English News Paper | Breaking News | Latest Today News in ... · district followed by Jaisalmer,...

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Taking a serious note of thekilling of three outsiders

involved in apple trade inKashmir earlier this weekdespite the large presence ofsecurity personnel, the securi-ty establishment has revisitedits strategy by providing a safe-ty umbrella in the hinterlanddotted with apple orchards.

The Army and paramili-tary forces have fanned out insuch areas besides populationcentres to instill confidenceamong masses and deny ter-rorists time and space to move.

However, setting up of safepickup points for collection ofapple crops in the wake of thekillings have created problemsfor the orchard owners locatedfar away. While traders havebeen advised to use smallervehicles for apple transporta-tion from interiors of the dis-trict, they are finding it difficultto ferry their produce to thesemandis due to lack of smallervehicles. If this is cutting intotheir profit margins, it is alsoaffecting the timely transport ofthe produce to markets outsideKashmir.

On an average, one truckcarries 800 to 1,000 appleboxes. Transporters are charg-

ing �135-140 per box com-pared to �80-90 earlier.

Kashmir produces over 20-24 lakh metric tonnes of appleworth �10,000 crore annually.The attacks on apple tradersand truck drivers in Shopianhave triggered a fresh wave ofterror among the truck driversand large number of non-localworkers engaged in the labori-ous task of packing, loadingand unloading of apple boxes.

Effort is to ensure thatapple traders in the hinterlandof major apple growing centre

of Sopore, which has Asia’sbiggest mandi for this fruit,Shopian, Pulwama andAnantnag in South Kashmirare able to continue with theirroutine economic activities.

In the meantime, a positivedevelopment has come in theway of the security forces asintelligence flow about mili-tants has improved in the lastfew days. Explaining the sig-nificance of this factor, officialssaid since August 5, the localpolice and intelligence agencieswere concentrating on main-

taining law and order antici-pating unrest like mass protestsand violence. Also the snappingof mobile services impactedintelligence gathering andinformation flow came downby at least 70 per cent, they said.

With the restoration ofmobile services earlier thisweek and virtually no massprotests as feared, the localpolice, which provide the realtime intelligence about terror-ists, has now re-established itscounter-terrorism grid.

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Denying any terror linkbehind the murder of

Kamlesh Tiwari, leader of a lit-tle-known Hindu outfit, UttarPradesh’s Director General ofPolice OP Singh on Saturdayclaimed to have a made abreakthrough within 24 hoursof the killing by arresting threeaccused, including the master-mind. All the three accusedwere taken into custody inSurat in Gujarat in a jointoperation of the police forces ofthe two States.

Two more arrests weremade in Bijnor district of UPwhere Muslim clericsMohammed Mufti NaeemKazmi and Imam MaulanaAnwarul Haq were held afterbeing named in an FIR lodgedby Tiwari’s wife Kiran.

The UP DGP claimed thatthe suspects were “radicalised”and appeared to have targeted

Kamlesh for his inflammatoryremarks made in 2015.

“So far, there is no terrorangle associated with this inci-dent,” the DGP said at a Pressconference here, a day after theHindu Samaj Party chief waskilled at his home in Lucknow’sKhurshed Bagh.

Tiwari’s wife named thetwo accused held in UP in hercomplaint alleging that theduo had announced a bountyof �1.5 crore on Kamlesh headin 2016. However, Tiwari’smother Kusuma alleged that hewas killed by a “local BJPleader” due to a temple disputein a village.

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With the ruling BJP-ShivSena combine’s return to

power in Maharashtra becom-ing more or less certain, thedebate preceding the StateAssembly polls scheduled forMonday has narrowed down tonumbers. Notwithstanding thesaffron alliance’s confidence ofwinning more than 220 out oftotal 288 seats, the numbers arequite not adding up if reportsfrom the ground are anythingto go by.

The questions being askedare: Will the BJP and the ShivSena at all cross the 200 mark?Will the BJP retain 122 seats ithad won in the 2014 StateAssembly polls? Will there bea drop or an increase in thenumber (63) of seats won bythe Shiv Sena in the previousAssembly polls separately?

The BJP and the Shiv Sena,which had contested the 2014Assembly polls separately, hadtogether won 185 out of thetotal 288 seats, as against 83seats bagged collectively bythe Congress (42) and theNCP (41).

It is the rebel factor that isthreatening to play a spoilsportfor the ruling saffron alliancein the polls. Nearly 50 rebels,

belonging to both the BJP andthe Shiv Sena, are in the pollfray in as many constituenciesacross the State. Almost all therebels are contesting the pollsagainst the saffron alliance’sofficial nominees after havingbeen denied tickets by theirrespective parties. At least 30 to35 of the rebels have the poten-tial to sabotage the chances ofthe official candidates of thetwo parties. The BJP is facingthe brunt of rebels in the fray.

The presence of such alarge number of rebels in thepoll fray should be seen in thelight of the fact that the BJP andthe Shiv Sena had contested the2014 Assembly polls separate-ly. The BJP had contested 260out of 288 seats, while the ShivSena had put up candidates in282 seats.

While the BJP and its alliesare contesting 164 seats, the

Sena is contesting 124 seats.Sensing a certain victory, a

large number of candidateshad sought tickets from theirrespective parties, especiallythe BJP, even in seats that havegone to the other saffron partyin the alliance.

Two days ahead of thewithdrawal of nominations,Chief Minister DevendraFadnavis had sent out sternmessage to rebels to opt out ofthe fray and said that therewould be no place for rebels inthe BJP-led “Maha-Yuti”.

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The Delhi Government onSaturday approved the set-

ting up of “Delhi Kesh KalaBoard” to revive and promotethe traditional art of hairgrooming by implementingwelfare measures for barbers and providing themadvanced training and financialassistance.

Significant technologicalsolutions have fuelled thegrowth of the hair care indus-try and the demand of hair careproducts is increasing both inrural and urban markets, anofficial statement said.Unofficial estimates peg theworth of India’s hair care indus-try at �22,500 crore, it said.

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In the last seven years, Indiahas lost more than half of its

donkeys. The population ofdonkeys has fallen by a massive61 per cent since 2012, as perthe livestock census report2019. The total number ofdonkeys in India now stands atjust 1,20,000 down from3,20,000 seven years ago.

The decline in the four-legged animal population isuniform with almost all theStates witnessing a decrease intheir numbers. Alarmingly,donkey population is on the

verge of extinction in Leh andLadakh as their number hasdrastically decreased and isless than hundred there.

Rajasthan tops the list ofStates with most donkeys, fol-lowed by Maharashtra, UttarPradesh, Gujarat and Bihar.

Taking note of their declin-ing numbers, the Ministry of

Fisheries, Animal Husbandryand Dairying has asked theIndian Council of AgriculturalResearch (ICAR) to explorepossibilities of promoting don-key milk in the country thatcan lead to their conservation.Donkey milk has four times thevitamin C as cow’s milk, andcontains casein, lactose, vita-

mins A, B1, B2, B6, D, and Ebesides being used for beautyproducts.

As per the donkeys’ census,the population of donkeys hasfallen to 23,000 from 81,000 inRajasthan. The maximum don-key population is in Barmerdistrict followed by Jaisalmer,Bikaner, Churu and least inTonk district.

Maharashtra has only18,000 donkeys as compared to29,000 in the previous census.The State Animal HusbandryDepartment has alreadylaunched a “Save Donkey” pro-gramme in the lines of “SaveTiger” to protect donkeys.

The population of don-keys in UP has declined major-ly from 57,000 to 16,000, whileboth Gujarat and Bihar have11,000 donkeys. In 2012, therewere 39,000 donkeys in Gujaratand 21,000 in Bihar.

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The campaigning for theHaryana Assembly elec-

tions ended on Saturdayevening with Prime MinisterNarendra Modi addressing tworallies in Rewari and Ellenabadon the last day.

The elections will be heldon October 21, results ofwhich will be declared onOctober 24. Of the over 1.83crore voters, over 83 lakh arewomen.

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8��)"�9��8��:��'London: In a setback to UKPrime Minister Boris Johnson,British lawmakers on Saturdayvoted to back a motion thatdelays his Brexit deal struckwith the European Union (EU).

The 322 versus 306 voteon an important amendmentmeans that the UK PrimeMinister is bound by the BennAct passed earlier by the Par-liamentarians to write to theEU by midnight on Saturdayseeking a delay to the October31 deadline as no new deal has been passed in theCommons by the October 19cut-off date.

While Johnson and someof his team have previouslysaid that he will abide by therule of law, it remains unclearwhat next steps are expectedfrom Downing Street. PTI

Detailed report on P6

� This year the theme of Indian Idolis Ek Desh Ek Awaaz. Can youexplain more?

In simple words, we are aradical country and we have a lotof talent in every nook and corner.The theme — Ek Desh Ek Awaaz— encapsulates the fact that weare only looking for talentirrespective of his background orrace. We believe that the talentunites us through a musicalmanner. We welcome eachand every voice in the showwithout focusing on aparticular form of music. � What things do you keepin mind while judging?

All the three of us —Vishal Dadlani, NehaKakkar and I are looking forout of the box talent that is

realistic. In this world, youcan’t look for LataMangeshkar, Asha Bhosle or

Mohammad Rafi, no one canbeat them. They are the best.

They are just one of a kind. AndI had the chance to work with themwhen I was 18. Now I am 55; its timeto move on and get fresh voices. Ifsomeone has something differentto serve on the table, we arewelcoming them with open hearts.I believe that we have found whatwe were looking for — magicalsingers.

A case in point is Azmat, whowon a singing reality show when he

was just 10-11 years old. Then hestopped singing and fell in bad

company. But, he was brave enough tocome up and accept that he lost the track

at some point. We gave him a secondchance. This is what Indian Idol 11 is all

about.� You have been judging the show since a

long time. How has the journey been?The audience has started saying that

this is the best trio of judges on IndianIdol so far. The reason being we getalong very well. We do have difference

of opinions sometimes but that’s fine. The

journey has definitely been a great one. � Do you see any difference in the talent fromfive years ago and now?

Talent is talent. Music is ingrained in the DNAof Indians. But, when I look at the youngsterstoday, technology has made a lot of difference. Theyoungsters are doing a lot of riyaaz before comingfor the auditions. They are well-prepared but theyalso know that there’s a lot of competition. Theyoungsters know that technology is available foreveryone and they are trying to walk an extra mileto make a difference. They are committed to theirwork much more than we ever were.� Do you think reality shows can be a turningpoint in a singer’s career?

Yes. Today’s generation is blessed to have realityshows. We never had this opportunity in our time.When you are talented and you are on a show, youcome into everyone’s radar. If you win the show orare in the top 10, you are suddenly in demand. Youstart getting work. I always joke about this on theshow too that Salman Ali’s (winner of Indian Idol10) passport is thicker than mine. � What does music mean to you?

Music is everything to me. It is my soulmateand the only thing that has been with me throughmy highs and lows. Apart from my daughters, musicis the only thing that has kept me alive all this while.It is a tool to remove any pain that a person is goingthrough. When I made Moh Moh Ke Dhaage, peoplecalled me up and said that the song is healing them.That was a big compliment for me.� Do you have a favourite song?

It’s yet to come. (laughs)� What was the most challenging project?

The qawwali from Main Hoon Na was quitechallenging. I wanted to make a qawwali thatwould set a trend and after that many composersstarted making qawwalis. Before that there wereno qawwalis and then suddenly Kajra Re Kajra Recame and many more followed.� An advice for the aspiring singers?

Just a simple one: Nothing can help anyoneexcept for hard work and commitment towardsyour work. A lot of people ask me how have yousurvived in the industry for 42 years? I startedwhen I was only 16 and I kept working since then.Also riyaaz is the key. I keep on making songsirrespective of the fact that whether it will be usedin the film or not. And there has been not even asingle day when I haven’t made a song. Everyoneis working hard so you have to work even harder.Nothing comes easy. It is tough, but it is worth it.

He is anokha, humorousand one of the mostentertaining character

in &TV’s rib-tickling showBhabhi Ji Ghar Par Hain. MeetAnokhe Lal Saxena akaSaanand Verma, who havenever feared challenges in hislife.

Verma has been receivingimmense love and appreciationfor playing Saxenaji, howeverdoing TV was not on his cardsuntil he had an encounter withthe show’s director ShashankBahl.

“I never wanted to do TV.My aim was to pave my wayinto Bollywood. Therefore, Ididn’t want to expose myselfmuch at that time becausethen you get restricted to TV.One fine day, I came in contactwith Shashank Bahl and Istarted doing FIR. The reasonI chose the show was becauseit gave me space to hide myidentity as I had to playdifferent characters in disguisefor different episodes. After theshow got off-air, Shashankoffered me to play Saxenaji inhis new show. I wasn’t sure oftaking it up. But, once I read thescript and got to know aboutmy character, there was noreason to turn down the offer.It was the character which wasnever played on screen beforeand I was blessed to havegotten the opportunity to playsuch a character,” he says.

Verma believes that adirector is like the captain ofthe ship. If the director is good,the end results will definitely begood. “During the shoot,Shashank not only help usimprovise our characters but hetries to bring out the best of thescript. It is all about teamwork. If you see my characterclosely, the punch line is ‘I likeit’. The line and when Saxenajirolls his eyes was Shashank'sbrainchild and I gave it theright tone. So, definitely adirector's part is of immenseimportance but when you worktogether on a project, it alldepends on team work. We alldo new improvisations in ourcharacters on a daily basis andthe learning process is neverending,” he tells you.

Verma is all praise for his

director and believes that he isthe most funny person on thesets. “The atmosphere on thesets is very light-hearted andthe credit goes to Shashank. Hetries his best to make everyonefeel comfortable on the sets. Hegives the script a vision andalmost 40 per cent of thecomical elements are added byhim in the final script. Apartfrom him, I am the mostmazakiya person on the sets. Imake sure that everyone islaughing and is in a happymood during shooting,” hetells you.

But, as everything comeswith a price, to reach this stagein his life, Verma too had tomake several sacrifices. “I come

from a humble background.There were times when myfamily didn't have money toeat. But as time passes, thosetime passed too. I went on tostudy and eventually got a jobin a MNC. I worked with thecompany for nine years andthere was a time when I had apackage of �50 lakh perannum. But, I wasn’t satisfiedwith my work. It felt likesomething is missing and thatwas acting. Since mychildhood, I was alwaysinterested in performing arts.Then one fine day, I decided toquit my job and go on topursue acting. I had a house inMumbai, which in itself was abig thing. But I had to pay the

home loan, with the PF moneythat I got after quitting my job,I paid my house loan. I was leftshort on money. I had to sellmy car because I wasn’t in aposition to pay the EMIs. Isuffered from a financialcrunch again during that time,”he recalls.

Leaving behind a luxuriouslifestyle and starting everythingfrom the scratch was not apiece of cake. “I had nevertravelled in Mumbai’s localtrains. The first day when I wasgoing for auditions, I tried toboard a train, I was shocked tosee the situation. I knew Icouldn’t do that. I thought ofcommuting by bus, whichagain was a tedious task.Affording a rickshaw or a taxiwas not in my budget so Idecided to walk to the auditionvenue. I used to walk almost 14hours a day,” he tells you.

Now, after 10 years, Vermafeels blessed to have got theopportunity to play some of thebest roles which people stillcherish. Tharki Patel inPataakha (his first film aslead), Satyanarayan Dubey inApharan and the most recenthostel staff in Chhichhore wherethough the role was small buta prominent one, he believes.

His approach towardsacting is to get into the skin ofthe characters.

“For me, there is noexistence of Saanand Verma. Iam just the characters that Iplay. I am nothing apart fromthat. I believe in living andfeeling my characters.Whenever you are playingintense characters for instanceSaxenaji, you have to be carefulenough to maintain thecomical timings and to expressyour character without losingthe essence of it,” he tells youand adds that when not actinghe is an unpredictable person.Some people think he isarrogant and others that he isa humble and down-to-earthperson. And he loves to remainlike this.

Verma, currently is in talksfor some projects which are notyet finalised. But, definitelygood things are waiting aheadfor him which the audience willget to know about soon.

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There are a few problems thatLaal Kaptaan has. First, thelook that Saif Ali Khan

supports. While the make-up artistwho painstakingly worked ongiving this look to the actor, thereis need to understand that there isno need to copy. Some elements arefamiliar — inspired from CaptainJack Sparrow. We fell in love withthat look but it doesn’t mean wewant it replicated.

Second, from the openingscene we understood that the filmis about revenge and that thevictim needs to meet his Maker inthe manner that was avowed. Whatfollows in the next 155 minutesleads to sheer boredom.

Third, the storyline is weak andis stretched out. Some slick editingcould have taken Laal Kaptaan ona fastrack.

Fourth, a big disappointment is

Manav Vij who spends the entiretime grunting and nothing mucheven though he has so much screenpresence.

Director Navdeep Singh maynot have been to tell a compellingstory of revenge by keeping it on afasttrack with a backdrop in 18thCentury but he does manage toredeem himself by keeping theaudience guessing how a boy whowas strung up on a tree andassumed dead managed to survivejust to spend the next 25 yearshunting for the man who betrayedthe entire nation against a war withfirangis.

Then there is the fact that thereare no songs. While the story hasbeen told a thousand times and weknow that the hero will win, yetone is glued to the seat due to somegreat performance by Saif Ali whodons a new look and plays a Nagasadhu helms and powers this film.

Another person who needs aspecial mention here is DeepakDobriyal who plays the mad-hattertracker is absolutely brilliant.

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Malificent is back; the evil witch is back; herwrath in full form against the humanrace. In the middle of all this is her

Goddaughter— a human — whom she raised asher own. Those who watched Part 1 would havea fair idea of what is happening here. Familiarfaces and certain references to what happenedearlier, (Maleficent), make it a rad easier tofollow the thread in thus one. However, fretnot if one has not seen the earlier movie.

Malificent:Mistress of Evil can be enjoyedeven otherwise such is the storytelling bydirector Robert Stromberg.

But that is not the only good thing aboutthis film. It is full of colour, the brilliant, vibrantand wonderful hues that exist in Nature. Addthe fairies, pixies and all creatures magical andthere is a heady combination of wonder that keepsyou in a story that is nothing new new but toldexcellently. It is a fight of good over evil. No guesseswho wins and yet one watches with baited breathfor what is to come.

Angelina Jolie as Malificent is brilliant. Herattempts and rehearsal to smile and be pleasant to herGoddaughter’s would be in-laws is not only sweet butmakes one smile as well. Her getting teary eyed at theclimax is the icing on the cake. Michelle Pfeiffer as theQueen of Ulstead is just as good.

What makes this film a must for those who loveNature is that there is a message that this one has toconvey — Man is the evil here, ruining Nature. Butall is not lost here. There is time. Humans need to finda way to co-exist with Nature otherwise it is boundto destroy us. /�"��"� ��

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The Delhi Cabinet onSaturday has cleared a pro-

posal of its environment depart-ment to carry out a mass aware-ness campaign on pollution andpollution-control measures. TheCabinet has approved an expen-diture of �36 crore from theBudget of the Directorate ofInformation and Publicity (DIP)towards the mass awarenesscampaigns.

"One of the challenges facedby any Government in such a sit-uation is regarding complianceand participation of the citizensin such emergency measures asthese often intrude upon the reg-ular day-to-day life of people andhence mass awareness cam-paign is necessary," DelhiGovernment said.

It is pertinent to mentionhere that level of harmful pol-lutants have recorded threetimes higher than their pre-scribed standards. Center-runpollution monitoring agencySAFAR advised masses to keepdoor and windows closed ofhomes and office to avoid expo-

sure. Central pollution ControlBoard (CPCB) also recom-mends corporate employees towork from home.

"Air pollution is one of themost serious public health con-cerns faced by the citizens ofDelhi. Rising pollution levels,especially in the winter months,affects the health of all citizensbut especially that of childrenand senior citizens," DelhiGovernment said in a statement.

While the DelhiGovernment has claimed 25per cent reduction in air pollu-tion but due to unfavorableMeteorological conditions andstubble burning, Delhi has

recorded higher levels of PM 2.5in city atmosphere.

"One of the major reasonsbehind this increase in pollutionlevels is the stubble burning thathappens in the neighbouringStates of Delhi, something overwhich the Government of NCTof Delhi has no control.Therefore, the only option avail-able to the people of Delhi areemergency measures to severe-ly cut down on any sources ofpollution emanating from Delhi,as well as to find mechanisms bywhich people can cope with therising pollution levels," Delhigovernment said in a statement.

To encourage people not tofire crackers on Diwali, AAPGovernment is arranging a lasershow as a community Diwalicelebration in Central Park."Various measures being takenby the Government of NCT ofDelhi include Odd-Even rulefrom 4th-15th November, dis-tribution of free masks to citi-zens of Delhi via school children,as well as encouraging a crack-er-free Diwali by organising alaser show ," Delhi Governmentsaid in an official statement.

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India will host the 91st InterpolGeneral Assembly in 2022

after a proposal in this regardwas cleared with "overwhelmingsupport" from members coun-tries of the international policecooperation body. Accordingto an Ministry of Home Affairspress note, voting in this regardtook place today at the 88thGeneral Assembly of theInterpol at Santiago Chile withIndia winning with an over-whelming majority.

The Interpol is an interna-tional organisation with 194member-states and has 100 yearsof experience of int’l cooperationin Policing. Home Minister AmitShah had proposed to host theGeneral Assembly in India toInterpol Secretary GeneralJurgen Stock when the two methere on August 30. The biggestcongregation of law enforce-ment officers will coincide withcountry's 75th Independenceanniversary celebrations, theysaid. The officials said that theCBI Director Rishi KumarShukla moved this proposalbefore the 88th GeneralAssembly in Santiago, Chilewhich got over Friday, they said.

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In view of Assembly polls onMonday in Haryana, Delhi Police

on Saturday has increased vigilancealong the city borders.

According to a senior police offi-cial, police teams have started check-ing of vehicles along the Delhi-Haryana border in order to preventthe transportation of illicit liquorduring dry days in the poll-boundState.

"Generally in elections, the bor-ders are sealed 24 hours before theconduct of polls but this time DelhiPolice have started it early andintensified the checking," said ShaliniSingh, Joint Commissioner of Police,Western Range.

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New Delhi: The Congress hasslammed Prime MinisterNarendra Modi for only high-lighting abrogation of Article370 in the Assembly poll cam-paigns and dared him to tell thepeople who split Pakistan intotwo.

"Wherever the PrimeMinister goes, he only remem-bers (Article) 370. He (Modi)does not know when Pakistanwas divided and by whom. Itwas we (Congress) who brokeapart Pakistan into two. Wherewere you (Modi) then?" seniorCongress leader and formerUnion Minister Kapil Sibal saidhere on Saturday.

Sibal said Modi must tell thepeople of Haryana that it wasbecause of the Congress thatPakistan was divided into two."It happened under the Congressrule," he said.

The Congress leader saidwhat had the Modi's BJP gov-ernment done for implementa-tion of Article 47 of theConstitution, which stated thatraising the level of nutrition,standard of living and public

health was the duty of the state."You only remember Article

370, don't keep in mind yourconstitutional duties. Around 93per cent children are not gettingproper nutrition and your focusis on Article 370. You are doingthis because of the Assemblypolls. You don't know about thepeople who are suffering," Sibalremarked.

Sibal attacked Modi andHome Minister and BJPPresident Amit Shah over theirremarks that J&K lagged indevelopment because of Article370.

Citing data on poverty,infant mortality, unemployment,along with gross enrolment ratioin higher education and thehuman development index ofHaryana, Maharashtra, UP, MPand Gujarat, Sibal said theydidn't have Article 370, but theylagged J&K on those parameters.

He also cited the USCustoms and Border Protectiondata to say that in the past threeyears the number of Indiansarrested for trying to illegallyenter the US had trebled.IANS

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As Telangana State woke up toits first statewide RTC-led

bandh on Saturday with theState Government continuing toits wait and watch attitude, itturned out to be virtually anon-event in the capital citybecause of the house arrestsand detentions of prominentleaders and the fact that it washoliday for the IT sector and thelast day of the extended vacationfor students.

Except for the difficulty offinding public and privatebuses and the appearance ofadditional private vehicles onthe roads, the shutdown didnot have any major impact onthe citizens, most of whom per-haps chose to remain indoors.

Of course, the strikingRoad Transport Corporationemployees observed statewidebandh on Saturday — the 15thday of their agitation.

Stray incidents of stone-pelting and attacks on tempo-rary employees recruited byTSRTC to operate bus ser-vices marred the shutdown.

Rewari (Hr): Continuing hisdiatribe against the Congress,Prime Minister Narendra Modion Saturday accused its leadersof failing to abrogate Article 370despite having promised it inParliament in 1964.

He was addressing a rally inRewari on the last day of cam-paigning for the Haryanaassembly polls.

"During a debate inParliament in 1964, the coun-try's distinguished leader gotupset… there was division inthe Congress. There was ademand that Article 370 be nul-lified and there be a debate onthis issue in Parliament," hesaid.

"At that time, Congressleaders, with folded hands, hadsaid that their demand wouldbe met and Article 370 wouldbe nullified in one year. But thematter was again put on theback burner," said Modi whileaddressing his second rally ofthe day.

"What was the compulsionand what game was beingplayed," he asked, urging peo-ple to punish the Congress forit in the Assembly polls. PTI

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Chandigarh: Rajya Sabhamember Sukhdev SinghDhindsa on Saturday said hehas resigned as the leader of theShiromani Akali Dal (SAD) inthe Upper House.

Dhindsa (82) said he ten-dered his resignation to RajyaSabha Chairman M VenkaiahNaidu on Thursday and alsoinformed the same to the partyon Friday.

However, he said that hedid not give any reason for ten-dering his resignation.

Meanwhile, the SAD, whilereacting to Dhindsa's resigna-tion, clarified that the party hadalready informed theParliamentary Affairs Ministerabout the change in its leader-ship in the Rajya Sabha in Junethis year. A copy of the samewas also sent to SecretaryGeneral of Rajya Sabha, it said.

SAD senior vice presidentand former Minister DaljitSingh Cheema said the partyhad already elected Rajya SabhaMPs Balwinder Singh Bhunderas party's leader and NareshGujral as deputy leader in theUpper House. PTI

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From Page 1This will result in the Army

going after the terrorists alreadyholed up in the sensitive areasand 70-odd militants managingto infiltrate into the State fromacross the Line of Control (LoC)in the last two months, they said.

The killings came at atime when normalcy wasreturning with the apple tradeconsidered to be the lifeline ofJammu & Kashmir pickingup. People were going abouttheir daily economic activities

after abrogation of Article 370giving special status to theState on August 5.

The security establishmentthus redrew its strategy bydeploying the Army and para-

military in the hinterland andpopulated centres of Kashmirespecially those engaged inthe apple trade, sources said onSaturday.

The Army is now carrying

out area domination patrols inlarge areas to instill confi-dence amongst the masses onthe one hand and denying ter-rorists time and space tomove, they said.

From Page 1The donkeys’ population

also declined from 17,000 t010,000 in Jammu & Kashmir.Assam has 13000 whileHaryana now has 10,000 don-keys.

According to AgricultureMinistry’s officials, the declinein population might be due totheir decreased working util-ity, as alternate economicalsources of mechanisation areavailable. Besides, the wildlifemafia who used to supplytiger skin and parts, have nowswitched over to donkeys,which are in much demand inChina for its medicinal use.Some cases of donkey killingshave been reported in MadhyaPradesh and Maharashtra.

Donkeys are normallyused for transportation ofagricultural goods, buildingmaterials and people all over

the world. “Majority of thedonkey population is ownedby socially and economicallydeprived landless people andthese animals serve as thesource of livelihood for theirmasters and play an importantrole in their socio-economicstatus also,” officials added.

In Rajasthan, 70 percent ofdonkeys were of grey colourand remaining animals were ofwhite colour. In Gujarat, bothwhite and grey coloured don-keys were available. In anoth-er cold desert (Leh), donkeyswere dark coloured, mainlydark grey (42 per cent),brown (42 per cent) andblack (16 per cent) in colour.In Haryana, most (90 percent) of the donkeys weregrey coat coloured while inBihar, grey coat colour (54.17per cent) was prominent, fol-lowed by white grey (36.11per cent) and brown (5.56 percent).

As per the census, the

population of camels, pigs,horses, ponies and mules havealso sharply declined by 51.9per cent. The number of pigsalso registered a decline. Therewere 11.1 million swine in2007, which decreased to 10.2million in 2012. In 2018, therewere 9 million swine. Horseand ponies also sharplydeclined by more than 45 percent. The number was 6,12,000in 2007, which increased to6,25,000 in 2012, and thensharply decreased to 3,40,000.

India’s livestock popula-tion increased to 535.78 mil-

lion, with the number of cowsrising 18 per cent to 145.12million as compared to 2012,according to latest census.However, the livestock popu-lation witnessed a decline of1.35 per cent in Uttar Pradesh,Rajasthan (1.66 per cent) andGujarat (0.95 per cent). The20th Livestock Census wasconducted with the participa-tion of all States and UnionTerritories. It covered about6.6 lakhs villages, 89,000 urbanwards and involved more than27 crore households and non-households.

From Page 1On his part, Shiv Sena

president Uddhav Thackeray -at his annual Dussehra rallyheld on October 8 — subse-quently apologised to thoseparty workers who have beendenied tickets, in an effort todefuse rebellion within theparty ranks over the distribu-tion of tickets. Both Fadnavisand Uddhav have not suc-ceeded in reining in the rebels.

Rebellion within ranks apart,both the BJP and Shiv Sena lookvery formidable on paper. A cur-sory study of the Assembly seg-ment-wise results of the 2019Lok Sabha polls (which saw theBJP and Shiv Sena win 23 and 18seats respectively) shows that theBJP established a lead in 122Assembly constituencies, whilethe Shiv Sena was in the lead in105 constituencies.

Between the two saffronalliance partners, the BJP — inthe Lok Sabha polls — estab-lished lead in the same number(122) of seats it had won the 2014Assembly polls, while the ShivSena increased its tally from 63to 105 in terms of the Assemblyseats won in the 2014 polls andthe leads established in theAssembly segments in the 2019Lok Sabha polls.

Together, the BJP and ShivSena established leads in 227 outof total 288 Assembly segments, in the 2019 Lok Sabhapolls. It is the figure of the leadsin the 227 Assembly segmentsthat has prompted ruling saffronalliance leaders to claim that thatthe two saffron parties wouldwin more than 220 seats in theAssembly polls.

As against 164 and 124 seatsbeing contested by the BJP (plusits allies) and Shiv Sena respec-tively, the Congress and NCP arecontesting 147 and 121 seatsrespectively in the StateAssembly polls, where as theirallies are contesting the remain-ing 20 seats. The CPI and andCPI(M) are contesting 16 and 8seats respectively. The Mayawati-headed BSP is contesting 262seats, while the Raj Thackeray-led MNS has fielded candidatesin 101 constituencies.

Between April-May 2019Lok Sabha polls and now, therehas understandably been a seachange in the political scene inthe State. The ruling saffronalliance is taking on a veryweak Opposition, especiallyafter the Congress and NCPhave suffered a body blow inrecent months - in the form oflarge-scale election-eve deser-tions from their ranks.

The desertions by 30-oddsitting MLAs and leaders in the

last three months have not onlyeroded the traditional bases ofthe Congress and NCP, but theyhave made matters easy for theruling BJP and Shiv Sena to pre-pare for the State Assemblypolls.

Such is the level of the con-fidence in the ruling BJP circlesthat Prime Minister NarendraModi, BJP president Amit Shahand Chief Minister DevendraFadnavis have repeatedly gone totown, saying that the BJP-led saf-fron alliance’s victory in theState Assembly polls is a foregoneconclusion. Modi and Shah haveanointed Fadnavis as the nextChief Minister. On his part,Fadnavis has said that the saffronalliance would sweep the pollswith an unprecedented majori-ty.

Contrast the BJP-Shiv Senaalliance’s confidence with thealready down-in-the-dumpsmood prevailing in the Congressand NCP.

Hemmed in by the crisistriggered by the resignation ofRahul Gandhi as the party pres-ident and the delay in SoniaGandhi taking over as his suc-cessor, the Congress does notlook like a national party once itwas. The recent resignations byparty’s sitting MLAs and leadershave weakened the Congress’organisational structure at thegrassroots levels.

The Congress’ campaignhas been listless from thebeginning. That the Congressleadership has given up onMaharashtra well ahead ofthe polls could be evidencedfrom the fact that whileCongress leader Rahul Gandhiaddressed mere six public ral-lies, party president SoniaGandhi and its leader PriyankaGandhi Vadra stayed awayfrom Maharashtra. Confinedto their respective constituen-cies where they are contestingand the neighbouring areas,senior Congress leaders likeAshok Chavan and PrithvirajChavan could not campaignmuch across the State.

The predicament that theNCP faced was of two folds.First, the switchover by a largenumber of its MLAs to eitherthe BJP or the Shiv Sena hasresulted in unprecedented ero-sion of its base in its strongholdof sugar cane-rich westernMaharashtra. Secondly, theNCP has psychological joltafter its founder-presidentSharad Pawar, former DeputyChief Minister Ajit Pawar andseveral of its leaders across theState have been booked by theEnforcement Directorate foralleged irregularities and its

senior leader Praful Patel’sname figured in a deal with thewife of Iqbal Mirchi, an aide ofKarachi-based don DawoonIbrahim.

Sr Pawar was the lone full-fledged campaigner for the NCP.Pawar, who undertook tworounds of tours across the State,addressed a total of 65 rallies.

Of all the parties, the BJPcampaigned extensively. PrimeMinister Narendra Modiaddressed nine public rallies,while BJP national presidentAmit Shah will hold 16 ralliesduring the 15-day long cam-paign.

Chief Minister DevendraFadnavis - who is leading the rul-ing BJP-Shiv Sena alliance intothe Assembly polls - has been theonly leader who has campaignedextensively across the State. Aspart of his 4,000 km-long cam-paign tour “Mahajanadesh Yatra”and also in the run-up days tothe Assembly polls, Fadnaaviscovered 220 constituencies acrossthe State.

From the Shiv Sena side,both its president Uddhav andYuv Sena leader AdityaThackeray addressed 50 rallieseach.

Local issues took a backseatin the campaign in the State. Attheir rallies, Prime MinisterModi and BJP president Shah byand large concentrated on theCentre’s recent decision to abro-gate Article 370 in Jammu &Kashmir.

On his part, Chief MinisterFadnavis spoke on some localissues, including makingMaharashtra a drought-freeState by 2024, connecting riversin coastal Konkan region withthose in western Maharashtra,creating water grid inMarathwada region to addressthe drinking water problems,initiatives like loan waiver andcrop insurances taken by theState Government to addressfarmers’ distress and the devel-opment push it has given inurban areas, includingMumbai, Nagpur, Thane andPune, through various infraprojects including the Metrosand expressways.

Like in the Lok Sabha elec-tions, the Opposition Congressleaders campaigned on issues likeagrarian distress, continuedfarmers’ suicides, improperimplementation of loan waiverscheme, ineffective handling ofrecent floods by the StateGovernment, allegations of cor-ruption faced by the Ministers inthe Devendra FadnavisGovernment, massive unem-ployment and economic reces-sion in the country.

From Page 1Tiwari’s cremation was also

delayed as family memberswere adamant on meeting ChiefMinister Adityanath to put forththeir nine demands, includinga probe by NIA, Governmentjob for victim’s son and securi-ty to family members.

The Chief Minister, mean-while, said he was ready to meetTiwari’s family members. Hesaid such incidents will not betolerated, and those involvedwill not be spared. According topolice, the three personsdetained in Surat by GujaratAnti-Terrorist Squad (ATS)were identified as Faizan YunusBhai, Maulana Mohsin Sheikhand Rashid Ahmed KhursheedAhmed Pathan. The DGP said

that Uttar Pradesh police andtheir Gujarat counterpartswere interrogating them.

Elaborating on the arrestof the three persons in Surat,the DGP said, “On the basis ofa packet of sweets obtainedfrom the crime spot, theGujarat Police was contactedand a team was sent there. ACCTV footage of a Surat-based sweets shop was exam-ined and Faizan Yunus Bhaiwas identified.”

He said later Sheikh andPathan were detained. “Goingby investigation and jointinterrogation, it was clear thatthese three persons were partof the conspiracy to murderKamlesh Tiwari,” Singh said,adding that their interrogationrevealed that they had nolinks with any terror organi-sation.

From Page 1While hair cutting profession has tradi-

tionally been adopted by the barber commu-nity, considered a backward class, they have notbeen able to adopt these new capital-intensivetechnologies and therefore, remain largely un-benefited from the spurt in growth of thisindustry, the government said.

The barber community needs to be pro-vided with adequate training on latest tech-nology prevailing in the industry and they evenrequire financial assistance for self employa-bility, the statement said.

The board will have five members, includ-ing a chairperson and vice chairperson. Themember-secretary of the board will be appoint-ed by the Delhi government from amongstserving/retired officers not below the rank ofdeputy secretary.

In each district, there will be a district-levelcommittee comprising a chairperson andthree members.

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;;" $�9��'BBBNew Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi onSaturday met Bollywood actors and film-makers, including Shah Rukh Khan andAamir Khan, to discuss initiatives to mark the150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

In an interaction with them at his officialresidence here, the prime minister said severalpeople from the world of films and televisionhave been doing great work when it comes topopularising the ideals of Gandhi. Referringto Gandhi, he said the power of creativity isimmense and it is essential to harness this spir-it of creativity for the nation.

Among others present in the meetingwere Sonam Kapoor, Kangana Ranaut, direc-tors Rajkumar Hirani, Rajkumar Santoshi,Ashwini Iyer Tiwari, Nitesh Tiwari and pro-ducers Ekta Kapoor, Boney Kapoor andJayantilal Gada. The Prime Minister pointedout that members of the film industry hadcome with a lot of suggestions. PTI

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With the Prime MinisterNarendra Modi espous-

ing the nationalism cause byhighlighting the abrogation ofArticle 370 from Jammu &Kashmir during the cam-paigning for Haryana andMaharashtra Assembly pollsscheduled for October 21, theCongress on Saturday sought tocounter it by projecting itsown tough image by pointingout how India under it splitPakistan and createdBangladesh.

"Modi ji only remembers(Article) 370. He does notknow when Pakistan split andwho did it. It was we(Congress) who split Pakistan'sintegral part from it... Wherewere you (Modi) then?" seniorCongress leader Kapil Sibalasked.

"Tell the people of Haryanathat it was because of theCongress that Pakistan's inte-gral part was split from it. Thishappened under the Congressrule. Praise the Congress, butyou don't have the guts to dothat," he said.

Training his guns at Modi,the Congress leader asked whathas the BJP Government underhim done for implementationof Article 47 of the

Constitution which states thatraising the level of nutritionand the standard of living andimproving public health is theduty of the state.

"You only rememberArticle 370 but you do not keepin mind your constitutionalduties. Around 93 per cent chil-dren are not getting propernutrition and your entire focusis on Article 370," he said. "Youare doing this because of theAssembly polls... You do notknow about the people who aresuffering," Sibal said.

He further attacked Modi and Home Minister AmitShah over their remarks thatJammu and Kashmir lagged in development because ofArticle 370.

Citing poverty, infant mor-tality and unemployment rates,along with gross enrolmentratio in higher education andhuman development indexrank of Haryana, Maharashtra,Uttar Pradesh, MadhyaPradesh and Gujarat to Sibalsaid, "These states did not haveArticle 370, but most of thecorresponding figures ofJammu and Kashmir were waybetter."

Referring to data from aUS Customs and BorderProtection report, Sibal claimedthat in the last three years the

number of Indians arrestedfor trying to enter the US ille-gally has "tripled".

This means a lot of poorIndians are leaving the countryin search of employmentopportunities, the Congressleader said, adding, "Modi jiplease respond why is thishappening as you have beenrunning the country for the lastfive-and-half years."

He also took potshots atthe Prime Minister over Indiaranking 102 in the GlobalHunger Index, saying Modishould concentrate less on pol-itics and more on the people ofthe country.

Citing the latest GDPgrowth projections by interna-tional agencies, Sibal said,"Despite India's GDP growthrate slipping to a six-year low of 5 per cent in the April-June quarter, the ModiGovernment

still insists that all is wellwith the country's economyand that it remains among thefastest growing in the world."

"But revised projectionsfor India's GDP growth ratesthis year alone indicate other-wise. In fact, some analystshave dropped growth projec-tions for 2019-20 from 7.5 percent all the way to just 6 percent," he said.

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The Congress on Saturday hitout at Union Minister

Piyush Goyal for his remarks onNobel laureate Abhijit Banerjeewith its leader Priyanka GandhiVadra saying the Government’sjob is to improve the "collaps-ing" economy and not to run a"comedy circus".

Goyal on Friday saidBanerjee supported 'NYAY', aminimum income scheme pro-posed by the Congress, whichwas rejected by the Indian vot-ers and there was no need to"accept what he thinks".

The 'NYAY' scheme wasone of the highlights of theCongress manifesto for theApril-May Lok Sabha polls.

The Union commerce andindustry minister, at a mediabriefing in Pune, also describedBanerjee as a "Left-leaning"person. Lashing out at Goyalfor his remarks, PriyankaGandhi said instead of doingtheir work, BJP leaders are try-

ing to belie the achievements ofothers. The Nobel laureate didhis work honestly and won theNobel Prize, she said in a tweetin Hindi.

"The economy is collapsing.Your job is to improve it, not torun a comedy circus," theCongress general secretary said.

She also tagged a mediareport which claimed that theslowdown in the auto sectorcontinued in September.

Banerjee, an Indian-American who has been criti-cal of the Narendra Modi gov-ernment's economic policies,won the 2019 Nobel Prize forEconomic Sciences.

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Searches in multiple premisesof firms and trusts founded by

spiritual guru 'Kalki' Bhagwan —whose original name is VijayKumar Naidu - have led to thedetection of undisclosed incomeof nearly �500 crore includingunaccounted cash receipts ofabout �409 crore.

A total of �43.9 crore incash and US currency worth�18 crore were seized. Thetotal value of the seizure isabout �93 crore, which includesgold and diamonds, a tax department official release said. About 88 kg ofundeclared gold jewellery, val-ued at �26 crore, diamondsamount to 1,271 carats worthabout �5 crore, have also beenseized.

The raids were conductedafter a tip-off from theIntelligence Bureau that Kalki'sson Krishna is suspected tohave made huge investments inseveral ventures of his associ-ates including real estate withthe use of illegal finance.

Besides the sprawlingheadquarters of Kalki Bhagwannear Chittoor bordering TamilNadu, searches were also on at20 places in Chennai and other

premises in Andhra Pradeshand Telangana.

Around 300 personnel ofIncome Tax (IT) departmentare involved in the searcheswhich commenced early onWednesday morning continuedthrough Thursday and areexpected to last till Friday,officials familiar with thedevelopment maintained.According to IT officials,besides cash, IT officers alsoseized incriminating docu-ments about shady investmentsand purchase of vast tracts ofland in Tamil Nadu and evenin Kenya in violation of rules.

During IT raids, it was found that Krishna alsoruns a few construction firmsin the name of While Lotus,Golden Lotus, Blue Water and Dream View among oth-ers. Krishna, resides inChennai, is said to have invest-ed heavily in the business ven-tures of his associates, whichtoo have come under the scan-ner. According to sources, near-ly 20 of Krishna's businessassociates are under investiga-tion.

The 70-year-old Naidustarted his career in 1971 as aclerk at Life Insurance of Indiaand then joined J

Krishnamurthy Foundationduring the '80s. But he wasexpelled from the foundationand later set up his own trust.

He had gone into hidingfollowing a business failure in1989 and later emerged asLord Vishnu's 10th avatar'Kalki' in Chittoor district ofAndhra Pradesh. He alsoclaimed that his wife was theincarnation of the lord's consort. He got name andfame after many top brasspoliticians, industrialists andcelebrities started coming to hisashram. The Chittoor ashramalso hit the headlines in 2008 when five people died andmany were injured in a stam-pede.

At the ashram, an ordinarydarshan of the couple is pricedat �5000 and special darshan at�50000. Similarly, the medita-tion classes offered at OnenessTemple starts from �50,000onwards and these sessionsattract a huge number of for-eigners.

During the late '90s, theself-proclaimed spiritual leaderset up a campus in Chennaicalled Somamangalam, andalso started 'OnenessUniversity' in Chennai'sVaradaiahpalem.

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As the Government preparesto celebrate the 550th Birth

Anniversary of Guru Nanak,India has invited the heads offoreign missions based in NewDelhi to visit the Golden Templein Amritsar.

"Over 90 Resident Heads ofMissions in New Delhi areexpected to travel to Amritsar on22 October. The visit is beingorganized by the ICCR ( IndianCouncil of Cultural Relations) incollaboration with the state

Government of Punjab and theShiromani GurudwaraParbandhak Committee," theMinistry of External Affairssaid in a statement

The committee is responsi-ble for the management ofGurudwaras in the states ofPunjab, Haryana and HimachalPradesh, besides the Goldentemple in Amritsar.

Hardeep Singh Puri, minis-ter of state for civil aviation,housing and urban affairs andminister of state for commerceand industry and Vinay

Sahasrabuddhe, president,ICCR, will accompany the headsof missions, the statement said.

Guru Nanak Dev's teach-ings of love, peace, equality andbrotherhood have universalappeal and convey the messageof spirituality, humanity, devo-tion and truth," the statementadded. India and Pakistan arealso working on opening theKartarpur corridor to facilitatepilgrims visit Kartarpur SahibGurdwara in the Narowal dis-trict of Pakistan's Punjabprovince.

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Ruling out a separate flagand Constitution for the

Nagas as demanded by theNSCN-IM, the Centre hasmade it clear that the endlessnegotiations with the insurgentgroup under the shadow ofguns were not acceptable.

The Central Governmentis also determined to concludethe 220-year-long peaceprocess without delay, inter-locutor for the Naga talks andNagaland Governor RN Ravisaid in a statement.

Ravi said a mutually

agreed draft comprehensivesettlement, including all thesubstantive issues and compe-tencies, is ready for inking thefinal agreement."Unfortunately at this auspi-cious juncture, the NSCN-IMhas adopted a procrastinatingattitude to delay the settle-ment raising the contentioussymbolic issues of separateNaga national flag and consti-tution on which they are fullyaware of the Government ofIndia's position," the state-ment, issued on Friday night,read.

Ravi's statement bears sig-

nificance as the central gov-ernment on August 5announced abrogation of spe-cial status given to Jammu andKashmir under Article 370and bifurcated the state intoUnion territories.

With the annulment of thespecial status, the separate flagand the Constitution of Jammuand Kashmir cease to exist.The ruling BJP, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and UnionHome Minister Amit Shah onmany occasions had made itclear that they believe in onlyone flag and one Constitutionfor whole India.

Ravi said the NSCN-IMhas "mischievously" dragged inthe Framework Agreement andbegan imputing imaginarycontents to it.

The framework agreementwas signed on August 3, 2015by NSCN-IM general secretaryThuingaleng Muivah and thegovernment's interlocutor Raviin presence of Prime MinisterModi.

Some NSCN-IM leadersthrough various media plat-forms are misleading the peo-ple with "absurd assumptionsand presumptions" over whatthey have already agreed with

the Government of India, he said.

In view of such unfortunateattitude of some NSCN-IMleaders, Ravi held a detailedconsultation meeting with theprimary stakeholders of theNaga society on October 18 inKohima.

The meeting was attendedby the apex leadership of all the14 Naga tribes of Nagaland, allthe minority non-Naga tribesof Nagaland, the NagalandGaon Burha Federation, theNagaland Tribes Council,church leaders and civil societyorganisations.

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Hong Kong anti-Government protesters are

set for another weekend of civildisobedience as they prepare tohold an unauthorised protestmarch to press their demands.

Supporters held a prayerrally on Saturday night to call forinternational help for theircause. The protest march isplanned for Sunday, withorganisers vowing tohold the event even though itfailed to win approval frompolice, who cited risks to pub-lic order.

As the semi-autonomousChinese territory’s political cri-sis extends into a fifth month,protesters are trying to keep thepressure on the Government torespond to their demands,

including full democracy andan independent inquiry intoalleged police brutality.

They’re also using Sunday’srally to raise a more recentdemand for the government toscrap a ban installed this monthon face masks at public gather-ings. Organisers said demon-strators would defy the policebecause Hong Kong’s constitu-tion guarantees the right toprotest. “We don’t think thatbecause police haven’t giventheir approval we shouldn’tdemonstrate,” Figo Chan, vice-convener of the Civil HumanRights Front, told reporters.

“Even though they haverejected our appeal, there willsurely be many residents tak-ing to the streets.”

Meanwhile, a bipartisangroup of US lawmakers includ-

ing Republican Sen. Ted Cruzand Democratic Rep.Alexandra Ocasio Cortezwrote to tech company Appleand video game studioActivision Blizzard to con-demn what they calledprotest-related censorship onbehalf of China.

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Sri Lanka has been removedfrom the “Grey List” of the

international terror financingwatchdog FATF, according toa media report.

The island nati on will nolonger be subject to theFinancial Action Task Force’smonitoring under its on-goingglobal anti-money launderingand countering the financing ofterrorism (AML/CFT) com-pliance process, the ColomboGazette reported on Saturday.

The FATF, whose five-day

plenary concluded in Paris onFriday, said Sri Lanka madesignificant progress in address-ing the strategic AML/CFTdeficiencies identified earlier,the daily said.

In October 2016, the FATFannounced that Sri Lanka willbe subjected to a review of theInternational CooperationReview Group (ICRG) of theterror financing watchdog toassess the progress ofAML/CFT effectiveness inthe country.

The Paris based organisa-tion indicated Sri Lanka had

not made sufficient progress infour parameters — interna-tional cooperation, supervi-sion, legal persons andarrangements and targetedfinancial sanctions on prolif-erations (North Korea andIran), the daily said.

At its meeting at BuenosAires, Argentina in October2017, the FATF listed SriLanka as a jurisdiction withstrategic AML/CFT deficien-cies which is more common-ly identified as “Grey List” andprovided a time-bound actionplan, the report said.

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The shifting White Houseexplanation for President

Donald Trump’s decision towithhold military aid fromUkraine drew alarm on Fridayfrom Republicans as theimpeachment inquirybrought a new test of theiralliance.

Trump, in remarks at theWhite House, stood by his act-ing chief of staff, MickMulvaney, whose earlier com-ments undermined theadministration’s defense in theimpeachment probe.

Speaking Thursday at anews conference, Mulvaneyessentially acknowledged aquid pro quo with Ukrainethat Trump has long denied,saying U.S. Aid was withheldfrom Kyiv to push for aninvestigation of theDemocratic NationalCommittee and the 2016 elec-tion. He later clarified hisremarks.

Trump appeared satisfiedwith Mulvaney’s clarificationand the president dismissedthe entire House inquiry as “aterrible witch hunt. This is sobad for our country.”

But former Ohio Gov.John Kasich, who ran againstTrump in the 2016Republican primary, said henow supports impeaching thepresident. Mulvaney’s admis-sion, he said, was the “finalstraw.” ‘’The last 24 hours hasreally forced me to review allof this,” Kasich said on CNN.

In Congress, at least oneRepublican, Rep. FrancisRooney of Florida, spoke outpublicly, telling reporters thathe and others were concernedby Mulvaney’s remarks.

Rooney said he’s open toconsidering all sides in theimpeachment inquiry. Healso said Mulvaney’s com-ments cannot simply undoneby a follow-up statement.

“It’s not an Etch-A-Sketch,” said Rooney, a formerambassador to the Holy Seeunder President George W.Bush.

“The only thing I canassume is, he meant what hehad to say — that there wasa quid pro quo on this stuff,”he said.

The tumult overMulvaney’s remarks capped amomentous week in theimpeachment investigation asthe admission, from highestlevels of the administration,undercut the WhiteHouse defense and pushedmore evidence into theinquiry.

GOP leaders tried to con-tain the fallout. But four weeksinto the inquiry, the eventsaround Trump’s interactionwith the Ukraine president,which are are at the heart ofimpeachment, have upendedWashington.

A beloved House chair-man, Rep. Elijah Cummings,D-Md., a leading figure in theinvestigation, died amid ongoing health chal-lenges.

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President Donald Trump ispushing back at criticism

that his Syria withdrawal isdamaging US credibility,betraying Kurdish allies andopening the door for a possi-ble resurgence of the IslamicState.

He touted a cease-fireagreement that seemed at riskas Turkey and Kurdish fightersdiffered over what it requiredand whether combat had halt-ed.

“We’ve had tremendoussuccess I think over the lastcouple of days,” Trumpdeclared Friday. He added that“we’ve taken control of the oilin the Middle East” — a claimthat seemed disconnected fromany known development there.

He made the assertiontwice Friday, but other U.S.Officials were unable toexplain what he meant.

Calling his Syria approach“a little bit unconventional,” thePresident contended thatTurkish President Recep TayyipErdogan as well as the SyrianKurdish fighters the Turks are

battling agree that the U.S.brokered cease-fire was theright step and were complyingwith it.

“There is good will onboth sides & a really goodchance for success,” he wroteon Twitter.

That optimism seemed atodds with Erdogan’s ownwords. He told reporters inIstanbul that Turkish forceswould resume their offensive infour days unless Kurdish-ledfighters withdraw “withoutexception” from a so-calledsafe zone 20 miles (30 kilome-ters) deep in Syria running theentire 260-mile (440-kilometer)length of the border withTurkey.

There was no sign of any

pullout by the Kurdish—ledforces, who accused Turkey ofviolating the cease-fire withcontinued fighting at a keyborder town.

They also said the accord covers a much smaller sectionof the border. And some fight-ers have vowed not to withdrawat all, dismissing the deal as a betray-al by the U.S., whose soldiersthey have fought alongsideagainst the IS.

Eric Edelman, a formerU.S. Ambassador to Turkeywho served as the Pentagon’stop policy official during theGeorge W. Bush administra-tion, said he doubts Turkeyand its Syrian proxies couldcontrol the entire border areafrom the Euphrates to Iraqwithout help from Russia orothers.

“That’s a very big expanse of territory to hold, albeit a lot ofit is uninhabited,” Edelmansaid. “That probably meansthey’ve cut already some dealwith the Russians and theIranians.” Even so, Trumpinsisted peace was at hand.

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Hong Kong’s leader says themurder suspect whose

case inadvertently helped ignitethe city’s protest movementwants to surrender to author-ities in Taiwan.

Carrie Lam told reportersSaturday that she had receiveda letter from Chan Tong-kairequesting help to give himselfup.

Chan is wanted by Taiwanauthorities for allegedly killinghis girlfriend during a trip tothe self-ruled island. He wasnot sent back to face chargesbecause of the lack of an extra-dition agreement.

He was however jailed inHong Kong on money laun-dering charges and is due to bereleased this week.

In an attempt to close theloophole, Lam proposed extra-dition amendments.

But that sparked massiveprotests over fears it would putresidents at risk of being sentinto mainland China’sCommunist Party-controlledjudicial system.

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Separatist Catalan leaders onSaturday called on the

Spanish Government to enterinto talks as Barcelona bracedfor fresh violence after days ofclashes between police andprotesters.

Nearly 200 people werehurt in another night of clash-es with radical separatistshurling rocks and fireworks atpolice who responded withtear gas and rubber bullets.

A hardcore movement ofyoung separatists, Arran, calledfor a new demonstration“against repression” for 1600GMT in central Barcelona.

“We exhort the head of theGovernment to fix today a dayand hour to sit with us forunconditional talks,” regionalpresident Quim Torra said ina speech.

His demand for “uncondi-tional” negotiations, addressedto Spanish Prime MinisterPedro Sanchez, appeared to beaimed at ensuring that a ref-erendum on independence,currently a non-starterfor Madrid, is up for discus-

sion.Barcelona has been rocked

all week by protests against aSpanish court’s jailing of nineseparatist leaders on seditioncharges over a failed indepen-dence bid.

Emergency services saidSaturday that 152 people wereinjured in overnight clashes inBarcelona, and dozens morehurt elsewhere in Catalonia,taking the total to 182.

Authorities had already

reported 500 injured sinceprotests started on Mondayeven before the latest clasheserupted.

The interior Ministry said83 people were detained in theovernight violence, in additionto 128 arrests police had report-ed previously.

“This can’t go on,Barcelona does not deservethis,” said Ada Colau, thecity’s leftist mayor on Saturday,condemning “all kinds of vio-lence”.

Air in the Catalan capitalwas heavy with a burningstench as municipal workerscleared the streets of brokenglass, rocks and rubber bullets,and repaired pavements where bricks had been rippedout.

“All this is very sad, and isnot helping our cause,” saidAssumpcio Segui, a 75-year oldpro-independence pensioner.

Torra urged demonstra-tors to remain calm, saying “thedefense of rights and freedomsmust always be expressedpeacefully.”

Around half a million peo-ple had rallied in Barcelona onFriday in the biggest gatheringsince Monday’s court ruling asseparatists also called a gener-al strike in the major touristdestination.

While most marchersappeared peaceful, hordes ofyoung protesters went on therampage near the police head-quarters, igniting a huge blazethat sent black smoke into theair as police fired teargas to dis-perse them, an AFP corre-spondent said.

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The commander of Kurdishforces in Syria accused

Turkey of sabotaging a US-brokered truce on Saturday byblocking the withdrawal of hisforces from a flashpoint bordertown in northeastern Syria.

In a wide-ranging interviewwith AFP, Mazloum Abdi, headof the Syrian Democratic Forces(SDF), said he still wished to seea role for the US in Syria tocounterbalance Russian influ-ence, while recommitting hisforces to countering the IslamicState group.

"The Turks are preventingthe withdrawal from the Ras al-Ain area, preventing the exit ofour forces, the wounded andcivilians," Abdi said in a phoneinterview from Syria.

Under a US-brokeredceasefire announced Thursdayevening, SDF forces are meantto withdraw from a key strate-gic area near the Syrian-Turkishborder within five days. ButAbdi said he could not abandonhis forces in the town, which isbesieged by Turkish troopsand their Syrianallies.

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In a setback to UK PrimeMinister Boris Johnson,

British lawmakers on Saturdayvoted to back a motion thatdelays his Brexit deal struckwith the European Union (EU).

The 322 versus 306 vote onan important amendmentmeans that the UK PrimeMinister is bound by the BennAct passed earlier by the par-liamentarians to write to theEU by midnight on Saturdayseeking a delay to the October31 deadline as no new deal hasbeen passed in the Commonsby the October 19 cut-off date.

While Johnson and someof his team have previously saidthat he will abide by the rule oflaw, it remains unclear whatnext steps are expected fromDowning Street.

Soon after the voting in ahistoric weekend Parliamentsession, the first in 37 years,Johnson declared that he willnot be seeking an extension tothe end-October Brexit dead-line, adding that "I will do all Ican to get Brexit done byOctober 31”.

At the special Parliamentsession, dubbed 'SuperSaturday' because of its signif-icance, UK MPs backed anamendment tabled by

Conservative Party MP OliverLetwin demanding that nonew Brexit deal be voted onuntil the requisite legislation tosee it through in time for theOctober 31 deadline was inplace.

The Government hadalready indicated that it wouldpull its own motion onJohnson's “great new deal” andmove it to next week if MPswere to back the delay amend-ment, introduced as an insur-ance policy against a defaultno-deal crash-out by themonth-end deadline.

Johnson stressed that hewas neither “daunted nor dis-mayed” by Saturday's vote andthat the Government wouldplace the required legislationaround his new EU withdraw-al agreement next week,expected to be tabled onMonday and then voted onTuesday.

Opposition Labour Partyleader Jeremy Corbyn declaredthat the 'Super Saturday' votewas a clear message from MPsthat they have “declined toback the Prime Minister's deal”.

Earlier, MPs began debat-ing the new Brexit deal motion,which was to be followed bywhat had been characterised asa knife-edge vote in the Houseof Commons on the so-called

divorce arrangements betweenthe UK and the 27 remainingmembers of the economic bloc.

Johnson opened the ses-sion with a plea for all sides ofthe House to come togetherbehind the “great deal”.

“Let us come together asdemocrats to end this debili-tating feud. Let us cometogether as democrats behindthis deal, the one propositionthat fulfils the verdict of themajority but which also allowsus to bring together the twohalves of our hearts, to bring

together the two halves of ournation,” said Johnson in hisstatement to theCommons.

In reference to the 52 percent versus 48 per cent vote infavour of Brexit in the June2016 referendum, he said: “Let'sspeak now both for the 52 andthe 48. Let us go for a deal thatcan heal this country, let's gofor a deal that can heal thiscountry and allow us all toexpress our legitimate desiresfor the deepest possible friend-ship and partnership with our

neighbours.“A deal that allows us to

create a new shared destinywith them. And a deal that alsoallows us to express our confi-dence in our own democraticinstitutions, to make our ownlaws, to determine our ownfuture, to believe in ourselvesonce again as an open, gener-ous global, outward-lookingand free-trading UnitedKingdom.”

The complex arithmetic inthe Commons for Johnson'sminority government means

that he is not assured of themagic 320 MP mark requiredfor his Brexit deal to cross theparliamentary hurdle in a fullysitting house. That numbervaries depending on the num-ber of MPs voting and alsohow many choose to abstain.

The Northern IrishDemocratic Unionist Party(DUP), which props up theConservative PartyGovernment, has refused toback the new Brexit with-drawal agreement on thegrounds that it goes against itsunionist principles because ofdifferent customs arrangementsto be imposed on the island ofIreland post Brexit.

Anti-Brexit MPs and mostof the Opposition Labour Partywill also be voting against,leaving a handful of LabourMPs representing Leave sup-porting constituencies in theUK who are prepared to defytheir party's official line andvote with Johnson.

It is this group that couldhold the cards for Johnsonafter the hardline Brexiteergroup within his own Toryparty, called the EuropeanResearch Group (ERG), cameout in support of the deal justas the Super Saturday sessiongot underway.

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Tens of thousands of pro-EU protesters from across

Britain wielding banners, plac-ards and flags converged onparliament on Saturday, asMPs debated theGovernment’s Brexit deal.

Beneath largely clear blueskies, demonstrators ralliednear Hyde Park in centralLondon before marching toWestminster to call for a sec-ond referendum on Britain’splanned EU departure.

Walking behind a pinkbanner proclaiming “togeth-er for the final say”, theychanted: “What do we want?People’s vote! When do wewant it? Now.” “The first ref-erendum was jumping on atrain without a destination,”said Douglas Hill, 35, fromOxford, south centralEngland, with his Estonian wife and their babydaughter.

“Now that we have a des-tination, we need to have asecond referendum.” Anotherattendee, Theodor Howe, a20-year-old student inDundee, eastern Scotland,conceded another poll couldbe divisive but insisted it wasstill necessary.

“People should have a sayin what is going to happen,” hetold AFP, expressing hopethat MPs reject Johnson’s dealand that he is forced to askBrussels for another delay.

Politicians including JohnMcDonnell, from the mainopposition Labour party, andLondon Mayor Sadiq Khan,were due to address thecrowds.

Organisers from thePeople’s Vote pressure grouplaid on 172 buses to bringpeople to the British capital,with the cost covered by sup-porters from sport, businessand entertainment, it said.

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Turkey on Saturday accusedKurdish forces of violating

an agreement to suspend itsSyria offensive if they withdrawfrom a “safe zone” along theborder.

“The Turkish armed forcesfully abide by the agreement”reached on Thursday with theUnited States, the defence min-istry said in a statement.“Despite this, terrorists... Carried out a totalof 14 attacks in the last 36hours.” The Ministry said 12 ofthe attacks came from the bor-der town of Ras al-Ain innortheastern Syria, one fromTal Abyad and another fromTal Tamr region, adding thatvarious light and heavyweaponry including rocketswere used. Turkey had agreedto suspend its Syria offensivefor five days but PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdogan warnedon Friday he would resume afull-scale operation against Kurdish forces if they do notwithdraw from a border “safezone.”

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'��"��7�'�� #��Ayodhya: Some Muslim liti-gants in the RamJanmabhoomi-Babri Masjiddispute have said that if theSupreme Court's verdict is intheir favour then the con-struction of mosque should bedelayed on the disputed land inAyodhya to maintain harmony.

A litigant, Haji Mahboob,said that keeping in view thecondition of the country, thefirst priority is to maintainharmony.

"If the verdict is in favourof Muslims, then in the greaterinterest of peace and commu-nal harmony, we should notbuild a mosque on the land, weshould construct a boundaryaround it and leave it," he said.

"This is my personal opin-ion, what I think should be keptin view is the present situationof the country. I will also dis-cuss this proposal with otherlitigants," he said.

Another litigant, MuftiHasbullah Baadshah Khan,who is the local president of the

Jamiat Ulema Hind, also agreedwith Mahboob.

"It is correct that we musttake care of communal har-mony first. We will discuss thesituation with senior Muslimreligious leaders. In the currentscenario we should postponethe mosque's construction, ifthe verdict comes in ourfavour," he said.

Mohammad Umar, who isalso a litigant in the case, saidhe agreed with postponing theconstruction. "We must takecare of peace and communalharmony in the society," headded.

Iqbal Ansari, one of the

main Muslim litigants did notcomment on the remarks, butsaid that they will not allow anybreach in the communal fabricof the society. "Let the verdictbe pronounced," he said.

The apex court onWednesday wrapped up the 40-day hearing in the decades-oldtemple-mosque dispute inAyodhya -- the second longestproceedings in its history —and reserved its verdict in thepolitically sensitive case that isexpected in a month's time.

Fourteen appeals havebeen filed in the apex courtagainst the 2010 AllahabadHigh Court judgment, deliv-ered in four civil suits, that the2.77-acre land in Ayodhya bepartitioned equally among thethree parties -- the Sunni WaqfBoard, the Nirmohi Akharaand Ram Lalla.

On December 6, 1992, theBabri Masjid, constructed atthe disputed site in the 16thcentury by Shia Muslim MirBaqi, was demolished. PTI

Lucknow: Terming the murder of Hindu SamajParty chief Kamlesh Tiwari "an act of mischiefto create terror", Uttar Pradesh Chief MinisterYogi Adityanath on Saturday said such inci-dents will not be tolerated and those involvedwill not be spared.

"This is an act of mischief to create terror.In this case, five people have been taken intocustody. Of these, three have been taken intocustody in Gujarat and two in Uttar Pradesh.A Special Investigation Team has been con-stituted to probe it," he said.

"The elements who create an atmosphereof fear and terror in the state will be stronglydealt with, and their plans crushed. This typeof incident will not be tolerated, and thoseinvolved will not be spared," Adityanathadded.

Tiwari (45), earlier associated with a fac-tion of the Hindu Mahasabha, was killed at hishome in Lucknow's Khurshed Bagh on Friday.

The Chief Minister said the killers wereallowed to meet Tiwari by the security guardposted at his residence only after the leader ofthe lesser-known Hindu outfit gave him thenod.

The killers sat with Tiwari and had food andtea. Subsequently, the personal aide of Tiwariand his son were sent to the market to purchasesomething, and it was during this period thatTiwari was murdered, Adityanath said.

The Chief Minister said he was willing tomeet the family members of Tiwari. PTI

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Politics in Tamil Nadu took a newturn on Saturday with MK Stalin,

Leader of the Opposition, who is alsothe president of the DMK, asking theAIADMK Government to make itsstance clear on the refusal ofGovernor Banwarilal Purohit to toethe State’s line in releasing the sevenassassins of former Prime MinisterRajiv Gandhi who are serving lifesentence in high security prisons.

There were reports in the localmedia that the Governor had infor-mally conveyed to Chief MinisterEdappadi Palaniswami that he wasnot inclined to agree with the TamilNadu Government’s recommenda-tion to release the seven convictsundergoing life term in the RajivGandhi murder case. There hasbeen no denial from Raj Bhavanabout this report.

The Union Home Ministry’spermission/approval is a must forreleasing the seven accused becausethe case was investigated by theCentral Bureau of Investigation(CBI) . All political parties barringthe BJP have been demanding therelease of the convicts as they haveput up more than 20 years in prison.

The convicts too argue that lifeterm convicts are released after 14years and they too should be set free.Nalini Sriharan, her husbandSriharan alias Murugan, suthen-draraja alias Santhan, Robert Payas,S Jayakumar, AG Perarivalan aliasArivu, Ravichandran alias Ravi arethe seven accused undergoing lifeimprisonment in the case.

The trial court which heard thecase had awarded death penalty to all26 accused in the case. In May 1999,the Supreme Court commuted thesentence to life term for three (Payas,Ravikumar and Jayachandran) whileconforming the death sentence forthe other four and the rest werereleased.

The death sentence of Nalini wascommuted to life term in April 2000by the then Governor Fatima Beevifollowing the recommendation of theState Government. The SupremeCourt in February 2014 commutedthe death sentence of the other threeto life term. Various NGOs andTamil organizations in the Statehave been pressing for the release ofthe seven from prison pointing outthat they have put in more than 25years of imprisonment.

Since the BJP is the only politi-

cal party to declare its opposition tothe release of the convicts, a newCentre Vs State issue has cropped up.The DMK has been lambasting theAIADMK as the ‘slaves’ of the Centredespite the chief minister’s announce-ment that the two parties were mereelectoral allies. Stalin’s challenge tothe chief minister to make it knownthe stance of the AIADMK vis-à-visthe demand to set free the RajivGandhi assassins has put theCongress in a tight spot. The partyhas not made its stance clear on theissue though senior party leadershave expressed their reservations pri-vately.

Meanwhile , Vaiko, the MDMKleader who was elected to RajyaSabha recently with the support ofthe Congress termed Governor’saction ‘very inhuman’. Vaiko isappearing for the Liberation Tigersof Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in front of thetribunal for adjudicating whetherthere was any sufficient reason tocontinue the ban on the organization,which masterminded and perpe-trated the assassination of RajivGandhi. The MDMK leader said thatthere was no justification on thestance of the Centre to continue withthe ban on the LTTE.

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Mumbai: The NCP has writ-ten to the ElectionCommission claiming heli-copters of two of its star cam-paigners were denied permis-sion to fly in view of PrimeMinister Narendra Modi's visitto Maharashtra on October 17.

The letter, dated October18, asked the EC to take strictaction against officials who"deliberately" cancelled tours ofits campaigners.

The NCP said helicopterscarrying MP Amol Kolhe and

another leader Amol Mitkariwere denied flying permis-sion on October 17 in view ofthe prime minister's move-ment.

Due to this, Kolhe couldnot hold public meetings inPune, while Mitkari's heli-copter was grounded atSindkheda constituency inDhule, the party said.

The PM addressed ralliesfor BJP candidates in Parli(Beed), Satara and Pune onOctober 17.

"We are not aware if theruling party and the primeminister of the country havedifferent set of rules for airoperations...During his tour,our star campaigners weredenied airspace on two occa-sions," the NCP said in its let-ter to the EC secretary.

Not allowing NCP leadersto campaign indicated "bias",and cancellation of rallies alsoresulted in "huge losses" to theparty in terms of "time, moneyand resources", it said. PTI

(1��*1�� #��Navapur (Maha): Union

Home Minister and BJP chiefAmit Shah on Saturday daredCongress leader Rahul Gandhito declare that his party willrestore provisions of Article 370in Jammu & Kashmir if votedto power.

Addressing a rally inMaharashtra's tribal Nandurbardistrict, Shah said afterNarendra Modi won the sec-ond term with a massive man-date in May this year, the firstthing he did was to abrogateprovisions of Article 370 whichgave special status to Jammu &Kashmir.

"Due to the special provi-sions, Pakistan fomented terrorin the state and over 40,000people died. Development inKashmir came to a standstill.

But Congress was not ready toscrap the provisions. It wasworried about its vote bank andnot about the national interest.

"No PM ever dared to takethe decision. It was Modi withhis 56-inch chest who made themove," he said.

"Rahul Gandhi asks what isthe connection between Article370 and Maharashtra. I darehim to declare that if voted topower, his party would restorethe provisions of Article 370.There is still one day to go forthe Assembly elections. Seehow the people will react.Don't you want Kashmir to be

an integral part of India?" theUnion Minister asked.

Shah said Nandurbar hasbeen included among the 115districts under the ModiGovernment's tribal develop-ment policy.

"In the next five years,Nandurbar will be developed asa premier tribal district in thecountry and Maharashtra asthe number one State," heasserted.

The Minister listed thedevelopment works beingundertaken by the StateGovernment and the Centre fortribal welfare.

"The Modi Governmentdecided to construct a memo-rial for tribal freedom fighters.Similarly, Eklavya ModelSchools have been started," hesaid.

Shah accused the Congressof using 'adivasis' (tribals) onlyfor votes and never working fortheir development.

He also alleged that theCongress did not do anythingfor the welfare of OtherBackward Classes (OBC) in 55years and said it was the ModiGovernment which gave con-stitutional status to the OBCCommission. PTI

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Jammu: Pakistani Rangers vio-lated ceasefire by targeting for-ward posts and villages withsmall arms firing along theInternational Border (IB) inKathua district of Jammu &Kashmir, officials said onSaturday.

The firing from across theborder in Manyari-Chorgaliarea in Hiranagar sector wasunprovoked and started around7.30 pm on Friday and contin-ued intermittently throughoutthe night, the officials said.

They said the BorderSecurity Force (BSF) retaliatedeffectively.

There was no report of anycasualty or damage in thePakistani firing which endedaround 4.15 am on Saturdaymorning, the officials said. PTI

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Panaji: The Goa bench of theBombay High Court hasstruck down as unconstitu-tional Article 19 of thePortuguese law that gave legalsanctity to church tribunals indealing with marriages anddivorces of Catholics.

The division bench ofJustices RD Dhanuka andPrithviraj Chavan, in their 95-page order this week, struckdown Article 19 of DecreeNumber 35461 cancelling themarriages as unconstitutionaland illegal.

Article 19 of DecreeNumber 35461, passed in 1946during Portuguese rule,allowed a decision of annul-ment of marriage taken by theChurch Patriarchal Tribunal to

be sent to court, which wouldthen direct the civil registra-tion office to cancel the mar-riage registration.

Portuguese civil law statesthat spouses who enter into acanonical (according to canonlaw) marriage renounce thecivil right of applying fordivorce.

Thus, civil courts in Goacould not grant divorce in caseof a Catholic marriage.

The HC order was passedwhile hearing two separatepetitions that challenged the order of ecclesiastical tri-bunals (those having juris-diction in spiritual and reli-gious matters).

"Article 19 of DecreeNumber 35461 is declared as

unconstitutional, illegal, nulland void and ultra viresArticles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India andis struck down," the orderstated.

The bench said the ser-vices of the high court cannotbe used as a post office for thepurpose of transmittingdecrees received from thesetwo tribunals, namelyPatriarchal Tribunal of theArchdiocese of Goa andDaman, and the MetropolitanTribunal of Archdiocese ofMumbai, to the Registrar ofMarriages without supervi-sion or extraordinary juris-diction of review underArticles 226 and 227 of theConstitution of India. PTI

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!��"�� #��9:�� Srinagar: Despite the shutdownand killing of a non-local appletrader and a driver, apple farm-ers in Kashmir have managed tosend six lakh metric tons ofapples outside Kashmir.

After halting for two days atShopian, Mohammad Waris, atruck driver from Rajasthanhas begun to load apples in histruck.

"We come to Kashmir to

earn our livelihood for years andwe will continue to do that,"Mohammad Waris said.

Kashmir produces 20 lakhmetric tons of apples every year.The fruit is cultivated on morethan 37 lakh hectares of landacross Kashmir.

Kashmir accounts for 75per cent of the total apple pro-duction in India.

The fruit earns Kashmir�8,000 crore annually and pro-vides livelihood to 33 lakh peo-ple including seven lakh farm-ers. The Government hadoffered to buy the crop from thefarmers due to the lockdownand shutdown after the revo-cation of Article 370 on August5, under the MarketIntervention Scheme (MIS).

The Government has madeJ&K Department ofHorticulture Marketing andPlanning and NAFED as thenodal agency to buy applesfrom farmers in Kashmir.

The Government has alsorevised the rates for procuringapples. Under MIS theGovernment has now offered�70 for extra gift pack of appleswhile �59 for grade A, �43 forgrade B and Rs 23 for grade Cvariety of apple. Other varietieslike American and Maharajihave been offered at lesserprices. IANS

Dibrugarh (Assam): Fivemembers of a family includingtwo children were charred todeath when a cooking gascylinder burst triggering fire attheir house in Dibrugarh dis-trict of upper Assam, policesaid on Saturday.

The incident occurred atNiz Kodomoni near ThermalColony in Dibrugarh town,district AdditionalSuperintendent of PoliceDhruba Bora said.

The cooking gas cylinderin their hut near the railwaytracks burst around 1.30 am onSaturday when they weresleeping, he said, adding thatthey were "burnt to death at thespot" after the fire engulfedtheir house.

The deceased were identi-fied as Maya Sonar (50), BishalSonar (19), Shib Sonar (5),Shankar Sonar (3), Nunu (50),the ASP said.

The bodies have been sentfor post mortem examination.

The fire damaged the hutcompletely and their belong-ings, Bora said.

Ruling out any sabotageleading to the fire, Bora saidsenior police personnel andofficials of the district admin-istration reached the spot and initiated a preliminaryinvestigation. PTI

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The International MonetaryFund on Friday supported

India’s recent decision to reducecorporate income tax, saying ithas a positive impact on invest-ment.

It, however, said Indiashould address continued fis-cal consolidation and securelong-term stability of the fiscalconditions.

“We believe India still haslimited fiscal space so they haveto be careful. We support theircorporate income tax cutbecause it has a positive impacton investment,” ChangyongRhee, Director, Asia and PacificDepartment, IMF, told reporters at a news conferencehere.

Following a marked slow-

down in the last two quartersin India, the economy isexpected to grow at 6.1 per centthis fiscal year, picking up to 7.0per cent in 2020, he said.

“The monetary policystimulus and the announcedcorporate income tax cut areexpected to help revive invest-ment,” said the top IMF official.

Anne-Marie Gulde-Wolf,Deputy Director, Asia andPacific Department, IMF, saidIndia should address the non-bank financial sector issues.

“While there have beenimprovements that have beenput in motion, including effortsto recapitalise the state banks,the issue of non-bank financialinstitution remains partly unre-solved and regulatory equity isone of the issues that needs tobe achieved,” she said.

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New Delhi: Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman has saidthe ongoing trade wars andprotectionism have generateduncertainties and will ulti-mately impact the flow of cap-ital, goods and services.

She also called for “con-certed action” to mitigate thedisruption on account of syn-chronous slowdown and toinvoke the spirit of multilater-alism for global growth, theFinance Ministry said.

Leading the Indian dele-gation to the Annual MeetingsPlenary session of the IMF andthe World Bank Group held inWashington DC on Friday,Sitharaman stressed that theincreased trade integration,geopolitical uncertainties, andhigh accumulated debt levelsnecessitate strong global coor-dination. PTI

Mumbai: Union MinisterPrakash Javadekar said here onSaturday that an “atmosphere”of economic slowdown prevailsworld over, but India is still the“fastest developing” economy.

Speaking ahead of October21 Maharashtra Assemblypolls, Javadekar also said thatthe BJP was banking on thegovernment’s performance,while the opposition is bereft ofissues and frustrated.

The BJP-led NDA alliancewill win 222 of the 288Assembly seats in Maharashtra,he claimed. “Several of oppo-sition’s candidates have con-ceded defeat, stopped cam-paigning and also stoppedspending money,” he added.

PTI

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Mumbai: Former Jet Airwayschief executive Vinay Dubehas joined budget carrierGoAir in an advisory role, asource said on Saturday.

Dube had quit defunct JetAirways on May 14, nearly amonth after the airline ceasedoperations due to severe liq-uidity crisis. According to thesource, GoAir wanted to hirehim for the position of theCEO, which is lying vacantsince March this year. PTI

New Delhi: Private sectorHDFC Bank Saturday report-ed a 24.7 per cent rise in itsconsolidated net profit at�6,638 crore for the threemonths ended September 2019,helped by healthy core income.

The bank had registered anet profit of �5,322.41 crore inthe same quarter of the previ-ous fiscal. Total income on aconsolidated basis rose to�36,130.96 crore during thethree months to September.

Chennai: German luxury carmaker Mercedes Benz Indiasaid it was bullish on the Indianmarket as sales had surpassed10,000 units annually for thefifth year in a row. In a moveto strengthen its footprint inthe market. PTI

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Mumbai: Depositors of thescam-hit Punjab andMaharashtra Cooperative(PMC) Bank held a protest outside the ReserveBank of India (RBI) head-quarters in south Mumbai onSaturday. PTI

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On February 4, 2019, theGovernment allowed womento work in mines, both under-ground as well as opencast,during the day and at night

with some riders like written permissionfrom women is a must before employingthem and they have to be deployed in agroup of not less than three in a shift.

The Mines Act, 1952, had so farrestricted the employment of womenworkers in underground mines and inopencast or above ground workings of themine during night hours.The womenlabour force participation rate in thecountry stands at just 27% as against 51%in Indonesia, 58% in Bangladesh, 64% inChina and 73% in Vietnam.

With the amendment, Tata Steel toboost gender diversity has recruited 10women officers at its Noamundi Iron mine.

J Liril who joined Tata Steel in 2002as Trade Apprentice from SNTI,Jamshedpur, after completion of her grad-uation says she joined the Iron-OreProcessing Plant as Fitter-cum-operator in2006 and was subsequently promoted asa mechanic. She was later promoted asChargehand, the position she holds at pre-sent.

“I belong to Noamundi. My fatherused to work with Tata Steel. I am the sec-ond generation who is working here. Istarted as a trade apprentice back in 2006.To begin with, there were some appre-hensions since there were no women work-ing in mechanical jobs. It was consideredto be a man’s work. I had to work withthem in the field since there weren’tmany facilities available. We did our workwith the help of our male colleagues. Withtimes, things changed for the better,” Lirilrecounts.

While there were a few comments bymen however the majority of them nevermade Liril feel uncomfortable that she wasin the wrong department. “They never saidthat because I was a woman, I was bestsuited for a desk job. My job, at present,is providing others training on how tooperate the machines and complete the jobin the field. There have been times whenthe machine develops a snag. I have hadto lend a helping hand it rectifying theissue,” Liril says.

It has been 13 years since she firstbegan working in a job that was predom-inantly male. A lesson that Liril has learntis that one must not shirk or run away fromany job that has come her way.

“Whatever work has been assigned toyou, needs to be completed to one’s bestabilities. Hard work is important. We haveto prove that even though we are workingin a field that was male-dominated, todaywe stand with them. It is necessary to setan example for the other women who willcome forward to take our place in thefuture. If today, we refuse to do a partic-ular work, the coming generation will alsonot come forward,” the 42-year-old tellsyou who is married and has a baby boy.

“There is no difference between a boyor a girl today. I had been working sincebefore my marriage. My husband encour-aged me as did my in-laws. I want to growprofessionally and take on more respon-sibilities by working in a shift,” Liril says.

Twenty-eight-year-old KarishmaKandoi who is working as ManagerMechanical in the Iron-Ore ProcessingPlant after doing her Bachelor’s inMechanical Engineering from AssamEngineering College in the year 2013 whohails from, Dhubri, a small town in Assamtells you that her father is a businessman.

“He deals with automobile spare parts.My mother is a homemaker. I joined thisunit in July so it has been only a fewmonths. Till now working here has beenamazing. I began my career with JindalSteel after graduation. I am not botheredwhether I am working in a job that was tra-ditionally for men. I am more concernedin making a career for myself in this field.It doesn’t bother me whether there areother women working beside me. I justwant to push myself and realise my poten-tial. Now, at Tata Steel, the work cultureis such that it doesn’t instill fear. The grouphas provided several faculties to make usfeel safe. There is transportation with GPStracer. There are CCTVs to monitorthings,” Kandoi says.

Her interest in mechanics began as achild. She used to watch her father workwith automobile parts. This made her pur-sue mechanical engineering. “When I gotthe opportunity to study this subject, I wasthrilled. My parents encouraged me. They

never stopped me from pursuing my pas-sion or go wherever I wanted to. Evenwhen I was the only girl to be selected forthe course, my parents supported me andwere very proud of me. More so since Ihave started working here,” Kandoi says.

She has been working in the sector forsix years and be away from home. “Therewere things that will always make youhomesick. When you step out of your com-fort zone there are bound to be difficul-ties. But the facilities in the township makeit easy for us. Whether is it the work envi-ronment or otherwise, it doesn’t feel as ifI am working in the mining sector. I cango out for a movie, or a swim. Whateverwe need is within our reach,” Kandoi tellsyou.

That is the reason why safety is notsuch a big issue for her. “Safety is an issuethe minute one steps out of the home. Thisis impractical if one wants to work. Evenif I was living in a metro, I would have tofend for myself. I have to look after mysafety. I can’t always be dependent on oth-ers,” Kandoi says who works as a shift-in-charge.

Her work involves washing of the orethat comes in before it is sent further downthe production line. “After the ore is minedit is sent to us. There is a process that isinvolved. Primary and secondary washplants. This involves complete manpow-er handling. We have to see which depart-ment requires how much manpower andwhat kind of work they need to undertake.We have to take corrective action as wellif there is a machinery breakdown. Theserequire snap decisions if problems arisesince the ultimate goal is that there are nohindrances in production,” Kandoi shares.

She tells you that while she is not mar-ried at present if the subject came up, shewould tell the person that he needs toaccept her with her job.“I will tell him thatthere is no way I am going to leave my job.He has to understand that I will not gowhere his jobs take him since this is whereI work,” Kandoi says.

Pratixa Kher working as SeniorManager Mining after doing a Bachelor’sin Mining Engineering from GovernmentEngineering College, Bhuj in 2012 andholds a First Class Mine Manager’sCertificate of Competency by Directorate

General of Mines Safety hails fromMangrol in Gujarat.

Like Kandoi, her father too is a busi-nessman and mother a homemaker. Sheis a long way away from home — West toEast.

“Till recently girls were not allowed towork in mining. But thanks to theGovernment, this is now possible. I was thefirst girl from my batch to graduate witha mining engineering. It was not easy. Myparents didn’t know what the field was like.I was told that this sector was not forwomen. That it was a tough field to workin. Even after I got my campus placementwith Vedanta Hindustan Coal, I didn’tunderstand what they were talking about.It was only after I landed up on day oneof the job and realised what the workentailed. It was such a bad day. But it hasbeen seven years since then. I have workedin all the departments related to mining.One has to be ready to work in every con-dition. Now, I am here. I joined the unitin August this year,” Kher says.

The reason why she changed her jobwas that she wanted to work in shift. “Inmy previous, due to the law restrictions,I couldn’t work in shift. But here, I am shiftin-charge,” Kher says who got married in2016.She tells you that both she and herhusband worked in the same departmentbefore she decided to move to Noumundiwhile her husband is still with HindustanCoal.

Interestingly, she never thought aboutstaying back home and looking for a jobthere. Or even help her father in his agri-culture business. “My father never forcedme to do want I wanted. But he wanted meto become an engineer. That is why I tookthe subject at graduation,” Kher tells you.She has a message for women who wantto pursue a career in this sector. “Theyshould not balk at taking up mining as aprofession just because the working con-ditions are tough. There will be dust; onewill have to work in the field where thereis no AC. It is not a glamorous work envi-ronment. One should be ready all the time.Women should not be afraid to work in aparticular department. On one hand, wetalk about 21st Century and equal pay. Wehave to be ready to accept that comes ourway,” Kher tells you.

Pushpa Rai who is working as AssistantManager Mechanical after completing herBachelor’s degree in MechanicalEngineering and Master’s in Industrial andProduction Engineering from Uttar PradeshTechnical University.

Rai is from Lucknow. Her father is aretired Additional SP and mother a home-maker. Her six siblings — two brothers andfour sisters are all working.She tells you thatunlike most families and girls who foundcomfort by staying home.

“When I took up engineering, it neveroccurred to me that I had to look for workcloser to home. I am blessed that my par-ents never stopped me from whatever Iwanted to do. It was my decision to studyengineering; it was my decision to workwith Tata Steel,” Rai says.

She tells you that a typical day for herdepends on what time her shift starts. “I amso excited to be working night shift and amshift in-charge. It is such a proud momentfor us that we can command and the entireoperation,” Rai says.

She agrees with Kher and opines thatone can’t be bothered by weather conditions.“Even at home one can feel the cold or feelthe heat and work even when it is raining.It is a mindset. We have to work around theweather conditions,” Rai says.

Though she is not married, she tells youthat each person makes plans whether theymaterialise or not is another thing.Once hershift is over, there are several things that Raidoes to entertain herself.

“There are so many things that one cando here. There are so many facilities here.One has to visit this place to understandwhat kind of entertainment is on offer forpeople. Most Saturdays are spent watchinga movie,” Rai says.

Though her parents have not visited heryet, since she has recently joined, she plansto visit the family for Diwali. “Being theyoungest means that I am the pamperedone. I have to visit the family,” Rai says.

She has a message for women. “Thereare so many women who study mechani-cal engineering but pursue a job in anoth-er sector. If this is what they had wanted todo, why pursue mechanical engineering?What I sow is what the future generationwill learn from like I have learnt that I cando whatever I set my mind to,” Rai says.

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South African pacer AnrichNortje on Saturday rued

letting India off the hook afterreducing them to 39 for threeon the opening day.

Hoping to avoid a 3-0whitewash, South Africanbowlers gave a good accountof themselves by taking threewickets quickly, but RohitSharma and Ajinkya Rahaneshared an unbeaten 185-runpartnership to take India to

224/3 in 58 overs when badweather forced an early stumps.

“We were definitely betteras in the previous Test. We justtried to control the game littlebit better. Unfortunately, wecouldn’t get another wicket... Itwould have been nice to havethem four-five down,” Nortjesaid after the first day’s play.

“We had one or two overswhere we went on top, later onwe just pulled it back again. So,maybe, here and there we lostbut, in general, a good effort by

everyone.“Overall, it was a good

effort by the bowlers. Therewas little bit in it this morning,tried to utilise as much but oneor two overs didn’t go our way.”

Kagiso Rabada was thepick of the attack with 2/54 in14 overs, while Nortje (1/50from 16 overs) picked up thewicket of India skipper ViratKohli.

“I was hoping for a wick-et somewhere and to get himwas unbelievable, but just try

and come with a plan. I try andput as much pressure as pos-sible and finally got the wick-et.”

He said there’s still hope inthe side as they look to bounceback.

“I think there were quite alot of opportunities rightthrough the series. Lots ofnicks going through the gaps orfalling short. Something hap-pened today here there, that’snormal to cricket. We have totake it forward going fromhere. Just keep on asking thosequestions and control the con-trollables, I guess.”

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India skipper Virat Kohli couldbe rested from the three-match

T20 series against Bangladesh,beginning here on November 3.

Kohli has been playing almostnon-stop, featuring in 48 of India’s56 games since October last year.

The squad for the Bangladeshseries will be picked in Mumbaion October 24.

“There is a possibility thatVirat could be rested keeping theworkload management pro-

gramme in mind. But the selectorswill only speak to Virat once theTest match (against South Africa)ends,” a source close to the selec-tion committee said.

“It will also depend on howthe skipper himself feels. Heknows his body the best and ifneed be he can himself ask theselectors for rest,” the sourceadded.

After the first T20 in Delhi,Rajkot and Nagpur will host thesecond and third game onNovember 7 and 10 respectively.

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Avideo of unbeatencenturion Rohit

Sharma shouting ‘notnow’ as the skies turnedgrey just before hesmashed a six to reach histhird hundred of the seriestook social media bystorm.

Rohit reached thethree-figure mark with asix as he was batting on 95in the 45th over. The lim-ited overs vice-captainbrought up his third cen-tury of the series, his sixthoverall, off Dane Piedt’sbowling. Just before that,Rohit shouted ‘not now’when it started to drizzleand the groundsmen set

themselves up to bringthe covers.

He took the single offthe second ball of the overto reach 95 and at thesame time, the rain start-ed coming down.

Batting as an openerfor the first time in thisseries, Rohit added yetanother feather to his capby becoming the batsmanto hit the most number ofsixes in a Test series.

During the ongoingthree-Test series, he has sofar hit 17 sixes and has sur-passed Shimron Hetmyer’stally of 15 which cameduring the two-matchseries between West Indiesand Bangladesh in2018/19.

�� > India’s batting coachVikram Rathour on Saturdayattributed Rohit Sharma’s suc-cess as Test opener, in theongoing series, to mentaladjustments.

“He is such an experi-enced player. I don’t think youneed to change anything withhis technique. The onlyadjustment I think he had tomake was his game plans,”Rathour told reporters afterthe first day’s proceedings.

“I always believed he istoo good a player not to beplaying in any format. It wasa good call to make him toopen. With the amount ofruns he has scored, he has set-tled the issue for the timebeing,” Rathour added.

“Somebody of his experi-ence and the kind of crickethe plays, if he starts cominggood top of the order, itchanges everything for theIndian team, even whenyou’re touring.”

Rohit looked tentativeearly on and was given LBWon seven by umpire RichardIllingworth, but survived fol-lowing a successful review,which showed a faint inside-edge.

“In Tests, you need to playthrough those tough spellsthat you will get. I think he’sdoing that well in this series.Once he’s set, he’s a phenom-enal player, we all know thathe can really punish you.”

Rohit started to break

free towards the end of firstsession when he pulledAnrich Nortje for the first ofhis four sixes, while AjinkyaRahane too came on his ownin a difficult second sessionfor the visitors.

“Ajinkya showed greatintent today. Whenever hebats with this intent, he looksa really good player. As I saidearlier also, they bowled ingood areas initially and therewas help in the wicket, soRohit had some problem earlyon.

“Of course, as a bats-man, you need to survive thattime, which Rohit did reallywell. Anybody will lookuncomfortable because thosewere tough conditions.” PTI

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Top Indian elite athletes,including women’s course

record holder L Suriya, onSaturday said they wouldlook to break the courserecord in the Airtel DelhiHalf Marathon here today.

Suresh Kumar Patel,Srinu Bugatha, PradeepChaudhary in the men’s cat-egory and Suriya, ParulChaudhary and Priti Lambain the women’s category arethe top domestic athletesvying for honours in theprestigious IAAF Gold Labelrace. There will be 23 womenand 22 men Indian elite ath-letes taking part in the race.

Suriya, who created thecourse record in 2017 with atime of 1 hour 10 minutes 31seconds, said she enjoys run-ning in ADHM.

“The route at the AirtelDelhi Half Marathon is verynice. In 2017, I really enjoyedthe run as the weather wasalso good. Therefore, I put upa good performance thatyear. I am looking forward toanother great experience inADHM. Hopefully, I will

break the course recordagain,” said Suriya.

The runners of the AirtelDelhi Half Marathon will beawarded �1 lakh as a bonusprize if they break the courserecord this year.

Parul Chaudhary, who iskeen to make an impressionthis year, was delighted aboutthe bonus cash prize on offer.

“It’s great that the run-ners will be rewarded with abonus cash prize for breakingthe course record. We arevery happy and I will defi-nitely give it my all to achievea bonus prize this year,” saidParul.

Speaking about the con-ditions, Pradeep Chaudharysaid that the weather haschanged for the better sinceFriday and hopefully theconditions will suit the run-ners today.

“The weather suddenlychanged on Friday. It wasvery windy making the con-ditions very cool and suitablefor runners. I am looking for-ward to a great run and goodweather on a beautiful trackwill be an added bonus,” saidChaudhary.

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Former world number oneAndy Murray reached his

first semi-final since the 2017French Open with a battlingthree-set win over Romania’sMarius Copil in Antwerp onFriday.

The 32-year-old British star,steadily rebuilding his careerafter major hip surgery earlierthis year, defeated qualifierCopil 6-3, 6-7 (7/9), 6-4.

“I feel OK, it’s more howyou pull up the following day,”said Murray, who is two winsaway from a first title sinceDubai in March 2017.

“The good thing about theindoor matches is that thepoints are fairly short so itdoesn’t take as much out of youas on some of the slower courtsoutside.”

Murray, now ranked a lowly

243 in the world, had the chanceto wrap up the quarter-finalwhen he had a match point inthe second set tiebreak.

He eventually sealed victo-ry after more than two and a half

hours on court with an ace forhis third win in three meetingsagainst the 92nd-ranked Copil.

Murray goes on to faceFrance’s world number 70 UgoHumbert who put out

Argentine fifth seed Guido Pella5-7, 6-4, 6-4.

Italian teenager JannikSinner became the youngestATP semi-finalist in five yearswhen he defeated Frances Tiafoeof the United States 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

Sinner, 18, is the youngest tomake the last four on tour since17-year-old Borna Coric at Baselin 2014.

However, he faces a daunt-ing semi-final against three-time major winner StanWawrinka after the formerworld number three got past fel-low 34-year-old Gilles Simon ofFrance 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 6-2 in hisquarter-final.

Sinner, who lost toWawrinka at the US Open thisyear, will become the youngestATP finalist since Kei Nishikoriat Delray Beach in 2008 if hedowns the experienced Swiss.

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)��.%� �� > In a bid to end his losingstreak at the toss, South Africaskipper Faf du Plessis on Saturdaybrought Temba Bavuma as proxycaptain for the third and final Test.

However, luck did not favourSouth Africa as the coin landed infavour of India skipper Virat Kohliwho chose to bat for the third timein the three-match series.

After winning the toss, evenKohli couldn’t help but laugh atFaf ’s helplessness.

“It shows that it isn’t meant tobe (win the toss with a proxy cap-tain),” du Plessis said after losinghis 10th consecutive toss in Asia.

Graeme Smith, however, did-n’t seem impressed with du Plessis’idea of coming out with a proxycaptain and said it reflected themindset of the visitors who havebeen struggling to get going in theongoing series. PTI

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Rohit Sharma continued hissensational run as a Testopener with his third hun-

dred of the series, allowing Indiato regain control of the proceedingsafter a top-order collapse in thethird and final game against SouthAfrica at Jharkhand State CricketAssociation (JSCA) stadium onSaturday.

With India reduced to 39 forthree, Rohit (117 batting off 164balls) and Ajinkya Rahane (83batting off 135) shared an unbeat-en 185-run stand to stage thehome team’s remarkable recovery.

India were 224 for three beforebad light, followed by rain, forcedan early end to play on day onewith only six overs possible in thefinal session.

With his stellar effort, Rohit,who hammered 14 boundariesand four sixes, became the firstIndian opener since Sunil Gavaskarto score more than two centuriesin a Test series. Gavaskar hadachieved the feat way back in1970.

Rohit’s Test century number sixcame with a massive six off spin-ner Dane Piedt. It was a typicalknock from India’s limited oversvice-captain as he exercised cautionwhen Kagiso Rabada was steamingin the morning before going for hisstrokes.

If that was not enough, Rahanematched him at the other end andbrought up his 21st half-century offjust 70 balls.

Piedt, who was included inplace of Senuran Muthusamy, cuta sorry figure against Rohit’s fury,giving away 43 runs in his six overs.

Debutant left-arm spinnerGeorge Linde, who replaced aninjured Keshav Maharaj, ended theday with tidy figures of 11-1-40-0.Such was the Indian duo’s domi-nance after lunch that Rabada, whohad a fiery opening spell of 7-4-15-2, looked listless in the second spellthat read 4-0-30-0.

Rahane matched Sharma shotfor shot and at one point even had

a better strike rate than his explo-sive Mumbai partner as he notchedup his fastest half-century in India.

Sharma, however, had a testingopening session as he survived onseven after reviewing an LBWsuccessfully.

He also survived a run outchance when he was out of creasebut Zubayr Hamza’s throw frompoint missed the stumps.

Uneven bounce with a fewstaying really low greeted theIndian openers in the morning asRabada and Lungi Ngidi made fulluse of the conditions to give the vis-itors their best start of the series.

Rabada got rid of openerMayank Agarwal (10) andCheteshwar Pujara (0) inside thefirst-hour of play.

The first breakthrough came inRabada’s third over when the thepacer swung it away with Agarwaledging it to Dean Elgar at third slip.

Rabada went on to dismissPujara for a duck in his fifth overfollowing a successful review by theSouth Africans after the on-fieldumpire Richard Illingworth turneddown an lbw appeal.

But it was Nortje who earnedthe biggest wicket as he sent backPune Test’s double centurion Kohliafter the skipper failed to read onethat came back in sharply.

Kohli took the review but onlyto be turned down with an umpire’scall and the skipper went back tothe pavillion frustrated.

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Rain may affect the secondday’s proceedings as well in the

final India-South Africa Test, thelocal weatherman predicted onSaturday.

“There is a possibility of thun-dershowers and lightning at iso-lated places in Ranchi. Chancesare less by Monday onwards,” anofficial of the IndianMeteorological Department,Ranchi, said.

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Aclinical Bengal Warriors on Saturdayclinched their maiden Pro Kabaddi

League title by defeating Dabang Delhi 39-34 in a pulsating summit clash here.

Naveen Kumar was brilliant onceagain with 18 raid points for Delhi butuncharacteristic errors cost their titlehopes in front of a packed audience,including Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju, atthe EKA Arena by TransStadia.

The Warriors did not have the servicesof star raider and captain Maninder Singhbut got support with his presence as assis-tant coach of the team in the final matchof Season Seven.

The pressure of the final got to theWarriors in the early minutes as Delhistormed to a 6-0 lead. Naveen Kumar cer-tainly looked charged up for the event

while Delhi's cover combination of AnilKumar and Vishal Mane also seemed keento stop any raider coming their way.

The Delhi side clinched their All-Outin the 8th minute to open a four-point leadbut the Warriors were a different side afterthe restart. Stand-in captain MohammadNabibakhsh picked up his game, clinch-ing valuable raid points, as the Warriorsquickly reduced Delhi’s lead.

Delhi’s Iranian player Meraj Sheykhimpressed as a substitute, picking up tworaid points in pressure situations, but theWarriors secured their first All-Out withunder four minutes remaining for thebreak.

The closely-contested first-half endedwith the scores levelled at 17-17.

The Warriors maintained thatmomentum in the second half as theyquickly got into the lead. Sukesh Hegde

once again sizzled for the Warriors withsome mature raiding, often getting the bet-ter of Ravinder Pahal in Delhi’s left cor-ner.

Perhaps the smartest move from theWarriors’ camp was to deploy the experi-enced Jeeva Kumar in a shifting cover role,depending on the raider’s strong foot.

The decision helped as the Warriorsclinched another All-Out in the 8thminute of the half to open-up a 4-pointlead.

Delhi’s Naveen Kumar clinched hisSuper 10 in the 10th minute (21st consec-utive) but his side struggled to get a stran-glehold of the match as Warriors cornercombination of Rinku Narwal and BaldevSingh also got into the game.

The Warriors inflicted another All-Out with six minutes remaining to open-up a 10-point lead.

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Angel Di Maria grabbed two goals while KylianMbappe struck on his return from injury as

Paris Saint-Germain won 4-1 at Nice on Friday tosurge five points clear at the top of Ligue 1.

PSG lost Neymar and the influential IdrissaGueye to injury over the international break whileMbappe and Edinson Cavani were only fit enoughto make the bench for the trip to the Cote d’Azur.

“At the start of a run of six very intensive match-es, it’s always good to start with a win,” said PSGcoach Thomas Tuchel.

“We had a good first half, I was happy. We hadchances to control the match but at the start of thesecond half, we forgot to close it out.”

A spectaculartriple save byWalter Benitezkept out PresnelKimpembe andAbdou Diallo inthe opening min-utes at the AllianzRiviera but PSGsoon made thebreakthrough.

Di Maria racedon to a first-timepass from fellowArgentine MauroIcardi before calm-ly guiding beyondBenitez in the Nicegoal on 15 min-utes.

Only Mbappehas been involvedin more goals in France this year thanDi Maria, who duly doubled his tallysix minutes later with a sublime lobfrom an unfavourable angle.

Marquinhos replaced PSG cap-tain Thiago Silva at half-time andheaded against the crossbar at a cor-ner, but a mistake from theBrazilian presented Nice a lifeline on 67minutes.

An ill-advised attempt at chesting down a crossallowed Kasper Dolberg to tee up Ignatius Ganagoto blast home via the underside of the bar.

Any chance Patrick Vieira’s side had of salvaginga result effectively evaporated though with the dis-missal of Wylan Cyprien and Christophe Herellein a matter of minutes.

Cyprien was shown a second yellow card fordissent with Herelle sent off following a VAR reviewfor a petulant slap on Leandro Paredes.

Tuchel threw on Mbappe, restricted to just twosubstitute appearances since August, for the finaleight minutes and PSG made the most of their two-man advantage.

Mbappe drove low under Benitez to claim hisfirst goal since August 11 and then laid on an assistfor Icardi to tap home in stoppage time.

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Iam not scared to face Nikhat Zareen,”avowed celebrated boxer MC Mary

Kom, saying it would just be a “formal-ity” to beat her in the trials for theOlympic qualifiers.

Mary Kom (51kg) found herselfembroiled in a controversy with Zareendemanding a trial bout against her beforethe Indian squad for next year’s Olympicqualifiers is decided.

This was after the Boxing Federationof India (BFI) stated that it intends to picksix-time world champion Mary Kom(51kg) for the event in China on the backof her recent Bronze medal winning per-formance at the World Championships inRussia.

“The decision has been taken by BFI.I can’t change the rule. I can just perform.Whatever they decide, I will go with that.I’m not scared to face her, I am fine withthe trials,” said Mary Kom on the side-lines of a felicitation program.

“I have defeated her many times sinceSAF Games but she keeps challenging me.I mean, what is the point? It is just a for-mality. BFI also knows who can win amedal at Olympics.”

Mary Kom said “people are jealous of

me”.“It has happened with me in the past

also. Perform on the ring, that is the realthing. BFI sends us for exposure trips socomeback with a Gold, prove yourself,”

she said.“I am not against her. She might be

good in future, let her have the experi-ence and focus on preparation for thehighest level. I have been fighting for last20 years. To challenge is easy but to per-form is difficult.”

For selection of men’s team, BFI haddecided that the medallists of the WorldChampionships will be sent directly to thefirst Olympic qualifiers to be held inChina.

In women’s competition, BFI had saidin August that only the Gold and Silverwinners at the World Championships inRussia would be selected directly for theOlympic qualifiers in February.

However, BFI now has decided to calla selection committee meeting next weekto discuss Zareen’s plea.

Mary Kom said there should be gen-der quality in the selection criteria.

“I don’t care about all this. Let BFItake the decision. There should be gen-der equality, can’t have separate rules formen and women.”

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Barcelona’s ‘MSG’ strike force is finally clickedinto gear as Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and

Antoine Griezmann all scored in a ruthless 3-0 vic-tory over Eibar on Saturday.

Griezmann’s place in the newly-formed attack-ing trident has not been secure but the Frenchmanopened the scoring at Ipurua before teeing up Messiand then playing the crucial pass for Suarez to makeit three.

“There will be good and bad days but we aregetting to know each other and bit by bit we willdo even better,” said Griezmann.

An authoritative Barca display thrust them tothe top of La Liga, for a few hours at least beforeReal Madrid play Real Mallorca. They moved threepoints clear of Atletico, who drew 1-1 at home toValencia.

The victory also dismissed suggestions theirplayers might be affected by Friday’s postponementof next Saturday’s Clasico due to protests inCatalonia.

The victory against was their fifth consecutivevictory in all competitions, a sequence which isswiftly erasing memories of a stumbling start to theseason.

The resurgence has coincided with Messi’sreturn from injury yet it was the fluidity and cohe-sion of the front three, rather than the Argentinian’sfamiliar solo brilliance, that will have been mostpleasing for Valverde.

“Great players always understand each other,”Valverde said. “With time and matches

they will understand each other evenmore.”

Griezmann has four goals sincejoining Barca from Atletico Madrid lastsummer but a series of underwhelm-ing showings led to Ousmane Dembele

starting against Sevilla before the interna-tional break.

There was good news too for Barcelona indefence, where Samuel Umtiti came through 90minutes in what was his first appearance of the sea-son. Umtiti, who has been out with a foot injury,replaced the banned Gerard Pique.

The only blot on the result was an injury toSergi Roberto, who hurt his left knee and wasreplaced at half-time. He will be a doubt for theChampions League game away at Slavia Prague onWednesday.

Griezmann’s finish clipped the inside of the postand found the net after 13 minutes.

Barca made it two just before the hour asFrenkie de Jong’s incisive ball was collected bySuarez. As he lost control, Griezmann took over,flicking left to Messi, who made no mistake.

The third involved all three again. Griezmann’ssuperb reverse pass set Messi clear and he gener-ously slipped the ball left for Suarez who was leftwith an open goal.

Meanwhile, Atletico lost ground as they wereundone by a late Dani Parejo free-kick againstValencia at the Wanda Metropolitano, where bothsides finished the game with 10 men.

Diego Costa scored a first-half penalty. In a madfinal 10 minutes, Joao Felix limped off with all threeof his team’s substitutes already used, Parejostruck in the 82nd minute and Valencia’s Lee Kang-In was sent off in injury-time.

Felix’s fitness will be a concern ahead ofAtletico’s Champions League game at home to BayerLeverkusen on Tuesday.

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Tottenham narrowly avoided anembarrassing home defeat tobottom club Watford on

Saturday as Chelsea and Leicesterleapfrogged champions ManchesterCity in the Premier League.

With leaders Liverpool not inaction until today, it was a chance forthe chasing pack to press their creden-tials for top-four spots.

Chelsea’s Marcus Alonso brokethe deadlock for Frank Lampard’s sideat Stamford Bridge against Newcastlefor a 1-0 win while Youri Tielemanssealed a 2-1 victory for Leicester at theKing Power Stadium.

But Spurs boss MauricioPochettino saw his side labour to a 1-1 draw at home to Watford, follow-ing a 3-0 thrashing at Brighton anda humiliating 7-2 defeat at home toBayern Munich.

Spurs, who reached theChampions League final in June,have now won just three of theiropening 12 games in all competitionsand appear unable to halt their slide.

Tottenham got off to an awfulstart as they fell behind in the sixthminute, Abdoulaye Doucoure finish-ing superbly from Daryl Janmaat’sassist.

Dele Alli grabbed a late levellerfor Spurs with his first goal sinceJanuary. There was major confusionas it appeared as if VAR had ruled outthe effort, but it was allowed tostand.

Leicester held a minute’s silencebefore kick-off to remember theirlate owner VichaiSrivaddhanaprabha, who waskilled in a helicopter crash at thestadium last October.

Chris Wood put Burnley infront but Leicester’s in-formforward Jamie Vardy headedan equaliser just before half-time and Tielemans complet-ed the turnaround with justover 15 minutes to go.

Ahead of City’s match at CrystalPalace later on Saturday, Leicesterwere second in the Premier Leaguetable, seven points behind leadersLiverpool, while Chelsea, also on 17points, were third.

Matt Targett scored a goal deepinto injury time as Aston Villa cameback from 1-0 down to beat Brighton2-1.

Southampton took the leadagainst Wolves at Molineux, courtesyof a Danny Ings goal but Raul Jimenezhit back from the penalty spot justeight minutes later after Matt Doherty

was brought down.Bournemouth drew 0-0 at home

to Norwich.

EVERTON RELIEVE PRESSUREIn the early kick-off on Saturday,

Everton climbed out of the PremierLeague relegation zone with a well-deserved 2-0 victory against WestHam that eased the pressure onMarco Silva.

A first-half goal from Brazil for-ward Bernard and a late second

from substitute Gylfi Sigurdssongave Everton the three points in amatch in which they had 19

shots.“It was a fantastic perfor-

mance,” Sigurdsson told BTSport. “We had a lot of chances,especially in the second half.You never know when it’s 1-0— you always want to getmore.

“They are dangerousgoing forward and their goalkeepermade some spectacular saves. I waspleased to come on and give us a bitof comfort. There was a real purposeto our game today.”

Manchester City head to CrystalPalace in the late match on Saturday.Pep Guardiola left Sergio Aguero andRiyad Mahrez out of his starting line-up but there was a place on the benchfor defender John Stones after aninjury lay-off.

Liverpool travel to face strugglingManchester United at Old Traffordtoday, chasing a record-equalling18th consecutive Premier League

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Bayern Munich were denied topspot in the Bundesliga when

Alfred Finnbogason’s injury-timeequaliser snatched Augsburg a dra-matic 2-2 draw on Saturday.

Niko Kovac’s men sit one pointadrift of both leaders BorussiaMoenchengladbach and second-placed Wolfsburg, who drew 1-1 atRB Leipzig.

Gladbach face a difficult trip toBorussia Dortmund later on Saturdaywith a chance to move three pointsclear at the summit.

It was the second league match insuccession that reigning championsBayern had slipped up, having lost 2-1 at home to Hoffenheim before theinternational break.

Augsburg opened the scoring instunning fashion, Marco Richterfinding the net just 30 seconds afterkick-off, the fastest goal of the seasonso far.

Richter took advantage as Bayernstruggled to clear a bouncing balldeep in their own box. The 21-year-old sweetly struck a right-footed volley to grab a rapidlead — just as Augsburg haddone in the correspondingfixture last year.

Bayern replied as RobertLewandowski stretched hisscoring streak to eight games in the14th minute from a Serge Gnabrycross.

After a host of missedchances, former Arsenal wingerGnabry threaded the needle inthe 49th minute to put Bayern2-1 ahead.

But a strong, bullying run ininjury time by Sergio Cordova on thewing set up Finnbogason, who fin-

ished past Manuel Neuer to earn apoint for Augsburg, and put anoth-er early dent in Bayern’s title defence.

Thomas Mueller missed twochances after coming on as a late sub-stitute after a week of controversyover the fact he has not started a gamesince September.

WERNER FINDS SHOOTING BOOTSTimo Werner scored his first goal

in five games for Leipzig in a tight tus-sle against Wolfsburg at the Red BullArena.

It was not enough. Wolfsburgscored a late equaliser when Dutchstriker Wout Weghorst finished aWilliam cross to keep the race at thetop close.

Wolfsburg are the only unbeatenteam in the division.

At the Weserstadion, WerderBremen opened the scoring at homeagainst Hertha Berlin as Josh Sargent’sstrike took a useful deflection on itsway into the net in the seventh minute.

Dodi Lukebakio hit back in the70th minute for Hertha to secure a 1-1 draw. He beat three defenders,including Theodor Gebre Selassietwice, in a mazy run from the wing.

Union Berlin claimed just thesecond win of their debut top-flightseason by beating Freiburg 2-0 at abouncing Stadion an der AltenFoersterei.

Marius Buelter gave them thelead with a long-range strike, his thirdgoal of the season.

A second goal from distance byMarcus Ingvartsen, over substitutegoalkeeper Niclas Thiede, making hisdebut, was enough to secure victory forthe home side.

Elsewhere, Rouwen Henningsscored a late winner to seal FortunaDuesseldorf a 1-0 home win over 10-man Mainz.

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If you are one of those who arewilling to decorate your home with-out making it look too heavy, Jain hasa few tips to share.

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However, coming up with a lux-ury store comes with its share of chal-lenges. “We can’t compromise on thequality so we have to keep a strictcheck on that. Since our collection ishandcrafted we have to be more care-ful with even the slightest details,” hetells you.

The studio is created in such a waythat it resembles a home with separaterooms for different collections like bedroom, living room and others to giveyou a full feel of a luxurious home andto help you make a wiser choice.

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�You played Sancho Panza in LaalKaptan. Was it hard to get into theshoe of the character?

Not at all. It was interesting to playsuch a character. I didn’t face any chal-

lenges. Even my costume waswell-designed and my look wasperfect. All this helped me a lotto get into the skin of the char-acter.�Was acting always on yourcards?

I was extremely expressivesince childhood. I had the

calibre of making peoplelaugh and cry with

my actions. Aftercompleting mystudies, I wasn’tsure of which fieldto opt for. Someof my friendsbecame doctorand some wentfor journalism so I

thought of utilis-ing my best quality

and give acting achance.

�How supportive wereyour family in your decision?

My mother was happy. She likeseverything that I do. But, my father did-n’t like it. He always asked me to leaveacting and come back. He wanted thatI should look for a stable job. My neigh-bours used to make fun of me. Theyused to say things like akela kahanghumta rehta hai, subah nikalta hai raatko aata hai and what has he done tohimself. There was no support at all. Butas they say after every storm comes clearskies so was the case with me. Once Ientered Bollywood, everyone’s behav-iour towards me changed manifold.Now whenever I visit them, it’s like a fes-tival for them. They all have framed myphotos and put it on their wall. Also, therigid mentality of only taking up theconventional career path has changedthere. The youngsters from my area arenow trying their hands in singing,dancing and other fields and the soci-ety is supporting them. They see me asan example. All this makes me feelhappy.�How did you get on board forMaqbool?

It was a funny incident. One day myroommate told me that there was a cast-ing process going on somewhere andone of my friend Honey was in the cast-

ing team. So he asked me to speak withHoney and see if there’s any role for him.The deal was that the night’s dinner wason him. I immediately said yes and weboth went to Honey’s office. After wereached there, Honey asked for a photoof both of us and went on to show it toVishalji, a casting director. Vishaljicame outside and told me that he was

looking for an actor who could play therole of Irrfan Khan’s right hand in thefilm, but there’s no dialogues for thecharacter. He asked me if I could playit and I said yes. That’s how I got my firstproject. After that my friend taunted mea lot and asked me to thank him.(laughs)�Are you satisfied with where youare today or is there somethingyouare looking for?

Some people tell me that this is notwhere I should be, I deserved more andI should have been on a different level.But, I am happy with wherever I am andwhatever I have. If I was on a higherlevel then probably things would havebeen more complicated. And once youreach a higher stage there’s a certain kindof pressure on you.

You may feel that I don’t deserve thisor I know nothing. So it’s better to staygrounded and be satisfied. Mujhe jitnaaata hai uss hisaab sey main ekdum theekhoon jahan bhi hoon. This way, I amlearning every day and I am enjoying it.My priorities have changed now. Earlier,it was to look for good work. Today, Iam looking to do different work. �Was there a dream role in mind?

Not really. In 2007-08, I started say-

ing that I want to do biopics aur wohsabney kar liya except me. Since then Idecided not to look for anything spe-cific. The industry typecasts you. Toavoid this, you have to take the initia-tive of showing all your shades.Moreover, if you are an outsider, youwon’t get served everything on a plat-ter. You have to struggle your way.�A change that you would like to seein the industry for actors and otherworking professionals?

There should be a royalty system inthe industry. Whenever a film earnsprofit, a part of it should be given to thecameramans, spot boys, makeup artistsand others. Otherwise only the bignames will benefit from it. As for us also,we are not at a stable position. We don’thave any funds or any extra income.Here the easy way out is to enter poli-tics or start your own business. Onceyou do this, art becomes secondary foryou. Your focus shifts to remain polit-ically correct. I don’t want to enter pol-itics. To avoid this, some percentage ofthe profit should be distributed amongthe whole team associated with the film.This will encourage them to work withgreater enthusiasm and put in moreefforts in their work.

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�What inspired you to make a film which prohibits dis-crimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or placeof birth?

I read certain headlines that talked about the discriminationthat were disturbing. These events compelled me to talk aboutit and attract the nation towards these. These headlines find amention in the film as.�Were there any challenges while making this film?

Actually, none. I didn’t find any during the making. Possiblythe only challenge was when you try to make a movie on realissues, the general perception from the society is that it is not acomeerical film. But thankfully, the film did brilliantly at the BO.So even that percetion is damaged. �How did you zero in on Ayushman Khurrana?

There is an interesting story behind this. I had met him foranother film. I ended up telling him about Article 15 as well.Though I never saw him in this role in my head but he was sointerested, so convinced about the project and pursued me andtook the part away from me. However, while I had the script Ididn’t have the cast in place that is why it was just lying around.Therefore, I was working on another project that I metAyushman for.�You have directed romantic films and serious one’s as well.How does this switch work?

Technically speaking there is a switch. But it didn’t happenlike a switch for me. I have always made films that have attract-ed me at that point in my life. These stories happened at a cer-tain stage, career and what was taking plac ein the world. Therewas no design behind doing these movies.�Is it becoming tough to make meaningful cinema?

No, on the contrary it has become easier. When a film likeArticle 15 makes �70 crore at the BO, it is a heartening find. Theeconomics of films like these is very different. There might befilms that make �70 crore but made on a budget of �55 crore.But Article 15 is made �15 crore, these are better business ideas.Even the people have a wider palate. They are interested in know-ing more about their country. They are more receptive about suchmovies.�You recently wrapped up shooting for Thappad. Can you tellus about it?

The film is dedicated to the women on this country and henceit also releases on the eve of Women’s Day — March 6, 2020. Itdeals with gender bias and inequality. �You were at Shiv Nadar School. What message do you havefor the youth?

It is them who are going to change and improve the society.I try and made sure that my films engage with them. What theythink is normal, is actually not. As long as they can process thisinformation — this normal is incorret— they will bring abouta change.�What next?

Until last week I was busy with Thappad. But I have a fewscripts that I am working on. I know which one to take up andmove on to that sooner than later.

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He is known for his roles in films likeOmkara and Tanu Weds Manu. He

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What’s old is new again. And thisis great news. Suddenly, wholegrains with ancient pedigreesare being embraced by homecooks and restaurants and are

widely available in the supermarkets. And,leading the pack are millets.

As a nutritionist, I have always believed thatmillets duly deserve space on your plates. Richin fibre, protein, B vitamins and other nutrients,these ancient grains are extremely versatile andcan be swapped for pasta or rice in dishes,added to salads and power bowls, and cookedlike oatmeal for a warm breakfast bowl toppedwith fruit and nuts. Plus, for the environmental-ly conscious people, the feel good factor is thatmillets require little water, grow well in arid andsemi-arid regions of the world and thus, con-suming them amounts to you leaving a lowercarbon print in the world. This could be yourcontribution to ensuring that we leave behindsome food for the future generations as well.

��For the starters, the dense, earthy flavour

takes some getting used to, especially since ourpalate is more used to the bland softness ofwheat and white rice. But, there’s a lot going forthem. Millets are gluten-free grains and thatmakes them a boon for those who are glutenresistant and even for those who wish to reducethe gluten load in their diet. Additionally, it isnow a well-proven fact that consuming milletson a regular basis can help you lose weight,owing to the rich content of fibre and bioactivecompounds in them.

�� !�Sorghum (jowar)

Our grandmothers preferred jowar rotisover regular wheat rotis. There was a reason forthat. While the calcium content found in jowaris very close to the content in wheat and rice, itpacks in a neat punch of iron, protein, andfiber. Jowar is also rich in policosanols, whichhelp in reducing bad cholesterol in the body.

Pearl millet (bajra)There’s lots going for this millet. Bajra is an

excellent detoxing agent and contains catechinslike quercetin that help the kidney and liverfunction properly by excreting the toxins fromthe body.

It’s particularly great for monsoon seasonwhen digestion gets a little sluggish. It’s highfibre, gluten free properties help kick the diges-tive process into action. In fact, this millet isparticularly loaded with insoluble fibre thatprovides bulk to the stool and keeps constipa-tion, a common problem during this season, at bay.

It is also a friend of the heart. Bajra workson three fronts: It is rich in magnesium (thathelps keep the heart healthy); has lots of potas-sium (which makes it a good vasodilator andhelps reduce the overall blood pressure); andfibre rich (helps reduce the LDL or bad choles-terol). Magnesium present in bajra also helps

control the glucose receptors in the body andkeeps diabetes away.

Finger millet (Ragi)This underrated gluten-free grain has a lot

going for it. It is a rich source of calcium andiron and its main protein fraction eleusinin, hasa high biological value, meaning it is easilyabsorbed and used in the body.

It helps the digestion immensely and ispacked with cellulose, a type of dietary fibrethat helps keep our digestion humming along,constipation away and cholesterol levels incheck.

Plus, like barley, ragi is an ideal food fordiabetics, and overweight people as its digestionis slow and glucose is released from theintestines very slowly into the blood.

Foxtail millet (kangini or thinnai)It is loaded with smart carbohydrates, the

kind which don’t increase the blood sugar levelsimmediately, but slowly release glucose into thebloodstream. Additionally, it is rich in dietaryfibre, and minerals like iron and copper. Thesehelp reduce the levels of bad cholesterol andkeep the immune system strong as well

Barnyard millets (jhangora)It tastes similar to broken rice when cooked

and is called samak ke chawal. This nutrientdense millet has high fibre content, which caneffectively help in losing weight.

It is a rich source of calcium and phospho-rous, which helps in bone building, and hasmore fibre than most other grains and deliversboth soluble and insoluble fibre that helps inpreventing constipation, excess gas, bloatingand cramping. It also has the highest amount ofiron compared to other grains.

��"��"��#�"$��"��To make the most of the millet goodness,

sprout them and consume. Sprouts have beenthe buzzword for healthy eating for a long timenow. But somehow sprouting is limited tolentils — moong dal, chana, lobia… And eventhough other grain sprouts have been aroundfor a while, they really have not become main-stream yet. It’s now time to change that.

Sprouting increases the nutritional value byleaps and bounds as the process boosts vita-mins, minerals and antioxidants of the food.There is an increase the concentration of a keynutrients like B vitamins, vitamin C, and folate.Plus, these nutrients become more bio-accessi-ble (more easily assimilated and absorbed bythe body) too. This is extremely helpful in thecase of iron in particular, a mineral that is diffi-cult to absorb from vegetarian sources.

A study conducted at the Central FoodTechnological Research Institute in Mysore,India, measured the changes caused by sprout-ing finger millet (ragi), wheat and barley. Theyfound that sprouting millets increased thebioaccessibility of iron (> 300%) and man-ganese (17%), and calcium (“marginally”).

The food also becomes of lower GI

(Glycemic Index)and is betterdigestible due to theenzyme activity thatpeaks during sprout-ing, and the starchycarbs in the seedon sprouting getconverted intoenergy. So the result-ing sprouted food hasa higher ratio of proteinand fibre to carbs. Proteinsalso become more digestiblewhen the food is sprouted. And the biggestbenefits is that sprouting helps decrease thepresence of anti-nutrients (like physics acid,enzyme inhibitors, lectins, saponins etc), thenaturally occurring compounds that are foundin plant seeds that interfere with our ability todigest vitamins and minerals within the plants.

In fact, one big benefit of sprouting grainsis that studies have found that there are wide-spread changes in gluten concentrations of thegrains when they are sprouted. Looking at howmuch grains we consume today (a big chunk ofour diet is made of these), it is a good idea tonaturally reduce gluten consumption this way.

So which grains can be sprouted? You can sprout any kind of whole grains —

the important thing is that the grain should bea whole grain, with the germ and bran intact.Refined grain cannot be sprouted.

Sprouted grains can be eaten raw, lightlycooked, ground into flour or made into a bread.So throw in a handful of sprouted grains likesprouted quinoa in your salad, add somesprouted rice to your stir fry or soup, or sim-mer sprouted buckwheat, quinoa, or millet inyour milk to make a porridge, they hold a lot ofgood for your system.

��"��Chef Anahita N. Dhondy, Chef Partner,

SodaBottleOpenerwala CyberHub says she lovesusing millets in her recipes because she findsthem versatile, easy to cook and add value to alldishes. “They are yummy as a salad where youcan add crunch. In a soup, or even make a maincourse,” she says. In the restaurant, she servesokra millet salad, millet soup, ragi bread and athome she keeps boiled millets (particularly ragi(finger millet) and barnyard millet (samak kechawal)) in her fridge. Easy to toss and use.According to her they might be becoming pop-ular as a culinary trend in restaurants today allover again, but they’ve been cooked in Indianhomes forever. She herself discovered them ather grandmom’s home ages ago.

��"!��" ��Millets in India have always enjoyed prime

importance, as we are one of their largest pro-ducers in the world, but somehow the marketforces recognised its potential only recently.Over the last few years, new age entrepreneursdecided to revive the culture, and are getting agood response too from the consumers. When

Delhi based Meghana Narayan and ShauraviMalik decided to become entrepreneurs, theyconducted extensive market research, productresearch and development, put in a lot of think-ing and then decided to follow their heart andfocus on millets. This is how they launchedSlurrp Farms in 2015. Realising that theanswers to healthy cooking lay in our owngrandmother’s kitchens, they dug out oldrecipes to make their brand cookies using mil-lets. Today, besides cookies, they offer cereals(for toddlers), dosa and pancake mixes, andmunch — all made from millets.

Bengaluru based snacks brand Soulfull isanother success story. Inspired by the the risingpopularity of quinoa, during his stay in the US,Prashant Parameswaran, CEO and MD of thebrand, struck upon the idea to come back toIndia and promote the humble Indian grains —Millets. He decided to make this enriching andnutritious lineage palatable for the daily con-sumption needs of the modern consumer.Today the band offers multiple millet-basedoptions like millet Muesli and Smoothix includ-ing ragi, jowar, foxtail millet and bajra. Theyalso combine the power of millets with ahealthy mix of various grains, such as ragi withBengal gram.

Definitely, there is an increased awarenessof the importance of millets for our well-being.A lot of nutrition experts are talking aboutthem. There is an increased impetus by thegovernment too to educate people on how mil-lets are not only nutritious but how they helpthe environment and farmers, thereby creatinga sustainable ecosystem.

According to Parameswaran the biggestmarketing challenge in making millets ‘hot’with the millennials is to position millets rightto meet their lifestyle needs. That is a tall order,but entirely doable as these brands are proving.

The need of the hour is to use unorthodox,creative measures to boost the popularity ofmillets via education, and by making them anappealing proposition for people (and the plan-et). This can be done by making fun foods withmillets that appeal to todays generation. Milletnoodles anyone? Minus the preservatives, ofcourse!

The writer is a Delhi-based weight management consultant, nutritionist and author

of Don’t Diet! 50 Habits of Thin People and Ultimate Grandmother Hacks

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Ten days after launching along-anticipated military

assault on the Kurdish People’sProtection Units (YPG) militiain northeastern Syria, Turkeyon October 18 agreed to theUS-brokered five-day ceasefireon the condition that theKurdish-led Syrian DemocraticForces (SDF) would withdrawfrom the proposed “safe zone”within the stipulated period.

However, the terms andconditions, set by Turkey, hintat an ominous future for theregion. Turkish PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdogan hasthreatened to escalateOperation Peace Spring if theSDF fails to leave the safe zonebuffer along the Turkish bor-der. “If the promises are keptuntil Tuesday evening, the safezone issue will be resolved. Ifit fails, the operation will startthe minute 120 hours are over,”he said.

However, claims and coun-terclaims about the ceasefireconditions have alreadydoomed the agreement. Soonafter the truce declaration, theSDF claimed the deal coversonly a 12-km stretch, disputingErdogan’s announcement thatthe “safe zone” would spread 30km deep inside Syria and 440km along the border withTurkey.

Moreover, the sanctity ofthe agreement has been disre-spected with both the sidesaccusing each other of violat-ing the ceasefire agreement.European countries, particu-larly France, which condemnedTurkey’s invasion, are scepticalof the intention of the ErdoganGovernment. According toEuropean Council PresidentDonald Tusk, the ceasefire “isa demand (for the) capitulationof the Kurds”, and the worldcommunity must not abandonthe Kurdish partners.

In fact, Turkey-Kurds con-flict has a long history and the

root of the present crisis lies inthe regional power dynamics inTurkey. Though the immediatetrigger for the Turkish invasionof northeastern Syria wasErdogan’s long-cherisheddesire to fill the vacuum cre-ated by the US pullback fromSyria, Ankara admitted that itsgoal was “to destroy the terror(YPG) corridor” being estab-lished by Kurdish forces inSyria along Turkey’s southernborder. However, the real aimof Turkey’s involvement inSyria is to “crush the heads” ofthe Kurdish fighters who aspireto form an autonomous statefor the Kurds in south-easternpart of Turkey.

Kurds — the biggest state-less nation primarily spreadacross Iraq, Turkey, Syria andIran, and the fourth-largestethnic group in the West Asia& North African (WANA)region — have been given falsepromises by vested interests atvarious treaties for over a cen-tury for the creation of aKurdistan.

In the recent years, Kurds’successful military campaignsagainst Islamic terrorists andenemies of the US paid divi-dends and raised its stature asa trusted partner in the fightagainst terror. However, the riseof the might of the Kurds hasthreatened the TurkeyGovernment which fears itmight be forced to meet thedemand for a Kurdishautonomous State. This is whyAnkara had opposed Kurdishindependence in Iraq in antic-ipation that their success innorthern Iraq would encouragethe Kurdistan Workers’ Party(PKK) — which has strong tieswith the Kurdish People’sProtection Units (YPG) thatwas internationally acclaimedfor being instrumental inwresting large stretches fromthe ISIS in Syria and Iraq — tostrive for independence in the

neighbouring Turkey. However, the present crisis

in Syria is caused by Trump’shasty decision to withdrawmilitary from Syria, thus trig-gering the Turkish assault onAmerica’s Kurdish partners inSyria and jeopardising theefforts to contain the ISIS. Infact, Kurds have almost alwaysfailed to read the intentions ofAmerica that has been espous-ing contradictory goals in theWANA region.

While the successive USadministrations have main-tained that the States’ bound-aries in the WANA regionmust not be changed, theyhave sought support of theKurds in fight against the erst-while USSR, Saddam Husseinin Iraq, and currently the ISISin Iraq and Syria. But, when theKurds were pinning their hopeson the Donald Trump admin-istration to help them keep thepart of Syria in their safehands, they have been left inthe lurch. It has also caused theTrump administration loss ofcredibility as a reliable partnerin fight against terror. Reportshave come that Israel is appre-hensive and keeping tabs onthe situation.

No matter how muchTrump defends his decision onSyria, he is being criticised byAmericans and others forabandoning their Kurdish alliesin fight against the ISIS.Slamming the US administra-tion, French PresidentEmmanuel Macron said the USdecision to withdraw and aban-don the Kurdish forces “weak-ens our credibility to find part-ners in the field who will fightwith us, thinking that they areprotected”.

Now the moot question iswhether the ceasefire will sus-tain. The northeastern regionof Syria was considered by thelocals the safest place to live inthe country till the Turkey

invasion turned it into a fullwar zone, forcing mass exodusin Iraq.

Despite agreement topause fighting, it is doubtfulthat Turkey will leave theregion any soon. As per theplan, once the safe zone bufferis established, Turkey’s militarywill set up 12 observationsposts to ensure that Kurdishforces don’t make a comeback.In this situation, the expecta-tion from the stateless Kurds tobear Turkish highhandednessfor long is unrealistic.

Therefore, the edgy calm inthe northeastern Syria is repletewith severe repercussions. First,there is no plan to handle theISIS prisoners who were undercontrol of the Kurdish forces tillthe Turkish invasion. It hasbeen reported that several ofthem have already fled themakeshift jails in prisonbreaks.There is no agreement on thetransfer of the custody of theterrorists from the SDF to theTurkish forces. Moreover, iron-ically the US President seemsleast concerned about the ISISprisoners’ custody and many atime he called fugitive prison-ers “least dangerous”.

The Syrian territory, nowin Turkish control, may fall intothe hands of the ISIS which hasbeen emboldened by the USwithdrawal and SDF’s sched-uled departure. Moreover, ifTurkey leaves northeasternSyria without giving control toan able force, it can only leadto further destablisation in theregion.

While, the military pulloutis Trump’s gift to the ISIS, theTurkish invasion, and the so-called five-day ceasefire are awin-win situation for Ankaraand the terrorist force. Erdogan’ssole focus is to “crush theheads” of the Kurdish fighters.

(The writer Associate Editor& News Editor, The Pioneer)

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US Senate majority leader MitchMcConnell on Friday attacked President

Donald Trump’s decision to pull troopsfrom Syria as “a strategic nightmare” that willhelp Washington’s foes and hurt its allies.

“Withdrawing US forces from Syria is agrave strategic mistake,” McConnell, the topRepublican in Congress, wrote in an op-edpublished in The Washington Post.

“It will leave the American people andhomeland less safe, embolden our enemies,and weaken important alliances.” His com-ments come after Trump on Wednesdaydefended his decision to pull US troops outof Syria as “strategically brilliant.”

McConnell, usually a staunch supporterof the President, had earlier in the month con-demned Trump’s withdrawal of troops fromnortheast Syria, which sparked a week-longTurkish offensive against the Kurds who wereallied with the US in the fight against IslamicState.

Fighting has continued despite a tempo-rary ceasefire Vice President Mike Pence bro-

kered with Ankara.“The combination of a US pullback and

the escalating Turkish-Kurdish hostilities iscreating a strategic nightmare for our coun-try,” McConnell wrote in his opinion piece.

“Even if the five-day ceasefire announcedon Thursday holds, events of the past weekhave set back the US’ campaign against theIslamic State and other terrorists,” he said.

McConnell did not mention Trump byname, though he did liken the Syria with-drawal to the foreign policy of Trump’sDemocratic predecessor Barack Obama.

“We saw the Islamic State flourish in Iraqafter President Barack Obama’s retreat. Wewill see these things anew in Syria andAfghanistan if we abandon our partners andretreat from these conflicts before they arewon,” McConnell wrote.

“America’s wars will be ‘endless’ only ifAmerica refuses to win them,” he added inan apparent jab at Trump’s insistence that thewithdrawal was necessary “to get out of theseridiculous Endless Wars.” AFP

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Perception drives a being. It encom-passes all aspects of our working-self. It offers us with the window-

frame through which we look at issues inhand. Be they thoughts arising in mindprompted by indwelling desire trends, orfor that matter how we respond to exter-nal stimuli, are all moderated by our per-ception. And as every being is bornunique, each manifesting varying mind-trend, accordingly, our individualisticperceptions vary from person-to-person.That holds the key to all actions on ourpart, and thereby the fruits thereof —pleasant of stressful.

As I was explaining this to a consul-tee, he interjected: “Sir, you mean to saythat we become due for failure and frus-tration because of our own flawed per-ception. If so, is there any scope for mod-ification?” Well, there could be other fac-tors for our failures, but in any case, ourperception matters. For, our perceptionhas a role to play in how intelligently orotherwise we deal with contrarian forces.Going through the lessons of life, as ourvision expands, perceptions do keepchanging even in usual course of life. Itcould also be consciously modified, if weidentify and acknowledge our flawed per-

ceptions. The paradox, however, is thatseldom do we remain conscious aboutevaluating our thought process to bringabout the desired change. Those who donot change with time, remain stuck totheir perceptions, and with obvious con-sequences. To make things clear, a lookinto how perceptions are formedbecomes imperative.

We are all born with karmic carryover from the past, termed as ‘samskara’in Indian circulation. They are subject tofurther add on while being raised aschild, as are induced by parents and envi-ronmental influences. These karmicimprints involuntarily define individualspecific beliefs and perceptions, which setthe terms of our desire trends, likes anddislikes, prejudices and obsessions, habitsand attitudes, virtues and attributes. Ourindwelling desire trends excite corre-sponding thoughts, which when gravitatein mind, translate into action. Evidently,the character and content of our percep-tion hold the key to the fruits of ouractions — pleasant or frustrating. Ourhabits tendencies often play a spoiler inthe whole process.

Now, a look into the construct of ourmind, the prime driver of a being. Mind

has three operative tools — Buddhi (thefaculty of discriminate intelligence),Ahamkara (sense of I consciousness), andManasa (the sense aided mind). Thethree, enlightened and animated by Cita(the element of consciousness), are sup-posed to work in a coordinated manner,complementing and supplementing eachother as a unified organism, withahamkara in the lead. For, be it translat-ing indwelling desire trends into action,or react and respond to outer field datacollected by Manasa, ahamkara has totake the call. In between, ahamkara issupposed to invoke buddhi for due dili-gence to filter off the undesirables for asensible approach. The paradox, however,is that often caught up in the usual grindsof life, ahamkara identifies itself withindwelling desire trends, and then blindlypursues it as if that would its end game. Itgets caught up by the tempting influencesof the seeming world and makes it adream destination. In both cases,ahamkara takes things on their facevalue, and doesn’t feel the necessity ofinvoking buddhi for a reality check. Thatmakes likelihood of failure more proba-ble. If you fail to make use of your ownmost profound empowerment tool, youhave to bear with the consequences.

That makes it incumbent upon us to

remain conscious about keeping buddhiin active mode for a reasoned stand. It iseasier said than done, as habits die hard.It is in this spirit that ancient India’slearned masters came up with variousmeditative techniques to help get overhabit tendencies and reshape the thoughtprocess afresh. In the process, you firstbecome aware of the inherent fault lines,which when acknowledged could beaddressed through fresh educative inputs.

I then made the consultee aware ofastrological pointers to his fault lines.Mars and Jupiter placed adverse to eachother speaks loud of his swaggering ego,which binds him to his self-assumed dosand don’ts and not open to look beyondfor reality check. Both the luminarieslocking horns with Saturn, speaks of asense of fear and insecurity. That makeshim habitually suspicious and overcriticalof all. Also, it speaks of a volatile emo-tionality. His interpersonal relationshipskills, thus, being wanting, he is not ableto relate to those around with ease.Hence, the mental stress he suffers from.

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