Four naxals killed in two encounters - Central Chronicle

RescueSSrriinnaaggaarr:: The Army res-cued around 30 civiliansafter their vehicles cameunder an avalanche trig-gered by recent snowfallin border district ofKupwara in Jammu andKashmir, officials said onTuesday. A vehicle carry-ing civilians got stuck onthe Tangdhar-Chowkibalaxis on Monday, followingwhich the nearest Armyunit was alerted and arescue operationlaunched, they said.

BustedBBuullaannddsshhaahhrr:: With thearrest of one accused,police on Tuesdayclaimed to have bustedan illegal arms factory inthe forest of Bhansoli vil-lage in the district. Tenfinished and 12 half-fin-ished illegal weaponshave been recovered fromthe illegal unit underKotwali Dehat PoliceStation area,Superintendent of Police(City) SurendranathTiwari said.

FireKKoollkkaattaa:: A fire broke outat an abandoned cinemahall in Mallickbazar areaof Kolkata on Tuesday, afire official said. Theblaze erupted around 2.25PM, and five fire tendersdoused it in 30 minutes,he said. Nobody wasinjured in the fire thatbroke out at the top floorof the abandoned 'ParkShow House' inBeniapukur police stationarea, he said. "The cool-ing process is underway.The reason behind thefire is yet to be ascer-tained," he added.

BailNNeeww DDeellhhii:: The DelhiHigh Court has grantedbail to two directors of anapp-based taxi company,accused of duping hun-dreds of people of Rs 250crore after promisingthem huge returns oninvesting in the firm.Justice SubramoniumPrasad enlarged the twoaccused on bail notingthat they have been incustody for over a yearnow and their continuedcustody was no longerrequired. Both the peti-tioners have been in cus-tody for over a year now.Charge sheet as well assupplementary chargesheet have been filed,and all the evidenceavailable is documentaryin nature and in custodyof the investigatingagency.

BRIEF

Devotees participate in the Thaipooyakavadi festival

at Major Ulloor SreeBalasubramonya Swami

temple, inThiruvananthapuram, Tuesday.

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Sukma/Konta, Jan 18:

Four naxals includingtwo women were killed intwo separate encounterswith security forces inSukma district and alongthe state's border withTelangana on Tuesdaymorning, police said here.

A woman rebel who wascarrying a reward of Rs 5lakh on her head wasamong them.

Earlier, Chhattisgarh po-lice had said that four nax-als were killed in the opera-tion along the Telangana-Chhattisgarh border, butlater the number was re-vised to three.

A team of the specialanti-naxal Greyhoundsunit of Telangana Policehad launched an operationin the forests of Bijapur(Chhattisgarh) and Mulugu

(Telangana) districts,"Inspector General of Police(Bastar range) Sundarraj Ptold PTI. They had receivedintelligence about a largegathering of the naxals'Telangana State Committeecadres including DivisionalCommittee Member(DVCM) Sudhakar and hisassociates in the area, hesaid. A joint team ofDistrict Reserve Guard(DRG) and Central ReservePolice Force (CRPF) fromBijapur was also sent tocordon off the area and as-sist the Greyhounds, the IGadded. Around 7 am, the

Greyhounds team got en-gaged in a gun-battle withthe ultras in a forest nearSemaldodi (districtBijapur) and Kariguttalu-Penugolu (district Mulugu)villages. Initial reports saidat least four ultras had beenneutralized," the senior of-ficial said. Later, the bodiesof three naxals including awoman were recovered,Sundarraj added.

An SLR (Self LoadingRifle), INSAS rifle, a single-bore weapon, ten rocketlaunchers and other arti-cles were recovered fromthe spot, he said. A

Greyhounds jawan sus-tained injuries. He was air-lifted to Warangal and laterairlifted to Hyderabad forbetter treatment," the IGsaid, adding that the jawanwas said to be out of dan-ger. Search operation wasstill underway in the area,located over 450 km awayfrom the Chhattisgarh capi-tal Raipur, he said.

Mulugu district policealso confirmed the recov-ery of three bodies.

In Sukma district ofChhattisgarh a womannaxal was killed, officialssaid. Superintendent of

Police Sunil Sharma toldPTI that DRG personnelfrom Sukma, Dantewadaand Bastar districts partici-pated in the operation.

Police had received infor-mation about the presenceof top DivisionalCommittee Members of theCPI (Maoist) and 35-40cadres in the forest on thetri-junction of Bastar,Dantewada and Sukma andlaunched an operation onMonday night, he said.

Around 6.45 am, a gun-fight broke out on Marjumhills under Tongpal policestation limits.

The body of a womanidentified as Munni, anarea committee member ofthe naxals who carried a re-ward of Rs 5 lakh on herhead was recovered fromthe spot," Sharma said.

No security personnelwas injured in the opera-tion, he added.

Konta, Jan 18:

Sukma district, which isknown as the most Naxalaffected district of thestate, has been in the head-lines all the time. For thepast few years, concoctedstories of alleged develop-ment happening in Sukmaare being seen and heardeverywhere, but theground reality has nothingto do with these storieseven remotely.

The book full of successstories that the responsibil-ities of this district cameto fore before the world, itscondition is like a bookwhose cover is very posi-tive and golden, but theinner pages have beenlicked by termites. Thesetermites are none otherthan officers sitting on re-sponsible posts of various

departments of this dis-trict who are cutting silverunder the guise ofNaxalism. Corruption isbeing done on a large scalein the departments whichare directly related to thegeneral public like agricul-ture, horticulture, health,education, district con-struction committee andpanchayats.

Forest division, wherewages of about Rs 70 croremade under CAMPAscheme in the last threeyears have come under thescanner. Sukma ForestDivision, where newrecords have been createdfor corruption, an incidenthas come to the fore, whichhas destroyed all the previ-ous records of corruption.

Almost the entire area ofall the forest areas of theforest division is affectedby Naxalism. In areas likeKistaram, Jagargunda,Golapally and Konta, allthe work is being done onpaper only, the informationof which is not hiddenfrom anyone. The latestcase is from the relativelyless Naxal-affectedDornapal area. Here, inthe afforestation and con-struction works being doneby the Forest Departmentfrom the post of CAMPA,the laborers who are beingpaid as laborers for the lastthree years, they do noteven live here. Hundreds ofpeople from the inner vil-lage either moved to reliefcamps or later settled inTelangana, fearing the con-flict emanating from theSalwa Judum.

New Delhi, Jan 18 (PTI):

Ahead of Republic Day,the Centre has highlighted"a perceptible lack of aware-ness" among governmentorganisations, agencies andpeople about the laws, prac-tices and conventions thatapply to display of the na-tional flag and asked statesto ensure that the tricolouris not dishonoured.

In a communication to allstates and union territories,the home ministry said thataction must be taken to en-sure that only paper flagsare used by the public whileattending cultural and

sports events and such flagsare disposed of in private,consistent with its dignity.

The ministry said the na-tional flag represents hopesand aspirations of the peo-ple of the country andhence should occupy a posi-tion of honour and there isuniversal affection and re-spect for, and loyalty to, theflag.

"Yet, a perceptible lack ofawareness is often noticedamongst people as well asorganisations or agenciesof the government, in re-gard to laws, practices andconventions that apply todisplay of the national

flag," it said. According tothe Flag Code of India, thenational flag made of papermay be waved by public onoccasions of important na-tional, cultural and sportsevents.

"You are requested to en-sure that on the occasions ofimportant national, cultur-al and sports events, flagsmade of paper only are usedby the public and suchpaper flags are not discard-ed or thrown on the groundafter the event. Such flagsare to be disposed of, in pri-vate, consistent with thedignity of the flag," the com-munication said.

New Delhi, Dec 18:

The third wave of theCOVID-19 pandemic is like-ly to peak much earlierthan anticipated and maytake a maximum of threemore weeks, even thoughthe share of rural districtsin new caseloads has in-creased significantly sinceDecember, says a report.

The optimism comesfrom the massive decline innew caseloads in the top 15districts which had themaximum infections, SBIResearch said in a reporton Tuesday.

Infections in the top 15districts have declined to37.4 per cent in January,from 67.9 per cent inDecember.

The report, however, ad-mitted that 10 of these top15 districts are major citiesand among themBengaluru and Pune stillhave higher infection rates.The overall share of ruraldistricts in new cases hasincreased to 32.6 per cent inJanuary, from the lowest of

14.4 per cent in December,the report noted.

In comparison to the US,this is too low, where thenew cases have soared by6.9 times even though it hasdouble-vaccinated over 80per cent of its eligible pop-ulation. Another point ofoptimism stems from thefact that India has fullyvaccinated 64 per cent ofthe eligible population,while 89 per cent of the eli-gible population have beengiven the first dose.

Currently the 7-day me-dian average of vaccina-tion is 70 lakh. Rural vacci-nation share in total vacci-nation is now at 83 per cent,indicating that the ruralpopulace may be largelyprotected in the currentwave. Andhra Pradesh,Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka,Kerala, MP, Telangana andUttarakhand have alreadyvaccinated more than 70per cent of their eligiblepopulation with doubledoses. However, Punjab, UPand Jharkhand are still lag-ging.


Flagging a decline inthe number of COVID-19tests in many states andunion territories, theCentre has asked them toenhance testing so that aneffective track of thespread of the pandemiccan be kept and immedi-ate citizen-centric actioncan be initiated.

In a letter to states andUTs on Monday,Additional Secretary inthe Union HealthMinistry Arti Ahuja ad-vised them to pay atten-tion to this aspect immedi-ately and increase the test-ing in a strategic mannerkeeping in view the trendof case positivity in specif-ic areas.

She highlighted thatOmicron, which has beendesignated by the WorldHealth Organization(WHO) as a variant of con-cern, is currently spread-ing across the country.

Referring to the min-istry's earlier letters and

the Home Ministry advi-sory of December 27 lastyear laying out the broadframework of pandemicmanagement in the con-text of Omicron, Ahujasaid testing remains a keyand crucial component.

"However, it is seenfrom the data available onthe ICMR portal that test-ing has declined in manystates and union territo-ries," she wrote.

She said in all advi-sories on testing issued bythe Indian Council ofMedical Research (ICMR),including the latest onJanuary 10, the basic ob-jective remains early de-tection of cases for quickisolation and care.

In addition, testing re-mains a key strategy for

pandemic management asit helps in identification ofnew clusters and newhotspots of infectionwhich can in turn facili-tate immediate action forcontainment such as set-ting up of containmentzones, contact tracing,quarantining, isolationand follow-up.

This can enable thestate and district adminis-trations to curb the spreadof infection. Also this willensure reduction in mor-tality and morbidity."Progression of disease toa severe category can beaverted by strategic testingof those who are at highrisk and more vulnerable,as well as in areas wherethe spread is likely to behigher," Ahuja said.

Mumbai, Jan 18 (PTI):

The PrimeMinister's Office on

Tuesday told the BombayHigh Court there was norestriction on the use ofthe prime minister's nameand photograph as well asthe image of the nationalflag and emblem for the PMCARES Fund.

In an affidavit submittedbefore a division bench ofChief Justice DipankarDatta and Justice M SKarnik, PMO UnderSecretary PradeepSrivastava said the PM'sphotograph, name and na-tional emblem were alsoused in the PrimeMinister's National ReliefFund (PMNRF).

The affidavit was filed inresponse to a petition filedby Congress worker

Vikrant Chavan seekingdeletion of the prime min-ister's name and photo-graph from the PM CARESFund. It had also soughtthe deletion of images ofthe national flag and em-blem from the official web-site of the PrimeMinister's CitizenAssistance and Relief inEmergency Situations (PMCARES) Fund. The pleaclaimed the usage of theprime minister's photo-graph and the image of thenational flag and emblemwere in violation of theConstitution as well as TheEmblems and Names

(Prevention of ImproperUse) Act. In its affidavit,the PMO said, "I say thatPM CARES Fund andPMNRF are both chairedby the Prime Minister. Asthe name, photograph ofPrime Minister andNational Emblem arebeing used for the PMNRF,they are also being usedfor the PM CARES Fund."

It said the Flag Code ofIndia, 2002, which bringstogether all laws, conven-tions, practices and in-structions regarding dis-play of the national flag,provides that there shall beno restriction on its displayby general public, privateorganizations, educationalinstitutions and so on, ex-cept to the extent providedin Emblems and Names(Prevention of ImproperUse) Act.


The number of peopleallowed to attend theRepublic Day parade thisyear is likely to be cur-tailed to approximately5,000-8,000 due to theCOVID-19 situation, withseats reserved for con-struction workers, front-line health workers andothers, senior officials ofthe defence ministry saidon Tuesday. Only doublevaccinated adults and chil-

dren above the age of 15who have taken at leastone dose of COVID-19 vac-cine will be allowed toenter, they said, addingchildren below 15 yearswill not be permitted to at-tend the event. The offi-cials said the paradewould start at 10.30 AM in-stead of 10 AM to providebetter visibility. They saidthe number of people thatwould be allowed to attendthe Republic Day paradethis year is to be curtailedby 70-80 percent to approxi-mately 5,000-8,000 due tothe ongoing COVID-19wave.

MAJOR SUCCESS

Four naxals killed in two encountersOne jawan injured

COVID EFFECT

Only 5,000-8,000 people to beallowed to attend R-Day parade

Vaccinationmandatory

DISHONOUR TO TRICOLOUR

MHA flags ‘perceptible lack ofawareness’ about Flag Code

SBI RESEARCH

‘Third wave may peakin next three weeks’

DANCING FOR GLORY

Haryana school students perform during the rehearsal for the upcoming RepublicDay parade, on a cold winter morning in New Delhi, Tuesday.

DECLINE IN COVID TESTING

Enhance testing: Govt to states

A healthworker collects a nasalswab sample for COVID-19

test at a hospital in Amritsar,Tuesday.

PMO

TEL

LS H

C PM CARES Fund: No curb on use ofPM’s name, photo, image of flag

WAGES PAID TO DEAD PERSON

Rs 70 crore scam in Sukma forest division

CENTRAL CHRONICLE, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2022

Bhilai, Jan 18:

Various trade unionsand other organisationshave extended support tothe struggle of the re-trenched workers ofChandulal ChandrakarMemorial MedicalCollege, Kachandur. OnTuesday, representativesof various organisationsattended a meeting at thedharna pandal of theworkers located in front ofthe college main gate.Representatives of vari-ous organizations, tradeunions and farmers’ asso-ciations fromRajnandgaon, Durg,Bhilai and Raipur extend-ed their support to the agi-tators. Following the

Covid protocol, the meet-ing began at 11:00 hrs onthe day. The office bearersof various organizationsunanimously passed a res-olution in support of theagitators. They requestedthe Chief Minister tospare some time to meetthe aggrieved workers andsolve their employmentproblem immediately. Ifthe government fails toinitiative positive steps,the organisations will re-sort to aggressive agita-tion.

At the outset, the agitat-ing workers accorded mu-sical welcome to the repre-sentatives of various or-ganisations. Dhanush,Devraj, Sumit andLomesh, office bearers of

the Public HealthEmployees Union, gave de-tailed information aboutthe progress of theirstruggle. They informedhow they were illegally re-trenched after the acquisi-tion of the institution bythe state government.They also explained aboutthe problems they are fac-ing after being sacked offfrom the job. It needs to bementioned here that soonafter the acquisition ofthe college by the govern-ment; the existing employ-ees were fired by introduc-ing a black law. The ag-grieved workers are agi-tating for the last four-fivemonths without anysalary. Senior labour andJanwadi leaders including

DVS Reddy and ShantKumar from CITU (CP-M);Vinod Kumar Soni fromAITUC (CPI); Puran Sahufrom Pragatisheel KisanSangh; Surendra Mohantyfrom Loktantrik Ispatevam EngineeringMazdoor Union; RajendraParganiha from HouseLease SamyuktSangharsh Samiti;Ramakant Banjare andVirendra Uikey fromRajnandgaon DistrictKisan Sangh; JaiprakashNair from Janwadi SafaiKamgar Union;Mohammad Ali andDhananjay fromPragatisheel CementShramik Sangh; Neerafrom Mahila MuktiMorcha and BhimraoBagde from ChhattisgarhMukti Morcha addressedthe agitators and inspiredthem to struggle continu-ously till goal is achieved.The programme was con-ducted by KaladasDahariya of ChhattisgarhMukti Morcha.Chitralekha, Anita, RajKumari, Lokeshwari,Anil, Amit, Dhanush,Devraj, Misi, Monika,Sheela, Leela, Lomesh,Geeta and other aggrievedworkers were present.

Various organisations extend supportto retrenched workers of CCM College

Bhilai, Jan 18:

On Tuesday, senior IASofficer Mahadev Kawretook charge asCommissioner of DurgDivision. On reaching thedivisional office in Durg,he was accorded warmwelcome by DeputyCommissioner MonikaKaudo, Ajay Mishra andother officers and employ-ees of the office.Divisional CommissionerKawre took introductionfrom the officials. After as-suming the charge, he in-spected various sectionsof the office. He inquiredabout the status of coronainfection and vaccinationin the district. He ques-tioned the CMHO aboutthe measures being takenat the Covid Care Centerfor the treatment of infect-ed patients.

Right from the first day,the DivisionalCommissioner was seenvery active in the office.He interacted with the of-ficials and inquired aboutthe departmental activi-ties, administrative activi-ties and public welfareschemes run by the gov-ernment. After assumingoffice, Kawre stated thathis main task is to giveshape to sensitive, trans-parent and accountableadministration. He visitedShree DhanwantriGeneric Medical Stores inview of the present pan-

demic situation. He visit-ed various medical storesand oversaw the availabil-ity of medicines and otherarrangements. He spokewith customers visitingthe Medical Store and in-quired about the availabil-ity of medicines.Thereafter, he visited theJRD School premises toknow about the status ofCovid vaccination in thedistrict. He took stock ofthe vaccination center setup here and inquiredabout the status of the on-going vaccination.

He expressed happinessover the Mega Campaign“Vaccine Near Me” run inthe district and said thatthis is a continuousprocess, so there is a needto maintain this pace ofvaccination. Later, he vis-ited Gauthan in village

Chandkhuri to overseethe government’s ambi-tious project “Narva,Garwa, Ghurva, Bari”. Hemet various self-helpgroups working inGauthan and also got in-formation related to theoperation of Gauthan.The women of the SelfHelp Group gave their in-troduction and detailed

the DivisionalCommissioner about theprocesses related to theproduction of vermicom-post manure. The womeninformed that till nowthey have earned anamount of Rs 5 lakhthrough vermicompostmanure.

District Panchayat CEOAshwini Dewangan ac-

companied the DivisionalCommissioner during thevisit. He apprised theDivisional Commissionerabout the various innova-tions to be done inChandkhuri Gonthan. Headded that ChandkhuriGaunthan is a completeunit in itself. Along withthe shelter of animals,there is a system of fodderand drinking water forcattle. Vermicompost ma-nure, Anjola, dung collec-tion centre, fodder collec-tion centre, shed for poul-try, dubri for fish farmingare available here.

D i v i s i o n a lCommissioner was glad toknow that 52 GramPanchayats have also re-ceived training throughthis Gaunthan. He tookstock of vermicompostmanure beds, poultry

sheds and fish farmingdubris. Kawre said thatfor the activities conduct-ed in Gonthan, differentself-help groups should begiven opportunity so thatmaximum benefits ofschemes could reach tothe people. In order to betransparent in the proce-dure, he asked the SHGs tomaintain a daily registerand laid special emphasison the maintenance ofcharts for poultry andfisheries. He asked thetraining department toprovide guidance in thisregard. He suggested thatAnjola can be served tothe poultry also. Aftertalking to the women ofself-help groups, he cameto know that some farm-ers have got the maximumincome around Rs 1 lakh.They have used this in-come to construct byreshed and purchasingequipments. Kawre saidthat these schemes of thegovernment have broughta big change in the rurallife. These schemes willdefinitely bring strongchanges in the economiccondition of the commonpeople. Sudha Das, DeputyDirector of FisheriesDepartment, SS Rajput,Deputy Director ofAgriculture Departmentand CP Mishra fromAnimal HusbandryDepartment and other of-ficers and employees werepresent.

Mahadev Kawre takes charge as Commissioner of Durg Division

Bhilai, Jan 18:

Raipur and Durg dis-tricts have been honouredfor their commendablecontribution to the ArmedForces Flag Day Fund(AFFDF). GovernorAnusuiya Uikey honouredDurg District Collector DrSarveshwar NarendraBhure for this contribu-tion.

She said that this fundworks for the help of ex-servicemen and their fam-ilies. To raise a contribu-tion for this fund is an ho-nour to the soldiers whohave made their indeliblecontribution towards the

security of the country.Raipur and Durg districtshave made commendablecontribution in this fund.Congratulating theCollector of Durg District,the Governor said thatworks have been donepromptly on the subjectsrelated to soldiers.

It is a commendable ini-tiative, she added.Through this fund, cooper-ation is provided towardsmeeting the needs of ex-servicemen. TheGovernor said that our sol-diers are protecting ourborders.

We all have the responsi-bility to take care of theirfamilies. It is noteworthythat the Governor hon-oured both the districts forthe commendable workdone in the year 2019-20and the year 2020-21.

Durg District feted for appreciable

contribution in AFFDF

Collector Dr SarveshwarNarendra Bhurereceives honour

Bhilai, Jan 18:

The members ofMayor in Council ofBhilai MunicipalCorporation took chargeof their respective officeson Tuesday. MLADevendra Yadav, MayorNeeraj Pal and SpeakerGirwar Bunty Sahu ac-companied all the Mayor-in-Council members totheir offices and gavethem charge of the office.Bhilai MunicipalC o r p o r a t i o nCommissioner PrakashSurve, AdditionalCommissioner AshokDwivedi and DeputyCommissioner SunilAgrahari were especiallypresent on this occasion.DCC Chief MukeshChandrakar was alsopresent. MLA DevendraYadav shared the experi-ences of his tenure asMayor.

Later, Mayor NeerajPal chaired a meeting ofMIC members and dis-cussed various issues forthe development of thecity. He stated that in thepresent situation, the

Covid Combat is on thetop priority. Along withthis, all the memberswere made aware of theresponsibilities for thedevelopment of Bhilaicity. All the 14 membersof the Mayor-in-Counciltook their charges on theday.

It could be recollectedhere that Mayor NeerajPal constituted the MiCon January 13. Finance,Accounts and Audit de-partment has been givento Mannan GhaffarKhan, GeneralAdministration andLegislative AffairsDepartment - SandeepNirankari, Urban

Planning and BuildingPermission Department -Saket Chandrakar, PublicWorks Department -Ekansh Banchor, Water-Works Department -Keshav Choubey,Revenue Department -Shiju Anthony; Food,Public Health andSanitation Department –Laxmipati Raju; Fire,Electrical andMechanical Department– Lalchand Verma,Poverty Alleviation andSocial WelfareDepartment –Chandrashekhar Gavai,Women and ChildD e v e l o p m e n tDepartment – Meera

Banjare, ScheduledCastes and ScheduledTribes WelfareDepartment – MaltiThakur, Education,Sports and Youth WelfareDepartment - AdityaSingh, Environment andHorticulture Department- Neha Sahu, CultureTourism, Recreation andHeritage ProtectionDepartment - Rita SinghGera. All of them havestarted handling theirwork.

Under the newarrangement, a separateroom has also been pre-pared for holding theMIC meeting. Followingthe instructions ofMayor Neeraj Pal, roomnumber-26 has been pre-pared for the meetings ofMIC. The meetings of theMayor in Council wereearlier held in theMayor’s Chamber.Furniture was to be re-arranged frequently forholding the meetings.Considering the situa-tion, the Mayor has nowmade a separate arrange-ment for the MIC meet-ings.

MiC members take charge of their respective offices

BBhhiillaaii,, JJaann 1188::

A large number of peoplegot vaccinated on Tuesday, onthe first day of the two-dayvaccination campaign. TheHealth Department had madespecial preparations for thiscampaign.

The vaccination teams hadreached their places sincemorning and people came inlarge numbers to get vacci-nated. Mahadev Kawre, thenew Commissioner of DurgDivision who took chargetoday also inspected the vac-cination centres.

He reached the JRD SchoolVaccination Center and alsointeracted with the benefici-aries who had come for vacci-nation. He also took informa-tion from the team of HealthDepartment. DistrictPanchayat CEO AshwaniDevangan also inspected thevaccination drive in ruralareas. He inspected the vacci-

nation works in Jewara andSamoda. The commissionersof Durg, Bhilai and Risaliurban bodies also inspectedthe vaccination drive byreaching various spots.

The District Panchayat CEOtook information about thevaccination by reaching thevaccination centers in thePanchayat Bhawan of GramPanchayat Jevra, School ofGram Panchayat Samoda andhealth centers of GramPanchayat Kachandur.

He was informed that prior-ity is being given to three cat-egories in vaccination, inwhich the first category arethe frontline workers andthose who are more than 60years. The second category isthose who have taken the firstdose and those who have totake the second dose. Alongwith this, the children of 15years to 18 years of the schoolwill be vaccinated.

The vaccination mega cam-paign received great responsewithin the limits of BhilaiMunicipal Corporation onTuesday. Mayor Neeraj Palvisited the vaccination cen-tres, took stock of the vacci-

nation status and encouragedpeople to get the vaccineshots. He met the senior citi-zens who had come to get thebooster dose. MiC memberSandeep Nirankari and AdityaSingh accompanied him.Bhilai Municipal CorporationCommissioner Prakash Survealso inspected the vaccinationcenters and gave necessaryinstructions to the officials.

Vaccination campaign willcontinue on January 19 aswell. On January 19, people ofall age groups will be vacci-nated. 58 centers earmarkedfor vaccination of first andsecond dose, booster dose

and children of 15 to 18 yearsage group. The facility of alltypes of vaccinations will beavailable for all categories ina single center. Nodal OfficerSunil Agrahari said that onJanuary 19, a target of 100percent vaccination has beenset.

Vaccination centers havebeen set up in the ward. Eachzone commissioner has beengiven the responsibility forvaccination. Wide publicity isbeing done in the corporationareas through publicannouncement and othermeans. The vaccination cen-tres are PHC Junwani

Khamharia, Behind UPHCKosanagar Community HealthCentre, Siyan Sadan RadhikaNagar, Mangal Bazar KohkaCommunity Hall, Shiv MandirKanji House, BNS SchoolSector 08, PHC VaishaliNagar, Ganesh Manch DomeShed Housing Board, UPHCBaikunthdham, Bapu NagarPHC, Mangal Bazar Chhawani,Khursipar UPHC, GaneshManch Power House Market,Sat Vijay Auditorium Sector05, Utkal Cultural CouncilSector 06, Road 18 Sector 07,Siyan Sadan HUDCO, NearHanuman Mandir , SparshHospital Contractor Colony,

Pulse Hospital Nehru Nagar,Chandulal Hospital NehruNagar, ShankaracharyaHospital, Manav Seva SamitiSector 09, BM Shah HospitalShastri Nagar, KarunaHospital Nandini Road, BhilaiNursing Home Supela,Shreyas College of NursingSupela, Rungta College OfNehru Nagar, MJ College OfNursing Junwani, Gada ChowkAmbedkar Nagar, Surya MallNehru Nagar, Railway StationPower House, Supela RainBasera and Sabzi Market,Boria Gate Market, KanjiHouse Supela, MahilaMahavidyalaya Sector 09,

Chhawani Thana Power HouseMarket, Cultural buildingAnda Chowk Khursipar, SaiCollege Sector 06, DurgaManch Ghasidas Nagar, NehruBhavan Supela, GovernmentHigher Secondary SchoolKhursipar Zone 02, MGMSchool Sector 06, JP NagarSchool Camp 02, Happy PublicSchool Vaishalinagar,Government HigherSecondary School Kohka, KPSNehru Nagar, Pt Nehru HigherSecondary New Khursipar,DPS Junwani, Sri ShankaraVidyalaya Sector 10,Government HigherSecondary School Chhawani,Government HigherSecondary School Supela,Government HigherSecondary SchoolVaishalinagar, SriShankaracharya SchoolHUDCO, Shakuntala VidyalayaRamnagar, Chaita MaidanPremnagar and SuryakundPond Jawahar Nagar.

In Risali MunicipalCorporation a total of 1200people got vaccinated forcorona protection in 23 cen-ters on the first day of thevaccination campaign. The

number of people takingbooster dose was 170. MayorShashi Sinha reached the vac-cination centers set up in dif-ferent wards on Tuesday andtook stock of the arrange-ments. For smooth conduct ofthe campaign, CommissionerAshish Devangan dispatchedthe Vaccinators and corpora-tion staff from the PrimaryHealth Center in his presence.He remained in the field tillthe vaccination process wasstarted.

It is worth mentioning thatthe corporation administra-tion had set up a total of 23centers for vaccinationagainst Covid. In these cen-ters, Mayor Shashi Sinhaalong with CouncillorsSeema Sahu and JamunaThakur continued to takestock of the arrangementstill evening. The councillorsplayed an important role inbringing awareness aboutthe vaccine.

The councillors not onlyconducted door-to-door con-tact, but also motivated theadolescents in the age groupof 15 to 18 years to get vac-cinated.

People in large number get vaccinated on first day of mega campaign Public

representatives andofficials inspect vaccination centers


PLASTIC WASTE

With people resorting to drinking out in public near liquor shops and eateries, theplastic waste is lying out in the open raising questions on concerned authorities.

After polling, counting of votes will be done at the polling station

RRaaiippuurr,, JJaann 1188:: Panchayat by-elections for various posts infour districts of Raipur districtwill be held on Thursday,January 20. Voting for this willbe done from 7 am to 3 pm inthe designated polling sta-tions. After the poll is over,the counting of votes will bedone at the polling stationvenue. It is noteworthy thatState Election Commission,has announced bye-electionfor Raipur district to fill a totalof 64 vacant posts of 53Panch, 9 of Sarpanch and 2

posts of Janpad Panchayatmember. For this, no nomina-tion papers were presentedfor 4 posts of Panch and 1 ofSarpanch. Nomination letterrejected for 1 vacant post ofSarpanch. Candidates electedin unopposed election on 32posts of Panch and 1 post ofJanpad Panchayat member intotal 33 posts in the district.In this way, voting will bedone on 17 posts of Panch, 7of Sarpanch and 1 of JanpadPanchayat member in thisway. Under this, voting will beheld for 9 posts of Panch inDharsiwan district in GramPanchayat Kukera, Manohara,Pavani, Manabasti, Dhaneli(Sa), Banarsi, Dhaneli (Bhat),Siltra and Sankri. In Tilda dis-trict, voting will be held for 2posts of Panch in GramPanchayat Chhataud and

Navagaon. Similarly, pollingwill be held for 1 gram pan-chayat Nakta in Arang district,Chhataud and Navagaon inTilda district and Panch inPipraud, Bendri and Bhotidihgram panchayats in Abhanpurdistrict. Here 2516 voters willexercise their franchise.

Polling will be held for thepost of Sarpanch in Parsada,Devgaon and Manpur underDharsiwa district. Similarly,voting will be held for the postof sarpanch in Majitha, Banarsiand Gullu of Arang district andNayakbandha of Abhanpur dis-trict under Arang district.12588 voters will exercise theirfranchise for these posts.Similarly, citizens of villagepanchayat Manikcheri, Hasdaand Tokaro of Abhanpur dis-trict will vote for district mem-ber. For this 5901 voters will

exercise their franchise.For this in the district, 9 in

Dharsiwa district, 9 in Tilda, 15in Arang and 17 in Abhanpur,thus a total of 50 polling sta-tions have been set up. TheGeneral AdministrationDepartment of the StateGovernment has declared apublic holiday for the govern-ment institutions/officeslocated in the constituencieson January 20th, Thursday,the day of polling. TheCommercial Tax ExciseDepartment declared dry peri-od/day to keep all the countryliquor and foreign liquor retailshops located in the respec-tive polling/counting placearea from 48 hours before theend of polling in the con-stituencies till the end ofpolling/counting on January20.

GP Singh sent to jail for 14 dayson judicial remand

Central Chronicle News

Raipur, Jan 18: The sus-pended IPS GP Singh wasproduced in the SpecialCourt of Leena Agrawalamidst high security byteam of ACB sleuths andcourt has sent him to jailon judicial custody for 14days.

It is notable here that GPSingh was arrested fromGurugram in Haryana laston Jan 11 and after whichhe was brought to Raipurby road and produced inthe Special Court on Jan12 from where he wastaken on Police remandfor 2 days.

On completion of thispolice remand, again sus-pended IG GP Singh wasproduced in the Court onJan 14 and here his Policeremand was extended for

four days till Jan 18.Sources informed that

the suspended IG’s lawyerKamlesh Pandey moved aplea in the local court re-questing the court not toshift him to Raipur cen-tral jail. But the EOWCounsel Amrito Dashowever countered theplease saying that wherethey should keep GPSingh as he had been

Range IG in Raipur andDurg and as SP inBilaspur and Jagdalpurand all these jails haveaccused arrested by GPSingh during his officialstunts in these districts.Thus the accused has noright to decide or ask asto which jail he should besent, as the court’s deci-sion stands full and final,EOW counsel said.

Construction of Complex in Nava Raipur done withoutanalyzing market demand: Akbar

RRaaiippuurr,, JJaann 1188:: Minister forHousing and EnvironmentMohammed Akbar said thatNava Raipur DevelopmentAuthority (NRDA) which isunable to pay the loan andinterest on the very propertyto the Bank is having ratesabove the hot property inthe city. He categoricallysaid that nobody is purchas-ing such costly property in acity without any populationand proper rehabilitationand market. Akbar held theerstwhile BJP government inthe state responsible for thesame.

Addressing a press con-ference at his official resi-dence in Shankar Nagar,

Housing MinisterMohammed Akbar informedthat the very property whichthe Bank has taken over inNava Raipur has got a retailcomplex in it. This has beenconstructed at the cost of Rs262.31 cr and since the costof construction is very high,the property here is beingsold at the rate of Rs 9425per sq. ft. This rate is veryhigh compared to property’sbuilt-up rate in heart ofRaipur city at Shyam Plaza

in Pandri, Magneto Mall inTelibanadha and others.

Akbar informed that theactual carpet area availablefor selling in the complex inNava Raipur is 2.64 lakh sq.ft and out of which only 10%i:e 0.27 lakh sq. ft. of thecarpet area has been soldoff. Around 6% i:e 0.17%lakh sq. ft. carpet area hasbeen given on monthly rentand still 2.20 lakh sq.ft ofcarpet area in this buildingis available for sell or rental.

The Housing Ministerinformed that the allocationof the available built-up areais done through bidding, butdue to high rates and low inthe real estate business, itcould not be sold withintime-limit. MohammedAkbar said that it is withoutanalyzing the actual demandof property in Nava Raipur

and without any survey,massive investment hasbeen done and since thevery decision of erstwhilegovernment to get the con-struction done at higherrates, such a situation hasarise and for this former CMDr Raman Singh is responsi-ble.

LLooaann ooff RRss 116699 ccrr ttaakkeennffrroomm UUnniioonn BBaannkk

Mohammed Akbarinformed that this retailcomplex has been construct-ed on 2.659 hect landinKayabandha and Baroud. Forthis retail complex and fordevelopment of commercialactivities, a loan of Rs 169 crwas taken from Union Bank.After getting the loan, theconstruction was started inJune 2016 and it got com-pleted on 31 Dec 2018. So far20.71 cr worth of loan has

been repaid to the Bank andas on 30 June 2021, a totalloan of Rs 158.29 crore is stilloutstanding. HousingMinister Akbar said that ifthe construction would havebeen carried out as marketdemand then such a situa-tion would not have arose.The carpet area of thatbuilding would have got soldout at market rate easily.But the construction wasdone at higher rate and dueto which carpet area couldnot be sold at the rateoffered. Akbar charged thatin this case if any person isresponsible than he is for-mer CM Dr Raman Singh andhis policies. Former CMmade investment of state’sfund into construction ofcomplex on a propertywhich is not having any mar-ket demand.

No tableaux presentation in R-Day celebrations


Raipur, Jan 18: The mainfunction of Republic Dayin the capital Raipur willbe held on 26 January 2022at 9 am at Police ParadeGround Raipur. GovernorMs Anusuiya Uikey willunfurl the tricolor and givea message to the public. Aguard of honor will begiven by the contingents ofpolice and paramilitaryforces. Colorful balloonswill be flown in the ceremo-

ny. Prizes and medals givenby various departmentswill be distributed in thefunction.

Collector SaurabhKumar held a meeting ofdistrict officials regardingthe main function ofRepublic Day. Followingthe instructions given forthe prevention and controlof Covid-19, the responsi-bility was handed over tothe officers of various de-partments to celebrateRepublic Day celebrationsin a joyful and dignifiedmanner. Common citizenscan also observe the cere-mony along with the invit-ed guests.

According to theCollector instructions havebeen given to follow guide-lines issued to protectagainst Covid-19 like wear-ing masks, social distanceetc. In view of the spread of

Covid-19 and the new vari-ant of Covid “Omicron”,there will be no presenta-tion of tableaux in thisyear’s Republic Day cele-brations. Similarly, cultur-al programmes of schoolchildren will also not be or-ganized.

The Collector has askedto complete the pro-grammes to be organizedon Republic Day in all gov-er nment/semi-gover n-ment offices located in thecapital before 8 am. Forthis, all the office headswill hoist the national flagsin their respective officesat 7:30 am. The flag hoist-ing will be done in the col-lectorate at 8 am.Rehearsals will be held onJanuary 24 at 9 am. He hasasked all the officers to bepresent during the rehears-al at 8:30 am.

Public functions will not

be organized atTehsil/District Panchayatlevel. The flag hoisting willbe done by the President ofJanpad Panchayat inJanpad Panchayat offices,Janpad PanchayatPresident in JanpadPanchayat offices andMayor/Speaker in urbanbodies. The national an-them will be sung collec-tively by the Sarpanch inthe panchayat headquar-ters and by the head of thevillages in the large vil-lages.

School students will notgather in the programmesat district, block and pan-chayat level. School chil-dren’s programmes andother cultural programmeswill not be organized. Onthe night of 26 January, allthe government buildingsin the district would be il-luminated.

Vaccination camp for differently abled teenagersin age group of 15-18 years

Raipur, Jan 18: AkanshaLions Institute ofLearning andEmpowerment, Raipurand Lions Club Raipurare jointly organizingvaccination camp onJanuary 20 for vaccina-tion of differently abled

(Divyang) teenagers inthe age group of 15-18years. The camp is beingorganized at AkanshaLions Institute ofLearning andEmpowerment, Raipurpremises with the help ofDepartment of Health

Services. As many as 100to 150 Divyangjans are ex-pected to be immunized.Lions Club Raipur is tak-ing this initiative to covervaccination of these dif-ferently abled teenagers,who otherwise find diffi-culty to get vaccinated

Encourage common people to join army: Ms Uikey


Raipur, Jan 18: While ad-dressing the 13th meetingof the State ManagementCommittee ofAmalgamated SpecialFund of Sainik WelfareBoard, Chhattisgarh, heldin the conference hall ofRaj Bhavan, Governor MsAnusuiya Uikey said thatefforts should be made tocollect maximum funds onthe flag day. She called forseeking cooperation fromother organizations in thisbesides encouraging thecommon people to join thearmy and encouraging thedaughters to move forward.

ECHS Polyclinics andCSD Canteens have beenset up even in remote dis-tricts of Chhattisgarh, the

Governor said. She urgedSainik Welfare Board toprovide coaching facility tothe youth for recruitmentin army, para-militaryforces and police. She ex-pressed confidence that thedecisions taken by theSainik Welfare Board in themeeting would help in thewelfare works of ex-ser-vicemen and their families.

Ms Uikey suggested skillupgradation for the fami-lies of soldiers saying thatthis would enable them tobecome self-reliant andgive employment to others.The Governor also urged tofollow the instructionsgiven by the government toprotect against Covid infec-tion. Collector of Raipurdistrict, Sourabh Kumarand Collector of Durg dis-trict, Dr SarveshwarNarendra Bhure were

awarded the Governor’sTrophy for the highest con-tribution to the ArmedForces Flag Day Fund inthe year 2019-20 and theyear 2020-21.

Raipur district wasawarded the first prize andDurg district was awardedthe second prize. DistrictSainik Welfare Officer ofRaipur district, CaptainAnurag Tiwari (Retd.) wasawarded first prize andDistrict Sainik WelfareOfficer of Durg district,Captain PurnenduVidyanta (Retd.) wasawarded the second prize.

Approval was granted toincrease the amount of fi-nancial assistance from Rs3000 to Rs 7000 per monthfor medical treatmentgiven to non-pensioners/widows ofWorld War II, increase the

amount of financial assis-tance given to orphan chil-dren of ex-servicemen/widows (up totwo children only) fromRs.10,000 to Rs.25000 andproviding lifetime finan-cial assistance to mentallyill children of ex-service-men/widows (for sons andunmarried daughters).

It was also agreed to in-crease the rates of educa-tion scholarship for thechildren of ex-service-men/widows, increase theincome limit from Rs.10thousand to Rs.25 thousandfor financial assistancebeing given to the widowsof ex-servicemen for buy-ing sewing machines andincrease the amount of fi-nancial assistance beinggiven to widows for treat-ment of cancer from Rs.25thousand per annum to

Rs.50,000 per annum.Approval was given to pre-pare software for imple-mentation of online appli-cation for digitization ofdata of ex-servicemen/wid-ows and for providing fi-nancial assistance from theamalgamated special fund.The meeting was also ad-dressed by Amrit KumarKhalkho, Secretary to theGovernor. Vice Chairmanand Chief Secretary, SainikWelfare Board,Chhattisgarh, AmitabhJain, Additional ChiefSecretary, HomeDepartment Subrat Sahoo,COSA CommanderPrashant Chouhan,General OfficerCommanding of MadhyaBharat Area, Lt. Gen. S.Mohan, Secretary,Kendriya Sainik Board,Rakesh Gulati, DirectorGeneral, Resettlement,New Delhi, Major GeneralSharad Kapoor were pres-ent. Director of theDirectorate of SainikWelfare Chhattisgarh,Brigadier Vivek Sharma,Legal Advisor to theGovernor RK Agrawal,Deputy Secretary DeepakKumar Agrawal were alsopresent on the occasion.

Voting will be heldfor 17 posts ofPanch, 7 ofSarpanch and 1post of Janpad inthe district

Raipur, DurgCollectors reward-ed for contributingto flag day fund

Guv chairs StateManagementCommittee meetingof AmalgamatedSpecial Fund

In view of COVID-19

Main function to beheld at Police PradeGround

Governor AnusuiyaUikey to unfurl tricolour

Holds erstwhilestate govt responsible for it

Raipur, Jan 18: Nehru YuvaKendra RaipurChhattisgarh, Ministry ofYouth Affairs and Sports,Government of India andChhattisgarh State AIDSControl Committee, Raipurorganised awareness genera-tion workshops on HIV AIDSand its prevention in Borsi,Risda, Mopka Nipania,Palari, Barnawapara, Girrain Balodabazar. More than600 youth and 50 youth clubswere sensitised about theHIV AIDS.

Youths were apprisedabout HIV AIDS its causes,symptoms and preventionmeasures along with othersexually transmitted dis-eases. Youth were informedthat that having unprotectedsex led to infection of HIVothers means could be trans-

fusion of infected blood, in-jection of infected personand pregnant mother to theirunborn children throughtheir womb. Given the rise incases in Chhattisgarh, it isimperative that youth mustbe senisitised about impor-tant issues of HIV AIDS, saidby Arpit Tiwari, DistrictYouth Officer, Nehru YuvaKendra Raipur

Chhattisgarh.The services provided by

the central and state govern-ment for the people sufferingfrom this disease were alsodiscussed. Youth were ap-prised about the ICTC centrefor testing and checking atdistrict and block level. In ad-dition, safety clinic has beenestablished in the districthospital for the diagnosis

and information of sexuallytransmitted infections andother genital problems.Furthermore, youth were in-formed about the NationalHelpline Number 1097wherein the functioning andoperation MobileApplication 1097 for dissemi-nating information amongthe masses were also dis-cussed.

NYK organises HIV/AIDS awareness programme


Raipur, Jan 18: CAITNational Vice PresidentAmar Parwani, chair-man Mangelal Maloo,Amar Gidwani, StatePresident JitendraDoshi , States WorkingPresident Vikram SinghDeo, Parmanand Jain,Vashu Makhija, StateGeneral SecretarySuriender Singh, StateWorking GeneralSecretary Bharat Jain,State Treasurer AjayAgrawal and state mediaincharge SanjayChoubey informed thatin a virtual meeting or-ganised by DPIIT of theMinistry of Commerce

on e-commerce policyframework, theConfederation of AllIndia Traders (CAIT)strongly argued for a ro-bust and unambiguouse-commerce policy es-sentially having an em-powered RegulatoryAuthority on the patternof TRAI. Beside, CAIT,the meeting was attend-ed by All IndiaConsumer ProductsDistributors Federation(AICPDF), RetailersAssociation of India,Laghu Udyog Bharti,Federation of SmallIndustries (FISME) andothers whereas promi-nent e-commerce play-ers, Amazon, Flipkart,

Tata, Reliance, Udan,Pepperfry, Shopclue,Snapdeal etc also attend-ed the meeting whichwas chaired byAdditional Secretary ofDPIIT, Anil Agarwalalong with several othersenior officials of theMinistry. CAIT NationalVice President Mr. AmarParwani and StatePresident Mr. JitendraDoshi informed speak-ing at the meeting advo-cating for a well definedcoupled with definite pa-rameters e-commercepolicy regretted that theexplicit provisions ofPress Note 2 of the FDIPolicy has been continu-ously violated by foreign

funded e-commerce com-panies right under thenose of the Governmentand no action has beentaken against them sofar. He said that the e-commerce policy shouldhave clear stipulationsabout transparent opera-tions of e-commerceplatforms, easy accessi-bility and adequategrievance redressal sys-tem, non-discriminatoryaccess of marketplaceplatforms to all stake-holders and value chain,avoidance of conflict ofinterest between market-place platforms, sellers& various serviceproviders on the plat-form.

DPIIT virtual meeting on e-commerce, CAITremained vocal & e-commerce companies silent


DIGGING FOR PIPES

RMC is carrying out digging for laying of new pipeline in all the wards of city.


Kondagaon, Jan 18:With rise in number ofCovid-19 cases in theKondagaon district,Collector PushpendraKumar Meena has is-sued order and direct-ed to close all theSchools and hostels inthe dsitrict. Under thisall the students in thegovernment aided andnon-govt aidedschools, ashrams,Anganbadi centres, li-

braries, coaching cen-tres will remain closedtill further orders.

As per the Covid-19guidelines, all theClass III and IV catego-ry employees in all thegovernment and semi-government officeswill work with 1/3rdpresence and rest ofthe employees wouldwork from home.

The entry of generalpublic in the govern-ment offices will re-main banned, but thehead of the depart-ment or the office willmake arrangementsto accept the applica-tions of common menoutside the office andwould have to resolvetheir grievances well

on time, so that gener-al public do not faceany inconvenience.

As per the order, pri-vate institutions andcentral governmentoperated offices likeBanks, Insurancecompanies, Financecompanies and otherswould also work with50% presence and therest would work fromhome.

In Kondagaon dis-trict the organisationof weekly ‘haat-bazar’, shops in thedaily market, ‘pasara’and other such facil-ties too have been or-ganised ensuringproper physical dis-tancing and wearingof masks by all.

Anil Pusakar appointed stateco-ordinator of IMJU


Raipur, Jan 18: Seniorjournalist of IndianMedia JournalistsUnion (IMJU) AnilPusadkar has been ap-pointed as the StateCoordinator ofChhattisgarh state. Ongetting such a major re-sponsibility, AnilPusadkar said that de-spite many oragnisa-tions of journalists inthe state, a need for astrong organization wasstrongly felt.

His journalists col-leagues were askinghim to take initiative inthis regard for quitesome time.

On getting this re-sponsibility, AnilPusadkar has expressedgratitude towards IMJUNational President BalaBhaskar and General

Secy. Rohitash Sen. Hesaid that it is exudingconfidence on him bythe above two, he hasbeen handed over the re-sponsibility for expan-sion of this organiza-tion in the state and hehoped that with duesupport of his journal-istic colleagues hewould be able to meetupto the new organisa-tion’s expectations.

Akbar donates paddy tofarmers of Nava Raipur

Raipur, Jan 18: Forestand Climate ChangeMinister Mr. MohammadAkbar donated paddy withgreat humility and respectto the farmers of NavaRaipur, who came to his of-ficial residence office atShankarnagar to ask forChherchera, on the occa-sion of the holy festival ofChherchera. On this occa-sion, he extended hisgreetings and best wishesto all the officers and farm-ers of the Kisan ManchCommittee on the occa-sion of Chherchera festi-val and ShakambhariJayanti. Minister Akbarsaid that Chherchera festi-val has special signifi-cance in the life of

Chhattisgarh. This festivalis a symbol of charity andsocial harmony. Today, ourfarmer brothers associat-ed with Kisan ManchSamiti, are taking forwardthe rich culture ofChhattisgarh by asking forchherchera on this holyfestival. On this occasion,office bearers and mem-bers of Kisan ManchCommittee handed over amemorandum to Minister

Akbar regarding the de-mands of rehabilitationand resettlement in NavaRaipur.

Minister Akbar dis-cussed with the ChiefMinister Bhupesh Bagheland officials of NavaRaipur DevelopmentAuthority regarding thedemands of the farmersand assured them thattheir demands would beproperly resolved.

Successful implementation of flagshipschemes of govt tops priority: Singh


Raipur, Jan 18: The newcollector of the district, Mr.Doman Singh, in the firstmeeting of the officers or-ganised after assumingcharge here on Tuesday,said that the successful im-plementation of the flag-ship schemes of the stategovernment would be thetop priority of the districtadministration. Hestressed on the successfulimplementation ofschemes in the form of mu-tual coordination and teamspirit by getting stress freefrom the officers. In thetime-limit meeting, takinga long meeting of the offi-cers, apprised them of theproposed action plan for allround development of thedistrict and raising thestandard of living of the

people and instructed themto work accordingly.District level officers in-cluding District PanchayatCEO Dr. Fariha AlamSiddiqui, AdditionalCollector Mr. RajendraGupta were present in themeeting. Before the meet-ing, the new collector gotacquainted with all the offi-cers.

Collector Doman Singhsaid that the opening ofgovernment offices in thedistrict would start withthe national anthem. In themorning at 10.30 am, the of-ficers and employees to-gether will start the workin the office with the na-tional anthem. This willimprove the working hoursas the office opens on time.Cleanliness drive will alsobe run in government of-fices on holidays. On thesecond and thirdSaturdays, the officers andemployees will give themessage of cleanliness bycleaning their offices and

premises. He said that aconcrete campaign wouldbe started from February 1to make anemia-freewomen healthy and well-nourished in the district.Treating Anganwadi as acenter, 6-7 malnourishedwomen from each grampanchayat will be broughtunder its ambit. In the firstphase, about 15 thousandmalnourished women inthe district will get the ben-efit in the form of hot food.He said that the purchaseof cow dung should bestarted in all the Gouthansof the district. The peopleof our district must alsoget the benefit of the im-portant scheme of the stategovernment. CollectorSingh, while reviewing theflagship schemes of thestate government in detail,gave directions to the offi-cers for better results inthese. He said that at pres-ent 9 days are left for theprocurement of paddy.Officers should take care

that the farmers shouldnot face any problem dur-ing this period. No regis-tered farmer should be de-prived of selling paddy. Healso asked for speedy dis-posal of pending pattasunder Forest Rights. Whilereviewing the ChiefMinister’s Haat BazarClinic, he directed to bene-fit about one hundred pa-tients per camp.Dhanwantri Medic Shopscheme to open affordableand generic medicineshops has been asked to bestarted in all urban bodies.At present, this schemehas been started in 5 out of9 urban bodies of the dis-trict. Under the RajivGandhi GrameenBhumiless Mazdoor NyayYojana, 24429 applicationswere received in the dis-trict. Out of these, 17194applications have beenfound correct after verifi-cation, which have beensent to the state govern-ment.

Officers shouldwork with teamspirit without stress

Assures to considerdemands of KisanManch Committee

School, Colleges, Ashrams,closed till further orders

Collectorissues orderfor govt officesas well


Raipur, Jan 18: In the Pt.Baban Prasad MishraSmriti Samman pro-gramme organized jointlyby Chhattisgarh HindiSahitya Parishad,Sangwari Social MediaSamooh and Shri SainathFoundation has declarednames of awardees for theabove honour. It is on situ-ation getting normal afterthe corona wave-3 that theaward presentation will beorganized. The four per-sons who have been select-ed for the above award areJournalist – BabulalSharma for Pt. BabanPrasad Mishra Journalistaward; Litterateur –

Prakash Patangivar;writer Ankita Jain NetajiAnand Singhania SamitiYuwa Sahitya RatnaSamman and moun-taineer Naina Dhakadwith Sangwari Samman.

Awardees of Pt. Baban P MishraSmriti Samman declared


Raipur, Jan 18: GovernorMs. Anusuiya Uikey waspresented a book titled“Environment and GlobalWarming” by Mr. RNGupta, retired Engineer-in-Chief, Public HealthEngineering Departmentof Chhattisgarh State. TheGovernor said that thisbook would prove helpfulin making the commonpeople aware of the envi-ronment. The Governorconveyed his best wishesto Mr. Gupta for the publi-

cation of the book. Guptasaid that this book con-tains details of all scientif-ic facts related to globalwarming and environ-ment. Along with this, top-ics like green gas house,ozone layer, global effectand increase in tempera-ture are included.Conservation of naturehas been urged throughthe book. It is worth men-tioning that other bookswritten by Mr. Gupta in-clude ‘ChhattisgarhiSanskirti me talab’,‘Katghare me hum’, andarticles on water and envi-ronment subjects havebeen published. Alongwith this, he has been fe-licitated with the NationalLevel Jal Nirmalta Awardfor his excellent work inthe field of water and envi-ronment.

Gupta presents the book ‘Environmentand Global Warming’ to Governor

Ojaswi Sanchetiearns laurels for the state Receives Master

of AI degreeRaipur, Jan 18: OjaswiSancheti, resident ofRaipur and daughter ofSanjay and ArpanaSancheti, receivedMaster of ArtificialIntelligence degreefrom AdinburgScoltland University(UK). She topped in herexamination andearned laurels for thecountry and state. Hersuccess has been hailedby her family membersand friends.

Konta, Jan 18: Educationis the reflection of progressof every society and coun-try. At present, the build-ing of Government BoysHigher Secondary School,Konta, of Konta block ofSukma district, is being de-veloped and operated in thiscampus for the resolution ofexcellent education. Theexcellent English mediumgovernment school ofKonta block was started on02 August 2021. But this in-stitution is being operatedfrom 6th January 2022 inthe new campus. Thisschool complex is equippedwith all facilities.

The Swami AtmanandGovernment EnglishMedium School Schemewas launched in the state on1 November 2020 by theChief Minister BhupeshBaghel on the occasion ofRajyotsava. The aim ofwhich is to make efforts toprovide better education to

the children in Englishmedium. Under an innova-tive effort of theGovernment ofChhattisgarh, SchoolEducation Department,Swami Atmanand ExcellentEnglish Medium Schoolwas started in the state on01 November 2020. Kontablock of Sukma, remoteVananchal district ofChhattisgarh has also beenincluded in this episodefrom 02 August 2021.Swami AtmanandGovernment EnglishMedium School, Konta wasinaugurated by StateIndustries Minister KawasiLakhma.

The dreams of the chil-dren of poor families got

wings Such parents who were

not able to get their children

educated in expensiveEnglish private school dueto weak financial condition,this excellent English medi-um government school inKonta has given a golden op-portunity for better educa-tion of talented childrenfrom poor families. Whereefforts are being made topromote study and teachingin English medium with theaim of providing free na-tional level education tochildren, through Englishmedium and to enhance thetalent of the students andmake them capable of allkinds of competitions at thenational level. Is. Specialcare is being taken to facili-tate study and teaching inthis excellent English medi-um school of Konta block ofSukma district. In thisschool of the district, state-

of-the-art library, computerand science lab, smartclasses as well as completefacility of online educationwill be available. In thepresent level, classes fromclass I to XI are conductedby Chhattisgarh Board’sclass of English medium.Where at present 10 lectur-ers, 06 teachers, 04 assistantteachers, 03 science assis-tants, 01 computer teacher,01 library teacher and 7more employees are work-ing. At present 137 stu-dents are studying.

It is noteworthy thatmost of the students aresuch who have taken admis-sion in Swami AtmanandEnglish Medium Schoolleaving any other privateschool. Along with this,children from remoteVananchal villages likeMundpalli, Misma,Jagargunda, Punpalli,Kankerlanka students fromNaxal affected villages havealso taken admission in thisinstitution.

Swami AtmanandExcellent English MediumSchool has an attractiveclass, where study is taught

every day according to thesystematic time table. Forthe all-round developmentof the children, facilitiesare being made to give anew dimension to their cre-ativity through sports andother co-curricular andartistic activities in excel-lent academic environ-ment. Principal and sec-ondary school head teacherhave been selected on depu-tation by selecting excellentteachers to give qualityteaching and disciplinednature of school manage-ment. The students of theinstitution have also madethe school proud by provingtheir talent in the competi-tions held at the block anddistrict level. In the meet-ing of parents held recently,the parents/guardians ex-pressed their happinessand said that now we aresure about the future of ourchildren. With this impor-tant step started by theGovernment ofChhattisgarh, every sectionof the society will realizetheir dreams with completeequality and the future ofthe children will be golden.

Children foresee bright future due to operation of English school Swami AtmanandEng Medium Schoolsteps towards agolden future

Governor distributedblankets to class IVemployees, security

personnel

Raipur, Jan 18:Governor Ms.Anusuiya Uikey dis-tributed blankets to theworkers, security per-sonnel and class IV em-ployees of Raj Bhavanin view of the adverseclimatic condition. Onthis occasion, theGovernor urged the so-cial organizations tocome forward to helpthe needy and help asmuch as possible.


Raipur, Jan 17: Growthand sustainability ofMSMEs and start-up arevital for the prosperity ofan economy.Underscoring upon the

significance of this sector,IIIT-Naya Raipur has un-dertaken a study with thesupport of the StatePlanning CommissionChhattisgarh to under-stand the resiliencestrategies (innovativepractices) applied byMSMEs/Start-ups inChhattisgarh duringCOVID-19 to overcome thechallenges faced due tothe temporary freezing ofbusiness. One of the de-liverables of the projectwas to honor some of thekey MSMEs who have re-

sponded to this crisiswith their inherentstrength, innovation, andresilience.

Nominations have beeninvited for this resilienceaward from the businessowners and founders. Alarge pool of nomineesfrom the various part ofChhattisgarh have ap-plied, and few of themwere shortlisted for thefinal rounds. Based onmultipleparameters, acommittee comprising ex-perts from different do-mains selected 10 partici-

pants as final awardees.Ten finalists were felici-tated in the event, and acoffee table book was doc-umented with the studiesand efforts of the selectedMSME featured in it.Welcoming all the partici-pants and audience, Dr.Pradeep Kumar Sinha,Director-IIITNR,empha-sized the innovation andentrepreneurship culturecurrently being nurturedat the institute. He also re-ferred to the various ini-tiatives institutes took inentrepreneurship to help

build state human re-sources.

On this occasion, ViceChairman of StatePlanning Commission,Chhattisgarh Ajay Singhwas the Chief Guest ofthe event. He appreciatedthe MSME sector’s devel-opment of Chhattisgarhand congratulated all thewinners. He also suggest-ed looking into the chal-lenges MSMEs face in theState and creating a bet-ter ecosystem for nurtur-ing them through policyinterventions.

IIIT-NR holds Chhattisgarh MSME Resilience Award 2021An initiative toacknowledge theinnovative prac-tices by MSMEs andStart-ups in theState

CENTRAL CHRONICLE, RAIPUR, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2022

Kondagaon, Jan 18:

Traffic awareness pro-gramme was organised bythe Traffic police depart-ment in Government HSSchool in Dahikonga lo-cated near Jagdalpur-Kondagaon road.

Under this the Trafficin-charge TI Rohit KumarBanjare and other staffgave information to stu-dents about high-speeddriving, driving vehicleswithout wearing helmet;

not using seat belt whiledriving four-wheeler;driving in drunken state;violating traffic normsand others. As per infor-mation in this regard, asper orders from SPDivyang Patel and in-structions from Addl.

SP Rahul Dev Sharmaand under guidance ofDSP Dr BhuneshwariPaikra, efforts are beingmade by the traffic policeto reduce road accidentson NH-30 and other roads.

Under this school stu-dents of Govt HS SchoolDahikonga in Kondagaonarea were informed aboutthe traffic rules and regu-lations through a projec-tor.

The department in-formed students about notto drive any vehicle with-out valid licence and doc-uments; drive wearinghelmet; use seat belt infour-wheeler; do not drivein intoxicated state; donot use mobile or anyother instrument whiledriving; look carefully atall traffic board signals;give information aboutdeaths due to road acci-dents; do not allow minorsto drive any vehicle, donot drive three on two-wheeler and other suchinformation.

On this occasion TITraffic in-charge RKBanjare, constbaleSantosh Kodopi, VikasPandey and RajendraMarkam were present.

Awareness about traffic created among school students

By Traffic department in Govt HS School, Dahikonga

Anwari,Jan 18:The unsea-sonal rains in Anwari,Bhaisbod in the region lastweek has come as big blowto the farmers as theircrops have got badly dam-aged and it would be diffi-cult for them to meet-upeven the expenditure cost.

The farmers of the re-gion have taken up crop of‘masoor’, ‘chana’, ‘sarson’and other oilseeds andpulses and which has gotcompletely damaged dueto unexpected rains. Thevegetable growers toohave faced huge loss on ac-

count of the same. Due toheavy rains and hailstormover the last one week, thepaddy, oilseeds, pulses andvegetable crops of thefarmers have got badlydamaged. The paddy crophas fallen and the crop ofoilseeds, pulses, vegetabletoo has got badly damaged.The crop of ‘sarson’, ‘ma-soor’, ‘lakhadi’, ‘Aalsi’,‘Urad’, ‘Batari’, ‘Arhar’,‘Chana’ and others toohave got badly damagedand it is going to cost heav-ily to farmers and it wouldbe difficult for them to

meet up even the expendi-ture cost. Many a veg-etable growers in the re-gion too seems to be an-noyed as rains have playedspoilsports causing hugedamage to crops of ladyfinger, cabbage, peas,tomato, ‘semi’,’Navagol’,and others. With rainwa-ter getting clogged in thefarms, it has started rot-ting the crop taken and thefarmers are left with nooption but to wait for rightamount of compensationand waiver in loan, if thestate government permit.

Huge loss to farmersdue to unseasonal rains

MMaahhaassaammuunndd,, JJaann 1188::

Director of Food and CivilSupplies Department and MDState WarehousingCorporation AbhinavAggarwal conducted a sur-prise inspection of paddy pro-curement centers, collectioncenters and warehouses ofOmkarband and Pithora blockof Baghbahra block ofMahasamund district.

The Director after inspec-tion instructed the DistrictMarketing Officer to speed upthe transportation of paddyand the Nodal Officer, DistrictCentral Co-operative Bank toensure systematic mainte-nance of the paddy in the pro-curement centers. Makestacking of paddy purchasedin all paddy procurement cen-ters and cover them with cap-cover and all officers shouldinspect and monitor the paddyprocurement centers, heinstructed.

District Collector DomanSingh asked all the SDMs ofthe district to ensure arrange-ments by holding a meeting ofpaddy procurement center in-

charges and nodal officers.Paddy should not be damagedby rain; drainage should bemade mandatory for the pro-tection of paddy and cape cov-ers should be kept in sufficientnumber in all the paddy pro-curement centers, he said.

He also advised to abstainfrom water stagnation in thecentre. Regarding the spreadof Covid infection, he said thatthe spread of corona infectionis increasing rapidly; thereforebefore entering the paddy pro-curement center, postersregarding mandatory maskingshould be made available.

The officers and committeemanagers were asked tospeed up the paddy procure-ment system, with due protec-tion from rain and lifting ofpaddy in the district, by theCollector.

On this occasion, AssistantFood Officer, DistrictMahasamund Anil Joshi,Sanjay Sharma, DistrictMarketing Officer Jaidev Soni,District Manager Nan DeepikaSinha, Officer of District Co-operative Bank MahasamundG. N. Sahu were present.

Surprise inspection of Paddy Procurement Centers

Birkoni, Jan 18:

Maa ShakambhariJayanti was observed atShakti Mandir nearPatel Community cen-tre in Gram Birkonihere on Monday. It is ad-hering to Covid-19 pro-tocol and maintainingsocial distancing themembers of Patel samajgathered at 10:00 amand decorated the idolof GoddessShakambhari with dec-orative items. It wasamidst raising of slo-gans in favour of ‘JaiMaa Shakambhari’, ‘JaiMarara Samaj’ thatprayers were performed

at Community building.On this occasion all

the social families ofPatel Kosaria Samaj of-fered prayers to MaaShakambhari and paidobeisance to theGoddess. On this occa-sion Balram Patel,Girdhari Patel,Heeralal Patel, MadanPatel, Keshav Patel,Ghanshyam Patel werepresent. To make thisprogramme successful,Bhagwat Patel, TukeshPatel, Kaushal Patel,Pitamber Patel,Lalaram Patel, OmkarPatel, Mohan Patel,Inku Patel and othersgave valuable support.

Patel Kosaria Samaj observe‘Maa Shakambari Jayanti’

By offering prayers to the Goddess

Churrikala, Jan 18:

The calendar of newyear was released in thename of Yagyasini Deviby corporator of ward No9 of Nagar PanchayatChurrikala Heeralalyadav. This ward is namedafter ex-MLA TanakharLate Yagyasini Devi W/o‘Jamindar’- LateBhuwanpal Singh.

The calendar was re-leased at the hands ofvoter Ramnarayan Dubeyformer Alderman and re-tired teacher; corporatorRamsharan Sahu,Sheshban Goswami,

Padmu Yadav, Devi PrasadPandey, Mantu Maharaj.

On this occasionRetired teacherRamnarayan Dubeyhailed the works of wardcorporator and said thatthis is for the first timethat Yagyasini Devi , W/oLate Bhuwanpal Singhhas been remembered anda new calendar has beenreleased on her name andby publishing the samethe ward corporator haspresented a good examplefor others. CorporatorRamsharan Sahu alsohailed the initiativestaken.

New Year calendarreleased in memory of

Yagyasini Devi

Jaitkhambhdedicated in

GramPenditarai

Nandini-Ahiwara, Jan18: The dedication ofJaitkhambh withDistrict fund of DistrictPanchayat memberDurg was done at GramPanchayat Penditaraiby District Panchayatmember ChandrakalaManhar at the cost ofRs 4 lakh and the foun-dation for ‘Nal-JalYojana’ was also laid atthe cost of Rs 65 lakhs.

The chief guest ofthe programme wasBhuneshwar Baghel ofSC DevelopmentAuthority, MLABemetara VS AshishChabda, special guestwas Nagar PalikaAhirwara NatwarTamrakar, JanpadPanchayat member,Ashok Patel, DhanrajBanjare, Oni Mahilangand others were pres-ent. President SCDevelopment Authorityhas granted sanction ofRs 16.50 lakh for cos-ntruction of drainageand community build-ing and MLA has alsogiven assurance tosanction funds for con-struction 400 mts roadunder MukhyamantriSugam Sadak Yojana.

Katagi, Jan 18: The festi-val of ‘Cher-chera’ was ob-served with great fun-farand enthusiasm in the vil-lage. On occasion of‘Paush Poornima’, the rit-uals were performed andsince it is observed as dayof donations (cherchera)in the form of grains, veg-etables, cash, fruits etc,there was lot of enthusi-

asm among the youths andchildren of the village, asthey went in groups tohouses of different per-sons and sought ‘cher-chera’. This festival is ob-served on arrival of paddyafter ‘Minjai’ and sincethere is huge storage ofpaddy crop in the houses,the villagers donate thesame as per rituals.

Children observe ‘Cher-chera’going door-to-door

Girl commits suicide in AchouliDongargarh, Jan 18:

Punita Gupta, a 25-yrsold daughter of well-known businessmanRam Sajeevan Gupta ofGram Achouli near citycommitted suicide andthis news created sensa-tion in the entire village.

The complainantYogesh Gupta gave in-formation about thesame to Dongargarh po-lice that the girl hascommitted suicide andon getting this informa-tion, the police reachedthe village to conduct in-vestigations. The body ofthe girl has been sent forpost-mortem and it islearnt that the girl gotengaged just few daysback and her marriagewas due on Jan 25.


STUDENTS’ PROTEST

Students activists protest against Patna University senate meeting, in Patna, Tuesday.

BRIEFConstitutes

Bhubaneswar: TheOdisha governmenthas constituted aTask Force to checkdrug trafficking anddrug abuse. The mainfunction of the TaskForce, to be headedby former OdishaDGP Abhay, will be toformulate a state pol-icy within the con-text of NationalPolicy on NarcoticsDrugs andPsychotropicSubstances, 2012, thehome departmentsaid in a resolution.

DecongestShillong: MeghalayaCabinet approved theshifting of the StateSecretariat buildingwhich houses the of-fices of theMeghalaya govern-ment to the NewShillong Township(NST). State govern-ment has already ac-quired 807.7 acres ofland in the NST andthat a foundationstone for the newbuilding will be laidon January 21, tomark the 50th year ofMeghalaya becominga state. Decision wasmade taking into con-sideration the trafficcongestion.

SurrendersPune: A man accusedof cheating investorsand who was on therun for the past fewdays surrendered be-fore police in Solapurin Maharashtra.Vishal Phate, accusedof cheating investorsto the tune of severalcrore in Barshi tehsilthere, was bookedalong with his wife,parents and brotherand was abscondingsince January 9.Phate, who was ac-cepting deposits since2019 and was at timespromising returns ashigh as 28 per cent.

PostponedKolkata: TheInternational KolkataBook Fair was post-poned by a month dueto a surge in Covid-19cases and municipalelection, and now itwill start fromFebruary 28, the or-ganiser said. The deci-sion was made afterconsultation with thestate government,President ofPublishers and BookSellers Guild TridibChatterjee told PTI.

BustedMuzaffarnagar: Anillegal arms manufac-turing unit was bust-ed in a village herewith seizure of sever-al firearms. Fifteenpistols, one rifle, andone gun were recov-ered from a brick kilnduring a raid inBhanwara villagewhich comes underRatanpuri PoliceStation area. Duringthe raid one man wasnabbed while oneother managed to es-cape, said local SHORakesh Sharma.

RescuedHoshiarpur: A leop-ard was rescued froma trap by a team of theforest and wild life de-partment in villageSherpur Gulind. Theteam was called to res-cue the leopardtrapped in the forestarea by a seasonalcreek. It took fourhours for the team torescue the leopard.The trap was laid bysomeone to catchsome wild animals,which come to thearea in search of food.Service of the veteri-nary officer was alsotaken to tranquilize.


Snappy hashtags, peppytunes and quick repartee,political parties havetaken their campaign tothe virtual world withgreat aplomb as five statesgo to elections next monthunder the shadow of theCOVID-19 pandemic.

Wordsmiths and artistsof different parties areworking overtime to deliv-er punches and counterpunches in their bid toreach out to votersthrough different plat-forms ranging fromFacebook to YouTube.

The Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP) unveiled itscampaign song for UttarPradesh based on the pop-ular Sri Lankan number‘Manike Mage Hithe’ ren-dered by Yohani De’Silva.

‘Sabki mann ki yeh

bhasha, yahan do-do hainaasha, yahi Modi, YahiYogi, upyogi, sahyogi’(This is in everyone’sheart, there are two hopesModi and Yogi and theyare useful and coopera-tive) goes the BJP cam-paign song that highlightsthe riot free five years, im-proved power supply, and

construction of the Ramtemple in Ayodhya underthe Yogi Adityanath gov-ernment in the state. Thesong was shared by BJPand its leaders on their so-cial media accounts lastweek. ‘Aayegi phirse BJP’,is the catchline of the songthat features snippets ofPrime Minister NarendraModi and the chief minis-ter. The Samajwadi Partyhas different songs, includ-ing one in the Awadhi di-alect, ‘Khadeda Hoibe’(will chase away) thattalks of driving off BJPfrom power in the state.

In Goa, the TrinamoolCongress launched itscampaign song in Konkani— ‘Ailo don fulancho kaal,Goenchi Navi Sakal’ (theera of two flowers is here,it’s a new dawn for Goa) —in its bid to connect withthe electorate.

Political parties hitvirtual campaign trail

Punjab Lok Congress virtual campaign poster.

Jammu, Jan 18 (PTI):

Just three kilometersfrom the Line of Control(LoC), a governmentschool with an enrolmentof over 200 students inMendhar sector of Jammuand Kashmir’s Poonch dis-trict has witnessed majorimprovements thanks tothe local army unit whichhas come forward to helpthe youngsters to achievetheir dreams. The endeav-our of Mendhar Gunnersunder the aegis of WhiteKnight Corps has been tobring the school at par tonational standards despitethe school being on theLoC and amid the COVID-

19 restrictions, Jammu-based Army PRO Lt ColDevender Anand said.

Government HighSchool, Dharana, locatedin the serene hills of theMendhar is far away from

the hustle and bustle ofPoonch city where chil-dren can easily absorbknowledge and grow in allaspects of life, he said. Thestudents from this schoolgenerally come from impe-

cunious families whoseprimary occupation isdaily labour, which hadwide implications on thestudents like lack of expo-sure to the modern outsideworld, the officer said.

Lt Col Anand saidMendhar Gunners, thelocal Army unit on regu-lar interaction with the lo-cals, discerned the issue athand and immediatelysprung into action to as-sist. “Our school is alongthe LoC but we are beingprovided with all those fa-cilities which are availablein all city schools, for ex-ample, we have a librarywith all kinds of study ma-terial and volleyball courtsto play during our gamesperiod, which is some-thing we all look forwardto, 15-year-old Fathima, astudent of class nine, said.

Army’s help brings major improvements in Govt school near LoC

Sports meet at Government High School, Dharana.

Events organisedbased on theme ofnational integration

Kannur, Jan 18 (PTI):

CPI(M) Kerala State sec-retary and senior polit-buro member KodiyeriBalakrishnan on Tuesdayalleged that leaders be-longing to minority com-munities were neglectedand sidelined in theCongress in line with theparty scion RahulGandhi’s speech in Jaipurcalling for establishingwhat he called as a rule ofHindus in the countryafter ousting the“Hindutva” governmentat the Centre.

Alleging that theCongress even sidelinedits prominent minorityfaces, including GhulamNabi Azad, SalmanKhurshid and KVThomas, from the nation-al-level leadership as partof the party’s new policy,he claimed this issue wasbeing discussed widely in

the Congress organisa-tion. Accusing theCongress of discontinuingthe representation of peo-ple from minority commu-nities in the Congress’sKerala leadership,Balakrishnan sought toknow whether the movewas part of the new policyannounced by Gandhi inJaipur. “The question iswhether minorities arebeing sidelined in theKerala unit of theCongress as well. When KKarunakaran became the

Chief Minister in 1982, vet-eran leader A L Jacob wasmade the KPCC president.When AK Antony becamethe Chief Minister, KMuraleedharan was elect-ed president. WhenOommen Chandy becamethe Chief Minister,M u l l a p p a l l yRamachandran becamethe president”, the CPI(M)leader said and sought toknow the reason forchanging that norm.Slamming Balakrishnan’sstatement, the Congressaccused the CPI(M) of cre-ating communal divide insociety for political gains.

The CPI(M) leader madethe statement at a pressconference here two daysafter he told the CPI (M)Thiruvananthapuram dis-trict conference that theCongress which upholdssecularism excluded mi-norities at the Kerala lead-ership of the party.

‘Minorities sidelined in Congress leadership’

Kodiyeri Balakrishnan

Nagpur, Jan 18 (PTI):

Maharashtra Congresschief Nana Patole onTuesday said the BJP wasprotesting over his videowith the “Modi” referenceto divert attention fromreal issues the people werefacing. The video waswidely circulated onMonday after a televisionchannel aired it andLeader of OppositionDevendra Fadnavis tweet-ed about it, though Patolehad clarified that the Modireferred to in his conversa-tion with villagers ofBhandara district was notthe prime minister but alocal goon.

Speaking to reporters inNagpur, Patole said thegoon he was referring tohas been detained byBhandara police but theBJP was still in protest

mode despite COVID-19norms to divert people’sattention and vitiate theatmosphere. The Congressknows the dignity of thepost of prime ministerand it was the BJP thatwas damaging the imageof Maharashtra with suchprotests, he added. TheCongress’ district levelleaders will file com-

plaints against BJP lead-ers indulging in theseprotests, which were low-ering the dignity of thepost of prime minister,Patole warned.

Meanwhile, the BJP onTuesday held protests inThane and Palghar dis-tricts againstMaharashtra Congresschief Nana Patole in con-nection with a video inwhich he is purportedlyheard saying he will beatup and badmouth “Modi”.

The video was widelycirculated on Mondayafter a television channelaired it and Leader ofOpposition DevendraFadnavis tweeted about it,though Patole had clari-fied that the Modi referredto in his conversation withvillagers of Bhandara dis-trict was not the primeminister but a local goon.

Patole slams BJP over ‘beat up,badmouth Modi’ video protests

Nana Patole

Dehradun, Jan 18 (PTI):

Uttarakhand ChiefMinister Pushkar SinghDhami on Tuesday said theCongress government onlylaid foundation stones ofprojects and left them atthat while the BJP govern-ment was completing theones it had started.

Taking a dig at Congressleaders for often trying tograb credit for develop-ment works done over thepast five years of the BJPrule in the state, Dhamisaid that is the differencebetween the two parties.

“You (Congress) onlylaid the foundation stonesof projects during yourtime and left them at thatwhile we begin and com-plete them,” Dhami said ata virtual rally here.

Work is underway on awar footing on all the proj-ects that the BJP took upafter taking over whether it

is Kedarnath reconstruc-tion, Chardham all weath-er road or the much await-ed Rishikesh-Karnaprayagrail line, he said. TheCentre under the leader-ship of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi has sanc-tioned projects worth Rs 1.5lakh crore for Uttarakhandover the past five years outof which work on manyhas already begun, Dhamisaid “Two phases of recon-struction work atKedarnath has alreadybeen completed while work

has already begun on proj-ects to be taken up in thethird. The reconstructionwork at Badrinath in accor-dance with a masterplan isalso in the process,” hesaid. The Dehradun air-port has been upgraded al-ready from its earlier ca-pacity of accomodating 250people at a time to 1600 peo-ple, and it is now on its wayto becoming a world classairport. He mentioned theunprecedented work donein the road sector and cred-ited the “double engine”government for all the in-frastructural projects initi-ated over the past fiveyears. Dhami also attackedthe Congress for its “disre-gard” for the armed forcessaying how its leaders hadcalled late Gen BipinRawat a “streetside hooli-gan” and how the partywas now installing hisposters at its poll rallies forelectoral gains.

Congress Govt only laid foundation stones: Dhami

Pushkar Singh Dhami

Kolkata, Jan 18 (PTI):

Cartoonist NarayanDebnath, the creator ofBengali comic characters‘Bantul The Great’,‘Handa Bhonda’ and‘Nonte Phonte’, died inKolkata on Tuesday morn-ing after a prolonged ill-ness, said the hospitalwhere he was undergoingtreatment.

He was 97 and survivedby two sons, a daughterand a granddaughter.

Debnath, who washanded the Padma Shriaward while undergoingtreatment at the hospital,died at 10.15 am, his fami-ly said.

He was put on ventila-tor support as his condi-tion deteriorated afterbeing admitted to the hos-pital on December 24.

In his career spanningover six decades, Debnathcreated comic characterssuch as ‘Bantul TheGreat’, ‘Handa Bhonda’and ‘Nonte Phonte’ — allof which are householdnames in Bengal.

Condoling the death,Prime Minister NarendraModi said Debnath bright-

ened several lives throughhis works, cartoons and il-lustrations.

“His works reflected hisintellectual prowess. Thecharacters he created willremain eternally popular.Pained by his demise.Condolences to his familyand admirers. OmShanti,” Modi tweeted.

The first comic strip of‘Handa Bhonda’ was pub-lished in 1962 in Bengalichildren’s magazine‘Suktara’, brought out byDeb Sahitya Kutir.

It was followed by‘Bantul The Great’ (1965)and ‘Nonte Phonte’ (1969).

Debnath continuedworking till the age of 93when the last comic stripof ‘Nonte Phonte’ waspublished in the 2017Durga Puja issue ofSuktara.

Cartoonist Narayan Debnath, creator of ‘Bantul The Great’,dies

Cartoonist Narayan Debnath

Bhopal, Jan 18 (PTI):

Madhya PradeshAgriculture Minister andBJP leader Kamal Pateltermed Prime MinisterNarendra Modi an “incar-nation of God”, saying hewas born to end the atmos-phere of despair, like LordRam and Lord Krishna,created due to the rise in“atrocities” committed byCongress, corruption, andthe destruction of thecountry’s culture.

Speaking to reporters inHarda, Patel said that thetasks accomplished by PMModi like leading India onthe path of becoming“Vishwa Guru”, riddingthe country of corruption,and ensuring the publicwelfare wouldn’t have beenaccomplished by an ordi-nary person. Wheneverany crisis descended uponIndia and tyranny in-creased, then it is said inour religion and culturethat God takes avatar in ahuman form, Patel said. Hesaid Lord Ram had takenavatar in a human formand established ‘Ramrajya’by killing demon Ravanand defeating other evilpowers, and protecting thepeople.

‘Modi incarnation of God likeLord Ram and Lord Krishna’

MP AgriMin Kamal Patel

Born to end despair: MPminister

Hyderabad, Jan 18 (PTI):

The Telangana cabinethas decided to introduceEnglish medium in allgovernment schools inthe state from the aca-demic year 2022-23 andregulate fee in privateschools, junior and de-gree colleges. A decisionto this effect was taken ata meeting convened, anofficial release said. Thecabinet has constituted asubcommittee of minis-ters headed by EducationMinister Sabita IndraReddy to study and pre-pare guidelines on the is-sues. At the meeting, thecabinet also gave its nodto Mana Vooru ManaBadi (Our Village-OurSchool) scheme at a costof Rs 7289 crore for bet-ter infrastructure facili-

ties and quality educa-tion in the governmentschools. The cabinet feltthat the parents in ruralareas are ready to sendtheir children to the gov-ernment schools if medi-um of instruction is inEnglish. Hence, the cabi-net decided to haveEnglish as the mediumof instruction in the gov-ernment schools and todevelop infrastructureaccordingly, the releasesaid. The governmentalso decided to draw upan action plan to trainteachers to impart edu-cation in English to stu-dents at the primarylevel, to make environ-ment in the schools at-tractive for the children,keep the premises cleanand tidy, improve the midday meal programme.

Telangana to introduce Englishmedium in Govt schools

Records show Bihar Doctook five Covid vaccineshots, probe ordered

Patna, Jan 18 (PTI): TheBihar government has or-dered an investigationafter records showed thata Patna-based civil sur-geon was administeredfive shots of the COVID-19vaccine.

The civil surgeon, DrVibha Kumari Singh, how-ever, said she had takenthe jab thrice as per rules.

Singh also claimed thatsomeone else managed toget vaccine shots usingher PAN card details, andcalled for a probe.

According to theCoWIN portal, she re-ceived the first dose onJanuary 28, 2021 and wasfully vaccinated by Marchlast year.Governmentrecords showed Singh wasalso jabbed on February 6,2021 using her PAN cardinformation, and for thefourth time on June 17that year.


As Shiite rivals jostle in Iraq, Sunni, Kurdish parties targetedBaghdad, Jan 18 (AFP):

As Iraq’s Shiite leadersjostle to secure a majorityin the newly-elected par-liament, Sunni andKurdish minorities havebeen caught up in a spateof warning grenade at-tacks, analysts say.

In recent days, unknownattackers have hurledgrenades at Kurdish andSunni targets includingpolitical party offices anda lawmaker’s home —groups that could helpShiite cleric Moqtada Sadrwin the critical parliamen-tary majority needed tomake his choice of primeminister.

“It is a way of punishingthe forces that have alliedwith Moqtada Sadr toform a parliamentary ma-jority,” said political scien-tist Ihsan al-Shammari.

“Their message is politi-cal,” he added, calling theattacks “part of the modeof political pressure”

adopted by some groups.In multi-confessional andmulti-ethnic Iraq, the for-mation of governmentshas involved complex ne-gotiations since the 2003US-led invasion toppleddictator Saddam Hussein.

No single party holds anoutright majority, so thenext leader will be voted inby whichever coalitioncan negotiate allies to be-come the biggest bloc —

which then elects Iraq’spresident, who then ap-points a prime minister.

In previous parliaments,parties from Iraq’s Shiitemajority have struck com-promise deals to work to-gether and form a govern-ment, with an unofficialsystem whereby the primeminister is Shiite, thepresident is a Kurd andthe speaker of parliamentis Sunni.

Illegal gold mining stokes indigenous divisionsBrasilia, Jan 18 (AP):

The mining encamp-ment that stretchesacross a mountainside inBrazil’s Amazon is dottedwith plastic tarpaulincovers. Under them,dozens of men toil inrocky pits, excavatingsacks of ore to be trans-ported by truck. Gold willbe extracted from the ore.

Of all places this squat-ter settlement shouldn’texist, it’s here: in Brazil’snorthernmost Roraimastate that doesn’t permitgold prospecting, insideone of the nation’sIndigenous reserveswhere mining activity isillegal and on the flanksof this mountain Serra doAtola that traditionalleaders of the Macuxipeople hold sacred.

Nevertheless, a recentvisit by The AssociatedPress at the invitation oflocal leaders from the

Maturuca and Waromadavillages found the illegalmining site back up andrunning just months afterauthorities shut it down.

That the miners havereturned in droves under-scores the insatiable lureof gold and the fact theyare being encouraged tokeep up their work in-cluding by the nation’s

president.Such relentless pres-

sure is rekindling long-standing divisions inlocal communities hereon the Raposa Serra doSol reserve about thebest path forward fortheir collective well-being. Some local leaderssee gold mining andother extractive activi-

ties as a potential boonfor the area that couldbring jobs and invest-ments in one of Brazil’spoorest states. Others seethe mining as defilingthe land on the reserveby polluting the waters,stripping bare the land,as well as upending cen-turies-old cultural tradi-tions.

An AP investigationfound that illegal landingstrips and unauthorizedairplanes have helpedminers carry out tons ofgold mined onIndigenous lands. Thegold ends up in the handsof brokers, some ofwhom are under investi-gation by authorities forreceiving gold from ille-gal mining. The gold isrefined in Sao Paulo be-fore becoming part of theglobal supply chainwhere it is used in prod-ucts such as smart-phones and computers.

Djokovic’s deportation exposesAustralian border debate

Melbourne, Jan 18 (AP):

Weary after two years ofsome of the harshestCOVID-19 border restric-tions in the world, manyAustralians wanted NovakDjokovic kicked out oftheir country for travel-ling to a tennis tourna-ment in their countrywithout being vaccinated.

But the backdrop to thegovernment’s tough lineon the defendingAustralian Open champi-on and Prime MinisterScott Morrison’s descrip-tion of the expulsion as a“decision to keep our bor-

ders strong” dates to near-ly a decade ago. It alsoshines a light onAustralia’s complicated,and strongly criticized,immigration and borderpolicies.

Back in 2013, the borderissue wasn’t unvaccinatedforeigners like Djokovicbut thousands of asylumseekers from Asia, theMiddle East and Africawho flocked to Australiaon rickety fishing boatsfrom Indonesian ports.

Now, with the next elec-tion due by May, Djokovichas become the new focusof the government’s claim

to a tough stance on bor-der protection that lead-ers hope will win votes.The opposition, mean-while, argues thatDjokovic has exposed gov-ernment failures in bor-der control and its pan-demic response.

Refugee activists saythe tennis star’s treat-ment exposes the harshtreatment of dozens ofothers detained becauseof visa issues.

Widespread anger fol-lowed a Djokovic post onsocial media on January 4that said he had beengranted exemption per-mission to fly quarantine-free to Australia to playtennis. He had been ap-proved by an automatedvisa application processdays earlier.

Djokovic arrived at atime when someAustralians’ overseas rel-atives still aren’t able tovisit because theirCOVID-19 vaccine typesaren’t recognized byAustralian authorities.

Sri Lanka’s leader vows rightsreforms as debt crisis looms

Colombo, Jan 18 (AP):

Sri Lanka’s leader onTuesday promised humanrights reforms and justicefor missing persons fromthe country’s civil war,after years of resistingcalls for such measures.

President GotabayaRajapaksa was speakingbefore a new session ofParliament as the SriLankan government looksfor international supportin dealing with a heavy fis-cal and debt crisis.

We reject racism. Whatthis government wants isto equally protect the hon-our and rights of all citi-zens, Rajapaksa said.

Therefore I urge politi-cians who still incite peopleagainst each other for polit-ical gains to refrain fromdoing so. The Sri Lankanleader added he was willingto take suggestions fromthe international commu-nity on human rights is-sues.

Since being elected presi-dent in 2019, Rajapaksa hassidestepped calls to investi-gate missing persons fromthe civil war. Families ofvictims allege that many ofthe missing were taken bythe military for being in-volved with separatistrebels toward the end ofthe conflict.

Government forcescrushed the Tamil Tigerfighters in 2009 ending themovement for an independ-ent state for minorityTamils. Both sides were ac-cused of grave humanrights violations.

In earlier speeches,Rajapaksa has projectedhimself as a leader of themajority BuddhistSinhalese and emphasisedthe fact that he was electedpredominantly by theirvotes.

The Sri Lankan govern-ment’s refusal to address orinvestigate human rightsand war crimes allegationsfrom the civil war has beena source of tension in its re-lations with many Westerncountries and neighbour-ing India.

Sri Lanka is currentlynegotiating financial assis-tance from India, whichhas 80 million ethnicTamils itself and haslooked to support the rightsof minority Tamils in SriLanka. Sri Lanka’s foreignreserves were around USD1.6 billion at the beginningof 2022, barely enough for afew weeks of imports.Drawing from these funds,the government was mak-ing arrangements to pay

for matured bonds worthUSD 500 million this week.

Sri Lanka also has for-eign debt obligations ex-ceeding USD 7 billion thisyear.

The currency shortagehas resulted in severeshortages of importedgoods and people standingin long queues for milkpowder, cooking gas,kerosene and other essen-tials. In his speech,Rajapaksa promised to re-form a harsh anti-terror-ism law that has been inforce since 1979 that allowsfor lengthy detentions with-out trial. He also promisedto return over military-oc-cupied lands from the civilwar to their civilian own-ers. According to initial UNestimates about 100,000 peo-ple were killed in the quar-ter-century civil war.Another UN experts panelsaid later some 40,000 eth-nic Tamil civilians mayhave been killed in just thelast few months of fighting.

AIR STRIKES DAMAGE

Yemenis inspect the damage following overnight air strikes by the Saudi-led coalitiontargeting the Huthi rebel-held capital Sanaa, on Tuesday.

BRIEFCare

Conakry: FormerGuinean PresidentAlpha Conde left thecountry for medicaltreatment in the UnitedArab Emirates afterspending more thanfour months in the cus-tody of the militaryjunta that overthrewhim, witnesses said. Nodetails were given onhis diagnosis, thoughwitnesses at the airportin Conakry, the capital.There was no immedi-ate confirmation,though officials had an-nounced earlier thatConde wasn’t in goodhealth.

ApologisesLondon: PrimeMinister BorisJohnson’s wife, Carrie,was forced to apologisefor “momentary lapse”over COVID-19 lock-down rules during afriend’s party in 2020,even as the so-calledpartygate scandal con-tinues to pile pressureon her husband’s lead-ership prospects. The33-year-old mother ofJohnson’s one-year-oldson Wilfred and one-month-old daughterRomy was picturedhugging her friend dur-ing party at a privatemembers’ club.

MembershipIslamabad: Pakistan’selection body tem-porarily suspendedmembership of around150 federal and provin-cial lawmakers, includ-ing InformationMinister FawadChaudhry and SindhChief Minister SyedMurad Ali Shah, overtheir failure to submitdetails of their assetsand liabilities. Lastyear, at least 154 mem-bers were suspended byElection Commissionof Pakistan but all ofthem submitted tax de-tails and their member-ship restored.

ScrapsBrussels: EuropeanCommissionPresident Ursula vonder Leyen said thatshe has cancelled herin-person appoint-ments at theEuropean Parliamentthis week after herdriver tested positivefor COVID-19. Von derLeyen said she was al-ready in Strasbourg,France, for the plena-ry when she was toldof the news and im-mediately headedback to EuropeanUnion headquartersin Brussels.

DismissedLondon: An Indian-origin chief inspectorin London’s ScotlandYard police force hasbeen dismissed for“gross misconduct”without notice follow-ing an investigation bythe MetropolitanPolice’s Directorate ofProfessional Standards(DPS). DavinderKandohla was found tohave breachedStandards ofProfessionalBehaviour, amountingto “gross misconduct”,in relation to honestyand integrity, authority,respect and courtesy.

ConvictedParis: French far-right presidential can-didate ric Zemmourwas convicted of incit-ing racial hatred over2020 comments hemade about unaccom-panied migrant chil-dren. A Paris court or-dered Zemmour to paya fine of 10,000 euros(more than USD11,000) and severalthousand euros indamages to anti-racistgroups.

Wellington, Jan 18 (AP):

Thick ash on an airportrunway was delaying aiddeliveries to the Pacific is-land nation of Tonga,where significant damagewas being reported daysafter a huge undersea vol-canic eruption and tsuna-mi.

New Zealand’s militaryis sending much-neededdrinking water and othersupplies, but said the ashon the runway will delaythe flight at least a day. Atowering ash cloud sinceSaturday’s eruption hadprevented earlier flights.New Zealand also sent anavy ship to TongaTuesday with anotherplanned to leave later inthe day and pledged an ini-tial 1 million New Zealanddollars ($680,000) towardrecovery efforts.

Australia sent a navyship from Sydney toBrisbane to prepare for asupport mission if need-ed.

Communications withTonga have been extreme-

ly limited, but NewZealand and Australiasent military surveillanceflights to assess the dam-age, with aerial photosshowing the vibrantTongan landscape trans-formed by the ash into agray moonscape.

UN humanitarian offi-cials and Tonga’s govern-ment ‘report significantinfrastructural damagearound Tongatapu,’ UNspokesman StephaneDujarric said.

‘There has been no con-tact from the Ha’apaiGroup of islands, and weare particularly con-cerned about two smalllow-lying islands Mangoand Fonoi following sur-veillance flights confirm-ing substantial propertydamage,’ Dujarric said.

New Zealand’s HighCommission in Tonga also

reported ‘significant dam-age’ along the westerncoast of the main island ofTongatapu, including toresorts and along the wa-terfront area. The com-mission said Tonga policehad confirmed two deathsfrom the tsunami, includ-ing one who was a Britishnational.

Satellite images cap-tured the spectaculareruption, with a plume ofash, steam and gas risinglike a giant mushroomabove the South Pacific.Tsunami waves of about80 centimeters (2.7 feet)crashed into Tonga’sshoreline, and crossed thePacific, causing minordamage from NewZealand to Santa Cruz,California. The eruptionset off a sonic boom thatcould be heard as far awayas Alaska.

Volcanic ash delays aid to Tongaas scale of damage emerges

Gotabaya RajapaksaAn office for immigration into Australia at an embassy.

Wildcat gold miners transport sacks of rocks out of theRaposa Serra do Sol Indigenous reserve where gold min-ing is illegal in Roraima state, Brazil.

Seoul, Jan 18 (AP):

Grappling with pandemicdifficulties and US-led sanc-tions over his nuclear ambi-tions, North Korean leaderKim Jong Un could be reviv-ing his 2017 playbook of nu-clear and missile brinkman-ship to wrest concessionsfrom Washington and hisneighbours. North Korea’sshort-range missile launcheswere its fourth round of mis-sile tests this month and sig-naled a refusal to be ignoredby the Biden administration,which has focused more on

confronting bigger adver-saries such as China andRussia. The tests could alsoreflect a growing urgency inits need for outside reliefafter its economy decayed fur-ther under the severe sanc-tions and two years of pan-demic border closures, ex-perts say. The two missileslaunched near the capital,Pyongyang, followed a re-sumption of railroad freighttraffic with China that hadbeen suspended over pan-demic concerns, in what islikely an attempt to revive thedesperate economy. Chinese

Foreign Ministry spokesper-son Zhao Lijian said thattrade between Dandong inChina and Sinuiju in NorthKorea will be maintainedwhile pandemic controls stayin place.

While North Korea is likelyto continue showcasing itsweapons in the comingweeks, it could keep thingsrelatively quiet before theopening of the FebruaryWinter Olympics in China, itsmain ally and economic life-line, launching known short-range missiles rather thanmore provocative systems.

North Korean missile tests signalreturn to brinkmanship

Texas synagogue hostage taker had stayed in area sheltersColleyville, Jan 18 (AP):

An armed man whotook four people hostageduring a 10-hour standoffat a Texas synagogue hadspent time in area home-less shelters in the twoweeks leading up to the at-tack, and was dropped offat one by someone he ap-peared to know.

Malik Faisal Akram, a44-year-old British nation-al who authorities identi-fied as the hostage-taker,was brought to the shelterin downtown Dallas onJan. 2 by a man whohugged him and had con-versations with him, said

Wayne Walker, CEO andpastor of OurCalling,which provides services tohomeless people.

He was dropped off bysomebody that looked likehe had a relationship withhim, said Walker, who saidthey’d turned photos andvideo over to the FBI.

Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker told CBS Morningsthat he’d let Akram intoCongregation Beth Israelon Saturday morning be-cause he appeared to needshelter. The synagogue isin Colleyville, a city ofabout 26,000 people located30 miles (48 kilometers)northwest of Dallas.

Cytron-Walker said theman wasn’t threatening orsuspicious at first, butlater he heard a gun clickas he was praying.

The rabbi and threeother men were participat-ing in the service that wasbeing livestreamed whenthey were taken hostage.The first hostage was re-leased shortly before 5p.m. Cytron-Walker andtwo others escaped around9 p.m., when Cytron-Walker threw a chair atthe gunman.

The exit wasn’t too faraway, Cytron-Walker said.I told them to go. I threw achair at the gunman, and I

headed for the door. Andall three of us were able toget out without even a shotbeing fired.

Akram was killed afterthe hostages ran out.Authorities have declinedto say who shot Akram,saying it was still underinvestigation. Video of thestandoff ’s end from DallasTV station WFAA showedpeople running out a doorof the synagogue, andthen a man holding a gunopening the same door justseconds later before heturned around and closedit. Moments later, severalshots and then an explo-sion could be heard.

Satellite image of HungaTonga Hunga Ha befor andafter volcano eruption inTonga.

Iraqi onlookers gather at the scene of an explosion outsidethe Kurdish Cihan Bank in the Karrada district.

ChronicleC E N T R A L

Established 1974 Volume 47 No. 107

ECI extendsElection Commission of India(ECI) has extended the morato-rium on open public ralliesexcept with a relief that indoormeetings with presence of 300people or 50 percent of the hallcan be held with full protocolsof COVID-19 and the onus of fol-lowing norms shall be on politi-cal parties. The very much pur-pose of holding public rallies isto convince the floating orundecided voters in theirfavour. As far as 300 people areconcerned all will be dedicatedworkers of the party and theundecided voters will remainuntouched.It is a welcome moveof ECI due to safeguarding pub-lic health had been prioritisedover compaigning. Extendingban on political rallies tillJanuary 22 would definitely befrustrating for major politicalparties and their intending can-didates and such curbs wouldmean shelving all plans todemonstrate support base ashad been the norm in the pastcontrary to obvious dejectionfor the political class, for thosecitizens who fear that massgathering of public at Electionevent would fan translation ofthe virus disease, the ECI’s deci-sion would be welcomed whole-heartedly for none would relishfor deterioration of the pandem-ic situation as it would be con-sequently leading to curtail-ment of livelihood activities.asthe country had faced previous-ly also. Similar to all the viruscontainment measures, effec-tive enforcement of the ban orrelaxation would dependdepend on diligence of officialswho are entrusted to ensurethat political parties complywith COVID-19 norms.Regardless of directing stateand district authorities con-cerned to ensure full compli-ance with the standing orders,there is strong possibility thatmajor political parties wouldfind an escape route rather thanacknowledge that the curbs arefor the safety of all as could beevident from the ECI servingshow cause notice to theSamajwadi party which report-edly held a large public meetingin the compound of the partyoffice in UP, defying covidnorms.

YYaasshh PPaall RRaallhhaann,, JJaallaannddhhaarr

Power disparitySubansiri Hydroelectric Powerproject when completed willchurn for the region 2000megawatts of electricity. In arecent news it was reported thatAssam will only get a meagre 25megawatts of free electricitywhereas Arunachal Pradesh willbag 262 megawatts of free elec-tricity from the proposed 2000megawatts. Arunachal getting262 megawatts is not a concernbut giving peanuts to Assamwhich has a population of morethan 3 crore is kind of disre-spectful. The trouble will beborne equal by both the states,then why this disparity betweenthe two figures? Assam needs itmore than Arunachal. I think itwill be better that both thestates talk this over a cup of tea.

NNooooppuurr BBaarruuaahh,, TTeezzppuurr

LETTERSTO THE EDITOR✍

Central Chronicle welcomes, articles, write ups, comments on different issues foreditorial page (800-900 words), Letter to editor for this page. It can be sent by

e-mail at: [email protected] letters can be edited or rewritten for clarity of thoughts.

WHAT THEY TWEET!

Yusuf Unjhawala@YusufDFI

From PM’s security toteleprompter or whatever,every effing thing is politi-

cised. Tu tu main main,attack, counter-attack,

toolkit. No side is a saint,so spare me your replies if

you are going to fingerpoint, irrespective of which

side you are.

HHaarrsshhaa BBhhooggllee@@bbhhoogglleehhaarrsshhaa

Rishabh Pant’s progress as a crick-eter over the last 4 years has beenextraordinary; as a matchwinning

batsman, which gets talked about alot, but even more so in recent times

as a keeper which has been heart-warming. That might already be a lot

on his plate for now.

RRaaddhhiikkaa GGuuppttaa@@iiRRaaddhhiikkaaGGuuppttaaPerfect businesses exist on Excel.Perfect lives exist on Instagram.

Perfect portfolios exist on Twitter.The real world has mistakes, ugli-

ness, heartaches, assumptions gonewrong, gigantic failures, and yes,

loss.Benchmark wisely.

Rezina Sultana@RezinaSultana9

My bro in law is a scien-tist, got award from thestate govt, 10th, 12thtopper, 1st class ,gold

medalist , is a fantasticcook and often cooks

Biriyani for his wife andfamily. Grow up Man.

PPrraakkaasshh MMaallllyyaa@@PPrraakkaasshhMMaallllyyaa

To test our brain’s ability to multi-task, try this out: 1. First count fromone to ten out loud. 2. Then recite

the alphabet from A to J out loud. 3.Now try combining them by rapidlyswitching between them: recite A1,B2, C3, and so forth out loud. What

did you observe?

AAjjaayyiittaa@@DDooccttoorrAAjjaayyiittaaKoi utha ke patak do yahan! Portofino, Italy.

DDiivvaa JJaaiinn@@DDiivvaaJJaaiinn22To all the politicians falling over

themselves to welcome Tesla to theirrespective states, here is a primer on

how China does it - 1. Subsidizedland for setting up a “manufactur-ing” plant and NOT an “assembly”

plant. 2. Cheap Govt backed fundingto tune of $1.3 billion

TT he Reserve Bank of India in itssecond financial stability report

has projected an increase in the Non-Performing Asset (NPA) of banks.The central bank believes that theOmicron variant of the corona viruscan have a negative impact on theeconomy. According to the ReserveBank, rising inflation is also one ofthe reasons to mounting NPA.According to the Financial StabilityReport, the NPA of banks mayincrease from 8.1 percent to 9.5 per-cent by September 2022, which was6.9 percent in September 2021.

However, according to theGovernor of the Reserve Bank,Shakti Kant Das, the financial posi-tion of the banks as of now is good.Banks have performed well duringthe pandemic period due to theexpedient policies of the govern-ment and the policy support of theReserve Bank of India and relevantmeasures taken by the central bankduring the pandemic. During this,the financial market has alsoremained stable. Therefore, theReserve Bank is confident that thebanks will easily deal with the NPA.Earlier, in its first financial stabilityreport, the Reserve Bank of India hadsaid that by March 2022, the GNPA ofbanks could be 9.80 percent and ifthe situation worsens then it canreach the level of 11.22 percent.

By March 2021, the NPA of sched-uled commercial banks had comedown by Rs 61,180 crore to Rs 8.34lakh crore, as against Rs 8.96 lakhcrore in March 2020. In March 2021,the gross NPA (GNPA) of banks was7.5 percent of total advances, while

the net NPA were 2.4 percent. Thisshows that the banks performed wellduring the corona pandemic. TheGNPA of listed banks stood at Rs 8.11lakh crore in June 2021 and declinedby 2.5 percent over the previousyear, as compared to Rs 8.32 lakhcrore in June 2020. Public sectorbanks performed better than privatebanks on this parameter. Their GNPAdeclined by 4.2 percent, while that ofprivate sector banks rose by 3.3 per-cent. The net NPA of public sectorbanks declined by 4 percent duringthis period, while the net NPA of pri-vate sector banks grew at the rate of22 percent.

Almost all public sector bankshave performed well in the firstquarter of the current financial yearas well. During this period, the col-lective net profit of listed banksgrew by 61 percent year-on-yearbasis, while the net profit of publicsector banks grew by 140 percentyear-on-year to Rs 14,012 crore fromRs 5,847 crore.

At the same time, the net profit ofprivate sector banks increased by 28percent to Rs 18,083 crore from Rs14,127 crore. In the area of operatingprofit also, the performance of pub-lic sector banks has been better.Their operating profit grew 6 per-cent, nearly doubling that of privatebanks. In the June quarter, feeincome of public sector banks grewby 35 percent, while that of privatesector banks by 20.5 percent.

It has been written in the prefaceof the Financial Stability Report thatthe Indian economy was devastateddue to the second wave of Corona

virus, but now the recovery of theeconomy is clearly visible, but it isbelieved that the Omicron variant ofCorona virus can again damage theIndian economy badly, as its prolifer-ation capacity is very fast.

Even though the percentage ofdeath from omicron variant is low,but due to its unprecedented abilityto spread, it can prove to be moredangerous than the delta variant. Forexample, if 100 people have beeninfected with the Delta variant and10 percent of them die, then 20 to 30times more people i.e., 2000 to 3000people will be infected with theOmicron variant. if only 1 percent of2000, infected with this variant die,the death toll will be 20, which willbe twice the number of people whodied from the delta variant.

According to the latest FinancialStability Report of the Reserve Bankof India, private investment has stillnot reached the level before thecorona period, which shows that theincome of the common people hasalso not reached the level before thecorona period and they are spendingless. Rising inflation is also putting adent in the pockets of the commonpeople. People are not able to spenddue to low income and inflation. Toovercome this to some extent, thereis a need to coordinate betweendemand and supply, but the relevantmechanisms are not able to take fur-ther action on this front.Mismanagement is also one of thepotent reasons to mounting infla-tion.

Due to higher imports thanexports, the current account deficit(CAD) in the second quarter of thecurrent financial year stood at USD9.3 billion, which is 1.3 percent of thegross domestic product (GDP),whereas current account deficit inthe first quarter of the current finan-cial year stood at USD 6.6 billion,which was 0.9 percent of GDP.According to the Reserve Bank ofIndia, the widening of the currentaccount deficit in the second quarterof the financial year 2021-22 is dueto the widening of the trade deficitto USD 44.4 billion, from USD 30.7

billion in the previous quarter. Thecurrent account deficit is likely to beabove USD 25 billion in the thirdquarter of FY 2021-22, while the cur-rent account deficit in the financialyear 2021-22 is likely to be 40 to 45billion dollars or 1.4 percent of GDP.

The increase in trade deficit andcurrent account deficit is increasingthe pressure on the economy anddue to this the government is notable to spend the required amounton various important items, due towhich demand is not increasing.Since the increase in demand accel-erates economic activity, therefore,the pace of recovery in the economyis slow. Due to increasing pressureon the economy, there will be adecrease in the income of the busi-nessman and the common man, dueto which people will not be able topay the instalments and interest oftheir loan and due to this, there maybe an increase in the NPA level.

It is true that the laws or institu-tions engaged in the recovery of NPAhave not been able to give theexpected results in the matter ofrecovery of NPA, but it is also truethat recovery of NPA has alreadyaccelerated. In the last 6 years,banks have been successful in recov-ering more than Rs 5 lakh crore ofNPA and can be expected to givebetter results on this front in thecoming days as well.

In the current perspective, thepossibility of increase in the NPA inthe Financial Stability Report by theReserve Bank of India can be justi-fied, because at present, omicronvirus variant is growing rapidly inevery part of the country and infla-tion is also increasing. It is also truethat there has been a significantimprovement in the performance ofbanks in the recent past. Some bigbanks have also been successful inraising capital from the market.

In such a situation, it can be saidthat even though there is a possibili-ty of increase in the NPA of thebanks, but there will be no negativeimpact of the increased NPA on thebanks, because they will tackle thiseasily.

C ombined fortunes of billionaires in India morethan doubled during the Coronavirus pandemic

and their count shot up by 39 percent to 142. Also, thewealth of the 10 richest persons in the country isenough to fund school and higher education of chil-dren in the country for 25 years, the inequality surveyreleased by Oxfam India at the World EconomicForum’s (WEF) online Davos Agenda summit, noted. Ifthe wealth of the first 100 billionaires is accumulated,they could fund the National Rural Livelihood Missionscheme, responsible for creating Self Help Groups forwomen, for the next 365 years. The present-daywealthy billionaires of India are far richer than erst-while royal rulers like ‘maharajas’ and ‘nawabs’ ofpast princely states. But it appears that wealth is gen-erated by exploitation and not shared for India’sprogress. It further said that the inadequate govern-mental expenditure on health, education and social se-curity has gone hand-in-hand with a rise in the pri-vatisation of health and education, thus making a fulland secure COVID-19 recovery out of reach for thecommon citizen. Growing dependence on digitalprocesses in the last two years of Coronavirus pan-demic has given rise to the risks posed by cybersecuri-ty threats globally, while at the same time widespreadyouth disillusionment, digital inequality and fractureof inter-state relations are some of the key risks forthe Indian economy. Risks of growing social cleavageswill continue to be exacerbated by the pandemic andexperts are cautioning that the global economic recov-ery will likely be uneven and potentially volatile overthe coming years. Fracture of interstate relations,debt crises in large economies, widespread youth disil-lusionment, failure of technology governance and dig-ital inequality are the top five risks identified for theIndian economy by the WEF’s executive survey. Whilethe average wealth of an Indian household is worth Rs9,83,010, the report said that the bottom 50 percent ofthe country’s population own ‘almost nothing’, withan average wealth of Rs 66,280. The middle class is alsorelatively poor, owning 29.5 percent of the total wealthof the country. The wealthiest 1 percent population ofIndia alone owns 33 percent of the country’s totalwealth. Deregulation and liberalisation policies imple-mented for India’s economy since the mid-1980s hasled to one of the most extreme increases in incomeand wealth inequality observed in the world. Withoutadequate focus on policy change, India faces a threat ofleaving behind large part of its population in this roadto recovery, not to mention bear the brunt of inequali-ties even further. India needs to revisit the labour dis-tribution in country and rethink formal and informalstructures at a policy level. There is a need to enhancethe social security mechanisms for informal workers.The rationale for equality may seem obvious, but itmeans nothing unless justice is the basis of develop-ment. The need for careful planning has increased be-cause the factors to be taken into account are morecomplex now. Earlier a model based on resources andtheir exploitation may have been the norm, now onealso has to think in terms of needs and the carbonspace available to provide them.

Wealthy richer than past royalty

J et fuel or ATF price this week was hiked by 4.2 per-cent - the second increase in rates this month war-

ranted by firming international oil prices, but petrol anddiesel prices remained unchanged for the 72nd day in arow. Aviation turbine fuel (ATF) price was hiked by Rs3,232.87 per kilolitre, or 4.25 percent, to Rs 79,294.91 per klin the national capital, according to a price notification ofstate-owned fuel retailers. This is bound to affect air trav-el ticket prices. Flying will become expensive. Severallarge companies and startups across the world aredreaming the idea for development of electric poweredaircrafts for short haul flights and city air taxis. But it isunlikely to make air travel cheaper as long-haul flightswill continue to use oil powered engines. Electric aircraftare powered by electricity via one or more electric mo-tors which drive the propellers. In this type of aircraft,electricity is supplied via a variety of methods. The elec-tric aircraft industry is currently in the introductionstage of the industry life cycle and is expected to witnessits growth stage during 2021-2030. Having all-electric air-craft for short-haul flights would indeed be great, and itwould provide critical services to millions of travellersliving in small towns. Still, it would make only a minorcontribution to what is truly a gigantic business. Air traf-fic surged from 28 billion passenger-kilometres (pkm) in1950 to 2.8 trillion pkm by the year 2000, a 100-fold rise. Itthen rose to nearly 9 trillion pkm before the pandemic in-tervened. Trillions of passenger-kilometres could beadded so rapidly thanks to the advent of wide-body air-planes carrying 300 to 500 passengers per plane betweenthe continents. Large turbofan engines powering theseplanes are fuelled by aviation kerosene that providesnearly 12,000 watt-hours per kilogram. In contrast,today’s best commercial Li-ion batteries deliver less than300 Wh per kg, or just 40th the energy density ofkerosene. Even when taking into account the higher effi-ciency of electric motors, the effective energy densitiesgo down to about 20th part. That’s more than better bat-teries can bridge within the next decade or two.Moreover, the airline industry requires massive invest-ments. Pre-COVID estimates indicated that between 2018and 2038 the combined market for new planes, togetherwith the cost of their maintenance, repair, and associatedtraining services, would be on the order of USD 16 tril-lion. Such enormous outlays require long planning hori-zons, embedded in commitments to specific designs andaircraft orders. This means that the industry’s next fewdecades have already been decided. Because the averagelifespan of both single-aisle and wide-body planes is justover 20 years, forthcoming purchases of new planes willexpand the existing fleet at least by half and all of thelarge airliners will rely on oil jet engines.

Electric aviation dreams

Tough time ahead due to non-performing assets of banks


SATISH SINGH

A family visits the Ice Sculpture Festival in the Pustevny mountains, in East Moravia, Czech Republic.

ICE SCULPTURE FESTIVAL

((SSaattiisshh SSiinngghh iiss sseenniioorr ccoolluummnniisstt aanndd eeddiittoorr ooff iinn--hhoouussee JJoouurrnnaall ooff SSBBII ‘‘AAaarrtthhiikk DDaarrppaann’’..))


BRIEF

Partners

New Delhi: OhmiumInternational haspartnered with IITMadras ResearchPark (IITMRP) to ac-celerate Polymer elec-trolyte membrane(PEM) electrolyzerperformance enhance-ments. CEO ArneBallentine said it willenable rapidly trans-lating advances in per-formance.

LicensingNew Delhi: Brandedjewellery makerRenaissance GlobalLtd on Tuesday said ithas inked a licensingagreement with theNational FootballLeague (NFL) of theUS, to collaborate todesign a uniquebranded jewellery col-lection using NFL in-tellectual property.The unique collectiondeveloped under theagreement will bemarketed to con-sumers in the US.

Tickets

New Delhi:EaseMyTrip onTuesday said it has en-tered into a partner-ship with regional air-line Flybig to sell thelatter's tickets exclu-sively on its platform.EaseMyTrip CEONishant Pitti said airtravel is witnessing amajor boom and weare delighted to part-ner Flybig.

FloatNew Delhi:RadiantCash ManagementServices, an integratedcash logistics player, andonline education plat-form Veranda LearningSolutions have receivedthe go ahead from capi-tal markets regulatorSebi to float their initialpublic offerings (IPOs).The two companies, filedtheir preliminary IPOpapers with Sebi be-tween October andNovember and obtainedthe observation letterduring January 10-11,update with Sebishowed.

Acquires

New Delhi: NazaraTechnologies onTuesday said it willacquire a 55 per centstake in programmat-ic advertising andmonetisation compa-ny Datawrkz for aboutRs 124 crore. NazaraCEO Manish Agarwalsaid deep data pro-cessing will emerge aswinners.

ExpandNew Delhi: Agritechfirm Arya.ag onTuesday said it hasraised USD 60 million(around Rs 450 crore)in equity and debtfrom investors to ex-pand its business. Italso raised debt fi-nancing from the USInternationalDevelopment FinanceCorporation (DFC),among others.


Bidding for 15 blocks of-fered in the first coal-bedmethane (CBM) round inmore than a decade willstart on February 15 andend on March 15, theDirectorate General ofHydrocarbons (DGH) saidon Tuesday.

Bids under the SpecialCBM Bid Round-2021,which was launched inSeptember last year, wereoriginally due onFebruary 20, 2022, but thedeadline was postponed.

"Bid submission forSpecial CBM Bid Round-2021 will start on 15thFebruary, 2022 and end on15th March, 2022," DGHsaid in a notice.

The government has of-fered 15 blocks inMaharashtra, MadhyaPradesh, West Bengal,Jharkhand, Odisha andChhattisgarh for extract-ing gas from coal seams(CBM).

This is the first CBM bid

round in more than adecade. The last round washeld in 2010.

CBM is gas or methanefound below coal seams incoal fields. It is similar tonatural gas and can beused as fuel to fire powerplants, run fertiliser units,or be used as CNG in auto-mobiles.

The maximum numberof five coal-bed methane(CBM) blocks have been of-

fered in Madhya Pradesh,and two blocks each inJharkhand, Maharashtraand Odisha. Three blocksare on offer inChhattisgarh and one inWest Bengal.

The government hasawarded 29 CBM blocks inthe previous four roundsof bidding.

"Companies are invitedto bid for exploration, de-velopment and monetisa-

tion of 15 CBM blocks like-ly to contain both conven-tional and/or unconven-tional hydrocarbon re-sources, distributed in thesedimentary basins ofIndia," DGH had said inthe notice inviting offersin September last year.

All the 15 blocks are inCategory-III basins thathold prospective resourcesto be explored and discov-ered.

India's sedimentarybasins are divided intothree categories --Category-I are basins withreserves being producedand exploited, andCategory-II are ones withcontingent resources to bedeveloped and monetised.

Under the current CBMround, bidders offering todo maximum explorationwork will be awarded theblock, DGH had said.

The bid round is part ofthe government's attemptto raise domestic oil andgas production to cut re-liance on imports. Indiaimports roughly 85 percent of its oil needs andabout half of the gas re-quirement.

Prior to the CBMlaunch, the government of-fered 21 conventional oiland gas blocks for biddingin the sixth round underthe Open AcreageLicensing Policy (OALP).Last date for bidding forthese blocks is February15, 2022.

Bidding for CBM blocks tostart on Feb 15, end on Mar 15


Equity benchmark Sensexplunged by 554.05 points onTuesday, tracking deep lossesin realty, auto and metalstocks amid widespread sell-ing pressure in global markets.The 30-share index slumpedby 554.05 points or 0.90 percent to end at 60,754.86. Thebroader NSE Nifty fell by195.05 points or 1.07 per centto 18,113.05.Maruti was the top loser in theSensex pack, shedding over 4per cent, followed by TechMahindra, HCL Tech, TataSteel, IndusInd Bank and L&T.Sectorally, Basic Materials,Telecom, Auto, Realty andMetal indices fell up to 2.76per cent.On the other hand, Axis Bank,HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, KotakBank Dr Reddy's, Titan andNestle India were the gainers.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses inHong Kong, Tokyo and Seoulended with losses, whileShanghai was positive. Stockexchanges in Europe were wit-nessing heavy selling pressurein mid-session deals.Meanwhile, international oilbenchmark Brent crudesurged 1.13 per cent to USD87.46 per barrel.Foreign institutional investors(FIIs) were net sellers in thecapital market, as they soldshares worth Rs 855.47 croreon Monday, according to stockexchange data.In Asian trading, Tokyo'sNikkei 225 advanced 0.7% to28,333.52 as the governmentreported machinery ordersrose in November as privateinvestment and manufacturingactivity improved during a lullin coronavirus outbreaks.Shipbuilders orders surged170%.

Sensex tanks 550 pts; Niftyslumps below 18,150


Continuing its fall forthe third consecutive ses-sion, the rupee on Tuesdayslumped 33 paise to closeat 74.58 (provisional)against the US dollar asstrong American currencyand elevated crude oilprices continue to weighon investor sentiments.

Forex traders saidmuted domestic equitiesand dollar buying bybanks on behalf of im-porters also dragged thelocal unit down.

At the interbank foreignexchange market, the localcurrency opened at 74.36against the American cur-rency and witnessed anintra-day low of 74.60 dur-ing the session.

The rupee finally settled

at 74.58, down 33 paise overits previous close of 74.25against the greenback.

The dollar index, whichgauges the greenback'sstrength against a basketof six currencies, wastrading 0.09 per cent up at95.34.

"Higher crude oil pricesand risk-off sentimentsfollowing a surge in bondyields are enough for therupee to become the worst-performing currencyamong Asian currencies,"said Dilip Parmar,Research Analyst, HDFCSecurities. Parmar addedthat "strong dollar de-mands have been seenfrom oil importers afterBrent crude oil pricesstarted quoting above USD87 a barrel on the back ofsupply worries". "Going

ahead, the pullback rallyin USD/INR may continuefor a few more days as sen-timents turn favourable.Spot USD/INR has crossedand sustained above thenear-term hurdle of 74.50,the 100 days simple aver-age, has now opened theway for 75 levels while sup-port has been shifted to74.25," he said.

Gold price in the nation-al capital on Tuesdaydipped Rs 23 to Rs 47,814per 10 grams, in line withweak international pre-cious metal prices, accord-ing to HDFC Securities.

In the previous trade,the precious metal settledat Rs 47,837 per 10 grams.

Silver was flat at Rs61,835 per kg from Rs61,836 per kg in the previ-ous trade.

Rupee slumps 33 paise at 74.58 againstUSD, gold declines Rs 23


The All India Gem andJewellery DomesticCouncil (GJC) on Tuesdayurged the government to re-duce the rate of GST (goodsand services tax) to 1.25 percent.

In its pre-Budget 2022-23recommendations to UnionFinance Minister NirmalaSitharaman, GJC hassought a cumulative GSTrate of 1.25 per cent basedon the revenue equivalenceprinciple on gold, preciousmetals, gems and articles ofjewellery made of suchgoods, the apex industrybody said in a statement.

Currently, the GST rate forgems and jewellery is 3 percent. The national industryapex body has also urgedFM to raise the PAN cardlimit to Rs 5 lakh from Rs 2lakh, as many householdsin rural India do not holdPAN cards and face difficul-ty in arranging minimumrequired jewellery in timesof need, especially post-pandemic. GJC has urgedthe government that suit-

able clarification be issuedon the minimum quantityof gold, which an individ-ual can deposit under thegold monetisation scheme(GMS), without being ques-tioned by any departmentalauthorities.

Further, the industrybody requested that theEMI facility for the pur-chase of 22K gold jewelleryshould be allowed to thegems and jewellery indus-

try, which in turn shall leadto a substantial growth ofthe business of the indus-try after the pandemic.

"Our industry has suf-fered a lot during theseharsh times of the pandem-ic, and it is also identifiedas one of the 'stressed sec-tors' in KV Kamath's report.

"Hence, we have pro-posed changes in Section40A of the Income Tax Actso that the existing dailycash limit of Rs 10,000 perday be increased to Rs1,00,000 per day," GJCChairman Ashish Pethesaid.

GJC has also urged thegovernment to waive offthe bank commission (1-1.5per cent) on the purchase ofjewellery through creditcards, thus ensuring a goodboost to the 'Digital India'for the gems and jewelleryindustry, he said.

Jewellery industry urges Govt to reduce GST to 1.25%Deposits accumulated bythe banks are ataround 11.1 tonnes


Vedanta Chairman AnilAgarwal on Tuesday saidIndia is on the path of en-couraging ease of doingbusiness and stressed thatthe government is produc-tion-minded and not rev-enue-minded.

In a tweet, Agarwal saidtrust, talent and technolo-gy are the cornerstones ofthe development.

"We fully agree with PMShri Narendra Modi Ji at#DavosAgenda that it's thebest time to invest in India.It is a great opportunity forentrepreneurs to identifypartners and investors tocollaborate with them, asgeneral consciousness isthat they'd like to workwith local entrepreneurs,"he tweeted.

He also tweeted, "#Indiais definitely on the path ofencouraging ease of doingbusiness. Govt is produc-tion minded and not rev-enue minded."

Citing India's commit-ment to deep economic re-forms and the ease ofdoing business, Modi onMonday asserted that thisis the best time to invest inthe country as policy-mak-ing is focused on the needs

for the next 25 years for a'clean and green' as well as'sustainable and reliable'growth period.

In his special address tothe World EconomicForum's online DavosAgenda 2022 summit, Modiunderlined a host of re-form measures undertak-en by his government tostress that it has worked toreduce the administra-tion's interference in busi-ness by deregulating manysectors and to clear the wayfor free trade agreementswith different countries.India was once associatedwith 'License Raj', he hadnoted highlighting themeasures, including the re-duction of corporate tax toboost business and doingaway with over 25,000 com-pliance requirements.

India on path of encouragingease of doing business

Anil Agarwal


Hospitality industry bodyFHRAI on Tuesday said ithas asked Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman to con-sider a moratorium forloans taken by players in thesector and a special resolu-tion framework for restruc-turing of loans as part ofimmediate measures to sup-port the pandemic-batteredindustry.

In a representation sub-mitted to the finance minis-ter, Federation of Hotel &Restaurant Associations ofIndia (FHRAI) also soughtmoratorium extension ofminimum one year for loansavailed under EmergencyCredit Line GuaranteeScheme (ECLGS) citing the

successive waves and con-tinued disruptions have cre-ated a volatile economic en-vironment in the sector,making survival the keyfocus. Also, FHRAI said ithas requested Sitharamanfor working capital supportwith a guarantee from theCentre to banks and NBFCs.

It also demanded that Rs60,000 crore loan guaranteescheme for the COVID-af-fected sector be notifiedwith immediate effect and

that there should be directbenefit transfer of basic payto employees of the hospital-ity sector. The demands ofthe sector come ahead ofUnion Budget 2022-23, whichwill be presented inParliament on February 1.

Commenting on the de-mands of the sector, FHRAIVice-President GurbaxishSingh Kohli said,"We arepresently in the midst ofthe third wave and the in-dustry just will not be ableto sustain another storm. Inanticipation of the extent oflosses and to merely be ableto survive the repercus-sions of the third wave, werequest the FM financeminister) to immediatelyannounce special measuresfor our sector."

Loan moratorium demand forpandemic-hit hospitality sector

New Delhi, Jan 18:

Motorola launched thebrand-newmoto g715G, a smartphonepowered with blaz-ing-fast performancefrom the latestandIndia’s firstSnapdragon 695 5Gprocessor, 13 5GBands for True 5Gconnectivity and abrilliant 6.4” AmoledFHD+ Display. Priced at justRs.18,999, motog715Gis the only 5Gsmartphone in thesub-20K segment to offer anAmoled + display along withthe maximum - 13 5G bands.The Qualcomm Snapdragon695 5G processor comes

withQC Adreno 619 6nm GPUArchitecture with GPU Speed

up to 975MHz. Thechipset outperformson popular bench-marks likeAnTuTu*(v9 –390K+) & GeekBench (Single Core*– 700+ | Multicore*– 2550+) making itthe fastest 5Gprocessor in the sub20K segmentinIndia. (*Source –Internal Testing &Nanoreview.net) Motorola's propri-

etary "ThinkShield forMobile" gives business-gradesecurity to the smartphonealong with its signature ad-free, bloatware-free, near-Stock Android experience.

Motorola launchesthe moto g71 5G

New Delhi, Jan 18:

Realme, India'sfastest-growing smart-phone brand, an-nounced its UltimatePerformer, the realme9i, equipped with theQ u a l c o m mSnapdragon 680processor. The realme9i will be the firstrealme smartphone tobe powered by theQ u a l c o m mSnapdragon 680 whichis based on 6nmprocess. The smart-phone is power-packed withnumerous advanced fea-tures like Dart Charging so-lution, massive battery, ex-cellent nightscape camera,smooth adaptive display,and more to bring an un-

paralleled experience toyoung users.

Commenting onthe occasion of thelaunch, Mr.MadhavSheth, CEOrealme India, VP,realme, andPresident, realmeI n t e r n a t i o n a lBusiness Groupsaid, “EveryNumber series hasbrought new and ex-citing innovationsand specifications tothe users. Stayingtrue to our legacy of

'Dare to leap,'we are elatedto introduce the first en-trant in the 9 series, therealme 9i, our UltimatePerformer, sporting thefirst Snapdragon 680, 6nmprocessor.

Realme unveils theultimate performer 9i

New Delhi, Jan 18:

Sony India announcesthe new WF-1000XM4 – thelatest addition to the trulywireless category in thecritically acclaimed 1000Xseries. The WF-1000XM4earbuds take industry-leading noise cancellingand audio quality to thenext level. Made to fitevery ear, they offer a per-sonalised experience thatadjust to every situation.The WF-1000XM4 featuresindustry leading noisecancellation technology.Personally, developed bySony, the IntegratedProcessor V1 takes noisecancellation performanceof Sony’s acclaimed QN1echip even higher. It alsofeatures high performancedual noise sensor micro-phones for excellent noise

cancellation. A newly de-signed 6mm driver unitwith a 20% increase inmagnet volume also im-proves the WF-1000XM4’snoise cancelling capabili-ties. The increase in mag-net volume and the highcompliance diaphragmgives improved perform-

ance in low frequenciesand enhances noise can-celling by generating ahigh-precision cancella-tion signal to the low fre-quency range. It comeswith Newly developedNoise Isolation EarbudTips which provide an im-proved fit.

Sony India announces the latestaddition to its 1000X series

Third COVID wavecould reduce

housing financecos’ assets growthMumbai, Jan 18 (PTI):Crisil Ratings on Tuesday saiddisruptions due to the thirdCOVID wave could shave off asmuch as 200 basis points fromthe growth in assets under man-agement of housing finance com-panies in the current and nextfinancial years. However, growthwould still be higher comparedwith average of around two percent over fiscals 2020 and 2021though slower than the broad-based 24 per cent loggedbetween fiscals 2011 and 2019, itsaid in a report. "The third waveof the COVID-19 pandemic couldslash as much as 200 bps (basispoints) off Crisil Ratings' basecase estimate of 9-11 per centCompound Annual Growth Rate(CAGR) in the AUM of housingfinance companies for fiscals2022 and 2023," the report said.

ACROSS1. Mushroom parts5. Burn slightly9. MacKenzie of beer ads14. Fashion magazine15. Word that rhymes with its opposite16. Rabbit fur17. Hardly corpulent18. Monumental19. Enron Field athlete until 200220. Toss the dice

23. Go chop-chop?24. They may be fixed or blank25. This and that27. Dynamic opening30. Executor's concern33. Surmise37. Dark ___39. Camelot lady40. Extent of loss41. Temple trademark42. James Bond's school43. Charles Lamb

44. Pub potables45. Field46. Predatory bird48. Classical heptad50. Fabulous writer52. Not just again57. Big burger59. Bet a long shot62. "Love"-ly word in a Stevie Wondersong64. Sponge feature65. They make waves66. "Walk ___ in my . . ."67. Related by blood68. It may be about a foot?69. Hall or Python70. Baker's dozen of popes71. ___ River, N.J.Puzzle Grid

DOWN1. Invaders conquered by Caesar2. With ears pricked3. Costa del Sol attraction4. Honduran honorific5. Kind of cake6. A 36 of a famous measurement7. Seed sheath8. Film editor's right9. Satisfies the thirst10. Faux ___11. Call one's bluff12. Fraught with danger13. It may be on the mountaintop21. Proximal22. The mating game

26. Rodeo attendee28. Anjelica's husband in a '91 film29. Mythical meanies31. Suffix used to form abstract nouns32. Poet St. Vincent Millay33. Road for Nero34. Vincent Lopez song35. One way to make a decision36. Tickle pink38. Last word of an ultimatum41. Yuletide song45. New York City stadium name47. Sea bird49. Greek capital51. Like some Vatican bulls53. Settle down for the night54. Craters of the Moon setting55. Kind of drive56. Lisper's hurdles57. Palindromic address58. Bullets and such60. Pair, as oxen61. Troika63. Farthest or highest, briefly


Today is the day to turn dreams into real-ity and how! With your talent, wit, andintelligence you will make a greatimpression on everyone's mind, feelsGanesha. Icing on the cake will be thecash inflow. You know your cards and youplay them well to your advantage. Theremay be a catch though, keep yourselfguarded, advises Ganesha.

Aquarius: Jan 21 – Feb 18You will communicate with your friends orrelatives living abroad today. There is achance that these communications couldtranslate directly into substantial gain foryou. You will find yourself in the mood forsocializing. You will likely invite friendsover to dinner at your place in the evening,says Ganesha.

Pisces: Feb 19 – Mar 20Today, you will feel mushy and forlorn.You will make special efforts to strength-en your relationships. You look upon com-mitment as a security for the future. As aresult, you will develop strong, long-termbondings.

Aries: Mar 21 – Apr 20Be prepared for taking instant decisions andacting promptly on them. Today you are like-ly to meet several such situations Ganesha ispleased to see that you have the acumenand experience to deal with such contingen-cies. You will have no trouble finding theright solutions and seeing things through.Your exemplary managing skills will benoticed, appreciated and admired.

Taurus: Apr 21 – May 21

You will be faced with a slew ofdemands from various people today,and you will find it difficult to meet allof them. However, you will be able tomeet the requirements that need tobe met to salvage the day. People willpraise your intelligence and creativi-ty, says Ganesha.

Gemini: May 22 – June 21Minor ailments like cough and coldmay bother you, warns Ganesha. Soavoid cold or sweet items. Peopleadmire your helpful nature. Take spe-cial care of your health, says Ganesha.

Cancer: June 22 – July 22You need to curb down on your expenses.You need to moderate the risks you takeon in the share market. It is a good day forfinancial gains though. You need to under-stand the value of compromise, saysGanesha.

Leo: July 23 – Aug 23Family affairs will predominate today.They will even control your thoughts tothe exclusion of everything else. Thingswill look up on the business front. Youmay spend time relaxing in the evening.Ganesha says a trip to a place of worshipis on the cards.

Virgo: Aug 24 – Sept 22

Ganesha says that there are chances thattoday you might start some long-pendingrenovation project for your house. Youmay decorate your home with new paint-ings and items. There may be guests overin the evening that will make you veryhappy. You may also go out for dinnerwith your family and friends or, moreprobably, with your sweetheart.

Libra: Sept 23 – Oct 23You are all set to paint the town red as youfeel romance and love creeping into yourlife slowly. You may bump into 'someonespecial' today and see love blooming foryou. There are also chances of marriageproposals and meeting prospective candi-dates, says Ganesha.

Scorpio: Oct 24 – Nov 22Tough times do not last, but tough peo-ple do, remember this fact and moveahead in life. Try to make the compli-cated life simpler by your optimisticapproach. Speak up when it is requiredand don't get bogged down by unneces-sary pressure.

Sagittarius: Nov 23 – Dec 21Today, you will remain unruffled by thecommotion around you, says Ganesha.However, the emotions locked up insideyou will probably cloud your power of rea-soning and may leave you feeling a littlelost. But this will only be a passing phase,and you will come out of the bewildermentin no time.

Capricorn: Dec 22 – Jan 20

C R O S S WO R D 191

SOLUTION 190

HOROSCOPE WEDNESDAY JANUARY 19

All throughJanuary viewersare in for

Saturdays filled withthrill, drama, crime andunlimited high-voltageaction with &pictures‘Khiladi Kumar Festival’,featuring some of thebest work of India’sfavourite Khiladi himself- Akshay Kumar! Fromtrailblazing fight se-quences to chartbusters,cult movies KhiladiyonKa Khiladi, Sabse BadaKhiladi, Khiladi 786 andMr. & Mrs. Khiladi willmake for an ultimatewatch list that every ac-tion-film enthusiastwould look forward to.

Witness your favouriteKhiladi fighting withTHE Undertaker with theground-breaking WWEtheme as Akshay Kumaryet again proves to be atrue heartthrob inKhiladiyon Ka Khiladi.The stunning Rekha isbound to put a love spellon you as she presentsthe formidable negative

character Madame Mayaperfectly that led her towin a Filmfare for thesame. This complete sur-prise package of action,chemistry betweenAkshay Kumar andRekha, awe-inspiring di-rection, breath-taking lo-cations and a unique plotis all set to be screened on22nd January at 8pm.

Let’s end the fest on aniconic note! Next on thelist is the all-time classicentertainer – Mr. & Mrs.Khiladi! After a host of

blockbuster action films,it’s time for a perfectDavid Dhawan comedydrama featuring AkshayKumar, Kader Khan,Paresh Rawal and JuhiChawla. The movie willtake you on a hilariousquest for love on 29thJanuary and you arebound to be left in splits.

Stay put as the ‘KhiladiKumar Festival’ is all setto take you on a full on ac-tion-packed joyride till29th January, only on&pictures!

&pictures presents‘Khiladi Kumar Festival’

Versatile ActorMehul Nisar needsno introduction.

Being part of the indus-try for more than 22 yearsnow, Mehul has out-shined in the variousroles he has portrayed todate. He plays ChanchalChacha (Hero’s Uncleand Big Role) in the show'Kabhi Kabhie Ittefaq Sey'

Excerpts of inter-view:

Tell us somethingabout your character inthe show 'Kabhi KabhieIttefaq Sey'?

I play the character ofthe youngest sibling fromthe Kulshrestha family. Iplay Chanchal Chachawho is in his mid-fortiesbut considers himself tobe a youngster and bondswith the younger genera-tion of the Kulshresthafamily. Chanchal is a veryjovial and happy-go-luckykind of person. He is veryclose to Anubhav andboth are more likefriends than Chacha &Bhatija.

Tell us about the vari-ous preparations that

you have done for yourcharacter in the show?

This show is a very dif-ferent one. The charac-ters are in a very realisticzone. As an actor, a lot oftimes you have to un-learn what you havelearned. Chanchal's char-acter has a lot of fun andmasti but at the sametime, he is not overlyloud in doing so. I havetried to balance my per-formance to be as closeas to the realistic zone.

Have you taken anyparticular inspirationfor your character? If

yes, then tell us whyand how has it helpedyou portray your char-acter?

Like I have mentionedthe show is a very feel-good show. It's got a feel-good factor which youhave in films made byBasu Chatterjee andHrishikesh Mukherjee.So to get nuances and un-derstanding of my char-acter, I had to revisitsome of their films. Andcall it a coincidence but alot of Chanchal Chacha’scharacter is like what Iam in real life.

‘I’m lucky to be blessedwith this character’

New York-basedR&B singerRaveena Aurora,

who got the attention ofthe music industry withher debut album 'Lucid'(2019), has released whatV Magazine calls an "up-beat track (that) mergesBollywood influenceswith psychedelic im-agery".

Taking to Twitter toshare her excitementover the music videoshoot for 'Rush', which iswhat the new track iscalled, Raveena comment-ed: "I really felt like a reallife Bollywood princess in

this music video shoot."'Lucid', incidentally,

was named one of thebest best albums of 2019by the music staff ofNPR, America's publicradio broadcasting corpo-ration.

"I wrote 'Rush' a coupleyears back and the songwas the genesis of me ex-ploring a more intensemarriage betweenBollywood sounds andthe pop/R&B music that Igrew up on in America,"the singer, who was bornand raised in Queens,said in a statement.

According to V

Magazine, "'Rush' mar-ries Raveena's delicate vo-cals with thumping,Indian-inspired produc-tion."

Accompanying thenewly-released song, is amusic video that sees thesinger take on the per-sona of Asha, a Punjabispace princess. VMagazine describes the"must-watch" video as"glorious" and "hypnotis-ing".

"The song and videoare centred around acharacter I creatednamed Asha, a Punjabispace princess," the

singer, a graduate of NewYork University's TischSchool of the Arts, ex-plained in her statement."(Asha) is transported toa distant planet andlearns highly advancedspiritual intelligencefrom the beings that livethere."

The singer concluded:"I wanted to create acampy ode to the colour-ful '80s Bollywood moviesand '70s Western sci-fimovies that I'm obsessedwith, complete with achoreographed dance se-quence alongside Asha'salien friends."

R&B singer Raveena releasesBollywood-inspired track

Actress RasikaDugal, who isknown for shows

like 'Mirzapur', 'DelhiCrime', 'HumorouslyYours', will ring in a work-ing birthday as she is cur-rently shooting for the sec-ond schedule of the sportsdrama series 'Spike' inPalampur, HimachalPradesh.

Commenting on herplans for the day, the ac-tress said, "Being at thecenter of a sports drama isvery exciting for me. Onmy birthday, I will beshooting for the series'Spike' in the mountains."

Rasika sees the set as a

beautiful contrast for herspecial day, "The thrillingchaos of a set accompa-nied by the beautiful calmof the hills. What morecould I ask for?"

'Spike' marks Rasika'sforay into the genre ofsports drama as she willbe seen essaying the role ofa volleyball coach in theshow. As part of her prep,she underwent trainingfor the game for threemonths in Mumbai.

In addition, Rasika's up-coming projects includethe second season of theInternational Emmy win-ner 'Delhi Crime' and 'LordCurzon Ki Haveli'.

Rasika to celebrate her birthdayon sets of sports drama ‘Spike’

Ac t o r - c o m e d i a nSimon Pegg, knownfor some of the

most acclaimed comedyworks like "Spaced","Shaun of the Dead" and"Hot Fuzz", says he doesnot put himself under thepressure of always beingthe funny-man, even whenhe is aware that the audi-ence expects that fromhim.

Pegg rose to prominencein the late '90s with theEdgar Wright-directed sit-com "Spaced", which theactor created and alsostarred in.

Over the years, theEnglish star went on tofeature in several othercomedy films including"The World's End","Friends" star DavidSchwimmer-directed "RunFatboy Run" and the "IceAge" adventure comedymovie franchise, in whichhe voices the character ofBuck Wild, the one-eyedweasel.

In a Zoom interviewwith PTI, the 51-year-oldactor said he cannot beone of those funny artisteswho are forever in theswitch-on mode.

"I don't feel the burdento be consistently funny.People do expect a certainsomething from you. Myfamily, for instance, doesnot necessarily expect meto be funny, they often findme very unfunny to behonest. That pressure cancome from within.

"Funny people who feelthe need to be on all thetime are probably battlingsomething inside. I don'tfeel that way. I like beingserious and quiet some-

times," he said. Pegg re-turns to the "Ice Age" fran-chise with the latest ani-mated adventure, "The IceAge Adventures of BuckWild". The Disney+Original movie is directedby John C Donkin andwritten by Jim Hecht, RayDeLaurentis and WillSchifrin from a story byJim Hecht.

The "Mission:Impossible - Fall Out" starsaid the global popularityof the "Ice Age" franchise -- which began in 2002 withits three principle andbeloved characters Manny,Diego and Sid -- owes a lotto how sincerely it mirrorsthe realities of familiesacross the world.

‘Don’t feel the burden tobe consistently funny’

National Award-win-ning actressPriyamani who

gained pan-India populari-ty with the multiple award-winning web series 'TheFamily Man', opens up onher upcoming films 'VirataParvam' and 'Maidaan'.

She shares her experi-ence of working with twomuch-loved actors - AjayDevgn and RanaDaggubati.

'Baahubali' fame Telugustar Rana and Priyamaniworked together in thefilm 'Virata Parvam', aVenu Udugula directorialbased on a real-life inci-dent. Talking about work-ing with the stars from twodifferent film industries,Priyamani told IANS: "It isso exciting for me to workwith both of them be itAjay sir and Rana. I knewRana for a long time andwe met also socially butnever worked together.

Quite interestingly, in'Virata Parvam' eventhough I am not playingthe heroine of the film, Iam playing a pivotal part.

"The story is set in the'90s and it is about a Naxalmovement. There are ac-tions, interesting turns ofevent and shows a socio-political chapter of thattime, which is a reality too.Both of us are playingNaxals in the film and I amhis second in command.Also, it was quite interest-ing that we shot this film,after 'Baahubali'. So it wasa huge physical transfor-mation that Rana wentthrough because we allknow how huge he becamephysically during theshoot of Baahubali! Sincewe had to speak a differentdialect of Telugu in thefilm, we had a lot of re-hearsals. I am also lookingforward to see how the au-dience reacts to that"

Priyamani opens up onworking with Ajay Devgn


Melbourne, Jan 18 (AP):

The Australian Openstarted well for second-seed-ed Daniil Medvedev, one ofthe biggest potential benefi-ciaries of Novak Djokovic'sdeportation.

Aiming to be the firstman in the Open era to winhis second major title on hisnext Grand Slam appear-ance, Medvedev had a 6-1 6-47-6 (3) win over HenriLaaksonen on Tuesday inthe first round atMelbourne Park.

Defending championDjokovic was already backin Serbia, two days after los-ing his legal challenge tostay in Australia despitebeing unvaccinated againstCOVID-19, when Medvedevwent onto Rod Laver Arenaand raced through the firstset in 26 minutes.

Nobody has dominatedon that court like Djokovic,who was unbeaten in thenine finals he reached at theAustralian Open. Medvedevwas the most recent recipi-ent of one of those beatings,losing last year's champi-

onship match. But heavenged that with his break-through major title at theU.S. Open, where his victorymeant Djokovic's bid for acalendar-year Grand Slamfinished one win short.

"I like pressure," he said."Always want to do better

than I did last year (but) it'snot going to be easy." That'ssomething Leylah

Fernandez has had to con-front. The 19-year-oldCanadian lost 6-2 6-4 to133rd-ranked wild-cardentry Maddison Inglis inher first Grand Slam matchsince her runner-up finishat the US Open.

Fernandez made 30 un-forced errors, dropped herserve three times and hitonly eight winners on 1573

Arena against Inglis, whoconverted her third matchpoint to complete her veryfirst win in the main drawof a major.

"Today was just not agood day. Too many mis-takes," Fernandez said.

She lost in the first roundat last year's AustralianOpen to then defendingchampion Sofia Kenin.

For Fernandez, the venueand the vibe were a longway from her run to thefinal at Flushing Meadows,where she lost to EmmaRaducanu. Raducanu wasscheduled to play laterTuesday against 2017 USOpen champion SloaneStephens. The third-seededMuguruza, meanwhile, kepta perfect streak intact whenshe won her first-roundmatch at the AustralianOpen for the 10th straighttime, beating No. 77-rankedClara Burel 6-3 6-4 to openplay on Rod Laver Arena onDay 2. A runner-up inAustralia in 2020 to Keninwho was a first-round loseron Monday Muguruza saidshe's always extra cautiousearly in a big tournament.

"I am aware, I am aware,"Muguzura said, laughing,when asked if she knew herMelbourne Park streak.

"Very tricky. You're al-ways nervous going outthere on Rod Laver, which Ilove, and starting a GrandSlam campaign. I've alwaysgone through the firstround.

Lucknow, Jan 18 (PTI):

India's HS Prannoy en-tered the second round ofthe men's singles competi-tion at the Syed ModiInternational badmintontournament after register-ing a straight-game winover Ukraine's DanyloBosniuk here on Tuesday.

On a comeback trail, thefifth seeded India took just36 minutes to get the betterof Bosniuk 21-14 21-18 inhis opening clash.

A former top-10 player,Prannoy, who gave a goodaccount of himself beforebeing stopped by 20-year-old Lakshya Sen in thequarterfinals of the IndiaOpen last week, will nextmeet compatriotPriyanshu Rajawat, whogot a first round walkoverfrom Rahul YadavChittaboina.

However, the tourna-ment was over for fourthseed Sameer Verma afterhe retired hurt againstIreland's Nhat Nguyen.

Sameer was training 2-7in the first game before hedecided to concede thematch due to a calf muscleinjury, which he had sus-tained in October last year.

Medvedev advances,Fernandez out in 1st round

Paarl (SA), Jan 18 (PTI):

The mighty ViratKohli's presence in theIndian playing eleven as amere player for the firsttime in seven years will bekeenly followed while hispotential successor in red-ball cricket, K L Rahul,will be judged for his cap-taincy in the three-matchODI series against SouthAfrica beginning here onWednesday.

Whether he is batting inthe middle or fielding atthe boundary line, Kohli'severy move is tracked butsome of that attention willnow have to be shared byRahul.

More importantly, willhe be at his usual animat-ed best on the field or willthe cricketing world see arather subdued Kohli afterhis stunning resignation

from Test captaincybrought an end to his in-nings as official leader ofthe team across formats?

Rahul, who is leadingthe side in the absence ofan injured Rohit Sharma,is expected to turn to Kohlifor advice during the se-ries. Not only Kohli has amajor role to play as a bat-ter, but as vice-captainJasprit Bumrah said on

the eve of the series, thestar "will always be aleader" in the team.

Rahul batted in the mid-dle-order against Englandbut on the eve of the game,he made it clear that hewill move back to the topof the order alongsideShikhar Dhawan in RohitSharma's absence.

Kohli will bat at hisusual number three spot

while there will be a toss-up between SuryakumarYadav and Shreyas Iyer forthe number four position.

Rishabh Pant is expect-ed to come at number fivewhile Venkatesh Iyer is setto make his 50-over debutas the all-rounder at six,having shown promise inthe T20s against NewZealand. Iyer is also seenbeing as the sixth bowlingoption.

The two spinners likelyto play are YuzvendraChahal and R Ashwin,who has made a comebackafter more than four years.

Bumrah andBhuvneshwar Kumar willshare the load in the pacedepartment while for thethird pace option, the man-agement could pickDeepak Chahar, ShardulThakur or PrasidhKrishna.


India skipper KL Rahulon Tuesday hinted that all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer islikely to be groomed as theadditional pace bowlingoption that the team haslacked ever since HardikPandya's back injurywhile declaring that hewill open alongside veter-an Shikhar Dhawan in thefirst ODI against SouthAfrica here.

Rahul's media interac-tion was a clear indicationthat Ruturaj Gaikwadmight have to wait for histurn and the pitch atBoland Park might promptthe team management toplay both specialist spin-ners -- RavichandranAshwin and YuzvendraChahal. "In the past 12-15months, I have batted invarious positions because

that is what the team need-ed of me then and nowwith Rohit (Sharma) notbeing there, I will bat atthe top of the order," theskipper informed ahead ofthe opening game.

A sixth bowler, prefer-ably seam or pace option,has been India's majorheadache for past two andhalf years due to Pandya's

injury and now the teammanagement is "excited"looking at what Venkateshbrings to the table with hismultiple skill-sets.

"Yes, Venkatesh Iyer hasbeen very exciting sincethe time he has played forKKR in the IPL and thenhe joined us for the T20 se-ries against New Zealandand he did well," Raul said.

Zurich, Jan 18 (AP):

Robert Lewandowskiwas voted the best men'splayer in the world, retain-ing the FIFA award he wonlast year despite being leftoff the ballot paper filed byrunner-up Lionel Messi.

The Bayern Munich for-ward on Monday over-turned the result lastmonth of the Ballon d'Orprize where he placed sec-ond behind Messi, who fi-nally led Argentina to asenior title at the 2021Copa Am rica. MohamedSalah of Liverpool placedthird.

"I am very honoured towin this trophy,

Lewandowski said on avideo link from Munich.The trophy was presentedby club officials during theonline ceremony hosted atFIFA headquarters in

Zurich on Monday.Lewandowski was the

overwhelming choice ofnational team captainsand coaches plus selectedmedia in more than 200

countries, yet was almostcaught by Messi, who gotmore than double thenumber of votes from fansworldwide than the Polandcaptain.

All three candidatesvoted as captains of theirnational teams, andLewandowski rankedMessi second of his threechoices. Salah hadLewandowski and Messiin his top three.

Messi did not pick ei-ther of his closest rivals inthe voting. His top twochoices were Neymar andKylian Mapp , now histeammates since joiningParis Saint-Germain inAugust.

Melbourne, Jan 18 (PTI):

Former U-19 World Cupwinning skipper UnmuktChand on Tuesday becamethe first Indian cricketerto play in Australia's BigBash T20 League as hemade his debut forMelbourne Renegades.

The 28-year-oldChand, a right-handed batsman,

made his BBLdebut against Hobart

Hurricanes in the BBL."The new colours suit

y o u ,@UnmuktChand9,"Renegades tweeted.

Chand, under whoseleadership India hadwon the ICC U-19

World Cup in 2012 inAustralia, retired from allforms of Indian cricket inAugust last year, makinghim eligible to playleagues overseas.

After the Under-19World Cup success, Chandled the India A team aswell but never really grad-uated to the senior level.


South Africa's white-ballcaptain Temba Bavuma onTuesday said Quinton deKock, after his sudden re-tirement from Test cricket,will have a point to prove inthe three-match ODI seriesagainst India.

"It is good to see Quinnyagain. We obviously misshim in the Test team. Hehas made his decision (toquit) and it is a decisionthat we respect. HavingQuinny again within teamis good. Knowing Quinny,he will have a point toprove," Bavuma said duringa virtual press conference."I am sure he is also as ex-cited as we are, to be in theteam," added Bavuma in re-

sponse to a question on howwas it like to have de Kockback in the team after thedrama surrounding his re-tirement from Tests in themiddle of the series againstIndia.

As the focus shifted to theODI series against India,Bavuma said they are upagainst a strong side butready for the challenge. "Interms of India, it is a strongwhite ball team. The ODIsquad they put out... we willgive the respect they de-serve like we do to anyother team. We know it isgoing to be tough consider-ing the Test series. "Yeah,we have been preparing aswell as we can to be readyfor the challenge that comesup," Bavuma said.

US Open champion Daniil Medvedev eased past Swiss battler Henri Laaksonen in his first round match.

Prannoy enters second roundof Syed Modi badminton

NNeeww DDeellhhii:: oung Lakshya Sen reached a career-high 13th in thelatest badminton world rankings after winning the men's singlescrown in the India Open, a title triumph in which also lifted themen's doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and ChiragShetty to eighth place. Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhuand former world number one Kidambi Srikanth remained stat-ic at seventh and 10th spots, respectively, even as Satwiksairajand Chirag moved up two places. Sen made a jump of fourplaces, moving up from the 17th position with 66470 points toclose in on reigning world champion Loh Kean Yew at 12th spot.Sen defeated Yew in the final of the India Open. Former worldchampion Sindhu maintained her seventh position with 90994 inthe women's rankings while Srikanth remained in the 10th placewith 69158 points in the men's chart.

Lakshya reaches career-high 13th, Satwiksairaj-Chirag pair too rises in BWF rankings

All eyes on Kohli the batter asIndia take on SA in ODIs

KL hints to groom Venkateshas 6th bowling option

NNeeww DDeellhhii:: K L Rahul willcaptain the yet-to-be-namedLucknow franchise in theupcoming IPL, a leaguesource told PTI on Tuesday.It is learnt that Rahul is oneof the players Lucknow haspicked from the draft aheadof the mega auction onFebruary 12 and 13 inBengaluru. The other two arelikely to be Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis anduncapped leg spinner RaviBishnoi. "Rahul will captainLucknow. The team is decid-ing on the other two draftpicks," an IPL source toldPTI. Rahul led Punjab Kingsfor the past two seasons butdid not want to stay at thefranchise. Bishnoi was alsowith Punjab while Stoinisrepresented Delhi Capitals.

K L Rahul set to leadLucknow IPL franchise

Unmukt Chand becomes first Indiancricketer to play in a BBL match

Lewandowski wins FIFA best playervote ahead of Messi, Salah

Good to have Quintonback in team: Bavuma

Pune, Jan 18 (PTI):

The Indian duo of RohanBopanna and RamkumarRamanathan were onTuesday handed a directentry into the doubles maindraw of the fourth editionof Tata Open Maharashtratennis tournament, begin-ning here on January 31.

The pair, which won theAdelaide InternationalATP-250 event earlier thismonth, earned a spot in themain draw with a com-bined ranking of 156. Thedirect acceptance list con-sists of 14 pairs with a cutoff ranking of 250.

In the 2019 edition, theAsian Games championstar doubles playerBopanna lifted the titlewith Divij Sharan whileRamkumar had a semi-final finish in the last edi-tion with Purav Raja. NowPlaying together, Bopannaand Ramkumar will look tocarry forward their bril-liant start to the year whenthey return to Pune.

The 2020 AustralianOpen finalists Max Purcelland Luke Saville have alsobeen included in the dou-bles main draw. The 23-year-old Australian Purcellhas paired up with compa-

triot Matthew Ebden, whowill be returning to Puneafter featuring in the lastedition with Indian greatLeander Paes. Saville willplay alongside John-Patrick Smith.

Among the players whohave secured direct entriesin both singles and doublesmain draws are teenagesensation Lorenzo Musetti,2018 US Open semi-finallistRadu Albot, RicardasBerankis and StefanoTravaglia.

Former world No. 49 IllyaMarchenko will be amongthe 11 direct acceptance en-tries into the singles quali-

fiers as they will fight forfour main draw spots. TheUkrainian star Marchenkohad beaten two-timeOlympic champion and theformer world No. 1 AndyMurray last year to clinchthe ATP Challenger Tourtitle in Biella, Italy.

With cut-off at 173,Aleksander Vukic, who reg-istered his career's firstGrand Slam main draw winat Australian Open onMonday, and ChristopherO'Connell are among theother players to feature inthe singles qualifyingrounds, which will be playedon January 30 and 31.

Bopanna-Ramkumar pair handed directentry into Tata Open doubles main draw

Hobart, Jan 18 (PTI):

The England and WalesCricket Board (ECB) haslaunched an investigationinto a late night drinkingsession involving captainJoe Root after police werecalled to break up the postAshes party at the teamhotel here.

Veteran England pacerJames Anderson and threeAustralian players AlexCarey, Travis Head andNathan Lyon were alsoseen in a video as they gottogether to mark the endof the Ashes at thetourists' Hobart hotel, ac-cording to reports.

The ECB on Tuesdaysaid it was investigatingthe incident.

"During the early hoursof Monday morning,members of the Englandand Australia men's teamsshared a drink in the teamareas of the hotel inHobart," the ECB said.

"The hotel managementreceived a noise complaintby a hotel guest, and as iscommonplace inAustralia, the local policeattended the scene," thestatement said.

"When asked to leave byhotel management and theTasmanian police, theplayers and management

in question left and re-turned to their respectivehotel rooms. The Englandparty have apologised forany inconveniencecaused." The video, whichhas gone viral, was al-legedly taken by Englandassistant Graham Thorpe.

The players were seenbeing confronted by atleast four police officerswho told them to shutdown the party and dis-perse.

"Lyon and Carey werestill in their playingwhites having capped off a4-0 Ashes triumph overEngland the night before,"'Fox Sports' reported.

"Tasmania police con-firmed they were called tothe Crowne Plaza hotelafter 06:00 local time fol-lowing a report of "intoxi-cated people" but said nofurther action would betaken." In the video, thegroup of players wasasked to stop drinking andmove inside from therooftop terrace.

As per reports, a policeofficer can be heard say-ing: "Too loud. You haveobviously been asked topack up, so we've beenasked to come."

"Time for bed. Thankyou. They just want topack up.

ECB launches investigation into post-Ashesdrinking session involving captain Root

EC adds new column to mentionexpenditure on digital campaigning


The ElectionCommission has added anew column in candidates’election expenditure re-turns to submit informa-tion on money spent ondigital campaigning in theupcoming polls in fivestates.

The candidates used tomention money spent ondigital campaigning inprevious elections also,but this is for the first timethat a dedicated columnhas been created to “cap-ture” details of such ex-penditure. In a bid tocheck the spread ofCOVID-19, ElectionCommission has extendeda ban on holding physical

rallies roadshows and sim-ilar physical campaigningevents till January 22.

With the ban on outdoorphysical events in place,parties are using digitaland online platforms toreach out to voters.

The new column hasbeen created for the firsttime for elections in UttarPradesh Uttarakhand,Goa, Punjab and Manipurby tweaking the format ofreturns. “Parties and can-didates (so far) used to dis-close on their own such ex-penditure ... they used toprovide details of expendi-ture on things like digitalvans ... they used to show

expenditure under thiscategory. Now, a dedicatedpoint has been created tocapture such expenditurefrom this (set of) polls,” afunctionary explained.

The functionary said itis not for the first firsttime such disclosure bythe candidates and partieswill be made. “But themanner of disclosure nowis dedicated,” the func-tionary explained.

According to section10A of the Representationof the People Act 1951, acandidate who fails tolodge his or her electionexpenditures within theprescribed time is liable tobe disqualified by EC for aperiod of three years fromcontesting polls.

Year after voting in AP rural polls, Kotiavillagers to vote in Odisha panchayat pollsBhubaneswar, Jan 18

(PTI):

A year after voting in theAndhra Pradesh rural elec-tions, residents of disputedvillages in Kotia gram pan-chayat area will now exer-cise their franchise in theupcoming Odisha panchay-at elections.

The Andhra Pradeshgovernment had held ruralelections in villages inKotia gram panchayat area,claimed by both the states,in February last year de-spite the Odisha adminis-tration’s objection citing aSupreme Court directive tomaintain status quo in thedisputed area.

“Residents of villageslike Madkar, Daliamba,Barnapadu, Patusineri andKonadara under Kotiagram panchayat had votedin the Andhra Pradeshrural polls. Now, they willalso vote in the Odisha pan-chayat elections,” an offi-cial in Koraput district

said. Odisha State ElectionCommissioner (SEC) A PPadhi has issued special di-rections to officials con-cerned for conductingpeaceful polls in Kotiagram panchayat area inKoraput district, andChitrakonda block ofMalkangiri district, officialsources said.

Padhi has issued the di-rections during a recent re-view of the situation in allthe 30 districts of the statebefore holding the ruralpolls in mid-February, theysaid. Polling could not beheld in two zilla parishads,comprising 18 gram pan-chayats, of Chitrakondablock in the 2017 panchayatelections due to the situa-tion created by Left-wingExtremists. Special prepa-rations be made to ensurethat the election processstarting with nominationsare held smoothly in

Chitrakonda block, Padhiwas quoted as saying.

Maoist posters calling onpeople in tribal-dominateddistricts to boycott the pan-chayat elections wereseized from some pockets, asenior police officer said.Similarly, Padhi has alsoasked the collector and SPof Koraput to lay specialemphasis on conductingpeaceful elections in Kotiagram panchayat inPottangi block.

“The collectors and SP ofthe both the districts mayappraise the prevailing sit-uation in the aforesaidblocks,” he added.

The dispute over theownership of 21 of the 28villages under Kotia grampanchayat had firstreached the Supreme Courtin 1968. In 2006, the apexcourt held that inter-stateboundaries did not fallwithin its jurisdiction andonly the Parliament couldresolve them, as it imposeda permanent injunction onthe disputed area.

R-DAY TABLEAUX ROW‘No revision of decision on exclusion of TN, WB and Kerala tableaux’


The decision to not in-clude the tableaux ofKerala, West Bengal andTamil Nadu at theRepublic Day parade willnot be revised, senior offi-cials of the DefenceMinistry said on Tuesdayand noted that a total of 12

states have been selectedto display their models.

The remarks by the de-fence ministry officialscame amidst ongoing con-troversy over the tableauxexclusion, prompting WestBengal chief ministerMamata Banerjee andTamil Nadu ChiefMinister M K Stalin toseek Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s imme-diate intervention.

Some leaders of the

non-BJP ruled states alsoalleged that the exclusionwas an “insult” by theCentre. Reacting to thecontroversy, a senior de-fence ministry officialsaid, “it is not possible toaccept requests from thesethree states’ and polite re-sponses have been sent to

their CMs explaining thelong process of selection oftableaux.” “It is not possi-ble to revise or reconsiderthe decision as Tableaumaking process is a verylong process and an expertcommittee takes these deci-sions sufficiently in ad-vance,” the official added.

WFH has put working womenunder ‘triple burden’: Prez


Work from home duringthe Covid pandemic has itsbenefits but it has also putworking women under a“triple burden”, saysPresident Ram NathKovind.

In a letter to youngIndians published in theManorama Yearbook 2022,he says women already havethe double burden of paidwork and “unpaid work”,that is, domestic responsi-bilities.

“On top of that, as chil-dren attend school fromhome, their learning has tobe supplemented by the par-ents, and that task usuallyfalls on the mother,” Kovindwrites in the letter, titled“Arise, The FutureBeckons”.

“The new stress on familytime should be welcome formale employees, so thatthey can share some of theresponsibilities of theirpartners. In any case, stud-ies show that hard work initself can be even counter-productive and as the num-ber of hours spent on workgoes up, productivity comesdown in some instances,”he writes.

The President also saysthat the pandemic hastaught us “exactly those les-sons that will come handyfor climate action”.

The pandemic has beenan unprecedented crisis,but it may as well be just awarning of a far bigger cri-sis that is looming over thehorizon.

“Climate change is nolonger a matter of scientificresearch and policy discus-sions; its impact is alreadytangible, and we are fastrunning out of time to keepglobal warming within fea-sible limits,” he writes.

The decade of the 2020s,he says, could turn out to bethe most decisive point.“The situation is dire andpessimism won’t be out ofplace, but I remain hope-ful.” Kovind’s hope stemsfrom the fact that “we haveseen what we are capable ofwhen our collective exis-tence was threatened by thecoronavirus. COVID-19 hasshown what humankindcan do if all nations joinhands and are guided bynothing other than concernfor our common future cou-pled with respect for sci-ence”. On career opportuni-ties, he writes: “As average

Indians in your twenties,the question of career isbound to be uppermost inyour minds. Under socialimperatives or under peerpressure, many of you oftenequate a ‘career’ with a ‘job’,preferably with the assur-ance of its continuity till su-perannuation. That is un-derstandable. India’s bu-reaucracy and public sectorboth require talented, hard-working youngsters.”

But a job, Kovind says,need not mean a govern-ment or public-sector oneonly. “Our private sectorhas contributed immenselyto the creation of wealth forall, and it would also needtalent to take India’s econo-my to new heights”.

He stresses that a careerneed not mean a job.

“In the new century,many of our deeply held no-tions of ‘work’ were anywayundergoing changes, andCOVID-19 only hastenedthat process. It forced move-ment restrictions and lock-downs on us, paralysingeconomies around theworld. As a result, therewere job losses and salarycuts, but there was also arise in the ‘gig economy’,”he says.

He then goes on to saythat in this “brave newworld, a brave new breed ofyoungsters is seeking nei-ther jobs nor the financialsecurity of the routine nine-to-five work but a rightfulrecognition of and remu-neration for their uniquetalents, for their creative vi-sion, for their skills”.

“Instead of safety, theirpreference is for flexibility.Instead of closing their op-tions, they are exploringmore alternatives,” hewrites.

Along with the gig econo-my, another trend in recentyears, according to Kovind,is work-life balance — aphase when hard workalone was of paramount im-portance is over in manynations, organisations andsectors. Besides featuringimportant happenings of2021, the yearbook also hasarticles by the likes ofShashi Tharoor, SureshPrabhu and Paranjoy GuhaThakurta among others.

Chief Editor MammenMathew says the yearbookis “power-packed in morethan 25 sections with inter-esting articles by eminentwriters that capture thenew trends”.

Only 12 statesselected


Two wheeler riders on a temporary bamboo bridge constructed over River Brahmaputra to link with the ferryservice to North Guwahati after decrease in the water level of the river, in Guwahati, Tuesday.

TEMPORARY BAMBOO BRIDGE

CLAIMS ANDCOUNTER CLAIMS

ELECTION EXPENDITURE

Varanasi (UP), Jan 18 (PTI):

Prime MinisterNarendra Modi onTuesday held an interac-tion with BJP workers ofhis Varanasi parliamen-tary constituency, exhort-ed them to vigorously con-duct a micro-donationcampaign with the aim toconnect with people aheadof the Uttar Pradesh as-sembly election and reaf-firmed the party’s commit-ment to development.

Restoration of the KashiVishwanath Corridor,women empowerment, in-frastructure and health-care development wereamong the topics thatcame up for discussionduring the interactionthrough the NaMo app.

Modi said, “The BJP isrunning a micro-donationcampaign and a personcan make a donation ofeven Rs 5.”

He suggested a competi-tion among booths to seewhich one can collect do-nations from the maxi-mum number of peopleand added the aim is not tocollect money but to con-nect with people.

The prime minister saidelections are a test for po-litical parties. “It is also atraining camp for the de-velopment of workers....Our focus should be onwinning theelection...there should alsobe expansion of the organ-isation and developmentof the workers. These twomantras we must remem-ber,” he said. “This is elec-

tion time and we have tomake people understandthe power of eachand every vote.Yogi-ji (Adityanath)and I are able to doso much becausethe people of UPhave blessed uswith their votes,” hesaid. Assemblypolls will be held inUttar Pradesh inseven phases begin-ning February 10.Varanasi will votein the seventhphase on March 7.

Interacting withone of the‘karyakartas’ (partyworkers), PrimeMinister Modiasked him to ex-pand the reach ofthe government’swelfare schemes tofarmers and saidthey should makefarmers aware ofthe use of chemical-free fertilisers.

Modi also talkedabout several cen-tral schemes whichare benefitting thepeople of Varanasiat large.

The prime minis-ter said a section inthe NaMo app,called ‘KamalPushp’, has storiesabout inspiring‘karyakartas’ (partyworkers).

“The place wehave reached today,for that about 3-4generations of JanSangh leaders and

workers have sacrificedtheir lives.

PM interacts with BJP workers inVaranasi through NaMo app

Printed and Published by Sameer Maheshwari on behalf of Ramgopal Investments Pvt. Ltd. at Navbharat Press, Navbharat Bhawan, Press Complex, Raipur. Editor in Chief - Sameer Maheshwari. Editor: Sameer Shukla (Responsible for selection of news under PRB Act.),Phone: (0771) 4257700 Fax : (0771) 4257703 , Postal Regn. No. C.G./RYPD.N./62/2019-21, Regd. No. 26172/74/RNI

RescueSSrriinnaaggaarr:: The Army res-cued around 30 civiliansafter their vehicles cameunder an avalanche trig-gered by recent snowfallin border district ofKupwara in Jammu andKashmir, officials said onTuesday. A vehicle carry-ing civilians got stuck onthe Tangdhar-Chowkibalaxis on Monday, followingwhich the nearest Armyunit was alerted and arescue operationlaunched, they said.

BustedBBuullaannddsshhaahhrr:: With thearrest of one accused,police on Tuesdayclaimed to have bustedan illegal arms factory inthe forest of Bhansoli vil-lage in the district. Tenfinished and 12 half-fin-ished illegal weaponshave been recovered fromthe illegal unit underKotwali Dehat PoliceStation area,Superintendent of Police(City) SurendranathTiwari said.

FireKKoollkkaattaa:: A fire broke outat an abandoned cinemahall in Mallickbazar areaof Kolkata on Tuesday, afire official said. Theblaze erupted around 2.25PM, and five fire tendersdoused it in 30 minutes,he said. Nobody wasinjured in the fire thatbroke out at the top floorof the abandoned 'ParkShow House' inBeniapukur police stationarea, he said. "The cool-ing process is underway.The reason behind thefire is yet to be ascer-tained," he added.

BailNNeeww DDeellhhii:: The DelhiHigh Court has grantedbail to two directors of anapp-based taxi company,accused of duping hun-dreds of people of Rs 250crore after promisingthem huge returns oninvesting in the firm.Justice SubramoniumPrasad enlarged the twoaccused on bail notingthat they have been incustody for over a yearnow and their continuedcustody was no longerrequired. Both the peti-tioners have been in cus-tody for over a year now.Charge sheet as well assupplementary chargesheet have been filed,and all the evidenceavailable is documentaryin nature and in custodyof the investigatingagency.

BRIEF

Devotees participate in the Thaipooyakavadi festival

at Major Ulloor SreeBalasubramonya Swami

temple, inThiruvananthapuram, Tuesday.

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Sukma/Konta, Jan 18:

Four naxals includingtwo women were killed intwo separate encounterswith security forces inSukma district and alongthe state's border withTelangana on Tuesdaymorning, police said here.

A woman rebel who wascarrying a reward of Rs 5lakh on her head wasamong them.

Earlier, Chhattisgarh po-lice had said that four nax-als were killed in the opera-tion along the Telangana-Chhattisgarh border, butlater the number was re-vised to three.

A team of the specialanti-naxal Greyhoundsunit of Telangana Policehad launched an operationin the forests of Bijapur(Chhattisgarh) and Mulugu

(Telangana) districts,"Inspector General of Police(Bastar range) Sundarraj Ptold PTI. They had receivedintelligence about a largegathering of the naxals'Telangana State Committeecadres including DivisionalCommittee Member(DVCM) Sudhakar and hisassociates in the area, hesaid. A joint team ofDistrict Reserve Guard(DRG) and Central ReservePolice Force (CRPF) fromBijapur was also sent tocordon off the area and as-sist the Greyhounds, the IGadded. Around 7 am, the

Greyhounds team got en-gaged in a gun-battle withthe ultras in a forest nearSemaldodi (districtBijapur) and Kariguttalu-Penugolu (district Mulugu)villages. Initial reports saidat least four ultras had beenneutralized," the senior of-ficial said. Later, the bodiesof three naxals including awoman were recovered,Sundarraj added.

An SLR (Self LoadingRifle), INSAS rifle, a single-bore weapon, ten rocketlaunchers and other arti-cles were recovered fromthe spot, he said. A

Greyhounds jawan sus-tained injuries. He was air-lifted to Warangal and laterairlifted to Hyderabad forbetter treatment," the IGsaid, adding that the jawanwas said to be out of dan-ger. Search operation wasstill underway in the area,located over 450 km awayfrom the Chhattisgarh capi-tal Raipur, he said.

Mulugu district policealso confirmed the recov-ery of three bodies.

In Sukma district ofChhattisgarh a womannaxal was killed, officialssaid. Superintendent of

Police Sunil Sharma toldPTI that DRG personnelfrom Sukma, Dantewadaand Bastar districts partici-pated in the operation.

Police had received infor-mation about the presenceof top DivisionalCommittee Members of theCPI (Maoist) and 35-40cadres in the forest on thetri-junction of Bastar,Dantewada and Sukma andlaunched an operation onMonday night, he said.

Around 6.45 am, a gun-fight broke out on Marjumhills under Tongpal policestation limits.

The body of a womanidentified as Munni, anarea committee member ofthe naxals who carried a re-ward of Rs 5 lakh on herhead was recovered fromthe spot," Sharma said.

No security personnelwas injured in the opera-tion, he added.

Konta, Jan 18:

Sukma district, which isknown as the most Naxalaffected district of thestate, has been in the head-lines all the time. For thepast few years, concoctedstories of alleged develop-ment happening in Sukmaare being seen and heardeverywhere, but theground reality has nothingto do with these storieseven remotely.

The book full of successstories that the responsibil-ities of this district cameto fore before the world, itscondition is like a bookwhose cover is very posi-tive and golden, but theinner pages have beenlicked by termites. Thesetermites are none otherthan officers sitting on re-sponsible posts of various

departments of this dis-trict who are cutting silverunder the guise ofNaxalism. Corruption isbeing done on a large scalein the departments whichare directly related to thegeneral public like agricul-ture, horticulture, health,education, district con-struction committee andpanchayats.

Forest division, wherewages of about Rs 70 croremade under CAMPAscheme in the last threeyears have come under thescanner. Sukma ForestDivision, where newrecords have been createdfor corruption, an incidenthas come to the fore, whichhas destroyed all the previ-ous records of corruption.

Almost the entire area ofall the forest areas of theforest division is affectedby Naxalism. In areas likeKistaram, Jagargunda,Golapally and Konta, allthe work is being done onpaper only, the informationof which is not hiddenfrom anyone. The latestcase is from the relativelyless Naxal-affectedDornapal area. Here, inthe afforestation and con-struction works being doneby the Forest Departmentfrom the post of CAMPA,the laborers who are beingpaid as laborers for the lastthree years, they do noteven live here. Hundreds ofpeople from the inner vil-lage either moved to reliefcamps or later settled inTelangana, fearing the con-flict emanating from theSalwa Judum.


Ahead of Republic Day,the Centre has highlighted"a perceptible lack of aware-ness" among governmentorganisations, agencies andpeople about the laws, prac-tices and conventions thatapply to display of the na-tional flag and asked statesto ensure that the tricolouris not dishonoured.

In a communication to allstates and union territories,the home ministry said thataction must be taken to en-sure that only paper flagsare used by the public whileattending cultural and

sports events and such flagsare disposed of in private,consistent with its dignity.

The ministry said the na-tional flag represents hopesand aspirations of the peo-ple of the country andhence should occupy a posi-tion of honour and there isuniversal affection and re-spect for, and loyalty to, theflag.

"Yet, a perceptible lack ofawareness is often noticedamongst people as well asorganisations or agenciesof the government, in re-gard to laws, practices andconventions that apply todisplay of the national

flag," it said. According tothe Flag Code of India, thenational flag made of papermay be waved by public onoccasions of important na-tional, cultural and sportsevents.

"You are requested to en-sure that on the occasions ofimportant national, cultur-al and sports events, flagsmade of paper only are usedby the public and suchpaper flags are not discard-ed or thrown on the groundafter the event. Such flagsare to be disposed of, in pri-vate, consistent with thedignity of the flag," the com-munication said.

New Delhi, Dec 18:

The third wave of theCOVID-19 pandemic is like-ly to peak much earlierthan anticipated and maytake a maximum of threemore weeks, even thoughthe share of rural districtsin new caseloads has in-creased significantly sinceDecember, says a report.

The optimism comesfrom the massive decline innew caseloads in the top 15districts which had themaximum infections, SBIResearch said in a reporton Tuesday.

Infections in the top 15districts have declined to37.4 per cent in January,from 67.9 per cent inDecember.

The report, however, ad-mitted that 10 of these top15 districts are major citiesand among themBengaluru and Pune stillhave higher infection rates.The overall share of ruraldistricts in new cases hasincreased to 32.6 per cent inJanuary, from the lowest of

14.4 per cent in December,the report noted.

In comparison to the US,this is too low, where thenew cases have soared by6.9 times even though it hasdouble-vaccinated over 80per cent of its eligible pop-ulation. Another point ofoptimism stems from thefact that India has fullyvaccinated 64 per cent ofthe eligible population,while 89 per cent of the eli-gible population have beengiven the first dose.

Currently the 7-day me-dian average of vaccina-tion is 70 lakh. Rural vacci-nation share in total vacci-nation is now at 83 per cent,indicating that the ruralpopulace may be largelyprotected in the currentwave. Andhra Pradesh,Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka,Kerala, MP, Telangana andUttarakhand have alreadyvaccinated more than 70per cent of their eligiblepopulation with doubledoses. However, Punjab, UPand Jharkhand are still lag-ging.


Flagging a decline inthe number of COVID-19tests in many states andunion territories, theCentre has asked them toenhance testing so that aneffective track of thespread of the pandemiccan be kept and immedi-ate citizen-centric actioncan be initiated.

In a letter to states andUTs on Monday,Additional Secretary inthe Union HealthMinistry Arti Ahuja ad-vised them to pay atten-tion to this aspect immedi-ately and increase the test-ing in a strategic mannerkeeping in view the trendof case positivity in specif-ic areas.

She highlighted thatOmicron, which has beendesignated by the WorldHealth Organization(WHO) as a variant of con-cern, is currently spread-ing across the country.

Referring to the min-istry's earlier letters and

the Home Ministry advi-sory of December 27 lastyear laying out the broadframework of pandemicmanagement in the con-text of Omicron, Ahujasaid testing remains a keyand crucial component.

"However, it is seenfrom the data available onthe ICMR portal that test-ing has declined in manystates and union territo-ries," she wrote.

She said in all advi-sories on testing issued bythe Indian Council ofMedical Research (ICMR),including the latest onJanuary 10, the basic ob-jective remains early de-tection of cases for quickisolation and care.

In addition, testing re-mains a key strategy for

pandemic management asit helps in identification ofnew clusters and newhotspots of infectionwhich can in turn facili-tate immediate action forcontainment such as set-ting up of containmentzones, contact tracing,quarantining, isolationand follow-up.

This can enable thestate and district adminis-trations to curb the spreadof infection. Also this willensure reduction in mor-tality and morbidity."Progression of disease toa severe category can beaverted by strategic testingof those who are at highrisk and more vulnerable,as well as in areas wherethe spread is likely to behigher," Ahuja said.


The PrimeMinister's Office on

Tuesday told the BombayHigh Court there was norestriction on the use ofthe prime minister's nameand photograph as well asthe image of the nationalflag and emblem for the PMCARES Fund.

In an affidavit submittedbefore a division bench ofChief Justice DipankarDatta and Justice M SKarnik, PMO UnderSecretary PradeepSrivastava said the PM'sphotograph, name and na-tional emblem were alsoused in the PrimeMinister's National ReliefFund (PMNRF).

The affidavit was filed inresponse to a petition filedby Congress worker

Vikrant Chavan seekingdeletion of the prime min-ister's name and photo-graph from the PM CARESFund. It had also soughtthe deletion of images ofthe national flag and em-blem from the official web-site of the PrimeMinister's CitizenAssistance and Relief inEmergency Situations (PMCARES) Fund. The pleaclaimed the usage of theprime minister's photo-graph and the image of thenational flag and emblemwere in violation of theConstitution as well as TheEmblems and Names

(Prevention of ImproperUse) Act. In its affidavit,the PMO said, "I say thatPM CARES Fund andPMNRF are both chairedby the Prime Minister. Asthe name, photograph ofPrime Minister andNational Emblem arebeing used for the PMNRF,they are also being usedfor the PM CARES Fund."

It said the Flag Code ofIndia, 2002, which bringstogether all laws, conven-tions, practices and in-structions regarding dis-play of the national flag,provides that there shall beno restriction on its displayby general public, privateorganizations, educationalinstitutions and so on, ex-cept to the extent providedin Emblems and Names(Prevention of ImproperUse) Act.


The number of peopleallowed to attend theRepublic Day parade thisyear is likely to be cur-tailed to approximately5,000-8,000 due to theCOVID-19 situation, withseats reserved for con-struction workers, front-line health workers andothers, senior officials ofthe defence ministry saidon Tuesday. Only doublevaccinated adults and chil-

dren above the age of 15who have taken at leastone dose of COVID-19 vac-cine will be allowed toenter, they said, addingchildren below 15 yearswill not be permitted to at-tend the event. The offi-cials said the paradewould start at 10.30 AM in-stead of 10 AM to providebetter visibility. They saidthe number of people thatwould be allowed to attendthe Republic Day paradethis year is to be curtailedby 70-80 percent to approxi-mately 5,000-8,000 due tothe ongoing COVID-19wave.

MAJOR SUCCESS

Four naxals killed in two encountersOne jawan injured

COVID EFFECT

Only 5,000-8,000 people to beallowed to attend R-Day parade

Vaccinationmandatory

DISHONOUR TO TRICOLOUR

MHA flags ‘perceptible lack ofawareness’ about Flag Code

SBI RESEARCH

‘Third wave may peakin next three weeks’

DANCING FOR GLORY

Haryana school students perform during the rehearsal for the upcoming RepublicDay parade, on a cold winter morning in New Delhi, Tuesday.

DECLINE IN COVID TESTING

Enhance testing: Govt to states

A healthworker collects a nasalswab sample for COVID-19

test at a hospital in Amritsar,Tuesday.

PMO

TEL

LS H

C PM CARES Fund: No curb on use ofPM’s name, photo, image of flag

WAGES PAID TO DEAD PERSON

Rs 70 crore scam in Sukma forest division

Bilaspur, Jan 18:

Guru GhasidasVishwavidyalaya (CentralUniversity) Under theable leadership and effi-cient guidance of Vice-Chancellor, ProfessorAlok Kumar Chakrawal,an MOU was signed be-tween Guru GhasidasUniversity and theInstitute of CompanySecretaries of India at 12in the morning in themeeting hall of theAdministrative Building.The Memorandum ofUnderstanding wassigned between the twoorganizations on the aus-picious occasion of theEstablishment Day inwhich all the representa-tives were introduced by

Professor Ashok KumarMishra, Head of theDepartment ofCommerce and were wel-comed by the CompanySecretary of RaipurChapter Ms. SnehaAgarwal and the keynotespeaker was CompanySecretary, Mr. PawanjiChandrak. After this, Mr.Suraj Meher, in-chargeRegistrar of GuruGhasidas University, andMs. Sneha Aggarwal,company secretary fromRaipur chapter ofCompany SecretariesInstitute of India, pre-sented the concept notefollowed by the Dean,Professor ManishSrivastava who inspectedthe MOU. Along with this,the Vice Chancellor in

charge of today’s pro-gram, Professor Saxena,congratulated both the in-stitutions and said thatstudents of both the insti-tutions will reach newheights and will get newopportunities as well aswill be able to achievenew dimensions. It isunder the guidance ofProfessor Alok KumarChakrawal, ViceChancellor of GuruGhasidas University, thatcontinuous implementa-tion of plans is beingdone for the developingthe career and multifac-eted development of thestudents. This MoU willhelp in setting new para-digms of cooperation,fairness, and creativityon both the maps. In theend, thanks were given tothe Vice-Chancellor ofGuru GhasidasUniversity, ProfessorAlok Kumar Chakrawal jiand to the visitors whocame in person and thosewho connected virtually.In the program, the guide-lines and other rules is-sued from time to time byvarious ministries of theGovernment of India,State Government andlocal administration re-lated to the safety andprevention of Covid-19were taken care of.

CENTRAL CHRONICLE, BILASPUR, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2022

Kondagaon, Jan 18:

Traffic awareness pro-gramme was organised bythe Traffic police depart-ment in Government HSSchool in Dahikonga lo-cated near Jagdalpur-Kondagaon road.

Under this the Trafficin-charge TI Rohit KumarBanjare and other staffgave information to stu-dents about high-speeddriving, driving vehicleswithout wearing helmet;

not using seat belt whiledriving four-wheeler;driving in drunken state;violating traffic normsand others. As per infor-mation in this regard, asper orders from SPDivyang Patel and in-structions from Addl.

SP Rahul Dev Sharmaand under guidance ofDSP Dr BhuneshwariPaikra, efforts are beingmade by the traffic policeto reduce road accidentson NH-30 and other roads.

Under this school stu-dents of Govt HS SchoolDahikonga in Kondagaonarea were informed aboutthe traffic rules and regu-lations through a projec-tor.

The department in-formed students about notto drive any vehicle with-out valid licence and doc-uments; drive wearinghelmet; use seat belt infour-wheeler; do not drivein intoxicated state; donot use mobile or anyother instrument whiledriving; look carefully atall traffic board signals;give information aboutdeaths due to road acci-dents; do not allow minorsto drive any vehicle, donot drive three on two-wheeler and other suchinformation.

On this occasion TITraffic in-charge RKBanjare, constbaleSantosh Kodopi, VikasPandey and RajendraMarkam were present.

Awareness about traffic created among school students

By Traffic department in Govt HS School, Dahikonga

Anwari,Jan 18:The unsea-sonal rains in Anwari,Bhaisbod in the region lastweek has come as big blowto the farmers as theircrops have got badly dam-aged and it would be diffi-cult for them to meet-upeven the expenditure cost.

The farmers of the re-gion have taken up crop of‘masoor’, ‘chana’, ‘sarson’and other oilseeds andpulses and which has gotcompletely damaged dueto unexpected rains. Thevegetable growers toohave faced huge loss on ac-

count of the same. Due toheavy rains and hailstormover the last one week, thepaddy, oilseeds, pulses andvegetable crops of thefarmers have got badlydamaged. The paddy crophas fallen and the crop ofoilseeds, pulses, vegetabletoo has got badly damaged.The crop of ‘sarson’, ‘ma-soor’, ‘lakhadi’, ‘Aalsi’,‘Urad’, ‘Batari’, ‘Arhar’,‘Chana’ and others toohave got badly damagedand it is going to cost heav-ily to farmers and it wouldbe difficult for them to

meet up even the expendi-ture cost. Many a veg-etable growers in the re-gion too seems to be an-noyed as rains have playedspoilsports causing hugedamage to crops of ladyfinger, cabbage, peas,tomato, ‘semi’,’Navagol’,and others. With rainwa-ter getting clogged in thefarms, it has started rot-ting the crop taken and thefarmers are left with nooption but to wait for rightamount of compensationand waiver in loan, if thestate government permit.

Huge loss to farmersdue to unseasonal rains

MMaahhaassaammuunndd,, JJaann 1188::

Director of Food and CivilSupplies Department and MDState WarehousingCorporation AbhinavAggarwal conducted a sur-prise inspection of paddy pro-curement centers, collectioncenters and warehouses ofOmkarband and Pithora blockof Baghbahra block ofMahasamund district.

The Director after inspec-tion instructed the DistrictMarketing Officer to speed upthe transportation of paddyand the Nodal Officer, DistrictCentral Co-operative Bank toensure systematic mainte-nance of the paddy in the pro-curement centers. Makestacking of paddy purchasedin all paddy procurement cen-ters and cover them with cap-cover and all officers shouldinspect and monitor the paddyprocurement centers, heinstructed.

District Collector DomanSingh asked all the SDMs ofthe district to ensure arrange-ments by holding a meeting ofpaddy procurement center in-

charges and nodal officers.Paddy should not be damagedby rain; drainage should bemade mandatory for the pro-tection of paddy and cape cov-ers should be kept in sufficientnumber in all the paddy pro-curement centers, he said.

He also advised to abstainfrom water stagnation in thecentre. Regarding the spreadof Covid infection, he said thatthe spread of corona infectionis increasing rapidly; thereforebefore entering the paddy pro-curement center, postersregarding mandatory maskingshould be made available.

The officers and committeemanagers were asked tospeed up the paddy procure-ment system, with due protec-tion from rain and lifting ofpaddy in the district, by theCollector.

On this occasion, AssistantFood Officer, DistrictMahasamund Anil Joshi,Sanjay Sharma, DistrictMarketing Officer Jaidev Soni,District Manager Nan DeepikaSinha, Officer of District Co-operative Bank MahasamundG. N. Sahu were present.

Surprise inspection of Paddy Procurement Centers

Birkoni, Jan 18:

Maa ShakambhariJayanti was observed atShakti Mandir near PatelCommunity centre in GramBirkoni here on Monday. Itis adhering to Covid-19 pro-tocol and maintaining so-cial distancing the mem-bers of Patel samaj gath-ered at 10:00 am and decorat-ed the idol of GoddessShakambhari with decora-tive items. It was amidstraising of slogans in favourof ‘Jai Maa Shakambhari’,‘Jai Marara Samaj’ thatprayers were performed at

Community building. Onthis occasion all the socialfamilies of Patel KosariaSamaj offered prayers toMaa Shakambhari and paidobeisance to the Goddess.On this occasion BalramPatel, Girdhari Patel,Heeralal Patel, Madan Patel,Keshav Patel, GhanshyamPatel were present.

To make this programmesuccessful, Bhagwat Patel,Tukesh Patel, KaushalPatel, Pitamber Patel,Lalaram Patel, OmkarPatel, Mohan Patel, InkuPatel and others gave valu-able support.

Patel Kosaria Samaj observe‘Maa Shakambari Jayanti’

By offering prayers to the Goddess

Churrikala, Jan 18:

The calendar of newyear was released in thename of Yagyasini Deviby corporator of ward No9 of Nagar PanchayatChurrikala Heeralalyadav. This ward is namedafter ex-MLA TanakharLate Yagyasini Devi W/o‘Jamindar’- LateBhuwanpal Singh.

The calendar was re-leased at the hands ofvoter Ramnarayan Dubeyformer Alderman and re-tired teacher; corporatorRamsharan Sahu,Sheshban Goswami,

Padmu Yadav, Devi PrasadPandey, Mantu Maharaj.

On this occasionRetired teacherRamnarayan Dubeyhailed the works of wardcorporator and said thatthis is for the first timethat Yagyasini Devi , W/oLate Bhuwanpal Singhhas been remembered anda new calendar has beenreleased on her name andby publishing the samethe ward corporator haspresented a good examplefor others. CorporatorRamsharan Sahu alsohailed the initiativestaken.

New Year calendarreleased in memory of

Yagyasini Devi

Jaitkhambhdedicated in

GramPenditarai

Nandini-Ahiwara, Jan18: The dedication ofJaitkhambh withDistrict fund of DistrictPanchayat memberDurg was done at GramPanchayat Penditaraiby District Panchayatmember ChandrakalaManhar at the cost ofRs 4 lakh and the foun-dation for ‘Nal-JalYojana’ was also laid atthe cost of Rs 65 lakhs.

The chief guest ofthe programme wasBhuneshwar Baghel ofSC DevelopmentAuthority, MLABemetara VS AshishChabda, special guestwas Nagar PalikaAhirwara NatwarTamrakar, JanpadPanchayat member,Ashok Patel, DhanrajBanjare, Oni Mahilangand others were pres-ent. President SCDevelopment Authorityhas granted sanction ofRs 16.50 lakh for cos-ntruction of drainageand community build-ing and MLA has alsogiven assurance tosanction funds for con-struction 400 mts roadunder MukhyamantriSugam Sadak Yojana.

Katagi, Jan 18: The festi-val of ‘Cher-chera’ was ob-served with great fun-farand enthusiasm in the vil-lage. On occasion of‘Paush Poornima’, the rit-uals were performed andsince it is observed as dayof donations (cherchera)in the form of grains, veg-etables, cash, fruits etc,there was lot of enthusi-

asm among the youths andchildren of the village, asthey went in groups tohouses of different per-sons and sought ‘cher-chera’. This festival is ob-served on arrival of paddyafter ‘Minjai’ and sincethere is huge storage ofpaddy crop in the houses,the villagers donate thesame as per rituals.

Children observe ‘Cher-chera’going door-to-door

Girl commits suicide in AchouliDongargarh, Jan 18:

Punita Gupta, a 25-yrsold daughter of well-known businessmanRam Sajeevan Gupta ofGram Achouli near citycommitted suicide andthis news created sensa-tion in the entire village.

The complainantYogesh Gupta gave in-formation about thesame to Dongargarh po-lice that the girl hascommitted suicide andon getting this informa-tion, the police reachedthe village to conduct in-vestigations. The body ofthe girl has been sent forpost-mortem and it islearnt that the girl gotengaged just few daysback and her marriagewas due on Jan 25.

Dongargarh, Jan 17:

Foundation stone forTribal CommunityBhavan was laid in GramTingamali dependentupon Gram Mudhipar ofKhairagarh block at thecost of Rs 6.50 lakh andanother work of drainageconstruction at the cost ofRs 3.95 lakh in ward no. 5was also sanctioned bySC DevelopmentAuthority. The founda-tion stone was laid byDCC V-P Bhupendra

Singh and Mudhipar BCCPresident Komal Sahu,state gen. secy. VyaparPrakosth Gautam ChandJain, sarpanch repGhanshyam Sinha. Onthis occcasion V-P SCBhisham Burman,Maksoodhan Sahu,Tikam Sahu, SamayThakur, Satrohan Sirdar,Pyarelal Thakur, SunderThakur, SantoshKkunjam, LalchandVerma and other citizensof the village were pres-ent.

DCC V-P lays stone for tribal community building

MoU signed between CU and IndianInstitute of Company Secretaries

Nandini-Ahirwara,Jan 18: In the Covidvaccination campaignin Nagar PalikaParishad (NPP)Ahirwara to be organ-ised on Jan 18 and 19, allthe people left from vac-cination in earlier

camps will be covered.In this all the senior cit-izens above 60 yrs willget booster dose alongwith frontline workersand 2nd dose to personsin the age-group of 15-18who have got the firstdosage.

Vaccination campaign today

ChronicleC E N T R A L

Since 1974 Volume 9 No. 289

ECI extendsElection Commission of India(ECI) has extended the morato-rium on open public ralliesexcept with a relief that indoormeetings with presence of 300people or 50 percent of the hallcan be held with full protocolsof COVID-19 and the onus of fol-lowing norms shall be on politi-cal parties. The very much pur-pose of holding public rallies isto convince the floating orundecided voters in theirfavour. As far as 300 people areconcerned all will be dedicatedworkers of the party and theundecided voters will remainuntouched.It is a welcome moveof ECI due to safeguarding pub-lic health had been prioritisedover compaigning. Extendingban on political rallies tillJanuary 22 would definitely befrustrating for major politicalparties and their intending can-didates and such curbs wouldmean shelving all plans todemonstrate support base ashad been the norm in the pastcontrary to obvious dejectionfor the political class, for thosecitizens who fear that massgathering of public at Electionevent would fan translation ofthe virus disease, the ECI’s deci-sion would be welcomed whole-heartedly for none would relishfor deterioration of the pandem-ic situation as it would be con-sequently leading to curtail-ment of livelihood activities.asthe country had faced previous-ly also. Similar to all the viruscontainment measures, effec-tive enforcement of the ban orrelaxation would dependdepend on diligence of officialswho are entrusted to ensurethat political parties complywith COVID-19 norms.Regardless of directing stateand district authorities con-cerned to ensure full compli-ance with the standing orders,there is strong possibility thatmajor political parties wouldfind an escape route rather thanacknowledge that the curbs arefor the safety of all as could beevident from the ECI servingshow cause notice to theSamajwadi party which report-edly held a large public meetingin the compound of the partyoffice in UP, defying covidnorms.

YYaasshh PPaall RRaallhhaann,, JJaallaannddhhaarr

Power disparitySubansiri Hydroelectric Powerproject when completed willchurn for the region 2000megawatts of electricity. In arecent news it was reported thatAssam will only get a meagre 25megawatts of free electricitywhereas Arunachal Pradesh willbag 262 megawatts of free elec-tricity from the proposed 2000megawatts. Arunachal getting262 megawatts is not a concernbut giving peanuts to Assamwhich has a population of morethan 3 crore is kind of disre-spectful. The trouble will beborne equal by both the states,then why this disparity betweenthe two figures? Assam needs itmore than Arunachal. I think itwill be better that both thestates talk this over a cup of tea.

NNooooppuurr BBaarruuaahh,, TTeezzppuurr

LETTERSTO THE EDITOR✍

Central Chronicle welcomes, articles, write ups, comments on different issues foreditorial page (800-900 words), Letter to editor for this page. It can be sent by

e-mail at: [email protected] letters can be edited or rewritten for clarity of thoughts.

WHAT THEY TWEET!

Yusuf Unjhawala@YusufDFI

From PM’s security toteleprompter or whatever,every effing thing is politi-

cised. Tu tu main main,attack, counter-attack,

toolkit. No side is a saint,so spare me your replies if

you are going to fingerpoint, irrespective of which

side you are.

HHaarrsshhaa BBhhooggllee@@bbhhoogglleehhaarrsshhaa

Rishabh Pant’s progress as a crick-eter over the last 4 years has beenextraordinary; as a matchwinning

batsman, which gets talked about alot, but even more so in recent times

as a keeper which has been heart-warming. That might already be a lot

on his plate for now.

RRaaddhhiikkaa GGuuppttaa@@iiRRaaddhhiikkaaGGuuppttaaPerfect businesses exist on Excel.Perfect lives exist on Instagram.

Perfect portfolios exist on Twitter.The real world has mistakes, ugli-

ness, heartaches, assumptions gonewrong, gigantic failures, and yes,

loss.Benchmark wisely.

Rezina Sultana@RezinaSultana9

My bro in law is a scien-tist, got award from thestate govt, 10th, 12thtopper, 1st class ,gold

medalist , is a fantasticcook and often cooks

Biriyani for his wife andfamily. Grow up Man.

PPrraakkaasshh MMaallllyyaa@@PPrraakkaasshhMMaallllyyaa

To test our brain’s ability to multi-task, try this out: 1. First count fromone to ten out loud. 2. Then recite

the alphabet from A to J out loud. 3.Now try combining them by rapidlyswitching between them: recite A1,B2, C3, and so forth out loud. What

did you observe?

AAjjaayyiittaa@@DDooccttoorrAAjjaayyiittaaKoi utha ke patak do yahan! Portofino, Italy.

DDiivvaa JJaaiinn@@DDiivvaaJJaaiinn22To all the politicians falling over

themselves to welcome Tesla to theirrespective states, here is a primer on

how China does it - 1. Subsidizedland for setting up a “manufactur-ing” plant and NOT an “assembly”

plant. 2. Cheap Govt backed fundingto tune of $1.3 billion

TT he Reserve Bank of India in itssecond financial stability report

has projected an increase in the Non-Performing Asset (NPA) of banks.The central bank believes that theOmicron variant of the corona viruscan have a negative impact on theeconomy. According to the ReserveBank, rising inflation is also one ofthe reasons to mounting NPA.According to the Financial StabilityReport, the NPA of banks mayincrease from 8.1 percent to 9.5 per-cent by September 2022, which was6.9 percent in September 2021.

However, according to theGovernor of the Reserve Bank,Shakti Kant Das, the financial posi-tion of the banks as of now is good.Banks have performed well duringthe pandemic period due to theexpedient policies of the govern-ment and the policy support of theReserve Bank of India and relevantmeasures taken by the central bankduring the pandemic. During this,the financial market has alsoremained stable. Therefore, theReserve Bank is confident that thebanks will easily deal with the NPA.Earlier, in its first financial stabilityreport, the Reserve Bank of India hadsaid that by March 2022, the GNPA ofbanks could be 9.80 percent and ifthe situation worsens then it canreach the level of 11.22 percent.

By March 2021, the NPA of sched-uled commercial banks had comedown by Rs 61,180 crore to Rs 8.34lakh crore, as against Rs 8.96 lakhcrore in March 2020. In March 2021,the gross NPA (GNPA) of banks was7.5 percent of total advances, while

the net NPA were 2.4 percent. Thisshows that the banks performed wellduring the corona pandemic. TheGNPA of listed banks stood at Rs 8.11lakh crore in June 2021 and declinedby 2.5 percent over the previousyear, as compared to Rs 8.32 lakhcrore in June 2020. Public sectorbanks performed better than privatebanks on this parameter. Their GNPAdeclined by 4.2 percent, while that ofprivate sector banks rose by 3.3 per-cent. The net NPA of public sectorbanks declined by 4 percent duringthis period, while the net NPA of pri-vate sector banks grew at the rate of22 percent.

Almost all public sector bankshave performed well in the firstquarter of the current financial yearas well. During this period, the col-lective net profit of listed banksgrew by 61 percent year-on-yearbasis, while the net profit of publicsector banks grew by 140 percentyear-on-year to Rs 14,012 crore fromRs 5,847 crore.

At the same time, the net profit ofprivate sector banks increased by 28percent to Rs 18,083 crore from Rs14,127 crore. In the area of operatingprofit also, the performance of pub-lic sector banks has been better.Their operating profit grew 6 per-cent, nearly doubling that of privatebanks. In the June quarter, feeincome of public sector banks grewby 35 percent, while that of privatesector banks by 20.5 percent.

It has been written in the prefaceof the Financial Stability Report thatthe Indian economy was devastateddue to the second wave of Corona

virus, but now the recovery of theeconomy is clearly visible, but it isbelieved that the Omicron variant ofCorona virus can again damage theIndian economy badly, as its prolifer-ation capacity is very fast.

Even though the percentage ofdeath from omicron variant is low,but due to its unprecedented abilityto spread, it can prove to be moredangerous than the delta variant. Forexample, if 100 people have beeninfected with the Delta variant and10 percent of them die, then 20 to 30times more people i.e., 2000 to 3000people will be infected with theOmicron variant. if only 1 percent of2000, infected with this variant die,the death toll will be 20, which willbe twice the number of people whodied from the delta variant.

According to the latest FinancialStability Report of the Reserve Bankof India, private investment has stillnot reached the level before thecorona period, which shows that theincome of the common people hasalso not reached the level before thecorona period and they are spendingless. Rising inflation is also putting adent in the pockets of the commonpeople. People are not able to spenddue to low income and inflation. Toovercome this to some extent, thereis a need to coordinate betweendemand and supply, but the relevantmechanisms are not able to take fur-ther action on this front.Mismanagement is also one of thepotent reasons to mounting infla-tion.

Due to higher imports thanexports, the current account deficit(CAD) in the second quarter of thecurrent financial year stood at USD9.3 billion, which is 1.3 percent of thegross domestic product (GDP),whereas current account deficit inthe first quarter of the current finan-cial year stood at USD 6.6 billion,which was 0.9 percent of GDP.According to the Reserve Bank ofIndia, the widening of the currentaccount deficit in the second quarterof the financial year 2021-22 is dueto the widening of the trade deficitto USD 44.4 billion, from USD 30.7

billion in the previous quarter. Thecurrent account deficit is likely to beabove USD 25 billion in the thirdquarter of FY 2021-22, while the cur-rent account deficit in the financialyear 2021-22 is likely to be 40 to 45billion dollars or 1.4 percent of GDP.

The increase in trade deficit andcurrent account deficit is increasingthe pressure on the economy anddue to this the government is notable to spend the required amounton various important items, due towhich demand is not increasing.Since the increase in demand accel-erates economic activity, therefore,the pace of recovery in the economyis slow. Due to increasing pressureon the economy, there will be adecrease in the income of the busi-nessman and the common man, dueto which people will not be able topay the instalments and interest oftheir loan and due to this, there maybe an increase in the NPA level.

It is true that the laws or institu-tions engaged in the recovery of NPAhave not been able to give theexpected results in the matter ofrecovery of NPA, but it is also truethat recovery of NPA has alreadyaccelerated. In the last 6 years,banks have been successful in recov-ering more than Rs 5 lakh crore ofNPA and can be expected to givebetter results on this front in thecoming days as well.

In the current perspective, thepossibility of increase in the NPA inthe Financial Stability Report by theReserve Bank of India can be justi-fied, because at present, omicronvirus variant is growing rapidly inevery part of the country and infla-tion is also increasing. It is also truethat there has been a significantimprovement in the performance ofbanks in the recent past. Some bigbanks have also been successful inraising capital from the market.

In such a situation, it can be saidthat even though there is a possibili-ty of increase in the NPA of thebanks, but there will be no negativeimpact of the increased NPA on thebanks, because they will tackle thiseasily.

C ombined fortunes of billionaires in India morethan doubled during the Coronavirus pandemic

and their count shot up by 39 percent to 142. Also, thewealth of the 10 richest persons in the country isenough to fund school and higher education of chil-dren in the country for 25 years, the inequality surveyreleased by Oxfam India at the World EconomicForum’s (WEF) online Davos Agenda summit, noted. Ifthe wealth of the first 100 billionaires is accumulated,they could fund the National Rural Livelihood Missionscheme, responsible for creating Self Help Groups forwomen, for the next 365 years. The present-daywealthy billionaires of India are far richer than erst-while royal rulers like ‘maharajas’ and ‘nawabs’ ofpast princely states. But it appears that wealth is gen-erated by exploitation and not shared for India’sprogress. It further said that the inadequate govern-mental expenditure on health, education and social se-curity has gone hand-in-hand with a rise in the pri-vatisation of health and education, thus making a fulland secure COVID-19 recovery out of reach for thecommon citizen. Growing dependence on digitalprocesses in the last two years of Coronavirus pan-demic has given rise to the risks posed by cybersecuri-ty threats globally, while at the same time widespreadyouth disillusionment, digital inequality and fractureof inter-state relations are some of the key risks forthe Indian economy. Risks of growing social cleavageswill continue to be exacerbated by the pandemic andexperts are cautioning that the global economic recov-ery will likely be uneven and potentially volatile overthe coming years. Fracture of interstate relations,debt crises in large economies, widespread youth disil-lusionment, failure of technology governance and dig-ital inequality are the top five risks identified for theIndian economy by the WEF’s executive survey. Whilethe average wealth of an Indian household is worth Rs9,83,010, the report said that the bottom 50 percent ofthe country’s population own ‘almost nothing’, withan average wealth of Rs 66,280. The middle class is alsorelatively poor, owning 29.5 percent of the total wealthof the country. The wealthiest 1 percent population ofIndia alone owns 33 percent of the country’s totalwealth. Deregulation and liberalisation policies imple-mented for India’s economy since the mid-1980s hasled to one of the most extreme increases in incomeand wealth inequality observed in the world. Withoutadequate focus on policy change, India faces a threat ofleaving behind large part of its population in this roadto recovery, not to mention bear the brunt of inequali-ties even further. India needs to revisit the labour dis-tribution in country and rethink formal and informalstructures at a policy level. There is a need to enhancethe social security mechanisms for informal workers.The rationale for equality may seem obvious, but itmeans nothing unless justice is the basis of develop-ment. The need for careful planning has increased be-cause the factors to be taken into account are morecomplex now. Earlier a model based on resources andtheir exploitation may have been the norm, now onealso has to think in terms of needs and the carbonspace available to provide them.

Wealthy richer than past royalty

J et fuel or ATF price this week was hiked by 4.2 per-cent - the second increase in rates this month war-

ranted by firming international oil prices, but petrol anddiesel prices remained unchanged for the 72nd day in arow. Aviation turbine fuel (ATF) price was hiked by Rs3,232.87 per kilolitre, or 4.25 percent, to Rs 79,294.91 per klin the national capital, according to a price notification ofstate-owned fuel retailers. This is bound to affect air trav-el ticket prices. Flying will become expensive. Severallarge companies and startups across the world aredreaming the idea for development of electric poweredaircrafts for short haul flights and city air taxis. But it isunlikely to make air travel cheaper as long-haul flightswill continue to use oil powered engines. Electric aircraftare powered by electricity via one or more electric mo-tors which drive the propellers. In this type of aircraft,electricity is supplied via a variety of methods. The elec-tric aircraft industry is currently in the introductionstage of the industry life cycle and is expected to witnessits growth stage during 2021-2030. Having all-electric air-craft for short-haul flights would indeed be great, and itwould provide critical services to millions of travellersliving in small towns. Still, it would make only a minorcontribution to what is truly a gigantic business. Air traf-fic surged from 28 billion passenger-kilometres (pkm) in1950 to 2.8 trillion pkm by the year 2000, a 100-fold rise. Itthen rose to nearly 9 trillion pkm before the pandemic in-tervened. Trillions of passenger-kilometres could beadded so rapidly thanks to the advent of wide-body air-planes carrying 300 to 500 passengers per plane betweenthe continents. Large turbofan engines powering theseplanes are fuelled by aviation kerosene that providesnearly 12,000 watt-hours per kilogram. In contrast,today’s best commercial Li-ion batteries deliver less than300 Wh per kg, or just 40th the energy density ofkerosene. Even when taking into account the higher effi-ciency of electric motors, the effective energy densitiesgo down to about 20th part. That’s more than better bat-teries can bridge within the next decade or two.Moreover, the airline industry requires massive invest-ments. Pre-COVID estimates indicated that between 2018and 2038 the combined market for new planes, togetherwith the cost of their maintenance, repair, and associatedtraining services, would be on the order of USD 16 tril-lion. Such enormous outlays require long planning hori-zons, embedded in commitments to specific designs andaircraft orders. This means that the industry’s next fewdecades have already been decided. Because the averagelifespan of both single-aisle and wide-body planes is justover 20 years, forthcoming purchases of new planes willexpand the existing fleet at least by half and all of thelarge airliners will rely on oil jet engines.

Electric aviation dreams

Tough time ahead due to non-performing assets of banks


SATISH SINGH

A family visits the Ice Sculpture Festival in the Pustevny mountains, in East Moravia, Czech Republic.

ICE SCULPTURE FESTIVAL

((SSaattiisshh SSiinngghh iiss sseenniioorr ccoolluummnniisstt aanndd eeddiittoorr ooff iinn--hhoouussee JJoouurrnnaall ooff SSBBII ‘‘AAaarrtthhiikk DDaarrppaann’’..))

EC adds new column to mentionexpenditure on digital campaigning


The ElectionCommission has added anew column in candidates’election expenditure re-turns to submit informa-tion on money spent ondigital campaigning in theupcoming polls in fivestates.

The candidates used tomention money spent ondigital campaigning inprevious elections also,but this is for the first timethat a dedicated columnhas been created to “cap-ture” details of such ex-penditure. In a bid tocheck the spread ofCOVID-19, ElectionCommission has extendeda ban on holding physical

rallies roadshows and sim-ilar physical campaigningevents till January 22.

With the ban on outdoorphysical events in place,parties are using digitaland online platforms toreach out to voters.

The new column hasbeen created for the firsttime for elections in UttarPradesh Uttarakhand,Goa, Punjab and Manipurby tweaking the format ofreturns. “Parties and can-didates (so far) used to dis-close on their own such ex-penditure ... they used toprovide details of expendi-ture on things like digitalvans ... they used to show

expenditure under thiscategory. Now, a dedicatedpoint has been created tocapture such expenditurefrom this (set of) polls,” afunctionary explained.

The functionary said itis not for the first firsttime such disclosure bythe candidates and partieswill be made. “But themanner of disclosure nowis dedicated,” the func-tionary explained.

According to section10A of the Representationof the People Act 1951, acandidate who fails tolodge his or her electionexpenditures within theprescribed time is liable tobe disqualified by EC for aperiod of three years fromcontesting polls.

Year after voting in AP rural polls, Kotiavillagers to vote in Odisha panchayat pollsBhubaneswar, Jan 18

(PTI):

A year after voting in theAndhra Pradesh rural elec-tions, residents of disputedvillages in Kotia gram pan-chayat area will now exer-cise their franchise in theupcoming Odisha panchay-at elections.

The Andhra Pradeshgovernment had held ruralelections in villages inKotia gram panchayat area,claimed by both the states,in February last year de-spite the Odisha adminis-tration’s objection citing aSupreme Court directive tomaintain status quo in thedisputed area.

“Residents of villageslike Madkar, Daliamba,Barnapadu, Patusineri andKonadara under Kotiagram panchayat had votedin the Andhra Pradeshrural polls. Now, they willalso vote in the Odisha pan-chayat elections,” an offi-cial in Koraput district

said. Odisha State ElectionCommissioner (SEC) A PPadhi has issued special di-rections to officials con-cerned for conductingpeaceful polls in Kotiagram panchayat area inKoraput district, andChitrakonda block ofMalkangiri district, officialsources said.

Padhi has issued the di-rections during a recent re-view of the situation in allthe 30 districts of the statebefore holding the ruralpolls in mid-February, theysaid. Polling could not beheld in two zilla parishads,comprising 18 gram pan-chayats, of Chitrakondablock in the 2017 panchayatelections due to the situa-tion created by Left-wingExtremists. Special prepa-rations be made to ensurethat the election processstarting with nominationsare held smoothly in

Chitrakonda block, Padhiwas quoted as saying.

Maoist posters calling onpeople in tribal-dominateddistricts to boycott the pan-chayat elections wereseized from some pockets, asenior police officer said.Similarly, Padhi has alsoasked the collector and SPof Koraput to lay specialemphasis on conductingpeaceful elections in Kotiagram panchayat inPottangi block.

“The collectors and SP ofthe both the districts mayappraise the prevailing sit-uation in the aforesaidblocks,” he added.

The dispute over theownership of 21 of the 28villages under Kotia grampanchayat had firstreached the Supreme Courtin 1968. In 2006, the apexcourt held that inter-stateboundaries did not fallwithin its jurisdiction andonly the Parliament couldresolve them, as it imposeda permanent injunction onthe disputed area.

R-DAY TABLEAUX ROW‘No revision of decision on exclusion of TN, WB and Kerala tableaux’


The decision to not in-clude the tableaux ofKerala, West Bengal andTamil Nadu at theRepublic Day parade willnot be revised, senior offi-cials of the DefenceMinistry said on Tuesdayand noted that a total of 12

states have been selectedto display their models.

The remarks by the de-fence ministry officialscame amidst ongoing con-troversy over the tableauxexclusion, prompting WestBengal chief ministerMamata Banerjee andTamil Nadu ChiefMinister M K Stalin toseek Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s imme-diate intervention.

Some leaders of the

non-BJP ruled states alsoalleged that the exclusionwas an “insult” by theCentre. Reacting to thecontroversy, a senior de-fence ministry officialsaid, “it is not possible toaccept requests from thesethree states’ and polite re-sponses have been sent to

their CMs explaining thelong process of selection oftableaux.” “It is not possi-ble to revise or reconsiderthe decision as Tableaumaking process is a verylong process and an expertcommittee takes these deci-sions sufficiently in ad-vance,” the official added.

WFH has put working womenunder ‘triple burden’: Prez


Work from home duringthe Covid pandemic has itsbenefits but it has also putworking women under a“triple burden”, saysPresident Ram NathKovind.

In a letter to youngIndians published in theManorama Yearbook 2022,he says women already havethe double burden of paidwork and “unpaid work”,that is, domestic responsi-bilities.

“On top of that, as chil-dren attend school fromhome, their learning has tobe supplemented by the par-ents, and that task usuallyfalls on the mother,” Kovindwrites in the letter, titled“Arise, The FutureBeckons”.

“The new stress on familytime should be welcome formale employees, so thatthey can share some of theresponsibilities of theirpartners. In any case, stud-ies show that hard work initself can be even counter-productive and as the num-ber of hours spent on workgoes up, productivity comesdown in some instances,”he writes.

The President also saysthat the pandemic hastaught us “exactly those les-sons that will come handyfor climate action”.

The pandemic has beenan unprecedented crisis,but it may as well be just awarning of a far bigger cri-sis that is looming over thehorizon.

“Climate change is nolonger a matter of scientificresearch and policy discus-sions; its impact is alreadytangible, and we are fastrunning out of time to keepglobal warming within fea-sible limits,” he writes.

The decade of the 2020s,he says, could turn out to bethe most decisive point.“The situation is dire andpessimism won’t be out ofplace, but I remain hope-ful.” Kovind’s hope stemsfrom the fact that “we haveseen what we are capable ofwhen our collective exis-tence was threatened by thecoronavirus. COVID-19 hasshown what humankindcan do if all nations joinhands and are guided bynothing other than concernfor our common future cou-pled with respect for sci-ence”. On career opportuni-ties, he writes: “As average

Indians in your twenties,the question of career isbound to be uppermost inyour minds. Under socialimperatives or under peerpressure, many of you oftenequate a ‘career’ with a ‘job’,preferably with the assur-ance of its continuity till su-perannuation. That is un-derstandable. India’s bu-reaucracy and public sectorboth require talented, hard-working youngsters.”

But a job, Kovind says,need not mean a govern-ment or public-sector oneonly. “Our private sectorhas contributed immenselyto the creation of wealth forall, and it would also needtalent to take India’s econo-my to new heights”.

He stresses that a careerneed not mean a job.

“In the new century,many of our deeply held no-tions of ‘work’ were anywayundergoing changes, andCOVID-19 only hastenedthat process. It forced move-ment restrictions and lock-downs on us, paralysingeconomies around theworld. As a result, therewere job losses and salarycuts, but there was also arise in the ‘gig economy’,”he says.

He then goes on to saythat in this “brave newworld, a brave new breed ofyoungsters is seeking nei-ther jobs nor the financialsecurity of the routine nine-to-five work but a rightfulrecognition of and remu-neration for their uniquetalents, for their creative vi-sion, for their skills”.

“Instead of safety, theirpreference is for flexibility.Instead of closing their op-tions, they are exploringmore alternatives,” hewrites.

Along with the gig econo-my, another trend in recentyears, according to Kovind,is work-life balance — aphase when hard workalone was of paramount im-portance is over in manynations, organisations andsectors. Besides featuringimportant happenings of2021, the yearbook also hasarticles by the likes ofShashi Tharoor, SureshPrabhu and Paranjoy GuhaThakurta among others.

Chief Editor MammenMathew says the yearbookis “power-packed in morethan 25 sections with inter-esting articles by eminentwriters that capture thenew trends”.

Only 12 statesselected


Two wheeler riders on a temporary bamboo bridge constructed over River Brahmaputra to link with the ferryservice to North Guwahati after decrease in the water level of the river, in Guwahati, Tuesday.

TEMPORARY BAMBOO BRIDGE

CLAIMS ANDCOUNTER CLAIMS

ELECTION EXPENDITURE

Varanasi (UP), Jan 18 (PTI):

Prime MinisterNarendra Modi onTuesday held an interac-tion with BJP workers ofhis Varanasi parliamen-tary constituency, exhort-ed them to vigorously con-duct a micro-donationcampaign with the aim toconnect with people aheadof the Uttar Pradesh as-sembly election and reaf-firmed the party’s commit-ment to development.

Restoration of the KashiVishwanath Corridor,women empowerment, in-frastructure and health-care development wereamong the topics thatcame up for discussionduring the interactionthrough the NaMo app.

Modi said, “The BJP isrunning a micro-donationcampaign and a personcan make a donation ofeven Rs 5.”

He suggested a competi-tion among booths to seewhich one can collect do-nations from the maxi-mum number of peopleand added the aim is not tocollect money but to con-nect with people.

The prime minister saidelections are a test for po-litical parties. “It is also atraining camp for the de-velopment of workers....Our focus should be onwinning theelection...there should alsobe expansion of the organ-isation and developmentof the workers. These twomantras we must remem-ber,” he said. “This is elec-

tion time and we have tomake people understandthe power of eachand every vote.Yogi-ji (Adityanath)and I are able to doso much becausethe people of UPhave blessed uswith their votes,” hesaid. Assemblypolls will be held inUttar Pradesh inseven phases begin-ning February 10.Varanasi will votein the seventhphase on March 7.

Interacting withone of the‘karyakartas’ (partyworkers), PrimeMinister Modiasked him to ex-pand the reach ofthe government’swelfare schemes tofarmers and saidthey should makefarmers aware ofthe use of chemical-free fertilisers.

Modi also talkedabout several cen-tral schemes whichare benefitting thepeople of Varanasiat large.

The prime minis-ter said a section inthe NaMo app,called ‘KamalPushp’, has storiesabout inspiring‘karyakartas’ (partyworkers).

“The place wehave reached today,for that about 3-4generations of JanSangh leaders and

workers have sacrificedtheir lives.

PM interacts with BJP workers inVaranasi through NaMo app

Printed by Sameer Maheshwari on behalf of Ramgopal Investments Pvt. Ltd. at Navbharat Press, G.E. Road, Press Complex, Raipur and Published at Navbharat Bhawan, Near Bus Stand, Bilaspur, Editor in Chief - Sameer Maheshwari.Editor: Sameer Shukla (Responsible for selection of news under PRB Act.) Phone: (07752) 224563, 230591 Fax : (07752) 405338, Raipur : (0771) 4257700 Fax : (0771) 4257703, Regd. No. CHHENG/2012/44065

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Four naxals killed in two encounters - Central Chronicle