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  • ˇ-ˆ.+/ 0 123˜ ˝ ˙ %+-.ˇ -’3˚*2, $.2 ... - The Pioneer
16
I ndia and the USA are expect- ed to significantly ramp up bilateral relations, especially in the defence and strategic ties, during US President Donald Trump’s two-day India visit starting Monday. Just before he emplaned for India on Sunday, Trump called Prime Minister Narendra Modi his “friend” and said he had committed to this visit long time back and he was looking forward to be with the people of India. Trump is accompanied by First Lady Melania, daughter Ivanka, son-in-law Jared Kushner and the top brass of his Administration. Trump will arrive at Ahemdabad around 11.30 am, attend a roadshow, briefly visit Sabarmati Ashram, and also watch cultural performances. Prime Minister Modi is expect- ed to receive him at the airport. Modi will accompany Trump to the Ashram, which is closely associated with Mahatma Gandhi and India’s freedom struggle, in the midst of their joint roadshow from the international airport. Earlier, confusion prevailed over Trump’s visit to the Ashram. Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Friday said the White House will take a call on such visit. “Trump will arrive at the Ahmedabad International Airport at around 11:30 am tomorrow (February 24). It was already announced that Trump will land here directly here from Washington. At the airport, he will be given the guard of honour,” Ahmedabad city Police Commissioner Ashish Bhatia said while addressing reporters. He said Trump would embark on a roadshow after attending a cultural programme. “Trump will then proceed for the Sabarmati Ashram which he would be visiting for a very short time. From the Ashram, Trump will resume the roadshow, and reach the Motera stadium via Indira bridge,” the Police Commissioner said. Modi and Trump are scheduled to address the “Namaste Trump” event at the Motera cricket stadium. Just before his departure, Trump said he had committed to visit India long time back and he is looking forward to be with the people of India. “I look forward to being with the peo- ple of India. We are going to have many millions and mil- lions of people. It’s a long trip. I get along very well with Prime Minister Modi. He is a friend of mine,” Trump told reporters outside the White House. “I had committed to this trip long time ago. I look for- ward to it. I hear it’s going to be a big event... The biggest event they ever had in India. That’s what the Prime Minister told me. It’s the biggest event they ever had. It’s going to be very exciting. I am going to be there for one night,” said the US President in response to a question. The maiden visit to India is expected to significantly ramp up bilateral defence and strategic ties but unlikely to produce tangible outcome in resolving thorny issues like trade tariffs. The nearly 36-hour-long visit by Trump is also set to send across a clear message of grow- ing congruence of interests on major geopolitical develop- ments in the region and beyond, particularly when China has been expanding its military might and economic clout. Trump, who is seeking re- election in the US presidential elections in November, will get a rousing welcome. “Namaste Trump” will be similar to the landmark “Howdy, Modi!” event hosted by the Indian-American com- munity in honour of Modi during his visit to Houston in September 2019. From Ahmedabad, the US President will travel to Agra to have a glimpse of the iconic Taj Mahal. The Trump family will spend about an hour at the Taj Mahal before sunset. Then they will leave for Delhi for the main leg of the visit. On the morning of February 25, Trump and the First Lady would be accorded a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan. From there, they would go to Raj Ghat to pay homage at the “samadhi” of Mahatma Gandhi. S everal people sustained minor injuries following a clash between pro and anti- Citizenship (Amendment) Act protesters near northeast Delhi’s Jaffarabad area on Sunday. The police lobbed tear gas shells and resorted to mild lathi-charge to bring the situ- ation under control. Later in the evening, the police took out a flag march to maintain law and order in the area. The clash took place at about 4 pm when the two groups started throwing stones at each other. All this happened in presence of heavy police deployment in the area. Witnesses said 500-odd people, mostly women, had gathered to protest against the new citi- zenship law. The protesters had also gathered in the area on Saturday night demanding that the new law be repealed. As the anti-CAA group was shouting slogans against the new citizenship law, some people turned up shouting “Jai Sri Ram” slogans. “Suddenly, some people came and started throwing stones on the people gathered in the area,” an eye- witness told this newspaper. Soon, both the groups indulged in stone throwing, forcing the police to resort to lathi-charge. The police also lobbed teargas shells to disperse the crowd. The trouble escalated fur- ther after BJP leader Kapil Mishra also decided to hold a rally in favour of the new citi- zenship law. Mishra, who arrived near the Jaffrabad Metro Station at about 3 pm, demanded that the anti-CAA protesters be removed from the road. An hour later, some people came from a nearby street and started pelting stones. Tension prevailed in the area as the protesters had blocked the road near the Jaffrabad metro station con- necting Seelampur with Maujpur and Yamuna Vihar. This was the second day when the anti-CAA protesters had hit the streets, prompting Delhi Metro authorities to close the entry and exit gates of the Jaffarabad station. Later in the day, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) also closed the entry and exit gates to the Maujpur-Babarpur sta- tion. A woman, who identified herself as Bushra, had said that till the time the CAA is not revoked, the protesters would not leave the site. Social activist Faheem Baig said there is resentment among people over the way the Government is handling the issue. H uge billboards on streets near the city airport and public squares in the vicinity of the Taj Mahal greeting the US President have come up ahead of his visit to Agra. The billboards have added to the air of excitement in Agra that is eagerly expecting the arrival of Trump, who will be in the city for a couple of hours on Monday evening. Trump’s convoy route to the Taj Mahal is about 13 km and along the way thousands of artistes will welcome him with special per- formances. On the famous Mall Road, which falls on the route, one hoarding reads ‘His Excellency Donald J Trump, President of the United States of America, Heartiest Welcome to the Land of Krishna’. F ormer Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah has told the Supreme Court that the protest at Shaheen Bagh here against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is peaceful and inconvenience being caused to commuters was due to barri- cades “unnecessarily” put by police on roads far away from the site. The same stand has been taken by social activist Syed Bahadur Abbas Naqvi and Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Azad in their joint affidavit filed in the apex court in the matter. Habibullah, Azad and Naqvi have jointly filed an intervention applica- tion in the apex court which is seized of the matter. Habibullah had visited the protest site at Shaheen Bagh pursuant to the direction by a Bench of Justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph. The Bench is scheduled to hear the matter on Monday. The top court is hearing pleas seeking removal of pro- testors from Shaheen Bagh and ensuring smooth traffic flow in the area. The apex court had earli- er said though people have a fundamental right to protest “peacefully and lawfully”, it was troubled by the blocking of a public road at Shaheen Bagh as it might lead to a “chaotic sit- uation”. In his affidavit filed in the top court, Habibullah has con- tended that “Shaheen Bagh stands tall as a firm example of peaceful dignified dissent, more so in the face of various instances of state-sponsored violence on similar dissents across India. “We have been sad and mute witnesses to police bru- tality and negative typecasting of a particular community across the country. Crushing dissent instead of entering into a dialogue is the new norm, but it is alien to our Constitution,” he has claimed. O n the eve of US President Donald Trump’s India visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday that India looks forward to wel- coming the US President, who is to commence his “historic programme” from Gujarat. The US President will be on a two-day visit to India and together with Modi is to par- ticipate in a roadshow in Ahmedabad after landing there. “India looks forward to welcoming @POTUS @realDonaldTrump. It is an honour that he will be with us tomorrow, starting with the historic programme in Ahmedabad,” Modi wrote on Twitter. He was responding to a tweet by Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani that said “entire Gujarat speaks in one voice- #NamasteTrump”. Detailed report on P5 C lashes broke out between anti-CAA protesters and police in Uparkot Kotwali area of Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh here following incidents of arson and stone pelting on late Sunday afternoon. Protesters set afire a por- tion of a shop in the area, van- dalised a police vehicle injur- ing some police officers. Following the clashes, mobile internet has been sus- pended for a six-hour period starting 6 pm. A Rapid Action Force (RAF) of UP Police has been deployed. Washington: US President Donald Trump on Saturday said he was looking forward to being with his “great friends” in India next week as he retweet- ed a short video in which his face was superimposed on the hit movie-character Bahubali, showing the President as a great saviour bringing peace to his kingdom. Trump appears as a great saviour, in the short animated clip, riding on a chariot with First Lady Melania. A few stills later, Trump is seen riding a horse carrying on his soldiers his son Donald Junior and daughter Ivanka. Later, he is welcomed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a village setting. C hief Minister Hemant Soren on Sunday said that his Government will render complete support to the bud- ding sportspersons of the State and ensure that they make it large on bigger platforms across the globe. Addressing Run-O- Thon, organised under Fit India Movement on Sunday at Morhabadi Football Stadium in Ranchi, Soren said that the State has one of the best infra- structure for sports and the Government plans to make optimal utilisation of the infra- structure for nurturing sportspersons. “There is no dearth of tal- ent in Jharkhand. All we need is a little grooming and our young boys and girls will achieve new heights in the field of sports. We have world class infrastructure in Jharkhand, and it will be used effectively for nurturing talents in sports,” Soren said. On Sunday, he also praised the Fit India initiative and said that fitness was the need of the hour. “In today's materialistic world, keeping our body fit is a big challenge for all of us. When we stay fit, the state and country will also be fit,” he said. The Chief Minister said that such programmes pro- vide new energy to the people. They make people aware of the benefits of workout and healthy living, he added. “It is a matter of pride for all of us to have such a programme organised every year for past five con- secutive years in Jharkhand,” he said, adding that the concept of Fit India will bring changes across Jharkhand. Continued on Page 4

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Page 1: ˇ-ˆ.+/ 0 123˜ ˝ ˙ %+-.ˇ -’3˚*2, $.2 ... - The Pioneer

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India and the USA are expect-ed to significantly ramp up

bilateral relations, especiallyin the defence and strategic ties,during US President DonaldTrump’s two-day India visitstarting Monday.

Just before he emplaned forIndia on Sunday, Trump calledPrime Minister Narendra Modihis “friend” and said he hadcommitted to this visit longtime back and he was lookingforward to be with the peopleof India.

Trump is accompanied byFirst Lady Melania, daughterIvanka, son-in-law JaredKushner and the top brass ofhis Administration.

Trump will arrive atAhemdabad around 11.30 am,attend a roadshow, briefly visitSabarmati Ashram, and alsowatch cultural performances.Prime Minister Modi is expect-ed to receive him at the airport.

Modi will accompanyTrump to the Ashram, which isclosely associated withMahatma Gandhi and India’sfreedom struggle, in the midstof their joint roadshow fromthe international airport.

Earlier, confusion prevailedover Trump’s visit to theAshram. Gujarat ChiefMinister Vijay Rupani onFriday said the White House will take a call on suchvisit.

“Trump will arrive at theAhmedabad International

Airport at around 11:30 amtomorrow (February 24). Itwas already announced thatTrump will land here directlyhere from Washington. At theairport, he will be given theguard of honour,” Ahmedabadcity Police CommissionerAshish Bhatia said whileaddressing reporters. He saidTrump would embark on aroadshow after attending acultural programme.

“Trump will then proceedfor the Sabarmati Ashramwhich he would be visiting fora very short time. From the

Ashram, Trump will resumethe roadshow, and reach theMotera stadium via Indirabridge,” the PoliceCommissioner said.

Modi and Trump arescheduled to address the“Namaste Trump” event at theMotera cricket stadium.

Just before his departure,Trump said he had committedto visit India long time backand he is looking forward to bewith the people of India. “I lookforward to being with the peo-ple of India. We are going tohave many millions and mil-

lions of people. It’s a long trip.I get along very well withPrime Minister Modi. He is afriend of mine,” Trump toldreporters outside the WhiteHouse.

“I had committed to thistrip long time ago. I look for-ward to it. I hear it’s going to bea big event... The biggest eventthey ever had in India. That’swhat the Prime Minister toldme. It’s the biggest event theyever had. It’s going to be veryexciting. I am going to bethere for one night,” said the USPresident in response to a

question.The maiden visit to India

is expected to significantlyramp up bilateral defence andstrategic ties but unlikely toproduce tangible outcome inresolving thorny issues liketrade tariffs.

The nearly 36-hour-longvisit by Trump is also set to sendacross a clear message of grow-ing congruence of interests onmajor geopolitical develop-ments in the region and beyond,particularly when China hasbeen expanding its militarymight and economic clout.

Trump, who is seeking re-election in the US presidentialelections in November, willget a rousing welcome.

“Namaste Trump” will besimilar to the landmark“Howdy, Modi!” event hostedby the Indian-American com-munity in honour of Modiduring his visit to Houston inSeptember 2019.

From Ahmedabad, the USPresident will travel to Agra tohave a glimpse of the iconic TajMahal. The Trump family willspend about an hour at the TajMahal before sunset. Thenthey will leave for Delhi for themain leg of the visit.

On the morning ofFebruary 25, Trump and theFirst Lady would be accordeda ceremonial welcome at theforecourt of the RashtrapatiBhavan.

From there, they would goto Raj Ghat to pay homage atthe “samadhi” of MahatmaGandhi.

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Several people sustainedminor injuries following a

clash between pro and anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Actprotesters near northeastDelhi’s Jaffarabad area onSunday. The police lobbed teargas shells and resorted to mildlathi-charge to bring the situ-ation under control. Later inthe evening, the police took outa flag march to maintain lawand order in the area.

The clash took place atabout 4 pm when the twogroups started throwing stonesat each other. All this happenedin presence of heavy policedeployment in the area.Witnesses said 500-odd people,mostly women, had gathered toprotest against the new citi-zenship law. The protestershad also gathered in the area onSaturday night demanding thatthe new law be repealed.

As the anti-CAA groupwas shouting slogans againstthe new citizenship law, somepeople turned up shouting “JaiSri Ram” slogans. “Suddenly,some people came and startedthrowing stones on the peoplegathered in the area,” an eye-witness told this newspaper.Soon, both the groupsindulged in stone throwing,forcing the police to resort tolathi-charge. The police alsolobbed teargas shells to dispersethe crowd.

The trouble escalated fur-ther after BJP leader KapilMishra also decided to hold arally in favour of the new citi-zenship law. Mishra, whoarrived near the Jaffrabad

Metro Station at about 3 pm,demanded that the anti-CAAprotesters be removed fromthe road. An hour later, somepeople came from a nearbystreet and started peltingstones.

Tension prevailed in thearea as the protesters hadblocked the road near theJaffrabad metro station con-necting Seelampur withMaujpur and Yamuna Vihar.

This was the second daywhen the anti-CAA protestershad hit the streets, promptingDelhi Metro authorities to

close the entry and exit gates ofthe Jaffarabad station. Later inthe day, the Delhi Metro RailCorporation (DMRC) alsoclosed the entry and exit gatesto the Maujpur-Babarpur sta-tion.

A woman, who identifiedherself as Bushra, had saidthat till the time the CAA is notrevoked, the protesters wouldnot leave the site.

Social activist Faheem Baigsaid there is resentment amongpeople over the way theGovernment is handling theissue.

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Huge billboards on streetsnear the city airport and

public squares in the vicinity ofthe Taj Mahal greeting the USPresident have come up aheadof his visit to Agra.

The billboards have addedto the air of excitement in Agrathat is eagerly expecting thearrival of Trump, who will bein the city for a couple of hours

on Monday evening. Trump’sconvoy route to the Taj Mahalis about 13 km and along theway thousands of artistes willwelcome him with special per-formances.

On the famous Mall Road,which falls on the route, onehoarding reads ‘His ExcellencyDonald J Trump, President ofthe United States of America,Heartiest Welcome to the Landof Krishna’.

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Former Chief InformationCommissioner Wajahat

Habibullah has told theSupreme Court that the protestat Shaheen Bagh here againstthe Citizenship AmendmentAct (CAA) is peaceful andinconvenience being caused tocommuters was due to barri-cades “unnecessarily” put bypolice on roads far away fromthe site.

The same stand has beentaken by social activist SyedBahadur Abbas Naqvi andBhim Army chief ChandraShekhar Azad in their jointaffidavit filed in the apex courtin the matter. Habibullah,Azad and Naqvi have jointlyfiled an intervention applica-tion in the apex court which isseized of the matter.

Habibullah had visited theprotest site at Shaheen Baghpursuant to the direction by aBench of Justices S K Kaul andK M Joseph. The Bench isscheduled to hear the matteron Monday.

The top court is hearingpleas seeking removal of pro-testors from Shaheen Baghand ensuring smooth trafficflow in the area.

The apex court had earli-er said though people have afundamental right to protest“peacefully and lawfully”, it wastroubled by the blocking of apublic road at Shaheen Bagh asit might lead to a “chaotic sit-uation”.

In his affidavit filed in thetop court, Habibullah has con-tended that “Shaheen Baghstands tall as a firm example ofpeaceful dignified dissent,more so in the face of variousinstances of state-sponsoredviolence on similar dissentsacross India.

“We have been sad andmute witnesses to police bru-tality and negative typecastingof a particular communityacross the country.

Crushing dissent insteadof entering into a dialogue isthe new norm, but it is alien toour Constitution,” he hasclaimed.

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On the eve of US PresidentDonald Trump’s India

visit, Prime Minister NarendraModi said on Sunday thatIndia looks forward to wel-coming the US President, whois to commence his “historicprogramme” from Gujarat.

The US President will beon a two-day visit to India andtogether with Modi is to par-ticipate in a roadshow inAhmedabad after landing

there.“India looks forward to

welcoming @POTUS@realDonaldTrump. It is anhonour that he will be with ustomorrow, starting with thehistoric programme inAhmedabad,” Modi wrote onTwitter.

He was responding to atweet by Gujarat ChiefMinister Vijay Rupani thatsaid “entire Gujarat speaks inone voice- #NamasteTrump”.

Detailed report on P5

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Clashes broke out betweenanti-CAA protesters and

police in Uparkot Kotwali areaof Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh herefollowing incidents of arsonand stone pelting on lateSunday afternoon.

Protesters set afire a por-tion of a shop in the area, van-dalised a police vehicle injur-ing some police officers.

Following the clashes,mobile internet has been sus-pended for a six-hour periodstarting 6 pm.

A Rapid Action Force(RAF) of UP Police has beendeployed.

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Washington: US PresidentDonald Trump on Saturdaysaid he was looking forward tobeing with his “great friends” inIndia next week as he retweet-ed a short video in which hisface was superimposed on thehit movie-character Bahubali,showing the President as agreat saviour bringing peace tohis kingdom.

Trump appears as a greatsaviour, in the short animatedclip, riding on a chariot withFirst Lady Melania.

A few stills later, Trump isseen riding a horse carrying onhis soldiers his son DonaldJunior and daughter Ivanka.

Later, he is welcomed byPrime Minister Narendra Modiin a village setting.

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Chief Minister HemantSoren on Sunday said that

his Government will rendercomplete support to the bud-ding sportspersons of the Stateand ensure that they make itlarge on bigger platforms acrossthe globe. Addressing Run-O-Thon, organised under FitIndia Movement on Sunday atMorhabadi Football Stadium inRanchi, Soren said that theState has one of the best infra-structure for sports and theGovernment plans to makeoptimal utilisation of the infra-structure for nurturingsportspersons.

“There is no dearth of tal-ent in Jharkhand. All we needis a little grooming and ouryoung boys and girls willachieve new heights in thefield of sports. We have worldclass infrastructure inJharkhand, and it will be used

effectively for nurturing talentsin sports,” Soren said.

On Sunday, he also praisedthe Fit India initiative and said

that fitness was the need of thehour. “In today's materialisticworld, keeping our body fit isa big challenge for all of us.

When we stay fit, the state andcountry will also be fit,” he said.

The Chief Minister saidthat such programmes pro-

vide new energy to the people.They make people aware of thebenefits of workout and healthyliving, he added. “It is a matter

of pride for all of us to havesuch a programme organisedevery year for past five con-secutive years in Jharkhand,” he

said, adding that the concept ofFit India will bring changesacross Jharkhand.

Continued on Page 4

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Page 2: ˇ-ˆ.+/ 0 123˜ ˝ ˙ %+-.ˇ -’3˚*2, $.2 ... - The Pioneer

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The lawyers’ boycott of allcourt works here in civil

courts Daltonganj entered itsseventh day on Sunday and theJharkhand High Court hastaken cognizance of this weeklong stir. It has taken initiativeto invite office bearers of thePalamu district bar associationto the Ranchi Court onMonday.

Secretary of the bar asso-ciation here Subodh KumarSinha said, “Here theHonourable Court means theChief Justice and so our officebearers will be meeting theChief Justice on Monday.”

Registrar EstablishmentHC Ranchi Akhil Kumar hassent a letter to this effect to thepresident of the bar associationhere requesting president of thebar association here to send ina delegation of office bearers toHon’ble Court in Ranchi onFebruary 24.

The registrar establish-ment’s letter did not mentionany boycott of all court worksby the lawyers here, neverthe-less, it says the February 24 visitof the office bearers of the bar

association in Hon’ble CourtRanchi will be in connectionwith what the bar associationis facing over the past fewdays. President of the bar asso-ciation here Sachidanand

Tiwary alias SachidanandNehru who is a very seniorlawyer here and commandsrespect in the legal fraternitysaid, “We have received the let-ter from registrar establish-

ment. Our delegation will go toHon’ble Court on Feb 24 inRanchi.”

Sinha said, “We will take adecision as to who will repre-sent us. On coming back fromthere we will again sit here withour esteemed lawyers and dis-cuss the development and thentake a final call.”

Nehru said “All the lawyersunanimously decided to boy-cott all court works here fromFeb 15 in protest against themost sad and tragic behaviorand attitude of a senior judgePankaj Kumar.”

Nehru said it was he whobecame the victim of hisunwarranted and unprovokedwrath which had hurt himand his dignity too much andthe lawyers too have feltextremely bad about what wasmeted out to him by the seniorjudge.

As there is no spokesper-son here in the civil courts thePioneer could not get the ver-

sion of the Bench on this issueand so it goes with Bar’s ver-sion.

State Bar Council too hadrushed in here a 3 memberteam on a fact finding missionwhich met the bar, the con-cerned judge etc and wentback said a lawyer here refus-ing to be identified.

The Pioneer did try tomeet one of the members of thefact finding team of State BarCouncil which reached here MA K Rashidi who politelydeclined to share anything inthis regard with the mediaperson.The stir of the lawyershas crippled entire legal workshere in the courts. Clients aretoo uncertain as to when thisdeadlock will end. Bail seekersare thoroughly disappointed.SDPO Sadar Sandip KumarGupta said this lawyers’ boycottof the courts has affectedpolice’s move to get statementrecorded under section 164 ofCrPC.

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Jharkhand Adventure Tripwas started on Sunday by

Jhartrip India Private Limited,which claims to be the firsttourism company ofJharkhand.

The trip was inauguratedby the Executive Chairman ofthe Jharkhand PradeshCongress Committee (JPCC),Rajesh Thakur. He appreciatedthe efforts of Jhartrip and saidthat it will give a boost to thetourism of Jharkhand and atthe same time the company willwork to reach new heights.

Jharkhand TourismManagement Company, whichis working in Jharkhand withmany new schemes, will sure-ly succeed in their efforts, saidThakur.

Director and CEO ofJhartrip, Vishnu Sahu said that

Jhartrip will not only promoteJharkhand tourism in India,but also promote the cultureand tourism of Jharkhand atthe international level.

“People will come toJharkhand for tourism andalso develop their business likeopening of factories and otherbusiness activities,” he said.Sahu said the company has notonly opened its branch inJharkhand, but also in otherparts of the Country.

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The newborn baby who wasfound lying abandoned at a

jungle in Ghurabandha inGhatshila sub-division onSeptember 6 and subsequent-ly landed at MGM MedicalCollege Hospital for treatmentis likely to reach her parents.

The police have onSaturday collected blood sam-ples of the newborn baby inquestion and her alleged par-ents Horo Purty and wifePangela for a DNA test to bedone at RIMS in a couple ofdays.

OC, Sakchi thana KunalKumar said they have alreadytaken the blood samples of thenewborn baby, her alleged par-ents from the Sadar Hospital inKhasmahal on Saturday.

"The baby is doing fine.Weare now waiting for court's per-mission after getting which wewill send it to the RIMS inRanchi for the DNA test," saidKumar.

He stated that the newbornbaby who is in the custody ofChild Welfare Committee(CWC), Jamshedpur had beenbrought to the Sadar Hospitalfrom the CWC's Sahyog Villagein Sonari and the couple hadcome from their home in WestSinghbhum.

The OC said they are con-fident that the baby will get theparents. They do not know howlong it will take for the DNAreport to come out and statedthat they would act accordingto the DNA test report only andhand over the newborn to thecouple if the report matches.

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In an innovative way to lendsupport in the development

of society, District LegalServices Authority's (DLSA)East Singhbhum unit hasadopted village.

The DLSA has identified aremote village in Bodam blockin Patamda for improving thequality of life of the people.

Located in the foothill ofDalma, the village in questionis Konkadasa, about eight-kms-away from the Bodamblock and about 40 kms awayfrom the heart of the city.

Revealing about the moveDLSA secretary BK Lal saidthat they have adopted the vil-lage for making the villagers toget the minimum facility fromwhich they are still deprived of.

DLSA was known for pro-viding legal relief to the poorlitigants, free legal assistance tothe convicts having no sound

financial background andthings like these , but the legalbody will be known for lend-ing help for development.

"It is an innovative step andwe want to make it successful.A team of DLSA visited theKonkadasa a week ago andfound that several villagerswho are leading a life withoutamenities. Their houses areinto the trunk of trees as theydo not have their own house.Though most of the families

have thatched houses, but theyhave to remain in fear of get-ting killed by the wild elephantsand other wild animals. Thevillagers are not aware aboutthe electricity, not to speakabout the provision of LPG gasand stove and pucca housesbeing provided under PradhanMantri Awas Yojana else-where," said the official.

DLSA will lend its help inmotivating the villagers to leada prosperous life.

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The burden of undernutri-tion is high in India. One-

fourth of India’s children areborn with low birth weight,35.7 percent of children underfive are underweight, 38.4 per-cent are stunted and 21 percentare wasted. Iron deficiency iswide spread, exists acrossincome quintiles and agegroups (over 53 per cent ofwomen of child bearing andover 58 per cent of childrenunder five are anaemic, NFHS4).

The immediate determi-nants of malnutrition at theindividual level (inadequatedietary intake and disease) areproducts of underlying causesat the family or householdlevel (insufficient access tofood, inadequate maternal andchild practices, poor water andsanitation, and inadequateaccess to quality health ser-vices) as depicted by 1990UNICEF framework.Malnutrition manifested in theform of stunting, wasting,underweight, anaemia and lowBMI in women are influencedby a set of immediate causes(nutrition specific) and under-lying causes (nutrition sensi-tive) intervention. Dietaryintake and disease status,immediate causes of malnutri-tion, can be addressed throughnutrition specific interven-tions. The underlying causes ofmalnutrition i.e. food security,care and feeding practices formothers and children andhealth services and healthyenvironment can be addressedthrough nutrition sensitiveinterventions. Both the nutri-tion specific and nutrition sen-sitive interventions are furtherinfluenced by interventionswhich improve socio econom-ic status of women, domesticviolence, and education status.

Multisectoral interventionsaddress the underlying andbasic determinants of malnu-trition. Whennutrition pro-grams emphasize water, sani-tation, and hygiene—andWASH programs emphasizehand washing before preparingfood, feeding a child, and elim-ination of open defecation—both programs can maximizeimpact.

Research in India hasshown that increased cropdiversification improves dietarydiversification in the homeand helps children recoverfrom growth faltering. Wheneducation programs invest innutrition, it improves academ-ic achievement. One example isschool feeding programs,which can improve learningand academic performance.Students participating in schoolfeeding and take-home rationprograms have improved cog-nition.

These programs yield thegreatest impact when coupledwith other programs likedeworming, micronutrientsupplementation, and fortifi-cation. Integrating nutritionprograms into school curricu-lum initiates life-long healthybehaviours.

By engaging multiple sec-tors, partners can leverageknowledge, expertise, reach,and resources, benefiting fromtheir combined and variedstrengths as they work towardthe shared goal of producingbetter Nutrition and healthoutcomes.

Multisectoral Approachhelps in addressing the issuesin a focused way as it helps inpooling the resources and for-mulating the common objec-tives. One of the major advan-tages is optimization of usageof resources by avoiding dupli-cation of inputs and activitieswhich tremendously improveprogram effectiveness and effi-ciency.

Strong leadership andmandate at the policy level arenecessary to plan and executethe successful multisectoralcoordination. All the majorstakeholders require sharing

the common vision and per-spective. Developing institu-tional mechanism is of utmostimportance as it will standard-ize the processes of inter- sec-toral coordination.

The POSHAN Abhiyanhas undertaken the multisec-toral approach to address mal-nutrition, the output of whichis a multisectoral district nutri-tion action plan.

This multisectoral plan willensure strong nutrition focusthrough institutional and pro-grammatic convergence byintegrating it in the planning,implementation and supervi-sion process in all relevantdirect and in-direct interven-tions and programs.

The key recommendationsthat emerged from variousconsultation on multisectoralconvergence for improvednutrition are strengtheningand promoting Village HealthSanitation and Nutrition Day(VHSND) as a platform formultisectoral convergence atvillage level, local food map-ping and promotion of kitchengarden to ensure nutritionalsecurity at household kitchens,priorities home visits but theFLWs, inter personal coun-selling (IPC), infrastructuredevelopment of health facilitiesto ensure privacy for antenatalcheck-ups and child care etc.

Severe Acute Malnutrition(SAM) is defined by a very lowweight for height with medicalcomplications are treated atNutritional RehabilitationCentres (NRC) / MalnutritionNutrition Centre (MTC) whilethe SAM without medical com-plications are provided energyand nutrient dense foods athousehold level. Intensive fol-low-up of cases at household /community level as well as inthe NRC are crucial as per theCMAM review in India. Manystudies indicated that maxi-mum cases reported were inthe age-group 6-24 monthsprobably because the comple-mentary food starts at 6months and inappropriatecomplementary feeding andlack of breastfeeding after 6months are the possible rea-sons. Some of the issues foundwere low bed occupancy rate,poor appetite and weakness inmost of the admitted children.The number of follow up visittends to reduce in the third andfourth follow up. Hence thereis a need to strengthen NRC /MTC in terms of infrastruc-ture, effective counselling andincentivising follow up visits.

There is a need of nation-al CMAM guidelines to makesthe scale up of SAM treatment.It is also felt that the imple-mentation of an effective pub-lic health approach foraddressing SAM requires asignificant investment by pol-icy& program leaders todevelop need-specific sus-tainable as well as effectivemodels of care that build jointcapacity to treat the burden ofchildren with SAM. This canhappen only by a more holis-tic approach that incorporatespreventive measures such as –Timely screening of all thechildren before developmentof complications, maximumcoverage, integration withother programs includinghealth, ICDS, WASH, hygienepromotion, clean water, pre-vention of prenatal macronu-trient and micronutrient defi-ciencies, and the promotion ofage-appropriate foods andfeeding practices for infantsand young children, provi-sion of regular THR, effectiveVHSND, growth monitoring:monthly weight & quarterlyheight, community events /Jan Andolan, collating quali-ty information / data forimmediate corrective mea-sures, etc.

Dr Sujeet Ranjan isExecutive Director, TheCoalition for Food andNutrition Security based inDelhi.

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Over 425 people includingchildren were examined

in the medical camps organisedin the premises of ChandrapuraThermal Power Station (CTPS)and Tenughat Thermal PowerStation (TTPS).

Aiming to extend health-care service among the ruralpopulation and slum dwellers,the health camps were orga-nized by the Seventh DayAdventist Hospital Ranchi atTTPS at Lalpania and by DVCat CTPS under its CorporateSocial Responsibility (CSR).

At least 225 persons wereexamined in the medical and 80cataract patients were sent forlens transplantation at KMMemorial Chas hospital onSunday, informed CTPS PROfficial.

People were provided withan opportunity to get all essen-

tial medical check-up con-ducted on the honorary basis,provided free of cost medica-tion prescribed by a panel ofdoctors in the camps.

Doctors and medicalexperts from K M Memorial DrVikas Kumar Pandey, DrRakesh Ranja and Dr DwipikaRai, Dr KP Singh form DVChospital along with other med-ical staffs comprised the panelattended the people rushed inthe camp, he said.

Besides others, BDO SMurmu, Jila Parisad memberNitu Singh, Bipin Kumar Sinha,Balbir Kaur, G K Pandey,Garima Devi, B Mahali, DGMHR Ashok Prasad, Ajay Panday,Ashish Sharma, Sunil Kumar,Rakesh Kumar0 Singh, SurajTiwari, Sanjeev Singh alongwith a team of CSR Departmentofficials and Medical team werealso actively participated in thecamps.

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Abattery-operated car (BOC) service for thehandicapped and senior citizens was

launched at the Bokaro Railway Station hereon Saturday. The vehicle was donated byBokaro Steel Plant (BSL) under its CorporateSocial Responsibility (CSR) aiming to offer easyand comfortable commute to the elderly per-son as well as physically challenged on the sta-tion.

BSL’s Executive Director (Personnel andAdministration) Mukul Prasad and ExecutiveDirector (Operations) Atanu Bhowmick hand-ed over the key of the car to Naveen KumarDivisional Railway Manager, Adra Division.

It is a first of its kind initiative in the divi-sion. The facility was a necessity as BokaroRailway Station has a large flow of passengers,said A K Haldhar Station Master Bokaro SteelCity.

Now the facility will serve passengers only

on the first platform of the station.But another battery-operated carwill be put in use on the fourth plat-form as well soon, informed an offi-cial.

The service will be available round the clock; passen-ger’s in-need of the facility couldcontact the Station Master or ChiefTicket Examiner at the railway sta-tion.

“The service of BOC can beavailed by passengers by advancebooking on priority and for pas-sengers without prior booking ona first-come-first-serve basis.However, preference shall be given to passengers who are seniorcitizens, physically challenged,pregnant and sick,” added the offi-cial.

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CPI (Maoist) rebels blew upa Jain Sauravanchal build-

ing at Madhuwan area inGiridih district here on Sundayearly morning, police said. Agroup of insurgents late lastnight triggered a blast atParasnath in Jharkhand'sGiridih district destroying theJain building, DeputySuperintendent of Police NirajKumar told the pioneer today.

A police team and CRPFhave been rushed to the spot,he added.

Police sources said thatborders with Bokaro,Hazaribagh and Dhanbad havebeen sealed as the policelaunched anti-naxal operations,he added.

Maoists have been attack-ing Jain building at Madhuwanto prevent security forces fromusing them as shelters duringtheir anti-naxal operations.

According to reports,Maoist have also pasted postersin area calling for a police boy-cott. Around 25 ultras assem-bled at the Jain building earlythis morning around 2amabout 500 meters away fromMadhuwan police station andblew it up by planting dyna-mite, police said. It was believed

that the Maoists carried out theoperation after coming to knowabout the state's plan to set upa police picket there, they said.

A combing operation hasbeen launched to nab theultras. Asper figures with theMinistry of Home Affairs(MHA), 19 of 24 districtsinJharkhand are LWE-affected.

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The State BJP has directed allthe legislators to be present

on Monday at the BJP head-quarters in Ranchi for the elec-tion of leader of opposition(LoP). Former Chief MinisterBabulal Marandi is likely to beelected the legislative partyleader of the BJP on Monday,sources said. The election ofLeader of Opposition will bemade in presence of BJPnational general secretary, PMurlidhar Rao who has beenmade the observer for electionof legislative party leader.

Apart from P MurlidharRao, BJP national general sec-retary Arun Singh and StateBJP in-charge OP Mathur willbe present at the legislativeparty leader election. BJPsources say that the legislators'meeting is a mere formality.Babulal Marandi, who hasrejoined the saffron party, is allset to be elected the legislativeparty leader.

On February 17, formerChief Minister BabulalMarandi merged his 14-year-old party Jharkhand VikasMorcha will BJP in presence ofUnion Home Minister AmitShah and other senior leaders.

Marandi’s elevation as LoPalso gain importance as afterthree senior BJP leaders includ-ing former Chief MinisterRaghubar Das, former SpeakerDinesh Oroan and State BJPpresident Laxman Gilua losingthe election, there was specu-lation that eitherChandreshwar Prasad Singh(CP Singh) or Neelkanth SinghMunda having vast experiencein party and House could bemade as Leader of Opposition(LoP), but during the three daylong special session ofJharkhand Assembly the LoPchair remained vacant.

Arun Singh said, “The BJPlegislative party leader (LoP)

will be elected on Monday inpresence of BJP national gen-eral secretary P Murlidhar Raoamong others.” Singh also saidthat apart from election ofLoP, the BJP’s organisationalelection too be held.

After Jharkhand wascarved out of Bihar in 2000,Marandi had become the firstChief Minister of the state.Marandi was seen as a leaderwith a clean image. He is alsoknown for his fight againstMaoists.

The Maoists killedMarandi's son in 2007 inGiridih district. Marandi asChief Minister worked onimproving the condition ofroads and road connectivity,especially in the rural areas.

He, however, failed to keepthe BJP's allies together, whorevolted against him and forcedhim to resign in March 2003leading to the elevation ofArjun Munda as ChiefMinister. Marandi quit the BJPjust after the fall of the ArjunMunda government in 2006and floated the JharkhandVikas Morcha-Prajatantrik(JVM-P).

Sources said that withMarandi’s elevation as LoP theBJP will reach out to massesespecially attracting tribals whodeserted from BJP in lastAssembly election. Maranditalking to media persons onSunday said, “The BJP will raisethe failure of Hemant Sorengovernment especially the pollpromise made by JMM,Congress and BJP duringassembly election. The HemantSoren government at presenthas failed to meet people’sexpectations.”

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Rashtriya SwayamsevakSangh (RSS) chief Mohan

Bhagwat on Sunday said thatRSS has no problem with anypolitical parties and the organ-isation does not discriminateon the basis of political ideol-ogy. Giving stress on workingin rural development, Bhagwatsaid that Sangh works in coor-dination with people from dif-ferent political ideology too.The RSS chief, who is on five-day visit to Jharkhand, urgedpeople from different walks oflife to come forward for devel-opment of rural areas.

The RSS chief urging peo-ple irrespective of their politi-cal ideology to come forwardgains importance as Bhagwaton earlier occasion had said

that this country belongs toHindus. He said that 130 crorepeople in the country areHindus. Explaining that allIndians are Hindus, the RSSchief said, “By saying that all areHindus, we do not want tochange anyone's religion, lan-guage or caste. We do not wantany power centre other thanthe Constitution because webelieve in it. Hindutva is aholistic approach and webelieve that the ancestors of allwere Hindus. This is unity indiversity and is marked byemotional integrity.”

The RSS chief while par-ticipating at the SanghSamagam at MaheshwariBhawan had asked for increas-ing membership. He assignednew tasks for RSS membershipin state, with a focus on at leastthree per cent population inurban areas and one per cent inrural areas having RSS mem-bership.

The RSS chief held alengthy discussion on various

subjects in separate sessionswith officials from Bihar andJharkhand. There were dis-cussion on village develop-

ment, social harmony, envi-ronmental protection, jointfamily and other issues. TheSangh chief also laid special

emphasis on organic farmingand promotion of agro anddairy based industry. After afive-day stay, Sangh chief

Mohan Bhagwat will leaveRanchi for Deoghar.

He said, “The real devel-opment of rural areas can bemade only if there is focus ondairy based industry. As vastchunk of country populationresides in rural area, countrycannot develop if the ruralareas are left out.”

The RSS chief on the occa-sion also urged RSS cadres tobecome role models setting anexamples for others so that agood image is created for RSSand the role gets more impor-tant for such RSS memberwho are seniors. Bhagwat onthe first day of visit addressingSangh Samagam at Ram DayalMunda Footbal stadium hadsaid that people should avoidusing the word ‘nationalism’ asit has connotations of ‘Hitler,Nazism and Fascism’. At anevent organised by RSS inRanchi, Mohan Bhagwat sug-gested the use of ‘national’ or‘nation’ and ‘nationality, insteadof ‘nationalism’.

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The State Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP) said on Sunday

that since coming to power theJharkhand Government is onlyworking through Twitter andthe Government has nothing todo with the ground reality.

BJP State SpokespersonPratul Shahdeo said that theJharkhand Mukti Morcha(JMM) came to power on theissue of development of tribaland locals but after coming topower, the Hemant SorenGovernment became a ‘virtu-al world Government’.

“According to a roughestimate, there are less thanone lakh active Twitteraccounts in the State whereasJharkhand has a population of3.25 crore. In this way theGovernment is making head-lines by giving instructions onthe problems of just 0.3 percent of total population of the

State. In Jharkhand, for every

one lakh population only 300people have the option to reachout to the Government throughTwitter,” said Shahdeo.

Mocking the StateGovernment the partySpokesperson said that theproblem of the primitivetribes like Pahadia, Asura,Birhor l iving in remote

forests and mountain area is not going to be resolvedby Twitter and 80 per cent ofthe tribal and local people living in remote villages arealso not going to reach the Government throughTwitter.

“Real Jharkhand lives inthe village and most of the vil-lagers do not use Twitter. TheHemant Government is mak-ing headlines by giving direc-tions on Twitter but the prob-lems of 99.7 per cent of thepeople of Jharkhand are notreaching the Government,” saidShahdeo.

Chief Minister HemantSoren has been actively solvingproblems on microbloggingwebsite Twitter since hisGovernment came to powerhere.

The CM has also beenpulling up officials for anom-alies in Government machin-ery highlighted by Twitterattis.

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Abiography on the pride ofAce Archer Deepika

Kumari will hit bookstoresacross the country beforeTokyo Olympics 2020. Thebook titled ‘Kahani Diye seDeepika banne ki’ is beingwritten by Sunil Badal (58), acurrent affairs broadcaster withAll India Radio.

The book has been writtenin Hindi and will be of approx-imately 150 pages. It will bepublished by PrabhatPrakashan. Later, it may betranslated to other languagesincluding English.

Written in flashback, thebook begins with the ace archerreceiving the Padma Shri award

in 2016 by the then PresidentPranab Mukherjee.

“For Deepika receiving thehighest civilian honour hasbeen nothing short of a dreamcome true. Just talking abouttheir daughter’s achievementsmoved the proud parents GeetaDevi and Shivnarayan Mahtoto tears,” said the author.

The book talks about thearcher who comes from a hum-ble background. It highlightsher struggles and also how herparents supported her toachieve her dreams.

“On a visit to her maternalgrandparents, Deepika came toknow that a cousin of her islearning archery. That waswhat piqued her interest in thesport.

Though she had neverseen a bow and arrow in her

life, she did have a good aimsince childhood,” added Badal.

Originally coming fromold Ranchi, she belongs to a

family of potters. With potterygradually dying as a profession,

her parents moved toKatantoli- a village near Ratu.

Among the numerous inci-dents mentioned in the book,one talks about how her par-ents took her to Kharsawan ona Rajdoot bike to participate inthe selection process.

“On reaching the academy,Deepika stood in the queue forrecurve archery instead of theone for simple archery.

The coach initially reject-ed the lean and lanky Deepikasaying that she won’t be able tohandle the metal bows.

The local coach then sug-gested they meet ArjunMunda’s wife Meera Mundato get admission in the insti-tute. In the first meetingDeepika convinced Meera

Munda to just give her sixmonths to prove her caliber,”said Badal.

The determination tobecome an archer is what gavewings to the daughter of anurse and an autorichshawdriver.

“The story of DeepikaKumari and her struggle to bewhere she is today, is an idealexample not just for buddingsportsmen and young girls butalso for the general public atlarge,” remarked Badal.

Badal is also a poet and haswritten a series called ‘Mangru’which he will get publishedsoon.

His other book ‘MoiSushilla’ is also slated to releaselater this year.

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Cautioning a gathering ofScientists and Students on

Sunday at Birsa AgricultureUniversity (BAU) VeterinaryDepartment, Octogenarianrenowned Veterinary Scientist,HVS Chouhan said that thereis need to boil non-vegetarianfood at 70 degree Celsius tonullify the chances of gettinginfected by Coronavirus.

Couhan was speaking at atwo day national conference onrecent advances in diagnosticpathology for emerging and re-emerging disease for livestock,poultry under farming condi-tions and wildlife ended onSunday at the VeterinaryCollege.

At validatory session, 85years old famous veterinarypathologists and consultantHVS Chouhan told that recentemergence of novelCoronavirus in Wuhan, Chinaand people calling it a globalemergency in a span of threeweeks makes us acknowledgethe fact that we are living in aglobal village where any scarecan be of monumental concern."In the past two decades wehave witnessed emergence andre-emergence of several dis-eases such as FMD, influenza,repeated incurisions of highlypathogenic Avian influenza,middle east respiratory syn-

drome which pose seriousthreat to animal populations,"he added.

Chouhan added livestockfarming is increasingly gainingimportance in the upliftment ofnational economy and theCountry is witnessing expo-tential growth in the livestockbased industries. "We are ableto improve the veterinary ser-vices to the stakeholdersthrough continuosly updatingour knowledge and honingour skills for better diagnosticsand therapeutics," he added.

This zonal conference andnational symposium organ-ised jointly by IndianAssociation of VeterinayPathologists (IAVP) society,Ranchi chapter andDepartment of VeterinaryPathology, College ofVeterinary Science and AnimalHusbandary, BAU in collabo-ration with NAHEP-CASTprogramme (ICAR). More than150 veterinary pathologistsfrom all over india and veteri-

nary doctors of all 24 districtsof Jharkhand attended the con-ference.

This symposium providedample opportunity to exchangeinnovative scientific ideas andexplore the future possibilitiesin the field of diagnosis, pre-vention and control of live-stock, poultry and wildlife dis-eases. The symposium con-sisting 7 tecnical sessions onporcine diseases, large rumi-nant diseases, small ruminantdiseases, wildlife diseases, poul-try diseases, companion dis-eases and applied diagnostictechniques . Alltogether, 20lead papers, 108 oral presenta-tion and 25 poster presentationdelivered by veterinary pathol-ogists scientists during sym-posium.

National secretary of IAVPDr RC Ghosh told that infec-tious disease still remain aleading cause of global diseaseburden with high mortalityand morbidity of avian and ani-mal population. Threats from

emerging new disease duringthe past three decades is con-stantly on rise due to the evo-lution and of antibioticresistence and the re-emer-gence of hitherto controlledestablished disease due to deel-opment of antibiotic resistanceand the capacity to spread toneo geographical areas, headded.

"Recent incidence of lumpyskin disease and avian onfluen-za in the eastern india are theburning examples. There is

urgent need to upgrade andstengthen the diagnostic facil-ities and diseases surveillancesystem and develop commu-nication network for earlywarning of disease incidence ofemerging and re-emergingnature," said Ghosh.

Speaking on the occasionOrganising CommitteeSecretary Dr MK Gupta saidthat the society has recom-mend state of the art daignos-tic art laboratry, diagnosis cen-ter of animals should be estab-

lished with interdepartmentalapproach, advance diseasediagnostic laboratry should beestablished in veterinarypathology department and sur-veillance of emergenge and re-emergence disease shoulb betaken care at State level.

He said syposium is high-ly insentive and focused forwarm up the challenges withrespect to emerging and re-emerging diseases of livestock,poultry, wildlife and humanbeings as well.

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Chhattisgarh HomeMinister’s son, who was

admitted in Bhagwan MahavirMedica SuperspecialtyHospital in Ranchi after com-plaining of chest pain, is sta-ble, doctors from the hospitalsaid on Sunday.

Harsh Sahu, son ofTamradhwaj Sahu, had com-plained of chest pain whileplaying Volleyball at Khelgaonon Saturday. He was repre-senting a team from his Statein a tournament held inRanchi, said JharkhandPradesh Congress Committee(JPCC) Spokesperson AlokKumar Dubey.

“He came to participatein the National Volleyballmatch, and was admitted inMedica Hospital on Saturday0. The Home Minister of

Chhattisgarh was at the hos-pital since Sunday morning.

At eight o’clock in theevening on Saturday,Tamradhwaj Sahu and othermembers of his familyreached Ranchi from Raipurand all the family membersrushed to the hospital,” headded.

Jharkhand PradeshCongress Committee (JPCC)president, Rameshwar Oraonenquired about Harsh Sahu’shealth condition. Chairmanof OBC Cell, Abhilash Sahu,Sports DepartmentChairman, Amrender Singh,Parvez Alam, Sushil Burma,Rajesh Chandra Raju, RajeshKumar accompanied MinisterTamradhwaj Sahu at Medica,said Dubey.

The party Spokespersonfurther informed thatChhatt isgarh AssemblySpeaker, Charan Das Mahant,Chief Minister, BhupeshBaghel, All India CongressCommittee Spokesperson,Ajay Sharma also inquiredabout the health of HarshSahu while Pramod More,Chairman of Gujarat OBC,Arjun Singh of AICC reachedRanchi on Sunday to meetSahu’s family after hearing thenews, he added.

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From Page 1Soren said that pro-

grammes like Run-o-thon havemany dimensions. Such pro-grammes are not only for phys-ical fitness, but also for incul-cating a sense of unity and teamspirit among people. “Suchevents provide an opportunityto create a better environmentin the society. With the pro-motion of sports, the hiddentalent in this field gets a chanceto come out. There is a messageto make people aware for fit-ness. Not only this, we all alsoget strength for positive think-ing,” he said.

Soren said that by orga-nizing such programmes in a

better way and adding moreevents to them, they will havea better and long-lasting impacton the young sportspersons ofthe State. Athletes from Indiaand abroad participated in thefifth edition of Run-O-thonorganized by the Departmentof Sports and Youth Affairs,Government of Jharkhand andRound Table India.

About six thousand par-ticipants ran in the Run-o-thonorganized in three categories –21 kilometers, 10 kilometersand 5 kilometers. The ChiefMinister felicitated the winnersof the Fit India Run-O-thon bygiving them prize money. Apartfrom this, medals were award-ed to all the participants whocompleted the race in 21 kmand 10 km category. Secretary,

Department of Tourism, Sportsand Youth Affairs, RahulSharma, Director of SportsAnil Kumar Singh, InspectorGeneral of Police NaveenKumar Singh, Director of TRIRanendra Kumar Singh, andPresident of JharkhandAthletics AssociationMadhukant Pathak attendedthe event.

Later in the day, Sorenmet commoners at his resi-dence in Ranchi. Sources fromthe Chief Minister’s Office(CMO) said that representa-tives of the 65,000 odd parateachers met the CM onSunday and requested him toalso consider the interests ofthe ad hoc teachers while tak-ing any decision regardingtheir regularization.

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Rajya Sabha MP and rebelAkali leader Sukhdev Singh

Dhindsa on Sunday accusedthe Badal family of being “handin glove” with Punjab ChiefMinister Capt AmarinderSingh, saying that their busi-ness interests “remained unaf-fected” despite the Congressbeing in power in the State. Dhindsa appeared to beresponding to the allegations byAkali Dal leaders that he andhis son Parminder SinghDhindsa were being used as“pawns” by the Chief Ministerand the Congress to “weaken”the SAD.

The Dhindsas were expelledby the Akali Dal for alleged anti-party activities on February 3,a day after holding a rally intheir home turf — Sangrur.

Retorting, the Dhindsafather-son duo, along with var-ious panthic leaders, on Sundayheld ‘Save Punjab, Save Panth’rally at the same place.

The rally was attended bySAD (Taksali) leaders RanjitSingh Brahmpura and SewaSingh Sekhwan, SAD (1920)leader Ravi Inder Singh, formerMP Balwant SinghRamoowalia, former DeputySpeaker Bir Devinder Singh,former president of DelhiGurdwara ParbandhakCommittee Manjit Singh GKand former Akal Takht JathedarRanjit Singh.

Dhindsa and other leaderslashed out at the Badal family,accusing them of “damaging”the Akali Dal. “Everybodyknows Capt Amarinder Singh

and Badal family are hand-inglove. Everything is going on asit is,” Dhindsa said.

“I want to ask them (Akalis)how many Congressmen havecome here today. Who areCongressmen? The whole worldknows Sukhbir Singh Badal is incahoots with Capt AmarinderSingh.

Nobody stops his (Sukhbir)bus and their buses are plyingwithout permits as usual.Nobody touched their cablebusiness even today,” allegedDhindsa, adding their businessremained unaffected. TheAkalis only make statementsagainst the Congress but "wewill fight them," he said.

Referring to SAD’sFebruary 2 rally in Sangrur,Dhindsa claimed that theAkalis had said that they orga-nized the rally against the

Congress government. “Didthey speak against Congress?They spoke only againstDhindsa family. From this, itwas clear who is withCongress,” he said.

Dhindsa said that the sizeof his rally was “much bigger”than the SAD’s. “Sukhbir youcome here and see and thisgathering is enough to breakyour arrogance,” said the seniorDhindsa. On February 2, theSAD leadership had accusedthe Dhindsas of “backstab-bing” the party.

Dhindsa had rebelledagainst the Akali Dal leadershipin a bid to “liberate” the SADfrom the Badal family andrevive its lost glory. He joinedhands with SAD splintergroups, including the SAD(Taksali). His son too followedhim.

Chandigarh: Shiromani AkaliDal (SAD) on Sundaydescribed the much-hypedpublic gathering of the“Taksalis” as well as dozens ofother factions supported bythe Congress party at Sangruras a “mega flop show”.

“Akali rank and file hasseen through the so-calledTaksalis and boycotted theirshow entirely forcing them todepend upon the Congresscadre to save face. However,they failed in this also with thegathering not being a fraction

of the massive sea of peoplewhich had congregated at thesame spot recently on a callgiven by the SAD,” said formerminister and SAD spokesmanDaljit Singh Cheema. Theformer minister said that theleaders, including SukhdevSingh Dhindsa and RanjitSingh Brahmpura, also didnot explain to the people as towhy they had betrayed theirmother party and becomepuppets in the hands of theCongress party.

PNS

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Haryana Congress chief andRajya Sabha MP Kumari

Selja has slammed the BJP-JJPalliance Government of theState for the new excise policyand the decision to take awaythe land of Dhauli (donation)given to the Brahmin families.

She said that those whoused to talk of closing liquorvends in the state, have madearrangements for openingliquor vends from house-to-house today. Eliminating 15percent quota in liquor vendcontracts of Dalits exposes theanti-Dalit face of this govern-ment, she said.

The Congress leader saidthat the Dhauli (donation)land given by the CongressGovernment to the Brahminfamilies is being taken away bythe present Government, whichis highly condemnable.

In a statement issued here,Selja said that our State isalready getting entangled in theswamp of drugs. On the otherhand, the decision of theGovernment giving relaxationon sale of liquor in shoppingmalls, reduction in the prices ofbeer, allowing the bar to opentill 1 am in midnight and giv-ing permission to keep liquorboxes in house, shows that theGovernment promotes intoxi-cation in the state. The realobjective of the Government isto make reach of liquor easy to

maximum number of people sothat people would not evenbother to go to the liquorvends for it. It shows how theGovernment is promotingdrugs in the state, she added.

She said that the partiesinvolved in this Governmentused to talk about liquor ban inthe elections, but today the realface of these parties has comebefore the people of the State.This decision of theGovernment will have seriousconsequences, and the youth ofthe State who are already get-ting caught in the clutches ofdrugs will be increasinglytrapped in the morass. Nowliquor will be supplied fromhouse to house and it will alsohave a direct impact on the lawand order of the State, she said.

Selja said that be it theGovernment of the state or theCentral Government, Dalitswere repeatedly tortured inthis Government. Sometimesthere was a conspiracy to endtheir reservation, sometimesthe law against the oppressionof Dalits is not properly advo-cated, which was rejected in theSupreme Court. The 500-year-old Ravidas Temple was demol-ished in this government. Atthe same time, abolishing the15 percent quota in liquorcontracts of Dalits, once againexposes the anti-Dalit face ofthis Government, the Congressleader said.

Corneringthe Governmentfor taking away the ownershiprights of Dhauli (donation)land given to some other castesincluding the Brahmin by theCongress Government in theyear 2011, Selja said that theanti-Brahmin face of thisGovernment is also exposed.The anti-Brahmin mentality ofthis Government and ChiefMinister Manohar Lal has beenexposed many times. The anti-Brahminquestion in theHaryana Staff SelectionCommission, and the threatgiven by Chief MinisterManohar Lal to behead thehead of a Brahmin leader, tellshow this Government main-tains an anti-Brahmin mental-ity, she said.

She further said that in theyear 2011, when the Congresswas in power in the State, theCongress made law and peopleof the Brahmin communitywere given the right to own theland of Dhauli (donation).Under this, 37,836 Dhauledarsbecame the owners of 14,187acres of land. Now due to itsanti-Brahmin mentality, thisGovernment has decided totake away the ownership of theland of these people, which ishighly condemnable.

She said that the Congressparty is standing with the peo-ple of the State against theseanti-people decisions and thesedecisions will be stronglyopposed by the Congress.

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Ayodhya: Uttar Pradesh ChiefMinister Yogi Aadityanath onSunday described the country'spresent generation as a ‘lucky’one for being part of the strug-gle for having a Lord Ram tem-ple in Ayodhya and being wit-ness to its construction.

The Chief Minister madethe remark during his firstvisit to the temple town afterthe September 9 verdict of theSupreme Court last year on theAyodhya dispute that resolvedthe centuries-old tangle andsubsequent setting up of atrust by the centralGovernment to oversee theconstruction of the temple.

The Chief Minister washere to inaugurate a health fair,Mukhya Mantri Aarogya Mela,at Suraj Kund in DarshanNagar area of Faizabad.

Addressing a gathering of

Hindu seers after inauguratingthe Health Fair, Aditynath said,"Many generations perished inthe struggle for the RamJanambhoomi in last 500 years,but our generation is lucky aswe have been the part of theRam Janambhoomi struggleand we will see the RamMandir coming up."

Commenting on the apexcourt's verdict over theAyodhya dispute, the chiefminister said, "The SupremeCourt has shown its judicialpower to the world by its ver-dict over the issue of RamMandir."

The Chief Minister alsohailed Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and his gov-ernment "for delivering what hepromised" including nullifica-tion of Article 370 and revo-cation of Jammu & Kashmir'sspecial status.

"I always told saints ofAyodhya to have trust in PrimeMinister Modi as under hisleadership, we will achieve ourgoal of having a Ram Mandirin Ayodhya."

"Under Prime MinisterModi's leadership, India isemerging as a power in theworld. The prime minister

abrogated Article 370 and pro-hibited the practice of tripletalaq," he said.

"He also amended theCitizenship law to create acompletely transparent systemof giving shelter to the suffer-ing humanity of the world, andunder his strong leadership, away has been paved for the

construction of grand temple ofBhagvan Shri Ram inAyodhya," the chief ministeradded.

In Ayodhya, Adityanathalso visited the residence of aDalit community man,Mahaveer, with whom he hadlunch when he had come to thetemple town during 2019 LokSabha elections after beingbanned by the ElectionCommission from election-eering.

"When I was banned bythe Election commission, Icame to visit HanumangarhiTemple in Ayodhya, whereMahaveer invited me to hishouse."

"Mahaveer showed me hisfour-room pucca house builtunder Pradhan Mantri AawaasYojna, before this he had aKuccha house," he said.

PTI

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Lucknow: The Uttar PradeshSunni Central Waqf Board islikely to take a decision in itsmeeting on Monday regardingthe land given by the StateGovernment for construction ofa mosque. "We have already saidabout honouring the SupremeCourt verdict on the Ayodhyaissue," board chairman ZufarFarooqui told PTI on Sunday.

"The meeting of the boardwill deliberate upon the docu-ments pertaining to allotmentof land by the government. Adecision will also be taken as towhat should be built on thatpiece of land," Farooqui said.

Asked about Deputy Chief

Minister Dinesh Sharma's offerregarding formation of a trustfor construction of a mosque,Farooqui said: "The governmentformed the trust for the con-struction of Ram Temple inAyodhya on the directives of theSupreme Court. No suchinstructions were issued forthe mosque. This offer will bediscussed in the board's meet-ing." On Friday, the board hadsaid that it did not have theoption to reject the alternativepiece of land given to it underthe SC's Ayodhya verdict, butwould decide how to use itwhen it meets on Monday.

In a historic verdict in

November on theRamjanmabhoomi-BabriMasjid dispute, the SupremeCourt ruled in favour of con-struction of a temple. It alsoruled that an alternative five-acre plot must be found for amosque within Ayodhya.

Soon after the verdict, therewere suggestions that the boardshould not accept the land."Following the Supreme Courtverdict, the Sunni Waqf Boarddoes not have the choice ofrejecting the five-acre alterna-tive land for the construction ofa mosque in Ayodhya as itwould amount to contempt ofcourt," Farooqui had said. PTI

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Ceasefire violations byPakistan has increased

manifold to push armed ter-rorists into Jammu & Kashmirand sabotage peace, DGPDilbag Singh said on Sunday,asserting that the security gridis strong to foil the neigh-bouring nation's designs.

The Union Territory'sdirector general of police(DGP) also said a few success-ful infiltration bids were madeby terrorists but they wereneutralised in the KashmirValley during counter-insur-gency operations.

"The ceasefire violationsby Pakistan has increased man-ifold with an aim to push asmany terrorists into this side tosabotage the peaceful atmos-phere.

"Despite increased ceasefireviolations, we are alert to thechallenge and have alreadyfoiled a number of infiltrationattempts," Singh told reportersafter inaugurating the 9thPolice Martyr's Memorial InterClub T-20 CricketChampionship in Kathua dis-trict.

The security grid alongthe Line of Control (LoC) andthe International Border (IB) isstrong to scuttle Pakistan'sdesigns and ensure furtherimprovement in the overallsecurity situation in the com-ing months, he said.

Referring to the Nagrotaencounter along the Jammu-Srinagar national highway near

here on January 31, the DGPsaid the three Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists wereneutralized hours after theymanaged to sneak into theIndian side.

"Our security grid is verystrong and we are prepared tofoil Pakistani attempts to pushterrorists into this side," Singhsaid.

The DGP expressed satis-faction over the drop in num-ber of local youths joining ter-rorist ranks.

"The inclination of localyouth to join terrorism in theValley is on the decline," hesaid.

Asked whether a rehabili-tation policy for them is underconsideration, Singh said thegovernment is already workingon different plans for youthengagement and their devel-opment.

"There are skill develop-ment programmes. Sport activ-ities are getting a big boost withproper infrastructure and train-ing," he said. Singh lauded thepeople for their timely inputsregarding terrorist activitiesand said they will continuetheir support to the forces towipe out terrorism fromJammu & Kashmir."Sometimes people come for-ward with information on thebasis of suspicion.

This is very good andshows that people are veryactive," he said to a questionabout the sighting of threesuspected persons in Kathuasome time back.

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Schools in Kashmir arescheduled to reopen on

Monday after remaining shutfor nearly seven months fol-lowing the abrogation of Article370.

Officials of the Jammu &Kashmir education departmentsaid all arrangements had beenput in place for the students toattend schools after the insti-tutions remained shut formonths since August afterscrapping of its special status

and due to winter break.The Government had

made several efforts last year toreopen the schools in a phasedmanner, but it failed to bear anyfruit as the parents kept theirwards at home due to appre-hensions about their safetyTowards the end of the year,few schools opened, but stu-dents were asked to attendclasses without wearing schooluniforms.

Kashmir School EducationDirector Mohammad YounisMalik said.

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Buoyed by its decisive victo-ry in Delhi, the Aam Aadmi

Party has decided to turn itsfocus on Uttar Pradesh as it out-lined its plans on Sunday torecruit 25-lakh members inthe politically-crucial State andcontest the panchayat pollslater this year.

AAP spokesperson SanjaySingh said party workers wouldvisit 1.07-lakh villages in thestate during the next three

months, and gather publicopinion and information onissues that affect people.

"The entire feedback willbe submitted to Kejriwal afterthree months," Singh toldreporters. The Rajya Sabhamember said the ArvindKejriwal-led party planned tomake 25-lakh members in thestate and, within a month,5,000 posters of the party wouldbe put up in every assemblyconstituency. The membershipdrive will be held from Monday

till March 22 in over 12,000wards in various cities acrossthe state. "AAP will contest thepanchayat elections (likely inOctober-November) in UP," heannounced. However, DeputyChief Minister Dinesh Sharmadismissed the claims made bythe AAP, saying the party hadtalked about expanding itself inthe past as well.

The renewed focus todiversify the AAP across thecountry comes nearly twoweeks after the party.

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Politicians may be infamous forsquatting on Government accom-

modations in Delhi, but it’s theGovernment employees — mostlyretired — who beat the netas handsdown when it comes to illegal occu-pation of official quarters. As many as575 Government employees, frombureaucrats to beldars, continue to ille-gally occupy Government quarters.

The highest outstanding dues of�95 lakh for such illegal occupationof Government quarters is in thename of a bureaucrat VP Rao.

Interestingly, even relatives ofthe babus have been found to besquatting on such premises. There areover 100 houses, where families or rel-atives of babus continued to occupyGovernment quarters even after thedeath of the original allottees. Someof these people have been over-stay-ing for over two decade. The oldestbeing a 1998 occupant.

According to the Ministry ofHousing and Urban Affairs, a sum of

�30-40 crore is due on these illegaloccupants as they have not paid rentso far. As far as 11 former MPs areconcerned, many of them have vacat-ed their bungalows except former MPUdit Raj. There are a number of babuswho retired in 2000 have not vacat-ed their quarters. Of the 565 quarters,244 are ‘type-II accommodations,while the rest are types VII, VI, V, IVand III categories.

As per the list, the family mem-bers of one Bale Ram, a beldar whodied in 1998, have not vacated theGovernment quarter. They have alsonot paid any rent since 1998. Theallotment of Bale Ram’s quarter wascancelled after his death in 1998.

SS Ramarao retired in 2000, buthe has not vacated his type IV quar-ter so far. He has not paid rent since2000 and his outstanding due is �67lakh. Commandant (retired) RKSwamy was allotted Type IV quarterin Vikaspuri. He retired in May,2001 but not vacated his house so far.His outstanding rent is over �74.38lakh. Safai Karamchari Vijay Kumar

retired in June 2003 but he has notvacated his quarter till date.

RK Sharma died in 2003. But hisfamily is still staying at theGovernment quarter in RK Puram.They neither vacated the quarter norpaid any rent since 2003. The total duerent is over �31 lakh. Pawan Kumar,a senior engineer, retired in 2003, buthe has not vacated his type 4 housein Munirka. The total amount of rentis due of �67.44 lakh. PS Athmiaretired in 2012 but still occupying his accommodationillegally without paying rent.

SP Singh still occupied Type Vhouse in Vinay Marg and his rentamount rose to 34 lakh.

Navneet Kumar Saxena’s case isunique. He took voluntary retirementin 2009 but not vacated his quarter.The rent amount of �57 lakh ispending on him. Indra Mohan Rawat,a havildar, retired in 2018, but notvacated his quarter in Vasant Vihar.

Darneshwar Rai, a retired pumpoperator, has also not vacated his flat

since September last year despiteseveral reminders. In another case, thekins of Assistant Field Officer late RKSharma have not vacated accommo-dations at RK Puram since 2005.

A total of 454 houses of type I, IIand type III category, are occupied byclass III and IV grade employees ille-gally without paying rent. As per theministry data, over two dozen casesare related to Kashmiri migrants.

The Delhi High Court has pulledup the Ministry for failing to vacateabout the illegally occupiedGovernment accommodations in thecity. “It appears that there is con-nivance from the officers of theMinistry of Housing and UrbanAffairs. Connivance over such a longtime amounts to conspiracy under theIndian Penal Code. By their action,there is a huge loss to the Union ofIndia, which is also an offence underthe Indian Penal Code,” the court said.

The Court has directed theMinistry to submit a detailed reporton action and recovery of dues fromillegal occupants before February 27.

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Urging for conservation andpreservation of biodiver-

sity, Prime Minister NarendraModi on Sunday said biodi-versity of India is unique trea-sure for the entire mankind.Addressing his monthly 'Mannki Baat' radio address, Modireferred to Tamil poetessAvvaiyar to drive home hispoint. “What we know is just ahandful of sand. What we donot know is like a universe initself,” he said quoting her.Similar is the case with the bio-diversity of this country, saidModi.

“The more you know, themore you realise the magnitudeof what you do not know. Ourbiodiversity too is a uniquetreasure for the entire humankind. We have to preserve it,conserve it and explore further,”he said. The Prime Ministersaid the traditions and thelegacy we have inherited teach-

es us compassion toward all liv-ing beings and boundless lovefor nature.

Modi pointed out thatmore than 500 bird speciesacross the world land in Indiaevery year.

He informed that recently,biologists discovered a newspecies of fish whose habitat iswithin the caves of Meghalaya.It is believed that this fish is thelargest among aquatic speciesfound under the surface ofcaves. "It a matter of joy that

India, and especiallyMeghalaya, is home to a rarespecies. It lends a new facet toIndia's biodiversity. We aresurrounded by many such mys-teries, which are still undis-covered. To discover such aphenomenal enigma calls forfierce detective passion," hesaid.

In his address, the PrimeMinister also referred to the'Hunar Haat' organised by theMinistry of Minority Affairs atthe Rajpath. Last week Modi

made a surprise visit to theHaat where he interacted

with people, had litti-chokha for lunch and enjoyeda hot kulhad of tea. He said theHaat is a fine example of India'sdiverse expanse, cultures, tra-ditions, cuisines and thewarmth of emotions.

"It is a venue where it isimpossible to overlook thecountry's diversity. Besideshandicrafts, it displays thediversity of India's varied cui-sine too. In a single row, one

could savour the sight of idli-dosa, chhole-bhature, daal-baati, khaman-khandvi ...," hesaid, urging people to visitsuch haats to be a part of thecountry's art-culture canvas."You will also contribute in theprogress and prosperity ofhardworking craft persons,especially women," he said.

PM also hailed the use ofa mixture of 10 per centindigenously produced bio-jetfuel to fly an Indian Air Forcetransport aircraft, saying suchefforts will not only help bringdown carbon emissions, butalso reduce the country'sdependence on importedcrude oil. "This was the firsttime that this mix was used inboth engines. Not just that,the airport from which thisplane took off from Leh is notonly one of the highest alti-tude airports in India butalso in the world," he said,referring the Indian AirForce's AN-32 aircraft took offfrom Leh's Kushok BakulaRimpoche airport using amixture of 10 per cent Indianbio-jet fuel.

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Rajya Sabha Chairman MVenkaiah Naidu has direct-

ed the Secretariat to preparereports on the participation ofall the members under variouswindows to inform them at theend of each session of theHouse.

In its study, the RajyaSabha secretariat has revealedthat different parties got theirdue share of opportunities ofparticipation under variouswindows during the first partof the Budget session that con-cluded on the 11th of thismonth. The study was done toknow if the parties were gettingequitable opportunities in theCouncil confirmed fair andproportional share for differentparties with the oppositiongetting slightly more in the total1,460 opportunities.

According to sources, thestudy reveals that BJP with 82members accounting for 34percent of the strength of 239of the House got 480 opportu-

nities amounting to 33 percentof the total. Congress with 46members constituting 19 per-cent of the strength got 345opportunities which comes to24 percent share of the total.

"The 10 recognised partiesin the House with five mem-bers and above each with atotal of 190 members account-ing for 80 percent of thestrength of the Council gotabout 81 percent of the totalopportunities.

Others including region-al parties and independentsamounting to 20 percent of themembership of the House got19 percent share of participa-tion indicating broad corre-spondence between thestrength and share of oppor-tunities," it said.

The eight non-NDA par-ties, featuring among the 10recognised parties together gota higher share of opportunitiesin proportion to their strength.Besides BJP that got 1 percentlesser share, JDU could avail0.55 percent of total chances of

participation as against it'sstrength of 2.51 percent in theHouse, primarily due to noneof it's members getting anyUnstarred Questions listed dur-ing the session.

Among the opposition andnon-NDA parties, Congress,TMC, AIADMK got propor-tionally higher opportunitieswhile BJD, DMK, TRS andCPM got their due share. OnlySP got a lesser share.

During the session, 107members participated in theQuestion Hour, 100 took partin the two debates on theMotion of Thanks to thePresident and the GeneralBudget, 76 Zero Hour and 33Special Mentions were made,24 participated in the lone dis-cussion on a Private Member'sBill besides 1,120 UnstarredQuestions of 118 membersreplied in writing. This makesthe zone of opportunities ofparticipation as 1,460. Equity ofparticipation was analysedagainst this window of totalopportunities of participation.

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Pakistan is mobilising itsassets including terror affil-

iate Lashkar-e-Tayyeba (LeT)jehadis to Afghan-Pak borderin order to destabiliseAfghanistan following pro-posed withdrawal of US troops.Pakistan army is training theLashkar ultras to damage infra-structure built by India inAfghanistan besides hittingsecurity forces there and aid theTaliban regain more areasunder its control in a post-withdrawal scenario.

Amid talks of withdrawalof US forces, the PakistanArmy-ISI complex has startedharbouring sinister designs totopple the Afghan Governmentand replace it with Taliban forits long-term agenda in theregion, sources here said.

Apprehending enhancedatrocities on the people in theBalochistan region, Balochgroups have stepped up vio-lence against the Pakistan armyand Lashkar men in the area.In the wee hours on

Wednesday, the Baloch groupskilled 16 Pakistan armymenand abducted about 50 soldiers.This was the third such attackby Balochs against Pak Armythis month.

The spurt in ambushes bythe Baloch groups against Pakarmy has come in the backdropof apprehensions that moreand camps of LeT will be set upand lead to enhancement ofatrocities against the commu-nity.

Pakistan Army had beenconducting search and cor-don operations against the

Baloch freedom fighters inconcert with the Lashkarjehadis, Both Pakistan armyand the Lashkar are known toloot ration from the Balochpeople due to lack of authen-ticated logistics managementfor the armed forces.

The Pakistan Army-ISIcombine has begun trainingsessions for the Lashkar men inSibbi and Bolan in Balochistan.The LeT operatives are beingtrained in sabotage andambush. The trained Lashkarmen will seek to hit infra-structure projects backed and

funded by India. An estimated 500-1000

LeT men are being trained bythe Pakistan Army-ISI combinein view of the latter's changedpriorities and preferences fromthe tactical perspective in viewof the proposed withdrawal ofthe US forces fromAfghanistan.

LeT men being trained byPak army to aid Taliban in gain-ing more control on the groundpost-withdrawal of US troops.In a duplicitous move to hood-wink the international com-munity ahead of the FATF ple-nary in Paris, the Pakistaniagencies have lodged LeT chiefHafiz Sayeed in Lahore's KotLakhpat jail where a number ofHaqqani Network for elaborateplanning to carry out hits inAfghanistan.

Former Chief of InterServices Public Relations(ISPR) Asif Ghafoor has beenmade the chief of a Pak armydivision to provide security tothe US forces when the withdrawal from Afghanistanis worked out, sourcessaid. Pakistan army has been

known to enact abduction ofits personnel by its terror

affiliates and seek ransomfrom the US for their so calledrelease from captivity, theyadded.

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The Embassy of China inIndia on Sunday urged that

New Delhi to review the epi-demic situation in China in thewake of coronavirus outbreakand resume normal personnelexchanges and trade betweenboth the nations.

The remarks by ChineseEmbassy Spokesperson Ji Rongcame following claims byChinese charity organisationsand certain medical institutesthat New Delhi has restrictedexport of medical products toChina following the coron-avirus epidemic in that coun-try.

Ji added that the WorldHealth Organisation hasrepeatedly opposed any traveland trade restrictions on Chinafollowing the coronavirus out-break and that all partiesshould follow the recommen-dations by the global body.

It added that recommen-

dations of WHO should be fol-lowed by all parties. "It's hopedthat Indian side could reviewthe epidemic situation in anobjective, rational & calm man-ner, handle with China's much-needed items in a cooperativeand constructive way andresume normal personnelexchanges and trade betweenus as soon as possible", theChinese embassy added.

Moreover, according to lat-est updates by Chinese healthofficials, the death toll in Chinadue to coronavirus outbreakhas reached 2,442 and 76,936confirmed cases of novel coro-navirus infection have beenreported in 31 provincial-levelregions.

Among the 40,127 hospi-talised patients, 8,583 werestill in severe condition andanother 1,845 in critical con-dition.

There was no immediatereaction from the government.Last week, Chinese

Ambassador Sun Weidongurged India to review restric-tions on trade and movementof people. Almost all Indianairlines have stopped flights toChina while the governmenthas cancelled all e-visas as wellas normal visas issued toChinese citizens.

On Saturday, governmentsources said that China was"deliberately delaying" permis-sion for an Indian Air Forceplane to coronavirus-hitWuhan to supply relief mate-rials and bring back moreIndians from the city. Theysaid though flights from Japan,Ukraine and France wereallowed to operate fromWuhan, India's request wasnot heeded to so far.

India has already evacuat-ed around 640 Indians fromWuhan, the epicentre of thecoronavirus outbreak, in twoseparate flights. According toestimates, over 100 Indians arestill stuck in Wuhan.

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National HighwaysAuthority of India (NHAI)

on Sunday said it has collect-ed �20 crore from 18 lakhdefaulters who entered theFASTag lanes at electronic tollplazas on National Highwayswithout the tag.

Rolling out the electronictoll collection programmeacross India in December, theMinistry of Road Transportand Highways had said thatdouble toll charge would becollected from the vehiclesentering FASTag lanes withoutthe tag.

In order to give primeimportance to existing FASTagusers, dissuade defaulters andfurther encourage adoption of

FASTags by national highwayscommuters, vehicles withoutFASTags entering the FASTaglane are being charged doublethe toll fee, NHAI said in astatement.

"Till now, a total number of18 lakh vehicles defaulted byencroaching FASTag lanesacross India has resulted in adouble charge cash toll accu-mulation of about �20 crore,"

it said. RFID based FASTag, anelectronic toll collection systemimplemented by the NHAI,has proved to be instrumentalin easing the lives of com-muters on national highwayswithin two months of itsnationwide implementation, itsaid. Over 1.55 crore FASTagshave been issued through mul-tiple Point of Sale (PoS) loca-tions.

NHAI has been observingincreased sale rate of FASTagswhich is a clear indication ofthis digital system being accept-ed well, the statement said. Asa result, FASTag transaction hascrossed a landmark count of 4million per day, it added.

The statement said FASTagresulted in smooth and hassle-free movement of FASTag users

on highways. The implemen-tation of FASTags across thecountry has met with thedesired response so far, it saidadding the adoption ofFASTags also means that it hasbrought in the much-neededtransparency in collection attoll booths.

In order to furtherincrease digital collection ofuser fee via FASTag at nation-al highways fee plazas, NHAIhas recently waived off theFASTag cost of Rs 100 forNHAI FASTag from February15, 2020 to February 29, 2020.

Any road users can visitany authorised physical point-of-sale locations with a validRegistration Certificate (RC) ofthe vehicle and get a NHAIFASTag free of cost.

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President Ram Nath Kovindsaid that the role of the judi-

ciary is bound to be pivotalamid dramatic transformationsin the coming days.

In his address at theInternational JudicialConference being organisedby the Supreme Court onSunday, Kovind said that issueslike gender justice, contempo-rary perspectives on protectionof constitutional values,dynamic interpretations of theConstitution in a changingworld, harmonisation of envi-ronment protection vis-a-vissustainable development andprotection of the right to pri-vacy in the Internet age areissues that influence everymember of the global commu-nity.

These five distinctlydefined topics cover the matrixof challenges faced by the judi-

ciary across the world, he said.The President praised the

Supreme Court for carrying out"radical reforms" which, hesaid, made justice more acces-sible to common people. Hecited landmark judgementspassed by the apex court whichhave strengthened the legaland constitutional frameworkof India.

"Its bench and bar areknown for their legal scholar-ship and intellectual wisdom.What it has achieved is noth-ing less than a silent revolutionin diagnosing and correctingthe afflictions that adverselyaffected the justice deliverysystem," he said, as per a pressnote.The President particular-ly mentioned the role ofSupreme Court in making thehigher courts' judgments avail-able in regional languages,terming it "an extraordinaryachievement given the linguis-tic diversity of India".

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Pakistan Government isset observe February 27 as

National Surprise Day tocommemorate the captureof Indian Air Force WingCommander AbhinandanVarthaman who downed aUS-made F 16 fighter jetwith a Russian make MiG 21aircraft last year following theIndian air strike at a Jaish-e-Mohammad suicide bombertraining facility in Balakot.

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On the eve of US PresidentDonald Trump's India

visit, Prime Minister NarendraModi said on Sunday thatIndia looks forward to wel-coming the US President, whois to commence his "historicprogramme" from Gujarat.

The US president will beon a two-day visit to India andtogether with Modi is to par-ticipate in a roadshow inAhmedabad after landingthere.

"India looks forward towelcoming @POTUS@realDonaldTrump. It is anhonour that he will be with ustomorrow, starting with the his-toric programme inAhmedabad," Modi wrote onTwitter.

He was responding to a

tweet by Gujarat Chief MinisterVijay Rupani that said "entireGujarat speaks in one voice-#NamasteTrump".

On Monday, PresidentTrump and Prime MinisterModi will take part in a 22-kmroadshow from theAhmedabad international air-port. Then they will proceedfor the 'Namaste Trump' eventat the newly built Sardar PatelStadium in the city's Moteraarea, where over one lakh peo-ple are expected to be present.

The US President will visitSabarmati Ashram inAhmedabad on Monday beforeheading towards a cricket sta-dium where he will addressover 1,00,000 people.

Sabarmati Ashram was akey base of Mahatma Gandhiduring the freedom struggle.He lived there between 1917and 1930. The US presidentwill later fly down to Agra tovisit Taj Mahal and thereafterfly to Delhi for the officialengagements where "majortrade deals" are expected to besigned by the two sides.

On the morning ofFebruary 25, the US president

and first lady Melania Trumpwill be accorded a ceremonialwelcome at the forecourt of the'Rashtrapati Bhavan'. Fromthere, they will go to Raj Ghatto pay homage at the 'samad-hi' of Mahatma Gandhi. It willbe followed by restricted anddelegation-level talks betweenTrump and Modi at HyderabadHouse. 'Namaste Trump' willbe similar to the landmark'Howdy, Modi!' event hosted bythe Indian-American commu-nity in honour of PrimeMinister Modi during his visitto Houston in September 2019,said an official. Trump, accom-panied by wife Melania, daugh-ter Ivanka and son-in-law JaredKushner, will arrive inAhmedabad around noon onMonday for a little less than 36-

hour-long trip to India.Other members of the US

president's delegation includeTreasury Secretary StevenMnuchin, Commerce SecretaryWilbur Ross, National SecurityAdviser Robert O'Brien andEnergy Secretary DanBroulliette.

From Ahmedabad, the USPresident is to fly to Agrawhere huge billboards onstreets near the city airport andpublic squares in the vicinity ofthe Taj Mahal greeting himhave come up ahead of his visit.

Trump's convoy route fromthe airport to the Taj Mahal isabout 13 km and along the waythousands of artistes will wel-come him with special perfor-mances.

On the famous Mall Road,which falls on the route, onehoarding reads 'His ExcellencyDonald J Trump, President ofthe United States of America,Heartiest Welcome to the Landof Krishna'. It is accompaniedwith an image of Trump stand-ing next to Prime MinisterNarendra Modi. Trump is toreach Agra in the Mondayevening.

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Ahead of the US President'stwo-day visit to India, for-

mer Union Minister andCongress leader AnandSharma on Sunday maintainedthat the high-profile interac-tion is unlikely to achieve anymajor breakthrough in thebilateral agreements.

Sharma, however, went onto say that the visit was impor-tant in relation to the fact thatthe US was a major power, butthat is all, Sharma said.

"So far I do not have anypositive indication of anymajor outcome. It will be acontinuation of defence andsecurity cooperation, and areaffirmation of our coopera-tion in space and nuclear sci-ences. It is ongoing and it willnot be a new thing," Sharmatold news agency PTI.

SM Krishna, who was

external affairs minister duringthe UPA and is now in the BJP,felt though Trump's visitcomes in the US presidentialelection year and a sizeableIndian expatriate populationwill vote, but "it should not belooked at from the narrowprism of US President's elec-tion".

"It needs to be looked at alarger perspective as to what ishappening in the region," hetold the news agency.

Krishna said China will beclosely monitoring the visit andthe nature of talks that takeplace."It is a very importantvisit. The US and India have avery close and fruitful rela-tionship especially after theNuclear Accord. We havemoved strategically close toeach other and it is importantfor us to nourish and maintainthe relationship further," hesaid.

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Coimbatore: A 90-year-old mastertailor from nearby Pollachi has a sur-prise gift for US President DonaldTrump during his two- day visit toIndia — a white khadi shirt stitched byhim.

VS Vishwanathan hit upon the ideaafter seeing Trump on television manytimes and in photographs and hasexpressed confidence that the USPresident would accept it and appre-ciate his gesture, family memberssaid.

The shirt has been sent to thePrime Minister’s Office in Delhi,marked to the US Embassy, they said.

Vishwanathan had gifted suchshirts to various political leaders,including former Tamil Nadu ChiefMinisters, the late K Kamaraj and CNAnnadurai and also former PresidentR Venkataraman, his family said.

He once ran a tailoring shop butdoes not do so now due to old age.]

At present, he trains budding tai-lors free of cost, they said. PTI

Darbhanga/Sasaram: Seven people,including three of a family, were killedand 15 others were injured in two roadaccidents in Bihar's Darbhanga andRohtas districts on Sunday.

In the first incident, three personswere killed and three others wereinjured when their car collided with aroad divider on NH 57 and overturnednear Kakarghati village in Darbhangadistrict, Deputy Superintendent ofPolice (DSP), Darbhanga, Anoj Kumarsaid.

Of the six persons, five were of thesame family, while one was a familyfriend.

Three of them died on the spot, theofficial said, adding the three injuredhave been admitted to the DarbhangaMedical College and Hospital.

The deceased have been identifiedas Raju Jha (45), his mother Rekha Devi(75) and sister Madhu Kumari (22), theDSP said.

Jha's wife, his three-year-old sonand a family friend were injured in theincident.

The family was going to theirnative village in Saharsa fromMuzaffarpur to celebrate the boy'sbirthday, police said.

In another incident, four persons,

including a woman, were killed, whilea dozen other passengers were injuredwhen the bus carrying them collidedhead-on with an orange-laden trucknear Auwa village on NH 2.

The incident happened under thejurisdiction of Shivsagar police stationin Rohtas district, police said.

“The deceased have been identifiedas Vikram Pal (65), Reshma Khatoon(55), Mukhtar Khan (42), Ajit Kumar(38),” Satyendra Satyarthi, SHO,Shivsagar police station said.

Both the vehicles overturned afterthe collision, he said, adding the privatebus was on its way to Sasaram fromBhabhua, while the truck was movingin the opposite direction.

Sasaram civil surgeon JanardanSharma said four bodies have beenbrought to Sadar hospital for post-mortem. PTI

Jammu: Accusing the Jammu& Kashmir administration offailure to address the basicissues of the people, NationalPanthers Party (NPP) onSunday said the public werefatigued with the ‘bureaucrat-ic and proxy’ rule and called forearly restoration of democracyin the Union Territory.

NPP chairman and formerminister Harsh Dev Singh saidelected representatives alonecould appreciate the concernsof the public as against the “out-side bureaucrats” who hardlyhave any accountability to thepeople.

“The general masses werefatigued with the bureaucraticrule. There is a need to end theproxy rule (of BJP) and earlyrestoration of democracy in the

erstwhile State,” he saidaddressing a public meeting inDomana and Gho Manhasanhere.

He said the advisors toLieutenant Governor G CMurmu and secretaries wereorganising 'public hearing'campaigns but these had “failedto inspire the people in view oftheir lack of productivity”.

“The cosmetic public hear-ing exercise by the advisors andsecretaries and the sojourns ofcentral ministers had failed toinspire the masses who missedthe much needed delivery onthe ground,” Singh said.

He appealed the LtGovernor to put on the officialwebsite of various departments,the details of representationsreceived in various public inter-

action programmes, issues discussed therein andaction taken in pursuancethereof so as to make the 'pub-lic hearings' relevant and mean-ingful.

Claiming that bureaucrat-ic rule in the erstwhile state hadproved a “flop show”, Singhclaimed people were fast losingfaith in the present dispensa-

tion which had failed to addresseven their basic concerns.

“With people across thenew UT protesting on a day-to-day basis for uninterruptedpower and adequate water sup-ply, restoration of roads andother essential services, theredid not appear to be any tak-ers for their shrill cries,” he said.

The NPP leader said thepublic interaction campaigns ofadvisors and secretaries hadalso proved to be “exercises infutility”, like the two successive'Back to Village' programmesearlier.

Decrying the withdrawalof election notification forvacant panchayat seats afterhaving announced the polldates, Singh said there wereseveral other instances to showthat the present regime wasmoving in fits and startsaccompanied by reverses.

“People were repeatedlyassured of domicile law for J&Kin public meetings by helms-men and BJP leaders only to betold in the Parliament that theCentre had no proposal in thisregard,” he said. PTI

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Jaisalmer: Three dalit youths wereassaulted after being accused of steal-ing donkeys in Jaisalmer district, thethird such incident to come to light inRajsthan in recent days.

Five persons have been arrested andthree detained after a video of the inci-dent surfaced, police said on Sunday.

The incident occurred on February15 in Rama village of Fatehgarh tehsilof the district.

The youths were thrashed withsticks and kicked by nearly a dozen peo-ple for stealing donkeys. They were laterhanded over to Sangarh police.

“Five persons have been arrestedand three minors have been detainedso far. A case has been registered in thematter under sections of SC/ST Act andfurther investigation in the matter ison,” Station House Officer (SHO) ofSangarh police station Ugam Raj Sonisaid.

Similar incidents had come tolight in Nagaur and Barmer

A chilling video of a man beingbeaten up brutally in Barmer alleged-ly for committed a theft had gone viralhere, prompting the police to arrest aman and detain another on Friday fortheir alleged roles in the crime.

The video surfaced on Thursdayclose on the heels of brutal assault ontwo Dalit youths on similar allegation

of theft in Nagaur.The Barmer incident occurred on

January 29.Police have arrested at least seven

persons in connection with the Nagaurcase which occurred on February 16.

The Dalit men were beaten up,stripped and tortured by staffers of amotorcycle service agency in Karanuvillage after accusing them of com-mitting theft.

In the video, a group of men is seenthrashing two persons with rubberbelts. They later dipped a piece of clothwrapped on a screwdriver in petrol andinserted it in the private parts of one ofthe victims.

The incidents have triggered apolitical storm in Rajasthan with theBJP attacking the ruling Congress.

Union minister Arjun RamMeghwal has alleged that the AshokGehlot-led Congress government isunable to rein in crime in Rajasthan.Meghwal, who is an MP from Bikaner,had accused the police of manipulat-ing the Nagaur case. PTI

Ahmedabad: India's culturaldiversity along with rich tradi-tions of Gujarat will be on fulldisplay during the roadshow ofUS President Donald Trumpand Prime Minister NarendraModi in Ahmedabad and theirjoint address at a cricket stadi-um here on Monday.

Replicas of historic places inGujarat are also being placed atstrategic locations along theroadshow route.

Dance groups and singersfrom different parts of the coun-try, including Gujarat, will stageperformances on the roadshowroute as well as the newly-builtcricket stadium in Motera areaof the city, officials said onSunday.

Performers from 28 Stateshave been allotted stages erect-ed along the roadshow route,where the two leaders will begreeted by people on both sidesof the road.

There will also be a 'Garba'performance, the traditionalGujarati dance, on one of the

stages, they said.The performances will pro-

vide a glimpse of the country'scultural diversity, the officialssaid.

Besides, folk and Bollywoodsingers will also perform on astage set up at the Motera stadi-um for the 'Namaste Trump'event, where Trump and Modiwill address a gathering of overone lakh people.

Bollywood singers KailashKher and Parthiv Gohil, andGujarati folk singers likeKirtidan Gadhvi, Gita Rabari,

Purushottam Upadhyay andSairam Dave will perform at thestadium, officials of the GujaratCricket Associationsaid.

Students of variousGovernment and private schoolshave also been roped-in to per-form at the cultural events. Theywere asked to practice for theevent over a week in advance, anofficial said.

Replicas of historic placesfrom Gujarat are being placed atstrategic locations along theroute of the roadshow. PTI

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Aday before US PresidentDonald Trump's visit to

Ahmedabad, a makeshift VVIPentry gate erected outside thenewly-built cricket stadium inMotera area here collapsed dueto gusty winds on Sunday morn-ing, an official said.

The entire incident wasrecorded by a bystander andaired on local television chan-nels.

The makeshift entry gatewas made of welded steel rodsand covered in flex banners.

After sometime, a portion ofanother makeshift gate structureat the stadium's main entrancealso collapsed due to the windyweather, another officialsaid.

No one was injured in boththe incidents and work wasunderway to put the structures

back in place, he said.“The (VVIP) entry gate col-

lapsed when fabrication workwas going on. It was not a majorincident. No one was injured inthe incident,” said special com-missioner of police, CrimeBranch, Ajay Tomarsaid.

President Trump and PrimeMinister Narendra Modi willparticipate in a roadshow hereon Monday and later address the'Namaste Trump' event at theSardar Patel Stadium in Moteraarea where over one lakh peopleare expected to bepresent.

The stadium has alreadyreceived 'Building Use' permis-sion from the AhmedabadMunicipal Corporation, an offi-cial earlier said.

It is the world's largest sta-dium with a capacity to accom-modate 1.10 lakh spectators.

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Tamil Nadu Chief MinisterK Palaniswami on Sunday

ordered �2 lakh as assistance to a class IX girl stu-dent, a space enthusiast, forsuccessfully qualifying in anonline test to visit America'sspace agency NASA and par-ticipate in an internationalconference.

The student V Abinayastudying in Namakkal districtgot through the exam held byfirms here and in America, theChief Minister, in a statement,said adding the opportunity tovisit NASA and take part in aglobal space science sympo-sium is a “victory for her tal-ent.”

Wishing her many moresuccesses in space science, Palaniswami laudedher for the “achievement and toencourage younger generation, I have ordered �2lakh assistance from the ChiefMinister's Public ReliefFund.”

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Over 10,000 policemen fromdifferent parts of Gujarat

have been deployed at strategiclocations in Ahmedabad aspart of the elaborate securityarrangements for US PresidentDonald Trump's visit here onMonday, officials said.

The massive police deploy-ment is in addition to officialsof the United States SecretService, and India's eliteNational Security Guards(NSG) and Special ProtectionGroup who would also beguarding the US president'svisit.

The Secret Service agentsalong with other US securitypersonnel have already arrivedwith their equipment and vehi-cles in at least four cargo planesduring the last oneweek.

Trump and Prime MinisterNarendra Modi will take part

in a 22-km roadshow from theAhmedabad international air-port and then proceed for the'Namaste Trump' event at thenewly— built Sardar PatelStadium in the city's Moteraarea, where over one lakh peo-ple are expected to be present.

Police will be using theanti-drone technology to neu-tralise any suspicious drone onthe route, officials said, addingthat an anti-sniper team of theNSG will also be stationedalong the roadshow route,starting from the airport till theMotera stadium via Indirabridge.

With the help of sophisti-cated hand-held devices, theentire route has been scannedseveral times by the BombDetection and Disposal Squad.

Police and other securityagencies have also conducted arehearsal on the entire road-show route using over 100

vehicles, they said.Along with police person-

nel, who will be led by 25 IPSofficers, teams of the RapidAction Force, State ReservePolice, Chetak Commando andAnti-Terrorist Squad are alsodeployed at strategic locations.

Before the US president'sarrival, at least four C17Globemaster cargo planes ofthe US Air Force have landedat the Ahmedabad interna-tional airport with securityand communication equip-ment, Trumps' official heli-copter 'Marine One' and amammoth SUV-like vehicle.

The giant SUV, whichwould be part of Trump's cav-alcade during his 22-km longroadshow on February 24, isknown as WHCA Roadrunner.WHCA stands for WhiteHouse CommunicationsAgency.

Agra (UP): Walls are being adorned with paintingsreflecting the Brij culture and architectural heritageof Agra, victorian-style lamp posts installed and thelawns of the iconic Taj Mahal bedecked with colour-ful blooms as the historic city gears up to welcomeUS President Donald Trump.

Trump is slated to arrive in Agra on Mondayevening after attending the mega 'Namaste Trump'event at the newly built Motera cricket stadium inAhmedabad.

The city administration is all geared up for thebig day and preparations are in full swing to pre-sent the “best face of Agra”.

“We are fully prepared, and we wish to presentthe best of Agra to the US President and his dele-gation. At the Kheria airport, upon his arrival,expected at about 4:30 pm, hundreds of artists willwelcome him with 'mayur nritya',” Agra's DivisionalCommissioner Anil Kumar told PTI.

Security has been stepped up in the city aheadof Trump's visit, his first to India. His daughterIvanka, son-in-law Jared Kushner and a galaxy oftop US officials will be part of the high-level dele-gation accompanying him during his visit to Indiaon February 24 and 25.

In Agra, the Trump family will spend about anhour at the Taj Mahal before sunset. They will thenleave for Delhi. PTI

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US President Donald Trump will be wel-comed by Uttar Pradesh Governor

Anandiben Patel and Chief Minister YogiAdityanath on his arrival at the airport in Agrawhere hundreds of artistes will perform, a topofficial said on Sunday.

The city has been decked up to welcomethe American president who will visit India onFebruary 24-25. He will visit the Taj Mahal inthe evening after arriving here on Monday fromAhmedabad, before leaving for Delhi.

“The UP governor and chief minister willwelcome US President Trump at the Kheria air-port. However, they will not accompany himto the Taj Mahal. The governor and the chiefminister would also be at the airport to sendhim off,” Agra District Magistrate (DM)Prabhu N Singh told PTI.

Trump's convoy route from the airport tothe Taj Mahal is about 13 km, and along theway thousands of artistes will welcome himwith special performances. “At the airport,about 250 artistes will do special perfor-mances reflecting the beauty and culture ofUttar Pradesh.

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Jamui (Bihar): A top Maoistcarrying a total reward of �11lakh on his head died in thecustody of Bihar police hoursafter he was brought fromJharkhand, a senior officer saidon Sunday.

Siddhu Koda, a 40-year-oldCPI (Maoist) zonal comman-der, died at a hospital where hewas admitted late Saturdaynight after he complained ofpain in chest and abdomen,Deputy Inspector General ofPolice Manu Maharaj said.

Koda, who hailed fromChakai block of Jamui dis-trict, was arrested Saturdaymorning from a railway stationin Jharkhand's Dumka by anSTF team comprising police-men from Patna andJamui.

He was wanted in about 70serious cases including murder,robbery, kidnapping and extor-tion, Maharaj said.

After being brought here,Koda was interrogated, theDIG said. Based on the infor-mation he provided, raids were

conducted in various parts ofnaxal-affected Munger districtleading to the seizure of alarge number of arms andammunition, Maharaj said.

The Maoist, who carried areward of �1 lakh in Bihar and�10 lakh in Jharkhand, com-plained of severe pain in chestand abdomen around 11 pm onSaturday.

He was taken to JamuiSadar Hospital where he died.Since he died in police custody,the post-mortem examinationwas conducted in presence ofa magistrate as per rules, theDIG said.

Maharaj did not divulgethe details of the post-mortemreport.

He said Koda's family hasbeen informed of his death andhis body “may be disposed ofin accordance with law” by thepolice if nobody comes forwardto claim his mortal remains.

Two automatic rifles — anAK 47 and an INSAS — havebeen seized from Koda at thetime of his arrest. PTI

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Mumbai: BJP leader DevendraFadnavis on Sunday allegedthat NCP chief Sharad Pawarwas trying to implicate‘Hindutvawadis’ (Hindutvasupporters) in the KoregaonBhima violence case despite theabsence of any concrete evi-dence.

Fadnavis made the allega-tion while talking to reportersa day before the Budget sessionof the Maharashtra legislaturecommences.

“During my tenure, thestate home department hadcarried out a thorough probeinto the Koregaon Bhima vio-lence case,” the former chiefminister, who also held thehome portfolio then, said.

“NCP chief Sharad Pawar’sfirst reaction on the violencewas that Hindutvawadis werebehind it. But police did notfind any evidence to back uphis claims,” he said.

“The entire investigationand its progress has not beenobjected either by the BombayHigh Court or by the SupremeCourt. Still by setting up a sep-arate SIT, Pawar wants to impli-cate Hindutvawadis in theKoregaon Bhima violence inci-dent,” Fadnavis alleged.

According to Pune police,the Elgar Parishad conclaveheld in Pune on December 31,2017, was supported by Maoistsand inflammatory speechesmade at the event led to casteviolence at Koregaon Bhimawar memorial in the district thenext day.

Right wing leaders MilindEkbote and Sambhaji Bhide areaccused in Koregaon Bhimacase.

The Pune Police havearrested Left-leaning activistsSudhir Dhawale, Rona Wilson,

Surendra Gadling, MaheshRaut, Shoma Sen, ArunFerreira, Vernon Gonsalves,Sudha Bharadwaj and VaravaraRao in the Elgar Parishad casefor their alleged Maoist links.

Pawar had earlier termedthe arrest of activists in theElgar Parishad case as “wrong”and “vengeful”, and demandedthat a Special InvestigationTeam (SIT) be set up to probethe action taken by the Punepolice. Replying to a queryover it, Fadnavis said, “TheMaharashtra police have founda strong evidence that urbanNaxal issue is not restricted toMaharashtra alone. It hasspread in other parts of thecountry as well. Hence hand-ing over its probe to the NIA isa welcome move ofMaharashtra Chief MinisterUddhav Thackeray.” PTI

Mumbai: Senior BJP leader DevendraFadnavis on Sunday attacked NCPchief Sharad Pawar over his demandfor creation of a trust for constructionof a mosque in Ayodhya on the linesof a similar body for Ram temple.

Speaking to reporters here on theeve of the Budget session of theMaharashtra legislature, Fadnavisasked why Pawar wanted to build amosque in the name of a invader likeBabar.

“Babar (the first emperor ofMughal dynasty in Indian sub-conti-nent) was an invader. Why on theearth did NCP chief Sharad Pawarwant to erect a new mosque in thename of Babar? If Muslims want aplace for prayer, they should have onebut why in the name of Babar?” askedFadnavis, the Leader of Opposition inthe Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.

Speaking in Lucknow onFebruary 20, Pawar demanded theCentral Government to form a trustfor building a mosque in Ayodhyasimilar to the trust to oversee the con-struction of Ram temple.

“I also wonder why Pawardemanded a trust for a mosque when

he knows that a Waqf has to beformed for the same,” Fadnavis said.

A five-judge bench of theSupreme Court in November 2019ruled unanimously in favor of Ramtemple in Ayodhya. The court hadsaid the whole disputed land spreadover 2.7-acre will be handed over toa trust formed by the government,which will examine the constructionof Ram temple at the place.

Prime Minister Narendra Modiannounced on February 5 the for-mation of ‘Shri Ram JanambhoomiTirath Kshetra’ trust which wouldoversee the construction of RamTemple. PTI

Malda (WB): WBPCC presi-dent Somen Mitra on Sundaysaid the Congress will have aseat-sharing arrangement withthe Left Front for the WestBengal civic polls but will notform an alliance with it.

Going by the formula, theCongress and the Left Frontconstituents will field theircandidates from their respec-tive strongholds, Mitra toldreporters here.

Reacting to Mitra’sremarks, CPI(M) legislatureparty leader Sujan Chakrabortytold PTI in Kolkata, “We havealways called for putting up ajoint fight to defeat both theBJP and the TrinamoolCongress in West Bengal.”

Mentioning that the StateElection Commission (SEC)should ensure that civic elec-tions are held in a free and fairmanner, Mitra said, theCongress is in favour of usingelectronic voting machines and

not ballot papers for the civicpolls.

The grand old party has noproblems about the timing ofthe polls, the WBPCC presi-dent said.

However, the dates shouldbe fixed with due considerationabout the schedule of differentboard exams, he said.

“We have conveyed ourstand to the SEC,” Mitra said.The state secondary boardexam which started onFebruary 18 will end onFebruary 27. The higher sec-ondary examination will beheld between March 12 toMarch 27.

Restrictions are in place onthe use of loudspeakers due tothe examinations. The stateBJP had urged the state electioncommissioner to be given“ample time” to campaign forthe municipal polls as the stateboard exams will continue tillthe end of March. PTI

Gorakhpur (UP): The mater-nal uncle of Dr Kafeel Khan,who was recently arrested forallegedly making inflammato-ry statements during anti-CAAprotests, was shot dead in frontof his house at Bankatichak inRajghat area here, police saidon Sunday.

Dr Nusratullah Warsi akaDada (55), a property dealer,was shot dead on Saturdaynight at about 10:45 pm and anFIR against two people wasfiled in this connection on awritten complaint of his fami-ly members.

According to police, itappears to be a case of murderdue to monetary and propertydispute and they are searching for both theaccused.

Dr Kafeel Khan, suspend-ed doctor of Gorakhpur BRDMedical College, was last

month arrested under chargesof giving a provocative speechduring a protest against theCAA and NRC at AligarhMuslim University and waslater charged with the NationalSecurity Act.

Warsi on Saturday eveninghad gone to his lawyer SirajTariq’s house, a few metresaway from his own house, andwas returning home on footwhen a man shot him in hishead, killing him on the spot.

“On the written complaintof family members, case ofmurder against oneImammuddin and Anil Sonkarhas been registered and policehas initiated probe and issearching for both the accused.Police met the women in theirhouse and is interrogatingthem,” Circle Officer VP Singh said. PTI

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The MaharashtraGovernment on Sunday

said that 81 out of 83 peopleadmitted in isolation wards forsuspected exposure to the novelcoronavirus have tested nega-tive.

While 80 of them havebeen discharged, three otherscontinue to be hospitalised.

The outbreak of the virus,officially called Covid-19, wasfirst detected in Wuhan inChina in December and hassince affected thousands ofpeople across the globe.

“Out of the 83 persons, 81have tested negative for thecoronavirus infection. Of these80 have been discharged.

Three persons are underobservation in Mumbai’sKasturba Hospital,” a statehealth department official saidon Sunday.

People coming from noti-fied nations including China,Hong Kong, Thailand,Singapore, Japan, Malaysia,South Korea, Nepal, Indonesiaand Vietnam are being moni-tored as part of the protocol inplace to tackle the outbreak, headded. Since the outbreak of thevirus in China and its spreadacross the globe through trav-ellers, the Maharashtra gov-ernment, acting on the guide-lines issued by the Centre, hasbeen placing people in isolationwards and screening thosearriving at the Mumbai international airport fromplaces affected by the outbreak.

Since January 18, a total of48,295 passengers have beenscreen at Mumbai airport.

Officials said a 14-day fol-low-up of 207 of 291 peoplewho arrived in the state fromcovid-19 affected areas hadbeen completed.

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With the municipal electionsknocking at the door, the

Bengal Government has decided toeffect a fat hike to the pension ofretired school teachers.

The new pension rate will applyto the teachers who have retiredbefore January 2016 and the orderwill apply to the family pensionersand teachers of Government-aidedschools who have already been get-ting pension post December 2015.

According to sources in the StateEducation Department, the neworder will imply about 20 percent risein the pension of those who are in theage group of 80-85 years. Those whoare above 85 years and less than 90years will get a hike of 30 percentsources said.

In any case the Government haseffected a minimum revised basicpension at �8,500, sources quotingnotification said adding the neworder will be effective from April 1,this year.

“Bengal Government is facinggreat financial hardship … but stillChief Minister Mamata Banerjeehas been pleased to allow a hike inpension of retired school teachers,”State Education Minister ParthaChatterjee said adding “no other Statehave shown such genuine concern forthe retired teachers the way we havedone, despite the limited financialcapacity.”

Incidentally, Chief Minister haswritten to the Narendra ModiGovernment to clear dues worth�50,000 crore.

She wrote to the Centre abouthow there has been a “steady reduc-tion” in the central funds apart frominordinate delays in the release ofsuch funds. “I write to you with deepconcern regarding steady reductionof central funds to the state and alsoinordinate delay in release of fundsto us from the Government of India,”Banerjee wrote reminding how theCentre was yet to release a grant ofRs 50,000 crore to the State.

This “extraordinary situation” iscreating major difficulties in meeting

obligations for the welfare of the state,she said.

Reminding that the delay inrelease of central funds which weredue to the State was creating hardshipin implementing the schemes thatwere essential for a welfare the lettersaid, “you will, no doubt, appreciatethat both the central and the StateGovernments are expected to fulfillthe constitutional obligations and thecommitments to the people, so thatrespective Governments run smooth-ly … However West Bengal is beingdeprived of the huge outstandingdues.”

Bengal BJP president DilipGhosh on Sunday reacted to the StateGovernment’s repeated grudgeagainst non-payment of its dues bythe Centre saying that “the ChiefMinister will only write letters andnot visit Delhi personally as she willhave to provide the accounts of theamount received and spent over theyears He termed Banerjee’s letter tothe Centre a “political ploy to befoolpeople” ahead of civic polls in theSstate.

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A16-year study conduct-ed by the researchers of

Indian Institute ofTechnology, Kharagpur,have made a frighteningrevelation that rampantdeforestation and construc-tion have made Kolkata anextremely heated zone —the“hottest island” of the coun-try.

The study says that rapidurbanisation and deforestation havemade the City of Joy the “hottest of allthe urban heated islands.” While anextended spell of winter has still keptthe Kolkatans away from the “burningreality” a sweltering and harsh summeris awaiting the people of the citywhich till a couple of decades agowould not see the summer temperatureclimb beyond 36-37 degrees.

Unregulated urbanisation has letKolkata’s temperature climb more than2 degrees in the past three decades,experts say. A study conducted by IIT-k researchers between 2001 and 2017have revealed that while day and nighttemperature of the urban centresincluding Kolkata has gone up remark-

ably the difference between day andnight temperatures has decreasedimplying a rise in mean temperature,experts said.

This is a trend in 44 big cities of thecountry including Delhi, Mumbai,Chennai, Bengaluru, Pune, Guwahatietc the study has said. While averagetemperature of the other cities haverisen by about 2 degrees in the past 30years that of Kolkata has gone up evenmore than that the study conducted byIIT’s Centre for Oceans Reverse,Atmosphere and Land Science said.

The problem is going to rise andmultiply the experts have cautioned, ifnecessary measures are not taken withimmediate effect.

Mumbai: Hours after the BJP criticisedThe Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA)dispensation over the law and order sit-uation, Chief Minister UddhavThackeray hit back at the party sayingthat those targeting his Governmentshould first see what is happeningunder their watch.

He asked why no “terrorist”(assailant) involved in the attack onstudents at the Jawaharlal NehruUniversity (JNU) last month has beenarrested so far by the BJP-ruled Centre.

Thackeray was talking to reporterson the eve of the Budget session of theMaharashtra legislature.

Earlier in the day, the State BJP crit-icised his government over the recent inci-dents of crime against women.

When asked about the BJP’s allega-tions, Thackeray said, “Every crimeagainst women is condemnable and nota single such incident should occuragain.”

“While targeting us, the BJP shouldalso see what is happening in the Statesruled by it. Especially in the centrally-ruled New Delhi, where terrorists stormed

the JNU and beat the students,” he said.“I am going to call those assailants as

terrorists. Despite so many days, not a sin-gle assailant has been arrested so far,” hesaid.

“Those targeting us on unjustifiedgrounds should first see what is happen-ing under their watch and then commentabout us,” Thackeray added.Thirty-fourpeople, including students and faculty,were injured on January 5 when a maskedmob entered the JNU campus andattacked them with rods and sledgeham-mers. PTI

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As the Budget session of theMaharashtra Legislature

gets underway on Monday, theMaha Vikas Aghadi (MVA)Government will put its bestfoot forward on the first day byreleasing the first list of farmloan waiver beneficiaries, evenas the Opposition BJP will goall out to drive a wedgebetween the ruling Shiv Senaand its alliance partners —NCP and Congress — over thecontentious issues like theCAA, NPR and VeerSavarkar.

Addressing a news confer-ence after the Opposition BJPboycotted the customary teahosted by him on the eve of theLegislature session, ChiefMinister Uddhav Thackeraysaid that as part of the first listof farm loan waiver, the StateGovernment will write offloans up to �2 lakh each takenby farmers across the State.

“Tomorrow, we willannounce the first list of list offarm loan waiver beneficiaries

with dues up to �2 lakh each.Unlike the previous BJP-ledGovernment (of which myparty was a part) which hadmade farm loan waiver withouthome work and did not executeits announcement, we haveplanned the loan waiverscheme well. We will completethe execution of the entireloan waiver process withinthree months,” Uddhav said.

Dismissing the criticismof his Government by theOpposition BJP on variouscounts, Uddhav said: “I do notthink it is necessary for me torespond to the issues raised bythe Opposition. Just because itcriticises the Government doesnot make it a good opposition.At a time when the governmentis doing good work, it isimproper on the Opposition’spart to say that theGovernment is not doing any-thing.”

Charging that theOpposition BJP could notstomach the fact the rulingMVA was providing a stablegovernment in the state,

Uddhav said: “Our is not a gov-ernment that is counting days.

The BJP is unable to stom-ach the fact that ours is a sta-ble government. We have notjust made promises, but we areimplementing out promises.The people in the state thinkthat it is their Government”.

“We are implementing apeople-friendly initiate likeShiv Bhojan Yojana ( �10 ameal scheme). Still theOpposition is criticising us.Here is a party (BJP) that didnot did anything good for thepeople when it was in power.We are getting good responsefor the Shiv Bhojan Yojana. Weare planning to enlarge thescope ofthis scheme in thecoming days,” the ChiefMinister said.

Among other things,Uddhav said that the stategovernment was planning tocome out with a legislationalong the lines of the the

Andhra Pradesh Criminal LawAmendment Act 2019 – betterknown as the Andhra PradeshDisha law, which stipulatesdeath sentences to convicts inrape cases within 21 days. “Wehave set a five-member officialcommittee to study the AndhraPradesh law and come outwith a report on the proposedlegislation that we intend out tointroduce in the StateLegislature,” he said.

Informed sources in theOpposition BJP said that itsleaders would go out all the wayto corner the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress front Governmentover contentious likeCitizenship Amendment Act(CAA), National PopulationRegister (NPR) and VeerSavarkar.

Talking to media personsafter boycotting the session-evehosted by the Chief Minister,leader of the Opposition in theAssembly and senior BJP leaderDevendra Fadnavis — in an

apparent effort to exploit thedifferences among the rulingMVA partners on contentiousissues – dared Uddhav to movea resolution on the floor of theState Legislature to hail the con-tributions of Veer Savarkar onthe occasion of the latter’sdeath anniversary on February26”.

Slamming the UddhavThackeray dispensation for notbeing able to come grips withthe challenges facing his gov-ernment, Fadnavis said: “Threemonths have passed but theMVA Government is still in astate of confusion. It has notimplemented the promises itmade in the run-up to theAssembly elections. Though itannounced it would waive theloans of farmers. But, it has notbegun implementation of farmloan waiver scheme”.

“The Government has lostits control over the increasingatrocities against women. TheGovernment is not sensitive atall when it comes to womenissues. The government is try-ing to erode the morale of the

police force in the State...ThisGovernment has stayed theimplementation of variousdecisions taken by our gov-ernment like the water grid andour flagship schemes like GramSadak yojana and Jal YuktShivara. The Shiv Sena is notready to speak on the insultsbeing heaped by the NCP andCongress on the descendents ofMaratha warrior ChhatrapatiShivaji,” Fadnavis said.

On its part, the rulingMVA is preparing to dig upalleged irregularities in sever-al schemes, including Fadnavis’pet project “Jal Yukt Shivara”,implemented by the previousBJP-led saffron alliance gov-ernment. During the course ofthe budget session, the stategovernment is expected toeither order inquiries or comeout with details of corruptionin the earlier Government.

Available indications areanything to go by, both theHouses of the State Legislatureare expected to witness a lot offireworks during the budgetsession.

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%+�+�� �������*��������������������� ���� &�������� ��������Patna: Schools in Bihar wouldsoon have ‘POCSO cells’ tohear complaints of sexual mis-conduct and exploitation, aGovernment official said hereon Sunday. Bihar EducationProject Council, an organiza-tion dedicated to achievingUniversal ElementaryEducation (UEE) in the State,had last week issued directionto all district education officersto set up POCSO cells inschools, with students amongothers as its members, she said.

“We have given directionsto the district education offi-cers (DEOs) to set up POCSOcells in all schools of the state,starting March 1...

“There will be a commit-tee headed by the headmasterin each school, which willlook into the complaints andtake necessary action, accord-

ing to the provisions ofPOCSO Act,” Kiran Kumari,special project officer, BiharEducation Project Council(BEPC), told PTI.

The Protection ofChildren from Sexual Offences(POCSO) Act, 2012 aims topunish those engaging in sex-ual crimes against children,while safeguarding their inter-ests at every stage of the judi-cial process.

In the first phase, the unitswould be established in sec-ondary schools, she said,adding that the model wouldbe later replicated in primaryand middle schools.

Each committee will havethe school principal or head-master, a senior school teacher,a panchayati raj representative,a girl student, a boy studentand a clerk as its members,Kumar explained.

“A student can eitherdirectly submit a written com-plaint of sexual exploitation ormisconduct to the committeeor leave it in the complaintbox, with or without men-tioning his or identity. Thecomplaint box will be openedonce every week.

“If the committee deemsfit, the complaint will be for-warded to the nearest policestation. It will be the panel’s jobto find out the identity of thecomplainant at the time oflodging of an FIR. As perPOCSO rules, confidentialityof the complainant will bemaintained,” she said

Noting that the “cellswould work at two levels”, theBEPC state programme officersaid awareness would be gen-erated about sexual harass-ment in schools, as part of theinitiative. PTI ������������8�)#'��������������.�'���"����'����#����������.�'����������8����������� � ��1

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Walls” and the US PresidentDonald Trump seem tohave some sticky fixationthat goes beyond the con-tentious Mexico-US border

“wall”, the cost of building which would beabout $25 billion. The recent case is the muchhumbler 400-metre-long and seven-feethigh wall in Ahmedabad. Trump’s visit to thiscity has led to an estimated drain of �100crore. The said amount will be spent onresurfacing and constructing new roads, onsecurity imperatives, for transport andrefreshments of over 1,00,000 guests in the“world’s largest stadium”, transplanting trees,flower arrangements, cultural extravaganzaas also the “contentious” wall-column thatseems to have caught public attention for itsostensible purpose.

Clearly, this wall-column hides a slumcluster of some 800 families that dot theunavoidable road stretch — from the airportto the main venue. It does have some secu-rity angle, given the heavy population den-sity along the road, which typically neces-sitates a smooth passage for the presidentialentourage. But it is essentially a “beautifica-tion” move that is neither unique to Indianor necessarily unwarranted in the contextof sprucing any location in preparation ofsuch events. It is certainly a sad reflection ofthe reality that besets any urban dwelling.However, the efforts towards putting fortha “picture-perfect” view is par for course inany civic engagement.

The Government cannot be faulted forprojecting a certain ambience and opera-tional flawlessness, especially as the event isaimed to enhance “magnificence” of anemerging India (with the inauguration of the“world”s largest stadium). Putting the bestfoot forward in terms of visuals is the norm,not the exception. But it certainly is tanta-mount to glossing over some reality thatalways lurks in the midst of any city, be itAhmedabad, New Delhi or evenWashington, DC. State visits are necessari-ly and deliberately over-sanitised andbedecked from all aspects of the diverse real-ity that always exists in proximity. The majes-tic drive from the Rashtrapati Bhawan to thesplendorous Janpath, all the way up to theIndia Gate, or even to other parts of LutyensDelhi, does not reflect the socio-economicdiversity, reality and depravity of some otherparts of the capital that is spared the caval-cade of such dignitaries.

The recent phenomenon initiated by theModi Government of showcasing differentcities across the country (beyond Delhi) isnovel as it willy-nilly facilitates a modicumof development therein. Many cities havebenefitted from the spotlight — be itVaranasi during Japanese Prime MinisterShinzo Abe’s visit or Chennai, which host-ed Chinese Premier Xi Jinping. Ahmedabad,which had previously hosted Xi and is againprepping for the next high-profile foreignvisit, may be benefitting disproportionate-

ly from such visits along with thePrime Minister’s political con-stituency of Varanasi. But again,as the son-of-soil of Gujarat andthe “people’s representative” ofVaranasi, he thought he is enti-tled to that bias.

Similar “walls” had come upat various places in Beijing dur-ing the 2008 Olympics. Chinahad strategically used this occa-sion to announce its “arrival” onthe global scale. At that time, theChinese had spent over $130million to just restore and painttheir building-temple complex-es that dotted the five-mile axison the main Olympic zone.Much later, Rio de Janeiro hadto face much criticism for its“walls of shame” that sprung upto divide the shiny new Olympiccity in 2016 from the typical Riode Janeiro shanties that populat-ed the city. A five mile long high-way from the airport was cov-ered with a 10 feet “wall” thatwas painted with welcomingmurals. Everyone knew that itcovered the inequities that besetthe Brazilian reality.

Later, activists derided suchmoves as Potemkin displaysand used the facade afforded bysuch “walls” to post expressionsof cynicism and revolt againstthe Government. But then, thealternative of leaving the realityin its naked sores is, perhaps,equally untenable and unhelp-ful, considering the larger stakes

and ambitions involved in host-ing such events.

The CommonwealthGames (CWG) in Delhi in 2010had led to thick bamboo “cur-tains” being planted aroundsqualid clusters. Beyond thepolitical blame-game, the eventselectively and successfully high-lighted New Delhi’s gleamingnew airport, swanky metro,wide roads with streetlights —an important infrastructuralchange that did alter the face andperception of the city.

In India, outside Delhi, thearchitectural development andapproach of the city centre fromthe airport is such that it wouldentail many improvisations,sprucing up and even theinevitable “walls” from an aes-thetic, practical and securityperspective. A lot of publicemotions is unnecessarily rakedwith debates on such “walls”,which could be more meaning-fully directed at the more sub-stantive part of the visit ie, theagreements, compromises andexchanges that take place, whichhave a long-term impact inaffecting people’s lives.

While there can never be auniversally-agreed formula todetermine how much is “toomuch” on such “walls,” commonsense suggests that an element ofbeautification and relatedrequirements does require asemblance of “cover-up.” On

the contrary, the public eye onthe ball should remain focussedof the inked papers, determi-nants and agreements (withTrump, even disagreements)that fructify or don’t, pursuantto this visit. Puerile debate andpassion on “walls” have a ten-dency to hijack the larger nar-rative at stake.

It is, perhaps, more perti-nent to criticise the waste-of-moment captured in the famoustea ceremony on the swings onthe banks of Sabarmati inAhmedabad when PrimeMinister Narendra Modi host-ed Xi, when at that verymoment, the People LiberationArmy (PLA) was involved in aface-off with the Indian armedforces at the border. Charmoffensives have limited “utility”and the classical Atithi DevoBhava (Guest is God) has verylimited resonance with hard-nosed businessmen like Trumpor Xi.

Hindi Chini Bhai Bhai (Indiaand China are brothers) of the1950s is a lesson not to be for-gotten as is the memory of theUS Naval fleet sailing into theBay of Bengal in the 1971 Indo-Pak war. The minor “walls” in2020, though not very elegant,ought not to be the substantiveconcern of the day.

(The writer, a military veter-an, is a former Lt Governor ofAndaman & Nicobar Islands)

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Sir — It is untenable that China hasraised objections to Union HomeMinister Amit Shah’s visit toArunachal Pradesh, claiming thatit is in violation of its territorial sov-ereignty and sabotaged mutualtrust with India. New Delhi hasdone well to stand its ground,pointing out that ArunachalPradesh is an “integral and inalien-able” part of India and Indianleaders routinely travel to the Stateas they do to any other State.

It has become a habit forBeijing to make unwarranted nois-es when anyone visits the eastern-most part of the country. It did soeven when the Prime Minister wasthere to lay the foundation stonefor a tunnel under the critical Selamountain pass. But why does itkeep raising objections to it? Beinga totalitarian regime, it neverallows “personal freedom” to flour-ish. But unlike China, India is ademocratic country and individ-ual freedom, culture, religions andso on are always protected here.This is why India has always takenrecourse to “polite diplomacy” tomake its point.

The Chinese outburst islinked to its frustration. One of

the major concerns for China isthe ongoing infrastructural pro-jects undertaken by our countryover there. Beijing maintains thatuntil a settlement on the borderissue is achieved, no one can visit

Arunachal. But do we have to payheed to it? We are a sovereignrepublic and none can tell uswhere Indians can travel.

TK NandananChennai

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Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Message of Shaheen Bagh”(February 19). The protest at

Shaheen Bagh is the longestagainst the CitizenshipAmendment Act (CAA). TheSupreme Court has done well toappoint mediators to open theroad blockade. The Government,too, has made it clear that it isready to negotiate. But it is dis-heartening that it took the initia-tive to end the logjam only aftera long wait, when the court inter-vened. Further, the Government’ssole interest is to get the roadvacated. Shaheen Bagh became amajor challenge for it with itspeaceful and civil character. Whatabout finding a solution to theconcerns raised by the women?

NiharikaVia email

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Sir — Indeed, protests are meantto serve a wake-up call fordemocracy. But it is important forShaheen Bagh protesters to con-sider the disruption they havecaused. They must abide by theSupreme Court’s orders.

AshokVia email

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As US President Donald Trump visitsAhmedabad-Agra-Delhi today, the spec-trum of expectations remains variegated.

Although the agenda of the bilateral meetseems holistic, with a 12-member delegationaccompanying Trump during his two-day visitto India, apprehensions remain regarding thedeliverables coming out of the trip.

Besides, there have been quite a few changesin Trump’s itinerary and agenda, signalling last-minute negotiations, disagreements and possi-bly discontent on either side, on the key issuesof trade. The US has adopted a hard negotiat-ing position vis-a-vis India and has signalled itsunwillingness to retract from that stance. Amongother things, the US has been reluctant to rein-state India’s Generalised System of Preferences(GSP) status and has continued to seek marketaccess for its dairy products.

New Delhi has held out till now, but it isgoing to be difficult to predict the course of nego-tiations in the coming future. If nothing concretecomes out of bilateral trade talks in the fewmonths following Trump’s visit to the country,he could further harden negotiating grounds forthe US, as was the case with China.

Even though many have held that the cen-trepiece of this visit, a substantive/mini-trade dealbetween the US and India, may have collapsed,the political signalling of Trump’s visit is strongfor both the countries. For India, it means a con-tinuation of the growth in strength of Indo-USties with each successive President.

The short, 36-hour stay of Trump is beingutilised in the most effective way, in so far as sig-nalling is concerned. The Ahmedabad “NamasteTrump” event, Agra’s Taj Mahal stopover and thecritically-decisive talks between Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and Trump along with the visitto the Raj Ghat, tie concrete deliverables with cul-tural symbolism.

For the US, as the domestic primaries areheating up, running up to the presidential elec-tions at the end of the year, the timing and thetargetted constituency of the Indian-Americansas vote bank, could draw significant advantagesfor the Republican Party and the Trump admin-istration.

Trump’s tweet that, “We’re not treated verywell by India”, but that he happens to “like PrimeMinister Modi a lot” underscores the comfort-able-uncomfortability of this visit. Both leadersrealise the value of each other’s partnership intimes when China is not the same option for part-nership for either country as they are for eachother.

Trump’s declaration that he is “saving the bigdeal” with India for later and he “does not know”if it will be done before the presidential electionin November, signals two things: First, that theongoing negotiations on trade are a hard bargainfor either side and that neither party is willingto give concessions or cede positions. Second,both sides have desisted from earmarking a dead-line for the finalisation of these negotiations,which speaks of the complex nature of the con-sultations involved.

In the end, the lack of availability of animmediate trade deal to sign for Trump may notbe a pressing irritant. India’s trade surplus withthe US has significantly come down in the last

few years owing to energy imports fromit, which is the sixth-largest source ofcrude oil imports for the country cur-rently. Besides, the US continues to beIndia’s largest trading partner, withbilateral trade expected to cross $150billion for the first time this year.

In the absence of any mega tradedeals, both sides will tether the projec-tion of successful US-India bilateralrelations to defence deals, securitycooperation and a commonly-visu-alised regional order in the Indo-Pacific. As such, defence deals are like-ly to be the highlight of the visit. In par-ticular, the $2.6 billion deal to buy 24Seahawk helicopters from Americandefence manufacturer Lockheed MartinCorporation is going to capture head-lines.

The Cabinet Committee onSecurity headed by Modi recentlycleared the purchase of the 24 heli-copters and the deal is going to bene-fit India as these platforms are expect-ed to boost the Navy’s anti-submarinewarfare operations — an emerging areaof maritime cooperation with the USand a critical component of the Indo-Pacific security resolve. At the level ofthe regional order in Asia, two issueswill be very critical during this visit. TheTrump administration could nudgeNew Delhi to play a larger and strongerregional role in the Indo-Pacific region.

First, the role that New Delhiwould play in the Indo-Pacific regionis of utmost importance to Washington.For a long time, the US and other part-ners of the Quadrilateral securitygrouping view India as a “dithering”member. The US views itself as havingtaken quite a few steps in the Indo-Pacific that haven’t been well recipro-

cated through actions by India. Amongthem, the renaming of the Indo-PacificCommand to pragmatically engageIndia directly in all matters relating tothe Indo-Pacific. Washington viewsNew Delhi as a key player in the US’strategy in the Indo-Pacific.

The Raisina Dialogue held inJanuary in New Delhi witnessed animportant development regarding theIndo-US joint vision in the Indo-Pacific. The US moved to correct apotential disconnection in the Indo-UScommon view by declaring that its ownvision in the Indo-Pacific now includesthe Gulf region, which the US’ Indo-Pacific Strategy Report excluded initial-ly. This small but significant changebuilds a common platform to advancecooperation in the Indo-Pacific regionfor both the countries. However, evenas both countries try to find commonground in the Indo-Pacific to workwith, New Delhi should try to empha-sise certain uncompromising positionsof geopolitics in this vast region. India’sown relation with Iran has to beworked up, despite pressures fromWashington and significant cuts in oilimports from Tehran.

India should deftly employ strate-gic hedging to work with both Iran andthe US. While New Delhi knows thatfor a middle power like it, balancingbetween two major players — the USand China — is going to be much eas-ier than balancing between a majorforce and a regionally-strong yet sub-middle power like Iran. The real chal-lenge of diplomacy for India lies in itsability to navigate successfully withoutcreating hostilities, especially in timeswhen partisan geopolitics has threat-ened to become a diplomatic norm,

beckoning the polarisation that char-acterised half a century before the cur-rent one.

In the continental dimensions ofthe Indo-Pacific, Afghanistan is goingto be a critically-important factor giventhe timing of domestic politics in thatcountry, China’s increasing role inKabul and the US withdrawal lined up.Trump is a known pusher for India’sgreater role in Afghanistan and this visitcould see a diplomatic nudge to NewDelhi to change its role in Afghanistan,if not increase it. President Ghani’sreturn to power in Afghanistan, the US’deal with Taliban to be signed onFebruary 29 and its subsequent with-drawal could be used as diplomatictropes for India to increase its securi-ty role in Afghanistan.

India should be wary that it doesnot cede ground in dealings with thehard negotiators accompanying Trumpand end up doing what doesn’t suit itsnational interests — an Iran yet again.Even if nothing much comes out of theupcoming Trump visit, India shouldprepare for uncompromising negotia-tions. sYet, the visit has the potential tocatapult bilateral ties to a new level andset new grounds for engagements in thefuture. If Modi has initiated the cultureof “informal talks” with China, with theUS it is the “grand events” that mark adistinct note in bilateral relations. Assuch, the Ahmedabad event in thecricket stadium further pushes theidea of a large gathering to welcome vis-iting Heads of State towards a concretediplomatic norm.

(The writer is Deputy Director,Kalinga Institute of Indo-Pacific Studies,Bhubaneswar and Research Fellow,ICWA, New Delhi)

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In 1992, while working as a reporterfor an English-language weekly inKarachi, I was assigned a feature on

certain books that were part of the cur-riculum in schools operating in twolow-income areas of the city.

These were not Governmentschools. They were largely run andfunded by “charity organisations”, twoof which were eventually banned by theGovernment in 2003. I managed toacquire two Urdu textbooks that werebeing taught to students between theages of eight and 12. In simple Urdu,the books had chapters on jihad, infi-dels, obscenity and so on. When I askedan active member of one of the chari-ty organisations about the books, hetold me the tomes were not originallypublished in Pakistan. To my astonish-ment, the books were actually reprints

of textbooks that were first authoredand printed in the US in the early andmid-1980s. They were then shipped toPakistan, where they were distributedto various schools and madrasas coun-trywide and to madrasas and schoolsin the villages of Afghanistan near thePak-Afghan border. This was done dur-ing the anti-Soviet insurgency inAfghanistan between 1980 and 1988.Afghan and Arab insurgents were sta-tioned in Pakistan and sustained byfinancial aid and support from the USand Saudi Arabia.

In the March 23, 2002 issue of TheWashington Post, Joe Stephens andDavid Ottaway write that, during theinsurgency, Ronald Reagan’sGovernment spent millions on theprinting of textbooks (in Pashto, Dariand Urdu) “filled with violent imagesand militant teachings, as part ofcovert attempts to spur resistance to theSoviet occupation.” These books weresent to Pakistan with the billions of dol-lars’ worth of “aid” that Pakistanreceived from the US to facilitate theinsurgency.

Stephens and Ottaway add that thebooks “were filled with talk of holy warand featured drawings of guns, bullets,soldiers and mines.” After the Soviet

forces left the region, in the late 1980s,these books became part of the Afghanschool system’s core curriculum.Stephen and Ottaway write that thesame books were also used by the vio-lent Taliban regime that came to powerin Kabul in 1996.

In 2002, just months after the USforces ousted the Taliban from power,an American foreign aid official statedthat a major “scrubbing operation” inPakistan and Afghanistan had beenlaunched “to purge from the books allreferences to killing.” This was brieflycovered by a 2002 issue of Daily News,the now defunct Pakistani Englishnewspaper. The reporter had addedthat, before “scrubbing” the books thatit had circulated, the US was the firstnon-Muslim power to have propagat-ed “holy war” among Muslims toundermine a “common enemy”. This isnot correct.

The first to do so was Germany. OnOctober 14, 1914, a senior cleric inIstanbul — which at the time was thecapital of the Ottoman Empire —declared a “holy war” against Britain,France, Russia and Serbia. He did thiswith the approval of the OttomanSultan and on the behest of Germany.

The bankrupt empire had decided

to become an ally of Germany duringWorld War-I. The Sultan accepted ahefty payment from Germany to bol-ster the ailing Ottoman economy. Healso saw the alliance as an opportuni-ty for the empire to regain the regionsthat it had lost in the 19th century andonwards.

In the April 2011 issue of the jour-nal War in History, historian MustafaAksakal writes that, to anti-Germanforces, the Ottoman jihad proclamationwas understood as “a linchpin of theGerman scheme to revolutioniseMuslim populations in territories ofGermany’s enemies.”

According to Aksakal, the Germanlawyer, historian and archeologist Maxvon Oppenheim was one of the mainarchitects of the “scheme.” A propagan-da organisation, the Nachrichtenstellefür den Orient (The Intelligence Bureaufor the East), headquartered in Berlin,produced and then circulated jihadistliterature among the Muslims of Asianand African territories held by theBritish. The two most prominent textsin this context were a booklet byJewish scholar and founder of ModernIslamic Studies in Germany, EugenMittwoch and a 1915 brochure by theMuslim scholar Salih Ash-Sharif Al-

Tunisi. According to Samuel Krug, inhis essay for the research projectMaking War, Mapping Europe, thebooklet contextualised jihad accordingto contemporary politics, whereasTunisi’s brochure explained it as a bind-ing theological concept. Both texts werepublished in Berlin by the GermanSociety of Islamic Studies.

The fallouts of the two schemes,one by Germany and the other by theUS, were completely different. Due tothe fact that Germany and theOttomans badly lost the war, secularMuslim nationalism and hybrid Leftistideas completely sidelined the jihadistfervour roused by German propagan-da. German and Ottoman defeatsstrengthened secular nationalist narra-tives in Muslim countries and discard-ed theocratic ideas.

On the other hand, as Britishauthor Jonathan Steele demonstrates inhis 2011 book, Ghosts of Afghanistan,even though it was the collapsingSoviet economy that forced Sovietforces to leave Afghanistan and then thestopping of aid to the Government thatit left behind in Kabul, the US andPakistan spun the Soviet departure tomean a “victory of faith against com-munism.” It was this perception that saw

militant propaganda devised by the USto linger in the region. No wonder then,when the US forces invaded Kabul totopple the Taliban regime in 2001, theyfound madrasas still using textbooksthat the US had circulated in the1980s. What’s more, according to aDecember 2014 report in TheWashington Post, despite the fact that,ever since 2002 ,Unicef in Afghanistandestroyed almost half a million of thesebooks, many were still being taught tochildren in areas under the control ofTaliban insurgents.

In 2015, Pakistani soldiers foundsimilar textbooks in seminaries andschools in areas that were once domi-nated by extremist groups. Thesegroups were ousted through a militaryoperation. In other words, until 2015,textbooks authored and published inthe US in the 1980s to glorify “holy war”in the minds of young Muslims werestill being used in various seminariesand schools of the region.

Some commentators suspect manyof these tomes are still out there. Andthey are expected to make a full come-back if (and/or when) the Taliban man-age to return to power after the immi-nent departure of US forces.

(Courtesy Dawn)

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Senior officials of the telecomdepartment and other key

ministries met on Sunday todiscuss urgent relief measuresthat can be extended to the tele-com industry, which is battlingan unprecedented crisis onaccount of massive statutorydues it owes the government.

The meeting, held at theDepartment of Telecom, lastedfor over an hour and is said tohave deliberated on optionsbefore the Government to pro-vide much-needed lifeline to

the AGR-hit industry.Telecom czar and

Chairman of Bharti Airtel SunilMittal had last week made anappeal to the government forcut in levies and taxes to pullthe sector out of what he haddescribed as an “unprecedent-ed crisis”.

Telecom department offi-cials remained tightlipped afterhigh-level government meetingon Sunday, where officials fromNITI Aayog and FinanceMinistry are said to have beenpresent. DoT Secretary AnshuPrakash remained unavailable

for comments. The crucialmeeting comes at a time whenthe telecom companies arestaring at �1.47 lakh crore inunpaid dues — �92,642 crorein unpaid licence fee andanother �55,054 crore in out-standing spectrum usagecharges.

Of the estimated dues thatinclude interest and penalty forlate payments, Airtel andVodafone Idea owe about 60per cent.

While Airtel has raised $3billion in last few months andis expected to have sufficient

funds to tide over the AGR cri-sis, Vodafone Idea — that hasonly paid just seven per cent ofits total �53,000 crore statuto-ry dues — remains deeply vul-nerable.

The Government, mean-while, is looking to strike a bal-ance between complying withthe Supreme Court order onAGR dues, ensuring health ofthe sector and safeguardingconsumer interest.

Both Mittal and VILChairman Kumar MangalamBirla continued to meet topgovernment functionariesthroughout last week to seekprompt measures that wouldoffer a breather to the sector.

A top Government officialhad said recently that attemptsare being made to balance theneed for health of the sector,consumer interest while com-plying with the Supreme Courtorder on statutory dues.

Although the official had

not elaborated, sector watchershad said the statement alludesto the government keen onensuring adequate competi-tion by retaining the presentthree-plus-one model of com-petition (three private players

and one public sector compa-ny). The statutory dues aroseafter the Supreme Court, inOctober last year, upheld thegovernment’s position onincluding revenue from non-core businesses in calculating

the annual Adjusted GrossRevenue (AGR) of telecomcompanies, a share of which ispaid as licence and spectrumfee to the exchequer.

The Supreme Court earli-er this month rejected a plea by

mobile carriers such as BhartiAirtel and Vodafone Idea Ltdfor extension in the paymentschedule and asked all of themto deposit an estimated �1.47lakh crore in past dues for spec-trum and licences.

It threatened to initiatecontempt proceedings againsttop executives of these firms fornon-payment.

Some telecom firms arealready struggling with mount-ing losses and debt and theadditional liability has raisedconcerns of them defaulting onexisting loans.

Vodafone Idea has so farpaid only �3,500 crore in twotranches. Airtel has paid�10,000 crore out of its esti-mated liability of over �35,000crore. Tata Teleservices haspaid �2,197 crore, the entireoutstanding it believes to havearisen after the October rulingof the apex court for calculat-ing dues.

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Terming “test checks” pro-posed by the Government

on telcos’ AGR arithmetic asstandard audit procedure,Industry body COAI has saidthe DoT needs to ensure con-sistency among its different cir-cles on calculation of dues tominimise any differences.

Cellular Operators’Association of India (COAI)also cautioned that any deci-sion to encash bank guaranteeswill be “disastrous” for thetelecom industry, which onlyhas three private players.

“Any move to encash bankguarantees will precipitate analready precarious situation,”COAI Director General, RajanMathews told PTI.

Mathews termed the ‘testchecks’ being proposed by thetelecom department to exam-ine deviation in calculation ofdues by companies as a “stan-dard audit procedure”.

He pointed out that whileamounts need to be finalised assoon as possible, operatorstoo should be given a fairopportunity to explain thedeviations in calculation.

“There should be consis-tency amongst all LSAs(Licensed Service Areas) of theDoT (Department ofTelecommunications) on howthe amounts are calculated, sothe differences are minimised,”

Mathews added. TheGovernment has made it clearthat it will verify the compa-nies’ claims on AGR math andexamine any deviations fromits own calculation, throughrandom ‘test checks’ beforeMarch 17.

The Government will con-duct ‘test check’ for any oneyear (of telcos’ dues) to exam-ine variances between tele-com companies’ assessmentand the government’s own cal-culation of AGR liabilities.

The test check will happenfor all telecom firms, but couldstart with those, which havealready claimed they havemade full and final settlementtowards their statutory liabil-ities, like Tata Teleservices.

In all, as many as 15 enti-ties owe the government �1.47lakh crore — �92,642 crore inunpaid licence fee and anoth-er �55,054 crore in outstand-ing spectrum usage charges.

These dues arose after theSupreme Court, in October lastyear, upheld the government’sposition on including revenuefrom non-core businesses incalculating the annual adjust-ed gross revenue (AGR) of tele-com companies, a share ofwhich is paid as licence andspectrum fee to the exchequer.

The Supreme Court earli-er this month rejected a plea bymobile carriers such as BhartiAirtel and Vodafone Idea Ltd

for extension in the paymentschedule and asked them todeposit an estimated �1.47lakh crore in past dues forspectrum and licences.

The apex court hadwarned that it will initiatecontempt proceedings againsttop executives of these firmsfor non-payment.

Some telecom firms arealready struggling with mount-ing losses and debt, and theadditional liability has raisedconcerns of them defaulting onexisting loans. Of the estimat-ed dues that include interestand penalty for late payments,Airtel and Vodafone Idea oweabout 60 per cent. VodafoneIdea is confronted with totalAGR dues of over �53,000crore. Of this, it has so far paidonly �3,500 crore in twotranches earlier this week.

Airtel has so far paid�10,000 crore out of its esti-mated liability of over �35,000crore.Tata Teleservices has paid�2,197 crore, the entire out-standing it believes to havearisen after the October rulingof the apex court for calculat-ing dues.

Tata Teleservices and TataTeleservices Maharashtra havesubmitted to the governmentthe details of calculation insupport of its payment, butsources in the DoT said thatwide gap between the compa-ny’s calculations.

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Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman on Sunday

apprised the G-20 countries onthe steps taken in the UnionBudget to open up India’s bondmarket.

During the FinanceMinisters & Central BankGovernors meeting in Riyadh,she outlined the efforts taken todeepen India’s bond marketsuch as removal of capital con-trols for identified categories ofG-Secs and increased FPI limiton corporate bond market inthe session on “FinancialResilience & Development” onthe second day of the confer-ence, the Finance Ministrysaid.

FPI limits with respect toinvestment in corporate bondsare proposed to be increased to15 per cent. This may be a steptowards local bond inclusion inglobal indices and interna-tionalisation of the rupee.

The Finance Minister’sannouncement should helpboost investments in the Indiandebt market, the Ministry said,adding Sitharaman looked for-ward to continued engagementwith the G20 on this agenda.

Hiking the FPI limit in cor-porate bonds and concession-al tax rate on interest incomeearned by FPIs are among thesteps that can increase capital flows into themarket.

To promote a deep and liq-uid market, the governmenthas announced that a nettinglegislation would be formulat-ed to expand the scope of thecorporate default swaps market.This would also significantlyhelp banks manage their capi-tal requirements and exposuremonitoring.

Sitharaman also congratu-lated the G20’s SaudiPresidency for identifyingdevelopment of capital marketsas a priority area.

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Following the KarnatakaHigh Court ordering a stay

on the anti-trust probe againste-commerce giants Amazonand Flipkart, the Confederationof All India Traders (CAIT) islikely to file a petition chal-lenging the stay in the SupremeCourt in the coming week.

Speaking to IANS, PraveenKhandelwal, National GeneralSecretary of CAIT said that thetrade body’s lawyers are cur-rently working on filing a peti-tion.

“I hope by Thursday orFriday we will be able to file thepetition. The lawyers arealready working on it,” he said.

“We can go to SupremeCourt, because that is the rightforum as the High Court hasgiven its order. Most likely, itwill be Supreme Court,”Khandelwal told IANS.

On February 14, theKarnataka High Court ordereda stay on the CCI probe intoviolation of competition lawsby e-commerce majors. Theorder came on the writ petitionfiled by Amazon seeking astay on the investigation.

The High Court was of theview that the ongoing investi-

gation by the EnforcementDirectorate (ED) should becompleted first. Last year, theED initiated insvestigationagainst both Amazon andFlipkart for alleged violation ofthe foreign exchange law.

The anti-trust body had inJanuary ordered an enquiryinto the operations of bothAmazon and Flipkart on mul-tiple counts, including deepdiscounts and exclusive tie-upswith preferred sellers.

Further, days after theKarnataka High Court ordereda stay, Walmart-backed Flipkartalso moved the court urging itto set aside the probe. In its writpetition, Flipkart InternetPrivate Ltd said that althoughthe High Court has ordered astay on the investigation, theprobe order of the CompetitionCommission of India (CCI)“deserves to be set aside”.

It said that the CCI direct-ed an investigation withoutthe existence of a “prima facie”case. It further said that theorder was passed in a pre-determined manner, by treat-ing allegations of abuse ofdominance as an anti-com-petitive agreement.

In its petition, Flipkart alsoquestioned the “bona fides” of

CAIT, which has been protest-ing against what it calls “deepdiscounts” by the e-commercemajors and reached out to theCCI and the governmentagainst them.

“The CCI is duty bound toact with caution, especially, inassessing the bona fides of theinformant. In this, the peti-tioner submits thatConfederation of All IndiaTraders has repeatedlyindulged in forum shoppingagainst the petitioner byapproaching various judicialforums, directly and through itssister entities raising exactly thesame baseless allegationsagainst the petitioner,” it said.

The organisation has timeand again written to and metCommerce Minister PiyushGoyal, among others, to regis-ter their protest against what itdescribes as deep discountingand unfair means by both theonline platforms, which hasimpacted the offline traders.CAIT has blamed both theplatforms of violating thenorms for foreign direct invest-ment (FDI).The traders bodyhad staged protests across Indiaduring the visit of AmazonCEO Jeff Bezos to India lastmonth.

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Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman on Sunday said

the international communityhas a unique opportunity todesign a new international taxsystem to handle the chal-lenges of digitalisation with acost-efficient dispute preven-tion mechanism.

She called upon the G20countries to ensure that theconsensus solution being devel-oped by G20 inclusive frame-work for addressing tax chal-lenges arising from digitalisa-tion is truly inclusive, accord-ing to tweets by the FinanceMinistry.

The Finance Ministeremphasised on the need for acloser collaboration betweenrevenue agencies to investigatetax affairs of offenders whocross-borders for escaping taxinvestigation, a tweet said.

During the second day ofthe G20 Finance Ministers andCentral Bank GovernorsMeeting in Riyadh, Sitharamanhighlighted the efforts under-

taken by the Government ofIndia to deepen the corporatebond market, such as removalof capital controls for identifiedcategories of government secu-rities (G-Secs) and increasedForeign Portfolio Investment(FPI) limit on the corporatebond market.

The Finance Minister saidshe looked forward to contin-ued engagement with G20 onthis agenda.

According to the tweets,Sitharaman explained the stepsbeing taken to reform the cred-

it default swap market, chang-ing the method of buying andselling bonds electronicallythrough exchanges, and facil-itating on-tap issuances for all,among others, for furtherenabling greater investments inIndia’s bond market.

Speaking during the ses-sion on infrastructure invest-ment, Sitharaman welcomedthe efforts underway in G20 todevelop infrastructure tech-nology — the InfraTechAgenda.

However, she also cau-tioned that G20 should refrainfrom developing any commonprescriptive approach sincevarious countries are at variedstages of adoption of technol-ogy in infrastructure, accord-ing to the tweets.

The Minister highlightedsuccessful Indian experience inthe area of adoption of tech-nology in infrastructure such asFASTags. She also pointed outthe efforts being taken forinstallation of smart energymeters across India to reducerevenue leakages.

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Riyadh: The deadly coron-avirus epidemic could put analready fragile global economyrecovery at risk, theInternational Monetary Fundhead told G20 finance minis-ters and central bank governorson Sunday.

Global growth was poisedfor a modest rebound to 3.3 percent this year, up from 2.9 percent last year, IMF chiefKristalina Georgieva said at themeeting in the Saudi capital.

“The projected recovery...Is fragile,” Georgieva said.

“The COVID-19 virus -- aglobal health emergency -- has

disrupted economic activity inChina and could put the recov-ery at risk,” she said in a statement.

“I reported to the G20 thateven in the case of rapid con-tainment of the virus, growthin China and the rest of theworld would be impacted.”Alarm has been growing overthe new virus as Chineseauthorities lock down millionsof people to prevent its spread,with major knock-on effectseconomically. The virus hasnow claimed 2,345 lives inChina, cutting off transporta-tion, disrupting trade and fan-ning investor alarm as busi-

nesses are forced to close theirdoors. Georgieva told the two-day Riyadh gathering that theoutbreak would shave about 0.1percentage points from globalgrowth and constrain China’sgrowth to 5.6 per cent this year.

The IMF chief urged G20nations to cooperate to containthe spread of the virus.

“COVID-19 is a starkreminder of our interconnec-tions and the need to worktogether,” Georgieva said. “Inthis regard, the G20 is animportant forum to help putthe global economy on a moresound footing.” AFP

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The US has surpassed Chinato become India’s top trad-

ing partner, showing greatereconomic ties between the twocountries.

According to the data ofthe commerce ministry, in2018-19, the bilateral tradebetween the US and Indiastood at $87.95 billion.

During the period, India’stwo-way commerce with Chinaaggregated at $87.07 billion.

Similarly, during April-December 2019-20, the bilat-eral trade between the US andIndia stood at $68 billion. Itstood at $64.96 billion withChina in the same period.

Trade experts believe that

the trend will continue in thecoming years also as New Delhiand Washington are engaged infurther deepening the eco-nomic ties. An expert said thatif the countries will finalise afree trade agreement (FTA),then the bilateral trade wouldreach at different levels.

“FTA with US will be verybeneficial for India as the US isthe biggest market for domes-tic goods and services,”Federation of Indian Exportorganisations Director GeneralAjay Sahai said.

He said that India’s exportsas well as imports are increas-ing with the US, while withChina both are declining.

America is one of the fewcountries with which India

has a trade surplus. On theother hand, India has a hugetrade deficit with China.

In 2018-19, India has atrade surplus of $16.85 billionwith America, while it has adeficit of $53.56 billion with theneighbouring country.

The data showed thatChina was India’s top tradingpartner since 2013-14 till 2017-18. Before China, UAE was thecountry’s largest trading nation.

A top American businessadvocacy group has said that afree trade agreement betweenIndia and the US is a key toresolving their trade disputes asit will cover biggest irritants inties, including tariffs andmobility of Indian profession-als. Professor at Indian Institute

of Foreign Trade (IIFT) RakeshMohan Joshi said that Indiashould be a bit cautious whilenegotiating a trade pact withthe US in areas, including agri-culture and food products, asAmerica is the world’s largestproducer and exporter of cer-tain commodities like maizeand soybean.

“A trade deal between theUS and India would furtherincrease the trade between thetwo countries easing tariffrestriction and opening up ofbigger market for products.India is a major exporter ofsteel, steel products and alu-minium products with com-bined exports of $22.7 billionlast year.

“Steel exports to the US

have continued to decline andit went down from $372 mil-lion in 2017-18 to $247 millionlast year. This is only 2.5 percent of our overall $9.74 billionsteel export to the world,”Pawan Gupta, the Founderand CEO of online trade plat-form Connect2India observed.

Commenting on trade withChina, Gupta said despite thefall in volume exports to theAsian neighbour increased 25per cent last year to $16.7 bil-lion while imports decreased byaround 8 per cent to $70.3 bil-lion last year.

The major reduction inimports from India has been onelectrical machinery, equip-ment and apparatus category,the CEO said.

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Natural gas prices in Indiaare likely to be cut by a

steep 25 per cent beginningApril, in line with the slump inglobal rates, sources said.

The price of most of thenatural gas produced by state-owned ONGC and Oil IndiaLtd, which account for thebulk of India’s existing gas out-put, is likely to be cut to around$2.5 per million British thermalunit for the six-month periodbeginning April 1, from $3.23as of now.

This will be the secondreduction in six months andwill reduce rates to the lowestin two-and-half-years.

Sources said the price ofgas produced from difficultfields too is likely to be cut to$5.50 from $8.43 per mmBtu now.

Prices of natural gas, whichis used to produce fertiliser andgenerate electricity and is alsoconverted into CNG for use inautomobiles as fuel and cook-ing gas for households, are setevery six months — on April 1and October 1 each year.

The rates, besides dictatingthe price of urea, electricity andCNG, also decide the revenueof gas producers such as Oiland Natural Gas Corp(ONGC).

Natural gas price was lastcut by 12.5 per cent on October1. Rates were cut to $3.23 permmBtu from earlier $3.69. Fordifficult fields, the rates werecut from an all-time high of$9.32 per mmBtu to $8.43.

Sources said the reductionwould impact revenues ofIndia’s biggest producer ONGCas well as Reliance Industriesand its partner BP plc whichplan to start gas productionfrom their ‘second-wave’ ofdiscoveries in eastern offshore KG-D6 block frommid-2020.

The cut in price will lowerthe earnings of producers likeONGC but will also lead to areduction in the price of CNG,which uses natural gas as input.

It would also lead to lowercost of natural gas piped tohouseholds (PNG) for cookingpurposes as well as of feedstockcost for the manufacturing offertilisers and petrochemicals.

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State-run Central Bank ofIndia is looking to sell its

entire 64.40 per cent stake in itshousing finance subsidiary –Cent Bank Home Finance(CBHFL), a top bank officialsaid. The lender has floated arequest for proposal (RFP) forappointing merchant bankers.The shortlisted bankers willhelp the lender scout for apotential investor to buy its

stake in the mortgage financier.“We plan to exit from Cent

Bank Home Finance. The bankalready provides housing loans,and so, we feel that there is noneed to have a housing financesubsidiary,” Central Bank ofIndia managing director andchief executive officer, PallavMohapatra, told PTI.

The bank holds 64.40 percent in the unlisted housingfinance company, while theremaining stake is held by

Housing & Urban DevelopmentCorporation (HUDCO), UnitTrust of India (UTI) andNational Housing Bank (NHB).The bank is facing operationalcurbs under the Reserve Bank’s(RBI) prompt corrective action(PCA) framework.

Mohapatra said the processof determining the valuation ofthe Bhopal-headquarteredhome finance company willbegin as soon as the merchantbankers are appointed.

New Delhi: A 28 per centGoods and Services Tax (GST)will be levied on lotteries fromMarch 1, according to a noti-fication. The GST Council hadin December last year decidedto impose a single rate of 28 percent on state-run and autho-rised lotteries.

The revenue departmentnotified the GST rate on supplyof lotteries and amended its ear-lier Central Tax (Rate) notifi-cation. Accordingly, the CentralTax rate for supply of lotterieshas been amended to 14 percent and a similar percentagewill be levied by the states. This

will take the total GST incidenceon lotteries to 28 per cent.

“This notification shallcome into force on the 1st dayof March, 2020,” the revenuedepartment notification said.

Currently, a state-run lot-tery attracts 12 per cent GST,while a state-authorised lotteryattracts 28 per cent tax.

There were demands thata uniform tax rate should beimposed on lotteries followingwhich a group of ministerswere set up to suggest the GSTrate. Following this, the GSTCouncil in December voted fora single rate of 28 per cent on

supply of lotteries.AMRG & Associates

Senior Partner Rajat Mohansaid: “Gambling in the form ofLottery has been allowed in afew states, where it has pene-trated at grass root levels, nowchanging the tax rate from aprospective date would help thedealers in effectively imple-menting the new tax rate”.

EY Tax Partner AbhishekJain said a uniform rate on lot-tery brings a parity betweenstate-run and authorized lot-teries; thereby aligning an equalfooting for businesses in thesame line. PTI

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Scheme NAV 1Yr %SBI Tax Advantage Fund-III-Reg(G)30.41 40.99SBI Tax advantage Fund-II(G) 43.91 37.90SBI LT Advantage Fund-IV-Reg(G) 15.39 34.38Sundaram Services Fund-Reg(G) 13.67 33.81BNP Paribas India Consumption 13.95 33.67Fund-Reg(G)Invesco India PSU Equity Fund(G) 20.39 33.18Sundaram Multi Cap Fund-Sr 11.99 31.50II-Reg(G)Sundaram Multi Cap Fund-Sr 12.02 31.27I-Reg(G)DSP Equity Fund-Reg(G) 46.00 30.85Invesco India Smallcap Fund-Reg(G)12.29 30.47Sundaram Fin Serv Opp Fund(G) 48.12 30.30Sundaram Select Small Cap 11.17 29.93Series-VI-Reg(G)Sundaram Select Small Cap 11.45 29.78Series-V-Reg(G)Tata Banking & Financial Services 21.49 28.94Fund-Reg(G)Invesco India Infrastructure 19.33 28.52Fund(G)Motilal Oswal Midcap 29.03 28.5230 Fund-Reg(G)ICICI Pru Smallcap Fund(G) 27.73 28.44SBI Banking & Financial Services 20.71 28.32Fund-Reg(G)Kotak World Gold Fund(G) 11.16 28.20Franklin India Feeder - Franklin 38.34 28.14U.S. Opportunities Fund(G)Axis Focused 25 Fund-Reg(G) 32.29 27.93Sundaram Select Small Cap 16.30 27.93Series-III-Reg(G)Sundaram Select Small Cap 16.31 27.74Series-IV-Reg(G)Axis Long Term Equity 51.84 27.28Fund-Reg(G)SBI Focused Equity Fund-Reg(G) 162.49 27.27Baroda Banking & Fin Serv 26.16 26.56Fund(G)Invesco India Financial Services 64.22 26.44Fund(G)DSP Healthcare Fund-Reg(G) 12.41 26.08Axis Emerging Opp Fund-1-Reg(G) 14.17 25.96Axis Midcap Fund-Reg(G) 42.76 25.62PGIM India Global Equity 22.66 25.54Opp Fund(G)Canara Rob Consumer Trends 45.71 25.51Fund-Reg(G)L&T Emerging Opp Fund-II-Reg(D)11.00 25.19UTI Focussed Equity Fund-I(G) 15.27 25.13Kotak Emerging Equity Fund(G) 43.60 25.09UTI Focussed Equity Fund-IV(G) 11.01 24.99Motilal Oswal Focused 25 24.78 24.98Fund-Reg(G)Kotak Small Cap Fund(G) 80.24 24.97Axis Bluechip Fund-Reg(G) 33.43 24.97DSP Midcap Fund-Reg(G) 61.74 24.58SBI LT Advantage Fund-VI-Reg(G) 11.76 24.56Aditya Birla SL India GenNext 94.77 24.52Fund(G)Axis Emerging Opp Fund-2-Reg(G) 13.56 24.40Edelweiss Small Cap Fund-Reg(G) 12.37 24.36Canara Rob Bluechip Equity 28.46 24.28Fund-Reg(G)Motilal Oswal Long Term Equity 19.52 24.27Fund-Reg(G)BNP Paribas Mid Cap Fund(G) 35.74 24.25PGIM India Midcap Opp 20.40 24.24Fund-Reg(G)JM Multicap Fund(G) 35.91 24.06Axis Multicap Fund-Reg(G) 13.29 23.86DSP World Gold Fund-Reg(G) 15.25 23.83BNP Paribas Large Cap Fund(G) 100.35 23.77DSP Focus Fund-Reg(G) 25.83 23.71Invesco India Midcap Fund(G) 55.27 23.51Nippon India US Equity Opp 18.66 23.44Fund(G)BNP Paribas Long Term Equity 43.18 23.37Fund(G)Mirae Asset Emerging 59.58 23.37Bluechip-Reg(G)Axis Growth Opp Fund-Reg(G) 12.58 23.33Canara Rob Equity Tax Saver 73.89 23.29Fund-Reg(G)UTI Focussed Equity Fund-V(G) 10.66 23.21JM Tax Gain Fund(G) 19.18 23.20UTI Focussed Equity Fund-VI(G) 11.17 23.11Nippon India Growth Fund(G) 1242.92 23.03Principal Focused Multicap 72.04 22.70Fund(G)Kotak Equity Opp Fund(G) 134.02 22.70BNP Paribas Multi Cap Fund(G) 51.71 22.50Tata Mid Cap Growth Fund(G) 153.54 22.11ICICI Pru LT Wealth 11.94 22.09Enhancement Fund(G)L&T Emerging Opp Fund-I-Reg(D) 10.39 22.00Canara Rob Emerg Equities 105.34 21.96Fund-Reg(G)SBI Small Cap Fund-Reg(G) 57.60 21.96Aditya Birla SL Equity Advantage 449.29 21.90Fund(G)SBI LT Advantage Fund-V-Reg(G) 11.22 21.86DSP Top 100 Equity Fund-Reg(G) 229.05 21.84UTI Equity Fund-Reg(G) 161.45 21.84ICICI Pru Banking & Fin Serv 69.49 21.83Fund(G)L&T Business Cycle Fund-Reg(G) 16.50 21.78Kotak Tax Saver Fund(G) 48.94 21.78BNP Paribas Focused 25 Equity 10.61 21.61Fund-Reg(G)Edelweiss Mid Cap Fund-Reg(G) 29.39 21.45Canara Rob Equity Diver 151.22 21.44

Fund-Reg(G)ICICI Pru US Bluechip Equity 33.33 21.42Fund(G)Principal Emerging Bluechip 115.06 21.29Fund(G)DSP Tax Saver Fund-Reg(G) 52.63 21.26PGIM India Diversified Equity 14.56 21.03Fund-Reg(G)Axis Capital Builder Fund-4-Reg(G)12.04 21.01Tata Large & Mid Cap Fund(G) 222.75 20.98IDFC Focused Equity Fund-Reg(G) 40.79 20.93Aditya Birla SL Banking & 31.05 20.82Financial Services Fund-Reg(G)Kotak India Growth Fund-Sr 5(G) 10.64 20.64Sundaram Large and Mid Cap 38.15 20.63Fund(G)Sundaram Select Focus(G) 198.23 20.51Tata India Pharma & Healthcare 10.14 20.43Fund-Reg(G)Mirae Asset Healthcare Fund-Reg(G)12.11 20.35Invesco India Tax Plan(G) 56.78 20.30SBI Infrastructure Fund-Reg(G) 16.15 20.28L&T Focused Equity Fund-Reg(G) 11.89 20.28Invesco India Multicap Fund(G) 52.54 20.26DSP Equity Opportunities 241.00 20.02Fund-Reg(G)IDFC Equity Opportunity-6-Reg(G)11.28 19.62

Edelweiss Large & Mid Cap 34.59 19.59Fund-Reg(G)Axis Capital Builder Fund-1-Reg(G)11.32 19.54SBI Large & Midcap Fund-Reg(G) 242.92 19.50DSP A.C.E. Fund-Sr 2-Reg(G) 10.90 19.48IDBI India Top 100 Equity Fund(G) 26.30 19.33DSP A.C.E. Fund-Sr 1-Reg(G) 10.96 19.31DSP 3Y Close Ended Equity 16.45 19.27Fund-Reg(G)Mirae Asset Tax Saver Fund-Reg(G) 19.28 19.20JM Value Fund(G) 34.92 19.18Invesco India Growth Opp Fund(G)37.61 19.17SBI Magnum Comma Fund-Reg(G) 38.24 18.97UTI Infrastructure Fund-Reg(G) 55.47 18.91ICICI Pru Bharat Consumption 11.07 18.90Fund-4-(G)Sundaram Emerging Small 11.79 18.88Cap-Sr-VII-Reg(G)Kotak Standard Multicap Fund(G) 38.26 18.87UTI India Consumer Fund-Reg(G) 28.32 18.76Aditya Birla SL Equity Fund(G) 791.92 18.75L&T India Large Cap Fund-Reg(G) 29.51 18.72SBI Magnum Equity ESG 114.94 18.62Fund-Reg(G)Aditya Birla SL Global Emerging 14.72 18.52Opp Fund(G)SBI Equity Opp Fund-Sr I-Reg(G) 17.35 18.48DSP Small Cap Fund-Reg(G) 58.16 18.47IDFC Multi Cap Fund-Reg(G) 101.11 18.47SBI LT Advantage Fund-III-Reg(G) 14.42 18.45Kotak Bluechip Fund(G) 254.96 18.40IDBI Banking & Financial Services 11.33 18.39Fund-Reg(G)SBI Healthcare Opp Fund-Reg(G) 133.13 18.30L&T Large and Midcap Fund-Reg(G)50.75 18.16Sundaram Mid Cap Fund(G) 499.45 18.14UTI Value Opp Fund-Reg(G) 66.83 18.11Nippon India Vision Fund(G) 555.70 18.02UTI LT Equity Fund (Tax 95.53 18.01Saving)-Reg(G)Aditya Birla SL Focused Equity 64.24 18.00Fund(G)Invesco India Contra Fund(G) 51.82 17.99Mirae Asset Great Consumer 38.10 17.97Fund-Reg(G)Sundaram Rural and Consumption 45.17 17.96Fund(G)Tata Resources & Energy 15.18 17.94Fund-Reg(G)SBI Magnum Multicap 52.38 17.93Fund-Reg(G)SBI LT Advantage Fund-II-Reg(G) 14.85 17.89Sundaram Emerging Small 11.63 17.87Cap-Sr-VI-Reg(G)Sundaram Emerging Small 10.21 17.82Cap-Sr-IV-Reg(G)ICICI Pru Bharat Consumption 11.66 17.78Fund-5-(G)Nippon India Consumption 71.87 17.65Fund(G)Tata India Tax Savings Fund-Reg(G)19.55 17.62Sundaram Emerging Small 9.79 17.59Cap-Sr-III-Reg(G)IDFC Equity Opportunity-5-Reg(G)10.63 17.46Parag Parikh Long Term Equity 28.13 17.45Fund-Reg(G)UTI Mid Cap Fund-Reg(G) 107.77 17.21Edelweiss Long Term Equity 50.36 17.20Fund (Tax Savings)-Reg(G)

Aditya Birla SL Resurgent India 12.77 16.94Fund-2-Reg(G)IDBI Equity Advantage 28.52 16.89Fund-Reg(G)Edelweiss Large Cap Fund(G) 38.62 16.82SBI Equity Opp Fund-Sr IV-Reg(G) 16.52 16.75SBI BlueChip Fund-Reg(G) 41.59 16.69L&T Midcap Fund-Reg(G) 142.57 16.66Nippon India Small Cap Fund(G) 41.97 16.62Sundaram Emerging Small 8.96 16.61Cap-Sr-II-Reg(G)SBI LT Advantage Fund-I-Reg(G) 14.18 16.60Aditya Birla SL Intl. Equity 24.50 16.58Fund-A(G)ICICI Pru Value Fund-18(G) 12.33 16.54DSP US Flexible Equity Fund-Reg(G)28.81 16.43Canara Rob Infrastructure 46.89 16.35Fund-Reg(G)HDFC Sensex ETF 4334.06 16.34Aditya Birla SL Sensex ETF 384.91 16.31Tata Value Fund-Sr-2-Reg(G) 10.26 16.25Franklin Asian Equity Fund(G) 24.96 16.22Tata Value Fund-Sr-1-Reg(G) 10.59 16.19Baroda Multi Cap Fund(G) 104.72 16.12IDBI Diversified Equity Fund(G) 22.68 16.07Kotak US Equity Fund(G) 19.17 16.05IDFC Sensex ETF 424.86 16.03Invesco India Largecap Fund(G) 31.07 16.02Nippon India Banking Fund(G) 286.75 15.97Baroda Mid-cap Fund(G) 9.61 15.92PGIM India Large Cap Fund(G) 179.32 15.91Kotak Infra & Eco Reform Fund(G) 20.52 15.91IDFC Large Cap Fund-Reg(G) 35.13 15.90HDFC Index Fund-Sensex(G) 365.86 15.81DSP India T.I.G.E.R Fund-Reg(G) 91.58 15.81Sundaram Emerging Small 8.67 15.76Cap-Sr-I-Reg(G)Baroda Large Cap Fund(G) 15.59 15.74IDFC Core Equity Fund-Reg(G) 47.82 15.73HDFC Mid-Cap Opportunities 57.43 15.72Fund(G)UTI Mastershare-Reg(G) 131.81 15.65ICICI Pru Growth Fund-1(DP) 11.83 15.64Mirae Asset Large Cap 54.35 15.63Fund-Reg(G)Tata Large Cap Fund(G) 232.83 15.63Tata Index Fund-Sensex Plan(G) 101.49 15.58Motilal Oswal Multicap 27.71 15.5735 Fund-Reg(G)ICICI Pru Sensex Index Fund(G) 12.79 15.55Nippon India ETF Nifty Midcap 15067.39 15.50Kotak India EQ Contra Fund(G) 56.56 15.47SBI Magnum Midcap Fund-Reg(G) 77.28 15.47Nippon India Value Fund(G) 76.81 15.32Edelweiss ETF - Nifty Bank 3152.30 15.30Sundaram LT Tax Adv 15.67 15.24Fund-Sr II-Reg(G)SBI PSU Fund-Reg(G) 10.34 15.11Nippon India Index Fund - 20.22 15.02Sensex Plan(G)Edelweiss Multi-Cap Fund-Reg(G) 15.57 14.99JM Core 11 Fund(G) 9.74 14.95L&T Tax Advt Fund-Reg(G) 56.57 14.94Tata Infrastructure Fund-Reg(G) 55.91 14.83Nippon India Capital Builder 10.40 14.72Fund-IV-A(G)SBI Magnum Global Fund-Reg(G) 183.61 14.69Tata Small Cap Fund-Reg(G) 11.04 14.66Franklin India Focused Equity 42.16 14.66Fund(G)Sundaram Small Cap Fund(G) 83.15 14.62Nippon India India Opp 11.01 14.55Fund-Sr-A(G)Sundaram Value Fund-III-Reg(G) 17.72 14.54Sundaram Infra Advantage Fund(G)32.97 14.53Sundaram Emerging Small 10.28 14.40Cap-Sr-V-Reg(G)Tata Ethical Fund-Reg(G) 169.50 14.35Principal Multi Cap Growth Fund(G)149.6814.34Nippon India Focused Equity 48.45 14.32Fund(G)ICICI Pru LT Equity Fund 391.90 14.14(Tax Saving)(G)Edelweiss Tax Advantage 42.24 14.10Fund-Reg(G)ICICI Pru Growth Fund-2(DP) 12.74 14.06Mirae Asset Nifty 50 ETF 122.53 14.00Tata Nifty ETF 122.41 13.96Kotak Global Emerging Mkt Fund(G)17.34 13.86HDFC Nifty 50 ETF 1268.49 13.84Axis Nifty ETF 1246.22 13.83IDBI Dividend Yield Fund-Reg(G) 11.45 13.82Sundaram Diversified Equity(G) 105.14 13.76L&T India Value Fund-Reg(G) 37.25 13.72UTI Nifty Index Fund-Reg(G) 79.32 13.67ICICI Pru Value Fund-14(G) 11.15 13.66Kotak India Growth Fund-Sr 7(G) 11.15 13.65Edelweiss Eur Dynamic Equity 12.17 13.64Off-shr Fund-Reg(G)IDFC Nifty ETF 124.93 13.55ICICI Pru S&P BSE 500 ETF 161.05 13.55UTI Banking and Financial 100.49 13.51Services Fund-Reg(G)HDFC Index Fund-NIFTY 110.32 13.3850 Plan(G)ICICI Pru Large & Mid Cap 334.74 13.32Fund(G)UTI-Nifty Next 50 ETF 295.32 13.28IDFC Nifty Fund-Reg(G) 25.06 13.27ICICI Pru Nifty Index Fund(G) 117.09 13.25ICICI Pru Bluechip Fund(G) 44.23 13.24IDBI Midcap Fund(G) 11.38 13.23ICICI Pru Value Fund-8(D) 11.09 13.16Aditya Birla SL Digital India Fund(G)59.49 13.12

Franklin India Equity 80.90 9.39Advantage Fund(G)ICICI Pru Value Fund-13(D) 10.60 9.39ICICI Pru Bharat Consumption 10.79 9.32Fund-3-(G)Franklin India Opportunities 73.92 9.15Fund(G)Aditya Birla SL Mfg. Equity 13.28 9.12Fund-Reg(G)HDFC Equity Fund(G) 661.37 9.02Canara Rob Small Cap Fund-Reg(G)10.91 8.99Sundaram LT Tax Adv 9.78 8.99Fund-Sr IV-Reg(G)HDFC Focused 30 Fund(G) 75.97 8.72Franklin India Bluechip Fund(G) 473.12 8.70Nippon India Tax Saver (ELSS) 54.29 8.64Fund(G)Sundaram Select Micro 13.09 8.51Cap-Series IX-Reg(G)Kotak India Growth Fund-Sr 4(G) 9.58 8.44Sundaram Select Micro Cap-Series 13.16 8.40VIII-Reg(G)IDBI Long Term Value Fund-Reg(G)10.73 8.38Principal Nifty 100 Equal Weight 71.81 8.36Fund(G)Edelweiss ETF - Nifty 100 289.77 8.33Quality 30Tata Digital India Fund-Reg(G) 16.13 8.20DSP World Agriculture Fund-Reg(G)17.62 8.14UTI Dividend Yield Fund-Reg(G) 66.83 7.98UTI LT Adv Fund-IV(G) 10.39 7.91Franklin India Equity Fund(G) 597.79 7.79UTI LT Adv Fund-V(G) 9.54 7.67IDFC Sterling Value Fund-Reg(G) 49.64 7.66UTI Core Equity Fund-Reg(G) 61.79 7.66HDFC Top 100 Fund(G) 486.04 7.63Sundaram Smart NIFTY 100 Eq 11.81 7.54Weight Fund-Reg(G)Nippon India Capital Builder 7.80 7.51Fund-IV-B(G)ICICI Pru Nifty Low Vol 30 ETF 91.72 7.49ICICI Pru NV20 ETF 57.83 7.39SBI-ETF Sensex Next 50 325.80 7.12UTI LT Adv Fund-VII(G) 8.90 6.81Sundaram Select Micro Cap-Series 8.58 6.59XIV-Reg(G)IDFC Infrastructure Fund-Reg(G) 14.04 6.44Templeton India Equity Income 46.68 6.42Fund(G)Sundaram Select Micro 12.72 6.36Cap-Series X-Reg(G)IDFC Equity Opportunity-4-Reg(G) 7.47 6.26Aditya Birla SL Resurgent India 9.92 6.21Fund-4-Reg(G)ICICI Pru India Opp Fund(G) 10.27 6.20HDFC TaxSaver(G) 508.13 6.16ICICI Pru Manufacture in India 10.23 6.12Fund(G)JM Large Cap Fund(G) 68.13 5.80Sundaram Value Fund-VIII-Reg(G) 10.92 5.61Sundaram Select Micro Cap-Series 9.32 5.37XII-Reg(G)Sundaram Select Micro Cap-Series 9.68 5.34XI-Reg(G)SBI Contra Fund-Reg(G) 105.05 5.22HDFC Equity Opp Fund-Sr 10.26 5.002-1126D-May 2017(1)-Reg(G)Aditya Birla SL Small Cap Fund(G) 32.06 4.95UTI LT Adv Fund-VI(G) 8.50 4.93Sundaram Select Micro Cap-Series 8.29 4.89XV-Reg(G)Sundaram Value Fund-VII-Reg(G) 8.51 4.88ICICI Pru Value Discovery Fund(G)140.86 4.81HDFC Capital Builder Value Fund(G)286.124.80Sundaram Select Micro Cap-Series 7.79 4.52XVI-Reg(G)ICICI Pru Focused Equity Fund(G) 28.94 4.51DSP Equal Nifty 50 Fund-Reg(G) 9.75 4.35Franklin India Smaller Cos Fund(G)51.11 4.30Sundaram LT Micro Cap Tax Adv 8.17 4.29Fund-Sr V-Reg(G)Aditya Birla SL Resurgent India 7.96 4.05Fund-7-Reg(G)Sundaram LT Micro Cap Tax Adv 8.31 3.98Fund-Sr IV-Reg(G)Invesco India Feeder - Invesco 11.13 3.95Pan European Equity Fund-Reg(G)DSP World Mining Fund-Reg(G) 8.87 3.92ICICI Pru Bharat Consumption 9.78 3.60Fund-2-(G)DSP Natural Res & New Energy 30.21 3.60Fund-Reg(G)Sundaram LT Micro Cap Tax 7.59 3.44Adv Fund-Sr VI-Reg(G)Sundaram Select Micro Cap-Series 7.31 3.32XVII-Reg(G)L&T Emerging Businesses 23.31 3.21Fund-Reg(G)Sundaram LT Micro Cap Tax 9.72 2.93Adv Fund-Sr III-Reg(G)ICICI Pru Technology Fund(G) 62.00 2.80Templeton India Value Fund(G) 238.83 1.55ICICI Pru Dividend Yield Equity Fund(G) 15.401.45Sundaram Value Fund-X-Reg(G) 8.80 1.40Sundaram Value Fund-IX-Reg(G) 8.85 1.31Aditya Birla SL CEF-Global 23.39 1.09Agri-Reg(G)DSP World Energy Fund-Reg(G) 13.37 0.11Aditya Birla SL Pure Value Fund(G) 46.30 -0.07HDFC Small Cap Fund-Reg(G) 39.76 -0.15UTI Transportation & Logistics 89.91 -1.52Fund-Reg(G)HDFC Infrastructure Fund(G) 14.48 -1.60

Tata Index Fund-Nifty Plan(G) 73.15 13.10Franklin India Prima Fund(G) 997.24 13.09UTI MEPUS 113.81 13.08UTI Healthcare Fund-Reg(G) 91.68 13.08Sundaram LT Tax Adv Fund-Sr 14.31 13.05I-Reg(G)SBI Nifty Index Fund-Reg(G) 103.80 12.89Principal Dividend Yield Fund(G) 55.84 12.88Aditya Birla SL Nifty Next 50 ETF 289.23 12.84IDBI Focused 30 Equity Fund-Reg(G)10.39 12.81Franklin India Technology Fund(G)180.20 12.77HDFC Growth Opp Fund-Reg(G) 116.57 12.73Aditya Birla SL Index Fund-Reg(G) 118.46 12.70IDBI Nifty Index Fund(G) 22.27 12.70Nippon India Index Fund - 20.20 12.69Nifty Plan(G)IDFC Tax Advt(ELSS) Fund-Reg(G)56.89 12.63Nippon India Power & Infra Fund(G)97.25 12.59Tata India Consumer Fund-Reg(G) 18.58 12.58Nippon India Pharma Fund(G) 165.19 12.50Aditya Birla SL MNC Fund-Reg(G) 812.57 12.49Franklin India Index Fund-NSE 95.48 12.47Nifty(G)DSP Global Allocation Fund-Reg(G)13.80 12.42Aditya Birla SL Resurgent India 12.23 12.41Fund-3-Reg(G)Baroda ELSS 96(G) 46.22 12.32UTI Nifty Next 50 Index Fund-Reg(G)10.2312.30SBI Technology Opp Fund-Reg(G) 71.74 12.27ICICI Pru Nifty Next 50 ETF 28.97 12.24L&T Equity Fund-Reg(G) 84.95 12.23Aditya Birla SL Tax Relief '96(ELSS 33.09 12.21U/S 80C of IT ACT)(G)Aditya Birla SL Tax Relief '96(G) 33.09 12.21Aditya Birla SL Frontline Equity 232.96 12.19Fund(G)Aditya Birla SL Intl. Equity 19.45 12.15Fund-B(G)PGIM India Large Cap 13.08 12.02Fund-2-Reg(G)IDBI Small Cap Fund(G) 9.55 11.96Aditya Birla SL Resurgent India 9.79 11.89Fund-5-Reg(G)Principal Global Opportunities 32.33 11.70Fund(G)ICICI Pru Nifty Next 50 Index 25.40 11.69Fund(G)Nippon India Capital Builder 7.93 11.61Fund-IV-D(G)Edelweiss Emerging Markets 14.02 11.60Opp Eq. Offshore Fund-Reg(G)Nippon India Multi Cap Fund(G) 100.08 11.59IDBI Nifty Junior Index Fund(G) 21.61 11.54PGIM India Euro Equity Fund(G) 14.89 11.45Sundaram TOP 100-Sr VII-Reg(G) 12.71 11.43ICICI Pru Global Stable Equity 17.08 11.42Fund(FOF)(G)Aditya Birla SL Midcap Fund(G) 288.93 11.39SBI Consumption Opp Fund-Reg(G)122.68 11.36Invesco India Feeder - Invesco 14.14 11.35

Global Equity Income Fund(G)Aditya Birla SL Dividend Yield 164.90 11.27Fund(G)Sundaram TOP 100-Sr VI-Reg(G) 12.92 11.26ICICI Pru Midcap Fund(G) 96.98 11.23Nippon India Large Cap Fund(G) 35.53 11.18ICICI Pru Multicap Fund(G) 297.92 11.03Tata Equity P/E Fund(G) 137.88 11.01ICICI Pru FMCG Fund(G) 252.97 10.93PGIM India LT Equity Fund-Reg(G)14.67 10.88ICICI Pru Value Fund-16(G) 11.23 10.86Nippon India Quant Fund(G) 26.89 10.64Principal Tax Savings Fund 210.89 10.47Sundaram Global Brand Fund(G) 18.58 10.46L&T Infrastructure Fund-Reg(G) 15.76 10.44Aditya Birla SL Global Real Estate 21.77 10.39Fund(G)ICICI Pru Bharat Consumption 10.74 10.38Fund-1-(G)ICICI Pru Exports & Services 58.34 10.22Fund(G)SBI Long Term Equity 146.35 10.14Fund-Reg(G)Franklin India Taxshield(G) 579.44 10.11Franklin Build India Fund(G) 41.06 10.07Principal Personal Tax saver Fund 197.20 10.04ICICI Pru Infrastructure Fund(G) 49.24 9.96Sundaram LT Tax Adv 8.43 9.96Fund-Sr III-Reg(G)Aditya Birla SL Infrastructure 30.65 9.82Fund(G)ICICI Pru Value Fund-17(G) 10.82 9.74Nippon India Capital 7.65 9.67Builder Fund-IV-C(G)Nippon India Japan Equity Fund(G)13.90 9.66ICICI Pru Growth Fund-3(DP) 10.90 9.66ICICI Pru Value Fund-15(G) 10.74 9.48UTI MNC Fund-Reg(G) 205.47 9.43UTI LT Adv Fund-III(G) 13.83 9.43

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Washington: US SenatorBernie Sanders on Sundaysecured a convincing victory inthe crucial Nevada caucus, giv-ing a big boost to his campaignfor the 2020 White House bidas the race to Democraticparty's nomination gathersmomentum over the next fewmonths.

Multiple American mediaoutlets declared Sanders as thewinner of the Nevada Caucusfor the Democratic Party's pres-idential primary.

The 78-year-old senatorfrom Vermont had 54 per centof the county delegates availablewhen several national newsnetworks, including Fox newsand MSNBC, called the racewith only four per cent ofprecincts reporting.

When last reports came in,Sanders had garnered morethan half of the votes, with for-mer vice president Joe Bidentrailing at 19 per cent.

"Breaking: We wonNevada! We are building anunprecedented grassrootsmovement, and together, thereis nothing we cannot accom-plish," Sanders tweeted.

Sanders, who lost to formersecretary of state HillaryClinton in the 2016 presidentialprimaries in New Hampshire,had won the New Hampshireprimary recently and was in avirtual tie with underdog PeteButtigieg in Iowa.

Trump congratulatedSanders in a tweet.

"Looks like Crazy Bernie isdoing well in the Great State ofNevada. Biden and the rest lookweak, and no way Mini Mikecan restart his campaign afterthe worst debate performancein the history of Presidentialdebates," the president tweeted.

"Congratulations Bernie,and don't let them take it awayfrom you!" Trump tweeted.

"We did it! We won theNevada caucus, and we wonBIG!" said Faiz Shakir, the cam-paign manager for Sanders.

"This win is our win, inlarge part because of the recordnumber of donations and vol-unteer enthusiasm for Bernie inthe state," he said.

Nevada is the first statewith a diverse population tohold a nominating contest.

"In Nevada, and in NewHampshire and in Iowa - whatwe showed is that our volun-teers are prepared to knock on

hundreds and hundreds ofthousands of doors," Sanderswas quoted as saying by CNNin San Antonio.

"That no campaign has agrassroots movement like wedo, which is another reason whywe're going to win this election."

"Trump and his friendsthink they are going to win thiselection," Sanders continued."They think they're going to winthis election by dividing ourpeople up, based on the colourof their skin, or where they wereborn, or their religion or theirsexual orientation. We are goingto win because we are doingexactly the opposite. We'rebringing our people together."

Ahead of the USPresidential election later thisyear, White House hopefulsare contesting for their party'snomination in primary elec-tions, known as primaries,across the country. PTI

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Beijing/Wuhan: President XiJinping on Sunday said thecoronavirus epidemic isChina's "largest public healthemergency" as the death tollfrom the deadly virus climbedto 2,442 and the number ofinfections hit almost 77,000 inthe country.

President Xi, who attend-ed a meeting here to doubleefforts in coordinating the pre-vention and control of theCOVID-19 outbreak, said theepidemic "has the fastest trans-mission, widest range of infec-tion and has been the most dif-ficult to prevent and control".

In comments reported bystate broadcaster CCTV, Xisaid, "This is a crisis for us andit is a big test." He called theepidemic China's "largest pub-lic health emergency".

The meeting, in the form oftele-conference, was presidedover by Chinese Premier LiKeqiang.

Xi acknowledged that theepidemic will "inevitably havea large impact on the economyand society", but he said theeffects will be "short-term" andcontrollable.

Chinese health officials inworst-hit coronavirus hitWuhan city ordered 14 days'quarantine for all recoveredpatients following reports thatsome of them tested positive forthe virus after recovery.

Ninety-seven more peo-ple died in China due to coro-navirus, taking the death toll to2,442, officials said on Sunday,

as a team of WHO experts vis-ited the worst-affected Wuhancity in Hubei province.

By the end of Saturday,76,936 confirmed cases ofnovel coronavirus infectionhad been reported in 31provincial-level regions,China's National HealthCommission (NHC) said in itsdaily update on Sunday.

Ninety-six deaths werereported from Hubei provincefor which Wuhan is the provin-cial capital and one fromGuangdong province onSaturday besides 648 new con-

firmed cases of coronavirusinfections, it said.

Hubei province, where thevirus first emerged inDecember last, reported 630new confirmed cases, takingthe total confirmed cases in thehard-hit province to 64,084,state-run Xinhua news agencyreported.

Officials in Wuhan orderedthat all patients who haverecovered and discharged fromhospitals be sent to designatedplaces for two weeks of quar-antine and medical observa-tion.

So far 15,299 people whowere cured of the virus havebeen discharged from the hos-pitals in Wuhan. But they wereall asked to go for two-weekquarantine after some of themtested positive after being dis-charged from hospitals, HongKong-based South ChinaMorning Post reported. PTI

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Beijing: A 29-year-old femaledoctor died on Sunday after con-tracting the coronavirus whiletreating patients at a hospital inChina's worst-hit Wuhan city,taking the death toll of the med-ical staff to 10, according to amedia report.

Xia Sisi, a gastroenterologyphysician got infected whileworking at the Union JiangbeiHospital of Wuhan in Hubeiprovince, the epicentre of thevirus. She was hospitalised onJanuary 19 and later transferredto Zhongnan Hospital of WuhanUniversity on February 7 afterher condition worsened. Shedied on Sunday, state-runXinhua news agency reported.

The Union Jiangbei Hospitalmourned the death of Xia and

expressed condolences for herfamily.

The Chinese medical staff,who are on the frontline fightingthe COVID-19, are paying aheavy price in treating the surg-ing number of cases.

China's National HealthCommission earlier said that atotal of 1,716 medical workershad contracted the infection asof February 11. Xia's death takesthe death toll among the medicalstaff to 10. On February 20, PengYinhua (29), who postponedhis wedding to treat patientsinfected with the coronavirus,died. Earlier, Li Wenliang, a 34-year-old doctor, who was one ofthe first people to sound thealarm about the new outbreakdied on February 7. PTI

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Seoul: South Korea is raisingits alert on the new coron-avirus to the "highest level",President Moon Jae-in said onSunday, as the country report-ed 123 new infections.

South Korea has seen arapid surge in the number ofcoronavirus cases in recentdays after a cluster of infec-tions emerged from a religioussect in the southern city ofDaegu last week.

The national toll of 556cases is now the highest out-side China, apart from theDiamond Princess cruise shipin Japan. AFP

��1��������������� ���� ��� ���2������)���������� Rome: The number of coro-

navirus cases in Italy hasjumped to over 100, the pres-ident of the Lombardy regionsaid on Sunday, as northerntowns struggle to containrising infections.

"More than 100 cases"have now been reportedthroughout the country,Attilio Fontana told SkyTG24television, with 89 of those inLombardy, centred aroundthe small town of Codogno,about 70 kilometres (43miles) southeast of Milan.

Responding to a risingnumber of new cases, PrimeMinister Giuseppe Conte onSaturday announced that 11towns in Italy's north would

be placed under quarantine,affecting about 50,000 people.

Two people have alreadydied from the so-calledCOVID-19 epidemic in Italy,which was the first country toban direct flights to and fromChina in January.

First to contract the viruswere two Chinese touristswho were placed under quar-antine in Rome and remainthere. Another man, whowas also held at the samehospital in Rome, has sincerecovered and been released,authorities said.

The number of thoseinfected also includes peopleliving in four other regions ofItaly. AFP

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Tokyo: A third person whobecame ill on board a coron-avirus-stricken cruise shipquarantined off the coast ofJapan has died, the country'shealth ministry said on Sunday.

In a statement, the ministryidentified the victim as aJapanese man in his 80s whowas removed from theDiamond Princess and taken toa local hospital after suffering"symptoms."

The ministry did not con-firm whether the man hadtested positive for COVID-19,saying it could only disclose theinformation that the family ofthe man had consented tomake public. It gave the man'scause of death as pneumonia.

The death comes after twoother elderly passengers, alsoboth Japanese and in their 80s,died on Thursday after con-tracting the virus.

Despite a quarantineimposed on the DiamondPrincess, more than 600 peo-ple on board tested positive forthe virus, with several dozen inserious condition.

In total, Japan has so farrecorded four deaths linked tothe new coronavirus outbreak,which has infected more than130 people excluding thoselinked to the DiamondPrincess. AFP

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Ankara: Nine people were killedin Turkey in a magnitude 5.7earthquake that struck westernIran early on Sunday morning,Turkish Health MinisterFahrettin Koca said.

The quake centered west ofthe Iranian city of Khoy andaffected villages in the Turkishprovince of Van.

Turkish Interior MinisterSuleyman Soylu told a newsconference that three childrenand four adults were killed in

Turkey's Baskule district. Koca later updated the

number of fatalities to nine andwrote on Twitter that 37 peoplewere injured, including nine ina critical but not life-threateningcondition.

Emergency teams have beensent to the remote mountainousregion. Iran's official IRNA newsagency said the earthquakeaffected 43 villages in the moun-tainous Qotour area.

It later added that at least 75

people had been injured, six ofwhom were hospitalised.According to the EuropeanMediterranean SeismologicalCenter (EMSC), the quake,which happened at 9:22am localtime (0552GMT), had a depthof 5 kilometers (3 miles).

The region has a history ofpowerful earthquakes.

Last month a quake cen-tered on the eastern Turkish cityof Elazig killed more than 40people. AP

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Colombo: The Sri LankanGovernment on Sundayappointed a six-member teamto help police collect authenticinformation and expedite anongoing presidential probe intothe devastating Easter Sundayterror attack that killed over250 people.

President GotabayaRajapaksa decided to hastenthe probe into the April 21attack which had proved cru-cial in his decisive electoral vic-tory last November. Rajapaksaused the Easter Sunday terror-ist attack to portray himself asthe leader who could stop ter-rorism.

The voters gave him a bigmandate and elected him asPresident in November lastyear. Rajapaksa stormed tovictory, trouncing his nearestrival Sajith Premadasa by amargin of over 13 lakh votes -

52.25 per cent of votes polledagainst 41.99 per cent.

The 6-member task forcehas been appointed to helppolice's CID to "speed up theongoing investigations" andwill submit weekly reports tothe defense ministry on theprogress of investigation,according to a statement.

"The CID investigationinto these attacks was not con-ducted in an effective way bythe last regime," defense min-istry secretary KamalGunaratne was quoted as say-

ing in the statement.The team has been tasked

to "collect authentic informa-tion and evidence to take legalaction against all those involvedin supporting the extremists".

Nine suicide bombersbelonging to local Islamistextremist group NationalThawheed Jamaat (NTJ) linkedto ISIS carried out a series ofdevastating blasts that torethrough three churches andthree luxury hotels on theEaster Sunday, killing 258 peo-ple, including 11 Indians. PTI

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Colombo: Sri Lankan ForeignMinister Dinesh Gunawardenawill officially announceColombo's withdrawal fromco-sponsoring a 2015 UNHuman Rights Council reso-lution on accountability forwar crimes during his addressat the council's session onWednesday, according to hisoffice.

Sri Lanka co-sponsoredthe resolution along with 11other countries, including theUS and Britain, calling for aninvestigation into allegedhuman rights violations duringthe island nation's civil war,which ended in 2009.

Gunawardena will makethe announcement onWednesday during his addressat the 43rd Session of theHuman Rights Council (HRC)in Geneva.

Ahead of the Session,Foreign Secretary RavinathaAryasinha briefed the Presidentof the UNHRC ElisabethTichy-Fisslberger in Genevaon Lanka's decision to with-draw from the resolution, theforeign ministry said Saturday.

Gunawardena will alsorespond to the oral update on

Sri Lanka by the UN HumanRights High Commissionerand is scheduled to meet theHigh Commissioner forHuman Rights MichelleBachelet in Geneva.

Sri Lanka decided to with-draw from co-sponsoring theresolution after the US imposedtravel restrictions on Armychief Lt Gen Shavendra Silvaand his immediate familymembers over alleged grossviolations of human rights dur-ing the final phase of the islandnation's Civil War in 2009.

The resolution 30/1 onpromotion on reconciliation inSri Lanka was co-sponsored in2015 by the Lankan govern-ment headed by then PresidentMaithripala Sirisena.

Sri Lanka's ruling andopposition parties have strong-ly opposed the US move toimpose the travel ban on Lt GenSilva, saying America's decisionwas based on independentlyunverified information.

Foreign MinisterGunawardena earlier said thatLt Gen Silva was only con-ducting a war against a desig-nated terrorist group which wasthe LTTE. PTI

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Samy Magdy (Egypt): Egypt'schief prosecutor Saturdayreferred a physician to crimi-nal trial for allegedly mutilat-ing the genitals of a 12-year-oldgirl, leading to her death, hisoffice said.

The girl bled to death lastmonth in the southernprovince of Assiut following a30-minute surgery. Her deathsparked a nationwide outcry.

Despite battling the prac-tice for decades, Egypt hasone of the highest rates offemale genital mutilation, alsoknown as female circumci-sion, in the world.

Many families fear that anuncircumcised daughter will beunable to marry.

Public prosecutor Hamadael-Sawy also referred the girl'sparents to trial, according to a

statement from his office. Nodate has been set for their tri-als.

The doctor, Ali Abdel-Fadeel, told investigators hewas performing cosmeticsurgery on the girl, accordingto the prosecutor's statement.

But that claim was refutedfollowing an examination of thegirl's body by forensic experts.

The state-run NationalPopulation Council said in2019 that 82 per cent of girlsunder age 17 in Egypt haveundergone the procedure.

The practice generallyinvolves removing all or part ofthe clitoris and sometimes thelabia.

It is performed on bothMuslims and Christians and ismisguidedly believed to controlthe girl's sexual desires. AP

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Bamako: At least three Mali sol-diers were killed and five wound-ed Sunday in a suspected jihadistattack on an army camp in thefar north of the country, theMalian military said.

The outpost in BambaraMaoude, about 100 kilometres(60 miles) south of the city ofTimbuktu "was the object atabout 0500 GMT of a terroristattack," the military said onTwitter.

"During this attack, weregret to report a provisionaltoll of three dead, five wound-ed, together with material dam-age," it said.

"The wounded were air-lifted to Sevare... The outpostremains under the control of

the armed forces." "Three of our men fell

Sunday during a jihadist attackin Bambara Maoude," a mili-tary official told AFP fromTimbuktu earlier.

A local official confirmedthe toll of three soldiers deadand said two more were miss-ing. According to another localofficial, "the terrorists left, tak-ing vehicles and military equip-ment with them... Togetherwith the bodies of two of theircomrades."

The attack is the latest in along series of deadly incidentsin Mali's north, where Frenchforces said Friday they hadkilled about 50 jihadists so farthis month. AFP

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Washington: The Taliban inAfghanistan are tired of fight-ing and want to make a peacedeal with the US, PresidentDonald Trump said on Sundayas he left for his maiden visit toIndia during which the twocountries will significantlyramp up the defence and strate-gic ties.

Just before his departurefor India, Trump told reportersat the White House that thetime had to come for the UStroops to "come home".

The President said hewould sign a peace deal withthe Taliban if it worked outover the next week.

"I want to see how thisperiod of a week works out. Ifit works out over the next less-than-a-week, I would put myname on it," he said.

"Time to come home. TheTaliban want to make a dealtoo. They're tired of fighting,"he said.

Trump's remarks came a

day after the US and theAfghan Taliban started a seven-day partial truce ahead of apossible peace deal to endmore than 18-year-long war,raising hopes for a resolution toAmerica's longest war.

The agreement struck dur-ing negotiations between theUS and the Taliban, if main-tained, may secure a peacedeal that would lead to a with-drawal of American troops

from Afghanistan.In November, Trump

announced the resumption ofpeace talks with the Taliban,but refused to give a timelinefor the drawdown of the UStroops from Afghanistan, as hemade an unannounced visit toAmerican soldiers stationedin the war-torn country.

After nine rounds of nego-tiations with the Taliban,Trump announced in

September that he was callingthe peace talks off after a USservice member was killed in asuicide attack in Afghanistan'scapital, Kabul.

The US currently has lessthan 14,000 troops inAfghanistan, but military offi-cials would not confirm theexact number.

Trump is accompanied byFirst Lady Melania, daughterIvanka, son-in-law JaredKushner and the top brass ofhis administration on his maid-en visit to India.

During his visit, the twocountries are expect to signif-icantly ramp up bilateraldefence and strategic ties.

The nearly 36-hour-longvisit by Trump is also set to sendacross a clear message of grow-ing congruence of interests onmajor geopolitical developmentsin the region and beyond, par-ticularly when China has beenexpanding its military might andeconomic clout. PTI

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Did an artificial-intelligence sys-tem beat human doctors in

warning the world of a severe coro-navirus outbreak in China? In a nar-row sense, yes. But what the humanslacked in sheer speed, they more thanmade up in finesse.

Early warnings of disease out-breaks can help people and govern-ments save lives. In the final days of2019, an AI system in Boston sentout the first global alert about a newviral outbreak in China. But it tookhuman intelligence to recognise thesignificance of the outbreak and thenawaken response from the publichealth community.

What’s more, the mere mortalsproduced a similar alert only a half-hour behind the AI systems. For now,AI-powered disease-alert systemscan still resemble car alarms — eas-ily triggered and sometimes ignored.A network of medical experts andsleuths must still do the hard workof sifting through rumors to piecetogether the full picture. It’s difficultto say what future AI systems, pow-ered by ever larger datasets on out-breaks, may be able to accomplish.

The first public alert outsideChina about the novel coronaviruscame on December 30 from theautomated HealthMap system atBoston Children’s Hospital. At 11.12pm local time, HealthMap sent analert about unidentified pneumoniacases in the Chinese city of Wuhan.The system, which scans onlinenews and social media reports,ranked the alert’s seriousness asonly three out of five. It took days forHealthMap researchers to recogniseits importance.

Four hours before theHealthMap notice, New York epi-demiologist Marjorie Pollack hadalready started working on her ownpublic alert, spurred by a growingsense of dread after reading a person-al email she received that evening.“This is being passed around theinternet here,” wrote her contact, wholinked to a post on the Chinese socialmedia forum Pincong. The post dis-cussed a Wuhan health agencynotice and read in part:“Unexplained pneumonia???”

Pollack, deputy editor of the vol-unteer-led Programme forMonitoring Emerging Diseases,known as ProMed, quickly mobiliseda team to look into it. ProMed’s more

detailed report went out about 30minutes after the terse HealthMapalert.

Early warning systems that scansocial media, online news articles andgovernment reports for signs ofinfectious disease outbreaks helpinform global agencies such as theWorld Health Organisation — giv-ing international experts a headstart when local bureaucratic hurdlesand language barriers might other-wise get in the way.

Some systems, includingProMed, rely on human expertise.Others are partly or completelyautomated. And rather than compet-ing with one another, they are oftencomplementary — HealthMap isintertwined with ProMed and helpsrun its online infrastructure.

“These tools can help hold feetto the fire for government agencies,”said John Brownstein, who runs theHealthMap system as chief innova-tion officer at Boston Children’sHospital. “It forces people to be moreopen.”

The last 48 hours of 2019 werea critical time for understanding thenew virus and its significance. Earlieron December 30, Wuhan CentralHospital doctor Li Wenliang warnedhis former classmates about thevirus in a social media group — a

move that led local authorities tosummon him for questioning sever-al hours later.

Li, who died on February 7 aftercontracting the virus, told The NewYork Times that it would have beenbetter if officials had disclosed infor-mation about the epidemic earlier.“There should be more openness andtransparency,” he said.

ProMed reports are often incor-porated into other outbreak warningsystems, including those run by theWorld Health Organisation, theCanadian government and theToronto startup BlueDot. WHOalso pools data from HealthMap andother sources.

Computer systems that scanonline reports for information aboutdisease outbreaks rely on natural lan-guage processing, the same branchof artificial intelligence that helpsanswer questions posed to a searchengine or digital voice assistant. Butthe algorithms can only be as effec-tive as the data they are scouring, saidNita Madhav, CEO of San Francisco-based disease monitoring firmMetabiota, which first notified itsclients about the outbreak in earlyJanuary.

Madhav said that inconsistencyin how different agencies reportmedical data can stymie algorithms.

The text-scanning programmesextract keywords from online textbut may fumble when organisationsvariously report new virus cases ina given time interval. The potentialfor confusion means there’s almostalways still a person involved inreviewing the data.

“There’s still a bit of human inthe loop,” Madhav said. AndrewBeam, a Harvard University epi-demiologist, said that scanningonline reports for key words can helpreveal trends but the accuracydepends on the quality of the data.He also notes that these techniquesaren’t so novel.

“There is an art to intelligentlyscraping web sites,” Beam said. “Butit’s also Google’s core technologysince the 1990s.” Google itself start-ed its own Flu Trends service todetect outbreaks in 2008 by lookingfor patterns in search queries aboutflu symptoms. Experts criticised it foroverestimating flu prevalence.Google shut down the website in2015 and handed its technology tononprofit organisations such asHealthMap to use Google data tobuild their own models.

In early January, Isaac Bogoch,a researcher at Toronto GeneralHospital, analysed commercial flightdata with BlueDot founder KamranKhan to see which cities outsidemainland China were most connect-ed to Wuhan.

Wuhan stopped outbound com-mercial air travel in late January —but not before an estimated five mil-lion people had fled the city, as theWuhan mayor later told reporters.“We showed that the highest volumeof flights from Wuhan were toThailand, Japan, and Hong Kong,”Bogoch said. “Lo and behold, a fewdays later we started to see cases popup in these places.” In 2016, theresearchers used a similar approachto predict the spread of the Zika virusfrom Brazil to southern Florida.

Now that government havelaunched measures to curb diseasetransmission, it’s harder to build algo-rithms for predictions, Bogoch said.

Artificial intelligence depends onprior data to train computers how tointerpret new facts. But there are noclose parallels to the way China isenforcing quarantine zones thatimpact hundreds of millions of peo-ple. F��

What’s your definition ofmainstream? Somethingthat catches the com-

mon eye easily? For filmmakerFaraz Arif Ansari, it’s somethingthat each and every person presentcan relate to. “When we talk aboutmainstream, our understanding ofit is quite limited. We think therewould be dance, music, drama,action or some comedy. But theterm’s actual meaning is ‘universal.’Everyone in the room shouldrelate to what is being showcased.It doesn’t need to be loud or havea wedding. And it can still be calledmainstream with elements as sub-tle as they could be. My film verymuch tries to re-define and re-explore what mainstream is andshould be,” says the director ofshort film Sheer Qorma, starringShabana Azmi, Divya Dutta andSwara Bhasker, which is set to hitthe screens soon.

For Faraz, cinema has forgot-ten how to depict love. “Love ismulti-layered. We’re just worriedabout plot-lines and how to sell it.If you look at Bollywood films,depicting the problems of theLGBTQ have just become a topicto cash in on a popular trend. Theydon’t genuinely exercise the prac-tice of inclusion. The issue has onlybecome commercial. But I justfocus on how many lives my workis going to change,” says he.

The film, he adds, is, hence,also a lot about representation. Hetells us, “I have to break this pat-tern in the industry where peopleare so non-inclusive even thoughthey harp about inclusion all thetime. Around 96 per cent of mycrew and cast in Sheer Qorma werewomen, which is intentionalbecause representation matters,no matter how big or small.”

It was after Sisak, the award-winning short film and the firstIndian silent LGBTQ love story,that Faraz felt that somethingmore needs to be done around theissue, while focussing on women.“I realised that nobody is talkingabout women in the queer diaspo-ra. The conversations are still veryrelated to men. There is so muchof patriarchy and inherent misog-yny even within the queer commu-nity. You’ll always come across sto-ries of a man loving another man.But when it comes to a woman lov-ing another woman, people getuncomfortable for some strangereason. They don’t want to talk

about it,” he says, explaining whyhe decided to give this film anangle where women explore theirlove for each other in the backdropof a Muslim household.

Produced by Marijke DeSouza, the film, Sheer Qorma,Faraz says, is a gentle, heart-rend-ing narrative of the longing for loveand acceptance felt by queer chil-dren in their households. Thestory is told through delicate char-acters of courageous Muslim queerwomen. With multiple themes ofethnicity and culture at play with-in the narrative, the story sensitive-ly confronts the harsh reality of dis-

rupted family dynamics through asensitive and universal tale.

Faraz says that he has wovena lot of themes into the narrativeto make the audience think over itsensitively. He points out thatthere is a common perceptionthat queer people don’t have a reli-gion or a family. He adds, “Butthat’s not true. Why isn’t anybodymaking a film about us? We’re realpeople like everybody else. I iden-tify as a gay, non-binary, Muslimperson. For me, my religion hasalways been a part of me as muchas my sexuality. And our genera-tion is more about co-existing

rather than discarding. I felt thatwhile I am talking about LGBTQwomen, I should also address thepersisting Islamophobia, whichtoo exists within the queer com-munity in the Indian and MiddleEast belt. This is why the film hasso many layers. It is layered withwomen, non-binary people, Islam,nationality, identity, and sexualpreferences. Moreover, the portray-al of Muslim women has been verystereotypical in Hindi cinema.”

He tells us that his inspirationfor this film has been his khalajaan (mother’s eldest sister), whohe calls a “badass” or a tough

woman at a time when it wasn’teven normal for women to berebels. “She never got married andwas the manager of one of India’sleading banks. She brought up hersiblings when they lost their par-ents. She would tell me not to lis-ten to anyone and do my ownthing. I grew up with her courage.My mother, on the other hand, hasbeen the complete opposite. She’svery worried about what peoplewould think, which is probablywhy, even though I came out to herwhen I was 21, she still hasn’t fullyaccepted me. She still hopes thatone day, I will get better and realisethat it was just a phase.”

Growing up around inspiringwomen, who’ve done some path-breaking things in their lives, youcertainly gain a very differentunderstanding of the world. Hesays, “I’ve always wanted to makefilms. It started with me as a child,who used to stage elaborate skitswith characters like Barbie and He-Man for family gatherings duringfestivals. It’s not a very toxic-mas-culinity kind of understanding.Even my father is a very gentlecreature. And the film, too, has noman surrounding the womenbecause in Bollywood, eventhough the films that have beenabout women, there is alwayssome man bringing in the mas-culinity some way or the other.

This is way different from that.This one is all about love and whyit’s the only thing we need to winhearts. Hate cannot heal theworld.”

The filmmaker says that hisfight is also with the terms “nor-mal” and “different.” He says, “Inschool, I heard a lot of ‘he’s not likeus’, or ‘he’s so different’ or ‘he’s notnormal’. When we talk about ‘nor-malising’ it, I even hate the termnormal. It makes it seem like weare talking about something thatis otherwise not usual or presentaround us. So when my sexualityand being a Muslim came into playtogether as part of my identity, Ijust carried on with my life and didwhat I believed in.”

Fighting yet another mental-ity, the Taare Zameen Par writerand creative director points outthat if two women are in love, theperception is that the love must bedifferent from the rest. He says,“I’m trying to fight this mindset.I had interacted with many womenand shared my draft with them.They’d ask, ‘How did you knowabout our lives?’ I’d answer, ‘Byknowing about my life’.”

He adds that the biggest com-pliment, perhaps, came from actorShabana Azmi when she called thefilm “gender-free.”

(The film’s trailer will bereleased on February 25.)

��������������A young 17th-century witch time travels to the

future to save the man she loves, but first must adjustto present-day Cartagena and defeat a dark rival.Starring Angely Gaviria, Óscar Casas and Sofía Araujo,season 2 releases on February 28 on Netflix.

��� ����� ���After 250 years on ice, a prisoner returns to life in a

new body with one chance to win his freedom: by solvinga mind-bending murder. Starring Anthony Mackie, LelaLoren and Simone Missick, season 2 releases February 27on Netflix.

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bond as they embark on a cathartic journey chroniclingthe wonders of Indiana. Starring Elle Fanning, JusticeSmith and Luke Wilson, the film releases on Netflix onFebruary 28.

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Do you know the reason why world has no peace today?Well, it is because many nations and most individu-

als deny the supremacy of a moral order. The numbers ofsuch people are increasing day-by-day, who think thatwickedness, cunningness, vice is better than virtue and vio-lence is better than non-violence. There are so many soci-eties and nationsthat think man ismerely an animal,hankering aftermaterial progressand comforts.They refuse toaccept the evident,that man hashigher aspirations,such as for peace,calmness andbliss. Even themost corrupt per-son has an inneraspiration forsolace, satisfactionand peace.However, they failto realise thatpeace, content-ment and bliss arenot the qualities ofbodily cells; theyare the qualitiesof conscient self in its state of moral greatness.

The scholars, with materialistic thinking and attitude,have presented their interpretation of history to the soci-ety. This view of man and history has been popularisedand publicised by historians, economists and social sci-entists. The result is that the modern man does not believein the supremacy of the moral law. Man has, therefore,ceased to apply human values to the problems he faces inday to day life. For example, take the problem of nuclearweapons. There have been many agitations and confer-ences to bring about disarmament. The conversations arevitiated and they do not lead to actual disarmamentbecause no moral values are brought to bear the problem.Thus, it can be easily said that the lack of sense of moralresponsibility is, in fact, the most sinister aspect of the mod-ern civilisation. In fact, the whole modern thinking of manis characterised by lack of moral responsibility.

A psychiatrist, today, would explain that a person com-mitted a murder because he had developed a complex afterhis father had beaten him with a stick when he was a child.So the responsibility is of the father, who had been cruelto his son. In many other forms, the attitude that ‘I amnot responsible’, runs through every aspect of modern life.This has undermined the moral quality of life. So if wewant world peace, the real effort lies in giving man a senseof moral responsibility. Let him realise that with all his lim-itations, he can, in this life, conquer attachment, lust, greed,anger and pride. And, he should think that it is his moralresponsibility to eliminate these issues because these dis-turbs not only him but the peace of others as well.

Today, we see humans killing each other in the nameof religion but does any religion has ever taught its fol-lowers to kill innocent people? The chronicles of mankindbear witness to the truth that millions of people have losttheir peace because of intolerance that ensued from a hurtego or an unfulfilled selfish motive or narrow-minded. Cananyone calculate or even imagine how many people havelost their peace and harmony and how many cities andcivilisations were ruined because of intolerance? If onlythis virtue, called tolerance, had been sustained, all or manyother virtues would have survived. When tolerance is lost,man loses his patience, self-control and spirit of non-vio-lence. Therefore, as they say it is never too late. If evennow those, who are mercilessly killing innocent people,begin to observe this virtue, mankind can be saved fromthe scourge of wars, communal riots and conflict on thebasis of difference in religious beliefs.

Chemicals are routinelyapplied around residential

landscapes to kill insect pestsand troublesome weeds butmany are indiscriminate anddevastate pollinators in theprocess.

Over the past 30-plus years,pollinator populations havecrashed worldwide due to avariety of reasons, includingpesticide and herbicide expo-sure, invasive pests and diseases,loss of habitat, loss of speciesand genetic diversity and achanging climate, scientists say.

Pesticide contamination oflawns, gardens and waterways iswidespread, and even at sub-lethal levels can impact pollina-tors’ foraging ability and hiveproductivity. “Honeybees arenot the most impacted of pol-linators,” said Katie Buckley,pollinator coordinator with theWashington State Departmentof Agriculture. “Once-commonbutterfly and native bee specieshave become rare, with some onthe verge of extinction.”

The rusty patched bumble-

bee, island marble butterfly,Taylor’s checkerspot butterflyand the familiar monarch but-terfly were among those singledout by Buckley as greatly deplet-ed.

Pesticides are over-appliedby many backyard gardeners,said James Dill, a pest manage-ment specialist with Universityof Maine Extension. “They don’tread the labels, or they eyeball

the amounts,” Dill said.“Sometimes, if maybe an ounceis called for, they’ll use twoounces. They often will use acalendar spray schedule or justspray because they had a prob-lem in the past.”

But well-informed garden-ers can be a big help in revers-ing the pollinator declines, espe-cially those caused by chemicalpoisoning. “In general, the best

defense is to avoid sprayingplants that are in bloom, usepesticides that have a shorthalf-life when possible and usepesticides with low toxicity tobees and other beneficialinsects,” Buckley said. “Whetheras a farmer or a homeowner, itis critical to always read and fol-low the label.”

Clothianidin, dinotefuran,imidacloprid and thiamethox-

am are highly toxic to honey-bees by contact and ingestion,according to the EnvironmentalProtection Agency’s toxicityclassification scale for bees.Thiacloprid and acetamipridare moderately toxic, the feder-al agency says. If you keepbees, finding the right apiarylocation is an important way toreduce pesticide exposure.’Keeping colonies as far away

from commercial agricultureas possible (4 to 5 miles) is thesafest,” Dill said. “Drive aroundyour area where you intend tokeep hives and get the lay of theland so you know what you aredealing with. If you have alarge, pesticide-free foragingarea with diverse floweringplants nearby, that would beideal.”

Supplying honeybees withuncontaminated water is also aneffective deterrent, said KevinJensen, a pesticide manage-ment compliance investigatorwith the Washington StateDepartment of Agriculture. “Ifthe bees do not have a watersource in the apiary, they will beforced to look for water else-where during the hot months,”Jensen said. “This can result inbees being attracted to an areathat is being sprayed, eventhough that area may not haveflowers blooming in it.”

Even pesticides allowed foruse in organic agriculture canharm bees and other beneficialinsects like flies, beetles, mothsand wasps, entomologists say.“Homeowners should avoidusing pesticides in backyardsand instead use nontoxic meth-ods such as soapy water to getrid of pests such as aphids,” saidRamesh Sagili, an associate pro-fessor-apiculture with OregonState University.

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Landscape architects are findingthemselves on the front lines ofthe climate change crisis, having

to come up with creative ways to adaptand help mitigate problems like risingoceans and extreme weather as theydesign projects across the country.

“The focus on sustainability hasbeen building slowly for a long timeamong landscape architects but inrecent years that commitment hasreally taken hold,” says JacquelynBianchini, a spokeswoman at theWashington, DC based AmericanSociety of Landscape Architects. Shesaid those in the profession “have todeal with climate change more thanalmost any other design fields.”

Landscape architect Kate Orffheads the firm Scape, known for eco-logically driven projects around thecountry. She feels a responsibility totake on projects that emphasise sustain-ability. “Our profession has been work-ing hand in hand with the carbon-dri-ven world since the field’s inception.We’ve been living in this world wherewe’re creating beautiful gardens in theforeground while the planet is collaps-ing in the background,” she says.

“My goal is to flip that relationshiparound so the focus is on ecologicalsystems and we then link what we dowith policy ideas and infrastructure to

that reality,” says Orff, who recentlybecame the first landscape architectawarded a MacArthur “genius”Fellowship.

She is the lead designer of a $60million barrier reef and shorelinerestoration project off Staten Island,New York, called Living Breakwaters.It incorporates oyster reefs, wetlandsand strands to reduce the effects ofstorm surges. In Atlanta, it is develop-ing a 100-mile trail linking communi-ties along a vast distance to encouragemobility, equity and sustainability.

While landscape architects oftenfocus on large, community projects,they say consideration of the environ-ment also needs to take place at home,when people are designing their own

gardens and deciding what to plant intheir backyards.

“Even though gardening is listed inthe top five hobbies of Americans,somehow we’ve not translated that intocare for our environment. We need totry to somehow do a better job ofbridging the divide between personalgardens and the larger global situation.It’s all connected,” says Orff.

Todd Forrest, vice president forhorticulture and living collections atthe New York Botanical Garden, con-curs. “People who are creating homegardens or people like me who man-age gardens for the public, deal withthe reality of climate every day andalways have. A gardener is the firstperson and the last person you should

talk with about climate change, and wedeal with issues of plant adaptabilityin everything we do,” he says.

Forrest, who used to teach a classcalled Gardening and a ChangingClimate, says, “every citizen of theworld should look across all theiractivities and ask themselves, ‘Howcan I live more simply or thoughtful-ly so that I’m not contributing to theeventual loss of native biodiversityaround the world?’ We can design ourgardens to provide habitat for insects.But we can also over-fertilise anddamage the environment.”

To be a good environmental citi-zen, he says, you need “to learn andpay close attention, to adapt and at thesame time be a part of the effort to

reduce carbon emissions.”At the botanical garden, that’s

meant experimenting with moreplants native to the southern mid-Atlantic states, a region south of NewYork City. The Long Leaf Pine is oneexample. “No one thought that itwould grow here, and it’s now thriv-ing here,” he says. “The challenge isthat models suggest more extremeweather events, not a steady change.It’s hard to plant a garden that’simpervious to a hurricane or nor’east-er. Even as the climate warms, we’restill going to have New York winters,so you’re looking to plants that canhandle extremes.”

In 2017, the American Society ofLandscape Architects convened ablue-ribbon panel on “ClimateChange and Resilience” which result-ed in a broad set of suggested strate-gies and policy guidelines. And lastyear, the group highlighted 20 casestudies of projects that put the report’srecommendations into practice. That“Smart Policies for a ChangingClimate’’ exhibition is on view at theCenter for Landscape Architecture inWashington. “It’s everyone’s prob-lem, and landscape architects are inthe best position to help deal withthis,” says Bianchini.

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Left-arm spinner Siddharth Desaigrabbed a fifer as Gujarat

thrashed minnows Goa by a whop-ping 464 runs to storm into the RanjiTrophy semifinals, here on Sunday.

Set a daunting target of 629 foran improbable win, Goa were bun-dled out for 164 in their second essayon day 4 of the quarterfinals at theSardar Patel Stadium.

Desai (5-81) ran through theGoa batsmen and got able supportfrom pacer Arzan Nagwaswalla (4-18).

Barring Suyash Prabhudessai(66), no other Goa batsman couldeven put up a fight.

Earlier, Goa’s medium-pacerLakshay Garg (4/30) grabbed fourquick wickets as Gujarat declaredtheir second innings for 199/6, withan overall lead of 628 runs.

J&K OUT FOR 192�� ��Karnataka took the crucialfirst-innings lead after bowling outJammu and Kashmir for 192 on thefourth day.

Resuming the day on 88 for twoin reply to Karnataka’s 206, Jammu

and Kashmir let theadvantage slip by losingwickets at regular inter-vals to be bundled outin 62.4 overs.

Pacer M Prasidh Krishna(4/42) impressed once againas he returned with a four-wicket haul, while JagadeeshaSuchith (2/46) and Ronit More(2/40) grabbed two wickets each andKrishnappa Gowtham (1/30)claimed one.

For the hosts, Abdul Samadscored a 50-ball 43.

In their second essay, Karnatakareached 245 for four in 67 overs withopener Ravikumar Samarth (74)and Krishnamurthy Siddharth (75not out) doing the bulk of the scor-ing.

BENGAL VIRTUALLY IN S/F���� �Bengal put up a strong bat-ting display in their second essay to

virtually seal a semifinalberth with a massive 443-run lead over Odisha.

At close on thepenultimate day, Bengal were361 for seven following halfcenturies from ShreevatsGoswami (78), Abhishek

Raman (67) and ShahbazAhmed’s unbeaten 52.It was almost all over for Odisha

as there was no sign of a declarationfrom Bengal, who already hadsecured three points by virtue of afirst-innings lead to put one stepinto the semifinals.

SAURASHTRA ON TOP!��!���Saurashtra batted Andhraout of their quarterfinal by extend-ing their overall lead to a mammoth658 runs.

By stumps on the fourth day,Saurashtra had made 375 for ninein their second innings.

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The Indian batsmen,caught betweenover-cautiousness

and impetuosity, producedyet another inept battingperformance to put NewZealand firmly on the dri-ver’s seat at the end of thirdday’s play in the first Testhere at Basin Reserve onSunday.

At stumps, Indiareached 144 for 4 in theirsecond innings as the top-order found Trent Boult’s(3/27 in 16 overs) high-quality swing bowling toohot to handle.

India now trail NewZealand by 39 runs goinginto fourth day, whichcould well be the final dayof this game unlessAjinkya Rahane (25 bat-ting, 67 balls) and HanumaVihari (15 batting, 70balls) show the art of sur-vival that was distinctlylacking in some of theother top-order batsmen.

Asked what kind oftotal can be defended inthe fourth innings, seniorspinner RavichandranAshwin remained non-committal.

“I know to keep it sim-ple and say this is defend-able and this is not, (it) ispretty much how youwould want me to presentit, but it’s too much — likesix sessions to go and weare not even at a stagewhere we can say what is

a good score to defend,” hesaid.

There is still some-thing there in the BasinReserve pitch, reckonedAshwin.

“We have to take everyball at a time to be honestbecause there is st i l lenough in the surface. Weare not yet in a stage of thegame from our perspective

where we can look at itvery far.”

After New Zealand’stail wagged big time topost a good first inningstotal of 348, the deficit of183 understandably putIndia under severe pres-

sure.If Cheteshwar Pujara

(11 off 81 balls) paid forhis ultra-defensive mind-set shouldering arms to anin-dipper, skipper ViratKohli’s (19 off 43 balls)split-second indiscretionbecame his undoing as hewent for a needless pull-shot to a well-disguisedshort ball.

Mayank Agarwal (58off 99 balls) was impressivein one session and lostconcentration in the sec-ond, ditto to what hap-pened on the first day andwas caught down the leg-side.

The bowler on boththe occasion was Boult,who successfully took overthe job of tormenting theIndian batsmen from TimSouthee (1/41 in 15 overs)and Kyle Jamieson (0/33 in17 overs). It was a top-classseam and swing bowlingshow on a third day pitch,which still had somethingfor fast bowlers.

Boult bowled with a lotof fire as he exposedPrithvi Shaw’s (14 off 30balls) poor technique, lay-ing a trap for the openingbatsman.

A short ball hurriedthe f lamboyantMumbaikar, whose hugeback-lift became his undo-ing. By the time the ballgrew big on him, he wasfending it awkwardly witha closed bat and at theshort square-leg TomLatham was waiting glee-fully for that chance.

Pujara and Agarwaldid add 51 runs for the sec-ond wicket but it was large-ly because of the Karnatakaopener, who played hisshots and showed positiveintent. He, in fact, hit AjazPatel for a six and a fourbut Pujara, at the otherend, only looked keen ondefending.

Just like first innings,Pujara was leaving balls onlength but at one stage, hewas stuck on personalscore of 6 for 28 consecu-tive balls. While leavingJamieson from length wasnot an issue, Pujara did notaccount for Boult, shoul-dering arms a delivery thatcame in sharply.

In the first session,Jamieson (44) continuedwith his dream debut as heand No 11 Boult belted theIndian bowlers for fun.

Ishant Sharma (5/68in 22.2 overs) remained thestand-out bowler for India.

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Najmul Hossain and skipperMominul Haque hit half-centuries

as Bangladesh replied strongly toZimbabwe in their one-off Test inDhaka on Sunday.

Najmul made 71 off 139 ballswhile Mominul was unbeaten on 79 asBangladeshreached 240-3 at stumpson the sec-ond day,trailing Zimbabwe by 25 runs in the firstinnings.

Pace bowler Abu Jayed earlier fin-ished with a career-best 4-71, asZimbabwe were bowled out for 265 inthe opening session, after the visitorsresumed on 228-6.

Najmul, who struck seven fours inhis fluent innings, led Bangladesh’s ini-tial batting charge after Victor Nyauchiremoved opener Saif Hasan for eight togive Zimbabwe an early breakthrough.

He was involved in partnerships of78 and 76 runs with Tamim Iqbal andMominul on his way to a maiden Testfifty in only his fourth match.

Tamim made 41 runs before heedged Donald Tiripano to wicketkeep-er Regis Chakabva.

Charlton Tshuma dismissedNajmul for his maiden Test wicket asChakabva claimed a third catch behindthe stumps.

Mominul, who hit nine fours, andMushfiqur saw off the day without fur-ther damage as they shared 68 runs inan unbroken fourth-wicket stand.

Mushfiqur, who returned to the sideafter skipping the previous Test againstPakistan, remained unbeaten on 32.

Zimbabwe earlier added 37 runs totheir overnight score before Jayed andleft-arm spinner Taijul Islam wrappedup their innings.

Jayed dismissed overnight batsmanTiripano for eight when he nicked anedge to wicketkeeper Liton Das in theseventh over.

The same bowler trapped AinsleyNdlovu leg before for a duck in his nextover.

� � �+�1.

Their confidence on a high afterthe impressive win over title

holders Australia, India will lookto carry forward the momentumagainst a plucky Bangladesh intheir second Group A match ofthe ICC Women’s T20 World Cuphere today.

L e g - s p i n n e rPoonam Yadav’smagical spell helpedIndia beat Australiaby 17 runs in thetournament openeron Friday but theHarmanpreet Kaur-led side can’tafford to take Bangladesh lightlyas their eastern neighbours hadbeaten them twice in the 2018 T20Asia Cup.

Jemimah Rodrigues and 16-year-old promising opener ShafaliVerma, who hit a typically aggres-sive 29 off 15 balls againstAustralia, were not a part of thatAsia Cup team and the duo willneed to play crucial roles if Indiawant to beat Bangladesh.

In the last five meetingsbetween the two sides, India lead3-2 on head-to-head record anda win today will take them clos-er to the knock-out rounds fromthe five-team group.

India will, however, need toimprove their batting perfor-mance as they scored a below par132 against Australia.

Since the tri-series precedingthis World Cup, the Indian battinghas been inconsistent and has notposted big totals barring a fewmatches.

Captain Harmanpreet andopener Smriti Mandhana, whoboth have done well in the tri-series before this World Cup,contributed little with the bat inthe previous match and both willneed to fire for India to put up abig total or chase down a target.

Another key middle-order

batswoman Deepti Sharma camegood against Australia with anunbeaten 49 off 46 balls and shewould look to continue her goodform.

Medium pacer ShikhaPandey also bowled well againstAustralia and Harmanpreet ishappy that her team is not depen-dent on a few players only.

For Bangladesh, the key play-ers will be all-rounder JahanaraAlam and top-order batswomanFargana Hoque.

The 26-year-old seasonedHoque has a T20I hundred to hername. She had played a major rolein Bangladesh’s group stage winover India in 2018 T20 Asia Cup.

Alam is another key player forBangladesh and she was a part ofthe IPL Velocity team underMithali Raj in India’s domesticWomen’s T20 Challenge tourna-ment in Jaipur last year.

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Gabriel Jesus struck lateto give Manchester

City a 1-0 win atLeicester onSaturday, strength-ening their holdon second placebehind champi-ons-in-waitingL i v e r p o o ldespite morewoe from thepenalty spot.

P e pGuardiola’s menhave endured aturbulent week after theywere banned from Europeanclub competitions for twoyears for breaches of financialfair play rules.

But a second-half winnerfrom substitute Jesus afterSergio Aguero had failed to

convert a penalty put them 17points clear of Tottenham andsends them into their midweekmatch against Real Madrid in

good spirits.City looked like

they might have tosettle for a drawafter squanderingtheir fourth penal-ty in a row in the

Premier League,with each being

missed by a differentplayer.

“We have missedfour penalties in a rowbut maybe we willshoot a penalty whenwe need it to wins o m e t h i n g , ”Guardiola told theBBC. “The keepersare good too, but the

next one we are goingto score.”

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Lazio kept their bid for a first SerieA title in 20 years on track as a

3-2 victory at Genoa on Sunday keptthem one points behind leadersJuventus, but four Serie A footballmatches were postponed amid grow-ing coronavirus fears in northernItaly.

Reigning champions Juve hadedged out bottom club SPAL 2-1 onSaturday, but Lazio responded tokeep the pressure on at the top,extending their unbeaten run in theleague to 20 games in the north-west-ern port city.

Third-placed Inter Milan, whoare six points behind Juve, saw theirgame scheduled for later on Sundayat the San Siro postponed, withThursday’s Europa League matchagainst Bulgarian club Ludogorets atrisk, along with next weekend’sleague clash with Juventus in Turin.

Three other top-flight matcheswere also pushed back — between

Torino and Parma, Atalanta versusSassuolo and Hellas Verona againstCagliari.

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conteannounced late on Saturday evening

that all sporting events in two north-ern regions would be suspended onSunday.

Strong measures are being takenin Italy with over 132 con-firmed cases in an outbreakthat has claimed two lives inthe country.

“I think it’s right to takethe necessary precautions,”said Lazio coach SimoneInzaghi.

“Do a lot of prevention, try todefeat and understand the problemby stopping the championship,because we shouldn’t underestimatewhat is happening.”

In Genoa, Adam Marusic scoredthe opener for Lazio with less thantwo minutes on the clock before CiroImmobile, the top flight’s leadingscorer this season, netted his 27thSerie A goal of the campaign six min-

utes into the second half.The Italian striker pulled six

goals clear of Juventus star CristianoRonaldo who scored for a record-

equalling 11th consecutive SerieA game in his 1,000th profes-sional match against SPAL.

Francesco Cassata pulledone back for the relegation-threatened hosts, but DaniloCataldi secured Lazio all three

points despite Domenico Criscito'slate consolation.

“We’re doing something great.The lads know it and I’m not hidingfrom saying it,” said Inzaghi.

“In 21 games between the cham-pionship and the Super Cup we havewon 17 times. In other champi-onships we would be first, but hereyou have to fight with Juve and Inter.

“We are there in the chase andwe will try to fight.”

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Eden Hazard’s seasoncould be at risk after

Real Madridannounced onSunday that hehad fracturedhis right ankleduring histeam’s 1-0 LaLiga defeat atLevante.

Belgium forwardHazard, whose first seasonat Real has been plagued by injury, will now missWednesday's Champions League last 16 clash withManchester City and the Clasico with league lead-ers Barcelona next weekend.

Madrid did not announce a recovery time forHazard but his latest setback will be a worry forBelgium boss Roberto Martinez ahead of Euro 2020this summer.

On Saturday, Madrid coach Zinedine admit-ted that the 29-year-old’s injury “doesn’t look good”ahead of those two huge matches, which coulddefine his side’s season.

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South Africa's bowlers heldtheir nerve as the hosts

bounced back from a recorddefeat to win the second T20Iagainst Australia at St George'sPark on Sunday.

Opening batsman DavidWarner hit an unbeaten 67 forAustralia but it wasn't enough asSouth Africa defended a modesttotal of 158 for four to win by 12runs and level the three-matchseries.

Australia lost three wicketsfor eight runs in the last 2.1 oversto finish on 146 for six. It wastheir first T20 defeat in ninematches going back to November2018.

South Africa captainQuinton de Kock was namedman of the match after heslammed 70 off 47 balls to get thehome team off to a blazing startas they set out to recover from arecord 107-run defeat in the first

match in Johannesburg onFriday.

He hit two sixes in the sec-ond over, bowled by PatCummins, and raced to 50 off 31balls.

Warner, Aaron Finch andSteve Smith got Australia off toa similarly fast start but bothteams found scoring increasing-ly difficult on a slow pitch withlow bounce as the ball lost itsshine and hardness.

“We realised the new ball isreally key with the bat,” said DeKock. “It gets more difficulttowards the end so we were try-ing to capitalise on the powerplay.

“We thought 160 was parbecause we know this wicket. Itwas always going to be more dif-ficult towards the end.”

The series decider takesplace on Wednesday atNewlands in Cape Town, thescene of the ball-tamperingscandal which led to bans forSmith and Warner.

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Boult, Southee leave India on thin ice

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���)��Bangladesh have called upuncapped batsmen MohammadNaim and Afif Hossain for their 15-man squad for the first two ODIsof a three-match series againstZimbabwe next month.

Naim and Afif have playedT20 for Bangladesh, but were notpart of the ODI side to be led bypacer Mashrafe Mortaza.

Mashrafe was retained as cap-tain despite concerns over hisfuture, and will lead the side for thefirst time since the World Cup lastyear.

Batsman Liton Das and all-rounder Mohammad Saifuddinalso return to the ODI side aftermissing the previous series againstSri Lanka in July.

The first two ODIs againstZimbabwe will be held in Sylhet onMarch 1 and 3. AFP

Naim, Afif back for ODIs� ��� ������ �����������Gujarat thrash Goa by 464 runs, enter Ranji semis

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Jitender Kumar sealed his placein the Indian team for theOlympic Qualifiers with a

Silver medal at the AsianChampionship here on Sunday, aresult that could slam the TokyoGames door on veteran SushilKumar.

Two-time Olympic medallistSushil had skipped the continen-tal event citing an injury.

A Gold eluded India on thesecond day of the men’s freestylecompetition with Deepak Punia(86kg) and Rahul Aware (61kg)finishing with Bronze medals.

Up against Kazakhstan’sDaniyar Kaisanov, Jitendershowed tremendous defensiveskill, but was lacking in attack.The Indian lost 1-3 to the defend-ing champion.

However, his performancewas enough to convince thenational federation that he shouldtravel to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan forthe Olympic Qualifiers, withouta re-trial.

It means that Sushil, who alsocompetes in 74kg, will have towait and see how Jitender fares inBishkek, where the finalists willdirectly qualify for the Tokyo

Games.If Jitender reaches the Gold

medal bout there, it will affect theprospect of Sushil, who has beenstruggling since the 2018 AsianGames.

If Jitender fails to seal anOlympic quota in Bishkek, thelast chance would be through aWorld qualifying event in April.

“I tried one move towards theend but could not execute itproperly, it could have got me theGold. There are improvements inthe my game and it could be seen.This Silver is special. Now I willtry harder to get Olympic quota,”said Jitender.

His attacking moves from adistance were not good enough toget a good grip on his rivals.Largely, he was defending fromstanding position.

In fact, in the semifinalagainst his Mongolian opponent,all three points were scored onpassivity and the bouts lackedflare.

Before that, Jitender had wonhis qualification bout rather eas-ily but just about managed to winhis following bouts against Iran’sMostafa Mohabbali Hosseinkhani(2-2) and Mongolia’s SumiyabazarZandanbud (2-1).

“We will not have trials in anycategory in men’s free style. Wewill see how our wrestlers per-form in Bishkek,” WrestlingFederation of India (WFI) pres-ident Brij Bhushan Sharan Singhsaid.

Much to the disappointmentof the home fans, world champi-onship Silver medallist Deepaklost his 86kg semifinal to Japan’sShutaro Yamada.

His style was identical toJitender’s and his moves from dis-

tance did not yield the desiredresult.

Against Yamada, the onlypoints he scored from a takedownwere removed after a successfulchallenge from his opponent’scamp.

In the fight forBronze against IssaA b d u l s a l a mAbdulwahhab AlObaidi, theIndian looked adifferent man,winning iteasily. Hedefated hisIraqi rivalby technicalsuperiority.

“I had nottrained enoughbecause of an injury Isuffered during train-ing after I arrived inIndia from Russia. I hadsix stitched just above myright eye,” Deepak, whowon a Silver at 2019Worlds, said.

In the non-Olympic61kg category, Rahul,who won a Bronze atthe Worlds in NurSultan, paid the price

for being overconfident as hisunnecessary challenges cost himdearly.

His movement was terrificand so were his attacks butuntimely challenges resulted inhim losing points in both thequarterfinal and semifinal.

In a fast-paced, high-scoringquarterfinal bout againstUzbekistan’s JahongirmirzaTurobov, Rahul won 11-9, large-

ly because of his superiordefence.

The Pune grappler losthis semifinal to Kyrgyzstan’sUlukbek Zholdoshbekov 3-5.

He won Bronze afterdowning Iran’s Majid

Almas Dastan 4-2 inan exciting bout.

In the 125kg,Satender wonhis qualificationbout but laterlost his quarter-

final and repechagerounds.

In the 92kg,Somveer’s challengelasted just 24 secondsagainst his Uzbekrival AjiniyazSaparniyazov.

FURY CRUSHES WILDER IN WBC REMATCHLas Vegas: 1������ � �������������!�����!� �� ���"��� ��� ���� ��� %����� ,���� �� ���������������& �������""�������� ,� ��$�:���3������ ����� ����� ��� ���� ������ ��� ���� � �����"���&��������� !�$ ����B��� ������������ ��� ��� ���"��� E !�� �� ����� � �""���� �� ��� ���� � �� ������ � �� ��� ����� !��� ��� �������$��������������,���� B��� �� �� �!�������!�� F1�������� ��� ����������"������� ����G����� ��!����� �""��,���� �������� � �� ����� �������� �������������!����������,���� ����� ������������� ��

NISHIOKA REACHES DELRAY BEACH FINALMiami: '������� ;�������� *������ �� #"� ������� 8&L� L&>� L&= ����� � ��� ��:��&������ '��.���� ��� �������1�%�� �$������� *�������"" ����� �� ����� �� ������ �� ����� � ���� ���� ��� ���� ��� �� ����� ����� ������ � �� ���� .�!���������" �� ��������������@�����(=8O

THIEM THWARTED IN BID TO PASS FEDERERRio De Janerio: ,� ������� ��� %������1���������� �������������� ���� �� &������� �������1� ������!������2"��?� �� &��������������B�0�����6�� 6�� �8(O��& ����?������ "����� �� ���� ��� ������ � �� ��� &����� ������������(=8P������"���1����P&LHP/>I�P&)������ ��� !� ����� �� � ��� �� �� .� 1���� ������������&����������(=(=���&��� ���������!���� ��� ��� ���� ���� ���� � �� ��� � ��6����B��1� ������

GOA TO HOST ISL FINAL: NITA AMBANIMumbai: 6 ����0�!�����������������������������B� ����� ��"� -���� �� 6 �� 8>� ��������"� �� %�����"���� -������B� �������� ��� "� ���*���������� 1������������!����������PA9="� �� 6 �� 8> � ��� #!� �� *�� � ������ ���� ���6 �� F0����� ��������������-���� 1�� ���������������0������������������!�!����������� ����������� ��������������������������� ���"��"����0��G��������

WINDIES RECALL RUSSELL FOR SL T20SColombo: ,��������� ���������&���������& ����� ��� ���������� ���� �"������1(=��� ��������� �-�� 1��98&�� &�����������!��"�������" ��� ��� ,������B (=8L ,� �� 1(= � ���"�� ��� "�������� �������������� B�)=&��� ,� ��3�"������� ���� �� �� 1(=� ����� ������ (=8O ���� ��.����� � !�� ���� !��� �����! ����� +��� -�!��!�������������2%��?����� �-���� �������������������������� �?�� ���������������������?�� 1�� ,������ ��� � � -�� �� �!� ���� ��������6 ��>��L

HANSINI WINS BRONZE IN ITTF EVENTNew Delhi: �� �� ����� ""� ��� � ����� ������ 1��� 1����� ���� ���� H�11�I ����� �� ���� ������ 3�����B� ���� ������ " ������ 6������ .����� "�� �" � ��" ������ "� �� ���� �������� ��� $ ��@� ���� �� ��� 6���&3��� 0� ��B������������ ������!�����#���� ��3���2"����2 �� ���!���� ��-�+1-�

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�������� Indian men’s doublespair of Achanta Sharath Kamaland Gnanasekaran Sathiyan set-tled for a Silver medal at the ITTFWorld Tour Hungarian Openafter losing the summit clash toGerman combination of BenediktDuda and Patrick Franziska.

The Indian pair, whichdefeated top seeds Ho Kwan Kitand Wong Chun Ting of HongKong 3-2 in the semi-finals, putup a strong effort in the summitclash but eventually went downfighting 5-11, 9-11, 11-8, 9-11 tothe 16th seeds German pair in a30-minute showdown onSaturday.

It is Sharath Kamal’s secondmedal from the prestigious tour-nament. He also won a Bronzewith Manika Batra in mixeddoubles. PTI

���� ����Stefanos Tsitsipas suc-cessfully defended his Marseille titleon Sunday with a straightforwardvictory over Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Greek star Tsitsipas eased to a6-3, 6-4 win to leave Felix still wait-ing for his maiden ATP title afterhis fifth final defeat.

Tsitsipas, who had arrived insouthern France with a 3-4 losingrecord this season, enjoyed anemphatic return to form as heclinched his fifth ATP trophy.

“I did well mentally,” saidTsitsipas. “I didn’t crack when I wasunder pressure.”

Auger-Aliassime would havebeen confident of finally ending hiswait for tournament success aftertwo wins from his three previousmeetings with Tsitsipas, but has stillfailed to even win a set in his five

Tour-level finals.“Playing a final is wonderful,

you have to have that perspective,remember that everything is goingin the right direction despite every-thing,” said Auger-Aliassime.

“It’s heavy, losing every time inthe final. There is a little doubt...when will it be my turn?”

World number six Tsitsipas,the ATP Finals champion, broke inthe third game and saved threebreak points to serve out the open-ing set. The second seed got thebetter of a run of three successivebreaks in the second set to move4-3 in front and only dropped onemore point on serve.

He will now travel to the UAEfor the Dubai C’ships, where he issecond seed behind number oneNovak Djokovic. AFP

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Jitender ensures place in Indian team for Olympic Qualifiers

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The Pioneer€¦ · account for the high proportion ˘ ˇ ˆ ˆ ˙ˇ ˝ ˛ ˘ˇ˘ ˇ ˆ˙ ˘˝ ˛˚˜ ˚˜ ˆˆ

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Home | GSK PK/ˆ’ +ˆ ˚ ˘ ˆ˙ˇ ˚˝ ˇ ˚ˇ ˜ ˜ ˇ ˇ .˝ ˇ ˆˇ ˆ ˜ , ˚˝ˇ ˆ˚ + ˆ , ˇ&˝ ˙˝˚˝ ˇ ˆˇ ˚ˇ ˆ˚ ˚ # ˇ&˝ ˇ /ˆ’ +ˆ ˚ ˘ ˆ˙ˇ ˚˝ ˇ

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