16
E xit polls may have predict- ed an Aam Aadmi Party’s sweep in the Delhi Assembly poll, but empathetic claims by top BJP leadership of a “lotus” bloom has injected an element of interest in the counting pro- ceedings on Tuesday. The pro-AAP camp will take heart from the fact that many of the exit polls have given it 60 plus seats in the House of 70. The India Today- Axis My India poll, which hit the bull’s eye on more than one occasion in the recent past, has gone to the extent of predict- ing 68 seats for the AAP in the best possible scenario. However, both Home Minister Amit Shah and State BJP president Manoj Tiwari don’t agree to the exit polls’ pre- dictions. They have stuck their necks out and claimed that the BJP will get between 45 and 48 seats and comfortably form a Government. The Delhi BJP unit is also reported to have ordered a 47 kg laddoo, hoping they will get no less than 47 seats, sources said. While a few politicians accept defeat till the last vote is counted, questions are doing the rounds: Why would Amit Shah of all the persons would put his prestige on stake if he believed in the findings of the exit polls? The skeptics are counting on claims of “late” evening surge of voters to trash the exit polls, saying they captured the voting trend up to only till 3 pm. However, such surge in voting is a universal trend in India and there is no empirical evidence to suggest that even if voters turnout in large number in the evening they would en mass vote for any political party only. Delhi BJP leaders and their poll managers say Delhiites voted in two phases: The first being between 8 am and 3 pm when the AAP had a clear lead. However, thereafter, BJP’s vot- ers started pouring in, they claimed. Neelkant Bakshi, the political adviser to Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari, post- ed a series of tweets with names of the Assembly con- stituencies where according to him the BJP will win. The BJP is also claiming that the entire AAP leadership is unusually quiet after the polling, which is an indication that the party has not got the desired result. The BJP leaders also claimed that the five per cent decline in the voting com- pared to the 2015 poll is also a cause of worry for the AAP as they feel that AAP voters did not come out to vote. In 2015, the polling percentage stood at 67.17 while the overall poll per- centage in 2020 is 62.59. Late surge, EVM tamper- ing, silent voters — these are some of the theories doing the rounds on the eve of the count- ing of votes. For good mea- sures, they have kept interest alive in the counting. A n unspecified number of Indians, who were among 3,711 passengers and crew members on board a cruise ship quarantined off Japan due to diagnosis of coron- avirus cases, have sent an SOS video message to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to rescue them as soon as possi- ble. “Please somehow save us as soon as possible. What’s the point if something happens (to us)...I want to request the Government of India and Prime Minister (Narendra) Modiji, please segregate us and bring us back home safe- ly,” said Indian crew member, identified as Binay Kumar Sarkar. Quoting Sarkar, on board Diamond Princess, NDTV news channel said there are 160 Indian crew members and eight Indian passengers on the ship. Sarkar, in a video record- ed from the ship, appealed to the Indian Government and the UN to segregate the Indians on board on urgent basis. “None of them have been checked (for coronavirus),” Sarkar, a chef from Bengal, said in Hindi. He was flanked by five of his Indian colleagues who were wearing masks. Around 60 people tested positive of the virus on Monday, taking the total num- ber of those infected on the cruise ship Diamond Princess — which had arrived at the Japanese coast early last week and was quarantined after a passenger who de-boarded last month in Hong Kong was found to be the carrier of the novel virus on the ship — to 130. Authorities had initially tested nearly 300 people when the ship arrived at the Japanese coast. Indian Embassy in Tokyo on Monday tweeted the infor- mation about the Indians on the ship. “Many Indian crew & some Indian passengers are on board the cruise ship Diamond Princess quarantined off Japan due to Coronavirus (nCoV),” it tweeted, without giving a specific number of Indians on the ship. “In this context, for any query please contact First Secretary (Consular) @IndianEmbTokyo at [email protected] @CPVIndia @MEAIndia @PMOIndia,” it said. Those on the ship have been asked to wear masks and allowed limited access to the open decks as they are advised to remain in the cabins most of the times to contain the spread of the virus, according to media reports. According to an AFP report, people on board the ship are facing difficulty due to the quarantine measures, par- ticularly those in windowless interior cabins and others who require medication for various chronic conditions. The Japanese Health Ministry said on Monday that around 600 people on board urgently needed medication, and around half received sup- plies over the weekend, it said. Meanwhile, the operator of the ship on Monday vowed to refund all 2,666 passengers due to the onboard outbreak of the new coronavirus. Carnival Japan Inc, the Japanese branch of Princess Cruise Lines Ltd, which operates the ship, said refunds will be offered via travel agencies through which the passengers made their bookings. The company will addi- tionally cover all costs incurred by those quarantined aboard the ship since last Tuesday, when passengers were origi- nally scheduled to disembark at Yokohama. A fter large number of stu- dents of the all-women Gargi College on Monday held a protest against the alleged molestation of students by a group of men at a cultural fes- tival on the campus, the Delhi Police said it has launched a probe into the incident and is scanning CCTV footage. They confirmed later in the afternoon that they received a complaint from the college authorities. A case has been registered at the Hauz Khas police station. Over 100 students held a protest outside the gate of Gargi College on Monday. As per posts of students and teach- ers on social media, during the college festival “Reverie” around 6.30 pm on Sunday, a group of unruly, drunk men mobbed the entrances of the college and forced their way in. Students alleged that the Rapid Action Force (RAF) and Delhi Police personnel were deployed close to the gate through which the men entered the college. S everal students and resi- dents of Jamia Nagar on Monday scuffled with Delhi Police personnel near Holy Family Hospital after they were stopped from carrying on their anti-CAA march towards Parliament. Police said the pro- testers did not have permission to march towards Parliament. Amid heavy deployment of security personnel in and around the Jamia Millia Islamia, the protesters began their march from JMI’s gate number 7. The protesters clambered over barricades, ensuing an scuffle. However, the protesters finally dug in their heels and sat on “dharna” outside the uni- versity. T he Government and the Congress on Monday sparred in Parliament over the Supreme Court ruling that States are not bound to provide quota in appointments and pro- motions. As tempers began to fray and Opposition and treasury benches clashed with each other, the Government informed the Lok Sabha that it was not a party to the case, but insisted the issue was being discussed at the “highest level”. The BJP ally Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) sought that the reservation for SCs/STs should be put in the 9th schedule so that none could make any change in it and another ally Apna Dal also asked Government to ensure that reservation continues irrespec- tive of SC ruling. The Janata Dal (U) reject- ed Opposition’s charge of BJP being anti-reservation saying it was the Modi Government which brought an ordinance to neutralise the SC ruling on SC/ST Atrocities Act. The Opposition parties demanded that the Centre file a review petition before the apex court. After the Opposition accused the Centre of failing to defend the reservation system, Social Justice Minister Thawarchand Gehlot told the Lok Sabha that the Modi Government was not a party to the case, which is about a 2012 decision of the previous Congress Government in Uttarakhand, and asserted that the Central Government is “committed” and “dedicated” to reservation for SCs, STs and OBCs. The Congress hit back at Gehlot and accused him of misleading the Lok Sabha. The party also decided to move a privilege motion against him. Outside Parliament, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said it was in the DNA of the BJP and the RSS to try and erase reserva- tions. He asserted that his party will not allow doing away with quota. M uch to the relief of the health authorities here, the first patient in the coun- try to be affected by the dead- ly coronavirus is recovering well and her samples that were sent to the Kerala unit of National Institute of Virology (NIV) have tested negative. Health officials are await- ing test reports from NIV, Pune. At present, the medical student, who recently returned from Wuhan in China, is being treated at the Thrissur Medical College in an isolation ward after testing positive for the coronavirus on January 30. Her condition was “stable”, they said. In Kerala as of now, 34 people are in isolation wards across various hospitals in the State. “The blood test result of the first patient from Thrissur, from the National Institute of Virology (NIV) testing centre at Alappuzha, shows a nega- tive result. But we need con- firmation from the NIV at Pune,” said a senior medical officer from the Kerala Government. After the first positive case was reported from Thrissur, two other Keralite students from Wuhan had tested positive in Alappuzha and Kasaragod districts. “A total of 3,252 are still under observation across the State, of which 3,218 are under home quarantine,” said a release issued by the Health Department which has sent at least 345 samples for testing at the NIV Pune and so far 326 results have returned negative. With various fake news on coronavirus doing the rounds, Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar on Monday said “fear psychosis” is being created over the pathogen and dismissed the suggestion that migratory birds could be the reason behind its spread. P rotesters cannot block pub- lic road that causes incon- venience for others and there cannot be an indefinite period of protest in such an area, the Supreme Court said on Monday on anti-CAA protest at Shaheen Bagh, but it declined to pass an interim direction on pleas for removal of protesters. The court observed that that people are entitled to protest but it has to be done in an area identified for agitations. “You cannot block the public roads. There cannot be indefinite period of protest in such an area. If you want to protest, it has to be in an area identified for protest,” the SC said.The apex court also took up the issue of the death of an infant son of a protester. The four-month-old baby had passed away in his sleep on the night of January 30 after her mother returned from Shaheen Bagh protest site. “Can a four-month-old child be taking part in such (Shaheen Bagh) protests?”, the court asked while warning two women lawyers for mak- ing “explosive submissions” that children participating in the protests against the Citizenship Amended Act (CAA) are being called names, “terrorist”, “gaddar” (traitor), “Pakistani”. “Don’t make explosive sub- missions. Please do not make such statements. We do not want people to use this plat- form to further create prob- lems,” said a Bench, compris- ing Chief Justice SA Bobde and Justices BR Gavai and Surya Kant, when two women advo- cates — Shahrukh Alam and Nandita Rao — started making submissions.

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Exit polls may have predict-ed an Aam Aadmi Party’s

sweep in the Delhi Assemblypoll, but empathetic claims bytop BJP leadership of a “lotus”bloom has injected an elementof interest in the counting pro-ceedings on Tuesday.

The pro-AAP camp willtake heart from the fact thatmany of the exit polls havegiven it 60 plus seats in theHouse of 70. The India Today-Axis My India poll, which hitthe bull’s eye on more than oneoccasion in the recent past, hasgone to the extent of predict-ing 68 seats for the AAP in thebest possible scenario.

However, both Home

Minister Amit Shah and StateBJP president Manoj Tiwaridon’t agree to the exit polls’ pre-dictions. They have stuck theirnecks out and claimed that theBJP will get between 45 and 48seats and comfortably form aGovernment. The Delhi BJPunit is also reported to haveordered a 47 kg laddoo, hopingthey will get no less than 47seats, sources said.

While a few politiciansaccept defeat till the last vote iscounted, questions are doingthe rounds: Why would AmitShah of all the persons wouldput his prestige on stake if hebelieved in the findings of theexit polls?

The skeptics are countingon claims of “late” evening

surge of voters to trash the exitpolls, saying they captured thevoting trend up to only till 3pm. However, such surge invoting is a universal trend inIndia and there is no empiricalevidence to suggest that even ifvoters turnout in large numberin the evening they would enmass vote for any politicalparty only.

Delhi BJP leaders and theirpoll managers say Delhiitesvoted in two phases: The firstbeing between 8 am and 3 pmwhen the AAP had a clear lead.However, thereafter, BJP’s vot-ers started pouring in, theyclaimed. Neelkant Bakshi, thepolitical adviser to Delhi BJPpresident Manoj Tiwari, post-ed a series of tweets with

names of the Assembly con-stituencies where according tohim the BJP will win.

The BJP is also claimingthat the entire AAP leadershipis unusually quiet after thepolling, which is an indicationthat the party has not got thedesired result.

The BJP leaders alsoclaimed that the five per centdecline in the voting com-pared to the 2015 poll is also a

cause of worry for the AAP asthey feel that AAP voters didnot come out to vote. In 2015,the polling percentage stood at67.17 while the overall poll per-centage in 2020 is 62.59.

Late surge, EVM tamper-ing, silent voters — these aresome of the theories doing therounds on the eve of the count-ing of votes. For good mea-sures, they have kept interestalive in the counting.

���� �� �

An unspecified number ofIndians, who were among

3,711 passengers and crewmembers on board a cruiseship quarantined off Japandue to diagnosis of coron-avirus cases, have sent an SOSvideo message to PrimeMinister Narendra Modi torescue them as soon as possi-ble.

“Please somehow save usas soon as possible. What’s thepoint if something happens (tous)...I want to request theGovernment of India andPrime Minister (Narendra)Modiji, please segregate usand bring us back home safe-ly,” said Indian crew member,identified as Binay KumarSarkar.

Quoting Sarkar, on boardDiamond Princess, NDTVnews channel said there are160 Indian crew members andeight Indian passengers on theship. Sarkar, in a video record-ed from the ship, appealed tothe Indian Government andthe UN to segregate theIndians on board on urgent

basis.“None of them have been

checked (for coronavirus),”Sarkar, a chef from Bengal, saidin Hindi. He was flanked byfive of his Indian colleagueswho were wearing masks.

Around 60 people testedpositive of the virus onMonday, taking the total num-ber of those infected on thecruise ship Diamond Princess— which had arrived at theJapanese coast early last weekand was quarantined after apassenger who de-boarded lastmonth in Hong Kong wasfound to be the carrier of thenovel virus on the ship — to130. Authorities had initiallytested nearly 300 people whenthe ship arrived at the Japanesecoast.

Indian Embassy in Tokyoon Monday tweeted the infor-mation about the Indians onthe ship. “Many Indian crew &some Indian passengers are onboard the cruise ship DiamondPrincess quarantined off Japandue to Coronavirus (nCoV),”it tweeted, without giving aspecific number of Indians onthe ship.

“In this context, for anyquery please contact FirstSecretary (Consular)@IndianEmbTokyo [email protected]@CPVIndia @MEAIndia

@PMOIndia,” it said.Those on the ship have

been asked to wear masks andallowed limited access to theopen decks as they are advisedto remain in the cabins most of

the times to contain the spreadof the virus, according tomedia reports.

According to an AFPreport, people on board theship are facing difficulty due tothe quarantine measures, par-ticularly those in windowlessinterior cabins and others whorequire medication for variouschronic conditions.

The Japanese HealthMinistry said on Monday thataround 600 people on boardurgently needed medication,and around half received sup-plies over the weekend, it said.

Meanwhile, the operator ofthe ship on Monday vowed torefund all 2,666 passengersdue to the onboard outbreak ofthe new coronavirus. CarnivalJapan Inc, the Japanese branchof Princess Cruise Lines Ltd,which operates the ship, saidrefunds will be offered viatravel agencies through whichthe passengers made theirbookings.

The company will addi-tionally cover all costs incurredby those quarantined aboardthe ship since last Tuesday,when passengers were origi-nally scheduled to disembarkat Yokohama.

�������������� ��������

After large number of stu-dents of the all-women

Gargi College on Monday helda protest against the allegedmolestation of students by agroup of men at a cultural fes-tival on the campus, the DelhiPolice said it has launched aprobe into the incident and isscanning CCTV footage.

They confirmed later in theafternoon that they received acomplaint from the college

authorities. A case has beenregistered at the Hauz Khaspolice station.

Over 100 students held aprotest outside the gate ofGargi College on Monday. Asper posts of students and teach-ers on social media, during thecollege festival “Reverie”around 6.30 pm on Sunday, agroup of unruly,

drunk men mobbed theentrances of the college andforced their way in.

Students alleged that theRapid Action Force (RAF) andDelhi Police personnel weredeployed close to the gatethrough which the men enteredthe college.

�������������� ��������

Several students and resi-dents of Jamia Nagar on

Monday scuffled with DelhiPolice personnel near HolyFamily Hospital after they werestopped from carrying on theiranti-CAA march towardsParliament. Police said the pro-testers did not have permissionto march towards Parliament.

Amid heavy deployment ofsecurity personnel in andaround the Jamia MilliaIslamia, the protesters begantheir march from JMI’s gatenumber 7.

The protesters clamberedover barricades, ensuing anscuffle. However, the protestersfinally dug in their heels and saton “dharna” outside the uni-versity.

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The Government and theCongress on Monday

sparred in Parliament over theSupreme Court ruling thatStates are not bound to providequota in appointments and pro-motions.

As tempers began to frayand Opposition and treasurybenches clashed with each other,the Government informed theLok Sabha that it was not a partyto the case, but insisted the issuewas being discussed at the“highest level”.

The BJP ally Lok JanshaktiParty (LJP) sought that thereservation for SCs/STs shouldbe put in the 9th schedule sothat none could make anychange in it and another allyApna Dal also askedGovernment to ensure thatreservation continues irrespec-tive of SC ruling.

The Janata Dal (U) reject-ed Opposition’s charge of BJPbeing anti-reservation saying itwas the Modi Governmentwhich brought an ordinance toneutralise the SC ruling onSC/ST Atrocities Act.

The Opposition partiesdemanded that the Centre filea review petition before the apexcourt. After the Oppositionaccused the Centre of failing todefend the reservation system,Social Justice MinisterThawarchand Gehlot told theLok Sabha that the ModiGovernment was not a party tothe case, which is about a 2012decision of the previous

Congress Government inUttarakhand, and asserted thatthe Central Government is“committed” and “dedicated” toreservation for SCs, STs andOBCs.

The Congress hit back atGehlot and accused him ofmisleading the Lok Sabha. Theparty also decided to move aprivilege motion against him.Outside Parliament, Congressleader Rahul Gandhi said it wasin the DNA of the BJP and theRSS to try and erase reserva-tions. He asserted that his partywill not allow doing away withquota.

��������������� ������������������� ������������������� ������������������������������ ����� ��������

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Much to the relief of thehealth authorities here,

the first patient in the coun-try to be affected by the dead-ly coronavirus is recoveringwell and her samples thatwere sent to the Kerala unit ofNational Institute of Virology(NIV) have tested negative.

Health officials are await-ing test reports from NIV,Pune. At present, the medicalstudent, who recentlyreturned from Wuhan inChina, is being treated at theThrissur Medical College inan isolation ward after testingpositive for the coronavirus on

January 30. Her conditionwas “stable”, they said.

In Kerala as of now, 34people are in isolation wardsacross various hospitals inthe State.

“The blood test result ofthe first patient from Thrissur,from the National Institute ofVirology (NIV) testing centreat Alappuzha, shows a nega-tive result. But we need con-firmation from the NIV atPune,” said a senior medicaloff icer from the KeralaGovernment.

After the first positivecase was reported fromThrissur, two other Keralitestudents from Wuhan had

tested positive in Alappuzhaand Kasaragod districts.

“A total of 3,252 are stillunder observation across theState, of which 3,218 are underhome quarantine,” said arelease issued by the HealthDepartment which has sent atleast 345 samples for testing atthe NIV Pune and so far 326results have returned negative.

With various fake news oncoronavirus doing the rounds,Union Environment MinisterPrakash Javadekar on Mondaysaid “fear psychosis” is beingcreated over the pathogenand dismissed the suggestionthat migratory birds could bethe reason behind its spread.

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Protesters cannot block pub-lic road that causes incon-

venience for others and therecannot be an indefinite periodof protest in such an area, theSupreme Court said onMonday on anti-CAA protestat Shaheen Bagh, but itdeclined to pass an interimdirection on pleas for removalof protesters. The courtobserved that that people areentitled to protest but it has tobe done in an area identifiedfor agitations.

“You cannot block thepublic roads. There cannot beindefinite period of protest insuch an area. If you want toprotest, it has to be in an areaidentified for protest,” the SCsaid.The apex court also tookup the issue of the death of aninfant son of a protester. Thefour-month-old baby hadpassed away in his sleep on the

night of January 30 after hermother returned from ShaheenBagh protest site.

“Can a four-month-oldchild be taking part in such(Shaheen Bagh) protests?”, thecourt asked while warningtwo women lawyers for mak-ing “explosive submissions”that children participating inthe protests against theCitizenship Amended Act(CAA) are being called names,“terrorist”, “gaddar” (traitor),“Pakistani”.

“Don’t make explosive sub-missions. Please do not makesuch statements. We do notwant people to use this plat-form to further create prob-lems,” said a Bench, compris-ing Chief Justice SA Bobde andJustices BR Gavai and SuryaKant, when two women advo-cates — Shahrukh Alam andNandita Rao — started makingsubmissions.

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After a meeting slated withDeputy Inspector

General (DIG), Traffic, KewalKhurana, was repeatedlydeferred, members ofDevbhumi E-RickshawOwner and Driver WelfareSociety alleged that it is justa way to deceive them and ifthe matter is not sorted outsoon, drivers can resort toburning their e-rickshaws orthemselves any day on anyintersection of the city.

According to district pres-ident of the society, RavindraTyagi, “We have been giventime by the traffic policethree times since last week butevery time they made anexcuse to defer our meeting.

We were asked to meetthem on Monday, but laterthey said that Circle Officer(CO), Traffic is on leave andthe meeting will be held onThursday.

The department is con-sistently making excuses todeceive us which is makingthe poor drivers annoyed andaggravated due to which anydriver can resort to burninghis e-rickshaw or himself anyday on any intersection of thecity.”Several meetings of e-rickshaw drivers have beenreportedly deferred by thetraffic police departmentwhich were initially slated bythe department itself.

According to BishanThapa, a member ofDevbhumi E-RickshawOwner and Driver WelfareSociety, “No one is taking usseriously. We are even readyto drive our e-rickshaws for afixed number of workinghours but no initiation is

being taken by the govern-ment. If the government can-not lift the ban of no entry onmain roads of the city then itshould get us loan waiver.Government waives the loanof businessmen and industri-alists from time to time thenwaiving off our loan shouldnot be an issue.

It would hardly be morethan Rs two crore in total.Forget about the meals, but atleast we and our families willnot be humiliated by the bankemployees every day.” RamuLal, another protesting driversaid, “I bought this rickshawnine months back with aloan. Now I do not know howto deposit instalments in thebank, or feed my family ortreat my ailing son.

I am already living like adead man, so if I have to burnmyself or this e-rickshawtomorrow or any other day, itwould not be a big deal for mebecause whether I live or die,in both ways I will be unableto support my family.”

“We saw how theAnganwadi workers protest-ed for two months and thenthey were heard by the gov-ernment but we cannot affordto wait for two more months.We have families to take careof and we cannot survivewithout any earnings.

Probably we are poorpeople, and therefore we arebeing neglected by the gov-ernment. I hope that after weimmolate ourselves, govern-ment will at least listen to ourfellow brothers.” Meanwhile,Tyagi said that if governmentdoes not take any decisionsoon then they will begin toprotest in every programmeof the state’s ministers.

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Locals of Sheeshambadawarned to start an indefi-

nite period protest outside thechief minister’s residence ifthe government does not takeany decision soon regardingthe dumping of the garbageby Municipal Corporation ofDehradun (MCD) withoutNo Objection Certificate(NOC) from the UttarakhandEnvironment Protection andPollution Control Board(UEPPCB).

According to one of thelocals Satpal Dhaniya, “We areprotesting for about threemonths now but there is noresponse from the adminis-tration. If the government

does not take any decisionsoon then we’ll shift ourindefinite period protest tooutside the chief minister’sresidence.”

He also added that inaddition to the indefiniteperiod protest, locals will alsostart a public awareness cam-paign through which the pub-lic will be made aware aboutthe harassment of the locals ofSheeshambada in the name ofgarbage dumping in the solidwaste management and recy-cling plant and how govern-ment is operating the plantwithout any NOC fromUttarakhand EnvironmentProtection and PollutionControl Board (UEPPCB).

About the operation of

plant without NOC, deputymunicipal commissionerRohitash Sharma said, “Wehave applied to UEPPCB andwhatever queries the boardhad concerning the wastemanagement plant, we haveresponded to the same.Hopefully we’ll get the NOCin a few days.”

According to the projectmanager of Sheeshambadasolid waste management andrecycling plant MA Saify, theLeachate Treatment Plant(LTP) is fully functional andproper water filtration isbeing done through it.

Concerning the foulsmell and germs due togarbage dumping, Saify saidthat organic enzymes aresprayed everyday in everypart of the plant and there isnothing like foul smell in thearea.

He added that the localshave made their mind to getrid of the plant in spite of hav-ing no issue in the area causedby the waste managementplant.However, the locals areconsistently alleging theoccurrence of foul smell andimproper treatment of

leachate by the managementof the plant. According to oneof the protesting locals PremSingh Negi, “What is the pur-pose of setting up LTP whenthe leachate is getting mixedwith ground water? Theleachate has spread in thewhole area which has con-verted the area into a marshyland.

How are they going totreat it with the help of LTP?”Talking about the foul smellhe said that the stench of thegarbage is everywhere in thearea and even Sub DivisionalMagistrate (SDM) assured thelocals last month that therewould be no unpleasant smellafter January 31 but the situ-ation is still same.

It is pertinent to mentionhere that Sheeshambada res-idents have been alleging forpast few months that theplant is causing several healthproblems in addition to noisepollution and foul smell in thearea concerning which theyhave met Dehradun mayor,municipal commissioner andchief environment officer ofUEPPCB but no decision hasbeen taken yet in their favour.

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Agroup of students fromSouth Kashmir visited

the prestigious IndianMilitary Academy (IMA) onMonday. The visit was part ofthe Indian Army’s initiative tofoster the spirit of nationalintegration across the country.

Under the ongoing‘Operation Sadbhawna’, 20students led by the ArmyOfficer in charge of the touralong with three Army per-sonnel visited the IMA. Thestudents held interaction withthe Deputy Commandant and

chief instructor of the IMA,Major General G S Rawat. Acommuniqué of IMA said,“This visit to the Academyprovided a unique opportu-nity to all the children fromone of the remotest corners ofour country to learn about therich history, traditions andethos of the Indian Army.

The children were highlymotivated by the interactionconducted during the tourand many wanted to join theArmed Force and serve theCountry.

This kind of an interac-tion helps the students get a

real picture of the develop-ment-taking place in thecountry and also the contri-

bution of the Indian ArmyOfficers and Soldiers, throughtheir selfless service.’’

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AContinuing Medical Education (CME)on emergency care was organsied by

the department of Anaesthesia ofGovernment Doon Medical College(GDMC) on Monday.

The workshop was part of the facultydevelopment programme and was heldunder aegis of HNB Medical University.Amember of faculty, Georgetown University,Baltimore USA, Dr Sunil Kumar Ahujagave a lecture on basic life support (BLS)sciences and CardiopulmonaryResuscitation (CPR) while Dr MadhurUniyal,

a faculty of Trauma Surgery at AllIndia Institute Medical Sciences (AIIMS),Rishikesh explained techniques of traumaresuscitation and supervised trauma skillstation.

The CME was inaugurated by the ViceChancellor (VC) Of the HNB medical uni-versity, Dr Hem Chandra Pandey andPrincipal of the GDMC, Dr Ashutosh

Sayana. The organising secretary and(HoD) of Anaesthesia, Hema Saxena said

the target audience of CME were junior res-idents’ interns and technicians.

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The 20th Appearance Dayof Mahant Devendra Dass

was celebrated by Sri GuruRam Rai (SGRR) trust onMonday. Large number ofdevotees from Uttarakhand,neighbouring states, otherparts of India and abroadwere present on the day tooffer their greetings toMahant Devendra Das.

Special prayers were heldon the day to mark the occa-sion. The day is celebrated tocommemorate the corona-tion of present Mahant on theGadhi of the sect on February10, 2000.

Speaking on the occa-sion, Mahant Devendra Dasthanked the devotees for theprecious love he gets fromthem.

He said that SGRREducation Mission is com-mitted toward its goal of giv-ing a correct direction to thesociety.

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The State Government willcreate a fund to assist inno-

vative persons and worktowards encouraging a scien-tific atmosphere in the State.

Chief Minister TrivendraSingh Rawat said this afterinaugurating the UttarakhandAntariksh Bhawan, the newbuilding of the UttarakhandSpace Application Centre(USAC) at Amwala inDehradun on Monday. Rawatalso inaugurated theUttarakhand state geo-infor-matics meet 2020 and releasedthe Uttarakhand atlas on theoccasion. Rawat said that spacetechnology can play an impor-tant role during emergencysituations and also in issuesrelated to land, water resources

and forests. He said that afund will be created for inno-vative persons to help thosewho are innovative but facefinancial crunch.

Speaking of identifyinginnovative persons in the stateand drafting a plan for encour-aging a scientific atmosphere inVikram Sarabhai’s centenaryyear, he said that this will helpraise awareness among young-sters and encourage inven-tions.

The former chairman ofISRO, AS Kiran Kumar saidthat today India is among thefew nations which are adept inspace technology. Due to this,the nation succeeded in savingthousands of lives from disas-ters like a super cyclone.

Addressing the gathering,the USAC director MPS Bisht

informed that the centre willfunction as the main GIS hubfor geospatial data being col-lected from all the districts.

The collected data willprove useful to the variousadministrators and policy mak-ers in the state.

The various activities ofUSAC in different spheresincluding tourism, education,climate change, agro-forestryand disaster management willbe operated from theUttarakhand AntarikshBhawan now, he added.

The minister of State DhanSingh Rawat, MLAs UmeshSharma ‘Kau’, Dilip SinghRawat, Dhan Singh Negi,Mukesh Kohli and the scienceand technology secretary RKSudhanshu were also amongthose present on the occasion.

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Rajya Sabha MP and seniorBJP leader Subramanian

Swamy is expected to file aPIL in the Uttarakhand highcourt later this month againstthe Char Dham DevsthanamBoard formed recently by the

State Government. This wasstated by members of theDevbhumi Teerth PurohitH a k h a k o o k d h a r iMahapanchayat after theymet Swamy at his residenceon Monday.

The Mahapanchayatspokesman Brijesh Satiinformed that Swamy willfile the PIL later this month.

The delegation discussedthe Devsthanam Board indetail and informed Swamyabout the rituals, traditionsand management of the CharDham shrines.

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Reacting sharply to the crit-icism levelled by the oppo-

sition Congress party on theissue of reservation in promo-tion, the Uttarakhand chiefminister Trivendra SinghRawat reminded that it was theCongress government whichproposed in the cabinet meet-ing held on May 9, 2012 forremoving the benefit of reser-vation in promotion.

Talking to the media per-sons at new building of theUttarakhand Space ApplicationCentre (USAC) on Monday, hesaid that the Congress party hasgot a habit of defaming gov-ernment. He added that a sim-ilar charge was leveled by theparty against the governmenton setting up liquor factoriesthough the licences were given

by the Congress government.On the recent Supreme Court(SC) order on reservation inpromotions, the CM said thatthe Uttarakhand government isexamining the order of the SCand would take appropriateaction.

Rawat said that it is also afact that thousands of employ-ees have retired in recentmonths without availing thebenefit of reservation. He saidthat ensuring timely promotionto its employees is also one ofthe responsibilities of the gov-ernment.

It is pertinent of mentionhere that in a landmark judge-ment the SC on February 7 hadruled that reservation in pro-motion in not a fundamentalright and states are not boundto provide reservation in pro-motions. It opined that senior-

ity and merit should be the cri-teria of promotion. With thisdecision, the SC quashed thedecision of Uttarakhand HC inGyanchand case which allowedbenefit of reservation in pro-motions.

The Uttarakhand govern-ment had filed a special leavepetition (SLP) in the SC againstthe HC order. The state gov-ernment also issued a morato-rium on promotions of itsemployees in September lastyear.

After the order of the SC,lakhs are state governmentemployees are awaiting thegovernment order (GO) onrevoking this ban.

In the meantime thou-sands of employees have retiredwithout promotion resulting inresentment among the gov-ernment employees.

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The urban developmentand housing Minister

Madan Kaushik would chairan important meeting of thecabinet committee on reser-vation roster at Vidhan Sabhaon Tuesday. It would be thesecond meeting of the com-mittee which was constitutedby the state government tolook into the issue of reser-vation roster in the newrecruitment.

The representatives of theGeneral and OBC employeeassociation and SC and STemployee association wouldalso take part in the meeting.The three member committeeis headed by Cabinet minis-ter, Kaushik while Cabinetminister Suboadh Uniyal andstate minister Rekha Aryaare its other members.

Ahead of the crucialmeeting of the committee, thePresident of the General andOBC employee association,

Deepak Joshi said that for thefirst time since the creation ofa separate state, a justified sys-tem of roster in governmentrecruitment is implemented.He threatened that the asso-ciation would launch an agi-tation if any change with thenew roster is made.

It is worth mentioninghere that on September 11 lastyear, the Uttarakhand gov-ernment issued a new policyof reservation roster in gov-ernment services, corpora-tions, public enterprises andeducational institutions.

In the changed system,the first five places in the ros-ter of new recruitment werekept for candidates of gener-al category while the sixthposition was earmarked forSC candidates. In the patternfollowed earlier, the first posi-tion was kept for SC candi-dates.

Interestingly the decisionon roster was taken on therecommendation of a cabinetcommittee headed by YashpalArya. When the SC, STorganisations raised furoreon the new system, Arya pub-lically stated that he was nottaken into confidence on theissue. The state governmentthen constituted a newCabinet committee headedby Madan Kaushik.

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The day long JaunsarMahotsav organised by The

Pioneer, Dehradun editionconcluded successfully on theweekend with a large numberof people enjoying a glimpse ofthe folk culture of the Jaunsar-

Bawar region. While Cultureand Tourism minister SatpalMaharaj was the chief guest, theformer DG of Indian CoastGuard and current chairman ofthe Uttarakhand disaster man-agement advisory committee,Rajendra Singh Tomar alongwith former ADG of Indian

Coast Guard KriparamNautiyal were the special guestson the occasion. The event sawperformances by noted singerVicky Chauhan and other folksingers including Layak Ramalong with Jaunsar-BawarSanskritik Holiyat Rangmanch,Abhinav Chauhan of Mr and

Miss 7 States, MTV fame,Kundan Chauhan withJaunsar-Bawar PauranikSanskritik Lokkala Manch,Arvind Rana along with SparshJanjati Evam Samajik Sansthaand Akash Verma of SriMahasu Lok Kala Kendraamong others. A number of

personalities from the regionwere also felicitated for theircontribution in various fields.Appreciating the initiative, theguests and gathering called formore such events. The eventwas sponsored by UttarakhandTourism department, ONGC,GAIL Gas, Agriculture direc-

torate, Panchayati Raj depart-ment, Information and PublicRelations department, Forestdepartment, Swajal, BRIDCUL,Namami Gange, MDDA,UCOST, Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan,LIC, New India Assurance,Doon Valley Public Schooland VR Classes.

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Aday after meeting membersof the Akhil Bharatiya

Akhada Parishad in Haridwar,chief minister Trivendra SinghRawat stressed that thedepartmental secretaries will beresponsible for ensuring com-pletion of Kumbh Mela 2021works. All construction worksshould be completed byNovember without fail. Hesaid this while chairing a reviewmeeting on Monday.

Earlier, on Sunday, the CMmet ABAP members and dur-ing the meeting it was statedthat out of the total 10 specialsnans, four will be Shahi Snansduring the Kumbh Mela.

Chairing the review meet,Rawat said that Kumbh worksshould be reviewed fortnight-ly at the chief secretary’s level.The technical committeeformed for the works shouldsubmit its report to the chief

secretary and dou-ble shifts should beundertaken to exe-cute the works.

Permissionshould also begranted to work inthree shifts for con-struction of roadsand bridges. Rawatalso directed thatduring the coming canal clo-sure period, the construction ofghats and beautification ofbridges should be completed.

He issued strict instruc-tions to the departmental headsto ensure that works are com-pleted within the set deadlinewithout compromising withthe quality.

All types of permanentconstruction works for theKumbh Mela should be com-pleted by November withoutfail, he stressed. Special focusshould be laid on removingencroachments from the Mela

area, sanitation and beautifi-cation. Kumbh Mela officerDeepak Rawat informed thatthe high powered committeeheaded by the chief secretaryhad approved Rs 68,302 lakhfor 135 works by 15 majordepartments.

The process of 1454hectare area for Kumbh Mela isunderway while 630 hectarewas used in the 2010 KumbhMela, he added. Cabinet min-ister Madan Kaushik, chiefsecretary Utpal Kumar Singhand others were also present inthe meeting.

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Three new medical collegeswill be opened in Haryana

in Yamunanagar, Kaithal andSirsa, which will cost about1000 crore, Health MinisterAnil Vij said on Monday.

With these, 3 medical col-leges, the number of medicalcolleges which have beenopened during the tenure ofBJP government will increaseto 13, Vij said.

Talking to reporters, Vijsaid that the construction workof the medical colleges will beinitiated soon and approvalhas been given by the Centraland State Government.

The minister said morethan �325 crore will be spenton each of these medical col-leges, in collaboration with the

Central Government. He saidthat the State Government hasbeen making efforts to activatethe working of these medicalcolleges by 2023.

He said that these collegeswill be constructed on 20 acresof land and with the arrange-ment of around 200 beds ineach college. He said that thisstep will enable more and moredoctors to be available acrossthe state and people will getexcellent medical facilities.

The Health Ministerinformed that the constructionwork of the GovernmentMedical Colleges which wasapproved by his governmentduring their last tenure is underprocess and these four gov-ernment colleges includeGovernment Medical Collegeand Hospital, Koriyawas,

Mahendragarh, GovernmentMedical Colleges and Hospitalin Jind, Government MedicalCollege and Hospital inGurugram by Shree SheetlaMata Devi Shrine Board andGovernment Medical Collegein Bhiwani.

Vij said his government hasstarted 6 other medical collegesduring last 5 years whichincludes ESIC Medical College& Hospital in Faridabad, Al-Falah School of MedicalSciences and Research Centrein Faridabad, World College ofMedical Sciences Research andHospital Jhajjar, KalpanaChawla Government MedicalCollege in Karnal, AdeshMedical College and Hospitalin Kurukshetra and NCMedical College & Hospital inIsrana in Panipat.

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Amid controversy overrenaming of Manimajra,

Chandigarh Administrationhas notified new names foreight places in the union terri-tory.

Manimajra will be nowseen as Sector 13 (Manimajra)on Chandigarh’s map.

Punjab Governor and UTAdministrator VP SinghBadnore had last monthapproved the proposal ofrenaming of eight areas, whichare not covered under the sec-toral grid here.

While earlier it was pro-posed to name Manimajra asSector 13 only, theAdministration decided toretain the old name as wellwhile issuing the notification.

Notably, many residentshad expressed apprehensionsthat rechristening ofManimajra will harm its his-torical importance. The pro-posal was also challenged in thelocal Court.

Manimajra is a small his-

torical town situated in thefoothill of the Shivalik range,established 600 years ago. It hasold historical temples and forts.

The town has now beenrenamed as Sector 13(Manimajra), stated the UTnotification.

Chandigarh, which cameinto existence in 1966 hasremained without Sector 13 formore than a half century. It issaid that when Swiss-bornFrench architect Le Corbusierwas designing Chandigarh, henever included Sector 13 in thelayout of the city.

While many believe thatnumber 13 is consideredunlucky in France and thissuperstition led to the omissionof Sector 13 from Chandigarh,the official documents statedthat Sector 12 and 13 weredemarcated initially as a cul-tural zone in the lower halvesof Sector 10 and 11 but laterremoved to avoid confusion.While number 12 was laterassigned to residential area atthe edge of Sector 11, the

number 13 was left out inabsence of an appropriate areafor its location.

Meanwhile, other areaswhich have got new names inChandigarh include IndustrialArea Phase I renamed asBusiness & Industrial Park I.The new name of IndustrialArea Phase II and IndustrialArea Phase III is Business &Industrial Park II and Business& Industrial Park III respec-tively.

Sarangpur Institutionalarea is renamed as Sector 12(west), Dhanas including MilkColony, Rehabilitation colonyetc as Sector 14 (west), Maloyaand Dadu Majra as Sector 39(west), Pocket number 8 belowVikas Marg as Sector 56 (west).

The Building Bye-Laws asalready notified underChandigarh Building Rules(Urban) 2017 and the Bye-Laws applicable to rural areas,as the case may be, shall remainapplicable to the these areas tillfurther orders, stated the noti-fication.

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Atotal of 310 species werespotted during the

Haryana Bird Count 2020, astate-wide avian census thattook place between January 12and January 19 in the State,the statistics compiled nowsaid.

Out of 310, around 35species were reported for thefirst time in the State. Thehighest numbers of species213 were spotted inGurugram, said additionalPrincipal Chief Conservatorof Forests (PCCF) VinodKumar while talking to ThePioneer.The Additional PCCFsaid the census brought to thefore encouraging figures andrevealed the presence of manyrare species. “The departmenthas endorsed the survey find-ings and will use the same foravian conservation initiatives,”he said.

Kumar said that over 30teams of 130 bird watcherscarried out the count fromJanuary 12 to 19 across theState. The Forest and WildlifeDepartment supported thebirders with logistic andaccess to forest areas, he said,adding that species spottedinclude Baillon's Crake, smallPratincole, Gull-billed Tern,small Buttonquail, commonHouse-Martin, Pale SandMartin, Bank Swallow,European Roller, HimalayanFlameback, Brown-frontedWoodpecker, Speckled Piculet,Indian Golden Oriole,C h e s t n u t - t a i l e d

Starling,Tricolored Munia,Rufous-vented Grass Babbler,Black-chinned Babbler,Rufous-tailed Lark, WaterPipit, Striolated Bunting,Common Iora, Thick-billedFlowerpecker, White-crownedPenduline-Tit, White-napedTit,Blue-capped Redstart,Plumbeous Redstart, AsianBrown Flycatcher, Little PiedFlycatcher, Fire-fronted Serin,Fire-tai led Sunbird,Himalayan Swiftlet amongothers.

Kumar said that the State's22 districts boast of morethan hundred birdinghotspots as documented byEbird, India. Ebird is a data-base available on publicdomain that collate and analy-sis the Bird watching.

Haryana has recorded 505species of birds which wereobserved based on observersreporting in the last 10 years.Based on observation of 4years and during 3 wintermonths of December, Januaryand February, the reported

numbers of species are 421and 361 in the month ofJanuary in the two past years.

Against this back ground,Haryana Bird Count 2020 ontwo dates of January 12 andJanuary 19 recorded 310species in which 17 districts ofthe 22 were covered. Thesenumbers are consistent withprevious record of 361 forJanuary for all districts, theofficial said, adding that moreinteresting part of HaryanaBird Count 2020 has some 35species reported were not theone reported earlier in theEbird

The additional PCCF saidthat the field staff of ForestDepartment Haryana sup-ported the participating teamswith all required logistics dur-ing the survey. While averagesize of the team was four, thereare instances of lone birdercovering hotspot and alsoteam comprising of ninemembers. Instances of teamstravelling more than 100 kmsto carry out bird count in a

particular district were alsoseen.Highlighting the out-come of the census, he saidthat while Bird count in mostof the districts confirmed theprevailing trends of last 10years, some of the districtsshowed marked improvementin the species count, such asYamunanagar which had anaverage of 83 over the pastyears and record of 90 speciesin the current year.

Similarly Palwal, (plus 30per cent), Rewari (plus 500per cent), Sirsa, Panipat andBhiwani registered remarkableimprovement from the pastrecords available on Ebird.

Kumar said that based onthe findings of Haryana BirdCount 2020 and existingreporting of species in theEbird, a combined list of 331Species has been arrived at asbaseline species to consider asbenchmark to for the monthof January in Haryana. Resultsalso indicate that there ispotential to improve the tallyof known 506-507 species of

Haryana as there are at least4 district that were not cov-ered namely Ambala, Nuh,Hissar, Kaithal.There are dis-tricts like Charkhi Dadri andFatehabad either not coveredpreviously or covered scarce-ly. The major districts tradi-tionally covered are 4 and theyare Gurgaon, Faridabad,Jhajjar and Panchkula. Thusbalance 18 districts holdample opportunity to improvethe species count of the state.

After Gurugram, thehighest number of specieswere spotted in Jhajjar (187),followed by Rewari (161),Faridabad (150) and Sonepatand Yamunanagar (120 each),Mahendragarh (105),Fatehabad (83), CharkhiDadri (94), Rohtak (74),Kurukshetra (88), Panchkula(102), Palwal (131), Bhiwani(101), among others. The dataalso highlighted noticeableincrease in number of speciesin districts such as Palwal,Yamunanagar, Panipat,Bhiwani and Sirsa.

Yamunanagar, which had sofar recorded 83 species in themonth of January, reported120 species.

Sunder Lal Sambhariya,DFO Rewari, said that thecensus was conducted byteams of bird watchers withthe Forest and WildlifeDepartment’s support. Suchcensus is being conductedduring January each year.During monsoon season alsomigratory birds were beingspotted in various parts ofHaryana and department con-ducts such census duringmonsoon season each year. ”Itis interesting that the first birdcount recorded 310 speciesbut since teams were of dif-ferent sizes in different dis-tricts, this could be the reasonmore species were spotted indistricts such as Gurugramand Faridabad.” Anotherwildlife officer said that dur-ing this season, over 15,000migratory birds of more than100 species from Siberia,Russia, Europe, Afghanistan,

China and other countrieswere seen swimming andchirping in the water bodies atMandothi and Rohad villages.

While bird watchers andlovers from Delhi, Chandigarhand different districts of theState visited these villages,local residents are also enjoy-ing the presence of thesewinged guests in their area.Wildlife inspectors have beenroped in at these villages toensure the safety of thesebirds, an official said, addingthat this year, the number ofmigratory birds is much high-er than previous ones. Notonly at Mandothi and Rohad,but also at Aashoda, Dighal,Baland, Ritauli, Kabulpur,Dhaud and Jharli villages,migratory birds were usingwater bodies on private landsas stopovers.

The wildlife officer saidthat the objective of the birdcount was to know the exactnumber of various species ofavi-fauna in the State as wellas to find out the well-being

of the birds and the habitat inwhich they were living, hesaid, adding the counting havebeen focus on bird species asthe highest numbers of migra-tory birds were being used tobe at the wetland areas duringthis season.He further said,“The bird is quite common inthe surrounding areas ofUttarakhand and HimachalPradesh. Sometimes, birdersmiss the bird as it looks likesome common species. Also,it is difficult to click a photosince it keeps on flying.Interestingly, the bird resem-bles a crescent or aboomerang.

The wildlife officer saidthat study reveals that migra-tor y birds from China,Mongolia, Pakistan, Tibet,Siberia and Iraq start throng-ing the wetland in October-mid. The winged visitorsreturn to their native coun-tries in March with the onsetof the spring season. Januaryis the best time for its count-ing and recording..”

The Wildlife official saiddistribution, numbers andbehaviour of birds are chang-ing over a period of timebecause of various reasons.The population of the blackpartridge (kala teetar), Haryanstate bird, sparrow amongothers has been decreasingover the past few years. As ofnow, there are no exact figuresof the population of many birdspecies in the state, he said,adding this data will help thedepartment to take moreeffective measures to con-serve wildlife in State.

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Responding to the demandof the Christian communi-

ty for land for graveyards,Punjab Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh on Mondaydirected the State RuralDevelopment and PanchayatsDepartment to immediatelyidentify shamlat (commonland) to provide burial groundsrequired by the communityacross the State.

Capt Amarinder, address-ing a high-level delegation ofPunjab Christian WelfareBoard led by its chairmanSalamat Masih, said that theState Government was dutybound to provide land for theburial grounds to the Christian

community and the samewould be done at the earliest.

The delegation thankedCapt Amarinder for his per-sonal intervention to divertthe proposed new road fromthe iconic Baring UnionChristian College, Batala, with-out disturbing its heritage sta-tus, thus respecting the senti-ments of Christian communi-ty.

The Chief Ministerpromised to look into the com-munity’s other genuinedemands, including allocationof funds for their overall wel-fare and facilities to the Boardfor ensuring its efficient func-tioning to fulfill the aspirationsof Christians living in Punjab.

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The use of State Emblem ofIndia by IAS officers under

the control of the JharkhandGovernment and by officers ofthe State Administrative Servicesis not in ‘accordance with therules’ framed by the Central gov-ernment for the use of StateEmblem of India.

Joint secretary departmentof Home, Prisons and DisasterManagement Jharkhand gov-ernment AK Singh in a letter hasclearly mentioned that use ofState Emblem of India by IASofficers under the control of theJharkhand government and alsoby officers of state administra-tive services is not in accordancewith the rules of State Emblemof India.

The joint secretary letter isaddressed to Additional ChiefSecretary, Food, Civic Suppliesand Consumer Affairs depart-ment, but was meant forSecretary Women and ChildDevelopment and Social Welfaredepartment Amitabh Kaushal,who was then Secretary, Food,Civic Supplies and ConsumerAffairs department .

This letter reads that thensecretary food civil supplies &consumer affairs had written aletter in this regard of use of StateEmblem Of India by IAS officersunder the control of Jharkhandgovernment on 22.11.2019 todepartment of Home, Prisons &Disaster Management to clarifythe stand of the government onits use by those who are doingit.

The joint secretary letterreads that this letter dated

22.11.2019 was sent to Lawdepartment for comments,which in its comment hasdescribed the use of it not inaccordance with the rules of theState Emblem of India. ThePioneer spoke to SecretaryWomen and ChildDevelopment and Social Welfaredepartment Amitabh Kaushalon Sunday to know as to whatall this is about to which Kaushalsaid, “I had written a letter todepartment of Home on22.11.2019 requesting them toclear the stand of the govern-ment on the use of state EmblemOf India by IAS officers underthe control of the JharkhandGovernment.”

Kaushal said joint secretaryHome’s letter addressed to himhas communicated to him thecomment of the Law depart-ment, which says that any use ofState Emblem Of India by IASofficers under control ofJharkhand Govt or officers of thestate Administrative Services isnot in accordance with the rulesframed for the State Emblem OfIndia.

He contented there shouldnot be any such use of the StateEmblem of India who are notany authority under the rules ofit to use and those who do useit are doing it against the wordand spirit of the rules regulatedfor the State Emblem of India.

Sources said with this crys-tal clear communication of StateHome department many DCs inthe districts of the State will haveto get metal plaque with StateEmblem of India removed asthere is a provision for penaltywhich goes like this.

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Central Institute of PlasticsEngineering and

Technology (CIPET), Ranchi,in association with MSME-Development Institute, Ranchi,Ministry of Micro, Small andMedium Enterprises,Government of India organiseda one-day technical seminar on‘Business Opportunities inRecycling of Plastic Waste’ on– February 08.

The objective of this pro-gramme to provide informa-tion to the entrepreneurs aboutthe latest technology of recy-cling plastic waste and toincrease the knowledge abouteffective means and relatedissues of plastic waste man-agement.

Also, the latest environ-mental regulations and regu-lations related to the manage-ment of plastic waste of theGovernment of India were alsomade available. More than 150entrepreneurs participated in

the program and got informa-tion. The programme was inau-gurated by Secretary,Industries, Praveen KumarToppo, by lighting the lamp.AK Rao, Director and Head,CIPET, Ranchi gave a wel-come address and apprised allthe attendees about the CIPETand its purpose. Gaurav,Assistant Director, MSME-Development Institute, Ranchi,explained the plans of MSMEsand made the MSME entre-preneurs aware of variousfinancial assistance available bythe government.

Subsequently, Shri ArunKumar, Director, HigherTechnical Education and SkillDevelopment, Government ofJharkhand stated in his addressthat new entrepreneurs shouldcome forward and set up enter-prises related to recycling ofplastic waste to improve theirwell being and society.Topposaid in his inaugural addressthat there are many myths andconfusions related to recycling

of plastic waste, about whichthe correct information is notavailable with the people. Thisseminar is a unique effort initself, which will enable thepublic to get the right infor-mation and enterprising peo-ple in the management of plas-tic waste will come forward andmake the society free of plas-tic waste. Industry SecretaryUnveiled and announced thecommencement of the seminar.

He appreciated the effortsof CIPET, Ranchi and wisheda bright future for MSMEentrepreneurs. Dr. SameerJoshi, who came from PlastIndia Foundation, Mumbai,gave a very interesting presen-tation about creating new prod-ucts by recycling plastic wasteand introduced the partici-pants to the comparative sce-narios of ancient times and newtimes society.

He also said that fuel,roads, clothes and various useitems can be manufacturedthrough plastic waste. k

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Aseminar on “JagannathSanskruti” was held on the

occasion of Abhaya Chalan birthanniversary on Sunday atKhariar by the Abhaya CharanSahitya Sanskruti Parishad,Khadial in association with theDepartment of Odia Language,Literature and Culture and theOdisha Sahitya Akademi. Theone -day programme was inau-gurated by Khariar MLA AdhirajMohan Panigrahi, which was fol-lowed by a discussion on the lifeand contributions of AbhayaChalan. Prof Rajkishor Mishra,writer, Dr ManabhanjanPradhan, former Principal ofAnchal College, Padmapurrespectively spoke as chief guestand chief speaker on the occa-sion. Dr Ramachandra Mishra,educationist also spoke.

The speakers spoke elabo-rately on the works of AbhayaChalan and credited him ofmaking Odia literature rich.Chalan has many works to hiscredit like Sundara Sarita onriver Sundar, Khanda KavyaParikshya, Santha Chaitnya Daseka Adhyayana, Prabandhaprasna, (compilation of essays),Andhara alua (autobiography)and Kabita Kadamba (poetrycompilation). There are also agood number of unpublished

works. MLA Panigrahi praisedthe efforts of the SahityaSanskruti Parishad and com-mitment of Bibhudatta and SaratChalan (son’s of Abhaya Chalan)for organising such events onbirth anniversary of Chalan.Balabhadra Mahauti, formerteacher, while delivering hispresidential address spoke howChalan was simple and believedin Gandhian principles.

Dr Bhaskar Mishra,researcher of Jagannath Sanskriti,Dr Jitamitra Prashad Singh Deo,renowned archeologist and ProfRajkishor Mishra spoke. BhaskarMishra spoke succinctly on rit-uals followed in Puri temple dur-ing prayer of Lord Jagannath andthe significance of those rituals.Dr Singh Deo cited variousarcheological evidences found indifferent parts of western Odisha

and said that Jagannath culturein Koshal region was very old.Likewise, Prof Rajkishor Mishraspoke how Jagannath was boundby the devotion of devotees.“The devotees do not need toperform any rituals to get thegod, what is needed is to purifythe soul,” said Mishra.

Chatterjee thanked theCulture Department and SahityaAkademi for supporting theendeavour taken by the Parishadto organise the seminar that pro-vides opportunity for the liter-ature lovers of Khariar region tolisten so many learned personsof the State and touched differ-ent aspects of Jagannath cult likeBrahminical order, tribal non-tribal interactions, hierarchicalorder in the practice of ritualsetc. without questioning basis ofsuch practices and background.

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Projecting a dismal picture,former Finance Minister

and senior Congress leader PChidambaram on Monday saidthe "economy is in ICU" and"perilously close to a collapse"attended to by "incompetentdoctors". He also said the econ-omy is facing twin problems ofrising unemployment anddeclining consumptionterming them as "two ele-phants" in the room but theGovernment continues to livein denial.

Making these remarkswhile initiating a debate in theRajya Sabha on Budget for2020-21, he offered FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharamanthe same advice that NarendraModi as BJP's PrimeMinisterial candidate hadoffered him in November 2013.

On November 2, 2013, avery distinguished politicalleader said and I quote:"Economy is in trouble. Theyouth wants jobs. Devote moretime to the economy, not onpetty politics. Please focus onthe job at hand. Very wiseadvice. I can't do anythingbetter than reading this piece of

advice to the Finance Minister,"Chidambaram quipped.

He said the need of thehour was to revive demand andincentivize investment.Moreover, more money has tobe put in the hands of the mass-es rather than classes and doaway with 'tax terrorism,"Chidambaram said.

According to him, theeconomy was facing structur-al problems but theGovernment continues tobelieve they were cyclical innature. Modi government'schief economic adviser for fouryears, Arvind Subramanian,has stated that the economy isin the ICU (Intensive CareUnit). But "I would say the

patient has been kept out of theICU and incompetent doctorsare looking at the patient,"Chidambaram said. Tearinginto the Budget, the formerfinance minister said the BJPgovernment lives in denial,refuses to acknowledge its mis-takes and has an "outdated"predisposition towards pro-tectionism and a strong rupee,and is against bilateral as wellas multilateral trade agree-ments.

Chidambaram calleddemonetisation of old 500 and1,000 rupee notes as well as thehurried implementation of a"flawed" Goods and ServicesTax (GST) with wrong design,rates, structure and procedure

and an unprepared system as"monumental blunders" thatruined the economy.

He urged the Governmentto realize its mistakes and havean open mind to debate it.While GDP has fallen to an 11-year low of 4.5 per cent in 2019July-September quarter, agri-culture is growing by just 2 percent, while consumer priceinflation has risen from 1.9 percent in January 2019 to 7.4 percent in a matter of 11 months.

Also, food inflation is at12.2 per cent. Bank credit isgrowing 8 per cent with non-food credit rising by 7-8 percent and credit to the industryby just 2.7 per cent.

Credit to agriculture hasdeclined from 18.3 per cent to5.3 per cent and that forMSMEs from 6.7 per cent to1.6 per cent, he said.

He quipped that everycompetent doctor that theModi government could everfind has left the country andlisted out former Reserve Bankof India(RBI) governorsRaghuram Rajan and UrjitPatel, former Chief EconomicAdvisor Arvind Subramanianand former NITI Aayog ViceChairman Arvind Panagariyaas persons who quit during the

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Great Indian Bustard, AsianElephant and Bengal

Florican from India will beamong 10 endangered speciesof migratory animals/birdsfrom across the world whichwill be included in a special UNlist for protection under theConvention on Conservationof Migratory Species(CMS)—an international treaty to pro-tect such species throughouttheir range countries.

Their inclusion besides arange of issues affecting migra-tory species will be discussed ata triennial UN conference onconservation of migratoryspecies of wild animals(COP13) in Gandhinagar fromFebruary 15 to 22 which will beinaugurated by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi.

Hosting CMS COP-13 is asignificant step towards wildlifeconservation in India. ThePrime Minister will inauguratethe CMS COP13 which will beattended by representatives

from 130 countries besideseminent conservationists andinternational NGOs working inthe field of wildlife conserva-tion, Union EnvironmentMinister Prakash Javadekarsaid at a press conference.

The theme of CMS COP13in India is, "Migratory speciesconnect the planet and wewelcome them home. " TheCMS COP 13 logo is inspiredby 'Kolam', a traditional artform from southern India. Inthe logo of CMS COP-13,Kolam art form is used todepict key migratory species inIndia like Amur falcon, hump-

back whale, and marine turtles.The mascot for CMS

COP13, "Gibi - The GreatIndian Bustard" which is a crit-ically endangered species thathas been accorded the highestprotection status under theWildlife Protection Act, 1972.

The CMS listing makesmember countries responsi-ble to work towards protectingthese animals/birds, conservingtheir habitats and controllingother factors that might endan-ger them. Currently, 173species from across the globeare listed in CMS Appendix I,which deals with migratory

species threatened with extinc-tion.

Besides three species pro-posed by India, the other sevento be considered include Jaguar(proposed by Costa Rica,Argentina, Bolivia andParaguay), White-tip Shark(Brazil), Little Bustard (EUnations), Urial (Tajikistan, Iranand Uzbekistan), AntipodeanAlbatross (New Zealand,Australia and Chile), SmoothHammerhead Shark (Brazil)and Tope Shark (EU nations).

Migratory species thatneed or would significantlybenefit from international

cooperation are listed inAppendix II of the Convention.A total of 518 species are list-ed in Appendix II, but this list-ing also includes entire speciesgroups including subspecies.Besides, many of those inAppendix I are also listed inAppendix II.

Representative from 110countries will also discussadoption of dedicated actionsto protect 12 species, includingGangetic River Dolphin,Gabon and Giraffe. India hasprepared a concerted actionproposal to protect GangeticRiver Dolphin.

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Raising serious concernover the "bad state of

affairs of economy", declininggrowth, falling investment,Opposition MPs in Lok Sabhaon Monday asked theGovernment to take correctivemeasures to arrest the slow-down and generate employ-ment.

The MPs were speaking atthe second day of debate onBudget and Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman will replyon Tuesday afternoon in LokSabha and evening in RajyaSabha, the last working day ofthe first part of BudgetSession.

Participating in the debateon the Union Budget 2020-21in Lok Sabha, BJD member BMahtab called for financialsector reforms to revive rapid-ly declining investment. "Weare measuring GDP growth.

More the investment, thegrowth would be faster andquicker," he said, adding thatadequate corrective measureswere necessary to boostgrowth which is estimated toslip to five per cent in 2019-20.Banks were not in a positionto lend to infrastructure,Mahtab said and asked thegovernment not to lose sightof wider reforms in the pub-lic sector.

"There is a need to bringcompetition within the bank-ing sector," he said.

NCP's Supriya Suletermed the budget as "longand tiresome" and said it hasexposed the failure "of thisGovt when it comes to fiscalhealth".

She said the Governmenttalks about achieving USD 5trillion economy but "we arenot even barely crossing fiveper cent (growth)".

Former Union Minister

Preneet Kaur (Cong) said thepresumption of 10 per centnominal GDP growth and 12per cent rise in tax collectionseems unrealistic given thelow economic growth andfalling exports.

However, BJP MPAparajita Sarangi said there isa balance between intent andcontent, and vision and pro-vision in the Budget. "Wehave moved from policyparalysis to policy actionunder the Narendra Modigovernment," she said addingthe focus is on growth and theBudget will strengthen thefoundation of Indian economyin the new decade.

The Budget promotes sixmajor sectors against the back-drop of current economic sce-nario, she said. It will helpfacilitate investment, spur con-sumption while giving a pushto infrastructure and fillip toagriculture sector, she added.

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DMK leader DayanidhiMaran's remark question-

ing the relevance of Sanskritsparked a furore in Lok Sabhaon Monday with treasurymembers demanding that heapologise, while the Chairdirected that the objection-able comment be removedfrom the records.

During a debate on theUnion Budget, Maran saidcrores of rupees were beingspent on Sanskrit and asked asto what has the Governmentdone for the classical languageTamil.

Maran also made a con-troversial remark aboutSanskrit which was stronglyobjected to by Minister of Statefor Finance Anurag Thakur,who said that one can criticisethe Budget or the FinanceMinister, but it was not right tospeak in an indecent mannerabout Sanskrit.

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In a counter to Pakistan'sconsistent campaign in for-

eign capitals against India'smove on Article 370, theGovernment has decided tosend a fresh batch of foreignenvoys to visit Jammu &Kashmir this week to facilitatethem in getting a first-handaccount of the ground situationin the erstwhile State which lostits special status on August 5last year.

The fresh batch of foreignenvoys will visit Jammu &Kashmir later this week andthose who will be part of thedelegation include envoys fromEuropean Union and the Gulfcountries, official sources saidwithout any further elaborationon the specific date of the visitor the composition of the vis-iting team.

The first batch of 15

envoys, including the USAmbassador to India, KennethI Justerhad, had visited Jammuand Kashmir last month on atwo-day visit. .

The first batch of theenvoys included those from theUS, Latin America and Africa.But diplomats from Australiaand several Gulf nations as alsothe European Union could notmake the cut but were desirousof visiting the Valley at a laterdate.

Parliamentarians from theEuropean Union had visitedJammu and Kashmir inOctober in order to assess theground situation. TheParliamentarians, on a privatevisit, were briefed by the secu-rity forces on the situationthere.

The Parliament had onAugust 5 abrogated the specialstatus to J&K under Article 370and bifurcated the erstwhile

state of Jammu & Kashmirinto union territories, Jammuand Kashmir, and Ladakh.

Following India's move,Pakistan had launched a viti-ated campaign against themove across major capitals asthe repeal of the special provi-sion paved the way for full inte-gration of the terror-hit terri-tory with the Indian Union.

In the wake of continuedpropaganda and the telecomrestrictions, a number of coun-tries had voiced concern overInternet shutdown and deten-tion of political leaders.However, Pakistan could notget much traction despite apitched campaign against Indiadue to lack of credibility in Islamabad's argu-ments.

Pakistan's role in terrorfunding and human rightsabuse has been under the gazeof various multi-lateral bodies.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi on Monday told his

Sri Lankan counterpartMahinda Rajapaksa that theRiver Ganga is at the heart ofIndian civilisation and our cul-tural and economic lifeline,after the latter commendedModi for the "Namami Gangeeffort".

Modi made the remarks onTwitter, replying to a post byRajapaksa about his Sunday'strip to Varanasi where he gotthe "honour" of visiting theGanga."Before leaving#Varanasi, I had the honour ofvisiting the sacred River Ganga.I commend PM @naren-dramodis #NamamiGangeeffort, not only because of therivers spiritual and culturalsignificance but also because it

is host to approximately 40% of#Indias population," Rajapaksatweeted, attaching a picture ofhis visit. In his reply, Modi saidthe "Ganga is at the heart of ourcivilisation. It is our culturaland economic lifeline. I amglad you spent time in Varanasiand also went along the Ganga.The experience would havebeen wonderful."The NamamiGange programme waslaunched in 2014 to clean theriver and improve its flow.

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The CBI has registered a case to probe allegedimpersonation of PK Mishra, the Principal

Secretary to the Prime Minister, by unidentifiedconmen seeking favours from the regional admin-istrator of Mahe in Puducherry. It is alleged thatAman Sharma,

The regional administrator of Mahe Regionin Puducherry, Aman Sharma received a call onhis mobile phone from an unknown number andthe caller, claiming to be Mishra, sought somefavours for his daughter studying at JIPMER,according to the complaint from the PMO whichis now part of the FIR.

The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) referredthe matter to the CBI through a letter onNovember 27 last year saying it is a clear case ofimpersonation.

Nearly two-and-a-half months after receivinga complaint, the agency has registered an FIRagainst unidentified persons under IPC sectionsrelated to criminal conspiracy, cheating andcheating by impersonation.

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The Supreme Court Mondayupheld the constitutional

validity of SC/ST AmendmentAct, 2018 saying a court cangrant anticipatory bail only incases where a prima facie caseis not made out.

A preliminary inquiry isnot essential before lodging anFIR under the act nor is theapproval of senior police offi-cials, said a bench headed byJustice Arun Mishra. JusticeRavindra Bhat, the other mem-ber of the bench, said in a con-curring verdict that every cit-izen needs to treat fellow citi-zens equally and foster theconcept of fraternity.

Justice Bhat said a courtcan quash the FIR if a prima

facie case is not made outunder the SC/ST Act and theliberal use of anticipatory bailwill defeat the intention ofParliament. The top court'sverdict came on a batch of PILschallenging the validity of theSC/ST Amendment Act of2018, which was brought tonullify the effect of the apexcourt's 2018 ruling, which haddiluted the provisions of thestringent Act.

The apex court had inJanuary last year refused to staythe 2018 amendments to theSC/ST Act, which restored theprovision that no anticipatorybail be granted to the accusedin offence lodged under thislaw.In its 2018 verdict, theapex court had taken note ofthe rampant misuse of the

stringent SC/ST Act againstgovernment servants and pri-vate individuals and said thatthere wouldbe no imme-diate arrest onany complaint filed under thelaw.

Violent protests had takenplace across the country afterthe apex court's verdict inwhich several persons lost theirlives and many were injured.

Parliament on August 9,2018 had passed the bill tooverturn the apex court March20, 2018 judgement concerningcertain safeguards against arrestunder the SC/ST law.

Later, the Centre had fileda petition in the top court seek-ing review of its March 2018judgement.

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The Supreme Court onMonday sought response

from the Kerala Governmenton pleas byK o c h i ' sMaradu flat

owners, whose apartmentswere recently demolished forbeing constructed in violationof coastal regulation zonenorms, seeking setting up of atribunal for exact valuation ofthe land.

A bench of justices ArunMishra and Indira Banerjeeissued notice to the KeralaGovernment on the applicationfiled by the flat owners, whosought exact valuation of theirproperty.

Senior advocate PSPatwalia, appearing for someflat owners, said a retired apex

court judge should be appoint-ed as a tribunal judge forassessing the exact valuation ofthe property.

He said otherwise they willbe at the receiving end for notbeing able to get the price,which they have paid to thebuilders of the apartment.

Senior advocate DushyantDave, also appearing for anoth-er set of flat owners, sought asimilar relief and said that a tri-bunal should be appointed toassess their loss.

Senior advocate GopalSankaranarayanan, appearingfor some home buyers, said onthe apex court directive theyhave been paid an interimcompensation of �25, lakh butthe exact value was much moreand they need to be paid morefor the loss.

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In view of complaints thatsome of the States have been

registering even prototype vehi-cles, the Centre has issued anadvisory to all the StateTransport Authorities to regis-ter vehicles that are certified bythe Government based on theMotor Vehicle Act. Directivesalso come ahead of the Centreall set to implement BharatStage VI vehicle emission witheffect from April 1, 2020.

The Road TransportMinistry in its advisory hasstated that it has come to thenotice to the Ministry that insome States, vehicles are notbeing registered in spite of

vehicles having Valid TypeApproval (Road Worthiness,Certificate from authorizedtesting agencies) and that eachmodel of the vehicle is sub-jected to physical inspection bythe State TransportDepartment before their regis-tration in the States. Ministryof Road Transport andHighways has issued an advi-sory to all State /UTAdministrations to implementsystem of vehicle registration asper Rules notified under theCentral Motor Vehicle Act1988.

A senior MoRTH officialsaid that all authorized testingagencies carry out testing ofprototype of the model and pro-

vide the type approval certifi-cate and in this regard a specificquality certificate for compli-ance with pollution standards,safety standards of componentsand road worthiness are issued.

Manufacturers of all kindsof motor vehicles as also E-rick-shaws and E-carts will have togive detailed declaration aboutthe make and emission levels ofthe vehicle they have manufac-tured. Through a recent noti-fication, Ministry amendedForm 22 through which man-ufacturers provide the InitialCertificate of Compliance withPollution Standards, SafetyStandards of ComponentsQuality and Road -Worthinesscertificate for all vehicles.

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The CBI on Monday arrested yet againformer New Okhla Industr ial

Development Authority (Noida) chief engi-neer Yadav Singh in a two-year old cor-ruption case for allegedly awarding projectsworth �116.39 crore to private companiesduring his tenure, in lieu of regular bribesfrom the firms.

The case has been registered on the alle-gations of criminal conspiracy and misuseof official position as well as accepting ille-gal gratification by Singh from the accusedcontractors and firms while awarding con-tracts. "It was also alleged that the then ChiefMaintenance Engineer (CME) in conspir-acy with other officers/officials of theNOIDA as well as with the said contractorshad awarded several contracts worth�116.39 crore (approx.) to the five firms ingross violation of tender norms and proce-dures of the Noida," the CBI said in a state-ment. Yadav had been arrested earlier in aslew of cases involving corruption and wasgranted bail by the Supreme Court onOctober 1 last year.

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Jammu: CPI(M) leader MY Tarigami termed onMonday the grounds for booking former Jammu &Kashmir Chief Ministers Omar Abdullah andMehbooba Mufti under Public Safety Act (PSA)‘hilarious’ and said it shows the “intellectual andmoral bankruptcy” of the BJP Government at the Centre.

Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's con-siderable influence over people, including the abil-ity to attract voters to polling booths despite poll boy-cott calls and the potential for channelling energiesof public for any cause, has been cited in support ofhis detention under the stringent PSA.

His political opponent and Peoples DemocraticParty (PDP) leader Mehbooba Mufti has beenaccused of making anti-national statements andextending support to organisations such as theJamaat-e-Islamia of the state, which has beenbanned under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention)Act (UAPA).

Tarigami, in a statement here, said, “The PSAdossier of Mehbooba states that the 'green colour ofparty (PDP) flag' reflects radical origin. Was not thecolour of PDP flag same when the BJP entered intoan alliance with it to share the power in Jammu &Kashmir in March 2015?”

He also said that Omar Abdullah's PSA dossierstates his ability to convince the electorate to votein huge numbers even during the peak of militancy and poll boycott calls by separatists andmilitants.

“Is it a crime to have influence over voters andconvince them to vote despite threats by militantsand separatists?” Tarigami asked and asserted thatin a democratic setup every leader has influence overpeople and voters which is not considered as crimein any part of the country or the world. PTI

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Over 250 tribals in Valparai inCoimbatore were on Monday

stopped from taking out a march tothe city to press for their long-pend-ing demands, policesaid.

The demands were: provisionof rights on forest, patta (deed) fortheir habitats, land for agricultureand also alternative place inreserved forest areas.

The tribals, including women,from 16 settlements gathered tomarch to the city, covering 120 kmin the early hours of Monday, andpetition the Collector on theirdemands.

However, a large number ofpolice deployed there preventedthem from proceeding and all ofthem squatted in front of a Gandhi

statue, later detained in a marriagehall, police said.

The representatives of Kadar,Malaisar, Irular Muthuvar, Pulaiyarcommunities decided to reach thecity and petition the Collector forrights on forest, patta (deed) fortheir habitats, land for agriculture,among others.

The communities had alreadydiscussed the issue with ValparaiMLA Kasthuri Vasu and local dis-trict officials on the issue.

Their problem started afterValparai being announced as TigerReserve, due to which their rightson forests and to move in andaround were curtailed.

They decided to walk 120 kmafter the communities lost theirtrust in the government officials andthe system. All those who detainedwere released later, police said.

Kolkata: West Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee onMonday expressed sadnessover slapping of the stringentPublic Safety Act (PSA) on for-mer Jammu & Kashmir ChiefMinisters Mehbooba Mufti andOmar Abdullah, saying “theyare getting ill-treatment”.

“Very sad case, the slappingof PSA on Omar, Mehbooba. Iam really sorry for that. I amshocked. They are two verysenior politicians. And howthey are getting ill-treatment.It's a shame for all of us,”Banerjee told media personshere.

The PSA was slapped onOmar Abdullah and MehboobaMufti on February 7. Thedossier citing grounds for slap-ping the PSA on MehboobaMufti says she is known ashard-headed scheming personand for actions like glorifyingmilitants in her speeches andcreating fears among themajority population, based oncheap politics. IANS

Srinagar: Hilal Akbar Lone,National Conference (NC)leader and son of party MPMuhammad Akbar Lone,booked under the Public SafetyAct (PSA) on Monday.

In the last five days, sixmainstream leaders from theregion belonging to NationalConference and People'sDemocratic Party (PDP) havebeen slapped with PSA, whichallows detention of any indi-vidual for up to two years with-out a trial or charge. The totalnumber of mainstream leadersbooked under the detentionlaw has now mounted to seven.

On Thursday, two formerChief Ministers — OmarAbdullah and Mehbooba Mufti— were booked under PSA.

Earlier, NC leader AliMuhammad Sagar and seniorPDP leader Sartaj Madni werebooked under PSA.OnSaturday, senior PDP leaderand former minister NaeemAkhter was also booked underthe same law.

Around 50 politicians,including three former ChiefMinisters -- Farooq Abdullah,Omar Abdullah and MehboobaMufti, were placed under deten-tion on August 5 last year whenArticle 370 was abrogated andthe erstwhile state of J&K wasbifurcated into two UnionTerritories — Jammu &Kashmir and Ladakh. IANS

New Delhi: Congress leader PriyankaGandhi Vadra on Monday said it is ‘pret-ty clear’ the Government has no basis tocharge Omar Abdullah and MehboobaMufti under the Public Safety Act and thetwo former Jammu & Kashmir ChiefMinisters must be freed.

Since when has becoming a ‘daddy'sgirl’ and encouraging people to votebecome a crime against the nation,Priyanka Gandhi asked on Twitter.

Her attack came after Abdullah's ‘con-siderable influence’ over people, includingthe ability to attract voters to polling booths despite poll boycott calls andthe potential for channelling energies ofpublic for any cause, was cited in supportof his detention under the stringentPSA.

His political opponent and PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP) leader MehboobaMufti has been accused of making anti-national statements and extending supportto organisations such as the Jamaat-e-Islamia. She was also reportedly referred inthe report as being called by the masses as'Daddy's girl' and 'Kota Rani'.

“Since when has being a 'Daddy's girl'and encouraging people to vote become acrime against the nation? I would be proudto be both!” Priyanka Gandhi said in atweet.

“It's pretty clear that the governmenthas no basis for charging Omar Abdullahand Mehbooba Mufti with PSA. They mustbe freed,” she said. PTI

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Puducherry: Two days aheadof the Congress Government'smove to bring in an anti-CAAresolution in the Assembly, LtGovernor Kiran Bedi onMonday shot off a letter toChief Minister VNarayanasamy, saying the Actpassed by Parliament is applic-able to the Union Territory and“cannot be questioned or delib-erated in any manner.”

She said this after threenominated legislators from theBJP, V Saminathan, KGShankar and S Sellaganapathy,met her and submitted a peti-tion, bringing to her notice theGovernment's move to bring ina resolution in the assembly onFebruary 12 against theCitizenship Amendment Act.

The legislators had alreadypresented a petition to theSpeaker VP Sivakolundhu onFebruary 6,requesting him not to permit any discussion ora resolution against CAA

“as it exceeds the powers of theLegislative Assembly underGovernment of UnionTerritories Act 1963”.

The legislators requestedthe Lt Governor to take neces-sary action, saying any discus-sion or deliberation on CAAwould be violative of the pro-visions of the Constitution andinfringing the rights ofParliament.

They also pointed out thatthe CAA had been passed byboth Houses of Parliamentandthe President had also given his assent to the Act.Bedi, in her WhatsApp mes-sage, said she had examined thelegal position of their repre-sentation and sent a letter to theChief Minister, “advising himaccordingly”.

She pointed out in her let-ter that CAA had been passedby both Houses ofParliament,given assent to bythe President and notified inthe extraordinary Gazette of

December 12, 2019.She said the legislative

power of the PuducherryAssembly does not extend to discussing ordeliberating the matter of citi-zenship as it falls squarelywithin the domain ofParliament and the CentralGovernment.

“The matter of CAA isalready under adjudicationbefore the Supreme Court,”she said.Bedi said that as perRules of Procedure andConduct of Business ofPuducherry LegislativeAssembly 1966 “a resolution ofany matter which is underadjudication by a court of lawhaving jurisdiction in any partof India is not not admissibleunder Rule 105 of the abovementioned rules”.

The Lt Governor said shehad also enclosed a copy of the petition with herletter to the Chief Minister. PTI

New Delhi: Former Jammu &Kashmir Chief Minister OmarAbdullah's sister on Mondayapproached the SupremeCourt, challenging his deten-tion under the J&K PublicSafety Act(PSA), 1978 sayingthe order of detention is “man-ifestly illegal” and there is noquestion of him being a “threatto the maintenance of publicorder”.

In her plea, Sara AbdullahPilot has said that exercise ofpowers by authorities under theCrPC to detain individuals,including political leaders, was“clearly mala fide to ensure thatthe opposition to the abroga-tion of Article 370 of theConstitution is silenced”.

It said the intent of exerciseof power was to “incarceratenot just him (Omar Abdullah)but the entire leadership of theNational Conference, as well asthe leadership of other politi-cal parties, who were similar-ly dealt with including FarooqAbdullah, who has served theState and the Union over sev-eral years... Stood by Indiawhenever the situation sodemanded.”

The plea has sought quash-ing of February 5 order detain-ing Omar Abdullah under the

PSA and also sought his pro-duction before the court.

Senior advocate KapilSibal, appearing for Pilot, men-tioned the matter for urgentlisting before a bench headedby Justice NV Ramana.

Sibal told the bench thatthey have filed a habeas corpuspetition challenging the deten-tion of Omar Abdullah underthe PSA and the matter shouldbe heard this week.

The bench agreed for list-ing of the matter.

In her plea, Pilot has saidthat on the intervening night ofAugust 4-5, 2019, OmarAbdullah was put under housearrest and it was later learntthat section 107 of Code ofCriminal Procedure (CrPC),1973 was invoked to justifysuch arrest.

“There has been a graveviolation of Articles 14, 21 and22 of the Constitution,” the pleasaid, adding, “similar orders ofdetention have been issued bythe Respondents (authorities ofunion territory of Jammu &Kashmir) over the last sevenmonths in a wholly mechani-cal manner to other detenues,which suggest that there hasbeen a consistent and concert-ed effort to muzzle all political

rivals”.It said there could be no

material available to detain aperson who has already beendetained for previous sixmonths and the “grounds forthe detention order are whol-ly lacking any material facts orparticulars which are impera-tive for an order of detention”.

It said the provisions ofPSA were “wholly violated”and none of the conditions laiddown to justify a detentionorder exists, “nor is evenadverted to”.

“It is rare that those whohave served the nation as mem-bers of Parliament, ChiefMinisters of a state, ministersin the Union and have alwaysstood by the national aspira-tions of India are now per-ceived as a threat to the State,”the plea said.

“In fact, a reference to allthe public statements and mes-sages posted by the detenue(Omar Abdullah) during theperiod up to his first detentionwould reveal that he has keptcalling for peace and co-oper-ation — messages which inGandhi's India cannot remote-ly affect public order,” it said. PTI

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New Delhi: Irked over repeated failures of the Centreand States to file their replies, the Supreme Court onMonday came down heavily and imposed cost of ��fivelakh on them for not complying with its directions tofile their affidavits on a PIL seeking setting up of com-munity kitchens across the country.

A bench of Justice NV Ramana, Ajay Rastogi andV Ramasubramanian, during hearing in the morning,said if the Union of India and the States file their affi-davit in the next 24 hours then they will have to payonly Rs one-lakh fine, whereas those who still fail to sub-mit it by then will have to pay �5 lakh fine.

The top court said that five states — Punjab,Nagaland, Karnataka, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand —and Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar, who havefiled their responses on the PIL filed by Arun Dhawan,will not pay any fine. Advocate Ashima Mandla, appear-ing for the petitioner said that five months have passedsince the apex court had issued notice and except forfive states and one union territory, no other states andUTs have filed their response. PTI

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The Allahabad High Court on Monday dis-missed a petition challenging recovery

notices served on anti-CAA protesters foralleged damage to public property.

The Lucknow Bench of the High Courtsaid such matters are already sub judice beforethe Supreme Court so there was no occasionto file the instant petition here.

The order was given by a division benchof Justice Pankaj Kumar Jaiswal and JusticeKarunesh Singh Pawar on the writ petition filed by a protester, MohammadKaleem.

The petitioner had challenged a noticeissued by the UP government for the recov-ery of damages allegedly caused to publicproperty during a recent protest in the cityagainst the Citizenship Amendment Act.

The petitioner had stated that the noticewas illegal.

Opposing the plea, the government coun-sel submitted that it was a mere notice towhich the petitioner should reply before theissuing authority and secondly same mattersare pending before the apex court so the peti-tion is not maintainable in the HC.

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BJP leader and former LokSabha MP Narendra

Sawaikar on Monday calledGoa Archbishop Filipe NeriFerrao's statement against theCitizenship Amendment Act as‘divisive’ and asked why the lat-ter was not objecting to Article30 of the Constitution whichgives minorities the right toestablish educational institu-tions.

Ferrao on Saturday hadasked the Centre to scrap CAA

and drop any plans of carryingout the National Population Register andNational Register of Citizensexercises.

“They (minorities) claimall benefits under Article 30.They run educational institu-tions with the money I pay astax,” Sawaikar, the Goa BJP'sgeneral secretary, said.

Article 30(1) lays downthat religious and linguisticminorities have the right toestablish and administer edu-cational institutions.

Kanpur (UP): Tension prevailed here after police alleged-ly tried to remove anti-CAA protesters forcibly fromMohamed Ali Park in the Chamanganj area in the weehours on Monday.

Continuing their stir, the protesters has accused policeof resorting to a lathicharge.

Additional District Magistrate (ADM) VivekSrivastava said the protesters had agreed to end their agi-tation on Saturday after assurance by the district admin-istration that cases against them will be withdrawn.

However, many stayed back despite ending their stirafter reciting the national anthem with the DM, the ADMadded.He said police then asked the protesters to vacatethe park by Sunday night. Kanpur DM Brahma Deo RamTiwari denied reports of any lathicharge on the protest-ers. PTI

Gandhinagar: Underlining that respect-ing the unity and integrity of the coun-try is perhaps the ‘most important fun-damental duty’, former Chief Justice ofIndia Ranjan Gogoi on Monday saidenough protests have been held on thenew citizenship law and that peopleshould not create ‘two parallel forums’when the SC has already seized the mat-ter.

Addressing students of the GujaratNational Law University (GNLU) here,the former CJI also said that everybodyhas the right to express views on theCitizenship Amendment Act (CAA), but“the resolution of the issue must bethrough Constitutional means”.

Referring to the protests over theCAA in his home State Assam, the for-mer CJI said there were elements whowanted to harm the integrity of the coun-try, but the student community therecalled off the violent protests within days,which improved law and order situationovernight.

“Perhaps the most important fun-damental duty is the respect of the unityand integrity of the country. There areissues in this, and why hype them. TheCitizenship Amendment Act...It is an

issue. You may have a view about it, Imay have a view about it, and our viewsmay not match. I have the right toexpress my view, you have the right toexpress your view. Fine. But the resolu-tion must be through Constitutionalmeans,” he said.

Former CJI Gogoi further said thematter (challenge to CAA) is pendingbefore the Supreme Court. “Trust yourjudges. They will decide, according to theConstitution,” he added.

Several petitions have been filedchallenging the constitutional validity ofthe Act including by RJD leader ManojJha, Trinamool Congress MP MahuaMoitra and AIMIM leader AsaduddinOwaisi.

“Protests have been held, view-points have been expressed. Enough. Youcannot have two parallel forums, theSupreme Court and someone else,” hesaid. On December 18, the apex courthad agreed to examine the constitutionalvalidity of the CAA, but refused to stayits operation.

Assam was the first Sate whereprotests broke out after the CAA waspassed by Parliament in December lastyear. PTI

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Jaipur: Crop on over 1.49 lakhhectares has been damaged invarious districts due the locustattack since May, RajasthanAgriculture Minister Lal ChandKataria informed the stateassembly here on Monday.

He, however, said no sig-nificant damage was caused tothe kharif crop due to a promptaction by the authorities whenswarms of locust enteredJaisalmer on May 21 last year.

“Fresh locust swarmsentered the country inDecember 2019 due to windintensity and lack of effectivecontrol over locusts by neigh-bouring country Pakistan,” hesaid amid the BJP criticism thatthe state did not take timelyaction to tackle the problem.

He said the crop on

1,49,881 hectares—54,989hectares in Jaisalmer, 53,682hectares in Jalore, 33,788hectares in Barmer, 2,549hectares in Bikaner, 2,308hectares in Jodhpur--was dam-aged.

He said till date the locustcontrol exercise had been taken

up on 5,29,602 hectares andpesticides were given to farm-ers at 100 per cent subsidy.

Earlier, Deputy Leader ofthe Opposition RajendraRathore said that StateGovernment could shy awayfrom its responsibility. PTI

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Ahmedabad: A prime accused in the 1993 Mumbaiserial blasts, who is a close associate of the terrorattack's key conspirator Tiger Memon, was arrest-ed from the airport in Maharashtra's capital by theGujarat ATS in a drug seizure case, a senior offi-cial said on Monday.

Munaf Halari was arrested from the Mumbaiinternational airport on late Sunday night by a teamof the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS), hesaid.

The 55-year-old, travelling on a Pakistani pass-port, had arrived from Nairobi and was supposedto catch a Dubai- bound flight from Mumbai, saidAssistant Commissioner of Police (ATS) KKPatel.

Halari is wanted in the 1993 Mumbai serialbomb blasts in which around 260 people were killedand more than 700 injured in what was one of theworst terror attacks in India.

Halari was on the radar of the Gujarat ATS fol-lowing the arrest of five Pakistani nationals inJanuary off the Gujarat coast with drugs worth Rs175 crore, he said.

The questioning of the Pakistani nationals hadrevealed the role of Halari in drug smuggling, theACP told reporters at Gujarat ATS headquartershere.

“Munaf Halari is also a prime accused in theMumbai serial blasts case of 1993 in which a RedCorner Notice had been issued against him. He hadplayed a vital role in the serial blasts. PTI

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Tension prevailed in Darodavillage of Hinganghat talu-

ka of Maharashtra’s Wardhadistrict on Monday, as a 24-year-old lecturer succumbed toburns at Orange City Hospital& Research Institute (OCHRI)in Nagpur, a week after she wasset ablaze by her spurned suit-or near her college in the near-by taluka town.

The news of the victimwoman’s death sparked unrestin her village, where the peo-ple took to street to condemnher death and stopped theambulance carrying her bodyfrom the Nagpur-based hospi-tal to her native village. Somevillagers resorted to stone pelt-ing.

However, a 300 member-strong police force deployedspecially in the village broughtthe situation under the control.

An intense drama unfold-ed in Daroda village after theparents of the victim womanhad refused to take her body tillthey got a written assurancefrom the State Governmentthat the accused Vicki Nagrale(27) — who had doused thevictim woman with petrol and

set her on fire on February 3 inbroad day light— would bedealt with sternly. Some iratevillagers were demanding thatthe accused be burnt alive.However, the parents agreed toaccept the body after StateHome Minister AnilDeshmukh assured them thatthe accused would be pun-ished.

Hundreds of people turnedout for the victim woman’sfuneral held in the village laterin the evening, amid gloom andemotional scenes.

Earlier at 6.55 am, the vic-tim woman — who had beenbattling with life for a week —-succumbed to burns atOCHRI. “At around 6.30 am;patient again had bradycardiaand in spite of prolongedCardiopulmonary resuscita-tion as per ACLS guidelines;patient could not be revivedand was declared dead at6.55am today,” Dr. Anup Marar,Director of OCHRI.

“Probable cause of deathkept was Septicemic shock inpatient of 35% Grade III DeepDermal burns withInhalational Injury. MLC wasduly conveyed and body washanded over to police author-ities for post mortem and alliedformalities,” Dr Marar said in

a statement issued later in theday.

Dr Marar said that thevictim woman, who was onventilator since February 7,remained critical all through asshe had respiratory distressand fluctuations in BloodPressure. Her condition dete-riorated further in the earlyhours of Monday, after oxygenlevels in her blood dippedalarmingly low.

In his reaction to the deathof victim woman and subse-quent developments at hernative village, Maharashtrachief minister UddhavThackeray said: “We will notshow any mercy to the accused.Many a time, the trial in thiskind of cases takes time. Wewill not allow such a delay totake place in this case. We willprove the guilt of the accusedin a quickest possible time andexecute him”.

“It is rather unfortunate wecould not save the victimwoman from being set ablazein such a savage manner. Norcould we save from succumb-ing to burns. This incident is abig blot on Maharashtra,”deputy chief minister AjitPawar said in his condolencemessage.

Meanwhile, theMaharashtra government hasannounced a financial assis-tance of Rs 10 lakh to the nextof kin of the deceased womanand a job to one of the mem-bers of the bereaved family.

Making an announcementto this effect, Minister of Statefor Women and Child WelfareBachhu Kadu said: “We willprosecute the accused througha speedy trial and hand him outa stern punishment”

It may be recalled that thevictim woman suffered nearly40 per cent burns after the

accused Vicki Nagrale — whowas laying in wait for her nearcollege at Hinganghat— tookout petrol from his two-wheel-er and poured it on her and setheron fire, at around 7.30 amon February 3. After sheshrieked for her, the bystandersdoused the burning victimwoman with water and extin-guished the fire. By then, shehad been badly burnt.

The police investigationshave revealed that the victimwoman — who was a Botanylecturer in a Hinganghat-basedcollege — and the accusedused to travel to taluka town inWardha district by the samebus. The accused had somemonth ago expressed his lovefor the victim woman, whospurned him.

Nagrale, who landed a jobin the Railways, is married witha six-month-old daughter. Heused to harass her for the pastthree months. The victimwoman’s father had taken theaccused to task, after her fixedmarriage peroposal fellthrough.

Nagarle, who would nor-mally travel to Hinganghatwith the victim woman by bus,had arrived earlier than hernear college on Monday morning.

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In a shocking incident, theparents and brother of a girl

who eloped with her loverfrom a different caste and mar-ried him, committed mass sui-cide by jumping into well inVivekananda Nagar locality ofGadchiroli town in easternMaharashtra on Monday.

Devastated after hearingthat their 24-year-old daughtereloped with her boyfriend andmarried him in a nearby tem-ple on Saturday, RavindraNagorao Vargantiwar (50) andhis wife VaIshali (43), alongwith their son Sairam (19),plunged into a well.

Acting on the informationreceived from the local resi-dents, the police rushed to themishap site and extricated thethree bodies from the well andsent them for post-mortem.

The police investigationshave revealed that the girl,whose parents and brothercommitted mass suicide, was inlove a boy from the neigh-bourhood belonging to differ-ent caste for quite some time.On Saturday, she told her that

she would marry the boywhom she loved.

However, her father toldher in unequivocal terms thathe did not approve her pro-posed inter-caste marriage withher lover. Unmindful of theopinion expressed by her father,the daughter left home andmarried the boy at a nearbytemple.

After hearing the news ofher inter-caste marriage, herupset parents and brother tookthe extreme step of jumping ina nearby well.

Kolkata: A city court onMonday rejected the bailprayers of five persons accusedin the gang-rape case of a 12-year-old girl and remandedthem to judicial custody tillFebruary 24.

Second Additional judge,POCSO court, Alipore, SoniaMajumdar sent the five to judi-cial remand. They were earli-er in police custody followingtheir arrest.

Four of them were accusedof raping the girl, while the fifthone — the owner of the housewhere the incident took place- was charged with abetment tothe crime.

Opposing their bail prayer,public prosecutor Radha KantaMukherjee submitted that it isa heinous crime of gangrapinga class VII student and inves-tigations are in a nascent stage.

Enlarging them on bailwould impact the probe,Mukherjee told the court.Judge Majumdar then rejectedtheir bail prayer.

The incident occurred at ahouse in Ekbalpore area of thecity on Thursday. The fourrape-accused were arrested onFriday while the owner of thehouse was nabbed later. PTI

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In what the critics called aneffort to comeback to power in

the upcoming municipal elec-tions in the State besides gener-ating goodwill for the next year’sAssembly elections, Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee onMonday walked in the footstepsof her Delhi counterpart ArvindKejriwal by announcing freepower for an earmarked sectionof the society among other pop-ulist schemes.

Announcing the “condition-al” power scheme called ‘HasirAlo’ (smiling light) State FinanceMinister Amit Mitra said that thehouseholds with a quarterly con-sumption of up to 75 units wouldget electricity free of cost. Thescheme is expected to benefit 35lakh poor households Mitra saidadding �200 crore have been allo-cated for the purpose.

In a Budget apparently aimedat the have-not gallery herGovernment also announced acluster of Left-leaning measuresthat ranged from almost free-of-cost provident fund for the unor-ganized sector to suggestingwaiver of agricultural income

tax for two fiscals and con-structing houses for the perma-nent workers engaged in themoribund tea industry of NorthBengal.

The ruling TrinamoolCongress had earlier attackedthe Centre for giving nothing tothe tea workers of North Bengalfrom where the BJP had won allthe five parliamentary seats.

�500 crore for have been set

aside for the housing scheme fortea garden workers, named ‘ChaiSundari’ the Finance Ministersaid adding the scheme will ben-efit around three lakh workers in370 tea gardens of North Bengal.

The “Bina Mulya SamajikSuraksha” was launched to pro-vide Provident Fund (PF) at neg-

ligible rate of �25 per month forthe poorest of the poor. TheGovernment will contribute �30per month as PF to this newscheme. At the age of 60 years, ondeath or discontinuation, theamount can be drawn along withthe interest.

Apart from this the

Government also allocated �200crore for the next financial yearfor the MSME (Ministry ofMicro, Small and MediumEnterprises) parks. Under KarmaSaathi Prakalpa the Governmentwill provide soft loans to unem-ployed youth for setting up smallventures.

The Government alsoannounced setting up of a newuniversity in Scheduled Tribedominated area of Jhargram.Two other universities will alsocome up at Scheduled Castes(SCs) and Other Backward Castedominated areas. This apart thethree new civil service academieswill be set up in Kolkata,Durgapur and Siliguri.

Meanwhile at the post-Budget media meet Banerjeeattacked the Central Governmentfor coming out with a religion-centric Budget and appealed toPrime Minister Narendra Modito avoid what she called “politicsof vendetta” and work with theopposition parties.

“It is our duty to work togeth-er to improve the economic con-dition of the country and ifneeded Prime Minister NarendraModi should speak to the oppo-

sition parties,” Banerjee saidadding the Union Governmentshould try to improve the finan-cial health of the country insteadof spreading politics of hatred.

“Whatever RBI is saying is asensitive matter. The union gov-ernment should look after theeconomy, instead of being busy inthe politics of hatred. The PrimeMinister should take everybodyalong, if needed hold discussionswith opposition parties,” she saidafter her Government presentedthe Budget.

Attacking the State Budgetopposition leader Abdul Mannansaid that it was full of “highsounding nothing” as “they haveannounced a whole lot ofschemes but have not said as towhere the money will comefrom.”

Left Legislative Party leaderSujan Chakrabarty dared theGovernment to “come out withthe details of planned expenditureinstead of non-planned expen-diture,” adding how the presentGovernment had been movingtowards a debt trap with a cumu-lative debt burden of �4.6 lakhcrore in a matter of just 8-9years.

Bengaluru: Four days after thecabinet expansion, Chief Minister BSYediyurappa on Monday allocatedportfolios to the 10 newly inductedministers including RameshJarkiholi, who got the plum majorand medium irrigation department,which he was pushing for.

The Chief Minister retained the Department ofP u b l i c A d m i n i s t r a t i o n , Bengaluru Development,IntelligenceDepartment, Financeand portfolios not allocated.

According to a Governmentpress release, Anand Singh got food,civil supplies and consumers affairsportfolio, Srimant Patil was giventextile while K Gopalaiah hasbeen assigned small scale industries.

Byrathi Basavaraj secured theUrban Development Departmentbarring Bengaluru-related civicaffairs while ST Somashekhar wasgiven the charge of the cooperationdepartment.

The BJP Government assigned

forest department to BC Patil, med-ical education to Dr K Sudhakar,municipal administration was givento K C Narayana Gowda and labourdepartment to A ShivaramHebbar.

The ten BJP MLAs, all defectorsfrom the Congress and JDS, wereinducted as ministers last Thursday,with the Chief Minister rewardingthem with Cabinet berths for help-ing the BJP bring down theCongress-JD(S)coalition and cometo power in July last year. “Neitherhave I asked him nor as he enquiredwith me (regarding portfolio allo-cation). I had told himthat whatev-er portfolio he gives me I will per-form my dutysincerely.

I got the cooperation depart-ment, which is an area I have someexperience,” Somashekhar said.

Byrathi Basavaraj said had hadnot exerted pressure demandingany portfolio. Meanwhile, discon-tentment started brewing with BJPMLABasanagouda Patil raising theissue of addressing the regionalbal-ance in the cabinet.

“The sentiments of the MLAsshould be taken care of. ManyMLAs have spoken to me on vari-ous issues highlighting the regionalbalance in the portfolio for thedevelopment of their region,” he said.

Two other BJP MLAs--UmeshKatti and Mahesh Kumathalli-- onceagain made a pitch for cabinetberth.

Katti said he has always been aneligible candidate for a ministerialpost. Kumathalli once again remind-ed Yediyurappa of his promise tomake him a minister when thebypolls were taking place inDecember last year. PTI

Mumbai: Thirty-four of the 37 people admitted in iso-lation wards in Maharashtra hospitals for suspected expo-sure to the novel coronavirus have been discharged aftertheir samples tested negative for the infection, HealthMinister Rajesh Tope said on Monday.

The samples of these 37 people were sent for test-ing at the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune.

In a release issued on Monday, the state healthdepartment said currently two people were in an isola-tion ward in Pune's Naidu Hospital and one in Sanglidistrict hospital.

It said 23,350 people have been screened at theMumbai International Airport since January 18, includ-ing 166 who arrived in the state from areas affected bythe new strain of coronavirus (2019-nCoV), which haswreaked havoc in China. “Of the 37 persons admittedin isolation facilities in the state on suspicion of coro-navirus infection, 34 have been discharged. Last evening

(Sunday), a person was admitted to the Naidu Hospitaldue to minor cold and cough,” Tope said.

As per information shared by the state health depart-ment, all people coming from China's Wuhan city, theepicentre of the 2019-nCoV outbreak, have been isolatedand tested for the virus as per Union Ministry of Healthand Family Welfare guidelines.

Those coming from affected areas are being moni-tored for a period of 14 days from arrival, and 72 of these166 have completed the two-week follow-up, the stategovernment release said.

Minister Tope asked people to contact state controlroom number 020-26127394 or toll free number 104 incase they had queries on the 2019-nCoV.The death tollin China's coronavirus outbreak has gone up to 908 with97 new fatalities reported mostly in the worst-affectedHubei province, Chinese health officials said onMonday. PTI

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Aligarh (UP): A BJP leaderMonday demanded a ban onburqa, calling it a securitythreat and provocatively link-ing it to demon king Ravana'ssister Surpanakha.

“Burqa should be bannedin the country as has been donein several other countries,”Raghuraj Singh, who holds arank equivalent to a minister ofstate in the Uttar Pradesh gov-ernment, told reporters.

Singh claimed burqa is notworn in countries like SriLanka, China, the US andCanada and said it should bebanned in India as terroristscan take advantage of it.

The BJP leader said peo-ple are sporting burqas inDelhi's Shaheen Bagh protestagainst the new citizenshiplaw, and added, “The burqahelps terrorists, thieves and

anti-socials elements to hidebehind it.”

“Burqa is a threat tonational security and has to bebanned to crush terrorism,”Singh said.

Without citing his source,Singh linked burqa toSurpanakha, the demon whohas her face disfigured inRamayana. According toSingh's version, Surpanakhafled to hide in the Arabdesert.

“As her nose and ears werechopped, she used a burqa tohide her face,” he said, addingit is not necessary for humans.

“In Mecca, a shivalingawas set up by GuruShukracharya, who was theguru of devils, and from therethe burqa tradition started,” hesaid. PTI

Finally, after many centuries, thedecks have been cleared for the con-struction of the Ram temple atAyodhya with the UnionGovernment setting up the Shri

Ram Janmabhoomi Tirth Kshetra trust tooversee the construction of the temple andto manage its affairs. Prime MinisterNarendra Modi told Parliament that the con-stitution of the trust — which was a historicstep — was in line with the SupremeCourt’s verdict.

While handing over the disputed landto the Hindus, the apex court directed theGovernment to formulate a scheme withina period of three months from the date ofits judgment. It said the scheme should envis-age the setting up of a trust with a board oftrustees or any other appropriate body.Further, the scheme should make necessaryprovisions with regard to the functioning ofthe trust, including management, power oftrustees and the construction of the temple.

The possession of the inner and outercourtyards should be handed over to thetrust and the Union Government would beat liberty to make suitable provisions withrespect to the rest of the acquired land.Further, the court directed that a suitablepiece of land measuring five acres be hand-ed over to the Sunni Central Waqf Board.This land could be allotted “at a suitable,prominent place in Ayodhya.” It said theUnion Government and the StateGovernment should act in consultation witheach other to effectuate the above allotmentwithin the stipulated period. TheGovernment announced all these measureslast week, as was directed by the top court.

The creation of the trust for the con-struction of the Ram temple is also in asense the fulfilment of the solemn promisegiven by the then Government inSeptember 1994 when PV Narasimha Raowas the Prime Minister, that if it was foundthat a Hindu temple existed under the BabriMasjid, the Government would return theacquired land to the Hindus.

The Union Government’s commit-ment before the court at that time said: “Ifthe question referred to is answered in theaffirmative, namely, that a Hindutemple/structure did exist prior to the con-struction of the demolished structure,Government action will be in support of thewishes of the Hindu community. If on theother hand, the question is answered in thenegative, namely, that no such Hindu tem-ple/structure existed at the relevant time,then Government action will be in supportof the wishes of the Muslim community.”

Subsequently, almost a decade later, theArchaeological Survey of India (ASI), whichwas given the task of excavation to ascertainthe veracity of the claims and counter claims,came up with evidence of pillars and otherartefacts associated with a Hindu templebelow the demolished masjid.

The assurance given by the Union

Government in this regard wasunambiguous and completelydevoid of any “ifs and buts.”Given the sensitivity of the issueand the fact that this was a mat-ter of faith for the Hindus —who believe that the disputedpiece of land is the birth place ofRam — the Government’s affi-davit was a big risk. It meant thatthe Hindus would need to pro-duce proof or hope that it exist-ed below the demolished struc-ture, which would lend credenceto their belief regarding thejanmasthan of Lord Ram.

On the face of it, this waswholly unreasonable becausethe Hindu faith would be test-ed on the anvil of scientific evi-dence and if they failed the test,they would lose their claim tothe birthplace of Ram. Was theUnion Government right inbinding the Hindus to such ascenario? It also seemed as if theGovernment was giving thecommitment on behalf of thealmost one-billion strongHindu community.

Yet the Hindus went alongwith this proposition and it isdifficult to find a parallel to thisin any part of the world.Although the outcome was atoss-up and could have hurt thebelief of the Hindus regardingLord Ram’s birthplace, whichhad prevailed over the millen-nia, the Hindu majority tookthis in its stride. It also waitedpatiently for the higher judicia-

ry to give its verdict on whethertheir faith regarding the jan-masthan was justified. If everone wanted proof of the secu-lar, democratic credentials ofthe Hindu community, thiswas it. Its silence over theNarasimha Rao Government’saffidavit and the patient wait forthe judicial verdict on a matterof faith showed that for themajority, the Constitution wasabove everything else.

Eventually, the Hindu-majority found that neither ofthe faiths — in Lord Ram’sbirthplace and in the fairness ofthe Supreme Court — weremisplaced. The court held that“the faith and belief of Hindussince prior to the constructionof the mosque and subsequentthereto has always been thatjanmasthan of Lord Ram is theplace where Babri Mosque hasbeen constructed.” It said thatthis faith and belief had beenproved “by documentary andoral evidence.”

Similarly, the quiet accep-tance of the Supreme Courtjudgment by Muslims is also apointer to the resilience of ourdemocratic system and the gen-eral sentiment across communi-ties and across the land regard-ing the court’s supremacy whenit comes to interpreting theConstitution and the laws and in settling such vexatious dis-putes.

This is indicative of the

robustness of our Constitutionalway of life. The peaceful reso-lution of this centuries-old con-flict within the framework ofour Constitution is a sterlingexample of our pristine demo-cratic traditions and of howevolved we are as a democracy.This needs to be celebrated.

The Prime Minister allud-ed to this when he said recent-ly that following the RamJanmabhoomi judgment, thepeople of India had displayedremarkable faith in democrat-ic processes and procedures.The grand temple, when built,will symbolise not only India’scivilisational glory but also itscommitment to democracy andharmony.

Let there be no confusion.One may not find anotherexample of this kind elsewhere.It is, therefore, pathetic to listento some malcontents, whosepolitical ambitions have beenthwarted by the people of Indiain the Lok Sabha election heldlast year, who are constantly try-ing to run down our democra-cy because the people haverejected them. It is even moredisgusting to hear lectures ondemocracy in the Westernmedia, which has never shownthe spine to talk about the plightof religious minorities in 60Islamic nations.

(The writer is an author spe-cialising in democracy studies.Views expressed are personal.)

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Sir — The Kerala health depart-ment that functions under theleadership of Minister KK Shailajamust be complimented for theexemplary and stupendous workit has done to contain the danger-ous novel coronavirus after threeindividuals, all students, testedpositive for the infection.

The Health Minister, whoboldly led the medical team tocounter the deadly Nipah virusepidemic two years ago, is back inaction to fight yet another dead-ly virus. Kerala’s preparedness andresponse to coronavirus has beenso comprehensive and swift thatother States are taking lessonsfrom it. Two years ago, health offi-cials and volunteers, police, pan-chayats and other local bodies,politicians, Press and even thecommon people alerted and sup-ported one another to contain theNipah virus. The same is beingrepeated for coronavirus. Around2,239 individuals are under sur-veillance and 84 are in hospitals.A tracking system monitorseveryone coming to the Statefrom high-risk destinations andalso those who have come in con-tact with suspected cases. Five

international airports in the State,sea ports and railway stationshave been put on alert and med-ical teams are ready 24x7 totrace, track and transport doubt-ful cases for check-up and treat-ment. Awareness, confidence,

grit and determination undoubt-edly help to overcome such healthcrisis. Half the battle is wonwhen there is no panic andunnecessary pressure.

M PradyuKannur

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Sir — It is agonising that Chinais facing global isolation asnations across the world haveimposed travel restrictions due to

the outbreak of coronavirus.Besides significant threat to itseconomic growth, serious reper-cussions on the social life of theChinese people, too, are a causefor concern. Already, conflicts,suspicion, mistrust and dishar-mony have risen. Baselessrumours about the spread of thevirus are doing the rounds. Butsensible people will realise that nocountry is free from any kind ofoutbreak. At this hour of crisis,people must remain calm. Othernations must show solidaritywith China and extend all help.

Venu GSKollam

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Sir — Novak Djokovic must becongratulated for his latest featwhere he defeated the Austrian,Dominic Thiem. Prior to this, healso defeated Roger Federer in thesemi-final in straight sets. If hecontinues with this sublime form,chances are ripe for him to sur-pass Nadal and Federer in 2020.

VintiVia email

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Buoyed by the success of disinvestment inPublic Sector Undertakings (PSU) during2017-18 and 2018-19 (when the Centre gar-

nered over �100,000 crore and �85,000 crorerespectively), for the current year, the ModiGovernment had set an ambitious target of get-ting �1,05,000 crore. A major slice of these pro-ceeds was to come from “strategic disinvestment”or transfer of a sizeable portion of ownership (thiscould go up to 51 per cent, implying privatisation)and management control to a private entity.

The crucial “strategic disinvestment” propos-als included divestment of all of the Government’sshareholding in Bharat Petroleum CorporationLimited (BPCL) 53.29 per cent; ContainersCorporation of India (ConCor) 30 per cent;Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) 63.75 per cent;North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEP-CO) 100 per cent and THDC India Limited 75 percent. However, the results are disappointing. As perthe revised estimates (RE) given in the UnionBudget for 2020-21 on February 1, proceeds fromdisinvestment are �65,000 crore-�40,000 croreshort of the Budgetary Estimates (BE). However,till date, the Government has garnered only�18,000 crore. One wonders where it will get thebalance �47,000 crore even as the sale of BPCL,CONCOR and SCI (these three undertakings alonewere projected to account for over 75 per cent ofthe target) is unlikely to get consummated beforeMarch 31.

For 2020-21, Sitharaman has set an over-ambi-tious target of �2,10,000 crore which is double theBE for 2019-20 and more than three times the REfor 2019-20. Apart from the strategic sale of theabove-mentioned three PSUs, the UnionGovernment has also taken a major decision to listand sell shares of the Life Insurance Corporationof India (LIC), which is 100 per cent owned by itand accounts for nearly three-fourths of the lifeinsurance business. Besides, it has also resurrect-ed its plan for sale of Air India which was aban-doned during 2018-19 due to lack of interestamong potential investors. The Governmentseems to be betting big on LIC and BPCL.Considering the likely valuation of about �900,000crore (at 30 per cent of its assets estimated at�30,00,000 crore), the sale of 10 per cent sharesin LIC could yield about �90,000 crore. Further,divestment of 53.29 per cent shareholding in BPCLis estimated to yield about �60,000 crore (at cur-rent market capitalisation of over �110,000 crore).These two add up to �150,000 crore. For the bal-ance, it could bank on sale of 100 per cent Air India(plus Air India Express and 50 per cent of AirIndia’s stake in ground-handling company AISingapore Terminal Services Limited (AISATS),CONCOR and SCI et al. The task is daunting.

Prima facie, the sale of a small percentage ofshareholding in LIC may sound easy to push asthe Government can argue that majority owner-ship and control will continue to be with it evenafter this divestment. But, this is easier said thandone. The proposed Initial Public Offering (IPO)of the LIC will have to be preceded by amendmentsto the LIC Act, particularly three sections —Section 24: It deals with the way the corporationhandles its corpus (own fund in which all of itsreceipts are credited thereto and all payments madetherefrom); Section 28: It lays down the policy ondividend distribution (how the surplus is to be dis-tributed) and Section 37: It provides Governmentguarantee on all its policies. The policy on divi-dend distribution could be a bone of contention.

At present the LIC pays five per centof the surplus to the shareholder(Government), while the remaining 95per cent gets distributed among policy-holders. In case of private insurancecompanies however, the shareholdergets 10 per cent of the surplus even asthe rest 90 per cent goes to policyhold-ers. The external investor could insist onbringing LIC on par with other insurancecompanies by modifying the dividenddistribution norms. The former mayinsist on increasing the share of share-holder in surplus from existing five percent.

According to existing rules underSection 37 of the Act, “Sums assured byall policies issued by the corporationincluding any bonuses declared inrespect thereof...shall be guaranteed asto payment in cash by the CentralGovernment”. One wonders whetherpost-dilution of the Government’sshareholding, the sovereign guarantee tothe policyholders would be retained.

As per the LIC Act, “The paid-upequity capital of the corporation shall be���� crore provided by the CentralGovernment after due appropriationmade by Parliament by law for the pur-pose”. This needs to be increased appro-priately in order to prepare it for the pro-posed IPO and sell even a 10 per centstake. The preparations in this regard arebound to be time-consuming and maystretch till the end of fiscal 2020-21. Thatapart, considering that most of the par-ties across the political spectrum haveopposed stake sale in the LIC, it is doubt-ful whether the Government will be ableto get the amendment Bill passed, moreso when it is in the minority in the UpperHouse (the chances of this being takenup as Money Bill in which case, it does-n’t have to go to the Rajya Sabha aredim). As regards BPCL, while divestment

of majority stake in it won’t face any legalhurdle (necessary amendment to the rel-evant law was made in 2016), the poten-tial buyer will look for exercising its duerole even in undertakings where BPCLholds significant stake. For instance, itholds 12.5 per cent stake in PetronetLNG India along with Oil and NaturalGas Corporation (ONGC), Indian OilCorporation (IOCL) and Gas Authorityof India (GAIL) holding 12.5 per centeach. Though branded as a privatecompany, its Chairman is Secretary,Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas(MPNG). The acquirer of BPCL willinsist on changing this arrangement.

Likewise, in a city gas distributionfirm, Indraprastha Gas (IGL), BPCL has22.5 per cent along with GAIL whichalso holds 22.5 per cent. However, thechairmanship of IGL is decided byGAIL (which will continue to be major-ity-owned by the Union Governmenteven as BPCL is divested). As in the caseof Petronet LNG India, the new ownerof BPCL will insist on having a role indeciding the management of IGL.

If, the Government is unwilling tobring about these changes, this will lowervaluation or lead to dissipation of inter-est. Late last year, the political brass wascontemplating to sell BPCL stake toIOCL on lines similar to the so-calledstrategic sale of Hindustan PetroleumCorporation Limited (HPCL) during2017-18 (then, the Union Governmentsold 51.11 per cent of its shareholdingin HPCL to ONGC which is majorityowned by itself).

But, the idea was dropped. It may berevived (in a desperate bid to achieve thetarget) if during 2020-21 also investorsdon’t evince interest. As regards, AirIndia, the Government has removedsome major bottlenecks which led to thefailed move in 2018-19. Now, it is offer-

ing 100 per cent of its shareholding,hived off over 60 per cent of total debtfrom its balance sheet and dispensedwith other riders such as three years’lock-in period on disposition of sharesby the acquirer and so on. However,there still remain many irritants, themost serious being a condition relatingto retention of employees.

Besides, the PSU-specific factors, theGovernment’s ability to achieve the tar-get is constrained by “lack of appetite”in an overall subdued economic environ-ment characterised by plunging growth,demand compression, deceleration ininvestment and above all a not-so-buoyant perception about opportunitiesahead.

The appetite was missing even dur-ing periods of high growth; for instancein 2017-18 when GDP growth was overseven per cent yet, the Government wasforced to sell all of its stake in HPCL toONGC (this alone yielded �37,000 croreout of a total of �100,000 crore). Now,with growth plummeting to less than fiveper cent during 2019-20 and mutedrecovery projected for 2020-21, theappetite would be even lower.

Unless there is dramatic turnaroundin the economy, the bureaucraticmachinery moves with alacrity to makethe required preparations for conduct-ing the sale and Opposition partiesextend cooperation in getting necessarylaws/amendments passed, it is unlikelythat the Government will reach any-where near the �2,10,000 crore target.The shortfall on this score alone couldcause at least 0.5 per cent slippage in fis-cal deficit (target for 2020-21 is 3.5 percent) which anyway will be under threatdue to unrealistic projections for tax col-lections during the year.

(The writer is a New Delhi-based pol-icy analyst)

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Over the last couple of months,we have all constantly heardthat the economy of the coun-

try is witnessing a slowdown. Abouttwo to three years ago, our GDP fig-ures were anywhere between six toseven per cent whereas now sudden-ly we are below five per cent. All thesestatistics and numbers are suggestivethat we might be heading towards anearly recession or an economic down-turn. To put this in context, we have tofirst understand the key factors thatbrought about ground-level bottom-up

changes in the country’s economy. The first grand move happened

towards the end of 2016 when demon-etisation was announced, followed byimplementation of Real Estate(Regulation and Development) Act,2016 (RERA) and the Goods andServices Tax (GST). These three majorannouncements and shift in policieshave been the primary reasons for theseunusual times in our economy.

In addition to these three reasons,multiple global scares like China-UStrade wars, oil spikes, tensions withneighbouring countries, geopoliticalrisks and uncertainty of elections dur-ing the early part of 2019 can be lookedas additional factors for weakdemand.When we analyse these datapoints beyond just the numbers, it indi-cates that all this is leading to a tecton-ic shift in the way our economy wasstructured in the first place. Our econ-omy has a large segment that is stillunorganised, fragmented and localised.Many of our businesses were notunder the tax ambit and sectors like real

estate didn’t have a regulatory frame-work. When RERA and demonetisa-tion were introduced, it curtailed thecash economy or what we call the par-allel economy. When GST was intro-duced, many small and medium busi-nesses which were not under the taxambit could no longer get away withnot paying taxes. All these changes haveled to a level playing field for other play-ers who were following the rules of theland and taxation policies removingany unfair advantage for those whowere not paying them. This led to con-solidation, formalisation and the indus-try became a lot more organised.There are some industries that bene-fitted from the GST whereas some ofthem had to make initial readjustmentof a slightly higher input cost. Overallit will be right to say that this was a verypositive move for a developing econ-omy like India as it gives a level play-ing field for businesses across sizes tobenefit from a unified policy. How doesone invest in the backdrop of this for-malisation, organisation, consolidation

and slowdown? I believe that in a cou-ple of quarters from now, this down-turn could turn around. With therevival of the GDP and consumptiongrowth back on track, the key driverthat led to the deceleration in the GDPwill be back to take it forward, gradu-ally before we significantly uptick. Thedemand recovery will bring in the GDPgrowth along with inflation. Thisshould take us back to a nominal GDPof 11 to 12 per cent. We have all the ini-tial signs of green shoots that areemerging. The Government is aware ofthe challenges being faced by industriesand several steps have been taken toaddress the issues. Similarly, active anddynamic policies by Central bankers,the Government and policymakers alsoindicate that the right steps are beingtaken towards clearing the challenges.All this presents attractive opportuni-ties for a serious investor looking forthe long-term. A downtrend is also agreat reminder for people to not getcarried away during the good times.We need to understand that ups and

downs are a cyclical part of the econ-omy. If one had to take a three to five-year horizon and more, India is in agreat spot domestically and globally.There is a lot of foreign interest that’scoming into the country and domes-tic demand is sure to come back. Manymedium and small businesses that arenimble and agile have the ability to dis-rupt and offer great products becausewe have access to domestic and inter-national markets. Technology is a keyenabler for businesses to tap newmarkets and introduce new offerings.One can look at investing in equitiesor even quality debt funds to partici-pate in this move.

We are all hoping that within a fewyears, India will be the next superpow-er economically. The growth rate thatit has is significantly better than manyother emerging markets. If peopleshould align their investments with thekey sectors that will contribute to thegrowth of the economy, one can ben-efit significantly. Here are some optionswhere people can invest:

Equities: Equities offer greatgrowth for a disciplined investor. Asopposed to popular misconception thatputting money in equity is risky, doneright this asset class can generatetremendous value in the long-term.There are multiple options available forpeople to invest in equities. Buyingshares from the stock market, invest-ing in Mutual Funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are some.Investment can be done in lumpsumor in a staggered manner via system-atic investment plan (SIPs). Equityinvestment has the potential to beatinflation and deliver superior risk andtax adjusted returns in the long term.Dividends, bonus, splits all add furthervalue.

Fixed Income: Like equities, FixedIncome comes with a variety of options.These are popular and hugely-accept-ed. Depending on the choice, one canopt from a combination of PPF, FD,Tax-free Bonds, Company Depositsand Government securities. Fixedincome offerings of mutual funds

have all the above options in very con-venient schemes and it makes sense totake the mutual fund route for simplic-ity and efficiency. The hallmark of thisasset class is stability and while someof these are backed by the Governmenttoo. So there’s plenty to choose from.

Real estate: This may offer goodopportunities in certain pocketsbecause a growing economy means thatthere will be a lot more demand forhousing and commercial real estate.With listing of Real Estate InvestmentTrusts (REITs) gaining popularity andmore to come, many well-known realestate players are listed on the markets.One could invest in physical realestate, invest in share of these compa-nies or even participate in their REITs

It’s time to go out there, keep yourasset allocation in mind and go aheadwith your investments to make ahandsome gain in the next four to fiveyears.

(The writer Founder and ManagingPartner of a leading wealth managementsolutions company)

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Indian equities fell for the sec-ond straight session on

Monday in line with globalmarkets that continued to reelunder mounting death toll andeconomic damage from thedeadly coronavirus.

At close, the BSE Sensexwas down 162.23 points, or0.39 per cent, at 40,979.62.The index swung about 373points during the day.

Likewise, the NSE gaugeNifty ended lower by 66.85points, or 0.55 per cent, to12,031.50.

Indices were mainlydragged lower by heavy lossesin auto and metal stocks.

On the Sensex chart,Mahindra and Mahindracrashed over 7 per cent, fol-

lowed by other major laggardsincluding Tata Steel (5.80 percent), ONGC (2.84 per cent),Sun Pharma (2.39 per cent) andHero Motocorp (2.34 per cent).

In contrast, Bajaj Finance,

TCS, Kotak Bank, Asian Paints,HDFC, HUL and RelianceIndustries closed with gains.

Sectorally, among the toplosers were metal (3.14 percent) and auto (2.37 per cent)indices. Power and consumerdurables too fell 1.66 per centand 1.64 per cent, respectively.

Auto stocks were downafter industry body SIAM datashowed that domestic passen-ger vehicle sales declined 6.2

per cent in January. Whilemetal shares bore the brunt ofgrowing concerns over the rising cases of coron-avirus. The industry body saidthat the Indian auto sector isapprehensive about coron-avirus outbreak disruptingcomponent supplies fromChina, but a clear picture willemerge only in the next fewdays after factories in the coun-try reopen.

According to variousreports, coronavirus has killedmore than 900 people andinfected over 40,000 acrossmainland China.

Market mood remainedjittery amid rising apprehen-sion about economic falloutdue to Chinese coronavirusglobally as the increase in casu-alty figures surpassing SARSoutbreak has raised alarm bellsabout its severity, NarendraSolanki, Head FundamentalResearch (Investment Services)- AVP Equity Research, AnandRathi Shares & Stock Brokers, said.

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The rupee on Monday roseby 10 paise to close at

71.30 against the US dollaramid easing crude oil pricesand weakening of theAmerican currency in theoverseas market.

Forex traders said whileweak dollar and easing crudeoil prices supported the rupee,heavy selling in domestic equi-ties weighed on the local unitand restricted the upmove.

At the interbank foreignexchange market, the localcurrency opened on a positivenote at 71.36. During the day,it saw a high of 71.28 and a lowof 71.43.

The Indian currency set-tled higher by 10 paise at71.30 against its previous closeof 71.40 on Friday.

“Indian rupee gained onlower crude oil price and dol-lar inflows related to DMart’sQIP. Rupee remained resilientto higher dollar index amidstrong foreign fund inflows inequity market,” said V KSharma, Head PCG andCapital Markets Strategy,HDFC Securities.

Sharma further said that“broadly, local currency isconsolidating in the range of 72to 71 a dollar”. CPI and IIPwould be keenly watched local data point this week, headded.

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Markets across the Asia-Pacific were in the red on

Monday with investors wor-ried about the impact of theChina coronavirus outbreak onthe global economy.

The virus has killed morethan 900 people, infected40,000 across mainland Chinaand spread to more than twodozen countries in what hasbeen termed a global healthemergency. It has also joltedmajor supply chains for every-thing from food and householdsupplies to car and electronicsparts. Tokyo’s benchmarkNikkei 225 index closed 0.6 per-cent down, while Hong Kongpared some losses, ending theday 0.6 per cent lower aftertanking 1.1 per cent at the open.

Elsewhere, Sydney slipped 0.1per cent, Seoul was down 0.5per cent and Singapore was 0.7per cent lower. Shanghai, how-ever, rebounded after opening0.5 per cent lower and was up0.5 per cent at the close. Taipei,Jakarta, and Mumbai were alsounder water.

Investors around the worldhave been watching with con-cern as China, the world’s sec-ond-largest economy, battlesthe novel coronavirus, whichemerged at the end of last yearin the central city of Wuhan.

The domestic impact wasreflected in China’s inflationfigures released Monday,which showed the highest risein consumer prices in morethan eight years, with foodprices spiking more than 20per cent.

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Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman on Monday met

industry representatives on theproposed direct tax disputeresolution scheme that providesopportunity to taxpayers topay outstanding taxes and getwaiver of interest and penalty.

With over �9 lakh croreworth direct taxes locked up inlitigation, the government lastweek introduced “Direct TaxVivad se Vishwas Bill, 2020” inthe Lok Sabha. Once passed byParliament, the scheme wouldbe notified and rules would be

framed.“During the meeting,

industry associations gave theirsuggestions for the scheme,” asource said. Separately PHDChamber of CommercePresident DK Aggarwal in astatement said that the lastdate for the scheme should beextended by a month till April30, 2020.

The scheme “will benefitmany taxpayers and can gen-erate more than �2 lakh crorefor the Government in thecoming times if it is broadenedand exclusions are minimumunder this scheme,” he said.

Under the proposedscheme, taxpayers willing to set-tle disputes shall be allowed acomplete waiver of interest andpenalty if they pay the entireamount of tax in dispute up toMarch 31, 2020, after which 10per cent additional disputed taxshall have to be paid over andabove the tax liability.

Further, where the taxarrears relate to disputed inter-est or penalty only, then 25 percent of disputed penalty/interestshall have to be paid only if thepayment is made by March 31,2020, beyond which the sameshall be enhanced to 30 per cent.

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New Delhi: Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman on Mondaysaid public sector banks’ (PSBs)bad loans came down to �7.27lakh crore at the end ofSeptember 2019, on host ofmeasures taken by the govern-ment to improve financial healthof the banks in the country.

“The Government hasinstituted comprehensivereforms in PSBs to improve,governance, underwriting,monitoring and recovery, andhas leveraged technology in allaspects of banking, resulting inreduction in their NPAs,”Sitharaman said in writtenreply to a question in the LokSabha.

She said bad loans of PSBsstood at �7.27 lakh crore at theend of September 2019, downfrom �8.96 lakh crore at theend of March 2018.

“Record recovery of �2.03lakh crore over the one-and-half year period endingSeptember 2019, 12 out of 18PSBs reporting profit in thefirst half of the current finan-cial year, and the highest pro-vision coverage ratio in seven-and-half years,” she said.

She said the Banking TrendReport published by theReserve Bank of India (RBI) inDecember observed that thehealth of the banking sectorhinges on a turnaround inmacroeconomic conditions.

Further, the RBI’s FinancialStability Report stated that thecapital adequacy ratio of sched-uled commercial banks hasimproved significantly from14.3 per cent in March 2019 to15.1 per cent in September2019 following recapitalisationof state-owned banks. PTI

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Domestic passenger vehiclesales declined 6.2 per cent

in January as vehicle demandcontinued to be stressed by ris-ing cost of ownership andslower GDP growth, automo-bile industry body SIAM saidon Monday.

Passenger vehicle sales lastmonth stood at 2,62,714 unitsagainst 2,80,091 units in theyear-ago month, according todata released by the Society ofIndian AutomobileManufacturers (SIAM).

Car sales last month werealso down 8.1 per cent at1,64,793 units compared with1,79,324 units in the Januarylast year. Vehicle sales acrosscategories registered a declineof 13.83 per cent to 17,39,975units from 20,19,253 units inJanuary 2019, SIAM said.

“Sales of vehicles continueto be stressed due to rising costof vehicle ownership and slow-er growth in GDP,” SIAMPresident Rajan Wadhera said.

Vehicle prices have gone upas manufacturers gear up forthe transition to stricter emis-sion norm BS-VI from BS-IVbeginning April 1. Besides,many companies had increasedprices in January citing risinginput costs.

Wadhera further said, “Weare hopeful that the recentannouncements by the gov-ernment on infrastructure andrural economy would supportgrowth of vehicle sales goingforward, especially in com-mercial vehicles and two-wheeler segment.” According toSIAM, total two-wheeler salesin January fell 16.06 per cent to13,41,005 units compared with15,97,528 units in the same

month last year. Motorcyclesales last month declined by15.17 per cent to 8,71,886units from 10,27,766 units ayear earlier.

Scooter sales during themonth stood at 4,16,594 unitsas against 4,97,169 units inJanuary last year, a decline of16.21 per cent.

SIAM further said, sales ofcommercial vehicles weredown 14.04 per cent to 75,289units in January as against87,591 units in the year-agomonth. Commenting on theoverall sales performance,SIAM Director General RajeshMenon said wholesalesdeclined in all segments, bar-ring three-wheelers.

In passenger vehicles, hesaid post-festive season salesdecline has been less, althoughthe industry is still in the neg-ative territory.

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ONGC, Indian OilCorporation and NTPC

were the top three profitablePSUs in 2018-19, whereasBSNL, Air India and MTNLincurred highest losses for athird consecutive year, accord-ing to a survey tabled inParliament on Monday.

The Public EnterprisesSurvey 2018-19, which maps theannual financial performance ofall central PSUs, revealed thatthe top 10 companies in the redclaimed a whopping 94.04 percent of the total losses made byall the 70 loss making CPSEsduring the year.

The top three profit mak-ing PSUs including Oil andNatural Gas Corporation(ONGC), Indian OilCorporation and NTPC con-tributed 15.3 per cent, 9.68 per

cent and 6.73 per cent, respec-tively to the total profit earnedby all profitable CPSEs.

State Trading Corporationof India, MSTC and ChennaiPetroleum Corporation whichwere profit making CPSEs in2017-18, incurred losses in2018-19 and also featureamong the top ten loss- mak-ing firms, the survey found.

Total income of all CPSEsduring 2018-19 stood at�24,40,748 crore compared to�20,32,001 crore in 2017-18,showing a growth of 20.12 percent. The contribution of CPSEsto the central exchequer by wayof excise duty, customs duty,GST, corporate tax, interest oncentral government loans, div-idend and other duties andtaxes stood at �3,68,803 crore in2018-19 as against �3,52,361crore in 2017-18, showing anincrease of 4.67 per cent.

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India, the world’s largest con-sumer and importer of puls-

es, is on track to become self-sufficient in production of theprotein-rich commodity andwill further boost the output tomeet global demand.Agriculture Minister NarendraSingh Tomar said on Mondaythat the government has takenmany measures including hikein the minimum support priceand procurement of pulses tosupport farmers. The countryhad produced 23.40 milliontonnes of pulses during 2018-19crop year (July-June), still shortof annual domestic demand of26-27 million tonnes. The gap

is met through imports. However, for the current

year, the government is target-ing pulses output of 26.30 mil-lion tonne. Speaking at anevent on the occasion of WorldPulses Day, Tomar said, “puls-es are becoming necessary notonly in India but also in othercountries. We faced huge short-age of pulses earlier but nowthe situation has improved.”

Research and develop-ment (R&D) at the govern-ment’s research body IndianCouncil of AgriculturalResearch (ICAR) and appro-priate policy intervention hashelped achieve substantialincrease in pulses output in lastfew years, he said.

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&����!������������������Cancer spread to the brain is one of the feared complications

of cancer that poses significant mortality and morbidity inthe patients with advanced cancer. This occurs when the can-cer cells travel through the blood stream or the lymph systemfrom the original tumour and metastasize (spread) to the brain.This is known as metastatic cancer. For example breast cancerthat has spread to the brain would be referred to as metastaticcancer and not primary cancer.

According to Globocan 2018 report, issued by theInternational Association of Cancer Registries (IARC) associ-ated with World Health Organisation (WHO), over 28,000 newbrain tumour cases are reported annually in India. Around 24,000patients lost their lives battling such deadly and canceroustumours.

The following can be the symptoms of brain metastasis butmany patients may experience additional complications causedby the original tumour and its related manifestation.

�Increased pressures within the skull: In most of the casessymptoms are caused by the expansion of lesions and increasedICP (Increased Cranial Pressure). The most common symptomsof ICP are headaches, vomiting, and disturbance in conscious-ness.

�Headache: It is the initial symptom in more than half ofthe cases of brain tumour and this is faced by the most of thepatients at some point in their life.

�Vomiting: This is an occasional accompaniment with theheadaches. It is far more common in children.

�Seizures: It is an uncontrolled and electrical disturbancein the brain. It causes changes in the mental behaviour, move-ments and level of consciousness. These are almost associated

with 35 per cent cases of braintumours.

Virtually any systemicmalignancy can metastasize tothe brain, but there are somewhich have greater tendency todo so, Melanoma (a type of skincancer) has a tendency metasta-size to the brain. Other cancer-ous tumours in skin, breastrenal and colon can also metas-tasize the brain. Some differ-ences are seen in the types of pri-mary malignancies responsiblefor metastasis of the brain inboth the genders. In males, lungcancer is the most commonsource of brain metastasiswhereas breast cancer is themost common source infemales.

Why Cyberknife M6 overother traditional methods of treatment?

The treatment varies with the size and type of tumour. Theprimary sites of malignancy are extent to both locally and in restof the body, the general individual health and presence of othermedical problems. The goals of the treatment involves improvebody functioning, controlling the cancer and its satellite its tumourwithin the brain.

Cyberknife M6 is performed in a non-invasive manner witha higher brain surgery recovery time. The characteristics of M6to pinpoint the exact location of the tumor in real time using 3-D imaging techniques during the treatment of brain tumor andablating the tumor without any cut marks has proven outcomesto overtake the traditional methods of treatment. With the flex-ibility of the treatment to be done in one to five sessions eachof 30 minutes duration provides comfort to the patient and themaximum level of restricting the tumour from spreading fur-ther.

The main advantage of cyberknife radiation therapy is thatit directly alters the individual deposits inside the brain with-out affecting the brain functioning. For treatment of metastasissuch as melanoma, radiation therapy (cyberknife) may be theonly option.

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����� Dates are full ofnutrients and are a greatsource of antioxidants. Theyare good for managingblood sugar levels and mayhelp people with Type-IIDiabetes to maintain theirblood sugar and fat levels.

Dates are also known forreducing blood pressure. Theyare also a good source of mag-nesium.

Both ripe and drieddates are an excellentsource ofVitamin Calong withVitamins suchas B1, B2, B3,B5 and A1.Vitamin C is apotent antioxidantthat helps ward offinfections and keeps

your immunity strong againstcold. Dates contain a brainbooster and they also help tomaintain bone mass.

They make for a greatsnack in winter as they alsohelp in building immunity andkeeping your body fit andhealthy. Not only this, dates

also help to keepyour skin

glowing.

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Family conflict andparental monitoringare significant pre-

dictors of suicidal thoughtsin children as young asnine and 10-year olds, says astudy.

The majority of children surveyed in thestudy had caregivers who either did notknow, or did not report, the suicidalthoughts of the children in their charge.

Historically, the belief has been that peo-ple don’t need to ask kids about suicidalthoughts before adolescence, said DeannaBarch, Professor at Washington UniversitySchool of Medicine in St Louis, US.

“Our data suggests that’s absolutely nottrue. Kids are having these thoughts.They’re not at the same rates as adults, butthey are nontrivial,” she added.

The study, published in the journalJAMA Network Open, looked at 11,814 chil-dren between ages nine and 10 from theAdolescent Brain Cognitive Development(ABCD) study, a longitudinal study in theUS on adolescent brain health in whichcaretakers also participate.

Dividing suicidal thoughts and actionsinto several categories, researchers foundthat 2.4 to 6.2 per cent of the childrenreported having thoughts about suicide,from wishing they were dead to devising —but not carrying out — a plan.

When it came to actions, they saw 0.9per cent had tried to commit suicide; 9.1 percent reported non-suicidal self-injury.

In more than 75 per cent of cases thecaregivers did not know about the child’sexperience, said the study. IANS

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If you are the kind of personwho gets bothered by darkcircles under the eye, worry

not. There are several naturalways by which one can get ridof them easily.

One of the sim-plest way is to usetomato. The fruitthat is used as avegetable, hasnatural bleach-ing propertiesthat lightensskin effectively.

To make amixture, take onteaspoon of toma-to juice with one anda half teaspoon of lemon

juice. Apply this mixture onyour dark circles and

wait for 10 minutes.Wash with cool water.Do this for a coupleof weeks to see

results.

Here is another vegetablethat does wonders — potato.

Grate a couple of chilledpotatoes and extract the juice.Soak a cotton ball in the juiceand place it on your closed eyes.

The cotton should coversthe dark circles. Wait

for 15 minutes andrinse well withwater. Do this fortwo-three weeks.

Rosewaternot only helpsrejuvenate the

skin but can alsoreduce dark circles.

For best results, soaktwo cotton pads in rose

water and place them on closedeyelids. Repeat the process forat three weeks.

Almond oil can benefit.Take a little amount of almondoil and gently massage it overthe dark circles. Leave itovernight for better results.

Dark circles under the eyes are acommon and persistent

problem. ROSHNI DEVI tellsyou how home remedies can

tackle this tough problem withina couple of weeks with simple

ingredients

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Wrinkles is a natural part of aging and aremost prominent on skin areas which is

exposed to sun, such as the face, neck, hands andforearms. There are many factors like smokingor prolonged exposure to ultraviolet (UV) rayscan make them worse. The neck skin is thin andfaces the exposure of UV rays. Due to which, itshows signs of aging sooner than other parts ofthe body. The dermis, the layer on the neck areathat contains collagen, is very thin, making itmore prone to aging than other parts of the body.

There are many technologies which are nowused to get rid of these neck wrinkles.Fractionated CO2 lasers work beautifully to helpmake the neck skin look younger, less wrinkled,and tighter. Wrinkles are the thin lines and creas-es that form in any area of the skin. Some wrin-kles become so harsh and especially noticeablearound eyes, mouth and neck.

As our skin gets older,it naturally becomesless elastic and more fragile. Due to this,decreased production of natural oils dries yourskin and makes it appear more wrinkled.Ultraviolet radiation speeds the natural agingprocess, is the primary cause of early wrinklingof the skin. Regular exposure to UV light breaksdown skin’s connective tissue such as collagenand elastin fibers, which lie in the deeper layerof skin.

With age the skin gets weakens and the skinof the neck become thins, visibly loose, and accu-mulates wrinkles. Apart from the natural agingprocess and hereditary factors of the body, thereare other factors that intensify the appearanceof wrinkles in the neck.

Skin of the neck contains thinner which ismore sensitive to sun damage and other envi-ronmental factors that negatively impact the skin.Many bad habits can also affect our skinadversely. Smoking accelerates the aging processof the skin that brings on wrinkle formation ear-lier than the natural aging process and deepensexisting wrinkles. It dehydrates the skin whichslows down normal cell processes that keep theskin healthy.

These habits starve the skin of the nutrientsand oxygen supply that it requires and narrowsthe blood vessels. Smoking inhibit the supply ofVitamin A to the skin, which prevents the skinfrom shedding old skin cells and generating newones. Both habits dramatically damage theskin’s elasticity and collagen production, whichhelp in the formation of thin and wrinkled skin,especially in the neck area.

Some tips to get rid of neck wrinkles:� While cleaning your face, also clean the neck.It helps in removing the dirt, toxins of the neck.� Avoid using soap, as it can change the pH bal-ance of the skin. Use a gentle, creamy cleanserinstead of soap.� Protect the neck from the harmful rays of thesun and apply sunscreen to the neck.� Work on exfoliating your neck once a week.It removes dead skin cells and keeps skin fresh.� Always keep the skin hydrated so that thewrinkles are less visible, and it also helps pre-vent creases from forming.� Botulinum toxin injections and estheticsurgery may also be used to reduce neck wrin-kles.� Use retinol-based neck cream and serum withVitamin C. These act as antioxidants and pro-tect against the effects of UV rays by increasingthe collagen factor.

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Proper hand washing may seemtrivial to some, but it is moreimportant than many realise —

in schools, in healthcare facilities, andin the home. Particularly at a timewhen lethal Coronavirus — a vari-ant of the common cold virus — ismaking alarming headlines. Thedeath toll in China from the novelcoronavirus epidemic has jumped to908 and the number of confirmedcases has risen over 40,000, accord-ing to reports on Monday.

Experts say it is not the masksbut hand washing that will help into keep the disease at a bay. TheWHO has come out with a guide-lines on handwashing with soap toprevent Coronavirus.

“One of the most importantways of stopping respiratory out-breaks such as this is washing hands,”David Heymann, who led WHO’sinfectious disease unit at the time ofthe SARS epidemic in 2002-2003,said recently at a Chatham Housepress briefing in London.

That’s because “if you touch apatient, if you shake hands, if youtouch a door that has a droplet on it— which could theoretically happen— then you touch your face (or) yourmouth and you become infected.”

“So, handwashing is the mostimportant. Second, people who aresuspected as being patients, be verycareful when you are dealing withthem. Avoid face-to-face contact andwash hands when you’re treating,”Heymann says.

The outbreak of the deadlyCoronavirus, which is thought tohave originated in Wuhan, China hasbeen recognised as a global healthemergency.

Apart from Coronavirus, thereare many other reasons to washhands too — it is a most importantprotective health measure.

Experts say that this is oftenneglected but it is the most cost-

effective intervention that can helpavert 40 per cent of diarrhoeal dis-ease deaths and 23 per cent ofdeaths due to respiratory infectiondeaths.

The UNICEF India points outthe importance of hand washing,noting its connection with diarrhoea— the most common cause of infec-tious disease outbreaks in India andthe second most common cause ofdeath among children under fiveworldwide according to the WHO.Every day, at least 1,300 children diedue to diarrhoea and diseases linkedto infections of the respiratory tract.Of these deaths, 320 happen in India.

As UNICEF notes, of the 1.5million child deaths which occuryearly due to diarrhoeal diseases, 40percent can be prevented by hand-washing with soap at critical times— including before eating or prepar-ing food and after using the toilet.

Similarly, acute respiratory infec-tion deaths can be prevented 23 percent of the time by proper hand-washing practices and the habit canalso be linked to a number ofimproved health outcomes. Newborn survival rates improve by 55 percent if proper handwashing practiceis followed, whilst controlling thespread of infectious diseases andviruses ranging from pneumonia to

severe acute respiratory syndrome(SARS) can be bolstered if hand-washing is helped.

Handwashing is also amongthe most simple ways of reducing therisk of hospital-acquired infections,which occur at a rate of one in everyfour hospital visits in India. Hygienehas been pinpointed as a major dri-ver of this. Doctors say that for viralinfections including the commoncold and flu, the most effective wayto protect yourself is regular hand-washing with warm water and soapplus the vigilance to resist touchingyour nose and mouth.

In view of importance of thissimple but important health practice,the WHO has announced October15 as a the Global handwashing Day,a day dedicated to increasing aware-ness and understanding of theimportance of handwashing withsoap as an effective and affordableway to prevent diseases and savelives. However, despite Governmentstress on this important hygienepractice, handwashing habits inIndia are poor among the populace.According to a study in 2017, “only26.3 per cent washed hands beforechild feeding, 14.7 per cent beforebreastfeeding, 16.7 per cent after dis-posing child faeces, and 18.4 per centafter cleaning a child’s bottom.”

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To raise cancer awareness among peo-ple on the occasion of World Cancer

Day, February 4, BLK Super SpecialityHospital, in association with New DelhiMunicipal Council (NDMC) and SpringHope Cancer Foundation, organiseda day-long programme ‘Beat theCancer’/Cancer Paraajit’ atTalkatora Stadium.

Over 1,000 cancer war-riors gathered and sharedtheir experience, showcasingtheir battle for life in the formof play, dance and a fashionshow.

On the occasion, BLK SuperSpeciality Hospital also launched thenext leg of its Community OutreachProgramme — ‘Know Cancer, NoCancer(KCNC)’ and unveiled the findingsof the year-long Cancer Screening andawareness campaign in which it screenednearly 50,000 people spread across Delhi-

NCR and neighbouring states. The KCNC data, released on February

4, revealed that oral cancer is the mostcommon cancer among people especial-

ly smokers and tobacco users. Out of 16people, precancerous cells were

found in one person. On an average, one

cancer patient was foundout of 200 peoplescreened. Data alsorevealed that Breast andCervical cancers are themost common cancer

in women and 15 percent people screened, were

found obese. Obesity, accord-ing to experts, is a prominent risk

factor for cancer. The KCNC data alsopointed out that to check the rising inci-dence of cancer people need to be madeaware of advanced facilities for earlydiagnosis, treatment, and care.

1�$����������� To wash your hands properly,the WHO suggests scrubbingyour palms with a large dollop ofsoap before interlacing and clasp-ing the fingers, then scrubbingaround the thumbs and the backsof your hands.

The whole process shouldtake 40 to 60 seconds.� Handwashing should be prac-

ticed as a daily habit and routine.� Wash hands with soap afterusing a washroom, before andafter cooking and eating andpetting an animal.� Keep a hand sanitiser handywith you to make sure you neverhave unclean hands.� Discuss importance of hand-washing with your children.

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Beijing: The death toll inChina's coronavirus outbreakhas gone up to 908 with 97 newfatalities reported mostly in theworst-affected Hubei provinceand the confirmed cases ofinfection crossing 40,000,Chinese health officials said onMonday, as a team of interna-tional experts led by the WHOis set to arrive in Beijing to helpcontain the epidemic.

According to China'sNational Health Commission,91 deaths were reported inHubei province, the epicentre ofthe epidemic, two in Anhui, andone each in Heilongjiang,Jiangxi, Hainan and Gansu.

There were 97 deaths and3,062 new confirmed cases ofthe lethal infection on Sunday,it said.

A total of 908 people havedied of the disease and 40,171confirmed cases of the out-break have been reported in31 provincial-level regions sofar, it said.

Another 4,008 new sus-pected cases were reported onSunday. A total of 296 patientsbecame seriously ill, the com-mission said, adding that 6,484patients remained in severe con-dition and 23,589 people weresuspected of being infected withthe virus. A total of 3,281 peo-ple have been discharged fromhospital after recovery, it said.

The commission said 3.99lakh close contacts had beentraced, adding that among them,29,307 were discharged frommedical observation on Sunday,with 1.87 lakh still under med-ical observation.

By the end of Sunday, 36confirmed cases, including onedeath, had been reported inHong Kong, 10 confirmed casesin Macao and 18 in Taiwan.Overseas, over 300 cases ofcoronavirus have been reported,including from three fromKerala. A team of internationalexperts led by the World HealthOrganisation (WHO) would

arrive in China on Mondaynight to assist the Chinese healthofficials to contain the spread ofcoronavirus outbreak.

"I've just been at the airportseeing off members of anadvance team for the @WHO-

led 2019nCoV internationalexpert mission to China, led byDr Bruce Aylward, veteran ofpast public health emergen-cies," WHO director generalTedros Adhanom Ghebreyesussaid in a tweet. PTI

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London: Britain has declaredthe new coronavirus thatemerged from China a "seriousand imminent threat to publichealth'' and announced newmeasures Monday to combat thespread of the disease.

The UK Department ofHealth and Social Care said peo-ple with the virus can now beforcibly quarantined and will notbe free to leave.

It named two British hospi-tals as isolation facilities forthose affected by the disease anddesignated the Chinese city ofWuhan and the surrounding

Hubei province where the virusfirst emerged as a “infectedarea.” “The incidence or trans-mission of novel coronavirusconstitutes a serious and immi-nent threat to public health, andthe measures outlined in theseregulations are considered as aneffective means of delaying orpreventing further transmis-sion of the virus,” the agency saidin a statement.

It added that the changeswere designed to ensure thehealth and safety of medicalworkers who came into contactwith infected patients. AP

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Tokyo: Another 65 peopleaboard the quarantinedDiamond Princess cruise shipmoored off Japan have beendiagnosed with novel coron-avirus, the health ministry saidMonday, bringing the totalnumber of known infections to135. The Diamond Princesshas been in quarantine sincearriving off the Japanese coastearly last week after the viruswas detected in a former pas-senger who got off the ship lastmonth in Hong Kong.

"Test results from 103 peo-ple have now come out and 65of them are confirmed positivefor the new coronavirus," theministry said in a statementwithout giving further detailssuch as their nationalities. PTI

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Brussels: The EuropeanUnion will host an extraordi-nary meeting of health min-isters on Thursday, alongwith a WHO envoy, to discussthe novel coronavirus out-break.

So far, only around 30cases of the new strain havebeen detected in Europe.

"Now is the time to joinforces to stop this epidemic,"said European Commissionerfor Crisis Management JanezLenarcic. The EU Ministersdiscuss ways to prevent thevirus' spread and "adopt con-clusions in relation to the EUresponse to the novel coron-avirus outbreak". AFP

Geneva: The head of the WorldHealth Organisation said onMonday there have been "con-cerning instances" of coron-avirus among people with notravel history to China, warn-ing that it could be the "tip ofthe iceberg", as he urged allcountries to prepare for the pos-sible arrival of the novel virusthat has killed over 900 people.

Tedros AdhanomGhebreyesus lauded the doc-tors, nurses and health workersfor doing "their utmost" at per-sonal risk to contain the epi-demic, terming them "trueheroes" of the outbreak that firstsurfaced in December inWuhan city in China's centralHubei province where millionsof people are under lockdownin a bid to stop it from spread-ing.

"There've been some con-cerning instances of onward2019nCoV spread from peoplewith no travel history to China.The detection of a small num-ber of cases may indicate morewidespread transmission inother countries; in short, wemay only be seeing the tip ofthe iceberg," tweetedGhebreyesus, Director-Generalof the WHO.

Ghebreyesus said the spreadof coronavirus outside Chinaappeared to be slowing, butcould accelerate, warning thatany breach in solidarity is a vic-tory for the virus. "Containmentremains our objective, but allcountries must use the windowof opportunity created by thecontainment strategy to preparefor the virus's possible arrival,"he said. PTI

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Kano (Nigeria): Boko Haramjihadists killed at least 30 peopleand abducted women and chil-dren in a raid in northeastNigeria's restive Borno state, aregional Governmentspokesman said on Monday.

The attack Sunday eveningtargeted the village of Auno ona key highway linking to region-al capital Maiduguri.

The jihadists stormed in ontrucks mounted with heavyweapons, killing, burning andlooting before kidnappingwomen and children, state gov-ernment spokesman AhmadAbdurrahman Bundi said.

They aimed at travellerswho had stopped for the nightand torched vehicles.

The attackers "killed notless than 30 people who aremostly motorists and destroyed18 vehicles," Bundi said in astatement after visiting the scene.

The attack, some 25 kilo-metres (15 miles) west ofMaiduguri, occurred in an areawhere fighters from the IslamicState West Africa Province(ISWAP) have been active,

mounting roadblocks to targetsecurity forces and civilians.

Witnesses said jihadists setalight 30 vehicles in the raid,including trucks that hadstopped overnight on their wayto Maiduguri. "Many of the dri-vers and their assistants whowere sleeping the vehicles wereburnt alive," civilian militiafighter, Babakura Kolo told AFP.

The jihadists combedthrough the village, looting andburning shops and propertybefore withdrawing, he said.

Auno lies on the 120-kilo-metre highway linkingMaiduguri to Damaturu, amajor regional city in neigh-

bouring Yobe state. The highwayhas been increasingly targeted byISWAP militants in recentmonths. The surge has followedthe creation of so-called "supercamps" by the Nigerian militaryin the northeast — a strategyunder which small army campshave withdrawn from severalareas and combined into fewer,larger bases. Last month fourNigerian soldiers were killed andseven injured when the jihadistsattacked troops positioned inAuno. The decade-long Islamistinsurgency has killed 36,000people and displaced aroundtwo million from their homes innortheast Nigeria. AFP

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Jerusalem: Israeli forcesattacked Hamas positions fromthe air early on Monday, thearmy said, after militants in thePalestinian enclave fired a pro-jectile at the Jewish state.

The "aircraft and fighter jetstargeted a number of Hamasterror targets in the southernGaza Strip," a statement fromthe Israeli army said, noting aHamas "training compoundand military infrastructures"were included in the attack.

There were no reports fromGaza of casualties or damage.

On Sunday night, a pro-jectile was launched from Gazaat southern Israel, triggering airraid sirens and sending thou-sands to bomb shelters.

A spokeswoman for theregional council in ShaarHanegev, just northeast of Gaza,said the projectile apparently hitan open field.

Palestinian attacks have

increased since January 28when US President DonaldTrump released his vision forresolving the Israeli-Palestinianconflict -- a plan firmly reject-ed by the Palestinian leadershipin both the West Bank andGaza.

It would grant Israel anumber of its long-held goals,including full control of dis-puted Jerusalem and a greenlight to annex all settlementsand other parts of the WestBank.

In exchange thePalestinians would be offered astate in the remaining parts ofthe West Bank and Gaza.

Palestinians in Gaza, anenclave ruled by the Islamistmovement Hamas, havelaunched rockets, mortar shellsand balloons rigged with explo-sives at southern Israel on anear-daily basis since the planwas unveiled.

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Ramallah: One of the menwas hospitalized with kidneyfailure and 11 broken ribs.Another was nearly unrecog-nizable to his wife when he waswheeled into a courtroom. Athird was stitched up after beingattacked by a security dog.

Then the three Palestinianswere returned to their Israeliinterrogators. They had beenswept up in a sprawling man-hunt launched after a roadsidebomb killed a 17-year-old Israeligirl and wounded her father andbrother as they hiked down toa spring last August in theoccupied West Bank. The attack

raised fears of a sophisticatedmilitant cell that might strikeagain, and Israeli interrogatorsappear to have treated it as aticking time-bomb scenario.Israeli and Palestinian rightsgroups say there is strong evi-dence that they tortured sever-al detainees in violation ofIsraeli and international law.

The allegations againstIsrael are the most serious tocome to light in years, and therights groups say they point toa loosening of constraints twodecades after the IsraeliSupreme Court outlawed mostforms of torture. AP

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Moscow: Russia's DefenseMinistry said on Friday that apassenger jetliner in Syria wasendangered by Israeli fighterjets that used it as shield whilestriking the suburbs ofDamascus the previous day.

The allegation comes astensions run high in Syria,where fighting has escalated inthe northern province of Idlib.

Syrian government forces,backed by the Russian mili-tary, have clashed with Turkishtroops that support the oppo-sition there after failing toobserve a cease-fire.

A spokesman for theIsraeli prime minister did notrespond to a request for com-ment. Israel rarely acknowl-edges strikes carried out inSyria.

Israel has repeatedlystruck Syrian and Iran-linkedtargets in Syria in recent yearsand has vowed to push backagainst increasing Iranianinfluence in its neighboringcountry.

The news of the allegednear-miss came amid jittersjust a month after a Ukrainianpassenger plane crashed short-ly after take-off from Tehran,killing all 176 people on board.

Iran said the plane wasmistakenly shot down by itsparamilitary RevolutionaryGuard. In a statement releasedFriday, Russian DefenseMinistry spokesman Maj.Gen. Igor Konashenkov saidthe strike was carried around2 am local time Thursday. AP

/ ���)� �������'#���7��!��� �����)���7����� �� Berlin: German Chancellor

Angela Merkel's designatedsuccessor unexpectedly threwin the towel Monday, plungingher conservative party intodeeper crisis as it struggles toagree on its future politicaldirection after losing votes tothe far right.

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer told leading mem-bers of the ChristianDemocratic Union that shewon't be seeking the chancel-lorship in next year's election,upending Merkel's plans tohand her the reins after morethan 15 years in power.

Merkel's spokesmanSteffen Seibert told reporters inBerlin that Germany's long-time leader stood by her deci-sion not to run for a fifth termin 2021, despite the latestdevelopment.

Kramp-Karrenbauer 'sannouncement reflects thegrowing split with the ChristianDemocrats exposed last weekin its handling of the electionof a governor in the state ofThuringia.

There regional party law-makers voted with the far-right Alternative for Germanyparty to oust the left-wingincumbent, ignoring advicefrom Berlin leadership.

The move broke what iswidely regarded as a taboo inpost-war German politicsaround cooperating withextremist parties.

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer is still Germany'sdefense minister.

It was unclear how the lat-est developments would affectMerkel's earlier plans for hersuccession. AP

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Washington: Four members ofthe Chinese military have beencharged with breaking into thenetworks of the Equifax creditreporting agency and stealingthe personal information of tensof millions of Americans, theJustice Department saidMonday, blaming Beijing for oneof the largest hacks in history.

The 2017 breach affectedroughly 145 million people, withthe hackers successfully stealingnames, Social Security num-bers and other personal infor-mation stored in the company'sdatabases. The four — membersof the People's Liberation Army,an arm of the Chinese military— are also accused of stealing thecompany's trade secrets, lawenforcement officials said.

The case comes as theTrump administration haswarned against what it sees asthe growing political and eco-nomic influence of China, andefforts by Beijing to collect dataon Americans and steal scientificresearch and innovation.

“This was a deliberate andsweeping intrusion into the pri-vate information of theAmerican people,” AttorneyGeneral William Barr said in astatement. “Today, we hold PLAhackers accountable for theircriminal actions, and we remindthe Chinese government that wehave the capability to remove theInternet's cloak of anonymityand find the hackers that nationrepeatedly deploys against us,"he added. AP

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The Oscars closed the awards seasonin style, with statement necklacesand classic gowns, traditional tuxe-

dos and some young rule-breakers. In amilestone win that instantly expanded theawards’ horizons, Bong Joon Ho’s mas-terfully devious class satire Parasitebecame the first non-English languagefilm to win best picture in the 92-year his-tory of the Academy Awards.

The prom king gets his crown This we know to be true: If

Hollywood is high school, the Oscars isprom night. And Brad Pitt has alwaysbeen the prom king, missing only hisactual crown.

The much-admired actor, finallywinning his first acting Oscar for his sly,knowing performance in QuentinTarantino’s Once Upon a Time ... inHollywood, grew emotional as he lookedback at his fairytale rise to Hollywoodstardom, beginning with a combustive-ly sexy performance in “Thelma &Louise” nearly three decades ago. “Onceupon a time in Hollywood. Ain’t that thetruth!” he said, misty-eyed.

Zellweger completes comeback withbest-actress Oscar win

Renée Zellweger completed aHollywood comeback for the ages by win-ning the best actress award for her roleas Judy Garland in Judy. Written off dur-ing a six-year hiatus from acting thatended in 2016, Zellweger returned toclaim her second Oscar after 16 years. “Ifonly I could stand up straight, I was shak-ing so much,” Zellweger said as shewalked offstage. “Oh my word.”

Time to come alive As the very first person to take the

stage, Monae set the tone when she plain-ly addressed the diversity issue in heropening number. “It’s time to comealive, because the Oscars is so white, it’stime to come alive!” she sang. Her per-formance directly referenced films andactors who’d been snubbed in the nom-inations and also the missing femaledirectors. “I’m so proud to stand here asa black, queer artist telling stories,”Monae said. “Happy Black HistoryMonth.”

Missing: A certain reproductive organ Diversity — both racial and gender

— was also a major topic of the “non-monologue” given by “non-hosts” ChrisRock and Steve Martin. (Like last year, theshow famously went hostless.) Rockquipped pointedly that actor MahershalaAli had two Oscars, but “you know whatthat means when the cops pull him over?Nothing.” Martin noted that among thedirecting nominees, something seemedto be missing. “Vaginas?” replied Rock.

A first for indigenous people An emotional highlight of the night

was Taika Waititi’s win for best adaptedscreenplay for the anti-hate themed JojoRabbit. Waititi, from New Zealand,became the first Oscar winner of Maoridescent. He dedicated his victory “to allthe indigenous kids of the world whowant to do art and dance and write sto-ries. We are the original storytellers, andwe can make it here as well.”

Later, as a presenter, Waititi took thestage and noted the Academy was gath-ering “on the ancestral lands of theTongva, Tataviam and the Chumash.”

And for disabled actors When The Peanut Butter Falcon star

Zack Gottsagen appeared to present inthe live-action short category, it was a firstfor both him and for the Oscars.Gottsagen was the first presenter withDown syndrome, and he received astanding ovation after intoning the famil-iar line: “And the Oscar goes to ...”

And speaking of voices When Joaquin Phoenix won, he

spoke about “the opportunity to use ourvoice for the voiceless.” He added that hesaw a commonality in the different caus-es people in the Hollywood communityfight for. “Whether we’re talking aboutgender inequality or racism or queerrights or indigenous rights or animalrights, we’re talking about the fightagainst the belief that one nation, onerace, one gender or one species has theright to dominate, control and use andexploit another with impunity,” he said.He also apologised for past behaviour.“I’ve been a scoundrel in my life,” he said.

“I’ve been selfish, I’ve been cruel at times,hard to work with. I’m grateful that somany of you in this room have given mea second chance.”

Eminem, take two Also getting a second chance was rap-

per Eminem, who stunned the crowd byshowing up for a surprise performanceof Lose Yourself — 17 years after it wonbest original song from the film 8 Mile.

Backstage: Dazed winners and sweetreunions

A whole other show happens just afew feet to the right of the main Oscarsstage in the wings where presentersgather, ecstatic winners get a moment toprocess what just happened and the pro-duction staff stays busy making sureeverything is going to plan. Here are a fewmoments that the cameras didn’t catch atthe 92nd Academy Awards.

“WHOSE IS THIS?”Joaquin walked offstage in a bit of a

daze, with tears still in his eyes from hisemotional acceptance speech. Jane Fonda,waiting to present the best picture award,was among the few familiar faces in thewings for the Joker star who stopped togive her a hug and a kiss.

Phoenix looked down at the goldenstatuette in his hand and said, “Whose is

this?” The woman escorting him to hisnext stop said gently, “It’s yours.”

STEVE MARTIN GETS READYSteve Martin made sure to get to the

wings extra early for his and ChrisRock’s show openerSunday but his prompt-ness also meant he hada little time to kill.

He offered supportto Janelle Monae’sbackground per-formers. “You’ll do agood job,” Martinsaid with a thumbsup. “But you’resupposed to saybreak a leg.” Andhe even took amoment to allowhimself to enjoythe performance,watching on themonitors with a bigsmile. But he quicklyturned back to thinkingabout his imminentmoment on stage. “Aslong as I have my open-ing line, I’m fine,” hesaid, continuing topace.

A breakdown of the gowns, bling andbeauty

A look at fashion highlights from thebig night:

The gownsScarlett Johansson, Renée Zellweger,

Charlize Theron, Cynthia Erivo andRegina King served up standout looks.

King’s pale pink Versace with just theright amount of silver embellishment wasa flawless fit. Johansson’s Champagne-hued Oscar de la Renta was a straplesswonder with strand details at the top.Theron’s black Dior Haute Coutureoffered one shoulder up and one down,along with a high side slit. Erivo shut itdown in a white custom Atelier Versaceone-shoulder bustier gown. Zellwegerdidn’t disappoint in a white symmetricalbody hugger from Armani with one longsleeve.

“Regina King and Cynthia Erivoreally did the ballgown right,” said JustineCarreon, senior market editor forElle.com. “Cynthia Erivo had those kindof modern paniers on the hips. Reginahad a pink princess moment, but it stillhad a very modern neckline.” Nobodytook any big risks, she said, though therewere some statements made.

YOUNG HOLLYWOOD DIDN’T DIS-APPOINT

Janelle Monae stunned in silverRalph Lauren with a hood, long sleevesand about 170,000 Swarovski crystals.Florence Pugh wore a tiered gown in wel-come green from Louis Vuitton. BillieEilish donned fuzzy, oversize Chanel jack-ets and pants to go with her bright greenand black hair. Timothée Chalametdetoured from a slew of classic black tuxe-dos in a custom Prada navy gabardinejacket with satin racing stripes andmatching trousers.

“She always brings such drama to thecarpet in such an elegant way,” E! stylecorrespondent Zanna Roberts Rassi saidof Monae’s look. Monae, along with

Eilish and Billy Porter (ina golden feather top

and orange ballskirt), show

trends aren’teverything. The

trend was to be yourself.” “It’s less about trends. It’s more about

showing who they really are. Billie Eilishand Billy Porter tend to just stick to theirguns. When it comes to fashion, theydon’t let themselves be confined to anybox. It’s true that Eilish loves a logo, butthat’s true of her generation, from Guccito Louis Vuitton,” she said.

VINTAGE REPRESENTED, BUT JUSTA TAD

Margot Robbie hit the carpet inChanel from the brand’s spring 1994haute couture collection. It was a blackfitted bustier gown with detached sleevesthat practically touched the ground. Apearl pendant was front and center.

The blingThere was an abundance of statement

necklaces on women (Mindy Kaling, JuliaLouis, Zazie Beetz) but there was also ashow of “gents jewelry,” said ClaibournePoindexter, jewelry specialist.

From Porter in multiple bracelets andrings from Swarovski to men bringingback the lapel brooch (Chalamet’s vintageCartier), “there is no doubt that men areembracing jewels for the first time in along time,” he said.

Among other favourites: AnthonyRamos in a long necklace and lapelbrooch worn with a white suit. As for thewomen, Greta Gerwig wore diamondsand emerald from Bulgari, as did Beetz.Theron wore a diamond drop necklaceby Tiffany & Co. weighing in at more than20 carats. Louis-Dreyfus wore more than60 carats set in platinum from HarryWinston. Vintage represented in a smallway, thanks to Rebel Wilson’s gold anddiamond double row necklace byPomellato to Chalamet’s 1950s ruby anddiamond clip, Poindexter said.

“Over the last several years we’ve seena consistent increase in gentlemen whowear jewels as a great way to diversifytheir style on what is arguably a more dif-ficult wardrobe to show individuality in,”he said. Gerwig’s emerald beads and dia-monds has her “following in the footstepsof many powerful women in film,”Poindexter said. “From Elizabeth Taylorin her own Bulgari emerald and diamondjewels purchased on a visit to the Bulgariboutique with Richard Burton to MonicaVitti posing for Karen Radkai in a fullsuite of oval shaped emerald and dia-mond jewelry in 1963, Bulgari has had along reputation of being a favorite amongthe film and jet set,” Poindexter said.

The beautyThe Oscars are often a parade of

nudes, sheers or pale pinks, especially innail polish, said Cat. “So I was excited tosee so many actresses go for a bolder look.Black nail polish in particular reignedsupreme, with a variety of cool iterations,”she said.

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Barnes & Noble is withdrawinga planned line of famous liter-

ature reissued with multiculturalcover images that has been metwith widespread criticism on socialmedia.

“We acknowledge the voiceswho have expressed concerns aboutthe Diverse Editions project at ourBarnes & Noble Fifth Avenue storeand have decided to suspend the

initiative,” Barnes & Nobleannounced.

The author Adriana Herrerahad called the books, scheduled tobe launched this week, “the classicsin blackface.”

Diverse Editions, a joint projectbetween Barnes & Noble andPenguin Random House, featured12 texts, including Lewis Carroll’sAlice’s Adventures in Wonderland,Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and LFrank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz.The words are the same, but on thecover, major characters are depict-ed with dark-skinned illustrationsby artists of “different ethnicitiesand backgrounds,” as per Barnes &

Noble.It was announced at a time

when the publishing industry isalready facing scrutiny over thenovel American Dirt and its depic-tion of Mexican life and culture.

“Absolute TONE-DEAF decision-making,” Mexican-American writerDavid Bowles, a leading critic ofAmerican Dirt, tweeted aboutDiverse Editions.

The decision also comes in

February, which is the BlackHistory Month, an annual celebra-tion of achievements.

To much disbelief online, theorganisers of Diverse Editions hadsaid they used artificial intelli-gence in reviewing more than 100older books and determiningwhether the race or ethnicity of acharacter is specifically stated. Fewwould argue that Alice from Alicein Wonderland or the title charac-ters of Strange Case of Dr Jekyll andMr Hyde are fitting for a tribute toblack history.

“They could have Googled,chosen a dozen books by actualBlack authors that are classics andsent those out with fresh covers anda big event,” author MIkki Kendalltweeted. “Add in bringing in con-temporary Black authors to discuss

these works and the whole thing isa win. They didn’t do the easy orlogical thing.”

Barnes & Noble acknowledgedthat the new covers were “not a sub-stitute for black voices or writers ofcolour, whose work and voicesdeserve to be heard. The book-sellers who championed this initia-tive did so convinced it would helpdrive engagement with these clas-sic titles,” as per the bookstorechain. “It was a project inspired byour work with schools and was cre-ated in part to raise awareness anddiscussion during Black HistoryMonth, in which Barnes & Noblestores nationally will continue tohighlight a wide selection of booksto celebrate Black history and greatliterature from writers of colour.”

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The film took Hollywood’s topprize on Sunday night, along with

awards for best director, best interna-tional film and best screenplay. In ayear dominated by period epics —1917, Once Upon a Time ... InHollywood, The Irishman — the filmacademy instead went overseas, toSouth Korea, to reward a contempo-rary and unsettling portrait of socialinequality in Parasite.

True to its name, Parasite simplygot under the skin of Oscar voters,attaching itself to the Americanawards season and, ultimately, to his-tory. The win was a watershedmoment for the Academy Awards,which has long been content to rele-gate international films to their owncategory. Multiple standing ovationsgreeted Bong’s several wins. “I amready to drink tonight,” Bong said,prompting roars from the crowd.Unexpectedly called up again forbest director, Bong saluted his fellownominees, particularly MartinScorsese, and concluded: “Now I’mready to drink until tomorrow.”

The victory for the film — whichhad echoes of the surprise win byMoonlight over La La Land three yearsago — came in a year when many crit-icised the lack of diversity in the nom-inees and the absence of female film-makers. But the triumph for Parasite,the Palme d’Or-winner at last year’sCannes Film Festival, enabledHollywood to flip the script and sig-nal progress, nevertheless. No Koreanfilm had ever won an Oscar before.

In doing so, the film academyturned away another history-makingevent, again denying Netflix its firstbest-picture win despite two con-tenders in The Irishman and MarriageStory, and a big-spending awardscampaign blitz.

South Koreans reacted with joyafter the good news came as theircountry struggles to guard against anew virus and counter North Korea’snuclear threat.

The film’s win made history inSouth Korean film industry too. The

class satire is the first non-English-lan-guage film to win best picture in the92-year history of the AcademyAwards, and is the first South Koreanfilm to ever win an Oscar.

South Korean social media wereoverwhelmed with congratulatorymessages. Bong, Parasite and otherOscar-related news also dominatedsearch terms throughout Monday atmajor internet portal sites, which hadbeen preoccupied with the outbreakof a virus in China that has killed morethan 900 people and sickened tens ofthousands of others, mainly in China.

“It’s happy news, like welcomerain, to the Republic of Korea, whichis depressed, stagnant and thrown intodespair due to Wuhan pneumonia,”the main opposition Liberty KoreaParty said in a statement. Wuhan is theChinese city at the center of the out-break.

President Moon Jae-in and hisadvisers began a regularly scheduledmeeting by clapping their hands to cel-ebrate Bong’s wins. Moon later tweet-ed that he is proud of Bong and hisstaff and “particularly grateful tothem for giving courage and pride toour people who are overcoming dif-ficulties.”

“I think this was a great opportu-nity to let the world know the truevalue of Korean movies,” said officeworker Cho Sung-ho, 54. “I think itis very meaningful that the AcademyAward this time has acknowledged thesuperior quality of Korean films.”

Actor Priyanka Chopra said thatthis win is a call for representation. Shebelieves that this signals the fact thatit is time for wider representation inHollywood, beyond the cinema thatonly the US makes. “It’s the time ofrepresentation. As people and asentertainers. Our craft has the powerto transcend borders and languages,and tonight Parasite demonstratesexactly that. Congratulations to theentire film for shattering the glass ceil-ing and making history as the firstnon-English film to win Best Picture,”she wrote on her social media.

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To serve public awareness forthe arts and provide oppor-

tunity to artists to widen theirweb of influence in the marketthat is, at the moment, regres-sive and stagnating, curatorNeeraj Gupta, president of theDelhi Art Society, brings fortha show of sculptures and paint-ings for public space.

Public art spacesPublic Art includes about

17 artists who are seasonedsculptors as well as painters.

Neeraj Gupta’s elephantflits through time and tide, rais-ing questions and invitingintrospections that waftthrough our everyday idiomsand practices. While AnjaliKhosa Kaul creates a synergy ofsorts with her series that depictforest botanical creations inwood, Bhola Kumar’s stonecreation has about it a stealthygravitas as it’s about dimensionsand depth. Brajesh Vermanexplores history and time witha work that goes down into theroots of Sumerian culture togive us words that are integralto sovereignty — strength,courage, freedom and emi-nence —and echoes of antiqui-ty.

Nature and the human formArun Pandit’s Couple is

influenced by Rodin andBrancusi. His Patina creates arooted synergy of sorts as itspeaks about the beauty ofbronze and the pathos of lifeand its many learnings.

Bhaktibhushan De’s Nature’sSorrow is an evocative workthat talks to man about nature’sstrength and its eternal quali-ty of recycling. It also talksabout the harmony that manneeds because it has beendestroyed by man’s greed.

Madhab Das creates themost enduring form of thehuman figure. Here, man islost, deprived and full ofdespair. Kavita Nayyar’s terra-

cotta works are symbolic of herlove for nature. Her prowess asan artist of measure and sub-stance is seen in detail.

Simran KS Lamba’s Treescreated out of tree trunk andcopper give us tenets of manand nature and the unerringpower of trees. He OR IS ITSHE brings back the words ofHermann Hesse who said,“Trees are sanctuaries.” RajeshSharma creates an emblemat-

ic symbol of man with hissculpture that is made of steelcircular rods. It presents manin a dual setting who is balanc-ing different things. UttamPacharne’s brass piece echoesthe emblematic essence ofnature.

Evocative paintingsKalicharan Gupta, the

abstract maestro of Delhi, cre-ates paintings that spell thequasi realistic language of thedispersion and scattering oflight and colour fields. He bringsalive both modernist and

impressionist moods.Sangeeta Gupta, the poet,

thinker and abstractionist, cre-ates a set of platters that shepaints upon with acrylic to cre-ate a conversation.

Ranjeeta Kant’s paintingspeaks about the universaldebacle of infanticide. Withinthe realism of the human fail-ing, here, we see the poignan-cy of the miracle of life and thesuggestion of beauty of livingrather than death.

The multi-faceted NareshKapuria, who has worked withso many media, creates a stir-ring amalgamation of compo-sition, contours and colourfacets with his work that strad-dles many scenes and times asit oscillates through the pendu-lum of time.

Artist Prem Singh createspaintings that celebrate thelyrics of spring in an impres-sionist manner evoking themagic of hillsides and flowersblooming in spring.

The most important facetof this exhibition is to lend athought for art that must trav-el through time and be madevisible to an audience. Themost important part of anartist’s creation is the end resultwhen the work is gazed uponby thousands. Public art for acity is about history, memory,metaphors and moods and itenlivens art practices and lastslong.

(The show is on tillFebruary 17 at Visual ArtsGallery, IHC.)

Medium and materialoften lead an artist

towards evolution, changeand transition. It has beenseen as the precursor to everykind of growth. It reveals theconcept that lies within theartwork. The interesting partis that it raises questions aboutthe boundaries often drawnaround a particular style,material or presentation.

Three artists — SatishSharma, Anju Kaushik andRubkirat Vohra come togeth-er to explore their journeythough objects in a groupshow of paintings and sculp-tures — Trails of Materials.

While Satish has beenpainting for two decades, hehas traversed the works thatrecall the musings of VincentVan Gogh, moving on towardabstraction which celebratespure colour and texture. Hiscanvases evoke a three-dimensional form that cele-brates earth in differentshades — a deep madder red,the aquamarine of seashoreblues, solemn slate greys andthe darkened shades of a blacknight.

Satish says, “For me art isbreaking out of boundaries. Ifelt it first when I switched toabstracts. The act of throwingcolour on canvas, let it take itsown shape and form was lib-erating. It opened up mymind and journey tounknown beginnings.”

The artist has also beenmoving towards monochro-matic expressions with a pref-erence for brighter colours.

Anju’s new works aremore about the sculpturesque,with a preference for high-relief surfaces. She prefersworking with discardedobjects, transforms them withplaster of Paris, concrete andwood. The act of reclaimingold, rusted and discardedobjects and giving them newlife is particular to Anju’spractice. The objects chal-lenge the idea of what isrejected elevating it from whatmay appear to be a part ofmundane existence.

Anju’s works are oftenconnected into a loose narra-tive, where she makes a com-ment on the environment,where a fossilised fish shape is

a poignant reminder of urbandetritus and waste. A hunk ofconcrete is brushed withpaint, nails, wire and placedupon a concrete bracket cre-ating a new relationshipbetween the elements ofwaste. “Every time I lookaround, I find bundles ofempty bottles, canes, plates,nails, building materials andother junks. It makes methink that there is still somelife in them. I get new ideasfrom them. Through mypainting, I give a new identi-ty to the waste and changethem into three-dimensionsculpture.”

Rubkirat enjoys workingwith metal and wood, creatingcomposite forms from a mal-leable lead that has a low heatpoint. The abstractions hinttowards architectural formsand human existence. Theobjects are aesthetic, disasso-ciated from the world of nar-rative. Ranging from oils,charcoal on canvas, metallicobjects to delicate construc-tions from wire and lineardrawing work, it evokes herfeelings. One could say thather inner voice experimentswith objects.

Rubkirat says that her workis contemporary and not in thehistorical architectural forms.Although she conforms to herinner self, her art is deeplyimmersive lending a serenecalmness to the viewer asthough stemming from herown contentment and realisa-tion.”

Her “abstruse creations”are created with nails, metal,wood, wires, charcoal, canvas,fire. It lends a sense of satisfac-tion to the viewer.

Together, the works of thesethree artists bring home a freshperspective on the materiality ofobjects. We may appreciate howthese objects and their materi-als communicate across culturesand temporal boundaries, mov-ing in some instances beyondthe intentions of their creators.The materials have the ability totransport the viewer into dis-covering their own narrativebehind the presented narrative,but they may also hone in onthe story that the artist is keento tell us in their own languageand materiality.

Photographer, archivist, print-maker and visual historian,Padma Shri Jyoti Bhatt belongs

to the arc light of Indian artists whohave spent six decades exploringIndia’s indigenous arts. Over theyears, it is Bhatt’s investigations ofrural and tribal designs that haveinfluenced the motifs he has used inhis printmaking. He has been active-ly engaged with intaglios since themid 60s and these images constitutean important chapter in the historyof printmaking in India. Theydemonstrate great artistic sensibili-ties, creativity and a unique under-standing of traditional cultures. Eachprint can be seen as an artwork in itsown right as well as a historical doc-ument. His works set him apart as anethnographer.

Through his show of originalintaglios at Bihar Museum, startingtoday, he goes back in time. Here aresome excerpts:

��Tell us about your photographdocumentation that began in the1960s.

In 1961, I won an Italian govern-ment scholarship to study at theAcademia Di Belle Arti in Naples fortwo years. From Italy, I went to thePratt Institute in New York, where Ireceived a Fulbright fellowship. I wastrained in the graphic arts and beganto take a particular interest in print-making.

When I returned in the 1960s, Iwas asked to take photographs of theGujarati folk art for a seminar at theBhartiya Vidhya Bhavan in Mumbai,keeping the disappearing rural artsin focus. I was asked to chronicle thearts and indigenous practices ofrural parts of Gujarat, Rajasthan,Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha,West Bengal and Bihar from 1967 to1995. I travelled extensively, visitingvillages and tribal regions, pho-tographing folk arts and craft tradi-tions in their local areas, as well aspeople who inhabited these spaces.Those folk and craft traditionsbecame part of my intaglios.

�� It is said that at the MSUniversity in Baroda, you becamea catalyst for other artists pickingup printmaking as a genre. Wouldyou like to reflect on those days inthe 1960s?

When I began, my early workswere influenced by cubism as well aslighthearted and colourful pop art

kind of imagery. It was inspired bytraditional Indian folk designs.

It was in 1966 that I returned toMSU Baroda with a thorough knowl-edge of the intaglio process that I hadgained at the Pratt Institute atBrooklyn, New York. I found intaglioexciting. The thought that so manyprints could be made was a sense ofcommonality I believed in because Ididn’t like the idea of elitist art. Thiscaused friends such as Jeram Patel,Bhupen Khakhar and GulamMohammed Sheikh to follow thesame process. At the Faculty of FineArts in Baroda, we were soon knownas “The Baroda School” of Indian art.

��When we look at your work, wecan also find a wide repertoire ofhistorical evidence. How did youexplore such a wide variety of prac-

tices?I knew that when I began, I had

to include whatever I could captureon my frame. Cultural evidences havea wide canvas so I was looking at trib-al musicians and women who hadmastered pottery, to artistes anddancers, weavers, wall painters andeven children. Sometimes I wouldwalk into a makeshift hut and see thewet wall and suddenly see the calfready to shut his eyes and sleep. Thatis how I got the image, Calf (MadhyaPradesh, 1983). Their cattle were asimportant to them as their familymembers. When it comes to art tra-ditions, people and their environs arethe most important.

�� Your photographs pay greatattention to background details...

I was looking at a world that was

full of rural rhythms in the simplestof circumstances. For instance, in Atribal house from rural India (SouthGujarat, 1987), a mother and herchild are sitting against a wall in theirhut. Resting next to them are toolsand impediments, some householdappliances and weapons used by thetribal folks. The tools are shown asan impression on the wall. And Iobserved that the villagers were sosimple yet full of their own elemen-tal ideas. Life in the village has itsown tranquil pace and their creativepursuits are what engaged methroughout.

��Your prints reflect the ingenu-ity of indigenous iconography.Please reflect on this journey.

My focus has always been on thesurroundings. When I look at it now,I see that it presented a holistic per-spective in an age where traditionsare vanishing. Everything had its own

significance. You call it a slice of his-tory but I would say that it is a liv-ing moment in the lives of the hum-ble.

Printmaking for me became aprocess of rich imagery and a residueof living traditions. I recall how inRajasthan, the intricate floral patternsof a rangoli or a mandana, painstak-ingly created by a woman in thecourtyard of the house, were impor-tant statements of a rural lifestyle thatwe hardly see anymore.

Many of the artforms I pho-tographed even as late as 1994 are notvisible anymore. The number ofpeople who made them have less-ened. Most of these traditions havestarted losing their essence. Forinstance, people now buy Kolam —the Rangavalli designs — in theform of plastic stickers from shopswithin South Indian temples, which,ironically, have supported this tradi-tion the most. I used the designs inmy prints as a motif for longevity.

In later years, in my etchings,intaglios and screen prints, I alsotried to explore a personal languageof symbols that belonged to indige-nous cultures — peacock, parrot,lotus, stylised Indian gods and god-desses, and some unending variationson tribal and village designs —which became part of my iconogra-phy. Now I am happily exploringinkjet digital printing and hologra-phy. I like the multiplicity of print. Iam happy that many art lovers canbuy my prints.

(Manushya aur Prakriti runs tillFebruary 27 at Bihar Museum.)

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RB Leipzig held Bundesliga leaders BayernMunich to a goalless draw at the Allianz

Arena on Sunday to stay just one point behindthe defending champions in the title race.

Leipzig worked tirelessly to thwart thehosts, for whom victory would have opened upa four-point gap after third-placed BorussiaDortmund’s 4-3 loss at Bayer Leverkusen.

Bayern are bidding to win an eighthstraight league title.

They were awarded a second-half penaltywhich was then reversed when VAR showedRobert Lewandowski had been offside.

Second-placed Leipzig often rode their luckto repeatedly frustrate Bayern, but wasted aseries of second-half chances themselves.

“The problem was that both teams couldlive with a 0-0 draw,” admitted Bayern forwardThomas Mueller.

“In the end, neither team want-ed to take the absolute risks, whichmeant we didn’t play to ourstrengths.”

Bayern coach Hansi Flick expectsthis season’s title race to go to thewire.

“The Bundesliga will be tenseuntil the end,” he said.

“There are a few teams with a chance.“We want to keep our position, but it’s

going to be a hard path to stay on.”Leipzig coach Julian Nagelsmann said his

side showed the bravery required to win inMunich.

“In the second-half, we had much clearerchances to win the game,” he said.

“We were brave, defended high up and hada good grip on the game.”

Leipzig striker Timo Werner, who misseda golden opportunity on 63 minutes, rued histeam’s missed chances, including a skied effortby captain Marcel Sabitzer.

“In the beginning, it seemed just a matterof time before we scored,” admitted Werner.

“But in the second half we played as ourcoach (Julian Nagelsmann) wanted and werethe better team. We could have won.”

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Lionel Messi gave a hat-trick ofassists on Sunday as Barcelona

ended their turbulent week with athrilling 3-2 victory over Real Betis tostay in touch with Real Madrid at thetop of La Liga.

Madrid’s 4-1 win at Osasuna putpressure on Barca to respond, only forBetis to twice lead at the BenitoVillamarin through a penalty fromSergio Canales and bril-liant solo effort fromNabil Fekir.

Yet both timesBarcelona hit back asFrenkie de Jong andSergio Busquets pulledthem level before Clement Lengletheaded in with 18 minutes left, all threegoals teed up by Messi.

Fekir and Lenglet were then sentoff in a frantic contest by the end ofwhich, Barca had the victory they sodesperately needed following a diffi-cult few days for the club.

Messi had put himself at the heartof a political spat this week by publiclytaking exception to comments madeby sporting director Eric Abidal, whosuggested the players were the causeof the decision to sack ErnestoValverde last month.

Barcelona were then beaten byAthletic Bilbao and knocked out of theCopa del Rey before the semi-finals forthe first time in 10 years on Thursday.

“In Bilbao we played well but theyknocked us out,” said coach QuiqueSetien. “This win will give us motiva-tion and extra energy for the future.”

To make matters worse, winger

Ousmane Dembele suffered anotherhamstring injury, which is likely tokeep him out for the rest of the season,while centre-back Samuel Umtitiappeared in court too, for alleged dam-ages to a rented villa.

It meant defeat against Betis wasunthinkable, particularly for Setien,who could ill-afford another setbackagainst the team he managed for twoyears between 2017 and 2019.

Instead, Barca turned the tide, witha chaotic performance that mighthave been punished by better oppo-nents, but that keeps them threepoints behind Real Madrid, who hadearlier won at a canter in Pamplona.

����� Paris Saint-Germain survivedthe absence of Neymar and a Lyonfightback to win Sunday night’s Ligue1 clash 4-2 at a stormy Parc desPrinces, helped by Fernando Marcal’struly stunning second-half own goal.

Runaway leaders and defendingchampions PSG were cruising at half-time with Angel Di Maria and KylianMbappe giving them a two-goal advan-tage against a Lyon side enduring a dis-appointing season.

Then Marcal comically blast-ed the ball into the roof of hisown net just after the break, leav-ing Lyon looking at anotherheavy defeat in Paris, where theylost 5-0 in this fixture last season.

However, Martin Terrier andMoussa Dembele quickly pulled goalsback, and PSG needed a late strike bysubstitute Edinson Cavani to secure thepoints.

“Normally after a goal like that thegame is over,” said coach ThomasTuchel of the own goal. “But we were

not disciplined enough and it was a les-son for us that it’s never over.”

PSG’s performance showcasedwhy they can ill afford to be compla-

cent heading into theirChampions League last 16, firstleg match away to BorussiaDortmund on February 18, evenif sporting director Leonardoinsisted to Canal Plus that the tiewas “not life or death” for the

Qatar-owned club.They will hope to have Neymar

back by then. The world’s most expen-sive player sat out a second consecu-tive match due to a rib complaint.

“We play a lot of games and errorshappen but I don’t know if it’s the timeto be too critical,” Tuchel added. “The

team was great and we can’t forget wewere without lots of key players.”

Without Neymar — as well as hisinjured compatriots, Thiago Silva andMarquinhos, in defence — Tuchel’sside made it eight straight wins andstretched their unbeaten run to 21games in all competitions.

Lyon, meanwhile, have not won inthree and this result leaves the seven-time former champions in ninth place.

They are eight points adrift of theChampions League qualifying spotsand their upcoming European double-header against Juventus looks certainto be a step too far for them. AFP

���� ����

Inter Milan moved top of Serie Aon Sunday after storming backfrom two goals down to snatch

a 4-2 win over AC Milan in a pul-sating derby at the San Siro.

Inter pull level on 54 pointswith Juventus, who lost 2-1 atHellas Verona on Saturday, but areahead of the champions on goal dif-ference thanks to a thrilling secondhalf turnaround after Ante Rebicand Zlatan Ibrahimovichad put Milan 2-0 up at thebreak.

Lazio are just a pointbehind in third after FelipeCaicedo scored the onlygoal in a hard-fought win atParma earlier on Sunday.

“It’s a special nightbecause in the first half wewere in great difficulty like we had-n’t been this season. There was therisk of taking a hammering,” saidInter boss Antonio Conte.

“Credit to these lads becausethey were able to resist the blowswhich means that we are ready forsomething good.

“It’s absolutely too early to talkabout things that we can still dreamof today.”

Milan had dominated the firsthalf with Inter struggling to dealwith Ibrahimovic, who soaredabove Diego Godin before knock-ing down for Rebic to tap the open-er past Daniele Padelli.

Stefan De Vrij blocked anoth-er cross to deny Rebic a second tapin but Franck Kessie flicked on fora waiting Ibrahimovic to turn in thesecond.

The comeback began five min-utes after the break when Brozoviclashed home a stunning volley andtwo minutes later Mattias Vecinofinshed off an Alexis Sanchez pass

to level the scores.De Vrij put Inter deservedly

ahead with a superb diving headerwith 20 minutes to go, and afterIbrahimovic hit the post for MilanRomelu Lukaku then headed homesubstitute Victor Moses’ cross threeminutes into injury time to main-tain Inter’s charge for a first Serie Atitle in a decade.

Milan’s collapse means they

missed the chance to move into theEuropa League places and sit 10th.

“It’s difficult to explain. The firsthalf was almost perfect, the secondhalf the opposite.” said Ibrahimovic.

“We conceded the first goal andthe squad lost faith, then conced-ed a second and everything fellapart.

“Inter in the first half didn’t looklike a team who were second but

then demonstrated why they wereafter the break."

LAZIO IN MIXCaicedo kept Lazio’s own

dream of a first Scudetto in 20 yearsalive as a 1-0 win over Parmamoved the Romans second in SerieA.

Simone Inzaghi’s side are rightin the title discussion after extend-ing their unbeaten run to 18 leaguegames.

Their last Serie A defeat was inSeptember to Inter Milan, who theyhost next weekend at the StadioOlimpico.

“We are trying to stay in there,fighting against the battleships.With this spirit, we can advancevery well,” said Inzaghi.

“Sunday will be a great gameagainst a great team.”

Caicedo broke through justbefore the interval as theEcuadorian volleyed home afterParma failed to clear a ball into thebox.

���� �����

Unfazed by coronavirus fears, afull-strength Indian men’s

team has landed here to competeat the Asia Team Championshipsfrom today, eyeing a medal-win-ning performance which will giveplayers crucial ranking points inthe Olympic year.

The Indian women team,which was supposed to be led byyoung shuttlers Ashmita Chalihaand Malvika Bansod, chose not totravel for the competition, fearingthe spread of coronavirus, whichhas claimed over 900 lives inChina so far.

A 44-year-old Chinese touristfrom Wuhan had died on February1 in Philippines, which has report-ed three virus cases so far. The twoothers were discharged from hos-pital after their tests were report-ed to be negative.

Former world number oneKidambi Srikanth and 2019 worldchampionship Bronze medallist BSai Praneeth will lead the Indian

team which also has HS Prannoy,Subhankar Dey and youngLakshya Sen.

The Indian men’s team, whichwon the Bronze medal in the2016 Championship, was initiallyclubbed with two-time defendingchampions Indonesia and hostsPhilippines in Group A but withChina and Hong Kong not playingdue to a travel ban on them by thePhilippines, the draw was re-worked at the team managers’meeting on Monday.

India are now placed in GroupB alongside Malaysia andKazakhstan. The top two team ineach of the four groups will makeit to the quarterfinals.

India, who had lost to China1-3 in the last edition in 2018, willbegin their campaign againstKazakhstan today before taking onMalaysia on Thursday. This isonly the third edition of the Asia

Team championship, which servesas Asia qualifiers for the Thomasand Uber Cups.

Praneeth and Co are expectedto have an easy outing againstKazakhstan, who are not a promi-nent badminton nation, but theclash against Malaysia will be ainteresting one.

Malaysia boast of a youngteam, comprising world No 14 LeeZii Jia, 2014 Youth Olympic GamesGold medallist Cheam June Weiand Leong Jun Hao, a formerthree-time Silver medallist atWorld Junior Championships.

In doubles, Malaysia haveworld No 17 pair of Ong Yew Sinand Teo Ee Yi, who claimed theThailand Masters title last month,and the pair of Goh Sze Fei andNur Izzuddin Mohd Rumsani,who were part of 2018 Asian teamChampionship Bronze medal win-ning team, in their team.

�� �������&�1

Scott McTominay saysManchester United are “fully

focused” on ending their troubledseason on a high note, withsilverware still on offer in

the FA Cup and EuropaLeague as he nears a returnfrom injury.

United have found ithard to establish anymomentum in a chal-lenging campaign thathas threatened to spi-ral into disarray at times.

They are six points adriftof the Premier League’s topfour but could still qualify forthe Champions Leaguethrough another route ifthey win the Europa League.United face Club Brugge inthe last 32 later this month,

while their next FA Cup assignmentis a fifth-round tie at second-tierDerby.

Despite distracting speculationabout Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s futureas manager, combined with fanprotests against United’s owners,McTominay is adamant there is stilla possibility of a happy ending foreveryone at Old Trafford.

“It would be nice to comeback and have a massivepush with the rest of theboys to get into some finals,

get some trophies underour belts and really setthe bar for next season,set a bar that we don’tstep underneath,”McTominay told

United's website.“All of the boys are fully

focused on doing that andhopefully we can do it as well.”

���� ������&�1

Manchester City manager PepGuardiola admitted his side could be

set for an overhaul in the summer afterfalling 22 points behind Liverpool at thetop of the Premier League.

Guardiola will definitely lose DavidSilva, who has already announced he willleave the club after a decade at the end ofthe season.

However, the Catalan coach does notbelieve he needs the same degree ofchange as after a difficult first season inManchester when the arrival of six newplayers inspired a romp to the title witha record 100 points.

“This group of players has donesomething unique — they have won thelast six of the last seven domestic trophiesin England. I admire them and I sufferwith them when they don’t get what theydeserve,” said Guardiola.

“Of course we have to do somethingbecause David Silva is leaving and in someother positions we are going to do it, butI don’t know how many or how muchbecause the market is always difficult.

“There are still are two or threemonths to go and things can change a lotin that time.”

City could still turn a hitherto disap-pointing campaign into a glorious one asthey face Aston Villa in the League Cupfinal in three weeks’ time, have progressedinto the fifth round of the FA Cup and arepreparing for a blockbuster ChampionsLeague last 16 clash with Real Madrid.

“There are still incredible nice thingsstill to fight for,” added Guardiola.

“We are in the EFL Cup final in threeweeks, we are still in theFA Cup, we want to tryand finish second inthe league and we havetwo big gamesagainst RealMadrid in theC h a m p i o n sLeague.”

One ofthose whocould be sacri-ficed by City tomake room andresources for sum-mer signings isJohn Stones.

The Englandinternational hasbeen scarcely usedby Guardiola thisseason despite alack of cover at cen-tre-back due to thedeparture ofVincent Kompanyand injury toAymeric Laporte.

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-� ������������%��,.��������� %���� Borussia Dortmundwinger Julian Brandt faces a race to befit for the German side’s ChampionsLeague last-16 tie against Paris Saint-Germain after the club confirmed onSunday that he had suffered an ankleinjury.

Dortmund said Brandt had suf-fered torn ankle ligaments and willmiss Friday’s league clash at home toEintracht Frankfurt.

They have not said whether theGerman international will be fit fortheir Champions League first leg athome to PSG on February 18.

Dortmund are already withoutcaptain Marco Reus, who suffered aleg injury in their German Cup lossat Werder Bremen last month. AFP

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India would expect its toporder to fire to avoid aseries whitewash when it

clashes with a high-flying NewZealand in the third and finalOne-day International at BayOval today.

Despite missing inspira-tional skipper KaneWilliamson in the line-up dueto a shoulder injury, the hostsshrugged off the T20 seriesdebacle to claim the ODIseries.

New Zealand, though, willhave the experience and lead-ership of Williamson for thefinal game as he has passed thefitness test.

“He certainly had a fullworkout and all is on track fortomorrow. He’s looking goodto be ready to play. We'll haveone final look at him in themorning and make sure noth-ing happens overnight,” NewZealand stand-in head coachShane Jurgensen said on theeve of third ODI.

The major differencebetween the two sides hasbeen the top-order’s impact.

With Rohit Sharma andShikhar Dhawan missing dueto injuries, Virat Kohli missingout on scoring big and KLRahul batting later in the order,India’s traditional ODI strengthwas neutralised without NewZealand having to do any hardwork.

Openers Prithvi Shaw and

Mayank Agarwal have shownonly momentary flashes ofbrilliance and have not repli-cated the kind of starts theIndian batting has grownaccustomed to from its top-order.

Rohit’s absence has been amajor factor in India’s defeat inthis series. The opener aver-aged 57.30 in ODI cricket inthe past 12 months, having amajor impact on Indian for-tunes in this format.

In that light, the burden ofscoring runs has been placedsquarely on Kohli in this series.With 66 runs in two innings,he did not come through foronce and the restdidn’t rise to theoccasion either.

All of itresulted in rever-sal of fortunes onthe limited-overs leg of thistour, as India had arrived hereat Mt Maunganui a week agoleading the T20I series by a 4-0 margin. They went on todrub the Black Caps 5-0, butnow find themselves in thesame position at the sameground.

It is also a reversal ofresults from the Men in Blue’slast visit here in 2019 whenthey won the ODI series 4-1but lost the T20I series 2-1.

India’s previous ODI seriesloss in New Zealand was 4-1on the 2014 tour here.

Shreyas Iyer, with a hun-dred and a half-century, has

mirrored Ross Taylor’s richform in Hamilton andAuckland. But Iyer lacked thefinishing touch as compared toTaylor’s experience. He could-n’t see India’s chase through inAuckland like the senior Kiwibatsman did in Hamilton.

India may also look toexperiment a bit before the Testseries.

Rahul, Shaw, Iyer, KedarJadhav and Yuzvendra Chahaldid not take part in the option-al practice session on Monday.

Kohli was first into the netsagainst both pace and spin.Manish Pandey was in thenets beside him, while RishabhPant had a long session onceagain.

Pant has not played limit-ed-overs' cricket since he suf-fered a concussion againstAustralia. If India goes as perroutine plan, he is in danger ofmissing out entirely from play-ing white-ball cricket on thistour.

In theb o w l i n gdepartment,all pacerswere presentfor training,

except Mohammed Shami.New Zealand have added

leg spinner Ish Sodhi andpacer Blair Tickner to thesquad for this match. Sodhiplayed in the first ODI atHamilton, bowling Kohli witha googly.

They were part of the NewZealand A team playing anunofficial Test against India Abut did not take part on thefourth day’s proceedings. TimSouthee (stomach bug),Mitchell Santner (stomachbug) and Scott Kuggeleijn(viral fever) are hoping torecover in time for the thirdODI.

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Pakistan completed a crushing innings-and-44-run victory over Bangladesh on the fourth

morning on Monday, taking a 1-0 lead in thetwo-Test series.

Bangladesh were bowled out for 168 in theirsecond innings after resuming the day on 126-6 as Pakistan’s pace and spin attack was too hotto handle despite a flat Rawalpindi stadium pitch.

Fast bowler Naseem Shah, who at 16 yearsand 359 days became the youngest bowler totake a Test hat-trick on Sunday, finished with4-26 and was declared man of the match.

Despite Naseem being unavailable to bowlon Monday with rib pain, Pakistan mopped upthe last four wickets in 90 minutes, inflictingtheir 10th defeat on Bangladesh in 11 matcheswith one draw.

Pakistan skipper Azhar Ali said homewins — only possible in recent months, after theresumption of Test cricket in Pakistan follow-ing a decade’s isolation over security concerns— were important to boost confidence.

“It’s an important win and home wins alwaysincrease confidence within the team,” said Azhar.“We have to play important away series includ-ing one in England (July-August this year) sowe will carry this confidence.

“Naseem and other bowlers bowled superblyand it was an outstanding batting display, so allin all it was a complete team effort.”

B’desh skipper Mominul Haque started theday by square-driving paceman Shaheen ShahAfridi for his fifth boundary inthe first over, but then fell leg-before in the same over for 41.

Liton Das (29) and tail-ender Rubel Hossain kepthosts at bay for 11.5 oversbefore Abbas trapped Rubelleg-before for five.

Leg-spinner Yasir Shahdismissed Das lbw andhad Abu Jayed forthree to finishwith 4-58 andcomplete thewin.

With thewin, Pakistangained 60points in theICC World TestChampionship, takingtheir tally to 140 points.

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He has dismissed ViratKohli the most number

of times in international crick-et and New Zealand pacerTim Southee on Mondaycredited helpful pitch condi-tions for the feat he “didn’tknow” about.

Including Saturday’s ODIin Auckland, Southee has nowdismissed Kohli nine timesacross formats.

“He is obviously a classplayer and doesn’t have manyweaknesses. I think the wick-et had a little bit of assistancewith the new ball and if youput it in the right areas, therewas enough there to ask a fewquestions. It is about assis-tance and the pitch condi-tions...,” Southee said on theeve of the third ODI.

“It is your job to takewickets...And Virat is a greatplayer and he has been ingreat form. Especially in runchases he is exceptional, so Iguess it’s always nice to see the

back of him. I didn’t know thatwas the most...,” he added.

Southee said his side’s 2-0series win over India in thecurrent three-match contestshouldn’t be a surprise to any-one as the Black Caps, consec-utive ODI World Cup finalists,have been playing well in thisformat for a while now.

“...They have been twogreat games of cricket and theODI side has played somegood cricket for a while eventhough we have been missingsome important guys,” he saidreferring to injuries to keyplayers such as regular skipperKane williamson.

“The guys have playedgreat ODI cricket for a whilenow, although it was our firsttime since the World Cup.But the group has played wellfor a long time,” he added.

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Understanding the pecu-liar dimensions of the

grounds and negotiatingthe wind factor is a must forbowlers to succeed in NewZealand, reckons Indiapacer Shardul Thakur.

“There are no groundsalike in New Zealand, so itis very important to under-stand the ground dimen-sions. How to bowl, etc. Ineach game, as a bowler, youmay have to change yourplan because the last gamein Auckland, straightboundaries were short.Before that in Hamilton, theside boundary was short.The dimensions of eachground are different and youhave to bowl accordingly.Here in the next game, wewill get a bigger groundcompared to the others,”said Thakur ahead of final

ODI game.Thakur feels the condi-

tions make New Zealandone of the toughest places toplay cricket in.

“It is very difficultbecause you don’t get to play

on grounds like this everyday. That’s why they sayNew Zealand is a difficultcountry to play cricket in. Ifeel that when you practicein the nets you have topractice in the manner in

which you are going tobowl the next day.

“Mentally too, it is cru-cial to be prepared becauseif you are not preparedmentally, the opponent cantake you by surprise. Soboth things are important.If you see, their batsmen usethe wind and the short side,”he added.

India will be aiming toavoid a 0-3 whitewash todayand with the series alreadyout of reach, Thakur feels heand his teammates can playeven more freely.

“When you play inter-national cricket, every gamematters for every player.When you are 2-0 down,you can express yourselfeven more — our skills, ourvariations in bowling.Batsmen can play theirshots, can execute shots andexpress themselves. That’show we will approach it.”

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An emotional David Warner onMonday won the Australian cricketer

of the year award beating teammate SteveSmith by one vote in their first season fol-lowing the ball-tampering ban that broughttheir rollicking careers to a one-year halt.

Dashing opener Warner won histhird Allan Border Medal with 194 votes,with former Test captain Smith getting 193votes and fast bowler Pat Cummins com-ing third with 185.

Ellyse Perry claimed her secondBelinda Clark Award at the AustralianCricket Awards here.

Considering his stunning return to thegame following a year’s suspension, anemotional Warner held back tears duringhis acceptance speech.

“I couldn’t be any prouder to stand

here and receive the award ... (and) to seethe rest of the other guys doing so well,”Warner said, according to Cricket

Australia.“I really had a hunger and determina-

tion to come back and really put my footforward ... So to have a summer like thatreally put a smile on my face.”

“I know I’ve let you guys down in thepast. It’s just been remarkable to comeback,” Warner was quoted as saying by foxs-ports.Com.Au.

The dashing opener added, “With theWorld Cup, to not go the whole way wasdisappointing. The Ashes, retaining thatwas fantastic — I obviously didn’t turn upand I apologise for that — but I really hadthe hunger and determination to comeback and do the best for our team.

“To come back and have a summerlike that and just contribute, it really puta smile on my face — and I hope it did foryou guys as well.”

Warner had previously won the cov-

eted individual prize in 2016 and 2017. Hepolled a total of 194 across the Test, ODIand T20I formats to finish ahead of for-mer captain Smith and nine votes clear ofCummins.

Warner now joined a select list of mul-tiple winners of the Allan Border Medal,which includes Ricky Ponting, MichaelClarke, Shane Watson and Smith.

Meanwhile, Perry won the BelindaClark Award after her teammate AlyssaHealy bagged both the T20 and ODI Playerof the Year awards for women’s cricketers.

Australia’s limited-overs skipper AaronFinch claimed the male ODI Player of theYear award, while Marnis Labuschagnewon the male Test Player of the Year recog-nition.

Warner also claimed the maleInternational T20 Player of the YearAward.

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The prolific Yashasvi Jaiswal andhighest wicket-taker Ravi Bishnoi

were among three Indians named inthe ICC U-19 World Cup Team of theTournament on Monday.

Besides left-handed opener Jaiswaland leg-spinner Bishnoi, right-armpacer Kartik Tyagi was the otherIndian to feature in the 12-memberteam, led by World Cup-winningBangladesh skipper Akbar Ali.

Jaiswal claimed the Player of theTournament award after he played acrucial role in guiding India to thefinal.

With 400 runs to his name in sixinnings at an astounding average of133, he topped the scoring chart com-fortably, finishing 114 runs ahead ofclosest competitor Ravindu Rasanthaof Sri Lanka.

Bishnoi topped the wicket-takingchart by claiming 17 in six matcheswith a miserly average of 10.64, whileTyagi, on the other hand, terrorisedopposing batsmen throughout thetournament with his swing and scalped11 wickets at an average of 13.90.

The official team of the tourna-ment features representatives fromsix sides with the likes of Afghanistanopener Ibrahim Zadran and WestIndies’ Nyeem Young in it.

In Akbar, Shahdat Hossain andMahmudul Hasan Joy, Bangladeshalso has three representations in thesquad, while Afghanistan and WestIndies have two players each.

Canada’s Akil Kumar has beenincluded as the 12th man.

The team was selected by an adju-dication panel of five, which includedcommentators Ian Bishop, RohanGavaskar and Natalie Germanos joinedby ESPN Cricinfo correspondentSreshth Shah and ICC representativeMary Godbeer.

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India vice-captain Ajinkya Rahanewarmed up for the Test series in New

Zealand with an unbeaten 101 for thetouring A side in the drawn four-daygame against New Zealand A onMonday.

In response to New Zealand A’s 386for nine, India A reached 467 for fivein 109.3 overs when the game endedin a draw on the fourth and final day.

The end of the second unofficialTest also marked the end of the A

tour. Rahane stayed unbeaten on101 off 148 balls and his knockcomprised 15 fours and a six.

Shubman Gill, who hasscored a double hundred inthe first game at numberfour, continued his goodrun with the bat, makinganother hundred on day

three, this time as an open-er. Resuming day four at 107,

Gill, who too is part of the Test

squad, went on to make 136. Rahanetook over from there and got muchneeded time in the middle ahead of thefirst Test beginning in Wellington onFebruary 21. A practice game will alsobe played before the series-opener.

Vijay Shankar also made a valuablecontribution with a 66-run knock. Testnumber three Cheteshwar Pujara hadmade a solid half century on day three.He could only score a run on day fourand was dismissed on 53.

Among the other Test regulars, off-spinner R Aswhin bowled 37.5 oversin the New Zealand innings, conced-ing 98 runs for two wickets.

BRIEF SCORESNew Zealand A 1st innings: 386 for9 in 131.5 overs (Daryl Mitchell 103,Glenn Phillips 65; Sandeep Warrier2/50). India A 1st innings: 467/5 in109.3 overs (Shubman Gill 136,Cheteshwar Pujara 53, Ajinkya Rahane101 not out; Blair Tickner 1/71, EdNuttall 2/98).

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The Bangladesh govern-ment will organise a

“public reception” to cele-brate the country’s Under-19World Cup triumph, its firstin an ICC tournament acrossall levels.

In a high-voltage titleclash, the end of which wasmarred by unruly celebra-tions by the champions,Bangladesh stunnedfavourites and defendingchampions India by threewickets in Potchefstroom onSunday for the country’sbiggest victory in its crickethistory.

“The date will be setafter the team returns. Thereception will be held at

Suhrawardy Udyan,” thecountry’s Road, Transportand Bridges MinisterObaidul Quader was quotedas saying by the Daily Star.

The decision was takenat a cabinet meeting chairedby Prime Minister ShaikhHasina, Quader told scribesat the Secretariat onMonday.

No Bangladesh teamhad won a world eventbefore the country’s U-19side broke the jinx with vic-tory over the three-timedefending champions.

India’s cricketing bat-tles with Bangladesh havebeen marred by acrimonysince the 2015 World Cupquarter-final at the MCG.

Having scripted theirbiggest triumph on Sunday,some Bangladeshi playersgot carried away while cel-ebrating.

While their captainAkbar Ali apologised forthe “unfortunate incident”,his Indian counterpartPriyam Garg felt it is some-thing that should not havehappened.

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