th editionwith a lot of enthusiasm. Thisyear the fest comes with afresh dose of literature, cinema,culture, books and food. Thetheme for this year is ‘OneIndia’ and, therefore, atLucknow we bring our specialedits of Punjabi literature andculture and Bengali literatureand culture among Awadhimixes we showcase every year,”key organiser of the festivalKanak Rekha Chauhan said.She added that an award onRam Advani for excellence inwriting would be given toManoj Kumar Pandey at theFest.

Chauhan said there wouldbe a discussion on “Women’spower in Parliament” and thosewho would express their viewsincluded Shazia Illmi, JuhiSingh and Bulbul Godiyal.“Muskuraiye ke aap Lucknowmein hain” will witness SorabhPant and Danish Hussain inconversation with CarlyleMcFarland. The “RTI story”will feature Aruna Roy andAnkita Anand.

A session on “Hindi dulariangrezi par padi bhari” willhave the participation ofMrinal Pandey, Rahul Dev,Satyanand Nirupam and YunusKhan.

Kapil Sibal will discuss hislatest book “Shades of truth —- A journey derailed” withJaideep Narain Mathur.Inspiring souls of Awadh, abook by Raj Smriti, will also belaunched on the occasion. Thecultural attractions will includea mono act play “Main rahimasoom” by celebrated theatreactor and director fromHyderabad. There will be a ses-

sion on Imtiyaz Ali titled“Director by mistake. The ses-sion on “Yeh public hai boss”will feature Dr AP Maheshwari,Jaideep Narain Mathur andDr Srinivas. “KahaniConnection” will featureNeelesh Mishra and YunusKhan and “Shonar Bangla” willfeature Barun Chanda, AnjumKatyani, Aniruddha RoyChowdhary, Dona Gangulyand Sandeep Bhaturia.

The festival will also see thelaunch of the book “LucknowDiaries” by Partha Sarthi SenSharma, a bureaucrat.

Over 120 guests from var-ious fields this year will see thelikes of Mrinal Pande, BarunChanda, Dona Ganguly,Kanwaljit Singh, NeelamKatara, Danish Hussain, ImtiazAli, Kapil Sibal, AnujaChauhan, Margaret Alva,Sourabh Pant, Bachi Karkariaand Zeeshan Ayub.

The venue of the fest is IGPat Gomti Nagar with three subvenues, namely, Baithak,Mulaqat and Jalsa.

PNS n LUCKNOW

In a tragic incident, a newly-marriedyouth was killed when a tractor,

while unloading soil to level surface,hit him in Parsadi Kheda underPara police station on Thursdaymorning.

The deceased, identified as AnkitRajput, a labourer, was married fourmonths ago. The incident occurredaround 8:30 am when Ankit, alongwith another labourer, was workingat an under construction houseowned by Rohit Kumar. To level thesurface, the house owner had hireda tractor which reached the place,loaded with goods. Tractor driverShrawan Rawat of Unnao reversedthe tractor and Ankit, who wasworking there, was hit by the tractorand was crushed. The other labour-ers working at the site fled the scenewhile the tractor driver was nabbedby villagers.

“He got his hand broken and suf-fered serious chest injury owing towhich he died on the spot,” said thepolice spokesperson. He said the dri-ver Shrawan Rawat had been arrest-ed while other labourers were beinghunted. The police spokesman said anFIR had been registered for negli-gence and rash driving. The body wassent for the post-mortem.

DETAINEDThe Hazratganj police detained

seven class IV employees/drivers forgambling behind Indira Bhawan onThursday afternoon.

The detainees were later left off.Hazratganj SHO RR Singh said policewere informed that some personswere betting cash in gambling behindIndira Bhawan. “A team was sentthere to conduct a raid and personspresent there were rounded up. It sur-faced that they were playing cardsinstead of betting cash and so we letthem off,’ he said.

Contrary to SHO’s claim, thesources said those rounded up wereput behind the lock at the HazratganjKotwali for interrogation. “Theincharge of the Jawahar Bhawanpolice outpost interrogated themand noted down their names andrecovered the goods they had withthem. Due to some reason, the policelet off them later,” the sources said.

ARRESTED A joint team of Lucknow police

surveillance cell and Madiaon policenabbed wanted criminal Veeru Soniaka Karan of Thakurganj and two ofhis aides on Thursday.

The other accused were identifiedas Arun Rajpoot and Sandeep, bothof Thakurganj. The police recoveredRs 20,000, four mobile sets, two pis-tols, an air-gun, a motorcycle and agold chain. Police said Veeru was car-rying an award of Rs 15,000 on hishead.

Manfest to begin from todayPIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

Manfest-Varchasva, the annual business, cultural andsports festival of IIM-Lucknow is scheduled

between November 16 and 18. The event will witnesslectures by eminent personalities like Smriti Irani, UnionCabinet Minister for Textiles Ashish Vidyarthi, nation-al award winning actor Ashwin Sanghi, critically-acclaimed author among others. There are a host ofmanagement and cultural events scheduled over thethree days. Manfest-Varchasva will present the fourthedition of IIM-Lucknow Model United NationsConference to be held on November 17-18. “With threediverse committees this year, we make it bigger and bet-ter. IIM-L endeavours to provide a platform to thebrightest minds in the country to discuss and debateon issues prevalent in the current times with topics rang-ing from digital privacy to justice and international law.It offers delegates a chance to widen their horizons andscale up their scope of understanding to the interna-tional leve.l. In keeping with the theme of Manfest-Varchasva 2018 “Reign over time”, IIM-L seeks to estab-lish the urgency of coming up to speed in formulatingsolutions faced by humanity today,” the organising teamsaid. The organisers, while briefing about the social con-clave, said that 21st century social challenges requiredleaders who could meet the trials of a changing world.“Social conclave, as a platform, provides students withan opportunity to interact with eminent personalitieswho embarked the journey of change in their effort tomake world a better place to live in. Their stories, strug-gle and success are sure to inspire and instill fire in theminds of young leaders along with enabling them tobe socially responsible, proactive and sensitive profes-sionals,” they added.

PNS n LUCKNOW

In a brazen display of mus-cle power, a group of youths

thrashed their rivals in fullpublic view near YMCAbuilding in Hazratganj onWednesday night and latervented their ire on cars of vic-tims who had fled the scene tosave themselves.

As per reports, the com-plainant, identified as PawanSingh of Ravindra Nagar inTelibagh, had gone to see hisfriend Hitesh Kesarwani whohad asked him to meet atYMCA building.

On reaching the place,Pawan parked his car and satinside Hitesh’s car who alsohad parked the same outsidethe building. After a chit chat,both called their friend SumitSingh who joined them a lit-tle later.

When they were busytalking, Hitesh called hisacquaintance Vivek Bhadauriaof Dalibagh and he also joinedthem after parking his car inthe vicinity.

“Vivek was in a sozzledstate and when I struck a dia-logue with him asking himabout a plot, he lost his cool.Vivek began to abuse us andwhen I asked him to mind hislanguage, he trained a pistol atme,” Pawan stated in the com-plaint.

He said Vivek then calledhis friends and they reachedthe scene, all armed withsticks.

“They started beatingus. We were terrified at thesudden attack and ran awayfrom the scene. We hid our-selves in the dark patchbehind the YMCA building.They attacked our cars andbroke its window panes,” hesaid.

The spokesman addedthat no cross FIR was regis-tered in this connection.

The police spokesmansaid a case was registered andefforts to hunt the miscreantswere on. Sources disclosed

No headway in Madiaon robberyPNS n LUCKNOW

The Lucknow policehave failed to get any

headway in the daring robberyin Madiaon in which twounidentified miscreants,riding a motorcycle, hadlooted on the gun-point 2 kgsilver ornaments, 70 gramsof gold ornaments and Rs70,000 in cash from jewellerAnil Soni on Wednesdaynight.

On Thursday, the teamsformed to crack the caseremained busy in securingfootages of CCTV cameras inthe locality.

While the police were non-committal to divulge theprogress in the case, the sourcessaid police had a hunch thatmiscreants were trailingSoni before they executed thecrime.

“The police were trailingthe miscreants via theCCTVs installed betweenMadiaon and Chowk,” sourcessaid.

They disclosed that thepolice had secured threefootages of CCTVs. “In all thethree footages, the same groupof miscreants was seen. Itseemed that they started trail-ing Soni soon after he left forhis house after closing theshop,” they said. They said thepolice would also quiz thejeweller of Chowk, fromwhere Soni used to do purchas-ing.

On Wednesday night, Soniof Madiaon was returninghome after closing the shop forthe day and was carrying a bagin which he had put the orna-ments.

When he reached Srinagarlocality, two miscreants camenear him and later overtook hisscooty.

The pillion rider thenpushed Soni down and othertrained a pistol at him. Themiscreants later looted the bagand sped off the scene.

PNS n LUCKNOW

DGP OP Singh inauguratedthe integration of emer-

gency services of UP 100 withGovernment Railway Police(GRP) at GRP headquarters onThursday. With the integration,the passengers may also availpolice, fire and medical servicesby dialling 100 number atany place at railway station,platform and even during trav-el.

Besides, the passengersmay contact via social media,website, MMS and Apps. In theinitial phase, the GRP haschalked out a list of 169 rail-way-related incidents and pre-pared a Standard OperationProcedure (SoP).

Speaking on the occasion,Singh said police’s service-ori-ented face was getting appreci-ation by the use of moderntechnology.

“Police are always dedicat-ed to give smart response to thedistress calls in future. The pas-sengers will get help of servicesof the integrated units fromnow. It is a historic feat and Ihope other states may followus,” he said.

Explaining in details, theDGP said UP was one of thebusiest states on the railwaymap. “After the integration ofthe services, the UP 100 willeasily detect the location of apassenger and, accordingly, hewill be provided help at theplace of his current location. Ihope that the expertise andprofessional efficiency of theUP 100 employees will be of

great help to passengers andthey will get it by GRP cops,” hesaid.

Under the scheme, a call bya passenger will be taken at UP100 office. Thereafter, thedetails will be transferred to theGRP police station concernedvia Mobile Data Terminal

(MDT) and the control roomof the Railways. In case of need,the information will be sharedto Public Response Vehicle ofUP 100, district police, fire ten-ders and ambulances. Seniorofficials will also be briefedabout the messages by a pas-senger if it is of grave nature.

All the units will work in syncand as per SOP and the prob-lem will be addressed in a min-imum time period.

Under the programme,GRP headquarters, IG, Zone(Railway), Prayagraj, and all sixGRP sections have been linkedwith the UP 100 headquarters

by a monitoring terminal. Atotal of 83 MDT has been pro-vided to 65 GRP station in UP.All centres and different dis-tricts will remain mutuallyconnected by internet phone.Senior officials of GRP andpolice were present on thisoccasion.

that the police were trying to getboth the parties to settle theissue.

“The police had details ofyouths accused in the case as thesame was told to them by thevictim and his friends Hiteshand Sumit. But they are giving along rope to the accused,” thesources said.

Youths thrash rivalsnear YMCA bldg

UP 100, GRP link to help passengers

DGP OP Singh inaugurating the integration of emergency services of UP 100 with Government Railway Police at GRP headquarters on Thursday

Traffic diversions for Chup Tazia today

Literature fest kicks off today

Youth crushed to death


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Locomotive Workshop

ensuring safe journey

PNS n LUCKNOW

Trains are being equipped with the advanced technol-ogy. We are concerned about the safe journey of pas-

sengers and every measure in this direction is being taken.This was stated by member, Rolling Stock, Railway Board,Rajesh Agrawal during an interaction with newsmen atthe Locomotive Workshop which celebrated its 150 yearsof its establishment and service to the nation on Thursday.

On his occasion, he inaugurated a refurbished MahilaDEMU coach at the workshop. He also inaugurated a her-itage gallery and a coffee table book depicting history ofthe workshop. Agrawal said the workshop had a great con-tribution in the development of Indian Railways. “PresentDEMU, MEMU, diesel, and electric engines are being over-hauled at the workshop. The workshop has a record of over-hauling as many as 4,000 diesel and electric locomotiveengines till date,” he said.

Agrawal added the railway had achieved advancedtechnology over the years and was capable of meeting anychallenge. “The Train 18 will also be overhauled at theCharbagh loco workshop,” he disclosed. He said MahilaDEMU coaches would be equipped with upgraded toilets,aesthetic interiors and exteriors and also with CCTV sur-veillance.

Appreciating the workmanship of the staff at the work-shop, Agrawal said the locomotives used to run 3 lakh kilo-metres distance before being sent back again to Charbaghworkshop for overhauling. “We have a dedicated staff of3,000 employees who are very skilled. There are 50 work-shops in the country and its respective chief work man-agers are also taking part in the function which is beingorganised on occasion of completion of 150 years,” hepointed out.

The member, Railway Board, however, looked uncom-fortable when asked about the efficient fog detectionmachine which is still a far-fetched dream for the railways.General manager, Northern Railway, TP Singh bailed himout saying: “RDSO is working on the same and we hopeto have an efficient device. In fact, the railway across theworld is facing the same problem. We have some deviceswhich detect fog but they still need an improvement.”

The workshop came into being during the British peri-od. The construction for this workshop started by the Oudhand Rohilkhand Railway in 1867 to cater to the needs oflocomotive and carriage maintenance work in theLucknow. The railway officials said almost all the staff ofthe Charbagh workshop was from Great Britain when itcame into being.

They said the British era Charbagh workshop wasupgraded with the facility of manufacturing and majoroverhauling capabilities for locomotives. It also used tomanufacture ordinance during the Second World War andlater was converted into a machine shop. Charbagh work-shop also had made ballot boxes for the ElectionCommission in 1992 election.


As many as 22 children hail-ing from remote areas of

Nagaland, who are a part ofthe National IntegrationTour, being organised by theIndian Army, had theprivilege of meeting GovernorRam Naik, where theyinteracted with him andshared their aspirations andculture.

At the end of the pro-gramme the students also pre-sented a memento to theGovernor as a remembrance oftheir visit to Raj Bhawan.

The children will be visit-ing various places of interest inLucknow on Friday like theBara Imambara and Residency,State Museum and JaneshwarMishra Park.

They expressed their hap-piness over the opportunityprovided to them by the IndianArmy and expressed theirdesire to grow up and join theArmed Forces and serve thecountry.

Prior to their interactionwith the Governor of Uttar

Pradesh, the children also hadthe opportunity to meet and

interact with senior officers ofthe Indian Army.

The tour is scheduled todepart from Lucknow to

Kolkata on Saturday(November17, 2018).


Jal Kal department is making allpossible efforts to ensure that the

area of Indiranagar becomes self-sufficient in water supply in thewake of the problems faced by itsresidents when the supply of theSharda Canal is stopped for onemonth to the Kathauta Jheel twicea year for its routine cleaning andgeneral maintenance.

Jal Kal general manager SKVerma said that they were running57 tubewells for supplying over 50mld of water in this area for thecurrent period when the supplyhad been stopped. Talking to ThePioneer, he said that tubewellswould continue functioning evenwhen the supply of the ShardaCanal would be restored onNovember 26.

He said in order to tackle theproblem during this period theywere operating tubewells for 20 to22 hours which were earlier func-tioning for 10-12 hours. “We havesufficient storage of water andwith tubewells continuing evenafter the supply of the ShardaCanal is restored the problem willbe eased to a great extent,” he said.He said that the cleaning of theSharda Canal mainly impacted theIndiranagar residents as

Gomtinagar was self-sufficient interms of water supply.

On being told that residents ofmany parts of Indira Nagar hadcomplained that the regular supplyof water was impacted during thistime, the general manager said thatthey had not received any com-plaints in this regard. “If there areany problems which the residentsare facing in terms of regular watersupply then they can approach usand apprise us about them. Thereis no water crisis as of now,” headded.

Residents of Indira Nagar, onthe other hand, admit that they facea lot of problems during the timethe supply from Sharda Canal isstopped to the Kathauta Jheel.Rajni Raina, a resident ofIndiranagar, said that they were fac-ing a lot of problems at present.“The regular water supply whichwe used to receive in the morningand evening for an hour and a halfis very erratic and irregular.Sometimes the water comes foronly a couple of minutes in themorning and there are times whenit does not come at all. We have tomake arrangements for the storageof water by having our own tanksand containers filled,” she saidand added that this was a problemwhich was faced by all residents oftheir colony.


In a bid to empower womenfarmers and mobilise them the

Central Institute of SubtropicalHorticulture (CISH) is extendinga helping hand to women self-help groups (SHGs).

CISH director ShailendraRajan said that women farmersmaking products from rawmango were trained for using abetter technique so that the qual-ity of the product got improvedand they could get a higher pricefor it.

“Female members of thecommunity-based organisationwere entrusted with the respon-sibility of screening seedlingmangoes for pickle making. Theyperfectly identified the best vari-eties for this purpose after itspreparation and ranked them asper their suitability for pickle,” hesaid. He added that for elevatingthe living standards of Malihabadfarmers there was a need forimproving social capital, especial-ly women of the area.

“Malihabad is one of thesites where in a project imple-mented by CISH, DHANFoundation assessed and devel-oped a process to improve socialcapital under the UNEP-GEFproject. The study revealed thatno local organisation existed andcredit access is through money-lenders at high interest rates and

there is limited participation ofwomen in the decision making,”he said.

Thus efforts were made tobuild a social capital within com-munities through a process ofestablishing and strengtheningSHGs for the benefit of theirlivelihood and the conservationof local diversity in fruit treespecies and varieties, he added.

He said that empoweringCBO resulted in capacity build-ing of community level institu-tions, SHG promotion and link-ages and entrepreneurship.

“Technologies developed byICAR institutions can be effi-ciently disseminated among ruralmasses through these organisa-tions. Value addition, nutri gar-den and mushroom growing arebeing taught. Through membersof SHGs rural women can han-dle issues of the poor commu-nity which influence livelihoodopportunity, nutrition security,lack of technology adaptation,education and women empower-ment at the grassroot level. Youngwomen could do better if theywere trained in financial manage-ment and livelihood supportactivities such as bank linkages,stitching, embroidery work, valueaddition, vegetable production,poultry, stuffed toy manufactur-ing and many other ventures pos-sible in rural areas. The trainingbecomes important for improv-

ing life skills and also for boost-ing their confidence,” he said.

He said that local leadershiprequired for growth of agricultureand community may lead todevelopment of community-based organisations. “The close-ness among the committee mem-bers leads to cross-learning whichis very important. Lesser eco-nomic burden and a capacityto develop linkage with localinstitutions attract the commit-tee members who become mem-bers of the organisation.

Initially it is difficult butlater on a good number of effec-tive members help in the devel-opment of the organisation.Various types of supports provid-ed by the rural community attractthem to become members andthus within a short span of timethe membership grows and thisis one of the indicators of a suc-cessful community-based organ-isation at the development stage,”he added. He pointed out thatstrengthening SHGs with a bet-ter representation of rural womenempowered them as they stillwere the poorest of the poor.

He said that faith in theorganisation may help in dissem-inating agriculture technologies,particularly through their adop-tion by the farmers, and if theybecome members they maydevelop a better risk-taking abil-ity.

Encroachments removedPIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

Encroachments were removed from fourcrossings in the city on Thursday in an effort

to ease traffic congestion and reduce the grow-ing pollution level there. The directives wereissued by District Magistrate Kaushal RajSharma,

Municipal commissioner IndramaniTripathi said that the drive would be carried outintensively at four crossings every week. “Weremoved the encroachments caused by the tem-pos and auto-rickshaws which clutter thesecrossings. The drive was carried out at theMahanagar, Barabirwa , Kaiserbagh andHussaidiya crossings,” he said.

In addition he said that a warning wasissued to the people who were caught burninggarbage. “ I myself took a round in the morn-ing to check these incidents. Althoughfines have been instituted for it yet we did notrealise them as the people involved in these prac-tices are very poor people. Hence we issued awarning to them,” he said.

RTO (Encroachments) Sanjeev KumarGupta said that on the directives of the DistrictMagistrate, they carried out a three- day-longdrive against diesel tempos illegally plying with-in the city and 75 of them were challaned anda warning was issued to their drivers. “Thesetempos can only run on the outskirts and with-in the city only those tempos are allowed whichhave the CNG permit. Four teams were consti-tuted for carrying out the drive,” he said. It maybe pointed out here that the city has beenrecording a very poor Air Quality Index dur-ing the past one month and there is a great needfor reducing its pollution level.

22 Naga children meet, interact with GuvPNS n LUCKNOW

NTPC organised a paintingcompetition on Wednesday

at Lucknow. The topics for state-level category for classes IV, V, VIwere “Use energy sensibly, savemoney and life healthfully” and“Be a bright spark, lights off tillit is dark”.

Addressing the participants,KK Singh appreciated the effortsof children and their concernabout energy conservation.

He added that childrenwould spread the message ofenergy conservation amongtheir colleagues, friends and rel-atives.

GM (HR) Pankaj Kumaralso addressed the participants.

Director SVB Singh also spokeon the occasion and appreci-ated the efforts of children.

Ministry of Power, in asso-ciation with Bureau of EnergyEfficiency and UP NEDA, isrunning a national campaignon energy conservation formore than a decade in theform of national- and state-level painting competition forschool children. This compe-tition is an attempt not only forschool children but for theirparents also to understandthe importance of energy con-servation.

The competition is organ-ised with the support of 11Central Public SectorUndertakings (CPSUs) work-ing under the administrativecontrol of the Ministry ofPower and all 34 StateDesignated Agencies (SDAs)established under the EnergyConservation Act, 2001.

NTPC, India’s largestpower generating company, iscoordinating the event in UP.The painting competition washeld in three stages, namely,school, state- and national-level.

NTPC organises painting contest

‘Efforts on to ensure watersupply in Indira Nagar’

CISH extends a helping hand to women SHGs

CELEBRATEDChildren’s Day was celebrated in DPS, ELDECO, with a lot of

fun and frolic. The Children’s Day began with a special assemblyorganised by teachers. They first sang the Prayer song. A tribute wasalso paid to Nehru, the architect of a free India. To highlight theimportance of the day, a poem was recited by Shukla which madeeveryone nostalgic. The teachers wished and showered their love andaffection on the children by singing a song for them. Principal DeeptiDwevedi wished happiness to children on the auspicious day andappreciated children for their conduct and contribution towards theschool. Delhi Public School, Indira Nagar, also celebrated the daycelebrated with great zeal and fervour. The teachers and childrenremembered Jawarharlal Nehru. The teachers presented a light-heart-ed assembly dedicated to their students. The function was a delightfor students as they witnessed their teachers like never before. A hilar-ious comic skit presented by the Sports department left students ina bout of laughter as they enjoyed the humorous and witty sectionsof the play.

ARRIVALMore than 370 chief justices, judges, legal luminaries and sev-

eral dignitaries from 71 nations are arriving in Lucknow on Fridayto participate in the “International Conference of Chief Justices ofthe World” being organised by City Montessori School. PrimeMinisters, Presidents, Governor-General, speakers of parliaments,law ministers, judge of the International Court of Justice and headsof renowned peace organisations of 19 countries will grace the con-ference by their benign presence. The distinguished guests will beinteracting with the media personnel at a press conference held atCMS, Kanpur Road auditorium at 1.15 pm in the afternoon and at7.30 pm they will attend a dinner hosted by the Chief Minister YogiAdityanath.

ART COMPETITION

On the occasion of Children’s Day on Wednesday, Govind BallabhPant Institute of Studies in Rural Development organised an art com-petition at Awadh Public Academy. Students from VI to X standardparticipated in the event and showcased their thoughts in the com-petition. The topic for the competition was “Future”. Students showedtheir teamwork skills and were very creative and innovative in design-ing their whole concept of future. At the end of the competition, thejury selected the winners. In the end, the assistant director and teach-ers of the school presented prizes to rank-holders. The support fromthe school staff and teachers was tremendous.

SCHOOLSCAN

nation 05LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | NOVEMBER 16, 2018

RAJESH KUMAR n NEW DELHI

In a move to regulate realestate sector and to protect

homebuyers from fraudsterreal estate developers, as manyas 33,750 projects and 26,018property agents have been reg-istered under the Real EstateRegulatory Authority ( RERA)in the country. Maharashtratops the list of States with18,392 projects registered.

It is followed by UttarPradesh with 2,514 projects,Haryana, 1,214, Punjab, 602and Uttrakhand, 221. Delhihas 23 projects registered.

As per the Housing andUrban Affairs Ministry’s datathere are 3,873 projects regis-tered by northern States, whichis approximately 11 per cent oftotal 33,750 projects got regis-tered pan India. If UttarPradesh is excluded, the per-centage of ‘projects registration’of rest of northern States will be4.03 per cent.

Besides projects,Maharashtra also tops in the listof registering of property devel-opers/agents. It has registered17,188 property agents underthe RERA followed by UttarPradesh of 2121 agents, Punjabof 1,267 agents, Haryana of 494agents, Uttrakhand of 204,Delhi of 65 and Chandigarh of60.

Meanwhile, speaking at a

workshop on RERA — a newera of transparency andaccountability in Real Estate —2 years of implementation andWay Ahead”, the UnionHousing and Urban Affairs(MoHUA) Minister HardeepSingh Puri on Thursday cate-gorically stated that theGovernment will not amendany provision of RERA andwarned States against tweakingrules of the centre’s real estatelaw, asserting that it will lead to“harsh consequences”. RERA,which protects the interest ofhome buyers, was enacted byParliament and States weregiven powers to notify theirrespective rules and appointregulatory authorities.

As per the Ministry’s datathere are 28 States and UnionTerritories (UTs) have notifiedexcept the six north easternStates and West Bengal. “There

are 27 States that have estab-lished the Authority, out ofwhich 14 States are interim. Allthe States of northern regionhave established permanentRegulatory Authorities exceptHimachal Pradesh, Delhi andChandigarh,” an official ofMoHUA said.

In a related development,Delhi has finally got a full-timereal estate regulator underRERA with Lt Governor AnilBaijal appointing retired IASofficer Vijay S Madan to thepost. Until now, the DelhiDevelopment Authority (DDA)vice-chairman was the interimregulator under the Real EstateRegulatory Act (RERA), 2016.

Puri also pointed out thattill the year 2016, there was noregulator for real estate andconstruction sector, which isthe largest employer after agri-culture and housing. He said,

in a landmark move, theCentral Government, in theform of RERA, gave the realestate sector its first regulatorw.e.f. from 1st May, 2016.

Puri also said that the “fullbenefit” of the Real EstateRegulatory Act (RERA) will berealised only when the its pro-vision is implemented in letterand spirit. “We will not tweakRERA,” Puri told reporters onthe sidelines of a workshop onthe real estate law, organised byhis Ministry amid growingdemands from builders tochange rules.

Puri said the States whichhave made its own rules bytweaking provisions of theRERA, will have to “fall in line,otherwise, the consequence isvery harsh”.

There are some States whohave watered down the provi-sions of central legislation.Asked about several home-buyers not being deliveredtheir houses by developers ontime, the Union Minister said,“We will not hesitate fromnaming and shaming (of thosedevelopers not delivering flatson time).” At the workshop,attended by associations ofhome-buyers, builders, banksand other stakeholders, Purisaid Uttar Pradesh, Haryanaand Punjab need to take suit-able action so that their rulesare line with the RERA.

RERA REGISTRATION

Maharashtra tops all States

PNS n NEW DELHI

Chief Electoral Officer(CEO) of Mizoram SB

Shashank was removed onThursday by the ElectionCommission, days before theState goes to polls, followingwidespread protests againsthim. Ashish Kundra, a 1996batch IAS officer will be thenew chief electoral officer(CEO) of the State.

The order came after somecivil society groups in Mizoramdemanded Shashank’s ousterover a row on allowing Bru vot-ers lodged in Tripura reliefcamps to exercise their fran-chise from there. The protest-ers had asked Shashank to quitby November 5 and leave thestate after the principal secre-tary (home), LalninmawiaChuaungo, was removed fol-lowing the chief electoral offi-cer’s complaint against him.

“The Election Commissionof India in consultation withthe Government of Mizoramhereby nominates AshishKundra as the chief electoralofficer for the state of Mizoramwith immediate effect,” a noti-fication issued by the EC said.Mizoram goes to the polls onNovember 28. The EC in itsorder further stated thatShashank shall be attached

with the Commission withimmediate effect and until fur-ther orders.

The EC’s move was wel-comed by the civil societiesthat had spearheaded a move-ment to seek the poll officer’souster. “We welcome anybodyas state CEO, except Shashank,who was working against theinterests of the Mizo people bymaking an all-out effort to reg-ister Bru voters in the Tripurarelief camps without followingestablished procedures,”Vanlalruata, chairman of theNGO, CoordinationCommittee said.

Shashank had accusedChuaungo of interfering withthe revision of electoral rollsof Bru refugees fromMizoram, who have been liv-ing in relief camps in Tripurasince ethnic violence drovethem away in 1997. MostMizos, including the StateGovernment, are opposed tothe Election Commission’sproposal for allowing Brus tovote at their camps and wantthem to return to Mizoram forthat.

The protests had forced theElection Commission (EC) tosend a senior official for talkswith the apex body leading thestir while accepting the “broadcontours” of its resolution on

the CEO and Bru refugeessubmitted to a poll panel del-egation.

After thousands of peoplegathered outside Shashank’soffice in Aizawl on Tuesday toseek his removal ahead of theNovember 28 assembly polls,an EC team comprisingJharkhand CEOLalbiakthanga Khiangte, ECdirector Nikhil Kumar and ECsecretary S.B. Joshi held talkswith the Mizoram NGOCoordination Committee, anumbrella organization of non-government organisations andcivil society groups. . After thevisits, the poll panel had askedthe Mizoram government tosuggest names for the CEO’spost.

Shawshank reportedlysought the deployment of addi-tional Central Armed PoliceForces (CAPF) in the state.This did not go down well withthe committee.

Earlier this month, ChiefMinister Lal Thanhawla wroteto Prime Minister NarendraModi on the issue. “... As peo-ple have lost faith in him(Shashank), the only solutionfor the smooth conduct of theAssembly elections 2018 wouldbe removal of CEO S BShashank from office forth-with,” he said.

EC removes SB Shashank,Ashish Kundra takes charge

AFTER PROTESTS AGAINST MIZORAM CEO

New Delhi: The SupremeCourt is scheduled to hear onFriday CBI director AlokVerma’s plea challenging theGovernment’s order divest-ing him of his duties andsending him on leave in viewof allegations of corruptionagainst him.

A three-judge bench,headed by Chief JusticeRanjan Gogoi, is also likely toconsider the report of theCentral VigilanceCommission (CVC), placedbefore it in a sealed cover, withregard to the probe into theallegations of corruptionagainst Verma.

The bench is also likely toconsider the report of actingCBI director M NageswaraRao also filed in a sealedcover in the court with regardto the decisions taken by himfrom October 23-26.

Besides the plea filed byVerma, the court is also seizedof the PIL filed by NGOCommon Cause, which hassought a probe by specialinvestigation team against CBIofficers.

The court has issuednotices to the Centre, CBI,CVC, special CBI directorRakesh Asthana, Verma andRao asking them to respond toit by November 12. PTI

PNS n NEW DELHI

The publisher of the NationalHerald newspaper, who

was ordered by the Centre, tovacate its headquarters at‘Herald House’ building byNovember 15, got a last minutebreather on Thursday with theDelhi High Court directingstatus quo till November 22.However, the court did not staythe eviction notice, issued byUrban Development Ministry,which started eviction pro-ceedings in the morning.Meanwhile, the Governor gaveCBI sanction to prosecute for-mer Haryana Chief MinisterBhupinder Hooda for thealleged illegalities in the allot-ment of land in Panchkula forthe National Herald newspaper.

In its petition in Delhi HC,the Associated Journal Limited(AJL), publisher of NationalHerald alleged that the pro-ceedings by the UrbanDevelopment Ministry werebeing initiated for the purpos-es of “scuttling the voices of dis-sent” and the voice of thelargest Opposition party in thecountry, a reference to theCongress.

Without naming the BJP,the AJL’s lawyer and Congressleader Abhishek Singhvi furtheralleged that the order issuedunder pressure and directivesfrom the ruling party at theCentre is vitiated by malafides,bias and had “oblique politicalmotives”. Singhvi said that theGovernment’s actions werepurely politically motivated andbased on BJP MP SubramanianSwamy’s petition.

Singhvi pointed out that theCentre has started evictionproceedings in the HeraldHouse and argued that it isunfair when the matter is seizedwith the court. This was refut-ed by Solicitor General TusharMehta and the court askedSinghvi to ask his clients to ver-ify the submission. After a fewminutes, Singhvi on instruc-tions told the court that he hasphotographs of the two officialsand said that their names were— Gopal Rastogi and K RRana.

While Mehta said the mat-ter would be looked into,Justice Sunil Gaur said, “they(L&DO) cannot take posses-sion like this. They have to pro-ceed under the Public Premises

(Eviction of UnauthorizedOccupants) Act, 1971”. LaterMehta gave an oral assuranceit will maintain status quo tillNovember 22.

Former Haryana ChiefMinister Bhupinder SinghHooda said that he was a vic-tim of “political vendetta” andhas done no wrong in the caseinvolving allotment of a plot ofland in Panchkula to AJL.Hooda made the remarks onmedia persons’ query onreports that Haryana GovernorSatyadev Narayan Arya gavesanction to prosecute him inthe AJL case.

“I have been maintainingthat I am a victim of politicalvendetta,” Hooda told reporterson the sidelines of a Congressworkers’ meeting. The case ofcheating, corruption and crim-inal conspiracy, registered

by the Haryana VigilanceBureau against Hooda and AJLfor irregularities in allotment ofa plot of land in Panchkula tothe firm had been taken overby the CBI last year. Congressveteran leader Motilal Vora isalso made as an accused in theCBI case along with HaryanaGovernment officials.

NATIONAL HERALD BUILDING LEASE

AJL gets breather after HC orderto keep status quo till Nov 22

PNS n NEW DELHI

In an effort to give a boost toIndian defence industry and

maintain operational pre-paredness of the armed forces,defence procurement has beensimplified and is happeningspeedily but with “due diligenceintact, Defence MinisterNirmala Sitharaman said hereon Thursday. However, thedomestic manufacturers haveto convince the armed forces ofthe quality, purpose, usefulnessand the relevance of their prod-uct, she said.

Making this point, the

Minister said she cannot com-pel armed forces to buy equip-ment from them and it was upto the domestic companies toconvince the forces that theirproduct was “good enough.”Addressing the Indian DefenceConclave 2018 organised by theDefence Innovators andIndustry Association, she said“the armed forces who actual-

ly use the equipment should beconvinced.

It is not necessary that thearmed forces will have to bebound by me or forced by meor compelled by me to buy it(from an Indian company)... Icannot say that to them.”

The Minister also laudedher predecessors ManoharParikkar and Arun Jaitley, say-

ing they had not only simpli-fied defence procedure butalso ensured transparency.Steps were taken to make theprocurement procedure lesscumbersome, she noted.“Procurement has simplified.Procurement is happening withdue diligence intact, but it ishappening speedily,” theDefence Minister said.

Her comments come in thebackdrop of the controversyover the `58,000 crore Rafaledeal with the Opposition, pri-marily the Congress, allegingcorruption and demandingthat the price details be madepublic. The Government hasvehemently denied the chargesof corruption and said anydisclosure of price would beviolation of the secrecy clauseand would give an advantage toadversaries.

Sitharaman also urgeddefence manufacturers to get

out of the mindset of looking atthe India market alone. “I appealto you all to get out of thatmindset. There are several othercountries which are buying(defence equipment) that do nothave the capacity to produce.They never had a history ofattempting to produce defencecomponents. Look at marketsoutside. Make in India is not justfor making in India,” she said.

The Minister assured thegathering that the Governmentwill make sure the industry getsevery possible help to exporttheir products. To encouragedomestic defence manufactur-ers, she said, several items havebeen removed from the list thatwas earlier reserved for ord-nance factories and defencepublic sector undertakings.She also said the government’s‘Make in India’ project is notjust on paper and that ordershave been placed.

Can’t compelarmed forces tobuy from Indianfirm: Sitharaman

Def procurement happening speedily but with ‘due diligence intact’

PNS n NEW DELHI

The rebel candidates deniedtickets in Madhya Pradesh

and Rajasthan may impactresults of many constituenciesin two States as the BJP hasexpelled 64 of them in MP andworking overtime to seekwithdrawal of as many of themfrom the electoral fray.

After inducting severalfresh faces in Madhya Pradeshto fight anti-incumbency inthe Assembly polls, the BJP isfacing problem of dissidentsand has so far expelled 64 of itsrebel, including formerMinisters Sartaj Singh, RamKrishan Kusmaria and formerGwalior mayor SameekshaPandey. A total of 2,932 can-didates filed nominations outof which 578 were rejected and538 withdrew their papers forthe November 28 poll in theState.

Kusmaria has been an MPthrice and has also served as aMinister in the Shivraj SinghGovernment between 2008and 2013. The BJP had sent itscentral leader Prabhat Jha tosalvage the situation but hecould not succeed in hisefforts.

For the Congress, XavierMeena, a former Minister from

Jhabu is a key dissident inMadhya Pradesh. Congresshas been able to restrict therebel numbers by succeedingto have a chunk of them with-draw their nominations.

In Rajasthan, ahead of theDecember 7 Assembly elec-tions, the BJP’s Nagaur MLAHabibur Rahman rejoined theCongress after a decade. BJP’sDausa MP Harish ChandraMeena , former DG police, alsoJoined the Congress. Meenahad joined the BJP in 2014.Meena joined the Congress inthe presence of formerRajasthan Chief MinisterAshok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot,whose father Rajesh Pilot heldthe Dausa constituency.

Meena’s elder brotherNamo Narayan Meena is asenior Congress leader whowas defeated by Harish Meenafrom Dausa.

BJP is locked in a toughelectoral battle with theCongress in both the states anddeployed all its key leaders ledby Prime Minister NarenddraModi and party presidentAmit Shah to override theincumbency factor. It is esti-mated that at least 30 to 40seats in MP could be a touchand go affair on account of‘rebel’ candidates presence.

BJP expels 64 rebelleaders ahead ofMP Assembly polls

Chennai: The Madras HighCourt has directed the UnionHome Ministry to sanction pen-sion for the widow of a freedomfighter and slammed it for a delayof over three decades in consid-ering the woman’s application.

Justice R Suresh Kumar saidthe attitude on the part of offi-cials responsible for keeping theapplication pending for morethan three decades is to be dep-recated. Had the application ofthe petitioner decided in 1973and disposed of either way, thepetitioner would have been in aposition either to get the fruits ofthe freedom fighter family pen-sion or would have protestedover the issue in the matterknown to law, the judge said. Thematter relates to L KathayeeAmmal, the widow of freedomfighter Lakshmana Thevar, whohas been made to wait for 30years for the pension.

Ammal’s application hasbeen kept pending by the cen-tral government and the courtwants to register its displeasureagainst all those responsible,the judge said in his order. Thepetitioner’s husband was an ex-Indian National Army person-nel who joined the INA inMalaysia and was captured bythe British. After WWII, thepetitioner’s husband applied tothe Tamil Nadu and CentralGovernments seeking freedomfighters’ pension, but before theapplication was considered, hedied in 1969. PTI

PNS n NEW DELHI

To increase agricultural pro-duce trade in Asia and the

Pacific countries, India hosteda two-day meet of the generalassembly of Network forDevelopment of AgriculturalCooperatives in Asia and Pacific(NEDAC) to chalk out a strat-egy for regional trade. NEDACalso adopted a new constitutionon Thursday.

While inaugurating theassembly Parshottam K Rupala,Union Minister of State forAgriculture and FarmersWelfare and Panchayatiraj, said,“Realising the need to enhancethe farmers income to addressagrarian distress and promotesfarmers welfare Prime Ministerhas embarked on a mission fordoubling farmers income by2022.” He further said that thecooperatives have exhibited bet-ter performance and are livingsuccess stories to enhance pro-

duction and better returns toproduce from market throughcollective action. He added thatthe India is determined toimprove productivity of agri-culture products and useresources effectively andimprove trade for farmers.

To establish marketing link-ages among cooperatives in theASEAN countries fro possiblebusiness undertaking of theiragricultural products, SundeepKumar Nayak, ManagingDirector of NationalCooperative DevelopmentCorporation said India hashosted the event with an objec-tive to increase trade betweencooperatives of two or multiplecountries. “Through this, wewill be able stimulate the capa-bilities and training humanresources at all levels and accel-erate development through amore efficient utilisation ofhuman, physical and financialresources available,” Nayak said.

India hosts agriculture summitto boost agri produce trade

PNS n NEW DELHI

While Sikkim has alreadytaken lead in becoming

the first Open Defecation Free(ODF) in the country, theother States from the Northeastregion have committed to makethe region ODF by Decemberend this year.

This was decided at aregional review meeting of theNorth Eastern States —Arunachal Pradesh, Assam,Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram,Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkimheld in Guwahati in Assamrecently.

The workshop compriseddiscussions on sustaining ODFstatus, solid and liquid wastemanagement (SLWM), andrural water supply. Teams fromKey aspects of sustainability

such as geo-tagging, verifica-tion of ODF villages, conver-sion of dysfunctional toilets,IEC expenditure, Swachhagrahiengagement were reviewed.

Speaking on the occasion,ParameswaranIyer, Secretary,Ministry of Drinking Waterand Sanitation emphasized theimportance of the joint effort

being made by the Centraland State SBM teams towardssustaining gains made underthe program so far.

He spoke about the impor-tance of continued focus onbehavior change communica-tion and periodic verificationsto ensure that the safe sanita-tion habits and practices devel-

oped over the past few years aresustained in the future as well.

The teams from the ODFStates of the region spoke aboutefforts to sustain their ODF sta-tus. Sikkim highlighted thesolid and liquid waste man-agement initiatives beingundertaken in the first ODFState of the country.

Non-ODF States commit-ted to declaring themselves asODF by December 2018.Assam shared highlights of“Mission Sambhav”, underwhich more than one lakh pitdigging activities were initiat-ed on a single day during theSwachhata Hi Seva fortnight.

Akshay Rout, DirectorGeneral, Special Projects fromthe Ministry pointed to thecriticality of the sustainabilityphase of SBM and the necessi-

ty for the managers for regularmonitoring.

V Radha, Joint Secretaryfrom the Ministry spoke aboutthe need to increase the cover-age of household water supplyconnections by taking upcommunity-managed, low costschemes.

Since its launch in October2014, the Swchch BharatMission, the world’s largestsanitation program, haschanged the behaviour of hun-dreds of millions of people withrespect to toilet access andusage. About 300 million peo-ple have stopped defecating inthe open since the Missionbegan, down from 550 millionat the beginning of the pro-gramme to about 200 milliontoday, according to theGovernment data.

NE States to be ODF by Dec 2018

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, WSBI president Heinrich Haasis and president of WSBI Isidro Fainé during the 25thWorld Congress- ‘Sustainable Retail Banking: Making Globalisation Inclusive for All’ in New Delhi on Thursday PTI

Freedom fighter’swidow made to wait30 yrs for pension

SC to hear

CBI director

Alok Verma’s

plea today

LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | NOVEMBER 16, 2018 nation 06

SAUGAR SENGUPTA n KOLKATA

The State BJP has written toparty president Amit Shah

to go slow on NRC as the ideawas creating large-scale appre-hensions among the people. Infact, State BJP president DilipGhosh on Thursday clearlysaid the State leadership wasmore in favour of theCitizenship Bill than the NRC.This came in the wake ofMamata Banerjee stepping upattacks on the BJP.

"I think once theCitizenship Bill is tabled andenacted, the NRC will not berequired because that will pro-vide enough evidence of a per-son's citizenship credentials,"Ghosh said.

Incidentally, senior BJPleader and party's observer forBengal Kailash Vijayvargiyahad earlier said that "the NRCwill definitely be conducted inBengal if the BJP comes topower here as it is also facingsevere infiltration issues."

Ghosh's statements camealmost in tandem withrenewed attack from Mamatawho called the BJP a party ofriot mongers that was moreinvolved in creating religiousand linguistic divide amongthe people so as to capturepower in Bengal.

Criticising the ChiefMinister for "backing the infil-trators" he wanted to "askMamata Banerjee why she issiding with the infiltrators".Attacking the TrinamoolCongress leaders for playingvote bank politics, he said,

"Unfortunately some peopleare more concerned aboutindulging in appeasementpolicies and vote bank politicsthan the progress of the nation."

Meanwhile, once againupping the ante on the BJP fordividing the people alongreligious and linguistic linesMamata told a congregationof Matua community (a largenumber of whom migratedfrom Bangladesh to Bengaland even Assam) in North 24Parganas how the BJP wasthrowing out the Bengalisout of Assam and Biharisfrom Gujarat andMaharashtra besides creat-ing a division within theMatua society.

Bengal has about a lakhMatua voters in North 24Parganas and Nadia.

"They are unnecessarilyharassing a great majority ofpeople who are Indian citizens.They are threatening to throwthese citizens out of the coun-try though they have genuineidentity cards, caste certifi-cates or similar documents,"Mamata said, attacking theBJP, and assured "you all not toget scared as no one can snatchyour citizenship."

Mamata was addressingthe Matua community — atThakurnagar in North 24Parganas — on the 100thbirth anniversary of the com-munity's religious headBinapani Devi.

Aware that the BJP wastrying to take out a slice ofMatua vote by offering ticketsto some of Binapani Devi'sfamily members, Mamata saidnone had done so much for thecommunity as herGovernment did.

"Now we will set up aMatua University in the nameof the Matua religious headG u r u c h a n d - H a r i c h a n dThakur," Mamata said addingthe Government would alsoconstruct two huge gatesidentifying the Matua headquarters.

Incidentally PrimeMinister Narendra Modi hadalso promised a great deal forthe Matuas during his pre-elec-toral campaign in 2014 but"they have done nothing foryou save giving lip service,"Mamata said.

Didi steps up attack

on BJP over NRC PTI n JAMMU

Two terrorists, who werearrested from Poonch dis-

trict of Jammu & Kashmir,were part of Lashkar-e-Taiba(LeT) module and had come tothe town to ferry weapons tothe Kashmir Valley, a seniorpolice officer said on Thursday.

Senior Superintendent ofPolice, Poonch, Rajiv Pandeysaid a special investigation team(SIT) headed by a sub-divi-sional police officer (SDPO)was formed to probe the case.

Auqib Ahmad Bhat andShabir Ahmad Dar, both hail-ing from Pulwama district ofsouth Kashmir, were arrestedduring a joint operation bypolice and the Army inMendhar area of the borderdistrict on Wednesday.

Two AK-56 rifles, twomagazines, 60 rounds and fourhand-grenades were seizedfrom their possession.

"Prima facie, it was estab-lished that they were part ofLeT module and were assignedthe task to shift weapons fromPoonch to the Kashmir Valley,"the SSP told reporters.

Presenting the arrested per-sons before the media persons,he said preliminary investiga-tions revealed that they werenot in the district to carry outany terror activity. "They areassociates of terrorists and theironly motive was to shift theweapons from Poonch toKashmir," Pandey said.

However, he said PoonchPolice was in touch with itscounterparts in the KashmirValley to probe the arrestedpersons' involvement in terrorism.

The SSP said policereceived specific informationabout movement of some sus-pected persons and according-ly established checking pointswhich led to the arrest of theduo from Jaran Wali Gali and

the recovery of the weapons,including four hand grenades,which were kept in a speciallybuilt cavity in the vehicle attheir disclosure.

"A case was registeredagainst them and a specialinvestigation team headed bySDPO Mendhar Neeraj Padyarhas been formed to probe thecase thoroughly," he said.

The SSP said from wherethe weapons had come was yetto be ascertained.

He said security agenciesare on high alert in the districtand have not lowered their guard.

"The combing operation isgoing on in rural and forestarea. We are conducting oper-ation in every inch of Mendharsub-division and elsewhere,"Pandey said.

2 terrorists held in Poonchpart of LeT module: SSP

Chennai: Cyclone 'Gaja' inten-sified into a severe cyclonicstorm on Thursday and isexpected to cross the southTamil Nadu coast by late thisevening or night, with theGovernment machinery put onhigh alert in vulnerable districts.

The storm which lay overthe south-west Bay about 285km from here and 225 km eastof Karaikal in neighbouringPuducherry, was very likely tocross the coast betweenCuddalore and Pamban aroundNagapattinam by this eveningor night after weakening into acyclone, the Met office said.

At the time of landfall,wind speed of 80-90 kmphgusting up to 100 kmph andheavy rain were likely along theregion, it said.

The Tamil Nadu StateDisaster ManagementAuthority, in a tweet, said as perthe latest updates #GajaCycloneis likely to have landfallbetween 8 pm and 11 pmtonight in all probability inNagapattinam district, about300 km from here.

There was no significantrainfall so far Thursday in mostof the districts expected to beaffected by the cyclone. Chennaiwitnessed sporadic spells of rain.

So far, 1,313 people havealready been shifted to relief cen-

tre in Nagapattinam districtand efforts are on to evacuate allthose living in low lying areas torelief centres in the vulnerabledistricts, the government said.

A holiday has beendeclared for educational insti-tutions in seven districts,including Nagapattinam,Tiruvarur, Cuddalore andRamanathapuram, and thegovernment has advised privatefirms, and establishments tosend back their employeesearly so that they could reachtheir homes before 4 pm.

As the sea was rough,police have been advised tointensify efforts to bar peoplefrom going near the beaches towitness the cyclone or clickselfies.

Four teams each of NationalDisaster Response Force per-sonnel have been deployed inNagapattinam district whiletwo teams of the state disasterresponse force in Cuddalore dis-trict, officials said.

The State disaster man-agement authority has releasedan animated video aimed atcreating awareness on the do'sand don'ts during cyclone.The government hasannounced helpline numbers1070 (state-level) and 1077(districts) for those who mayneed assistance. PTI

‘Gaja' intensifies intosevere storm, landfallon TN coast forecast

Security personnel with two suspected terrorists and weapons seized from JaranWali Gali area of Mendhar after a joint search operation in Poonch on Thursday

PTI

Omar: NC open to participatein Assembly polls in J&K

‘Prima facie, it wasestablished that theywere part of an LeTmodule and were

assigned the task toshift weapons fromPoonch to Kashmir

Valley,’ the SSP told reporters

Traders from different regions attend the annual Pushkar Camel Fair in Pushkar on Thursday. The annual livestock fair is one ofthe largest in the world PTI

AWARE THAT THE BJP WAS

TRYING TO TAKE OUT A

SLICE OF MATUA VOTE BY

OFFERING TICKETS TO SOME

OF BINAPANI DEVI'S FAMILY

MEMBERS, MAMATA SAID

NONE HAD DONE SO MUCH

FOR THE COMMUNITY AS

HER GOVERNMENT DID

PTI n SRINAGAR

National Conference leaderOmar Abdullah has hinted

his party would participate in

assembly polls in Jammu andKashmir if fresh elections to thestate legislature wereannounced in near future.

“You got the control of ahandful of towns & citiesbecause NC & PDP stayedaway (and the Congress didsuch a poor job of putting upa fight). Do you really think wewill give you a walkover in theAssembly polls?” Abdullahwrote on his Twitter handleWednesday. He was respondingto BJP national general secre-tary Ram Madhav, who hadasked the National Conferenceand the People’s DemocraticParty if they would participate

in assembly polls if held in nearfuture. “On one hand, they (NCand PDP) say they will not takepart in elections to safeguardArticle 35A, on the other, theydemand dissolution of assemblyand fresh elections. Tomorrow ifAssembly elections are held, willyou will fight or go by your boy-cott?” Madhav said at a functionin Kathua on Tuesday night.

NC and PDP did not par-ticipate in urban local bodieselections held in the state lastmonth after a gap of nearly 13years due to the legal challengeto Article 35-A of theConstitution, which guaranteesexclusive residency rights topeople of the state only, beforethe Supreme Court. The tworegional parties had asked theCentre to mount a strong defenceof the constitutional provisionbefore the apex court. They hadremained non-committal to par-ticipation in future elections inthe state. u and Kashmir wasplaced under the governor’s ruleon June 19 this year after the BJPpulled out of its coalition with thePDP and no alternative frontstaked claim for governmentformation. However, the stateassembly has been placed insuspended animation, leavingdoors open for efforts for freshgovernment formation.

PTI n MUMBAI

Terming farm loanwaiver and freepower supply as

mere “temporary andpopulist” steps, Vice-President VenkaiahNaidu on Thursdaymade a pitch for long-term solutionslike infrastructure support and cheapcredit to improve the agriculture sec-tor.

Delivering the LaxmanraoInamdar Memorial Lecture here,Naidu also called for suitable changesin the laws governing the co-oper-ative sector in view of changedtechno-economic and business sce-narios to make the co-operativeinstitutions “viable and vibrant”.

The University of Mumbai hadorganised the lecture to mark thebirth centenary of late LaxmanraoInamdar, who was instrumental in theformation of Sahakar Bharati in1979. “There are many challenges inthe agriculture sector. You cannothave temporary solutions to agricul-ture. Loan waiver, free current... theyare temporary,” he said.

“What is needed is remunerativeprice, infrastructure support for agri-culture and cheap credits.Unfortunately for political reasons, wemove to populistic, temporary mea-sures,” Naidu said, adding that the

governments shouldrather focus on long-termsolutions.

He said since agricul-ture was becoming unvi-able, people were movingto urban areas from ruralparts. “You cannot reverseurbanisation, even if you

want to... Even today, 56 per cent peo-ple depend on agriculture. The bestmethod of (improving) agricultureaccording to me is the strengtheningof the co-operative movement. Thishas to be understood by all includingthe planners, NITI Aayog, politicalparties, Parliament, people andmedia,” he said.

“The Prime Minister promised todouble farmers’ income by 2022. Thisis a noble idea, but it is not simple. Thegovernment has raised the MSP ofmost of the crops. Co-operatives canhelp small and marginal farmers intaking the benefits of higher MSPs,” hesaid.

Terming India’s co-operativemovement as the “biggest” in the world,he said it had led to tremendousprogress in several sectors of theIndian economy.

“I am told 75 per cent of ruralhouseholds have been coveredthrough a network of over 8.50 lakhco-operatives with a membership ofwell over 25 crore,” he said.

Naidu, however, lamented that in

recent years, the co-operative sectorhas faced structural challenges likedormant membership, lack of activeparticipation of members in themanagement, politicisation of co-operatives and bureaucratic control.

Similarly, low level of participa-tion by women and youth is a chal-lenge and needs to be addressed, hesaid.

“Mounting dues in co-operativecredit institutions, inadequate mobil-isation of own resources, over-depen-dence on governmental and institu-tional support, lack of professionalmanagement have proved harmful totheir growth. There have beeninstances of mismanagement andabsence of monitoring,” he said.

“Probably, the time has come tobring requisite changes in the relevantlaws governing the co-operative sec-tor in the context of changed techno-economic and business scenario tomake the co-operatives viable andvibrant enterprises,” the vice presidentsaid.

Naidu added that co-operativescan help in reducing the cost of pro-duction by sensitising farmers aboutthe judicious use of chemical fer-tilisers and pesticides, by encourag-ing and training them in the use oforganic manure and efficient use ofwater and by collective procurementof capital-intensive equipment andinputs.

Naidu: Agri sector needs long-termsolutions, not loan waiver

PTI n HYDERABAD

Telangana Rashtra Samithi(TRS) leader KT Rama Rao

said Thursday his party wouldattempt to gather more like-minded parties across the coun-try after the Assembly polls.

Rama Rao, son of TRS pres-ident and caretaker ChiefMinister K Chandrasekhar Rao,said the party would makeefforts to strengthen the feder-al structure after the declarationof election results.

Expressing confidence thatthey would win the Assembly

polls scheduled for December 7,the TRS leader said, “I didn’twant to jump the gun. Our focusis on state politics till December11 (result day). After 11th, wewill start talking about ourefforts to gather more like-minded parties across the coun-try. We had already started ear-lier.”

He asserted that even beforeAndhra Pradesh Chief MinisterN Chandrababu Naidu and oth-ers “woke up from sleep”, it wasthe TRS president who startedefforts to forge an alternativeplatform to the Congress and theBharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The TRS’ idea is that statesshould be strengthened furtherin a federal system and that theCentre should decentralise itspowers more, Rama Rao toldreporters here.

“Our idea is not to takepower in 2019 by bringing insome people together... We aremoving ahead with an inspira-tional thought that this countryshould improve. Both theCongress and the BJP havefailed in this issue. We have nosecond thought about this.”

Rao was replying to a queryon criticism that the TRS wassoft in pressing for the imple-

mentation of promises made inthe Andhra PradeshReorganisation Act.

Denying that the TRS hasadopted any soft stance, he saidthe TRS do not fear the BJP,Congress, TDP or their topleaders. The TRS governmentmade efforts to realise thepromises mentioned in the statereorganisation act, but the NDAgovernment did not respondadequately, he alleged.

Accusing the NDA govern-ment of letting the countrydown, Rama Rao said there wasno need for the TRS to have asoft corner towards the BJP

and it was making efforts toensure that the saffron partyfaces a rout in the state.

Both the Congress and theBJP have failed the state, headded.

Dismissing criticism thatChandrasekhar Rao was notaccessible to public representa-tives and common people, hesaid the job of the chief minis-ter was to do planning andvisioning, and entrust theresponsibility of execution toofficials. Rama Rao said hewould take political ‘sanyas’(renunciation) if the TRS failedto come to power on its own.

Maneka: Ensure fair system to addresssexual harassment complaints at AIRPTI n NEW DELHI

Women and ChildDevelopment Minister

Maneka Gandhi has askedInformation and BroadcastingMinister Rajyavardhan SinghRathore to ensure that a “sen-sitive and fair system” is put inplace at the All India Radio(AIR) to address recent sexu-al harassment complaints.

Several cases of allegedmishandling of sexual harass-ment complaints have beenreported from different AIRstations in the wake of therecent #MeToo movement.

As part of this movement,scores of women have spokenout about sexual harassment atworkplace. In a letter to

Rathore, Gandhi said, “Some ofthese women had complainedto the appropriate authoritiesbut no action seems to havebeen taken. I understand thatan organisation would have anatural tendency to dismiss acasual woman employee themoment she reports sexualharassment.”

“I would like to submit thatthe Sexual Harassment atWorkplace Act is equallyapplicable to a woman employ-ee irrespective of her being apermanent, temporary or casu-al employee,” she said. “I amsure you will look into thesecomplaints and ensure that asensitive and fair system is putin place to address any suchgrievance in AIR,” Gandhi said.

Will gather like-minded parties across India after polls: TRS

Prez to pay 3-dayvisit to Vietnam

New Delhi (PTI): President Ram Nath Kovind will pay athree-day visit to Vietnam beginning Sunday with a focus ondeepening bilateral cooperation in key areas of defence and secu-rity, trade and in offshore oil exploration.

Sharing details of the visit, Vietnamese Ambassador PhamSanh Chau said Kovind will address Vietnam’s national assem-bly, and will become the second foreign leader to achieve therare honour after Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“We are looking at further bolstering the time-tested rela-tionship between the two strategic partners,” the envoy toldreporters.

Kovind’s visit comes less than a month after Communist PartyGeneral Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong became the country’s newpresident following the death of incumbent president Tran DaiQuang.

Trong became the first leader to hold both the powerful postssince founding father Ho Chi Minh in the 1960s.

Chau said both sides will aim to bolster cooperation in a num-ber of sectors including defence and security, trade and invest-ment, education, artificial intelligence, culture and tourism.

He said a number of issues including India’s offshore oil explo-ration in Vietnamese waters as well as defence cooperation mayfigure in the talks.

Asked whether Vietnam was eyeing to procure Brahmos andAakash missile systems from India, he did not give a direct replybut said “discussions are underway” between parties concernedon military purchases.

The envoy said Vietnam was procuring 11 high-speed patrolvessels from India out of which five will be produced in Indiaand six will be manufactured in Vietnam.

He also said cooperation among the navies and air forces ofthe two countries are on an upswing and there was scope for fur-ther enhancing the defence ties.

The issue of the South China Sea, where China has beenshowing increasing assertiveness, is likely to be discussed dur-ing Kovind’s visit.

NEW DELHI | FRIDAY | NOVEMBER 16, 2018 nation 07

TN RAGHUNATHA n MUMBAI

The Pune police on Thursday finallyfiled the first chargesheet before a

special court in Pune against 10 personsin the Bhima-Koregaon riots case,accusing them, among other things, ofconspiring to kill Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and overthrow thedemocratically elected Government inthe country. In their chargesheet filedbefore a Special Unlawful Activities(Prevention) Act (UAPA) Court inPune ten weeks after the same courtextended a 90-day deadline for filing thechargesheet by another 90 days, the Punepolice named Sudhir P. Dhawale, RonaJ. Wilson, Surendra P. Gadling, ShomaSen, Mahesh S. Raut as among the 10

persons. They were arrested from var-ious parts of the country on June 6.

The five other accused named intheir 20-page chargesheet as theabsconding accused by the Pune policeare M alias Milind Teltumbde fromYavatmal, Prakash alias Navin AliasRitupan Goswami from Assam, Manglu,Dipu and Kishan Prashant Bose, allowing allegiance to the banned CPI(Maoists). The chargesheet stated thatthese five accused had gone “under-ground” in various parts of the country.

The ten accused named in the firstchargesheet in the Bhima-Koregaon casehave charged under various relevant sec-

tions of the Unlawful ActivitiesPrevention Act (UAPA), 117 ( abettingcommission of offence), 120-b ( con-spiracy) read with 34 (common inten-tion), 121, 121 (A) (Waging or attempt-ing to wage a war, or abetting waging ofwar, against the Government of India)124A (sedition), 153 –A (wantonly giv-ing provocation with intent to causeriot..) and 505 1b (statements conduc-ing public mischief) of Indian PenalCode (IPC)

The chargesheet stated that thefive arrested activists —Dhawale, Wilson,Gadling, Shoma Sen and S. Raut –werelinked to the CPI (Maoists) which car-

ried out subversive activities throughunder-ground means. Human and civilrights organisations like IndianAssociation of People’s Lawyers (IAPL),Anuradha Ghandi MemorialCommittee (AGMC), Kabir KalaManch, all of which set up legally, weresupporting the outlawed CPI (Maoists)

According to the chargesheet,accused number two Rona J. Wilson hadcolluded with Shoma Sena andPrashanto Bose, secretary of the out-lawed CPI (Maoist)’s Eastern RegionalBureau, along with other undergroundactivists hatched a conspiracy to kill thePrime Minister of India.

“All the five (arrested) arrestedaccused were part of the conspiracy towage a war against the Nation with ille-gal bombs and arms to topple theGovernment with violent means,” thecharge-sheet said. The Pune police arelikely to file second chargesheet in thecase against five more activists, includ-ing Varavara Rao and Sudha Bharadwaj,who were arrested on August 28 in thesame case, in the coming weeks.

It may be recalled that five Maoist-linked activists Human Rights activistsRona Wilson Jacob, Surendra Gadling,Sudhir Dhawale, Prof Shoma Sen andMahesh Raut were arrested by thePune police on June 6, in connectionwith the Elgaar Parishad and subsequentBhima-Koregaon caste riots.

Chargesheet against 10 persons, including 5 activistsBHIMA-KOREGAON RIOTS CASE

FromPage 1“The Government is duty-

bound to implement theSupreme Court order allowingwomen of all ages into the tem-ple. We will not make anyamendment in the SupremeCourt verdict delivered onSeptember 28,” Vijayan toldreporters after the all-partymeeting. The CM said theGovernment is willing to setapart certain days exclusively forwomen to worship at the tem-ple. “Beyond that we will not doanything to dilute the court ver-dict,” said the CM. Chennithalaaccused Vijayan of creatingtroubles at Sabarimala. “This isnot good either for the CPI(M)or the people in Kerala,” said theLeader of the Opposition.

Sasikumara Varma, headof the Pandhalam Royal Family,said though the talks with the

CM was cordial, there was noconsensus because of the intran-sigence of the latter. “We willhave a meeting with the priestsand then decide the futurecourse of action,” said Varma.

The Kerala Government isdeploying nearly 1,000 womencops at Sabarimala as part ofbeefing up the security aroundthe temple. Services of womencops from Tamil Nadu andKarnataka too have beenrequested and it is expected thatthey would take position bySaturday morning. Interestingly,leaders of various Hindu organ-isations told this newspaperthat they would lay siege to thetemple to prevent the entry ofwomen to the sanctum. The2018-19 festival season inSabarimala Temple is going tobe a season of tension and tur-moil because of the intransi-gence of the anti-Hindu MarxistGovernment,” said BJP chiefSreedharan Pillai.

From Page 1Chillar has also alleged that DU was “deliberately delay-

ing” the verification process as no fresh polls would be heldfor DUSU presidency in case Baisoya’s election is set aside overthe fake degree issue after expiry of the two-month period.

However, the Opposition party AISA and NSUI claimedthat the ABVP and the varsity are playing ‘game’ with the stu-dents as the time limit for the re-election has been crossed.

“ABVP made Baisoya resign after the 60-day time periodfor re-election is over. After Baisoya’s resignation, the ABVPwill still retain the presidential post as Shakti Singh, currentDUSU vice-president, will take over,” said AISA SecreatryMadhurima Kundu.

From Page 1“Satkosia had poor prey

base earlier. However, there isrecovery in the last four years inthe core area. But as a tiger land-scape it cannot sustain morethan four to five tigers that tooonly if they stay in the core areaand do not stray to the bufferzone. The area has 102 villagesin both core and buffer zones.There are villages surroundingit on all sides. At least 50,000 cat-tle enter the park everyday,”Mohanty said. Relocation of

tigers at Satkosia can only bedone if locals accept them,Mohanty maintained, question-ing the long-term viability of thetranslocation. “Without localsupport it would be impossiblefor the forest department to pro-tect the tigers. I also fail tounderstand what the relocationwill ultimately achieve for tigerconservation in the long term asthere aren’t 100 tigers in the state,which is the minimum requiredfor viability. The two or threetiger pairs will breed but this willbe inbreeding and they will dieout in two or three decades,” hesaid.

From Page 1Incidentally, senior BJP

leader and party’s observer forBengal Kailash Vijayvargiyahad earlier said that “the NRCwill definitely be conducted inBengal if the BJP comes topower here as it is also facingsevere infiltration issues.”

Ghosh’s statements camealmost in tandem with renewedattack from Mamata who calledthe BJP a party of riot mongersthat was more involved in cre-ating religious and linguisticdivide among the people so asto capture power in Bengal.

Criticising the ChiefMinister for “backing the infil-trators” he wanted to “askMamata Banerjee why she is sid-ing with the infiltrators”.Attacking the TrinamoolCongress leaders for playingvote bank politics he said,“Unfortunately some people aremore concerned aboutindulging in appeasement poli-cies and vote bank politics thanthe progress of the nation.”

Meanwhile, once againupping the ante on the BJP fordividing the people along reli-gious and linguistic linesMamata told a congregation ofMatua community (a large partwhich migrated fromBangladesh to Bengal and evenAssam) in North 24 Parganashow the BJP was throwing outthe Bengalis out of Assam andBiharis from Gujarat andMaharashtra besides creating adivision within the Matua soci-

ety.Bengal has about a lakh

Matua voters in North 24Parganas and Nadia.

“They are unnecessarilyharassing a great majority ofpeople who are Indian citizens.They are threatening to throwthese citizens out of the coun-try though they have genuineidentity cards, caste certificatesor similar documents,” Mamatasaid attacking the BJP andassured “you all not to getscared as no one can snatchyour citizenship.”

Mamata was addressing theMatua community — atThakurnagar in North 24Parganas — on the 100th birthanniversary of the community’sreligious head Binapani Devi.

Aware that the BJP was try-ing to take out a slice of Matuavote by offering tickets to someof Binapani Devi’s family mem-bers, Mamata said none haddone so much for the commu-nity as her Government did.

“Now we will set up aMatua University in the nameof the Matua religious headGuruchand-Harichand Thakur,”Mamata said adding theGovernment would also con-struct two huge gates identify-ing the Matua headquarters.

Incidentally Prime MinisterNarendra Modi had alsopromised a great deal for theMatuas during his pre-electoralcampaign in 2014 but “theyhave done nothing for you savegiving lip service,” Mamata said.

From Page 1Police said Lakhani had set

up a tailoring workshop in herhome.

During interrogation, thethree said they had hatched aconspiracy to kill her. Anwarclaimed Lakhani had not paidhim for a couple of months andwould pay in piecemeal. Hewas annoyed and hatched aplan 10 days ago to kill her, asenior police officer said.Anwar had been workingunder Lakhani for close tothree years, he said.

“After committing thecrime, the accused said, theystole valuable items, includingjewellery, from the house andleft in Lakhani’s car, said anofficer privy to the investiga-tion of the grisly twin murders.

Police said the accusedhad four knives with themwhich they had purchased

from a weekly Sunday Bazar inVasant Kunj. After killingLakhani and her domestic help,the accused went to a pondbehind Rangpuri Pahari area inVasant Kunj to discreetly dis-pose of the knives and theirclothes that had blood stains.

The accused thought policewould trouble their families ifthey ran away. So, they decid-ed to surrender, the senior offi-cer said. Police said Lakhaniwas single and had been livingin Vasant Kunj for several years.“Lakhani’s sister lives inGurugram and her brother inGoa. We have informed themregarding the incident and acase has been registered,” saidthe DCP adding that the crimescene has been preserved andthe bodies sent for a post-mortem examination and fur-ther investigations are inprogress.

Bengal BJP urges Shahto subdue...

Suspended...

All-party...

Wages of sin...

Death...

US President Donald Trump isa Presbyterian Protestant,with a self-confessed affinityto the rites of the HolyCommunion to ‘feel cleansed’.

He follows a long tradition of WhiteAnglo-Saxon Protestants (WASPs) asPresidents of the US which was broken bythe ‘half-WASP’ Barack Obama and theRoman Catholic, JF Kennedy in recenttimes. Given the mass immigration ofmulti-cultural and multi-religious popu-lace, the US had become a melting pot ofthe most diverse, inclusive and ‘accepting’profundities.

The constitutional segregation of theChurch and the State notwithstanding, reli-gious identity has played a part in the func-tioning of participative democracy in theUS. The relevance of ‘moral values’amongst candidates, a euphemism for reli-giosity amongst the 71 per cent Christianpopulation, is unmistakable, especiallyduring electioneering. The ethno-cultur-al-religious pattern of the polity hasveered and demarcated certain preferencesalong political party lines — yet the fateof the six per cent minorities (Muslims,Hindus, Jews, et al) along with that of theself-declared 23 per cent population withno-religious-affiliation had remained pro-gressively ‘inclusive’ till recent times. By2017, the second biggest democracy (afterIndia), had slipped from being rated as a‘full democracy’ to a ‘flawed democracy’as per the Global Democracy Index.

While even the likes of the widelyaccepted and transformational, BarackObama, had to reassert and reiterate his‘practicing Christian faith and status’, thesocietal and governance discourse hadremained essentially civil and ‘accepting’.While the world was witnessing religiousextremism, Obama made assuaging state-ments like, “empowered by faith, consis-tently, prayerfully, we need to find our wayback to civility. That begins with steppingout of our comfort zones in an effort tobridge divisions.” However, the advent ofDonald Trump on the US center-stage hadregressed the narrative, and early signs ofthe same were visible in run-up to thePresidential elections with the inelegantallusions made in the name of the fallenUS soldier, Captain Humayun Khan.

Soon the electoral success of DonaldTrump was marked by his signing of theExecutive Order 13769 (titled Protectingthe Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entryinto the United States) that was infamous-ly known as the ‘Muslim ban’.

The spirit behind Trump’s actions mil-itated against the Immigration andNationality Act of the US which stated,“No person shall receive any preference orpriority or be discriminated against in theissuance of an immigrant visa because ofthe person’s race, sex, nationality, place of

birth, or place of residence.”The pettiness extended to var-ious symbolic acts like thedoing away of the Eid-celebra-tion Iftar dinner at the WhiteHouse, a tradition that wasstarted in 1996 by theDemocrat, Bill Clinton butduly retained by Trump’s fel-low-Republican, George WBush, for eight years of hisPresidentship.

Donald Trump’s ignora-mus status along with per-ceived notions and stereo-types of people of certain reli-gious denominations isunprecedented in recent times.During a Republican fundrais-er by people of Indian-originpreceding the elections, that hehad stated incredulously, “I ama big fan of Hindu and I am abig fan of India. Big, big fan.”Shockingly, the still-to-be-elected President of the USAhad earlier admitted that hewasn’t aware that India alsohad a large population ofMuslims, Christians, Sikhs,Buddhists et al.

The existence of over 260proud Indians (approximate-ly 20 per cent of minority-faiths amongst the 1.3 billionIndians) had escaped theknowledge of the man whowas poised to hold the mostpowerful office in the world.

Today, Donald Trump isstill holding sway with acuteignorance intact, as he tweet-ed post the Diwali celebrationsat the White House, “Today,we gathered for Diwali, a hol-iday observed by Buddhists,

Sikhs, and Jains throughoutthe United States and aroundthe world. Hundreds of mil-lions of people have gatheredwith family and friends tolight the diya and to mark thebeginning of a New Year.”

Expectedly, the embar-rassing omission of the‘Hindus’ in the Diwali tweetwas roasted and his spin-doc-tors went on the overdrive toattribute the mistake to a lame‘out of sequence’ posting issue,and then proceeded to deletethe initial tweet and re-tweeta more correct, “It was mygreat honour to host a celebra-tion of Diwali, the Hindu fes-tival of lights, in the RooseveltRoom at the @WhiteHousethis afternoon. Very, very spe-cial people!”

Donald Trump’s ignoranceand whimsically flippantbehaviour should be a warningto those who get carried awayby any specific rant of his,which might resonate tem-porarily with the sensibilitiesof the person or a nation, atthat moment. Even thoughIndia and Indians are notamongst his pet-peeves(Pakistan certainly is), yetIndia has not been spared hisboorish and churlish insinua-tions and sarcasm. The osten-sible ‘good friend’ of PrimeMinister Narendra Modi hadmocked his Indian accent,routinely accused India as the‘tariff king’ and true to thepatent falsehood threatenedwith reciprocal tariff on the‘thousands and thousands’ of

Indian motorcycles gettingexported to the US. Today,even strategic allies, likeCanada, Mexico, NATOnations et al, are insulted withimpunity, as was recently wit-nessed with Trump’s undigni-fied, personalised and factual-ly-incorrect attack on FrenchPresident Emmanuel, whileon French soil, as the Francewas in the midst of observingthe somber anniversary of theworst terrorist attack in France.

Religious extremism is aglobal reality and all major reli-gions are complicit in fanningsentiments. The onus is on thepolitical leadership to breakthe monopoly of the suprema-cist and revisionist forces bysegregating religiosity fromgovernance — especially in thebig democracies like the US,which ought to be a lodestar,for those suffering under intol-erance, bigotry or dictatorship.

Truth has been a majorcasualty in modern-day con-versations, and the Trumpsaga exemplifies the globalimplications of power mixedwith ignorance, bravado andstereotypes. The US in partic-ular, and the world at largeneeds statesmen who speak thelanguage of inclusivity, probityand progress without pander-ing to the subliminal dark-instincts that are easy to rouse,but dangerously difficult tocontrol once unleashed.

(The writer, a military vet-eran, is a former Lt Governorof Andaman & Nicobar Islandsand Puducherry)

Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara

Raje, as her political opponent and

Congress State unit chief Sachin Pilot

put it on a television show a couple of days

ago, is the only BJP leader who has man-

aged to get the better of her national party

president. His reference, of course, was to

the open secret that Amit Shah and the BJP

top brass were contemplating a change of

leadership in the State earlier this year given

the pretty strong anti-incumbency mood

there but Vasundhara Raje was having none

of it and she eventually prevailed. That, how-

ever, may be the last major political victory for her this year. For, the ground reports

are getting quite unambiguous — the Congress looks like it’s on the comeback

trail in Rajasthan, helped in no small measure by a coherent poll campaign, led

by former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Pilot with former Union minister CP

Joshi too given due respect, which seems to have succeeded in leveraging the

anti-incumbency sentiment against the BJP Government. Sensing the wind, BJP

leaders including a couple of sitting legislators have joined the Congress which

has also got its caste/community social coalition right this time around with only

the Rajput community and the urban middle-class and trading communities seem-

ingly not wildly keen on it though here too the Vasundhara administration does

draw some flak.

The Congress has got wide acceptance in the OBC, Gujjar and Brahmin com-

munities (projecting Gehlot, Pilot, Joshi would have helped) and has made size-

able gains among the Jats after their agitation against the State Government

demanding reservations. The Meena community is being assiduously wooed

by the Congress and the minority vote seems headed their way too. But the

Congress has become adept at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory in recent

years, not least because of internal dissensions and sabotage. To prevent pre-

cisely such a situation from coming to pass, the leadership has adopted the ploy

of announcing, in advance of the issuance of its official list of candidates, that

both Gehlot and Pilot will be contesting the Assembly poll. There is no word yet

on CP Joshi, another contender for the chief ministerial chair, most likely as a

compromise candidate if the two dominant factions led by the former Chief Minister

and the PCC president get recalcitrant in the event of a Congress win at the hus-

tings. While the party has been careful not to let this decision appear as count-

ing their chickens before the eggs have hatched, it does show that the leader-

ship is not fooled by the surface bonhomie on display. It augurs well for the party

that it is getting hard-nosed about its internal power dynamics. Now, for the lit-

tle task of actually winning the election!

Nothing could be a sadder comment

on our tolerance levels than the fact

that we smile at clear skies after a

spell of rains and breathe easy at Delhi’s

official air quality dipping to “very poor” from

the “very severe” category. Looks like we

have renegotiated our terms of endurance

rather than those of our healthy survival and

choose to work around everything else but

our comfort zone. Which is why we should

collectively ponder why the Environment

Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority

has turned alarmist, suggesting that all non-

CNG vehicles be kept off the road in cycles or all road users follow the odd-even

scheme, depending on the density of pollutants despite the season. EPCA chair-

person Bhure Lal has asked the CPCB to discuss options with the Graded Response

Action Plan (GRAP) task force and revert as early as possible. Although stub-

ble burning, the main culprit of the pollutant overload, is on the wane now, indus-

tries have been reined in on waste and effluent discharges and commercial diesel

trucks regulated, there has not been a significant or substantial dip in air quali-

ty indices. This drives home the point that we desperately need to address the

elephant in the room, vehicular pollution. According to EPCA, vehicles contribute

40 per cent of the total emission load in Delhi and around 30 per cent of emis-

sions in the NCR. What’s even more worrisome is that unregulated private vehi-

cles have led to a sharp spike in nitrous oxides and particulate matter, those that

have direct impact on our respiratory comfort zones and causing premature infant

deaths and health epidemics. So that needs immediate redressal, therefore.

Given Delhi’s woeful lack of viable public infrastructure — even the Metro

is overstretched and the CNG bus fleet is bursting at the seams — any restric-

tion overburdens the daily commuter, both in terms of cost and productivity. Alternate

transit and encircling routes, that some world cities have worked on assiduous-

ly, need to get off the drawing board now so that their incubation time can be

minimised. Curbs need to be all-pervasive and though diesel cars have been

demonised enough, there needs to be a clampdown on private two-wheelers

that are as carbon-spewing. Paris, too, has not exempted motorcycles. Apart

from a rationed plan, that could include tagging of vehicles according to fuel type,

year of make or odd-even number plates, equal emphasis needs to be given on

ensuring enforcement and compliance of their maintenance norms. And learn-

ing lessons from BeIjing, where emergency protocols have been in place spar-

ing school buses, office shuttles, collective travel and medical transport, what

has worked most is the insistence on green norms and denying violators vehi-

cle insurance for a year. Meanwhile, the rollout of electric and hybrid cars has

to be incentivised and backed up with allied infrastructure if it is to appeal to the

family buyer. But since that process has just about got a governmental push and

auto-makers are readjusting their moves, there is a gaping hole of a eco-friend-

ly mass public transport that needs to be augmented immediately, not just in

Delhi but in NCR. And since Delhi is land-locked unlike coastal metropolises

that are geographically blessed with natural air dispersal cycles, it needs a com-

prehensive and contiguous action plan of the neighbourhood to contain pollu-

tion. Micro-climate management simply won’t work in this clouded scenario. Of

course, there is the other issue of de-scaling the Delhiite’s aspiration, which has

so far prided itself on riding on cars. Would we limit our vehicle buys to two per

family? Could we go for self-imposed curbs and see luxury in sharing green trans-

port? Could we let go of our swanky bigness and make a virtue of going socia-

bly micro? Point is there is no time to make a call. We just have to make good

of available circumstance.

Gaping hole

Since Delhi is land-locked, it needs a comprehensive actionplan at the neighbourhood level to contain pollution

Rajasthan rumble

Congress can smell a win in the State Assembly poll. So, it’sbalancing internal power structures to avert a last-minute mishap

Temporary respite

Sir — Supreme Court’s refusal tostay women’s entr y intoSabarimala temple has come asa good news for those whobelieve in gender equality. Itmeans the law of the land as ofnow allows women of all ages toenter the temple. At least, nowthe die-hard protesters shouldnot prevent women from visit-ing the temple. They are mostlikely to be disappointed if theypin their hopes on the SupremeCourt’s nod for an open courthearing of a raft of review peti-tions.

The Court is least likely tooverturn the judgement pro-nounced with so much reason-ing and conviction. When theconstitutionally guaranteed rightand ‘public opinion’ conflict,the choice for the apex court isobvious. The young women whoregistered online for darshan atSabarimala should not beblocked on their way to the tem-ple during the two month-longMandala-Makaravilakku season.The joy of worship should not bedenied on the ground of gender.

G David MiltonMaruthancode

Unanswered questions

Sir— There can be no secondopinion that the BJPGovernment is in a sticky wick-et as far as the Rafale deal is con-cerned. At the outset, the state-ment made in such a hurry bythe CEO of Dassault, EricTrappier, defending the IndianGovernment, particularly on a

day when the matter was beingtaken up by the apex court fordiscussion, raises many ques-tions.

All along, the Governmentwas refusing to announce thepurchase price of the Rafalejets saying it would lead to asecurity breach as the neigh-bouring enemy states would beable to find out the capabilitiesof the Rafale jets once the price

is made public. Now, it has come to light

that most of the security normsincluding obtention of guaran-tees by the French Governmenthave been given the go-ahead bythe Indian Government.

Doesn’t all these tantamountto the dilution of security tocover thousands of crores of taxpayers’ money?

While all this would lead

even a novice to confirm that theRafale deal is shrouded withmany mysteries and unansweredquestions, there can be no doubtthat the judges would haveunderstood the murky dealmuch better and would delivera fair judgement.

Shalini GeraldChennai

Et tu, Dassault?

Sir — Whatever said and done,Dassault’s CEO Eric Trappier’shurried statement refuting thecharge that he was covering upfor the Narendra ModiGovernment appears to be well-orchestrated, that too, particu-larly when it had been voiced onthe day when the SupremeCourt was slated to hear thealleged Rafale scam case.

The Dassault’s CEO seemsto be well-tutored to defend thedeal and save the NarendraModi Government. This is alsoinevitable for Dassault lest theylose such a big deal.

Anna Mary YvonneChennai

P A P E R W I T H P A S S I O N

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op nionLUCKNOW | FRIDAY | NOVEMBER 16, 2018

08

Missing inclusivity

BHOPINDER SINGH

Truth has been a major casualty in modern-day conversations and the Trump saga

exemplifies the global implications of power mixed with ignorance, bravado and stereotypes

Pakistan can’t handle itsown country. How will itmanage Kashmir? TheValley is a part of Indiaand shall remain so.

Home Minister —Rajnath Singh

Undeclared war betweenAfghanistan and Pakistanmust end. Talks between theTaliban and AfghanGovernment are needed.

Afghan President —Ashraf Ghani

I am not for censorshipon digital platforms. Weare in fact fightingagainst censorship evenin films.

Proudcer —Ritesh Sidhwani

Kerala CM and DGP willbe responsible if there isan attack on me and mycolleagues ahead of ourvisit to Sabarimala.

Woman activist—Trupti Desai

S O U N D B I T E

L E T T E R S T O T H E E D I T O R

Nehru and his undermined legacy

This refers to the editorial, “Nehru's legacy”(November 15). India lost Gandhiji in 1948 andSardar Patel in 1950 and then former Prime

Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, was standing tall amongour great leaders. Nehru could have easily followedthe crooked path of becoming a dictator like his con-temporaries in other countries and undermined ourdemocratic institutions and the Constitution. But henever did it. Rather he always treated the oppositionleaders with honour.

Nehru served India as a Prime Minister for 17years and strengthened — democracy, secularism,socialism and unity — the four pillars of ourConstitution. His death even made a young leader inthe Opposition in Atal Bihari Vajpayee say, “The lossto Parliament is irreparable. Such a resident maynever grace Teen Murti again. That vibrant person-ality, that attitude of taking even the Opposition along,

that refined gentlemanliness, the greatness we maynot again see in the near future.” Indeed, JawaharlalNehru has become more relevant now as a role modelin democratic institution-building. Agree or not, what-ever we are today, both good or bad, we owe in greatmeasure to this man.

Sujit DeKolkata

RELIGIOUSEXTREMISM IS AGLOBAL REALITYAND ALL MAJORRELIGIONS ARE

COMPLICIT IN FANNING

SENTIMENTS. THE ONUS IS ON

THE POLITICALLEADERSHIP TO

BREAK THEMONOPOLY OF THESUPREMACIST AND

REVISIONISTFORCES BY

SEGREGATINGRELIGIOSITY FROM

GOVERNANCE

The Ministry of ExternalAffairs was ordered recentlyby the court to renew the

passport of an Indian citizen who’dbeen in Canada on a work permit.His passport renewal had beenheld up for two years, putting hisjob and his residence status inCanada at risk, apparently becausethe Ministry suspected that hemight in someway be involved inacts against “the public interest.”That is the code language for say-ing that the man might have terrorist links or be involved inhawala type transactions. The lat-ter possibility can be eliminated inthe blink of an eye — the manwould not be working as a lorry dri-ver if he was making money from

hawala transactions.So is he a terrorist? Does he

have — or did he have — terroristlinks? There are only three possibleanswers: The first is that he is athreat to the security of the nation.But if the man has terrorist links,two years is indeed an inordinate-ly long time to investigate that.Indeed, one has to ask the muchmore serious question: Are some ofour officials really so incompetentas to fail to come to a conclusionafter two years of investigatingsuch a serious matter?

Shouldn’t the officials be pro-ceeded against for dealing with thesecurity of the nation in such a cav-alier manner?

The second is that the man wasthought to be a threat, but he isn’t.If so, why did the officials not onlydeclined to renew his passport forso long, but also offered in courtwhat they clearly thought was agood reason for refusing renewal?Further, why did they ask the courtfor permission to continue avoid-ing renewal of his passport? The

third is that the man was never wasa threat. If so, what we have is acommon and simple matter ofbribe-seeking — a bribe which theman refused (for whatever reason)to pay.

Perhaps the bribe demandedwas so large as to offend him suf-

ficiently to cause him to pursue anexpensive and long-winded case incourt. I simply don’t know as I amnot acquainted with the person inquestion and have no means of con-tacting him.

What I do know is that use ofthe law to harass ordinary citizens

in our country; it is so common asif it is almost normal. We hardlygive it a thought when we see a dri-ver stop by the police on the high-way. We know he was not beenspeeding. We also know that he hadbeen stopped officially for a ‘licencecheck’. But in reality, he was a of anunfortunately lottery daily bribecollection by the policemen.

We hardly bother when we hearthat a slum-dweller’s family has hadtheir jhuggi pulled down. After all,aren’t jhuggis illegal anyway? A hugeseries of bribes need to be paid toallow any jhuggi settlement to comeinto existence and continue to thrive.For the slums to be cleared out, clear-ly, a rather bigger set of bribes hasnow come into play —perhaps fromsome construction company. Evenso, rather than reacting with outrage,many middle- and upper-class peo-ple merely dismiss the matter: “Goodriddance to jhuggis.”

However, we do react, even ifsubconsciously, when we are our-selves asked for a ‘consideration’ inorder to have something done,

whether that is the admission of achild in a school, a relative in a hos-pital, an application for a job, or theprovision of a properly due serviceby an official.

Can anything be done to stopthis kind of extortion? In the caseof the example quoted at the begin-ning of this article, the Ministry didnot dispute that the denial of thepassport had put his residential sta-tus in Canada in jeopardy anddenied him two whole years ofwork and earnings.

Harassment of citizens by offi-cials will stop only when courtsdecide not to merely restore therights of citizens, as in this case, butalso demand damages be paid bythe ministry, department or agen-cies involved to the citizen or citi-zens concerned.

(The writer is IndependentBoard Member, Board Consultant;Keynote Speaker Executive Director,Relational Analytics Ltd, Cambridge,UK; and Honorary Chairman,Career Innovation Company,Oxford, UK)

Indigenous modernity

LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | NOVEMBER 16, 2018

THE VIOLENCE AND PERSECUTION BY MILITARY AND

VIGILANTES THAT RESULTED IN DRIVING 700,000

ROHINGYA TO BANGLADESH IS WITHOUT EXCUSE.

—US VICE PRESIDENT

MIKE PENCE

OF COURSE, PEOPLE HAVE DIFFERENT POINTS OF VIEW

BUT THE POINT IS THAT YOU SHOULD EXCHANGE THESE

VIEWS AND TRY TO UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER BETTER.

— MYANMAR'S DE FACTO LEADER

AUNG SAN SUU KYI

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

Remembering the legendary Indianwriter, Nirmal Verma, necessarilyencourages one to revisit some of hisliterary works which turn out to becompletely mesmerising. Indeed, it is

akin to doing a literary pilgrimage. Such a pil-grimage is particularly significant for the fact thathe appears to never ever lose sight of the sanc-tity of his native roots, cultural moorings andindigenous traditions even in the face of anaggressive onslaught of various forms of all-encompassing but counterproductive westernmodernity. As a matter of fact, he is one of thoseultimate littérateurs who relentlessly put colo-nial modernity to thorough scrutiny in most ofhis creative works in order to explore the ideaof India in its entirety.

The irreconcilable incompatibility betweenIndian way of conceptualising, planning andstrategising about the vagaries of human life andthe unavoidable pulls and pressures of Westernmodernity is so effectively embodied in differentessays written in Hindi and compiled in such col-lections as Shabda Aur Smriti, Kala¯ ka¯ jokhima,Dhalaan Se Utarte Hue, Bharat Aur Europe :Pratishruti Ke Kshetra, Kala, Smriti, Akanksha,Shatavdi ke Dhalte Varahon Mein, Adi, Ant aurAarambha.

In the very first collection, the figure ofGandhi appears time and again. Emphasising there-awakening of nationalist consciousness embed-ded in the persona of Gandhi, Verma tries to makean assessment about the idea of India in connec-tion with its relationship with Europe. What hefinds out is the fact that the best of indigenousthoughts and sensitivities don’t carry the kind ofruptures which we witness in the form of deep-rooted alienation of modern life. The second col-lection, Kala¯ ka¯ jokhima talks about the role ofart in the making of modern world, whereas thethird collection, Dhalaan Se Utarte Hue mentionscertain kinds of fissures and contradictionswhich expose the hollowness of so-called mod-ern civilisation.

In the fourth collection, Bharat aur Europe,Verma looks at basic assumptions behind the intel-lectual and philosophical traditions of India andEurope respectively. He is basically pre-occupiedwith the task of evaluating what India and Indiansfound and lost when they came in contact withEuropean culture and civilisation. The ways inwhich we have been dissociated with our own tra-ditions, and the manner in which we have madecertain attempts to keep those invaluable tradi-tions intact, are some of the major concerns ofthe essayist. All the issues and concerns areaddressed with a definite objective to fore-ground the essential indianness of we, the peo-ple of India.

The indianness of post-colonial Indian mindis his genuine concern. And it governs hisengagement in myriad ways with the questionsof politics, religion, culture, literature, history, sec-ularism and Marxism. He does not construct anytheoritical premise or rigid conceptual frameworkto make sense of the issues revolving around thealready cited questions of contemporary India. Hisfocus is on exposing those tendencies, sometimessubtle and surreptitious, that make us think andfeel that West is the way forward to look for the

resolution of all those problems we facetoday.

The deep imprints of colonialmindset, which generated an evident-ly infectious impact on our thoughtprocess, and made us in turn sub-servient to the Western ways of think-ing, evoke sharp responses fromVerma. He indeed wishes to get rid ofthose prejudices and assumptions thathave been responsible for puttingchains on our own style of thinking,behaving and living life with our ownterms. Efforts to erase the traces of cul-tural and intellectual colonisationdefine and decide the quality of dis-cussions and deliberations about East-West encounter in his essays.

For his first collection of short-sto-ries, Parinde, Verma was declared to bethe harbinger of a new literary trendcalled ‘Nai Kahani’ in Hindi literature.It opened up several opportunities toexpress his yearning for a liberating, ful-filling and satisfying existence, whichwas extremely difficult to find in a mod-ern set-up. The kind of irreparable griefcaused by the partition of a newly inde-pendent nation state aggravated furtherby disillusionment with the ideals andaspirations created during the freedomstruggle and subsequent deepening ofcolonial temperament in various waysand numerous places of postcolonialIndia triggered the creative expressionsof an entire generation of writers, ofwhom, Verma proved to be the majorvoice. Abandoning old narrative tech-niques and already exhausted subjectsof short story writing, he went on todelve deeper into the complexity of con-temporary realities with new sensibil-ities and even newer idioms producinghighly captivating content in anenabling form.

His succeeding collections of short-stories such as Jalti Jhadi, PichhliGarmiyon Mein, Beech Bahas Mein,Kavve Aur Kala Pani, which broughthim Sahitya Academy Award and thelast one, Sukha, are marked by a con-

necting thread which so evocativelyinvokes the issues of alienation anddepression primarily caused by theimperatives of modernity. Deeply dis-turbing experiences of the emergentmiddle class which suffer rather mis-erably in some ways because of theirillusion about the nature of modern lifegenerate radically different indigenoussensibilities than seen before in theworks of Verma.

European experiences led to thetransformation of Nirmal Verma’smindset in a huge way. But they did notsucceed in making him think and feelthat his own culture and civilisation areinferior to those of Europe. Instead, hedoes not forget to tell us that we havelegitimate reasons to harbour seriousmisgivings about the adequacy andeffectiveness of the idea of progressembedded in the notion of Westernmodernity that wrecked havoc onhumanity through the two world warsalongside creating irrevocable rup-tures in human relations as is amplyclear from the hollowness betweenman-woman relationships and increas-ingly entrenched sense of alienation,destructive self-centeredness, self-exile,frustrations and disappointments soinseparably interlinked with modernlife and experiences of humankind. Themoral of the story is that the socio-polit-ical and cultural manifestations ofmodernity have been categorically putinto the bar of judgement.

Whether they are essays, shortstories or novels written by Verma, hedoes not seem to subscribe to any par-ticular ideological persuasion whichessentially obstructs the articulation ofthe nuanced perception of the existingcomplex realities in the outside world.In the very first novel, Ve Din, memo-ry plays a central role in a modernmilieu. The image of scattered, disin-tegrating, self-obsessed Europe in theaftermath of the Second World War isthoroughly scrutinised by an almostentirely Indian perspective. The second

novel, Lal Teen Ki Chat, reflects theacute loneliness of the protagonist, Kayawho is totally caught in a cynicalworld full of isolation. Such explana-tions of loneliness and isolation areaimed at presenting a scathing critiqueof what is often called the modern life.

The third novel, Ek Chithda Sukh,is an attempt to find an answer to thequestion of what is happiness. Thedesire for happiness leads one to therealisation that it is indeed an illusion.It is an endless wait as we never everget to have a real sense of happiness inmodern world order. The fourth novel,Raat ka Reporter, revolves around theself-centeredness of a journalist whodeal with those circumstances whichled the masses to severe kinds of dis-appointment with modern forms ofdemocracy and development. Thefifth novel, Antim Aranya, chooses todiscuss the recurrent theme of loneli-ness along with issues of death anddepression. It offers us an innovativeapproach to look at the relationshipbetween life and death and also theconditions which lie in between so asto undermine the supremacy of mate-rial possessions and underline theprimacy of spiritual fulfillment.

In his travelogues, diary-writingand even selections of nine prominentworks of world literature for theirtranslations into Hindi, he exhibitstremendous consistency in terms ofdoing a stringent critique of theWestern modernity. And India alwaysremains at the core of his creative pur-suit. So, he keeps searching consistent-ly for the civilisational roots of thenation, its encounter with colonialmodernity and the consequent distor-tions of our collective consciousnesswith a view to highlight the need to dis-cover first and then recover and fore-ground our own autonomous andindigenous modernity.

(The writer is Assistant professor ofEnglish at Rajdhani College, DelhiUniversity)

Corruption and abuse of power

Nirmal Verma is one of those ultimate littérateurs who relentlessly put colonial modernity tothorough scrutiny in most of his creative works in order to explore the idea of India in its entirety

Harassment of citizens by officials will stop only when courts decide not to merely restore the rights of citizens but also

demand damages be paid by the ministry, department or agencies involved to the citizen or citizens concerned

VERMA KEEPSSEARCHING

CONSISTENTLY FORTHE CIVILISATIONAL

ROOTS OF THENATION, ITS

ENCOUNTER WITHCOLONIAL

MODERNITY ANDTHE CONSEQUENT

DISTORTIONS OFOUR COLLECTIVECONSCIOUSNESSWITH A VIEW TOHIGHLIGHT THE

NEED TO DISCOVERFIRST AND THEN

RECOVER ANDFOREGROUND OUR

OWN AUTONOMOUSAND INDIGENOUS

MODERNITY

Damu Tirkey is a passionate young man. Attached to a polit-

ical social outfit, he works tirelessly for tribal welfare across

501 villages in Sundargarh district. Belonging to the Oram

tribe, he takes immense pride in the fact that Prime Minister Narendra

Modi got a village Pitamahal, a back of beyond habitation in Odisha’s

Sundargarh district without even any access to roads, wired, and

electrified. First time in 70 years, when I met him early this week,

Tirkey pointed out to me three gram panchayats that he was aware

of where electricity had reached for the first time since

Independence — Chhatam, Budham and Pankadihi. While the first

two villages belong to Rajarangpur block, the third one falls under

Gurundia block, and these have been electrified under the Deendayal

Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDGUYJ). Little wonder global ener-

gy watchdog, the International Energy Agency (IEA), termed India’s

electrification of every village as the greatest success story of 2018.

“In particular, one of the greatest success stories in access to ener-

gy in 2018 was India completing the electrification of all of its vil-

lages,” said the agency’s latest World Energy Outlook 2018, adding

that India was a “star performer” in terms of achieving a huge mile-

stone of providing power to all her villages. In fact, countries, like

Indonesia and Bangladesh, have also achieved commendable elec-

trification rate of 95 per cent (up from 50 per cent in 2000), and

80 per cent (up from 20 per cent in 2000), respectively.

The IEA report said that over 120 million people worldwide

gained access to electricity in 2017 alone. It further said that since

2000, more than 900 million people have gained access to elec-

tricity in developing countries in the Asian continent with 91 per

cent of the region getting electrified by 2017 compared with 67

per cent in 2000. Of this, about 61 per cent of this progress has

been reported from India only, making a “remarkable progress

towards its target to deliver universal electricity access.” In keep-

ing with his Independence Day promise of electrifying all Indian

villages, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 28 this year,

announced that the country had achieved its target of providing

electricity to all its 597,464 census villages. Lauding the “political

effort over the last five years” that significantly accelerated the

progress of electrification, IEA report termed this milestone as “one

of the greatest achievements in the history of energy.”

The Government had launched the ambitious `75,893 crore

Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana programme to connect

India’s 18,452 unelectrified census villages, and on August 15,

2015, Modi had said that it would be achieved by May 2018, in

1000 days. While this was achieved ahead of time, the

Government is now working to ensure that power lines are con-

nected with major institutions and administrative centres of every

village as well as every household in the country. The Pradhan Mantri

Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (Saubhagya) programme is designed

to facilitate free electricity connections to about four crore house-

holds in rural and urban areas. The programme also aims to pro-

vide Solar Photovoltaic (PV) stand-alone system for unelectrified

households located in remote and inaccessible villages/habitations,

where grid extension is not feasible. The scheme was launched

in October 2017, and so far, just about 64 per cent of the target-

ed three crore households have been electrified. About one crore

households still remain to be electrified.

There are many States which have achieved 100 per cent

household electrification, while some continue to make efforts in

that direction. Arunachal Pradesh with 75 per cent, Meghalaya

with 77 per cent, Uttar Pradesh with 80 per cent and Assam with

83 per cent figure at the bottom even as States like Madhya Pradesh,

Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Kerala, Telanagana, Punjab, Jammu

& Kashmir, Goa and Puducherry report 100 per cent household

electrification. That many in India were deprived of this basic need

seven decades after Independence certainly doesn’t tell a great

story. The IEA also praised India’s success in enabling access

to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to the poor households. “In India,

50 million free LPG stoves and initial refills have been provided

to poor households via Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana since 2015,

and the Government has set a target of providing LPG connec-

tions to 80 million households by 2020,” it said.

Tirkey represents an aspirational and emerging New India that

places a huge premium on progress and development. He looks

beyond the traditional paradigm of idolising political leadership and

evaluates leaders based on what they deliver. Unaware of the glob-

al applause that the DDGUYJ has earned, Tirkey said that people

like him have begun to see the difference on the ground.

(The writer is a strategic communications professional)

analysis 09F I R S T C O L U M N

The emerging

New India

NAVNEET ANAND

PRABHU GUPTARA

There are a few who look beyond the traditionalparadigm of idolising political leadership andevaluate leaders based on what they deliver

SACHIDA NAND JHA

FOREIGNEYE

The Rohingya must havethe right to return home.But they must be able to doso safely and of their ownvolition. That is not the casenow. Until that time comes,Bangladesh must be givenall the support it needs tohost them; and forcedrepatriations must beopposed as unconscionableand unacceptable.

(The Guardian editorial)

NO PROSPECT OFGOING BACK


money 10LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | NOVEMBER 16, 2018

New Delhi (PTI): The gov-ernment is planning to soonmake hallmarking mandatoryfor gold jewellery sold in thecountry, Food and ConsumersAffairs Minister Ram VilasPaswan said on Thursday.

The hallmarking of gold,which is voluntary in nature atpresent, is a purity certificationof the precious metal. TheBureau of Indian Standards(BIS), under the ConsumerAffairs Ministry, is the adminis-trative authority of hallmarking.“BIS has set standards for hall-marking of gold jewellery inthree grades of 14 carat, 18 caratand 22 carat. We are going tomake it mandatory soon,”Paswan said at a BIS eventorganised to commemorateWorld Standards Day with atheme on ‘Global Standards andthe fourth Industrial Revolution’.He, however, did not specify thedate of implementation of themandatory gold hallmarking,but stressed on the need toadopt the standards in the inter-est of consumers. India has over220 BIS-recognised assaying andhallmarking centres, maximumof them are located in TamilNadu, followed by Kerala. Asfourth industrial revolutionwould be of smart technologies,Paswan said the BIS had a chal-lenge to speed up setting of stan-dards to ensure the country didnot lag behind in this area.

PTI n NEW DELHI

Anil Ambani-led RelianceInfrastructure (RInfra) has

posted a 49 per cent decline inits consolidated net profit to`277.19 crore for the quarterended September 2018.

The company had posted aconsolidated net profit of`543.8 crore in the year-agoperiod, RInfra said in a filingto the BSE. on Wednesday.

However, the company’sconsolidated income increasedto `7,207.3 crore in the July-September quarter, over`5,898.7 crore in the year-agoperiod.

RInfra is a leading infra-structure company, developingprojects through various spe-cial purpose vehicles (SPVs) inseveral high growth sectorssuch as power, roads and metrorail in the infrastructure spaceand the defence sector.

RInfra through its SPVshas executed a portfolio ofinfrastructure projects such asa metro rail project in Mumbaion build, own, operate andtransfer (BOOT) basis; elevenroad projects with total lengthof about 1,000 kms on thebuild-operate-transfer (BOT)basis.

PTI n NEW DELHI

Top bankers on Thursdaysaid the current liquidity

crunch was not a systemicproblem and non-bankingfinancial companies (NBFCs)were meeting payment obliga-tions.

“All (NBFCs) of them havebeen able to meet their commit-ment as far as roll overs are con-cerned,” SBI Chairman RajnishKumar said on the sidelines ofan event organised here.

Speaking on liquidity posi-tion in the banking system,National Bank For AgricultureAnd Rural Development(Nabard) Chairman HKBhanwala said the conditionwas improving as interest rateswere seen declining.

“So as such there is no bigproblem... Issue arose onaccount of some of entitieswhich had borrowed short andcreated long assets. So, it maybe specific problem. It does notseem to be a systemic problem,”Bhanwala said.

Fears of liquidity crunchgripped the market followinga series of defaults by groupcompanies of IL&FS in thepast two months. These led toconcerns that non-bankinglenders would be unable tomeet their commitments formarket borrowings, impairing

growth. Bhanwala further said that

various banks were supportingNBFCs, including Nabardwhich had an exposure ofaround `15,000 crore.

“(Our) total assets are`4.80 lakh crore. Of this, the`15,000 crore exposure toNBFCs is small. Nothing is atrisk. I haven’t seen any default.Everybody is meeting the com-mitments to Nabard,”Bhanwala said.

On capital infusion fromthe government, he saidNabard had already received`2,000 crore and it may notrequire more funds this year.

On the financial inclusion,the SBI Chairman said themassive Pradhan Mantri JanDhan Yojana (PMJDY) andother social security schemeslaunched by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi had changedthe complexities.

“...when we started this(PMJDY) programme andover this period of time, morethan 300 million financialaccounts have been opened. Itis unparallel in the world.And all these accounts start-ed with zero balance but todaymore than 85 per cent of theaccounts are having balance inthe accounts. With SBI, we arehaving an average balance of`1,800 in these accounts,”Kumar said.

PTI n MUMBAI

The BSE benchmarkSensex ended 119 pointshigher on Thursday and

the broader Nifty went past the10,600 mark on positiveinvestor sentiment amid eas-ing crude oil prices and firmrupee.

The 30-share index openeda shade higher at 35,145.75points, hovered in the range of35,402 and 35,118.42, beforeending the session at 35,260.54,with a gain of 118.55 points, or0.34% over its previous close.

The gauge had shed 2.50points on Wednesday in ahighly volatile session.

The NSE Nifty also closed40.40 points, or 0.38% higherat 10,616.70 after shuttlingbetween 10,646.50 and10,557.50.

The appreciation in rupee,firming trend in other Asianmarkets and a higher openingof European equities too influ-enced market mood here.

Traders said falling crudeprices in the global market wasa big boost for the economy asit lightens the country’s importbill burden, eases inflationand current account deficitconcerns.

Global crude oil priceshave fallen nearly 30% to USD

65 per barrel from over USD 86in early October. Brent crudefell 0.47% to USD 65.81 perbarrel.

Meanwhile, the rupeestrengthened further by 44paise to trade at 71.87 againstthe dollar in late afternoontrade in the forex market.

However, profit-bookingat higher levels by speculatorsat the fag-end of the sessiontrimmed some of the day’sgains, traders added.

According to analysts, adrop in US 10-year bondyield, followed by gradualpick up in foreign institution-al investor (FII) inflow todomestic market and slide inoil prices eased the concernsof liquidity.

FIIs bought shares worth anet of `277.38 crore, whiledomestic institutional investors(DIIs) sold shares to the tuneof ̀ 272.34 crore on Wednesday,provisional data showed.

Uncertainty over the US-China trade deal and nextFederal Reserve policy, whichis likely to see hike inDecember, may add volatilityin the near term, the analystsadded.

Shares of Jet Airwaysclimbed 24.52% amid reportsthat Tata Group was in talks tobuy a controlling take in the

cash-strapped airline.Adani Ports took the top

position among Sensex con-stituents by surging 4.19%, fol-lowed by Kotak Bank rising2.61%.

Other big gainers includedAxis Bank advancing 2.11%,Hero MotoCorp 1.95%, TataMotors 1.78%, Maruti Suzuki1.50%, Vedanta Ltd 1.37%,Power Grid 1.18%, L&T 0.97%,Bharti Airtel 0.85%, ICICIBank 0.82%, HDFC Bank0.80%, and HDFC 0.75%.

SBI, Infosys, RIL andIndusInd Bank, too, finishedwith gains of up to 0.56%.

Shares of private lender, YesBank emerged worst performerby plunging 7.42% after itsnon-executive chairman AshokChawla resigned with immedi-ate effect.

The bank also said thatindependent director VasantGujarathi had tendered hisresignation with immediateeffect due to personal commit-ments.

Other laggards wereNTPC, ONGC, Sun Pharma,Coal India, TCS, HUL, ITC,M&M, Asian Paint, Bajaj Auto,Wipro and Tata Steel falling byup to 2.16%.

Shares of GrasimIndustries tumbled 7.91% fol-lowing the Adiya Birla Group

firm’s announcement of ̀ 1,300crore consolidated loss in theSeptember quarter.

Shares of state-run oil mar-keting companies such asHPCL, BPCL and IOC contin-ued to show a bullish trend andsurged up to 2.28% on fallingglobal crude oil prices.

Among the sectoralindices, BSE consumerdurables index gained the mostby rising 1.60%, followed byrealty index 1.58%, bankex0.79%, metal 0.66%, capitalgoods 0.66%, auto 0.54%,healthcare 0.32%, infrastruc-ture 0.19% and PSU index0.10%.

However, FMCG, power,oil & gas, teck and IT indicesended in the negative zone.

The broader markets, too,displayed a firm trend with themid-cap index rising 0.68%and small-cap index gaining0.40%.

Globally, most of otherAsian markets ended higher.Shanghai’s Composite Indexrose 1.36%, Hong Kong’s HangSeng was up 1.67% whileTaiwan index gained 0.35%.Japan’s Nikkei, however, shed0.20%.

In Europe, Paris CAC 40was up 0.49%, Frankfurt’s DAXgained 0.48%, while London’sFTSE was up 0.40%.

Sensex ends 119 pts higher,

Nifty breaches 10,600-mark

RInfra Q2net profitslips 49%to `277 cr

Govt plans to makegold hallmarkingmandatory soon

Liquidity crunch not systemic,

NBFCs meeting payment

obligations, say bankers

Script Last Abs ChangeTraded Price Change %3MINDIA 20685.45 -48.1 -0.238KMILES 111.8 5.3 4.98AARTIIND 1427 10.6 0.75ABB 1286.05 0.1 0.01ABBOTINDIA 7650 48.2 0.63ABCAPITAL 110.15 3 2.8ABFRL 189.25 -0.7 -0.37ACC 1511.05 35.6 2.41ADANIPORTS 345.3 13.9 4.19ADANIPOWER 48.65 -0.45 -0.92ADANITRANS 209.4 18.85 9.89ADVENZYMES 185.4 -0.7 -0.38AEGISLOG 221.95 3.95 1.81AIAENG 1641.5 -46.55 -2.76AJANTPHARM 1083.3 14 1.31AKZOINDIA 1579.95 -0.55 -0.03ALBK 42.25 3.5 9.03ALKEM 1941.95 13.6 0.71ALLCARGO 106.05 -2.2 -2.03AMARAJABAT 738.9 2.45 0.33AMBUJACEM 217.1 5.95 2.82ANDHRABANK 28.2 -0.3 -1.05APARINDS 624.95 8.35 1.35APLAPOLLO 1278.85 24.7 1.97APLLTD 582.4 -2.25 -0.38APOLLOHOSP 1265.65 99.5 8.53APOLLOTYRE 229.8 6.65 2.98ARVIND 310.45 -2.15 -0.69ASAHIINDIA 276.95 -5.05 -1.79ASHOKA 124.7 -3.65 -2.84ASHOKLEY 106.35 -0.25 -0.23ASIANPAINT 1312.25 -7.65 -0.58ASTRAL 1040 19.4 1.9ATUL 3534.9 86.8 2.52AUBANK 584.65 6.85 1.19AUROPHARMA 780.2 -2.5 -0.32AVANTI 367.25 -0.9 -0.24AXISBANK 625.65 12.9 2.11BAJAJ-AUTO 2670 -11.7 -0.44BAJAJCORP 357.45 4.45 1.26BAJAJELEC 492.8 -7.7 -1.54BAJAJFINSV 5597.4 20.6 0.37

BAJAJHLDNG 2990 61.25 2.09BAJFINANCE 2339.4 46.7 2.04BALKRISIND 964.05 1.95 0.2BALMLAWRIE 196.8 -2.45 -1.23BALRAMCHIN 112.75 0.15 0.13BANDHANBNK 460 28 6.48BANKBARODA 113 0.35 0.31BANKINDIA 84.3 2 2.43BASF 1553.25 -41.75 -2.62BATAINDIA 997 -1.15 -0.12BAYERCROP 3990 32.35 0.82BBTC 1356.4 -22.2 -1.61BEL 96.55 0.6 0.63BEML 724.75 15.95 2.25BERGEPAINT 317.1 -2.95 -0.92BHARATFIN 939.7 -2.65 -0.28BHARATFORG 589.25 3.55 0.61BHARTIARTL 303.8 2.55 0.85BHEL 66.8 0.6 0.91BIOCON 628.4 3.55 0.57BIRLACORPN 659.1 52.45 8.65BLISSGVS 169.25 -1.55 -0.91BLUEDART 3051.8 75.2 2.53BLUESTARCO 590 14.05 2.44BOMDYEING 120.1 -3.05 -2.48BOSCHLTD 19200 -25.25 -0.13BPCL 321.3 4.75 1.5BRITANNIA 5821 41.85 0.72CADILAHC 359.75 -10.5 -2.84CANBK 255.75 3.05 1.21CANFINHOME 281 3.3 1.19CAPF 497.9 15.6 3.23

CAPPL 430 -0.05 -0.01CARBORUNIV 351.05 -5.35 -1.5CARERATING 1010 -21.25 -2.06CASTROLIND 149.85 -0.95 -0.63CCL 274.9 4.45 1.65CEATLTD 1254.65 10.45 0.84CENTRALBK 30.6 -0.25 -0.81CENTRUM 41.95 2.95 7.56CENTURYPLY 166.75 -0.9 -0.54CENTURYTEX 904.75 13.3 1.49CERA 2442.75 28.65 1.19CGPOWER 35 1.25 3.7CHAMBLFERT 142.55 1.1 0.78CHENNPETRO 272 -0.15 -0.06CHOLAFIN 1294.55 14.05 1.1CIPLA 519 -1.1 -0.21COALINDIA 263.05 -2.55 -0.96COCHINSHIP 383.4 1.9 0.5COFFEEDAY 278.15 -15.75 -5.36COLPAL 1124.05 12.25 1.1CONCOR 683.95 17.8 2.67COROMANDEL 420 -3.5 -0.83CORPBANK 27.5 -0.25 -0.9CRISIL 1495.45 -7.25 -0.48CROMPTON 203 -2.85 -1.38CUB 163.85 -0.15 -0.09CUMMINSIND 816.45 26.6 3.37CYIENT 652 -7.15 -1.08DABUR 388.9 10.15 2.68DALMIABHA 2260 136.5 6.43DBCORP 179.1 5.3 3.05DBL 490.85 19.7 4.18DCBBANK 156.35 -0.65 -0.41DCMSHRIRAM 410.4 -5.65 -1.36DEEPAKFERT 182.95 -13.85 -7.04DEEPAKNI 264.35 -2.45 -0.92DELTACORP 239 -2.3 -0.95DENABANK 16.65 0 0DHANUKA 419 8.45 2.06DHFL 244.35 5.6 2.35DISHTV 38 -1.15 -2.94DIVISLAB 1527.85 23.55 1.57DLF 169.65 6.75 4.14DMART 1390.65 8.15 0.59

DRREDDY 2461 13.05 0.53ECLERX 1156.85 78 7.23EDELWEISS 167.45 -0.9 -0.53EICHERMOT 23876.75 608.8 2.62EIDPARRY 229.5 -6.15 -2.61EIHOTEL 164.7 1.25 0.76ELGIEQUIP 245.95 -0.95 -0.38EMAMILTD 458.75 22.45 5.15ENDURANCE 1190 -28.95 -2.37ENGINERSIN 119.4 2.55 2.18ENIL 625 -5 -0.79EQUITAS 109.2 -1.8 -1.62ERIS 620 7.3 1.19ESCORTS 665.05 10.6 1.62ESSELPRO 87.4 -0.45 -0.51EVEREADY 190.8 -2.95 -1.52EXIDEIND 248.9 -2.5 -0.99FCONSUMER 51.7 -0.35 -0.67FDC 192.9 -4 -2.03FEDERALBNK 78.65 0.15 0.19FINCABLES 488.15 -25.95 -5.05FINOLEXIND 510.05 1.3 0.26FLFL 393 8.7 2.26FORBESCO 2020.55 -17.25 -0.85FORCEMOT 1815.85 -9.45 -0.52FORTIS 143.65 2.95 2.1FRETAIL 529.15 1.6 0.3FSL 54.2 -1.25 -2.25GAIL 348.05 -4.35 -1.23GDL 156 -2.05 -1.3GEPIL 854 31.35 3.81GESHIP 284.1 1.05 0.37

GET&D 226 -2.7 -1.18GHCL 221.75 -2.2 -0.98GICHSGFIN 253.65 -3.2 -1.25GICRE 310 -0.4 -0.13GILLETTE 6525.3 -36.4 -0.55GLAXO 1330 -32.8 -2.41GLENMARK 664.25 9.25 1.41GMDCLTD 86.75 0.55 0.64GMRINFRA 16.15 -0.05 -0.31GNFC 352.5 -9.85 -2.72GODFRYPHLP 872.1 45.75 5.54GODREJAGRO 518.5 -3.45 -0.66GODREJCP 719.8 7.5 1.05GODREJIND 508.85 8.75 1.75GODREJPROP 635.85 28.9 4.76GPPL 98 -0.8 -0.81GRANULES 101.95 -1.55 -1.5GRAPHITE 984.55 5.25 0.54GRASIM 807.6 -69.35 -7.91GREAVESCOT 129.25 7.25 5.94GREENPLY 135.9 -3.25 -2.34GRINDWELL 493.65 8.45 1.74GRUH 303.7 2.15 0.71GSFC 106.3 -1.15 -1.07GSKCONS 7000 -226.85 -3.14GSPL 179.5 -3.1 -1.7GUJALKALI 579 -2.75 -0.47GUJFLUORO 898.3 -30.75 -3.31GUJGAS 620.05 -6.35 -1.01GULFOILLUB 763.75 -18.7 -2.39HAL 836.4 -17.1 -2HATSUN 638 18.3 2.95HAVELLS 689 15.95 2.37HCC 14 0.08 0.57HCLTECH 989 -7.4 -0.74HDFC 1852.2 13.75 0.75HDFCBANK 1974.05 15.6 0.8HDFCLIFE 398.6 -1.95 -0.49HDIL 23.05 0.45 1.99HEG 4110.9 -5.35 -0.13HEIDELBERG 148.7 -1.55 -1.03HERITGFOOD 526 0.15 0.03HEROMOTOCO 2917.2 62.8 2.2HEXAWARE 315.5 -1.55 -0.49HFCL 20.15 -0.2 -0.98HIMATSEIDE 238.4 -9.45 -3.81HINDALCO 233.4 3.65 1.59HINDCOPPER 50.55 -0.75 -1.46HINDPETRO 249.35 5.55 2.28HINDUNILVR 1705.6 -12.6 -0.73HINDZINC 266.35 1.85 0.7HONAUT 21388 809.4 3.93HSCL 131.3 -0.7 -0.53HSIL 241.55 -7.2 -2.89HUDCO 44.3 -0.55 -1.23IBREALEST 86.45 -4.3 -4.74IBULHSGFIN 804.2 -34.75 -4.14IBVENTURES 459.15 11.3 2.52ICICIBANK 369.6 3 0.82ICICIGI 825 1.15 0.14ICICIPRULI 326 -10.9 -3.24ICIL 59.75 -1.5 -2.45IDBI 60.75 0.25 0.41IDEA 36.85 -4.6 -11.1IDFC 38.85 0.5 1.3IDFCBANK 36.6 0.9 2.52IEX 156.05 -1.05 -0.67IFBIND 935 34.2 3.8IFCI 14 0.17 1.23IGL 271.85 1.5 0.55IL&FSTRANS 19.35 -0.65 -3.25INDHOTEL 131.65 0.9 0.69INDIACEM 93.05 2.55 2.82INDIANB 225.35 -0.55 -0.24INDIGO 1043.2 -5.4 -0.51INDUSINDBK 1513.8 0.45 0.03INFIBEAM 52.55 -0.75 -1.41INFRATEL 255.75 -4.75 -1.82INFY 656.35 2.9 0.44INOXLEISUR 213.95 -8.1 -3.65INOXWIND 84.25 0.05 0.06INTELLECT 243.7 -7.1 -2.83IOB 14.95 0.35 2.4IOC 146.95 1.55 1.07IPCALAB 753.1 6.1 0.82IRB 142.85 4 2.88ISGEC 5452.45 41.55 0.77ITC 274.45 -2 -0.72ITDC 306.35 -0.95 -0.31ITDCEM 112 -2.75 -2.4ITI 89.6 -1.95 -2.13J&KBANK 39.2 -0.45 -1.13JAGRAN 114 1.9 1.69JAICORPLTD 110.1 -5.75 -4.96JAMNAAUTO 71.5 -2.15 -2.92JBCHEPHARM 307 -3.15 -1.02JCHAC 1788 19.25 1.09JETAIRWAYS 320.95 63.2 24.52JINDALSAW 84.75 0.75 0.89JINDALSTEL 181.15 5.15 2.93

ZYDUSWELL 1105.8 -29.45 -2.59KRBL 341.5 3.7 1.1KSCL 513.55 -3.8 -0.73KTKBANK 106.9 0.1 0.09KWALITY 7.69 -0.4 -4.94L&TFH 135.55 1.85 1.38LAKSHVILAS 90.3 0.45 0.5LALPATHLAB 854.15 -1.25 -0.15LAOPALA 233.5 6.9 3.05LAURUSLABS 382.4 10 2.69LAXMIMACH* 5970 -35.6 -0.59LICHSGFIN 466.1 12.15 2.68LINDEINDIA 652.9 6.45 1LT 1397.35 13.4 0.97LTI 1634.9 -33.6 -2.01LTTS 1555 -12.7 -0.81LUPIN 852.6 11.3 1.34LUXIND 1531.8 -5.85 -0.38M&M 765.8 -4.6 -0.6M&MFIN 443.6 10.4 2.4MAGMA 114.1 0.4 0.35MAHABANK 13.69 0.09 0.66MAHINDCIE 265.15 2.55 0.97MAHLIFE 407.4 -3.4 -0.83MANAPPURAM 86.9 1.85 2.18MANPASAND 93.8 -0.75 -0.79MARICO 345.75 -1.95 -0.56MARUTI 7482.85 110.5 1.5MAXINDIA 72.5 -0.15 -0.21MCX 712.9 17.7 2.55MEGH 68.05 1 1.49MFSL 427.5 34.4 8.75MGL 856 14.45 1.72MHRIL 218 -2.1 -0.95MINDACORP 131.6 0.1 0.08MINDAIND 364.2 7.9 2.22MINDTREE 837 -10.4 -1.23MMTC 29.95 -0.65 -2.12MOIL 175.1 0.85 0.49MONSANTO 2545 -3.8 -0.15MOTHERSUMI 143.05 -10.55 -6.87MOTILALOFS 647.7 -4.1 -0.63MPHASIS 949 -5.15 -0.54MRF 65609.15 186.2 0.28MRPL 80.9 -0.9 -1.1MUTHOOTFIN 464.65 2.9 0.63NATCOPHARM 722.7 -0.1 -0.01NATIONALUM 66.6 -0.15 -0.22NAUKRI 1368.6 -1.7 -0.12NAVINFLUOR 666.55 6.15 0.93NAVKARCORP 63.3 1.8 2.93NAVNETEDUL 107.65 -3.15 -2.84NBCC 60.45 -5.1 -7.78NBVENTURES 119.6 1.85 1.57NCC 89.75 2.4 2.75NESTLEIND 10447 61.05 0.59NETWORK18 39.65 -1 -2.46NH 240.05 -8.35 -3.36NHPC 26.05 -1.05 -3.87NIACL 220.85 1.3 0.59NIITTECH 1147.75 2.45 0.21NILKAMAL 1565.35 -15.5 -0.98NLCINDIA 81.55 -0.1 -0.12NMDC 107.1 -0.6 -0.56NOCIL 168.75 -1.95 -1.14NTPC 153.9 -3.4 -2.16OBEROIRLTY 404 7.95 2.01OFSS 3475 25.4 0.74OIL 203.45 0.75 0.37OMAXE 209.8 -0.3 -0.14ONGC 158.9 -1.85 -1.15ORIENTBANK 87.95 2.4 2.81ORIENTCEM 83 -2.25 -2.64PAGEIND 25695.7 -2151.4 -7.73PARAGMILK 241.5 -3.75 -1.53PCJEWELLER 76.15 -10.4 -12.02

PEL 2289.8 1.2 0.05PERSISTENT 537.15 -9.2 -1.68PETRONET 213.35 -2.65 -1.23PFC 107.65 4 3.86PFIZER 2790 -9.75 -0.35PFS 17.25 0.35 2.07PGHH 9470.05 -60.35 -0.63PHILIPCARB 214.95 1.85 0.87PHOENIXLTD 602 1.05 0.17PIDILITIND 1106.2 14.75 1.35PIIND 835.7 4.05 0.49PNB 71.15 0.35 0.49PNBHOUSING 1004.75 20.75 2.11PNCINFRA 145.15 -1.8 -1.22POWERGRID 188.2 2.2 1.18PRESTIGE 177.5 -2.75 -1.53PRSMJOHNSN 87.3 0.45 0.52PTC 81.2 2.55 3.24PVR 1401.7 -14.2 -1QUESS 771.15 3.95 0.51RADICO 438.85 -5.85 -1.32RAIN 167 -1.85 -1.1RAJESHEXPO 559 -2.8 -0.5RALLIS 163.4 -8.05 -4.7RAMCOCEM 624.1 11.45 1.87RATNAMANI 880 10.55 1.21RAYMOND 766.4 1.45 0.19RBLBANK 550 1.7 0.31RCF 60.25 -0.9 -1.47RCOM 13.44 -0.24 -1.75RECLTD 126.15 1.6 1.28REDINGTON 91.5 -1.7 -1.82RELAXO 782.2 -17.95 -2.24RELCAPITAL 250.8 -1.4 -0.56RELIANCE 1096.9 0.8 0.07RELINFRA 351.7 1.05 0.3REPCOHOME 407 0.6 0.15RNAM 171.15 4.75 2.85RNAVAL 13.63 -0.23 -1.66RPOWER 31.1 0.6 1.97SADBHAV 221.8 -2.2 -0.98SAIL 64.65 0.4 0.62SANOFI 6150 50.1 0.82SBILIFE 580 -3 -0.51SBIN 285.3 1.6 0.56SCHAEFFLER 5535 17.8 0.32SCHNEIDER 114.05 4.05 3.68SCI 45.2 -0.95 -2.06SFL 1386 -8 -0.57SHANKARA 894.2 -38.55 -4.13SHARDACROP 312.5 -9.25 -2.87SHILPAMED 374 -5.15 -1.36SHK 191 -0.5 -0.26SHOPERSTOP 498.95 -2.3 -0.46SHREECEM 15888 621.15 4.07SHRIRAMCIT 1610.8 45.05 2.88SIEMENS 932.85 45.25 5.1SIS 802.3 -12.7 -1.56SJVN 27.4 -0.6 -2.14SKFINDIA 1867 9.8 0.53SOBHA 442 -6.35 -1.42SOLARINDS 1000.9 -23.2 -2.27SOMANYCERA 309.75 2.75 0.9SONATSOFTW 335.2 -0.15 -0.04SOUTHBANK 14.74 -0.14 -0.94SPARC 271.6 -3.15 -1.15SPICEJET 82.95 -0.75 -0.9SREINFRA 34.8 -0.5 -1.42SRF 2055.05 9.2 0.45SRTRANSFIN 1260.6 20.65 1.67STARCEMENT 100.25 1.15 1.16STRTECH 363.9 0.6 0.17SUDARSCHEM 371.6 18.3 5.18SUNCLAYLTD 3650 85.35 2.39SUNDRMFAST 532.7 5.4 1.02SUNPHARMA 514.95 -5.4 -1.04

SUNTECK 349 8.3 2.44SUNTV 596.4 -17.45 -2.84SUPPETRO 202.35 -7.7 -3.67SUPRAJIT 218 -2.45 -1.11SUPREMEIND 981 -0.45 -0.05SUVEN 254.65 6.9 2.79SUZLON 5.68 -0.13 -2.24SWANENERGY 101.55 -1.5 -1.46SYMPHONY 971.55 -9.35 -0.95SYNDIBANK 35.15 0.75 2.18SYNGENE 575.3 -3.6 -0.62TAKE 155.6 -3.45 -2.17TATACHEM 691.95 -7.55 -1.08TATACOFFEE 98.55 -0.3 -0.3TATACOMM 514.95 -10.1 -1.92TATAELXSI 997.65 3.45 0.35TATAGLOBAL 221.4 3.45 1.58TATAINVEST 805.05 4.15 0.52TATAMETALI 703 16.65 2.43TATAMOTORS 179.95 3.15 1.78TATAMTRDVR 98.4 1.35 1.39TATAPOWER 76.6 -1.3 -1.67TATASTEEL 588.65 -0.3 -0.05TCS 1865.5 -15.05 -0.8TEAMLEASE 2790 0.25 0.01TECHM 713.5 13.35 1.91TEJASNET 262.1 -1 -0.38TEXRAIL 64.4 -1.1 -1.68THERMAX 1018 -16.25 -1.57THOMASCOOK 225.6 6.65 3.04THYROCARE 551.6 -3.05 -0.55TIFHL 478.3 5.75 1.22TIMETECHNO 114.05 -7.75 -6.36TIMKEN 524.8 8.7 1.69TITAN 921.1 28.9 3.24TNPL 257.05 -6.2 -2.36TORNTPHARM 1672.15 25.3 1.54TORNTPOWER 266.2 0.45 0.17TRENT 332.4 -1.15 -0.34TRIDENT 68.2 -0.45 -0.66TRITURBINE 116.3 3.05 2.69TTKPRESTIG 6750 -123.25 -1.79TV18BRDCST 37 0.5 1.37TVSMOTOR 549.55 -5.3 -0.96TVSSRICHAK 2611 -2.85 -0.11TVTODAY 382.75 10.2 2.74UBL 1311.35 11.2 0.86UCOBANK 19.15 -0.5 -2.54UFLEX 316.55 5.3 1.7UJJIVAN 235.2 17.7 8.14ULTRACEMCO 3895 -23.7 -0.6UNICHEMLAB 211.45 -3.35 -1.56UNIONBANK 81.55 1 1.24UPL 765 5.05 0.66VBL 796.25 3.65 0.46VEDL 207.55 3.35 1.64VENKYS 2263.5 -45.4 -1.97VGUARD 194.85 1.95 1.01VIJAYABANK 42.8 0.4 0.94VINATIORGA 1564.9 55.65 3.69VIPIND 468.95 23.75 5.33VMART 2186.15 -42.5 -1.91VOLTAS 552.8 10.4 1.92VTL 1053 -12.2 -1.15WABAG 289.25 -0.75 -0.26WABCOINDIA 6825 199.85 3.02WELCORP 147.5 5.15 3.62WELSPUNIND 62.5 -0.45 -0.71WHIRLPOOL 1414.7 -13.1 -0.92WIPRO 323.95 -0.75 -0.23WOCKPHARMA 523.2 -5.2 -0.98YESBANK 206 -16.5 -7.42ZEEL 442.45 8.2 1.89ZENSARTECH 237 -10.2 -4.13ZYDUSWELL 1105.8 -29.45 -2.59

NIFTY 50

SCRIP OPEN HIGH LOW LTP CHANGENIFTY 50 10,580.60 10,646.50 10,557.50 10,616.70 40.4ADANIPORTS 334 347.85 330 346.2 14.2TITAN 892.25 924 889 921.55 29.35EICHERMOT 23,400.00 24,041.95 23,291.50 23,920.00 679.9KOTAKBANK 1,139.00 1,166.00 1,132.00 1,161.15 31.25HEROMOTOCO 2,872.00 2,934.90 2,856.20 2,919.70 72.15HINDPETRO 244 250.9 238.6 249 5.3BPCL 315.5 323.45 308.5 322.5 6.55BAJFINANCE 2,287.00 2,348.00 2,285.10 2,339.00 45.05AXISBANK 613.25 632.5 610.75 623.95 11.25TECHM 702 721.9 697.35 713.05 12.8TATAMOTORS 178 182.7 177.5 179.8 3VEDL 205.3 209.65 202.75 207.1 3JSWSTEEL 340 345.9 338.05 343.8 4.2MARUTI 7,378.90 7,515.10 7,333.55 7,459.60 90.55HINDALCO 229.5 234.8 225.3 232.3 2.8LT 1,388.00 1,408.00 1,386.10 1,399.95 15.25ZEEL 438.2 444.6 433.2 440 4.8ICICIBANK 366.1 374.9 362.1 369.75 3.15HDFCBANK 1,961.90 1,977.30 1,931.20 1,973.10 15.35UPL 761.95 769.95 756 766 5.75IOC 146 148.7 142.75 146.35 0.95BAJAJFINSV 5,578.90 5,685.00 5,578.90 5,609.00 31.35HDFC 1,837.00 1,858.00 1,824.20 1,849.00 9.85SBIN 283.85 287.05 281.15 285 1.4DRREDDY 2,456.80 2,497.95 2,449.95 2,460.00 10.75CIPLA 521.9 525 514.45 521.8 2.25INFY 654 666 646.7 655.65 2.45POWERGRID 186 188.5 185.55 186.6 0.65BHARTIARTL 301.3 306.7 298 301.8 0.5INDUSINDBK 1,515.00 1,533.25 1,498.00 1,511.00 -2.55TCS 1,864.00 1,899.00 1,857.60 1,877.00 -3.65M&M 774 775.8 755 767.5 -2.1RELIANCE 1,096.95 1,103.00 1,086.50 1,094.70 -3.25TATASTEEL 590.3 596.9 581.45 587.2 -1.9ASIANPAINT 1,320.00 1,331.85 1,313.40 1,315.95 -4.6ULTRACEMCO 3,927.80 3,933.80 3,830.05 3,903.00 -14.05BAJAJ-AUTO 2,681.00 2,699.00 2,661.10 2,663.55 -12.95ITC 276.85 279.25 273.5 274.4 -2.05SUNPHARMA 522 528 508.1 516.15 -3.95COALINDIA 265.75 266.5 262.1 263.65 -2.1HCLTECH 999.9 1,029.00 981.8 988.65 -8.45HINDUNILVR 1,717.75 1,728.40 1,696.65 1,700.95 -14.55WIPRO 324.15 330.5 321.65 321.7 -2.85GAIL 350.7 354.4 344 347.5 -5.05ONGC 161.4 162 158.1 158.45 -2.55INFRATEL 261.95 261.95 254 254.8 -5.25NTPC 157.95 159.15 153.4 153.55 -3.8IBULHSGFIN 839.95 846.55 784 803 -36.3YESBANK 215 217.95 202.25 205.9 -16.5GRASIM 855 855 795.2 806.1 -70.25

SE 500B

NIFTY NEXT 50

SCRIP OPEN HIGH LOW LTP CHANGENIFTY NEXT 50 27,154.80 27,298.70 26,964.85 27,254.65 105.35BANDHANBNK 430 463.95 430 463.5 29.9SIEMENS 889.75 942 869 935.2 49.4DLF 163.8 171.3 162.4 168.9 6.25SHREECEM 15,389.90 15,950.00 15,100.00 15,864.00 570.5ABCAPITAL 107.4 111.15 107.4 110.6 3.3LICHSGFIN 454.95 469 444.15 467 13.3ACC 1,478.00 1,518.00 1,451.75 1,516.80 42.9AMBUJACEM 211.4 219 208.2 217 5.8CONCOR 665 685 665 685 17.7DABUR 382.5 389.85 375.3 388.6 9.75HAVELLS 672.8 688.5 672 687.1 14.5SRTRANSFIN 1,240.00 1,265.05 1,211.00 1,261.95 22.6LUPIN 841 855 840.2 852.5 12.25COLPAL 1,113.20 1,132.10 1,110.50 1,127.00 15.25BHEL 66.1 67.7 65.1 66.85 0.8BEL 95.7 97.45 94.05 96.7 0.9L&TFH 133.9 136.35 131.85 135.1 1.25PIDILITIND 1,088.70 1,114.00 1,076.95 1,106.55 10.2HINDZINC 262.3 267.7 262.3 267 2.4OFSS 3,440.00 3,501.95 3,439.05 3,480.00 30.25BRITANNIA 5,794.00 5,828.00 5,732.05 5,812.10 41.35SAIL 64.15 65.1 63.55 64.6 0.45GICRE 308.05 313.6 307.65 311.8 2.05GODREJCP 715 725.5 703.3 717 4.25DMART 1,387.00 1,397.00 1,377.50 1,387.00 6.3MRF 65,999.00 66,333.00 65,200.00 65,850.00 304.05BIOCON 625 631.5 620.6 627 2.45PEL 2,280.10 2,305.00 2,262.10 2,295.00 6.05OIL 203.75 205.5 202.1 203.5 0.5ICICIGI 829.95 830 818.6 830 1.85BOSCHLTD 19,280.00 19,393.65 19,080.00 19,221.85 27.05PGHH 9,453.05 9,520.00 9,453.05 9,505.00 7.25ABB 1,295.95 1,314.90 1,285.00 1,287.90 0.25BANKBARODA 112.9 114.45 111.15 112.55 -0.2SBILIFE 584 584 576.55 581.9 -1.1ASHOKLEY 107.5 108.05 105.5 106.25 -0.25NIACL 220.15 222.25 218.45 220 -0.8INDIGO 1,039.00 1,057.90 1,035.60 1,043.40 -5.05MCDOWELL-N 650 653.1 633.05 644 -3.95MARICO 350.5 351.1 340.9 345.6 -2.2AUROPHARMA 782 792.4 776.6 778 -5.1NMDC 107.55 108.5 106.15 107.25 -0.85HDFCLIFE 402.7 402.7 395.15 397.45 -4PETRONET 215 216.55 212.5 213.3 -2.55SUNTV 613.75 618.55 594.75 597 -16.75ICICIPRULI 339 339 325 325.95 -10.65CADILAHC 371.35 371.5 357.95 359.35 -11.85NHPC 26.1 26.45 25.85 26 -1.1MOTHERSUMI 154 156.35 140.8 142.25 -10.9IDEA 40.15 40.5 36.25 37 -4.4

15 15

35,260.54 118.55 10,616.70 40.40

JETAIRWAYS 24.52ADANITRANS 9.89ALBK 9.03MFSL 8.75BIRLACORPN 8.65

PCJEWELLER -12.02IDEA -11.10GRASIM -7.91NBCC -7.78PAGEIND -7.73

ADANIPORTS 4.28TITAN 3.29EICHERMOT 2.93KOTAKBANK 2.77HEROMOTOCO 2.53

GRASIM -8.02YESBANK -7.42IBULHSGFIN -4.33NTPC -2.41INFRATEL -2.02

world 11LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | NOVEMBER 16, 2018

Five Saudi officials face death

penalty for Khashoggi murder

AFP n RIYADH/ ISTANBUL

Five Saudi officials face thedeath penalty for the mur-

der of journalist JamalKhashoggi who was dismem-bered inside the kingdom’sIstanbul consulate, but CrownPrince Mohammed binSalman was not involved, theprosecutor said Thursday. Theannouncement follows grow-ing international outcry overthe killing of Khashoggi, aWashington Post columnistand critic of the Saudi rulerswho was last seen entering theconsulate on October 2 toobtain paperwork for his mar-riage. Khashoggi died afterbeing drugged and then dis-membered, a spokesman forthe public prosecutor’s officesaid in the first Saudi confir-mation of how he was killed.The journalist’s body partswere then handed over to anagent outside the consulategrounds, the spokesman said.He denied Prince Mohammedhad any knowledge of themurder.

The deputy chief of SaudiArabia’s intelligence, GeneralAhmed al-Assiri, gave theorder to repatriate Khashoggi— and “the head of the nego-tiating team” that flew to theIstanbul consulate hadordered his murder, thespokesman said. After repeat-ed denials, Saudi Arabia final-ly admitted in mid-Octoberthat Khashoggi had been mur-dered at the compound, butblamed it on a “rogue” oper-ation. The prosecutor has

requested the death penaltyfor the five who “are chargedwith ordering and committingthe crime and for the appro-priate sentences for the otherindicted individuals,” an offi-cial statement published bystate news agency SPA said.

It said a total of 21 indi-viduals were in custody inconnection with the killing, 11of whom have been indictedwith investigations to contin-ue into the others. Turkey onWednesday called for an inter-national investigation into themurder. Ankara has alreadyshared voice recordings linkedto the murder with a numberof countries including SaudiArabia, the United States andits Western allies.

Khashoggi’s killing hasplunged the world’s top oilexporter into its worst diplo-

matic crisis since theSeptember 11, 2001 terroristattacks on the United States, inwhich most of the hijackerswere identified as Saudinationals. After first insistingKhashoggi left the consulateunharmed, Saudi authoritiessaid he was killed in an argu-ment that degenerated into abrawl before finally acceptingwhat Turkey had said virtual-ly from the start — that he waskilled in a premeditated hit.

Turkish President RecepTayyip Erdogan has said theorder to murder Khashoggicame from “the highest levels” ofthe Saudi government.The glob-al fallout over the murder hastainted the image of 33-year-oldPrince Mohammed — the defacto ruler and heir apparent —despite persistent Saudi denialsthat he was involved.

‘Explanation of Khashoggimurder ‘insufficient’

Turkey on Thursday saidthe Saudi statement over themurder of journalist JamalKhashoggi was “insufficient”and insisted that the killing was“premeditated.” “We find allthose steps positive but insuf-ficient,” Foreign MinisterMevlut Cavusoglu said in atelevised speech. His com-ments came shortly after SaudiArabia admitted that 59-year-old Khashoggi was druggedand dismembered inside thekingdom’s Istanbul consulatelast month. Riyadh’s publicprosecutor said the journalist’sbody parts were then handedover to an agent outside theconsulate grounds and thatfive Saudi officials were facingthe death penalty over themurder. “I want to say person-ally that I don’t find some of thestatements satisfactory,”Cavusoglu said. “This murderwas premeditated.” Khashoggi,a Washington Post columnistand critic of Crown PrinceMohammed bin Salman, waslast seen stepping into thedoors of the Istanbul consulateto obtain paperwork for hismarriage to a Turkish woman.

Turkey has said he was murderedand his body was cut into pieces. Afterdenials, Riyadh admitted that the manwas killed in a “rogue” operation. OnThursday, a spokesman for the Saudipublic prosecutor’s office said the deputychief of Saudi intelligence, GeneralAhmed al-Assiri, had given an order toforce Khashoggi home — and “the headof the negotiating team” that flew toIstanbul had ordered his murder.

Melania forces exit of WH aidePTI n WASHINGTON

Asenior national securityaide to US President

Donald Trump was forced todepart the White House onWednesday, a day after theFirst Lady Melania Trumpsought her exit. On Tuesdaythe office of the First Lady hadgone public saying, deputynational security advisor MiraRicardel “no longer deservesthe honour of serving in thisWhite House.”

Presidential spokes-woman Sarah Sanders said ina statement, “Mira Ricardelwill continue to support thePresident as she departs theWhite House to transition to

a new role within theAdministration”. “ThePresident is grateful forRicardel’s continued service tothe American people and hersteadfast pursuit of his nation-

al security priorities,” Sandersadded.

Ricardel is believed tohave entered into confronta-tion with the first lady’s staffduring her trip to Africa last

month. She was said to beclose with John Bolton, theNational Security Advisor.Ricardel had earlier served inprevious RepublicanAdministration.

A member of the Councilon Foreign Relations, she hadjoined the White House inMay this year. This is Trump’sfirst firing after the mid-termelections which sawDemocrats seize control ofthe House of Representatives,ending the Republicans’ dom-inance of both chambers ofCongress. The President isworking on some majorchanges in his administrationin the coming weeks.

Trump sends Neomi’s nomination to the SenateIn this Friday, Nov. 2, 2018 file photo, a video image of Hatice Cengiz, fiancee ofslain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, is played during an event to rememberKhashoggi, who was killed inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2, inWashington. AP PTI n WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trumphas sent to the Senate the

nomination of prominentIndian-American Neomi Raoto replace Justice BrettKavanaugh on the powerfulDC Circuit Court of Appeals.If confirmed by the Senate,Rao, would be the secondIndian-American judge in thispowerful court after judge SreeSrinivasan, who was appoint-ed during the previous Obamaregime. The nomination wassent to the Senate Wednesday.

Trump during Diwali cel-ebrations on Tuesday at the his-toric Roosevelt Room of theWhite House announced thenomination of the 45-year-oldregulatory czar for the DCCircuit which is considerednext to the US Supreme Court.Last month Kavanaugh, 53,

was sworn in as a SupremeCourt Justice. He has beenembroiled in a bitter battle tostave off claims of sexualassault, which he denies. TheSouth Asian Bar Associationwelcomed the nomination ofRao, who currently serves asthe Administrator of the Officeof Information and RegulatoryAffairs (OIRA).

“Congratulations to

Neomi Rao on her nominationto the US Court of Appeals forthe DC Circuit,” it said. In hercurrent role, Rao has played akey role in regulatory reform,which according to the WhiteHouse saved American familiesand businesses USD 23 billionin fiscal year-2018 by gettingrid of unduly burdensome andunnecessary regulation.

As per the findings,released by the OIRA lastmonth, Federal Agencies issued176 deregulatory actions. Priorto her service as OIRAAdministrator, Rao was a pro-fessor of structural constitu-tional law, administrative law,and legislation and statutoryinterpretation at the AntoninScalia Law School at GeorgeMason University.

Rao founded the LawSchool’s Center for the Study ofthe Administrative State and

focused her scholarship on thepolitical and constitutionalaccountability of administrativeagencies and the role ofCongress. She has previous-ly served in all three branchesof the federal government, andbefore taking on her currentrole in the executive branch,she was associate counsel andspecial assistant to the presidentfor the George W Bush admin-istration.

She also served as counselto the Senate Committee on theJudiciary, where she wasresponsible for judicial nomi-nations and constitutional lawissues. A graduate of YaleUniversity and the Universityof Chicago Law School, Raoalso worked in the private sec-tor, in the international arbi-tration group of the London-based law firm, CliffordChance LLP.

Karen Fairchild of Little Big Town, right, embraces Kacey Musgraves?, winner ofthe award for album of the year for "Golden Hour" at the 52nd annual CMA Awardsat Bridgestone Arena on Wednesdayin Nashville. AP

Dancers in traditional dress wait for the arrival of Chinese President Xi Jinping inPort Moresby, Papua New Guinea on Thursday. Xi arrives in the country for a statevisit ahead of their annual APEC meet. AP

Afghan officials: Taliban kill 30

policemen in west province

Kabul (AP): A blisteringovernight attack by the Talibanon an Afghan police outpost inwestern Farah province killed30 policemen, Afghan officialssaid Thursday. It was the lat-est in a series of brutal andnear-daily Taliban assaults onthe military and police forces,government and other instal-lations throughout the coun-try. The resurgent Taliban,who in recent years have takenover nearly half ofAfghanistan, did not com-ment on the attack in Farah.The attacks have been sorelentless that authorities nolonger regularly provide casu-alty figures, but unofficial esti-mates say that about 45Afghan policemen or soldiersare killed or wounded on adaily basis. According toprovincial council memberDadullah Qani, the overnightonslaught on the outpost inFarah’s district of Khaki Safedbegan late on Wednesday andcontinued for more than fourhours.

In Kabul, lawmakerSamiullah Samim told TheAssociated Press that theTaliban killed all 30 policemen— members of both thenational and local police force— who were deployed at theoutpost, including the districtpolice commander, AbdulJabhar. Retaliatory airstrikeskilled 17 Taliban fighters butthe insurgents still managed to

get away with a large amountof weapons and ammunition,he said. Meanwhile, fightingwith the Taliban in two dis-tricts of central Ghazniprovince has displaced thou-sands of people in the past twoweeks, most of them minori-ty ethnic Hazaras, who areShiites, said Mohammad ArifRahmani, a lawmaker fromGhazni.

Also, about 100 Afghanpolicemen, local pro-govern-ment militiamen and soldiershave been killed in the bitterclashes there, Rahmani toldthe AP. Currently, Afghansecurity forces are battlinginsurgents in 22 of the coun-try’s 34 provinces, he added.Afghanistan’s protracted warhas also become increasinglydeadly for civilians. A UnitedNations report issued earlierthis year said more civiliansdied in the first six months of

2018 than in any year since2009, when the UN missionfirst began monitoring civiliancasualties.

“Every day in the first sixmonths of 2018, an average ofnine civilians, including twochildren, were killed in theconflict in Afghanistan,” saidthe independent AfghanistanAnalysts Network in its ownreport. Security forces at out-posts throughout the countryroutinely face shortages ofweapons, ammunition andeven food supplies, said mili-tary analyst Javed Kohistani,blaming government mis-management. More senior andexperienced generals havebeen replaced with youngerofficers whose inexperience iscompromising the strength ofthe security forces.

There are fewer and fewerrecruits and in some areas, abattalion which should have400 to 600 troops barely has100 to 200 soldiers, he said.“Nobody is joining the army,”he said.

Afghanistan’s DefenceMinister General Tariq ShahBahrami was grilled by law-makers in parliament onWednesday about Talibanonslaughts in Wardak andGhazni provinces where entiredistricts are under siege.Bahrami acknowledged thesecurity forces have a “prob-lem” and said that reinforce-ments have been sent.

‘Arms controltop agendafor meetingwith Trump’Moscow (AP): RussianPresident Vladimir Putin saysarms control issues will likelytop the agenda of his plannedmeeting with US PresidentDonald Trump. Putin says theleaders need to discuss thefuture of the 2011 New STARTagreement and the situationaround the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF)

treaty. Trump has declared hisintention to withdraw from theINF, which was signed by USPresident Ronald Reagan andSoviet leader MikhailGorbachev. Putin saidThursday that if he and Trumpmeet as expected at the side-lines of the G-20 summit inArgentina later this month,they would also discuss Syria,North Korea and Iran. Putin says he spoke Thursdaywith US Vice President MikePence at the sidelines of theAssociation of Southeast AsianNations summit in Singapore,touching on arms control andother issues.

Chaos in Sri LankaParliament as Speakercomes under siegePTI n COLOMBO

Sri Lankan lawmakers onThursday exchanged blows

and threw objects at each other,leaving at least one of thembleeding, as MPs loyal toPresident Maithripala Sirisenasurrounded the Speaker in hischair after Prime MinisterMahinda Rajapaksa, who lost afloor test, demanded fresh elec-tions to resolve the raging polit-ical turmoil. Trouble eruptedwhen Speaker Karu Jayasuriyaagreed to a request from oustedpremier Ranil Wickremesinghe’sUnited National Party (UNP)that a vote be taken on a state-ment made by Rajapaksademanding fresh polls.

Jayasuriya had allowedRajapaksa to make a statementas a member of parliament afterstating that he does not recognisethe claim of the Sri LankaFreedom Party (SLFP) leaderwho lost a no-confidence motionon Wednesday. “I was the pres-ident and premier, so this primeminister’s post is not important,”Rajapaksa said. “I urge all 225members to join me in calling fora fresh election. We want a gen-eral election,” he said, adding thata fresh election was the best wayto resolve the crisis. UNP legis-lator Lakshman Kiriella urgedJayasuriya to take a vote byname, showing the loss of con-fidence over Rajapaksa’s remarks.Jayasuriya asked the House if itagreed and with resoundingvoices of ‘Aye’ he proceeded totake the vote.

He was immediately sur-rounded by MPs - loyal toSirisena and Rajapaksa - whowere protesting againstJayasuriya’s decision to take thevote. “I am the Speaker and Idecide,” Jayasuriya told the angrylawmakers as UNP MPs formeda ring around the Speaker’s chair

to shield Jayasuriya. “They aretrying to assault the Speaker,”UNP legislator Harsha de Silvatweeted from the House. Objectswere thrown at the Speaker’schair and at least one MP wasseen leaving the chamber bleed-ing, an official said. A group oflawmakers attacked the Speaker,threw a waste paper basket athim while breaking his micro-phone and also hurled a book athim during the session, theonline edition of the SundayTimes reported.

The paper said MP DilumAmunugama was hospitalisedfollowing a hand injury that hesustained when he brokeSpeaker’s microphone. MPsPrasanna Ranaweera and NavinDissanayake were reported to beamong those who engaged infisticuffs, the paper said. Thecommotion continued for abouthalf an hour before Jayasuriyaadjourned the House.

Citing the Speaker’s Office,it said the Speaker has decidedto reconvene Parliament onFriday following a party leadersmeeting. According to reports,the Speaker has requested forSTF security around Parliamentfollowing the tense situationthat arose at Thursday’s sessionin Parliament. “We are the law-ful government and we will sit inthe government benches today,”Ajith P Perera, a senior UNP leg-islator said earlier.

The UNP had sat on theopposition benches during theno-trust vote. Rajapaksa’s side hasdisputed the no-trust motion,saying proper procedure was notfollowed and accused Jayasuriyaof bias towards his own party.

Since the Speaker had ruledthat Rajapaksa had no majority,Wickremesinghe remains thelawful premier, the UNPclaimed.

Death toll from Califwildfires rises to 59Paradise (US): The toll in thedeadliest wildfires in recentCalifornia history climbed to59 on Wednesday as authoritiesreleased a list of 130 people stillmissing. Most of those unac-counted for are from the ButteCounty town of Paradise, innorthern California, which wasvirtually erased from the mapby the so-called “Camp Fire”blaze that erupted last week.

Butte County Sheriff KoryHonea told journalistsWednesday evening that 461search and rescue personneland 22 cadaver dogs wereinvolved in the effort to locatethose missing and DNA testingwas being expedited to identi-fy the victims. “BeginningThursday, anyone who believesa family member perished canprovide a DNA sample” to thesheriff ’s office, Honea said.Paradise, a town of around26,000 in the foothills of theSierra Nevada mountains, waspopular with retirees and manyof those reported missing bythe sheriff ’s office are elderly —in their 70s, 80s and 90s.

Virtually every home inParadise, located 80 miles (130kilometers) north of the statecapital Sacramento, wasdestroyed by the fast-movingfire fuelled by high winds. Atleast 59 deaths have beenreported so far from the dev-astating wildfires and body

recovery teams were goinghouse-to-house with cadaverdogs in Paradise onWednesday. “We are in themidst of a catastrophe,”Governor Jerry Brown told apress conference. “The fire wasunprecedented, overwhelming,so a lot of people got caught.”Brock Long, head of theFederal EmergencyManagement Agency (FEMA),said Paradise was looking at a“total rebuild” with manyhomes, businesses and infra-structure destroyed. “This isgoing to be a very long andfrustrating event for the citizensof Paradise,” Long said. “We’regoing to have to find a newnormal.”

“You’re not going to be ableto rebuild Paradise the way itwas.” An AFP reporter inParadise on Wednesday sawcrews removing trees, repairingfences along roads and towingaway cars. Authorities saidlivestock owners were beingallowed in to restricted areasfor brief periods to feed the ani-mals but it was unclear whenresidents would be allowedback in. Fifty-six deaths havebeen reported from the “CampFire,” mostly in Paradise, whilethree people have died in the“Woolsey Fire.”Honea said thatof the 56 human remains foundin his county, 47 had been iden-tified. AFP

China coercing India, Japan to exertits ‘illegitimate’ influence : US reportPTI n WASHINGTON

The security and wellbeing ofthe US are at a greater risk

than at any time in decades, areport has said, acknowledgingthat China presents a “daunt-ing” challenge to US’ suprema-cy as Beijing coerces Americanallies like India and Japan toexert its “illegitimate” influence.A congressionally mandatedpanel tasked with examiningand making recommendationswith respect to the NationalDefense Strategy Commission(NDSC) said the rivals andadversaries are challenging theUS on many fronts and inmany domains.

Observing that America’sability to defend its allies, itspartners, and its own vitalinterests is increasingly indoubt, the report said that if theUS does not act promptly toremedy these circumstances,the consequences will be graveand lasting. “The security andwellbeing of the United Statesare at greater risk than at anytime in decades. America’s mil-itary superiority — the hard-

power backbone of its globalinfluence and national securi-ty — has eroded to a dangerousdegree,” the NDSC said.Established by the NationalDefense Authorization Act forFiscal Year 2017, theCommission on the NationalDefense Strategy for the US isa panel of bipartisan nationalsecurity experts appointed byCongress to make recommen-dations for the nation’s defencestrategy at the outset of anadministration.

The 12-member Commission,tasked with reviewing the cur-rent national defense strategy ofthe United States, includingthe assumptions, missions, forceposture, force structure, andrisks associated with the strat-egy, concluded that powerfulauthoritarian rivals — Chinaand Russia — see the US lead-ership as a barrier to theirambitions. “These countriesseek to overturn existingregional balances of power andre-create spheres of influence inwhich they can dominate theirneighbours’ economic, diplo-

matic and security choices.They are also seeking to projectpower and exert influencebeyond their peripheries,” itsaid.

“The challenge China pre-sents is particularly daunting,”the report said. It is natural forChina to exert greater influenceas its power grows, and the riseof China would present chal-lenges for America and theworld even if Beijing pursued itsinterests through entirely legit-imate means, it said.

“Unfortunately, China isincreasingly exerting influencein illegitimate and destabilisingways. China is using military,paramilitary, and diplomaticmeasures to coerce US alliesand partners from Japan toIndia; contest international lawand freedom of navigation incrucial waterways such as theSouth China Sea; underminethe US position in East andSoutheast Asia; and otherwiseseek a position of geopoliticaldominance,” the report said. Italleged that China was usingpredatory economic statecraft

to weaken its rivals, includingthe US, and give it decisivestrategic leverage over its neigh-bours. Meanwhile, China isreaping the fruits of a multi-decade military buildup. Beijinghas invested in systemsdesigned to counter Americanpower-projection and therebyprevent the US from protectingits allies, partners, and eco-nomic interests.

“China is also modernisingits nuclear forces, developingsophisticated power-projectioncapabilities, and undertakingthe most thoroughgoing mili-tary reforms since the foundingof the People’s Republic,” thereport said. “China already pre-sents a severe test of US inter-ests in the Indo-Pacific andbeyond and is on a path tobecome, by mid-century, a mil-itary challenger the likes ofwhich America has not encoun-tered since the Cold War-eraSoviet Union,” reported theNDSC. Russia, too, is pursuingregional hegemony and globalinfluence in destabilising ways,the report said.

world 12LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | NOVEMBER 16, 2018

Prime Minister Narendra Modi presents an award to the winning team of India-Singapore Hackathon 2018 (above) and PrimeMinister Narendra Modi interacts with the NCC cadets of India, as part of an international cadet exchange programme, inSingapore on Thursday. AP

India committed to peaceful

Indo-Pacific region: Modi

PTI n SINGAPORE

India was committed to a peaceful andprosperous Indo-Pacific region, Prime

Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursdayas he called for enhancing multilateralcooperation, economic and cultural tiesamong member nations at the 13th EastAsia Summit in Singapore. It was PrimeMinister Modi’s 5th East Asia Summit(EAS). India has been participating in theEAS since its very inception in 2005.

“At the East Asia Summit in Singapore,I shared my thoughts on enhancing mul-tilateral cooperation, economic and culturalties among member nations. Also reiter-ated India’s commitment to a peaceful andprosperous Pacific region,” the prime min-ister tweeted. The EAS consists of 10ASEAN nations (Indonesia, Thailand,Singapore, Malaysia, The Philippines,Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Brunei andLaos), Australia, China, India, Japan, NewZealand, South Korea, Russia and the US.It was formed to further the objectives ofregional peace, security and prosperity.

Prime Minister Modi reiterated India’svision of a peaceful, open and inclusiveIndo Pacific region, strengthening maritimecooperation and commitment to a balancedRegional Comprehensive EconomicPartnership (RCEP) pact, Ministry ofExternal Affairs spokesman RaveeshKumar said. The RCEP, involving 10ASEAN members (Brunei, Cambodia,Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore,Thailand, the Philippines, Laos andVietnam) as well as China, Japan, Australia,India, New Zealand and South Korea,would cover about half the world’s popu-lation and a third of its GDP.

Prime Minister Modi also interactedwith leaders of other countries, includinghis Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe,before the East Asia Summit Retreat.Later, the EAS leaders posed for a cus-tomary group photograph. Earlier in the

day, Prime Minister Modi participated inthe ASEAN-India Breakfast Summit wherehe underlined the need for maritimecooperation and centrality of trade for theprosperity of the strategic Indo-Pacificregion. “Had a great interaction withASEAN leaders at the ASEAN-IndiaInformal Breakfast Summit. We are happythat ties with ASEAN are strong and arecontributing to a peaceful and prosperousplanet,” Modi tweeted. Prime MinisterModi also met with the NCC cadets whogot the opportunity to visit Singapore as apart of a cadet exchange programme.

“Wonderful moments with my youngfriends. Spent time with NCC cadets, whogot the opportunity to come to Singaporeas a part of a cadet exchange programme.

They shared their memorable learnings andexperiences with me,” Modi tweeted.Prime Minister Modi began his two-dayvisit to Singapore Wednesday by deliver-ing his keynote address at the prestigiousFintech Festival. He also held separate bilat-eral meetings with US Vice President MikePence and the premiers of Singapore,Australia and Thailand and discussedways to further strengthen ties, includingin areas of trade, defence and security.Before leaving for Singapore, Modi had saidin New Delhi that his participation in theASEAN-India and East Asia summitssymbolised India’s “continued commit-ment” to strengthen its engagement withASEAN members and with the wider Indo-Pacific region.

PM Modi gives awards to winningteams of India-S’pore Hackathon

Singapore (PTI): Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on Thursday felicitatedthe six winning teams, including threefrom India, of the first India-SingaporeHackathon and said the platform foryoungsters to showcase their work was aboost to technology, innovation andyouth power.

The top six teams, three each fromIndia and Singapore, participated in a 36-hour long Hackathon Grande Finalehere.

During his official visit to Singaporein June, Prime Minister Modi proposedto his Singaporean counterpart Lee HsienLoong that India and Singapore shouldorganise a joint Hackathon to harness andshowcase the innovation potential of theiryouth. The proposal was welcomed byPrime Minister Lee. “A boost to tech-nology, innovation and youth power.

Happy to have met innovators who wonprizes in the first ever Singapore-IndiaHackathon. They talked about theirextensive work. I was impressed by theirpassion and commitment towards solv-ing problems our world faces,” PrimeMinister Modi said in a tweet.

Modi presented the awards to thewinning teams at an awards ceremonywhich was also attended by EducationMinister of Singapore Ong Ye Kung.

The teams were chosen after a finalpitching session. First prize of SGD10000, second prize of SGD 6000 andthird prize of SGD 4000 was announcedfor each of the three winners from Indiaand Singapore.

The winning teams from India wereIIT Kharagpur, NIT, Trichy and MITCollege of Engineering, Pune, the IndianHigh Commission in Singapore said.

PM participates in ASEAN-IndiaBreakfast SummitSingapore (PTI): PrimeMinister Narendra Modi onThursday participated in theASEAN-India BreakfastSummit in Singapore andunderlined the need for mar-itime cooperation and cen-trality of trade for the pros-perity of the strategic Indo-Pacific region. Prime MinisterModi began his two-day visitto Singapore Wednesday bydelivering his keynote addressat the prestigious FintechFestival.

He also held separatebilateral meetings with thepremiers of Singapore,Australia and Thailand anddiscussed ways to furtherstrengthen ties, including inareas of trade, defence andsecurity. “PM Narendra Modiparticipated at ASEAN-IndiaBreakfast Summit inSingapore. Reaffirmed coop-eration in maritime domainand centrality of trade andinvestment towards prosper-ity of Indo-Pacific,” Ministryof External Affairs spokesmanRaveesh Kumar tweeted.“Had a great interaction withASEAN leaders at theASEAN-India InformalBreakfast Summit. We arehappy that ties with ASEANare strong and are contribut-ing to a peaceful and pros-perous planet,” Modi said ina tweet. The Indo-Pacificregion also came up duringthe discussion on Wednesdaybetween Prime Minister Modiand US Vice President MikePence. Modi referred to hisJune speech in Singapore atIISS Shangrila Dialogue inwhich he had outlined India’svision on Indo-Pacific.

13TH

EAST ASIA SUMMIT

Indian-origin min leads resignations in fresh Brexit jolt for Theresa MayPTI n LONDON

Embattled British PrimeMinister Theresa May’s

leadership was in jeopardy andfaced a possible vote of no con-fidence after Brexit SecretaryDominic Raab, Indian-originminister Shailesh Vara and twoother ministers resignedThursday from her dividedCabinet over UK’s “half-baked”divorce deal with the EuropeanUnion. Minutes after Varastepped down as NorthernIreland minister, PrimeMinister May was hit by a big-ger blow as her Brexit SecretaryDominic Raab resigned fromthe Cabinet saying he “cannotin good conscience” supportthe draft of the withdrawalagreement with the 28-memberbloc.

Hours after a spate of res-ignations, prominent BrexiteerJacob Rees-Mogg directly chal-lenged May in the House ofCommons. He later submitteda letter of no confidence in herleadership of the ConservativeParty. Vara, Conservative PartyMP for North-WestCambridgeshire, who has beena minister in the NorthernIreland Office since January,said, “We are a proud nationand it is a sad day when we arereduced to obeying rules madeby other countries who haveshown that they do not haveour best interests at heart. Wecan and must do better thanthis.

The people of the UKdeserve better.” He attackedthe draft withdrawal agree-ment which would form thebasis of the UK’s exit from theEU by March, 29, 2019 as a“half-way house with no timelimit on when we will finallybecome a sovereign nation”.The resignation of Raab, the

man involved with the actualdrafting of the agreement withEU counterparts, throws PrimeMinister May’s leadership inturmoil.

Raab, who took charge asSecretary of State for Exitingthe EU after his predecessorDavid Davis stepped down inprotest over May’s Brexit nego-tiations in July, said the pro-posed arrangement to avoid apost-Brexit border withNorthern Ireland is a “very realthreat to the integrity of theUnited Kingdom”. “I cannotsupport an indefinite back-stop arrangement where theEU holds a veto over our abil-ity to exit. No democraticnation has ever signed up to bebound by such an extensiveregime, imposed externallywithout any democratic controlover the laws to be applied, northe ability to exit the arrange-ment,” he said. Raab’s resigna-tion was followed by anotherpro-Brexit minister, work andpensions secretary EstherMcVey, announcing that she is

resigning from the Cabinetover the issue.

Another junior Brexit min-ister Suella Braverman quitover Brexit, shortly after herformer boss Raab quit office.The resignations are being seenas a sign of bigger troublesahead for May, who defendedthe deal before belligerent MPsin the House of Commons.

Making a statement on thewithdrawal agreement, dubbedthe Outline PoliticalDeclaration, at the heart of theintensifying rebellion, May saidshe respected the views of herCabinet members who chose toresign but delivering Brexitinvolves difficult choices. “Thechoice is clear. We can chooseto leave with no deal. We canrisk no Brexit at all. Or we canchoose to unite and support thebest deal that can be negotiat-ed....,” May said in her state-ment. “When I first becamePrime Minister in 2016, therewas no ready-made blueprintfor Brexit. Many people said itcould simply not be done. I

have never accepted that. Ihave been committed day andnight to delivering on the resultof the referendum and ensur-ing the UK leaves the EUabsolutely and on time,” thedefiant prime minister said.However, the spate of resigna-tions triggered earlier in the dayis expected to continue to playout as her leadership remainsunder siege. There were alreadyrumblings that while sheclaimed the Cabinet had col-lectively given its backing to herdeal, many ministers had spo-ken out against it and were notentirely happy with the finaltext.

The biggest sticking pointremains over what is termed asa Northern Ireland backstop,which leaves the EU with theoption of keeping the whole ofthe UK within a commonCustoms Union if a futuretrading relationship fails to bethrashed out during the 21-month transition period, set torun until December 2021.Opposition leader JeremyCorbyn, the Labour Partyleader, attacked Prime MinisterMay in his response to May’sstatement on Brexit to theHouse of Commons. He saidMay’s negotiations that result-ed in Wednesday night’s draftBrexit deal with the EuropeanUnion had ended in a “hugeand damaging failure.” Corbyndemanded that the govern-ment should withdraw thedeal.

“The government simplycannot put to Parliament thishalf-baked deal that both theBrexit Secretary and his pre-decessor have rejected,” he said.

The markets also reactedsharply, with the British Poundfalling heavily against mostmajor currencies after Raab’sresignation.

Bagladesh calls off repatriationplan of Rohingyas to MyanmarPTI n DHAKA

Bangladesh on Thursdaycalled-off its plan to repa-

triate hundreds of Rohingyarefugees in the country afterthey refused to return toMyanmar where the minorityMuslim community feared fortheir lives. More than 700,000Rohingya refugees f ledMyanmar’s Rakhine state sinceAugust last year after a brutalmilitary crackdown waslaunched, dubbed by the UN asa “textbook example of ethniccleansing” and “genocide” byinternational rights watchdogs,sparking a global uproar. OnThursday, Bangladesh beganpreparations to repatriate aninitial batch of 2,000 RohingyaMuslims from 485 families toMyanmar, in line with a planagreed with Myanmar inOctober.

However, several thousandRohingya instead stagedprotests declining to go back toMyanmar as four trucks andthree buses have been sta-tioned at Unchiprang camp inCox’s Bazar, ready to carryrefugees who have been“approved” to a transit camp bythe border – but not onerefugee has been willing toboard them, officials said.“Nobody is willing to return toMyanmar, Rohingya repatria-tion will be called-off for theday if nobody volunteers by4pm on Thursday,”Bangladesh’s Refugee Reliefand Repatriation Commission’s(RRRC) chief, Md Abul Kalamwas quoted as saying by theDhaka Tribune. “The buseswere ready and we readiedthree days of rations for thosewho were set to return, in thefirst batch but none boarded onthe buses,” an official of therelief commissioner’s office atthe scene said. The Rohingyas

staged protest marchesdemanding realisation of afive-point demand as the pre-condition that included deploy-ment of UN peacekeepingforces in the Rakhine State toensure their safety and givingthem the full citizenship statusin Myanmar. “We want oursecurity and dignity, we don’tbelieve them (Myanmarauthorities),” a Rohingya pro-testors told a private TV chan-nel. Kalam earlier said none ofthe 50 families spoken to so far“expressed their willingness togo back under the present cir-cumstances” and “We cannotforce them to go back againsttheir will.”

“We are waiting, we willstart the repatriation if some-one agrees to go back by 4pm,”Kalam said. Bangladesh offi-cials on Thursday held severalrounds of meetings with theRohingya in their effort tomotivate them to return homebut said they were at liberty todecide on their return.

The authorities in Dhaka,however, are yet to make anyannouncement on the situa-tion. The UN rights body chiefMichelle Bachelet on Tuesdayurged Bangladesh to halt therepatriation plans fearing that

sending them back would puttheir lives at “serious risk”. Thedate for the beginning therepatriation was set on October30 in line with Myanmar offi-cials talks with Bangladeshwhile they visited the crammedRohingya camps in the coun-try’s southeastern Cox’s Bazarvisibly in their effort to start aprocess as Naypyidaw agreed tobegin their repatriation byNovember. Bangladeshi offi-cials said they so far providedMyanmar a list of 24,000Rohingyas in two phases, whileMyanmar said they verified5,000 of them while mediareports quoting Naypyidawsources suggested they couldreturn initially 2,000.

Myanmar earlierannounced a large-scale repa-triation plan in November 2017but Dhaka alleged the countrytook little steps to keep theirpromise. Myanmar, however,is still refusing to acknowledgeany wrongdoing in its treat-ment of the Rohingyas.

The UN investigators saidMyanmar’s top military offi-cials should be prosecuted forgenocide but the country hasrejected the calls, insisting itwas defending itself againstarmed fighters.

Pak needs todo more in itsfight againstterrorism: US Washington (PTI): Pakistancertainly needs to do more inits fight against terrorism andthe Trump administrationexpects Islamabad to actagainst terror groups like theHaqqani network and Lashkar-e-Taiba in same way as it didagainst al-Qaeda after the 9/11attacks, a top American officialhas said. State DepartmentCoordinator forCounterterrorism NathanAlexander Sales said during aCongressional hearing that theUS was “very concerned” overthe support for terrorism in anyregion of the world.

“And I can tell you we havecommunicated to the Pakistanigovernment at the highest lev-els that we expect them to domore just like we expectedthem to act with us after 9/11,”Sales said on Wednesday.“Pakistan has in the past beena very effective counterpart intaking the fight to al-Qaeda.We need them to do the samething with respect to theHaqqanis, Lashkar-e-Taiba,and the other terrorist groupsthat are active in the region,” hesaid. Sales said Pakistan “cer-tainly needs to do more” in thefight against terrorism.

His remarks came afterseveral Congressmen expressedconcern over the continuedresistance by Pakistan to takesatisfactory action against ter-ror groups operating from itssoil. The lawmakers alleged thatPakistan was not doing enoughagainst the terror groups.“Ithink they’re not doing the job,despite terrorism, because theterrorists come in fromPakistan into Afghanistan, dotheir mischief, and run backacross the border.

Pro-Brexit, Conservative lawmaker Jacob Rees-Mogg poses for photographs afterspeaking to the media outside the Houses of Parliament in London on Thursday.

Peshawar/Islamabad: TheAfghan officials on Thursdayhanded over the body of asenior Pakistani police officerto the Pakistani authorities,days after he was abductedfrom Islamabad and his corpsewas found in Afghanistan’sNangarhar province.Superintendent of Police(Peshawar) Tahir Khan Dawarleft his residence in Islamabadfor an evening walk onOctober 27 but did not returnhome. He was presumedabducted by militants inIslamabad - one of the safestcities in Pakistan.

His mobile phone’s lastlocation was traced some-where in Jhelum city ofPakistan’s Punjab province.After being contacted, he said

that he was fine and there wasno threat to his life. However,his body was found inNangarhar province inAfghanistan by the local peo-ple on Tuesday. Pakistani del-egation comprising Minister of

State for Interior ShehryarAfridi, Khyber PakhtunkhwaInformation Minister ShaukatYousafzai, Member of NationalAssembly Mohsin Dawarreceived the officer’s body atTorkham point after negotia-

tion with the Afghan officialsand tribal jirga. The body ofDawar was taken to LandiKotal from where it was air-lifted to Peshawar for burial.

His abductors had releaseda picture of him along with aletter of the Tehrik-e-TalibanPakistan’s Khurasani group,claiming responsibility for thekidnapping and the killing.Tekreek-e-Taliban Pakistanspokesman Khalid Khurasanihas denied his group’sinvolvement in the kidnappingand murder of the officer.

KP Information MinisterYusafzai said that Dawar wasruthlessly killed by his abduc-tors in Afghanistan. He was incaptivity for 18 days. PrimeMinister Imran Khan onThursday ordered an “imme-

diate inquiry” into the murderof Dawar. “Have followed theshocking tragedy of the mur-der of SP Tahir Khan Dawarand ordered Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government tocoordinate with Islamabadpolice in holding an inquiryimmediately,” Khan tweeted.

He added that Minister ofState for Interior ShahryarAfridi has been tasked to“oversee it with an urgency andpresent the report” to him.

Earlier, Awami NationalParty (ANP) chief AsfandyarWali Khan in a statement onThursday said the governmentshould investigate and sharedetails behind abduction andcrossing of Tahir Khan Dawarand his abductors toAfghanistan.

Af hands over body of slain police officer to PakDust from Middle East affectsIndian summer monsoon: StudyPTI n WASHINGTON

Dust and soot transportedfrom the deserts of the

Middle East settle on the snowcover of the Himalaya moun-tain range and affect the inten-sity of the summer monsoon inIndia, a study has found. Usinga powerful NASA-developedatmospheric model, researchersfrom University of Maryland inthe US found that large quan-tities of dark aerosols — air-borne particles such as dust andsoot that absorb sunlight — set-tle on top of the TibetanPlateau’s snowpack in springbefore the monsoons begin.

These dark aerosols causethe snow to absorb more sun-light and melt more quickly.

The findings suggest that,among these dark aerosols,windblown dust from theMiddle East has the most pow-erful snow-darkening effect.In years with heavy springtimedust deposition, the end resultis reduced snow cover acrossthe Tibetan Plateau, which

leads to warmer temperatureson the ground and in the airabove it.

This in turn sets off aseries of interconnected feed-back loops that intensify India’ssummer monsoon. Morethan a century ago, Britishmeteorologist Henry Blanfordnoted a connection betweenspringtime Himalaya snowcover and the intensity Indianmonsoons. Hundreds of stud-ies have supported this rela-tionship since Blanford firstpublished his hypothesis in1884.

But so far, researchers havestruggled to explain why this con-nection between snow cover andmonsoon intensity exists.

LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | NOVEMBER 16, 2018 vivacity {food} 13

Darzi presents hand-curated menu by

masterji with eggs,tailor-made to everytaste and need. Thespecial menu presentsall eggsclusive disheslike the Masala anda,Anda nachos, Nargisiscotch eggs, Andabhurji parantha,Baida roti, andSulemani anda.Venue: Darzi, Bar andKitchen, H-55, OuterCircle, ConnaughtPlace. Time: 12 pm to 12 am Price: starts at `175plus taxes.

Kiara Soul Kitchen now serves soulinvoking spirits, including

varietals of Apertif, beer, whisky,rum, brandy, vodka, gin, and others.Concoctions like The curious jar(Smoked bourbon, Drambuie,Saffron infusion), Eden spritz(Vodka, Sparkling wine), Kiara G&T(Gin), The botanist fav (Gin, Lemonsorbet), Rosa Da Silva (Aperol,Tequila, Limoncello, Aged lime) aresome of the highlights of the menu.Venue: Kiara Soul Kitchen, M-30,first floor, M block market, GreaterKailash - 2, Time: Ongoing.

ISBT MAGGI

WHAT YOU NEED● Maggi noodles: 1 packet● Makhni gravy: 80 gm ● Butter: 20 gm● Kasoori methi: 1 gm● Curry leaves: 2 gm

METHOD● Heat the pan add

water boiled theMaggi separately.

● Add butter anotherpan add makhni

gravy, and seasoning to taste.● Add boiled Maggi and stir. ● Garnish with cream; kasoori methi

and curry leaves. Courtesy: ChefPraveen Kumar, Darzi Bar & Kitchen.

KURKURI DAHI

WHAT YOU NEED● Curd: 250 gm● Paneer: 50 gm● Coriander seed: 2 gm● Coriander fresh: 15 gm● Milk powder: 30 gm● Chopped green chilli: 2 gm● Salt: to taste● Chilli flakes: 2 gmOther ingredients● Corn flour: 30 gm● Bread crumbs: 60 gm● Oil as needed for frying

METHOD● Place a clean

muslin clothover a sieve.Pour the curdand bringtogether theedges of thecloth. Thenwring the cloth to drain up excesswhey from curd.

● Place a heavy object like two to threeceramic bowls over the curd pack.Hung curd is ready.

● Crumble paneer and add it to amixing bowl along with hung curd.

● Add all the other ingredients and mixwell just to make a non-stickydough.

● Divide the dough to equal sizedball,flatten them. Then roll in flour,shake them off gently to removeexcess flour. Set aside for five toseven minutes.

● Fry all the kababs in a oil until goldenand crisp. Serve kurkuri dahi hotwith mint chutney.

Courtesy: Chef Abhijeet at Dum Maro Dum Studio.

KHOYA PANEER ROLL

WHAT YOU NEED● Cashew nut: 1 cup● Paneer (cubed): 500 gm● Desi ghee: 2 tbsp ● Khoya: 1/2 cup ● Curd: 1/4 cup ● Ginger, chopped: 1/2● Green cardamom: 2-3● Green chilli, chopped: 2-3 ● Salt: to taste ● Green coriander: 2-3 ● Roomali rotifor wrap● Iceberg: 1/4 ● Bellpepper:1● Onion: 1● Tomato: 1● Cucumber: ½ ● Chat masala: 5 gm

METHOD● Wash, boil and grind cashew nut.● In a pot heat desi ghee, add

chopped green chillies and greencardamom, allow it to crackle.

● Add cashew nut paste, beatencurd, salt and cook for 10minutes.

● Once done add grated khoya andpaneer batons, stir for a while,adjust seasoning.

● Take roomali roti and wrap thestuffing with some shreddediceberg, onion tomato cucumberseasoned with chat masala.

● Cut according to your requirementas I prefer shown in the picture.

● Garnish with mint leaf and servehot. Courtesy: Naresh Chinni,Executive chef, The Drunken Botanist.

Q’ba invites youto enjoy

cocktail eveningswith specials asmixologists guzzlesome in-house-curated cocktailslike Q’ba Libre,Old fashioned,

Q'ba mule, Bloody mary, Bellini, Metropolitan,Margarita, Pina colada, Gimlet, Whisky sour,Manhattan, Negroni and more. Venue: Q’ba, E 42 and43, Inner Circle, Connaught Place. Date: Till NovemberTime: 12 noon to 11.45 pm Price: For two: `475onwards

CHEFTALK

Mealodrama is set to pamper the foodies with their new foodfestival Firangi Fare. They are offering specials like Indo-Italian

fused balls, Firangi mushroom, Red beans kebab, Con-Dog,Barbeque chicken strips, Australian lamb stew, Italian meat balls,Ocean pearls and more. Venue: Mealodrama, A6, Main NajafgarhRoad, Vishal Enclave, Rajouri Garden. Date: Till December 20 Price:Meal for two: `1,000 + taxes Time: 12 noon to 12.30 pm.

R E C I P E S

The sitar played throughout the night at theIndus Express in Taj Vivanta Dwarka while

I gorged on some authentic Kashmiri cuisine.In wazwan, a traditional Kashmiri platter with36 dishes, it is the goshtaba that usually is thecentrepiece but this evening it was the Roganjoshthat stole the show. The chicken was wiped cleanoff the bone by those sitting at the table. Thefirst time that I had a goshtaba was in 2016, froma tin can that I bought at a general store inJammu. It was no DIY goshtaba but the entirecooked dish in a can. The freshness was ques-tionable but that was my first tryst with the cui-sine of Kashmir. The sour taste of the curd basedgravy was miles apart from the Lucknawi andDelhi food that I had eaten thus far.

Along the way, I have eaten mutton kebabsand rogan josh at a Kashmiri friend’s house butnothing quite as exquisite as the one that ChefSewa Singh from Vivanta Dal View, Srinagar hadprepared.

The mutton seekh, butt haakh saag, rajma,rogan josh and goshtaba along with a flavouredGucchi pulao and missi roti from the wazwanmade me feel that I was at a wedding in Kashmir.

The evening began with saffron milk whichwas followed by a lightly flavoured lamb and avegetable shorba. For the lamb, he used stockmade with lamb bones and for the vegetable onea vegetable-based stock with the same spiceswere used. It made sure that the original flavourof the ingredients remain intact while they mixit with subtle spices.

In comparison, the Dilli ka khana andLucknawi food at The Imperial, which is alsodoing a food festival much like Taj VivantaDwarka, brought out stronger flavours. TheKashmiri food had a light spice paletteand the Delhi and Lucknowkebabs and qorma weremore accented in com-parison.

“Dilli food repre-sents the confluenceof many cultures andthe flavours are moredominating andinspired by the cuisine ofneighbouring regions,whereas, Lucknawi food issteeped in tradition and the recipesare passed down from generations. They con-verge in terms of spices and traditions whichhave been carried through the years,” said thechefs, Ved Prakash and Mirza Munnawar Baig.

At the Imperial, there were multiple kebabsmade in the Awadhi style, like Dahi ke kebabas well as Chakundar aur ramdana ki tikki, abeetroot and quinoa pattie shallow fried whichstole the show. The non-vegetarian options likethe Kakori kebab and the Sufiyan Murgh kiashrafiyan melted in the mouth as did the Dilli6 ka mutton qorma. The qorma, which is lambsimmered in its own juices with yoghurt andspices, was enough to transport one to the 19thcentury Delhi darbar. Chef Ved proudly said thatDilli 6 is the origin point of the capital’s cuisineas the newer part of the city is too heterogenousto have a food identity and culture.

Mirza added that the Lucknawi chickenbiryani is an aromatic and mouth watering dishwith succulent chicken in layers of fluffy rice,fragrant spices and caramelised onions. It hasbeen an integral part of the Indian Mughlai culi-

nary tradition and the chef tried his best toretain the authentic taste.

It should include browned onions, cilantro,yogurt, saffron and more, said Chef Mirza. “Ifyou take a fistful of good biryani and throw iton a plate, the rice should scatter as fluffy grainsand not clump together. The meat or chickenshould be well done, moist with thick juices andtraditionally with bone which is unlike theIndian pulao which is prepared with all theingredients together in one dish along with theadded liquids. Therefore, the mouthfeel andtaste are expected to be quite different,” said ChefMirza.

Chef Prakash and Mirza of Lucknow,ended the afternoon soiree with a cook out dur-ing which the former made fresh Shahi tukda’s,a famed dessert from Old Delhi. Triangular cutbread was first fried and then immersed in

chashni to be dressed in khoya and dryfruits. The resultant product

was a hot and succulentpiece of bread that is a

delight for sweet lovers.In comparison, thechef from Lucknow,Mirza, had no dessertto offer.

At Vivanta, Singhoffered three — a phirni,

a fig ice cream and a halwa— each appealing to different

kind of dessert lovers. If you want amildly sweet end to the meal, opt for the phirniwhich was decorated with saffron but if youwant a rich explosion of taste in your mouth gofor the halwa. And the fig ice cream has a freshand captivating taste that will leave you askingfor more. Like a hospitable host, we were toppedup with kahwa, a lightly flavoured tea with saf-fron and dry fruits. The Taj Vivanta is offeringThe Valley Beckons menu till November 25 dur-ing dinner while The Clash of The Titans atDaniell’s tavern at The Imperial will begin onNovember 17 and go on till the 24.

Why choose the onset of winter for a festi-val like this? The chefs said that this is the per-fect time to enjoy Lucknowi and Dilli food becauseof the spice levels in the food keeps us warm inthis season. It is also quite nutritious because ofthe bone stock used in the meat dishes.

And the reason why The Imperial chose toput the two cousin cuisines together was to makesure that people can identify certain dishes with-in a particular cuisine as they have the same roots.

Fueled with passion and skill, ChefGarima Arora, who started herown restaurant GAA in Bangkok,

a dinner-only fine dining restaurantserving world cuisine, has become thefirst Indian woman to receive a Michelinstar.

The coveted recognition in theculinary world came as a surprise to heron October 30. And more than twoweeks down the line, it is yet to sink in.

Garima’s story is a classic tale ofwhat resilience and willingness to tra-verse boundaries for dreams can lead to.She was in her early twenties and freshout of journalism school, when shedecided that if she wanted to pursue herdream of becoming a chef it made senseto start early since the professionrequires long hours and physicalstrength. Between mid-2000s to now,she’s covered the entire arc from study-ing at Le Cordon Bleu to working inGordon Ramsay’s kitchen to starting herown restaurant after a few months atChef Gaggan Anand’s restaurant Gagganin Bangkok.

And this is just on the professionalfront. On the personal, she also navigatesthe challenge of a long-distance marriageas her husband works and lives inMumbai while she’s in Bangkok. No onecan dispute that her dreams are madeof hard work and sacrifices. “My dad hasalways been a huge influence in my life.From him, I learnt that cooking wasactually fun. As a youngster I spent a lotof time with him in the kitchen and Ithink that stayed with me,” she said.

But cooking in Paris at Le CordonBleu gave her a worldview that a homekitchen obviously did not provide.“Leaving India you have so many thingsdifferent. Just in terms of ingredients,flavour combination that we don’t have,that was something innovative for me.I studied classic French food and thatgives you a very different perspective oncooking,” she said.

When asked what the name of herrestaurant meant, she replied like a proudmama that it was derived from her name.Opening a restaurant in Bangkok wasunplanned in a way, she said. She wasoffered a job at the Gaggan Anand groupand after a few months their investorsasked if she would want to open her ownrestaurant. “It was by chance that Imoved here. I was supposed to go toIndia but I am happy here which is whyI stayed back,” she said. A truly globalindividual, her life has taken her acrossthe world and back.

Her restaurant serves two menus,the vegetarian one with 10 items and thenon-vegetarian one with 14. “The ideais to find and explore the connectionbetween India and Thailand throughflavours and techniques. The smallermeal lasts about two hours and the longone lasts for around 2.5 hours,” she said.The evening begins with smaller dish-es and then goes on to the main ones.“We look for unique ingredients. Wework with the indigenous parts ofThailand and the North Eastern part ofIndia, that is our primary concentration.So many ingredients get lost because

nobody knows how to use them. We liketo give the guest from any city flavoursthat they have never tasted before.During the meal it is possible that youare eating ingredients or flavour com-binations for the very first time in yourlife. This is our signature. We do a straw-berry and caviar dish mixed with a herblike lemon and pudina (mint) that isfound only in the northern part ofThailand. The guests are alwaysextremely surprised by the combinationbut it is one of our hot-selling dishes,”she said. They also have a large collec-tion of wines and as the meal progress-es so does the wine pairing with thefood. When asked if she thought of herrestaurant as a follower of the school ofthought of slow food, she said that whileshe wasn’t sure about categorising it, hermenu definitely made for thoughtful anddeliberate eating.

After the #MeToo movement inHollywood, multiple stories from thehospitality sector in the West havecome to the fore. When asked aboutpolicies at her restaurant, Chef Garimasaid that they were very strict aboutworkplace safety. Staff members areencouraged to report incidents of harass-ment by peers or guests that take placeright away. “I take this very seriously.Any sort of misbehaviour within thestaff or even from the guest towards mystaff, is never accepted. And my staff hasclear instructions that the minute it hap-pens, they should let us know so thatwe can take immediate action. Wedon’t wait,” she said, adding that 50 percent or more of her staff are women.

She believes that women need tostop pulling each other down and thenthey can help each other up. “If we don’tsupport each other and don’t pave theway for the next generation what’s thepoint of it all,” she said.

Did she face any harassmentbecause of her ethnicity or gender? Shedoesn’t deny facing difficulties but saidthat she doesn’t know if her gender orbeing brown had anything to do with it.“I have worked with amazing chefs whohave been particular about protectingtheir staff and taking care of them. I havenot directly had any bad experiences butthat’s not to say it doesn’t happen,” shesaid.

The chef, who has two homes —one in Mumbai and one in Bangkok —understood what made the latter city, aswell as that part of the world, so specialwhile working there. She says that thewarm hospitality and the friendships shehas built have left a beautiful mark onher. Her biggest takeaway from Ramsay’skitchen was humility and learning tokeep her head down and working,which is what you need to do in thebeginning of your career, she believes.“Sometimes youngsters don’t under-stand that you have to put in the hoursand go through the grind,” she said.

In an industry where there are noholidays and you’re cooking when oth-ers are partying, there is no way to sur-vive it if you think of it as drudgery. “Ifyou come into work and look at theclock to see when you’re going to gethome you won’t last a month. It’s justsomething you do and it’s not just work,”she said.

Photo: Asmita Sarkar

gorge us

Chef GARIMA ARORA tells ASMITA SARKAR about the link between India

and Thailand she’s trying to build through her cuisine

‘WOMEN NEED TO STOP

PULLING EACH OTHER DOWN’

ANY SORT OFMISBEHAVIOUR

WITHIN THESTAFF OR FROMTHE GUEST IS

NOT ACCEPTED.MY STAFF HAS

CLEARINSTRUCTIONS

THAT THEYREPORT IT

IMMEDIATELY SOTHAT WE CANTAKE RAPID

ACTION

From Kashmir to Lucknow with a pitstop in Delhi, the capital isabuzz with festivals to keep you warm. By A SARKAR

The northern platter

LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | NOVEMBER 16, 2018

Actor AMITABH BACHCHAN wrote apersonalised note to veteran actressNEENA GUPTA after watching her latestfilm Badhaai Ho as he was highlyimpressed by her performance.

Neena took to Instagram to share asnapshot of the letter and captioned it:

“Aapse ye patr aur pushppaake ankhein khushi se bharaayi. (Got tears in my eyes

after receiving this letterand flowers from you.)Thank you so much,Amitabh Bachchan sir.”In the letter, Big B, 76,praised the film and theacting by the entire cast.He said he got tears of

joy after watching it. Thefilm also stars Gajraj Rao,Ayushmann Khurrana andSanya Malhotra, and isbased on the story of anelderly couple who areexpecting their third child.

After the demise of comic book legendSTAN LEE, his social media handlersshared an emotional video clip whichhas Lee's final message to his fans.

“I love my fans so much. I cannotdescribe my love for them. Sometimesat night, I am sitting here andthinking What's it all about?And then I get a letter from afan or I read some-thing, I realise, it's solucky to have fans,who really care aboutyou. That's the rea-son I care so muchabout them as theymake me feel sogreat,” Lee said.

Known for co-cre-ating Marvel's belovedsuperheroes likeSpider-Man, The X-Men, The FantasticFour, the Hulk, IronMan, Thor, and DoctorStrange. Lee died atthe age of 95 aftersuffering from pneu-monia.

vivacity 14

KUSHAN MITRA

Last week there was a horrendous acci-dent in Delhi where an allegedly

drunk driver hit the kerb, crossed themedian and smashed into another car,killing one and grievously injuringanother. Now, while the blame for thisaccident, prima facie should lie with thedriver who smashed through the kerb,especially if the allegations of beingdrunk are true, there is another factor inplay over here. That is the poor designof the road median in India. The fact thatIndian city planners feel that a one-footkerb is enough to stop a speedingmotorcycle let alone a car is one that iswrong. Far from stopping the vehicles,the kerb design makes most accidentsworse by often launching the vehicle intooncoming traffic at a height.

Whenever one travels to the devel-oped world, you see the pavements onthe side of the road are at short heights.And on the median, even if it has treesor other beautification, there is thestandard metal barrier protecting vehi-cles from going over into the other lane,in most cases by absorbing the energyof the impact. In India, roads are poor-ly designed, often by the whims of localpoliticians. While the construction ofIndian highways has improved marked-ly in the past few years, a recent studysaid that a large chunk of the Delhi-Jaipurhighway, one of India’s best, was unsafe.But newly-constructed roads despite

their flaws are better than older ones. TheEastern Peripheral Expressway aroundDelhi had gaps in barriers and slow-mov-ing traffic but after access control thingshave improved.

Construction does not mean thatduring construction things improve,often they get worse The state of theDelhi-Panipat highway currently underconstruction is downright dangerous.And even in cities like Delhi, poor plan-ning and the desperate need for jugaadsolutions have made road constructionsites dangerous. The stretch under RTRFlyover on Outer Ring Road, itself thebest example of poor planning, is oftenclosed at night with traffic diverted ontothe oncoming lane with no lights, warn-ing or traffic dividers. Not even plasticones. And this is a stretch where heavycommercial vehicles regularly operate atnight. Accidents and deaths areinevitable.

It is mighty easy to blame the dri-ver in cases like that. And shoddypolice work condemns the drivers to be“inebriated” even if they’re not. The lackof proper metal barriers and dividers andthe absence even of low-cost solutionslike wire-barriers have made thingsquite difficult for the Indian drivermaking them take the blame in instancesthat they should not. It is high time thatauthorities realised that roads share analarmingly high proportion of the blame.

Big B writes toNeena Gupta

At a time when food seems to dominate our feedsas a lifestyle imagery, a Korean show has combined

a pop-up idea with a live act to birth a new mediumof entertainment. Cookin’ Nanta, a non-verbal come-dy from Korea that makes use of kitchen tools as musi-cal instruments, sort of like stomping with knives, hadthe city in thrall recently. So it was a story of cooks whohave to cram for a big wedding after their mean man-ager (Yohan Hwang) asks them to prepare a grand ban-quet at a few hours notice. To add to the frenzy, themanager’s mischievous nephew (Junghwan Hyun) joinsthe kitchen to learn how to cook, thereby messing upeveryone’s synchronisation. They chop together, strik-ing the cutting boards with knives and use salt shak-ers as maracas to produce rhythmic and percussivesounds.

The result is an interactive and entertaining fam-ily show. Explains Changhwan Ko, who played the headchef, “The show is full of acrobatics, magic tricks andcomedy. That is why it’s fun to watch. Nanta means tostrike relentlessly, which connects to the story of theperformance, where cheerful rhythms combine themodern beats and Korean folk music (samul nori).”

As the show has been running for more than 20years, its overbearing manager says, “The original storyand episodes still continue to this day. But over the yearswe have incorporated several slight changes on direct-ing. We have opted for the non-verbal format so thatit is easily understood by the contemporary audienceand enjoyed by the people of any age group.”

Asked how a non-verbal play was written, read andcomprehended, he told us, “The non-verbal play is writ-ten as usual plays or musical performances. But we thenconvert them according to the ease of emotional expres-sions since they don’t have lines. In order to present acharacter’s emotions through multiple expressions andmovements, the acting is mostly physical and exagger-ated. This brings in a comic element. The audience caneasily understand, relate themselves to the situation-al context and enjoy the performance in that way.”

The artists start practicing at least six months beforewith drums, knives, fire and pots before presenting achoreographed flow. Practice is the only key to suc-cess. The perfection in rhythm and synchronisationis the result of their hard work. The show has been run-ning in South Korea since 1997 and has toured in over314 cities of 28 countries across the globe. It even hada year-long run in Broadway, a prestigious claim foran Asian production with no dialogue.

It wasn’t that Indians weren’taware of Lake Como in Italy.But what Isha Ambani’s

engagement and Ranveer-Deepika’s wedding at villas therehave done is to make it the nextaspirational benchmark on oursocial calendar.

“After Ranveer and Deepika’swedding, Indians are discoveringLake Como in Italy as a ceremo-nial destination. The place wasalready quite popular among eliteIndians and this wedding will giveit a fillip. As November marks theend of the season at Lake Como,we are already receiving inquiriesfor the fresh season starting fromMarch 2019 and also for the wed-dings and engagements in 2020-21. Going by the trend, the placewill soon become a favourite for

weddings, unions and vacationswith the unique spectacular villasand historical hotels, sophisticat-ed atmosphere, delicious foodoptions and proximity to interna-tional airports,” says Karan Anand,Head, Relationships, Cox & Kings.

The interest in Italy as anevent destination has been gath-ering pace, especially after thewedding of cricketer Virat Kohliand actor Anushka Sharma inTuscany last year. As ManmeetAhluwalia, Marketing Head,Brand Expedia, enunciates, “Italyhas been a popular destinationamong Indian travellers and con-tinues to attract them with tempt-ing food, awesome architecture,diverse scenery and amazing art.The privacy of its mansions andvillas has made it a preferred des-

tination for honeymooners andpeople travelling with their fam-ily and friends from India. Wehave also seen a year-on-yearincrease of 35-40 per cent inbookings from India. Destinationslike Rome, Venice, Florence,Naples and Milan have tradition-ally been popular among trav-ellers. However, celebrities choos-ing Tuscany, Lake Como, LakeIseo and Amalfi Coast as theirwedding destinations are alsolikely to increase the tourist foot-fall in these destinations in thefuture.”

Of all destinations, LakeComo has acquired exclusivity byvirtue of its history, cultural soireesand more recently as a holidayhideaway of Hollywood biggieslike George Clooney and RobertDe Niro. And then there were theBond films with wide anglesequences choreographed on thelake with azure waters that isfringed by woods of the thickestgreen, fairytale castles, rollingestates and the sun-kissed hills.Once the retreat of the Milanesearistocracy, famous artistes,philosophers, scientists and writ-ers made it their home away fromtheir homes in the city. TheRomantic poets sought inspirationand revival in its salubrious climes. English poet PBShelley, who lived by Lake Comofor many months while attempt-ing recovery from consumption,then described it as the “mostbeautiful lake I have ever seen.”American novelist Mark Twaincalled it a “heaven of quiet rest.”

The landscape, the tranquili-ty, the connection to heritage andthe natural elegance continue inboutique properties and water-front homes, which have drawnsolace-seeking Hollywood celebri-ties. And it is this little cul de sacof medieval repose with wisteriawraps that has made Lake Comoa glamorous destination. Theestate owners have only uppedexpectations by customising com-forts, services, boat rides and even arranging spectacles. From May to October,the estates see a wedding everyweekend — English, American,Russian and Indian among them— and command a steep locationfee. Ranveer and Deepika report-edly spent `1 crore for their fourday jamboree on security and `4crore on private yacht services.

It is one thing to read about Shivajiin a comic strip and visualise him

within laid down references and con-texts. But when a storyteller describesthe valour of the Maratha warrior andthe way his sword cut through theenemies like lightning, you embed apicture of him in your mind forever.That’s why folk ballads likeMaharashtra’s Powada can popu-larise history and weave fantasy fromour mythic traditions.

While the stories have been toldover the years, it is only now that thecontent is being re-interpreted by afresh breed of storytellers who havestiff competition from digital contentand are trying their best to wean awayan audience that hardly has any timeto look up from their phone evenwhile they are eating. Kathakaar,India’s only oral storytelling festival,which involves raconteurs from allover the world, has been plodding onfor the past eight years and its latestedition is being held at the IndiraGandhi Centre for the Arts (IGNCA)from November 16-18. The three-dayevent, organised by IGNCA in collab-oration with Nivesh, will witnessimmersive storytelling sessionsfocussing on India’s rare art forms aswell as native tales from Africa, theUK, Greece, Poland, Russia and Iran.

Shaguna Gahilote, festival co-director, says, “At a time when evenadults find it difficult to leave theirphone, we ask the parents to bringtheir children minus the phone in theevening session. Once the storytellerstarts telling a tale, you should see theexpressions on their faces. Both chil-dren and adults are so involved. Theconnection that you make with peo-ple, if you can tell a story well, is amaz-ing. They are looking at the performerbut they are lost as they are visualis-ing the story. It is playing on theirimagination and they are building onit. If you start storytelling in school,you build on communication andimprove it.”

Interestingly, the festival over theyears has seen the audience span fromages eight to 80. And Shaguna saysthat in the long run this would ulti-mately revive and encourage readinghabits among children. “We startedthe festival in 2010 around the sametime as the Right to Education wasintroduced where in every annexureit was mentioned that all schoolsshould have a library with books andnewspapers. As part of UNESCO, wehad been building libraries in under-privileged schools but not all childrenwould run up and grab the books.Some would, out of curiosity butwould not read them. Someone hadto read out the books to them to make

it interesting.” It was this realisationthat led to a lot of brain-stormingwhere she realised that there was nowritten word at one point of time. “Weheard so many stories that were real-ly ancient. These were oral stories thatare told all over the world whether itis Russia, Africa or Europe,” sheadds.

So along with her sister, shedecided to get on board people whocould tell stories well. “Of course, weneeded very good storytellers to getthe audience involved. And then youcould tell them that if you want to findthe story again, you can read it in thatbook. We knew that children are morelikely to go back to books in this man-ner rather than when they are pres-surised to do so. A book becomesalmost like a box where they can pullout these stories. It is getting childrento read and if they read well, they willdo maths and science better and whenthat happens, they are more likely tostay in school. It is a full circle and sto-rytelling is at the beginning of it,” saysShaguna.

However, while initially the storytellers’ festival started with the aim topreserve the old folk tales, somewherealong the line it also became a cele-bration of storytelling. “There are so

many varied formats and forms inIndia. There is drama and perfor-mance. This gives the Indian story-tellers an equal platform with theinternational ones as well. It alsoboosts their confidence as there is anewer audience coming in. Moreover,the next generation is more likely topick it up and take storytelling fur-ther,” says she.

When the Gahilote sisters startedout, it was initially difficult to get audi-ence even though parents are alwayslooking for activities to do with chil-dren. “We started with an audience of250 people. It has grown slowly overeight years by word-of-mouth public-ity and now we see footfalls of up to10,000 plus for three days,” she says.

Getting the right people to tell thestories lies at the heart of the festival.“We are looking at brilliant perform-ers. A lot of people tell you or writeto you saying that they do storytelling,including publishers, who say that mywriter also has that skill. But oftenthey are just reading from a book. sto-rytelling is no less a performance art.It is a stand-up, theatre, singing, play-ing a musical instrument all rolledinto one to hold the audience,” shesays.

Variety is of the essence. “We look

for different stories that have not beentold. Sometimes we get storytellerswho tell Indian tales that are an adap-tation. We get puppeteers from Keralaand also the Pandhwanis.” One of thehighlights of the festival will includeSadhguru, founder of IshaFoundation, turning into a storytellerduring a session with singer-song-writer and musician Mohit Chauhanwho is also the patron of the festival.

Filmmaker Imtiaz Ali and actorPankaj Tripathi will share theirfavourite tales and journey into theworld of films and storytelling. Notedtheatre artist Danish Hussain will pre-sent an adaptation of Qissa Urdu KiAakhri Kitaab Ka, originally writtenby Pakistani poet Ibn-e-Insha.Shaguna herself will dramatise thestory of Mahatma Gandhi to mark150 years of the Indian independenceleader’s birth anniversary.International storytellers includeGodfrey Duncan, the man behind thestorytelling revival in UK, MichalMalinowski, who has helped keep theart alive in Poland and XantheGresham, an Oxford University alum-nus. They will narrate tales fromAfrica, Iran, Poland, Greece andIndia. Indian storytellers include thePhad storytellers from Rajasthan,Pandavani by the powerhouse RituVerma and more.

However, the festival tries tobreak out of the mould of the “moralof the story”. As Shaguna says, “Goodfolk tales or Panchatantra storieshave social messaging in the end. Butwhen every thing has a message, noone will like it. There are hidden mes-sages and the audience is intelligentenough to decode it.”

So while relating a popular talefrom England about a boy who goesshopping alone as his mother isunwell, Shaguna does not state theunderlying message. “While select-ing a pup, he picks a three-legged oneand when the salesperson says that it’suseless, he raises his trouser to reveala wooden leg. He says that he wouldunderstand the pup better. There isempathy involved but I never use theword. I do not have to ingrain it.”

Of course, the storytelling forchildren and adults is a bit different.“Sometimes completely different talesare told in the evening. If there is anentirely adult audience, you can evendo a very sensuous telling of the storywhich is never done in the morningsession. Or maybe the same tale is toldto both while obliterating gory detailsfor children. Vikram Betal is a niceeasy tale for a child but may be whentelling it to an adult, it can be relat-ed how he bled to death or how hewas killed,” she says.

SHAGUNA GAHILOTE, festival director of Kathakaar, the storytelling fest,

tells SAIMI SATTAR what it takes to be a raconteur

And thereby hangs a tale

Knives, cooking and acrobaticfeats lit up characters from aKorean act, says TEAM VIVA

COUNTER-TOP

COMEDY

Kerb this madness

Indian drivers and riders get the blame formost of the accidents and deaths on Indianroads. But our road designers and buildersdeserve their share of the blame too

Tour operatorssay that given

its dreamylocation, the

rich tapestry ofhistory and its

provenance as aretreat of the

Romantic poets,Indians are nowheading to Lake

Como like never before. By TEAM VIVA

FROM MAY TO OCTOBER, THE ESTATES SEEA WEDDING EVERY WEEKEND — ENGLISH,AMERICAN, RUSSIAN AND INDIAN — AND

COMMAND A STEEP LOCATION FEE

Stan Lee’s lastmessage for fans

THE LAKE WHICH

REVIVES LOVE

The couple at their Konkani wedding on November 14 and (below) the Sindhi one on November 15

LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | NOVEMBER 16, 2018 sport 15

ADVANI AMASSES WORLD TITLE N0 20Yangon: India's ace cueist Pankaj Advani onThursday won his third straight IBSF billiardscrown in the 150-up format, taking his overalltally of world titles to a staggering 20. The 33-year-old from Bengaluru overcame Nay ThwayOo of Myanmar in a high-quality final. Afterbossing the '150-up' format, Advani will nowcompete in the longer version, 'Up' format,commences immediately. It was also a proudmoment for Myanmar which saw its ownplayer in the title round for the first time. NayThway Oo did well to oust multiple worldchampion Mike Russell in the semifinal with aconvincing 5-2 victory.

RAMKUMAR, PRAJNESH SEEDED Mumbai: Indian Davis Cuppers RamkumarRamanathan and Prajnesh Gunneswaran, bothranked between 120 and 150, are the loneIndian men to be seeded in this year's $ 50,000KPIT Men's Challenger Tennis to be held inPune from November 17-24. Ramkumar hasan ATP ranking of 121 and Prajnesh 142, butthe tournament will not see defendingchampion and two-time winner Yuki Bhambriin action as he has pulled out citing an injury.In his absence Ramkumar, who lost to Bhambriin last year's final, and Prajnesh, runner up toSadio Doumbia of France in 2016, would leadthe home country's challenge.

QATAR STUN SWISS IN FRIENDLYLugano: Qatar's national team beatSwitzerland 1-0 here as the Swiss werepunished for their significant lack of aim, fourdays ahead of their decisive clash with Belgiumto qualify for the next round in the NationsLeague. In an unprecedented duel onWednesday, the Qatari team, led by SpaniardFelix Sanchez Bas, knew how to put on a goodshow while facing the permanent pressurefrom the European team. It was forward AkramAfif, who condemned Switzerland and gavevictory to Qatar, a team with little impact oninternational football so far. In the 88th minuteAkram Afif scored, after finishing acounterattack led by Boudiaf, which gave FelixSanchez's team a memorable triumph.

MI RETAIN 18 PLAYERS FOR IPL 2019Mumbai: Mumbai Indians have retained 18players including their skipper Rohit Sharmabut released some top international stars likeJP Duminy and fast bowling duo of PatCummins and Bangladesh's MustafizurRahman ahead of the 2019 Indian PremierLeague players' auction. The franchise has alsoreleased 10 players which include one capped,five uncapped and four international cricketers.All-rounder Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya,Jasprit Bumrah, Mayank Markande, AdityaTare, Ishan Kisan, Rahul Chahar, Anukul Royand Suryakumar Yadav have been retained bythe three-time champions.

SHARMA SLIPS TO T-47 AT DUBAIDubai: Shubhankar Sharma was unable tobuild on his brilliant start and was placed tied47th on the opening day of the season-endingDP World Tour Championships (telecast inDSport). Sharma first hit by a three-putt onsixth, missed a short birdie chance on 7th butthen had trouble with a shoe bite from theeighth onwards and lost the momentum. "I lostthe momentum there (on 6th and seventh) andalso misread some of the greens and endedwith five three-putts," Sharma said. Agencies

SINGLES

PTI n NEW DELHI

Most of the medal contenders won their respectivebouts on the opening day of AIBA Women’s World

Championships with Commonwealth Games gold medal-list Anja Staridsman of Australia advancing to the sec-ond round in a split verdict here on Thursday.

The bout between Stridsman and CorderoHernanadez of Columbia in lightweight category turnedout to be the best contest of the opening day which sawfirst round bouts in the three categories of 51kg, 57kg and60kg. The Australian got a 3-2 split verdict from thejudges.

In the first round, the Aussie got 10 points each fromthree judges while in the second, she just about managedto get the nod from two of the five judges.

What made the difference was the third round whenshe got full points from four judges to progress to the sec-ond round.

Originally hailing from Sweden, Stridsman moved toAustralia at the age of 19 for further studies. But boxingbecame a passion for her when she turned 23.

In 2015, she earned her Australian citizenship andwon a gold medal in the Australian NationalChampionships.

Stridsman tore her Anterior Cruciate Ligament(ACL) in a freak accident during a bout in Poland twomonths before the Australian team trials for CWG.

The 31-year-old, often referred to as the ‘ComebackQueen’, underwent a tricky operation and her damagedknee tendon was replaced with an Achilles tendon froma corpse. She defied all odds, took part in the Gold CoastCWG and went on to win a gold medal.

In another bout of the day, pint-sized KazakhZhaina Shekerbekova showed her tactical superiorityagainst Russia’s European champion Svetlana Soluianovawith a shocking 5-0 win in the 51kg.

Algeria’s Ouidad Sefouh moved down to the flyweight(51kg) just before the start of the Women’s WorldBoxing Championships and she used her longer reachagainst Germany’s Ursula Gottlob to win her opening con-test.

Switzerland’s Sandra Brugger beat Indonesia’s AsianGames bronze medallist Huswatun Hasanah to set up asecond round clash against India’s 2006 edition goldmedallist L Sarita Devi in 60kg.

Somalia’s Ramla Ali (57kg) came with a lot of expec-tations after winning national titles in England, where shestayed for many years after fleeing from Mogadishu dur-ing the civil war. However she lost in the first roundagainst Doaa Toujani of Morocco.

“I am disappointed, I thought I had some clear punch-es on my opponent but that was not enough for me towin,” said Ali who was cheered by Somalians and Indiansfrom the stands.

AFP n LONDON

Dominic Thiem still has achance to reach the semifinals

at the ATP Finals after beating KeiNishikori 6-1, 6-4 Thursday.

Thiem, who lost both of his pre-vious matches at the season-endingtournament, needed to win instraight sets to have any chanceof advancing.

Six-time champion RogerFederer, however,needs only to winone set in the latematch against KevinAnderson toadvance alongsidethe South African. IfAnderson wins instraight sets, second place will bedecided by who has won a high-er percentage of games.

Thiem broke twice in thefirst set against Nishikori, whowon only one game in his pre-vious match againstAnderson.

Earlier on Wednesdaylate night, Marin Cilic keepshis hope alive of makinginto the semifinals of sea-son ending ATP Finalsafter former US Openchamp Croat beat JohnIsner 6-7 (2/7), 6-3, 6-4 in ednes-day's sec-ond match.

The Croatianfifth seed had lost nine of his previ-ous 10 matches at the Finals, and he

looked in danger ofanother letdown

when he droppedthe first setagainst Isner.

But Cilic,whose only

other Finalsv i c t o r yc a m eagainst Kei

Nishikori in2016, had

other ideas as heroared back totake the finaltwo sets.

"I started tofeel the ball real-ly well in the sec-

ond set. I wasplaying great ten-

nis towards theend," Cilic said.

Cilic's revivalkeeps him in witha chance of qual-ifying for thes e m i - f i n a l s ,while Americaneighth seedIsner still hasan outsidechance ofa d v a n c i n gdespite losinghis first two

matches.

PTI n NEW DELHI

Mid-fielder Jackichand Singhand left back Nishu Kumar

were were on Thursday includ-ed in India's 22-member squadfor the forthcoming away inter-national FIFA friendly againstJordan slated to be held onNovember 17.

Nishu and Jackichand werethe only two changes Nationalcoach Stephen Constantine madein his squad from the team thatplayed a goal-less draw againstChina in the last internationalfriendly in October.

Constantine emphasised thatthe forthcoming friendly againstJordan will "aid India's prepara-tion" for the 2019 AFC AsianCup in UAE.

"We want to do well in AFCAsian Cup and the clash againstJordan will aid us. Jordan are agood side and they have a num-ber of good players in theirranks," he said.

Jordan, who are ranked 112in the latest FIFA rankings, lost1-2 to FIFA World Cup 2018finalists Croatia in their lastfriendly fixture.

Winger Halicharan Narzary,who has been a pivotal memberof the Indian team said the teamwill definitely miss star strikerSunil Chhetri, who has beenruled out for the tie because of anankle injury.

"Undoubtedly, we are goingto miss Sunil bhai but we can't

just sit back and cry over it. We'lltry our level best to churn out apositive result in Amman," hesaid.

"The match against Chinawas massive for us. Jordan won'tbe anything lesser, if not bigger.We have to keep our heads downand keep working to get some-thing positive out of this tie."

SQUADGoalkeepers: Gurpreet SinghSandhu, Amrinder Singh.Defenders: Pritam Kotal, NishuKumar, Sandesh Jhingan, AnasEdathodika, Salam RanjanSingh, Subhasish Bose, NarayanDas, Jerry Lalrinzuala.Mid-fielders: Udanta Singh,Jackichand Singh, PronayHalder, Anirudh Thapa, VinitRai, Germanpreet Singh,Halicharan Narzary, AshiqueKuruniyan.Forwards: Jeje Lalpekhlua,Sumeet Passi, Balwant Singh,Manvir Singh.

PTI n BHUBANESWAR

India's hockey captain Manpreet Singhsaid his team is focused on toping its

pool and make the quarterfinals of themen's World Cup starting here onNovember 28.

With less than two weeks to go forthe prestigious World Cup which willwitness 16 top teams battle for suprema-cy at the iconic Kalinga Stadium, Indiaare busy making final preparations totheir campaign.

"There is no doubt we want to winevery match in the Pool Stage, earn thethree points from each match, and topthe Pool to make the Quarter Final. Thatis our first hurdle," said Manpreet.

"It's the World Cup and every teamwill come with an intention of winningand we do not want to take any teamlightly, be it South Africa, Canada orWorld No 3 Belgium."

Grouped in Pool C, India will faceSouth Africa on November 28, beforetaking on Belgium on December 2 fol-lowed by their last group match againstCanada on December 8.

While the Indian team has not facedSouth Africa in a major tournament inover two years, Manpreet said that a winin their first match will set them on theright course.

"Though we haven't played them inany major tournament, we played apractice match against South Africa dur-ing the Gold Coast CommonwealthGames. That match gave us an idea ofhow they play," he said.

"Though we won we don't want to

go by the past result. We play them inour first match and it's always good toget off to a winning start in any tour-nament," added the 26-year-old Captain.

While India have defeated Belgiumrecently at FIH Champions Trophy inBreda and last year's Hockey WorldLeague Final, Canada have posed Indiasome serious threat in their past cam-paigns at major InternationalTournaments.

The team had drawn 2-2 againstCanada in the round robin league at theRio Olympics and in the 2017 HockeyWorld League Semi Final in London,India had lost 3-2 in the 5th-6th placeplay-off to Canada.

"It was a forgettable outing for us butI believe we have improved as a teamin the past two years and we have learntfrom every tournament. If we play ourbest hockey, who we are playing shouldnot matter," he said.

"Even against Belgium, if we are ableto score early then the pressure will beon them. For now, our team is focusedon winning the three points from eachmatch in Pool C."

PTI n KOWLOON

Olympic medallist shut-tler PV Sindhu sufferedan unexpected loss in

the second round but KidambiSrikanth and Sameer Vermaadvanced to the quarterfinals tokeep India's flag flying at theHong Kong Open World TourSuper 500 tournament here onThursday.

World No 4 Sindhu, whowas seeded third here, wasshown the door by Hyun JiSung of Korea 24-26, 20-22 infighting 59 minute duel.

With Sindhu's exit, India'schallenge ended in the women'ssingles after Saina Nehwal hadmade a first round exit.

But India's men's singlesshuttlers had a good day inoffice with Srikanth andSameer progressing to the lasteight round, albeit with con-trasting results.

Fourth seeded Srikanth,who had claimed a Silver medalat this year's CommonwealthGames, had to dig deep in hisreservoir to outwit fellowIndian H S Prannoy 18-21, 30-29, 21-18 in a thrilling match,clocking an hour and sevenminutes.

Srikanth will now faceJapan's Kenta Nishimoto inthe last eight match.

Sameer, however, qualifiedfor the quarterfinals after hisformidable opponent, Olympicchampion Chen Long pulledout of the competition due toinjury. He will face local hopeLee Cheuk Yiu on Friday.

Sindhu’s loss, however, wasa major upset despite not beinga one-sided affair. The Indianhad recovered from 13-18down in the first game to makeit 19-19, before the two playerstraded points till 24-24. Sung

eventually won two straightpoints after that to take the leadin the match.

In the second game again,Sindhu fought back from 15-19to make it 20-20 but could notforce the match to go into adecider, as Sung wrapped it up22-20.

However, mixed doublespairing of SatwiksairajRankireddy and AshwiniPonnappa lost 17-21, 11-21 toChinese Taipei's Lee Yang andHsu Ya Ching to bow out of thetournament.

Men's doubles pair of BSumeeth Reddy and Manu

Attri also failed to clear the sec-ond round hurdle, losing toChinese Taipei combinationof Jhe-Huei Lee and Yang Lee16-21, 15-21.

Earlier, the match betweenthe two trainees of the PulellaGopichand Academy turnedout to be a pulsating contest asformer world no 1 Srikanth didthe catch up act with Prannoyenjoying the early spoils.

Prannoy, who had defeat-ed Srikanth at the SeniorNational final last year, movedneck-and-neck till 9-9 beforethe former jumped to a 14-10lead.

Srikanth clawed back at 15-15 before Prannoy againmoved ahead to secure theopening game.

The second game was acliffhanger as the duo playedout of their skin, giving noth-ing away. After a close-battle,Srikanth grabbed a slender11-10 lead at the break, whichevaporated soon as Prannoytook a 15-12 lead.

Srikanth again drew pari-ty at 16-16 and moved to 19-17. However, Prannoy tooktwo points to make it 19-19.

After that, there was noth-ing to separate the two as bothkept taking points alternative-

ly before Srikanth managed tograb the upper limit of 30points first to pocket the gameand roar back intothe contest.

In thed e c i d e r ,S r i k a n t hcontinued hism o m e n t u msurging to a 11-4lead at the interval. Prannoycaught up at 16-16 beforeSrikanth again moved ahead toseal the contest.

Elsewhere world numberJapanese Kento Momota beatcountrymen Tsuneyama 17-21, 21-17, 21-16, whileOlympic champion SpanishCarolina Marin wins 21-14, 21-8, women’s top seed ChineseTaipei Tai TY triumphs 17-21,21-16, 21-9.

INDONESIA SHINEOne Indonesian shuttler

went through to the quarterfi-

nal of the Hong Kong Openbadminton tournament andtwo women's doubles pairsalso won their second roundmatches on Thursday.

Jonatan Christie defeatedhis compatriot AnthonySinisuka Ginting in the HongKong Coliseum, 21-15, 25-23in 54 minutes, and will faceeither Kento Momota or KantaTsuneyama in the quarterfinal.

In the women's doubles

pairs, Indonesian GreysiaPolii/Apriyani Rahayu andRiski Amelia Pradipta/DellaDestiara went through to thequarterfinals of the tourna-ment.

Greysia/Apriyani defeatedSouth Korea's Baek Ha Na/KinHye Rin 21-15, 21-18, andRiski/Della beat Thailand'sJ o n g k o l p h a nK i t i t h a r a k u l / R a w i n d aPrajongjai 19-21, 21-9, 21-10.

PTI n NEW DELHI

Double Olympic medallist wrestler SushilKumar and India's first Asian Games

Gold medallist heptathlete Swapna Barman wereon Thursday dropped from the latest TargetOlympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) which wasrevised keeping in mind the 2020 TokyoOlympics.

Sushil, who won Bronze and Silver medalsrespectively in 2008 Beijing and 2012 LondonOlympics in 66kg freestyle category, crashed outin his first qualification bout at this year's JakartaAsian Games in the 74kg and the latest resultdidn't go in his favour.

Besides Sushil, another big name to havebeen dropped from the latest TOPS list, whichwas reviewed last in July 18 before the AsianGames, is Swapna, who created a flutter inJakarta by becoming India's first Gold medal-list in heptathlon.

Keeping an eye on 2020 and 2024 Olympics,the government's Mission Olympic Cell onThursday reviewed three sporting disciplines —athletics, wrestling and weightlifting.

In athletics, the number has been reducedfrom 31 to just 10, which includes two new facesin triple jumper Arpinder Singh and steeple-chaser Avinash Sable, who will be supported tillthe 2019 World Championships.

Besides, star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra,Seema Punia, Mohammad Anas, Hima Das,

Ayyasamy Dharun, Jinson Johnson andSreeshankar Murali are other athletes who haveretained their places in the new TOPS list.

In the revised 10-men wrestling list,Utkarsh Kale (men's 57kg freestyle), DeepakPunia (men's 86kg freestyle), Divya Kakran(women's 68kg freestyle) and Sajan (men'sgreco-roman 66kg) are the four new entrants,which also has star grapplers like Sakshi Malik,Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat among others.

In weightlifting, the criteria for inclusionwas set at medal probable for women lifters andtop 10 for men's and on that basis Ragala VenkatRahul (men's 96kg) was included in the list whileworld champion Mirabai Chanu (women's49kg) was retained in the pruned chart.

Srikanth, Sameer enter quarters

Kidambi upsets Prannoy in marathon match to seal last-8 spot; Sindhu loses to Sung in straight sets

Sameer Verma returns a shot during his game; (right) PV Sindhu in action duringWorld C’ship BWF/PTI

Star mid-fielder Jackichand Singh attempts a shot during India’s clash PTI/File Picture

Srikanth vs Nishimoto

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Top boxers have it easy on opening day

Priority is to top the pool andmake quarterfinal: Manpreet

Sushil, Swapna dropped from TOPS

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Cilic,Thiem shine Nishu, Jacki called for Jordan clash

KUALA LUMPUR: The AsianFootball Confederation onThursday said the Video AssistantReferee (VAR) system will beimplemented from the quarter-finals of next year's Asian Cup.The AFC which is the regionalgoverning body, said VAR will beused in seven matches and at fourvenues.The system allows referees to

review video footage of keydecisions such as the awarding ofgoals, penalties and red cardsduring matches."The decision to include VAR wasonly made on September 26 andthat has meant a tremendousamount of work has been requiredto ensure that it can play a role atthe tournament from the quarter-final stages," Windsor John, the

AFC general-secretary said in astatement.The bigger 2019 Asian Cup willfeature a record 24 teams from allcorners of Asia, up from 16 thatparticipated in the previous foureditions.The Asian Cup UAE 2019 runsfrom 5 Jan to 1 Feb 2019, with 51matches being played in eightworld class stadiums. AFP

VAR to star in 2019 Asian Cup q/f: AFC

LUCKNOW: KidambiSrikanth and PV Sindhu weregiven the top seeding in theSyed Modi InternationalBadminton tournament to beheld at UP BadmintonAcademy from November 21to 25.

Top four men’s seeds ofthis prestegious tournamentwent to Indian players with HSPrannoy on two, SameerVerma on three and B SaiPraneeth on fourth. Others bigIndians’ names in the fraywere Sourabh Verma, AjayJayram and Parupalli Kashyapon 8th, 10th and 12th spot.

In the women’s category,Sindhu was followed by SainaNehwal, Sayaka Takahashi ofJapan, Yue Han and YimanZhang of China.SEEDINGS: (Singles men’s) Kidambi SrikanthKidambi, HS Prannoy,SameerVerma, B Sai Praneeth,Misha Zilberman, TanongsakSaensomboonsuk, LU Guangzu,Sourabh Verma, SitthikomThammasin, Ajay Jayaram.

(Women’s) PV Sindhu, SainaNehwal, Sayaka Takahashi, YueHan, Yiman Zhang, Dinar DyahAyustime, Li Xuerui, RituparnaDas, Ksenia Polikarpova, RuselliHartawan(Men’s Doubles) 1-Kim Astrup/Anders Skaarup Rasmussen(Denmark), 2-FajarAlfian/RianMuhammad (Indonesia), 3-TakutoInoue/Yuki Kaneko (Japan), 4-Endo Hiroyuki/Yuta Watanabe(Japan), 5-Mathias/CarstenMogensen (Denmark) (Women’sdoubles) 1-AyakaTakahashi/Misaki Matsutomo(Japan), 2-Rizki Amelia/DellaDestiara Haris (Indonesia), 3-MengYean Lee/Mei Kuan Chow(Malaysia), 4-N SikkiReddy/Ashwini Ponnappa (India),5-Ekaterina Bolotova/AlinaDavletova (Russia)(Mixed doubles) 1-EkoAlfian/Marsheilla Gischa Islami(Indonesia), 2-N SikkiReddy/Pranaav Jerry Chopra(India), 3-Evgenij Dremin/EvgeniaDimova (Russia), 4-Kai/Lu Chen(China), 5-Tang Jie/Yen Wei(Malaysia).

Srikanth, Sindhu

get top seeds

LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | NOVEMBER 16, 2018 sport 16

UP, RAJASTHAN, ASSAM NOTCH UP WINSJaipur: Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Assam registered wins intheir respective Elite Group C matches played across differentvenues in the country. While Uttar Pradesh thrashed hostsOdisha by 10 wickets in Bhubaneswar, Assam defeated Tripuraby a massive 211 runs in Agartala. On the other hand,Rajasthan hammered Services by five wickets at the SawaiMansingh Stadium in Jaipur, chasing a stiff 357-run target.Rajasthan rode on a magnificent 159 by their openerAmitkumar Gautam, who struck 13 fours and six other hits overthe fence. Opener Gautam, who had fallen cheaply in the firstinnings, and his partner Chetan Bist (78) laid the foundation ofthe win with their 170-run stand for the first wicket. 23-year-oldGautam, a right-handed batsman, scored runs when his teamneeded the most. He hammered a listless Services attack astheir bowlers leaked runs. When Gautam fell, the job was nearlydone as Rajasthan needed just another 25 runs. Then R KBishnoi (26) and T N Dhillon (10) took their side home with fivewickets to spare as Rajasthan earned six points.

DELHI FAIL TO REGISTER OUTRIGHT WINNew Delhi: Delhi's left-arm spin duo Vikas Mishra and VarunSood put up a disappointing show on a helpful last day track asHimachal Pradesh managed to eke out a point in a group B.Needing nine wickets on the final day and Himachal left with animprobable chase of 376, Mishra (2/57 in 33 overs) and Sood(1/51 in 21 overs) failed to break through the oppositionmiddle-order. HP finished their second innings at 266 for 5,primarily due to Nikhil Gangta (66 no, 184 balls) and RishiDhawan (52 no, 110 balls). Sumeet Verma (43, 91 balls) alsoplayed his part to perfection as Delhi bowlers sans IshantSharma (2/42 in 16 overs) looked below-par. Delhi bowledclose to 30 overs (29.4 overs) after Himachal lost their fifthwicket at 184 but the two spinners let it drift during theunbroken 82-run stand for the sixth wicket between Gangta andDhawan.

TN, HYDERABAD GAME END IN DRAWTirunelveli: Tamil Nadu and Hyderabad had to settle for onepoint each as the first innings remained unfinished resulting inthe Elite Group 'B' match ending in a tame draw. In reply toHyderabad's 565 for 8 declared, the home team was 409 for 4in 154 overs riding on tons by Abhinav Mukund (178) and NJagadeesan (131 not out, 16X4, 3X6) at close of play on thefourth and final day. Resuming at 163 for 2, Tamil Nadu lostskipper Baba Indrajith (33) for the addition of 15 runs.Wicketkeer-batsman Jagadeesan, then added 171 runs withMukund to dash any hopes Hyderabad would have entertainedof obtaining a lead. After the exit of the left-handed opener,Jagadeesan and B Anirudh Sitaram kept the rival bowlers atbay, adding 60 runs.

MP SALVAGE DRAW AGAINST BENGALKolkata: Left-handed opener Aryaman Birla slammed hismaiden first-class century to help Madhya Pradesh salvage adraw following on, as Bengal had to settle for three points intheir first home match of the season. Scion of the Birla family,Aryaman remained unbeaten on 103 in his third first-classmatch, while Shubham Sharma gave him fine support with 100not out on the fourth day to hand Madhya Pradesh one point intheir Elite Group B fixture. Bengal, who enjoyed a first inningslead in their last match in Himachal Pradesh, have now sixpoints from two games. Having taken a first innings lead overTamil Nadu in their last match, Madhya Pradesh now have fourpoints.

PUDUCHERRY GET THREE POINTS Puducherry: Debutants Puducherry opened their account withthree points by virtue of a first innings lead over Meghalaya ina rain-hit Plate Group fixture. Resuming the day on 95/4 in theirsecond innings, Puducherry were 129/7 when rain stoppedplay in 47.1 overs at the Siechem ground here. With cycloneGaja looming large, there was no respite from a downpour asonly 17.1 overs could be possible and home team got threepoints, thanks to their first innings lead. Puducherry had made389 in their first innings before bowling out Meghalaya for 326.Rain remained the common feature in the second match of thegroup in Jorhat where the final day's play was abandonedwithout a ball being bowled as Arunachal Pradesh were lucky tobag three points, thanks to their first innings lead overMizoram.

JACKSON, JADEJA STAR IN SAURASHTRA'S WINRajkot: Sheldon Jackson hit a strokeful half century whileRavindra Jadeja made a crucial unbeaten 48 to guide hostsSaurashtra to a three-wicket win over Railways in a Group Amatch. Saurashtra lost seven wickets while chasing 184 for anoutright win, but Ravindra Jadeja (48 not out) held his nervousalong with Kamlesh Makwana (14 not out) to take their side tovictory. Jackson's 55-ball 54, which had eight fours and twosixes proved to be the difference among the two sides.Saurashtra were four wickets down for 65 at one stage, butthen Jackson and Jadeja pulled the team out of trouble. Jadeja,who reamined unbeaten on 178 in the first innings, carried onhis form and responded to his team's call. Earlier, Saurashtrabowlers did a descent job to bundle out Railways for 331 intheir second innings and ensure that the target remained below200. PTI

RANJI TROPHY

PTI n MUMBAI

India coach Ravi Shastri on Thursdaysaid that there won't be any more"chopping and changing" with the

ODI side with just 13 matches remain-ing before the opening World Cup gameagainst South Africa on June 5.

Shastri indicated that from now on,they will be playing around those 15 play-ers, who are going to board the UKbound flight.

"We will try to play (those) 15, whowill go to the World Cup. Chopping andchanging is over now. The grace periodis over now," Shastri made it clear dur-ing the pre-departure press conferenceahead of the Australian tour.

"Now it is the time to really getfocussed and play as a unit and thenhopefully not have too many injuries, sothat we don't have to look elsewhere andtake it from there.

"We don't have too many games now.We have 13 games, so we will look to playthe best team at all times," he added.

The 13 games include three-matchaway series against Australia followed byfive-match series against New Zealandand then a return five-match seriesagainst Australia at home early next year.

India will play a four-match Testseries beginning on December 6 atAdelaide and Shastri said that the visitorswill have to learn from their experiencein South Africa and England to challengeAustralia.

"I see a lot of progress across all for-mats and I say that inspite of the (series)scoreline in England. When you look atactual performances in conditions thatare foreign to us, we are more thanhappy," he said.

The coach is hopeful that playershave learnt from their mistakes of pre-vious tours.

"It is a learning process. If we learnfrom the mistakes that we made in SouthAfrica and England, it will hold us ingood stead in Australia.

"Test cricket obviously is different, itis the last series that we play before theWorld Cup. So the focus will be entire-ly on the series."

‘ALL DEPARTMENT MUST FIRE’Indian captain Virat Kohli on

Thursday staunchly supported RaviShastri, saying the growing perception ofhead coach being a "yes" man to the skip-per "is the most bizarre thing he has everheard".

"That is the most bizarre thing I haveheard. In Indian cricket, I don't thinkthere is anyone else who has said no tome more than him honestly. He is oneguy I can speak to and can get an hon-est opinion. I have made more changes

to my game listening to him than any-one else in the past," said Kohli before theteam's departure.

The 30-year-old spoke on a range ofissues facing the team ahead of thesquad's departure to Australia where itwill play three T20s, four Tests and threeODIs starting November 21.

Kohli went on to say that not onlyhim, other players have also learntimmensely from Shastri.

"His contribution ever since westarted building this team is making peo-ple believe that they belong there. We allwent through a tough time in 2014 (theEngland tour) and for me to able to come

out of that, and Shikhar (Dhawan) in the2015 World Cup, he can vouch for that.He (Ravi bhai) knows how to get the bestout of the players," said Kohli.

Batting let the team down in SouthAfrica and England, leading to a back-to-back series defeats. With Australiawithout the suspended Steve Smith andDavid Warner, India have a good chanceof recording a maiden series win inAustralia. But Kohli is not looking too farahead.

"There is a lot of room for improve-ment. That is something we realise as ateam also. We understand what we needto work on so it is up to the individualsto take ownership of that," said Kohli,referring to the batting especially.

"There were lot of things we dis-cussed after England, on what wentwrong. We felt there was not a lot that wedid wrong but whatever was not rightwent extreme. We played good cricket butthe mistakes were also very extreme.

On the contrary, the bowlers did wellin the last two away tours but Kohli saidall departments must fire in unison toachieve a series win.

"From the last time we went there (toAustralia), fitness levels of the bowlers aresurely up, which is the most importantfactor in Australia. The pitches can getboring at times, the Kookaburra doesn'tdo much. So, it is about maintaining thepace with which you start your day."

He cited the example of SouthAfrica, who are one of the few teams towin a Test series in Australia in recenttimes.

"That is why South Africa havedone well. They had Morkel, Kallis, DaleSteyn and now Kagiso Rabada. They haverelentlessly bowled in the right areas toget those wickets. Our guys are surelycapable too to do a similar kind of job butI don't want to focus on that. The bats-men need to step up as well.

"We have spoken as team afterEngland on putting up a complete per-formance. Everyone is keen to correctthose things. People have to take moreownership especially the batsmen. Thewhole combination has to come togeth-er to win series and not just one Test."

PTI n NEW DELHI

Former Australia captain SteveWaugh is "not sure" if the current

Indian team led by Virat Kohli is anybetter than some of the sides that heplayed against during his internationalcareer.

Waugh spoke in reference toIndia coach Ravi Shastri's commentsthat this is "the best Indian side in thelast 15 years".

"Look I have played against somegreat Indian sides and I am not surethat the current side is better than theones we played against," Waugh toldESPN Cricinfo.

The 53-year-old said such com-ments could have been avoided as itputs pressure on the team.

"I am not really sure but probablynot a great thing to say as it puts extrapressure on the team. Once theystart losing, they will get a lot of crit-icism for that. Look, it's good that RaviShastri believes in his side but com-ments like these could be kept to him-

self," Waugh said.The former skipper known for his

mental disintegration tactic feels thatAustralia despite recent problemswould be hard to beat in their ownden.

"Australia will be hard to beat inAustralia. We have a bowling attackas good as any team in world cricketand we can take wickets. It's our bat-ting if we score 350 runs in first

innings, I think we will be very hardto beat. And someone will alwayscome and do well and that's the natureof the sport.

"I am still pretty confident that wecan win in Australia but it's going tobe a close series though," Waugh saidabout the Test series startingDecember 6.

Like everyone else, he praisedVirat Kohli for his supreme consis-tency comparing him with BrianLara and Sachin Tendulkar.

"He is a great player and he lovesthese big moments. He is likeTendulkar and Lara. They wait forthese and that's where they want toshow their best. He will be the dan-german straightaway but they havesome pretty good batsmen," Waughsaid.

"Actually, India have quite arounded team and they will see thisas a significant chance. They wouldhave prepared for this tour for a longtime. I think it is going to be reallyclose series," he added.

AFP n ABU DHABI

Pakistan skipper SarfrazAhmed is confident leg-

spinner Yasir Shah and medi-um pacer Mohammad Abbascan combine to tame "tough"New Zealand in the first Teststarting in Abu Dhabi onFriday.

The fast-rising Abbas took17 wickets in a two-match Testseries, including a ten-wickethaul at Sheikh Zayed Stadiumin Abu Dhabi, as Pakistan beatAustralia 1-0 last month.

Abbas, who made his debutlast year, has 59 wickets fromhis first 10 Tests and will bebacked by the spin duo ofYasir and Bilal Asif.

Sarfraz said he expectsmore from Yasir, who managedjust eight wickets againstAustralia.

"Yes, our bowling attack isgood," said Sarfraz onThursday.

"Abbas has been bowlingsuperbly while Yasir didn'tlook as great as we had expect-ed, but in this series I expectmore from Yasir."

Yasir has been a matchwinner on the neutral venuesof United Arab Emirates(UAE).

AFP n DHAKA

Zimbabwe's Brendan Taylorfought valiantly with his second

century of the Test but Bangladeshwon the final match by 218 runs toend the series at 1-1 on Thursday.

Needing a mammoth 443 towin, Zimbabwe were bowled out inthe second session on the fifth dayin Dhaka with Taylor remainingunbeaten on 106.

Taylor's knock of patience andcontrolled aggression came from 167balls and featured ten fours. He hadhit 110 in Zimbabwe's first essay of304.

Off-spinner Mehidy Hasan wasthe wrecker-in-chief on the final dayas he returned bowling figures of 5-38 -- his fifth five-wicket haul inTests.

Mehidy denied Zimbabwe anychance of repeating their clinicalperformance of the first match inSylhet that they won by 151 runs.

Taijul Islam added two morewickets to his five in the first inningsand finished the series with a careerbest haul of 18 scalps in two match-es. He was named the player of theseries.

The home side declared thefirst innings on 522 for seven withMushfiqur Rahim hitting an unbeat-en 219 -- the first time a wicket-keeper hit two double tons in Testcricket.

The visitors' hopes of securinga draw rested on the pairing ofTaylor and Peter Moor, whose 139-run sixth wicket stand in the first

innings took the visitors past the 300mark.

But once Moor departed after a79-ball vigil for a paltry 13 runs,smartly caught at short leg by Imruloff Mehidy, the Zimbabwe battingfell flat.

Resuming at 76 for 2, Zimbabwelost another key man Sean Williamsfor 13 after pace bowler MustafizurRahman provided Bangladesh withthe day's first breakthrough.

Spinner Taijul dismissedSikandar Raza for 12 by taking asharp return catch to reduceZimbabwe to 120 for 4.

But Taylor and Moor saw theirside through to the lunch break withan unbeaten 41-run stand for thefifth wicket.

Bangladesh declared their sec-ond innings on 224 for six at the teabreak Wednesday after skipperMahmudullah Riyad completed hissecond century in eight years.

The victory was Bangladesh'sfirst this year and it came after eightinnings in which the Test minnowscould not cross the 200 run mark.

AP n KANDY

Sri Lanka fought backadmirably against

England thanks to a back-to-the-wall 85 by RoshenSilva to earn a first-inningslead of 46 runs in the sec-ond test on Thursday.

However, Silva's failureto ground his bat and runshort conceded a rare fivepenalty runs to England.

Sri Lanka was all out for336 in reply to England's285, boosted to 290 with thepenalty runs at PallekeleInternational Stadium.

England faced just oneover before stumps on daytwo and promoted Leach toopen the innings. Thenightwatchman negotiatedsix deliveries from DilruwanPerera without furtherdrama on a day wheremomentum swung bothways.

At 165-6 and still 120runs behind England's first-innings total, the SriLankans were under pres-sure. But Silva put up a mag-nificent show, teaming withthe tail to push the hosts infront. However, the SriLankans will still have to batlast on a pitch that hasplenty to offer for spinbowlers.

Silva, in for injured cap-tain Dinesh Chandimal,

was on 6 when AngeloMathews fell for 20, andfrom there he stitched somevaluable partnerships withthe lower order to post acompetitive total, SriLanka's highest in the series.

Silva and NiroshanDickwella put on 46 runs forthe seventh wicket but thestand that handed Sri Lankathe initiative back was the

ninth worth 56 runsbetween Silva and AkilaDananjaya (31). The SriLankans were givingEngland a taste of its ownmedicine, after Englandadded 60 runs for the lastwicket.

Suranga Lakmal andSilva added 28 runs for thelast wicket. Silva was the lastman dismissed when heattempted to loft Rashid tothe boundary but failed toclear mid-on.

PTI n SYDNEY

Putting country first, Cricket Australiawill not allow its players, picked in the

World Cup squad, to take part in the lastfew weeks of the 2019 Indian PremierLeague (IPL) so that they prepare well forthe big-ticket event.

The lucrative IPL Twenty20 tourna-ment is likely to start early than the sched-uled time to give the players enough timeto rest and prepare for the ODI World Cup,starting in England on May 30.

Advancing the IPL dates to Marchmeans it will clash with the last part ofAustralia's domestic season as well astheir ODI series against Pakistan.

The final round of the Sheffield Shieldis scheduled from March 20 to 23, while thePakistan ODI series, though not confirmed,has been pencilled in for March 15-29.

Cricket Australia has made it clear thatWorld Cup remains the priority for thedefending champions and the players will

have to complete their Sheffield Shield com-mitments and national duties to getapproval to play in the IPL.

Cricket Australia also said the 15players selected in the World Cup squad willhave to attend a pre-tournament camp inearly May, which means they could miss thefinal 2-3 weeks of the IPL.

Fast bowler Mitchell Starc, who hasalready been released from the KKR squad,has said said that he will not put himselfavailable for the 2019 IPL auction.

‘NO MORE CHOPPING

AND CHANGING TILL WC’

Skipper Virat Kohli along with coach Ravi Shastri speaks during team's Australia tour pre-departure press conference at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai PTI

Steve Waugh in action against India File Photo

B’desh players celebrate after dismissing Zimbatsman during final day of 2nd Test ICC

Roshen Silva plays a shot during his innings against England in 2nd Test

Suspended duo of David Warner and Steve Smith

MUMBAI: The Australian players have oflate refrained from sledging, which isperfectly fine with Indian captain ViratKohli, who is happy to compete "withoutany altercation" during the upcomingseries Down Under.The Australian cricket is going through amassive restructuring and the "win at allcosts" strategy employed by teams ofyesteryears, is not being encouragedanymore.Both Kohli and senior-most pacer IshantSharma felt that it is entirely up to theAustralians as to how they play theircricket but assured that their playerswon't be the first ones to indulge in anykind of sledging."I think that's (no sledging policy) a verypersonal thing for them. But when it

comes to getting engaged in an argumenton the field or a fight as people want tocall it excitedly, I have been completely okwith playing without the altercation," Kohlitold mediapersons at the pre-departurepress conference.Senior pacer Ishant said that he didn'tmind if Australians sledged like earliertours because he has the ability to give itback if they start."Let's see what Aussies do. We will onlycome to know once we reach there. Youdon't expect them to be really friendly andthis is a man's sport. You will go thereand get tough conditions. When you playfor your country, no one will give youeasy runs or wickets. If it's a tough sport,then you got to be tough and up for anysort of challenge," Ishant said. PTI

KOHLI HAPPY TO PLAY ‘WITHOUT ALTERCATION’

Shastri indicates to

play around World

Cup probables in

the remaining 13

games before 2019

World Cup

‘Don't think current Indian side is better than ones I played against’‘Aus WC stars to miss parts of IPL’

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Indian spinners produced yetanother controlled perfor-

mance to clinch a semi-finalberth with a comfortable 52-run victory against Ireland ina group league encounter of theICC Women’s World T20 onThursday.

After managing 145 for 6on a slow track, Indian spinnersmaintained tight leash on Irishwomen restricting them to 93for 8 in 20 overs.

With their third win, Indiawith six points were assured ofa last-four spot along withAustralia (6 points from 3games) with New Zealand,Pakistan and Ireland alreadyeven before their campaigncould officially end.

While India’s batting per-formance leaving a lot to bedesired, the spinners RadhaYadav (3/25 in 4 overs), DeeptiSharma (2/15 in 3 overs),Poonam Yadav (1/14 in 4overs) and skipperHarmanpreet Kaur (1/10 in 4overs) were economical as wellpicked wickets at regular inter-vals.

India’s strategy of packingoff-side cordon and bowlingwide of stumps, paid off asIreland were never in the chaseconceding as many as 65 dotballs (nearly 11 overs).

Once Deepti got rid ofGaby Lewis (9) with a classicaloff-break and Poonam’s loopyleg-break saw the end of ClareShillington (23) stumped byTaniya Bhatia, Ireland had nochance whatsoever.

Earlier, riding on apainstaking half-century fromformer skipper Mithali Raj,India managed only 145 for sixafter being put into bat.

Promoted to open the bat-ting, veteran Mithali (51 off 56balls) added 67 runs in 10 overswith Smriti Mandhana (33, 29balls) but the innings nevergained required momentumon a track that remained a bitdamp due to overnight show-ers.

The decision to bring inJemimah Rodrigues at No 3,didn’t quite work out well asMithali never got going despitehitting four boundaries and asix. Having effectively scored 22off five deliveries, Mithaliscored another 21 off 51 balls.Her failure to rotate the strikedid affect the momentum onceMandhana was bowled bymedium pacer Kim Garth, try-ing a wild slog. She hit fourboundaries and a six.

Young Rodrigues hit threefours in his 11-ball-18 but wasstumped off Laura Delany’swide delivery when she tried togive charge.

Spinners shine as India beatIreland to enter semi-finals

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