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HYDERABAD, MONDAY DECEMBER 2, 2019; PAGES 12 `3

}PAWAN UNVEILSREMIX VERSIONOF HIS REVERED

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RNI No. TELENG/2018/76469

Established 1864Published From

HYDERABAD DELHI LUCKNOWBHOPAL RAIPUR CHANDIGARH

BHUBANESWAR RANCHI DEHRADUNVIJAYAWADA

*LATE CITY VOL. 2 ISSUE 53*Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable

PNS n HYDERABAD

Chief Minister KChandrashekhar Rao hasassured TSRTC employees thatall their jobs would be secureand none of them would besacked.

The retirement age of RTCstaff would be increased from58 years to 60 years, heannounced, while making aslew of heartening promises ata special interactive session hehad with RTC workers postlunch at Pragati Bhavan hereon Sunday.

Five workers' representa-tives from each of the 97depots took part in the meet-ing.

In order to strengthen thecorporation's financial posi-tion, not even a single privatebus will be permitted to oper-ate even on any of RTC busroutes. From the next year, Rs1,000 crore will be earmarkedin the State Budget for TSRTC,the Chief Minister declared.He expressed his hope that,with the foregoing measures,RTC would turn around andbecome profitable in the nextfour months.

Rs 1 lakh bonus"Every year it should earn Rs

1,000 crore profit and RTCemployees should get Rs 1lakh as annual bonus," he sug-gested amidst cheers.

The Chief Minister said thatthe September salaries of RTCemployees and workers wouldbe paid this Monday. Salariesfor the strike period would bepaid in one go.

Transport Minister Puvvada

Ajay Kumar, Government'sChief Advisor Rajiv Sharma,RTC MD Sunil Sharma, EDs,RMOs, DVMs and DMs,Controllers and Supervisorsparticipated in the meeting.

KCR, after having lunchwith the RTC workers, inter-acted with them for two hours.The meeting took place in acongenial atmosphere.

The other decisions takenand agreements reached at themeeting include an end to thepractice of calling RTC con-ductors and drivers as 'work-ers'; they would be referred toonly as 'employees'. No more'management' and 'employ-

ees'; everyone belongs to onefamily. Salaries for the 55-daystrike period would also bepaid. As for employees whodied during the strike period,one job will be given to a mem-ber of the bereaved familywithin eight days. Besides, thegovernment would pay Rs 2lakh per family ex gratia.

Responsibility for obtain-ing ticket will vest in passen-gers. Henceforth, action willnot be taken against conduc-tors if a passenger fails to takethe ticket. Colour-blindemployees would be givenother responsibilities; theywould not be removed from

employment. Women employ-ees would not be given nightduties; they should completetheir duties by 8 pm. In everydepot, within 20 days, exclusivetoilets, dress change roomsand lunchrooms for womenshould be created. All TSRTCwomen employees, like theircounterparts in the govern-ment, would get three months'child care leave, along with thematernity leave. Employeesneed not wear khaki uniform.A committee would be formedto give suggestions to solve theproblems faced by womenemployees. For a two-yearperiod, there would be noelections for the TSRTCRecognised Union. With twoemployees drawn from eachdepot, Employees WelfareBoard would be constituted.

Health services in TSRTCwould include parents of theemployees. Measures wouldbe taken so that staff can availof services of private hospitalsnot only in Hyderabad but alsoin other places in the State.

Continued on Page 4

Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao interacting with RTC employees over lunch at Pragati Bhavan on Sunday

n Announces Rs 1,000 crore for RTC inBudget every year

n Retirement age of employeeshiked from 58 yrs to 60 yrs

n Vows to make RTC profitable infour months

n No privatisation ofeven single RTC

route

n Salariesfor strike

period to bepaid soon

CM’s key decisions on RTC

KTR wants capitalpunishment for rapistsUrges Modi to bring changes in archaic laws PNS n HYDERABAD

Industries Minister and TRSworking president K T RamaRao on Sunday said it was hightime the country's archaic lawswere amended as they let per-petrators of violence againstchildren and women go scot-free. The Minister, in a seriesof tweets, urged PrimeMinister Narendra Modi tobring changes in the laws con-cerned during the current ses-sion of Parliament.

Recalling the horrendousgang-rape and murder ofNirbhaya in New Delhi sevenyears ago, Rama Rao expressedhis dismay that the convicts inthe case were yet to be hanged.

"A 9-month-old child wasraped recently, lower courtordered capital punishment;HC revised it to life imprison-ment," the Minister said.

The Minister was alluding tothe case relating to the sexualassault on and murder of anine-month-old girl child inHanamkonda in June last inwhich the High Court issuedorders recently commutingthe death sentence awarded tothe convict, K Praveen, to lifesentence.

"A young veterinarian isbarbarically murdered inHyderabad. Let us act swiftlyto save our nation from thesebeasts who seem not to fear

law of the land," the Ministertweeted. "Narendra Modi Ji, Iappeal to you on behalf of mil-lions of citizens who're aggriev-ed, yet feel helpless and want

us lawmakers to rise up to theoccasion and deliver expedi-tious justice," he said in thetweet.

Continued on Page 4

HYDERABAD: Chief Minister KChandrashekhar Rao said onSunday that a fast-track courtwould deal with Dr PriyankaReddy's gang-rape and murdercase and wanted the culprits tobe given stringent punishment.He asked officials to set up a fasttrack court in this regard. In thecase relating to sexual assaultand murder of minor girl inWarangal, due to the setting upof a fast-track court, the verdictcame after 56 days' trial. KCRfelt that even in Dr PriyankaReddy's case, the verdict wouldcome quickly. The Chief Ministerannounced that the state

government would extend allhelp and support to members ofDr Priyanka Reddy's family.Earlier, the Chief Ministerdescribed the incident as ghastlyand expressed his deep anguish.He was upset that theperpetrators of such heinouscrimes are living amidst us.

Citing the recent gang rapeand murder of Priyanka

Reddy, he wondered whether onecan comfort the grieving family."And the perpetrators have beennabbed. But, I wonder how we canoffer solace to the grieving family

— K T RAMA RAOIT and Industries Minister

Fast-track court will dealwith Priyanka case: KCR

2 forest staffersfeared drownedin PranahitaASIFABAD: Two newlyrecruited Forest Beat Officers(FBOs), posted in the Karjelliforest, are feared drowned inPranahita River as the boat inwhich they were travellingcapsized on the borders ofTelangana and Maharashtranear Gudem village inChintalamanepalli mandalon Sunday. One more FBOand four others swam tosafety.

According to KaghaznagarForest Divisional OfficerVijay Kumar, the FBOs vizBalakrishna, Suresh andSaddam belong to Karjelli.

Continued on Page 4

Concentrationof minoritieshigh: BJP leaderMANGALURU: KarnatakaBJP leader and party gener-al secretary (organisation)B.L. Santosh kicked up a rowwhen he said that the concen-tration of minorities-Muslimsand Christians-in some partsof India is danger-ous and a matterof concern.

In a paneldiscussion on'New India:Demography-Dividend orDanger' at the ongoingMangaluru LiteratureFestival, Santosh, reportedly,said: "The concentration ofMuslims and Christians ishigh in some parts of thecountry, which is danger-ous."

Santosh, an RSS veteranwho was appointed BJP gen-eral secretary in July thisyear by Home Minister AmitShah, said that 50 per cent ofthe Christian population inIndia is concentrated inKerala, Tamil Nadu,Karnataka, and AndhraPradesh.

PRIYANKA REDDY MURDER

PNS n HYDERABAD

The remand report relating tothe sensational gang-rape andmurder of veterinarian DrPriyanka revealed that theprime accused, MohammedAreef, did not possess a dri-ving licence and that just threedays before the crime, onNovember 24, MahabubnagarRoad Transport Office (RTO)had seized the truck for lack ofdriving licence.

He has been driving thelorry for the past two years,evading authorities, sourcessaid. The truck is owned byone Srinivas Reddy.

The officials found the lorryoverloaded with bricks thatwere being transported fromGangavathi in Karnataka toHyderabad. After the roadtransport authorities inter-vened, calling up the owner ofthe truck, the first accusedMohammed Areef had calledup the owner to manage thesituation. He was advised bythe owner to remove the self-motor cable and wait to pre-vent seizure of the vehicle byRTO officials.

However, later after theRTO authorities left, the fouraccused managed to continuetheir journey on theMahabubnagar-Bhootpurroad. Not much thought wasgiven to the legal violationsthat the lorry driver commit-ted and that ultimately cost a26-year-old her life.

Continued on Page 4

Mohammed Areef

Remand report showsA1 did not have licence Pl leave us alone:

Priyanka parentsPNS n MAHABUBNAGAR

The parents and relatives ofthe Shadnagar gang-rape andmurder victim Dr PriyankaReddy on Sunday appealed topolitical leaders and membersof public to leave them alonein their hour of grief. Theyshut the gates leading to theirapartment and remainedindoors, after their emotion-

al appeal to across-section

of societyvolunteer-ing help tosecure jus-

tice to thevictim.

They demand-ed that Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and ChiefMinister K ChandrasekharRao should provide justice totheir family in the wake ofthis heinous crime. The par-ents expressed their anger atpolitical leaders visiting theirplace in the name of consol-ing them and extending sol-idarity. They sought 'instantjustice' in the case.

PNS n MUMBAI

Major telecome operators inthe country Airtel, VodafoneIdea and Reliance Jio onSunday announced to increasemobile call and date charges.

"Bharti Airtel todayannounced its revised tariffplans for its mobile customers.These tariffs will be applicablefrom Tuesday, December 3,2019," the company said in astatement. The company tooannounced new plans whichwill cost up to 42 per cent morecompared to the price thatAirtel pre-paid customers payat present for plans in the"unlimited" category.

"Airtel's new plans, representtariff increases in the range ofa mere 50 paise per day to Rs2.85 per day and offer gener-ous data and calling benefits,"

the statement said.In addition, Airtel said that

it will provide exclusive bene-fits as part of the Airtel Thanksplatform, which enables accessto premium content fromAirtel Xstream-comprising10,000 movies, exclusiveshows, and 400 TV channels,Wynk Music, device protec-

tion, anti-virus protection andmuch more. Vodafone Ideahad also announced a hike intariffs on Sunday, their firstmobile tariff hike in four years.Under the new plans, call anddata charges will be dearer forits pre-paid customers by up to42 per cent from December 3.

Continued on Page 4

Airtel, Vodafone Idea, Jio raise mobile and data charges

RBI may cutinterest ratesNEW DELHI: The ReserveBank may cut interest ratesfor the sixth straight time onDecember 5 to supportgrowth that has continued toslip to more than six-yearlow on slump in manufac-turing, bankers and expertssaid. RBI has cut interestrates on every single occa-sion the multi-membermonetary policy committee(MPC) has met sinceShaktikanta Das took over asthe Governor of RBI in lastDecember.

Areef has been drivingthe lorry for the past 2 years, evadingofficials. He has beenillegally driving thelorry, owned by SrinivasReddy since 2017

{KCR showers sops on RTC

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated December 01, 2019 5:00 PM

ALMANACTODAY

Month & Paksham:Margashirsha & Shukla PakshaPanchangamTithi : Panchami: 07:13 pmNakshatram: Uttara Ashadha 09:41 amTime to Avoid: (Bad time to start

any important work)Rahukalam: 04:13 pm- 05:36 pmYamagandam: 12:04 pm – 01:27 pm

Varjyam: 02:01 pm - 03:45 pm

Gulika: 02:50 pm - 04:13 pmGood Time: (to start any important work)

Amritakalam: 12:26 am - 02:10 amAbhijit Muhurtham: 11:42 am - 12:27 pm

HYDERABADWEATHERForecast: Partly cloudyTemp: 29/22Humidity: 80%Sunrise: 06.29Sunset: 05.40

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HYDERABAD | MONDAY | DECEMBER 2, 2019 hyderabad 02

Time ripe for making electoral promises legally bindingHC UPADHYAY n HYDERABAD

At last, the curtains have fall-en on the Maharashtra dramaenacted for about a monthwith all the ingredients of aShakespearean play. The high-sounding claims made by allthe parties that mattered in thescene have fallen flat.

Unfortunately, this is notfor the first time that the peo-ple have watched with aweand disbelief the naked danceof the power-mongers hailingfrom different political parties.

Indeed, this is a solemnoccasion for all right-thinkingpeople, including the people inpower, judiciary, legal fraterni-ties, and those who reallybelieved in the democratic val-ues enshrined in theConstitution to ponder thepros and cons of the sordiddrama.

The Constitution of India isa guiding source for all mattersconnected with governance ofthe country. It deals with thecreation of States, election ofthe law-makers, formation ofgovernments at the State and

Central levels, Constitutionalauthorities, judiciary, defence,finance, power-sharing, funda-mental rights, directive princi-ples, duties of citizens. It is fair-ly an exhaustive documentwhich leaves a little scope forconfusion.

However, the ground reali-ties are not akin to theConstitutional spirit. Firstly,people are left to guess at thetime of voting whether they arevoting for a particular personor a political party. Quite often,it so happens that either ofthem is of no liking to a voter.Still the helpless voter has toexercise his franchise. Thencomes 'Marketing' of a politi-cal party which is done by adocument called, manifesto.Ideally, this document shouldcontain two parts: one, thepromises party would imple-ment in next five years if votedto power; and two, the promis-es, if voted successively for along-term, it would imple-ment. The tendency to maketall, impracticable and falsepromises in manifesto needs tobe curtailed. For this, suitableprovisions may be incorporat-

ed in the Representation ofPeople Act whereby not ful-filling the electoralpromise/s, after coming topower should attractexemplary fine, includingdebarment of theparty from contest-ing future electionfor a certain period.

Further, in orderto put a break onthe corrupt practiceslike 'horse-trading' bya party or parties sub-sequent to the out-come of an election with a viewto muster necessary strength toform the government, not onlypre-poll alliances between con-testing parties should be regis-tered with the Election

Commission, but also stringentprovisions like levying hefty

fines and suspension orde-recognition of a party

dishonouring such pre-pollalliance should also

be incorporat-ed in theRepresentation

of People Act. Similarly, appropri-

ate legal provisionsshould be incorporatedin the existing law andRules of the police andother security agencies to

ensure that after getting elect-ed to an elective post, the pro-tection and well being of suchelected representatives becomesthe responsibility of the admin-istration automatically. Such

protection should be given tothe family members of theelected representatives also andthe same should continue forthe complete term. This mea-sure would root out the laugh-able practice of 'hijacking' thenewly elected public represen-tatives and keeping them atsecret places or secured placeslike five-star hotels.

These measures could effec-tively prevent the repetition ofthe unsavoury situation ofshame and disrepute broughtby recently enacted MahaDrama by power-hungrypoliticians.

Pak SC shows guts!For one good reason, the

dauntlessness of the ChiefJustice of Pakistan (CJP), AsifSaeed Khan Khosa, deserves tobe congratulated by those whohave unimpeachable faith inJudiciary and the Rule of Lawthat it always observes.

CJP Khosa has taken a bolddecision with regard to thethree-year extension of servicefrom November 30 this yeargranted to General QamarJaved Bajwa, the 10th and cur-

rent Chief of Army Staff(COAS). Undoubtedly, such abold decision taken againstthe de facto ruler of the coun-try requires guts, and the CJPKhosa has proved by his deci-sion that he is made of a differ-ent metal.

Everyone knows that inPakistan, there is no realdemocracy, though it boasts ofit. The civilians are selected,elected and retained at thebehest of terrorist outfits suchas ISIS, Talibans etc; and thevoice of citizens always turns tothe deaf ears of terrorist junta.Army and other defence wingsare the puppets in the hands ofterrorists.

Amidst such a pathetic sce-nario, a judicial order grantingjust six months time to amendthe relevant laws to facilitatecontinuation of further exten-sion of service of GeneralBajwa or else sending himhome on retirement is indeed,a forceful assertion of Pakistan'sjudiciary of its supremacy.

One can't be hisown judge : SC

In an important judgement

delivered by the apex court onNovember 26, it has been heldthat a person who has an inter-est in the outcome or decisionof the dispute must not havethe power to appoint a solearbitrator.

The bench, comprisingJustice Uday Umesh Lalit andJustice Indu Malhotra, dealingwith Perkins EastmanArchitects DPC vs. HSCC(India) Ltd ruled that Clause 24of the Agreement empoweredthe Chairman and ManagingDirector (CMD) of the com-pany to make the appoint-ment of a sole arbitrator wasarbitrary and hence the powerof the CMD was obliterated.

Citing the judgement of TRFLimited vs. Energo EngineeringProjects Ltd the benchobserved: “The ManagingDirector was found incompe-tent, it was because of theinterest that he would be saidto be having in the outcome orresult of the dispute. The ele-ment of invalidity would thusbe directly relatable to andarise from the interest that hewould be having in such out-come or decision.”

LEGALROUNDUP

Indeed, this is a solemn occasion forall right-thinking people, including thepeople in power, judiciary, legalfraternities, and those who reallybelieved in the democratic valuesenshrined in the Constitution toponder the pros and cons of thesordid drama.

Gold continues to be a hotfavourite of global investorsPNS n HYDERABAD

Even as hot and cold relation-ship between the two superpowers viz. the US and Chinaeluded the end of trade war,gold continued to be a hotfavourite of global investors.Although during Novembergold declined by 39 dollars or2.63 per cent, the undercurrentis fairly strong.

New York gold closed at USdollars 1,466.18 (per oz). Silvertoo, remained firm and closedat US dollars 16.98.

Now that the Nepal govern-ment has raised gold import dutysubstantially, smuggling fromNepal to India is expected tocome down in the days to come.

Other economic parametersremained upbeat. US Dollar:Rs.71.74, British Pound:Rs.92.76, Euro: Rs.79.06,Australian Dollar: Rs.48.51,UAE Dirham: Rs.19.54,Canadian Dollar: Rs. 54.02,Omani Riyal: Rs.186.36, SaudiRiyal: Rs.19.13, KuwaitiDinar: Rs.235.90 andFrench Franc: Rs. 71.75.Gold MCX closed atRs.38, 782 (per 10gms) while SilverMCX closed atRs.44, 506 (perkg). Sensex andNifty 50d e c l i n e dmarginallyand closedat 40,793.81 and 12,056 pointsrespectively.

Similarly, Brent and Crudeoil recorded a moderate decline

and closed at 60.73 dollars (perbarrel) and 3,969 respectively.Copper stood at Rs.432 (perkg). NY Met closed at Dollars57.93.

In the local market, stan-dard gold (24 carats) closedlower by Rs.160 at Rs.38, 100

(per 10 gms).Ornamental gold also

moved in tandemand was quoted inthe range of Rs.36,1 8 0 - 3 6 , 2 8 0 .

Silver (0.999)too, declined byRs.200 andclosed at Rs.44,

300 (per kg). Platinum and pal-ladium closed at Rs. 28,270 (per10 gms) and Rs.39, 263.83respectively.

COMMODITIESThe sentiment in the principalwholesale commodity marketsin different localities ofHyderabad remained strong.The adverse impact of heavyfloods which virtually inundat-ed standing crop and soil inmost parts of the country hasalready begun to be felt in mar-kets. The crop estimates forcereals and pulses, paddy,wheat, bajra, jowar, maize andoilseeds such as groundnut,soyabean, till and mustard havebeen lowered.

However, the situation is notout of control. The huge bufferstock of food grains, oilseedsand sugar will come handy tohelp combat scarcity in winterand summer seasons.

WEEKLY MARKET REVIEW

Now that the Nepal govt has raised goldimport duty substantially, smugglingfrom Nepal to India is expected to comedown in the days to come

The closure of governmentliquor shops at 8-00 pmsharp and the steep 40%

increase in prices have forced tip-plers in the city to halve their con-sumption, compared to what theywere guzzling prior to October 1.On an average, a somewhat addict-ed man belonging to the middleclass consumed 180 ml with pricesranging from Rs 130 to Rs 250.With the floor prices shooting upand due to non-availability ofliquor in shops after schedule time,they have cut down the consump-tion levels, regardless of their crav-ing, to 90 ml or 120 ml. Cursingthe new Chief Minister for depriv-ing them of their usual quota, thesemen have decided to progressive-ly give up the habit. This isrefreshingly in sync with the gov-ernment policy to gradually bringin the dry law. Something is bet-ter than nothing, be it liquor or thedry law! So, just like the men,

women are quite happy since theshops around the locality are closedas per scheduled timings and thereare no more drunken brawls on thestreets during odd hours. They arealso happy that their men aremore often coming home sober.When people from outside the stateare enquiring about the new gov-ernment, women take the lead inanswering them. Good governance.No more high tempers at home oron the streets!

Welfare vs developmentThe Jaganmohan Reddy govern-

ment is gloating over its achieve-ments in the past six months andreeling out the welfare schemeslaunched for the uplift of varioussections of society. YSRCP leaders

are making the most of every pub-lic platform to publicise them.The government's munificence inraising pensions for various cate-gories of people, hiking salary forcontract workers, expanding superspecialty services under theAarogyasri scheme, subsidizingdiesel and increasing compensationamount for fishermen during thefishing ban period are certainlycommendable. However, dolingout cash incentives under theAmma Vodi and Vahana Mitraschemes is debatable.

The government has lost sixmonths in taking a decision ongrounding any major project.Capital construction has been acasualty, not to speak of other pro-jects like Bundar Port, Express

Highway between Anantapur andthe Capital region. The expertcommittee on Capital is yet to sub-mit its report. People are waitingto know when the government willset the ball rolling for development.

Can Sajjanar pull it off inKCR regime?

Following the horrendous gang-rape and murder of veterinary doc-tor Dr Priyanka Reddy, many peo-

ple are now suggesting thatCyberbad CP Sajjanar should meteout 'Warangal-style' justice for thevictim. They are alluding to theDecember 2008 case in which twogirls students of Warangal wereattacked with acid following spurnedlove. The three suspects in the casewere subsequently gunned down inan 'encounter' with the police.Netizens are now asking Sajjanar topull it off once again. Sajjanar coulddo it during the YSR regime. Sources,however, say the present governmentwants law to take its course.

IT and TourismMahabubnagar district, better

known for the innumerable labour-ers it contributes to the construc-tion sector in various parts of the

country, is slowly but surely emerg-ing as the hub of IT and Tourism.Thanks to this, migrations fromthis part have been on the decline.Post bifurcation, several develop-mental programmes and conceptslaunched by the TRS governmenthave become a reality over the pastfew years. The district will soonhave the critical mass it requires tomake it big in the IT sector as somemultinational IT companies haveevinced interest in establishingtheir units in this part of the state.Likewise, Anantagiri and its envi-rons are evolving into hot touristdestinations with several new con-cepts. Thanks to the efforts of localministers Srinivas Goud andNiranjan Reddy, Mahabubnagaris inching progress.

Disturbingly differentNot just Hyderabadis, people

across the country and elsewhere inthe world have expressed theiranger at the gang-rape and murderof Dr Priyanka Reddy. The same dayanother rape-murder of Manasa, abirthday girl, took place inWarangal. While the Hyderabadhorror has attracted national atten-tion, the Warangal case is not underspotlight. Some leaders visitedManasa's residence the next day.That's all. There has been no pub-lic outrage or anger spilling on to thestreets like in the Hyderabad case.The reasons are difficult to fathom,though both were unfortunate hap-penings and a blot on society.

(Contributed by Seelam Arozie,

Kolishetty Venkateshwarlu, K Murali Prasad Patnaik,

Naveena Ghanate and Avinash Deepak Puli )

REPORTERS’

D ARY

Tipplers halve liquor intake, wives happy

SUSPENSION BRIDGE ONKOMATI CHERUVU OPENSPNS n SIDDIPET

Finance Minister T HarishRao along with TourismMinister V Srinivas Goudinaugurated the suspensionbridge at Komati Cheruvu hereon Sunday.

Komati Cheruvu is the sec-ond tank to have a suspensionbridge after Laknavaram.

Harish Rao traced the devel-opment of Komati Cheruvusince 1997.

He said that the rulers of theundivided Andhra Pradeshignored the development oftanks. But, the present govern-ment gave a facelift to the tankas women gather at KomatiCheruvu to celebrateBathukamma festival.

Harish Rao told the denizensto keep the tank clean as it isthe asset to the people ofSiddipet.

Advising people againstwasting food, the Ministerasked the residents to leavetheir surplus food in the refrig-erator installed at bus standhere. He also advised the peo-ple to leave their unusedclothes in the humanity roomset up at Rythu Bazaar.

The Tourism Minister saidthat Siddipet has producedmany eminent leaders like K.Chandrasekhar Rao and

Harish Rao. Without KCR,there is no Telangana. Therulers of united AP have set uponly seven government schools

in 70 years as against 1,000schools in seven-year TRSregime, he said.

The Opposition parties havebeen trying to change thenames of schemes implement-ed by TRS. Telangana state-hood is the result of manystruggles, the Minister saidand described Harish Rao asthe leader who can fetch any-thing from government forthe people of Siddipet.

Srinivas Goud vowed towork for KCR without bring-ing any black mark.

Finance MinisterHarish Raoadvised theresidents ofSiddipet toleave theirsurplus food inthe refrigeratorinstalled at busstand in thedistrict.

Finance Minister T Harish Rao and Tourism Minister V Srinivas Goudinaugurated the suspension bridge at Komati Cheruvu on Sunday.

Good placementoffers on Day-1for IIT-Hyderabad PNS n HYDERABAD

Indian Institute ofTechnology, Hyderabad (IIT- H) has started the placeme-nt session on Sunday for theacademic year 2019-20 with53 offers from 15 companies.

By the end of first slotrecruitment on day one, twomore slots are in progress andmore offers are expected.

The institute also receivedsix international offers fromcompanies like TSMC, SMSDataTech and NTT-AT. Theinstitute is conducting theprocess in three slots startingfrom 7 am to 12 am. Thephase I of recruitment for2019-20 will be conductedbetween 1st and 12thDecember 2019. The phase IIwill be conducted betweenJanuary - April 2020.

As many as 477 studentsregistered for placements thisyear. Nearly 224 companieshave registered for the phaseI placements.

Prominent first-time com-panies this year includeBookMyShow, Sprinkler,Jaguar, Bajaj Auto, DominoData Labs, Cogoport andothers. The phase I includesIT/ITES along with core.PSUs and startups are expect-ed to participate in phase II.

Traditional recruiters suchas Microsoft, Goldman Sachs,Salesforce, Intel, Qualcomm,Oracle are coming to IITHyderabad for recruitmentthis year as well.

Sharing her journey, SwatiJaiswal, a student who baggedan offer from Microsoft said,“IIT - Hyderabad campushas nurtured an environ-ment of equality. The campusplayed a vital role in shapingmy career. My projects wereon machine learning whichhelped me in the interview.This achievement has taughtme that there will always bean option if we choose to per-severe.”

HimachalPradesh GuvvisitsWarangalPNS n WARANGAL

Himachal Pradesh GovernorBandaru Dattatreya onSunday compared the impor-tance of Warangal with thatof Himachal Pradesh andinvited the shepherd commu-nity leaders of Warangal tovisit the Shakthi Peethas inHimachal Pradesh.

Dattatreya attended thewedding of former MLA MDharma Rao’s daughter.

He participated in a progr-amme organised for the shep-herd community in Warangalon Sunday.

Speaking at the function,Dattatreya said, Warangaland Himachal Pradesh areattracting the tourists withhistoric importance andtourism respectively.

Dattatreya said that thou-sands of tourists visit Rama-ppa and Fort in Warangal.

Pointing to the economicstatus of the shepherd com-munity, the HimachalGovernor said that the gov-ernment is taking necessarymeasures by initiating specialprogrammes to uplift thecommunity.

Dattatreya assured to sup-port the Oggu culture artistsand suggested them to focuson self employment. He fur-ther said that loan facilitywould also be provided toshepherds in the statethrough the central govern-ment schemes.

165 couples tie knot atmass wedding ceremony PNS n NAGARKURNOOL

As many as 165 couplestied the knot at a masswedding event organizedhere on Sunday. FinanceMinister T Harish Raograced the event as chiefguest.

Since 2012, MLA MarriJanardhan Reddy hasbeen conducting massmarriages with the sup-port of MJR CharitableTrust. The MLA giftedarticles worth Rs 75,000to each couple. Ministers bless a newly married couple at a mass wedding on Sunday.

PNS n HYDERABAD

The census data is of great usein scientifically diagnosing thesocio-economic and educatio-nal problems of different sec-tions of society and also infinding solutions to them byformulating evidence-basedpolicies, said BP Acharya, IAS,special Chief Secretary toGovernment in a valedictoryfunction of a programme

organised to train masterstrainers for census-2021.

The training programmewas conducted by the direc-torate of census operations,Andhra Pradesh andTelangana, Ministry of HomeAffairs, Government of India,in collaboration with Dr MCRHRD Institute.

Acharya said that cherishedgoals of the census will beachieved only when the field

staff collects authentic datawith efficiency.

He added that the Govern-ment has planned series of pro-grammes for trainers at nation-al, master and field levels, enu-merators and others.

Acharya advised the traineesto learn the skill of using thespecially designed mobile app,which is being used for the firsttime in collecting the data forcensus.

‘Quality training key to successful census’

Acharya gives certificates to aprogramme officer on Sunday

HYDERABAD | MONDAY | DECEMBER 2, 2019 hyderabad 03VETERINARY’S MURDER CASE

NAVEEN KUMAR n HYDERABAD

Cyberabad Police are con-templating about seeking alegal opinion on whether acase should be filed againstthe employees of a fuel out-let for selling petrol in a bot-tle to the four accused in thecase relating to rape andmurder of a woman veteri-nary doctor near here.

The 27-year old womanveterinary doctor was rapedand killed by four men onNovember 27 at Tondapallytoll plaza. Later, they burnt thebody, by pouring petrol on it,which they purchased in abottle. "We are verifying withthose working at the fuel out-let under what circumstancesthey filled petrol in bottles. Weare seeking legal opinion andwill proceed accordingly," CPVC Sajjanar said.

The accused had firstapproached a petrol station tobuy fuel. As the attendantrefused to fill the bottle, theyapproached another gas sta-tion and bought it. Meanwhile,Joint Secretary of Consortiumof Petroleum Dealers for SouthIndia, Rajiv Amaram said theoutlets were authorised to sellthe fuel in limited quantities.

Noting that petrol can besold up to five litres, whileDiesel up to 200 litres, hesaid, however, in view of therecent incidents, the stategovernment has issuedinstructions not to sell petrolin bottles or containers.

He referred to the gruesomeincident in which a woman tah-sildar was allegedly set ablaze bya man in her office near here inbroad daylight over some sus-pected land dispute. VijayaReddy, in her mid-30s, died onthe spot and two other staff inthe office were injured whiletrying to rescue her. Later theaccused and one of her staffmembers also succumbed totheir injuries. "Since then,many of the fuel stations havenot been filling petrol in bot-tles or cans. The Petrol pumpdealers association also dis-courage it because if somethinggoes wrong, we are summonedto police stations and subject-ed to scrutiny," Amaram said.

HYDERABAD : "Womendeserve this for roaming out inthe night so boldly," reads aFacebook post by a personwho allegedly justified the hor-rid offence and has come underthe police scanner via his posts.The man is among several oth-ers who allegedly have justifiedthe rape, and further made vul-gar comments about thedeceased.

Police said that they are mon-itoring social media and readyto take action against those whomake offensive remarks againstthe deceased and attempt todenigrate women in general. Asthe country is mourning andcoping with the gruesome rapeand murder of a 26-year-oldveterinary doctor, on the onehand there is a lot of discussionon exploring potentialsolutions to prevent sexu-al violence and harass-ment against women.

On Saturday, all thethree Commissionerates

in Hyderabad - Hyderabadpolice, Rachakonda police andCyberabad police - receivedcomplaints against Facebookusers who encouraged rapeopenly. A person with the user-name, Simley Nani, wrote a poston Facebook by attaching pho-tos of the victim saying,"Women deserve this for roam-ing at night". As the argumentheated up, justifying his post, hecommented, "All womenshould be raped like this."When one person tried reason-ing with him by asking, "If girlsgo out at night should we rapethem?" For this, he responded,"What's wrong with it?"

Telugu troll pages onFacebook took screenshots of

these comments to exhibit howrape culture is thriving andensured that these posts goviral, following which the per-sons hiding behind anonymitywere forced to delete theiraccounts. Notwithstanding this,several people approachedpolice stations and filed com-plaints taking objection to thesickening remarks.

Rachakonda Cyber CrimesACP, S Harinath said, "Wehave written to Facebook ask-ing the details of these users.They are yet to give them. Asper our investigation theaccused are from AndhraPradesh, and their Facebookaccounts are inactive sinceyesterday."

Corroborating the same,Additional DCP Cyber CrimesHyderabad, KCS Raghu Virsaid, "We have taken suo-motu action. We are followingup with Facebook. Only whenthey cooperate, we will beable to nab the offenders."Both the officials said that theoffenders could be prosecutedunder Information Technology

Act coupled withIPC sections of

509 IPC(Word, ges-ture or actintended toinsult themodesty of awoman).

Bigoted individuals to face music Accusedrobbed victim'svaluablesHYDERABAD: After committingthe gruesome rape and murder,the four accused had robbed theveterinary doctor of herbelongings, reveals the remandreport. One of the rapists, JolluNaveen, took her mobile phone,power bank and wrist watch andkept it in their lorry. Also, theyburnt her handbag along with theSIM card in an attempt to hideevidence. The remand report alsomentions how they commentedon her, "Naveen and ChennaKeshavulu stating that she wasvery beautiful decided to satiatetheir sexual desire on her return."said the report. The statement ofa witness, working at the petrolbunk where the four tried toprocure petrol from, turnedinstrumental in the investigationof the case. The CCTV footageobtained from the petrol bunk,combined with the witness'identification of the criminals ledto the breakthrough in theinvestigation.

FUEL STATION MAY BE BOOKED FORSELLING FUEL IN LOOSE QUANTITY

Hyderabad prays for justiceHYDERABAD Several sections of the shell-shocked citypaid homage to veterinary doctor, who was brutally

gang-raped and killed in Shamshabad. Apartfrom demanding justice, people,

especially women, took to streetsand took out a candlelight

march at Necklace Road onSunday. One Mridula said

that every woman on thestreets feel unsafe andsafety for women is a bigconcern. "Every secondday we come across anincident of rape. I mightsound harsh but I wantthe rapists to be

beheaded and their headsshould be hung in public."

According to a report, atotal of 3,59,845 cases of

crime against women werereported in 2017. In 2016, 3.38

lakh cases of crime were registeredagainst women, while 3.2 lakh cases were

recorded in 2015.

Ex-BJP MLA'sson molests BiggBoss contestantPNS n HYDERABAD

The Cyberabad Police onSunday booked a case againstformer MLA and BJP leaderNandeeswar Goud's sonAshish Goud for outragingwoman's modesty. Theaccused, Ashish Goud alleged-ly molested a model and exBigg Boss Telugu reality showcontestant. Ironically, AshishGoud participated in a proteston Saturday demanding jus-tice for Veterinarian doctorand hours after his publicprotest in the day, he alleged-ly molested a celebrity in thepub in the dark. Madhapurinspector of police S VenkatReddy said that incident hap-pened on Saturday night atArtistry Pub in Novotel Hotelin Madhapur.

"We have registered a caseunder section 354 of theIndian Penal Code. We havereceived a complaint around4.00 am, and we immediatelybooked the FIR. Two girls whoare eyewitnesses said that theaccused ex MLA's son molest-ed her," said Venkat Reddy.The investigating officer saidthat the cops would grill theaccused and take action. Policeare verifying the CCTVfootage of the pub.

In the FIR, the Bigg Bossparticipant alleged thatbouncers in the pubremained mute spectatorsdespite Ex MLAs son harass-ing them. Asish Goud wasearlier arrested in February2012 on charges of assault.Ashish kidnapped andassaulted a 25-year-oldKrishna Goud, a worker ofliquor shop, for not providinghim liquor. Police said AshishGoud led the protest withschoolchildren holding plac-ards "Enough of protests andCandle marches hang therapists ' . Police said onSaturday night he wasinvolved in molestation of awoman. Meanwhile, Goudsaid the al legations ofmolestation made againsthim by the contestant arefalse.

"If I am found guilty shootme in front of the police sta-tion. I went to the birthdayparty of my friend Vishnu atNovotel. I don't know who thecomplainant is. I was at my

table. They were sitting infront of my table. I toldbouncers that I have a lot offriends and asked to movethem aside. Even a TRS MLAwas sitting on the table infront of me. Bouncers told thegirls four to five times. Shedidn't listen and entered intoan argument with the bounc-ers," Goud said.

He further said that shemight have been mistaken. "Iasked the inspector to checkthe CCTV footage. All thefacts will come out. It is a polit-ical drama. As I am active inBJYM and doing a lot of pro-grammes like Gaurakhana andDharma protection they tar-geted me. I am emotionallydisturbed due to the wrongallegations. I will die in frontof the police station if I amwrong. Beat me up withoutclothes if I am wrong. The Pubas crowded she may have mis-taken me. FIR has beenbooked against me," he con-cluded.

HELPING HAND

Blind school gets huge fundingPNS n HYDERABAD

A blind school managed byDevelopment and Welfare ofthe Blind (DWAB), a voluntaryorganisation in Nalgonda, willreceive a monthly financialsupport of Rs 1 lakh till it existsfrom Hyderabad-based com-pany 7 Hill ManikchandProducts Pvt Ltd (7HMPPL).

On Sunday, 7HMPPL man-aging director Abhishek andCFO Sravanthi visited theschool and distributed fruitsand other food items andpledged to financially supportthe school, said DWAB gener-al secretary P Chokka Rao. Headded that if given properopportunities, blind students

can prove their talent. The school provides residen-

tial services to nearly 97 visu-ally impaired children drawnfrom various parts of

Telangana. Apart from provid-ing free education for studentsfrom class 1 to 10, it providesaccess to residential and board-ing facilities within the school

premises which is spread over15,000 sft in four floors.

The 7HMPPL, on the occa-sion of the CFO's birthday,decided to contribute Rs 1lakh and Rao said the financialhelp would go a long way inmeeting the recurring month-ly expenditure, which wasaround Rs 4 lakh.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Himachal Pradesh GovernorBandaru Dattatreya onSunday called for concertedefforts by people to driveaway the dreaded AIDS fromsociety. The virus has beenplaying havoc with people'slives. The responsibility tosensitise people to escape theclutches of the AIDS virusrests with one and all, heopined.

He appreciated the AIDScontrol measures beingimplemented by theGovernment of Telanganaand those being implement-ed by the Centre. He wasparticipating as the chiefguest in the AIDS awarenessrally, jointly organised bythe Lion's ClubInternational and WalkerInternational Clubs atNampally exhibitiongrounds here on Sunday.

He along with

Vakulabharanam KrishnaMohan Rao, BC commis-sion senior member, JusticeG Chandraiah and A VijayKumar (social worker)inaugurated the event.Later, he visited several chil-dren afflicted with the AIDSvirus at the Gandhi Darshan

Building. He donated rice,edible oil, wheat and otheressential commodities totheir rehabilitation homes.The number of cases regis-tered in 2017-18 was 19% lessthan those registered in theprevious year. Quoting sev-eral studies, he said that at

least 5 lakh people would dieby 2020 due to AIDS virus.He expressed concern overthe virus spreading fastamong people because ofpoverty, illiteracy and lack ofawareness and destroyingfamilies. He wanted the peo-ple to come forward to givemoral and financial supportto the virus affected.

V a k u l a b h a r a n a mRamakrishna said that ifthe virus is detected in earlystages, the affected can getrid of the disease because thegovernment has providedmany amenities. JusticeChandraiah highlighted thevalue of human life andasked people not to put theirlife at stake by getting addict-ed to vices. Walker'sInternational Club Vice-Chairman Vijayalakshmiand others, including virusafflicted children rehabilitat-ed in various rehabilitationcenters also took part.

Victim’sname changed

to ‘Disha' HYDERABAD: Cyberabad Commissioner CP Sajjanarexhorted people to refer the veterinary doctor's rapeand murder case with 'Disha' and all references to

the case hereafter should be addressed as'Justice for Disha' concealing the identity ofthe victim. The CP convinced the parents

of victim to refer the case from nowon with the coded word.

Ashish Goud

We haveregistered a caseunder section354 of the IPC.We received acomplaint around4.00 am, and weimmediatelybooked the FIR.Eyewitnessessaid that theaccusedmolested her,said the police

PNS n HYDERABAD

Hyderabad ranked number one in termsof new AIDS cases registered, followedby Karimnagar and Nalgonda districtsin the state. The number of new casesshowed an increasing trend since 2018compared to preceding 15 years. Thenumber of cases registered in 2019 is1.98 per cent against 1.93 per cent in2018.

Over 1,339 tested HIV positive out of1,32,124 people in 23 IPTC centres dur-ing Jan-Oct of this year. The increaseof the number of AIDS positive cases,compared to last year, is quite alarming.The number of those tested positive forAIDS in the state is put at 83,102. Ofthem, 23,350 have been receiving treat-ment in Osmania, Gandhi, Niloufer,King Kothi Government hospital, chesthospital anti-retroviral therapy centers,if the AIDS Control Society statistics areany indication.

They include 1,234 children below theage of 14. The highest number of HIVpositive cases was registered in Charminarand Golkonda areas. This is attributed tomigrant labourers who reach the city insearch of livelihood live here. The follow-ing table illustrates the no. of HIV pos-itive cases registered and patients receiv-ing therapy.

‘AIDS spreading due to lack of awareness’

CONRAD DIAS n HYDERABAD

Tired of the civic apathy, anactivist and his team haveplanted a sapling in a potholein Pragathi Nagar here onSaturday. The number of pot-holes in Pragathi Nagar roadis making life difficult forcommuters and also the resi-dents of the locality.

The activist took to theunique protest hoping that itwill wake up municipal offi-cials from their slumber. VinayVangala, an activist fromHyderabad and his team plant-ed a sapling on the pothole tobring the issue to the notice ofMunicipal Corporation.

Talking to 'The Pioneer', hesaid that a complaint has beenfiled months ago, but the cor-poration officials have nottaken any action yet. "The con-dition of the road has been ter-rible mainly because the roadhas been dug up for layingpipeline. The trees on thefootpaths are covered with

dust and the people of the areaare living in a very unhealthyenvironment."

While talking to the resi-dents of the locality, they saidthat there have been fewminor accidents on the road,especially at night. The resi-dents have said that the reasonfor corporation not takingany action is that they areshort of funds. However,Municipal Corporation hassaid that they are looking intoit and will repair the road atthe earliest.

We have taken suo-motu action. We arefollowing up with Facebook. Only when they cooperate, we will be able to

nab the offenders—KCS RAGHU VIR , Additional DCP Cyber Crimes Hyderabad

Hyderabad tops in number of new AIDS cases

A complaint has beenfiled months ago, butthe corporation

officials have not taken anyaction yet. The condition ofthe road has been terriblemainly because it has beendug up for laying pipeline

—VINAY VANGALAActivist

As plaints fall on deafears, activist plantsapling in pothole

HFL inauguralmatch ends ina drawPNS n HYDERABAD

The inaugural match ofHyderabad Football League(HFL) 2019-2020 betweenSVFC and Rampage Sportsended in a draw as bothteams failed to score anygoals at the end of play.

The chief guest for theinaugural match was AdnanAtlay Altinora, Consul-General, Consulate Generalof the Republic of Turkeywho was accompanied byMohd. Shamsuddin, ownerof Sports Village FootballClub (SVFC) andMohammed IlyasuddinKhan, Managing Directorand CEO of Status OneProjects.

The Chief guest appreci-ated the reception hereceived from the playersand support staff of both theteams and also liked theenthusiasm by which foot-ball is being patronised inthe city.

IIIT-H to host globalconference todayPNS n HYDERABAD

IIIT-Hyderabad will behosting the InternationalConference on Counter mea-sures to Urban Heat Islands(IC2UHI) to combat excesssummer heat and air pollutionin hot cities through rightchoice of building materialsand better urban design. Itwill be held from December 2to 4 at IIIT HyderabadCampus in Gachibowli.

This is the 5th IC2UHI con-ference. With earlier ones heldin Tokyo, Berkeley (California),Venice, and Singapore, this isthe first time the IC2UHI isbeing held in India. It has long

been recognised that the exces-sive heat and smog in manycities in the summer, the"Urban Heat Island", is partlydue to the choices of buildingmaterials, lack of vegetation,and urban design. The confer-ence is devoted to the science,engineering and public policiesto help relieve excess heat andair pollution of summers in hotcities. The conference, whichis highly relevant to scientists,engineers, builders, architects,and government officials, willbe inaugurated by Mr ArvindKumar IAS, PrincipalSecretary, MunicipalAdministration & UrbanDevelopment.

n The school, managedby DWAB will receive amonthly financialsupport of Rs 1 lakh tillit exists from Hyd-based company 7 HillManikchand ProductsPvt Ltd

A sapling planted in a pothole at Pragathi Nagar

Himachal Pradesh Governor Bandaru Dattatreya at a programme inHyderabad on Sunday

HYDERABAD | MONDAY | DECEMBER 2, 2019 hyderabad 04

IANS n LONDON

Researchers have found thatpharmacist-led interventionssuch as patient education,medication review, and med-ication management can bepivotal in preventing heart-related illnesses. The study,published in the BritishJournal of ClinicalPharmacology, support theinvolvement of pharmacists ashealthcare providers in man-aging patients with hyperten-sion, diabetes and high cho-lesterol.

"The evidence presented inthis review provides an impor-tant message to health systemsand policymakers regardingthe effectiveness of generalpractice-based pharmacists'interventions," said studyresearcher Abdullah Alshehrifrom University ofBirmingham in the US.During the finding, theresearch team assessed med-ical literature for relevant ran-domised controlled clinicaltrials assessing the effective-ness of pharmacist-led inter-ventions delivered in the gen-eral practice in reducing themedical risk factors of car-diovascular events.

They identified 21 trials

involving a tota l 8 ,933patients. Pharmacist-ledinter vent ions includedpatient education, medica-tion review and counselling,physical assessment, assess-ing adherence, lifestyle mod-ification, and medicationmanagement such as pre-scribing, adjusting, monitor-ing, and administering ther-apy and identifying drug-related problems.

The most frequently usedpharmacist-led interventionswere medication review andmedication management.

Patients receiving pharma-cist-led interventions experi-enced significant reductions intheir systolic blood pressure(by an average of -9.33mmHg); Hemoglobin A1c, ameasure of blood sugar levels(by an average of -0.76%); andLDL-cholesterol (by an aver-age of -15.19 mg/dl).Pharmacist-led interventionsalso helped patients correctlyfollow their prescribed med-ication regimens.

"The significant reductionsin blood pressure, blood glu-cose, and blood cholesterol

reported in this meta-analysis,if sustained in clinical practice,could have significant impli-cations for managing hyper-tension, diabetes and dyslipi-daemia that could preventcardiovascular morbidity andmortality," Alshehri said.

Alshehri noted that thefindings support a greaterinvolvement of pharmacists ingeneral practice. "This willbenefit health organisations byproviding cost-effective careassociated with greater controlof patients' conditions andtheir medications," he said.

Pharmacist-led interventionsmay prevent heart disease

Post strike, RTC buses under ‘repair'ACCORDING TO OFFICIALS, AROUND 600 BUSES NOT ROAD WORTHY

PNS n HYDERABAD

In the aftermath of the RTCstrike, 50 per cent of the fleetstrength of the RTC buses in alldepots are found to be not roadworthy because of the recklesshandling of the temporary dri-vers and conductors. The RTCmanagement, which did notemploy temporary mechan-ics, is now taking steps to getthe damaged buses in all the 29depots repaired.

In one of the city bus depots,one bus was disposed of asscrap as it was found to bebeyond repair. While the RTCstaff put 50 per cent of the fleetstrength needs repairs, theRTC management howeverputs the total number of busesthat require repairs at only 600.Mechanics daily carry out rou-tine checks and undertakeminor repairs as complained bythe drivers. RTC GreaterHyderabad region executivedirector Venkateswarlu saidthat many buses require suchrepairs immediately. In fact,

there are 3,750 buses under thelimits of 29 depots in the twincities. Daily, 3,500 buses ply onthe road. Each depot has a fleetstrength of 85 to 130 buses. Insome depots, only 10 buseswere down with repairs, where-as in other depots the buseswere down are 40. Whilemechanics are undertaking

instant repairs, 10 per cent ofthe buses have been confifnedto garages for want of spares.

In Jeedimetla depot, over 70out of 145 confined to thegarage. There are at least 50mechanics in the depot, but forwant of spare parts repairingactivity is not proceeding asexpected. In Kukatpally depot,

over 31 buses were confined togarage. Minor omissions andcommissions by temporarydrivers like not checkingengine oil, water in radiatorand air pressure in tyres snow-balled into major problems.Spare parts nonavailability isposing a huge problem.

In Picket depot, 21 buses dri-

ven by temporary driversdeveloped mechanical prob-lems and hence need immedi-ate repairs. However, one buswas damaged beyond repairand hence disposed of as scrap.The Vajra buses have alsodeveloped problems in A/Csystems and battery.

In cantonment depot, out ofthe 50 buses operated by strikeperiod 20 were completelydamaged. Therefore, the handsof all the 99 mechanics werefull with work. Santosh NagarMidhani depot has 95 buses.Out of them, 30 buses haveproblems with clutch and gearsystems, break and battery.Ten other buses which werecompletely damaged have beensent to Hakimpet depot for fix-ing the problems.

In Rayadurgam/Miyapurbus depots, Hyderabad CentralUniversity depot, Miyapur-2depot, Chandrayanaguttadepot and other depots, themechanics have been trying tomake the damaged RTC busesfit again for travel.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana Congress hasalleged that Chief Minister KChandrashekhar Rao has norespect towards women andhence he is not consoling theveterinary doctor's family. TheCongress demanded the stategovernments to removeDirector General of Police MMahender Reddy immediate-ly owning responsibility forveterinary doctor's murder.He alleged that these kind ofincidents are taking place dueto police inaction.

Telangana Congress Affairsin-charge RC Khuntia, formerPCC chief V HanumanthaRao and Malkajgiri MP ARevanth Reddy visited veteri-nary doctor's residence andconsoled her family membersseparately. Khuntia also visit-ed the spot where culpritsraped veterinary doctor. Laterspeaking to the media, Khuntiademanded the government topunish the culprits severely. Heasked the government to set upfast track court and ensurepunishment to the culpritswithin in one month. Healleged that law and order isbeing disturbed with the indis-criminate liquor sales. There isa need to the government tocontrol the liquor sales. Hedemanded the state andCentral governments to ownthe responsibility of atrocitiesagainst women.

Revanth Reddy said that hewill raise the veterinary doc-tor's issue in the Parliament.Spitting fire at KCR's govern-ment, Revanth Reddydemanded the state govern-ment to remove DGPMahender Reddy from thepost immediately. "Where isSHE Teams? This incidenttook place as the police failedto respond properly. KCR hascrooked heart and hence hedidn't respond on the incident.Are Ministers human beings?",he lashed out saying the inci-dent took place because of fail-ure of police department.

Hanumantha Rao allegedthat KCR has no respecttowards women and hencehe is not consoling the kin of

the deceased. He demandedKCR to visit their family byMonday or else one could fellthat KCR has no respect atwomen. "The family membersare demanding the police toencounter the accused likeWarangal incident, which hap-

pened during Sajjanar's tenurein Warangal during late YSRajashekhar Reddy's regime,"VH said. In the evening, VHand party activists organised acandle rally at Peoples Plazapaying tributes to the veteri-nary doctor.

Remove DGP immediately,demands Congress

Revanth blames copsfor veterinary’s murderPNS n HYDERABAD

Lok Sabha Member fromMalkajgiri Revanth Reddyhas expressed concern overthe injustice heaped on vet-erinary doctor's family andwanted to know what hap-pened to the SHE teamswhich have been created forwomen's safety. He accusedthe police, who are supposedto keep a hawk eye on anti-social activities, of total fail-ure in the incident.

He blamed the governmentfor misusing the police sys-tem, which is being used tokeep an eye on rival politicalleaders, and watering downthe public safety. Women folkacross the nation raised voicecondemning the injusticedone to veterinary anddemand justice to her. He saidand wondered why ChiefMinister KCR has not beenresponding on the issue inspite of several high andmighty of the land condemn-ing the incident. It was atro-

cious on the part of KCR, hepointed out.

Such incidents are repeat-ing as the police failed torespond appropriately whensuch incidents happened inthe past, he alleged. The inci-dent is the product of policeintelligence failure and inef-ficiency of the government, hesaid demanding immediatedismissal from service DGPMahender Reddy. The DGPhad not even visited the sceneof crime even now, he lament-ed.

He demanded KCR andMahender Reddy to condemnthe incident immediately andwanted the government totake remedial measures insuch a way they send shiversdown the spines of criminals.On the directions from RahulGandhi, he said that he calledon the bereaved family mem-bers and would raise the issueon the floor of Lok Sabha onMonday. The Congress wouldlend its support to the veteri-nary doctor's family.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Former Minister and ex-Leader of Opposition inLegislative CouncilMohammed Ali Shabbirorganised a condolence meet-ing in memory of former IASofficer PS Krishnan whopassed away on November10. Addressing the meeting,Shabbir Ali recalled the ser-vices of Late Krishnan towardsthe cause of Muslim reserva-tion.

He said it was Krishnan'sreport, which acted as a basefor categorisation of sociallyand economically backwardclasses Muslims in a separatecategory BC-E. It was on hisrecommendation that thereservation percentage forMuslims was reduced from 5%to 4% to avoid the legal com-plications as the SupremeCourt had imposed 50% ceil-ing on quota.

Shabbir Ali said that thethen Dr YS RajashekharaReddy Government has hiredthe services of PS Krishnan toprepare a 'Report onIdentification of Socially andEducationally BackwardClasses in the MuslimCommunity of AndhraPradesh'. He submitted thereport in June 2007 and thesame report served as the basisfor creation of a new categoryBC-E to include 14 socially andeconomically backward class-es among Muslims which sub-sequently resulted in 4% reser-vation for Muslims in jobs andeducation.

Shabbir Ali also explainedthe entire struggle for Muslimreservation since 1989 whenhe became the MLA and min-

ister for the first time. He saidthe first attempt to providereservation for Muslims wasmade in August 1994 by issu-ing the GO MS No. 30.However, he said the Muslimsreservation was finally imple-mented in 2004 when GO MsNo 33 was issued on 12th July,2004 by providing 5% reser-vation for MuslimCommunities named asGroup `E'. But this got struckin the High Court and it wasonly after Krishnan's advisethat the then StateGovernment overcame legalhurdles by reducing the per-centage quota from 5% to 4%and classifying poor Muslimsamong 14 castes.

"We salute the contribu-tion of P.S. Krishnan in pro-viding reservation for Muslimsin Andhra Pradesh (&Telangana). He has referred tohundreds of books and reportsto compile a 281 page reportwhich served as foundationstone for Muslim quota. Hisservices for the backward andoppressed classes will beremembered forever," ShabbirAli said adding that nearly 25lakh poor Muslims benefittedfrom the 4% reservation dur-ing the last 15 years.

PNS n HYDERABAD

BJP state president Dr KLaxman has alleged that thestate government is encourag-ing the culture of 'closingschools--opening bars'. Healleged that the historicalHyderabad has been trans-formed as a center for atroci-ties with the increased club andpub culture.

Laxman said that the BJPwill up the ante from January1 against failures of state gov-ernment. He demanded thestate government to sack thepolice personnel for behavingnegligently in their duty.

After performing ground-breaking ceremony for thenew BJP office building atYadadri Bhongir district headquarters here on Sunday,Laxman alleged that the policefailed to trace the whereaboutsof 60 women and girls in thestate after Hazipur incident.

He alleged that Telanganapolice, who were giving animpression that they werefriendly police, failed to protectthe law and order situation inthe state. He wondered atChief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao forresponding lately as the entireworld condemned the inci-dents of Warangal andHyderabad incidents. He pre-dicted that the people, whowere vexed with the rule of

KCR, would bury the rule ofTRS very soon. BJP districtpresident PV ShyamsunderRao, state leadersVenkateshwarlu, PremenderReddy, PS Ravinder, N NarsingRao and others participated inthe program.

Ex-IAS Krishnan’sservices recalled

‘Cops failed to protect law and order’Telanganapolice, who aregiving animpression thatthey werefriendly police,failed to protectthe law andorder situation inthe state, saidBJP statepresident K Laxman

Study, publishedin British Journalof ClinicalPharmacology,support theinvolvement ofpharmacists ashealthcareproviders inmanagingpatients withhypertension,diabetes and highcholestero

Continued from Page1

Besides this, Vodafone Ideawill also charge 6 paise perminute for every outgoing callmade by customers on to thenetwork of other operators.

"Vodafone Idea Limited(VIL), India's leading telecomservice provider, todayannounced new tariffs/plansfor its prepaid products andservices. New plans will beavailable across India starting00:00 hours of 3 December

2019," the company said in astatement.

Come 6 December, RelianceJio will raise mobile servicesrates by up to 40%.

"Jio will be introducing new'All in One' plans with unlim-ited voice and data. Theseplans will have a fair usage pol-icy for calls to other mobilenetworks. Although, the newplans will be priced upto 40 percent higher, staying true to itspromise of being 'customer-first', Jio customers will get up

to 300 per cent more benefits,"the company said in a state-ment.

"While remaining commit-ted to the ultimate interest ofthe consumer, Jio will take allnecessary steps to help sustainthe Indian telecommunica-tions industry. Jio will contin-ue to work with the govern-mentr on the consultationprocess for revision of telecomtariffs and looks forward toparticipation from all otherstakeholders," company said.

Airtel, Vodafone Idea, Jio... KCR showerssops on RTC

Continued from Page1

Medicines would be dis-tributed free of cost toemployees at every dispen-sary. Employees' parentswould be given free bus pass-es.

The government wouldpass orders to help the chil-dren of employees get feereimbursement scheme. Theauthorities would pay theemployees PF dues andmoney to be paid to theCCS.

Employees working ontemporary basis would bemade permanent in theTSRTC. The governmentwas making a housingscheme for RTC employees.

The Chief Minister saidthat he would act as theBrand Ambassador ofTSRTC. He said he wouldrequest TRS Ministers,MPs, MLAs, and MLCs totravel by RTC buses at leastonce in a month. MLAsshould have a review withthe Depot Managers fromtheir areas once in everytwo months. The CM askedthe Transport Minister tomonitor this.

When KCR suggested that,if need be, employees shouldwork an extra hour and a halfper day, the employeesresponded positively withapplause.

Remand reportshows A1 didnot have licence

Continued from Page1

Furthermore, on the day ofthe crime, police officers hadasked the accused not topark the lorry on the road-side. The previous day, afterreaching Thondapally villageat around 9 in the night, theyhad parked the vehicle on theroadside and slept inside thevehicle. After police officialsintervened, they moved thevehicle near the GachibowliOuter Ring Road (ORR) Tollgate. The lorry owner hadinstructed the four to waitthere until further directions.The location had turned intoa crime scene soon after.

Continued from Page1

Rama Rao wanted theNDA government at theCentre to amend the IndianPenal Code (IPC) and theCode of Criminal Procedure(CrPC) in such a way thatanyone who commits such aheinous act of violence onwomen and children aregiven capital punishmentwithout delay with no optionwhatsoever for review. "Timehas come to amend archaicportions of our Acts andlaws, Sir," he posted.

Citing the recent gang-

rape and murder of a veteri-narian Dr Priyanka Reddyon the outskirts of the city,he wondered whether onecould comfort the grievingfamily. "And the perpetratorshave been nabbed. But Iwonder how we can offersolace to the grieving fami-ly seeking just ice forPriyanka Reddy. Justicedelayed is justice denied,Sir. As parliament is in ses-sion, I urge you to take upthe issue for a day-long dis-cussion on priority," RamaRao said, batting for speedyjustice.

KTR for capital punishment for rapists

2 forest staffers feareddrowned in Pranahita

Continued from Page1

While Balakrishna andSuresh went missing, Saddamcould save his life by swimmingashore. "The two officers mighthave either reached the otherside of the river or could havedrowned in the river," he said.Both forest authorities andpolice personnel have launcheda search operation. Sources saidthat Balakrishna, Suresh andSaddam were on duty andreturning from Aheri ofMaharashtra. They had gone tothe neighboring state on foot viaa newly constructed bridge

across Pranahita, but took acountry boat while returning.The forest officials were ontheir way to Karjelli after pur-chasing essential commoditiesin weekly bazar held in Aheri onSunday. Balakrishna, Sureshand Saddam, who were onGudem, Koyapalli andChittama Forest Beats respec-tively, joined the ForestDepartment two months back.They had drawn their maidensalary. Balakrishna and Sureshare aged below 25 years. Theirfamilies are tensed over theirwhereabouts. The incident hascreated a flutter in the district.

PNS n AMARAVATI

Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy has calledupon District Collectors toprefer field visits to videoconferences with officials.Issuing certain guidelines toCollectors on Sunday, he saidfrequent inspections andovernight stay at hospitalsand schools will provideinsights into what actually isgoing on at the ground-leveladministration.

The feedback that comesfrom the general public, ben-eficiaries of various schemesand other sections of peoplewill be crucial for the gov-ernment to take any decisions.

He said that Collectors

should visit villages for 15days every month. Only twovideo conferences should beconducted in a week withmandal-level officials. Theyshould conduct the first video

conference after taking part inthe video conference with theChief Minister every Tuesdayand the second one should beheld anytime within the week."It has come to my notice that

some Collectors are not fol-lowing my instructions tomake overnight stay at hostelsor hospitals once in a week,"Jaganmohan Reddy said andwarned them to change theirways.

The Chief Minister saidthe Collectors are the eyes andears of the government, whichgets a lot of ground-levelinformation from them. Theinformation provided by themis useful for the governmentin taking decisions over manyissues.

"The Collectors shouldnot forget that they shouldserve as a bridge betweenbetween the people and thegovernment," JaganmohanReddy said.

‘Be on field for 15 days every month’

HYDERABAD | MONDAY | DECEMBER 2, 2019 nation 05SHORT READS

Guj: Crocodile rescued from canalVADODARA: Dec 1 (PTI) A 12-feet-long crocodile was rescuedfrom a canal in Raval village inVadodara district of Gujaratafter a four-hour operation onSaturday, a Forest official saidon Sunday. The official said thecrocodile was spotted at 10:30am, following which forestdepartment was informed. "Theoperation to rescue thecrocodile lasted for four hoursbefore it was finally released inthe nearby lake which is hometo many crocodiles," he said,adding that it was the thirdsuch incident in the samelocality in the last one year.

Fadnavis is Leader of Opposition in Maha Assembly

Veteran journalistBhaskar Menon is deadCHENNAI: Veteran journalistBhaskar Menon died here onSunday following cardiacarrest, his family said. The 87-year old Menon, who retired asthe Regional Manager (South)of the Press Trust of India (PTI)here, is survived by wife and ason. He had joined the newsagency as a Sub-Editor androse through the ranks beforeretiring as the head of itsregional bureau. Menon wasknown for his command overEnglish language and sharpediting skills and alwaysinsisted on speed and accuracy.He had handled several keynews developments, includingthe assassination of formerprime minister Rajiv Gandhi atSriperumbudur near here inMay, 1991. Menon remainedactive for many years post hisretirement and had taken up thetask of analysis of thenumerous PTI stories for someyears when he used to pointout to errors and at the sametime applaud where it was due.

QS Varsity Rankings:JU tops among state-run varsitiesKOLKATA: Jadavpur Universityhas topped the list of state-rununiversities in the country,according to a latest ranking andsecured the 11th spot amongIndian higher educationalinstitutes, officials said onSunday. The QS UniversityRankings: Asia 2020, conductedamong the Asian highereducational institutes, wasreleased on November 27, theofficial said. "This was a proudmoment as the QS ranking isone of the top global rankings ofinstitutions of higher education.JU had always occupied higherpositions in globally recognisedrankings," Jadavpur UniversityVice Chancellor Prof SuranjanDas told PTI. He said theuniversity has "a stronginterdisciplinary faculty" in botharts and engineering, whichencourage research works indifferent fields and "consistentlytopped" the list of publicationsamong stat-run universities.

MUMBAI: Maharashtra BJPlegislature party leaderDevendra Fadnavis was onSunday named Leader ofOpposition in the stateAssembly. Speaker Nana Patolemade the announcement in theHouse. Patole said that the BJPis being accorded the status ofopposition party in theAssembly and Fadnavis wouldbe the new Leader ofOpposition. CM UddhavThackeray and some ministersgreeted Fadnavis, former CM,after Patole made theannouncement.

Amid MP groupismrumours, Nath-Scindiatake joint chopper rideBHOPAL: Congress leaders inMadhya Pradesh werepleasantly surprised after ChiefMinister Kamal Nath andformer MP Jyotiraditya Scindiawent to a wedding together in ahelicopter, amid reports ofparty factionalism pitting themon opposite sides. Scindia, wholost from family strongholdGuna in the 2019 Lok Sabhapolls, has been the target ofrumours that he is unhappy inthe party, though the Gwaliorroyal family scion himself hasbrushed them aside severaltimes. According to partysources, Scindia, who was tomove to Morena by road fromGwalior on Saturday to attend awedding in the family of MPminister Banwari Sharma,phoned Nath and then decidedto go to the venue in ahelicopter with the CM. The tworeturned to Gwalior in the sameaircraft, they said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Eagerly waiting for his releasefrom prison next month,Manish exhibited his lyricalhip-hop style by dancing to thetunes of the popular 2018 song"Kya Baat Ay".

Wearing slim-fit black pantsand a light brown shrug, hismoves appeared perfect andexpressions adorable; heseemed poised to start his owndance academy.

His cousin, Suraj, a footballenthusiast and co-inmate, is intalks with a director from theSouth for a career in the movieindustry. The director hasassured to work with him afterseeing his versatility in pre-recorded videos of 'Tihar Idols',a competition organised byprison authorities for inmates.

The authorities have set upan exclusive green-walled one-

room studio inside CentralJail 1 for inmates to hone theircraft. It has a huge mirror anda number of music instru-ments like congo and speakers.Next to the studio runs theTihar FM station.

For most, jail would be anegative space. Still, therewould some who find oppor-tunities in adverse circum-stances. Manish, 32, and Suraj,

35, found dance and music andfilm to leave their past behind.

Before being convicted in a2011 kidnapping case andlanding up in Tihar, Surajworked as a salesman with aconsumer goods firm andManish, who hold a bachelor'sdegree in Hotel Management,was a bar tender.

Being a sports enthusiast,Suraj was not only an active

participant in inter-schoolsports competitions but alsorecalled playing with Indiannational football team captainSunil Chhetri in the Under-16tournament and his practicesessions in Chhatrasal Stadiumin Delhi.

"I was a very active sports-man back in school and havealso played Under-16 footballtournament. I was also inter-ested in dance and acting.Back then, I did not see this asa profession. It was my pas-sion," said Suraj.

Their passion for dance

encouraged the cousins to join'Flying Souls', a music-cum-dance group launched by Tiharinmates in 2011. Since then,they have inspired and trainedother inmates to join them.

The group now has 11 activemembers and it performs on allmajor occasions inside the jail.It has won awards in in-housecompetitions under variousstyle forms including Bhangra,Hip Hop and Bollywood.

The group conducts twosessions daily at the studio forthose inclined to learn musicand dance.

For most, jail would be a negative space.Still, there would some who findopportunities in adverse circumstances.Manish, 32, and Suraj, 35, found dance andmusic and film to leave their past behind

Tihar inmates say found peace in music,now honing their skills for a fresh start

PNS n NEW DELHI

There is a need to build trustand ensure that problems of theJammu and Kashmir tourismsector, which is on "ventilator",are addressed at the earliest,experts said at a seminar on theeconomic situation of J-K afterabrogation of Article 370 pro-visions.

Experts from various fields,including the travel industry,had gathered at the seminar"Kashmironomics", which washeld in the national capitalrecently, and they said the timehad come to bury the past andlook towards a better tomorrow.

The government on August5 had abrogated provisions ofthe Article 370 that gave specialstatus to the state of Jammu andKashmir and bifurcated it intounion territories of Jammu andKashmi, and Ladakh.

Asif Iqbal Burza, who ownsa chain of hotels in the KashmirValley, said tourism encouragespeople to people contact andintegrates people culturally,socially and economically. "Weneed to ask ourselves do webuild these bridges of hope orbreak these bridges. We needtourists to visit Jammu and

Kashmir, and share their storiesand experiences about theirtravel as Kashmir, besides itsnatural landscape, has a uniquecuisine, culture and way of life."From the government, thetourism industry needs serioushandholding as it is on ventila-tor. We need bailout packages tosurvive these difficult times,"Burza said at the event which

was held recently. ChiefExecutive Officer of travel com-pany Ebix group Naveen Kundusaid he feels that it is time forprivate investors to step in.

"We have to take Kashmirison board as without them itwon't happen. It is a futuristicsociety and an example to thatis the convention centre that wasbuilt several years back.

PNS n MUMBAI

Maharashtra Chief MinisterUddhav Thackeray on Sundaytaunted former CM DevendraFadnavis over the latter'simpassioned pre-poll "Mepunha yein" (I will return)assertion which had evokedmany social media memes.

Thackeray was speakingafter Fadnavis, leader of stateBJP legislature unit, wasnamed the new Leader ofOpposition in the House bySpeaker Nana Patole.

Describing Fadnavis as afriend, Thackeray also said hedoes not view him as opposi-tion leader.

"I never said I will comeback, but I came in thisHouse," Thackeray said duringhis congratulatory speech.

"I can assure this House andpeople of Maharashtra that Iwill not do anything at mid-night. I will be working for theinterests of the people," he

said. Thackeray's swipe wasapparently about the earlymorning hush hush swearingin of Fadnavis as CM onNovember 3, along with NCPleader Ajit Pawar as deputychief minister, after night-long dramatic political devel-opments in Mumbai andDelhi.

PNS n MUMBAI

Senior Congress MLA NanaPatole was on Sunday electedunopposed as the Speaker ofthe Maharashtra LegislativeAssembly after the BJP with-drew its candidate KisanKathore.

Pro-tem speaker Dilip WalsePatil made the announcementin the Assembly after whichChief Minister UddhavThackeray and some seniorMLAs escorted Patole, 57, tothe Speaker's chair.

Thackeray and BJP legisla-ture party leader DevendraFadnavis lauded Patole's workas legislator and farmers'leader.

The BJP said it has with-drawn the nomination ofKathore to maintain the state'stradition of electing theSpeaker unanimously.

"I am happy that the son ofa farmer has occupied thispost," Thackeray said.

Patole had quit theCongress and won 2014 LokSabha election on a BJP ticketbut returned to the party inDecember 2017 citing differ-ences with Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and Fadnavis.

Minister Jayant Patil of theNCP said he appreciates thespirit of understanding shownby the opposition BJP in with-drawing their candidate andensuring that Patole is electedunopposed.

Patole succeeds HaribhauBagade of the BJP who was theSpeaker during 2014-2019when Fadnavis was the CM.

Patole represents SakoliAssembly segment inVidarbha, while Kathore isfrom Murbad in Thane dis-trict. This is the fourth term asan MLA for both.

The Uddhav Thackeray-ledMaha Vikas Aghadi govern-ment passed the floor test inthe state Assembly on Saturday.

Altogether 169 MLAs votedin favour of the motion of con-fidence after the BJP, which has105 MLAs, staged a walkout

before the head count began inthe 288-member House.

Patole's election has givenVidarbha region the presti-gious post of speaker for thefirst time in last two decades.

Born in Sakoli tehsil ofBhandara district in Vidarbhain a government officers fam-ily in 1962, Patole started hispublic life as university rep-resentative in 1987 fromNagpur University. Aftercompleting his graduation incommerce, he joined theCongress and becameBhandara Zilla parishadmember in 1991.

KARNATAKA BY-POLLS

PNS n BENGALURU

Sounding upbeat after forminga coalition government inMaharashtra, Congress inKarnataka on Sunday made itclear that it was not averse tojoining hands with JD(S) onceagain, in case the ruling BJPfails to garner required num-ber of seats to be in majority,after December 5 bypolls.

JD(S) leaders have alreadydropped enough hints aboutthe party being open to such apossibility.

The Congress and JD(S),who ran a coalition govern-ment for 14 months in the stateand contested Lok Sabha pollsin alliance, have parted waysafter the collapse of the H DKumaraswamy ministry in Julyfollowing the rebellion by 17MLAs, and are contesting thebypolls independently.

The ruling BJP led by ChiefMinister B S Yediyurappaneeds to win at least six seatsin the bypolls to 15 con-stituencies to remain in amajority in the 224-member

assembly, which would stillhave two vacant seats-- Maskiand R R Nagar.

"In order to protect the con-stitution, democracy and toprovide social justice with sec-ular principles, when the situ-ation arises, we will take nec-essary steps after discussingwith our allies and UPA part-ners on such a matter," veter-an Congress leader MallikarjunKharge said.

Speaking to reporters here,he said, "Let's see what happensin the future... winning in 15

seats is what we are lookingfor.. we will let you know. Wewill give you a correct pictureon December 9.. we will giveyou good news."

Kharge, who is alsoCongress General Secretaryin- charge of Maharashtra,where the party formed acoalition government inalliance with Shiv Sena andNCP and successfully managedto keep BJP out of power,noted that the party took sucha decision in the neighboringstate to "protect" democracy

and in the interest of the peo-ple.

"Look at Maharashtra, whereShiv Sena, NCP and Congresshave formed a governmenttogether.

To tell you the truth, ourPresident (Sonia Gandhi) wasnot in favour of it and wantedus to be in opposition, but thepeople, parties with progressivethinking told us to look atkeeping BJP away frompower..," he said.

Under pressure from legis-lators, and other partiesincluding leftist parties, adecision was taken with anintention to keep out BJP,which is "fascist" and func-tions against the democracy,he added.

Patole had quit the Congress and won2014 Lok Sabha election on a BJPticket but returned to the party inDecember 2017 citing differences withPM Narendra Modi and Fadnavis

Asif Iqbal Burza, who owns a chain ofhotels in the Kashmir Valley, saidtourism encourages people to peoplecontact and integrates peopleculturally, socially and economically

Need to build trust, address problemsfacing J-K tourism sector: Experts

PNS n PANAJI

A couple of days after ShivSena leader Sanjay Raut saidthere would be "big move-ment" in the political circlesof Goa, similar to the comingtogether of non-BJP forces toform government inMaharashtra, the coastalstate's lone NCP MLAChurchill Alemao rejectedthe prediction.

Incidentally, the NCP inMaharashtra under the lead-ership of veteran SharadPawar was the prime moverin the political realignment inthe neighbouring state thatled to the formation of acoalition government, alsoinvolving the Shiv Sena andCongress, led by UddhavThackeray.

Raut, after meeting andspeaking to some non-BJPGoa MLAs, on Friday hadsaid "you will soon see bigmovement in Goa where a(BJP) government is found-ed on immoral grounds".

Churchill, MLA fromBenaulim, told reporters insouth Goa on Sunday ChiefMinister Pramod Sawant was"performing well" and wasrepresenting "a larger sectionof Goa society".

"I don't favour any changein government at this time. Ihave not got any communi-cation from Sharad Pawar onthis (realignment). If he con-tacts me, I will tell him whathas to be told," Alemao said.

PNS n SURAT

Seven members of a gang werearrested here on Sunday and131 mobile phones and aniPad, collectively worth over Rs11 lakh, which were eitherstolen or snatched from people,were recovered from them,police said. The phones werestolen/snatched by the gangmembers from different partsof the city over the last threemonths, police said.

The arrest was made by theSurat crime branch.

"In the wake of rising inci-dents of mobile phones ofautorickshaw passengers beingstolen and other people'sphones being snatched bymotorcycle-borne criminals,the Surat police had formed ateam," a crime branch officialsaid. Initially, four persons werearrested from an autorikshawfor their alleged involvement instealing mobile phones of pas-sengers, he said.

"During their interrogation,they named one JunaidKapadiya, a second-handmobile phone dealer. Based ontheir inputs, his house wasraided and 131 mobile phones

and an iPad, total worth Rs11.37 lakh, were recoveredfrom there. Besides, Rs 12.9lakh cash and a cash countingmachine were also recovered,"he said, adding that Junaidwas arrested.

Junaid had roped in around10 persons to steal phones,which he would buy from themand then sell them to Kasimalias Mamu, another accusedfrom Botad, a town locatedaround 260 kms from Surat.

"The mobile phones recov-ered from Junaid's house arethose that were stolen orsnatched over the last threemonths. With today's seizure,police have cracked 16 casesregistered across five policestations in the city so far," theofficial said.

PNS n CHANDIGARH

Punjab Minister Tript RajinderSingh Bajwa on Sundaydemanded that the joint engi-neering entrance examination(main) should be held inPunjabi and other regional lan-guages too. The minister for thePunjab Higher Education andLanguages made the demand inhis letter to Union HRDMinister Ramesh PokhriyalNishank.

"The admission test was ini-tially conducted in English,Hindi and Gujarati languages.

On the demand by the differentstate governments, the UnionMinistry, however, has decidedthat from 2021 this entrance test

would be conducted inAssamese, Bengali, Tamil,Kannada, Urdu, Marathi, Oriyaand Telugu as well," Bajwa has

written to the Union minister,said a Punjab government state-ment here.

The statement quoted theminister as saying that it is veryunfortunate that Punjabi has notbeen included in this list "whichis a matter of clear discrimina-tion towards this language".

The Punjab minister said theJEE (Main) entrance test is animportant test through whichadmissions are done in thecountry's leading engineeringcolleges, including IITs, for theengineering and architecturalcourses.

PNS n PANAJI

Goa Pradesh MahilaCongress Committee(GPMCC) president PratimaCoutinho on Sundaydemanded that the accused inthe Hyderabad woman's rapeand murder case be hangedor shot dead publicly.

The rape and murder ofthe 25-year-old veterinarianin Hyderabad on Thursdaynight has sparked off anationwide outrage. Fouraccused, all lorry workers,have been arrested in thecase.

Addressing a press confer-ence here, Coutinho said, "Iwon't mind if the law preva-lent in Islamic countries isused in this case- shoot all thefour accused in public orhang them."

"Court trial in the caseshould end within seven days.Then shoot them dead andshow it on television so thata strong message to sent tothe pervert minds that thiswould be the consequences ifthey indulge in a crime likethis," she said.

Never said ‘I willreturn’: Thackeraytaunts Fadnavis

‘Hold JEE (main) exam in Punjabi’

‘Publicly shootor hang Hydrape-murdercase accused’

Goa NCP MLA rejects Sena claim

Uddhav Thackeray

Devendra Fadnavis

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut

The phones werestolen/snatchedby the gangmembers fromdifferent parts ofthe city over thelast three months,police said

JD(S) leaders havealready droppedenough hintsabout the partybeing open to sucha possibility

131 stolen mobile phones recovered, sevenmembers of gang held

Senior Congress MLA Nana Patole

Nana Patole of Cong elected Speakeras BJP withdraws candidateNot averse to joining hands

with JD(S) again, says Cong

Participative or liberal democraciesare predicated on the concept ofcivilian control over the military. Inhis book, The Soldier and the State,Samuel P Huntington expands on

the idea as “the proper subordination of acompetent, professional military to the endsof policy as determined by civilian authori-ty”, wherein the State apparatus of thearmed forces is constitutionally subordinateto the civilian-elected politicians or the con-stitutional heads. Various democracies havewired this uniquely within their own polit-ical frameworks, with the President assum-ing the role of the supreme commander ofthe Indian armed forces. In the UK, the reign-ing monarch is referred to as the comman-der-in-chief of the armed forces of the Crown.In the US, Article II of the Constitution estab-lishes the President to be the commander-in-chief.

However, the healthy deference to theprofessional, doctrinal and experientialrealm of necessities and skills has ensured thatthere is minimal interference on military mat-ters. Only in exceptional cases has the “com-mander-in-chief” exercised that power tointrude — other than ensuring the overalldirection and deployment of the armed forces— in line with the national plans, objectivesand vision. This delineation of day-to-dayfunctioning has resulted in the discipline andefficacy of the armed forces, as indeed in thefruition of the democratic culture in suchcountries.

Instances where a US President inter-vened in the affairs of the military are far andfew and such occasions entailed a certainseniority and issue-of-magnitude, whereinthe direction of the military was seen to begoing in contravention with the declared sov-ereign preference. For example, AbrahamLincoln dismissed General George BMcClellan in the American civil war; HarryS Truman relieved Gen Douglas MacArthurduring the Korean war. More recently, for-mer US President Barack Obama acceptedGen Stanley A McChrystal’s resignation.These are instances, which had stakes of pol-icy or strategic dissonances.

However, the recent act of US PresidentDonald Trump intervening churlishly in theproceedings against the chief petty officer,Edward Gallagher, the Navy Seal, had all thehallmarks of undercutting professionalauthority, systems and culture of Americanarmed forces. Gallagher was initially accusedof murdering a wounded Islamic State (IS)militant (for which he was acquitted by a mil-itary court) and for posing with the dead pris-oner’s body (for which he was found guilty).A US Navy had initiated a probe to determinethe suitability of Gallagher continuing to servein the elite Navy Seal team, which earnedTrump’s attention and ire. In a shocking cal-lous manner, Trump tweeted against his ownNavy and ordered a probe by the TridentReview Board. He ranted, “The Navy will notbe taking away Warfighter and Navy Seal

Gallagher’s Trident Pin. Thiscase was handled very badlyfrom the beginning. Get back tobusiness!” This unnecessaryinterference with the military-judicial proceedings led to theresignation of the Secretary ofNavy, Richard Spencer, whostated dignifiedly,“Unfortunately, it has becomeapparent that in this respect, I nolonger share the same under-standing with the commander-in-chief, who appointed me.”Spencer’s comment was eerilysimilar to the parting commentmade by James Mattis (formerSecretary of Defence), who, too,met with a frustrating roadblockin explaining military matters tothe whimsical Trump.

Both Spencer and Mattis areformer Marines, who under-stand the command structures ofthe military realm where theauthority to exercise and enforcediscipline ought to be respected,uninterrupted. No amount ofprofessional counsel by the “uni-formed” staff or experiencedveterans in the Trump regime —about the larger impacts on dis-cipline, morale, authority-com-mand structures, as also settinga dangerous precedent — couldconvince him to backtrack his ill-thought decision.

Navy Seals are acknowl-edged as the “cream of the crop”in terms of combat efficacy thatis born out of superhuman train-

ing, discipline and skills in com-bat operations. Yet, concernshave been expressed lately bynone more relevant than theCommander of Naval SpecialWarfare Command (in-charge ofSeals), Rear Admiral CollinGreen. He warned bluntly, “Wehave a problem. I don’t know yetif we have a culture problem. Ido know that we have a goodorder and discipline problemthat must be addressed immedi-ately.” He noted the importanceof accepting the same to “recal-ibrate culture and regain credi-bility.” While the importance ofdiscipline, ethics and charactercan never be overstated for thesort of sensitive and high-profileoperations that the Seals under-take, the heft of the same is com-pletely lost on Trump. He milksany opportunity towards hispopulist, reckless and divisivepolitics.

This latest slight in the ongo-ing civil-military relations is notjust about Spencer but the entire-ty of the Naval “uniformed”staff (including Rear AdmiralCollin Green), who were infavour of restoring discipline andprofessionalism. The psycholo-gy behind Trump’s intransigentand irascible politics is rooted inhis supposedly “muscular”actions that seem to allay themanufactured fears of varioussupposed “dangers.” Towardsthe same, positing such deviant

Seals as “heroes” is the sort ofRamboism that goes down wellamong a large section of theignorant and polarised society.

All of Trump’s actions arepart of the uber-nationalismdrive that necessitates fear mon-gering, extremist military reac-tions and unashamed disdain fordecorum. This gives him the bul-let-proof image to emerge as theall-American superhero in theheartland of the proverbial “red-necks.” It is an approach that thelate military veteran, SenatorJohn McCain, lamented towardshis supporters, “What he did washe fired up the crazies.”

However, this short-termtactic of intruding into the hal-lowed precincts of the militaryorder, traditions and ethos is toplay with fire in the long term.It is sure to dilute the culturewithin the rank and file of themilitary with the infusion of par-tisan politics, interference andthe diminishment of the existingcommand structures.

This unprecedentedprecipice risks undoing theproud steel of the US militaryand its accompanying culturethat has persevered for cen-turies, especially that of theNavy Seals who pride in saying,“The only easy day was yester-day” — all for vote bank politics.

(The writer, a military veter-an, is a former Lt Governor ofAndaman & Nicobar Islands)This past quarter saw India register its low-

est economic growth in over a decade atjust 4.5 per cent. With full-year forecasts

not being much higher, India’s economic growthfor 2019-2020 will almost certainly be undersix per cent. In fact, coupled with the valuedestruction in the real estate sector and, thus,the “black” market over the past eight years,one could cogently argue that the Indian econ-omy has actually been shrinking over the pastfew quarters. The Finance Ministry and thePrime Minister’s Office are clutching at straws.

They do not seem to have a grip on how to get the growth engine restarted. Withtax officials on the rampage, can the Government do anything to rev it up? Well,for a start, the Government as well as the tax officials, who are behaving likeCerberus, the hound at the gates of hell, should ease off. The former should notlook at every company and citizen as a tax cheat. Sure, India has a very low taxincidence and several steps taken by this Government, including the damagingdemonetisation, were at the end of the day attempts to improve tax collection.Trying to reform the system overnight has been far more damaging to growththan what Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his economic honchos thought. Yes,improving tax collections was important but as economic growth has droppedoff and led to the consuming classes holding onto their cash instead of spend-ing it, jobs have disappeared. With a million new youth joining the job marketevery month and now unable to find employment, that and not a desperation toincrease tax collections should be the concern.

The way to solve this is to increase spending. As car sales in the festive sea-son proved, consumers have money to spend if they are incentivised. One easyway would be to get them spend the cash that they have been hoarding. Simplyput, relax the requirements for quoting your income tax Permanent Account Number(PAN) when making purchases exceeding two lakh rupees. Making that limit fivelakh rupees might lead to more cash flow into the economy as would encour-aging people to spend with income tax cuts. India desperately needs to createnew jobs and those can only come through improving consumption. India’s con-suming class remains abysmally small compared to the population. Most impor-tantly, the Government needs to bring in experts from across the board to thinkof ideas, even individuals it may not like. Diversionary tactics like discussing therights and wrongs of Nathuram Godse might keep the economy off the head-lines for a day or so but the fact remains it has been the biggest headline makerin 2019 and Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman seem to have noclue what to do. Whether they like it or not, what they do now will define theirlegacy for decades to come.

No matter what the law, nobody bothersfollowing it in letter and spirit. No mat-ter how dehumanising the brutality of

every rape, nobody goes beyond the tokenismof expressing shock and anguish in words, sim-ply because that doesn’t require us to assumeresponsibility. No matter what the momentarytrauma on our collective conscience, it does-n’t change our attitude, behaviour and mind-set. We just look back in anger but are not angryenough to demand correctives. Instead we lookat scapegoats — Was the girl right to be out

alone at that time of night? Was the road deserted? Was the police patrol miss-ing? So when news streamed in of the heinous rape and murder of a 27-year-old veterinary doctor by four truckers near a toll plaza of an expressway in Hyderabad,its public analysis revealed why we aggravate instead of rein in predatory behav-iour. The Telangana Home Minister reacted by doubting the girl’s emergencyresponse instincts, publicly asking why she called her sister and not the police,ignoring the fear psychosis that must have frozen her sensibilities as the menleered at her. And while the State police may have swooped down on the culpritsthe same day after the outrage snowballed across the country, its initial responsewas not just wanting, it was reprehensible. The family members of the victim hada tough time registering an FIR on the incident, which happened at around 9:30pm, as two branches of the State police settled territorial jurisdiction. The com-plaint was finally logged in at 3 am, by which time precious hours had been lostin tracking the whereabouts of the dead girl. It is also a telling comment that theveterinary doctor was raped near the Cyberabad police station. It is even moreshameful that netizens, who are so vocal about their outrage on social media,sought to lend a communal colour to the grossest human rights violation, say-ing it was orchestrated in “Muslim-majority Shamshabad” when the accused wereall from Narayanapet district. If we cannot be responsible, at least let us not beirresponsible. Or turn apologists. It is precisely this insipidity that drives predato-ry behaviour. For on the same day, another woman’s charred body was found inthe vicinity. And in Tamil Nadu’s Neyveli village, a 32-year-old widow was gang-raped by five men while she was returning home with her kin on a two-wheeler.One of the accused was even killed by the others over a dispute about who shouldtake turns. Meanwhile, in Ranchi, a law student was gang-raped by 12 men atgunpoint in a high-security zone. The little solace is that because the rapes seemedlike a baton run on a single day, all the culprits have been booked. But how manywill ultimately be convicted and sentenced is the bigger question. Currently thatfigure is one in four nationally.

Rape accounts for 11.5 per cent of the total crime statistics. The 2012 Nirbhayarape, which shook the conscience of not just the nation but the world, too, com-pelled our parliamentarians to strengthen the punitive justice delivery system. Itled to some crucial amendments to the law, which included changing the verydefinition of “rape”, the establishment of fast-track courts, harsher punishmentsfor the accused, with the provision of death sentence for extreme cases, and theabolition of two-finger tests. Besides, as the Hyderabad incident has shown, ques-tion marks remain on the use of the death penalty as criminals are now murder-ing their victims to destroy evidence. For the criminal, there is no deterrent. Butyes, he can be stalled if deterrence is built into the system by fast-tracking pro-cedures and ensuring swift justice. Conviction rates need to go up proportion-ately. At present, fast-track courts are no different from the usual courts in termsof case pile-ups and vacancies. A quick, fair and unbiased judicial set-up withrequisite number of judges is a sine qua non. A continuously responsive systemis a bigger deterrent than one or two landmark rulings. This will also spur insti-tutional and judicial reforms. And last but not the least, as expressways becomea reality in the heartland of India, we need more police patrols to keep womenusers safe. We can use technology to map their safety. A single woman on atwo-wheeler was not out there on her free time, she was out on work.

Statute is sacred

Sir — With its verdict on theMaharashtra imbroglio, theSupreme Court has made it clearthat meddling with the tenets ofthe Constitution will not be tol-erated by it. The entire nation wasshocked by the manner in whichthe Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)managed to grab power for ashort time in the western State. Itsactions showed an obvious disre-gard for Constitutional principles.

The apex court Benchobserved that it is the duty of thecourt to protect democracy at anycost. This can be seen as anindictment of the Governor’sopenly partisan behaviour; heshould resign without delay. Nowthat disparate parties — theNationalist Congress Party(NCP), the Shiv Sena and theCongress — have come togetherto form the Government, onehopes that they will set their dif-ferences aside and keep the wel-fare of the people foremost. TheGovernment must refrain fromtinkering with the Constitutionalprovisions and instead focus onissues that matter to the people.

Tharcius S Fernando

ChennaiThe other view

Sir — This refers to the article,“The real truth about Rama”(November 28) by Markandey

Katju. The writer has every rightto condemn, be contemptuous orintensely dislike what is nowknown as “Hindutva”, whichaccording to him, has polarisedand communalised the atmos-phere in the country.

I am glad that he concedesRama as a historical person. Becauseof his exemplary rule, MahatmaGandhi always wanted Ram Rajyafor India. Definitely, in Rama’s time,there was no concept of majority orminority, no democracy for the peo-

ple to choose their ruler via ballotbox and there were no offshoots ofHinduism such as Jainism,Buddhism, Sikhism or that ofChristianity and Islam. According tosome historians, there was no con-cept of “nationalism.” It is, therefore,irrational on his part to push the pre-sent situation to Rama’s times.

The writer’s heart bleeds for theMuslims killed in stray incidentswhile ignoring how his communi-ty was hounded out of Kashmir in1990 and thereafter. This proves thelack of sympathy for his own com-munity.

SC PandaBhubaneswar

Real issues

Sir — With the new UddhavGovernment sworn in, it isexpected to tackle the most pecu-liar problem of farm distress. Butit must not resort to offering farmloan waivers. It should work forrural development by improvinginfrastructure and providingalternative income options.

ShashankVia email

P A P E R W I T H P A S S I O N

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op nionHYDERABAD | MONDAY | DECEMBER 2, 2019

06

Sinking naval ethos

BHOPINDER SINGH

Promise after promise…twocrore jobs every year, dou-ble the price of crops, gooddays, making the economy$5 trillion… Will anypromise be accounted for?

Congress leader—Priyanka Gandhi

I do not have any preset notionon what I should or should not be doing on screen. Whenwe play a character on screen, it is about the journey of the character.

Actor—Emraan Hashmi

There’s transparencybetween the Board, MS andthe selectors. When you dealwith such champions certainthings have to be kept withinthe closed doors.

BCCI chief —Sourav Ganguly

S O U N D B I T E

L E T T E R S T O TT H E E D I T O R

A saviour of the system

India celebrated the 70th anniversary of the adoptionof the Constitution on November 26 amid Oppositionprotests against the remorseless assault on it in

Maharashtra. That State had witnessed an unexpectedand concerted campaign that interpreted theConstitutional decrees conveniently or misinterpreted pur-posely and even attempted a little transgression to servepartisan politics and capture power. This time, fortunate-ly, the Supreme Court stepped in to protect democra-cy from injury and prevent horse-trading in time.

The apex court’s order on the petitions of theOpposition parties, which set in motion a chain of reac-tion that culminated in the Maha Vikas Aghadi assum-ing the mantle with Uddhav Thackeray, the Shiv Sena chief,as the Chief Minister, was unambiguous and forthright.The court had affirmed, “This case pertains to one suchsituation, wherein this court is called upon to adjudicateand maintain democratic values and facilitate the foster-ing of the citizens’ right of good governance.” Presentingan unassailable argument for intervention, the court said,“In a situation wherein, if the floor test is delayed, thereis a possibility of horse trading, it becomes incumbentupon the Court to act to protect democratic values.” Avisibly concerned apex court ordered an immediate floor

test, even prioritising it ahead of the election of the Speakerand ensured transparency through open voting and livetelecast. It intercepted all sorts of horse-trading, widelyknown as “Operation Lotus”, as well. Sadly, however, thisincident — wherein the top Constitutional heads exert-ed their combined might, even undermining the valuedConstitutional morality — prepared the ground for a par-ticular political outfit to capture power covertly. That isdeeply disturbing.

Haridasan RajanKozhikode

WHILE THEIMPORTANCE OF

DISCIPLINE, ETHICSAND CHARACTER

CAN NEVER BEOVERSTATED FOR

THE SORT OFSENSITIVE ANDHIGH-PROFILE

OPERATIONS THATTHE SEALS

UNDERTAKE, THEHEFT OF THE SAME

IS COMPLETELYLOST ON TRUMP.

HE MILKS ANYOPPORTUNITYTOWARDS HIS

POPULIST,RECKLESS AND

DIVISIVE POLITICS

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

Restart the growth engine

India will not spare anyonetrying to mess with it.Pakistan’s use of terror forproxy war is an admissionthat it can’t defeat India in aconventional or limited war.

Union Minister—Rajnath Singh

The Hyderabad rape reminds us that a continuous responsivesystem is a bigger deterrent than one or two landmark rulings

The economy is in the doldrums and nothing theGovernment is seeming to do is helping. What’s the cure?

Trump’s short-term tactic of intruding into the hallowed precincts of military order is toplay with fire in the long term. It is sure to dilute the culture within the rank and file

Crying shame

The right thing to do

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

Afive-member Constitution Bench of theSupreme Court (SC), headed by the ChiefJustice of India (CJI), has given a landmark

verdict bringing the office of the CJI under the RTIAct. This ruling, delivered by the SC after dismiss-ing an appeal by its own Central Public InformationOfficer (CPIO), added yet another milestone in anera requiring transparency. The judgment, coupledwith another recent verdict by the apex court datedSeptember 17, declaring the DAV College Trust andManagement Society a public authority under theRTI Act because of substantial Government fund-ing, will have far-reaching positive implications.

The order set a precedent for bringing manysuch bodies under the purview of the RTI Act,something that they have been resisting for long.Some well-deserving cases are listed below:

NDDB subsidiaries: Earlier, the CentralGovernment in a reply in the Parliament revealedthat it had advised the National Dairy DevelopmentBoard (NDDB) to abide by the Central InformationCommission’s (CICs) April 15, 2011 decision, thatwas upheld by single-Bench of the Delhi HighCourt (HC), to bring Mother Dairy under the RTIAct. Mother Dairy has filed an appeal in theDivision Bench of the Delhi HC against this.

While all NDDB subsidiaries should be cov-ered under the RTI Act, most people, even pub-lic authorities, are unaware of the fact that NDDBhas to provide information about all its subsidiariesunder Section 2(f) of the RTI Act as it is the reg-ulatory body.

IBPS: The then CIC chief RK Mathur in hisverdict noted that the Institute of BankingPersonnel Selection (IBPS) is not a public author-ity under the RTI Act, even though four millioncandidates appear every year for examinations con-ducted by it.

IFFCO: The cooperative giant IFFCO giftedprime properties worth hundreds of crores in NewDelhi to its office-bearers. Even the Comptrollerand Auditor General’s (CAG’s) report pointed outmassive irregularities in its functioning.

BCCI: The Board of Control for Cricket inIndia (BCCI) challenged the CIC’s verdict declar-ing it as a public authority under the RTI Act atthe Madras High Court despite the Union Ministryof Sports supporting the CIC’s verdict. It is note-worthy that even the Law Commission, on beingapproached by the Centre subsequent to the SC’sdirections, was in favour of the BCCI being broughtunder the purview of the Act.

Land and Building Departments: TheseCentral and State Government departmentsshould study all cases of allotment of land oraccommodation at subsidised rates or lease anddeclare all these as public authorities under the RTIAct. Plus, an undertaking should be taken fromthem in this regard.

Tightening scope of Section 8(1)(j) of the Act:The SC, in its November 13 verdict, has laid

down important principles for tightening the scopeof Section 8(1)(j) of the Act regarding personalinformation. Undoubtedly, like all other legislations,the RTI Act is also being misused because of whichthe apex court had to be so elaborative. But prin-ciples laid down there should have been applica-ble to other wings of the democratic system also,rather than just the judicial system. For example,

the verdict restricts misuse throughsurveillance only for the functioning ofthe judiciary. While all the public author-ities, especially sensitive ones like thePresident’s Secretariat, the PrimeMinister’s Office and ministries ofDefence and External Affairs may alsobe facing misuse of the RTI Act for sur-veillance.

Fee uniformity fee can prevent mis-use: Misuse of the RTI Act has becomea big challenge for which the Centre canissue notifications without amending thelegislation. Sections 27 and 28 of the RTIAct give power to competent authoritiesand State Governments to draft their ownrules, which include fixing of RTI fee andmode of payment. Several competentauthorities and States misused theirpower by charging high fees arbitrarily,aimed at discouraging its use. SeveralStates also fixed a fee for filing firstappeals. However, the SC in its verdicton a petition filed by Common Causecapped the fee at `50. India should begoverned with the principle of “onenation, one rule” at least in respect of RTIfee and its mode of payment.

Make ID proof compulsory: TheRailway Board has made it compulsoryto attach ID proof with the RTI applica-tions to curb fake pleas being filed in thename of others. The Department ofPersonnel and Training (DoPT) shouldissue a circular which makes ID proofcompulsory with every RTI application,First Appeal and Second Appeal or com-plaint filed with InformationCommissions. Odisha has already adopt-ed this and those who do not want to dis-close their identity can file applicationsthrough a post-box.

There is no logic in some NGOs andRTI activists opposing the move for

attaching ID proof on the plea that theidentity of applicants would be exposed.The identity as it is gets disclosedthrough the names and addresses givenon the applications. ID proof is just a wayto ensure the genuineness of the appli-cant. This will also prevent foreignersfrom filing applications because theRTI Act, 2005 is meant for Indian citi-zens only. In the absence of ID proof,authorities cannot distinguish betweencitizens, people of Indian origin andthose who have taken the nationality ofother nations.

Need for RTI stamps: With publicdepartments going totally cashless, manyof them, like the National Green Tribunal(NGT) have stopped accepting moneyand are asking RTI applicants to enclosepostal orders of `10 for the fee. Manypost offices do not sell postal orders,while others, including the Head PostOffice at Parliament Street, restrict thesale of postal orders till 4 pm, inconve-niencing people. Plus, most publicauthorities require postal orders in dif-ferent names even though the DoPTrequires postal orders towards RTI pay-ments to be in the name of accounts offi-cer only, complicating matters further.

So, the best remedy is to accept theCIC’s recommendation that the postaldepartment issue special RTI stamps (likethe ones issued earlier for payment oflicence fee of radio and TV sets) indenominations of `2, `10 and `50.These stamps should be made availablenot just at post offices and Governmentdepartments but also at other convenientsale points.

Post free RTI applications: Thefacility of posting free RTI applicationsaddressed to Central public authoritiesshould be extended to all 160,000 post

offices rather than just 4,500 post officesat present. It’s not difficult becauseevery post office, however small it maybe, sends a mail bag daily to the HeadPost Office. This mail bag can also carrypost-free RTI applications. In fact, spe-cial RTI envelopes costing `50 (in casebasic fee is increased to `50) should beintroduced by the postal departmenttogether with RTI stamps where theseenvelopes can be attached with applica-tions by the authorities as proof of pay-ment of fee.

Auto-emailing of responses forapplications filed online: The portal forfiling online applications should bemodified so that RTI responses andorders of First Appellate Authorities maybe auto-emailed. This will save theapplicants the trouble of going to the por-tal to view responses. SMS alerts regard-ing the emailing of the responses mustalso be sent.

Immediate repeal of Delhi RTI,2001: This is in reference to an order inthe Anil Dutt Sharma versusGovernment of NCT Delhi case, where-in the court has mentioned that the RTIAct, 2005 would override the Delhi RTIAct, 2001 (DRTI Act) as it would occu-py the entire legislative field.

The demand to repeal the meaning-less DRTI Act is being made as it has lostall relevance now given the 2005 Act andonly a few applications are being filedunder it. In fact, most Delhi Governmentofficers are totally unaware of its provi-sions and the infrastructure set up tohandle applications is a complete wasteof precious public resources. Hopefully,the powers that be will take cognisanceof this.

(The writer is a noted RTI activist andconsultant)

The SC’s historic order, bringing the Chief Justice of India’s office under the ambit of the Right To

Information Act, strengthened it and increased the scope for ushering in more transparency

analysis 07F I R S T C O L U M N

The gig economy is getting stronger

MEENAL SHARMA JAGTAP

As more business processes get automated infuture, there is going to be a debate on how toprotect the interests of independent workers

SUBHASH CHANDRA AGRAWAL

In the context of the way the Industrial Revolution 4.0 is set to rev-olutionise the future of work and jobs, one term that is being com-monly used is “gig economy.” “Gig” refers to a short job or a task.

Smartphones, super-fast internet networks and other technologies haveresulted in the springing up of many companies that offer platform-based services and employ people for specific tasks while offering wagesaccording to tasks accomplished. For example, many app-based ser-vice delivery platforms like Uber, Ola, Zomato, Swiggy, UrbanClap andso on employ people for delivery of products/services and offer incen-tives in accordance with trips completed, number of customer ser-viced or number of hours devoted. There are several advantages anddisadvantages of this. For workers, it means flexibility and indepen-dence from strict 9 to 5 schedules, a way to earn money in accor-dance with the number of hours devoted and so on. The advantagesfor companies are that they are able to engage human resources thatthey otherwise may not have been able to afford. Also, the talent requiredfor each task can be sourced from the best pool available without thecompulsion of retaining them. Hence, it saves cost to a large extentas firms don’t have to give benefits like pension, gratuity, providentfund, bonus to the workers. The workers seem to have no rights exceptin cases of breach of contracts by the employer. This is a major down-side as in the absence of any codified laws on regulation, workers arevulnerable to exploitation.

As more and more business processes get automated, there isgoing to be a debate on how to protect the interests of people work-ing as independent contractors or workers, as several processes inindustries, may get automatised, courtesy, Industrial Revolution 4.0.

Given the rising number of such people, governments are takingmeasures to recognise them as employees, a case in point beingCalifornia, where lawmakers passed a Bill recognising gig economyworkers as employees. In India, too, the new Social Security Code thatis being framed by the Ministry of Labour and Employment aims tolook into interests of gig workers. Words like ‘gig economy’, ‘platformeconomy’ and ‘sharing economy’ are appearing in Government doc-uments for the very first time. However, India was always a gig econ-omy. Ancient scriptures like the Atharva Veda tell us that besides agri-culture, people engaged in occupations like carpentry, pottery-mak-ing, jewellery-making, weaving, carpentry and so on, when they werenot engaged in any agrarian activity. In fact, these trades or skill-basedoccupations were passed on from generation to generation and thisled to the classification of society into occupation-based castes.

Further, there were people who were service providers who cateredto the needs of society. They were other groups of professionals likephysicians, professional singers, dancers, potters and instrument play-ers. These professionals enjoyed high status in society, thus it can beeasily said that possession of skills commanded respect in ancientIndian economies. Skills were aspirational and since skills were passedon from generations to generations, therefore how skill developmentwould take place for youngsters was not a major problem. However,once India lost independence to the British and its people were boundto help in the administration of the country, Indians started aspiring tobe part of the so-called clerical, bureaucratic or “white-collared” work-force. Slowly, educated Indians lost interest in traditional skills and believedthat only white-collared jobs would help them lead a prosperous life.The economy that was once self-sustained, was reduced to one thatwas trying to develop with the development model of the West. Theresults of the same are now before us.

The future of work that the world is talking about today has manyaspects. Two aspects that would particularly impact emerging economieslike ours are that human workers in future will be required to work togeth-er with machines as their co-workers. And, many job roles that existtoday will be redundant in future as machines will be competent enoughto carry out the tasks previously performed by people. Thus, it is imper-ative that governments should be prepared to face the challenge ofensuring “decent work” to the youth. They should be trained in skillsets that are expected to remain relevant in the wake of industrial dis-ruptions. Once this is ensured, juggling different tasks or jobs ratherthan sticking to one becomes feasible. It is being predicted that thecompanies would prefer to engage people on processes that wouldessentially entail human intervention rather than that of machine andthe workers would be engaged for a shorter duration till needed. Thiswork culture is growing globally and is pointing towards strengthen-ing of the gig economy. However, experience tells us that there is noth-ing to be afraid of. Humans invented machines and now we have toensure that they remain our helpers and do not become a threat.

(The writer is Professor and HOD Management andCommerce, Trinity Institute of Professional Studies, IPGGSU)

HYDERABAD | MONDAY | DECEMBER 2, 2019

www.dailypioneer.com

PUNJAB’S GST COLLECTION IS THE WORST IN INDIA.THE GOVERNMENT IS RESORTING TO A MISCHIEVOUS

CAMPAIGN TO DIVERT ATTENTION FROM ITS FAILURES.— SHIROMANI AKALI DAL LEADER

PARMINDER SINGH DHINDSA

THE 10-YEAR RULE OF THE SAD-BJP COMBINE IS TO BLAME FOR THE PRESENT (POOR) ECONOMIC SITUATION IN PUNJAB. —PUNJAB CONGRESS CHIEF SUNIL JAKHAR

It seems like one more shocker hashit the Indian economy as theGross Domestic Product (GDP)

growth has gone below the five percent mark and touched a worryingsix-year low of 4.5 per cent. TheIndex of Industrial Production (IIP)that has been at its worst in the lasteight years is further expected tocome down in the following quarters.But has this downturn just started orwere the warning signs there muchearlier?

The self-reinforcing spiral in therural economy, the manufacturingslump, low-wage pressures in theeconomy, ambiguous trends of con-sumption, banks burdened with badloans and exports at their lowest,have together contributed their bit tothe fiscal woes over the years. There

is an ongoing debate on whether theslowdown emanates from the supplyside or the demand side growthshock. All signs point towards thedwindling economic fundamentals,be it domestic consumption, privateinvestment, Government spending,foreign consumption or exports.Unfortunately, the Government, too,is exhibiting signs of nervousness andthe situation is being termed as a“financial emergency.”

Hence, it is mandatory to digdeeper in order to get some clarityon the issue. Is it justified to cate-gorise the current deceleration as“economic sluggishness” or could itbe considered “episodic and anecdo-tal”? Why is there a prolonged fall inthe GDP? Is consumption at risk?What is the plausible role of theGovernment in all this?

It has been discussed at variousplatforms that the current demandslowdown cannot be called cyclicalwhich can be corrected throughmonetary or fiscal measures such asslashing interest rates or a tax-cut.Rather, it is a result of having missedthe manufacturing export-led growthalong with effective deployment of

structural reforms, followed by theshock of demonetisation, a stressedbanking sector and faltering imple-mentation of the Goods and ServicesTax (GST) which has impacted theinformal sector the most.

Until recently, the Governmenthad remained in denial mode, espe-cially in the tempting environmentof hiding behind the global econom-ic slowdown due to trade conflictsand geopolitical tensions. Developingnations can sustain the growth tra-jectory mainly by inculcating theinvestment-driven realm. Hence, itis even more vital to recoup high lev-els of investment, for which corpo-rate tax cut may not be an adequatesolution.

Former irrational excitementduring the high growth period of2002-08, followed by the shock of theglobal financial crisis in 2008, are thetwo deep-rooted fundamental trig-gers of today’s corporatedistress/indebtedness. Undisputedly,the Indian economy is confrontingproblems from multiple spheres.

Needless to mention, someparts of it are a direct derivative ofthe current global economic decel-

eration but decisions like demoneti-sation, the bad loans crippling banks,the crisis the Non-Banking FinancialCompany sector is facing, theComptroller and Auditor General(CAG) and Central Bureau ofInvestigation (CBI) probes actuallyworsened the situation, which in turnimpacted consumption and invest-ment (hence overall aggregatedemand) far more severely.

The recent corporate tax cutselicited a euphoric response from thefinancial markets and got the much-needed mass media attention. But,was this adequate to contain thefalling output demand? Maybe not atleast in the short-run. Economistslike Renu Kohli and Deepak Nayyarhave already debated this move andpointed out that it will only add torising income inequalities. Theyhave principally not supported it,either in theory or in practice.Certainly, there could be more effec-tive ways to incentivise consumers tostimulate the final demand of goodsand services.

Further, it is argued that thedream to convert the informal econ-omy into a formal economy has actu-

ally impacted domestic consumptionnegatively. Perhaps, a combination ofdemand-side push factors alongwith real efficiency-productivityreforms could provide the requiredboost to the ailing economy in theNarendra Modi-led Government’ssecond term at the helm of affairs inthe country?

Also as proposed, the corporatetax cut may be essential but not suf-ficient for a long-term investmentboost in India. Overall, the currentpredicament could be perceived as anabysmal structural matter ratherthan simply a short-term one. Maybethe Keynesian philosophy (toincrease fiscal/Government expendi-ture) that has the precedence of suc-cessful growth story even in the caseof India between 2014 to 2017 andas propagated during the greatdepression of America, could be asustainable way forward.

Some economists suggest thatIndia is at the brink and at this pointin time. So supply-side measures likecorporate tax cuts (including themerger of some public sector banks,recapitalisation, loan melas andmoratorium on repayment of Micro,

Small & Medium Enterprises loans)may not help. Pull from the demand-side like rural-led growth, structur-al transformative reforms such asinland acquisition, banking regula-tion, labour and so on could be theonly option to sail through.

Additionally, it is equally impor-tant to mention that the Governmentshould actively develop the manufac-turing sector with an eye on exportmarkets to improve the situation.

Thankfully, we are still not in arecession and while concocting amishmash of solutions, policymak-ers must comprehend that short-term measures can only make a dentwhile dealing with structural prob-lems. More concrete measures areneeded to fix the problems that ailthe economy permanently. Onehopes that the ongoing WinterSession of the Parliament will bringforth the Insolvency & BankruptcyCode and Banking Regulation Act asthe key economic tools to resolve thepersisting slowdown pressures moreeffectively.

(The writer is Assistant Professorand Senior Research Scholar, DRC/FMS, University of Delhi.)

Is the economic slowdown really sporadic?We are still not in a recession and while concocting solutions, policymakers must comprehend that short-term measures can only

make a dent while dealing with structural problems. Concrete measures are needed to fix problems that ail the economy permanently

MEGHA JAIN

F O R E I G N E Y E

This week, logically, Britainought to be working withFrance to lead and redefineNATO’s role from theEuropean side. But Brexit, farfrom meaning that Britainwill “do more on theinternational stage” as theTory manifesto claims,means the reverse. If theclaim were true, all eyes thisweek would be on whetherNATO’s difficult issues werebeing purposefully resolved.Because it is false, all eyeswill simply be on USPresident Donald Trump andhis impact on Britain’sdomestic arguments.

(The Guardian editorial)

BRITAIN’S EYES ONTRUMP, NOT NATO

THE SC, IN ITSNOVEMBER 13

VERDICT, HAS LAIDDOWN IMPORTANT

PRINCIPLESFURTHER

TIGHTENING THESCOPE OF SECTION

8(1)(J) OF THE RTI ACTREGARDINGPERSONAL

INFORMATION.UNDOUBTEDLY,

LIKE ALL OTHERLEGISLATIONS,THE RTI ACT IS

ALSO BEINGMISUSED,

BECAUSE OFWHICH THE APEX

COURT HAD TO BESO ELABORATIVE

HYDERABAD | MONDAY | DECEMBER 2, 2019 money 08

CAPSULE

Mahindra totalsales down 9 pc at41,235 units in NovNEW DELHI: Auto majorMahindra and Mahindra(M&M) on Sunday reported a9 per cent decline in totalsales in November at 41,235units. The company had sold45,101 units in thecorresponding month lastyear, M&M said in a regulatoryfiling. In the domestic market,sales were down 7 per cent at38,614 units last month ascompared to 41,564 units inNovember 2018. Exports alsodeclined 26 per cent to 2,621units as against 3,537 units inthe year-ago month. In thepassenger vehicle segment,which includes utility vehicles,cars and vans, the companysold 14,637 units last monthas compared to 16,188 unitsin the same month last year,down 10 per cent.

Honda Cars salesdip 50 pc in NovNEW DELHI: Honda Cars IndiaLtd (HCIL) on Sunday reported50.33 per cent decline indomestic sales to 6,459 unitsin November as against 13,006units in the same month lastyear. "Our sales numbers arebetter than our plan for themonth," HCIL Senior VicePresident and Director, Salesand Marketing Rajesh Goelsaid. The company is in the lastleg of BS IV and accordinglysupplies had to be optimisedas it progresses towards BSVItransition model by modelsequentially, he added.

Hyundai Motorsales up 7 pc in NovNEW DELHI: Hyundai MotorIndia Ltd (HMIL) on Sundayreported a 7.2 per centincrease in total sales at 60,500units in November. Thecompany had sold 56,411 unitsin the same month last year,HMIL said in a statement.Domestic sales were up 2 percent at 44,600 units as against43,709 units in November2018, the company added.

JIO BOXED INTO CORNER

CII, FICCI JOIN CAUSE TOSEEK RELIEF FOR TELCOSPNS n NEW DELHI

Rival industry associations CIIand FICCI have closed ranksand written to FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharamanseeking relief for telecom com-panies that have been orderedby the Supreme Court to payRs 1.47 lakh crore in paststatutory dues, in an apparentattempt to counter billionaireMukesh Ambani-run Jio's nar-rative on the issue.

While Jio has been stronglyopposing a bailout of telecomcompanies at taxpayers'expense saying they had "suf-ficient" financial capacity topay dues, CII and FII presi-dent's have in separate lettersasked Finance Minister toaddress "precarious" financialposition of telcos saddled witha debt of Rs 7 lakh crore andensure robust competition forvibrancy in the sector.

CII president VikramKirloskar in the November 19letter sought revisting the cur-rent revenue-sharing businessmodel - where the governmentis paid a predecided share outof the income generated fromusing scarce natural resource,and replace it with "competitiveand transparent" model that

also "address the possibleadverse impacts on banks"having exposure to sectorswith such business model.

FICCI president SandipSomany wrote to Sitharamanon the issue on November 27,which was first reported by PTIon Friday.

"The recent developmentson the Adjusted Gross Revenue(AGR) dues of Telecom ServiceProviders (TSPs) , have trig-gered a great deal of concernnot only to the seriously-affect-

ed TSPs, but also amongstothers who are part of the over-all telecom eco-system.

"The precarious financialhealth of key players in this sec-tor and their massive debtburden (estimated to be Rs 7lakh crores), threaten not onlytheir individual existence butalso the much-needed vibran-cy in this sector of nationalimportance," Kirloskar wrote.

The Supreme Court onOctober 24 upheld the gov-ernment position that non-

telecom revenue should beincluded in calculating AGR, apercentage of which is paid tothe exchequer as statutorydues. Telcos such as BhartiAirtel and Vodafone Idea wereasked to pay Rs 1.47 lakh crorein past dues within threemonths.

"In this context, CII urgesthe Government to consideraddressing the situation in amanner which continues therobust competition in theindustry and ensures fur-ther investments in infra-structure for new technolo-gies," the November 19 lettersaid.

It went on to say that tele-com services are a 'raw mate-rial' for the rest of the econo-my serving as a productivity-enhancer for many other sec-tors. "A robust vibrant ecosys-tem of TSPs is critical for

some of the key nation businessinitiatives of the government ofIndia, including the drivetowards a less cash-based econ-omy and the larger DigitalIndia programme. In essence,a vibrant telecom sector is inthe national interest."

"CII urges the government tocontinue with its policy ofencouraging healthy competi-tion in the telecom sector withat least 3-4 strong players, andwork towards addressing theissues facing the sector withthat prespective. This is essen-tial in the national interestand the interest of the con-suming masses," it said.

FICCI in the letter had stat-ed that the apex court rulingnot just lead to the collapse ofthe telecom sector but willalso have a cascading effect onseveral other sectors includingpower, steel and railways.

"The recent developments on theAdjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) dues ofTelecom Service Providers (TSPs) , havetriggered a great deal of concern not onlyto the seriously-affected TSPs, but alsoamongst others who are part of theoverall telecom eco-system

PNS n NEW DELHI

Indian alcohol manufacturershave approached NITI Aayog,seeking exemption of importduty on extra neutral alcohol(ENA), which is the primaryraw material for making alco-holic beverages.

The alcohol manufacturershave pleaded that there is a mas-sive shortage in domestic sup-plies of ENA following diversionof ethyl alcohol for bio-fuelblending by oil marketing com-panies (OMCs) in the country.

"Short availability of ENA(high-purity ethyl alcohol) hasplaced domestic alcoholic bev-erage industry in a precarioussituation. Price of ENA, whichwas around Rs 45 per bulk litreuntil recently, is now breachingRs 60 mark. Even at this price,

the supply is uncertain andunder stress," Confederation ofIndian Alcoholic BeverageCompanies (CIABC) DirectorGeneral Vinod Giri said in a

letter to NITI Aayog CEOAmitabh Kant.

The CIABC, in its letter, saidrecent floods in Maharashtraand Karnataka have adversely

impacted sugarcane crop inthe region which shall worsenthe supply of ENA even furtherand therefore, it is of the viewthat the Commerce Ministry

may be advised to allowimports of ENA exempt fromimport duty until domesticsupply improves.

High import duty is a bighinderance for import of ENAfrom international market.

The price of ENA in inter-national market is around Rs50 per litre. At current duty(150 per cent), imported ENAwill cost Rs 125 per litre whichis unsustainable. But with no ormarginal duty, price can be at

Rs 50 to 55 per litre. Availabilityof ENA at such prices will makeit sustainable for the industry,the CIABC said.

Reduced availability of theprimary raw material endan-gers the survival of the indus-try and all those who dependon it for livelihood, it added.

Alcohol industry contributesalmost Rs 2 lakh crore by wayof various taxes, sustains liveli-hood of nearly 40 lakh farmers,and employs nearly 20 lakh

people directly and indirectly. Tax revenues from alcoholic

beverages consist of 20 to 40 percent of most states' tax receipts.This way, the alcohol industryis one of the largest contributorsto the Indian economy, it added.

Terming the availability ofENA as a multi-ministry issue asit is also being used for bio-fuel,Giri said the Centre is pushinghard for blending ethanol inauto fuels to reduce importdependence in petroleum, butshortage of ENA and its grow-ing costs will make the moveeconomically unsustainable forOMCs and fail to achieve blend-ing target from current level of7.2 per cent to 20 per cent.

"We have already said this toPetroleum Ministry in our let-ter written a couple of monthsago," he added.

NITI Aayog urged to exempt import duty on neutral alcohol The alcohol manufacturers havepleaded that there is a massiveshortage in domestic supplies of ENAfollowing diversion of ethyl alcohol forbio-fuel blending by oil marketingcompanies (OMCs) in the country

FPIs net buyers for3rd month; investRs 22,872 cr in NovPNS n NEW DELHI

Foreign investors remainednet buyers in the Indian cap-ital market for the thirdstraight month in November,putting in Rs 22,872 crore onnet basis during the month,according to depositories data.

Analysts said expectationsof a trade deal between the USand China, and more reliefmeasures as well as disinvest-ment drive by the governmentamong other factors helpedkeep FPIs stuck on the capitalmarkets.

A net sum of Rs 25,230crore was flowed into equitiesby FPIs in November, the datashowed. However, they pulledout Rs 2,358.2 crore from thedebt segment, translating intoa total net investment of Rs22,871.8 crore by FPIs inNovember.

FPIs had invested a net

sum of Rs 16,037.6 crore inOctober and Rs 6,557.8 crorein September.

"FPIs have been consistentnet buyers in November main-ly due to expectations of atrade deal between US-China,relief measures along withdisinvestment drive by thegovernment, hopes for a scrap-page policy and a few others,"said Umesh Mehta, head ofresearch at Samco Securities.

Besides, "tax reformsannounced in September 2019will now to be legislated. Thistakes away ambiguities onimplementation of thesereforms," said Pranay Bhatia,partner and leader tax and reg-ulatory services at BDO India.

The tax reforms and posi-tive approach will go a longway in reducing the overalltaxes for businesses, leading togreater liquidity and econom-ic growth, he added.

PNS n KOLKATA

Corporate bigwigs Amazon,Infosys and Yes Bank areamong the 28 companies whichhave responded to an expres-sion of interest (EoI), floated byTea Board, for using blockchainand allied technologies todetermine the traceability oftea, an official said.

Tea Board deputy chairmanArun Kr Ray said that thisexercise is required for long-term sustainability of theindustry as costs are rising andprices of tea have been flat atauctions.

"We are going to start anexercise for determining thetraceability of tea, particular-

ly of the orthodox variety,using blockchain technolo-gy", Ray told PTI.

He said the use of tech-nologies will also help todetermine whether a variety of

tea has been grown organi-cally or not.

"Amazon, Infosys, Yes Bankand 25 others have respond-ed to the expression of inter-est. The selected consultant

will give advice on the costsfor carrying out the exerciseon a long-term basis", he said.

Ray said India is the secondlargest producer of the bever-age after China.

"However, India's teaexports have been stagnatingat around 250 million kilo-grams. The way tea is export-ed currently does not fetch afair price in the overseas mar-kets," he said.

Unless tea growers realisebetter prices of their produce,they will not be able to payhigher wages to the labourers,Ray said.

"If this (stagnating price)situation continues, thelabourers will go away andfine plucking, for whichIndia is famous, will notexist," he said, adding thatthis will spell doom for theindustry.

We are going to start an exercisefor determining the traceability of

tea, particularly of the orthodoxvariety, using blockchain technology

ARUN KR RAY, Tea Board deputy chairman

PNS n NEW DELHI

GST collections crossed the Rs1 lakh crore mark after a gapof three months in November,growing by 6 per cent to Rs1.03 lakh crore aided by festi-val demand.

The GST collection stood atRs 97,637 crore in the samemonth last year while revenuecollection under this head wasRs 95,380 crore in October.

After two months of negativegrowth, GST revenues wit-nessed an impressive recoverywith a positive growth of 6 percent in November 2019 overNovember 2018 collections, anofficial statement said.

According to official sources,the number reflects pick up inconsumption and improve-ment in compliance as well.

Non-intrusive means of taxcollection has helped improvedcompliance, sources said.

During the month, the GSTcollection on domestic trans-actions witnessed a growth of

12 per cent, the highest duringthe year, it, said.

"Of gross Rs 1,03,492 crorein November, CGST is Rs19,592 crore, SGST is Rs27,144 crore, IGST is Rs 49,028

crore (including Rs 20,948crore collected on imports)and Cess is Rs 7,727 crore(including Rs 869 crore col-lected on imports)," it said.

The statement further saidthat November 2019 collectionis the third highest monthly col-lection since the introduction ofGST, next only to April 2019and March 2019 collections.

This is the eighth time sincethe inception of GST in July2017 that monthly collectionhas crossed the mark of Rs 1lakh crore.

GST revenue grows 6 pc tocross Rs 1 lk cr in Nov

According to officialsources, the numberreflects pick up inconsumption andimprovement incompliance as well

Axis Bank more thandoubles loan provisionsfor troubled sectorsPNS n MUMBAI

Third largest private sectorlender Axis Bank is settingaside more capital, more thantwice over the regulatoryrequirements, for loans in sec-tors it has identified as "stressed",a senior official has said.

The bank is maintain-ing a standard assetprovisioning of 1percentage pointfor bad loans insuch sectors, asagainst the regu-latory provisionof 0.40 per cent,its executive direc-tor Rajiv Anand toldPTI.

The move, which is beingfollowed at least since April,comes amid continuing con-cerns on high quantum ofnon-performing assets in itsbook. The high level of NPAsand the ensuing provisioning

have impacted the profits of amajority of lenders, includingAxis Bank, over the past fouryears.

"In sectors identified ashigh risk, we have increasedthe standard provisioning to100 bps as against the man-dated 40 bps to take care of any

concerns," Anand said.In April 2019, thebank had first dis-

closed that it hadstarted to pro-vide extra capi-tal, but had notgiven out the

exact levels of theadditional provi-

sioning or spelledout the sectors.

When asked if the troubledsectors like real estate or non-bank finance companies(NBFCs) are included on thelist, Anand declined to speci-fy the sectors which the bankhas identified as stressed.

JAYPEE INFRA CASE

PNS n NEW DELHI

State-owned NBCC Ltd islikely to offer more land tolenders and reduce timelinefor completion of about 20,000flats in its final bid to acquirebankrupt realty firm JaypeeInfratech, sources said.

NBCC is considering togive additional land to lendersin lieu of its offer to provideprofit share in unclaimed flatsand some land parcel, whichis pledged as well as under lit-igation, they added.

For homebuyers, NBCC islooking to reduce the deadlinefor completing pending flatsfrom four years timeline pro-posed in the bid submitted onNovember 17.

In the last meeting of theCommittee of Creditors(CoC) held on November 28,lenders asked NBBC andSuraksha Realty to make afinal offer by next Tuesday(December 3) after revising

their earlier bids by removingimpediments and making itmore lucrative for homebuy-ers as well as banks.

Lenders had asked theNBCC to provide more landwith clear title in lieu of its cur-rent offer of over 600 acresland that is under litigationand some unclaimed flats.Also, they wanted completeYammu Expressway Projectwithout any debt obligation.

To settle an outstandingclaim of nearly Rs 9,800 croreto bankers, NBCC, in its bidsubmitted last month, offered1,426 acre land worth Rs 5,000crore.

NBCC may offermore land to lenders

PNS n KOLKATA

State-run Steel Authority ofIndia Limited (SAIL) is plan-ning to commence manufac-turing of special quality railsfor high-speed train corridorsand metro projects in the nexttwo years, an official said.

The steel maker could startmaking of the speciality railsat its Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP)in Chhattisgarh and IISCOSteel Plant at Burnpur in WestBengal, he said.

"We expect to commencehead (hardened) rail project intwo years. However, it is now

in the planning stage. Thecapacity and investments havenot been firmed up," SAIL'sBhilai Steel Plant CEOAnirban Dasgupta told PTI.

With more strength thanthe normal rails, the speciali-ty product is used in metro railprojects and high speed traincorridors.

"Feasibility studies will becarried out at BSP andBurnpur plant as only onefacility will not be enough forSAIL, given the projecteddemand. The project wouldhelp for substituting imports,"Dasgupta said.

CG Hospitalitypartnerswith IHCL PNS n NEW DELHI

Nepal-based CG Hospitalitysaid it has signed a pact withTata Group's Indian HotelsCompany Ltd (IHCL), underwhich its property in Dubaiwill be managed by the Indianfirm as Taj Jumeirah LakesTowers. The soon-to-be-launched property will be thecompany's first hotel proper-ty in the region, CGHospitality said in a statement.

Taj Jumeirah Lakes TowersDubai will help the companymake deep inroads into animportant Middle East mar-ket CG Hospitality MDRahul Chaudhary said.

Tata Motorstotal salesdown 25 pc PNS n NEW DELHI

Tata Motors on Sundayreported a 25.32 per centdecline in total sales to 41,124units in November.

The company had sold atotal of 55,074 units in thesame month last year, TataMotors said in a statement.

Total domestic sales weredown 25 per cent at 38,057units as compared to 50,470units in November last year,it added.

Passenger vehicle sales inthe domestic market duringthe month stood at 10,400units as against 16,982 unitsin the same month previousyear, down 39 per cent.

Amazon, Infosys, 26 other firms respond to Tea Board's plan

‘SAIL specialityrails in two yrs’

he TelanganaRowing Asso-ciation on Sundayorganised aunique rowingtriathlon in the

city to promote rowing as asport among the city resi-dents. The triathlon — com-prising cycling, running androwing — was held on the

eve of the 38th SeniorNational Rowing Champions2019 for Men and Womenthat will be held fromDecember 2 to 7.

Over 200 national andstate-level rowers took partin the event, which startedfrom the Lumbini Parkentrance near the Secretariatand culminated near the

Secunderabad Boats Club.“With this triathlon we

hope to put rowing on parwith other national sports.The Telangana RowingAssociation firmly believesin catching sports enthusi-asts at an early age andnuturing their talent. Thissport is dynamic in natureand would make rowing

enthusiasts stronger andbuild a wider talent pool inthe city, state, and the coun-try. The ultimate objective ofpromoting rowing is tomake India a strong con-tender for an Olympicmedal in the sport,” saidIsmail Baig, coach,Telangana RowingAssociation.

In a conversation with V SATEESH REDDY,

television actor MeghnaRaami shares about herjourney into TV and her

social activities

elevisionactressMeghnaRaamihas beenhelping

the needy with edu-cation, food andothers through herorganisation, Feedthe HungryFoundation, since2015. Her NGO’sactivities include,education for poor

children, distributingblankets for the home-

less, helping burn vic-tims and talking to sin-

gle women about theirproblems and so on. “I, along with my col-

league, Anish, have organisedmany social activities. Wehave volunteers who researchabout the problems of peopleliving in orphanages, poorchildren and others, and giveus a report on the funds andother help they need from us.Later, we conduct events tocollect money for the cause.Till date, we did more than20 such events,” said MeghnaRaami.

Meghna entered the cine-ma field in 1999 in TamilNadu and later moved totelevision. She did couple ofserials in Tamil and enteredthe Telugu TV industry in2000.

Her mother hails fromAndhra Pradesh and herfather is a Gujarati. She actedin movies like KanuluMoosina Neevaye and others.Till date, she has acted inmore than 50 serials inTelugu and her latest one

being Radhamma Kuthuru. Speaking to The Pioneer,

Meghna Raami says, “Ialways wanted to become anactor since childhood. Peopleused to tell me that I’m goodlooking and that has inspiredme to choose acting. I haveno family background thathas worked in films and myparents were not happy withmy decision to choose actingas a career. But I managed toconvince my parents aboutmy career.”

Meghna is known for hermother roles. She said thatmany have often commentedabout her doing mother rolesat a young age when she canbe doing the lead roles.Reacting to it, Meghnashares, “A 21-year-oldwoman can do a lead actress’role anytime, but doing amother role at a young age ischallenging. I took the chal-lenge and did my best. Manyco-stars advised me to dolead roles but I being a moth-er in television serials is whatI enjoyed the most.”

Meghna also played amother to late AkkineniNageshwar Rao, and actorKrishna.

She adds, “I acted as a wifeand also a mother for ANRin Oke Okkadu serial by por-traying two roles — one as a16-year-old and the other asa 60-year-old. I also actedwith superstar Krishna in atelefilm. It’s a big achieve-ment for me playing the roleof a mother for legendaryactors.”

When asked about howher experience differed whenit came to acting in movies

and serials, she shares,“Serials have more crazewhile cinemas get more sup-port from people. Previously,cinema actors used to lookdown upon us but the sceneis changing now. We are gar-nering a good reputation andname for ourselves comparedto people working in cinema.In cinemas too, people whohave come from a televisionbackground have provedtheir acting skills. A cinema

endsin

threehours but a

serial runs foryears and thousands of

viewers connect with us overand remembers us for theroles we play in serials. Everyday, we indulge in shootingvarious serials and it’s chal-lenging for us. Televisionactors are good at multitask-ing.”

She married her co-star inthe hugely popularChakravakam serial,Indraneel Varma, whosemother-in-law she played inthe serial.

She says, “Because of ourroles in the serial manythought that Indraneel isyounger to me, but that is notcorrect. Roles are just for thetelevision. We have beenmarried for 14 years now andI am very happy with ourmarriage.”

At present, Meghna isstriving to set up a waterplant for Sattupalli village inKhammam district. Sheshares, “Lack of quality wateraffects children’s future in theyears to come. We are settingup the water plant there andit will be completed byFebruary 2020. We will alsoplanning to set up waterplants for many villagessoon.”

Follow us on@TheDailyPioneerfacebook.com/dailypioneer

MondayDecember 2, 2019

he business model ofIndian cinema has changed.Films no longer just belongto the North or the South.Nowadays films are madein Hyderabad and Chennai

with the intent of reaching audience inUttar Pradesh and Delhi. This new-found North-South chemistry was themain topic of discussion among filmpersonalities at an event held by theRoyal Stag Barrel Select Large ShortFilms, over the weekend.

The discussion was hosted by filmcritic, Anupama Chopra, and wasattended by actor-producer AnilKapoor, director Farah Khan, actorAdah Sharma, actor-director TinnuAnand and director Seema Desai

As Anupama opened the floor fordiscussion, Anil Kapoor and FarahKhan spoke about how much theyadmire the South Indian industry andhow much Bollywood can learn fromit and vice-versa.

“This current period in cinema isthe revival of the collaboration that theNorth and the South had back in the80s,” said Anil speaking on a numberof films in Hindi that were originallymade in Telugu by film pioneers suchas L.V. Prasad and Nagi Reddy.

“Back then we used to choose ascript that needed language adaptationby instinct. Many actors, including meand Jitendra, acted in many such filmsthat came out in Telugu or Tamil first.A couple of films I made were remakesof films done by Kamal Haasan andthey gave me big hits. But, now therights of the films are bought on thebasis on box office numbers in theSouth which may not get repro-duced in the North. Filmmakersneed to take this into consider-ation,” the actor said. FarahKhan too seconded Anil’sopinion saying that unlikethe previous era, when filmproducers used to exchangerights with much moreease, nowadays the price ofremake rights has gone upexponentially.

The film personalitieswere also positive aboutthe advent of the OTT(over the top) servicesasserting that nothing willchange with respect to peo-ple watching movies in the-atres. “People would alwayswant to watch the blockbusterson the large screen. Watching amovie in a theatre is a collectiveexperience that is different fromwatching it on a small screen. Theappeal of a theatre will always stay,”said Farah Khan speaking to ThePioneer. She did, however,acknowledge the fact thatthe trend of taking pridein a film completing100 days in the the-atres has long gone,thanks to thesame filmsgetting arelease instream-ing

services. Anupama Chopra alsoechoed the same saying that the Indianfilm scenario is far from getting affect-ed by streaming services. Although,she was of the opinion, type of contentthat will be produced from henceforthwill change.

Adah Sharma, while expressing herinterest to star in international pro-jects, mentioned about her debut intoweb series with Holiday. She says sho-oting for a series is similar to a film.

When asked about the recent debateover the portrayal of ‘bad boys’ onscreen that began with ParvathyThiruvothu confronting Vijay Devera-konda in a discussion on the latter’srole in Arjun Reddy (and its remake asKabir Singh), the response was varied. “Do you think characters likeArjun Reddy don’t exist inreal life? So what is theproblem if they areportrayed on scr-een?” asked FarahKhan. AdahSharma, howev-er, was morecareful abouther on screenpersonality. “Iknow that a lotof people lookup to me so Iwouldn’twant todo

something that might send a wrongmessage. For example, in a recent film,I was asked to smoke on screen, whichI refused to, since I didn’t feel thatmy character needed to. So itdepends on whether a particu-lar behaviour goes with therole or not,” said Adah.

Whether be it the-atres or streaming, allof them agreed thata strong urge totell a story iswhat makes afilm powerful.

Big budget films have become apan-India phenomenon andfilmmakers couldn't be happierabout it. More audiencemeans more money. Butwill the North and Southfilmmakers face anythreat from theOTT services,asks KEDAR T

BRIDGING THE CREATIVEDIVIDE IN FILMS

GIVINGBACK

TO THESOCIETY

Serials provide morecraze while cinema getsmore support. Cinema

actors used to lookdown upon us but the

scene is changing now.We are garnering a

good reputation andname for ourselves

compared to them. Incinemas too, people

who have come from atelevision background

have proved their actingskills.

MEGHNA RAAMIACTOR, SOCIAL WORKER

T

T

Rowing to victory in style

10

Hyderabad Monday December 2, 2019

A PROMISINGVENTUREAn all women business event titled

‘Women Business Cult' was heldrecently in the city at Marigold Hotel,

Begumpet. The event was extremelybeneficial for all women entrepreneurs asit provided a public platform to establishtheir brand. Shikha Goel, IPS was thechief guest at the event that was attendedby many women entrepreneurs.

FUN TIME

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK SPEED BUMP CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

CALVIN AND HOBBES

l Each row and column cancontain each number (1 to 9)exactly once.

l The sum of all numbers inany row or column mustequal 45.

Yesterday’s solution

l The eventis essential aSundayCarnival/ FleaMarket. Theday longcarnival(Market) willshowcase thebest of Indiain terms of art in all its forms, a variety of craft,food, beverages, fashion, accessories,entertainment, home furnishings and live bandperformances. The market will be held on SundayDecember 8 at 10 am at Om Convention.

l A branch ofmusicalexpression thatgrew from sub-culture and soonattained globalacclamationbrought mortalstogether from allwalks of lives. Weare thrilled to host the 'Lost Circle Festival' forthe very first time in Hyderabad featuring theSwiss producer, DJ and record label owner -Ajja. The show will be held at Prism Club andKitchen on December 6 at 5 pm

CITY GUIDE

lStage adda brings to you Hyderabad's biggestcomedy festIval ever. More than 35 artists will beperforming in the city during this three-day festival.All events shall be held at Oakwood Residence KapilHyderabad and Bhaskara auditorium. The events willbe held from December 13..

COMEDY

FLEA MMARKETS AAND CCARNIVALS

FUN FLEA FAIRlFun Flea Fair isa destination forall those who seekfun experiencesalong with art,food and music.With 4 live musicbands, open micstage, games andworkshops andmany more funattractions the flea market promises all its guests anamazing Saturday. The fair will be held onDecember 7 at 11 am at Hitex Exhibition Center.

AAYNA 2019

lHyderabadBangalee Samity,the oldest Bengalisocio-culturalphilanthropicsociety, engaged inpromoting goodwillamong Bengalisresiding in the twin cities is hosting theTelangana Bengali Film Festival, Aayna 2019. TheFilm Festival will be held from December 6onwards at L V Prasad Digital Film Lab.

HYDERABAD COMEDY FESTIVAL

lThe SteppinOut night market is your one-stepgateway to the world of fashion with clothing, homedecor, fashion accessories, designer bags, terrariumsand lots more under one - roof. The SteppinOutNight Market - Christmas Edition shall be held at TajKrishna with thebest designerand festiveproducts fromacross thecountry onDecember 14.

STEPPINOUT NIGHT MARKET

SUNDAY CHILLS

FIT HYDERABAD RUN

RUHANIYAT

l The 19th edition of Ruhaniyat is all set to takeoff. Ruhaniyat is being performed in citiesthroughout India since its inception in 2001. Thesoulful Sufi session shall be held on December15 at 6.30 pm at Taramati Baradari Amphitheatre,Gandipeth.

LOST CIRCLE FESTIVAL X AJJA

l We are a club based in Hyderabad whosemembers consist of athletes and fitnessenthusiasts. A road race shall be held onDecember 8 as an initiative to raise awarenessabout having a healthy lifestyle. It aims to highlight waysto improve the lifestyleand promote theimportance of physicalactivity in daily life. Theevent will be heldbetween 6 am to 9 am atPeople's Plaza,Khairtabad, HussainSagar.

GET YOUR EVENT LISTED: To get your events listed, please send your detailsalong with a poster and contact number to pioneer.features@gmail.com

PARTY

what’s brewing?

l Anika Khara

l Seema

l Snehal Susila Bokadia

l Srelilla

lJh

anvi

Bajaj

lDe

epika

ith Ninnu Kori (2017),Shiva Nirvana emergedas a filmmaker to watchout for. The layeredromantic drama was notonly a major box-office

success, but also is best rememberedfor Nani’s career-best performance till then.Nirvana later went on to make Majili, star-ring Naga Chaitanya and Samantha. Releasedearlier this summer, it is counted as one ofthe biggest super hits of the year, amassingmore than Rs 50 crore. And now, the film-maker has roped in the leading man for his

third directorial, which will be producedjointly by Sahu Garapati and HarishPeddi under Shine Screens. Admittedly,there is a lot of excitement surroundingthe film both from the audience andtrade. It was supposed to be launchedon Sunday but as a mark of respect to

Dr Priyanka Reddy who was brutallyraped and murdered last week in theoutskirts of Hyderabad; Nani deferred

the muhurat to some other time.Speaking to The Pioneer exclu-

sively, Nirvana billed thefilm as an emotional fami-

ly drama. And unlike hisearlier two ventureswhich more or less hadan urban backdrop, hehas chosen to go rural

with this untitledfilm. “The entire

film will unfold in avillage, including thefilming of songs. It hasbeen sometime sinceTelugu audience saw afull-fledged rural fami-ly drama with an A-lis-ter in the lead and thisis that film.Performance-wise forNani anna, the filmwill be a step aheadthan Ninnu Kori. Infact, while doing NinnuKori itself, I felt thatthere’s still a lot thatcan be tapped from

him and this film is an attempt in that direc-tion,” Nirvana said.

As an after-thought, he added, “I believethe more you mirror the relationships theway they are in real, the more the audiencewill connect to the film. The film has a con-temporary story and focuses on bond withina family. The idea is to shoot it in a way thataudience after watching it will say, Bhale vun-narra vallu (They are so good). It will not

have any trace to Ninnu Kori whatsoever butthe impact will be more.”

Nirvana informed that they will startfilming from January-end. “Nani anna willwrap up his film V with Indraganti MohanaKrishna by mid-January, post which we willtake a week or 10 days to finalise his lookfor the film. There won’t be any majorchangeover as such because he is not play-ing an unusual character but I want him to

be different from his previousfilms. We are planning to shoot itin Godavari belt or inNarsipatnam, Visakhapatnam. Iwill finalise the setting afterundertaking a recce. We mightmostly arrive in August,” heinformed.

Casting-wise, the filmmakersaid that he has signed on RituVarma to be the film’s leadinglady, while he is in talks withAishwarya Rajesh for a crucialrole. Technically, he will be work-ing with a different composerinstead of Gopi Sunder, who wasthe music director for his earliertwo films.

Nirvana speaks

to NAGARAJ

GOUD about

his next with

Nani, shooting

in rural areas

and others

ver since its release in September-end, thefirst single from Allu Arjun-starrer AlaVaikunthapuramlo, Samajavaragamanahas been on a record-breaking spree.After topping charts and emerging as themost liked Telugu song sometime back,

the latest honour the song received is the fact that ithas got 100 million views and is still counting, a featthat no other south Indian film has managed toaccomplish so far. The melodious number has beencomposed by SS Thaman, while Sid Sriram sang it.The lyrics have been penned by veteran SirivennelaSeetharama Sastry.

With the song receiving so much atten-tion, director Trivikram Srinivas pulledout all stops to ensure that the visualsmatch the music and vocals. It hasbeen shot in untapped locations ofParis under the supervision ofchoreographer Sekhar mid lastmonth.

Featuring an ensemble cast con-sisting of Tabu, Sathyaraj, RajendraPrasad, Sushanth, Navdeep, NivethaPethuraj, Jayaram, Sunil, RahulRamakrishna, Brahmaji, HarshaVardhan and Vennela Kishore, thefilm, a film, a joint productionventure between AlluAravind and RadhaKrishna, will open incinemas on January12. The teaser willbe out later thisweek.

Hyderabad Monday December 2, 2019

E

11

tollywood

W

issing in actionfor a while, actorTanish hassigned a newfilm titled MahaPrasthanam. The

tagline is journey of anemotional killer. A roman-tic crime drama, it is direc-tor Jaani’s second film afterhorror thrillerAnthakuminchi and wouldbe completely filmed inHyderabad. To be shot in astart-to-finish schedule, itwill roll later this week.

Jaani said, “The filmwould be told from the pro-tagonist’s point of view. It’san emotional story and Ifelt Tanish was apt for it.Audience will connect tothe sea of emotions that hispart goes through.”

A production venture ofOmkareswara Creations,

the likes of KabirDuhan Singh,

Gagan VihariandKancharapalemRaju will beseen in sup-porting roles inthe film, whileSunil Kashyapis on board tocomposemusic.

M

Tanish'sOkaRomanticCrimeKatha

SAMAJAVARAGAMANAcontinues to topple records

Pawan unveils remixversion of hisrevered song

ctor-Jana Senapresident PawanKalyan unveiled theremix version of hisrevered montagenumber Ee Manase

Se Se from his 1998 block-buster Tholi Prema forMismatch, starring UdayShankar and AishwaryaRajesh, in Hyderabad onSunday. Uday, film’s producerG Sriram Raju and other crewmembers were present asPawan launched the new ver-sion composed by Gifton Eliasand sung by Revanth.Speaking later, Pawan extend-ed his best regards to UdayShankar and wished the wholeteam on their endeavor.

With his favourite starlaunching the song, Uday wasnaturally a happy man. Herecalled Pawan launching asong from his maiden film as alead, Aatagadhaara Shiva andblessing him. “That film gotme good name as an actor.Tholi Prema was a blockbusterand I’m happy that a songfrom the film has beenremixed on me. We shot it in asingle take,” the young actorsaid.

A love story between arural girl who is a boxerand an IT guy, Mismatchhas been directed byTamil filmmaker NirmalKumar from a script of vet-eran Bhupati Raja.

A

Balayya'snext to beshot inthe US

aving wrapped up Ruler with KSRavikumar last week, NandamuriBalakrishna will dive into theshoot of Boyapati Sreenu’s nextlater this month. Announced inSeptember, the untitled film

marks the third time that the formidablecombination of Balayya and Boyapati will becoming together after hits Simha andLegend. Like their earlier collaborations, theuntitled film will tread a societal issue as thecore theme and will see Balayya in a brandnew slim avatar. A little birdie tells us thatan extensive US schedule is planned by themakers for some key portions of the film.While it is unclear whether the shoot willkick off with the US leg of filming or withthe Hyderabad leg, one thing’s for certain isthat the unit is set to camp in the US foralmost a month.

An action entertainer, the film’s pre-pro-duction is going at a fast clip as the makersare keen on releasing it in May next year.Kannada actress Rachita Ram and Roja aresaid to be in race to play key roles in thefilm, a Miryala Ravinder Reddy production.

H

Film with Nani is an emotional family drama:

SHIVA NIRVANA

HYDERABAD | MONDAY | DECEMBER 2, 2019 sport 12

AFP n ADELAIDE

Pakistan was battling to stave offdefeat in the day-night secondTest against Australia on

Sunday after being forced to followon, with Tim Paine’s men needingseven wickets to clinch the series 2-0.

The visitors, who have lost 13consecutive Tests in Australia, werein big trouble at 39 for three whenrain forced an early end, 248 runsbehind with two days left and theirtop order decimated.

They had resumed on an over-cast and cold afternoon teetering at96 for six in their first innings, inreply to Australia’s 589 for threedeclared, built on the back of DavidWarner’s monumental 335 not out.

Yasir Shah smacked a doggedmaiden Test century and BabarAzam hit 97 but they were all out for302 and still 287 runs adrift, withMitchell Starc the hero, taking 6-66.

Australian skipper Tim Paineenforced the follow on and it start-ed badly for Pakistan, whose first taskwas to survive intact for 15 minutesbefore the dinner break.

They failed with opener Imam-ul-Haq — recalled after being over-looked for the first Test in Brisbane,which they lost by an innings and fiveruns — out lbw for a duck to JoshHazlewood.

It was quickly 11 for two withStarc tempting skipper Azhar Ali intoa thick outside edge and Steve Smithtaking a quality catch just secondsbefore a shower forced them off.

The rain had been threatening allday and when they returned after 30minutes Hazlewood bagged the keywicket of dangerman Azam for two,caught behind by Paine. But morerain soon blew in, to Australia’s frus-

tration, and the umpires called it aday.

Earlier, Yasir and Azam hadkept Pakistan’s slim hopes alive withdisciplined first innings batting.

Better known as a spin bowler,Yasir had never gone better than 42in his previous 36 Tests, making his113 against one of the world's mostfearsome pace attacks even moreremarkable.

GLOOMY CONDITIONSIn a scintillating spell under

lights on Sunday night, left-armerStarc snapped up four quick wickets

and the omens for Pakistan did notlook good.

But the gloomy conditions atAdelaide Oval offered little for thebowlers during daylight hours onSunday and Azam and Yasir tookadvantage.

They put on a 105-run stand andAzam looked destined for a third Testcentury until Starc pounced again,with the 25-year-old edging anattempted drive to Paine behind thestumps on 97.

Azam — who scored a centuryin the first Test at Brisbane and israpidly emerging as his country’s top

batsman — left the field dejected butto a standing ovation.

The very next ball Starc grabbedhis sixth, with Shaheen Afridi plumblbw before Mohammad Abbas fend-ed off the hat-trick ball.

Abbas made a gutsy 29 before hewas undone by a Pat Cumminsbouncer, caught at gully by Warner.

At the other end, Yasir showedcomposure to compile his first-everton, bringing up the milestone off192 balls, clattering 12 fours and kiss-ing the turf in celebration.

He had a near-miss off the bowl-ing of Marnus Labuschagne on 33.

Steve Smith believed he caught himat slip and made a big appeal, butreplays showed the ball fell justshort of his fingertips.

Yasir was then dropped byLabuschagne off his own bowling on43.

He was finally out hooking aCummins delivery to Nathan Lyon.

AFP n HAMILTON

Despite centuries to Joe Rootand Rory Burns England

expressed disappointment atstumps on day three of the sec-ond Test against New Zealandafter losing late wickets inHamilton on Sunday.

England captain Rootended his run drought with anunbeaten 114 while Burns rodehis luck to post 101.

But after they took Englandto 201 for two, the touristswere 269 for five at stumps andstill trailing New Zealand by106.

“I enjoyed the fact I got it(hundred) but at the same timedisappointed me and Rootycouldn’t stretch our partnershipand get us deeper into thegame,” Burn said.

“We’re disappointed to losea couple of wickets at the backend as well.”

With only five wicketsremaining and 16 overs washedout by rain in the final session,England’s vision of building ahealthy lead was rapidly fading.

The tempo swung away

from England when Burns wasrun out and New Zealand fol-lowed up with the quick wick-ets of Ben Stokes and ZakCrawley.

With Root and Burnsputting on 177 for the thirdwicket, England found the “bat-long” partnership they had beensearching for in their attempt tofollow the same recipe NewZealand used to win the firstTest.

But following the dismissalof Burns, Ben Stokes was gonefor 26 while Zak Crawley madeone on debut.

Root was under added pres-sure to not only guide Englandto a position of strength but also

to end his own run dearthamid suggestions the pressure ofcaptaincy was affecting his form.

To that end, he was in nomood to take risks as he faced258 deliveries in six hours toreach 99, before his centurycame on a surprise mistimingthat saw an inside edge fly pastthe wicketkeeper to the bound-ary.

Crawley’s maiden Testinnings only lasted six ballswhen he was caught behind togive Neil Wagner his first wick-et.

For New Zealand, Southeehas taken two for 63 whileWagner and Matt Henry have awicket each.

PTI nMUMBAI

BCCI President SouravGanguly on Sunday

indicated that there will beno extension for membersof the selection committeewhose tenures have ended,saying “you cannot gobeyond” that.

Going by the Board’sold constitution that has aprovision for a maximumfour-year term for the selec-tion panel, its chairmanMSK Prasad and his col-league Gagan Khoda'sterms have expired.

Prasad and Khoda wereappointed in 2015, whileJatin Paranjpe, SarandeepSingh and Devang Gandhi,who joined them in 2016,have one more year left intheir respective tenures asper the old constitution.

The amended constitu-tion, though, has a provi-sion for a maximum five-year term.

“Tenures are finished(means) tenures are fin-ished. They have done agood job. You cannot gobeyond your tenure and allof them don’t finish, so

majority of them stay and Idont think it should be aproblem,” Ganguly saidwhen asked about Prasad’stenure after the BCCI’s 88thAnnual General Meeting(AGM) here.

Ganguly said they can-not appoint selectors everyyear.

“As you must haveheard, ICC now wants tour-

naments every year, thatdoes not mean selectorscontinue forever. We willhave a tenure and we will(heed) to the tenure.”

Going by Ganguly’sstatements, the new selec-tors will have five-yearterms.

“There term is fiveyears, they can stay for fiveyears, but what we will dois that we will fix a term forselectors and appoint them.”

Asked about his opin-ion on the performance ofthe Prasad-led selectionpanel, the former captainsaid, “We are fine with it.(Just) because we are notinvolved that does notmean the selectors are bad,they have done a good job,the team has done welland we don’t have anyproblem.”

The Indian teamenjoyed plenty of successduring the five-man panel’stenure with the positives faroutweighing the negatives,but it often found itself atthe receiving end of relent-less criticism owing to theirlimited internationalcareers collectively.

PTI n LUCKNOW

Indian shuttler SourabhVerma’s impressive run at

the Syed Modi Internationaltournament came to an endafter he lost in straight gamesto Chinese Taipei’s WangTzu Wei in the men’s singlesfinal here on Sunday.

The 26-year-old Indian,who won two BWF Super100 titles in Hyderabad andVietnam this year, wentdown 15-21, 17-21 to worldNo 22 Tzu Wei in a 48-minute summit clash to missout on his maiden Super300 crown here.

Sourabh came into thesummit clash with a 1-1head-to-head record, hav-ing lost narrowly to Tzu Weiat the Tong Yun Kai Cup inMarch this year.

The Indian, who was atthe court for 75 minutesduring his semifinal winover Korea’s Heo Kwang Heeon Friday, couldn’t producehis best in the final as TzuWei claimed his first title inthree years.

The duo engaged in longrallies with Sourabh trailing1-3 initially but the Indiansoon managed to make it 4-

3 in his favour.Sourabh waited for

errors from his opponentsand punished any weakreturns to grab a 7-4 advan-tage.

Tzu Wei then tried toplay closer to the net and it

worked as he not only drewparity at 8-8 but lead 10-8.

Sourabh grabbed twopoints before finding the netas Tzu Wei held a slender 11-10 lead at the break.

The Taiwanese shuttlerdominated the proceedings

after the interval and openedup a 18-13 lead after theIndian went long.

Tzu Wei eventuallysealed the opening game afterthe Indian made a judgementerror at the backline.

In the second game,Sourabh struggled with thelength and lagged 0-5 at thestart. A superb backhandshot gave him a point but TzuWei put a lot of power in hissmashes to make life difficultfor the Indian.

Sourabh fought his wayback to narrow the gap to 5-7 before a focussed Tzu Weimanaged to hold on to athree-point lead at the break.

The momentum shiftedin Sourabh’s favour after thebreather as he clawed his wayback at 13-13 when Tzu Weiwent wide.

Tzu Wei broke the run ofplay with a body smashbefore Sourabh returned thefavour and grabbed the leadfor the first time in the sec-ond game at 15-14.

The Taiwanese, however,again took the lead andgrabbed three championshippoints and sealed the matchwhen Sourabh went longagain.

AFP n ABU DHABI

Lewis Hamilton delivered sumptuousconfirmation of his title-winning

supremacy on Sunday when he claimed his84th career victory and 11th in 21 racesthis year by dominating the season-end-ing ‘twilight’ Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Starting from a record 88th poleposition, the 34-year-old Briton wasunchallenged from lights to flag as hecruised to an untroubled triumph 16 sec-onds ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappenand Charles Leclerc of Ferrari, who faceda post-race investigation for fuel irregular-ities.

The six-times world champion’s suc-cess extended his points-scoring run to arecord-equalling 33 races, levelling with hisown record, and brought him his 50th vic-tory from pole position.

His fifth win at the Yas Marina circuitalso drew level with Ayrton Senna in claim-ing a 19th start-to-finish triumph.

Hamilton’s Mercedes team-mateValtteri Bottas, who had started from theback of the grid after taking a new engine,came home fourth ahead of four-timechampion Sebastian Vettel in the secondFerrari and Alex Albon in the second RedBull.

It was a welcome morale boost for thecompetitive Finn, three days afterannouncing the end of his three-year mar-riage to Emilia.

Sergio Perez took seventh for RacingPoint on the final lap, Lando Norris waseighth for McLaren, Daniil Kvyat of ToroRosso ninth and Carlos Sainz, in the sec-ond McLaren, took 10th.

“That was an absolute master-class,”Hamilton’s race engineer Peter Bonningtontold him on team radio. “You didn’t evenbreak into a sweat!”

The winner, who secured title num-ber six with two races to go in Texas lastmonth replied: “I can assure you, I am def-initely sweating.”

Hamilton scored a classic ‘grand slam’with pole position, fastest lap and race vic-tory.

Yasir Shah celebrates his 100 during second Test against Australia AP

Joe Root and Rory Burns chat during 2nd Test match England/Twitter

Carolina Marin poses with Gold after winning Syed Modi C’ship Marin/Twitter

Lewis Hamilton celebrates after wining the EmiratesFormula One Grand Prix AP

BCCI president Sourav Ganguly chats with secertary Jay Shah BCCI/Twitter

BALBIRNIE IIS IIRELAND TT20 SSKIPPERDublin: Cricket Ireland has appointed AndyBalbirnie as their T20I skipper ahead of the ICCMen's T20 World Cup 2020. Balbirnie, who wasrecently named the ODI and Test captain also, willreplace Gary Wilson in the shorter format of thegame. “Both Gary and the selectors believe thatAndrew Balbirnie should have the opportunity toforge his leadership style and his standardsacross all the three formats,” Andrew White,Ireland's chairman of selectors was quoted assaying by the ICC.

INDIA FFACE PPAK IIN SSAG VVOLLEYBALLKathmandu: Defending champions India willface Pakistan in the summit clash of the men'svolleyball competition in the South Asian Gamesafter their respective wins in the semifinals hereon Sunday. India defeated Sri Lanka 27-25, 25-19, 21-25, 25-21 in a hard-fought match whilePakistan beat Bangladesh 25-15, 25-21, 26-24 inthe other semifinal. The final will be played onTuesday.

RAILWAYS TTAKE GGRECO RROMAN TTITLEJalandhar: Living up to their favourites tag,Asian Championship Silver medallists GurpreetSingh and Sunil Kumar clinched Gold medals asthe Tata Motors senior national wrestlingchampionships concluded here on Sunday withcompetition in Greco Roman style. Punjab'sGurpreet overcame two-time junior worldchampionships medalist Sajan Bhanwal,representing Services, 3-1 in the 77kg category,to lift his fourth national title. Sunil also managedan easy win over Punjab's Prabhal. The Railway'sgrappler used all his experience to crush thePunjab wrestler 5-1 in the 87kg final. HardeepSingh, who was the first Greco-Roman wrestlerto qualify for the Olympics, received a walkoveragainst Ravi Rathi of Railways in 97kg final.

VISHNU, MMUZAMMIL EEMERGE WWINNERSGreater Noida: Chennai's Vishnu Prasad andBengaluru's Syed Muzammil Ali stole the showand emerged as champions at the JK Tyre Festivalof Speed here on Sunday. Vishnu of MSportpipped his friend, team-mate and rival, RaghulRangaswamy, to win the crown in the covetedFormula LGB-4 category of the JK Tyre FMSCINational Racing Championship. Muzammil, whohad an overnight two-point lead, made sure thathe hit the post ahead of Tanay to clinch the Cup.

PSG -MMONACO GGAME PPOSTPONEDMonaco: Paris Saint-Germain's Ligue 1 match atMonaco on Sunday evening has been called offdue to forecast heavy storms. The fixture “will bepostponed to a later date” Monacoannounced.Two French regions, including Alpes-Maritimes which surrounds the principality, wereplaced on red alert for floods by Meteo France, theFrench weather service, on Sunday morning.Itsaid the area faces what it called a “markedMediterranean episode” of intense storms. PSGare five points clear of Marseille with Monaco in14th, just three points clear of the relegation zone.

NEPAL PPREZ DDECLARES SSAG GGAMES OOPENKathmandu: The 13th South Asian Gamesformally kicked off on Sunday with NepalPresident Bidya Devi Bhandari declaring themopen during a colourful ceremony at theDasharath Stadium here. Bhandari's formalannouncement to open the Games featuring theseven South Asian nations was followed byfireworks and cultural shows at a gala function.The opening ceremony began with the march-past by the athletes.The SAG is being held fromDecember 1 to 10 in three cities — Kathmandu,Pokhara and Janakpur— with the participation ofaround 2700 athletes.

AGENCIES

SINGLES

Aus close to series sweepStarc takes six in 1st innings despite Yasir’s maiden hundred to put hosts on brink of whitewash

Josh Hazlewood celebrates the wicket of Pakistan's Imam-ul-Haq during their 2nd Test at Adelaide AP

PTI n ADELAIDE

Dashing Australian openerDavid Warner believes

India's Rohit Sharma has the fire-power to surpass West Indiesgreat Brian Lara’s record 400 notout in a Test match.

Though he couldn’t breakthe record, Warner believes it ispossible to surpass the 400-mark and backed Rohit toachieve the feat in near future.Lara’s 400 not out is the highestindividual score in Test cricketwhich came against England in2004.

“Yeah, look, I think it’s aboutthe person himself. We’ve gotlong boundaries, it is quite dif-ficult at times. When fatigue setsin, it’s very hard to try hard andthrow your hands at it,” Warnertold ‘Fox Sports’.

“At the end, I tried to runtwos to lift the ante because Icouldn’t actually think like Icould clear the ropes.

“I think, one day, if I’ve toname a player, I reckon it couldbe Rohit Sharma. Definitely.”

Rohit can breakLara’s record

Root ended run drought English captainovercomes poor formto score hundred in3rd day of 2nd Test

You cannot go beyond tenures:Ganguly on selection committee

“Tenures are finished(means) tenures arefinished. They have

done a good job. Youcannot go beyondyour tenure and allof them don't finish,so majority of themstay and I dont think

it should be aproblem”

Marin wins Syed Modi C’ship Hamilton wraps seasonwith another masterclass