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A t least 125 people are miss- ing with the number expected to rise after an avalanche caused by glacier breach near Reni village in Chamoli district resulted in sudden rise in the water level in Rishiganga and Dhauliganga rivers on Sunday morning. The Rishiganga hydro power project and NTPC’s dam on Dhauliganga were also damaged in the disaster. According to official sources, the avalanche took place at about 10 am and soon after that the Government issued alerts in all areas along the Alaknanda and Ganga rivers from Chamoli district down to Haridwar. Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, along with senior officials, reached the affected area in the afternoon to assess the situation. Talking to medi- apersons after returning to Dehradun, the CM said at the time when the disaster struck about 35 persons and two policemen were at the Rishiganga project site. About five kilometres downstream at the NTPC project under construction in Tapovan more than 100 persons had gone to work. Scores of the workers were able to move away on hearing the shouts of alarm as the flood progressed. Seven bodies had been recovered till the evening. The flood damaged one bridge at Reni and four suspension bridges. The road link to 17 vil- lages has been severed though residents in seven out of these villages migrate seasonally. The CM said, “President Ramnath Kovind called me expressing concern about the disaster. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also phoned me twice, expressing concern and assur- ing all the assistance required by Uttarakhand. Union Home Minister Amit Shah also called twice to enquire about the sit- uation and assured all help. “Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Gujarat also called us and assured all necessary help.” On being asked about the damage assess- ment and State’s requirements, the CM said at present the main focus is on rescuing peo- ple and saving lives. The State has all the nec- essary resources for rescue and medical treatment, aug- mented by the Centre in response to the disaster. When asked about the possible cause of the disaster, he said the cause will be ascertained later by experts as now the focus is on saving lives. T he glacier burst which trig- gered Chamoli tragedy leading to the damage to the Rishi Ganga Project down- stream was waiting to happen in the hydel plants dotted fragile mountainous region of Uttarakhand, environmental- ists have said. In fact, a 2019 study pub- lished in the journal Science Advances revealed that due to rising temperatures because of global warming, Himalayan glaciers are melting twice as fast since the start of the 21st century and have lot over a vertical foot and a half of ice each year. “This melting of glaciers has created a potential threat of water supply for hundreds of millions of people in coun- tries including India,” said the researchers in their analysis, spanning 40 years of satellite observations across India, China, Nepal and Bhutan. While climate change make the region vulnerable to earthquake and cloudburst, the environmentalists feel that the government’s unstoppable construction of hydel power plants and other activities like roads were adding to the envi- ronmental woes. BJP leader Uma Bharti has also expressed concerns over the dam construction spree in the “ecologically sen- sitive” region around the Dhauli Ganga river’s upstream. T he Centre has no immedi- ate plan to make the vac- cines available in the open market. The country has vac- cinated nearly six million healthcare and frontline work- ers so far. “Presently, Covid-19 vac- cines are being administered on an emergency basis, under full observation and in a con- trolled manner. If the vac- cines are released in the open market, there won’t be any con- trol over them. The decision will be taken as the situation demands,” Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said. The Minister said the country is developing seven more Covid-19 vaccines and also working on further vac- cine development to inoculate every citizen of India. The Covid-19 inoculation process for people aged above 50 will start in March, he said.“We are not dependent only on the two vaccines as the country is working on seven more indige- nous vaccines. Simultaneously, we are also working on the development of more vaccines because India is a huge coun- try and we need more players and research to reach out to everyone,” he said. Three of the vaccines are in the trial phase, two are in the pre-clinical stage, one is in phase 1 and another in phase 2, he said. “As on February 7, 2021, till 8 am, total of 57.75 lakh (57,75,322) beneficiaries have received the Covid-19 vaccine under the countrywide vacci- nation exercise. The cumula- tive vaccination coverage includes 53,04,546 healthcare workers and 4,70,776 frontline workers,” said the Ministry. A sserting that the agitation against the Centre’s farm laws is a people’s movement that will not fail, Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait on Sunday said there will be no “ghar wapsi” till protest- ing farmers’ demands are met. Tikait lauded the role of “khap panchayats” (caste coun- cils) and their leaders in sup- porting the farmers’ stir. Addressing a “Kisan Mahapanchayat” near here, Tikait said the Government should rollback the contentious farm laws, frame a new legis- lation to assure the continua- tion of the minimum support price (MSP) for crops and release the farmers arrested recently. “There will be no ‘ghar wapsi’ till farmers’ demands are met,” he said. “Yeh jan andolan hai, yeh fail nahi hoga (this is a people’s movement, this will not fail),” he added.Tikait claimed the campaign against the agricul- ture laws is going strong. P rime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday kicked off his pre-poll campaign in West Bengal with a scathing attack on Mamata Banerjee Government holding it guilty of “innumerable fouls” and promising the people of the State “optimum good gover- nance” once the BJP comes to power. “The people will bring the BJP to power replacing the TMC Government,” Modi said. He was addressing a polit- ical rally at the industrial town of Haldia in East Midnapore where he inaugurated a pletho- ra of Central projects worth 5,000 crore, including Dhobi- Durgapur gas pipeline and fishing hub. The PM referred to lingo of Bengal’s popular sports, foot- ball, and said, “Bengal is a State that loves football. That’s why, using some football terminol- ogy, I would like to say that the bua bhatija (aunt-nephew) dis- pensation had ‘committed a number of fouls like mal-gov- ernance, tolabaji (extortion), general loot, syndicate raj’ criminalisation of politics and politicisation of the police administration.” He went on to add, “The people of Bengal are watching and very soon, the State will show the ‘Ram card’ to the TMC,” Modi said, in an obvi- ous reference to the red card in football. “This is why the people of Bengal have decided to bring the BJP by throwing it out of power … even the TMC sup- porters are itching to see the back of this Government. And this is why the real parivaratan (political change) will take place unlike the one that Mamata Didi had promised 10 years ago but ended up giving a worse Government than what the Left and the Congress gave,” he said. The people had expected “Mamata (compassion)” from the TMC Government after it came to power but they got “nirmamta (cruelty)” instead, he said alleging how the Chief Minister was so intolerant to criticism that she put those behind bars all those who raised their voices against her. “She is even intolerant towards slogans like Bharat Maata ki Jai (hail Mother India),” Modi said reminding how on account of bad gover- nance given by the Congress, Left and the TMC, Bengal which had a glorious past rank- ing among the best developed States in the country had turned into a laggard of sorts. A fter a glacial break in the Tapovan-Reni area of Uttarakhand’s Chamoli dis- trict, the Defence Geoinformatic Research Establishments on Sunday issued a fresh warning of an avalanche in Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Uttarakhand and Sikkim in the next two days. The yellow warning issued for HP’s Kullu, Lahaul and Spiti on the Manali-Leh and Manali- Beas Kund axis and the Udaipur-Killar-Chamba road was sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs and National Disaster Management Authority on Sunday. Meanwhile, in a relief for the area hit by a glacier burst in Uttarakhand, India Meteorological Department on Sunday said no adverse weath- er is expected over Chamoli, Tapovan and Joshimath on February 7 and 8. T he Army has deployed 600 men, including engineers and medical teams, as part of the rescue efforts in Chamoli flash flood in Uttrakhand on Sunday. Three helicopters and specialised equipment were also deployed at the mishap site. Two transport planes of IAF to ferry NDRF troops and equipment are ready at Hindon. Also 40 marine com- mandos will be flown from Mumbai. Special teams of scientists of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) were airlifted to mon- itoring avalanches and floods. The Indian Airforce has also kept several aircraft and helicopters on the standby, while the Navy has flown spe- cialist divers of the Indian Navy to Uttrakhand. At least, seven teams of divers will help in locating and rescuing missing people, officials said here on Sunday. The three Army helicopters were carrying out reconnais- sance missions to assist the res- cue teams on ground to reach the exact spot to rescue strand- ed people. T he proposed bylaws framed by the National Monuments Authority (NMA) prohibiting construction works around the Jagannath Temple in Puri have drawn sharp reac- tions from all quarters in Odisha. Puri BJD Lok Sabha member Pinaki Misra termed it a ‘conspiracy’ by the Centre to stop the ongoing beautifica- tion projects of the Jagannath Temple as well as Bhubaneswar’s Lingaraj Temple. Taking to Twitter, he said the notification on bylaws for the Puri temple proposing to impose complete restric- tions up to 300 metre around the shrine has deeply hurt sen- timents of Odia people. Reacting to the controver- sial bylaws, the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) has urged the NMA for with- drawal of the draft application on ‘Heritage Bye-Laws for Shree Jagannath Temple, Puri, Odisha’. SJTA Chief Administrator Krishan Kumar wrote to the NMA, “Shree Jagannath is the Aradhya Devata of Odias and millions of Hindus across India and the world. He is worshipped as Brahmadaru at his Mula Pitha at Puri. The divinity and wor- ship of Shree Jagannath as the Lord of Universe is as timeless and as infinite as the cosmos itself. It is in this background of faith, religion and spiritual- ity for millions of Hindus that any intervention by the author- ities is to be looked at.” He said temple and all the properties belonging to Lord Jagannath in land records stand in the name of Shree Jagannath Mahaprabhu. To manage the temple affairs, the servitors and all the properties of the Lords, a Shree Jagannath Temple Management Committee (SJTMC) has been constituted as the statutory body under the Shri Jagannath Temple Act, 1955. “It was to get the technical knowhow of Archeological Survey of India (ASI) for conservation of the ancient built structure that SJTMC entered into an agree- ment with the ASI on August 22, 1979. This agreement restricts and codifies duties and responsibilities of ASI vis- a-vis Shree Mandira. The bare regarding of agreement indi- cates that importance of Shree Jagannath Temple as one of the Dhams for Hindus all over the world was given due consider- ation when management com- mittee agreed to involve ASI in certain conservation works of ancient built structures,” the SJTA chief’s letter stated. He wrote that a large num- ber of habitations (sahis), which are more than a millen- nium, exist around the Shreemandir. These habita- tions are mainly of servitors’ families, who have been ren- dering services to Lords since time immemorial. With impo- sition of restrictions, they are likely to be severely adversely affected. They must be con- sulted before any process to restrict their rights is under- taken by the NMA. It may put an adverse impact on continu- ity of rituals at the temple.Informing the NMA about the ongoing projects of the Shreemandir, he said the State Government has acquired lands and properties for strengthening safety and secu- rity of the centuries-old shrine under the project of Shree Jagannath Heritage Corridor (SJHC). “This project (SJHC) will also provide pilgrims with facil- ities such as drinking water, toi- lets, cloak rooms and Queue Management System. These properties have been acquired by State Government through negotiations and most of the people have come forward to contribute their lands and properties for the purpose of this project. Any regulation which has the potential to restrict devel- opment of facilities and ameni- ties on lands voluntarily con- tributed by the devotees of the Lord will hurt their senti- ments,” Krishan Kumar wrote to the NMA Member Secretary requesting for immediate with- drawal of the draft application. T he National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has directed the Odisha Chief Secretary to pay Rs 2 lakh to the family members of an elec- trocution victim and to send it proof of payment. Acting on a petition filed by activist-lawyer Radhakanta Tripathy, the NHRC sought response from the State latest by February 26. Tripathy alleged that the victim, a four-year-old boy Pabitra Bidika of Sikabadi under the Kolnara police sta- tion of Rayagada district, while playing on July 31, 2018 came in contact with a live electric wire and was electrocuted. But no action has been taken against the errant officials nor has any compensation been paid to the victim's family. The NHRC was of the opinion that officials of the Southco were found to be negligent in their duties, The fateful inci- dent could have been avoided and a precious life could have been saved. The conduct of erring officials, thus, resulted in violation of human rights of the victim. The State is liable to pay monetary compensation to the next of the kin of the deceased. Since no response has been received from the State author- ities to the show-cause notice, the NHRC assumes that the State Government has no objection to the monetary relief to be paid to kin of deceased boy, the commission stated. T he Commissionerate police on Sunday arrested five more persons in connection with the sex racket operating at the Divyang training centre in the Palaspalli area of Bhubaneswar. Earlier, prime accused Suresh Behera, the secretary of the All Odisha Orthopedically Handicapped Welfare Association, and a woman employee had been arrested. With this arrests, the total arrests rose to seven. The other arrestees are Sangram Das, a Clerk of the Khordha District Social Security Office (DSSO), two employees of the Divyang training centre Rakesh Sarangi and Sanjukta Meher, a woman from Cuttack and Lulu, an agent from Bhubaneswar. The medical examinations of the accused were underway; and after completion of the process, a decision would be on their remand by police. The arrested woman from Cuttack and the agent Lulu from Bhubaneswar were involved in immoral traffick- ing.“During investigation, we learnt that the woman from Cuttack, who is a queen bee of sex racket, and Lulu of Bhubaneswar were involved in immoral trafficking. We will conduct further investigation into it,” a police official said.

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At least 125 people are miss-ing with the number

expected to rise after anavalanche caused by glacierbreach near Reni village inChamoli district resulted insudden rise in the water levelin Rishiganga and Dhauligangarivers on Sunday morning.

The Rishiganga hydropower project and NTPC’sdam on Dhauliganga were alsodamaged in the disaster.According to official sources,the avalanche took place atabout 10 am and soon afterthat the Government issuedalerts in all areas along theAlaknanda and Ganga riversfrom Chamoli district down toHaridwar.

Chief Minister TrivendraSingh Rawat, along with seniorofficials, reached the affectedarea in the afternoon to assessthe situation. Talking to medi-apersons after returning toDehradun, the CM said at thetime when the disaster struckabout 35 persons and twopolicemen were at the

Rishiganga project site. Aboutfive kilometres downstreamat the NTPC project underconstruction in Tapovan morethan 100 persons had gone towork. Scores of the workerswere able to move away onhearing the shouts of alarm asthe flood progressed.

Seven bodies had beenrecovered till the evening. Theflood damaged one bridge atReni and four suspensionbridges. The road link to 17 vil-lages has been severed thoughresidents in seven out of these

villages migrate seasonally.The CM said, “PresidentRamnath Kovind called meexpressing concern about thedisaster.

Prime Minister NarendraModi also phoned me twice,expressing concern and assur-ing all the assistance requiredby Uttarakhand. Union HomeMinister Amit Shah also calledtwice to enquire about the sit-uation and assured all help.

“Chief Ministers of UttarPradesh, Bihar and Gujaratalso called us and assured all

necessary help.” On beingasked about the damage assess-ment and State’s requirements,the CM said at present themain focus is on rescuing peo-ple and saving lives.

The State has all the nec-essary resources for rescueand medical treatment, aug-mented by the Centre inresponse to the disaster. Whenasked about the possible causeof the disaster, he said the causewill be ascertained later byexperts as now the focus is onsaving lives.

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The glacier burst which trig-gered Chamoli tragedy

leading to the damage to theRishi Ganga Project down-stream was waiting to happenin the hydel plants dottedfragile mountainous region ofUttarakhand, environmental-ists have said.

In fact, a 2019 study pub-lished in the journal ScienceAdvances revealed that due torising temperatures because of

global warming, Himalayanglaciers are melting twice asfast since the start of the 21stcentury and have lot over avertical foot and a half of iceeach year.

“This melting of glaciershas created a potential threatof water supply for hundredsof millions of people in coun-tries including India,” said theresearchers in their analysis,spanning 40 years of satelliteobservations across India,China, Nepal and Bhutan.

While climate changemake the region vulnerable toearthquake and cloudburst,the environmentalists feel thatthe government’s unstoppableconstruction of hydel powerplants and other activities likeroads were adding to the envi-ronmental woes.

BJP leader Uma Bhartihas also expressed concernsover the dam constructionspree in the “ecologically sen-sitive” region around theDhauli Ganga river’s upstream.

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The Centre has no immedi-ate plan to make the vac-

cines available in the openmarket. The country has vac-cinated nearly six millionhealthcare and frontline work-ers so far.

“Presently, Covid-19 vac-cines are being administeredon an emergency basis, underfull observation and in a con-trolled manner. If the vac-cines are released in the openmarket, there won’t be any con-trol over them. The decisionwill be taken as the situationdemands,” Union HealthMinister Harsh Vardhan said.

The Minister said thecountry is developing sevenmore Covid-19 vaccines andalso working on further vac-

cine development to inoculateevery citizen of India. TheCovid-19 inoculation processfor people aged above 50 willstart in March, he said.“We arenot dependent only on the twovaccines as the country isworking on seven more indige-nous vaccines. Simultaneously,we are also working on thedevelopment of more vaccinesbecause India is a huge coun-try and we need more playersand research to reach out toeveryone,” he said. Three of thevaccines are in the trial phase,two are in the pre-clinicalstage, one is in phase 1 andanother in phase 2, he said.

“As on February 7, 2021,till 8 am, total of 57.75 lakh(57,75,322) beneficiaries havereceived the Covid-19 vaccineunder the countrywide vacci-nation exercise. The cumula-tive vaccination coverageincludes 53,04,546 healthcareworkers and 4,70,776 frontlineworkers,” said the Ministry.

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Asserting that the agitationagainst the Centre’s farm

laws is a people’s movementthat will not fail, BharatiyaKisan Union leader RakeshTikait on Sunday said there willbe no “ghar wapsi” till protest-ing farmers’ demands are met.

Tikait lauded the role of“khap panchayats” (caste coun-cils) and their leaders in sup-porting the farmers’ stir.

Addressing a “KisanMahapanchayat” near here,Tikait said the Governmentshould rollback the contentiousfarm laws, frame a new legis-lation to assure the continua-tion of the minimum supportprice (MSP) for crops andrelease the farmers arrestedrecently. “There will be no‘ghar wapsi’ till farmers’demands are met,” he said.“Yeh jan andolan hai, yeh failnahi hoga (this is a people’smovement, this will not fail),”he added.Tikait claimed thecampaign against the agricul-ture laws is going strong.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi on Sunday kicked off

his pre-poll campaign in WestBengal with a scathing attackon Mamata BanerjeeGovernment holding it guiltyof “innumerable fouls” andpromising the people of theState “optimum good gover-nance” once the BJP comes topower. “The people will bringthe BJP to power replacing theTMC Government,” Modi said.

He was addressing a polit-ical rally at the industrial townof Haldia in East Midnaporewhere he inaugurated a pletho-ra of Central projects worth �5,000 crore, including Dhobi-Durgapur gas pipeline andfishing hub.

The PM referred to lingo ofBengal’s popular sports, foot-ball, and said, “Bengal is a Statethat loves football. That’s why,using some football terminol-ogy, I would like to say that thebua bhatija (aunt-nephew) dis-pensation had ‘committed a

number of fouls like mal-gov-ernance, tolabaji (extortion),general loot, syndicate raj’criminalisation of politics andpoliticisation of the policeadministration.”

He went on to add, “Thepeople of Bengal are watching

and very soon, the State willshow the ‘Ram card’ to theTMC,” Modi said, in an obvi-ous reference to the red card infootball.

“This is why the people ofBengal have decided to bringthe BJP by throwing it out of

power … even the TMC sup-porters are itching to see theback of this Government. Andthis is why the real parivaratan(political change) will take placeunlike the one that MamataDidi had promised 10 years agobut ended up giving a worseGovernment than what the Leftand the Congress gave,” he said.

The people had expected“Mamata (compassion)” fromthe TMC Government after itcame to power but they got“nirmamta (cruelty)” instead,he said alleging how the ChiefMinister was so intolerant tocriticism that she put thosebehind bars all those whoraised their voices against her.

“She is even intoleranttowards slogans like BharatMaata ki Jai (hail MotherIndia),” Modi said remindinghow on account of bad gover-nance given by the Congress,Left and the TMC, Bengalwhich had a glorious past rank-ing among the best developedStates in the country hadturned into a laggard of sorts.

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After a glacial break in theTapovan-Reni area of

Uttarakhand’s Chamoli dis-trict, the DefenceGeoinformatic ResearchEstablishments on Sundayissued a fresh warning of anavalanche in Jammu &Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh,Ladakh, Uttarakhand andSikkim in the next two days.The yellow warning issued forHP’s Kullu, Lahaul and Spiti on

the Manali-Leh and Manali-Beas Kund axis and theUdaipur-Killar-Chamba roadwas sent to the Ministry ofHome Affairs and NationalDisaster ManagementAuthority on Sunday.Meanwhile, in a relief for thearea hit by a glacier burst inUttarakhand, IndiaMeteorological Department onSunday said no adverse weath-er is expected over Chamoli,Tapovan and Joshimath onFebruary 7 and 8.

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The Army has deployed 600men, including engineers

and medical teams, as part ofthe rescue efforts in Chamoliflash flood in Uttrakhand onSunday. Three helicopters andspecialised equipment werealso deployed at the mishap site.

Two transport planes ofIAF to ferry NDRF troops andequipment are ready atHindon. Also 40 marine com-mandos will be flown fromMumbai.

Special teams of scientistsof the Defence Research andDevelopment Organisation(DRDO) were airlifted to mon-itoring avalanches and floods.

The Indian Airforce hasalso kept several aircraft andhelicopters on the standby,while the Navy has flown spe-cialist divers of the IndianNavy to Uttrakhand.

At least, seven teams ofdivers will help in locatingand rescuing missing people,officials said here on Sunday.The three Army helicopterswere carrying out reconnais-sance missions to assist the res-cue teams on ground to reachthe exact spot to rescue strand-ed people.

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The proposed bylaws framedby the National

Monuments Authority (NMA)prohibiting construction worksaround the Jagannath Templein Puri have drawn sharp reac-tions from all quarters inOdisha. Puri BJD Lok Sabhamember Pinaki Misra termedit a ‘conspiracy’ by the Centreto stop the ongoing beautifica-tion projects of the JagannathTemple as well asBhubaneswar’s LingarajTemple. Taking to Twitter, hesaid the notification on bylawsfor the Puri temple proposingto impose complete restric-tions up to 300 metre aroundthe shrine has deeply hurt sen-timents of Odia people.

Reacting to the controver-sial bylaws, the Shree JagannathTemple Administration (SJTA)has urged the NMA for with-drawal of the draft application

on ‘Heritage Bye-Laws forShree Jagannath Temple, Puri,Odisha’. SJTA ChiefAdministrator Krishan Kumarwrote to the NMA, “ShreeJagannath is the AradhyaDevata of Odias and millionsof Hindus across India and theworld. He is worshipped asBrahmadaru at his Mula Pithaat Puri. The divinity and wor-ship of Shree Jagannath as theLord of Universe is as timelessand as infinite as the cosmositself. It is in this backgroundof faith, religion and spiritual-ity for millions of Hindus thatany intervention by the author-ities is to be looked at.”

He said temple and all theproperties belonging to LordJagannath in land records standin the name of Shree JagannathMahaprabhu. To manage thetemple affairs, the servitorsand all the properties of theLords, a Shree JagannathTemple ManagementCommittee (SJTMC) has beenconstituted as the statutorybody under the Shri JagannathTemple Act, 1955. “It was to getthe technical knowhow ofArcheological Survey of India(ASI) for conservation of theancient built structure that

SJTMC entered into an agree-ment with the ASI on August22, 1979. This agreementrestricts and codifies dutiesand responsibilities of ASI vis-a-vis Shree Mandira. The bareregarding of agreement indi-cates that importance of ShreeJagannath Temple as one of theDhams for Hindus all over theworld was given due consider-ation when management com-mittee agreed to involve ASI incertain conservation works ofancient built structures,” theSJTA chief ’s letter stated.

He wrote that a large num-ber of habitations (sahis),which are more than a millen-nium, exist around theShreemandir. These habita-tions are mainly of servitors’families, who have been ren-dering services to Lords sincetime immemorial. With impo-sition of restrictions, they arelikely to be severely adverselyaffected. They must be con-sulted before any process torestrict their rights is under-taken by the NMA. It may putan adverse impact on continu-ity of rituals at thetemple.Informing the NMAabout the ongoing projects ofthe Shreemandir, he said the

State Government has acquiredlands and properties forstrengthening safety and secu-rity of the centuries-old shrineunder the project of ShreeJagannath Heritage Corridor(SJHC).

“This project (SJHC) willalso provide pilgrims with facil-ities such as drinking water, toi-lets, cloak rooms and QueueManagement System. Theseproperties have been acquiredby State Government throughnegotiations and most of thepeople have come forward tocontribute their lands andproperties for the purpose ofthis project.

Any regulation which hasthe potential to restrict devel-opment of facilities and ameni-ties on lands voluntarily con-tributed by the devotees of theLord will hurt their senti-ments,” Krishan Kumar wroteto the NMA Member Secretaryrequesting for immediate with-drawal of the draft application.

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The National Human RightsCommission (NHRC) has

directed the Odisha ChiefSecretary to pay Rs 2 lakh tothe family members of an elec-trocution victim and to send itproof of payment. Acting on apetition filed by activist-lawyerRadhakanta Tripathy, theNHRC sought response fromthe State latest by February 26.

Tripathy alleged that thevictim, a four-year-old boyPabitra Bidika of Sikabadiunder the Kolnara police sta-tion of Rayagada district, whileplaying on July 31, 2018 camein contact with a live electricwire and was electrocuted. Butno action has been takenagainst the errant officials norhas any compensation beenpaid to the victim's family.The NHRC was of the opinion

that officials of the Southcowere found to be negligent intheir duties, The fateful inci-dent could have been avoidedand a precious life could havebeen saved. The conduct oferring officials, thus, resulted inviolation of human rights of thevictim. The State is liable to paymonetary compensation to thenext of the kin of the deceased.

Since no response has beenreceived from the State author-ities to the show-cause notice,the NHRC assumes that theState Government has noobjection to the monetary reliefto be paid to kin of deceasedboy, the commission stated.

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The Commissionerate policeon Sunday arrested five

more persons in connectionwith the sex racket operating atthe Divyang training centre inthe Palaspalli area ofBhubaneswar.

Earlier, prime accusedSuresh Behera, the secretary ofthe All Odisha OrthopedicallyHandicapped WelfareAssociation, and a womanemployee had been arrested.With this arrests, the totalarrests rose to seven.

The other arrestees areSangram Das, a Clerk of theKhordha District SocialSecurity Office (DSSO), twoemployees of the Divyang

training centre Rakesh Sarangiand Sanjukta Meher, a womanfrom Cuttack and Lulu, anagent from Bhubaneswar. Themedical examinations of theaccused were underway; andafter completion of the process,a decision would be on theirremand by police.

The arrested woman fromCuttack and the agent Lulufrom Bhubaneswar wereinvolved in immoral traffick-ing.“During investigation, welearnt that the woman fromCuttack, who is a queen bee ofsex racket, and Lulu ofBhubaneswar were involved inimmoral trafficking. We willconduct further investigationinto it,” a police official said.

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In the wake of the reportsAndhra Pradesh is planning

to hold panchayat polls insome bordering villages ofKoraput and Gajapati districts,the Odisha Government hasmade it clear that it would notallow an inch of land to be mis-used by the neighbouring State.

Revenue Minister SudamMarndi told reporters that theState Government is aware ofthe Andhra PradeshGovernment’s activities inKoraput and Gajapati districtsand appropriate measureswould be taken at proper time.

He, however, refused todivulge details of Odisha’s planwhen asked whether the StateGovernment would move theSupreme Court in this context.

“Chief Minister NaveenPatnaik has announced pack-ages worth Rs 150 crore forKotia gram panchayat inKoraput district and inaugu-rated projects of Rs 18 crorerecently.

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While there was wide-scaleapprehension that winter

would scale up Covid-19 cases,Kandhamal district proved itotherwise.

In fact, Kandhamal is thecoldest place in Odisha with themercury level settled below 10degree Celsius for the past twoweeks. However, Kandhamalhas become Covid-19-free withno active case left in the districtfor last three days. Odisha’s

Covid-19 caseload on Sundayrose to 3,35,620 after 72 morepeople tested positive for theinfection, a Health Departmentofficial said.

The death toll remainedunchanged at 1,909 as no freshfatality was reported sinceSaturday, he said Of the 72 newcases, 43 were reported fromquarantine centres and the restdetected during contact trac-ing. Sundargarh district report-ed the maximum number ofnew cases at 14 followed byAngul at 10 and Jharsuguda atseven.

Twelve districts, includingBhadrak, Dhenkanal,Jagatsinghpur, Kandhamal,

Kendrapada and Keonjhar, didnot register any new case in thelast 24 hours, the official said.

The State currently has853 active cases while as manyas 3,32,733 patients have recov-ered from the highly infectiousdisease. Fifty-three Covid-19patients have died in the Statedue to co-morbidities.

At least 78.40 lakh sampleshave been examined for Covid-19, including 23,785 onSaturday. The positivity rate inthe coastal state stands at 4.27per cent. More than 2.75 lakhfrontline workers have beenadministered Covid-19 vac-cine in the State thus far, theofficial added.

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Adecomposed body of ayouth was found hanging

from a tree in a forest atGhatikia under the Bharatpurpolice station in Bhubaneswaron Sunday. The body wasrecovered by police in the for-est behind the Governmentengineering college nearGhatikia. The deceased wasidentified as Raghunath Beheraalias Kalia, a resident ofGhatikia.

Police have sent the bodyto a local hospital for post-mortem and launched investi-gation after registering a UDcase.Locals said that Raghunathwas missing for over a month.

Following which his fami-ly had lodged a missing com-plaint at the Bharatpur policestation. A local found hisdecomposed body hangingfrom a tree in the morning andinformed Raghunath’s familymembers of Raghunath, whorushed to the spot and identi-fied the body. Raghunath hadearlier been lodged at a drugde-addiction centre.

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Twelve days after the myste-rious death of Rama Devi

Women’s University studentJharaphula Nayak, police arestill clueless about the hideoutof prime accused RakeshSwain’s associate Shakti Sekhar,who has been absconding afteraccompanying Rakesh to dumpthe girl’s body in Jajpur district.

The mystery behindJharapula’s death is expected tobe unfolded if police succeed tonab the second accused.

The prima facie suggeststhat the death of Jharaphulawas not natural and accusedRakesh Swain is said to haveconfessed to the crime beforepolice during interrogation.

Source said that policehave ample evidence againstRakesh that he murdered

Jharaphula on January 26 night.However, no motive has yetbeen ascertained for the killing.A source in the police said thatit is planned to take Rakesh onremand again for interrogationto analyse the suspected mur-der from various angles.

As Rakesh’s friend Sekhar,who had driven the scooter onwhich Jharaphula’s body wascarried from Bhubaneswar toJajpur, is still at large, police areyet to solve murder mystery.

Jharaphula, who hailedfrom Brundeiposhi villageunder the Jashipur police lim-its in Mayurbhanj district andwas a +3 second year studentof the Rama Devi Women’sUniversity, Bhubaneswar, hadstayed with her boyfriendRakesh in a private guesthousein Dharma Vihar under theKhandagiri police limits inBhubaneswar on January 26.The young couple had spentthe night at Room No. 201 ofthe guesthouse.

Next morning, Jharaphula’sbody was found on roadside

near Kuakhia in Jajpur district.Police source said Jharaphuladied late on January 26 nightand the mystery of her death ishidden inside the walls of theguesthouse. While Rakeshwas on a three-day remand,police have found solid evi-dence of Jharaphula’s murder.The investigators are nowsearching for Sekhar, who hadhelped Rakesh in dumpingJharaphula’s body on roadside.Once he is apprehended, policemay reach any conclusion.

Now, police are movingvery cautiously to crack themurder case.Reports saidJharaphula had confrontedwith Rakesh during their stayat the guesthouse room onJanuary 26 night.

Rakesh found her uncon-scious next morning, followingwhich he took her on his scoot-er with the help of Sekharfrom the guesthouse anddumped the body on a road-side, around 90 km fromBhubaneswar, near Kuakhia.Meanwhile, police have seized

the scooter used for dumpingJharaphula’s body as well asclothes of Rakesh. Police sourcesaid Rakesh had abandoned thescooter near an under-con-struction house, a few milesaway from his residence inSundarpada on outskirts ofBhubaneswar on January 27after dropping Sekhar near hishouse. The disturbed Rakeshvisited his relative (father’s sis-ter) at Balianta by anothertwo-wheeler. He stayed there atnight and disclosed about theincident to his cousins. His twocousins were interrogatedrecently in connection with thecase. Police released them onFriday after recording theirstatements.

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University of Guelph ProfManju Misra has been

named one of the Women’sExecutive Networks (WXN)Most Powerful Women for2020. She has been recognisedby WXN for her work in mate-rial science engineering at theuniversity.

“By this recognition I havereceived, may many youngerwomen be encouraged notonly to seek higher educationbut to pursue studies in scienceand engineering disciplines inorder to make their own pas-sionate contribution to a betterworld,” Misra, an Odia, who isborn and educated in India,said. She said she related to thetheme of this year’s award tounite and rise beyond borders.“My story shows how an immi-grant scientist can advanceand contribute.

Canada is providing moreand more opportunity for uswomen to use our criticalthinking skills to solve prob-lems and make discoveries thatcan benefit people all over theworld.”

Misra holds a jointappointment in U of G’s Schoolof Engineering andDepartment of PlantAgriculture. She is a worldleader in the development ofnovel bio-based compositesand nanocomposites madefrom agricultural and forestryresources.

Along with Prof AmarMohanty, she leads U of G’sBioproducts Discovery andDevelopment Centre (BDDC).Materials developed at theBDDC are used as substitutesfor conventional plastics in avariety of products, includingin the automotive sector and insingle-use plastic.

The 2020 Canada’s MostPowerful Women: Top 100Award Winners recognises out-standing women across Canadawho advocate for workforcediversity and inspire tomor-row’s leaders. Misra was select-ed in the Manulife Science

and Technology Award cate-gory. “By working togetheracross borders collaboratively,we can leverage the strength ofothers in the global communi-ty; we can have impact onenhancing the quality of life formany people; we can provideleadership in the application ofscience to achieve outcomes tobenefit coming generations;and we can open minds to dis-covery and potential neverpossible before,” she said.

University Vice-President(Research) Malcolm Campbellsaid Misra’s work is dedicatedto creating a better, more sus-tainable future for everyone.“Prof Misra is truly a phe-nomenon and a game changer,a person of incredible intellect,exceptional expertise and spec-tacular skills. She is a trueleader in the world of scienceand innovation and a champi-on for female scientists,” heobserved.

Misra has created award-winning materials from sus-tainable resources, reducingCanada’s reliance on petroleumproducts and its carbon foot-print, he said, adding, “Herinnovations will generateenhanced environmental, eco-nomic and societal benefits.She is a highly influential andexceptional scientist.”

Misra has authored morethan 700 publications, includ-ing 396 peer-reviewed journalpapers and 21 book chapters,and holds more than 50patents.

In 2018, she and ProfMohanty received the NaturalSciences and EngineeringResearch Council of CanadaSynergy Award for Innovation.She is a Fellow of the AmericanInstitute of Chemical Engineersand the Royal Society ofChemistry in the UK.

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An under-trial prisoner(UTP) lodged in the Puri

district jail died under myste-rious circumstances at hospitalon Sunday. The deceased wasidentified as Sridhar Das.

Sources said that Das fellill on Saturday following whichhe was rushed to the DistrictHeadquarters Hospital by thehospital authorities. However,he was declared dead whileundergoing treatment.Meanwhile, wife of thedeceased, Sabita has allegedfoul play behind the death ofher husband.

She suspected that her hus-band was killed in the jail. Shehas also lodged a complaintwith the Ramachandi police inthis connection.PuriSuperintendent of Police KBSingh assured investigationinto the death of the UTP asper guidelines of the NationalHuman Rights Commission(NHRC).

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The cold wave conditionsare likely to impact across

the State with a fall in minimumtemperature from Monday.According to the RegionalMeteorological Centre,Bhubaneswar, the minimumtemperature (night tempera-ture) is likely to drop by 4degree Celsius. The weatherconditions are likely to prevailtill February 10. The Regional

Meteorological Centre alsoissued yellow warning and cau-tioned citizens to avoid pro-longed exposure to cold duringnight and early morning. “Coldis tolerable, but mild healthconcern for infants and elder-ly people will be there. Keep livestocks in indoors and shadedareas during night and early inthe morning,” the Met officeadvised. Cold wave conditionsare very likely to prevail at oneor two places over the districtsof Sundargarh, Jharsuguda,Deogarh, Keonjhar,Mayurbhanj, Kalahandi andKandhamal. Cold wave condi-

tions are also very likely to pre-vail at one or two places overthe districts of Sambalpur,Bargarh, Angul, Boudh,Balangir, Kalahandi,Kandhamal, Nuapada,Nabarangpur, Baleswar,Bhadrak and Subarnapur.

Yellow Warning (from08:30 hrs of February 09 to08:30 hrs February 10): Coldwave conditions are very like-ly to prevail at one or two placesover the districts of Sundargarh,Jharsuguda, Keonjhar, Deogarh,Mayurbhanj, Kalahandi,Kandhamal, Nabarangpur andBalangir.

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The tainted revenue inspec-tor (RI) of Puri South and

Balukhanda revenue circleBasant Kumar Mohanty, who isa fugitive now followingVigilance raids on his residenceand 8 other buildings onJanuary 29, is reportedlyputting pressure on mediaper-sons not to cover his story.Recently, he is alleged to have

called a stringer of an Odiadaily and urged him to stophighlighting the issue. He alsosought to know the publicviews in the city on him afterthe Vigilance raids and want-ed help from media. The vigi-lance team is presently emptyhanded having no informationon whereabouts of Mohantyafter nine days of his abscond-ing. A narrative is going thickand fast in city that Mohanty,having his closeness with somebigwigs inState capital, is livingin a safe hideout, for which hecould be brought to book.

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The Commissionerate policeon Sunday arrested four

members of a criminals’ gangthat mostly used to targetwomen during morning walksin Bhubaneswar.

The four robbers werearrested in a joint raid by ateam of the special squad ledby ACP Sanjeeb Satpathy andthe Chandrasekharpur policefrom an under-constructionhouse in theChandrasekharpur area andconspiring to commit acrime.Senior police officialssaid that gold ornaments worthlakhs of rupees were seizedfrom their possession.

Police have kept theiridentity secret apprehendingthat it might hamper furtherinvestigations.Apart from goldjewellery, police have seized amotorcycle, air pistol and sharpweapons like sword and chop-per from their possession.

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Despite several representa-tions to the authorities

and efforts at different levels,the Mahendragiri Hills inGajapati district, known for itsrich natural heritages, is yet tobe declared as a Biosphere.The hilly track with historical,biological and anthropologicalsignificance has a unique cul-tural and mythological identityin the Eastern Ghats mountainrange.

The area inhabited byprimitive tribes like LanjiaSaura, Sudha Saura and BhimaSauras is also known for itsrich flora and fauna. “A uniquebiodiversity hotspot, as it is,needs serious consideration byboth Union and StateGovernments to designate it asa Biosphere and Sanctuary to

protect and conserve its richnatural resources,” said OrissaEnvironment Society (OES)president Dr SundaraNarayana Patro, who also hap-pens to be a Member of StateGovernment-designated fea-sibility study committee con-stituted on November 2, 2011.

Patro was speaking at aPress conference organisedjointly by the OES and theMahendragiri SurakshyaSamiti here on Sunday after adaylong consultation work-shop on “IntegratedDevelopment of MahendragiriHill Complex”.

The organisers demandedthat declaration of a BiosphereReserve be based on TheWildlife Institute of India(WII)’s recommendation ofsetting up a Wildlife Sanctuaryin the Mahendragiri Hills andthe Union Government’s sug-

gestion to the OdishaGovernment in 1992 whichhad suggested that the hills beconsidered as such by enlarg-ing the area and encompassingthe entire hill with the sanc-tuary as its core.

This would enable con-servation of the historical sites,anthropology and ethnobotany of the tract.

The then Union Ministerof Environment & ForestsKamal Nath had replied to arepresentation of formerBrahmapur MP GopinathGajapati in this regard.

Patro further stated that atthe initiatives of the OES, theForest & EnvironmentDepartment of Odisha, aseven-member committee hadbeen constituted in November2011 to study the feasibility ofconsidering the MahendragiriHills as a Biosphere Reserve.

The committee in its fourthmeeting held on December 20,2014 had unanimously agreedin principle to propose thebiosphere.

Mahendragiri SurakshyParishad president LaxmiBaba said, “The Mahendragirihill complex should be con-sidered as a Biosphere as wellas heritage because of its reli-gious and mythological impor-tance besides conservation ofits rich medicinal plants.Besides, development of the

hill complex will protect andensure life and livelihoods’ oflocal community.”

Laxmi Baba pointed outthat in recognition of itsmythological significance,Mahendragiri finds a place inthe list of 15 sites identifiedunder the Ramayana Circuit asone of the 13 thematic circuitsidentified for developmentunder the the SwadeshDarshan scheme of theGovernment of India. Theorganisers demanded that the

Odisha Government send theproposal to the UnionGovernment for declaring theMahendragiri Hills as aBiosphere Reserve. TheGovernment of India is alsourged to initiate a process tonominate the hill complex tothe UNESCO for inclusion ina tentative list of WorldHeritage Sites.

The organisers also pro-posed to the Government todevelop ecotourism in thearea and urged theArcheological Survey of Indiato start conservation efforts ofthe ancient temple monu-ments in the hilly track.

Among others, StateAssembly Speaker SurjyaNarayan Patro, OES secretaryDr JK Panigrahi and repre-sentatives of local communi-ties participated in the dis-cussions at the convention.

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Days after the AndhraPradesh Government

announced panchayat elec-tions to six revenue villages inGajapati district, a team ofadministrative officials ofOdisha led by theParalakhemundi Sub-Collectorvisited the Gangabada area inRayagada block in the districtand spoke to locals on Saturday.

The team which visitedthe area on instructions ofGajapati Collector AnupamSaha, spoke to the people ofManikapatna, Gudikhudi,Burisingh, Amiring andMadhikhala villages andrequested them not to partici-

pate in the Panchayat polls ofAndhra Pradesh. The officialsalso informed about the vari-ous welfare schemes of theOdisha Government.Following which the localshave decided to boycott pollsby the nieghbouring State.

Besides, Laxmi Sabar, oneof the candidates ofManikapatan village, who hadfiled her nominations forAndhra Pradesh Panchayatpolls withdrew her candidature.The Sub-Collector also askedthe Rayagada Tehsildar to issue

a show-cause notice to theMandal Revenue Officer forluring the Odisha villagerswith false promises and illegalbenefits. He said that Gajapatidistrict administration wouldremain vigilant and have dailyreports from BDO andTehsildar about any violationby neighbouring State.

Besides, strict action wouldbe taken against violation byAndhra Pradesh officials.Panda also warned people notto be lured by false promises ofAndhra Pradesh.

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Senior Congress leader andformer Minister Ganeswar

Behera on Sunday held a Pressmeet here and informed thatthe Congress would stage ademonstration before the dis-trict Collector office onFebruary 10 protesting againstthe callous attitude of the ChiefMinister over setting up of amedical college and hospital inKendrapada district.

Behera urged the publicand intellectual masses to co-operate with the Collectoroffice gherao programme onFebruary 10 to press the legit-imate demand .

The responsible citizensand intellectual masses shouldcome forward to join hands ontheir slogan of “ Mati Pain PatiKhola(raise your voice for thenative land), Zilla Swartha PainLadhei Kar(fight for the inter-est of district)”.

It is purely unfortunatethat the Cheif Minister duringlast general poll made severalpromises but failed to keep any,alleged Ganeswar Behera. On

February 18 last year, theCongress party also staged ademonstration in front of thedistrict Collector office on fivekey demands ,including med-ical college at the district anduniversity status to theKendrapada AutonomousCollege , but the demandshave not been fulfilled.

On December 16, he wroteto the Chief Minister reiterar-ing the demands but in vain,said Behera. Notably, the

activists of BJP Yuba morchaof Kendrapada unit on lastDecember 17 had also orga-nized a protest rally atTinimuhani area from RamMandir to Tinimuhani chowkand later burnt the effigy ofCM Patnaik, along with the MPof Kendrapada ,and all theMLAs of the district, protest-ing against callous and stepmotherly attitude of the ChiefMinister in neglecting coastalKendrapada district.

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Whether it is the UPAGovernment or the NDA

Government, there is no sign ofhappiness for Rourkela so far asthe Railway Budget is con-cerned. The important railwayproject is a 50 years old project.

It may be noted here that,the demand for Talcher-Bimlagarh Rail link (TBRL)was initiated 54 years back.After much hue and cry andintensive public agitation, theproject of 149.743 km wasapproved by the Union Cabinetin 2003-04 and the RailwayMinistry decided to constructthe rail line. But unfortunate-ly, after 17 years, the bud-getary sanction to the projectis very feeble in comparison toother projects. Surprisinglywhile the allocation in lastyear was Rs 140 crore, this yearit has drastically slashed to onlyRs 10 crore. So, with this thedenizens here are not only dis-

mayed but also sceptical forcompletion of the project.

While on the one side, theUnion Government is veryconservative in allocating thefund, on the other, the sluggishmove of the State Governmentfor land acquisition has thrownthe fate of the project intouncertainty.

It may further be notedhere that while the project wassanctioned by the UnionGovernment, the target fixedfor completion of the projectwas by 2012. But it was inor-dinately delayed for variousreasons. Later the target linewas set for March 2022 andsubsequently to March 2023.Now the target is fixed forMarch 2025 which is alsodoubtful. Interestingly onJanuary 27, 2021 it was told bythe Railway authority thatavailability of fund is not anissue for the project. If the landacquisition and handoverprocess is completed by March

2022 then the project will becompleted by 2025. TheTalcher-Bimlagarh rail link is adream project especially for thepeople of Rourkela. Becausewith this new link the rail dis-tance between Rourkela andCuttack will be shortened by120 km. So, the people willhave to spend less money andtime in travel and will be com-fortable to shift critical patientsto Cuttack and Bhubaneswarfor better treatment.

The other significantaspect of the project is theRourkela Steel Plant whichwould save about Rs 100 croreper year in transportation ofcoal.Reacting on the thin bud-getary allocation for such animportant project, the apathy ofrailway has been going up saidTalcher-Bimlagarh Rail LinkAction Committee presidentAdwaita Prasad Biswal.

While the required land forthe project is in last stage, thepaltry allocation of fund has

pushed the project into uncer-tainty. In the present marketrate, it would not be possible toconstruct a fly overbridge withthis Rs 10 crore. It was planningof the East Coast Railway to setup another office at Bimlagarh

so that the construction workcould be expedited from bothsides. But with the Rs 10 croreallocation, it would not bepossible to set up an office. So,denouncing the apathy of theUnion Government, the action

committee will be compelled toreorganise the agitation, addedBiswal. So, in coming days theTalcher-Bimlagarh rail link willbe a political game betweenState-Centre ruling partieshere, feel many.

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The universities are founda-tion pillars for generating

ideas, innovations, and knowl-edge, while industries are ele-mentary bases for applicationof the same. Students come touniversities with a dream tolearn, discuss, experience andstart their career, and in thissuccession all their aims get ful-filled when they get employ-ment in industrial sectors orother sectors.

Thus, while the universitiesstand for training young brains,industries stand for wideningemployment to such youngbrains. Therefore, university-industry partnership is theneed of the hour, said FMUniversity VC ProfDinabandhu Sahoo whileaddressing students.

Universities, colleges andresearch institutes are abode ofknowledge and industries areabode of practical applicationsof such knowledge, he main-tained. Prof Sahoo started anew initiative “Meet theEminent Academicians andPeople from the CorporateWorld", where there will be lec-tures, interactions to inspirestudents for their future.Whilelaunching the first of such lec-ture and interaction series, thechief speaker was Dr HKPattnaik, Global Industrialistsfrom Vadodora. He explained

about global waste manage-ment techniques and opportu-nities of employment for stu-dents in the industry sector.Further, addressing the stu-dents, teachers and others, ProfSahoo urged them to under-stand the value of educationand employment in one’s life.

He further emphasized thata highly educated scholar with-out proper employment cannotquest for the best desired goalsof life and similarly a qualityemployed person withoutproper education cannot excelin life. Therefore, a balancebetween the two is the mostessential, he added. “Studentsare the bright future of ournation and their educationemployability is our top mostpriority.

Thus, I declare that FMUniversity will always stand upto its commitment and toencourage this further, a newlecture series between studentsand eminent academicians andcorporate world tycoons wouldbe regularly organised in thecampus, so as to motivate stu-dents find their employmentsand enrich their ideas,” Sahoomentioned.

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Dr Mihir Panda, an engineer in thePanchayati Raj department, has been

selected by the National Council forScience and Technology to receive theNational Award for Outstanding Efforts inScience and Technology.

The award including a citation,memento and cash of Rs 2 lakh would begiven to him on Feburary 28, the NationalScience Day, by the Central Governmentin a programme to be conducted in vir-tual mode, said Panda.The prestigiousaward added another feather in the cap ofDr Panda when he has several awards

including international ones to his creditdue to his innovative projects mainly chil-dren.A PhD and DLit degree holder,Panda has over 10,000 innovative mod-els in his laboratory which he made in pur-suance to his relentless efforts to take sci-ence to the common man. Panda, a nativeof Bahanaga last year, received the awardof the Indian Science Congress Associationin 2019 for his dedication towards sciencefor over 33 years.

Besides these prestigious awards, hehas registered his name in world recordsof as many as 23 countries and has beenfelicitated by over 150 organisations.

Among his several innovations, lowcost housing technology and earthquakeresistance building have received interna-tional acclamation. “I have been pursuingmy passion out of my own resources andhave dreamt to carry the research to a newheight once I have adequate funds,” saidPanda. The people of Baleswar, besides

hailing Panda’s recognition, maintainedhe was an asset for the State which can befurther encouraged by supplementingadequate support to popularize science ata time when India is aspiring for‘Atmanirbhar Bharat.'

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The next Divisional LevelCommittee meeting of the

South Eastern Railway will beheld on February 24 atRourkela, thanks to the initia-tive of Sundargarh MP JualOram. Sources said it wasOram who had proposed tohost it in Rourkela to theGeneral Manager, SouthEastern Railway and DRM,Chakradharpur Division.

Honouring to Oram’s pro-posal, it was decided to host theChakradharpur and RanchiDivisional Committee meetingat Rourkela. The MPs of both

the divisions would be attend-ing the meeting. Accordingly,MPs like Jual Oram, AmarPatnaik, Prasanta Nanda,Sasmit Patra, PrasannaAcharya, Sarijini Hembram,Biseswar Tudu, Bidyut BaranMahato, Suresh Pujari, NiteshGangdeb, Chandrani Murmu,Geeta Kora and Arjun Mundawould be attending the meet-ing.

So, it is expected manyimportant issues includingestablishment of new RourkelaRailway Division and Talcher-Bimlagarh rail link would betabled for discussion in themeeting.

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While sharing her experi-ence, SUCI leader

Chhabi Mohanty said the waythe Modi Government hadbeen showing cruelty towardsthe farmers who were on agi-tation path protesting farmlaws, it had crossed the all bar-barism of British regime.

Mohanty said she waswith the farmers in their dhar-na site from December 20 toFebruary 2 as a farmer’s daugh-ter. Besides, expressing hersolidarity with their agitationon behalf of Odisha andRourkela she had also visitedmany nearby villages. Afterdiscussing with many farmers,

she was convinced that thefarmers were spontaneouslyinvolved in the agitation to pro-tect their rights.That is whythousands of farmers and theirfamily members are pouring inthe agitation spot in differentmeans.

Since agitation has spreadto Punjab, Haryana, UttarPradesh, Uttarakhand andRajasthan, it has become anational movement now, sheadded.Irrespective of caste,creed, religion and gender, thepeople are rushing to spotevery day in large numbers.Even supports are coming fromvarious international organi-sations to movement. Butanti-people Modi Government

instead of resolving the farm-ers' issue is using securityforces against them, she told. Toprotect the interest of a few cor-porate houses the unionGovernment is rigid to imple-ment the three farm laws. Thefarmers very well know thatwith these laws they will beexploited bycapitalists and atend of day they will be reducedto bonded labourers losingtheir land and agriculture prod-ucts. That is why they are agi-tating with a determination of‘do or die’, said Mohanty.

Even unfortunate incidentof January 26 was plotted by thesupporters of Government tomalign farmers and foil theirstir, she alleged.

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The Forest Department onSunday suspended a

Forester and a Forest Guard inconnection with the death oftwo elephants that were runover by a goods train onFebruary 4.

The two suspended offi-cials were Bisra Range ForesterRadha Gobinda Bahidar andJareikela Forest Guard GurudebBhoi. The Forest Departmenthas also summoned the locopilot of the goods train toappear and submit his state-

ment in connection with theincident. Notably, the two ele-phants were killed after beinghit by a goods train, when anherd of pachyderms were cross-ing a railway track in Bisraregion in Sundargarh district.

Rourkela Division ACFTnkadhar Behera said, “Around30 members of our departmentwere tracking elephants alongthe railway track when thespeeding train, which was run-ning at around 100 km speed,hit the two elephants. Thoughour staffs tried to stop the trainby giving signal, it didn’t stop.”

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Extending support to agitat-ing farmers near New

Delhi, members of the KosaliKisan Sabha led by formerBalangir MP Balgopal Mishrastaged a rastaroko on BalangirSambalpur road (NH 26) atSalebhata for three hours onSaturday.

Demanding withdrawal ofthe recently passed farm lawsin the Parliament, the agitatingfarmers also demanded pro-curement of paddy at MSP rate

and purchase of paddy offarmers lying unsold in differ-ent mandis. Later, they sub-mitted a memorandum to thePresident of India through SubCollector Balangir Sudhakar

Nayak in this regard."Unlessthe Government takes appro-priate steps and solves farmerproblems,the agitation will beintensified in future," saidformerMP Balgopal Mishra.

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Abrainstorming meet onAquaculture Field School

(AFS) was held on February 5at the farm of Kailash ChandraSahoo, Subarnapur in Goparea of Puri district. The meetwas held to elicit the opinionsand suggestions of the opera-tor farmer as well as the par-ticipant fish farmers who arereceiving extension advisoryservices.

The stakeholders compris-ing line departments, KVK,Aqua One Center, NFDB,NGO, farmers associations pre-sent in the meeting evincedinterest about AFS and sharedideas about its scaling up andreplication.

Constraints and challengesfaced by operator farmer inrunning AFS were also dis-cussed. Director, ICAR-CIFADr Saroj Kumar Swain inau-gurated the meet and informed

that the CIFA has established 8AFSs in different parts ofOdisha, West Bengal andChattisgarh. The approachhas become quite popular andduring Covid pandemic, thishas assumed greater signifi-cance. Head of Social ScienceSection Dr GS Saha gave a briefdescription about the func-tions of AFS.

AFS is a school withoutwalls for improving the deci-sion-making capacity of thefarmers and facilitate crosslearning opportunities. It pro-motes farmer to farmer exten-sion, he told.

Among others presentwere Dr Manas Kumar, DrSanjay K Mohanty, NakulMallick, Sarat Moharana, DrHK De, Dr CK Mishra, ASMahapatra. A scientist-farmerinterface was also organised asa part of this programme.Around 50 farmers and farmwomen attended.

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Parala Swabhiman Manchachief, industrialist and

chairman of Hi-Tech Group,Dr Tirupati Panigrahi recent-ly visited Tirupati of AndhraPradesh.

Founder of the medicalcolleges at Tirupati, WestBengal, Bhubaneswar andRourkela had been invited byDr Mohanbabu, renowned filmstar of tollywood. DrMohanbabu has establishedSrividyaniketan at Andhra

Pradesh. Dr Panigrahi visitedthe institution who was givenwarm felicitation byMohanbabu. Dr Panigrahi hasa plan to establish a medicalcollege at Tirupati. DrPanigrahi also invited DrMohanbabu to visitParalakhemundi on comingUgadi festival which the latteragreed.

Among others, son of DrMohanbabu, an emerging film-star of Tollywood Vishnu andRupesh Panigrahi, son of DrPanigrahi were present.

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Long standing demand ofParalakhemundi-Gunupur-

Theruvalli railway track wasignored yet again in the recentRailway Budget.

The people of the undi-vided Koraput andParalakhemundi have beendemanding the track comple-tion since a long time. Even theMP Koraput met with theRailway Minister to streamline

the demand earlier. On railwaybudget proposal, Jeypore-Malkangiri (135km) was sanc-tioned Rs 28 crore, Jeypore-Nabarangpur(38 km) Rs 15crore, double track forJagdalpur-Koraput(110km) Rs85 crore and Rs 1 lakh wassanctioned for the Koraput-Singipur tract. This is indeeddiscrimination for southOdisha people to restoreParalakhemundi to Rayagadaon railway map, the intellectu-

al mass opined. Formerbureaucrat PurnachandraMahapatra expressed anguishover such shortfall in bud-getary allocation which is ahistrical blunder by theGovernment of India to defameMaharaja KC Gajapati, founderof new Odisha. More so beingbackward region, employmentcould have been generatedfrom the areas of Gajapati andRayagada district with com-pletion of the project, he added.

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The villagers of Darhopanivillage under Rengali police

station area have lodged FIRsin the Dhanupali police stationagainst a youth for cheatingthem under the pretext ofdoing labour cards for them.They also have brought the

matter to the notice of theCollector, SP and DLO ofSambalpur and sought actionto take action against theaccused.

The youth identified asRamesh Rout who has also col-lected Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,000from hundreds of people forissuing labour card.

However, after collectingmoney from hundreds of vil-lagers of the Tehsil, he was notgiving them labour card forwhich the villagers weredemanding for it time andagain. Even at times, there

were hot exchange of wordsbetween them and Rout.Recently Rout asked the vil-lagers to come of the DLOoffice and there he distributedcards to a few persons.

But looking at the cards,they suspected the authentici-ty and got it verified from theoffice of the district labour offi-cer.And their doubt came truewhen the office sources con-firmed them to be fake cards“Action will be taken againstthe accused after investiga-tion,” informed the IIC ofDhanupali.

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DGP Abhay, who was on avisit to Koraput district on

Sunday, said there has been asignificant decrease in Maoistviolence in the South-WesternPolice Range in the State.

The DGP said that theOdisha police have been suc-cessful in the ongoing anti-Maoist operations. The

Leftwing extremism has alsowitnessed a reduction inMalkangiri district especiallyin the Swabhiman Anchal..“We are hopeful and commit-ted to make the State Maoist-free. We appeal the ultras to laydown their arms and return tothe social mainstream.

The State Government’srehabilitation policy is one ofthe best in the country,” saidthe DGP.Abhay visited thedistrict to review the Leftwingextremism and the overall lawand order situation in theregion.

He said the Odisha policehave registered success on twokey fronts, Leftwing extrem-ism and crackdown on the ille-gal narcotics trade.

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To inquire about variousproblems being faced by

residents of Brahmapur here,MP Chandrasekhar Sahu,MLA Bikram Kumar Pandaand BeMC CommissionerSidheshwar Balaram Bindervisited different wards andinteracted with people. Theyfirst held a meeting in HousingBoard premises at Ward 14 andthen at Ward 9.

They talked to people andenquired about their problemsand needs. They too met peo-ple in Shanti Nagar and FishMarket of Haridakhandi. Thesought to know about canaland drain problems atKapileshwar Mandir Road inWard-18.

They then moved toBijipur market, KC HighSchool ground, Ask NagarCooperative Colony, MedicalVending zone, Medical ground,Kamapalli Nana Bandha, NewBandha, and Ward 35 andinteracted with people. Allproblems were listed and wouldbe resolved soon, said Bonder.

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The Rajnagar police arresteda 40-year-old married per-

son, identified as BibekanandaJena, a resident of Madhyapadavillage, on allegation of out-raging the modesty of a 30-year-old fellow visually-impaired unmarried woman.He also faced charge of assault-ing younger sister of the victim,when she protested the crime.Rajnagar IIC Tapan KumarNayak said as per complaintwhen visually impaired girlwas alone on Sunday morning,Jena allegedly came to herhouse and molested her.

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Brahmapur MLA BikramKumar Panda welcomed

four local youths on theirarrival at the Railway Stationhere after being rescued froma jungle near Pune inMaharashtra with his supporta few days back.

According to information,five youths, identified as AdityaSahu, Nadal Biswal, SaiMoharana, B Lingaraj andChandan Senapati were takenby a human trafficker ofRajahmundry in AP to

Maharashtra with an assuranceto employ them at a tea com-pany. However, the Dalalengaged them in fishing workin a lake. They were neitherbeing paid nor being givenfood. Unable to bear the con-tinued torture, Chandan man-aged to escape their custodyand informed their familymembers.

The affected family thenapproached the MLA andsought his help.With help ofBrahmapur SP Pinak Mishra,the youths were rescued fromBrahmapur.

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The National Green Tribunalhas rapped the Uttar

Pradesh Government for nottaking effective steps to controlpollution in River Hindon,noting that damage from pol-lution is no less than the dam-age from other heinous crimes.

A bench headed by NGTChairperson Justice A K Goelsaid repeated orders will notserve any purpose unless theadministration takes ownershipof its Constitutional obligationto the citizens.

“It is a matter of regret thatthe State authorities have failedto discharge their constitu-tional obligation of takingremedial measures inspite ofattention of the highest author-ities in the administrationbeing drawn to the problem,”the bench said.

“We had expected thatwith the involvement of theChief Secretary, the procedur-al and inter-departmental coor-dination issues will be resolved.But unfortunately, it has not sohappened,” the bench said.

“Thus, instead of keepingthe proceedings pending, weconsider it appropriate torequire the Chief Secretary,UP to ensure remedial actionon expeditious basis.

“The action should alsoinclude fixing responsibilitiesand making entry in the ser-vice record of incompetent orfailing officers, who were ear-lier entrusted this responsibil-ity, granting necessaryapprovals and providing nec-essary funds,” the bench said.

The NGT also directedthe River RejuvenationCommittee of UP to monitorexecution of action plans forHindon, subject to overall

oversight of the ChiefSecretary.

The Chief Secretary, whilereviewing the status of variousissues, may focus on timelycompletion of the ongoingworks, it said.

The green panel also notedthat the Member Secretary ofthe state pollution controlboard does not have exclusivecharge of the PCB but is alsoSpecial Secretary to theGovernment, apart from beingMember Secretary, SEIAA andholding other positions.

“One wonders how oneperson can do justice to the jobholding so many positionswhen even working as MemberSecretary pollution controlboard requires full timeinvolvement in view of seriousenvironmental issues awaitingattention.

“Independence in workingis also bound to be affectedwhen a person has multifariousfunctions, including as limb ofthe Government, making itdifficult to work as independentregulator,” the bench said.

“Even the compliancereport in the present case, onbehalf of the

State, has been filed by thesaid Member Secretary in hiscapacity as Special Secretary tothe Government. Let this aspectbe looked into by the ChiefSecretary, UP and remedialaction taken in accordancewith law in the light of theSupreme Court judgement,”the bench said.

The National GreenTribunal (NGT) was hearing apetition filed by NGO DoabaParyavaran Samiti alleging pol-lution in Kali Nadi, Krishna andHindon rivers, resulting in dis-eases and deaths of some inhab-itants of the area.

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The Supreme Court hastermed as “atrocious” the

manner in which a “sensitivematter” of narcotics has beensought to be prosecuted, anddirected the Narcotics ControlBureau (NCB) to give an expla-nation over the delay in filinga plea against the RajasthanHigh Court verdict in the case.

The apex court, whichobserved that a petition chal-lenging the high court’sDecember 2018 verdict acquit-ting the accused persons in anarcotics case has been filedbefore it after a delay of 652days, noted the “glaring gaps”and said the NCB headquartershad sat on the file for one year.

“We find that in a sensitivematter relating to narcoticsthe manner in which the pre-

sent proceedings are sought tobe prosecuted is atrocious.

The special leave petitionshave been filed after a delay of652 days,” a bench comprisingJustices Sanjay Kishan Kauland Hrishikesh Roy said in itsFebruary 1 order.

The case pertains to allegedrecovery of over 5 Kg contra-band heroin from a car in2013.

While referring to theexplanation given by the NCB,the bench noted that the “glar-ing gaps which are apparent”are — the opinion of the spe-cial public prosecutor was givenafter six months to the depart-ment on May 16, 2019 and thedraft special leave petition(SLP) is stated to have beenreceived by NCB headquarterson August 22, 2019 and wasforwarded to department con-

cerned for corrections onAugust 22, 2020 after one year.

“Thus, the NCB head-quarters sat on the file for oneyear,” the bench said, adding,“We call for an explanationfrom the NCB headquarters asto how the aforesaid has tran-spired and what responsibilityhas been fixed on which offi-cer for such negligence.”

“We would also like toknow what steps are beingtaken to streamline the process.The affidavit will be filed underthe signatures of the DirectorGeneral, NCB. The affidavit befiled within four weeks,” the topcourt said and posted the mat-ter for hearing after four weeks.

The apex court was hear-ing a plea filed by the Centre,through the NCB, against thehigh court’s December 6, 2018verdict.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi on Sunday reviewed

the situation in Uttarakhandfollowing floods caused by aglacier burst at Joshimath inChamoli district, and tookstock of the rescue and reliefwork underway.

“Am constantly monitor-ing the unfortunate situationin Uttarakhand. India standswith Uttarakhand and thenation prays for everyone’ssafety there. Have been con-tinuously speaking to seniorauthorit ies and gett ingupdates on NDRF deploy-ment, rescue work and reliefoperations,” Modi tweeted.

The PMO said in anoth-er tweet that Modi, who is inAssam to launch severaldevelopment projects,reviewed the situation inUttarakhand and spoke to thestate chief minister.

“Authorities are workingto provide all possible supportto the affected,” the PMOsaid.

Modi is on a tour toAssam and West Bengal onSunday.

A glacier broke off inJoshimath in Uttarakhand’sChamoli district on Sunday,causing a massive flood in theDhauli Ganga river and endan-gering the lives of people liv-ing along its banks. Massivedestruction is feared.

More than 150 labourersworking at the Rishi Gangapower project may have beendirectly affected, said StateDisaster Response Force DIGRidhim Aggarwal.

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The National CrisisManagement Committee

(NCMC), under the chair-manship of Cabinet SecretaryRajiv Gauba, met on Sundayafternoon to review the situa-tion arising out of the naturaldisaster in Uttarakhand causedby the glacial burst. TheCabinet Secretary directed theconcerned agencies to work inclose coordination and extendall requisite assistance to theState administration. Heemphasised the need toaccount for all missing personsand ensure that those trappedin the tunnel are rescued at theearliest.

Gauba also directed thatsurveillance should be main-tained till rescue efforts arecompleted and the situationreturns to normalcy.

The meeting was attend-ed by Union Home Secretary,Secretary of the Ministry ofPower, DG ITBP, Chief IDS,Members of NDMA, DGNDRF, Chairman CWC, DGIMD and Chairman DRDO,along with other senior offi-cers. Chief Secretar y,Uttarakhand joined the meet-ing with his team of officers.Chief Secretary, Governmentof Uttarakhand briefed theCommittee through VC, onthe ground situation as well as

the actions taken by themafter the incident to evacuatepeople and to contain thedamage caused by the flood-ing due to the glacial burst.

“However, there is nodanger of downstream flood-ing and the rise in water levelhas been contained, as per theinformation given by the

Central Water Commission(CWC). There is also nothreat to the neighbouringvillages. At the same time, theconcerned agencies of the

Centre and the State wereasked to keep a strict vigil onthe situation, and a team fromDRDO, which monitorsavalanches, is being flown in

for surveillance and recon-naissance. MD, NTPC hasbeen asked to reach the affect-ed site immediately,” saidCabinet Secretariat in a state-

ment. Two teams of NDRF are

enroute and three additionalteams have been flown infrom Hindon Air Force air-

port in Delhi which will reachthe spot later in the night.More than 200 ITBP person-nel are on the spot, and onecolumn and Engineering TaskForce (ETF) of Army, with allrescue equipment have beendeployed. Navy divers arebeing flown in and aircrafts/helicopters of the Indian AirForce (IAF) are on standby.

Meanwhile, speaking tothe media in Maharashtra,Home Minister Amit Shahsaid that rescue and reliefoperations by the Centre andState Government are in fullswing and three teams of theNational Disaster ResponseForce (NDRF) from nearbyareas have reached the spot.Soon other teams will alsoreach there, said Shah addingthat that ITBP Jawans havealso reached there and thestate machinery is also active.

The Union HomeMinister said that he has spo-ken with the Chief Minister ofUttarakhand and the AirForce has also been alerted.Shah said that Prime MinisterNarendra Modi personallycalled up the NDRF team andguided them.

He said that the Ministerof State for Home NityanandRai is monitoring the rescueoperations from the NDRFControl Room in the Ministryof Home Affairs.

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President Ram Nath Kovindon Sunday said he was

deeply worried about the mas-sive glacier burst at Joshimathin Chamoli district and prayedfor the wellbeing and safety ofpeople.

The tragedy was a flash-back to the 2013 flash floodsin the hill State that claimedlives running into thousands.

Reacting to the major nat-ural tragedy in Uttarakhand,Kovind, in a tweet, also saidhe was confident that rescueand relief operations onground are progressing well.

“Deeply worried aboutthe glacier burst nearJoshimath, Uttarakhand, thatcaused destruction in theregion. Praying for wellbeingand safety of people. Am con-fident that rescue and reliefoperations on ground are pro-gressing well,” he tweeted.

Vice President MVenkaiah Naidu prayed forthe safety of those affected.

“I join the nation in pray-ing for the safety of all thoseaffected by the flash floodcaused by a glacier burst inChamoli district ofUttarakhand,” the VicePresident Secretariat tweetedquoting Naidu.

The vice president said heis sure that the state andCentral Governments are try-ing their best to mitigate thecrisis.

On his part PrimeMinister Narendra Moditweeted, “Am constantly mon-itoring the unfortunate situ-ation in Uttarakhand. Indiastands with Uttarakhand andthe nation prays for everyone’ssafety there. Have been con-tinuously speaking to seniorauthorit ies and gett ingupdates on NDRF deploy-ment, rescue work and reliefoperations.”

Union Home MinisterAmit Shah spoke toUttarakhand Chief Minister

Trivendra Singh Rawat andassured him of all possiblesupport to deal with the sit-uation arising from the glac-ier burst and the resultingfloods.

Shah also said teams ofthe NDRF were deployed forrescue and relief operationsof the affected people whileadditional troops of the forcewere being airlifted fromDelhi.

Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee on Sunday

said she was deeply shockedover the disaster.

“Deeply shocked andvery saddened at the loss oflives in the disaster that tookplace in Uttarakhand. Mydeepest condolences to thefamilies of the deceased.Wishing a speedy and fullrecovery for those injured inthe calamity,” she said onTwitter.

Delhi Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal said his gov-ernment is ready to extend

every possible help to thepeople of Uttarakhand.

“The news about the dis-aster in Chamoli is reallyworrisome. I pray for every-body’s safety. The Delhi gov-ernment is ready to sendevery possible help to peopleof Uttarakhand in this diffi-cult time,” he tweeted inHindi.

A part of the Nanda Deviglacier broke off at Joshimathin Uttarakhand’s Chamolidistrict on Sunday, leading toa massive f lood in the Dhauli Ganga river and caus-ing large-scale devastationin the upper reaches of theecologica l ly f ragi leHimalayas.

Over 150 labourers work-ing at a power project inTapovan-Reni are feareddead, an Indo Tibetan BorderPolice (ITBP) spokespersonsaid adding three bodies wererecovered.

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Home to four turtle species— olive ridley turtle,

green turtle, hawksbill turtle,and leatherback sea turtle,India has finally outlined ablueprint for the protectionand conservation of endan-gered marine turtles found onits coastal zones.

Even though al l thespecies found on the coastalzones stretching 7,500 km arelisted under Schedule I of theIndian Wild Life(Protection) Act, 1972, theirpopulations in the Indian seawaters are under threat.

Infact approximately 61%of worldwide turtle species areeither threatened or alreadyextinct, and the sea turtle is noexception as they strugglewith pollution and degrada-tion of nesting habitats, whichcan interfere with their egg-laying. And turtles in theIndian oceans are no excep-tion.

Speaking at the virtuallaunch event recently, Union

Environment MinisterPrakash Javadekar said thatboth floral and faunal diver-sity including the marine bio-diversity is the beauty of Indiaand we need to conserve itwith best possible action andinterventions.

The documents ‘MarineMega Fauna StrandingGuidelines’ and ‘NationalMarine Turtle Action Plan’contain ways and means tonot only promote inter-sec-toral action for conservation

but also guide improved coor-dination amongst the gov-ernment, civil society and allrelevant stakeholders on theresponse to cases of stranding,entanglement, injury or mor-tality of marine mammals andalso conservation of marineturtles.

Javadekar said, India hasrich marine biodiversity alonga vast coastline of over 7,500km. From colorful fish, sharks,including Whale Sharks, tur-tles and big mammals like

whales, dolphins and dugongsto bright corals, marine habi-tats not only harbor diversespecies but also provideresources essential for humanwellbeing.

Despite the immense eco-nomic, ecological and cultur-al values of marine habitats inIndia, marine megafaunaspecies and marine turtlesface a wide variety of chal-lenges including strandingand entanglement.

Managing such challeng-

ing situations requires coor-dination, action and people’sparticipation which wouldhelp in the long-term conser vation of marinespecies and their habitats, headded.

The action plans high-

light actions to be taken forhandling stranded animals onshore, stranded or entangledanimals in the sea or on aboat, management actions forimproved coordination,reducing threats to marinespecies and their habitats.

Also, the plan outlinessteps to be taken for rehabil-itation of degraded habitats,enhancing people’s participa-tion, advance scientif ic research andexchange of information onmarine mammals and marine

turtles and their habitats.Conserve Species, their habi-tat and reduce negativeimpacts on survival of marineturtles.

Concerns about nest pre-dation, plastic pollution, lightpollution, habitat degrada-tion, and bycatch (marinecreatures that are inadver-tently trapped in fishing nets)have been addressed in thepolicy.

Scientists estimate that torestore wildlife in the ocean,at least 30% of the world’soceans should be put com-pletely off limits to harmfulhuman activities by 2030,according to a latest report byGreenpeace International.

India is a signatory to theIndian Ocean Sea TurtleAgreement (IOSEA) of theConvention on MigratorySpecies (CMS), a UnitedNations backed initiative.

The latest policy rolloutrepresents India’s step in itsconservation push, said a sci-entist from the WildlifeInstitute of india (WII).

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The number of farmers’crop insurance claims that

were rejected by insurancecompanies under the PradhanMantri Fasal Bima Yojana(PMFBY) multiplied 9 timesin just two years.

According to data pro-vided by Agriculture MinisterNarendra Singh Tomar inresponse to a question in theRajya Sabha on Friday, in2017-18, the number ofrejected claims was 92,869. Inthe next year, 2018-19, the fig-ure more than doubled to204742. By 2019-20, it was928870 , a whopping 900 per-cent increase,” the reply said.

“Insurance companies canreject some of these claims onvarious grounds like late inti-mation of claims, denial ofclaims to non-insured farm-ers or non-insured crops,non-occurrence of the risketc,” said Tomar. Meanwhile,to boost the safety of farmers’crops and ensure maximumbenefit of crop insurancereaches to farmers, the Centrehas allocated �16,000 croresfor PMFBY for the fiscal year2021-22.

This is a budgetar yincrease of around �305 croreas against the previous fiscalyear 2020-21.

The scheme extends cov-erage for the entire croppingcycle from pre-sowing topost-harvest including cov-erage for losses arising out ofprevented sowing and mid-season adversities.

According to the agricul-ture ministry, PMFBY is glob-al ly the largest crop insurance scheme in terms of

farmer participation and 3rdlargest in terms of premium.Over 5.5 crore farmer appli-cations are received on a year-on-year basis.

As of now, out of totalfarmers enrol led underPMFBY, 84% are small andmarginal farmers.

“Over the past 5 years, theMinistry of Agriculture andFarmers Welfare has workedextensively towards revamp-ing the Pradhan Mantri FasalBima Yojana (PMFBY)scheme by relooking at thestructural, logistical, andother challenges. The schemewas made voluntary for farm-ers post its revamp in 2020.The scheme has made it eas-ier for the farmer to reportcrop loss within 72 hours ofoccurrence of any eventthrough the Crop InsuranceApp, CSC Centre or the near-est agriculture officer. Claimbenefit is then provided elec-tronically into the bankaccounts of eligible farmer,” itsaid.

The scheme was launched in 2016 was con-ceived as a milestone initiativeto provide a comprehensive risk solutionat the lowest uniform premi-um across the country forfarmers.

Integrat ion of landrecords with the PMFBY por-tal , Crop Insurance mobile-app for easy enroll-ment of farmers and usage oftechnolog y such as satellite imagery, remote-sens-ing technology, drones, arti-f icial intel l igence andmachine learning to assesscrop losses are some of thekey features of the scheme.

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Kerala, plagued by controversies like gold smug-gling, hawala transactions and allegations of cor-

ruptions is facing a major social issue which has allthe potential to emerge as a cause for communal ten-sion, according to social scientists.

The Halal certified business establishments inthe State have caused heart burning and anxietyamong Hindus and Christians who have startedquestioning the legality of such practice in a secu-lar society. R V Babu, leader of Hindu Aikya Vediwas arrested under non-bailable charges by theKerala Police on Friday for questioning the prac-tice of Halal certification of commercial establish-ments.

“I was arrested for asking people to shun estab-lishments spotting Halal certification because in asecular society like ours, there is no space for thiskind of discrimination,” Babu told The Pioneer overhis arrest.

K V Rajasekharan, social scientist who is a pro-lific writer on social issues said the insistence onHalal certification by one community would leadto polarisation. “It is not advisable to allow Halalcertification. This is like imposing the practice ofone community over others,” said Rajasekharan.

Bhargava Ram, of HAV, said Halal is a term usedto denote meat of animals which were slaughteredby Muslims reciting Islamic verses. “Persons belong-ing to Islamic community consume only Halal chick-en or meat. Restaurants and eateries serving suchfood display the Halal certified emblem. Though itwas not in vogue in Kerala, of late most Islamicestablishments have started spotting Halal emblem,”said Bhargava Ram, a spiritual guru.

He also said that devote Muslims are particu-lar about Halal certification. “Though it was con-fined to eateries, now it has become mandatory forproducts like coconut oil and talcum powder to spotthe Halal emblem to tell the world that the prod-ucts are not Haraam (impure, according to Arab lan-guage),” said Ram.

Kevin Peter, president, Christian Action forSocial Action (CASA) an umbrella organisation uni-fying all Christian sects, said the trade name Halalhas created a lot of apprehension among the peo-ple. “We had opposed restaurants and eateries spot-ting the boards “Only for Brahmins”. The Halal sys-tem is like going back to the days of untouchabili-ty and discrimination,” said Kevin.

Kerala has seen mushrooming of restaurantsand eateries in the post-Covid-19 phase. “Traditionaleateries have been shut down but the new ones areall that sell non-vegetarian stuff. This is certain todestroy the food culture and eating habits of theKetralaites,” said a leading restaurant owner.

According to Ram, the spreading of Halal cer-tified establishments mark the beginning of BusinessJihad or Economic Jihad. “Business and trade sec-tors would become Islamic domains. Kerala alreadyhas Halal residential accommodations,:” said Ramwho said this would further lead to loss of employ-ment by Non-Muslims.”The Islamic verses has to berecited only by Muslims and it will become manda-tory to employ Islamists for the job.

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Guwahati: Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on Sundaysaid that some forces sittingabroad are conspiring againstIndia, but the people of thecountry would not allow themto succeed.

Addressing a massive pub-lic gathering at Dhekiajuli innorthern Assam's Sonitpur dis-trict, the Prime Minister with-out naming any person andorganisation said that the con-spirators sitting abroad notonly conspiring against Indiabut also maligning the worldfamous Indian and the Assamtea.

He said: “Some documentshave revealed such conspiraciesplotted abroad. Despite theconspiracy, Assam and Indiawould go forward. Let them dotheir conspiracy, but the peo-

ple of India would not makethem succeed.”

“I want to tell you about theconspiracy hatched to defamethe country. They are sayingthe image of Indian tea has tobe defamed worldwide, sys-tematically.”

Modi said that in this year'sBudget major thrusts weregiven in infrastructure devel-opment in India and the north-east region.

“With the development ofthe connectivities, trade andbusiness would further flour-ish. New India would beAatmanirbhar Bharat. The newIndia would take Assam to anew height of development.”

The Prime Minister saidthat the Northeastern regionhas left behind communal ten-sion, terrorism, crisis, hatred,

and conflicts and is now surg-ing ahead after waiting forlong years.

The Central government istaking forward the region withall sincerity. The region wasbackward as the people earlierstayed far away from theregion.

The recent Bodolandaccord and subsequent elec-tions to the BodolandTerritorial Council are theexample of “bikash andviskwas” (growth and trust) towork together, he added.

“Today is a special day forme. Today I got the opportu-nity to pay respect to this his-toric land of Dhekiajuli. In thisland, people defeated theaggressors. In 1942, peoplehere martyred to protect thenation and to respect the tri-

colour.“Every drop of martyrs'

blood makes our resolvestronger, thus this rich historymakes me take pride onAssam.”

Referring to the song ofgreat singer and composerBhupen Hazarika, Modi said

that the sun rises first inNortheast, but the morning ofdevelopment had to wait longfor Assam and Northeast.

In his 31-minute speech inHindi, the Prime Minister saidthat since independence forseven decades Assam has sixmedical colleges, but in last five

years building of six moremedical collages had startedresulting 1,600 MBBS doctorswould come out every year inAssam.

The Prime Ministerannounced that one medicalcollege and one technical insti-tution in each state to be taughtin the mother tongue of thelocal people.

He said that th under con-struction AIIMS in Guwahatiwould be ready within one-and-a-half years makingGuwahati a hub of the modernmedical treatment not onlyfor Assam it would cater all theeight Northeastern states.

Modi said that theAyushman Bharat Yojana hasbeen incorporated in Assam350 hospitals benefiting 1.50crore people in getting free

treatment while huge num-bers of people also benefitedunder the Atal Amrit Abhiyanscheme.

“Entire world is now prais-ing the way India undertook itsCovid vaccination drives. Inthis year's Budget unprece-dented allocation has beenmade for the health sector asthis sector is now our prioritysector. In 600 districts wewould set up integrated labs sothat the people can not go faraway for various testing.”

Modi said that nobodyknows better than him aboutthe flavour of Sonitpur's red tea.

“Assam is also developingits world famous tea. Onlyyesterday (Saturday), crores ofrupees were given directly tothe bank account of 7.50 lakhtea garden workers. Rs 1,000

crore special package has beenearmarked for the welfare ofthe tea garden workers inAssam and West Bengal,” hesaid.

Under the Assam govern-ment flagship scheme “ChaBagichhar Dhan PuraskarMela” (cash award fair for teaworkers) the state governmenttransferred Rs 3,000 each to thebank accounts of 7,46,667 lakhtea plantation workers. UnionFinance Minister NirmalaSitharaman was the chief guestin the Saturday's function.

From the Dhekiajuli pub-lic meeting, Modi laid thefoundation stone for two med-ical colleges in BiswanathCharali and Charaideo andlaunched the 'Assam Mala'project to upgrade the statehighways. IANS

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Union Minister for AnimalHusbandry, Dairy and

Fisheries Giriraj Singh onSunday said that starting “cowfactories” was the way aheadfor promoting the dairy indus-try across India, even as hechided Congress leader RahulGandhi for not being able todistinguish between a maleand female calf.

Speaking at a meeting ofthe Bharatiya Janata Party Stateexecutive committee membersin Panaji, Singh also said thatthe Central Government wasaggressively promoting vacci-nation for animal and poultryborne diseases like bird flu andfoot and mouth disease.

“There is a technologywhich has come up, with whichone can start a cow factory.When I say this people are sur-prised. Like you have test tubebabies in humans... everyoneknows it. We will make testtube babies (calves) withembryos in a laboratory,” Singhsaid at the state executive com-mittee meeting.

Rooting for 100 per centartificial insemination to pro-mote the dairy industry, Singhalso said that the efficiency andmilk generation capacities in cows could beincreased with the help of labtechnology.

“If there is a cow whichyields five litres, we will add

embryos (of cows) which gen-erate 20 to 30 litres,” Singh said,adding that facilitating sortedsex semen would also providethe dairy industry.

Chiding Rahul Gandhi forbeing out of touch with ruralIndia, Singh said that he wouldquit politics if the Gandhiscion was able to distinguishbetween a male and a femalecalf.

“He who does not knowthe difference between a femaleand male calf. If he can spot thedifference in gender between atwo-month-old male andfemale calf from a distance, Iwill quit politics,” Singh said.

Earlier addressing a pressconference in Panaji, Singhsaid that the Central govern-ment had identified 39 diseaseswhich are transmitted fromanimals to humans and waspushing for vaccination tokeep them at bay.

“It is being discussedbecause there are 39 diseaseswhich are transmitted fromanimals to humans. You musthave heard about discussions inthe media about bird flu.Maharashtra was also affectedby bird flu,” he said.

He also said that a free vac-cination programme was alsobeing undertaken to preventthe harmful transmission ofbrucellosis, a cattle diseasewhich can trigger infertility inhumans.

Bhadohi (Uttar Pradesh):Twocarpet exporters have beenarrested for allegedly shootingdead two monkeys in Fattupurunder City Kotwali police sta-tion area.

An FIR in this connectionwas lodged by Forest RangerRichesh Kumar Mishra andarrested persons are BulandAnsari and his brother MohsinAnsari.

The incident took place onSaturday in the premises ofEastern Carpets on StationRoad, which is owned by theAnsari brothers.

According to eyewitnesses,one monkey was shot dead onFriday night and the other onSaturday.

Mishra said that somelocals made a video of the inci-dent and posted it on socialmedia after which the policeand the forest department teamreached the spot. IANS

Varanasi: The Banaras HinduUniversity (BHU) administra-tion is all set to reopen the uni-versity and start regular classesfrom February 22, after a longgap due to the outbreak ofCovid-19 pandemic.

The varsity hostels willreopen from February 17.

BHU spokesperson RajeshSingh said the Vice Chancellorheld a meeting with the direc-tors of the institutes, deans,Registrar, Dean of student wel-fare, Chief Proctor and otherofficials and it was decided thatthe hostels will open for the lastyear students from February17.The classes will start runningin hybrid mode (offline alongwith online) from February 22.

He said the time table of theclasses will be uploaded on the university's websiteshortly. IANS

Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh):The Allahabad University hasmade it mandatory for teach-ers to first intimate the proctorthrough the head of depart-ment and Dean before theylodge any FIR against a fellowteacher or over any official dis-pute without prior permissionof the competent authority.

An order in this regard hasbeen issued by the universityadministration on the instruc-tion of Vice Chancellor SangitaSrivastava.

The order said, “It hascome to the notice of the ViceChancellor that faculty mem-bers file FIR against co-work-ers in official matters withouttaking prior approval of com-petent authority and withoutintimating the concerned heador dean. It has been decided by

the Vice Chancellor that, ifthere is any grievance or dis-pute, matter shall be routedthrough proper channel to theproctor. The proctor shallexamine it and put it up beforecompetent authority for nec-essary action. If there is arequirement to file FIR, thesame shall be filed by the proc-tor or other authorised officialsof the university.”

The order bears signifi-cance since in the past, someteaching and non-teachingemployees have approachedpolice and lodged FIRs againsteach other, said a faculty mem-ber.

When contacted, varsity'spublic relation officer JayaKapoor said, “This is an inter-nal matter. We will not com-ment.” IANS

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Dismissing the oft-repeatclaim made to the contrary

by the Shiv Sena, Union HomeMinister and senior BJP leaderAmit Shah said on Sundaythat his party had neverpromised the Chief Minister’spost on a rotational basis aspart of the 50:50 power-shar-ing agreement reached betweenhis party and the Sena in therun-up to 2019 MaharashtraAssembly polls.

Breaking his silence forthe first time over his party’slong-time ally Shiv Sena’s accu-sation that the BJP had renegedon its party to give the chiefminister’s post for two-and-a-half years out of the full fiveyears, Shah said: “They (ShivSena) say that at a closed doormeeting, I had made them apromise to them about sharingthe chief minister’s post withthemI had not made any suchpromise to Uddhavji as claimedby him and the Shiv Sena”.

“I do not do anything inprivate nor have I indulged inbackroom politics. Whatever Ido, I do in the midst of people.I am not scared of any one.Whatever I want to say, I say itin public. I did not make anysuch promise to Uddhavji. Infact, the Shiv Sena used thephotographs of Modiiji thattwo and a half times biggerthan their president. The ShivSena sought votes from the

people in the name of Modiji,”Shah said.

Speaking at a function afterinaugurating a 300-bed privatehospital-cum medical collegeset up by former chief minis-ter and senior BJP leaderNarayan Rane at Sidhudurg incoastal Konkan region, Shahsaid: “I was the BJP Presidentwhen my party and Shiv Senacontested the 2019 StateAssembly elections as analliance. We contested the elec-tions under the leadership ofDevendras Fadnavis. Both thepqrties sought votes in thename of Modiji. I addressedrallies with Shiv Sena leaders.Modiji also addressed rallieswith the Sena leaders. At eachpublic meeting, i asked the peo-ple to elect the NDA to power.I repeatedly said that DevendraFadnavis would become thechief minister. Why did not sayanything about the sharing ofthe chief minister’s post? Irepeat we had not given anyassurance to the Shjv Sena onthe chief minister’s post”.

It may be recalled that onFebruary 18, 2019, the ShivSena and BJP had –at q closeddoor meeting held atThackerays’ “Matoshri” resi-dence formalised the seat-shar-ing pact for the following LokSabha polls in the State. At thatmeeting, the BJP and ShivSena had also decided on a50:50 ratio for sharing seats forthe State Assembly polls.

Subsequently, the Shiv Senahad claimed that the BJP hadalso agreed to share the chiefminister’s post on a rotationalbasis, a claim that the thenAmit Shah-led party dismissedsaying that no such agreementhad reached between the twosaffron alliance partners at thatmeeting. The disagreementbetween the two parties on thesharing of the chief minister’spost led to a break-up betweenthe two saffron alliance part-ners and the subsequent post-poll power sharing arrange-ment among the Shiv Sena,NCP and Congress.

Slamming the Shiv Senafor severing the ties with theBJP and joining hands with theNCP and Congress to form agovernment in Maharashtraafter the 2019 Assembly polls,Shah said: “We ( BJP and ShivSena) and won the electionstogether under the leadershipof Devendra Fadnavis. But,after the Shiv Sena gave up theideological mornings of lateBalasaheb Thackeray, joinedhands with the Congress andNCP to form a 3-partyautorickshaw government.When we annulled Article 370,they (Shiv Sena) hesitantlywelcomed the move. Samething happened when our gov-ernment decided. .. We werenever scared of any one at anypoint of time” .

Drawing parallel with whathappened in Bihar where the

BJP had contested the electionsin alliance with the JD(U),Shah said: “ We had all alongsaid that Nitish Kumar wouldbe the next chief minister ofBihar. After the election, we –despite the fact our party hadlarger number than the JD(U)–Nitish Kumar the chief min-ister as we had promised”.

“The BJP was founded onideological grounds. We hadformalised our ideology for thesake of politics. I would like totell my Shiv Sena friends thatyou have not come to politicsto promote and practise yourideology. After the death ofBalasaheb Thackeray, the ShivSena has been deviating fromits ideology. The people ofMaharashtra know all aboutyou now. But, I would like tosay that we will not follow yourfootsteps. If we had followedyour footsteps when DevendraFadnavis, the Shiv Sena wouldnot have survived till now,”Shah said.

Shah Heaped praise onformer chief minister NarayanRane—whose political outfitMaharashtra Swabhiman Partymerged with the BJP in therun-up to the 2019 StateAssembly polls -- for continuedefforts to develop the latter’shome district of Sindhudurg..He assured Rane that his partywould dump or ditch the latterunder any circumstances, butwould treat him with full dig-nity.

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VELLORE: Tamil Nadu ChiefMinister Edappadi K.Palaniswami inaugurated‘Naruvi Hospitals’, a state-of-the-art multi-specialty hospi-tal of global standards inVellore on Friday evening, rais-ing this fort city’s people-cen-tric healthcare to a new level inthe State.

Palaniswami unveiled theplaque of the new Rs.600 crorehospital in the heart of Vellorethrough video-conferencingfrom the Secretariat inChennai, in the presence of theState Health Minister Dr. C.Vijayabaskar, CommercialTaxes Minister K.C.Veeramani, MGR UniversityChancellor and former MP,Dr. A.C. Shanmugam, andChairman of ‘Naruvi Hospitals’,Dr. G.V. Sampath.

The 500-bed Hospital is afirst of its kind in “innovativepartnership”, with technicalcollaboration with ‘Henry FordHealth System’, a leadinghealthcare provider in the U.S.

Even as the auspiciousinauguration was watched liveat the Hospital premises here,to the accompaniment of‘Nagaswaram’ music, by itsdoctors and staff led by NaruviHospitals’ managerial team,Dr. G. V. Sampath at theSecretariat in Chennai earlier

greeted the Chief Minister witha bouquet.

Welcoming the gathering,Dr GV Sampath had a specialword of thanks toPalaniswami, who despite hispressing duties and engage-ments, took time to launch theproject today.

Explaining the reasonsfor choosing Vellore in TamilNadu to house such a top-classmedical facility, with 19Specialties and ten Super-Specialties to start with, DrSampath said many boxes wereinstantly ticked in preferringTamil Nadu.

They included the Statehaving one of the best infra-structures in the country, goodgovernance and peaceful ambi-ence with law and order wellmaintained.

Chief Minister Edappadi KPalaniswami’s leadership hasactualized this eco-system, headded.

Dr Sampath, in his open-ing remarks, also thanked K.C.Veeramani, for his continuoussupport and encouragementfor this Hospital project fromthe beginning, besides com-plementing the HealthMinister, Dr. C. Vijayabaskarfor making Tamil Nadu theleading state in healthcare inthe country.

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The investigations into the abduc-tion and murder of the Indian

Navy sailor, who was found in a half-burnt in the jungles of Palghar dis-trict in Maharashtra, have thrown upa shocking finding that as an avidstock market player, he had piled updebts amounting to Rs 23 lakh.

The Palghar police investigatingthe case on Sunday came up with therevelation about the deceased Navysailor Surajkumar Mitilesh Dubeybeing in huge debts, came to lighttwo days after victim Navy sailorSurajkumar Mitilesh Dubey wasfound in half-burnt, semi-nude con-dition in a forested area of Palghardistrict. Surajkumar succumbed atSion Hospital in north-centralMumbai, where he had been rushedfor treatment.

The Palghar district police haveformed 10 teams, comprising tenpolice personnel each, to investigateall the angles in the case, including themotive behind his murder.

In his dying declaration,Surajkumar – hailing fromDaltonganj in Jharkhand – had toldthe police that he was posted on INSAgrani. He was abducted fromChennai on January 30 and held cap-tive there by three unknown persons,while he was returning to his workstation after his vacation.

Upon his arrival from Ranchi toChennai to join duty on January 30,Surajkumar was accosted at gunpointoutside the Chennai airport andwhisked away to an unknown loca-tion where he was captive for 3 days.

The abductors allegedly demand-ed a ransom of Rs. 10 lakh from him.When he refused to pay up the ran-som, he was abducted and brought tothe jungles of Vevji within the limitsof Gholdwad of Talasari in Palghardistrict, where the abductors alleged-ly poured petrol on him and set himon fire. The local people alerted thepolice subsequently.

Talking to media persons onSunday, Palghar”s DistrictSuperintendent of Police DattatrayShinde said: “ The deceased had threemobiles -- ones of which one wasexclusively for dealing in stocks andshares of which even his family wasunaware.

The deceased (Surajkumar) had

taken a personal loan of Rs.8 lakh, aprivate loan of Rs.5.75 lakhs from acolleague. After his engagement onJan. 15, 2021, he had taken anotherloan of Rs.9 lakh from his future in-laws,” Shinde said.

The investigators are lookinginto the mystery behind 13 calls hegot from a particular number repeat-edly demanding the details of hisRaipur-Hyderabad-Chennai flighton January 30 and January. 31”.

Shinde said that the deceased hadassured his colleague that he wouldreturn the loan soon either by chequeor online transactions. “But we stilldo not know as to why they broughtSurajkumar all the way from Chennaito Palghar forests''.

According to Shinde,Surajkumar’s father Mithilesh Dubecontacted the INS AgraniCommander Ashok Rai after hisson failed to resume his duty at INSAgrani on January 30, to enquire.“The family did not ransom calls afterSurajkumar’s disappearance from theChennai airport,” Shinde said.

Shinde said that the deceasedhad switched off two personal phoneson January 31 night with the lastlocation indicating Chennai Airportvicinity. “that was the reason for hisfamily to file a missing complaintwith Chainpur Police Station inJharkhand.

“On February 1, Surajkumar’scousin Chandan Dube learnt of thethird number which was active but hedid not answer after which the policecontacted the two share-tradingfirms. Surajkumar’s father has told usthat he had no knowledge of his son’sstock-market investments, the hugeloans on his head and related aspects,Shinde said.

Shinde said that the real motivebehind the murder was not clear yet.“Our team has gone to Chennai toinvestigate the case. We hope tosolve the case as soon as possible,” hesaid.

The investigations have revealedthat despite the huge loans he hadtaken, his two accounts in differentbranches with State Bank of Indiashowed that he had as low a balanceas Rs. 392. “We have learnt that hehad transferred rest of the amountsto two share trading firms throughwhich he conducted his deals,” Shindesaid.

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Page 6: 8]RTZVc Sfcde hcVR\d YRg`T Z_ 4YR^`]Z - Daily Pioneer

resorts of Kerala or the palacesin Rajasthan but also majorpilgrimage sites such as BodhGaya and Sarnath.

There is a school of thoughtthat argues that domestictourism will pick up some ofthe slack. And indeed the rushof tourists to places like Goa isheartening even though —with COVID-19 protocolsbeing blithely ignored and thepotential of another wave ofinfections still looming —some of the pictures and videosemerging from Goa are con-cerning, to say the least. Thatsaid, the influx of tourists intoGoa has helped many thou-sands keep their jobs and, as yet,another outbreak has largelybeen prevented although thereare some stories emerging ofpeople who travelled to Goaand contracted the virus.

But, just casual observa-tion makes it obvious thatthere is no raging pandemic inIndia. Airports are crowdedand most flights are packed;while the railway services arestill limited, some amount oftravel has returned and, to usethe words of Deep Kalra, ChiefExecutive Officer of India’slargest online travel agency,MakeMyTrip.com, there hasbeen a return of “revenge trav-el” where families sick andtired of being cooped up inside

all year are flying and drivingaround India.

But, to be honest, that isjust a small slice, the highestend of the consuming class inIndia, which is just a minisculeproportion of our popula-tion. While many of thesetourists earlier spent theirrupees abroad — they are theclass of people who have haddestination weddings or werethe chief executives of compa-nies that did expensive off-sites — with the wedding andconference business being hit,although there are some greenshoots now, the fact is that“revenge travel” while helpingthe industry is not quiteenough. This is evident inMakeMyTrip’s results for thelast quarter (October-December) of 2020: Air tick-eting was down 62 per cent,hotel bookings 66 per cent andbus bookings 43 per cent.

The industry is lookingfor help but that begs the ques-tion, what can the Governmentdo? Sure, some sops on taxationand depreciation for hotels andairlines could be given. Taxationbenefits on aircraft lease, asannounced in the Budget,would help bring down rentalsbut with the global airlineindustry in the doldrums aswell, with the sole exception ofthe country that started this

mess — China, lease costshave come down anyway. So,that loops back to the originalquestion, what can theGovernment do? TheGovernment cannot buy upstocks of the stone inlay work-ers who used to sell to foreigntourists at the Taj Mahal. It can’tprovide work to the thousandsof guides at India’s severalWorld Heritage Sites, or evenmuch of a dole for that matter,nor can it help the people whoused to arrange high-end lux-ury trips and who had invest-ed their savings in the business.

What it can do, and thiswas proved by the Budget, isthat it can encourage inboundtourism. It can promote Indiain a way that other countriescannot. India has some of thebest heritage and naturalbeauty. It can reduce taxes onaviation fuel to spur flying andlocal tourism as well. It cancut consumption taxes inhotels and India should jointhe list of nations that offer taxrefunds to foreign shoppers.But, for that to happen, wewill still have to wait until thisaccursed pandemic is past usand, for that to happen, weshould all line up and wait forour turn to get the jab.

(The author is ManagingEditor, The Pioneer. The viewsexpressed are personal.)

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����������� ������� ��� �����Sir— Though the Indian Railways isknown to refurbish its services at frequentintervals, its failure to keep the cost-effec-tive factor in mind is its bane. FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharaman has givena huge outlay—1.10 lakh crore— to theRailways. The question is, will the loftyplans of the Government take off andreach their logical conclusion? As expect-ed, the Minister has gone gaga on infra-structural development towards safety andcomfort of travellers. There is nothingspecial in Sitharaman’s declaration thatthe Railways will go all the way in devel-oping more aesthetic Vistadome LinkeHofmann Busch (LHB) coaches becausea lot many mainline trains already pos-sess these coaches.The LHB coaches are already in use in

India since 2000. The automatic train pro-tection system, an anti-collision mecha-nism, is long overdue. But when will it beput to use is a pertinent question. TheNational Rail Plan for 2030 means noth-ing unless properly planned. The dedicat-ed freight corridors cannot wait more. A100 per cent track electrification by 2023is good news. Expansion of gauge conver-sion and enhanced signalling systems,greatly emphasised by the Minister,should be hastened. More private sectorinvolvement, via public-private partner-ship (PPP), in upgrading railway stationsand running of trains on specific routesshould be ensured.

Ganapathi Bhat | Akola

��������������������������������Sir — Restoration of 4G internet servicesin the Union Territory of Jammu andKashmir after 18 months is a laudable stepby the Government. It symbolises that nor-malcy is returning to the region. After theabrogation of Article 370, the special sta-tus of the erstwhile State was taken awayand it was bifurcated into two UnionTerritories—Jammu and Kashmir, andLadakh. It is good on the part of theGovernment to restrict the internet in J&Kas the separatists and terrorist organisations

supported by Pakistan were looking foropportunities to create unrest in theregion.

The internet services were partiallyrestored last year, but only 2G internet ser-vices were available for mobile users. Butnow as the situation in the Union Territoryis getting better, removing the restrictionson 4G internet is a very good decision toensure that the life of normal people getsback on track at a faster pace. It will pro-mote business in the UT and many localbusinesses will be able to increase their salesby online means. It is also good news forstudents and professionals who till nowwere not able to get the benefit of internet for academic and professional

purposes.Krishnansh somani | Ujjain

�� ��� ��������������� �����������Sir — Cities across the globe are witness-ing traffic congestion owing to the grow-ing number of private vehicles jostling forspace on roads. Lack of adequate public

transport infrastructure is now embold-ening people to switch to private modesof transport, leading to congestion onroads. Pedestrians and cyclists are leftwith no choice with such encroachmentof road space by other vehicles. Publictransport options like buses and Metrosare also not utilised to the fullest extentowing to inadequate planning and lackof foresight.

The urban policymakers shouldemphasise that the organisations employ-ing workforce that uses private transportshould switch to flexible working optionsand thus reduce congestion on roads. Asmost of the workforce has computer-related jobs, a unified policy should beframed to allow flexible working oppor-tunities apart from encouraging workfrom home in busy cities and big metro-plitans.

Varun Dambal | Bangalore

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J Kannan | Hyderabad

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0�������������& ����AAround this time last

year, your columnistwrote a piece sayingthat the global aviation

sector was about to get hit hardby an emerging pandemic. Atthe time, nobody — not thiscolumnist or, frankly, any of you— could have predicted that ayear later we would be sitting atsuch a place. Entire industrieshave been ripped asunder, mil-lions across the world haveseen their livelihoods disap-pear, both blue collar and white,and countless others are tryingto just survive by the day. Fewindustries, however, have beenas badly impacted as the travel,tourism and allied sectors, par-ticularly aviation.

Decimation in its essence istoo mild a term to describe whathas happened to these indus-tries; after all the term wasborn during the RomanRepublic when commandersexecuted a tenth of a legion forcowardice. The industry, in ret-rospect, would have been happyto have fallen by just a tenth.India’s largest airline operator,Interglobe Aviation that ownsand operates IndiGo, recentlyannounced its third quarterresults where it said they had losta stunning �7 crore per day. Andthey are India’s best-run airlinein business. Hotels are barelysurviving. While some largechains have managed to ride outthe storm, many smaller prop-erties across the country haveshut shop. With no social secu-rity net, thousands of employeesfind themselves in a financiallyprecarious position.

But those in the formal sec-tor might have had some sort ofsaving. At many major touristdestinations across the country,it is actually the guy way downin the tourism value chain whohas been hit the hardest. Thinkof the masseurs in Kerala’sayurvedic spas? Think of thetourist guides at any WorldHeritage Site and think of thepoor people who sold everythingfrom cheap trinkets to fancyshawls; also, the artisans behindthe scenes. The collapse of theinternational travel business hashit hundreds of thousands ofIndians, not just at the beach

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The amount of change the world economyhas witnessed in the last two decades andthe rate at which it has occurred is stagger-

ing. It is inevitable that everyone will have to dealwith a significant degree of professional change.This shift could be seismic, to the extent that thevery nature of a trade or profession is transformedforever. Skill development holds the key toIndia’s ability to tap the vast potential of its youthfor achieving inclusive growth and for evolvingas the hub of the global financial system.However, much thought needs to be invested fordesigning the right training methodologies. Itshould focus on learning by doing rather than roteclassroom learning.

A range of entrepreneurs in the fields of con-struction, textiles, leather, gems and jewellery andso on will have to be engaged and candidates willhave to work as apprentices. Our skill programmeis churning out unemployable skills and notemployable skills, for which there is a huge short-age. The private sector has no incentive to impartskills to its workers. On the other hand, in coun-tries like Germany, the system of apprenticeshipmakes it mandatory for the private sector toimpart skills to the workers.

India’s education system leans heavily on the-oretical learning while practical training aspectsinvolving “working with hands” and “learning bydoing” take a backseat. Bookish knowledge israrely supplemented with industrial training inthe country. We have inadequate infrastructurefor imparting industrial skills to the students whoare dropouts of the educational system, particu-larly in rural India or those who cannot contin-ue their studies due to financial constraints. Thisis one of the main reasons for India’s demand-sup-ply mismatch where the industry lacks a skilledtalent pool and youngsters cannot find jobs.

The skill gap analysis reveals that by 2022, the24 key sectors of the economy will generate ademand for 109 million skilled workers. In salesand in unorganised sectors such as the leatherindustry, textiles, fabrication, servicing of auto-mobiles and so on, automation can never com-pletely replace the human workforce. Clearly, whatis needed is a skill-based ecosystem that includesthe right blend of infrastructure, faculty and indus-try participation so as to ensure sustainability andlong-term income generation.

Numerous challenges are required to beaddressed for skill development in India. The hugenumber of informally trained workers, who forma part of the workforce, have still no formal train-ing opportunities. Their skill training is general-ly through individual learning and observations,or by transfer of skills from a master craftsper-son to an apprentice. These craftsmen can set upsmall cottage units but cannot be absorbed in fac-tories where basic technical skills are an essen-tial prerequisite.

With the influx of cheap, machine-madeproducts, traditional handicrafts are being drivenout from market competition even though thehandcrafted products are aesthetically superior.Traditional craftsmanship is losing value and themarket offers poor compensation to the artisansfor their skills and artistry. The gap between skilltraining and employment has widened, leadingto a situation where youth are unable to find theemployment that they are aspiring for andemployers are unable to find workers who areappropriately trained for the job.

New rules, new openness, and new connec-tivity require different sets of skills just to keep

up, let alone thrive. Technical skillssuch as coding can be taught andassessed more easily while softskills take time to develop and aremore complex in nature, the latterare more beneficial in the long-term. When taught well, soft skillsenable students to understand peo-ple and the world around them bet-ter, adapt to changes more easily,have a thorough understanding ofsocial dynamics and ultimatelyprogress further in their chosencareers.

Technical skills are arguablymore practical and easily quantifi-able and are considered importantfor securing a job. The importanceof imparting skill training to theyouth is well-recognised and hasbeen flagged as a national priorityfor almost a decade, with significantinitiatives being launched by theGovernment.

The sad part is that only 10 percent of the total workforce in thecountry receives some kind of skilltraining. The feedback from corpo-rate India and research institutesshows a grim reality that about 65-75 per cent of the 15 millionIndian youth who enter the work-force each year are not job-ready orsuitably employable. There is a hugegap between what is being taughtto students and what they need topursue as a successful career. Tonarrow this gap, we need to createa curriculum that focuses onimparting the skills that are relevantto the times. Thus, teaching andcurriculum design needs to begiven a greater priority.

Technology is advancing fasterthan we can adapt, upending thejob market and delivering unimag-inable shocks to both our valuesand pattern of thinking. Most chil-dren entering school today will do

jobs that don’t exist yet. Many ofthese children who are still beingeducated in the old system will findthe new norms, institutions andpatterns of working alien to theirways.

Technology empowers but willrender millions of jobs obsolete, assmart machines take over repetitivetasks. Many of the schools and uni-versities are structured on the old,hierarchical elitism of colonialtimes and consider students asempty vessels that simply need tobe filled with bookish knowledge.As a consequence, such education-al institutions are disempoweringstudents through their outdatedteaching methods.

The need of the hour is not onlygiving adequate skills but alsodeveloping it in such a manner thatit fosters inclusive growth. Weshould focus on the “one lifecycle”approach which encompasses allaspects related to skill training,including employability. Adoptingthis approach will ensure that thekind of skills imparted to traineesare marketable and linked with jobs.

It is also important to ensurethat specific skills are not scaledacross multiple areas in the sameregion as this saturates the marketwith limited opportunities for thosewho are trained. If everyone istrained in becoming a blacksmith,there will be too many blacksmithsand not enough jobs. Impartinglocally-relevant skill sets like repair-ing bicycles, two-wheelers, solarlamps or mobiles, running a poul-try unit, and the like, make fami-lies self-sustaining.

To this end, Governmentsshould boost investment in lifelonglearning to retrain, re-tool and re-skill. For example, Governmentscould provide training grants

throughout the life of a worker.Governments should also rein-force the supply of skills bystrengthening incentives for educa-tional institutions to harness thepower of digital technology andnew business models.

While we continue our effortsto provide training in moreadvanced skills, it is also necessaryto strengthen the ecosystems forbasic subsistence skills in smallercommunities. We can design new-generation skills for para-veterinar-ians, health workers, solar engi-neers, water drillers and testers,hand pump mechanics, artisans,designers, masons, accountants,technicians and computer pro-grammers who support their fellowvillagers in building and sustainingcollective livelihood projects andincreasing their economic andsocial resilience.

There is an important role fororganisations supporting small pro-ducers to hone their skills, under-stand the marketplace dynamicand to adapt their products forurban markets. They can encour-age and promote environment-friendly products and processes,help in branding, packaging solu-tion and also support primary pro-ducers in transitioning their subsis-tence livelihoods to reach sustain-able levels.

We require a more coordinat-ed approach from various stake-holders if we want to enlarge thenetwork of training programmesand ensure that training is closelyaligned with specific demands ofthe industry. It requires interventionat four levels: Quality trainers,market-aligned curriculum, assess-ment of learning outcomes andeffective matchmaking betweenthe youth and jobs.

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Events and developmentsof the last few years havemade the world fractured

and disunited. This has accen-tuated threats to security insome countries and regions. Inthe normal course, civilisationshave risen and fallen with fewsurviving exceptions like Indiaand China. But now in the ageof climate change and nuclear(N) weapons, mankind is facedwith myriad challenges whichthreaten its existence. Theimmediate threat the worldhas been facing is that of thepandemic. The United Nations(UN) was supposed to play animportant role in mitigating thisbut there has been hardly anyjoint effort or effective responseby it to fight the pandemic.

The world has already beenfacing some abhorrent chal-

lenges for decades now whichinclude the pernicious effects ofclimate change, accidental orintended holocausts that couldbe caused by enormous stock-piles of N-weapons and geopo-litical struggles now mostly inthe context of terrorism oraggressive and wrongful asser-tion of power by China.

Regarding climate change,it is a happy augury that the JoeBiden Government in the UShas decided to undo the actionof the previous regime andreturn to the Paris Agreement.But N-weapons in the absenceof any worldwide disarmamentagreement now pose a far moredevastating threat to mankind.

Regarding the dangerposed by terror, the US hasannounced that it will deter-mine whether the Taliban has

reduced attacks in Afghanistanin keeping with peace deals byit with the previous USAdministration. However, thereis no surety that the peace dealswill work.

The danger posed by Chinaemanates from the manner inwhich it wants to assert itselfaggressively without any regardfor international laws. This hasalready endangered security inthe Indo-Pacific region.Immediate to India, the impassebetween Indian and Chinesetroops on the Line of ActualControl has strained tiesbetween the two powers.

All these and other dangersfacing mankind, again focusattention on the mandate of theUN to maintain global peaceafter its establishment in 1945at the end of World War-II. The

UN has helped the world inmany ways, but its efforts havenot been adequate to preventwars, terror attacks and blood-shed. Its structure and lack ofreforms has been the maincause responsible for this.

Addressing a virtual high-level meeting of the UNGeneral Assembly (UNGA)

last September, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi pointed outthat the UN has been facing acrisis of confidence and reiter-ated India’s call for its reform toreflect present realities. Heasked, how long would India,the world’s largest democracywith more than 18 per cent ofthe global population, be keptout of the UN’s decision-mak-ing structure? Citing historicaland contemporary reasons fora bigger role for India, Modipointed out its growing eco-nomic and strategic clout, itsrole in peace keeping missions,its philosophy of working forthe interests of mankind, its his-tory as a non-colonising nation,its green initiatives such as theInternational Solar Alliance,its actions for security anddevelopment in regions like the

Indo-Pacific and its role inhelping other countries duringthe current pandemic. Also itspartnerships are not directedagainst someone else and itsdevelopment programmes arenot bound by any malafideintent.

Obviously, permanentmembership for India at theUNSC is an important ele-ment of reform of the worldbody. Consequently, during itscurrent two-year non-perma-nent membership of the UNSC,reformation of the world bodyshould be the first priority ofIndia’s diplomatic efforts.After the world body is com-pletely reformed, there has to bea paradigm shift in giving it anew shape on the way to ulti-mately turning it into a demo-cratic world government.

Among other issues, the firststep should be to turn the“larger mandate of the reformedworld body to prevent wars andsecurity threats” to “Authorityto prevent wars and securitythreats.” But for this nationStates as members of thereformed world body wouldhave to share shades of theirsovereignty with the new worldbody. This is a necessity andmay no longer be an utopiagiven the fact that the first-evertreaty on the prohibition of N-weapons has come into force.The result of a sustained cam-paign for decades, the treaty isnot supported by all countriesbut it is a step forward. A long,sustained campaign could alsoturn the utopia of a worlddemocratic government into apossibility.

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The writer is awell-known development

professional of international repute. The views expressed

are personal.

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London:A London-basedIndian-origin consultant andbroadcaster’s new podcastseries exploring the subject ofunconscious bias with promi-nent personalities around theworld has emerged as one ofSpotify’s popular offerings,heard across 38 countries.

Smita Tharoor, founder ofTharoor Associates and co-founder of Culturelytics, hascovered in-depth conversa-tions with the likes of actorVidya Balan on society’sunconscious bias about mar-riages to journalists, authorsand war zone photographersand politicians like her broth-er, senior Congress MP Shashi

Tharoor. Now in her thirdseason, Smita Tharoor explainsher motivation behind ‘Storiesof Unconscious Bias’ and theurge to highlight life lessons onchallenging our deeply heldnotions.

“In April 2020, at the peakof being locked down in Delhi,I read an interview with VidyaBalan. She was talking aboutlockdown and lessons learnedand, in the interview, she saidshe hated cooking because shealways felt that cooking wasdemeaning and not part ofbeing a successful woman,”said Tharoor.”I don’t knowVidya Balan, have never mether but it got me thinking

about why it is she had felt thatway; what was in her upbring-ing that had influenced her. Shehad unconsciously believedthis and had fought going intothe kitchen all her life. Nowduring lockdown, she realisedthat she could cook if shewanted and in actual fact, it didnot demean her,” she recalls.

That led to the critically-acclaimed actor of films such as‘Kahaani’ becoming the launchepisode of Season 1 of the newpodcast series and since thenthere has been no looking backfor Tharoor, with 28 inter-views spread across sectorsand regions.

PTI

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Joe Biden, the first sitting USpresident to openly oppose

the death penalty, has dis-cussed the possibility ofinstructing the Department ofJustice to stop scheduling newexecutions, officials have toldThe Associated Press.

If he does, that would endan extraordinary run of exe-cutions by the federal govern-ment, all during a pandemicthat raged inside prison wallsand infected journalists, feder-al employees and even thoseput to death.

The officials had knowl-edge of the private discussionswith Biden but were not autho-rized to speak publicly aboutthem.

White House press secre-tary Jen Psaki, when askedFriday about Biden’s plans onthe death penalty, said she hadnothing to preview on theissue.

Action to stop schedulingnew executions could takeimmediate pressure off Bidenfrom opponents of the deathpenalty.

But they want him to gomuch further, from bulldozingthe federal death chamber inTerre Haute, Indiana, to strik-ing the death penalty from U.S.Statutes entirely.

A look at the steps Biden

could take and the challengeshe would face:Q: WHY THE PUSH FORACTION NOW?A: While the coronavirus pan-demic and election coveragedominated the news last year,many Americans who paidclose attention to the resump-tion of federal executions underPresident Donald Trump weredismayed by their scale and theapparent haste to carry themout.

The executions, begin-ning July 14 and ending fourdays before Biden’s inaugura-tion on Jan. 20, were the firstfederal executions in 17 years.More were held in the last sixmonths under Trump than inthe previous 56 years com-bined.

Executions went ahead forinmates whose lawyers claimedwere too mentally ill or intel-lectually disabled to fully graspwhy they were being put todeath.

Lawyers for LisaMontgomery, convicted ofkilling a pregnant Missouriwoman and cutting out herbaby, said her mental illnesswas partly triggered by years ofhorrific sexual abuse as a child.On Jan. 13, she became the firstwoman executed federally in

nearly 70 years.Q: WOULD A DECISIONTO STOP SCHEDULINGEXECUTIONS END THEPRACTICE?A: Biden can guarantee nofederal executions during hispresidency by simply telling theJustice Department never toschedule any. But that wouldnot prevent a future presidentwho supports capital punish-ment from restarting them.

Barack Obama, for whomBiden served as vice presi-dent, did place an informalmoratorium on carrying fed-eral executions out when hewas president, ordering areview of execution methods in2014 after a botched state exe-cution in Oklahoma.

But Obama never took anysteps toward ending federalexecutions for good. That leftthe door open for Trump toresume them. Death penaltycritics want Biden to slam shutthat door.Q: WHAT ARE BIDEN’SRANGE OF OPTIONS?A: The surest way to prevent

a future president from againrestarting executions is to signa bill abolishing the federaldeath penalty. That wouldrequire Congress to pass sucha bill.

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As enthusiastic crowds oftens of thousands marched

through the streets ofMyanmar’s biggest city onSunday to protest last week’scoup, their spirits were lifted bythe return of internet servicesthat had been blocked a dayearlier.

Separate protests thatbegan in various parts ofYangon converged at SulePagoda, situated in the centerof a roundabout in the city’sdowntown area. Protesterschanted “Long live MotherSuu” and “Down with militarydictatorship.”

Authorities had cut accessto the internet as the protestsgrew

Saturday, fanning fears of acomplete information blackout.On Sunday afternoon, howev-er, internet users in Yangonreported that data access ontheir mobile phones had sud-denly been restored.

The demonstrators areseeking to roll back lastMonday’s seizure of power bythe military and demanding therelease from detention of thecountry’s ousted leader, AungSan Suu Kyi, and other top fig-ures from her National Leaguefor Democracy party.

The military has accused

Suu Kyi and her party of fail-ing to act on its complaints thatlast November’s election wasmarred by fraud, though theelection commission said ithad found no evidence to sup-port the claims.

The growing protests are asharp reminder of the long andbloody struggle for democracyin a country that the militaryruled directly for more thanfive decades before loosening ofits grip in 2012.

Suu Kyi’s government,which won a landslide electionin 2015, was the first led bycivilians in decades, though itfaced a number of curbs to itspower under a military-draft-ed constitution.

During Myanmar’s years ofisolation under military rule,the golden-domed Sule Pagodaserved as a rallying point forpolitical protests calling fordemocracy, most notably induring a massive 1988 uprisingand again during a 2007 revoltled by Buddhist monks.

The military used to dead-ly force to end both of thoseuprisings, with estimates ofhundreds if not thousandskilled in 1988. While riot policehave been sent to watch theprotests this past week, soldiershave been absent and therehave been no reports of clash-es.

Showing little fear, protestcrowds have grown bigger andbolder since Monday’s coup,while remaining nonviolent insupport of a call by Suu Kyi’sparty and its allies for civil dis-obedience.

In one of Sunday’s gather-ings, at least 2,000 labor unionand student activists and mem-bers of the public gathered at amajor intersection near YangonUniversity. They marchedalong a main road, snarlingtraffic. Drivers honked theirhorns in support.

Police in riot gear blockedthe main entrance to the uni-versity. Two water cannontrucks were parked nearby.

The protesters held plac-ards calling for freedom for SuuKyi and President Win Myint,who were put under housearrest and charged with minoroffenses, seen by many as pro-viding a legal veneer for theirdetention.

Reports on social mediaand by some Myanmar newsservices said demonstrations

were taking place in otherparts of the country as well,with a particularly large crowdin the central city of Mandalay.

Saturday had seen the sizeof street protests grow from thehundreds to the thousands,but is also saw the authoritiescut most access

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Iran’s supreme leader says theUS must lift all sanctions if it

wants Iran to return to thenuclear deal with Westernpowers, state TV reportedSunday.

The televised commentsmark Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’sfirst since the inauguration ofPresident Joe Biden, who hassaid he wants to rejoin theaccord.

“If they want Iran to returnto its commitments, the USmust lift all sanctions in prac-tice, then we will do verificationand see if the sanctions werelifted correctly, then we willreturn to our commitments,”Khamenei said.

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Egypt’s President AbdelFattah el-Sissi has given his

support to a transitional gov-ernment that would lead neigh-bouring Libya through elec-tions late this year.

In rare televised commentslate Saturday, el-Sissi said theappointment of the interimgovernment Thursday, whichincludes a three-memberPresidential Council and aprime minister, was “a step inthe right direction.”

The Libyan PoliticalDialogue Forum, whichincludes 75 U.N.-picked dele-

gates from across the country,appointed Mohammad YounesMenfi, a Libyan diplomat fromthe country’s east, as chairmanof the Presidential Council.The forum also chose AbdulHamid Mohammed Dbeibah,a powerful businessman fromthe western city of Misrata, asprime minister.

The three council memberseach represent a region of oldLibya: Tripolitania in the west,Cyrenaica in the east, andFezzan in the southwest.

The appointment capsmonths of UN-brokered talksthat resulted in an agreementto hold elections Dec 24.

“We are supportive ofthem. ... We are ready to coop-erate with them for Libya’srecovery and to prepare for theelections in Libya,” el-Sissi said.

The Egyptian leader saidhis threat last year to sendtroops to Libya helped “start agenuine period for peace” inthe oil-rich country.

“We are keen that eachmove ... Aims to build peace,prosperity and maintain sta-bility in a reion that has beensuffered in the past 20 years avery great shock,” he said.

Egypt views the instabilityin neighbouring Libya as anational security threat.

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Authorities have given noword on the status of

Chinese legal rights activistGuo Feixiong after he wasblocked from leaving the coun-try last week to join his familyin the United States, his sistersaid Tuesday.

Yang Maoping said theyhad no word from Guo orinformation from police sincehe was reportedly detained atShanghai’s Pudong airportThursday while attempting toboard a flight to the U.S.

Guo had messaged friendsthat he would go on hungerstrike unless allowed to leavethe country to be with his wifewho is undergoing treatment

for cancer. “I have been informed that

I cannot leave the countrybecause I am under suspicionof endangering state securityand other such charges. I willnow go on indefinite hungerstrike and call on the people ofChina and governments andpeople around the world tooffer assistance,” Guo said in atext sent to friends and passedon to journalists. Guo helpedgovt critics and had beenimprisoned for more than 10years under China’s looselydefined state security laws.The ruling Communist Partyfrequently uses travel bans topunish those who challenge it,often as a prelude to prosecu-tion and lengthy prison terms.

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Bangladesh’s Covid-19 vac-cination programme began

on Sunday across the countrywith a target to inoculate 3.5million people in the firstphase.

Bangladesh had receivedthe Oxford-AstraZenecaCovid-19 vaccine from theSerum Institute of India (SII)under grants assistance onJanuary 21.Health MinisterZahid Maleque has received hisfirst shot of the coronavirusvaccine after the inaugurationof the vaccination drivethrough video conferencingfrom the health directorate ofBangladesh.Maleque wasadministered the jab at atSheikh Russel GastroliverInstitute and Hospital in thecapital’s Mohakhali area around11.30 a.m.

Deputy Minister MohibulHasan Chowdhury Nowfelbecame thee first person in theChittagong Divisionto be vac-cinated after the inaugurationof the inoculation campaign atthe Chattogram MedicalCollege Hospital (CMCH).

Home MinisterAsaduzzaman Khan Kamal,Agriculture Minister AbdurRazzaque, Science andTechnology Minister YeafeshOsman and PublicAdministration MinisterFarhad Hossain have alsoreceived their shots.

Hospital sources said some162 people, including minis-ters, lawmakers and physi-cians, will be vaccinated in fivebooths at the hospital.CMCHDirector Brigadier General S MHumayun Kabir, ChattogramCity Corporation chief medicalofficer Doctor Selim Akhter.

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An earthquake measuring6.3 on the Richter scale

jolted the Davao del Surprovince in the Philippines onSunday, authorities said, addingthat damages were expected.

The Philippine Institute ofSeismology and Volcanology(Phivolcs) said the quake,which struck at 12.22 p.m.(local time), hit at a depth of 15m, about 6 km southeast ofMagsaysay town, reportsXinhua news agency.

The institute said thequake, which was tectonic inorigin, will trigger aftershocksand cause damage.

The tremors was also felt inKadapawan City, KoronadalCity in South Cotabato andother areas in the Mindanaoregion.

It was not immediatelyknown if there were any casu-alties or injuries.

The Philippines has fre-quent seismic activity due to itslocation along the Pacific “Ringof Fire”.

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The total number of globalcoronavirus cases has

topped 105.7 million, while thedeaths have surged to morethan 2.30 million, according tothe Johns Hopkins University.

In its latest update onSunday morning, theUniversity’s Center for SystemsScience and Engineering(CSSE) revealed that the cur-rent global caseload and deathtoll stood at 105,724,227 and2,307,219, respectively.

The US is the worst-hitcountry with the world’s high-est number of cases and deathsat 26,908,962 and 461,910,respectively, according to theCSSE.

India comes in secondplace in terms of cases at10,814,304.

The other countries withmore than a million confirmed

coronavirus cases are Brazil(9,447,165), the UK(3,941,273), Russia (3,907,653),France (3,376,266), Spain(2,941,990), Italy (2,625,098),Turkey (2,524,786), Germany(2,285,003), Colombia(2,151,207), Argentina(1,976,689), Mexico(1,912,871), Poland(1,545,530), South Africa(1,473,700), Iran (1,459,370),Ukraine (1,285,059), Peru(1,173,045), Indonesia(1,147,010), Czech Republic(1,030,112) and theNetherlands (1,015,757), theCSSE figures showed.

Brazil currently accountsfor the second highest numberof Covid-19 fatalities at230,034, followed by Mexico(164,290) on the third placeand India (154,918) on thefourth.Meanwhile, the nationswith a death toll above 20,000are the UK (112,305).

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Another 18,262 people inBritain have tested positive

for Covid-19, bringing the totalnumber of coronavirus cases inthe country to 3,929,835,according to official figuresreleased on Saturday.

The country also reportedanother 828 coronavirus-relat-ed deaths. The total number ofcoronavirus-related deaths inBritain now stands at 112,092.These figures only include thedeaths of people who diedwithin 28 days of their first pos-itive test, Xinhua news agencyreported.

Earlier on Saturday, CliveDix, chairman of Britain’s vac-cines taskforce, said he is “veryoptimistic” that Britain canmeet the target of vaccinatingall over-50s by May.

Britain would be “ahead of

the game” in terms of antici-pating variants of coronavirusand was making “libraries offuture vaccines”, he told theBBC.Downing Street has con-firmed that all British adultsaged 50 and older are expect-ed to be offered a first dose ofthe coronavirus vaccine byearly May.More than 11 millionpeople in Britain have beengiven the first jab of the coro-navirus vaccine, according tothe latest officialfigures.Meanwhile, BritishPrime Minister Boris Johnsonsaid that it is still too early totalk about ending coronavirusrestrictions as the infectionlevels are still “very high”.

It was “still early days” andpeople should continue to stayat home and follow the lock-down rules, Johnson said in avideo posted on Twitter onFriday night.

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Hundreds of studentsbelonging to the Nepal

Communist Party’s rival factionled by Pushpa Kamal Dahal‘Prachanda’ on Sunday held arally here against PrimeMinister K P Sharma Oli’sdecision to dissolve Parliament,as the rivalry between the twotop leaders escalated.

The rally by Prachanda’ssupporters came two days afterpro-government studentschanting slogans like “We loveKP Oli”, “Oli is our hero”, “Olifor the prime minister” stageda massive show of strength inKathmandu in favour of Oli.

Supporters of Prachandaon Sunday shouted sloganslike “We hate you K P Oli” and“We hate KP Oli for taking thecountry towards the path ofregression by dissolving theHouse of Representatives”.

The rally was part of thephase-wise anti-governmentagitation led by Prachanda andMadhav Kumar Nepal againstthe prime minister’s contro-versial decision to dissolveParliament on December 20and hold new elections onApril 30 and May 10.

The ruling NCP has beenwitnessing months-long tusslebetween two factions, one led

by 68-year-old Oli and Party’schairman and another led by66-year-old “Prachanda”, alsothe executive chair of the partyand former premier.

Defending his move to dis-solve Parliament, Oli said someleaders tried to obstruct thefunctioning of his governmentand he had no other alternativeother than seeking a freshmandate.

The ruling NCP has splitover Oli’s call for a newParliament to be elected morethan a year ahead of schedule.

Both Oli and the rivalgroup claim to control theNepal Communist Party andthe issue is being disputed atthe Election Commission. Therival faction even announcedthat it had ousted Oli from theparty at a meeting last month.

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Inmates at a St. Louis jail setfires, caused flooding, broke

out fourth-floor windows andtossed a stationary bike, chairsand mattresses outsideSaturday in the latest distur-bance over concerns about thecoronavirus pandemic andrestrictions that have limitedvisits and stalled court pro-ceedings, officials said.

Dozens of law enforce-ment officers worked for hoursbefore bringing the riot at theSt. Louis City Justice Centerunder control shortly before 10a.M., a spokesman for MayorLyda Krewson, Jacob Long,said. About 115 inmates wereinvolved, said Long, whodescribed the group as“extremely violent and non-compliant” in an interviewwith The Associated Press.

One corrections officer wasattacked and treated at a hos-pital for his injuries beforebeing released, Long said. Nodetainees were hurt, he said.

Video posted on socialmedia by passersby showedinmates standing near threewindows on the fourth floorthat had been smashed out.Some carried signs or tosseditems, some ablaze, to the side-walk below. Firefighters used ahose to put out the fires.

Long didn’t have a cost esti-mate for the damage butdescribed it as “fairly extensive.”

“There are some burnmarks on the front of thebuilding. They destroyed

the inside of their floor andthrew all sorts of stuff outside.... They flooded the floors,clogged the toilets, clogged thedrains, so there is water dam-age,” Long said.

'�� �36�=�48

The New York StateAssembly has passed a res-

olution calling on GovernorAndrew Cuomo to declareFebruary 5 as KashmirAmerican Day, drawing a sharpreaction from India whichnoted with “concern” attemptsby “vested interests” to mis-represent Jammu andKashmir’s rich cultural andsocial mosaic to divide thepeople.

The resolution, sponsoredby Assembly member NaderSayegh and 12 other lawmak-ers, states that the “Kashmiricommunity has overcomeadversity, shown perseveranceand established themselves asone of the pillars of the NewYork immigrant communities.”

It adds that “the State ofNew York endeavours to cham-

pion human rights includingthe freedom of religion, move-ment and expression for allKashmiri people, which areembedded within the USConstitution, through therecognition of diverse cultural,ethnic and religious identi-ties.”

Commenting on the reso-lution, a spokesperson of India’sEmbassy in Washington said:“We have seen the New YorkAssembly Resolution regardingKashmir American Day. Likethe US, India is a vibrantdemocracy and the pluralisticethos of 1.35 billion people area matter of pride”.

“India celebrates its diver-sity and rich cultural mosaic,including in Jammu andKashmir, which is an integraland inalienable part of India.We note with concern theattempt by vested interests to

misrepresent the rich culturaland social mosaic of Jammuand Kashmir to divide thepeople.

“We will engage with theelected representatives in theNew York State on all mattersconcerning India-US partner-ship and the diverse Indiandiaspora,” the spokespersonsaid on Saturday in response toqueries on the resolution.

The legislative resolution,adopted in the New York StateAssembly on February 3, callson Cuomo to proclaimFebruary 5, 2021 as KashmirAmerican Day in the State ofNew York.

In a tweet, Pakistan’sConsulate General in NewYork acknowledged the role ofSayegh and The AmericanPakistani Advocacy Grouptowards the adoption of the res-olution.

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The Biden administrationis withdrawing the US

from agreements with threeCentral American countriesthat restricted the ability ofpeople to seek asylum at thesouthwest border, part of abroad effort to undo the theimmigration policies ofPresident Donald Trump.

Secretary of State AntonyBlinken said Saturday theadministration had notifiedEl Salvador, Guatemala andHonduras that it had startedthe formal process of termi-nating agreements that hadbeen part of Trump’s effort torestrict asylum.

The agreements, whichhad been on hold since earlyin the coronavirus pandem-ic, required many peopleseeking asylum at the US-Mexico border to go insteadto one of the three CentralAmerican countries and pur-sue their claims there.

“The Biden administra-tion believes there are moresuitable ways to work withour partner governments tomanage migration across theregion,” Blinken said in astatement announcing theimmediate suspension of theagreements and their eventualtermination.

The secretary of statesaid the administrationintends to work with theCentral American nations toreduce some of the insecuri-ty and poverty that causepeople to flee in the first placewhile maintaining the secu-rity of the U.S. Border.

“To be clear, these actionsdo not mean that the U.S.Border is open,” he said.“While we are committed toexpanding legal pathways forprotection and opportunityhere and in the region, theUnited States is a countrywith borders and laws thatmust be enforced.”

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New Delhi:Led by one of theyoungest Governments in theworld, Lithuania is looking tobroad-base ties with India inemerging high-growth areaslike fintech, life sciences, digi-tal technology and pharma-ceuticals while offering adynamic business environmentto Indian investors, its ambas-sador Julius Pranevicius said onSunday.

The Lithuanian envoy saidhis country has emerged as aburgeoning fintech hub glob-ally and Indian companieswanting to expand their pres-ence in Europe can use theBaltic nation as a “gateway” tothe larger markets in theregion.

ensation led by PrimeMinister Ingrida Simonyte,which assumed office inDecember, is being hailed asone of the world’s most gender-balanced and young govern-ments. Out of 15 members inthe cabinet, seven are women

and nine ministers are underthe age of 40 years.

Pranevicius said the“young” government of PrimeMinister Simonyte is leadingLithuania with “new energyand dynamism” with a focus onhigh-growth areas for eco-nomic growth, and the rela-tions with India stand high onits priority. Lithuania, a promi-nent Baltic nation, is a memberof the powerful NATO as wellas the European Union.

In a historic first for thecountry that regained its inde-pendence following the col-lapse of the Soviet Union in1990, the new government wasformed by three conservativeparties which are all led bywomen The main agenda of thegovernment is to deal with thechallenges of the coronaviruscrisis as well as to focus ongrowth in futuristic areas forstrengthening Lithuania’s econ-omy and make it a hub of newinnovation and technologies.

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Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman on Sunday said

the Government will workwith the Reserve Bank for exe-cution of the bank privatisationplan announced in the budget.

Speaking to reporters inthe financial capital,Sitharaman also said that thegovernment has no plan toform any bank investmentcompany to house the govern-ment stakes in banks.

In the union budget pre-sented last week, Sitharamanhad announced the privatisa-tion of two banks as part of itsdisinvestment plan. Bankunions have opposed the move.

“The details are beingworked out. I have made theannouncement but we areworking together with the RBI,”she said, when asked about theproposal.

She, however, declined tocomment on any specificdetails about which will be thecandidate chosen for privati-sation.

“We will let you knowwhen the government is readyto announce,” she answeredwhen asked about the details.

On the bad bank,Sitharaman said the govern-ment may have to give someguarantee for the NationalAsset ReconstructionCompany (ARC), but stressedthat this is a solution which hascome from the banks itselfand will also be led by them.

Sitharaman alleged thatthe banks’ non-performingassets, which are to be trans-ferred into the National ARC,are a legacy of the misman-agement in the past.

There is no “phone bank-ing” happening now, withfavours being sought for any-one from New Delhi.

On the Bank InvestmentCompany (BIC), she said nosuch proposal is on the tableand wondered what resulted inthe discussion.

“There is no such discus-sion. I don’t know where it iscoming from. At least it is notbefore me. I am not discussing

that,” she said.She said that there is a

need for professionalisation ofbanks and the government istrying to ensure the same.

The minister also said thatthe banks are gradually gettingout of the risk aversion, whichhad set in during the early daysof the pandemic.

When asked about theambitious divestment targetsand the government’s ability topush through necessaryreforms to earn the projectedrevenues, Sitharaman exudedconfidence of hitting budgetaryestimates of Rs 1.75 lakh croredivestment.

Sitharaman said the gov-ernment stands to get up to Rs30,000 crore from the newlyintroduced agricultural infra-structure cess.

On the issue of fuel prices,and inflation there in becauseof the duties, Sitharaman saidif the Centre lowers excise,states will increase their taxesto keep the prices at the samelevel and also earn some rev-enues.

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Online gaming companyOctro has started expand-

ing its business overseas aftertraction in its casino and cardgames, namely PlayRummyand Teen Patti, according to asenior company official.

The firm’s Chief MarketingOfficer Manav Sethi said themove of some state govern-ments to ban online gaming ishelping gaming companies thatare registered outside India.

“By March of 2021, wewould start the user acquisitionfor international markets,” Sethitold PTI.

He claimed that the com-pany has seen 100 per centgrowth year-on-year, and itsrevenue is in three digits ofcrore on Indian currency.

Octro owns online gamesincluding PlayRummy, TeenPatti, Indian Rummy, Tambolaand Soccer Battles. The com-pany’s card games involve realmonetary transactions that itcalls a game of skills.

“We have gotten growthon these sides, basically thecard and casino side. We havealso seen some success on thereal money gaming side. So,why don’t we take these IPs(internet protocol) interna-tional.

“That is where our nextround of investment in termsof capital, people and time isgoing into.

We have two very cleartracks -- build an IP that can goglobal, and the second track isto take our existing IP global-ly,” Sethi said.

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Ministries of defence andrailways and central pub-

lic sector enterprises (CPSEs)are among the largest buyerorganisations on the publicprocurement portal, GeM, asenior official said.

Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal waslaunched in August 2016 foronline purchases of goods andservices by all central govern-ment ministries, states anddepartments.

GeM CEO Talleen Kumarsaid that they are introducinga range of software function-alities to address the uniqueand diverse procurement needsof these large buyers.

“These steps will enablethese organizations to conducttheir procurement with trans-parency, ease and efficiency tothe fullest possible extent on

the GeM platform. The volumeof procurement conducted bythe ministries of railways anddefence and CPSEs has seen asteady upward trend since itwas rolled out in 2016,” he toldPTI. The cumulative procure-ment by CPSEs as of January15, 2021, stood at Rs 4,737crore.

“The cumulative ordervalue of procurement by thedefence ministry is Rs 8,232.6crore (as of January 15, 2021)and is the highest among allministries and state govern-ments,” he added. Kumar saidthat the continuous engage-ment with the defence ministryand the development of newfunctionalities on the platformhas yielded good results inthis financial year.

Similarly, the cumulativeorder value of procurement onGeM by the Ministry ofRailways as of January 15

stood at Rs 2,165.9 crore.GeM is focussed on inte-

grating with the procurementprocess of the Ministry ofRailways to bring its procure-ment on the portal up to thefull potential,” he said.

The integration of GeMwith Integrated MaterialManagement System (iMMS)/Indian Railway ElectronicProcurement System (IRePS) isunderway and it is expectedthat Railways will be able tocreate bids on GeM around themiddle of February, Kumaradded.

The cumulative transac-tion value on GeM as ofJanuary 26 was Rs 80,564 crore,up from 33,008 crore onAugust 1, 2019. Besidesdefence and railways, min-istries of home, petroleum,finance, health, electronics andpower are major buyers fromthe platform.

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Prices of LED lighting prod-ucts, including bulbs, may

go up by 5-10 per cent as theGovernment is going to raisecustoms duty on the importedcomponents used for theirmanufacturing, and the domes-tic makers are approachingthe Government to addressthe issue urgently.

Electric Lamp andComponent Manufacturers’Association (ELCOMA)President Sumit Joshi, “Thegovernment’s decision toincrease tariff on inputs andparts used for manufacturing ofLED lighting products willresult in a price increase forlocally manufactured lightingproducts in the short term.”

It is because currently,almost all electronic compo-nents are imported fromabroad due to lack of a localcomponent ecosystem in India,said . ELCOMA said that after

a hike in the customs duty from5 to 10 per cent on the importof the components, includingdriver and MCPCBs used whilemanufacturing LED lights,prices of the locally manufac-tured goods will go up.

The tariffs on finishedgood have remainedunchanged, it added. Hike incustom duty might supportthe domestic industry in thelong term, once the componentmanufacturing ecosystem inIndia becomes more estab-lished. “As ELCOMA, we willgo back to the government toaddress this urgently by corre-spondingly increasing the tar-iff on finished goods as well forthis category, in order to sup-port local manufacturers inthe true spirit of India becom-ing Aatmanirbhar Bharat,” saidJoshi, whois also the vice-chairman and managing direc-tor of Signify Innovations India(earlier known as PhilipsLighting India).

'�� �36��37�!

Foreign portfolio investors(FPIs) remained net buyers

to the tune of Rs 12,266 crorein the Indian market in the firstfive trading sessions ofFebruary, as positive sentimentpost-Union Budget 2021sparked a rally in investment.

As per FPI statistics avail-able with depositories, overseasinvestors pumped in a net Rs10,793 crore into equities andRs 1,473 crore in the debt seg-ment between February 1-5.

During the period underreview, the total net investmentstood at Rs 12,266 crore.

In the previous month,FPIs invested a net sum of Rs14,649 crore in Indian mar-kets.

Kotak Securities ExecutiveVice-President and Head(Fundamental Research)Rusmik Oza said, “The out-come of the Union Budget hassparked a rally and led to FPIinflows.

The sharp jump in capitalexpenditure and glide path ofkeeping fiscal deficit at elevat-ed levels till 2025-26 will leadto a strong economic revivaland higher earnings growth infuture.”

Besides, Groww co-founder and Chief OperatingOfficer Harsh Jain added thatIndia’s projected growth rate forthe financial year 2022 isencouraging.

India is also slated tobecome one of the few nationsthat recovered from the eco-nomic effects of the coron-avirus pandemic much fasterthan most other majoreconomies of the world, Jainsaid.

“The continued good per-formance of the Indian marketsis being partly fuelled by thisinvestment from FPIs,” Jainfurther said.

Regarding the debt seg-ment, Morningstar IndiaAssociate Director (ManagerResearch) Himanshu Srivastava

said the RBI announced fewmeasures in its monetary pol-icy announced on Friday topromote investments by FPIs incorporate bonds.

“The central bankannounced that FPI invest-ment in defaulted corporatebonds will be exempted fromthe short-term limit and theminimum residual maturityrequirement under the medi-um-term framework,”Srivastava said.

This measure will helpinvestors build greater confi-dence in the Indian debt mar-kets going ahead, he added.

For future of FPI flows, hesaid there is a strong possibil-ity of profit-booking by FPIs atregular intervals given the waymarkets are headed.

The continuation ofaccommodative stance by cen-tral banks globally may ensureflow of foreign investmentsinto emerging markets, includ-ing India, said Srivastava.

'�� �36��37�!

State-owned Punjab NationalBank (PNB) is expecting to

recover a substantial Rs 3,800crore from Bhushan Powerand Steel under debt resolutionin NCLT, which will help itachieve the target of Rs 8,000crore cash recoveries duringthis fiscal, its managing direc-tor and CEO S S MallikarjunaRao said.

Besides, the city-basedlender also hopes to makegood recovery of its exposurein crisis-hit DHFL, which isundergoing a resolutionprocess currently.

Sticking to the bank’s pre-vious guidance on restrictingthe gross NPAs below 14 per

cent and net NPAs lower than5 per cent by the end of the cur-rent fiscal, Rao said there hasbeen an improvement in col-lection efficiency as well inJanuary after a dampenedDecember.

Across the banking indus-try, the collections were muchbetter in October andNovember, before dampeningagain in December because oflack of clarity on NPA recog-nition from the SupremeCourt, he added.

In response to a publicinterest litigation during Covidtimes, the Supreme Court hadpassed an interim order inSeptember, directing banks notto declare accounts as NPA,which otherwise would haveturned dud, during March-August till further orders.

“So there was an impulseon identification on NPA.

However, the collections haveagain improved in the monthof January across the bankingindustry, including our bank.Considering, these factors, weare very confident that therewon’t be any further increase(of bad loans). About pro-forma NPA, we have alreadymarked them, we have identi-fied and have done the com-plete provisioning, so therewon’t be any impact in Q4(FY21),” Rao said in a confer-ence post bank’s Decemberquarter results. “On the con-trary, I am expecting reductionof the proforma NPA what wehave declared as on December31, 2020.” The bank has post-ed a net profit of Rs 506 croreon a standalone basis in thequarter ended December 2020of this fiscal. It had posted a netloss of Rs 492.28 crore in theyear-ago period.

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The country’s coal importrose by 15.1 per cent to

23.63 million tonnes (MT) inDecember 2020 compared to20.52 MT in the year-agomonth.

Non-coking coal importswere at 15.63 MT in Decemberthis fiscal against 14.21 MT inthe same month last fiscal.Coking coal imports were at5.36 MT against 4.47 MT inDecember 2019-20, accordingto provisional data compiled bymjunction services.

However, the country’scoal import dropped by 13.5per cent to 160.79 MT in theApril-December period of theongoing fiscal compared to185.88 MT in the same periodlast fiscal.

‘’India’s coal and cokeimports during April-December 2020 through majorand non-major ports are esti-mated to have decreased by13.5 per cent over the sameperiod last year, “ mjunctionservices said.

During the April-December period of FY2020-

21, non-coking coal import wasat 107.07 MT against 128.26MT during the year-ago peri-od. Coking coal imports wererecorded at 33.54 MT duringthe period against 37.20 MTduring the same period a yearago. Commenting on the coalimport trend, Vinaya Varma,the MD and CEO of mjunctionservices, said, “Coal demandfrom utilities moved up due tohigher generation in December.This coupled with a gradualrecovery in industrial activitiesand expectations of furtherfirming up of internationalprices led to increased vol-umes.” Mjunction, a joint ven-ture between Tata Steel andSAIL, is a B2B e-commercecompany and also publishesresearch reports on coal andsteel verticals.

����� �5�2$!

ITC Chairman Sanjiv Puri hasannounced the setting up of

a ‘Young Digital InnovatorsLab’ comprising of digitalnatives drawn from acrossITC’s businesses to crowdsource transformative digitalstrategies.

With the objective ofstrengthening its competitivevitality, ITC is scaling up itsdigital interventions acrossbusinesses and value-chains.

“Led by the ChairmanSanjiv Puri’s Vision to shape anew digital paradigm for ITC,the company embarked on adigitalisation journey in recentyears by building digital capac-ity at scale, by adopting cutting-edge digital technologies todrive growth and by effective-ly leveraging digital platformsto support wide-spread socialtransformation,” the companysaid in a statement.

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As many as 34 aerospace anddefence firms have shown

interest in investing inKarnataka to spur aviationbusiness in the southern state,an official said on Sunday.

“In all, 34 aerospace anddefence firms have signed anagreement with the state gov-ernment to invest a total of Rs2,464 crore in setting up theirfacilities, which have the poten-tial to create 6,462 direct jobs,”an official of the IndustryDepartment’s Udyog Mitra toldIANS here.

The agreements weresigned at the 13th edition ofAero India 2021 expo at theYelahanka air base on the city’s

outskirts on February 3-5.Among the firms are

Abhyuday Bharat defence clus-ter with an investment proposalof Rs 1,000 crore, GopalanAerospace Ltd (Rs 438 crore),Alpha Design Technology andTesbl Aerospace Corporation(Rs 250 crore each).

“We have a vibrant aero-space and defence sectorecosystem, which enabled thestate to contribute 65 per centof exports from the country.The proposed investing firmswill attract others to invest inthe aerospace sector,” said state’sIndustries Minister JagadishShettar in a statement on theoccasion.

As the country’s aerospacehub, Bengaluru is home to

several state-run and privatefirms such as the defence behe-moth Hindustan AeronauticsLtd (HAL), BEL, BEML, NAL,DRDO, ADA, ADE and ISRO.

“With an investor-centricapproach, our new industrialpolicy (2020-25) offers incen-tives for investing in the state,with regulatory reforms foraccess to land and labour,”asserted Shettar.

The recent InnovationIndex of the policy think tankNITI Aayog has rankedKarnataka on top, indicatingthe state’s strengths in humanresources, higher education,thrust on research and devel-opment, with a conduciveinvestment climate and a pro-active administration.

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Shipments of 5G smart-phones in China reached

167.5 million units in 2020,accounting for more than halfof the total smartphone ship-ment throughout the year,according to global marketintelligence firm InternationalData Corporation (IDC).

In the fourth quarter lastyear, China shipped 60.1 mil-lion 5G handsets, data fromIDC showed.

Last year, the country hadshipped a total of 325.7 mil-lion units of smartphones,down 11.2 percent year onyear.

The shipment of smart-

phones in Q4 edged up 0.3percent year on year to 86.4million units, with major ven-dors in the Chinese marketregistering a favorable growth,the firm said.

Huawei continues todominate the domestic mobilephone market with a 38.3-per-cent market share last year. Itstotal shipment reached 124.9million units, according to theIDC.

Vivo and OPPO, anothertwo Chinese smartphonemakers, took up 17.7 percentand 17.4 percent of the mar-ket.

Respectively, followed byXiaomi with a 12-percentshare, reports Xinhua news

agency.Apple was the only ven-

dor among the top five thatachieved a full-year growthin the Chinese market bol-stered by its new release ofthe iPhone 12 series andcontinued demand for theiPhone 11 series, the IDCsaid.

“China will see a morestable consumer demand in2021 as the local COVID-19cases are expected to be lessimpactful,” said Wang Xi, aresearch manager with IDCChina. The market is expect-ed to see a gradual recovery,along with the changes in thesmartphone and upstreamcompetition, Wang added.

����� �36��37�!

Retail fuel prices remainedunchanged for the second

consecutive day on Sunday,with petrol selling at Rs 86.95per litre in the national capital.

In Mumbai, Kolkata andChennai, petrol was sold at Rs93.49, Rs 89.39 and Rs 88.30per litre respectively.

Diesel prices also remainedunchanged on Sunday. Prices ofthe fuel in Delhi, Mumbai,Kolkata and Chennai were Rs77.13, Rs 83.99, Rs 82.33 and Rs80.71 respectively.

Petrol and diesel priceshave largely been elevated amidreviving crude oil prices. Thebenchmark Brent crude oil iscurrently around $59 per bar-rel.

Though firm global crudeand product price is the reasonfor the increase in retail priceof petrol and diesel in past days,it is interesting to note that eventhough crude has been hover-ing just over $55 a barrel for along time, OMCs had gone infor a pause in price of auto fuelson consecutive days.

Crude price have remainedfirm for last few weeks in wakeof unilateral production cutsannounced by Saudi Arabia

and a pick-up in consumptionin all major economies global-ly.

The last few increases inpump prices in petrol anddiesel has taken its price torecord levels across the coun-try in all major metro cities andother towns. The last time theretail price of auto fuels werecloser to current levels was onOctober 4, 2018 when crudeprices had shot up at $80 a bar-rel.

The current price rise islargely on account of steepincrease in central taxes onpetrol and diesel and firmcrude prices. The Budget has

also imposed a new agricultureinfrastructure and develop-ment cess.

Oil companies executivessaid that petrol and dieselprices may increase further incoming days as retail pricesmay have to be balanced in linewith global developments toprevent OMCs from makinglosses on the sale of auto fuels.

New Delhi:Part of an under-construction hydropower projectof state-run power major NTPChas been damaged by theavalanche in Uttarakhand’sChamoli district on Sunday.

The company has said thatit is monitoring the situationcontinuously along with the dis-trict administration andpolice.Part of the under-con-struction Tapovan Vishnugadhydro power project (520 MW)has faced damages while anoth-er privately-owned Rishi Gangahydro project (130 MW) wascompletely devastated.”Anavalanche near Tapovan inUttarakhand has damaged apart of our under-construction

hydropower project in theregion. While rescue operationis on, situation is being moni-tored continuously with the helpof district administration andpolice,” NTPC said in atweet.Uttarakhand ChiefMinister Trivendra Singh Rawatsaid that 125 people are missingfollowing the massive flood.Theincident occurred after the waterlevel in Dhauliganga river, sud-denly surged on Sunday morn-ing following an avalanche nearthe Rishi Ganga power project.The 85 km river meets theAlaknanda river at Vishnuprayagat the base of Joshimath moun-tain in Uttarakhand.

PTI

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Quick-witted teen Mark (Kyle Allen) is contentedlyliving the same day in an endless loop when his world isturned upside-down by the mysterious Margaret (KathrynNewton), also stuck in the same loop. What follows is alove story with a fantastical twist, as the two struggle tofigure out how – and whether – to escape their never-end-ing day. It releases on February 12 on Amazon Prime Video.

�� ��������After Daryn learns that his girlfriend Isabelle is sick,

he plans to gift her a life’s worth of experiences in thelast year she has left. It releases on February 14 onAmazon Prime Video.

�����������Delightful cakes and heavenly breads pop from the oven

as Nadiya Hussain returns to baking, her happy place, andspotlights creative kindred spirits. Season 1 releases onFebruary 12 on Netflix.

C � 2 2 � 7Are you considering hir-ing an interior design-er? If so, you must plan

ahead to get maximumreturns. From your budgetand timeline, to your inspira-tion and must-haves, youmust be prepared to have anin-depth conversation withyour interior designer thathelps them understand yourneeds and serve your desire.

KNOW YOUR BUDGETOne of the first things

that you should considerbefore hiring an interiordesigner is your budget.Simply put, how much do youwant to spend on this interi-or design project? When youspeak to an interior designer,one of the first things thatthey will inquire about isyour budget. Your budgetmay also determine whetheryou can afford full-serviceinterior design services or ifyou would instead do some ofthe work yourself and use avirtual design service thatprovides you with directionand advice. Everyone has adifferent budget for sameproject. It is important tounderstand yours before youget started so your designercan help you stay within it. Ifyou are unsure of setting arealistic budget, your design-er can also help you developa budget for your project.

KNOW YOUR TIMELINEYour timeline is another

crucial aspect that you shouldconsider before hiring aninterior designer. Do youhave a few weeks, a couple ofmonths, or a year? Is yourtimeline set in stone or flex-ible as long as you get theresults you want? Do youwant retail products or cus-tom trade-only products (thatoften come with better pricewhen working with a design-er, but custom work takesmore time to build)? Yourtimeline may influence someof your interior designer’schoices, and hence it is cru-cial that you know your time-line and ensure that yourinterior designer understandsit as well.

Collect inspirationBefore you contact an inte-

rior designer, find what inspiresyou. Create an inspiration fold-er or inspiration board. Whileinterior designers are talentedand can work miracles, theymust understand what youridea of perfect space entails.You should also explain toyour designer anything thatyou like or dislike about yourcurrent space. This will help thedesigner create a space that isbeautiful and to your tastes andsensibilities.

UNDERSTAND YOUR SER-VICES

Interior designers usuallyoffer several services. You can

choose from full-servicedesign, virtual design, bath-room design, single roomdesign, and many other ser-vices. Before you contact your

interior designer, you shouldknow what services are relevantfor your project. Are yousearching for an interiordesigner who will take care of

everything for you? Or doyou want to be the one mak-ing decisions based on recom-mendations from a profes-sional interior designer? Askyourself these questions, so youare prepared to explain yourproject goals to your designerclearly. If you are not 100 percent sure which services youare interested in, don’t stresstoo much as your interiordesigner will help you decide.

Determine your must-havesWhat really matters to you

in your design project? We allwant everything but when itreally matters, what can younot live without? It is essentialfor you to identify must-haveversus good-to-have. Do youlove to read and want a comfy,cozy reading nook, and willpay anything for it and wait forit with custom design? Doyou want the look you livedand liked on your travels, orvisit with family and friends, orin a film or media, and have tohave it? If there is anythingnon-negotiable, you mustcommunicate that to your inte-

rior designer.

CREDENTIALS AND REF-ERENCES

Designer and decoratorare not the same. Anyone cancall themselves a designer intoday’s time. But do theyunderstand the art and scienceof architecture and design, aswell as consumer behaviour?Make an effort to get informa-tion on who is a credibledesigner. Are the name sakedesigners involved in meetingyou and working with you vsjust a name and work done byanyone they have hired? Dothe designers have the indus-try affiliation, history, and tes-timonials that can be verified?Did you get a referral to thedesigner from a friend or fam-ily who has worked with thedesigner? Ask the designerthese questions on their cre-dential and if they will beinvolved on your projectdirectly. Ask for referrals froma few past clients with a simi-lar scale project as yours.

PERSONALITY FITA designer will be working

on your most personal spacesthat you and your familyinhabit. Are you comfortableand in a trusting relationshipwith your designer? It wouldhelp if you have a good person-ality fit with your designer.Some projects last a long time,can be one to two years, andyou must embark on the jour-ney working with the design-er a life-stage partner. Youshould be comfortable in com-municating and collaboratingwith someone who takes timeto understand your personal-ity and your project goals.Your designer will have tolearn about every aspect ofyour life to personalise yourspace to fit your lifestyle. Makesure you hire a person you cantrust. Once you have found theright person for the job, youhave to trust them to make thebest recommendations for youand let them lead you to yourdream home.

(The writer Swati Goorhais the founder & CEO andPrincipal Interior Designer ofSwati Goorha Designs.)

Everybody wants transport that isreliable, safe, cost-effective, conve-

nient, and respectful of the environ-ment. This is where the IntelligentTraffic Management System (ITMS)can save time, money, and lives by pro-tecting public health as well as land-scapes. It achieves this through theapplication of information and com-munication processing technologies toroad transport infrastructure.

ITMS solutions provide a widerange of applications that process andshare information to ease congestion,improve traffic management, min-imise environmental impact, andincrease the benefits of transportationto the public in general. An ITMS solu-tion consists of the following systems:

�ECB: Emergency call button system�PA: Public addressable system�RLVD: Red light violation detectionsystem�VIDS: Video incident detection sys-tem�ANPR: Automatic number platerecognition system�Overview cameras�Command and control system withe-challan software/ hardware/ storagesystems

There’s no doubt that all of thesesolutions benefit the general publicgreatly. However, let’s delve deeper intothe most popular ITMS solution:

�� ��� !��"�� ���While all other ITMS camera sys-

tems focus on detail and are meant forspecific purposes, overview camera sys-tems are meant to provide general sur-veillance over the entire junction.Generally, 360-degree panoramic cam-eras are preferred for this applicationfor the following reasons:

��#������$%Panoramic cameras provide an

overview of the entire junction all thetime. Normally if an operator is

zoomed into one part of the scene, thecamera has no visibility for the rest ofthe area and the only video of the view-able area is stored. However, inpanoramic cameras, even when theoperator focusses on any area orzooms in a particular direction, the net-work recorder continues to record thecomplete oval/ picture. Thus, there isno blind spot at any point in time andconstant general surveillance of theentire area is achieved.

��% $��%�&���% ��'��(The activity is visible all the time,

both via live and playback, an opera-tor is not needed to ensure the cam-era is pointing in the right direction tocapture any areas of interest while theimage is being recorded. This is espe-cially powerful for retrospective analy-sis of an incident wherein different

parts of the scene can be viewed inde-pendently, and without prior config-uration or set up of that view. Duringan investigation, if an event occurredin the past, this capability enables secu-rity teams to go back in time to a spe-cific event and literally track/follow asuspicious individual throughout thescene.

�%����$�%)�%��������� ���$$The complete coverage of activ-

ity translates to enhanced situation-al awareness for organisations whenit comes to ensuring the security oftheir facilities. Operators know exact-ly what is taking place within theirenvironment as it happens, with theadded ability to view the recorded ver-sion of a specific situation. What’smore, the stored video includes a full360-degree view, making it easy to

access later for further investigation,and to better understand people’sbehavioural patterns.

To better understand how itworks, we can inspect the technicalaspects of these 360-degree camerasystems.

Thanks to its ability to monitorlarge areas and provide unparalleledviews, the use of 360-degree cameratechnology is growing rapidly. Theaddition of different camera form fac-tors and specialist certifications havefurther added to the influx of adop-tion, taking the technology use farbeyond that of just a conventionalsecurity camera. But no matter theapplication, there’s one key elementthat can make or break an entire sur-veillance system: The quality of thetechnology. Inadequate surveillancetechnology can cost organisationstime, money, and other resources thatcan thwart their security and businessgoals. That’s why it’s extremely impor-tant to take advantage of surveillancesystems that leverage the highestquality features to create a usableimage or video.

When it comes to 360-degreecameras, there are certain features thatthey should include:

�A high-speed frame rate that enablesusers to view live and recorded footagein high resolution without motion jud-der or blur, and a guaranteed framerate, which makes it easier to complywith applicable minimum legal fpsspecification standards.

�The latest generation of HDR tech-nology that reveals the finest details inboth light and dark areas of every scenefor realistic image quality with smoothmotion and playback.

�Advanced compression technologythat can work seamlessly alongsidestandard compression techniques toincrease the compression ratio. Thisthen saves storage costs by significant-ly reducing the space used by any videorecording and saves network infra-structure costs by minimising thebandwidth of video data being trans-mitted over the network.

�Optimising imagery with low-lighttechnology, which produces clearerand brighter images with less noise,even in low light conditions.

�Strengthening the cybersecurity ofthe device, increasing the security levelof access to the camera, and encrypt-ing video and other data transmission.Operators expect surveillance camerasto be their eyes for what they can’t seeat all times. And in real life, if some-one’s eyesight isn’t perfect, they usecontact lenses or glasses to improvetheir vision. The same concept shouldapply to video technology: Businessesshould look toward features thatenhance image quality through theaforementioned factors to ensure thatthey’re gleaning the highest level of sit-uational awareness and intelligencefrom their systems.

There’s no doubt that ITMS solu-tions are an extremely useful innova-tion. They add to the existing frame-work of inadequate traffic manage-ment systems in countries like ours,and can greatly improve that relatedimproper structures like toll deduction,challan due to over speeding, red lightviolation, driving in the wrong lane,vehicle theft and so on.

(The writer is the Regional Directorof Oncam.)

After announcing two pro-jects recently – a medical

thriller titled Human (webshow) and a film, Sanak, direc-tor-producer Vipul AmrutlalShah has already started work-ing on the same, simultaneous-ly. While the latter is an emo-tional drama about the under-belly of the human drug testingand the world of medical scam,the former is an intense, emo-tional, action film.

The filmmaker is workinground-the-clock to ensure boththe projects are shot and com-pleted on time. “It’s quite a chal-lenging task to handle these twocompletely contrasting pro-jects. I am producing both theprojects and directing Humanwith Mozez Singh,” admitsVipul.

Talking about the shootschedule, Vipul informs,“During day time, we are shoot-ing the web show and in thenight, we are shooting the film.My day starts approximately atfive in the morning and ends attwo at night. After directing theweb show from early morningto evening, I report to the setsof the film which starts fromevening to next morning. Eventhough it’s challenging, it’s inter-esting and fun too.”

After sitting at home fornine months because of thepandemic, the filmmaker isenjoying the high-energy peri-od working on these two pro-jects. “The two projects werenot supposed to be shot togeth-er but this is something beyondmy control, the timelines dic-tated it but I am now enjoyingthe process. As a creative indi-

vidual, I have a habit of takingup the challenge as fun. That’sthe challenge we all haveaccepted and we are goingahead with it,” Vipul concludes.

Human features ShefaliShah and Kirti Kulhari as leadcharacters and it went on floorsin January this year. The webseries will be co-directed byVipul Shah and Mozez. Sanakwill see Vidyut along withChandan Roy Sanyal, NehaDhupia and Rukmini Maitra(who is making her Bollywooddebut).

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It is rightly said that ‘love makes the worldgo round.’ Isn’t it true that without love,

our lives would seem dry and empty?Without it, we would neither see thebeauty in creation, nor can we find ourinner beauty. After all love is what we areall about. That is why Mahatma Gandhi hasrightly said, ‘Where there is love, there islife.’ Although we live in this material worldwhich is filled with natural beauty and wehave created the wonders of science, wemust not forget that without love, we can-not experience the benefits of those cre-ations.

When a child is born, the mother lovesthe child as s/heis innocent &pure. The new-born becomesthe focus of thefamily and abond is formedon the basis oflove. This bond-ing further playsa crucial role forthe child todevelop his/herown personality,to relate to theworld around, to feel secure and confidentand to be able to express in the society.Remember! A child who is loved will haveno fear in his/her life and would be able toeasily venture outside the family.

We wouldn’t be able to integrate ourexperiences properly without a lovingfamily because ultimately it is the love fromthem that gives us a sense of safety and pro-vides us with courage to face the challengesthat life brings on. We must understand thatnothing in this world appears beautiful intotal isolation, it is only when it is seen inthe context of its surroundings that itbecomes beautiful. Hence, our friendsand family are the nucleus of our existence.

When we are alone, we might feel lone-ly but not if the soul has developed the con-sciousness of unlimited love. When welearn to connect with our inner nature oflove, it becomes an imperishable treasurethat remains with us wherever we go. Thisunconditional love means that I have a con-nection with every living being and I alsospread the rays of love to the five elementsof nature. With this love, I begin to under-stand the interdependence of all things andrealise that I am not alone but I’m a partof the world drama and it is love that makesthis beautiful world drama work.

By developing the understanding thatall beings are his children and he is the onewho purifies nature, we also become a partof his family and the custodians of nature.With this attitude, we will see everyone witha feeling of love, acceptance and belonging-ness. Remember! Almighty’s pure lovemakes no judgement, it does not discrim-inate or rejects but is an all-embracing, all-accepting, powerful love that transformsand purifies everyone and everything byremoving the traces of fear, loneliness, sor-row and grief. So let us all spread the lightof love and heal the world from thewounds of hatred and negativity.

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The beauty of yoga is that it canbe done by absolutely anyone

and it can be moulded to yourbody, mind and soul. Practicingyoga with a significant other orsomeone you love can add a senseof calm and balance to your bodyand mind. There are certain posesthat become better when practicedas a couple. Jahnavi Patwardhan,master trainer, SARVA and DivaYoga suggests five poses that canbe practiced as a couple.

����� �This grounding and meditative

posture can be done by everyone.Padmasana or lotus pose is aslightly advanced posture butsukhasana or a simple cross leggedpose can work as well. Whenpracticing as a couple, sit with thebacks touching. From the sacrumto the shoulder blades, there iscomplete contact. This is anextremely calming posture andpracticing it as a couple makes surethat the back is aligned and bringsawareness of the body, especiallythe back.

�����Taking it from the first posture,

you simply twist and grab yourpartners knee to get deeper into thetwist. This can be more effectivethan a regular seated twist, againbecause of the awareness andalignment but also because yourback is aligned, the twist is deep-er and amazing.

���#��Another fun pose is the boat

or navasana. Since its a balancingpose, doing it with someone bringsin a counterbalance to stabilise it.You simply start by holding handsand the soles of the feet touching.And slowly straighten the legsinto a boat. This pose helps bringbalance to the body and mind,strengthens the core and evenopens up the hamstrings whendone as a couple.

������This is one of the best stand-

ing balance poses there is. Ithelps you feel rooted, steady andstrong and again, when donewith a partner, it works as acounter balance. Standing next toeach other, ground down with onefoot and place the other foot onthe inner thigh (mirror eachother). Hold each other aroundthe waist and the other palm canjoin in namaste.

����C �The final one is the chair

squat. This is a challenging one,you need to find the right equilib-rium so as not to imbalance eachother. You simply stand with yourbacks together (backs are touch-ing throughout) and just walk thefeet ahead as you squat. Go downas low as you can with the backsstill touching. This is a strength-ening pose for the quadriceps, hipflexors and glutes.

Practicing yoga as a couplehas numerous benefits like culti-vating awareness, mindfulness,gratitude, balance and compas-sion, and of course, its a lot of funtoo.

Pooja Mudhane, a nineteen-year-old girl from Virar —a town in Palghar district of

Maharashtra — was exposed tothe ugly reality of caste systemwhen she was in Class-III. Theschool had announced the finalexam results in which Pooja hadsecured top position. She waseager to show the report card toher friends but her father stoppedher from doing so. He said, “Ourcaste, Mahar, is mentioned inyour report card. You don’t haveto show it to others.” Pooja asked,“Why should I hide my caste?”She didn’t understand the conceptof caste system, however, she didsense the shame associated withit.

“At that point, I was made toimbibe that it’s not ok to displaymy ‘lower caste’, it was to be con-cealed. But now I am trying tounlearn that belief because I amnot ashamed of it. And those whobelieve in it should be ashamed oftheir mindset,” said Pooja.

This incident has had a long-lasting impact on her. So shedecided to take up the cause ofannihilation of caste, the ideawhich was proposed by Dr BRAmbedkar almost 85 years ago.

When Pooja was in Class-IV,her father abandoned the familyand married someone else. WhilePooja’s mother, Jaya Mudhanebelongs to Koli caste (the fishingcommunity), her father,Panjabrao Mudhane is Dalit. Astheir inter-caste marriage wasrejected by Jaya’s family, no helpcame from her parental homeafter Panjabrao left the family tofend for themselves.

“My mother’s leg was dam-aged in an accident and she hadto single handedly raise three chil-dren (of which I am theyoungest). She would sell fish forliving but could hardly make theends meet. We were in such a badshape that at one point I wasabout to leave the school forgood,” shared Pooja. One day, hermother found out about the BaagShala, a group engaged in coach-ing students from deprived fam-

ilies. It is run by Maitrakul, ahome for children who find it dif-ficult to pursue education due topoverty.

“I joined the classes at BaagShala, which used to be conduct-ed in the slums and villages ofThane, Palghar and Raigad dis-tricts of Maharashtra,” said Pooja.

Baag Shala transformed Poojainto a confident person. With thisnewly gained confidence, shenow started participating in com-petitions and her scholastic per-formance improved drastically.

She would help her mother inhousehold chores before and after

the school hours. That’s howPooja’s mother managed thehouse and raised her three chil-dren. Eventually, owing to thepoor financial circumstances, herelder sister had to drop out of theschool to look after the house-hold. Luckily, Baag Shala savedPooja from the hassle.

While her mother and sisterhad assumed the responsibilitiesof earning and looking after thehouse, Pooja helped her motherby transporting the supply offish. Her brother, however, didnothing.

When Pooja decided to join

Maitrakul boarding, she was in adilemma. “Do I continue with thehassle or should I join Maitrakulfor my betterment?,” she wouldask herself. However, her moth-er recognised her urge.

After relocating to Maitrakul’sKalyan boarding, Pooja soughtadmission in Agarwal College,Kalyan in 2018. She was able toparticipate fully in all academicsas well as extra-curricular activ-ities.

Pooja said, “Maitrakul teach-es us to follow our dreams. Thefacility gives us not merely book-ish knowledge but also exposes us

to experiential learning. Our sur-roundings are our university. Theculture teaches us to fall in line.‘Girls have to learn to cook whileboys just have to play and study— the societal norms tell us’.However, in our facility, we allhave to take turns for cooking,serving and cleaning.”

After joining the facility,Pooja’s urge to fight the castedivide got an impetus. “The caseof Manisha Valmiki, who wasgang raped and murdered inUttar Pradesh, unnerved me. InKolhapur, Maharashtra, ArvindJagtap was killed for being in love

with an upper caste girl. The twohad decided to tie the knot but thegirl’s brothers slit the throat ofArvind who succumbed toinjuries. In both the cases, policetook cognizance only after pub-lic outcry. We discussed this mat-ter in Maitrakul. These casesmade me angry and restless,”said Pooja, earnestly.

She shared a few ideas on howshe’s planning to take this narra-tive to the youth. “The youthshould break the barriers of caste.Inter-caste marriages would go along way in annihilating theproblem. Mahatma Gandhi in hislater years had vowed to attendonly inter-caste weddings. And Ihave decided to do the same. Ourfriend circle, too, should bediverse. It’s futile to waste moneyon wedding ceremonies. Readingof a piece from the constitutionshould be part of the wedding rit-ual,” said she.

“The older generation is notwilling to listen or adapt newways. It’s easier to convince ayoung person. So I have decidedto launch a drive against caste-based systems. We shall visit onedistrict at a time, get connectedwith college students and NGOs,and initiate discussions withthem. We’ll make an effort tounderstand the views of the youthon this topic. A lot of activists likeme are working on the same issue.We would try and connect withthem and their movements,”added Pooja.

“In our college, whenever westart a discussion on caste, themost common argument that wecome across is that the Dalits havereservation, what do the uppercaste people have?,” she shared.Pooja feels that there’s a need toaddress such issues and the ide-ology from which they stem.

Dr BR Ambedkar had madeevery effort to fight the evil ofcaste in his lifetime. Almost 65years after his death, activists likePooja are still fighting the malaiseof casteism. Has anything reallychanged?

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Kyle Mayers scored a sensa-tional century in his debut

match as the West Indies regis-tered an unlikely three wicketwin over Bangladesh in first Test.

Mayers made 210* while fel-low debutant Nkrumah Bonnerscored 86 as the Windies over-hauled the target with threewickets remaining at the veryend of the Test.

Mayers fitttingly hit thewinning run with just 1.3 oversleft on the final day to completethe stunning run chase. MehidyHasan picked up 4/113 forBangladesh.

The second Test of the two-match series starts in Dhaka onFebruary 11.

The result meant WestIndies achieved the fifth highesttotal of all time in the fourthinnings of a Test match win. Itwas also the highest successfulTest run-chase in Asia.

Resuming on 110/3, thepair on debut frustrated the

Bangladesh bowlers and tooktheir partnership to 216.

Bonner pulled off-spinnerMehidy Hasan over square legfor a boundary with the first ball

of the day and Mayers broughtup the century stand by hittingMustafizur Rahman for a fourand six off successive deliveries.

Mayer became the 15thWest Indies batsman to get adebut century when he edged aMustafizur ball to the boundarybetween slip and gully.

After two disappointing ses-sions, Taijul Islam finally gaveBangladesh some hope, dis-missing Bonner in the first overafter tea.

Bangladesh then appearedto tighten its grip on the matchas offspinner Nayeem Hasandismissed Jermaine Blackwoodfor 9, leaving the West Indies at

292/5.But Mayers continued his

spectacular attack with wicket-keeper Joshua Da Silva givinghim the necessary support toseal the victory.

Silva scored just 20 in their100-run partnership and was outjust three runs away from victo-ry.

Mayers, meanwhile,brought up his double hundredoff 303 balls with a gentle punchto deep backward point for a sin-gle. He then hit his seventh sixto put the tourists on the vergeof the victory before pushing oneoff Nayeem Hasan to mid-on fora single to confirm the victory.

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Rishabh Pant’s beautiful edge-of-the-seat hitting ended with hisnow customary indiscretion,

putting India under the pump againsta supremely confident England gun-ning for victory at the end of thirdday’s play in the opening Test here onSunday.

At stumps, India were 257 for 6in reply to England’s massive firstinnings score of 578 with 122 runsstill needed to avoid the follow-onafter Pant (91 off 88 balls) andCheteshwar Pujara (73 off 143 balls)added 119 runs for the fifth wicket.

Washington Sundar (33 batting,68 balls), primarily abatsman converted intoa specialist off-spinner,was trying to makeamends for his poorshow with the ball incompany of Ravichandran Ashwin (8batting, 54 balls), who is never tiredof a good on-field scrap, at stumps.

With a couple of days’ play stillleft, it will be interesting to see ifEngland team management decidesto give its bowlers some respite if itgets a chance to enforce the follow-on.

“We have had some soft dis-missals. The way I got out and howJinks (Ajinkya Rahane) got out. Ashand Washington are batting well.There is a bit of spin but still a goodpitch to bat on. Tomorrow will be cru-cial,” Pujara said in the post-play pressconference.

The day belonged to the currenttoast of the Indian team, Pant, whosmashed five towering sixes — all inthe arc between long-on and deepmid-wicket off left-arm spinner JackLeach (17-2-94-0). Leach didn’t exact-ly know what had hit him.

Sourav Ganguly treated left-armspinners with disdain but what Pantshowed on Sunday was more of pure,unadulterated contempt.

Leach wanted to target the roughoutside Pant’s off-stump but everytime he tossed it up, the stocky manfrom Roorkee came out like a ragingbull who had been shown the red ragand hit the spinner with the turn into

the Chepauk stands.He dazzled with his brilliance and

then in an annoying manner, forgotthat discretion is always the betterpart of valour while trying to hit off-spinner Dom Bess (23-5-55-4) overextra cover against the spin.

This was after dispatchingEngland’s most successful bowler tothe square leg boundary.

And he found the only man sta-tioned at the deep extra cover — noneother than Leach, who latched ontoit as if his life depended on it.

It was an innings that can evokedifferent emotions depending onone’s own perception of Pant.

A Pant fan who loves his craft will

feel an overriding sense of joy andexhilaration just seeing him hit Leachfor four sixes few minutes after Indiawere down and out at 73 for 4. Or justsmack James Anderson through thecover region.

If one is talking about a Testcricket fan then exasperation can takeover just thinking about the possibil-ities had he decided to exercise somecaution. Pant has quite literallythrown away Test hundreds fourtimes in his short career.

But then that’s Pant. There won’tbe any middle path and perhaps theIndian team management will nowtry to mould itself rather than tryingto change him which obviously did-

n’t work for both parties.Just like they don’t want to

change Cheteshwar Pujara, whose 73off 143 balls over nearly four hours,was in complete contrast to Pant’spyrotechnics.

The Indian team’s ‘PPP’ model —the ‘Pant-Pujara Partnership’ workedand even more so because the seniorplayer was dispatching those bound-ary balls during their 119 runs standin just over 24 overs.

But then Virat Kohli, who lookeda touch dejected in the end, would-n’t mind if Pant’s shot had sailed intothe stands. Pujara’s pull had bouncedoff Ollie Pope stationed at forwardshort leg off Bess only to lob into thewaiting hands of Rory Burns.

Bess easily impressed as he gotthe ball to dip and drift, somethingthat worked for him while outfoxingVirat Kohli (11), who was caught atforward short leg.

Ajinkya Rahane (1) was bril-liantly caught by Joe Root when afull toss dipped on him at the finalmoment. This was after RohitSharma (6) and Shubman Gill (29off 28 balls) were dismissed byJofra Archer (16-3-52-2).

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England off-spinner Dom Bessrated the wicket of India skip-

per Virat Kohli as one of the bestof his burgeoning career and saidhis team is in a “great seat” afterday three of the first Test with thepitch expected to spin more.

“It (Kohli’s wicket) is certain-ly up there. He is a phenomenaland a high-calibre player. He isworld-class and one of the best.It is more about the process.What I am learning and doing isgetting me to where I want to be,”Bess told reporters after close ofplay.

“I am 23 and maybe going tokeep going. The journey is goingto be up and down. The wicket

has given me a lot of confidence.I don’t want to think about it toomuch in the middle of the game.We have so much to work on. Wehave got him out and will try to

get him out next innings as well.It is a long series.”

Bess ended the day with 4 for55 including the key scalps ofKohli, Ajinkya Rahane, RishabhPant and Cheteshwar Pujara.

The England offie, who isplaying his 13th Test and took 12wickets in the recent tour of SriLanka, said he was bowling real-ly well at the moment.

“To be honest, I am bowlingreally well at the moment. Wehaven’t bowled that much in amatch situation. But, I was actu-ally really confident going outthere. The most important thingis the collective effort. We havetaken six wickets today.

“It has step up the game nice-ly and it is starting to spin. It is

only going to get more. The newball is around the corner and weare in a great seat at the moment,”Bess added.

Asked how confident he wasabout winning the game, theEngland cricketer said he didn’twant to get too far ahead.

“The most important thing isto finish off the first innings. Wewill then see where India are atthat point. India has got Ashwinand Sundar who can certainlybat...

“We will come back onMonday and reassess. Hopefully,we take four wickets. We knowthat the games over here speed upvery quickly. We will stick to ourprocesses and Monday is just anew day,” he added.

��'�� �372�54�3

Arelentless Russia crushedItaly 2-0 to win their maid-

en ATP Cup on Sunday withDaniil Medvedev and AndreyRublev in ruthless, red-hot formleading into the AustralianOpen.

Russia were the only nationin the 12-team event to boasttwo top 10 players and they hadswept past Japan, Argentinaand Germany en route to thedecider.

Italy were flattened by thesame Russian juggernaut onRod Laver Arena, with Rublevdestroying Fabio Fognini 6-1, 6-2 in just 61 minutes beforeMedvedev overpowered MatteoBerrettini 6-4, 6-2 in 79 minutes.

“It’s unbelievable,” saidRussia captain Evgeny Donskoy.

“If the level is going to bethe same, these guys are goingto see each other in the(Australian Open) quarter-finals because I saw the draw.”

World number fourMedvedev and eighth-rankedRublev have been the twohottest players on tour since lastyear’s US Open.

They kick off their

Australian Open campaigns onTuesday and are scheduled tomeet in the last eight.

Medvedev is now on acareer-long win streak of 14matches, including his thirdATP Masters title in Paris andvictory at the season-endingATP Tour Finals, with 10 ofthose victories over top 10opponents.

“It’s a really big achievement... it’s a big boost in confi-dence,” said Medvedev of hisrun of wins against top-rankedplayers.

“Even when you lose, you

know that you’re capable ofplaying this level, and it helpsyou for the next time to standup.”

Rublev has been equallyimpressive, winning five ATPtitles in a breakthrough 2020,more than anyone else, as heraced up the rankings.

He ended his season bybeating world number threeDominic Thiem at the ATPFinals and has started 2021with four straight wins at theATP Cup, dropping just one set,to make him a contender at theAustralian Open.

'�� �372�54�3

Ankita Raina on Sundaybecame only the fifth

Indian woman tennis player inOpen era to secure a place in themain draw of a Grand Slam asshe made the cut for thewomen’s doubles event of theAustralian Open.

The year’s first Grand Slamstarts here on Monday.

After missing out on thewomen’s singles main draw, shestill had a chance to qualify asa ‘lucky loser’ till the completionof the first round, but the 28-year-old realised her long-timedream when she signed upwith Romania’s MihaelaBuzarnecu and earned a directentry.

Nirupama Mankad (1971),Nirupama Vaidyanathan(1998), Sania Mirza and Indian-American Shikha Uberoi (2004)have competed in the GrandSlam main draws for the coun-try.

Ankita is only the secondIndian after Sania, a six-timeGrand Slam champion, to com-

pete in the women’s doubles ofa tennis major.

Nirupama was the first tocrack a singles Grand Slammain draw, back in 1998 atAustralian Open, whileNirupama Mankad played the1971 Wimbledon mixed dou-bles with Anand Amritraj.

Shikha had competed in the2004 US Open and reached the

singles second round.The braveheart, who played

a key role in Indian Fed Cupteam’s tremendous progress,said although singles hold a dif-ferent significance, making thedoubles too is special.

“It’s first main draw of aGrand Slam, so singles or dou-bles, I will take it. It’s special.Russia crush Italy for ATP Cup

triumphYears of hard work,toil and now I am there. Notonly my hard work but blessingsand support of countless peoplehave brought me here, I can’tforget that,” Ankita said after herentry.

“I know it’s doubles butIndia’s name will be there. Theseare the moments that sparksomething among people.Maybe a few will start dream-ing that it’s possible,” she added.

“People start believing. Wetouch many small milestonesbut this one is at a pinnacle.Anyone who starts playing pro-fessional tennis, dreams of play-ing in a Grand Slam.”

“Regardless of the fact thatit is doubles, I will take it. I keptat it. I stayed in the process.Maybe next time, I will play sin-gles too. After years of hardwork, it is starting with doublesbut singles will happen. It'sfirst, so special,” she added.

Ankita and Mihaela willopen their campaign againstAustralian wild card pair ofOlivia Gadecki and BelindaWoolcock.

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Aggressive batting by AidenMarkram and Rassie van

der Dussen gave hope to SouthAfrica’s bid to level the seriesafter Pakistan set the tourists achallenging target of 370 runs onthe fourth day of the second andfinal Test on Sunday.

Markram (59) and Dussen(48) both stayed unbeaten andcarried the Proteas to 127-1 atstumps on day 4 as both bats-men added 94 runs and domi-nated the last session of the day.

South Africa, which lostthe first Test by seven wicketsbut has not lost a Test seriesagainst Pakistan in 18 years,needs a further 243 runs on thelast day on a seemingly bats-man-friendly pitch.

Wicketkeeper-batsmanMohammad Rizwan (115) ear-lier hit an unbeaten maiden testcentury and shared a record-breaking ninth-wicket standwith Nauman Ali beforePakistan was bowled out for 298for an overall lead of 369 runs.

But Markram and van derDussen launched a counterat-

tack against spinner Nauman Aliand Pakistan’s pacers Hasan Aliand Faheem Ashraf by striking17 boundaries between them.

Pakistan had made an earlyinroad when Dean Elgar (17)threw away his wicket before teaas the left-hander chased a widedelivery from Shaheen Afridi (1-22) and was caught behind.Markram and van der Dussenthen added a brisk 94 runs tobring South Africa back intocontention.

��'�� 7�����

Harry Kane returned frominjury to ease the pressure

on Jose Mourinho as theTottenham striker inspired a 2-0 win against West BromwichAlbion on Sunday.

Mourinho’s side had losttheir previous three PremierLeague games to put their top-four hopes in peril.

Revitalised by Kane’s earli-er than expected return from anankle problem suffered againstLiverpool, Tottenham got backto winning ways just when theunder-fire Mourinho needed itmost.

Kane had missed the lasttwo games, but he made up forlost time by opening the scoringin the second half at theTottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Kane’s 20th goal in all com-petitions this season took him to208 goals in 317 Tottenhamappearances — level in joint sec-ond place alongside BobbySmith in the club’s all-time scor-ing list.

The England captain’s mile-stone goal was followed by a SonHeung-min strike momentslater that killed off West Brom.

��' � 73! P!%

Liverpool’s ChampionsLeague last-16 away tie

against RB Leipzig will bestaged in Budapest as coron-avirus restrictions bar theEnglish champions travellingto Germany, Uefa announcedon Sunday.

The February 16 first leg“will now take place at PuskasArena in Budapest,” Europeanfootball’s governing body con-

firmed.Budapest was chosen as a

neutral venue after Bundesligaside Leipzig’s request for a trav-el exemption for their Englishrivals was turned down by theGerman Government.

Though there are someexceptions for medical work-ers and others in key profes-sions the new protocol con-tains no special provision forprofessional sportspeople.

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Cheteshwar Pujaradoesn’t want Rishabh

Pant to curb his naturalattacking instincts butwould like the swash-buckler to be more “sen-sible” with his shot selec-tion while putting theteam’s requirements aboveeverything else.

Pant scored a breath-taking 91 off 88 balls butthen threw it away with apoor shot off Dom Bess.

“It is his (Pant) natur-al game so we cannotrestrict him much. Hecan’t be too defensivebecause by doing so hecan get out quickly. It isgood for his game that hekeeps on playing his shotsbut, at times, he has to bevery selective,” said Pujaraat the end of the day’s play.

“He needs to under-stand which shots to play,which not. He needs tounderstand in which sit-uation it is important thathe stays in the crease.Balancing things out is themost important for him,”said one of the calmestinfluences in the Indiandressing room.

Pujara believes that atalent like Pant will learnfrom his mistakes as hehas the ability to rectifyand play for the team’scause.

“He will learn fromhis mistakes. There aretimes when he can be lit-tle more patient and buildanother partnership with

whoever is there in thecrease. He is capable ofputting the team firstbecause whenever he batslonger, then we willalways end up posting abig total. So, I am sure hewill realise that.”

The senior batsmanfeels that if Pant is “sensi-ble” and listens to thecommunication from thecoaching stuff, he canavoid those ugly dis-missals.

“... And then thereare times when he alsohas to understand and thecoaching staff alwayscommunicates with himthat. He has to put theteam first and be littlesensible at times. He hasdone that most of thetimes. There are timeswhen gets out and looksugly.”

Pant can be sensible in putting team first: Pujara

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