HYDERABAD, FRIDAY FEBRUARY 5, 2021; PAGES 12 `3

www.dailypioneer.com

RNI No. TELENG/2018/76469

Established 1864Published From

HYDERABAD DELHI LUCKNOWBHOPAL RAIPUR CHANDIGARH

BHUBANESWAR RANCHIDEHRADUN VIJAYAWADA

*LATE CITY VOL. 3 ISSUE 106*Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable

@TheDailyPioneer facebook.com/dailypioneerFollow us on:

MONEY 8NITI AAYOG'S LIST OF COS FOR DISINVESTMENT IN FEW WEEKS

ANALYSIS 7SEPARATING GRAIN FROM THE CHAFF

SPORTS 12POMS CHALLENGE INDIA’S

HOME INVINCIBILITY

}WARANGAL

SRINU BAGSACHARYA NIZAM

RIGHTS

Page 11{

HYDERABADWEATHER

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated february 4 , 2021 5:00 PM

ALMANAC

TODAY

Month & Paksham:

Paush & Krishna Paksha

Panchangam

Tithi : Ashtami: 10:06 am

Nakshatram: Vishakha: 06:28 pmTime to Avoid: (Bad time to start

any important work)

Rahukalam: 11:05 am – 12:30 pm

Yamagandam: 03:20 pm – 04:44 pm

Varjyam: 10:16 pm – 11:47 pm

Gulika: 08:15 am - 09:40 am

Good Time: (to start any important work)

Amritakalam: 10:08 am – 11:39 am

Abhijit Muhurtham: 12:07 pm – 12:52 pm

FFoorreeccaasstt:: SunnyTemp: 29/14Humidity: 45%Sunrise: 06:46 amSunset: 06:13 pm

Previous govts

drafted Budget with

eye on vote banks: PM

5

New farm lawsmean there is no

Plan B for farmers

2

‘Ropeways, mobilitysolutions brought

under Highways Min’

8

7,139 INDIAN PRISONERS LODGED INFOREIGN JAILS: MURALEEDHARAN

PRIYANKA’S CONVOY INVOLVED IN ACCIDENTWHILE ON WAY TO RAMPUR, NO INJURIES

DALIT MAN THRASHED IN TN FOR THEFT;BRUTALITY CAUGHT ON CAM GOES VIRAL

GOVT BLOCKED 296 MOBILE APPS SINCE2014: UNION MINISTER SANJAY DHOTRE

Atotal of 7,139 Indian prisoners,including undertrials, are lodged invarious jails around the world, the

Ministry of External Affairs said on ThursdaySaudi Arabia has the highest number of1,599 Indian prisoners, followed by theUnited Arab Emirates with 898 and Nepalhaving 886 inmates, according toinformation provided by Minister of State forExternal Affairs V Muraleedharan in RajyaSabha. "As per the information available withthe ministry, the number of Indian prisonersin foreign jails as on December 31, 2020, is 7,139, which alsoincludes undertrials," he said responding to a question.

Congress General Secretary PriyankaGandhi Vadra had a narrow escapewhen several vehicles of her

convoy got involved in an accident onThursday near Garh Mukteshwar.Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was on her wayto meet the family of Navneet Singh, theyoung farmer who was killed in Delhi onJanuary 26 during the Tractor Parade.Four cars belonging to the cavalcadebumped into each other on NationalHighway-9 in Hapur district while theconvoy was moving towards Rampur,though no one was injured, informed Congress sources.

In a horrific incident caught on camera, ablindfolded Dalit man was thrashed by agroup of people recently here, accusing him

of stealing money from one of them, policesaid on Thursday. Four people, including threefrom the victim's community, have beenbooked for "attempt to murder" under IPC andSC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities Act), a seniordistrict police official said. The victim wasidentified as Rahul in his early 20s. He isundergoing treatment at a hospital in thedistrict. In the video, a group of youth areseen thrashing the victim ruthlessly, after blindfolding him, using astick as he screams in pain and pleads with them to spare him.

As many as 296 mobile apps havebeen blocked by the governmentsince 2014 in the interest of the

country's sovereignty, security, andpublic order, Union minister SanjayDhotre told Rajya Sabha on Thursday."A total of 296 mobile applicationshave been blocked by governmentsince 2014, under the provisions ofsection 69A of IT Act 2000 and itsrules... in the interest of sovereignty &integrity of India, security of the Stateand public order," Dhotre, Minister ofState for Electronics and IT, said in a written reply.

2

PNS n NEW DELHI

Over 21 per cent of the popu-lation or nearly 29.5 crore peo-ple, aged 10 years and above,showed evidence of past expo-sure to COVID-19 in theICMR's latest national serosur-vey, the government said onThursday, noting that a largeproportion of people are stillvulnerable to the infection.

The Indian Council ofMedical Research (ICMR) thirdnational serosurvey was con-ducted between December 7 lastyear and January 8.

Presenting the findings of thesurvey, ICMR Director GeneralDr Balram Bhargava said 21.4 %of the 28,589 people, aged 18

years and above, surveyed dur-ing the period showed evidenceof past exposure to the coron-

avirus infection. While 25.3% ofchildren aged 10 to 17 yearsfrom the same number of sur-

veyed population have had thedisease, he said.

29.5 crore people in the countryexposed to Coronavirus: GovtICMR's latest national serosurvey reveals exposure of over 21% population

LONDON (Reuters): The world faces around 4,000variants of the virus that causes COVID-19,prompting a race to improve vaccines, Britain saidon Thursday, as researchers began to exploremixing doses of the Pfizer and AstraZenecashots in a world first. Thousands of variantshave been documented as the virus mutates,including the so-called British, South Africanand Brazilian variants which appear to spreadmore swiftly than others. British VaccineDeployment Minister Nadhim Zahawi said it wasvery unlikely that the current vaccines wouldnot work against the new variants.

Around 4,000 Covid variants across world

3-member panel ofKRMB to meet today PNS n HYDERABAD

The Krishna River WaterManagement Board has decid-ed to allot water to Telugustates depending on theirneeds for the Rabi crop as wellas drinking water purposes,given adequate availability ofwater that can be drawn fromthe River Krishna.

A panel of three of its mem-bers, comprising BoardSecretary DM Raipure andEngineers-in-Chief of AP and

Telangana C Narayana Reddyand Muralidhar respectively,would meet on Friday (Feb 5).In this connection, letters havebeen addressed to Governmentsof AP and TS by the boardchairman A Paramesham.

As River Krishna hasreceived heavy inflows, theboard has advised the Telugustates to make use of the avail-able water to meet their drink-ing water and irrigation needs.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Chief Ministers of other statesare in awe of Telangana State'sfiscal discipline, thanks tofinancial planning of ChiefMinister K ChandrasekharRao who has been maintaininga healthy balance between theState's income and expendi-ture, say observers.

KCR has been exercisingrestraint when it comes toborrowing funds from lendinginstitutions in spite of themultiple ways provided by theCentre to borrow funds.

His planning, foresight,assessment of future needs offunds and grip on the state'sfinances had been protecting thestate exchequer from goingbankrupt. In fact, KCR had wonthe appreciation of all leaders atthe national level with his fru-gality in borrowing funds, they

say. Ever since T Harish Raotook over as the FinanceMinister, all important aspectsconcerning finance are beingaddressed on the advice ofKCR. The Chief Minister hasbeen allocating funds to onlypriority sectors of the state.

Seers want Andhra Govt to take serious action against vandals PNS n VIJAYAWADA

A high-profile meeting of seersto save sanatana dharma onWednesday focussed on reli-gious conversions and attacks ontemples in Andhra Pradesh.

The meeting decided to holdanother meeting of sants andheads of various religious peethsin Tirupati later in February. Theseer exhorted Hindus to beprepared for "a protracted strug-gle to protect dharma".

The seers, who held theirmeeting held at Ponnadi village,56 km away from Tirupati,

expressed their dismay oversporadic attacks on temples anddeities. They took a serious

view of the desecration of LordRama's idol at the Kodandaramatemple in Ramatheertham of

Vizianagaram. They termed theoffence 'unpardonable'.

It was placed on record that

Chief Minister JaganmohanReddy, by not punishing theguilty, had failed to fulfil his duty

towards the state. Such devel-opments did not augur well forthe country, the seers opined.

In various instances, chariotsgot torched, idols of deities haddesecrated, temple jewels werelooted from shrines spread overthe length and breadth of thestate, from Bitragunta toAntarvedi and from Pithapuramto Pattikonda, with the rulers ofthe state becoming mere spec-tators, the meeting noted, anddecried the "utter irresponsibil-ity" on the part of rulers.

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Special Court for Trial ofCases against MPs/MLAs inthe city on Thursday issuedsummons to AP ChiefMinister YS JaganmohanReddy in a case relating toviolation of Model Code ofConduct at Kodad Assemblyconstituency of the state ofundivided Nalgonda district.

According to the addition-al Public Prosecutor of thecourt Banala Ajay Kumar, thecase was registered by theKodad Police in the year2014 under sections 341, 188of IPC and section 30 ofHyderabad Police Act. Hesaid that the court had askedJaganmohan Reddy to appearbefore it on February 12th ofthis month. He said that thecase was transferred to thecourt recently and numberedaccordingly. Jagan is namedas A1 in the case.

Summons to Jagan

HC directs policeto act againstapp-basedmoney lendersPNS n HYDERABAD

The Telangana High Courton Thursdaydirected the statepolice to initiate immediateand necessary action against-the instant app-based moneylenders, accused of harassingborrowers overrepayment ofloans with higher rate ofinterest.

When apetition by KalyanDileep Sunkara, a lawyer,seeking to ban all illegalonline loan applications cameup, a division bench compris-ing Chief Justice HimaKohlidirected the state DGPto ensure that such appswereblocked or deleted fromGoogle Play store.

The bench also ordered thepolice to nabthose runningsuch apps and issuing instantloans.

The petitioner had soughtacourt direction to the stategovernment to ban all illega-lonline loan apps available onGoogle Play store.

Opposition corners govt onfarm protests, BJP defendsPNS n NEW DELHI

Opposition parties onThursday launched a vociferousattack on the Centre over itshandling of the farmers' agita-tion, callings its dialogues withthe protestors "monologues",even as the ruling BJP defend-ed the new laws asserting thatits government is committedto the welfare ofp e as antsa n d

increase their incomes.Attacking the government,

Opposition parties said trench-es have been dug, barbed wiresput up and spikes installed atthe sites of farmers' protests,whereas bridges should havebeen built to win over them.The BJP highlighted the farmwelfare measures and tore into

the shifting of goalposts by theOpposition.

Participating in the debate onthe Motion of Thanks to thePresident's Address, CongressMP Deepinder Singh Hoodasaid the government has noright to question the patriotismof farmers as they are the oneswho have made the country

self-sufficient in food.

TRAI recommendsregulatoryframework forDTH platformsPNS n NEW DELHI

Telecom regulator TRAI hasissued its recommendationson the back reference from theMinistry of Information andBroadcasting on the authori-ty's earlier guidelines on theregulatory framework for plat-form services offered by DTH.

TRAI recommended thatprogrammes transmitted bythe direct-to-home (DTH)operators or multiple sys-tem operators (MSOs) orInternet Protocol Television(IPTV) operators as a plat-form service shall be exclu-sive.

Has bird flu reached thevicinity of Hyderabad?PNS n HUSNABAD

Has bird flu, contrary to officialclaims, reached the vicinity ofHyderabad? This disturbingquestion is uppermost in theminds of discerning circlesbecause of the sheer numbers ofbirds dropping dead just likethat. Over 1,000 poultry birdshave perished in Karimnagardistrict over 24 hours sinceWednesday due to a mysteriousdisease. The exact cause ofdeath of the birds has not been

determined so far, though localslink them to bird flu.

The dead birds include poul-try belonging to a farmer fromTirupati who has been rearingover 1,500 local breed chicken.The loss to this farmer alone has

been put at Rs 4 lakh. He hasappealed to the state governmentfor succour. Veterinary doctorshave collected samples from thecarcasses of dead birds and sentthem to a laboratory for analy-sis. The lab report is awaited.

It may be pertinent to men-tion here that a mystery diseasehas been claiming lives of hun-dreds of birds in Vikarabad dis-trict too. People are worriedover crows dropping dead, inaddition to poultry birds, inVikarabad district.

Give Eatala a chanceto become CM: CongPNS n HYDERABAD

Even before the 'MakeKTR CM' choruscould fade, theCongress has ini-tiated a 'MakeEatala CM' cho-rus to capitaliseon the TRS'changed tacktowards farmers.

While extending greetingsto Health Minister EatalaRajender for speaking in sup-port of farmers, the Congress'lone MLC T Jeevan Reddy hassaid: "It would be good if

Eatala Rajender is given achance to become the Chief

Minister of the state". "Eatala is an effi-

cient leader and hasa social perspec-tive," Jeevan Reddysaid. He said thatthere could be

widespread criticismof TRS resorting to

'heir politics' if KTR wasgiven the chance of becomingChief Minister of the state."KTR is an efficient, but itwould be good if chance isgiven to Eatala".

Pontiffs of various peeths and maths expressing their views during a meeting organised to protect Santana Dharma at Ponnadi, near Tirupati, on Thursday.

Job security to theRTC employees: TS finalises guidelines

The state government hasfinalised guidelines

providing job security to theRTC employees. ChiefMinister K ChandrashekharRao signed on the filepertaining to the matter onThursday. The RTCemployees, in the past,brought to the notice of theChief Minister that theemployees are beingsubjected to unnecessaryharassment while dischargingtheir duties on severaloccasions and they are alsolosing jobs.

2

22

22

2

2

2

KCR's brilliant fiscal disciplineshows the way to other CMs

Printed and published by B Krishna Prasad for and on behalf of CMYK Printech Ltd., Phone: 040-23322341, Hyderabad Office: F-502, Diamond Block, Lumbini Rockdale, Somajiguda, Hyderabad - 500 082. Telangana. Printed at Sree Seshasai Enterprises, Plot No.19, IDA Balanagar , Hyderbad-500037, Medchal -Malkajgiri District, Telangana. Chief Editor: Chandan Mitra. Resident Editor: B Krishna Prasad, AIR SURCHARGE of Rs 2.00.

Although every possible care and caution has been taken to avoid errors or omissions, this publication is being sold on the condition and understanding that information given in this publication is merely for reference and must not be taken as having authority of or binding in any way on the writers, editors, publishers, and printers and sellers who do not owe any responsibility for any

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

responding to any contents published in this newspaper. The printer, publisher, editor and any employee of the Pioneer Group's will not be held responsible for any kind of claim made by the advertisers of the products & services and shall not be made responsible for any kind of loss, consequences and further product-related damages on such advertisements.

hyderabad 02HYDERABAD | FRIDAY | FEBRUARY 5, 2021

EGG

RATES

`` 48, 380 (10 gm)

` 880

GOLD

` 72, 200 (1kg)` 1800

VIJAYAWADA 430

HYDERABAD 393

VISAKHAPATNAM 430

RREETTAAIILL PPRRIICCEE `̀44.. 3300

SILVER

VIJAYAWADA

BULLION RATES

`̀//110000

CHICKEN

RATES

Dressed/With Skin `157

Without Skin `178

Broiler at Farm `108

`̀//KKGG

(IN HYDERABAD)

As the Supreme Courthas stayed the imple-mentation of the new

farm laws enacted by theCentre, farmers across thecountry need to realise theconsequences of the Actspassed by Parliament inSeptember 2020. For, they affectnot only the farmers of Punjaband Haryana -- who have beenat the forefront of the protestsfor the past 50 days plus at theborders of the national capitalseeking repeal of the con-tentious laws -- but all farmersacross the nation in the longrun.

The Parliament has enactedthree farm laws - The Farmers'Produce Trade and Commerce(Promotion and Facilitation)Act, 2020, The Farmers(Empowerment andProtection) Agreement on PriceAssurance and Farm ServicesAct, 2020, and The EssentialCommodities (Amendment)Act, 2020 - without having anyconsultations with stakeholdersand scrutiny done by any par-

liamentary committee. Thefarmers have been agitatingagainst these acts as they posea great threat to the interests offamers in the country and denythem the legally backedMinimum Support Price(MSP) for their produce.

The Farmers' Produce Tradeand Commerce (Promotionand Facilitation) Act, 2020 pro-vides freedom of choices tofarmers and traders to sell andpurchase of agricultural pro-duce outside the physicalpremises of AgriculturalProduce Market Committee(APMC) markets that includefarm gates, factory premises,warehouses, cold storages. Italso abolished the market feelevied by the market commit-tees on farmers and traders.

Through the Act, by disman-tling the existing system, thegovernment has deregulated itsauthority over agricultural mar-kets and gives a free hand to pri-vate players in farmers' producetrade and commerce.Corporate monopoly in agri-

culture sector will cause APMCmarkets die automatically andmay not give enough opportu-nities for small trades in buy-ing and selling of farm produce.As the government has notmentioned about MinimumSupport Price (MSP) in this act,small and marginal farmers willbe the real sufferers.

According to the AgricultureCenses 2015-16 report (finalresults released in 2019), thesmall and marginal holdingstaken together (below 2hectares) constituted 86.08 percent of the total holdings whiletheir share in the operated

area stood at 46.94 per cent inthe current census. This farm-ing community does not haveaccess to market or transportfacilities to sell its agriculturalproduce at remunerative prices.

However, the Farmers(Empowerment and Protection)Agreement on Price Assuranceand Farm Services Act, 2020seeks to create avenues for con-tract farming and paves the wayfor corporates to enter agricul-ture. According to AgricultureCensus 2015-16, about 15 percent of the total holdings are inthe hands of the above margin-al farmers, while their share in

the operated area stood attabout 53 per cent. In this cate-gory, most of the lands are beingcultivated by tenant farmers andcontract farming will affectthem.

In Punjab, Haryana andparts of Rajasthan, about 90 percent of the farmers get MSP fortheir produce as they sell themin regulated market yards. Andin other states only 20 per centof farmers sell their produce inAPMCs.

With the eventual rise of cor-porate autonomy and deregu-lation of APMCs, in the longrun small and marginal farm-ers will be left with no backupoption and they have to selltheir produce below MSP asthey would be at mercy of bigprivate players.

Taking into considerationfarmers' fears over the new farmlaws, the Union government isobliged to have elaborate con-sultations with all stakeholders.While encouraging the privatesector, it should keep some reg-ulations on the agriculture sec-tor rather than completely lib-eralizing them. The MSPshould be maintained in thefuture for the benefit of thebackbone of the country.

Political game in TelanganaIn Telangana State, a politi-

cal game has begun on the newfarm acts. While claiming to befarmer-friendly, the TRS gov-ernment has taken a U-turn onregulated farming - aimed atmaking agriculture a moreprofitable venture through sci-

entific cultivation based onmarket demands- which imple-mented in 'Vanakalam' seasonstarting in the month of Maylast year. The government guid-ed the farmers on what cropshould be cultivated and inwhich area and to what extentand also assured farmers thatthe state government wouldbuy every grain of the crop cul-tivated in this system withMSP by setting up procurementcentres at village level. As it hasfailed to procure all the crops,many farmers have had to selltheir produce below MSP toprivate buyers.

With the change in politicalequation after the results ofDubbak Assembly constituen-cy by-election and GHMCelections, the TRS governmentsupported the December 8th'Bharth Bandh' call given by thefarmers staging protest againstthe new farm laws, and posedas if it was against the Uniongovernment's move on farmlaws. Within 20 days after theBharath Bandh, the Telangana

government withdrew its ownregulated farming and left thefarmers to decide for them-selves their preferred crop. Italso decided not purchase farmproduce on its own and toldfarmers could sell their producewherever they get a good pricein view of the new farm laws.The consequences of the imple-mentation of the farm acts willbecome a weapon for the rul-ing TRS party in the nextAssembly elections.

In Telangana and in otherstates, about 20 per cent of thefarmers sell their farm producein APMC yards. As there is anexisting regulated system, thefarmers who sell their produceto private buyers get at least abetter price. With the imple-mentation of the new farm lawsthat paves the way for deregu-lation of APMCs and monop-oly of big players in agriculturetrade and commerce, in futurethe farmers will have no 'PlanB' to sell their produce at MSP.

(The writer is TPCC officialspokesperson)

INDIRA SHOBAN POSHALA

With the eventual rise of corporateautonomy and deregulation ofAPMCs, in the long run small andmarginal farmers will be left withno backup option and they have tosell their produce below MSP asthey would be at mercy of bigprivate players

New farm laws mean there is no Plan B for farmers

Farmers in trouble as Dharani has no option to resolve land problemsPNS n HYDERABAD

The Dharani portal thoughhas made the process of agri-cultural land registrationsand mutations much fasterthan it used to be earlier, yetthere are certain unresolvedproblems in the portal thatare making the lives of farm-ers, including the Tribals inthe Agency area difficult.Many of these farmers haveold land records, possessioncertificates, but their surveynumbers have gone missingin the Dharani portal. Thereare many more such prob-lems at the field-level waitingfor resolution.

The state government hasentrusted resolution of thepending land problems withthe District Collectors andgiven a deadline of one week toresolve those. However, thishas aggravated the prevailing

confusion instead of resolvingit as there are no options toapply for resolution of theland problems in the portal.

The Dharani portal has nooption to rectify the defect ofexempting some membersfrom possessing pattadar-pass-book. The officials though hadpromised to resolve the prob-lem, yet they went back ontheir promise and said thatthey would only resolve thosecases that remained pending

before revenue courts. The state government some-

time ago acquired a portion ofland from beneficiaries, andthe portal should have shownthe balance land in the accountof the farmers. But that did nothappen and the problemremained unsolved. If the gov-ernment acquires a portion ofland under a particular surveynumber, that survey number isnot getting reflected in theDharani portal and as the sur-

vey number is not beingreflected, the Dharani websiteis rejecting the application.

In the Agency Area, thetitle deeds should be issued tothe Tribals within the framework of the Agency laws. Infact, 76,000 cases, wherein thenon-Tribals and ineligibleTribals purchased land fromTribals remained pending.Many survey numbers are notbeing reflected in the Dharaniportal. Therefore, there is noscope for resolving many landproblems.

There had been instances offarmers engaging themselves indisputes over the area of theirland. The complaints lodged bythem with the revenue officialsled to the revenue officialsnot issuing them with pattadarpassbooks. Unless a survey isundertaken at the field level,there seems to be no solutionin sight.

29.5 crore people in the country...Continued from Page 1

Urban slums (31.7 per cent)and urban non-slums (26.2per cent) had a higher SARS-CoV-2 prevalence than that inrural areas (19.1 per cent),Bhargava said, adding that 23.4per cent of individuals above 60years of age had suffered fromCOVID-19.

Blood samples of 7,171healthcare workers were alsocollected during the same peri-od and the seroprevalence wasfound to be 25.7 per cent, theICMR director general said.

The survey was conductedin the same 700 villages orwards in 70 districts in 21 statesselected during the first andsecond rounds of the nationalserosurvey.

On the coronavirus situation

in the country, the health min-istry said India's COVID-19cumulative positivity rate is5.42 per cent and declining.The weekly positivity rate (lastweek) was recorded at 1.82 percent, it said.

It said that 47 districts havenot reported any new case ofCOVID-19 and 251 districtshave not registered any newdeaths in the last three weeks.

So far, 49,93,427 beneficiarieshave been vaccinated in thecountry out of which 11 statesand Union Territories, includ-ing Tamil Nadu, Assam,Ladakh, Chandigarh,Meghalaya and Manipur, havecovered 30 per cent or lesshealthcare workers throughthe COVID-19 vaccination, itsaid. The ministry also saidthat 1,239 private facilities and

5,912 public facilities arebeing used as COVID-19

immunisation sites in thecountry as of now.

Around 4,000 Covid variants across worldContinued from Page 1

“Its very unlikely that the current vaccine won’t be effective onthe variants whether in Kent or other variants especially whenit comes to severe illness and hospitalisation,” Zahawi toldSky News. “All manufacturers, Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna,Oxford-AstraZeneca and others, are looking at how they canimprove their vaccine to make sure that we are ready for anyvariant - there are about 4,000 variants around the world ofCOVID now.” While thousands of variants have arisen as thevirus mutates on replication, only a very small minority arelikely to be important and to change the virus in anappreciable way, according to the British Medical Journal. Theso called British variant, known as VUI-202012/01, hasmutations including a change in the spike protein that virusesuse to bind to the human ACE2 receptor - meaning that it isprobably easier to catch.

KCR's brilliant fiscal disciplineshows the way to other CMsContinued from Page 1

"He gives no priority to non-priority sectors in allotment offunds and clearing of billsbelonging to these sectors. Asa result, large-scale bills haveremained pending with thegovernment", sources in theadministration explained.

In spite of severe criticismof allocation of funds todrinking water and irrigationschemes, the allotment offunds had been resulting inlakhs of acres being broughtunder the plough. As a result,farmland prices in Telanganahad skyrocketed. The livingstandards of farmers hadimproved, besides the livingthe standards of other people."All this has been resulting inflow of funds into the state'scof fers ," the sourcesobserved.

Hence, TRS leaders decrythe opposition parties forpoliticising everything. Theymake it clear that every paisa

being spent by the KCR gov-ernment is improving theproductivity of the state.Hundreds and thousands ofcrores of rupees being spenton agriculture and irrigationsectors had been strengthen-ing the hands of farmers.While other states had resort-ed to reckless borrowing fromlending institutions, KCR hadbeen treading the path care-fully and borrowing fundsonly to the extent of meetingthe state's dire needs.

The Telangana governmentis entitled to borrow 29% of itsGSDP, but KCR limited the

borrowing to only 22.8%,adopting fiscal discipline. Thishas helped the State govern-ment to stand on its legs inspite of the Centre releasing nogrants to the state, analysesGattu Ramachandra Rao, TRSleader.

He commented that peoplehad been watching the lack ofsincerity on the part of thoseMPs lack who had criticisedKCR for want of funds totheir constituencies. Instead ofmounting pressure on theCentre to have the funds sanc-tioned, the MPs had been crit-icising KCR, he observed.

Job security to the RTC employees: TS...Continued from Page 1

Responding to this, the Chief Minister assured them that jobsecurity would be provided to the TSRTC employees without anyharassment at work. As per the instructions from the ChiefMinister, the RTC officials committee has prepared the guidelines.The CM accepted the guidelines on Thursday.

3-memberpanel ofKRMB to...Continued from Page 1

After the flood flow into theriver recedes, the water avail-able for use would be calcu-lated and it would be allocat-ed to the two states, depend-ing on their needs.

The Board is now pre-pared to calculate the inflowsand outflows into the riverduring the current irrigationyear. Therefore, the Board hasasked the states to give anaccount of the water used byTelugu states till Jan 31 andgave estimates of their futurewater needs up to March 31.

On the basis of the wateravailability in Srisailam andNagarjuna Sagar, joint irriga-tion projects of AP andTelangana, and the extent ofwater drawn by both thestates, the tri-partite commit-tee would allocate the shareof water for each state.

Seers wantAndhra Govt...Continued from Page 1

Instead of punishing the guilty,the police had been blamingthe priests, indicating a sorrystate of the law and order sit-uation. The meeting said thelaw and order situation in thestate had deteriorated due to'anti-Hindu' feelings.

Under the new politicaldispensation, there was noneto rein in religious conversions,propaganda of other religionsin the vicinity of Hindu tem-ples, activities of other religionsin Tirumala, Srisailam andSimhachalam, the meetingplaced on record.

Funds of Hindu templeswere being spent freely for thebenefit of minorities. Theauthority of non-Hindus overthe administration of Hindutemples and the number ofpeople who hate Hindu reli-gion had increased, the meet-ing concurred. Inducementshad been offered to encourageconversion of Hindus to otherfaiths, the seers stated.

Illegal religious conversionshad been taking place openlyall over the state. The officialmachinery did not pay atten-tion to complaints lodged withit in this regard, the meetingstated.

Top posts in the state hadbeen filled with Christians.Orders had been issued to cel-ebrate X mas in police stations.Top officials of theEndowments Department andthose in key positions at TTDwere involved in spreadingChristianity, giving an impres-sion that the Andhra Pradeshhad become a religious statepromoting Christianity, themeeting opined. The seers feltthat CM Jaganmohan Reddyand his government had failedmiserably to protect Hindutemples and punish the culpritswho had resorted to desecrationof deities.

Give Eatala a chanceto become CM: CongContinued from Page 1

"It is not my opinion (that ofmaking Eatala Chief Minister).It is the opinion of people. Iwill be happy if a leader likeEatala comes forward to takeup the Chief Minister's posi-tion. TRS MLAs would alsoextend their support to Eatala",he concluded.

While speaking to mediapersons on Thursday, JeevanReddy demanded that ChiefMinister K ChandrasekharRao should take steps for set-ting up a Turmeric Board andextend remunerative price toturmeric farmers. In the past,farmers used to get one tola(10 grams) gold for sellingquintal turmeric. However,the gold's price had increasedto Rs.50,000 per tola, whileturmeric's price had fallen toRs.6,000. Farmers would have

benefited if a Turmeric Boardhad been set up. There was noresponse from the state andcentral governments, he said.

MP from NizamabadDharmapuri Arvind (BJP) hadassured that he would bringTurmeric Board within 100days or else tender his resigna-tion, Jeevan Reddy claimed,and pointed out that the boardhad not materialized inNizamabad. He said thatturmeric would be purchasedeven through MARKFED. Hereminded that the govern-ment in united AndhraPradesh state had set up pro-curement centers and gaveorders to purchase turmeric atRs.7,000 per quintal. However,the present state and centralgovernments were blamingeach other, though the BJP andTRS had been working incoordination.

Opposition corners...Continued from Page 1

He hit out at the governmentsaying it should show a big heartand accept the demands offarmers by repealing the farmlaws.

"You talk about making (thecountry) self sufficient. Let mewarn you that a self-obsessedgovernment cannot makeAatmanirbhar Bharat (self-suf-ficient India)," he said.

Hooda lamented that therehas not been a single word ofcondolence from the govern-ment yet on 194 farmers wholost their life during the ongo-ing agitation. Resuming the dis-cussion, Manoj Kumar Jha of theRJD said the government haslost the patience to hear and anycriticism is painted as anti-national. He noted that one hasnot seen such an aggressiveapproach even towards theneighbouring nations who cameinto Indian territory.

"Patriotism is not be worn onsleeves but carried in heart," hesaid making use of poetry and

sarcasm.Contesting the government's

claim of having 11 rounds of dia-logue with agitating farmers, hesaid its ministers "believe inmonologue and not dialogue".

Digvijaya Singh of theCongress lashed out at the gov-ernment, saying measures likedemonetisation to the CAAwere "blunders that hit the peo-ple hard".

He said the void between theModi government's promisesand implementation was big andit could not win the hearts ofpeople. He said the prime min-ister had "lost their trust".

"You have got majority butdissent is essence of democracy,"Singh noted.

Former prime minister andJD(S) leader H D Deve Gowdacalled farmers the backbone ofthe country. He said miscreantsand anti-social elements werebehind the events on RepublicDay and all political partieshave condemned their actionsand agree that they need to bepunished.

HC directs policeto act against app-based money...Continued from Page 1

Posting the matter to March18, the court also directed the-police to file a status report onthe sanction of loans byinstantloan apps, cases regis-tered and on the investigation.

The police submitted thatthe lending companies,through instant loan appsoffer loans to people and levyhuge interest and processingcharges, among others.

They then resort to system-atic abusing, harassing andthreatening the defaultersthrough call centres operatingfrom across the country.

Six cases of suicides, due toharassment by such companieswerereported in Telanganasince December 2020.

Over 50 cases have been

registered and over 30 people,including four Chinese nation-als arrested so far even as theEnforcement Directorate isprobing these FIRs.

Police said they have alsoengaged experts for dataanalysis for studying the volu-minous data as a preliminaryprobe into the financial trans-actions of the online loan appfirms revealed 1.4 crore trans-actions worth nearly Rs 21,000crore.

Cases were registered invarious police stations in thestate based on several com-plaints alleging that the firmsobtained sensitive data such ascontacts, photographs fromthe mobile phones of the cus-tomers andusing them todefame or blackmail to get theloan repayment.

TRAIrecommends...Continued from Page 1

The same shall not be permit-ted to be shared directly orindirectly with any other DPO.

"Incase the same pro-gramme is found available onthe platform service of anyother DPO, MIB/TRAI mayissue directions to immediate-ly stop the transmission of sucha programme. The MIB alsoreserves the right for cancella-tion of registration of such plat-form service of the DTH oper-ator/MSOs/IPTV operator,"TRAI said in its recommenda-tions document on February 2.The TRAI accepted the min-istry's view that anybody reg-istered as a DPO, either withthe MIB or with a post office,shall be eligible to carry plat-form service channels, provid-ed that the ministry is able tospecify compliance structure toensure that those providing theservice make full disclosure onownership status and complyto the programme and adver-tising codes.

HYDERABAD | FRIDAY | FEBRUARY 5, 2021 hyderabad 03

An online petition started byPeople for Animals (PFA) andHumane Society

International/India (HSI/India), thecountry's largest animal protectionorganisations have garnered morethan 7.5 lakh signatures making thecall for an amendment to thePrevention of Cruelty to AnimalsAct, 1960 louder. Through thepetition, the Prime Minister of India,Narendra Modi is being urged to raise the penalties of crueltyagainst animals which is currently at 50 rupees. PFA and HSI Indiastarted the petition on January 19, 2021, and within a fortnightgarnered 7.5 lakh number of signatures which has seen support ofpublic representatives such as Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga,Spokesperson, BJP Delhi, Anubhav Mohanty, Actor & Member ofParliament, and of celebrities such as Pooja Bhatt, Manoj BajpayeeTiger Shroff, Shraddha Kapoor, Mohit Chauhan and influencerNiharika NM and many more. Gauri Maulekhi, trustee People forAnimals, said "The animal cruelty cases that gets reported are just ablip on the radar, most cases are never reported. Despite beingpunishable criminal offenses, cruelty against animals continueunabated in the country given the absence of a deterrent penalty inour law. With India being envisioned as a self - dependent nation,we must ensure that we put in place regulation and law that deteranimal cruelty and help it be a more humane nation."

CITY LIGHTS

As part of beautification works, Hyderabad Metropolitan

Development Authority (HMDA) along with Hyderabad

Growth Corridor Limited (HGCL) has installed the frames

with birds on the Outer Ring Road (ORR). Principal Secretary

Arvind Kumar tweeted pictures of Shamshabad interchange

main carriageway. A series of interchanges, rotaries and

central medians that have been made part of the 158-km-

long Outer Ring Road (ORR) would soon get a touch of

many more aesthetics.

BEAUTI‘FLYING'

PNS n HYDERABAD

If the Centre brings out policyguidelines on personal trans-port vehicles aged over 20years and commercial vehiclesaged over 15 years to disposethem of as scrap, there are over27 lakh personal transport andcommercial vehicles in thestate that should be abandonedas scrap.

Of the 27 lakh outdatedvehicles in the state, Hyderabadis home for over 6.81 lakh vehi-cles.

The number of vehicles -cars, auto-rickshaws, buses,maxicars, motorcycles, trac-tors and others - in the state ason March 31 last year crossedthe 1.29-crore mark.

During the past 10 months,their number would haveincreased by at least 10 lakh,according to transport depart-ment authorities.

There are at least 1.40 crorevehicles in the state. Out ofthem, 13 lakh vehicles dateback to 20 years, while thenumber of commercial vehiclesthat date back to 15 years is putat Rs 14 lakh.

As per the Motor VehiclesAct, 1988, the outdated vehiclesare prohibited from runningthem on the roads. But manyvehicle owners are using themobtaining fitness certificateonce in two years citing goodrunning condition of enginesas the reason.

The outdated vehicles will

not only cause road accidentsbut also contributes to envi-ronmental pollution, expertssay with concern.

Out of the 27 lakh outdated

vehicles, 25 per cent of thevehicles belong to Ambassador,Fiat, Bajaj Chetak and Lunacompanies. These were madeprior to 2000. But they are not

being plied on the roads. Ifthese are exempted from thenumber of vehicles, the num-ber of other outdated vehiclesis likely to be around 20 lakh.

Hyderabad is home for over 6.81 lakh outdated vehicles

PNS n HYDERABAD

Just when people thought theyhave seen almost every high-profile online scams, a freshphishing attack promisinglucrative offers and deals forthis Valentine's Day - whenlovers express their affectionwith love and gifts for theirpartners, has given all quite anunfamiliar jolt.

Cyber experts have warnedpeople regarding the 'FAKE'Valentine's Day gift vouchersclaiming to offer free 7-day staypackages at luxurious hotelsincluding at the TAJ. Anotherfraud message in the name ofTATA is doing rounds onsocial media which offers achance to win mobile phones.

Such messages, in phone oron WhatsApp, can lead tocyber-attack and it's a newtechnique used by the scam-mers to commit online fraudand prey on innocents or takeadvantage of them by collect-ing personal information, cau-tioned cyber experts.

"Valentine's Day is a time toshow your loved ones howmuch you care, but it also pro-vides the perfect opportunityfor unscrupulous individuals totake advantage of unsuspectingconsumers by utilizing emo-

tion-provoking scam tactics,"said an official urging the con-sumers to be wary of deals thatsound too good to be true andindividuals who ask for moneythrough online dating sites.

Many people looking forlove online are finding lossinstead.

With Valentine's Day quick-ly approaching, the officials ofTelangana State PoliceDepartment reminds citizens

to be wary of 'sweetheart'scammers who claim to loveyou but, in reality, are only afteryour money.

Relationship scams, or'sweetheart' scams, are one ofthe oldest tricks in many scam-mers' playbooks.Unfortunately, the rise ofonline dating websites, mobileapps, and social networkingplatforms have given scammersa new way to trick people into

believing their schemes. Whilelegitimate relationships areoften found online, scammersalso use these websites andplatforms to prey on unsus-pecting victims. Scammers willcreate fake profiles to attractindividuals and then use emo-tional tactics to solicit money.

Romance scammers willcreate fake online profiles usingphotos taken off the internet tolure people. They'll then por-tray those attractive, made-uppersonas on various datingapps and social networks notreserved for dating, likeFacebook.

Scammers often dodgevideo chats or in-person visitsby saying they're stationedabroad in the military.

Once relationships are estab-lished, though, the scammerswill tell victims of a medicalemergency or misfortune andrequest money. They mightalso ask for money to help payfor a visit.

Romance scamming hasmore than doubled in recentyears and is steadily rising.

People aged between 40 and69 report losing money at thehighest rates, and they aretwice more likely to fall for theschemes than people in theirtwenties.

Beware of ‘sweetheart' scamsfor Valentine's Day, cops warn

PNS n HYDERABAD

Active Covid cases inTelangana dropped below2,000 as more patients con-tinue to recover, state healthofficials said on Thursday.

A total of 198 patientsrecovered from the virus dur-ing the last 24 hours, bringingdown the active cases to 1,985.Of them 776 were in home orinstitutional isolation.

According to director ofpublic health and family wel-fare, the recovery rateimproved to 98.78 per cenrt asagainst the national average of97.1 per cent. The state report-ed 177 new cases, pushing thetally to 2,95,101. The numberof recoveries mounted to2,91,510. Two more personssuccumbed to the virus, tak-ing the toll to 1,606.

Fatality rate remained 0.54per cent against the nationalaverage of 1.4 per cent. While44.96 per cent of the deathsoccurred due to Covid, 55.04per cent had comorbidities.

During the last 24 hours, thestate conducted 41,343 tests.While the government labo-ratories tested 37,288 samples,the remaining 4,055 tests wereconducted in private labora-tories.

State's active Corona cases drop below 2K

OUT OF DATE

motorcycles4,82,093goods carriers43,883 auto-rickshaws19,955 motor cars10,6319motor cabs5,149 stage carriers

contract carriers

2,803

1,776 maxi-cabs1,147tractors985

school buses862 private vehicles

other vehicles.

732

16,204

PNS n HYDERABAD

Chilkur Balaji temple is plan-ning to initiate grand celebra-tions of Bhishma Ekadashiwith Sanatana SampradayaGangaputras or Fishermencommunity on a large scale inboth the Telugu States this year.

On Wednesday, a meetingwith the elders of the com-munity was held at the ChilkurBalaji temple to chalk out theprogram for the day which fallson February 23.

CS Rangarajan, the ChiefArchaka enunciated the great-ness of Bhishma Pitamaha andcalled the elders not to allow

the discontinuity and discon-nect with Sanatana Dharma."Bhishma was Gangaputra andtraditional fishermen are allGangaputras," he said. Thecommunity expressed happi-ness at these initiatives andvowed to participate in the fes-tivities. In the Mahabharata,Bhishma also known as Bhish-ma Pitamaha and GangaputraBhishma was well known forhis pledge of celibacy. He wasthe eighth son of the KuruKing Shantanu and Ganga.

Chilkur Balaji Temple to celebrateBhishma Ekadashi with fishermen

PNS n HYDERABAD

GoAir announced the launchof its maiden direct flight con-necting Hyderabad with Male.Effective February 11, GoAirwill operate a direct servicefour times a week Monday,Tuesday, Thursday andSunday - between Hyderabadand Male, a release from theairline said here.

Currently, with the liftingof travel restrictions, GoAirhas resumed its operations,connecting Male to Mumbai,Delhi, and Bengaluru withdaily direct services, it said.

This new route will beserviced by the airlines next-generation Airbus A320 neoaircraft, further strengtheningGoAirs growing internation-al network in the south Asianregion, it said. Kaushik, CEO,GoAir, said "Passengers trav-elling from Hyderabad willnow have convenient addi-tional options to travel toMale, thus making their trav-el experience enjoyable andcomfortable.”

PNS n HYDERABAD

A fire broke out at a school inOld City on Thursday. Srin-ivasa High School, located inGowlipura, was functioning ina two-storied building.

According to the reports,the fire broke out in theschool's administrative officelocated on the ground floordue to an electrical short cir-cuit issue.

Though there are no casu-alties reported, school records,books and furniture wereburnt in flames.

Around 50 students of theschool were rescued before thefire spread. The school staffand locals quickly rescued allthe students and brought fireinto control, before informingthe fire department.

PNS n HYDERABAD

The police arrested a man forattacking a woman with an axein retaliation for complainingto the police against him. Theincident had occurred in the

Teachers' Colony in Meerpeton Tuesday.

The CCTV footage showsthe accused parking his bike infront of the woman’s house.The victims, who was holdinga child and was talking to a

neighbour, ran inside but theassailant chased and attackedher. She sustained injuries andwas admitted to a hospital.

The accused, identified asRahul Goud, 30, escaped afterthe attack. The police had

launched a hunt for him and hewas arrested at Abdullapurmeton Wednesday. ACP Purshott-am Reddy said a case of attem-pt to murder was filed againsthim. Goud, a family friend ofthe victim, had been harassing

her. The victim had lodged acomplaint with the police a fewdays ago and he was arrested.

After his release on bail, theaccused went to the victim andattacked her to take the revengefor lodging police complaint.

Now, Hyd will have direct flight to Male

Stalker who attacked woman with axe arrested

PNS n HYDERABAD

A local court here sentenceda labourer to 10 years rigor-ous imprisonment (RI) onThursday for attempting torape a 12-year-old girl at hisdaughter's house here inDecember 2019.

The first AdditionalMetropolitan Sessions Judge-cum-Special judge for trial ofcases under Protection ofChildren from SexualOffences (POCSO) ActSuneetha Kunchala held theaccused guilty and sentencedhim to 10 years RI andimposed a fine of Rs 5,000.

In default of payment offine, the accused must under-go simple imprisonment forsix months, Additional PublicProsecutor G Narayana said.

According to Narayana,the girl, who used to seekalms, came to the accusedperson's daughter's house.On December 5, 2019, whilethe girl was sleeping, theaccused tried to rape her.When she raised an alarm, hegagged her mouth. The girl,however, mustered courageand again shouted for help.On hearing her screams, theneighbours came to her res-cue and caught hold of theaccused and alerted thepolice, who rushed to thespot and arrested him.

PNS n HYDERABAD

With schools and collegesreopening after a long gap of11 months and all other pro-fessional workspaces returningback to normalcy, IT compa-ny managements are also look-ing to welcome back employ-ees to their offices. However,the intimidation whether theyare safe continues to haunt theemployees.

IT companies too are cau-tious to resume their offices fora section of their workforce."We are working on a plan sothat employees can come backto the office in a phased man-ner," said the director of aHyderabad-based IT company.

According to TelanganaFacilities Management Council(TFMC), only 7 to 12 per centof the IT employees havereturned to offices with thefears of contracting COVID-19. They still prefer workingfrom home. TFMC supervisesthe smooth functioning ofmore than 1500 IT offices inand around the tri-cities ofCyberabad, Hyderabad andSecunderabad in which near-ly 6.5 lakh IT employees work,is appealing and trying tospread awareness among theIT employees to come back totheir offices.

The delegation of TFMCcalled on Dr G Srinivas Rao,

Director of Public Health andFamily Welfare, Governmentof Telangana and informed oftheir preparedness in wel-coming back the IT employeesinto their offices.

"Though we are prepared,employees are not willing tocome back to the office. Togive them confidence, TFMCappealed to the public healthdepartment to provide COVIDvaccines for their workersincluding housekeeping andothers on a priority basis. Thiswill give confidence for the ITemployees to come back tooffices," said SatyanarayanaMathala, president of TFMC.

The council seeks toimprove the number ofemployees in the IT companiesto atleast 25 per cent, statedSatyanarayana Mathala.

The employees though mov-ing around freely in the city are

not willing to join back inoffices. We need to gain theirconfidence, observed a TFMCoffice bearer.

Giving the assurance ofcooperation in winning backthe confidence of the IT work-force, Dr. G. Srinivas Rao toldthat he would join them in anyinitiative of TFMC taken up towin back the confidence of ITemployees.

Although the curbs arerelaxed, some IT and technol-ogy companies are in no rushto bring employees back tooffices as long as their pro-ductivity is ensured. Whereas,some companies are also con-sidering a rotation of teamsthat come into the office, sev-eral other firms are even lettingemployees decide if they feel atease returning to work,informed SatyanarayanaMathala.

IT companies seek vax forsafe return of staff to offices

Major fire breaks out in school at Old City Appeals for increasing penaltyfor animal cruelty grow louder

Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational InstitutionsSociety (TSWREIS) and Telangana Tribal Welfare ResidentialEducational Institutions Society has invited applications from

eligible boys & girls for admission I year UG CoursesBA/B.Com/BBA/ B.Sc I year Degree courses. Candidates appearingfor Intermediate second year exams in the academic year (2021-2022) and candidates who have passed our intermediate or itsequivalent exam in the year 2021 with a minimum of 40 percentmarks are eligible to apply for Telangana Gurukulam UnderGraduate Common Entrance Test (TGUGCET-2021). The candidatesare instructed to visit social and tribal welfare residentialeducational institutions societies websites www.tswreis.in andwww. tgtwgurukulam. telangana.gov.in for prospectus and onlineapplication. Candidates can submit their online applications fromFebruary 5, 2021 onwards. The last date for uploading applicationsis March 5, 2021. TGUGCET-2021 entrance exam will be conductedon April 25, 2021.

TSWREIS invites applicationsfor admission to UG courses

The Jeedimetla police arrested acontract employee of theelectricity department on

charges of disconnecting powersupply to the police station andtraffic signals here on Thursday.Police said A Ramesh bore grudgeagainst the police personnel afterthey issued a traffic challan to aminor boy, who was caught driving his two-wheeler without a validdriving license recently. Seeking revenge, Ramesh cut the powersupply to the Jeedimetla police station and traffic signals onWednesday. Based on a complaint from the traffic police personnel,the Jeedimetla police booked a case and arrested Ramesh. He wasproduced before the court for remanding in judicial custody.

Annoyed over ‘traffic challan', man cuts power supply to PS

Man gets 10-year RI for attempting to rape minor girl

To create awareness on internetusage for children, theHyderabad City Security

Council (HCSC) and Hyderabad CityPolice in association with WNShave launched a programme hereon Thursday. As part of Cyber Security Forum of HCSC, theprogramme aims to promote awareness of mobile and internetusage and also following the safety precautions. Given the immenseincrease of internet usage among children and also to attendclasses online, the potential risks of many unwanted activities havealso gone up. The WNS Cares Foundation (WCF), the CSR arm ofWNS, has partnered with the HCSC and Hyderabad City Police toempower children with knowledge on relevant topics aroundcybersafety and digital education through its CyberSmart platform.

Cops, HCSC partner with WNSto educate kids on cybersafety

People aged between 40 and 69report losing money at the highestrates, and they are twice more likelyto fall for the schemes than peoplein their twenties

HYDERABAD | FRIDAY | FEBRUARY 5, 2021 hyderabad 04

PNS n HYDERABAD

There is one allopathic doctorfor every 8,536 citizens andone Ayush doctor for every1,682 citizens occupying 15thposition in the country interms of allopathic doctorsper population and 10th posi-tion in terms of Ayush doctorsper population in the state,according to Health StatisticsReport.

While, in Andhra Pradeshthere is one allopathic doctorfor every population of 9,657.

There are over 4,123 allo-pathic doctors and 20,926 reg-istered Ayush doctors inTelangana, the report said.

In the Primary HealthCentres, 1,066 medical officersare working. There is onePrimary Health Centres forevery 33,105 citizens.

In Telangana, there are over12,159 nurses at the rate of onenurse for every population of2,894.

The state has a total numberof 64,881 pharmacists at therate of one for every 542 citi-zens. The state ranked numbersix in terms of the pharmacistsper population.

As per World HealthOrganisation, there should be

one doctor for every popula-tion of 1,000. The medicalexperts say that the number ofdoctors in Telangana shouldincrease accordingly.

In the USA there is one doc-tor for every population of 200.

Increasing undergraduateseats, enhancement of maxi-mum intake capacity at MBBSlevel from 150 to 250 andrelaxation in the norms of set-ting up of medical college in

terms of requirement for land,faculty, staff, bed/bed strengthand other infrastructure is theneed of the hour to increasethe number of doctors,experts opined adding thatthe existing state governmentand central government med-ical colleges should beupgraded by increasing theMBBS seats and new medicalcolleges attached with dis-trict/referral hospitals should

be set up preferably in under-served districts.

The government has alsoincreased postgraduate seats in2019. The ratio of teachers to stu-dents has been revised from 1:1to 1:2 for all MD/MS disciplinesand from 1:1 to 1:3 in subjectsof Anesthesiology, ForensicMedicine, Radiotherapy,Medical Oncology, SurgicalOncology and Psychiatry in allmedical colleges.

Telangana has one allopathicdoctor for every 8.5K citizens

File picture of doctors staging a protest near Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad

A CHANDRASHEKHAR RAOn SANGAREDDY

The BJP, Congress and the rul-ing TRS are again gearing upto triumph over one anotheras after the elections to theDubbak constituency and theGreater Hyderabad MunicipalCorporation.

The MLC elections are exp-ected be held in Rangareddy-Hyderabad-Mahabubnagar,Nallagonda-Warangal-Kham-mam graduate constituenciesin the state again. The term ofthese MLCs will end on March29. The notification of theremaining municipal electionsis likely to be released by theend of this month.

In the case of the erstwhileMedak, elections were held in15 seats for 17 municipalitiesin January last year. Electionshowever, were not held forSiddipet and Zaheerabadmunicipalities. Elections werenot held in Zaheerabad due toa court case as the term ofoffice was over. Hopefull ofvictory, all the parties arewaiting for the elections to beheld in the two municipalitiesa year after the formation of

the governing bodies, follow-ing the municipal elections. Itis in this context that theMLC elections are to be heldin the state and as has alreadybeen stated there is a possibil-ity of issuing notifications forthe municipal elections by theend of this month.

The focus however will beon the Siddipet municipalitythat the BJP wants to win.

After tasting success in theDubbak by-election in Siddi-pet and the election to theGHMC, leaders of the saffronparty are upbeat.

The ruling TRS, which suf-fered a setback in the Dubbakelections, is already vying forthe Siddipet Municipality toretain its reputation. Also,with the joint district ministerHarish Rao having his ownconstituency in the district, alleyes are on the SiddipetMunicipal elections. Followingthe Dubbak debacle, it isreported that the TRS leadersare being careful not to showtoo much confidence in win-ning the municipality. TheBJP, on the other hand, isalready gearing up to take overthe Siddipet Municipality.

BJP sets its focus onSiddipet municipality

PNS n KARIMNAGAR

Assuring to develop all theDistrict Cooperative CentralBanks (DCCBs) on the lines ofKarimnagar DCCB, Ministerfor Agriculture, Marketing andCooperation S Niranjan Reddyhas called upon theKarimnagar DistrictCooperative Central Bankchairman Konduru RavinderRao, who had strived for thesuccessful functioning of theDCCB in Karimnagar district,to focus on other DCCBs in theTelangana state and help themrun in profits.

Niranjan Reddy was partic-ipating in various programmes

of the DCCB including theinauguration of a branch inChristian colony, a guesthouse, renovated administra-tion building and distribu-tion of financial assistance ofRs 100 crore to PACS on theoccasion of centenary celebra-tions of the DCCB inKarimnagar town onThursday.

Speaking on the occasion,the Minister for Agriculturewas all praise for Ravinder Raofor striving to convert the Rs57 crore loss-makingKarimnagar DCCB from intoprofit making and doing busi-

ness of over Rs 4,000 crore.Hailing Ravinder Rao forgrowing from the rank of anordinary PACS chairman fromthe interior Gambhira-opetamandal to the all-IndiaNational federation of Statecooperative banks limitedchairman, he said that theKarimnagar DCCB was set ontrack and it would continue itsjourney smoothly.

Congratulating the bank fora record recovery rate of 94 percent, he said that KarimnagarDCCB had won accolades forits genuine lending and gen-uine recovery.

Focus on DCCBs, says Agri MinisterPNS n MEDCHAL

Nearly 6,000 police personnelof the Rachakonda PoliceCommissionerate would bevaccinated from Monday andthe Covid vaccination processwould be completed in fourdays.

Police Commissioner,Mahesh Bhagwat said the staffshould go for vaccinationwithout fear and in case of anycomorbidity, they should con-sult a doctor.

Speaking at a mega healthcamp for the personal of LBNagar zone police conduct-

ed by Medicare Hospitals,Smile Dental, Lotus Hospitaland Maxivision Hospital,here on Thursday, he saidtoday's camp was second oneafter the first camp organisedin Malkajgiri zone. In com-ing days, similar campswould be organised inYadadri Bhuvangiri zone andCAR headquarters atAmberpet.

LB Nagar DCP, Sun PreetSingh, ACP, Sridhar Reddy,and representatives from hos-pitals participating in thehealth camp were also presenton the occasion.

6,000 cops to be vaccinated

Ministers T Harish Rao and Indrakaran Reddy pose for a picture with officials after inaugurating Kalpaka Vanam on Thursday

PNS n KARIMNAGAR

Continuing his tirade againstthe Union government's farmbills, Minister for Health EtalaRajender has said that thecountry also needs food alongwith the IT companies.

The farm bills should notturn into a waste paper andthey should transform the livesof the farmers, he pointed outand stated that the new farmlaws should not destabilisethe rural economy, which is thebackbone of the country.

Even after the Union gov-ernment providing minimumsupport price of Rs 1,880 perquintal for paddy and Rs 1,850per quintal for the maize, thefarmers were unable to gettheir remunerative price."What will be the plight of thefarmers if there is no MSP",asked Minister for HealthEatala Rajender.

The Minister participated inthe inauguration of the Rythuvedikas in the Illandakuntaand Kamalapur mandals in hisHuzurabad assembly segmenton Thursday.

Speaking on the occasion, he

said that the farmers' life hadnot changed even after increaseof food grain production withthe revolution in the agricul-ture sector and mechanisation.

"The farmers are unable tounderstand their plight bydoing cultivation. They wereunable to provide food to theiraged parents nor able to pro-vide good higher education totheir children", he lamented.During those days, the familieswere having a group of chil-

dren and they did not feel it aburden and enjoyed the life.But, now the families were feel-ing the burden of their ownchildren, he added.

Stating that the farmers donot make any laws, he said thatthey only elect the leaders tobring changes into their livesby enacting acceptable laws.He said that the farmers do notdo any business and they donot have any differences ofopinion on caste and creed andtheir job was only to producefood to the country andquench the hunger of the peo-ple.

He said that they were aworried lot over the procure-ment of the paddy during thecoming rabi season if the FoodCorporation of India (FCI)does not procure the paddyproduce with the implementa-tion of new farm laws.Whether the rice millers andtraders have the capacity topurchase several lakhs of met-ric tonnes of paddy, he asked.He also appealed to the farm-ing community to reduce theproduction cost and go in forregulated farming.

Eatala: Farm bills should transform farmers’ lives

Minister Eatala Rajender inauguratesRythu vedikas in the Illandakunta andKamalapur mandals in his Huzurabadassembly segment on Thursday.

Agriculture Minister Niranjan Reddyinaugurates a DCCB branch in ChristianColony on Thursday.

PNS n SIDDIPET

Finance Minister Harish Raoon Thursday said that peopleliving in Gajwel and otherparts of the district will havethe best recreation place inKalpaka Vanam, an urban parknear Gajwel town.

Addressing the media afterinaugurating the Urban parkalong with Forest MinisterIndrakaran Reddy, Harish Raosaid that state government haddeveloped the park at a cost of

Rs 7.43 crore in 117 hectares offorest land at Sangapur.

Saying that it would be aone-stop recreation destinationfor people from all walks of life,Rao said the park has a walk-ing track, cycling track, chil-dren's park, open gym andother recreation facilities. Hesaid that people can visit thepark for Vana Bojanalu andBonalu during the week ends.Since the air pollution hasbecome a major issue acrossthe globe, Rao has said that the

Telangana government hasbeen developing urban loungespaces close to all the majortowns.

Asking the people to put allpossible efforts to keep ourenvironment clean, he said thatbuying Oxygen like mineralwater is not far if people con-tinue to spoil the environment.Since Telangana had increasedthe green cover by 3.67 percentin the last six years, he has saidthat the world is looking atTelangana now.

Rachakonda Police CommissionerMahesh Bhagwat takes part in megahealth camp on Thursday.

K VENKATESHWARLUn HYDERABAD

The leaders of the TelanganaCongress have been competi-tively taking part in politicalprogrammes on their own indi-vidual.

The TPCC working presi-dent and Malkajgiri MP ARevanth Reddy has participat-ed in Rajeev Rythu Deekshaorganised at Armoor onJanuary 30. He also announcedthat he will participate in thesecond Rajeev Rythu Deekshato be held at Acchampet onFebruary 7.

Meanwhile, the CLP leaderMallu Bhatti Vikramarka is yetto organise several face-to-faceprogrammes with farmers fromFebruary 9 to February 21across the state.

Besides the programmesorganised by Revanth Reddyand Bhatti, the Telangana

Congress Affairs in-chargeManickam Tagore and TPCCpresident Uttam Kumar Reddywould be participating in thegraduate MLC elections'preparatory programmes to beheld in Khammam andMiryalaguda on February 6and 7 respectively.

The party leaders are organ-ising and taking part in sever-al individual programmes tocorner the State and Centralgovernments in regard to farm-ers' issues.

Rajeev Rythu Deeksha pro-gramme evoked good responsein Armoor, where RevanthReddy criticised BJP as well asruling TRS party in regard tobringing turmeric board toNizamabad.

However, the other leaders inthe party are in confusion overthe individual programmesbeing conducted in a scattedway only after informing the

Telangana Congress Affairs in-charge Manickam Tagore.

Speaking to the The Pioneer,

TPCC working president JettiKusuma Kumar has said thatdefinitely these programmes

will benefit the party. The partyleaders have to take up moresuch events in this manner.

He opined that the leadershave to take up padayatras intheir own constituencies beforethe Assembly elections unlikethe former Chief Minister lateYS Rajasekhar Reddy, who hadtaken up the padayatra alone.All the leaders would be unit-ed to participate in the state-level programmes organised bythe party, Kusuma Kumar said.

Meanwhile, some party lead-ers are expressing their unhap-piness as they are being ignoredfor such programmes and arevery keen to participate if theyare invited.

A senior leader on conditionof anonymity said that conduct-ing such programmes is goodfor the party but all the leadersshould be informed and invit-ed. He also opined that suchprogrammes are only for theirindividual development ratherthan the development of theparty.

Will scattered events help rejuvenate TS Congress?PNS n HYDERABAD

Advocates conducted ShriRama Janmabhoomi MandirNirman Nidhi SamarpanAbhiyan in the RangareddyCourt here on Thursday.

Hundreds of advocates,including district court barassociation president, for-mer presidents and others pa-rticipated in the event at themain entrance of the districtcourt and made their offer-ings for the construction ofRama Mandir at Ayodhya.

Shashidhar, VHP officialspokesperson said, "After 135years of legal battle in theAyodhya case, the SupremeCourt's verdict in theConstitutional bench hasbrought more respect to thejudiciary and boosted publicconfidence in the judiciary.”

Advocates holdnidhi samarpan abhiyaan in RR

PNS n MULUGU

A free medical camp wasorganised for women policeofficials by Omega Cancerand Critical Care Hospital onthe occasion of World CancerDay here on Thursday.

Speaking on the occasion,Mulugu Superintendent ofPolice Dr Sangram Singh Patilsaid that cancer is not malig-nant by early detection andcancer-causing substancesshould be avoided. Onlyawareness can eradicate can-cer, he added.

Dr Sangram Singh saidwomen in the family should bemade aware of cancer andundergo cancer tests everysix months without hesitating.

Stress is also a major causeof cancer, the SP said addingthat all the women in yourfamily should be made awareof cancer instead of beingstressed in the police job.

Dr Sangram Singh said thateradication was possible if thedisease was detected early andaction was taken as the biggestloss to their family would bedue to negligence.

Addl. Collector AdarshaRavi, Bhupalpally AdditionalSP Srinivasu, Mulugu SP SaiChaitanya, Omega CancerHospital Managing DirectorDr Charanjit, Dr RavinderReddy, Indian Red Cross statemember EV Srinivas Reddy,DPRO Prema Latha and otherpolice officials were present.

Mulugu SP Dr Sangram Singh Patil lights the lamp at a free medical camp forwomen police officials held at Mulugu on Thursday

SP: Early detection can help cure most cancers

Ministers inaugurate KalpakaVanam urban park in Siddipet

PNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana BJP leaders onThursday have refuted thecriticism of TPCC workingpresident A Revanth Reddyagainst Union Minister ofState for Home Affairs GKishan Reddy.

The BJP lone MLC NRamchander Rao has allegedthat Revanth Reddy was partof the corruption done by theTDP chief N ChandrababuNaidu. It is a shame on thepart of Revanth Reddy, whowas being caught red handed-ly in vote for note case, to crit-icise BJP leaders. He said thatthe people would not tolerateRevanth if criticised leaderslike Kishan Reddy.

Meanwhile, TS BJP spokes-person Krishna Sagar Raoalleged that Revanth Reddyseems to be making state-ments just to be in the newsthese days. His statements onKishan Reddy in reference toa new party assignment asTamil Nadu election in-chargeare unwarranted and frivo-lous, he opined.

TS BJP leadersrefute Revanthcriticism againstKishan Reddy

Dasoju Sravandemands KCRto appoint 11VCs to varsitiesPNS n HYDERABAD

AICC National SpokespersonDr Sravan Dasoju demand-ed Chief Minister K Chandr-ashekar Rao to appoint 11Vice Chancellors to therespective universities in thestate. The senior Congressleader slammed KCR formaking universities 'head-less corpses' with an arrogantattitude and deliberate inten-tion to murder the highereducation system inTelangana.

"It is so pathetic and veryunfortunate that 11 universi-ties in Telangana have beenfunctioning without VCs forseveral years. They are run-ning like headless corpses. Noperson who has head on hisneck will ever allow this tohappen as every institutionmust be run by a leader, VCin this case. However, ourHon'ble Chief Minister hasbeen destroying Universitiesin Telangana by not appoint-ing full time Vice Chancellorsand not providing sufficientfunds to operate on them-selves thereby making themdie on their own for the ben-efit of private Universities" DrSravan fired.

The Pioneerlost a dynamic

staffer

The Pioneer'sGeneral Manager(Circulation) Byrapu

Sriramulu, 52, passedaway on Thursday aftera brief illness. He issurvived by his wife,son and daughter.Sriramulu haspreviously served inseveral media housesthat bring out Teluguand English dailies. Heis the general secretaryof Hyderabad BCSangham.Themanagement and staffof The Pioneerexpressed theircondolences to thebereaved family.

HYDERABAD | FRIDAY | FEBRUARY 5, 2021 nation 05

Previous govts drafted Budgetwith eye on vote banks: PMPNS n GORAKHPUR

Prime Minister NarendraModi on Thursday said theprevious governments draftedthe Union budgets with an eyeon their vote banks and madethem just a medium ofannouncements they couldnot fulfil.

For decades in our country,the meaning of the Budget wasrestricted to what announce-ments were made in whosename. The Budget was turnedinto an account of the votebank, Modi said.

The prime minister waslaunching a year-long com-memoration of the centenaryof Chauri Chaura incident, anoutbreak of violence thatforced Mahatma Gandhi to calloff his non-cooperation move-ment against the British.

Paying tributes to the 19people who were sent to thegallows for burning down apolice station and killing 23policemen, Modi said theChauri Chaura martyrs hadnot got the place in history thatthey deserved. He released apostage stamp to mark thebeginning of the centenaryyear of the incident.

In an address deliveredthrough video conference,Modi hailed India's power of

unity and said this will help thecountry become a world power.

The prime minister listedfeatures in his government'srecent Budget that he said willhelp farmers. But he stoppedshort of mentioning the con-tinuing protest over the agri-marketing laws enacted inSeptember.

"A lot of initiatives have alsobeen taken to empower farm-ers. Over 1,000 markets wereconnected with farmers so that

they can sell their crops any-where. Over Rs 40,000 crore forrural infrastructure will helpfarmers," he said.

He said the government isalso focusing on creatinghealthcare facilities in ruralareas so that people do nothave to go to cities for bettertreatment. .

Modi said even householdmake their budgets on thebasis on their current needsand future responsibilities. But

our earlier governments madebudgets a medium ofannouncements that theycould not fulfil. The countryhas now changed thatapproach.

On the 1922 episode, Modisaid, "Whatever happened inChauri Chaura 100 years agowas seen as a simple incidentof arson at a police station.

The fire was not only at thepolice station but in the heartsof Indians as well," he said.

The prime minister did notrefer to Mahatma Gandhi'sdecision to call off the non-cooperation movement overthe violence by his followers.

"Chauri Chaura was a self-motivated struggle of the com-mon people. It is unfortunatethat martyrs in this incidentwere not given a prominentplace in the pages of history, hesaid, appreciating the UttarPradesh government's plan tocommemorate it.

The prime minister saidthere were few instances in thehistory of the independencemovement in which as many as19 freedom fighters were giventhe capital punishment for oneincident.

He said young people shouldwrite research papers and bringnew facts to light about theincident.

A lot of initiatives have also beentaken to empower farmers. Over 1,000markets were connected with farmersso that they can sell their cropsanywhere. Over Rs 40,000 crore forrural infrastructure will help farmers,says Modi.

HC decries lawyers arguing even from parks virtually PNS n NEW DELHI

The Delhi High CourtThursday said it is "simplyshocking" that advocates arearguing or attending mattersthrough video-conferencingwhile being on "roads, sittingin parks and even running upon stairs", making it difficultfor the court to conduct pro-ceedings as are not audibleproperly.

The high court expressed itsdispleasure and said thataccording to the video confer-encing rules, the lawyers andparties are supposed to join theproceedings from a quiet placefrom where they are at leastproperly audible, even if notvisible.

Justice Prathiba M Singhwas annoyed with the regulardisturbance caused in the vir-tual hearing due to poor inter-net connection and lawyers'arguing their matters fromsuch places from where theywere not audible properly.

“It is very difficult to conductproceedings like this. For thelast 45 minutes I have managedto hear only one matterbecause the counsel wasinaudible and because half ofthe time goes in answering thelawyer who says ‘Am I audible'

for 20 times,” the judge said.Justice Singh further said she

will have to start issuing a notethat advocates who are not ina place from where they areproperly audible, will not beallowed to attend the virtualproceedings.

“Advocates are on the road,sitting in parks and even run-ning up on stairs while attend-ing or arguing the matter. Thisis simply shocking. You have toadhere to the VC rules,” shesaid.

As per the Delhi High CourtVideo Conferencing Rules, theparticipants shall be situated ina quiet location, properlysecured and have sufficientinternet coverage.

Any unwarranted distur-

bance caused during videoconferencing may if the presid-ing judge so directs render theproceedings non-est, the rulesstated, adding that all partici-pants' cell phones shall remainswitched off or in aeroplanemode during the proceedings.

The judge also said thelawyers should check theirinternet connection while par-ticipating in the virtual pro-ceedings and said even if theyare not properly visible, theyshall be audible.

Additional Solicitor GeneralSanjay Jain, who was logged infor some other case in JusticeSingh's court, said the fraterni-ty should accept with grace thefacility of virtual proceedingsbeing extended to them.

Chinese actions disturbedpeace along LA C: Centre PNS n NEW DELHI

The Chinese military'sattempts to unilaterally alterthe status quo along the Lineof Actual Control (LAC) ineastern Ladakh have serious-ly disturbed peace and tran-quillity in the region, the gov-ernment said in Rajya Sabhaon Thursday.

Minister of State forExternal Affairs VMuraleedharan said theattempts have been respondedto "appropriately" by the Indianarmed forces and it has beenmade clear to the Chineseside that such unilateralattempts are "unacceptable".

In a written response to aquestion on the overall bound-ary issue with China, the min-ister said the two sides haveagreed to seek a fair, reasonableand mutually acceptable solu-tion through dialogue andnegotiations.

He said the two sides also

agreed that pending final set-tlement of the boundary ques-tion, maintenance of peaceand tranquillity in the borderareas is an essential basis forthe overall development ofthe bilateral relationship.

"However, since April/May2020 the Chinese side under-took several attempts to unilat-erally alter the status quo alongthe LAC in westernsector.These attempts havebeen responded to appropri-

ately by our armed forces,"Muraleedharan said.

"It has also been made clearto the Chinese side that suchunilateral attempts are unac-ceptable. These actions haveseriously disturbed the peaceand tranquillity along the LACin the western sector," he said.

The government often refersto eastern Ladakh as westernsector.

The minister also said thatIndia's engagement with Chinais "complex".

"In the last few years, the twosides have agreed to managetheir differences and not allowdifferences on any issue tobecome disputes, " he said.

In addition, he said, thetwo sides also agree that thefuture direction of ties shouldbe built upon mutual respectfor each other's developmen-tal aspirations bearing in mindthe importance of respectingeach other's sensitivities, con-cerns and aspirations.

‘Centre tryingto govern Delhithrough‘backdoor’PNS n NEW DELHI

Delhi Deputy Chief MinisterManish Sisodia on Thursdayaccused the Centre of tryingto govern the national cap-ital through the "backdoor",claiming the Union cabinethas cleared a proposal togive more powers to theLieutenant Governor.

Reacting to media reportssaying the Centre onWednesday approvedamendments to theGovernment of NCT ofDelhi Act, the AAP leadertold a press conference thatthe move is "against democ-racy, Constitution and willof the citizens of Delhi".

"The central governmenthas passed a law in theCabinet to snatch power ofDelhi's elected governmentand give it to Centre-appointed LieutenantGovernor. The Delhi gov-ernment will not have powerto take its own decisions.The BJP wants to governDelhi through backdoor aspeople chose not to electthem in three consecutiveelections," he claimed.

Priyanka Gandhimeets family ofdeceased farmerin RampurPNS n RAMPUR

Congress general secretaryPriyanka Gandhi on Thursdaymet family members ofNavreet Singh here, a farmerwho lost his life during theprotest in New Delhi onRepublic Day, and also attend-ed a prayer ceremony for him.

The 27-year-old Singh diedafter his tractor overturnedduring the farmers' tractorparade on January 26.

Accompanied by seniorCongress leaders includingparty's Uttar Pradesh unitchief Ajay Kumar Lallu,Gandhi arrived at the nativeDibdiba village of the deceasedfarmer around noon.

She attended the 'antimardas' (final prayers for thedeparted) and sat with fami-ly members with her headcovered .

India ready to supplyweapons to IndianOcean countries: SinghPNS n BENGALURU

India is ready to supply vari-ous weapons systems, includ-ing missiles and electronicwarfare systems, to countriesin the Indian Ocean Region(IOR), Defence MinisterRajnath Singh said onThursday.

Delivering his keynoteaddress at the IOR DefenceMinisters' Conclave here, hesaid organising a conclave ofcountries in the IOR on themargins of the internationalevent

"Aero India-2021" showsthe importance India attach-

es to the vision of commongrowth and stability, and con-structive engagements withthem.

"Our efforts are to synergisethe resources and efforts in theIndian Ocean, including,defence Industry industrialcooperation amongst partici-pating countries," Singh said.

Many of the IOR countriesare becoming globally compet-itive and are developing newtechnologies, includingdefence shipyards for designand shipbuilding, which canbe jointly harnessed throughregional cooperation efforts,the Minister said.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh with Defence Minister of Ukraine Lt. GeneralAndrii Taran in Bengaluru on Thursday.

Talked to farmers inside TiharJail, will write report: Journalist PNS n NEW DELHI

Freelance journalist MandeepPunia, who was arrested by theDelhi Police from the Singhuborder, has said that he talkedto farmers and scribbled noteson his legs inside the Tihar Jailto write a report.

Punia was released from theprison on Wednesday after acourt granted him bail. Talking to reporters outsidethe jail, he said, "It (beinginside the prison) turned outto be an opportunity for me.I got a chance to talk to thefarmers lodged in the jail andscribbled notes on my legs. Iam going to write a detailedreport."

"My work is to report fromground zero... I asked thefarmers why and how theywere arrested," he said.

Punia said he had been cov-ering the protest at the Singhuborder from the day it started.

"It was my responsibility asa journalist to report it truth-fully and faithfully. I was try-ing to do that. I was trying to

find out the people behind theattack on the movement site.My work was interrupted bythe arrest. I lost valuable time.I do feel that that I waswronged," he tweeted.

He alleged that the policeinterfered with his work andsaid the incident had strength-ened his resolve to continuewith his work.

Punia was arrested at theSinghu border on charges of"obstructing public servants in

discharge of public functions","assault or criminal force todeter public servant from dis-charge of his duty", and "vol-untarily causing hurt to deterpublic servant from his duty".

He was sent to 14-day judi-cial custody on Sunday by thecourt of metropolitan magis-trate.

However, he was grantedbail on Tuesday after furnish-ing a personal bond of Rs25,000.

BJP targets Senaover BMC budgetPNS n MUMBAI

A day after the BrihanmumbaiMunicipal Corporation(BMC) presented its 2021-22budget, BJP leader AshishShelar on Thursday said hisparty would corner the ShivSena, which rules the civicbody, over the "flawed" bud-getary planning.

Mumbai Municipal Comm-issioner I S Chahal presentedRs 39,038.83 crore budgetbefore the civic standing com-mittee on Wednesday, keepingthe earlier tax structureunchanged. Talking toreporters, Shelar said, "TheSena had earlier promisedwaiver of property tax forhouses up to 500 sq ft, but nowit has taken a U-turn over it."

"We will sensitise people onthe issue and ensure that theruling party in BMC faces a

tough time in answering this,"he added. According to Shelar,the BMC has given a numberof relaxations to the buildersin the premium charged forthe construction, but there hasbeen a cut in the spending onvarious services.

"We will hold talks with thepeople over these issues andcorner the ruling party inBMC," he said.

Withdraw farm laws: CPI(M)MP to govt in Rajya SabhaPNS n NEW DELHI

CPI(M) Rajya Sabha memberBikash Ranjan Bhattacharyaon Thursday asked the govern-ment to withdraw the threecontentious farm laws andhold talks with the agitatingfarmers.

Participating in a discussionon a motion thanking thePresident for his address to thejoint sitting of Parliament atthe start of the Budget Session,Bhattacharya criticised themove to put barricades,cement blocks, concertinawires and spikes at the farmerprotest sites on Delhi's borderpoints.

"Withdraw your farm lawsand sit with them (farmers)....You cannot invite them fornegotiations by putting con-crete walls, by stopping their

approach to the city. This is notthe way a democratic govern-ment does it," he told the gov-ernment.

Quoting RabindranathTagore's poem 'where the mindis without fear and the head isheld high', the CPI(M) MPsaid the government shouldrespect personal freedom and"intellectuals should not be

described as urban naxals andput behind bars".

The foundation of federal-ism is diversity and unity andeverything should not be doneby the government only.

He further added the speechof the president does notreflect the present realities ofthe country and hence, hewould not support it.

"The president is the head ofthe state but his speech reflectsas if he is the head of the gov-ernment. The speech in mysubmission relates to the so-called achievements of thegovernment and at the cost ofdemocratic principles," he said.

The president in his speechsaid that India's grandeur is theultimate truth and in one sin-gle consciousness, one thought,one devotion, one inspirationlet us unite.

India objects to wrong depictionof map on WHO websitePNS n NEW DELHI

The government on Thursdaysaid the issue of "wrong depic-tion" of India's map on thewebsite of the World HealthOrganisation (WHO) wasraised strongly with the glob-al body following which it puta disclaimer on the portal.

Minister of State for ExternalAffairs V Muraleedharan pro-vided the information in RajyaSabha in response to a questionon whether the map on thewebsite depicted the unionterritories of Jammu andKashmir and Ladakh in a total-ly different colour.

"The issue of wrong depic-tion of the map of India on theWHO website has been raisedstrongly with WHO includingat the highest level," he said inhis written reply.

"In response, the WHO hasinformed the PermanentMission of India in Genevathat they have put a disclaimer

on the portal," he added.Muraleedharan said the gov-

ernment of India's position onthe right depiction of itsboundaries has been "unam-biguously reiterated".

The disclaimer, mentionedby the minister, said presenta-tion of the "materials" do notimply the expression of anyopinion whatsoever on the partof WHO concerning the legalstatus of any country, territoryor area or of its authorities.

"The designations employed

and the presentation of thesematerials do not imply theexpression of any opinionwhatsoever on the part ofWHO concerning the legal sta-tus of any country, territory orarea or of its authorities, orconcerning the delimitation ofits frontiers or boundaries,"according to the disclaimerquoted in the answer.

"Dotted and dashed lines onmaps represent approximateborder lines for which there maynot yet be full agreement," it said.

3 electrocutedin UP villagePNS n BALRAMPUR

Three persons died due toelectrocution in SadullahNagar are