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VIJAYAWADA, SUNDAY MARCH 14, 2021; PAGES 10+16 `5

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HYDERABADWEATHER

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated March 13 , 2021 5:00 PM

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Telugus displaywelcome unity against

VSP privatisation

2

Govt committed to promote

renewable energy:Gadkari

6

OBTUSE ANGLE

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Rubbing salt into the wounds ofworkers, BJP national secretary andco-in-charge for Andhra PradeshSunil Deodhar on Saturday madeit clear that the Government has nobusiness to be in business and hen-ce all public sector units, barringsome sectors, would be privatised.

The BJP leader was inVijayawada to attend a party meet-ing that discussed matters relatedto Tirupati by-elections, VizagSteel Plant privatisation issue andthe activities taken up by partyworkers to spread awareness onCovid-19 vaccine.

Recently, sparking outrageamong the agitators, Union FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharaman hadreiterated that the CabinetCommittee of Economic Affairs(CCEA), in its meeting, held onJanuary 27 this year, has accorded'in-principle' approval for 100 per-cent disinvestment of Governmentof India shareholding in RashtriyaIspat Nigam Limited (RINL) along

with RINL's stake in its sub-sidiaries/joint ventures throughstrategic disinvestment by way ofprivatisation.

Replying to a question posed bymedia persons, Deodhar said thatthe decision has been taken by theNarendra Modi government. "It isnot only about the VisakhapatnamSteel Plant.

All loss-making PSUs, barringdefence and security sectors, arebeing privatised. Government hasno business to be in business."

He assured that all the employ-ees will be taken care of by theGovernment even after the plant isprivatised.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Elections to two Teachers con-stituencies in the Andhra PradeshLegislative Council will be held onSunday, where 30 candidates are inthe fray.

Sitting legislator ASRamakrishna is trying his luck onceagain from the Krishna-GunturTeachers Constituency while theremaining are new candidates.

The Telugu Desam Party hassupported the candidature ofRamakrishna, while in East andWest Godavari TeachersConstituency it has extended sup-port to an independent nomineeCherukuri Subhash Chandra Bose.

There are five Teachers con-stituency seats in the 58- memberAP Legislative Council.

Sitting MLCs Ramu Surya Raoand A S Ramakrishna are set toretire at the end of their six-yearterm on March 29.

There are 17,467 electors inEast and West and 13,505 inKrishna-Guntur Teachers con-stituencies, according to ChiefElectoral Officer K Vijayanand.

He said 116 polling stations

were set up in East-West and 111in Krishna-Guntur and over 5,000staff have been deployed for pollingduties.

Senior IAS officers Samuel

Anand Kumar and KV Ramanahave been posted as Observers forthe two constituencies to overseethe poll process.

PNS n TIRUPATI

India has done its best to help theworld during the Covid-19 crisisunder the dynamic leadership ofPrime Minister Narendra Modi,said Railway Minister PiyushGoyal on Saturday.

After offering prayers at thefamous hill shrine of LordVenkateswara at Tirumala here,Piyush Goyal told reporters thatduring the pandemic period, thecountry with its over 130 crorepopulation has shown the world itsresilient strength by quickly recov-ering after a fight with the dread-ed virus.

India was not dependent on any-body during the pandemic period,rather it extended support to theworld in the battle against the virus,Goyal claimed.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

with the true spirit of 'VasudhaivaKutumbakam' (regarding the worldas one family) has initially support-ed with supply of medicines to over150 countries besides COVID-19vaccine supply to over 75 nationsfrom India, Goyal noted.

"This is the true spirit andstrength of the people of India thatwe ever care for the world whileprotecting ourselves," Goyal said,adding that the presiding deity ofTirupati Lord Balaji blessed andencouraged us to serve the worldduring the COVID-19 period.

Noting that Covid-19 pandem-ic has not yet ended, he urged peo-ple to be careful and protect them-selves by strictly observing the pro-tocols including maintaining socialdistance and wearing masks at alltimes.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Andhra Pradesh and Telanganastand to immensely benefit fromthe framework and guidelines fortesting, monitoring and surveil-lance of drinking water quality aswell as a Water Quality InformationManagement System (WQMIS),an online portal launched by theUnion Jal Shakti Ministry to pro-vide detailed information on labo-ratories for this purpose.

As per a statement made in2016 by the Centre in the LokSabha, Visakhapatnam, WestGodavari, Krishna, Guntur,Prakasam, Nellore, Chittoor,Kadapa, Kurnool, Anantapur andSrikakulam districts in AP have flu-oride levels in excess of 1.5 mg/l, thepermissible limit as per the drink-ing water standards of Bureau ofIndian Standards (BIS).

Not only this, nitrate content isabove the desirable limit of 45 mg/l

in all the 13 districts of the State.The problem of excess fluoride waseven more acute in Telangana, but

has largely been contained of latedue to the Mission Bhagiratha ofthe State government.

The guidelines specify work to bedone in terms of surveillance andmonitoring at the state, district,block/tehsil and village levels.

The basic water quality param-eters prescribed under the guide-lines are pH value, total dissolvedsolids, turbidity, chloride, totalalkalinity, total hardness, sulphate,iron, total arsenic, fluoride, nitrate,

total coliform bacteria, e coli or the-rmo-tolerant coliform bacteria.

The guidelines have been pre-pared in consultation with the In-dian Council of Medical Research.

Jal Shakti Minister GajendraSingh Shekhawat told reportersthat the aim of the Jal JeevanMission is to provide functional tapwater connections by 2024 to allrural households and water quali-ty is an important aspect of it.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The State Election Commissionhas made all arrangements forcounting of votes cast for the cru-cial elections to urban local bod-ies across Andhra Pradesh onSunday.

Counting of votes will com-mence from 8 am for 11 corpo-rations and 70 municipalities.The counting process for theEluru Municipal Corporationand Chilakaluripet municipalitywill be taken up only after the APHigh Court gives its orders onvarious petitions.

According to the poll panel,tight security arrangements are in

place at the counting centreswhere Section 144 will be inforce.

The poll panel has appointed2,376 supervisors and 7,412counting staff for municipal cor-porations, while 1,941 supervi-sors and 5,195 staff will beresponsible for municipalities.For the counting process 4,026tables have been set up for bothcorporations and municipalities.

In all 20,419 police personnelwill be on security duty at thecounting centres. Of these, 172are DSPs, 476 are CIs, 1345 areSIs, 17292 are constables and1134 are government employees.

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Alarmed at the death of a 64-year-old man just two days after tak-ing Covid-19 vaccine in WestGodavari district, health officialssaid that it was too early to linkthe death with the vaccine.

Health officials said that theyare awaiting the sample report toconfirm the reason for the fatal-ity as the recipient was sufferingfrom paralysis and other comor-bidities.

P Kutumba Rao, a watchmanin Vanguru village underPedavegi mandal in WestGodavari was administered theCovid-19 vaccine on March 10.After he complained of unease, hewas shifted to Eluru GovernmentHospital on March 12 where hepassed away.

Rao was suffering from paral-ysis, diabetes and other ailments.

As the family members of Raofiled a police complaint with theII-Town police, a post-mortemwas conducted. Samples weresent to Regional Forensic ScienceLaboratories in Vijayawada.

Rao's family complained thatafter taking the vaccine, he devel-oped high fever. As his health de-teriorated, he was shifted to theEluru district hospital on March12.

The police registered a caseunder Section 174 CRPC.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The United Forum of Bank Unions(UFBU) on Saturday said thatbanks would be closed on March15 and 16 against the CentralGovernment's moves to privatisethe sector and to exert pressure onthe Centre to protect the sectoritself.

UFBU convener BS Rambabu

said that bankers have conductedan awareness campaign againstthe decision of the UnionGovernment on privatisation ofpublic sector banks and urgedpeople to bear with the inconven-ience during the two-day strike onMarch 15 and 16. Rambabuexpressed apprehensions about thesafety of depositors' money andrapidly vanishing employment

opportunities due to privatisationof public sector banks.

Bank employees, under the aegisof the UFBU, distributed pamphletsand explained to the masses aboutthe need of saving public sectorbanks. They demanded the CentralGovernment to withdraw its deci-sion to privatise public sector banks.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Daring Minister for MunicipalAdministration in Telangana KTRama Rao to allocate theBayyaram steel mines toVisakhapatnam Steel Plant if hegenuinely has as much love forAndhra Pradesh as he has beenprofessing, BJP national secretaryY Satya Kumar on Saturday chal-lenged the TRS leader to take upthe VSP privatisation issue withChief Minister YS JaganmohanReddy.

The BJP leader was repudiatingthe allegations levelled by KTRagainst Union Minister for SteelDharmendra Pradhan at a mediaconference here on Saturday wherehe charged the TRS leader ofstoking passions over the VSPprivatisation issue only with an eyeon the votes of Andhra-origingraduates in the MLC polls.

He dared Jagan to hold discus-sions with the Telangana

Government if he has any love forthe VSP. “The Governments of APand Telangana can purchase theVSP and run it if they are so pas-sionate about it,” Satya Kumarsaid.

“It’s ridiculous that someonelike KTR, who did not come to therescue of the flood-hit residents ofHyderabad, is now speaking aboutthe VSP.

Teachers to pick their choice for2 Legislative Council seats today

All eyes on Vijayawada, Vizag, Guntur civicbodies as officials prepare to count votes

Man dies aftertaking vax,health officialsprobe reason

Bank staff to strike for 2 days

Union Minister Piyush Goyal offers prayers at the Lord Venkateswara temple in Tirumala onSaturday.

India helped 150 nationsdeal with Covid: Goyal

Centre to monitor water quality; Telugu States benefit

Netizensrip

Chiru'stweet

PAGE -2

Allot Bayyaram minesto VSP, BJP tells KTR

Deodhar rubs it in, saysno rethink on VSP sale

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2

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10

SATYANADELLA, USLAWMAKERS

APPALLEDBY ACTS OF

HATE...

FARMER LEADER RAKESH TIKAIT TOHOLD MAHAPANCHAYAT IN NANDIGRAM

Amid an intense Trinamool vs BJP fightover Chief Minister Mamata Banerjeegetting injured last week, farmers'

leader Rakesh Tikait is visiting Bengal'sNandigram today, where he will hold amahapanchayat (public meeting). MsBanerjee has filed her poll nominationfrom the assembly seat and will take onBJP's Suvendu Adhikari, whose exit fromthe Trinamool last year triggered an exodusof leaders from the party. Mr Tikait, who hasbeen leading a massive farmers' protest against the threecentral agriculture laws at the Delhi-UP border, was welcomedin Kolkata by Trinamool MP Dola Sen Saturday.

FREE TABLETS, FUEL PRICE CUTAMONG DMK'S 500 POLL PROMISES

Free computer tablets with data card forstudents, free local public transport forwomen, reservation of 75 per cent jobs

for people of Tamil origin, fuel price cut,and financial assistance of Rs 25,000 toone lakh people going on pilgrimage tomajor Hindu temples are among more theDMK's top poll promises revealed todayas the party prepares to give a tough fightto the ruling AIADMK. DMK chief MK Stalinreleased the manifesto, which, he said, hasmore than 500 poll promises.The party, which has been holdingprotests against NEET, will bring a law against the medicalentrance exam in the first assembly session, it has said.

DELHI MAN SHOT DEAD OVER DJ SONGSAT BROTHER'S BIRTHDAY PARTY: COPS

A28-year-old man was arrested forshooting dead another man allegedlyafter an altercation between them

over playing DJ songs during a birthdayparty in Najafgarh area, police said onSaturday. The man, Anuj Sharma, wasshot dead by Naveen Kumar on Thur-sday during the birthday celebrations ofthe victim's younger brother held at afarmhouse in Najafgarh area of the nationalcapital, they said. An altercation took placebetween Naveen and Anuj over playing DJ songs during thebirthday celebrations. The accused, who was under theinfluence of alcohol, opened fire at Anuj and fled from the spot.

PROTESTING FARMERS BUILDHOMES BY HIGHWAY NEAR DELHI

Eyeing long haul, farmers protestingagainst three contentious agricul-tural laws since late November

have now started constructing brickhouses near Delhi's border. Afterbraving winter chills, facing internetcurbs and other restrictions to con-fine their movement, demonstratorsare prepared to continue the sit-inamid a deadlock with the government.At Tikri border, protesters can be seen con-structing these houses on their own. They are spending onthe construction material but saving on cost of labour; theestimated cost of each house is around Rs 20,000-25,000.

Printed and published by B Krishna Prasad for and on behalf of CMYK Printech Ltd., Printed at Sree Seshasai Enterprises, D.No. New 3-88, Old 3-22, Chandra Theatre, Gosala, Penamaluru Mandal, Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh - 521 151, Resident Editor: B Krishna Prasad, AIR SURCHARGE of Rs 2.00.

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damage or loss to any person, a purchaser of this publication or not for the result of any action taken on the basis of this work. All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent court and forums in Delhi/New Delhi only. Readers are advised and requested to verify and seek appropriate advice to satisfy themselves about the veracity of any kind of advertisement before

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VIJAYAWADA | SUNDAY | MARCH 14, 2021 vijayawada 02

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(IN HYDERABAD)

The expression of solidar-ity by TelanganaIndustries Minister K. T.

Rama Rao with the Andhras'struggle against privatisation ofVisakhapatnam Steel Plant istimely and welcome. It is wel-come not merely because of hisfears that the axe may next fallon BHEL, Singareni Collieriesand other public sector unitsin Telangana.

His gesture in askingwhether Andhra is not a partof India is a show of unity witha neighbouring Telugu Statewith which Telangana hasbeen slugging it out in Courtsand Tribunals on major issueslike sharing of water, powerand funds. At this criticalhour for VSP, the criticism thatKTR is trying to woo Andhravoters in the elections to twoMLC seats that have a com-bined electorate of 10.36 lakhsis inconsequential.

Having vented their ireagainst each other, the way for-ward for the two Telugu Statesmay lie in presenting a unitedface before the Centre oncommon issues like privatisa-tion of VSP. Leaders in NewDelhi know from history andfrom evidence that Telugus, atleast their leaders, can rarelyspeak in one voice even onexistentialist issues concerningall sections of people.

They also know they don'thave to bow and scrape beforethe Telugus like they have todo in Tamil Nadu on emotiveissues like Hindi or be extrarespectful towards Bengaliicons like Tagore, Bose andIshwar Chandra Vidyasagar.History is witness to how LalBahadur Shastri had to climbdown after riots rockedMadras State and promise thatHindi would not be imposedin States where it was not themother tongue.

No such deference wasshown to Telangana by Indira

Gandhi after the violent agita-tion in 1969 for separateStatehood or to Andhra in1972. She only sacked theCongress chief ministers KasuBrahmananda Reddy and P. V.Narasimha Rao. The strugglefor Telangana saw fruitiononly in 2014 when theCongress, led by SoniaGandhi, mistakenly hoped toreap rich electoral rewards bydividing the State.

In the conundrum of regionand caste, the larger picture hasbeen lost of how disunityamong the Telugus has beenexploited by parties ruling atthe Centre and given neigh-

bours an opportunity to dom-inate. Jairam Ramesh, memberof the UPA government'sgroup of ministers (GoM),wrote in his book on bifurca-tion that formation of AndhraState (in 1953) could havecome three or four years ear-lier had Rajaji been morecooperative, T. Prakasam moreaccommodating, andJawaharlal Nehru not adamantabout consensus.

Later, both Nehru andIndira Gandhi turned a blindeye to the safeguards promisedto the Telangana region in theGentlemen's Agreement. Themotives in both cases were

opportunistic. Rajaji fearedthat Communists would havean upper hand in a unitedAndhra, while UPA II sup-ported formation of a separateTelangana in 2014 out of elec-toral considerations. Therewas complete disunity withinparties and between each otherwhich turned suicidal for threemajor parties. The Congressand BJP today have no elec-toral presence in Andhra,

while the TDP stands decimat-ed in Telangana.

BJP, the party now in powerin Delhi, has faced no suchrepercussions by reneging onthe promises of giving a spe-cial package to Andhra, ITInvestment Region (ITIR) inTelangana or a coach factoryin Kazipet. It has gotten awayby describing these U-turns aspolicy changes. It was a bigzero in Andhra and remains assuch today, though inTelangana it suffered no back-lash having been an activepartner to bifurcation.

The move for hundred percent divestment from VSP,the crown jewel of Andhra,constitutes a betrayal of theworst kind as the steel plantrepresented a sweet victoryafter years of struggle by peo-ple seeking jobs that a megaindustrial unit would provide.Until then, millions of tonnesor iron ore mined in Bailadilawere shipped from Vizag portto Japan and China with the

latter sending back low qual-ity steel to India.

All that Vizagites got was alayer of red-coloured iron oredust falling off the conveyorbelt running from railwaydumpyards to the port. Oncethe disinvestment processenunciated by FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharamanis complete, Vizag will be leftwith privately owned petrole-um and chemical units, whichhave seen many industrialaccidents and fatal pollutionevents. Steel plant workersfear that Sitharaman has kepta door open even for completeshutdown of VSP.

By her rather terse statementon VSP's privatisation,Sitharaman, who has links withcoastal Andhra, ignored thestruggle in the late 1960s thatforced Indira Gandhi to declarethat a shore-based steel plantwould be set up in the city. Theslogan of "Visakha ukku,Andhralu hakku" (Vizag Steel isthe right of the Andhras) rever-

berated throughout the Stateleading to the resignation of 66MLAs, including those fromTelangana, and the death of 32agitators.

Politics aside, the presentdivestment plan has drawn flakfor the low valuation of the assetsat Rs. 32,022 crore (when thecompany has 19,700 acres ofunused land) and for an inflat-ed debt burden primarily causedby borrowings at high interestrates.

What has rattled the workersis the Centre's refusal to look atrevival proposals like allotmentof captive mines or merger ofNMDC, Kudremukh Iron OreCompany, SAIL and VSP, allfalling under the Steel Ministry.

The Centre's tough stand onVSP has eliminated any prospectof establishment of the steel plantat Bayyaram in Telangana aspromised in the A.P.Reorganisation Act 2014. TheCentre may end up antagonis-ing both the Telugu Statesinstead of one.

S NAGESH KUMARFormer Resident Editor,

The Hindu

Once the disinvestment process enunciated

by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is

complete, Vizag will be left with privately

owned petroleum and chemical units, which

have seen many industrial accidents and

fatal pollution events.

‘ALL ANDSUNDRY’

Telugus display welcome unity against VSP privatisation

Netizens rip Chiru's tweetMARTHI SUBRAHMANYAMn VIJAYAWADA

Hawk-eyed netizens havepounced on actor and formerUnion minister Chiranjeevifor inaccuracies in his recenttweet, recalling his purportedrole as a college student in thelate sixties' agitation for theVisakhapatnam Steel Plant inundivided Andhra Pradesh.

Poor Chiru's tweet, report-edly posted when he wasrecovering from sunstroke thathe suffered during a shootrecently, has been torn toshreds.

In his now notorious tweet,Chiru had claimed: "As a stu-dent of YNM College inNarsapuram, I, along withother college mates blackenedthe college walls writing slo-

gans with a brush in favour ofthe Visakhapatnam Steel Plant.We staged dharnas, hartals,and observed relay hungerstrikes to achieve the steelplant.

When the steel plant wasrealised, we, the students, cel-ebrated the occasion. The slo-gans of those days are stillgreen in my memory."

The 'Mega Star', as his die-hard fans still call him, thenpledged his support to thecurrent movement against theprivatisation of theVisakhapatnam Steel Plant. Healso said it was unfortunatethat "the Centre did not allotcaptive mines for the steelplant".

According to Wikipedia,Chiranjeevi, who was born onAugust 22, 1955, was a student

of the YerramalliNarayanamurthi College(YNM College) during 1973-76. However, the movementfor the Visakhapatnam SteelPlant gathered momentumduring 1966-67.

Presuming Chiru startedattending school at the age offive, he should be either inClass VI or VII by the time themovement for the steel plantwas launched. The steel plantwas realised in 1971.

By that time, Chiranjeevishould be in his teens (say 16years). He must have beenstudying Intermediate by thattime, netizens guess applyingplain logic.

Going by the prevalent edu-cation system, there were nonursery classes then. Generallychildren used to be admitted to

schools at the age of five.Going by that system, a studentshould have completed hisSSC at the age of 15 andIntermediate at the age of 17.The student would graduatefrom a university when he orshe was 20.

Netizens took pot shots atChiru, asking him whether hehad blackened the 'collegewalls' with slogans while he wasin Class VI? Or, did he takepart in the movement when hewas pursuing Intermediate? Ifthat were true, did he 'agitate'for a plant that had alreadybeen achieved!

Taking Chiru at his word onhis political innings, netizensare asking him why he did notachieve captive mines for VSPwhen he was a member of theUPA Cabinet.

n ‘Role' in VSP stir as college student leaves many scratching heads

All eyes on Vijayawada, Vizag, Guntur civic bodies as...Continued from Page 1

For counting of votes in 11corporations in AP, 16 count-ing centres have been set up.For VizianagaramCorporation, counting will bedone at Rajiv Sports Complexnear Old Bus Stand, forVisakhapatnam, counting willbe held at Andhra UniversityCampus, Waltair. ForVijayawada Corporation,counting of votes will be heldin Andhra Loyola Collegewhile for MachilipatnamCorporation, it will be held inKrishna University.

For Guntur Corporation,counting will be held at fourplaces at MBTS Government

Polytechnic College,Government TextileTechnology Institute Newblock, Nallapadu LoyolaPublic School andGovernment TextilesTechnology Institute old black.

For Ongole Corporation,counting of votes will be heldin St Xavier High SchoolCollege, for AnantapurCorporation it will be done inSS BM Junior College. InKurnool, counting will be heldin three places namelyRayalaseema University, St.Joseph Degree, PG Women'sCollege and Pullaiah Collegeof Engineering.

In Chittoor Corporationcounting will be held in PVKN

Government College whilefor Tirupati Corporationcounting of votes will takeplace in SV Arts College.

Votes will be counted at asingle centre in all wards of themunicipality and Nagar pan-chayats.

Meanwhile, Chief ElectionCommissioner NimmagaddaRamesh Kumar said thatinstructions have been issuedto officials concerned toensure that adequate illumina-tion is arranged at the strongrooms as well as countingcentres.

Uninterrupted power sup-ply shall be ensured by mak-ing alternative arrangementslike generators, invertors, etc.

Counting process shall berecorded by video-graphy orCC cameras for webcasting assuch footage / recording willform part of the electionrecord.

Arrangements shall be madeto avoid counting going lateinto night as far as practicable.Winding up the countingprocess by 8 pm will be ideal,Ramesh Kumar said.

He said that emphasisshould be on the quality ofcounting.

Returning Officers /Election Officers can allowrecounting of votes only onceas per law/rules. However,recount only in case of singledigit margin shall be allowed.

In case of double digit mar-gin, the RO / EO shall, uponreceipt of a request from thecandidate for recount, informthe facts to the Collector andDistrict Election Authoritybefore taking a decision forsuch recount.

The SEC told the Collectorand DEA and theCommissioner of ULB con-cerned shall arrange a mediafacilitation centre with all nec-essary logistics to disseminateinformation relating to count-ing and declaration of resultstimely. Display boards /screens / TVs shall be arrangedat media facilitation centrefor smooth flow of countingrelated information

AP records175 newCovid casesPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Andhra Pradesh reported175 new cases in the 24hours ending 9 am onSaturday, pushing the case-load to 8,91,563 while the tollwent up to 7,182 with twomore deaths.

According to the latestbulletin, 132 recoveries werereported during the period,taking the cumulative tally to8,83,113. The state now has1,268 active coronaviruscases, it said.

Chittoor reported 40, EastGodavari 31, Krishna 24,Visakhapatnam 20 andGuntur 15 new cases of theinfection. The remainingeight districts added less than10 new cases each.

Chittoor and Anantapuralso reported one fresh fatal-ity each.

Man diesafter takingvax, officialsprobe reasonContinued from Page 1

Inquest as well as the post-mortem was conductedfor the body and handedover the body to his rela-tives.

District Coordinator forHealth Services, WestGodavari, AVR Mohansaid that the deceased wassuffering from long-termailments like paralysis onthe right side and dia-betes.

He said many elderlypeople had been adminis-tered Covid vaccines anddid not display any sideeffects.

"However, we have sentthe samples to RegionalForensic ScienceLaboratories in Vijayawadafor clinical confirmationand a report is expected inone week," AVR Mohansaid.

Continued from Page 1

Under Rampachodavaram,Yatapaka, Kukunoor andJangareddigudem divisions inthe two Godavari districts,the polling stations have beenclassified as Left-WingExtremism affected and, assuch, polling duration herewill be only from 8 am to 2pm, while in the remainingplaces it will be till 4 pm.

"All necessary Covid-19containment measures likethermal scanning and sanitis-ers are being taken as perCovid-19 protocol. An IASofficer Vinod Kumar has beenappointed as Nodal Officer tooversee the Covid-19 con-tainment measures in thesetwo constituencies," the CEOsaid.

All security measures havebeen put in place to ensure afree and fair poll, Vijayanandsaid, and appealed to voters toexercise their franchise.

Counting of votes will betaken up on March 17.

Meanwhile, KrishnaCollector A Md Imtiaz saidthat polling will be held at 51

booths in 50 locations acrossthe district on Sunday.

"While six of these boothshave been declared hypersen-sitive, 15 have been identifiedas sensitive. Polling will bedone through webcasting in 26booths as per the directions ofthe State ElectionCommission," Imtiaz said.

East Godavari districtCollector D Muralidhar Reddysaid that in Maoist-affectedRampachodavaram andYatapaka divisions in EastGodavari, and Kukunoor andJangareddygudem in WestGodavari district, people canexercise their franchise from 8am to 2 pm.

Teachers to picktheir choice for 2...

India helped 150nations deal with...Continued from Page 1

"We have to wait till every-body is vaccinated and till acure is found," he said.

After the Covid-19-induced lockdown was eased,India's economy is back on itsfeet and the Indian Railwayhas done more freight load-ings this year compared to

last, besides reinstalling andrestarting almost 80 percentof trains including mails andexpresses in the country, hesaid.

In Tirupati, expansionwork at the railway stationwas nearing completion andthat would help it receivemore trains from differentparts of the country, headded.

Continued from Page 1

It’s even more ridiculous thatTelangana Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao and KTR,who had threatened to driveaway people of Andhra fromTelangana soil, are now speak-ing about the VSP,” the BJPleader said.

“Is it not true that theTelangana Government is pri-vatising public sector units inthe state? Why did politicaloutfits not agitate 40 years agoin support of farmers dis-placed by the VSP? The fact isthat KCR’s words do not evendeserve any attention since hehas confined himself to hisfarmhouse for the past sevenyears,” Satya Kumar said.

He emphasised that the BJPwould respect the sentiment ofpeople of AP, adding that “theSave VSP” agitation is purelypolitically motivated.

Satya Kumar said that theCentre would discuss withthe YSRCP Government onceit takes a policy decision onthe VSP issue.

He clarified that AP BJPleaders have approached theparty leadership and theGovernment in Delhi againstprivatisation of the VSP.

“All political outfits protest-ing now will call off their agi-tation once the civic bodyelections are completed,” SatyaKumar said.

Allot Bayyarammines to VSP ,BJP tells KTR

Deodhar rubs itin, says norethink on VSP...Continued from Page 1

On a question that regionalparties are accusing the BJPgovernment of betrayingAndhra Pradesh, Deodharsaid: "Both the YSRCP andTDP are cheats. They havenot done a single thing forthe state. They are simplyplaying politics over the steelplant."

Terming the rule ofregional parties as dynastic,caste-driven, Deodharaccused Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy of pro-moting religious conversionsbehind the veil of the steelplant privatisation protests.

"BJP will spread awarenessamong the eligible beneficia-ries about the Covid-19 vac-cine. About 80 percent of BJPwork is related to services tothe people," he said.

Centre to monitor...Continued from Page 1

He said the total cost of the JalJeevan Mission is Rs 3,60,000crore and 2 percent of it hasbeen dedicated to the quali-ty of water.

According to a 2018 assess-ment by the Central GroundWater Board, 52 per cent of allthe blocks in the countryhave inter alia any one of thegeogenic contaminants likearsenic, chloride, fluoride,iron, nitrate and salinity.

Nearly 20 states in Indiahave drinking water sourcescontaminated with arsenic,fluoride, nitrate, iron, salini-ty or heavy metals.

Apart from these, there are61 priority districts acrossfive states identified by the

Ministry of Health andFamily Welfare which areaffected by JapaneseEncephalitis - AcuteEncephalitis Syndrome (JE-AES).

Bharat Lal, AdditionalSecretary and MissionDirector of National JeevanMission, said the purpose ofthe exercise is to instil a senseof confidence about waterquality and people can alsotest water quality.

He added that a database of2,200 laboratories across thecountry has been prepared sothat water quality can be test-ed. All the laboratories havebeen accredited by theNational Accreditation Boardfor Testing and CalibrationLaboratories.

Bank staff tostrike for 2 daysContinued from Page 1

Rambabu said that nearly2,000 small, medium andmajor banks have shut downbusiness in the country.

"In fact, the situation is sodire that last year alone, twovery well known private sec-tor banks closed down due tovarious reasons. Public sectorbanks have deposits of about1.70 lakh-crore, and this isthe reason corporates arepressurising the Governmentto privatise these banks," hesaid. He said that while pri-vate banks can become bank-rupt at any time, this cannothappen in the case of publicsector banks. Rambabu stat-ed that private banks do notoffer all services to the gen-eral public.

Rambabu and other lead-ers of UFBU said that thebank employees would con-duct a protest in front ofIndian Bank at BRTS Roadon March 15 and in front ofthe Bank of Baroda on March16 in which employees inlarge numbers, along withlike-minded leaders andactivists of various associa-tions would participate.

Owaisi framed me,says Nowhera Shaik PNS n HYDERABAD

Heera Gold Group ManagingDirector and CEO NowheraShaik on Saturday allegedthat the Hyderabad MP andAIMIM President AsaduddinOwaisi and his men wereresponsible for her troubles.She accused them of filingfrivolous cases against her.Nowhera also said that therepayment process to theGroup’s investors will startrolling out soon.

Addressing the first pressconference after her releasefrom jail following theSupreme Court’s order,Nowhera Shaik alleged that itwas in 2012 that AsaduddinOwaisi had filed a complaintagainst her in Central CrimeStation (CCS) of Hyderabad.

“Later, his followers havebeen filing false complaintsagainst me resulting in myarrest on October 15, 2018,”she said.

Nowhera Shaik alleged thatprior to filing of the cases, shewas repeatedly getting extor-tion and ransom calls, sinceshe did not succumb to the

pressure, she was implicatedin false cases across the coun-try. A total 29 FIRs were filedagainst her in five states --Karnataka, Maharashtra,Andhra Pradesh, Telanganaand Kerala.

“I am a victim of politicalvendetta and political leaderstried to fix me permanently infalse cases,” she said.

Nowhera Shaik who is alsothe founder of All IndiaMahila Empowerment Party(MEP) alleged that due to ris-ing political career, her oppo-nents had tried to project heras a scamster.

She claimed that thoughAIMIM leader made a state-ment in Parliament allegingRs 50,000 crore scam byHeera Group but could noteven prove Rs 50,000 scam. Itwas all aimed at maligningher and company’s image,she said.

“That’s not all,” she said,adding that EnforcementDirectorate and other centralagencies were not able toprove her guilt till now. TheGroup holds assets worth Rs5,000 crore in Telangana.

VIJAYAWADA | SUNDAY | MARCH 14, 2021 vijayawada 03

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Indian Navy and Coast Guardconducted an InteractionProgramme with fishermen com-munity as part of 75th anniversaryof India's Independence celebra-tions.

As a part of a nationwide cam-paign to kick-start the celebrationsof 75th Anniversary of India'sIndependence, seven teams com-prising personnel from IndianNavy, Coast Guard DistrictHeadquarters 6, Coastal SecurityPolice (Andhra Pradesh) and rep-resentatives of State FisheriesDepartment jointly interacted with

the fishermen communities inthe coastal districts of Srikakulam,Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam,East Godavari, Guntur, Prakasamand Nellore.

Similar events were conductedby Indian Navy and Coast Guard

in 75 coastal villages across thelength and breadth of the countryunder the theme of 'Azadi KaAmrut Mahotsav' as a curtain rais-er activity, 75 weeks prior toIndependence Day on August 15,2022.

During the CommunityInteraction Programme, the fish-ermen community were informedabout the historical significance ofMarch 12, as it was on this day in1930 that Mahatma Gandhi start-ed 'Dandi March' as part of the civildisobedience movement againstBritish salt monopoly.

The Community InteractionProgramme was aimed at improv-ing bonhomie with the fishermencommunity and to reiterate thevital role that they have beenplaying by being the 'eyes and ears'of the Armed Forces in ensuringsecurity of the coastal assets allalong the coast of Andhra Pradesh.

75TH ANNIVERSARY OF INDEPENDENCE

Navy, coastal police interact with fisherman communityCommunity Interaction Programmewas aimed at improving bonhomiewith the fishermen and to reiteratethe vital role they have been playingby being the ‘eyes and ears' of theArmed Forces in ensuring security ofthe coastal assets

SUMIT ONKA n VISAKHAPATNAM

While Vamsi Krishna Yadav isbeing projected as the mayoralcandidate of YSRCP forGVMC civic body, specula-tions are also rife that the partyhigh command is exploringsome woman candidates forthe top post.

As the fates of the aspirantsof the corporators in the Vizagcivic body will be unlocked onSunday with the counting andresults, YSRCP is confident ofwinning majority of seats andis mulling various options forthe mayor face.

According to YSRCP partyinsiders, a woman candidatefrom the backward communi-ty could also be considered forthe mayor post.

The speculation also holdswater on the ground that awoman candidate will be mademayor in Vijayawada.

While the TDP has already

finalised a female candidate asmayor face, the YSRCP is yet tomake the announcement.

As per sources, EmileeZholla, a former corporator, is

being seriously considered formayor's post, while the daugh-ter of tourism minister MSrinivasa Rao is being consid-ered for deputy mayor's post.

When contacted, theyfeigned ignorance about thedevelopments related to thefinalisation of mayoral candi-date.

It may be recalled thatYSRCP had denied MLA partyticket to Vamsi Yadav in 2019elections. The party had notdeposed enough faith in him inthe last election.

After the delimitationprocess, GVMC consists of 98wards. YSRCP leaders claimthey will sweep the urban localbody elections in AndhraPradesh including Vizag.

All eyes in Andhra Pradeshare on the civic body electionresults of GreaterVisakhapatnam MunicipalCorporation (GVMC). TheCivic body of GVMC assumessignificance as the state govern-ment is gearing up to makeVizag as the executive capital ofthe state. YSRCP and TDPhave put in all their stakes in thebattle for the GVMC civic body.

GVMC top jobs: YSRCP mayopt for women candidates PNS n VIJAYAWADA

In protest against levying ofadditional security depositson electricity consumers,CPM state executive com-mittee member Ch Babu Raoalong with other party lead-ers staged a dharna here at62 Division on Saturdayshowing the demand notice.The CPM leaders demandedthat the additional securitydeposits levied on peoplebe withdrawn immediately.

"The ruling YSRCP hadassured that it would notincrease taxes in the urbanareas. However, notices wereissued to the electricity con-sumers for addit ionaldeposits before the results.The government has clearlycheated the people by break-ing promise," he alleged.

Babu Rao said that theelectricity department issuednotices to the power con-sumers to pay Rs 3,000 eachfor every domestic powerconnection as additionalsecurity deposit.

He said that the govern-ment already decided to hiketaxes - property, water,garbage col lec t ion and

drainage imposing a heavyfinancial burden on people.Adding to the woes of com-mon people who are alreadyfacing troubles due to Covidpandemic, the Union gov-ernment has arbitrari lyincreased prices of petrol,diesel and cooking gas, healleged.

Alleging that the electric-ity department had alreadycollected Rs 3,000 as addi-tional security deposit, hesaid that the departmenthad served fresh notices topeople to pay additionalsecurity deposits again.

Babu Rao alleged that theBJP government madeamendments to the electric-ity act which was agreedand implemented by theState government.

He demanded that thestate government immedi-ately cancel withdraw thecollection of additional secu-rity deposits and warnedabout launching a series ofprotests against the govern-ment.

CPM protests addl security deposits by electricity dept

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The six-year-old boy fromChhattisgarh who was kid-napped in Tirupati onFebruary 26 was abandonedby the kidnapper atVijayawada who was rescuedby the local police onSaturday.

The victim, Sivam KumarSahoo, was kidnapped atAlipiri bus station in Tirupatiwhen he visited the Tirumalatemple along with his parents.

Tirupati police had identi-fied the kidnapper with thehelp of CCTV footage andreleased his photograph afew days ago. The kidnapperwas identified as Sivappabelonging to a small village inKarnataka near V Kota man-dal of Chittoor district.

The police also questionedthe family members of kid-napper.

The kidnapper might haveabandoned the boy atVijayawada on Saturday forfear of being arrested as hisphotograph was released bythe police through the media.

Kidnapped boy found inVijayawada

As per sources, Emilee Zholla, aformer corporator, is being seriouslyconsidered for mayor's post, while thedaughter of tourism minister MSrinivasa Rao is being considered fordeputy mayor's post.

Electricity departmentissued notices to thepower consumers topay `3,000 each forevery domestic powerconnection asadditional securitydeposit.

Waltair Divisionto administervaccine to retdrly employeesPNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Waltair Division of EastCoast Railway has decided toprovide Covid-19 vaccines toall the retired railway employ-ees at Divisional RailwayHospital, Visakhapatnam.

The Divisional RailwayHospital has been registeredas Covid vaccination centrewhere the vaccination pro-gramme began from March 1.

As per the Ministry ofHealth and Family welfareguidelines, the vaccinationprogramme must be con-ducted for persons above60years age and persons inthe age group of 45 to 59years with medical ail-ments.The Division hasdecided to administer Covidvaccine to all the retired rail-way employees, dependentsof serving/ retired railwayemployees of above 60yearsage at Divisional RailwayHospital, Visakhapatnam.

Hence, the retired railwayemployees need to registertheir names in the DivisionalRailway Hospital fromMonday to Friday between 9am to 4 pm except govern-ment holidays.

PNS n TIRUPATI

Kapileswara Swamy templeannual fete reached last daywith the archakas performingTrishula Snanam on Saturday.

Earlier, Sri KamakshiSameta Sri KapileswaraSwamy was rendered holySnapana Tirumanjanamalong with Trishulam. Later,Trishula Snanam was per-formed as per Covid guide-lines.

CVSO Gopinath Jatti,Deputy EO Subramanyamand others participated.

Tirumanjanam performed atKapileswara Swamy temple

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Tollywood actor Nara Rohithon Saturday gave a clarion callto people to rally together tomake 'Save Steel Plant' agitationa success.

He called for a united strug-gle to protect Visakha SteelPlant as it is a symbol of self-respect for the people ofAndhra Pradesh. The people'sagitation should pave way fora golden future for the State.

In a statement here, Rohith

said that the Vizag Steel Plantwas a matter of pride for twogenerations. "The inspirationdrawn from the agitationwould lay the road for futureprogress. The Steel Plant willprovide jobs to both the presentand future generations ofAndhra people," he added.

Stating that the Steel Plantwas a symbol of Telugu pride,Rohith thanked the workers'associations for making him apart of their relentless agitation.

Extending support to the

steel plant agitation, he said: "Itis not my nature to turn myback when people are stuck inproblems. I will stand by thefellow Andhra citizens in thishour of trouble."

Rohith termed the privatisa-tion move as an attacklaunched on the self-respect ofthe Andhras as a whole. Heasserted that a determined agi-tation was the need of the hourin order to prevent Teluguself-respect from turning intoa farce.

Nara Rohith lends support to ‘Save Steel Plant' stir

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The Special EnforcementBureau on Saturday arrestedseven persons for illegallytransporting liquor and seized22,716 bottles of non-dutypaid liquor and two vehicles.

The accused were identifiedas Ramavath Ashok Nayak,hailing from Miryalaguda, MVenkatesh, Naresh, Damodar,Sudaraiah, Naveen and NagiReddy all from Nalgonda.

Addressing a press meet atGuntur on Saturday, SEB statecommissioner Vineet Brijlalsaid that the SEBNarasaraopeta and Macherlateams found 523 cartons(22,716 bottles) of non-dutypaid liquor being transportedto Piduguralla andNarasaraopeta in a cementbulker vehicle with an escort of

a car. The SEB teams arrested

seven persons belonging toTelangana state in this case andseized all the liquor bottlesalong with cement bulker vehi-cle and car.

The SEB teams have so fararrested1,11,536 persons andseized 4,81,598 litres of non-duty paid liquor by registering

85,318 cases in the state.Brijlal said that as many as

251 government officials wereinvolved in liquor cases andinvestigations were in progress.

Praising the efforts ofGuntur police in controllingthe illegal transportation ofliquor, he warned that no onewould be spared for liquor ille-gal transportation of liquor.

Guntur Rural SP VishalGunni said that the policehad worked effectively to curbliquor distribution in therecent municipal elections byseizing 19,375 liquor bottles.

He appealed to people tocooperate with the policedepartment in controlling theillegal transportation of liquorby giving information to thepolice through phone,WhatsApp, Twitter andFacebook platforms.

7 held for illegal transportationof liquor, 22,716 bottles seized

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

YSRCP state general secre-tary Thalashila Raghuramon Saturday said that thatparty would register a mas-sive victory in the elec-tions to urban local bodiesunder the eladership of CMJaganmohan Reddy.

He claimed that theTelugu Desam Party wouldbe confined to a singledigit in Vijayawada andGunturm corporations.

People across the statehave extended support tothe YSRCP as they wereimpressed by the welfareschemes and developmentinitiatives being imple-mented by Chief MinisterYS Jaganmohan Reddy.

After the municipal elec-tions, it will become clearthat the people of a l lregions are in favour ofthe decentralisation ofdevelopment and gover-nance, he added.

"The status of OppositionLeader of TDP Chief NChandrababu Naidu willbe at stake. It would not bepossible for the TDP towin either in Vijayawada orGuntur in the name of thecapital Amaravati," he said.

Raghuram said that TDPlost miserably in the recentpanchayat elections andwould meet the same fate inthe municipal elections too.

After the results aredeclared, there will be noopposition in the stateproving that the rulingparty is the people's party,he added.

PNS n TIRUMALA

Union Minister for RailwaysPiyush Goyal along with hisfamily members offeredprayers to the LordVenkateswara at Tirumala onSaturday.

On his arrival, the Ministerwas accorded a grand welcomeby the TTD Chairman YVSubba Reddy, EO Dr KSJawahar Reddy, AdditionalExecutive Officer AV DharmaReddy and temple priests andescorted him to the sanctumsanctorum.

Inside the sanctum sancto-rum, the temple priestsexplained to the UnionMinister about the signifi-cance of Lord and the jewelsadorned to the presidingdeity.

The Union Minister spentfew minutes praying beforeLord Venkateswara and laterreached RanganayakulaMandapam where he wasaccorded Vedasirvachanam bytemple priests.

TTD Chairman and EOoffered the Minister Lord'ssilk vastram, prasadams andportrait of Lord Venkateswara.

AP Finance MinisterBuggana Rajendranath Reddy,TUDA Chairman TTD Ex-Officio Member ChevireddyBhaskar Reddy, TempleDeputy EO Haridranath,Reception OfficialsLokanadham, OSD KNRamakrishna and others werepresent.

Minister at Tiruchanoor temple Tiruchanoor: The UnionMinister, along with his fami-ly members, also offeredprayers at Goddess PadmavathiDevi temple at Tiruchanoor onSaturday morning.

AP Finance Minister

Buggana Rajendranath Reddyaccompanied the Minister dur-ing his visit to GoddessPadmavathi Devi temple.

TTD JEO Sada Bhargavireceived the Union ministerand accompanied him for dar-shan.

Later, he was offeredprasadam inside the temple.

Railway Minister Piyush Goyaloffers prayers at Tirumala temple

TDP will beconfined to singledigit in Vijayawada,Guntur: Raghuram

Vijayawadastudents winmedals atskating eventPNS n VIJAYAWADA

The students of HPS wonmedals in Roller Hockey atthe 32nd Inter-District RollerSkating Championshiporganised by Andhra PradeshRoller Skating Associationin Rajahmundry from March7 to 10.

The students participatedin the event under the guid-ance of Kabir, the Skatingcoach of the School.

The winners of event - MNidish, S Jithesh, B Harishwar,P Siva Sankar, D. Vishal, J.Gnanesh, U Sruthi Ram, M.Sonith, V. Jayanth, I. Punarviand V. Thanmai - will repre-sent Andhra Pradesh at the58th National Roller SkatingChampionship 2020-2021 tobe held at Chandigarh fromApril 1 to 10.

They will be participatingin Roller Hockey and InlineHockey events.

PNS n TIRUPATI

In a shocking incident, the redsanders smugglers attackedtask force personnel withstones when they asked themto surrender at Seshachalamforest area near Karakambadiroad in the early hours onSaturday. The smugglers fledinto the forest leaving logsbehind them when the taskforce cops tried to catch them.

According to Task ForceDSP Venkataiah, a combingteam led by RSIs Vasu, Suresh

and DRO Narasimha Raostarted combing operations onFriday night at Karakambadiroad forest area.

They spotted some mencarrying red sanders logs in theearly hours of Saturday.

The smugglers attacked RSIVasu and his men with stoneswhen they tried to surroundthem. Later, the smugglersfled into the forest leaving thelogs behind them when thetask force men tried to threat-en them with their guns.

The combining team found

a car containing logs, com-modities used for cookingfood. The combining person-nel have seized 20 logs and acar from the place.

After receiving the informa-tion, DSPs Venkataiah,Muralidhar, RI Bhaskar, CIRavi and FRO Prasad reachedthe place and took stock of thesituation.

They instructed their teamsto launch search operationsfor smugglers. A case hasbeen registered and the inves-tigating is on.

Red sanders smugglers attacktask force with stones, escape

VIJAYAWADA | SUNDAY | MARCH 14, 2021 telangana 04

PNS n HYDERABAD

The stage is set for Sunday'spolling to the two GraduateMLC polls where multi-cor-nered contests are being wit-nessed. Polling would be heldfrom 8 am to 4 pm forMahabubnagar- Rangareddy-Hyderabad and Warangal-Khammam- NalgondaGraduates' constituencies.Jumbo-sized ballot boxes andlarge ballot papers have beenreadied for the polling as alarge number of candidates arein the fray.

As many as 93 candidatesare contesting fromMahbubnagar-Rangareddy-Hyderabad constituency while71 nominees are in the frayfrom the Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda con-stituency.

Over 10 lakh graduateswould be exercising their fran-chise in preferential method at1,530 polling stations. Thecampaigning for the electionfrom the two Graduates' con-stituencies witnessed a war ofwords between the ruling TRSand opposition BJP andCongress.

Against the backdrop ofunexpected setbacks in theDubbak Assembly bypoll andthe GHMC polls, the TRSmade a determined bid towin the two Council seatsand deployed Ministers, MPsand other leaders for the cam-paign.

In a surprise move, the TRSfielded former Prime Minister

PV Narasimha Rao's daughterS Vani Devi, an educationistand artist, as its candidatefrom Mahabubnagar-R ang are d dy - Hyd e r ab a dGraduates' constituency.

Sitting MLC and BJP leaderN Ramachander Rao, howev-er, put up a spirited campaign.Union Minister of State forHome G Kishan Reddy, BJPOBC Morcha national presi-

dent K Laxman and otherleaders campaigned for theBJP nominee.

Union Education MinisterRamesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank'addressed two meetingsrecently to supportRamachander Rao's candida-ture. TRS Working Presidentand Minister for IT KT RamaRao, who spearheaded theTRS' campaign, attacked theBJP over the NDA govern-ment allegedly not imple-menting the promises made toTelangana at the time of bifur-cation and allegedly not pro-viding two crore jobs in thecountry every year aspromised.

The BJP, meanwhile, soughtto corner the TRS for alleged-ly neglecting the educationsector and not providing jobs,among others. TheMahbubnagar-Rangareddy-Hyderabad constituency is wit-nessing a keen contest as for-mer minister G Chinna Reddy(Congress), TDP Telanganaunit president L Ramana andformer MLC K Nageshwar, aprominent analyst, and othersare also in the fray.

The TRS fielded sittingMLC Palla Rajeshwar Reddyfrom Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda Graduates' con-stituency while the BJP can-didate i s G PremenderReddy. Telangana JanaSamit i (TJS) leader MKodandaram is in the frayfrom the constituency. Thecounting of votes would betaken up on March 17.

PNS n HYDERABAD

A delegation of Congress lead-ers led by TPCC chief NUttam Kumar Reddy metChief Electoral OfficerShashank Goel on Saturdayurging him to take actionagainst the TRS for violatingthe Model Code of Conduct inthe MLC elections.

Speaking to the media aftermeeting the CEO, UttamKumar Reddy, along with for-mer MLA Marri SashshidharReddy, Hyderabad CityCongress president AnjanKumar Yadav and other lead-ers, alleged that TRS leaderswere indulging in electoralmalpractices and irregularitiesto lure voters in the MLC elec-tions. He also alleged thatprivate school buses werebeing forcibly taken to trans-port voters.

He said that the CEO hasbeen briefed about how theTRS was trying to engage fake

voters (those without degrees)to cast their votes anddemanding that such practicesbe prevented. He said that theruling party was also misusingthe postal ballots, meant forpolice personnel on duty, tocast votes in favour of TRScandidates. The TPCC chiefsaid that the Chief ElectoralOfficer has assured to inquireinto the issue raised by theCongress.

He said jobless youth wouldnot get unemploymentallowance of Rs 3,016 permonth until they give a shockto KCR by electing Congresscandidates in MLC polls. Heappealed to all employees,unemployed youth, teachers,women, professionals like doc-tors, advocates and journaliststo vote in favour of Congresscandidates and give a humil-iating defeat to TRS and BJP.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Followers of MLC KalvakuntlaKavitha and TRS leaders cel-ebrated her birthday by cuttingcakes, planting saplings, dis-tributing food and sarees tothe poor.

Earlier, Minister for HomeMahmood Ali, MusheerabadMLA Mutha Gopal, SportsAuthority of Telangana State(SATS) chairman AllipuramVenkateshwar Reddy andsenior TRS leaders participat-ed in the birthday celebra-tions organised by theTelangana Jagruthi. Thirty

wheelchairs and six three-wheeler scooters were distrib-uted to girls and physicallychallenged by Home MinisterMahmood Ali, MLA MuthaGopal and other senior TRSleaders to mark her birthday.

Kavitha planted saplingsat Pragathi Bhavan, alongwith her mother and MPSantosh as part of her celebra-tions. MLAs, chairmen ofvarious Corporations andsenior leaders plantedsaplings, distributed fruitsand conducted blood dona-tion camps across the State onthe occasion.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Lamenting that the TRS isresorting to unethical electionpractices, AICC NationalSpokesperson Sravan Dasojuon Saturday alleged that TRSleaders are trying to influencethe voters by distributing Rs5,000 to Rs 10,000 to each votewhile providing liquor and

arranging parties to entice thevoters.

“Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao has madepolitics a corporate businessand bought leaders right fromsarpanch to MLAs and MPs.He has a habit of buying pub-lic representatives, includingthe voters. Therefore, he is yetagain following a similar

model in MLC elections, too,to manipulate voters.Therefore, I appeal to all grad-uate voters to be vigilant abouthis trap and follow your con-science to cast your valuablevote”, he cautioned.

“If we take money from theTRS and vote for their candi-dates, we cannot question thegovernment on job notifica-

tions for filling up 1.93 lakhvacancies while regularising1.20 lakh contract employees.We will lose the voice to askthe government for the imple-mentation of the prestigiousITIR project, Animation andGaming project, which canpotentially generate over 60lakh jobs. Our voice will belost to ask for initiating an

unemployment stipend of Rs3,016 per month. Therefore,selling votes means sellingour self-respect and selling ourfundamental right to questionthe government”, he said.

He also requested the StateElection Commission to lookinto the issue and take actionagainst TRS leaders for circu-lating money illegally.

PNS n BHAINSA

Minister for Endowments AIndrakaran Reddy hasassured the victims of recentcommunal clashes of strin-gent action against rioters,who vitiated the law andorder situation in the town.

On Saturday, he visitedthe colonies where thecommunal disturbanceswere reported on March 7night.

Later, speaking to themedia here on Saturday,he said that a series ofcommunal clashes reportedin the town has been affect-ing both the rel igiousgroups. As a result, thedevelopment of Bhainsahas taken a back seat.

The government wouldshow no lenience to thosewho triggered the communalclashes in the town. It iseverybody’s knowledge aboutthe hand behind these com-munal disturbances, heremarked.

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Budget session of theTelangana Legislature com-mencing from March 15 in thebackground of Covid-19 will seethe implementation of strictmeasures to keep the pandem-ic at bay.

The first and foremost is noentry to MLAs and MLCs intothe Legislative Assembly andLegislative Council withoutundergoing a Covid test andonly those who tested negativeand produce a certificate to thateffect will be allowed into theHouse.

Everyone, including theLegislature staff led byLegislature Secretary NarasimhaCharyulu, media persons andpolice personnel, has beenundergoing the test in the spe-cial camps being organized onthe Assembly premises.

Special arrangements havebeen made at the Assemblypremises to let those attendingthe budget session undergo thetest, officials said.

Those who took vaccinesalso should undergo the Covidtest as a precaution in the lightof cases going up in some States,they clarified.

In Telangana, though there isno alarming increase in thenumber of positive cases as inneighbouring Maharashtra, theState has been witnessing a risein the new infections. Specialarrangements have been madeat Nizam’s Institute of MedicalSciences to administer the vac-cine to MLAs and MLCs.

Meanwhile, physical distanc-ing and other precautionary

measures will be in order like inthe last legislative session heldin September. The governmentis also considering reducingthe number of physical copiesand documents related to theBudget and give soft copies inpen drives.

Telangana government hasbeen giving important budget-related papers, books and doc-uments through CDs and pendrives but this time, it also pro-posed to decrease bulky budgetbooks and give soft copiesinstead. Unlike the Central gov-ernment which totally went

digital this time for its budgetformat in view of Covid scareand avoided printing processand gathering of people closeproximity, the State govern-ment will limit the physicalcopies to the extent possible,sources said.

The State Legislature AffairsMinister Vemula PrashanthReddy and Speaker PocharamSrinivas Reddy reviewed thearrangements to ensure socialdistancing norms with the StateLegislature officials. They alsodiscussed immediate uploadingon Governor’s address to theJoint session of Assembly andCouncil, Budget speeches in thegovernment website, in additionto live telecast to reduce thenumber of physical copies.

Sanitation of LegislativeAssembly and Council premis-es would be given special atten-tion and wearing of a mask ismandatory and everyoneincluding media, police person-nel and personal assistants ofmembers should cooperate withthe Legislature staff.

Stage set for twoGraduate MLC polls

As many as 93candidates arecontesting fromMahbubnagar-Rangareddy-Hyderabadconstituencywhile 71nominees are inthe fray from theWarangal-Khammam-Nalgondaconstituency

No Covid test, no entry into Assembly Budget session to begin from March 15

MLC polls: Shravan for ‘conscience vote’

Minister assuresaction againstBhainsa rioters

PNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS)leader Pannala Gopal Reddyalleged that higher officialsare mounting pressure andthreatening the police, rev-enue and health depart-ments’ employees, who wereperforming election duties,to sign the postal ballotpapers.

He lodged a complaintwith the Nalgonda DistrictCollector and ReturningOfficer Prashanth J Patel inthis regard.

He alleged in his com-plaint that several irregular-ities are taking place inSuryapet, Narsampet,Khammam and WarangalRural areas and soughtaction against those whowere indulging in such activ-ities.

He alleged that higher offi-cials have been extendingtheir support to the rulingparty in this regard.

TJS lodgescomplaint withNalgonda Collector against TRS

Cong complains to CEO against TRS poll malpractices

TPCC chief N Uttam Kumar Reddy and other Congress leaders call on ChiefElectoral Officer Shashank Goel in Hyderabad on Saturday and complain againstthe TRS poll malpractices

PNS n HYDERABAD

Dubbak MLA RaghunandanRao vowed to corner the gov-ernment in the forthcomingAssembly session, commencingfrom Monday, raking upBhainsa riots, unemploymentallowance and the PRC and soon.

He charged Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao with vio-lation of model code of pollconduct by discussing the PRCwith the government employ-ees.

He alleged that KTR hasbeen feigning love to protectVisakhapatnam Steel Plantfrom privatisation with an eyeon votes of Andhra graduates.

KTR, who showered love onjournalists on the issue ofhouse sites, had failed torespond when some scribeswere stabbed in Bhainsa 10days ago.

It was ridiculous for KTR torake up privatisation issue andit has become customary forhim to criticise the Centre inelections, he said.

Addressing the media here

on Saturday at the party officeafter a meeting with partypresident Bandi Sanjay,Raghunandan, who vented hisire against KTR and FinanceMinister T Harish Rao, soughtto know whether Harish Rao isthe minister for Siddipet alone,

or for the whole State.What happened to the TRS

MPs, who are keeping mum inParliament, if the Centre wereto render injustice to Telangana,he wondered. He dared TRSleaders for a debate on the floorof the Assembly on the support

extended to the State by theCentre.

He predicted a repeat ofDubbaka and GHMC pollsresults in MLC polls, too. BJPMLAs would confront theSpeaker, if the Speaker did notallow time for them to speak,he said adding that the MLAswould achieve their rightthrough Gandhian ways.

Brute majority alone shouldnot be the yardstick to run theHouse, he felt. He vowed toexpose the hollowness of theTRS government on unem-ployment allowance.

Had the State governmentpunished rioters earlier, thelaw and order situation wouldhave been better in Bhainsa.

Earlier, Raghunandan Rao,BJP MLA from the city RajaSingh had a meeting with partypresident Bandi Sanjay at theparty office here. The partypresident gave them directionson the strategies to be adoptedon the floor of the Assembly.The BJP has been devisingstrategies to corner the govern-ment with the increasedstrength in the Assembly.

BJP to corner govt on Bhainsa, PRC

Dubbak MLA Raghunandan Raocharged Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao with violation ofmodel code of poll conduct bydiscussing about the PRC with thegovernment employees

Dubbak MLA Raghunandan Rao, Goshamahal MLA Raja Singh addressing themedia at the party office in Hyderabad on Saturday

Repeat spiritof Dubbakvoters: GudurPNS n HYDERABAD

BJP senior leader GudurNarayana Reddy appealed tothe graduate voters to electthose candidates who canraise their voices in theCouncil to redress their griev-ances.

In a statement here onSaturday, he said that BJPcandidate N RamchanderRao contesting from theHyderabad- Mahbubnagar –Rangareddy and GujjulaPremendar Reddy fromWarangal –Khammam–Nalgonda seatshave a clean image and theyhave been sincerely fightingfor people’s cause.

He alleged that presentMLC fromWar ang a l – K h am m am –Nalgonda MLC constituencyPalla Rajeswar Reddy neveraddressed the issues of theeducated unemployed youthin the past six years.

He said that the MLC pollsare a great opportunity toteach a lesson to ChiefMinister K ChandrasekharRao, who has been indulgingin authoritarian rule.

Kavitha celebrates birthday by planting saplings

Minister for Home Mahmood Ali distributing a wheelchair to a physicallychallenged to mark the birthday of MLC Kalvakuntla Kavitha in Hyderabad onSaturday

PNS n WARANGAL RURAL

Warangal Rural DistrictCollector Haritha advised thepresiding and assistant presid-ing officers to explain inadvance to the election agentsas jumbo ballot boxes are beingused in the graduate electionsand if they have any doubts.

She said the staff should con-tinue their duties till the end ofthe elections and those who

arrived at the last minuteshould also be given a chanceto vote.

Every graduate, who comesto vote, should bring either avoter card or an Aadhaar cardor driving licence or ration cardor passport or PAN card.Covid said the rules should befollowed by taking necessaryprecautions to avoid over-crowding in the polling booths,she said.

Warangal Rural District Collector Haritha addressing polling officials in Warangal Rural district on Saturday

PNS n SIDDIPET

A team of Andhra Pradesh IASofficers visited the Siddipet dis-trict headquarters to study thetown planning model. AndhraPradesh MunicipalAdministration, UrbanDevelopment, Special ChiefSecretary Y Srilakshmi,Housing Corporation MD NBharat Gupta, IAS officersRamu and Ravinder Reddytoured the town on Saturday.

Municipal commissionerKV Ramanachary apprised theteam of development works inthe town. They visitedKomaticheruvu in the town,double bedrooms flats at KCRNagar, Ranganaika Sagar andSuda nursery.

Speaking on the occasion,Srilakshmi said that Siddipet

town is in the forefront ofdevelopment and lauded thegovernment for the construc-

tion of two-bedroom flats forthe poor, beautification of theKomati Cheruvu and

Ranganaika Sagar project anddeveloping greenery in thetown.

AP IAS officers tour Siddipet

PNS n PEDDAPALLI

Bhagyanagar train betweenSecunderabad andKagaznagar stations will beresumed from April 1, accord-ing to South Central RailwayDivisional Railway Users’Consultative Committee(DRUCC) member KyathamVenkataramana. The trainwas cancelled in March 2020due to the Coronavirus.Therefore, many passengersfaced problems due to thecancellation of the train.Ramana said orders had beenissued to run the train fromApril 1, following a directivefrom Railway Minister.

Andhra Pradesh Municipal Administration, Urban Development, Special Chief Secretary Y Srilakshmi and other IAS officersenjoying the cool breeze at the Ranganaika Sagar reservoir during their tour in Siddipet on Saturday

Bhagyanagartrain to beresumed

ID card must for voting: Collector

PNS n PATANCHERU

GITAM Deemed to beUniversity, Hyderabad, B Tech,B Pharmacy and BA second-year students organised theFreshers’ Day on Saturday.The purpose of the party is towelcome new students andencourage their creativeimpulses to boost their confi-dence. It is the day whereseniors and juniors bond andunite to celebrate being part ofthe campus.

The event was started withthe lighting of the lamp by Pro-Vice-Chancellor Prof N Siva

Prasad, HoDs and faculty. Prof.Siva Prasad while welcoming

the new students said that theindustry requires all-roundersrather than book worms.

He advised the studentsthat they have to make use ofthe opportunities providedby the university. He exhort-ed the students to work hardwith dedication. He suggest-ed to the seniors that theyshould help to put the juniorson right track.Joel Xavier,Director, Student Life,appealed to students that theyhave to enjoy the other extraand co-curricular activitiesbeing offered by the StudentLife department.

Freshers’ Day at GITAM

A student stages a dance recital

VIJAYAWADA | SUNDAY | MARCH 14, 2021 nation 05

President Ram Nath Kovind isscheduled to undertake a two-

day visit to Odisha next weekduring which he will attend theconvocation ceremony at NITRourkela as the chief guest, officialsources said. Kovind will visit thepremier institute on March 21, andvisit Konark temple the next day,

the sources said. The programme at NIT Rourkela is set to begin at10 am, and the president would be delivering the convocationaddress on the occasion. Among others, Odisha Governor GaneshiLal, Union Minister for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Steel DharmendraPradhan and state Health and Family Welfare Minister N K Das arealso expected to attend the ceremony.

INDIA CORNER

The Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO) has launched a sounding rocket to

study attitudinal variations in the neutralwinds and plasma dynamics from Sriharikotaspaceport. ISRO has developed a series ofsounding rockets called Rohini series,important among them being RH-200, RH-300 and RH-560, number in the nameindicating the diameter of the rocket in mm,according to the Bengaluru-headquarteredspace agency. "Launch of sounding rocket(RH-560) to study attitudinal variations in theneutral winds and plasma dynamics carriedout today (Friday) at SDSC SHAR,Sriharikota," ISRO tweeted. Sounding rocketsare one or two stage solid propellant rocketsused for probing the upper atmosphericregions and for space research.

ISRO launches sounding rocket to study attitudinal variations

Prez to visit Odisha, attendconvocation at NIT Rourkela

Afire broke out in a coach of the Dehradun-Delhi Shatabdi Expresson Saturday but all the passengers were safe, the Railways said.

According to officials, coach C5 caught fire due to a short circuit.“The affected coach has been detached... Guard has informed thatall passengers are safe and fire brigade has been informed. Total 35passengers in the coach were shifted and adjusted in othercoaches. Train has departed for destination," the Railways said.

Fire breaks out in Dehradun,Delhi Shatabdi Express

A28-year-old man was arrested forshooting dead another man

allegedly after an altercationbetween them over playing DJsongs during a birthday party inNajafgarh area here, police said onSaturday. The man, Anuj Sharma,was shot dead by accused Naveen

Kumar on Thursday during the birthday celebrations of the victim'syounger brother held at a farmhouse in Najafgarh area of thenational capital, they said. An altercation took place between Naveenand Anuj over playing DJ songs during the birthday celebrations.The accused, who was under the influence of alcohol, opened fire atAnuj and fled from the spot, a senior police officer said. The injuredNaveen was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was declaredbrought dead, he said. A case was registered and with the help oftechnical surveillance and using call detail records of the accused,Naveen was arrested on Friday from Baba Haridas Nagar, saidSantosh Kumar Meena, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Dwarka).

Man shot dead over argumentduring brother's birthday

PNS n BHOPAL

Union Minister of HealthHarsh Vardhan on Saturdayannounced that more thansix coronavirus vaccines willcome up in India.

He also said that 1.84 croreCOVID-19 vaccine doses havebeen administered to people sofar, while 23 crore tests havebeen conducted.

"India has developed twovaccines, which have beengiven to 71 countries. Manymore nations are seeking thevaccines, and these are not lit-tle-known nations...Canada,Brazil and other developedcountries are using Indianvaccines with a great zeal," hesaid.

"More than half a dozenvaccines are going to come up,"he said.

"Till Saturday morning, 1.84crore vaccine shots have beengiven in the country and 20lakh people were inoculatedyesterday," the minister added.

He was speaking while inau-gurating the new green cam-pus of the National Institute ofResearch in EnvironmentalHealth near here.

Prime Minister Narendra

Modi wants to create a newIndia to turn it into a 'vishwaguru' (world leader), he added.

"Respect science. There is aneed to end politics over it(vaccine) given that it is a sci-entific fight not a politicalone. That is why we shouldwork unitedly," Vardhan said.

The efforts of our scientistsare praiseworthy as due totheir labour we have achievedall this. Year 2020, apart frombeing a COVID-19 year, will

be remembered as the year ofscience and scientists, headded.

He said that initially therewas only one laboratory inIndia for COVID-19 testing."But we have 2,412 testingfacilities now," he added.

"We were the first in theworld to isolate the coron-avirus. We isolated its muta-tion. And our scientists helpedthe ICMR in vaccine. Peoplehave praised it (vaccine).Some

people tried to create confu-sion, but truth is unbeatable,"he said.

Talking about the risinginfection cases, the ministersaid this "disturbing trend"was due to the carelessness andmisunderstanding.

"People think that as thevaccine has come and all iswell now," he said, while urg-ing them to follow the Covidrules for protection against thevirus.

“People thinkthat as thevaccine hascome and all iswell now,” UnionMinister ofHealth HarshVardhan said,while urgingthem to followthe Covid rulesfor protectionagainst the virus

Over 6 Covid vaccines in theoffing in India: Harsh Vardhan

PNS n KOLKATA

The Election Commission ofIndia (ECI) has found thereport submitted by the WestBengal government on thealleged attack on ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee inNandigram on March 10 as"sketchy" and asked ChiefSecretar y AlapanBandyopadhyay to elaborateit, a poll official said onSaturday.

The chief secretary hasbeen asked to furnish detailslike how the incident tookplace and who could bebehind it by Saturday, he said.

"The report submitted bythe West Bengal governmentappeared to be quite sketchyand without any details ofthe incident like how it hap-pened or who could bebehind it. We have asked thestate administration to fur-nish more details," the offi-cial told PTI.

The state government'sreport submitted to the ECIon Friday evening referred tothe presence of a huge crowdat the spot but has no mentionof the "4-5 people", who

Banerjee alleged had attackedher, he said. It said there wasno clear video footage of thealleged attack that took placein Birulia Bazar of Nandigramin Purba Medinipur district

on Wednesday evening.After the incident, the ECI

sought a report from the stategovernment and appointedtwo poll observers for thestate.

The Chief Minister has lefther Bhowanipore constituen-cy in Kolkata to fight formeraide and BJP candidateSuvendu Adhikari inNandigram, where an anti-land acquisition movementcatapulted her party to powerin 2011.

Elections to the 294-mem-ber assembly will be heldfrom March 27 to April 29.Results will be declared onMay 2.

ECI finds Bengal govt report on Mamata ‘attack’ sketchy

After the incident, the ECI sought a report from the state governmentand appointed two poll observers for the state

PNS n MUMBAI

Seeking to ensure strict adher-ence to COVID-19 protocols byair travellers, aviation regulatorDGCA on Saturday asked air-lines to deboard passengerswho do not wear their mask"properly" despite repeatedwarnings.

Also, the watchdog has direct-ed airlines to treat a passengeras "unruly" in case the personviolates the protocols.

The latest directives comeagainst the backdrop of risingnumber of coronavirus cases incertain parts of the countryeven as domestic air traffic isimproving.

In a circular issued onSaturday, the DirectorateGeneral of Civil Aviation(DGCA), has also directed theairport operators to ensure thatthe passengers wear their maskand maintain social distancingnorms at all times during the airtravel.

The DGCA said it has beennoticed that some travellersundertaking air journey do notadhere to "COVID-19 proto-cols", which essentially involvewearing of masks properly -- notbelow the nose, right fromentering the departing airport toexiting from the arriving airport.

Observing that some pas-sengers after entering the airport

do not wear their mask proper-ly and maintain social distancewhile being in the airport, theregulator said that some passen-gers have been noticed notwearing their masks properlywhile on board the aircraft.

"On board the aircraft, in caseany passenger does not adhereto wearing a mask properlyeven after repeated warnings,he/she should be de-boarded, ifneed be, before departure," thecircular said.

"In the case of any passengeron board an aircraft refusing towear a mask or violates the'COVID-19 Protocol for passen-gers' even after repeated warn-ings, during the course of theflight, such passengers may betreated as 'Unruly' passengers,”as per the DGCA.

The procedure in respect ofhandling such unruly passengerswill be followed by the airlineconcerned as per the CivilAviation Requirement (CAR), itadded. The circular said that thepassengers will wear masks andmaintain social distancingnorms at all times during airtravel, adding the mask shall notbe moved below the nose except

under exceptional circum-stances.

Directing the CISF/ policepersonnel deployed at theentrance of the airport toensure that no one is allowed toenter the airport without wear-ing a mask, it said that chief air-port security officer and othersupervising officers must ensurethis personally.

In case any passenger foundviolating COVID-19 protocolsat the airport, they should behanded over to security agenciesafter proper warnings, directivesaid.

"If required, they may bedealt as per law," the circularadded.

Deboard passengers not wearing mask ‘properly': DGCA

PNS n KOLKATA

Former Union ministerYashwant Sinha, a bitter criticof Prime Minister NarendraModi regime, on

Saturday joined TrinamoolCongress days ahead of thehigh-octane West Bengalassembly polls.

Sinha, a senior BJP leaderduring Atal Bihari Vajpayeerule, told reporters it was callof the hour to ensure TMC winthe assembly elections with athumping majority which willherald defeat of Modi govern-ment in 2024 Lok Sabha pollsand save the country.

Sinha, who served in thecabinet of former PrimeMinister Atal Bihari Vajpayee,had quit the saffron party in2018 after having serious differ-

ences with the present partyleadership.

His son Jayant Sinha is theBJP MP from Hazaribagh inJharkhand.

The octagenarian leaderhad campaigned for TMC inthe 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Speaking after joining

TMC at its office in Kolkata, thebureaucrat-turned-politician,made a scathing attack onModi and Union Home minis-ter Amit Shah,observing thatdemocracy is under threat inthe country under them.

"Strength of the democra-cy lies in the robustness of its

institutions, and all the institu-tions have been weakened sys-tematically," Sinha said.

"The country is faced withstrange situation. The valuesand principles we gave so muchimportance, the founding prin-ciples of our Republic are notbeing followed.

"The farmers of the countryare sitting near Delhi formonths but the governmentdoesn't care. The ruling partyhas only one objective - winelections by any means," hesaid.

The senior politician pledgedsupport to West Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee inher fight against the BJP.

"TMC will win the polls bythumping majority. But, wehave to increase the victory toanother level.

Yashwant joins TMC, says democracy is in peril

PNS n NEW DELHI

Two athletes, who are in con-tention for the OlympicGames, have failed dope testsconducted at the Indian GrandPrix in Patiala last month, theNational Anti DopingAgency's Director GeneralNavin Agarwal revealed onSaturday.

It is understood that one ofthe athletes is a high profilefemale quarter-miler, who haswon multiple gold medals inthe 4x400m relay event andwas supposed to be a part ofthe Tokyo-bound team.However, neither NADA northe Athletics Federation ofIndia have divulged anynames.

"I can't comment about thenames but yes, we had collect-ed samples during the GrandPrix in Patiala. There are a cou-ple of positive cases but I can'tsay anything beyond that,"Agarwal told PTI on Saturday"Since this is an Olympic year,our focus is solely the coreOlympic probables, who willbe tested regularly. This year weare not going to test anyonebelow senior national level," headded.

2 Olympicprobableathletes faildope tests

PNS n THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

Amidst speculation thatformer Chief MinisterOommen Chandy will con-test from Nemom in theApril 6 Assemblypolls,Puthuppally, his homeconstituency in Kottayamdistrict, witnessed dramat-ic scenes on Saturday as agroup of Congress workersstaged protest near hishouse and made suicidethreats.

Nemom constituency, asuburb located inThiruvananthapuramdistrict, is the loneseat of BJP in theK e r a l aAssembly.

A largenumber ofparty workersand followersi n c l u d i n gwomen gatherednear his house sincemorning and raisedslogans, saying they wouldnot let their long-time MLAleave Puthuppally to contestin any other segment.

The two-time ChiefMinister has been repre-senting Puthupally in thestate Assembly for the last51 years since 1970s.

An emotional supportereven climbed atop the rooftopof his house and threatened tocommit suicide, holding partyflag in his hands. "We will giveour life, but not Chandy... heis our dearest leader... we willnot let him go to Nemom,"

another Congress activist said.Chandy, who got back

home from Delhi this morn-ing, was even waylaid by thesupporters and appealed himnot to switch to any other con-stituency.

The 77 years-old leader,who somehow managed toenter the house amidst therush of party workers, seemedto be moved by the supportshowed by followers.

Senior leaders K C Josephand ThiruvanchoorRadhakrishnan also reached

Chandy's home by thetime.

As thep r o t e s t s

intensified,the leadera s s u r e dthe sup-p o r t e r sthat he

would notl e a v e

Puthuppally tocontest in Nemom.

"Candidates have beenfinalised in 81 constituencies.In the list, my name is givenas the candidate in Puthupally.

Neither state nor thecentral leadership haveasked me to contest fromNemom. I complete lyunderstand and acknowl-edge the emotions of partyworkers and followers.There is no way to leavePuthupally," Chandy said.However, he said discus-sions were sill on overt he c an d i d atu re i nNemom.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Delhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal on Saturday met thefamily members of a civic hos-pital's lab technician who dieddue to COVID-19, and offeredthem a compensation of Rs 1crore, officials said.

He met the mother, wife andchildren of Rakesh Jain, who wasworking at the Hindu RaoHospital in north Delhi.

"While working on COVIDduty, Jain got contracted theCOVID-19 infection. He wasshifted to the Metro Hospital, butlater he lost his life due toCOVID. He was martyred but tillhis last breath, he served the cit-izens of Delhi. The Delhi govern-ment salutes such frontline work-ers who have served relentless-ly the citizens of Delhi," Kejriwalwas quoted as saying in a state-ment issued by the chief minis-ter's office.

"Today, on behalf of the Delhigovernment, I have handed overa cheque of Rs 1 crore to the fam-ily members of Rakesh Jain," hesaid.

He continued to serve thepeople till his last breath, thechief minister said. "There is no

compensation for anyone's life,but I am hopeful that this finan-cial assistance will provide someease to his family," he added.

A large number of doctors,nurses and other healthcareworkers and frontline workers,have contacted the infection inthe past one year, and some ofthem have also died to theCOVID-19.

"His (Jain's) elder son is look-ing for a job. The Delhi govern-ment will also provide a job tohis son. I want to ensure the fam-ily of Rakesh Jain that the Delhigovernment will stand besidethem in the future also, when-ever they need any help,"Kejriwal said.

Delhi CM gives `1 crcompensatin to kinof Corona warrior

Ambani bombscare: Cops togrill terror convict

PNS n NEW DELHI

A team of the Delhi Police'sSpecial Cell on Saturdayreached Tihar Jail to ques-tion Tehseen Akhtar, whowas arrested in 2014 whenhe was heading proscribedterror group IndianMujahideen, in connectionwith the recovery of amobile phone from his bar-rack, officials said.

The mobi le phone,according to police, is sus-pected to have been usedfor creating a Telegramchannel that was used by agroup named Jaish-ul-Hind for claiming respon-sibility for parking an SUVwith gelatin sticks outsideindustr ia l i s t MukeshAmbani's south Mumbaihome, 'Ant i l ia ' , onFebruary 25. A Special Cellteam is currently in TiharJail to question Akhtar inconnection with the recov-ery of the phone from hisbarrack in Central Jail No.8, a senior police officersaid. "We have taken per-mission from the court toquestion him and basedon that, we may questionother inmates if needed,"he said.

“Wewill give ourlife, but not

Chandy... he is ourdearest leader...we will not let

him go toNemom”

Asks chief secretary to elaborate

Speculations overChandy changingconstituency

VIJAYAWADA | SUNDAY | MARCH 14, 2021money 06

MONEY MATTERS

Veteran industrialist RatanTata on Saturday hopedeveryone can be immunised

and protected soon from thecoronavirus pandemic, having gothimself vaccinated. Tata in asocial media post praised theprocess of vaccination, describingit as "effortless and painless"."Very thankful to have gotten myfirst vaccination shot today. Itwas effortless and painless," he

said. Having got vaccinated at a time when the number of COVID-19 cases are rising in India, Tata said, "I truly hope everyone can beimmunised and protected soon." India had recorded 23,285 cases ofcoronavirus infection in a day, the highest in around 78 days, takingthe total tally of COVID-19 cases to 1,13,08,846, according to theUnion Health Ministry data updated on Friday. The total number ofCOVID-19 vaccine doses administered in India has crossed 2.80crore with 18.40 lakh jabs given on Friday till the evening, theministry had said. The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled outon January 16 with healthcare workers getting inoculated, andvaccination of the frontline workers started from February 2, 2021.The next phase of COVID-19 vaccination commenced on March 1,for those who are above 60 years of age and for people aged 45 andabove with specified comorbid conditions.

Ratan Tata takes first shot of Coronavirus vaccine

Mumbai, Mar 13 (PTI)There are green shootsvisible in various

sectors of the economy andthe country is already lookingat a 'V-shaped' recovery,Minister of State for Financeand Corporate Affairs AnuragThakur said on Saturday."India is already looking at 'V-shaped' recovery. Along withthe green shoots in various sectors, in the month of February, FPIinflows were Rs 25,787 crore," Thakur said at a virtual conclaveorganised by the Institute of Actuaries of India. After two consecutivequarters of contraction, the country's gross domestic product (GDP)entered into a positive territory with a growth of 0.4 per cent in theOctober-December quarter of the current fiscal, according to the datareleased by the National Statistical Office (NSO) in February. Thakursaid the country' foreign exchange reserves, which have beensteadily increasing over the last few months, had touched all timehigh at USD 590 billion in January 2021. He said the accretion tothe forex reserves in the last eight month was USD 100 billion."These are signs of confidence that the global funds and investorslook at India as a destination to invest and they are bullish aboutIndia's growth story," Thakur added.

New mobile app on poll stats,economic data launched

Ahead of the assemblyelections in four statesand a union territory, a

startup firm has unveiled amobile application with pollstatistics and data on thecountry's economy to helpvoters take fact-baseddecisions before exercisingtheir franchise, company

officials said. The startup - Demokratika- launched the application,BolSubol, which has economic and political information about all theconstituencies in India for over 60 years on average, they claimed."Except the election commission's efforts, not much seems to bedone by political parties to empower voters. Hence, the app is rolledout. It will offer a powerful microblogging tool," Ritesh Verma, one ofthe directors of the company, said on Friday. Most of the digitalplatforms related to the field are social networking applications. Thesedo not help voters take fact-based decisions, another director of thefirm Sheshagiri Anegondi said. There is an election knowledge gamethat users can play, and most of the features of the app are free, theofficial said. "Users have to pay for some of the features of themobile application," he added. Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry willgo to polls on April 6, while assembly elections in Assam will be heldin three phases starting on March 27. The eight-phased polls in WestBengal will be held between March 27 and April 29. Votes will becounted on May 2.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The government is committedto promote renewable energyresources in the country, espe-cially in the micro, small andmedium enterprises (MSMEs)sector, Union minister NitinGadkari has said.

He also exuded confidencethat within five years, India willbe a top manufacturing hub forautomobiles in the world.

Gadkari, who holds MSMEportfolio along with roadtransport, said by making solarenergy available, "we will cre-ate big market for electricvehicles".

He invited investors abroadto invest in Indian MSMEs andexpressed hope that this willprovide a number of opportu-nities to the MSME sector to

become the world's largestmanufacturing hub.

The minister was addressinga webinar on 'Aatmanirbhar

Bharat – Opportunities in Solar& MSME' on Friday evening.

In his address, Gadkari saidthat the MSMEs with good

track record are now beingencouraged for capital market.

He said there exists a hugeopportunity for investment inscrapping policy.

The minister highlightedthat India has tremendouspotential and capacity for elec-tricity generation.

He said that the solar powerrate in India is Rs 2.40 per unitand commercial rate of poweris Rs 11 per unit and the cheappower generated through solarenergy can be used for auto-mobiles and other develop-mental works.

The government has set anambitious target for renewableenergy and in particular, solarpower generation, for thisdecade. The target for renew-able energy installation is 450GW by year 2030.

Govt committed to promoterenewable energy: Gadkari PNS n NEW DELHI

The government would laydown principles for usage ofdata for the development ofany industry, where suchnorms do not already exist,and put in place adequatesafeguards to prevent misuseand access of data by unautho-rized persons, according to adraft national e-commercepolicy.

The government is in theprocess of developing regula-tions for personal and non-personal data, the policy,which is under discussion,said.

The draft has stated thatsharing of data for industrialdevelopment would be encour-aged and regulations for datawill be provided for the shar-ing mechanism.

"The government shall laydown principles for usage ofdata for the purpose of devel-opment of any industry, e-commerce, consumer protec-tion, national security, eco-nomic security and lawenforcement including taxa-tion where such principles donot already exist and put inplace adequate safeguards toprevent misuse and access ofdata by unauthorized per-sons," it said.

According to the draft, thegovernment acknowledges theimportance of data as an assetand needs to use data emanat-ing from India for "Indianentities first".

An inter-ministerial meet-ing, under the chairmanship ofa top official of the departmentfor promotion of industry andinternal trade (DPIIT), washeld on Saturday to deliberateupon this draft.

For free and informedchoice, it said that e-com-merce operators would have toensure that algorithms used bythem, are not biased and thatno discrimination due to dig-itally induced biases is preva-lent.

"Consumers have a right tobe made aware of all relevantdetails about the goods andservices offered for sale includ-

ing country of origin, valueaddition in India, and anyother such information whichmay be necessary for makingan informed decision at thepre-purchase stage," it said.

To promote fair competi-tion, the draft said that e-com-merce operators must ensureequal treatment of allsellers/vendors registered ontheir platforms and not adoptalgorithms which result in pri-oritizing select vendors/sellers.

It said the operators have tobring out clear and transpar-ent policies on discounts,including the basis of dis-count rates funded by plat-forms for differentproducts/suppliers and impli-cations of participation/ non-participation in discountschemes, so as to ensure fairand equal treatment.

Govt to put in place safeguardsto prevent data misuse, access

PNS n NEW DELHI

The government departmentswill not be able to renew reg-istration of their vehicles olderthan 15 years from April 1,2022, if a proposal in thisregard issued by the theMinistry of Road Transportand Highways is finalised.

It has sought stakeholderscomments to amend relatedrules in this regard issuing anotification.

Once approved, this will beapplicable to all governmentvehicles - central or state gov-ernments, union territories,PSUs, municipal andautonomous bodies, as perthe notification.

"From April 1, 2022, govern-ment departments will not beable to renew the certificate ofregistration of their vehicles,

after 15 years. This will applyto all government - central,state, UT, PSUs, municipalbodies & autonomous bodies,"the Ministry of Road,Transport and Highways saidin a tweet.

The development comesclose on heels of the voluntary

vehicle scrapping policyannounced in the UnionBudget on February 1 for2021-22 which provides for fit-ness test after 20 years for per-sonal vehicles while commer-cial vehicles would require itafter the completion of 15years.

Renewal of registration for oldgovt vehicles to stop from ’22

PNS n MUMBAI

No-frills carrier SpiceJet onSaturday said it will add 66new flights, including addi-tional services on certainroutes, in its domestic networkfrom March 28.

These new flights, which willbe operated with Boeing 737sand regional jet BombardierQ400s, are aimed at augment-ing connectivity between metroand non-metro cities as part ofits enhanced network.

"We are delighted to furtherexpand our domestic opera-tions and add 66 new flights toour network for the start ofthis summer schedule. As thecountry's largest regional oper-ator, the new flights furtherreiterate our commitmenttowards enhancing regionalconnectivity, besides offering

unique connections to manyleisure destinations,” saidShilpa Bhatia, ChiefCommercial Officer, SpiceJet.

In a bid to support theincreasing travel demand fromsmaller cities which were ini-tially connected by SpiceJetunder UDAN scheme, theairline has introduced newflights connecting Darbhanga,Durgapur, Jharsuguda,Gwalior and Nashik withsome key metro cities, the air-line said in a release.

The airline will launch newflights on the sectors ofAhmedabad-Darbhanga-Ahmedabad, Hyderabad-Darbhanga-Hyderabad, Pune-Darbhanga-Pune and Kolkata-Darbhanga-Kolkata after con-necting Darbhanga withMumbai, Delhi and Bengaluruearlier, it said.

PNS n GENEVA

The World HealthOrganization granted an emer-gency use listing Friday for thecoronavirus vaccine made byJohnson & Johnson,meaning the one-dose shotcan now theoretically be usedas part of the internationalCOVAX effort to distributevaccines globally, including topoor countries without anysupplies.

In a statement, the U.N.health agency said “the ampledata from large clinical trials”shows the J&J vaccine iseffective in adult populations.The emergency use listingcomes a day after theEuropean Medicines Agencyrecommended the shot begiven the green light across

the 27-country EuropeanUnion.

“As new vaccines becomeavailable, we must ensure theybecome part of the global solu-

tion and not another reasonsome countries and people areleft further behind,” WHOdirector-general TedrosAdhanom Ghebreyesus said at

a Friday press briefing. WHOhas previously signed off onCOVID-19 vaccines developedby Pfizer-BioNTech andAstraZeneca.

A massive study thatspanned three continents foundthe J&J vaccine was 85%effective in protecting againstsevere illness, hospitalizationsand death.

That protection remainedstrong even in countries likeSouth Africa where variantshave been identified that appearto be less susceptible to otherlicensed vaccines, includingthe one made by AstraZeneca.

The U.N. backed COVAXeffort previously announced ithad an initial agreement withJ&J to provide 500 milliondoses, but that is not legallybinding.

Dr. Bruce Aylward, a WHOsenior adviser to Tedros, said hehoped J&J might be able toprovide at least some of thosedoses in the coming months.

“We're hoping by at least Julythat we have access to dosesthat we can be rolling out, if noteven earlier,” Aylward said. Headded that officials were partic-ularly keen to get J&Jdoses to countries because itrequires only one dose and canbe stored at regular refrigeratortemperatures.

J&J has faced produc-tion delays in the U.S. andEurope but has recently signedagreements with rival pharma-ceuticals who will help maketheir vaccine.

In February, Sanofi Pasteursaid it would be able to makeabout 12 million doses of theJ&J vaccine at one of itsFrench production sites oncethe shot is cleared by the EMA.It is aiming to make 1 billiondoses this year.

WHO grants emergency authorisation for J&J Covid vax

PNS n NEW DELHI

Tata group firm Titan onFriday said it has completedits exit from joint ventureMontblanc India Retail,which operates retail bou-tiques in the country forMontblanc products.

Last year on October 8,Titan had announced its exitfrom the five-year joint ven-ture with the luxury firm

"… we hereby informyou that, on 12th March2021, the Company has com-pleted its exit fromMontblanc India RetailPrivate Limited (MB India).Consequently, MB Indiaceases to be an associate/ JVCompany of the Companywith effect from March 12,2021," Titan said in a regula-tory filing.

Titan held 49 per centequity stake in MontblancIndia Retail Private Limited.

Titan completesexit fromMontblanc JV

Indian economy looking at‘V-shaped' recovery: Anurag

PNS n BHUBANESWAR

Taking forward its industri-alisation efforts, Odisha gov-ernment Friday accorded inprinciple approval to eightproposals envisaging invest-ment of around Rs 1214 croreand direct employmentopportunities for 2427 per-sons.

The approval was given atthe State Level Single WindowClearance Authority (SLSW-CA) meeting held under theChairmanship of ChiefSecretary S C Mahapatra.

The Proposals are mainlyfrom the sectors like manufac-turing, plastic, food process-ing and hospitality sectors.

The proposers are wellknown industrial houses andtheir coming in will providefurther fillip to the sectors,said Industries secretaryHemant Sharma.

The Chief Secretary hasdirected concerned depart-ments to facilitate earlygrounding of the projectsthrough proactive support.

He also directed to makeproper assessment of theland and water requirementsfor these projects.

The approved projectsincluded a 2.75 MTPA ironore beneficiation plant and

1.2 MTPA pellet plant byEnergise Minerals PrivateLimited at an investment ofRs. 256 crore to be set up inRairangpur of Mayurbhanjdistrict.

This project is estimated toprovide employment to over274 persons. The govern-ment also gave its nod to a5-star hotel by ITC Limitedat Dumduma inBhubaneswar with invest-ment of Rs. 141.14 crore,which will provide employ-ment to 120 persons.Another 5-star hotel byFalcon Real Estate PrivateLimited in Bhubaneswar,Khordha with an invest-ment of Rs. 120.26 crore withan employment potential of900 persons, was alsoapproved.

PNS n JAIPUR

Bank unions held a demon-stration near Ambedkar Circlehere on Friday to protestagainst the government's deci-sion to privatise two public sec-tor banks.

State Convenor of UnitedForum of Bank Unions,Mahesh Mishra said 10 lakh

bank employees have beenprotesting in the country forthe last one month and calledfor a two-day nationwide strikeon March 15 -16.

He said on March 4, theUnited Forum made everyeffort before the AdditionalChief Labour Commissionerto prevent the strike. Theunion's representatives stayed

in Delhi till March 10 for thegovernment's response, but itwas not ready to change itsdecision of privatisation oftwo public sector banks.

He said the names of twopublic sector banks are yet tobe announced.

Banks will remain closed forfour days from Saturday, headded.

Bank unions hold protest against privatisation

SpiceJet to add 66flights from Mar 28

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Tata group has proposedto acquire more than 60 percent stake in online groceryplatform BigBasket, accord-ing to a filing, as the con-glomerate seeks to expand inthe fast-growing e-commercespace.

The group plans to buy upto 64.3 per cent stake inSupermarket GrocerySupplies Pvt Ltd (SGS)through a combination ofprimary and secondaryacquisitions, a filing with theCompetition Commission ofIndia (CCI) showed.

The parties to the pro-posed deal are Tata DigitalLtd (TDL), SGS andInnovative Retail ConceptsPvt Ltd (IRC) -- which isengaged in B2C (Business toConsumer) sales throughwww.bigbasket.com andrelated mobile applications.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Franklin Templeton MutualFund, which closed down itssix schemes in April 2020, hassaid that so far there have beenno adverse findings against thefund house or its employees ormanagement.

This comes followingreports of markets regulatorSecurities and Exchange Boardof India (Sebi) issuing show-cause notices to the fund houseand its officials with regards tothe fund house's practicesaround risk management,inter-scheme transfers andpersonal transactions byemployees and management,among others.

"We have submitted detailedresponses to show-cause noticesissued by Sebi. We cannot go

into detail of our responses, butwe believe that we acted in com-pliance with applicable regula-tions and rules and that we havestrong defenses to the allega-tion," Sanjay Sapre, President ofFranklin Templeton AssetManagement (India) Pvt Ltd,said in a letter to investors.

With respect to the accusa-tions regarding personal trans-actions of employees and man-

agement, the fund house saidit takes such matters seriously.

The personal redemptionsby certain individuals beforethe winding-up decision areunder review and those indi-viduals have cooperated fullywith that process and submit-ted detailed responses to Sebi,which are under consideration,Sapre said in the letter onFriday.

Tatas plan toacquire over 60 pc stake inBigBasket

No adverse findings againstFranklin Templeton: Sanjay

PNS n NEW DELHI

The government will sellits entire stake in TataCommunications throughan offer for sale and therest to Tata Son's invest-ment arm PanatoneFinvest Ltd.

"Tata CommunicationsLtd has today (Friday)signed an amendmentagreement between thePresident of India,Panatone Finvest Ltd, TataSons Private Ltd and thecompany for sale of theentire shareholding in thecompany by theGovernment of India,"TCL said in the BSE filingon Friday.

Govt to sell16.12 pc stakein Tata Commthrough OFS

Odisha approves eightinvestment proposals

special 07VIJAYAWADA | SUNDAY | MARCH 14, 2021

AISHWARYA SRIDHAR(CANON EOS INFLUENCER)

Most of us might havewondered how thosetourist guides on thejungle safaris identify atiger or tigress and

remember their names so precisely. Itis definitely nothing short of a mysteryfor many.

However, the answer is quite sim-ple. One can easily differentiate betweentwo tigers by examining their stripes. Notwo tigers can have the same pattern. Itis just as unique as the fingerprints ofhuman beings. Interesting enough? Getready for some more. Did you know thatflamingos feed with their head and beakupside down? The reason is this waythey filter the water and then eat theplanktons.

All these facts and much more iswhat excites Mumbai-based AishwaryaSridhar, the first Indian woman to winWildlife Photographer of the Year.

However, it was not as if it happenedout of the blue, Sridhar since she wasmerely 10 years old, loved watching thebirds and animals in her backyard. Herlove for the Nature couldn’t be left hid-den from her father who decided togiver her a camera as soon as she turned11. This, further fed her love towardsanimals and in return for wildlife pho-tography.

“Initially, it wasn’t wildlife photog-raphy for me. It was more about observ-ing animals and birds. My father is amember of Bombay Natural HistorySociety and I went on a lot of wildlifetreks with him. That kindled my inter-est. After a few years, I realised that Ihave to document this experience on apermanent basis and photography wasthe natural option to go with. This, cou-pled with getting a camera as a birth-day gift ignited my love for the field evenmore. It became a part of me and alsomy favourite toy,” Sridhar tells you.

Unlike many people, Sridhar does-n’t have to convince her parents abouther career choice. In fact, they knew iteven before she did.

“My parents have always been sup-portive of my choice of profession.Initially, they thought of me doing a 9to 5 job, but soon after I realised that Iam an outdoor person and might not beable to do justice to the job. So, I thoughtmight as well turn my passion into pro-fession and they were happy of my deci-sion,” she says.

It’s been 10 years since Sridhar hasbeen into this profession, but luckily shecan’t recall a single event of beingcharged by an animal even when shewas on foot near an elephant. However,the even dangerous situation, she says,is to receive stares from people question-ing the existence of a woman into a pro-fession that they think is a man’s job.

Not that, these stares were ever ableto demotivate her. Instead, it boosted herconfidence and made her feel special. “I

took these stares as a compliment. I feelproud being one of the few women inthis field. I feel happy that I am doingsomething different,” she says.

One might wonder how is to expe-rience a forest and meet its residents,Sridhar sums it up in one word — beau-tiful.

The sheer beauty of the forest, shesays, takes you there again and again.But, when you are a wildlife photogra-pher, your job demands you to do muchmore than just experience the serenity.You have to be patient and responsible,no matter how excited you are.

“The moment I see an animal, I takeout my camera. This has become a reflexnow. But in between all this, I don’t for-get my responsibility. We have to respectthe animal’s space and it will reciprocatethe same,” she says.

While it has been said over a thou-sand times, Sridhar just echoes all thisadvice and tells you the most importanttrait of a wildlife photographer ispatience. “I have spent over seven yearsin following and filming Maya, thetigress in Jim Corbett. She has grown upin front of my eyes. One can imagine theamount of patience it would haverequired. There were times when frus-tration hit me right in my face, but Iknew it happens and how to tide overit. And, all this patience has paid off andmy documentary on her is ready torelease,” she says.

The fact that attracted Sridhar tofilming Maya, she says, is that she has-

n’t been filmed yet. Besides, it is inter-esting to observe the behaviour of a tiger,how she behaves with her cubs and withother males of the group.

The breathtaking photos hasn’t justearned her the first Indian woman towin Wildlife Photographer of the Year,but also become Canon EOS Influencerlast year. The title came when her workwent viral on social media and peoplestarted following her work.

And now, if you are wondering howmany pictures has she clicked till date,she doesn’t have a count of them. Maybe in thousands or even more.

This is not all. There is much morein her kitty. Her first documentary PanjeThe Last Wetland was telecasted on DDNational and the second Queen of Taruwas awarded at the 9th WildlifeConservation Film Festival, New York.Above all, she has also received theWoman Icon Award 2019 in the Mediacategory for using photography in con-servation and the Diana Award 2019which is given to young change mak-ers aged nine-25 by the Royal House,London. If this was not enough, she hasalso been a TEDx speaker and is aGlobal Goodwill Ambassador.

However, if you ever got a chanceto speak to her, her charming voice willnot give you even a slightest of hint ofthe fierceness that she beholds and thechange that she has been trying to bringin the society by encouraging women tostep in to the “so-called” man-dominat-ed fields.

SLICK CLICKSWhile many say we don't need a specific day to celebrate women, very few believe in it. Today, weare celebrating women who broke the shackles of the society and brave all the stares in order tomake a place for themselves in an industry which was mostly ruled by men. MUSBA HASHMI chatsup AISHWARYA SRIDHAR and ANEGA BAWA about their journeys to capturing the world

ANEGA BAWA(CANON EOS MAESTRO)

You love clicking pic-tures and one daydecide to enroll your-self in a reputed pro-fessional institute.

You show them their your port-folio and the voice from theother side, who is a senior pho-tographer, tells you: These pic-tures are useless, you don’t haveany idea of the art and that youcan never be a photographer.

It goes without saying thesewords will be more than enoughto make you put aside your cam-era only to never pick it up again.However, 36-year-oldGurugram-based Anega Bawa’sstrong will didn’t allow her tostay away from her love — cam-era — for more than eightmonths.

One of the most treasuredmaternity, newborn and babyphotographer, Bawa loved pho-tography since a young age,however the professional bentcame only in 2012 when she waspregnant.

“I love handling newbornsand that is why I took up thisgenre. I started it when mydaughter Akira was born. It allbegan with clicking even thesmall moments of joy in her life.Take for example, when shehad her first bite or when shefirst began crawling. It was atedious task, but the excitementthat it brought was worth it all,”Bawa, a mother of two, tells you.

For Bawa, clicking new-borns is not a task any morebecause she don’t have the NewParent Syndrome. “It is like apiece of cake for me now. But,back then when I just started, Iwasn’t confident enough. Moreso, because I was handling some-one else’s baby that too a new-born. To earn the confidence ofthe parents was the real task. Butnow, I am comfortable withnewborns and I love them. Eventhe babies love coming in my lap.Moreover, the parents put in somuch of trust in me that they tellme that I can handle the baby onmy own,” she says.

With that being said, Bawastill takes time to build a connec-tion with the baby and then pro-ceed with the photo shoot. Shenever rushes into the process.“When parents walk in my stu-dio with their babies, the firstthing I do is to put off the baby’sclothes to make him feel com-fortable and at home. Then, I askthe mother to feed the child andhand them over to me. I makethe baby fall asleep and thenbegin the work,” she tells you.

Though unlike wildlife pho-

tography, the genre doesn’tdemands you to rush after orchase your subjects, but it defi-nitely requires the same amountof patience, if not more.

“There are times when thebabies just don’t sleep. They cryand cry. In such a case, we can’tforce them into the photo shoot.We have to wait until the babyis calm and gets settled down. Iremember my longest shootwith a baby. The parents walkedin my studio with twins in themorning and we have to clickthem both together. The chal-lenge was to make them bothcalm. When one was calm, theother cried and vice versa. Thiswent on for about six hours.Even the parents started panick-ing about the photo shoot. I toldthem to remain patient and thatwe will be able to pull it off. Itwas not before six in the eveningthat the twins settled in and wewent ahead with the shoot. Itwent on till 8 pm,” Bawa recalls.

However, there are somepeople who question Bawa’s artof clicking newborns by makingthem pose. Bawa reply to themin the most humble way. “Ababy’s bones are soft enough tofold. When the baby is inside thetummy, isn’t he bended? We arenot doing anything under thesun. We just reciprocate theposes that the baby is in while inthe mother’s belly,” she explains.

The best time, she says, toget a newborn photo shoot doneis when the baby is between six

and 14 days old. “After thisperiod, the babies bone start los-ing flexibility and it becomeshard to make them pose.Besides, it can also pose somerisks,” she says.

However, the fact of thematter is that Bawa gets to dovery few newborn photo shoots.There are several reasons forthat. “First, here in North India,people follow the tradition of notletting the mother and babyout of the house for 40 days. Thesecond thing is they believebachche ko nazar lag jayegi (babywill get exposed to evil eyes),”she says and tells you

Not only photographing,Bawa is involved in all aspects ofwork — from retouching tocreating backdrops, weavingprops, designing clothes, stylingand everything in-between. So ifyou are someone who believes inmaking memories, you can def-initely ask Bawa to capture thosebeautiful moments of your life.

Apart from the multiplebeautiful pictures, Bawa alsohas the title of Canon EOSMaestro in her kitty.

“I got the title in 2019. InOctober that year, I got a callfrom the Canon Head Quaterssaying that they like my workand called me for an interview.I went there, met the team andshowed them my work andachievements. I, till date, don’tknow how they found me backthen, but this is how it happenedand I got the title,” Bawa says.

We are incredibly proud tohave path breaking womenphotographers across genreson board with us as part ofour EOS AmbassadorProgramme. These womenhave paved a unique path forthemselves in the industrywith their hard work andpassion for the art ofphotography. While ourCanon Maestro, Anega Bawahas given a new meaning tomaternity photography withher poise and creative style,our Canon EOS InfluencerAishwarya Sridhar has madethe whole country proud bybeing the first Indian womanto be awarded the covetedWildlife Photographer of theYear Award in 2020.

Canon mentors are the voicerepresenting us on groundand we hope that throughthem, we can reach out tomore women who aspire tobecome professionalphotographers. We help ourmentors by providing themwith the best technologicalinnovations in the camerasegment such as the EOS RSystem suited to their genreof photography. Built on overthree decades of continuousEOS innovation, the system isbased around a pioneeringlens mount which offersgreater creative possibilitiesand better dynamics ofcapturing every moment.Through EOS R System, weaim to enable professionalsto redefine the boundaries ofphotography andvideography.

— C SUKUMARAN,Director, Consumer System

Products and ImagingCommunication Products,

Canon India

She faced staresdangerous than forest

Innocence captured

Amur falcon clicked by Aishwarya Sridhar Photo by Anega Bawa

sundaymagazine

109How Ceos can build aresponsible business

F R O M T H E I N S I D E

If you’re having badday, show you’rehaving a bad day.Don’t try to put up

something that’s fake— Elle Fanning

VIJAYAWADA, March 14, 2021

President Biden’s first diplomatic out-reach — America is Back — is ladenwith harsh domestic realities such asirreconcilable partisanship, stark ethnicdifferences, pandemic riven economy,

and an unprecedented assault on the democraticprocess, all needing urgent attention that limitsUS’ international focus. The White House’s lim-ited foreign policy bandwidth, at least in the firstcouple of years, means retracting the US fromunwarranted and intractable commitments andfocusing on significant challenges — addressingChina’s rise, preventing drift of European allies,limiting nuclear proliferation in the Middle East,and fostering healthy globalisation and free tradethat benefits the US.

A productive American foreign policygeared up to wind down its presence inAfghanistan and poised to increase its focus onChina disrupts its longstanding balance betweenIndia and Pakistan, where both rivals haveenjoyed equal strategic relevance to the US if notequal benefits. For the last two decades, the US’India-Pakistan balancing was majorly driven byan equilibrium between two lenses throughwhich Washington observed South Asia — ‘theAfghanistan lens’ that necessitated relying onPakistan for its support in getting out of theAfghan quagmire and ‘the China/Indo-Pacificlens’ that compelled investing in India as astrategic partner who can stand against Beijing.The equilibrium meant internecine parity toPakistan while ensuring a steady flow of finan-cial and military aid. With a gradual witheringaway of the Afghanistan lens, the US’ South Asiaapproach would enter a phase of realignment,leaving Pakistan in a quest for ‘strategic rele-vance’ to the US.

Such a realignment would prove a mixedbag for New Delhi. On the one hand, it wouldlimit impunity enjoyed by Pakistan with the USfor its state-sponsored terrorism against India byencashing its Afghanistan card. On the other,Pakistan’s desperate attempt to remain strategi-cally relevant can include nefarious designs thatcan harm Indian interest and threaten regionalsecurity. As the American appetite to get out ofAfghanistan grows, it is not only imperative forNew Delhi to remain vigilant about its interest inAfghanistan but also keep a tab on the strategicdesires of its next-door neighbour.

QUEST FOR STRATEGIC RELEVANCEStrategic relevance is used in the context of

small states. Small states try to play a minor yetcritical role in the strategy of big powers inexchange for their own security assurances andfinancial largesse.

Pakistan, by no means a small state, madestrategic relevance to the US a cornerstone of itsforeign policy since independence for nearlysimilar reasons. First, having the US by its side,Pakistan hoped to offset military disparity with amighty neighbour and arch-rival India duringthe Cold War years. Second, it would ensure acontinuous flow of civilian and military aid from

the US. Third, it allowed the unelected MilitaryInc. of Pakistan to get away with its real powerand authority, unlike military juntas of the ThirdWorld who face American censure.

Having understood the benefits, Pakistanbecame a member of SEATO in 1954. While themembership did not obtain security guaranteesagainst Indian incursion similar to NATO Art. 5,it ensured US goodwill and considerable finan-cial assistance. Pakistan continued to seizeopportunities coming its way. For example, thelate 1960s gave it a chance for yeoman serviceduring the Sino-American détente. Pakistan wassummoned to facilitate negotiations with MaoZedong, which it happily delivered in the hopeof American favours.

Nothing turned out to be more fortunate forPakistan than the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.That fortuitous event entrenched Pakistan in theUS’ strategic calculus like never before. Pakistanhad constant attention of the US as the escala-tion with the Taliban kept piling on the bodycount of American troops. However, it seemsthat the denouement of that dream is approach-ing, making Pakistan’s rulers in both Islamabadand Rawalpindi jittery.

GEOECONOMIC RESETMost recently, Pakistan’s National Security

Advisor Moeed Yusuf has expressed a desire fora US-Pakistan ‘reset’ based on geoeconomics andnot geopolitics. With an ostentatious candor, hesays a ‘new Pakistan’ does not want the relation-ship to be viewed through lens A, B, or C. IfPakistan is really sincere about an economicsecurity paradigm, it is a most-welcomed sce-nario for India. The market size disparity willsettle the unabating chase for parity with India,which is at the root of many regional problems.

This can be a mere charm offensive byMoeed, an old DC warhorse who has spent overa decade shaping pro-Pakistan opinion and lob-bying for his country through lucrative think-tank positions he perched. Or, it indicates buyingtime until Rawalpindi formulates a new strategy.The recent India-Pakistan ceasefire agreementfeeds into this arithmetic of taking a step back.For two reasons, the geoeconomics desiresmacks of insincerity.

First, it does not square with Pakistan’sdomestic realities. With soaring inflation, bil-lions in circular debt, decreasing per capita pur-chasing power, incessant political wrangles, fed-eral government’s policy command contested bythe provincial, military, and baronial powers,lack of urban infrastructure and connectivity,and domestic security challenges, much leaves tobe desired for Pakistan to enamor private UScapital.

Second, a geoeconomics-oriented Pakistanhas to give up on using terrorism as a state poli-cy; there is no way tradesmen and terrorists canthrive together. However, any such changeswould mean the military losing control over thePakistani state, which it would never let happen.It also raises a paradox: Pakistan’s civil-military

elite who have disproportionately benefited fromone extraneous lens or another — most recently,Afghanistan — why wants to give that lens sud-denly for a standalone relationship? Hence thereset pitch is indicative of both consternationand parallel churning that wants to recaptureany potential loss of that status.

POST-AFGHAN ANXIETYWith its decision to test Shaheen-III missile

that can carry nuclear weapons to Israel onBiden’s inauguration day, Rawalpindi hasbetrayed its desperation for relevance and atten-tion. But what makes Pakistan so insecure aboutlosing relevance? Apart from internecine parityand millions of dollars in aid, it is Pakistan’s elitethat stands to lose the most. It is unimaginablefor Pakistan’s civil-military rulers, some of whomare dual citizens having properties, businesses,and families in the US, to lose the heft. It is apersonal loss too.

Further, being in the US’ good books grantscomplete impunity to the military leadership indomestic and international affairs. Just look atthe countries that invited US incursions or wrathand their corresponding sins-Iraq for allegedlysupporting Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda, Iranfor aspiring to possess nukes that can threatenIsrael, Syria and Libya for dictatorships and abet-ting jihadists, Myanmar for military despotism,and North Korea for proliferation. But a countrywhere all sins converge — the presence ofOsama bin Laden, nuclear weapons that canreach Tel Aviv, sworn animus towards Israel,sheltering jihadists, military dictatorship, indi-rect control of the civilian government, humanrights abuses, and proven proliferation to NorthKorea, Iran, and Libya — is immune from anyAmerican punitive actions because the US needsit to navigate and exit the largest quagmire itentered after Vietnam. Even the idea of losingthis privilege can fret Pakistan’s generals morethan anything else.

But will Afghanistan be pushed to oblivion?Is a post-Afghan world dawning in? Given theAmerican involvement in Afghanistan today andthe Taliban’s truculence, it seems that the UStroops would never leave Kabul’s soil. Once, itdid not appear to be true in the case of Vietnamtoo. Many had assumed that a small Americanpresence in Vietnam was a fait accompli, andtotal disengagement was next to impossible. In acouple of years, they were proven wrong.

Moreover, mere troop presence does notmean high salience in American foreign policy.Some American 5,000 troops are still stationedin Iraq compared to around 2,500 inAfghanistan, but Afghanistan is a high-priorityissue today. Even if a battalion remains hunkereddown in Kabul, Afghanistan will not attract thesame foreign policy focus forever. And Pakistanis aware that the expiry date is approaching.

A NEW ACCESS POINTPakistan is now preparing to plug itself

into any issue that can continue its present

perks as a ‘strategically relevant’ country. AsadMajeed Khan, the Pakistani ambassador to theUS, talking to a DC-based think-tank, said that“we also represent the Iranian interest here…and we have been doing that for the last 40years.” As Iran supplants Afghanistan as theprime focal point in the days to come, Pakistanwould want to encash that issue to its advan-tage.

Pakistan’s pursuit of strategically relevantaccess point would be oriented towards west andcentral Asia instead of eastwards. To its east liestwo behemoths — India and China, both wouldensure American attention towards Pakistanwithout the endearing ‘strategic relevance.’ India-US partnership has acquired a new strategic hueshedding the subcontinental shibboleth of anuclear flashpoint. Pakistan has too oftenrehearsed nuclear brinkmanship with the US toblunt its utility. After the abrogation of Art. 370,Imran Khan’s entreaties of ‘nuclear shadow hov-ering over South Asia’ in the pages of New YorkTimes fell on deaf ears.

Similarly, its inordinate proximity with ‘ironbrother’ China that proved an asset during theCold War is now a sure liability. It is folly even toimagine another Sino-American rapprochement,and hence, Pakistan’s China bet is a sunk cost forits American calculus. In fact, anything it needsto do is to salvage its image from sin by associa-tion.

IMPLICATIONS FOR INDIAThis situation leaves Pakistan with three

possible options. First, delay the Afghan peaceprocess and buy as much time with the currentsituation as possible. Although US presence lim-its Pakistan’s ability to assert itself inAfghanistan, it can endure the short-term pain.Such instability hurts Indian interests as it hurtsothers. Second, it has already increased its over-tures toward Tehran, even if it means upsettingSaudi Arabia and the UAE to an extent. Pakistanis emboldened by China’s leverage brought byBeijing’s promise to pour billions in an economystifled by sanctions. Beyond beguiling itsAmerican counterparts through the Tehran card,cutting India to size in Persia would be its anoth-er goal. India’s camaraderie with Gulf monarchscomes at the partial cost of old warmth withIran, but New Delhi should ensure its vital ener-gy and security interests are not hurt. Finally,Pakistan has a notorious past of fomenting trou-bles through non-state actors when it is desper-ate. India would need to stay ahead with betterintelligence and border surveillance to meetpotential challenges.

Pakistan is facing a crisis moment of bulkexpiries in the coming days — Afghanistan,China, and nuclear cards — while its desire tomilk its strategic relevance continues. New Delhineeds to closely monitor the internal strategicchurning in its neighbourhood and war-game itsown responses to stay ahead in the game.

The writer is Visiting Fellow at the StimsonCenter in Washington DC

Philanthropy done through sporadic CSRinitiatives in developing countries

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and several USlawmakers have said that they are appalled

For the last two decades, the US’ India-Pakistanbalancing was majorly driven by an equilibriumbetween two lenses through whichWashington looked at South Asia — ‘theAfghanistan lens’ and ‘the China/Indo-Pacific lens’. With a gradual witheringaway of the Afghanistan lens, the US’South Asia approach would enter aphase of realignment leaving Pakistan ina quest for ‘strategic relevance’ to theUS, writes CHIRAYU THAKKAR

PAKISTAN IS FACING ACRISIS MOMENT OF

BULK EXPIRIES IN THECOMING DAYS —

AFGHANISTAN, CHINA,AND NUCLEAR CARDS

— WHILE ITS DESIRE TOMILK ITS STRATEGIC

RELEVANCE CONTINUES.NEW DELHI NEEDS TO

CLOSELY MONITOR THEINTERNAL STRATEGIC

CHURNING IN ITSNEIGHBORHOOD ANDWAR-GAME ITS OWNRESPONSES TO STAYAHEAD IN THE GAME

US & THE GREAT SOUTHASIAN REALIGNMENT

Satya Nadella, US lawmakers appalledby acts of hate against Asian mericans

sundaymagazine

India&world 9VIJAYAWADA, March 14, 2021

IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT CHECKINGTHE BOX ON CORPORATE SOCIAL

RESPONSIBILITY. IT'S ABOUTHITTING OUR BOTTOM LINE

— PEGGY JOHNSON

Residential buildingsaccounted for 24% of thetotal electricity consump-

tion in India in 2016. This totalelectricity consumption willincrease as more housing unitsare built to meet the estimateddemand of 38 million housingunits in 2030. The electricity con-sumption per household is alsoincreasing as people have accessto better electricity and invest inmore appliances due to increasingspending power. As a result,national electricity consumed bythe residential sector is expectedto increase by more than eighttimes by 2050.

The construction industryalready accounts for 25-40% ofthe world’s total carbon emis-sions. Increase in energy con-sumption by the residential sectorwill result in an exponentialincrease in Greenhouse Gas(GHG) emissions without appro-priate mitigation interventions.

Affordable housing, includingthe Low Income Group (LIG) andEconomically Weaker Section(EWS), accounted for almost 96%of the residential housingdemand in 2012. Even though theenergy consumption of theaffordable housing sector is rela-tively small right now, it willincrease as the number of build-ings and appliance usage increas-es. Hence, any strategy to reduceenergy consumption in the resi-dential sector must include theaffordable housing sector.

The affordable housing sectoris largely managed by the govern-ment owing to its role as regula-tor and major builder. The gov-

ernment launched several initia-tives to meet the affordable hous-ing shortage through its vision on‘Housing for All by 2022.’ Itlaunched the Pradhan MantriAwas Yojana (PMAY) — Urban(PMAY-U) and Rural (PMAY-R)in 2015. Most recently, itlaunched the Affordable RentalHousing Complexes (ARHCs)scheme under PMAY-U to pro-vide affordable housing tomigrant workers and the urbanpoor. The PMAY sub-schemesprovide financial support toState/Union Territories (UTs)through different interventions.

Integrating thermal comfortand energy efficiency strategiesinto the PMAY schemes providesa unique opportunity for wide-spread and quick adoption by theaffordable housing sector. Thesestrategies can be made mandato-ry through the PMAY schemesthus linking them to fiscal bene-fits.

As a first step, the scope ofthe building design regulationsunder PMAY needs to beincreased. This can be done byintegrating Energy ConservationBuilding Code-Residential(ECBC-R) developed by theBureau of Energy Efficiency’s(BEE) into PMAY schemes.

The first part of ECBC-Rincludes design and materialselection to improve thermalcomfort in residential buildings,improve natural ventilation andincrease daylighting. This willhelp reduce energy demand forlighting, cooling or heating. Thisis especially beneficial to the LIGand EWS population which may

be unable to purchase appropriateappliances, especially to improvethermal comfort, due to financialconstraints.

The second part of theECBC-R will include strategiesfor sustainable mechanical sys-tems such as heating, cooling andrenewable energy systems.Including sustainable coolingtechnologies is key to reducingthe GHG footprint of buildings.Rising global temperature due to

climate change is forcing moreand more people to use air condi-tioners to achieve thermal com-fort in their homes. Almost 30%of electricity consumption inhomes is from air-conditioningmaking it one of the biggest con-tributors towards spikes in energyconsumption. Most refrigeratorsand air-conditioners containchemical refrigerants that have1,000 to 9,000 times greatercapacity to warm the atmosphere

compared to carbon dioxide. It isnecessary to phase out theserefrigerants and support climateresponsive sustainable coolingsystems. While use of air-condi-tioners in LIG and EWS housingunits is low currently, the numberis expected to increase in bothrural and urban areas by 2030.

ECBC-R (Part I) can bemade mandatory for all afford-able housing projects, whileECBC-R (Part II) can be made

voluntary. Sustainable mechanicaltechnologies can have high costand maintenance requirementsand should be provided based onproject-to-project suitability.PMAY can provide greater finan-cial benefits to projects adoptingECBC-R (Part- II).

While design interventionscan be integrated into projects atzero cost, material and technolo-gy interventions may result inincreased construction costs. It

will be necessary to reduce thefinancial burden on developers aswell as buyers. The governmentmust invest in research and test-ing for new materials and tech-nologies. Housing built throughthe ARHC schemes provide agreat opportunity to constructpilot projects as occupants do notinvest in the property directly.

It will also be necessary forthe government to simultaneous-ly roll out financial support pro-grams. Direct/indirect mecha-nisms need to be introduced toabsorb the extra costs of buildingsustainably. Increasing home loansubsidies with relaxations in GSTand taxes will incentivise con-struction of low carbon buildings.Housing schemes under PMAYwith green building certificationscan be awarded extra subsidiescoupled with stamp duty waiver.Strategic relaxation in FloorSpace Index (FSI) norms can helpreduce common infrastructuredevelopment costs. Developerscan use the excess budget to pro-vide energy efficiency measuresin their buildings.

Robust enforcement and highcompliance rate will be essentialto ensure the intended energysavings and GHG reductionsthrough this strategy. Regularevaluation and improvements tothe policy will help build trustamongst all stakeholders andinspire confidence in adoptingenergy efficiency strategies. Thiswill help us stay on track toachieve our carbon goals.

The writers are Anant Fellowsfor Climate Action

Upon entering the small,dimly lit but cheerfulorphanage inNizamabad, a smalltown located in the

south of India, eight years ago, Inoticed the pale faces of the childreninside. Four pairs of eyes were fixedon me while the lower half of theirbodies — which at first glanceseemed to me to be incrediblyscrawny — hid behind a corrodedmetal door separating the receptionarea from a large empty hall thatwould probably be repurposed fortheir dining or play through the day.The children in this orphanage wereborn out of illicit relationships in thecommunity, thus abandoned by theirbiological mothers, and all sufferedfrom AIDS.

“They have not received theirmedicines since the past 3 months,”informed Rajoo the founder of theorphanage, noticing my sadness atthe state of the children.

“Why not?” I asked, shocked. “The CSR manager of the com-

pany that provided the medicines hasbeen replaced. The new manager hasa different plan and so he directed thefunds to a set of other CSR initia-tives.”

Standing in the vacuous, win-dowless hall that was being hurried-ly now readied by Rajoo’s industri-ous staff for serving lunch to the fortytwo ailing but happy and clamorousorphans who were all gatheredaround me, I was convinced of thecolossal dangers to the little end-ben-eficiaries of whimsical ‘CSR initia-tives’.

Philanthropy done through spo-radic corporate social responsibilityinitiatives is common in developingcountries such as India, but is notsustainable. In FY 2019-20, an aston-ishing 20.33 per cent of listed Indiancompanies reported losses. In fact,19.65 per cent of Indian companieswho were profitable in Q4 2019-20reported losses in Q1 2020-21 as alikely direct consequence of thepandemic on the country’s economywhich will only worsen in FY 2022.This pushes down the legal liability

of these companies to financiallycontribute to any CSR at all this year.

However, only if these corpora-tions’ social initiatives are inter-twined with their business models,will the initiatives survive employeeturnover and financial losses of thecompany. The company’s procure-ment policies, supply chain manage-ment, production units, and distri-bution networks can be tweaked tobe more socially responsible.Similarly, services and products thatare harmful to society can be phasedout, ushering in those that help peo-ple while also being profitable.

For example, companies likethe Euro 24 billion Veolia earn rev-enues from water and waste manage-ment as well as energy services. TheEuro 9.26 billion Dutch State Mineshas moved out of the polluting busi-ness of coal mining and reinventeditself into a science-based company

active in nutrition, health and sus-tainable living. Similarly, in India,USD 4.2 billion Tata Power haspledged to transition from produc-ing thermal power to entirely renew-able sources of power by 2050.

This way, the company’s socialinitiatives can not be stopped lest itimpacts revenue generation. Howcan CEOs transform their companiesto do this?

CONCEIVE To embed social responsibility in

a company’s operations, servicesand products, first employees atlarge need to be convinced that thisis the right thing to do. Only then willthey willingly implement the changesneeded across the company. Makeemployees feel that it was their ideato change.

For this, it is crucial that thecompany’s leadership deploys a con-

sultative process across teams forproposing the idea and then request-ing employees for their opinionabout it as well as suggestions for theroll out plan.

Not only is the process informa-tive, but also instils a sense of own-ership amongst employees of thechanges in the company that will fol-low. This will result in strongerimplementation by these employeesof the changes that will later be pro-posed by the leadership.

CASTNext, the transformative process

needs to be placed within a specificteam such as the strategy team, sus-tainability department, R&D or aresearch centre located within thecompany. All the changes neededwithin the company will emanatefrom this team.

However, often a common mis-

take corporations make is to inappro-priately locate this team within theorganisation by either banishing it toa lower down reporting line or to sitwithin the company’s corporatecommunications team, or strippingit of power in other ways. This givesout a signal to employees that anysocial good done by the company isnot important or is simply for imagebuilding.

Instead, the leadership needs toensure that the team responsible forthe transformation is em-powered,reports directly to the CEO, and isinvolved in all business and financialdecisions. This would requirechanges such as having a key employ-ee lead this team, inclusion of theteam within corporate governancestructures or even close physicalproximity of offices of this team tothe CEO.

COLLABORATE Embedding social good within

operations, services and products ofa company requires teams to close-ly collaborate towards identifying keystakeholders, conducting a material-ity analysis, and implementing ini-tiatives that are driven by the resultsof the materiality analysis.Conducting a materiality analysisensures that social initiatives areimportant both to the business andstakeholders.

Teams across the company needto then collaborate with internal aswell as external entities to ensure thecontinued implementation and mon-itoring of the initiatives that result insocial good as well as revenues.

This often results in an align-ment of initiatives for business andsocial welfare. An example of acompany that successfully alignsbusiness interests, CSR, and philan-thropy is Piramal EnterprisesLimited, an Indian business con-glomerate earning revenues of 5,419crore in the last financial year. Thecompany’s CSR has a sharp focus oneducation and healthcare which alsomirrors the company’s main businessfocus on technology and healthcare.Beyond business and CSR, the pro-

moters of the company Ajay Piramaland his wife Dr. Swati Piramal areactively engaged in philanthropicactivities also in the fields of educa-tion and healthcare. This alignmentof business, CSR, and philanthropyon just 2 clear social goals is an effec-tive approach to ensure deep socialbenefits. Further, this has ensuredthat the social initiatives continueeven during the current economicdownturn as the company’s CSRspend for FY 20 remained unde-terred, amounting to 4.51% of itsaverage net profits of the 3 preced-ing financial years which more thandoubles up on the legally mandatedannual CSR spend.

In other cases, the transforma-tive process results in social respon-sibility being a generator of revenue.Micro-finance, employment ser-vices, affordable housing and variousbusinesses that cater to customers atthe bottom of the pyramid are someexamples. However, businesses thatmight cater to higher income groupsbut source directly from producers,or those who extend their servicesand add value to the smaller compa-nies in their supply chain, or work toeradicate the environmental pollu-tion caused by their operations andproducts, or work on cross subsidisedmodels to provide their products andservices at differentiated pricing tocustomers with different payingpower, are also positively contribut-ing to society. There are many busi-ness models that can usher in ben-efits to society as well as revenues.

Recently, on a trip to HyderabadI made my way by road to visitNizamabad again. Upon enquiring,the locals told me that Rajoo’sorphanage had long closed down dueto lack of regularity in funds. I won-dered what happened to the children.

The writer is the CEO ofSustain Labs, a company that trans-forms companies towards being sus-

tainable and profitable. She is theauthor of Indian Instincts: Essayson Freedom & Equality in India,

and a Global Leadership Fellow atthe World Economic Forum

Philanthropy done through sporadic CSR initiatives in developing countries,such as India, is often not sustainable. Only if the corporations' socialinitiatives are intertwined with their business models, will the initiativessurvive employee turnover and financial losses of the company

STILETTOS

MINIYA

CHATTERJI

HOW CEOS CAN BUILD ARESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

THERE ARE MANYBUSINESS MODELSTHAT CAN USHERIN BENEFITS TO

SOCIETY AS WELLAS REVENUES

Reduce carbon footprint of affordable housing sector by integrating thermal performance and energy efficiency

measures in Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, write RUCHIE KOTHARI & SHWETANG MONANI

Affordable housing & carbon footprint

Accolades from world over forIndian-origin duo in South Africa

Two young Indian-origin women fromSouth Africa's

Pretoria city, a 21-year-old beauty productsentrepreneur and a 30-year-old architect, havewon internationalaccolades for theirexemplary leadership thisweek.Beauty productsentrepreneur, RabiaGhoor, received theForbes Woman Africa‘Young Achievers' Awardfor 2021, while architectSumayya Vally, wasincluded in the 2021Times100 list thatacknowledgesleaders who areshaping thefuture.Ghoor'saward wasannouncedduring avirtualForbessummitto

celebrate African womenleaders who arecommitted to economicand social transformationon the continent. Ghoorstarted ‘Swiitch Beauty',her make-up andskincare online beautystore at just 14, droppingout of school two yearslater to concentrate full-time on the business,which was inspired aftershe spotted a gap for theAfrican market.“American, European orAsian brands that areunavailable here in South

Africa were

constantly innovating andevolving, especially in thedigital space, while SouthAfrican brands laggedbehind or just straight updidn't exist.“I began researchingproduct sourcing,formulation, e-commerce, packaging,manufacturing, designwith the end goal in mindbeing to create a beautybrand that firstly, didn'tbreak the bank andsecondly - made thingsthat people wouldactually use in real life -things that did what theysaid they were going todo,” Ghoor said.“After being announced

as the winner, Ireceived tonnes ofemails forcollaborations.That is exposurefor my brandand myself. Ithink winning

openednetworking

opportunities,” sheadded.

The Ethiopian government is disputing charges of ethnic cleansing in the Tigrayconflict, calling allegations by the United States “unfounded." “Nothing during orafter the end of the main law enforcement operation in Tigray can be identified or

defined by any standards as a targeted, intentional ethnic cleansing against anyone inthe region,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Saturday. “That is

why the Ethiopian government vehemently opposes such accusations.”Allegations of ethnic cleansing amount to “a completely unfounded and

spurious verdict against the Ethiopian government,” it said, accusingWashington of “overblowing things out of proportion.” US Secretary of

State Antony Blinken asserted Wednesday that ethnic cleansing hashappened in western Tigray, the first time a top official in the

international community has openly described Tigray's allegedatrocities as such. Blinken told the foreign affairs committee of the USHouse of Representatives that the US is “seeing very credible reports ofhuman rights abuses and atrocities that are ongoing” in Tigray, aregion in the north of Ethiopia that is the base of a party that

dominated Ethiopian politics for decades before therise of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. The leaders

of that party, known by its initials TPLF, arein hiding as federal forces and their

allies — including fighters fromEritrea — hunt down fighters

loyal to the localadministration in Tigray.

The Biden administration is not planning to step upgovernment surveillance of the US internet evenas state-backed foreign hackers and

cybercriminals increasingly use it to evade detection, asenior administration official said Friday. The officialsaid the administration, mindful of the privacy and civilliberties implications that could arise, is not currentlyseeking additional authority to monitor US-basednetworks. Instead, the administration will focus ontighter partnerships and improved information-sharingwith the private-sector companies that already havebroad visibility into the domestic internet, said theofficial, who spoke to reporters on condition ofanonymity.The comment was an acknowledgement of the fraughtpolitical debate surrounding domestic governmentsurveillance - nearly eight years after former NationalSecurity Agency contractor Edward Snowdentriggered a scandal with leaked agency documents -and a recognition of the challenges in balancing thegrowing cyber defense imperative against privacyconcerns that come with stepped-up monitoring. Foreign state hackers are increasingly using US-based virtual private networks, or VPNs, toevade detection by US intelligenceagencies, who are legally constrainedfrom monitoring domesticinfrastructure.In the crucial second stage ofthe SolarWinds hackingcampaign, for instance, thesuspected Russianintelligence operativesused US-based VPNsto siphon off datathrough backdoors invictims' networks,establishing anaccount thatmade it seemlike they werein the US.

Antibodies raised by some COVID-19 vaccines are less effective atneutralising new, circulating variants of the novel coronavirus such as theones first reported in the UK, South Africa and Brazil, according to a new

study. The research, published in the journal Cell, noted that the neutralisingantibodies induced by the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines were lesseffective against the coronavirus variants first described in Brazil and SouthAfrica. According to the scientists, including Alejandro Balazs from theMassachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in the US, neutralising antibodies workby binding tightly to the virus and blocking it from entering cells, thus preventinginfection. They said this binding only happens when the antibody's and the virus'shapes are perfectly matched to each other "like a key in a lock." If the shape of the virus changes where the antibody attaches to it -- in this case,in the spike protein of the novel coronavirus -- they said the antibody may nolonger be able to recognise and neutralise the virus as well.In the study, the researchers developed assays for COVID-19, comparing howwell the antibodies worked against the original strain versus the new variants.

scopekaleid backpage

Satya Nadella, US lawmakersappalled by acts of hate against Asian Americans

Microsoft CEOSatya Nadellaand several US

lawmakers have said thatthey are appalled by theongoing acts of hateagainst Asian Americansand condemned hate,racial discrimination andviolence in all forms.

More than 3,000 inci-dents of abuse againstAsian Americans werereported between Marchand December 2020,according to AsianAmerican advocacygroups. There were only216 reported cases in2019, according to FBIstatistics.

“I am appalled by theongoing acts of hateagainst Asian Americansand the Asian communityglobally. Racism, hate andviolence have no place inour society. I am unitedwith the Asian andAsian Americancommunity instandingagainst thisinjustice,”Nadellasaid in atweet, aday afterUSPresidentJoe Bidensaid that the'vicious' hatecrimesagainst AsianAmericans in thecountry

amidst the pandemic was'un-American' and itmust stop.

Denouncing 'violent'attacks on the AsianAmericans, Biden in hisfirst prime-time addressto the nation since assum-ing office in January, saidthat members of the com-munity were harassed,blamed and scapegoated.

In a statement,Microsoft said that it con-demns hate, racial dis-crimination, and violencein all forms.

Meanwhile, prominentlawmakers have joinedhands to introduce a leg-islation to address the riseof hate crimes and vio-lence against AsianAmerican and PacificIslander (AAPI) commu-nities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Congressman DonaldM. Payne,

expressedconcern

over anincreasein racistattacksagainst

Asian

Americans during theCOVID-19 global pan-demic.

“I want to condemn theabuse and assault that hashappened to AsianAmericans during hispandemic in the strongestwords possible,” Paynesaid.

“Hate and violencehave no place in Americaat all. These attacks muststop because they arecowardly attempts toscapegoat and blameAmericans for a pandem-ic that started thousandsof miles away. Thankfully,we have a president whosupports diversity andwill protect all Americansin his language and hisactions. It is time for us tocome together as a coun-try and that includes allAmericans,” he said.

Senator DianneFeinstein said that overthe past few weeks, nomi-nees for the top threeleadership positions atthe Justice Departmenthave appeared before theSenate JudiciaryCommittee, as has thedirector of the FBI.

“At each hearing thetopic of hate crimes cameup, in large part due tosteep increases in attacksagainst AsianAmericans,” she said.

The Biden administration hassaid it is willing toreconsider the objections

or adverse decisions to foreignworkers on visas like H-1B, themost sought after among IndianIT professionals, due to thethree policy memos by theprevious Trump regime whichnow have been rescinded.The move is expected to come tothe rescue of a large number ofIndian IT professionals who werehaving a tough time during theprevious Trump administration dueto various policies and memorandums onnon-immigrant work visas, in particularthe H-1B. The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visathat allows US companies to employforeign workers in specialty occupationsthat require theoretical or technicalexpertise. The technology companiesdepend on it to hire tens of thousands ofemployees each year from countries likeIndia and China.The US Citizenship and Immigration

Services(USCIS) on Friday announced "it mayreopen and/or reconsider adversedecisions" on Form I-129, Petition for aNonimmigrant Worker, made based onthree rescinded policy memos.The USCIS said it will generally use itsdiscretion to accept a motion to reopenfiled more than 30 days after the decision,if filed before the end of the validity periodrequested on the petition or labourcondition application, whichever is earlier,and the decision was based on one or

more policies in the three rescinded H-1Bmemoranda.On June 17, 2020, the USCIS issuedPolicy Memorandum 602-0114, whichofficially rescinded two prior policymemoranda. First titled "DeterminingEmployer-Employee Relationship forAdjudication of H-1B Petitions,Including Third-Party Site Placements,"that was issued on January 8, 2010;and second "Contracts and ItinerariesRequirements for H-1B PetitionsInvolving Third-Party Worksites,"

issued on February 22, 2018.On February 3, 2021, USCIS issuedPolicy Memorandum 602-0142.1, whichofficially rescinded PM-602-0142,"Rescission of the December 22, 2000'Guidance memo on H1B computerrelated positions'," issued on March 31,2017. Both Policy Memorandum 602-0114 and Policy Memorandum 602-0142.1 state that they apply to "anypending or new (H-1B Petitions),including motions on and appeals ofrevocations and denials of H-1Bclassification."

Biden admin to reconsider objections to H-1B visas during Trump regime

Vaccine-induced antibodiesless effective against someCovid variants, finds study

Despite hacks, US not seeking

widened domesticsurveillance I

n 2009, then-Vice President Joe Biden was "Sheriff Joe,” the enforcer making sure federal dollars from a massiveeconomic aid package were getting to the right places and quickly. This time, President Biden's role is different: He'slead salesman for the USD 1.9 trillion COVID-19 aid package, eager to score political points as Americans begin to

reap benefits from the massive government relief effort. Biden signed the bill into law Thursday and then extolled itin a prime-time address to the nation that night. On Friday, he celebrated the package again, this time withDemocratic lawmakers in his first Rose Garden event as president. Biden said Friday that he would draw on hisexperiences in 2009, saying he worked four to five hours daily for six months to ensure that the stimulussucceeded. That same type of focus will be needed for coronavirus relief. "The devil is in the details," the presidentsaid. “It's one thing to pass the American Rescue Plan. It's going to be another thing to implement it. It's going torequire fastidious oversight to make sure there's no waste or fraud and the law does what it's designed to do. And Imean it. We have to get this right.” The White House has plotted an ambitious campaign to showcase the law'scontents while looking to build momentum for future, more difficult parts of the president's sweeping agenda.

Ethiopiarejects ‘ethniccleansing,’charge, opento probe

Kuwait's#MeToo

moment:Women

denounceharassment,

violence

Abrar Zenkawiwas cruising

toward thebeach in Kuwait

City when shesaw a manwaving and

smiling inher rearview mirror.

Elsewhere, this may havebeen a benign highway flirtation.

But in Kuwait, it's a haunting routinethat often turns dangerous. The man pulled

up beside her, inched closer and finally drove intoher. Zenkawi's car, carrying her toddler nieces, sister and

friend, flipped six times.“It's considered normal here. Men always drive way too

close to scare girls, chase them to their homes, followthem to work, just for fun,” said Zenkawi, 34, who spent

months in the hospital with a shattered spine. “They don'tthink about the consequences.”

But that may be changing as women are increasinglychallenging Kuwait's deeply patriarchal society. In recent

weeks, a growing number of women have broken taboos tospeak out about the scourge of harassment and violence

that plagues the Gulf nation's streets, highways and malls,in an echo of the global #MeToo movement.

An Instagram page has led to an outpouring of testimonyfrom women fed up with being intimidated or attacked in a

country where the criminal code doesn't define sexualharassment and lays out few repercussions for men who

kill female relatives for actions they consider immoral.

VIJAYAWADA | SUNDAY | MARCH 14, 2021

Biden played ‘sheriff' on ‘09 aid,now salesman on COVID law