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Narayana Reddyaccuses KCR ofluring Congresscandidates

Prime Ministeron two-dayKolkata visitfrom today

India, US making ‘verygood progress'on trade:Shringla

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Total passenger car sales in the domestic market fell 8.4 per cent inDecember, data from industry body SIAM or Society of Indian

Automobile Manufacturers showed on Friday. Sales of passengervehicles - including passenger cars, utility vehicles and vans - declined1.2 per cent to 235,786 units in December, the data showed. Out ofthese, a total of 142,126 passenger cars weresold during the month, as against 155,159 inDecember 2018. This is the second straightmonth of declines for passenger vehicles aftera minor uptick in October.

DOMESTIC CAR SALES DECLINE 8.4%IN DEC; PRODUCTION DOWN 12.5%

ON 80TH BIRTHDAY, SINGER YESUDASPERFORMS AT KOLLUR TEMPLE

HARRY'S WIFE MEGHAN RETURNSTO CANADA AMID ROYAL STORMPrince Harry's wife Meghan has returned to Canada

following the couple's bombshell announcement thatthey were quitting their frontline royal duties, theirspokeswoman said on Friday. The Duke and Duchessof Sussex spent an extended Christmas break inCanada with their baby son Archie, before returning tobreak the news that has rocked the royal family. "Ican confirm reports that the duchess is inCanada," the couple's spokeswoman told AFP,without providing further details.

Veteran playback singer K.J. Yesudas turned 80 on Friday and observedthe day at the famed Kollur Mookambika temple here with his family, a

tradition he has been taking part for many decades. The versatile singerhas been taking part in the musical tribute at the temple for years on hisbirthday, which is considered a revered practice amongperformers in the music and art. In the morning he heldthe customary musical session where he sang hymns. Ina music career extending to six decades now, he hasrecorded close to 80,000 songs in over 14languages, including Arabic, Latin and Russian.

SEX RACKET BUSTED IN STAR HOTEL,ACTRESS, WOMAN MODEL HELDPolice have busted a prostitution racket being operated at a five-star

hotel in suburban Goregaon and arrested a Bollywood actress and awoman model, an official said on Friday. The sex racket was busted aftera team of police led by DCP D S Swami conducted a rain on the hotelon Thursday night based on a tip-off, the official said."Bollywood actress Amrita Dhanoa (32) and modelRicha Singh were arrested for allegedly supplyinggirls for prostitution at plush hotels," he said. As partof the operation, decoy customers were sent to thehotel, who met the suppliers.

Internet access is afundamental right: SC

India erecting new ‘steel fence' alongPak, Bangla borders: OfficialsPNS n NEW DELHI

India is erecting a new non-cut 'steel fence' to plug vulner-able and infiltration-pronepatches along its sensitiveborder with Pakistan andBangladesh, officials said onFriday.

They said the single-rowfence, with loops of concerti-na wires on top, is beingerected at a 60-km borderstretch in near Amritsar inPunjab.

A 'pilot project' of this newfence is also being tested at a7-km stretch in Assam'sSilchar along India's borderwith Bangladesh and is beinganalysed by the BSF, they

said. This fence will cost aboutRs 2 crore for a kilometre, offi-cial sources said. Based on thefeedback of these projects,new fence will be erected at

more places where either theold one has worn out or therewas no fence owing to geo-graphical challenges.

Continued on Page 4

Asks J-K to review all curb orders within a weekPNS n NEW DELHI

Access to the Internet is a fun-damental right under Article19 of the Constitution, theSupreme Court said in a signif-icant ruling on Friday andasked the Jammu and Kashmiradministration to review with-in a week all orders imposingcurbs in the Union Territory.

A 3-judge bench, headed byJustice N V Ramana, also saidthat Section 144 CrPC (pro-hibitory orders) cannot beused indefinitely to suppressfreedom of speech and expres-sion and difference of opinion.

The bench, which also com-prised justices B R Gavai andR Subhash Reddy, asked the J-

K administration to restoreInternet services in institutionsproviding essential serviceslike hospitals and educational

places.The bench further said that

freedom of press is a valuableand sacred right.

On the prohibitory orders, itsaid that magistrates, whilepassing them, should applytheir mind and follow doctrineof proportionality.

Continued on Page 4

Justice N V Ramana

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Delhi Police on Fridayreleased pictures of nine sus-pects in the JNU violence caseand claimed JNUSU presi-dent Aishe Ghosh was one ofthem.

Of the nine, seven belong toleft-leaning student organisa-tions while two are affiliated toright-wing students' body, thepolice said. Addressing a pressconference, DCP Joy Tirkey,who is probing the case, saida majority of the studentswanted to register for the win-ter semester from January 1 to5, but the left-leaning stu-dents' bodies were not allow-ing them to do so.

About the attack on January

5, the DCP said that specificrooms in the university'sPeriyar hostel were targeted.

Several people includingAishe Ghosh attacked stu-dents in the hostel, the policeofficer claimed.

Ghosh, who was injured inthe attack, however, refuted thecharge saying the Delhi Policeshould make public whateverproof it has against her.

LEFT-WING STUDENTS INVOLVED IN JNU VIOLENCE: JAVADEKAR

LEFT DESIGN UNMASKED AS DELHI POLICE RELEASES EVIDENCE: IRANI

NEW DELHI: Union Minister Prakash Javadekar onFriday said the Delhi Police's ongoing probe into theJanuary 5 violence in JNU has made it clear thatstudents affiliated to left-wing bodies were involvedin the incident. Attacking theopposition, he said CPI,CPI(M) and AAP have beenrejected in the Lok Sabhapolls and "they are nowusing students for theirvested interests". He alsoappealed to the agitatingstudents of the university toend the stir and allow academic session tocommence. "Police has brought reality in light. It isclear that left wing students' outfits were involved inthe attack," Javadekar said.

NEW DELHI: Union minister Smriti Irani on Fridaycited the information shared by Delhi Police on JNUviolence to say that the "Left design" in the varsityhas been "unmasked" and accused it of turning thecampus into a politicalbattleground.

"Left design in JNUunmasked. They led mobsof mayhem, destroyedpublic property paid for bytaxpayers, disallowed newstudents from beingenrolled, used the campusas a political battleground.#LeftBehindJNUViolence becomes publicknowledge as Delhi Police releases evidence," theformer HRD minister said in a tweet.

KTR pitches for SouthernIndustrial Corridor

NPDCL to payRs 4 lakh toelectrocutionvictims’ kinPNS n ADILABAD

A consumer forum inAdilabad district has orderedthe Northern PowerDistribution Company ofTelangana Limited to pay Rs4 lakh each ex gratia to thefamilies of two persons whodied of electric shock in sep-arate incidents.

On October 26, 2016,Thodsam Bheem Rao fromSirpur mandal was playing athis school. All of a sudden, an11-KV high tension wire fellon the 12-year-old boy, killinghim on the spot.

In its defence, NPDCTLtried to discredit the claims ofthe boy's family.

Continued on Page 2

PNS n HYDERABAD

IT and Industries Minister KTRama Rao has urged theCentre to sanction a SouthernIndustrial Corridor (SIC) con-necting Hyderabad, Bengaluruand Chennai on the lines of theDelhi-Mumbai IndustrialCorridor. Besides, he pitchedfor two new industrial corri-dors for Telangana Statebetween Hyderabad andNagpur as well as Hyderabadand Warangal.

Rama Rao called on UnionMinister for Industry andCommerce Piyush Goyal inthis connection and submittedproposals relating to variousprojects. He sought allocationof appropriate funds in Budget2020-21. The latter responded

positively and directed hisofficials to submit a detailedreport based on the proposals

submitted by the Telanganagovernment.

Continued on Page 2

IT Minister KT Rama Rao greets Union Minister for Industry and CommercePiyush Goyal in New Delhi on Friday.

Tiranga rally peaceful, draws legionsPNS n HYDERABAD

Thousands of people gatheredfor the Tiranga rally here onFriday to register protestagainst the CitizenshipAmendment Act (CAA). Ledby All India Majlis-e-IttehadulMuslimeen (AIMIM) presi-dent and Hyderabad MPAsaduddin Owaisi, the rallybegan from the historic MirAlam Eidgah.

Interestingly, several individ-uals stepped forward to ensurethat the protestors do not gohungry. People were founddistributing biscuits, bananas,water, even jam and chapati tothose who had begun their

march from Mir Alam Eidgahtowards Shastripuram.

Holding the tricolour andposters of Dr. B.R Ambedkar,women, children, the youngand the old alike made theirway to Shastripuram, whereleaders of the Muslim commu-nity, along with HyderabadMP Asaduddin Owaisi,addressed the congregation.Friday's Tiranga rally called bythe United Muslim ActionCommittee turned out to beone of the biggest ralliesHyderabad has witnessed afterthe Million March, since thenew amendment act was intro-duced.

Continued on Page 4 A view of the Tiranga rally taken out in Hyderabad on Friday against CAA

PNS n HYDERABAD

Amid tight security, AndhraPradesh Chief Minister Y SJagan Mohan Reddy onFriday appeared before a CBIspecial court here in connec-tion with the quid pro quoinvestments cases filed againsthim.

This is Jagan's first appear-ance in the court after heassumed charge as ChiefMinister on May 30, 2019.

In view of Jagan's courtappearance, security wasstrengthened near the court'spremises.

Media was not allowed in

the court premises.The Court of Principal

Special Judge for CBI caseshad on January 3 directedJagan, who has been shown as

accused number one in thecases, to appear in personbefore the court, rejectingthe latter's plea for an exemp-tion.

The YSR Congress presi-dent has been charge sheetedin at least 11 cases as theprime accused in alleged quidpro quo deals.

On Friday, the court alsoissued summons to TelanganaEducation Minister SabithaReddy, former AndhraPradesh Minister DharmanaPrasada Rao and others ask-ing them to appear before iton January 17.

Continued on Page 2

JILTED LOVER SLITS THROATOF A GIRL IN HANAMKONDA PNS n WARANGAL

In yet another incident thathas shaken Hanamkonda city,a jilted lover slit the throat ofhis girl friend and saw herbleed to death in Ramnagararea here on Friday evening.He later surrendere.

The terrible incident tookplace in the room of theaccused who had called herthere to let her know that shewas neglecting him. Theaccused, Shahid, and the vic-tim, Haritha Sahithi, had beenfriends for several months.Their friendship had gradual-ly turned into love, whichsomehow seems to have

soured recently. Haritha Sahithi hails from

Singaram area in the town.The accused is staying in arented room in the same place.On Friday, the accused calledthe victim to his place for a"treat". The unsuspecting vic-tim came to the room ofShahid. The youth, who hadnursed a grouse against her forignoring him for the past fewdays, pounced on the girl andslit her throat with a blade.She died on the spot due toheavy bleeding. Later, theaccused surrendered beforethe judge in the Subedari area.He was sent to the SubedariPolice Station.

The bench asked the J-K administration torestore Internetservices in institutionsproviding essentialservices like hospitalsand educational places

TRS opensaccount incivic polls PNS n HYDERABAD

The ruling Telangana RashtraSamiti in Telangana hasopened its account in themunicipal elections muchbefore polling.

Friday was the last date forfiling nominations for theupcoming municipal elec-tions.

On the last day of filingnominations, a candidate rep-resenting TRS was declaredas unanimously elected asward member as nobody elsefiled nominations.

Continued on Page 4

Elusive conspiratorin Gauri Lankeshmurder arrested PNS n DHANBAD

An accused wanted in thekilling of activist-journalistGauri Lankesh over two yearsago has been arrested inDhanbad district of Jharkhand,the police said on Friday.

Personnel of the KarnatkaSpecial Investigation Team, setup to probe the killing that trig-gered a national outrage, arrest-ed Rishikesh Dewerkar aliasRajesh, from Katras town,about 30 km from here, onThursday evening, Dhanbadsenior Superintendent of Police

Kisor Kaushal told reporters.Rajesh, eluding arrest for the

past one-and-half years, hasbeen working at a petrol pumpin the town, taking an aliasname for the last eight months,he added. He is the 17thaccused to be arrested in con-nection with the killing ofLankesh on September 5, 2017in front of her house inBengaluru. Known for herLeft-leanings and anti-estab-lishment voice, she was shotdead by unidentified assailantswith the incident drawingnational outrage and protests.

{

CAA comes into effect,says Home MinistryNEW DELHI: The CitizenshipAmendment Act (CAA), thecontroversial piece of legisla-tion that makes religion a keycriterion for citizenship forthe first time in India, cameinto effect on Friday, accordingto an official notification issuedby the Home Ministry.

The law, which promisescitizenship to only non-Muslim refugees who came toIndia before 2014 from threeneighbouring countries, hastriggered massive protestsacross the country.

Continued on Page 4

Cops name student leader Aishe, 8 others for JNU attack

AP CM Jagan appears beforeCBI court in Hyd

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Singareni synchronises its first 5MW solar unitPNS n HYDERABAD

Singareni Collieries CompanyLtd has created history of sortson Friday when it synchro-nized its first 5 MW solarpower generating unit to the 33KV power line, making it theonly such coal company tohave the capability of produc-ing both Thermal and Solarbased electricity in the coun-try.

The solar unit is a part of the220 MW power plant beingbuilt at the Singareni ThermalPower Plant (STPP) in Jaipurof Mancherial district of thestate. The synchronization tookplace exactly at 2.27 pm.

"The solar unit will be pro-ducing 220 MW of power byAugust 2020, which will aug-ment the 1200 MW of thermalpower produced by the STPP,"company Chairman andManaging Director N Sridharsaid . He said that the compa-ny undertook solar power gen-

eration last year as per thedirections of the Chief MinisterK Chandrasekhar Rao. He saidthat fabrication of the solarpower units is going on hecticpace in different areas with atotal capacity of 220 MWwhich will be used to meet theelectricity requirements of thestate.

The CMD expressed hishappiness over this achieve-ment and conveyed his thanksto the State Government for itssupport in establishing solarpower plants in Singareni. He

also thanked the employeesand officers for early comple-tion of Solar Power plant.

The Singareni Collieriesknown for production of qual-ity coal from the past 130years, diversified to powergeneration just three years agothrough its, two 600 MW ther-mal power units . Within fif-teen months of its inceptionthe power plant set a record byachieving high Peak Load fac-tor (PLF) and standing fifthamong other power plants inthe country during 2017-18.

The plant caters to 20% of thestate's power requirements.

The decision to furtherdiversify into Solar power cameafter the Chief Minister direct-ed the setting up a 300 MWsolar power unit at the Jaipurfacility. Initially constructionon a 220 MW plant in five dif-ferent areas was taken up.Prominent Solar power expertsAdani and BHEL companieswere chosen and the work onthe 10 MW unit, out of which5MW power was generatedand supply has begun onFriday. The 10 MW unit will becompletely ready for produc-tion by the end of January.

Continued from Page 1

The summons were issuedafter the court took cognisanceof the supplementary charge-sheet filed by CBI in one of thecases, which is part of the caseagainst Jagan, against them.

Sabitha Reddy was added asan accused in the supplemen-tary chargesheet for allegedlygiving undue favours in allot-ting mine leases to a firm dur-ing her earlier stint as minis-ter in united Andhra Pradesh.

On Friday, along with Jagan,YSRC Rajya Sabha member VVijaysai Reddy, DharmanaPrasada Rao and other accusedin the cases, appeared beforethe court, which posted thematter to January 17. "Jaganmarked his presence and thematter was posted to January17. There is no need for him to

appear in person on that day,"a defense counsel told.

The counsel further saidarguments were completedwith regard to joint hearing oncharges pertaining to the 11cases and also on clubbing ofdischarge petitions filed bythe accused after which the

court posted the matter fororders to January 17.

Jagan had also earlier fileddischarge petition. The casesrelate to investments made byvarious companies in Jagan'sfirms as quid pro quo for var-ious favours bestowed on themduring the tenure of his father

late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy asCM between 2004 and 2009.

Jagan is currently out on bail,having spent time in jail in theChanchalguda Central Prisonfrom May 2012 to September2013. In the run up to the StateAssembly polls last year, Jagan'spresence in court had reducedafter he urged it to dispensewith his appearance and thecourt had allowed his pleas.

Soon after becoming CM,Jagan had filed a petition seek-ing exemption from personalappearance as he would bebusy with official duties.

Jagan had not been attend-ing trial proceedings citing hisofficial engagements as thereason for his absence.

Not impressed by this, theCourt of Principal Special Jud-ge directed that Jagan attendthe proceedings on January 10.

AP CM Jagan appears before CBI...

The unit is a partof the 220 MWpower plant beingbuilt at the STPPin Mancherialdistrict

Leopard createsflutter on TSVarsity campus PNS n NIZAMABAD

Students of TelanganaUniversity in Dichpally ofNizamabad district said theyspotted a leopard near MCAblock inside the campus inthe early hours on Friday.

After the students com-plained, the varsity registraralerted the forest officialswho are examining the cam-pus to learn if it is on theprowl.

The officials launched asearch of the animal in thenearby forest area. "We heardthe roar during the morningwalk and saw the animalclose to us," said a studentSwamy adding that he alert-ed other MBA students in thearea. As the campus is near tothe forest area, the studentswere scared of the animal.

Meanwhile, the post grad-uation exams of TelanganaUniversity slated to start onJanuary 10 were postponed toJanuary 22 as the students arescared to come out of thebuildings.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana State Transco andGenco CMD Sri DevulapalliPrabhakar Rao has announcedthat works on supplyingGodavari water throughKaleswaram Project till KondaPochamma Sagar throughpumping from this year hasbeen getting ready on a war-footing.

The CMD said constructionof the all the pump houses inall phases from RajarajeswarSwamy (Mid Maneru)Reservoir would be completed.This is in accordance with thetarget fixed by the ChiefMinister K ChandrashekharRao, that water should bepumped from this yearonwards. Prabhakar Rao saidthat from the next year, 3TMC of water fromMedigadda to Yellampally, 2TMC of water from MidManeru to Mallanna Sagarwill be supplied and for this allthe required power networkwill be put in place.

On the instructions given bythe CM, Prabhakar Rao onFriday, visited pump housesunder the Kaleswaram projectand inspected them. The CMDheld review meeting with theofficials concerned.

He held discussions with theSiemen Company representa-tives who were setting up thePump Houses. The CMD vis-ited and inspected among oth-ers, Ananta Sagar (Package10), Ranganayaka Sagar

(Package 11), Mallanna Sagar(Package 12), Pump Housesand Sub Stations.

424 MW capacity AnanataSagar Pumps, 536 MWCapacity Ranganayaka SagarPumps are ready to pump thewater.

The CMD expressed satis-faction over progress of works.Electricity works for the fourpumps in 344 MW CapacityMallanna Sagar Pump Housewere completed.

PNS n WARANGAL

The Telangana State RoadTransport Corporation(TSRTC) hiked the charges ofbuses heading to MedaramJatara which is to be held fromFebruary 5 to 8.

It is already known thatthe State Governmentenhanced the bus fareafter the TSRTC strikewhich resulted in thehike of buses proceed-ing to Medaram. As 23lakh devotees are expect-ed to visit Medaram, theTSRTC has decided to operate4,000 buses to Medaram whichinclude 2,250 buses fromWarangal, 600 fromKarimnagar, 400 from

Khammam, 300 from Adilabad,250 from Nizamabad and 200from Hyderabad. The numberof buses will be increaseddepending on the rush.

The RTC also deployed12,000 employees to operatebuses to Medaram. A com-

mand control room willbe set up at the

Medaram bus sta-tion to see themovement of thebuses. As per the

revised bus fares, theRTC to charge Rs 440

(Express bus) forMedaram from Hyderabad, Rs280 from Jangaon, Rs 270 fromMahabubabad, Rs 260 fromKaleshwaram and Rs 190 fromWarangal.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Sankranti is celebrated to markthe beginning of the harvest-ing season in India. Lakhs ofkites are flown during theSankranti at Hyderabad inparticular Telangana. The kiteflying tradition duringSankranti festival period istaking place for so manydecades in Telangana State.

To revive this tradition,Government of Telangana hadcelebrated International KiteFestival coinciding withSankranthi at Hyderabad dur-ing January, 2016, 2017, 2018& 2019 in a befitting mannerwhich also promoted tourismacross the globe.

In addition, InternationalSweets Festival was also organ-ised during 2018 & 2019, wherelarge number of delectablesweets of different states &countries were showcased with

more than 1,000 varieties ofsweets which were prepared byHyderabad residents who orig-inal hail from other states &countries, along with this,snacks were also being dis-played. The State Governmenthas decided to celebrate three-day International Kite andSweet Festival, 2020 fromJanuary 13 to 15 January, 2020at Parade Grounds,Secunderabad. The festivalbrings together regional arts,crafts, cuisine and an array ofnational and international kites.

The kite festival will haveparticipation from 15 countrieshaving 40 International and 60

National kite flyers. Differenttypes of kites with huge sizeswill be flown during the festi-val thus making the sky morecolourful. Various cultural pro-grammes will also be organisedpromoting the local culture ofthe state. Apart from the kitefestival, food courts with var-ious cuisines of Telangana,handicrafts and handloomsstalls will be showcased.Traditional games will also beorganised at Gymkhanagrounds during the three dayfestival.

Telangana State Transco and Genco CMD Sri Devulapalli Prabhakar Rao inspectspump house works on Friday.

RTC HIKES BUS FARE FOR MEDARAM JATARA

Regardless of the complex-ity or sensitivity of the

issue in question, the judicia-ry is expected to respond onall issues that have largerimplications. By admitting apetition, and, if appropriate,giving interim orders, thejudiciary could effectivelypacify the situation. Be it theSupreme Court at the apexlevel or the High Courts downthe line, people regard courtsas their last resort. However,some recent instances of howthe courts have handled cru-cial petitions made after mas-sive public protests suggestthat even courts have startedtaking the line of least resis-tance.

Sample these:The Supreme Court onThursday said that it willhear the pleas against theCitizenship AmendmentAct (CAA) when violencein the country stops.The Andhra Pradesh HighCourt on Wednesday stat-ed that it will not interferein the issue of shifting the

capital from Amaravati toVisakhapatnam in the pre-sent circumstances.It was in January 2017,over two years afterTelangana was carved outof the erstwhile AndhraPradesh, that the SupremeCourt agreed to examinethe constitutional validityof the notification bifurcat-ing the state.On January 2, 2019, theSupreme Court refused toentertain a petition filed bythe Andhra Pradesh HighCourt AdvocatesAssociation in Hyderabadto defer the implementationof a notification issued onDecember 26 bifurcatingthe Hyderabad High Courtinto the new AndhraPradesh and TelanganaHigh Courts. Are courts justified in

throwing up their hands, or,worse still, buying time,instead of promptly address-

ing burning issues brought toit for adjudication in the formof petitions praying for a dis-passionate judgment?

In each the cases citedabove, the petitions con-cerned reached the courtsonly after much public out-rage and institutional churn-ing. None of the pleas cameup before the courts just likethat. Each of them wasintended to see to it that thebest of judicial minds arebrought to bear on the crucialmatter under consideration sothat invariably only the larg-er public interest is served.

Let us consider the after-

math of the Supreme Court'sorder stating that it wouldhear the pleas against CAAwhen violence in the countrystops. There were hilariouscomments on social mediaplatforms such as "Will deliv-er food when customer faintsfrom hunger", "Will attend thepatient only when the bleed-ing stops", "Will land onlyafter all passengers get off theplane" and "Will repair taponly when it stops leaking."These may be just socialmedia posts; yet, they reflectthe pulse of the people, and,to feel the pulse of the people,one doesn't have to cut up the

body politic.Similarly, when the AP

High Court stated that it willnot interfere in the issue ofshifting the capital fromAmaravati to Visakhapatnamin the present circumstances,it appeared as if the court has"taken as read" the feelings oftens of millions of people, forwhom it could be a matter ofsentimental attachment, prop-erty, or business interests; letalone the political stakes ofthe parties in or out of power.

In January 2017, over twoyears after Telangana wascarved out of the erstwhileAndhra Pradesh, when theSupreme Court agreed toexamine the constitutionalvalidity of the notificationbifurcating the state, it was toolate. For, it was on March 1,2014 that the then UnitedProgressive Alliance govern-ment issued the notificationdividing Andhra Pradesh intotwo with effect from June 2,

2014. Immediately, severalpetitions contending the for-mation of Telangana weresought to be filed, with thecommon thread of the pleasbeing the position that it wasdone for "mala fide politicalreasons" and that the wishesof the people had not beenascertained before undertak-ing the exercise.

The crux of these pleas

was that the state (undividedAP) had not given its assentto the move. Even voting onthe matter in Parliament hadbeen blacked out over osten-sible technical glitches andpeople could not get to knowfor sure what had transpiredin the House. This beingclearly a violation of the pro-cedure established by law, thepetitioners argued in rightearnest that the AndhraPradesh Reorganisation Act,2014 was unconstitutional,unjust, unfair and unreason-able for the people of Andhra.

After all, the AndhraPradesh Reorganisation Billwas cleared in the Lok Sabhain 23 minutes on February 18,2014 and was passed in theRajya Sabha two days later,without any amendments sug-gested by members, theypointed out. Finally, a benchdecided to admit the petitionsfor hearing. While it was notpossible to roll back the divi-

sion, the court, by admittingthe plea, at least gave room forhopes that it would lay downthe law that would governdivisions of other states in thefuture.

On January 2, 2019, whenthe SC refused to entertain apetition filed by the AndhraPradesh High CourtAdvocates Association todefer the implementation ofthe notification bifurcatingthe Hyderabad High Courtinto the new Andhra Pradeshand Telangana High Courts,the Bench said there would be"initial hiccups" and the HighCourts "have already startedfunctioning."

In light of the comments ofthe courts in the aforemen-tioned cases, it appears thatcourts too are not insulatedfrom the perils of politicsand powers that be. Thefounding-fathers of theConstitution, who investedthe basic statute with amplechecks and balances amongthe Legislature, Executive andthe Judiciary, certainly wouldnot have bargained for that.

JUSTICE DELAYED IS JUSTICE DENIED

MURALI RAMASWAMYSenior Journalist

Some recent instances of how the courtshave handled crucial petitions made aftermassive public protests suggest that evencourts have started taking the line of leastresistance

Continued from page 1

It said in a statement, "Theallegation of the complainantthat the deceased died on thespot due to high supply ofpower due to negligence of ser-vice of Opposite Parties (NPD-CTL) are utterly false and base-less and same are created toclaim heavy compensationfrom the Opposite Parties forthe death of the deceased.There was no high power ofsupply."

Responding to both parties,the forum said in its judgment,"The family has lost their onlyson, it is seen that a reasonableaward of ex gratia of Rs 4,00,000entitled by the complainant."The forum added, "TheOpposite Parties [sic] argu-ments can be considered onlyto a certain extent and theOpposite Parties also do notdispute the death by electrocu-tion but not due to deficiencyof their services,"

Nearly three weeks before theSirpur mandal incident, SirangiThirupathi had died of electricshock on October 5, 2016. Inher complaint, the victim'smother Sirangi Kamala said herson was killed while repairinga TV and it was due toNPDCTL's negligence.

"My son died due to carelessand negligent act of NPDCTL.High-power supply is the rea-son behind my son's untimelydeath. They have failed tomaintain proper service,"alleged Sirangi Kamala. The TVmechanic is survived by his ail-ing mother and young wife.

NPDTCL claimed the mandied due to his own negligence."There was no negligence orcarelessness from our part, andour employees are maintainingthe lines and flow of supply.Hence, we are not liable to payany compensation or even exgratia to the complainant for thedeath of the deceased," it saidin a statement. Continued from page 1

The Telangana ITMinister informed theUnion Minister that thestate government hadalready written letters tovarious neighbouring Statesseeking support for theSouthern IndustrialCorridor. The proposed SICwill involve and benefitTelangana, Karnataka,Andhra Pradesh and TamilNadu. He also sought sup-port for setting up a dry portas well as multi-model logis-tic parks in the State.

KTR invited Piyush toparticipate in the Bio Asia2020 conference to be heldin Hyderabad on February17. The Union Ministerenquired about the status ofthe Hyderabad Pharma City,which has been envisaged asthe world's largest integrat-ed pharma cluster and alsothe National Investment andManufacturing Zone(NIMZ) coming up atZaheerabad.

KTR pitchesfor SouthernIndustrial...

NPDCL to pay Rs 4 lakh toelectrocution victims’ kin

The festival bringstogether regionalarts, crafts,cuisine and anarray of nationaland internationalkites

International kite, sweetfestival from Jan 13 to 15

Construction of pumps to supplyGodavari water on war footing

HYDERABAD | SATURDAY | JANUARY 11, 2020 hyderabad 03

RIMEORNERC MILLION MARCH

Organisers move state minoritiescommission against police casesPNS n HYDERABAD

The organisers of Hyderabad's'Million March' that was heldon January 4, to protest againstthe Citizenship AmendmentAct (CAA) and NationalRegister of Citizens (NRC),filed a complaint with theTelangana MinoritiesCommission.

The organisers filed a com-plaint after multiple cases werefiled against them by theHyderabad police, after theconclusion of the event, for'violating the permission'granted by the authorities.

Thousands of people partic-ipated in the biggest everprotest against the CAA inHyderabad on January 4, ascrowds converged at DharnaChowk and Tank Bund in thecity. The meeting was organ-ised by a Joint ActionCommittee (JAC) against CAAand NRC, comprising 40Muslim and Dalit organisa-tions.

Police said that the caseswere registered as the police

permission was only grantedfor a gathering of 1,000 people.

In their representation toCommission ChairmanMohammed Qamaruddin,members of the JAC includingconvenor Mushtaq Malik andAmjed Ullah Khan of theMajlis Bachao Tehreek (MBT)said that they had clearly askedpermission for a 'MillionMarch', but the police grantedpermission for a dharna.

"Million does not mean1,000," Malik had told

reporters earlier in the day. Pointing out that the entire

event passed off peacefully,with volunteers even latercleaning up the area them-selves, the representation said,"It was shocking to knowthrough media and newspa-pers that 25 police stationshave booked false cases againstme, JAC leaders and volun-teers. The police have takensuo motu action and bookedcases but there is not an iota oftruth in any cases."

"We therefore request yourauthority to conduct a thor-ough investigation of this ille-gal and arbitrary action bypolice officials by calling themand directing them to submita report before your authori-ty in the interest of justice," theJAC added.

The JAC alleged that thereis political pressure behindthe police cases. The JAC con-venor said the cases were fileddespite the fact that it was atotally peaceful protest. Hedemanded that the TRS gov-ernment withdraw the cases.

Malik and other organiserswere booked for unlawfulassembly, disobedience of anorder by a public servant and

wrongful restraint. Police havealso initiated further action inthe case by issuing notices tothe accused under Section 41(A) of the Code of CriminalProcedure, directing them toappear before the police.

The JAC leader said a teamof lawyers was working tofight the cases and wouldmove court shortly.

All India Majlis-e-IttehadulMuslimeen (AIMIM), an allyof the ruling TRS, was not partof the march. It is organisinga rally on Friday on the cityoutskirts as its leader andHyderabad MP AsaduddinOwaisi said that they were notgiven permission for the rallyin the city.

The JAC alleged that there ispolitical pressure behind thepolice cases. The JAC convenorsaid the cases were filed despitethe fact that it was a totallypeaceful protest

TAINTED CISUSPENDEDPNS n HYDERABAD

The absconding CircleInspector of Jubilee Hillspolice accused in the briberycase surrendered at the ACBhead office on Friday evening.

The officer surrendered aday after the sub-inspector ofJubilee Hills Police, SudheerReddy, was arrested by theACB officials as he was caughtred-handed while accepting abribe amount of Rs 50,000 andtwo bottles of whisky.

The ACB named the CI, PBalavantaiah as the primeaccused in the case and SISudheer as secondary accused,as they colluded to demandand accept the bribe from thecomplainant.

On being apprehended, theSI spilled the beans and toldthe sleuths and mediators thathe was acting upon instruc-tions from his bossBalvantaiah.

To verify the veracity of SI'sstatement, he was made to callBalvantaiah and inform himabout having received thebribe amount. The conversa-tion between the SI andInspector was recorded for evi-dence.

According to the officials,the SI had demanded thebribe for giving station bail toa complainant and tried tocompromise the case via LokAdalat. Reddy accepted thebribe, while his nephew wasthe middleman in negotiatingthe deal. ACB officials arrest-ed both Reddy and his nephewon Thursday.

"A case of cheating andcriminal breach of trust wasbooked against the com-plainant Motaparthi VamsiKrishna on December 29,2019. He was released on bailon December 31, 2019 and theinvestigating officer of thecase was Balwantaiah,Inspector of Police, JubileeHills. He demanded Rs 1 lakhas bribe from Vamsi Krishnathrough the SI, P SudheerReddy, to release him on sta-tion bail and refer his case toLok Adalat by deleting section406 IPC (criminal breach oftrust) from the case. Uponrequest, the bribe was reduced

to Rs 50,000 and two liquorbottles. The sub inspector's cutfrom the amount was Rs20,000 and he confessed thatthe CI has instructed him todemand the amount from thecomplainant," said the ACBofficials.

The police official wasplaced under arrest and will beproduced before the ACBcourt for trial.

Meanwhile, Hyderabadpolice commissioner, AnjaniKumar issued order for sus-pension of InspectorBalwantaiah for his role whichled to ACB trap of the SubInspector. "Such black sheepsin the department needs to beexposed as they are bringinga bad name to the organisa-tion. The public is requested toinform corrupt practices with-in the police organisation at9490616555.

We will take action imme-diately and the name of com-plaints and their identity willbe kept confidential" said theofficial.

On beingapprehended, thesub-inspectorspilled the beansand told thesleuths andmediators thathe was actingupon instructionsfrom his bosscircle inspectorBalvantaiah

She Teams nab 33 persons in DecPNS n HYDERABAD

The She Teams of Rachakondanabbed 33 persons,including 29 majorsand four minors, onthe charges of harassingwomen and five per-sons for selling a new-born baby. The SheTeam also averted twochild marriages during themonth of December.

They also booked 41 cases

including 21 FIRs against per-sons harassing women.

In one case, an MBA finalyear student

Yalamanda Reddy, 25,was caught for harass-ing a 23-year-old girlwho rejected hisadvances, in Uppal. Hethreatened and black-

mailed her with photosthey had clicked together as

friends. In another case, a private

employee, A Subash from LBNagar was caught for harass-ing a minor girl. He stalkedand harassed the Class VIII girlon her way to school and backhome on the pretext of lovingher.

Rachakonda Police said dur-ing the decoy operations, theShe Teams of Kushaiguda andChoutuppal caught twominors along with a mechan-ic, Sheik Akbar for harassingwomen at bus stops.

Rape accusedgets ten years in prison Alocal court at LB Nagar found

a man guilty of rape andsentenced him to 10 yearsrigorous imprisonment onFriday. The accused identified as23-year-old Aku Ashok is aresident of Yousufguda.According to the police, onSeptember 18, 2013, Ashok hadentered a woman's hut andraped her. The husband of thevictim who was away at thattime returned and tried to catchhim. However, Ashok fled hisclutches. While fleeing, his IDcard fell behind. Based on thewoman's complaint, a case wasregistered under section 376 (2)(M) of the IPC and investigatedinto. During the course ofinvestigation, Ashok wasarrested on September 22. Hewas identified as a PharmacyTrainee at Apollo Hospital,Jubilee Hills, based on the IDcard found at the scene of theoffense. During the trial onFriday, the special court at LBNagar convicted Ashok withrigorous imprisonment for 10years and fined him an amountof Rs 1,000.

Man gets 2 yearsin jail for hittingneighbourAcourt at Shadnagar found a

man guilty of assaulting hisneighbour and sentenced him totwo years of rigorousimprisonment on Friday. Theaccused has been identified as36-year-old Kavali Sriramlu, aresident of KondurgMandal. OnFebruary 6,2018, theaccused hadbeat thecomplainant witha stick and causedbleeding injuries for objectinghim from digging a bathroompipe line beside her house wall.During the trial on Friday, thejudge convicted Sriramlu andsentenced him to undergo a twoyear rigorous imprisonment anda fine of Rs 2000.

Fire breaks outin cell tower,none injuredAfire broke out in a cell tower

located at Gachibowli in thecity on Thursday evening.According to Fire Departmentofficials, the incident occurredat 6 pm at the tower located onthe main road near Nasr Scho-ol, Gachibowli in the limits ofRaidurgam police station."Immediately after receivinginformation, fire tenders fromthe nearby fire station movedto the spot and doused thefire," the officials said.

2 IIT-H students selected for‘Newton Bhabha programme’PNS n SANGAREDDY

Indian Institute of TechnologyHyderabad (IIT-H)Ph.D students KousikMakur and TejaswiniAppidi have beenselected for presti-gious NewtonBhabha programme.This is a short-termplacement, jointlyfunded by the UKG o v e r n m e n tNewton-Fund andDepartment ofScience and Technology,Government of India.

Kousik Makur, who works

under the supervision of DrBhuvanesh Ramakrishna, IIT-H, has been placed with Prof

Dino Jaroszynski's group,University of Strathclyde,UK. He will be workingon a project called 'Laser-driven radiation sourcesfor therapy under the

guidance of the host super-visor, Prof Dino Jarosz-

ynski, Director, ScottishCentre for the Applic-ation of Plasma-basedAccelerators (SCAPA),

University of Strathclyde.Tejaswini Appidi, a Ph.D

student of Aravind KumarRengan, IIT-H, has been

placed with Dr GeorgeGordon's lab, University ofNottingham, UK. She will beworking on the project'Development of a portable,low-cost system for under-standing the accumulation andmapping of nanoparticles(NPs) for enhanced diagnos-tics and therapeutics' under theguidance of the host supervi-sor, Dr George SD Gordon,University of Nottingham, UK.

This international exchangeadds value by enabling stu-dents to learn new skills andresearch techniques withaccess to world-class facili-ties.

Two held with Chinese manja worth Rs 2.89 LPNS n HYDERABAD

The Telangana StateGovernment under section 5of the Environment(Protection) Act, 1986imposed a complete ban onprocuring, stocking, sale anduse of nylon thread, which iscommonly called as 'Chinesedor', or other synthetic (non-biodegradable) threads coatedwith glass or other harmfulsubstances used for kite flyingor other purposes which islikely to cause grievous injuryand inconvenience to animalsincluding birds as well ashuman beings during festivalsor other occasions.

The sleuths of the WestZone Team of theCommissioner's Task Forceapprehended two persons withChinese Manja on Friday. Thearrested persons have beenidentified as ChandrapalSingh, 36, and Mohd Basheer,36. Synthetic nylon Chinesemanja bobbins worth Rs2,89,000 was seized from their

possession, said officials."Chandrapal Singh runs a

kites business in the limits ofMangalhat PS and Basheerruns a kites business in thelimits of Rein Bazar PS.During Sankranthi, they sellkites and manjas of variousbrands and also manufacturekites of various models. Astheir income was not suffi-cient, they planned to sell thebanned 'Chinese Manja' whichis in high demand during thefestival," said P Radha KishanRao, DCP Task Force, addingthat the the manja was pur-chased through an agent inDelhi to be sold to customersin Hyderabad.

APPLICATIONS INVITED FOR BCOVERSEAS VIDYA NIDHI SCHEME PNS n HYDERABAD

The Department of BCWelfare has invited applica-tions for Mahatma JyothibaPhule BC Overseas VidyaNidhi Scheme.

The Commissioner of BCWelfare, in an official release,said registrations for the year2019-20 for spring sessionintake scheme would startfrom January 16 and close onFebruary 15.

The Commissioner said thatthe government issued guide-lines for sanction of MahatmaJyothiba Phule Overseas VidyaNidhi financial Assistance toBC and EBC students to pur-sue Post Graduation and Phdcourses. Some of the guide-lines are that the maximumage under the scheme shall notexceed 35 years as on July 1,2019. The family income shallbe less than Rs 5 lakh perannum from all sources.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Dr Bipul Behari Saha, a city-based scientiest was elected asthe Bureau Member of theInternational Union of Pureand Applied Chemistry(IUPAC) for 2020-23. In the100 years history of the union,this is the second time anIndian scientist is elected as aBureau Member, after Prof.CNR Rao in 1979, accordingto a press release on Friday.

Founded 100 years ago,the IUPAC is the largest glob-al organisation of Chemistryprofessionals. The IUPAC hasthe responsibility of namingall new elements and com-pounds, declare atomicweights and physical con-

stants, update Periodic tableand carry out research pro-jects for the benefit ofmankind.

It comprises 12 committeesand 8 divisions. At the apex ofIUPAC organisation isIUPAC Bureau. The voters inthe election of IUPAC Bureaumembers are representativesfrom different countries, who

are members of IUPAC. Dr Saha has been closely

associated with the IUPAC forthe last few years. He wasexecutive committee memberof IUPAC Committee onChemistry and Industry, inci-dentally the first Indian tohold this position. He was al-so the National Representat-ive of India in IUPAC

Division of Chemistry andEnvironment and memberof IUPAC Inter-Divisionalcommittee on GreenChemistry.

Dr Saha has been on theeditorial advisory board ofglobal scientific magazineslike Agri Business Global andFarm Chemicals Internation-al. He was also editor of Indi-an Society for EnvironmentalScience and Technology New-sletter. Dr Saha has been vis-iting Professor in reputedUniversities and Institutesincluding the IIT. He was alsoa Investigator and member ofthe steering committee ofGovernment of India spon-sored Millennium IndianTechnology Leadership

City-based scientist elected to global body

CBI Court issues summons to Sabitha, Dharmana

PNS n HYDERABAD

The CBI Court on Fridayissued summons to Telanganaeducation minister SabithaIndra Reddy and former min-ister , YSRCP MLA DharmanaPrasada Rao directing them toappear before the court onJanuary 17.

The CBI booked casesagainst Sabitha and Dharmanain 2013, when they were work-ing as ministers in UndividedAP in the Congress govern-ment led by then CM N KiranKumar Reddy. The CBI Courton Friday took up the hearingof the supplementary petition

filed in Penna cements case.The summons was also

issued to IAS officer Sri Lak-shmi, retired officers Sameul,VD Raja Gopal, DRO Suder-shan Reddy and TahsildarEllamma and were asked topresent before the court on

January 17.Though the chargesheet was

filed two years back, the hear-ing was suspended due to thestay imposed by the HighCourt. The CBI court took upthe hearing after the HighCourt lifted the stay.

The court dismissed thearguments made by Jagan. TheCBI said that it has the right tofile charge sheets wheneverthey collect key evidence.

The charge sheet said thatthere were irregularities in theallocation of lands inAnantapuram and Thandur toPenna cement. The CBI allegedthat then mining ministerSabitha and then revenue min-ister Dharmana had neglectedtheir duties, when they werepart of the cabinet led by lateChief Minister YS RajasekharReddy between 2004 and 2009.

The CBI had sought judicialcustody of both the ministers

in August 2013 in the dispro-portionate assets cases filedagainst Jagan, which the CBICourt had rejected then.

The two Ministers tenderedtheir papers after their namesfigured in the chargesheetswhich is probing Jagan’s quidpro quo investments case. Dha-rmana resigned on being na-med by the CBI in its charg-esheet for irregularities in landallotment to the VANPIC pro-ject. Sabitha also resigned afterher name figured in the fifthchargesheet which said therewere irregularities in the grantof prospecting licences toDalmia Cements.

n DIRECTS THEM TO APPEAR BEFORE COURT ON JAN 17 IN JAGAN'S QUID PRO QUO CASES

Cops nab burglar,recover valuablesworth Rs 23 lakhPNS n HYDERABAD

Officials of theCommissioner's Task Force,North Zone team along withAbids Police, nabbed a houseburglar and recovered valu-ables worth Rs 23 lakh fromhis possession on Friday.

The accused has beenidentified as 52-year-oldMohd Omer, an electrician byprofession from Falaknuma.

The police recovered goldornaments weighing 579grams, silver ornamentsweighing 1,510 grams and Rs45,000 cash among othervaluables.

Officials said that he wasinvolved in four cases underHyderabad commissioner-ate, five under Cyberabadand four under Rachakonda.

As Omer was addicted toliquor and other bad habitsand his regular work's earn-ings were not sufficient to runhis familyneeds. Het h e nhatcheda plan togain easymoney byc o m m i t -ting theft ofgold and silver ornamentsfrom locked houses by pre-tending to do electrical work.

Omer identifies coloniesand apartments in the morn-ing before doing the threat.He carries a handbag thatcontains a screwdriver, cut-ting player, small hammerand an iron rod which areused in the commission ofoffence.

He later reaches the targethouse and gains entry intothe house by breaking openthe main door lock or latchby using a screwdriver, cut-ting player. After entering, hesteals gold, silver and cashbefore fleeing the spot.

The Task Force police andAbids Police verified CCTVfootages at all possible placesand identified Omer.

He was then subsequentlyarrested while trying to dis-pose the stolen property atSecunderabad.

Omer was produced beforea court that remanded him tojudicial custody.

PNS n HYDERABAD

A 21-year-old woman fromJubilee Hills was allegedlygang raped by two juvenileboys who also reportedlyfilmed the act on their smart-phones, said the Jubilee Hillspolice, who took the accusedinto custody and are investi-gating the case.

The woman said that theprime accused in the case isthe hostel owner's son, whohad befriended her. The com-plainant said that on the 28thof December 2019, the hostelowner's son and his friend hadforcefully entered the roomshe was staying in. The duowere intoxicated and forcedthemselves upon her. Duringthe act, one of the accused hadeven sent a 'fake' message tohis phone to make the incidentseem like it was done withconsent. After the horrid act,they tried to strangle and killher. The next day, the duoreturned and tried to strike a'deal' with the woman withone of them promising tomarry her if she does notapproach the police. When thewoman refused, the duothreatened to release the videoof the rape that they hadfilmed, on social media plat-

forms if she gives a com-plaint.

However, the womanapproached the Jubilee HillsPolice on Tuesday and lodgeda complaint with them.

According to the ACP ofBanjara Hills, K. SrinivasaRao, a complaint was receivedfrom the victim, who claimedthat she is a model by profes-sion, and that the two minorboys, alleged to be students,had gang-raped her and shota video of them sexuallyassaulting her as well.

"Following the complaint,we booked cases under section376 (rape) of the IPC amongother sections and took theminto custody for interroga-tion. We cannot reveal furtherdetails of the case as we haveto safeguard the victim's iden-tity and also as the accused inthe case are juveniles" said theofficial.

MINOR BOYS RAPEGIRL, FILM THE ACT

The voters in theelection of IUPACBureau membersare representativesfrom differentcountries, who aremembers of IUPAC.

State Governmentimposed a ban onprocuring, stocking,sale and use ofnylon thread, whichis commonly calledas 'Chinese dor'

AVINASH DEEPAK PULI n MAHABUBNAGAR

Buoyed by its victory in theAssembly, Parliament electionsand with opposition partieslooking demoralised, the TRSappears to have clear edge as itaims to make a clean sweep inthe Municipal elections inMahabubnagar.

As many as 17 municipali-ties and 338 wards among the19 municipalities are going topolls in erstwhileMahabubnagar district.

Though this part was previ-ously dominated by theCongress, but the party isstruggling to put up a strongfight against TRS in someareas as it lost cadre this timeas many of the leaders wereeither defected to TRS or tothe BJP post Assembly polls.The BJP may give a toughfight in some areas. The TRSMLAs and MPs are striving tocompete with each other toshow their mark by register-ing clean sweep in theirrespective areas as the pollresult would give upper hand.

MahabubnagarCorporation hasgot 49 wards andthe four districtheadquar tersurban bodieshave gotmajor wardsin their jurisdic-tion. Wanaparthimunicipality has33 wards, Gadwalhas 37 wards, Narayanpet has24 wards and Nagarkurnoolhas 24 wards in their flexure

respectively. Kalwakurthi municipality

has 22 wards, while inMakhthal there are a total of16 wards.

Bhotpoor has 10wards, Kosgi has atotal of 16 wards. In

K o t h t h a k o t athere are 15wards, whilein Pebbeiar

there are 12wards.

Amarachintha, Atmakur,Ayija, Alampoor andWaddepalli having ten wardseach are also going to polls in

the present Urban Local Bodyelections.

The ruling party in all thesemunicipalities is ahead oftheir rivals and the party iskeen. On repeating a fetewhere the party is set tosweep the polls in all thesemunicipalities.

The district in the urbandevelopment front is forgingahead during the past fewmonths and the fresh tenure ofthe TRS has given a majorscope for the party to repeat afeat that would help the partygain an upper hand over all itsrivals.

MBNR MBNR 49Bhootpur 10

Narayanpet Narayanpet 24Makthal 16Kosgi 16

J. Gadwal Gadwal 37leeja 20Waddepalle 10Alampur 10

Wanaparthy Wanaparthy 33Kothakota 15Pebbair 12Atmakur 10Amarchinta 10

Nagarkurnool Nagarkurnool 24Kollapur 20Kalwakurthy 22

Buoyed by its victory in the Assembly,Parliament elections and withopposition parties lookingdemoralised, the TRS appears to haveclear edge as it aims to make a cleansweep in Mahabubnagar

hyderabad 04URBAN

POLL - 2020HYDERABAD | SATURDAY | JANUARY 11, 2020

JANUARY

22

TRS seems to have clearedge in Mahabubnagar

Name of the ULB No.of Wards BJP BSP CPI CPM INC TDP YSRCP TRS OTHERS INDMahaboobnagar 41 6 - - - 14 3 1 7 6 4Gadwal 33 - - - - 23 - - 9 - 1Narayanapet 23 12 - - - 3 3 - 2 2 1Wanaparthy 26 4 - - - 7 8 2 5Shadnagar 23 - - - - 15 - - 1 1 6Nagarkurnool 20 7 - - - 6 - - 6 - 1Ieeja 20 - - - - 4 - - 16 - -Kalwakurthy 20 3 - - - 6 - 4 5 1 1Total 206 32 0 0 0 78 14 5 48 10 19

MUNCIPAL WARD-WISE RESULTS (MAHABUBNAGAR- 2014)

Mahabubnagar

Name ofdistrict

Name ofULB

No ofWards

DISTRICTSGOING

TO POLL

Will win in KCR’s owncontituency: Congress

Cong starts issuingof B-Forms for polls

HYDERABAD: Thupran municipality Congress in-charge Bandaru Srikanth has exuded confidencethat the Congress party will fly the Congress flagin Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's ownconstituency Gajwel. Speaking to the media onFriday, Srikanth said that the TRS is intensifyingits efforts to win Tupran and Gajwelmunicipalities. As part of it the TRS partyassigned Finance Minister T Harish Rao as the in-charge of Gajwel and Tupran. However, theCongress took these two constituencies

prestigiously, he said. The Congress isstriving hard to show its strength inChief Minister's own constituency. It

may be recalled that the TPCC chiefN Uttam Kumar Reddy appointedSrikanth as the in-charge of Tupranand T Narsa Reddy as in-charge of

Gajwel municipality.

HYDERABAD: Telangana Congress has startedissuing of B-Forms from Friday evening to itscandidates. The AICC general secretary in-chargeRC Khuntia and TPCC chief N Uttam KumarReddy has handed over the first B-Form to theCongress MLA from Sangareddy T Jagga Reddy.AICC secretary in-charges Bose Raju, SrinivasaKrishnan, B-Forms distribution in-charge GNiranjan and leaders CJ Srinivas, Kumar Rao, H Venugopal, Bollu Kishan, Faheem and otherswere also present. It may be recalled that JaggaReddy's wife Nirmala is contesting for the post ofSangareddy municipality mayor.

Denied TRS ticket,Dayakar joins CongHYDERABAD: The Peerzadiguda municipalitymayor post aspirant from TRS Darga DayakarReddy, who was denied party ticket, joinedCongress party on Friday.The Telangana Congress Party is getting benefitedwith the recjection of tickets to rebels in TRS. The Congress is inducting the TRS rebels withoutany hesitation. Two days ago, the Congress MPfrom Bhongir Komatireddy Venkat Reddyinducted TRS selected candidate into Congressparty. Congress MP from Malkajgiri A RevanthReddy invited Dayakar Reddy to join Congress atDayakar Reddy's residence. Responding toRevanth Reddy's invitation, Dayakar Reddy joinedCongress immediately. It is learnt that some otherleaders were also in the path of Dayakar Reddy tojoin Congress leaving TRS. Former MLAs KunaSrisailam Goud and Kichennagari Laxma Reddywere also present. Several TRS local leaders andactivists of Boduppal joined Congress in presenceof Revanth Reddy on Friday.

CAPSULE

PNS n HYDERABAD

Minister for Roads, Buildings andLegislative Affairs Vemula PrashanthReddy alleged that the BJP won fourMP seats in Telangana by telling liesin their poll campaigns.

Stating that the TRS slogan is'development' and BJP's policy istelling 'lies', Prashanth Reddy allegedthat the statements given by the BJPabout release of funds from Centre forpensions is a big lie.

"I will rub my nose to the groundif BJP proves its statements are true",he said.

Participating in municipal electionscampaign in Bheemgal on Friday,Prashanth Reddy said that the BJPwon Lok Sabha elections by passingstatements that the Centre is releas-ing funds for pensions in the state andnow again the BJP leaders are mak-ing the same falsehood campaign evenfor municipal elections.

Prashanth Reddy said that the TRSis condemning the BJP leaders' state-ment of giving pensions by theCentre. He said that the Centre is giv-ing only Rs 200.

Meanwhile, TRS candidates filedtheir nominations for 12 wards onFriday. On the occasion, the TRS lead-ers, party activists and people con-ducted rallies in their respectiveareas.

TRS: BJP is spreadingfalsehood in campaign

Stating that the TRSslogan is 'development'and BJP's policy istelling 'lies', PrashanthReddy alleged that thestatements given by theBJP about release offunds from Centre forpensions is a big lie

21,850 nominationsfiled for civic polls

Filing of nominationsbegin in KarimnagarPNS n KARIMNAGAR

While the process of filing nominationsfor all municipalities and municipalcorporations across the state was closedon Friday, it has begun for KarimnagarMunicipal Corporation.

The nomination process forKarimnagar Corporation was delayeddue to court order issued by single judgebased on writ petition filed by oneChada Anand that irregularities tookplace in preparation of voter list inDivisions-3, 24 and 25.

Based on an urgent appeal moved bythe State government, High Court clearedthe way for polls by setting aside the orderof single judge on Thursday. TelanganaState Election Commission issued afresh notification for KMC polls onThursday night. Aspirants, who areeagerly waiting for court's nod, began fil-ing nominations from Friday. Contestingcandidates of all political parties beganvisiting corporation office along withtheir nomination papers.

In the wake of controversy over prepa-ration of voter list, police officialsdeployed huge police force to conductnominations process in a smooth man-ner. The main gate for the corporationwas heavily barricaded and entry wasrestricted. The police allowed only twomembers along with the contesting can-didate, into the corporation office.

PNS n HYDERABAD

The process of filing of nominations for 120municipalities and 9 corporations is completedon Friday.

The candidates filed nominations in huge num-bers on final day. The State Election Commission(SEC) has received a total of 21,850 nominations.Rangareddy district stood in first place with 2,392nominations and Medchal-Malkajgiridistrict stood in second place with1,910 nominations.

Jayashankar Bhupalpallystood at last place with 134 nom-inations. While the process ofscrutiny of nominations will beheld on January 11, the candidatescan withdraw their nominationsbefore January 14.

The Election Commission said that the B-Forms have to be submitted to the SEC till 3 pmon January 14. As many as 967 nominations werefiled on the first day and 4,722 nominations onthe second day. Some candidates filed their nom-inations through online. On final day, more than10,000 nominations were filed.

The elections will be held for 325 corporatorwards and 2727 councilor divisions.

Following the directions of High Court, the EChas given notification to the KarimnagarCorporation on January 9. The KarimnagarCorporation officials are started receiving nom-inations from Friday on wards and it will con-tinue till January 12.

Narayana Reddy accuses KCRof luring Congress candidatesPNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana Pradesh CongressCommittee (TPCC) treasurer GudurNarayana Reddy on Friday allegedthat ruling TRS was trying to lurestrong candidates of Congress partyto make them withdraw from con-test.

Narayana Reddy accused ChiefMinsiter K Chandrashekhar Rao ofindulging in immoral and unethicalpractices to weaken the oppositionparties. He said KCR has broughtdisrepute to Telangana by repeated-ly insulting the Constitution.

Narayana Reddy said KCR haslegitimised the culture of purchasingelected representatives. In the firstterm, KCR purchased over 25 MLAs,MLCs and MPs of opposition par-ties, especially Congress. In the sec-ond term, the Chief Minister engi-neered defection of 12 MLAs todeprive the Congress party of the sta-tus of main opposition party.

The Congress leader alleged thatTRS leaders are now trying to lure thestrong candidates of Congress partycontesting in the municipal elections.He said it was strange that the rulingparty was not only poaching the elect-

ed representatives, but also the can-didates of opposition parties.

However, Narayana Reddy saidthat the Congress cadre would defeatall such conspiracies and win amajority of wards in all municipal-ities and municipal corporations.

"In the given circumstances, peo-ple have to introspect whether theyare casting their vote in favour of aperson who is upholding the demo-cratic values or for those who are act-ing like aristocratic rulers. Onlypeople can teach a lesson to such per-sons who are disrespecting, demor-alising and corrupting the democra-tic values of our system," he said.

Meanwhile, TPCC working presi-dent and Malkajgiri MP A RevanthReddy has alleged that the TRS lead-ers were selling corporation Mayor posi-tion ticket for Rs 5 crore and munici-pality chairman ticket for Rs 2 crore.

He further alleged that the TRS isselling councilor tickets each for Rs25 crore and corporator ticket for Rs50 lakh each.

On Friday, Revanth Reddy allegedthat the TRS is selling the tickets sim-ilar to that of selling domestic animalsin market and goods in super bazaar.He said that the TRS leaders are speak-ing in an insulting manner against theleaders serving the people.

In the givencircumstances, peoplehave to introspect

whether they are casting theirvote in favour of a person who isupholding the democratic valuesor for those who are acting likearistocratic rulers

—GUDUR NARAYANA REDDYTPCC treasurer

Tiranga rally peaceful, draws legionsContinued from page 1

Reaffirming secular values ofthe country, many citizenscame forth with slogans suchas, "We are Muslims who chosesecular India, Reject CAA-NRC-NPR." The gathering wit-nessed people standing up forthe national anthem, as well assinging the national song'Vande Mataram'.

Numerous people joined theprotest, along with their fam-ilies, even though it was aweekday. Many shops, busi-nesses and establishments shutdown in solidarity with theTiranga rally. Their marchsymbolized a people's move-ment, reminiscent of the resis-tance put forth by citizensduring the days of theIndependence struggle.

Addressing the huge gather-ing in front of Shastripuram,Hyderabad MP and AIMIMleader Asaduddin Owaisi askedpeople whether they wouldshow their papers to provetheir citizenship. He said, "Ifanyone from the governmentor the police asks for yourAadhaar card, will you show itto them or not? Say that youare from India, and that'senough." Thanking the policeand the GHMC for their

arrangements, the parliamen-tarian concluded his speechsaying that no one should dis-respect the tricolor they havein their hands.

Shops, business establish-ments and educational institu-tions remained closed in partsof Hyderabad on Friday for the'Tiranga rally'. Business activ-ity around the historicCharminar and other parts ofthe Old City of Hyderabadcame to a halt as shopkeepersdowned shutters in support of

the rally. Private schools and colleges

also declared a holiday in sup-port of the rally. Shops andbusiness establishmentsremained closed in Nampally,Mallepally, Asif Nagar,Mehdipatnam, Masab Tank,Toli Chowki and Golconda.Several trade associationsdeclared their support to therally. Lawyers, teachers andother professional bodiesexpressed solidarity with therally.

India erecting new ‘steel fence' along Pak, Bangla bordersContinued from page 1

The sources informed that theUnion home ministry has alsoadvanced a technology-basedproject of deploying 'laserfences' along these two bor-ders, to five years as comparedto the earlier 10-year deadline.

The ComprehensiveIntegrated Border ManagementSystem (CIBMS) that entailsdeployment of smart fences,advanced surveillance gadgetsand anti-infiltration alarms hasbeen speeded up by the border

management division underthe MHA and Border SecurityForce along these two borders,they said. These developmentsare being seen in the backdropof developments where securi-ty agencies have detected thepresence of 'Afghan fighters'along the India-Pakistan border.

hese terror operatives havetravelled across borders fromAfghanistan resulting in anenhanced vigil by the securityforces to thwart infiltration andterror bids along the sensitivefrontier in Jammu-Kashmir.

Sources said that while infil-tration bases and terror launchpads along the InternationalBorder (IB) in Jammu andLine of Control (LoC) inKashmir are still intact, the lat-est concern of the securityagencies are the well-trainedterrorists from Afghanistanwhose presence along the vul-nerable infiltration spots alongPakistan border can be used tofoment trouble in the newly-created Union Territory (UT)of Jammu-Kashmir and otherlocations in the hinterland.

‘Internet access a fundamental right’Continued from page 1

The verdict came on a batch ofpleas which challenged thecurbs imposed in Jammu andKashmir after the Centre'sabrogation of provisions ofArticle 370 on August 5 lastyear.

These pleas were differentfrom another set of petitionswhich have challenged the con-stitutional validity of abrogationof Article 370, being heard bya sperate 5-judge Constitutionbench which will resume itshearing on January 21.

The 3-judge bench hadreserved the judgement onremoval of curbs on November27 last year.

On November 21, theCentre had justified restric-tions imposed in Jammu andKashmir after the abrogationof provisions of Article 370 andsaid that due to the preventivesteps taken, neither a single lifewas lost nor a single bulletfired.

Besides Congress leaderGhulam Nabi Azad, the apexcourt had heard the petitionsfiled by Anuradha Bhasin,

Executive Editor of KashmirTimes, and few intervenorsquestioning the restrictions inthe Kashmir Valley.

The Centre had referred toterror violence in the Valleyand said that for the past somany years terrorists werebeing pushed through fromacross the border, local mili-tants and separatist organisa-tion had held the civilianscaptive in the region and itwould have been "foolish" if thegovernment would not havetaken preventive steps tosecure the lives of citizens.

TRS opens...Continued from page 1

This took place in Bellam-palli municipality in Mancherialdistrict. TRS candidate Sudhar-shan filed the nominationpapers for ward no.17 underGeneral quota. He was declaredunanimously elected as noother candidate filed nomina-tion. Polling is scheduled on Jan22 and counting will be takenup on January 25. But he wasdeclared winner even before thepolling. This result came as amorale booster to TRS, whonow claim that it indicates TRSis going to make a clean sweepin the municipal polls in TS.

High courtguidelines forTiranga rallyHYDERABAD: The TelanganaHigh Court on Friday morningdirected the Hyderabad Policeauthorities to video record theentire proceedings of theTiranga rally undertaken jointlyby the AIMIM and UnitedMuslims AssociationCommittee (UMAC ) at EidgahMir Alam tank in the afternoonof the same day protestingagainst CAA and NRC of theUnion Government. The High Court directed thePolice Department to deploysufficient police force tomaintain law and order duringthe rally. The court passed thisorder in the petition filed by aresident of the city against thesaid rally. The court has alsodirected the police to take stepsto avoid any inconvenience tothe commuters due to theorganisation of the rally. Thepolice told the court that theyhad allowed the rally to be heldfrom Mir Alam Eidgah tillShantipuram.

CAA comes intoeffect, says..Continued from page 1

"In exercise of the powersconferred by sub-section (2) ofthe section 1 of the Citizenship(Amendment) Act, 2019 (47 of2019), the Central Governmenthereby appoints the 10th day ofJanuary, 2020, as the date onwhich the provisions of the saidAct shall come into force," thenotification said.

HYDERABAD | SATURDAY | JANUARY 11, 2020 nation 05SHORT READS

‘What kind of partygets intimidated bymovies on social?’NEW DELHI: Delhi DeputyChief Minister Manish Sisodiahit out at the BJP for being"easily intimidated by" and"fearing" certain films thatinvoke a sense of socialresponsibility among people. Inresponse to a question on aBJP leader's call to boycott theDeepika Padukone-starrer'Chhapaak', Sisodia said it isvery disgraceful to see people"getting intimidated" by filmsbased on social issues. "Howcan they be scared of a moviewhich is based on an acidattack victim?" he asked. "Whatkind of a political party is (BJP)if it is easily intimidated by andfears certain films that invoke asense of social responsibilitiesamong people and otherimportant issues such aseducation," he said.

Agriculture scientistfound dead in hotel inUP's Banda

UP govt consideringpolice commissionersystem for LucknowLUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradeshgovernment is considering theintroduction of the policecommissioner system forLucknow and Noida, the statepolice chief said here on Friday.The senior superintendents ofpolice for Lucknow and GautamBuddh Nagar (Noida) weretransferred on Thursday and nonew officers posted thereimmediately. "The governmentis discussing the commissionersystem for Lucknow andNoida," Director General ofPolice O P Singh said. Thesystem gives more powers,including magisterial powers,to IPS officers of the InspectorGeneral of Police (IG) rankposted as commissioners. Thesystem has been implementedin around 71 cities across 15states in the country. As ofnow, the magisterial powers arewith the IAS officers, a seniorpolice officer said. The movewas initiated earlier also butcould not be implemented asIAS and IPS officers were atloggerheads. In December2018, former UP GovernorRam Naik had suggested thestate government to seriouslyconsider introducing thesystem in the state forimprovement in the law andorder situation. He had giventhe suggestion in the presenceof Chief Minister YogiAdityanath while addressing afunction at the Reserve PoliceLines in Lucknow.

BANDA: A 65-year-year oldagriculture scientist was founddead in a hotel in UttarPradesh's Banda district onFriday morning, police said.According to AdditionalSuperintendent of Police LalBharat Kumar Pal, the scientisthas been identified as RB Rai,who was in Banda toparticipate in a two-dayseminar. "Some empty bottlesof alcohol and a couple ofglasses were recovered fromthe room. The room has beensealed. "Rai is a resident ofBareilly and was in Banda toparticipate in a two-dayseminar organised byBundelkhand Vikas Boardbeginning on Friday," theAdditional SP said. He said thescientist has been the directorof the Animal Husbandry andVeterinary Research Institute inAndaman and Nicobar islands.

PNS n NEW DELHI

She considered JNU one of thesafest campuses for women, butnow Charukeshi Bhatt, pursu-ing her masters in PoliticalScience from the university,feels insecure and disturbed inthe wake of the violenceunleased by a masked mob onthe campus on Sunday.

The 24-year-old Varanasinative says the horrific incidenthas "hit the psyche" of students,affecting their daily lives andinterrupting career plans.

"I consider JNU as one of thebest campuses in the countryas far as the safety of women isconcerned. Prior to the attack,I would feel free and safe toroam around here alone at anygiven time, day or night. Butnow, I generally ask a malefriend to accompany me if I amstepping out at night in thecampus," she said.

On Sunday, a mob ofmasked young people stormedthe JNU campus in south Delhiand systematically targetedstudents in three hostels,unleashing mayhem with

sticks, stones and iron rods, hit-ting inmates and breaking win-dows, furniture and personalbelongings. They also attackeda women's hostel.

"However liberal the women

of JNU may be considered,who step out fearlessly other-wise, the trauma of the violenceis taking a toll on our minds.We feel disturbed," she said.

The young student said shecompleted her Bachelor's inPolitical Science from DelhiUniversity's Miranda Housein 2018 before joining theJawaharlal Nehru Universityand both the campuses have"taught me to live boldly andfearlessly".

An uneasy lull prevailed onthe campus on Friday as veryfew people were seen in the

university streets and eatingjoints, otherwise brimmingwith students.

The unease at the universi-ty's Sabarmati Hostel, whichbore a heavy brunt of the mobviolence, was palpable as afew students were seen leavingthe campus fearing for theirsafety on Thursday evening aswell.

Shards of broken glass win-dow panes lay swept on themain entrance of the residen-tial facility, while inside thepopular hostel's mess, a starksilence welcomed visitors.

Post-violence trauma taking toll on our minds,but spirit unbroken: JNU women students

PNS n VARANASI (UP)

Congress general secretaryPriyanka Gandhi Vadra onFriday visited Prime MinisterNarendra Modi's constituen-cy, meeting activists heldduring protests against theamended Citizenship Act andaccusing the government ofacting against theConstitution.

"They were holding apeaceful agitation," she said.

Priyanka met activist cou-ple Ekta Shekar Singh and herhusband Ravi Shekhar, whowere arrested.

"Ekataji's little daughterwas waiting for her. They toldme everything. Injustice wasmeted out to them. Theywere thrown in jail, keptthere for 15 days and seriouscharges were levelled againstthem.

"I am proud that theystruggled and raised theirvoice for their country.Whatever the government isdoing is anti-constitutional,"Priyanka told reporters.

During her four-hour visit,Priyanka paid obeisance atSant Ravidas temple. Latershe reached Shrimath onboat and met social activistsand those held "illegally andlodged in jail by the YogiAdityanath government," aCongress statement said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Senior Congress leader PChidambaram on Friday saidthe Supreme Court order onJammu and Kashmir is arebuff to the "unconstitu-tional and arrogant" stance ofthe central government andthe J&K administration onrestrictions imposed there,and asked former stateGovernor Satpal Malik toown responsibility and resignas Goa Governor.

"SC order is a rebuff to theunconstitutional and arro-gant stance of the central gov-ernment and the J&K admin-istration on the restrictionsimposed in J&K," the formerUnion minister said onTwitter.

He demanded that theentire team in J&K thatdesigned and executed "theplan" be changed and a newset of administrators whorespect the Constitution beappointed.

PNS n GANDHINAGAR

The Gujarat assembly onFriday ratified a Constitutionamendment bill passed byParliament to extend reserva-tion to Scheduled Castes (SCs)and Scheduled Tribes (STs) inthe Lok Sabha and state assem-blies by another 10 years.

The resolution seeking thenod of the house for the billwas presented by ChiefMinister Vijay Rupani andunanimously passed withopposition Congress support-ing it at a special session of theassembly. The special sessionwas convened to approve theConstitution (126th)Amendment Bill passed byboth houses of Parliament lastmonth.

As per provisions, at least 50per cent of state assemblies

need to ratify a Constitutionamendment bill before it is sentfor presidential assent.

"This bill would help us inrealising Dr B R Ambedkar'sdream of achieving socialequality and development ofbackward communities,"Rupani said.

"Even after over 70 years ofindependence, it's rare to see acase where an SC/ST candidatefights from a general categoryseat and gets elected.

"However, a tribal candidatehas been winning from theBharuch Lok Sabha (unre-served) seat of Gujarat since

long. This is a matter of prideand happiness for us," he saidwhile tabling the resolution.

Shailesh Parmar (Congress)praised Ambedkar for intro-ducing the reservation systemfor SC/ST members in theLok Sabha and assemblies.

With the Congress support,the bill was passed by a voicevote.

PNS n KOLKATA

Alleging that the decisions ofthe BJP-led government at theCentre have largely been dis-criminatory, TMC MP DerekO' Brien on Friday said theCitizenship (Amendment) Act(CAA), much like demonetisa-tion, would hurt the poormost.

O'Brien, while participatingin a discussion on the CAA ata premier law school in thecity, said the country was fac-ing a "serious crisis" due to theCentre's decision to imple-ment the new citizenship law.

"Demonetisation (in 2016)had hit the poor hard. Theimpact remains the same (withregard to CAA, NRC). Thistime, too, the Centre's decisionwill affect housewives, stu-dents, bankers, farmers -- inshort everybody. It will hit thepoorest of the poor the hard-est," the senior TMC leader

claimed.He urged students to read

the full report of the JointSelect Committee ofParliament on the legislation.

The Anglo-Indian MP in theRajya Sabha, who had last Julycompared the government'smove to pass bills in quick suc-cession with little debate to"pizza delivery", recited thePreamble of the Constitution

at the closing ceremony of amock UN session. He request-ed the students to repeat afterhim.

"I have been in public life for16 years. Never have I seen acrisis like the one that hasbefallen us in the past oneyear," O'brien said.

He commended WestBengal Chief Minister MamataBanerjee for taking the lead inprotests against the amendedcitizenship law and a pan-India NRC.

PNS n JAMMU

The National Conference onFriday welcomed the SupremeCourt order on the restrictionsin Jammu and Kashmir andexpressed hope that therestoration of mobile internetservices will help ease the sit-uation in the Union Territory.

In a significant ruling onFriday, the Supreme Courtsaid access to the Internet is afundamental right underArticle 19 of the Constitutionand asked the Jammu andKashmir administration toreview within a week all ordersimposing curbs in the UnionTerritory.

The verdict came on a batchof pleas which challenged thecurbs imposed in Jammu andKashmir after the Centre'sabrogation of provisions ofArticle 370 on August 5 lastyear.

"The observations of theapex court about snapping ofinternet services indefinitelyare significant and the govern-ment must take a call to reviewand restore the connectivityimmediately", NC provincialpresident Devender SinghRana said here.

Rana said the communica-tion clampdown has hugelyimpacted the people of Jammuand Kashmir in general andthose engaged in trade, com-merce, industry and academicsin particular.

The curbs have "virtuallypushed the peace-loving people

of this part of the country tostone-age era with their normalactivities coming to halt," hesaid. The NC leader expressedhope that the restoration ofmobile internet will go a longway in easing out the situation,saying the curbs have taken tollon youths in their pursuit ofcareer advancement as also inthe academic odyssey of vastmass of students.

The tourism trade has alsoreceived a big hit while busi-nesses too have suffered huge-

ly, he said.The NC provincial presi-

dent also sought immediaterelease of all mainstreampolitical leaders, saying thiswill pave the way for initiationof genuine democratic activ-ities.

He said detention of threeformer chief ministers andscores of senior leaders has cre-ated a political vacuum whichis needed to be filled in truespirit of India's rich democra-tic ethos.

PM ON TWO-DAY KOLKATAVISIT FROM TODAYPNS n NEW DELHI

Prime Minister NarendraModi will be in the WestBengal capital on Saturdayand Sunday to participate insesquicentenary celebrationsof the Kolkata Port Trust anddedication of heritage build-ings to the nation.

On Saturday, the prime min-ister will dedicate to the nationfour refurbished heritage build-ings in Kolkata to the nation,a statement from the PrimeMinister's Office said.

These are the Old CurrencyBuilding, the Belvedere House,the Metcalfe House and theVictoria Memorial Hall. TheCulture Ministry has renovat-ed these iconic galleries andrefurbished them with newexhibitions, while curating theold galleries.

The ministry is developingcultural spaces around iconicbuildings in various metrocities in the country.

To begin with, Kolkata,Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabadand Varanasi are being taken

up under the project.Modi will also participate in

the sesquicentenary celebra-tions of the Kolkata Port Truston Saturday and Sunday.

He will be handing over acheque of Rs 501 crore towardsthe final instalment to meet thedeficit of pension fund ofretired and existing employeesof the Kolkata Port Trust, thestatement said.

The prime minister will alsobe felicitating two oldest pen-sioners of the Kolkata Port

Trust -- Nagina Bhagat, 105,and Naresh ChandraChakraborty, 100.

He will also launch the Portanthem during the event.

Besides, he will unveil aplaque of 150 years of com-memorative installation at thesite of original Port jetties.

The prime minister will alsoinaugurate the upgraded shiprepair faciility of CochinKolkata Ship Repair Unit atNetaji Subhas Dry Dock.

He will inaugurate the full

rake handling facility whilededicating the upgraded rail-way infrastructure of KolkataDock System of KoPT forsmooth cargo movement andimproving turnaround time.

A mechanisation of berthnumber 3 at the Haldia DockComplex of KoPT and a pro-posed riverfront developmentscheme will also be launchedby Modi. In another event, theprime minister will inaugurateKaushal Vikas Kendra andPritilata Chhatri Avas for 200tribal girl students ofSunderbans.

He will also launchthe Port anthemduring the event.Besides, he willunveil a plaque of150 years ofcommemorativeinstallation at thesite of original Portjetties

"This bill wouldhelp us in realisingDr B R Ambedkar'sdream of achievingsocial equality anddevelopment ofbackwardcommunities,"Rupani said.

"I have been inpublic life for 16years. Never haveI seen a crisis likethe one that hasbefallen us in thepast one year,"O'brien said

"The observations of the apex courtabout snapping of internet servicesindefinitely are significant and thegovernment must take a call to reviewand restore the connectivityimmediately", NC provincial presidentDevender Singh Rana said here

The unease at the university'sSabarmati Hostel, which bore a heavybrunt of the mob violence, was palpableas a few students were seen leavingthe campus fearing for their safety onThursday evening as well

‘Restoration of mobile internetservices would help ease situation’

Violence no solution, peacerequired for progress: NaiduPNS n NAGPUR

Vice President Venkaiah Naidusaid on Friday that peace isnecessary for progress as it hasbeen proven that violence hasnot solved any issues.

He also disapproved ofarson and damage to proper-ty and vehicles saying that ifsomeone wants to oppose anymeasure, then they should"burn the idea" behind thatinstead of engaging in physi-cal violence.

Naidu's statements come inthe wake of violent protests inthe country against theCitizenship Amendment Act(CAA) and the NationalRegister of Citizens (NRC).

He was speaking at the inau-guration of the 100th 'All IndiaOriental Conference' beinghosted by KavikulaguruKalidas Sanskrit Universityhere.

"We have to see to it that weas a nation develop positiveattitude, leave negativism, stopaffliction, destruction and

move towardsconstruction...that should bethe attitude of everybody," hesaid.

"After all it is your owncountry. Burning a bus, burn-ing a train and burning vehi-cles...you will have to burn theidea not the physical things.And violence cannot bringany solution, it has beenproven," he said.

"Peace is very muchrequired for progress and if wehave tension then you cannot

pay attention. So we must allcome together to create apeaceful co-existence, peacefulcountry and peaceful world sothat the entire humanity canlive happily, not only withprosperity," Naidu added.

"Prosperity alone will notgive happiness as you requiresomething more for happi-ness. That is there in ourIndian tradition and youshould see to it that this tradi-tion reaches the new genera-tion," he said.

Sulking Congress ministertakes charge in MaharashtraPNS n MUMBAI

Sulking for days over portfo-lios allocated to him,Maharashtra Congress leaderVijay Wadettiwar took chargeof his ministries on Fridayafter a key department allot-ted to his party was give tohim.

Wadettiwar was given OBC,SEBC, saltpan departmentsalong with earthquake rehabil-itation during allocation ofportfolios to Maha VikasAgadhi ministers on Sundaylast.

The MLA fromChandrapur was also sup-posed to get Relief andRehabilitation Ministry, whichwas in the Congress quota.Wadettiwar was upset over not

getting this ministry, whichhas now been allocated tohim, and had stayed awayfrom taking charge of minis-terial responsibilities.

He told PTI that theDepartment of Relief andRehabilitation, which was ear-lier in the Congress quota,went to the Shiv Sena duringallocation of portfolios.

Maharashtra Congress leader Vijay

CAA to hit poor thehardest: Derek O' Brien

MP Derek O' Brien

Jignesh Mevani tears up acopy of the CAA in HousePNS n GUJARAT

Dalit leader and Vadgam MLAJignesh Mevani today tore upa copy of the CAA in theGujarat Assembly. He alsospoke out against NRC andNPR, asking Gujarat ChiefMinister Vijay Rupani to provehis antecedents before con-ducting NPR in the state. Hewondered how Rupani wouldprove his antecedents when heand his parents migrated toIndia from Burma.

Following is his statementon the occasion:

"Today is a black day in thehistory of the GujaratAssembly. It is a black daybecause today the BJP present-ed a resolution celebrating

the unconstitutional CAA inthe Gujarat Assembly.

Our freedom fighters RamPrasad Bismil and AshfaqullahKhan along with many othershad made several sacrifices inGujarat. These sacrifices weremade so that Hindus, Muslimsand Dalits of India should livetogether in harmony and theyenvisioned a secular countryas enshrined in theConstitution of India.

Priyankameets anti-CAA activistsin Varanasi

‘SC order onJK is rebuff to Centre’

Gujarat House passes bill on SC/ST quota

Diplomatic sabre-rattling on thepart of Washington and Tehranfollowing the unwarrantedkilling of Iranian Major GeneralQassem Soleimani has led to a

strange referencing of “Delhi” in the lead-ership statements of both nations to positcounter-narratives. US President DonaldTrump has fronted his manufactured out-rage against Iran and Soleimani in particu-lar to justify his actions. He declared thatSoleimani was the “world’s number one ter-rorist leader.” Trump tweeted, “Soleimanimade the death of innocent people his sickpassion, contributing to terrorist plots as faraway as Delhi and London.”

Meanwhile, the erudite Iranian ForeignMinister, Javad Zarif, postulated a counterto slam the bullying tactics of the Trumpadministration by asking, “How do they feelabout people chanting in the streets of Iraq,in the streets of Moscow, in the streets of NewDelhi and everywhere else that they shouldleave, how do they feel about that? That’s theprice for arrogance, for ignorance, for lackof respect.” In both these statements, “Delhi”was mentioned when actually, the officialstatement on the brewing situation in thePersian Gulf remained mired in diplomat-ic caution and ropewalk.

The last visit of Iranian PresidentHassan Rouhani to India in February 2018had led to the issuance of an official jointstatement titled, “Towards prosperity withgreater connectivity.” It noted among otherstrategic imperatives, “They (Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and Rouhani) called on theinternational community to end selective orpartial approaches to combat terrorism. Inthis regard, it stressed on the need to makeevery effort to reach an agreement and con-clude a comprehensive convention on inter-national terrorism at the United NationsGeneral Assembly (UNGA).”

Importantly, India “reaffirmed its sup-port for full and effective implementationof the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action(JCPOA), which has been endorsed by theUN Security Council and is a crucial con-tribution to the non-proliferation frame-work and international peace, stabilityand security.” This was something that wasunilaterally torn apart by Trump. Singularly,he imagined ghosts in the Iran nuclear dealand in the adherence of Iranian commit-ments. This was very much in contrast tothe views of other signatories to the deal andmultilateral agencies responsible for over-looking the pact.

Clearly “Delhi”, too, wasn’t aligned toTrump’s view on Iran but India’s ownnational and strategic interests forced it tonot express its opinion. Indian discomfiturein abiding by earlier US sanctions againstbuying oil from Iran had led to delicate dis-cussions, which managed temporary waivers.Ultimately, India complied, not fully con-vinced about the US narrative on Iran butbecause larger stakes were involved.

The Iranian “terror” inDelhi, as mentioned by Trump,could only refer to the 2012 carbomb attack on the then IsraeliDefence Attaché’s wife in Delhi.Back then, a few suspects werearrested and interrogated by theIndian police and the judicial sys-tem but no one was convicted.

Two questions persistedabout this incident. First, if com-pelling evidence was there to nailIranian complicity, then surelythe US-Israeli combine wouldhave had enough heft and stakesin India to see through the con-viction? Second, back then, Indiahad just replaced China as thebiggest market for Iranian oil.Why would an economicallystruggling Iran risk offendingIndia with terror attacks? Yet, thetaint survived and resurfaced inTrump’s questionable attempts toslam Soleimani as a “terrorist”,who conducted operations from“London to Delhi.”

To understand the situation,context is of prime importance.General Soleimani was the com-mander of the Quds Force,which had been at the forefrontof advancing Iran’s strategic sec-tarian interests in an interven-tionist manner. His forces, alongwith a host of supporting mili-tias, played an invaluable role inrouting the Islamic State (IS). Inthe bargain, the reclaimed ter-ritories passed in favour of hisco-sectarian and anti-US ally,Bashar-al-Assad’s SyrianGovernment. This resulted in

the parallel defeat of America,Arab Sheikhdom-sponsoredmilitias and forces both in Iraqi-Syrian lands and Yemen.

However, almost all terrorattacks across the world since9/11 can be traced to the perni-cious support extended by theideological fount of the US alliesin Arab sheikhdoms and not toTehran. Even beyond theMiddle-East, terror set-ups likethe Boko Haram in Nigeria, Al-Shabab in Somalia and theTaliban in Afghanistan amongothers are all irreconcilablyopposed to Shiite Iran. They findfinancial and ideological succourfrom the Arab Sheikhdoms.

Now, Soleimani’s QudsForce is believed to have eightdirectorates, including one clus-ter that conjoins the Pakistan-Afghanistan-India theatre.However, the realistic focus ofSoleimani’s concerns may havebeen directed towards theMiddle Eastern theatre. Even inthis specific directorate, the Shiainterest is most vulnerable inPakistan and Afghanistan andnot in India.

The Israeli tact of covertglobal actions is an establishedpractice with officially sanctified“hits” to neutralise its stated ene-mies. Murmurs were rife aboutthe Delhi attack being a recip-rocal Iranian revenge for Israelicovert operations to “take out”Iranian scientists. Even if trueand unacceptable on Indiansoil, it does not qualify linearly

as bringing terror infrastructureinto India but as an incidentalpart of the ongoing cloak-and-dagger between Iran and Israelas it plays out globally.

If anything, Iranian andIndian interests converge strate-gically in the sensitive realm ofAfghanistan (much to the con-sternation of Pakistan) as also inthe development of a counter-poise to the Chinese built facil-ity at Gwadar in Pakistan and inthe joint development of theChabahar Port in Iran as analternative artery to CentralAsia and Afghanistan.

Besides, India has had sev-eral decades of experience inunderstanding and documentingthe terror industry and its nurs-eries, benefactors and routes. Insuch a long time, it has neverrecorded or even expressed con-cern about any possible Iranangle on terror as yet. Certainly,the truth is somewhere inbetween as neither can an inter-ventionist force like the QudsForce be expected to abide byinternational rules, nor werethere any mega protests ofmourning, as has been claimed.But the US and its alliedSheikhdoms are crying wolf astheir own record in creating orfacilitating the ongoing mess inthe Middle-East and in fuellingthe terror industry in general faroutstrips that of Iran.

(The writer, a military veteran, is a former Lt Governorof Andaman & Nicobar Islands)

When Britain’s Prince Harry marriedAmerican actor Meghan Markle, hehad already made the transition from

tradition to modernity, casting off his regal aurato be a clutter-breaking, young influencer asa commoner. He made sure that his new wifesported his mother, Princess Diana’s jewels,a tribute to her unassailable appeal as the palaceinsider who conformed and rebelled in partsand one who is still betted upon by global mar-keters to keep the House of Tudor relevant cer-emonially. And it was this populist aura and

her brand ambassadorship that Britain could not and still cannot ignore, usingit to sell the royals as part of an exportable culture, attracting tourists, brandsand the subsidiary economy of memorabilia and lifestyle markers. By decidingto step back as “senior members of the royal family,” refusing some part of theroyal purse that comes from the British public and choosing to run an indepen-dent global foundation, Harry and Meghan are pretty much following her foot-steps. They are not only reinventing their relevance in a fluid world of images,where icons are being created and destroyed daily, but challenging the stiff upperlip of convention. In that sense, their desire to “carve their own path” with the“aim of becoming financially independent” ought to be lauded. And if they choosea profession to reclaim their destiny on their terms, there is nothing wrong withit. Except they would have to make a clean break then as progressives and notbe part-time as they propose now, looking to have the cake and eat it too.

The decision should not have come as a shock to anyone because the youngcouple has right from the beginning of their relationship been straining at the royalleash. Prince Harry was always a wild child and a non-challenger to the throne.And Meghan was not one to let Harry’s title or Queen Elizabeth II intimidate her.Unlike Kate Middleton, who, too, is not of royal blood but has adhered to theQueen’s strict rules and etiquette, she has broken almost every tradition. Rightfrom public displays of affection to moving out of the Kensington Palace and liv-ing in a small cottage, to holding a baby shower and announcing the birth oftheir son Archie on Instagram, the couple has done it all. The monarchy has longbeen a financial burden as it costs over £250 million a year to maintain, a fig-ure which is bound to pinch in times of an economic slowdown and spendingcuts. This will bite even more once Brexit becomes a reality. Surely the Queen-obsessed Britain can see that and not worry how she was hurt by her family?

The Supreme Court has not just relievedbesieged Kashmiris from their ordeal byasking the Government to review inter-

net shutdowns and restrictive orders on theirfree movement. It has re-established the moraltrajectory of what a democracy should be ata time when a nation’s choices and opinionsare swelling with majoritarian emotion ratherthan corrective reason. When the brute forceof arrogance is intolerant of any kind of logi-cal dissent and wants subservience withoutcontrarianism as the only political culture. In

that sense, the ruling is significant as it applies to every oppressive measure inforce and cautions the regime against overreaching itself. The top court cate-gorically asserted that internet use was as much about the freedom of speechand expression under Article 19 (1) (A) of the Constitution, that “suspension offree movement, internet and basic freedoms cannot be an arbitrary exercise ofpower” and that “mere expression of dissent or disagreement against a Governmentdecision cannot be reason for internet suspension.” The court further criticisedthe repeated use of Section 144, a colonial-era rule to ban large gatherings inthe erstwhile State that was downgraded into a Union Territory after Article 370was scrapped. “It can’t be used as a tool to oppress difference of opinion,” thebench said. And lest the Government slacken on relaxations or use the argu-mentative logic of clampdowns being a protective shield against threats fromPakistan-exported militancy, the court has asked that all restrictive orders of thelast five months be made public so that they can be challenged legally. This issignificant, considering the severe detention orders against politicians, business-men, notables and civil society, particularly three former Chief Ministers, whohave forever been considered “friendlies” of New Delhi, sworn by the idea ofIndia and been the buffer against extremist hawks in the Valley. This means thatthey can now seek legal redress, the court implying some concern over theGovernment’s assumption that their continued demand for an autonomous arrange-ment vis-a-vis the Valley was seditious and in conflict with the new arrangement.And nothing could reset the balance with a counterpoint than Justice NV Ramanna’squoting Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities to describe the prevalent situation:“It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness.” It is the grimmestreminder of how the Government wants to bequeath a legacy in the Valley, as apunisher in a conflict zone or as a healer of history.

The internet shutdown in Kashmir has crippled more than common life, ithas paralysed its economy, pushing away even the most moderate civilians insteadof coopting them. The Kashmir Chamber of Commerce has estimated a loss ofaround `10,000 crore following the stoppage of online business transactions.This comes to around seven per cent of the State’s GDP for 2017-18. Accordingto a 2018 report by Delhi think-tank Indian Council for Research on InternationalEconomic Relations (ICRIER), internet curbs between 2012 and 2017 cost theState economy `4,000 crore. The tourism industry has been the worst hit in aState that depends on it. According to the 2017 economic survey by the thenGovernment, the tourism sector makes for around 6.98 per cent of the State’sGDP. The absence of internet has affected hotel bookings and even allied sec-tors like handicrafts, handlooms and transport, which were hoping to draw sus-tenance from online sales, considering there were very few visitors in the Valley.App-based aggregator services and online businesses have all but wound up.The students, who can actually be used to re-contour politics, are at the worstreceiving end. Without the internet, they have been taking trains to neighbouringareas to register for competitive exams, complete theses and continue onlinestudy courses. Telemedicine, a life-saver in a terrain that’s not conducive for rush-ing patients to speciality centres during major health emergencies, has collapsed.Doctors had established online volunteer networks to share reports and guidecolleagues on-site to treat serious cases and save lives. Draconian lockdownsanywhere have only ended up breeding distrust and strengthened the anti-estab-lishment resolve. If the Government indeed wants to champion the cause of devel-opment, a reason it cited for redefining the status of Kashmir, then it has got toengage with the situation on the ground as is and not craft its new normal. Onlyan evolution of dialogue and not imposition can work in Kashmir.

No real change

Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Finally, a closure” (January 9).After a seven-year-long legal bat-tle, Nirbhaya’s family will finallyheave a sigh of relief and herdeparted soul will be in peace.Perseverance on the part of herparents, media pressure and pub-lic support have all contributed tobringing a closure to this case.

But today is also the time forsome introspection: Could justicehave been delivered faster? Hasour Government done enough toensure women feel safe whiletravelling, especially after sunset?Have CCTVs and policepatrolling covered all such cor-ners of the national capital?

We still have a long way to gobefore we make the country safefor women. Changes have beenthere — more women now feelempowered to speak against gen-der crimes and discrimination.But the security apparatus and thejustice delivery system is marredwith many loopholes. Until andunless the system is strengthened,death penalties can do little tobring any change.

Bal Govind Noida

Take a stand

Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Feisty Deepika” (January10). It is a matter of relief that byendangering their career andlives, popular actors like DeepikaPadukone, who traditionally pre-ferred to remain “politically cor-rect”, are now coming out on the

streets to remain “morally cor-rect.” Deepika’s stance reminds usof Martin Luther King Jr, whohad once said, “There comes atime when one must take a posi-tion that is neither safe norpolitic, nor popular, but he musttake it because conscience tellshim it is right.”

Kajal ChatterjeeKolkata

Courageous actor

Sir — This refers to the editorial,“Feisty Deepika” (January 10). I’msure when actor Deepika Padukonedecided to visit the JawaharlalNehru University (JNU), she knewit would invite hate. She was thereat the campus for 15 minutes butdid not make any grand statements.

Because she felt the need to visit theuniversity not as an actor but as anordinary citizen, who is acutelyconscious of her rights and respon-sibility in these restive times.

As it is, Deepika is no strangerto controversies. Her 2018 film,Padmaavat, had to face a lot ofresistance from Right-wing groupslike the Karni Sena, which called fora ban on the film. BJP leaderKunwar Surajpal Singh Ammueven announced `10 crore awardto behead Deepika. Despite thethreats, Padmaavat earned `585crore at the worldwide box office.

It wasn’t surprising that BJPleader Tajinder Bagga launched a“boycott Chhapaak” campaign.However, Union Minister PrakashJavadekar distanced himself fromhis call. Instead, he invoked“democracy” and said Deepikawas free to support protestingJNU students. One is forced tothink: Is it Deepika who makes theBJP democratic? Her decisionmust provide courage to otherBollywood actors to raise their voic-es because this is not the time tostay quiet.

Bidyut Kumar ChatterjeeFaridabad

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

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op nionHYDERABAD | SATURDAY | JANUARY 11, 2020

06

Caught in the crossfire

BHOPINDER SINGH

The US and allied Sheikhdoms are crying wolf as their own record in creating or facilitatingthe ongoing mess in the Middle-East and the terror industry far outstrips that of Iran

I have never been intimidatedby any powerful person andauthority. I have a naturalinstinct to challenge authority and to test them,and it’s very natural.

Actor—Kangana Ranaut

My simple response toPakistan is even though it islate, neighbour, heal thyselfof your malaise. There are no takers here for your malware.

UN Ambassador —Syed Akbaruddin

S O U N D B I T E

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

JNU, Jamia have parallels in German history

The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is a unique insti-tution that provides an opportunity to the disadvan-taged to pursue their dreams and aspirations. In recent

times, the university complex has come to resonate withopen, often heated, discussion on issues that matter tothe country. The political musings inside constantly clashedwith the politics of the far-right outside. Lacking in intel-lectual capital to conquer the university, the Right-wingindulged in malicious propaganda. The ferocious assaulton the students and teachers in the campus under the coverof darkness needs to be viewed against this backdrop.

In the 1930s, Adolf Hitler refused to trust universityprofessors and the student community as he feared thattheir academic strength could resist the Gleichschaltung(the process of the Nazification of the German population).He wanted to banish humanistic thinking from the univer-sities. University rectors were committed Nazis and wield-ed uninhibited authority to run the institutions on their freewill. When Hitler came to power in 1933, there were 1.28lakh students studying in that country, which dwindled to

58,325 by 1939. The contributions of the Jews were eitherignored or deplored. Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativitywas dumped as a Jewish plot to gain racial supremacyand subjugate the Germans. Many university intellectuals,who dared to speak, ended up in concentration camps.In some ways, incidents at the Jamia Millia Islamia, theAligarh Muslim University and now JNU have parallels inGerman history.

Haridasan RajanKozhikode

BEYOND THEMIDDLE-EAST,

TERROR SET-UPSLIKE THE BOKO

HARAM INNIGERIA,

AL-SHABAB INSOMALIA AND THE

TALIBAN INAFGHANISTAN

AMONG OTHERS,ARE ALL

IRRECONCILABLYOPPOSED TO

SHIITE IRAN. THEYFIND FINANCIAL

AND IDEOLOGICALSUCCOUR FROM

THE ARABSHEIKHDOMS

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

People’s princeThe Prime Minister’s exten-sive budget consultation isreserved only for his cronycapitalist friends and notfarmers, students, youth,women or the middle class.

Congress leader—Rahul Gandhi

In a relief to Kashmiris, apex court asks Govt to reviewrestrictive orders and internet bans in a week

Britain’s heart may lie with the ‘hurt’ Queen asHarry & Meghan exit but they are being pragmatic

SC’s conscience call

We have to see to it thatwe as a nation developpositive attitude, leave negativism, stop affliction,destruction and movetowards construction...

Vice President—Venkaiah Naidu

Don’t stop information flow

THE GOVERNMENT IS ADOPTING DOUBLE STANDARDSBY ALLOWING FOREIGN ENVOYS TO VISIT JAMMU

& KASHMIR, BUT NOT INDIAN POLITICIANS.—CONGRESS LEADER

JAIRAM RAMESH

ALLEGATIONS OF GUIDED TOURS UNFOUNDED. ASIMILAR VISIT TO KASHMIR CAN BE ORGANISED INFUTURE FOR OTHERS, INCLUDING FOR EU ENVOYS.—EXTERNAL AFFAIRS MINISTRY SPOKESMAN RAVEESH KUMAR

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

In today’s world, the internet is the lifeblood ofsociety and communication. It not only enablesindividuals to connect and communicate with

each other while eroding physical boundaries, italso provides a corridor to generate, broadcast anddisseminate information within seconds to any dis-tant place. Consequently, it has dramaticallytransformed the contours of our personal, social,political and economic life.

The United Nations Human Rights Council(UNHRC) in a report on the promotion and pro-tection of the right to freedom of opinion andexpression 2011, in chapter V notes, “The Internet,as a medium by which the right to freedom ofexpression can be exercised, can only serve its pur-pose if States assume their commitment to devel-oping effective policies to attain universal accessto the Internet.”

In countries like Estonia, France and CostaRica, access to the internet has been declared as afundamental right. In the Shirin RK vs State ofKerala case in 2019, the Kerala High Court main-tained that the right to access the internet is a fun-damental right. The court further mentioned thataccess to the internet is an inalienable part of theright to privacy and right to education underArticle 21 of the Indian Constitution.

Unremitting and equal opportunity for par-ticipation in the digital territory must be pro-nounced as a prime and pressing necessity in thedigital age. Digital media such as Facebook,WhatsApp, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube withminimal constraints emerged as alternative spacesfor people to voice the actual concerns of citizens.

Further, reliance on such channels diminish-es the authority of the mediocre in the mainstreammedia, that masquerades as a champion of citizen’srights. On its website, the Digital India initiativenotes that to digitally empower its citizens the needfor digital infrastructure as a utility to every citi-zen must be fulfilled. Under the nine pillars ofDigital India, the Universal Access to MobileConnectivity, Internet Access Programme andInformation for All, are majorly highlighted.

The mounting pace of internet shutdown nev-ertheless makes us ponder about the seriousnessof the objective envisioned for Digital India. TheGovernment had launched it to advance a pan-dig-ital character of India, however, ironically, theGovernment itself deprives the digital citizenry ofaccessing the internet. When a large part of thecountry was made to gear up for a Digital andonline India, Kashmir was deliberately pushed toremain under continuous digital darkness for 152days.

Having discussed that, the question then aris-es why is the Government blacking out internetacross the country? The simple answer is that inthe name of maintaining “law and order” it is anintentional move to neutralise all kinds of demon-strations and protests, to not let civil society anduniversity students criticize, plan and assemble forpeaceful protests/gatherings/demonstrations.

Internet shutdown is defined by Access Now(AN) — a non-profit that works for digital rightsaround the world — as when someone, usually agovernment, intentionally disrupts the internet ormobile apps to control what people say or do.Shutdowns are also sometimes called “blackouts”or “kill switches.”

According to a report published by AN, the

number of internet shutdowns by thecountry from January to July, 2019, Indiatops the list with total 80 blackouts.

The report distinctly indicates thatevery year there is a continuous alarm-ing rise in internet shutdowns in Indiaas well as across the world, mainly inAsian and African regions. However, thelegal services organisation SFLC.in,records that between 2013-2015 access-es to the internet was blocked only ninetimes across four Indian States.

Financial aspects of internet shut-down cannot be spurned. The IndianCouncil for Research on InternationalEconomic Relations (ICRIER), NewDelhi, conducted a study, prepared andreleased a report about the impact ofinternet shutdown upon the Indianeconomy on April 25, 2018. The reportmaintains that during 2012 and 2017, theeconomy suffered a loss of approximate-ly $3.04 billion. The figure might exceed$11 to 12 billion if we add internet shut-down in 2018 and 2019.

Meanwhile, it is noteworthy that thePersonal Data Protection (PDP) Bill2019, considers the necessity of the col-lective culture that helps to foster a freeand fair digital economy. Considering thescale of data on internet shutdown inIndia, the digital economy and theobjective of Digital India will merelyresult in another chimaera for Indians.

Right after the anti-CAA protestsflared up in Assam and other north-east-ern States, internet was completely shut.In Assam, the internet was shut down formore than a week. However, due to thetimely intervention of the Guwahati HighCourt services were restored.

Internet services were shut downseven times due to the anti-CAA protestsin dozens of districts of Uttar Pradesh(UP), including Lucknow, Ghaziabad,Prayagraj and Kanpur. In Delhi-NCR,Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh internetwas suspended in limited parts for lessthan a day on various days in December.This is paving the way for digital pover-ty, discrimination and divide.Surprisingly there seems to be no abruptdefinite move from the Government tobridge this widening chasm to justify theaims of Digital India.

According to Internet Right (2011)— an initiative of the DigitalEmpowerment Foundation — develop-ment deficits and divide cannot bebridged if information access and servicesare denied. Hence, restricting somebodyfrom accessing the internet is a gross vio-lation of human rights and underminesone's right to information/access toinformation. It is undemocratic andunconstitutional in nature.

Significantly, the Supreme Court onFriday attested the reasonable necessityto access the internet and termed theinternet shutdown in Kashmir as total-ly illegal. The court further reminded theGovernment that it was violating theIndian telecom rules and directed theauthorities concerned to review uneth-ical and unjust curbs on internet andcommunication systems in Kashmirregion within a week.

The Bench, led by Justice NVRamana ruled, “Freedom of internetaccess is a fundamental right.” TheBench also added that freedom to freespeech and expression is proportionate-

ly curtained due to internet shutdown,granted under Article 19 (1) (a) of theConstitution. Reasonable restrictions tocurb free speech and expression are alsopart of the same law. But no practisingdemocracy shall allow the restrictions toaccess internet for this long. Restrictionscould be imposed for a temporary peri-od to prevent foreseen extreme violenceand misfortune of any kind. However,extended internet blackouts not onlyrestrict society from exercising the con-stitutional right to free speech andexpression but also the right to accessinformation actualised through theinternet in the Digital Age. Lack of accessto the internet might result in massivecorruption and lack of transparency. Thisseverely undermines democratic valuesand fundamental rights rooted in theConstitution. Temporary Suspension ofTelecom Services (Public Emergency andPublic Safety) Rules, 2017 and IndianTelegraph Act, 1885, does not permit forthe complete shutdown as witnessed inthe case of Kashmir, but just for a limit-ed and short period to avoid violence insociety. These rules and law have gross-ly been violated by Government.

Unfortunately, India does not evenhave any new Act to respond to variousethical issues arising at the governanceand policy level in the Age of theInternet.

The Government must seriouslydeliberate and declare the internet as afundamental right to strengthen its tan-gible spirit and standing in the world.

(The writer is Assistant Professor,Department of Philosophy, IP College forWomen, Delhi University)

The mounting pace of internet shutdown makes us ponder about the seriousnessof the Government's objective envisioned for Digital India

analysis 07F I R S T C O L U M N

Time for a socialstock exchange? If SSEs could operate in India, they would ensure

efficacious sustainable unity of the people, the planet and profits

MOHAMMAD IRSHAD

THE SUPREMECOURT ON FRIDAY

ATTESTED THEREASONABLE

NECESSITY TOACCESS THE

INTERNET ANDTERMED THE

SHUTDOWN INKASHMIR AS

TOTALLY ILLEGAL.THE COURT

FURTHERREMINDED THEGOVERNMENT

THAT IT WASVIOLATING THE

INDIAN TELECOMRULES AND

DIRECTED THEAUTHORITIES

CONCERNED TOREVIEW

UNETHICAL ANDUNJUST CURBS

ON INTERNETAND

COMMUNICATIONSYSTEMS IN

KASHMIR REGIONWITHIN A WEEK

Since the beginning of the financial year, investments aiming at high-er returns along with a socially-desirable environmental impact arebeing stressed upon. This is why the concept of social entrepre-

neurship becomes even more relevant, especially in the wake of the UN’s17 Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement at the UNFC-CC 2015. The precedence varies from the UK, Canada, Mexico, Mauritius,Singapore and Brazil to the USA. The Indian economy, too, has realisedthe need to shape up entrepreneurship set-ups under SociallyResponsible Investments (SRIs). Social enterprises in the country undoubt-edly have a tendency to flourish, owing to the fact that India holds oneof the highly-developed “social impact” networks among emerging nations.However, there are certain difficulties that such social enterprises dealwith, the predominant one being the lack of funding.

In this backdrop, the concept of a Social Stock Exchange (SSE) isquite ground-breaking but definitely not novel. SSEs already function insome arrangements in the UK, Canada, Kenya and Singapore. However,the models may be different. SSEs are understood to be the platformthat offers prospective investors opportunities to invest in social enter-prises (SEs) so as to facilitate the realisation of welfare objectives in thelarger landscape of financial inclusion and clean energy. SSEs are pro-posed as a key step in achieving the objective of attracting efficient, effec-tive, transparent and scalable capital and investors with the combinedelements of crowdfunding, donation, peer-to-peer lending and so on, soas to equip SEs and voluntary organisations with the wherewithal to meettheir capital structure requirements. The fundamental question that needslooking into is whether SSEs would work like conventional stock exchangesor be governed by social and green businesses. Globally, it is often debat-ed that the idea behind “impact investing” is that those putting in moneycan pursue financial returns while also intentionally addressing social andenvironmental challenges. It is believed that UN SDGs could be an answerto instrumentalise the universal Theory of Change. For the uninitiated,theory of change is a methodology for planning, participation and eval-uation that is used in companies, philanthropy, not-for-profit and gov-ernment sectors to promote social change.

Undoubtedly, SSEs could be considered the response from uncon-ventional actors, namely private fund advisers who foresee real value inthe form of a more holistic investment market by entailing viable SocialReturn on Investments. International markets have already supported bondissuance for social purposes. For instance, green bonds are debt instru-ments intended to raise funds for projects that have a tangible environ-mental benefit. Unlike successful precedents internationally, the Indianeconomy needs to strive even more prudently to accord compliance underenvironmental, social, governance investment standards. These couldbe a tailor-made solution to social woes where markets and governmentsfail. Broadly, such an exchange enables private capital to be mobilisedfor the public good. Indeed, this requires greater capacity-building on thedemand side and education on the supply side of the market, especial-ly in the context of the Indian economy. Additionally, sanctions from allstakeholders including investors, social businesses and the intermedi-aries become a prerequisite. Moreover, the concept of “impact invest-ing” needs to grow exponentially so as to lure mainstream investors alongwith incremental incentives for them that could eventually reflect via reducedinformation and transaction costs. Indubitably, SSEs possess the poten-tial of combining corporate social responsibility, financial prerogatives,venture philanthropy and sustainable development. Despite such a bear-ing, any sort of global framework that could prove to be the best classbenchmarking approach to drive SSEs remains largely absent. The revis-ited philosophy should travel from responsible investments to sustain-able ones to thematic ones to impact first investments. Only then can itrealise competitive (social good) returns on the world stage with simul-taneous independence from foreign aid. To get this right, enabling con-ditions and contextual factors should be vigilantly determined in advancetowards the successful scaling of ecosystem synergies.

Of course, the regulatory, legal and policy implications of “impactinvesting” and SSEs should be the key policy agenda. It is vital that theSEBI, while launching the SSE, also comes out with the guiding princi-ples of recruiting capable impact assessors. Worldwide, the SSEs found-ed so far are building progressively. Yet incremental change can be trans-formative in providing one mechanism to mobilise more capital for organ-isations that seek to address many of the current social and environ-mental problems. Likewise, rules must be put in place to coordinate trad-ing, settlement and clearance to make SSEs a path-breaking move. IfSSEs could operate in India, this would ensure efficacious sustainableunity of the people, the planet and profits.

(Jain is an Assistant Professor and Senior Research Scholar andNagpal is a Senior Research Scholar at Delhi University)

There are various advantages ofspace exploration as it gives usmore information about our

solar system, the galaxy and the uni-verse. It gives us access to new rawmaterials and better understanding ofthe natural world and so on.

Given the global race to exploreand exploit outer space, people arealready talking about capturing therights of taxation on the moon.However, only four countries haveattempted to reach it so far, with justthree of them being successful.

Taxation on Mars may be decadesaway but giving it some thought nowcould give us the early mover advan-tage as we are heading to the red plan-et soon. Taxes are going to play a big

role in getting to Mars and uponarrival there.

“Space law” was largely formulat-ed in the mid-1960s, when explorationbegan in earnest. In 1967, the basictreaty governing space law, the Treatyon Principles Governing the Activitiesof States in the Exploration and Useof Outer Space, including the Moonand Other Celestial Bodies, otherwiseknown as the “Outer Space Treaty”was concluded.

This treaty, ratified by over 100countries, including the major space-faring nations, lays down a series ofbasic rules. However, the Outer SpaceTreaty does not descend into greatdetail about space use. For example,while it does have some valuable state-ments about states being liable fordamage caused by objects they launchinto space, a principle elaboratedupon in a subsequent 1971 treaty, itis largely silent on the commercial useof space.

Commercial exploitation of spacehas become commonplace and plansfor activity beyond our planet arebecoming more ambitious by theday. Space is becoming a big business

and commercial interests are puttingnew pressures on the law governingouter space. For instance, billionaireslike Elon Musk of SpaceX, Jeff Bezosof Blue Origin, Richard Branson ofVirgin Galactic and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, are racing tolaunch commercial rockets that couldtake tourists to space. While theexact point at which the territory ofstates ends and outer space starts isunsettled, there is a significant amountof commercial activity already under-taken and more planned beyond ter-ritorial boundaries.

Certain areas are still open to con-troversies. Such as, in cases where theMoon Agreement (a multilateraltreaty that turns jurisdiction of allcelestial bodies over to the 11 partic-ipating countries) doesn’t apply in theabsence of international law, couldstates adopt unilateral approaches orwhether commercial exploitation ispossible without an internationalregime.

Some years ago, Indian courts andtribunals concluded in a series of cases,that a satellite in geostationary orbitdoes not give rise to a business pres-

ence or permanent establishment inIndia and that payments for the useof transponder capacity do not con-stitute royalties within Article 12(2) ofthe Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)Model Treaty.

In the leading case, Asia SatelliteCommunications Co. Ltd. vs DIT twoHong Kong-owned satellites were ingeostationary orbit that was not with-in Indian orbital slots allocated by theInternational TelecommunicationsUnion and were not positioned overIndian airspace.

The satellites’ transmission foot-prints extended over several countriesincluding India. The satellite operatoragreed to provide the transpondercapacity on the satellites to televisionbroadcasters to relay their pro-grammes to customers in India.

This case sets before us the diffi-culties of taxation in space, the firstissue being the uncertainty over theboundary between space and Earth.While the Outer Space Treaty purportsto regulate the use of outer space, itdoes not define where space begins.

Also, typical tours of duty on the

International Space Station are aroundsix months and Valeri Polyakov, aRussian cosmonaut, holds the record,having stayed aboard the Mir spacestation for more than 14 months. Thisindicates that it is already realistic forindividuals to cease to be residents ofany state when they go to work inspace. Technological advances willlikely extend this ability even further.

If individuals can be so non-res-ident, then it becomes plausible forcompanies whose management andcontrol is exercised in space similar-ly to be residents outside planetEarth.

A concrete example is a situationwhere you have a satellite owned byone country in orbit over anothercountry providing service to a thirdcountry. This clearly raises a numberof issues regarding taxation.

Also, advances in technology willfacilitate longer periods of extra-ter-restrial travel and residence, allowingfor the possibility of legal entities tobe controlled from space.

As residence in space is an inter-esting concept and we are trying toextend the theory of “source vs resi-

dence” to the moon, satellites and soon, do we have to consider the con-cept of the source or residence inspace?

Where is Martian employmentexercised? That is generally the placewhere you physically undertake thetasks; so if those activities are under-taken outside the territory of any state,what does this mean for taxation?

Another concept that becomesapparent is the issue of permanentestablishment. The only reason that asatellite in geostationary orbit is nota permanent establishment is becauseit is outside the territory of all states.However, if a permanent establish-ment is not in any state, then it has norelevance for the international tax sys-tem. So, no possibility of PermanentEstablishments in Geostationary Orbitshould be revised.

There is still some uncertaintyover how activities in outer space willbe treated by taxing authorities.

When we are talking of taxationon the moon and rights of taxation ofsource of income from the moon, weneed to have some authority that willregister entities there. Also, the tax

authorities don’t have a way to audityou in space. Another question forspace-based taxpayers might be,“What’s the appropriate tax year?”

In conclusion, space law does notprovide clear answers to many of thebasic questions that a tax profession-al would need to ask in order to eval-uate whether outer space activities canbe taxed.

International cooperation shouldbe encouraged to come up with a glob-al mechanism for space exploitationand all countries must share in man-agement and benefits derived fromthis.

There are two possible approach-es to it. “Equitable sharing of benefits”that requires a system of internation-al taxation and one where no interna-tional norm exists. Whether countriescould apply source taxation to busi-ness carried out on the moon, whetheran entity can transfer its residency tothe moon and will OECD adopt thesame approach to the moon as it hasadopted for the geostationary orbit.

(The writer is Group HeadTaxation, with an international secu-rity firm)

Obstacles to outer space taxationInternational cooperation should be encouraged to come up with a global mechanism for space exploitation and all countries

must share in management and benefits derived from this

AMIT RUSTAGI

HYDERABAD | SATURDAY | JANUARY 11, 2020

www.dailypioneer.com

MEGHAJAIN

AISHWARYANAGPAL

HYDERABAD | SATURDAY | JANUARY 11, 2020 money 08

CAPSULE

Lanka to buy 500buses from India forUSD 15 mnNEW DELHI: Sri Lanka willpurchase 500 buses from Indiafor USD 15 million by utilisingthe line of credit extended to itduring President GotabayaRajapaksa's visit to New Delhi,officials said on Friday. Thenew buses for Sri LankaTransport Board would beprocured to strengthen thecountry's public transport,according to a memoapproved by the Cabinet thisweek. "The Cabinet ofMinisters has given theirconsent for procurement of400 new buses with 50–54seating capacity and 100 newbuses with 32–35 seatingcapacity utilising USD 15.03million under the Indian loangrant/scheme," the memo said.Prime Minister Narendra Modiin November announced afinancial assistance of USD450 million to Sri Lankaincluding USD 50 million tofight terrorism after he held"fruitful" talks with the islandnation's newly electedPresident Rajapaksa.

MyGate aims at 10-fold growth inuser base in 2020NEW DELHI: Mobile-basedsecurity solutionsprovider MyGate is aiming at10-fold growth in user base in2020 as the startup firm hasembarked on an ambitiousexpansion plan, a companyofficial said. With its services,the firm enables homeownersand residents of gatedpremises to monitor andcontrol entries andexits of their visitors and iscurrently operating in 14cities across the country, theofficial said. "At present, we aremanaging two million check-ins every day and aiming at 20million by end of 2020. Therevenue will also increase intandem with the expansion,"MyGate CEO and co-founderVijay Arisetty said.The company will expand itsfootprint to 12 more citiesacross the country with a focuson the east, he said, addingthat it started providingservices at the IIM-Calcutta.After Cuttack and Raipur, thefirm will expand itsservices in Bhubaneswar,Guwahati and Rachi, he said. Inthe eastern part of the country,the company isplanning tosecure 8 lakh homes across2,100 gated communitiesby 2020, Arisetty said.

India's oil demand growth toovertake China by mid-2020s: IEAPNS n NEW DELHI

India's oil demand growth willovertake China by mid-2020s,the International EnergyAgency (IEA) said on Fridayasking the world's third-largestenergy consumer to raise thecapacity of strategic oil storagesas insurance against disrup-tions.

IEA Executive Director FatihBirol said India's current strate-gic oil storage of 10 days of itsimports is not enough to pro-tect it in "rainy days".

IEA projected India's oildemand to reach 6 million bar-rels per day (bpd) by 2024 from4.4 million bpd in 2017.China's demand growth is like-ly to be slightly lower than thatof India by the mid-2020s.

"India is the world's third-largest consumer of oil, thefourth-largest oil refiner and anet exporter of refined (petro-leum) products. The rate ofgrowth of India's oil con-sumption is expected to sur-pass that of China in the mid-2020s, making India a veryattractive market for refineryinvestment," IEA said the 'India2020 Energy Policy Review'released here.

Speaking to reporters afterthe release, Birol said Indiatoday is the third-largest oilmarket behind the USand China. Its"demand will go upsignificantly in thenext years tocome" on the backrise in oil con-sumption for mobil-ity, as cooking fueland in the petrochemi-cal industry.

The IEA, which coordinatesthe release of strategic petro-leum reserves (SPR) among

developed countries in times ofemergency, said it is important

for India to expand itsreserves.

"Therefore India'scurrent (strategic)stock equivalentto 10 days ofimports will needto increase in

order to protectIndia in the rainy

days in the oil market,"he said.

India has built undergroundstorages at Padur andVishakapatnam in Andhra

Pradesh and Mangalore andPadur in Karnataka to stock5.33 million tonnes of crudeoil. The storage capacity isequivalent to less than 10 daysof India's oil imports.

In the second phase, similarstorages are planned atChandikhol in Odisha andPadur in Karnataka for anoth-er 6.5 million tonnes of oil.

"I think the current capaci-ty is a good start but, lookingat the growing demand, thishas to increase," he said. "I donot want to give a specificnumber to India but I want togive specific advice, the adviseis there is a need to increasecapacity and increase it con-tinuously."

He said India like othercountries has economic prior-ities, but "has to prepare itselffor rainy days, it is very impor-tant, especially in this world

which is becoming a dangerousworld and many of the oil-exporting countries and chokepoints are being discussed."

IEA member countries main-tain 90 days of strategic stock-pile, he said adding IEA was indiscussion with the Indian gov-ernment on how to improve thecurrent stock capacity so thatthe country can become a full-time member of IEA.

India currently is an associ-ate member.

"In the oil markets, if it is notrainy it is always cloudy," hesaid.

India imports more than 80per cent of its oil needs, of which65 per cent is from the MiddleEast through the Strait ofHormuz, the IEA said, addingthat the country's oil refiningcapacity will rise to about 8 mil-lion bpd by 2025 from about 5million bpd at present.

IEA projected India's oil demand to reach6 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2024from 4.4 million bpd in 2017. China'sdemand growth is likely to be slightlylower than that of India by the mid-2020s

‘Trai's order willjeopardise contentcreation, hit growth’PNS n MUMBAI

Television broadcasters onFriday united against regula-tor Trai's recent order cappingprices for channels, saying itwill "jeopardise" content cre-ation, impact jobs and pulldown economic growth.

The Telecom RegulatoryAuthority of India (TRAI)had last month revisited itstariff order to soften the pricesfor end consumers throughinterventions, includingreducing the maximum priceone has to pay for a channel toRs 12 from the previous Rs 19.

The broadcasters gottogether under the aegis of theIndian BroadcastingFoundation (IBF) to opposethe move in a rare press con-ference here which had topexecutives from all theleading networksspeaking out.

The grouping'spresident and head ofSony Entertainment,N P Singh said therewas no need for the neworder and the regulator shouldhave had ideally given time forthings to settle down after lastyear's tariff order.

He claimed the broadcast-ers, who garner only a fourthof the payments made by endconsumers with a bulk 65 percent going to distributors, hadsupported the last orderdespite reservations andinvested over Rs 1,000 crore toeducate the people on it.

After last year's order, he

said the industry had lost over12 million subscribers.

Star TV's Uday Shankartermed the new order as "ludi-crous" and said the industrywill use all its "constitutionalrights" to challenge the order

in seeking a rethink.TV Today's Aroon

Purie said the new orderwill "strangulate" theindustry and added thatit is an important sector

which the governmentshould encourage and not

suppress.Discovery Networks' Megha

Tata said India is already thecheapest cable market in theworld and the future of the sec-tor will be in jeopardy throughsuch regulatory interventions.

Singh said the broadcastersseek a stable regulatory regimeand interventions like these arecontrary to the NarendraModi government's promise toensure ease of doing businessfor enterprises.

The broadcastersgot together underthe aegis of theIndian BroadcastingFoundation (IBF) tooppose the move ina rare pressconference herewhich had topexecutives from allthe leading networksspeaking out

India, US making ‘very good progress' on trade: ShringlaPTI n WASHINGTON

India and the US are making a"very good progress" on a tradepackage and were looking toengage in a long term frame-work for preferential or freemarket access to goods fromeach other's countries, India'soutgoing envoy here has said.

The Ambassador HarshVardhan Shringla, who wouldtake up his new assignment asIndia's next foreign secretarylater this month, said that thereare a lot of complementarities intrade between India and the US.

In September, the twonations failed to announce alimited trade deal in New Yorkduring the meeting of PrimeMinister Narendra Modi andPresident Donald Trump, dueto still prevailing differences

over the package, includingaccess Washington sought toIndian markets for medicaldevices, such as stents andknee implants, information

and communications technol-ogy (ICT) products and dairyproducts with the removal ofprice caps.

India is keen on a fair and

reasonable trade deal in whichits request for market access issecured while also addressingthe trade deficit issue raised bythe US.

"We are happy that we aremaking very good progress onour trade package between ourtwo sides. But, what we arereally looking at is to engage ina long term framework underwhich our two countries canprovide preferential or freemarket access to goods fromeach other's countries,"Shringla said.

Noting that there are a lot ofcomplementarities in tradebetween the two countries,Shringla said they can open upwindows that are exclusively for"our companies and therebytake our trade" figure from thecurrent USD160 billion to dou-ble it, if the conditions are cor-rect.

"It's a strategic partnershipthat we look to not for the nextfour to five years of an electioncycle, but a long term rela-tionship in which we must seea mutuality of benefits between

the two countries, that have thesame values, same shared prin-ciples and the same way oflooking at how we'd like to seethe rest of the world evolve," hesaid.

Shringla has served as India'senvoy to the US forabout one year.

"In that oneimportant aspectis the fact thatwe must look atways to provide apolicy frameworkand facilitation that

could secure, a partnershipand relationship on the eco-nomic side that is a sustainablein the long term," Shringlasaid at farewell in his honour byUS Chambers of Commerce,and US India Business Council.

In her remarks, USIBC pres-ident, Nisha Desai Biswal,said that Shringla in a veryshort period of timebecame "a very impor-tant fixture" here inWashington DC, in thecorridors of power in

the policy conversa-tions around the city

and alsoa c r o s s

t h ecoun-try.

In that one important aspect is the fact that we must look atways to provide a policy framework and facilitation that couldsecure, a partnership and relationship on the economic side that

is a sustainable in the long term—HARSH VARDHAN SHRINGLA founder of Bamboo House

Mobile test labs atports to check qualityof imported fertilisersPNS n NEW DELHI

The Centre is mulling intro-ducing mobile testing labs at21 ports across the country ina bid to ensure imported fer-tilisers reach farmers on timeafter a quality check, gov-ernment sources said onFriday.

Currently, imported fer-tilisers are tested byFaridabad-based CentralFertiliser Control and QualityInstitute (CFCQI) as well asthree regional centres thatcome under the agricultureministry.

As per the Fertiliser(Movement Control) Order,imported fertilisers are per-mitted for distribution onlyafter testing the commodity.

"However, due to delay intesting on part of CFCQI,

consignments get stuck atports. There were instancesin the past, when some con-signments were releasedwithout waiting for the testreports on pressure to meetfarmers' demand in a par-ticular season," a highlyplaced government sourcesaid.

When the tested sampleswere found to be of inferiorquality after releasing the con-signments from ports, theirdistribution was later stoppedat different levels, the sourcesaid, adding this was one of thecases.

But now the issue is beingaddressed seriously as thegovernment is committedtowards supplying qualityfertilisers to the farmingcommunity, the sourceadded.

PNS n MUMBAI

The BSE benchmark Sensexsettled 147 points higher onFriday, tracking gains in index-heavyweights HDFC Bank andInfosys ahead of the earningsseason.

After rallying 323 pointsduring the day, the 30-shareBSE index pared some gains toend 147.37 points, or 0.36 percent, higher at 41,599.72.

The broader Nifty scaled itslife-time (intra-day) high of12,311.20, before ending 40.90points, or 0.33 per cent, high-er at 12,256.80.

Infosys was the top gainer inthe Sensex pack, rising 1.47 percent, ahead of its quarterlyresults, scheduled for releaseafter market hours.

Other gainers included

Ultratech Cement, Maruti,Kotak Bank, Asian Paints andHUL.

ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank,Titan and Bharti Airtel wereamong the losers, shedding upto 1.11 per cent.

According to traders, focushas now shifted to quarterlyearnings and the UnionBudget. Investors are expectingmeasures from the govern-ment to revive the economywhich has led to broad-basedparticipation in equities.

Further, easing geopoliticaltensions have also kept marketmood upbeat, they said.

Sensex ends 147 pts higher

Commerce Ministry looking at ways to revamp SEZ policyPNS n NEW DELHI

The Commerce and IndustryMinistry has examinedrevamping of the SpecialEconomic Zone (SEZ) policyto meet the global challengesbeing faced by Indianexporters, an official state-ment said on Friday.

It has also discussed waysfor implementation of the

remaining recommendationsof Baba Kalyani report on SEZto facilitate ease of doingbusiness in the present glob-al market scenario, the min-istry said in a statement.

Commerce and IndustryMinister Piyush Goyal chaireda meeting here on Thursdayto review these issues.

The statement said the rec-ommendations which have

been completed includereview of specific exclusionsproposed in NFE (net foreignexchange) computation inlight of 'Make in India' initia-tive, sharing of duty exempt-ed assets/infrastructurebetween units to be allowedagainst specific approval, andformalisation of de-notifica-tion process for enclaves.

The committee was consti-

tuted by the ministry to studythe existing SEZ policy andhad submitted its recommen-dations in November 2018.

"If India is on the path tobecome a USD 5 trillion econ-omy by 2025 then the presentenvironment of manufactur-ing competitiveness and ser-vices have to undergo a basicparadigm shift," the state-ment said.

Navi Technologiesto buy DHFLGeneral InsurancePNS n NEW DELHI

Sachin Bansal-led NaviTechnologies will acquire DHFLGeneral Insurance Ltd (DHFL-GI) for an undisclosed amount.

DHFLGI, WadhawanGlobal Capital Ltd and NaviTechnologies had enteredinto a share purchase agree-ment dated January 2, 2020for the transaction, accordingto a notice in a newspaper.

"...the acquirer (Navi) pro-poses to acquire 19,00,50,000equity shares representing100 per cent of the paid-upequity share capital of thecompany (DHFLGI) fromthe seller by way of secondarytransfer of shares," it added.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Yes Bank's independent direc-tor Uttam Prakash Agarwalhas resigned citing "seriousconcerns" on "deterioratingpractices" and the state ofaffairs at the private sectorlender.

"I hereby tender my resig-nation from the office of theIndependent Director of YesBank as also Chairman ofAudit Committee and Memberof all other Committees of theBoard with immediate effect,"he said in his resignation let-ter addressed to Non-Executive Part Time ChairmanBrahm Dutt.

There are serious concernsregarding deteriorating stan-dards of the corporate gover-nance, failure of compliance,management practices and themanner in which the state ofaffairs of the bank are beingconducted by CEO and MDRavneet Gill, Rajiv Ubeoi-Senior Group PresidentGovernance & Controls,Sanjay Nambiar- Legal Headand the Board, Agarwal said inthe letter.

"I have raised my concernson these very critical mattersfrom time to time in the over-

all interest of Yes Bank andmillions of its small and largedepositors, investors, share-holders and all other stake-holders.

"I have left no stoneunturned to discharge myduties and thus wrote a letterdetailing all these matters.

Irrespective of my resigna-tion, I hope, our Bank gets sta-bilised and protects the inter-ests of all shareholders andstakeholders, under your ableleadership," he said in the let-

ter also addressed to other keyofficials.

In a separate letter datedJanuary 9, 2020 to SEBIChairman Ajay Tyagi on theseissues, he sought an urgent reg-ulatory intervention from thecapital markets regulator.

Agarwal, a charteredaccountant by profession, inhis letter to SEBI Chairmansaid the bank CEO and MD ina meeting on October 31, 2019had informed orally that thebank had received a commit-ment of USD 1.2 billioninvestment from a globalinvestor.

"No meeting of board ofdirectors was held for consid-ering this proposal," he said inthe letter.

I have raised myconcerns on thesevery critical matters

from time to time in the overallinterest of Yes Bank andmillions of its small and largedepositors, investors,shareholders and all otherstakeholders

—UTTAM PRAKASH AGARWAL Yes Bank's independent director

Airtel's Wi-Ficalling servicecrosses 1 mnuser base

Emami Realty toraise up to Rs 400cr via debenturesPNS n NEW DELHI

Emami Realty Ltd on Fridaysaid it plans to raise up to Rs400 crore through issue ofdebentures on private place-ment basis.

In a regulatory filing, thecompany said its board hasapproved issue of "Unlisted,Redeemable, Non-Convertible Debentures("NCDs") upto Rs 400 croreon private placement basis."

The company has signedterm sheet for issue of NCDs,it added.

The debentures would beissued at 12 per cent couponrate with maturity at 15months from the date ofallotment.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Telecom major Bharti Airtelon Friday said its mobile cus-tomers across the countrycan now use its Wi-Fi callingservice using any Wi-Fi net-work.

Airtel, which had intro-duced voice-over Wi-Fi lastmonth, said the service hascrossed one million users.

The service enables cus-tomers to switch seamlesslyfrom LTE to Wi-Fi-basedcalling when they are insidetheir homes or offices, there-by enhancing indoor voicecalling experience for smart-phone customers. There areno extra charges for makingcalls via Airtel Wi-Fi calling.

"Following the extremelypositive customer feedback,the company has acceleratedthe roll-out of its innovativeservice across the country.Airtel Wi-Fi calling is nowavailable to Airtel mobilecustomers across India," astatement said.

Yes Bank independent directorUttam Agarwal resigns

ith Bollywoodstar, DeepikaPadukone showingsolidarity with theJNU students whoare protesting the

attack on them, a questionon this topic was bound tobe put to other Bollywoodstars — in this case wasKangana Ranaut, who was inthe city to attend an eventorganised by the FICCILadies Organisation at ThePark, Hyderabad, on Friday.

“It is Deepika’s fundamen-

tal right to go wherever shewants to. It is her democraticright. She knows what is bestfor her,” said Kangana.

“There are two sides to thestory. It is a gang warbetween two student groups. Let’s not give a polit-ical colour to it and make ita national issue,”she added.

The 33-year-old actresswas speaking at the‘Reframing WomenEmpowerment’ event hostedby Sona Chatwani,Chairperson of FloHyderabad.

The event began with arapid-fire session thatoffered several interestinginsights about Kangana’s lifeand journey.

When asked about whoher go-to person is when itcomes to seeking advice,Kangana said, “I believeunequivocally that my prob-lem is mine and mine alone.Because fundamentally it isme, dealing with the situa-tions I face. Hence, if there isa person who can figure outsolutions to my problems, itwould ideally and invariably

be me alone. It is importantto listen to yourself beforeanyone else, prioritise one’sown opinion and figure outyour path through situa-tions.”

Speaking about her jour-ney in the industry so far,the Queen actress said, “Thefilm industry in India is con-stantly evolving and steppinginto newer territories whilstconstantly changing its pre-sent narrative. Parallel cine-ma is being led by severaltop-notch actors such asNawazuddin Siddiqui andNaseeruddin Shah amongothers. We see a shift in theportrayal of the male andfemale characters marking aslow rise into equal repre-sentation which is one of thegood things in the industrytoday.”

“International films, irre-spective of the scale of themovie, wrap up their workin a very short period, andthis dedication, I believe, islacking with the Indian filmindustry at present,” sheadded.

Talking about the lowestand highest phases of her

career, Kangana said, “Therewas a time when I was facingan extreme dearth of roles.My career was almost dead.This was a phase just beforeQueen made it to theatres.That period marked the low-est phase. I had even startedlooking for other pathwaysand I almost ventured intomovie direction during mytime in the US.”

Kangana is one of the fewwomen actress in the filmindustry who consistentlypromotes inclusivity andacknowledges the role ofwomen in every walk of life.But she feels this is notenough. “It is sad to see thatthe idea of success for awoman is often essaying therole of a man in theirjob, which in itself iscontradictory to theidea of female empower-ment. I’m glad to have metand worked under AshwiniIyer Tiwari, who is not afraidor uncomfortable with herfeminity,” she said. AshwiniIyer Tiwari is the director

of her upcoming film Pangawhere Kangana plays therole of a mother who makesa comeback as a Kabbadiplayer.

Hyderabad is known asthe city of pearls and whodoesn’t love pearls, especiallyif they are from Hyderabad?“I love Pearls! I have a lot ofthem and bought many dur-ing my earlier visits to thecity,” the actress said whenasked about what she lovesthe most aboutHyderabad.

The actress also saidthat she can’t resistsome Hyderabadi dish-es such as Andhrarasam, biryani,bagara baingan,coconut payasam,among others.

KanganaRanaut, who

was inHyderabad on

Friday, openedup about her

journey in thefilm industry sofar, her take on

the ongoingunrest in JNU,upcoming film

and more,reports

ANUSHKAPRADEEP

Follow us on@TheDailyPioneerfacebook.com/dailypioneer

W

SaturdayJanuary 11, 2020

Techies playto stay healthy

his is this genera-tion of 9 am to 5pm jobs wheretechies are alwaysunder pressure tobe productive and

give results all the time andhave no time to relax throughany physical activities. Inrecent times, we have wit-nessed many youngsters get-ting affected by lifestyle dis-eases due to lack of exerciseand from sitting at the deskfor too long. To help corpo-rate employees become fitand healthy, HyderabadSoftware Enterprises Associ-ation (HYSEA) has been con-ducting corporate sportstournament every year inHyderabad. The logo of thetournament was unveiledrecently.

It is a multi-disciplinarysports tournament for themember companies provid-ing employee engagement,health/wellness offerings andcross functional team build-ing opportunities. This yearthe tournament will feature19 categories including crick-et, football, badminton, tabletennis, chess, carom, chausar,volleyball, basketball, tennis,pool and snooker, throwball,athletics, kabaddi, kho-kho,cycling, step-up dances, andmore.

This year the tournamentwill be held from January 18to February 29 at variousvenues across Hyderabad.The organisers said that morethan 300 registered compa-nies are participating in vari-ous events with one lakhplayers. The results for thetournament will be trackedand updated on the speciallydesigned LifeCykul app.

Speaking to The PioneerDeenanath Harapanahalli,CEO, LifeCykul, says,“HYSEA is a multi-discipli-nary sports tourney conduct-ed for member companies asa way to engage employees

with a health and wellnessplatform every year. To date,this event has successfullyconducted various sportssuch as field cricket, boxcricket, volleyball, tennis,table tennis, football, kabad-di, carrom, basketball,cycling and more.”

He added that even thoughall the corporate companiespit themselves against eachother in the IT sector, theyare also collaborating withother companies by sharingtheir sports arenas. Deenashares, “We are assisting theplayers by providing qualitycoaches in all sports activitiesand the required infrastruc-ture. Every year, we conducta survey in many IT compa-nies to know the employees’interest in sports.”

The HYSEAcorporatesportstournamentaims toimprove thehealth oftechies bymaking themparticipate invarioussportingevents, reportsV SATEESHREDDY

T

Are OSCARSthe ultimate

achievement?Does it bother filmmakers that the Academy haslargely ignored Indian cinema over the years?SIDDHESH SUMAN finds out what it takes to getshortlisted for the Oscars and what that nomination entails

he 92nd Academy Awardsceremony is right aroundthe corner and the officialnominations will beannounced on January 13.Zoya Akhtar’s Gully Boy

(2019) was India’s official entry forthe ‘Best Foreign Language Film’category this year. But it didn’tmake it to the shortlist. Eventhough this category has been apart of the Oscars since 1947,India has managed to get only fournominations — Mother India(1957), Salaam Bombay (1988),Lagaan (2001) and Water (2005)— and secured zero wins in thelast 72 years.

So where do we fall short?Indian cinema has come a longway from the humble beginningsof Dadasaheb Phalke’s RajaHarishchandra in 1913 to the pre-sent day critically acclaimedregional films and pan-India com-mercial blockbusters. India now isthe largest film producer in theworld (in terms of the number offilms produced) with nine differ-ent regions producing more than athousand films in 16 different lan-guages every year, making it one ofthe most diverse film industries inthe world. Even after all this out-put, not one film has been deemedOscar-worthy.

There are several reasonsbehind it. One possible reasoncould be that the Academy,throughout its history, has mostlyfavoured films from Europeancountries for the best foreign lan-guage film award. This is a notice-able practise judging by howaround 80 per cent of foreign lan-guage nominations go to Europeanfilms. But it is also seen that filmsfrom Japan, Israel, Mexico andother non-European countrieshave also managed to get their fairshare of Oscar nominations.

Another more plausible expla-nation is that India isn’t makingany films that match up to the cri-teria that Oscars is looking for. It

is a given fact that 90 per cent ofthe films produced in India arecommercial films, made with thesole intent of pleasing the audi-ence. Hardly around 50 films aremade keeping the artistic vision inmind. But, the trend is changing asnowadays Indian audience isdemanding more content-drivenfilms rather than mindless enter-tainers.

There is also a chance that theIndian panels which select films tobe sent to the Oscars are not doingthe job well. There might be manyOscar-worthy Indian films that theselection committees have over-looked. Such panels must be man-aged by people who are aware ofwhat a film needs to get selectedby the Academy and expert con-sultants should be hired so that theright film can be campaigned inthe right way in order to fall underthe Academy’s radar.

A.J. Aaron, a cinematographerand an FTII graduate, speaks toThe Pioneer about why Indianfilms aren’t being considered forthe Oscars. He says, “Indian filmsnowadays are not what they usedto be in terms of their art andcraft. Films in the 60s and 70s bySatyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak andMani Kaul are recognised world-wide as they are at a higher levelaltogether in terms of art, and Idon’t think this generation film-makers have risen up to their stan-dards yet.”

“But it is also true that there isonly one category at the Oscars forwhich every foreign film has tocompete for as the rest of the cate-gories are for Hollywood films. Ifthere were more categories for for-eign language films there would bemore winners but since there isonly one category not all films gettheir due recognition. But we can’tblame the jury either as going bythe standards of European filmswe have a lot of catching up to do,”he adds.

When asked if being awarded an

Oscar is a mark of quality infilms, he says, “Of course not!Getting an Oscar is not thepinnacle accomplishment offilmmaking. There are a lot ofpolitics involved in the selec-tion as well. There are severalgreat films which deserved anOscar but didn’t get one.” Hecontinues, “Campaigning forthe Oscars is an expensive affairas it requires a lot of marketingin the US. I don’t considerOscars as a testament to greatfilms.”

Ashwin Sarvanan, writer anddirector of Game Over (2019),also agrees that we should nottake nomination for the Oscarstoo seriously as it is not an markof our quality or the lack of it.“The criteria or expectationsfrom a regional movie and inter-national cinema can be different.If you look at the kind of filmsthat have been nominated over theyears they all are very differentand there is no set pattern as towhich film will be picked or not.”He says. “We are making goodfilms which arebreaking barriersinternationally.Just becausethey don’tpick filmsfrom Indiadoesn’t meanwe are mak-ing bad cine-ma. If we geta nominationthat’s great,but if don’t,we have noth-ing to loseeither,” headds.

T

The criteria or expectationsfrom a regional movie andinternational cinema can bedifferent. If you look at thekind of films that have beennominated over the years theyall are very different and thereis no set pattern as to whichfilm will be picked or not. Weare making good films whichare breaking barriersinternationally. Just becausethey don’t pick films fromIndia doesn’t mean we aremaking bad cinema.

ASHWIN SARVANANFILMMAKER

INDIAN PANELSWHICH SELECTFILMS FOR THEOSCARS MAYNOT BE DOINGTHEIR JOB WELL.

‘Let’s not give politicalcolour to JNU issue’

FUN

10

Hyderabad Saturday January 11, 2020

City's well-knowndesigner SirishaReddy unveiled new

extension of silk sareeswhile celebrating the2nd anniversary of thedesigner showroom atJubilee Hills. SirishaReddy — DesignerLabel is one of thefastest growingdesigner-tag in SouthIndia, with herensembles beingamong the mostsought after amongcelebrities,fashionistas,among others.Many socialites,fashionenthusiasts and

othersattended theevent.

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK SPEED BUMP CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

CALVIN AND HOBBES

l Each row and column cancontain each number (1 to 9)exactly once.

l The sum of all numbers inany row or column mustequal 45.

Yesterday’s solution

what’s brewing?PARTY CITY GUIDE

GET YOUR EVENT LISTED: To get your events listed, send your details alongwith a poster and contact number to pioneer.features@gmail.com

COMEDY

lBanyan Tree's Splendor of Masters aims atshowcasing a bouquet of maestros from theworld of Indian music in combinations that arenot only rare but also aesthetic and enriching.Every year this festival has received anoverwhelming response from music lovers invarious cities. The event will be organised atShilpakala Vedika on January 25 at 6 pm.

SPLENDOR OF MASTERS

l Shudrka Hyderabad is staging a play EkDurachari Raja on January 19 at Lamakaan from7:30 pm. Ek Durachari Raja, has drawn fromCamus' ‘Caligula' the concept of deification ofemperors which was common to the pagan world,the Greek and Macedonian.

EK DURACHARI RAJA

l Crowd favourite Rahul Dua starts his countrytour again, this time travelling solo with hisbrand new stand up special ‘Oh Hello!’ He willbe touring multiple venues in the city betweenJanuary 12 and January 25.

l Home is a 2009 French documentary film byYann Arthus-Bertrand. The film is almost entirelycomposed of aerial shots of various places onEarth. It shows the diversity of life on Earth andhow humanity is threatening the ecological balanceof the planet. It will be featured at Lamakaan onJanuary 15 at 7 pm.

HOME

PICHLE IKKIS SAAL

DISCOURSE ON MARGINALISED

lPresented by Udaan Performing Arts, ‘Pichle IkkisSaal’, is a drama that revolves around several topicsthat are crucial to the youth. Several issues such asinsecurities, pollution, unemployment, addiction totechnology, drugs, relationships problems, ethicsand morals, parental and peer pressure, need forfreedom, perils of capitalism, education, and muchmore. The play will be performed at Lamakaan todayat 7.30 pm.

lA discussion on ‘Sex, gender andintersectionality: a discourse on themarginalised' will be held today at PhoenixArena from 4 pm.

OH HELLO!

A G

RAN

D

LAUN

CH

l Rachana

l Raseeka l Ashitha l Sanika

l Sirisha Reddy

lLa

kshm

i

lSh

reem

ayi

lHi

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a

Photos bby SV Chary

he Pioneer hasalreadyreported thatRam Charanwill be play-ing younger

version of Chiranjeevi inthe latter’s next withKoratala Siva. To thisend the latest we hear isthe director is keen onKiara Advani to be castalongside Charan, whowill be seen around 25minutes in the film.“Charan will beginshooting for the filmfrom April for a month.Koratala needs 15 daysof Kiara for the film, soit wouldn’t be much aproblem for her toaccommodate dates evenif she is extremely busyin Hindi. Since she had agreat time working withboth Siva and Charan in

the past, it wouldn’tbe a sur-

prise if she squeezes timefrom her date diary. Thedirector has conceived asong and some romanticsequences on her andCharan,” said a sourceadding, initially thedirector considered SaiPallavi for the part butlater had a change ofheart.

Touted to be a signa-ture Koratala film where-in he will address asocial issue, the film,tentatively titledAcharya, is a joint pro-duction venture betweenKonidela ProductionCompany and MatineeEntertainments.

Trisha will cast along-side Chiru in the film,while Mani Sharma isrendering tunes. Alreadyon sets, it is being con-sidered for a release inAugust.

uperstar Rajinikanth-starrer Darbar,which released on Thursday, is offto a good start in Telugu states.Despite opening to mixed reviews,the film, directed by ARMurugadoss, has managed to regis-

ter 80-90 per cent occupancy across territorieson day one. It has raked in about Rs 4.50 crore

share with a gross of Rs 7.5 crore on dayone. With the film’s theatricals valued at

Rs 14.5 crore, the distributors are ahappy lot with day one figures. “The

film’s overall performance willdepend on how it braves compe-

tition from SarileruNeekevvaru on Saturday andAla Vaikunthapuramlo onSunday. From Saturday, it

stands to lose a major chunk ofits theatres as well. If it attracts

family audience from the week-end, it has a good chance of

doing decent business here,” said atrade source.Darbar, an action-drama produced

by Lyca Productions, also stars SunielShetty, Nayanthara and Nivetha Thomas

in crucial roles.

rom accepting amovie like Oh!

Baby to playinga terrorist in The

Family Man 2,the latter of

which marks her digitaldebut, Samantha Akkineni

has managed to surpriseher audience with her boldchoices of late. Continuingwith her experiments, The

Pioneer has exclusivelylearnt that she will be host-

ing a chat show up next.“It’s for Allu Aravind’s

web platform whoselaunch is around the cor-ner. The show will be on

the lines of some popularUS chat shows and Sam isexcited with the tweak the

show-runners gave it. Itwill involve conversation

with celebs but it will be acut above the rest. It will bestreaming on the web plat-

form from February-endor March,” confirmed a

well-placed source close tothe development.

On the work front, Sam,whose next release in

Telugu is Jaanu, is tippedto be the leading lady of

Mahasamudram directorAjay Bhupathi’s next afterRX100. She is also in talks

with Game Over directorAshwin Saravanan for a

thriller. — NG

nlike his previousfilms, TrivikramSrinivas’ last,Aravinda SamethaVeera Raghava,which centred

around two warring familiesfrom Rayalaseema, whichhave shed blood for two gen-erations and how Raghava(played by Jr NTR) tries toforge a peace without resort-ing to arms, was rather lowon humour. The film was hisnext attempt after deliveringAgnyaathavaasi, a disaster.“It’s natural for people aroundme to push me to do my kindof film, which is high onhumour after a flop but I did-n’t do intentional-ly. I’ve just seenthe biggest flop,so what more canmake me fright-ened? I wanted towin that fear andI felt it was theright time. Whichis why, I’veattempted a seri-ous drama likeAravindaSamethaVeeraRaghava. Iwas surethat regularcommercialelementswhichincludesongs,humour and

comedy tracks shouldn’t crossmy mind as I began to writeit and I succeeded.Overcoming my fear was mybiggest take away from thatfilm,” the director states.

Trivikram is ready with hisnext, Ala Vaikuntapuramlo,starring Allu Arjun, PoojaHedge and Tabu in the leadroles. Set to openin cinemastomor-row,the

family entertainer is ridinghigh on expectations and thesongs especially,Samajavaragamana helped togenerate unprecedented buzzaround it. The makers havealso played their part in thenumbers reaching out to theaudience by employing inno-vative promotional strategies.Explaining the origin behindSamajavaragamana which

has emerged as the mostliked Telugu song, he

says, “After briefingthe song’s situationto Thaman, he cameto me with

the tune a couple of dayslater. I liked it immensely andasked him if he can addSamajavaragamana word toit. Sirivennela SeetharamaSastry penned the lyrics for itin less than an hour soonafter.:

He continues, “Bunny wasinstrumental in promotingthem in a unique way. He waskeen on something newinstead of the regular lyricalvideo uploads. During thefilming in Kakinada, I alongwith him and Thamanchalked out strategy on how

to go about promotingSamajavaragamana,Ramulo Ramulo and OhMy Daddy on a sheet ofpaper and it worked.”

Besides healthyhumour, the famedwriter-director’s strongpoint has always been hisability to pen dialoguesthat resonate withyouth, which overtimehave become a part ofpop culture in Telugustates. As far as hiswriting style goes, hedoesn’t believe in fly-ing to an exotic loca-tion to write or getinspired. “I’m aspontaneous writer.I write at homeamid my kidsplaying aroundand my wifeyelling fromkitchen. If the

kids feel that they would dis-turb me with their activitiesat home while I’m on my job,I’d get scared. I don’t wantthat. I’m an easygoing writerwho keeps it simple,” heinforms, adding he can thinkof a pan-India film only if hehas a right story in the firstplace.

Besides AlaVaikuntapuramlo, one com-mon observation in his lastfilms like Attarintiki Daaredhiand A. Aa has been the pres-ence of strong matriarch.Quiz him on it and he adds,“Until 1970s, women used torun families. After 70’s, aspeople started migrating toother places, the hold ofwomen too started to declinegradually. Factors like gettinginfluenced by other culturesalso played its part. Overtime, there was a phase wherethey couldn’t get the respectthey deserved. But times arechanging now.”

His film marks Tabu’scomeback to the industryafter 13 years. He is admitted-ly in awe of the acting powerhouse’s talent. “I got to knowwhy she is a multiple nationalaward winning actor afterworking with her. As soon asshe arrives on sets, she sits ina corner and mingles withcrew and artistes around herbut once the camera is on her,she does some magic. She isnot an ordinary actor,”Trivikram raves, signing off.

Hyderabad Saturday January 11, 2020

U

11

tollywoodAhead of Ala

Vaikuntapuramlorelease, director

TrivikramSrinivas speaks

to the mediaabout how he

overcamehis fears aftera delivering a

flop film,employing

uniquepromotional

strategies alongwith Bunny and

Thaman forAla..

promotions,working with

Tabu, his takeon making a

pan-India filmand much

more, reportsNAGARAJ

GOUD

Overcame my fears with AravindaSametha…, says TRIVIKRAM

SAM tohost achat show

Darbar opens well in Telugu states FS

T

Koratala, Charan to ropein KIARA ADVANI

THE FILM HAS RAKED IN ABOUT RS 4.50 CRORE SHAREWITH A GROSS OF RS 7.5 CROREON DAY ONE

HYDERABAD | SATURDAY | JANUARY 11, 2020 sport 12

PTI n PUNE

Shikhar Dhawan silenced his crit-ics, KL Rahul sizzled as usual andthe trio of fast bowlers were

intimidating in India’s lopsided 78-run victory over Sri Lanka in the thirdT20 International on Friday, sealingthe series 2-0.

India were sent into bat by SriLanka captain Lasith Malinga but ona flat track, the hosts managed anabove-par 201 for 6, largely due toDhawan (52 off 36 balls) and Rahul’s(54 off 36 balls) opening stand of 97in little less than 11 overs.

Shardul Thakur (21 not out off8 balls) used his long handle to a goodeffect and Manish Pandey (31 off 18balls) hardly showed any rustinessadding 37 runs in final 2.2 overs totake the score past 200-run mark.

In reply, Sri Lanka managedonly 123 runs in 15.5 overs as therewas simply no resistance from theislanders with the gulf in class beingso evident. Eight Sri Lankan batsmenfailed to reach double figures withDhananjaya De Silva (51) and AngeloMathews (31) adding 68 for the fifthwicket.

They lost four wickets in thePowerplay overs and there was nocoming back from that position. Itwas primarily due to the pace andbounce generated by Jasprit Bumrah(1/5 in 2 overs), Shardul Thakur (2/19in 3 overs) and the ever-improvingNavdeep Saini (3/28 in 3.5 overs),who again bowled an unplayableyorker to get Kusal Perera out.

In fact, skipper Virat Kohli couldbe lauded for promoting SanjuSamson (6) and Pandey, who havebeen benched for the longest time.

While Samson fluffed his lines,Pandey did his case no harm with auseful knock towards the end.

Put into bat, Dhawan, who hasbeen under pressure for some timesmashed seven boundaries and a sixin his 97-run opening stand with thein-form Rahul who also hit an overboundary along with five fours.

However, the hosts suffered a

middle-order collapse with SriLankan wrist spinners WaniduHasaranga (1-27) and chinamanLakshan Sandakan (3-35) spun theirweb around the batsmen on a flattrack.

But Pandey, playing his firstgame of the tournament and Thakuronce again revelling in his role as alower-order pinch-hitter (22 not out

off 8 balls; 1x4, 2x6) ensured that thehosts crossed 200-run mark.

Rahul set the tone playing a cutshot off rival skipper Lasith Malingafor his first boundary. Dhawan got anearly 'life', when Dasun Shanakadropped one at deep square leg.Rahul, then hit two consecutiveboundaries, both drives, off AngeloMathews as India raced to 22/0.

The visitors introduced off-spin-ner Dhananjaya De Silva in thefourth over, but Dhawan welcomedhim with a four over long-on. Rahulthen dispatched a Silva full-toss overlong leg for a maximum as Indiaamassed 13 runs in it.

Dhawan changed his gears as hehammered two boundaries in fifthover as India reached team total of50.

Making optimum use of the life,Dhawan smashed back-to-backfours, slashing one over backwardpoint and another through extra

cover off pacer Lahiru Kumara.The duo was coasting along well asIndia after 9 overs were 82/0.

After two quiet overs, Dhawansmashed Hasaranga over deep mid-wicket for a six.

Soon after completing his 10thT20I fifty, Dhawan perished aftergiving a sitter to DhanushkaGunathilika off Sandakan at deepmid-wicket. However his inningscertainly will make Virat Kohli’schoice of Rohit Sharma’s partner dif-ficult for the upcoming Australiaseries.

Gabbar, Thakur batter Lanka

Shardul Thakur and Jasprit Bumrah celebrate after Oshada Fernando's wicket during the third Twenty20I in Pune AP

PTI n CHENNAI

Afull-strength Tamil Nadubolstered by presence of

seniors like RavichandranAshwin and Dinesh Karthikwill take on a depleted Mumbaiin a marquee Ranji Trophyclash starting Saturday.

Tamil Nadu are currentlyplaced 16th in the cross pooltable (comprising of 18 teamsfrom group A and B) with fourpoints from as many gameswhile Mubai are placed 13thafter three games with sixpoints, courtesy their win in theopening round encounter.

Things won't be easy forAditya Tare and his men in thematch at the M AChidambaram stadium here,where the track is expected tobe on the slower side.

The visiting team led byTare in the absence of regularskipper Suryakumar Yadav,who has been picked in theIndia 'A' squad for the tour ofNew Zealand, will be missingseveral other big names includ-ing Prithvi Shaw (injured),Shardul Thakur, Shivam Dubeand Shreyas Iyer, who are awayon national duty.

Tamil Nadu team hasstruggled to get going afterreaching the finals of the VijayHazare Trophy (50 overs) andSyed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (T20)tournaments and has man-aged only four points from fourmatches so far.

The Vijay Shankar-ledteam has a lot to do if it aimsto qualify for the knockouts.The return of Ashwin and theseasoned duo of Karthik andAbhinav Mukund couldn'thave come at a better timewhile the dependable BabaIndrajith's inclusion will also bea boost for the team.

Ashwin, who returns afterplaying the first two matches,will be expected to lead theattack in which left-arm pacerT Natarajan and left-arm spin-ner R Sai Kishore have beendoing well.

Mumbai too hasn't hadthe best of times, having losttwo matches while winning oneand with its performance draw-ing flak.

'Keeper-batsman Tare willhave to rise to the occasion andlead from the front even as hewill expect the crisis manSiddhesh Lad and others likeJay Bista and the talentedSarfaraz Khan to shine.

A rather inexperiencedbowling attack faces a huge taskas it comes up against a strongTamil Nadu batting unit whichwill be looking to come into itsown.

The teams will be aimingfor victory to keep them in thehunt for qualification for theknockouts and exciting cricketcan be expected over the courseof the four days. Tamil Naducoach D Vasu and captain VijayShankar said the team hadfought back well after two loss-es and hoped to see the seniorsplayers contributing.

Mumbai captain Tare, onhis part, said the team would bemissing a few established play-ers but it was an opportunity forthe youngsters to do well.

"The only way forward is toplay positive cricket. There's alot of energy in the side. A lotof good players from theunder-19 and under-23 sidehave come into the side. Thisgame is going to show what'sthe future of the Mumbai crick-et is. It is exciting times for meas a captain. You will get aglimpse of what the futureis..." Tare said.

PTI n SYDNEY

Australian pace spearheadPat Cummins expects spin-

ners of his team to play a big-ger role in the ODI seriesagainst India even though he isnot expecting dust-bowls dur-ing a limited-overs assignment.

“I think spinners play a big-ger part in India than they doaround the world but it’s rareyou get a big spinning dustbowl for a one day internation-al,” Cummins told reportersahead of Australia’s departure.

Australia made a brilliantcomeback to win the five-match ODI series 3-2 in Indialast year after trailing 0-2.

“Last series I think weplayed two spinners, they alsoplayed two so they are certain-ly important, especially in themiddle overs,” Cummins said.

Australia are travelling withtwo specialist spinners in theirsquad — left arm spinnerAshton Agar and leg spinnerAdam Zampa.

Talking about the tracks inIndia, the 26-year-oldCummins said the ball getssofter as the game progresseswhich makes it easier to bowlas compared to other countries.

But playing in smaller,faster fields come with theirown set of challenges.

“Up front there’s always alittle bit in it with a new ball likeanywhere else in the world. Butthen after that I actually feelthat the ball gets probably a lit-tle bit softer and chewed upmore over there than it does inother parts of the world whichmakes it a little bit easier some-times bowling with a bit of asofter ball.”

“But it’s just a differentchallenge, the fields there are alot smaller and faster than herein Australia, the wickets aren’tas pacey and bouncy but it’s thesame format just a slightly dif-ferent beast,” he added.

IANS n NEW DELHI

The ICC cricket committee isset to discuss the idea of

four-day Test matches, but it will,in all likelihood, get a red flagfrom the Board of Control forCricket in India (BCCI) as theIndian board is set to stand withskipper Virat Kohli and coachRavi Shastri.

Both the captain and thehead coach of the team havemade it clear that they want thetraditional format to not lose itssheen by turning from a five-dayaffair into one of four days.

Speaking to IANS, a BCCIofficial said that while the boardwill discuss the matter withCricket Australia and theEnglish and Wales CricketBoard (ECB) around the BCCIawards on January 12 inMumbai, the board is clearly insupport of skipper Kohli andcoach Shastri.

"See, it is only right that youdiscuss these matters and we willdo the same with CA, ECB andCricket South Africa. But asthings stand now, we are on thesame platform as our skipperand coach and don't see muchsense in cutting Test cricket tofour days from the convention-al five. In fact, it is not just ourcaptain or coach, you have alsoheard the likes of Joe Root(English captain) and Faf duPlessis (South Africa skipper)make their opinions clear on thematter. It might be an option forthe lower ranked teams, but notwhen two big teams clash.Tradition can't be toyed with,"the official pointed.

Kohli made his opinionclear on the eve of the openingT20I between India and SriLanka in Guwahati and said:

"According to me, it should notbe altered. As I said, the day-night is another step towardscommercialising Test cricketand you know, creating excite-ment around it, but it can't betinkered with too much. I don'tbelieve so.

"You know the Day-NightTest is the most that should bechanged about Test cricket,according to me. Then you arepurely only talking about gettingnumbers, entertainment andyou know. I think the intent willnot be right then because thenyou will speak of three-dayTests. I mean where do you end?Then you will speak of Testcricket disappearing.

"So I don't endorse that atall. I don't think that is fair to thepurest format of the game. Howcricket started initially, and youknow five-day Tests was thehighest of tests you can have atthe International level."

Shastri also called the ideanonsensical. "Four-day Test isnonsense. If this goes on we mayhave limited-overs Tests. Thereis no need to tamper with five-day Tests. If at all they want totamper then let the top six sidesplay five-day Tests and the nextsix be allowed to play four-dayTests.

"If you want to preserveTests then let the top six playmore against each other. Youhave the shorter format to pop-ularise the game," he toldNews18.

While the meeting of theBig Three is set to take place nextweek and will see discussions onthe ICC's proposal of 4-dayTests, it looks unlikely that theBCCI will budge from the stancetaken by skipper Kohli andcoach Shastri.

AFP n BRIDGETOWN

Sheldon Cottrell blasted a six offthe penultimate ball to give the

West Indies a thrilling one-wicketvictory over Ireland in the secondone-day international atKensington Oval on Thursday.

Cottrell, best known for his fastbowling where wickets are celebrat-ed with a flamboyant militarysalute, carted Mark Adair overcover for the winning runs as thehome side lived on their nerves tofinish on 242-9.

Victory gave the West Indies a2-0 lead in the three-game seriesafter winning the opener at thesame ground on Tuesday by fivewickets.

Despite Cottrell’s headline-stealing flourish, it was fellow tail-ender Hayden Walsh who was histeam’s saviour.

In just his seventh one-dayer,Walsh, who started his internation-al career last year playing for theUnited States, finished undefeatedon 46.

“We are relieved about the win,we all put in the effort," said WestIndies man of the match AlzarriJoseph who took four wickets forthe second game in a row as wellas hitting a valuable 16 runs in aninth-wicket stand with Walsh.

“We wanted to bat sensibly andget to the score.

“The win means a lot to every-one, but it’s not finished, we haveone game to go.”

Earlier, opening batsman PaulStirling top-scored with 63 asIreland put up a challenging 237-9 off 50 overs on a wearing pitch.

Stirling hit seven boundariesand one six as he claimed his 24thODI half-century. Pace bowlerJoseph finished with 4-32, identi-cal figures from the first game, andalso took two catches.

Dhawan finds form with 36-ball 52 as Shardul’s all-round show help India beat SL by 78 runs, win series 2-0

KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan arrive at crease to start Indian innings BCCI/Twitter

Cottrell six seals1-wicket win

TN ready to roll over

depleted Mumbai

MUMBAI: Australian captainAaron Finch on Friday said it isimportant for his team to not“overplay” the Jasprit Bumrahfactor as the ambitious visitorsgear up to face India in a three-match ODI series.

While according India’s leadpacer the respect he deserves,Finch said it’s important for histeam to focus on its ownstrengths.

“I think, the more the guysface him, the more exposure youget, the more you start to under-stand how he bowls. So, it isimportant that we don’t overplaythat too much,” Finch said dur-ing a media interaction.

Opening the innings withthe dashing David Warner,Finch will be facing Bumrah firstup.

“He is obviously a fantasticbowler and someone who, whenyou are not playing against him,you love watching him bowl. He

is fast and aggressive and his exe-cution is pretty spot on.”

The visitors are wary of thethreat Bumrah could pose in theseries starting in Mumbai onJanuary 14. “It is more aboutfocusing on what we are as a bat-ting unit against that and eachplayer has different strengthsand weaknesses. So (we are

Australian captain Aaron Finch & coachAndrew McDonald examine pitch AP

doing) what we have to do formentally being prepared forthat challenge,” Finch said.

The in-form MarnusLabuschagne is set to make hisODI debut after earning a maid-en call-up on the back of hisstellar form in Tests and theskipper is confident aboutLabuschagne translating hisTest form into the 50-over for-mat.

“If you look at his domesticODI record, it is very good, hehas batted in the top four forQueensland and the way ourODI competition is being struc-tured for the last few years, therecan be similar wickets in sub-continents.

“... For him to be averaging40 in domestic cricket is brilliant,and hopefully, he can bring thatfrom the Test series.” PTI

‘It’s important not to overplay Bumrah factor’Finch has filled captaincy voidPTI nMUMBAI

Aaron Finch has maturedimmensely as a cricketer

and filled the “void in terms ofcaptaincy” in limited overscricket, feels Australia’s stop-gap coach Andrew McDonald.

McDonald will stand in forJustin Langer in the three-match ODI series.

“I think the growth ofAaron Finch in his leadershiprole in the last three years hasbeen been tremendous. It hasfilled the void Australia had interms of captaincy. His growthsbeen outstanding, his under-

standing of individuals hasbeen great,” McDonald toldreporters.

What also helped Finchevolve as a skipper is the con-tinuity in team selection.

“He (Finch) has a familiargroup around in terms of con-tinuity of team. From theWorld Cup, there has been acouple of changes.

“I think he has justmatured as a cricketer, under-stands his game, understandsthe opposition and the peoplearound him and all of it hashelped him become a fineleader for the country.”

BCCI want 5-dayTests to stay

PTI n MUMBAI

In-form Australian batsmanMarnus Labuschagne says he

considers the upcoming ODIseries against India a big oppor-tunity in his quest to emulateVirat Kohli and Steve Smithacross all formats.

The 22-year-old right-handed batsman scored back-to-back Test centuries againstPakistan and another ton and adouble hundred against NewZealand in the summer beforeembarking on the ODI tour ofIndia where he will find outwhether he makes his shorter-format debut or not.

Labuschagne, who can behandy with his leg-breaks, sayslong-term consistency acrossformats would be his majorgoals for the future.

"You look at the guys I lookup to and aspire to -- SteveSmith, Virat Kohli, KaneWilliamson, Joe Root. They'vebeen doing it for a very longtime, five, six years they've beenconsistent, not just in one for-mat, but two or more formats,"Labuschagne was quoted assaying by 'ESPNCricinfo'.

Australia will play a three-match ODI series against Indiastarting January 14 in Mumbai.The team landed in the coun-try on Thursday night.

"...I've had some successthis summer but the real chal-lenge for me is to be more con-sistent going on and being ableto keep putting continued per-formances on the board. If I cancontinue to do that, then that'sobviously going to be the chal-

lenge for me," said Labuschagnewho has scored 1459 runs from14 Tests.

Having got his first chanceto be in the white ball squad, hesaid the one-day series in Indiawould be an opportunity toshow a slightly different aspectof his game.

"...That's a really excitingchallenge too. It's going to betough conditions in India andthey're obviously a very strongside. So just about enjoying the

challenge and not getting too farahead of yourself, taking it ballby ball and game by game," hesaid.

"A big part of playing inIndia is how you play spin, so forme being clear with my plansabout how I play spin and thenjust trusting the processes Ihave.

"Batting in the middleorder it's about running reallyhard between wickets and try-ing to get those runs through

the middle, then when you getthe opportunity towards theback end to open the shouldersa bit."

Labuschagne said wouldlike to follow the path of formerAustralia batsman MichaelHussey as far as adapting to dif-ferent conditions is concerned.

"With the opportunitiesthat might come in the next fewmonths, we'll have to see, butdefinitely Michael Hussey is agreat person to learn from,"Labuschagne said.

"The way he played theone-day game, the way he fin-ished off the innings and theway he probably started hisinnings. There are a few simi-larities there, but I'm definite-ly not comparing myself toMichael Hussey."

If he gets a chance to makehis ODI debut in India,Labuschagne may play a some-what different role than his pre-ferred No.3 spot.

With Aaron Finch, DavidWarner and Smith seeminglyconfirmed for the top order,Labuschagne, PeterHandscomb, Alex Carey andAshton Turner may be tried inthe remaining spots.

"Whatever role I'm given isone I'm going to try and keep.If that's batting in the top fouror even outside the top four,whatever that is.

"The whole one-day game'smoved in that more aggressive,positive direction, but I've beenlucky I've been able to movewith that and play in this erawhere one-day cricket is a real-ly high scoring game."

Labuschagne aspires to emulate Virat

Spinners will playbig role: Cummins